Desh Videsh Magazine Indian American Graduates Rise to the Top July 2020

Co ntents Class of 2020 Graduates

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2020 Valedictorians Tina Jethwa, Boca Prep International School GPA: 4.0 (unweighted) College: University of Florida

Parents: Deepali and Nilesh Jethwa Academic Awards: IB Diploma recipient (received 5 and higher on Cover all exams), 3 time winner of the President’s Award for Educational Professor Arvind Panagariya Bullish on India

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Imagine you are twenty twenty-two-years-old, just graduated from a small university in India and you earn admission to three of the most prestigious universities in the United States Princeton University, University of Chicago, and

Interview with Dr. Arvind Panagariya

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As I understand, PM Modi ji hand-picked you as a Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog. Can you share with our readers how that came about?

My acquaintance with PM Modi began in 2012 around the time of the Gujarat state assembly elections. It was widely believed that if

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Desh Videsh Live

Since 1993, Desh Videsh Media Group has always pledged to serve our growing community. With our mission in mind and in collaboration with businesses and leaders from our community, we are excited to bring you our newest project -

Don’t Let Emotional Investing Cloud Your Judgement

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It’s important to maintain a level head in times of market turbulence. But that is often easier said than done, especially in the heat of market volatility. Even with the best intentions, investors can be challenged by their own

Ashwagandha: Is It For You?

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When people think of Ayurveda, one of the first herbs that comes to mind is Ashwagandha.

Ashwagandha is known for being the herb of choice for those that suffer from stress, anxiety, and insomnia. But this herb can be used for so 6

JULY 2020

Desh-Videsh VOLUME 27, ISSUE 07 Article

Page No

Class of 2020 Graduates

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Professor Arvind Panagariya Bullish on India

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Interview with Dr. Arvind Panagariya

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Desh Videsh Live

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Don’t Let Emotional Investing Cloud Your Judgement 44 Ashwagandha: Is It For You? 48 My Survival Story

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Must Read Books

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Akshaya Patra Launches Miami Chapter

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Online Family Resources For a Summer in Shutdown 60 World’s first yoga University named after Swami Vivekananda launched outside India 62 Bollywood Today

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Desi TV Duniya

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Edito r’s View Dear Readers, In these unprecedentedly difficult times, we seem to get depressing news everywhere we turn. So we will be the last ones to give you depressing news. Instead, Desh Videsh Media Group would like to brighten your days by bringing only positive news and showing you the silver lining around this dark cloud.

In the last issue, we did an in-depth book review of Our Time has Come: How India is Making Its Place in the World in which Alyssa Ayres writes positively about India’s future from the US perspective. This month, we feature an article and interview with Professor Arvind Panagariya, who was hand-picked by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for Niti Ayog’s Vice Chairman position, a recipient of the Padma Bhushan and a professor of economics at Columbia University. He presents a bullish outlook on India from the Indian perspective in his recently published book India Unlimited: Reclaiming the Lost Glory.

Traditionally, our July issue covers winners of the National Spelling Bee competition, National Geographic GeoBee Champions, Valedictorians/Salutatorians from our community and winners of national science and math competitions. Unfortunately, most of these competitions did not take place due to COVID-19 - except of course, the announcement of Valedictorians/Salutatorians.

We are proud to present eleven Valedictorians/Salutatorians from our community. It is very encouraging and interesting to learn more about these talented students. In response to the question “If you could have breakfast with anyone, who would it be and why?”, I found two answers to be interesting - one student mentioned Paul Kalanithi, an Indian-American neurosurgeon and writer. His book When Breath Becomes Air is a memoir about his life and illness battling stage IV metastatic lung cancer. Another student chose Ruth Bader Ginsburg, an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.

After the successful launching of our Sa Ni Dha Pa Live YouTube channel, we are excited to announce the launch of the Desh-Videsh Live YouTube channel. Desh-Videsh Live presents viewers with a series of informative videos, interviews and webinars on timely topics related to community events, immigration, Indian weddings, and more.

The first episode aired on June 28, 2020 and included speeches by Valedictorians and Salutatorians as well as inspirational messages from community leaders to 2020 graduates. To watch the episode and learn more about upcoming episodes, please visit www.deshvideshlive.com.

In discussing Indian American kids, how can we forget their counterparts in India?

Please check out the announcement from Akshaya Patra about their South Florida Chapter and Florida Virtual Ball. In these tough times, children in India need our help more than ever.

While all of us are locked down in our homes, I am sure many of you are looking for suggestions on how to spend your time. Watching Amazon Prime, Netflix, Indian channels or top news channels is the usual answer. But I am sure by now you must be bored with TV as I am. To rescue you from boredom, this issue features a list of recently published books written by Indian authors. One of my favorites is an analysis of the Maharashtra election in a book titled Checkmate: How The BJP Won And Lost Maharashtra. If you are reading any interesting books written by Indian authors or about India, please send us an email with full details about the book.

Let me end my column by wishing all of you good health.

Raj Shah Managing Editor

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2020 Valedictorians Tina Jethwa, Boca Prep International School GPA: 4.0 (unweighted) College: University of Florida Parents: Deepali and Nilesh Jethwa Academic Awards: IB Diploma recipient (received 5 and higher on all exams), 3 time winner of the President's Award for Educational Excellence, Florida Bright Futures Academic Scholar recipient Extracurricular: National Honor Society president, student secretary, volunteer library assistant/tutor, yearbook editor-in-chief

government

What job/position do you plan to pursue and why? Currently I am still exploring all the different options within computer science, but I want to develop technology and software that can be used to benefit society.

What is your favorite quote? "I have no idea what Im doing, but I know Im doing it really, really well." - Andy Dwyer Which issue (global or local) is close to your heart, and why? One global issue that is close to my heart is widespread discrimination, as I believe that in this day and age everyone should get equal opportunities and be treated with equal respect regardless of factors such as race or gender.

What is your little-known talent? Drawing and embroidery

Arnav Kumar, American Heritage Plantation GPA: 6.1 College: Princeton University Parents: Ashish and Akanksha Kumar Academic Awards: Presidential Scholar, National Merit Finalist, United States National Chemistry Olympiad Semifinalist, AIME Qualifier, Seven National First Places at Mu Alpha Theta, FFMC Difficult Bassoon Category Winner, National Spanish Exam Silver Extracurricular: VP Alpha for Mu Alpha Theta club, President of Linguistics Club, Bassoonist at Florida Youth Orchestra, Volunteer for Special Olympics, Website Administrator for sandesham.org 16

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Arnav Kumar, American Heritage Plantation What job/position do you plan to pursue and why? I want to be a data analyst for a major professional sports team. Since I was very young, I have been fascinated both by numbers and by sports, and this career path is the perfect blend between the two.

What is your favorite quote? "It's not who we are underneath, but what we do that defines use" -Rachel Dawes in Batman Begins If you could have breakfast with anyone, who would it be and why? I would have breakfast with Ryan Reynolds. It probably would not be that deep of a conversation, but hes hilarious and I could say I had breakfast with Deadpool, which seals the deal for me.

Which issue (global or local) is close to your heart, and why? Economic inequality is an issue I onsider to be one of the flaws of modern society in all countries. The inability for people to escape poverty or climb up the social ladder has led me to volunteer at a school in India called Sandesham that aids underprivileged children, where I have seen effects of economic inequality in India firsthand.

What is your little-known talent? I can hit the high notes in Take On Me about 12% of the time. If that does not sound impressive, listen to the song, because it is.

Uma Menon, Winter Park High School GPA: 5.365 Weighted, 4.00 Unweighted College: Princeton University Parents: Saila Alath, Ram Kozhikote Academic Awards: 2020 US Senate Youth Program Florida Delegate, 2019 Congressional Guest at State of the Union & Winner of US Congresswoman Murphy's Essay Contest, 2020 National YoungArts Winner in Writing, 2019 National High School Poetry Contest Winner, 2018-2019 Lee Bennett Hopkins Award in Poetry, 2019 Skipping Stones National Youth Honor Award in Writing, University of Chicago Euphony Journal Short Story Contest Winner, Two-Time Pushcart Prize Nominee in Poetry, 2019 Asian American Journalists Association J-Camp Student Leader, National Speech & Debate Academic All-American Award, 3rd Place at 2019 Coolidge Cup National Presidential Debate Championship, Five-Time North Florida Regional Lincoln-Douglas Debate Champion, Florida League of IB Schools (FLIBS) Merit Scholar, Burger King Scholar Extracurricular: Creative Writing and Book Author, Speech & Debate Team Captain, International Human Rights Art Festival Youth Fellow, College Board Youth Advisory Council Student Leader, US Congressional Intern, The Adroit Journal Content Intern, Cleaver Magazine Editorial Intern, Generation Human Rights Intern, Alliance for Climate Education Action Fellow, Shankar Mahadevan Academy Carnatic Vocal Music Student, Rollins College Community School of Music Piano Student, WPHS IB Student Senate, Future Business Leaders of America Florida Virtual President What job/position do you plan to pursue and why? I plan to attend law school and become a human rights lawyer so that I may advocate for social justice and equality. I hope to enter a career of public service and make sure all people have a voice. I will also continue writing books.

What is your favorite quote? "When the whole world is silent, even one voice becomes powerful."

Which issue (global or local) is close to your heart, and why? Human Rights, as I believe that all people deserve equal rights and opportunity.

What is your little-known talent? Crocheting JULY 2020 - WWW.DESHVIDESH.COM

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Shivani Pirmal, Legacy High Charter GPA: 5.3 College: University of Central Florida Parents: Beena and Darryl Pirmal Academic Awards: Seal of bilingual literacy, Scholar Designation seal, National Honors Society, AP Scholar, President's list at Valencia,and graduated with an Associates in Arts from Valencia.

Extracurricular: The Vice President of the National Honors Society, member of Phi Theta Kappa at Valencia, practiced piano for four years, participated in a tutoring program at my school, and volunteered at Hospice of the Comforter for the past four years.

What job/position do you plan to pursue and why? My end goal is to become a nurse practitioner.

I have always admired those in the health care industry for their overwhelming compassion, intellect, and selflessness, and this pushed me to cultivate my future around health care as well. I decided to pursue nursing after falling in love with their holistic philosophy; both the body and mind must be treated. In addition, the emphasis on compassion and advocacy for patients alongside proper and ethical health care appeals to me.

What is your favorite quote? "We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light." - Plato Which issue (global or local) is close to your heart, and why? I would love to see progress in regards to public health issues such as low resources in under-served and impoverished populations.

Everyone should have proper care and be provided the education, medication, and services necessary to be healthy, regardless of their income level.

What is your little-known talent ? I love reading fiction novels and cooking new foods.

Anish Ravichandran, American Heritage School Boca Delray GPA: 5.9636 College: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Parents: Ravichandran Sadhasivam and Jeyanthi Rajaselvarasu Academic Awards: National Merit Scholar Finalist, Presidential Scholars SemiFinalist, AP Scholar with Distinction, 1st Place Sigma Xi National Conference 2018, Two-time National Spanish Examination Gold Medalist, USA Physics Olympiad Bronze Medalist, USA National Chemistry Olympiad Regional Finalist Extracurricular: Developed a deep learning network that gives accurate prognoses to pancreatic cancer patients, served as Webmaster of the Florida Association of Mu Alpha Theta, founded and taught a math competition preparatory class for underclassmen, and taught English to Cambodian students through the TASSEL Cambodia program.

What job/position do you plan to pursue and why? I have always dreamed of being at the forefront of the expanding space sector, so I plan on spearheading a commercial space startup like SpaceX to develop new technologies to explore space.

What is your favorite quote? "He who has a why to live can bear with almost any how." by Freidrich Nietzsche Which issue (global or local) is close to your heart, and why? Food and water security are very pressing issues because a significant proportion the world's population does not have reliable access to food producers and clean water, which must be fixed by our generation.

What is your little-known talent? I've played the violin for over 10 years.

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Jasneet Sethi, Fort Mill High School GPA: 5.37 College: Georgia Institute of Technology Academic Awards: National Merit Scholar Daughters of the American Revolution Good Citizens Award AP Scholar with Distinction Extracurricular: Varsity Tennis Secretary of Interact Club Youth Group What job/position do you plan to pursue and why? I plan to obtain a B.S. in computer science from Georgia Tech. I realized my passion for computer science after taking a class and volunteering for a summer camp for the youth.

What is your favorite quote? "You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough."

What is your little-known talent? I can reach my nose with my tongue.

2020 Salutatorians

Udai Teja Mallepoola, Herschel V. Jenkins High School GPA: 98.3443 Out of 100 College: Georgia Institute of Technology Parents: Raja Mallepoola, Sarojini Mallepoola Academic Awards: Georgia Governor's Honors Program Finalist and Attendee (Biology), Georgia Scholar, National Merit Scholarship Commended Scholar, AP Scholar with Honor, Superintendent Award, AP Human Geography Student of the Year, Microsoft Technology Association (MTA) Certification.

Extracurricular: I run an educational YouTube channel (Something To Think About). I volunteer as a yoga instructor on Sundays and organized two charity drives to aid mentally disabled orphans in India.

I have a 1st degree Black Belt in Tang Soo Do. I was in Savannah Science Seminar (3rd place overall), Model United Nations (Head of Committee Research), National Honors Society (Project Manager), Science Olympiad, and Math Club. Competed in regional InVenture Prize Competition and am a part of Toastmasters International. Amatuer DJ. What job/position do you plan to pursue and why? I want to work in the sub discipline of neuralengineering. I want to start off in the research and development department of companies that work with brain-computer interfaces, and ideally, start up my own business in that market. I am interested in this career because I feel that there is much potential in that field, and there is so much we can uncover with such technology.

What is your favorite quote? "An investment in knowledge pays the best interest" - Benjamin Franklin Which issue (global or local) is close to your heart, and why? Lack of communication between people of different perspectives and the spread of falsified information.

What is your little-known talent? Extemporaneous speaking, which I picked up as a toastmaster.

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Aakansha Mehrotra, Deerfield Beach High School GPA: 5.4627 College: Georgia Institute of Technology Parents: Sachin and Anita Mehrotra Academic Awards: National Merit Finalist, Sunshine State Scholar, AP Scholar with Distinction, International Baccalaureate Mathematics Medallion Recipient, Miami Herald Silver Knight Honorable Mention Recipient, International Baccalaureate Diploma Candidate, and the Deerfield Beach Rotary Club's Student of the Month Extracurricular: Mu Alpha Theta, Multicultural Club, National Honors Society, National Speech and Debate Association, TEDxYouth@DBHS Co-Organizer, SATeam and Biology Olympiad What job/position do you plan to pursue and why? I aim to pursue a career in software development and ultimately reach Google as a project leader on one of their array of humanitarian projects centered on increasing the standard of living in developing nations.

What is your favorite quote? interesting." - Paul Coelho

"It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life

Which issue (global or local) is close to your heart, and why? Increasing affordable accessibility to education and healthcare worldwide.

Kashyap Sreeram, Seminole High School (I.B. Program) GPA: 4.877/4.0 College: Duke University Parents: Sreeram Satyamurthi and Jayasree Sreeram Academic Awards: International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) Finalist; Society for In Vitro Biology Scientist Award; three-time author of published research articles; four-time presenter at nationwide research conferences; Model UN threetime Best Delegate Award (UF, UCF, etc.); Florida State Science Fair, first place; Seminole County Science Fair, Best in Fair; Technology Student Association State and National Conference, eight-time first place winner; National Merit Commended Scholar; Patent Pending Status Awarded Extracurricular: Science Fair; Neuroscience lab research group leader/TBI machine learning research; Student Science Training Program at UF; Technology Student Association, Founder, President, and State Officer; Model United Nations, President; Indian Classical (Carnatic) Vocal Music (Ranked 2nd in the U.S.); SCPS ePathways Career and Technical Department Intern; Chemistry/Science Fair Tutor; Chinmaya Mission of Orlando Balavihar Student; Hindu Society of Central Florida Volunteer; Freelance Web Design; Acted in school productions.

What job/position do you plan to pursue and why? Brains and I, we have perfect chemistry. I am mesmerized with the ingenuity of the blood-brain-barrier, the sheer construct of Brodmann areas, and the perfect symmetrical imperfections of Heschl's gyrus. The first time I held a TBI-induced rat brain, I realized I had found my passion. But the neurological wonder is not done being discovered. As an aspiring biophysicist and biochemist, I hope that I never stop learning, using logic-driven concepts to unravel hidden perplexities of our enigmatic brain. Even more so, I want to serve the people as a neurosurgeon and revolutionize public health and education, working to eliminate the mental illnesses that plague our world today.

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Kashyap Sreeram, Seminole High School (I.B. Program) What is your favorite quote? "Don't put the key to your happiness in someone else's pocket." ~ Swami Chinmayananda.

Which issue (global or local) is close to your heart, and why? I am a large proponent of ensuring equal access to healthcare and treatments, as over 1/3 of people across the world lack access to essential health products. Even more so, I hope to take strides in solving issues of healthcare sanitation, as without potable water and clean healthcare facilities, infectious disease control can only remain a dream. The answer to improving global health lies in increasing access to vaccines, free diagnostics, and sanitary facilities throughout the world, preventing the rise of global pandemics.

What is your little-known talent? I'm an avid dancer (and a Taco Bell connoisseur)

Narenkumar Thirmiya, Winter Springs High School GPA: 4.813 College: Vanderbilt University Parents: Jothikumar and Umanandini Thirmiya Academic Awards: National Merit Finalist/Scholarship Recipient, National AP Scholar, IB Diploma Candidate, Perfect ACT Scorer, 2nd Place at UCF Local Brain Bee, 3rd Place at SCPS Regional Science Fair, 1st Place SECME Codecraft Programming, 2nd Place SECME Math, Superior at Florida State Spanish Conference, Top Mathematics Award at Winter Springs High, Top 10 Precalculus for Seminole County Regional Math Competition, Top 15 Mu Alpha Theta Statistics Extracurricular: BU RISE intern at MIT Brain and Cognitive Sciences, completing project on "Evaluating Procedural Deficits in Dyslexia", Brain Bee Team Chair/Founder, SECME Team Captain, Advent Health East Orlando Front/Information Desk Volunteer, Mu Alpha Theta Vice President/Tutor, Piano/Guitar Volunteer at Watermark at Vistawilla, Feeding Children Everywhere Hunger Project Host, UCF BIOTEC/OCTET Research Participant, HSCF Sandwich Youth Club, National Science Honor Society, National Honor Society, IB Club What job/position do you plan to pursue and why? I hope to be a neurologist in the future, specializing in neurodegenerative diseases for older patients. From playing music to Alzheimer's and Parkinson's patients, I am intrigued about the variety of treatments that can be given to neurologically impacted individuals. Being a combination of biology and psychology, neuroscience is an interdisciplinary science, so I hope to utilize my experiences both within science and outside of it to help those in need. I wish to explore other perspectives of neuroscience as a neurologist, whether it be the computational aspects in neural networks or finding connections between music therapy and cognition.

What is your favorite quote? "The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking." - Albert Einstein Which issue (global or local) is close to your heart, and why? Mental health is an issue in our society that is often overlooked; it's one that permeates both young adolescents as well as the elderly.

I feel that it is crucial to promote awareness of mental health, so that every individual has the ability to function and live peacefully.

What is your little-known talent? Photography

For more detailed information on this article or to view additional pictures, please visit deshvidesh.com/July2020 22

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Professor Arvind Panagariya Bullish on India

By Raj Shah, Managing Editor, Desh-Videsh Imagine you are twenty twenty-two-years-old, just graduated from a small university in India and you earn admission to three of the most prestigious universities in the United States - Princeton University, University of Chicago, and Cornell University. Now you are faced with making a decision about which school you will attend.

I am discussing none other than Professor Arvind

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Panagariya, someone who was hand-picked by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for Niti Ayog’s Vice Chairman position, a recipient of the Padma Bhushan, Princeton University alumnus, professor of economics, Jagdish Bhagwati Professor of Indian Political Economy at Columbia University, and author of several books. Most importantly, he is very bullish on India.

Born to a humble family where education, academic success and integrity played an important role, Dr. Panagariya credits his father for his success. In a 2012 interview, Dr. Panagariya discussed his father’s influence on him and shared, “He…always stressed the importance of integrity. He was a self-made man and what I have learned from his life has shaped me considerably.”

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Dr. Panagariya never missed an opportunity to credit his father. When his father visited him in Washington, DC, the proud father was admiring his son’s achievements but the humble and modest Dr. Panagariya turned around and gave all credit to his father. He said, “I told my father not to admire me as it was he who made his way from our village to Jaipur, from where I could go to the US. The values you imbibe from your upbringing help you along the way.”

In his professional career, Dr. Panagariya has served several notable organizations and spearheaded several projects.

Currently Dr. Panagariya is a Professor of Economics and the Jagdish Bhagwati Professor of Indian Political Economy at Columbia University in New York. From January 2015 to August 2017, he served as the

first Vice Chairman of the NITI Aayog, Government of India, in the rank of a Cabinet Minister. During these years, he also served as India's G20 Sherpa and led the Indian teams that negotiated the G20 Communiqués during the presidencies of Turkey (2015), China (2016) and Germany (2017).

A strong proponent of free trade and liberalization of the Indian economy, Dr. Panagariya was an early supporter of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In 2013, Dr. Panagariya voiced support for Gujarat’s performance in the field of industrialization, agricultural development and overall growth. With his extensive research and data, Dr. Panagariya proved that Gujarat boasted the lowest poverty ratio for Muslims in rural areas.

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Dr. Panagariya is a former Chief Economist at the Asian Development Bank and was on the faculty of the Department of Economics at the University of Maryland in College Park from 1978 to 2003. During these years, he also worked with the World Bank, IMF and UNCTAD in various capacities. He holds a Ph.D.degree in Economics from Princeton University.

Dr. Panagariya has authored more than fifteen books. The latest among them are Free Trade and Prosperity (OUP, New York) and India Unlimited (HarperCollins, India). His book India: The Emerging Giant (2008, OUP, New York) was listed as a top pick of 2008 by The Economist and described as the “definitive book on the Indian economy” by Fareed

His book India: The Emerging Giant (2008, OUP, New York) was listed as Zakaria of CNN. The Economist has described his book Why Growth Matters (with Jagdish Bhagwati) as “a manifesto for policymakers and analysts.”

Scientific papers by Dr. Panagariya have appeared in top economics journals such as the American Economic Review, Quarterly Journal of Economics, Review of Economic Studies and International Economic Review while policy papers by him have

a top pick of 2008

by The Economist and described as the “definitive book on the Indian economy”

by Fareed Zakaria of CNN.

appeared in the Foreign Affairs and Foreign Policy. He writes a monthly column in the Times of India and his guest columns have appeared in the Financial Times, Wall Street Journal and India Today.

In March 2012, the Government of India honored Dr. Panagariya with a Padma Bhusan, the third highest civilian honors the country bestows in any field.

For more detailed information on this article or to view additional pictures, please visit deshvidesh.com/July2020 26

Internationally famed economist, Dr. Panagariya who has lived outside of India for so many years still holds onto his Indian roots. He holds dual citizenships with India and the US. In his spare time, he loves to listen to old Hindi songs with his wife Amrita.

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Recently, Desh-Videsh had the opportunity to interview Dr. Arvind Panagariya.

Learn more about the internationally acclaimed economist below.

As I understand, PM Modi ji hand-picked you as a Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog. Can you share with our readers how that came about?

My acquaintance with PM Modi began in 2012 around the time of the Gujarat state assembly elections. It was widely believed that if successful in that election, he would challenge the UPA in the 2014 parliamentary elections. As a result, a debate had broken out in the national press on his performance in Gujarat. By coincidence I had been doing a study of Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Bihar at the time and it was quite clear to me from the data that Gujarat had performed very well under Mr. Modi. I wrote about it in the media beginning with an article titled “The Gujarat Miracle.” Those writings attracted the attention of then Chief Minister Modi. Thanks to a friend who had been working with him, I got to meet him on a visit

Life’s decisions depend on more than one factor.

If I were to serve for the full term at the NITI Aayog, which would have lasted till May 2019.

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to India in November 2012. Then, in 2014, when the CM had become the de facto PM candidate of the BJP, I had a chance to discuss with him various aspects of the economy in detail. Those interactions eventually led PM Modi to bring me to Delhi 40 years after I had first left for the United States.

Under your guidance, Prime Minister Modi’s government and India did very well on the economy front. I understand the opportunity at Columbia University is huge, but not in comparison to guiding India’s economy. Why did you resign?

Any credit for the good performance of the economy must go to the PM. Everything any of us did was under his guidance. It was without doubt the greatest opportunity of my life, something I had not even contemplated any time in my life.

You are absolutely right the opportunity is far bigger than that at Columbia. Yet, life’s decisions depend on more than one factor. If I were to serve for the full term at the NITI Aayog, which would have lasted till May 2019, I would have had to resign my position at Columbia. Major universities in the United States would never give their faculty members continuous leave for four years. In February 1973, Henry Kissinger had to famously resign his faculty position at Harvard because a faculty rule limited leave to two years. Staying in Delhi would have translated into unemployment for me in May 2019. With family responsibilities, that was not an option.

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There is a lot of discussion about Indian becoming a US ally versus staying a non-aligned nation.

What is your advice to the Modi Government?

My broad belief is that as two of the world’s most vibrant democracies in the world and highly diverse societies, India and the United States have a lot in common. I am also very pleased that the relationship between the two countries has continued to flourish during the last two decades despite changing political leaderships in both countries. Economically, there is every reason for the two countries to strengthen their engagement.

I even hope that in a decade, perhaps even sooner, they would forge a free trade agreement between them. But the question of whether or not India ought to forge a formal political alliance with the United States is beyond my area of expertise. That is a question for a foreign policy expert.

India now ranks 63 among 190 countries in the World Bank’s ease-of-doing-business ranking and is within touching distance of a place in the 30

top 50 best places to do business. In the past, you mentioned that India is a lot more attractive place for business than what the World Bank’s recent ranking suggests. In your opinion, a) is the Word Bank getting pressure from other countries?; and b) What else should India do to earn a spot on the 50 list?

My answer to “part a” is a straightforward no.

The statement you mention was based on the fact that there are many factors that influence investor decisions and the World Bank criteria for ease of doing business rankings do not include some key ones among them. Regarding “part b,” some important areas in which we need to make progress are cross-border trade, enforcement of contracts and registration of property.

I just did a detailed review of the book Our Time Has Come by Alyssa Ayres. She is very bullish on India and writes, “India is now on track to become the world’s third-largest economy at market exchange rates over the next fifteen years.” Please let our readers know how you feel about Ayres’ writings, and in particular, about this book?

JULY 2020 - WWW.DESHVIDESH.COM

Alyssa Ayres is a leading scholar of India’s foreign policy and a great friend of India. Her book offers a very balanced account of where India stands and what to expect in the next one to two decades. I concur with her that India will be the third largest economy in the near future; in fact, my view is that this will happen sooner than one and a half decades from the date of her book!

The anti-Modi camp and Indian left wing media always speak negatively about the demonetization implemented

by Modi’s government. In 2017, you said, “Those who have been critical of demonetisation don’t understand what a gigantic task it was to remonetise the economy.” Please explain to the audience how you believe demonetization helped the Indian economy?

Critics’ view is mainly based on the contention that demonetization had a massive negative impact on the Indian economy. But they have failed to produce any evidence to support this claim.

Demonetization was announced on November 8, 2016. But the growth rate during fiscal year 2016-17, which ended on March 31, 2017, was an impressive 8.3%. If demonetization was going to

First and foremost, let me say that as I note in the book there are many IAS officers who do splendid work and have been strong allies of reform-minded governments of Prime Ministers Narasimha Rao, A. B. Vajpayee and Narendra Modi.

have a large negative impact, it had to first show up in the collapse of transactions. That collapse would have manifested in a collapse of prices. But price series show no discontinuity after November 8, 2016. The inflation rate hardly budged. Even a critic like economist Gita Gopinath, currently Chief Economist of the International Monetary JULY 2020 - WWW.DESHVIDESH.COM

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Fund, has reached the conclusion that the effect dissipated by the end of 2016-17. So the messiahs of doom have been clearly proven wrong. Now as regards positive effect, surely the measure has played an important role in curbing black wealth.

A lot of black wealth was sitting in real estate. That wealth has seen a sharp decline due to the fall in real estate prices triggered by demonetization.

Unlike prior to demonetization, you can no longer pay half of the price of a house in cash to evade taxes. Demonetization has also given a major boost to digital transactions.

COVID-19 has created a worldwide crisis in the global economy. Most countries want to decrease dependence on China. In light of this, how can India accelerate global opportunities?

I argue in India Unlimited that rapidly rising wages in China and the recent China-US trade war offer India an unusual opportunity to bring many of the multinationals from China to Indian shores.

Covid-19 has greatly magnified this opportunity.

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We need to reform our labor and land laws and put the financial sector back on its feet. In the book, I also recommend that India create its own Shenzhen like zones, which I call Autonomous Employment Zones (AEZs). Each of these zones would cover 300 square kilometers in area and have full autonomy of policy, as in Shenzhen, China. Since the reform of labor and land laws has been a challenge, we can experiment with flexible land and labor laws in these geographically limited zones. We could begin with half dozen such zones with a few located near the coast. Multinationals locating in the latter would be able to bring inputs from abroad, process them and re-export without bring hamstrung by slow transport infrastructure in the hinterland.

The introduction of India Unlimited mentions land reforms in India. How is this important in India’s future? Please expand on the concept.

A serious problem medium and large firms including multinationals face in India is the availability of land

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Dr. Singh’s greatest contributions were as the Finance Minister during 1991-96.

As Prime Minister he had far less success in promoting economic reforms. at reasonable prices. We have created artificial shortage of land thereby making it extremely expensive. Our public sector enterprises have hundreds of hectares of unused land. Ministries such as defense, railways and shipping have a lot of unused land. Educational institutions also sit on vast amounts of unused land. Our cities prohibit tall buildings thereby restricting the expansion of land supply vertically. States do not allow agricultural land to be converted for non-agricultural use. All these factors need to be addressed to increase the supply of land and bring land prices down.

In your book, you discuss the “Make in India” initiative. You mention that Indian businesses should concentrate on industries such as cloth, shoes, furniture or other light manufactures rather than steel, automobiles, petroleum refining, pharmaceuticals and defense. How do you educate Indian businesses to shift their focus, and what steps should the government take?

In India, 70 million or nearly half of all land holdings in agriculture are smaller than half hectare.

The average size of these holdings is less than a quarter hectare. Families dependent on these tiny holdings cannot earn even Rs. 30 per day per family member. They need jobs in industry and services to escape poverty. How do we create these jobs?

This is where industries such as clothing, footwear, furniture and other light manufactures come into play. In these industries, we can create decent jobs 34

for workers who have limited or no skills for limited capital investment. Per job capital requirement in sectors such as steel, automobiles, and petroleum refining is much larger. Moreover, employment in these sectors requires a lot more skill than our farmers needing the jobs have.

In one of your previous articles, you said, “Modi Government’s Track Record is Splendid, NDA Cleaned Up UPA’s Mess.” What does this refer to and what do you mean by it?

When UPA-2 left, inflation, the current-account deficit, and fiscal deficit were high. There was near paralysis by the central government. Nearly all of the major infrastructure projects were stuck on account of lack of environmental clearances.

Growth rate had also fallen to below 6% during the last two years of UPA-2. In its first year, NDA resolved all these problems, brought inflation, the current-account deficit, and fiscal deficit down and restored growth.

How much credit would you give to Former Prime minister Manmohan Singh for growth in the Indian economy?

Dr. Singh’s greatest contributions were as the Finance Minister during 1991-96. As Prime Minister he had far less success in promoting economic reforms. UPA-2, in particular, ended up returning the dirigisme of the 1970s back to the economy.

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see for those who understood as early as 2013.

But bureaucrats in the Department of Financial Services showed no understanding of it till 2017.

The result was that the cleanup of NPAs began only in mid-2017 when credit growth by public sector banks had completely collapsed. India has paid a huge price for that delay in NPA cleanup.

Much of the decline in the growth rate during 2019-20 prior to Covid-19 is attributable to this single factor.

In one of your interviews, you mention “Civil services in India pick up many among these youngsters (taught by Left-leaning faculties) at an early age. Once inside the government, they find themselves safely in the company of others like them for the remainder of their professional lives.” Do you think IAS officers are part of the problem in government bureaucracy? Are they given more importance than deserved?

I discuss the issue in detail in India Unlimited. First and foremost, let me say that as I note in the book there are many IAS officers who do splendid work and have been strong allies of reform-minded governments of Prime Ministers Narasimha Rao, A. B. Vajpayee and Narendra Modi. Without that, these governments could not have succeeded in implementing the reforms they implemented.

The problem with IAS officers is that taken as a whole it is resistant to change and likes to maintain the status quo. That greatly slows down the reform process. Many officers are outright hostile to change, especially when it comes to replacing the government by market. This is a key reason why privatization has not taken off under PM Modi even though his cabinet had given a go ahead to numerous public sector enterprises as early as 2016. There is also the problem that many officers simply do not have the expertise that is required to understand today’s complex economic problems. This had a huge impact, for example, on how we dealt with the problem of non-performing assets (NPAs) of the banks. The problem was there to 36

Critics’ view is mainly based on the contention that demonetization had a massive negative impact on the Indian economy. But they have failed to produce any evidence to support this claim. Demonetization was announced on November 8, 2016.

But the growth rate during fiscal year 2016-17, which ended on March 31, 2017, was an impressive 8.3%.

For more detailed information on this article or to view additional pictures, please visit deshvidesh.com/ July2020 JULY 2020 - WWW.DESHVIDESH.COM

India Unlimited: Reclaiming the Lost Glory

by Arvind Panagariya Publisher: Harper India ISBN-13: 978-9353576660 India used to contribute approximately a quarter of the world’s GDP until 1700 CE. As recently as 1820, this share was a hefty 16 per cent. But the Industrial Revolution shifted the centre of gravity of the global economy towards the West. The pernicious, indeed exploitative, policies of the British added to this shift by greatly impoverishing India. India’s own policies during the first four decades following Independence denied it a rapid return to prosperity. But now that it has left those policies behind, opened up its economy and created a large GDP base, India can aspire to return to the prominent position it enjoyed in the global economy for so long. In The New India: A Reformer’s Guide, one of the country’s foremost economists, Arvind Panagariya, sets out a detailed pathway for India to regain its lost glory.

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S

ince 1993, Desh Videsh Media Group has always pledged to serve our growing community. With our mission in mind and in collaboration with businesses and leaders from our community, we are excited to bring you our newest project - Desh-Videsh Live.

Desh-Videsh Live presents viewers with a series of informative videos and webinars that you can watch from the comfort of your home at your convenience. These videos feature special messages and interviews with community leaders, successful business people, political leaders, Bollywood celebrities, and talented students. Webinars will also cover timely topics related to community events, immigration, Indian weddings, and more.

To learn more about our upcoming programs, please visit www.deshvideshlive.com and register as an attendee. If you are a community leader, successful business person or a talented student and would like to share your experience, please visit the website to provide your contact information and register as a speaker.

Dr. Kiran Patel

Jagdish Sheth, PhD

This is a community-based project, so please help us spread the word to your friends and family. We also would love to hear from you ways we can improve this program or with topic suggestions.

To stay informed about upcoming videos, be sure to subscribe to the Desh Videsh Live YouTube channel by clicking on the red subscribe button on our channel home page.

In keeping with our tradition to promote talented Indian American students, every year we highlight Valedictorians/Salutatorians from our community in the July issue of our print and online magazine. It is our pleasure to present their information in this issue.

This year Desh Videsh Media Group is doing more. We will be broadcasting Valedictorian/ Salutatorian speeches along with inspirational messages from community leaders to 2020 graduates via video on our newly introduced Desh-Videsh Live YouTube channel.

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Dr. Chander Shaykher It is our pleasure to present our three inaugural speakers - all of whom are known throughout our community for their service and dedication. These inspiring leaders have volunteered their time and donated money towards causes that support, develop, and lift our community.

The first Desh-Videsh Live video features community leaders Dr. Kiran Patel, Jagdish Sheth, PhD, and Dr. Chander Shaykher.

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Dr. Kiran Patel Kiran Patel was born in Zambia, Africa, to Indian parents. He was educated under the British Educational System in Zambia and then got his diplomas from Cambridge University and The University of London. He then went to study medicine at Gujarat University in India and did his internship in Africa. Dr. Patel did his residency in Internal Medicine in New Jersey in 1980.

He completed a fellowship in the cardiology program affiliated with the Columbia University of New York in 1982.

Dr. Patel moved to Tampa, Florida, in 1982 and began his practice in cardiology. He was very successful and became a distinguished cardiologist in that area. He developed a physician practice management company and expanded throughout the Tampa Bay area, diverging into 14 practices including Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Pediatrics and Cardiology.

Dr. Patel was also in partnership with many point-of-service locations to form a multi-specialty network. This network helped patients access most medical services conveniently. He has actively engaged himself in managed care contracts and it has expanded considerably, providing care now for more than 80,000 patients. Apart from this, he has developed good associations with several HMOs and hospitals.

His success in managed care contracts led a group of doctors to seek his services 40

in Florida, New Connecticut.

York

and

He

to help them with an HMO in New Port Richey, Florida. Dr. Patel took up the project after discussing a predetermined purchase option of the company. It was called the Well Care HMO, Inc. (Well Care). In 1992, Dr. Kiran Patel, along with Rupesh Shaw, CEO, and Pradip Patel, President, started a Medicaid managed care company. This company became the largest Medicaid provider in the state of Florida.

He also helped to bring around the struggling HMO, WellCare of New York and Connecticut.

He worked with more than 95 hospitals and a few hundred physicians in settling past due medical claims. Dr. Patel provided an additional $15 million in equity through Conversion of Brow and infused $10 million of new capital and acquired 55 percent of the publicly held Well Care Management Group.

Between 1995 and 2002, Dr. Patel built it into a billiondollar company, providing services to more than 450,000 members, employing more than 1,200 employees and operating

is presently serving as Chairman of Visionary Medical Systems. He believes that the Visionary Office will reduce the paperwork for physicians and give them more time to devote to their patients. He is a member of the following organizations: Fellow of American College of Cardiology; American Medical Association, American College of Physicians, American Association of Physicians from South East Asia, Past Chair Scholarship Committee.

The Drs. Kiran C. and Pallavi Patel Family Foundation focuses on bettering the world through health, education, and culture. The impact of their extraordinary generosity is evident across the globe, particularly in Florida, India, and Africa. While actively initiating projects, the Drs. Patel also responds in times of need.

When a major earthquake devastated villages throughout Gujarat, India, killing thousands, collapsing buildings and homes, and leaving masses of crippled people and orphaned children, Dr. Patel took action. He united the Tampa Bay community and the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (which he was a member of) and led an effort that rehabilitated villagers’ homes, constructed an orphanage and model school, and created four modern hospitals. More recently, the Patels helped NSU to deliver emergency supplies to hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico.

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Jagdish Sheth, PhD

His autobiography, The Accidental Scholar (2014), has inspired others in the areas of education and academic entrepreneurship.

Jagdish N. Sheth is a Charles H. Kellstadt Professor of Business at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School.

He was a prominent member of the core team during the initial years of the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, the first Indian Institute of Management.

Professor Sheth was awarded a Padma Bhushan in 2020 for his work in literature and education in the United States.

He is globally known for his scholarly contributions in consumer behavior, relationship marketing, competitive strategy, and geopolitical analysis. Professor Sheth has over 50 years of combined experience in teaching and research at the University of Southern California, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Columbia University, MIT, and Emory University.

Dr. Sheth has been on the board of several companies including Norstan, PacwestTelecom, Cryocell International, Shasun Drugs and Chemicals, and WIPRO Limited. Over the 50 years, he has been an advisor to numerous companies including Whirlpool, Motorola, Texas Instruments, Cox Communications, Rockwell International, AT&T, Bellsouth, WIPRO Consumer Care, Aditya Birla Group, L.M. Mittal (Avanta), E&Y, Square D, Ingram Micro, Hughes Corporation, and others. This has included mergers and acquisitions as well as strategic positioning or repositioning of the company.

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His Rule of Three book has been the foundation for investment bankers and policy makers with respect to industry consolidation including horizontal mergers and acquisitions.

Professor Sheth has authored or coauthored more than three hundred papers and several books including Clients for Life (2000), The Rule of Three (2002), Tectonic Shift (2006), Self-Destructive Habits of Good Companies (2007), Chindia Rising (2011), The 4 As of Marketing (2012), Firms of Endearment (2014), Breakout Strategies for Emerging Markets (2016), The Sustainability Edge (2016), and Genes, Climate and Consumption Culture: Connecting the Dots (2017).

Jagdish N. Sheth was a prominent member of the core team during the initial years of the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, the first Indian Institute of Management.

Professor Sheth has been an advisor to the Government of Singapore in repositioning the nation for the future. He has also been a policy advisor to the U.S. Government about the future of the telecommunications industry.

Professor Sheth is the Founder of Center for Telecommunications Management (CTM) at University of Southern California (USC), which has now become an Institute. He is also Founder and Chairman of India, China, and America (ICA) Institute, which analyzes the trilateral relationship and its impact on geopolitics, security, trade, and investment.

Professor Sheth and his wife, Madhu Sheth, have established the Sheth Family Foundation to support several charities in India and the United States.

They have also established the Madhuri and Jagdish Sheth Foundation to support scholars and scholarship in the field of marketing. The Sheth Foundation supports the AMASheth Foundation Doctoral Consortium, hosted annually by different universities. It also supports research in emerging fields through AMA, ACR, AMS, and AIB. Finally, Professor Sheth is the Founder and Chairman of the Academy of Indian Marketing (AIM) which supports research and scholarship among Indian scholars in marketing and management.

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Dr. Chander Shaykher students at Barry University. Dr Shaykher is a Voluntary Clinical Professor at the University of Miami Medical school.

He has been a founding trustee and chairperson of the South Florida Hindu Temple, and founded the children’s Bala Vihar education program, with over 250 students attending.

Dr. Shaykher has a cardiology consultation practice in Miami, Florida. Dr. Shaykher also provides pro bono services and teaches PA

Dr. Shaykher’s passion is to increase the universal message of Sanatana Dharma, especially the core value of underlying unity beneath superficial diversity. This has propelled him to participate in numerous interfaith activities to build bridges between various belief systems, so critical during these times when we see so much intolerance in the world.

For more detailed information on this article or to view additional pictures, please visit deshvidesh.com/July2020 42

JULY 2020 - WWW.DESHVIDESH.COM

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Don’t Let Emotional Investing Cloud Your Judgement

By Navneet Pahal It’s important to maintain a level head in times of market turbulence. But that is often easier said than done, especially in the heat of market volatility. Even with the best intentions, investors can be challenged by their own bias and emotions when it comes to making investment decisions.

Emotional investing may be amplified during periods of market stress. But by understanding your emotions and biases, you can better avoid common pitfalls and keep yourself on track with your investment goals.

Common investment biases fall into four major categories: · Overconfidence · Aversion to Loss · Anchoring · Pattern-seeking Behavior

Overconfidence: Overconfidence implies that investors tend to overestimate their ability to generate a return and underestimate the

risk associated with a particular investment.For example, imagine you are an investor who has recently had success picking winning shares. You may conclude that the success is due solely to your investment skill. That may be the case, but it’s also possible the results were due to market forces outside of your control. The problem is that in either case, recent success may encourage you to take greater risks. While this could lead to greater

Herding mentality, which is the tendency for investors to follow and copy what other investors are doing, also tends to distort near-term risks in up markets.

profits, it’s just as likely to result in greater losses.

Herding mentality, which is the tendency for investors to follow and copy what other investors are doing, also tends to distort near-term risks in up markets. Thus, investors can mistakenly discount the volatility and chance for loss as they seek to chase higher returns. Investors are best served by following objective

information and building in an expectation that stocks do not move in a straight line.

Aversion to loss: Aversion to loss is innate. It is said that one feels the pain of a loss twice as strongly as the joy of a gain. In an attempt to minimize the pain associated with an investment loss, investors may be more prone to take action that can lead to the derailment of their long-term investment success. In market drawdowns, investors can be quick to react, selling stocks, and over-allocating to bonds or cash to avoid further losses and protect their nest eggs. Many investors sold down their stock funds in favor of bond funds and cash during the 2008/2009 financial crisis. Unfortunately, some of these investors missed out on the subsequent rallies that eventually took place and helped propel stocks to new highs.

While it is tempting to move to the sidelines during times of market stress, investors may want to avoid overallocating to cash and avoid locking in investment losses that they would not otherwise incorporate into their regular portfolio management activity.

Importantly, if people maintain a well-diversified investment mix and own high-quality stocks and bonds, you should be able to stomach near-term investment losses and ride out the eventual market cycles that come and go with time.

Anchoring: Anchoring implies that investors tend to rely too heavily on specific information or lean on recent circumstances to make decisions.Our minds can “anchor” to information, and it’s used as a reference point moving forward, regardless of relevancy. For example, investors may hang on to poor investments by waiting for them to break even at the price

at which it was purchased. If you’re trying to decide whether to sell or hold a stock, are you basing your decision on what you know about the company and the state of the market, or are you basing your target price on the purchase price or other measures that may be less relevant to the stock’s future course?

To help combat such biases, it’s important that investors accept that market circumstances routinely change and sometimes suddenly.

Therefore, your outlook may

Our minds can "anchor" to information, and it's used as a reference point moving forward, regardless of relevancy.

is slower. That means the patterns of the past may be harder to apply to the future, or possibly, not relevant.

Truly understanding your risk tolerance and your threshold for loss can go a long way in helping you maintain a level head during times of market stress.

need to change accordingly.

Investors can adjust to new market developments by seeking objective information, leaning on a financial advisor for sound advice, and setting realistic assumptions for potential returns.

Pattern-seeking behavior: Pattern-seeking behavior describes our brain’s desire to seek out ways to compartmentalize the flow of information and find patterns that help us make sense of the world quickly. Since our brain is hardwired to do this, investors can mistakenly believe they see

patterns in market trends that prove false. Since the future can be unpredictable at times, and patterns are not always present, investors may want to incorporate the following: ·

Establish realistic expectations for your portfolio, both from a return and risk perspective.

·

Expect markets to move in unpredictable ways, particularly during periods of market stress.

·

While the near-term is unpredictable, generally, stocks move up and to the right over the long-term.

·

Society is aging, and growth

For more detailed information on this article or to view additional pictures, please visit deshvidesh.com/July2020 46

If you suspect your personal investing bias and emotions are interfering with your investment decisions, defer to the experts.Ask a financial professional to conduct an objective review of your portfolio, with an eye to performance and your financial goals.Together you can look for opportunities to grow your investments through disciplined investing strategies.

About Navneet Pahal

Navneet Pahal CRPC ® Financial Advisor, is a Managing Partner at Pahal, Vora and Associates, a private wealth advisory practice of Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. Visit www.pahalvoraandassociates.com, email: navneet.k.pahal@ampf.com, or Call: (619) 358-9893 for more information.

JULY 2020 - WWW.DESHVIDESH.COM

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Ashwagandha: Is It For You?

W

By Chahna Tailor

hen people think of Ayurveda, one of the first herbs that comes to mind is Ashwagandha.

Ashwagandha is known for being the herb of choice for those that suffer from stress, anxiety, and insomnia. But this herb can be used for so much more and should also not be used in some instances.

ashwagandha, in large amounts, can put pitta out of balance.

We have three doshas in the body: vata (created by space and air), pitta (created from the combination of fire and water), and kapha (created from water and earth). If you are not sure what these are, check out last month’s Desh-Videsh magazine for my article on the three doshas!

Ayurveda looks at an herb’s rasa (taste), virya (potency), and vipaka (post-digestive effect). But, this herb can also be too heating. Ashwagandha’s virya is heating, and it is also characterized by the guna (quality) of being oily. These are both pitta increasing. So, if you find yourself having symptoms such as hair loss, early graying, a temper, getting hot too easily (even hot flashes), and other ways that show an increase of pitta, it is best that you limit or reduce your consumption.

When it comes to its relationship with the doshas, Ashwagandha is known to pacify both vata and kapha elements, but can disturb pitta.

Ashwagandha has a heating potency. Since pitta is a dosha that has a hot quality to it, 48

Ayurveda sees everything as opposites. If there is too much cold, you give it hot. If something is too rough, you give it soft. If it is static, then you give it mobility. Because of this, Ashwagandha will work best for those with high vata, high kapha, and low pitta.

Ashwagandha is considered a rasayana. Rasayana translates

''

Ayurveda looks at an herb's rasa (taste), virya (potency), and vipaka (post-digestive effect).

But, this herb can also be too heating.

Ashwagandha's virya is heating, and it is also characterized by the guna (quality) of being oily.

'' JULY 2020 - WWW.DESHVIDESH.COM

to ‘rejuvenative tonic.’ It is also considered as an adaptogen - which means it is an herb that has the ability to adapt to the body depending on the functions required, biologically, chemically, and physically when stressed.

It is perfect for immunity and anti-aging. It can be used as a sleep agent and can even be used in cases of paralysis, nerve issues such as MS, sciatica, and arthritis because it is a heating herb. Body pain, sleep disturbances, and nerve issues (anything nervous system related) in the body are usually characterized as an imbalance on the vata dosha. Since Ashwagandha is heating, it will help balance vata related issues.

Ashwagandha is also good at scraping out toxins in the body.

It is used for creating tissues in the body and reproductive fluids, thus balancing kapha dosha - since kapha is used for building and creating matter and mucous in the body.

On the other hand, if you find yourself having issues with fertility, ADD, ADHD, anxiety, and poor immunity, Ashwagandha can be used to nourish reproductive systems, provide a grounding effect

For more detailed information on this article or to view additional pictures, please visit deshvidesh.com/July2020

About the Author

mentally, and rejuvenate the body.

Another contraindication for using Ashwagandha is if you have high ama. Ama is undigested food. When food is undigested and still in the body, it is looked at as a toxin. Over time, it can cause imbalance in the body. If you would like to know if Ashwagandha is right for you, consult your physician to make sure it is

okay for you to take and then get an Ayurvedic consultation to know if your doshas would be balanced with usage of Ashwagandha or imbalanced!

Fun fact: In Sanskrit, ashwa means horse and gandha means scent or smell. So, Ashwagandha means the scent of the horse! So, next time you want to tell someone to smell the roses, tell them about the scent of the horse instead!

Chahna Tailor is a Yoga Instructor and Ayurvedic Health Counselor with a background in occupational therapy. Chahna completed her yoga training in Rishikesh and recently completed an Ayurveda internship in Kannur, Kerala.

Chahna’s company, Namaskar To You provides yoga, pranayama, meditation, and Ayurveda services. She is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in Ayurvedic Medicine.

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My Survival Story

by Megha Sood

First Prize Winner - NAMI NJ 2020 Mental Health Poetry Contest Theme: battling our challenges with superpowers

The slow cleaving in my backbone the seamless transformation: branching into my thousand selves Like a sapling breaking from the blind seed I'm sprouting, I am thriving.

About Megha Sood

Growing like a Medusa this fecundity of myself, breaking out into thousand versions of me morphing into shapes perfecting the art of topiary.

Like a reflection of the summer sun shining into a million versions of me, on shards of broken mirror blessing them with its apricity I'm the war cry, the mortal fear residing behind the enemy lines The lava, the primordial gel creating life so sublime, I'm the knowledge in the verse in the smattering cacophony of your mind With inked breaths and walnut skin boisterous, unfettered and uncontrolled, Walking barefoot on this graveled path unspooling life’s fears in its intimate corridors.

My pain impaled on the stars in the nightly sky I shine through my pulverized skin, The broken pieces I foraged together to make a whole of me an untrammeled beauty within.

This fecundity is my survival extinct to handle the plethora of emotions life throws at me, Undulating between the proximity and prosody of pain: I'm learning.

Yes, I'm growing.

Megha Sood is a two time Statelevel winner of the NJ Poetry Contest 2018/2019, a national level poetry finalist in Poetry Matters Prize 2019, Honorable mention in Pangolin Poetry Prize 2019, and Finalist in Adelaide Literary Award 2019. She is a contributing member at Free Verse Revolution, Whisper and the Roar and Poetry editor at Ariel Chart and Mookychick. Sood has over 350 works in journals and featured in 35 print anthologies by the US, UK, Australian, and Canadian Press.

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You People

By Nikita Lalwani The Pizzeria Vesuvio looks like any other Italian restaurant in London with a few small differences. The chefs who make the pizza fiorentinas are Sri Lankan, and half the kitchen staff are illegal immigrants.

At the centre is Tuli, the restaurant’s charismatic proprietor and resident Robin Hood, who promises to help anyone in need. Welsh nineteen-yearold Nia, haunted by her troubled past, is running from her family. Shan, having fled the Sri Lankan civil war, is desperate to find his.

But when Tuli’s guidance leads them all into dangerous territory, and the extent of his mysterious operation unravels, each is faced with an impossible moral choice. In a world where the law is against you, how far would you be willing to lie for a chance to live?

Checkmate: How The BJP Won And Lost Maharashtra

By Sudhir Suryawanshi On November 28, 2019, Uddhav Thackeray, the Shiv Sena chief, was sworn in as the eighteenth chief minister of Maharashtra. This event marked the culmination of a high-voltage political drama that had the entire nation glued to their television sets for days on end. With no party being able to claim a majority in the assembly, President’s Rule was imposed in the state. This book takes its readers through the twists and turns of the dramatic political crisis that unfolded as Maharashtra waited for its chief minister.

What really went on behind the scenes? With access to inside sources and private conversations, this book reveals the hitherto untold story of this political drama, with a comprehensive overview of the state’s politics in the last few decades 54

JULY 2020 - WWW.DESHVIDESH.COM

Momspeak: The Funny, Bittersweet Story of Motherhood In India

By Pooja Pande What is it like to be a mother in India? Is there only one kind of woman as mother or can mothers be as different as chalk and cheese?

In this original, provocative book, Pooja Pande peels off the layers of social propriety to delve deep into the visceral reality of motherhood, much glorified but barely understood in India.

Exploring the spectrum of experiences mothers have as women, as humans—from ecstasy to depression, jealous possessiveness to indifference, exhaustion to sensual desire—she reveals the personal, social and emotional roller-coaster that motherhood can be. Through vignettes of her personal journey, and hilarious and poignant episodes in the lives of different mothers—married, divorced, single, queer, adoptive—Pooja celebrates and shines new light on this transformative, life-affirming experience.

Whatever kind of mother you are, you will find your truth reflected in these pages.

Getting Competitive: A Practitioner’s Guide For India

By R. C. Bhargava Way back in 1947, as India became independent, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru set out a vision to shape the country’s economy and the development of a just and equitable society. Manufacturing was key to this vision, since it is crucial to generating employment and higher growth.

More than seventy years later, manufacturing is far from competitive and contributes only 15 percent of the GDP. As a result, removing the wide socio-economic disparities remains a distant dream.

In Getting Competitive, R.C. Bhargava draws upon his unique experience of more than sixty years as a policymaker and industry leader to give practical suggestions. These include replacing socialistic industry-related policies with those that would promote competitive manufacturing, and substituting Western management culture with that of the East to create trust with citizens and partnership relations with industrialists, workers and the government.

The bureaucracy must be enabled to facilitate and promote competitiveness. Above all, we need to create national acceptance that manufacturing competitiveness is our first priority. For policymakers and general readers alike, this book brings promise to what has become a disappointing scenario.

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The World That Belongs To Us: An Anthology of Queer Poetry From South Asia

By Aditi Angiras & Akhil Katyal (Eds.) This first-of-its-kind anthology brings together the best of contemporary queer poetry from South Asia, both from the subcontinent and its many diasporas.The anthology features well-known voices like Hoshang Merchant, Ruth Vanita, Suniti Namjoshi, Kazim Ali, Rajiv Mohabir as well as a host of new poets. The themes range from desire and loneliness, sexual intimacy and struggles, caste and language, activism both on the streets and in the homes, the role of family both given and chosen, and heartbreaks and heart joins. Writing from Bangalore, Baroda, Benares, Boston, Chennai, Colombo, Dhaka, Delhi, Dublin, Karachi, Kathmandu, Lahore, London, New York City, and writing in languages including Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Urdu, Manipuri, Malayalam, Marathi, Punjabi, Tamil, and, of course, English, the result is an urgent, imaginative and beautiful testament to the diversity, politics, aesthetics and ethics of queer life in South Asia today.

The Dharma Forest

By Keerthik Sasidharan As the Mahabharata war wages on, it shows no mercy and takes no prisoners. Death and destruction abound, and in the midst of a world rendered unrecognizable by a lust for power and malicious machinations designed to deliver an ultimate, godly win stand Bhishma, contemplating the immeasurable death he sees around himself as a man who cannot die; Draupadi, above and beyond the chaos and yet at the very centre of it, trying to protect her husbands at any cost as she manoeuvers turncoats and messengers, wondering who to trust; and Arjuna, beloved, powerful and lost in equal measure, uncertain of the ultimate cost of the war he is intent on winning.

The Dharma Forest is a grand debut filled with complex characters, conflicted loyalties and erotic jealousies from India’s most beloved epic that draws out an amoral canvas that is beyond good and evil.

For more detailed information on this article or to view additional pictures, please visit deshvidesh.com/July2020 56

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Anxiety: Overcome It And Live Without Fear

By Sonali Gupta Do you know the difference between anxiety and stress? What can you do when you have a panic attack? How do you know when it’s time to get help?

Anxiety is a mental health crisis that has gripped over three crore Indians.

In Anxiety: Overcome It and Live without Fear, clinical psychologist Sonali Gupta delves into the condition, using case studies to identify how anxiety can be triggered at work, in relationships, and by social media. Gupta shares a unique glimpse into this mental health condition in India, especially among Gen Z and millennials. Recommending strategies and techniques for anxietyprone readers, this book will help you confront your fears and take control of your life.

Once There Was Me: The Extraordinary Life of An Unknown Indian

By Bobby Sachdeva Caught in the web of communal violence repeatedly, Bobby Sachdeva stares at his burning house set afire by the bloodthirsty mob of the anti-Sikh riots in Delhi. As a fourteen-year-old, his world turns upside down, exactly at the age his father had escaped from Pakistan during the Partition of India. Recovering from the trauma, Bobby re-builds his business and journeys across the US and China, experiencing a life unhindered by religious animosity. Having experienced both sides of religion – of immersion and detachment – he starts questioning the role of religion in our lives. Based on his vision of an emergent India, Bobby finally submits a PIL in the Supreme Court for religious shrines to distribute their excess income for the downtrodden. What happens next as religious hardliners turn against him?

Rumi: A New Collection

By Farrukh Dhondy Marked by lyrical beauty and spiritual insight, a deep understanding of human suffering that coexists with rapturous abandon, the poems of Jalaluddin Rumi continue to be relevant almost eight centuries after they were composed, with contemporary audiences finding new meanings in them. Rumi’s poems bring together the divine and the human, the mystical and the corporeal to create a vivid kaleidoscope of poetic images. While many recent ‘translations’ have sought to give Rumi’s poetry a certain hippy sensibility, robbing it of its true essence, Farrukh Dhondy attempts to bring out the beauty and sensibility of the verses whilst imitating the metre of the original. Dhondy’s translations provide a modern idiom to the poems, carefully keeping intact their religious context.

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Akshaya Patra Launches Miami Chapter We are excited to inform you that despite the challenges from the COVID-19 shelterin-place, AkshayaPatra has successfully launched a Miami and South Florida chapter this year.

Miami South Florida now supports the world’s largest mid-day meal program.

AkshayaPatra is the world’s largest mid-day meal program providing hot, nutritious, school lunches every school day to over 1.8 million children in 16,856 schools, across 13 States and 1 Union Territory in India.

We help a child’s parents choose school over work.

In India, parents living in poverty make the difficult choice of sending their children to work to feed their family rather than getting an education. The mission of AkshayaPatra is that no child should miss the opportunity 58

for an education because of hunger. Parents are motivated to send their child to school for the hot nutritious lunch served

by AkshayaPatra. In many cases, this is their only meal of the day. The real benefit of the hot lunch is the resulting education, which helps the child stand on their feet and become a contributing member to society.

Why join AkshayaPatra?

Unlike many, we are an NGO running at scale feeding 1.8 million children at a cost of 18 cents/meal or $20 for a whole school year. AkshayaPatra is run in partnership with central and state governments, which fund 60% of the total cost of the meal from their mid-day

meal program. AkshayaPatra is supported by a large group of successful entrepreneurs, many of whom have applied technology to create automated kitchens that prepare 250,000 meals in hours, and transport these in custom trucks to each school. This has been written up as a case study in Harvard Business Review as a model for ending child hunger.

AkshayaPatra also provides an opportunity for your schoolaged children to become involved as youth ambassadors, learning about the challenges faced by children their age while earning volunteering hours. Your family also has an opportunity to visit a school in India and see he benefits first hand.

JULY 2020 - WWW.DESHVIDESH.COM

Join the cause and feed a child.

Join us for the Florida Virtual Gala on Saturday, September 19, 2020, at 11:30 am with film star Raveena Tandon and business leaders Jamshedji Godrej and Srivatsan Rajan.

Watch an inspiring video at https://vimeo.com/365821791 to learn more about AkshayaPatra or visit https:// foodforeducation.org.

If you would like to learn more or to join us in expanding our reach, send us an email at apsfchapter@gmail.com. There are over 100 million children in India living in poverty; so much needs to be done despite the success and scale we have achieved.

For more information, contact Meena Rajgopal (978-760-1541), Kavitha Kanuri (908-239-1779), and/or Venkat Maddineni (954-415-3849).

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Online Family Resources For a Summer in Shutdown

he summer of 2020 will likely be remembered as one of canceled travel plans, socializing via Zoom, and keeping children busy. For parents who may be working from home or used to children away at summer camp, having the entire family stuck inside can be frustrating. With school over and many in-person camps canceled, parents might be

wondering how to keep their kids busy and engaged during the day. Video games and Netflix might seem like a good idea, but even those meet a breaking point!

In recognizing that COVID-19 is here for a while, many summer camps are being offered virtually - be sure to look up your favorites as they might have shifted their focus to be available online. Many online educational, creative, and kid-centric websites are offering free or heavily discounted access to material. To keep children of all ages entertained, Desh Videsh Media Group has compiled a list of online resources that could be of some help to parents.

For more detailed information on this article or to view additional pictures, please visit deshvidesh.com/July2020 60

JULY 2020 - WWW.DESHVIDESH.COM

students on track for the next school year, Khan Academy offers free math lessons and more for children as young as 2 and all the way through college.

Local Libraries Be sure to check your local libraries for e-book availability. Many libraries are also scheduling virtual book clubs and storytimes for readers of all ages.

Art for Kids Hub https://www.artforkidshub.com Step by step videos are a great way to learn how to draw and perfect for young and old alike!

Code.org https://code.org/ Code.org offers free lessons for all ages, from kindergarteners to interested adults.

Duolingo https://www.duolingo.com Summer is a great time to learn a new language.

The whole family can choose a language and being learning through this free game-based app.

ED Navigator’s Camp Kinda https://campkinda.org/ Camp Kinda is a free summer virtual experience.

Lessons that take 3-4 hours a day are emailed at the beginning of the week along with a list of supplies. Great for kids in grades 3-8.

Education.com https://www.education.com/ If you need to fight the summer slide, parents can find free worksheets and downloads for academic subjects.

Mystery Science https://mysteryscience.com During the shutdown, the site is offering free memberships to all. Pick a science topic and watch videos, complete lessons, and learn in an engaging way.

TEDEd https://ed.ted.com/ TEDEd is designed for young minds and can help spark curiosity about a wide-range of topics. Choose from a large library of lessons or customize your own.

TIME for Kids https://www.timeforkids.com/ TIME for Kids has opened access to its digital library during the COVID-19 shutdown. Take advantage of wide range of materials for grades kindergarten to 8.

Wide Open School https://wideopenschool.org/ A free collection of online resources, this site offers families a one-stop shop for access to material ranging from academics to life skills and emotional well-being.

GoNoodle https://www.gonoodle.com Keep kids active and off the couch with videobased games. Perfect for hot or rainy days! And great fun for the entire family.

Khan Academy http://khanacademy.org/ From daily schedules to a summer plan to keep JULY 2020 - WWW.DESHVIDESH.COM

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World’s First Yoga University Outside India Named After Swami Vivekananda

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s part of the sixth International Yoga Day commemorations, the world’s first yoga university outside India opened in Los Angeles, California, offering programs that combine scientific principles and modern research approaches to the ancient Indian practice of yoga.

The Vivekananda Yoga University (VaYU) is said to be the brainchild of Dr. H. R. Nagendra, a former NASA scientist, who has been working on converting yoga into a socially relevant science for the last four decades. Dr. Nagendra, Chancellor of Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana (SVYASA), is the first Chairman of VaYU. VaYU has established its initial campus in Los Angeles with a budget of 5 million USD. Sree Sreenath, a Professor from Case Western University, has been named its first president.

VaYU was jointly launched on June 23, 2020, by Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan and Chairperson of the Standing Committee on External Affairs P P Chaudhary during a virtual event held at the Consulate General of India in New York. Addressing the virtual launch, Muraleedharan said, “Swami Vivekananda gave the message of universal brotherhood from the US and through the first of its kind

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yoga university outside India, the message of yoga will be broadcast from America to the world.”

In his message, Dr. Nagendra, well known as the yoga consultant to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said Swami Vivekananda “heralded the grandeur” of Indian yoga dimension to the world through his famous speech in Chicago in 1893. “As Swami Vivekananda said education is the manifestation of perfection already in man, VAYU aims at providing manmaking and nation-building education by promoting an allround personality development in students of generation next,” Dr. Nagendra said. He noted that the university “combines best of the East and best of the West. Best of the East is yoga and its applications and the best of the West is modern scientific research.”

The event was jointly hosted by the Consulate General and Jaipur Foot USA Chairperson

and founding director of VaYU Prem Bhandari. “It is further to the efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who was instrumental in getting the UN declaration of International Day of Yoga on June 21st, his yoga guru H R Nagendra’s team’s hard work which made the establishment of a yoga university in US a reality,” said Bhandari.

India’s Consul General in New York Sandeep Chakravorty said that New York has deep ties with yoga as many years ago Swami Vivekananda spent time in the city and wrote books on yoga which popularized the Indian practice all over the world.

Founded on the principles of Swami Vivekananda’s preion for universal welfare, VaYU will offer online graduate programs based on scientific principles and modern research approaches to yoga. For enrollment eligibility and more information, visit www.vayuusa.org.

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Fashion Icon Sonam Kapoor Ahuja Raises Awareness About Police Safety

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ollywood’s leading lady Sonam Kapoor happens to be an ardent activist too. The actress has been recently channeling all her media accounts to create a campaign that will help the Mumbai police. Sonam Kapoor has urged people to freely donate so that N-95 masks can be given to the Mumbai police. Sonam Kapoor shared a relevant poster via Twitter saying that a team of talented individuals have come up with the brilliant idea of ensuring safety of the guards of Maximum City - the Mumbai police. By donating 300, a police officer can be protected for three months according to the actress.

health staff are amongst the high COVID-19 risk groups, and the actress urged the whole nation to think about their safety too.

Sonam Kapoor recently flew back to Mumbai to be with her parents Sunita and Anil Kapoor and her fashion designer sister Rhea Kapoor. The actress spent the entire lockdown period with her in-laws and her husband.

Incidentally,

Sonam’s husband Anand Ahuja is a well-known retailer and businessman.

The country is currently under the Unlock 1 Phase and it seems that the actress is longing to resume shooting.

Sonam recently shared a picture from the film Khoobsurat and wrote that she missed being on set and doing her work.

Incidentally, Sonam Kapoor, who has worked in movies like Neerja, Bhang Milkha Bhaag and Mausam, has always been very active in spreading COVID-19 awareness. Sonam has been going all out to assist frontline workers who protect the city during any incident.

Police, safety workers and 64

JULY 2020 - WWW.DESHVIDESH.COM

Director Shoojit Sircar’s Instagram Hacked

Sushant’s Fan Kundan Kumar Moves Court Against Rhea

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n a stunning new development in the Sushant Singh Rajput case, a formal complaint was filed against the late actor’s girlfriend Rhea Chakrabarty in a Bihar court. The actress has been facing charges of aiding the suicide of Sushant Singh Rajput. Kundan Kumar, a citizen of Muzzafarnagar’s Patahi locality has filed this complaint in Mukesh Kumar (Chief Magistrate’s) court. Kamlesh (Kundan Kumar’s lawyer) said that his client was a big fan of Sushant Singh Rajput and was devastated by the suicide of his idol. He believes that the accused girlfriend Rhea Chakravarty had been financially exploiting Sushant Singh Rajput and played a role in encouraging the suicide. The court complaint has been charged under the 420 and 306 sections that relate to fraud and abatement of suicide.

hoojit Sircar made an important announcement via Twitter last Saturday and tagged Instagram in his tweet. He said that his Instagram account has been hacked.

His post was re-tweeted by Mumbai police, Maharashtra Cyber etc. The director recently directed Gulabo Sitabo that was released on Amazon Prime June 11. It is the first major mainstream movie to release on a digital platform.

The well received Gulabo Sitabo stars Amitabh Bachman and Ayushman Khurana are in leading roles. Together, they impart a humorous and poignant edge to the movie. Amitabh (Mirza) and Ayushman (Bankey) keep fighting like Tom and Jerry embroiled as they are in a controversial landlord-tenant relationship. The movie draws a parallel to Gulabo and Sitabo; characters of a famous Lucknow puppet show who are always shown sparring with each other.

The movie has a certain dark sarcastic edge to it that’s new territory for Shoojit Sircar. The movie showcases the workings of a convoluted, greedy brain and the problems that this brain creates. The camera work and screenplay of the movie are impressive and Lucknow is shown full of her unique antique charm. However it is the dialogue of Juhi Chaturvedi that steals the show and leaves the audience with smiles on their faces and tears in their eyes.

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The Bandra Police grilled Rhea Chakravarty for nine hours and recorded statements from 14 other people connected to the late Sushant Singh Rajput. The star’s untimely death has left the whole world in shock.

Mukesh Kumar, the magistrate of the case will be handling a similar complaint too. The second complaint was filed by Sudhir Kr. Ojha (local advocate) against a host of Bollywood stars who have been accused of trying to coerce Sushant Singh Rajput and practice nepotism. The named accused are Sanjay Leela Bansali, Salman Khan, Aditya Chopra, Ekta Kapoor and Karan Johar.

Kangana Ranaut is supposed to act as a witness.

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Ravi Shankar Prasad & Shahrukh Open Up About Sushant’s Death

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Amazon Prime Original Breathe: Into the Shadows Creates Anticipation

avi Shankar Prasad, the Law Minister paid homage to late actor Sushant Singh Rajput.

The minister actually visited the late actor’s Patna home and said that “I always saw the future Shah Rukh Khan in Sushant Singh Rajput.” Prasad addressed a letter to Rajput saying that it was unfair the actor left the world when there were so many possibilities for his future. The Minister communicated his admiration and praise for Sushant to the actor’s father and sister.

Meanwhile, Shah Rukh Khan took to Twitter to express that Sushant always used to claim that he was a SRK fan. Sushant always loved Shah Rukh for his grit and hard work. Incidentally both actors did not have a Bollywood godfather.

Shahrukh’s tweet read “SSR loved me so much…I will miss him a lot. He (Sushant) had a lot of energy, talent and dreams…his smile was specially endearing.” The superstar prayed for the late actor’s soul and sent his sympathies to the late actor’s friends and family.

Sushant Singh Rajput was a rising Bollywood star who rose to fame after his stellar performance as M.S Dhoni in a similarly titled movie. The actor has worked in box office hits like Kai Po Che, Shuddh Desi Romance and Detective Bomkesh Bakshi. The entire industry is shocked over the news of his demise though rumors of his depression and personality change have been circulating for long. Sushant Singh’s suicide has sprouted a lot of controversies about nepotism and foul play in Bollywood.

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reathe: Into the Shadows is season two of the popular series Breathe. The new season is based on the premise that “a father’s love can save a life...or take one.” The Second season of the series Breathe creates anticipation when a first look into the show was released.

The show is slated to be released on Amazon Prime Video and will mark the digital debut of Abhishek Bachchan as the protagonist, while Amit Sadh will return in the role of Inspector Kabir Sawant. Actors Nithya Menen and Saiyami Kher will also be seen in prominent roles in the series.

The trailer is set to release on July 1. In the first teaser, we see Abhishek Bachchan looking melancholic as the actor holds a poster of a missing child, thus setting a dark undertone to the series.

Shortly after the launch of the official poster of the soon-to-be-released show, a teaser trailer was released as well. Abhishek Bachchan’s compelling narrative and stirring musical score of the trailer further added thrill and suspense to the much awaited web series.

Breathe: Into the Shadows is written and directed by Mayank Sharma and will be released under Abundantia Entertainment.

For more detailed information on this article or to view additional pictures, please visit deshvidesh.com/July2020 66

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Kahani Ghar Ghar Kii & Kahin Kisii Roz: 2nd Season?

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here’s nothing like cashing in on success and if you’re talking about Ekta Kapoor, you will automatically think of Kahani Ghar Ghar Kii and Kahin Kisii Roz. These two enjoyed tremendous popularity and Ekta may well revive them in season 2 with some new twists and turns. This can be seen in the revival of Kasauti Zindagii Kay that had new faces bringing freshness to a welltried formula.

The serial garnered high TRPs, which probably prompted

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Ekta Kapoor to consider reviving Kahin Kisii Roz and Kahani Ghar Ghar Kii. The online publication TellyChakker reported that season 2 of these two extremely popular serials is in making. Sudha Chandran was the star attraction of Kahin Kisii Roz, and it will be interesting to see who will play the role of Ramola Sikand in the next avatar.

We eagerly wait to see who will fill the shoes of inimitable Kiran Karmakar as Om Agarwal and Sakshi Tanwar as Parvati in season

2 of Kahani Ghar Ghar Kii. The serial had an entire generation of women glued to the television screen. It will be interesting to see how season 2 plays out given the tastes of the present generation.

However, nothing succeeds like success and if these two hits are anything to go by, then season 2 will see more viewers from the present and older generations. Kasauti Zindagii Kay is having a home run, slightly interrupted by COVID-19. It has a new twist and Erica Fernandes and Parth Samthaan act impressively in the roles of Prerna and Anurag.

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Shivangi Joshi Discusses Importance of Yoga

Mahira Sharma Comments on Paras Chhabra’s Eye Tattoo

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veryone remembers Naira aka Shivangi Joshi of Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai fame. Shivangi has been practicing yoga for the last four years under a professional yoga trainer.

On the occasion of International Yoga Day 2020 on June 21, Shivangi recommended yoga to all her fans. According to her, in today’s fast paced material life everyone is under immense stress. She believes yoga gives energy and encourages happiness within.

Yoga can help people cope with the present and prepare for the future and what it brings.

According to her it is important to maintain a healthy mind and body. Though it is best to work with a guru, you can always watch YouTube tutorials as long as you are particular about doing the pose exactly as shown. It is good to work all the time but one must also work on the body to stay fit and feel happiness from within. Healthy body and mind make you productive. According to her, yoga benefits people of all ages and brings her peace and sanity in today’s hectic world.

Shivangi feels that though yoga has been around since ages, it is only today that people are beginning to realize just how important it is for well-being.

Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai shooting was on hold due to the pandemic, but should resume soon.

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Vikas Gupta Announces Bisexuality

Mrs. Hathi on Ekta’s Show?

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arak Mehta ka Ooltah Chasmah is still going strong after being introduced in 2008, making it a legend among serials. Each of the stars has a unique fan base besides being household names. You all know of Jethalal, Daya ben, Babitaji and Tapu. Ambika Ranjankar’s Mrs. Komal Hathi may not be quite as popular, but her performance still is spectacular. She does have a nice screen presence and a bewitching smile.

Not many know that she was once part of an Ekta Kapoor show. Which one, you ask? The show she starred in was Kasamh Se in 2007. Ambika shared on Instagram an old picture of her

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ikas Gupta, former Bigg Boss contestant, sarcastically thanked Parth Samthaan and Priyank Sharma for making him announce he is bisexual. Vikas tweeted on his official Twitter that he “falls in love with the human regardless of their gender. There r more like me. With #Pride I am Bisexual @VikasGupta PS No more being blackmailed or bullied #priyanksharma # Parth Samthaan Thank you for forcing me to come out.”

The revelation comes in the wake of the tragic suicide of Sushant Singh Rajput. Vikas highlighted on Instagram how his fellow contestants Parth Samthaan, Shilpa Shinde and Priyank Sharma made life hell for him. Among other things the trio accused him of killing a body and allegations of molestation. He accused them of trying to destroy his career and personal life as well as mental peace.

He said they indulged in such defamatory practices just to become famous and that he would unmask all of them so that they could never hurt anyone in future.

Ultimately, something snapped inside him and he decided to call out the trio and others. He asked them over Instagram that if the allegations are true then he should be in jail and if not then what? What do they get out of harassing him, is his question.

Vikas does deserve praise and support for being frank. If he is bisexual then that is his business and people can accept it or ignore it but certainly not make life hell for him.

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from the serial, reminiscing about the show and lamenting the lack of friends. Despite a busy schedule Ambika still finds time to be active on social media and update her fans. You will find quite a few throwback pictures on Instagram. She took time to wish Bhavya Gandhi a happy birthday. Bhavya played the role of Tapu in the old show and Ambika wished him happy birthday and hoped he would realize his dreams.

For more detailed information on this article or to view additional pictures, please visit deshvidesh.com/July2020 JULY 2020 - WWW.DESHVIDESH.COM

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