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Friday, March 26, 2021 | Vol. 40, No. 13

Indo American News

March 26, 2021

Published weekly from Houston, TX

www.indoamerican-news.com

Special Reports Community Briefs Local Politics South Asians in the News

NEW: 2470 Dairy Ashford, Houston, TX 77077 • 713.789.NEWS (6397) • indoamericannews@yahoo.com

India Cricket on a High vs. England

Gandhi-Mandela Honor

P3 “Sandeep Aur Pinky”

Indo-American News • Friday, march 26, 2021 • www.indoamerican-news.com

CRICKET/COMMUNITY

March 26, 2021

Debutants Prasidh and Krunal Star in India’s 66-run Win vs. England By Alan Gardner

Pune: (ESPN Cricinfo): India 317 for 5 (Dhawan 98, Rahul 62*, Krunal 58*, Kohli 56, Stokes 3-34) beat England 251 (Bairstow 94, Krishna 4-54, Thakur 3-37) by 66 runs An ODI of fluctuating fortunes eventually went the way of India by a comfortable margin, giving them a 1-0 lead in the threematch series. The home side were grateful to a pair of fine debuts from Krunal Pandya and Prasidh Krishna, alongside vital contributions from several senior hands, as England collapsed after a dominant start to their chase had seen them reached 135 without loss in the 15th over. Like Shikhar Dhawan earlier in the day, Jonny Bairstow fell narrowly short of a century - though the openers enjoyed success via starkly different methods. Dhawan set himself to bat for much of the innings, and helped lay the platform in partnership with Virat Kohli, although India needed the spark provided by Krunal’s 26-ball fifty and an unbroken sixth-wicket stand with KL Rahul that yielded 112 from 57 at the death.

Bairstow, meanwhile, epitomises England’s ultra-aggressive approach. He and Jason Roy had seemingly broken the chase by the time the first wicket fell, as the openers hared off to post their 12th century opening stand in ODIs. But England imploded spectacularly in the face of a renewed India bowling effort, led by Krishna and Shardul Thakur, both of whom recovered from expensive initial spells to share seven wickets between them. Krishna’s dismissal of Roy triggered a period in which England lost two wickets and scored just two runs from the next 17 balls, with Bairstow starved of the strike. It would have been worse had Kohli held on to an outside edge coaxed by Krishna from Eoin Morgan’s first delivery; the India captain immediately acknowledged his mistake by unsuccessfully trying to run out his counterpart, who had seemingly already begun to make his way back to the dressing room. It was not to prove costly, as England slumped further when Thakur had Bairstow caught splicing a hook towards the deep-midwicket boundary six runs short of

Krunal Pandya and KL Rahul pushed India’s scoring at the death BCCI

a century. Two overs later, Morgan and Jos Buttler were dismissed in the space of four balls from Thakur to leave England 176 for 5 - still well ahead of the required rate, but short on batsmen available to knock them off. Moeen Ali and Sam Billings patched things up with a stand of 41 before Krishna struck again. There had been doubts about Billings’ continued participation after he left the field with a “sprained collar bone joint” during the India innings, and although passed fit to bat he was unable to reprise his

finisher role from the 2020 summer as he chipped to extra cover. With night-time dew taking effect and Ali finally benefitting from some time in the middle - his only previous England outing all winter had come in the second Chennai Test - England were still in contention. But Bhuvneshwar Kumar extracted Ali with a sharply seaming lifter and Krunal collected a wicket to go with his batting cameo as the tail were rounded up cheaply. India’s chief concern come the end was a shoulder injury suffered in the field by one of their own, as Shreyas Iyer walked off in obvious pain after getting his hand to a powerful Bairstow drive. Rohit Sharma, too, played no part during England’s innings, having sustained a blow on the elbow from Mark Wood while batting. The differences in approach to ODI cricket between these two sides were typified by the opening pairs. Dhawan and Sharma have scored almost 5000 runs together at the top of the order for India, but their success has been based upon steady accumulation early on before cracking on once set. Here, after being inserted, they settled for a period of reconnaissance against

the new ball, with 15 runs coming from the first six overs, and 39 without loss in the powerplay. By contrast, after allowing a few sighters from Kumar, the England openers opted for their big spoons. Bairstow was particularly belligerent, accelerating from 6 off 18 as England plundered the powerplay for 89 runs; he greeted the arrival of Kuldeep Yadav in the 12th over by clubbing him for four and six, raising a 40-ball fifty and England’s 100. India had taken until the 24th over to reach three figures, and they pushed a see-sawing innings beyond 300 only thanks to the efforts of Krunal and Rahul, who came together with the team on 205 for 5. The elder Pandya struck five of his first 14 balls for fours and added a couple of towering sixes for good measure on the way to the joint-fastest fifty on ODI debut - a milestone he celebrated with a thump of the helmet and a look to the skies. Krunal’s cap had been presented before play by Hardik Pandya and the brothers, who lost their father in January, shared another emotional embrace at the mid-innings interval.

YLPD: Harsh Mahadeshwar and the Seven Transformations of Leadership By Tanya Jagan Houston: According to the Harvard Business Review, each leader is defined by their “action logic,” or how they understand and react to their situation. The rarest identified action logic is that of The Alchemist, the leader who sparks personal, organizational, and social transformations that have a long-lasting impact. On February 27th, 2021, a filmmaker and leader who perfectly embodies the aforementioned traits, Mr. Harsh Mahadeshwar, spoke to us about how to follow our passions and transform into effective leaders. While Mr. Mahadeshwar is currently known for his beautiful films, his initial career path originated elsewhere -- he started out as a biotechnological researcher, working in esteemed institutes like Harvard medical, MD Ander-

son Cancer Center, and Baylor College of Medicine. Despite his immense success in this field, Mr. Mahadeshwar felt drawn to his former passion for filmmaking, so he spent his daily lunch break reading up on the art of films for months upon months. This was both surprising and inspiring to us YLDP students -- rather than using his break for purely leisurely activities, Mr. Mahadeshwar had directed his efforts towards a productive interest, one that he eventually transformed into his sole career. After recalling his journey in becoming a filmmaker, Mr. Mahadeshwar enlightened us on the various situations and obstacles he experienced and Harsh Mahadeshwar hoisting a camera. continues to experience as a

filmmaker and leader while constantly emphasizing the importance of perseverance and adaptability. Out of all of his anecdotes, one stuck out to me more than the others: when Mr. Mahadeshwar arrived at the hospital set of one of his films, he was shocked to find that the set didn’t have any furniture or decorations -- it was a bare hospital. In response to this, Mr. Mahadeshwar immediately devised the plan for everyone to quickly grab furniture and props from their homes, and with these efforts, the hospital set was completed and ready to be filmed. While some leaders may have thought to leave the problem to a set designer, Mr. Mahadeshwar didn’t hesitate to insert himself into the situation, adapt to his conditions,

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and resolve the problem. Listening to Mr. Mahadeshwar provided us with great insight on how to pursue our passions and serve as successful leaders. We often hear complaints of not having enough time to enjoy our interests; however, as shown by Mr. Mahadeshwar, you must make time for the interests that are truly important. With time and dedication, these dreams will be within reach. Furthermore, Mr. Mahadeshwar’s actions as a leader reveal that great leaders are those who are willing to get their hands dirty and adapt to any given situation for the success of the overall group. Overall, Mr. Mahadeshwar’s words and actions exemplified that of an Alchemist and sparked the motive within all of us at YLDP to follow our passions, evolve into leaders, and create ever-lasting change.

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Indo-American News • Friday, march 26, 2021 • www.indoamerican-news.com

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COMMUNITY

March 26, 2021

Civic Leader Lutfi Hassan Formally Joins Gandhi-Mandela Foundation

Houston: Gandhi Mandela Foundation has welcomed its new member, Mr Lutfi Hassan, Founder Chairman of the Apex group of companies and a senior member associated with the Democratic Party of the United States of America. Mr Hassan today took oath as the Chairman of the Gandhi Mandela Foundation for the Americas (United States and the Continent). Shri Nandan Jha, Secretary General, Gandhi Mandela Foundation, administered the oath. The ceremony took place at the Gandhi Mandela Foundation headquarters in New Delhi. Syed Yahya Bukhari, President, Jama Masjid United Forum also took part in the oath taking ceremony. Mr. Bukhari presented Mr Hassan with the Gandhi Mandela Medal as souvenir alongwith a bouquet of flowers. On his new role Mr Hassan said, “My job would also be to involve younger generation, my children, my grandchildren and generations to come, I would like them to know what GMF is all about, and get them engaged. I see a lot of young people here, who are very excited to be part of this fabric, so similarly I would like to expand that in the United States and carry this mission through.” After the oath ceremony Mr Hassan, Mr Nandan Jha, Shri Adesh Tyagi, Director(GMF), Mr, Faiz Aksari, Jt. Director(International Relations, GMF), Joint secretaries

the board of advisory for South Asians for Biden. He was one of the select few who were invited at the Biden-Harris inauguration ceremony. The Gandhi Mandela Foundation a Govt. of India trust which promotes individual freedom, civil liberties, and human rights across the globe. The headquarter is situated at New Delhi and Global presence include America, Africa, Russia, Great Briton, Switzerland, China, Nepal, Bangladesh. The Foundation instituted the Gandhi Mandela Awards during the 150th birth anniversary of Lutfi Hassan (right) taking the oath administered by the GandhiMandela Foundation officials.

(GMF), Shri Abhinanv Singh, Shri Adarsh Laddha, Ms Sharmishtha Sharma (Media Relations) visited former CJI Justice Shri KG Balakrishnan (Chairman of Jury, Gandhi Mandela Award) at his residence. Justice KG Balakrishnan welcomed Mr Lutfi Hassan as member of Gandhi Mandela Foundation family and presented him the symbolic flag of Gandhi Mandela Foundation. This meeting was followed by lunch hosted in honour of Mr Lutfi Hassan at the Shangri La Hotel, New Delhi. The team was joined by several other dignitaries. During this lunch meeting the team discussed further plans for

the Gandhi Mandela Foundation global expansion. Mr Lutfi Hassan, is an established civic leader representing the South Asian community in mainstream American politics. Mr Hassan has served as an advisor on Presidential, Gubernatorial, Senatorial, Congressional, Mayoral and Judicial campaigns in the United States. He has served as a national finance co-chair for the Obama for America campaign in both 2008 and 2012. Over the years, Mr. Hassan has also served on the National Advisory Board (NAB) as a member of Democratic National Committee. Most recently, Mr. Hassan served on

Gandhiji to celebrate those who have carried forward that the legacies of Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela. The Chairman of the Foundation is India’s hindu spiritual leader Swami Avdheshanand Giri Ji Maharaj, Patron Swami RamDev. The Jury committee includes former Chief justices of three countries (India, Nepal & Bangladesh). Contact Ms. Sharmishtha Sharma (+917859830090- JS /Media Relations, GMF) & Mr.Faiz Aksari (+919871762630 – Jt.Director/International Relations, GMF)

Recognition for Sankara Nethralaya Chennai: Sankara Nethralaya has been named one of the World’s Best Hospitals (specialized) 2021 for the second year in a row. It came as a global quality certification for an institution with such credentials as ‘First ISO certified eye hospital in Asia’, accredited by NABH, the highest quality certification for health care providers in the country, rated consecutively as ‘Best Eye Hospital’ by several prestigious national surveys, when ‘Newsweek’ the international weekly declared it as one among the ‘Best 4 Ophthalmological Institutions in the World for Year 2020’ The survey was conducted on a global basis between September – November 2019.

Indo-American News • Friday, march 26, 2021 • www.indoamerican-news.com

March 26, 2021

Southwestern National Bank Scholarship 2021

COMMUNITY

Jos Buttler’s strokeplay is no-holds barred BCCI

Houston Southwestern National Bank Scholarship Program is funded by Southwestern National Bank (Member FDIC) to recognize and assist outstanding high school graduates reduce the financial burden for college. Southwestern National Bank Scholars are selected on the basis of their financial need, academic achievement, and community involvement. Each year a total of $5,000.00 will be awarded to five selected scholars. Each scholar will be awarded $1,000.00. Eligibility 1. Demonstrates financial need for college tuition, book & supplies and expenses 2. U.S. high school graduating seniors 3. Has a minimum GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale (un-weighted) 4. Will enroll in an accredited U.S. college full-time for the entire academic year 2021/2022 Documents Required (To be

considered, all of the following documents must be submitted) 1. A completed Southwestern National Bank Scholarship Application Form 2. An official high school transcript 3. Copies of the most recent document(s) demonstrating the financial need (Family’s 1040 Federal Income Tax Return Form, qualification for School Free/Reduced Lunch Program, etc.) 4. Two letters of recommendation from a teacher, counselor, and/or other advisors 5. A two-page typed essay stating why you should be awarded a scholarship. Please include: • Financial need for this scholarship for educational purposes • Personal and academic achievements. Give specific examples. • Academic plans and career goals. Give specific examples. • Past and current involvement, as

well as future plans, towards making a difference in your community Application Process & Award Announcement 1. Please send your application package to Southwestern National Bank, Attention Scholarship Program-Ling Chuang, 6901 Corporate Drive, Houston, Texas 77036. 2. Applications and all supporting documents must be received by May 15, 2021 for application to be considered. 3. An interview may be part of the application process for all semifinalists. 4. Scholarships for the 2021 Scholarship program will be announced by mail in June 2021. Please Contact Us For scholarship application and information, please contact the Scholarship Coordinator by e-mail at ling.chuang@swnbk.com

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IMMIGRATION

March 26, 2021

Canada Emerging as Top Choice for Indian Immigrants

Toronto: Divyansh Guglani from Delhi has been trying to move out of India. Most Indians, until a few years ago hoped to move to the US when they wanted to migrate. However, it is no longer so. For Guglani, for example, Canada, not the US, is his first choice. “I chose Canada as it has a huge Indian diaspora. Along with a better standard of living, it will allow me to get a flavour of home because of the large Indian community settled in Canada,” he said. Guglani has applied for immigration to Canada under the express entry programme and hopes that his papers will come through in a few months. Moving to the United States was never an option for him. The long wait to attain green cards and spending decades living in uncertainty to get temporary work permits, have been serious deterrents. “Besides, Canada is a welfare state and permanent residents have easy access to healthcare and education,” he added. With the Canadian government’s new call to aspirant immigrants, Gulgani and others like him, hope to move soon. In 2019, Indians were the largest group by ‘country of origin’ to be granted express entry and other categories of skilled immigrant visas for Canada. What is more, overall, the Canadian government has set a target of welcoming a record 4,01,000 immigrants to the country this year, despite

travel restrictions across the world due to the pandemic. This has opened up new possibilities for a large number of Indians who wish to leave India and a large number are applying with hopes of immigrating to Canada. In fact, while borders remain largely closed, the government continues to be focused on increasing immigration levels as a key policy feature. Additionally, Canada is committed to increasing efficiencies in migration processing structures and systems, according to the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). While the Canadian government’s ambitious target for new immigrants is driven by the low numbers of skilled immigrants who could enter the country in 2020, it has come as a gift for skilled Indians looking for opportunities overseas. “The volume of enquiries from Indians, who refer to US challenges, has been growing over the past few years. While the US has historically been of strong interest because of the sheer size of the market and potential career opportunities, the challenges around entry and the seeming impossibility of getting a green card has clearly been a negative,” Ken Nickel-

Lane, immigration and global mobility professional based in Alberta, Canada, explains. “Add to that the general uncertainty around immigration policy under the earlier Trump administration, and Canada has become significantly more attractive by comparison. While the Biden administration gives much needed hope for those still considering immigration to the US, the reality is that the sweeping immigration reform may be stymied by the opposition Republicans,” he said. Joy Roy (name changed on request) is an IT professional based in Maryland, USA. His company has filed the petition for green card for him and he has been waiting on a temporary H1B work permit for

the last 10 years. But there is no clarity on when his green card approval will come through. `My wife, son and me have been living in uncertainty for over a decade and we now want to move to Canada. I have applied for permanent residence under the express entry program and I’m hoping it will be approved soon; I may not earn as much as I do in my present job in the US, but we will have a more secure life.” Nickel-Lane further added, “Over the past few years we have seen a notable increase in enquiries from people in the US interested in moving to Canada. These are not just from those waiting for green cards or struggling with H1-B renewals, but also US citizens who are not confident that the situation in the US is going to improve notably in the near term.” While thousands of Indians are facing the challenge of waiting for indefinite periods on temporary H1B and L1 work permits in the States, the lure is often of US dollar incomes and high demand for professionals with skills in IT, finance and healthcare services. Says Delhi-based immigration consultant Ajay Sharma, “Several Indian professionals continue to

live and work in the US on extended work permits despite the uncertainty because of the availability of well-paid jobs matching their skills. However, increasingly, many who want to end the uncertainty are applying for permanent residence in Canada.” He added, “This has generated more interest over the last few years.” However, Sharma warns that under the Canadian Immigration Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS), it could be tough for some Indians who have been stuck in the US on green card queues for several years. “There are age and other considerations for permanent residence visa under Canada’s express entry program and often it is difficult for skilled Indian professionals who have been working in the US for many years to qualify,” he explained. Meanwhile, Indians who have been hoping to migrate out of India are optimistic. Telecom industry professional Ferdinand Furtado and his wife, Marita Furtado, from Mumbai are awaiting the final approval for their Canadian express entry application under the provincial nominee programme for the province of Alberta. “We explored the option of immigrating to Canada largely because, under the express entry scheme, getting the approval for permanent residence is smooth and fast,” Furtado says. -- Times of India

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March 26, 2021

“Pratyay”: A Lifelong Struggle for Women’s Empowerment By Pramod Kulkarni

Houston: The Women’s Sufragette Movement began way back in 1848. Despite a 173-year struggle for women’s empowerment, we have yet to reach the ultimate goal. Most recent example of gender inequality is the poor facilities provided to the 2021 Women’s NCAA tournament compared to the luxurious facilities reserved for the Men’s tournament. Enter “Pratyay” (Conviction), a local Indian-American creative offering on Women’s empowerment. Inspired by “A Drive to Remember”, the adapted screenplay, editing and direction is by Houston’s Hirak Basu. The 16-minute video presentation features local actors Partha Sen, Nupur Basu, Dan Aspden and our own Sanchali Basu, reporter for Indo-American News and the co-host of the Indo-American News Radio Show. Produced during the Covid pandemic in November 2020, the video describes one woman’s lifelong struggle to achieve acceptance in America as a female immigrant in the workplace and earn rightful credit for her achievements. Sanchali Basu plays the lead role of Sailaja, who is at the end of her life, about to enter a nursing home after a fateful diagnosis. As taxi driver, played by Partha Sen, is taking her to the nursing home,

Sailaja asks to be taken downtown to view her former office building for one last time. Subsequent scenes are in flashback as Sailaja relives her struggles in the United States after her immigration in November 1967.

She is shown working as a lowlevel design draftsman in an architectural firm and how she is mistreated by her mainstream boss. Sailaja wasn’t even allowed to sit near a window as she says that the space was reserved for white folks.

There are further trials and tribulations during her long career arc. Inspired by Rev. Martin Luther King, Sailaja displays a firm conviction (pratyay) to fight against injustice as a South Asian and as a woman of color. The performance ends on an optimistic note as the taxi driver tells Sailaja of the day’s political developments. Sanchali is quite engaging both as an old woman, weighed down by disease and injustice, as well as a young immigrant with high ideals. Dan Aspden plays Mr. Richardson, her wily immediate supervisor, and Nupur Basu acts the role of Ratna, a supportive friend. A cancer biologist by profession, Producer-Director Hirak Basu says, “Taking part in dramas performed on stage is my hobby and passion. I have performed in the Calcutta professional stage during my college years and was associated with a well-known Calcutta drama team from whom I learnt nuances of stage acting. I lived in Madison, WI for 22 years and acted and directed multiple Bengali dramas in the Milwaukee and Madison area, mostly working with amateur actors.” Hirak Basu continued, “I was fortunate to attend a couple of shootings of a Bengali movie directed by a well-known movie director, Tarun Majumdar, and watched him direct. While in

Indo-American News • Friday, march 26, 2021 • www.indoamerican-news.com

the Film Studio, I went through a spare copy of the script to learn about how screenplays are crafted. I personally never took part in a movie in any form either on screen or off.” Speaking about “Pratyay”, Hirak says,”I decided to adopt and direct Pratyay because of the lockdown, when stage performance is prohibited.” Mainly trained in dance, Sanchali Basu first learned Bharatnatyam and Kuchipudi under Anjali School for the Performing Arts Director Rathna Kumar. Sanchali is now learning Odissi dance under Supradipta Datta. Interestingly, she also leaned Bollywood dance under Arzan Gonda. “I have performed in a lot of dance programs all over Houston including the Rockets’ half-time show,” explains Sanchali. In the realm of acting, Sanchali has performed in one Bengali play at Durga Bari and one Bengali audio play during the pandemic under Hirak Basu. Sanchali has emceed innumerable stage shows and programs. and judged several dance competitions. Pratyay is worthy of your viewing. A show of support will also encourage the artists’ future creative productions. Pratyay with English subtitles is available on YouTube: https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=uNGEcIZ1SjI

FINE ARTS

March 26, 2021

Christie’s Rediscovers Artist Amrita Sher-Gil’s Lost Masterpiece

Amrita Sher-Gil (1913-1941) is considered a pioneer of modern Indian art. In her short, exuberant life she was a radical force in India, presenting herself as a formidable, autonomous creative female. Sher-Gil was born in Budapest in 1913. Her father was a Sikh aristocrat and an experimental photographer, while her highly strung Hungarian mother was a musician. They made a striking couple. ‘It was an unconventional background, combining cultural traditions that had rarely overlapped before,’ says Nishad Avari, head of Christie’s South Asian Modern + Contemporary Art sale. ‘As a young girl, Amrita was surrounded by successful writers and artists.’ But after the ravages of the First World War, Hungary fell into civil strife and the family left Budapest for northern India, where they settled in the city of Shimla. Sher-Gil began to paint and write poetry. ‘Her uncle was an Indologist and a former painter, and he recognised her talent and encouraged her parents to nurture it,’ says Avari. At 11 she won her first prize for painting, and soon after began to focus on the subjects that would define her work for the rest of her life: women’s sensuality, their work and their relationships with each other. When she was 16, Amrita was expelled from her convent school

exterior with a for her atheism. vulnerability — The family moved there is doubt and to Paris so that she determination in could study with her expression. Lucien Simon at the I think it is as Ecole Nationale des much a portrait Beaux-Arts. It was of Amrita as it is in this bohemian, of Denyse.’ avant-garde world, Proutaux also that Sher-Gil disappears in the covered the most painting Young original voices of Girls, executed the inter-war genthe same year and eration. ‘She gravitated to Amrita Sher-Gil (1913-1941), rediscovered Portrait of Denyse, 1932 (left), now held by the National Gallery strong female fig- Untitled (Self Portrait), 1931. of Modern Art in ures,’ says Avari, ing girl… she has an intelligence ‘particularly the artist Suzanne and a personality like I had never New Delhi. Avari describes it as a Valadon (1865-1938), who was met in a woman before, and a very remarkable portrait and notes that known for her powerful and un- great talent, very powerful and ro- it won the young artist her election as an associate of the Grand Saconventional portraits of women.’ bust.’ A curious and instinctively truthProutaux began sitting regularly lon — ‘a rare honour for a foreign ful artist, she worked to satisfy for Sher-Gil and was amazed to woman of 18’. Then suddenly, in 1934, Sher-Gil herself and was indifferent to the find the artist’s room littered with criticism of others, once writing: ‘I books on philosophy and litera- decided to return to India, counterknow that you will be angry with ture, including works by Romain ing her father’s arguments that Inme and say I am a self-opinionated Rolland, Gandhi, Tolstoy, Bernard dian society would be too stifling monkey, but I stick to my intoler- Shaw and Ibsen. ‘She has often ar- for her strong-willed nature with ant ideas and my convictions.’ bitrary, but never mediocre, opin- the emphatic declaration: ‘EuIn 1931 Sher-Gil met the art ions of all of this,’ Proutaux wrote, rope belongs to Picasso, Matisse, critic Denyse Proutaux, and was ‘and I think she knows French lit- Braque and many others. India belongs only to me.’ instantly captivated by her. ‘She erature better than I do.’ In 1938 she married her penniless went crazy about my hair and abOver the next few months Shersolutely wanted to do my portrait Gil completed four paintings of her Hungarian cousin Victor Egan, anwith my hair loose,’ Proutaux later friend. Portrait of Denyse (above) gering her mother, who hoped her wrote. depicts Proutaux in a red dress beautiful daughter would become The young critic was equally en- against a floral background paint- the wife of a rich aristocrat. The chanted by Sher-Gil, writing to her ed in an impressionistic style. ‘It is couple eventually settled in Lafuture husband Philippe Dyvorne: such a psychological portrait,’ says hore, amid a lively artistic commu‘I’ve never known such an amaz- Avari. ‘She has balanced this stoic nity; but, within the year, Sher-Gil

died in circumstances that remain mysterious to this day. Since her untimely death at the age of 28, Sher-Gil has become an influential figure in Indian culture. ‘She broke the mould,’ says Avari, ‘both as a female artist and as a professional. She demonstrated that modern Indian art could be very different from what was imagined in academic circles at the time.’ After her death, her family bequeathed a large number of paintings to the National Gallery of Art in New Delhi, and in 1976 the Indian Government recognised her as a National Treasure, making it illegal to take her art out of the country without official permission. As a result, it is rare to see a painting by Sher-Gil on the open market. The last time one of her works was offered at Christie’s — Untitled (Self Portrait) from 1931 — was in 2015. It sold for £1,762,500 ($2.7 million), the second highest auction price for a work by the artist. According to Avari, Portrait of Denyse is one of the few remaining Sher-Gil paintings in private hands, and it is expected to fetch up to $2.8 million. In an interview with the BBC, the artist’s nephew Vivan Sundaram said that Sher-Gil’s enduring appeal lies in her constantly questioning nature and her protofeminist position. -- Christie’s

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ENTERTAINMENT

March 26, 2021

“Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar”: A Collision of Two Indias By Shubhra Gupta

Cast: Arjun Kapoor, Parineeti Chopra, Jaideep Ahlawat, Neena Gupta, Raghubir Yadav Director: Dibakar Banerjee Rating: 3 stars The moment the film opens, you snap to attention. There’s a car being driven at reckless speed. There are a few uncouth youth in it. Their words and diction can only belong to a certain class of repressed, entitled Dilli Jat boys who come out in the night, looking for some action. Your nerves thrum. Anything can happen on these roads, with these characters. Something does, and wham, the film has us by the jugular. The opening set is a cracker. It gives us two characters from opposite sides of the tracks, the very svelte Sandy aka Sandeep Kaur (Parineeti Chopra) and the very brawny Pinky urf Pinkesh Dahiya (Arjun Kapoor), on the run. They’ve just been witness to a bloody ambush. Who were meant to be the real victims? The ones who got it in the neck, or our two worthies, the MBA banker who earns enough to flaunt a handbag worth two lakhs, or the suspended Haryanvi cop looking for a way back to his job? Banerji, whose nuanced eye when it comes to depicting power play and class differences in the NCR, and both the covert and overt violence that runs up and down the ladder, is unparalleled, should have given us a tighter film.

This is a director who doesn’t hang about. But the films’s hold upon us starts slipping when it starts casting about for good reasons for its leads to be the way they are, coming back into focus sporadically. Once we’ve smiled past the gender flip of its names (in some parts of North India, male and female names get interchanged), we see Sandeep and Pinky flailing about in Pithoragarh, a town close to Nepal, a conduit for illegal border crossings. A middle-aged couple (Neena Gupta and Raghubir Yadav) become a temporary refuge for our couple on the run, and their presence, morally and physically grounding, lends the film a distinct flavour. As does the location.

So good are both Gupta and Yadav, giving their characters a crabby, long-married flavour that you want to see more of them. Some characters appear fleetingly and disappear; some don’t get their due. Ahlawat, as a bent cop, gets a line which is so obviously a line that even he can’t hide it: “breakfast tak ho jayega sir”, he says, “lunch pakad lijiye zyada se zyada”. Or words to that effect. It’s too deliberate ‘a line’ to be natural. There’s also an attempt to place the runaways in a larger context, of financial inequity and impropriety, and of the problems of wearing clothes that could feed a family of four for months. The stars’ need to shine becomes

a bit of a problem: Kapoor, who is indistinct to the point of unintelli-

gible when the film begins (even when I strained to hear, I couldn’t make out a lot of what he was saying), gets a break-out sequence or two but manages to keep himself tamped down. It works for his buttoned-up, surly Pinky who lectures Sandeep about her privilege. It is Ms Chopra’s occasional calling attention to her ‘acting’, with the script generously allowing her time to do so, that jars. But still, I was happy watching Sandeep and Pinky’s shenanigans, co-written by Banerji and Varun Grover. This is a film that comes from a trenchant world-view which looks at issues beyond the obvious and the trite. A world that can be savage yet shot through with unexpected warmth and understanding, where scowls and smiles are part of the whole. -- Indian Express

“Mumbai Saga”: Jaded Re-tread

A whole year after the lockdown, I was all set to enjoy a fullon masala film — bad guys, bursting machismo, bristling guns, and rhyming dialogues. But Sanjay Gupta’s Mumbai Saga is yet another jaded re-retread. We’ve lost count of the actioners filled with Mumbai bhaus and bhais, loudly declaring their allegiance to the Supremo and his Sena, wading into conflicts between old-time mill owners and new property sharks, and the growth of the mob, parcelling out the city. The only way to justify

another iteration is to infuse it with freshness. What’s that? In Gupta’s better films, the bad guys used to be more interesting, the action used to be classy. Abraham, red tilak firmly on forehead, stalks impassively through the film; the rest, despite themselves, are just eye glaze. Even the lines don’t help. Sample this, from Amartya to a baddie: ‘Yeh lakshman rekha Sita ne paar kari toh Ramayan, aur tumne toh Mahabharat’. The baddie cowers and runs. So should have we. -Shubhra Guta

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March 26, 2021

After giving an insight into the ‘arranged marriage’ set up with Indian Matchmaking, Netflix is all set to celebrate the big fat Indian wedding with The Big Day. The series will take a deep dive into the multibillion-dollar wedding industry, and gives the audience a chance to be a part of the most unique and lavish modern weddings. The trailer of the first season of The Big Day was released on Monday. The video is nothing short of a live Pinterest board on dream weddings for millennials. From lavish settings, designer clothes to some exciting themes, the series showcases it all. The show will also have couples talk about crafting their happily ever after. The makers have chosen six different stories, and each of these couples do not believe in toeing the line. From planning a truly sustainable wedding, which is the need of the hour, to a bride that does not believe in following traditions blindly, the stories would definitely touch a chord. Celebrity makeup artist Daniel Baeur, who got married to partner Tyrone Braganza in 2019, also features in this special wedding series. Produced by Conde Nast India, The Big Day will have couples navigating their way through an eye-opening list of shenanigans and soul-stirring moments that go into creating spectacular Indian weddings. There would also be a dash of family drama, unique personal struggles, triumphs and much more. The Big Day will start streaming on Netflix from February 14.

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COMMUNITY

March 26, 2021

Covid? What Covid?

Marine Drive. Sunday evening. 6 pm. The car stops at the traffic light… and hundreds of pedestrians from the Churchgate side rush to the over-crowded parapet to click sunset selfies before the sun disappears behind Malabar Hill. I blink and blink again! What? Is Covid officially over? No social distancing. Few masks. Everyone laughing and chatting just like the old days. Then I notice a few, laidback cops, indulgently surveying the surging crowds. Marine Drive is gleaming and glowing and beaming! Hurrah! There are more than the usual number of cars speeding towards Chowpatty and heading out. Mumbai has got its groove back! At a splashy, super glam party I attended, the mwah-mwaahs are back! I smile to myself, recalling the depressing sight of deserted roads, the eerie stillness, the unnerving silence, frequent nakabandis, overall joylessness of the hideous year that was. By far the worst year in memory for mankind. Suddenly — it’s over! We’re done with Covid! Yes? A new life beckons! But… does it, really? Or are we just a bit too despo to reclaim what we once loved? Think about it — we want to cling on to our ‘old’ selves, our ‘old’ lives, our all too familiar comfort zones? The sight of Marine Drive abuzz with activity made me forget for a minute that Covid-19 is still around. It is not over — get it? And our old selves can never be the same again. We have to discover our new, post-Covid selves, and that vital process must begin as we ready ourselves to face fresh ground realities. A young fashion designer I ran into made a pertinent observation when she said her regular clients had either gained a lot of weight during the lockdown or lost far too much. “So many of them are sending clothes for alterations — I am busy opening up seams or taking clothes in.” Interesting to note how differently we all responded to the Covid monster. The imposed isolation threw up far too many emotional/ physical challenges. Initial panic (“What if I get Covid and drop dead?”) turned into resignation (“If Covid happens, I will deal it with it the best I can…”), then transformed into acceptance (“I am okay with the new normal — really!”), and now we are experiencing an exaggerated sense of euphoria (“Yayyy — we are alive! Let’s paaarddday!”). Every response is valid! For those of us who love to travel, for far too long our mindsets have associated holidays with international jaunts. Covid has dramatically changed perspectives, and let’s be thankful. I had foolishly kept on hold for so many years, saying, “Oh… I can always visit Jaisalmer… but this is my chance to go to Saint Petersburg.” We now invest hours pouring over desi options and sharing info about the newest boutique hotel in Indore. This is a marvellous development, as a lot of young people are also admitting. There is something for every budget, taste and special interest in our vast land… the diversity of India has been taken for granted by us. The lockdown has in many ways unlocked our imagination, hearts and minds. I am ready to go wherever it is possible, affordable and enjoyable within our shores. Fiji can wait. -- Shobha De’ in Times of India

“The Beauty of Indian Democracy” By G. Sampath According to highly placed sources in the Union government, India not only respects dissent but also protects media freedom and human rights, both of which, the sources said, enjoy the heaviest protection in an erstwhile State in the northern part of India. The sources also confirmed that India upholds the fundamental rights of every one of its citizens, including the right of victimised Indians to have FIRs registered against them for whatever crime is committed against them. “Contrary to the international propaganda disseminated by antiIndia forces in collusion with antinational collaborators within our borders, the government of India is a staunch advocate of the right to dissent,” said a very senior official in the Ministry of Home Affairs, who did not wish to be identified or come on record or even share his phone number. He shared this information, which is classified as ‘top secret’ under the Official Secrets Act, through an intermediary from a parallel universe. Another top source close to the PMO disclosed that India, regardless of what its citizens might think, is the world’s largest democracy and will remain so even if it becomes a one-party dictatorship. When asked about certain remarks made by the Special Rapporteurs of the United Nations on India’s recent track record in protecting democratic rights, the source said, “We don’t give a rodent’s posterior what the U.N. says or what a random niece of an American vice-president tweets.” The Indian government’s official stand, he reiterated, “is that the frequent jailing of those who criticise the government poses no threat to democracy. Rather, the biggest threat to Indian democracy is from highly educated people and Foreign Destructive Ideology.” The highly placed source’s brother (HPS-B), who works for India’s leading pro-farmer, proworker, pro-poor crony capitalist,

said the biggest strength of India’s democracy is its free and fair elections, which are freer than pigeon droppings and fairer than fairness creams. Elaborating further, he said Indian elections have two special ingredients that make India one hundred times more democratic than a country that actually has the word ‘democratic’ in its name — the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The two special ingredients are electoral bonds and EVM-withVVPAT. According to HPS-B, who recently became a Canadian citizen (because you never know how things are going to go down in India), it is electoral bonds that protect Indian democracy from being usurped by the voting public. By empowering good-hearted crony capitalists to provide anonymous performance incentives to political parties before elections, electoral bonds ensure that government policies post-elections are what they should be rather than what the voting public wants. “This governance innovation is India’s unique contribution to the global heritage of democracy. The Indian government deserves the Nobel Prize for coming up with such a brilliant mechanism that effectively guarantees a peaceful yet relentless transfer of power and wealth from the 99% to the 1% regardless of which political party is in power,” he said. EVMs-with-VVPAT, he explained, make Indian elections so safe, so secure, and so immune to hacking and tampering that there is no need for an independent ex-

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pert to verify these claims, nor is there any need for tallying EVM votes with VVPAT slips. The VVPAT, he pointed out, is like the Constitution of India. “Just because it’s there doesn’t mean we should allow citizens to actually benefit from it.” On the issue of farmer protests, another highly placed source in the Agriculture Ministry, who has more than 20 years of experience as a highly placed source, said farmers were practising reverse psychology on the government. “Reverse psychology?” I said. “How does that work?” “These farmers at Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur border love the three farm laws so much that they are scared the government may never implement them. Have you ever felt that fear — when you think something is too good to be true?” he said. “That’s the sum total of the farmers’ fears about the farm laws. They think these laws are too good. So, it’s only to make sure we implement them that they are protesting AGAINST these farm laws. Do you see the reverse psychology at work here?” “Not really,” I said. “Look, now that the protests are out there, the government has no choice but to implement the farm laws. Not implementing them will make us look weak. It will look like the government changed its mind after listening to ordinary citizens. The last thing we want is for the masses to start imagining that they can have any say in how the people they chose to govern them, govern them.” “And the protesting farmers know this?” I said. “Absolutely,” he said. “In other words,” I said, “What you’re saying is that the farmers are protesting to make sure that their demands are not met?” “Exactly.” “By this logic, any dissent against government policies would become pointless, wouldn’t it?” “Of course!” the source smiled. “That is the beauty of Indian democracy.” -- The Hindu

SUDOKU/RECREATION SUDOKU/TECHNOLOGY 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.

March 26, 2021

IIT Kashi Prof Generates Electricity from Hydrogen

Send us the correct answer before March 31, 2021. Email us at indoamericannews@yahoo.com and send us your solved Sudoku for your name to be published.

Solution Next Week

Reformer developer Dr. Rajesh Kumar Upadhyay (second from right) with the prototype reformer and his research assistants.

Last Week’s Solution

Last Week’s Winners Sanchali Basu

Banaras: Now it is possible to produce electricity anytime, anywhere from hydrogen. This has become possible after the success in research at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kashi Hindu University. Dr. Rajesh Kumar Upadhyay, Associate Professor of the Institute’s Department of Chemical Engineering and Technology, and his team have developed a prototype based on the MEMBER Reformer technique for producing ultra-pure hydrogen from methanol. This developed prototype will be the first of its kind in India and no such commercial units are available worldwide. On Saturday, Assistant Professor Rajesh Kumar Upadhyay said that this prototype would significantly reduce fossil fuel usage and carbon footprint. Due to the compact unit, it can be used for on-site or on-demand ultra-pure hydrogen production. This technology allows 99.999 percent pure hydrogen to be isolated from only 15 mL / minute methanol to 13 liters / minute and has also succeeded in producing 1 kW of power by integrating the same prototype with hydrogen fuel cell. He points out that the once scaled unit can be used to power mobile towers and be a better option in place of diesel-based generators. This will reduce storage and transportation safety hazards. Dr. Rajesh stated that the developed prototype can be used

to charge an electric vehicle. His team is working in the field of mobile electric vehicle chargers where the developed prototype can be installed in a mobile van that can be integrated with a hydrogen fuel cell to generate electricity and be used for charging is. The user of an electric vehicle can use an app-based module to use the charging facility while at the office or at home. This will not only save the time of the user but will also reduce the queue at the charging stations. He points out that this unit can prove to be very effective for a hydrogen-based car. Such units can be installed at petrol pumps to generate the necessary hydrogen. The technology will reduce the load on the grid and promote the use of hydrogen. According to Upadhyay, the current project for the design of one kilowatt prototype is funded by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India. The entire unit is manufactured in India and all critical components such as methanol-reforming and catalysts for hydrogen-selective members are synthesized at the Institute of Chemical Engineering Lab. Director of the institute, Professor Pramod Kumar Jain, said that the prototype unit based on the Mambrane Reformer technique also promotes Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ and ‘Self-reliant India’ initiatives. IIT is set to play an important role in

BHU Government’s National Hydrogen Mission. He said that the institute is one of the leading institutes working on all aspects of hydrogen energy and is now a center of excellence in the institute to accommodate the production and use of hydrogen energy for useful applications, especially in the transport sector. (Center of Excellence). Pro. Pramod Jain pointed out that hydrogen is the lightest element and possesses almost the highest energy-to-weight ratio of the energy content of gasoline and diesel. This not only reduces dependence on fossil fuels, but is also known as a clean-efficient energy carrier. They reported that as an automotive fuel, the burning of hydrogen in an internal combustion engine produces envox and reduces power output, especially due to the low density of hydrogen. However, if converted to electrical energy using a fuel cell, the efficiency increases by 30 percent. This facilitates the generation of electricity without increasing much of the CO2 in the environment. He stated that the major challenge in the commercialization of hydrogen energy is to develop efficient methods of production, separation, transport, storage and utilization of hydrogen. Hydrogen storage and transportation is a major safety hazard. On-site generation of hydrogen can significantly reduce this risk.

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March 26, 2021

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