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Friday, January 22, 2021 | Vol. 40, No. 04

Indo American News

January 22, 2021

Published weekly from Houston, TX

Special Reports Community Briefs Local Politics South Asians in the News

www.indoamerican-news.com

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“Never, Ever Underestimate the Indians”

P2 Sherpas Climb K2 Summit Radio Show Anniversary

HAF vs Cisco Lawsuit

Indo-American News • Friday January 22, 2021 • www.indoamerican-news.com

Kajol in ‘Tribhanga’

SPORTS

January 22, 2021

What are the Takeaways for Indian Cricket from Glorious Gabba? By Shamik Chakrabarty

Brisbane: January 19, 2021 will go down in the annals of Indian cricket as one of its most glorious days — when a cobbled-up bunch, missing most of the biggest stars, trumped Australia at its fortress Gabba to win the second successive series Down Under. If there was an asterisk in the feat achieved two years ago due to the absence of Steve Smith and David Warner, India made light of the various setbacks they suffered to prove that the spirit of youth and a never-saydie attitude can overcome insurmountable odds. Rishabh Pant was the man of the hour as his match-winning unbeaten knock took India home with three overs to spare on the final day. The seemingly innumerable injuries have also offered a silver lining. India are returning from Australia with two new fast bowlers Test-ready and a young spin-all-rounder having the ability to perform under pressure in the game’s most difficult format. Indian cricket must ensure that unlike Karun Nair; Pant, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur and Washington Sundar are not forgotten after this series. What next for Rishabh Pant? He has answered all his critics in the best possible way, at least with the bat. His 97 in Sydney raised visions of a superb victory, and went a long way in ensuring a heroic draw. At the Gabba on Tuesday, he completed the job by showing immense composure and staying till the end. And if his wicketkeeping is still a work in progress, many experts believe he is good enough to be in the XI as a pure batsman. How the pace duo has risen to the challenge? With Ishant Sharma fit, Siraj probably wouldn’t have got into the Test squad for the series Down Under. But for Mohammed Shami’s broken arm in the first Test, he wouldn’t have been in the Playing XI in Melbourne. Siraj is returning home as India’s highest wicket-taker in the Test series — 13 scalps from three matches, including a five-for. Thakur lasted just 10 balls in his first Test in 2018 against the West Indies before hobbling off. He, too, was an injury-forced selection in Brisbane. Thakur returned with seven wickets from the Gabba Test apart from his heroic 67 runs in the first innings. Siraj and Thakur, and also T Natarajan, were playing top-flight redball cricket in Australia for the first time. Handling the red Kookaburra ball was a challenge, let alone the task of bowling against the likes of Smith, Warner and Marnus Labuschagne. In the past, even some experienced bowlers have struggled to make the necessary adjustments with the Kookaburra ball. Siraj & Co took to the challenge like ducks to water. India vs Australia, IND vs AUS,

Rishabh Pant’s agressive batting and Cheteshwar Pujara’s patient knock were keys to India’s win.

Team India, Gabba Test, Brisbane, Indian Express India celebrates winning on day five of the fourth test match between Australia and India at the Gabba in Brisbane, Australia, January 19, 2021. (AAP Image/Darren England via Reuters) Why handling the red Kookaburra ball posed a greater challenge to the newcomers? The red Kookaburra ball has a pronounced seam which fades away quickly, taking sideways movement in the air out of the equation. Hitting the deck hard becomes important. Fast bowlers are forced to use a lot of shoulder. Also, back muscles take a pounding. And because of the extra bounce on Australian pitches, bowlers have a job adjusting their length to target top of off stump and keep the LBW relevant. Sometimes, even very good bowlers struggle to make the necessary adjustments. In his first tour to Australia, Zaheer Khan had five wickets from two Tests, while Ashish Nehra had four from three. So to put things in perspective, Siraj, Thakur and Natarajan, without any previous Test experience, faced steep odds and they came through with flying colours. What next for them? India’s next Test assignment is a four-match home series against England. Conditions will be entirely different and the team is not going to play four fast bowlers. Still, it would be imperative for the selectors and the team management to keep Siraj and Thakur firmly in their scheme of things and give them some game time. It’s not known whether Jasprit Bumrah, Shami and Umesh Yadav will be fit to play against England. Ishant is playing in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, as also Bhuvneshwar Kumar. But when India have all their frontline fast bowlers available, then also rotation should allow Siraj and Thakur to have game-time. After the fourth day’s play in Brisbane, former Pakistan captain and chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq called Siraj a “world-class bowler in the making” on his YouTube channel. The Indian cricket hierarchy must

How important is Bharat Arun’s role in the new fast bowlers’ success? As the Indian team bowling coach, Arun has ensured that the current crop of young bowlers don’t suffer the same fate as him. He mother-hens them. Thakur had been part of Test setup, but Siraj and Natarajan were not in the mix before they played Test cricket in Australia. During a conversation with this paper earlier this month, Arun’s former Ranji team-mate and current Tamil Nadu senior team head coach Diwakar Vasu, however, had exuded confidence that India’s bowling coach would make the new fast bowlers Testready. -- Indian Express

ensure that such a talent doesn’t go astray because of a lack of gametime at the highest level. India vs Australia, IND vs AUS, Brisbane: A visibly upset not out off 138 balls) showcased Team India, Gabba Test, Brisbane, Langer said that one massive les- his breathtaking strokeplay Indian Express Rishabh Pant falls son he has learnt from the setback to secure the win for the visias he hits the ball for four runs is that you cannot take anything tors, thereby ending Australia’s during play on the final day of the for granted. “Never ever, ever 32-year-old unbeaten run at the fourth cricket test between India underestimate the Indians, 1.5 ‘Fortress Gabba’. “It was an and Australia at the Gabba, Brisbillion [people in India] and you amazing effort. (Rishabh) Pant’s bane, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 19, play in the senior team, you have innings somewhat reminded me 2021. (AP Photo: Tertius Pickard) to be really tough,” he said. of Ben Stokes’ innings in HeadHow will the emergence of Siraj Langer said the fightback after ingley actually. He came in, he and Thakur help frontline fast the Adelaide debacle was nothing was almost fearless and he will bowlers? short of remarkable especially be lauded because of it. It was an A strong backup line will canafter injury-forced ouster of big unbelievable innings,” Langer cel out complacency, if any, and a players like Jasprit Bumrah and said in his praise of the Indian healthy competition will help topRavindra Jadeja. wicket-keeper batsman. line fast bowlers’ improvement as “I can’t compliment India “I thought young (Shubman) well. With the likes of Siraj and enough. They haven’t gone away Gill (91) batted very well. Their Thakur ready and raring to go, the after that first Test match which young bowling attack kept us established quartet will strive to we won in three days, bowled under pressure throughout the raise the bar. them out for 30 odd. For them to match and as I said India deserve What about Washington Sunfight back like they did is amaz- full credit.” dar? ing, credit to them. The big lesLanger also commended his It’s a travesty that the 21-year-old son for us is that you can’t take own team’s bowling attack for from Tamil Nadu played his last anything for granted. India never its tireless effort in the series, first-class match in 2017 before he got away,” he said. albeit in a losing cause. “...from became Ravindra Jadeja’s replaceLanger also applauded Rishabh our point of view, we had the ment in the fourth Test. Sundar’s Pant for playing a match-winning same four bowlers (Pat Cumbatting at the Gabba, the maturity knock on the final day of the mins, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan he showed, highlighted the mistake Gabba Test. Gill played knocks Lyon and Mitchell Starc) who of his state team selectors. Without of 89 and 91 as India recorded have gone hard, they have stood this opportunity, the spin-allrounda famous three-wicket win over up and they have worked so er’s exploits probably would have Australia. hard but unfortunately we didn’t been confined to the limited-overs Chasing a record target of 328 get over the line today. “I am and franchise cricket cul-de-sac. at the venue, a severely depleted proud of the way those four guys But now that Indian cricket has Indian team went past the finish- fought so hard,” he signed off. unearthed an all-rounder with seing line with 18 balls to spare on rious Test potential, it would be the final day. Rishabh Pant (89 essential to wrap him up in cotton o Life Insurance wool. Genuine all-rounders are o Long-‐Term Care Insurance at a premium in o Variable+ and FiUed AnnuiVes Test cricket, but o Disability Insurance* India now have options beyond o Health Insurance* Ravindra Jadeja For More InformaVon Contact Me and Hardik PanServices: Divyendu Singh, Ph.D. dya. Sundar’s • Life Insurance bowling thrives Financial Services Professional# and on accuracy. His • College funding Licensed Agent batting technique • YeVrement Planning CA Insurance License # 0M30399 is good enough • Estate Planning New Y ork L ife I nsurance C ompany to nullify Austra3200 S outhwest F reeway, S uite 1 900 • Planning for Business owners lia’s world-class Houston TX 77027 #Registered Representative offering securities through NYLIFE Securities LLC bowling attack. Cell: 812-‐272-‐2911 (member FINRA/SIPC), A Licensed Insurance Agency and a New York Life Company. Game-time will *Product available through one or more carriers not affiliated with New York Life Insurance Oﬃce: 712-‐499-‐7638 accelerate his Company, dependent on carrier authorization and product availability in your state or locality. dsingh06NO.newyorQlife.com progress. +Securities products and services offered through NYLIFE Securities LLC SMRU 1759568 www.dsinghnyl.com Coronavirus

“Never, Ever Underestimate Indians”

Indo-American News • Friday, january 22, 2021 • www.indoamerican-news.com

3 How Sherpas Reached K2 Summit in Winter for the First Time

SOUTH ASIA

January 22, 2021

By A. Skolnick, B. Sharma Kathmandu: At around noon on Saturday, the climbers inched into the infamous passage called the Bottleneck on K2, the second-tallest mountain in the world and one never before conquered in winter. The sky was clear, the wind manageable and the summit just beyond this final and most perilous stretch. If they could navigate the Bottleneck, the team of 10 Nepalese climbers, led by Nirmal Purja, 37, who is known as Nimsdai, would likely become the first to climb K2 in winter. But Purja knew it was best to ignore the history at his frostbitten fingertips, and focus on taking one step at a time. A gleaming, glacial 28,251-foot monolith that straddles the border of China and Pakistan, K2 has retained the same perfunctory name annotated on an original 19th-century British surveyor’s map of the Karakoram range. Since the 1950s, it has also been known as Savage Mountain for its deadly reputation. For every four climbers who reach its summit, one dies. By comparison, the death rate on Mount Everest has been around 1 That thin margin for error was underlined on Saturday, when Sergi Mingote, a Spanish climber who had reached 10 of the world’s highest peaks without supplemen-

Left: Dawa Tenji Sherpa, Mingma G, Dawa Temba Sherpa and Pem Chiri Sherpa. From bottom left: Mingma David Sherpa, Mingma Tenzi Sherpa, Nirmal Purja and Geljen Sherpa. (Not pictured: Kilu Pemba Sherpa and Sona Sherpa. Above: K2 is 28,152 ft tall.

tal oxygen, fell to his death much lower on the mountain. The tragedy occurred hours after the Nepalese funneled through the Bottleneck, an hourglass-shaped gully that runs beneath an unstable overhanging ice cliff, called a serac. The serac routinely sheds enormous blocks of ice. Even before they reached the Bottleneck, the climbers saw foreboding debris fields. “Some pieces were the size of a house,” Purja said from base camp on Monday. “You get intimidated by that. But if it’s your day, it’s your day. I was just praying to the mountain. This time we needed passage, and the mountain

allowed us permission.” The trick was not to rush. Elevations above 26,000 feet are in the so-called death zone. And though any climber caught in the Bottleneck at the wrong time faces certain injury and likely death, getting spooked and moving too fast at that altitude could bring a slow death. High-altitude pulmonary edema is the biggest threat. That’s when pulmonary blood vessels constrict, ratcheting up pressure in the lungs, causing fluid to leak into the air sacs. The only cure is to head down the mountain for more oxygen. When pulmonary edema is ignored, breathing becomes

more difficult, and soon blood and fluid might leak into the brain, an often fatal syndrome known as cerebral edema. Linked to a rope they’d fixed to the ice, Purja and the other climbers stepped around such unspoken truths like so many shattered ice houses. It certainly helped that all but Purja were breathing supplemental oxygen, but even climbers on oxygen have been known to become lethargic and lose mobility. “And if your oxygen canister runs out,” said the climber and cinematographer Renan Ozturk, “you could just shut your eyes for a second, and never wake up.” Central Asia is home to all 14 of

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the world’s 8,000-meter (26,246 feet) peaks. All but K2 had been climbed in both summer and winter. Thanks to its remote location, avalanche prone slopes, temperatures hovering around minus-60 degrees Fahrenheit, and hurricane-force winds, a winter ascent of the mountain was the last great challenge remaining for serious mountaineers. Many considered it impossible. Even a successful spring or summer climb of K2 is rare. Fewer than 400 climbers have been to its apex. More people have been to outer space than have stood on its summit. There had been six prior winter attempts over the years, the most recent a failed Polish expedition in 2018. But the Nepalese climbers making their way last weekend were born in the Himalayas and nine of them were Sherpa. For generations, since Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary became the first to climb Mount Everest, in 1953, Sherpa people have worked as guides, facilitators and collaborators on countless historic mountaineering feats. Yet they have often been rendered invisible by the global lens and have seldom received their due. Hillary was knighted by Queen Elizabeth after the Everest triumph. Norgay was not. And none have been credited with first ascents in Nepal. -New York Times

January 22, 2021

Indo-American Radio Celebrates 1st Anniversary

COMMUNITY

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Indo-American News Radio hosts Sanchali Basu (center) flanked by Jawahar Malhotra (left) and Pramod Kulkarni celebrate the 1st anniversary of the Indo-American News Radio show with a cake.

By Pramod Kulkarni Sugar Land: Indo-American News is both 40 years old and 1-year old. How is that possible? “Our newspaper has been published continuously for the past 40 years,” explained Publisher Jawahar Malhotra. “And we are celebrating the first year completion of our news radio show.” Founded by Dr. K.L. Sindwani and his wife Mohini, the newspaper is published weekly every Friday with Pramod Kulkarni as the Chief Editor. The radio show was started last year on Masala Radio FM 98.7

every Saturday, 4 pm to 6 pm. “We thank Masala Radio President Sandhya Thakkar and Sunil Thakkar for their encouragement and support,” said host Sanchali Basu. “It has been a wonderful learning experience for all of us with the help of Masala staffers such as Sofia and Ali.” Over the year, the radio show has evolved into a unique presentation of news, interviews and music. After the intial banter, Pramod presents a three-minute roundup of news from Houston, United States, India and the world. Jawahar runs the radio mixer board and handles the logistics of

inviting interview guests. In the first year itself, there have been more than a hundred guests of all backgrounds, including political leaders and candidates, actors and actresses, comedians, and even chefs. Regular correspondents include Avinash Gavai, who reports from Mumbai, and Serial Producer Syed Osama, who covers developments in Pakistan. Jawahar also enjoys presenting unique songs and instrumentals. Sanchali is our expert on health issues and leads our segment on movie reviews, You can catch the show on FM 98.7 or download the Masala Radio app on IOS or Android phones.

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COMMUNITY

January 22, 2021

HAF Files Motion to Intervene in Santa Clara Court Discrimination Case

Santa Clara, CA: Last week the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) filed a motion in Santa Clara County Superior Court to intervene in the case of California Department of Fair Employment and Housing v. Cisco Systems. HAF has filed for injunctive relief to prevent the state’s overreach and violation of Hindu American rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendment and California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act. HAF’s motion to intervene takes no stance on the specific allegations of discrimination in the case. “HAF vehemently opposes all discrimination and stopping it is a worthy goal, one that directly furthers Hinduism’s teachings about the equal presence of the divine in all people,” said Suhag Shukla, HAF’s Executive Director. “But, wrongly tying Hindu religious beliefs to the abhorrent act of caste discrimination undermines that goal and violates the First and Fourteenth Amendment rights of all Hindu Americans.” In its complaint, California argues that Cisco failed to address discrimination against one of its engineers by co-workers on the basis of his presumed caste. California goes on to state that caste is “a strict Hindu social and religious hierarchy” and therefore an integral part of Hindu teachings and practices. Framing its argument in this

way, California is attempting to do what the Constitution clearly says it cannot, HAF said: defining Hindu religious doctrine for Hindus. “In the United States, there is no role for government to define our religious beliefs, whether it be Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Christianity or any other. In fact, the Constitution expressly prohibits it. HAF’s actions are an important step in protecting the rights of all Americans,” stated Tim Travelstead, lead attorney for HAF. Should California’s attempted violation of the First Amendment rights succeed, the due process rights of all Hindu Americans would also be violated, claimed Foundation representatives. In its filing, HAF asserted that California provided no definition or workable method to determine

anyone’s caste other than an assumption that Hindus of Indian decent must identify as part of a specific caste, ascribe to a “social and religious hierarchy,” and engage in caste discrimination. This inaccurate and unconstitutional definition would perversely lead to increased targeting of and discrimination against Indian-origin, and particularly Hindu workers, the Foundation stated. The State of California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing sued Cisco Systems in June 2020, accusing the company of engaging in unlawful employment practices over a claim by an Indian-origin employee that two managers, also of Indian origin, allegedly discriminated against him on the basis of his assumed caste. The case was initially filed

in federal court, but has since been re-filed in state court. Cisco Systems is promising a vigorous defense, rejecting the claim of discrimination. The State of California has asserted that the caste system is “a strict Hindu social and religious hierarchy,” and therefore an integral part of Hindu teachings and practices. This is in contradiction to the precepts of the religion and the beliefs of an overwhelming number of its own adherents. The State is asserting that Hinduism is inherently discriminatory and that all Hindus discriminate. California has also failed to provide any definition or workable method to determine anyone’s caste. It’s not concerned with what Hindus actually believe and is instead targeting them on its presumption that all Hindus of Indian decent must identify as part of a specific caste, believe in a “strict Hindu social and religious hierarchy,” and engage in caste discrimination just because they’re Hindu. California’s actions blatantly violate the rights of Hindu Americans. The US Constitution prohibits the state from interfering in questions of religious doctrine and prevents the state from depriving any American of their right to liberty. The State of California is attempting to legally define the Hindu religion as a bigoted religion

and Hindus as bigoted people. Such a false interpretation of Hinduism makes all Hindus suspect in the eyes of the general public. It encourages widespread discrimination against hiring, firing, or promoting of Hindus. Since Hindu children already report being bullied in school when caste discrimination is misportrayed as intrinsic to their religion, the California case puts Hindu children at greater risk for bullying in schools. Given the lack of religious literacy and cultural proficiency in the United States, all people of Indian origin will likely be presumed guilty of baseline bigotry as well. All Americans should care because while it is Hindus being targeted by the State of California today, tomorrow it may be others. HAF has filed a motion to intervene in the case to protect the religious freedoms and rights of Hindu Americans, and all Americans of faith, from the unconstitutional efforts of the State of California to impose the scope and nature of Hindu religious beliefs, teachings, and practices. HAF’s position in this dispute is clear — we vehemently oppose all forms of prejudice and discrimination regardless of whether it is prohibited by policy or law and we reject any claim that prejudice and discrimination based on caste are inherent to Hinduism.

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COMMUNITY

January 22, 2021

Afraid of Covid, Indian â€˜Staysâ€™ at Oâ€™Hare Netaji Jayanti to be Held Jan. 23 Chicago: A 36-year-old Indian-origin man who was too scared to fly due to the coronavirus pandemic and lived undetected for nearly three months in a secure area of Chicagoâ€™s international airport has been arrested, US authorities said. Aditya Singh lives in a suburb of Los Angeles, California, was arrested on Saturday for living in a secure area at Chicagoâ€™s Oâ€™Hare International Airport since October 19, the Chicago Tribune reported on Sunday. Singh has been charged with Aditya Singh â€˜stayedâ€™ undetected at Oâ€™Hare airport for three months. felony criminal trespass to a Ortiz. Singh to Chicago, the report said. restricted area of an airport and misThe judge expressed surprise at Singh has been barred from endemeanour theft, the report said. the circumstances of the case, the tering the airport if he is able to Prosecutors told a court that Singh report said. post the USD 1,000 for bail. He is arrived at Oâ€™Hare on a flight from â€œSo if I understand you correct- due back in court on January 27. Los Angeles on October 19 and ally, youâ€™re telling me that an unauâ€œThe court finds these facts and legedly has lived in the airportâ€™s thorised, non-employee individu- circumstances quite shocking for security zone ever since, without al was allegedly living within a the alleged period of time that this detection. secure part of the Oâ€™Hare airport occurred,â€? the judge said. Singh was arrested after two Unitterminal from Oct. 19, 2020, to â€œBeing in a secured part of the ed Airlines staff asked him to proJan. 16, 2021, and was not de- airport under a fake ID badge alduce his identification. He showed tected? I want to understand you legedly, based upon the need for them a badge, but it reportedly becorrectly,â€? Ortiz said. airports to be absolutely secure so longed to an operations manager Singh lives in the Los Angeles that people feel safe to travel, I do who reported it missing in October. suburb of Orange with room- find those alleged actions do make He reportedly found the staff mates and does not have a crimi- him a danger to the community,â€? badge in the airport and was â€œscared nal background, according to As- Ortiz said. to go home due to Covidâ€?, Assistant sistant Public Defender Courtney The Chicago Department of State Attorney Kathleen Hagerty Smallwood. She said Singh has a Aviation, which oversees the said. masterâ€™s degree in hospitality and cityâ€™s airports, said in a statement: The airline employees called 911. is unemployed. â€œWhile this incident remains under Police took Singh into custody on Smallwood acknowledged the investigation, we have been able to Saturday morning in Terminal 2 circumstances were unusual but determine that this gentleman did near Gate F12. noted the allegations were non- not pose a security risk to the airSingh managed to live on handviolent. port or to the travelling public.â€?. outs from other passengers, Hagerty It was unclear what brought -- Times of India told Cook County Judge Susana

Katy: You, with friends and family are cordially invited to attend Netaji Jayanti 125th Birth Anniversary Year on 23 Jan 2021 @ 3 pm Hindustan Republican Association USA - Houston Chapter & Anushilon Somiti Houston invite you to a program to celebrate Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Jayanti on Saturday, Jan 23rd, 3:00 PM US (CST) - 6:00 PM (CST) at 27131 Cinco Ranch Blvd, #900, Katy, TX 77494 (Katy Bakery). Program will have speakers cover Netajiâ€™s life and his relevance today. as part of 125th Birth Anniversary Year 2021-2022. For information, call Divyendu Singh at (812) 272-2911. Covid-era social distancing rules in effect. Please bring a mask with you. Historically, Anushilan Samiti was an Indian organisation in the first quarter of the 20th century that supported revolutionary violence as the means for ending British rule in India. The organisa-

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tion arose from a conglomeration of local youth groups and gyms (akhara) in Bengal in 1902. It had two prominent, somewhat independent, arms in East and West Bengal, Dhaka Anushilan Samiti (centred in Dhaka, modern day Bangladesh), and the Jugantar group (centred at Calcutta). The Union Culture Ministry on Tuesday announced that January 23, birth anniversary of Subhas Chandra Bose, would be celebrated as â€œParakram Diwasâ€? â€” day of courage â€” every year. Later, at a press conference, Culture Minister Prahlad Singh Patel said the day would be celebrated abroad too. He announced a slew of events beginning on January 23 till January 23, 2022. He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi would preside over the inauguration of the celebrations in Kolkata, where a permanent exhibition on Netaji at the Victoria Memorial would be opened. A programme would be held in Cuttack, birth place of Bose, he said.

COMMUNITY

January 22, 2021

IMAGH and Umbrella Organizations Celebrate New Year ‘21 on Zoom Houston: Indian Muslims Association of Greater Houston popularly knows as IMAGH in Greater Houston community recently celebrated New year 2021 virtually along with organizations under their umbrella, CLUB65 and SAYA (South Asian Youth Alliance). This event happened on January 16, 2021 (Saturday) using the Zoom platform. Saeed Pathan (Secretary, IMAGH) hosted program along with Rahat Sultana Kalle (Jt. Secretary, IMAGH) as a co-host. Zoom meeting was monitored by M. Kazi (Treasurer, IMAGH). It is worth mentioning that Saeed and Kazi are pioneer in bringing zoom platform to host numerous virtual meetings during the year 2020 and IMAGH was one of the first organization to host a virtual gathering of Eid Milan in 2020 to bring community together when pandemic was at its peak. Saeed welcomed everyone and emphasized positivity forgetting what challenges we had in recent past. He appreciated everyone in the community who stayed connected with each other in past year and Meeting started with a message from Munir Ibrahim (President – IMAGH). Munir shared briefly activities of IMAGH during last year. With COVID none of us were able to get together. However very quickly we adapted ourselves

with Zoom technology and were able to have. Great applause goes to members of IMAGH, CLUB65 and SAYA for showing generosity and contributing to a great cause of providing meals to over 550 people to underserved community and donated $20,000 to buy laptops for needy students. We all are looking forward to having event in person soon. If anyone need any help on vaccine, IMAGH EC team will be more than happy to help It was followed by Farida Bandali (President – CLUB65). Here are a few excerpts from her speech “2020 was a difficult year for everyone. Although Club 65 couldn’t meet in person we were active via ZOOM meetings providing educational and important information on Covid-19 and other various issues, as well as celebrating milestone events. We are looking forward to getting back into the groove of fun activities, trips etc. in 2021. Mr. Saeed Pathan through the past year was invaluable and instrumental in the smooth operation and working of ZOOM. Also, with the help and team effort of Club65 VP Rahat Sultana Kalle, VP Meera Kapoor, Program Coordinator Mariam Ibrahim Club 65 is ready for 2021!” Sumaiya Razak (President – SAYA) also shared her views on activities of SAYA. SAYA is an organization of young adult to thrive and grow professionally and per-

sonally. Though COVID has been hard to meet in person, SAYA has been involved in volunteering during food drive during iftar dinner. CLUB65 in collaboration with SAYA has come up with a unique “Adopt a Family” concept. Munir and Farida provided information about this program. These families which come from third world and arrive here. They don’t have any connections, no resources and no friends. Idea is to take over one family. We don’t need to stay with them but to stay connected with them. Initially information of one family will be provided so that person who is interested can get connected with this family” Entertainment program started with a scintillating performance by a young artist from Muse Mantra School of Music and Arts. Muse Mantra School of Music and Arts is an up-and-coming music school in the Woodlands that offers music lessons of all the popular music instruments. The school was launched in June 2020 (yes, in the middle of the pandemic), with a mission to promote music & arts in our communities by attracting the best teachers who can help beginners and artists discover and hone their talents. First performer of the event was Hayden Patrick, a drummer and guitarist with 6 + years of teaching experience in the Greater Houston area. Everyone enjoyed two

songs played by him on Guitar. The next performer was by Omar Ali, a young 7th grader in Junior High School. He has been learning Violin at Muse Mantra for the past 7 months. Omar played two songs on Violin Our next two items were dances. First dance number was from Bollywood movie ‘Dream Girl’— song Radhe Radhe, performed by our very own past president of Club 65 Paru McGuire, Dilip Desai (retired Engineer, now a working Realtor) and dance teacher Deepti Patel. The next dance number was a colorful solo dance by Deepti Patel a 5-year resident of Houston. She is a trained Bharatanatyam classical dancer since her teens and has performed in various cultural programs and nonprofit organizations. Deepti is also ‘BollyX Fitness’ certified and teaches adults and kids cardio fitness. BollyX is a U.S. company with music inspired by Bollywood! It was also featured on Shark Tank. Due to the pandemic she has been volunteering her time as a BollyX instructor at India House offering dance workout classes on Zoom. Sadly, the Houston we will miss Deepti, as she is soon moving to Dallas to be near her children. The last item of our program came on Zoom all the way from California. It was an exciting per-

formance by Ferhan Qureshi and was assisted by his 9-year-old son Hamza on Tabla. Ferhan is a senior disciple of the legendary tabla maestro Ustad Abdul Sattar Tari Khan. Ferhan studied tabla for over 25 years and has performed alongside many distinguished singers, instrumentalists and dancers in the U.S. and Pakistan. He is dedicated to preserving the traditional repertoire of the Punjab Gharana. He has performed, taught and provided lecture demonstrations at many prestigious Universities including Stanford, UC Santa Cruz, UC Santa Barbara, UC Berkeley. Majority of attendees came online with beautiful outfits as there was best dressed contest. Khalid Razvi was judged “Best Dressed Male” of the event where as Farida Zhumkhawala was nominated as “Best dressed Female”. On the whole the New Year program was a success. Everyone was in party attire to have a wonderful time! At the end Farida Bandali thanked everyone for attending the program and promised to have more fun events during the year ahead. Saeed ended the event requesting everyone to stay positive, stay connected and of course keep wearing a mask, observe social distancing, and COVID protocol. For photos of the IMAGH New Year celebration, visit indoamerican-news.com

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8 January 22, 2021 ENTERTAINMENT ‘Tribhanga’ Review: A Relatable Chamber Piece ‘White Tiger’ By Shubhra Gupta Cast: Kajol, Tanvi Azmi, Mithila Palkar, Kunaal Roy Kapoor, Vaibhav Tatwawaadi, Manav Gohil, Kanwaljeet Director: Renuka Shahane Rating: Three stars A life-changing event draws together three generations of women to look back and introspect: were they right in their actions, and the things they thought about each other? Renuka Shahane’s directorial debut Tribhanga is a chamber piece which manages to go past its problems to brim over with real feeling. Nayantara aka Nayan Apte (Azmi) is the kind of woman who was born ahead of her time. Her passion for writing over-rides all else, and neither a constantly carping mother-in-law, a weak husband, and the demands of two growing children can divert her. Deeply scarred daughter Anu (Kajol), forced into carving a life for herself, has grown hard edges and a foul mouth. And Masha (Palkar), grand-daughter of the first, and daughter of the second, has had to face the consequences of the impetuousness of her ‘ajji’ and ‘aayi’. What I really like about Tribhanga is the clear-eyed, unsentimental treatment of relationships, which can often be so cloyingly exaggerated in mainstream cinema. Nayan is never apologetic about her desire to be a writer: she has spent too long listening to other

‘Tribhanga’ stars Kajol (center) with Tanvi Azmi (right), and Mithila Palkar.

people; now all she wants is her own space, and freedom to pick up her pen. Does that make her selfish and self-absorbed, or trueto-herself? Shahane doesn’t judge. She lets us make up our minds for ourselves. Anu is the driving force of the film, the ‘tedhi medi crazy tribhanga’, buffeted between a mother who in her zeal to do her own thing was blind to the abuse of the daughter, and her own daughter who veers towards safe conservatism. Kajol starts off by being too all over the place, somewhat out of synch with the others, but that’s A list Bollywood leading lady for

you. Fortunately for the film, and us, she harnesses all that errant, sparking energy and becomes sure and steady, proving that the right plot and treatment is everything. If only that perfectly applied lipstick wasn’t on even in her hospital bed. For a film that wants to be real, the sets are irksome: even a sevenstar hospital room, a place where much of the action takes place, wouldn’t look so much like a living room. And most of the men — spouses, partners, siblings — get short shrift. The one man who does have a sizeable part is a ‘shuddh’ Hindi speaker who is

recording Nayan’s ‘jeevani’: Roy Kapoor tries too hard and lets the effort show. Kanwaljeet is always fun to watch, but he comes on too briefly. Tatwawaadi leaves an impact as Robindro, Nayan’s son and Anu’s brother, who has found inner peace: how did he arrive at his beatific smile? A little more detail would have rounded off the film. Shahane is much more assured when it comes to her women. They deal with each other’s troubles and foibles, are allowed to make mistakes, and forge their own paths. That’s pure pleasure. Tribhanga is streaming on Netflx.-- Indian Express

Years ago novelist Aravind Adiga dedicated his book “The White Tiger” to filmmaker and friend Ramin Bahrani, the North Carolina-born writer-director best known for “99 Homes” and other American dreams of success, both tantalizing and corrosive. Now Bahrani has returned the favor. The film version of “The White Tiger,” streaming Friday on Netflix, is Bahrani’s most vital, fully realized work as his friend Adiga’s 2008 debut novel. A little bit “GoodFellas” in its sheer velocity, it’s a sleek, beautifully acted addition to an ancient canon of storytelling for the stage, the page and the movies. (Adiga’s novel won the Booker Prize.) The canon in question hinges on the wily, put-upon servant outwitting his credulous and/or cruel masters. Sometimes these tales are strictly for laughs. Other times they’re a blunt, cynical reminder of human misery and caste systems everywhere, not just in India.

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January 22, 2021

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OPINION

January 22, 2021

Thank You, India

Revitalizing Democracy By A. Varshney

President Joe Biden has taken office in a country looking strikingly different than it did on his predecessor’s Inauguration Day. Covid-19 has killed more than 4,00,000 Americans, with a big portion of the socio-economic toll attributable to federal mismanagement. The US has also abdicated its role as leader of the free world, squabbled with democratic allies while keeping authoritarian populists everywhere chuckling at its post-truth misadventures. This month’s attack on the Capitol highlighted how much domestic polarisation has poisoned the polity. In short, the new administration really has its work cut out devising correctives at multiple levels. It is a mighty challenge. But democracy is premised on elections making a difference. The promise of a new dawn is both powerful and credible. The diversity, sobriety and experience of the incoming cabinet strongly suggest that they have a good measure of the problems at hand, and the ambition to attempt necessary solutions. One clear aspirational target is 100 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine in the first 100 days. Then, Janet L Yellen, who will be the new treasury secretary and America’s top economic diplomat, has articulated as priorities both addressing the economic damage of the pandemic at home and repairing relationships with various allies abroad to take on China’s “illegal, unfair and abusive practices” collectively. After the hollowing of institutions and anarchic flailings seen in the Trump years, it will indeed take solid international cooperation to revitalise the global rules based order. Incoming secretary of state Antony Blinken has indicated a welcome pragmatism in saying, “We’ll engage the world not as it was, but as it is.” Pragmatically speaking, rebukes on human rights issues for India may be part and parcel of Washington’s liberal revival, alongside the many Indian-Americans in the Biden team. With Blinken having described India as a “bipartisan success story”, there will be overall continuity in the US view of India as balancing Chinese power in Asia. So progress on defence ties should continue apace. But as its suspension of India’s benefits under the Generalised System of Preferences showed, all too often the Trump administration took disproportionate economic swipes against friends. A more strategic and sensible approach is expected from the Biden administration. Against this economic backdrop, India should not just aim at status quo ante but a comprehensive trade agreement. We should let ambition, rather than trepidation and indecision, be our guide.. -- Times of India

Thanks Shubman Gill for your jaunty 91 that made this impossible result possible. Thanks Rishabh Pant, for your 89 not out that made it certain, and to think that we once had you pegged as Tim Paine’s babysitter. It was Paine senior who needed bit of rocking in the cradle at the end of this day. Thank you, Cheteshwar Pujara, who bodily absorbed all that Australia could throw at you and in the process wore them out so that they had only lollipops to offer with the new ball in the last hour. The ball was new, but the bowlers were worn. They had punched themselves out on Pujara. Thank you Shardul Thakur and Washington Sundar and Mohammed Siraj and Navdeep Saini and T Natarajan and all those who fell along the way, too; space does not permit a listing. It’s nice meeting you. No, really! You widened our eyes, and brought tears to them. About this Indian team, it can truly be said that nothing changed from first Test to fourth except nearly all the names and the results. Never before can such a callow team have played such knowing cricket away from home. Never has one pulled off a feat like this. We mightn’t be thanking you in five years when you’re still whisking away matches from under our noses, but thanks for now, and take a bow. By series end, few Australians would have begrudged you whatever spoils you took home. Thanks for your forbearance in your bubbles. Thanks for rolling with the punches of an ever changing schedule. We know it wore thin after a while on both sides, but you stuck it out. Perhaps you could email your field notes to a few tennis players we could name. Thanks Ajinkya Rahane for that smile. It embodied the spirit of the series. The commentary boxes were reverberating all day with rasping calls for nastiness and aggression from Australia, and Rahane just smiled. And won. The last day was a precis of all in the series after the first Test. Every time India looked like they were beaten, they hit back harder

Rishabh Pant celebrating with his teammates.

than they were hit. India rode their luck, but it was luck of their own making. The first stroke this day was the pitch. A night under covers and a little rolling knitted the pitch back together, and so we had a stage instead of a burial ground. Of the fourth day’s variable bounce, there was no sign. Of the Gill-Pujara partnership that gave this day its direction and momentum, it’s as simple as this: Gill hit, Pujara got hit. Gill’s youthful fearlessness put back on the agenda the least possible result at day’s beginning, an Indian win. Pujara set in, like winter. He was struck 11 times, in head, ribs and hands, and they all hurt, but he was also the fulcrum. At last he was lbw to the second delivery with the second new ball, Cummins’ in-ducker. That would have hurt Pujara more than any number of hits in the head. But his legacy lingered at the crease: the Australian bowlers were nearly spent. The rest played around Pujara, and then the ever impudent Pant played around the rest. One moment characterised him, and this whole series. It was when a ragging Nathan Lyon delivery beat him by so far it went to slip. Fazed? The next ball he clouted for six against the spin. Thank you. For Australia, this was lightning striking twice in a similar place, but with even more of a jolt. In

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the Ashes, Ben Stokes was a oneday wonder, put right in the next match. This was a six-week, fourmatch wonder, and there is no next week. Paine will feel it more keenly than most. Apart from missing a chance to stump Pant from a ball that made a dastardly jump, he did nothing egregiously wrong. But nor was there a masterstroke. In England, he conjured up the healing. Now he needs a miracle cure. He has shrugged off doubts about doubling up as ‘keeper and captain, but they’re turning into convictions against him. In a way, he also personifies the series. In the first Test, he was manof-the-match. In the last week, he has become a wanted man. Australia will face questions after failing twice in a week to bowl out India on the last day. Why did Cam Green not bowl more? Why did Marnus Labuschagne not bowl earlier (he began this match with more Test wickets than the entire Indian attack)? Fatigue certainly was a factor. Three hundred-plus overs in eight days became a hump for the bowlers’ backs. It’s hard to think of the last time Australia played back-toback five-day matches. Let’s just say there’s remedial work to be done before South Africa (assuming there is a South Africa). If there was a fifth Test, it’s hard to imagine Mitch Starc would play it. He is like a piece of highend machinery, purring at his best, but constantly in need of tuning. Nathan Lyon lacked penetration and results, though the hullabaloo about his 100th Test disguised this. He’s 33 and Australia would want to be grooming a successor. Thanks to the curators for four good cricket pitches rather than roads. It reinforces the idea that cricket is a better game when ball is shading bat. It makes the runs more meaningful. Both teams dropped fistfuls of catches, but perhaps that’s because so many were generated. Lastly, thank God for five-day matches. Thank you all. We could have done without that. But even more, we needed it. -- Sydney Morning Herald.

SUDOKU/RECREATION SUDOKU/CUISINE 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.

Send us the correct answer before January 27, 2021. Email us at indoamericannews@yahoo.com and send us your solved Sudoku for your name to be published.

Solution Next Week

January 22, 2021

Mama’s Punjabi Recipes In the cold and often rainy or snowy winter months, when you are in need of some warm comfort food, this dish is a perfect fit and is so easy to make. Below is a reprint of Mama’s Besan de Poode recipe, which is perfect with chutney and hot tea. It is reprinted with some additional information and directions.

Besan ka Pooda

(CHICKPEA FLOUR PANCAKES) Besan (chickpea or garbanzo) flour is used throughout India to make many dishes and is commonly used for batter to make pakoras or fritters in. Besan is a most versatile flour that is also used in making boondi, laddu, papad, dhokla and many of the popular spicy snacks that are sold in stores. In the Punjab, the two most popular dishes using Besan are kaddi and besan di sabzi or gutte and of course there are several sweets dishes made with besan. Besan is also used to make this quick bread which resembles a flour pancake, except it is usually salty and spicy, though, when made thick and smaller in diameter, it is usually sweet and uses different types of aromatic herbs like saunf (fennel). You spread the batter in a circle over hot oil on a black tava (flatplate) and the sizzling sound and aroma immediately makes your mouth water in anticipation!

Last Week’s Solution

Besan is high in carbohydrates and somewhat high in protein but has no gluten, which makes it not suitable for those trying to lose weight (especially when it is fried). Besan is rich in folate, iron, magnesium (47%), phosphorus (45%) and potassium (18%) as well as thiamin and vitamin B6. Besides these attributes, besan also makes an excellent scrub and mask for skin care and can also help in fighting seasonal allergies during the cold months. In home remedies, besan poode are given to people to help reduce their sugar levels. The spicy besan pooda is a comfort food often eaten with pickles and is most satisfying eaten during the rainy Monsoon season, along with some hot tea. Poode are also called “chilla” by people from Uttar Pradesh. You can even make sweet poode using wheat flour, but that is an entirely different recipe.

Last Week’s Winners Kirit Suthar Sanchali Basu

Ingredients: • 1 cup besan (chickpea flour) – makes four 6-inch round poode • ½ cup dahin (plain yogurt) • 1 medium pyaaz (onion) – peeled and chopped • ½ cup pani (water) • 1 teaspoon of vegetable or olive oil for each pooda

• Spices (to taste): namak (salt), mirch (red pepper). If desired, add ajwain (bishop’s weed, caraway, carom seeds, or thymol seeds) for a slightly bitter taste. Directions: 1. Chop the onions and set aside. 2. Mix the chickpea flour, yogurt and water together; then add the onions and spices and beat the mixture till it becomes a paste: it should not be too thin else the pooda will not cook and will remain wet inside. 3. For each pooda, heat the oil on a high flame on a tava (hotplate) or in a frying pan. Pour a small amount of mixture and spread it to make a 6-inch circle. When tiny holes start to form on the surface, check to see in the bottom side is cooked. If so, use a spatula and flip the pooda over.

4. Cook the other side till the pooda is not moist, but do not let it cook too long or become brown. 5. Place the pooda on a plate and serve with mint chutney or ketchup. 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 (since renamed Faisalabad) 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 early-nineties, she continues to cook daily and agreed to share her delectable Punjabi recipes for future generations.

MAMA’S TIP O F THE

WEEK DRINK HOT MILK M IX E D WITH HALDI AS AN ANTI-INFLAM M A T O R Y FOR ACHES The main spice th at gives Indian fo orin

g is haldi (turmer its distinct yellow ic) although toood colfood to taste burn much of it can ca t an d use the in edible. For centur also been used in ies, as a first aid for rural India for its ayurvedic healturmeric has ing qualities m in or sc rapes, burns, infe bites. ctions and insect In the winter cough or some otmonths when you are more prone ing some haldi caher soreness or mild internal infe to getting a some getting used n do quick wonders, though th ction, drinkmilk and drink it doto. Simply warm 1 teaspoon of hae taste takes infection or inflam wn before sleeping for 4 days to ldi in warm a week. The mation will go do feel better in the m wn immediately an orning. d you’ll

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January 22, 2021

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