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Friday, April 27 2012 | Vol. 31, No. 17

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Sadhguru Yogi, mystic, author, and humanitarian, Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, founder of the Isha Foundation and architect of the revolutionary and life-changing Inner Engineering technology, will be visiting Houston for the very ﬁrst time to conduct a three-day program. The event, to be held at the George R. Brown Convention Center from May 4 to May 6, will accord local aspirants an opportunity to meet the Sadhguru and receive guidance on how to harness the ancient yogic sciences through the four paths of yoga that are energy, devotion, knowledge, and action, to transform their lives and lead joyful and fulﬁlling lives.

Gala Raises $1.2 Million for Literacy in India

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Pratham Gala Raises $1.2 Million for Literacy in India BY KALYANI GIRI HOUSTON: Elegance and philanthropy were the hallmarks of the Pratham-Houston Gala 2012 when over 800 from this city’s diverse communities gathered at the Hilton Americas Hotel on April 21, to support the non-profit grass-roots organization’s literacy programs in India. The event themed We Are One World, chaired by Dr. Marie Goradia and Medha Karve, raised an unprecedented $1.2 million that will help educate over 60,000 underprivileged children and further Pratham’s vision of Every Child in School and Learning Well. Following a cocktail reception, Mistress of Ceremonies for the evening Meena Datt welcomed guests and lauded their spirit of humanitarianism. President of Pratham-Houston Swatantra Jain told gatherees of the organization’s odyssey from humble beginnings in the slums of Mumbai in 1994, to its indomitable presence in 21 states and 42 cities in India today. “Pratham is recognized for three important aspects of its work, said Jain. “First is the scale on which we work and second is the low costs with which we achieve this. The third aspect is our ability to innovate and grow. I am happy to share with you that Global Journal recently listed Pratham as the 22nd NGO among 100 best NGOS in the world. Today the organization continues to expand both geographically and in terms of the scope of work it undertakes,” Jain added. He invited guests to visit Pratham programs in India to witness firsthand, how it impacts the lives of

From left: Swatantra Jain, President; Dr Rukmini Banerji, Director, Pratham Programs India with Ajay Banga, President & CEO MasterCard Worldwide Photos: Bijay Dixit

the children there. He also extolled Pratham India founders Dr. Madhav Chavan and Farida Lambhay, and Pratham USA founder Vijay Goradia as visionaries. Keynote speaker for the event was Ajay Bhanga, President and CEO of MasterCard worldwide. He commended Pratham for making education a priority. “It’s vital to our future and I agree with Pratham that it is a human right,” said Bhanga. He discussed India’s trajectory and the challenges, both present and future, and why education is so critical at this time in strengthening India’s global competitiveness and domestic economy. “Everyone knows that India and Indians have made amazing strides in a relatively short period of time. Just look around the room and you’ll see a who’s who of first generation Indian success,” said Bhanga. But, he added, more than half of India’s population lives in poverty, malnutrition is rife, healthcare is poor, and 128 million Indians lack access to

safe water. He pointed out that education is in dire straits, academic resources are scarce, there is child labor, a lack of teachers, and that more parental involvement is essential. The country’s

infrastructure is under-developed, roads abysmal, there is a waste management problem, and the corruption and red tape impede India’s progress. “Education has to align with vocational skills, and the workforce needs to be better prepared and critical thinking, comprehension, and social skills have to be reinforced for a strong stable India,” said Bhanga. “Pratham is breaking the cycle for the most vulnerable and uplifting prospects of millions who hold India’s future in their hands. Pratham takes a multidimensional, holistic approach to improving education and literacy, it recognizes that you can’t successfully teach children without addressing the root problems I just mentioned,” added Bhanga. Dr. Rukmini Banerji, Director of

Pratham Programs, gave the audience an update on the many innovative ways that Pratham has since impacted 33 million lives through Read India, the Pratham Council for Vulnerable Children, the ASER Centre that evaluates the status of elementary education in India, and the Pratham Institute that offers vocational training programs to young adults. Dr. Subodh Bhuchar served as auctioneer for the evening and attendees bid enthusiastically for items sponsored by Easy Tours and Karat 22. During dinner guests enjoyed entertainment by the Fred Astaire Dance Studio and NAACH Houston Inc. For more information on Pratham USA, visit www.prathamusa.org.

Pratham Houston Board of Directors with Keynote Speaker Ajay Banga

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, APRIL 27, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

April 27, 2012

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, APRIL 27, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

COMMUNITY

April 27, 2012 Valuing Your Business

IACCGH in Association with Mass Mutual Host Small Business Outreach Event BY KALYANI GIRI HOUSTON: Business owners, entrepreneurs, and community leaders made for a diverse capacity audience at Narin’s Bombay Brasserie on April 19, 2012, when the Indo American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Houston (IACCGH) hosted Valuing Your Business, an outreach and networking event. Prolific Executive Director of IACCGH, Jagdip Ahluwalia welcomed members of IACCGH and other guests and exhorted all to join the Chamber. “The Chamber is here to serve the entire community,” said Ahluwalia. “We are only as strong as our network, and if we stand united the more efficient we shall be. Show us your commitment and we will help you,” he added. Ahluwalia introduced the speakers for the afternoon, George Eapen, Director of Indian Markets, and Adam Segal, Director of Business Marketing at Strategic Financial Group (SFG), a Mass Mutual agency, who discussed how business owners and the Indian community in particular can take steps to maximize the value of their businesses while minimizing outside risks that could potentially destroy value. “Business planning, like healthcare, works well when you plan in advance,” advised Eapen, who came to this city a little over three years ago. Today he heads the Indian marketing team at SFG. “Just like when cancer is identified early and the patient has better survival options, so is it with business. Identify possible issues early and address them,” he added. Eapen also informed gatherees that studies have shown that keeping key employees loyal to the business is a major concern for 68% of Asian Indian business owners, yet only 34% take action. Additionally, 49% of Asian Indian business owners worry about how their business could be affected if a

George Eapen, Director of Indian Markets, SFG Photos: Bijay Dixit

Adam Segal, Director of Business Marketing, SFG

key employee developed a disability, but only 24% were proactive. The growing Asian Indian business community generates 30% of all Asian-owned business revenue. According to MassMutual studies, among the total population of US business owners, Asian Indian entrepreneurs earn approximately 60% more than the national average income per year ($52, 086), and have the highest business income of all ethnic groups in the United States. A 2011 survey conducted by GfK Custom Research North America for MassMutual Life Insurance Company, revealed that Asian Indian business owners were confident and self-sufficient in many ways, and rely on their families and business community for advice. Despite this, professional planning in developing a long term financial strategy was essential in protecting their businesses, said Eapen. Segal’s talk focused on three

milestone times that called for the business owner’s implicit knowledge of the worth of his business; when there are changes in ownership/buy/sell agreements, retirement planning, and estate tax planning. If revenue or earnings increased by more than 25% since the last valuation, then a new valuation was necessary. Segal’s message was simple. He suggested that business owners identify risks that could harm a business and methodically address them all. Ahluwalia introduced President of IACCGH Ajit Thakur, who also called for wider participation of business owners with the Chamber. The IACC facilitates commerce between the US and India, and facilitates access to the Indo American market. It helps Greater Houston professionals, businesses, and corporations to reach their goals.

Houstonians Excel at Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana

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CLEVELAND: At the recently concluded Thyagaraja Aradhana in Cleveland, emerging musicians of Houston, students of Vidushi Rajarajeshwary Dharmasthala and Pandit Shantilal Shah, continued their impressive showing, bagging 13 prizes (nine first places, three second and one honorable mention). This is the first time one of Pandit Shantilal Shah’s students has participated at this national competition. His student Aditya not only won the first prize in Tabla solo but also in percussion accompaniment. Vidushi Rajarajeshwary gave a scintillating concert that received high acclaim from the top Carnatic musicians present at the festival. To commemorate the centenary of the legendary Carnatic musician Madurai Mani Iyer, Vidushi Rajarajeshwary trained a group of talented Texas youngsters (Harsha, Sriranjani, Shilpa, Vaishnavi and Kruthi on vocal, and Vishaal on Chitravina) in the presentation of a Madhura Pallavi. It received rave reviews from the professional musicians for its concept, the composition and training. This added yet another colorful feather to Vidushi Rajarajeshwary’s cap. Indo American News (ISSN 887-5936) is published weekly every Friday (for a subscription of $30 per year) by IndoAmerican News Inc., 7457 Harwin Dr., Suite 262, Houston, TX 77036, tel: 713-789-6397, fax:713-789-6399, email: indoamericannews@yahoo.com. Periodical postage paid at Houston, Texas. POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to Indo American News, 7457 Harwin Dr., Suite 262, Houston, TX 77036

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COMMUNITY

April 27, 2012

Tagore Society of Houston Holds Memorable Fundraiser

BY KRISHNA GIRI HOUSTON: Having to brave uncommonly blustery weather and the challenge of fighting 50 mile gusts of winds while trying to walk a straight line from the parking lot to the front of the building could not discourage true friends and supporters of the Tagore Society of Houston (TSH) from gathering at the Sur Auditorium of Houston’s Durga Bari on the evening of Saturday, April 14. The occasion: TSH’s Second Annual FundRaising Gala and Banquet. Once inside, and after patting down a few rogue strands of hair, the temporary discomforts of the outside were soon forgotten as the gathering of local philanthropists and culture enthusiasts settled down to the warmth of friendship, food and the more serious business of fund-raising Starting perfectly on time as stipulated by the program card provided at every table, the event began with the perfunctory rendition of an invocatory bhajan. With little need for fanfare to accompany her, Dr. Ruma Acharya-Deysarkar, President of TSH took charge of the stage and thanked the attendees for their generosity in supporting the ideals of Tagore and the goals of the TSH. With medical precision, she introduced Tagore and the myriad of his literary works on the universality of culture. Zach Martin, recipient of the TSH scholarship, presented a compelling account generously laced with carefully chosen humor - of his experiences at Shanti Niketan and West Bengal on his educational tour sponsored by the organization as part of his scholarship. Guest of Honor, Consul-General Sanjiv

From left: Keynote speaker Prof. Sugata Bose; Dr. Ruma Acharya-Deysarkar, President, TSH and Guest of Honor, Consul General Sanjiv Arora Photo: Krishna Giri

Arora, gave a short insight into Tagore’s multi-faceted creativity. He thanked the Tagore Society for helping preserve and propagate the vision of India’s great son and greatest contributor to universal understanding. The emcee for the evening, Partha Chatterjee, highlighted the need for a mutual global respect in the fields of culture, arts and religion in modern times of strife, war and distress. Chatterjee also introduced the keynote speaker for the evening, Dr. Sugata Bose, the Gardiner Professor of Oceanic History and Affairs at Harvard University. Prof.

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Bose is the grandnephew of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. Earlier, he was a professor of History and Diplomacy at Tufts University and authored several books on the economic, social and political history of modern South Asia. Prof. Bose’s presentation on “Indian Oceanic History and Universalism as viewed by India’s first Nobel laureate, Rabindranath Tagore” focused on how Tagore assimilated various cultures and influences of other

great thinkers of the times and, most importantly, how he espoused the cause of universality of culture. Over the last several years Prof. Bose has lead a personal crusade to revive Tagore’s legacy - especially in the view of his 150th birth anniversary in 2011. Kalaprapoorna Dr. Anusuya Devi, renowned singer/composer/author and recipient of Sangeet Natak Akademy’s Tagore Puraskar Award 2012, was felicitated by TSH for her tremendous contributions to the arts and culture. Her personal recollections of meeting and performing in front of both Gurudev and Netaji left the audience in utter fascination. TSH fund-raising efforts, headed by fundraising Chair, Gopendu Chakrabarti, and Advisor Tapan Das, well exceeded the organization’s projected goals. The contributions will go a long way in promoting Tagore’s vision. The event was meticulously planned and executed by TSH Executive Council and its core volunteers, including Ruma Acharya, Partha Ghosal, Biren Das Biswas, Surajit Dasgupta, Sujit Sengupta, Nirmalya Roy, and Raja Banga among several others. Guests were treated to specially designed sit-down dinner of Indian fusion foods catered by Raakhee’s Cuisine. The evening was topped off by a melodious music performance by Mayuri Roy from Dallas. For more information about Tagore Society, visit www.tagoresociety.org

Gurudev: Poet, Playwright, Painter and Philosopher Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941), a transformative figure in the modern cultural history of India, is remembered as a poet, playwright, musician, and philosopher, and is also recognized around the world as the first nonEuropean recipient of a Nobel Prize for literature in 1913. Tagore began drawing and painting at the age of sixty-three with no formal training, although several members of his family were educated in art. His artistic practice grew from his habits as a writer and a poet; revision marks and scratched out words on his manuscripts became freeform doodles. The constant working of Tagore’s mind may be seen in the Untitled (Woman’s head against bright orange unfettered flow of lines, free background), 1937 Colored ink on paper 13 1/4 x choice of colors, and moods 9 7/8 in. (33.6 x 25.1 cm) Rabindra Bhavana, 00that are at times whimsical 2514-16 and at others pensive. For Tagore, rhythm was the essence of his drawings and paintings - just as it was for his poetry and music - so he purposefully never titled his artworks in order to avoid attaching unintended meaning to them beyond what was evident visually. Without descriptions, his images convey Tagore’s ability to experience the world and life around him with wonder, a sentiment that was much admired by the European vanguard in the 1920s and 1930s when his drawings and paintings were first introduced to Western audiences. In recent decades many new foreign language translations of Tagore’s writings have appeared, spurring a new surge of interest in his art, politics, and educational philosophy. This contemporary focus is perhaps due to his belief in cross-cultural fertilization and unbridled pursuit of harmony through the notion of global citizenship, a unique world view pioneered by Tagore that is even more relevant today than during his lifetime.

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, APRIL 27, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

COMMUNITY

April 27, 2012

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RICHMOND: Several Fort Bend County-area Realtors recently returned from an allexpense paid cruise to the Caribbean thanks to Aliana, a 2000 acres master-planned community in Fort Bend. The tropical vacation was the top prize in Aliana’s 2011 Realtor® Rewards Program. Winners were selected from among the top producers in Aliana for 2011 that include Aziz Ali Rahman, REALM Real Estate; Rubina Syed, Weichert Realtors; Kevin Nguyen, KevLan Properties; Jason Moore, REMAX Southwest; and Manilal Patel, Realty Associates. This March, these ﬁve Realtors and a guest went aboard Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Sea for a seven day cruise of the Eastern Caribbean, visiting exotic ports-of-call like the Bahamas, St. Thomas and St. Maarten. Linda Kilgore, Marketing Director for Aliana, traveled with the group. For more details on the rewards program, Realtors can visit the Aliana website at www. alianahouston.com and click on “Realtor Resources” and enter the passcode Vacation.

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April 27, 2012

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BY SHRI MANICKA BHATTAR PEARLAND: Going by the Solar Indian calendar (Souramana Panchangam), this is month of Chithira, time for the Annual Temple Festival (Mahotsavam) in the Meenakshi Temple at Pearland, from Apr 26 – May 6. The event begins with the flag hoisting (Kodi Yetram) and ends with the grand celestial wedding of Meenakshi and Sundareshwarar. The highlights of this 10-day festival are the Rathothsavam (chariot procession) of Goddess Meenakshi and Meenakshi Pattabhishekam (coronation of Goddess Meenakshi). The story goes that Meenakshi was born out of a yajna fire to Malayadhawaja Pandyan and Kanchanamalai. She was endowed with everything but also had an extra breast. This concerned the king but they received an Akashavani (aerial message from the heavens) that it would disappear once Meenakshi met her husband to be. Meenakshi was trained in all the arts including the martial arts and grew up to be a very brave and beautiful princess. As Maladhwaja Pandyan did not have any other children, Meenakshi was crowned the empress. She then went on an expedition of conquest to all the other kingdoms and won them over. When she came to the northeast corner (Eashana), she sighted Lord Sun-

An Indian American Ex- Intel Engineer Pleads Guilty to Theft Charges

BANGALORE (SI): Biswamohan Pani, an ex employee of Intel who stole valuable documents from the company pleaded guilty to five counts of wire fraud, in court on last Friday. Pani, an Indian-origin, worked as an engineer in Intel’s Massachusetts office. Before leaving the company in the year 2008, he downloaded some of the most valuable design and manufacturing documents related to the chip maker’s Itanium processor technology, alleges federal prosecutors in Boston. Pani joined Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), the chief competitor of Intel in the chip industry even before Intel came to know about the theft. He did not take help from anyone to carry out the plan and moreover there is no evidence regarding AMD’s involvement in the case, said the prosecutors. “AMD was not accused of wrongdoing, and the FBI has stated that there is no evi-

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dareshwarar (Lord Shiva). She was overcome with shyness and her third breast disappeared; she had met her soul mate! Goddess Meenakshi and Lord Sundareshwarar were united in matrimony, with Lord Vishnu (Azhagar) giving the bride away (Kanyadanam). In ancient times, the temple priests, considered to be representatives of Meenakshi, received the scepter, which symbolizes the passing of power from Lord Sundareshwarar to Goddess Meenakshi. In our temple, the Chairman of the board will receive it. This power transferred to Meenakshi, will revert to Lord Sundareshwarar in the month of Avani (August-September). In Madurai, this festival continues to Teerthavari where the deities are dipped in the Vaigai River. Devotees take a dip too. Teerthavari’s purpose is to bless all creatures in the water. Also, during the coronation ceremony, Madurai Meenakshi is adorned with a diamond crown (Rayar crown), donated by Appaji Rayar, a minister in the Krishnadevaraya kingdom and passed on by the Nayak rulers Goddess Meenakshi in Pearland will be taken on a procession in a Pushpa Pallakku (Flower Palanquin) on Saturday, April 28. The festival commences on April 26 and ends May 6. - Translated by Vivek Natarajan

dence that AMD had any involvement in or awareness of Pani’s alleged actions,” said Drew Prairie, a spokesman for AMD, reports Reuters. Pani was fired by ADM following the charges made against him. The value of stolen company documents is estimated to be around an amount of $200 million to $400 million, Intel mentioned in the court filings. But, the original FBI declaration stated that the information he stole ‘’was worth more than $1 billion in research and development costs.’’ “Pani planned to use this information to advance his career at AMD or elsewhere by drawing on it when the opportunity arose, whether with his employer’s knowledge or not”, according to an ABC News report at the time. Pani who faces up to 20 years of imprisonment on each count is scheduled to be sentenced in the month of August, reports Reuters.

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COMMUNITY

April 27, 2012 Nurturing the Flowers Within…

Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev to Bring Inner Engineering for the Body, Mind, and Spirit to Houston BY KALYANI GIRI HOUSTON: Ask Sheela Rajdev about Inner Engineering and her face lights up with joy. Eleven years ago as a college freshman at the University of Michigan, Sheela’s parents bartered a promised visit to New York to see her high school friends if she would commit to a one-week life science program taught by Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, founder of the Isha Foundation. Admittedly not much into religion or spirituality previously, she reluctantly acquiesced and took a seat at the very back of the hall. But what she heard that first day still resonates in her heart. “That encounter was life-changing, Sadhguru’s words were crystal clear,” said Sheela. “He made so much sense, particularly about things I did but never really examined too closely.” Sheela took a semester off from college and went to the Isha Foundation ashram in Coimbatore in South India. She spent the first month at the sprawling compound in silence, practicing yoga and meditation techniques and communing with nature. “The momentum of my mind slowed and I reached a point of realization that with all the material possessions, the relationships, etc, something fundamental was still missing. There, I found a sense of fulfillment. Inner engineering has empowered me to find a sense of balance and helps me live with keen awareness,” said Sheela, who has volunteered fulltime with the Isha Foundation for the past eight years. She completed her degree in biology but missed the gradua-

tion ceremony in her eagerness to return to the Isha headquarters in India. Her entire worldly possessions fit in a single suitcase that she totes to various cities in India and the world over to propagate the internal wellbeing techniques of her guru. Volunteers run the foundation globally; there are 25 active cities in US and more than 10,000 volunteers nationwide. Sheela, like a legion of other “undercover” yogis who lead seemingly ordinary lives but live it larger and more meaningfully than most, are trained in the powerful science of Inner Engineering pioneered and honed by the mystic, author, environmentalist, and visionary humanitarian Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev. The Sadhguru will be in Houston conducting an Inner Engineering program, BeBreatheBlossom – Technologies for Wellbeing, at the George R. Brown Convention Center from May 4 – 6, 2012. Truly contemporary,

yet steeped in ancient wisdom, the Sadhguru is renowned for his approachability, ready wit, incisively logical mind, and down-to-earth calming presence. Named one of “India’s 50 Most Powerful People” by India Today magazine, the yogi is the quintessential maverick; he teaches indefatigably, rides motorbikes, flies helicopters, plays volleyball most days, takes long nature treks, is a lover of snakes, and drives himself from city to city to tend his flock. He has also authored more than 50 books.

The Inner Engineering program is based on the ancient principle that the body is a temple of vital life energy and that health is fundamental to a fulfilling life. Through engrossing discourses, the yogi teaches practical wisdom to navigate life situations. Through guided meditation, simple yoga postures, and a powerful and purifying energy technique called Shambhavi Mahamudra, he helps in aligning the system so that the body, mind, energies, and emotions function in complete harmony. Yoga, the Sadhguru contends, is not about standing on your head, twisting your body into a pretzel, or changing your lifestyle, religion, or beliefs. Yoga is about an inner balance that you arrive at by using proper inner technology. “Whether it is love, or flowers in your garden, or success in your life, or enlightenment, unless you create the necessary conditions, it will not happen,” the Sadhguru

has said. The non-profit Isha Foundation is non-religious and embraces all equally. The foundation has centers in South India and in Tennessee, in the US. Through the Isha Outreach social projects, Isha has positively impacted the lives of over seven million rural people, earning special consultative status with the United Nations. The Sadhguru has also spearheaded the Guru Sangamam, a Board of Gurus that has set up regulations to uphold ethical standards and honesty among leaders of faith in India. Admission to the Inner Engineering program is $285 with discounts for seniors and students. Friday, May 4, will be from 6:30–9:30pm. Saturday and Sunday are all-day sessions with lunch included. To register, or for more information, visit www.BeBreatheBlossom.com/health, or call 213-3946213.

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In a Role Reversal, Judge Sandill Hosts the IAPAC BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA SUGAR LAND: Part of the event was a fundraiser. Part of it was a meet and greet for incumbent Judge R.K. Sandill of the Harris County 127th Civil Court. But a great part of the event held this past Tuesday, April 24 at Madras Pavilion restaurant in Sugar Land was to allow the members and well-wishers of the Judge and the Indo American Political Action Committee (IAPAC) to meet Sandill in person over a drink and a light snack. “Really, it’s now about whether you vote Democrat or Republican, or even if you are in Harris County or not,” Sandill said in his short words to the three dozen attendees, “it’s about getting out to vote and make a difference.” At the event, IAPAC President Sanjay Rao revealed that members of the group would go to Washing, DC on May 9 to start a lobbying effort with the members of Congress who form the Indian Caucus and lay out a list of issues that they

Guests and Board members of the Indo-American Political Action Committee with Judge Ravi Sandill (third from right) at the meet and greet held last Tuesday, April 24 at Madras Pavilion.

wanted to see addressed. Sandill, who is better known among desis as Ravi, was elected four years ago and has started he

campaign for re-election for the November elections. For more information about IAPAC, visit www.iapacgh.org

Art of Living Foundation Presents Meditative Moments HOUSTON: Meditative Moments is a very unique Dhrupad concert (Guruguha – Dhruvapada) featuring the world renowned Dhrupad singers – the Gundecha Brothers in a first of its kind performance conceptualized and narrated by musicologist/composer Kanniks Kannikeswaran of Shanti fame and is slated for May 5 from 6:00-9:00pm at the Stafford Centre for Performing Arts as a fund raiser for Art of Living Foundation, Houston. Meditative Moments is a tribute to all the upholders of the GuruShishya Parampara (traditions) the world over, Houston in particular. Guruguha – Dhruvapada is a curated educational presentation showcasing the commonalities between what is perceived as divergent streams (Karnatic and Dhrupad) of music through a curated presentation of selected compositions of South Indian composer Muthuswami Dikshitar (17751835). Dhruvapada (known now as Dhrupad) is an ancient form of music encountered in the North Indian musical tradition. The idea of raga rules the entire paradigm of Indian music and yet it is the practical constructs that set the various streams of Indian classical music apart. Despite this, there are a number of similarities between Dhrupad and South Indian music composed by Dikshitar which is rooted in vedanta. This presentation would highlight the pan-Indian nature of ragas and the sastriya sangit paradigm and would be a tremendous educational opportunity for all attendees. Gundecha brothers, Umakant and Ramakant Gundecha, are the leading exponents of the Dhrupad Style of North Indian classical music (a very calming and meditative music) and regularly per-

Gundecha Brothers: Dhrupad Music of North India

form across the globe. They have established a Gurukul (school) at Bhopal, India, (for more information, visit www.dhrupad.org), where about 30 students from all over the world are learning Dhrupad music as a full time vocation. The Gundecha Brothers teach the students under the principles of the guru-shishya parampara which is in continuation of the tradition that was passed down to them by their Gurus, the renowned Dhrupad vocalist Ustad Zia Fariduddin Dagar and Ustad Zia Mohiuddin Dagar (the distinguished performer of Rudra Veena). The Gundecha Brothers were recently conferred with the Padma Shri award. Kanniks Kannikeswarn (www. kanniks.com) is a visionary composer, music educator and a pioneer of the Indian American choral movement and is based in Cincinnati. His far reaching work in this area has led to the founding of Indian community choirs in Allentown, Tampa, Houston, Minneapolis and others. Kanniks’ compositions include a wide range of genres such as oratorios, kritis, tillanas, dhrupads, musical theater productions among others. His magnum opus ‘Shanti – A Journey of Peace’ received critical acclaim

Houston in 2010. Kanniks’ award winning research on the 18th century Indo Colonial music of India that featured the interaction between India’s revered composer Muthuswami Dikshitar and western music is beginning to have an impact on Indian musical pedagogy. He has also given several presentations on various aspects of Dikshitar’s music at various venues worldwide. Kanniks is the recepient of several awards such as the McKnight Fellowship, the Ohio Heritage Fellowship and the Just Community award. Kanniks is often described as a renaissance personality who effortlessly traverses diverse disciplines such as music, spirituality and management. He has been teaching Indian Classical Music at the College Conservatory of Music in the capacity of an Adjunct Faculty since 1994. The Art of Living Foundation is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) educational and humanitarian organization founded by spiritual leader and humanitarian Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. Sri Sri’s initiatives have benefited more than 25 million people worldwide. For more information, visit www.artofliving.org.

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, APRIL 27, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

COMMUNITY Indian Vocal Music School Stages its Inaugural Program

April 27, 2012

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Over 25 year experience KATY: Saptak School of Music in Katy, a new age, Indian vocal music training school, staged its inaugural program in the Lutheran Church on the evening of April 21. A mixed audience, speckled with people from different communities, attended this Indian classical and semi-classical music program, which commenced with a vocal performance by students of Saptak School, followed by a Tabla recital by Raja Banga’s Prana School of Music. The director and Guru of Saptak School of Music, Sangeet Bhushan Rajnita Bandyopadhyay rendered a mesmerizing solo vocal performance accompanied by Raja Banga on the Tabla, Shyamal Bhattacharya and Samrat Bhattacharya on percussions. Rajnitaji presented a unique blend ranging from classical Bandish, Bhajans, and Ghazals to Bengali Raag Prodhans. Her magical voice and range, command over music,

and ease with different styles of semi-classical songs is a treat to the listener. Banga’s accompaniment on the Tabla was superb. It complemented the music beautifully, further lifting the quality of the performance, which received a standing ovation from the audience. The program ended with an unforgettable sitar recitation by Sitarist Indrajit Banerjee, accompanied by eminent tabla player Sri Gourishankar Karmakar. Banerjee played several delicate ragas and tunes that captivated the audience. Rajnitaji is a top graded artist of All India Radio, Kolkata and Mumbai and has performed on Radio and Doordarshan for a long time. She received the Sangeet Bhushan from Prachin Chandigarh Kalakendra. She is a student of Pandit Prasun and Meera Bandyopadhyay, and Ustad Munawar Ali Khan, who are all disciples of Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali of Patiala Gharana . She also received vocal

training from legendary vocal masters Purabi Dutta, Sukumar Matra and Jatileshwar Mukherjee. Student of Saptak School of Music students learn Hindustani classical, semi-classical including Bhajans, Thumri, Dadra, Ghazals and Nazrulgeeti , Rabindrasangeet, etc. The school arranges workshops by artists from India and the USA. For more information visit www. rajnitab.com or email rajnitab@ yahoo.com

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COMMUNITY

12 April 27, 2012

Across the Table from Anasuya, Awestruck with Admiration

HOUSTON: At five foot nothing and nothing more than a hundred pounds, she stands an enormous giant. At ninety two, she’s all set to be twenty three again - enthusiasm and excitement threatening to overflow the brim. Bones maybe a bending and skin a withering, but the brain is strong and wit as keen as a surgeon’s scalpel. In body and mind, she is a combination of Olympic athlete and a mathematical wizard. In soul, she’s just music - all encompassing. Introducing Kalaprapoorna Dr. Anasuya Devi. Her remarkable nearly centurylong musical journey is marked by so many milestones that it will take for ever to even merely list the most important of them all. Anasuya Devi is no stranger to awards and accolades. She has performed extensively across the globe and has been recognized and rewarded with seven lifetime achievement awards and dozens of decorative entitlements. The most recent feather in her cap is the Sangeet Natak Akademy’s Tagore Puraskar Award 2012 in commemoration of the 150th Birth Anniversary of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore. The Sangeet Natak Akademi, an autonomous body of the Union Ministry of Culture, Government of India instituted this one-time honor to 100 artists called the ‘Tagore Samman’ (50 Tagore Ratna and 50 Tagore Puraskar) in the ages of 75 years

Prof. Sugata Bose, grandnephew of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose with Anasuya Devi Photo: Krishna Giri

and above, who have made a significant contribution in the field of performing arts. In a glittering ceremony in Chennai, the Governor of Tamil Nadu, Dr K Rosaiah will represent the President of India and confer the Akademi’s Tagore Awards to eighteen eminent personalities including Anasuya Devi on May 02. Anasuya Devi’s younger daughter, Seetha Ratnakar (Asst. Station Director, Doordarshan Kendra, Chennai) will receive the award on her behalf. Going back to the very beginning, her musical career started at the tender age of eight with the recording of her first song at Kolkata’s His Master’s Voice Dum Dum Studios. She continued recording her Bhava Sangeet and folk songs (that she pioneered with her younger sister) at Dum Dum until facilities were constructed in the South years later. In all, she has recorded over a thousand songs that saw the transition of recorded music from vinyl to cassette tape to compact disc. Anasuya Devi has several firsts to her credit, including being the first female movie music director (Bhakta Kabir - 1959) in the South. She has authored several books on music including her pioneering chronicles on folk music. Her more recent literary works detailing her life experiences are much talked about. On her 90th birthday, Ana-

suya Devi released Endaro Mahanubhavulu a journal commemorating ninety people who she had had met and those who influenced her music and her life. Kalaprapoorna Dr. Anasuya Devi was born into an illustrious family of scholars and artistes. Her father, Padmashree Vinjamuri Narasimha Rao was a playwright who’s books have been prescribed reading in colleges of Andhra Pradesh for over 60 years. Her mother, Rathnamma was the publisher of the India’s first Telugu women’s magazine Anasuya after which she was named. The music to her maternal uncle, Padmabhushan Devulapalli Krishna Sastry’s pre-independence revolutionary songs were composed by her and made both of them household names in Andhra Pradesh. Anasuya Devi has authored several books on music including her pioneering chronicles on folk music. Her more recent literary works detailing her life experiences are much talked about. Anasuya Devi is mother to Dr. Rathna Kumar, a well-known dancer/choreographer/guru and the Founder of Anjali, Center for Performing Arts. Her son, Krishna Giri, is the managing partner of Texas’ oldest publication The Indo American News. Nargis Lakhani of Indo American News writes: Meeting this child prodigy who

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, APRIL 27, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

CONTINUED ON PAGE

COMMUNITY

April 27, 2012

Making a difference to Mothers - Save A Mother to Host Fourth Gala

based on the successful Sultanpur including lap tops, android phones BY SEEMA KACHRU model. and software to run clinics, to HOUSTON: Mother’s Day is Two new programs were manage maternal health and monialmost here and so is the annual launched in 200 villages of Sul- tor the TB eradication program. gala of Save a Mother to be held tanpur - Tuberculosis eradication After a resounding success of its on May 4 at Chateau Crystale at program, which will be expanded previous gala in Houston, SAM’s 7pm. While having a baby might to 1000 villages in the next three Houston Chapter invites Housbe a joyous experience, here are years, and reduction of Water tonians to its fourth spectacular some shocking statistics which borne diseases by 80% in the next gala, Saving Mothers--Sultanpur Save a Mother hopes to change. four years. & Beyond, on May 4 at Chateau A quarter of the world’s total maSAM also helps in managing Crystale, 2517 South Gessner Rd ternal deaths take place in India. 16 free clinics run by Asia Heart at 7pm. Women in India are 60 to 70 times Foundation that serve1000 to 1500 SAM’s needs to carry its mission more likely to die in pregnancy or patients daily. SAM has developed 2012 in 60,000 Indian Villages childbirth than in other countries. a health IT program with the help which needs $100 per village per There are 210 babies delivered of Sai Info Systems, Ahmedabad year. Every dollar one can donate every minute, 50% in unsanitary and volunteers from Indian Asso- counts. As Dr. Ganju says, “A few conditions, increasing the risk of ciation SONAL for Medical Informatics. dollars stretch a long way in decidinfection and even death. Founder, Save A Mother, Dr Shiban Ganju at Sultanpur during This program will help improve ing ---health and sickness or life Dr. Shiban Ganju decided to ﬁeld trip in Early April the management of the primary and death.” make a difference. The founder SAM’s mission is to educate and chief field volunteer of Save A care, and follow up on checkups at able. Save-a-Mother’s vision is to health clinics. The project plan for 2012 is: and minimize suffering and death have a health revolution in every Mother, Dr. Shiban Ganju is also the local medical facility. REPUBLICAN FOR STATE REPRESENTATIVE • SAM aims to 26 train 1000 more associated with pregnancy and The Houston Chapter Presi- village in India, lead by trained a practicing physician in Chicago, District volunteer health activists to cover childbirth in India. with 36 years of NPO / NGO work dent Veena Kaul says, “Maternal voluntary health activists. Dear Friends, Those who are unable to attend Ever since its inception SAM about 1500 villages by the end of experience. He initiated the mis- deaths are avoidable with the help the gala can mail their checks to sion, Save a Mother (SAM) in of skilled health personnel, ad- has made strong inroads. In 2011, 2012. • Mahila Vikas Pariyojna. with the registered 501 (c)(3) organiza2008, in the village of Sultanpur, equate nutrition, better medical fa- SAM had phenomenal success SAM as their technicaland partner, tion in Houston,within TX at : the Nat MurFirst, thank you for your continued support encouragement cilities and family planning. Howwith reaching masses, partnering Uttar Pradesh. SAM has now exlocal NGO’s such as Desh- laid the foundation to spread the thy, 633 Lake Shore Drive, Sugar panded to benefit several more vil- ever, poor women, in rural India, with community. I could not be at this stage of the campaign without you, from face an uphill battle to overcome pande Foundation, India and had Sultanpur model to 40 other dis- Land, TX 77478. lages in UP and other states. SAM works on the principle that lack of access to medical care. We two rewarding fundraisers - Alka tricts in UP. • SAM is also planning to invest For further information, visit an educated population will de- aim to identify and address these Yagnik and Kumar Sanu Concert. ing thousands of residents in House District 26, I am truly blessed to have call Deshpande Foundation India further in lab equipment for blood www.saveamother.org.Or mand health care. In keeping with gaps in care by sensitizing and generous grant tests in the clinics, IT equipment 832-264-9668. youapproved on myateam. that philosophy, SAM has trained educating the population, to con- has sider health Bhuchar care as a basic human of $32,230 (INR 16,11,500). The health activists who educate vil- Sonal WRITERS ....... TAKE NOTICE grant will support SAM’s initialagers, the mothers-to-be and their right”. Writers are requested to limit their words to 500. Through training of voluntary tives to reduce the maternal and families about pregnancy, nutriSONAL The deadline for advertising and articles is 5 pm tion, personal hygiene, child birth, social health activists, SAM en- infant mortality rates in about 100 on Tuesday of each week. I must win, the Republican Austin, I have to win two elections. First immunization, and child care. This ables the population to hold the villages of Gadag in the HubliFor more information, Call 713-789- NEWS (6397) or accountDharwad district of Karnataka, ensures that pregnant women seek health delivery system Primary Election on May 29th and then the General Election in NovemREPUBLICAN FOR STATE REPRESENTATIVE email us at: indoamericannews@yahoo.com

BHUCHAR

BHUCHAR District 26

ber. With that said, it is of utmost importance that on Tuesday, May SONAL SO AL 29th, you request aN Republican ballot. Again, in order to vote for me, First, thank you for your continued support and encouragement within the SONAL BHUCHAR H community. I could not be at this stageB of the must campaign without from Hballot Hrequest Uyou, AatR you aC Republican the polls on Tuesday, May 29th. Dear Friends,

BHUCHAR

REPUBLICAN FOR STATE REPRESENTATIVE

26 REPUBLICAN District FOR STATE REPRESENTATIVE District 26

Dear Friends, ing thousands of residents in House District 26, I am truly blessed to have Dear Friends, First, thank you for your continued support and encouragement the First, you for your continued and encouragement within the community. I could be atdone this stage of the Icamyou onthank my team. I support cannot tell how grateful I within am forencouragement all that younothave for me. am community. I could not be atyou this stage of thesupport campaign without you, from Sonal Bhuchar First, thankREPUBLICAN FOR STATE REPRESENTATIVE you for your continued and within the paign without you, from your ﬁ nancial contributions to your help on the ground, knocking and calling thousands of residents District 26 community. I could not be at this stage of the campaign without you, from thousands of residents on in House 26, I am me truly blessed to have depending you get a Republican win on May 29th. For further in House District 26, I am trulying blessed to have you onDistrict mytoteam. you on my team. Dear Friends, Sonal Bhuchar Austin, I have to win two elections. First I mustin win,House the Republican ing thousands of residents District 26, I am truly blessed to have Dear Friends,

information on the Election, on your polling location, how to get a yard

Sonal Bhuchar

w.SonalforTexas.com www.SonalforTexas.com

Election Day May 29 Early Voting May 14 - May 25 For More Information call (832) 814-4902 or visit www.SonalforTexas.com

I cannot tell you how grateful I am for all that you have done for me. I am depending on you to get me a Republican win on May 29th. For further www.SonalforTexas.com information on the Election, on your polling location, how to get a yard sign or ways to get involved on the campaign, please email me at sonal@sonalfortexas.com or follow me on the campaign trail through Facebook and Twitter. Again, in order to vote for me, you must request a Republican ballot at the .SonalforTexas.com polls on Tuesday, May 29th. www www.SonalforTexas.com

With Great Respect,

Sonal Bhuchar Sonal Bhuchar

Pd Political Adv. by IAPAC

IMPORTANT DATES

Pd Political Adv. by IAPAC

www.SonalforTexas.com

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, APRIL 27, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

Pd Political Adv. by IAPAC

For More Information call (832) 814-4902 or visit

Pd Political Adv. by IAPAC

you on my team.

Pd Political Adv. by IAPAC

Primary Election on May 29th and then the General Election in NovemAustin, I have to win two elections. First I must win, To the Republican The Republican race for the House District 26on is ato crowded one. geton to Austin, I have to win two elections. First I ber.thank Withyou thatfor said, it iscontinued of utmost importance sign or ways involved Primary Election onthat May 29th Tuesday, and thenget theMay General Election in Novem- the campaign, please email me at First, your support and encouragement within the must win, the Republican Primary Election on May 29th and then the General Election in November. With that said, ber. With that said, it is of utmost importance that on Tuesday, 29th, you request Republican Again, in order to vote for me, First IMay IMPORTANT DATES I ahave toballot. win two elections. must the trail Republican 29th, youof request acampaign Republican ballot. Again,you, in order to vote for me, sonal@sonalfortexas.com or follow me on thewin, campaign through community. I could not be at this stage the without from itAustin, is of utmost importance that on Tuesday, May 29th, you request a Republican ballot. Again, in order vote forFaceme, you must request a Republican ballot at the polls on Tuesday, May 29th. Primary Election you on May 29thballot and then the Election in to Novemmust request a Republican at the polls on Tuesday, May General 29th. ber. said, itat is importance on Tmust uesday , May you mustWith request athat Republican ballot theof pollsutmost on Tuesday, May -29th. to votethat book and Twitter. Again, in order for me, you request a ReI cannot tell you how grateful I am for all that you have doneAgain, for me. I am Election Day 29th, Republican ballot. in order to vote for me, I thousands cannot tell you you howrequest grateful IHouse am depending foraall that have done for me. I am on you you26, to getI me a Republican win on May 29th. For further ingyou of residents in District am truly blessed to have must request a publican Republican ballot at on the pollsMay on Tuesday, May 29th. ballot at the polls on on the Election, on your polling location, how to get a yard May on you you29 to get grateful me a Republican win May 29th. For further Idepending cannot tell how Iinformation amorfor all you have done for me. amTuesday, depending on you29th. to get me a Republican win on sign ways to that get involved on the campaign, pleaseI email me at you on my team. information on the Election, on how your polling location,orhow to get afor yard IMPORTANT DATES I cannot tell you grateful Ion am all that you have done for me. I am sonal@sonalfortexas.com follow me on the campaign trail through FaceSonal Bhuchar May 29th. For further information on the Election, your polling location, how to get a yard Twitter. Again, in a order to vote me for me, a Re- on May 29th. depending you to get me Republican win For further sign or ways Election to geton involved onbook theandcampaign, please email at you must request Day publican ballot at the polls on Tuesday, May 29th. or waysVoting to get involved onme the campaign, please email me at sonal@sonalfortexas.com or follow me on the campaign May 29 Early information on the Election, on your IMPORTANT DATES sign sonal@sonalfortexas.com or follow on the campaign trail through Face- polling location, how to get a yard sign orEarly ways to get involved on for the you campaign, trail and Twitter. Again, in to vote must request a please Republicanemail me at Voting With Great Respect, May 14 -Facebook May 25 bookthrough and Twitter. Again, in order to vote for me, youorder must request a Re- me, PORTANT DATES Election Day Austin, With Great First Respect, I May 14 - May 25 sonal@sonalfortexas.com or follow me on the campaign trail through FaceI have to win two elections. must win, the Republican ballot at ballot the polls Tuesday, MayMay 29th. publican at T theon polls on Tuesday, 29th. May 29 book and witter. Again, in order to vote for me, you must request a ReSonal Bhuchar Election Day For More Information Sonal Bhuchar Primary Election on May 29that and thenpolls the General Election in Novempublican ballot the on Tuesday , May 29th. May 29 With Great Respect, Early Voting call (832) 814-4902 or visit ber. With that said, it is of utmost importance that on Tuesday, May Early Voting Sonal Bhuchar With Great Respect, May 14 - May 25 With Great Respect, May 14 - May 25 29th, you request a Republican ballot. Again, in order to vote for me, www.SonalforTexas.com For More Information r More Information Sonal Bhuchar Sonal Bhuchar call (832) 814-4902 or visit you l (832) 814-4902 or visit must request a Republican ballot at the polls on Tuesday, May 29th. Sonal Bhuchar Sonal Bhuchar

nal Bhuchar

14 April 27, 2012

FOOD

Chef Jaggi Promotes Indian Food at Food Giant Sodexo BY PAMELA PARSEGHIAN GAITHERSBURG, MD: After seeing that requests for Indian and vegetarian dishes were increasing, Sodexo, a multi-national French food service company, in May will introduce to corporate accounts a new food station featuring the cuisine of India. Approximately 60 recipes will be offered. In late summer, the program will be rolled out to Sodexo’s healthcare facilities and schools. “We’re getting information that our consumers and our chefs would like more ethnic food,” says Chuck Hatfield, Sodexo’s director of product development, who worked on the program and recipes with Rajiv Jaggi, senior manager, culinary development for Health Care Brand Management. “There is a need for more vegetarian food. I think Indian is very much on trend. And health and wellness is in demand. I think that is a really larger trend, in general.” Food service analyst Mintel Group maintains that Indian cuisine is on the rise and will continue to be for at least the next four years. Two significant factors point toward increased acceptance of the cuisine. Colleges report a rise in the number of vegetarians among their student populations, and many of the dishes from India are meatless. Second, some corporate dining directors say the number of Indians in their customer bases is increasing. Executive Chef Robin Beckwith, who oversees production for Sodexo, at a large insurance company in San Antonio, with about 21,000 transactions a day, says when his team took over the account five years ago they knew there was a large Indian population, so they prepared accordingly. In order to offer authentic Indian fare, Beckwith brought in an Indian chef to train his team for three months. That chef helped the Sodexo chefs set up a program and an action cooking station which features one soup, four vegetarian dishes and chicken or fish and, occasionally, lamb. “There are a lot of nuances with Indian food,” Beckwith says.

Chef Rajiv Jaggi, senior manager, culinary development for Health Care for Sodexo, doing a cooking demonstration at a Hunger Awareness Charity event this past weekend at the Rio Center in Gaithersburg. For a video of his demonstration to make healthy granola bars, visit our website, www.indoamerican-news.com. Photo: Jawahar Malhotra

“When you hear of recipes that layer flavors, it couldn’t be more true than in Indian food. Even if you have all the ingredients in a dish, if you don’t put them in at the right stage with the right techniques, it will not be the same.” For instance, when using black mustard seeds Beckwith learned the seeds must actually be heated until they pop to toast properly and for the flavor to develop correctly. Beckwith has had success with is grape raita served over sliced tandoor-style chicken or flank steak. The raita was a recipe developed by New York based-restaurant chef Suvir Saran and features the unusual addition of grapes. His other recent hits include samosas served with tamarind chutney and a mint and cilantro chutney. Jaggi, a native of New Delhi, says Indian cuisine can offer healthful dishes that gain flavor mostly through cooking techniques, herbs and spices rather than excess fats. He learned the cuisine both at home and during an apprenticeship in international-style cuisine at a hotel in New Delhi, where chefs jealously guarded their professional expertise. Hatfield and Jaggi’s goal is to offer authentic, yet approachable recipes that are easy for chefs and

cooks with varying skill levels to follow. “The procedure of how you cook the spices is more important than how much you add,” Jaggi says. “It’s important to heat the spices for a few minutes to avoid a raw flavor but not so long that they burn.” At the University Medical Center at Princeton, in New Jersey, Executive Chef Patrick Heller says demand for authentic Indian fare is steadily increasing, mainly because the hospital draws a large Indian population from neighboring communities, especially Plainsboro, N.J. In May when the hospital relocates to a new building Heller plans to expand the number of Indian dishes they offer, and tweak other currently prepared dishes. For example, Heller plans to add more peas to the curry roasted potato vegetable stew, remove less traditional vegetables, such as zucchini, parsnips and turnips and rename it aloo matar, because the Indian name helps sell the dish as being more authentic. Kerry Paterson, assistant director of dining services and executive chef at the University of Colorado in Boulder, says the rising number of Indian students on campus and

growth of Boulder’s reputation for embracing ethnic, spiritual and cultural diversity has helped expose the university’s students to global culinary options. Roger Bonner, executive chef with Sustainable Fare at The Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville, N.J., is also experimenting with offering Indian recipes because of requests for more ethnically diverse cuisine from the more than 950 students, faculty and staff he serves daily. (Approximately 550 of the 800 high school students live on the 700-acre campus.) Bonner recently tested a chicken tikka that he says was well liked. For the dish, he marinated thighs in yogurt with pickled ginger, cinnamon, cumin, coriander and cayenne for two hours; then browned them, added jalapeños, onions and garlic and finally deglazed them and simmered with chicken stock, crushed tomatoes and heavy cream. “In India,” Jaggi said, “there are so many recipes because the cuisine varies from region to region, mostly due to available ingredients. For example, in the south the focus is on using more coconut, curry leaves and mustard seeds with rice-based dishes. The north grows more wheat, so there’s an abundance of breads as well as dishes with yogurt and cumin.” “If you travel within the country,” Jaggi explains, “every 50 miles the cuisine changes a little bit. The blends of the spices change from house to house. So there is no hard

and fast rule about the spices. The quantities change. But the end result is almost [always] the same.” Among the techniques of cooking Indian food correctly, restaurants in the U.S. and India mostly use cream in sauces to avoid breaking emulsions, Jaggi says. But yogurt, which is less expensive and more plentiful in India compared to heavy cream, is typically used in home cooking. In order to prepare smooth yogurt sauces, Jaggi tempers it and adds it at the end of the cooking period for creamy results. Yogurt in India is more like Greek style here and is typically prepared with unpasteurized whole milk that contains cream. He says for a yogurt sauce with sheen, tempered yogurt can be added early in the cooking process. Rather than adding a roux, Jaggi thickens some recipes with yogurt, and others are thickened by cooking down onions and tomatoes until they are almost dry. Karl Bendix, executive chef at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colo., says he learned to make aloo gobhi by watching a movie. His daughter showed him the film, “Bend It Like Beckham,” which included a scene where a young woman learned to cook the classic vegetarian dish from the family matriarch. So Bendix made it at home. Once it went over well there, he brought it to his cafeteria. Bendix now serves “a fair amount” of dishes from India at the university.

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, APRIL 27, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

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DIASPORA

16 April 27, 2012

Deepa Mehta – A Refreshing Break from Stereotypes in Indian Cinema

BY SOWMYA NANDAKUMAR Deepa Mehta was born in 1950 in Amritsar, India. Since her father was a film distributor and theater owner, she watched films for free after school. Although entertained by these films, little did she know that she would pursue a film career! She did her Bachelors and Masters in Philosophy from Delhi University. She started working part time for Cinematic Workshop, a small outfit which made documentaries in Delhi. First she learned how to do sound, proceeded to learn camera work followed by editing. This experience revealed to her, how much she loved the process of filmmaking. At this time, she met her future husband Paul Saltzman, who was in India making a film. She immigrated to Canada in 1973 after marriage. In Canada, Deepa Mehta started out producing documentaries and writing scripts for children’s films. In 1976, she made a documentary, At 99: A Portrait of Louise Tandy Murch. In 1980, she and Paul Saltzman had a daughter, Devyani Saltzman (currently an author, curator and cultural critic), and they divorced in 1983. In 1988, Mehta made a comedydrama, Martha, Ruth and Edie. She released her first feature film Sam and Me (1991), starring Om Puri. A 23 year old Indian boy comes

to Canada looking for a new life. His uncle convinces him to be a caretaker and companion to an elderly Jewish man and a beautiful friendship ensues. This film won the Critic’s Honorable Mention in the Camera d’Or category of the Cannes in 1991. Mehta was a guest director for a one-hour episode of George Lucas’s TV series, The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (1992). In 1994, Mehta made Camilla, starring Bridget Fonda and Jessica Tandy and co-founded, Hamilton-Mehta productions, with producer, David Hamilton in 1996. Fire (released 1996), starring Shabana Azmi, Nandita Das, Kulbhushan Kharbanda and Javed Jaffrey, was the first film of a trilogy, which set off a huge controversy. While the three films are unrelated to each other, they are popularly referred to as her trilogy, because they take on names of the elements - Fire, Earth and Water. Fire is the story of two women, who find themselves as co-sisters in a household where both their marriages are failures. In one marriage the couple couldn’t have children; the husband renounces the wife and takes to a spiritual path. In the other, the younger son has been forced into a marriage while being in love with a foreigner. The two co-sisters, tired of a lack of love in their marriag-

Deepa Mehta

es find companionship in each other which transforms to love. Although Mehta faced a lot of trouble over this film being about lesbians, this film is not as much about lesbianism as it is, about a desperate situation in the lives of two women. The Shiv Sena was very opposed to the values in the film. Theaters which dared to run the film were attacked, posters were ripped out. Deepa Mehta, in an interview for the film’s DVD said, “I think what I remember was the viciousness in the expression of the women who were tearing up the posters. And it felt like such a desecration”. In 1999, Mehta released the

second of her trilogies, Earth, set in 1947 during the India-Pakistan partition period. It received, The Best Film, award, in the Asian Film Festival and was India’s official entry in 2000 for the 72nd Academy Awards, in the Best Foreign Language Film category, although it did not make it to the top five nominations. In 2002, Mehta won the Genie Award (Canadian Television and Film Awards) for Best Original Screenplay for Bollywood Hollywood. The next huge controversy was Water, in 2005. Starring Lisa Ray and John Abraham, this film set in the pre-independence era, explores the plight of young Hindu widows in India at that time. This film was opposed by right wing Hindu fundamentalists. It was somehow not perceived as a period film telling the tragic realities of the lives of widows then, but branded as a film that was detrimental to the Hindu religion. Mehta’s sets were burnt even before the first day of shooting in Varanasi and Mehta finally filmed in Sri Lanka. Water was well received internationally. It was nominated for nine Genie Awards, and to the Oscars for the Best Foreign Language Film from Canada, the first non-French film from Canada in this category. In 2008 Mehta made Heaven on Earth, an English film set in Canada starring Preity Zinta (dealing with domestic violence)

and a documentary, The Forgotten Women, following up with Water, (about the plight of widows in India). Mehta was conferred an Honorary Doctoral degree from the University of Victoria in 2009. The same year, she co-wrote Cooking with Stella, with her brother Dilip Mehta, who is a photo journalist and film director. Dilip Mehta is best known for his coverage of the Gandhi family and his five-year report on the chemical accident in Bhopal. Deepa Mehta is now married to producer, David Hamilton with whom she started HamiltonMehta Productions. Currently, her film, Midnight’s Children, based on the novel by Salman Rushdie, is in post- production. Mehta has always been a director interested in women, their problems and their life perspectives. What is radically different about Mehta as a director is her ability to think and write scripts for women, where women can play the primary protagonists of the story, instead of being supporting cast for the male hero. This has definitely set her apart from many a film director. Despite there being so much opposition to some of her films, Mehta has respected her own work, stood by her beliefs and completed projects. Quite undoubtedly, she is a refreshing break from the stereotype!

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, APRIL 27, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

CHILD LABOR

April 27, 2012

All Work, No Play

Employing children as domestics is illegal. Yet, this is one law that is broken with impunity again and again

How many times have you come across a scene like this? Photo: Arunangsu Roy Chowdhury

This story, however, does not end here. It is the beginning of another story, one that gives us a glimpse into a nether-world, one where children are kidnapped, stolen or sold into servitude from some of the poorest parts of India; a world where these children have no choice, no voice. When we think of trafficking, we usually think of the sex trade. In fact, many children are trafficked into domestic and other forms of labour and are never detected. The story of the 13-year-old girl in Delhi is not an exception. Every now and then similar stories are reported in the media. In Mumbai, we still remember the horrific tale of 10-yearold Sonu who was tortured by her employers and eventually died from the injuries.

But there are two aspects of this story that are particularly worrying: indifference and impunity. Let us take the latter ﬁrst. In October 2006, the government included domestic work in the Child Labour Act. Earlier, children under 14 years were prohibited from working in a number of hazardous industries that were identiﬁed. After 2006, the law banned children from being employed as domestics or to work in dhabas and restaurants. Yet, many like the educated professional couple in this case, think nothing of breaking this law. Usually, when people like them are asked why they employ children, they come out with a set of standard excuses: “We were looking after the child as if she was our own”. “We were feeding and clothing her, some-

N O OW PE N

BY KALPANA SHARMA (The Hindu) What a way to begin the week after the long Easter weekend. First, we got the news about baby Afreen in Bengaluru, whose father has allegedly beaten her to death. He did this apparently because he wanted a son and was mad at this wife for producing a girl. Then in a village near Jalgaon, Maharashtra, a 19-year-old girl was strangled to death. The chief suspects are her father, uncle and grandmother. The reason: she was in love with a boy from another caste. And in Mumbai, the police arrested a 20-year-old man who was trying to abduct two minor girls. But distressing as these reports are, the news from Delhi the previous week of the 13-year-old domestic left locked in a ﬂat by her employers who went off to Bangkok is even more chilling. The facts of that case are now well known and even the international media has reported them. The couple, both medical doctors, have been arrested and charged under various provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act, the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, the Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act and the Indian Penal Code. The girl, rescued by the ﬁre brigade when neighbours reported seeing her on the balcony crying, has now been taken to a shelter. And the man who brought her to Delhi from Jharkhand has also been arrested. Subterranean cities

thing she would not get in her village”. “She is like a member of our family”, etc. But the point is that they are breaking the law. And with impunity. The fact that so many affluent and middle class people do this is because they are confident that the law applies to others, not to people like them. In fact, they firmly believe that most laws apply to others, not to them. Unacceptable numbers Data is not easily available on this issue but roughly 20 per cent of the 12.6 million child workers in India (these are official figures and therefore a gross underestimation) are domestic workers. Of these, the majority are boys. But girls too work as domestics and are particularly vulnerable to sexual abuse. Both boys and girls suffer various levels of physical abuse. The other side of impunity is indifference. How many of us turn our faces away when we see a woman

being harassed, a child being beaten, a law being ﬂouted? No one wants to be involved. I wonder how many people in the housing colony where this couple lived were aware that a child was working in that house? What stopped any of these people from reporting this to Childline, which has a well-advertised number (1098) that anyone can call and an email address where a complaint can be sent? We are not helping any children, including our own, if we justify employing children to work in our homes. We are ﬂouting not just the child labour laws but also the constitutional provision that gives every child the right to compulsory and free education. Sadly, in India, being educated and part of the better-off class does not necessarily add up to enlightened attitudes. As with dowry, the more we learn, the more we earn, the more we slip back in our attitudes.

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EDITORIAL

18 April 27, 2012 Real Party Poopers English novelist Mary Anne Evans, better known by her pen name George Eliot, was not terribly off the mark when she wrote prophetically: “A difference of taste in jokes is a great strain on the affections”. And, in the post-9/11 world, those words have got a new meaning. Two British tourists were sent back to their country by the US Homeland Security from Los Angeles (LAX) airport after the security men found the travellers’jokes on Twitter suspicious. The two happy souls were detained at LA airport after one of the tourists tweeted that he was “going to destroy America” during their vacation. When the officials interrogated them about their suspected plot, the two insisted that the expression is British slang for some mad, bad partying. That was not all: the two were also questioned about another tweet that said: ‘digging up Marilyn Monroe’. However, the humourless and paranoid U.S. officials (what a deadly combination) are not alone. In 2010, the Delhi Police arrested two Britons for “suspicious plane-spotting activities”. But at least, to give the Delhi Police their due, the two men had some sophisticated equipment with them which could raise suspicions. But the two at LA airport were probably just looking to make merry in the land of opportunities. Then again in 2001, 14 Britons (what is the problem with the people of this island nation?) were charged with espionage in Greece after they were arrested outside an air base while they were — oh, not again — plane-spotting. While ensuring national security is a laudable cause, one wonders why the US authorities did not keep the ‘tourist-terrorists’ for some more days to ferret out information about their sinister plan if they were so sure about their intentions. And, the men who fight for America in every corner of the world must be laughing their heads off and calling for a party themselves because 9/11 did more than they expected: along with spreading security paranoia, it has also managed to kill the art of making harmless jokes. What a dry world we inhabit! We feel a little destroyed ourselves. - Hindustan Times

Jokes from Khushwant Singh LABOUR WOES: The Indian and Cuban labour ministers were in the midst of a meeting. Cuban labour minister: ‘Labour problems in our nation produce hundreds of types of tensions for me.’ Indian labour minister: ‘That’s nothing. Labour problems in our nation produce 50,000 babies every day.’ SMART MOVE: Rakesh: ‘Broken off your engagement to Meena?’ Mahesh: ‘She would not have me.’ Rakesh: ‘You should have told her about your rich uncle in Bombay.’ Mahesh: I did. She is my aunt now.’

To Be Out of Time

BY INDRAJIT HAZRA It’s 3:18 pm and another Saturday afternoon, a chunk of space-time sent ahead of Sunday every week without fail as a scout to clear the path for the next day. I don’t have much time so what I tell you now will probably reach too late and thereby lose its urgency. But as I sit here inside Saturday and you there inside Sunday, much will have changed in our understanding of how to look at time. And without the handicap of hindsight I can let you know that the only way to value time is to let it slide. Time-keeping for humans essentially serves two functions: social and biological. The biological function is pretty straightforward, whether it’s in the short measure of a pulse — a minute being the time the echo of your heart pumping out blood anywhere between 60 to 100 times can be felt — or in the wear and tear in years that will ultimately lead you to your death. But it’s the social function of time that is more obvious and whose signs we are surrounded by in watches, ﬂight schedules, appointments and deadlines. It is because there are more than just one of us that we need to keep time. My 6 pm has to be the same as your 6 pm; your April 22 has to be everybody’s April 22. (Different timezones are to plug this lie.) There would be utter chaos, not to mention the complete breakdown of civilisation, if this temporal law was broken on a regular basis. And yet it is broken rather regularly and most famously by us Indians. But what is remarkable is how we still manage to carry on quite well, thank you very much. The Indian practice of stretching time and factoring in that 12:30pm could very well be 12.50 stems from the nature of our surroundings. No one understands

this better than Prasanna Sankhe, the designer of the ‘ish watch’ that tells the time the way it really is: as one ﬂow without incremental pit-stops or milestones. After two days of dilly-dallying, I called up and asked Prasanna how he came up with the ‘ish watch’. “In India, we are generally lax about keeping time. No matter how important an appointment, people factor in delays. They’ll mention about being late once and then continue with the job at hand. So we at Hyphen [the Mumbai-based design company that he runs with Alok Nanda] thought of how to capture this Indian Stretchable

Time,” he tells me as I keep a chap from the local kirana shop waiting at the door. Prasanna believes that this liberal use of making time elastic has its origins in the ground conditions that India has: trafﬁc snarls, hold-ups and the patina of laziness that takes advantage of these conditions. Which is where his ‘ish watch’ is sheer genius in design, functional and philosophical terms. It’s the only modern chronometer I know that, like the ancient water clock and sundial, doesn’t impose the human weakness for too many signpoints to measure time. The watch has four points on its dial

but with the 12 o’clock, 3 o’clock, 6 o’clock and 9 o’clock markers 45 degrees askew with 12ish, 3ish, 6ish and 9ish marked instead. Effectively, it makes you untighten time. The ‘ish watch’ is a great design creation that serves its time-keeping function and, at an affordable Rs. 2,500 a pop, should stand up to the tyranny of ‘precise time’ on mobile phones that most people use to tell the time these days. But what makes me frankly treat the ish-watch as a venerable object of worship is the fact that it changes the posts of ‘social’time. For someone who has turned up late too many times — sometimes turning up too late to salvage anything — the ‘ish watch’ should finally drive home the fact to my humiliators that time has a long tail and isn’t a daisy-chain of momentary pinpricks. Speed has its delightful thrills. But being punctual is overwhelmingly a fetish for people who want to get over with things irrespective of the quality of the final product or experience.Alooser timekeeping, I am sure, will change things for the better. The American science fiction writer Ray Cummings, in his 1922 novel The Girl In The Golden Atom, had written the truest and much quoted definition of time: “The Big Businessman smiled. ‘Time,’ he said, ‘is what keeps everything from happening at once.’” What is less remembered is the cynical reply the Big Businessman got: “’Very clever,’laughed the Chemist.” Very soon — and I’d be damned if I peg ‘soon’ down to a single point in time — I hope the fastidious Chemists in this time-obsessed world are made to use time the way it was intended: by spreading it out. Hindustan Times

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EDITOR: PRAMOD KULKARNI BUSINESS MANAGER: JAWAHAR MALHOTRA MANAGING PARTNER: KRISHNA GIRI COMMUNITY REPORTER: KALYANI GIRI COMMUNITY EDITOR: MANASI GOKHALE ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGER: VANSHIKA VIPIN GRAPHIC DESIGN: SAQIB RANA CORRESPONDENTS CHICAGO: NAND KAPOOR, UK: ASEEM KULKARNI NEW DELHI: RAJ KANWAR ®All rights reserved. No material herein or portions thereof may be published without the written consent of the publisher. The deadline for advertising and articles is 5 pm on Monday of each week. Please include self-addressed, stamped envelope for return of all unsolicited material. Published at 7457 Harwin Drive, Suite 262, Houston, Texas 77036. Tel: 713-789-NEWS or 6397 Fax: 713-789-6399, email: indoamericannews@yahoo.com, website: indoamerican-news.com

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, APRIL 27 , 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

INDIA

April 27, 2012

Open 7 days a week

Hamid Ansari Meira Kumar Shivraj Patil Sharad Pawar

BANGALORE (SI): With less than three months before President Pratibha Patil demits office, a host of possible successors have now surfaced. But a poor Congress show in recent state elections may ensure regional parties hold the key to who will be India’s 13th president. Several names are doing the rounds. Some have been possible contenders earlier as well, while some names have taken people by surprise, even as they are generating a lot of traction, particularly among the young and the educated. Who are they? Some of them are, tech evangelist Sam Pitroda, Vice President Hamid Ansari, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Congressman Karan Singh, former speaker Somnath Chatterjee and Nationalist Congress party leader P.A. Sangma. Others include Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Chief Election Commissioner S.Y. Quraishi, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, Samajwadi Party’s Mulayam Singh Yadav and Janata Dal-United’s Sharad Yadav. Pitroda, among them, has attracted some print media attention as the “”dark horse” in the presidential race and his name has excited the web world as well. His name has been circulating ever since industrialist Harsh Goenka wrote a piece in a leading daily. “I would like to end with a wild card entry, which is a radical option of considerable merit - Sam Pitroda,” Goenka wrote, while also mentioning several other potential candidates for president. “Rajiv Gandhi’s posterboy for reforms, he quietly revolutionised the telecom sector, paving the way for subscriber trunk dialling, public call booths and nationwide networks.” Goenka also said: “If I had to place my bets, I’d predict a photo finish between (Vice President) Hamid Ansari and Sam Pitroda,” Goenka said. Pitroda himself has made no specific public comment on the sudden upsurge in his favour. Those close to him say he is focused on his current assignment as advisor to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on public information infrastructure and innovation. But he is not alone in this presidential stakes.

Sam Pitroda

Who Will Be India’s Next President?

Ansari, a career diplomat, was for sometime the most obvious choice. But he seems to have lost some of his clout after his infamous adjournment of the Rajya Sabha during the Lokpal debate that earned him the opposition ire. About Manmohan Singh. Congress president Sonia Gandhi has always insisted there is no question of replacing him as prime minister. And Pranab Mukherjee. He remains the principal trouble-shooter for the party. He is too overqualiﬁed to become president, as one senior Congress leader said. Meira Kumar may be a popular choice. But India has a woman head of state already. Defence Minister A.K. Antony, a Gandhi family loyalist, also is a strong contender. India has not inaugurated a Christian president yet. But three months may prove to be too short a period for the army chief’s age and bribe controversies

to die down. Sangma is a Roman Catholic. He is also cosying up to Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee and Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh. But the circumstances under which he quit Congress party will not ﬁnd favour with the loyalists of the present leadership. Kalam’s name has been apparently suggested by several parties. But the Congress is not in his favour. He is also 80. As for Quraishi, he has earned quite a share of displeasure of senior leaders who may not like him being sent to Rashtrapati Bhavan. How do the numbers play out. The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance holds 40 percent of the votes and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has 30 percent in the Electoral College that consists of members of parliament and the state legislatures. The Congress is keeping its card close to its chest, so are the other parties. It could be none of these names, but a complete dark horse that Sonia Gandhi had thrown up the last time after the CPI-M rejected Karan Singh’s candidature. The other possible candidate is Shivraj Patil. Patil has an excellent equation with Sonia Gandhi despite his removal from the cabinet after the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. He has not rufﬂed opposition feathers in his gubernatorial role. Though the question here would be- will the Congress nominate another Patil and another Maharashtrian after Pratibha Patil? Gopal Krishna Gandhi is also another possible candidate. Being Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson may help clear several hurdles for him. He may come out as the choice of Mamata Banerjee. Gopal enjoys good equations with CMs Naveen Patnaik, Nitish Kumar and J Jayalalithaa. But this time a plea from the people to those vested with the powers to elect the 13th President of India is for the selection of a candidate based on merit rather than other extraneous considerations. Furthermore, the possible scenario for the presidential candidate could be that the UPA needs ‘vitamin M’: Mulayam Singh Yadav, Mayawati and Mamata Banerjee. Another possibility is if Trinamool and Sharad Pawar’s NCP swap to the other side, the UPA need to fall back on BSP, SP and the Left parties. That gives the ruling coalition 50.18 percent votes.

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OPINION

How is being Left-handed not Right? BY C. DEEPALAKSHMI (The Hindu) I fail to understand why the left hand is considered so inauspicious although it is very much an important part of our body. Can we imagine a body or life without the left hand? Why can’t the use of the left hand be justiﬁed the way we use our left eye, left ear or left leg? In fact, the most vital organ — the heart — is also on the left side! Then why this discrimination against lefthandedness? I remember the day when my mother was dumbfounded to see my daughter (who was then around two years old) invariably using her left hand for most of her activities. My poor mother reminisced the days when she struggled to convince the elders of the house that her daughter (myself) was left-handed and that there was nothing opprobrious about it but she failed miserably. She was sternly advised to change my natural inclination to use the left hand and fearing the repercussions of defying them, she coerced me into making me a right-hander. How unfair! Why is it that the same people who consider using the left hand taboo are diehard fans of left-handers? Whistles blow when Amitabh Bachchan, the famous left-handed superstar, blows up the villain’s head by pulling the trigger (of the gun) with his left hand. Every single soul on earth looks up to the man who changed the world — Bill Gates, the left-handed computer geek (the second richest person in the world, 2011). Can people still believe that the left hand is unlucky or being left-handed is ill-fated? The answer is ‘yes,’ as I have observed that whenever my daughter offers gifts or just anything to her friends/relatives with her left hand (as she is a leftie), people instantly say: “Give it with your right hand, not with your left,” and she wonders why this bias? “Why is it wrong to use my left hand, amma,” she asks innocently, now ﬁve years old. Little does she know that many people consider it an insult to be offered anything with the left hand. Why this abhorrence for the left hand? Aren’t we all amused by the acts of Charlie Chaplin, the lefthanded comedy king, even today? For years together, the world has applauded when Allan Border, Yuvraj Singh, Brian Lara and Sanath Jayasurya hit fours and sixes with their left hands, producing centuries and double centuries; millions of men and women have been bowled over by the overs bowled by the left-handed Wasim Akram, Ravi Shastri, Bruce Reid and Irfan Pathan, who have won crucial matches. Many right-handed Tennis players have been knocked out by left-handed opponents Martina Navaratilova and Raphael Nadal, to name just two. Apart from these achievers, we remember left-handed scientists like Albert Einstien, Marie Curie (Nobel Prize winner) and Isaac Newton for their invaluable contribution to science. And who has not admired the works of famous artists such as Leonardo Da Vinci, Pablo Picasso

or Michael Angelo who have left an ineffaceable impression across the globe. On top of these, we have had great left- handed rulers and leaders, especially Alexander the Great, Napoleon Bonaparte, Rani Laxmibai and U.S .Presidents John F. Kennedy, Ronald Regan and now Barack Obama. In spite of the fact that left-handers have achieved so much, in India there is a pre-conceived notion that the left hand is inauspicious. I feel that men can still be left-handed but not girls and women as they have to cook and serve food. In some religions, serving food with the left hand is considered a sin. Why this prejudice? I am combating with my family and the outside world to let my daughter continue being a leftie, because many of the tools, equipment, musical instruments are designed keeping in mind the right-handers causing much discomfort to the left-handed people as in using cameras, computer mouse, guitar, the fridge door, the mixie regulator switch and many more. And not only that when I take my daughter to the temple, her natural tendency to extend her left hand for prasadam earns her only scorn, “Hmmn.., show your right hand.” These are the priest’s words, not God’s. Even the lefthanders are God’s creations. I read in a consumer magazine that a team of the Foetal Behaviour Research Cen-

tre, U.K, studied the scans of 1,000 foetuses and concluded that handedness develops in the womb when the foetus is just 10 weeks old. The hand the foetus favours in the womb is the hand he/she will use for the rest of his/her life. But the hardcore fact is that most of the rituals cannot be performed with the left hand, the reason being superstitious sentiments attached to the left hand. After my hue and cry for the past three years in my family, my daughter has at last been permitted to use her left hand for most of the activities like writing and playing, barring a few like eating and serving. I feel it is very unfair to compel a left-handed child to eat with her right hand as having food is such an important activity of our daily life which is done with our heart and soul, relishing morsel by morsel, but my daughter is pressured and is not able to enjoy her food wholeheartedly. What a punishment for being a left-hander? A creative lot It is believed that left-handers are creative and have good linguistic skills as their right brains predominate various abilities in them but in India (especially south India), it will take ages for people to acknowledge these facts and give the left hand its share of due importance and to accept left-handers (especially girls and women) without any inequity.

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, APRIL 27 , 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

SPORTS

April 27, 2012

Weightlifters Hopeful of Winning Olympic Berths

NEW DELHI (The Hindu): The Indian weightlifting team is optimistic about gaining two Olympic slots from the Asian championships in Pyeongtaek, Korea, from April 24-30. Besides being well-prepared, the Indian side draws its confidence from the fact that the top Asian countries have already earned their tickets to the Olympics by virtue of their good showing in the last two World championships. In the men’s section, nine Asian countries, China , Iran, Korea (six places each), Uzbekistan, North Korea, Indonesia (five each), Kazakhstan (four), Turkmenistan and Thailand (three each) have already made the cut. In the women’s section, seven nations, China, Kazakhstan, Thailand, Korea, Japan (four each), Chinese Taipei and North Korea (three each) from the continent have qualified. In the Asian championship, the lone Olympic qualifying event for the continent, the top seven countries in the men’s section and the top six among women will gain one quota place each. “We are sure of getting one slot. We have been doing well at Asian level. Besides, most of the big countries are not in the race,” said Indian

men’s coach Jaswant Singh hours before the team’s departure to Pyeongtaek on Saturday. Jaswant said motivating all the lifters for one slot was not an issue. “The highest ranked lifter from the country will go to the Olympics (the cut-off date for world rankings is May 15). So, everybody is in the race.” Jaswant said India had a good chance of scoring Olympic qualiﬁcation points in 56kg, 62kg, 69kg and 77kg. Women’s coach Hansa Sharma was also hopeful of one berth. “There is some improvement in the performance of Soniya (Chanu) and Sanjita (Chanu) in 48kg. We are positive about Monika Devi in 69kg.” “The team is in good spirits and the lifters are ready to give their best for the country,” she said. The team: Men: Ranjit Chinchwade (56kg), Rustam Sarang (62kg), K. Ravi Kumar (69kg), S. Sathish Kumar (77kg), Jasvant Singh (85kg), Chandrakant Mali (94kg), V.A. Christopher (105kg), Himanshu Kumar Chang (+105kg). Women: N. Soniya Chanu and K. Sanjita Chanu (48kg), Tikina Gopal (53kg), Minati Sethi (58kg), Seeta Kumari Jena and Rajwant Kaur (63kg), L. Monika Devi (69kg).

Jayaram, Kashyap, Neha Sail into Second Round NEW DELHI (The Hindu): Aiming to qualify for the London Olympics, Indian shuttlers Ajay Jayaram and P Kashyap notched up contrasting singles victories to advance to the second round of the India Open Super Series. World number 27 Ajay Jayaram saw off compatriot Sourabh Varma 21—15 17—21 21—11 in a 55— minute match to keep his Olympic qualiﬁcation bid on track. The Mumbai shuttler though now has a tough task at hand as he will take on world number one Lee Chong Wei in the second round on Thursday at the Siri Fort Sports Complex. His compatriot P Kashyap also kept his hopes alive by scoring a comfortable 21—11 21—14 victory over Belgium Yuhan Tan to set up a clash with Boonsak Poonsana of Thailand. In women’s singles matches, Neha

India’s Ashwini Ponnappa and Tarun Kona in action against Indonesia’s Rijal and Susanto during their mixed doubles match at Yonex Sunrise India Open 2012 in New Delhi

Pandit crossed the ﬁrst hurdle by beating Malaysian Jing Yi Tee 21— 18 9—21 21—19 in a 48—minute match, while PV Sindhu notched up a 21—17 21—19 victory over Chinese Taipei’s Tzu Ying Tai. Ashwini Ponnappa and Tarun Kona reached the second round of the mixed doubles.

Indian Premier League 2012

Peterson, Rayudu Pickpocket Kings XI Punjab

BY FIRDOSE MOONDA MOHALI (Cricinfo): Robin Peterson borrowed shots from his namesake, Kevin Pietersen, as he played a cameo punctuated with switch hits on his IPL debut to snatch victory for the Mumbai Indians. Peterson scored 15 runs off four balls in the penultimate over and Ambati Rayudu smacked two sixes to cost Kings XI 27 runs. The pair took Mumbai from a position where victory seemed unlikely, with 32 runs needed of 12 balls, to where it became an obvious conclusion with only five runs to get in the last over. After allowing Kings XI Punjab to post their highest total in IPL 2012 with a bowling effort that was dominated by deliveries that were too short, Mumbai were favourites to win when Rohit Sharma was at the crease, marching to his half-century. Parvinder Awana swung the pendulum back towards Kings XI with a double strike in his final over - the 18th - in which he removed both Sharma and Harbhajan Singh. Peterson and Rayudu had the final say though, as they ravaged the 19th over and prevented Kings XI from completing the home and away double against Mumbai this season. In an innings which mirrored the Kings XI’s, Mumbai started solidly, were held up in the middle and blazed their way through to the end. Sachin Tendulkar and James Franklin, who was moved to open the batting in the previous match and stayed there, built a sturdy foundation. Tendulkar started by sweeping Bhargav Bhatt to long-leg, allowing his touches of finesse to shine through. Franklin clipped Praveen Kumar through midwicket and drove Parvinder Awana over the covers and the pair put on a fuss-free fifty-two run stand. Azhar Mahmood caused some jitters in the Mumbai camp when he had Franklin caught behind off a beautiful delivery that nipped away from him. In his next over, Mahmood accounted for Tendulkar, who got a thin inside edge through to Nitin Saini. Piyush Chawla had Dinesh Karthik caught at short fine leg and Mumbai were no longer in command. It set the stage for Rohit, who had not performed to expectation so far, to step up and he did.

Rohit Sharma gave Mumbai hope with 50 off 30 balls © AFP

He announced his intent by smashing Chawla for a flat six over long-off and helped himself to boundaries off full tosses offered by both Awana and Praveen when they missed their lines. Rohit was guiding Mumbai to victory when he slashed the ball to Mahmood at backward point and the advantage returned to Kings XI. Harbhajan made little contribution as he top-edged without moving his feet to be caught at long-off and Mumbai seemed to need a little miracle to dig themselves out of the hole Awana created. Peterson started the seemingly impossible, switch hitting Chawla twice for four and slog sweeping him for six before Rayudu launched the legspinner for back to back sixes. Mahmood made it tough for Mumbai to score the last five but they did so with a ball to spare to claim a memorable win. Kings XI would have thought they had enough runs at the halfway stage, having scored 88 runs off the last seven overs of their innings. David Hussey and David Miller starred in the last third of the Kings XI innings to give them a competitive total on a slow surface with a fourth-wicket stand that mixed defiance with aggression. Saini and Mandeep Singh built a sturdy foundation for Kings XI with an opening stand of 35 but Kings

XI stagnated when Mandeep was dismissed. They scored just 12 runs in four overs after Mandeep returned to the dug out and crawled to the 10over mark at 56 for 2. In a surprise move, Harbhajan brought Franklin on to bowl and he slowed Kings XI up further. He bowled four good balls upfront, which yielded only four runs, before Shaun Marsh attempted to slice a ball over the off-side but top-edged it to Harbhajan at cover, who took a swirling catch. Miller was the perfect for partner for Hussey and showed aggression from the get-go, when he pulled the second ball he faced, a short one from RP, through midwicket. Having seen short balls get punished, Kieron Pollard offered Hussey two more and was clubbed over midwicket and upper cut over third man. Munaf Patel searched for yorkers but missed his length and dished out full tosses. Miller swiped him over long-on and Hussey did the same, to bring up a well-earned half-century. Clint McKay copied Munaf and got the yorker right on occasion. Still, he did not survive the late assault from Hussey, who steered him third man and made room to hit him over his head for six. Munaf ﬁnished the innings having conceded back to back sixes off Miller, who ended unbeaten on 34 off 17 balls.

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, APRIL 27 , 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

22 April 27, 2012

SOUTH ASIA

The Woman behind the Success of Agni-V

Tessy Thomas, a scientist from India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), is a rare woman who has played a key role in the making of its most potent long-range nuclear-capable ballistic missile, the Agni-V, which was successfully tested this past Thursday. She is an extraordinary woman; she is a homemaker as well as a “missile maker”. Known to the country and the world as “Missile Woman” and “Agniputri”, this lady is one of the main brains behind the new missile, whose stupendous success has propelled India into the elite group of five countries with the capability to launch a nuclear ballistic missile from a long range of over 5000 km. Born in Allapuzha, Kerala , Tessy’s first introduction to the amazing world of flying objects and the radars came in her childhood, thanks to the rocket launching station not far from the area where her lower-middle class family lived. This was sufficient to spark a thousand dreams in her little mind and after completing her engineering from Thrissur college, it was natural for her to choose research in the field of missile technology. Traveling for the first time out of Kerala at the age of 20, Tessy Thomas, named so after Mother Teresa , went to Pune’s Institute of Armament Technology to do her M Tech in guided missile technology. It took her a little more than two decades from then to reach the pinnacle of her career where she is being showered with praises for her key contribution to the thundering success of the Agni-V missile launch on Thursday from Wheeler Island off Odisha. Though she broke the glass ceiling to enter a field till then dominated by men, Tessy Thomas does not appear to be too conscious of her

Breaking the glass ceiling to enter a ﬁeld dominated by men, Tessy Thomas has had to walk the tightrope as a defence scientist and homemaker to achieve what very few women have. gender identity. “Gender bias or discrimination has never been an issue. Science is science,” she said with candour. After completion of her masters degree in Pune, where she also met her future husband Saroj Kumar, Tessy chose DRDO and she was not disappointed. Soon after she had applied to DRDO, she received a call from the premier defence research institution based in Hyderabad asking her to join immediately. “I wanted to take a break for some time but I could not and I have still not got it,” she says with a smile.

The Agni V missile that India launched is capable of reaching Beijing

Working tirelessly, conquering one area after the other and making path breaking contributions in her research in guided missiles, Tessy Thomas emerged as one of the key brains in the secretive missile program. Before becoming the head of Agni-V missile, Tessy also worked as the project director, AgniIII and Agni-IV missiles and made her mark. Development of the key technology for multiple targetable re-entry vehicle was a major and decisive contribution of Tessy’s team to the success of the long range missile that has given a boost to the strategic defence capabilities of India vis-à-vis several major countries, especially its big neighbour China. This was crucial because when the long range intercontinental ballistic missile re-enters the atmosphere after travelling at a height of 600 km, it has to withstand tremendous velocity and temperature of 3,000 degrees Celsius. That was the most crucial phase in the success of the Agni-5 missile on Thursday. “We had an excellent mission, meeting all the objectives from the lift off to the impact,” said Tessy after the success of the mission sparked off celebrations on Wheeler Island. “Three

stages of guidance which were new could meet the mission objectives fully,” she said. Not that Tessy was always greeted by success at every step, but the failures and the disappointments also became a challenge and opportunity for her to improve. One such challenge came when in July 2006 a missile went out of control and there was criticism. But showing steely nerves, she took it as a challenge and in just ten months the failure was turned in to another success. While fully devoted to her work, Tessy had to make many sacriﬁces on the home front and even had to leave an unwell son Tejas behind for one of the launches of the missile. Interestingly, her son shares the name with India’s light combat aircraft, developed by the DRDO. Peers say she had to do a tight rope walk in the dual role as a defence scientist and a homemaker. One of the biggest accolades for Tessy came from none other than the prime minister of India Dr Manmohan Singh, when he told the Indian Science Congress in January this year, “Ms Thomas is an example of a woman making her mark in a traditionally male bastion and decisively breaking the glass ceiling”.

120 Bodies Recovered after Plane Crash in Pakistani Capital

ISLAMABAD (CNN): The grisly search for remains at the scene of a commercial plane crash in Pakistan continued Saturday, with officials doubting anyone on board survived. The plane, carrying 127 people, crashed Friday in Islamabad just before it was to land at a nearby airport, according to Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority, which cited poor weather as a possible factor. At least 120 bodies have been recovered from the scene, Interior Minister A Rehman Malik said. No survivors have been found. “In the morning we will start to search by helicopters,” Malik said overnight, adding that officials could not bring in helicopters on Friday due to bad weather. The Bhoja Air Boeing 737-200 was en route from Karachi to Islamabad, where the weather was cloudy, officials said. Malik said family members in Karachi are being flown in to help identify the victims. Relatives and fingerprints have already helped identify the remains of 73 people taken to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Dr. Wasim Khawaja said. Identifying all the bodies -- many of which lie in pieces -- will be challenging, Malik said. He said he hoped DNA technology will help in the process. From what he’s seen, “I don’t see any survivor here -- all 127 people seem to be dead,” the interior minister said. The crash occurred near the Chaklala airbase, a military site used by the country’s air force, which is adjacent to the Benazir Bhutto International Airport in Islamabad. Debris and body parts were scattered across the crash site as workers sifted through the wreckage in the heavily populated residential area. Four villages were affected by the crash, and debris from the plane has been recovered within a kilometer of the site, Malik told reporters. More than a 150 bags filled with body parts have been transported to hospitals across the region, according to Farkhand Iqbal, a municipal official in Islamabad. The crash is reminiscent of one in 2010, when 152 people were killed as a Pakistani passenger plane crashed on the outskirts of Islamabad. That plane was also was coming from Karachi when it crashed into a hillside while trying to land, officials said at the time. Four years earlier, another airliner crashed in central Pakistan, leaving 45 dead. The first known commercial passenger airplane crash occurred in Pakistan in 1953 when a Canadian Pacific DH-106 Comet crashed shortly after takeoff from Karachi. That crash killed 11 people on board.

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, APRIL 27 , 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

COMMUNITY

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Dr. Ruma Acharya-Deysarkar, President of Tagore Society of Houston presents a Momento to Dr. Anasuya Devi Photo: Krishna Giri

independent India. They rural folk sang to break the monotony as they worked long hours in the ﬁelds; they sang individually or in groups, but singing was a natural expression of their lives. They sing at the birth of a child, they sing when somebody dies, they sing as they walk long distances, they sing in the evenings when they sit around the ﬁre or gather on the village square. They sing at every possible occasion that they can. Films have now made folk music very popular but they have also corrupted the originality to an extent that we may forget how the original actually sounded. Thus for Devi, it is critical that the original be preserved. “My grand children chide me, ‘ammamma (grandmaa), everybody says you are so great but

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OPINION BUSINESS INDIA

SD Shibulal: The Silent Seventh Executive

BY PAVITRA JAYARAMAN (Mint) Seated on a swivel chair in his cabin at the Infosys campus in Bangalore, S.D. Shibulal, or Shibu as he is popularly known, is making quick notes on his iPad before this interview begins. Dressed in a dark grey suit, the co-founder, chief executive officer and managing director of Infosys Ltd says his cabin, spacious and minimalist, is his favourite place to work out of. “I do have an office in Boston (US) as well, but this overlooks trees and this is where many greats of Infosys sat as well,” he says. N.R. Narayana Murthy and Nandan Nilekani, he says, used the same office. Known to be the chronicler among the seven founders of the company, 57-year-old Shibulal has watched Infosys reinvent itself in the last three decades. “Infosys changes every three-four years. In 1999, we were 98% in Bangalore, today 19% or even less is in this city,” he says. He has been the face of the company since he took over in August from co-founder S. (Kris) Gopalakrishnan, now the executive co-chairman. In the media glare more than ever, Shibulal, known to be the company’s

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operations man, says it was tougher than he thought. “I started out thinking that now more departments would report to me and that wasn’t really much of a challenge. But after the initial months, I realized it was a whole new ball game—it was a completely different role because the buck stops with you,” he smiles. But he is quick to add that like Murthy, he too is comfortable with the public gaze now. “No, I am not that private; every new role requires you to transform,” he says. Yet Shibulal is most comfortable talking about Infosys and ﬁelds personal questions with discomfort. Last year, the word “technologies” was dropped from Infosys’ name, indicating the company’s aspiration to grow beyond being the information technology (IT) company that it started out as and towards a consulting and technology corporation. Ask him what his best memories are in Infosys and he goes back in time: “I remember setting up a computer in Mico back in 1984.” Prodded for more, he continues: “Also, when we installed the link between Boston and Bangalore.” After completing his MSc in physics from the University of Kerala, Shibulal started his career in 1978 with the Bombay Electric Supply and Transport Undertaking (now The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport Undertaking, or BEST), a place that introduced him to comput-

The last of the Infosys founders to hold the position of CEO, Shibulal doesn’t know of another team of founders which has stayed together like they have. Jayachandran/Mint

ing. “They were extremely innovative and were perhaps the first to computerize their ticketing systems back then,” he says. In 1980, he moved to Patni Computer Systems (PCS) in Bangalore, where he met Murthy. “What I first noticed about him was that he was particular about what he wants and will rarely budge.” A familiar question crops up, one he has heard and answered before— about the founding members. “It’s a 30-year-old relationship. We have to be close-knit,” he justifies, adding, “I have done research to check if there is any other set of people who have stayed together for as long as we have been around.” He is yet to find such a group. Shibulal, however, did leave Infosys in 1991 to join Sun Microsytems, only to return to the firm five years later in 1996. He would rather not comment on it, however. The families of the seven founders have relied on each other for both professional and personal support over the years. “We have cooked for each other, have taken care of the children and even stayed in each other’s houses,” he says, recalling that he and his family (then just his wife Kumari and daughter Shruti) stayed with the Murthys in 1986 when he moved to Bangalore from the US . “As a result, the children are also close as per their age groups,” he says. Shruti, now 27, left Merrill Lynch in New York to come back and start a restaurant in Bangalore named Caperberry with chef Abhijit Saha in 2009. “It was unconventional, but she was happy,” he says. Shruti has now taken a break from the restaurant and is studying for an MBA at the Columbia Business School, Columbia University, New York. “My son Shreyas (20) is studying computer science at the Haverford College, Philadelphia,” he pauses, before adding with a laugh, “but I just never know when he will switch.” “I have always treated them as adults. My wife takes care of them

like a mother,” says Shibulal, who met Kumari in 1974, when she was his junior in college in Kerala. “Kumari is now busier than ever with the Akshaya Trust that we formed to aid in education and health,” says Shibulal. The family, he says, made a conscious decision in 1995 to concentrate on the field of education. The Akshaya Trust fully sponsors several students in USHA—The Usha School of Athletics, founded by P.T. Usha in 2002 with the aim of tapping the athletic potential in children. He is happy to recall an early account that explains his relationship with Murthy. “I was running a computer centre in Bangalore in 1983. Mr Murthy would often come by and give me a set of 8-10 instructions. Young as I was, I relied on my memory and often forgot two of the 10 tasks. This went on for a while until one day, he pointedly told me keep a diary,” Shibulal says, laughing. Since then, he has been in the habit of jotting down notes. His need to make lists pairs well with his love for gadgets, particularly tablets.“I also have an Android tablet,” he says, adding that while Kris looks at gadgets with curiosity, for him it begins and ends with utility. “For both of us, it is important to study every new gadget because our clients are offering services on these new platforms and we need to understand them,” he says, adding that tablets have been his newest fascination. “They have changed the way of not only how we use technology, but also how we consume information.” Shibulal looks at each of the founders as experts in their domain; his greatest respect, however, is reserved for Murthy. “Mr Murthy leads by example, and is strict and compassionate at the same time,” he says. “Nandan is good at strategizing and building consensus while Kris is all about innovations,” he continues, going on to list the qualities of each of the founders. “Each one of them has qualities that grew over a period of time,” he says. “So many people have worked harder than us, and were probably more capable, but we were the ones who made it,” he trails off. The last of the founders to head the company, Shibulal maintains he didn’t become CEO just because he was one of the founders. From 2007-11, he was the chief operations officer (COO) of Infosys. “I am here because I am a professional, and I will make space for another professional,” he says. Shibulal’s vision for Infosys 3.0 centres around the theme of “building tomorrow’s enterprise” and he has identified several technology trends around which Infosys will work with clients. He is also clear that over the years, a lot more revenue will have to come from products and platforms, rather than the people-intensive IT services model that has worked well for them in the past. “I am execution-oriented,” explains the frontman of the company, the worker bee among the seven founders, unapologetically.

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HOROSCOPE

www.GaneshaSpeaks.com Visit us Online www.indoamerican-news.com have done in the past shall ARIES Mar 21 - Apr 20: now be paying off. The fruits On the professional front, the of your perseverance and people around you will be surpatience will give you great prised to see you outdo yoursatisfaction. More so, because self. However, the purple patch you will relish the fact that you that you have been relishing for have truly earned this success, the past few weeks can make you bite off more than you can chew. Your overconfidence may without resorting to any devious means or ever adversely affect your personal life, too. You hurting anyone’s feelings. Domestic life is likely may fall for a person that you would not be able to be happier than before, and the significant to have in your life as a life partner. But your growth on the professional front will be like emotions would be so strong that you would not the cherry on the cake. As everything is likely to fall in place, this is going to be an extremely give up and keep the hopes alive. TAURUS Apr 21 - May positive phase for you. SCORPIO Oct 24 - Nov 21: The no-holds-barred indul22: A bout of impatience will gence of last week continues. get hold of you, this week. However, slow down to take You will not only try to rush stock, because if you don’t, through all the pending projyou may end up damaging ects, but shall also be in a great your health. If work is taking a toll, do your best to delegate. In fact, take your mind away hurry to get planned projects off the board, as from work and related stresses, and work to soon as you can. You shall be blessed with sufput in place an exercising plan. Times are still ficient energy to go all guns blazing now, but favourable for you to expand your business or do remember that others around you may resent professional domains. On the personal front, this frenetic burst of work. Be mindful of others, you need to be more attentive to the needs of and you shall win some brownie points. Along the way, like a marathon runner, you may lose your family. GEMINI May 22 - Jun some ground, or pace, but you will more than 21: This week, your focus make up for it later. SAGITTARIUS Nov 23 shall shift away from the selfDec 22: An off-shoot of your less services you have been new-found ability to relish rendering to others to your the present shall be the clarity own interests. Remember that of vision that you gain now, you are not being selfish. But, you now realise regarding your personal and that you do need to succeed in your own life and reach a certain level of prosperity, in order to be professional life, as well as the world at large. able to help others. This thought will work as Armed with this clear perspective, you will be in motivation, and as a result, the desire to prove an ideal position to help out all the people in your your abilities and potential will become stronger circle. You will become a good guide to them, in you. You may become short-tempered dur- guiding them as to how they should go about ing this phase. But remember that anger and their work and how best they can lead their lives. arrogance will only serve to nullify the gains But, be careful to not over step your boundaries. CAPRICORN Dec 23 - Jan you have already made. 20: Now comes the purple CANCER Jun 22 - Jul 23: patch. No sooner than you utYou shall be in high spirits ter a wish, it will be fulfilled. now, as things seem to be all You will be surrounded by going your way. But, there shall well-wishers, whether it is be too many things happening at the same time. Given this, friends, colleagues, lovers, relatives, parents or you will need to multi-task big time, and your any other acquaintances. There are ample work enthusiasm may get curbed by your feelings of and money making opportunities, but there anxiety and impatience. Besides, the deadlines will also be an increase in expenses. Domestic will be so tight that even a slight delay may cause obligations will still be a priority. In order to a great deal of stress. Apart from your routine reciprocate the goodwill that you have been work, there will be some opportunities for part- receiving from your family, you will take up in nerships and joint ventures, now. However, do earnest the work to refurbish your home environment to make it more comfortable. read the fine print before you sign any deals. AQUARIUS Jan 21 - Feb LEO July 24 - Aug 23: It is 19: This shall turn out to be an one of those phases when every eventful phase in your life. If plan of yours may produce you have been looking to get nothing but favourable results. married, this is just the right From here on, you shall now time. Stop weighing pros and go from strength to strength, and, if all goes well, your success chart shall cons, and get into the action mode. And, that soar. You may, however, earn more profits, applies to all the areas of your life. You will if you form a partnership with someone, and also gain clarity on your professional goals, then carry out your plans, instead of carrying once your personal life is sorted. In a word, your on all alone. Share with others, at least. On spouse will prove to be lucky for you in every the personal front, the single Lions may find sphere of life. If already married, work to enrich your nuptial bond with love and care. romance this week. PISCES Feb 20 - Mar 20: You may be goVIRGO Aug 24 - Sep 23: There are so many things happening in your life ing through an unbelievably favourable phase in your life now. You will right now that it would be ideal taste success in whatever you to compare your life with a kaundertake. And, your success leidoscope. Be prepared to deal shall astonish the people who with some additional stress, as know you well, and never workload, responsibilities and thought you were this caday-to-day expenditure may increase. Moreover, you may be travelling a lot, which may add pable. You will not stop at that, but will do to this pressure. However, your love life may everything in your power to build upon this provide you a breather. It may not be a serious positive trend to gain even more success. You affair, but it may be dangerous and damaging to may see this as an only way to secure the future, in the hope that one day you will be able to put your reputation and peace of mind. LIBRA Sep 24 - Oct 23: These are reward- your feet up, relax and enjoy with your near ing times for you. All the hard-work that you and dear one.

April 27, 2012 Chained Redeﬁnes Connections and Breaking Free of Shackles

BY SOWMYA NANDAKUMAR HOUSTON: What could possibly be the connection between Galesburg, Illinois, Houston, Texas, and a story of an elephant set against an Indian backdrop? Author Lynne Kelly! She was born in Illinois, moved to Houston, TX, majored in psychology, and is now a writer. Her ﬁrst book Chained is the story of a 10 year old boy, Hastin who lives in the desert lands of North India. His sister falls ill and the family is forced to borrow money to pay for her treatment. The family is now in debt and the burden of pitching in to help the family’s dire circumstances, falls on the shoulders of this little boy. He makes a brave journey away from home to a faraway jungle to work as an elephant keeper for a circus owner. Here, Hastin meets his best friend the elephant, Nandita. He discovers that the circus owner is an extremely cruel man, who keeps Nandita, chained when she is not performing tricks and he also punishes her badly until she learns and masters a trick to perfection. Hastin deeply misses his family and feels chained by his life circumstances and commitments. He senses this same feeling of yearning in Nandita. Nandita is also away from her elephant family and possibly longs to be reunited with them. Just like Hastin she also probably wants to break free of her shackles and the dominance of this cruel circus owner. Will Hastin and Nandita manage to break free and go back to where they really belong? If they do manage an escape, what happens to this deep connection that nature has brought between them? If Nandita joins her elephant

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family, will Hastin ever see his best friend again – after all they were perhaps together during the toughest of times. Through Hastin and Nandita, Lynne Kelly, the author, writes this perhaps poignantly resonating story that explores nature’s connections at various levels –the relationship between man and animal, humankind and nature, man and the environment, the fundamental desire and right of all living beings to be born free and to live free. Friendship, mutual respect, the profound principle of ‘live and let live’ and freedom for all are probably the most resounding themes of this story. Lynne Kelly majored in psychology in college, worked as a sign language interpreter and a special education teacher. She loved teaching kids and re-discovered children’s literature during her teaching years. She decided to write Chained after she learned that when a young elephant is chained, it tries hard to escape but gives up after sometime; this elephant grows with that chain and never realizes after it has grown that it actually has the strength to break free of its shackles. Just not knowing its true strength, the elephant lives a life of bondage. This fascinating fact about elephants made her want to write a story about them. Her biggest challenge while writing this book was perhaps, understanding India, and Indian culture, which were all quite alien to this Illinois born Houstonian! On Saturday, May 12, at 2:00 pm, Chained book launch party will be held at the Blue Willow Bookshop, 14532 Memorial Drive, Houston, TX 77079. For more information visit: http://www.lynnekellybooks.com/ The ﬁrst chapter of the book can also be read at http://us.macmillan.com/BookCustomPage_New.aspx?isbn=9780374312374

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India Struggles to Deliver Enough Power BY VIKAS BAJAJ NELLORE (NYT): India has long struggled to provide enough electricity to light its homes and power its industry around the clock. In recent years, the government and private sector sought to change that by building scores of new power plants. But that campaign is now running into difficulties because the country cannot get enough fuel principally coal to run the plants. Clumsy policies, poor management and environmental concerns have hampered the country’s efforts to dig up fuel fast enough to keep up with its growing need for power. A complex system of subsidies and price controls has limited investment, particularly in resources like coal and natural gas. It has also created anomalies, like retail electricity prices that are lower than the cost of producing power, which lead to big losses at state-owned utilities. An unsettled debate about how much of its forests India should turn over to mining has also limited coal production. The power sector’s problems have substantially contributed to a second year of slowing economic growth in India, to an estimated 7 percent this year, from nearly 10 percent in 2010. Businesses report that more frequent blackouts have forced them to lower production and spend significantly more on diesel fuel to run backup generators. The slowdown is palpable at Sowmya Industries, a small company that makes metal shutters that hold wet concrete in place while it solidifies into columns and beams, a crucial tool for the construction industry. The company, located outside this city on the southeast coast of India, is struggling with several issues, including a 20 percent increase in the price of raw materials and falling orders. But Sowmya’s manager, R. Narasimha Murthy, said the lack of

Dust from imported coal rising at the Krishnapatnam port near Nellore, India. Coal is produced at a laggardly rate in India. Photo: Prashanth Vishwanathan

reliable power was an even bigger problem. His company loses three hours of power every evening. And all day on Wednesdays and Saturdays euphemistically called “power holidays” it receives only enough electricity to turn on the lights but not enough to use its large metal-cutting machines. “It’s very frustrating,” said Murthy. “Power is a basic need. Everything is dependent on power.” It was not supposed to be this way. Two years ago, more than two dozen large power projects were planned near the company’s workshop, but most of them have been scrapped or put off because India cannot dig up enough coal to fuel them. Murthy’s frustrations reflect a broader national malaise. Analysts say India’s economic woes could have been easily avoided if policy makers had better addressed problems like its electricity shortage, weak infrastructure and restrictive regulations. Instead, policy makers have been distracted by corruption scandals and turf battles. “There is virtually no new investment by both the government and private sector,” said Ashok M. Advani, executive chairman of Blue Star, the biggest maker of commercial airconditioners in India. “We have such

an uncertain environment.” In the last year, the nation’s power problem has grown acute, with the gap between demand and supply jumping to 10.2 percent last month, from 7.7 percent a year earlier. In some states like Andhra Pradesh, where Nellore is, and in neighboring Tamil Nadu, blackouts have become so common that many factories report getting more electricity from diesel generators than they do from the power grid, at a cost that is roughly three times higher. A major problem is the anemic production of coal, which provides 55 percent of India’s electricity. Coal production increased just 1 percent last year while power plant capacity jumped 11 percent. Some electricity producers have been importing coal, but that option has become more untenable recently because India’s biggest supplier, Indonesia, has doubled coal prices. India has one of the world’s largest reserves of coal but it has not been able to exploit it effectively, largely because a state-owned company, Coal India, controls 80 percent of production. The company has been hamstrung by political decisions like a policy that requires it to sell coal at a 70 percent discount to market prices. Critics also say it has not invested

aggressively enough in new mines and technologies. Policy disputes have also caused problems. In recent years, coal regulators tried to open new areas to mining, but they did not coordinate their decisions with environmental regulators, who have blocked much of that mining because it would destroy dense forests. India also appears to have a lot of cleaner-burning natural gas, but it has not fully exploited those reserves, either. Private firms have few incentives to do so because the government has capped the price of that fuel. For many businesses, the power shortage has become debilitating. In the southern state of Tamil Nadu, Srihari Balakrishnan, a textile factory owner, said he goes through 6,300 gallons of diesel fuel on an average day to keep his operation running, spending $3,000 more than he would if power were available around the clock. “We are not able to use 20 to 30 percent of our capacity,” he said. “We can’t use grid power for two full days of the week. When we have power, we have a six-hour cut,” he added, using an Indian term for blackouts. Murthy of Sowmya, the shutter maker, said that his production could be 30 percent higher if he had access to reliable power. On a recent Friday afternoon, his workers were rushing to cut metal plates by the end of the day. They would not be able to use the machines the next day, when they would turn to welding the plates into shutters, which can be done with conventional power from the grid rather than industrial-grade power. “When the power shuts down, no machine here will work,” Murthy, 35, said as he walked through his workshop. “We have to plan in advance.” Murthy’s brother started the business nearly eight years ago, and together they built it to $390,000 in annual revenue. They primarily supply small

127

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contractors in the Nellore area, where the economy is dominated by rice farming and an expanding port. Just 18 miles from their workshop is the site of several proposed power plants that should have eliminated the need for arranging their work around the power schedule. V. Balashowry, the entrepreneur behind one of those power plant projects, Kineta Power, applied for a supply of fuel from Coal India four years ago. He had hoped to be producing nearly 2,000 megawatts of power by now, which would have increased the electric capacity in the state of Andhra Pradesh by about 15 percent. Balashowry, a former member of Parliament for the governing Congress Party, has already bought 1,150 acres of wooded and pasture land, including 850 acres from the state of Andhra Pradesh, and has secured environmental approval for his plant. “We have resources in India, but they aren’t able to do the proper thing,” he said, referring to government officials, during a recent interview in New Delhi. Other companies are also stuck. Reliance Power, controlled by the investor Anil Ambani, says it has stopped construction on a large electricity plant nearby because it can no longer afford to buy coal from Indonesia as planned. Murthy’s business suffers a double blow, he does not get enough electricity and there is less construction in the area, which means less demand for shutters. He says a couple of years ago, the company was thriving because the power shortage was not as acute and government projects and private construction bolstered demand for its products. He now has 10 employees, down from 15 two years ago. “It was a very rapid drop-off,” he said. “Last year, we had a night shift as well.”

INDIA April 27, 2012

Corruption is now ‘all pervasive’

India’s Rogue Gallery of Corrupt Bureaucrats BY RAJ KANWAR IAN INDIA CORRESPONDENT The cancerous spread of corruption in India is now fast becoming “all inclusive” and “all pervasive”. Its reach is so widespread and deep that it has penetrated almost every segment of the society. Broadly, the term ‘corruption’ as it is generally known was confined to politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen of all hues but now its tentacles have further extended their clutches to almost every section of the society. First, the bureaucracy: In the immediate post independence era, corruption among the bureaucrats was virtually unknown. The then civil services such as ‘Indian Civil Service (ICS), Indian Police (IP) and other Central and state services were the legacy from the colonial British government. Those officers who invariably came from highly respected and educated families were men of integrity and honor; honesty was the badge that they proudly wore on their shirt sleeves. In the British days, the only occasion that a deputy commissioner or superintendent of police or their senior or even junior officers compromise their ‘integrity’ was to accept a ‘basket’ containing bottles of Scotch or wine and sweets or fruits on occasions like Diwali or Christmas. Similarly, engineers from Central Public Works Department (CPWD) or state Public Works Departments (PWD) too accepted symbolic gifts on such festive occasions. Remember, that the whole of Lutyens’ Delhi was built by the CPWD engineers and many redoubtable construction contractors, and its buildings could not have achieved such grandeur if these engineers and contractors were corrupt. Similarly, every state capital has majestic buildings like Raj Bhawans and legislative assemblies which could not have achieved excellence if the engineers and contractors were not honest. A tehsildar or his assistant was simply content as a matter of courtesy with a ‘present’ of a tin of ghee or a bag of wheat or rice from the farmers. Those giving such gifts did not expect any undue favors; it was just enough that the ‘sahib’ has graciously accepted their ‘offering’. The seeds of corruption were sown during the middle years of the World War II when rationing was introduced

Tinu Joshi (left) and Arvind Joshi, who were suspended by the State government after the Income Tax department recovered over Rs.3 crore in cash from their residence. File Photo: A. M. Faruqui

Neera Yadav

and essential commodities became scarce and building activity surged due to military demand. Slowly in small bits, bribery found its way into departments like civil supplies, public works and even in ‘anti-corruption department’ that had then just been set up. Some units in the military like Army Service Corps (ASC), Military Engineering Services (MES) and Army Ordnance Corps became victims of this viral of bribery, though on a smaller scale. The infection even affected the police department to some extent. However, the size of bribery was small enough, unlike the extortionist levels that it has reached today. Even during the 17-year long tenure of Jawaharlal Nehru as the India’s first Prime Minister, elements of corruption and bribery were few and far in between both amongst the politicians and bureaucrats. Not many

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scandals came to surface and the administration by and large appeared honest. There was a jeep scandal in 1948 involving Krishna Menon which had then created quite a furor. Another scandal related to Haridas Mundhra that involved purchase by LIC of some ‘forged shares’ that was exposed by no less a person than Indira’s husband Feroze Gandhi. It was during that period that one of India’s wealthiest and most respected industrialists Ram Kishan Dalmia was imprisoned for “defrauding” a life insurance company that was owned by him. The Punjab’s chief minister Pratap Singh Kairon too had had to face a commission of inquiry into the charges of ‘corruption’ and ‘cronyism’ indulged by his sons and other relatives. Bofors’ was one of the most talked about scandals that allegedly involved Rajeev Gandhi who was the Prime Minister at that time. Some

other scandals during those years pertained to Nagarwala, Kalinga Tubes and Dr. Dharam Teja. In this column, I will essentially deal with the corrupt bureaucrats who by their nefarious and corrupt misdeeds brought much dishonor to their service. It is a pity indeed that some of these corrupt bureaucrats had thrown all caution to the winds and recklessly indulged in corrupt practices and caused loss of several thousand millions to the exchequer. The current hot favorite is VRS Natarajan, chairman & managing director, Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML), a government of India enterprise, involved in the purchase of Tatra trucks. CBI has intensively interrogated him and his arrest seems imminent. An IAS couple from Madhya Pradesh cadre Arvind and Tinu Joshi too has earned much notoriety when it was found to have disproportionate assets worth several hundred million rupees. The Enforcement Directorate is believed to have attached the suspended couple’s properties worth Rs. 3500 million and income tax department issued notices for tax dues of Rs. 1350 million. Interestingly, Tinu Joshi was a deputy secretary in the Prime Minister’s office during 1988-1990 while the male spouse was a joint secretary in the Ministry of Defense in 1999 during the Kargil conflict. CBI is also reported to be enquiring into his possible link with Ravi Rishi of Vectra trucks. Further, the CBI is believed to have prepared a voluminous report that gives details of evidence against this IAS couple and its associates. During last year alone, the Union government has given approval for charge sheeting several IAS officers in 15 cases of corruption. Only this month, two of the senior officers Jairaj Phatak and Ramanand Tiwari from Maharashtra were arrested for their connivance in the Adarsh Building Scam in Mumbai. CBI also has

filed a formal charge sheet against PK Jain, an Uttar Pradesh bureaucrat, and others for their involvement in the irregularities in the utilization of National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) funds. Also under the scanner is a senior IAS officer Pradeep Shukla for his involvement in a scam involving Rs. 3500 millions. The list of ‘rogues’ caught in the net is fairly long and suffice it would be to name just a few. Akhand Pratap Singh and Neera Yadav, both chief secretaries of Uttar Pradesh, will head this ‘Rogue Gallery’. A 1971 batch IAS officer Neera Yadav is the first state chief secretary to be jailed for corruption. She was sentenced to undergo four years of jail term in 2010. AP Singh too possessed disproportionate assets and reportedly used ‘ingenious’ methods of acquiring real estate. On a conservative estimate, Singh have come to possess at least 85 prime properties worth Rs. 2000 million in various locations. The corruption case registered against him in 2005 also charged him with forging the signatures of his late father and a friend for transferring the properties and routing financial transactions through fictitious bank accounts. What is shocking, however, is that Singh, who came from a blueblooded family of Varanasi, betrayed his family lineage. Singh’s father with similar initials was an upright senior IAS officer in the state and was a good friend of my late father. In earlier decades very few officers from the civil services were corrupt. Today, one will not find many officers of proven integrity in these services. Personally I have had the good fortune of knowing quite a few honest officers from IAS batches during 1950s and 60s. They were my good friends and I can personally vouch for their integrity. Even two of my IAS nephews were ‘men of probity’ and would blush at the mere mention of any suggestion of wrong-doing.

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Celebrating the ancient harvest festival and solarApril year27, 2012

Vaisakhi Special Vaisakhi Celebrations The Festival of Vaisakhi is celebrated with lot of joy and enthusiasm in the northern state of Punjab and Haryana. Farmers are jubilant over the festival as for them Vaisakhi marks the time for harvest of rabi crops. Prosperous with the bountiful produce they look forward to celebrating Vaisakhi with all eagerness. For the predominant Sikh population of Punjab Vaisakhi is one the biggest festival as it marks the foundation day of Khalsa Panth by the tenth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh. Sikh community located anywhere in the world celebrate Vaisakhi by participating in the special prayer meets and Vaisakhi processions.

Vaisakhi Celebrations by Farmers In the villages of the Punjab and Haryana, the day of Vaisakhi is full of colors and vibrancy. Cries of “Jatta aayi Vaisakhi” reverberate in the skies as gaily-dressed men and women move towards the fields to celebrate the occasion. The high point of Vaisakhi celebrations in villages is the performance of traditional folk dance bhangra and gidda by men and women respectively. The dance is simple in movement but is extremely energetic and is performed in-groups on the beat of dhol. Farmers also celebrate Vaisakhi as a Thanksgiving Day.

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, APRIL 27, 2012 • WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

After taking an early bath in ponds or rivers people visit temples or gurdwaras to express gratitude to the Almighty for the bountiful harvest and pray for prosperity and good times in future. At several places in the Punjab colourful Vaisakhi Fairs are also organized to celebrate the day. People participate in these fairs with lots of enthusiasm and charm. The major attractions of Baisakhi Fairs are the bhangra and gidda performances besides wrestling bouts, singing and acrobatics. The performance of folk instruments - vanjli and algoza is also quite popular. Food stalls and shops selling trinkets make Vaiskhi Melas even more joyful.

Vaisakhi Special

April 27, 2012

Vaisakhi Celebrations by Sikhs

Vaisakhi Mubarak ! Congratulations to the Punjabi Society of Houston on another great celebration!

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Vaisakhi is a historic harvest festival based out of the Punjab and Haryana area which starts a new harvest season as well as marking a new solar year. For Sikhs, Vaisakhi is one of most significant festivals in the Sikh calendar and commemorates the beginning of the Khalsa at Anandpur Sahib in year 1699. This was done by Guru Gobind Singh Ji (the 10th Sikh Guru) where the first Sikhs were baptized using amrit (sweet nector juice). Therefore, Indian Punjabis and Sikhs reflect on the values taught by Sikh Gurus and celebrate the Khalsa’s birth. Sikhs celebrate this very important day of their religion with joy and devotion. They take an early bath, wear new clothes and visit the neighborhood gurdwara (Sikh place of worship) to participate in the special prayer meet marked for the day. After a special ardas of kirtans (religious songs) and discourses kada prasad (sweetened semolina) is distributed

amongst all present. Later, people sit in rows to relish the langar or community lunch prepared and served by kar sevaks or volunteers. Major celebrations of Vaisakhi are organized at Golden Temple, Amritsar where the Khalsa Panth was founded on a Vaisakhi Day in 1699. Most Sikhs strive to visit Golden Temple on the occasion. Another high point of Baisakhi celebrations by Sikhs is the Baisakhi procession or nagar kirtan carried though the city under the leadership of Panj Piaras or the Five Beloved Ones. Men, women and children alikeparticipate in the Baiskhi processions with enthusiasm. Mock duels, bands playing religious tunes and performance of bhangra and gidda dance make Baisakhi processions quite colourful and enchanting. Later in the evening, people exchange greetings with friends and relatives usually with a box of sweets or other traditional gifts.

Best Wishes To All On The Occasion Of Vaisakhi From

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INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, APRIL 27, 2012 • WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

Vaisakhi Special

April 27, 2012

Vaisakhi in Hinduism & Bhuddism

Sikhs, Punjabis and Indians all over the world celebrate Vaisakhi (also known as Baisakhi) usually on the 13th April, and occasionally on 14 April. For the Hindus, it is the start of the solar New Year, and is celebrated with requisite bathing, partying, and worshipping. It’s believed that thousands of years ago, Goddess Ganga descended to earth and in her honor, many Hindus gather along the sacred Ganges River for ritual baths. The action is centered in the holy cities along the Ganges in north India, or in Srinagar’s M u g h a l Gardens, Jammu’s N a g b a n i Te m p l e , o r anywhere in Ta m i l N a d u . Hindus plant poles (wrapped in flags of goldembroidered silk) in front of their homes, and hang pots of brass, copper or silver on top. In Kerala, the festival is called ‘Vishu’. It includes fireworks, shopping for new clothes and interesting displays called ‘Vishu Kani’. These are arrangements of flowers, grains,

fruits, cloth, gold, and money are viewed early in the morning, to ensure a year of prosperity. In Assam, the festival is called Bohag Bihu, and the community organizes massive feasts, music and dancing. Swami Dayanand Saraswati founded the Arya Samaj on Baisakhi, in 1875. Therefore, Baisakhi is as special for the Hindus, as it is for Sikhs. In April, this day marks the beginning of the Hindu solar New Year. In fact, this day is celebrated all over the country as New Year day, under different names.[citation needed] Apart from the Sikhs and Hindus, Baisakhi is an important day for the Buddhists as well. The name is Vaisakha, Wesak o r Ve s a k . I t commemorates the Birth, the Awakening and the Enlightened Passing Away of Buddha Gautama who was born as prince Siddharta. The festival occurs on the full moon day of May and has no connections with either harvest festivals or New Year’s Day.

Vaisakhi Mubarak

to the entire Community ! Church’s Chicken of Houston

Sukhwinder Singh Shah & family

(Source: Wikipedia)

Best wishes to all and

Happy Vaisakhi from Nepalese Association of Houston President Madhukar Amatya

(From left ) Emcee Rachna Rauniar. NAH Secretary Rupak Rauniar, NAH President Madhukar Amatya NAH Treasurer Sanjeev Shrestha and emcee Tara Baral at the Vaisakhi Celebrations this year

6776 Southwest Freeway, Suite 450 Houston, TX 77074 713-773-4348 INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, APRIL 27, 2012 • WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

Vaisakhi Special

April 27, 2012

Best Wishes To All On The Occasion Of

Vaisakhi from

Wingate by Wyndham Houston / Willowbrook

Anup Singh 9050 Mills Road, FM 1960 and Mills Road, Houston, TX 77070 US

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INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, APRIL 27, 2012 • WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

Vaisakhi Special

April 27, 2012

Favorite Vaisakhi Recipies Gajjar da Halwa (carrot halwa)

Ingredients 2 cups - carrot, grated 1 cup - milk 1 cup - evaporated milk 1 tbsp - Pistachio, chopped ( optional) 1/2 cup - ghee [ dont gawk!!! You absolutely need this for that heavenly reason!!! Ok if you really need to cut it down to few tbsp :’( ] 1 cup - sugar [ stop smirking! You are really taking the fun out of eating this by looking at me with raised eyebrows! Use 50-50 - sugar and splenda!!!! ] 1 tsp - cardamom powder 1 tbsp - broken cashews, toasted

Servings : 2 Time Taken : 15-30 mins Method Heat a non stick pan, heat the ghee and then add the carrots, saute till the raw smell of the carrots is replaced by distinct aroma. Then add both the milk and cook for another 10min or until the milk is almost absorbed. Add sugar and cardamom and cook further till it all comes to a single mass. Now garnish this with the pistachios if using and cashews and let the taste buds take over. You can also use raisins for this recipe although I personally like this as it is.

Til Gajak (sesame brittle)

Servings : 2 Time Taken : 15-30 mins Ingredients 1 cup sesame (til) 3/4 cup jaggery 1/2 tsp cardamom powder 1 tbsp ghee 1 tsp. oil

Method Heat a heavy pan, add sesame seeds and half ghee. Roast sesame on low flame stirring continuously. Boil jaggery in 1/2 cup water to form thick syrup.

Put a droplet in a plate of cold water. If it forms a soft ball and does not spread,it is done. Add roasted sesame to syrup, mix gently, take off fire. On a rolling board, spread a film of oil, for rolling gazak. Pour sesame-jaggery mixture, and roll to 1.5 cm. thickness. Allow mixture to sufficiently cool, then mark into square pieces. Once cooled completely, break into marked squares. Store in an airtight container.

Best Wishes To All On The Occasion Of

Vaisakhi Bobby & Jasmeeta Singh INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, APRIL 27, 2012 • WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

Vaisakhi Special

April 27, 2012

Vaisakhi Mubarak !

Gurminder Singh Padda & family Kamaljit Singh Rai & family RELIGIOUS SERVICES

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April 27, 2012

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36 April 27, 2012

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, APRIL 27, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM