Friday, March 29 2013 | Vol. 32, No. 13
Indo Indo American American News
www.indoamerican-news.com Published weekly from Houston, TX
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March 29, 2013
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COMMUNITY
March 29, 2013
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Kavita Sinha: At Ease in the Seat of a Saddle
BY MANU SHAH HOUSTON: When Kavita’s father moved into a high rise apartment, the balcony offered a wonderful view of a stable and several horses below. At her mother’s suggestion, her father took her for a pony ride and 7 year old Kavita was ecstatic. All she could talk about was horses and it was only a matter of time before she enrolled in riding classes. To this day her father quips that “it was the most expensive ten dollar pony ride” Kavita took to the saddle and horses with a natural flair and affinity. Under the tutelage of her trainer, Larry Smith, who she says is “almost like a father to her”, Kavita learned to ride and train horses. But it wasn’t always fun and games. It involved honest to goodness hard work where she
Kavita and Elvis in the Adult Jumpers (credit to Jerry Mohme Photography)
was expected to take care of the horses which included washing and scrubbing them down, body clipping and cleaning out the stalls. Pretty soon, Kavita was a regular at competition circuits and more often than not came home proudly bearing the victory ribbon. Two weeks ago, she walked away with $1000 in cash prize by winning second place in the Great Southwest Equestrian Center’s Winter Series IV competition. Watching Kavita parKavita and Gwendolyn, one of the ticipate in three competimany sale horses she rides for her trainer. tions at the Great South-
west Equestrian Center, Katy, was a delight. Astride a strapping white horse, her face a study of intense concentration, she executed a perfect jump over every one of the poles making her champion of her division for the weekend. When the results were announced, an exuberant smile lit up her pretty face and Elvis, her horse knew he had a treat coming. At 19, Kavita is presently studying business at Texas A&M. Her long term plan involves running a horse farm where she plans to buy and sell horses and a degree in business would come in handy. She is also the Manager of the A&M Equestrian team which holds the record for winning the championship 12 times in a row. How does she manage to juggle her schedules between riding and studying? She catches up on her studying at night and weekends when she is not riding and has
Kavita and Thunder, one of the baby ponies she’s training at the barn.
Kavita and her current trainer, Larry Smith at a horse show in Katy.
resigned herself to a nonexistent social life due to her riding commitments. With a quick conspiratorial grin at her mother, she says that while she would have loved to own a horse she’s glad she doesn’t as she
can now ride any trained horse and has learned to handle horses with different personalities. That’s right. Horses can be as temperamental as humans. Practice sessions may be perfect but ask the horse to jump on the day of the competition and it could very well dig in its heels and refuse. There are horses that think they know it all, there are some that act like divas and will respond graciously to nothing less than profuse praise and there are some that become very attached to people. The key lies in understanding your horse and handling it accordingly – a fact, this petite, confident girl seems intent on mastering. Kavita is looking forward to a three month training program at a horse farm in Argentina this summer. She will help take care of the horses and in exchange will be trained by a world renowned horse trainer. She is also looking for sponsors to help with the expenses that will enable her to achieve a professional status. For more information, contact Sam Houston Equestrian Center at 713-433-7669 or email at info@ learnhorse.com
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INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, MARCH 29, 2013 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
COMMUNITY
March 29, 2013
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Record Crowds at Music Masala’s Hurricane Holi
ROSENBERG, TX: When an unexpected cold front hit Houston in the wee hours before Holi on Sunday March 24, the morning setup crew’s Ninad Gupte texted to headquarters “Hurricane winds here…tents are flying”, Masala Execs Sunil and Sandhya Thakkar, and the Masala team quickly nicknamed the event “Hurricane Holi.” Winds eventually died down in the middle of the event, but even then, record crowds turned up at Rosenberg’s Seabourne Creek Park to enjoy the 6th annual Aapka Colors Holi 2013. Nikhil Shukla and Sameer Goswami from AapKa Colors TV Channel have been the title sponsors for several years and this has become the signature event for them. “What we try to convey through our TV channels is evident at this Holi Mela. Celebration of life and our culture,” Diamond Sponsor Tara Energy’s Malik Jamal said, “We energize Houston, but this crowd energized us, wish there was a way to tap the energy emitting from these youths and Holi-crazed fans!” The “Green Holi” theme was evident in the new herbal and non-toxic colors sold exclusively by partnering with Gujarati Samaj of Houston. The colors just washed off, even from clothing, and were safe to mix in the environment. Bio-degradable balloons and oxygen-releasing plants beautifully decorated the stage, and the 100+ volunteer crew and Masala team wore green on lime green shirts to remind everyone to think “green” and preserve our planet. Lt. Aaron Slater on the camera exclaimed that despite the cold morning weather and winds, the event drew a record crowd, “somewhere between 16,000 and 17,000 people,” though definitely “a later crowd than normal” as the weather became more and more beautiful in the afternoon. “I was here last year and this year the crowd seemed more enthusiastic. This was well managed event and there were no issues all day which is surprising considering the number of attendees.” Indeed, the God-given air-con-
Masala Radio crew at Holi Mela at Rosenberg’s Seabourne Creek Park. Photo: AMA Photography by Aisha Khan
ditioning was a blessing with the equinox Sun beating down from a clear sky as thousands reveled in Holi madness. The highlights of the day was the multiple filmings of the Harlem Shake Holi video, with a wild crowd throwing colored powder in the air to the crazy beats of “Con los Terroristas.” BleedThrough Productions’ John Hale exclaimed, “It was the craziest thing I have ever shot, must have been a couple of thousand of people in front of the stage, dancing like they were possessed, and all listening to one guy (Sunil Thakkar) to throw Holi powder just at the right beat… madness to perfection!’ Harlem Shake Videos were shot in several locations, the largest in front of main stage with DJ Zee, and at the Gazebo Bash with DJ Nish & DJ Rizz, and in the middle of the Sponsors row with DJ AV. The Keemat Roti rolling contest had the audience rolling in laughter as Sunil T had the couples fiercly try to roll out the most rotis in 3 minutes. The winning couple Mr & Mrs Goyal won a $100 gift certificate from Gold Sponsor Keemat Grocers, and all contestans won a free bag of….you guessed it…atta! A color explosion of Holi revelers, Harlem Shake, and stage entertainment photos by AMA Photography by
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Aisha Khan are on display now on www.masalaradio.com, houstonholi.com, or facebook .com/ HoustonHoli. Sugarland City Councilman Harish Jajoo dubbed it the most organized Holi, with such a huge variety of events for every age group and taste. “You guys (Masala Radio) have really raised the standards of Indian events and festivals, I am simply amazed,” said Silver Sponsor Sanjay Khanna of Superior Granite by Vivaldi.” Contributing to the event were over 100 sponsors, 15 resturants, 35 booth vendors, 20 professional vendors, 30 Masala Crew, and over 100 volutneers from UH PhiKappaPhi, The Village School, and Austin / Bellaire / Dulles / Hightower High Schools. The entertainment-starved were fed colorful comedy by Masala Radio’s Sunil Thakkar introducing mesmerizing Bollywood dances by Houston’s leading dance schools. Ek Do Teen’s little 3 and 4 year olds stole the audience’s hearts. Shariqbhai of FunAsia was so excited that he announced free bollywood movies to all Holi revelers through the official date of Holi, March 28. Bellaire High School led by Milan das celebrated the 25th Anniversary of Hindi classes with there presentation of Oh My Ram!. Shivangini offered a reprieve from Bollywood with their folk and kathak based movements to Mere Dholna and Barso Re. Gold Sponsor Gary Yan of Alings Hakka yet again surprised the audience by presenting a range of Chinese dancers, finishing off with himself as Psy in Gangnam Style (Korea – China – same thing…!) Rhythm India with over 50 performers dazzled with their stream of dance classes, the lead group with vibrant green sarees in celebration of green Holi.
Houstonian – turned Indian TV Channel Star Mauli Dave made a rare appearance, crooning a few melodies about Holi and from her latest Bollywood releases. Finale act Nach Houston brought the house down with a music variety music montage, dramatic dancers, and the visual play of holi as their white costumes were doused with every color of the palette. Thakkars’s kids Simran and Sahil made their debut as emcee’s as they introduced the next item – their parents and the Masala Crew Dance. Masala Radio Jockeys included Prenka, Rajoo, Dilip, Alka, Bijuria, Kashmira, Priya, Naina, Ajay, Sushil, Abhishek, Priti, and Ina. Event crew included the RJs as well as Amisha and Shilpi, Rinku, Ninad, Krupa, Shivani, Hima, Shreya, Shah, Ravi, Devan, Maulik, and DJ Zee. Other mind-blowing performances were giving by Nithya Hari’s Dancing Stars, Nupur Dance School, Bollywood Shake, Shingari’s School of Rhythm, and Anonymous. The entertainment ended with a Black & White Jhalak Dikhla Jaa dance competition judged by Aapka Colors annoucning three winners, Shah & Star, Dhaval & Chandani, and the winning couple Malav & Aradhana. Aapka Colors presented the winners with luxury logo items, and all participants received designer perfumes from W Perfumes. Stage sound boomed throughout the park with a 30,000 watt system by Ad Sounds. Hordes of the “just plain hungry” were delirious with food court choices. Madras Pavilion, Mayuri, and Ashiana turned out traditional North Indian full-on fare. Sankalp dished out South Indian dosas and idlis, Sagar Indian cuisine wonderfully presented Indo-Chinese. Standard Sweets served hot fresh baturas and chole, along with very Punjabi Kadi, Maduran Mirch Masala appealed to chaat lovers. Home-style spicy kichadi and pav bhaji were a hit at Neeta’s Indian Cuisine (not for the weak-tongued)! Zaika ran out of their amazing vada pav, and
Fadi’s added the only non-Indian fare of Mediterranean cuisine. As an added bonus, HeartBeat Lives doled out classic Holi songs. And of course delicious cold drinks, sugar cane juice, faloodas, kulfis, and ice cream floated down from Baloch Ice Cream and Faloodas, Natura Ice Cream, and Chadrika Masala. The new Organo Gold dispensed samples and sold full sizes of robust organic coffee, while Ekal Vidyala gave away free chai. Alings Hakka was so busy at their restaurant, they donated their Gold sponsorship booth to Maharasthra Mandal, a non-pofit group who sold snacks for the kids. Even the row of sponsor booths were filled with crowds, especially with the freebies passed out galore. Aapka Colors provided a free photo booth (until the wind snapped the booth in half) and coveted “green” reusable luxury tote bags, Texas Children’s gave away free tambourines, and MD& Associates – free popcorn. BMW showcases three latest model BMWs, which at the end of the event were just as colored as the people. “My favorite part of Holi was the new 14-foot high Rath (Chariot) procession by SKAI foundation,” said co-association Hindus of Greater Houston rep. Vijay Pallod. The Chariot held Lord Jaganath, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, who in the story of Holi comes to rescue Prahlad from burning to death while in the lap of his evil aunt Hollika. Young singers from ISKCON chanted “Hare Krishna, Hare Rama…” as the chariot was pulled by devotees to the Holi Pragitya (bonfire) site. Due to up to 27 mph winds, the Rosenberg Fire marshal did not allow the 10-foot Holi Pratigya (bonfire) planned by the partnering Gujarati Samaj of Houston (GSH). GSH’s president Nishaben Mirani and vice-president Ajit Patel did not give up and finally received permission for a smaller Holi fire to which the devoted offered their prayers. Seema Desai of Texas Children’s Hospital exuberated, “my team of non-Indians were delighted with the warm reception they received from Indo-American families. They want to come back with their own people and enjoy the festival next year!” Indeed, there was a record turnout of non-Indians, from mounting publicity and interviews. Fox 26 News covered the event, and featured it on their Sunday evening prime time news. The Houston Chronicle covered the event on the front page of Monday’s City & State page. For more information, photos, and videos of Houston Holi, visit masalaradio.com, houstonholi. com, and facebook.com/hosutonholi. Halo Re Halo….Bura Na Mano…Holi Hai!
INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, MARCH 29, 2013 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
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COMMUNITY
March 29, 2013
Adnan Sami’s 2013 Tour in Houston: Absolutely Scintillating
BY PRAMOD KULKARNI & VANSHIKA VIPIN HOUSTON: What a difference 330 pounds makes! A slim-and- trim Adnan Sami captivated the house-full audience at Houston’s Southwest Arena Theatre last Saturday, March 23. Rehan Siddiqi of Hum Tum shows, the organizer of the Houston event has done it again. The hall was packed and it was indeed a successful sold out show. The show was hosted by Rehan himself along with Samia Adil. The audience rocked to Adnan Sami’s Bollywood hits such as Mehbooba, Salaame-ishq, Sun zara, Noor-e-khuda and swayed to his melodious tunes such as Kabhi to nazar milao, Bheegi, bheegi raaton mein,
Tera chehra, climaxing as the audience got up and danced with him on the super-hit number Lift kara de. It was a treat to watch the most awaited fastest finger performance on the piano that Adnan Sami is known for and this rewarded him with a huge round of applause from the audience. Another highlight of the show was that every lady that attended the concert was presented with a red rose and Adnan himself threw some into the audience while performing on stage. He also interacted a lot with the audience, which kept them captivated. This was among the first performnaces of the Adnan Sami’s 2013 concert tour that will take him throughout the U.S. from the Bay Area to Washington D.C. as well as Boston
Adnan Sami performed in Houston on Saturday, March 23
and Toronto in Canada. He had earlier performed in Kuala Lumpur. At the start of his concert, Adnan recalled his earlier physical state, when he weighed more than 500 lbs and his two-year residency in Houston during the 1980s. “I gave the desi restaurants on Hillcroft plenty of business,” Adnan remembered. In 2006, doctors gave Adnan only six months to live, unless he underwent a drastic weight loss. “It was tough, the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life,” Adnan said, as he took a bow to show off his trim physique to the audience. Born to a Pakistani diplomat and an Indian mother, Adnan Sami Khan lived a priviledged life in England, graduating from King’s College of the University of London. During vacations from school, Adnan learned classical Indian music from santoor maestro Shiv Kumar Sharma. During the Houston concert, Adnan showed off both his vocal and piano skills. The audience showed its appreciation when
Adnan performed “air” dholak in sync with the rhythm section of his orchestra. While the audience had anticipated Adnan Sami’s musical talents, what was unexpected was the superb sound from his Bollywood orchestra. Adnan recognized their skills when he kneeled down in praise of the orchestra, which included clarinet, dholak, drums, bass guitar and flute players. During the show the organizers thanked and acknowledged all the sponsors and media partners and the enthusiastic reaction of audience and a sold out show inspired the concert’s national promoter and local host Rehan Siddiqi to announce the second Adnan Sami performance in Houston. The show has been scheduled for April 4, at the same venue, Arena Theatre with tickets starting as low as $18. For tickets, visit www.sulekha.com or call Rehan Siddiqi at 713-545-4115. For further details see ad on page 2.
Bhakisangam: Devotional Bhajans Mangala Sane, a Professional singer (of Sargam School of Music) has recorded a CD of Devotional Bhajans of Meerabai called Bhaktisargam. The CD is now available on Amazon.com. Mangala Sane has learned Hindustani Classical music, under Guru Master Navarag, from Mumbai, India. For information about the CD and music classes, call Mangala Sane at 281-498-6126 or email at mangalamusic@gmail.com or visit Http:// mangala1.cloud.prohosting.com
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INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, MARCH 29, 2013 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
March 29, 2013
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Daya Spring Fundraiser 2013
Sunday, April 14th, 2013 • 5:00 pm - 9:00 pm Crystal Ballroom, Rice Hotel 909 Texas Ave. Houston, TX 77002 Hors d’oeuvres, Dinner and Complimentary Valet Parking Dance Instruction followed by “Dancing for the Cause” Dress Code: Stylish comfort Tickets: $175/person; $350/couple Event Underwriters: $1,500 • $2,500 • $5,000 Register by March 30, 2013 • 713-981-7645 Emcee : Indrani Goradia tions Instruc Dance
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INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, MARCH 29, 2013 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
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COMMUNITY
March 29, 2013
MTS Holds Vedic Heritage Annual Shlokotsavam 2013
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BY RAO GARUDA PEARLAND: On the last day of Spring break, March 17, the students of the Vedic Heritage School (VHS) at Sri Meenakshi Temple participated in Shlokotsavam, an annual presentation of the slokas by the junior and senior students of the VHS who are enrolled in the program. VHS program which was started in year 2000 by group of volunteers is intended to teach Hindu values, heritage and culture. Shlokotsavam started promptly with the lighting of the lamp by the MTS Education and Youth board member Meena Subramanian, followed by prayers from the senior students. The event is broken into 2 segments, juniors with ages 4 -12 years and seniors 12+ years. The children ages 4-6 years from the junior segment sang 2 verses from the various slokas including Shuklambaharadara Vishnum, Saraswati Namas-tubhyam and Om Shanno Mitrah, children aged 7-8 years gave a rendition of one Khandam from the NamaRamayana and children 9 to 12 years recited 3 verses from the Dasavatara slokas authored by the Sanskrit poet Jayadeva. He is most known for his composition, the epic poem Gita Govinda. While the junior students gave their best, the senior students flawlessly chanted 5 slokas from the first 20 slokas of Vishnu Sahasranam chosen by the judges; these students not only gave their amazing performance but also explained the meanings of the slokas they recited.They recited some of the toughest and hard to pronounce words with such ease and confidence. Even the junior
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level students recited the shlokas precisely and perfectly. Overall, apporx. 100 kids participated in the event. The wonderful performance by the students must be accredited to all the Bhajan teachers that include Kiran Parthasarathy, Nalini Sadagopan, Bhavani Iyer and Parthasarathy Krishnamurthy. Wonderfully organized by the VHS co-ordinators and led by Suraj Subramanian, Rao Garuda and Mahalakshmi Sadasivam, each segment exceeded the expectations of the audience. MTS board members Parthiban, Roopa Bala, Meena Subramanian and Raj Mikkilineni graced their presence for the event and later presented the children with trophies and certificates for their outstanding performance. These performances were judged by Venu Gopal Menon, Sridevi Menon, Kamalesh Lulla and S.A.K Raman. Kids were judged based on their pronunciation and stage presence skills. Top 3 performances from each category were chosen as winners. These winners are slated to perform at the Sri Meenakshi Temple Society Radio Program for Live Broadcast on Air on Sunday March 24. Tune into 1090AM to listen these winners perform once again. The Temple Chairman Tupil Narasiman, Malar Narayanan, Jeyam Thigarajan, photographers Milind Patil, Vishwanath Narasimhan, MTS staff, VHS Teachers and all the Volunteers made this event a memorable one.
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March 29, 2013
Interfaith Dialog at VSGH in Celebration of Sri Ramakrishna’s Birthday tion, sending out peace in all directions, praying, loving thy neighbor as thyself, believing work to be worship and turning one’s anger towards God in the sense that why hasn’t one realized God yet are some tools of dealing with theses serious issues. She concluded by saying that one is allowed to be upset but not despair and quoted
Swami Vivekananda, “Every time you worry you become an atheist.” Hence one should make life God centric. A question and answer session followed and the evening concluded with light refreshments for all. For more information, visit www. houstonvedanta.org.
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ing and helps deal with anger and anxiety. Self-mastery comes from conviction based on direct knowledge. One must take the help of the 4 yogas – Raja, Bhakti, Karma and Jnana. She compared the mind to a lake and Atman to the bottom of the lake. Vritti (cluster of thought and emotion) disturb the surface of the lake, can muddy it and cover the bottom. Anxiety and anger are such Vrittis. Samskara (tendency) of anger builds up, becomes a habit, then character. She went on to say that it is never too late to change. One must find the source and root it out and replace the feelings of resentment with compassion. Practicing medita-
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and the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. Through spiritual and devotional practices, and by intentionally projecting the opposite feeling when feeling angry and cultivating generosity, giving other people security one can conquer anger and anxiety. Pastor Matthew Vandagriff of the Christian faith had a three pronged approach to tackle these two negative emotions. They include the use and reading of scriptures (The Old and New Testament), prayer (develop faith) and lead a contemplative life. Imam Mohammed Zafarullah of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community tried to make light of the atmosphere by emphasizing that if there was no anger or anxiety, no one would have come to the congregation. He said if one could repel evil with something good (the best), anxiety and anger will disappear. He went over the advice given by their founder to shun anger, forbear, forgive, pray and show love, patience and respect for everything. Pravrajika Brahmaprana of the Vedanta Society started by pointing out the fact that to know these emotions one must first know the mind and have an idea of consciousness. The mind is an instrument (a reflection of Atman) which vacillates, is unstable and it rises and falls. The mind should be watched with the higher subjective mind and the seer experiences Satchit-ananda (existence, pure consciousness, bliss). To know “I am Brahman” is extremely strengthen-
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Pastor Matthew Vandagriff (left), Pravrajika Brahmaprana, Rabbi Jonathan Siger, Md. Zafarullah and Jason Cox.
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BY SANCHALI BASU HOUSTON: Sri Ramakrishna, the famous mystic of 19th century India preached the philosophy, “As many faiths, so many paths”. It was only befitting that his birthday was celebrated in a big way at the Vedanta Society of Greater Houston center on March 23 with a Puja and an interfaith dialog. The morning session consisted of Sri Ramakrishna’s worship performed by Pravrajika Brahmaprana from the Vedanta Society of North Texas, during which a number of devotional songs were sung by the devotees. Puja was followed by Shanti Jal (sprinkling of the holy water), Arati and Pushpanjali. A simple lunch Prasad was served around noon. The morning session was well attended and everyone enjoyed the puja and Prasad. A spiritual forum believing in the harmony of religions in the tradition of the Ramakrishna order was the highlight of the afternoon session. The topic of the interfaith dialog was “How does your religion help you in dealing with anger and anxiety?” After a brief introductory welcoming speech by VSGH president Swapna Chaudhuri, the floor was handed over to the facilitator Chaya Timmaraju. Chaya opened the proceedings by touching on the essentials and principles of the Vedanta of self-realization, leaving dogmas behind, loving fellow human beings and reminding the audience that the first propagation of these ideas to the west was done by Swami Vivekananda, a disciple of Sri Ramakrishna at the Parliament of World Religions in Chicago in 1893. The first speaker was Rabbi Jonathan Siger of the Jewish faith who connected with the audience immediately through his jovial communication. He referred to the Book of Psalms, Book of Proverbs and said that anger is toxic and is the beginning of hatred which must be avoided. The heart must be cleared of anger, to leave anger and vengeance to God and commanded to forgive and love. Next to speak was Jason Cox of the Tibetan Buddhist faith who mentioned that he had read Swami Vivekananda’s Complete Works
10 March 29, 2013
COMMUNITY
Deepika Potarazu’s Brilliant Kuchipudi Performance HOUSTON: Yuva Kala Bharathi, Natya Chudar, Singar Mani – At 19, Deepika Rukmini Potarazu has earned all these titles by dint of her prodigious talent, dedication and hard work. Deepika performed at the Kaplan Theater, JCC, on Saturday, March 16, under the aegis of Samskriti, and wowed the audience with a virtuoso performance worthy of a professional artist. Currently a sophomore at Duke University, Deepika was born in Washington D.C. and comes from a family that bears a deep appreciation for the virtue and divinity of the fine arts. She started her training in Kuchipudi at the age of eight under the legendary Kuchipudi Guru Padma Bhushan Dr. Vempati Chinna Satyam and continues
to train under his illustrious son, Guru Vempati Ravishankar. Deepika had the distinct opportunity to participate in productions and programs of the Kuchipudi Art Academy both in India and the United States, including Leela Ganapathi performed at the Music Academy Dance festival in January 2009. Deepika’s eclectic program included a Purandara Dasa Kriti in Kannada (Gajavadana Beduve), a Malayalam padam by Swati Tirunal (Aliveni Endhu Cheyyu), Rukmini Pravesam in Telugu (presented by Deepika’s younger sister Savitha), and, the piece de resistence of the evening, Lalgudi Jayaraman’s Navarasa Varnam on the Goddess Meenakshi, Angayar Kanni, in Tamil. Deepika’s rendi-
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tion of this dance was amazingly evocative and mature. Her face registered myriad nuances of various expressions, and in the blink of an eye she transformed from fierce warrior to a young woman in love. Her versatility was further seen in the complex jati-s interwoven into the fabric of the varnam, brilliantly choreographed by Guru Vempati Ravishankar. Another very unusual item presented by the
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young dancer was a Tillana in Hindolam, not only choreographed by Guru Ravishankar but also composed by him, in which he had introduced Sthanaka-s, different standing positions described in the Natya Sastra. Considering that Deepika is a young girl born and raised in the US, her profound love for Indian classical dance is really commendable, and her tenacity at pursuing it diligently, in spite of her busy academic schedule and other extra curricular activities speaks volumes for her multifaceted personality. Since 2009 Deepika has presented many solo performances at prestigious venues in India as well the United States. She has also conducted workshops for elementary school children and high school children in the United States. In addition to classical dance, Deepika has also trained in Carnatic vocal music and western drums for several years. She has also played competitive tennis. She is currently the captain of the Duke Bhangra team and the founder of the Durham Dance Alliance. Her awards T:6� and titles are also proof of her tal-
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ent and dedication. Singar Mani at National Dance Festival – Kal Ke Kalakar, Mumbai India; Maryland Distinguished Scholars Award for the Arts; the prestigious title of Yuva Kala Bharathi awarded by the Advisory Council of Bharat Kalachar for her talent in the field of Kuchipudi Classical Dance; Natya Chudar award from Kartik Fine Arts, Chennai. The award ceremony was a part of the EPIC WOMEN Conference / Performance conclave. Deepika recognizes the value of her deep heritage and has fostered a keen sense of responsibility in her mission to continue to establish Kuchipudi as a pre-eminent form of traditional Indian dance. Deepika Potarazu’s program was made possible by partial grants from the Texas Commission on the Arts and the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance. Samskriti’s next big presentation is Incredible India on Friday, May 31, 8pm at the Miller Outdoor Theatre in Hermann Park, a freeshow featuring twelve dancers of the renowned Orissa Dance Academy, India, in Gatha Odissi. For more information, visit www. samskritihouston.org.
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Vishal Mata Chowki: Saturday, April 13
BY VANSHIKA VIPIN HOUSTON: Ravi Shankar Puri, the main organizer of the event, Vishal Mata Chowki would like to invite everyone to come witness one of a kind event for the first time in Houston, scheduled for Saturday, April 13 in Shri Radha Krishna Temple located on 11625
known as Mata Rani and Vaishnavi, is a manifestation of the Mother Goddess. It is one of the most worshipped places in India. The shrine is at an altitude of 5300 feet. Approximately 8 million pilgrims visit the temple every year. Ravi Shankar Puri has recreated the same envi-
calendar. According to Hinduism, on the first day of Chaitra mahina, Lord Brahma started the creation and Nav varsh or Hindu New Year day is celebrated on the first day of this month. The second half (Shukla Paksha) of Chaitra mahina is celebrated as famous Navratri. The Sri Ram Navami festival (celebrating the birth of Lord Ram) falls in the Shukla Paksha on the Navami, the ninth day of the month of the Chaitra mahina. It is also known as Chaitra Masa Suklapaksha Navami, and this marks the end of the nine-day Chaitra-Navratri celebrations. Jalpan and langar (food) will be served from 6–8pm. At 8:30pm, there will be Jyoti Prachand by Manish Goel and family. The event is sponsored by MyAutoDesire.com.
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Maa Vaishnav Devi
Beechnut. One of the main features of the event will be Mata Vaishno Devi Gufa Darshan along with jhakiya (tableaux). Vaishno Devi Mandir is one of the holy Hindu temples located in the hills of Vaishno Devi, Jammu and Kashmir, India. In Hinduism, Vaishno Devi, also
ronment here in Houston, far away from home. It will be a unique experience for all Mataji devotees as this has never been done before here. The event is a Navratri special and is being organized for Chaitra mahina (month) or Chaitra maas. This is the first month in the Hindu
After the success of Ram leela 2012, directed by Kusum Sharma, Shri Natraj School is now open for enrollment For more information, call Ravi  Bharatnatyam  Northwest Shankar Puri at 713-480-7284 /  Kathak  Galleria 832-447-5655 or email at JaiM Bollywood  Sugarland EMIR-16908-8 aaHouston@gmail.com or KrishIce/Boredom Skytrax Print na@srkt.org 832-423-2039
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INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, MARCH 29, 2013 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
12 March 29, 2013 ALEXANDER P. MATHEWS, CPA For Services In:
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Town Hall Meeting Held by HPD and Cell Phone Store Owners
25 Years in Public Accounting 11104 West Airport, Ste 114, Stafford, TX 77477
(281) 564-9500 HOUSTON: Cellphone robbery is a growing concern in the Houston area. In this context, the town Hall meeting was organized by Houston’s prominent businessman, Rehman Moton along with HPD and was attended by Chief Charles A McClelland Jr., Asst Chief John Chen, Asst Chief George Buenik and Major Armando Tello, Jr. (HCSO) Lieutenant Troy Finner of HPD along with various other Heads of Departments from HPD Robbery Division, Homicide, also Captains from South Gessner, Midwest, Southwest, Westside Division were also present at the meeting along with the Houston Cell phone store Owners and Convenient store owners. The community was well represented by over 300 cell phone store owners and over 200 convenient stores owners. The concerns and questions raised by the community ranged from robbery to prostitution, murders, stolen phones sold on Craig’s list and re-
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Rehman Moton (left) with Chief of Police Charles a McClelland Jr.
cent murder recurring robbery at same stores, stolen phones being sold on Craig’s list etc. The HPD answered the questions very patiently and also educated the audience about preventing crime. The chief updated the community regarding the recent murder at the Boost Cell phone store and said that the suspect is now in custody.
Rehman Moton, on behalf of the business community, gave a vote of thanks Chief McClelland Jr. and the Police Department & Harris County Sherriff Department, representatives for taking the time out from their busy schedule to attend the meeting. He also thanked the Houston community and Officer Muzaffar Siddiqi for making this event possible.
Bengali Radio Program “Better Bangla” Turns Two BY SANCHALI BASU HOUSTON: On March 5, 2011 a new Bengali radio program Better (Betaar) Bangla was launched at the initiative of Gopa Mallick and Rajib Mukerji. This was a dream that came to fruition out of sheer passion and love of the cofounders for the Bengali culture, music and radio. This weekly one hour show has gained popularity over the last two years and is now uploaded on You-tube every week. You can listen to this Bengali program every Saturday in the Houston area at 5pm by tuning in to 1460 AM and all over the world by logging on to www.betterbanglaus.com On Saturday, March 16, Better Bangla celebrated its 2nd anniversary at its studio on Rockley Road in a big way. Several invitees, fans, regular listeners and wellwishers had come to the studio to congratulate, encourage and support them. Since they began their journey, they have grown from strength to strength and listeners look forward to their show week after week. The program not only caters to the Bengali listeners, but also appeals to non-Bengalis. The latter like to listen to the melody of the sweet Bengali language. In fact some of them were present at the studio to
meet their favorite radio jockeys. Some Bengalis/non-Bengalis who had forgotten the language hear the program just to stay in touch with the language. Some unique features about this Bengali program are; it incorporates a news segment, several quizzes based on general knowledge, recitations, Shruti-Natoks and discussions on current topics. They do not cover religion/politics and is mainly geared towards promoting the Bengali language. Each program is very well thought out and has a great selection of music, poetry, drama and quizzes. Since 2012, Kakoli Mukerji has joined the Better Ban-
gla crew and has a huge fan base. Subhashis Mallick also helps out whenever needed and provides a lot of support to the regular crew. The team had arranged for great refreshments at the radio station and everyone partook in the vegetable chops, cookies, cake and soft drinks. The fans took turns in coming live on air and expressing their thoughts and since the day was dedicated to the anniversary, the program on March 16 was spent in taking as many calls from listeners as possible. Many called in to wish the Better Bangla team continued growth and success. For more information, visit http://www.betterbanglaus.com.
INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, MARCH 29, 2013 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
COMMUNITY
March 29, 2013
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DAV School Alumnus Roma Wins National Scholastic Writing Award HOUSTON: Roma Nayyar, an 8th grader from TH Rogers, and an alumnus of DAV Montessori School at Arya Samaj, has won a National Scholastic Award for her short story, “Blind Man’s Sight”. The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, celebrating their 90th anniversary this year, have recognized the exceptional vision of our nation’s youth, and provide a singular opportunity for students to be noticed for their creative talents. Roma qualified for the national competition by winning Gold Key in the Texas regional portion of the competition. More than 230,000 works of art & writing were submitted for the regional competitions this year, and just 1900 - less than 1% - won a national award. Roma will be honored on May 31 at a special ceremony at Carnegie Hall, in New York. The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards have an impressive legacy and past award recipients include celebrated authors and artists such as Andy Warhol, Sylvia Plath, Truman Capote, Richard Avedon, Robert Redford and Joyce Carol Oates amongst others. These awards continue to be the country’s longest-running and most prestigious recognition program for creative young artists and writers in grades 7-12. Roma is also
ASIA SOCIETY PRESENTS!
Malavika Sarukkai Roma Nayyar, an 8th grader from TH Rogers, and an alumnus of DAV Montessori School at Arya Samaj, has won a National Scholastic Award for her short story, “Blind Man’s Sight”.
a prolific reader and has consistently raised the most amount of funds for Jeevan Prabhat in the annual Readathon conducted by DAV Sanskriti School at Arya Samaj.
Read us online at
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Legendary bharata natyam choreographer/dancer performs Darshan: Seeking the Divine Presented in partnership with Samskriti: Indian Performing Arts
APRIL 5, 2013 7:30 pm
Members $18 Seniors/Students $20 Nonmembers $25 Purchase online at AsiaSociety.org/Texas
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14 March 29, 2013
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16 March 29, 2013
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HSA Gateway 2013: A Unique and Enjoyable Experience
BY ANNA LI Brightly colored dresses twirling in the air. The rhythmic clacking of dandiya sticks as they kept the beat. Joyful laughter mingled with traditional garba music filling the room. I’ll admit, I was feeling a bit of dÊjà vu. Back in October, at my first garba, if someone had told me that I would be dancing to the same music again a few months later at a Hindu Students Association (HSA) retreat, I would have immediately dismissed the thought. Sure, it was fun, but at the time, I thought it was just a one-time thing. Yet, there I was, at Gateway 2013, easily recognizable in the crowd of Indian students as the only East Asian attendee. And I was having a blast. Coming into the weekend, I did not know what to expect. As a believer and follower of Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, I knew that my views on faith and God were not the same as those of everyone else. However, I had already been attending the HSA meetings at the University of Texas at Dallas for a few months and learning more about Hinduism through the weekly meetings as well as through conversations with my roommate Apeksha Saxena and several other friends. I decided to continue to keep an open mind and ready ears to hear the views and
the weekend were visible all over Facebook during the few days following the retreat. It was a unique and enjoyable experience that allowed me to learn more about Hinduism and connect with students at different campuses, and I am very glad that I was able to go.
Photo: Usama Harris
beliefs of others over the course of the weekend. Although I did not share the same ethnic background or religious beliefs as anyone else at Gateway, I was welcomed as soon as I arrived at the retreat site, and everyone’s friendliness and hospitality continued to be extended to me throughout the weekend, for which I was very thankful. On the first night, when we split up into our family groups, which were named after bears, I was proudly christened a Brown Bear by the leader of our group. During various parts of the retreat, I got to make new friends, both from UT Dallas and from other universities as well. Out of the three speakers that came to Gateway, I would have to say that my favorite was Acharya Suryanarayan Nandaji. He was incredibly gracious and kind and willing to talk with everyone. On Saturday morning, he led a havan, which was a new experience
for me, since I had only visited a temple before. I enjoyed the opportunity to bring an offering to the fire, which symbolized God, as well as the chance to hear Acharyaji answer various questions that the students had at the end of the havan. His willingness to come and share his wisdom with us was very touching. I also enjoyed the presentation by Ramya Ravi, HSA’s National President and Ruchita Naik, HSA’s National Vice-president on how and why HSA was started several years ago on a national level, is a fairly recent development and is also very much student-run. As a part of Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, which is a national, staff-led organization with various chapters around the United States, I was interested to hear the perspective of students who had started another national religious organization. One of the other major high-
lights of the weekend for me was the bhajans on Saturday night. It was such a blessing to have the chance to hear different students singing and playing devotional songs and using their talents as an offering of worship. Even though I could not understand the lyrics, everyone who performed did a wonderful job. Later on in the evening, after the garba was done, I got to sit with a few others and listen to Varun Mehta, HSA’s former National president and Siddharth Shah give an informal encore performance as they sang and played more bhajans. For me, it was like sitting up close at a live concert, and it was almost unreal getting to listen to such beautiful live music. Overall, I had a great time at Gateway 2013, even though I am neither a Hindu nor an Indian. I am so thankful to have friends who convinced me to attend as well as new friends who I met at Gateway. The bonds that were formed over
Anna Li is a student at University of Texas at Dallas, Class of 2013.
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EDITORIAL
March 29, 2013
English Vinglish If you are ‘Angrezi-knowing’ you could be on your IT officer’s list of suspects. In an effort to fill the government’s perennially depleted coffers, the taxman has been instructed to cast his net far and wide to get more people to start paying income tax. Among the telltale signs that income tax officers have been told to look out for are the purchase or sale of property; the acquisition of a new vehicle, particularly if it belongs to the top-end, luxury segment; large bills run up in hotels and restaurants; foreign holidays; and sizeable credit card expenditure. But the taxman seems, at least so far, to have overlooked one obvious indicator of income tax liability: knowledge of the English language. If you are, as they say, `English-knowin’ in India you almost certainly belong to the income-taxable class, quite possibly even to the super-income taxable class, comprising people whose annual income is Rs one crore-plus. As even diehard ‘Angrezi hatao’ proponents like Mulayam Singh Yadav are belatedly discovering, English is increasingly the language of success — even mega-success — in India. There are, arguably, more English-speakers — all right, ‘Angreziknowers’, if you prefer — in India than the populations of England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and the Irish Republic combined. After the USA, India has the largest English-speaking population in the world. Until it is replaced by Chinese, English will continue to be the language of international commerce, and India has a huge advantage in that English is one of the recognised languages of the country`s Constitution. All ‘English-knowers’ — from BPO operators and bank clerks to multi-national CEOs and entrepreneurs with global connections — conduct their professional lives in English. And all these people are — or should be — assessed for income tax. So here`s a tip for the taxman: track down all English-speaking Indians and see if they`re paying their due share of tax. How do you track down English-speakers without actually tapping their telephones and resorting to similar Big-Brother-is-watching-you types of skullduggery? Quite simple. Use media research agencies to find out who watches which TV channels and shows. The news in English, or the news in Hindi or regional languages? Saas-bahu soaps or Discovery? Or, better still, both? (Many, if not most, educated Indians are equally comfortable with Hindi/regional language as with English, and use two or more languages interchangeably.) Similarly, the taxman could take a look to see who is reading what magazines and newspapers, and in what language. If advertising for high-end products and services is anything to go by, the English-medium press, by and large, has a very well-heeled readership. And it is likely that not a few of them are being economical with the truth when it comes to filing their tax returns. So next time you sell your old newspapers to the raddiwala, take care. He just might be an IT informant. Jug Suraiya in Times of India
A Coach, An Adviser or Know-It-All
BY FARIDA HASANALI “I need to lose 20 pounds, what do I do?” “I hate my life, what do I do?” “Will you find me a job?” I get asked these and many other questions almost on a daily basis. For some, I have an immediate answer and I see the person follow through with my suggestions, and then with others I just get frustrated. I get frustrated because it seems like people ask for advise or help but they don’t really want it. I came across one such person today that got me thinking about how I could be more effective as a coach and an advisor. I would like to share some of my research with you because I am sure you either ask questions or answer other people’s questions; in both cases this should help. Before we go any further, let me point out the differences between a coach, an advisor and a know-it-all. The Know-it-All is neither a coach nor an advisor, they have an opinion and regardless of whether you ask for help or not, they are going to give it to you. An advisor is someone who suggests things. He/she may suggest a complete solution, they may suggest a different way of looking at a problem, or suggest sources where you can get solutions. The key is, an advisor is hands off, they give you the information, and you are responsible for making things happen. A coach is much more hands on. A coach makes suggestions and then gently nudges you to follow through. According to M. Farouk Radwan, MSc. a coach should consider the following guidelines: • Don’t always believe what they tell you—sounds weird right? Truth is people’s opinions are biased by their perception of reality. A good coach would first make sure he has validated the opinions for himself before giving out any advice or suggestions. • Don’t prove them right—I come across this behavior all the time when asked how to lose weight. People will ask for advice because they want to prove they cannot be helped. Once they rationalize they cannot be helped then they can continue living their lives without guilt. A response might sound like “see, I told you my body
An advisor is someone who suggests things. He/ she may suggest a complete solution, they may suggest a different way of looking at a problem, or suggest sources where you can get solutions. The key is, an advisor is hands off, they give you the information, and you are responsible for making things happen. is different, I took your advice and it didn’t work. It’s useless for me to try to lose weight.” • Open their eyes to self-deception—the previous example works great for this one. “If only I could wake up in the morning, I could workout and I would lose weight.” Actually their mind prevents them from waking up because of their fear that they will not lose weight. It’s important to address the self-deception at the start. • Show them reality—easier said than done! But it’s very important to show the person the results that will surface if only they follow through. For instance, in the weight-loss example I would explain the difference between dieting and life-style changes and how life-style changes are a permanent change versus dieting which is short-term satisfaction of losing a couple pounds and then gaining back 10. • Show them the way first, then motivate them—give actual solutions not suggestions. With the person trying to lose weight, help them breakdown their daily calorie consumption, tell them what they should and shouldn’t eat and then motivate them to follow through to get the best results. If you give actionable advice, you will help
build trust and the person will make an effort to listen to you more. One important point to remember is for you to be open to learning whilst coaching others. Every time you ask someone to do something or say something, think about applying it yourself and whether or not you had some biases that led you to say something or lead some one along a certain path. No one can be bias free, every experience in our lives teaches us something and we look at life through those lenses. The key as a coach and even as an advisor is to be aware of your own biases and not to instill them on the person asking you for the advice. Source: http://www.2knowmyself. com/coaching/how_to_coach_people Farida Hasanali is a freelance writer for several Indo-American publications. In her day job, she works as a Knowledge & Program Manager for BP’s Remediation Management Division.
Power of a Surname
BY SANTOSH DESAI The power of a surname is never more evident than in the case of the most famous surname in India. As if being Nehrus was not enough, Indira Priyadarshini’s marriage to Feroze Gandhi, gave the family a surname unsurpassed in political import. The Nehru-Gandhi moniker conflates the two towering giants from India’s freedom struggle, and showers an implicit legitimacy on the family. And yet, just as some surnames radiate this mysterious power, in a more general sense, what value does this institution provide today? Everyone needs a name for the purposes of identification, but do all of us really need surnames in this day and age? It is easy to see why the institution was needed in earlier days, when society was organized on the basis of where one came from but what value does it have today when we are known not so by our past but by our present?
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Aabid Surti: The Painter Who Catches Every Drop MUMBAI: Save every drop or drop dead. That’s all Aabid Surti has to say to each one of us. The National Award winning septuagenarian author and artist, along with a partner, plugs drips in homes in a Mumbai suburb, free. Aabid Surti is a National Award winning author, artist, cartoonist and playwright. But ask him what his proudest achievement is and he will tell you he has saved more than 1.5 million litres water from going down the drain, literally! The 77-year-old celebrates Sunday like none else, picking a building in Mumbai’s far-flung suburb Mira Road and, with his plumber and a volunteer in tow, searching it for leaking taps to plug. Free of charge. His reward? “A lot of water saved.
And sometimes, an offer for lunch,” he says simply. Surti’s non-governmental organisation, Drop Dead, has just one employee – him. Surti learnt the value of water young. “I was brought up on Mumbai pavements, where every drop of water counts. There are fights over water there, sometimes very violent ones. So I can’t tolerate the thought of even a drop being wasted.” Thought turned into action when, while visiting a friend’s house, he heard the annoying drip of a tap and asked his friend why he hadn’t fixed it yet. The reply was one we have all heard before – “I will get it done”. The action was again what most of us have done before – nothing. Surti’s friend justified his inaction by saying no plumber was ready to
come for such a small job. It was then that Surti decided to bring home the plumber. “I read an article that if one drop of water is wasted every second, 1,000 litres goes down the drain every month. An image of 1,000 bottles of 1-litre Bisleri bottles flashed before my eyes,” Surti recalls. He couldn’t ignore that image. The year was 2007, the international year of water. Surti used the Rs 100,000 prize money of the Hindi Sahitya Sanstha Award he received from the Uttar Pradesh government to kick off his mission. Every Sunday, Surti spends about Rs 600 on visit homes and fix taps. To raise money to take this initiative to other places, he prints T-shirts with his NGO’s logos and sets up stalls at exhibitions and fairs. “I spend Rs 100 to get a T-shirt made. I ask the buyers to pay me anything above Rs 100.” Some pay Rs 110, some Rs 1,000! All it takes to fix a leak is a washer, which costs a piddly 50 paise – 25 paise if bought in wholesale. The plumber’s charges and the commute are the real cost of the social service. Annually, Surti visits an average of 1,600 homes and fixes around 400 leaky taps, saving around 414,000 litres water. He takes the permission of building secretaries before approaching the households. The response is always
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positive. “The only time I was refused was when I took the permission of the building secretary but the president did not let me enter because of some ego issues between the two.” Now, Surti wants the Drop Dead movement to go to other parts of the country, courtesy local volunteers. “I am looking for people who are interested in this. I am ready to give them my logo and everything else. I don’t even want my name on their material. All I want them to do is help save water,” he says. Also on his wish-list are an office to hire more staff and a two-wheeler for his plumber to respond to emergency leaks. The Gujarat-born author’s mission has attracted the attention of not just local but also international media. A crew from Germany accompanied him to homes and shot footage of the taps being repaired. Later, this was aired across Europe in a documentary called ‘Wasserknappheit in Bombay: Kampf um den letzten Tropfen’ (Water shortage in Bombay: Struggle for the Last Drop). Not one to preach, Surti has a short message for every Indian. “You may not be able to save the Ganges or the Yamuna from where you are but you can save a few drops here and there, and those few drops count.” In the summer of 2013, the state where Aabid lives is expecting its worst drought in 40 years. Months in advance, the Chief Minister Prithviraj Chauhan has warned citizens to begin conserving water. While ministers lobby for drought-relief packages worth millions of dollars, Aabid sees his own approach as simple and inexpensive. As he rings another door-bell on yet another Sunday in Mira Road, seven years into his one-man mission, he says: “Anyone can launch a water conservation project in his or her area. That’s the beauty of this concept. It doesn’t require much funding or even an office. And most importantly, it puts the power back in our own hands.” - Thealternative.in
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March 29, 2013
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Musharraf Returns to Pakistan to Lukewarm Reception and Taliban Threats
BY JON BOONE KARACHI (Guardian): After more than four years in self-imposed exile the former general who led Pakistan for nearly a decade has returned to his homeland to a noisy but relatively modest reception. Pervez Musharraf, the former army chief who grabbed power in a military coup in 1999, hopes to reclaim a role in national life by leading his party in historic elections in seven weeks’ time. But despite concerted efforts to generate excitement, including a smattering of tweets and photos showing the various stages of his journey from his home in Dubai on Sunday morning, he was greeted at the VIP terminal at Karachi airport by about 1,500 people – a small crowd by the standard of Pakistani politics. Many of his supporters claimed more police blocked people from coming to the airport, but there were no signs of any restrictions on the roads. It was a far cry from the return of Benazir Bhutto from exile in 2007 when vast crowds of her supporters flocked to the streets to watch her pass in a slow moving procession from the airport in Karachi, which was attacked by a suicide bomber. She survived the attack but was later killed at a rally in Rawalpindi Senior police officials say they have been inundated with security threats against Musharraf too. On Saturday, the Pakistani Taliban released a video in which Adnan Rashid, a former Pakistani air force officer who has previously attempted to assassinate Musharraf, boasted that the organisation had prepared a “death squad for Musharraf” including suicide bombers, snipers and a “close combat team”. Officials in Karachi refused to grant Musharraf permission to travel in a procession to the
rather be here trying to serve his country.” Despite Musharraf’s willingness to take risks, he avoided coming back to Pakistan while the threat of arrest hung over him, preferring instead to bide his time in London and Dubai. He faces charges of failing to provide adequate security to Bhutto on her return, the alleged murder of Nawab Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has arrived Akbar Bugti, and treason back in Pakistan, ending four years of self-imposed exile in the case of his sacking and defying death threats. of Pakistan’s top judges in 2007. grand tomb of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, PakiBut last week Musharraf was granted protecstan’s founding father. tive bail by a judge, meaning there was no risk Hours after his regular commercial flight of his being arrested the moment he stepped touched down in the southern port city he fi- off the plane. The decision prompted Human nally emerged on the steps of the VIP terminal Rights Watch to warn that he should not be at Karachi airport only after most of the crowd allowed “to elude serious legal proceedings had been dispersed by police. against him”. Musharraf directed his waves and fist bumps His old political enemies also seem to have towards a nearby bank of television cameras softened their line, apparently no longer seeing and journalists, a handful of whom were wear- him as any great threat. The PML-N, the faction ing body armour. With no equipment to amplify of the Pakistan Muslim League led by Nawaz his voice, only the television microphones had Sharif, the former prime minister deposed by any chance of picking up what he had to say. Musharraf in 1999, has softened his tone against “Where has the Pakistan I left five years ago the former dictator, saying all Pakistani citizens gone?” Musharraf asked. “My heart cries tears have a right to live in their country. of blood when I see the state of the country toThe return to democracy in 2008 has not imday. I have come back for you. I want to restore pressed Musharraf’s supporters who despair at the Pakistan I left.” Musharraf has a small but the record of the Pakistan Peoples party (PPP), committed fanbase in Pakistan. “He is an honest which swept to power at the head of a coalition man, a risk-taker and a go-getter,” said Farooq government after Bhutto was assassinated on Dawood, a retired naval officer among the the campaign trail. crowd to greet him. “He could have continued “Democracy is not working in Pakistan,” said enjoying a very good life in Dubai, but he would Moiz Iqbal, a 24-year-old accountancy student.
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“People are poor in Pakistan, we just want peace and economic stability. “It doesn’t matter if we are a democracy or a dictatorship as long as we have peace, employment and a good economy.” Despite persistent fears that democracy in Pakistan will once again be interrupted, the country continues to move remorselessly towards historic general elections on 11 May, which, if successful, will be the first time one democratically elected government has handed over power to another. In another important step, the election commission of Pakistan on Saturday announced that Mir Hazar Khan Khoso, an 84-year-old retired judge, would serve as interim prime minister in the runup to election day. Meanwhile, the country’s two biggest parties, the PPP and the PML-N, continue to make preparations for what is set to be a tightly fought campaign. Imran Khan, a rising politician determined to challenge the established parties, has also been ramping up his campaign. On Saturday, he attracted crowds estimated to be in excess of 100,000 to a mass rally in Lahore held by his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party. Few analysts believe Musharraf’s All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) will be anything more than a sideshow to the three-way tussle between the PPP, PML and PTI. Musharraf, who appears to partly gauge his support on Facebook followers (of which he claims he has more than Imran Khan), may even struggle to win a seat for himself. There is speculation he will contest a seat in the mountain region of Chitral and possibly in Karachi as well if he succeeds in winning support from the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, a party that dominates the port city.
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1993 Blasts: Sanjay Dutt Heads Back to Jail, Yakub to Gallows in Mumbai Blasts Case BY BHADRA SINHA (HT) Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt is headed back to jail with the Supreme Court on Thursday upholding his conviction for illegal possession of a weapon in connection with the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case. The court, however, reduced his sentence from six to five years — the minimum under the Arms Act. “We could not have given a sentence less than what is prescribed in law,” it said. The 53-year-old actor has four weeks to surrender before a Mumbai court. He is looking at three-and-ahalf years behind bars since he has already served 18 months. He has been out on bail since November 2007. Dutt’s is the most high-profile conviction in the case. The court also upheld the death sentence of Yakub Memon, younger brother of absconding mastermind Tiger Memon, while commuting the death penalty of 10 others to life, clarifying they would remain in jail till their death. A bench of justice P Sathasivam and justice BS Chauhan also acquitted two persons while permitting the release of a prisoner who is an AIDS patient. Thirteen bombs had gone off in Mumbai on March 12, 1993, killing 257 people — one of the first and deadliest terror strikes in India. Dutt, found guilty of possessing an AK-56 assault rifle the conspirators had brought into the country, said on Thursday, “I still believe in the judiciary. My family is with me and I am still strong.” His sister, Lok Sabha MP Priya Dutt, was the only family member in court. “At this moment I don’t know what to say,” she said, almost breaking down. Dutt pleaded with the court to let him off on probation on grounds of his past good conduct, but his petition was rejected. “The circumstances
Actor Sanjay Dutt walks past a group of policemen outside Tada Court in Mumbai on 18 October 2006. (AFP)
and nature of the offence are so serious... they don’t warrant the benefit of the provisions of the Probation of Offenders Act,” the bench said. The only legal recourse available to Dutt is a review petition. “The law grants him the opportunity to approach SC for a review,” said former Delhi high court judge RS Sodhi said. He also said the MaSanjay Dutt and fellow inmate Yusuf harashtra government, Nulwalla sit in a police van in Mumbai on 02 if it wanted, could August 2007, as they are moved from the consider granting Dutt city’s Arthur Road jail to Yerawada Jail in clemency under article Pune. (AFP)
161 on the executive side. “After all, he is not a terrorist but just a convict under the Arms Act.” Dutt’s confession under the stringent Terrorist Activities and Disruptive Act after his arrest on April 19, 1993 and his telephonic conversation with mastermind Dawood Ibrahim’s brother Anees Ibrahim proved fatal. The SC declared his confession that he had received a cache of arms two months before the attack from which he had retained the AK-56 - as voluntary and truthful. The actor claimed he kept the weapon as his family was under threat after the Babri demolition. The court also rejected his retraction a year-and-half later.
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Unregulated Deposit-Taking Companies Make Hay in West Bengal BY MANISH BASU & ROMITA DATTA KOLKATA (MInt): India’s capital market regulator has written to the Union finance ministry at least twice in the recent past to appoint a watchdog to oversee the rapid expansion of deposit-taking companies. Though they exist across the country, their proliferation has been most noticeable in the past few years in eastern Indian states such as West Bengal. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has written to the finance ministry saying the task of overseeing such companies should be given to a regulatory body, but hasn’t made a case for itself to be made the watchdog, said a Sebi official. The development comes in the wake of Sebi’s protracted legal battle against at least two such companies, MPS Greenery Developers Ltd and Rose Valley Real Estates and Constructions Ltd in West Bengal, to stop them from collecting public deposits under so-called collective investment schemes (CIS). Despite issuing cease-and-desist orders a number of times, Sebi has not yet been able to stop these firms. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor D. Subbarao and deputy governor K.C. Chakrabarty have said several times in the recent past that these companies, though receiving public deposits, do not come under the banking regulator’s jurisdiction. The products these firms mostly sell to raise money from the public are so designed that under the current legal framework, neither Sebi nor RBI can regulate them. Indeed, CIS falls within Sebi’s jurisdiction, but most of these companies take money selling products that cannot be classified under such schemes. The problem partly stems from the convoluted definition of CIS, said the Sebi official who declined to be
An advertisement by Sumangal Industries in a Bengali newspaper offers attractive returns on potato bonds. Photo: Indranil Bhoumik/Mint
named. Sebi’s campaign against CIS operators in West Bengal has not had much success because of the intervention of district courts in the state. As many as six district courts passed injunctions last year on Sebi’s cease-and-desist order against MPS Greenery Developers, the Sebi official said. Only the Securities Appellate Tribunal has the jurisdiction to review orders passed by Sebi, but that contention has been challenged many times in court, including at the Calcutta high court two years ago by the Rose Valley Group. Sebi even moved the Supreme Court against such firms, but could not make much headway. The growing exasperation at not being able to control these companies is now visible within the West Bengal state administration as well. West Bengal is planning to introduce a law to regulate deposit-taking firms, one that’s more effective than the 2009 legislation that could not be implemented for want of the President’s nod, H.K. Dwivedi, principal secretary in the state finance department, said while addressing a chamber of commerce.
Under existing laws, the state administration can initiate criminal cases of fraud and cheating only on receiving complaints from depositors. The 2009 legislation, if implemented, would have enabled the state to intervene even before such a complaint was received. But taking on these firms could have “huge political implications”, according to a Kolkatabased professor of economics, who did not want to be identified. West Bengal’s finances have been indirectly impacted by the growth of deposit-taking companies because it now receives a much smaller amount than earlier as a long-term loan from the government’s small savings collections. All states receive 80% of incremental small savings deposits (net of redemptions) every year in the form of a 25-year loan that comes with a five-year moratorium. West Bengal, which has traditionally had a high savings rate, used to receive in excess of Rs.6,000 crore every year as loan from small savings deposits. Because of the moratorium on repayments through the first five years, this loan was invaluable for cash-strapped states such as West
Bengal though in the long run it also increased public debt. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee has been crying foul over the state’s indebtedness (West Bengal owes more than Rs.2 trillion) and the paucity of funds for development initiatives. Her difficulties have intensified because of the falling collection in small savings schemes, said the economist cited above. Over the past few years, net small savings collections have plunged— they are expected to fall to Rs.100 crore in the current fiscal year from around Rs.1,000 crore last year and from Rs.8,000 crore in 2010-11. Gross deposits have not taken a hit as yet, according to Jameel Asghar, regional director of small savings in Kolkata. “But people are not reinvesting matured deposits with us,” he said. “The money, I suspect, is going to deposit-taking companies, which pay much higher returns.” The leading firms have taken in thousands of crores from millions of investors. Rose Valley Hotels and Entertainments Ltd—one of the biggest deposit-taking companies in West Bengal—for instance, had at the end of fiscal 2012 around Rs.2,900 crore of public deposits, according to latest available filings with the Registrar of Companies (RoC). The company is part of the Rose Valley Group. MPS, another big deposit taker, owed 1.6 million depositors Rs.1,320 crore, according to its chairman and managing director Pramatha Nath Manna. Rose Valley, however, denies taking public deposits. In an emailed statement, it said that all its “businesses are legitimate”. Rose Valley takes money under its “holiday membership plan for booking of room at our various hotels/resorts on time-share basis”, the company said. It repays people only if they “surrender” their membership plan. “This…does not violate any rules and regulations ap-
plicable in India,” it added. The company, according to its website, owns and operates a large chain of hotels, most of which are in West Bengal. From them, it received in fiscal 2012 a consolidated revenue of Rs.24.35 crore, according to RoC filings, whereas income from other sources, mostly interest on bank deposits, was Rs.64.22 crore. In January 2011, Sebi issued an order asking Rose Valley Real Estates to stop taking “earnest money in equated monthly instalments” from the public for the purchase of land, because the market regulator viewed it as CIS. The firm did not have the necessary licence to pursue such a business, Sebi said in its cease-anddesist order. MPS’s Manna said his company had obtained “appropriate legal advice” against Sebi’s allegations of wrongdoing. Under the Constitution of India, his 17-year-old firm had all legal rights to pursue its businesses, and it had so far repaid Rs.1,000 crore to depositors, he added. MPS runs various agricultural ventures using public deposits as working capital. The collective revenue from these businesses was Rs.481.56 crore in fiscal 2012, up from Rs.258 crore in the previous year. MPS made a net profit of Rs.37.62 crore in 201112, according to the latest available RoC fillings, and plans to invest at least Rs.2,000 crore over the next five years to ramp up its agriculture and allied businesses. Credit rating agency Icra Ltd had said in a report published in November that despite the growth in MPS’s revenue in 2011-12, the firm’s cash flow has been “inadequate to service debt in the past”, making it dependent on mobilization of fresh debt. In three years till March 2012, MPS’s deposit base has grown from Rs.275.6 crore to Rs.1,321.75 crore, Icra said in the report.
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March 29, 2013
Too Much of a Good Thing? India Beats Aussies 4-0
Choteswar Pujara sweeps, India vs. Australia, fourth test in New Delhi.
BY SIDARTH MONGA NEW DELHI (ESPN Cricinfo): India 272 (Vijay 57, Pujara 52, Jadeja 43, Lyon 7-94) and 158 for 4 (Pujara 82*, Kohli 41) beat Australia 262 (Siddle 51, Smith 46, Ashwin 5-57) and 164 (Siddle 50, Cowan 24, Jadeja 5-58) by 6 wickets The final day of the series, in Delhi, resembled one of those when a crazy colourful storm from Rajasthan visits the capital. While the storm is there, it is all encompassing, and promises apocalypse. Soon, though, it blows over, and you can’t tell it had been there. For about the first 200 minutes of the day, it was mayhem: spiteful spin, altercations, posturing, surprises, send-offs and some statesmanship. Twelve wickets fell for 170 runs, Nathan Lyon and Ravindra Jadeja registered their personal bests, Peter Siddle became the first No. 9 to score two fifties in a Test, but India got through the 155-run chase with shockingly consummate ease to win four matches in a series for the first time in their Test history. Cheteshwar Pujara, opening the innings in the absence of Shikhar Dhawan and fighting a finger injury of his own, led the chase with his second fifty - 82 off 92 - which on this pitch must rank alongside one of his double-centuries.
It might have been made to look simple, but it wasn’t always thus. Lyon, who had removed Ishant Sharma and Pragyan Ojha with the last two deliveries of India’s first innings, nearly had his hattrick. M Vijay charged at him first ball of the innings, but the ball turned way down the leg side, and Matthew Wade missed the half chance. Pujara and Kohli batted as if the events of the past two-and-a-half days didn’t matter at all, as if the bunsen had lost all its fire. Which it hadn’t; it was just clear-minded decisive batting on a spitter, making full use of every loose ball on offer. There were drives, there were ramps, there were sweeps. From Australia there were loose balls, overthrows and misfields. A minor blip interrupted India’s progress as three wickets fell for five runs to reduce India to 128 for 4, a period during which Sachin Tendulkar failed in possibly his last Test innings at home. Pujara, though, refused to acknowledge all this, bringing India level with three successive fours, and let MS Dhoni, whose grey beard bears the traces of two previous whitewashes of India, finish the rest. Australia tried to surprise India by opening with Glenn Maxwell alongside David Warner. In the
absence of batsmen technically equipped to fight it out on this pitch, such aggression against new ball was perhaps the best way to go. Surreal scenes followed: Jadeja bowling to Maxwell in the fifth over of a Test innings. It didn’t last. In his first over, Jadeja got one to turn, stay low, hit the outside edge of Maxwell’s bat and cannon into the off stump. With an assured and aggressive innings, Ed Cowan showed it was probably not the best move after all to demote him. He capitalised on every loose delivery, and hit five fours in his 24, one of them a superb drive through midwicket after stepping down to Jadeja. All hell broke loose at the other end, though. Jadeja trapped Warner with a dart, and the Indian fielders let rip with a choreographed and a long send-off. Warner has been the sledger-in-chief from Australia, and has been in the ear of the Indian batsmen since the start of the second innings of the match. There is also a previous to this from the time India toured Australia, so that wicket would have brought Virat Kohli, in particular, and Jadeja natural and massive relief, and they just let it show. The umpires, though, spoke to Tendulkar, who in turn, tapped
Jadeja’s shoulder a bit. With seemingly an appeal every ball, an explosion off the pitch every second, and a sledge every third, the umpires were under intense pressure. Amid some incredible calls, Aleem Dar erred with the Phillip Hughes lbw, with R Ashwin’s offbreak turning past off. It was all Dhoni after that. First through Jadeja, a player he has backed when few did. Jadeja removed Cowan before lunch, and Steven Smith and Mitchell Johnson just after. The latter strikes were crucial as Smith and Wade had added 41 for the sixth wicket. His first ball after the break was a slider that Smith left alone to hit his off stump. The next turned through the gate and knocked Johnson’s middle stump over. Australia 94 for 7. Siddle not only survived the hat-trick ball, he - much like Pujara - seemed to have brought his own pitch to bat on. He went on a sensational counterattack, charging down to the spinners and clearing mid-off, and cover when midoff was sent back, regularly. He looked as comfortable as any specialist batsman did on this track. Around him, though, Dhoni put on an exhibition too. Wade advanced to Ojha, was beaten by the dip, edged it onto the top part of his pad, and as the ball died to his right, Dhoni changed direction and not only completed a one-handed take, he proceeded to break the stumps just in case the umpire had missed the edge. Siddle was not too bedazzled. His assault continued. Back to Dhoni then. He gambled. He brought Ishant on. The first nine balls Ishant bowled went for 12 runs. With James Pattinson, Siddle had now added 35 for the ninth wicket to take the score to 157. Then Ishant went round the stumps, and got one to reverse through Pattinson’s gate. Dhoni had worked again. Fittingly, as with the bat, he ended the innings with a stumping off a ball that could have been called a wide had it been bowled with restrictive intent. Sidharth Monga is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo
SPORTS Sania Mirza Reaches Quarters in Miami
MIAMI: Sania Mirza kept the Indian hopes alive by progressing to the women’s doubles quarterfinals even as country’s challenge ended in the men’s doubles with the defeat of Rohan Bopanna and his partner Rajeev Ram in the second round of ATP-WTA Sony Open. Sania and her American partner Bethanie Mattek-Sands overcame a
fighting pair of Jarmila Gajdosova and Sabine Lisicki 6-1, 3-6, 10-7 in the second round. They will now fight it out with Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci for a place in the semifinals. In the men’s doubles second round, unseeded Bopanna and Ram were knocked out by formidable secondseeded pair of Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez 6-4, 7-6(5). Somdev Devvarman was floored by world number one Novak Djokovic in the men’s singles while Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi had exited from the doubles after suffering second-round defeats with their respective partners.
India Fails Qualifier
NEW DELHI: India failed to qualify for the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup after they were pipped by Bangladesh and Turkmenistan for a spot in the continent’s second tier tournament meant for emerging football nations. India, the 2008 champions, had finished second behind Myanmar in Group A qualifying round of the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup earlier this month and their fate had remained hanging on the results of other groups. Wim Koevermans’men were edged out by Bangladesh and Turkmenistan on goal difference after all the three sides finished second in their respective groups. Turkmenistan and Bangladesh had goal differences of plus nine and plus five respectively and they made it to the final round of 2014 AFC Challenge Cup in Maldives as two best second-placed teams.
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If Congress is losing its credibility, BJP is no better
UPA II Government Gets a Breather But for How Long?
BY RAJ KANWAR IAN INDIA CORRESPONDENT When it began its second inning in 2009, the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance was comfortably placed with 322 MPs including the outside supporters. That happy position had come about after the creditable performance of the alliance parties in states like Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. The Congress party on its strength alone had won 206 seats, thanks to its exceptional performance in Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Kerala, Haryana, Uttarakhand and Assam. At that time, it has had staunch allies in Trinamool Congress, DMK, Nationalist Congress Party et al, and that helped it win a majority of the parliamentary seats in Maharashtra, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. It also did reasonably well in Modi’s Gujarat where it fought a lone battle, winning 11 of the 26 seats. In Uttar Pradesh its tally was a respectable 21. Much water has since flown under the bridge; the Congress has had far too many crutches for its comfort. Its electoral allies had obviously nurtured their own dreams and merrily flaunted their proprietorial agendas. Mamata’s TMC was the first to desert when its shrill demand for a special financial package for West Bengal was not favourably considered by Manmohan Singh and his then Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee. Piqued at Mukherjee’s uncompromising posture on the matter of such a special financial package, Mamata raised the banner of revolt and withdrew her ministers from the Manmohan Singh’s ministry. Mamata’s ego suffered another blow when like a woman scorned she opposed tooth and nail the candidature of Pranab Mukherjee for the top post of India’s President. It is a different matter that eventually she willy-nilly voted for Mukherjee, eating a humble pie in the process. Over the period, other smaller partners like AIMIM and Jharkhand Vikas Morcha parted company. The desertion by Mamata’s 19 MPs was more than compensated when both Mayawati’s BSP and Mulayam’s SP extended to UPA II their support from outside, osten-
sibly without any conditions even though the two bitter rivals in Uttar Pradesh must have had in the bargain some kind of “pound of flesh”. Thus Manmohan Singh’s government continued to limp with fewer crutches, and grandiosely announced a string of reforms beginning with permitting 51% foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail despite vociferous opposition from Left, Right and even Centre. Enters stormy petrel Beni Prasad The government at the Centre was cautiously trudging its way across many hurdles until its stormy petrel Beni Prasad Verma suddenly launched a virulent diatribe against the Samajwadi Party’s supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav. Throwing all decency to the winds, Verma used most vituperative invectives against a political leader of national stature whose party not only currently rules in Uttar Pradesh but who also nurtures ambition to be the country’s Prime Minister. Verma’s insulting remarks at public meetings were to the veteran politician like a red rag to a bull. Seething with rage, Mulayam launched a counter-attack on Verma, asking for his dismissal from the Union cabinet as the Steel minister. The Lok Sabha last week Wednesday watched tumultuous scenes; Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh both distanced themselves from Verma’s uncharitable remarks and even castigated him. Mrs. Gandhi even went up to Mulayam’s seat in the Lok Sabha and tried to placate him. Beni Prasad and Mulayam Singh were incidentally co-founders of the Samajwadi Party way back in October 1992 and their love-hate relationship goes three decades down the line. Today, however, Beni Prasad is perhaps as much a bête noire of Mulayam Singh as is Mayawati. Some political observers even concede the possibility that Beni Prasad’s abusive remarks against Mulayam perhaps have had the disguised blessings of a senior Congress leader. At that point, it appeared that the Samajwadi Party would not be satisfied with anything less than Verma’s head. On the following afternoon, the
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M Karunanidhi
Mayawati
Mulayam Singh Yadav
strong heads in the party felt that discretion would be better part of valor and accordingly decided to soften their hard stand on this nasty spat. At the end of a stormy party meeting, the obvious course was decided i.e. “to leave the final decision to party boss Mulayam Singh”. Thus in a big way, an imminent crisis facing the Manmohan Singh government was averted. Close on the heels of Mulayam’s tantrums, came the sudden challenge from Tamil Nadu in down South where the sulking DMK rose in revolt demanding a sterner stand by India on supporting a resolution condemning Sri Lanka that was moved yesterday at UNHRC meeting in Geneva. The demand also included that the Lok Sabha passed a resolution condemning “genocide” of Tamils by Sri Lanka’s government. The three top leaders and ministers from the UPA government who had air dashed to Chennai in order to
placate the DMK supremo Muthuvel Karunanidhi failed to cut any ice. DMK not only withdrew its support from the government but also its five ministers. Fair-weather friends Once again, the UPA’s two outsider-allies from Uttar Pradesh came to its rescue, enabling the Congress-led UPA government to overcome the crisis. However, it is increasingly becoming clear that no government can provide even a semblance of governance, if it has to limp every foot of its way. Both the BSP and SP have a combined strength of 43 in the Lok Sabha, and there are no worse fairweather friends than the two mutually hostile and irreconcilable rivals on the electoral battle field of Uttar Pradesh. What a tragic situation will it be if either Mayawati or Mulayam Singh one fine day on mere whims withdraws the outside support that they have been extending to Manmohan Singh’s government? It is such a pity that the political scenario in the country has become so complex and unpredictable at a time when India is in the grip of a low growth rate and high inflation. Unfortunately, the UPA government seems to have lost its bearings and the determination that it had displayed so confidently a few months ago in successfully taking all comers on the matter of permitting 51% FDI in retail trade. It is now almost hobbling from one crisis to another and in the process even losing whatever little credibility it was left with. Many bizarre schemes such like Food Security Bill or providing free house sites to the poor costing in excess of Rs. 2,00,000 crores are being talked about as if such populist measures could become panacea for all of India’s deep-rooted malaise such like abject poverty, abysmal malnutrition, non-existent healthcare in its over 6,00,000 villages and absence of a school network. BJP is no better If Congress is losing its credibility, its main rival BJP is no better. It would have been easier to assume that the drop in Congress popularity would bring about a proportionate rise in BJP’s popularity. Unfortunately, however, such is not the case.
What an irony that India’s second largest party, dreaming of coming to power in the next general elections, and its arrogant leaders should have scored self-goal after self-goal. Throwing his hat so early in the prime ministerial ring, Modi may have pre-empted other senior hopefuls in the party but he has frightened the support that the NDA could have mustered over the next few months. Let it be remembered that neither the Congress nor the BJP is in a position to emerge victorious in the 2014 general elections on its own intrinsic strength without cobbling together a cohesive coalition in many of the crucial states. On the scale of general acceptability, Congress is somewhat more acceptable than BJP, its arch rival on the national scene. Given the choice, Bihar’s Nitish Kumar too would prefer to join a Congress-led alliance than the one put together by BJP. There is hardly any possibility of the emergence of a third front comprising non-BJP and non-Congress parties, since most of its partners will be mutually antagonistic, with their leaders nursing king-sized egos. One even cannot imagine a third front embracing leaders such like Mulayam, Mayawati, Mamata, Jayalalitha, Nitish Kumar ! A year is a long time The general elections are due in the first quarter of 2014. A year is a long time in politics and any number of things could happen that would change the existing political equations or future alignments. The elections to the local bodies in Karnataka earlier this month gave the BJP – currently in power there – a rude shock. The state had been the party’s only citadel in the South. If BJP is to lose Karnataka, it can just as well go home and sleep. Having said all this, the political state of affairs in the country today does not hold much promise, unless both the Congress and BJP realized the utmost importance of inducting a spirit of bi-partisan politics in the country’s polity. However, expecting such a sensible and even mutually advantageous development from the current crop of mutually-antagonistic and equally egoistic leaders will perhaps be too much of a good thing.
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