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CONTENT March/April 2015 a note from

CEO & Founder Most of the roles I play don’t have handy job titles. I wear several caps. At times, more than one. Once upon a time, ages ago, while my friends wanted to grow up to be firefighters, pilots, movie stars and other glamorous such, I had no aspiration whatsoever to being anyone in particular. To that end, I believe I’ve done myself well. At age 20, I qualified as a mechanical engineer and dived headlong into establishing CatsEye – India’s first discotheque. You may see no connection there. And that, of course, is my point. Anyways, I bid goodbye to engineering while CatsEye offered me loud music and psychedelia — all aspects of it. I embraced both of them gratefully and wholeheartedly. Time went by fast and I soon found myself to be a bass guitarist/leader of Frustrations Amalgamated, national acclaim and honors. Music paid bills for a dozen years but a need-of-the-time stagecraft engineering propelled me into a more lucrative career in visual effects with the motion picture industry. My pioneering efforts are visible in over 200 song and dance sequences among other movie scenes. I’m driven by exciting projects that inspire me and may also hopefully make a better world at the same time. I strategically improvise — weaving connections, experiences, knowledge, paths and approaches — to create a final product. And I love taking on new challenges. So, I landed as a visitor here in Houston in 1989 to make this a better place (you can delete that). It did not take long to find out that there is no free lunch in the USofA but it did take 25 years since then to get a Green Card. Meanwhile, I reinvented myself to become a photographer/videographer, a journalist, and a marketing specialist among others while honing a very diverse set of skills and experiences that could be best labeled as project management, product development, enthusiast & community builder, event organizer, product launch strategist and technology advisor. I’m sorry that I did not become a firefighter or a pilot. But, when I do grow up, I will be somebody. Promise! Thank you Albert Camus, yes “In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer”. Life goes on...

Krishna Giri

EMAIL STORM

PRADEEP ANAND

THE ANIL KUMAR WE KNEW

PRABHA & SESH BALA

Anil Kumar Janamanchi 1944-2015

Creation in Hinduism

LIFE GOES ON ROBERT ARNETT

Chance of a Lifetime:

FOR FIRST18 TIPS TIME BUYERS Harinath Medi

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m r o t S l i a M E BY PRADEEP ANAND

Chaos Theory suggests that a butterfly fluttering its wings in Japan can create a major storm in the United States. I was a witness to one such situation, where a minor quiver of an email created a flurry of activity on the Internet. It began with an innocent broadcast email that I received on Saturday June 11, 2005 at 9:52 AM. The content of the email was a legitimate invitation to attend an event on June 12 at an Indian restaurant in Clear Lake City, to ‘support’ a candidate of Indian origin running for a Houston city council at large position. The organizers, as well as the candidate, I am sure, were pleased with the ‘support’ they received, and the weekend passed without incident. However, on Monday June 13, at 9:28 AM, I was a recipient of an email with a ‘please remove my name from the distribution list’ request. The sender had inadvertently hit the ‘Reply All’ button, which included a visible address of the distribution list that was obviously not password protected. The butterfly had barely moved its wings, when at 9:39 AM I received another email from someone, who also made the same error and hit ‘Reply All’ on the ‘please remove’ request. All was quiet till 12:58 PM, when I received yet another request, and then there was a downpour of emails from senders with ‘Reply All’ tendencies that is so common in the corporate world. Some were very brief in their requests. With practiced ease, they wrote, ‘please remove’ in the body and subject of the email, but the trophy for brevity went to the one who simply said, “Ditto.” Some provided reasons. One invoked legal grounds saying, “Federal regulation(s) prohibit such emails.”

Another said, “I do not live in Sugar Land.” Another had a legitimate rationale, “I do not even live in Texas,” to which many added, “I too do not live in Texas.” They came from varied geographies, from as far as Boston University, and Vienna, Virginia. Then there was one, from an engineering firm, who after sending the ‘please remove’ email, had sender’s remorse, and kept sending ‘Mail Recall’ messages, several times. Too late – the e-chicken had flown the coop. It was only at 3:33 PM a sender, who had a wonderful tag line “The future belongs to only those who dare,” had the courage to swim in these choppy waters, and asked senders to stop hitting the ‘reply all’ button. He acquired a valiant partner, who at about 4:01 PM made a ‘humble request’ to please stop clicking on the ‘reply all’ button. They were joined by a ‘database analyst’ who said, “I am replying to all on purpose so please all good Indians will know how to use email and not abuse it.” Another attempted to stem this with humor, suggesting that he was going to migrate to the moon to get out of this email maelstrom. Nevertheless, that did not stop Blackberry users from complaining and others began to shout by increasing their font size. People began the blame game, accusing the sender of the first email of having started this avalanche. Then around 7:30 PM, around dinnertime, the emailstorm turned into a drizzle; the last perpetrator was a night owl sending a ‘reply all’ email into the empty night at 12:33 AM. The next morning was a bright and sunny morning, with clear skies. Calm finally descended on my Inbox. A virtual butterfly had fluttered and another emailstorm had been weathered.

Pradeep Anand is the President of Seeta Resources (www.seeta.com), a strategy consulting ﬁrm that focuses on accelerating revenue and margin growth of its client ﬁrms.

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March/April 2015

Love lives on... in the little things you shared, in the moments youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll always treasure, in the smiles you can never forget

Anil Kumar Janamanchi 1944-2015

The Anil Kumar We Knew BY PRABHA & SESH BALA This is a personal account. We have known Anil Kumar since 1971, a bachelor still, and some 5 years before he and Rathna got married. New to Houston, we met him at gatherings of Tamil-speaking immigrants, and what evolved into the Bharathi Kalai Manram. He used to help screen Tamil movies. His native tongue is Telugu and despite his long association with Tamil Nadu where he grew up, he spoke Tamil with an accent, especially certain words and phrases that became his trademarks. A popular phrase he used was “orey kastom pa” which roughly translates to “it is so very difficult”; it was not what he said but the way he said it. By the way, did you know he came to Houston via London? He had lived there for a while and had picked up a bit of a British accent too and that added to the mix and was often something to kid him about. We knew him when he worked for Burroughs Corporation on assignment to The Rice University Computer Center as a systems engineer in charge of the computer hardware. He was a favorite of the Director of the Rice Computer Center. That fact became apparent when the Director became a regular customer of the Maharaja Restaurant. Located at 2534 Amherst in the Rice Village, the Maharaja Restaurant was the first ever Indian restaurant in Houston. Anil was a co-owner of Maharaja and was the brains behind it. He liked the idea of owning a restaurant so much that he left the Burroughs job and managed the restaurant full time. Anil learned how to weather the storms and ups and downs of day-to-day running of a business. He was very creative and came up with attractive menu descriptions such as the “Omelette de Bangalore” and created popular new beverages he titled “Cobra’s Kiss” and the “Bengal Tiger”! At a time when even Mexican restaurants were few and far between in Houston, Anil managed to get the attention of the food editor of the Houston Chronicle, Ann Crisswell, with Maharaja serving ethnic Indian food. Not only did she give rave reviews for the restaurant but also judged an “uppuma” recipe submitted by Anil as an award winning entry! We do not ever remember Anil to have been a chef! Though the restaurant was open only for about 3 years (1975 – 1978), it was a great learning experience and the partners remained friends for decades to come. Most of us know Anil and Rathna were child stars of the movie Sansar or Samsaram. We very well remember Anil going through the deliberations of getting married to Rathna (which by the way did not take him too long to decide), proposing to her and going home to get married. He started a family life in Houston, balancing family time with Rathna and running the restaurant. Rathna jumped right in to help him. Her dance debuts in Houston came a bit later but blossomed into a great career we all know about; we can write a separate and long story on it. A most memorable occasion in our early days was a road trip we took with Rathna and Anil to San Antonio, just

the two couples, getting to know each other, becoming lifelong friends. One thing became very clear. He was a good engineer, had great zeal in running a business and so on. But his real passion was drama and theatre. He took courses in the Drama department at the University of Houston. We think he completed a degree on Drama there too. He, even in those days (late 70s and early 80s), had a network of contacts in the mainstream drama circles, and through him we went to a few plays and such stage events that we may have never known about. His dream was to produce and present plays. He did a few of those in our community circles but always wanted to do more, and more broadly. His technical knowhow of audio and video, were a great complement to his theatre interest; he later turned that knowhow into a career becoming a videographer, photographer and photo editor. He also used his audio and video expertise to help out several community organizations including Tamil and Telugu cultural organizations and the temples. The purchase of the Anjali Center in Sugar Land many years later was influenced by his dream and passion for drama and theatre. It is a well-known fact that Anil was an anchor support of the Anjali Center and Samskriti, Society for Performing Arts. He had drawn up several plans to build a theatre facility there, even settled on one just a few weeks before he went in to the hospital in August 2014. Talking about hospitals, there is a story. He was once hospitalized briefly some 10-12 years ago at Ben Taub. We went by there to visit him. On entering his room we saw he was not in his hospital patient gown, but regular pant and shirt. We asked him about it. He said he was too bored in the hospital, changed clothes, left the hospital, walked over to the Houston Zoo, looked at the animals there, rode the Hermann Park train, etc and walked back! He said he never had the time to do that all along but finally found it! The hospital was not too amused, needless to say, but that is his free and independent spirit! We knew Anil Kumar the guy, the man with a refined sense of aesthetics and artistry, the avid gardener, and (Sesh’s) drinking buddy. Anil was always jovial, taking things in his stride, laughing at trials and tribulations of life, forgiving of people, trusting of people, never taking offense at anything and being humble at times to a fault. But most of all, he enjoyed life. He perhaps deserved a great deal more of what life has to offer, but he was a happy man, happy with his family, happy with his friends and happy with all he did. He was especially proud of his dear wife Rathna and all her accomplishments. In fact he was her number one fan, eager to showcase her talent to the world! We will miss Anil but we will always talk about him and remember him fondly! Anil, Rest in Peace, man!

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March/April 2015

At the end of a cosmic cycle known as a day of Brahma, life ceases to exist. Vishnu sleeps on the giant multi-headed serpent of eternity, Ananta, who drifts eternally on the primeval Ocean of Milk that contains the unmanifested reality from which the new creation cycle will begin. In his meditative sleep, after Vishnu dreams the universe into existence, Brahma recreates the cosmos. The cosmic serpent is called Ananta or “Endless” because the primordium is eternal and the cycles of the creation and total dissolution of everything back into Spirit is endless

Creation in Hinduism

LIFE GOES ON Dedicated to the Life & Legacy of Anil Kumar Janamanchi 1944-2015 BY ROBERT ARNETT

Who really knows, and who can swear, How creation came, when or where! Even gods came after creation’s day, Who really knows, who can truly say When and how did creation start? Did He do it? Or did He not? Only He, up there, knows, maybe; Or perhaps, not even He. — Rig Veda 10.129.1-7

The most accepted Hindu view of the cosmos is that it is eternal and cyclical. It has no beginning in the past and it will not end in the future. According to the Hindu Cosmology, the universe is created, destroyed, and re-created in an eternally repetitive series of cycles. The timeless cosmic clock is subdivided into units of measurement so our human minds can grasp inﬁnity. A universe manifests in repeated cycles consisting of four yugas: Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga, Dvapara Yuga and Kali Yuga. The consensus is that 1000 cycles of the four yugas comprise one day of Brahma, or a kalpa. At the end of a kalpa, life no longer exists. That period of nonmanifestation is called a night of Brahma, which is the same length as the preceding day of Brahma and lasts for millions of years. Life is only manifest on earth during the day of Brahma. With the onset of night of Brahma, life ceases to exist. When another day of Brahma begins, life again manifests. According to ancient seers, lifespan of the universe is over 300 trillion years — an Age of Brahma. In the cosmic ocean there are innumerable universes rising and disappearing like bubbles in the

Vishnu asleep on the giant multi-headed serpent, Ananta Undavalli cave temples/ Hindu. Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh. 7th century. Restored. sea. Scriptural sources vary as to what is and what is not destroyed at the end of a day of Brahma, but they seem to agree that at the end of an Age of Brahma, all matter itself is dissolved back into Brahma (God the Father), and God the Father is dissolved back into formless Absolute Spirit. After the cosmic dissolution, many millions of years pass. Nothing exists but Absolute Spirit. Thus, prior to our created world when only Absolute Spirit (Sat) existed everywhere as the ever-existing, everconscious, ever-new bliss, there was nothing else: no stars, suns, moons, planets, universes, or Milky Way. But at some point in eternity, Spirit dreamt creation and in Its creative state became the three: Sat, Tat, Aum. The theologies of all major religions agree with this ancient Hindu interpretation that when Absolute Spirit manifests creation, It is referred to as the Trinity. Sat (the Father), in the impersonal sense, is God existing beyond creation without form. Tat (the Son) is God’s omnipresent intelligence reﬂected in an undisturbed state throughout creation. Aum (the Holy Ghost) is the active vibratory creative power of God that objectiﬁes or

structures creation. God as Aum upholds creation through his consort, Prakriti, Mother Nature. The three aspects of God’s immanence in the physical creation are represented by Brahma-Vishnu-Shiva, the Hindu Trinity. God the Father manifests in the physical universe as Brahma, the Creator. Vishnu is the Sustainer or Preserver of the universe, and Shiva who manifests everything into physical being and destroys or dissolves all things back into the One. Hindus regard all of creation as being the outer, visible manifestation of God’s presence in the world and believe that God’s intelligence is the power and wisdom that sustains His creation and enables it to function. Poetically, Cosmic Nature (Prakriti) becomes God’s consort in the world. Though Nature is distinct from the Creator, in Hindu philosophy, the two are inseparable, for it is God’s intelligence operating in the world through Nature that directs all creation. In Hinduism, the power resides with the goddesses, and they are the ones who actively oversee the governance of creation.

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March/April 2015

The Black Buddha of Nalanda, covered with oil poured on it by pilgrims. He is seated in the traditional meditation pose, his right hand touches the earth, calling it to witness his triumph over Mara (delusion) and his attainment of enlightenment. His left hand with palm upturned, symbolizes the upliftment of the Spirit Black basalt. Nalanda. Late Pala period ca 10th-11th century

Vishnu, Lord of Preservation, mounted on a horse Vaikuntaperumal Temple. Kanchipuram. Tamil Nadu. 8th century www.hummagazine.com

March/April 2015

Symbolizing the surrender of the self (ego) to God, the yajna ritual is a rite of purification. Performed at various levels depending on one’s spiritual development, ghee (clarified butter) and other offerings such as grains, flowers, and incense are offered into a sacred fire which also symbolizes uniting man’s purified mind with God’s universal intelligence. Few of any faith other than yogis can perform the ritual at that highest esoteric level by withdrawing the life force (prana) from the lower regions of their body and spine and directing it to the highest centers of consciousness in the brain. Mastering this ritual brings enlightenment and liberation. That is the real meaning of the fire rite. The endless cycle of birth and death is over for them

Priests offering grains into a sacred ﬁre. Nuns are wearing red saris Yajna ceremony Swaminarayan Temple. Bhuj, Gujarat

Aum represents the third part of the Hindu Trinity. Hindus worship the Aum symbol as representing Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s intelligent unseen presence in every particle of creation. To the Hindus, the holy vibration (word) of Aum (amen, Amin) is the creative power by which the entire cosmos of matter and energy is brought into being

Shrine with Aum symbol. Aaithan Temple Dibrugarh vicinity. Assam

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March/April 2015

Kali, the Mother of the Universe, represents God in the aspect of eternal Mother Nature, God’s consort in creation. The black, four-armed deity stands on the recumbent form of Lord Shiva, who represents the Infinite in its latent form. This symbolism signifies that Cosmic nature does not test or tempt a devotee with delusion if he is consciously united to the Infinite. Her lower left hand (covered by the fabric in the photograph) holds a severed human head, and the upper grips a bloodstained sword. One right hand offers boons to her children, the other allays their fear. Her four arms symbolize two beneficent and two destructive attributes of the essential duality inherent in all creation. The message is that one should not seek absolute values in the relative world or nature, which is both benign and ruthless. She can be awesome in her destructive role, as she annihilates all things back into the One, only to create again. The name “Kali” is derived from the Sanskrit word kala, which means both “time” and “black.” Hence, Kali is also the Goddess of time and change. The goddess Durga, the consort of Lord Shiva, is venerated as the embodiment of Shakti, the female creative energy that governs all cosmic creation, existence, and change. Shiva would have no means of expression without Durga, and without Shiva, Durga could not exist. Shiva does not get involved in creation; rather, Durga carries out the divine plan. At the end of the popular Durga Puja (worship) Festival in Kolkata, the Durga images are taken to the riverbanks in a long procession, accompanied by the sounding of drums and trumpets — musical sounds associated with the heavenly astral world that are described in both Hindu and Christian scriptures. The images are ceremonially immersed into the sacred Hooghly River, symbolizing Durga’s reunion with Shiva at the cosmic level, and the soul merging back into God at the individual level. To Hindus, the tradition of taking months to create an elaborate shrine object, only to toss it into a river after a few days, is merely a reminder that our physical existence is not permanent, and we will one day dissolve back into the formless Absolute from which we originated. That same relationship between Shiva and Durga, the inseparableness of the soul and Spirit, jiva and Shiva is interwoven into the Hindu Creation theory and equally applies to each one of us at every moment. Through the macrocosmic (Sat, Tat, Aum) and microcosmic (Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva) concept of the Hindu Trinity, God’s qualities and intelligences are equally present everywhere. The same principles that govern the big picture of creation apply equally to the individual soul’s spiritual evolution through incarnations as it seeks to break the bondage of the ego’s identification with this prison house of the body. God’s love for us is so allembracing that no matter how much we flee from Him, some day we will all be drawn back into Spirit.

Painted statue of Kali, Mother of the Universe Dakshineswar, West Bengal

Traditional Durga iconography in which Durga, representing an aspect of Cosmic Nature, is shown destroying a demon (with green skin) symbolizing ignorance. She is surrounded by the deities Sarasvati (wisdom), Lakshmi (prosperity), the elephant-headed Ganesha (success), and Kartikeya (power) Durga Festival, Bagh Bazaar. Kolkata (Calcutta), West Bengal

A jyotirlinga, which represents Shiva’s (the third aspect of the Hindu Trinity) creative role within the universe Mahakaleshwar Temple Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh

Jesus on the Cross erected in front of main altar dedicated to St. Catherine of Alexandria Se Cathedral, Old Goa. Completed in 1652

The endless cycle of births and deaths evidently lasts until all souls attain liberation or until Spirit decides to destroy creation and return all matter back into Itself. The iconic image of Shiva as Nataraja, (Lord of Dance) is a constant reminder to all of us that until we attain enlightenment: “Life Goes On!”

In Hinduism, Shiva, as an instrument of Cosmic intelligence, brings all things into physical creation and dissolves all things back into the One. As Nataraja, the Lord of Dance, he holds in his upper right hand a damaru, a hand drum, which made the first sound of creation. In his upper left hand he holds agni, the fire that will dissolve the universe back into the One Unmanifested Spirit. The dwarf-like figure trampled by his right foot represents illusion (maya or Satan) which leads humankind astray. The iconography is identical to the words of Christ: “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last” (Revelation 22: 13).

Robert Arnett is the author and photographer of internationally acclaimed India Unveiled and multi-award-winning children’s book Finders Keepers?. For more information about Robert Arnett and his work visit www.AtmanPress.com www.hummagazine.com

March/April 2015

Chance of a Lifetime: Tips for First-Time Buyers BY Harinath Medi While the burst real estate bubble might be bad news for the economy, it could be good news for first-time homebuyers. In fact, now might just be the best buying opportunity of a lifetime. Follow these steps to determine where to begin: Establish a Realistic Budget: Owning a home involves more costs than meet the eye. In addition to mortgage, taxes and insurance, wise homebuyers set aside a little savings toward maintenance and unexpected emergencies. Remember, you will eventually need to repair or replace many items in the home. Buy What You Need: While real estate is often considered an excellent investment, it’s important to only purchase as much home as you actually need. Bigger isn’t always better; sometimes it’s simply more expensive. Higher taxes, bigger insurance bills and more maintenance can eat away at even the best budgets. So buy what you need, unless it’s wise for you to… Plan for Growth: First-time buyers can also be too modest when it comes to purchasing their first homes. If you intend to begin a family, you may quickly outgrow the home. Plan for growth to ensure you will be as happy in the home tomorrow as you are today. For example, if you have a large and growing family then four bedrooms might be a necessity, while a pool might be negotiable. Select a Location: Spend some time driving around town, researching schools and local amenities, crime rates, and other safety considerations. Select three to five areas to focus your search on. Understand Appreciation: Although you don’t want to

base the purchase of your home solely upon appreciation, it’s important to understand how the future value of your home is likely to impact your ability to move up later in life. When the time comes to sell, rent or exchange the current property, a home with long-term appreciation provides greater buying options in the future. Search for neighborhoods expected to rise in value over time. Get Pre-Qualified: Find out how much you will be eligible to borrow and begin the paperwork so you are prepared to move quickly should a great deal arise. Work with a Reputable Agent: A great real estate agent or broker is often worth his or her weight in gold, which is why you will typically find that investors would never think of going it alone. Unfortunately, many first-time buyers are under the mistaken impression they can save money by helping the seller eliminate or reduce the commission. Research shows this is rarely the case. Most agents help negotiate a lower sales price and ensure that funding, necessary paperwork and other important legal considerations are all taken care of. Read, Set and Search: Sign up for automatic listing notifications and begin viewing prospective properties online. Ask your agent for additional photos, virtual tour links and a Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange report, if available, which gives the insurance claim and loss history for residential properties. Once you find a property of interest, take a few minutes to google it before actually driving out in person. It’s often easy to see areas of concern from an aerial view as opposed to in person.

Harinath Medi is the Broker /Owner of Medi Realty Group and has served the Houston community as a realtor for over 30 years. He is a past president of the India Culture Center and past chairman of the South Asian Chamber of Commerce. He is the president of Osmania University Alumni Association of North America. Medi is currently working on a project with a slogan “Swagrama Seva “ to help village people in India.

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where they purchased each and every one. Samuel and Omana Abra-ham have opened a new store front location in the area where their business fi rst started 40 The Abrahams pride themselves on being able to underprice,” Samuel is our her in dhurries she brought backofwith amuel Omana the vision their cli-ents and besays. able“That to pick outmotto.” a rug to years ago. What started asand a favor for aAbrafriend whooflives West thatstand herthe from India. Thematch next thing she knew, have opened a new traveling U grew into a family ham business that involves world the vision they have for their room. The Abrahams are so well known for their they were being shown at “We a West U home storebeautiful front location have really developed an understand-ing of how to to hand select the most rugs.in the knowledge and expertise that when new and Omana sold her fi rst rug. area where their business listen very well,” Omana says. The idea of opening near West U was one of convenience, from across rst started 40the years ago. as being infithe heart of city, to What servestarted their existing and new “We certainly enjoyrugs the become processavailable of buying - toestates fi nd the country, they are first people “We started 10 rugs prayer,” a favor fora astrong friendsuggestion who lives in from West U rug,and the aright design,the the right color, theoften rightthe size and the clients and also their Houston and out withright Omana says. grewDesigners. into a family business that involves Gulf Coast right price,” Samuel says.contacted. “That is our motto. The Abraham’s newtostorefront ”The Abrahams are so well known for traveling the world hand select the most knowledge expertise thatfiwhen for Abra-hams Now their inventory is so vast they can’t their “We get the fiand rst pick of the very nest,” beautifulOriental rugs. Rugs is now open at 2515 Bartlett St., directly beestates Anniebecome Abrahamavailable Thomas from says. “If you’re even tell you how many rugs they have, new rugs across the country, they are often the you fi rst hind Goode Co. BBQ. looking for something truly unique but they can tell you where they purchased The idea of opening near West U was one people contacted. Samuel and Omana moved to should come to Abraham’s.” each and every one. of convenience, being in the heart of the Houston from Indiatheir in 1974. Samuel “We get the fi rst pick of the very fi city, to serve existing and is new clients Annie Abraham Thomas “If rugs an attorney and aOmana was a profestips on how to clean yoursays. antique The Abrahams pride themselves on beingnest,”Get and also strong suggestion from their something unique sor. A friend whoand lived onCoast Quenby inlooking the next for issue of West U truly Connections. able to understand the vision of their cli-you’re Houston Gulf Designers. you should come to Abraham’s. Street in West U asked Omana to ents and be able to pick out a rug to match ”Get tips on how to clean your antique decorate her home with some of her the vision they have for their room. The Abraham’s new storefront for Abrathenext Abrahams rugsCall in the issue of HUM Magazine. dhurries that she brought back with hams Oriental Rugs is now open at 2515 at 713-622-4444 to her from India. The next thing she Bartlett St., directly behind Goode Co. BBQ. “We have really developed an understand- schedule a personal knew, they were being shown at a ing of how to listen very well,” Omana consultation or stop West U home and Omana sold her fi The Abrahams can help you fi nd the says. Samuel and Omana moved to Houston by the U store perfect rugWest for any roomCall the Abrahams rst rug. from India out in 1974. an attorney Monday through at 713-622-4444 to schedule a personal “We started withSamuel 10 rugsisand “We certainly enjoy the process of buyingconsultation and Omana was a professor. A friend who Friday from 10 a.m. a prayer,” Omana says. or stop by the West U store - to find the right rug, the right design, Monday livedtheir on Quenby Street in vast West U asked through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 Now inventory is so to 5 p.m. the right color, the right size and the right Omana decorate hermany home with some p.m. they can’t eventotell you how rugs they have, but they can tell you

Get tips on how to clean your antique rugs in the next issue of West U Connections. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Advertorial • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

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March/April 2015

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BY PARUL FERNANDES Deven Varma was my brother, a brother who was born an entertainer for his family and for the myriads of people who watched him on the Bollywood screen. He wanted to make everybody laugh while he kept a straight face. Born on October 23, 1936, as Devendu Varma to Baldev Sinh and Sarladevi Varma, he was the only son in the family among four sisters. One day, he told me that he was the “The Sandwich” because he had two sisters elder to him and two sisters younger to him, so he was sandwiched and always had to obey the “petticoat government”. As kids, my twin Amita, and I were his best allies in mischief. In our stone house in Pune, India, we had a large balcony on the ﬁrst ﬂoor adjoining the master bedroom. And when the Monsoons came pouring down, he would tell us to collect white bed-sheets and he would tie them up as sails between the pillars of the balcony and start singing songs sung by boatman in movies which ran as meri naya re uttergi par re…….. and he instructed us to say, hai o hai re haiya as chorus. And we younger sisters were his boatmen who obediently followed his orders and shouted hai ho at his orders. We laughed and sang fully drenched in the rain. He was a great storyteller, stories which he concocted with great ease. We younger sisters, Amita and I, were his perpetual audience. I was

especially afraid of ghost stories so I used to make him promise that he would never have a ghost in his stories. He promised, but halfway through his story the prince would enter a haunted house and the door would creak….. guess who screamed! He was equally compassionate to us too. Once during Diwali, Amita had high fever and was inside the house while all others were enjoying the Diwali lights and ﬁrecracker display, so he took Amita for a ride in the car so that she too could enjoy the sights. That made her so very happy. Just recently, after his passing away, his driver told me that when he had told Deven that his son’s admission to an English medium school was denied, Deven immediately went to the school and convinced the principal to admit the child. Deven graduated from Nowrosjee Wadia College, Pune, with honors in Politics. So, one day, I asked why he chose to study politics when all he really wanted was to be on the silverscreen as a comedian. “Because politics is everywhere”, he replied. How true. I don’t know how he kept a straight poker face when he mimicked, or told a joke. He started his journey through mimicry on the stage during his college days and was selected to represent the college in the Youth Festivals in Delhi every year. After graduation, he

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Standing, from left, Rajneesh Uzgare, Aarti Uzgare (Deven’s niece), baby Meghna (grand niece), Parul Fernandes (younger sister), Jyotika Karve (niece), Parag Karve Sitting, from left, Rupa Varma (wife of Deven Varma), Deven Varma, Sarladen Varma (mother of Deven), Kunj Karve (grand nephew), Dr. Tushar Sheth (elder sister), Basant Jwala (brother in law) and Amita Jwala (younger sister)

was sent to Bombay to study Law, but he started frequenting studios and he got his ﬁrst shot in V. Shantaram’s Janak Janak Payal Baje as an English General presenting a scroll. Then B.R. Chopra spotted him on stage with Enoch Daniels and Van Shipley, while performing his one-act show at the North India Punjab Association and offered him a role in Dharmputra (1961) and later a position of Assistant Director to Yash Chopra. His career took the comic turn in B.R. Chopra’s movie Ghumrah where he took the comic role of a cook in Ashok Kumar’s house. This launched his career and

also found him a soulmate, because he met Rupa, Ashok Kumar’s beautiful second daughter, at a party. I remember chaperoning Rupa so that she could meet Deven. Their love was made in heaven and so they married. Deven always had a creative mind, decorating every corner of his house, and his sense of grasping human and animal behavior was unparalled and he intellectually approached and dicussed all topics. He was serious and yet funny. He produced ﬁve movies, Amitabh Bacchan acted in one of his ﬁlm, Besharam and they became great friends. He

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had a great regard for Yash Chopra, Shashi Kapoor and his collegues. Tanuja told me that Deven was always up to some mischief on the sets. He won Filmfare awards for Best Supporting Actor for Chori Mera Kaam (1975), Chor Ke Ghar Chor (1979), and Angoor (1983). He was a linguist and could converse fluently in many foreign languages and any Indian language. As far as I can recollect, he spoke at least 10 languages with ease. I remember that we had a Kannada male helper in the house and he did not know Hindi and my mom was frustrated, so Deven was called to the rescue, that was when Deven got a chance of playing innocent mischief by twisting words and asked Basappa to bathe the dog with milk instead of water. Deven of course, stopped Basappa before the act was done, but we all went into a guffaw including my mom. I have so, so many stories to tell about our growing up days. His passing away has left all of us with a deep emotional void. Yet, Deven left behind inumerable pleasant memories for his film friends and fans in Houston and all over the world. Film director and lyricist Gulzarji said “when we call someone a comedian, we generally think of buffoonery. Deven never did that. He was a great performer, not just a comedian. In Angoor, he brought out the difference in personalities of the two brothers with great nuance”. He had a beautiful melodious voice and he sang in the films like Angoor (Preetam Aaan Milo) and Katha Metha (Mummy O Mummy tu kub sas banegi). He acted in over 150 films. I did not see all of them but I know he reached the hearts of millions as a straight-faced humorist, And, as the Times of India stated, “Deven Varma, King of subtle comedy passes away into ages”. He made comedy look classy. Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi described him as a popular actor, admired by film lovers. So true…… but for me he will always be my lovable “sandwich” brother.

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BY SOWMYA NANDAKUMAR International Women’s day on March 8th incidentally heralds the nurturing newness of Spring — an apt season to celebrate womanhood. That time of year when we women could take a moment to state to the world, perhaps reassert, or acknowledge to ourselves and revel in the momentous glory of what mother nature endowed us with — childbirth! I thought it a great time to share how a new life entered mine. Much as it has come to be represented as an ordeal, it really was just a process, albeit elaborate, left to nature’s way, unfolded in its own unique fashion. And, I did not take an epidural for pain relief but was well educated and equipped with strategies for pain management. I relied on my strong birthing team which helped make it an absolutely fabulous and breathtaking life experience. When we were planning a baby, my husband stumbled on a three-part documentary film series, The Business of being Born, and insisted we watch it. After the first film, I entertained the idea of birthing at home but my husband was not convinced. However, a singularly powerful and universally true value in the film resonated with us — ‘a woman has the capacity to birth a baby without any medical interventions’. For the first time, it even occurred to me that I could possibly endure labor without epidural. Sometime after this realization, I happened to befriend someone named Madonna at a workout and she told me how she’d had intervention free natural births with a group of midwives at a hospital and strongly urged me to look into that. She mentioned having a ‘doula’ for her birth and even referred me to hers. I wondered who a ‘doula’ is and what exactly she would do at a childbirth if she was neither the attending OB/ GYN or midwife, nor a medically qualified expert. I also spoke to Divya (my friend, Deepa’s sister), in California, who’d had a similar birthing experience with a doula and inspired me to pursue it. We began to research ‘doula’ extensively. Doula is a Greek word which translates into “a woman who serves”. During childbirth, the laboring woman’s mom, a close woman friend, an older sister, or perhaps a group of women (which is probably how children were birthed at home

even just a generation ago — my dad was born at home in his village! — could act as her doula. Having the support of those who have been there and done that, those who have crossed that difficult threshold and know what it is like, who empathize and encourage her through the process could make all the difference. The present day doula is exactly that — a trained and experienced professional who provides physical and emotional support. She aids a woman and her husband during labor and delivery and in the pre- and post-natal phases. When I was eight weeks pregnant, my husband and I attended an orientation by the midwives at the Women’s Pavilion in Texas Children’s Hospital. We were convinced that the midwives backed by an OB/GYN (should a need arise on the day of labor), will be our medical team. We got the best of both worlds — a hospital with medically qualified and equipped experts who principally believed in natural birth, and like in a home birth, they would allow me to walk, stay on the bed, use the hot water tub, take a warm shower, squat, etc. during labor, allowing it to progress at a natural pace. The midwives recommended that we get a doula and gave us some references. We interviewed a few and found the right person to lead our team. This was one of our best life decisions and our finest financial investment. During the prenatal period, my doula provided birthing education — enlightening sessions on childbirth, regardless of how much knowledge we may have already assimilated or not. This exposed us to various birthing possibilities and familiarized us with several terms associated with labor and delivery (natural birth, c-section, Epidural, Pitocin, induction, water birth, etc.). The doula positively psyched all the attending pregnant women into believing that we were all capable of going through labor. She mentally prepared us to know what to expect. She taught us good sleeping positions, discussed nutritious diets and mindful exercises, educated the husbands on how to massage their pregnant wives. She even did a session on acupressure massage during labor to manage contractions and taught us how to breathe during labor. Her prenatal visits were a great team building exercise

where she met with us, got to know how we coped as a couple when faced with challenges, what calmed me during panic and pain, how we visualized labor and delivery and what we wanted out of this experience. She also taught us a few exercises to do once labor set in to keep it progressing at a healthy pace. She answered any questions we had and reiterated that Mother Nature had her ways; labor will not be what I want but what my body will need. My due date came but the baby did not. We crossed the much awaited 40-week mark. I was tensed since it is convention to induce the woman with Pitocin after 40 weeks, to start labor but thankfully my fears did not not materialize.The midwives were willing to give it time and I fell back on my husband and my doula who were great counsellors, assuring me that labor would come when baby was ready to make its way out. And it did! One day before we hit the 41st week, I got in labor at 6:30 am. I labored at home until about 3 pm with my husband consulting my doula over the phone. Having heard my contractions were irregularly spaced, she suggested speciﬁc exercises to get them regularized. At about 3 pm my contractions were three minutes apart and were beginning to last a minute. My doula asked us to head for the hospital. She joined us there. I was in active labor by then, and it was getting intense. The midwife on duty examined me. I was four cm dilated. I was in disbelief! I had a very long road ahead. From there on, it was my husband and my doula who cheer led, coached, encouraged and enabled me to believe in myself by believing in me. The faith I lost in myself, they continued to have in me. I had a birthing vision — ‘no interventions unless medically necessary’. They helped me keep my focus and stay on track towards that goal, coaxing me to draw on my inner reserves. My doula suggested different positions at various stages to manage the intensity of the

contractions. The midwife ﬁrmly pushed me to stick with our plan. Did I get pain relief? Yes, of course I did! My husband and my doula gave me tremendously effective acupressure therapy for every single contraction. They started to breathe and moan the way I should during a contraction, so I would breathe and moan uninhibited. When it was time to push the baby out, they relentlessly simulated pushing sounds for me, so I would push primitively and powerfully. At 1:16 am with my husband and doula, pushing with me, I pushed our baby out. Birthing our child the way we envisioned, was the most empowering feeling of euphoria I have ever experienced. In retrospect, I smile to myself as I think, “What are the odds that the woman who told me all about her childbirth and encouraged me to explore that road less travelled, should have been named, “Madonna,” — Mother Nature sure intended for me to have this education! Two things made it possible for me — my team (my husband, doula, the midwives and their birthing philosophy); and, the sense of ‘knowing’ and security they were able to provide — knowing that I would be allowed my time and space to labor without being forced or pressured by conventional ‘intervention’ protocol. Should an intervention be deemed necessary, it would not be thrust on me. We, as a couple would be given the opportunity to make an educated decision. The sheer knowledge of alternative labor and delivery is the most powerful tool of all! So, I decided to share what I had learned to keep the cycle of ‘knowing’ alive, just like Madonna had done for me. This story is a humble tribute to my birthing team — my fantastic husband, Prahlad; my wonderful doula, Amanda Moore (http://www.holisticexpectations.com); and the other women who made it happen for me, partaking so meaningfully in my rite of passage into motherhood.

Sowmya Nandakumar holds a Masters in Mass Communications, University of Houston, and is an alumnus of Stella Maris College, and the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai. She has worked as assistant director for three feature ﬁlms including Vaaranam Aayiram with Gautham Menon. She is a certiﬁed Yoga instructor teaching in the Houston area, learns ballet at Hope Stone Dance Studio, and is studying Carnatic music on the violin. She enjoys writing and freelances for The Hindu occasionally. She may be reached at sowmya1310@gmail.com www.hummagazine.com

March/April 2015

Agneya Singh brings

M CREAM to

WordFest Houston 2015

Agneya Singh is an Indian filmmaker and screenwriter. He is often identified with the revolutionary new wave of Indian cinema. Starting out as a documentary filmmaker in New Delhi, he subsequently began to explore narrative structures in story telling. Focusing as a director and cinematographer, Agneya has worked on a multitude of subjects in both documentary and narrative film. These works provide radical commentaries on various aspects of Indian society and polity. His short films and videos have been screened at several film festivals and media showcases. A graduate of the Tisch School of the Arts, New York University, Agneya has only recently directed his first feature film entitled M CREAM shot on location in India. M CREAM is an ode to the spirit of revolution! The film chronicles the lives of four university students who embark on a road trip in pursuit of a mythical form of hash. The subsequent journey serves to explore the contemporary notion of rebellion and paints a compelling portrait of a new generation in India. It is a socio-political commentary on the issues of

the day as seen through the eyes of young India. Across the nation, young people are speaking out and taking cognizance of the imminent doom that clouds our collective future. It is no surprise that the resurgent radicalization of populations and peoples across the world is ever more pronounced in India. In a country that is riddled with paradoxes and paranoia, it is the new generation that is forming the vanguard of rebellion. I am proud to say that I am a part of this generation of revolutionaries and mavericks. I am proud that M CREAM is possibly the first film of its kind that attempts to explore the anger, confusion, defiance and madness of my generation. Narrated in a language that is both familiar and poetic, the film takes a subtle approach as it probes into the contentious aspects of Indian society and polity. It is a film that reflects the turbulence of our times and reaffirms my faith that film can act as a weapon of the revolution and as a tool to change the world. SYNOPSIS: Figs is the typical cynic one finds lurking in the expansive

USA Premiere

WordFest Houston 2015 in association with HUM Magazine April 11, 9:00 PM

AMC STUDIO 30 at 2949 Dunvale One screening only for more informatiom contact Krishna Giri @832-368-4012

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March 2015 2015 March/April

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lawns of Delhi University. Entangled in a web of drugged out delirium, he’s the quintessential rebel. His world is thrown into disarray when his conservative parents begin to chalk out a strategy for his future. Things only become worse when a sudden scarcity of hashish deprives Figs of his favorite pastime. Unable to cope with the situation, Figs joins forces with his best friend Maggie on a quest to attain M Cream, a mythical form of hashish. They hastily devise a plan to trek to the far reaches of the Himalayas in pursuit of this goal. Maggie ropes in her boyfriend Niz, who’s purportedly headed to the hills on a photo assignment. Unbeknownst to Figs, the trio is joined by Jay, a close friend of Niz, who’s also working on the assignment. Strained relations between Figs and Jay mar the initial segment of the road trip. He’s ticked off by her idealism while she’s contemptuous of his lack of resolve. The foursome stops at the Tibetan town of Dharamshala en route to Mababajagal, the infamous source of M Cream. Figs struggles to comprehend the strange mix of religion and politics that surrounds the place. They spend the night at the rustic home of an old college friend of Jay’s. At a philosophical discussion that follows Figs and Jay begin to see eyeto-eye on the complexities of religiosity. In the morning, the group is on the road again, heading towards Mababajagal. However a wrong turn leads them straight to a mysterious Hippie commune where they are befriended by an ageing ﬂower child Vishnu Das. Unfortunately there is no M Cream to be found in the commune on account of a wave of protests engulﬁng the area. In lieu of the mythical hash, Vishnu Das hands over four tabs of the psychotropic drug LSD. Figs and Jay undergo a fantastical trip whereas Maggie and Niz undergo an unsettling experience. Growing ever more insecure, Maggie’s enthusiasm for the adventure begins to take an ugly turn. In a desperate attempt to reassert her position, Maggie throws herself on Figs at the commune’s annual moon rave. In response, Niz knocks Figs unconscious and the promise of their adventure is broken. Figs decides to accompany Jay on a mission to aid a nearby village in its ongoing protest against a proposed land acquisition deal. They join the resistance movement as volunteers and begin to intimately work alongside the villagers and Marie Sarte, a French reporter covering the protest. Trials and tribulations follow as the duo are pitted against the dark nature of an ascendant

Agneya Singh India. At a demonstration rally, the protestors are mercilessly attacked by a brutal police force. Authorization for the land acquisition is granted and the forest is to be cleared in order to make way for a luxury resort. Recognizing defeat, Figs and Jay trek onward with no clear destination in mind. After losing their way, they stumble upon Mababajagal and ﬁnally attain the mythical hash M Cream. While suffering numerous setbacks and disappointments, they arrive at the realization that the journey is of greater consequence than the destination. Figs takes stock of the world around him and understands the merit of taking a stand, even one against insurmountable odds.

USA Premiere

Agneya Singh’s

M CREAM Showtime: April 11, 9:00 PM AMC STUDIO 30 at 2949 Dunvale

One screening only for more informatiom contact Krishna Giri @832-368-4012

WE SEE FILMS DIFFERENTLY WORLDFEST HOUSTON

48TH ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL

APRIL 10-19, 2015 WORLDFEST.ORG

WorldFest-Houston Emerging Perspectives DOWN THE RIVER

“A few years ago, when we had a film entered from a nation called Eritrea, I had to go to the map and check out just where Eritrea is located. I found out it is north of Ethiopia and situated across the gulf from Yemen. We were delighted to add a new flag to display along with the other 76 flags of various nations which we proudly place in the lobby of the AMC Studio 30 Theater each year during WorldFest’s 10-day cinematic celebration each April in Houston,” says Hunter Todd, Chairman & Founding Director of WorldFest Houston. Now in its 48th year, WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival continues to showcase approximately 50 new Independent feature films and over 100 short films from around the globe and has become the genesis of a special focus on independent films from countries with emerging cinematic ventures. By reaching out to one of the largest Consular Corps in the USA (almost 90 Consulate Generals are posted in Houston) serving the Southwest region of the United States, WorldFest realized that in this new digital age of cinema, there now exist many new vistas for discovery of stories from all around the globe and that it can provide a special focus on these “Emerging Perspectives.” This new outreach is to discover cinematic projects from places we do not ordinarily consider to be ‘moviemmakers’. The WorldFest mission has always been one of “discovery’. However, with this special sidebar, the fesival can showcase work from unrecognized filmmakers giving them the opportunity to share their stories, their cinematic visions and even perhaps their dreams.

This year, the WorldFest has movies from countries such as Azerbaijan, Croatia, the Philippines, and Eritrea too. And also a very un-Bollywood film from India, Agneya Singh’s M Cream which will be featured in WorldFest’s “Emerging Perspectives.” These types of films can present a dilemma on which to watch simply because they contain many unknown elements such as who is in them, who made them. What they are about and even where they are from…. Unknown filmmakers, usually remote locations and a talent pool that is very different than the usual Hollywood names, can be a challenge but these are stories that still can entertain, inspire, and capture ideas and moments that touch us all. This year, one can see a film or two from “Emerging Perspectives” and then meet the filmmakers that made their stories into ‘moving pictures’ to entertain us. It might be the only time they will be on the big silver screen for us to enjoy. As a non-profit cultural and educational organization, the WorldFest mission & vision is to recognize and honor outstanding creative excellence in film and video while educating and introducing excellence in cinematic arts for the promotion of cultural tourism in Houston and to add to the rich cultural fabric of the city. EMERGING PERSPECTIVES will feature the best emerging Independent filmmakers, actors, directors and producers representing more than 31 countries. M CREAM (India) Drama. Agneya Singh, Aban Raza

CHESS GAME (JOGO DE XADREZ)

A motley crew of university students set out on a journey in pursuit of a mythical form of hashish, only to face a series of encounters that begin to unravel the myriad realities of rebellion. Showtime: April 11, 9:00 PM BETWEEN THE EYES - ASINTADO (Philipines) Family Drama. Luisito L. Ignacio When a 16-year-old kid botches a drug courier job and is facing imminent murder, his mother pushes his autistic brother to kill the drug dealer in order to save him. Showtime: April 12, 7:00 PM DOWN THE RIVER (Azerbaijan) Drama. A poignant drama which takes a look at the competitive world of Scull Team Rowing. Roslan is one of the sculling team’s most promising young players. However, his father the team coach is very hard-edged and harsh, especially towards his son. When a tragedy occurs, Roslan’s father is overcome with challenging emotions. Showtime: April 14, 7:00 PM FLOWER SQUARE - CVJETNI TRG (Croatia) Dark Comedy. Krsto Papic Nationalism, church and organized crime make for an unholy trinity in Krsto Papic’s powerful story of a man trapped in a world he not only never made, but also wants no part of. Showtime: April 12, 7:00 PM EKSTRA, THE BIT PLAYER (Philippines) Comedy. Jeffrey Jeturian.

Caustic comedy which follows a seemingly usual day in the life of Loida Malabanan (Vilma Santos) as she embarks on yet another shooting day of a soap opera as an extra. As the shoot goes on, we get a glimpse of the truth in the ruling system of the production as well as the exploitation of the marginalized laborers like her. Showtime: April 16, 9:00 PM CHESS GAME - JOGO DE XADREZ (Brazil) Drama. Mina is doing time for social security fraud, involving Senator Franco. He decided to bribe the warden to put an end to her life. But she is strong and smart, and the attempts against her are in vain. Now, it started a game of challenges and ﬁght over power inside the pen, which the strongest and smarter will succeed. Showtime: April 18, 7:00 PM THE BRIDGE AT THE END OF THE WORLD (Croatia) Drama. Deals with the unfortunate human destinies from the war in Croatia. In fear of the return of Serbian refugees to their houses in which they lived before the war and that in the meantime populated with Croat refugees from Bosnia, an old man disappears, and the investigation that starts from a police officer who lives in the Serbian house, will become more personal. Showtime: April 13, 9:00 PM VIELO Eritrea Comedy Fiori, is obsessed with VIELO, the white wedding dress and decides to get married this January,in the wedding season before her fathers dies. Fiori’s step-brother is one of her major obstacles since he does

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March/April 2015

THE BRIDGE AT THE END OF THE WORLD DOWN THE RIVER

not want her to receive her wedding gift of $300,000, Others object for various reasons yet Fiori is determined to pay any price for VIELO. Showtime: 4/12 7PM EVENTS: WorldFest Houston Film Festival. April 10-19, 2015 AMC STUDIO 30 at 2949 Dunvale Awards Dinner. April 18, 2015. 7:00 PM The Doubletree by Hilton at 6 E. Greenway Plaza Nine Film Industry Seminars. April 16-18, 2015. 10:00 AM, 1:00 PM & 3:00 PM The Doubletree by Hilton at 6 E. Greenway Plaza Consular Regatta & Texas BBQ Houston Yacht Club

EKSTRA, THE BIT PLAYER,

Pricing: Tickets are $7.50 for a single matinee (films before 6:00 PM) or $12.50 per single evening admission and range upward based on packages that customers purchase. Film Buff $100 (11 admissions), Silver Screen $150 (all films for 1 person), Gold Pass $395 (all films and all seminars) and the ultimate VIP Platinum Pass $500 (good for all films, all seminars, Awards Gala and HYC Regatta). Tickets will be available in late March online and up to theatre-capacity at show time at the Cinema Box Office. All films, seminars and events are open to the public. Opening Night Prices: $15 per person for film and program book. $30 per person for film, program book and Champagne Reception at the Doubletree by Hilton at 6 E. Greenway Plaza hotel after the film. Check website for schedule, ticketing and film trailers at ww.worldfest.org Emai: Mail@worldfest.org CHESS GAME (JOGO DE XADREZ)

Asia Society, in Collaboration with IAA, to Showcase

three

talwarts tage

one

Shujaat Husain Khan is one of the greatest North Indian classical musicians of his generation. He belongs to the Imdad Khan gharana of the sitar and his style of playing sitar, known as the gayaki ang, is imitative of the subtleties of the human voice. Shujaat Khan’s musical pedigree extends seven generations. He is the son and disciple of the great sitarist Ustad Vilayat Khan, and his grandfather, Ustad Inayat Khan, his greatgrandfather, Ustad Imdad Khan, and his great-great-grandfather, Ustad Sahebdad Khan, were all leading artists of their respective generations. Khan’s musical career began at the age of three when he began practicing on a specially made small sitar. By the age of six, he was recognized as a child prodigy and began giving public performances. Shujaat Khan has performed at all the prestigious music festivals in India and has performed throughout Asia, Africa, North America, and Europe. Audiences around the world are captivated by his unique style of sitar playing, his exceptional voice, and his intuitive and spontaneous approach to rhythm. In 1999, Khan performed as a soloist with the Edmonton

Symphony Orchestra and in 2007, he was the featured artist at musical concerts celebrating India’s 50th anniversary of independence at Carnegie Hall in New York, Paramount Theatre in Seattle, and Meyers Symphony Theater in Dallas. Khan was also the sole artist representing India in a special performance at the United Nations General Assembly Hall in Geneva commemorating India’s independence the same year. Alongside his many notable performances, Khan has been a regularly featured artist at prestigious concert halls including Royal Albert Hall in London, Royce Hall in Los Angeles, and Congress Hall in Berlin. Shujaat Khan has also collaborated with different genres of music. The Rain, an album featuring Shujaat Khan and the IndoPersian Ghazal ensemble, was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2004 for “Best Traditional World Music Album”. In 2010, Shujaat Khan worked with Asha Bhosle in releasing Naina Lagai Ke. The two performed to sell out concerts at Royal Festival Hall in London, and at concerts in Birmingham and Leicester. Their album was selected as a “Top Ten Best New Album Release” by the editor of Songlines Magazine and was featured in the magazine’s exclusive “Top of the World CD” in 2011.

Asia Society Presents!

Shujaat Khan & Kayhan Kalhor:

Persian and Indian Improvisations In Collaboration with Indo-American Association

1 ARTS & CULTURE

In collaboration with Indo-American Association, Asia Society presents this beautiful concert of ancient musical traditions. Sitar maestro Shujaat Khan and kamancheh virtuoso Kayhan Kalhor will weave Persian and Indian improvisations, accompanied by Sandeep Das on tabla. DATE:

Sunday, March 29, 2015 | TIME: 6:00 PM

TICKETS:

$30–$50 Members, $40–$70 Non-members.

1370 Southmore Boulevard at Caroline Street | Houston, TX 77004 AsiaSociety.org/Texas | Facebook.com/AsiaSocietyTexas To purchase tickets, please call 713.496.9901 or visit AsiaSociety.org/texas.

For the uninitiated, Shujaat Khan, Kayhan Kalhor, and Sandeep Das present a wonderfully accessible and dynamic gateway into an under-appreciated zone of the musical universe. – All About Jazz

Kayhan Kalhor is an internationally acclaimed virtuoso on the Persian spiked fiddle called kamancheh. His performances of Persian music and his many collaborations have attracted audiences around the globe. Born in Tehran, Iran, he began his musical studies at the age of seven. At thirteen, he was invited to work with the National Orchestra of Radio and Television of Iran, where he performed for five years. When he was just seventeen, he began working with the Shayda Ensemble of the Chavosh Cultural Center, the most prestigious arts organization in Iran at the time. He has traveled extensively throughout Iran, studying the music of its many regions, in particular those of Khorason and Kordestan. Kayhan has toured the world as a soloist with various ensembles and orchestras including the New York Philharmonic and the Orchestre National de Lyon. He is co-founder of the renowned ensembles Dastan, Ghazal: Persian & Indian Improvisations and Masters of Persian Music. Kayhan has composed works for Iran’s most renowned vocalists Mohammad Reza Shajarian and Shahram Nazeri and has also performed and recorded with Iran’s greatest instrumentalists. Kayhan has composed music for television and film. He was featured on the soundtrack of Francis Ford Copolla’s Youth Without Youth in a score that he collaborated on with Osvaldo Golijov. In 2004, Kayhan was invited by American composer John Adams to give a solo recital at Carnegie Hall as part of his Perspectives Series and in the same year he appeared on a double bill at Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival, sharing the program with the Festival Orchestra performing the Mozart Requiem. Kayhan is an original member of Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Project and his compositions Blue as the Turquoise Night of Neyshabur, Silent City and Mountains Are Far Away, appear on all three of the Ensemble’s albums. Three of his recordings have been nominated for Grammys, Faryad, Without You and The Rain. His CD, Silent City, with the innovative ensemble Brooklyn Rider, was released on the World Village label to critical acclaim. Sandeep Das is considered one of the leading tabla players today. One of the favorite disciples of the legendary tabla maestro Pandit Kishan Maharaj ji of the Benaras Gharana, Das has carved out a niche for himself around the musical world. His concerts have taken him to major centers of music around the globe, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Royce Hall, Royal Albert Hall, Hollywood Bowl and the Petronas Tower Hall in Malaysia. Sandeep has composed for and performed internationally with the Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma since the group’s founding in 2000. With the Ensemble, he performed at the United Nations General Assembly Hall in New York in 2008, played the BBC Proms in 2004 and 2009, and is the only Indian artist to have performed for the Opening Ceremony of the Special Olympic Games in Shanghai. In India and abroad, Sandeep performs frequently with music greats such as Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma, Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Dr. L Subramaniam and Ustad Shujaat Khan, among many others. His own compositions have combined the two genres and have received rave reviews. Tarang was chosen as the theme music for Blind Sight, a documentary about the first Everest climb by six blind climbers, and his piece Mohini became theme music for the Japanese TV channel NHK’s 10-episode documentary on the Silk Road. He was awarded the Most Valuable Young Musician Award by the President of India in 2004. Also a cultural and educational entrepreneur, Sandeep founded HUM (Harmony and Universality through Music), an ensemble of world-class artists whose goal is to promote global understanding through musical performance and education. Sandeep Das appears on the Silk Road Ensemble’s albums When Strangers Meet, Beyond the Horizon, New Impossibilities, Off the Map and A Playlist Without Borders. His compositions appear on the Ensemble’s albums Beyond the Horizon and New Impossibilities. Also, the only live concert DVD of the ensemble has his piece Srishti in the album Live From Tanglewood.

Acclaimed as the best book of its type on India In over 10,000 school and public libraries

released Expanded and Revised Over • Newly Edition in larger format pages, 9.5” x 12.5”, Hardcover 40,000 •• 308 Organized by regions into six chapters with seven color maps color photographs on 170 gram Garda Copies • 307 gloss art, acid-free paper Sold • ISBN: 979-0965290098 To order a copy of India Unveiled or other books by Robert Arnett, or to learn more about how you can donate books to your schools or libraries through the Indian American Education Foundation-Atman Press School Library Project, please visit www.AtmanPress.com or telephone 706-323-6377.

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March/April 2015

Capturing Moments of ‘Cinephilia’ with

Ananth Mahadevan

BY SOWMYA NANDAKUMAR Ananth Narayan Mahadevan — actor, director, writer, and a cinephile was in Houston for the world premiere of his film Rough Book, at the Indian Film Festival Houston (IFFH) 2015 held at the Studio Movie Grill from March 3rd-5th. Rough Book was awarded Best Film. Here are snippets of my engrossing conversation with Ananth about cinema. Rough Book Ananth’s producer, Aakash Chaudhry, Director of Aakash Educational Services Private Ltd, (the institute that offers NTSE, Olympiads and other such exams across India), handed him a check, asking him to make a film on the flaws of the education system. Ananth, often taunted by the appalling lack of producer budgets for ‘concrete’ content-driven scripts, found this a peculiar request and a phenomenal cinematic opportunity. However, he was skeptical and concerned, since such a film would entail an enormous social responsibility. It was probably a daunting task — to incorporate dramatic plot points, (an inherent component of story-telling and an important cinematic tool) and to have an authentic, relevant and sincere narrative, indispensable for this theme. He was tempted to refuse but told himself, “If I fail in my responsibility to make a ‘different’ movie, then I fail in my responsibility as a director to create a ‘different’ producer.” Those were the beginnings of Rough Book. Ananth asked himself, “How am I going to make this ‘cinema’ and not moral preaching? Education…politicizing, mafioso, corruption — all have to come together”. He tackled the subject as an observer, keeping the narrative genuine and entertaining. He believes, “No one has addressed so specifically in a film, what ails the education system”. Take on ‘Cinema’, and ‘parallel cinema’ or ‘art film’ “There’s language of cinema and the language of a circus. Some of the so-called commercial films are sometimes in such bad taste that anything different gets branded as “artistic” and so ‘art film’ or ‘parallel cinema’.” Ananth once told Adoor Gopalakrishnan (renowned Malayalam film director, script writer and producer, whose films are considered ‘parallel cinema’), “Sir, what you make is cinema. What others make is parallel cinema”. The journey Ananth started out making commercial cinema and then forayed into directing the films he wants to be making. “I have had the glamor, done the works, and am now willing to experiment only with something hard. I had to go through the

mainstream to get to my own path.” The more challenging the subject, the more interested Ananth is in making that film. First ‘non-mainstream’ film: Staying Alive Sujeet Sen, the writer of this film, was in the hospital after a third heart attack and wasn’t necessarily fearing death. In the neighboring bed was a guy from the Mumbai underworld (he’d probably spent all his life evading death) who’d had his first heart attack and was absolutely terrified. The dialogue between the two patients became Staying Alive. Audience response As surprising as this statistics might sound, Ananth says, “It is only a very meagre 1% of the Indian population that watches films”. His films target a .01% of that 1%, his niche, which has always responded positively. Approach to making films Ananth is an extremely organized director. His script is finalized three months before shoot, actors receive scripts and call sheets well ahead of time. His entire crew is tuned into his organized methods. Ananth says, “If I am not prepared, I cannot shoot. Preparation and post-production are war and shooting is a picnic.” He has visualized the edited film in his head and knows exactly which shots need to be taken to tell the story effectively. During the shoot he draws on that and does not waste time trying to cover one scene from several angles. He has worked per schedule and always delivered on time (well within the three month mark), except once when it wasn’t on time; the film just got done ahead of schedule! Television Ananth worked in television in the 80’s when it was a relatively new medium in India. At this time, film directors including Basu Chatterjee, Sai Paranjpye, and Gulzar worked in television, defining high entertainment standards for the medium. Having worked with such revered professionals, Ananth finds the current standard and quality of TV entertainment unappealing, and feels that it would be hard to survive the rut of television productions now. Film or theater? Ananth mentioned a quote, “Television is smaller then life, cinema is larger than life, theater is life”. And for him, theater takes precedence over everything else. He works for Ashvin Gidwani Productions and was to head back to Mumbai for two stage performances, Blame it on Yash Raj and Bottoms Up, directed by Bharat Dabholkar. Ananth throughly enjoys being

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March/April 2015

an actor in theater and prefers only to act as far as theater is concerned. He has a huge responsibility as director of a film and does not want to shoulder similar burdens in theater also. Cinema ‘greats’ He remembers very fondly, his meeting with acclaimed Iranian director, Mohsen Makhmalbaf at a film festival and learned from him, to keep the characters in a film real and close to life, which enables an audience to relate to the story. “I talk to people like Makhmalbaf and I learn. I am always a student”. Ananth has had no formal training in films. Pure passion and love for the art drove him to pursue acting and cinema. His greatest learning has been on the field and by watching the great European film makers including Ernst Ingmar Bergman (Swedish), Francois Truffaut (French), Federico Fellini (Italian) and Jean-Luc Godard (FrenchSwiss). Amongst the Iranian film makers, he likes Mohsen Makhmalbaf and Majid Majidi. He is a fan of British director, Alfred Hitchcock. He has learned from and been inspired by Indian directors: Bimal Roy, Satyajit Ray, Basu Bhattacharya, G. Aravindan, Ritwik Ghatak, Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Govind Nihalani and Adoor Gopalakrishnan, to name a few. Multi-lingual background Ananth is a Tamil Brahmin raised in Kerala, lives and works in Mumbai. So he speaks Tamil, Malayalam, Hindi, Marathi, and of course, English. He has directed films in Hindi, Marathi and English. Upcoming films The Storyteller - Ananth says this will be his tribute

to the iconic cinema maestro Satyajit Ray. The film is an adaptation of a short story, Galpo Boliye Tarini Khuro which translates to “The Storyteller, Uncle Tarini”. Tarini Khuro is a fictional character created by Satyajit Ray. The Tarini Khuro series consists of fifteen short stories, of which this is one. Witch Hunt is based on the life of Dr. S. Nambi Narayanan, a scientist from Kerala, India, who worked at the Indian Space research Organization (ISRO). He was arrested on charges of espionage in 1994, which the CBI dismissed in 1996 and the Supreme Court passed the “not guilty” verdict in 1998. At Ananth’s request, Mohan Lal enthusiastically agreed to play the part. They discussed making the film in Malayalam and Hindi. Ananth approached corporate financiers. Although the team that evaluated the script commended him on it, the financing team refused to finance it if Mohan Lal were to act in the Hindi version because they felt that Mohan Lal is not quite known in the Hindi film market. Ananth lamented that an actor as lauded as Mohan Lal was considered ‘not good enough’ for the Hindi market! Sounding frustrated by this roadblock he said, “then what is the big difference between regular run-of-the-mill producers and corporate financiers?” Ananth believes that somewhere, there is the hand of providence that helps him make the kind of films he wants to make. Let’s hope providence plays its part again to circumvent this new obstacle. With no formal training or background in film, Ananth Mahadevan authentically epitomizes the real cinephile — who passionately loves, sincerely believes in, and relentlessly pursues the art of film-making.

Sowmya Nandakumar holds a Masters in Mass Communications, University of Houston, and is an alumnus of Stella Maris College, and the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai. She has worked as assistant director for three feature ﬁlms including Vaaranam Aayiram with Gautham Menon. She is a certiﬁed Yoga instructor teaching in the Houston area, learns ballet at Hope Stone Dance Studio, and is studying Carnatic music on the violin. She enjoys writing and freelances for The Hindu occasionally and HUM Magazine regularly. She may be reached at sowmya1310@gmail.

Pratham gives kids a chance ! Empowers women ! Unleashes their potential ! 713 774 9599 * info@prathamusa.org * www.prathamusa.org Pratham USA, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, aims to raise awareness about educational needs in India and mobilize resources in the US to support Pratham's critical work.

r e v E n a h t Better

7th Annual Indian Film Festival of Houston

IFFH Board of Directors with Consul General, Hon. Harish Parvathaneni and guests of honor

BY ELLEN ISRAEL GOLDBERG Sutapa Ghosh, a Kolkata-born producer/director, saw the need to spread awareness of Indian culture to diverse communities in her adopted city, Houston. In 2009, she found a way to do just that. She gathered a small group of like-minded people and began the Indian Film Festival of Houston (IFFH). “I had the vision for its future and was fully aware of how much film fesival to showcase Indian cinema was needed. I felt there was an urgent need to open up a space in our city to share our culture — film, as a cultural and artistic expression,” says Ghosh. Although Bollywood movies were gaining popularity in the U.S., most American audiences were unaware that India produces more films than any other country in the world. The industry, one of the oldest, celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2013. In addition to Hindi and English, languages such as Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Malayalam, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, and others are spoken to regional audiences. While Americans attend musicals, which often feature a handsome man and a beautiful woman dancing under a tree, many of today’s Indian films are very sophisticated and have universal themes. Dadasaheb Phalke (1870-1944), considered the Father of Indian Cinema, was a writer, director, and producer whose life was shown at an IFFH screening of Harishchandrachi Factory in 2010. He created India’s first full-length feature film using men in the roles of women because of the stigma women faced if they appeard on stage or on screen. Satyajit Ray (1921-1992) a Bengali who is considered one of the greatest filmmakers of the Twentieth Century, set the

standard. His work influenced cinema and directors around the world, including Akira Kurosawa, Francis Ford Coppola, and James Ivory. Another outstanding writer/producer/director is Adoor Gopalakrishnan who revolutionized Malayalam cinema. He was given the Special Tribute Award at the First Annual Indian Film Festival of Houston in 2009. IFFH has come into its own. Recently named the Best Film Festival in Houston by The Houston Press, its reputation is growing worldwide. Sutapa Ghosh, Founder and Festival Director, and Amey Prakash, President, were invited to the 45th edition of the prestigious International Film Festival of India. Two other board members accompanied them. Meeting the filmmakers and foreign press set the stage for this year’s 7th Annual programs on March 3rd, 4th, and 5th at the Studio Movie Grill in CityCentre. “We are witnessing historic changes in the world today. Many of the movies submitted this year address these extraordinary changes and their cultural implications. The films illustrate courage, art, and the defense of human rights and expression. They provide a fresh outlook at situations we all face,” declares Ghosh. “The films depict global events through unique and personal perspectives, offering insights that touch the heart and soul. It is a true privelege for IFFH to provide an outlet for this type of self-expression and artistic work through the mrdia of film,” she adds. Audiences here were treated to high quality films once again. Filmmakers came to present their cinematic creations,

Ananth Narayan Mahadevan director of Rough Book, recipient of Best Feature Film with Sutapa Ghosh, Founder and Festival Director, IFFH

From left, actor Iqbal Khan,

Ananth Narayan Mahadevan, Sutapa Ghosh and Producer Vivek Vaswani

Rucha Humnabadkar, director of opening night feature ďŹ lm For Here or to Go? with Ananth Narayan Mahadevan

Photos: Krishna Giri

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March/April 2015

then each held a Question & Answer session afterwards. Director Rucha Humnabadkar, introduced For Here or to Go? about a young Silicon Valley software engineer trying to get his visa extended. It was a hit with Opening Night Audiences. Director Roopa Barua whose Riders of the Mist was a documentary about the bareback horse racing tradition in Assam, India, gave the attendees a look into the 100 year-old tradition. Producer Vivek Vaswani and director Ananth Narayan Mahadevan stirred enthusiasm for their thought-provoking film Rough Book about the educational system in contemporary India. Other films were Jai Ho, a documentary about one of the greatest muscians of the world, A.R. Rahman; Dum Dum Deega Deega, a short about a begger child with big dreams; Cloth Paper Dreams, a short about people who come to Kumbh Mela every twelve years at the confluence of the three holiest rivers; and Int. Cafe Night, a short about two couples — one old and one young. Awards were presented after the Closing Night film. The Best Short went to Cloth Paper Dreams, Best Documentary went to Riders of the Mist, and Best Feature Film went to Rough Book. Several of the previous winners at the IFFH have gone on the win Oscars, National Awards, and critical acclaim at a variety of international film festivals. No doubt the tradition will continue with this year’s films. “Seven years already? Time definitely flies when you are having fun. It has been an exhilarating and sometimes extremely difficult journey, yet here we are celebrating this milestone!” confesses Ghosh. Word of mouth has contributed to the success of the festival. Audiences are ethnically mixed, which is one of the goals of the board. While submissions number more than 100, only the cream of the crop are chosen. Some are humorous, others are serious, and many fall somewhere in between. Each film, however, gives insight into Indians’ lives, whether in India or as expats. What better way to learn about people? Cinema lets us live vicariously — and all for the price of a ticket.

IFFH Director Krishna Giri with Roopa Barua, Director of Riders of the Mist, recipient of Best Documentary award

Ellen Israel Goldberg is the Immediate Past President of Sister Cities of Houston. She was presented with the G7 Global Impact Award by the Houston International Trade & Development Council and was named one of Houston’s 50 Most Inﬂential Women of 2014. An author, Ellen will soon publish her book, Finding a Bride and Other Adventures of a Jewish Mother In India

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Yoga

Help Seasonal Allergies?

BY SUMA MUDAN After being drenched by torrential rains, numbed by unseasonally cold days, disillusioned and discouraged by damp dreary gray skies, Spring is here!. Finally! Yes, Spring is really here! It’s time to celebrate and enjoy the new bloom, the sunny skies, and inhale the fresh, fragrant spring air, right? Sorry, not so for all of us. For some of us, this is a dreaded time of the year, when the Spring pollen plays havoc with our immune system, when we have itchy eyes and runny noses. Before one reaches out for antihistamines or run to one’s doctor, reading the following may find a less taxing relief,right within one’s reach. In the last few decades, yoga has become a household name, a regular presence in studios, gyms, health clubs, and indeed many other places. Sometimes, it’s hip to practice yoga – from Gwyneth Paltrow to Orlando Bloom, everybody does it. But getting back to reality and to you and me – what is yoga? Yoga has been in practice for more than 5,000 years. The most common definition for yoga is “union” – it can be union of body and mind, union of physical and spiritual, or union of known and unknown. Several times, yoga is projected as one more type of exercise, or as a workout. However, the way yoga was originally developed was as a stepping stone to a higher plane, for spiritual growth. At the more normal plane, yoga can be a “work in” unlike the work out we are so used to. Yoga inspires you to focus on yourself, to turn within, and help you accept yourself the way you are. We are all too familiar with the physical benefits of yoga – we see the slender bodies in Lululemon outfits, feasting our eyes in most of the yoga studios. However, the other aspect of yoga practice – yoga for therapy, is slowly but surely emerging as a winner. Yoga has been found to be a powerful therapeutic tool, helping people alleviate back and neck pain, stiff shoulders, and emotional illnesses such as depression and anxiety. Several main stream physicians have taken up yoga therapy as their fulltime activity. To name a few, Dr. Timothy McCall, a Board Certified internist, has written a best seller entitled Yoga as Medicine and he runs workshops on the same lines. Dr. Loren Fishman, Board Certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, has written numerous books on Yoga for arthritis,

osteoporosis, MS and focuses his practice on treating people with these problems, combining yoga and medicine. Coming back to the topic of discussion – yoga for seasonal allergies – let’s focus on what yoga can and cannot do to give you relief from that itchy throat, watery eyes and runny nose. We are all familiar with the concept that we catch colds and infections easily and more often if our immune system is not strong. Strong immunity means active lymphatic system. The lymphatic system plays an essential role in maintaining the body’s health in a world of potential accidents, climatic changes, infections, parasites, and pollution. The primary function of this system is the production, maintenance, and distribution of the defense of the body against invading organism such as bacteria, viruses, abnormal cells, and toxins. This is where yoga comes into the picture. A regular yoga practice can help a person to build the strength through facilitating a more active lymphatic drainage, and by increasing the lung capacity to ingest more oxygen and eliminate toxins. Practicing yoga the right way (for your speciﬁc situation) will increase your resistance to illness and disease. There are several yoga asanas that focus on increasing the lung capacity, opening the chest cavity, mobilizing the rib cage to support respiration, facilitating complete exhalation, and inducing deep relaxation. Some of the most useful asanas to achieve these objectives are brieﬂy described below (if you have neck, back or shoulder issues, or chronic ailments such as blood pressure, it is advised to learn these from an experienced yoga teacher so as not to aggravate the current issues).

• Backbends – Fish pose opens the chest, lungs and throat to free the breath. This pose also stimulates the thymus gland, regulates the lymphatic system and helps establish immunities.

• Camel pose – opens the chest and aids in alleviating respiratory illnesses. Take caution if you have severe neck problems.

• Forward bends –Downward dog is a very energizing pose that relieves head ache, fatigue, asthma and helps drain mucus Another terrific allergy symptom tamer is the neti pot. A neti pot is a container designed to rinse debris or mucus from your nasal cavity. You might use a neti pot to treat symptoms of nasal allergies, sinus problems or colds – T C Li, MD, Ph.D., Mayo Clinic. According to Dr. Mehmet Oz, some of the scientific research that’s been done shows that neti pot “is as effective as drugs for preventing sinus infections.. and hugely beneficial for people with allergies.” Of course, it comes with a huge side benefit of not having the drug induced side effects. What used to be a fringe cleansing practice for die-hard yoga practitioners is now becoming a mainstream alternative to cold, sinus, and allergy medication. Today you can buy

a neti pot in Walgreens, CVS, Target, and pretty much everywhere. Getting familiar with our noses in order to understand how a neti pot can help us – nostrils are the interface between your body and the atmosphere – they filter, clean, heat, and moisten the air you inhale. The sensitive lining of the nostrils secretes mucus, which effectively traps dust, dirt, and other particles when it is moist. All day the moist, sticky mucus collects dirty particles from the air you breathe and keeps it from entering into the lungs. And if we don’t clean this matter out of the nostrils it will end in our stomachs. The nasal wash dissolves and clears away dried mucus and stimulates the nasal linings to secrete fresh, moist mucus, which will help keep our noses healthy. Conclusion – you can use the neti pot to rinse away pollen, dust, germs, and other airborne contaminants. The way a neti pot works, in Dr. Carrie Demers, MD’s words – nose is divided into two passages, and there’s a septum in between. You pour the water in one nostril, it goes around the back of the septum, and gravity helps it flow out the other side” You use warm saline solution to wash your sinuses. You fill the neti pot with this solution, lean over a sink, face forward. Raise your face up slightly, pour the solution into one nostril and in a few seconds, it will flow out of the other nostril. Then repeat on the other side. Once you are done washing, exhale fowrcefully a few times to clear loose mucus and water. Give it a try, you have got nothing to lose except your congestion and mucus.

Suma Mudan is an international tax attorney and CPA by profession. She consults with US multi-national companies on issues dealing with international structuring and compliance. Her passions are yoga for wellness and gardening. Suma is a registered yoga teacher as well as a master gardener from Texas A&M.

Sama-Tulaa

Yoga

Equanimity • Balance • Wellness

Introducing

Morning Yoga Classes

Telfair

Days: Tuesday & Thursday Time: 9:15 to 10:30 AM Place: Telfair Central First class is always free Private sessions for speciﬁc ailments

For information, contact

Suma Mudan suma@sama-tulaayoga.com

484-358-6585 March/April 2015

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Ensure

New Business Gets off to a Good Start BY MISHTY DEB Spring is a time of new beginnings. When we watch the first leaves and blossoms appear on the trees it often inspires us to think about starting a new chapter in our own lives. For some of us, that means thinking about starting our own business. As a lawyer that works closely with small business, I am often asked what types of things should I take into consideration when starting on one’s own. One of the more obvious considerations in starting a new business are financial in nature. A new business almost never starts making money on day one. In fact, it takes a lot of hard work and often a long period of time before many small businesses start to make money. Even then, it might make the most business sense to reinvest the initial profits back into the business. So, before starting a new business I would recommend making a financial plan for your entity and a financial plan for yourself as an individual to see if you are ready to take the financial risk of starting a new business. In addition, there are tons of ways to finance a company from the standard business loan/venture capital/angel investor route to more non-traditional ways of rolling over your 401K, starting an EBinvestor center, applying for grants, or getting tax credits for job

creation. There are literally all kinds of resources available put in the time to find what sort of funding sources would be the best financial and strategic fit for your business. The second more obvious consideration is to have an idea of your firm and its’ market. It is important to think about the veracity of your business idea and how to market your product or service. Any good business plan has not just financial projections, but marketing projections as well. Who is your ideal customer? Is there a demand for your product or service? How will you let customers know about your product or service? How does your product or service compare to others available in the market place? Having a great product or service is not lucrative if you can’t figure out how to put it into the hands of potential customers. Both the financial planning and the marketing relate to each other and make up some of the key components of an initial business plan. However, it doesn’t end there. Legal strategies are often forgotten by those starting a new business. What type of legal structure will your company have? When planning for the type of legal structure, the earlier you start the better. Why? Because

you want the liabilities that come with ﬁnancing a company through debt or investment and the liabilities that come with marketing a product or service to belong to the company and not to you personally. Picking the type of structure for your businesses and then creating your initial agreements is a complex process. There are many considerations. Not just the typical considerations that people often think about like tax issues, but also things like exit strategies, whether or not you will have foreign investors, the types of funding sources you are pursuing, whether the company falls under blue skies regulations, what happens if one of your business partners gets divorced or injured or dies, who owns the Intellectual Property, how will you protect your ideas, etc. All too often I see clients who think the details of the legal paperwork can be done later, and then end up regretting it when their business hasn’t gone exactly as planned. They realize that they don’t have any documents to protect themselves after it is too late. Even worse, I have seen people create legal documents without understanding them and they don’t realize that the documents don’t say what they think they say. Of-

ten times, clients are relying on documents that would have been appropriate for a bigger business or a different type of business altogether. That means that ultimately their legal strategy has not been protecting them as well it could have. Having a legal, financial, and marketing plan for your company helps to create a solid foundation upon which to start building. If you are seriously thinking about starting a new business these are good areas to start with. As always, I recommend consulting experts in areas that are not your field. So, consult a financial planner if you are not a financial planner, consult a lawyer if you are not a lawyer, and consult a marketing expert if you are not in the field of brand development. Collaborating with professionals will ensure your business gets off to a good start and allows you to leverage the experience of others who have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly. This allows you to learn from the mistakes of others without making those mistakes yourself. Starting your own business can be a rewarding path if you are careful to take the right first steps.

Mishty Deb is a founding partner of LaSusa & Deb, PLLC, attorneys at law, and author of the blog LawGirl101.com She has worked extensively in the public, non-proﬁt and private sectors of the legal ﬁeld. She successfully represents both individuals and large institutions, providing practical counsel that helps transform long-term business goals into reality while addressing daily operational challenges. Her approach to providing effective legal counsel is to think logically, critically, and creatively — she encourages her clients to do the same. She may be contacted at Mishty@LaDebLaw.com

LaSusa&DebPLLC ATTORNEYS AT LAW

A full-service Texas law firm with global reach • Business and Corporate Law • Tax • Corporate Litigation/ Due Diligence • Immigration • Real Estate

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(214) 584-6505 Ext 101 www.hummagazine.com

March/April 2015

Experiencing the rhythm of the

BY SOWMYA NANDAKUMAR ‘Breath - The Pulse of the Universe’, is a slow moving dance sequence, mindfully choreographed, to the music and rhythm of the ‘breath’. A six member troupe will perform this at the Rothko Chapel on Thursday, May 14, 2015 at 7:00 pm. This presentation is an integral part of the year long theme of the Menil exhibitions and the Rothko Chapel’s lecture series program in honor of Mahatma Gandhi, “Art, Sprit and The Practice of non-violence”. The creative force behind this presentation is Pam Johnson, Himalayan classical Yoga educator and breath coach, who owns a quaint, neighborhood Yoga space in the Heights, “The Heights School of Yoga” (HSOY - http://heightsschoolofyoga. com). Pam has been teaching the classical form of Vinyasa Krama Yoga for the last 20 years. Her teacher is Srivatsa Ramasawami, a renowned Yoga Guru and direct disciple of the Yoga Maestro Shri T.K. Krishnamacharya for 33 years. Preserving this deep rooted Yoga lineage, Pam teaches the Vinyasakrama Asana method at all ‘Self Enquiry Life Fellowship’ meditation retreats given by Swami Vidyadhishananda Giri, revered Himalayan monk and meditation master. Being the beneﬁciary of such a rich Yoga heritage and having been a breath coach for several years in her career as Yoga educator, Pam continually and passionately seeks out different avenues to spread the awareness of ‘our life force - the breath’. In line with her pursuit, she collaborated with Lynn Birdwell, (Pam’s Yoga student for many years), to produce an artful video demonstration of coordinating the rhythm of the ‘breath’ to movement. Lynn Birdwell owns Birdhouse Productions Inc and has produced videos for clients such as Hyundai, NRG Energy, Southwest Airlines and Citgo to name a few. In this video, Pam demonstrates a series of Vinyasakrama Yoga asana sequences to the very audible music of her breath. After the production of this video, Pam wasn’t quite sure about what to do with it and how exactly it could be used as an instrument to spread “breath awareness”. While teaching for one of Swami Vidyadhishananda’s retreats, she had the opportunity to create a troupe and perform this slow dance of the Yoga sequences in the video, for the Swami and his devotees. This experience triggered the thought that she could expose a greater public to experience the power of their own breath (just as she demonstrates in the video), through a group performance — this was the birth of the choreography that will be debuted to the public at the Rothko Chapel. Pam is a 2012 cancer survivor and serves on the Patient Discussion panel for the Annual Integrative Oncology Training Conference for Acupuncturists, Massage Therapists, and Yoga/Mind-Body Teachers at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. She often hears these professionals talking about “oxygena-

BREATH

tion therapy” to help the body heal. She said, “If one is doing a regular pranayama (breathing) practice, it is a great way to stay healthy and fit. Currently, there’s not a lot of data on it and this presentation is a start to spread awareness on the benefits of the practice of breathing.” In February of 2014, Pam sent a proposal of this video and the choreographed presentation to the Rothko Chapel and heard back from them within 30 minutes, that this would be perfectly befitting for the focus of their year long programming, dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi. “I am looking at this event as seva (service),” says Pam. The Yoga sequence that the troupe will present, is done to the musicality of deep inhalation, a brief suspension of breathing, and exhalation; 8-count inhale, 4-count hold, and an 8-count exhale is the tempo that keeps the movement going. Leslie Scates, is a troupe member who is enhancing the troupe’s elements of presentation. Scates, an independent choreographer in Houston works with improvised movement in a performance. She also teaches improvisational dance at University of Houston and Rice University. Pam says, “Scates’ input has been of immense value in showing us how to make the ‘back body’ come alive since much of this presentation involves precise movement in a unique formation, and presentation of the back”. The piece draws from and improvises on three Yoga postures; Tadasana (Mountain pose), Trikonasana (Traingle), and Vajrasana (Kneeling/Thunderbolt pose). The performance, which is about 10 minutes long, will culminate in a seated meditation posture, after which the audience will be taken through a 5-minute guided meditation focussing on their breath. Pam has observed in the past that people react in two ways to the discernible sound of the breath. Either they relax, or get agitated and anxious. The finale, unlike the regular ones echoing thunderous applause, will be roaring silence, followed by a Q&A session, and a reception outside the Rothko Chapel. The “Breath” video with its amplified breathing, will be projected on the outside walls of the Rothko Chapel as the audience enters and will also be playing during the reception after. Pam says, “This isn’t necessarily about engaging the Yoga community who already know and practice “Breath Awareness”, but also for those who don’t know.” The resonating, deep pulse of the Yogic Ujjayi breath can certainly be a mesmerizing experience, and “Breath-The Pulse of the Universe” performed underneath the serene skylight of the Rothko Chapel, Pam hopes, might just be the first step in one’s commitment to internalizing a regular pranayama (breathing) practice.

Needled to

Work

BY DAVID GARVIN Last Thanksgiving, I overate. No great revelation and considered a common reaction to a plethora of dishes placed in front of a hungry husband, I know. But the intestinal reaction was growing familiar – a nauseous stomach and a rushed digestion within hours. I began to feel like I was facing a real issue with my constitution. Luck for me, at work there was a session scheduled with a person advising us on stress in the workplace. I didn’t have much work going on, so I attended. After a period of relaxation exercises and meditation, we filled out a questionnaire about our stress, physical issues and optional comments on the instructor, Mimi Gruber from the River Oaks Wellness Center. I mentioned my digestive issues. A week later I got an email from her inviting me to a free consultation, which I took her up on. After 15 minutes in her office, she suggested a short course of acupuncture to unlock the stress she felt I was keeping internalized. I agreed and after paying a discounted rate, she began the first session. 5 weeks later I felt much better and along with her dietary guidelines (based on balanced Chinese medicinal formulas of yin and yang) I feel the treatment was a great value to my wellness and beneficial. I would recommend the techniques of acupuncture to anyone wishing for a positive outcome towards a better quality of life. It worked well for me. And here is some basic information on the ancient practice. What is acupuncture? In acupuncture, sterile, hair-thin needles are inserted into specific points on the skin, called “acupuncture points,” and then gently moved. Researchers propose that acupuncture stimulates the nervous system to release natural painkillers and immune system cells. They then travel to weakened areas of the body and relieve symptoms. Studies show that acupuncture may: •help relieve fatigue •control hot flashes

•help decrease nausea •reduce vomiting •lessen pain Along with practices such as tai chi, acupuncture is a central part of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), an ancient system of medicine. In Chinese medicine, it is believed that vital energy, called “qi” (pronounced “chee”), ﬂows through 20 pathways, or “meridians,” which are connected by acupuncture points. According to TCM, if qi is blocked, the body can’t function at its peak. The goal of acupuncture is to open certain points on these pathways and release blocked qi. What to expect in a typical acupuncture session At an acupuncture session, you can expect the following: The practitioner will ask you questions about your health and lifestyle. At your ﬁrst acupuncture session, you’ll answer questions to let the practitioner know about any medications you’re taking, including herbal supplements, and any symptoms you have. Your treatment will be tailored to your individual lifestyle and health issues. The practitioner will insert needles into acupuncture points on your skin. Your practitioner will insert needles into the most appropriate acupuncture points for your condition. Acupuncturists use very thin, solid, stainless steel needles, and most people feel slight or no pain as needles are inserted. Needles are only inserted into the top layer of skin and are never inserted directly into any organs. Once the needles are in place, there is no pain. The effects of acupuncture can feel different from person

to person – you may feel relaxed, or you may feel energized. Directly after the first treatment, some people feel slightly disoriented, but this is usually brief. After treatment, avoid activities that require you to be extra alert, such as driving, mowing the lawn, or cooking. In the days following treatment, symptoms may worsen for a day or two, or you may notice changes in your appetite, sleep, or mood before you begin to feel improvement. If this happens, it lasts only a short while and passes with rest. Acupuncture practitioner requirements It’s becoming more common for medical doctors, such as anesthesiologists and neurologists, to be trained in acupuncture. There are also numerous accredited training programs in the United States for certified acupuncturists who aren’t medical doctors. Training requirements for medical doctors: In most states, medical doctors must have 200 to 300 hours of acupuncture training in a program approved by the American Board of Medical Acupuncture (ABMA). For a list of board-certified physicians who practice acupuncture in the United States, visit the ABMA website. Training requirements for certified acupuncturists who are not medical doctors: In the United States, an acupuncturist should complete between 2,000 and 3,000 hours of training in a master’s degree program accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. For U.S. certification, an acupuncturist must pass board exams given by the National Certification Commission of Acupuncture and

Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM). Check the NCCAOM website’s searchable practitioner directory to find a certified acupuncturist in your area. If you’ve had breast cancer and want to try acupuncture, be sure that your practitioner has treated people with breast cancer. Much research is being done on how acupuncture can help relieve some of the symptoms of cancer and side effects of cancer treatment. Acupuncture has been shown to help relieve fatigue, hot flashes, nausea, vomiting, and pain. The most thorough study of acupuncture in breast cancer patients was published in Journal of the American Medical Association in 2000. In the study, 104 women undergoing high-dose chemotherapy were given traditional anti-nausea medication. In addition to taking the medication, the women were randomly chosen to receive 5 days of electroacupuncture (acupuncture in which needles are stimulated with a mild electrical current), acupuncture without an electrical current, or no acupuncture. The women who had acupuncture had significantly fewer nausea episodes than those who didn’t. Another study, completed at Duke University and published in 2002, compared the use of acupuncture to the use of Zofran (chemical name: ondansetron), an anti-nausea medication, before breast cancer surgery to reduce the nausea that can occur after surgery. The acupuncture treatment was found to work better than Zofran at controlling nausea. In a French study published in 2003, acupuncture was examined in the treatment of cancer-related pain. Patients treated with acupuncture had a 36% reduction in pain after 2 months of acupuncture treatments, compared with a 2% reduction in pain in the patients receiving a placebo type of acupuncture. In one very preliminary 2004 study at Memorial SloanKettering Cancer Center, acupuncture was shown to reduce post-chemotherapy fatigue by 31% in people with various types of cancer. In 2005, another preliminary study of breast cancer

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March/April 2015

patients in Sweden showed that acupuncture reduced hot flashes by half. While doctors find these results encouraging, they are still very early results and require further study. Important things to consider before trying acupuncture Millions of people are treated with acupuncture every year. Still, as with all therapies, acupuncture carries certain risks. Risk of lymphedema: Anyone who has had lymph nodes removed from under the arm should not have needles inserted into that arm. If acupuncture is used on an arm, there is a risk of lymphedema, or swelling caused by an excess of fluid in the arm. Talk to the acupuncturist about other treatments that could be used on that arm, such as aromatherapy. Risk of infection: It is standard practice to use disposable, single-use, sterile needles and to swab

acupuncture areas with alcohol or a similar disinfectant before using needles. Infection is always a risk, but the risk is higher if the acupuncturist does not follow this process. People who have low white blood cell counts are at an increased risk of infection during acupuncture. This is because the low white blood cell count weakens their immune systems. Because of the risk of bleeding, acupuncture should not be received by people who: •have bleeding disorders •have low white blood cell counts •take blood thinners Risk of reducing chemotherapy effectiveness because of using herbal supplements: Although acupuncture sometimes incorporates the use of herbal supplements, you should NOT take herbal supplements during a course of chemotherapy. Herbal supplements can reduce the effectiveness of chemotherapy.

David Garvin is a lubrication science technician at Shell Technology Center, Houston

coming to your neck of the woods

Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier

25Galveston Island Things to Do on

BY LEAH CAST

Galveston Island is a beautiful historic beach destination known for its great weather all year round. But, if you’re not a sand-between-your-toes kind of traveler, don’t worry. There are plenty of things to do in Galveston that don’t include the beach, which is what makes this charming little island so diverse and special. Here’s a list of 25 non-beach activities to consider: 1. Stroll The Strand in historic downtown Galveston, known for its charming Victorian iron-front buildings that house boutiques, shops, restaurants and more! 2. Play at the Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier, featuring thrill rides, midway games, food and entertainment. 3. Explore the glass pyramids of family resort Moody Gardens. Here you can tour through a living rainforest replica, one of the largest aquariums in Texas and check out cool exhibits in the Discovery Museum. 4. Marvel at the beauty of the 1892 Bishop’s Palace with a tour of this majestic historic mansion. 5. Splash into fun at Schlitterbahn Galveston Island Waterpark, known for the best indoor water park in the world! 6. Learn about the rare historic airplanes housed at the Lone Star Flight Museum with a visit to this “war bird” museum. 7. Enjoy the eclectic ﬂair of Galveston’s culinary scene. Need suggestions? Check out the Galveston Island Food Guide. 8. Take a walking/biking tour of the Galveston Tree Sculptures, beautiful sculptures created from trees destroyed during

Without Hitting the Beach

Hurricane Ike. 9. Tour or watch a live show at The Grand 1894 Opera House. This gem of a theater has no seat further than 70 feet from the stage. 10. Visit LaKing’s Confectionery to see its master candy maker make saltwater taffy the old-fashioned way. Don’t forget to grab some goodies for the road! 11. Explore the history of pirates in Galveston at the interactive museum Pirates! Legends of the Gulf Coast. 12. Tour a retired oilrig at the Ocean Star Offshore Drilling Rig & Museum. 13. Walk aboard the 1877 Tall Ship ELISSA to see how sailors lived more than a hundred years ago! 14. Search family immigration history at the Texas Seaport Museum. Did you know Galveston was second in immigration to Ellis Island? 15. Visit the 1895 Moody Mansion for a tour of this gorgeous home, which has been restored to its turn-of-the-century splendor. 16. Get spooked at the Haunted Mayﬁeld Manor – Texas’ only year-round haunted house. 17. Learn about locomotive history at the Galveston Railroad Museum, boasting one of the largest restored railroad collections in the southwest. 18. Learn about Galveston’s history and the worst natural disaster in U.S. by watching The Great Storm documentary at Pier 21 Theater.

Moody Gardens

The Grand 1894 Opera House

Lone Star Flight Museum

Stroll The Strand

Texas Seaport Museum

1895 Moody Mansion

Galveston Railroad Museum

Haunted Mayﬁeld Manor

19. Take an African-American Historic Places Tour and discover many of the African American ﬁrsts that happened in Galveston! 20. Peruse the many art galleries located on and surrounding Postoffice Street – just a few blocks from The Strand. After stopping in Rene Wiley Gallery, be sure to grab a beverage at MOD Coffeehouse next door. 21. Hit the green and play a round of golf at the Moody Gardens Golf Course.

Schlitterbahn Galveston Island

22. Visit Rosenberg Library – the oldest public library in Texas. 23. Have a relaxing stay at one of Galveston’s many resorts, hotels, beach houses, condos or bed & breakfasts. Sometimes sleeping in is what vacation is all about! 24. Make a spa date at any of Galveston’s luxurious spas. 25. For sure entertainment, catch a show at the Island ETC Theater.

Leah oversees and directs all public relations efforts for the Galveston Island CVB. She is a seasoned PR professional and former print journalist that was named Houston’s “Young PR Professional of the Year” in 2013. www.hummagazine.com

March/April 2015

The main goal of Sustainability 2.0 column is to share valuable resources, discuss relevant trends and bring you the latest and greatest on how become part of a creative solution. We will discuss energy, out of the box water conservation, socially responsible investing, eco-tourism, healthy eating, and collaborative consumption.

AIR QUALITY THE GOOD OLD-FASHIONED WAY:

Houseplants

BY TAJANA MESIC

Swiss Cheese Plant - by Valarie Cowden

I think of my houseplants as beautiful and functional pieces of art. With their lush and opulent green leaves, nestled in ceramic or porcelain planters on plant stands, my plants give me joy and provide for better air quality in my home. Was I born with a green thumb? No. But not wanting to see my houseplants dying and spindly, brown and in distress, I did a lot of research and then refined my green thumb through trial and error. When I first moved to Houston, I didn’t know what type of houseplants would thrive in my north-facing Houston home. In this new home, my main concerns were fumes of the fresh new paint and toxic chemicals. I knew that houseplants could help neutralize some of those and would give my décor a colorful pop. During visits to clients’ offices, I noticed that offices with live plants seemed more inviting and less sterile, as if they brought a little piece of nature into their surroundings. Nothing brightens and softens up a room better than a colorful, lush, vibrant, live, green houseplant. Easier said than done, when you don’t know where to start. Which plants would do well next to big windows with lots of sunshine, and which ones would need very little light and could be kept in the dim light of the bathroom? I set out on a quest to find the most beautiful and most resilient plants that would help improve the indoor air quality by filtering out impurities. One of the biggest problems with indoor houseplants is finding the right plant for the light level you have in your home. How do you keep your plant beautiful and fresh? To thrive, houseplants need light, water, soil, and the right container. Provide all of those, and you will have gorgeous happy plants. Light Plants use photosynthesis to extract food from light and water, so it is important to follow the instructions on the

Fern - by Irma Furnish

planting manual. Your orchids will do well in moderate light, but your jade plants will thrive only in full and bright light. Experiment with the position of the plant. It will communicate to you by the way it looks. If its leaves start shriveling up and turning yellow, it is getting too much sun. Move it to a moderately shaded area. Water First things ﬁrst, establish a weekly watering regimen. After you water the plant, the soil shouldn’t be drenched with water, just moist. Plants are also ﬁnicky about the quality of water they get. Most of us assume that tap water is good enough for houseplants. Not in Houston or Katy. Our water is too alkaline for most plants. If the water is too alkaline, the plant won’t be able to absorb the nutrients from the water. Simple remedy? Add tablespoon of vinegar to half a gallon of water when watering. It will make the water more acidic and plants will better absorb the needed nutrients. If you want really brilliant and well-fed plants, add a tablespoon of nitrogen-rich liquid organic material to a half-gallon of your water, such as Hasta Gro Plant Food. Soil If you want to revive a dying plant or give a little pep to your plants in the spring, spent coffee grounds will do the job. Coffee shops keep them just for gardeners who know the secret – coffee grounds amend the soil. Take a spoonful or two of coffee grounds and sprinkle them onto the soil of your houseplant. If you are repotting, add a few spoonsful to the root system and water the plant with lukewarm water to help release the nutrients into the soil. Voila – watch your plant get a coffee buzz. Containers A beautiful container enhances the look of your plant as it grows and provides a home for its roots. With spring in the air, there are many colorful plant containers already stocked in

Orchids - by Tajana Mesic

Sabljarka - by Tajana Mesic

stores. My favorites are ﬁred and glazed clay pots or porcelain pots. Remember that plants grow and need space to expand their roots. They also need good drainage, so be sure that you don’t overwater them or they can rot. When planting or repotting a plant, put a little charcoal in the bottom of your container that doesn’t have holes. This improves drainage and prevents the rot. Here are my favorite indoor, easy-to-maintain houseplant picks in order of sensitivity from least sensitive (for brown thumbs) to most sensitive, but still easy to maintain (for light brown thumbs): Snake Plant (Sansevieria trifasciata “Laurentii”) If you are looking to make a statement, but have a brown thumb, this is a no brainer. Snake plant is “all leaves” which stand straight up from the base of the plant, like sabers. Sometimes the leaves are trimmed in yellow or silver. The plant grows up to 4 feet tall and tolerates a variety of light exposures. Since it is a desert plant, don’t overwater and let the soil dry out between waterings. Spider Plant (Chlorophytum comosum ‘Vittatum’) To add a vibrant plant that is virtually impossible to kill to your plant collection, consider this all-time beauty. It makes an attractive hanging plant in your window or a shelf close to the window and develops plantlets at the ends of its arching stems. They readily root in water or potting soil to start new plants. It needs medium to bright light. Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum sp.) In addition to beautiful green leaves, this plant offers you a gorgeous and huge white or dark purple ﬂower. The single-pet-

aled flower will rise up above the leaves for an attractive view. Not only will it grow in low light, it’s considered an excellent plant for cleaning toxins out of your air. Keep the soil moist. Jade Plant (Crassula ovate) Do you want to have a Japanese garden tree? It looks like a mini tree with interesting gnarly branches and thick fleshy leaves. It grows very slowly, surviving for decades if it has bright light and stays dry. Bright light is a must for this plant. Boston Fern (Nephrolepis exaltata) To create a classic look in your house and add volume to an area, get a fern, especially Boston fern. Its arching, lacy fronds make it well suited to display on a pedestal. This tough plant that will live for decades if you keep it moist and give it moderate light and enough humidity. The variety ‘Dallas’ is more compact and more tolerant of dry air. It will do well in medium to bright light. Begonia One of the most prolific and beautiful houseplants with great smelling blooms; they come in a wide range of leaf colors and shapes. If you get a Rex Begonia, it can live happily without any direct light. The key is to not overwater it, and it can do great even at your office desk. Did I say it smells great? In anticipation of spring and to satisfy your planting itch, pick a beautiful fired and glazed ceramic container and one of the plants we talked about and get ready for years of enjoyment. Your houseplant will create a nice ambiance in your home and help keep your air clean. From its place near the window or bathroom ledge, it will be your own perfect living piece of art.

Tajana Mesic is the president and founder of GGG Sustainability Solutions. GGG is a full-service sustainability and resource efficiency consulting firm, providing clients with professional services and guidance on integrating sustainability strategy into operations in a financially viable way. GGG is a certified B Corporation and deeply involved in the Dallas and Houston international community. You can get more relevant sustainability tips at www.facebook.com/greengrovegroup or connect with Tajana at www.greengrovegroup.com.

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