India Herald 030817

Web: www.india-herald.com • Editor@india-herald.com • Tel: 281-980-6746

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India Herald

VOL. 23 • NO.10 • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8, 2017 • P.O. BOX 623, SUGAR LAND, TX 77487 • PERIODICAL PERMIT USPS 017699 • 25 cents

Pankaj Desai is president of Ekal Vidyalaya, Houston

By MANU SHAH Ekal Vidyalaya’s Houston Chapter has a new President and he’s charged about his role to bring education to India’s remote and rural areas.

Pankaj Desai has been prepping for this role as a volunteer for the last 10 years and served as Vice President in 2016. This year he takes over the mantle from Naren Chavda.

Ekal’s new President knows what it’s like to struggle for educational opportunities.

Pankaj recalls studying in the park as the family lived in a one room house in Mumbai but says his mother’s “can-do attitude” probably rubbed off on him.

This, coupled with a quick mind helped him secure several scholarships and graduate with an engineering degree from IIT, Mumbai.

Two other factors, Pankaj elaborates, shaped his thinking about the value of education.

Reading biographies of great men brought him to the conclusion that “education is a must to bring about a difference in society.”

The image of his father struggling to deliver heavy loads of merchandise to customers made this resolve only stronger.

Pankaj acquired a Masters from NC State University and worked with several multinational corporations stacking up over 30 years of consulting experience. He is presently with BP and is described by colleagues and superiors as “thorough,” “detail oriented” with “the ability to bring different personalities together.”

They also highlight his excellent project management abilities – skills bound to come in handy in his new role.

Desai Pankaj was introduced to Ekal’s cause by his neighbor, Prakash Shah.

Initially wife, Urmi started volunteering with the organization but it wasn’t long before Pankaj was also drawn to the organization’s commitment and drive to educate India at the grass roots level.

More importantly, he explains, joining Ekal was also an opportunity to give back to the community.

The husband wife duo served in multiple capacities from organizing events, spreading awareness, selling tickets to fundraising - even “cold calling” on occasion to get Houstonians to donate for this good cause.

Every accomplishment, small or big, Pankaj reflects, made him realize he could make a difference and spurred him to work harder.

He credits his wife for getting him involved and admits that “she keeps him on his toes to ensure Ekal’s work is done.”

Relating his interaction with the Ekal children in India, Pankaj says he was deeply moved at their aspirations for the future.

Some wanted to be soldiers or doctors when they grow See EKAL, Page 6

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University of Mumbai is keen on opening its colleges in the U.S.

By SESHADRI KUMAR The University of Mumbai, celebrating its 160th anniversary this year, wants to go international and export its brand to countries like the United States.

Mumbai university vicechancellor Dr. Sanjay Deshmukh was on an exploratory mission to the U.S. last month, along with Dr. Radhakrishnan Pillai, Deputy Director at the University of Mumbai’s Chanakya International Institute of Leadership studies. He made a brief visit to Houston and spoke at a ceremony to launch Dr. Pillai’s latest book, “Inside the mind of Chanakya”.

At the book launch held at Madras Pavilion in Sugar Land, Deshmukh spoke about

Deshmukh his desire to have a branch of the University of Mumbai in the U.S., and the Houston area is among the potential sites for its operation.

Deshmukh spoke about the “Reimagining University of Mumbai” campaign and highlighted the “Vision Global League” master plan, which aims to make the University of Mumbai one of the top 100 best universities in the world. The masterplan intends to make the university one amongst the global league by building the needed infrastructure and academia.

Deshmukh and Pillai have also begun exploring the opportunities in New York and in Ohio, Akron University in particular. Deshmukh wants to bring the campus and offer courses as soon as possible.

His proposal has received very enthusiastic response, from the mainstream as well as the Indian American community, Deshmukh said.

A senior delegation led by India’s Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan, accompanied by senior officials of Government of India participated in the 36th edition of the CERA week in Houston. The Indian delegation also toured LyondellBasell Houston refinery and Channelview petrochemical complex. Pradhan, center, is seen with the LyondellBasell officials, Indian Consul-general Anupam Ray, second from right, and Indo-American Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Jagdip Ahluwalia, second from left. See Story on Page 6.

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PAGE 2 • INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8, 2017

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INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8, 2017 • PAGE 3

COMMUNITY

Hiring a full-time human resources manager

IACCGH hosts tax seminar

for a company in Houston.

E-mail resume to houstonjoblisting@gmail.com

WANTED Hiring a full-time bookkeeper for a company in Houston.

E-mail resume to houstonjoblisting@gmail.com Phase 34 of Federal Emergency Management Agency Emergency Food and Shelter Program Notice

Rajiv Bhavsar, left, Jagdip Ahluwalia, Swapan Dhairyawan, Mark Warren, Allen Richards, Ajit Thakur, Mahesh Desai, Mike Jain, Kershaw Khumbatta, and Atul Kothari. — Photo by BIJAY DIXIT.

By MANU SHAH The Indo American Chamber of Commerce’s Outreach Program – a tax seminar designed to educate the community on various tax issues, attracted over 130 members of the Indo American community on Sunday, February 19th at India House.

Held for the sixth year in a row, IACCGH Executive Director Jagdip Ahluwalia described the event as part of the Chamber’s efforts “to empower the community with the right knowledge.”

President Allen Richards thanked the distinguished panel of 6 CPAs’ and IRS Assistant Special Agent Mark Warren for volunteering their time on a Sunday afternoon and emphasized the Chamber’s commitment of bringing “value to the community” through such events.

Moderator and IACCGH Past President, CPA Ajit Thakur highlighted the fact that henceforth spouses must be careful about signing tax returns as IRS is sending separate notices to spouses. He also cautioned

the gathering about the growing menace of identity theft.

Panelist IRS Special Agent Mark Warren noted that the IRS was cracking down on international tax fraud with the help of international tax treaties.

Countries were bound by these treaties to provide information about assets owned by American citizens.

He allayed fears about “mistakes” in tax returns versus “fraud” and stated that “intention is what makes the difference.”

See TAX, Page 5

Phase 34 of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP) is now available for Houston/Harris/Fort Bend County, TX and Waller County TX jurisdictions. The Coalition for the Homeless is managing this competition and information about the application, allocation to the jurisdictions and eligibility requirements are located on our website at www.homelesshouston.org.

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Established in 1995

by Rajeev Gadgil, Seshadri Kumar & Salim Sindhi India Herald (USPS Periodical 017-699) is published every Wednesday by India Herald, Inc. for a subscription rate of $25 per year. Periodical postage paid at Houston and Sugar Land, Texas. POST MASTER: Send address changes to India Herald, P.O. Box 623, Sugar Land, Texas 77487 Publisher & Editor: Seshadri Kumar www.india-herald.com; email:editor@india-herald.com India Herald assumes no liability resulting from action taken based on information included herein. ©India Herald. All rights reserved.

PAGE 4 • INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8, 2017

INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8, 2017 • PAGE 5

VIEWS Tax From Page 3 He encouraged the gathering to file tax returns even if they don’t have the money to pay the taxes – IRS can be lenient on that score and may offer an installment option.

CPA Mike Jain anticipated bold tax laws both at the Corporate and Individual level to come into effect under the Trump administration and proposed deferring taxes into future years to take advantage of these tax cuts.

CPA Kershaw Khumbatta presented different Retirement plans such as Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, Simple IRA and the Solo (One person) 401(k) plans.

However, the IRA fund cannot be used as security for a loan or to buy property for personal use. The Supreme Court has also ruled that creditors may not seize IRA assets in bankruptcy proceedings.

CPA Mahesh Desai highlighted Forms 114 and 8938 that must be filed by taxpayers holding more than $10,000 in an overseas account.

The OVPD and the SDOP are two other IRS schemes to voluntarily disclose foreign accounts. He also added that rents and stock market returns in In-

dia must be reported.

Chairperson and CPA Swapan Dhairyawan shed light on the different scams affecting taxpayers such as inflated refund claims, fake charities and identity theft.

The phone scam plaguing taxpayers was busted in October 2016. The FAST Act, he stated, could result in denial of a passport for certain tax delinquencies.

He emphasized the importance of informing the IRS about address changes and suggested calling the friendly Tax Advocate Service at 877-7774778 for tax advocacy.

An entity is any way, shape or form to limit liability for businesses – a topic covered by CPA Atul Kothari.

There are two different types of entities – the No Liabilities Protection and Liabilities Protection.

Options to save tax will be based on the entity you own.

LLC, he observed, is the most suitable entity for small businesses as it has one level of taxation and offers both liability protection.

The seminar concluded with a Q & A session.

Disclaimer: The IACCGH tax seminar is for advisory purposes only

HGH statement on new temple timely To the Editor: The recent article in India Herald titled “New Temple Draws Opposition” stating the position of Hindus of Greater Houston (HGH) speaks loudly.

In this regard, HGH organization and its leadership deserves applause for doing a civic duty. Most of the time, good-hearted people ignore or let go of events and actions that are wrong or questionable.

Often times, pious citizenry feel pity and innocently allow wrong things to go on.

We all know of the situation of one of the largest religions of the world where silent majority is suffering because of undesired and despicable actions of minority elements.

HGH and the newspaper deserve admiration for having the courage to stand up for a righteous cause.

Incidentally, this helps to protect other religious groups and denominations that are on the right track of serving for the good of humanity.

As we know, the season of religious purveyors is upon us.

Sure, we all believe in our creator and blessings of bonafide saints.

But business of religion thrives on vulnerabilities of human beings and exploitation of

our religious upbringing.

It is needless to say the rampant growth of palmists, astrologers, healers, vastushashtris, Gurus, Swamis, stone merchants and many others is indicative of human susceptibilities.

It is telltale sign of the lucrative trade and marketplace.

One will lose total faith in religion if they truly know the past and present of some of the undesired religious healers and so-called (in such circumstances) sages.

God is great and omnipresent; do not fear the so called Agents of God.

Your success and progress are attributable to your own hard work, education and character.

Due to the challenges of life often people fall in this trap of blind faith. But trust in yourself.

Good Lord has placed a champion within you to overcome the challenges of life.

Yes, you can do it!

Hence, buyers beware of the phony purveyors and fraudulent causes.

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PAGE 6 • INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8, 2017

INDIANS ABROAD

Indian petroleum minister visits Houston

HOUSTON

A senior delegation led by Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India, Dharmendra Pradhan accompanied by senior officials of Government of India participated in the 36th edition of the CERA week in Houston, with the objective of informing prospective investors about the abundant investment opportunities available, given the significant policy level changes that have been brought in by the Government of India.

Pradhan emphasized that his Ministry has introduced several progressive reforms in the Indian Upstream sector, driven by the Prime Minister’s goal of reducing import dependency on oil and gas by 10% by 2022.

He also mentioned that as

per Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the focus of energy is on four pillars namely; energy access by providing new connections, expanding national gas grid network and PNG, energy sufficiency by increasing capital investment in railways and opening up of new inland waterways routes, energy sustainability by increase in production of renewable energy, and use of cleaner fuels, energy security by increasing oil and gas production in upstream sector.

The Ministry has introduced landmark changes in the entire value chain such as setting up of National Data Repository, launch of Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy through Open Acreage Licensing.

Hydrocarbon Exploration & Licensing Policy (HELP) will

open up India’s entire sedimentary basin for domestic and foreign players providing an investor friendly regime.

The new policy aims to provide investors a ready access to huge amount of seismic data through the National Data Repository (NDR), flexibility to carve out exploration acreages through an open acreage licensing process and increased operational autonomy through a new revenue sharing model.

The National Data Repository (NDR) manifested through an open acreage licensing (OAL) process will be a key facilitator by providing seamless access to India’s entire E&P data process through a digital medium to all investors with the objective of harnessing the potential of India’s large basin area.

The Ujjwala program was also discussed which aims to provide 50 million families with access to cooking gas, expanding the national gas grid network from its current length of 15,000 Km to 30,000 Km and extending PNG to 10 million houses in the next 5 years.

Pradhan also spoke about the success of recently concluded Discovered Small Fields Bid Round 2016 in a period of crude oil price volatility.

The bid round received a total of 134 bids from 47 companies for 34 contract areas and finally, the Government has approved the award of 31 contracts areas.

Ekal From Page 1

up while others wanted to become teachers and teach in the village. He was both amused and amazed to see the children familiar with India’s Prime Minister’s full name – Narendra Modi. The classes under the village tree were clearly working!

Ekal runs 54,000 schools in India touching 1.5 million children of which 17,000 schools are supported by US donations. Pankaj does acknowledge that the work of teaching India’s primarily rural population is a “slow process” tied to several socio economic

Earlier in the day, the minister attended a breakfast meeting with Indian Scientists and CEOs. He also interacted withKhalid Al Falih, Minister of Energy from Saudi Arabia to discuss bilateral partnerships in the energy domain.

The government delegation visited LyondellBasell Refinery and Petrochemicals center near Houston to understand global good practices in the aforementioned domain.

The prelude of HELP has also been scheduled where the Indian delegation would be sharing the salient features of the policy over the dinner meeting. factors but he is optimistic that rapid advances in technology are expediting the process.

As President, he would like to create more awareness about Ekal and work towards greater engagement between diverse groups in Houston. He has several ideas he is working on to get Houston’s young generation involved in the cause.

This year, Ekal hit on a novel idea to raise funds. Tribal artists from India are on a 4 month road trip to showcase their talent across the US. The shows have been spectacularly successful everywhere and will regale Houstonians on 7th May at Cullen Performance Hall.

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INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8, 2017 • PAGE 7

NEWS

Former ambassador, Rinzing Wangdi, felicitated

Past President Sanjay Ramabhadran, left, Shell Project Coordinator Alyssa Holmes-Henderson, President Allen Richards, Consul General Dr. Anupam Ray, Shell VP Fred Whipple, Former Ambassador Rinzing Wangdi, Past President Joya Shukla, and Executive Director Jagdip Ahluwalia.

— Photo by BIJAY DIXIT

By MANU SHAH When India’s Consul General Rinzing Wangdi came to Houston 18 years ago, one of his objectives was to bring about a deeper, long lasting and transformative change in the economic engagement between the US and India.

This vision led to the creation of the Indo American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Houston or IACCGH as it is better known.

The organization, started in 1999 with 40 Indo American business leaders has become in the words of its Founding Secretary and Executive Director Jagdip Ahluwalia “the force that it is today.”

On February 13th, Founding members, Past Presidents, community leaders, elected official representatives and IACCGH members turned out to meet and reconnect with “the founding father of the

Chamber” Rinzing Wangdi.

In a gracious move that has become his hallmark, CG Dr. Anupam Ray invited the Chamber to host former CG and former Ambassador Wangdi’s luncheon at the Consulate.

IACCGH President Allen Richards welcomed the gathering. In his address, he described the Consulate as a “great location” and added that this venue “reinforces our vision as a Chamber and the commitment

of the Consul General to foster the cultural and economic development we are trying to do within the community.”

Consul General Dr. Ray also mirrored the thought that the venue to welcome the former Consul General is fitting because it is “institution builders” like Ambassador Wangdi who pave the way for diplomats like himself.

The CG also described the India US relationship as a “story which only has upsides” and reiterated the Consulate’s efforts to address all calls, complaints and emails in the shortest time possible.

The armchair conversation between Past President Sanjay Ramabhadran and former Ambassador Wangdi was rich in wit and wisdom and provided a glimpse into the fascinating life of a diplomat.

The former Ambassador emphasized that the Foreign Services is more a “calling” than a service. His vision in creating an economic chamber, he elab-

orated, was not only to enable people, business and our countries to connect but to show the US that Indo Americans are serious about “being a part of the community.”

When asked what he thought was the game changer in the relationship between the two countries, the former Ambassador observed that public perception about India changed during President George Bush, Jr’s presidency and reached greater heights with President Obama.

He also alluded to the early successes of the Chamber’s efforts with BMC Software and United Airlines and admitted that Houston ranked as one of his favorite postings.

Shell’s VP Fred Whipple, in his vote of thanks, noted that it was a privilege to sponsor the Series and added that he had been enriched by the lectures over the years. He also thanked the Chamber for their impact locally.

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PAGE 8 • INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8, 2017

INDIANS ABROAD

Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital honors outstanding nurses with the DAISY Award

Ranjeetha Reddy, RN, and Lee Cantos, RN, were named Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital’s DAISY Award winners, a national honor that recognizes the contributions of extraordinary nurses.

Cantos was nominated by a number of patients, who praised her kindness and willingness to provide compassionate care. One patient wrote that she was scared during her ďŹ rst night in the hospital, but Cantos went out of her way to make her feel secure. “I was worried about being left alone because my family was unable to spend the night,â€? the patient wrote on her nomination form. “Lee quickly calmed my fears. She kneeled down at the side of my bed and explained everything about the unit. She was kind and considerate. She listened and answered all the questions that my daughters and I had. By the time she ďŹ nished, I knew I was in good hands and my daughters felt better having to leave me alone. Throughout that night she kept her promise. She was there constantly monitoring my heart rate and blood pressure. She took great care of me. My family and I thank her for being a nurse committed to excellent patient care.â€?

Reddy was also nominated by several of her patients, who commented on her comforting and gentle nature. One patient in particular spoke of her recent diagnosis of acute leukemia, and the struggles she faced in dealing with the reality of both the illness and the treatment. “Ranjeetha is amazingly comforting as she cares for you,� the patient wrote. “Her care and concern for every detail is extraordinary.

She has taken the time to get to know me and how I respond to things.

She anticipates my anxiousness and heads it o with encouragement I can trust. I feel so conďŹ dent when she cares for me, and it allows me to remain positive with my treatments. My doctor is so pleased with my response to the chemotherapy, and I owe that to her. I wouldn’t have made it this far without her.â€?

In honor of the DAISY Award selection, Cantos and Reddy received a certiďŹ cate of appreciation, a DAISY Award pin, a beautiful sculpture titled “A Healer’s Touch,â€? hand-carved by artists of the Shona tribe in Zimbabwe and a reserved parking spot.

The DAISY Foundation was established by family members in memory of J. Patrick Barnes, who died in 1999 from an autoimmune disease. The care the Barnes family received from nurses inspired this unique award as a way of thanking nurses for making a profound difference in the lives of their patients and patient families. Today, more than 1,300 hospitals across the U.S. participate in the program. “We are proud to be among the hospitals participating in the DAISY Award program,â€? said Janet Leatherwood, Chief Nursing OďŹƒcer. “Nurses like Lee and Ranjeetha are everyday heroes who demonstrate excellence through clinical expertise and compassionate care, and we are excited to be able to recognize them – and our future winners – as outstanding role models for the nursing profession.â€?

To learn more about Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital, please visit houstonmethodist.org/sugarland, and visit our Facebook page at fb.com/methodistsugarland to congratulate these nurses on their award.

DAISY Award Recipient, Ranjeetha Reddy, RN, with the DAISY Award Committee

Golden Moon Festival – Gaura Purnima 2017 Gaura Purnima is a festival that celebrates the divine appearance of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in Navadwipa, India. Gaura Purnima means “Golden Full Moonâ€?. The name signiďŹ es that Lord Chaitanya took birth at time of full moon and He blesses everyone with the moonlike rays of His teachings.

Lord Chaitanya is non-different than Lord Krishna appearing as His own devotees.

He spread the congregation chanting of Holy Name and taught that one can gain enlightenment by simply chanting Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare / Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama

IMMIGRATION

Rama Hare Hare. “Caitanya Mahaprabhu was born in Mayapur in the town of Nadia just after sunset, in February 1486. The moon was eclipsed at the time of His birth, and the people of Nadia were then engaged, as was usual on such occasions, in bathing in the Bhagirathi with loud cheers of “Haribol.�

His father, Jagannatha Misra, and His mother, Saci-devi, a model good woman, both descended from ‘brahmana’ stock originally residing in Sylhet. His mother’s father, Pandita Nilambara Cakravarti, a renowned astrologer, foretold that the child would be a great personage in time; and he, therefore, gave him the name Visvambhara. The ladies of the neighborhood styled him Gaurahari on account of His golden complexion, and

His mother called Him Nimai on account of the ‘nimba’ tree near which He was born. Beautiful as the Lord was, everyone heartily loved to see Him every day.â€? - Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur Devotees across the world celebrate Gaura Purnima by fasting till dusk, chanting the Holy Name of Lord Krishna, performing abhishek of Lord Chaitanya and oering a variety of foodstu to the Lord.

Our festival at ISKCON of Houston will immerse you in beautiful kirtan, abhishek of Gaura Nitai and of course wonderful feast after you chant and dance to build your appetite and love for Lord Chaitanya.

Program starts at 5 PM and will include a special class to glorify Mahaprabhu.

The temple is at 320 West 34th St., Houston, TX 77018.

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INDIA HERALD â&#x20AC;˘ WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8, 2017 â&#x20AC;˘ PAGE 9

COMMUNITY Hindu Temple of Woodlands hosts Thyagaraja Aradhana

By Rupa Iyer The Hindu Temple of the Woodlands (HTW) hosted its ďŹ fth annual Thyagaraja Aradhana on Sunday, February 26. The event had a tremendous response from music lovers from the Greater Houston area.

This year the festival was celebrated as a full day event and saw participants across all ages and locations from Houston. There were over 100 participants in the open segment, paying homage to the great South Indian composer Saint Thyagaraja, by rendering his compositions vocally, as well in various instruments including veena, violin and the ďŹ&#x201A;ute.

A mini-concert segment in the later afternoon showcased budding local talent featuring Mukund Josyula (Violin), Vaishnavi Narasimhan (Vocal), Deepa Ramachandran (Violin), Sriranjani Darbha (Vocal), Preetha Narayanaswamy (Veena) and Ganesh Baskar (Violin).

In the evening, the magnum opus creations composed by Saint Thyagaraja called the Pancharatnams or ďŹ ve gems, were performed in group led by the renowned musician Guru Smt. Raja Rajeswari Bhat and her disciples. They were accompanied by Jayanth Balasubramanian (Mridangam), Srinidhi Satish (Mridangam), Deepa Ramachandran (violin) and her students. This was the highlight of the event, and the audience was left mesmerized in divine music reverberating in the temple halls.

In its ďŹ fth year now, the festival has grown in leaps and bounds in terms of participation as well as popularity in the Houston area.

The whole day event attracted around 500 guests. Volunteers of the Hindu Temple of the Woodlands worked tirelessly, to make this event a grand success. A delicious lunch and dinner cooked by the volunteers was appreciated by the guests. â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Photos by Anil Adoni and Raj Pakanati

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Vaastu Shastra is an ancient science. Fix an appointment for personal visit to your home, plot, business/office, shop, factory, or hotel. Gain peace of mind and prosperity by doing little changes as per Vaastu Shastra. Simple, Easy, Scientific & Affordable solutions/remedies to overcome problems in your Horoscope and Vaastu.

Astrology & Vaastu Shastra are Science of Nature, and are not related with any religion, caste, or community. It is an Occult Science and gift of nature for the welfare of the people.

The Hindu Temple of the Woodlands (HTW) held a magnificent celebration of Mahasivaratri, the night of Shiva, on February 24, 2017 continuing until Saturday morning at 8 am. The final adorning for the celebration was of many diďŹ&#x20AC;erent types of beautiful flowers. (See Page 12) â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Photo by Bharagva Sarma

Listen to Hardik Vyas live on 1320 AM Shoba Joshiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Geetanajali Radio

E-mail: askfuture@hotmail.com Ph: 832-298-9950 www.toaskfuture.com

PAGE 10 • INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8, 2017

COMMUNITY Stop Diabetes Movement yoga camps motivates participants for healthy lifestyle

Group picture of participants in the Stop Diabetes Movement yoga camp.

Art for Soul Painting Class for Seniors begins March 10 Instructor: Dr. Sarita Mehta, Award Winning Artist

PROGRAMS & SERVICES AT INDIA HOUSE

INDIA HOUSE CHARITY VOLUNTEER CLINIC Saturday 9:00 am - 12:30 pm By appointments only FREE YOGA CLASSES Tuesday & Thursday 11:00 am - 12:00 pm Saturday 10:00 am - 11:00 am FREE MEDITATION CLASSES Saturday 11:00 am - 11:30 am AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAM Monday to Friday 3:00 pm - 6:00 pm TAEKWONDO CLASSES Wednesday 4:45 pm - 5:45 pm ART & CRAFT CLASSES Monday 4:45 pm - 5:45 pm CLASSICAL/BOLLYWOOD DANCE & VOCAL CLASSES Saturday 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm HINDI LANGUAGE CLASSES Sunday: 10:00 am - 12:30pm TECHNOLOGY CLASSES FOR SENIORS Sunday 11:00 am to 12:00 pm (Registration Preferred) FREE LEGAL CONSULTATION By appointments only Family Law: Tuesday 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm Immigration: 1st & 3rd Wednesday 12:30 pm - 2:00 pm

EVENT HALL RENTALS Banquet Halls Conference Rooms Class Rooms

CRICKET- TAPED BALL Saturday & Sunday Full Day FREE KIDNEY SMART CLASSES 4th Thursday of each month. 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm SAREEN HARRIS HEALTH CLINIC Monday - Friday 8:00 am - 4:00 pm Saturday 9:00 am - 11:00 am

For more information and appointments contact: 713-929-1900 | Vipin@indiahouseinc.org | www.indiahouseinc.org 8888 West Bellfort Ave., Houston, TX 77031

By NIKHIL JAIN Sewa International and VYASA organized ten-day yoga camps from Feb 24th to Mar 5th. The camps were held simultaneously at three locations in the Houston area (Sugar Land, West Houston & Katy) and 65 people participated.

The camp is specially designed for diabetic and pre-diabetic people to help them manage and control high blood sugar levels with yoga routine and holistic approach. SDM camps are being conducted all across the country, so far 14 Camps have been conducted in Houston area and 10+ camps in other cities in the country.

More than 300+ people have participated in these camps, from all walks of life, since the time these camps started.

The ten-day camp included daily yoga routine, educative sessions from medical doctors and specialist on diabetes, stress management, food habits & diet. At the closing ceremony held at Keshav Smruti on Sunday, participants shared about the transformation the camp brought in their lifestyle and in managing diabetes.

One of the participants, Gaurav from Sugarland, says “I started eating right and doing personal training and yoga. After the SDM camp, my blood sugar levels have come down significantly and now I am a living example of how Yoga and nutrition works”.

Jyoti from Katy mentions “I was diagnosed with pre breast cancer and could not move my left hand due to chemo, but by doing the “Asanas” at the camp, I am able to take my hand all the way up”.

Another participant, Rahul, who attended the camp in Arya Samaj, says “I have attended a lot of Yoga sessions before, however the Yoga Therapists in this camp paid great attention to details; doctor presentations were pretty good” Jay from VYASA presented data on the results of this camp.

The drop in participant’s fasting blood glucose level and post prandial sugar levels was noticeable with just 10 days of practice (based on the readings provided by participants before start & at the end of these camp).

The program concluded with Nikhil Jain offering vote of thanks to all the participants, doctors (Dr. Sudha Rajan, Dr. Ulupi Choksi, Dr. Sejal Desai, Dr. Kavita Patel, Dr. Shilpan Shah and Dr. Namrata Rathod); camp yoga therapists (Meena Kankani, Satya Pappu, Vijay Jilledimudi & Jayachandran Chandrasekaran); SDM core volunteer team (Anuja Deshpande, Sripriya Joysula, Vibhuti Shah, Arvind Thekdi, Naina Patel & Noopur Saptnekar); VYASA Houston Directors Vishwarup Nanjundappa & Smitha Mallaiah and their team; Unique Industrial Product Company, Arya Samaj of Greater Houston, Keshav Smruti & Swath Yoga Studio for providing their facility and partnering to conduct these SDM camps. A delicious and nutritious potluck meal was served to end the program on a high note.

These yoga camp were extremely successful and the participants are now looking forward to keeping up with the practice and come back for a follow up session in 4 weeks. Sewa will conduct the next set of camps in various parts of Houston, from Sep 9th to 17th.

These camps are free of charge and have refundable deposit after participants complete all the sessions. For those who want to know more about SDM Diabetes Yoga camp or want to volunteer, please email at info-sdm@sewausa.org or text (713)8344909 / (281) 546-8202.

Sewa USA is 501 (c) (3) Hindu faith-based non-profit, charitable organization.

All donations (cash, cars, clothes, securities, etc.) are tax-deductible. (Tax Id# 20-0638718). Sewa serves humanity regardless of race, religion, color, gender or nationality.

INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8, 2017 • PAGE 11

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Indian Ambassador to United States

US Ambassador to India

Mayor of Houston

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Nisha Biswal

David C. Mulford

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'ƌĂŶĚ WĂƚƌŽŶ: Brij & Sunita Agrawal Jiten & Shalu Agarwal Virendra & Nalini Mathur WĂƚƌŽŶ: Amit & Arpita Bhandari Manish & Manju Rungta

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PAGE 12 • INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8, 2017

COMMUNITY

Blissful Sivaratri at Saumyakasi Sivalaya

Acarya Gaurang Nanavaty performing Ksirabhiseka (milk shower) to the Utsava Linga. All the devotees had an opportunity to shower milk on the Linga.

By SATCHITANANDA Siva means auspiciousness. On February 24th 2017, as Houston celebrated Mahasivaratri, a day that is most auspicious to Siva, thousands of devotees of the Houston Indian American community had one venue on their minds and calendar – Sri Saumyakasi Sivalaya. In that iconic linga-shaped temple located within the premises of Chinmaya Mission Houston (CMH), a perfect trifecta of festivities, devotion, and spirituality uplifted every devotee.

The special day and sacred night was marked by incessant Vaidika chants led by the temple priest Sri Ganesh Sathyanarayanaji as an almost unending stream of devotees filed through the temple. As the evening progressed, the crowds grew stronger in numbers.

The festivities began around 9 am when the Utsava Murti was worshiped with Ksirabhiseka. The Mahanyasa Purvaka Rudrabhiseka, performed to the Vaidika chants of Sri Rudram, highlighted the glories of Lord Siva. True to the declaration that Sri Rudram bestows happiness on both chanter and listener, everyone was moved to a state of bliss in that divine atmosphere.

Even the basement of the temple got transformed into a mini Kailas, thanks to the wonderful artistic seva of CMH volunteers.

Devotees of all ages – infants to the aged – waited sincerely in a long winding line to perform their personal Ksirabhiseka to the Lord’s idol placed there. This intimate experience made bhakti flow from the hearts of all, like the Ganges that flowed from the mini Kailas.

Invoking more auspiciousness, the evening’s Laghunyasa purvaka Ekadasa Rudrabhiseka made all hearts reverberate to the continuous chants of Vaidika hymns. The Sivalinga-shaped temple glowed with beauty, both from the bright illumination as well as mesmerizing aura. Devotees were able to watch the Rudrabhiseka on a couple of giant screens and listen to the chants of Sri Rudram as they made their way inside the temple.

The final hour before midnight saw a silent meditation elevating the bhaktas present to another realm. The silence experienced was so surreal that it can only be experienced by participation, not described.

Through all the blessings of that night, one could feel the silent presence of Pujya Gurudeva, Swami Chinmayananda and witness some key teachings from his commentaries come alive. With the leadership, love, vision, and caring of Acaryas Sri Gaurang Uncle and Smt. Darshana Aunty and their relentless service to the Hindu community for decades, the Bhakti of the devotees was perhaps outmatched only by selfless service - the nishkama seva bhava of the CMH volunteers.

CMH once again lived up to the teachings of Pujya Gurudeva by blending all the elements of essential Sanatana Dharma – Bhakti, Karma, Jnana and Dhyana Yogas.

The celebrations continued on Sunday 26th with two sessions of hundreds of families performing the Mahamrtyunjaya Homa.

Families participated in chanting the Maha-mrtyunjaya mantra along with their children. Chanting of the “Om Tryambakam …” mantra confers not only longevity but also cleanses our vasanas and burns our sins. With that spiritually significant Homa, the space in Chinmaya Smrti was made fragrant with collective prayers for spiritual purity.

As the festivities of a most memorable CMH annual worship comes to a close, there is one thing that those who did not participate can do besides waiting. Make a visit to Sri Saumyakasi Sivalaya and also get to know more about CMH activities and how they are continuing the vision of Swami Chinmayananda by demystifying Sanatana Dharma and making it more practical in our daily lives.

For more information on Chinmaya Mission Houston, Sri Saumyakasi Sivalaya and its activities visit www.chinmayahouston. org, www.saumyakasi.org or call temple 281 568 1690 or Jay Deshmukh 832 541 0059 or Bharati Sutaria 281-933-0233.

Thousands of devotees attended Sri Saumyakasi Sivalaya to experience bliss, offer their prayers to Lord Siva and to receive His blessings. — Photos by Rajesh Thatte

Maha Mrtyunjaya Homam offered by a multitude of devotees for the health and spiritual prosperity of the world at large at VChinmaya Mission Houston on Feb. 26.

Hindu Temple of The Woodlands celebrates Mahasivaratri

By BETH KULKARNI The Hindu Temple of the Woodlands (HTW) held a magnificent celebration of MahaShivaratri, the night of Shiva, on February 24, 2017 continuing until Saturday morning at 8 am.

The celebration began at 8:30 a.m. on Friday with Rudra Abhishekam. The Abhishekam, or bathing, of Lord Shiva was done with the traditional substances by the presiding priest. Following this was the alankaram (adorning) of Shiva Lingam.

Meanwhile, devotees, in addition to observing the Abhishekam as performed by the priest, were able to pour milk and then water, doing their own personal Abhishekam on a smaller murthi of Lord Shiva located temporarily on a platform between Lord Ganesha and Maha Shiva. This opportunity was again available beginning from 6:00 p.m. and continuing throughout the night.

Following the first Abhishekam of the day and the distribution of tirtham (liquid prasadam or offerings) as well as fruit prasadam to the devotees, the temple was closed until evening.

See Page 13

INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8, 2015 • PAGE 13

COMMUNITY

Sri Meenakshi Temple celebrates Mahasivarathri

By Muthukumar & Sriram Sri Meenakshi Temple gave their devotees a very unique and rare opportunity to make a holy pilgrimage to five important Siva Kshetras (Panch Bhootha Sthalams), all under one roof in Houston to experience the divine bliss of Lord Siva on the auspicious Maha Sivarathri on Friday Aug 24.

The event was attended by a steady stream of around 2,000 devotees from 6:30pm to 6:30 am on the 25th.

According to legend, Maha Sivarathri is the night when Siva performs the heavenly dance of creation, preservation and destruction.

The chanting of hymns and reading of Siva scriptures by devotees along with performing Siva’s dances, tandava and lasya by classical dancers is the traditional way to celebrate the event.

Maha Sivarathri is celebrated at night as a solemn event filled with introspective focus, fasting, meditation on Siva, self-study, social harmony and overnight vigil at the Siva temples. The celebration includes maintaining a “jaagaran”, an all-night vigil and prayers, to signify that the night is for “overcoming darkness and ignorance” in one’s life and

the world. Devotees brought fruits, flowers, leaves, sweets as “prasadam”, and milk, yogurt and honey for “abhishekam”.

The authentic chanting if Rudram and bhajans by the priests and devotees made the event a thrilling experience for all. The temple silpis (artisans), priests, staff and volunteers worked hard to create a spectacular display of the Five Pancha Bhootha Sthalams i.e. sacred Siva temples in South India dedicated to the Five Earth Elements, namely Prithvi (earth), Appu (water), Agni (Fire), Vayu (air or wind) and Akash (space).

The main event consisting of homam followed by 108 sanku abhishekam and gold bilva archana was from 6:30 PM to 9 PM. And a special cultural program was organized for this event. The temple was open all night for the stream of hundreds of devotees who stayed up for the chaturkala pujas at midnight, 1:30 AM, 3 AM and 4:30 AM. Pancha Bootha Sthalams: The pancha bootha sthalas (‘pancha’ - meaning 5, ‘bootha’ - meaning elements (Water, Earth, Fire, Wind and Space) and ‘sthala’ meaning location).

The creation of Universe is

with these five elements, and the temples highlighted below are dedicated to Lord Siva to signify these five elements.

They are located at Thiruvanaikaval (Water), Kanchipuram (Earth),Tiruvannamalai (Fire), Sri Kalahasti (Air) and Chidambaram (Space) respectively, with 3 of the 5 templeChidambaram, Kanchipuram and Sri Kalahasti all situated on a straight line exactly at 79 degree 41 minutes East longitude - truly an engineering, astrological and geographical wonder.

Lord Siva is worshipped here as Akasa Lingam (“ether”), an embodiment of Siva as the formless “SPACE”.

The significance of dance tradition to the festival has a rich history. Over time, Maha Sivaratri has served as a confluence of artists for annual dance festivals at major temples and it is called Natyanjali, or “worship through dance” at the Chidambaram temple which is famous for its sculptures depicting all dance mudras in the ancient Hindu text of performance arts called Natya Shastra.

The successful event was coordinated by Mr. M.K. Sriram, Mr. Pandurengan, Mr. Muthukumar, and Dr. Padmini Nathan.

From Page 12

hishekam held on early Saturday morning. After each, the priests did a beautiful and colorful alankaram, using bhasma and dried fruit for the respectively. The final Abhishekam was of cooked rice which was served as prasadam for devotees on Saturday morning. The final alankaram for the celebration was of many different types of beautiful flowers.

The celebration for all was one of great beauty, devotion, and religious fervor, to be long remembered.

The next major HTW festival is Holi - Festival of Colors on Saturday, March 11 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the temple’s premises. It will include playing with colored powders,

music, dance and moderatelypriced, freshly made Indian snacks and sweets. There will be a short Fun Run at 11:30 a.m. with the $10/ adult fee (children are free) going to the Montgomery County Food Bank. All are invited to attend.

Bring your friends and neighbors!

The Hindu Temple of The Woodlands is located at 7601 S Forestgate Dr, just off Woodlands Parkway, in The Woodlands (Spring), TX 77382. It serves the religious, cultural, educational, and social needs of the surrounding community. More information is on the temple’s website, www.woodlandshindutemple.org.

Beginning at 6:30 p.m., Ekadasa Dravya (or eleven materials, in this case being eleven types of fruit juice) was the next type of Abhishekam. Also the Tamil traditional purée with bananas, dried fruit and other items was used at this time. The alankaram (adorning of the Lord) consisted of wreaths of many different types of fruits and vegetables, draped around Lord Shiva.

During the evening, some devotees chanted Vedic mantras and groups from children to seniors led Bhajans for Lord Shiva.

Bhasma (holy ash) Abhishekam followed at 10 p.m., with Chandana (sandalwood) Ab-

Sanatan Shiv Shakti Mandir

At the Sanatan Shiv Shakti Mandir of Hosuton in Hillcroft, Priest Virat Mehta adorned the Sivalinga with lotus made of butter, said to be the first of its kind in the U.S., to mark the Mahasivaratri celebration this year.

PAGE 14 • INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8, 2017

Shashi Kumar, Public Works director

Missouri City Councilmembers unanimously approved Shashi Kris Kumar, P.E. to serve as its Public Works Director and City Engineer on Feb. 20.

Strategic Government Resources (SGR), a local government executive search firm based in Keller, Texas, conducted a nationwide search on behalf of the City to fill the position.

The City’s Public Works Department manages water, sewer, and wastewater treatment services and oversees engineering and utilities planning.

The department also maintains GIS applications, sidewalks, and traffic control devices, and provides animal control services.

Kumar has more than 20 years of municipal engineering and management experience.

In his prior role, he served as the City Engineer for the City of League City since Jan.9.

Kumar was responsible for the engineering department’s administration and operations, traffic engineering and development services, project management and land development-related activities, according to League City.

Before that, he served the city of Sugar Land for 13 years.

He served as the Senior Engineer, Program Manager, and Drainage Engineer for the City of Sugar Land. He also has consulting engineering experience, having worked for major consulting firms in the Houston metropolitan area for about 10 years. Kumar holds a Master’s Degree in Engineering from Lamar University, a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Houston -Victoria, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering from Bangalore University in India. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in the state of Texas, and a Certified Floodplain Manager.

INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8, 2017 • PAGE 15

PAGE 16 â&#x20AC;¢ INDIA HERALD â&#x20AC;¢ WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8, 2017

Gauri Siddhivinayak Temple of Houston, INC 5645 Hillcroft Ave,Suit # 701,Houston Tx 77036 We are pleased to invite you for your gracious presence on the auspicious occasion of Chaitri Navaratri & Mahapuja of Shri Durga Mataji on 2nd April, 2017 3RRMD 6WDUWV DW 30 +DYDQ DW 30 3XUQDKXWL DW 30 0DKD $DUWL 30 0DKDSUDVDG ZLOO EH VHUYHG DIWHU $DUWL Devotees who desire to sit in Pooja may give their names to our Pandit Shri Pradip Pandya @ 832Ǧ466Ǧ9868.

3OHDVH YLVLW RXU ZHEVLWH DW 6LGGKLYLQD\DN+RXVWRQ FRP The Gauri Siddhivinayak Mandir of Houston is a NonǦProfit 501(C) organization.

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INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8, 2017 • PAGE 17

COMMUNITY

Sur Olakhiche: Old Marathi melodies with new sounds of music

By VIVEK CHITALE Houston Maharashtra Mandal presented Sur Olakhiche concert on Feb. 12 at Berry Center, Cypress.

The chief guest for the concert was Avadhoot Gupte a reputed Mumbai based music composer, singer, movie director and TV Show host.

This program was performed in order to raise funds for Houston Maharashtra Mandal (HMM) Vastu. HMM has purchased 11.5 Acre property near Rosenberg, Texas and plans to build Shri Siddhivinayak Temple and Community Center.

Before the concert, Rahul Deshmukh welcomed everyone and played a 3 minute video made by HMM youngsters. Prasanna Rao delivered the customary vote of thanks and Swati Joshi presented certificates of appreciation to all the artists.

Sur Olakhiche concert was presented by Houston based artists led by Nitish Kulkarni.

After the concert, Avadhoot Gupte chief guest for the evening went on to praise the music compositions presented.

He said he was worried that Nitish was going to present one of his compositions in the re-arranged format and that would have only astonished him more.

Avadhoot went on to entertain the audience in his usual style talking about his musical journey, his motivations for displaying Maharashtrian pride (“maaj”) in his music.

He also talked about the controversial public personalilties he has interviewed on TV and how their real stories were so much more fascinating.

The audience was entertained by his plans to bring more programs to Houston including possibly a movie premier show. Avadhoot was interviewed by Samir Karandikar and Rashmi Joshi.

Rashmi hosts a Marathi radio show on Saturday from 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM on AM1110 and represents the tastes of young generation.

She requested Avadhoot to sing and Avadhoot drew a loud applause from the audience for the two numbers Wrong Number and “Say you love me” from the latest Marathi movie “Fugay”.

HMM Vastu project re-

ceived a major boost from this fund raiser program. The funds received will be used to improve the existing buildings at the property.

HMM plans to be able to utilize the current facility for holding a few of their events this year.

Part of the funds will be retained for constructing Shri Siddhivinayak Temple and 500 people capacity Community Center.

For those interested in learning more about this project and supporting it, visit HMMHOUSTON.ORG. The Sur Olakhiche program was pure joy and a sheer delight. What an uplifting experience it was for those who participated in one or more ways in that unique Marathi musical extravaganza presented by very talented artists from the Maharashtrian community in greater Houston. Names and faces of majority of the artists were unfamiliar to most in the audience.

Nitish Kulkarni and the cast he had assembled for “Sur Olakhiche” indeed gave us an unforgettable musical treat.

Nitish had conceptualized and directed this program. It featured a team of “rather new to Houston” but very talented artists such as the three main singers Shreyas Bedekar, Amit Parchure, and Deepali Kulkarni as well as the instrumentalists Varad Gaikwad (Flute), Sangeeta Panse (Sitar), and Anand Desai (Guitar). Also how can we forget the sweet, charming and fully confident little princess “Surabhi Phatak”!

The songs selected for this program were some of the greatest Marathi melodies composed by stalwarts such as Sudhir Phadke, Hridayanath Mangeshkar, Ashok Patki, Jitendra Abhisheki, and Shridhar Phadke.

So what was new? The novelty was due to the package of sound of contemporary rearranged music within which the golden old melodies were wrapped.

Nitish himself had composed, played and recorded much of the accompanying music prior to the program so as to produce the sound tracks used by the singers. Additionally he accompanied real time

Houston Maharashtra Mandal presented Sur Olakhiche concert on 12 Feb 2017 at Berry Center, Cypress, TX. The chief guest for the concert was Avadhoot Gupte a reputed Mumbai based music composer, singer, movie director and TV Show host. This program was to raise funds for Houston Maharashtra Mandal (HMM) Vastu. HMM has purchased 11.5 Acre property near Rosenberg, Texas and plans to build Shri Siddhivinayak Temple and Community Center.

—Photo Bhagyashree Dixit. on keyboards, tabla, piano and Clearly she wasn’t only deliv- even remove the agitations in yes his fancy keytar. The sound ering words. She was actually our minds thanks to a special and style of the interludes as pouring her heart out, which faculty gifted by God to us well as the accompanying in- blended so well in this special “shravan shakti”.

It enables us to listen, understrumental music were certain- program.

Something else special was stand and appreciate the music, ly with a contemporary twist.

However it was noticeable and noticeable about the artists on thereby filling our hearts with gratifying that Nitish did the stage! The harmony, under- pure joy.

The “Sur Olakhiche” contwisting while managing to standing between them was not preserve the sweet appeal of to be missed nor their sincerity cert was a similar treat of Shraall the golden melodies. The of purpose. They were neither vaniya Sangeet that touched resultant effect kept the audi- competing with each other nor hearts of audience. Done well did they seem to care about by the entire cast of “Sur ence captivated.

All our singers performed proving anything to anyone! Olakhiche”.

The architect of very well and were appreciated The not uncommon competiSur Olakhiche by the enthusiastic audience. tive and arrogant personality Nitish and his parents, They rendered with finesse traits were noticeably absent. both the catchy & relatively Instead it was gratifying to see Shirish and Medha Kulkarni, simple melodies as well as the all the artists demonstrating became known to many in the love, dedication and loyalty Houston Marathi community more complex compositions.

While Nitish accompanied for their common art and pas- ever since he first participated in the HMM’s special musion all the songs, I must spe- sion- music!

As the architect of this pro- cal programs Krishna Sakha cially acknowledge his unique composition of the interlude gram Nitish demonstrated how (2004) and the Ganapati Gauri piece on piano for the song “Hi - and how much he has learned Pandhari (first version 2005).

He switched over to learnVaat Dura Jaate” sung by Dee- and understood the importance pali. Nevertheless I must men- of designing and producing a ing Tabla from a great artist tion that every item performed multi-media musical program and teacher- Rahul Deshmukh. in this program was very like- that appeals to all the relevant Later on he also received tuable and pleasing to the ears of senses of the audience/view- toring in Tabla from the Late ers namely “shravan, drishya Dexter Raghunanan, a great the entire audience.

The appeal of “Sur Olakh- and darshan”. He applied that Tabla Maestro who sadly iche” was enhanced by the learning to the production of passed away recently.

At the time of selecting a meaningful Nivedan written Sur Olakhiche which gave so and ably narrated by Manasi much happiness to the audi- major for college education Nitish chose music because ence.

Bedekar!

In addition to the melodious he had decided to make music The script was purposefully written and delivered to appeal music presented by the art- his career and life - instead of and inspire the NRI audience ists there were the spectacular following the safe and convento do their bit to preserve as props, the impressive and at- tional Indian mindset of pursuwell as enrich the Marathi Cul- tractive costumes that matched ing college degree in science the changing moods of songs, / engineering! He graduated ture.

Manasi came to stage and and the admirable efficiency in with honors in Music (2015) spoke in the “avatar of Marathi making all types of necessary from Indiana. Immediately following, he was awarded Astitva”, a truly brilliant idea changes on stage!

Folks in the audience were admission into the prestigious (similar in concept to the “voice of Kaal” used effectively in the very responsive throughout. Berklee College of Music at 80’s in the Mahabharat serial Even the little ones in atten- Valencia, Spain where he sucon Indian TV). She rendered dance were very much “into” cessfully completed a Master’s Degree in Music Production, her own script so passionately the program flow.

I have often experienced Technology and Innovation! and artfully that several among the audience got inspired to that the melody and/or har- Thus, Nitish has earned his acknowledge their admiration mony in the sound of music recognition as a young musical impromptu for the Nivedan. have the power to reduce or maestro in his own right.

PAGE 18 • INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8, 2017

NEWS

SIM card scan in actress case

Forensic investigators who found videos and photographs of last month’s assault on a Malayalam actress from a SIM card are now trying to verify if it is the original and not a copy.

The images were found in a SIM card surrendered by the prime accused to his lawyer before his arrest on February 23, sources said.

The sources said if the card was a copy, police would be faced with a bigger challenge to unearth the original and any other copies to ensure that the sensitive images don’t get leaked.

Since the police have so far not succeeded in finding the mobile phone used to film the assault, forensic experts are trying to figure out if the card in custody was used to copy images from the phone.

The special investigation team headed by additional directorgeneral of police B. Sandhya has instructed the forensic department to be “one hundred per cent sure” of the nature of the card since it is the biggest evidence yet in the case being built around an extortion angle, said a source.

The SIM that threw up videos and photos was found loaded in a mobile phone Sunil Kumar had submitted to his lawyer before his arrest. It was not immediately clear if the forensic cell of Kerala police had managed to retrieve deleted images or the visuals were intact in the card.

The Malayalam actress, who is popular for her work in all south Indian languages, was kidnapped from Aluva by a gang of six men, including her own driver, on February 17 while she was returning from a film shoot in Thrissur district. All the six accused have been arrested.

The attack on such a popular figure in the Malayalam film industry led to several conspiracy theories, some even linking film personalities who have denied any role in the incident.

During interrogation, Kumar took the investigators on a spin by first claiming he had discarded the mobile phone in an open drain near the spot where the actress was let off after her two-hour ordeal. He later said he had thrown the phone from a bridge into a water body, prompting the police to seek the help of five navy divers. But nothing was found.

The police had seized a few SIM cards and pen drives while raiding a house in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, where Kumar hid for a few days before his arrest. The SIT is waiting for a detailed forensic report on what was stored in the devices.

Since even deleted contents can be recovered from digital storage devices, sources said the forensic report could be crucial.

The police had on Saturday approached an Aluva court seeking the option of a lie-detector test but Kumar told the court he was not willing to take the test. The court then extended the police custody of Kumar and his main accomplice, Vijeesh, till March 10, after the police counsel pleaded for more time for custodial interrogation.

Hindu groups object to CNN’s negative portrayal of religion The portrayal of Hinduism in a CNN show on Sunday night has drawn strong protests from many Indian-American groups that found it negative and devoid of adequate understanding of the religion.

The episode on Aghoris in the CNN serial ‘Believer’ made by religious scholar Reza Aslan had graphic images of the marginal sect’s extreme forms of practicing their faith.

“Eating human corpses?

How far would you go to prove your faith? Enter the world of the Aghori,” the CNN said in a tweet promoting the show.

The Hindu American Foundation (HAF) and American Hindus Against Defamation (AHAD) were among the organisations that protested.

Democratic Congressman from California, Ro Khanna, also expressed his disappointment.

“Aslan has free speech! But sad he has made a career of sensationalism over scholarship re: Christianity & Hinduism,” he said on twitter.

Aslan’s works on Christianity have been found offensive by many Christian groups in America.

HAF leader Suhag Shukla termed the show “shock religion porn.” “What does it mean to live without fear? It means CNN and “experts” like ‪@rezaaslan don’t engage in shock religion porn,” she said.

“It will promote ignorance

about Hindu traditions and promote ridicule of Hindu children in the schools. For example, a teacher has requested CNN on Facebook if the Hindu-related episode will be available for teaching ancient Indian history to her sixth grade class! … this will have wider Hinduphobic societal impact,” Ajay Shah, convener of AHAD said.

At a time when racial prejudices may be increasing and violence targeting Indians is on the rise, such portrayal of Hinduism is unhelpful, these groups have said.

HAF and AHAD also argued that caste system was not a scripturally sanctioned part of Hinduism and accused Mr. Aslan of mirepresenting the community.

The episode showed caste as part of the Hindu belief system and the Aghori sect as a rebellion against the notion of the purity-pollution binary that forms the basis of caste system.

HAF representative Mat McDermott had met with Mr. Aslan and had a preview of the episode. An HAF statement said the show perpetrates stereotypes about Hinduism and Hindus.

“There is the stereotyped image of a naked Aghori sadhu, drinking alcohol from a human skull, literally eating what is ostensibly human flesh, taking Reza on as his disciple, threatening to behead him if he talks

any more, and then throwing his own freshly excreted urine at him, all on camera for viewers to see,” said an HAF statement.

‘Will he make a film on Islam?’

Both organisations also wondered whether Mr. Aslan would make a similar film on Islam, the religion that he practices.

The filmmaker, an Iranian American, told Mr. McDermott that he had to abandon the plan to shoot an episode on the Ashura festival in Pakistan as no insurer was willing to cover the crew.

“If and when there’s a second series of Believer, Aslan assured that Islam would definitely be included,” the HAF statement said. © The Hindu

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INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8, 2017 • PAGE 19

NEWS U.S. assures India of ‘speedy justice’ to hate crime victims The U.S. State Department has assured Indian Ambassador to the U.S. Navtej Sarna that it was working with all agencies concerned to ensure speedy justice following the violence that has targeted Indian Americans over the last fortnight. Since February 22, three incidents targeting Indian-Americans have claimed the lives of two and injured two.

In the latest incident on Friday night in Kent, Washington State, 39-year-old Deep Rai was shot at by a masked gunman who shouted at him to “go back to your country.” The incident is being investigated as a hate crime and the victim’s statement is “absolutely credible,” said the police chief of Kent.

“Mr. Sarna conveyed deep concerns to the U.S. government on recent tragic incidents and… underlined the need to

prevent such incidents and protect Indian community,” the Indian embassy in Washington said.

Last Thursday, IndianAmerican convenience store owner Harnish Patel was found murdered in Lancaster, South Carolina. Earlier, on February 22, Indian American engineer Srinivas Kuchibhotla was shot dead in Olathe, Kansas and his friend Alok Madasani was injured.

A 29-year-old Indian man was killed in New Jersey also last week, but this was not an incident of hate crime, according to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. She had quoted the father of the victim to say that it was a “family tragedy.”

Meanwhile, Washington Senator Maria Cantwell and Indian American Congressman from California Ami Bera were among those who condemned

Ex-DU professor Saibaba sentenced to life for Maoist links

Four other accused also get life term, one gets 6-year imprisonment.

Former Delhi University professor G.N. Saibaba and four others, who were was arrested by the Maharashtra police for their alleged links with Maoists, were sentenced to life in prison by a court in Gadchiroli on Tuesday. Another accused, Vijay tirke was awarded 6-year imprisonment.

JNU student Hem Mishra, Prashant Rahi, Mahesh Tirke and Pandu Narote were the others who got the life term.

JNU student Hem Mishra, who has been sentenced to life imprisonment, for his alleged Maoist links. Photo: Special Arrangement The six accused were convicted under Sections 13, 18, 20, 38, 39 of UAPA and 120 B of the IPC, said advocate Barun Kumar, who represented them in the court along with advocate Surendra Gadling.

The police arrested Professor Saibaba, a paraplegic, in 2014 on charges of having links with Maoists and lodged him in the Nagpur Central Jail for 14 months.

He was granted bail in July 2015 till December last year after the Mumbai High Court noticed his deteriorating health.

Sikh community members in Washington state mourn the death of Deep Rai the attack on Mr. Rai. “This disturbing crime is an outrage that goes against everything we stand for as a nation of immigrants. On the heels of the Kansas shooting, crimes motivated by hate are on the rise. Xenophobia and racism have no place in America, and we as a nation need to stand up to these hate crimes — starting with the President. Thankfully, the victim is recovering, and my thoughts and prayers are with him and his family,” Mr. Bera said.

“Thoughts and prayer go out to the Sikh man shot in Kent. I

stand with the Sikh community and condemn these acts,” said Ms. Cantwell.

Representative Joe Crowley from New York said in a tweet: “I fought long & hard for Department of Justice to track hate crimes against #Sikhs, always hoping it wouldn’t be necessary. Our country is better than this.”

Hate Crime investigation The FBI is investigating the Kent incident and the shooting in Kansas as hate crimes.

The FBI swiftly accepted the demand by Sikh community leaders to pursue the case as a

hate crime.

“The Seattle FBI is assisting the Kent Police Department through a joint investigation of the shooting incident. The FBI remains committed to investigating crimes that are potentially hate-motivated and we continue to work with all our community partners in the Seattle area,” said FBI’s Seattle spokesperson Ayn Dietrich.

“We applaud the decision by the Kent Police Department to pursue a hate crime investigation,” said Sikh Coalition’s interim programme manager, Rajdeep Singh.

PAGE 20 â&#x20AC;˘ INDIA HERALD â&#x20AC;˘ WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8, 2017

COMMUNITY CALENDAR Sri Meenakshi Temple Society March 11, Sat., 10:30 a.m.

MASI MAGAM March 29, Wed., 7 p.m. ,Ugadhi â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Telugu & Kannada New Year TEMPLE HOURS: M TO TH; 8:30 a.m. TO 12 noon, 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.; FRI: 8:30 a.m. to 12 noon, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Weekends & Holidays: 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Durga Bari Temple Durga Bari temple is open from 9 to 11 a.m. and 4 to 7 p.m. Mon. thru Sat. Sandhya aarti at 6:30 p.m. Temple closes at 7 p.m. Sunday special from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Temple is located at 13944 Schiller Rd (oďŹ&#x20AC; Hwy 6 bet. Bellaire & Westpark). Call Ganesh Mandal at 713-797-9057 / 832-423-8541.

Vipassana Meditation

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Register for Houston area Vipassana Meditation course as taught

by S. N. Goenka. January 7 to 18, 2017, July 8 to 19,2017, November 4 to 15,2017. All courses are FREE. Donations are accepted from those who upon completing the training wish to contribute for future students. Instruction in Vipassana meditation is given in ten-day retreats Visit www.siri. dhamma.org Arya Samaj Satsang Weekly Havan Satsang every Sunday from 10 a.m. to 12 noon. DAV Sanskriti School Sundays 10 a.m. to 12 noon. - Havan, Hindi and Naitik Shiksha classes. DAV Montessori School for ages 2 to 7 years.

Call Arti Khanna 281-759-3286.

Free Yoga classes on Sat. Sanskrit & Upanishad classes Tue. 6-8 p.m.

At 14375 Schiller Rd. (bet Westpark & Bellaire oďŹ&#x20AC; Hwy 6). 281752-0100.

Brahma Kumaris The Brahma Kumaris Raja Yoga Meditation Center is open 7 days a week. The center oďŹ&#x20AC;ers free Raja Yoga Meditation classes: Mon-Fri @ 6:00-6:45am and 7:00-8:00pm, Sat-Sun @ 7:00-8:30am, 10:00am-

2:00pm. Visiting hours are SatSun @ 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Contact us at (832) 379-8888, houston@ bktexas.com, or bktexas.com to sign-up for classes. All Raja Yoga Meditation teachers at the Houston center are samarpit and have 15+ years of teaching experience.

Chinmaya Mission Sunday satsangs for adults, youth, and children. A unique Bala Vihar program for each grade, from PreK to Grade 12. Satsangs in two sessions between 8:35 a.m. - 10:15 a.m. and 11:20 a.m. - 1 p.m. Bala Vihar students can take shloka, bhajan and orchestra classes or language classes for Hindi, Telugu, Marathi, and Gujarati. Chinmaya Mission is located at Chinmaya Prabha, 10353 Synott Road, Sugar Land, TX 77498. New members may visit the welcome desk between 8 a.m. - 8:45 a.m. or 10:15 a.m.-11:30 a.m. Visit http://www. chinmayahouston.org/ or contact Bharati Sutaria 281.933.0233 for more information.

Vedanta Society Vedanta Society of Greater Houston, 14809 Lindita Drive (77083) has classes every Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, 1st & 3rd Sunday; Bhagavad Gita, 2nd Sunday; on works of Swami Vivekananda, 4th Sunday; Holy Mother Saradaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Gospel, 5th Sunday. Swamis of Ramakrishna Order visit to conduct retreats and lectures. www. houstonvedanta. org or 281-5840488.

Jain Society Jain Society of Houston (JSH) located at 3905 Arc Street Houston Texas 77063 is open M-F from 7:30 AM to 12 Noon and 4 to 7 PM, and Sat, and Sun from 8 AM to 6 PM. Jain Society of Houston invites Jain scholars all year round.

Please call Urvashi Jain 713 789 2338. Visit www.jainsocietyhouston.org for calendar of events and other detailed information.

Learn Hindi

New classes will start in January, 2017.

Limited seats, Register nowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

Contact Arun Prakash at 281-890-8710 or 713-454-3983. email aprakashhindi@gmail.com \

Open Forum Radio Program Â&#x2018;Â&#x17D;Â&#x203A;Â&#x17D;Čą Â&#x2DC;Â&#x17E;Â&#x203A;Čą Â&#x2122;Â&#x2019;Â&#x2014;Â&#x2019;Â&#x2DC;Â&#x2014;Čą Â&#x2DC;Â&#x17E;Â&#x2014;Â?Â&#x153;

ČąĹ&#x2014;Ĺ&#x161;Ĺ&#x17E;Ĺ&#x2013;Čą ȹȹČ&#x160;Čą Â&#x160;Â?Â&#x17E;Â&#x203A;Â?Â&#x160;¢Â&#x153;ČąĹ&#x161;ČąÂ?Â&#x2DC;ČąĹ&#x153;ČąÂ&#x2122;ÇŻÂ&#x2013;ÇŻ Listen to Open Forum on 106.1 FM Informative programs with doctors, in Houston. lawyers, politicians and other Every Saturday 4.00 PM to 6.00 PM. newsmakers.

Studio line 800-444-1061

Call 713-784-1480

Hosts: Dinkar Chheda, Jagat Kamdar & Subodh Bhuchar

Chandra & David Courtney Tabla and Vocal

Classes now ongoing Visit www.chandrakantha.com

or call for info.

(713) 665-4665

Classes in Houston, Mission Bend, & Sugar Land

Shiv Shakti Mandir Sanatan Shiv Shakti Mandir, 6640 Harwin. Open daily 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. All major festivals, as well as birthdays, naam karan, engagement and other ceremonies. Call Pandit Virat Mehta 713-278-9099 or Hardik Raval 361-243-6539 for puja or other ceremonies.

Heartfulness Meditation Heartfulness Meditation is a practical technique of tuning inwards to experience our higher selves. Meditation with someone who has the capacity of yogic transmission can help you explore the Heartfulness practice more deeply. There are no charges for this, and we invite you to experience the unique beneďŹ ts of this transmission.

Workshops on Heartfulness relaxation and meditation are held weekly throughout Houston, including Saturdays at 11 am at India House. Web: www. heartfulness.org; Email: houston. heartfulness@gmail.com. Cell: 713-929-0040.

Heritage Classes Ashirwadâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Heritage Classes in Katy, Cypress and Sugar Land for kids 4 to 18 yrs - meditation, Yoga, slokas, stories from scriptures, Vishnu Sahasranam, bhajans, competitions and fun activities.

Adult meditation classes. Register at www.ashirwada-blessing.org or Sri Ravula 281-995-0930.

Hare Krishna Dham Houstonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s original Vedic temple, ISKCON of Houston. At 1320 W 34th St. (77018). Daily Darshan & Arati Times: 4.30 a.m, 7 a.m, 8.30 a.m, 12 noon, 4.30 p.m, 7 p.m, 9 p.m. Sunday Festival: 5.30 pm to 7.30 p.m. Weekly Gita classes for adults; call 281-433-1635 or harekrishnadham @gmail.com Houston Namadwaar A prayer house where the Hare Rama Hare Krishna Maha-mantra is continuously chanted. Weekends: 8-11 AM & 4-7 PM, Weekdays: 7-8 AM & 6-7 PM. Weekly â&#x20AC;&#x153;Gopa Kuteeramâ&#x20AC;? childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s heritage classes and Srimad Bhagavatam classes. Call 281-402-6585; visit www.godivinity.org (Global Organization for Divinity).

Saumyakasi Sivalaya Sri Saumyakasi Sivalaya is located at Chinmaya Prabha, 10353 Synott Road, Sugar Land, TX 77478.

Temple timings: Monday to Friday: 9:00 AM - 12:00 Noon and 5:30 PM - 8:00 PM Saturday and Sunday: 9:00 AM 2:00 PM and 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM. For more information Contact 281-568-1690 or Jay Deshmukh at 832-541-0059 or visit www.saumyakasi.org Gauri Siddhivinayak Temple Darshan from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. All major festivals as well

as birthdays, naam karan, engagement and other ceremonies. Call Pandit Pradip Pandya 832-4669868 for puja and other ceremonies. At 5645 Hillcroft Ste 701, Houston, TX 77036.

Veerashaiva Samaja VSNA Houston is a group of families who believe in Veerashaiva dharma (Basava dharma).

Monthly Mahamane program for prayer and discussion on Vachana Sahitya followed by Prasada. Contact: vsnahous ton@gmail.com or Jagadeesh Halyal 832-744-4166.

Mar Thoma Church Trinity Mar Thoma Church every Sunday at 5810 Almeda Genoa Rd. Sunday School at 9:15 a.m.

Malayalam service at 9:30 a.m. on 1st & 3rd Sunday. Adult Bible class at 9:30 a.m. English service at 10:30 a.m. on 2nd & 4th Sunday. Call 713-991-1557 or 281261-4603.

Telugu Christian Fellowship Telugu Christian Fellowship meets every third Saturday of the month at Triumph Church, 10555 W. Airport Blvd., StaďŹ&#x20AC;ord TX 77477 at 6:30 p.m. Join us for a time of praise, worship and fellowship. Worship is in English.

For information call Chris Gantela 281-344-0707, or Rev. Vijay Gurrala 281-997-0757.

Sri Guruvayurappan Temple Hours: Mon to Fri 6 a.m. -8 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Weekends & Holidays: 6 a.m. to noon and 5:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Bhajans Saturdays 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.; Sundays 9 a.m. to 1 a.m. Special poojas (weekends and holidays) Choroon (Annaprasam) for kids, Thulabharam, Vahana Pooja, Nirapara. Temple is located at 11620 Ormandy St. (77035) Tel: 713-7298994 email: temple@ guruvayur.us Preksha Meditation JVB Preksha Meditation Center conducts weekly Meditation, Yoga and Swadhyay sessions inside its unique Pyramid hall under the auspicious guidance of Samanijis, and runs special events and programs like I-Choose, Meditation Camps and Gyanshala program for children ages 4-14 yrs.

JVB is located at 14102 Schiller Rd. Houston 77082. Every Tuesday, 9:30 am-11:30 am, Samaniji has pravachan for all adults interested in learning about Jainism.

Every Wednesday there is Swadhyay class from 7-9 pm and every Thursday from 9:30-11am there is special Yoga class for Ladies only.

Call Seema Jain at 281-575-0575 for further information. Visit www.jvbhouston.org or send email at info@jvbhouston.org for more details.

Patanjali Yogpeeth Free Yoga Classes every Sat/Sun at Arya Samaj from 8 am to 9:30 a.m. Call Anil 281-579-9433. For other free classes, call Indra 281537-0018. For Yoga/Herbal products, call Shekhar 281-242-5000.

Web: www.pyptusa.org and www.

DivyaProducts.com.

Hindu Temple of The Woodlands 7601 S. Forest Gate Dr, The Woodlands, TX 77382 Temple Hours, Weekdays: 7:30 AM - 9:30 AM 5:30 PM - 8.30 PM Aarti @ 7:30 PM Saturday and Sunday 8:30 AM - 1:30 PM Aarti at 12:00 PM 5:30 PM - 8:30 PM Aarti @ 7:30 PM; Contact 832-585--0001 or temple@myhtw.net Sathya Sai centers Sunday program held at two locations (North Houston: 12127 Malcomson Road, Houston; South Houston: 246 Fluor Daniel Drive, Sugar Land) from 3:00 to 5:30 pm) - Sai Spiritual Education (SSE) classes for children; Study Circle for adults & Devotional singing for all. Service programs - food distribution, canned food drives, nursing home visits, tutoring at schools, etc. Contact Venkat Rao (North) - 602-503-2249 or Ranji Raghavan (South) 281-451-8238.

Visit www.sairegion10.org Sadhu Vaswani Center Sadhu Vaswani Center of Houston holds regular Satsang on 3rd Thursday of the month and daily Arti at 7.30 p.m. Call 281-4630379 or e.mail ramolaj@aol.com Gaudiya Math Sri Govindaji Gaudiya Matha at 16628 Kieth Harrow Blvd., Houston 77084. Satsang Sundays 5 to 7 pm. Mantra meditation, kirtan, Sanatan Dharma classes. Vedic Education and Hindi classes for kids.

Gita classes noon - 1:30 pm Wed. Hanuman Chalisa and Ramcharit Manas on Tue. 7:30â&#x20AC;&#x201C;8:30 p.m. info@sggm.org or 281-499-3347.

Swaminarayan Temple Hindu Satsang at Shree Swaminarayan Hindu Temple, under Shree NarNarayan Dev Gadi kalupur.

Opens daily from 7 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and from 4 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Daily aarti at 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.

Saturday sabha from 5p.m to 7 p.m. followed by aarti at 7 p.m. and Maha-Prasad (free dinner). www.issotx.org. (281) 530-2565.

Sanatan Dharm Maha Sabha West Indian Religious Organization called Sanatan Dharm Maha Sabha Branch # 377 is located at 26100 Tina Lane, Katy, TX 77494.

Durga Mata Pooja is held every Friday from 7 pm to 9.30 pm. Contact Ram Sharma @ 713-412-9985.

Gandhi Library Mahatma Gandhi Library Book Club: Meets 2nd Sunday of each month; 12:30 PM at Arya Samaj Greater Houston, 13475 Schiller Rd. Join the discussion of the great manâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s autobiography â&#x20AC;&#x201C; The Story of My Experiments with Truth.

Call Manish Wani 713-829-6979.

INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8, 2017 • PAGE 21

PAGE 22 • INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8, 2017

NEWS Suspect holed up in Lucknow may have Islamic State links: UP Police One person linked to a group involved in Tuesday’s (March 7) Ujjain-Bhopal train blast has been arrested from Kanpur and another one is holed up in a building in Lucknow where efforts were on to nab him.

Uttar Pradesh DGP Javeed Ahmed told The Hindu, “We have cornered one extremist who is linked to the group involved in the [Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train] blast.”

However, he said, the Madhya Pardesh train blast is nowhere linked to the Kanpur train accident.

PTI quoted U.P. ADGP (Law and Order) Daljit Chaudhary as saying that the “holed up terror suspect might have links with Islamic State”. Mr. Chaudhary, quoted by the news agency, added that two terror suspects were held in Kanpur and one in Etawah.

The Union Home Ministry has sought a report from the Madhya Pradesh Police on Tuesday’s blast in which eight people were injured, two of them seriously.

The blast occurred in a coach between 9.30 a.m. and 10 a.m. when the train was on its way to Ujjain from Bhopal.

Meanwhile, the Madhya Pradesh Police are yet to confirm the identity of the group involved in the train blast.

“Right now we cannot say anything about the affiliation of the group involved the Ujjain blast, investigation is on,” an M.P. police official told The Hindu.

PTI adds from Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh AntiTerrorism Squad launched the operation to flush out the suspected terrorist holed up in a

house on the outskirts of Lucknow following inputs that he may be linked to Bhopal-Ujjain train blast.

The suspect was hiding in a house in Kakori area. The densely populated neighbourhood was cordoned off and at least 20 commandos were involved in the operation, police said.

“The operation is the result of the U.P. police receiving specific inputs regarding possible terror suspects in the State,” ADGP (Law and Order) Daljeet Chaudhary said, adding the terror suspect might be linked to train blast in Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday morning.

According to local residents, over 30 policemen started vacating the houses in the locality at around 3.30 p.m. to corner the suspect.

“As the suspect got wind of their plans, he started firing at police party. Gunshots were fired from both the sides,” a resident said.

IG ATS Aseem Arun summoned elite commandos from Bijnaur police facility. The ATS team is trying to ensure that the suspect runs out of ammunition before barging inside.

IG Lucknow Zone A. Satish Ganesh said, “The suspect was not surrendering. Instead he was resorting to firing. Chilli bombs were used to smoke him out.”

Mr. Arun, who was conducting the operation, said, “When the police knocked the door (of the house where the terror suspect is holed up), he closed the door, and then there was a sound of pistol fire, which proved that he has weapons.

“We are not in a hurry to fin-

ish the operation, but want to catch him alive. Hence, we are using chilly powder.”

He said the suspect resorted to intermittent firing. “We have withheld firing from our side. It appears only one person is hiding inside the house,” he said.

The U.P. Police was tipped off by central intelligence agencies, Mr. Chaudhary said, and added that one arrest was made in Kanpur and there could be more than one terror suspect in Lucknow.

He also mentioned that terror linkage, connection to Ujjain train blast and details of the module would be revealed only after interrogation of the suspects.

Police said that the area where the suspected terrorist is holed up is densely populated.

“We would be able to comment on the motive of the person once he is arrested. There is no point in sharing any input before the operation was over,” the ADG said.

He said it was a tactical operation, aimed at incurring minimum loss.

Mr. Ahmed, the U.P., DGP, when contacted, said the U.P. Police was trying to convince the person holed up in the house to surrender.

He also said, “We have detained someone from Kanpur.

However, it is too early to link this suspected terrorist to the train blast.”

To a question on the incident taking place a day before the final phase of polling in U.P. on Wednesday, the DGP said, “The conduct of polls in UP has been so far peaceful.” © The Hindu

Two-thirds Indians have to pay bribe, highest in A-Pac: Survey India has got the dubious distinction of having the highest bribery rate in the Asia Pacific, with a survey showing today that more than two-thirds of Indians had to pay ‘tea money’ or fork out other forms of bribe to get public services.

The survey, conducted by international anti-graft rights group Transparency International, found 69 per cent in India as saying they had to pay a bribe, followed by 65 per cent in Vietnam. China was much lower at 26 per cent while the same for Pakistan was 40 per cent.

Japan had the lowest incidence of bribery -- at 0.2 per cent. South Korea also fared well at a mere 3 per cent.

However, it is China which seems to have seen the highest increase, with 73 per cent in the survey saying the bribery has gone up in their country over the past year while India comes in at seventh place (41 per cent) -- higher than countries like Pakistan, Australia, Japan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

In the survey of more than 20,000 people in 16 countries span-

ning the Asia-Pacific region, an estimated 900 million said they had to pay a bribe at least once in the past one year.

The police topped the list of public services most often demanding a bribe while 38 per cent of the poorest surveyed said they paid a bribe, which is the highest proportion of any income group.

The survey asked people how often they had to pay a bribe, give a gift, or do a favour, including for the police, judge or court officials, teachers, hospital staff or a government official for getting some documents or services.

“Governments must do more to deliver on their anti-corruption commitments. It’s time to stop talking and act. Millions of people are forced to pay bribes for public services and it is the poor who are most vulnerable,” said Jose Ugaz, chair of Transparency International.

The results show that lawmakers across the region need to do much more to support whistleblowers and governments must keep promises to combat corruption, including their commitments to meet the Sustain-

able Development Goals, Transparency International said.

Ugaz further added that “without proper law enforcement corruption thrives. Bribery is not a small crime, it takes food off the table, it prevents education, it impedes proper healthcare and ultimately it can kill”.

NASA ‘guest’ points deport finger at Astec Guwahati/New Delhi, March 6: An Assam government science agency has found itself embroiled in a row kicked up by a former NASA associate who was invited to attend a conference here but was sent back the day he arrived.

Ralph Kennedy Johnston Sr, who says he was formerly associated with the US space agency’s Apollo lunar missions, has complained to Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the Assam Science Technology and Environmental Council (Astec) “deported” him without giving him a chance to defend himself.

Johnston, in a letter to the Prime Minister’s Office, has said he had attended educational meetings in Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore and had been listed as a “distinguished speaker” at a conference in Guwahati on February 28, National Science Day. But when he reached Guwahati on February 25, Johnston wrote, he was allegedly sent back to New Delhi the same day by Astec organisers. “I was sent to New Delhi without even being given a chance to defend myself. I had to purchase my own ticket back to the US for over $1,200, even though I had been brought to India (Assam) and had been promised airfare home,” Johnston alleged.

“This would be an international crime that you deported a foreign passenger, just as such, based it on a single email,” he said in his letter, adding: “... please register this as a complaint and take severe action. I hope that concerned actions will be taken soon and justice will be done to me and financial accommodations promised will be fulfilled.”

The Assam government, following a query from the PMO, today sought a clarification on the issue from Astec.

Astec officials said they had initially accepted a request from Johnston on whether he could attend the scheduled Assam Science Festival conference on February 28. But they decided to send him away when it received an email from another former NASA associate named James Oberg claiming that Johnston was a “cheat.”

A Wikipedia entry describes Oberg as an American space journalist and historian who had spent 22 years as a space engineer in NASA. Johnston’s CV on the Internet says during the Apollo missions between 1969 and 1972, he had been employed by Brown and Root, principal contractors to NASA for management of the Lunar Receiving Laboratory where moonrocks were stored, curated and catalogued.

His job had involved packaging and shipping lunar samples to science laboratories.

Johnston has said he was touring India “for interacting with and inspiring millions of students” on space education. He said he flew into India on February 2 and visited Chennai and Hyderabad, then returned to the US on February 12 to attend a “UFO conference” in Arizona where he was a “guest speaker”. He returned to India on February 20 to attend a conference in Bangalore from where he flew to Guwahati, assuming Astec would pay his return airfare.

Arup Kumar Misra, Astec director, declined to comment on the issue. However, sources there admitted that the council had sent Johnston back as they wanted to avoid controversies.

Mishra said they checked Johnston’s credentials and found he had worked as a curator at NASA between 1969 and 1972 but was recruited through another agency.

“Later, we were informed that NASA denounced him so we had to send him back,” he added.

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