Friday, December 11 2015 | Vol. 34, No. 50
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Indo American erican News
Movie Review P21
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Hindi Verses in Rhyme P3
From left: Past Presidents Anil Shah and Vijay Bhuchar; Swatantra Jain, CFO Pratham USA & National Board member; Dr. Marie Goradia, outgoing President; Ash Shah, incoming President
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Siya Derashri, Arjun Singhal, Eesha Dhairyawan and Aditri Singhal, no older than 12, performed the Vyakti nirman geet Manush, Tum Bada Mahan Ho
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December 11, 2015
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COMMUNITY
December 11, 2015
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Immersed in Verses of Hindi and Connecting with the Ryhme
BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA
SUGAR LAND: For many new immi-
grants to the country, and especially those for whom the assimilation process has already started, being immersed in a sea of English means that the links to the maternal language get weaker through lack of use. As it is, most desis are prone to shooting off in English, even in the Old Country, so maintaining a clarity and purity in the Mother Tounge becomes a challenge. To compound it, most desis from India speak Hindustani – a mix of Urdu and Hindi – and the use of really difficult words or idioms are lost in translation! So it is refreshing to see a movement by a bunch of diehard Hindi enthusiasts to hold programs to present literature and culture in Hindi, though, admittedly, the audience and participants in events is decidedly middleaged and usually first generation. The local chapter of the International Hindi Association organized its 5th Annual Hindi Divas (Day) with a Kavi Sammelan (Poets Gathering) as the concluding event for the year at Madras Pavilion restaurant this past Friday, December 4. To ease crowding in the
banquet hall and continue with an uninterrupted flow of poetry, the organizers flipped the sequence and served a buffet dinner at the main dining area and lined up rows of chairs for the recitals. Jasmeeta Singh, the choreographer and performer was the emcee for the event, gallantly mustering up all the sudh (pure) Hindi she could tackle, even adding humor in Hindi to the program which was packed with poetry presented by nine local talents who have a bent for Hindi verses. Rajiv Bhavsar
led off with introductions, then Singh spun off a short poem equating a mala (necklace) to the IHA and the motis (pearls) to the kavis (poets) who were present. The event concluded with words of appreciation by another IHA stalwart, Sangeeta Pasrija. Charlie Patel, President of the ICC which supported the event, spoke briefly in deep pure Hindu, and disclosed that the annual Indian Republic Day program organized by the ICC would be held on Sunday, January 24, 2016. The highlight of the evening was
a song in Hindi, Manush, Tum Bada Mahan Ho (Human are so great) which was sung by four young children, Siya Derashri, Arjun Singhal, Eesha Dhairyawan and Aditri Singhal, no older than 12, who performed the Vyakti nirman geet with gusto. The poetry started with a few dohas, ghazal, and kavita (poem) by Dr Nausha Asrar, an artist of international fame. Meera Kapur had a presentation of two kavitas written by
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December 11, 2015
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COMMUNITY
December 11, 2015
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Holiday Luncheon Brings Out the Fashionable Set at Pratham Fundraiser
Manjit Soni, Vineeta Salvi, Sydney Dao From Left: Annu Naik, Co-Chair, Asha Dhume, Susan Boggio, Co-Chair, Dr. Marie Goradia, President, Pratham Houston, Dr. Sippi Khurana, Coi-Chair, Vikas Bahl, Pratham Director of Strategy & Development, Ash Shah, President Elect. Photos: Deborah Wallace, Barfield Photography
From Left: Susan Boggio, Co-Chair, Annu Naik, Co-Chair, Dr. Marie Goradia, President, Pratham Houston, Dr. Sippi Khurana, Co-Chair, Rekha Muddaraj, Reporter & Weekend Anchor, KHOU 11.
BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA
HOUSTON:
Dr. Marie Goradia with Anne Mendelsohn.
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In a rite of passage for its year-long activities, Partham, the international charity that educates and trains poor kids and young adults in India, held its annual Holiday Luncheon fundraiser and the fashionable crowd of Indo-Americans got a chance to not only mingle but show support with their checkbooks. The event, and the annual Gala held in April, are bookends to Pratham’s annual fundraising efforts in the Bayou City. The event was once again held at the Junior League of Houston, in the Uptown Park area, and brought together a capacity crowd of nearly 300 to a sit down lunch where they got a chance to rub shoulders with some of the Indian
community’s elite who are committed to philanthropy. And while the mostly female crowd connected with each other – there were perhaps only 15 percent males at the afternoon luncheon – they also had a chance to see products from a few vendors of beauty products. Later, after lunch, they were presented with a fashion show of original designs by Sameera Faridi of Poshak Fashion & Style and – for the first time at Partham’s Holiday event – a selection of men’s fashions by Hector Villarreal, a co-owner of Lucho, a designer and manufacturer of Italian clothing for men. The models (from Neal Hamill agency) walked the runway after the guests had eaten lunch and were able to appreciate the designs as music pumped up the air. The program began with welcoming remarks by Rekha Muddaraj, the weekend anchor at Channel 11, KHOU TV, who was also the emcee, and an introduction of the outgoing Pratham President Dr. Marie Goradia who started off with a reference to the recent massacre in San Bernadino, California and the possible connection to ISIS. “I can only recall a quote from Nelson Mandela ‘Education is the most powerful weapon to change the world’,” Goradia said, launching into the central tenet of Pratham over the past 20 years to promote education. She spoke about how Pratham had soared from the first event it held in 1999, and now offered many programs to help the poor and illiterate. Its Read India program has used its innovative technique to reach 7.7 million kids and teach them to read letters in 2 months, short stories in 4 months
Fashion show presented by Poshak and LUCHO
and then rise to higher levels, able to finish school and start careers. Its innovative ASER survey to gauge children’s literacy levels is now used in other countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Goradia spoke about the Open School for Girls which allows young girls an opportunity to rise out of the cycle of dropping out of school, having children by the age of 18, poverty and violence. India is projected to have a very young population by 2020, with an average age of 29, who will need an education. In 2014, Pratham has collaborated with other industries - hospitals, automobiles firms and
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December 11, 2015
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COMMUNITY
December 11, 2015
Club 65 Makes its Mark at HOPE Clinic’s Annual Asian Senior’s Luncheon
Members of the Club 65 Seniors group which attended the Annual Senior’s Holiday Luncheon at Ocean Palace Restaurant on Friday, December 4.
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At the luncheon, from left are Rozein Jassar Ali, Shakuntla Malhotra and Club 65 President Paru McGuire.
BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA
HOUSTON: Just barely three years old,
Club 65 has continued on its mission of providing entertainment and social discourse for the seniors among our community with numerous events throughout the year. This past Friday, December 4, C65 was able to garner a coveted spot in the 16th Annual Asian Senior’s Holiday Luncheon at the Ocean Palace restaurant on Bellaire and Boone in Chinatown. The event was organized by C65 President Paru McGuire and her volunteers who brought together 43 people, mostly seniors, of Indian descent to the annual event, which is hosted by HOPE Clinic. Among the more than 800 seniors at the event were members of the Indian Senior Citizen’s Association and the Golden Club. McGuire was impressed by the event and plans to have Club 65 members attend again next year. The HOPE Clinic is the operating arm of the Asian American Health Coalition of the Greater Houston Area and provides health care services to all patients regardless of their ability to pay. It was formed in 2002 as a four-hours-a-month volunteer program and has grown to a full time Federally
Qualified Health Center at 7001 Corporate in Southwest Houston which can cater to patients in 14 different languages, including most of the Asian ones. Each year, the Chinese Community Center has supported the event which offered cultural dances in colorful costumes, a photo booth for taking pictures and a sumptuous lunch to the seniors. A variety of hors d'oeuvres and fresh fruits were served before lunch at the table by volunteers, followed by entrées and desserts. Members of the various Asian senior communities volunteer and participate in the event, with the Chinese, Pilipino, Indian and Vietnamese attending every year. The evening before, volunteers from each organization fill "goody bags" with articles that seniors use in their daily lives. These were given to each senior as they left, and the centerpiece gift basket was then given to the senior-most member at their respective tables. The event was made possible under the leadership of Cathy Phan, Health Initiatives Project Manager, HOPE Clinic and Mike C. Nguyen, Executive Director VN TeamWork.. They were assisted by volunteers including Rogene Gee Calvert, Trang Luong, Alexandria Luu, Ramesh Modi, Mari Okabayashi and Arlita Pang.
INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
COMMUNITY
December 11, 2015
Tulsi Vivah Celebrations at The Temple of Ma Gayatri
KATY: The temple of Ma Gayatri
and the Gayatri Consciousness Center located in Katy, held it’s very first Tulsi Vivah the marriage ceremony of Lord Shri Krishna with everyone’s beloved plant Tulsi. The grand celebrations took place over a period of two days, on November 21 and 22. The first day’s event held mehndi ceremony which was attended by very enthusiastic ladies who patiently got their hands decorated with beautiful mehndi designs by some very talented volunteers. Amongst the mehndi volunteers were Shreya Shah, Vandana Agarwal, Anamika Kale, Komal Patel and several more. Shreya Shah filled the mandir hall with some beautiful melodious marriage songs.
The mehndi was followed by a delicious dinner Prasad. After prasad , the devotees enjoyed dandia raas and garba with live music ! The heartwarming melodious songs were sung by Ruchira Shah, Hemantbhai Bhavsar and team. On the keyboard was Renison Macwan and dholi Rakeshbhai Khatri rocked the stage with the beat of his drums. The devotees enjoyed the raas and garbas till midnight and closed the night in anticipation of the next day’s events. Sunday morning witnessed the ‘manglik prasango’ of Ganesh puja, Grah Shanti, and Mandap Murhut. The ceremonies were performed by Manharbhai Patel
along with Sangitaben Tailor and Prabhben Barvalia. The vivah ceremonies began soon after the lunch Prasad. A festive baraat commenced from the entrance of the temple complex and the baraatis danced to the beat of the drum, in front of the palakhi carrying Lord Shri Krishna dressed in His best marriage outfit suitable for a groom! Lord Krishna was well received by the devotees from Tulsi side and the marriage ceremonies began with Tulsi dressed like a beautiful dulhan in her yellow silk garments. The two hour vivah ceremony concluded in a special dance performance by the children of Bal Sanskar Shalaa. This whole event of Tulsi Vivah was made possible by the generous donations and contributions from some very valuable sponsors and supporters. Mehndi and Garba were both sponsored by Smt. Urmilaben and Shri Ashokbhai Patel, Manglik prasango, from Krishna paksh-Krishna’s side were sponsored by Smt. Beenaben and Shri Harsahdbhai Patel and Vivah sponsors from the Kanya paksh- that is from Tulsi’s side were Smt. Hansaben patel and Shri Harshadbhai Patel(Anand). We are very thankful and grateful to our sponsors for coming forward and making such a great event possible and to all our devotees who came and participated in the event, for their generous monitor contribution and to all the volunteers for their very valuable contribution. Gayatri Consciousness Center and the Temple or Ma Gayatri, Lord Hanumanji and Shri Ganeshji, is located at 20914 Park Row in Katy, behind the Empowerment Church. For more information please call the Center at 281 717 4895.
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December 11, 2015
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ASIE Honor Engineers, Architects and Students
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For Any Ceremony Contact Pradip Pandya 832 466 9868 Email: pradippandya2000@yahoo.com
ASIE Class 2015 Recipients, Young Engineer of the Year, and Scholarship Recipients - Engineering Students with ASIE Members. Photos: Navin Mediwala
Front row, ASIE Class 2015 Recipients (from left): Mahendra Vaishnav, Dr. Sulekh Jain, Dr. B. Krishna “Kris” Goparaju, Harendra Bhatt.
BY DINESH SHAH
HOUSTON:
American Society of Indian Engineers and Architects organized a magnificent event at India House packed with about 200 people. Raj Basavaraju, ASIE President also acted as an emcee, started with welcome address and shared the information about ASIE and monthly technical events during 2015. After the performances by Rice University students, the award ceremony commenced. ASIE 2016 Young Engineer/ Architect of the Year Award was given to Sai Gowthami Asam. She works as Senior Structural Engineer at Versabar Inc. and also currently serving as ASIE Secretary. Students Scholarships - Out of 33 Engineering and Architecture students, 8 were selected from U of H for the total of $11,000 scholarships. Recipients for $1,000 each Hardik Minocha, Masters in Subsea Eng.; Krishna Saladi, PhD in Environmental Eng.; Renu Khatri, Masters in Industrial Eng.; Nishant Sankhe, Masters in Architecture. $1,500 each recipients - Sai Anudeep Reddy, Ph D in Civil
Eng.; Anu George, undergraduate in Chemical Eng. Anu is ASIE CoChair for U of H Student Chapter. $2,000 each scholarship awarded to Akshay Deokar, MS in Subsea Eng.; Sonika Gahlawat, PhD in Mechanical Eng. Next item was the highlight of the event as Raj said, “For the last several years, ASIE is recognizing Senior Indo-American professionals in Greater Houston Area, who contributed significantly to the Engineering and Architecture field. Tonight, we are honoring 4 individuals with their induction into ASIE Class of 2015. They all share one common thing and that is their dedication to their disciplines. Their enthusiasm and commitment has resulted in decades of creativity and thousands of projects worldwide. They are true role models and inspiration for students and young professionals accelerating in their engineering or architectural careers.”Harendra Bhatt, MEE, PE, a Mechanical and Electrical engineer from India pursued MEE at Delaware University. He has design several plants including DuPont Chemical, Nuclear Power, Fossil Power, Petrochemical, Refineries, and O&G Offshore Platforms. He is currently employed at Worley Parsons. Dr. Krishna Goparaju, Ph.D, PE
Since 2008 he is serving as Geotechnical Program Manager with Harris County FCD. Prior to that he amassed onshore and offshore geotechnical project experience, R & D, construction supervision, and Environmental Site Assessments. Dr. Sulekh Jain, Ph.D, PE, MBA with over 55 years of experience and after retirement from GE in 1998, he founded several consulting firms in metalworking process technology and management. He holds 9 Patents, published over 50 technical papers, and taught at Universities in India, UK, USA and Canada. He is a recipient of JAINA RATAN award. Mahendra Vaishnav, M. Arch. has nearly 50 years of architectural design experience in large projects worldwide. He is Registered Architect in the State of Texas. He works with KBR since 1988 with a current position of Senior Lead Architect. He serves on the Building Committee of Chinmaya Mission Houston and has designed all buildings on their Campus. The Hydrabad House catered the dinner, and served by U of H students. Paresh Bhatt and his music group made the holiday event memorable.
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12 December 11, 2015
COMMUNITY
Engineers Turn Out for Fundraiser Luncheon for Sylvester Turner
From left, Mike Voinis, Vijaya Rapolu, Sri Punukula, Ravi Yanamandala, Jawahar Malhotra, Sudhakar Kalaga, a guest, Mayoral Candidate Sylvester Turner, Jeff Collins, Karun Sreerama, Tony Sartori, Meera Victor, Sanjay Ram, Bobby Singh and Zafar Tahir at the ACEC fundraiser luncheon on December 3.
BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA
HOUSTON: This holiday season
has given way to a Houston area election runoff for several important city races. Chief among them is the race for Mayor between Sylvester Turner and Bill King, a race that is closely followed by many for its focus on reducing the ballooning pension funding liability
of the city. Among the many groups that are supporting the candidates is the local chapter of the American Consulting Engineers Council PAC which held a luncheon fundraiser for Turner at the Houston Engineering and Scientific Society facility near the Galleria on Thursday, December 3. He said that fundraising in general was going well and that the citywide
efforts by the PAC that had raised $268,000 for his campaign would get the ACEC very noticed. He invited engineers to the table to do something to move the City forward more efficiently. Among the close to 100 engineering professionals in the room was a significant contingent of Indians in the consulting business who were supporting Turner’s run in this election.
Turner thanked fellow mayoral candidate Steve Costello, an engineer, who lost in the primary, and has thrown his support behind him, for his endorsement. “He shared his concerns and never deviated from his position,” said Turner. “There will always be a place for Steve Costello in a Turner administration.” Turner spoke of his record of 26 years in the state legislature “do-
ing it the old fashioned way” and how that would help him forge an alliance wih other concerned State Senators like John Whitmire to negotiate with statewide police and firefighter unions for a solution to the city’s pension fund woes. He added that the financial situation must be resolved without adding more debt and that it should be a comprehensive package that would be submitted to the legislature when it meets next in January 2017. “We have to utilize this time to meet with all the stakeholders and discuss their concerns,” he added “and take on the Brotherhood of Police and Fire professionals.” At the same time, Turner acknowledged that that in the City, of the 5,300 police officers, 1,900 would be retiring soon and of the 4,000 firefighters, half could retire “today”. “Let’s fix the problem in a fiscally responsible way,” he declared. Turner said he was a good multitasker, having been in the legislature for 26 years, run his own law firm for 32 years, been a professor at TSU for 17 years and taken care of his ailing mother for 12 years. Turner concluded by stating that he had been campaigning for 22 months and “this is the last political office” he would be running for.
INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
COMMUNITY
December 11, 2015
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The British Are Coming! With Snappers, Paper Crowns and Cheer! BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA
HOUSTON: ‘Tis the season to be jolly
and to get a head start on the holiday cheermaking parties. And the British American Business Council Houston held a Christmas Cheer party for its members once again Nirvana restaurant at Memorial and Diary Ashford. About 90 people turned out for the annual event and to mingle with other compatriots. “This is the third year that the BABC is holding its Christmas party here,” said Nirvana manager Mansour Allam. “We know what they like and always feature it,” he added pointing to the chicken tikka masala, sag paneer, rogan josh, fish curry and briyani that was laid out on the buffet table in
two serving lines. The BABC Houston is the local arm of the national organization which is formed of 33 British-American Chambers in the US. Each year, Becci Himes, the Executive Director of the Houston chapter, searches for venues to hold the Holiday party and has been thrilled by what she can offer her members at Nirvana. As in years past, this year the guests brought along toys that will be donated to the Toys for Tots charity. Attending her first such event was Karen Bell, the British Consul General who joined her post in the Bayou City in July 2015. And, adding to the festivities was the beer “1836” from the microbrewery Buffalo Bayou Brewery, whose brewmaster was on hand for the event.
The BABC held its annual Holiday Party at Nirvana restaurant. Pictured from left are owner Salim Ahmed, British Consul General Karen Bell; BABC Executive Director Becci Himes and manager Mansour Allam.
Pratham Fundraiser CONTINUED FROM PAGE
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manufacturers – to place 15,000 young people in vocational programs. She ended with an request to fill out pledge cards to raise funds for these programs, noting it would take only $25 per month to help these children, appealing for $20,000 to help launch a Women’s Beauty Entrepreneurship Program. A short video on Pratham’s activities over the past 20 years followed. As the event ended, the donors instead rewarded the effort by helping raise $170,000. The keynote motivational speaker for afternoon, a trim Dr. Sandeep Shah, followed to speak about his passion for running and his involvement as a Pratham spokesman and volunteer since a teenager as the son of the past President of Pratham USA. He related his experience in running the Tahoe Rim Trail ultra-marathon of 101.6 miles this past July and how the pain of endurance almost brought him to quitting the race. “But I couldn’t! How could I explain to my daughter that Daddy quit?” he asked. Shah related this experience to that of poor kids in India who crave for an education and have a mountain to climb to get it. “Pratham has all the tools and now you need to make the effort to help it,” Shah concluded. Ragini Das, a freshman at The Village School, presented Shah with an award of appreciation.
INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
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16 December 11, 2015 Dr. Ravindra Kumar, MD January 1, 1949 – November 30, 2015
HOUSTON: Dr. Ravindra Kumar, M.D., a
soft-spoken, dedicated physician who practiced internal medicine from his office in the Memorial City-Spring Branch area for the past two decades, passed away on November 30 after a brief battle with cancer. He was laid to rest at the Winford Funeral Home on Sunday, December 5, 2015. Kumar was born in Vrindavan, India on January 1, 1949, to Sushila Devi and Surendra Singh Verma. He was second in order to one older brother and four younger sisters. He grew up to become a very dedicated medical student and attended Maulana Azad College, Delhi University, from which he graduated in 1974. He then went on to complete his medical training in New Delhi. Kumar moved to England where he earned an MRCP (UK), as well as an FRCP (Glasgow) in 1980. He then moved with his family to the Middle East, where he worked as a physician and resided until June 1991. He moved to the United States in June 1991, where he finished an Internal Medicine resi-
dency from Our Lady of Mercy Medical Center, in The Bronx, New York in 1993. Following this, he moved with his family to Texas, practicing Internal Medicine in Houston. His daughter, Dr. Namita Verma joined him a couple of years ago after she finished her medical training. Kumar had an intuitive sense of medicine, often being able to understand the root cause of an ailment without the use of many diagnostic tests, which would only confirm his initial assessment. He was dedicated to his patients and would fight for their rights to receive medical treatment, even if it meant taking on the insurance firms and hospital administration. A former patient of his, whom he successfully cured, spoke at his memorial service, of how Dr. Kumar had cured him when other physicians had given him just a few days to live. His daughter, Namita, spoke about how working with her Dad taught her so much, though there were generational differences in practicing medicine. His son-in-law, Shrish, lamented the loss of a kindred soul whom he was able to have long conversations with. Kumar will be remembered for his humility, generosity, empathy and as a most loving father, grandfather, and pet owner. His hobbies included taking his dog, Louie for long walks and chasing around after his grandson, Niky. He will be remembered everyday by his loving daughter Namita and son-in-law Shrish Satpute as well as two grandsons, Nik and Jay who will forever mourn the loss of a beautiful human being., and his most loving friend and four-legged partner, Louie.
COMMUNITY
Immersed in Verses of Hindi and Connecting with the Ryhme CONTINUED FROM PAGE
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her father and based on Bhakti ras, followed by a kavita recited by Devika Dhruv. Sarita Sharma presented two kavitas that she had composed and Khalid Razvi presented Hasya kavita or humorous poems, with the wit it required. Mahesh Derashri presented kavitas which were not his own creation but very well selected and his recitation skills were indeed incredible. Krishan Sharma presented Hasya kavitas with his flair for chaste Hindi and timing of delivery, which was much appreciated, as well as his passion for being part of the IHA family. Dr. Harendra Chahar, a new young face spoke with a clear UP style Hindi (since he is from Agra). He promises to be a rising star in IHA circles. Sanjay Sohoni presented well written kavita on Matrubhasha and the engrossing Divya drushti.. The event was sponsored by Banke Bihari
Job Posting:
Parivar and Dr. Ashima and Anand Chauhan. Darshak and Mona Thakkar of Krishna Sounds did a great job on the sound system, even taking off from other events for this one. At the end, the new Executive Committee for the Houston Chapter was announced: Dr KD Upadhyaya, President; Rajiv Bhavsar, Vice President; Chandrakant (Charlie) Patel, Treasurer; Sanjay Sohoni and Mahesh Derashri, Joint Secretary; Sangeeta Pasrija, Past President; and the Gunjan Committee of Krishan Sharma, Dr Sarita Mehta and Sanjay Sohoni.. Swapan Dhairyawan announced that he had been selected to serve as the IHA National President for 20162017, which covers 12 chapters in the US and 4 in India and will have to withdraw from the local chapter.
Special Projects Producer
KTRK-TV, the ABC owned station located in Houston, TX is looking for a multimedia producer who can execute all aspects of the broadcast and digital story-telling process. Will be expected to come up with original content daily for broadcast and digital platforms. Must be comfortable juggling multiple projects at once and managing various crews. Needs to be a strong researcher, writer, field producer, communicator and leader. Responsibilities will include working on a variety of news, programming, and digital projects. Qualified candidates must have at least 5 years television broadcast writing experience and must be creative self-starters. To be considered interested candidates must apply online at disneycareers. com, ref job #330390BR. Please upload a cover letter, resume and list of references. No Telephone Calls KTRK-TV is an Equal Opportunity Employer Female/Minority/Veteran/Disability/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity
Job Posting:
Temp News/Special Projects Producer
KTRK-TV, the ABC owned station located in Houston, TX is looking for a temporary multimedia producer who can execute all aspects of the broadcast and digital story-telling process. Will be expected to come up with original content daily for broadcast and digital platforms. Must be comfortable juggling multiple projects at once and managing various crews. Needs to be a strong researcher, writer, field producer, communicator and leader. Responsibilities will include working on a variety of news, programming, and digital projects. Qualified candidates must have at least 5 years television broadcast writing experience and must be creative self-starters. To be considered interested candidates must apply online at disneycareers. com, ref job #331225BR Please upload a cover letter, resume and list of references. No Telephone Calls KTRK-TV is an Equal Opportunity Employer Female/Minority/Veteran/Disability/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity
INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
COMMUNITY
December 11, 2015
17
ICC Holds Elections for Vacant Seats on the Board
The members of the Board of Directors (seated) and the Board of Trustees (standing) with the Election Commissioners after the ICC election held on Sunday, December 6 at India House. Some Directors were not able to attend the election.
BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA
HOUSTON: You wouldn’t call it
hotly contested, but when you have elections of any sort, especially for a non-profit Board, it is a pleasant surprise if there is a large interest in the group and its activities. Most are often content with nominations that expand the Board after an internal vote. This past Sunday, December 6, the India Culture Center had one of those cases – a minor cliff hanger – when a secret ballot was cast by the general body and new members of the Board were chosen.
There were nine nominations for the eight vacant seats on the Board of Directors and two unopposed seats of the Board of Trustees. The Election Committee composed of Girish Pandya, Sam Merchant and this reporter had received the nominations for several weeks and all ICC members were already asked to come for the vote at India House. Prior to the vote, outgoing ICC President Charlie Patel read from a list of the activities and events that the ICC had participated in during 2015. Chief Trustee Swapan Dhairyawan then went over the finances and left them available for examination. Sec-
retary Falguni Gandhi called on the Election Commissioners (Sam Merchant was unable to attend) to conduct the vote and each member was asked to cast their ballot in secret. After counting the ballots, the following people were elected to the Board: Pramod Bengani, Rajiv Bhavshar, Dilip Dadhich, Sangeeta Dua, Falguni Gandhi, Keka Kar, Nisha Mirani and Ajit Patel. Those elected for the unopposed Trustee positions are Parul Fernandes and Sangeeta Pasrija. The Board will hold an election of its Executive Committee on Sunday, January 10, 2016 at 2pm.
These Papus Can Party, Sala!
“IT HAPPENS ONLY IN INDIA”
Stay tuned every Sunday,
HIREN JOSHI
to from 2.30pm to 3.30pm
832-646-2116 hjoshi7@hotmail.com
www.shobajoshi.com
SUGAR LAND: What’s in a name,
you might ask? When it’s a name – in this case a nickname – that is common among Punjabis (who love to give everyone nicknames like Cuckoo, Biloo, Dolly, Bawa, Gatoo, Rosie, Sunny) - and by chance they should meet together, then you’ve got something going. Just so happened that someone mentioned this reporter by
his nickname and another person who overheard him yelled out, “Hey, my brother’s a Papu too! Hey Subodh, get over here!!”. Subodh yelled back, “What? You’re kiddin’ me!” Sharma standing nearby chimed in, “Hey I’m a Papu too! Born and raised in Ludhiana but of South Indian stock!” Sunil Khurana heard the commotion and volunteered, “Hey guys, I’m a Papu
SHOBA JOSHI too!” Pretty soon, the four Holiday Party revelers this past Saturday, December 5, were posing together for a picture of their newly found brotherly bond! The gregarious Papus are, from left, Sunil Khurana, Sharma (last name lost in party making), Jawahar Malhotra and Subodh Bhuchar. – Jawahar Malhotra
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INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
18 December 11, 2015 See You Elesewhere
The cult of celebrity worshiping in the temple of the 24-hour
news cycle and the symphony of online clicks it inspires can make stories far bigger than they might otherwise be. But the one time I find it necessary to deconstruct, in minute detail, the lives and actions of famous people is when those people run countries. Take, for instance, the recent meeting between Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Nawaz Sharif at the climate talks in Paris. It’s not a secret that relations between the two have been frosty, and that they sat down for a few minutes to chat was perhaps the only bit of global warming that South Asia really cared about this past week. It made the frontpage of newspapers in Pakistan and India, and with good reason. For most of this year the two have been circling each other’s orbits at various global summits. You’ll recall how churlishly everyone was acting around the national security advisors’ meeting scheduled for earlier this year in August, when the planned talks were cancelled at the last minute, leading to a perceptible cooling off of goodwill. The two sides were again meant to talk around the UN General Assembly, but things didn’t work out. Modi and Nawaz were staying at the same hotel and didn’t meet, but they did apparently wave at each other from a distance, like cordially vengeful hostesses meeting at a charity gala wearing the same dress. Now comes Paris, where the two sat and spoke for “several minutes”, unaccompanied by aides and advisors. That they were shown talking means they want their countries and the world to know they will be, at some point, ready to do so again. I’m getting choked up just thinking about it. But we’ve been here before. The valleys and peaks of our meteoric relationship (which I’ve often described as the Ike and Tina Turner of geopolitics) can be relied on only for its changeability. Thankfully, there was a sort-of redux shortly after, when the NSAs from both countries met in Bangkok this past Sunday for unannounced talks (as we all know, what happens in Thailand, stays in Thailand). Still, it does seem noteworthy that the two leaders get along far better when abroad than when back home. Perhaps this is because they are removed from the context and don’t have to prove anything to the more reactionary parts of their bases. Then again, perhaps they’re like all of us. I’ve often noticed (and I think you’ll agree) that Indians and Pakistanis are completely fine when they meet abroad. I mean, completely. South Asian students associations at colleges are choking with goodwill and love. Diwalis and Eids are celebrated with a menagerie of desis from all over. Perhaps in the face of the greater Other in foreign lands, we recognize in ourselves the similarities we deny when back at home. It’s but a glimmer, yet it’s a truth that always reminds me that we are, and will always be, intimately linked — despite the climate. Komail Aijazuddin in Indian Express
EDITORIAL/COMMENTARY
Chennai’s Mindless Development BY RAMACHANDRAN
T
he heaviest ever rainfall of 294 mm and 345 mm recorded on a single day — the day’s rainfall being more than the average rainfall recorded for the entire northeast monsoon — caused many deaths and made life in Chennai a misery as urban services almost collapsed. From all that has been reported, it appears that heavy rain forced the authorities to release 30,000 cusecs of water from the Chembarambakkam reservoir into the Adyar river, which is not deep or wide and whose banks have been encroached upon. Similarly, the water released from the Poondi and Puzhai reservoirs flooded the Cooum river, which flows through the city. The city was just not prepared to handle this because of the mindless development that has taken place over the years. Lowlands have been taken over for construction, and storm water drains have been choked, leading to the blockage of water exits. It has been reported that some 300 water bodies of the city have disappeared. The concretisation of the wetlands has taken place. Some 5,000 hectares of swamp has been converted into the IT corridor. The city is reported to have more than 880 km of storm water drains, and around Rs 1,500 crore has been spent in the past five years to interconnect them so that lake overflows go into the three main rivers of the city. And Rs 4,500 crore is to be spent on an integrated storm water drain project to lay a network of storm water drains in the suburban areas of the city—which currently does not exist and where the maximum problems seem to have arisen. The envisaged system has apparently not worked. Serious questions have been raised as to whether there has not been something fundamentally wrong with the urban planning process of the city. Rapacious urbanisation and callous town planning
Every city is supposed to have what is called a disaster preparedness plan and the district administration and the city authorities are supposed to be in readiness before each season of rainfall. have been listed as the culprits. It would be worthwhile finding out what the master plan for the city says and whether its provisions are being implemented seriously and diligently. Or have too many violations taken place because of political patronage and maybe bureaucratic connivance? Every city is supposed to have what is called a disaster preparedness plan and the district administration and the city authorities are supposed to be in readiness before each season of rainfall. There is a concept of service level benchmarking, also for the drainage sector. It talks about the coverage of storm water drainage networks and the incidence of water logging to be ultimately at zero level. Has the city followed this exercise and apprised the residents about the progress made each year? The Urban Renewal Mission had laid down rainwater harvesting as a basic reform measure to be completed citywide during its implementation. It would be worthwhile to see at this stage what the ground realities are now. Whenever roads are built or road improvements made, a drainage system is expected to co-exist with the work, meaning provision should be made for this
aspect as well in the estimate and contract awarded. Chennai is one of those rare cities which have a formally announced non-motorised transport policy that addresses the issue of developing footpaths so that the pedestrian requirements are adequately met. While developing footpaths, have the greening and water permeability issues been kept as priority or only concretisation to the maximum extent been resorted to? Every city wants to develop fast and invest in its infrastructure. But while doing so do cities care for environment issues and an overall balance in the varying requirements of the city specific? Chennai is a flat, lowlying coastal city. The region always has an uneven system of rain. The water tanks were basically meant to make sure that every drop of rain water is collected and when it is excessive, the water drains into the rivers Adyar and Cooum. The new airport terminal is on the flood plains of the river Adyar; the MRTS travels along the Buckingham Canal, and it is reported that SEZs, educational institutions and gated colonies have come up along the catchment areas and disrupted the natural drainage route. People have started asking whether such a city is going to be a smart one. The answer is that it is left to the residents of the city to identify and list what smart features they would like to have and, in accordance with the guidelines, develop their smart city vision and plan. The question is: Did the city residents have this opportunity? Did they specify the identification and preservation of all water bodies as a must for the smart city they are envisaging and do the city leaders prioritise adequate responses and institutionalising action on the issues raised here as priority at this stage of sustainable city building? HT M Ramachandran is former secretary, Union ministry of urban development. The views expressed are personal.
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INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
December 11, 2015 19 COMMUNITY Namadwaar’s Annual Srimad Bhagavata Saptaha and Madhura Utsav The evening program (Dec 19-26) will begin from 5:30 pm at Huong Lam Buddhist Temple with children’s cultural presentations, Hari Kathas and concerts. This cultural segment will be followed by the highlight discourse event. Sri Ramanujam ji, who has visited the Houston area several times before, is an excellent speaker who has absorbed the intricate essence of our scriptures directly from his Master. His insightful discourses throw beautiful, meaningful, practical light on the subtle aspects of bhakti and our Sanatana Dharma. His discourses on Srimad Bhagavatam are brilliant and instill in us love for Bhagavan, love for the path of bhakti and love for this great Purana itself. All the listeners will feel inspired and refreshed after listening to his discourses Everyone is welcome to participate in this unique celebration. All events are free and open to the public. Breakfast, lunch and dinner ma-
haprasad will be served on all the days. Prasadam and flower sponsors are welcomed for this auspicious event. If you find this divine cause worthy of your generosity, please call 281-402-6585. Global Organization for Divinity (G.O.D.) and Namadwaar Prayer House aim to promote peace, harmony and universal love amid cultural diversity. G.O.D. is involved in several spiritual, cultural activities in the Houston area, and along with its sister organization, Love to Share Foundation America (LTSF), performs several community and social service activities. For more information about the event or about G.O.D., Namadwaar or LTSF, please email houston.god@godivinity.org or visit www.godivinity.org and www.lovetosharefoundation.org.
MANVEL: Global Organization for Divinity
and Houston Namadwaar will conduct their annual grand celebration of bhakti and Bhagavata Dharma, from December 19 to 27 this year through a 7-day “Madhura Utsav” (sweet celebration). The Utsav will be filled with celebration of Bhagavan through song, dance and listening to His stories through a 7-day “Srimad Bhagavata Katha” discourse series (in English) by Sri Ramanujamji, disciple of His Holiness Sri Sri Muralidhara Swamiji. Daily daytime Utsav events will be held at Namadwaar Prayer House located at 3642 Bailey Ave, Manvel TX 77578, while the evening Bhagavatam discourse and children’s cultural programs will be held at Huong Lam Buddhist Temple at 4203 CR 89 (Old Chocolate Bayou Road), Manvel TX 77578. This year’s celebration is special as it is the first Utsav for the Sri Radha-Sri Krishna yugala utsava murthis who have recently arrived here from India, sent specially for Houston Namadwaar by HH Sri Sri Muralidhara Swamiji.This year too, as in the past years, this annual event will attract over 100 out-of-town attendees to the Houston/Pearland area from different parts of the country. Daily events through the day (at Namadwaar) include chanting Tiruppavai (6 am), complete Srimad Bhagavata Moola Parayana of 18000 slokas in 7 days (6:30am-10am and 1-3pm), Ashtapadi kirtan-Sampradaya bhajans with Sri Jayadeva’s Gita Govindam (10 am) and Procession of Sri Krishna-Sri Radha in different vahanas (11 am) on most days. On some days, Divya Nama Sankirtanam (as performed by bhagavathars in India) will be performed at 9:30pm. A highlight of the Utsav will be a grand Radha Kalyanam (Radha-Madhav Vivah) that will be held in bhagavata dharma style (with the singing of Ashtapadis and kirtans) on Saturday Dec 26th morning. Other special events include Krishna Jananam and Nandotsavam (Dec 19th, 9 pm), Govinda Pattabhishekham and Anna Koototsav (Dec 22nd, 9 am) and a special Nikunjotsavam program on Dec 24th.
INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
20 December 11, 2015
COMMUNITY
College Planning from A to Z
Seminar at JVB Preksha Meditation Center
BY VANI JAIN
HOUSTON: As part of commu-
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nity outreach, JVB Houston Center organized a workshop on Virtuous Character, 21st Century Skills, and College Planning from A to Z for the 2nd time. The event was held on Sunday, Nov 15 inside the JVB's Pyramid Hall and was conducted by Peter Han, the founder of College Planning A to Z, a full service college planning advisory firm. The seminar was targeted for high school students and their parents. About 50 people attended this highly informative workshop. The objective of this 2 hour seminar was to share as much information as possible to help families find, select and afford colleges that best match their children in near future. Anusha Gandhi, a 12th grader and JVB youth council member was the Emcee of the program. She welcomed the community members with a short speech. Han opened up the session with information on what it takes to get into college today includ-
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Maha Kumbhabhisekam 3 Days Grand Cultural Event
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ing the financial aid system and how it works; how to maximize student’s potential to receive scholarships, grants and other forms of merit-aid; importance of SAT & ACT tests and how colleges value them; and what the more selective colleges really want to see on a student’s application. He highlighted that making the right choice from the start results in more positive outcomes for students and financial savings for parents. Furthermore, Han discussed 3 big mistakes made by families in college planning. His presentation included an informational timeline for high school students and parents regarding the activities to focus on in different grades in their high school career as well as important deadlines, optimum number of college applications, time and expense of applications, resumes, essays and interviews. He went over the 10 questions that audience had e-mailed prior to the session including, Public vs. Private colleges, Profit vs. Non- Profit, Large vs. Small colleges, and life afterwards. He explained how one must be and willing
to collaborate with others in order to lead a successful life. His presentation was extremely informational, educational, and inspirational, and audience was very engaged and interested throughout. After his presentation, Han stayed past his time to discuss and answer specific questions from audience and even did a one- on- one consulting with individual families. This workshop was organized by JVB youth council Anusha Gandhi, Neha Daga & Ashish Sacheti with help from Senior class at JVB Gyanshala Udai Jain, Neer Jain, Vani Jain and Manya Jain. In closing, Neer Jain did the vote of thanks and Udai Jain presented Han a Holiday gift basket as a token of appreciation. (If you would like to receive additional details on Peter Han, or a copy of the presentation, please e-mail Pramod Bengani at info@jvbhouston.org) The JVB Preksha Meditation Center conducts regular Preksha Meditation sessions which is the practice of purifying our emotions, consciousness and realizing our own self. Mediation augurs attitudinal change, behavioral modification and integrated development of one’s personality. Also at JVB's Gyanshala, We value our intellectual capital, and nurture it through a perfect blend, of the traditional as well as contemporary ways and means, for the comprehensive development, of the kids personality.
habhisekam, the three day cultural event began with a propitious performance by a very talented singer from India, Mahathi Sekar. Smt. Mahathi has earned various awards from both the Carnatic as well as the film industry in which she has sung over 700 songs in various languages. With the official grand opening performance, she had mesmerized audience with her Carnatic talents and beautiful voice; the highlight being various
krithis and alankaras in numerous amounts of ragas. Smt. Mahathi was accompanied by some of the greats of both India and Houston, with the much talented Vidwan Erode Nagaraj on the mirudhangam and Mahesh Iyer on the violin. Despite her tight schedule, Smt Mahathi humbly accepted the request to with a spectacular performance to leave all in awe. The second day of MTS Kumbhabhishekam festivities were a feast to the eyes and ears with a grand
showcase of classical dance by the talented Houston dance schools. The theme of the dances focused mainly on our reigning deity Meenakshi. She was depicted in her various stages and divine forms by Nritya Dance Academy students in their aptly captioned "Meenakshi Vaibhavam". The dancers portrayed the procession of Goddess Meenakshi, her charm as a baby as she is put to sleep by her mother,
INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
CONTINUED ON PAGE
25
December 11, 2015
ENTERTAINMENT:REVIEWS/NEWS ENTERTAINMENT:REVIEWS/NEWS
21
Movie Review: Hate Story 3 the plot is convoluted. There's bizarre justification for the poison-ivy women and avaricious despots. But then again, these sequels are about erotica being served piping hot Bollywood style. So indulge in some guilt-free 'entertainment' and don't go looking
for soul. In the performance section, Sharman seems odd when he is shirtless but sincere when he's buttonedup. Karan caresses Zareen, his object of desire with his eyes even better than he does with his hands. -IndiaTimes.com
First Ever
24 Hour
Telugu Radio in Houston BY MEENA IYER
Aditya and Siya are a happy couple.
They are shown making passionate love in repetitive montages, kissing, feeling, titillating; while a reprised version of the '90s track Tumhe Apna Banane Ki Kasam plays soulfully. This compatible couple readily agrees on everything in the bedroom or the boardroom. But their bliss is interrupted when a gift-wrapped orange Audi arrives in their lives. Instead of zooming into the sunset, they go seeking the mystery man (Saurav)
who gifted it to them. Without as much blinking or arching his bleached, tweezed eyebrows, Saurav propositions Aditya. He says he can bankroll him, provided he allows him to sleep with his wife for one night. This bit is tacky because Saurav is neither as suave as Robert Redford from The Indecent Proposal nor is Siya as irresistible as Demi Moore. The similarity to the Hollywood film ends with Aditya reacting as violently as Woody Harrelson. While the inevitable must happen, Siya plays coy; Aditya plays spoilsport and Saurav has to stay
content with having sex with Aditya's disgruntled secretary, Kaya (Daisy Shah) who gives him a skin show, writhes like a pole dancer and kisses willingly. The plot remains unhurried as another round of those erotic montages shot against chart-busting tracks try to keep the audience hooked. In an attempt not to make these films seem like pure steam fests, the makers usually thrown in a revenge drama angle. So true to the fabric of this franchise, here too there's a suspense drama around some ugly sibling rivalry woven in. However, while the film is good-looking,
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INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
22 December 11, 2015
PUZZLES/RECIPES
SUDOKU
Place a Number in the empty boxes in such a way that each row across, each column down and each 9-box square contains all of the numbers from one to nine.
Mama’s Punjabi Recipes Pheetu (Vegetable Chips)
Send us the correct answer before December 16 , 2015. Email us at indoamericannews@yahoo.com or mail to 7457 Harwin Drive, Suite 262, Houston, TX 77036.
Win free tickets for Shen Yun. See page 26
(for first three entrees only & 1 submission per month).
Solution Next Week
The word pheetu is an unusual
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one, even for Punjabis, as it is not in common usage. That’s because it is a Jhungi Punjabi word, which is only one of the over six main Punjabi dialects from West Punjab, which became part of West Pakistan in the Partition of 1947. The others are Lahori (for Lahore), ‘Pindi (for Rawalpindi), Multani and Peshawari. When you cross over to East Punjab (which is in India), there are at least another half-a-dozen Punjabi dialects, with the Delhi dialect being the sweetest (of course, I am biased). Pheetu is the word from the Punjabi of Jhung, where many of my ancestors and relatives came from. Jhungi people are quite proud of their language as well as the heritage of the area; many Punjabi’s across the world can trace their families back to Jhung. There are certain words and phrases that can tell you that a person is of Jhungi descent. So pheetu actually means “sliced chips” and the dish is a way to cook up some vegetables quickly, without having to go to the trouble of peeling or making a masala or curry. Yet, if you put in the right amount of spices and cook it over the right heat, this is a quick dish that can fill a stomach well. You can eat them with soft rotis as a side dish, with a daal or curry dish. Do not use haldi (turmeric) with this recipe. And pheetu can be made with several vegetables that can be sliced, like aaloo (potatoes - a favorite of many), baingan (eggplant) or tauri (zucchini squash). Each of them has its own cooking time and texture and each comes out differently, even though the spices are about the same, so you should try them all out.
Ingredients : 2 large aaloo (potatoes – red or white, not baking type) 1/2 tbsp tael (olive oil or sunflower seed oil) Spices (to taste): namak (salt), lal mirch (red pepper), garam masala, methi powder (fenugreek powder) optional. Directions: 1. Wash the potatoes then dry them with a towel. There’s no need to peel them; just cut them in ¼ inch thick round slices. Wash the slices in water. 2. On a tava (flatplate) or in a large frying pan, warm up the oil over medium heat and place the slices on flat in a layer. Add a pinch of salt to taste, then cover and let cook for 2 minutes. 3. Uncover and then turn the slices over with a spatula, being careful not to break them. Cover and let cook for 5 minutes. 4. Take the cover off, sprinkle with
red pepper and garam masala and then serve on a plate. For added taste, try sprinkling with methi powder. 5. If you want to make more, just use more potatoes and make another batch. Also try making this dish with round baingan (eggplant) or tauri (zucchini squash) in the same way. 6.This dish is best served as a side dish with roti (flour chappatis) in a typical Punjabi fashion. 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 ROAST JEERA (CUMIN SEED) & SAUNF (FENNEL SEED) FOR LONG SHELF LIFE Most seeds, like jeera (cumin seed) and saunf (fenugreek seed) are often sold in bags and then people keep them in their pantries until they are needed. After many months, they may find that they have gone stale or are not as crisp as they were when they bought them.
In the old days, when we didn’t have refrigerators and everything when eaten fresh from the farm or bazaar, we would often just roast the jeera and saunf on a tava (flatplate) for a few minutes over low heat. This also creates a nice fragrance in the entire house and also extends the life of the seeds for a long time. You can then store them in bottles for many months.
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Tata Trusts Enter into Strategic Partnership with Khan Academy BY P.R. SANJAI
MUMBAI: Tata Trusts, promoted
by the $108-billion Tata Group, have entered into a strategic five-year partnership with Khan Academy as the lead founding partner to leverage technology to provide free, worldclass education for anyone, anywhere in India. Promoted by Salman Khan, a former hedge fund analyst in the US, the academy seeks to disrupt the traditional model of tutoring in India. The collaboration will adapt and build upon Khan Academy’s existing resources and tools to serve the specific needs of the Indian learner. The partnership will also work with other partners to build a supportive educational ecosystem to employ these resources to empower students and teachers, in particular the underserved who may otherwise lack access to quality education options. Interacting with reporters on Sunday, Ratan Tata, chairman, Tata Trusts said Tata Group has been contributing to conventional education for 150 years but chose to associate with Khan Academy as it is providing free education accessible to anyone and
anywhere in India. Tata said he met Khan through a mutual friend in the US with the idea of the alliance for India. Khan said, “As soon as we started talking, the dots started connecting quickly. We will focus on creating content in the first phase and we are building a team in India led by Sandeep Bapna. We need to catalyse the new types of learning model.” Tata did not divulge details of the investment adding the funding will help Khan Academy to meet its requirement to create content. “Philanthropy in India has changed over years. In the olden days, it was the conventional form of charity. India is a nation that has changed from what it was 60 years ago. Today, people demand self-respect, access to knowledge and have an urge to enhance their livelihoods and Tata Trusts are committed to help them do so by creating a difference in their lives,” said Tata, who is also chairman emeritus
of Tata Sons Ltd, the promoter of the major operating Tata companies. “At the Trusts, we are positive that this collaboration will empower a generation of Indian learners through web-based personalized resources,” said Tata. Tata Trusts have an annual investment of over Rs.550 crore in philanthropic work of which 80% is allocated to programmatic partnership for specific initiatives reaching out to over 4 million households. Student learning levels in India remain abysmally low. Studies such as the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) have demonstrated that nearly 75% of children in Class 5 are unable to do simple division. India also faces an acute shortage of qualified and competent teachers and needs to fulfill the requirement of 1.2 million qualified teachers across the country. Though India would appear to have
partially arrested the downward spiral in the quality of learning of school children in rural areas, there is little to cheer about the country’s performance, according to an ASER report published in January. The proportion of all children in Class 5 who can read a Class 2 text has improved by 1 percentage point from 2013—48.1% children of Class 5 could read a class 2 text in 2014 against 47% in the previous year, according to ASER 2014, published by education non-profit organization Pratham Education Foundation. This means every second Class 5 student in rural India can’t read the text of a class three levels below. In 2005, when the first ASER report was published, three out of five children in Class 5 were able to read a Class 2 text. This is the 10th ASER report. Khan Academy is trying to address these issues through various public and private partnerships to empower and equip students, families and teachers. The format of the Khan AcademyTata Trusts programme is divided into two, with stage one (2016-18) of incubation and stage two (2018-21)
of scaling. Under incubation, for the first two years, the programme will focus on devising the product and content to serve urban middle as well as low income students aged 8 to 24 in select Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities. This incubation stage will focus on Hindi and English. Stage two will focus on scaling up use of resources for urban students, including translation of product and content offering into three vernacular languages to be determined at a later stage—although tentative options could include Marathi, Tamil and Bengali. The second stage would also include designing and piloting interventions for rural students in select geographies as infrastructure issues are resolved. “...The opportunity and the need for good education is massive. There are millions of students and many of them are not optimally served right now,” Khan said in an interview to Mint on 3 December. According to Khan, ‘free of charge world-class education for anyone, anywhere, anytime’ is the way forward. -Livemint.com
Diversification to Asia Now Weighs on India’s Exports
India’s export growth has been con-
tracting, given the slowdown in the global economy. Exports have fallen around 17.6% since the beginning of fiscal 2016 after declining marginally in fiscal 2015. What is worrying is that exports to Asia are also declining. In the past few years, India diversified its exports towards the Asian markets, especially after the financial crisis hit North America 2008-09. Asia accounts for around half of India’s total exports so far in 2015-
16, which is more than the combined share of Europe and the US at 31.8%. Asia is leading the fall in export growth following Africa in FY16, down 19%, compared with a marginal decline seen in the previous fiscal year, according to data compiled by Crisil Research. Slowing exports toAsia are a reflection of lower commodity prices and feeble demand for goods in China. “Commodity price corrections reflect subdued demand globally, particularly in China. China’s exports
have taken a significant hit and the Asian markets, which are directly or indirectly linked to China, have seen a demand slowdown. The softening growth rates have meant lower imports, which, in turn, have affected the exports of Indian products to the Asian markets,” said Rakesh Valecha, senior director and head of corporate ratings from India Ratings and Research Pvt. Ltd. The biggest contributors to the slowdown in India’s exports have been the UAE, China, Hong Kong,
Singapore and Japan—most of these countries have seen exports contract in the double digits. The waning exports may actually derail the recovery process. With exports getting affected, coupled with the improving but still subdued domestic demand, capacity utilization levels for key sectors will take time to improve, which, in turn, will delay the process of recovery for Indian companies, according to Valecha. Smaller companies that have a problem of liquidity and leverage
may take a bigger hit from slowing Asian exports. The contribution of MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) to Indian exports has been growing—their share of the total exports increased to 44.7% in FY15 from 43% in FY13, according to Crisil Research. This means that although there will be a modest improvement in domestic demand, the credit profile of companies is unlikely to change materially. -Livemint.com
INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
24 December 11, 2015
India Break Blockathon to Win Series 3-0 vs. S. Africa BY KARTHIK KRISHNASWAMY
NEW DELHI (ESPN Cricinfo):
India 334 (Rahane 127, Ashwin 56, Abbott 5-40, Piedt 4-117) and 267 for 5 dec (Rahane 100*, Kohli 88, Morkel 3-51) beat South Africa 121 (Jadeja 5-30) and 143 (de Villiers 43, Ashwin 5-61, Umesh 3-9) by 337 runs The scorecard will say South Africa were bowled out for 143, another low score in series where they only passed 200 once in seven attempts. It will say India won by 337 runs to complete a 3-0 series win. But for anyone who didn’t witness the Delhi Test, it will take a closer reading to appreciate the extent of South Africa’s fourth-innings defiance and India’s struggle to bowl them out. Between them, India’s four specialist bowlers sent down 136.1 overs, bowled 87 maidens against a set of batsmen who had made up their minds to block everything. In the end, South Africa simply had too much to do. AB de Villiers played out 297 balls, Hashim Amla 244, and Temba Bavuma and Faf du Plessis ate up a fair share of deliveries in a concerted effort of stonewalling. But to do so for more than five sessions was simply too much of an ask on a slow Feroz Shah Kotla surface that began deteriorating halfway through the final day. Having lost only five wickets in 138 overs until tea on day five, South Africa lost their last five wickets in the space of 27 balls. Umesh Yadav, bowling fast and reversing the ball appreciably, bowled Dane Vilas and Kyle Abbott, and had Dane Piedt caught behind by Wriddhiman Saha diving in front of first slip. But the big wicket was that of de Villiers, who had been at the crease since early in the final session of day four. Having defended resolutely and taken a series of painful blows on the glove, he wasn’t able to keep out an R Ashwin offbreak that spat at him from a good length. The ball popped off that much-battered glove and settled in leg slip’s hands.
Ravindra Jadeja broke through with the second new Ajinkya Rahane goes back for a cut. He scored ball, India v South Africa, 4th Test, DAelhi, 5th day, centuries in each of the innings (127, 100) in the December 7, 2015. 4th test.
It was only fitting that Ashwin, the best bowler on either side right through the series, ended the match with another five-for, bowling Morne Morkel as he shouldered arms to a ball that drifted into him through the air and spun less than expected. He ended the series with 31 wickets and his fifth Man-of-the-Series award. Till his dismissal, de Villiers had been a picture of calm at the crease, his footwork precise but not extravagant, moving him into compact positions from where he watched the ball closely and defended at the last possible moment. He was not getting as close to the pitch of the ball as Amla had consistently done, and there were more edges as a result. However, his hands were impeccably soft, and the ball died a painless death a short distance from the bat and well away from the close-in fielders. If anything, his approach possibly made the pitch look better
to bat on than it actually was. A number of deliveries misbehaved in one way or another over the course of the day, but De Villiers minimised their danger by playing almost impossibly late, and refusing entirely to go hard at the ball. The one bowler who consistently worried him was Umesh Yadav. In two overs close to the lunch break, he got the ball to rear at de Villiers three times. Twice he knocked his bat out of his hands, smacking his top glove once and his bottom glove on the other occasion. When he came back into the attack late in the second session, he hit his glove with another lifter, either side of balls that jagged in, kept low, and struck him on the unprotected part of the knee. India had a 72-over-old ball at the start of the day, and the first eight overs were shared among the two seamers - who tried, with little success, to unsettle Amla and de Villiers from around the wicket the occasional leg-rollers of Virat Kohli, and the never-before-seen
legbreaks of Cheteshwar Pujara. India were waiting to bring their spinners on when the second new ball was available. With the pitch slowing down considerably, they were banking on getting some life out of it with a harder ball with a prominent seam. Jadeja produced the wicket-taking ball in his third over, drawing Amla forward with flight, and getting the ball to drift into him and spin away sharply. For once, Amla’s front-foot stride was short and insufficient to get close to the pitch of the ball, which beat his outside edge and clipped the outside of his off stump. An air of expectation hung around the middle during the course of Jadeja’s next few overs, with the allrounder producing a loud lbw shout by beating du Plessis with a slider and then producing an edge that fell just short of slip. Karthik Krishnaswamy is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo.
SPORTS
Saina, Srikanth Ready to Compete in BWF Series
DUBAI: After a much-needed
rest following a feet injury, Saina Nehwal will look to continue her rampaging form, while Kidambi Srikanth would be hoping to carry on his confidence from Indonesia Masters when the Indian duo face the best in business at the BWF World Super Series Finals starting, here from Wednesday. London Olympic bronze medallist, Saina was left nursing her achilles tendon after her runnersup finish at the China Super Series Premier last month. Saina, who next missed the Hong Kong Open and had to race against time to get to full fitness, will face Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara in her opening Group A women’s singles match at the Hamdan Sports Complex on Wednesday. “It is always difficult to fight with the top players in badminton. I will give my best to show my performance,” said Saina, who had to undergo a scan to diagnose her Achilles tendon problems and was prescribed rest.Srikanth, meanwhile, has been blowing hot and cold this season as he won the Swiss Open and India Open early in the season before stumbling on a rough patch where he made many early exits. But the 22-year-old from Kuntur has finished runners-up last week at Indonesia Masters Grand Prix Gold and would look to carry on the form when he faces Japan’s Kento Momota, a formidable rival against whom he has a 3-3 record. The 2011 finalist, Saina has a 4-0 record against Nozomi, having beaten her twice this season at the Badminton Asia Championship in April and China Open last month. The 25-year-old, who reached the finals of All England, World Championship and China Open, has been clubbed with World No. 1 Carolina Marin of Spain and Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei in Group A. In men’s singles, World No. 9 Srikanth will be up against Chinese Taipei’s Chou Tien Chen and Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen during the Group B round-robin matches.Srikanth had beaten Chou at the Hong Kong Open last year, while against Axelsen, he has a 2-0 record.
INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
COMMUNITY
December 11, 2015
Sankara Eye Foundation Hosts Second Annual Gala in Houston on Dec. 20
HOUSTON: Sankara Eye Founda-
tion (SEF) is proud to announce it second annual gala in Houston, Texas on Dec 20, to raise funds for the two new eye care hospitals in Hyderabad and Indore. Established in 1998, Sankara Eye Foundation (SEF), a non-profit 501(c) (3) organization, has been working tirelessly for the past sixteen years with Sankara Eye Care Institutes in India to eradicate curable blindness. Driven by the truly inspirational vision of “Vision 20/20 by the year 2020,” Sankara has established eight community hospitals throughout India. The ninth hospital construction in the state of Rajasthan will be starting
soon. The next two hospitals will be in Hyderabad, Telangana and Indore, Madhya Pradesh. In India, over 55 million people are visually impaired and 8 million are blind. Over 80% of the blindness such as Cataract and Glaucoma are considered curable. SEF’s efforts based on robust infrastructure and aggressive outreach programs have enabled over 3.6 million patient screenings and over 1.36 million free eye surgeries with a network of state of the art hospitals across India. SEF is today the largest totally free eye care provider in the world, performing about 150,000 free eye surgeries per year. With over 300 volunteers in sev-
eral cities including Houston, SEF’s mission is to strengthen and expand the infrastructure and outreach programs to all parts of India through its fundraising efforts. America’s largest charity rating agency, Charity Navigator, has accorded SEF a prestigious four-star rating (out of four stars) for its accountability and transparency for three consecutive years, a feat achieved by only 12% of the charities in the United States. SEF is hosting its second annual gala in Houston on Sunday, December 20th, at the India House. With banquet dinner and multilingual musical entertainment by Swaramadhuri Group, the goal of the banquet is to raise SEF awareness in Houston while raising funds to support the construction of the two upcoming hospitals in Indore and Hyderabad. An anonymous donor will match all donations until December 31, 2015, up to $1 Million dollars for each of the two hospitals. The event will be attended by eminent personalities such as Dr. Ramani and Dr. Radha Ramani, SEF India Founders, and Mr. Murali Krishnamurthy, one of the SEF USA Founders. Please visit www.giftofvision.org or contact the SEF Houston Team via email sefhouston@giftofvision. org to receive more information about the banquet.
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Maha Kumbhabhisekam 3 Days Grand Cultural Event CONTINUED FROM PAGE
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her undying love for Lord Shiva and her courage as a warrior princess. This was followed by Anjali Center for Performing Arts' performance of "Devi Mahatmayam". The dancers depicted the strength of Shakthi, as well as treated us with the various "thiruvilayadal" (playful lessons) of Lord Sundareswarar and his consort Parvathi. The Navarasas (9 emotions) were beautifully expressed through these stories. Abhinaya School of Performing Arts students danced "Devi Neeye Thunai" with their guru Indrani Parthasarathy. They depicted the beauty and the valor of the beautiful Meenalochani. They surrendered at her feet for the strength she bestows on all beings. They concluded this wonderful song with a thillana. "Panja Sakthi" was performed by a solo male student from Sunanda Nair's dance school. His expressions and lines were perfect in depicting the power of Sakthi. The evening concluded with a beautiful semi-classical song welcoming the bride Parvathi to her abode. The props were meticulously done and the girls danced gracefully depicting Parvathi's moon-like face and mesmerizing smile. Kudos to the dance schools for performing on this auspicious event and may Goddess Meenakshi bestow all her blessings on the performers and their gurus. The Meenakshi Temple Maha
Kumbabishekam celebrations was a delight to devotees. Not only did they get to witness the holy ritual but also got it in true flavor or South Indian hospitality. Along with other cultural programs the highlight was the portrayal of folk dances that is typical to any religious carnival. Coordinated by Ms. Mala Gopal and executed by enthusiastic volunteers this event exhilarated the devotees who were gathered around the temple. Ladies dressed in traditional attire performed Kummi, an auspicious dance and that paved way to enthralling presentation of Karagam, Poikkaal kuthirai, Kaavadi, Silambaattam, Mayilaattam, and Oyilattam. These performances portrayed by devotees of all age, kids to adults, was lauded by many in person and through social media. The mesmerizing music, fast paced dance moves, and enthusiasm of the dancers held the devotee’s captive. Maha Kumbabishekam was made complete traditional cultural event. Kudos to all the participants, choreographers, and coordinator. Grand finale classical Carnatic Vocal concert by our own home town stars Kumari.Kruthi and Keerathana Bhat , accompanied by Sri. Vittal Ramamurthy Viloin, Sri.Erode Nagaraj Mirudhangam, Sri.Ravi Balasubramaniam ghatam.
INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
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December 11, 2015
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December 11, 2015
This Christmas, for all your shopping needs... Look Nowhere Else!
INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM