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Indo American News • Friday, July 23 , 2010

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Friday, July 23 2010 | Vol. 29, No. 30

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THIS WEEK Majesty of the Himalayan Mountains Story on Pg 4

AAHOA Selects Ekal as the Charity of their Choice Story on Pg 9

Story on Pg 11

Sewa Hosts Immunization Drive for Refugee Children Thanjuvar Art Conference

Story on Pg 22

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k Editor’s movie pick of the wee

A Thought Provoking Story on Indian Naxal Movement

Red Alert-The War Within is a film based on the prevailing Naxalite scenario in the country and aims to make a point by showing the two faces of the movement. It is the story of a family man who has been forcibly drawn into one such Naxalite group to do odd jobs. Narsimha, played by Suniel Shetty, is recruited in one such Naxal camp against his wishes and is a complete family man who fears about the safety of his wife (played by Sameera Reddy, left) and children.

An Early Breakfast at the Fed to Hear of India’s Miracle Growth

By Jawahar Malhotra HOUSTON: For the architecturally inclined, the invitation from the Indo American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Houston to attend another in its Distinguished Lecture Series, this time at the Federal Reserve Bank building on Allen Parkway was inducement enough, never mind the early 8 am hour. It is the massive red and blue edifice on Allen Parkway between Taft and Gillette built some five years ago where, most people imagine, the money goes to be sorted out and old bills get shredded.

But, if you are interested in architecture, the building interiors have many elements of design that would impress you, including spectacular views of the downtown skyline, the polished brass safe door (now just a momento) from the old Fed building, spacious meeting rooms and an auditorium that can be rented out to organizations for their events. One just has to overlook the inconvenient block long walk from the parking lot to the front entrance on Allen Parkway and the fiveman security check detail before you get to the lobby.

The other inducement was to

hear about the miracle of India’s spectacular economic growth since the liberalization policies of 1991 from none other than one who would be in the best position to know: the Indian Consul General himself, Sanjiv Arora, who was the speaker at the event this past Monday, July 10, and spoke about the distinctive advantages of India as a business partner to about 100 invited guests over a Continental breakfast.

Since its inception a dozen years ago, the IACCGH has evolved into a tightly organized group that has sought to galvanize interest in business and trade between the Greater Houston area and India through visiting delegations, missions and informative meetings in no small part due to the efforts of its Ex- Indian Consul General Sanjiv Arora was the speaker ecutive Director, Jag- at the IACCGH Distinguished Lecture Series event at dip Ahluwalia, and the the Federal Reserve Bank building. Photos: Bijay Dixit

Indian Consulate has been a keen supporter of this effort.

As he explained in his opening remarks, Ahluwalia attributed the success of IACCGH’s Distinguished Lecture Series in great part due to the support from Shell Oil over the past three years, under the helm of the Chamber’s President Madhukar Prasad, a former Shell Oil executive. Prasad acknowledged the Shell Oil executives who were at the meeting as he set the tone for the meeting by noting the undercurrents that have led Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to proclaim that double-digit growth in India is within range and that increased cooperation between the US and continued on page

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A Tribute to Tagore with a Scintillating Amjad Ali Sarod Concert

The King’s Salon- An Outstanding Ode to the Devadasi Tradition of Dance Story on Pg 23

Indian Rupee Gets Own Currency Symbol Story on Pg 25

Story on Pg 42

Waste Pickers: Invisible Environmentalists in the City

Highlight of the concert was a combined performance of Ustad Amjad Ali Khan with his sons Amaan Ali Bangash and Ayaan Ali Bangash on the sarod with Vineet Vyas and Anubrata Chaterjee accompanying the trio on the tabla.

By Pramod Kulkarni HOUSTON: Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, India’s leading sarod artiste, with the budding talents of his sons Amaan Ali Bangash and Ayaan Ali Bangash, paid a fitting tribute to Poet Laureate Rabindranath Tagore on his 150th birth anniversary with a concert on Friday, July 16 at the Cullen Hall of the University of Houston.

The concert was presented by the Tagore Society of Houston in association with Indo-American Association. Amjad Ali began his solo session with a composition in Raag Khamash, which was very dear to Tagore.

He also performed special segment in his own Raag Ganesh Kalyan, which he composed while performing in Pune and named it

after the deity worshipped in Maharashtra.

Amaan Ali and Ayaan Ali then came on stage to perform a duet in Raag Rageshwari. The last segment was a sarod trio performed by the father and his two sons in Raag Kirwani. A special part of the performance included extended tabla solos in the form of “sawaal, jawaab” featuring Vineet Vyas of

the Varanasi School and Anubrata Chatterjee of the Bengal School.

Chief Guest Counsel General Sajiv Arora, who paid glowing tributes to the Padmashri winner and invited him to come back to Houston often. Tagore Society’s Raja Banga said, “This scintillating concert was in the style of Parampara: ‘Meet the legend and greet the future.”

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An Early Breakfast at the Fed to Hear of India ’s Miracle Growth Continued from Page 1

India is in the strategic interest of the U.S. Guest speaker and Port of Houston Commissioner Jim Fontenot Jr. carried forward that tone in his introduction of Arora by noting that India is currently the world’s 11th largest economy and poised to become its 3rd largest by 2035. “We can see the emergence of India as a new star on the global scene,” said Fontenot, an attorney and investment banker, as he explained how the value of trade between India and the POH had increased 130% mostly in iron, steel, petroleum and related products and hoped for more in garments and manufactured goods. “The Port of Houston is committed to grow this business,” he continued and welcomed the help of the Chamber and the Government of India.

As he strode to the podium.

Arora noted how being at the Bank brought back memories of his brief stint at the Reserve Bank of India .

He spoke of his pride at on recent visit at the Port of Tampa, Florida, which is in the territory covered by the Houston Consulate, at finding out that India had overtaken Mexico as its number one trading partner. He realized that there was a long way to go in trade with the POH. Arora illustrated the economic growth in India with a personal anecdote of a delivery boy named Ramu who sold bread, eggs, milk and apple juice from a basket to the tenants at the External Affairs hostel in New Delhi in 1985.

Soon, Ramu acquired a Hero Honda moped and by 1994 opened a store, and started wearing a safari

Guest speaker Port of Houston Commissioner Jim Fontenot Jr. (left), IACCGH President Madhukar Prasad; Frances Dyess, President, East End Chamber of Commerce and IACCGH Executive Director Jagdip Ahluwalia. Right: Prasad welcomes the guests at the breakfast meeting. Photos: Bijay Dixit

suit and RayBans. After Arora returned from overseas assignments in 2003, he found that Ramu had opened a restaurant, catering service, bought a Honda car, dressed smartly and was offering advice on the stock market! “The story of Ramu (and others like him) is being told and retold across the length and breadth of India ,” exclaimed Arora.

Arora further drove home the point by pulling out an article from the morning’s Financial Times in which Mercedes Benz had announced that it had picked India over China to aggressively tap the demand for the luxury car market. He also quoted from the book

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“Imagining India” by Nandan Nilekani, a co-founder of Infosys, India’s giant software developing company, that India’s huge population had turned from “an albatross to an advantage” in aiding in the country’s growth. He noted that innovation and developemnt had already led to new products, citing a new portable EKG machine made by GE Healthcare in India that cut the cost of each test to just $1.

The Consul General turned his attention to a 28-page brochure (and accompanying CD) entitled “ India – Dynamic Business Partner: Investor Friendly Destination” that the Ministry of External

Affairs had produced and was given to each guest . The brochure is crammed full of facts and statistics illustrating India ’s growth trajectory and lists the advantages of doing business there. After GDP growth of 9% from 2005 to 2008, the India economy slowed down to 7.5% in the global recession but is expected to grow in a sizzling double-digit rate over the next 3 to 4 years.

Arora went over the salient features in the brochure and expanded on a total of 10 points in his hour-long presentation, covering the main areas in which India has progressed and offers promise for investors.

In concluding the event which was 30-minutes over schedule, Ahluwalia and his staff invited everyone to attend the Chamber’s Gala on August 14, which this year has as its theme “Think India, Think Houston”.

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Majesty of the Himalayan Mountains ...

By Swami Vidyadhishananda Hallowed destination The entire Himalayan chain spans nearly 3,000 km skewed upward from East to West and has three main ranges of mountains acting as a receptacle for a number of glaciers and lakes. It is the longest chain of mountains in the world, spread across a distance of nearly 300 km in places. Based on height, the Himalayan ranges can be divided into the lower, middle and high ranges. The lower Himalayan ranges hold more vegetation and rare medicinal herbs which survive the wintry conditions of somewhat lower altitudes.

For most of the year, the ambience of the mountain paths is enhanced by a chilled silence. One is not quite ready for the low temperatures in early October as winter begins to creep in even in the lower mountain ranges. At every reflective pause during those long winding trekking routes, one is taken back through the labyrinth of time.

For the wandering and wondering trekker, forbidding glaciers, slanting narrow paths by the side of ravines, deep gorges and steep ascents of the middle and high ranges often give way to dense forests in the lower Himalaya.

On the way to remote caves and altars, the treks take one through frequent stops in villages where one can partake of meals with the most unassuming villagers. Hidden and tucked therein amidst the lower and middle range Himalayan peaks are several lesser known sites of India’s myriad cradles of spirituality. One can offer prayers at such sites with little preparation and recognize the silent blessings flowing forth from these living shrines.

These towering high Himalayan mountain

ranges bordering their southern evergreen valleys defy theories about the ice age and Stone Age alike. India has had a continuous unbroken civilization since antiquity.

And India has been aptly called the cradle of the human race by Mark Twain and others. India’s decreasing land borders and the cultural decadence of contemporary times were preceded by an era of thriving Vedic

civilizations originating from the Himalayan valleys.

Rich biodiversity The biodiverse habitat of the Himalayan terrain is home to many rare species of animals and plants. The world’s smallest deer and the webbed-footed flying frog are part of the exquisite variety. The famous muskdeer stands out as the prize of nature among the tigers, leopards and bears, while exquisite birds and butterflies help beautify the

ambience created by the exotic plants.

Rare medicinal herbs colonize the lower Himalaya and swampy areas. Many of the ancient Ayurveda and historical texts of India’s ancient past mention these medicinal plants. One such herb, mruta-sanjivani, revives the stunned or traumatized from succumbing to death and has been mentioned in the Sanskrit historical epic, Ramayana.

Rich minerals and beds of flowers help supplement a nearly unmatched biodiversity.

Rivers passing through the mineral formations and flourishing areas of herbs carry potent healing waters down to the lower plains.

The flowers are specifically grouped in such a way that neighbouring patches do not overlap. And specific medicinal properties are attributed to these flowering plants. Many larger Himalayan trees are not found to be growing everywhere in the region. Himalayan forests are essentially unmixed in their make-up of vegetation.

Wind, snowfall and melting snow create a unique partitioning by creating exclusive colonies of vegetation. Thus the life cycles

of trees, vines and herbs are governed by a different set of circumstances at high altitudes, especially because of the high winds in this rarefied atmosphere. While the seeds of shrubs migrate with melting snow, the seeds of herbs stick to soil and are deposited within discrete pockets. In contrast, the seeds of large trees are very light and easily get wafted to great heights. High winds typical amidst the mountainous terrain carry such seeds to higher peaks, slopes and into rocky recesses. Thus Himalayan slopes and rocky recesses are known to bear tall trees.

The tall tree Devadāru, considered to be a favourite of the gods, grows at higher altitudes and its forest cover makes the surrounding temperatures even cooler. The birch tree, famous for its bark used as writing material, has specially shaped seeds which can be airlifted by high winds. Colonies of birch can therefore be seen afforesting mountain slopes even at high altitudes.

Looming changes The highest mountains of the world harbour glaciers that represent the largest store of water apart from the polar ice caps. They supply the water flowing in rivers like the Ganga, Sindhu and Brahmaputra. Gangotri glacier that feeds the Ganga is receding each year. Glaciers which regulate the water supply to other rivers are also believed to be retreating each year. Many snow-fed rivers have shown signs of reduced flow and the water level in the lakes and swamps of the Himalayan valleys has been affected too.

Melting glaciers could ultimately lead to water shortages for millions of inhabitants in the lower valleys as well as affecting the settlements the rivers run through. A scenario beginning with floods and followed

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... As Described by Swami Vidyadhishananda Giri continued from page

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by droughts is being discussed as a possibility in the future. If the glaciers melted rapidly, it might first increase the volume of water in rivers and that could bring about flooding. Then decades later this situation could change when the water level in rivers declines and gives way to severe water shortages.

Those living on the flood plains are of course vulnerable to raised water levels, while the droughts that could follow might usher in a new era of environmental shift.

It is easy to see why the availability of irrigation affects the livelihood of people living miles away from the source of these Himalayan rivers. One of the most heavily populated regions of the Indian subcontinent, where the Ganga and Brahmaputra conclude their descent into the sea, is more than one thousand miles from the foothills of the Himalayan mountains.

Besides overall climate changes encompassing the receding of glaciers, the rampant denudation and unchecked pollution have severely impacted the ecosystem. Plastic dumps are increasingly visible at most well known pilgrim centres. Musk-deers and medicinal herbs are now a rarity kept alive in a few protected pockets. The environmental downslide enveloping the Himalayan wonder is becoming conspicuous.

Transcendental Himalaya Himalaya literally translates as the abode

of the snow, but has also been called the heart and soul of the gods (Devatatma) by the famous Sanskrit poet Kālidāsa. Well known for its mystical tradition, it is home to a number of yoga lineages. Most of the distinct mountains have names and are revered as entities each embodying a stream of knowledge. Traditionally, a spiritual lineage of masters is connected with a distinct mountain and a particular esoteric heritage.

The vast body of glaciers and lakes represent the sublime knowledge. And the melted snow that forms their waters captures the essence of divine grace bestowed from the mountaintops. Therein, the glaciers are adored as the body of knowledge frozen and preserved for a timed release. The abundant spree of rivers and rivulets represents the streams of knowledge reaching out to the parched lands to quench thirsty souls.

Himalaya is thus considered to be the disseminator of spiritual knowledge and divine inspiration, precipitating the higher knowledge from the yonder abodes for genuine seekers. The mountain villagers view Himalaya with awe as the father of the great shakti and holy mother, Pārvati, who is the venerable consort of the auspicious Lord, Shiva.

The King white swan (Rajahansa), which is hailed as a transcendent symbol, is said to be born only at the Mānasarovar lake next to Mount Kailāsh. The white swan is agile and ready to take off at any moment on its yon-

der flight. The white colour represents spiri- preservation and dissemination of ancient tual purity and is also symbolic of merging. Sanskrit wisdom. He has lectured around A highly realized soul is identified in San- the world, bridging spiritual traditions and skrit literature as the Paramahansa or liter- sharing the common ground of Vedic herially “the great swan.” The white swan is tage. He was awarded Mahamahopadhyay fabled to be astutely discriminating while (lit. Great Ordained Teacher), which is one absorbing only the essence, as in merely of the highest degrees conferred through the drinking the milk even when mixed with university system in India, in recognition of water. Ready to fly gracefully and float ef- his meditative insights, scholarly interpretafortlessly, it is able to merge into the being- tion and ability to articulate Sanskritic philness of all. The swan is said to symbolize osophical nuances. He is the Head Pontiff the Shiva characteristic or auspiciousness. of the Swamahiman Mission for Vedic & Even with the encroaching environmental Sanskrit heritage and the President Monk of crisis, the yet pristine Himalaya continues the US-based Nonprofit, Self Enquiry Life to beckon truth seekers and meditators to Fellowship. its abode. Its rarefied atmosphere thins out worldly Writers ... distractions, and the enchanting Take holiness makes NOTICE the seeker adapt to the austere terrain.

His Holiness Swami Vidyadhishananda, a monk of the VeWriters are requested to limit their words to 500 danta tradition The deadline for advertising and articles is 5 pm on Tuesday of who has trained each week. Please be aware that if we do not hear back from in the Himalayou regarding approvals of advertisement. We will publish “As-Is” yan mountains, and Indo-American News will not be responsible for any errors or omissions. For more information, Call 713-789-6397 or has dedicated his email us at: indoamericannews@yahoo.com service for the

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Indo American News • Friday, July 23 , 2010

finance

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Don’t Rely Solely on ‘Uncle Sam’s’ Help During Your Future Retirement Years

By Jesal Patel You can’t watch television or read a newspaper without being reminded of the uncertain times we’re in. Disappearing jobs, disturbing stock market losses — we don’t need to tell you, it’s rough out there.

This has made retirement planning more complicated than ever. From October 2007 to last December, the market lost nearly $3 trillion in retirement savings.1 Many who were counting on their 401(k)s don’t even read their account statements anymore.

The Truth About Social Security But other factors have muddied the waters for mapping a course toward retirement.

People are living longer. An American born in 1955 was expected to live to age 69, on average. Forty years later, life expectancy was 76. 2 This is good news; but, we need to prepare for more years of retirement.

And, if you thought Social Security would take care of you, think again. Last year, the maximum monthly benefit was $2,1853 — not enough for many of you to live comfortably.

While there are no easy solutions, the purchase of a life insurance policy can guarantee4 the protection of your loved ones and additionally supplement your retirement savings,5 if the death benefit is no longer needed.

Leaving a Legacy Life insurance’s primary purpose is to provide guaranteed death benefit protection, which can provide a tax-free legacy to your loved ones. But, permanent life also carries many living benefits. Cash value is money that accumulates within the policy, tax deferred. This means you do not pay taxes on any of the accumulation within the policy.

In addition, you can access that money tax

free though policy loans.5,6 These same funds can also be used for college expenses, as collateral for a small business loan, or any other happily anticipated or unexpected event.

In addition to the death benefit protection provided by life insurance, it can also be used to supplement your retirement income.

As such, it can be a vital piece of the complex puzzle of retirement planning.

This educational third-party article is being provided as a courtesy by Jesal Patel, Agent, New York Life Insurance Company and Financial Adviser with Eagle Strategies LLC, a Registered Investment Adviser. To learn more about the information or topics discussed, please contact Jesal at 281-2215061.

Neither New York Life, nor its agents, provides tax, legal or accounting advice. Please consult your own tax, legal or accounting professional before making any decisions.

1Urban Institute, Fact Sheet on Retirement Policy, “How Is the Recession Affecting Older Workers?”

Dec. 2009, Richard W. Johnson, www. retirementPolicy.org.

2Voice of America, “U.S. Life Expectancy Hits New High,” Sept. 17, 2007.

3Fast Facts and Figures About Social Security, 2008, SSA Publication No. 13-11785. Released Aug. 2008, page 2.

4Guarantees backed by the claims-paying ability of the issuer.

5Loans against your policy accrue interest and decrease the death benefit and cash value by the amount of the outstanding loan and interest; withdrawals reduce the available death benefit.

6If your life insurance policy is paid up and your need for a death benefit decreases.

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Safeguard Your Personal Identity

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Protect Your Social Security Number You SSN is a critical piece of personal information. Do not print it on any form of personal identification. Never have it printed on your checks; simply write it on the check in the rare occasions it’s needed.

Never carry your Social Security card in your wallet, and avoid using your SSN as a personal identifier if at all possible.

Think twice before giving it out.

Protect Your Mail To make your mailbox a less attractive target for identity thieves, try to reduce the amount of unsolicited offers. Opt out of pre-approved credit card offers and insurance by calling 888-5OPT-OUT or by logging onto https://www.optoutprescreen.

com. Choose five-year or permanent opt out.

Remember to cancel mail delivery when you go on vacation. If you don’t, that mountain of mail makes a tempting target.

Outgoing mail requires protection too.

Protect Your Trash The items you discard, including credit card offers, ATM receipts, bank statements, credit statements/receipts and utility bills, all contain personal information.

With a bit of effort, thieves can collect this information and use it to steal your identity. To minimize this possibility, buy a shredder and use it. Discard of old credit cards, be sure to destroy them completely first.

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Indo American News • Friday, July 23 , 2010

Houston Guruvayurappan Temple EmbellishesVaishnavite Traditions

By Chittoor K Ramachandran HOUSTON: The day (precisely, the time) of the beginning of Dakshinayana Punyakalam (southbound journey of the Sun) is referred to as Karkitaka Shankranti. In 2010, this falls on Friday, July 16 at 9:30 PM. On this day, the Sun enters into Karkitaka (Karka) Rashi (Cancer). The word Shankranti means the Sun’s entry into a zodiac sign.

Vedic astrology gives much importance to this astronomical event; especially, the entry point into each sign marks the beginning of certain disturbances in the organization of solar forces. The phase of the passage of the Sun in Karkitaka Rashi is considered inauspicious and in general this period is not recommended for anything that is propitious.

However, this period is believed to be the appropriate time for meditation, initiation into learning spiritual advises, and for the performance of certain religious rites.

Following the practices of Hindu homes and temples of Kerala during occasions of religious importance, Sri Guruvayurappan Temple of Houston has been introducing a number of traditions unfamiliar to Houston.

The month of Karkitakam (Adi Masam) being at the peak of torrential monsoon rain in Kerala, some of the traditions may have developed due to the regional social circumstances of a typical agricultural land.

Considering the suitability of the month of Karkitakam for spiritual enrichment, each household and temple welcomes the God-

dess of Prosperity with ardent respect. It would be interesting to learn about this tradition.

Just prior to Shankranti time, each family (temples included) cleans the home thoroughly (a practice similar to spring cleaning in the Western world). The dust, cobwebs, and any other unwanted materials are collected in mud pots and are disposed off.

On the way to dispose the mud pot, they utter repeatedly “Mooshetta porathu…porathu….porathu. Sree Bhagavathy Akathu…

Akathu…Akathu” (I command the inauspicious Mooshetta to go away and welcome Parvathi to our home ). (As a child, like many other children, I have chased the persons who carry Mooshetta in the pot with great interest to have a look at her). Urbanization, perhaps, has compelled moving this tradition to central places like temples.

The tradition considers the thirty days that begin with Karkitaka Shankranti (July 17 to August 16) as Ramayana Masam.

During Ramayana Masam, portions of the epic Ramayanam (Adhyatma Ramayanam, authored by Thunchath Ezhuthachan) are recited everyday. In addition, this month is considered very auspicious for attending Ganapathi Homam and Bhagavathi Seva to appease Sri Ganesha and Mother Goddess.

For more information about the special events at Sri Guruvayurappan Temple, visit www.guruvayurusa.org.

Daya Purchases a Transitional Harmony Home for Victims of Domestic Violence

HOUSTON: Daya has obtained a four bedroom property to be used as the transitional home for its clients. Named ‘Harmony House,’ the home will be a safe haven for qualified clients (and their children aged 12 and under) for several months while they work on becoming emotionally and economically independent so that they can find the courage to build violence-free homes for their families and break the cycle of abuse that can perpetuate from one generation to the next. This additional program moves Daya closer to its goal of finding lasting solutions to the problem of family violence.

The transitional home services will include individual and group counseling, child care, legal advocacy, career counseling, money management, job training and education.

To protect the privacy of clients and ensure their safety, the location of Harmony House will remain confidential.

The purchase price of the home including closing costs and repairs is about $200,000.

In its March 2010 fund-raising gala, Daya announced its intention to own and oper-

ate a transitional home, kicked off a capital campaign for the same and received pledges in the amount of $60,000.

Those who pledged on this occasion were individual supporters including a few board members of Daya as well as the Indo-American Charity Foundation of Houston that has been an ardent supporter of Daya since its inception in 1996.

Now that the home has become a reality, Daya plans to accelerate its capital campaign in order to raise the funds, pay off the loan and own the home outright. It is the Board’s earnest hope that, as in the past, Houston’s South Asian community will come forward and help Daya achieve this goal.

Please call Daya’s Capital Campaign Coordinator Renu Sood at 713-623-4545 for more information and participation in this worthwhile project.

For information on Daya, visit: www. dayahouston. org. Together with the Houston community, Daya is poised and ready to take this major step forward.

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STORY of Mahatma GandhI

The Beginning of Gandhi’s Spartan Lifestyle

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Gandhi Jayanti 2010 Celebration as 1000 Lights for Peace 5 pm: Sunday, October 3, 2010,at Miller Outdoor Theatre To register for “Walk For Peace” at Gandhi Jayanti celebrations, visit www.gandhilibrary.org.

In 1906, an ordinance by the Transvaal government required all Indians men women and children to register themselves and obtain a personal certificate bearing their name and thumb impression.

The Indians decided not to submit to this humiliating and insulting measure. They resolved to fight it. Gandhi saw here the need for passive resistance or satyagraha.

He explained to the people his concept of satyagraha. First, he said, they must be prepared to observe absolute nonviolence. The authorities would take all measures to put down the agitation. They might use violence, arrest people and send them to jail, but all this must be faced without resistance “Merely disobeying the government’s laws will not be enough,” Gandhi told them. “You must have no hatred in your hearts and you must cast away all fear.” Now read on.

The Government ignored all Indian protests against the ordinance and it came into force. The Indians decided to disobey the provisions of the ‘Black Act.’ Hundreds of Indians were arrested, tried, and jailed. They all pleaded guilty and went to jail without putting up any defence. Gandhi too was imprisoned. Then one day he was taken out of prison and sent to Pretoria to see General Smuts.

“This movement you have started,” Smuts said, “must stop at once. It is not in me to dislike Indians, but they must obey the law.”

“I would rather die than submit to this law,” Gandhi replied. “It is meant to humiliate the Indians.”

After some argument, however, they reached a compromise. Gandhi promised to end the satyagraha if the act was repealed and the prisoners released. Smuts agreed to do this provided the Indians would register of their own accord. On this agreement, they parted.

Back in Johannesburg, Gandhi called a meeting of the Indians.

“We must now register voluntarily to show that we do not intend to bring a single Indian to the Transvaal by fraud,” he said. “If we show our goodwill by prompt registration, General Smuts will see to it that the “Black Act” is repealed.”

Most of the Indians agreed with Gandhi, but a Pathan named Mir Alam shouted at him: “It was you who told us that fingerprints were required only from criminals. It was you who said we must disobey the “Black Act.” How does all that fit into your attitude today?”

Early the next morning Gandhi, with his fellow satyagrahis, set out for the registration office.

But on the way Mir Alam attacked him with a heavy stick. Gandhi fell down unconscious. Mir Alam and his associates went on beating him until he was rescued by some

Gandhi as a Satyagrahi in South Africa ... he gave up his law practice,and vowed to dress like a poor laborer, to walk barefoot, and to have only one meal a day, till the injustices were abolished. friends. When Gandhi recovered consciousness, he found himself on a couch in the house of an Englishman whom he hardly knew.

Struggling to sit up, Gandhi said in a weak voice, “Do not blame Mir Alam, for he did not understand.”

Then he insisted that a clerk from the registration office should come to take his thumb impression and make out his certificate. In this way Gandhi was duly registered.

Many Indians followed Gandhi by registering voluntarily. But General Smuts did not repeal the “Black Act.” The Indians, disappointed at the Government’s attitude, demanded a return of their applications for voluntary registration. The Transvaal government did not budge.

Gandhi, who had by then recovered from his injuries, gave an ultimatum: If the Black Act is not repealed before a fixed date, the certificates collected by the Indians will be burnt.

When he found that the Government ignored this threat, Gandhi started another satyagraha movement.

A big bonfire was lit and more than two thousand certificates were burnt. Many Indians openly crossed the border into the Transvaal, where their presence was illegal. Gandhi and many of his compatriots were imprisoned several times in the course of the agitation. When Gandhi came out of jail for the third time, the Indians

Indo American News • Friday, JUly 23 , 2010 • Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

held a meeting and decided to send a deputation to England to acquaint the British Government with the real situation in South Africa.

Gandhi and Seth Haji Habib were asked to go to London and present the grievances of the Indians. Accordingly they went, but the mission failed. They returned with grim determination to fight to the bitter end.

Gandhi then made a big decision. He gave up his practice as a lawyer. He felt he could not go on earning his living by law when he was defying it.

Hermann Kallenbach, a white farmer, was so impressed with the peaceful way of life at Phoenix that he offered Gandhi his own big farm near Johannesburg to start another colony. He suggested that all those who had lost their jobs and homes by their participation in the satyagraha could settle there.

The new colony was established in 1910 and named “Tolstoy Farm” after the great Russian writer whom Gandhi much admired. Here people who were different in nationality, religion, and color lived together like one family. They worked hard and shared the fruits of their labor.

Gandhi spent much of his time at Tolstoy Farm. He was engaged in teaching the children and in other constructive activities.

Gandhi’s efforts to persuade General Smuts to change the attitude of the Government towards the Indians had failed. Meanwhile, the struggle continued against the Black Act and the poll-tax. And now hundreds of Indian women, including Kasturbai, joined the movement.

There had been a recent court decision in South Africa holding that Indian marriages were not recognized by law. The women could not brook this attack on family ties.

They openly broke the law and were imprisoned in large numbers.

In the coal mines at Newcastle, in Natal, Indian workers went on strike protesting against the repression.

The arrests, the deportation of passive resisters, and the untold sufferings of Indian families angered the people of India. A large amount of money was collected for the relief of the victims.

Many satyagrahis were beaten and flogged, and some were even killed. Gandhi, who felt intensely the humiliation his people suffered, took a triple vow of selfsuffering. He decided to dress like a poor laborer, to walk barefoot, and to have only one meal a day, till the poll-tax and other injustices were abolished.

Gandhi found the Government relentless. There was no solution in sight. He had to take further measures.

— To be continued

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society

Indo American News • Friday, July 23 , 2010

AAHOA Selects Ekal as the Charity of their Choice

supports, and runs non-formal

By Meera Kapur one-teacher schools popularly HOUSTON: The annual con- known as Ekal Vidyalayas, all over vention of Asian American Hotel the country in India. With the parOwners Association (AAHOA) ticipation of numerous non-profit was held in Chicago from June trusts and organizations, this pro16t-19. At the conference, the gram has now become the greatcurrent Chairman of AAHOA, est non-governmental education Chandrakant Patel, announced movement in the country. The Ekal AAHOA has selected Ekal as one of the two charities chosen for this year. We the EKAL USA team sends our heartfelt thank you to AAHOA chairman Patel, for endorsing Ekal as one of the AAHOA’ charity for this year.

“As Indians we must contribute back to our homeland (America) as well as to motherland (India). And during my Chandrakant Patel, Chairman of AAHOA presented a check of $5,000 to Sheela Kene, Ekal chairmanship, AA- USA volunteer in Los Angeles.

HOA has endorsed USO for homeland Vidyalaya movement aims to help (USA) and Ekal Vidyalaya for eradicate illiteracy from rural and motherland (India). We have repre- tribal India. As of January 2010, sentatives present here today from Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation supboth charities. The first group is ports 27,041 schools and 753,123 Ekal Vidyalaya which provides students. Ekal Vidyalaya goes beeducation in the rural tribal areas yond mere literacy. Apart from its of India.”Said patel. goal of achieving the national stanThe Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation dards of Minimum Level of Learnis a charitable Trust that initiates, ing (MLL) for its students, Ekal

Vidyalaya also seeks to empower the village community for its own self-development. Ekal Vidyalaya solicits complete involvement of the local community and aims at making the school self-reliant in a period of five to seven years.

We also thank the International Gujrati Charities, Southern California, for donating $5,000 to Ekal through AAHOA. Mr. Chandrakant Patel, Chairman of AAHOA presented a check of $5,000 to Ms. Sheela Kene, Ekal USA volunteer in Los Angeles. The International Gujrati Charities is a non-profit organization founded in 1996, by hospitality professionals who wanted to make a meaningful contribution to their community. They held their 14th GOLF tournament & award presentation on July 10th. With the help of this donation, Ekal will be able to educate more children in rural and tribal areas of India.

Since March 2010, Ekal USA has been holding their annual musical fund raising concerts and these concerts will go on till September 2010. The musicians come from India and this year we are fortunate to have Ms. Sanjeevani, the winner of first ‘SA RE GA MA’ as the lead singer at these events.

For more information about Ekal visit www.ekal.org

Spelling Bee Featured in Wall Street Journal

to once a g a i n sponsor the South A s i a n Spelling Bee, and to help families achieve their dream DC Metro Winners: From Left; First Runner Up of attaining Anjithaa Radakrishnan of Nashua, NH; Regional the best edChamp Sriram Hathwar of Painted Post, NY and ucation for Second Runner Up Prakash Mishra of Marvin, NC their children.” posing with Rahul Walia.

In DC ible publicaMetro, Sriram Hathwar from tions,” he Painted Post, NY was the regional added. champ and Anjithaa RadakrishIn NJ, nan from Nashua, NH was first Anahita Iyer runner up while Prakash Mishra, from Doylefrom Marvin, NC was second runstown, PA ner up. The winners received cash was the reprizes of $500, $300 and $200 regional champ spectively. and Neetu Children upto 14 years of age are New Jersey Winners: From left; First Runner Up Neetu C h a n d a k eligible to participate and the conChandak of Seneca Falls, NY; Regional Champ Anafrom Senhita Iyer of Doyleswtown, PA and Second Runner Up test saw spellers of even 6 years Falls, Arvind Mahankali of Forest Hills, NY posing with Ra- eca of age compete and make it past NY was the hul Walia, Founder of the South Asian Spelling Bee a few rounds. There is 1 more city first runner on the anvil and for more informasome top talent as well as young up while Arvind Mahankali from tion and to register your child, visit and new spellers that competed for Forest Hills, NY came in at third www.southasianspellingbee.com. place. the coveted prizes and titles.

The top two winners plus one John Derbick, Assistant Vice “I am happy to see such new talparent each from every city will be ent year over year and from center President, Global Brand & Mar- given an all expenses paid trip to to center and this makes the plat- keting Services, MetLife, said NJ on August 14 for the finals. form and all the effort put into it “MetLife’s long history of serving Yatra.com is the associate sponworthwhile,” said Rahul Walia, the South Asian community has sor for the event and the contest Founder of South Asian Spelling helped us to understand what mat- will be telecast globally on Sony Bee. “I am also excited to see the ters most to families. We know the Entertainment Television-ASIA. exposure being given to the spell- significance of education, as well To reserve your free passes to the ers and the platform on a national as the need for a plan to cover the finals, log on to www.southasianscale by one of the most cred- rising costs of tuition. We’re proud spellingbee.com.

WASHINGTON D.C.: In a front page story featuring the South Asian Spelling Bee, the Wall Street Journal in its July 15 issue, honed in on the dominance of South Asian kids at such contests. The article was also carried in many other leading publications across the world.

Through the weekend of July 18, the 2010 MetLife South Asian Spelling Bee continued its 9 city tour with events in New Jersey and DC Metro. With over 150 spellers participating, the bee attracted

We revamped our website to serve you better

indoamerican-news.com

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society

Indo American News • Friday, July 23 , 2010

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Sewa International Hosts Immunization Drive for Refugee Children

HOUSTON: Sewa International Houston, a local service-based nonprofit organization, collaborated with Texas Children’s Hospital’s Mobile Clinic on Saturday, July 10, to host an immunization drive for the children of lowincome families at the Los Arcos apartment complex in Southwest Houston. In total, forty children received free immunizations and medical check-ups.

Communication was the greatest challenge for Mobile Clinic workers and volunteers during the drive. Although the original plan was to have a three-hour event, doctors stayed at Los Arcos for nearly six hours, mostly because of difficulties with language barri-

the U.S. began in 2000; currently, over 1,000 Bhutanese refugees are living in Houston, and more families are arriving every week.

One of Sewa’s primary goals with regards to the resettlement of the Bhutanese community in Houston has been working with the children towards a mindset of self-empowerment. To this end, Sewa has been conducting a number of summer programs aimed at the children of the Bhutanese community in Houston. Some of these volunteer-led initiatives have included accessible vocational skills training and preparation classes for standardized tests such as the SAT, as well as recreational children’s activities such as outdoor

Grove Elementary School. Sewa interns, volunteers, and children from the Bhutanese community will be performing a diverse range of cultural dances and songs that have been shared during this summer’s programs. For Sewa volunteers and interns, the show’s multicultural focus is part of a greater theme of embracing diversity that underlies all of Sewa’s activities.

“We want to make sure that all kids go to college or attend vocational training schools. The Sewa Youth Mentorship Program [SYMP] has been helping high school students to prepare for college but a lot more remains to be done. We need support from the broader Hous-

Mother and child at immunization clinic. They have recently come as refugees from Congo, Africa.

Sewa volunteers and kids at immunization drive at Los Arcos apartment complex

ers and paperwork.

Suryansh Purwar, the Houston Chapter Coordinator of Sewa International, stressed the need to reach out to low-income families in Houston, across ethnic and linguistic boundaries. “The children who have benefited from this drive have a wide variety of countries of origin, including Congo, Somalia, Burma, Bhutan, and Mexico.

Most of the families [Sewa helps] are recent immigrants and refugees who don’t speak English,” Purwar said.

This summer, Sewa has been working particularly closely with families from the Bhutanese refugee community. Resettlement in

sports and art classes.

Sixteen college students have dedicated their summers to the Bhutanese Refugee Resettlement Project, as part of Sewa’s Get Inspired Houston Internship Program. “Working as a summer intern with families and communities in need can be a very rewarding experience in terms of both professional and personal growth,” said Sewa Executive Committee Member Rishi Gohil, “Every college-going student should consider this for at least one summer during their college life.”

This summer’s internship will culminate in a Multicultural Showcase on Saturday, July 24 at Sugar

ton community to strengthen our programs and ensure opportunities for all kids,” said Manju Gupta, President of Sewa International Houston.

To get involved and help people and communities in need within the greater Houston area, visit www. houston.sewausa. org or contact via email at Houston@ sewausa.org.

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indian diaspora

Indo American News • Friday, July 23 , 2010

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Indian Cuisine Spices UK’s Fast Food Scene EDINBURGH: The popularity of Indian cuisine is evident in the specials available from the UK fast food restaurants.

Chicken Cottage, which is similar to KFC, is offering “Banging Bhangra” burger and wrap.

Subway offers its Chicken Tikka sandwich on Mondays. It won’t be long before Indian cuisine makes an impact on American fast food, at least in Edison, New Jersey.

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUly 23 , 2010• ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

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Indo American News • Friday, July 23 , 2010

Chugging into Danger The danger signals have been flashing for at least a decade now but inexplicably, no one in the railway ministry seems to have taken them seriously. Had they done so, perhaps the mishap on Monday when the Uttar Banga Express crashed into the Vananchal Express in West Bengal could have been averted.

As always, no time has been lost in calling for Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee’s resignation along with allegations of her cavalier attitude to her portfolio. And much of the criticism is warranted. But, for the moment, given that at least 63 people have died, the focus should be on getting the green signal for the long-awaited modernisation of the antiquated equipment and systems in the railways.

The most important of these is to install anti-collision devices (ACDs) in trains. This has been done with good effect in the Konkan railway network and the Northeast Frontier railways. But for reasons of bureaucratic and political apathy, these have not been installed in all trains.

In the latest accident it is yet to be ascertained whether the driver of the Uttar Banga disregarded the warning signal or the signal failed. Either way, better technology could have minimised the casualties if not avoided them altogether.

Where ministerial culpability can be seen is in the manner in which at least 90,000 safety-related posts have been lying vacant for want of official sanction. Apart for the ACDs, experts have long sought the installation of auxiliary warning systems in trains that prevents them from jumping red signals. This drastically eliminates the margin of human error. With the railways having grown at a rapid pace, the skills of its employees too should have been upgraded so as to keep them on track. In addition, safety equipment should be refitted as also railway tracks.

Our decision makers often go on tours to examine how the railways are run in other countries. Should we conclude that this has not enabled them to bring anything fruitful to the table? Of the four major train accidents this year, the latest included, three appear to have been caused by systems’ failure. One was sabotage. At a time when connectivity is the buzzword, it is passing strange that efforts are not being made to improve an existing lifeline like the railways.

It would be a pity if this disaster too becomes mired in political mudslinging and the real issues put off till another occurs. Four accidents in six months make it inexcusable for officials to misread the signals once again.

Hindustan Times

editorial

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Unjoin the Dotheads

By Sagarika Ghose Indian ‘dotheads’ with their multiple-armed, elephant-nosed gods have taken over the once pure white American town of Edison, New Jersey and destroyed the memories of innocent white boyhood. That’s the burden of Joel Stein’s controversial article in Time magazine that led to so much uproar among the Indian American community that Time and Stein were forced to apologise. But while Indian Americans have expressed their outrage at Stein’s ‘humor’ and asked why a mainstream publication like Time should publish such an article, there’s also an argument that Indians should learn to take themselves less seriously.

Our gods, after all, are multiplearmed and elephant-nosed, our food is often spicy to the exclusion of taste, and the dots and dashes on our foreheads can look hilarious to those not used to seeing them. The lesson is actually quite simple. Want to live and work in a globalised marketplace? Learn to be less hung up about ‘culture’and identity. Want to wallow in identity and culture? Don’t venture out beyond home.Yet the cultural balance of power between Indians and America is lopsided. Middleclass urban Indians adore America.

American soft power envelops us in the manifold pleasures of its soaps, music, education, clothes, movies, thinkers, books, even worldview. If the colonial caricature of the 20th century was the dark-skinned desi babu in a three-piece suit who saw himself as a white Englishman, then the post-colonial caricature of the 21st century could be the Americanspeaking urban Indian who sees himself as a white American.

The Sprite ad, in which an Indian jungle explorer distributes Sprite to black-skinned tribals, shows to some extent how the Indian — particularly the elite Indian — continues to identify himself with the Indiana Jones discourse of the white man surrounded by strange natives. No wonder there is personal anguish when this Americanised Indian with his secret belief in his own white-ness, with his Indiana Jones posters and Bob Dylan

“Want to live and work in a globalised marketplace? Learn to be less hung up about ‘culture’ and identity.

Want to wallow in identity and culture?

Don’t venture out beyond home.”

CDs, finds that sections of opinion in the very country from which he draws so much of his identity, actually sees him as a ‘dothead’ who worships bizarre gods. The feelings of exclusion are immense.

Yet when it comes toAmerica, Indians have always voted with their feet.

Even at the height of the Cold War, more than a million Indians lived in the US. Almost every middle-class family today has a family member living in America, the rich, educated Indian American community is the fastest growing ethnic group there.

Such names as Indra Nooyi, Sanjay Gupta, Jagdish Bhagwati, Vikram Pandit are justly celebrated in India as aspirational figures. But cultural ‘sacrifices’ are required along the way to achieve the American dream.

Namrata Randhawa had to change her name to Nikki Haley and convert from Sikhism to be an acceptable ‘American’. Politician, Piyush Amrit Jindal goes by the name Bobby and it would be unthinkable perhaps for any Indian American public personality to be seen as recognisably non-Western.

The distinctive cultural traits of the Italian American or an Irish American are far more acceptable in the American salad bowl than the distinctive cultural markers of the Indian American. Bollywood and vindaloo have not become as much part of America as Italian contributions like the opera or pizza. The Indian

IndoAmerican News Founder: Dr. K.L. Sindwani Editor: Pramod Kulkarni Business Manager: Jawahar Malhotra Marketing Manager: Krishna Giri Community Reporter: Kalyani Giri Community Editor: Manasi Gokhale Administrative Manager: Vanshika Vipin Marketing & Food Reporter: Jacob David Production Manager: Hussain Mandviwala correspondents Chicago: Nand Kapoor ®All rights reserved. No material herein or portions thereof may be published without the written consent of the publisher. The deadline for advertising and articles is 5 pm on Monday of each week. Please include self-addressed, stamped envelope for return of all unsolicited material. Published at 7457 Harwin Drive, Suite 262, Houston, Texas 77036. Tel: 713-789-NEWS or 6397 Fax: 713-789-6399, email: indoamericannews@yahoo.com, website: indoamerican-news.com

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUly 23 , 2010 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

diaspora is high-achieving but has not really contributed significantly to American pop culture, perhaps because elephant-nosed gods and dots on the forehead are just so completely at odds with the underlying assumptions of American society.

Thus Indians in America need to be ironed into culturally neutral brain banks and professional high achievers, whose ‘elephant-nosed’ identity is best practised ‘in secret’ at home.

So while the globalised economy knits communities from India and the West ever closer, India’s cultural integration into the global society is still a work-in-progress. Indian ghettos in Western countries are so paranoid about losing their culture, so stubbornly refused to change their dress, behaviour and mentality that naturally the majority looks on them with derision and hostility. Surely the process of integration can be a more gentle swap of cultures where mutual give and take enriches both immigrant and host.

Just as the Maharashtrian finds the North Indian sometimes objectionable, or the Kannadiga has trouble with the Haryanvi code of conduct on buses, Indian communities have still not managed to distinguish between cultural identity and cultural assertion.

We Indians protest loudly at the depiction of gods and depictions of Gandhi, but we hardly embody the dignified ways of the truly cultured.

We protest that our thousand-year-old traditions are being denigrated. Yet in taste and lifestyle we embody the worst forms of aggressive newly-rich downright uncultured behaviour.

India’s integration into Western societies shouldn’t mean becoming dark-skinned imitations of white people nor should it mean propagating a raucous ostentatious Indian ‘culture’.

Instead, let’s exemplify the spirit and not the outward form of our elephantnosed multiple-armed pantheon: the spirit of grace, wisdom, and being unafraid to be thought of as a little eccentric. Such godly self-belief will make integration much less painful!

Sagarika Ghose is Deputy Editor, CNN-IBN

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SOCIETY

Indo American News • Friday, July 23 , 2010

Rocking SEL Concert Held in New Jersey RUTHERFORD, NJ: The Shankar Ehsaan Loy - Inspiration live in concert on Saturday, July 17 at the Izod Center in east Rutherford, NJ was packed with more then 3500 fans . Bollywood’s top most music composers Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy (SEL) along with singers like Richa Sharma and Mahalaxmi Iyer got a thunderous ovation for their talented performance.

Shankar Ehsaan and Loy arrived at the Izod auditorium addressed his fans, “We thank the wonderful audience of NJ for attending the concert. “Shankar Mahadevan said - Our main focus is on the musical content.” Loy wanted to spread the message of love, friendship and peace through the concert. Ehsaan said “Music heals.

When people listen to our music, they relate to it. People loved Kal Ho Na Ho’s music because they could feel the emotions hidden deep in every song.”

Singer Mahalaxmi spoke to the media about singing in studio and performing live “The thunderous clapping of the audience to an artist’s performance is best music to the artist’s ears. I really enjoy performing in front of a live audience. It is a vibrant experience compared to studio recording.”

The choreographers, Savio along with Kunjan and Danny said, “It is exciting to be performing in front of live audiences. Here you can get the actual feedback in terms of applause.”

The media asked Shankar about their national promoter Shri Balaji Entertainment. “They are like family to us.

They promote major shows in US and Canada. Ehsaan shared with us that “Inspiration” has planned 12 concerts in US cities. They are excited about visiting Houston in August.

Regarding the composers, Shankar Mahadevan, studied Western, Hindustani and Carnatic classical, was a leading playback singer in bollywood movies and the mind-blowing Breathless to his credit.

Ehsaan Noorani studied music at the Musicians’ Institute in Los Angeles and worked with Ronnie Desai and Louis Banks. He composed Alien Desire, did several jingles and like Loy, was part of a blues-and-acid jazz band.

Loy Mendonsa is trained in Western classical and learnt the rudiments of Indian classical music. He performed with several bands, plays (Godspell, West Side Story, Jesus Christ Superstar) and composed jingles and signature tunes.

Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy (SEL) entered mainstream cinema with Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s Mission Kashmir, which was a musical hit, and the trio earned a place in the Bollywood film industry. The turning point of their career as music directors was Dil Chahta Hai, which was a huge success. Each member of this trio brings his own talents and experiences to the group, combining the Carnatic and Hindustani vocal tradition by Shankar, Western rock by Ehsaan and a deep understanding of fusion including a virtual mastery over the electronic synthesizer by Loy. Richa Sharma has worked with the best of music directors straight from the Hall of Fame – A.R. Rahman, Vishal-Shekhar, Anu Malik, Jatin-Lalit, SalimSuleiman, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and so forth. Richa is known to have a very earthy Indian voice, which resonates very well, and works wonders if the song and percussion is right.

Mahalakshmi Iyer made her singing debut in Dil Se (1998) and the rest, as they say, is history. Incidentally, She also recorded for the movie Dus, which was Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy’s debut as music directors. She has frequently worked with them since. She also sang on the Academy Award winning song “Jai Ho” for A R Rahman in the film Slumdog Millionaire (2008).

Rajender Singh, the promoter behind the Inspiration tour in Houston says, “Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy are Bollywood’s top trio group of music composers who entertain audiences around the world with their electrifying, melodious music. I am privileged to be organizing a show with them. They are the best among music composers. Indians living in Houston are huge followers of their music. Die hard fans are excited and cannot wait for them to be here. I am thrilled about their visit. I am confident the Houston concert on August 6, 2010 will be a grand success.”

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society

Indo American News • Friday, July 23 , 2010

Is There an Indian Spelling Gene?

So is there an InBy Ashish dian spelling gene?

Kumar Sen Nothingsoexciting, WA S H I N G say the winners— TON D.C. (Outwhat it comes look): When was down to really is a the last time you strong and steadused the words apfast orientation topoggiatura, guerwards academics don or Laodicean and a belief in the in a conversation? power of learning.

Go on, admit it, Nupur Lala, the you just went daughter of an enlooking for your gineering profesdictionary, didn’t sor, who won the you? A succession 1999 Bee (winning of Indian Ameriword: logorrhea) can teenagers, and was featured some with names in a documentary, that would stump Spellbound, on even seasoned that contest, feels spellers, have been success has much grabbing top honto do with the fact ours at a venerable that Indian kids are American institureared with a differtion, the Scripps ent educational phiNational Spelling losophy from their Bee, by spelling American peers, these very words in which learning correctly. The Bee large amounts of has it all: drama, tears, sighs of re- Ace speller Kavya Shivashankar and her family meet Obama. Her sister Vanya, information is seen as part and parcel lief and squeals of 8, was the youngest to enter this year’s Bee. of education rather excitement—and voice greeted me with ‘Hi Kavya’, than a dreadful images of Indian American kids nervously spelling and President Obama stepped out chore. “It takes a unique type of words they may have little use for to shake my hand, congratulated me discipline and ability to focus that later, whooping with joy after hav- and turned to my parents to praise we accept as part of education,” ing got it right and, in one case, them on the way they had raised me.” she says.

However, winners cavil at the even losing consciousness due to the Clearly, a proud speller to the core, the emotional strain of the competition. 14-year-old added: “I graciously ac- assumption that they are basiMore than a dozen Indian Americans cepted the gift bag (from Obama) as cally expert rote-learners. “It is have secured top spots at this contest my sister and I profusely thanked him impossible to memorise every since Balu Natarajan lifted the trophy for his generosity and munificence.” word in the dictionary,” points in 1985. This year too, an Indian Before that, there were neighbours out Kavya. “I prepared by learnspelled her way to victory: Anamika lining the street with posters and ing root words and etymologiVeeramani, daughter of an engineer banners, and calls from senators and cal patterns. Being familiar with many roots, especially Greek and couple, became the third consecutive congressmen.

With greater media attention and Latin ones, helps in figuring out Indian American winner of the Bee since 2008 by coolly spelling stro- prestige every year, it’s no wonder unfamiliar words in the Bee.” muhr, a word more often heard in the that the Bee is attracting bright-eyed “After every Bee champion is sterilised confines of a hospital than kids like bees to honey—an esti- crowned, someone is out there mated 10 million children took part blogging about the unnecessary on the lips of 14-year-olds.

What critics see as a meaningless in the spelloffs this year. It’s safe rote-learning needed to win a exercise focused on cramming arcane to assume that a fair number were Spelling Bee,” says Balu who words (“All those hours spent on one Indian Americans. Not just teenage spelled milieu correctly to win in narrow academic focus! All that rote- contestants, but young children too, 1985. “But in any sport, event, or learning! All that stressful competi- like Kavya’s sister Vanya, who at endeavour, effort is required— tion!”, deplores writer June Kronholz 8, was the youngest participant in partly to understand the logic in the American journal, Education the 2010 Bee; their dreams fuelled behind that endeavour, and partly Next) is defended by supporters as by the successes notched up by so to cement the fundamentals that a wonderful way of honing the mind many from the community in recent shape that endeavour.” Yet Nupur and invigorating the spirit. With very years. Indeed, the Wall Street Journal feels that over the years, the Bee heady rewards, besides, for those reported this week that for thousands has become more of a rote comwho succeed. Ask last year’s win- of Indian kids in the US, spelling petition than it was in her time, ner, Kavya Shivashankar, for whom rather than basketball or soccer “has rewarding spellers for knowing victory tasted even sweeter after a become the sport of choice”. Spelling words rather than being able to at“dreamlike” 15-minute meeting with competitions, catering just to South tack new ones. “You would need Barack Obama at the White House Asians, have sprung up across the greater breadth than depth to win this June, which she recounted in a country, it said, some with big-name these days,” she says. breathless e-mail to Outlook: “A deep sponsors and hefty cash prizes.

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Indo American News • Friday, July 23 , 2010

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Free Bhagavata Dharma Summer Camp for Kids MANVEL TX: The Global Organization for Divinity Houston will conduct its second annual Gopa Kuteeram Summer Camp from August 5 to August 8, 2010 in the Pearland area. The day camp will be held from 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM from Thursday to Sunday at the Houston Namadwaar prayer house, located at 3642 Bailey Ave, Manvel, TX 77578. Youngsters aged between 7 and 16 years are welcome to register for the free camp.

The aim of the Gopa Kuteeram camp is to instill values from Bhagavata Dharma in the participants and to demonstrate that spirituality can be a part of their everyday lives. Participants will be exposed to Bhagavata Dharma and the Itihasas and Puranas, especially Srimad Bhagavatam, through a variety of fun activities such as skits, artwork, crafts, project presentations, group discussion, Hari Katha, games, nagara sankirtan, and more. The camp will also include a couple of fun field trips and water playtimes.

There is no fee for participating in the camp.

Global Organization for Divinity (G.O.D.) is a worldwide organization that aims to

promote peace, harmony and universal love amidst cultural diversity through inner spiritual transformation by chanting the Divine Names. The Houston Namadwaar, a prayer house where the Mahamantra—Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare, Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare—is chanted everyday, was inaugurated open in February 2010 with the blessings and guidance of HH Maharanyam Sri Sri Muralidhara Swamiji of Chennai, India. Every Saturday, a Nama sankirtan satsang is held at Houston Namadwaar between 10:30 AM and 12:30 PM. A weekly Gopa Kuteeram session for kids of all ages is also conducted every Saturday between 11 AM and 12 Noon. Everyone is welcome to attend the satsangs.

For more information about the Houston Namadwaar or Global Organization for Divinity, visit www.godivinity.org, email houston.god@godivinity.org or call 1 (830) 4GOD HOU. E-mail us: houston.god@ godivinity.org with children’s names and ages, and parents’ contact information: (with your name, address, e-mail and phone number).

Read us online at www.indoamerican-news.com

India Fest 2010 - August 15, 2010

“Heritage India”

ICC is proud to announce that it will honor the legacy of Rabindranath Tagore with the “Spirit of Tagore” awards to commemorate his 150th birth anniversary Considered the greatest writer in modern Indian literature, Rabindranath Tagore was a poet, novelist, educator, musician and artist. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913 for his work “Gitanjali”. He was the only man whose songs have been selected to be National Anthems of two countries i.e “Jana Gana Mana” for India and “Amar Sonar Bangla” for Bangladesh. Tagore was awarded the knighthood in 1915, but he surrendered it as a protest against the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre of Amritsar.

India Fest 2010 Awards Nomination Form Application deadline July 31, 2010 Return this nomination form along with the nominee’s Resume to: India Culture Center (ICC), Houston Attn: Atul Vir E-Mail: Atul@ShangrilaArts.com or Fax 713-490-7451

“Spirit of Tagore” Award Categories (check one): Poetry Writing ( Literature and Plays ) Education Music Painting Name of Nominee: Address: Phone/Fax: Name & Address of Nominator: Phone # of Nominator: Disclaimer: Kindly note that the ICC Board reserves the exclusive discretion to select, without accountability to any organization or nominating body, the final honoree in each category from amongst nominations received from various sources including other organizations. The individuals nominated should be of Indian Origin living in South Texas. These individuals/organization would be informed in advance & they should be present at India Fest 2010 .The ICC Board offers no assurance that any of the nominees will be amongst those selected to be the final honorees at the India Fest 2010.

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUly 23 , 2010 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

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By V. Rajagopal CHENNAI (Hindu): “Hello, it’s me, Seshu, you know I kept Rs.75, 000 in the steel almirah underneath my shirts. Give that to the contractor, he will come there soon,” an authoritative husband yells at his wife over the mobile phone from a busy public place where there is a large crowd.

The wife replies helplessly: “I do not know who he is, how he looks like, can I give the money to a stranger?”

Pat came the reply: “You saw him once and also served coffee in our house. You always forget. He is short, thin frame, of dark complexion with some curly hair, now wearing a blue striped T-shirt….OK, hand over the money. I will come home late.”

Proud of his communication skill, he invited the contractor for a cup of tea from the wayside shop before proceeding to his house to collect the money.After 10 minutes, his obedient wife promptly informed him that she had given the money to the person he sent. Shocked as the contractor was still with him, he realised that someone overheard his loud instructions to his wife and duped her. The imposter

opinion

Indo American News • Friday, July 23 , 2010

It’s a Boon... and a Bane Nevertheless

had gone there in a blue T-shirt and repeated their conversation.

The husband cursed himself for the blunder of using the mobile phone recklessly in public. This is just one instance of how a mobile talk can prove costly. “Thank God,” he murmured that he did not blurt out that he kept Rs. 2 lakh in the cupboard.

Likes and dislikes about persons or events are freely aired over the mobile phone, leading to undesirable and, at times, dangerous consequences.

Yes, the mobile phone has many advantages in today’s fast life — in sending messages to families, friends or to the workplace. But the demerits are no less significant and the fact remains that its negatives do impact our lives. The mobile phone definitely helps a frequent flier inform his family of his whereabouts. The urgency to rush patients from home or from an accident spot to hospital cannot be overemphasised.

In case of theft, robbery, molestation or any other crime, the mobile phone is a friend indeed to call the

police. Mobile phones are widely used to summon the taxi to reach the bus-stand, railway station or airport. The messages of accidents or death can be conveyed to the parties concerned in any part of the world in a trice.

An SMS can be sent on a variety of matters — personal, official and business promotion.

With the facility to take photos, the mobile comes in handy when a crime take place. Photos of birthdays, marriages and festivals can be taken even by a layperson. The arrivals and departures of trains/flights can be ascertained through the mobile service. The fire service, ambulances and other emergency services can be had at the flick of buttons or even by a simple touch.

Now for the danger part of it. People talk animatedly while walking and driving vehicles oblivious of the road traffic.

Recently, two motorbike riders were run over by a lorry as they were using the mobile while driving.

A woman was knocked down by a train as she was engrossed in a deep conversation over the cellphone.

The advertisement by some mobile companies of ‘walk and talk’ is dangerous as people keep talking while

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crossing the road, or boarding a train or bus, unmindful of the impending danger to life.

Listening to music on the mobile while crossing the road is another hazard. Mobile phones also affect the atmosphere in offices, where people keep talking to friends/relations for a long duration unmindful of their duties or the sensibilities of colleagues.

What should remain personal or confidential is spoken loudly to the party at the other end, and the mischief-mongers make the most of it.

Confidentiality is lost as people converse in higher decibels. Misuse of the mobile camera has increased — anti-socials take photographs of girls/women and blackmail them to extract money or other favours.

Medical reports show that continuous use of the mobile phone is detrimental to health as it affects the nervous system. A recent study stated that continuous use of the mobile phone affects the proteins in the brain.

In fact, when two mobiles were connected to an egg and operated for over an hour, the protein inside the egg was found cooked. Crazy mobile users have a message here.

What started off as a means to ‘communicate,’the mobile phone has become the instrument for prolonged conversation, especially among the youth. With attractive schemes and subsidies on talking time, the business is fast growing.

The mobile, thus, can be either a boon or bane depending on how we handle it.

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Resplendence of Art and Literature during Maratha Dynasty Revisited at Samskriti International Fine Arts Conference Scholarly kings of Thanjavur fostered the cultural arts

By Kalyani Giri HOUSTON: For the past four years, art lovers have looked forward to this time of the year when eminent scholars from all over the world converge on this city and nourish avid minds with their erudition.

This year’s international conference, Art and Literature at the Thanjavur Maratha Court: A Confluence of Cultures 1674 – 1855, saw no dearth of knowledge willingly shared about the historical reign of the Maratha kings in South India and their scholarly patronage of the arts. Held under the auspices of the Samskriti Society for Indian Performing Arts in association with the Museum of Fine Arts Houston (MFAH) at the BrownAuditorium, MFAH, on July 10, 2010, the event drew revered luminaries in the arts. Serving as curators to the conference were Dr. Anna Dallapiccola, a veritable treasure house on Indian art history from Edinburgh, and Mount Holyoke College’s Dr. Indira Peterson, a renowned Sanskrit scholar, author, and pundit on Thanjavur’s hoary cultural history. Other speakers on the Thanjavur legacy included Dr. B. M. Sundaram, Professor Davesh Soneji, and Professor Micheal Linderman. Author and dance historian Padmashree Dr. Sunil Kothari was in attendance and offered insightful closing remarks.

Aside from being educational, the weekend was replete with the unexpected. Guests at the conference got to rub shoulders with royalty in the exalted ilk of a direct descendant of the maharajas of the Maratha dynasty, His Eminence Shri S. Babaji Rajah Bhonsle, who came in from India to grace the occasion. Gatherees got to eat a traditional South Indian lunch of sambaar and upma in the museum pavilion, and on July 11, were treated to an outstanding dance recital, The King’s Salon at the Jewish Community Center.

The art conference did more than bring the richly vibrant history of the Thanjavur Maratha Court to this city; it also reiterated how significantly the local Indian community has established a cultural niche all of it’s own within the MFAH not only through the permanent Indian art exhibit ensconced within its walls,

Scholars of this year’s international conference, Art and Literature at the Thanjavur Maratha Court: A Confluence of Cultures 1674 – 1855 held at the Brown Auditorium, MFAH, on July 10. Shri Babaji Rajah Bhonsle, the king of Thanjavur is at the center.

but also through collaborative endeavors born of respect and mutual understanding.

Founder/initiator of the art conference and Samskriti’s Executive Director Vatsa Kumar and MFAH’s Manager Margaret Mims jointly welcomed art lovers to the event.

“This year is the 1000th year of the Sri Brihadeeswara Temple in Thanjavur, and we are honored to celebrate the landmark anniversary with this conference,” Vatsa Kumar told gatherees.

Mims confided that she was glad to be hosting the event at the museum. “I’d like to thank Samskriti, particularly Vatsa Kumar and Dr. Rathna Kumar (Artistic Director of Samskriti) for bringing the world’s most distinguished experts to the museum. I would also like to salute them for their passion, sincerity, and hard work,” said Mims. She also pointed out that it was the first conference since the installation of the permanent Arts of India exhibit last year.

In her opening remarks, Dr. Rathna Kumar told gatherees that the Sri Brihadeeswara Temple in Thanjavur reclined at the very heart of the city and was the iconic abode of the gods where music and dance flourished.

“The reign of the Maratha kings had a far-reaching influence on the 21st century as they were learned scholars and great patrons of the arts,” added Dr. Kumar.

Shri S. Babaji Rajah Bhonsle, the first speaker of the day, talked of pre-

serving the heritage of the Thanjavur Palace Devasthanams, comprising of 88 temples and two world heritage monuments, of which he is the hereditary trustee. He has been lauded for renovating and consecrating 70 temples with the help of the public.

“When I took the mantle of responsibility in 1985, the economic conditions weren’t strong. Devotees helped with generous monetary contributions,” said Bhonsle. His work as trustee entails leadership in temple festivals to collaboration with modern conservation and heritage organizations in architectural renovation and public education through arts and cultural events.

An engaging and knowledgeable speaker, Dr. Indira Peterson’s talk was A Home for Saravati in South India: Cosmopolitanism, Learning and Literature at the Thanjavur Maratha Court. The Sarasvati Mahal Library is attached to the Thanjavur Palace and a wonderland of thousands of manuscripts in several Indian languages.

“Thanjavur is a magical place with renowned experts in music and dance,” said Dr. Peterson. “Modernity came about in the 19th century during the reign of the Maratha kings – a multicultural, diverse, cosmopolitan modernity. All languages came together in dance dramas, and the kuravanji was the epitome of the polyglot. The Marathas combined language and culture, text and performance, science and the arts, court and

temple, and modernity and tradition in Thanjavur,” added Dr. Peterson, whose presentation was peppered with melodiously sung verses in Sanskrit and Tamil.

Dr.Anna Dallapiccola is no stranger to this city. An institution at previous art conferences where she dazzled audiences with the length and breadth of her expertise on Indian art, as well as her skilled pronunciation of the oft tongue-twisting Indian names and places, Dr. Dallapiccola’s paper was on Paintings of the Maratha Period in Thanjavur. She described the artistic trends of the 17th to the 19th century under Maratha rule as intriguing because some paintings appeared to be influenced by forms from other parts of India and Europe. “The works haven’t been sufficiently explored but they reflect diverse patronage and very versatile open minded artists will to assimilate new styles,” said Dr. Dallapiccola.

Dr. B. M. Sundaram, a music composer, author, and historian of wide repute, delivered a paper on Harikatha and Lavani: Marathi Cultural Forms and Public Performance Traditions of Thanjavur. The Marathas brought two important arts to Thanjavur. They were the Harikatha, originally known as kirtan, a devotional discourse.

The other was the Lavani, a genre of erotic literature. “Today there are Harikatha artists, but not a single Lavani performer exists today,” said Dr. Sundaram.

Youthful scholar Dr. Davesh Soneji

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUly 23 , 2010 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

explored Choreography and Colonial Cosmopolis: Stage Dance at the 19th Century Thanjavur Court. He discussed the devadasi culture, professional dancers and courtesans of the Thanjavur court. His paper found pleasing echo in The King’s Salon, a dance recital by Canada-based Hari Krishnan and Dr. Srividya Natarajan, the grand finale to a conference well received.

While in this city, scholars got to meet the community at private events hosted at the homes of volunteers and art lovers.

“Hailing from Thanjavur, I was really proud that the art, culture and history of my ancestral town were presented in Houston by eminent scholars from around the world,” said Sesh Bala, who along with his wife Prabha hosted several delightful evenings with the scholars at their SugarLand home.

At the conference several new paintings by local artists were unveiled.

Artists included Geetha Prakash, Bharathi Venugopal, George Ty, and Vinod Patel.

Facilitator Vatsa Kumar was elated with the outcome of the conference.

“After working many months to bring the conference to Houston, I found it to be a very rewarding experience to me. I appreciate the support of Dr. Rathna Kumar and Anil Kumar, Dr. Dallapiccola, Dr. Peterson, and Margaret Mims who all stood by me and supported this endeavor,” said Vatsa Kumar.

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Indo American News • Friday, July 23 , 2010

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The King’s Salon: An Outstanding Ode to the Devadasi Tradition of Dance Freshly divergent with limitless aptitude for innovation

By Kalyani Giri HOUSTON: The richly ambient royal courts of the Maratha kings of Thanjavur during the 18th and 19th century were recreated through the eloquent interpretation and honed dynamism of The King’s Salon, an outstanding dance recital by premier Canada-based artistes Dr. Srividya Natarajan and Hari Krishnan. The critically acclaimed repertoire that explores and revisits the aesthetics of courtly love through the Bharathanatyam art form, offered a fitting and elegant finale to this year’s international art conference, Art and Literature at the Thanjavur Maratha Court: A Confluence of Cultures 1674 – 1855. Held under the auspices of Samskriti Society for Indian Performing Arts at the Jewish Community Center on July 11, The King’s Salon, presented through rhapsodic emotional texts and rhythmically intricate movement, was a breathtakingly beautiful ode to the devadasis, the artistes and courtesans of yesteryear, whose grace and prowess in the ancient dance form captivated royalty and zamindars alike. By drawing wide patronage, the art flourished and thrived through the ages, until colonialism and a redefinition of morality brought that era of courtly grandeur to an end.

Samskriti’s Artistic Director Dr. Rathna Kumar welcomed guests and introduced the artists. She told gatherees that she had seen The King’s Salon

baji Bhonsle; essentially a song of salutation, the dancers Srividya and Hari, as in olden times, were fortuitously accorded the opportunity to offer salutations to the prince.

From the outset, The King’s Salon was refreshingly divergent in its imaginative and sumptuous choreogDancers Dr. Srividya Natarajan and Hari Krishnan raphy. With paying obeisance to His Eminence Shri S. Babaji Rajah labyrinthine Bhonsle. Photo: Vatsa Kumar movement that garnered performance in Chennai and had all of the stage, the accomplished since yearned to bring it to this city. dancing duo Srividya and Hari held She recognized the presence of His gatherees riveted as they described a Eminence S. Babaji Rajah Bhonsle, time in South India when kings ruled a bona fide prince by bloodline, and and spirited women with tinkling a direct descendant of the Maratha ankle bells held court in opulent kings that once ruled Thanjavur. By palaces. Even for a slightly jaded some strange quirk of fate, the first Houston audience often inundated item in the evening’s repertoire was with a steady diet of cultural feasts, the Salam-Daruvu, a piece dedicated The King’s Salon was an eye-opento the Thanjavur Maratha kings Prata- er that reiterated that artistry is an pasimha and Serfoji, ancestors of Ba- ever-changing landscape and that

the human aptitude for innovation is limitless.

The King’s Salon, through old texts, spoke of love and eroticism in the royal courts, of women boldly proclaiming their longing to be united with their beloved. The complex Svarajati, a composition of Thanjavur Vadivelu Nattuvanar (1869 – 1914), was a triumph of abstract and interpretative aspects of dance woven through an ornate poem of yearning and eroticism. The Mandodari Sabdam, penned by C. R. Acharyulu (1919 – 1999), described a sixteenth century Telugu courtesan Lakuma Devi telling the story of Mandodari, a woman cursed to live her life as a frog until the man she would marry comes along. Mandodari sees the demon king Ravana and is freed from the curse when he looks at her. After relating the tale, Lakuma Devi salutes the king and exits the dance hall.

“Although C.R. Acharyalu taught and popularized this composition as part of the Kuchipudi dance repertoire, genres such as sabdams came into Kuchipudi through the devadasi dance traditions of the Thanjavur Nayaka court,” said Dr. Davesh Soneji, in his overview of The King’s Salon. Dr. Soneji is a research scholar and the Associate Director of inDANCE, a collaborative progressive dance endeavor founded by Hari Krishnan in Canada.

A shimmering piece in The King’s Salon was the Sarabhendra Bhupala

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUly 23 , 2010• ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

Kuravanji dedicated to King Serfoji 11 of Thanjavur (1798 – 1832). It was originally enacted by the devadasis of the region on a special platform the king had built for this purpose inside the Brihadishvara temple in Thanjavur. It tells of a woman called Madanavalli who is in love with the King Serfoji. A fortune-telling woman of the Kura tribe reads Madanavalli’s palm and predicts that Madanavalli will soon be united with the king.

Srividya and Hari concluded their recital with a Tillana composed by Ponnaiya of the Thanjavur Quartet.

The artistes, each formidably gifted in their own right, took their training from an exacting master, the late great maestro K. P. Kittappa Pillai (1919 – 1999). Srividya holds a PhD in Cultural Studies from the University of Hyderabad. She is a teacher of dance, dance theory and history, and classical music, and is also an inventive choreographer who has collaborated in the creation of several dance productions. She is the Guest Artist in Residence at inDANCE. Hari Krishnan is a dancer, choreographer, teacher, dance scholar, and the Artistic Director of inDANCE. His creative output is holistic, combining the allied arts of Bharatanatyam dance, music, theatre, and theory with contemporary, urban, post postmodern culture.

For more information about Samskriti visit http://www.samskritihouston.org/

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INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUly 23 , 2010 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM