NRI Pulse October 2015 Print Issue

Atlanta’s Premier South Asian Newspaper October 2015

Tel: 404-235-4998

www.NRIPulse.com

Free Copy

Atlanta’s Premier South Asian Newspaper October 2015

Tel: 404-235-4998

www.NRIPulse.com

Free Copy

The Hindu Temple of Atlanta, Riverdale celebrated the annual nine-day Ganesh Chaturthi festival from September 17 to 26. Festivities included fireworks, cultural programs, the auctioning of laddoos and culminated in the immersion of the 8.5 ft tall Ganesha idol in Lake Jackson. Detailed report in our next issue. Photos by Bytegraph.com.

Three Men Drown During Ganesh Immersion In Savannah Atlanta, GA: Three employees of Gulfstream, Savannah lost their lives while participating in Ganesh Visarjan off Tybee Island on

Dhanunjay Bathula, who was in emergency care, is now out of danger.

Speaking to NRI Pulse, Pravin (Paul) Patel, president of Shree Sai Parivar, Georgia, who was eye wit-

ness to the tragedy, said the victims were part of another group of about 50 that had converged on the other (more dangerous) end of the island. ”We noticed the group and called them to join us

“I Thank God For Giving Me The Courage To Help Save Lives” September 27. Several other people were saved by rescue teams, and members of Shree Sai Parivar, Georgia whose members were concluding their own visarjan ceremony close to the location.

A group had gathered near the sand bar south of 19th Street when they became stranded in the water about 5:50 p.m., said Tybee Island Fire Chief Ashley Fields. Four people were pulled from the water and taken to the nearby Memorial University Medical Center. The three people who died were identified as 41-year-old Rajur Sriram of Pooler, 36-year old Anup Kshirsagar of Savannah and 39-year-old Abhijit Alhat.

Alhat’s body was found on Tuesday, the third day of searching for him. A fourth person,

Nimesh (Lucky) Hasmukh Patel, a sophomore at Middle Georgia State University, Macon was part of the Sai Parivar group at the immerion. After DJing the ceremony, he was walking down the coast with four of his friends when he saw a group of men, women and children, who were not part of his group.

“I thought they were having fun in the water, but then we heard cries for help,” Lucky told NRI Pulse.

“We couldn’t stand there and do nothing. We swam across to help. I pulled two people up to safety. Then I saw another man, 5 ft away from me. I had little energy left, but I dived in again and reached the man.

He grabbed at my shorts in panic, and I lost hope of coming out alive. Luckily, I saw a life boat coming towards us, and I managed to keep him afloat until then. We were both out safe! I was glad to be alive.

“I thank God for giving me the courage to help,” Lucky added. Lucky’s friend Darshil Patel, 17, also managed to save a 12-year-old.

Lucky (right) and Darshil were recognized by the Gandhi Foundation of USA during their Gandhi Jayanti program at the MLK Center recently.

in our visarjan ceremony at the safer end of the island,” Patel said. “Sai Parivar has been organizing the visarjan ceremony for five years now. We take every precaution for safety. We have boats and a police team. This year, we had 2,200 people in the Sai Parivar and Savannah (Surti family) group.”

The other group, unfortunately, turned down the invitation to join Sai Parivar, and continued the visarjan at the dangerous end, said Patel.

“While we were on the boat, we heard screaming,” said Patel. “We rushed our boats to the spot. We saw 8 to 11 people in the water. We reacted quickly, pulling them out of the water, and saved five to six people. Lucky and Darshil, the youngest members of our group swam across to help with the rescue. They saved four people on their own (see box).”

The doctors in the Sai Parivar group performed CPR on several people, including the victims who lost their lives, Patel added. “Every year, we take utmost precaution during the visarjan ceremony. We will be happy to advice other groups on safety.”

Sunil Savili of Indian Friends of Atlanta and the TANA (Telugu Association of North America) Square Team led by Madhu Tata, who is also TANA secretary, accompanied Consul D. V Singh from the Consulate General of India in Atlanta to Savannah as soon as they heard about the tragedy.

They helped with funeral arrangements and provided support to the affected families.

4 NRI PULSE

........City News ........

October 2015

New Radha Krishna Temple Inaugurated On Janmashtami P.O Box 191124 Atlanta GA 31119 Tel: 404-235-4998 Email: nripulse@gmail.com www.NRIPulse.com Publisher NRIPulse Media Inc.

\

Editor Veena Rao editor@nripulse.com

Reports/Features Jyothsna Hegde Supriya D.G.

Columnists/Writers Ravi R. Ponangi Mahadev Desai Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Rani Sharma P.S. Lakshmi Rao

Advertising Veena Rao 404-235-4998 nripulse@gmail.com

NRIPulse Newpaper is the monthly print edition of www.NRIPulse.com, and is published by NRIPulse Media Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, duplicated, reprinted or stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, photocopy, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.

Disclaimer: Any views or opinions published in this newspaper are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the publisher.

NRIPulse News Magazine accepts no liability for the errors and content of advertisements in the newspaper.

Subscriptions: NRIPulse Newspaper is available FREE at major retail locations in Atlanta. Want NRIPulse at home?

Only $10 for 12 issues. Call 404235-4998 for more details.

Atlanta, GA: Thousands of Atlanta residents flocked to the grand opening ceremony of the new Radha Krishna Temple and Community Center in Duluth, Georgia, on the auspicious weekend of Janmashtami.

Inaugural ceremonies took place Thursday and Friday – September 3 and 4, culminating on the morning of Saturday September 5, 2015, followed by spectacular birthday celebrations of Lord Krishna until midnight.

Constructed on 16 acres of picturesque and serene woodlands, Yugal Kunj Temple looked resplendent, decorated in colorful flower decorations, handcrafted art sculptures and printed artwork of profound philosophical teachings. True to its name, the temple gave the feeling of a real Kunj, with its naturally lush greenery and an abundance of planted foliage and flowers.

In the days preceding the inauguration, several Havans/ Homams were performed for purification of the temple and the deities of Shri Seeta Ram, Shree Hanuman, and Shree Radha Krishna. Unique at these Havans were the devotional chantings of Hare Ram, Hare Krishna sung by devotees that permeated the temple environment with powerful vibrations, as the priests performed the Havans. In the words of the head priest who performed the havan – “the accompanying chants of the Hare Ram Mantra magnified the impact of the mantras. They were so powerful that they gave me goose bumps”. Over the long weekend, first time visitors were welcomed to the temple with tours of the temple premises, gift of a commemorative inaugural book, and delicious vegetarian food cooked fresh in the new dining hall.

By the time Saturday morning approached, the anticipation of the day’s event was visibly perceptible in the faces of volunteers who had spent hundred of hours preparing for this day. Dressed in their finest attire, devotees prepared for the Pran Pratishthapan

puja ceremony (consecration of the deity moortis), which was followed by Kalash yatra, deity abhishek and the ultimate reveal of the six-feet tall moortis of Siya Ram and Shyama Shyam, who mesmerized the audience bringing many devotees to tears. The chantings of Hare Rama, Hare Krishna continued in renewed fervor as devotees received their first darshan.

Dressed in gloriously glittering attires and sparkling stone-studded shringar, they were breathtaking, enchanting the visitors beyond all their imaginations.

Into the evening, after dinner prasad was served, the soft cool breeze welcomed visitors to the grassy amphitheater for the Janmashtami celebration as the rain clouds held back the thunderstorms. The stage – designed with an artistic Janmashtami-themed backdrop – was inviting. Community performers and children from Yugal Kunj’s own Gurukul performed to Bal-Krishna based cultural program. Enthusiasm of crowds was sustained late into the night with Dahi Handi (matki) breaking and Dandiya Raas that followed the cultural program. An hour before midnight, the satisfied crowd returned into the temple hall and settled down for satsang and the arrival of the Janm of Lord Krishna, with joyous chanting and dancing.

Sushri Siddheshvari Devi Ji, the founder of Yugal Kunj welcomed the community of Atlanta during the entire weekend inviting them back to the temple. “I invite you to make Yugal Kunj your home, get involved with the temple and community center activities, and come back as often as you can,” she said.

For those who have not yet made it to the temple, do visit and experience for yourself the magic of Yugal Kunj. Also checkout the gallery of photos and videos on the websites at yugalkunj.org and radhamadhavsociety.org or just drive in to experience it for yourself at 2769 Duluth Highway GA 30096.

“Yugal Kunj Will Play A Big Role In Dispelling Myths About Hinduism” Atlanta, GA: Siddheshvari Devi Ji (Didi Ji) the founder of Yugal Kunj, took questions from the local media on the first day of the inaugural ceremony. She talked about her spiritual journey, the need for a Godrealized guru and her vision for Yugal Kunj.

Didi Ji graduated from York University in Toronto with an Honors degree in Linguistics. After graduation, Didi Ji’s spiritual quest led her to Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj. Didi Ji spent two years in Bhakti Dham Ashram and learned directly from Shri Maharaj Ji. Since 1987, she has been preaching his message to the west.

Excerpts from her conversation.

Her personal journey.

I did not come from a religious family. But I gravitated towards temples from a young age. I had felt that the aim of us humans cannot be just to eat, sleep and have children.

There had to be a purpose. Even as a teenager, as I moved from one country to another, the search for meaning continued. I became desperate to know the meaning of life.

Since the material world was not satisfying me, I thought, perhaps God would. I went to the temples in Toronto, but realized that one needs a Guru (to explain the meaning of life). But I did not know how to find one. I pleaded helplessness before God. “Find me a guru,” I said. “And by the way, could you find me the best one?”

That’s when Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj entered my life. I was naturally attracted to his teachings. He

nationality, no skin color, no body.”

We need a God-realized soul as guru, not just a selfrealized soul. My guru took a worldly person and put the love of God in me. To me, that is the greatest miracle.

gave me the sewa of preaching. My parents and others who knew me from that time would have thought it impossible for someone with such a shy nature to preach.

But I had full faith in my guru. I started preaching in 1987.

The need for a guru.

The guru is the teacher. Just as we need a teacher to learn math, English, dance, music; we need to be guided by a teacher to know the self; to know God. The guru is at the highest level. He knows God inside out. A guru is not someone who has just read scriptures, but has been given the knowledge internally by surrendering to God. People think of themselves as being Hindu or Indian or Gujarati, but the guru says, “You are the soul with no

Yugal Kunj and its causes.

Our guru taught us to be charitable. We are engaged in several humanitarian activities in India that include hospitals and award winning schools. Now that we have a place of our own in Atlanta, we will be in a position to get involved in local charities.

Yugal Kunj will also play a big role in dispelling myths about Hinduism through inter-faith dialogues. We have lectures and workshops. We have youth camps where stories and the philosophy behind them are taught.

Unity among temples.

I think it is wonderful that we have so many temples. It doesn’t mean we are not unified. We humans have our individual likes and dislikes. I fell in love with Krishna, but do not think any less of Ram or Shankar. But we get that it is one God’s may forms. It is in our blood. A pastor in Oklahoma once invited me to dinner. I told him it was wonderful to see so many churches in his neighborhood. It said it wasn’t so wonderful. There were 25-30 different denominations and one Jesus. Considering the different forms of God we worship, there aren’t that many temples.

Read complete article on www.NRIPulse.com.

6 NRI PULSE

........City News ........

October 2015

Sunidhi Energizes Crowds; Raises Funds For GAPI/AAPI Programs

BY VEENA RAO Atlanta, GA: Bollywood playback singer Sunidhi Chauhan proved once again that she is one of the most charismatic and energetic live performers in the industry today. For over three hours, the singer energized the nearly full Cobb Energy Center on September 13 with her powerful voice, lithe dance steps and above everything, her ability to engage and stoke the audience. The concert was part of GAPI & AAPI Charitable Foundation’s fundraising mission to promote breast, colon and ovarian cancer awareness.

Dr Naresh Parikh and Dr P.K. Natarajan were the conveners of the concert. Dr Indran Indrakrishnan and Dr S. Jonnalagadda were the co-conveners. Dr. Indrakrishnan was also the editor of the program souvenir. The concert was presented in Atlanta by Paracha Entertainment, and was part of a national tour promoted by Balaji Entertainment.

Looking lithe and fit in black and yellow, the power-house performer began the concert with her chart busting, foot tapping dance numbers ‘Dhoom machale dhoom’ (Dhoom 3) and ‘Dance pe chance’ (Rab ne bana di jodi) before progressing to soulful melodies like ‘Tere vaaste mera ishq sufiyana’ (The Dirty Picture), ‘Sajna ve sajna ve’ (Chameli) and ‘Hum cheez hain

bade kaam ki yaaram’ (Ek Thi Daayan), which she dedicated to the women in the audience. The second half of the concert began with soft melodies before Sunidhi progressed to a medley of her songs; a compilation of her journey as a playback singer which began when she was only 13. She began with ‘Mehboob mere’ (Fiza) and progressed to ‘Deedar de’ (Dus) to ‘Bumbro bumbro’ (Mission Kashmir) to ‘Bhaage re mann’ (Chameli) to ‘Kamli kamli’ (Dhoom 3) and ended with the recent hit

Photo by Vakiti Creations ‘Girls like to swing’ (Dil Dhadakne Do) and ‘Kaisi paheli zindagani’ (Parineeta).

Sunidhi was supported by the very talented Rakesh Maini, first runner-up, Indian Idol, Season 5. Maini regaled the audience with some hit singles, including hits from Ashiqui 2 before joining Sundhi for popular duets. The duo closed with ‘My name is Sheela’(Tees Maar Khan) and ‘Beedi jalaile’ (Omkara).

Nalini Krishnan, a

talented singer from Boston and a participant of ‘The Voice India’, opened the concert for Sunidhi.

Sunidhi’s team of Bollywood back-up dancers, a very talented live band and spectacular lighting made the concert a memorable one for those who attended.

The concert was the culmination of a day-long program that included a medical seminar, including CME, and a banquet at Wyndham Atlanta Galleria.

The funds generated from the concert will be directed towards cancer care related charity, research and educational programs in Georgia.

Dr. Asha Parikh, chair for the fund raising committee announced that this was her pet project and had raised a net profit of close to $80,000. Part of proceeds will go to cancer research, she added.

Dr. Bhuvana Natrajan, chair for public forum spoke about the awareness of breast cancer in the community at large, and the importance of yearly mammograms.

Early detection can save lives. Mammograms can be done for less than $100, she added.

8 NRI PULSE

........City News ........

October 2015

CAMAGA Hosts Carnatic Samraat Music Competition

BY MAHADEV DESAI Atlanta, GA: On the fine sunny morning of Saturday September 19, 2015. The Hindu Temple of Atlanta (HTA), Riverdale’s auditorium was already full with young participants, their parents and teachers anxiously waiting for the ‘Carnatic Samraat Music Competition’ to begin.

The competition was hosted by Atlanta’s premier classical music organization, CAMAGA, in collaboration with Sri Shankara TV and Abhayam Creations of Chennai. The competition is intended to select a topmost youngster proficient and talented in Carnatic music from across the globe. In addition to Atlanta, the competition will be held in other US cities such as Chicago, Detroit, New York, Seattle, San Diego, and San Jose and in countries such as Singapore, Dubai, and Sydney, Australia. The winners from each of the US cities will compete on October 10th in Delaware to select the US winner.

Eventually, the global final will be held in India to award the title of “Carnatic Samraat.”

The competition was judged by leading professional musicians- Chitraveena Ravikiran, Violinist Sri Nagai N. Murali, Chitraveena Ganesh, and Mridangist Sri Thiruvarur Vaidyanathan.

Sri Ravikiran is a child prodigy who began

performing since the age of 12. He is one of the eminent instrumentalists in the world known for his contribution to both Indian music and other world music systems.

Sri Nagai Murali, violinist, is one of the top ranked violinists in the Carnatic music field today.

Sri Ganesh is both a well-known vocalist and a Chitraveena artist.

Photos by Mahadev Desai Sri Thiruvarur Vaidyanathan is a most soughtafter percussionist who accompanies all the high profile artists in the Carnatic music field.

The participants from Atlanta, about 150 of them, varied in their ages from five to 30 years.

Their musical training and experience also varied from two years to several years. Consequently, the participants were grouped into categories – Bala Samraat and Yuva Samraat – juniors and seniors. Each participant competed within his/her peer group. The event also included participants who performed as a group. The groups, consisting of between eight and ten vocalists and instrumentalists, performed a choir or a symphony. The choir and symphony were innovative creations from out of a traditional Carnatic composition that was put together by the talented Atlanta area music teachers. After each group’s presentation the rapt audience showed it’s appreciation with standing ovations.

The master of ceremonies for the event, K. N. Shashikiran, is a very illustrious vocalist. He conducted the entire competition flawlessly and with patience. He encouraged the young performers to do their best and gave excellent feedback to each participant on what they did best and what they must focus on more to grow into talented performers. Parents and teachers appreciated the guidance and mentoring provided by Sri Shashikiran and his eminent group of judges.

A special mention should be made of CAMAGA, The Carnatic Music Association of Georgia, who had sponsored the event. Dr. Ram Sriram, President of the organization, commented that the event was successful only because of the dedicated work of CAMAGA’s volunteers who had worked tirelessly for the past three months. He stressed that such competitions are essential, not only to give the youngsters growing up in a foreign land a stage to perform but also to get them

interested in our culture and heritage. He noted that CAMAGA every year organizes at least one or more events primarily to ensure participation by the youngsters. Dr. Sriram exhorted parents and teachers to encourage their children to also attend concerts by leading professional musicians organized by CAMAGA several times during a year, as listening to live concerts by professional musicians is a great way to understand improvisational techniques and to learn the subtle nuances of performing.

Please note that the list of winners is available at www.camaga.org.

344th Aaradhana Mahotsava Of Sri Raghavendra Swamy Held Atlanta, GA: Vishwa Madhwa Sangha (VMS), Atlanta chapter celebrated the 344th Aaradhana Mahotsava of Sri. Raghavendra Swamy on Sunday, August 30, 2015 at Sri. Hanuman Temple, Alpharetta, GA. Over 300 devotees attended the program.

Sri. Raghavendra swamy was a renowned saint, philosopher and proponent of Dvaita philosophy, and is also known as Rayaru. The event started at 9:30 am with nirmaalya abhishekha with recitation of purusha sookta, panchamrutha abhishekha to Sri. Narayana, Hanuman and Raayaru. Vishnu Sahasranaama and Rayara stotras were recited during the

abhisheka. Recitation of Rayara stotra continued during pushparchana.

Dashavatara stuti was chanted during naivedya and mahamangal arati.

Pradeep Vittalmurthy, coordinator of VMS chapter and trustee of Rayara Matha updated the gathering about the future plans of the matha.

He said Ananthaadi Rayara Matha, Atlanta, Inc has been registered with the state of Georgia with the blessings of Rayaru. A bank account in the name of “RAMA” has been set up to collect donations for the establishment of the Matha. More details are available at http:// www.atlantarayaramath.org

10 NRI PULSE

JC Candidate Arun Misra Elected State Chair Of Million Dollar Association Atlanta, GA: Arun Misra Ph.D., who is running for Johns Creek City Council Post 2 was recently elected Georgia State Chair at the Million Dollar Round Table international headquarters in Chicago.

The Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT) is a trade association formed in 1927 to help Insurance brokers and financial advisors establish best business practices and develop ethical and effective ways to increase client interest in financial products, specifically risk based products like life insurance, disability and long term care. The organization has 10,000 members in the USA and over 45,000 around the world, said Misra.

........City News ........

October 2015

Sengupta Inducted As Smyrna Rotary Club President Atlanta, GA: Smyrna Rotary Club is 52 years old and has an extraordinary legacy of projects across Georgia, the United States and the world.

Projects in India include neonatal care equipment and, in an incredibly massive joint project with the world’s 33,000 other Rotary Clubs, polio eradication.

Narayan Sengupta with his The club recently inducted Narayan Sengupta as President and Dr. Aaron Schwartz as Secretary.

Both are half-Indians born in the New World, and

both are serving their second terms in their respective roles. Interestingly, each also has a French connection: Sengupta’s mother is French, as is Schwartz’s wife. They and the club’s other officers were sworn in by Rotary Past District Governor Roy Strickland, also of Smyrna Rotary Club and himself a two-time club president.

Schwartz, a pediatric dentist who uses an elephant as his business’ logo adds, “My Indian roots and my multiple travels to India has undoubtedly helped shape my desire to improve the lives of family. others. And in this age of global connectivity, Rotary’s international humanitarian efforts humbly allows me to be an impactful global citizen.”

Dr. Aaron Schwartz with his family.

For Sengupta, who has visited India over 20 times since 1969, being a Rotarian is a great way to do something for India and elsewhere. “India’s recent progress is fantastic and absolutely staggering. I have so many wonderful memories of being there and of its mesmerizing beauty and rich culture, yet the poverty and disease I witnessed as a child formed me philosophically and has always made me want to help others.”

Both look forward to many more years of membership with their service minded friends in the Smyrna Rotary Club.

Home Away From Home: Atlanta Tamil Church Celebrates 15th Anniversary Atlanta, GA: Atlanta Tamil Church (ATC) celebrated its 15th anniversary this year. The church was born in the humble apartment of Palmer Paramadhas and Susie Palmer in the summer of 2000. The couple had just migrated to Atlanta from the Middle East. Both successful profes-

spirit,” said a press release sent by ATC to NRI Pulse. A home away from home, over the years the church has seen the community of believers grow in spiritual stature and numbers.

Often Tamil parents are looking for safe environments where their children can get in touch with their roots. The church is a wonderful environment to share this rich heritage of worshipping God in a personal manner that gets even more special when it is in one’s own language.

From humble beginnings in June 2000, ATC has come

sionals in the fields of engineering and medicine respectively, the Palmers found a big vacuum in the Tamil Christian community in Atlanta. They set out to create an environment for Tamils to worship God in their native tongue.

“Even though most Tamils who live in the US have spoken knowledge of English, worship in one’s mother-tongue brings about a liberty to the

a long way. The church was initially hosted by the Korean Community Presbyterian Church and moved with them to Duluth GA. After much prayer and searching, Atlanta Tamil Church was able to acquire its present

property in Norcross GA. Ever since it moved to the new location; the Church’s ministries have started to expand. Their Sunday school ministries have grown in leaps and bounds. And now, the church is gearing the next generation with youth services and camps. The youth are also involved in the church’s outreach programs, one of which has been to serve a community for the elderly in the neighborhood. The ATC campus also hosts the Tamil School and a Nepali Church.

Over the years as ATC grew, many servants of God from India and around the world have been instrumental in nurturing it, like Mohan C. Lazarus, Sam Jebakumar, Gershon, Alwin Thomas, Paul Dhinakaran to name a few. For this year’s festivities, the special message was delivered by Rev. Ebenezer Andrew George, Senior Pastor and Su-

perintendent of Full Gospel Church in Bangalore, India. In addition there were other dignitaries like Pastor Ebenezer Jeyaraj from Madurai and Pastor T.K. James from Tirupur. The most heart warming treat was Aunty Wilma, who was visiting ATC on the way to her home state Iowa for her 70th class reunion. She worked in Chittoor, India as a missionary for 11 years and astonished the entire church with her fluency in Tamil. “It was a sweet reminder that the privilege the Tamil church has in worshipping God was because of the sweat and sacrifice a few Christians had willingly made to bring the Gospel to our family homes,” said the release.

The past 15 years for Atlanta Tamil Church was a testament for God’s grace. The future is a promise to expect greater things to come.

November 2014

Continued from Pg 1.....

NRI PULSE 9

14 NRI PULSE

........City News ........

October 2015

Reception Hosted For Congressional Candidate Raja Krishnamoorthi

BY DR. SESHU SARMA Atlanta, GA: On Sunday, September 20, a small group of local Indian community leaders and members gathered at the Asiana Banquet Hall in Atlanta to host a reception for Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois. Popularly known as

Raja, Krishnamoorthi is the lead contender in the Democratic Party primary for the 8th congressional district of Illinois, with incumbent Tammy Duckworth vacating her seat to run for US Senate in 2016. Despite two other candidates running against him in the primaries, Raja is favored to win, having garnered many endorsements locally and nationwide. The function was organized

by Dr. Sreeni Gangasani and Dr. Prasad Garimella to support this young second generation Indian American leader.

Tony Patel, current chair of the Asian Ameri-

can Caucus of the Democratic Party of Georgia & AAHOA Regional Ambassador spoke about the importance of voting to gain greater representation for the AAPI community by supporting Asian candidates nationally. Democratic State Representative Hugh Floyd addressed the gathering in support of Raja stating, “he has what it takes”.

Raja, 42, addressed the gathering of over 30 people for over an hour, answering questions ranging from his motivation to run for the public office to his stance on the Iran nuclear deal. He was charismatic, calm and collected, and came across as someone with knowledge, enthusiasm and a sense of humor. He talked about the financial hardship his family faced when he was a child and their first hand experience with welfare.

He credited his involvement in the public sector as the Deputy Treasurer of the State of Illinois, and his current experience as President of the small businesses Sivananthan Labs and Episolar, Inc. with giving him the perspectives to serve his constituents effectively, especially in the economic sector.

When questioned about his community work, he talked about his involvement with INSPIRE, the Institute for Solar Photovaltaic Innovation, Research and Edu-training, a non-profit organization that provides training to Illinois students and veterans.

When asked about his advice to the young

generation Indian-Americans, he said: Take care of your parents, get a good education, help others and have faith in God, whatever your faith might be.

Currently, Ami Bara of California is the only Indian American representative in the US Con-

US with his Indian immigrant parents when he was 3 months old. He was raised in Peoria, Illinois, where he attended public schools and graduated as a valedictorian of his high school class.

Raja earned his bachelor’s degree summa cum laude in mechanical engineering from Princeton

Photos by Vakiti Creations gress and Raja joked that his win would increase the Indian representation in the US Congress by 100% to two.

Raja’s campaign has the support of nearly 100 prominent local Democrats and organizations. The list includes several US congressmen and women from Illinois, two Illinois state senators, retired US Senators Adlai Stevenson III and Bill Bradley, chief political advisor to Obama David Axelrod, and many other powerful politicians from Illinois and across the nation. He was endorsed by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee as well.

Raja was born in New Delhi and came to the

University and graduated with honors from Harvard Law School.

Raja is married to Priya, a practicing anesthesiologist. They live in Schaumburg with their sons Vijay, 9, and Vikram, 5, who attend public schools.

Dr. Prasad Garimella acknowledged with thanks all the sponsors and the volunteers of the event including Dr. Seshu Sarma and Dr. Ravi Sarma, Ramesh (Ray) Thakkar, Dr. Sudhakar Jonnalagadda, Parmesh Erramilli, Dr. Syamala Erramilli, Pankaj Sutaria, Madhuri Namuduri, Mallareddy, Manjula Reddy, Sridhar Vakiti, Venkat Chennubhotla, Radha Chennubhotla, Sumedh Garimella and Eswar Burra.

TAMA Hosts 2015 Scholarship Awards Ceremony In Hyderabad Atlanta, GA: Telugu Association of Metro Atlanta (TAMA) hosted its scholarship ceremony for 2015 recently at Hyderabad’s Ravindra Bharathi. The event was graced with the presence

of prominent guests including former MLC and eminent educationist Chukka Ramaiah IIT, MLC Sudhakar Reddy Pathuri, Rotory founding member and philanthropist Prasad Papolu, movie actress Kavitha and Rotory Club of Hyderabad Midtown president Ugam Raj Nahar.

Students started arriving at Ravindra Bharathi at 7:30 am from different parts of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana regions. Students were accompanied by a parent, or guardian, or teacher.

They thanked TAMA and TAMA donors for hosting the scholarship event.

Chittoor district topper Aishwarya said her sister Susmitha was a recipient of the TAMA

TAMA Scholarship Project coordinator Seetha Vallurupalli and director of board Mahesh Pawar had a conversation with scholarship recipients as well as their parents and teacher who expressed happiness at TAMA’s initiatives at identifying the district toppers and recognizing them with a scholarship award.

scholarship in 2012, and she is very happy to receive the scholarship this year because that made her a favorite of her teachers. T. Sashikala from West Godavari said she already knew at the beginning of the year that TAMA gives scholarships to district toppers and when she got the results on 20th May receiving a 10 GPA, she was expecting a letter from TAMA. She said her father

was a daily wage worker and this money will help her with her college education. Many students expressed a desire to become TAMA members and give scholarships to others in the future.

Actress Kavitha said if there was an organization like TAMA that helped her when she was a child, she would not have dropped out of school. Ugam Raj Nahar said they were very happy to be a part of the scholarship project.

Chukka Ramaiah Garu said Telugu people in America are very generous and want give back to the motherland.

Seetha Vallurupalli and Mahesh Pawar, in their address, said the scholarship was only possible because of the generous support of donors like Platinum Sponsor Pramod Sajja and donors Ravi Kandimalla, Dr.Ravi Sarma, Sandhya and Viju Chiluveru, Krishnamohan Pinnamaneni, Dr. Sreeni Gangasani, Dr. B. Mohan, Sairam and Sudha Surapanenni, Gondi Gandhi, Subbarao Vadrevu. Rajashekar Chunduri, Malleshwari Atluri, Venkat Meesala, Raghava Thadavarthi, Meher Lanka, Phani Duggirala, Seshuram Gonella, Ratan Eluganti, Vijay Kothapally, Nageshwar Rao Doddaka, Mohan Reddy Komati, Ranakumar Nadella, Usha Mandava, Aruna Kailasa, Jaya Papolu and Krish Gadde.

October 2015

.........City News........

NRI PULSE 15

Divine Meditation Guru Archna Didi Holds Seminars In Atlanta

BY MAHADEV DESAI Celebrating Life Foundation organized a special two day divine meditation gathering on Sep 26 and 27 at Taste of India Banquet Hall, Alpharetta, GA under the gracious presence of renowned Indian meditation guru, Archna Didi. The program was organized by Nirkant Aggarwal and attended by a large group of meditation enthusiasts.

This was the last program culminating a two months trip by Archana Didi, fondly called Didi by her followers. Her trip covered various cities such as Paris in Europe and New Jersey, New York, Rochester, Virginia, Orlando, etc. in the U.S. Archna Didi is the founder of Celebrating Life Foundation, in New Delhi. It is a wellness and a spiritual organization. It teaches meditation; yoga, pranayama and thought power and aims at creating synergy between mind, body and soul. Didi is the young, charismatic and exceptionally gifted spiritual leader who has touched the heights of spirituality at a very young age.

She has distinguished herself in many ways including development of various meditation techniques by combining ancient Indian practices with deep understanding of human psychology in the current context making the meditation workshops extremely unique & effective. She is an accomplished master of chakras and kundalini Shakti.

Didi is fluent in both English and Hindi. In her meditation techniques, she interfuses music, laughter, yoga, dance and insightful narratives from spiritual scriptures. Meditation in words of Archna Didi is the discovery of a word called “ME “Her meditation workshops help in easy attainment of mental peace, bal-

anced health & offer a complete solution for mind, body & soul. She strives to spread peace, love, harmony, sound health and happiness and has enriched lives of millions. Her Organization also helps impoverished orphans, handicapped children and seniors living on old age homes.

was attended by a large section of yoga and meditation enthusiasts.

In his vote of thanks, Nirkant Aggarwal, thanked Didi for sparing her precious time coming all the way from India to teach yoga and meditation and spread message of peace and goodwill.

rience with Archna Didi was remarkable, I felt connected with myself during this meditation program.

I look forward to a greater experience, Thanks to Archna Didi for showing me the path of meditation.”

One of the participants Dr. Hiren Patel, physical therapist, Tampa, Florida noted: “Positively encouraging workshop. At the end of workshop I was able to touch with my inner self, and realized that I need to slow down in life to connect with spiritual part of me.

Finally, the organizer of the seminar, - Nirkant Aggarwal, IT Leader, Atlanta, GA, said: “This was my first experience with mediation. I always thought that meditation is tough and will take a lot of time to do it.

Didi explained it in such a simple way and showed us the path on how by just spending 24 minutes a day we can master the art of meditation and attain a way of life where we can be blessed with our internal energy and

L to R: Shiv Aggarwal, Nirkant Aggarwal and Archana Didi with devotees.

At the Taste of India Banquet Hall, Archna Didi, in her gentle meditation sessions made the practitioners understand in a very simple and effective method, what meditation is & what wonders one can achieve in our lives with just a few minutes of daily meditation routine. She unfolded the two secrets to practice a successful & happy life. She gave a hands-on experience of ‘Being’ and ‘Bliss’ with deep meditation. The program

Shiv Aggarwal, Atlanta’s highly respected social activist and philanthropist, President and CEO of American Management Services, enthused: “I have attended many yoga and meditation programs during last 30 years but the expe-

happiness.”

Please Contact Shiv Aggarwal or Nirkant Aggarwal for any future meditation seminars in Atlanta by Archna Didi ji.

16 NRI PULSE

.........Indians of Atlanta........

October 2015

#IndiansofAtlanta- A Social Media Driven, Online Archive of Local Indian-American Stories Listed on this page are some of the people we’ve featured this past month, with brief excerpts from their personal narratives. Please visit www.facebook.com/IndiansofAtlanta or our web page, www.nripulse.com/ indians-of-atlanta/ to read their complete stories.

“I get inspired by socially relevant causes, and any support I can provide as an individual or as part of a team gives me great pleasure. I like to help meritorious children who are financially deprived get a proper education, and hence, I have initiated scholarship programs in India and the USA. It also gives me great pleasure to serve the elderly, which has motivated me to organize successful health fairs.” - Bala Indurti is a former president of TAMA. He was also president of APNA Foundation in 2010/11 and the BOD and convener of the national organization NATA in 2013/14.

“I believe in my vision to make a difference, question the status quo, connect the dots and pave the way for our future generation. I used to be a timid girl, but my journey has made me stronger. I am running for office because I want to serve and do the right thing. I don’t mind being different as long as I can get the message about unity, love and peace across. I am living proof that dreams are possible.”

– Dr. Nazeera Dawood is running for Johns Creek City Council Post 5. She is currently the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations at the Fulton County Board of Commissioners, Chairman’s Office.

“Life has thrown fierce challenges my way. When the world as I knew it fell apart, my life did a 180.

A quieter, reflective world substituted the noise, success and fast pace of my earlier life. Oprah has been more than a friend. She is my teacher, and I am grateful for her many lessons- to forgive and forget; that “Life didn’t happen to me but for me”; that we are all human. - OWN Ambassador and artist Malika Ghosh Garrett has collections of her work in India, Singapore, USA, UK and China.

“Acceptance and respect in this field from peers is the most difficult as the mindset is: “Indie work – not worth it”; “Anyone can do that”; “I know it all!” or “Is it free?” Indie (Indian) cookbook authors are fearless cultural ambassadors creating fertile environments where innovative concepts flourish. When we support them, we enrich our present life and ‘nourish’ future generations.” Nandita Godbole is an emerging indie author based in Roswell, GA. She launched Curry Cravings, a food blog in 2005 to showcase the dynamic Indian culture and cuisine.

“I grew up a vegetarian, but started eating meat (as it was rebellious to do so) in medical school; ate everything (from beef to pork, chicken to turkey, fish to lobster, deer to dog, even camel and frog) for many years. But when I visited a beef farm in 1992, I was moved by the systematic and cold brutality, and soon reverted to becoming a vegetarian again. Not only do I feel ethical, but my health indices have kept close to perfect.” – K. M. Venkat Narayan is a Ruth and O.C. Hubert professor of global health and epidemiology at Emory’s Rollins School of Public Health and a professor of medicine at Emory School of Medicine.

“It seemed (then) like my world had turned upside down. Since then, I have ventured beyond the limitations that restricted me from breaking the ice, to bring attention to the topic of bullying. I made a pledge to get policy passed to protect the rest of the students. I was successful in getting two settlements passed between the Dekalb County Schools and the Department of Justice. It goes further to protect 100,000+ students.” – Japjee Singh was a victim of violent bullying in elementary and middle school. The Counsel for the Sikh Coalition supported Japjee’s family take steps that that eventually led to a landmark settlement between the Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney’s Office and the DeKalb County School District in May 2013.

“I spent the second half of my teenage years trying to save Troy Davis from an unjust execution. During those years, he opened my eyes to many issues– the horrifying conditions behind bars, the tragic backgrounds of inmates behind bars, the moral and legal problems with the death penalty, and the many flaws in the justice system. His execution was devastating. But even amid that tragedy, Troy gave me hope: hope that one person can make a difference, just as he made a difference in my life.” – Gautam Narula, 22, is the author of Remain Free, a memoir about his friendship with Troy Davis, a Georgia death row inmate executed in 2011 despite serious evidence of innocence.

“Indian society does not take well to a bold and outspoken woman, especially one who has a mind of her own. Even here, I continue to deal with the prejudices of the community – men, and women even more so – because I choose to be single and not depend on anyone for my needs or to “protect my honor”. I am constantly judged and my intentions are misunderstood no matter how pure they may be simply because I deviate from tradition.” – Darshan P. Kaur works as a Sr. Director of Global Sourcing at a leading financial institution. She also loves to

act, sing, dance, write, travel and volunteer. Darshan is the current Vice President of the Executive Committee of IACA.

“I create flutes on a 3D printer. When I started learning to play the flute in 2002, I had a hard time finding welltuned bamboo flutes, so I started making flutes using PVC and aluminum pipes. In 2013, my teacher asked me to prepare for my graduation concert. I needed a set of flutes for which I could not find the right pipes. So, I decided on 3D printing. I had to build a custom printer that can print the large dimensions I needed” – Ram Mallappa, an engineer by profession, recently had his flute arangetram. His classical Indian 3D printed flutes were presented at the World Flute Seminar.

“Trying to balance work, school, and somewhat of a social life has been a challenge. Yes, I have dated stress, and I portrayed this in my talk when I began the performance with a “solo” dance of me demonstrating it. To destress, I like to dance it off. by performing at different charity events for my dance teacher’s (Uma Pulendran) school Natya Dhaara.” – Yami Joshi is an organizational development specialist at UPS, and is also pursuing a master’s degree in organizational/ industrial psychology at the University of Georgia.

I have collected and donated 3,000 books to migrant farm worker children in Georgia in less than 9 months.

I want to collect 7,000 more books for these kids to help with their early childhood education. All the books I collect are donated to Telamon Corporation. If you would like to support my cause, please email urag57@gmail.com.” – Sanjeev Anand is a 6th grader at Kittredge Magnet School, Dekalb County.

October 2015

Gas Station Owner Charged For Planning Robbery At His Business Washington: (IANS) Abusinessman in Illinois has been charged with planning a robbery of his own establishment by soliciting help from another man in exchange for $1,500, a media report said.

Pareshbhai R. Patel, 40, who owns a gas station in Illinois’ DeKalb city, asked another man to use a toy gun to rob his business. But police thwarted his robbery-for-hire plan when they recorded the whole plot using special equipment, the Daily Chronicle reported on Thursday citing court records.

Patel was charged with solicitation to commit an armed robbery and solicitation to commit an aggravated robbery.

The most serious charge, solicitation to commit an armed robbery, is usually punishable by 4 to 15 years in prison.

Patel was released from DeKalb County Jail after posting $5,000 bail on Thursday, the daily added.

Police worked in coordination with DeKalb county state attorney’s office to investigate the entire plot, which was supposed to happen within the next few days.

Specific details of the crime, including when it would happen, and how the individual would be paid, were recorded using special equipment, according to authorities.

Patel, who is scheduled to appear before a county court on October 27, admitted to planning the robbery in an interview with police.

........NRI News ........

NRI PULSE 17

Professor Wins $625,000 MacArthur “Genius” Grant Washington: (IANS) Kartik Chandran, an IndianAmerican associate professor of earth and environmental engineering at Columbia Engineering, has been named a 2015 MacArthur Fellow with a “genius grant” of $625,000 with no strings attached.

Chandran, an IIT Roorkee graduate, has won the fellowship for his work in “transforming wastewater from a pollutant requiring disposal to a resource for useful products, such as commodity chemicals, energy sources, and fertilisers.”

He joins a distinguished group of 24 talented people who have all demonstrated exceptional originality and dedication to their creative pursuits, as well as a marked capacity for self-direction. The fellows may use the $625,000 stipend as they see fit.

“When I received the call telling me that I had been awarded a MacArthur Fellowship, I was

rather overwhelmed,” Chandran said.

“I’d just returned to New York from India after a 24-hour flight and couldn’t believe what I

was hearing.”

He called the fellowship a “great honor which carries with it immense responsibility and provides ever more motivation to continue expanding my scientific horizons and boundaries and help solve global societal and human challenges.”

Chandran’s research on the global nitrogen cycle and engineered wastewater treatment has been widely recognized.

In 2011 he received a $1.5 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop a transformative new model in water and sanitation in Africa.

His work is focused on integrating microbial ecology, molecular biology, and engineering to transform wastewater, sewage, and other “waste” streams from problematic pollutants to valuable resources in addition to clean water.

Chandran’s approach to transform wastewater into fertilisers, chemicals, and energy sources also takes into account today’s climate, energy, and nutrient challenges.

Chandran earned a BS (1995) from the Indian Institute of Technology at Roorkee (formerly University of Roorkee) and a PhD (1999) from the University of Connecticut.

Breast-Feeding In Public: US Library Apologizes To Woman New York: (IANS) A library in New York has apologized to an New York woman after an employee of the public library asked her to stop breast-feeding her daughter in public.

“We will be giving our staff additional coaching to remind them about the proper practice for maintaining a welcoming environment,” CBS New York online on Tuesday cited a library statement as saying.

Sherry Singh, a regular visitor at the Forest Hills library, was last weekend told to stop feeding her child in the library and breast-feed her fourmonth-old daughter in the restroom.

“Me and my other daughter were playing

with puppets, when this little one started crying.

I started nursing her,” Singh was quoted as saying.

“An employee came over and told me not to breast-feed my daughter there,” Singh said.

Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said the law allows breast-feeding in public.

“It has been the law for quite a while. It is every woman’s right to breast-feed in public,” Lieberman said. Singh has accepted the library’s apology and is not taking any legal action, but she wants the story to go out to educate others.

18 NRI PULSE

........Bollywood Pulse ........

Sussanne Khan Lambasts Gossip Mongers Over Wedding Rumors Mumbai: (IANS) Sussanne Khan, the estranged wife of Bollywood star Hrithik Roshan, denied reports that she is set to wed again. A succesful entrepreneur, she says the gossip “hurts” as “families and human feelings” are involved.

Sussanne, an interior designer by profession, decided to issue a statement in the light of the media reports around her rumoured wedding to “one of Hrithik’s close friends”. Several reports pointed at actor Arjun Rampal, who was reportedly a key reason behind the Hrithik-Sussanne split.

Just earlier this week, it was reported that Sussanne and Arjun were spotted at a coffee shop here.

In her clarification, Sussannne said: “Persistent speculation in the media has made me realize that idle Bollywood gossip mongers, who are influential, are insistent on spreading rumors and lies about me.”

“Stories are fabricated on upcoming weddings

and meetings in coffee shops. It is irresponsible press if incorrect stories are published. There are families and human feelings involved and it hurts people when false gossip is passed off as true. I am a single working mother and take tremendous pride in the way I live.”

A mother of two — Hrehaan and Hridhaan — Sussanne is the daughter of veteran actor Sanjay Khan and Zarine Khan.

Her wedding to Hrithik was considered what fairytales are made of. They dated for four years before tying the knot in 2000, following the success of the actor’s debut film “Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai”.

They called it quits in December 2013, just a few days before their 13th marriage anniversary.

Earlier, Sussanne had spoken out against reports that Arjun was a reason behind her split with Hrithik, and had said that nobody was to be blamed.

“There is no reason. Sometimes you have to do this because of a situation,” she had stated at an event.

Work For Farmers’ Cause Gives Me A Reason To Live: Nana Patekar

Mumbai: (IANS) Veteran actor Nana Patekar says that his work for the cause of the drought-hit farmers of Maharashtra through his foundation offers him a reason to live, and was important to keep him human.

“We had never expected it (response), we had only thought of doing as much we were capable of. The moment has begun and it’s good everyone has started

getting involved with it. We’ve got one reason to live because of this cause,” he said at the launch of Mamta Bhatt’s book “Eternal Hero- Rama”.

“This is not an effort of a few people.

We’ll be able to do it only when all are going to get involved. The work is nothing outstanding. Someone else is supposed to do it, but we are doing it. We have decided to do it, so we’ll do it along with everybody.

“Starting with one village and then as many villages as possible. People are contributing at such a massive scale that we’ll even get Rs.400-500 crores. In that case the number of films will decrease but this work would increase,” he said.

Patekar and fellow actor actor Makrand Anaspure are the brain behind setting up of Naam foundation. Both of them had also helped 113 drought-hit families this year.

Being A Real-Life Mother Helped Me: Ash Actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan says the experience of being a mother in real life helped her bring substantial truth in playing her character in “Jazbaa”.

“Actually having become a mother was perfect for a script like this because there is a lot of truth to the nuancing you can bring in. In terms of any dramatic moment, you can bring in a degree of truth to the sense of drama without necessarily being overt, and yet be there with all heart, every pulse, every cell of your body actually committed to that moment.

Experience does bring in a lot of hon-

esty here,” said Aishwarya at a film promotion event at a law college here .

“That’s what made me bring a lot of integrity and truth also to the way I’ve essayed Anuradha,” she added.

In “Jazbaa”, Aishwarya’s character of an advocate is facing a tricky situation as there is a danger of losing her daughter if she doesn’t get a criminal out by fighting his case.

“Jazbaa” directed by Sanjay Gupta also starring Irrfan Khan, is releasing on October 9.

October 2015

INTERVIEW It all began when Ravi Patel, a 30-year-old Indian-American investment banker turned Hollywood actor, pestered by his parents on a long flight to India to get married, agreed to search for his bride the “desi” way.

And Ravi’s sister Geeta, just out of making a war zone documentary about Kashmir, now learning to handle the camera, started filming “half seriously” the “family affair” to find a desi partner for Ravi, who had just broken with his white girlfriend of two years.

How what began as a family vacation video eventually turned into a hilarious romantic documentary about arranged marriages is an equally heartbreaking story as the sibling co-directors of “Meet the Patels” relate it.

“When we got to India, Ravi realized that what he was going through is what so many people have gone through,” the duo told IANS on phone ahead of its release in New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles. It opened in additional US markets including Atlanta, Washington DC,

Meet the Patels: In Search Of A Desi Bride Boston, New Jersey, Philadelphia, North Carolina, Detroit, and Tampa in September.

“He felt so many people were living that story and yet no one had told it properly,” said Geeta who was equally under parental pressure to get married.

Many a film and media shows “depict arranged marriages and semi-arranged marriages in Indian culture more like a joke - like parents are weird, that kind of thing”.

“We didn’t see it that way. We felt like our parents (married through this ‘desi’ system) were the happiest people we knew,” Geeta said. “We were kind of torn because we wanted that happiness, but we didn’t know what process was really good for us to get there.”

The conversion of the home video into a documentary “just happened by accident,” said Ravi.

“It was just kind of natural evolution” with “Mom and Dad breathing down our necks as if a billion people in India care as much as they do about why we are not married.”

But despite some shaky camera work, they never thought of reshooting the film. “The documentary is so authentic and real, what happened at the moment,” according to them.

“The only stuff that we put a lot of effort was in producing animated moments,” said Ravi.

“The animation came essentially from the fact that we were making this film about our family,” added Geeta. “In reality TV, when somebody is emotional, they just film it. But for us it’s just disrespectful to film our family going through a very difficult moment.”

But how come their parents did not appear camera conscious at all. “I know that’s crazy, right.

It was so natural,” said Ravi.

“Part of it is that they never thought this project would really amount to anything - partially because of the casual way we were shooting it.”

The brother and sister team spent six years in making the film and at the end of it “nobody wanted it.” What kept them going was “Pride,” said Ravi.

“I believed in it. Even if no body watches it, I am going to be proud that I made something I like and that mattered to me.”

“We both believed in it,” chipped in Geeta.

And it was “hard, very hard” working together, said Ravi. “You know with people you love, you tend to be most vulnerable and sometimes the least respectful and least filtered.”

“Geeta and I have all our crazy fits. But when you are working with your sister you can’t fire her. So you have to find a way to keep it going and make it work.”

“We have to make a commitment,” added Geeta. “As dad says in the movie, life is a commitment.” And after all the fights and disagreements “we have this incredible relationship we would never have dreamt of.”

So what comes next? Are they planning another joint venture on one more desi issue?

“Geeta and I are working on some projects together - some pretty exciting stuff,” said Ravi though he would not say what it was.

“I don’t think I would have chosen to work with her if you had asked me even a year ago,” he said. “But it’s a testament to the story that our family is a million times more together.”

“Geeta and I decided to work together more. Mom and Dad are a part of the company now.

My Dad works on this movie 10 hours a day to get every Indian in America marketing this movie.”

“And Mom got every motel owner in America putting up pamphlets. It has become a Patel family business.”

........Features ........

Ambaji USA Shree OCT 13 ONWARD Shakti Mandir Aso (Ashwin) Navratri 2015 Garba celebration on October 13 & 24.

Everyday garba will start at 8:30 p.m.

Durgashtami Havan on October 21st.

Where: 1450 Huie Road, Lake City, GA 30260 For more info, visit www.ambajiusa.org Purbasha is OCT 16 - 18 celebrating Durga Puja on Oct 16, 17, & 18, 2015.

Where: Atlanta Event Hall, 3750 Venture Drive, Suite A-80 (in front of emissions), Duluth, GA 30096 Contact: www.purbasha.org Bengali Association OCT 16-18 of Greater Atlanta (BAGA): 38th Durga Puja celebrations When: Friday, October 16 - Sunday, October 18 Where: Mountain View High School, 2351 Sunny Hill Drive, Lawrenceville, GA 30043 Contact: president@baga.net, 770-789-2312, eventsbybaga.net Pujari Durgotsav 2015 OCT 16-18 When: Friday, October 16, 2015 - Sunday, October 18, 2015 Where: Berkmar High School Auditorium, 405 Pleasant Hill Rd., Lilburn, GA 30047.

Contact: https://www.facebook.com/pujariinc/, http://www.pujari.org/

Greater Atlanta OCT 17 Telangana Society: Bathukama Sambaralu When: Saturday, October 17 from noon - 6pm Where: Riverside Park, 575 Riverside Rd., Roswell, GA 30075 Contact: Nanda, 678-499-9466, bathukamma@gatesusa.org UIBS: 6th Annual OCT 19 USA India Business Summit.

When: Monday, October 19, 2015 – Tuesday, October 20, 2015 Where: Historic Academy of Medicine, Georgia Tech, 875 West Peachtree St., NW, Atlanta, GA 30309.

Contact: Ani Agnihotri, Ani@usaindiabusinesssummit.com, 404-3946678 (See display ad on Page 2 for details) The Global Mela fun OCT 24-25 fair.

When: October 24-25, 2015 Saturday: 11am - 6pm, Sunday: 12pm - 6pm Where: Global Mall, 5675 Jimmy Carter Blvd., Norcross, GA 30071 www.amsglobalmall.com (See display ad on Back cover for details.)

VHPA Diwali Program NOV 1 at Centennial Olympic Park When: Sunday, November 1, 2015 Time: 11:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Where: Centennial Olympic Park

Post details of your upcoming event at www.nripulse.com/events

- Nury Vittachi

SuDoku Challenge Rules: 1.The 3 x 3 sub grids are called regions 2.Numbers already filled in the grid are called givens 3.The goal of the player is to fill the blank grids of · Every row · Every column and · Every 3 x 3 box · With the numbers 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 However: All rows and columns and regions (3 x 3) should contain numbers 1 to 9 without being repeated.

3

7

1

7

9

3 5

5

2

1

1 4

3

6

4 2

9

1

2 1

2

6

8 8

SuDoku Solutions 9 8 7 4 5 1 3 2 6

“Don Quixote” is a OCT 11 music-dance-theater production with narration in English, presented

by Nritya Sankalpa featuring accomplished artists from Kalakshetra, Chennai.

When: Sunday, October 11 at 3:30 p.m Where: Robert Fest Center, GA Tech Contact: Savitha Viswanathan : (678) 6130436 Sundar Sundararaghavan : (770) 653-5267

2 6 1 3 7 9 4 5 8

EVENTS

4 5 3 8 6 2 9 7 1

To advertise in our Classifieds section, please call 404-235-4998 or email ads@nripulse.com.

Only $15 for the first 20 words and 50 cents per additional word.

1 3 9 7 2 5 6 8 4

GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR A SMART INVESTOR. 35 Acre Developed Land with 26 Lots. Ready to be built. Asking $ 26500 per lot. GORGEOUS LOCATION AT MULLBERY RIVER SUBDIVISION Off I-85 North One Exit North Of CHATEAU ELAN. For More Info Contact Matha Evan @ (678) 887-6685 or (770) 2314719 or email Marthaevans04@Yahoo.Com.

6 4 5 1 9 8 2 3 7

SUB DIVISION FOR SALE

7 2 8 6 3 4 5 1 9

Residential Land, Sale by owner. Gated subdivision with 500+ plots with 24/7 security, water, sanitation, parks, club house & swimming pool.

Builders: The Jayanagar Housing CoOp Society Plot, Kurubarapalya, Karnataka 562130, India. Area: 2400 SqFeet. (60'/40') east facing.

3 kilo meter from ‘Ruppi’s Hotel & Resort’ or ‘Big Banyan Tree’, Bangalore.

Price: Call or Text - 770-575-3256

Have you noticed that a significant percentage of parenting time is spent screaming at your children to stop screaming?

Ironic, that. Researchers say that even very young children are now learning curse words, because parents break their own anti-cursing rules. “You’re three years old! Stop (bleep) swearing!”

My gently religious family has always been totally non-cursing, with words like “silly” being considered highly risqué, and “poopyhead” causing people to faint.

Not so in the outside world. I was shocked recently when I did some broadcasting and my loose-tongued co-presenter was told that almost all curse words were now allowed after 9 p.m.

This is bad for everyone, because researchers say that English-speaking societies are running out of swear THE FUNNY SIDE words. They lose their power now. We live in a world where kindergartners greet each other with: “Good (bleep) morning, you (bleep) stupid (bleep).”

One suggestion someone gave me is to use swear words from other languages. In the US TV show “Firefly”, actors used real swear words, but only in Mandarin and Cantonese. Guys, there are a lot of people who speak Chinese on this planet, or hadn’t you noticed?

Still, it’s true that non-English speakers have some cool curses. In Mandarin Chinese, people say, “You son of a rabbit.” (Sometimes you hear parents curse lazy children with this phrase without realizing the irony.) I had an Italian friend who used to say “Maladicta” when I trod on his toes. It sounded very “sweary” but he’s literally just saying “Bad word.”

Some years ago, I had to train a foul-mouthed newspaper reporter for a job on live radio. We wrote a list of words that sounded like curses but were safe for broadcasting use and taped them to her microphone. The top three most satisfying ones were Pool, Cow and Follicle. The next time something bad happens, try shouting “POOL” at the top of your voice. It works really well.

If you want to be really classy, I recommend making all dramatic announcements in Latin. Here are some useful phrases to get you started. At the bar: “Di! Ecce hora! Uxor mea me necabit!” (“Dear God, look at the time! My wife will kill me!”) On the street: “Recedite, plebes! Gero rem imperialem!” (“Stand aside plebians! I am on imperial business.”) And if you want to insult someone, skip the expletives. The most horrible curse in Latin is this one: “Utinam logica falsa tuam philosophiam totam suffodiant.” (“May faulty logic undermine your entire philosophy.”) Ooh, now that’s nasty, right?

One place where you can easily express things in an impactful way without using bad words is the Internet. Or as I sometimes write to my children: “Do not make me use CAPITAL LETTERS.”

8 7 2 9 4 3 1 6 5

RESIDENTIAL LAND FOR SALE

Curse Words For Classy Families

5 9 6 2 1 7 8 4 3

CLASSIFIEDS

October 2015

3 1 4 5 8 6 7 9 2

20 NRI PULSE

9

7 4

6

NRI Pulse Online Magazine The Complete Portal for NRIs www.NRIPulse.com News, Views, Blogs, Features, Perspectives, Debates, Community Profiles, Immigration, Health, Business, Youth, Fashion, Entertainment, Bollywood, Cookery, Free Classifieds and more...

October 2015

FEATURE

INSURANCE

NRI PULSE 21

Championing Change Through Coding “This is White House Public Relations”, is hardly what Prabakaran Murugaiah expected to hear as he answered his daughter’s phone and casually inquired the caller’s identity. At 15, while most teenagers are gearing up for their drivers permit, Swetha Prabarakan headed straight to the White House on September 15, 2015 as recipient of the prestigious Champions of Change Award. Swetha is among 11 young women selected for the honors. A junior at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, Swetha is founder and CEO of Everybody Code Now!, a non-profit working to empower the next generation of youth to become engineers, scientists, and entrepreneurs.

Under Swetha’s direction, Everybody Code Now! has taught hundreds of students how to code and has raised thousands of dollars for STEM activities in schools, according to a press release by the White House.

The ‘Champions of Change Award’ is conferred upon young women empowering and inspiring their communities. In addition to honoring these young people for their courage and contributions, the goal of the event is to inspire girls and young women to recognize their potential for leadership as educators, advocates, peer-mentors, artists and entrepreneurs and to appreciate that they can be leaders in their own way and in their own style.

Swetha talks to JYOTHSNA HEGDE about her journey so far, and her future aspirations.

MARTIAL ARTS

favorite sports or animals and watched the quietest students become the classroom leaders.

How and why did you develop an interest in coding? And how did the idea of starting your own company come into being?

I would never have entered computer science if I hadn’t seen powerful women in this field from an early age, such as my mother and my freshman Computer Science teacher. My mom has a computer engineering degree, so I grew up hearing a lot of computer jargon in the house! My Computer Science teacher, Ms.Ria Galanos, further sparked my curiosity and interest by showing me the applications of computer science (pun intended) outside of the classroom!

Being able to see women I admired and looked up to in this space gave me the confidence I needed to pursue my love for computer science, and I wanted such encouragement and role models to exist for other girls, like my little sister.

By 2020, we’ll have more than 1.4 million tech jobs in the US, but girls still hesitate to enter engineering and technology due to stereotypes. Without encouraging more people to enter programming, we will never be able to fill those positions. It’s crucial to include women in conversations about technology. Over half of the users of technology are women, and when they’re not creating the content or they don’t know how, they’re not going to be able to solve the issues that affect them and won’t be able to target the communities that are important to them.

I really wanted other girls to have strong mentors and exposure to tech the way I did, and the realization that most schools don’t offer any sort of computer science course for any students further strengthened my resolve to create a program to introduce more kids to Computer Science. It was in that moment that my non-profit, Everybody Code Now!, was born.

Through Everybody Code Now!, I’ve been able to teach hundreds of kids to code and make them smile while doing so, and have also helped bring more science and engineering activities to schools.

I’ve seen elementary school girls who had never heard of programming blossom into confident students building websites about their

How do you manage your time between running a company and studying for school?

Truthfully, I’m still learning! It’s a tough balancing act for sure, because school comes first. I’ve learned to stay organized (I’m a big fan of to-do lists and calendars!) and to try to front-load homework and studying if possible, especially for harder subjects like calculus and physics. Like many other teens, I’ve found the biggest challenge is not actually managing the school with my other obligations, but rather balancing everything together while still including time for sleep!

I usually spend a few hours each day on week-nights doing work related to Everybody Code Now!, but a good amount of my non-profit work happens on weekends.

I also have a large team of volunteers spread out across the country and work very closely with them to delegate work, which really helps all of us manage our workloads! About 99% of my team is made up of high school or college students, so we’re all under lots of pressure and manage many activities in addition to our professional obligations, but we make it a point to carve out a couple hours everyday to get our company work done.

It takes tons of advance planning, organization, as well as clear and frequent communication, and I’m still figuring out what strategies work best for me and my team members, but it’s definitely possible to manage a company and school work!

Tell us how you found out that you were one of recipients of the Champions of Change Award.

I received a phone call one late summer afternoon from an unknown number, which my dad casually picked up. The caller was looking for me, and thinking it was one of my friends, my dad was very casual and relaxed… until they said “This is White House Public Relations”! It was such a surprise, and for a few moments I was speechless. It was such an honor to be named as a Champion and to be able to join the ranks of countless others before me who have all done incredible work to create change.

It was an incredible experience to be able to go to THE White House and meet the other champions, as well as high ranking white house officials like Valerie Jarrett (Senior Advisor to the President), Tina Tchen (Executive Director of the White House council on Women and Girls) and Megan Smith (United States Chief Technology Officer). Hearing their stories, as well as those of other influential women like Serena Auñon, was really inspiring.

At the award ceremony, I also got the chance to hear Dr. Jo Handelsman, Associate Director for Science, speak on the importance of STEM education for girls, and also participated on a panel with other champions about leadership in our communities. I was able to share ideas and interact with great thought leaders and make a lot of connections with STEM professionals around the country to help expand Everybody Code Now! Overall, it was a wonderful experience and was one I will remember for the rest of my life!

Read the complete interview on our website www.NRIPulse.com.

PHOTO/VIDEO SERVICES

PLUMBING

TAILORING/ALTERATIONS

........ What’s Cooking? ........

22 NRI PULSE

Chum Chum BYP.S. LAKSHMI RAO

1 gallon whole milk 2 teaspoons vinegar 2 teaspoons water 1 1/2 teaspoons ravva (soji)

Tighten the cloth with the cheese inside. Hang the cheese bundle or put some weight on it, until all the water has drained, for three hours.

Remove cheese from the cloth onto a plate.

Mix in three teaspoons ravva and knead until very smooth for eight to ten minutes. Sprinkle a few drops of water if the cheese is too hard.

Make the cheese into 36 oval shaped smooth

4 cups sugar 8 cups water ½ teaspoon crushed cardamom seeds ¼ teaspoon saffron soaked in a tablespoon of milk (optional) Heat milk on medium high until boiling and remove from heat. In a separate bowl, mix 2 teaspoons vinegar with 2 teaspoons water. Add vinegar mixture to milk, stirring until the milk curdles. Line a colander with a cloth and pour the curdled milk into the colander. Run cold water over the curdled milk, which should now resemble soft cheese.

balls and flatten.

Divide 4 cups sugar and 8 cups water into two large pans. (2 cups sugar x 4 cups water each). Bring both pans to a boil on high heat, mixing until the sugar has melted into syrup.

Slowly drop half the chum chums into one pan and the other half into the second pan. Reduce heat to medium low and cook chum chums covered for two hours manually rotating them periodically. Add more water if the syrup is getting too thick or reduce the heat.

Cook chum chums until they become light brown. Sprinkle with cardamom and saffron. Remove chum chums from the syrup when they are cold. Keep them in the refrigerator to make them crunchy.

I’d like to thank Mrs. Lakshmi Lakkakula (Chattanooga GA) for sharing this recipe.

Almond Barfi 1 cup almonds with skin or without the skin 1/2 cup milk 1 cup sugar 2 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter)

........ InVogue .......

Get Your Wardrobe Ready For Garba bangles. Use multi-color paranda in yur hair.

Off-white net flared lehnga with brocade choli. The plain lehnga is enhanced with floral motifs on the inner layer of the lehnga.

Shimmer embroidered foil patterned hemline frames the borders. Comes with matching net four-side border dupatta.

Blue-green panel lehnga in silk fabric. The flaired A-line is fashioned with pretty embroidered appliqués and scattered crystals.

Comes with the heavy long blouse with georgette dupatta with four side gota border.

BY RANI SHARMA Navratri is a nine day festival celebrated by Hindus. The nine days represent the nine manifestations of the powerful and benevolent goddess Durga.

Navratri is celebrated all across India. In West Bengal, Navratri is celebrated as Durga puja .

Navratri is also the time for garba and dandiya raas, and hence, garba fashion and dandiya accessories.

Red flared lehnga choli is fashioned with elegant tone on tone embroidered designs sparkling with crystals all over. Comes with matching choli and four side border dupatta.

Antique jewelry set with matching glass

Jewelry: Antique Gujarati style with lots of matching bangles.

Purse: potli style Make-up: light with bindi Shoes: very comfortable flats.

For More info, call me at 404-386-2062 or visit Raneez Boutique in Decatur, GA.

October 2015 ½ teaspoon crushed cardamom seeds ¼ teaspoon saffron threads soaked in teaspoon of milk (optional) Method Soak almonds in cold water for an hour.

Boil 2 cups water in small sauce pan and add almonds.

Boil them for a minute. Remove almonds from hot water and put them in ice water.

Take one almond at a time in between your thumb and index finger and squeeze it to remove the skin. Repeat with rest of the almonds. You can eliminate this process if you are using almonds without skin.

Blend almonds with milk in a blender until it becomes thick paste. Remove the almond paste from the blender in to a thick non-stick pan and mix with sugar.

Place the pan on the stove over medium heat.

Stir continuously with a heat proof spatula until the almond mixture becomes thick.

Add a little ghee in between until all the ghee is finished. Mix cardamom powder and saffron (if using). Spread almond barfi over a greased plate.

Cut in to desired shapes when barfi is cold.