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VOL. 24 • NO. 46 • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2018 • P.O. BOX 623, SUGAR LAND, TX 77487 • PERIODICAL PERMIT USPS 017699 • 25 cents

County Judge-elect assures continuity

Fort Bend County Judge Bob Hebert receives County Judge-elect KP George, left, in his office after the Nov. 6 election.

By SESHADRI KUMAR Fort Bend County’s newly elected county judge promises continuity in the county administration and assures other elected officials, employees and business leaders that he will work with “whatever exists and improve it.”

KP George wasted no time in getting into action to ensure that the big change in county politics created no uncertainty and he promptly called on incumbent County Judge Bob Hebert and County Attorney Roy Cordes.

He also visited with other county commissioners.

Hebert told Fort Bend Independent: “It’s been a great 16 years serving Fort Bend County, and I head off into retirement with very few regrets. I wish the new court well, and will give any advice or assistance requested by the new judge. I’m not going anywhere, Fort Bend County is my home.”

George realizes the enormity of the task ahead and is willing to learn things quickly.

“It is not about me. Sooner one realizes it, it is better,” he says about his desire to do public service.

“I am not here to change anything. There will be no discontinuity,” he said.

There may be a difference in the style, but the substance won’t change, George said.

George also met with officials at the Greater Fort Bend Economic Development Council and the Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce and the Central Fort Bend Chamber.

A change of elected official normally means wholesale change in staffing in their offices.

George, however, does not intend to make any wholesale change in his office. Already a couple of vacancies exist in his office and he will hire new people for those positions. He will have some others stay to ensure continuity.

Enhancing the emergency management services and creating a flood control district are on his campaign platform.

George said he will listen to his constituents and help address the issues affecting them.

People want to see their elected officials concentrate on projects and processes that affect them every day, and theese changes were promised during campaign, he said.

George currently serves on the Fort Bend ISD school board as a trustee.

Growing up in a little village in South India, state of Kerala, he See JUDGE, Page 4

Democrats sweep Fort Bend County, take control of courthouse after 24 years

By SESHADRI KUMAR Democrats swept the polls in Fort Bend County to take control of the courthouse in a landslide victory after 24 years.

All the Republican candidates in contested county races lost.

Incumbent Republican County Judge Bob Hebert lost to Democrat KP George 47 percent to 53 percent.

All the district judges and county court at law judges, district attorney and district clerk lost by a margin about 15,000 to 20,000 votes in each race.

Incumbent Republican Pct. 4 Commissioner James Patterson lost to newcomer Ken DeMerchant, who received 34,965 votes to Patterson’s 32,757.

Incumbent Democrat Pct. 2 Commissioner Grady Prestage won unopposed with 42,037 votes.

Now, there will be three Democrats on Commissioners Court and two Republicans.

Unopposed Republicans who won include CCL Judges Chris Morales and Jeff McMeans, County Clerk Laura Richard, and

Indian American Julie Mathew of Missouri City won the County Court at Law No. 3 judge race in Fort Bend County on the Democratic ticket, defeating Republican Tricia Krenek.

Mathew polled 134,737 votes Krenek’s 114,424.

County Treasurer Bill Rickert.

In state and congressional elections, however, Republicans prevailed.

State Reps. Rick Miller, John Zerwas and Phil Stephenson were re-elected and similarly, State Sen. Joan Huffman won.

Incumbent Democrat State

Rep. Ron Reynolds from Missouri City is in prison and he was re-elected unopposed with 47,035 votes.

U.S. Rep. Pete Olson (R) defeated Democrat Sri Kulkarni in Texas 22nd Congressional district with 152,318 votes to Kulkarni’s 137,500.

Though Sen. Ted Cruz won statewide, Fort Bend County joined Harris County in voting for Democrat Beto O’Rourke.

Cruz received 111,190 votes in Fort Bend and O’Rourke 141,846.

Fort Bend turned blue in the 2016 presidential election by voting for Hillary Clinton, but Republicans won the local races.

This time, however, the huge turnout among Democrats, coupled with straight ticket voting, catapulted to office anyone with a “D”.

Until now, anyone with a “R” on the ballot could win countywide races.

The Democrats’ turnout had its impact on Missouri City city elections as well where the veteran mayor Allen Owen is in a runoff with Yolanda Ford.

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PAGE 2 • INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2018

COMMUNITY

IACCGH Women Mean Business

Vanitha Pothuri, right, and Nyamusi Igambi IACGH board with keynote speakers. Photo by BIJAY DIXIT

The Indo American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Houston held its ďŹ nal Women Mean Business series for the year on October 30th, ending 018 with yet another successful event.

The Keynote Speakers for the event were Vanitha Pothuri & and Nyamusi Igambi.

President Swapan Dhairyawan, welcomed the gathering by encouraging the audience to stay connected with the Chamber, which will be celebrating its 20th anniversary next year. He also shared a few details about the upcoming Trade Mission to India led by Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and the Greater Houston Partnership.

Executive Director Jagdip Ahluwalia, thanked SHELL, the sponsor for the event, for their generous support to both the Women Mean Business and the Distinguished Lecture Series.

Past President and Program Chair Joya Shukla introduced the Keynote Speakers and encouraged the audience to share their ideas on the dierent kinds of successful women leaders they would like to hear and learn from.

Vanitha Pothuri spoke about how her work ethic and interest to run a business came from her parents. Those traits, she said, helped her to begin an entrepreneurial venture, starting in retail and venturing into “the gelato and cookie business�. She also shared the various challenges she faced and lessons she had to learn on the way to establishing her franchise. “The path to success is to keep aside your ego and to always be ready to learn the core principles and concepts�. These ideals, she said, helped her to equally juggle being a doctor and a food entrepreneur.

Nyamusi Igambi shared that she has come to a full circle moment being back in Houston; the city where she started working with the U.S Commercial Service 18 years ago and currently serving as its Director. Her multicultural family background fostered the curiosity to seek multicultural and diverse spaces, both personally and professionally. She also shared the exposure and knowledge she gained through her travels to countries like Colombia, Mexico, Nigeria, India and within the USA. She closed her speech by encouraging women to “Keep showing up, keep asking questions, to mentor and raise the next generation of leader�.

Following an engaging Q&A session, Shell representative and IACCGH Board member Alyssa Holmes Henderson, presented the gifts and certiďŹ cates to our speakers.

For more details about upcoming events visit www.iaccgh.com. — By Sowmya Murali

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INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2018 • PAGE 3

VIEWPOINT

By KUL BHUSHAN UPPAL HOUSTON If we can envision a world where we support each other and help each other find their place in this ever-changing society, then we can become the change we want to see. Jealousy, envy, criticism, racism and judgment are excuses for insecure people. As we help others to become self-assured, we create a world in which all people are guardians for each otherregardless of gender, religion, race, color or nationality.

To provide a little background about myself, we as a family, have lived in the Houston area since October 1979.

In 1971, the total population of Indian origin people was close to 500 and all community events were held at the University of Houston. I have been personally involved with our community directly and indirectly right from the very beginning.

I was elected President of India Culture Center (ICC) Clear Lake Chapter in 1980 and became a representative of this chapter to main ICC Houston in 1982. My involvement with ICC Houston lasted for over twenty seven (27) years in almost all capacities – as a Director, Secretary, VP, President, Trustee and representative on special committees for specific projects.

For the last several years, I am actively involved with India House activities.

Although, ICC was successful in hosting all their scheduled events, the organization was unable to bring the entire community together. Living in the US, we, as a community, always struggle in giving up our old ways of fighting with each other and undermining all efforts by others.

India House (Community Center) was a dream of the first few Indian American immigrants in Houston, which started taking shape in June 2000 when an over 10-acre land was purchased by India Culture Center in Southwest Houston. After a few challenges, it became obvious that a separate entity will have to take charge if we were to succeed in building a true community center to serve our IndianAmerican community as well as the mainstream community.

That is when India House Inc. was born in 2003, and the entire community got behind the project. Personally I have been involved with this project right from the beginning and served on the Executive Committee for over five years as VP of Operations.

Our community has never learned to come together even politically. This fact was confirmed by a senior Senator from Texas at an Indian function. Indian origin people, he said, have donated lots of money to various campaigns, but

My community at large have never asked for any kind of favors in return. In general, community members are happy to have their pictures taken with politicians as mementos for their donations. This is not helping us unite for a common cause as a community.

After all what is community? The word, “community” is derived from the old French word comunete – which in turn is derived from the Latin communitas (from Latin communis – things held in common), a broad term for fellowship or organized community. A community is a unit of a large number of people that share common values. In typical communities – intent, belief, preferences, needs, risks, resources and number of other conditions may be present, affecting the identity of the participants and their degree of cohesiveness.

Here is a completely rational way of changing the community thinking based on a process known as Transformational Leadership.

We live in a world today that is full of greed, anger, selfishness, anxiety, bullying, narcissism, pain, hatred, suffering and an overall lack of individual and social responsibility.

If we are to create a world of love, peace, joy, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, goodness and self-control, we first need to change what we focus on and then transform ourselves.

It is important to put ourselves, our people, our society, our organizations and the world we live in first (as a priority) before profits. Otherwise we will continue on a path toward further destruction.

Transformational Leaders are everyday people who show up every day in every way to be and to become their very best in the world. It’s about a level of humility, passion and vision to bring others and the world we live in to a higher level of greatness.

Show up every day where you are in the world to demonstrate the qualities of a Transformational Leader.

1. Inspire Transformational Leaders inspire others with vision.

2. Challenge Transformational Leaders set the highest possible standards for individual, team or organizational membership, performance and behavior.

They create a culture that begins with shared espoused values; what they and their followers identify and determine is most important.

3. Engage The transformational Leader is one who values relationships and interpersonal communication. He or she is genuine and authentic and connects with others by making the time to interact on a personal level to get to know them, who they are and what matters to them.

4. Develop The Transformational Leader is keen at identifying and utilizing the strengths of each follower. He or she truly believes in others and sees their potential and capabilities in making significant contributions that make an impact to positively achieving goals in support of the strategy and further advancing the mission toward success.

5. Align The Transformational Leader creates a culture that aligns espoused values, new assumptions and beliefs and new behaviors with the vision, strategic objectives and goals to be accomplished to ultimately achieve results that are phenomenal.

Your Personal Commitment Begin to think about and consider what you want to see in the world (at work and in your personal life) that will make the difference which you want to see in a positive way, and that others may also want.

What is it?

1. Create your vision. What is the difference that you see for yourself and others? How will you communicate and express your vision in a style, manner and way that is inspiring to others who are willing to follow, support and invest in it in the way you need?

2. Challenge others to achieve the highest levels of performance and humanity.

What are your espoused values? What really matters and is important to you, others, society, your organization and the world? What will your standards of performance and behavioral expectations for team membership be? How do you attract the best and challenge followers to become even better? How will followers become better human beings as a result of your leadership?

3. Engage others. What will you do each day to build relationships with others that can sometimes be very challenging? How much time are you committed to spending with others, listening? How will you show others that you do care, that you are compassionate and that they really are important and do matter? What will followers say about you as a result of your interactions with them?

4. Develop others. What will you do each day to focus on a follower, to advance his or her knowledge or expertise?

What will you do to coach the follower’s level of skill proficiency?

What will you do to identify and draw on the special talents and abilities that each follower shows up with? What will you

do to fully utilize the personal characteristics of each follower so that they feel connected to their work in helping the community? How will you use a coaching style with appropriate assertiveness to motivate others effectively?

5 Align individual goals with the vision, mission, strategic objectives and goals of the community at large. What will you do to identify the personal and or professional goals of each follower? What motivates them? How will you align their personal and professional goals and aspirations with the daily goals, strategic objectives, mission and vision?

To achieve the goal of unity for our community, let me conclude with these famous words from Swami Vivekananda Take up one idea - our community. Make that one idea your life - think of it, the dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This way we can bring the entire community together under one roof and a future powerhouse to be reckoned with. One more thing - always end the day with a positive thought. No matter how hard things were, tomorrow’s a fresh opportunity to make it better.

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PAGE 4 • INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2018

NEWS Judge

From page 1 came to this country with limited English knowledge and few bucks in his pocket like many other immigrants.

He was able to come this far in life simply because “I have a desire for public service,” he said.

Fort Bend County Commissioners Court now has two Republican commissioners, Vincent Morales and Andy Meyers.

Pct. 2 Commissioner Grady Prestage is the longest serving Democrat on Commissioners Court. He will be joined by George as County Judge and Ken DeMerchant, as Pct. 4 Commissioner, replacing incumbent Republican James Patterson.

Unlike the state legislature or the Congress, commissioners court does not run on political lines though county commissioners are elected on party basis.

County budget is an area where there are likely to be strong opinions and there used to be different views even among Republican commissioners themselves.

During budget time, departments headed by elected officials would make their requests and the budget would be approved after long deliberations.

Similarly, creating new positions in county departments could become controversial.

Most of the issues pertain to providing services to the county residents and are not usually based on political ideologies.

One area where county politics will be impacted is in redistricting, which will be due after the 2020 census.

These are political subdivisions and are notorious for gerrymandering by both the parties.

Another area of significance is lobbying the legislature for legislation benefiting the county.

Though the commissioners court majority has changed, local legislators have not.

Here again, most of the issues will be handled in a bipartisan manner. However, the legislative agenda may be political, depending on the majority party in office.

The Texas Legislature is still in Republican hands.

Meanwhile, the question remains why all local elected officials from county judge onwards were defeated.

Hebert’s statement quoted elsewhere provides a plausible explanation. The election was not about Hebert’s qualifications, experience or performance. Nor was the race between KP George and Hebert. It was a vote against President Trump and Senator Ted Cruz.

Fort Bend County Democratic Party Chair says the party’s success exceeded expectation.

That Democratic voting in Fort Bend County was higher was evident from the 2016 presidential election.

But, Asian voters and Muslim voters in New Territory, Telfair, Avalon and Riverstone

areas of Sugar Land cannot be described as solid Democrats. In local elections, they supported Republican candidates until now.

These precincts are unlike the voter base in Missouri City and Kendleton, which are strong Democratic precincts where Congressman Al Green gets 80 percent of the votes and a Democratic State Rep. wins from his prison cell.

For the same reason, Democrat Sri Preston Kulkarni could not defeat Republican Pete Olson because the overwhelmingly Democratic Missouri City is not part of his Congressional district.

Olson got 9,453 votes more than Kulkarni in Fort Bend, and 5,133 more votes in Brazoria County. In Harris County he barely won by a margin of 190 votes. Same is the case with State Reps and State Senators. The districts are not heavily populated by one party. This is the result of gerrymandering. The new voting pattern in the dominant Democratic precincts will play a part in the next redistricting after 2020.

Jacquie Baly, former Sugar Land City Council member and political analyst on Fox 26 Houston, said in a Facebook posting: “Fort Bend county turned blue. Many have asked me why.

Many South Asians do not like our President. And we have many South Asians in Fort Bend county.

We are also seeing many of the Democrats who lived inside the loop come into our community.

In 2016, President Trump did not win in Fort Bend county but at least every other Republican on the ballot did. That was not the case last night. It also doesn’t help that George Soros poured over $600,000 into Democratic races.

“I knew Beto was not going to win, however, what he did was elevate other Democratic races. Because of Ted Cruz’s close ties to our President and other issues #TheLeft has with him, many Democrats came and voted straight ticket. As a result fine men like County Judge Bob Hebert, Harold Kennedy and Dean Hrbacek (just to name a few) lost their races to opponents with very little experience.

“Regardless of the letter by your name you can not deny the vast amount of experience men like Bob Hebert have in comparison to their Democratic opponents who beat them.”

Another commenter said: “Beto’s coattails were stronger than Cruz and Olson. People affected by Harvey also needed someone to blame. Judge Hebert was well connected and respected in Austin and Washington, DC. That loss alone will take years to replace. Judge Hebert and Judge Ed Emmett were instrumental in the fight against mandatory flood insurance. It’s up for a vote soon.

If it fails all of us already paying levee taxes will be saddled with a new mandatory high premium flood insurance policy. That could be devastating for Fort Bend County homeowners. I’m hopeful that our new leaders get up to speed quickly and draw upon the wisdom of others.”

4 NRI Congressmen re-elected to US Congress The four Indian-American Congressmen from the Democratic Party have been re-elected to the US House of Representatives and more than a dozen others won various other races across the country in the highly polarized 2018 midterm elections held on November 6th.

Dr. Ami Bera, a three-term Congressman, was re-elected for a record fourth consecutive term from the 7th Congressional District of California. Unlike the previous three elections, Bera did not have to wait for weeks for recounting of votes.

He defeated Andrew Grant of the Republican Party by a 5% margin.

In the Silicon Valley, IndianAmerican Ro Khanna defeated Ron Cohen of the Republican Party with a massive 44 percentage point in the 17th Congressional District of California.

“Tonight was a great night for our campaign and for Democrats across the country. I’m grateful to the voters of #CA17 for giving me the opportunity to continue to represent you in Congress. This has been the honor of my life,” Khanna said.

“With Democrats in control of the House, we will push for economic and foreign policy populism,” he said.

In the 8th Congressional District of Illinois, Raja Krishnamoorthi was re-elected for the second term by a comfortable margin of more than 30 percentage points. He defeated his Indian American Republican opponent J D Diganvker.

Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, the only Indian-American woman lawmaker in the House of Representatives, defeated her GOP rival Craig Keller by a massive 66 percentage points.

“The American people voted to put the Democrats back in control of the US House of Representatives. Now, we are primed to restore the balance of power between the branches of government and push back even more strongly against the Trump administration’s deeply destructive policies. Our communities are sick and tired of the corruption and injustice,” Jayapal said in her victory speech in Seattle.

While nearly two dozen Indian American won elections to state and local bodies across the nation, several candidates seeking to be elected to the US Congress did not make it to the US Congress. For the first time, more than 100 Indian-Americans had entered the race in this mid-term elections, of which over 50 were on the ballot on Tuesday. Among them 12, including four incumbents, were running for the House and one for the Senate – a record in itself.

None of the more than half a dozen new Indian Americans candidates, many of whom caught national attention by giving tough fight to their op-

ponents and outraising them in the fund raisers, could make it to the House of Representatives.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) had high hopes in Aftab Pureval in Ohio, Sri Preston Kulkarni in Texas and Dr. Hiral Tipirneni in Arizona by including them in its “Red to Blue” list – and additional boosts had come from major endorsements and results of recent polls. Democratic Party activists had hoped for seven Indian-Americans in Congress.

The Indian American Impact Project and its affiliate the Indian American Impact Fund have been raising funds for the candidates and also getting out high profile party members like Sen. Kamala Devi Harris and former U.S. Ambassador to India Rich Verma.

Raj Goyle, co-founder of the Indian American Impact Project, and a former Kansas state legislator, had stated, “Between the high stakes atmosphere and the sheer numbers of candidates who ran for office, this is perhaps the most competitive election cycle we’ve seen in decades. He said that more than 100 IndianAmerican candidates were on the ballot throughout the year and more than half are on the Nov. 6 ballot. We will see many new elected officials who are fresh faces and represent the best of our community,” he had said.

The Impact Project’s executive director, Gautam Raghavan, an ex-senior Obama administration official, said, “For the first time in history, three IndianAmericans are on the DCCC ‘Red to Blue’ list. Just ask Congressman Ami Bera — that designation can be a game-changer.

We were happy when Aftab Pureval was named to the list earlier this year, and thrilled when Sri Kulkarni and Hiral Tipirneni were added earlier this month.”

“Impact Fund is proud to have contributed directly to these candidates, help them raise funds, raise their visibility nationally, and arrange for community leaders like Senator Kamala Harris and Ambassador Rich Verma to hit the campaign trail for them,” Raghavan said.

Indian-American of Tibetan descent Aftab Pureval, 35, lost to GOP incumbent Steve Chabot.

He was the first Democrat to get elected as the Hamilton County Clerk of Courts in more than 100 years. Indian-American woman Anita Malik lost to her Republican incumbent in the sixth District of Arizona, while Hiral Tipirneni was defeated by GOP rival Debbie Lesko.

Indian-Americans picked up more seats in the State assemblies. The community sent its member Ram Villivalam for the first time to the Illinois Senate and also elected a Muslim Indian-American Mujtaba Mohammed to the North Carolina

State Senate. Chicago-born Villivalam, elected unopposed, became the first Asian-American State Senator and the first South Asian-American member of Illinois General Assembly ever.

Sanjay Patel, who runs a successful consulting business, lost to Republican Congressman Bill Posey, who has been winning the eighth Congressional District of Florida continuously since 2009.

In the first Congressional District of Arkansas, Democratic Chintan Desai lost to Republican incumbent Rick Crawford, while Republican Harry Arora lost to incumbent Jim Himes in the fourth Congressional District of Connecticut.

Shiva Ayyadurai, a successful entrepreneur, who fought the Massachusetts Senate race as an independent, came a distant third. Democratic leader Elizabeth Warren registered a comprehensive win over her Republican rival Geoff Diehl to re-enter the US Senate.

Democratic Nima Kulkarni defeated Joshua Neubert from the GOP to make her maiden entry into the Kentucky Assembly from State District 40. A practicing and recognized lawyer, she owns Indus Law Firm specialising in immigration, employment and business law.

Mujtaba Mohammed entered the North Carolina State Senate from the Senate District 38.

A former staff attorney at the Council for Children’s Rights and assistant public defender, Mohammed defeated Richard Rivette.

Incumbent Jay Chaudhuri, an accomplished entrepreneur, was re-elected to North Carolina Senate from the State Senate District 15. Republican Niraj Atani, 27, registered his third consecutive electoral victory from Ohio House 42nd District.

He is the youngest IndianAmerican elected official in the US. He is also the second Indian-American state elected official in Ohio history, and the first Indian-American Republican.

In Washington State, Manka Dhingra and Vandana Slatter were re-elected for the State Senate. Among others re-elected at the State level are Sabi Kumar in Tennessee and Ash Kalra (California).

Sayu Bhojwani, the executive director of New American Leaders and author of “People Like Us: The New Wave of Candidates Knocking at Democracy’s Door,” stated, “Indian-American women across the country are donating money, writing texts and postcards, making calls and knocking on doors. We, Indian American women are leading the way in this groundbreaking election,” she said. “We have only begun to witness the power and energy we have together.”

INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2018• PAGE 5

NEWS

Neomi Rao interviewed by Trump to replace Kavanaugh in D.C. Appeals Court President Donald Trump has interviewed Neomi Rao, administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, as a potential candidate to replace Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh on the federal appeals court bench in Washington, D.C., according to a media report.

Rao, 44, currently heads up the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs within the Office of Management and Budget at the White House.

She was confirmed to OIRA by the Senate on July 10, 2017.

The New York Times reported that OIRA – a somewhat obscure agency created by former President Jimmy Carter’s administration to approve government data collections and determine whether agencies have sufficiently addressed problems during rule-making – is at the heart of Trump’s politicallycharged agenda to overhaul government regulations.

If Rao, who had once clerked for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, is nominated to the D. C. Appeals court and confirmed by the Senate, she would join another Indian-American judge, Srikanth Srinivasan, in the same court.

Srinivasan, an appointee of President Barack Obama, was confirmed by the Senate in a 97-0 vote in 2013 and was widely reported to be a leading candidate for the Supreme

Court if Hillary Clinton had won the presidency and a vacancy had occurred.

Rao’s current job also required Senate confirmation and she was confirmed by a vote of 54-41 in July 2017, with opposition coming from the Democrats. They had warned that Rao was being appointed to carry out Trump’s plans to eliminate more than 75 percent of the regulations instituted during the Obama administration under the guise of spurring economic growth.

Trump’s meeting with Rao was first reported by the online news site Axios. The DC Circuit Court is often referred to as the most powerful court in the nation, second only to the U.S. Supreme Court, because of its proximity to federal agencies.

Axios reported that – post interview – sources briefed on the meeting said Trump was not impressed by Rao. However, she may still be appointed to the court, as Trump has stated his intent to nominate a minority woman to fill the role, and a potential “feeder” to the Supreme Court. A source told Axios that Trump is reconsidering his initial impression of Rao. “Rao’s advantages: She’s well respected at the OMB, knows regulatory law back to front, has the advantage of already being Senate-confirmed and is well-liked by several key

Democratic senators,” opined the publication.

The Washington Times reported that former White House counsel Don McGahn recommended Rao to Trump for the open DC circuit court seat. The White House has declined to comment on the report, but an official said “it is only to be expected that the president will be speaking to qualified people to fill this position now that there’s a vacancy on the D.C. court bench after the Senate confirmation of Judge Kavanaugh — now Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh.” The official had no further comment when asked specifically if Rao had been among potential candidates.

Axios, quoting unnamed sources, reported that Trump was interested in Rao so he could appoint a minority woman to Kavanaugh’s old job. But it added that while once source said Rao did not leave Trump with a good first impression, another said the president had not ruled her out.

Much of the reviews of the executive branch regulations, including that of the OIRA, is also a task the D.C. Circuit often addresses. As a nominee, Rao could expect some questioning by Democrats in the Senate Judiciary Committee.

But if the Republicans hold the Senate in the mid-terms, her confirmation — like that of any other nominee — would be a formality.

As OIRA administrator, Rao is based in the White House.

The agency is a statutory part of the Office of Management and Budget, which falls within the executive office of the president. Its mandate includes reviewing regulations from federal agencies and has the authority to reject rules that do not fall in line with the president’s goals as well as doing away with regulations already in place.

At George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, Rao founded and directed the Center for the Study of the Administrative State, created with pursuing the critical study of the constitutional and legal foundations of the administrative state. She was also a professor at the Antonin Scalia Law School and focused her research and teaching on constitutional and administrative law.

Rao has served in all three branches of the government.

During the Bush administra-

1970-2018 1970 - 2014

tion, she was associate counsel to the president and then worked as counsel for nominations and constitutional law to Senate Judiciary Committee, followed by a clerkship with Thomas and Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit.

Rao is the founding director of the Center for the Study of the Administrative State at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School. In an op-ed for The Washington Post last year, as the Senate was considering Rao’s confirmation to OIRA, GMU law professor Jonathan Adler termed Rao “a well-respected administrative law expert” who was a “superlative pick” for the post.

Adler noted that Rao has clerked for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, has served in the Bush administration, and as a staffer on the Senate Judiciary Committee, effectively serving in all three branches of the federal government.

Rao is the daughter of Zerin Rao and Jehangir Narioshang Rao, both Parsi physicians from India; she was raised in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and graduated from Yale. Rao then attended the University of Chicago Law School. She is married to attorney Alan Lefkowitz and has two children.

“48Years Years “44 and Counting, Providing Services To Generations of Businesses and Professionals Around The World”

PAGE 6 • INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2018

NEWS

Air India launches nonstop flight between New York and Mumbai

Air India announced that it will introduce three-times-aweek nonstop service between New York’s JFK International Airport and Mumbai, effective December 7, 2018.

The flights will depart at 11:05 am from JFK on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday on 777-300ER planes. They will arrive in Mumbai at 12:10 pm the following day.

With the current JFK – Delhi daily service, the new flights bring nonstop JFK – India service to 10 flights a week, while increasing total nonstop service from the U.S. to India to

36 nationwide.

These include daily nonstop service from Newark (EWR) to Mumbai and Chicago (ORD) to Delhi, 3x weekly Washington (IAD) to Delhi, and 9x weekly San Francisco (SFO) to Delhi.

All flights offer convenient connections from the U.S. to major cities across India, including Bangalore, Amritsar, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune and more.

To celebrate the launch of the only nonstop flight between JFK and Mumbai, Air India is offering special fares on the new route, good for travel from

December 9, 2018 through May 11, 2019. This offer is available for a limited time.

All Air India’s nonstop flights from the U.S.A. feature First, Business, and Economy Class and a choice of Continental or Indian cuisine served in a style that is distinctly Indian.

“The additional New York to Mumbai nonstop service reflects the growing popularity of India as a business and leisure destination” said Bhuvana Rao, Air India’s Regional Head in the Americas, in a statement. “And for the thriving Indo -American commu-

nity, the nonstop service and seamless connections to major cities across India provide an important and convenient way to remain connected to families and friends.”

Air India, India’s national airline, has been in operation since 1932. Today, the airline serves 35 international destinations on four continents, and 66 cities across India. The airline’s fleet of 125 aircraft, including B787 Dreamliners and B777LR’s and ER’s, is one of the world’s youngest.

For more information, visit www.airindia.in

India to have 1 Billion Debit Card Holders The number of debit cards in India has increased to 1 billion from 84 million a decade ago, Times of India has reported. The number of debit cards as well as the value of transactions have more than doubled in the last five years.

Last August, debit cards were used for 1.16 billion transactions worth Rs 3.24 trillion as compared to 579 million transactions worth Rs 1.6 billion in August of 2013.

These findings mark a great success for Indian government’s ‘Digital India’ mission as well as push to cashless transactions. The government has launched several initiatives like Jan Dhan Yojana, Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), MDR waiver, BHIM Application etc for its laudable goal of financial inclusion.

Government’s push to RuPay cards which come with all Jan Dhan accounts have played a significant role in the increase. The number of RuPay cards have doubled in the last two years, currently numbering 560 million.

Debit Cards are also increasingly being used, not just for cash withdrawal from ATMs, but also for merchant transactions. Five years ago, ATM transactions constituted 90% of the total number and 95% of the total value. Currently, PoS transactions have expanded to cover 30% of the total number and 10% of the total value of debit card transactions.

While urban customers value convenience as well as various advantages like cashbacks, discounts and special offers on digital payments, rural consumers are not far behind.

“We’ve seen our rural customers do e-commerce transactions to take advantage of festival offers on Amazon or Flipkart,” says RA Sankara Narayanan, MD, Vijaya Bank, as quoted by TOI. The rural consumers are also increasingly becoming tech savvy, demanding information on benefits of various government schemes, said AK Sahu, GM-debit cards, Canara Bank.

The online consumption patterns are also changing with customers carrying out big ticket purchases. “The consumption story in the country has been aided by the fact that today customers are also able to make big ticket item purchases through offers even on debit cards. Availability of finance for say, durable purchase through EMI on debit cards is a big driver,” says Parag Rao, country headcard and merchant acquiring business, HDFC Bank.

INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2018 • PAGE 7

NEWS CII’s annual CEO Mission to visit the US Nov. 14 to 16 A high-profile CEOs delegation led by Mr. Rakesh Bharti Mittal, President, CII and Vice Chairman, Bharti Enterprises will be visiting the US from 14 - 16 November 2018, to reinforce Indian Industry’s commitment to US - India business ties. The Business leaders will meet with diverse stakeholders – including senior government representatives, industry bodies and think tanks – in a bid to fortify the bilateral India-US strategic and economic relationship at this critical time.

With the US midterm elections just concluded, the delegation will aim to strengthen US Government, Congressional and US corporate ties with Indian industry and highlight trade and investment concerns at a time when the two Governments are working on negotiations on various issues. India-US trade in goods and services stands at $126 billion with a $27 billion trade balance in favour of India.

While trade negotiations are ongoing, both countries’ sustained investments in the other indicate a valuable and resilient economic relationship. Indian investments and job creation in the US continue to rise and the US has also been a significant contributor to the Indian economy. The ambitious $500 billion trade target, while achievable, will need steadfast commitment and reform on both sides. The US is India’s largest export destination and second largest source for imports and the two countries can achieve $500 billion trade by widening the trade basket and resolving impediments.

In recent months, the US has raised tariffs on its global imports of steel and aluminium, imposed higher duties on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods and renegotiated the North American trade agreement. The US has a broad strategic agenda with India and has recently accorded it the Strategic Trade Authorization Tier 1 (STA1) status. However, India is impacted by the metal tariffs, and the US has recently withdrawn GSP benefits to 50 products totalling $70 million of imports.

The delegation will hold several engagements through which the CII CEOs will deliberate on some of the most pressing economic issues in the bilateral agenda in areas such as commerce, defence equipment, agriculture, energy and high-tech goods. Engaging key stakeholders driving these discussions in Washington, D.C., the delegation aims to deliver future engagement strategies for both countries as well as opportunities for increased business collaboration.

Beginning with a briefing with Shri Navtej Sarna, Ambassador of India to the US, the delegation will call on and interact with a series of US Government officials during the course of their visit including Mr Gilbert Kaplan, Undersecretary of Commerce, US Department of Commerce; Dr Joe Felter, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for South and Southeast Asia and Mr Eric Chewning, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Policy, US Department of Defense, Ms Ann-Marie Yastishock, Deputy Assistant Administrator, US Agency for International Development (USAID); Ms Elizabeth Urbanas, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Asia and the Americas, US Department of Energy; Mr Ken Isley, Administrator, Foreign Agriculture Service, US Department of Agriculture; Mr David Ranz, Acting Deputy Asistant Secretary, US Department of State and Ms Lisa Curtis, Deputy Assistant to the President and National Security Council Senior Director for South and Central Asia.

The delegation will also meet with the co-Chairs of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans, Congressman George Holding and Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard and highlight legislative issues in trade and strategic affairs.

Interactions at The Hudson Institute and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace will highlight strategic, defense and security imperatives, while a discussion led by Business Council on International Understanding (BCIU) will emphasize the US’s Indo-Pacific Strategy. A significant business roundtable with the US-India Business Council will deliberate the strategies that could support boosting bilateral trade to the ambition of $500 Billion.

The 2018 CII CEOs Mission includes Mr Rakesh Bharti Mittal, President, CII and Vice Chairman, Bharti Enterprises; Mr Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII; Mr Vikram Kirloskar, Vice President, CII and Vice Chairman, Toyota Kirloskar Motor Private Limited; Mr Tarun Sawhney, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Triveni Engineering & Industries Limited; Mr Rahul Munjal, Chairman and Managing Director, Hero Future Energies; Mr R Dinesh, Managing Director, TVS Logistics Services Limited; and Mr Kavinder Singh, CEO, Mahindra Holidays.

Sewa International Family Services Hot Line 832-900-9354

Houston mayor leads trade delegation to India Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner will lead a high-level trade and investment mission to India from November 12-18 to boost bilateral trade relations and joint investment initiatives in various sectors including energy, education, space and civil aviation.

The delegation is scheduled to meet with government and corporate representatives from the energy, life sciences, transportation, innovation, and space sectors to facilitate the exchange of information and promote partnerships between the US city of Houston and India.

The mission, whose first halt is New Delhi from November 12-14 and later to Mumbai on November 14-17 will focus on increasing trade and investment between the Houston region and Indian cities including Mumbai and Delhi.

Turner, who is visiting India for the first time since holding this position, is accompanied by Susan Davenport, Chief Economic Development Officer for the Greater Houston Partnership, William T Harris, CEO & president Johnson Space Center, Swapan Dhairyawan, president of the Indo American Chamber of commerce of Greater Houston (IACCGH), Jagdip Ahluwalia, founder & executive director IACCGH, Sanjay Ramabhadran, Principal Houston Metro, and representatives from the city of Houston, including city council members and economic development, communication and international trade directors.

This trip is due to a combination of factors that make India

sailed off from a Houston area port earlier this year.

“This flow is going to increase. We expect that Houston will become a hub for energy exports to India. Virtually all Houston-based oil majors are expanding their footprint in India. These include upstream, downstream, and midstream companies. Companies associated with the oil industry such as oilfield service and technology companies also have growing operations in India,” he said.

“A key area of interest of the delegation is US crude oil trade between Houston ports and India. By June 2018, Houston ports exported 15 million barrels of oil to India, which was a significant increase from the 8 million barrels exports during all of 2017. Given the current international trade climate, it is possible that US crude oil shipment from Houston ports to India may be an area of discussion for the future”, said Anupam Ray, Consul General of India.

In 2017, Houston-India trade was valued at approximately 4.9 billion USD. Nearly 82,000 people living in the Greater Houston Metropolitan area were born in India.

During the first half of 2018, India advanced as one of Houston’s top 10 export destinations.

Exports from Houston to India are up 61.5 per cent this year by dollar value.

The mayor’s visit comes months after Texas Governor Greg Abbot toured India in January.

— PTI from Houson

an attractive partner for Houston in terms of culture, trade and investment exchange.

Besides the large Indian student presence at various educational institutions in Houston and the booming diaspora itself, Houston has a strong Indian economic presence as well.

Mahindra USA, Larsen and Toubro, Reliance and Welspun have their US operations headquartered in Houston.

Additionally, the city houses the US headquarters of India’s three public sector companies - ONGC Videsh Ltd, Oil India Ltd and Gail Global USA. IT majors Infosys, Wipro, TechMahindra, Tata Consulting Services and Cognizant also have tens of thousands of employees in the Greater Houston region.

“We share strong business, trade and cultural ties.

I see much potential for increased economic activity between Houston and India and look forward to helping make those connections,” Turner told PTI. “India is now a major LNG consumer & the fastest growing energy market of the world.

Between 10 to 15 per cent of the world’s oil consumption is in India. It is natural for the energy capital of the world to have connections with this market.

Indians are major buyers of oil, LNG and petrochemicals.

“Indian companies are committed to lifting at least a billion dollars’ worth of LNG per annum from the Sabine Pass terminal near Houston for the next decade.

The first shipment of petroleum from the US to India also

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NEWS

Sai Nikhil Reddy Mettupally creates space-detecting algorithm to tackle parking problem An Indian student in the US, Sai Nikhil Reddy Mettupally, who is studying at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), has created a space-detecting algorithm that can help tackle the problem of ďŹ nding a parking spot by using big data analytics and save a personâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s time and money.

Sai Nikhil Reddy Mettupally, who is studying at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), has also won second prize at the 2018 Science and Technology Open House competition for his creation.

According to a university press release, Saiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s creation relies on big data analytics and deep-learning techniques to lead drivers directly to an empty parking spot.

Big data analytics is a complex process of examining large and varied data sets to uncover information including hidden patterns, unknown correlations, market trends and

customer preferences.

Sai conceived the idea shortly after the university transitioned to zone parking last fall. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The data show that, on a typical day, there is a high chance that students or faculty members will have diďŹ&#x192;culty getting a parking spot between 11 am and 1 pm, leading to the wastage of time and fuel, and adding to the pollutionâ&#x20AC;? He says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Hence, ďŹ nding a parking spot as soon as a person enters the parking lot is essential.â&#x20AC;?

What he needed was to ďŹ nd a way to identify empty spaces and then direct the driver to the location.

But unlike other parking apps in the market, he wanted to develop one that didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t rely on the purchase, installation, and maintenance of expensive in-ground sensors.

To help put his plan in action, Sai turned to Vineetha Menon, an assistant professor of Com-

puter Science. As the director of UAHâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Big Data Analytics Lab, Menon also had access to the high-performance computing power that Sai needed to create and train his machinelearning model, which relies on a robust parking-lot data set provided by the Federal University of Parana in Brazil. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The goal of the Big Data Analytics Lab is to establish Big Data Analytics and Data Science as mainstream research areas of the university, so it can accommodate the high computational and memory demands of Big Data generation and processing,â&#x20AC;? Menon says.

Sai, who graduated in electronics and communications engineering from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science in Pilani, hopes to develop a parking-support mobile app dubbed InstaParkthat can display the real-time grid layout of empty and occupied parking spots using the phoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s GPS.

India, second largest source of students for American universities Despite restrictions on visitors to the US by the Trump administration, foreign students seeking higher education continue to rise. India is the second largest source country of foreign students in the United States after China, according to a new oďŹ&#x192;cial report.

The biannual report on international student trends, released Oct. 28 by the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said that India was the second largest source country of foreign students in 2017, with 249,763 students from the country studying in American universities. China sent 481,106 students.

The total number of students from India and China studying in the U.S. was out of a total of over 1.5 million international students studying in various educational institutions in the U.S. in 2017. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Forty-nine percent of the F and M student population in the United States hailed from either China (377,070 students) or India (211,703 students), and interest continues to grow,â&#x20AC;? the report said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Over the reporting period, both China and India saw proportional growth between 1 and 2 percent, with China sending 6,305 more students and India sending 2,356 more students. It is this level of participation from China and India that makes Asia far and away the most popular continent of origin. In fact, 77 percent of all international students in the United States call Asia home,â&#x20AC;? the report noted.

China and India together accounted for nearly half of the foreign students in America, followed by three other Asian countries â&#x20AC;&#x201D; South Korea (95,701), Saudi Arabia (72,358) and Japan (41,862) â&#x20AC;&#x201D; in the top ďŹ ve. Other countries in the top 10 are Canada, Vietnam, Brazil, Taiwan and Mexico.

Despite being second in the overall standing, India topped the list of students with STEM OPT authorization.

While India topped the list of STEM OPT authorization with 50,507 students, China came in second with 21,705 students.

They were followed by South Korea (1,670), Taiwan (1,360), and Iran (1,161).

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INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2018 • PAGE 9

DIWALI AT BAPS TEMPLE IN STAFFORD

Diwali brings Generations Together at BAPS Over years some traditions dwindle away as generations pass.

Diwali is one time where the twinkle of the flickering candles bring families and friends together to celebrate good over evil. While the ancient tradition of lighting divos on Diwali erase physical darkness, the festival’s rich traditions and rituals go deeper – inviting individuals to make efforts in removing darkness in the forms of anger, envy, greed, arrogance, and resentment.

This year, the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Houston, TX celebrated Diwali under the theme “Hamara Parivar” – Kindling Generational Harmony. This theme showed the importance of families taking care of one another; kids taking care of parents and vice versa.

The five days of Diwali (including the Hindu new year) are rich in cultural traditions and rituals that symbolize new beginnings and a renewed commitment to family. The bright colors of Rangoli (intricate designs made of colored powder), the lighting of divos, and the elaborate variety of vegetarian foods offered to God (called an Annakut), all mark a renewal of the good within and the goodwill towards everything around us. Diwali presents Hindus with an opportunity to connect with and celebrate the traditions of their roots with great fanfare. Many community members including public office officials attended the celebrations at the mandir.

Meghal Bhatt recalled, “when I was growing up, my dad would talk about Diwali in India and being here at the mandir gives me an opportunity to have my kids participate in the festivities without traveling all the way to India.” He added, “my son’s favorite part was seeing fireworks over the beautiful mandir.”

Offering his prayers to Bhagwan Swaminarayan, His Holiness Mahant Swami Maharaj, guru and President of BAPS, prayed for devotees around the world for continued personal, and professional growth in this new year. Mahant Swami Maharaj took the occasion of Diwali to remind individuals and families about the importance of leading spiritually-centric lives, grounded in strong values and increased attachment to God. This year, BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandirs across North America marked the auspicious festival of Diwali and its associated five days of celebrations with an elaborate Annakut, lighted divos, fireworks, and even a special children’s Diwali celebration.

The celebrations were open to all. Visitors participated in celebration activities, offered prayers for new beginnings and had the opportunity to taste in the delicious offerings of the Annakut.

The BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) is a worldwide spiritual and humanitarian organization that is dedicated to community service, peace, and harmony. Motivated by Hindu principles, BAPS strives to care for the world by caring for societies, families, and individuals.

PAGE 10 • INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2018

COMMUNITY

Hariharan conquers Houston audience with rocking performance

Hariharan, in solo, renders a ghazal.

By SESHADRI KUMAR few.

The Cullen Performance Hall Some notable Tamil numbers at the University of Houston included “Poi Solla koodathu literally rocked on Nov. 4 with Kaadhali, Poi sonnalum neeyae 40 years of a musical journey en kaadhali.” (Don’t utter a lie compressed in four hours. my love; even if you lie, you The reverberating voice of are my love.) “Nenjukkul Paidthe singer conquered the au- hium Mazhai”, (Rainfall in the dience, as “King” Hariharan Heart) Nila Kaaikirathu…, (the danced and jumped through moon is shining), all romantic film songs, classical Hindustani numbers. and Carnatic music, ghazals and Hariharan was no less mesfusion music. merizing in his soothing, rich The show “Hariharan Live” ghazals as he mingled his voice was brought to Houston by with that of the audience and Rajan Radhakrishnan (Daawat lifted them gently to cloud nine Caterers, a division of Madras after which his sudden hip-hop Pavilion). numbers brought the audience The versatile singer catered back to earth with a thud. His to the varying tastes of the energy on stage at age 63 was disparate audience in multiple electrifying. languages and genres.

Hariharan’s challenge was to He was accompanied by satisfy the audience by singing singers Chinmayee, Chandray- in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, and ee and Karthik Raman. more. With hundreds of film He opened the concert with songs and as many ghazals to a song from the film Roja in his credit, it was a task to make Hindi and continued the musi- everyone happy. He rightly ascal soiree with his famous Hindi suaged the audience by remindand Tamil film songs from Roja, ing them that music is beyond Bombay and Taal, to name a language and to enjoy it to the

Chinmayee joins Hariharan in a duet. maximum.

Hariharan concluded the concert with a number from his album, “Colonial Cousin,” a fusion beginning with “Krishna nee begane baaro…” and singing in praise of Jesus and Allah as well.

Hariharan entered the world of Tamil films in 1992 with the patriotic song “Thamizha Thamizha” in Maniratnam’s film Roja. He was judged best male playback singer in the 1995 Tamil Nadu State Government Film Awards for his soulful rendition of the song “Konja naal.” from the film Aasai. “Uyire Uyire” better known as “Tu Hi Re” in its Hindi version made Hariharan a household name and

is still a hot favorite.

In 1998, Hariharan won the national award for best playback singer. In 1996, Hariharan and Leslie Lewis formed a band called Colonial Cousins.

Hariharan also coined the terminology “Urdu Blues” with his immensely successful album “Kaash” which featured musicians like Anandan Sivamani the percussion maestro, Ustaad Rashid Mustafa on the tabla and Ustad Liyaqat Ali Khan on Sarangi. He also worked with tabla maestro Zakir Hussain on his ghazal album “Haazir.”

Hariharan has sung for Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Bhojpuri, Punjabi, Gujarati and Rajasthani

Rajan Radhakrishnan, left, thanks the local sponsors of the show and the visiting artists.

films, is an established ghazal singer and composer, and one of the pioneers of Indian fusion music .

A successful music career in the fields of ghazal, classical, devotional, playback, fusion, pop and music composition has resulted in his being known as the king of “melody, improvisation, Alap, Ragas, and mellifluous voice.”

He is quoted as saying “singing is a state of life that (he) has willingly taken up and does not consider it to be a job or career.”

Hariharan’s career spans around 700 songs in Tamil, 30 non-film albums and 2500 songs in other languages.

INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2018 • PAGE 11

COMMUNITY They sang such songs... sheer shower of music

By SESHADRI KUMAR If music is the food of love play on, wrote William Shakespeare. But, Javed Akhtar provided life to Bollywood music and that plays on forever.

The reputed poet-writer with his teaser “Mein koi aisa geet gaaoon” (I will sing such a song) entertained Houston audience at the Stafford Civic Center on Nov. 2 and showed how he converted every syllable or sound into immortal music.

Thanks to Rajendra Singh of Star Promotions, this program turned out to be yet another blockbuster show from the perspective of audience satisfaction.

Just as the singers Parthiv Goel and Jhanavi Srimankar with an able orchestra brought to life Javed Akhtar’s lyrics, the story behind each song narrated by the lyricist added pleasure and enhanced audience appreciation.

The program began with a simple theme of “flower” from the film Silsila, with the hero and heroine singing a song in the Tulip gardens in Amsterdam.

It is no surprise if some choice literary expressions lead to a classic song, but how could one literally use gibberish, and yet turn out a decent song?

Javed Akhtar did it. The song “Hawa Hawaai…” from the movie Mr. India, rendered by Kavita Krishnamurthy for actress Sridevi, began with meaningless words and sounded mumbo jumbo. That song gave a nickname of Ms. Hawaii to Sridevi.

Then, take the song “Ek, dho, teen…” from Tezaab.

When the director indicated a tune and used the numbers ek,dho, teen,… as humming words, Javed Akhtar decided to use the same numbers as the lyrics. It shocked the filmmaker, but Javed Akhtar played on the sheer numbers, up to 30, as the number of days in a month and wrote a song. Few people would remember the inner meaning conveyed in the sing as one may not remember beyond the lines “ Aat, nou, thus, gyarra, bharaa.”

In 1942 Love story, Javed Akhtar compelled the director to introduce a song when hero Anil Kapoor and heroine Manisha Koirala meet for the first time. When time came to produce the lyrics, Jhaved Akhtar was not ready until he reached the recording studio. On the spot, he wrote the lyrics of the song “Ek ladki ko dheka” (saw a girl). The entire song was filled with similes describing how the hero felt at the first

Javed Akhtar, seated, with singers Jhanavi Srimankar and Parthiv Goel. sight of the beautiful girl.

Javed Akhtar faced a challenge in writing songs for the film Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, which explored the theme of adultery. Normal love songs are staple items in India cinema, but to extol love among an already married couple was a cultural challenge. But, Jhaved Akhtar ably conquered that theme with the title song “never say goodbye.”

In the film Lagaan, Javed Akhtar composed a song in praise of Radha and Krishna and filmmakers thought he would not be able to do that because he was a Muslim Jhaved Akhtar did not in- for Karan Johar’s film “Kutch birth. But Javed Akhtar defied troduce double entendre or Kutch Hota Hai” because he their misconception. He drew foul words in his writings. He did not like film title. Later, he his inspiration from Urdu litwas such a purist in the sense regretted that he refused the erature which offer plenty of that he declined to write songs offer. words in praise of Krishna.

Hari Venkatachalam Hindu Students Association, Board of Directors

Succeed In Your Business

PRESS RELEASE

rid of staffi ngAssociaproblems and spend more April 6, 2017Get – AUSTIN, TX –your The Hindu Students tion (HSA) would like to regretfully announce that Numbers it will be Good = Good Decisions cancelling its annual Gateway Retreat for the 2017 year. HSA prides itself in building a strong network of young Hindu Americans, and it looks forward to organizing other events in the future that will link students from its various branches.

HSA has been reorienting itself in recent months to doing more grassroots work. “We have been focusing more on accomplishing work on the local and branch level,” said Mrinalini Vijalapuram, National President of the Hindu Students Association. “We have been doing this through many different activities including interfaith events with other religious organizations, building community partnerships, and expanding into other campuses that don’t already have HSA branches.”

While the cancellation of Gateway may come as a disappointment for many prospective attendees, HSA hopes to get feedback from students on other projects and events that interest its branch members. Currently, several projects, including developing HSA’s podcast series and releasing monthly articles that highlight the accomplishments of members from the various campuses have been the focus of the organization’s efforts. HSA welcomes student and community members to get involved in these activities to help further the goals of the organization. “It is important that we meet the needs of the campuses and communities we serve,” reiterated Ms. Vijalapuram. “We want to make sure that we are putting our attention on projects that will truly benefit them.”

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PAGE 12 • INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2018

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Houston’s Bengali community, Puja Samithi of Greater Houston, celebrated Kali Puja at Houston’s ISKCON temple in Gouranga Hall, (across the main ISKCON Hare Krishna Temple) on November 3 with great devotion and joy.

Kali Puja, also known as Shyama Puja, is a festival dedicated to the Hindu goddess Kali, celebrated on the new moon day of the Hindu month Kartik especially in West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Assam and Tripura. It coincides with the Lakshmi Puja day of Diwali where the Bengalis, Odias and Assamese adore goddess Kali on this day while the rest of India worships goddess Lakshmi.

According to Hindu mythology Goddess Kali is the first of the ten incarnations of Goddess Durga. The image of Kali usually shows her foot on Lord Shiva’s chest, a severed head in one hand, her sword in the other and wearing a garland of skulls. Kali is worshiped as the Mother Goddess who is known to destroy all evil. In each legend, myth and story of Deepawali lies the significance of the victory of good over evil. The light that empowers us to commit ourselves to good deeds and brings us closer to divinity.

This year’s celebration of Kali puja at the ISKCON temple consisted of an evening of fun, food, religious activities and great concerts by Payal Mitra and Parnava Banerjee.

The festivities started on

Saturday evening followed by Puspanjali, Bhog, Arati and dinner. The audience was entertained by two captivating programs performed by playback singer Payal Mitra who warmed up the program for ½ hour with some catchy Bollywood numbers followed by the main attraction - Parnava Banerjee, Champion of Zee TV Bangla Golden Voice’2006.

Parnava was accompanied on stage by Manas Chakraborty, the tabla and hand sonic player and by Akash Ghosh on the keyboard. Parnava presented some popular Bengali and Hindi numbers with exceptional ease and confidence for approximately 2 hrs. He easily interacted with the audience of 400+, taking them down a memory lane of famous singers like Manna Dey, Kishore Kumar and Hemanta Mukherjee. The audience was spellbound with their performances.

Dr. Bishnupada Goswami, Head Priest of the Organization, Puja Samithi of Greater Houston, performed Kali puja while maintaining all the rituals from Hawan, puspanjali, ceremonial bolidan to bhog and Arati on Saturday evening. Devoted ladies in the temple prepared bhog for Ma Kali. After the Puja, the gathering enjoyed a delicious dinner from Govinda’s restaurant from ISKCON of Houston. It was indeed a memorable evening and night for all devotees and attendees.

—SANCHALI BASU

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INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2018 • PAGE 13

NEWS

GOPIO International hosts second Health Summit

Presentation of a plaque to GOPIO’s former president Ashook Ramsaran. From l. to r.: Dr. Asha Samant, Dr. Rajeev Mehta, Consul General Chakravorty, Ashook Ramsaran, Lal Motwani, Dr. Thomas Abraham and Ram Gadhavi..

GOPIO Health Summit Inauguration by Consul General Sandeep Chakravorty along with other Consulate officials, sponsors and GOPIO officials. From l. to r: Amit Kucheria, Kunal Gupta, Dr. Asha Samant, Lal Motwani and Rahul Shukla (not visible), Harbachan Singh, Consul General Chakravorty, Deputy Consul General Shatrugna Sinha, Dr. Tushar Patel, Nami Kaur, Ram Gadhavi, Hitesh Bhatt, Rockland County Council Woman Aney Paul and Dr. Thomas Abraham New York City, N.Y. – The Health Council of Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) International (www.gopio.net), in partnership with the New York Consulate General of India hosted a full house of attendees for “A Health Summit for the Indian Diaspora” on Saturday, October 27, 2018 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Consulate General of India, 3 East 64th Street, New York, NY. The Summit was inaugurated

by New York Consul General of India Sandeep Chakravorty and Dr. Thomas Abraham, Chairman, GOPIO International. The event concluded

with an award presentation to Mr. Ashook Ramsaran, former president of GOPIO for his service to GOPIO, followed by a Networking Reception.

GOPIO Chairman Dr. Thomas Abraham who closely worked with GOPIO Health Council team to put together the Health Summit said in his welcome address, “The goal of GOPIO Health Council is to improve the health of people of Indian origin by raising awareness of current and emerging health issues affecting them, and by promoting preventive practices and sharing information to better manage chronic diseases.” Well documented

medical data suggests that people from the Indian subcontinent are at a higher risk to develop Diabetes and Heart Disease than the rest of the American population. Hence the goal of this workshop was to educate the PIOs (People of Indian Origin) on their individual risk of developing Diabetes and Heart Disease, and more importantly, how to manage these risk factors to improve their overall health. “Towards that goal, we want to educate our community about treatment and prevention of diseases using modern medicine and alternative medicine, as well as to improve health and

wellness by nutritious supplements, yoga and meditation,” Dr. Abraham added.

Ambassador Sandeep Chakrovorty set the stage for the Summit with his remarks, “There is so much confusion regarding health practices what advice to take, what to do or avoid, what diet to adopt, or fitness to practice etc. with so much changing literature on health topics.” His comments resonated with the audience, who shared this same dilemma.

He hoped that “some of the confusion we face would be resolved through the summit’s panel discussions, and the day long proceedings would result in specific recommendations and clarity on health practices.” He commended GOPIO’s initiative for the welfare of the Indian Diaspora and encouraged continuing discussions on such beneficial matters.

Moderated by GOPIO Health Council Chair Dr. Tushar Patel, the panel of health experts included key note speaker Rahul Shukla, President/CEO of S.S. Technologies and Shukla Medical; and guest speaker Hitesh Bhatt, Founder/ CTO Bhatt Foundation and CCS Technology Solutions.

Renowned speakers and specialists from the Tri State area shared their expertise and provided practical tips on managing one’s health and wellness, especially in the prevention of heart disease and diabetes.

The health and wellness panelists included Dr. Meena Murthy – Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism Specialist; Dr. Shankar Iyer – Oral Health; Dr. Anurag Pande – VP Sabinsa Corp.; Dr. Ravindra Amin – Geriatric Psychiatrist; Varsha Singh – Nurse Practitioner; Binny Talati – Physical Therapist; Dr. Vasudev Makhija past President NJ Psychiatric Association; Dr. Ketan Vaidya – Internist; Uma Swaminathan – Healing with Herbs; Jaya Jaya Myra – Natural Lifestyle Expert; Dr. Bajrang Agarwal – Co-Founder, Dockedin Telehealth; and Ruchika Lal – NY Art of Living. Panels were moderated by GOPIO International officers, namely Dr. Asha Samant; Dr. Tushar Patel; Ram Gadhavi; and Dr. Rajeev Mehta.

In his remarks, Dr. Tushar Patel said, “It is important to get early screening and timely intervention for chronic diseases, so long term complications can be reduced and healthy lifestyles can be lived.”

Panelists Dr. Vasudev Makhija and Dr. Ravindra Amin, emphasized that getting timely help for mental health issues is very vital for successful outcome. There is no physical health without mental health and the stigma about mental

health need to be eliminated in Indian diaspora, so people can live a healthy physical and emotional life.

Dr. Shankar Iyer said, “Oral health is very important and all should get a routine dental checkups and preventive dental care since he overall, physical health is dependent on good oral hygiene and maintenance especially for people with chronic diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disorders.”

Dr. Meena Murthy said that self-management of diabetes is very important to live healthier life style. Regular exercise, diet and life style modifications and regular checkup of blood glucose and hemoglobin A1c are the key factors to live a productive life for people with diabetes.

Insightful health and wellness topics included diabetes, cardiovascular disorders, oral health, osteoporosis, emotional health, successful aging, life style modifications, joint disorders, medication management, alternative medicine, herbal remedies, access to care via tele-health, meditation, yoga breathing to reduce stress, and wisdom to handle mind and emotions. The audience was impressed by the quality of the presentations and engaged in the interactive sessions during lunch, coffee breaks and networking reception.

Grand sponsors for this summit were Sabinsa Corporation, Bhatt Foundation and S.S. White Technologies. Supporting organizations included JnJ Printing, Indian Health Camp of New Jersey and GOPIO Chapters of Central Jersey, Connecticut and New York.

The first such Health Summit was organized by GOPIO Health Council in 2010 in New York City. In response to the positive interactions and feedback GOPIO plans to organize similar seminars and workshops through its chapters all over the world.

Please direct any media inquiries to: J. Nami Kaur at 914476-2082, or namique@gmail. com.

GOPIO is a non-partisan, not-for-profit, secular organization. GOPIO’s volunteers are committed to enhancing cooperation and communication between NRIs/PIOs, building bonds, friendships, alliances, and the camaraderie of citizens and colleagues alike. GOPIO volunteers believe that when they help network the global Indian community, they facilitate making tomorrow a better world for the Indian Diaspora.

GOPIO publishes a very informative monthly newsletter.

Interested persons can receive free of charge at www.gopio. net

PAGE 14 • INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2018

NEWS

Sabarimala case: SC to hear review petitions on Jan 22

Hindus across the world condemn the premeditated desecration of Sabarimala and the widespread police atrocities against devotees. Protests were held in New York, Chicago on Oct. 27 The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to stay its verdict allowing entry of women of all age groups into the Sabarimala temple but agreed to hear in open court on January 22 a batch of review petitions in the matter.

The review petitions against the September 28 verdict were taken up ‘in-chamber’ by a Bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices R.F. Nariman, A.M. Khanwilkar, D.Y. Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra.

“All the Review Petitions along with all pending applications will be heard in Open Court on 22nd January, 2019 before the appropriate Bench.

We make it clear that there is no stay of the judgment and order of this Court dated 28th September, 2018 passed in Writ Petition (Civil) No.373 of 2006 (Indian Young Lawyers Association & Ors. vs. The State of Kerala & Ors),” the order said.

In the in-chamber proceedings, the judges examine the review petitions by circulation and lawyers are not present.

There are around 48 peti-

tions seeking review of the judgement.

Earlier in the day, the top court had made it clear that fresh pleas related to the Sabarimala Temple will be heard only after it decides the earlier petitions seeking review of the judgment allowing entry of women of all age groups into the shrine in Kerala.

The bench stated this while hearing the three fresh petitions filed by G. Vijaya Kumar, S. Jaya Rajkumar and Shailaja Vijayan challenging its September 28 verdict.

On September 28, a fivejudge constitution bench headed by then Chief Justice Dipak Misra, in its 4:1 verdict, had paved the way for entry of women of all ages into the Sabarimala Temple saying the ban amounted to gender discrimination.

The top court had on October 9 declined an urgent hearing on the review plea filed by an association which had contended that the five-judge Constitution bench’s verdict lifting the ban was “absolutely untenable and irrational”.

A plea filed by the National

Ayyappa Devotees Association (NADA), which has sought review of the verdict, had said: “The notion that the judgment under review is revolutionary, one which removes the stigma or the concept of dirt or pollution associated with menstruation, is unfounded.

“It is a judgment welcomed by hypocrites who were aspiring for media headlines. On the merits of the case, as well, the said judgment is absolutely untenable and irrational, if not perverse.”

Besides the association, several other petitions, including one by the Nair Service Society (NSS), have been filed against the apex court verdict.

The NSS had said in the plea that as the deity is a ‘Naistika Brahmachari’, females below the age of 10 and after the age of 50 years are eligible to worship him and there is no practice of excluding worship by females.

“Hence, the delay or wait for 40 years to worship cannot be considered as exclusionary and it is an error of law on the face of the judgement,” the plea had said.

Plea to lift ban on govt. staff joining RSS activities The Government Employees National Confederation, a body affiliated to the right-wing Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi follow the example of the Keshubhai Patel-led BJP government in Gujarat who in 2000 lifted the ban on participation of State government employees in the activities of the RSS. The Confederation wrote a letter to Prime Minister Modi on October 20 that Central Civil Services (Conduct) rules should be amended.

“The RSS is a social service organisation and many Government employees may be interested in joining social activities.

Due to this ban and the fear of disciplinary action, they are not able to lend their hand in a genuine cause of nation-building,” Sadhu Singh, Secretary General of the Confederation said.

He appealed to the Prime Minister to direct the Ministry concerned to issue necessary amendments permitting the government employees to participate in “nation-building activities.”

He pointed out that the Keshubhai Patel-led BJP government in Gujarat had lifted the ban that was in force through the Union Government guidelines.

The ban on Central government employees from associating with the RSS was first imposed by an order on November 30, 1966.

In a further detailed order by the Indira Gandhi government, employees were banned from promoting or assisting a meeting of the RSS or even attending such meetings. They were barred from supporting the organisation in any way.

The 1975 notification also said that any person who contravenes any of the provisions of the above order was punishable with imprisonment up to seven years, or with fine or both.

The ban was briefly lifted, as per the confederation’s letter during the Janata Party government. But the Congress government re-imposed it in 1980.

Rajinikanth hints Modi is more powerful than Opposition A day after seemingly endorsing that BJP is a “dangerous party”, actor Rajinikanth on Tuesday hints that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is powerful than the opposition.

On Monday, a journalist had cited the opposition’s alliance against the BJP and asked if the party was such a dangerous political entity. To this, Mr Rajinikanth, who is nurturing political ambitions, said, “If they think so then definitely it must be true”.

However, addressing journalists outside his Poes Garden bungalow in Chennai on Tuesday, the actor clarified his stand thus: “The question (put to me) was about opposition parties considering the BJP as a dangerous party. When opposition parties think that BJP is a dangerous party, then BJP is a dangerous party for them only no? Whether BJP is a dangerous party or not will be decided by the people.”

Going beyond, he posed: “If 10 people join to fight one person (Modi), then who is more powerful...is it those 10 persons or that one person? You decide for yourself.”

Asked whether he considered Prime Minister Narendra Modi to be powerful, he said “I cannot say this more clearly,” and reiterated his point on the analogy of the 10 versus one.

Asked about his stand on the BJP, he said he cannot reveal it now, as he has not come into “full time politics” as of now.

‘Release on humanitarian grounds’ The actor also clarified that his response to a question on the proposal for premature release of the seven convicts in the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi assassination case was being misconstrued. Some people were trying to create an impression that he did not know anything on the issue.

Mr Rajinikanth said the question posed to him on Monday was “about the seven people” without identifying them. “So I asked which seven people? The question was not clear,” he said adding that he was not such a fool to be ignorant of the seven life convicts.

“They (the seven convicts) have undergone punishment for the past 28 years. Enough. It is my opinion that they should be released on humanitarian grounds,” he said.

Mr. Rajinikanth said that he had spoken to one of the convicts Perarivalan over the phone for 10 minutes when he was out on parole. “See...If I know something, I will say ‘I know’. When I don’t know, I will say ‘I don’t know’. There’s nothing to be ashamed

INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2018 • PAGE 15

NEWS

UP cabinet approves renaming of Faizabad as Ayodhya, Allahabad as Prayagraj

The Uttar Pradesh government Tuesday approved renaming of Faizabad and Allahabad divisions as Ayodhya and Prayagraj respectively.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the state cabinet presided over by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath here, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Suresh Khanna told reporters.

Prayagraj division will comprise Prayagraj, Kaushambi, Fatehpur and Pratapgarh districts, while Ayodhya division will include Ayodhya, Ambedkarnagar, Sultanpur, Amethi and Barabanki districts, Khanna said.

The decision came a day after the Allahabad High Court asked the Centre and the state

government to file counter affidavits within a week on a petition challenging the decision to rename Allahabad as Prayagraj.

Justices Vikram Nath and Rajesh Singh Chauhan of the Lucknow bench fixed the next hearing on Monday.

The sudden spate in changing the names of key UP districts, towns and railway stations drew criticism from not only the opposition but the ruling NDA constituent Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP) too.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav blamed the chief minister for taking credit by just renaming cities.

“Raja Harshvardhan made

Ayodhya issue: Efforts on for out-of-court

The Art of Living founder is voluntarily mediating to help the warring parties settle the dispute amicably. Last year, in the mid of November, he went to Ayodhya and held a meeting with the sadhus. He also met Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath before visiting Ayodhya. After the meeting, Sri Sri was of the view that majority of Muslims were not opposed to the idea of building a Ram temple at the disputed site. “I know some may not agree with this, but Muslims by and large are not opposing the Ram temple,” Sri Sri Ravi Shankar had told reporters in Ayodhya on November 16 last year.The Vishwa Hindu Parishad is, however, opposed to any move of the Art of Living founder to solve the issue through mutual consent.

change names of its Muslim leaders before changing the names of different towns and places.

“The BJP changed the names of Mughalsarai and Faizabad.

They say they were named after the Mughals. They have a national spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain, Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Uttar Pradesh Minister Mohsin Raza - three Muslim faces of the BJP. They should change their names first.”

He said that the names of places were changed just to divert attention of the backward and oppressed people from the issues, which concern them.

“This is all a drama to distract the backward and op-

pressed people whenever they raise their voices for their rights. No one else has given the things that Muslims have given. Should we throw away the GT Road? Who built the Red Fort? Who built the Taj Mahal,” he asked.

Earlier, the government renamed the Mughalsarai Railway station, another historic spot, as Deen Dayal Upadhyaya junction.

In August this year, the UP government had sent a request to the Centre to rename the airports in Agra, Bareilly and Kanpur. According to reports, the proposal is to rename the Agra airport after Jan Sangh founder Deen Dayal Upadhyay.

A:LO:K;

settlement Amid the cocophony over Ram temple construction, efforts are being made to settle the issue out of court with the Muslim plaintiff, in this case, Haji Mehboob, writing a letter to spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar in this regard.An emissary of Sri Sri, Gautam Vig, met Haji Mehboob in Ayodhya on Monday and conveyed to him the feelings of the Art of Living leader about solving the Ram temple issue out of court. In the evening, Haji Mehboob wrote a letter to Sri Sri, showing his willingness to resolve the issue, but with some riders.What exactly Haji Mehboob has written in the letter is not known but it is believed that he has shown his willingness to solve this vexed issue out of court.Another plaintiff in the case, Iqbal Hashim, too, has shown his willingness to solve the issue out of court.

He is on record saying that if outsiders leave Ayodhya, the residents of this city will solve the issue themselves.

‘Prayag Kumbh’ great by offering donations, but today’s rulers are trying to take credit for the work just by renaming the city to ‘Prayagraj’,” the former chief minister tweeted earlier.

“They (BJP) have even re-named ‘Ardh Kumbh’ as ‘Kumbh’. This mocks our tradition and belief,” he said.

The Congress, too, had hit out at the ruling dispensation, with a party leader saying that changing the name of the historic city to ‘Prayagraj’ is an attempt to toy with the history of the nation.

Uttar Pradesh minister and SBSP chief Om Prakash Rajbhar mocked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the move and said the party should

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PAGE 16 • INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2018

NEWS India’s Statue of Unity signifies ‘Lohpati’ Sardar Patel’s herculean effort to build a democratic nation The unveiling of the Statue of Unity, representing one of India’s most revered leaders, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, in Kevadia, Gujarat, Oct. 31, has drawn worldwide attention to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s quintessential mix of national pride and grassroots politics, including from IndianAmericans.

Nevertheless, as expected or even predictable in a democracy, it has become subject to acrimonious party politics inside a country looking to hold general elections in mid-2019, The unveiling of the 182 meter statue on Sadhu Bet Island in the Narmada river, nearly double the size of the Statue of Liberty (93 meters), and for now considered the highest such monument in the world, surpassing China’s Spring Temple Buddha (153 meters),

is not only a fete of engineering but also one that the government of India expects will enhance the tourism potential of the country.

More than 70,000 tons of cement, 18,500 tons of reinforced steel, 6,000 tons of structural steel and 1,700 tons of bronze, were used to build the structure, according to the Indian government.

The video of the impressive yet solemn and simple inauguration ceremony circulating on the Web, shows Modi alighting to the first level (where Sardar Patel’s feet rest) via an impressive escalator, in the middle of a vast open landscape, and conducting a Hindu prayer ceremony, casting flowers in all directions. Helicopters flew over the statue showering petals like confetti from the sky.

The statue is reached by a

17-km-long Valley of Flowers, and also includes a Tent City for tourists, and a museum recounting Sardar Patel’s life and contributions. A viewing gallery at 153 meters allows a panoramic view of the surrounding area including the Sardar Sarovar Dam, and the Satpura and Vindhya mountain ranges.

Dedicating the Statue of Unity to the nation, Modi called on citizens to remain united despite forces of disunity, and hit out at the politicization of a leader who was instrumental in bringing hundreds of princely states together to make the new India a reality back in 1948 as the former Deputy Prime Minister and Union Home Minister.

“Statue of Unity is to remind all those who question India’s existence and its integrity. This country was, is and will always

Rafale deal: Crucial hearing in SC on Wednesday The sensitive pricing details of the 36 Rafale fighter jets, submitted by the Centre in a sealed cover, is scheduled to be examined by the Supreme Court Wednesday.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices S K Kaul and K M Joseph will hold a crucial hearing in the case during which the petitioners, who have sought a court-monitored investigation into the deal, will also make submissions.

The Centre had on Monday handed over a 14-page document titled “Details of the steps in the decision making process leading to the award of 36 Rafale fighter aircraft order” to the petitioners in the case.

The government had also filed in the court in a sealed

cover the pricing details of the Rafale jets.

The petitioners are likely to respond to the contents of the documents in which it has been stated by the government that the deal for 36 Rafale jets were negotiated on “better terms” and the Defence Procurement Procedure laid out in 2013 were “completely followed”.

The Centre has also said the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) approval was secured before the deal was inked with France.

The details of the decisionmaking process and pricing were placed in the court in compliance with its October 31 order.

India signed an agreement with France for the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter aircraft in

a fly-away condition as part of the upgrading process of the Indian Air Force equipment.

The estimated cost of the deal is Rs 58,000 crore.

The Rafale fighter is a twinengine Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) manufactured by French aerospace company Dassault Aviation.

The petitions seeking the probe in the Rafale deal were first filed by advocates Manohar Lal Sharma and Vineet Dhanda.

Later, AAP MP Sanjay Singh had also filed a petition.

Former union ministers Yashwant Sinha, Arun Shourie and activist lawyer Prashant Bhushan had also filed a joint petition in the apex court.

Journalist deposes in support of M.J. Akbar Sunday Guardian editor and a former colleague of M.J. Akbar, Joyeeta Basu, on Monday described the former Union Minister as a “thorough gentleman with an impeccable reputation’’ before a Delhi court.

“Akbar has always been a thorough professional and a brilliant teacher who taught me all aspects of journalism. I considered him to be a brilliant journalist, a scholarly writer and a thorough gentleman with an impeccable reputation in my eyes,’’ Ms. Basu said, while deposing before additional chief metropolitan magistrate Samar Vishal as a witness of Mr. Akbar in the defamation case filed by him against senior journalist Priya Ramani.

Ms. Ramani has accused Mr. Akbar of sexually harassing women journalists who worked with him over the years.

“In spite of my experiences with him and his reputation, his image took a beating in my eyes on reading the articles/tweets (about sexual harassment charges). The allegations are misplaced and unfounded as my experiences over the past two decades have shown him to be a perfect gentleman and his behaviour has been exemplary,’’ the witness stated.

Mr. Vishal fixed December 7 as the next date for recording the statement of another witness of Mr. Akbar.

Mr. Akbar has already recorded his statement. He has given a list of six witnesses to the court in support of his charges against Ms. Ramani.

In his complaint, Mr. Akbar alleged that “the accused [Ms. Ramani], while putting forward defamatory statements relating to incidents which allegedly occurred 20 years ago, simultaneously admits that the complainant has not done anything to her.” He has sought her prosecution under Section 499 (defamation) and punishable under Section 500 of the IPC. The offence attracts a simple imprisonment of two years or fine or both.

be eternal,” Modi said in Hindi (as translated by Indo Asian News Service), contending that the enormous height of the statue was a reminder to youth of how high their aspirations could go.

“The only mantra to fulfill these aspirations are ‘Ek Bharat-Shresth Bharat’ (One India, Best India). Statue of Unity is also symbolic of our engineering and technological affordability,” Modi said.

Keeping the nation’s unity, diversity and sovereignty intact is one such responsibility which Patel has given to the countrymen, Modi said. “It’s our responsibility to give reply to every effort of dividing the country. We will have to remain vigilant and united as a society,” he said.

“They considered our diversity our biggest weakness

but Sardar Patel converted this into our biggest strength. India is moving ahead on the path shown by him,” Modi is quoted saying said.

“If today we are connected from Rajasthan’s Kutch to Nagaland’s Kohima and Jammu and Kashmir’s Kargil to Tamil Nadu’s Kanyakumari, it is because of Patel’s strong resolve and determination.

“Had Sardar Patel not done it, the country would have needed visas for offering prayers at Somnath and visiting Charminar in Hyderabad,” Modi said referencing the late Indian leader’s work in bringing some 550 princely states into the Indian Union after the Partition of 1947.

Sankara Nethralaya: The Temple of Eye

Sankara Nethralaya, premier eye care institution in Chennai, India was established by the Living Legend, Padmabhushan Dr. S. S. Badrinath in 1978 with the objective of providing eye care of international standard free to the poor and reasonable cost to others. Nethralaya has three prong approach for eradicating blindness in the Indian sub-continent – patient care, ophthalmic education and India centric research.

On an average, Nethralaya treats 2,400 outpatients and performs 200 surgeries per day, almost half of them free on poor patients. Nethralaya has trained thousands of ophthalmic professionals and sent them throughout India.

They serve the patients with major hospitals in in Chennai, Kolkata, Thirupathi and Sri city.

There are plans to start hospitals in Thane, Maharashtra and Surat, Gujrat; and Nethralaya University in Sri city in Andhra Pradesh. One unique activity of Nethralaya is Mobile Eye Surgical Unit (MESU). These are operation theatres on wheels – first of its kind in Asia.

Two busses serve as operation theatres – one as preparation unit and the other as operation theatre. MESU goes out to the villages, performs operations at the door step of the patients and returns to main campus after post-operative care. Nethralaya has two such units and has performed over 10,000 surgeries.

Sankara Nethralaya OM Trust, Inc. is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization established by Mr. S. V. Acharya in 1987 in Maryland, USA with sole purpose of raising contributions in US and transfer to Nethralaya in Chennai for providing free services to indigent patients.

SN OM Trust is managed my twenty uncompensated trustees spread across USA. The Trust has been raising over a million dollars and help Nethralaya perform over 10,000 surgeries per year.

The Trust has chapters in metro Washington DC, Houston & Dallas in Texas, Atlanta, GA, New York, NY, and Las Angeles and San Francisco, CA. The trust organizes number of fund raising events and help raise public awareness of Nethralaya. It is pertinent to point out that with active participation by the Trustees, administrative overhead of the Trust is in the 2% range.

For more information, feel free contact President Mrs. Leela Krishnamurthy at (832) 654-9444, or President Emeritus Mr. S. V. Acharya at (855) 463-8472, Ashok Vasan (281)265-7745 or Jay Malhotra (713) 962-5555.

INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2018• PAGE 17

NEWS WhatsApp selects 20 teams to curb fake news India witnesses over WhatsApp ings” that has killed over 30 University (Principal Investiga436,000 cyberattacks from onFacebook-owned tor) to examine the role of conTuesday announced that it people so far.

The Indian government has tent modality in vulnerability to has selected 20 research teams Russia, US, others worldwide — including ex- also directed WhatsApp to take misinformation, under the topic Russia, the US, China and the Netherlands were the top countries from where cybercriminals attacked users in India, with over 6.95 lakh such incidents between JanuaryJune 2018, according to cybersecurity firm F-Secure.

Interestingly, the top 5 countries that cyberattackers from India targeted were Austria, the Netherlands, the UK, Japan and Ukraine, with the number cumulatively tallying up to 35,563 in the said period, as per the report.

F-Secure, in its report, said the insights are based on data from “honeypots”.

The company said it has deployed more than 41 such “honeypots” across the globe that “serve as sitting ducks for cybercriminals” and enables collection of the latest malware samples/shell scripts and new hacking techniques.

These “honeypots” are basically decoy servers that emulate the IT environment of a business. To the attackers, these look like actual servers of real companies with weaknesses and vulnerabilities.

This method, according to F-Secure, helps gain critical insights on attack types, popular targets, sources, volume, and TTPs (Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures).

“Such insights are collected by deliberately allowing potential attackers to gain unauthorised access to the emulated services of a server, and then studying the attack path to the point that the attacker realises it is a honeypot,” it added.

The report said the top five source countries that targeted India included Russia (2,55,589 attacks), followed by the US (1,03,458), China (42,544), the Netherlands (19,169) and Germany (15,330) - totalling 4,36,090 attacks.

On the other hand, Indian cyberattackers targeted a total of 12,540 attacks toward Austrian organisations, the Netherlands (9,267), the UK (6,347), Japan (4,701), and Ukraine (3,708), the report said.

The report said India ranks 21st in the global tally with 6,95,396 attacks hackers across various countries.

However, India took the 13th spot in terms of hackers initiating attacks with 73,482 such incidents.

Globally, the UK was the biggest source country with a total of 97,680,746 attacks this year, while the US was the top destination country with 1,10,10,212 attacks, it said.

“Our public honeypots are a valuable source of threat intelligence, and an integral part of the infrastructure that powers our various security offerings,

including our Rapid Detection and Response Service,” FSecure vice president of cyber security products R&D Leszek Tasiemski said.

Tasiemski added that “the relatively higher number of inbound attacks on Indian honeypots also reflects how the fastdigitising country is becoming more lucrative for global cybercriminals”.

“We are gathering and analysing all the pertinent data to ensure that our customers stay protected given the dynamically evolving threat landscape,” he said.

perts from India and those of Indian origin — who will work towards how misinformation spreads and what additional steps the mobile messaging platform could take to curb fake news.

Shakuntala Banaji from London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), Anushi Agrawal and Nihal Passanha from Bengaluru-based media and arts collective “Maraa” and Ramnath Bhat from LSE have been selected for the paper titled “WhatsApp Vigilantes?

WhatsApp messages and mob violence in India.”

The research examines the ways in which WhatsApp users understand and find solutions to the spate of “WhatsApp lynch-

necessary remedial measures to prevent proliferation of fake and, at times, motivated/sensational messages on its platform.

Among others selected were Vineet Kumar from Ranchi— headquartered Cyber Peace Foundation (principal investigator), Amrita Choudhary, President of the Delhi—based non—profit Cyber Cafe Association of India (CCAOI) and Anand Raje from Cyber Peace Foundation.

They will work as a team on the paper titled “Digital literacy and impact of misinformation on emerging digital societies.”

P.N. Vasanti from Centre for Media Studies in New Delhi woll work withS. Shyam Sundar, The Pennsylvania State

titled “Seeing is Believing: Is Video Modality More Powerful in Spreading Fake News?”

WhatsApp had issued a call for papers in July this year and received proposals from over 600 research teams around the world.

“Each of the 20 research teams will receive up to $50,000 for their project (for a total of $1 million),” WhatsApp said in a statement.

Lipika Kamra from O.P. Jindal Global University and Philippa Williams from the Queen Mary University of London (Principal Investigator) will examine the role of WhatsApp in everyday political conversations in India, in the context of India’s social media ecosystem.

PAGE 18 â&#x20AC;˘ INDIA HERALD â&#x20AC;˘ WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2018

COMMUNITY CALENDAR Art Museum Kannappan Art Museum will be open for public Tuesday 5.30 PM to 7.30 PM, Saturday 10AM to 2 PM, Sunday 12 noon to 4 PM. Address: 2341 N. Galveston Ave, Pearland, TX 77581.

Ashirwad Classes for Kids in Katy Enrollments are open for Indian Heritage classes for Kids and Teens from 4 to 16 yrs. Class curriculum includes Yoga, Meditation, Sloka, Ramayan, Mahabharat, Bhagwad Githa, Sports Day, VEDIC Fair Presentations, Dance, Drama, Hindi & more. Contact : 281-995-0930 or AshirwadABlessing@gmail.com.

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.

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). 281-752-0100.

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: MonFri @ 6:00-6:45am and 7-8 pm, BUY

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Sat-Sun @ 7:00-8:30am, 10 am-2 pm. Visiting hours are Sat-Sun @ 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. - 1p.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. Please visit www. chinmayahouston.org or contact Bharati Sutaria 281.933.0233 for more information.

Jeeyar Educational Trust Translate knowledge into action classes every Sunday at 10:15 a.m to 12 p.m. at Sri Ashtalakshmi Temple, 10098 Synott Road, Sugar Land, Tx 77498. Call 785 550 3621 or 832-334-9163. Visit www. ashtalakshmi.org for registration.

Vedanta Society Vedanta Society of Greater Houston, VSGH (oďŹ&#x192;cial Branch Center of Ramakrishna Math, Belur), 14809 Lindita Dr. (77083), has lectures & talks on every Sunday 11 am - 12 pm, followed by Arati & Prasad; Bhagwad Gita Class on Tuesdays, 7:30 pm - 8:30 pm; OLD

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and Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna on Thursdays, 11 am - 12 pm. Rev. Sw. Atmarupanandaji, the Resident Monk, gives all classes, lectures & talks. Ramnaam Sankirtan is on 1st Saturdays 6 pm - 7 pm.

Please visit www.houstonvedanta. org or call 281- 988-7211.

Jain Society Jain Society of Houston, JSH, is located at 3905 Arc Street Houston Texas 77063. Key tenets of Jainism are: Non-violence - Ahimsa, Philanthropy with multicity in views â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Anekantvad, No possessiveness - Aparigrah, Right Knowledge -- Samyak Gyan, Right Path â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Samyak Darshan, and Right Conduct â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Samyak Charitrya. Diwali 2018 shall be celebrated on November 4, 2018. Pratishtha Anniversary shall be celebrated with Adhar Abhishek, Gyan Pacham and a related pujan on November 10 and 11 under the auspices of the JSH Scholar and Guest, Shri Shrenikbhai Gala.

JSH has Jain Pathshala Classed for students of all ages each Sunday starting at 10:15 AM. The center 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. Call Jain Center at 713 789 2338 or visit www.jainsocietyhouston.org for calendar of events and other detailed information.

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. Web: www.heartfulness.org; Email: houston.heartfulness@gmail.com.

Cell: 713-929-0040.

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 Samani Kanchan Pragyaji and Samani Pranav Pragyaji who are stationed at Houston Center this year. It also 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, 9:30am11:30am, Samaniji has pravachan for all adults interested in learning about Jainism. Every Wednesday there is Swadhyay class from 7-8pm and meditation from 8-9pm.

Every Thursday from 9:30-11am there is special Yoga class for Ladies only. Every Saturday, there is Yoga Class from 9-10am and Meditation from 10-10.30am. Ist & 3rd Sundays, there is Gyanshala Classes for Kids ages 4-14yrs. from 10-12:15pm followed by Lunch.

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. www.pyptusa.org; 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 Shri Govindji Gaudiya Matha is a Hindu Vaishnava temple of Sanatan Dharam and worshipping place of Shri Shri Radha Krishna, Shri Gaur Nitai & Shri Ram Darbar.

Mandir is open daily from 5.30 AM until 8.30 PM. The services are held from 5.30PM to 7.30PM followed by delicious prashad.

Daily Aarti times : Mangala Aarti5:30 am. Bhog Aarti - 12:30 pm.

Evening Aarti - 7:00 pm. Enroll your child in Sri Govindaji Vedic School. We oďŹ&#x20AC;er Hindi classes for all ages. Sri Govindaji Gaudiya Matha is located in Northwest Houston at 16628 Kieth Harrow Blvd Houston TX 77084. For more information, call at 832-4644686 or visit our website: http:// sggm.org.

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 5 p.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 @ 713-4129985.

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, NOVEMBER 14, 2018 • PAGE 19

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