Friday, November 20 2015 | Vol. 34, No. 47
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Indo American erican News
All Stars In Your Eyes
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Diwali at
BAPS
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An Evening with
Javed Akhtar
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Atif Rocks It ! P8
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Diwali Celebrated with Fun and Festivity at Baps Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Stafford
STAFFORD: Fireworks lit the
skies over the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Stafford on November 14. It was a beautiful Saturday evening with the youth of BAPS performing a cultural Diwali program called “Sambhavami Yuge Yuge…” This program emphasized the ever presence of Bhagwan’s avatar from the time of Bhagwan Ram to Bhagwan Swaminarayan through educational dramas, entertaining dances and inspirational videos. The five days of Diwali are filled with optimism and enthusiasm as volunteers and devotees work side by sideto build the annakut and prepare for Diwali events at each Mandir. Over the past week, visitors felt as if they had been transformed back to India with colorful lights, sparkling divas, and decorative rangolis. Pragnesh Prajapati of Sugarland said, “We have been planning for over 6 months and it’s been great to see devotees of all ages come together to help out for the festivities.” During this time of togetherness, reflection, and introspection, devotees at the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Stafford organized various events to share in ancient traditions with the local community. On November 12, the Hindu New Year was celebrated at the Mandir with a grand maha arti at 7:30 am followed by a stunning offering of over 1000 vegetarian delicacies, the annakut. Devanshi Patel describes the annakut as, “It’s a grand first offering and your best recipes are put together to serve Bhagwan, and it’s amazing how everyone prepares the meals by getting up early to have their best dish ready on time.” Diwali serves as a time to gather with friends and family to welcome the New Year and celebrate the year past. Celebrating Diwali
with great enthusiasm and excitement inspires every generation of Indians to honor their deeply rooted Hindu heritage. Hina Prajapati said “ I have been in the states for only a few years and Diwali at the Mandir transforms me back to India and this is such a great way to keep our tradi-
tions.“ The Mandir and the festivities are inspired by His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj, the spiritual leader of BAPS. Throughout the week devotees welcomed guests to the Mandir with well wishes for the New Year. Swamis
will continue to visit with community members to offer their prayers for peace and prosperity among families. BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir will continue the Diwali celebrations for their youngsters on November 21st. The Kid’s Diwali Celebration will be fun and educational. Children will learn the history and origin of this festival, play variety of exciting games, and will be given an assortment of gifts and goodies. This year His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj celebrated Diwali and Annakut in Sarangpur, Gujarat, India. He blessed the devotees on the New Year day. About BAPS The BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), a worldwide socio-spiritual organization is dedicated to community service, peace and harmony. Motivated by Hindu principles, BAPS strives to care for the world by caring for societies, families and individuals. Through social and spiritual activities, BAPS endeavors to produce better citi-
zens of tomorrow who have a high esteem for their roots. Its 3,300 international centers support these character-building activities. Under the guidance and leadership of His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj, BAPS aspires to build a community that is morally, ethically and spiritually pure, and free of addictions. About Pramukh Swami Maharaj His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj, the fifth spiritual successor of Bhagwan Swaminarayan, has inspired millions of people across the world to lead a God-centered, morally pure life. As the present leader of BAPS, Pramukh Swami Maharaj has traveled extensively, emphasizing the importance of family harmony, community service and spiritual progress. He embodies the essence of Hindu life. His compassion for humanity, universal wisdom and striking simplicity has touched many world religious and national leaders. For further details, visit www. baps.org CONTACT: Viral Desai Phone: 832-498-4725 Email: media@ houstonmandir.org
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Ramp With a Cause Lived Up to its Promise
STAFFORD: It is rare that you
see a professional fashion show being organized at the Old Stafford Civic Center, complete with the catwalk ramp and set of professional designers and models. That is what Aalponaa Event Designers made possible at their, “Ramp with a Cause” event last Friday, November 13. This was an initiative by Aalponaa in collaboration with IDRF India Development Relief Fund (a 501 C charity organization based in New York) in support of the Swacch Bharat Abhiyaan, a national (Clean India) movement of our current Indian Modi Government. The goal of this fundraiser was to raise funds to build rural sanitation facilities for several villages across Gujarat and Bengal. The venue was decked out to its glory, with stunning décor and lighting, providing the perfect ambience for the event. This
Gala Dinner Event featured two high end main stream designers, Priya Chhabria from Mumbai who presented her ‘Vivaah’ or Bridal collection and Agnimitra Paul from Kolkata, who showcased her ‘Threads of India’ collection. Each collection was unique and was presented in an entirely contrasting style. The clothes showcased by the beautiful models were gorgeous. Nina Desai was the elegant emcee for the event. The first fashion show was that of Ms. Paul. Agnimitra’s collection was earthy and inspired by the Madhubani and Kalamkari art, Kantha, Ikaat and Dhakai weaves of India, The styling was rustic and the choreography by Raza Hassan was fun and peppy. 21 female and 7 male models walked the ramp showing off a truly diverse array of Indian and Indo Western fusion outfits. The show culminated in the show stoppers Crystale Montanez-
Baylor and Mahesh Sriram bringing in the stunning designer herself, Agnimitra Paul. This was followed by a special segment ‘Women of Honor’ where the Aalponaa ladies invited 11 women of our greater Houston Community, each highly accomplished in their own fields, to walk the ramp and get the acknowledgement and adulation of those present. Sanchali Basu introduced each lady and they were all presented a token of appreciation by the Aalponaa ladies, Sailaja, Mumu and Piyal. The second fashion show was the bridal collection of the Mumbai based Bollywood designer Priya Chabria. The models were decked in glorious embroidered and beaded gowns, lehengas and lehenga saris. The young men showed off grooms wear and looked very dapper. The models showcased stunning jewelry as
well. The styling and show was truly spectacular and a treat to the eyes. With meticulous planning and execution by Aalponaa Event Designers, delicious food by Alings Haka, Mishti Doi by Shondesh Boutique, the attendees were treated to an evening of visual and gastronomical delights while showing their support for a good cause. Aalponaa is a Customized Event Management Company in the Greater Houston area with a mission of 'Designing your dreams'. Aalponaa offers a wide range of highly professional event design, management and planning services. As a company spearheaded by three ladies, they believe that women form the backbone of a society and support projects that seek to empower them with education, economic resources to be self-sufficient and facilities to have a healthy and independent
Photos: Saurabh Sen Gupta and Murali Santhana.
life. A staggering number of people in India don’t have access to clean sanitary facilities, something that is taken for granted in countries like the US. With your help and support, the Aalponaa team would like to continue to raise funds to support these initiatives and truly make a life changing difference in the lives of many in these villages. For further details or to make a donation contact Aalponaa Event Designers: Sailaja Bandyopadhyay, Mumu Choudhury and Piyal Sen Gupta Email: Info@ Aalponaa.com or visit www.Aalponaa.com
Indo American News (ISSN 887-5936) is published weekly every Friday (for a subscription of $40 per year) by IndoAmerican News Inc., 7457 Harwin Dr., Suite 262, Houston, TX 77036., tel: 713-789-6397, fax:713-789-6399, email: indoamericannews@yahoo.com. Periodical postage paid at Houston, Texas. POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to Indo American News,7457 Harwin Dr., Suite 262, Houston, TX 77036 INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2015 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
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COMMUNITY
November 20, 2015
Atif Aslam, Live In Concert
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BY VANSHIKA VIPIN
HOUSTON: Arena theatre saw one of the
most popular singers of Pakistan and India - Atif Aslam, perform live to an enthralled audience of Houstonians on Friday, November 13 (coincidentally, also the 13th event by Hum Tum Shows). A spectacular show, which had people standing at the aisles to catch a glimpse of the multi-talented singer, songwriter, actor and guitarist. The show started with Aditi Singh Sharma singing to one of her popular songs, “Ajnabee” from the movie Roy. She kept the audience entertained and highly charged by singing foot-thumping songs like “Batameezdil”, “Subah hone na de”, “Balampichkari”, “Abhi to party shuru hui hai”, “Selfie le le re”, “Dilliwali girlfriend” and so on. The audience was seen dancing and having a great time but also eagerly awaiting to see Atif Aslam on stage. When he arrived, Atif Aslam had the entire theatre mesmerized by his soulful
voice and beautiful music. He started his performance with “Woh lamhe woh baatein”, a song that tugs at the soul and can bring nostalgia in every heart for a lover. Some of the other songs he sang were, “Tu chahiye” from the movie Bajrangi Bhaijan and “Jeena Jeena” from the movie Badlapur. He even picked up his guitar and strummed, “Pehli nazaar mein” from the movie, Race. The girls in the audience were heard screaming his name in excitement and could not help but run up to the stage to get a selfie with the good-looking singer. People were seen enjoying the music so much that they started dancing and left their seats to crowd around the singer and cheer for him. Towards the end, Atif Aslam sang some soothing old songs to the piano“Jab koi baat bigad jaye” and “Kya hua tera wada” along with some sufi music that had the audience captivated. The audience was all praises for the show organized by Rehan Siddiqi of Hum Tum Shows. His recent successful shows were Fusion 2015, Arijit Singh and Alka Yagnik concerts in October this year, making him one of the most successful organizers of Houston and rightly so. No stone was left unturned to make this event a huge success. The lights and sounds done by Arif Memon were of brilliant quality. The musicians were par excellence. Rehan Siddiqi has had the highest record number of sold-out shows in 2015 and is optimistic that he can continue to entertain the people of Houston in the upcoming years. The audience didn’t want to leave the venue to go home as they were enjoying themselves so much. This performance provoked a long-standing affair Houstonians have with music – one that is soulful, yet filmy. For further details contact Rehan Siddiqi at 713-545-4115 or visit Hum Tum Shows at www.humtumradio.com
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November 20, 2015
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An Evening with Javed Akhtar at Crown Plaza in Houston
BY SHAH GHAZALI
HOUSTON: On Friday, Novenber
13, a colorful and a literary evening with a famous Indian film writer, lyrics writer, and a poet Javed Akhtar was hosted by Takdees-A-Adab International at Crown Plaza in Houston, Texas. An unveiling ceremony of Javed Akhtar's paternal grandfather was also an important part of the ceremony. The title of the book was " Khirman." It was a collection of the poetry of Muztar Kheirabadi, paternal grandfather of Javed Akhtar. It was a memorable evening in Houston Texas. The evening ceremony was presidized by Tahir Javed who is a famous businessman of Beaumont, Texas. The distinguished guests were introduced, recognized, and warmly welcomed by Shah Ghazali who is an active member of Takdees-AAdab International. The electroic and print media of the State of Texas were also recognized by him. Then, he invited the president of Taqdees-A-Adab International Fayyaz Khan Rampuri to come up forward to say a few words about his mission, plannings, and work to support and promote Urdu poets and the poetry of South Asia in the United States. Fayyaz Khan Rampuri told the distinguished guests that he and his entire crew is willing to support the Urdu language and Urdu poetry and poets in the United States. The Urdu is the reflection of the customs, culturs, traditions, and the values of South Asia and they want to keep it alive to transfer it to the coming generations. After that, the pioneer of Aligarh Alumnai Association of the United States Abdullah Abdullah was invited by him. Abdullah Abdullah started the ceremony by inviting the distinguished guests including Javed Akhtar, Tahir Javed, and Fayyaz Khan Rampuri to come up on the stage. After that, the entire ceremony was taken care by Abdullah Abdullah. He
introduced the entire family of Javed Akhtar by saying that the grandfather Muzter Kheirabadi and father Jaan Nisaar Akhtar were the prominent celebrities of India in the past. Peopl of India do like to read, write, and talk about their works. His wife Shabana Aazmi is a famous film actress in India. After a brief introduction of Javed Akhtar's family, he invited him to come up forward to hold the mike to address the audience on that eveming. Javed Akhtar was gloomy for the people of France. A moment of silence was an evidence of the gloominess of javed Akhtar and the entire audience on that evening. In the beginning of his address, he shared the information about his own efforts to collect the great poetry of his grandfather in his country. It took him almost 30 years to gather the information about him. Khirman is an evidence of his love, efforts, and affection with his grandfather. Javed Akhtar also invited other researchers of Pakistan and India to use their efforts to collect the great works of Urdu litarature to transfer the information with other writes, educators, and researchers of the diverse cultures of Asia, Middle East, Europe, and the United States. Takdees-A-Adab lifetime achievement award was given
to Javed Akhtar on behalf of Takdees-A-Adab by Dr. Fayyaz Faiz who was invited by Abdullah Abdullah. After receiving the
award, Javed Akhtar recited his own poetry, prose, and fiction to share the different parts of the writings with the audience. Sev-
eral people wanted him to recide their favorites for them. He respected his audience and recited several things for them. Last session of the evening was for the audeince in which they were allowed to ask questions and Javed Akhtar was ready to answer the questions of the audience at that time. Several questions were asked by several people and javed Akhtar answered the questions. A log applauze was an evidence of postivc response of the audience for him. A several copies of Khirman were sold and the photo session was also very successful on that evening. The head of Takdees-A-Adab, Nadeem Malik, also adressed the audience and recongnized the entire group of Takdees-AAdab and Qomi Aikta Committee by saying that he was very thankful to them for their continuous and efforless support to make the evening a successful and a memorable one on that day. He was also thankful to Farah Iqbal, Shah Ghazali, Nasir Khan, and Neelofer Afshan and volunteers including Syed Irfan, Shahid Bilal, Ali Malik, and Ali Raza for their support to make things possible for TakdeesA-Adab. The whole entire evening was very successfully hosted by Takdees-A-Adab.
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COMMUNITY
Welcoming Two Gauravs, One Again and One Anew
Empowering Women Through the Pratham Vocational Training Programs
BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA
SUGAR LAND: It was a memorable oc-
casion for the people who came to meet Gaurav Mathur again at the luncheon at Sweetwater Country Club this past Sunday, November 15, on a sunny Fall day that lifted everyone’s spirits. Many remembered him the affable young man who grew up in their midst; with many of the uncles and aunties recalling stories of his time in Houston and several of the younger set who were his playmates embracing the new milestones in his life. Except now, he was the Dean of Graduate Program and Continuing Education at Gallaudet University in Washington, DC. His parents, Nalini and Dr. Virendra S. Mathur were overcome with emotion as they introduced their son and his partner, Dr. Gaurav Arora to their long list of guests and friends and welcomed Arora into their family. Dr. Mathur beamed with pride as he read from the long list of academic and work achievements of his son, despite his hearing and speech impairment, over the years from the time he was in high school to university and till now. He was equally proud of Dr, Arora’s achievements as he read them off. The two Gauravs met eight years ago in Washington DC, where they both live. Gaurav Mathur, 43, was born in Houston and excelled in schooling from a very early age inspite of his hearing handicap. He moved to a regular school after 3rd grade and then jumped a grade to go to Middle and High School at The Kinkaid School where he topped his class and was the only
Dr. Virendra S. Mathur and wife Nalini flank their son, Dr. Gaurav Mathur (right) and his partner Dr. Gaurav Arora at a reception held in their honor at Sweetwater Country Club on Sunday, November 15. Photo: Bijay Dixit
deaf student among his peers. He went onto Princeton (where he wrote his own curriculum as they did not have one in Linguistics), graduating with Honors and completed his Masters and PhD in Linguistics at M.I.T. in Boston, with a full scholarship. He was the first and only deaf student who received his PhD in Linguistics at MIT. Mathur worked through research departments and when he became a Faculty member, he had become a national and international authority in his field, joining Ohio State University and later moving to Gallaudet University seven years ago where he received tenure in four years and became acting Dean two years ago and this summer became Dean in his current position. Gaurav Arora, 37, was born and raised in Mumbai, but as he lost his father at the
tender age of 18, he was forced to mature early and help take care of his mother and raise his younger brother. He finished a BSc in Chemistry Honors from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai and went on to get a Masters in Biochemistry from the University of Mumbai. He came to the US to obtain a Masters in Bioinformatics at Georgia State University and then completed a PhD in Molecular Evolution at the Georgia Institute of Technology. After graduation, he worked at Georgetown University focusing on Genomics and is currently on a tenure-track Faculty of Biology at Gallaudet University’s Department of Science, Technology and Mathematics. He has been published in several peer journals and is a scholar with the American Society of Microbiology.
HOUSTON: Thirty-one-year-old Manisha
was determined to not let anything get in the way of her dreams. Taught to be satisfied with being a good daughter, wife and mother, Manisha longed for more. “Ever since I can remember, I wanted to work and earn money, but I had no skills,” Manisha says while reminiscing on her past. “I felt like all I was good for was cooking and cleaning.” Manisha frequently attended wedding parties in her cramped neighborhood of Vashinaka in Mumbai. She was struck by how beautiful and made up all the women
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COMMUNITY
November 20, 2015
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A Cricket Treat for Diwali Worth Waiting a Generation For!
GAURI SIDDHIVINAYAK TEMPLE
For Any Ceremony Contact Pradip Pandya 832 466 9868 Email: pradippandya2000@yahoo.com
BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA
HOUSTON: The general take
was, “They can’t be serious! Its Diwali night! Who in their right mind is going to show up for a cricket game?” But the promoters may have had the last call on this after all as Minute Maid Park downtown had about 12,000 people in the bleachers on Wednesday, November 11, by this reporter’s account. The numbers from the national organizers, Leverage Promotions, put it over 27,000, while they counted 56,000 in New York’s Citi Field on Saturday, November 7 and 20,600 in Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles on November 14. According to widespread reports, the highpriced tickets were going twofor-one a couple of days before the match and then were being given away on the day of the match. That certainly may have contributed to the large turnout on a night most would have been chided, but forgiven, for leaving the home on Diwali for a “once in a lifetime” experience of seeing 28 of the world’s best former cricket players on a field together in a professional stadium in the US. The two teams – the Blasters
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INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2015 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
Contact: Gopal Aggarwal
832-539-1589
12 November 20, 2015
COMMUNITY
Therese Cole Hubbs of Electric Karma Wins IACCGH Raffle Draw BY MANU SHAH
HOUSTON: On November 11, IACCGH
President Ashok Garg, Aku Patel of Karat 22 and Dean Latha Ramchand of the CT Bauer College of Business
Therese Cole Hubbs of Electric Karma
held a Raffle draw for an elegant Rolex watch. The funds generated by the sale of tickets will be used to fund a new Educational Initiative that will offer students Internship opportunities in India and other educational initiatives. The meeting, held at the Hess Club was attended by IACCGH members and guests Executive Director Jagdip Ahluwalia described 2015 as “an eventful year that will be hard to beat.” He also expressed his pride at the delegation facilitated by the Chamber to India led by Mayor Annise Parker which opened business opportunities and more importantly resulted in the Chamber welcoming the US Ambassador to India Richard R. Verma as the Gala Keynote Speaker. 650 business leaders, elected officials and high ranking professionals were present “despite two other major events in the city on the same evening.” The Executive Director highlighted the efforts of several people who have helped the Chamber in its activities – Therese Cole Hubbs and Rosie from Electric Karma who event managed the Gala, Mahesh Shah of Madras Pavilion, Dean Latha Ramchand from the CT Bauer College of Business who’s “never said no whenever the Chamber reached out for her support” and Board Member Aku Patel of Karat 22 who donated a $6,500 valued Rolex to raise funds for the Student Internship Program. President Ashok Garg outlined the significance of the Student Internship Program. The Chamber was working with Business schools and companies in Houston to offer selected MBA students an opportunity to intern in India and in Houston in order to understand business environments and working styles in two different cultures. Considering how interconnected our business worlds are, this experience, he stated would “look great not just on a resume but would offer students a dual perspective that is not entirely possible by working only in the US.” Chief Guest for the afternoon, Dean Latha Ramchand, in her address, underscored the importance of innovation in today’s business world. Citing the example of Uber, she observed that the company was the largest transportation company in the world without owning a single automobile. Likewise Airbnb, the largest accommodation provider in the world owns no real estate. According to the Dean, it is “this human capital, the innovation in the way we conduct business which is really going to be the driver of the next century.” This innovation, she continued, comes “from knowledge, thinking beyond the box, getting together and learning from each other.” She also lauded the Chamber for bridging the talent between India and the US and offered her assistance in helping the Chamber create that talent not just “for ourselves but for the community.” Dr. Ramchand also did the honors of picking out the lucky winner’s name for the Rolex. The winning ticket belonged to Therese Cole Hubbs of Electric Karma.
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A Cricket Treat for Diwali Worth Waiting a Generation For! CONTINUED FROM PAGE
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led by legendary batsman Sachin Tendulkar and the Warriors led by equally renowned bowler Australian Shane Warne – came to New York on November 2 and held a first matchup in Citi Field where the Warriors (141-1) beat the Blasters (140-8). Then they swung through Houston arriving late Monday, November 9 and held a short news conference at the J.W. Marriott hotel downtown to a swarm of local desi news media. The next day they held a camp at Minute Maid Park for local area cricket clubs, coaching kids on techniques and hitting a few balls as admiring parents looked on. That evening there was an invitation only Gala at the Marriott and a hundred or so people plus some press were able to rub shoulders with the players. The Houston Chronicle featured a couple of news stories and there was a general buzz among the desi media as excitement built up. The night of the Cricket All Stars Twenty20 match at Minute Maid Park, the crowd was slow in building up before the 8pm start time, as people slowly filtered in after a full work day. The Jumbotron featured close up interviews of Tendulkar and Shane but the audio link was difficult
to follow, especially with the crowd which cheered loudly as they were being panned on local TV. The Press Box was full of media and there was a press conference thirty minutes after the match. The excitement was palpable as the crowd roared at sightings of their favorite players; a few brought in signs of the one that proclaimed “We Trust In Sachin” with God scratched out and replaced with Sachin. Thirty minutes after the match started, the crowd had doubled. Someone had brought in a dhol and every time a sixer was hit by either side, he let out a long drumbeat while the famous stadium train blew its whistle and round down the short track. The control room kept up with electronic cowboys lassoing steers on the Jumbotron and flashing cue cards for cheers and on the stats of the runs, overs and players. For those who didn’t know much about cricket, they caught on fast. The Blasters won the coin toss and elected to field first; but the Warriors batted impressively with rounds of fours and sixers running off to a 262 for five score before the final over. Michael Vaughan and Matthew Hayden started off, batting 51 runs together in the opening six overs before Vaughan was out with leg before wicket for 30 by fellow Englishman Graeme Swann. After 32 runs, Hayden was bowled out
by former Australian team-mate Glenn McGrath. Jacques Kallis quickly added on 45 while Ricky Ponting batted in 41 from just 16 balls. Kumar Sangakkara, who just retired this past August, was in fine form with 6 sixes to add 70 from just 30 balls. On the other hand, the Blasters looked positively tame as they lugged along to lose by 57 runs. They fell behind from the start as Tendulkar batted first (to a huge cheer from the crowd), though he could only muster 33 from 20 balls. Virender Sehwag, Sourav Ganguly, Brian Lara and Jayawardene were not to score more than 20 each and Shaun Pollock was the top scorer with 55 for 22 balls at seven. The final score was 205 for 8 after 20 overs, in the Blasters second loss of the three-city match up. At the consolation match in Los Angeles, the Warriors with 224 for 6 once again trounced the Blasters’ score of 219 for 8. After the Cricket All Star series ended, both Tendulkar and Warne were elated by the response and promised to be back for more exhibition games with more legends of the sport, eager to see if America is ready to take to cricket like it has with soccer. This was the idea that prompted them to hold this initial series across the US and they hope to carry the momentum forward.
Empowering Women Through the Pratham Vocational Training Programs CONTINUED FROM PAGE
10
were, so she inquired about their makeup. Through their replies, she came to the understanding that women in urban centers could now afford to spend money on professional beauty services. So what if she didn’t have the skills? She could always learn them. With the support of her husband and children, Manisha enrolled in a nearby Pratham vocational training center for a 3-month training program. It wasn’t easy to kickstart her business. Right after they decided to open her beauty parlor, she and her husband lost their savings due to a car accident. Her husband escaped unscathed, but the other man had serious injuries. “We spent it all without thinking twice because we wanted to save his life,” she says. With what little they had left, they decided to take the risk and move forward with the parlor regardless. And it paid off. Manisha is now managing the household on her own. “Even if I manage to make Rs. 200 (~$3) every day, I can meet our minimum household expenses,” she says tearing up. Today, her life is dramatically different. What was once her living
room is now her very own beauty parlor. She identifies herself by the word “Entrepreneur” before “daughter,” “wife” or “mother.” Manisha also wants to become a trainer one day so she can change the lives of women like her who have little formal education and cannot leave their houses to work outside. “Everybody thinks women are only capable of taking care of kids and cooking. But we can do so much more.” Manisha received financial support of Rs. 30,000 ($450) from Pratham to set up her own beauty parlor. When asked how she felt when she received the funds she said, “Aisa laga ki zindagi shuru ho gayi ab toh (It felt like my life has finally started).” The Pratham Houston Holiday Luncheon and Fashion Show directly supports entrepreneurs like Manisha. This years Luncheon and Fashion Show will be on Friday, December 4th at 11:00 AM at the Junior League of Houston. If you would like to join us and help enable women in India reach their potential, visit us at www. prathamusa.org/events or contact us at 713-774-9599.
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November 20, 2015
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18 November 20, 2015
EDITORIAL/COMMENTARY
Modi’s Masala Bonds
Less Govt, More Oil & Gas?
BY PYARALAL RAGHAVAN
T
Food and finance may make for strange bedfellows, more so
when the effort is to impart an exotic flavour to otherwise staid debt instruments. But that’s what the Chinese did with “dim sum bonds” denominated in yuan, first issued in Hong Kong in 2007 and then in London in 2012. These bonds became popular with foreigners mainly because of the Chinese renminbi’s appreciation, making them a safe investment avenue. Now, it is India’s turn. During his recent UK trip, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the Indian Railways would issue rupee-denominated “masala bonds” in London to raise cash for its network expansion. While Modi pointed to history — how the railways’ journey in colonial India had originated in London’s financial markets — British Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne expressed hope that the new bonds would catch on as well as chicken tikka masala, a perfect illustration of an Indian dish adapted to suit English palates. Osborne, of course, won’t mind both the Chinese and Indians using London as a centre for fund-raising, especially with the UK banking sector steadily losing market share to rival hubs like New York, Hong Kong and Singapore. From India’s perspective, masala bonds help to expand the issuer’s menu of options, beyond simply raising expensive rupee debt at home or borrowing in foreign currency (no less cheap if the cost of hedging against exchange rate risk is taken into account). In this case, rupee-denominated bonds can be issued to overseas investors, who may be satisfied with a lower return than their Indian counterparts. So long as the rupee does not depreciate as fast as its domestic buying power — foreign investors, after all, do not have to buy dal and pyaaz here — the interest rate on masala bonds is likely to be lower than that on debt issued in India. That definitely works to the advantage of companies with good credit ratings. While they will now be able to mobilise money at lower rates abroad without worrying about currency risk, it is bad news for banks though, as they would be left with financing less creditworthy borrowers.
he petroleum ministry has taken a bold step for reducing government interference in business by proposing a radical revision of the oil and gas exploration policy by reducing dependence on arbitrary government decisions and moving in favour of market signals. This can induce substantial changes in the fortunes of the sector by providing better incentives to investors, increasing competition among players and encouraging more investments and help reduce the country’s dependence on imports. This is a major gain because the NDA government has been so far largely unable to keep its election promise of the opening up the economy to the market and reducing government interference in business. Important sectors like roads and railways have found it hard to whittle down the government role in their working. And in some cases like aviation the new polices seems to have only increased government intervention by further bifurcating the markets and providing special incentives for certain segments. However, the radical changes proposed by the petroleum ministry will now take the government off the backs of investors by changing the terms of the existing production sharing contracts which requires the government to take a close look at the investments made in oil and gas exploration. The new policy will also allow private investors to sell their products in the open market at competitive prices without fear of any government interferences as currently done. This is a major gain that will help the government to induce more investors into the sector. Despite more than a dozen bids called under the new exploration and licensing policy implemented since the nineties the government has been unable to generate interest from among the global oil majors. Most of the acreage bid so far was distributed between the government owned oil companies and a few private players from India and abroad. The only big player which has shown some interest so far is British Petroleum.
The new policy proposed by the government will put an end to intrusive interventions in the working of the oil exploration. companies. One reason for the obvious lack of interest among the oil majors is the belief that India had only limited oil and gas resources. But what was even more discouraging was the oil exploration policies which laid out a complicated procedures for competitive bidding of oil fields. The terms of the NELP agreement required that the government get involved in the detailed administration of the contract and continuously monitor and review the investments made by private companies. To make matters worse the government even identified the buyers for oil and gas produced and the rates at which the products were to be sold. Such a close scrutiny of the working of the oil companies by the government was necessary because the production sharing contract with the oil companies allowed the contractors to recover his costs before giving the government its promised share of the revenues. So it was absolutely necessary to monitor the expenditure of the oil companies and even take a call on the investments planned as any gold plating of project invest-
ments will cause a loss of revenues for the government. However, the new policy proposed by the government will put an end to such intrusive interventions in the working of the oil exploration companies. Instead of first recovering costs and then making payments to the government the new deal will ensure that the oil companies bid the percentage of revenues that they will share with the government in two scenarios, one when the revenue earned by the oil companies is equal or less that the lower revenue point and another where the revenue flow is equal or above the higher revenue point. The numbers will then be interpolated to arrive at the percentage revenue the companies will share with the government at different levels between the two points. This will ensure that the government’s share of revenues is no more dependent on the size of investments made by the oil exploration companies and would end the need for a close scrutiny of expenditures and any arbitrary decisions. But the best part of the new deal proposed is that it will provide the companies a completely free hand in choosing not only the buyers for the oil and gas but also the prices at which it sells them in the market. This is a major step which will help the oil exploration companies to get the best prices in the market and encourage them to take much higher risks. More importantly it will also help the country to finally have a competitive domestic market for oil and gas products and help in price discovery. The decision of the petroleum ministry to propose competitive market pricing of oil and gas produced by the exploration companies is only an extension of the earlier step taken by the NDA government to allow pricing and marketing freedom to companies investing in marginal oilfields. The petroleum ministry seems to have certainly taken up the NDA slogan of less government and more governance more sincerely than most of its peers and needs to be congratulated for its efforts. ToI
Indo American News FOUNDER: DR. K.L. SINDWANI PUBLISHER: JAWAHAR MALHOTRA EDITOR: PRAMOD KULKARNI BUSINESS & PRODUCTION MANAGER: VANSHIKA VIPIN GRAPHIC DESIGN: BHUMI PARMAR CORRESPONDENTS
HOUSTON: MALAY VYAS CHICAGO: NAND KAPOOR INDIA: RAJ KANWAR, ASEEM KULKARNI ®All rights reserved. No material herein or portions thereof may be published without the written consent of the publisher. The deadline for advertising and articles is 4 pm on Monday of each week. Please include self-addressed, stamped envelope for return of all unsolicited material. Published at 7457 Harwin Drive, Suite 262, Houston, Texas 77036. Tel: 713-789-NEWS or 6397 Fax: 713-789-6399, email: indoamericannews@yahoo.com, website: indoamerican-news.com
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COMMUNITY
November 20, 2015
19
Greg Abbott and First Lady Cecilia Abbott Host the FirstEver Deepawali Celebration at their Mansion
HOUSTON: The Honorable Gov-
ernor Greg Abbott and First Lady Cecilia Abbott hosted the first-ever Deepwali celebration at their mansion in Austin, TX on Friday, November 13. Consul General of India in Houston, P Harish and a few prominent members of the Indian American community from the State of Texas were invited to this special occasion. Governor Abbott welcomed the gathering, extended his Deepawali greetings to the Indian Community in Texas, and lit the ceremonial lamp with First Lady Cecilia Abbott on this auspicious occasion. Governor Abbott expressed a desire to know more about the meaning of Deepawali, its socio-cultural and religious significance and impact on humanity. Consul General, P Harish explained the significance of Deepawali as a harbinger of peace, joy, and prosperity, the start of the Samvat calendar, an important occasion to strengthen the bonds of goodwill between all sections of society and an inspiration to fight darkness and ignorance ush-
Job Posting:
ering in light and wisdom. Governor Abbott said that the message of Deepawali to dispel darkness and ignorance was especially relevant in view of the horrific terrorist attacks in Paris which deserve strong condemnation by one and all. He also expressed admiration and appreciation for the Indian American community in Texas. Governor Abbott made an important announcement during the Deepawali celebration about his plans to lead a trade delegation to India next year, the first by any Governor of Texas, as part of his effort to increase bilateral trade and economic ties between the two countries. The mission will focus on increasing trade and investment between Texas and India, in a range of sectors. Consul General, P Harish said that the State of Texas is a critical economic partner for India accounting for around $ 7 billion in trade in goods. Indian companies have investments in Texas worth billions of dollars including in Oil & Gas, Manufacturing and the vibrant Services industry
that have created numerous jobs in Texas. Texas companies also have strong investments in India in a wide range of sectors. The Texas-India bilateral economic engagement has been growing and forms a crucial component of the rapidly expanding and multi-faceted relations between India and the U.S. The narrative of strong commercial ties is reflected in figures with bilateral trade in goods and services exceeding US $ 105 billion last year. There is a strong Indian American Community in the State of Texas and thousands of Indian students in institutions of higher learning in Texas contributing to its economic development and to its diversity and helping in bringing together the people of India and Texas. The proposed visit by Governor Greg Abbott leading a trade delegation to India will be an important milestone and will see Texas emerge as an important lynchpin in strengthening bilateral economic engagement between India and the United States.
RESEARCH/DIGITAL Sales Analyst
KTRK-TV, an ABC owned television station seeks a detail-oriented individual with strong analytical/written/oral/communication/computer skills to assist its Research and Digital Sales departments. Research responsibilities include providing support to Research Director with audience estimates including Nielsen and Rentrak ratings data, utilizing Scarborough qualitative data, working with various research databases and generating data reports along with other duties as assigned. Applicant must possess strong writing skills in order to effectively generate sales onesheets/pieces. Attention to detail is a must. Candidate must be able to master multiple tasks with proficiency and efficiency. Knowledge of media research and qualitative research required. Applicant must possess excellent analytical and numerical skills with the ability to analyze/interpret data. Proficiency in Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint required. Digital Sales responsibilities include providing online/mobile analytics, client campaign reporting and creative trafficking for digital campaigns.. Internal digital reporting utilizing a variety of third party sources. Includes monitoring and optimizing client campaigns across multiple platforms. Assisting Sales Account Executives with Digital Research needs and preparing Digital proposals. Understanding of Digital ecosystem a must. Knowledge of Omniture and Comscore a plus. To be considered interested candidates must apply online at disneycareers.com, reference job # 314529BR. Please upload a cover letter, resume and list of references. No Telephone Calls KTRK-TV is an Equal Opportunity Employer Female/Minority/Veteran/Disability/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity
“IT HAPPENS ONLY IN INDIA”
Stay tuned every Sunday,
HIREN JOSHI
to from 2.30pm to 3.30pm
832-646-2116 hjoshi7@hotmail.com
www.shobajoshi.com
SHOBA JOSHI OWNER, PROMOTER AND HOST OF
Geetanjali Radio AM 1320 Sat & Sun 2-6 PM For your business ads
Tel: 281-909-0825 713-545-4749 Cell: 832-878-4338 shobajoshi999@gmail.com
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November 20, 2015
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22 November 20, 2015
COMMUNITY
How to Avoid Brain Drain During Holiday Break
Unless you’ve been blessed with
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a young student that really loves to learn, most kids look forward to holiday breaks because they do not have to get up early and go to school, study for exams, or complete homework. But as a parent, you understand the value of education and want to keep your child engaged during the break, even if it means sneaking in ways to learn through baking or crafts. Figuring out a plan to keep your children busy and help prevent brain drain can give you peace of mind in knowing that your child’s brain is staying active. While you can’t plan out every second of your child’s holiday break, below are five affordable ideas to keep your kids engaged and help stave off boredom. Give Back to the Community This is the time of year when giving back to your local community is top of mind for many, and it is good to instill the power of giving into your children from an early age. Some kid-friendly ideas include shoveling snow for older neighbors, caring for abandoned dogs and cats at an ani-
mal shelter, baking cookies for local police officers or firefighters or sending care packages for sick children or the Armed Forces overseas. Turn off the Screen and Unplug Nothing encourages brain drain faster than spending the entire day watching television and playing with a tablet. It might seem like an easy distraction and simple way to entertain your child, but it’s important to be selective about what your children are watching on TV or playing on the tablet, including how often they have access to it. Experts at the Harvard School of Public Health recommend leading by example. Children often disappear into their devices just like mom and dad, so it’s a good idea to unplug when around your family. Encourage Reading Hour One of the easiest ways to keep your child’s brain active is to encourage reading every day. Set aside half an hour to an hour of designated reading time each day, creating a consistent schedule that can be followed each week. While educational books are best to get ahead while school is on break, anything that gets your child reading can help stimulate the brain. Have a Family Day of Baking The holiday season seems to revolve around eating, followed by more eating. Baking is an easy family bonding activity and comes with a built-in edible reward. But the best part about baking is that it is a simple way to work in counting and math exercises
for any grade level, including fractions and conversions. Plan Out Arts & Crafts Time Before the holiday break starts, research some crafts for your kids to do during the break. Pinterest is a great resource to help guide you in choosing some fun ones, and once you’ve selected your favorites, visit your local craft store and pick up the supplies you’ll need. Look for ideas that integrate the curriculum they are currently learning in school or utilize their fine motor skills. Even making paper snowflakes in a pinch can help keep your child occupied. To help your student exceed his or her academics goals, a local resource, Best in Class, offers a variety of customized, supplemental enrichment courses and tutoring options to ensure your students are equipped with the tools they need this school year. For more information about Best in Class services for your student, or about current franchising opportunities, visit www.bestinclasseducation.com or call toll free at 1.888.683.8108. Best in Class is targeting the addition of 20 more units in 2015. The state of Texas has been identified as a key state for growth. The current team behind Best in Class is looking for passionate and dedicated individuals to join this premier franchise family and ensure our youth will excel academically.
Tulsi Vivah at Gayatri Consciousness Center, Nov 21- Nov 22
KATY:Gayatri
Consciousness Center, Houston, will be celebrating Tulsi Vivah---- the sacred marriage ceremony of the Supreme Lord Bhagvan Shri Krishna with the holy plant - Tulsi. The tulsi plant, a pride of Hindus all over the world, and the plant most dear to Lord Shri Krishna is revered by everyone and it is believed that even the Gods, when they first wake up, worship the Tulsi plant!. Tulsi, is venerated as a goddess in the Hindu religion and considered Vishnu priya- a beloved of Lord Vishnu. The purpose behind “tulsi Vivah” is to invoke the blessings of the supreme Lord Shri Krishna Himself. Vishnu- in the form of Shaligram-a stone- married Tulsi on Prabodhini Ekadashi (Kartak sud Ekadashi.) To commemorate this event, the ceremony of Tulsi Vivah is performed. EVENTS: Saturday, November 21st--, the first day of the marriage celebrations will include the fun filled rituals of “MEHNDI” followed by DANDIA RAAS and GARBA MEHNDI: Timings 4 to 6pm- Garba and dadia raas 7- 9pm. Mahaprasaad will be served. Sunday, November 22nd, on the very auspicious day of Devotthan or Prabodhini Ekadashi,-will have all
the manglik prasango- the auspicious events!!! MANGLIK PRASANGO: Ganesh Sthapana, Mandap Murhat, Grah Shaanti --10am to 12 pm --lunch Mahaprasaad 12pm. BARAAT ARRIVAL: AT 2 PM WEDDING CEREMONIES: Var pooja, Tulsi Agaman, Jai Mala,Kanya daan, Hasta melap, Agni
pradakshina, kanya vidai, and more --2:30 pm to 5 pm. All events to be followed by Maha Prasad! Address: 20914 Park Row, between Mason road and Westgreen boulevard. Park Row, Katy, Texas,77449, Phone # Gayatri Consciousness Center: 281 717 4895 or Mahesh Patel : 281 954 4275
INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2015 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
COMMUNITY
November 20, 2015
23
Divya Unni’s Brilliant Narration of Bhavana, Enchants Hundreds of Art Lovers
I could recognize several senior students of Sreepadam School of Arts who performed extremely well in this event. They are the role models to hundreds of new aspiring students as a link to sustain the valuable art of Indian classical dance and drama as an inseparable part of a great civilization. In an interview, one of the parents of a student at Sreepadam School of Arts said “Here the students enjoy learning the basic lessons in classical dance. In addition, the inspiration and the creativity the students enjoy while they are associated with Divyaa Unni- is remarkable”. Although Bhavana may did not appear to fall in the category of a traditional clichéd classical dance performance and , the production reached BY CHITTOOR RAMACHANDRAN
STAFFORD: The annual grand production of
Sreepadam School of Arts once again exhilarated both the audience and the participating of students (participation of students/participating students). The fabulous presentation on November 7 at Stafford Civic Center was knitted around freshness, perfection and an inspiring theme. The Stafford Center auditorium greeted the audience with melodious music and soothing lights as an assurance of a professional stage management and a perfect sound system. The stunning pictures of last year’s annual event projected on the gigantic screen prompted “ WOW” in the every one in the audience settling on their seat. The flawless ambiance was maintained throughout the show before a packed music lovers.audience. The participants (students and associates of Divyaa Unni, the Director) of various levels of training which exceeded one hundred twenty fifty in number immensely engrossed the audience throughout the three hours. Divyaa Unni is known for creating freshness in every show she organizes. Her immense years of knowledge in classical dance together with her experience inexposure to theatrical production together with her knowledge in classical dance makes her distinctive. One can notice that, on stage, her associates (students) pay close attention to every minute details. The immense wealth of knowledge she shares with her students and associates may be credited for the success of all her productions. One can imagine the extent of efforts that has gone into the concept development and the creation of the production of Bhavana. The vast collection of puranic literature must have been referred to isolate the essence to focus on this theme. Choreography suitable to each group of students with various degrees of training must also have been a tremendous task. To the general audience, especially the chil-
Photos: Reflection Media
way beyond to incorporate several aspects of theatrical and informative elements to ignite the spirit of joy in the audience. A generous portion of proceeds of this program benefitted AIM FOR SEVA funds.
dren, the personified style of introducing each distinct item was very helpful. The script was well written and was capable to keep the audience engaged till the end. The fabulous opening scene was an honor to the Goddess of wisdom and learning Saraswathi who instilled the stream of vision (Bhavana) into the living beings. It was also a tribute to the ancient texts from which the theme, the art form, and the message (is derived ?) that forms the basis of this production. Divyaa Unni won the hearts of the audience by selecting and bringing out several easily noticeable imaginative elements imbedded in human minds. Although the astute use of legends from Indian mythology to demonstrate such elements is an idea frequently used by Indian classical dancers, presenting distinct Bhavanas as a theme of an event of this magnitude is was very interesting. Primarily because this presentation allowed easy comparison of distinct emotions we experience in our daily life. Some of the frequently referred categories of Bhavanas like Sankalpa, Pratipaksha, Bhakti, Pramoda, Iswara were expressed as the examples. Brevity, perhaps helped in comprehending the distinction between various Bhavana effectively. Melodious, appropriate and meaningful songs in the background also helped in understanding the examples. In one of the superbly emotional scenes, the vision of an expectant mother (as she feels the kick for the first time) was presented. A mother’s imaginative concerns and anxieties about the unborn baby who would be born to this cruel world. The creativity of the director (par excellence) was much evident in this piece. The series of dances enchanted the mass with visually impressive dance styles, spectacular costumes and with enthusiastic children of various age groups. Although legends were the basis of the items presented, understandably, for want of time, some of the stories remained superficial. However, the much needed skill of time management was evident throughout the show that featured so many participants.
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PUZZLES/RECIPES
Mama’s Punjabi Recipes
Chinni Da Parantha (Punjabi Crispy Sugar Flatbread)
W
hat makes Punjabi paranthas (crispy flatbread) so tasty and popular with everyone who tries them are a few important features: they have to be served hot; they have to be thicker than plain Punjabi rotis; they must be slightly crispy on the top side and they must be coated with a small dab of ghee (clarified butter) or oil. When you have mastered the cooking part of the parantha, then you can confidently try different types of fillings for paranthas, and you will begin to understand how long you must cook each, based on the different stuffings. Of course, you need a willing person who will try your paranthas and give you good feedback! When my children were young and we lived in London, especially during the very cold months, they would really enjoy hot paranthas, but they were always looking for something different. They loved the gobi and aloo paranhas, but since they were growing up in the West, I experimented with their favorite Cheddar cheese to make paranthas. And, being children, they really loved the chinni (sugar) da parantha or the gur (jiggery) parantha which is more common. The filling for the chinni parantha is very simple and because the sugar will melt when it is heated on the tava (flatplate), it is made slightly differently. Instead of rolling out a dough ball and then placing the stuffing in the center and re-rolling it; the chinni parantha is actually two separate rolled out pieces of dough; one slightly larger than the other. Most paranthas are eaten with other dishes or plain dahin (yogurt); but the chinni parantha is more like a dessert to be eaten after a meal, just dipping into the melted sugar. Sometimes people will eat it with malai (clotted cream) or with a hot cup of milk. Ingredients : 500gm kanak (gehon) ka atta (wheat flour) ½ cup chinni (sugar – white granulated or brown) 2 tbsp tael (olive oil or vegetable oil) 1 1/2 cups pani (water)
Directions: 1. Pour the flour into the bowl, then slowly pour only enough of the water in while kneading the dough till it becomes a nice, round, tender firm ball. 2. Dab the surface of the dough ball with a little water to keep it moist, cover the bowl and set aside for 10 minutes. 3. Pinch off a portion of the dough and make into a 2 inch round ball. Pour a little dry flour on the counter and roll the ball in it to coat it. Now use a velna (rolling pin) to roll the ball into a nice round, flat pancake, about 1/8 inch thick. 4. Take another dough ball and roll it out till it is at least ¼ inch wider than the previous one. Now spread a tablespoon of sugar over the whole pancake. 5. Place the smaller pancake on top and then take the edges of the larger one and fold then over the top one, pressing slightly to hold them together. 6. Place a tava (flat plate or flat skillet) on the stove, heat on medium and
spread a dab of oil on it to coat it. Now carefully place the two pancakes on the tava and spread a dab of oil around the circumference on the tava. 7. Turn the heat to medium low and cook some more so that the sugar melts. When small brown spots appear, turn the parantha over and let it cook and use the oil again to let it become brown too. Do not turn the parantha too often. 8. Remove the parantha and serve while warm with malai (clotted cream), hot milk or by itself. Shakuntla Malhotra is a skilled cook of Punjabi dishes made in the old-fashioned style that she learnt as a young woman in her ancestral home in Lyallpur, India before it became part of Pakistan after the Partition in 1947. People have often admired her cooking for its simplicity and taste that comes with each mouthful. Even in her mid-eighties, she continues to cook daily and agreed to share some of her delectable Punjabi recipes.
MAMA’S TIP OF THE WEEK HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT EGGPLANTS FOR A TASTY MEAL
People go shopping for vegetables and often are disappointed to find that their choices are not good; that the vegetables are too soft and bad inside or too hard and full of hard to chew seeds. When you begin to peel and cut them, you realize that you have to cut out too much and there is very little left to cook. This is especially true of eggplants, whether the long Japanese ones, or the small Indian ones or the fat ones used for making bharta. The key to choosing eggplants is to make sure that they are not heavy, as this means that they have lots of seeds; and that their stems are green and not dry, wilted and brown, as this means they are old.
ThanksGiving Recipe : Halal Tandoori Turkey : Roasted Turkey Desi Style
Ingredients:
Vegetables: Baby Bokchoy Carrots – chopped horizpntally into 1/2 inch pieces Broccoli florets Baby radish
Baby potatoes with skin (red and white) Halal Turkey fresh or frozen (if frozen thaw according to instructions) To Marinate: Olive oil 3 tbsp Hung Yogurt 1 cup Red chilli powder 4 tsp Salt 4 tsp Juice of one large lemon Turmeric powder 1/2 tsp Roasted Cumin Seed powder 1 tsp
Roasted Coriander seed powder 1 1/4 tsp Garam masala powder 1 tsp Black pepper powder 1/2 tsp Cilantro and Mint leaves finely chopped, 1/2 cup, tightly packed
Method:
1. In a bowl, add all the ingredients for the marinade and mix well to form a paste. 2. Preheat oven to 440° F. Rinse inside and outside of turkey; pat dry with paper towels. Rub the
marinate mixture all over the turkey, inside and out. Transfer to a large mixing bowl, cover with cling wrap and let marinate in the refrigerator overnight. 3. The next day, atleast 5-6 hours before serving, begin the preparation of roasted turkey. Take the turkey out of the refrigerator. In a large roasting pan, place aluminium foil to cover it. Place the vegetables in the roasting pan so that they cover the entire base of the pan. Season them with salt and pepper. Tuck wings under turkey, tie the legs together with kitchen twine,
and place it in the roasting pan over the vegetables. 4. Roast turkey, uncovered for 15-20 minutes until you get a nice browned color on the turkey. Then lower the heat to 325° F, and cover the turkey with aluminium foil. Roast for a furthur 3 1/2 to 4 hours, until thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 165 degrees. The turkey will be cooked to perfection and so soft that the meat will literally fall off the bone. -zaqia.net
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November 20, 2015
ENTERTAINMENT:REVIEWS/NEWS ENTERTAINMENT:REVIEWS/NEWS
Prem Ratan Dhan Payo
Salman Khan
set a benchmark for the ultimate Boy Scout with his Bajrangi Bhaijaan act, and now he surprises us even more. His character is so virtuous that you will walk out of the theatre fighting a morality crisis. He has a counterpart in Maithili who is solidly under-pressure to perform as per the royal decree. Our Miss goody two-shoes runs an NGO, eats at not-so-classy restaurants and wears matching clothes. And yes, she sometimes likes to flaunt her little black dress for some ‘quality time’ with her fiancé. Just to make sure the message is conveyed to the audience, Diwan Jee (Anupam Kher) explains ‘quality time’ with a lot of hesitation and innuendos. On second thoughts, you need to do this in a film which is strictly vegetarian in its approach. For your reference, people eat veg korma, tanduri bhindi and butter chole in PRDP. It’s all so ‘saatwik’ (pious), you see. Sweets lovers, don’t feel left-out, laddu-pede-jalebis have
also been given ample screen time. Kher as Diwan Jee is on an extension of his Saudagar (1991) role. You get what makes a proper ‘family’ film: Two families, fighting for land, none of them blessed with humility or family love. But, if it doesn’t ends well, then ‘Picture abhi baaki hai mere dost’. So, to complete the rest of the film, we have Yuvraj Ajay Singh (Neil Nitin Mukesh), Rajkumari Chandrika (Swara Bhaskar), Rajkumari Radhika (Aashika Bhatia) and some loyalists. One of these loyalists is Chirag Singh (Armaan Kohli). Remember Jaani Dushman Ek Anokhi Kahani? It’s not like the director is absolutely sure of his own screenplay, but he chooses to keep marching on the road better travelled. In one of the scenes,
a very important character is getting treated in a dungeon. Another one asks: “Why don’t we shift him to some hospital with security?” Diwan Jee says, “We can’t trust anyone,” which translates into ‘go take a walk haters, and don’t leave your logic behind’. That’s why I didn’t dare to even smile when Khan says, “Aap paristhiti ki gambhirta ko samajh nahi rahe hain.” Salman Khan is quite likeable in PRDP. In fact, his comic timing has gotten better in recent times. Add to it the many honey-coated dialogues that make the proceedings funny. For example, Sonam says, “Ram jaisa kahenge Seeta waisa hi karegi.” As if they have already accepted themselves as divines. It’s a different matter that some religious people might get offended with Seeta breathing passionately. They keep delivering dialogues in slow motion. The pattern they follow is ‘dialogue - crescendo rises – dialogue – song.’ HT
25
Saeed ‘Versatile’ Jaffrey Passes Away at 86
BY PRASUN SONWALKAR
L
ONDON:Saeed Jaffrey, a prominent figure in British and Indian culture who starred in more than 150 films – including Richard Attenborough’s Oscar-winning “Gandhi” and John Huston’s “The Man Who Would Be King” – has died after a brain haemorrhage at 86. A statement from Jaffrey Associates said he passed away in the early hours of November 14. He had collapsed at his London home from a brain haemorrhage and never regained consciousness. He leaves behind his wife Jennifer, who was at his side. Jaffrey’s funeral will be held in London in around two weeks, the statement said. He earned fame for the prolific and versatile roles he played in Hollywood and Indian films, and personally knew a large number of actors,
playwrights and others in the television and film industries in Britain. Jaffrey was the first Indian performer to receive an Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to drama in the UK in 1995. While Jaffrey gained popularity in Indian films, his refined performances in English theatre and Hollywood films are less known. He formed his own English theatre company in New Delhi, and played leads in productions of Shakespeare, Wilde, Priestley, Fry, Dylan Thomas and Tennessee Williams, before moving to Britain and the US. He went to America as a Fulbright scholar to obtain a master’s degree in drama. He became the first Indian actor to tour and perform Shakespeare across the US, and the first to appear in a major role on Broadway, playing Professor Godbole in “A Passage To India” opposite Dame Gladys Cooper. He was also prolific and versatile on radio, including writing and broadcasting hundreds of scripts in Hindi, Urdu and English for BBC World Service. In 1997, the World Service broadcast Saeed’s rendering of Vikram Seth’s novel “A Suitable Boy” in 20 episodes. He also recorded the Indian classics Shakuntala and Savitri and again narrated and played all the characters. The late columnist Khushwant Singh described it as “a touch of genius” -HindustanTimes.com
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STOCKS • FINANCE • SOUTH ASIAN MARKETS • TECHNOLOGY
China's New Silk Road: Boom or Dust for Pakistan?
SOST: A glossy highway and hun-
dreds of lorries transporting Chinese workers by the thousands: the new Silk Road is under construction in northern Pakistan, but locals living on the border are yet to be convinced they will receive more from it than dust. The town of Sost is gateway to millions in customs duties, with its rickety stalls of corrugated iron engraved in Mandarin and Urdu, its cross-border secret agents and its dusty petrol station's abrupt service. It is the first stop along a new $46 billion "economic corridor" designed by China in Pakistan. Drivers from China arrive through the Khunjerab Pass, the world's highest paved border crossing at 4,600 metres above sea level, and unload their goods encircled by the magnificent Karakoram mountains, swirled with snow. From there, Pakistani colleagues pick up the goods and transport them the length of the country — currently to Karachi, some 2,000 kilometres away on the Arabian Sea, but in the future to Gwadar, where Beijing has been given management of the port in a grand project allowing China greater access to the Middle East, Africa and Europe.
But, until recently, the highway was cut off just south of Sost, blocked for five years by a landslide that dammed the Hunza river and birthed the 10 kilometre long lake of Attabad, with its ice-blue glacier water. Unable to drive around the mountain, China simply tunnelled through it, sending thousands of workers in a titanic effort that took more than three years and cost at least $275 million. "We have suffered because of the lake," joked Amjad Ali, a roundfaced trader who sells clothing in the Sost bazaar, where the new Chinese highway has replaced the old Silk Road — a tortuous dirt track travelled for centuries by trade caravans. Before the tunnel, residents of Sost had to cross the lake by boat in a journey that took at least an hour. Traffic in winter was meagre. "With the tunnel, we hope business will take off and tourists flock here," said Ali. "We are once again connected by road to the rest of Pakistan," rejoiced another resident, Mohammed Israr. But their optimism is tempered by fear that the trucks will simply drive on by, leaving Sost to receive, as Ali put it, "nothing but dust". "The Chinese care only for their
own economic interest," said Noore-din, another trader with a russet moustache. "We risk spending our days counting trucks as they drive past." Islamabad, he predicted, is set to collect millions in customs duty from Sost while doing little or nothing for the town. Israr, for his part, evoked a land grab by wealthy Chinese and Pakistanis "from below" (the south). The latter have already approached farmers in the region in a bid to snap up their fields. My land, not China's Sitting on the border of his potato field under the shade of an apple tree,
Ali Qurban fears losing his beloved region in Islamabad's grand dance with Beijing. "This is my land of Gilgit-Baltistan — not that of Pakistan or China," the local activist and occasional poet cries. A land of peaks and glaciers, of verdant valleys and azure lakes, Gilgit-Baltistan was long a collection of small kingdoms before being attached to Pakistan in the 1970s. Have a look: Hunza valley:Awhole new spectrum of colours It does not have provincial status and its inhabitants do not have the right to vote in national elections, hence the feeling of alienation from
Islamabad and the lack of a voice on the economic corridor. But for the head of local government, Hafiz Hafeez ur-Rehman, the project is a "game-changer" for a region that should be the "prime beneficiary" as it is located on the threshold of China. The government plans to install commercial areas and invest in hydroelectric dam projects along the future super-highway to the south, he told AFP. The Uighur question Other, more shadowy political and security factors also contribute to the sense of alienation in Gilgit: such as Beijing and Islamabad's apparent efforts to clamp down on the restive regions that surround the corridor. In Gilgit-Baltistan, the most famous local militant nationalist, Baba Jan, has been imprisoned for "terrorism" since 2011 for organising an anti-government demonstration. In the neighbouring Chinese region of Xinjiang, Beijing is closely monitoring Muslim Uighurs, saying that extremists from the minority are in hiding in Pakistan — a claim that has been supported by local security sources. -Dawn.com
IMF Remains Optimistic about India's Growth Prospects
NEW DELHI: Confident that In-
dian economy is increasingly on a stable footing, IMF today said further progress is required on the longstanding supply bottlenecks and for achieving faster and more inclusive growth. "We are optimistic about India's prospects and view the economy being on an increasingly stable footing," said Kalpana Kochhar, Deputy Director of IMF's Asia and Pacific Department.
"Inflation has declined, the current account deficit is in check, international reserves are ample and economic growth is picking up," she added. Listing out various positive developments, Kochhar said a number of important economic and structural reforms have also been initiated. These include diesel price deregulation, steps to create more flexible labour markets (particularly at the state level), coal sector reforms, adop-
tion of the flexible inflation targeting framework by the RBI, increasing infrastructure spending, and enhancing financial inclusion, Kochhar told PTI in an interview. "But further progress is needed to relax long-standing supply bottlenecks (especially in the energy, mining and power sectors) and achieve faster and more inclusive growth," she said. IMF has often said that India is among the few bright spots in an oth-
erwise gloomier world economy. In a recent report published ahead of the G20 Summit, which began in Turkey today, the Washington-based multilateral institution said India's growth will benefit from recent policy reforms, a consequent pickup in investment, and lower commodity prices. It also projected a 7.5 per cent growth rate for India in 2016, as against China's 6.3 per cent. However, for the current 2015 year,
the IMF has projected 7.3 per cent growth rate, which is 0.2 per cent less than its projection made for the year in July. "Growth in China is expected to decline as excesses in real estate, credit, and investment continue to unwind. India's growth will benefit from recent policy reforms, a consequent pickup in investment, and lower commodity prices," the report said. -TimesofIndia.com
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28 November 20, 2015
SPORTS
Warne Helps Warriors to All Stars Win
SA vs. India: Draw Inevitable after Another Washout weather is coming BangaBANGALURU (ESPN Cricin- away after another day’s play was wet lore’s way from India’s east coast.
fo): India 80 for 0 (Dhawan 45*, Vijay 28*) trail South Africa 214 (De Villiers 85, Jadeja 4-50, Ashwin 4-70) by 134 runs Any hopes India had of forcing an unlikely result were blown
washed out in Bangalore. We have now had only one day’s play in this Test. The last time three days were washed out in a Test in India was 10 years ago, in Chennai against Sri Lanka. This time, too, all the
The rain did finally relent, though, on day four. It did not rain till 1.45 pm, but the ground was considered fit only for a 2 pm start. Before 2 pm could arrive, the rain did.
England vs. Pak: Taylor Secures Victory after Pak Collapse
SHARJAH
(ESPN Cricinfo): England 210 for 4 (Taylor 67*, Buttler 49*) beat Pakistan 208 (Hafeez 45, Woakes 4-40) by six wickets James Taylor produced an innings of class and style to help England to victory in a low-scoring ODI in Sharjah. Taylor, with an unbeaten 67, added 117 for the fifth-wicket with Jos Buttler to see their side to victory with nine overs and six wickets in hand, giving England a 2-1 lead in the series with only one match - in Dubai on Friday - left to play. The apparent comfort of that margin is somewhat deceptive, though. Not long after Taylor came to the middle, England were struggling on 93 for 4 and seemingly facing an uphill battle against spin bowling on a pitch that was beginning to turn sharply. Had Pakistan taken their chances, the result could well have been different. One of those chances was presented by Buttler. Moments after joining Taylor, he skipped down the pitch against the bowling of Shoaib Malik, yorked himself and should have been stumped by a distance. It was a moment that summed up a shoddy evening’s work from Pakistan. The excellence of their bowlers was undermined as chance after chance went down and the ground fielding sunk to a level some way below that required in modern international cricket. They also lost three batsmen to unusually dozy run outs. All England’s four highest scorers benefited from chances: Alex Hales was dropped on 7, a caught and bowled chance to the left hand of the impressive Mohammad Irfan; Eoin Morgan was dropped on 2, a much tougher caught and bowled chance back to debutant
Sachin Tendulkar (left) and Shane Warne greet fans at Citi field.
L
James Taylor swings the ball into the leg side, Pakistan v England, 3rd ODI, Sharjah, November 17, 2015.
Zafar Gohar, playing in place of the injured Yasir Shah, and Taylor was missed, on 54, when Gohar appeared to lose the ball under lights and failed to lay a hand on the chance. While the chance given by Taylor probably came too late to change the result, any of the other three might have done. But this was still a fine performance by England. To win in these conditions - their nightmare conditions, really - to win despite losing a toss that should have proved disproportionately important and to win with young players providing the key contributions, was another step forward for a side that have progressed pleasingly since the debacle of the World Cup at the start of the year. Especially impressive was the contribution of Taylor. With a calm head, quick feet and an ability to scamper, manoeuvre and punish, he refused to allow the bowlers to settle and provided exactly the sort of dynamic, positive performance that England have been crying out for against spin bowling for many years. But England may be equally
delighted with Buttler’s performance. It is no secret that he has lost form and confidence in recent times, so to register his highest international score in 21 innings (across all three formats) in such testing circumstances bodes well. If it proves to be the game that revived his confidence, it may prove highly significant. In truth, though, this was probably a game that Pakistan lost more than England won. In conditions that, for the first 50 overs of the match, offered no swing, no seam and precious little spin, Pakistan lost six for 29 in 12 overs and were only helped to a total above 200 by some uncomplicated thrashing by Wahab Riaz down the order. That is not to say that England did not bowl well. Chris Woakes, with a sharp short ball and decent yorker, claimed four wickets. But once Moeen and Adil Rashid, who came back from two early sixes to concede just 20 from his final six overs, applied some pressure, Pakistan - clearly missing Misbahul-Haq and Younis Khan - buckled surprisingly quickly.
OS ANGELES: Despite the smallest crowd of his US tour, Shane Warne has declared the Cricket All Star series a success and is set to return to America with his group of golden oldies for more games. The three-game series began a week ago in New York, moved to Houston on Wednesday and ended at Los Angeles’ iconic Dodger Stadium on Saturday. “We’re all going to be back here,” Warne, who hit a six to seal a thrilling victory for his Warne’s Warriors All Star team, said. Shane Warne belted a six to give his Wariors a win in match three of the T20 All Stars series in Los Angeles, and securing a 3-0 sweep against Sachin’s Blasters The series pitted Warne’s Warriors against former India captain Sachin Tendulkar’s Blasters squad, with players coming out of retirement including Ricky Ponting, Wasim Akram, Curtly Ambrose and Brian Lara. Warne and Tendulkar came up with the idea of a golden oldies series as a way to take the game to regions like the US where cricket has a low profile. After a crowd of 36,000 in New York and 27,000 in Houston, the official attendance in the 56,000seat Dodger Stadium was 20,900. Just like the first two games, the crowd in LA was largely expatriates from the India, Pakistan and
Sri Lanka, not the large contingent of curious Americans Warne and Tendulkar hoped. Warne’s Warriors appeared to be longshots to win when Tendulkar’s Blasters scored 5-219 off their 20 overs. Tendulkar took advantage of Dodger Stadium’s short boundaries by smashing 56 runs off 27 balls, including six sixes. His team may have lost all three All Stars T20 games to Shane Warne’s Warriors, but Sachin Tendulkar saved his best for last with an LA half century Warne’s Warriors began in the worst way when English opener Matthew Vaughn was bowled by West Indies quick Ambrose with the first ball of their innings. They recovered, with Ponting scoring 43 runs off 25 balls and Jaques Kallis belting 47 runs from 23 balls. Australian cricket legend Ricky Ponting was in scintilating form for Warne’s Warriors as he helped steer them to a win in game three of the T20 All Stars series in LA When Kallis fell with two runs needed from two balls, Warne strode to the wicket and claimed the victory with a six. Warne received a mid-game visit when his former flame, English actress Elizabeth Hurley, appeared in the players’ dugout with costars of her TV series The Royals. Cricket.com.au
INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2015 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
COMMUNITY
November 20, 2015
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Diwali & Govardhan Puja (New Year) At ISKCON of Houston
Diwali
Annakut
HOUSTON: Hundreds of guests
attended the fabulous festivities that were held at ISKCON of Houston on Wednesday, November 11, for Diwali and Thursday, November 12, for Govardhan Puja. Diwali, also known as "festival of lights" is a significant holiday as it marks the beginning of a new year. It is celebrated on the 15th day of Kartika in the Hindu calendar. It is believed that on this day, Lord Ramachandra returned after a 14-year exile. During that time, he battled and defeated demons. People light candles in their homes to celebrate the victorious defeat over evil or light over darkness. HH Amala Bhakta Swami facilitated a class on the meaning of Diwali. He indicated to audience that on this day, not only did good defeat bad but also that ignorance was defeated by knowledge and materialism was defeated by spirituality. He
reminded guests to be thankful every day for the many blessings received, as they all come from Lord Krishna. The beautiful temple was breathtaking as it was transformed into elegance with decor of arrangements of fresh flowers and white stringed lights accentuating the pillars of the temple room. The altar was bedecked as well with stringed colorful lights, arrays of fruits - bananas, pineapples, apples, oranges, and lemons. The deities were stunning wearing beautiful shimmering dark green outfits with hints of yellow. They were adorned with matching yellow and white roses crowned on their heads making them look like the king and queen of the city. Eager guests waited patiently for the moment the curtains opened to the altar revealing the candle-lights. When they did, there was a unison gasp from the guests as hundreds of red tea light candles covered the
altar. The glow of the candle-light enveloped the altar giving it a celestial presence. More kirtan embarked enthusiastically as guests took darshan of the ethereal deities. The following day is both the Indian New Year and the Govardhan Puja celebration. This day is observed as the day that Lord Krishna lifted Govardhan Hill, with his pinky, to protect the inhabitants of Vrindavan from the torrential rains and flooding brought forth by Lord Indra lasting seven days. It is only on this day that food items prepared by congregation members are offered to the deities. An abhishekh, a bathing ceremony with water and different fruit juices, was performed for Sri Giriraj Govardhan by pujaris, HH Amala Bhakta Swami and HH Bhakti Sundar Goswami. The Sunday School children created pleasing dry fruit garlands for Sri Giriraj. The audience’s atten-
Govardhan Hill
tion was focused on Sri Giriraj as he received service from his beaming pujaris as each took their turn in the abhishekh. Sri Giriraj’s tender smile radiated affectionately. Every inch of the altar was covered in a multitude of sweets and other preparations. There were gulab jamuns, sweet rice, cupcakes, halava, cake, cookies, pizza – just to name a few. Even the nooks behind the deities were covered with jalebis, kheer, motichoor laddus and burfi. These offering made with love and devotion to their Lordships were then distributed among guests. One incredible piece of artwork displayed for this special festival was a miniature replica of Govardhan Hill created by a team of devotees. It included everything one would expect to see on Govardhan Hill from temples, cows, monkeys, parrots, peacocks and trees with mangoes. There was even a miniature Krishna
himself playing the flute, mesmerizing inhabitants of Govardhan Hill. On Sunday, there was pushpanjali in honor of the disappearance day of His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the FounderAcharya of ISKCON. His disciples and grand disciples read heartfelt offerings to their beloved spiritual preceptor and guide. This loving congregation would not have been gathered if it was not for the compassionate Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada who brought enlightment to the west. These celebrations could not have happened without the effort and hard work of devotees and volunteers as they prepared weeks in advance for these special observances; from the fascinating décor, to traffic flow of guests, to serving the feast and cleaning. There couldn’t have been a happier, magical place in the city than ISKCON of Houston.
TV Houston Plans Launch with Event at India House
HOUSTON: TV Houston, a brand
new television channel geared to desi the market through several electronic streams has announced its formal launch at a reception to be held this Friday evening, November 20, at India House. The channel’s founder, President
and CEO, Sangeeta Dua announced that she has concluded a MOU with a key legal firm in Mumbai, Solicis Lex, during a weeklong trip from which she has just returned. Solicis Lex will provide legal services for content and licenses exclusively from India. The MOU was covered extensively in
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many local dailies and weeklies in India, like Janmbhoomi, Navbharat, Absolut India, The Free Press, Sandesh, Vyapar and a few more. M a c k Ajani, the Director of Sales and Marketing for TV Houston was on hand for the agreement made
in Mumbai. Solicis Lex provides Indian and Foreign law advisory services pertaining to mergers and acquisitions, immigration law, civil and criminal matters, including due diligence, joint ventures, partnerships, private equity, IPR, trademark and patent law and many other issues through its affiliate offices in Dubai, Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo, London, Israel and Canada. Managing Partner, Attorney Ameet Mehta hopes to expand its base during his current trip to the US in which he is visiting Los Angeles, Boston and Tampa. After a visit to Texas
Secretary of State Carlos Cascos, he will be in Houston this week to sign the MOU at the reception on Friday. Sangeeta Dua is a well-known figure, through her active role in the community, as well as for her long time beauty salon, Apsara, in the Galleria area. She has had an interest in TV through a previous venture a few years ago. The reception is jointly sponsored by the Overseas Friends of the BJP. Mehta was appointed as the President of the legal cell of BJP Mumbai by Ashish Shelar, the President of the Mumbai BJP, and a senior BJP leader.
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