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Friday, November 06, 2015 • Vol. 34, No. 45

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Songs from Long Ago Add Color to a Diwali with Friends in the New World BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA HOUSTON: Fall is indeed a busy time for Indo-Americans with Dusserah, Navratri and Diwali added to a crowded calendar, and Halloween becoming a much celebrated mischievous party event. The Holiday Season for IndoAmericans kicked into higher gear off last week with a rush of parties in preparation for Diwali which will be celebrated on Wednesday, November 11 and for three weekends in a row people will be rushing from one gathering to the other. Soon thereafter, Thanksgiving tidings will keep the Holiday Spirit going all the way to Christmas and New Year’s. It was that Holiday spirit that drew together the Board of Directors and Trustees of the India Culture Center and India House to jointly host a Diwali party for their core group of supporters, volunteers and their families this past Sunday evening, November 1 at India House. The lobby was colorfully decorated with drapery and an intricate rangoli by Sangita Bhutada as guests were greeted with a gift bag and mithai (sweets) and had their portrait pictures taken in one corner by Bijay Dixit (of Unique Photo Images), helped cheerfully by his daughter Vidha. But the party also represented a small gathering of about 150 friends and family who have banded together over many years to institutionalize the Indian cultural experience in a city that they have come to call home, far away from the native homes that nurtured their identities. Inside the large banquet hall, the tables and chairs were covered with equally colorful fabrics matching the stage backdrop, as envisioned by Sara Duggal. The vegetarian appetizer buffet and dinner later served at the tables was catered by Madras Pavilion, with both Alpa and Mahesh Shah guiding the service. Vipin Kumar, the General Manager for India House for the past two years who is ubiquitous at many events held there, heralded the joint event by the ICC-IH as “doh dil, ek jaan” (two hearts, one

Manish Rungta

Vipin Kumar

Photos: Bijay Dixit

life) in recognition of the strong connections and often common leadership between the two organizations. He presented a short clip of slides outlining the various activities that are held at India House, many at low cost or free, to benefit the public at large and the geographical community where IH is located. These include a Health Clinic run by Indian doctors; an after school program called Urban Youth; yoga classes, free legal services; Hindi and Indian culture classes; Tae Kwan Do classes; Kidney Smart classes; Bollywood and

Classical Dance classes; a Harris Health Clinic and Tapped Ball Cricket matches on weekends. India House President Manish Rungta briefly welcomed the guests, followed by ICC President Charlie Patel, who mentioned the Mahatma Gandhi monument on Hillcroft as a proud achievement for the group and expressed his trust in his Board and Trustees over the past three years. ICC Chief Trustee Swapan Dhairyawan introduced the entertainers for the evening - the singing hus-

band-wife team of Stayajit and Keka Kar, accompanied by Atif Ali on the keyboards and Darshak Thakkar on the electronic drums – to deliver a medley of songs. For the next 75 minutes, the group took everyone through an evening “loaded with nostalgia,” as Keka put it. They started with “Chandan sa badan, chanchal sa chaman” and several other CONTINUED ON PAGE

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Charlie Patel

Swapan Dhairyawan

November 06, 2015

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Live in Concert : The Eternal Alka Yagnik

the other organizers and to thank and acknowledge all the sponsors and media partners. After a series of successful shows, Rehan Siddiqi really understands the pulse of Houston and has big plans to showcase the very talented, Atif Aslam on November 13 at the Arena Theatre. He is humbled and grateful by the continued support and enthusiasm of

BY VANSHIKA VIPIN HOUSTON: Arena Theatre saw a huge turnout of Houstonians to watch the iconic Alka Yagnik live in concert on Friday, October 30. She needs no introduction as her career as an Indian Playback singer in Hindi cinema has spanned three decades and counting. With 2 National Awards and 7 Filmfare Awards as Best Female Playback Singer, the audience was awestruck by her beautiful voice and humility. A favourite among most, her entry song was “kuch kuch hota hai” from the movie Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, which set the mood of nostalgia among the audience who were swaying in their seats remembering the innocence of 90’s cinema and their melodious songs.

Alka Yagnik indulged her audience with some more of her soothing songs like “Gali mein aaj chand nikala” from the movie Zakhm, “Aisi Deewanangi” from the movie Deewana, “Suraj Hua Madham” from the movie Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gam and “Taal se Taal Mila” from the movie Taal. With more than 18,000 songs in her kitty, Alka Yagnik did her best to sing as many songs as she could possibly sing in one night. The organizer of this wonderful concert, Rehan Siddiqi of Hum Tum Shows is one of the most successful organizers of Houston and his shows are mostly sold out. His recent successful shows were Fusion 2015 concert and the Arijit Singh concert in early October. Rehan Siddiqi organized an exclusive press conference a day pri-

the Houston audience. Truly mesmerized by having the best of Hindi cinema songs live in concert sung by the Queen of Playback singing was an experience for most – one that stays forever. For details contact Rehan Siddiqi at 713-545-4115 or visit www. humtumradio.com.

or to the concert at Salt and Pepper Grill, on October 29. It was a by-invite only setup for around 60 people who spent an exclusive evening with Alka Yagnik and interacted with her over dinner. The relaxed setup worked well for both parties and Alka Yagnik answered all questions patiently and in the end happily posed with the guests as well. Alka Yagnik made a special mention of the professionalism of the Hum Tum team and said that she was happy to be back in Houston. The concert was brilliant and the audience was spellbound. Such was the power of a beautiful voice. Alka Yagnik even paid a special tribute to the great Lata Mangeshkar which was the cherry on the cake. At the end, Rehan Siddiqi came on stage to bring out

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, NOVEMBER 06, 2015 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

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LOS ANGELES: Hanmi Bank is expanding its presence in the Texas region. Hanmi Financial Corporation (NSDAQ: HAFC), the holding company for the bank has recently announced its 3rd quarter earnings reporting solid loan and deposit growth and strong asset quality. Its 3rd quarter net income was $14.0 million ($0.44 per diluted share), with 5.8% increase in loans receivable and 47.1% increase in new loan production compared to 2nd quarter. One of the contributing factors in Hanmi’s strong growth was due to its acquisition of CBI, a holding company of United Central Bank, a Texas based bank which Hanmi completed in August of last year. Leading Hanmi’s Texas market growth is Mohammad Tariq, Executive Vice President. He is a driven banker with a deep understanding of customers’ business needs. Having resided in the region for more than 30 years, Tariq knows from experience that Texas is one of the nation’s fastest growing economies with ample business growth opportunities. Tariq joined Hanmi Bank over a year ago. He chose to join Hanmi because of its successful track record in supporting the needs of Asian American owned businesses and their communities. Hanmi Bank was well established as one of the largest Korean American banks and was actively seeking to expand its customer base by strengthening its reach to other Asian communities. Tariq knew his expertise in supporting the Asian community would fit well with the

bank’s expansion strategies. One of the biggest challenges Tariq faced was to introduce Hanmi Bank into the competitive banking landscape in Texas. Although the United Central Bank acquisition provided Hanmi with a nine branch network in the Dallas, Houston and Austin region, Hanmi Bank was little known in their communities. Drawing from his management experience, Tariq knew that establishing a strong team was crucial in determining the success of the bank. “Hanmi is a community bank that heavily emphasizes relationship banking. We have focused much of 2015 in building a strong team, so that we can both understand and communicate with the diverse markets we serve in Texas. By doing so, we will form lasting relationships with our customers, their friends and families”, said Tariq. Combined with his efforts and the bank’s recent marketing campaigns in Texas region, Hanmi is steadily gaining interest from the Asian communities. C. G. Kum, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, “Hanmi’s strong 3rd quarter results were driven by the continued success of our strategic expansion initiatives, improving credit quality and the positive impact of repositioning our balance sheet since the CBI acquisition. Meaningful loan production from our operations in Texas and Illinois, along with the strong performance of our new Healthcare Banking Group, augmented solid growth in our core markets in California.” Prior to joining Hanmi Bank, Tariq served as the Chief Lending Officer at MetroBank, N.A. (now East West Bank), then the largest Asian ethnic community bank in Texas with $1.1 billion in assets, where he was responsible for loan portfolio growth, commercial lending strategies and marketing plans in the Houston and Dallas metropolitan areas. After MetroBank, Tariq was Executive Vice President and Chief Loan Officer at Golden Bank, N.A. (formerly Texas First National Bank). Tariq received graduate banking education from the University of Pennsylvania’s Stonier Graduate School of Banking and holds a Leadership Certification from the Wharton School of Business.

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November 06, 2015

Grand Deepavali Bazaar 2015 Festivities at Sri Meenakshi Temple

BY CHITOOR RAMACHANDRAN PEARLAND: Sri Meenakshi Temple looked extraordinarily vibrant starting from the daybreak on Saturday, October 18 with the morning Suprabhadam to welcome Sri Venkateswara and Sri Lakshmi to the beautiful dawn. The festive look of the temple with colorful lights, huge tents and filled parking lots were all indicative of a grand celebration. Deepavali (Diwali) literally means Festival of Lights with an ancient message to erase darkness of ignorance with the light of knowledge.Sri Meenakshi Temple Society’s (MTS) annual Diwali bazaar is a much looked forward to celebration every year and the 2015 festivities was no exception. Dedicated volunteers working hard for this past one week made Sunday, November 1st yet another memorable blissful Diwali Bazaar at MTS. With the beautiful decorations, early morning chanting of slokas welcoming the deities, the day was destined to be memorable. Even though the weather decided to bless us with continues drizzle/rain through the day, this did not dampen the mood of the crowd that were ready to enjoy the day at the Diwali bazaar. A key feature of the Diwali bazaar is the annual Health Fair. A feature of the festivities is the Health fair and this year with dignitaries (Erin Asprec, CEO Memorial Hermann Southeast hospital, Hon. Mayor Tom Reid and Joanne Barrett, Chief Nursing officer, Kindred Hospital) inaugurated the 19th annual free community Health fair. Kindred Hospital and their staff provided all the blood tests. Dr. Nirmala Kethineni of Cypress Spring Family clinic provided Flu shots (either free or heavily subsidized price). Free tests included: EKG, Complete Blood count, Comprehensive metabolic profile, Lipid profile, and TSH, vision and dental screening, urologic screening, women wellness check, and General medical checkup. Dr. Ramesh Patel gave lectures on vegetarian diet, stress management and

The Health fair at the Diwali bazaar ribbon cutting by Mayor Tom Reid and Kyle Price: CEO Memorial Herman Southeast hospital with Dr and Mrs Vadyganathan.

cardiac risk screening. Temple chairman and coordinator of the Health Fair Dr. P. Vaduganathan thanked the Health professionals and volunteers.The 19th Annual Health Fair was a huge success in spite of the rain. More people lined up for registration at 8.30 am. The health fair was inaugurated by Honorable Mayor Tom Reid and Kyle Price, the CEO of Memorial Herman Southeast hospital. Several local physicians from various specialties, nurses and technicians from Kindred Hospital and Southeast memorial hospital volunteered. EKG, Blood tests such as CBC, complete metabolic profile, Lipid profile, TSH, General medical advice, Visin screening all were provided free. Since there was a continuous flow of registrants, testing continued until 1.30pm. Chairman Dr. Vaduganathan, thanked all those who volunteered on behalf of MTS. A continuous stream of Devotees were throngedstreaming all day with families to offering p prayers, ; by noon, the temple premises had turned into a little India. Thepartake in choices of delicious food items provided by the vendors, art competition-

sworkshop, facial paintings and the carnival games and a shiny Red Fire truck kept the children excitingly engaged. Many area merchants had their display of beautiful items for saleThe bazaar stalls transported all visitors to mini India with - ornaments, jewels, clothes, sarees, gift items, paintings, handicrafts, imported art work, ayurvedic medicine, just to name a few. Information booths on the upcoming Kumbhabhishekam (consecration of the renovated main Temple) were set up to promote valuable services and innovative educational materialswas provided. This year’s theme of Devas and Asuras formed the backdrop to the Kids Fancy dress e variety of entertainment demonstrated the wealth of culture in the Indian community living in Greater Houston area. While the children entertained the crowd with their impressive talents, the outstanding classical dance performance by Krithika Subrahmanian and group entertained the audience packed in the Kalyanamandapam. This was followed by the Dance competition with the MTS perpetual trophy changing hands. By sunset, with the early onset

MTS 2016 Calendar release with Mayor Tom Reid, Dr Vaduganathan (Chairman) S. Narayanan (Vice Chair and Calendar coordinator). Photos: Nandhu Radhakrishnan

of dusk (day light savings finished already in Sunday) the Priests had prepared a beautiful alankaram of Sri Maha Lakshmi for the traditional Lakshmi Pooja. elaborate set up made by the priests for the traditional Lakshmi puja, with the Diwali parade –where MTS was joined by Namadwar and ISKCON as lead in. The dedicated priest of MTS inspired the devotees with The Lakshmi Sahasranama and Veda manthras and ppushpa archana was intently followed by devotees. The utsava murthy of Sri Lakshmi was taken out on the majestic silver chariot pulled by hundreds of devotees with thousands assembled all around the temple to have a darshan of this auspicious scene. The exhilarating sound of Chenda Melam led the Rathotsavam. A real kudos to the young volunteers from the VHS who enthusiastically took part in the Diwali bazaar food drive, alternating with helping at the Kids carnival. The enthusiastic crowd of 4000 rejoiced the day’s proceedings, whether inside the Youth center bazaars or in the Kids Carnival area.evening of a spectacular firework, which was followed by Garba with live music. The mood

was just exhilarating till the end. We thank the volunteers and employees of MTS for organizing such a flawless festival year after year for two decades.All the Temple staff deserve our sincere thanks for the hard work both before and during the Diwali bazaar with many last minute issues that the rain posed. The success of a big event like Diwali bazaar requires many hands working together and indeed the 2015 Diwali bazaar is a testimony again. They deserve congratulations for a meticulous job well done with the support of many benevolent well-wishers and supporters. We pray to Sri Meenakshi for a year of happiness and welfare.

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Groovy Halloween: Bollywood Style Thanks to the daylight saving, the audience had an extra hour to dance the night off and boy it was worth it! The audience was ecstatic with all the nostalgic desi music and just didn’t want the music to stop. In between all the dancing, Hookah lovers could sit on the patio and enjoy being served up by Aladdin’s Hookah in a variety of flavors and have their photos taken by Meedu’s Photografy. Overwhelmed by the grand success of the party, Sunny Taj (the host) said, “Houstonians have always shown their support by attending our events in large numbers. Grooveyard was another example of a perfect night for music lovers… with a fantastic lineup of DJs, great ambience and a wonderful crowd full of energy”. He added, “It was like a ‘Reunion’ for many who met an old friend after a long time and stories like these make us want to organize more and more events that bring people together. The biggest compliment for us was when people were craving for more, despite dancing the night for more than 5 hours. It just shows we were successful in entertaining our audience and that is our biggest victory. We have raised the bar pretty high for our next event which is

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BY VANSHIKA VIPIN HOUSTON: J Black’s Houston lounge on Washington street, saw the best of DJ’s belting out groovy Bollywood numbers for a Halloween party on Saturday, October 31. The party saw a huge turn out of Houstonians enthusiastically dressed in creative costumes for the desi – ‘Grooveyard’ party. Sunny Taj of ABCD Houston in collaboration with Houston’s infamous DJ Dholi Deep ( Sandeep Sulhan) promoted this thrilling Bollywood Halloween party night that had people eagerly awaiting the event and the tickets were sold out almost immediately. Previously the successful duo

have promoted various events like New years, Valentines and Memorial Day party and have earned the name of being the “Top” two Bollywood/ Mainstream promoters in Houston and rightly so. The first half of the night, Houston’s legendary DJ Scoop and DJ Dholi Deep kept the audience mesmerized by dishing out the best of Bollywood and Top 40 club hits, which had the audience hit the dance floor with gusto. The energy was palpable and the mood infectious. By midnight, Delhi, India’s most popular DJ - DJ Kamya, was ready to turn up the oomph factor with her music and energy. She kept her audience enthralled and on their feet till the wee hours of the morning.

coming up… very soon”. The grand sponsors for this event were Anand and Dr. Ashima Chauhan. A witch dancing to Bhangra music, a goblin or two, jumping to desi item songs and a Dracula humming to nostalgic Hindi romantic music… Halloween just got desi-fied.

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songs from the ‘60s through the ‘90s, then blending them into a medley of hits that had everyone clapping along and eve singing or mouthing the songs. A few gingerly did a few moves on the dance floor in front of the stage and close to the end, it filled up with dancers and a few who couldn’t resist grabbing the mic to croon along. Darshak Thakkar was wildly jumping and dancing as he pounded on the drums and Atif Ali picked up the melodies quickly and tried his voice at a

couple of songs. The final piece were games, with Vipin Kumar asking for a scavenger hunt of items and giving prizes to three people. A game of “lavzon ka khel antakshari” (last letter play on words) in which randomly selected people were asked to sing a song based on a word posed by Swapan Dhairyawan as he walked up and down between tables. The twelve people who played, including the oldest person in the room, Shakuntla Malhotra, were wildly applauded for their response and received prizes.

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18 November 06, 2015 Oh Canada! My Adopted Land, I Belong Here BY DEVANSHU NARANG “Hey Dev, what are you doing?”, I asked my five-year-old son who had just come back from the school and had not jumped on the bed watching his favourite cartoon network by now. “I am trying to wash and clean my skin and make it white”, he answered in the ways of a cold blooded murderer, clinically working on inflicting wounds on his prey. “But you are rubbing so hard and vigorously and it will cause rashes! And, and this would not make it white. It will only clean it of dirt that has accumulated while you played outside”, I answered trying to cool down his nerves. “Then will it still remain dark and they would continue to call me East Indian”, he inquired almost crying, with his brown piercing eyes soaking with tears.Something was wrong and the dirt had set right in the mind and not the body is what I could gauge. “Why, what happened. Sit down and talk to me. Did somebody say something”, I asked while slowly bringing him closer and trying to set right his world again. “Sara and James were laughing at Lee and me today and calling me East Indian and LeeAsian. James said that their parents were talking about us yesterday and said that we have started taking over the big colleges where Didi (elder sister) goes”, he sobbed. Now I knew where this came from. It’s time of the year for the start of University and college admissions and when news comes out calling citizens of our country as “Asians” or “South Asians” taking over the “Canadian” universities, the fire stroked would light all across including the little ones. And the fact that these people, many of them citizens for years, would have taken all steps that they could humanly take to assimilate into the culture and ethos of Canada, by picking up new language, new names which are Canadian, new occupations unworthy of their skill levels because the same are not recognized here, new and different wardrobe then what they earlier wore,

new food habits… all amounted to nothing as the colour of the skin still remained the same. And leaving aside the issue of these hard working, intelligent , “Asians” or “South Asians” taking over the “Canadian” universities, as that itself is a topic of a separate discussions, what is more important is the fact that an underline current of race still runs in our minds, somewhere deep, somewhere shallow. That is perhaps one of the reasons why study after study shows that if you have a different name, read Asian, South Asian… but with same qualifications, you have fifty percent lesser chances of being called for interviews. And we are not even talking selections.That is perhaps why places of worship, created in accordance with the law of the land and at places designated where they should be set up are still at times opposed on grounds of differences with the Canadian architecture or culture. What is the solution? Since this cancer is wide spread some innovative ideas could be considered. Like refining the flow of future immigrants and restricting it to the people who “look” like Canadians (read Caucasian for clarity). Like bringing in a bill and “officially” declaring places like Brampton, Richmond Hill, Markham as ghettos where and where “only” the “Non Canadians look alikes” should live and clean all other towns, universities, and offices of this undesired diversity. Like recommending to the team of doctors who are working on converting skin into blood to direct their efforts to a more useful work of pigment and skin changes so as to permanently make “Non Canadians”, look like “Canadians”. Or should we for once try a mind cleansing, sleep well one day and get up next day, a new person looking at each other as human beings comprising of similar organs, blood, water, air, sharing common dreams and thoughts for our land? Can it be done? Do you want it done? In your answer lies the future of Canada of our dreams! -TimesofIndia

EDITORIAL/COMMENTARY

Chhota Rajan Challenge

There’s considerable speculation about whether Nikhalje’s return to India is a surrender-in-disguise — an effort by an ageing criminal to seek a relatively secure retirement home.

Extortion, drug trafﬁcking, murder: Strange as it may sound, these are the least of Rajendra Nikhalje’s or “Chhota Rajan’s” crimes. He was much more, as a witness to a critical phase in the making of modern India, when criminality and power became inextricably entwined. Like all organised crime operations, the Mumbai syndicates provided services the public demanded, but the state denied — alcohol during prohibition, for example, or smuggled electronics when import duties were at 300 per cent. From the 1970s on, as the state system degraded, the corruption of judicial and police institutions provided crime lords with new opportunities. They provided security, enforced contracts, resolved disputes and, over time, emerged as sources of ﬁnance. In return for impunity, they served corrupt business élites, bureaucrats and politicians. The syndicates weren’t enemies of the state — they were its creatures. Nikhalje himself, having apparently begun his career scalping movie tickets, graduated from bootlegging liquor to extortion, and eventually became Dawood Ibrahim’s key lieutenant in Mumbai. In 1989, he joined his boss in Dubai,

The arrest of the gangster should be the ﬁrst step in answering larger questionsabout India’s crime syndicates positioning himself at the heart of the D-Company’s operations, before exiting following the 1993 Mumbai blasts. While India’s intelligence services are believed to have allied with Nikhalje for years to wage war on the man suspected to have been behind the blasts, it is unlikely he can do much to help ﬁnd Dawood. Dawood is known to be in Pakistan,

sheltered by its grateful intelligence establishment. There’s little new light remaining to be shed on the 1993 bombings — which took place when Nikhalje was well entrenched in Dawood’s order, for all his subsequent efforts to legitimise himself as a Hindu nationalist. Nikhalje’s nabbing may, at most, help resolve the question of how much he knew about the operation. There’s considerable speculation about whether Nikhalje’s return to India is a surrender-in-disguise — an effort by an ageing criminal to seek a relatively secure retirement home — or a breakthrough by Australia’s police services. There are questions to be answered, too, about how Nikhalje evaded arrest for so long. In comparison with the big issues, though, these are trivial. The crime syndicates’ role in corrupting the republic was investigated by the N.N. Vohra Committee in the 1990s. Its appendices, believed to name top politicians, still remain secret. The present government’s test will be to ensure that the police investigation can wander where it wishes, returning with prosecutable cases. -IndianExpress

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COMMUNITY

November 06, 2015

IITAGH Hosts Another Successful Codefest Event

Students at Travis High School, FBISD

From left: Anne Beckman, Michael Thom, Anand Chauhan

Students during the class

HOUSTON: Even as the rain pounded Houston with Hurricane Patricia pushing through the Gulf of Mexico, the IITAGH /C@deFest// 1.1 event thundered along with students at Travis High School. The IITAGH /C@deFest// 1.1 event hosted on Saturday ,October 24 was speciﬁcally geared towards helping middle and high school students learn how to code a website in a day. The goal was for them to appreciate this foundational skill and potentially look for careers in the STEM (Sci-

ence, Technology, Engineering & Math) ﬁelds. The event was hosted by the IIT Alumni of Greater Houston (IITAGH), the Travis High School Computer Science Program, the Fort Bend ISD Global Studies Academy (GSA) and the International Business and Marketing Academy (IBMA). The students settled down at the tables in main area as they got ready. Anne Beckman, Academy Coordinator at Fort Bend ISD, welcomed all the students and then turned it

over to Anand Chauhan, the instructor for the day. Anand walked the students through basic fundamentals about computers, the differences between the internet and the web, how to use HTML tags and JavaScript code to create webpages, and how to integrate multiple webpages into websites. Anand ﬁnally walked the students through how to upload their website to the internet. A number of volunteers from the Travis High School Computer Science Club helped the students as they developed their own custom webpages. Michael Thom, who teaches Computer Science classes at Travis High School commented, “This was a great event that introduced coding to students at Travis High School. We look forward to having more of these kinds of events.” “The event started with a small class at Clements High School and was then presented to a large group at both Clements and Travis High Schools. We are now looking to have the event at the Houston Community College next, as we continue to build on the success of this program,” commented Pratish Kanani, President of the IIT Alumni of Greater Houston. The students commented on being able to log into the website and review additional learning topics and further their skills. “The course was easy to follow and well documented. We enjoyed being able to upload our websites and directly see the changes we were making.” “We continue to be successful in offering this program to GSA and IBMA students. The course offering continues to improve and the students had a great time seeing their websites online at the end of the event,” said Anne Beckman. IITAGH is a 501(c)3 non-proﬁt organization. We help our members connect, develop, and give back to the local community. For further information, visit www.iitagh.org. For more information on the IITAGH /C@deFest// please visit http://code-fest.org.

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November 06, 2015

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COMMUNITY

Dr. Dronamraju Delivers Opening Address in Shanghai, China

Dr. Dronamraju delivering the opening address in Shanghai, China. Photo: Michele Wambaugh.

Dr. Krishna Dronamraju, President of the Foundation for Genetic Research in Houston, delivered the opening address at the Third Conference on Biomarkers and Clinical Applications in Shanghai, China. The conference was organized by the Shanghai Biotechnological Institute from 16 to 18 October. In a

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review of wide ranging list of Biomarkers and their Medical Applications, Dr. Dronamraju covered several important diseases such as many kinds of Cancer including chronic myeloid leukemia, melanoma, prostate cancer, colorectal cancer, breast cancer, as well as multiple sclerosis, Down's syndrome and many oth-

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ers. Biomarkers are genetic or physiological markers which can provide early indications of a disease, leading to the development of early treatment methods to prevent the development of a full blown disease. Biomarkers of many kinds are being discovered rapidly in recent years because of discoveries in molecular biology and medical genetics. Early detection and treatment are extremely important for the prevention of many types of cancer and other diseases. Biomarkers of many kinds include "Screening Biomarkers", "Predisposition Biomarkers", and "Prediction Biomarkers", and many others. Dr. Krishna Dronamraju is President of the Foundation for Genetic Research in Houston, and is a Visiting Professor of the University of Paris, France. He is the author of 20 books and over 200 research papers in Biotechnology. He was a member of the U.S. Presidential delegation to India in 2000, and has been actively promoting U.S.-India cooperation in Science and Technology.

HOUSTON:Global appliance leader Equator Advanced Appliances will debut a major home laundry innovation at the CES & KBIS Conventions in January 2016: a “Smart” combo washer-dryer with Wi-Fi capabilities. The smart combo enables the user to view and operate the product from another location via a mobile app. In addition the smart combo performs auto registration of the product and remote diagnostics of key components.

Equator’s Wi-Fi-enabled Super Combo marks the company’s entry into the “Smart-Home” category. The “smart” model is the latest generation of Equator’s best-selling Super Combo, the world’s ﬁrst convertible venting-condensing combo washerdryer. At just 22 inches deep, the Super Combo is the slimmest combo on the market and boasts energysaving, time-saving features that have secured it numerous design and industry awards. The Super Combo is

available at Sears, Best Buy, Costco, Home Depot, Sam’s Club, Fry’s and other leading home appliance retailers. EquatorAppliances was founded in 1990 by entrepreneur Atul Vir, who introduced combo washer-dryers to the US. Today Equator’s product line includes combo washer-dryers, washers, dryers, refrigerators, wine coolers and other essential home appliances. Equator’s groundbreaking eco-friendly products have been featured in Popular Mechanics, the Wall Street Journal and Oprah. Now in its 25th year, Equator remains committed to creating innovative products that solve real problems in its customers’ lives. As the world's largest trade shows, CES (for consumer electronics) & KBIS (for home improvement) bring togethermanufacturers,retailers,buyers and industry experts from around the world to explore the future. Visit Equator at Las Vegas: • CES - Sands, Halls A-C, Level 2, Booth#71257 - January 6 to 9, 2016 • KBIS - Convention Center, South Hall Level 1, Booth# S3070 - January 19 to 21, 2016. Equator’s founder Atul Vir will be a speaker at KBIS on Thursday, January 21, 2016 at 1 pm. His subject will be “Implementing Innovation in Your Kitchen & Bath Business”. For more on Equator Appliances visit www.equatorappliances. com. To learn more about Equator’s CEO, visit www.atulvir.com. For more on CES visit www.cesweb. org and KBIS www.kbis.com

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 06, 2015 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

November 06, 2015 23 ADVICE How We Can Create Perseverance in Our Life

BY KRISHAN GUPTA

be successful, and will help you to achieve what you want. It is extremely helpful to have someone you know that is willing to listen to your frustrations, self-doubt, encourage you and remind you of how far you’ve already come. There will always be distractions and stumbling blocks that you have to deal with when you are on your road to success. The key point to remember is to persist and to develop the courage to move on even when everyone around you is telling you it is ok to give up. Do you view problems as opportunities or warning signs? How do you view failure and are you making sure that you don’t make the one mistake people make when learning from their mistakes? Do the things you think are right, be helpful, be spontaneous, honest, and be yourself. Live within your budget, pay attention to your thoughts, feelings & actions. Practice kindness

& tolerance, especially with yourself. Exercise, eat healthy food and Stay active. Go on vacation try new ideas, cuisines, cultures, courses & languages. Visit museums, art galleries, botanic gardens, opera & orchestras, and other community events and fairs. Set your limits, know what you can do, expect the best and prepare for the worst. Practice equanimity for the things you can't. Don’t settle for anything less than excellence. To have a great life pursue your dreams, know your strength, use impeccable words, speak less and listen more. There’s an old saying everyone’s familiar with “a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” There’s no better time to start your life than today. Today, right now, is the right day to start to take a step in the direction of your heart’s desires. It’s what you do TODAY that will make a difference in your life for many years to come.

Since Honorable Narendra Modi became Prime Minister of India we have observed that he has the capability to lead the country in the right directions. He is an astute scholar, politician, always looking forward for the benefits of all human beings and is trying his level best to bring the moral of country to the modern era. Where ever he goes he is pursuing his dreams, using impeccable words and above all he knows his strength. His perseverance may be described as the difference between success and failure, uphill and downhill. A perseverance life is the result of simplifying your life, allocating your time, energy, money, thoughts, and hard work. When you focus on simplifying your life, you free up energy and time for the work that you enjoy and the purpose for which you are here. Make necessary adjustments to create a great life. It may mean re-evaluating how you spend your time, or choosing to spend your money in a different way. It may mean looking for new ways to spend your energy that coincide with your particular definition of a great life. Stop setting yourself up for stress and failure, but start setting up your life to support success and ease. Customize these “secrets” to fit your own needs and style, and start creating your own great life today! Create the priorities, control your thoughts, eliminate distractions and reserve your time, space energy and money for good life. Focus on removing the obstacles that get in your way to align your goals, values, strengths, and priorities. Read biographies on great people to achieve professionalism and personally follow their passion. The reason why great people are few and far in-between is because most people don’t even know what their passion is. For those that do figure out their passion, most of them don’t follow their passion consistently. This is one of the main reasons why people don’t reach their goals. There are many factors that go into become a success in both your professional and personal life but the one factor that is required is taking action. Most people miss out on reaching their full potential because they never start. They are always preparing, planning and waiting for the best time to start. If I waited until I was ready, I would not have a coaching practice, a website, a blog, a workshop, etc. The stars rarely align and you will never be completely ready so just start now and adjust along the way. Are you waiting for something before you start? What is your planning to do ratio? What’s really the worst thing that can happen if you got started right now? If you are someone that’s just been waiting, stop reading this post and get started on what you have wanted to do. A great mentor/guru can also guide you to INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 06, 2015 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

24 November 06, 2015

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STOCKS • FINANCE • SOUTH ASIAN MARKETS • TECHNOLOGY

Air India to Add 15 More Airbus A320s to Boost Capacity Air India’s consolidated revenue is expected to be Rs25,000 crore on a consolidated basis in 2015-16, says S. Venkat BY P.R. SANJAI MUMBAI: India’s oldest airline Air India Ltd will take 15 more narrow body Airbus SAS made A320 planes on lease to augment capacity as its private rivals are taking delivery of more planes scaling up the competition. This in addition to Air India’s latest addition of five such planes and its plan to lease 14 Airbus A320neos, a fuel efficient variant that can give 15% savings on fuel compared to existing A320 planes. “We are planning to come out with a (global) tender to add 15 more A320 aircraft to cater to the growing market, as approved by the board in the meeting held on 29 October, 2015,” said S. Venkat, director (finance) at Air India on Saturday. Venkat was talking on the sidelines of 111th birth anniversary celebration of JRD Tata here. He said Air India recently added five new A320 aircraft from an inter-

national leasing company. Air India will add six more Dreamliner planes or B787s in the fleet in 2016-17. Air India has 21 such widebodied planes at present. “We are in the process of inducting 14 A320neo aircraft on lease basis in 2017-18. Our subsidiary, Air India Express (international low fare airline) is inducting six Boeing B737800 aircraft in their fleet in 2016,” Venkat said. He said Air India has retained its initial option of inducting three Boeing B777 ER (extra range) in its fleet which are proposed to be delivered in the year 2016-17 and 2017-18. The total fleet strength of Air India and subsidiaries today stands at 135 which is one of the largest in the subcontinent. Air India’s rivals Jet Airways (India) Ltd, Vistara (run by Tata SIA Airlines Ltd), IndiGo (run by InterGlobe Aviation Ltd), GoAir (Go

Airlines (India) Ltd) and SpiceJet Ltd are taking more airplanes as the demand of air travel has picked up in the country. “Air India is doing its best to add capacity. But this scattered approach may not help Air India. It is not able to cover costs on most of its routes,” said an airline consultant, requesting anonymity. He said it will have to face stiff competition with rivals. For instance, one of the smallest airlines GoAir has some 72 Airbus A320neos on order, he cited.

Venkat begs to differ. “Nearly 87% of our routes today cover our variable costs of operation,” he said adding Air India has got the youngest fleet with an average age of 6 years hinting towards fuel efficiency of planes. A total of 102 new aircraft have been inducted during the last eight years which comprised both narrow and wide bodied fleet, Venkat said. Incidentally, Saturday was last day for Venkat as the director of finance. Air India has appointed him as adviser, finance, effective from 1 No-

vember. He said Air India’s consolidated revenue is expected to be Rs25,000 crore on a consolidated basis in 201516. The national flag carrier is surviving on a Rs30,000 crore government bailout. The firm, with a total debt of Rs40,000 crore as on 31 March, is expected to turn around only by 2018-19. In June, the aviation ministry asked SBI Capital Markets Ltd to review the turnaround plan of the loss-making airline in the backdrop of changes in the operating environment and increased competition. Air India is expected to post a loss of Rs3,900 crore for the year ended 31 March 2014, numbers for which are yet to be disclosed. It posted a loss of Rs5,100 crore in 2012-13 and a loss of Rs7,100 crore in the preceding fiscal. -Livemint.com

Indians Top Foreign Investors in Dubai Realty Sector DUBAI: Indians have emerged the top foreign property investors in Dubai, spending over Rs 30,000 crore last year alone. This is more than a quarter of the total of around Rs 1 lakh crore of 'non-Arab' property investments recorded in 2014, according to the Dubai land department. In the ﬁrst half of this year, Indians were again the most proliﬁc foreign investors, with 3,017 transactions worth over Rs 13,000 crore. The department said 123 different nationalities spent over Rs 42,400 crore in the same period. This week, leading Dubai-based developers will descend on the city

to entice Indians to invest in the Emirate's real estate. The property exhibition in Mumbai comes at a time when Dubai's property market is still shaky—prices fell by 12.2% during the past year, the largest drop in the world, according to real estate consultancy Knight Frank. Russians, who were one of the biggest property investors in Dubai, left after the 2008 global ﬁnancial crisis, said sources. The biggest names in the construction industry in Dubai are now vying to entice Indian buyers to invest in apartments and villas at prices they claim are much cheaper than Mumbai. But a Knight Frank ofﬁcial said

over the past year, there was a fall in the proportion of Indian real estate investment in Dubai. “In H1 2015, Indians accounted for 15% of the total spent on property—versus 25% in H1 2014. This can largely be attributed to the strength of the US dollar (to which the UAE dirham is pegged), making property investment in the Emirate a more expensive endeavour for the nationality,” he said. Dubai land department data shows foreigners accounted for 78% of total real estate investment in the ﬁrst half of 2015. Of these, Indians, British and Pakistanis were the most, constituting 15%, 9% and 6%, respectively, of the

total value invested in real estate between January and June of this year. Ali Rashid Ahmed Lootah, chairman of Nakheel, the Dubai-based master developer said, “In the last few years, the Dubai market has attained depth and maturity in the wake of rules and regulations put in place by authorities. We have learnt our lessons from the post-2009 property debacle. The market is expected to be steady going forward.” Indians comprise 11% of the construction giant’s customer base. Kamlesh Sampat, director, SPF Realty, said stringent rules now regulate

the Dubai property market, especially since the market crash of 2008. “Local authorities regulate all transactions, brokers etc. Besides, there is no 50% to 125% loading in projects,” he said. Local property experts said apartment prices in Dubai start at Rs 62 lakh going up to Rs 2.5 crore for villas. “Rates in many locations in Dubai are comparatively lower than certain metropolitan cities in India; real estate there also offers better amenities at a lower price than in Delhi, NCR or Mumbai,” they said. -TimesofIndia

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26 November 06, 2015

COMMUNITY

Navratri 2015 at UT Austin

Navratri arthi done by Hindu Students Assn at UT Austin.

Photos: Puja Patel & Vijay Pallod

Learning how to play dandiya.

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AUSTIN,TX: On October 23, Hindu Students Association hosted Navratri at RecSports. Despite the dismal and rainy weather, attendance for the event peaked at over 1,100 people, a record attendance for the event. Navratri stands for nine nights, and it is a religious and cultural holiday that commemorates women’s contribution to society and the victory of good over evil. This year, the theme of the event was women empowerment, which was relayed in various forms. One of the ways was by highlighting a different famous Hindu woman for 9 days on the Facebook event page. The theme also carried on to the event where various posters were set up to showcase the accomplishments of these figures. Co-chair Monika Shah commented on the theme that “The goal of our theme was to help students gain self confidence. Since college is a pivotal time as we transition from being a student to entering the professional world, we found that empowering women would spark motivation in others.” The event began sharply at 7 with hordes of students shuffling into RecSports to the fresh smell of samosas and the joyous sound of Indian music. Some stopped to eat, take a few pictures by the backdrop, or examine the educational posters before heading into the dancing room. One thing was shared among the diverse group of attendees - everyone was excited to begin the celebration of Navratri. The event began with a note to the various sponsors of the event and an opening prayer, and then it quickly transitioned into the dance form of garba. The throng was composed of students with all ranges of experience in garba; some had never even heard of garba until a few minutes ago while others had been dancing to these tunes since they were young children. On this, attendee Erika Storli says “The best part of Navratri was how engaging and welcoming it was, even though I had no prior experience in garba, I was able to join in and have a lot of fun!” After completing the garba section of the event, attendees took a break to participate in the traditional Navratri aarti. For the next section, the action quickly picked up again as attendees rushed to acquire dandiyas to participate in raas. By the end of the raas segment, attendees were soaked in sweat, but their energy was unwavering as they continued on to the bhangra dance. Attendees of different cultures, race, and backgrounds all joined together to end the night with a bang by dancing to upbeat bollywood songs. The night culminated with a t-shirt toss and students eagerly awaiting next year’s celebration Namita Pallod is a junior at The University of Texas at Austin. She was one of the co-chairs for Navratri and is a core member of Hindu Students Association.

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Monkia Shah and Namita Pallod co-chairs of Navratri at UT Austin.

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COMMUNITY

Child Rights Walkathon

November 06, 2015 SUGAR LAND:Millions of children can only dream of having the basic rights to live, learn, play and grow. The United Nations Convention on the rights of the child grants children four basic human rights: the right to survival, development, participation and protection. CRY supports organizations in India and the US and has transformed the life of over 450,000 children. With a vision of a just world in which all children have equal opportunities to develop to their full potential, CRY (Child Rights & You) works to raise awareness and support for underprivileged children. With this goal in mind people from different parts of Houston came to walk in support of Child rights at Lost Creek Park in Sugar Land, TX on October 10. The Event started with a speech from Madhulica Misra who is the Houston AC Lead for CRY America. Student volunteers Ravali and Hailey , both 9th graders talked about the agenda for the day. This was followed by Warm up Yoga by Priya

Bali . Walk was inaugurated by kids. This was a 5 K Walk and winners were awarded medal. In Children Category Winner was Dhwani Tulsyan. In Teen Category winner was Dev Patel and Rohan Shani. In Adult Category winner was Shruti. This event was organized keeping young kids in mind. Madhulica Misra, and Indira Bahavaraju along with volunteers from different schools put in a lot of hours to make this event A success. Magnificent Event Planners did an excellent job of setting up the venue and putting stage for Bollywood Dance Showcase . After the walk our Chief Guest Dr Ravi Tamerisa spoke to children and adults about how they can help through their efforts children in India. There was Bollywood dance showcase by kids from Rhythum India Dance School. Also we had Dance performance by Dhivyaa Hardy, Sushmitha Niveditha, Paridhi Tulsyan and Dhwani Tulsyan. The dance performance setup and planning was done by Riya Manadalapu. DJ Raman kept the floor moving with his music. Food was sponsored by Hyderabad House and Aling’s Hakka Indo Chinese Cuisine. CRY America would like to thank all the sponsors, media and everyone who helped in making this event a big success. People can still donate by going to www.cryamerica.org and finding the Houston Walk under the Events tab. CRY believes that “CHANGE is POSSIBLE because we will make it POSSIBLE”.

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PUZZLES/RECIPES

Mama’s Punjabi Recipes

Shakkar Parre (Fried Sugary Flour Sticks) A few snacks which are made to be salty can also be made in the sweet version with just a few adjustments and of course, the taste is quite different. This switch works quite well with matthis (fried salty cookies) and namkeen mutter (fried salty peas) which are also called namkeen parre (fried salty sticks). There is usually a huge demand for all three snacks, especially during the winter months, to nibble on over hot tea. This is a tradition that probably grew out of the olden days when people in towns and villages would make pippas (tall, shiny tin boxes with wire handles on top and the sides to carry) full of them. You could easily store a huge supply of these three, and other, snacks to carry the family through the cold winter, especially since families were mostly rural and agrarian and also very large. It was not uncommon for families to have 7 to 10 members! Once the families moved to cities, like mine after the Partition, the tradition moved along with them. The reason why these three snacks are so popular is that they are cheap and easy to make, but also they are nutritious after a hard day’s work, can fill you up fast and – most of all – taste good. The texture defines the taste: I think the crispier, the better, but softer, fluffier ones are also available. Unlike the namak parre, the shakkar parre are hard and become harder when kept for long months. Usually they are made of maida (bleached white flour), and then dipped in sugar syrup. They can also be dipped in melted gur (jaggery) which gives them a brown color, and are called gur parre. Ingredients : 2 cup maida (bleached, white selfrising flour) 3/4 cup tael (oil: sunflower or canola is best) 1 1/2 cup pani (warm water) 1 cup chinni (sugar) 1 tsp namak (salt) Tael (oil) to fry the dough in

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Directions: 1. In a large bowl, pour in the maida and the oil, mix well and knead the mixture with your hands. 2. Add some warm water to make

the dough a little hard. 3. Take some dough and roll into a 2 inch ball. Flatten it with a rolling pin till it is round and about 1/4 inch thick. 4. Take a sharp edged knife and cut strips of the dough, about ½ inch wide. Then cut diagonally across to make 4 inch long pieces that resemble peas in pods: hence the name mutter (peas). 5. Continue to roll out the rest of the dough as you ﬁnish off each batch. 6. Heat ½ cup of water in a saucepan and stir in the sugar. Let the mixture come to a boil over medium heat so that the sugar is completely dissolved and turn the heat off. 7. In a kadai or wok, warm some oil over medium heat. When hot, gently slip the cut pieces of dough into the oil and fry till they are golden but not very brown.

8. Take out of the oil with a slotted ladle and gently drop the parre into the chasni (syrup), swirling so that they get well coated with the syrup. 9. Take out of the syrup and place in a plate. Once the parre have cooled down, separate them with a wooden spoon. You can store them in a container with a tight lid and they will keep for many weeks. 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 IF NOTHING ELSE IS AVAILABLE, USE HALDI FOR COLORING DISHES

Many Indian sweets are either white - the color of the milk which is its base ingredient as in burfi or rus malai or rus gulle - or fried and golden brown, like khoya (coagulated and browned milk). Other Indian sweets are more colorful, and adding a little color enhances its appeal. Sometimes the dish can ask for a little saffron to add color and a little extra taste, but when all else fails and you don’t have coloring available, just throw in a dash of haldi (turmeric) to bring out the same look. You can do this with halva, ladoos, jalebis or mitthe chawal, but generally haldi is used for saltly dishes.

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November 06, 2015

ENTERTAINMENT:REVIEWS/NEWS ENTERTAINMENT:REVIEWS/NEWS

Main Aur Char les

Leonardo DiCaprio’s Secret India Visit: A Taj Selﬁe and a Delhi Shoot

BY MEENA IYER Prawaal Raman does a commendable job of recreating the 60s-70s. He also gets his protagonist's physicality and smugness bang on. Working on a wafer-thin account given to him by the real-life Delhi cop, Amod Kanth, Raman still manages to infuse life (at least partly) into this ﬁlm and into the life of the notorious killer. The intrigue kicks in when a couple of bikini-clad bodies are washed ashore a beach in Thailand. That's when you know that Charles Sobhraj, a Indo-French con man, who also has a penchant for killing women is around. There is no logic for his action. You have simply bought into the explanation that he is a psychopath who can charm the panties off the women; so much so, they don't even notice when he is putting them down. To escape a death penalty in Thailand for multiple murders, Charles ﬂees to India. Now the plot veers between Goa, Mumbai and Delhi. His modus-operandi is repetitive; he sleeps with his prey and then drugs them to death. You are also told he uses the passport of the women he kills to plan his next escape. Makes you ponder, was immigration that gullible? Anyway, the morally bankrupt hippie culture of that time helped this killing machine stay on a roll.

Even as cops on his trail, from different Indian states are shown squabbling to mark their jurisdiction, Charles makes a monkey of them by stage-managing his arrest and escapes. Prison wardens eat out of his palm as do inmates. A criminal law student Mira Sharma (Richa) also ﬁnds herself inexorably drawn to him. By the end of this ﬁlm, Charles (here we are talking about the real

man) who is currently lodged in a Kathmandu prison is given celebrity status. Randeep is convincing; the uncanny physical resemblance and accent help bring Charles alive. Most of the supporting cast is good, but Adil Hussain is a notch above. -TimesofIndia

AGRA:Away from the glare of arch-lights, Leonardo DiCaprio is enjoying a romantic date with India. The Wolf of Wall Street actor, who was reportedly in the country to shoot for a documentary ﬁlm on climate change, took time out to visit Taj Mahal on Saturday morning. His entire schedule was kept under wraps. “He reached Taj around 7.15 am and left around 9:30 am on Saturday. He was wearing a cap, black sunglasses to conceal his identity and was surrounded by bodyguards, who donned an all-black look. They were trying hard to keep the visit lowkey. Whenever someone tried to get close to DiCaprio or tried to click his photographs, the people were asked to leave him alone,” said a person present at the monument. The three-time Academy Award

nominee, who has shared screen space with Indian megastar Amitabh Bachchan in The Great Gatsby, even hired an Indian guide to help him understand the culture. Narrating an incident,a source said: “There was one foreigner, who identiﬁed the Hollywood star and approached him, but the bodyguards came forward and said ‘No photographs. Go’“. The actor, who enjoys a wide fan base around the globe including India, was not alone. He was with his mother, other family members and a still photographer. “He roamed inside and around the vicinity and then sat in golf cart and went out. There was a still photographer, who was clicking his photographs,” the source said. -HindustanTimes

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30 November 06, 2015

Settled India Up Against Hardened Tourists

BY SIDHARTH MONGA MOHALI: This Monday was 12 days short of two years since India last played a Test at home. The last time India did so, Ajinkya Rahane, an indispensable batsman now, was a toddler by the standards of Test cricket, and had been dropped after two nervous innings on debut. Sachin Tendulkar was actually an international player then. Between the last Test at home and this week, India have played 16 away Tests, Tendulkar, Zaheer Khan and Virender Sehwag have officially retired, the new generation of batsmen has established itself, and the team has spent two Christmases away for Boxing Day Tests. This Monday morning in Mohali, where the morning and evening chill and that companion of north Indian winter, smog, have begun to set in, you get a distinct Christmas feeling. In reverse. In South Africa and in Australia, India's last two Boxing Day Tests, it was India who would be doing all the hard work on the eve of the Test while the host players finished a light optional session and went away to their festivities. Australia have a family day the day before the Boxing Day Test. Players bring their families along to the nets, and then they all change and go to a team lunch. It is surreal. There is an eerie quiet around if you are looking for Test-match anticipation, and it seems the Indian team is the only people working in town. Now in India, Diwali is about a week away. India is officially in festival mode. It is not that quiet this Monday morning - it can never be in India - but it is South Africa who are working hard, looking at the pitch, fretting over its dryness and the need to stay prepared for the worst, while like a boss India saunter into the city only two days and a bit before the Test, having danced in Harbhajan Singh's wedding and, in the case of Ravindra Jadeja and Stuart Binny, having played Ranji Trophy matches. It's almost a given that everything will be taken care of. You talk to the South Africans, and they say the groundsmen have taken care the pitch will be to India's liking come Thursday. These young Indian batsmen

It's almost a given that Virat Kohli will get the kind of pitch he wants

cut their teeth in the tough overseas environs, and it is expected they will have an easier time at home against an inexperienced spin attack on pitches that won't offer much to the seamers. Never mind that India have lost both the Twenty20 and ODI series to South Africa. Or that India have failed to beat South Africa in a Test series in 11 years. Historically this is a side that has beaten South Africa in only two series out of 11. There is renewed expectation and hope from the side because this is a rare time that the Indian Test team is surer of composition and its strength than the ODI side. In the here and now, they might not be sure of who the leading fast bowler is because Ishant Sharma is serving a one-match ban, but they have a world-class spinner bowling in favourable conditions with two competent support acts around him. There is also intense competition for the batting slots, which heats up the moment India decide to play Ravindra Jadeja or Stuart Binny as the ﬁfth bowler. Three openers have presented their cases in recent time, and a spurned No. 3 has scored 145 when opening in the absence of two injured openers. It is a happy headache; there are options, unlike what the limited-overs side will have you believe. Dale Steyn will have to will his way

to wickets in conditions that might not aid fast-bowling © Hindustan Times On paper India have most bases covered given the conditions they are likely to encounter. R Ashwin and Jadeja demolished Australia the last time India played a home series against a competitive side. When Ishant is back, India will have a decent bowler in that limited role. Their opponents will have to will their way to wickets. Not that Dale Steyn is not capable of it, not that he hasn't done it before, but in the current environment he is likelier to be able to go surﬁng in the cities the Tests are being played than get the kind of pitch he got in Ahmedabad in 2008. If he has to carry out demolition, he will have to do it Nagpur 2010-style. Off paper it will not be as easy for India because South Africa are a Test side known to ﬁnd a way. Since readmission into international cricket, they have never had a world-class spinner capable of being a matchwinner in Tests, but they have still held their own in India better than any other side. They have never looked like being outclassed. There has to be a reason they have lost only one Test series out of the last four in India. There has to be some resilience to a side that has not lost an away Test series anywhere in nine years. It includes two trips to India, and one to

Sri Lanka, where they went one step further and won the series. South African sides check in in their baggage that intangible something. Ashwin averages 24 at home, Jadeja under 20, but these batsmen will be their biggest challenge yet. Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis are not there, but Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis are better players of spin than any set these Indian spinners have demolished. They cannot afford to let them repeat what Kevin Pietersen and Alastair Cook did in 2011-12. If the Indian spinners and the big three South African batsmen are both at their best, this will be a contest for the ages. The one worry with the Indian batting, one which South Africa will prey on, is that when they look good they look really good, but on a bad day they collapse spectacularly. Each of this young team's disappointments in recent times has been characterised by the ability to resist once they reach a breaking point. And they tend to reach that breaking point collectively. In England last year they went toe to toe with the hosts for two-and-a-half Tests, and then everybody crumbled at the same time. In Australia they collapsed in Adelaide and Brisbane after matching the hosts blow for blow until the ﬁnal act of the match. Ravi Shastri, the India team director, has put it down to inexperience and being out of their comfort zones. Now they are at home, and they have had the experience. The ODI series loss is gone but not entirely forgotten. As is Harbhajan's wedding. A much better show is expected from players who have served their time in away series manfully. It will be a surreal sight to watch India go into a home Test without a single player already established as a great. But there is expectation - and not without reason - that this side will turn a bleak home season around. To do so they will have to break down the only side that has bucked the recent trend of little Test success on tours. They have the tools to do so; it is the temperament and tactics that will be tested more.

SPORTS

Goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu Set for Europa Tryst BY DEBAYAN MUKHERJEE

JAIPUR(TOI): Barely eight months after he created history by becoming the first Indian footballer to play for a first division European club, goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu added another feather to his cap by ensuring that he would be the first from his country to be part of a team scheduled to play in the Europa League next season. On Sunday night, Stabaek FC, Gurpreet's employers in Norway, ensured a qualifying berth after triumphing over lowly Start in the penultimate round of the Norwegian League, also called Tippeligaen.Norway's heavyweights Rosenburg have already won the league with 66 points and are followed by Stromsgodset (56). Close on their heels are Stabaek with the same number of points. Stabaek are currently placed third which guarantees a first round qualification berth. Previously known as the UEFA Cup, Europa League has three qualifying rounds and the playoffs before a team can make it to the group stages. "It's an unbelievable feeling. It's like someone has created magic," Gurpreet told TOI after the win. "My teammates don't realise what they have done for the team and me. When you think of where I came from, being part of Europa League is something you can only dream of," added the 23-year old whose contract with the Norwegian outfit runs till 2017. Sandhu, who has played 20 odd reserve team matches for Stabaek besides the maiden first team Cup game, is obviously very excited about soaking in the Europa experience. "The last away game and then India's home match against Guam are the things on my mind at the moment. This moment is right up there with India debut against Iran and Stabaek first team game, but I have to keep my levels high and focus on the task at hand."

Sidharth Monga is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo -Espncricinfo.com

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FESTIVAL Deepawali or Diwali is certainly the biggest and the brightest of all Hindu festivals. It’s the festival of lights (deep = light and avali = a row i.e., a row of lights) that’s marked by four days of celebration, which literally illumines the country with its brilliance, and dazzles all with its joy. This year Diwali falls on Wednesday, November 11, 2015. Each of the four days in the festival of Diwali is separated by a different tradition, but what remains true and constant is the celebration of life, its enjoyment and goodness. The Origin of Diwali Historically, the origin of Diwali can be traced back to ancient India, when it was probably an important harvest festival. However, there are various legends pointing to the origin of Diwali or ‘Deepawali.’ Some believe it to be the celebration of the marriage of Lakshmi with Lord Vishnu. Whereas in Bengal the festival is dedicated to the worship of Mother Kali, the dark goddess of strength. Lord Ganesha, the elephant-headed God, the symbol of auspiciousness

November 06, 2015

Happy Diwali

and wisdom, is also worshiped in most Hindu homes on this day. In Jainism, Deepawali has an added signiﬁcance to the great event of Lord Mahavira attaining the eternal bliss of nirvana. Diwali also commemorates the return of Lord Rama along with Sita and Lakshman from his fourteen year long exile and vanquishing the demon-king Ravana. In joyous celebration of the return of their king, the people of Ayodhya, the Capital of Rama, illuminated the kingdom with earthen diyas (oil lamps) and burst crackers.

These Four Days Each day of Diwali has its own tale, legend and myth to tell. The ﬁrst day of the festival Naraka Chaturdasi marks the vanquishing of the demon Naraka by Lord Krishna and his wife Satyabhama. Amavasya, the second day of Deepawali, marks the worship of Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth in her most benevolent mood, fulﬁlling the

wishes of her devotees. Amavasya also tells the story of Lord Vishnu, who in his dwarf incarnation vanquished the tyrant Bali, and banished him to hell. Bali was allowed to return to earth once a year, to light millions of lamps to dispel the darkness and ignorance, and spread the radiance of love and wisdom. It is on the third day of Deepawali — Kartika Shudda Padyami that Bali steps out of hell and rules the earth according to the boon given by Lord Vishnu. The fourth day is referred to as Yama Dvitiya (also called Bhai Dooj) and on this day sisters invite their brothers to their homes.

The Significance of Lights & Firecrackers All the simple rituals of Diwali have a significance and a story to tell. The illumination of homes with lights and the skies with firecrackers is an expression of obeisance to the heavens for the attainment of health, wealth, knowledge, peace and prosperity. According to one belief, the sound of fire-

crackers are an indication of the joy of the people living on earth, making the gods aware of their plentiful state. Still another possible reason has a more scientiﬁc basis: the fumes produced by the crackers kill a lot of insects and mosquitoes, found in plenty after the rains.

The Tradition of Gambling The tradition of gambling on Diwali also has a legend behind it. It is believed that on this day, Goddess Parvati played dice with her husband Lord Shiva, and she decreed that whosoever gambled on Diwali night would prosper throughout the ensuing year. Diwali is associated with wealth and prosperity in many ways, and the festival of ‘Dhanteras’ (‘dhan’ = wealth; ‘teras’ = 13th) is celebrated two days before the festival of lights.

In each legend, myth and story of Deepawali lies the significance of the victory of good over evil; and it is with each Deepawali and the lights that illuminate our homes and hearts, that this simple truth finds new reason and hope. From darkness unto light — the light that empowers us to commit ourselves to good deeds, that which brings us closer to divinity. During Diwali, lights illuminate every corner of India and the scent of incense sticks hangs in the air, mingled with the sounds of fire-crackers, joy, togetherness and hope. Diwali is celebrated around the globe. Outside India, it is more than a Hindu festival, it’s a celebration of South-Asian identities. If you are away from the sights and sounds of Diwali, light a diya, sit quietly, shut your eyes, withdraw the senses, concentrate on this supreme light and illuminate the soul. hinduism.about.com

From Darkness Unto Light...

Diwali Special Recipe:

Rawa Ladoo

On the festival of lights Diwali preparing delicious sweets is a very old tradition. People indulge themselves in making lip smacking sweets, to serve them to their guests and exchange as gifts. Ladoo is a very popular Indian sweet, which has a number of variety. Rawa ladoo is one such variant, which is easy to make as well as tastes delicious. By keeping the key in-

gredients (ghee, semolina and sugar) the same, you can bring in a number of variations to the rawa ladoo recipe. For instance, you may make use of other types of dry fruits such as walnuts, apart from cashew nuts and raisins. Sometimes, dried coconut is also added to the recipe. In the article, we have given the simple and basic recipe of rawa ladoo.

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Ingredients 2 cups Semolina (rawa) 1/2 cup Powdered Sugar 1 cup Ghee 1 tbsp broken Cashew Nuts 1 tbsp Raisins, fried 1 tsp Cardamom Powder, fried

Method Heat 1 tsp. ghee in a pan and dry roast the rawa (semolina) till golden color. Grind the fried rawa and powdered sugar in a mixer, to make a ﬁne powder.

Heat the remaining ghee and add the powdered rawa, cashew nuts, raisins and cardamom powder. Mix thoroughly. While still warm, make the mixture into small lemon-sized balls. Cool the rawa ladoos and store them in an airtight container. -festivals.iloveindia.com

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Wrap-3

November 06, 2015

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