Austin South Asian. June 2018

Monthly Community Paper | www.austinsouthasian.com | 512-828-6709 | Vol. 11 No. 06

Mayor Adler’s Reelection

By Archana Vemulapalli Seema Govil Photo credit Srivas Photography

The South Asian Community recently threw a fundraiser gala for

Historic Austin-Pune Sister

Mayor Steve Adler, bringing in the largest number of new donors to his reelection campaign thus far.

(Continued On Page 02)

Austin Tamil School

By APSCI

By Mahendran Nagarajan

In a historic step, a Sister City Ini-

Victory ! Victory !! Long term dream came true for Tamil speaking people who live in Austin. Yes, Austin Tamil School has been Accredited.

tiative has been formed between Austin, Texas and Pune, Maharashtra——the first sister city initiative between Austin and a city in India. This initiative will foster exchanges in the areas of sustainability, health, smart city, business, culture, and education.

(Continued On Page 07)

We all should be proud to recognize that Austin Tamil School is one of the many Tamil school who (Continued On Page 08)

Pratham Austin Readathon 2018

By Swati Nigam

2018 Launch at the Lost Creek Park to l e a r n m o r e a b o u t Readathon as well as sign up for the Austin Readat h o n Team!

The reading and fundraising efforts of participants of 2017 Austin Readathon was also appreciated with trophies and certificates. (Continued On Page 16)

inside

June 2018

Mayor Adler’s...............02 What You Learned In...04 Mukul Sharma.............04 Reduce Stress..............05 9 Ayurvedic Herbs........05 New Technology Is.......06 Arun’s Scribblings.........06

July 2018

Art & Culture Walk Green 2018 International Special

On a beautiful Saturday afternoon of 12th May, 15 families got together for the Austin Readathon

By Ashish Patel Community members of all ages came out with their families to sup-

port the annual BAPS Charities Walk Green 2018 in Austin, Texas on Sunday, April 29.

2018 marks the third year that the annual BAPS Charities walkathon will benefit The Nature Conservancy and their effort to conserve the lands and waters on earth to sustain life for upcoming generations.

(Continued On Page 12)

Day Of Yoga 512-828-6709

Join Austin’s biggest Yoga movement Festivities for the 4th International Day of Yoga will be held at the Texas State Capitol on June 16th @5:45pm with the vision to Keep Austin Yogic!

(Continued On Page 09)

APSCI..........................07 Large Scale Efforts.......08 HC4A Provides.............09 International Day.........09 Tips To Create A Resume That Lands You............10 SAIVA..........................12 Data Agora..................12 SWNB Scholarship........13 Maliks................13,14,15 Mom’s Phone Not.........15 AC Tempertaure...........16 Sleeping In On............18 Childrens Page...17,22,23 Prevent Summer Death20 Community Calendar....21 Slim Down Tips............23 Entertainment.........26,27

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South Asian Community Lends Support To Mayor Adler’s Reelection (Continued From Page 01) The evening started with a short in-

ghese, to continuously supporting initiatives that champion the integration of various communities.

Sethi highlighted the pride Austinites feel to have Steve Adler as Mayor.

troduction by attorney Pooja Sethi, who owns an immigration law firm and hence pays special attention to the policies and politics in Austin.

Mayor Adler took the stage to address the community gathered to support his reelection bid, and he gave an inspiring speech about the many progressive strides that Austin has made recently.

She noted that Mayor Adler has undertaken several initiatives to ensure the Austin community is inclusive, progressive, and diverse — from appointing the first female Indian Chief of Staff, Lesley Ver-

Mayor Adler called Austin a magical place with its unique, laid back culture, saying, “From Barton Springs to the food - Austin is a place that attracts people from all over and we are in the spotlight.”

Austin is now one of the bigger metropolitans and is being touted as an example.

No city has done it right yet so let’s be that pioneer to get that sense of community, inclusivity right,” he

Next — both its merits and concerns — as well as the expansion of Austin Bergstrom Airport and the addition of more domestic & international flights.

He also discussed the possibil-

and his chance meeting with Dalai Lama there.

A little 10 year old girl asked him about whether he thinks east Austin is getting gentrified too rapidly.

He responded saying that it definitely is and that growth needs to be measured.

Then a small boy lightened the mood by asking if we could have longer weekends. Unfortunately, Mayor Adler said, as much as he would love to, he can’t grant us that wish!

The Mayor stayed afterward and conversed with constituents and supporters. Many interesting conversations ensued throughout the evening.

said. Adler then touched upon topics such as infrastructure & roads.

The removal of traffic lights on 360 elicited a huge hoorah from the crowd. He also discussed Code

ity of having a professional soccer team that brings about team spirit and pride for the city. Before taking questions he recalled an anecdote about his recent visit to India

It was truly a fantastic fundraiser that allowed for dialog and for the Asian American to participate and get involved with a sense of civic duty and strengthen our city and community.

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Austin South Asian | June 2018

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Austin South Asian | June 2018

Mukul Sharma

By Seema Govil

Mukul Sharma, professor and “Tex” Moncrief Chair in the Hildebrand Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering in the Cockrell School of Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering.

He is recognized for his contributions to the science and technology of production from unconventional hydrocarbon reservoirs.

Sharma has been on the UT Austin faculty for over 33 years, serving as chair of the Hildebrand Department from 2001 to 2005. He has published more than 400 journal articles

and conference proceedings and has 21 patents.

He has co-founded 4 energy technology companies including Austin Geotech Services, Pipe Fractional Flow, Geomechanics Software and Consulting and Subsurface Fracture Imaging, and co-founded 3 private E&P companies Layline Petroleum, Karsu Petroleum and Navidad Energy. Sharma has a bachelor of technology in chemical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur and an MS and PhD in chemical and petroleum engineering from the University of Southern California. He is the winner of the John Franklin Carll Award, the Anthony F. Lucas Gold Medal and the Faculty Distinguished Achievement Award from the Society of Petroleum Engineers. He served as a SPE Distinguished Lecturer in 2002, has served on the Editorial Boards of many journals, and taught and consulted for industry worldwide.

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Membership in the NAE honors those who have made outstanding contributions to engineering research and practice, including pioneering new and developing fields of technology and making major advancements in the field and profession. Among this year’s most notable elected members is Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos.

Is What You Learned In History Class Wrong?

If you think your history lessons in school were completely factual, you may be mistaken.

“Much of what you know about history may be limited or even wrong,” says Marc Wilson, author of “Kidnapped by Columbus,” a new historical novel.

tives to act as guides in his search for gold and the Garden of Eden.

At the end of his first voyage, he kidnapped six natives from the island of Hispaniola and took the “Indians” to Spain to prove that

“All too often, legends, poems and myths are emphasized in favor of more complex truths.

Columbus a Kidnapper

But Columbus never landed on or even saw North America, and when he sailed in the Caribbean and along the coast of Central and South America, he kidnapped na-

He was a great sailor and explorer, but he traded in slaves and brought devastating diseases to the New World.

He opened the door for Cortez to conquer the Aztec Empire, and for Pizarro to conquer the Inca Empire,” Wilson adds.

Washington’s Cherry Tree

History is usually written by the victors, not the victims.” What that in mind, here are four historical facts that may surprise you.

“In 1492, Columbus sailed the Ocean Blue,” says the famous poem that most Americans know.

him with a U.S. federal holiday and naming cities after him, his actions led to the exploitation and deaths of millions of people.

he’d reached India. Native Americans have been mislabeled as “Indians” ever since.

“While many around the world hail Columbus as a hero, even honoring

As the myth goes, young George Washington couldn’t tell a lie and confessed to his father that he damaged his cherry tree.

However, one of his biographers, Mason Locke Weems, had no such

problems with the truth and invented this whopper in the fifth edition of his Washington biography, entitled “The Life of Washington” in 1806.

Jackie Robinson: Not First

And Washington never wore wooden dentures, either. He had different dentures made from gold, ivory and even lead.

While he was the first in the modern era, breaking into the National League in 1947, way back in 1884, Moses Fleetwood Walker played for the Toledo Blue Stockings as catcher.

Napoleon: Not Short Napoleon wasn’t actually short. At the end of his life he was measured at 5 feet 2 inches -- which sounds short until you learn this was in French inches, which are longer than British inches.

In today’s inches, the fiery tyrant actually stood around 5 feet, 7 inches, which was slightly taller than the average European man of his day.

He also employed tall soldiers in his personal guard, which made him seem shorter by comparison.

Jackie Robinson was not the first African American to play baseball in the major leagues.

The team was part of the American Association, one of three major leagues of its day.

Baseball maintained segregation for many decades after this and Robinson became the first player to end this segregation in April, 1947.

So, how can those interested in history go about arriving at the truth?

From, historical novels to primary source materials, reading beyond the textbook can give you a more complete and accurate history.

(StatePoint)

5

Austin South Asian | June 2018

5 Ways To Reduce Everyday Stress

Deadlines, responsibilities, bills -there are so many causes of stress in our lives. Unfortunately, stress can take a negative toll on one’s health and wellness, particularly if it goes unaddressed for too long.

Indeed, common effects of stress include headaches, stomach upset, anxiety, sleep problems and more, according to the Juneo Clinic.

properties. Combine the two with hiking, biking, and water-based sports. Support your adventures with water-resistant wearable tech, like the WSD-F20 ProTrek Smart Outdoor Watch, which features functions like full color maps and

GPS, app functionality to track progress, as well as sensor technology, allowing you to comfortably get off the beaten path and better appreciate your surroundings.

• Meditate: Many experts agree on

the benefits of meditation, from increased positive emotions to the relief of stress and anxiety. And these days, meditation is more accessible than ever, as employers offer mindfulness programs in the workplace, mobile apps in guided meditation abound, and communities and fitness clubs add practices like tai chi and yoga to their rosters.

• Enjoy music: Music can be an extremely powerful outlet for stress relief, particularly when you’re getting creative and making it yourself. Have the means at home to play a variety of beautiful music so that you can de-stress any time you need. To faithfully reproduce the sounds of acoustic instruments like guitars, drums, basses, brass, wind instruments, string ensembles and more, you don’t need an entire music studio full of separate instruments.

This Month, consider these strategies for relieving stress.

• Aromatherapy: Scent your home and workspace with stress-relieving scents like lavender, rosemary and peppermint. Whether you use candles, oils or fresh herbs, this is an easy way to immediately reduce feelings of stress.

• Get outdoors: Both exercise and nature can have stress-relieving

The upgraded technology and sound quality found in digital pianos like Casio’s CT-X700, which includes the new AiX SoundSource, reproduces subtle nuances and gestures specific to each sound.

• Keep a journal: Keeping a journal can be a good way of putting things in perspective and thinking through the short- and long-term problems and challenges that are causing you stress.

Plus, the ritual aspect of what could be made into a daily habit, June have a calming effect on the body and mind.

This Stress Awareness Month and beyond, considering adopting stress-reducing hobbies and habits for a healthier body and mind.

(StatePoint)

Here’s Why You Should Add These 9 Ayurvedic Herbs In Your Daily Diet Fresh herbs do not only add flavour without calories, but they also offer various health benefits as healing foods.

Incorporating relevant herbs in your daily diet is the first step towards a healthier you.

keep fit. We suggest some amazing herbs that you should definitely bring into use.

1. Guduchi Guduchi helps support the immune system and also helps com-

2. Neem

5. Ashvagandha

nity system.

Neem helps fight acne by inhibiting bacterial growth; thanks to its antibacterial properties.

This herb contains rejuvenating properties and being an adaptopgen, helps cope with stress, reduces harmful effects of long term stress on the body, and promotes healthy and sound sleep.

8. Guggul

It also helps promote skin wellness, which becomes more important during summers.

It helps rejuvenate your skin, and prevents the recurrence of acne and blemishes.

3. Brahmi Brahmi is a traditional, therapeutic herb is commonly used in the Ayurvedic medicine as a memory enhancer, aphrodisiac and general tonic. It can also improve cognitive performance.

Ayurveda suggests some amazing herbs that you should definitely add to your diet considering they contain compounds that promote health.

Make sure you use fresh herbs in order to reap maximum benefits to

bat against infections by increasing effectiveness of disease-fighting white blood cells.

Make sure you include this herb in your daily diet that will further help in increasing body’s resistance against stress and illness.

6. Triphala Triphala is known to be one of the best remedies for constipation and other digestive issues.

Triphala is known to promote overall digestive wellness in a number of ways.

It acts as an effective colon cleanser, regularises normal bowel movements and aids healthy digestion.

4. Coriander

7. Tulsi

Drinking coriander juice is known to help with weight loss. It helps in boosting your metabolism and thereby, burning more calories that plays a crucial role in weight loss.

Tulsi or holy basil is said to be the queen of herbs that yields beneficial results for respiratory wellness.

Add some lime juice to your drink to make it tastier and more effective.

It has compounds that are known to have anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and expectorant properties.

It also helps build a healthy immu-

Another Ayurvedic herb, guggul is derived from the flowering mukul myrrh tree.

It helps in the utilisation of fat as fuel to provide energy.

9. Haridra This herb contains beneficial inflammation-relieving properties.

It boosts cell health through its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, further helping improve overall health.

This makes it a potent tool in your preventive wellness toolkit, helping you overcome a number of health problems before they even have a chance to make an appearance.

Make sure you consult your Ayurveda expert before you switch to these herbs.

(Courtesy: https://www.ndtv.com)

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Austin South Asian | June 2018

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Scribblings By Arun MUDDLED MIND

All are born free and pure, naive and novice.

By default most are brought up to be Theists.

A few venture out to find the true facts.

Many fail and end up as agnostics.

With claims huge, beliefs and faiths too many, Mind is muddled in varied doubts and queries.

Unable blindly to follow path any, Striving to reach out, drowned in pool muddy.

Answer to obscurity of creations; Unresolved, esoteric, it remains.

Due to divergence in science and scriptures; Ambiguity exists in inquisitive minds.

Grant wisdom little more , Oh! Super power.

Why not you soon appear, the doubts to clear.

How New Technology Is Helping Students And Teachers New and emerging technologies are supporting today’s students and teachers in unprecedented ways.

Here are a few ways this is happening in schools in local communities across the country.

• Communication Apps.

New apps such as ClassDojo, are

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making it easier for teachers to actively communicate with students and parents. Teachers can send encouraging messages to students via the app and message with parents.

What’s more, students can create digital portfolios to share at home with their families. With flexibility to access the app on tablets, phones, computers and smartboards, its versatility helps foster a learning community.

• Collaborative Math Resources.

The textbook is no longer the sole resource math students can rely on to succeed. New software is making mathematics more accessible, interactive and personalized. For

example, ClassPad.net, a one-stop shop for educators and students, helps students investigate mathematics more deeply and enhance their understanding of related concepts. Designed to be equally usable by keyboard/mouse and touchscreen-based platforms, this all-in-one web-based mathematics resource is geared for K-12 mathematics and beyond. Allowing for simultaneous work with calculations, graphing, geometry and data analysis/statistics, this tech helps teachers demonstrate things they can’t show in other ways, something 65 percent of educators said was important in a study conducted by PBS Learning Media.

augmented reality is creating new opportunities to “visit” interesting locations and engage with their surroundings.

• World “Travel.”

• 3-D Printers.

While nothing will replace the excitement of a field trip, leaving school grounds can be time consuming and cost prohibitive.

Luckily, no permission slip is required to travel the world from the comfort of the classroom. Today’s classrooms are using Google Earth to virtually visit the sites of a distant city or observe the topography of a mountain range. They can also access the collections and exhibitions of museums and libraries around the world online. And

Classrooms fortunate enough to have 3-D printers are able to give students endless hands-on opportunities to be creative, and teachers can use the printers to create needed classroom materials -- from anatomical and architectural models to maps and musical instruments.

• Advanced Lesson Presentations.

Remember the overhead projector in your classroom? Today’s teachers have more versatile options that can even be controlled from a smartphone or tablet. For example, Casio’s award-winning LampFree XJ-UT351WN Ultra Short Throw projector features two HDMI ports, a dust-resistant design and the ability to generate large images over very short projection distances, such as in classrooms.

Even in very small classrooms, it can project an 80-inch from just 1.5 feet away. Schools looking to go green, save money or both will benefit from its hybrid Laser and LED light source, which eliminates the need for expensive and hazardous mercury lamps while delivering a 20,000-hour estimated operating life.

As classrooms adopt cutting edge technologies, students are being given exciting new methods of absorbing lessons in their school subjects. (StatePoint)

7

Austin South Asian | June 2018

Historic Austin-Pune Sister City Initiative (APSCI) Launched Through Public Events And Exchanges

(Continued From Page 01) This in turn will provide opportunities for businesses, organizations, and individuals to share and grow.

Austin Mayor Steve Adler and Pune Mayor Mukta Tilak have already exchanged mails and registered the Memorandum of Understanding.

The first event, hosted by SAIVA, was on April 28 at Hill Country Church. It featured a Meet & Greet with Ms. Manjiri Dhamankar, who also co-led an intergenerational social integration discussion through literature and other materials.

for America, South Asian Austin Moms, Austin Marathi Mandal, Heartfulness Meditation Group, and APSCI formally donated documents to Austin History Center to record and preserve Indian American history for historic refer-

works, a panel discussion of authors was moderated by newscaster Ms. Hema Mullur of KEYE.

A lecture on climate governance by UT LBJ School of Public Affairs professor Dr. Joshua Busby was followed by a round table discussion with dignitaries from the Austin City Council and Travis County.

Future events of the Sister City Initiative are being planned towards a Friendship City designation.

Ms. Dhamankar presented literary readings on the earth, discussed sustainability, and sang for the audience.

A delegation from the Austin Economic Development Department Global Business Expansion Division and Greater Austin Asian Chamber of Commerce have visited Pune in January 2018 to pave the way to the Sister City Initiative.

A series of inaugural cultural/literary exchanges occurred in Austin from April 28 to May 16, 2018.

APSCI was proud to welcome author and entrepreneur Ms. Manjiri Dhamankar from Pune, India for those events.

The third event, held May 5 at the Lost Creek MUD Community Center, was hosted by IACT.

The second event was on May 1 at the Austin History Center. The Indian American Coalition of Texas (IACT), SAIVA, Hindu Charities

ence and research. Over 75 Indian American organizations have been invited to donate materials.

The final event organized by APSCI was a cross-cultural literary exchange on May 16 at the Asian American Resource Center of Austin. Participating authors were Ms. Dhamankar, Hispanic author Antonio Ruiz-Camacho, Chicana poet Ire’ne Lara Silva, African American academic Dr. Helena Woodard, and Indian American poet Saryu Parikh.

After all authors read some chosen

These include a Hackathon involving both cities in early fall and a visit by a delegation from Austin to Pune in late September, including Austin City Council member Alison Alter and Texas Secretary of State Rolando Pablos.

For more information about upcoming events, visit us at https:// www.facebook.com/austinpune on Facebook or contact us at austinpunesistercity@gmail.com.

This project is supported in part by the Cultural Arts Division of the City of Austin Economic Development Department, with additional support from the Indian American Coalition of Texas and the APSCI team.

Are Millennials In Good Financial Shape?

Now comprising the largest percentage of the workforce, millennials report that their parents did not give them much guidance about investing and many are not confident they are saving enough for the future.

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Financial experts say that this knowledge gap could prove challenging for this segment of the population in the long-term.

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According to a new PNC Investments Millennials & Investing survey, this demographic largely agrees that while they learned about saving money at a young age, they did not receive as much guidance from their parents about building wealth through investing.

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“When it comes to building wealth over the long-term, investing is a critical component that should not be ignored.”(StatePoint)

8

Austin South Asian | June 2018

Accreditation For Austin Tamil School

(Continued From Page 01) have got similar Accreditation in United States of America.

This Accreditation certificate has been released to the public by Dr.Chinna Natesan on April-1,2018 at the picnic event hosted by Austin Tamil School.

Austin Tamil School was founded in 2012 as a registered 501(c) (3) non-profit organization with a 100% volunteer-run organization where classes conducted on Sundays as a part-time School with curriculum designed by American Tamil Academy.

academic year, it has grown into a 170+ student organization supported by over 50 volunteers as teachers, facilitators, and administrators.

Austin Tamil School long term goal was obtaining Language Other Than English (LOTE) credit in the respective Texas Independent School Districts(ISD) which will help the students to get due recognition for their foreign language learning abilities.

It was started as a pilot program with about 20 students and six volunteer teachers. In 2017-18

As a first step of achieving this goal, Austin Tamil School should get an Accreditation from a 3rd party agency, to meet this goal an Accreditation committee has been formed in September-2016, they had worked with various similar Tamil schools in other cities such as Houston, St. Louis and San An-

Studies have shown that high-quality pre-K education better prepares children to achieve in school and

and president of PNC Foundation.

“Luckily, it’s easier than ever to get involved in supporting local efforts

tonio to gather preliminary details.

the final Accreditation readiness.

This committee has decided to work with AdvancED (http://www. advanc-ed.org/ - a non-profit, nongovernmental organization that accredits primary and secondary schools throughout the United States and internationally) to help achieve their Accreditation. Initial Readiness Review was presented

by AdvancED in January-2017.

Few of the committee members had attended AdvancED work shop during summer-2017.

AdvancED had done their final Accreditation readiness visit on November-5, 2017 which was led by Judy Moss and other team members include Dr.Cindy Crawford and Dr. Nandini Rangarajan.

Professor Dr.Nandini Rangarajan is from Texas State University who knows Tamil very well helped translate the Tamil text and conversation to the rest of the AdvanceED team members.

Austin Tamil School was preparing the detailed documents on each activity and made improvements on some of the internal process to help achieve Accreditation. This team met several times to perform an internal assessment to get ready for

As part of this process, AdvancED team had done an extensive interview with parents, students, volunteers and they have visited every class room and observed the method of teaching by our volunteer teachers.

AdvancED team was very im-

their classrooms, and donors can give to the vetted projects that inspire them.

project requests and donations. For specific guidelines on the match offer, visit DonorsChoose.org/pnc.

Any person interested in helping pre-K teachers can access DonorsChoose.org and donate to a project.

• Teacher Gift Cards:

pressed with the way the Austin Tamil School operates and they are happy with the processes being followed hence they have recommended for Accreditation.

As per their recommendation, Texas State and National Board has accepted the recommendation and the Accreditation certification issued to Austin Tamil School in Mar 2018.

It is a duty of Tamil people who live in Austin to preserve this prestigious Accreditation. Congratulations to the Austin Tamil School Parents, Students and volunteers on this significant achievement.

For more details – http://www.austintamilschool.com

Large-Scale Efforts Helping Pre-K Teachers Receive Resources; You Can, Too

“Though teachers often spend their own money on classroom supplies, they still need many more resources to provide a well-rounded, high-quality learning experience,” says Yasmina S. Vinci, executive director, National Head Start Association (NHSA), a not-for-profit advocacy organization dedicated to supporting the Head Start community. makes them more likely to strive for higher vocational aspirations.

It also has a positive impact on society.

For every dollar spent on highquality early education, society gains as much as $13 in long-term savings, according to a 2016 study

by Nobel Laureate, James Heckman.

“Too many teachers struggle to access essential classroom resources,” says Sally McCrady, chair

to help pre-K teachers and their classrooms and students.”

The four major initiatives of this alliance include:

Large-scale efforts are being made to help more teachers, classrooms and children get the resources they need, such as science kits, books, art supplies and field trips.

• Match Funding:

One example of this is a $5 million alliance between the PNC Foundation and DonorsChoose.org, a crowd-funding platform whereby teachers request the materials and experiences they need most for

From now through May 31, 2018, PNC will match, dollar-for-dollar, donations made within its service area that support public pre-K and Head Start teachers’ project requests listed on DonorsChoose. org, with some restrictions.

The duration of the match campaign depends on the number of

Every teacher who submitted a preK project request in the PNC footprint since April 4, 2017 received a $100 electronic gift card to be used on DonorsChoose.org.

More than 3,700 public pre-K and Head Start teachers received the cards to support new projects.

• Spotlight: One outstanding early education teacher in most PNC markets has been honored as a Teacher Hero for his or her efforts and involvement in the alliance.

All honorees received a $2,000 gift card to fund a project in their classrooms and a second $2,000 gift card to help seed other pre-K projects listed on DonorsChoose.org.

• PNC Volunteer Gift Cards: All PNC employees who volunteered for the early education initiative Grow Up Great in 2017 will receive a $50 electronic gift card to

support pre-K project requests on DonorsChoose.org.

These resources are already having real-world impacts. Last year’s campaign enabled nearly 244,000 preschool children across 21 states and the District of Columbia to receive new classroom materials and educational opportunities.

More than 7,500 pre-K classroom projects benefited from the grant, which was made in support of PNC Grow Up Great, its $350 million early childhood education initiative.

Teachers and donors can visit PNCGrowUpGreat.com/donorschoose for more information.

“Because of these efforts, we can introduce our children to more activities and opportunities to learn more skills,” says Chicago pre-K teacher, Denise Lopez-Gill.

“The supplies that I have received have transformed our classroom environment.”

(StatePoint)

9

Austin South Asian | June 2018

International Day Of Yoga Returns To Texas State Capitol June 16th

(Continued From Page 01) Texas State representatives, Austin City Council members and Consulate of India, Houston have supported this event since 2015.

lead a healthy, peaceful and happy life. Yoga’s universality and rele-

boundaries of nationality, cultures and religions.

Since then, this family friendly free event has drawn more than 3000+ Austinites and local Yoga studios/partners making it the biggest Yoga movement Austin has seen at one place and time fueled by love of Yoga, as a service to the community.

The knowledge of Yoga is eternal. This ancient wisdom has withstood the impact of changing times through the ages and is as relevant today as it was 5000 years ago. Yoga continues to benefit humanity as a guiding light to

Yoga has something for everyone and Yoga is for everybody. On December 11, 2014, the 193 member United Nations General Assembly proclaimed June 21st as “International Day of Yoga” by consensus with a record 177 co-sponsoring countries.

In its resolution, the UNGA recognized that Yoga provides a holistic approach to health and well-being and wider dissemination of information about the benefits of practicing Yoga for the health of the world population.

This free event is being presented

by The Art of Living Austin, sponsored by FITT Finder in collaboration with many local studios and partners. International Day of Yoga provides a unique platform unify-

vance is timeless as this wonderful knowledge transcends beyond the

ing diverse communities in Austin across all ages and backgrounds.

This year’s theme is “Yoga for Warriors” and we invite all the veteran community to join.

The program includes 90 min Yoga postures, peace meditation, live music and acro Yoga with local artists. Wear your cool summer whites, bring your Yoga mat and water.

RSVP:https://www.facebook.com/ events/179276286055244/ email: iyd@artoflivingaustin.org

Hindu Charities For America Provides Thousands Of Dollars To Aid Texas Students And Is Honored

By Awards And White House Recognition

By Aashi Morales, HC4A Volunteer

The work they do is very important.”

“Thank you for helping [Keisha (eighth grade student)] with school supplies!”

HC4A raises funds to provide school supplies to homeless stu-

Hindu Charities for America (HC4A) and its founder, Harish Kotecha, were recently recognized for this outstanding charitable work, receiving awards from both

These were the words of a grateful homeless, single mother with lupus, at Hindu Charities for America’s (HC4A) April 29, 2018 Bollywood Meets Borscht Belt event, one of the many economically disadvantaged people benefiting from the funds raised at the event.

GAACC president and CEO Mariana Bhargava presented the award to HC4A’s founder and president, Harish Kotecha.

Also recognized at the VIP table was HC4A’s vice-president, Dinesh Vakharia.

During the afternoon of dance, music, food, and fun, $26,000 was raised for school supplies for homeless students in the Austin area.

Jan Cohen, a first-time attendee, was enthusiastic about the multicultural nature of the event and being able to “introduce my kids to new foods and new dances.”

Dr. Royce Avery, the keynote speaker, noted that “though I work with many charities, [HC4A] stands out in making a difference.

The Ovation gala brings together over 700 businesses, leaders, individuals, organizations, and civic servants in an annual celebration of Asian Pacific American heritage and accomplishments and honors the most outstanding businesses, organizations, and individuals in the Austin area.

A video recounting the achievements and service by HC4A was played to the audience. dents and vocational education scholarships to needy students.

This year, HC4A awarded $78,000 in scholarships for more than 130 students and raised $26,000 for school supplies to help more than 1,400 students.

the Greater Austin Asian Chamber of Commerce (GAACC) and the White House.

HC4A received the GAACC’s “Outstanding Community Organization Award” on May 18, 2018, at GAACC’s annual awards gala, Ovation.

Texas State Senator Kirk Watson sent a letter commending HC4A, calling the award “a tribute to the hard work and dedication” by HC4A, and applauding HC4A as “truly an asset to our community.”

The award recognizes the efforts of hundreds of volunteers, over

1,000 donors, over 100 business sponsors, and others that support HC4A in its mission to bridge income disparity through education with the philosophy of “Live Here, Give Here!”

On the same day, HC4A’s founder received the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Corporation of National and Community Service and the Office of the President of the United States.

The award honored Kotecha for his “lifelong commitment to building a stronger nation through volunteer service.”

HC4A has also recently expanded into California, receiving its certificate of qualification from the California Secretary of State on May 7, 2018.

HC4A plans to work with the Los Angeles Community College District to provide fifteen scholarships to select economically disadvantaged students.

10

Austin South Asian | June 2018

Beginning June 3rd, Capital Metro is bringing you a redrawn map of services that are more frequent, more reliable and better-connected, called Cap Remap. To help our customers adjust to the new network of services, Capital Metro is offering a week of free rides from June 3-9.

To plan your trips for June, see maps of the new services and learn more about the changes, visit CapMetro.org/Remap.

11

Austin South Asian | June 2018

Friday, June 29, 2018 8:00 p.m.

H-E-B Center at Cedar Park Austin, TX Tickets: www.giftofvision.org/events www.ticketmaster.com

For Info & Sponsorship:

512-769-3057

408-910-6130

H-E-B Center Box Office

1-866-SANKARA

Please join MISSION FOR VISION with Sankara Eye Foundation • • •

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• SEF is the largest free eye care provider in the world; performing over 500 free eye surgeries a day • SEF has performed over 1.7 million free eye surgeries • SEF operates nine hospitals in India. Three new hosptals will be constructed in Mumbai, Indore and Hyderabad

Give the Gift of Vision and make a difference!

12

Austin South Asian | June 2018

BAPS Charities Hosts Walk Green 2018 In Austin, TX

(Continued From Page 01) BAPS Charities will contribute $165,000, an equivalent of plant-

attended the walk. “Coming out to support BAPS Charities is always rewarding, and it makes me feel proud to be helping The Nature

et and accepting environmental responsibility,” said Kamlesh Patel from Austin, who has participated in the BAPS Charities Walk Green efforts for the past three years.

Safety Day, or a food drive they can engage community members of all ages in the spirit of service.”

BAPS Charities uses these opportunities to instill a spirit of service and commitment to preservation and environmental responsibility in community members.

BAPS Charities is a global charity active in nine countries across five continents.

Events such as this help instill consciousness in community members surrounding their actions, and, in turn, helps inspire global harmony with nature.

ing 130,000 trees, to The Nature Conservancy to support their initiative to plant a billion trees globally by 2025.

Altogether, over 287 participants

Conservancy and its Plant a Billion Trees campaign.

Commenting on activities of BAPS Charities, Ronak Amin said, “I am always impressed when I attend an event hosted by BAPS Charities.

It is a great way for me to teach my children about protecting the plan-

Whether it is their annual walkathon event, Children’s Health and

Engineering Student-Founded Startup ‘Data Agora’ Wins UC Berkeley LAUNCH Competition A team led by an Indian American engineering student at U.C. Berkeley, Ashwinee Panda, April 26 was named the winner of the 2018 U.C. Berkeley LAUNCH competition.

Every year, startups complete three months of mentoring and product development designed to transform early stage startups into fundable companies.

Panda, a sophomore, founded big data startup Data Agora, where

The program culminates with a pitch competition, according to the news release.

he serves as chief executive officer, and was awarded the $25,000 grand prize in the startup accelerator competition’s 20th year, the university announced in a May 1 news release.

Data Agora, which is building a secure, online marketplace for buyers and sellers of big data, beat out 23 initial teams and then outpitched the 10 finalists, to win the grand prize.

“Acquiring high-quality data is very difficult,” Panda said in the report.

Panda added that, unlike data bro-

kers, the usual avenue for the commercial exchange of data, Data Agora’s systems never see the data.

Instead, the company uses machine learning to facilitate the transaction and avoid the risk of data breaches and the loss of privacy.

The 2018 finalists represented a wide swath of the business world, from farming to medicine and emerging technologies like machine learning.

A team led by M.B.A. student Shom Gupta, NearFarms, a company creating a marketplace linking consumers and local farmers, was among the 10 finalists who didn’t make the cut.

In addition to $36,000 in prize money awarded by the LAUNCH team, finalists also won interviews with top investors like LAUNCH partners The House, 500 Startups, and Andreessen Horowitz, the university said.

(Courtesy: IndiaWest)

About BAPS Charities

Volunteers drive its efforts, dedicating a portion of their lives in selfless service of others, both in their local neighborhoods as well as globally.

Working in five key areas, BAPS Charities aims to express a spirit of selfless service through Health Awareness, Educational Services, Humanitarian Relief, Environmen-

tal Protection & Preservation and Community Empowerment.

From organizing Walkathons that raise funds for local and global needs, to supporting humanitarian relief in times of urgent need; from hosting community health fairs to sustaining hospitals and schools in developing countries, BAPS Charities provides an opportunity for individuals wishing to serve locally and globally.

CONTACT: Local Media Coordinator Name Phone: Local Media Coordinator Contact Email: media@na.baps.org SOURCE: BAPS

South Asians’ International Volunteer Association

By Megha Uppal From our Spring Festival to fundraising to UT Food for Thought to Tree Planting, SAIVA has busy in the community.

In May, SAIVA partnered up with Barbara Jordan Early College Prep School to plant the bald cypress trees.

The seniors and Ms. Wilson’s Kindergarten class planted 14 trees around the school’s playground.

The kindergarteners presented a persuasive writing project that was presented to the vice principals so this project could happen at their school.

The SAIVA members, volunteers, and the students worked together in digging and planting the trees in honor of Earth Day. The project was pure joy to see all the generations working together in taking care of our Earth.

The activity was enabled by the wonderful donors and volunteers.

To find out more about SAIVA, please visit www.saiva.org. We are accepting new members and volunteers. To enable and sponsor activities, please email saivacommunications@gmail.com.

13

Austin South Asian | June 2018

WiseUp TX Hosts Civics And Chai At Indie Party Headquarters Downtown

By Sumaiya Malik Azra Siddiqi, the founder of WiseUp TX is trying educate South Asians, millennials, and anyone willing to listen about what’s going on in local and national politics.

She regularly hosts what she calls Civics and Chai, free networking events where people have half hour of social time followed by a conversation about the political situation at that point in time with speakers and q/a.

Over time she has gathered a following as she continues to simplify the legal jargon that surrounds the upcoming elections so that every layman can understand what politics are happening around them and how their single vote can make a difference.

After all, she says, it is their tax dollars that is making the government function so people have a right to make informed decisions that affect their own daily living.

Awarded ‘Best New Voice” in 2016 by the Austin Chronicle, WiseUp TX ‘is werkin’ hard to increase voter engagement through social media and through her podcast.’

Siddiqi said that she decided to set up WiseUp TX when in law school

she saw that “no one care[d] about South Asians or Muslims at all.

[She] wanted to change that.”

He has also served on the Public Safety Committee for the past two years.

The May 9, Civics and Chai at 6 p.m. was held at the Indie Party Headquarters in downtown, Siddiqi gave a brief overview of how the Texas Legislature works and how to keep tabs on State Representatives and Senators.

“Ten to fifteen years ago… Austin Police had a panel to resolve public

UT Law Professor Ranajana Natarajan discussed the Supreme Court arguments about Trump governments Travel Ban. She said, “Travel ban may not be overturned as [there are] five fairly conservative judges in the supreme court. Decision is June 24 or 25.”

Sunset Valley City Council Representative Ketan Kharod discussed the ins and outs of how to get involved in local City Council and Ranjana Natarajan, UT law professor and Director of the UT Civil Rights Clinic, deciphered the arguments made at the Supreme Court and what we could do to be politically engaged in this process!

The Professor talked about the first and second Executive orders regarding travel bans.

Ketan Kharod, Mayor Pro Tem Sunset Valley (2017 to 2019), a speaker at WiseUp TX Meet, told the story of how he started getting involved in the city and how easy it was. He encouraged the attendees to do the same.

“I went to law school here… never wanted to leave,” said Karod.

Kharod (Kharod Law Firm LLC) is currently on the city’s Budget, Finance, and Administration Committee and the Temporary Board of Directors, Sunset Valley Crime Control and Prevention District.

2018 Southwestern National Bank Scholarship Award Southwestern National Bank (SNB) proudly sponsored its 13th annual scholarship awards to assist in facilitating the education of deserving high school graduates in our community. We hope that this scholarship will help young talented students achieve their educational goals.

SNB received more than 30 applications for the five (5) $1,000 scholarships that are awarded each year. The Directors, Officers and Employees of SNB wish the scholarship recipients the best as they continue in their educational endeavors. (Member FDIC) Scholarship Recipients: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

recommended reading the Texas Tribune for political information.

Tseng Kelly : Morton Ranch High School Charlie Zong: Westchester Academy for International Studies Laura Li : Cinco Ranch High School Bowen Mei : Stephen F. Austin High School Michelle Wen: Stepton High School

complaints. So I got on that panel for 3 years.

You ride along with the police officers during their job to see what they do,” narrated Kharod.

“I was the only person who looked like me.” During that time, Kharod interviewed the police chief about civil rights and how they would treat minorities.

It cost Kharod only $200 to stand for elections in Sunset Valley where he lived when the opening came up.

He encouraged his audience to get involved close to home in school boards.

“A lot of issues we are concerned about (equality, parking etc) are other peoples issues as well,” said Kharod.

He also suggested joining Asian American Quality of Life Commission to build connections and

promises.

Then she talked about the third proclamation.

She said that court language is very different from campaign

In the second travel ban some countries were deleted and the third proclamation “cleaned up language removed names of Muslim Countries.”

But it put in clauses against visas to some countries and argued that the vetting process would be even more stringent because of a threat to national security.

Professor Natarajan informed the audience that regarding talking against Muslims, the government lawyers argued that whatever President Trump said before he became president can not be used against him as he was not in office.

But when on April 30, when reporters asked President Trump if he would apologize for words he used during the campaign regarding the Muslim Ban, he said there was nothing to apologize.

Professor Natarajan summed up

her talk by reminding the audience about the Ist Amendment, which forbids Congress from tampering with freedoms of religion.

She recommended Code Switch on NPR especially the episode, It’s Bigger Than a Ban, which talks about how Muslims only make up 1% of the US population but “seem to take up an outsized space in the American imagination.”

Azra Siddiqi also reminded the audience of the following: 1. There are 21 pieces of Anti Islamic Legislation introduced in Texas since 2010. Not all passed.

2. Do research before you vote, because millions of dollars are being spent.

3. Vote this November. Your governor has the power to expand health coverage. May 22 date to choose democratic nominee.

4. In 2019, TX comptroller has a 94 million budget. We are underfunding health care and education.

5. TX house is elected every 2 years.

6. Ask your representatives about what you do not understand. There are many bills that indirectly impact business in Texas.

7. Find out what the attorney general, commissioner and comptroller are doing. Call them out on Facebook. Show them yourselves so they know you are important.

Do not discount this election.

At the gathering people used words like inescapable, boring, Insidergame, privileged class, messy, corrupt, cluster-fudge, and sexy to show what politics meant to them.

Overall, everyone present learned to get comfortable with politics and be okay with asking questions about what they don’t understand.

One Government student at UT Austin, Mahmud Rizvi said, “I realized that South Asians need to be more active.”

14

Austin South Asian | June 2018

Flamenco India, A Project By Award-Winning Musician Oliver Rajamani Captivates A Packed Audience

By Sumaiya Malik

“Most people assume flamenco is a Spanish dance but its roots are from immigrants who migrated into Europe in the late 14th Century [from India],” says Oliver Rajamani, Austin World Music award winner, nominee 2008 US Artist Award and nominee 2014 German world music award.

performance to performance, sat mesmerized at the local artists expertise and the passion with which

matic movements designed to convey emotion of a message of long ago.” (Austin Chronicle, May 9)

Daniel Caballero Perez, a flamenco artist flew in from Spain to be a part of this performance. He danced to the rhythm with feet tapping and fingers snapping.

Classical Indian dancer Preya Patel changed colorful Indian dance attire and Spanish dancer Tamara Adira wearing the traditional traje de flamenca joined in dancing in their own traditional dance steps.

Rajamani just got done with a soldout concert at the Zach Theater on April 29 called Flamenco India.

He called the performance an exploration of the 14th century migration of the Romani gypsies of India to the Spanish soil where they influenced the fiery and intense flamenco.

The audience, which included fans of Rajamani who follow him from

rope, and North Africa, music that united in the Spanish ghettos where the Indian gypsies came to reside in Spain.

he told the story… “a story of the blending of cultures through migration told through music and dra-

Seventeen musicians with Rajamani as the central focus blended tunes of India, Middle East, Eu-

it with great humility and dignity.

imam of the Nueces Mosque, the oldest in Central Texas and the only one run by students [of UT Austin].

He also thanked IACT, “for repairing houses, posting red bench, interfaith conversation, visiting different faith houses… IACT is there quietly working.” He said that he has worked with IACT since 2002 and will continue to work even when he retires. He urged everyone to donate generously to IACT as it continues it’s peaceful efforts to act as a bridge between communities.

They all danced to Rajamani’s music while flamenco vocalist Champion Chaiyito, who has spent her whole life singing flamenco to Texas locals, sang along. The show was two hours with a speech

by Ian Hancock, former Romani

ambassador to the UN. Flamenco India paid tribute to the University of Texas’ Romani Archives and Documentation Center, the largest collection of its kind in the world.

It also coincided with the release of Rajamani’s ninth album, on which he performs with Jeronimo Maya and Tomasa La Macanita, Spain’s legends of Romani flamenco, and Indian masters Ustad Shujaat Khan and Ustad Aashish Khan.

In a world marked by divide, Rajamani is forcing people to think beyond political boundaries to form personal alliances though heritage and music. April 29 has been declared Romani day in Texas. Rajamani hopes to celebrate the day every year to mark the Roamni cultures presence in the world. For more information visit his website. www.oliverrajamani.com

30th Hope & Diversity IACT Awards - Honoring Sheikh Mohamed Umer Esmail & Luci Baines Johnson (Daughter Of President LBJ)

By Sumaiya Malik Photo courtesy: Interfaith Action of Central Texas Shaikh Mohammed Umer Ismail, Imam of Nueces Mosque at UT Austin, and Luci Baines Johnson, the younger daughter of former U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson, a philanthrophist and businesswoman were honored at the 30th Annual Interfaith Action of Central Texas (IACT) Hope Awards celebrating Hope and Diversity on May 1 at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin.

IACT recognizes individuals and organizations from Austin who have proven their commitment to strengthening our community through their words and actions.

Executive Director of IACT Simone Talma Flowers laid out the group’s mission. Then Rev. Stephen W. Kinney, IACT’s board president, introduced the first Hope recipient, Imam MohamedUmer Esmail. He said that Shaikh Umer’s work has gone far beyond the Nueces Mosque. He conducts

Shaikh Umer worked six years at the Imam at the North Austin Muslim Community Center in Austin, TX, after graduating college. In addition to leading prayers, he taught classes in Islamic Sciences, including Arabic, Tajwid, Islamic Finance, Fiqh, Aqidah, Hadith and Tafsir He has been the spiritual Advisor for the Austin Chapter of MYNA since 2003.

In his acceptance speech, Shaikh Umer thanked his family for their tireless support in his work as an

The evening also featured an intimate conversation with Luci Baines Johnson (daughter of former U.S. President Lyndon Baines Johnson) and Evan Smith (host of the PBS program Overheard with Evan Smith and Texas Tribune CEO). Local artist, Umbreen Raza Ahmed, who attended

the award ceremony said, “One of the things that stood out and stayed with me during the conversation of Luci Baines Johnson and Evan Smith was her reminder of doing the right thing, building that longer tableand building towards a harmony that accepts, respects and appreciates the diverse fabric of the Austin community.” She thought Ms. Johnson’s message was beautiful as she “embodies [it] thourgh her actions so well… it is inspiring.

Michael Barnes of the Austin American Statesman wrote in Austin360.com on May 4, “Johnson focused… on the inspiration of her parents and her own guarded but urgent optimism for her children and grandchildren.” Shadia Igram, who serves on the Community Advisory Board of KLRU, also attended the awards ceremony with her husband Dr. Omar Akhtar, an orthopedic surgeon, agreed that she too felt inspired by the Ms. Johnson answer about how to remain hopeful in a divided world. Ms. Johnson said that it’s her grandkids that give her hope. “It made

me think that we all need to remind ourselves of the hope nearest to us rather than focusing on the division and despair around us,” said Igram.

The Hope Awards is IACT’s major fundraiser for their community service programs, such as Hands on Housing, which repairs the homes of low-income seniors and people with disabilities, and the IACT for Refugees program which provides Basic English instruction and other supportive services to newlyarrived refugees from around the world. Most years, they work very closely with the American-Stateman’s Season for Caring program.

IACT’s work centers around inclusion, peace and respect among all faith communities. Their programs strive to be an example of what it looks like to live in harmony and inclusion with one another. But these programs need support from the larger community to make their service work possible. For more information please visit http://interfaithtexas.org/

15

Austin South Asian | June 2018

ICLT Mosque Opens With Fanfare Of The First Jumma, Picnic and First Iftaar

By Sumaiya Malik Islamic Center of Lake Travis (ICLT) on 4701 Doss Road off of 620, is back in the news with good tidings. Even though its building was burned to the ground in January 2017 while it was still under construction, the ICLT Board came together to rebuild with double the energy needed and their efforts came to bear fruit right before this Ramadan that began on May 16 amid much fanfare of the first Jumma Prayers on site, a Saturday picnic and the first Ramadan iftaar.

Taravih prayers will continue on the mosque grounds main building this month. The mosque has come together with the hard work of dedicated Board Members and volunteers with the help of donations from all over the community.

Efforts to build the mosque started in response to the fires in the Steiner Ranch community in 2011. The local Muslim community came together to raise funds for the families impacted by the fires.

After 7 years of hard work, collecting donations, planning, purchas-

ing the land and building twice the moment of celebration has arrived.

Friday Jumma Prayer May 11

A lovely sunny day, members of the mosque and volunteers celebrated the beginning of a new chapter in ICLT mosque on the grounds sur-

the Masajid a source of peace and Guidance.”

Over 200 people attended the picnic.

First Iftaar Sunday, May 20 Attended by about 250 community members from all over Austin, the first Iftaar was hosted by all the families involved in the building of the ICLT mosque.

The first Jumma Prayer was held on May 11 at the ICLT Mosque main building on Doss Road. It was wel- attended. An imam delivered the Khutba of the prayer thanking God and asked for forgiveness.

He also announced that Taravih prayers would be taking place in the mosque once Ramadan began.

Saturday Picnic May 12

rounding the main building under tents erected especially to protect the attendees from the Texas sun.

Dr. Aquilla Mosani, an attendee of the picnic wrote on the ICLT facebook page, “Mashaa Allah very beautiful Masjid and a very well organized picnic. May Allah bless all four their efforts and contributions. May Allah make this and all

Chaand Raat Mela Right Before Eid Ul Fitr

By Sumaiya Malik For those who do not go the Whatsapp route to order clothes for Eid from Pakistan or India or, or travel out of town to make the latest fashion purchase for Eid outfits, you have a last go at it at the Chaand Raat Mela organized by Royal Entertainment at Asian American Resource Center on Cameron Road.

The Mela is organized the night before Eid when the last Roza or day of fasting is done.

Last year Jiaa Jabbar, of Royal Enter-

There was no cover charge. The families opened their hearts to a well planned iftaar, followed

by Maghrib prayers, and a delicious dinner to celebrate with the community. The Board members including Dr. Junaid Siddiqui, Rehman Siddiqui, Shakeel Rashid, Shoaib Mohammed, Kay Zazy and others were present to an-

Second graders at a Louisiana school wish their parents would get off their phones. Elementary school teacher Jen Beason said four of her students told her they wished phones were never invented after giving the class a writing prompt.

At one previous mela she had also arranged for food trucks. It was like a big party.

Right now, Jiaa Jabbar is booking stalls for the celebration.

For more information, please contact her at 214-394-2381.

Islamic Center of Lake Travis serves as focal point for the growing local Muslim community in the Lake Travis to come together in practicing their religious faith and duties, engage in outreach efforts throughout the whole community, regardless of any affiliations.

For more information, please visit: http://www.iclaketravis.org/

I Wish My Mom’s Phone Wasn’t Invented, 2nd Grader Writes In School Project

tainments, organized a successful Chaand Raat printed Pakistani clothes, saris with Mehndi Walis all spread out in a festive environment.

This year is going to be an as big affair.

swer any questions and guide the guests. Their families worked hard to manage the large crowd and thank God for making the day arrive when the mosque was up and running. ICLT mission is to establish a full-fledged Islamic community center that will provide both religious and community services such as Mosque, Sunday School, Community Free Clinic and Educational services.

“I don’t like the phone because my [parents] are on their phone every day ... I hate my mom’s phone and I wish she never had one,” one student wrote in a photo posted to Beason’s Facebook page that has since been turned to private.

The post was shared more than 261,000 times — parents expressed guilt, and fellow teachers echoed similar conversations they’ve had in their classrooms.“We had a class discussion about Facebook and every single one of the stu-

dents said their parents spend more time on FB then they do talking to their child. It was very eye opening for me,” Abbey Fauntleroy commented.

Phone addiction isn’t a new topic, but most conversation is pointed at teen or young adult use as opposed to how parents are modeling the behavior in front of their children. A study published last May in Child Development suggested “technology-based interruptions in parent–child interactions” is linked to restlessness and anger outbursts in young children. Not sure how to limit use?

Experts suggest designating “no phone zones” in your home where you turn your phone on Do Not Disturb. Note: There is way to select Allow Calls From certain contacts, if you are worried about being reached by a family member or boss in an emergency.

(Courtesy: www.kgw.com)

16

Austin South Asian | June 2018

Pratham Austin Readathon 2018

(Continued From Page 01)

Readathon last year, 6,000 chil-

ha) in Odisha, India are learning to

Pratham Readathon 2018 aims to encourage and bring together kids in the US during summers to read books and also raise funds for the less fortunate children in India attend free Pratham classes to learn to read, write, count and stay in school.

To know more about Pratham Readathon and join the Austin team, you can browse at pratham. risefundraiser.com/readathon2018, look for Austin in the Teams page.

Since its inception in 2012, hundreds of children have participated in the Readathon each year and their families and friends have supported them by donating.

You can email readathon@pratha-

musa.org in case of any questions.

As children across Austin turn the pages of their books, many would be doing more than just enjoying the written word - they would also be earning money to help others!

Come become a part of the Austin Readathon Team and help change the future of a child in India simply by reading books this summer!

FREE CLASSIFIED

info@AustinSouthAsian.com

(Did you know, it takes only $25 to provide this intervention for a child for a whole year and make a lasting positive impact!)

With the funds raised by 300 participants of the Pratham USA

Kids of all age groups can participate in Pratham Readathon, and children who are too young to read can have a parent or older sibling read to them.

dren in 225 villages in 3 districts (Baleshwar, Bargarh, and Khord-

read, write and do arithmetic.

To Advertise in ASA Call 512-828-6709

AC Temp Between 24°C And 28°C Can Lead Dengue Mosquitoes Breeding In Your Home, Climate Expert Warns Your air conditioner might be the biggest cause of dengue mosquito breeding in your home.

“The ideal temperature for mosquito breeding is in the range of 24-28 degrees Celsius and many a times, air conditioners inside houses are set at a temperature of 24 degrees Celsius, which helps in breeding and survival of the denguetransmitting Aedes mosquitoes,” said Dr Ramesh C Dhiman, senior consultant at DST- ICMR center of excellence for climate change and vector-borne diseases at the Indian council of medical research (ICMR-NIMR), Delhi, in an interview to Hindustan Times.

Dr Dhiman was present at the South Asian Climate Outlook Forum-12 at IITM, Pune, held on Friday and said that the difference between indoor and outdoor temperatures is important for analysing breeding of dengue/malaria mosquitoes.

Scientists have highlighted the need to study climatic factors associated with certain vector-borne diseases and to determine the climatic thresholds due to which these diseases can result in indigenous transmission.

“Mosquitoes associated with various vector-borne diseases breed outside, but mosquitoes which cause dengue breed in containers.

If the temperature of the container is found to be in the range of 24-28

confirmed. Cases of chikungunya registered at the PMC from January 1 to April 22 are 12.

With temperature being an important factor associated with breeding of mosquitoes, analysing effects of

in malaria outbreaks have been determined for some districts and similar thresholds can also be determined for dengue outbreaks, believe scientists.

“Vector-borne diseases are a considerable threat to human health resulting in illness and mortality.

Today cases of malaria, dengue and chikungunya are reported in many parts of the country which had not been affected earlier.

To address this issue of rising vector-borne diseases, analysing climatic conditions and giving warnings based on the climatic

degrees Celsius, then, the dengue transmitting Aedes mosquitoes can breed optimally,” said Dr Dhiman.

temperature has also become important.

Presently in over three months, the number of dengue cases registered with the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) are 123.

In recent years, many vector-borne diseases like dengue and chikungunya have become all-season diseases with cases being witnessed even during summer and winter.

Out of these, 25 have so far been

Thresholds of rainfall which result

parameters is important,” said Dhiman.

-Mosquitoes associated with various vector-borne diseases breed outside but dengue causing mosquitoes breed in containers inside homes.

-The ideal temperature for mosquito breeding is in the range from 24-28 degrees Celsius.

-Air conditioners inside houses set at a temperature of 24 degrees Celsius can help in breeding and survival of dengue transmitting Aedes mosquitoes.

We Welcome Articles From Readers And The Community.

Email To: Info@Austinsouthasian.Com

17

Ajanta Caves The Ajanta Caves are generally agreed to have been made in two distinct periods, the first belonging to the 2nd century BCE to 1st century CE, and a second period that followed several centuries later.

The caves consist of 36 identifiable foundations, some of them discov-

the site was not further developed for a considerable period until the mid-5th century.

However, the early caves were in use during this dormant period, and Buddhist pilgrims visited the site, according to the records left

by Chinese pilgrim Faxian around

Austin South Asian | June 2018

Birbal’s Khichri (Rice)

mission” to clear, tidy and record the most important rock-cut sites in the Bombay Presidency, with John Wilson as president. In 1861 this became the nucleus of the new Archaeological Survey of India.

On a cold winter day, Akbar and Birbal took a walk along the lake.

the warmth of the street lamp. The poor man went to Birbal for help.

A thought came to Birbal that a man would do anything for money.

He expressed his feelings to Akbar.

During the colonial era, the Ajanta site was in the territory of the

Akbar then put his finger into the lake and immediately removed it because he shivered with cold.

The next day, Birbal did not go to court. The king wondering where he was, sent a messenger to his home.

Akbar said, “I don’t think a man would spend an entire night in the cold water of this lake for money.”

Birbal replied, “I am sure I can find such a person.”

ered after the original numbering of the caves from 1 through 29.

The later identified caves have been suffixed with the letters of the alphabet, such as 15A, identified between originally numbered caves 15 and 16.

The cave-numbering is a convention of convenience, and has nothing to do with chronological order of their construction.

The earliest group constructed consists of caves 9, 10, 12, 13 and 15A. This grouping, and their belonging to the Hinayana tradition of Buddhism, is generally accepted by scholars, but there are differing opinions on which century in which the early caves were built.

According to Walter Spink, they were made during the period 100 BCE to 100 CE, probably under the patronage of the Hindu Satavahana dynasty (230 BCE – c. 220 CE) who ruled the region. Other datings prefer the period of the Maurya Empire (300 BCE to 100 BCE).

Of these, caves 9 and 10 are stupa containing worship halls of chaitya-griha form, and caves 12, 13, and 15A are vihāras. The first Satavahana period caves lacked figurative sculpture, emphasizing the stupa instead.

According to Spink, once the Satavahana period caves were made,

400 CE. On 28 April 1819, a British officer named John K Smith, of the 28th Cavalry, while hunting tigers, “discovered” the entrance to Cave No. 10 when a local shepherd boy guided him to the location and the door.

The caves were well known by locals already. Captain Smith went to a nearby village and asked the villagers to come to the site with axes, spears, torches and drums, to cut down the tangled jungle growth that made entering the cave difficult.

He then vandalised the wall by scratching his name and the date over the painting of a bodhisattva.

Since he stood on a five-foot high pile of rubble collected over the years, the inscription is well above the eye-level gaze of an adult today.

A paper on the caves by William Erskine was read to the Bombay Literary Society in 1822.

Within a few decades, the caves became famous for their “exotic” setting, impressive architecture, and above all their exceptional and unique paintings.

A number of large projects to copy the paintings were made in the century after rediscovery. In 1848, the Royal Asiatic Society established the “Bombay Cave Temple Com-

princely state of the Hyderabad and not British India.

Akbar then challenged Birbal into finding such a person and said that he would reward the person with a

The messenger came back saying that Birbal would come once his Khichri(Rice) was cooked.

The king waited hours but Birbal did not come.

Finally, the king decided to go to Birbal’s house and see what he was up to.

He found Birbal sitting on the floor near some burning twigs and a bowl

In early 1920s, the Nizam of Hyderabad appointed people to restore the artwork, converted the site into a museum and built a road to bring tourists to the site for a fee.

These efforts resulted in early mismanagement, states Richard Cohen, and hastened the deterioration of the site.

thousand gold coins.

Post-independence, the state government of Maharashtra built arrival, transport, facilities and better site management. The modern Visitor Center has good parking facilities and public conveniences and ASI operated buses run at regular intervals from Visitor Center to the caves.

Birbal searched far and wide until he found a poor man who was desperate enough to accept the challenge.

The Ajanta Caves, along with the Ellora Caves, have become the most popular tourist destination in Maharashtra, and are often crowded at holiday times, increasing the threat to the caves, especially the paintings.

The next morning the guards took the poor man to Akbar.

In 2012, the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation announced plans to add to the ASI visitor centre at the entrance complete replicas of caves 1, 2, 16 & 17 to reduce crowding in the originals, and enable visitors to receive a better visual idea of the paintings, which are dimly-lit and hard to read in the caves.

The poor man entered the lake and Akbar had guards posted near him to make sure that he really did as promised.

Akbar asked the poor man if he had indeed spent the night in the lake.

The poor man replied that he had.

Akbar then asked the poor man how he managed to spend the night in the lake.

The poor man replied that there was a street lamp nearby and he kept his attention affixed on the lamp and away from the cold.

Akbar then said that there would be no reward as the poor man had survived the night in the lake by

filled with Khichri(Rice) hanging five feet above the fire. The king and his attendants couldn’t help but laugh.

Akbar then said to Birbal “How can the Khichri(Rice) be cooked if it so far away from the fire?”

Birbal answered, “The same way the poor man received heat from a street lamp that was more than a furlong away.”

The King understood his mistake and gave the poor man his reward.

Moral: A small ray of hope is enough to inspire the one who is ready to work hard to turn his dream into a reality.

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Austin South Asian | June 2018

Sleeping In On Weekends May Help You Live Longer

Sleeping in on the weekends to catch up on sleep that was missed over the rest of the week may help you live longer, according to a new study.

Sleep deprivation has been found to have numerous negative effects on a person’s health.

United States, discovered that people below 65 years old who slept less than five hours on weekends had a higher risk of death.

To come up with these findings,

years.

For people who slept for less than five hours throughout the week but slept longer on the weekends for about nine hours, there was no in-

The new study, meanwhile, shows that opposite, with more sleep translating to a lower risk of early death.

Sleeping In On Weekends Is Good For You Sleeping in on weekends to catch up on missed sleep over a long and tiring work week does not only feel amazing, but it also may help you live longer.

The study, which was published on the Journal of Sleep Research by scientists from Sweden and the

researchers analyzed data from 30,000 subjects over a period of 13

crease in mortality risk.

(kids’ varieties, too, if you’re hosting families).

Indeed, Iced Tea Month, celebrated in June, is a great time to create an iced tea bar that includes several varieties to suit your guests’ different tastes.

However, for people who consistently slept for less than five hours through the whole week, the mortality risk is higher.

Torbjorn Akerstedt, one of the authors of the research and a clinical neuroscience professor from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, said that the findings were consis-

tent with previous studies on the link between sleep duration and mortality.

However, those previous studies only focused on sleep during weekdays.

(Courtesy: http://www.techtimes. com)

We Welcome Articles From Readers And The Community.

Email To: Info@Austinsouthasian.Com

Cool Summer Entertaining Tips To Keep Guests Happy

Hosting friends and family for backyard barbecues, picnics and garden parties during summer carries its own challenges.

Here are a few tips guaranteed to keep your guests cool, comfortable and happy when you entertain.

Keep it away from the areas where the food and drinks are being

Create ice cubes out of Milo’s Tea in advance, then use those to cool down drinks. For recipe ideas, visit drinkmilos.com.

Entertaining outdoors? Remember, not all guests are going to want direct sunlight for too long.

• Protect Guests: Protect your guests from getting bitten and burned in your garden or yard. Be sure the space is clear of standing water in advance of the party. Also, create a small station with bug spray and sunscreen

They fresh brew all of their teas and do not add any extra “stuff” like colors, acids or preservatives.

A handy trick to keep beverages undiluted and impress your guests as things heat up?

• Create Shade:

Take into consideration the sun’s position in the sky during the hours you will be hosting, ensuring your seating offers guests the option to sit in the shade. Create DIY shades by hanging curtains or fabric around or above your party location.

ural ingredients, such as Milo’s.

• Serve Cool Snacks: You may have the grill going, but you can keep things otherwise cool and light with snacks and sides like crudité, dips, pasta salad, fresh served. Consider adding citronella candles or tiki posts as an additional strategy for warding off mosquitoes and other insects.

Serve varieties like sweet tea, no calorie tea, tea mixed with lemonade, and peach tea.

• Be Creative with Cold Drinks:

Label each clearly with small chalk boards or calligraphy name cards.

Nothing is more evocative of summer than a cold glass of iced tea.

Offer guests ready to drink teas made with high-quality, fresh, nat-

fruit skewers and cold finger foods, like tea sandwiches.

• Play Games: Take full advantage of your yard this outdoor entertaining season with a few simple, fun lawn games like cornhole, horseshoes and ladder toss.

Want to make things more interesting? Create an elimination bracket and tournament for each game.

From refreshing drinks to fun and games, you can make the most of the summer with a few cool strategies.

(StatePoint)

To Advertise In ASA Call 512-828-6709

19

Austin South Asian | June 2018

Is that ‘Junk’ In Your Attic Or Basement Worth A Fortune?

From baseball cards and sports equipment to postcards and toys, is that “junk” in your attic or basement dusty treasure or just dusty?

We’ve all heard of families getting rich from the sale of rare memorabilia. So how can you tell if your

1980 is not old. 1960 is kind of old.

1910 is old,” says Al Crisafulli, Auction Director at Love of the Game Auctions, an internet sports auction house that has helped many families identify and sell valuable items.

Famer Lou Gehrig -- and Love of the Game Auctions sold it for them for more than $430,000. He is offering these tips to help determine if your items are valuable: Baseball Cards Cards from the 1960s and earlier are collectible, and those from before the 1940s can be extremely pricey. Do they have sharp corners, no creases and retain original gloss? Do they depict star players and Hall of Famers? A Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner or Mickey Mantle will sell for more than non-stars.

stuff is valuable and how can you sell it, if it is?

“The general rule is that the older the item, the more valuable it is.

In one instance, Crisafulli determined that a family’s baseball bat that spent decades beside their front door to protect from intruders, was actually used by Hall of

With particularly old cards from the 1880s and early 1900s, look for tobacco and candy brands, such as Old Judge, Piedmont, Sweet Caporal or American Caramel. Unopened packs from almost any era can be valuable.

Memorabilia & Equipment Look for old advertising posters

depicting sports stars and food, tobacco or sporting goods brands.

This doesn’t mean ads torn from magazines, but those used as store displays and for other purposes.

Tin signs are highly collectible from the 1900s into the 1960s, but low-quality reproductions aren’t.

Pre-1950s catcher’s masks, baseball gloves and bats can be valuable, especially those endorsed by star players. Condition is important but used equipment can be valuable.

When you go to sell sports items, consider a specialty auction, such as Love of the Game, which has the expertise to properly research sports pieces, and maintains lists of bidders specializing in this area so it can get top dollar for these items.

More information is available at loveofthegameauctions.com.

Postcards Postcards of your vacation destinations likely are worthless. But those depicting famous people, such

as movie star cards and vintage baseball postcards, can be valuable. Look for early “real photo” postcards from the 1900s through the 1940s, which are photographs printed on postcard backs. No matter the type, the older, the better, and the more famous, the better.

Old Halloween or Christmas postcards from the early 1900s can be expensive. The same goes for many intricate “hold-to-light” postcards, where portions of scenes light up when held to strong light.

Toys Look for famous characters, such as early Walt Disney items, superheroes, Star Wars, etc. The most prized toys are those in original condition with no broken pieces and paint intact. And if you have original boxes, you might strike gold! So, while you’re cleaning that attic, basement or garage, don’t rush to purge. Before throwing out old “junk,” determine if it’s valuable! (StatePoint)

Stop Adding Stories To Every App

Every few months, it seems like there’s another eager to copy Snapchat’s Stories feature – where users can create approximately 10-second-long videos that are available for all of their followers to view, and disappear after 24 hours. First Instagram announced it was introducing Stories in 2016, followed

by YouTube, Facebook, and Skype in 2017. Even dating apps like Bumble and Match started testing their own version of Stories.

Now, TechCrunch reported this week that Airbnb is getting into Stories, testing the idea among a small group of users. The idea is that users will share photos and videos while traveling, in order to give other users ideas of places to visit when they’re in a particular city.

While Airbnb is neither the first nor the last app to copy Stories, this time feels different, simply because Airbnb isn’t a social app in the same vein as other Stories com-

petitors. Airbnb is still an app that people go to when they’re making one big purchase, and because of that, I don’t forsee Airbnb’s Stories feature taking off the same way that it has on other apps.

and are highlighted in blue if you haven’t watched them yet. Looking through all of my unwatched Instagram Stories is as satisfying as dismissing an email or Slack notification.

At first glance, it’s easy to see why companies are so eager to adopt Stories. According to data from social media agency Block Party, the number of accounts that created or viewed a Story in Instagram, WhatsApp, Snapchat, and Facebook Messenger, rose 842 percent between 2016 and 2017, to more than 970 million accounts.

But it’s mostly a way for me to kill time in line at the coffee shop or waiting for the subway. I find that when I open an app to watch Stories, I usually just exit the app once I’ve watched all of them. And because Stories are so short — 10 seconds long at most — I usually forget what I watched an hour after doing so. While I was writing this article, I tried to recall what I saw on Instagram Stories that morning.

Of the 10-plus Stories I scrolled through, I could only recall what one was about.

But companies looking to copy Stories also need to take into account that among Facebook’s family of apps, Stories are given prime real estate at the top of the news feed. This can mask just how sticky Stories actually are.

For example, I look at Stories a lot.

Particularly on Instagram, where Stories sit at the top of your feed

And I don’t open the Airbnb app when I’m looking for a few minutes to kill — I open it when I’m planning a trip. I spend maybe 30 minutes comparing various listings. Then after I book a listing, I

usually open the Airbnb app once before I leave for the trip, to check the address of where I’m staying and communicate with the host, a second time once I land in the city, and a third time to write a review.

The Airbnb app then gathers dust in my iPhone until I’m planning for a trip another few months later.

That seems to be the issue Airbnb is trying to solve with Stories, and other new features like Trips and Places. Introduced in November 2016, Trips and Places allow users to book reservations and look at reviews for things other than lodging. During an unveiling of the features, CEO Brian Chesky said that Airbnb was inspired to launch Places because “finding the good hole-in-wall joints takes a lot of time and research. We want to fix this.”

I rarely take the time to research a place that I saw someone a friend visit in their Snapchat, Instagram, or Facebook Stories, because I use

Stories to take a very surface-level look at what my friends are up to. And I wouldn’t be surprised if many Airbnb users feel the same way.

There’s still a lot we don’t know about what Airbnb’s Stories will look like in practice – if the company ends up doing a wider release of the feature at all – but it’s a good reminder that the stickiness of Stories app hasn’t really been proven outside of social apps.

And companies need to ask themselves if Stories – a format that encourages users to spend just a few seconds creating or viewing a video – is really the best way to encourage users to stick around longer in an app. Especially when they’re trying to figure out the best experience to spend their money on.

(Courtesy: com)

https://venturebeat.

20

Austin South Asian | June 2018

Tips To Prevent Summer Brain Drain

Studies show that summer brain drain can be a formidable force, setting kids’ progress back over the long break from the classroom.

at home in summer can be easy and affordable. Stock your household with a portable keyboard designed for students in mind.

the songs with the display showing proper fingering and notation.

vice as you use the keyboard with favorite music apps.

Its USB-MIDI port connects to

• Read Outdoors:

But you can help kids avoid losing their academic mojo. Here’s how.

Summer is the perfect opportunity for students to delve deep into what interests them most. Make a day of it.

• Take a Hike: Not all learning has to happen indoors or while sitting still. Take a family nature walk and ask kids to pay special attention to the plant and animal species you encounter on your journey, as well as any special rock formations or other geological features you see, taking notes and photographs as you go.

Once back home, do some research about the most interesting things that you saw.

• Make Music: Music education is important for budding minds, and learning music

First stop: the library or bookstore, where kids can find reading materials dealing with their favorite topics.

For example, the CT-X700 boasts a high-quality sound system, as well as features that are perfect for student musicians, like a six-track recorder, a library of 100 built-in songs, and the Step-Up Lesson system, which allows students to learn

any Mac, PC, Android or iOS device with no drivers or installation needed.

The included music rest is designed to support tablets, and the built-in smartphone shelf holds your de-

Then, pack a picnic lunch and find a shady spot in a local park or your own backyard, to read outdoors. At the end of the day, everyone can discuss what he or she read.

• Math Fun: Make math more fun with a free, all-in-one web-based mathematics resource like Classpad.net, that allows users to draw geometry

figures freehand and input calculations as they would on real scratch paper.

Geared for K-12+ mathematics students, the app is designed to be equally usable by keyboard/mouse and touchscreen-based platforms, so that students can keep up their math skills wherever their summer adventures take them.

• Take a Vacation: Going somewhere new and interesting? In advance of your trip, have kids spend some time learning about the history and culture of your destination. If you’re going abroad, they can even learn some basics of a foreign language.

To keep minds active all summer long, be sure to combine learning and fun.

(StatePoint)

Plastics In Water, From Your Cup To The Oceans: What To Know You may not realize it, but there’s a lot of plastics in water -- both in the water you drink, as well as in rivers, lakes and oceans.

Know the Problem According to recent investigations by Orb Media, 90 percent of bottled water and 83 percent of tap water is contaminated with microplastics.

You can take action to protect your health and the environment from harmful plastics.

Here’s how: Filter Your Water

and minimize the need for singleuse plastic bottles and pollution.

Note: Not all water filters remove microplastics, so knowing which filters address this issue is important as you make a decision.

These small pieces of plastic can’t always be seen by the naked eye, but they’re harmful to human health.

What’s more, according to the United Nations Environment Program, only one in five single-use plastic water bottles is recycled, meaning 80 percent end up in the environment, contributing to the 46,000 pieces of plastic floating in each square mile of earth’s oceans.

Each year, 8 million metric tons of plastics enter oceans, adding to the estimated 150 million metric tons that currently circulate marine environments, according to Ocean Conservancy.

This is higher protection than the standard carbon-based filters that are available on the market.

The brand offers several designs, including portable models suitable for travelers, kids, groups, natural disaster victims and anyone seeking an easy way to make their water safer, and are available for purchase at LifeStraw.com, sporting goods stores as well as Walmart, Target and Amazon .

Using a water filtration system can help eliminate harmful microplastics present in your drinking water

Water filtration products from LifeStraw, for example, remove chemicals, bacteria, odors, bad taste and 99.999 percent of microplastics from contaminated water, enabling access to safe drinking water on-demand nearly anywhere.

Shop with brands that support cleanups, like United by Blue, a sustainable apparel brand that removes one pound of trash from oceans and waterways for every product purchased.

The lifespan of most LifeStraw filters is equal to 8,000 single-use plastic water bottles, and for every product purchased, a child in need receives safe drinking water for an entire school year.

Or check out groups that post responsible, plastic-free buying guides like 5 Gyres.

Shop Responsibly

Avoid consuming microplastics, invest in filtration, and prevent more plastic from contaminating our oceans and environment by shopping responsibly and supporting brands that share these values.

(StatePoint)

Another way to effect change?

Start by ensuring that the water you and your family drinks is both healthy and safe.

Avoid single use-plastic water bottles when possible and avoid products with high levels of plastic packaging. Try re-usable storage bags or items made of compostable material.

Make sure the brands you support are engaging in responsible business practices to reduce waste.

To improve your family’s wellness and protect the planet, think water.

FREE CLASSIFIED info@AustinSouthAsian.com

21

Austin South Asian | June 2018

June 2018 Community Calendar We have compiled this event listing based on the information available on the web site (where ever possible) of the community/organization as of third Friday. Please check with the organizers to confirm its accuracy. We request all South Asian organizations to email us (info@austinsouthasian.com) their community calendar on or before 20th of every month, for the events happening next month. We will carry listing of all South Asian non-profit organizations in Austin. If the Name, Contact info is not correct or has changed email us (info@ austinsouthasian.com) the changes you want to see. E&OE. SCHEDULE: June 16, Saturday, 5:45 PM to 08:00 PM, The Art of Living Austin orga-

nizes International Day of Yoga at Texas State Capitol, 1100 Congress Ave, Austin, TX 78701. To Register : https://www.eventbrite. com/e/international-day-of-yogatickets-44824328774

June 21 - June 24, Thursday - Sunday, Isha - Inner Engineering Total is at Ranch Austin, 10313 Circle dr, Austin, TX 78736. For more infor-

mation, contact 512-655-9589.

June 29, Friday, 08:00 PM,

In Concert at H-E-B Center at Cedar Park, 2100 Avenue of the Stars Texas, Cedar Park, TX 78613.

SEF Presents Shreya Ghoshal Live

IPL 2018: Drama At The Toss, MS Dhoni’s Stumping And An Euphoric Over Highlight The Final Between CSK And SRH Two key players lost at an early stage of the season, no home ground and branded mockingly as “Dad’s Army” for the average age of the side, Chennai Super Kings fought off quite a few factors to clinch the eleventh edition of the Indian Premier League at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday.

of a six-year-old with a sudoku in front of him and conveyed that heads was what came on the coin.

He once again asked Dhoni, and the CSK skipper decided to end the conundrum.

With Kane Williamson, the Orange Cap holder, and possibly the only thorn in Super Kings’ flesh after Dhawan’s dismissal, going great guns, Dhoni had to weave his magic and he chose Karn Sharma to execute it.

He relayed that Williamson had

In the 13th over, the leg-spinner re-

A composed side, led by the cool MS Dhoni, went against the common notion of batting first in a big final and used the dewy conditions late at night to chase down Sunrisers Hyderabad’s target, helped immensely by Shane Watson’s belligerent hundred.

With Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Sandeep Sharma right on the money, Watson played out a maiden first up and took as many as 10 balls to get a run on board.

He slowly gained in confidence but the fear that he struck in opposition during his international days with his care-free batting and jawdropping striking was evidently missing.

The turnaround came in the 13th over when Sandeep Sharma returned to the attack against a wellset Watson.

A nervy finale for everyone involved

A low full-toss was thumped through extra cover for four off the second ball. A slower ball followed, which clearly deceived Watson, but the brute power behind the stroke took it over long-on.

With the big toss scheduled at the Wankhede, fans watched keenly as Sanjay Manjrekar introduced the skippers and instructed MS Dhoni with the coin in hand to toss it up.

In his zone by now, Watson hammered the next two for sixes and completed the over with a boundary, stealing 27 off it to bring the equation down to almost run a ball.

Here we relive the best moments from Sunday night’s game.

The coin rolled away a bit and a nervous Manjrekar apparently forgot which captain had called heads.

He returned with the coin, a bemused look on his face, asking who had called heads.

A cheeky Dhoni, who barely knows the spelling of pressure, decided to fool around and pointed out that Kane Williamson had called heads, then turned it around saying he had called tails.

By now Manjrekar had the eyes

called tails, so CSK had won the toss and eventually chose to bowl first. What drama before the real drama!

Dhoni weaves his magic, Karn Sharma executes it Who would have thought sitting out Harbhajan Singh at the Wankhede, where he had played for a whole decade, would turn out to be a game-changing decision.

His replacement, Karn Sharma, was by no means the best bowler on show from CSK, but in this format, it is all about grabbing the game by the scruff of its neck.

turned to the attack and unleashed a wide ball first up to Williamson.

The batsman had stepped out to smash the ball but the wide meant he couldn’t get bat to ball and before the thought of getting back to the crease evolved, Dhoni had taken off the bails.

Shane ‘meaty’ Watson and Sandeep ‘lean protein’ Sharma With Ambati Rayudu pushed to the middle-order, Chennai Super Kings needed a good start from Shane Watson who had resorted to playing the second-fiddle for most of the season.

Two inconsequential maidens and two top-scoring knocks Lungisani Ngidi had given eight off his first over but in his second, the fourth over of the innings, he bowled a perfect over to Kane Williamson. (https://www.firstpost.com)

Make a difference – being a little bit selfish is no sin

As women we are bound to make sacrifices. Be it for the family, children, or siblings or as hosts which normally the male counterparts may not do. The classic example that I can think of is eating Dosa.

Have you ever seen a woman eating straight from the ‘Tawa’ as the Dosa is being prepared? Most unlikely whereas men have been served hot dosas all the time.

After almost three decades of sacrifice finally I have realized it is okay to be selfish for once especially when it comes to eating dosa. For thirty years I am used to eating cold dosa as my husband always says let’s eat together which means I have to relinquish the hot dosas to my husband. But now-adays I insist that if we are to eat together then alternate dosa has to be served from the plate rather than I always taking the last dosas from the stack which means that I get to have atleast one or two hot dosas.

I feel that being selfish and insisting on eating what I desire is no sin. Also it would be that the spouse would understand that everyone needs to be treated the same and there is no preferences. No point in sacrificing rather make the other person understand that compromise is a better solution and we as women need not miss out on all the good things in life.

To Advertise In ASA 512-828-6709

22

Austin South Asian | June 2018 THEME: FARM TO TABLE

DOWN

ACROSS

1. Leave in the dust 2. Do as directed 3. Relinquish 4. Capital of Algeria 5. Relating to spleen 6. *Corn holder 7. Bellicose deity 8. Archeologist’s find 9. *”The Omnivore’s Dilemma” author 10. One in a set 11. Lazybones 12. *____-to-table, farm-to-table alternative 13. And others, for short 21. Search blindly 23. Cross to bear 26. Duck-like divers 28. Holy Wednesday 29. a.k.a. Dr. Robert Bruce Banner 30. It’s between Ohio and Ontario 31. Research facil.

32. Oral cavity 36. Snooped 38. “Summertime” of Porgy and Bess, e.g.

39. POTUS’ West one 40. Private theater box 43. Computer message 46. *Harvest subscription, acr.

47. *Honey-producing facility 49. Astringent drug 51. *What’s in ____?

53. I-resembling supports 54. Canine foe 55. Daytime moth 56. Aqua-lung 58. *One who runs the show 60. George or Louis to Kate and William 62. Capital on a fjord 63. Nostradamus, e.g.

64. Alleviate 66. *”Full ____,” on a seed package 68. Wilbur’s home

1. *Key farm-to-table attribute 6. Goldfish or koi 10. Excessively abundant 14. Obelus, pl.

15. Black and white treat 16. Revise for publication 17. Swamp plant 18. “Saved by the ____” 19. Guilty, e.g.

20. Looking at 22. Silage storage 24. Building add-on 25. James ____ Jones 27. Baloney 29. *____ varieties 33. Greek letter N, pl.

34. Caterer’s coffee pots 35. *Key component of manure 37. Lady’s wrap 41. Fleur-de-____ 42. Accustom 44. River in Spain 45. Sailing vessel with two masts 48. Evoke emotion 49. 2016 animated musical 50. Female sib 52. *____ breeds 54. *Lettuce units 57. ____ well ____ someone 58. Small one in a large machine 59. Per person 61. Peace of mind 65. Os in XOXO 67. Takes to court 69. Away from harbor 70. Biblical twin 71. Final notice 72. *Food ____, as in distance 73. Shade-loving plant 74. “____ a soul” 75. Game outcome

SUDOKU

Sudoku

Please email your sudoku answers to info@austinsouthasian.com.

Name and photo of the inviduvidual with first correct answer will be published in July 2018 issue.

To Advertise In ASA Call 512-828-6709

23

Austin South Asian | June 2018

Slim Down Tips For A Healthier Summer

Summer means BBQs, beach time and swimsuits, but it could also mean a change in eating habits and not necessarily for the better.

ty of nutritious, high-fiber foods all throughout the day. Pretend the day is just like any other, and you’ll be

potlucks, picnics and barbecues.

Don’t forget fruit smoothies. Add fresh spinach or kale to your shake

Many people work hard throughout the winter in hopes of losing weight before summer, but when summer arrives, they abandon their healthy lifestyle and risk gaining weight.

• Watch What You Drink: You don’t have to give up alcohol completely, but you should watch what you drink. Swap wine, beer and margaritas, which can be packed with sugar, for lighter drinks like vodka with sparkling water and a lime. Or ditch the alcohol all together and spice up water with fresh fruit.

“A healthy lifestyle is just that -- a lifestyle -- and can definitely be attainable all year long with the right tools,” says Mandi Knowles, dietitian for South Beach Diet.

With these simple slim down tips and tricks from Knowles, you can stay on the weight loss track and keep up your healthy routine this summer and beyond.

• Eat Before You Go Out: If you’re headed out for a big meal or party, don’t skip breakfast or your mid-morning snack. Eat plen-

its. To avoid a weight loss setback, try sticking to your weekday routine. Make good choices like eating a nutritious breakfast, getting some exercise and packing healthful snacks to fuel your day.

• Lighten up Those BBQ Recipes: way less likely to over-indulge.

• Have Fruit for Dessert: Delicious fruit is in season, so trade that lemon meringue pie for some fresh cantaloupe or strawberries. Offer to make a fruit salad for

and you’ll fulfill a vegetable serving while satiating your sweet tooth.

• Stick to Your Routine: On vacations and weekends it’s easy to spiral away from good hab-

Pasta and potato salads are staples at many picnics, but they can also pack on excess calories, depending on how they are made. Use wholegrain pasta, olive oil, herbs and lemon juice to make pasta salad.

Try sweet potatoes, turnips and Greek yogurt in potato salad. Use

lean ground beef for burgers and skip the bun.

• Get Moving: Take advantage of the warm weather to get outside and move.

Make time to take walks around the neighborhood, go for a swim, hike with friends or even do yoga in the park. You’ll feel better and your body will thank you.

More tips and information can be found on South Beach Diet’s blog, The Palm, at palm.southbeachdiet. com.

Even if you’re not at your goal weight, don’t let that stop you. By making smart choices this summer, you can live a healthier lifestyle and have the confidence to strut your stuff at the beach, pool and anywhere else the season takes you.

(StatePoint)

Austin South Asian Invites Contributions From Readers And Community May 2018 Sudoku Answer Mr. Yudhveer Bagga

Mr. Guas Ibrahim Sindgi

Mr. Rajnish

Ms.Riya chauha

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Austin South Asian | June 2018

May Is American Stroke Month: What To Know Now

For patients experiencing ischemic stroke -- the leading cause of disability in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control

ment.

“In the case of strokes, every moment counts, and thanks to ITTS, we’re able to deliver treatment faster than ever before,” says Gary Belt, M.D., stroke neurologist at Atlantic Health System’s Overlook Medical Center in Summit, N.J., a notfor-profit multihospital system and the first in the country to implement ITTS technology.

While getting evaluated by a specialist used to take up to several hours, new in-ambulance technology being tested by hospitals nationwide is helping patients get evaluated within minutes.

Recent research highlights the benefits of this technology: patients evaluated with ITTS in ambulances while in-transit to the hospital can be treated with the brain saving drug alteplase 13 minutes faster than those patients not assessed until they are in the emergency department (referred to as door-to-needle, or DTN, time), according to a recent study by researchers at Overlook Medical Center and Atlantic Health System and published by the journal “Stroke.”

May is American Stroke Month, and a good opportunity to learn how a new technology known as In-Transit Telestroke (ITTS) may transform the field of stroke treatment.

The first-of-its-kind study assessed 89 presumptive stroke patients in ambulances over 15 months from January 2015 through March 2016.

With ITTS, stroke neurologists can examine patients by using video technology from ambulances, decreasing the time between a patient’s onset of symptoms and crucial treat-

Atlantic Health System paramedics responding to neurological emergencies used an InTouch Xpress device -- a portable unit with a high-definition camera, microphone and

and Prevention -- the time it takes to receive treatment is critically important for avoiding irreversible brain damage.

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screen -- allowing video communication with a stroke neurologist who performed a neurological evaluation of the patient while in-transit to the emergency department.

ply translates to more brain damage,” says John J. Halperin, M.D., senior study investigator and chair, department of neurosciences at Overlook Medical Center.

Once the patients arrived at the participating hospital’s emergency department, the neurologist assumed care and, when indicated, administered alteplase, a tissue plasminogen activator (TPA) that breaks down blood clots to restore blood flow to the brain.

“Our observations suggest that pre-hospital evaluation with telestroke may provide a scalable, affordable way to speed stroke treatment, as well as more rapidly direct patients to the centers capable of performing the procedures that will serve their needs best.”

“We are constantly looking for ways to treat stroke patients as quickly as possible, as each passing minute of lost blood sup-

(StatePoint)

Bombay Express Authenitic Indian Cafe 100% Vegetarian and Vegan Friendly Tuesday - Sunday 11:00 am - 9:00 pm 13000 N IH35 Building #12, Unit # 216 Austin, Texas - 78753

512-491-5055

(Take-Away is possible on all items on the menu)

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Austin South Asian | June 2018

5 Ways To Celebrate Earth Day

An annual opportunity to celebrate the natural world and get involved in short- and long-term efforts to protect the environment.

your adventure.

One option is Casio’s ProTrek

can be charged by sunlight or florescent light, making it an ecofriendly choice.

In short, we need trees! Celebrate Earth Day by planting one. Each year, you can watch it mature and grow.

Here are five ways to celebrate.

1. Volunteer.

Many neighborhoods and communities around the country host volunteer clean-ups to honor Earth Day. Find one in your area or organize your own: gather some friends, some sturdy garbage bags and pairs of work gloves, and head out to a park or the shore of a local waterway for a clean-up.

2. Enjoy nature.

Get outside and enjoy nature. Even if you aren’t an experienced hiker, there are plenty of tools to make getting outdoors easy, such as wearable tech, which can support

sequester CO2. Trees also reduce polluting runoff by intercepting water.

4. Reduce waste.

The land and ocean have become saturated with plastics and other trash. Get into the habit of reducing waste by recycling and reusing items as much as possible.

PRW3510Y-8, which has triple sensor technology, including a compass, thermometer, altimeter and barometer, allowing you to track your surroundings as you explore them.

Featuring Tough Solar Power, it

3. Plant a tree.

Trees provide shade and food for people and a habitat for birds and other wildlife.

What’s more, they produce oxygen for people to inhale, as well as

Take a look at the footprint you create with your plastic consumption and find ways to improve your habits.

Bring a reusable bag to the grocery store. Buying a drink? Don’t use a straw. Getting takeout? Ask the restaurant to hold the plastic silverware.

5. Update your technologies.

Outdated tech often contains harmful elements that can hurt the environment, such as lead paint or mercury.

Check out newer models that meet international standards like The Minamata Convention on Mercury.

For example, Casio Lampfree Projectors combine a laser, a fluorescent element and LED light to deliver a hybrid light source that lasts up to 20,000 hours while sustaining a high brightness.

Because these projectors are mercury-free, it removes the need to replace hazardous and expensive bulbs.

This Earth Day, celebrate a healthy planet with environmental stewardship at-home and in your community.

(StatePoint)

26

When Aamir Was ‘Stuck In Quicksand’, Unable To Come Out And How It Changed His Life

Today, Aamir Khan is an actor to reckon with in Bollywood, but, the stardom didn’t come overnight. His journey to the top was a difficult one with lots of ups and

downs. However, braving all odds, the actor has stuck around for many years, well, 30 to be exact.

This year, his debut film, Qyamat Se Qyamat Tak (QSQT) completes 30 years, marking Aamir’s own journey in B-Town.

Talking about completing 30 years in the industry, Aamir says, “Well, it’s been an exciting journey which has gone by in a flash.

When I think about the 30 years gone past, I feel ‘Itni jaldi 30 saal

guzar gaye...lekin sabse bade lessons iss journey mein mere career ki shruvat mein hue’ (30 years have gone by so fast, but I learnt my biggest lessons at the start of my career) ...which in many ways have made me what I am today.”

was unable to come out.”

Although the Aamir-Juhi starrer attained stupendous success at the box office, Aamir says, “Even after the success of my debut film QSQT, it was not like I had a huge number of films lined up for me. I was written off by the media, who gave me the tag of ‘one film wonder hero’.”

It is this realisation that led him to turn down Mahesh Bhatt’s offer, even though the latter was a wellknown director in the industry.

Although the actor did sign a few films post his debut hit, all of them did poorly at the box office.

He says, “Since all my films were flopping one after the other, I knew that my career was sinking. It was like I was stuck in quicksand and

But, it was at this low point that he realised the importance of being uncompromising. “I decided that I would not compromise on my work and do a film I did not like.

From then, I have always given importance to the script of a movie,” he said.

A year later, however, the duo worked together in Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahi, a script Aamir liked, and the movie did wonders at the box office.

Austin South Asian | June 2018

Vishal Turns Reality Show Host For A Cause

Talk about multitasking! It appears engaging in various endeavours — from acting to production to heading TFPC and Nadigar Sangam and foraying into politics — comes easily for Vishal.

Known as the actor who never fails to raise his voice for various causes, Vishal has taken a new avatar. Yes, the lanky lad is making his foray into television for the first time and hosting a reality show on a popular satellite channel.

Confirming the news, Vishal who is basking in the success of his recent release Irumbu Thirai, tells

Summing up his biggest lesson Aamir says, “When you are at your lowest and weakest, it is very difficult to refuse a script you don’t like.

But, if you can refuse an offer in such a moment, you will only turn stronger.”

Saif, Kareena Worried About Taimur Becoming A ‘Poseur’, To Curtail His Media Exposure With grandmother Sharmila Tagore coming out strongly against little Taimur being hounded by the paparazzi, Taimur’s parents Saif

is becoming such a poseur, it is worrying his parents. The minute he sees a photographer he starts to pout and pose.

the media.”

It was concerned grandma Sharmila Tagore’s public rebuke that helped the couple make up their mind.

“Saif and Kareena will ensure Taimur is in a place where he has his privacy.

His parents are already considering a boarding school for Taimur for the future, because that’s how Saif and his sister Soha were brought up.

Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor have taken a conscious decision to curtail Taimur’s media exposure.

Says a close family friend, “Taimur

This constant attention is worrying Saif and Kareena. So far they’ve allowed the paparazzi’s invasive presence simply because they didn’t want to cause any offence to

And Saif’s children from his first marriage also attended a boarding school in England.

It would be no different for Taimur,” says a family friend.

DC in an exclusive, “Yes, talks have been on for a while and the concept of the show is something which touched my heart. And hence I had given a go ahead with the makers.”

The reality show has been designed on the lines of Memu Saitham, a popular show in Telugu hosted by Lakshmi Manchu for two seasons, which helps people to realise their dreams.

Perhaps, he is taking cue from the likes of Kamal Haasan, Suriya, and Prakash Raj who turned hosts of popular shows in Tamil.

“Not really! Many have been approaching and luring me to the small screen, but I felt those were sort of commercial.

When the makers of the new show

came up with the innovative idea, I felt this is the right time to launch myself on television. The show is used as a platform to help the poor and needy to achieve their dreams.

The money earned through the show will go for charity. I watched Memu Saithamand was totally fascinated by its concept,” the Avan Ivan star declares.

There wold be celebrity guests who will turn into common people for a day and earn money, which would then go towards the particular cause.

The makers have already initiated talks with several celebrities to be part of the show in Tamil, and Vishal is also chipping in with his bit to identify people from underprivileged backgrounds who are in immediate need of funds and help.

“The makers are yet to find a suitable title for the show. And a few more people to be helped realise their dreams are to be finalised, he adds.

The actor will undergo an image makeover for his looks and a top stylist will be designing his clothes, says an insider.

Ask him about rumours of his joining Kamal Haasan’s newly floated political party, Makkal Needhi Maiam, and Vishal shakes his head in disapproval. He asserts, “I will float my own party and enter politics at an appropriate time.”

In saying that Vishal probably means completing his ‘Nadigar Sangam building’, which is his lifetime vision.

Apparently, that’s the time he has fixed for tying the knot as well with his longtime girlfriend Varalaxmi Sarathkumar.

27

Austin South Asian | June 2018

Mahanati Breaches $2.5 Million, Becomes Top 6 In US

‘Mahanati’ became a super hit at the box office and it has shown its strength at the US box office as well.

The movie has recently surpassed ‘Khaidi No.15o’ collections and breached $2.5 mil-

Achieving this kind of collections for nonstar hero films in the overseas is a tough feat.

magarillu’ couldn’t give any competition to ‘Mahanati’.

Usually, star heroes have the crowd pulling capacity and they collect huge figures on the opening weekend itself because of their image.

Let us have a look at the top 10 highest grossing films in the USA. All figures in millions.

3. Rangasthalam - $3.5 4. Bharat Ane Nenu - $3.4 5. Srimanthudu - $2.8 6. Mahanati - $2.45 (Until Saturday) 7. A..AA - $2.44 8. Khaidi No 150 - $2.44 9. Fidaa - $2.06 10. Agnyathavaasi - $2.06

1. Baahubali 2 - $20.5 ‘ M a h a n a t i ’ 2. Baahubali - $6.8 could post huge numbers at the box office with positive talk and w o n d e r f u l Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao is known to sections in the society. NTR’s life story should reviews. be Telugus Pride. be included as chapter in the school books in Telugu States’.

The specialty Irrespective of caste, creed and religion, of ‘Mahana- People of all the regions in Telugu States Jr NTR and Kalyan Ram had visited NTR ti’ is that the film continued to draw crowds in the

Who Demanded NTR Biography In School Books?

lion mark(Including Sunday collections) to reach the 6th position in the Top-10 highest grossing Telugu film list in the US.

third weekend as well.

The new releases ‘Nela Ticket’.. ‘Ammam-

admire him a lot even Today.

Ghat along with Harikrishna. When quizzed why he skipped Mahanadu happening in ViFamily Members paid tributes at the NTR jayawada, Harikrishna expressed his disinterGhat in Hyderabad Today on the eve of 95th est to answer any such query.

Birth Anniversary of former Chief Minister.

What will CMs of Telugu States do now? Will While speaking to media, Harikrishna said, Chandrababu Naidu offer any assurance dur‘NTR’s birthday is like a festival for all the ing his concluding speech at Mahanadu? Wait Telugu People. & See! He is someone who strived for the weaker

Austin South Asian Invites Contributions From Readers And Community

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Austin South Asian | June 2018