Issuu

Friday, December 27, 2019 | Vol. 38, No. 47

Indo American News

December 27, 2019

Published weekly from Houston, TX

www.indoamerican-news.com

Special Reports Community Briefs Local Politics South Asians in the News

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Connoisseurs go to Shangri-la

Southwestern Nat’l Bank Celebrates the Holidays

Diabetes Prevalent for South Asians

Bank President Mohammed Younus and Chairwoman Jody Lee (center) with Pierce Bush (right), the grandson of late President George H.W. Bush.

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Indo-American News • Friday, December 27, 2019 • Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

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COMMUNITY

December 27, 2019

Southwestern National Bank Creates Holiday Magic! Press Release

Houston: Southwestern National Bank sprinkled some magic at its Annual Christmas party on Saturday, December 14, held this year at the Omni Houston Hotel on Woodway. The Board of Directors, employees, and VIP guests gathered together for a fun night. Pierce Bush, the grandson of late President George H.W. Bush, and Katherine Wu, 2019 Miss Chinatown USA also attended the magical party. Inopeningremarks,BankPresident Mohammed Younus delivered congratulated the employees for their hard work. “2019 has been one of the best years for Southwestern National Bank,” he said, “With the continued support from our customers and community, the Bank has grown to $580 million in total assets.” He explained that SWNB’s Anaheim, California production office, which opened in 2016, had exceeded $50 million in loans and would be converted into a full branch in February 2020. A second Loan Production Office in the City of Industry, California, will also open in March 2020. This year, the Plano, Texas branch crossed $100 million. While enjoying healthy growth in 2019, the Bank will strategically position itself in 2020 due to the uncertainties in the financial markets. The Bank will focus on customer relations and technology and provide premium services to its customers. Board Chairwoman Jody Lee said the Bank had just finished enhancing its core system, adding “the new system allows Southwestern National Bank to provide up-to-date banking products tailored to the communities we serve.” She said that C.K. Lee will continue as the senior chairman and will provide stewardship. “CK’s legacy is that this is a very happy place to work,” she said. Under her new leadership, Chairwoman Lee will continue to strive to keep not only a good work environment but also a happy one.

Clockwise from top left: Chairwoman Jody Lee and President Mohammed Younus with 15-year service award recipient Patricia Chou; Senior Chairman C.K. Lee (standing, third from right), Jody Lee (standing right) with guests; Board Director Hasu Patel (standing, second from right) with guests; Board director Ed Malmgren and Jody Lee with Katherine Wu, 2019 Miss Chinatown USA; Wu and Pierce Bush, the grandson of late President George H.W. Bush.

Lee congratulated the 10 and 15-year service award recipients, Becky Nguyen, Patricia Chou, and Julia Wu. She said, “there will be many milestones for Southwestern National Bank and its employees who are our heart and soul.” Investment in technology and employees will allow the Bank to stay competitive in the marketand provide the best services to its customers. With a strong management team, she is confident that the Bank will cross the $1 billion mark in the next few years.

This year, the Christmas party was full of magic and yuletide spirit as Santa Claus posed for pictures with guests and delivered gifts at the party, and a magician brought tricks to each table to much delight. Christmas music was played by a live band and brought couples to the dance floor. The party included a raffle of 16 “Golden Rats” (signifying 2020 as the year of the rat) and cash prizes to employees handed out by Ms Chinatown USA Katherine Wu, who also mingled with the guests with her tall crown and posed for pictures. Pierce Bush, who is running for the Congressional District 22 seat in Ft. Bend being vacated by Pete Olson, also met with guests across the hall.

Indo-American News • Friday, December 27, 2019 • Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

3 Connoisseurs Take Guided Journey through China to Shangri-la

COMMUNITY

December 27, 2019

By Jawahar Malhotra

Houston: Like Atul Vir, the de

facto leader of the small social club put it, “we’re a club where inquisitive people come to learn, and not just to while away the hours.” That was the idea behind the original band of people who would get together for a drink once every other month … and gradually it took on an identity that reflected their personalities. The Connoisseurs Club – from the French “to know” – was formed to share the experiences of others, vicariously. The creed of the Connoisseurs Club is to share experiences with each other that can expand the knowledge and enrichen the outlook of its members. The 6 year-old social group ties each event with a chance to learn something new from a member’s experience and the other constant is that each member brings a bottle of their favorite – or unusual – bottle of Scotch, whisky or wine to sample, and a dinner always follows. Two Sundays ago, on the evening of December 15, the mid-winter meeting of the CC was held at Nirvana restaurant on the westside, with a sit-down dinner. This venue has become the CC’s unofficial meeting place, and in the past, several people have presented tales of their trips through Uganda, Mansarovar and Kailash Parbhat. On this Sunday, Ajay and Anju Shah shared their experience of going through China and spending several days in legendary Shangri-

la in Yunnan province, the seat of the Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. Starting from Beijing, for three weeks the couple criss-crossed China, trekked across tall sand dunes in the

Ajay and Anju Shah’s route itinerary from their recent trip to China and Shangri-la.

Gobi Desert and shared pictures of the people in their colorful attire, marketplaces and old Buddhist temples. They arrived at the base city of Lijiang at the western end of the Kunlun Mountains, from which they had to travel by bus to Shangri-la, a Tibetan utopia and earthly paradise (made famous in British author James Hilton’s famous 1933 novel Lost Horizon) and known for many monasteries. From here, the Shahs flew to Lhasa, Tibet and then took a flight back to Shanghai to return to the US.

The Connoisseurs Club met on the evening of December 15 at Nirvana restaurant on the westside to listen to the experience of Ajay and Anju Shah from their recent trip to China and Shangri-la.

Indo-American News • Friday, December 27, 2019 • Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

COMMUNITY

December 27, 2019

Neena Bansal, 72, Passes Away Suddenly

Houston: In the end, it is all about the way that people remember you and for Neena Bansal, her simple, unassuming personality endeared her to the people she met. On the evening of Sunday, December 7, this simple lady who loved to help others collapsed suddenly while attending a function for the Aggarwal Association of Houston at India House. Doctors at the event hurried to help her and the 911 paramedics rushed her to St. Luke’s Hospital in Sugar Land where they pronounced her dead. A later autopsy listed probable cause as cardiac arrest. She was 72. Neena Gupta was born on April 5, 1947 in Amritsar, Punjab and after the Partition her family later settled down in Jagraon, District Ludhiana, also in Punjab. After completing her BSc and BEd degrees, she got married to Virinder Bansal on February 16, 1968. Her husband was an Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering, at the College of Agricultural Engineering, Punjab Agricultural University, in Ludhiana from 1967 to 1970. Neena taught briefly at Khalsa High School, Ludhiana and later worked at the Bank of Baroda, also in Ludhiana.

Virinder (also commonly known as “Ben”) Bansal immigrated to the US in September1970 and Neena followed in May 1971 with their 2 year-old son, Munish. The couple started their life in New York City where Virinder worked as an engineer while Neena worked in different administrative and teaching positions. The Bansals moved to Houston in 1975 with their parents and in 1977 they were joined by other members of the family, two sisters and a brother.

Neena worked in real estate and construction, got her license as a Real Estate Inspector and became a US citizen in 1979. Later she joined the City of Houston as an Inspector in 1994, retiring in 2013. The Bansal’s son Munish got married in 2002 to Meena Kumari, but he passed away in September 2012 due to colon cancer. Besides her job, Neena devoted herself to raise a family and looked after her in-laws from 1977 to 2007. Neena also helped to raise her three grandchildren Saurav, 15; Payal, 12 and Jaya, 10 and managed the household. She attended the Hindu Worship Society Temple, Shiv Shakti Temple and Hindu Swayam Sevak Sangh and volunteered at the Shri Natraj School of Dance and Kalakriti Academy. She made regular contributions to several religious organizations in India. Neena was a simple minded individual, she led a relatively quiet life, helped in many community activities and accompanied her husband to many events. She will be remembered and missed for her simplicity, helpful nature and for being a friend to all.

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SOUTH ASIA

December 27, 2019

“India is the Story of Migration ... Its Cultural Richness Comes from Multiple Layering”: Author William Dalrymple Author William Dalrymple in conversation with Seema Chishti, Deputy Editor, The Indian Express, and Anant Goenka, Executive Director, The Indian Express Group. On the parallels between East India Company and today’s corporate world I always try and find a story that has a contemporary resonance. White Mughals (2002) was just after 9/11, everyone was talking about clash of civilisations. It was about how the East and the West have never been alienated from each other, and there were always possibilities of crossover. There was a porousness of identities. Privately, at the centre of the story, you have an East India Company resident, who converts to Islam and becomes a double agent, working against the company. This message seemed important at the time. I wrote Return of the King (2012) just after the West had gone back into Afghanistan and seemed ignorant of the lessons that previous incursions into the region had got them, particularly the catastrophe of 1839 when British army got completely wiped out, and famously only one man, Dr (William) Brydon, made it out on a pony to tell the news. Anarchy is very much in that line. I think history is most interesting when it has a lesson for us today. On Anarchy and audacity of the Company Anarchy has two combined stories. One has been forgotten, not accidentally; it has been deliberately removed from the record. The Victorians were embarrassed by the crude commercial, capitalist, grubby way that the Empire had started. They respun it as a story of glorious conquest. In reality, of course, it wasn’t the British per say, it was one London company, in a small office block. The evil genius of the Company is the way it was able to exploit the profit motive of the Indian bankers. The audacity of the Company was to borrow money from Indian financiers to pay for Indian troops and to conquer India. It’s a story so improbable that if you take it to Netflix, they will laugh you out of court, but it happened. On the global right-wing swell In the ’80s, we had Ronald Rea-

gan and Margaret Thatcher. These things go in ebbs and flows. Sixties was the decade of the left, ’80s was the decade of the right. These are waves of public opinion. We can see thewhat’s happening — from (Jair) Bolsonaro, (Narendra) Modi, Boris Johnson, to (Donald) Trump — unstitching itself. These things go in 10-20 year cycles. On India at its prime Hindutva myth apart, this country had an extraordinary millennium between about 400 AD and 1200 AD, when you have the whole of Southeast Asia adopting Sanskrit names; you have the churning of the ocean on the back wall of the Angkor Wat; the Ramayana passing all the way down to Java and Malaysia. You have this huge Sanskrit cosmopolis which is converted to Indian ways through soft power rather than through conquests. What I think has happened is that the civilisational story of India at its most brilliant, beaming out ideas of kingship, technology, ways of living and the Sanskrit language gets divided into two different departments — you get the story of the spread of Buddhism and the story of the Sanskritisation of Southeast Asia… Chinese traveller, Hiuen Tsang, sets off from China, and says, ‘The country in the world most admired by educated people is India’…In fact, it’s one story of India commanding the imagination of Asia during

this period. On the theory of clash of civilisation and its effect This one book that I have written, which doesn’t deal with this part of the world, is called From the Holy Mountain (1997). It’s about the Middle East and the Eastern Christians, and what struck me, writing it with Huntingdon in the background, was the extraordinary way in which Islam and Christianity, which are said to be very different, grew out of the same world. Christianity is not a Western religion as people tend to imagine, it grew up in Israel, Palestine, received its intellectual superstructure in Alexandria and Istanbul before it made it to Western Europe. When you travel to Eastern Turkey, Syria, you see how Eastern Christians pray with prostration, like in Islam. When you see the specifics, you see the common roots and it’s very easy to undermine divisive theories based on wild generalisations based on classes and religions. On whether as many versions of the same specifics can be found elsewhere I think the Eastern Mediterranean world, until recently, was as divided. The whole Ottoman world, every town, had Sunnis, Shias, five types of Christians, Jews, Yazidis. This isn’t the only very plural society in the world. It’s an incredibly plural society, which is one of

the most wonderful things about it and how different philosophies have emanated from it. But it’s not unique. There are other societies in the world which are not monolingual and monocultural. On the importance of teaching history to children It’s crucial and hugely important and one has huge respect for a country like Germany, which has faced up to the crimes and teaches its students, and that they in a sense can walk on to the next century unencumbered by that baggage, having faced it, apologised for it, and moved on. The British simply haven’t done that. It isn’t that they deny it, it’s just that when the Empire ended, they, in a sense, just packaged it all up, put it into a trunk and forgot about it. So my kids going to school learned about the Tudors and then learned about the Nazis, and there is a brief stop on the way for the British liberating the slaves. The impression they’ve given is that Britain is this anti-racist force in history. On the right-wing alleging that after Independence, the academic part of managing the country was given to the left It is true that the early Nehruvian textbooks were written by Romila Thapar and so on, many of whom were Marxists. Sometimes, those textbooks did sort of emphasise a slightly rose-tinted vision of Hindu-Muslim unity running through

the whole of the Delhi Sultanate right through the Mughals, which left room for the right wing to say this isn’t history. But the reality was that all those Nehruvian historians were great historians which the right wing successors were not. On whether he would like to write a textbook Not much… but the serious point is that every nation has its myths, and its mythologies are often reflected and some of them come out of their school textbooks… Then there are certain parts of the world like India or Israel-Palestine, where history is so politicised that textbooks get rewritten depending on who’s in government. On how important it is for the Empire to apologise So the first thing that’s important to me, more so than any of the rest, is education. You’ve got to tell people what their ancestors did — good and bad. There are things we can be proud of, the health service in 1947 was the best in Asia, the universities were the best in Asia. It isn’t like it’s an unbroken chamber of horrors, but that the British took the richest country in the world and turned it into an economic basket case is unquestionable history. When the Company took control of Plassey, India controlled 30 per cent of world GDP and when Lord Mountbatten sailed away in 1947, I think it was seven per cent. Should there be an apology? Yes, in due course. What the Archbishop of Canterbury did at Jallianwala Bagh seems to be entirely appropriate and necessary. What I’m worried about is the sort of apology that was being mooted when (David) Cameron arrived with a chain of British businessmen wanting contracts On whether India has benefited from immigration Yes, India is a huge mixed pot of million migrations. You are all immigrants, man originated in Africa and everyone of you in this room has the genes of those early out of African migration… I firmly believe that the richness of this country culturally comes from that multiple layering. So it’s a history of conflict but the richness of Indian culture comes from that. -Indian Express

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Indo-American News • Friday, December 27, 2019 • Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

6 December 27, 2019 COMMUNITY Connoisseurs Take Guided Journey through China to Shangri-la By Jawahar Malhotra

Houston: Like Atul Vir, the de

la in Yunnan province, the seat of the Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. Starting from Beijing, for three weeks the couple criss-crossed China, trekked across tall sand dunes in the

Ajay and Anju Shah’s route itinerary from their recent trip to China and Shangri-la.

The Connoisseurs Club met on the evening of December 15 at Nirvana restaurant on the westside to listen to the experience of Ajay and Anju Shah from their recent trip to China and Shangri-la.

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MKT-06089-0618 Tracking # 1-745751 (Exp. 8/20) Indo-American News • Friday, December 27, 2019 • Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

7 Thousands Brave Winter Chill to Witness Real Kashmir’s Match

SPORTS

December 27, 2019

Srinagar: Braving winter chill and cold weather, the Valley witnessed its first major sporting event in Srinagar since the revocation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir on August 5. On Thursday, Real Kashmir hosted I-League champions Chennai City at TRC Turf Ground, drawing several thousand in the stands. Unlike past, however, the attendance was less, with rows and rows of seats remaining empty during the match. “The seating capacity is around 13,000 at the ground. Today, we saw around 5000-6000 people present at the match,” Umar Amin, Media Manager of Real FC the told The Indian Express. “The match ended peacefully.” Thursday’s match — which Real

Kashmir won 2-1 — was the first home game of the season, after Real Kashmir’s previous match against Gokulam Kerala, which was to be played on December 12, had was rescheduled due to weather conditions. Real Kashmir’s next match here will be on January 5 against Mohun Bagan. Since early morning, hundreds of fans arrived at the ground to watch the match despite the sub-zero temperatures during the night and the day temperature dipping significantly ahead of the New Year. On December 21, the 40-day chill period Chilai Kalan started in the valley with locals gearing up for some harsh weather conditions. The match on Thursday afternoon, however, started in sunshine.

“I am a hardcore football fan. I left early morning to reach here and to support Real Kashmir,” says Arshid Ahmad, a resident of North Kashmir’s Sopore – 50 kilometers away from Srinagar. While the match was going on at the ground, BJP General Secretary Ram Madhav arrived at the ground and watched the match briefly. Talking to media persons on the sidelines, Madhav said he was “delighted to be present today at this match.” “I am happy that I witnessed two first two goals and both were by Real Kashmir FC,” he said. Kashmir has witnessed a complete lockdown since August 5, when the government revoked the special status of Jammu and Kash-

mir and bifurcated the state into two Union Territories. While the businessmen, after the restrictions were lifted, did not open the shops for the whole day, there has been a change in the last two weeks, as the shops are now open and public transport is also back on the roads. Team officials said that the J&K police had advised them not to sell more tickets and keep the tickets limited. “We had initially sold more than 2000 tickets because it was the first big event post-August 5. But then there was more crowd at the ground and it reached over 5000,” said an official. “We are hopeful that there will be more crowd in the next match.” PTI: Taking advantage of the home conditions, Real Kashmir on

Thursday scored their first victory of the ongoing I League season with a 2-1 defeat of the defending champion Chennai City. Danish Farooq (22nd minute) and Ivory’s Bazie Armand (27th) scored for the winners while Syed Suhail Pasha was the lone scorer for the visitors as he found the net in the 48th minute. Real Kashmir had drawn their away matches against Kolkata giants East Bengal and Tiddim Road Athletic Union (TRAU) of Imphal before taking on the Holders. The win takes Real Kashmir to seventh place in the standings with five points, while the defending champions drop to eighth place with an inferior goal difference of -2. -- Indian Express

Indo-American News • Friday, December 27, 2019 • Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

December 27, 2019 Explained: What has MEA Announced about Carrying Old Passports for OCI Cardholders? W ashington DC: On Sunday, December 16 American citizens of Indian origin were briefly stranded at New York’s JFK airport for not carrying old canceled passports, PTI reported. Over the past few months, many OCI cardholders have faced similar issues and have had to cancel their trips to India. Some have had to return midway from connecting airports such as Dubai and Singapore. After receiving a flood of complaints from the Indian origin community, the Ministry of External Affairs had announced a relaxation in the rules earlier this month. What are the rules about carrying old passports with OCI cards, and what did the MEA announce? According to the MEA website, an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) is a person of Indian origin who is a foreign national and gets registered as an Overseas Citizen of India Cardholder under Section 7A of the Citizenship Act, 1955. As per the MEA rules, an OCI card needs to be re-issued every time a passport is renewed by cardholders below the age of 20 years and those who have completed the age of 50 years. Cardholders between 21 and 50 years of age who acquire a new passport do not need to get their OCI card re-issued. The guidelines have been in force since

2005, as per the MEA. In the past several months, many OCI holders complained of being subjected to harassment by immigration authorities as well as airline officials over the rule, which had not been enforced so far. Several OCI holders, including many Indian Americans, complained to Indian diplomatic missions. Subsequently, the MEA announced a relaxation of the rule in a press release on December 18. It allowed OCI cardholders, either below 20 years or above 50 years of age and who had renewed their passports, to continue their travel to India till June 30, subject to them carrying both the old and new passports along with the OCI card. After June 30, they will have to get new OCI cards. The 16 Indian Americans on Sunday who were almost stranded for not carrying their old passports could board after top officials, including Indian Ambassador to the US Harsh Vardhan Shringla, Consul General New York Sandeep Chakravorty and Air India (North America) head Kamal Roul intervened. Previously, OCI holders also had to get a ‘U’ visa sticker on their passports, but the MEA later dispensed with the requirement. According to the website of the Bureau of Immigration, OCI cardholders are now given immigration clearance on the strength of their valid foreign passport and OCI card. -Indian Express

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Indo-American News • Friday, December 27, 2019 • Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

SOUTH ASIA

December 27, 2019

Oxygen Bar to Fake Rain: 10 Ways India Tried to Beat Its ‘Airpocalypse’ By Annie Banerjee New Delhi: India is home to 15 of the 20 most polluted cities in the world, with New Delhi named as the capital with the dirtiest air, according to IQ AirVisual, a Swissbased group that gathers air-quality data globally, and Greenpeace. Large swathes of north India, including Delhi - a metropolis of about 20 million - are covered under a thick blanket of toxic air at the onset of winter. Vehicle and industrial emissions, dust from building sites, smoke from the burning of rubbish and burning of crop fields contribute to what is locally dubbed as the “airpocalypse”. Here are some ways authorities, engineers and companies tried to help Indians breathe easy: 1.Delhi’s oxygen bar Delhi residents gasping for fresh air could head to Oxy Pure, a bar that offers 15 minutes of “oxygen enriched air” for about $7 in seven different flavors ranging from lavender and lemongrass to cinnamon and spearmint. But it may be a costly affair in a country where the average person spends $1.80 a day, according to research by Goldman Sachs and news website IndiaSpend. When pollution spiked to “hazardous” levels, Indians could go online and order themselves cans of fresh air.

Several companies, like Vitality Air in Canada and Indian brand Pure Himalayan Air, sell “pure air” in 10-litre cans for anywhere between 550 rupees and 5,400 rupees ($75). Estimates suggest that the average adult inhales and exhales about 8 liters of air per minute. 3. Wearable air purifier For those who did not want to be cooped up inside on smoggy days, a wearable air purifier called AirTamer was the answer. The 50 gram gadget, which can be worn as a necklace, emits negative ions that push pollutants away. It sells for nearly 10,000 rupees in Delhi, a city described as a “gas

chamber” by its own chief minister and where doctors say the air is as bad as smoking up to 20 cigarettes a day. 4. Anti-smog gun Delhi residents craving clear skies could turn to an anti-smog gun, which ejects fine droplets of water at high speeds to flush out air pollutants. Shaped like a hair dryer and mounted on a flatbed truck, the cannon can blast up to 100 liters of water per minute and get rid of 95% of tiny particulate matter. Critics, however, called it a quick-fix solution that could do little to combat the noxious air. 5. Odd-even car scheme New Delhi’s authorities restrict-

ed the use of private cars for two weeks in November with the socalled “oddeven” system allowing cars on alternate days, depending on whether their license plate ended in an odd or even number. The scheme helped little, prompting environmentalists to call for urgent action to combat air pollution. 6. Artificial rain Authorities in the Indian capital considered cloud seeding developed by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in an effort to trigger rainfall and bring pollution levels down. But the plan was stalled as there were no planes or the technical support available to spray the seeds. 7. Roadside air purifiers Dozens of giant air purifiers were installed at busy intersections of Delhi to combat roadside dust and vehicular pollution. India’s top court in November ordered the federal and Delhi governments to install “smog towers”

like those in China that can act as pollution vacuum cleaners. Environmentalists, however, termed them as “band-aid fixes” that did not bring down small particulate matter that can penetrate lungs and enter the blood system. 8. Purifiers at Taj Mahal Two mobile air purifiers were fitted at the iconic Taj Mahal in November as a toxic haze shrouded the 17th century mausoleum, whose white marble is turning yellow and green weathering filthy air in the world’s eighth-most polluted city of Agra. 9. Bus stop shelters Providing a small breather for commuters, several bus stops in Delhi were curtained with thick plastic sheets, creating a what local media called a “fresh air chamber”. But many said it was gimmickry as people had to step out within minutes and expose themselves to smog. 10. Ink from pollution Chakr Innovations, started by IIT engineers, capitalized on fumes from smoke-belching back-up diesel generators by turning the soot into ink and paint. The technology can capture 90% of dangerous pollutants. The company has installed more than 50 such devices in government firms and offices as well as real estate developers. -- Thompson Reuters Foundation

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5:00 PM to 5:30 PM Special Archana for Sri Mahalakshmi 5:30 PM to 6:00 PM Puja for Sri Durga, Sri Jyothi & Sri Kannika Parameswari. 6:00 PM Prakara Utsavam (Procession) for Sri Venkateswara on Pallakku 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM Special Puja for Sri Rama, Sri Subramanya

Grand Sponsorship for all New Year Day Pujas: $101 9:00 PM: Ardha Jama Puja followed by Sayanalaya Puja 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM Cultural Program 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM: Breakfast will be available at Temple Kitchen

10:00 AM - 8:00 PM: Food will be available from Local Indian Restaurants at the Food Booth To Volunteer for the New Year’s day, Please contact: Partha Krishnaswamy at p.krishnaswamy@keppelfloatec.com or call the temple office at 281-489-0358 x101/110

Indo-American News • Friday, December 27, 2019 • Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

SOUTH ASIA

December 27, 2019

Mumbai: Decade Ends with 109% Rise in Traffic Congestion Mumbai: This decade saw traffic flow choke up with the number of vehicles more than doubling but the city’s road length remaining consistent at about 2,000km. Transport department statistics show there’s been a 109% rise in vehicles between 2009-10 and November 2019. There are 22 lakh bikes registered, translating into 1,100 bikes for every km, and with 150 new cars and SUVs (10.6 lakh in all on streets now) on average hitting the roads daily, problems like severe traffic congestion, dearth of parking slots, noise and air pollution have peaked. “The roads are bursting at the seams and it’s high time the government strikes a balance between public transport and private vehicles,” said A V Shenoy of Mumbai Mobility Forum. The car industry creates jobs, so the government promotes a car-centric economy. “But there should be emphasis on public transport as well. A single bus occupies less road space but carries a many passengers as in 9-10 cars/taxis,” he pointed out. Increasing purchasing power of the 25-30 age group, lower car prices, better fuel efficiency and easier loans coupled with rising aspirations over the last decade saw a boom in auto ownership, especially over the past 5-7 years.

“Many of the buyers travel to work by train but prefer a car for the family or to go on drives during weekends,” said a car marketing executive. Motorcycles and scooters guarantee quick mobility and loans for them are even cheaper. If first-time earners found them affordable, home-makers chose them to run errands like dropping and picking up children from school, and many bought one over and above their cars just to drive to a station a few kilometres from their housing societies and leave it there while they commuted by train. On return, they could zip home instead of waiting for autos or buses. No wonder over 10 lakh motorcycles and scooters flooded city roads in the last decade, resulting in indiscipline among many riders, rash and negligent riding and a spate of fatal mishaps. The boom in personal vehicles coincided with a downswing in BEST services, inadequate train services and the inability of the government to add to critical infrastructure like Metro and Monorail. Transport commissioners have proposed several measures to control car population by introducing cess on petrol/diesel, preventing

registration without guaranteed parking and increasing permit/ road taxes. But most of these proposals have gathered dust in government files. Transport experts say there’s an urgent need to impose congestion tax in the business hubs to discourage use of personal cars and push for zero-emission electric vehicles, whose demand is yet to pick up in Mumbai. Rudimentary e-cars have been there for some time, but with the government finally taking an interest and providing incentives, more and better models are being made available as facilities like charging stations also grow. It is time for Mumbaikars to go green. -- Times of India

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HEALTH

December 27, 2019

New Study Reveals Diabetes Prevalence is 23% Among South Asians in U.S. By Ajay Ghosh Chicago: Important research regarding South Asian cardiometabolic disease was published in JAMA on December 20, 2019 by Cheng YJ, Kanaya AM, Araneta MRG, et al entitled “Prevalence of Diabetes by Race and Ethnicity in the United States, 2011-2016.”(1) The American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) together with the American Association of Cardiologists of Indian Origin (AACIO) jointly acknowledge that the data generated by these authors has far-reaching implications for the South Asian community with respect to diabetes and cardiovascular disease. In the above study, diabetes prevalence (diagnosed and undiagnosed) was found to be 12.1% for non-Hispanic whites and 23.3% for South Asians. “The 23% reflects a critical need for aggressive action towards better prevention and management of diabetes along with the accompanying cardiovascular risk” stated Dr. Kamini Trivedi, a family physician, lipidologist, and honorary Board Member of AACIO. In addition, Deepak L. Bhatt,

MD, MPH, Executive Director of Interventional Cardiovascular Services at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School stated, “These valuable data demonstrate the incredibly high, vastly underappreciated burden of diabetes among South Asians. Particularly distressing is how many South Asians have diabetes without even knowing it. This phenomenon is surely fueling the cardiovascular epidemic among South Asians.” Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S., spending over $500 billion on cardiovascular disease each year.(2, 3) AAPI and AACIO are medical societies together comprised of several tens of thousands of physicians of Indian origin in the U.S. who provide care to patients of all ethnicities and diverse backgrounds. Physicians who are engaged with these two medical societies are particularly passionate

about diabetes given that diabetes and premature cardiovascular disease so often impact their extended family and friends. AAPI and AACIO immediately held a joint meeting the same day that the study results were unveiled, reflecting the urgency. Dr. Brahma Sharma, a prominent cardiologist affiliated with VA University of Pittsburgh and serving as the Chair of the AAPI Ad Hoc Committee on South Asian Cardiovascular Disease, led the meeting in which Dr. Trivedi and Dr. Bhatt participated alongside the current President of AAPI, Dr. Suresh Reddy, a neuroradiologist. Dr. Navin Nanda, MD, DSc

(Hon), Distinguished Professor of Medicine and Cardiovascular Disease at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and an internationally renowned cardiologist, Dr. Hanumant K. Reddy, current President of AACIO, and Dr. Vishal Gupta, President-Elect of AACIO, have offered their leadership on behalf of AACIO in conjunction with AAPI’s leadership towards addressing these challenges. Dr Nanda, who is past President and incorporator of AAPI as well as the Founding President of AACIO pointed out that the results of the study are similar to those conducted by Dr. Naresh Parikh and him in the Atlanta area in 2004 which also showed, for the first time, a high prevalence of diabetes mellitus in South Asians living in the USA, 18.3% overall with 22.5% in men and 13.6% in women.(4) The JAMA paper along with CDC’s press release (5) on this paper were discussed at the joint

AACIO-AAPI leadership meeting. AAPI and AACIO conducted preliminary brainstorming on strategy and will now work with increased collaboration to educate both physicians and the U.S. South Asian community. Education about lifestyle modification, including culturally appropriate nutrition and physical activity, along with guideline recommended medical therapy will be the foundation of educational efforts. Dr. Suresh Reddy on behalf of AAPI stated, “We have the talent, skills, strength, and the commitment. Let’s put them to work and help our community.” Dr. Sharma expressed that the authors of this JAMA study deserve high praise. The joint efforts of AAPI and AACIO will require a coming together of various stakeholders who are leading valuable efforts on South Asian diabetes and cardiovascular disease. AAPI and AACIO would like to amplify their various efforts and welcome collaboration. Physicians as well as other interested stakeholders who are interested in joining and shaping the collaborations with AAPI and AACIO should contact Vijaya Kodali at Vkodali@aapiusa.org.

We wish you and your families Peace, Joy, Good Health and Prosperity throughout the coming year (and decade!) Cheers from Sandy, Anita & the Seth & Lal Families Indo-American News • Friday, December 27, 2019 • Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

December 27, 2019 13

Indo-American News • Friday, December 27, 2019 • Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

TRAVEL

December 27, 2019

India Off the Beaten Track: Dholavira – The City beyond History By Shashishekhar Gavai Indians speak with pride of their 5000 year old civilization. But the emotional and cultural bonds of the average Indian to his heritage rarely extend beyond the Vedic age. His consciousness does not often accomodate the advanced Indian civilization that preceded the Rig Veda by a thousand years and more. The cities and settlements of the Harappan civilization , however, extended beyond the Indus valley in Pakistan and covered parts of Afghanistan, northwestern and western India, and possibly, even further. Excavations by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) post-independence, uncovered Lothal and Dholavira in Gujarat, Kalibangan in Rajasthan and Rakhigarhi in Haryana. The most spectacular of these is Dholavira, which lies on an island in the Rann of Kutch. I drove to Dholavira from Rajkot – a six-hour journey that takes you through landscapes that change from urban to rural to virtual desert. In the final stretch, you see large tracts of salt disappearing into the distance on either side of the highway. Dholavira dates back to 2650 BCE. To place its antiquity in historical perspective, the origin of Dholavira is as distant in time from the founding of Chandragupta’s Mauryan Empire as the latter is from the establishment of the independent Indian state. The archaeological site occupies an area of about 120 acres. In its heyday, Dholavira was a principal city of the Harappan civilization and with a population of about 50,000 souls, one of the greatest urban centres of its time. It was inhabited for over a thousand years, but finally abandoned around 1400 BCE, about the time the Vedic age was beginning. The mound that hosts the archaeological site rises a hundred feet as you face it. Layers of dust and debris accumulated over it during 3,500 years of abandonment, concealing it completely, until discovery during our times. It was then excavated laboriously, layer by layer, until its wonders lay exposed. A lot, of course, still lies

Ruins on the Citadel

The undeciphered Dholavira “signboard”

below, to be unearthed perhaps sometime in the future. A visitor to Dholavira would do well not to expect grand palaces or intricate sculpture. Instead, the mind should be allowed to comprehend the genius of the people who conceptualized the city and built it. What a tremendous leap of imagination would have been required in those prehistoric times. There were only a handful of other visitors as I made my way through the excavations to the top of the mound. This was the “Citadel” with a commanding view of the surrounding countryside. It was here that the ruling elite resided and administered the city. There are no vestiges here of any grand mansions, but only of what must have been modest dwellings. There are, however, structures of an ingenious water supply and drainage system here. A level below is the perfectly geometrical layout of streets, shops and residential quarters of “middle town”, where merchants and artisans lived and conducted their business. Continuing from

here and encircling the mound were several huge reservoirs, three of which have been fully excavated, into which flowed water diverted from nearby rivers as also harvested during the rainy season. Beyond this was the “lower town”, where the bulk of the populationlived, growing crops and livestock. With its advanced infrastructure and the precision of its civil engineering, this was a city any modern day architect or city planner would have been proud to have designed. Even Mesopotamia and Pharaonic Egypt, the other two great civilizations of the time did not possess a city to match the civic infrastructure of Dholavira. Rome would have it ... 2,000 years later! History will not shed light on the cultural, social, economic or political canvas of anything as ancient as Dholavira. It is archaeology that lends a helping hand. There is no evidence of palaces or magnificent villas. On the other hand, you have a well planned city with impressive civic infrastructure available to all citizens. This suggests a

fairly equitable society with an enlightened ruling class. No Sultans, Maharajas, or Czars here. The small but well maintained museum adjacent to the site houses a treasure of artefacts from the excavation, including Harappan seals, beads. bangles, jewellery, statues, jars, and metallic tools. These articles point towards a culturally advanced society. The absence of weapons of war in the unearthed artefacts in Dholavira and other Harappan cities suggests a society at peace with itself and with its neighbors. The most interesting find at Dholavira is a large “signboard”, once placed above a city gate, but now fallen on the ground and displaying 10 characters of the Harappan script. It may be an indicator that a significant percentage of the population may have been literate. The script has defied several attempts at deciphering and remains a mystery. Those involved in these efforts include scholars as well as charlatans. But on a serious note, if indeed the Harappan script is deciphered, the achievement will

rival the cracking of the Egyptian hieroglyphics following the discovery of the Rosetta Stone at the end of the 18th century. The veil over so many mysteries of India’s oldest civilization may finally be lifted. As I struggled with a rather uninspiring meal at the Toran complex I wondered what the Dholavirans would have been eating a few hundred yards from here, a few millennia ago. It can only be assumed that a wide variety of staples, lentils, fruits, vegetables, spices and animal protein were available to people of the Harappan civilization. But there is clear evidence of the consumption of wheat, millets, peas, aubergines, mustard, ginger, garlic, turmeric, cattle and chicken. So, if you had a wood-fired chulha going, boiled rice, roasted a roti on a clay tawa, made ‘bharta’ of roasted aubergines with a tadka of ginger and garlic in mustard oil, accompanied by a dal of soaked dried peas tempered with turmeric and mustard seed ... Voila! You’ll have authentic Dholavira recipes going back 4,000 years. Nonvegetarians could do a chicken curry the same way. The Gujarat Tourism Department could perhaps instruct Toran to offer ‘Bharta Dholavira’ and ‘Chicken Harappa’ on their menu. I will be more than happy to waive my intellectual property rights. Dholavira beckoned again on the last evening. The sun was setting as I walked around the “citadel”. Not a soul was in sight, except a flock of birds flying in formation. A gentle breeze wafted over the silent stones.The magic of the place was compelling. For a fleeting moment, I felt the presence around me of those mysterious people who had built this amazing city, had lived in it and were long gone. And I thought if indeed there ever was a “Gujarat Model” it was this ... 4,500 years ago! A retired Indian Foreign Service Officer, Shashishekhar Gavai’s career has included serving as the Consul General of India in Houston and India’s High Commissioner for Canada. For a full version of this and other travelogs, visit indiaoffthe beatentrack.home.blog.

Indo-American News • Friday, December 27, 2019 • Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

December 27, 2019 15

ENTERTAINMENT

Good Newwz: Not Half Bad, Works Best Being Bawdy, Silly, Raucous By Shubhra Gupta Cast: Akshay Kumar, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Diljit Dosanjh, Kiara Advani, Adil Hussain, Tisca Chopra, Anjana Sukhani Director: Raj Mehta Rating: 3 stars Two couples with the same names, sperm samples, in-vitro fertilization, and a switcheroo which has far-reaching, haha, consequences: is this really a Bollywood film? Just going by the fairly novel premise, I have to hand it to Good Newzz: so refreshing to have something so out-of-the-box (another word for ‘risky’) come out of an industry whose default option is to play safe by churning out tired, jaded sequels of tired, jaded super-starry vehicles. Here are your regular people, even if they wear make-up in bed, and are beautifully styled out of it (the first set of Batras), and are a walking-talking clichéd represenation of the loud, well-off Punjabi (the second set), united with the rest of us in their desire to produce their own offspring. Adoption? ‘Haye nahin, apna khoon toh apna hota hai’. So here’s your foursome, Varun (Kumar) and Deepu aka Deepti (Khan) and Honey (Dosanjh) and Monika (Advani) getting up close and very, very personal over a

lab technician’s mistake. The result, for both the Batra sets who have been trying very hard to become parents, is both gratifying and problematic: who has more rights over the bun in the oven? The question comes right at the halfway mark, leaving us intrigued. How will Good Newwz solve this problem? When sperms and eggs need fertility specialists—a smilingly unctuous doctor couple played by Adil Hussain and Tisca Chopra—to reach their conclusion, does it disturb the natural order of things? Or is this scientific intervention one of the best ways

out for a desperate couple? Going by the spirit of the film, it junks seriousness, choosing cheesiness, and we are set up for laughter. I thoroughly enjoyed the first half, with its easy, spiky banter between Varun and Deepu, as they (she more than he) stare at the right date on the ovulating calendar, and get down to the job. Good to see Akshay Kumar a) not being a flag-waving-nationalist-patriot b) owning up to grey-stubbleon-chin, and c) reminding us just how funny he can be. Kapoor Khan has not a single hair out of place even when she needs to ap-

pear ruffled, filling out the role perfectly. Dosanjh’s consummate turn manages to overcome the top-to-toe velvety-bling; I only wish Advani had a little more to do, even if her dutiful mata rani worshipping, pinni-eating Punjabi wife look is spot on. Chopra offers able support, and Hussain’s straight-faced, praying-to-thealmighty doc is an absolute hoot. If the film had stayed true to its broad comedic bone, it would have been the perfect antidote to these grim times. But no, it dives into melodrama with the full complement of violins wail-

ing in the background, giving the macho male stars a teary scene. Why not be confident, even of the elitist lines leading to cheap laughs mouthed by a character? Kareena Kapoor Khan has the money monologue, in which she speaks frankly and openly about the impact of pregnancy on a female body: when did you hear of an A lister talk of how involuntary and embarrassing peeing becomes part of this ‘aurat-sirf-ma-bananeke-liye-paida-hoti-hai’ schtick Bollywood has been doused with? Also, for a film that comes from the Dharma stable which is usually so careful about aesthetics, it’s surprising how some of the sets look so patently like sets: I was particularly struck by a gol-guppa-eating sequence which comes off more contrived than touching because even the sudden shower that comes down on the characters feels like it’s been manufactured by a rain machine just beyond our vision. The film works best when it is being its bawdy, silly, raucous self. It dips when it veers towards bringout-the-hankies emotion bowing to the dictum of ‘how can a Bollywood film not make you laugh and cry at the same time’. When will filmmakers get past this hoary belief? Still, Good Newwz is not half bad at all. -- Indian Express

Indo-American News • Friday, December 27, 2019 • Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

December 27, 2019

Indo-American News • Friday, December 27, 2019 • Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com