Friday, May 29, 2015 • Vol. 34, No. 22
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Friday, May 29 2015 | Vol. 34, No. 22
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Back 2 Love 2015 Featuring Rahat Fateh Ali Khan in Houston BY VANSHIKA VIPIN HOUSTON: Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, the rising supremo of the soulful music, brought in the peace of the Sufi music and the magic of qawwalis to the NRG Arena on May 24, in Houston once again. Organised by Rehan Siddiqi of Hum Tum Shows in association with Amir Makhani of Shaks Entertainment and Sunny & Khurram Khairani of SK event, this show was a complete sell out. The arena was filled with music lovers who had gathered to listen to their favourite singer crooning to the different genres of music from qawwalis to sufiyana sangeet to ghazals to latest Bollywood music. Rehan Siddiqi, the man behind the series of successful concerts, managed a record sales for the show thus creating Houston to be the only destination in USA witnessing such huge number of turn out for the Back 2 Love tour of Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. Houston audience has always showered love and praises for this coveted singer and the jam packed arena was just the standing testimony of the affection. God resides in the details. Rehan proved the quote right by distributing more than 7000 roses to the audience and giving them a warm welcome. The concert started with an enthusiastic welcome by Rehan followed by one minute of silence observed for the recent earthquake victims in Nepal and the gory terrorists killing in Pakistan. He then welcomed the Ustaad on stage. Incidentally, Ustad Rahat Fateh Ali Khan is the first ever Pakistani musician invited to perform at the
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2014 Nobel Peace prize concert. Ustad Rahat Fateh Ali Khan paid tribute to his uncle and mentor Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan at the start of the show. They played a small video of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan featuring julelaal dum mast kalandar as a token of respect. The opening song Tere naam tak was enough to get the attention of the entire audience hooked on to the stage and the screens. The show was being broadcasted on various channels across the globe. Then followed the Rahat Ali standards like allahu allahu allahu, a Bollywood hit Mein tenu samjawake, and others like Koi bole dariyan hai, Surili aankhiyon wale, Tumjo aye zindagi main bate ban gayi, Tere bina tere bina dil naiyo lagda and many more. The musical trance was broken with a small break for refreshments. Rehan Siddiqi took this opportunity to thank all his sponsors including Rolls Royce who were a
part of the same show in 2013 too. He thanked Maharaja Jewellers and Prasla Law firm who were the associate sponsors and Shanai restaurant who were the hospitality partner. He also gave a special mention to Noor Ladds who had been generous to book 2000 tickets and support the event. After the mini break which was infused with a belly dancing performance, Rahat reclaimed the stage back
INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, MAY 29, 2015 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
and started off with the musical treat. He started with ghazals like tere aankhon ke dariya ka, and Yeh jo halk ahalka suroor hai. And then progressed to the more generic choice of Bollywood music like Dagabaaz re, Main jahan rahu, O re piya, Teri meri prem kahani hai mushkil and Taak te rehte tujko saanjh savere. The audience was left wanting for more of these songs but as all good things have to end, so did this concert end at past 12 am. The last song was the super hit track damadum mast kalandar, it got the entire audience swaying and dancing to the number. The show was indeed a mega success. The Qawwalis were splendid and Ustaad’s impromptu improvisations and playing with the sargam were lajawaab. He has a unique way of playing with the notes with such ease that it bears CONTINUED ON PAGE
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Shaan Live in Concert in Houston
Photo: Meedu’s Fotografy
BY VANSHIKA VIPIN HOUSTON: What happens when the melodies of the Golden Voice of India reverberates through the jam packed Arena theatre? It leaves the audience spellbound and transcends them to a state of euphoria. Shaan, the voice of Indian youth, along with his Lil champs –Gagan Gaonkar and Arunita Kanjilal and Ambili Menon enthralled the audience with a mesmerizing concert hosted by Moid Khan and Irfan Moosa from Bollywood Shows 4 U, Saturday, May 23. The three hour long concert was not only a musical delight but also a visual pleasure owing to accompanied dance performances. After the success of their first concert, back in April this year; Generation Next featuring Ankit Tiwari, Khan and Moosa roped in the melody king Shaan for the concert in Houston. The success of their first show was reflected in the complete sold out show even this time. Precise to the minute, the concert began at sharp time 8:28
pm, with a moment of silence for the recent killings in Pakistan. The captivating show began with the Lil champ, Gagan Gaonkar opening the concert with the first song ‘Re Kabira’. Gagan,13, is proficient in Hindustani Classical, sufi and gazals. He hails from Karnataka and loves writing poems and reading. After Kabira, he sang mast mast do nain, tera hero idhar hai and jaha Teri ye nazar hai. All the songs were high on adrenaline and created the built up for the next singers. Arunita Kanjilal from Bengal came in second. She wowed the crowd with the old classic ‘Satyam Shivam Sundaram’ and then went on to sing the modern day dance number ‘Kamli Kamli’. Arunita is a talented 11 year old girl who plays harmonium and tanpura and learns singing from her uncle who is a singer himself. These Lil champions stole everyone’s heart with their passionate singing. The king had the stage ready for him and the arena throbbing with anticipatory excitement. Shaan
began the show with behti hawa sa tha wo from 3 idiots and got the audience singing along with him. Mujhko pehchaan lo, bin pooche mera naam aur pata, dil kahe kya raaz hai, dil ne tum ko chun liya hai, tere naina, jabse tere naina were the songs in the playlist that followed. His legendary song woh pehli baar and hum Jo chalne lage got thousands of hands swaying in rhythm. Then followed the peppy tracks like Mein aisa kyu hu , welcome, o hum dum soniyo re and chaand sifarish before Shaan went in for a mini break. The romantic reverie of the audience was broken by rib tickling stand up comedian Nitin who brought back people to real world with his humour. After the break, Meena Dutt, the lovely emcee for the concert, thanked the sponsors chiefly Discount Power and Kohinoor diamonds. The organizers, Khan and Moosa and the main sponsors were invited on stage and thanked for all their hard work and dedication. Sheriff Ad-
rain Garcia also spoke a few words about Bollywood and the concert. Again began the musical journey with Shaan, but this time it was old world charm. The older generation and the newer, who love old Bollywood classics, were in for a delight. He continued the performance by singing some old numbers like Ey meri zohrajabi and kabhi kabhi mere dil Mein, classic romantic numbers. Then entered Ambili Menon, the winner of Sunsilk Gang of Girls. She gave a high energy performance on the recent hit – chitiya kalaiya and brought back the audience to the current times. The evening ended with a super fast medley with all the artists and Shaan. Being a thorough professional and appreciator of musical talent, Shaan introduced each and every musician that accompanied him. The entire band performed to the utmost perfection. The concert saw a seamless execution. The sound and lights were flawlessly done by Rodger of LD system, who had previously done sound for shows like A. R. Rehman
Indo American News (ISSN 887-5936) is published weekly every Friday (for a subscription of $40 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 INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, MAY 29, 2015 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
and the recent Shahrukh Khan’s SLAM concert. At the end of the concert, the organisers, Moid Khan and Irfan Moosa said, “We would like to thank Houston and our supporters, fans, media, for keeping the faith in us. We could not have done this on our own. We look forward to entertaining Houston more and more”. They also announced their next show featuring Atif Aslam and Ayushman Khurana in September. Houston is in for musical treat this year indeed. For further information or for your feedback call Moid Khan at 2812354711 or Irfan Moosa at 8326183333 or log on to www.bollywoodshows4u.com.
For photo collage,
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May 29, 2015
Tapestry of Faiths Weave an Enchanted Evening and Honor Hindu Pioneers
Photos: Alexander Rogers, Alexander’s Fine Portrait Design Front row sitting, from left: Gita Gidwani, Shashi Mahajan, Madhu Gupta, Nirmal Mahajan, Sushma Mahajan, Neera Shetty and Anya Shetty, Shashi Mahajan, Aruna Mahajan, Deepali Shah and Shelly Mahajan Back row standing from left: Baldev Mahajan, Rajinder Mahajan, Vishaw Mahajan, Virendra Mahajan, Dev Mahajan, Nikhil Shetty, Rajesh Shetty, Narinder Mahajan, Ashok Gupta and Nihar Shah.
HOUSTON: Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston held its seventh annual Tapestry Gala on Thursday, May 21 at the Hilton Americas Houston and raised $950,000. The event celebrated Houston's great diversity in cultures, ethnicities and faith traditions with guests of different religions, many wearing traditional ethnic clothing. The evening raised funds for the organization's many services with Shell Oil Company and Motiva Enterprises LLC leading the way as Presenting Sponsors. The Tapestry Gala was chaired by Paula Sutton and Bill Gross, Karen and Jay Harberg and Leena and Ash Shah with honorary chairs Anne and Dr. John Mendelsohn. The evening honored Dr. Sushma and Devinder
Mahajan with the Tapestry Award (see box), which recognizes community leaders who have shown remarkable dignity through tangible work for the betterment of Houston and the world. A large contingent of South Asian donors – 48 listed in the event program - support IMH’s work. The evening also celebrated Elliot Gershenson, President and CEO of IMH with a touching retirement tribute given by Bill King and Frazier Wilson, Vice President of Shell Oil Company Foundation. Gershenson will be succeeded by Martin Cominsky who will take over reins on June 1. The mistress of ceremonies was the wellCONTINUED ON PAGE
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IMH Honors Devinder & Sushma Mahajan Sushma and Devinder Mahajan are the founding members of the Arya Samaj of Greater Houston and the Vedic Culture Center. ASGH manages two schools: DAV Montessori School, a one-of-a-kind in North America, and DAV Sanskriti Sunday School. Devinder Mahajan has served as president of Arya Pratinidhi Sabha (Congress of Arya Samajs of North America) for four years and currently serves as a member Emeritus. Devinder is the founding president of Jeevan Prabhat USA, which looks after the boarding, lodging, and education of underprivileged children in India. He is also a founding member of the Mahatma Gandhi Library, serves on the board of Patanjli Yogpeeth, and is the Chairman of the Advisory Board of Hindus of Greater Houston. Dr. Sushma Mahajan is the past president of the Indo American Charity Foundation and has served on the board of Pratham for 10 years and on the board of IMH since 2008. Sushma and Devinder have two daughters and 5 grandchildren. Devinder and Sushma were born and brought up in India. Devinder earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in structural engineering from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He retired from Dow Chemical in December 1999 as an Associate Consultant. Sushma received her medical degree from All India Institute of Medical Science and completed a specialization in pathology in Cleveland, Ohio. After practicing pathology for 30 years, she retired in 2005. During her career, she was on the faculties of the University of Texas-Houston, M.D. Anderson Hospital, and Texas Southern University.
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May 29, 2015
ABCD Houston Brings in Compassion & Passion Together
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HOUSTON: It was but an interesting fortnight, not only for those who wanted to dance but also for those who wanted to sing along in Houston. Known to have hosted the best theme based gigs in the city, Sunny Taj of ABCD Houston rocked the Houstonians night life for two consecutive weekends. S4N ‘Sing for Nepal’ ,the musical fundraiser for Nepal earthquake relief , was hosted jointly by ABCD Houston and Nepalese Association of Houston at Hughes Hangar on the night of May 17, whereas DJ Notorious from Mumbai actually created a mayhem with his music – ‘Mayhem Returns’ at UROPA on May 23. The Houston crowd was in for some surprise with the series of mega events hosted in style and class. Compassion and passion – both emotions saw people crowding the venue.
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Photos: Meedu’s Fotografy
Music does not have a language. If there was one thing that could bring people from different class and cultures together, it had to be music. No wonder, the musical fundraiser, organised for supporting the victims of the Nepal earthquake, witnessed philanthropists gathering to contribute a generous share to this noble cause. It was encouraging noticing that city’s socialites, businessmen and media houses, all came in together and contributed a generous amount of 1000 dollars for the fund. A special round of applause came for DJ Scoop, DJ Impact, DJ Tamim,
DJ Masti & James Boyte from Karaoke Houston who cheered and entertained the attendees with the beats for singing some classic Bollywood tracks. Other major donors were Dr. Rupak Rauniar from Nepalese Association of Houston, Indo-American News, Masala Radio, Bien Tran from Hughes Hangar and Anand & Dr. Ashima Chauhan. As the joint organiser of this fundraiser, Sunny Taj of ABCD Houston said, “Living your life everyday hoping to make a difference and be of assistance to others around you is a comforting feeling. Not only does it makes you feel like you exist, but also brings people together and helps build a community. Although, we always hope that we never run into a situation where we have to depend on others, Natural disasters are something not in our control and I feel that times as such are a test for humanity to see how we can help bring the ones impacted and in need back on their feet and rebuild what they lost. S4N 'Sing 4 Nepal' was just one of those initiatives and I feel lucky to be around people who care. I sincerely thank everyone who supported this cause” . After the karaoke fund raiser night, the following weekend, mayhem prevailed at UROPA. The party lovers of Houston danced till 2 am to the electronic beats of the legendary DJ of Mumbai, DJ Notorious. True to his name, he created an electric atmosphere. The crowd started trickling in the club by 10 pm dressed in their chicest club wear. Bollywood remixes, bhangra , hip hop and the latest international music were the flavour of the night. “Over time, I have hosted events with many DJs from around the globe and DJ Notorious has been someone who raises the bar year after year. Every time he performs in Houston, he leaves people with their feet aching for days from dancing all night. Mayhem Returns was just another one of those nights made memorable by DJ Scoop and DJ Notorious. He is not only a great friend but is more like a brother. It is an absolute pleasure to host him every year in Houston. I am thankful he is a part of ABCD Houston”, said Sunny. The event was a success with generous support from Indo-American News, Ruchika Singh Dias from Bollywood Shake Radio 106.1, Dharmesh from UROPA, Anand & Dr. Ashima Chauhan and DJ Scoop and photography was done by Meedu’s fotografy. Sunny Taj , the man behind these eventful nights, has more gigs planned up his sleeves for the Houston crowd. Stay tuned to know more.
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Informality Marks Ekal’s Fundraiser and Captivating Musical Stage Show BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA HOUSTON: Even the Indian Consul General, who is used to going to many a glittering gala and formal event, noted the difference in the Ekal Vidalaya fundraiser this past Friday, May 22. “I am proud to be here,” said Parvathaneni Harish, a man who is not easily taken in by excessive adulation and décor, as he surveyed the audience. “Yahan formality kam hai, apnita hai (there’s less formality here, more togetherness). I want to give you a big round of applause.” Harish was taken in by the easy style of fundraiser that has been the hallmark of the Ekal Vidalaya Foundation for many years and reflects the lack of formality and emphasis of inclusiveness that is the hallmark of the Ekal USA founder, Ramesh Shah and his wife Kokila who are led by Gandhian principles of austerity and service to humanity. As in previous years, the fundraiser started with a dinner for 1,200 people in the large banquet hall on the Stafford Civic Centre on Cash Road, featuring a buffet style Gujarati vegetarian meal (catered by Bhojan restaurant) served by volunteers and eaten at round tables spread across the space. The mostly middle-class, decidedly low-brow and comfortably attired crowd walked over to the adjoining auditorium for the presentations and stage show. The event was so sold out that two additional rows of seats were set in the orchestra section upfront, just before the stage. Ekal Vidalaya has grown significantly since it was started in India in 1986 by the US-returned nuclearscientist Rakesh Popli and his wife Rama, a child-education specialist. The concept of bringing education to the villages through a “one teacher, one school” has grown to over 1.5 million children in 54,000 free schools in tribal areas of India, with a goal of over 100,000 schools this year. And the fundraising message is
simple: fund one school for one year at a cost of a dollar a day. As long lists names of donors were read out between interludes to the stage show by EV Houston Chapter President Naren Chavda and VP Prakash Shah, many of the attendees donated to fund one and even multiple schools. According to Shah, over $450,000 (funding 1,250 schools) was pledged that night, adding to the total raised by the eight other chapters across the US in the past month of similar events. They were encouraged to donate by the young and articulate emcee, Dr. Shreyas Bhavsar, debonair looking in his Nehru jacket and close cropped beard who asked the audience to “show the power of your voice, the love you have for India” and to consider their donation an investment. The director of the stage show, Milind Oak, spoke about his visit to an EV school and gave a testimonial to the schooling model. True to form, Ramesh Shah made a brief speech close to the end of the show from the podium, dressed in a simple white cotton kurta-pajama. Shrini Shah and Anushri Shah sang the US and Indian National Anthems, with the entire hall joining in the Indian one. Chavda and Shah added to the background of EV with a video clip and three students from the R.I.C.E (Removing Illiteracy through Collective Education) Club of Seven Lakes High School in Katy showed how they had so far raised $3,000. On stage, appreciation was shown to the largest benefactors, Harish and wife Nandita, and local politicians Ken Mathews and Harish Jajoo, who placed LED candles on ceremonial brass diyas. The Harishes presented plaques to the main supporters, Jugal and Raj Malani and Ramesh and Kiran Bhutada. Shivani Shah gave the closing comments and thanks for the support. The cornerpiece of the evening
was the musical, film and dance show “100 years of Bollywood” produced by Niche Entertainment of Pune, India, a production that has toured the US, UK, France, Singapore, USE and Muscat for
all 9 EV fundraisers in the US, the last being in Dallas on June 30. Niche specializes in multimedia musical productions and this one – written by Dr. Ninad Thacakre - promised to tug at the
association to filmi songs from Bollywood. Indeed they hit their mark, starting from the first silent films in 1913 to the Bombay Talkies and then going through the melodious years of
Benefactors and dignitaries were applauded after lighting the ceremonial lamps
Indian Consul General Parvathaneni Harish and The director of “100 Years of Bollywood” Milind wife Nandita presented plaques to Raj and Jugal Oak (in kurta) with the performers of the show take a bow Malani
Dr. Shreyas Bhavsar was the emcee for the show
the past three years. The same show toured the US in 18 cities last year and this year has been at
Ekal USA’s leader Ramesh Shah made brief comments
heart-strings of the first generation Indo-Americans with ties to the Old Country cemented by
well-known composers, lyricists and playback singers like Rafi, Lata, Talat, Kishore, Asha, Manna De all the way to the modern era of A.R. Rahman and Sonu. The video clips were accompanied by the same songs sung by Pune artistes Rama Kulkarni, Deepika Datar, Chaityna Kulkarni and Jitendra Abhyankar, with warm, fluid and short dances portraying the scene (sometimes mimicking the film moves) by Kunal Phadke and Aishwarya Kale. Director Milind Oak narrated the show conversationally, sometimes perched on a stage platform. The hall was still packed at the end of the show, and many a head kept humming the melodies days after they had been sung on stage.
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known Indian radio show host Meena Datt, who welcomed more than 750 guests to the ball, including, IMH Chairman Charles Foster and his wife Lily, Philamena Baird, Neda Ladjevardian, Harry and Marian Tindall, Diana Untermeyer, Regina Rogers, Ambassador Arthur Schechter, Fred and Kay Zeidman, Consul General of India Parvathaneni Harish, Reverend Bill Lawson, and Marie Bosarge.
Guests entered the ballroom which was adorned with lavender hydrangeas and peach roses generously donated by Kroger and arranged with crystal and candle centerpieces by Darryl and Company. The evening consisted of a fabulous four course dinner of traditional Indian fare catered by Dawat Catering (owners Mahesh and Alpa Shah were present too) and a beautiful program celebrating diversity with a number of performances including violinist Achron Gabriel Maffuz-Anker, vocal pieces by Kenneth Gayle Productions, as well as Bollywood
dancing by Infused Performing Arts and DAV Montessori School. The event benefited IMH, a non-profit organization that brings people of diverse faith traditions together for dialogue, collaboration and service. The organization provides four main services to the Houston area: Meals on Wheels for Greater Houston, Refugee Services, Disaster Preparedness and Interfaith Dialogue. Jawahar Malhotra and Dr. Harish Chnadra contributed to this story
Back 2 Love 2015 Featuring Rahat Fateh Ali Khan in Houston CONTINUED FROM PAGE
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the hallmark of an extremely talented vocalist who has immense mastery over classical music. At the end of the show, Ustaad Rahat Fateh Ali Khan said , “I love Houston, I have performed all over the world but the feeling I get, and the support I receive every time in Houston is overwhelming and humbling” . The organisers were beaming with joy after the seamless execution of the mega concert.
Rehan Siddiqi thanked his partners for the support of this event, namely Mashood Kaiser of World Food, Faisal Kamal of Embassy Suites and Mike Batches of Mercedes Benz, Sugar Land. He had words of encouragement for his sounds and light team that gave a magical experience to the audience, managed by DMMS with Arif Memon as the Technical Director. Before ending the concert, Rehan also announced his next upcoming shows for the Houston audience, FUSION featuring Akshay Kumar,
Madhuri Dixit, Sonakshi Sinha, Prabhu Deva and a team of 90 performers at NGR Arena on August 21, Arijit Singh on October 3, at NRG Arena, The Living Legend; Asha Bhonsle on September 5, at NRG Arena. The tickets for the concerts are now on sale, available at Sulekha.com For further details about the show and for upcoming shows contact Rehan Siddiqi at 713-5454115 Or visit Hum Tums Shows website at www.humtumradio. com
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12 May 29, 2015 COMMUNITY Rabindra Jayanti Celebrated in Great Style BY SANCHALI BASU HOUSTON: Since the installation of the Tagore statue in Tagore Grove at the Ray Miller Park two years back, it has become but natural to begin Tagore's birthday celebrations at the hallowed ground every year. This year was no exception. The afternoon of May 10 was cloudy and breezy, but Tagore admirers were able to complete the garlanding ceremony just in time before the rain set in. A couple of Rabindra Sangeet and recitation of poems, “Thou hast made me endless,” and “This is my delight” set the tone for the rest of the evening and made it memorable and reverential. The celebrations of Tagore's 154th birthday continued into the evening at the HDBS Sur auditorium where the audience was treated to enjoyable music programs, dances, and recitations. Ruma Acharya, president of TSH (Tagore Society of Houston) welcomed the audience and recited a Tagore poem. Young emcees Vikram Banga and Rini Roy took over. They were adorable and were the subjects of the crowd's adulation. The opening dance by a group of four very young dancers in their pristine white tutus truly reflected the spirit of the song Momo chitte. Mrs. Nahid Sultan very soulfully sang 2 Rabindra Sangeet. Shalini Das danced beautifully in the Odissi style to Mor bhabanare, set in the Dhrupad style of Rabindra raag. The Bangladesh-American Society of Greater Houston (BASGH) then took the stage and their children’s choir did an excellent job with 3 very catchy playful and fun Rabindra Sangeet -Hriday Aamar Nachere,
Phagun Haway Haway, Aj Dhaner Khete. What was extremely commendable was the perfect pronunciation and diction of the language by second generation Bengalis. All credit goes to teacher Rupa Ghosh, who led the choir. She was ably supported by Modhumita and Mukul who presented a small song-recitation-dance combination. The medley of dances Poush Toder and Aaji Dokhino Duar Khola performed by 6 beautiful young dancers and the solo dance by Simmy Ahmed were very well received by the audience. Aishani Saha was very graceful and poised in her dance, Jhoro jhoro borishe baari dhaara. Tareeq Mahammed presented a very powerful recitation of the Tagore poem, Aami. Esho he Baishakh the presentation by Kamalpriya Roy and group was a select combination of solo and chorus songs from Tagore’s summer prakriti songs of the Gitabitan. The four solos by Shamik, Shyama, Madhumita and Kheya were presented solemnly with deep sincerity. All the group songs and duet songs by Tushar, Sraboni, Nandini, Anjali, Aniruddha, Gargee Dona and Balaka were also nice. The script written by Kheya and narrated by Jaya and Aniruddha did justice to the overall presentation. Accompaniment by Raja on the tabla and Aloke on the mandira added the right amount of musicality to make the presentation effective. Last, but not the least was a very energetic dance by Monali Biswas to Mor bhabona re in a contemporary style. Shingara, ghugni and cha were all sold out and Choity Sarees had sarees and jewelry
that appealed to the womenfolk. Everyone was all praise and complimentary about the organization and quality of the program on their way out. Thanks to the joint effort of all 3 Bengali associations in town, the Tagore Society of
Houston, the Houston Durgabari Society and the Bangladesh-American Society of Greater Houston, the national poet of Bengal, Tagore's birthday was genuinely celebrated wholeheartedly.
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COMMUNITY
May 29, 2015
House of Spices Opens State of the Art Warehouse in Elk Grove Village, IL
House of Spices (HOS) is a family business, with every member to thank for where it is today. From one store in Jackson Heights, NY to an empire that spans various industrial sectors, HOS has remained committed to providing top quality products since its inception in 1970. With eleven warehouses throughout the United States, their unofficial slogan is “if we don’t have a product, you don’t need it.” The newest warehouse located at 2121 Touhy Ave., Elk Grove Village, IL opened on May 8, 2015 to much fanfare. The 130,000 sq. ft. warehouse is the largest operated by any South Asian distributor in the United States. HOS
Job Posting:
employees from all over the country flew in to be a part of the day’s festivities. The day began with religious rituals and prayers conducted by a Hindu priest. Then guests were invited to tour the new state of the art facility complete with a 15,000 sq. ft. CO2 refrigerated section. CO2 refrigerants are a more environmentally sustainable option to the traditional hydrofluorocarbon refrigerants typically utilized in commercial refrigeration systems. CO2 refrigeration has become increasingly popular in the UK and Australia, but HOS is only the second company in the U.S. to utilize this “greener” refrigeration system. HOS also has plans to use a portion of the warehouse produce their own line of ice cream and ghee. HOS is projecting huge growth this year with plans to expand and renovate warehouses in New Jersey, DC, and San Francisco. For more information about House of Spices please visit www.hosindia.com.
ASSOCIATE PRODUCER (Part Time)
If writing is your passion – here’s your chance to work for a station that has taken producing to a higher level. KTRK-TV, the ABC O&O station in Houston, TX is accepting applications for a part-time Associate Producer. The person hired for this position will write and edit stories for our broadcasts and produce news cut-ins. You will also produce content for our digital platforms and social media. If you can write in active voice, understand how detail can add color to a story, and have the ability to sift through information to find the most interesting lead – we want to hear from you. Strong writing, video editing and social media skills a must. Applicants must be willing to work overnights, weekends and holidays. All Interested applicants must apply online at disneycareers.com, ref job #274266BR. Please upload a cover letter, resume and list of references. In addition, please mail writing samples to: Robin Freese, Executive Producer, KTRK-TV, 3310 Bissonnet, Houston, TX 77005. No Telephone Calls KTRK-TV is an Equal Opportunity Employer Female/Minority/Veteran/Disability
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COMMUNITY
May 29, 2015
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The Story of Mahatma Gandhi - Part 2
Great Summer Project For children! Enter Mahatma Gandhi Week 2015 Essay, I-Tribute, Poster and Speech contests. Visit gandhilibrary.org for registration and more information. All school going children can participate! These contests are being organized to create higher awareness of the inspiring life and work of Mahatma Gandhi to promote universal values of Truth, Non-Violence, Love and Service. Last week, we read about the birth and youth of the young boy Mohandas who would grow up to be universally revered as the Mahatma. He had an ordinary childhood, went to school, made friends, and got a rude awakening into the dreaded social specter of the caste system. This week, we continue the story of Gandhi ji. Upon completion of high school, Mohandas enrolled at Samaldas College at Bhavnagar. He was discontent with the classes; they did not stimulate or engage him, so he returned home after the first ten days. At home a huge surprise awaited him. His eldest brother and a family friend suggested that Mohandas should go to England to study and become a barrister. Mohandas was thrilled. It was a great opportunity to see the world. His mother, however, disapproved. She did not like the idea of her son being so far away from her. There were also the financial implications. And she was fearful that he would lose his caste if he crossed the oceans, an age-old taboo against overseas travel among the high caste Hindus. The family friend assured her that there would be no such difficulty and all would be well. She had reservations and talked to him about it. She worried that he would eat meat, imbibe alcohol, and fall victim to bad influences. Mohandas vowed to do none of those, and pled with her to be permitted to go. Putlibai at last gave in and allowed him to go to England. Mohandas was sorrowful when he left Rajkot for Bombay, because he had to leave behind his mother, his wife, and son Harilal, who was only a few months old. On September 4, 1888, Mohandas left Bombay to set sail for England. Dressed in western style, he stood on the deck as the ship slowly steamed out of the harbor. Mohandas never forgot his first morning on board. He felt uncomfortable in his black suit and shirt and tie. He was quite sure that Indian attire was more suitable. A glance in the mirror made him feel proud of himself. He thought he looked very impressive. Mohandas was shy. He rarely left his
cabin. He even ate by himself. He was not sure of all those unknown foods served on the ship. He thought they might contain meat and did not wish to break his vow to his mother never to eat meat. So he lived mainly on the snacks and sweets he had brought from home. On landing at Southampton he looked around and saw that all the people were in dark clothes, wearing bowler hats and carrying overcoats. Mohandas was embarrassed to find that he was the only one wearing white flannels. In London, he stayed at first at the Victoria Hotel. Dr. P. J. Mehta, a friend of the Gandhi family,
was the first to meet him. Mohandas was impressed with Dr. Mehta’s silk top hat. Out of curiosity, he reached out and touched the pile of the silk. Dr. Mehta then gave him his first lesson in European manners cautioning him not to touch other peoples’ things. He advised Mohandas to never ask too many probing questions, and not to talk loudly. Young Gandhi found everything around him strange. He was homesick. He almost starved until he discovered a vegetarian restaurant. Struggling to learn western manners and customs, he rented a suite of rooms. He bought well-tailored clothes and a top hat. He spent a lot of time before the mirror, parting his straight hair and fixing his tie. He took lessons in dancing, but soon gave it up as he had no sense of rhythm. He tried his hand at playing the violin, but failed. He took lessons in French and elocution, but went to sleep. His
attempt to be an Englishman lasted about three months. Then he gave up the idea. He converted himself into a serious student. “I have changed my way of life,” he told a friend. “All this foolishness is at an end. I am living in one room and cooking my own food. Hereafter I shall devote all my time to study,” he said. His meals were simple. He avoided expenditure on transport and went on foot everywhere in London. He started to keep an account of every penny he spent. Mohandas joined the London Vegetarian Society and soon found himself in its executive council. He wrote articles for the magazine, Vegetarian. The bar examination did not require much study and Gandhi had ample time to spare. Oxford or Cambridge was not possible as study at those institutions would entail long course work and much financial resources. He therefore decided to appear for the London matriculation examination. It meant hard work and sacrifice, but he enjoyed hard work. He passed in French, English, and chemistry but failed in Latin. He tried again, and this time passed in Latin too. Meanwhile, he progressed in his study of law and in November 1888 was admitted to the Inner Temple. It was the tradition of the Inns of Court for the students to dine together at least six times each year. The first time Gandhi dined with his fellow students, he was nervous. He was sure the boys would tease him for refusing meat and alcohol. When wine was offered, he refused to have any. He did not touch the meat either, and sat there, quite content with his bread, boiled potatoes and cabbage. He was pleasantly surprised to find that his strange habits did not make him unpopular. The next time he went for the dinner, he had a pile of law books with him. He was taking the books to his room to study. The other students were amazed by his dedication to learning and very surprised to find him reading Roman law in Latin. Some friends suggested he read abbreviated versions of the law instead of bothering unduly over such tomes. Gandhi explained to his lighthearted friends that he worked so hard for sheer interest in the subject, and that he wanted to acquire knowledge for its own sake. After a short trip to France, he prepared for the final law examination. The results were soon declared. He had passed with high marks. On June 10, 1891, Gandhi was called to the bar. He was admitted as a barrister and the next day was formally enrolled in the High Court. The following day, June 12, he sailed for India. Gandhi’s three-year stay in England was eventful. Those were days of great intellectual activity, and there was tolerance for every school of thought. The country as a whole was a living university. As Gandhi sailed for home on the S.S. Assam, he felt that, next to India, he would rather live in England than any other place in the world. To be continued…
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18 May 29, 2015 Game of Thrones in Delhi
The ongoing tussle between Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and the Centre-backed lieutenant governor Najeeb Jung over who calls the shots in Delhi is being played out at two different levels: Legal and political. The clash between the two parties did not start all of a sudden; it was brewing for quite some time and the question of who would be the acting chief secretary — for just a week since the incumbent is away on leave — was a convenient ruse to fan the embers, and both sides are responsible for escalating this very public fight. However, such conflicts between the Centre and Delhi government are not new but the earlier ones were probably not as aggressive and public as the one that’s taking place now. The pro-Jung-Centre legal luminaries feel that provisions in the law book and the procedures are clear on such appointments. The names of bureaucrats to be appointed come from the chief minister, and the lieutenant governor and the Union home minister have to agree since both groups share the responsibility of governing this one-of-a-kind city-state. However, the ones on the side of Mr Kejriwal, an equally impressive group, say that the “exercise of powers by the Delhi government cannot be overruled by the LG as this violates constitutional scheme.” The Centre’s May 21 gazette notification, which gives the lieutenant governor a free hand in matters relating to public order, police and services, has only worsened the ongoing power tussle. Mr Kejriwal’s deputy, Manish Sisodia, termed the notification as an attempt to “save the transfer-posting industry being run in Delhi”, which is definitely a serious charge. Whatever the outcome of this squabble is, Mr Kejriwal is likely to gain politically more than the NDA from this fight. Statehood for Delhi was his pre-poll promise and the more the chief minister ratchets up the issue and blames the Centre for governance mismanagement and not giving him a free hand to work for the development of the city, the more he gains in the eyes of the electorate. In fact, opinion polls already show that nearly 61% of the residents of Delhi are backing him against the Centre. Moreover, as the fight intensifies, Mr Kejriwal’s own image will improve; already it has had a much-needed refurbishing that was required after his scalding fight with his senior party colleagues a couple of months ago. For the Centre, however, it’s increasingly looking like a battle with diminishing returns: Going further, if the Centre fails negotiate peace with the Delhi government, it could lose a lot of ground to AAP. Whatever the outcome is, however, this issue of Delhi statehood will not die down very soon; Mr Kejriwal will keep flogging it, because win or lose, he is the only one who will gain from it. Hindustan Times
EDITORIAL/COMMENTARY At Home in Kanpur BY SHUBHRA GUPTA The definition of small town keeps changing, because the goalposts keep shifting. Small towns keep getting bigger, and systematic overuse has leached them, for the purposes of Bollywood, of freshness and flavour. It’s time for the rise of a new genre — the subaltern film, glimpses of which were visible in Tanu Weds Manu Returns. It replaces Bollywood’s artificially lit-up small towns with locations and characters not confined to, or defined by, their “small-town quirks”. It gives us Tanu, a girl with multiple exaggerations; it also gives us the gloriously provincial Datto, a first for Bollywood. The heavily Haryanvi Datto’s idea of a hot date is to pedal around the slimy lake outside Delhi zoo, not a spot your average multiplexer would set foot in. She races off to the bus “adda” to go to Chandigarh. A bus? Not even a deluxe one? Kangana Ranaut is startlingly svelte, but Datto’s tracks and tees look as if they were picked up from Delhi’s street stalls. These are people and milieus usually seen in documentaries, not in films starring A-list heroines. Thankfully, the film is not yet-another reimagining of the small town. It is not glossing it up. In 2005, Kanpur was centre-staged in Bunty Aur Babli, whose likeable lead characters were bent on escaping the ennui of their surroundings. We enjoyed the movie, while noting Abhishek Bachchan wasn’t really a Hindi speaker and Rani Mukerji’s perky attire was more costume than clothes. We adopted “Kajrare” as the hit disco ditty and came happily home. Ten years later, we are back in Kanpur, but the town we see is not dotted with designer grunge. Ranaut’s Tanu lives in an area crammed with shops and traffic. When Tanu re-enters it, after a fruitless stint in London, she returns to its “mohalla”-ness, its streets a natural habitat for its residents, used for bathing, bantering, flirting, dreaming, not just for locomotion. The chatter you hear makes it lived in. The Hindi spoken sounds as if it is the characters’ primary language, not a translated, grafted “vernacular” afterthought. The colloquialisms and
Bollywood is learning to live in small-town India, not just visiting for local color.
the casual use of invective took me back to the conversations that peppered my childhood: my long-stay corner of UP was overrun by the “khadi boli” of the Braj and had a different “leheja”, but the salty turn of phrase is the same everywhere. The film captures it delightfully, even if it underlines it a tad for us to laugh at. Director Anand L. Rai and writer Himanshu Sharma are careful to keep it as authentic as they can, staying away from studio-created prettified landscapes and pretty people, where even the grit feels air-brushed. There have always been “chote sheher” in Hindi cinema. The contrast between the “bade shehar ka babu” and the “gaon ki gori” was stark: when the babu returned to the “chamak dhamak”, he forgot the pristine values of the village and the girl he left behind. Till he found her again. Or not. Those were simpler times, and we were content watching these two Indias. The advent of small-moffusil-town India — the inbetween space — pushed rural India into the background, and the action shifted to the conflict between big town and small town. But it was hard to present the dreary realities of the small town without
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sexing it up. Bollywood needed small towns for colour, but the insistence on lushness and plushness have usually deprived representations of accuracy and depth, and turned locals into fancy-dressed curios. Rai managed to keep it real in the first half of his previous film, Raanjhana, his Benares mostly devoid of touristy kitsch, but Sonam Kapoor just wasn’t unpolished enough. He does much better in Tanu Weds Manu Returns. Ranaut is a true outlier, who sounds as if she started using English much after Hindi. Her awkwardness in diction (Datto is lovely precisely because she nails the body language of a girl who’s come to big city Delhi on a “sports quota”, even if her accent slips occasionally) helps us believe in her outsider status. The filmmakers smartly keep her comfortable in her skin; she is not suddenly all Dior-and-Chanel to keep the urbanistas happy. She is capable of being one of us, whether we come from high-class, high-end India, middle-class, middle-of-theroad Bharat. In a triumphant stroke in this film, she is the true small-town girl who blares loudly, keeping her voice free of artifice. It is the voice of subaltern India. IE
May 29, 2015
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COMMUNITY A Renewal in Remembrances
mityas). They were joined in paying tribute to their ancestors of India by girmits of Fiji, Mauritius and Suriname. May 30 marks the 170th anniversary of the arrival of the first shipment of 224 Indians aboard the Fatal Rozack to Trinidad from Kolkatta. President of the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha, Branch 377 Dharam Vishal Chatoor in his opening address said that the children of indentured laborers enjoyed tremendous success resulting from the legacy passed on by their ancestors. “They came empty Jasoda Sharma receives an award from handed and were treated as Author/Journalist Ariti Jankie. slaves. Somehow they overcame every difficulty and handed us BY ARITI JANKIE their dream for a better life,” he said. He went on to say that in rememHOUSTON: Indo-Caribbean- brances lie renewal. Americans celebrated Indian Arrival “To go back to our early beginDay for the second year in Houston nings provide us with the strength to on May 24 at Players Street Hindu measure how far we have come as a Mandir. people and point us in the direction The flash of lightening as thunder of continued growth and developrolled and the sky opened up from ment.” 6.00 a.m. failed to dampen spirits as Two brothers, Thirbhawan and participants got ready to begin their Harry Seegobin on their way home day of celebration with a 7.00 a.m. to Trinidad from India joined the early Jahajee Walk. Despite the inclement morning conversation. weather, vehicles filled the parkThey spoke of a search for roots ing space and Pundit Sase began and their discovery of their ancestral by planting a jhandi. Jal was of- village in Basti in Uttar Pradesh. fered to the rising sun (Surujnarayan A former president of the TrinidadBhagwan) peeping from behind dark based Maha Sabha, Thirbhawan clouds and without missing a beat said, “We were well received by our the ritual worship of Shri Hanuman relatives and have been working with continued. The short walk was wet them to improve the quality of life in and led inside the mandir where a the village.” human circle formed to continue a Many others expressed the desire conversation that began beneath the of tracing their roots in India. The trees last year. circle were drawn to tears by stories Sharing a unique history, the Indo- of hardship and rejoiced as the brothCaribbean population are children of ers painted a picture of a peaceful India’s Indentureship Scheme (Gir- and contented life in their ancestral
INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, MAY 29, 2015 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
village. The celebration moved to the breakfast shed at 9.30 where a meal of sada roti and chokha was served. Of great importance, the simple fare took participants back in time to days when the Indian indentured workers roasted whatever ground provisions or vegetables they found on the land, added salt and pepper to make chokha which they ate with rice or roti. Chokha has also come a long way. A fire was lit and bigan (melongene) roasted to nostalgically perfume the breakfast shed. A formal ceremony followed. Awards were presented to those who worked for the preservation and promotion of dharma and included Rajoutie Chatarpal (service and dedication), Pundit Nankumar Ramprashad and his wife Shomie (community service), Bobby Teelucksingh (tassa), Chris Ramlochan (music), Tara and Muni Chatarpal (arts and culture), Pundit Ramesh Ramraj (spirituality), Amrita Chatarpal (dance) and Jasoda Sharma, a cultural icon in the community was also recognized for her organizational skills and cultural passion. Shomie Ramprashad had composed a song in which she sang about her grandparents coming from India and her entire family living a culturally Indian life. Fiji-born Ram Sharma sang folk songs and told the story of Indentureship while feature speaker, Attorney-at-Law, Bashist Sharma spoke of the need for cultural watchdogs to guard a heritage that adds to the rainbow colors of culture in Texas. “Our ancestors were great role models. We owe all that we are to them and must take pride in roots that make us strong and give us the power to move ahead with respect for differences in society,” he said, A vegetarian feast was served buffet style with dishes such as rice, dhal, spinach (bhaji) channa-alue, bigan chokha, mango talkarie, buss-up shot roti with mango lassi and sweet rice (kheer).
COMMUNITY
May 29, 2015
Karma: The Wheel of Life
HOUSTON: Karma (kar.ma) the sum of a person's actions in this and previous states of existence, viewed as deciding their fate in future existences. Spring brings Bollywood to Miller Outdoor Theatre as India House and Naach Houston present – Karma – The Wheel of Life on May 30, 8.30 PM. Mahesh Mahbubani returns to this cherished venue after a gap of two years scripting and directing this Bollywood spectacle. Karma is about the circumstances and choices we make that create the path of our life. The wheel of life spins constantly creating a lush, vibrant landscape of love, loss, laughter, tears, success and failure. Life takes our characters, Veer and Naina from India to dance studios of USA, from togetherness to separation and sorrow. Will Veer and Naina meet again? Will the wheel of life turn a full circle and unite the separated lovers. Come,
see Karma and witness the saga of life for yourself. India House and Naach Houston thank the sponsors Chaudary and Angela Yalamanchili and Dr. Manish Rungta of Bay Area Gastroenterology for their support and generous investment in Naach Community Art. The event is covered by Meedu Meedu Photography (still pictures), A Media / Foto King Digital (Video) and Manisha Gandhi of TV Asia (media coverage). A Special mention for Miller Outdoor Theater Advisory Board as well as to the technical team at Miller who enable dance theatre companies like Naach to put up a truly entertaining show. Naach Houston was established in 2011 as Houston’s first full time Bollywood Dance and Fitness Studio with a vision of creating a Community Dance and Fitness Program in the Greater Houston area and its suburbs.
Their work focuses on nurturing, developing and empowering individuals using Indian Contemporary and Bollywood Fusion dance forms. Gather your friends and family under cool Houston night skies on May 30th and watch a real Bollywood blockbuster live on stage. Expect to be entertained, your Karma awaits you.
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COMMUNITY
ISKCON Temple in Houston is a Year Old
HOUSTON: A year ago to this past Sunday, Houston community witnessed the opening of a spectacular new temple by International Society of Krishna Consciousness of Houston
(ISKCON of Houston). ISKCON of Houston, also known as Hare
Krishna Dham, is located at 1324 West 34th street in the Heights area, is a haven for spiri-
tual seekers since the late 70’s. From humble beginning, the temple has now blossomed into a cultural and spiritual oasis. In May of 2014, devotees and hundreds of volunteers from the congregation pulled off a spectacular grand opening of this amazing temple. The intricate teak wood hand crafted art work, the beautiful murals and the shining cool marble floors and walls are all a testament to the congregation’s mood of love and devotion to this place of divinity. Sunday May 17, saw hundreds of devotees and congregation members gathered to celebrate the one year anniversary of the temple opening with various festivities. The grand temple opening last year, which lasted three days, included an interfaith dialogue as one of the highlights, had attracted thousands of visitors. Many devotees from overseas also visited the grand temple opening ceremonies. The anniversary event was marked by an abhishek or ceremonial bathing of Sri Sri Radha Giridhari Deities with various offerings such as ghee, milk, yogurt, honey and scented water. According to our sacred scripture, Krishna is the Supreme Person and He assumes the form of a Deity in order to accept devotion in any shape or form, as long as it is offered with love in all sincerity. The ISKCON temple is also the home to the resplendent Deities of Sri Sri Radha Nilamadhava, Sri Sri Nitai Caitanya Candra and Sri Sri Nitai Gaura Candra and Sri Giri Govardhan. Soulful kirtan or chanting of the Holy names filled the temple room throughout the ceremony and everyone present chanted in deep gratitude for this auspicious occasion. One of the talented youngsters from the community put together a heartwarming video depicting the past and present pictures of Sri Sri Radha Giridhari with the animation video of ‘Little Krishna and Radha’. This brought enlivening smiles all around. A lecture on the importance of Deity worship was presented convincingly by HH Rtadhvaja Swami. Thereafter a skit was presented on the past time of ‘Sakshi Gopal’ with a voice over narration. The skit revealed how once Lord Gopal became impressed by His young devotee’s devotion agreed to be his witness in his rightful claim to be married! A much beloved member of the congregation, Janak Maharaj, who is also one of the mentors to the congregation, also rendered a heartfelt poem in praise of the presiding Deities Sri Sri Radha Nilamadhava. The festivities ended with a free ISKCON vegetarian feast. The serene temple grounds creates an inviting ambience for everyone – young or old to come and escape the high stress of everyday life or to simply come and enjoy a cool summer evening at the temple. If you think you are the type who want to learn more about the connection between mind and matter, or between the body and soul and what connects us all, then ISKCON of Houston may be a worthwhile place to check out. The philosophy is ancient dating back thousands of years and yet you will be amazed as to how relevant it is today as it was centuries ago. The timeless wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita, a cornerstone of the Krishna consciousness philosophy encourages one to go beyond the mundane material and seek out our true spiritual nature of bliss, knowledge and eternity. For more information on the temple and the Sunday Feasts, Goswami Academy, Sunday school and other various programs, please visit www.iskconhouston.org or come see us: ISKCON of Houston | 1320 W 34th St., Houston TX 77018 | 713.686.GITA
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PUZZLES/RECIPES
SUDOKU
Mama’s Punjabi Recipes
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Bandh Gobi Te Wadiyan (Cabbage & Spicy Dumplings)
Some vegetables could be considered pretty drab if cooked by themselves, like gajjar (carrots), mutter (peas), tauri (zucchini) or bandh gobi (cabbage). These are generally quite inexpensive but to make them more tasty and desirable, they require the helping hand of some other ingredients, or sometimes be cooked together, like carrots and peas or cabbage and peas. But Punjabis have a secret ingredient they can add to make these lowly vegetables more exciting, almost as western cuisine adds cheese or sauces to dress these up. And this secret ingredient is the Punjabi wadiyan (spicy lentil dumplings), which can bring in spiciness, tanginess and a little extra texture to the dish. There is an art to knowing how to prepare the wadiyan and then how to cook them so that they enhance the food but do not crumble into tiny pieces. Punjabi wadiyan differ from the Gujarati type as they are generally made of skinless manh or urad daal (black lentils) with dhania (coriander), garam masala, lal mirch (red pepper), adrak (ginger) and hing (astafoetida powder). The Gujarati style are much smaller and made of skinless moong daal (yellow lentils) and don’t pack as much taste. As with most types of cooking, timing is everything when using the wadiyan and the results speak for themselves when the dish is devoured! This dish is usually eaten with fresh roti. Ingredients: 1 kg bandh gobi (green cabbage) 1 or 2 Punjabi wadiyan (lentil dumplings) – spiciness to taste 2 tbsp tael (olive oil or vegetable oil) ½ tsp sarson beej (mustard seeds) ½ tsp haldi (turmeric powder) Spices to taste: 1 tsp namak (salt), 1 tsp mirch (red pepper), 1 tsp garam masala
Directions: 1. Cut the gobi into half and then
chop into half inch strips, 2 inches long. Soak in water to wash and then pass through a strainer. Set it to the side. 2. Break the wadiyan into slightly smaller ½ inch pieces and keep to the side. 3. In a kadai (wok), heat the oil over medium setting then throw in the wadiyan and stir till they are slightly brown. Add the mustard seeds, turmeric, salt and pepper and mix well. 4. Now add the cut gobi and stir till it is coated. Cover and let it cook in its own steam for 5 minutes over high heat. 5. Check if the gobi has let off enough vapor and the wadi is tender. If there is some water, take off the cover and turn the heat to low till the water is reduced, in about 10 minutes. Stir gently to make sure it doesn’t stick. 6. When the gobi is tender, turn
the heat off and the dish is ready. Keep covered and turn the heat down to very low for five more minutes. Sprinkle with garam masala and serve. Shakuntla Malhotra is a skilled cook of Punjabi dishes made in the old-fashioned style that she learnt as a young woman in her ancestral home in Lyallpur, India before it became part of Pakistan after the Partition in 1947. People have often admired her cooking for its simplicity and taste that comes with each mouthful. Even in her mid-eighties, she continues to cook daily and agreed to share some of her delectable Punjabi recipes.
MAMA’S TIP OF THE WEEK EASY WAY TO PEEL AND COOK BEET ROOT FOR A SALAD
Indians believe that chukandar (beetroots) are considered very beneficial to health as because it increases the blood in the body. There are practically no Indian recipes using beetroots though it is eaten sometimes as a salad. But preparing the beetroots is a problem as your hands become red when you peel them, so it is best to use thin latex gloves when peeling beetroot. To cook, be sure to use a black, non-stick frying pan as the beetroot juice will stick to the surface and it will be very difficult to get sparkling clean. A stainless steel pan would be ruined!this as the baking soda will leave an after taste. It is better to soak the chole overnight and then letting them boil in the pot as they will take less time to become soft and have no after taste.
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ENTERTAINMENT ENTERTAINMENT Movie Review:
Tanu Weds Manu Returns
BY SRIJANA MITRA DAS Straight away, Tanu Weds Manu Returns is a total delight that keeps you laughing, sighing, cheering - and guessing throughout. After a stormy romance, Tanu (Kangana) married Manu (Madhavan) four years ago. But in London, the sparks between them die. Separating sourly, Tanu returns to her hometown, lighting Kanpur up with her wild-child Bohemian ways while Manu mopes in Delhi until he meets Haryanvi athlete Kusum (Kangana) - who resembles the woman he once loved. Will Manu and Kusum find romance - despite Tanu returning to Manu's life? Tanu Weds Manu Returns boasts one of the finest double roles ever in Hindi cinema. Kangana is breathtakingly good, both as doll-like drama queen Tanu and simple, dignified, earthy Kusum, whose wide-eyed honesty, flat, sporty figure and large, dusty teeth contrast sharply with Tanu's peachy prettiness, her dressy appeal, her petulant rosebud mouth, her vain, glittering fragility. Each role is performed with sensitivity, precision and flair, Kangana displaying the confidence of a talent Queen. Alongside, Madhavan does a fine job as quiet, often morose, sometimes
hopeful Manu - his shyly searching look at Kusum, wearing ear-rings he's gifted her, is lovely. Deepak Dobriyal smashes it as Manu's chatty buddy Pappi. Deepak carries off superb lines with breezy perfection, scolding his confused friend with, "Are you Salman Khan jo commitment nahin choroge?", mumbling and grumbling through a sparkling performance. Other roles - Kusum's brother Omi to creepy lawyer Chintu - click like clocks while Jimmy Shergill, as Tanu's smouldering gangster-contractor ex, is reliably intense. The plot's racily pacy. Packing in eccentric characters, hilarious scenes - Manu's mother has a whole mono-
logue, nagging - and emotions that tug at your heart while tickling you pink, crisp editing and deeply authentic visuals keep surprising. The music glows while gemstone-like scenes evoke crazy romance, crushing heartbreak - and delightful new crushes. Tanu Weds Manu Returns with double fun - and philosophy. It's hard to love happily. Yet, so easy.Aanand L. Rai merits applause for his masterful direction of Himanshu Sharma's rich, riotous story. Evoking a new-age Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Rai keeps things tight, light, yet layered - and handles two leading ladies, one of whom deserves an extra half-star. Sorry, Tanu - but Kusum is truly something else. Like a certain Kangana who's returned - and how. -TimesofIndia
May 29, 2015
Essel Vision, White Feather Films and Viking Entertainment Unveiled the First Look of Aishwarya and Irrfan Starrer Jazbaa
Essel Vision Productions Ltd, (the content engine of Zee Entertainment Enterprises ZEEL), Sanjay Gupta’s White Feather Films and actor- producer Sachiin Joshi’s Viking Entertainment unveiled the first look of the most anticipated film of the year ‘Jazbaa’. After creating a stir at the recent Cannes Film Festival, the team reveled the looks of two formidable protagonists Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Irrfan Khan. Jazbaa slated to hit theatres on Friday, 9th October 2015, also includes Shabana Azmi, Jackie Shroff, Abhimanyu Singh, Atul Kulkarni and Chandan Roy Sanyal. ZEEL has designed an innovative promotional campaign for the release of the film which will surely set new trends in the industry. Helmed by
Last week’s edition can be found online. Issue dated June 27,2014. inyour Small Continuing, freeSpecializing radicals are made in body as byproducts of natural processes, called Business Commercial Loans oxidative processes. In the same way that car exhaust is created when you run an engine to power the car, free radicals are formed by the oxidative processes to power your body. Although these processes are very efficient, free radical formation is inevitable in small amounts—even the most efficient engine will produce exhaust. There are many healthy roles for free radicals, though. For instance, nitric oxide is a free radical that is used by cells to communicate with other cells. In fact it is necessary for proper nervous system function and blood pressure control. Of course, this type of process is very tightly controlled. But nitric oxide is not what has made free radi-
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the maverick director Sanjay Gupta, Jazbaa is written by Kamlesh Pandey and Robin Bhatt, cinematography by Sameer Arya, editing by Bunty Nagi and Resul Pookutty spearheads the sound designing. Jazbaa is by far one of the most sought after films from distributors and exhibitors all across the globe.
26 May 29, 2015 IPL 2015: MI Thrill with Typical Bouncebackability
BY NAGRAJ GOLLAPUDI MUMBAI (ESPN Cricinfo): During the first timeout of the Chennai Super Kings innings in the IPL final, Ricky Ponting led the entire support staff onto the field. Shane Bond, Robin Singh and Jonty Rhodes were in tow with the Mumbai Indians head coach as they strode purposefully onto the field. Only to pat the backs and joke around with Rohit Sharma and his men for they were doing nothing wrong. This philosophy to bond together, keep a light head, have good game sense and adapt when necessary has been the hallmark of Mumbai’s success this season. Both Ponting and Rohit deserve credit for creating an atmosphere where every player buys into the winning mentality and plays hard to come out on top at all cost. Mumbai, we could say, have patented bounceabackability. They lost their first four matches, and with only only one win in six had to win each of their last eight matches to make the play-offs. Jokes about their coaching staff being a stronger outfit only became louder In the first half of the tournament. But as Kieron Pollard pointed out franchise sport is a maze: it takes time to find the right way out. For Ponting, the challenge was understanding his soldiers and
finding the right way to communicate his message. Luckily, he already had his captain’s trust and respect: Rohit has acknowledged Ponting’s inputs, as consultant, in Mumbai winning the Champions League Twenty20 in 2013. And at the outset of the 2015 triumph, Ponting had made it clear that he wanted to run the team. Although he did not mind the presence of former Indian greats Sachin Tendulkar and Anil Kumble as mentors, he did not want any interference. Ponting’s intention was not to confuse the players with too many voices. In the second half of the tournament, at every training huddle, players were told treat each match as a final. That resonated with Mumbai. Lasith Malinga found his pace and his yorkers. Pollard found a bigger role than just being a murderous finisher and also helped guide the young and raw Hardik Pandya. Harbhajan Singh found his flight and drift. He helped inexperienced left-arm spinner J Suchith beat his own nerves and opposition batsmen. Emotionally lost at the beginning, Rohit found his voice to bolster his men. He was seen as a dejected figure, sitting away from the team at times. On Sunday though, as Vinay Kumar ran in to bowl the last ball of
the IPL, Rohit started his own victory run. Leaping up ecstatically and pumping his fists in glory. High Point “Every time you go into the game and come out of it, you’ve got to think how you can improve at least by 10%.” Rohit Sharma said that after Mumbai stomped on David Warner’s Sunrisers Hyderabad with a nine-wicket victory with six overs to spare. It was the final league match of the tournament and the stakes could not have been higher: if Mumbai had lost they “would go home”, as Rohit described it. Instead the secured the second spot on the table with attacking bowling followed by a 106-run opening stand between Lendl Simmons and Parthiv Patel that sealed the result. Top of the class If it had been mentioned that Lendl Simmons would end up as Mumbai’s best batsman at the start of the tournament, you would roll your eyes. More than the runs, he kept a cool head and helped raise a platform at the top of the order consistently. Tip for 2016 As amazing as the adrenalinepumping, mad rush was in the back nine games, Mumbai will do better to establish a winning trend Nagraj Gollapudi is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo.
SPORTS
Dramatic Turnaround Win for England vs. NZ England 389 (Root 98, Stokes 92, Boult 4-79, Henry 4-93) and 478 (Cook 162, Stokes 101, Root 84, Boult 5-85) beat New Zealand 523 (Williamson 132, Guptill 70) and 215 (Anderson 67, Watling 59, Stokes 3-38, Broad 3-50) by 124 runs Shortly before lunch on Saturday, New Zealand were 404 for 3, building a lead, and England’s new era was heading for a difficult start. At 6 pm on Monday, with less than 10 overs of a compelling Test match remaining, Trent Boult upper cut Stuart Broad towards third man where Moeen Ali, stationed there by Alastair Cook but not right on the boundary edge, took a superbly judged running catch to earn England a 124-run victory and complete a remarkable turnaround. Less than a year after falling one wicket short of beating Sri Lanka
on this ground England were just beginning to get twitchy as Boult and Matt Henry negotiated eight overs with the ball starting to fall short or wide of fielders. But Broad, from round the wicket, dug the ball in and Boult, who had blocked unconventionally, could not resist playing. That it was taken at a position that needed some astute captaincy was the perfect finish for Cook, who had been so central to England’s fightback with his 162. It was a combined effort to bowl New Zealand out for a second time; James Anderson and Stuart Broad firstly reducing them to 12 for 3 before lunch, but it was Ben Stokes who really lit up Lord’s for the second afternoon running in with an electrifying over in which he removed two of New Zealand’s lynchpins, Kane Williamson and Brendon McCullum, in consecutive balls to leave them 61 for 5.
LAHORE: Pakistan 375 for 3 (Malik 112, Sohail 89*, Hafeez 86, Azhar 79) beat Zimbabwe 334 for 5 (Chigumbura 117, Masakadza 73, Riaz 3-47) by 41 runs The return of international cricket to Pakistan might have been fraught with threats of violence, but the first ODI in the country in six years brought about the most non-violent 375 you could imagine, setting up a 41-run win. In an incredibly cool and calculated innings, hardly a shot was hit in anger as Azhar Ali, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik and Haris Sohail chipped and chopped an innocuous attack to the highest total in Pakistan. However, the thinness of Pakistan’s attack, the flatness of the pitch and the fact that Zimbabwe’s batting is much stronger than their bowling, became apparent in the chase with only Wahab Riaz looking like taking a wicket. Elton Chigumbura scored a chancy century, Hamilton Masakadza a fifty, but the chase only kicked into life towards the end, by which time the asking rate had reached 15 an over, a task too tall with four Wahab overs to contend with. Considering Mohammad Sami and Anwar Ali’s struggle with
the ball, Pakistan will be thankful their batsmen posted the total they did. This was the first time all of their top four scored fifty or more, and the first Pakistan innings to feature two 150-run stands. Malik’s 112 off 76 was his fastest century. Pakistan hit 35 fours and 10 sixes in all, but that masked the lack of frenetic hitting and powerful strokes you associate such big scores with. Azhar and Hafeez began sedately before opening up in a 170run stand, Pakistan’s third-highest opening partnership at home. Malik and Sohail took over from where they left, and added some more intent as you would expect after a strong opening. Azhar and Hafeez were Pakistan’s fourth opening combination in their last five ODIs, and the tentativeness showed in their start - eight runs in five overs on a pitch that never misbehaved. In the sixth over though, Azhar, the captain playing his first international at home, took the first risk, playing across the line of a ball outside off, placing it wide of mid-on for three. That shot was the release as he raced away to 21 off 24 with Hafeez labouring to five off the same number of deliveries.
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Mahindra Launches New XUV 5oo at Rs11.21 Lakh The upgraded XUV boasts of new front grille and chrome inserts, projector headlamps, new fog lamps and alloy wheels, among other features
BY AMRIT RAJ NEW DELHI: Mumbai-based auto maker Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd on Monday introduced a refreshed version of its sports utility vehicle, XUV 5OO, priced between Rs.11.21 lakh and Rs.14.99 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). Pawan Goenka, director and president (automotive and farm equipment division) of Mahindra, said that the Indian automobile industry is set for a turnaround in the current financial year and that his company will launch at least nine products during the period. “There is no doubt that Mahindra will take a fair bit of share in the industry turnaround,” Goenka said. The industry has shown signs of stable recovery with car sales in April growing 18% from a year ago, the fastest in nearly three years, to 159,548 units. Car sales grew for the sixth month in a row, while sales of commercial vehicles were up for the ninth consecutive month. The latter was on account of truck companies buying more units in anticipation of faster infrastructure growth and an
increase in mining activities. “We are hoping that M&M will grow higher than the industry (average),” Goenka said. The upgraded XUV boasts of new front grille and chrome inserts, projector headlamps, new fog lamps and alloy wheels, among other features. In its core utility vehicles (UV) business, M&M’s market share sank to the lowest in seven years at 37.4% in 2014-15. Sales dropped 5.75% to 206,837 units from 219,421 units a year ago. This was in a year when the UV market grew by 5.2% to 553,699 units. In its lone passenger car business, where the company sells just two models, the Verito sedan and Verito Vibe hatchback, the company sold 3,184 units in 2014-15 compared with 9,734 units a year ago. “Not performed is a conclusion that is drawn from the numbers. I can tell you that we did not have products in the compact sports utility segment. We will have more products there and we will increase our spread,” he said. -livemint.com
India-Based Outsourcers Captured 23% of Top 100 Deals in 2014 NEW DELHI: India-based outsourcers such as Wipro accounted for a large chunk of the global outsourcing contracts with 23% share of the total contract value (TCV) of top 100 deals in 2014, research firm IDC said on Wednesday. India-based firms have grown their share from 8% in 2013 and 7% in 2012, IDC said. However, the global TCV of the top 100 deals declined by 10% to $45 billion in 2014 from $50 billion in 2013. India-based outsourcers are making significant inroads into the global top 100 outsourcing deals, IDC vicepresident, outsourcing and offshore services, David Tapper said in the IDC Top 100 Worldwide Outsourcing Deals of 2012–2014 report.“The combination of effectively leveraging the offshore business model and incorporating new methods of service delivery such as hosting and cloud has enabled the India-based
outsourcers to effectively compete with well-established competitors in the outsourcing industry for the largest of large-scale outsourcing deals,” he added. Also, India-based outsourcers are investing in more transformative capabilities in areas such as analytics, social media, and mobility and enhancing strategic local capabilities and resources, which has helped them, he said. The top five global vendors in 2014 captured more than 50% of the TCV of top 100 outsourcing deals in 2014, up from 43% in 2013. This includes IBM with $13.8 billion, CGI with $2.8 billion, Cognizant with $2.7 billion, Capgemini with $2.6 billion and Wipro with $2.3 billion. However, the average deal size continued to shrink along with fewer mega-deals (TCV of $1 billion or more), IDC said. While the average deal size for the top 100 worldwide
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outsourcing deals has been declining 4.3% annually over the past 10 years, the number of megadeals was at the lowest level in more than a decade at nine in 2014. This is significantly lower from the highs of 2003 (24 deals) and 2006 (25 deals). Also, the share of IT outsourcing deal value worldwide has increased to 78% of worldwide TCV in 2014, up from 51% in 2013 and 60% in 2012, IDC said. On the other hand, the share of global TCV from BPO deals has declined to 22% in 2014 from 49% in 2013 and 40% in 2012. IDC said there has been a significant shift from public sector deals to commercial/private sector deals from 2013 to 2014, with government capturing just 12% of deal value in 2014, down from 48% in 2013. The remaining 88% in 2014 was captured by the commercial sector, compared with 52% in 2013. -livemint.com
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