111210a

Indo American News • Friday, November 12 , 2010

Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

Friday, November 12 2010 | Vol. 29, No. 46

Indo American News

$1 Circulation Verified by

This Action Got a Bad Reaction ACTION REPLAYY is a light-hearted romantic comedy that should be viewed without really seeking much rationale or logic behind every action and reaction.

If you go with that in mind, chances are you might like the experience. A slightly dreary first hour, but a racy second hour with top notch performances makes it a decent watch.

READ US ONLINE at www.indoamerican-news.com Published weekly from Houston, TX

Overall Public Reaction

7457 Harwin Dr, Suite 262, Houston, TX 77036 Ph: 713.789.NEWS (6397) • Fax: 713.789.6399 • indoamericannews@yahoo.com

obama Visit elevates india as world leader NEW DELHI: Deepening Ame-rica’s stake in Asian power politics, President Barack Obama endorsed India’s bid to become a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, hoping to elevate the nation of a billion people to “its rightful place in the world” alongside an assertive China.

Obama’s declaration, delivered to the pounding applause of India’s parliament members, spoke to a mission broader than the makeup of one global institution. By spending three packed days in India, announcing trade deals, dismissing job-outsourcing gripes and admonishing India’s rival Pakistan, Obama went all in for an ally whose support he hopes to bank on for years.

As her husband promoted trade deals and championed India as a world power, the

1

Udavum Karangal Fund Raiser

Occasion for songs & dances to Help Others

First Lady Michelle charmed the Indians by dancing with children even going on a shopping spree.

“I want every Indian citizen to know: The United States of America will not simply be cheering you on from the sidelines,” Obama said inside the soaring legislative chamber of the capital city. “We will be right there with you, shoulder to shoulder, because we believe in the promise of India.

President Obama with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh

enticing with Spice Shubhra Ramineni’s Cookbook Teeming with Traditional Wholesome Easy Dishes

For Ramineni, 34, the book was a personal adventure; a chemical engineer by profession with an MBA in Finance, she often found herself yearning for a wholesome home-cooked meal after a long tiring day at the office.

read more on pg 9

Dancers performing at the Udavum Karangal fund raiser last Sunday, November 9 at the Immanuel Center of the Mar Thoma Church.

Photos: Jawahar Malhotra

By Jawahar Malhotra STAFFORD: Feigning a dramatic pose on stage after he climbed the stairs, Rajnikant – aka Rajan – strode quickly across in his best imitation: pointy white shoes, blue jeans, white zip-up turtle neck shirt, hair aplombed - past the stand, retraced his steps and then spoke into the mic as an amused Padmini Nathan looked on and the audience broke into titters.

“Thank you everyone, it is our privilege to be able to be part of this program,” Rajan Radhakrishnan said, self-deprecatingly of the role that he and his partners Mahesh Shah of Madras Pavilion restaurant in Sugar Land have played in the past nine years for this fundraiser.

The audience knew that without their unwavering support - the keen involvement of Rajan who has a flair and love for theatrics and film-making, and the attention Mahesh paid to the food, table ar-

rangements and dining - that the event wouldn’t have gone off as smoothly.

From the sound system, to the stage lighting, directions and the occasional on-scene show stopper as the Mughal Rajah in flowing long tresses sitting on a couch onstage to singing the song Meri Maa in the dark while the video from Tara Zameen Pur rolled, Rajan was everywhere and enjoyed being part of the show.

And the event was one that was near to the hearts of Rajan, Mahesh, Nathan and the nearly 400 people who came out last Sunday afternoon, November 9 to the Immanuel Center Auditorium which is part of the large Mar Thoma Church facility situated 10-acres with manicured lawns on the city’s southwest side.

Completed just a year ago, the Center has a large stage and excellent sound and lighting befitting benefits and other productions and

has just recently opened up to the public. The spacious building also has a kitchen with a dining area attached and classrooms for teaching Sunday school.

This is the ninth year that the Udavum Karangal of USA, the American arm of the Chennai based NGO, has held a fundraiser which Madras Pavilion has supported as well as many other people from the Houston area. President Dr. Padmini Nathan opened the event, headlined Moves and Melodies 2010 with appreciation to all the donors and the participanats in what turned out to be a long, 6-hour-long event, taking into account the usual late-arriving guests, which pushed the program behind a bit.

continued on page 3

Share Indo-American News with a friend

THIS WEEK’S FEATURES Diwali and Hindu New Year Celebrated at Arya Samaj & BAPS in Houston Story on Pg 5, 6

Anjali’s 35th Anniversary Celebrating the Colors of Life through Dance - An Interview with Dancer Rathna Kumar Story on Pg 8

Star Pipe Products Diwali Celebration Observed with Decorations, Diyas, Diverse Dishes Story on Pg 11

The Inaugural GOPIO Health Summit Will Honor 5 Individuals/ Organizations - Focus on Health Issues

Award Recipient Dr. Jatin Shah

PLUS More features Story on Pg 17 inside

Indo AmerIcAn news • FrIdAy, A noVemBer 12 , 2010 • Online editiOn: Ay, On: www.indOamerican-news.cOm O

2

Indo American News • Friday, November 12 , 2010

Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

Indo American News • Friday, NOVEMBER 12 , 2010 • Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

society

Indo American News • Friday, November 12 , 2010

3

an Occasion with songs & dances to Help Others

continued from page 1

For those who did make it to the social hour, a light snack and hot heat made the wait bearable, and a display and handouts explained the work that UK does in Chennai.

Before the program started, a short video showed the evolution of the UK and the care it gives out to those who are less fortunate and unable to fend for themselves. As he was unable to attend in person, Udavum Karangal founder S. Vidyaakar explained how he was moved by the plight of a tiny baby girl to start helping others in 1983.

From this humble background, Vidyaakar’s social work has grown to become a well-respected NGO that has helped thousands of people get on their feet and brought him and the UK many awards from across India. “Our school has educated 2,500 children and hundreds have gone onto college,” beamed Vidyaakar. “Forty-two girls have gotten married and are well-settled.”

In addition, two years ago, UK has opened Jeevan, a community center where skills are taught to help people to fend for themselves and empower them. UK’s latest initiative is the Sri Gayathri Medical Mission, which is an outpatient clinic and also has 25 inpatient beds and has based in Thiruverkadu, Chennai that offers services at a nominal fee. In Phases 2 and 3 of the Mission, plans call for a 100-bed hospital with extended

lab, operation and inpatient facilities.

As in the past, the Houston community has opened its hearts to support the UK. The stage show this year focused on the impressive work that the Indian dance schools in the area have done in producing a large cadre of talented girls and young women, many of whom performed with under their school banners, and some with their teachers, on stage.

To open up the long program of 30 items was a dance by three of the gurus themselves, Ratna Kumar, Padmini Chari and Indrani Parthasarathy, to the accompaniment of the taal (rhythm and beat) of vocalists Anuradha Subramanium, Chandrakanta Courtney, Jamuna Murali backed up by musicians David Courtney, Mahesh Iyer and Murli Mridangam.

From there on, with a little introduction from emcee Subodh Bhuchar (who was later joined by Ratna Kumar and Alpa Shah), the show alternated between dance and songs (hence the headliner).

Most of the singers were very good, particularly Arjun Adapalli, a student from Austin; Karthika Mahadeva, Cedela Abdulla and of course Chnadrakanta, Jamuna and Rajan who also sang pieces.

But it was the dances that really captivated the imagination with their intricate moves, colorful costumes and vibrant beats, each performance by dancers from one

A-ONE INTERNATIONAL Amazing deals, Best packages in town

Call us!

281-493-1888 aonedishnetwork.com

Top: Jugal Malani presents an award of appreciation to Mahesh and Vijaya Rajan as Udavum Karangal USA President helps and emcee (and solo dancer in the program) Alpa Shah looks on.

M iddle : R a jni - a k a R a ja n Radhakrsihnan - steps onstage and is greeted by Padmini Nathan.

Bottom: The lobby of the Immanuel Center had a display on the work performed by the Udavum Karangal in India.

of the schools in the Houston area better than the other. Some were really imaginative, like the whiteface peasant getup by the Tarana Dance Group, the medley from Jasmeeta Singh with the Anjali School of Performing Arts and the dances to Radha and Krishna.

According to Nathan, the event was able to raise around $35,000 for the UK work for a photo collage from the event, turn to page 23

For information on the Udavum Karangal of USA, contact Dr. Padimini Nathan at 713-829-2040 or visit myhelpinghands.org

Indo-American News (ISSN 887-5936) is published weekly on every Friday (for a subscription price of $30 per year) by Indo-American News Inc., 7457 Harwin Dr., Suite 262, Houston, Texas 77036, Tel: 713-789-6397, Fax: 713-789-6399, Email: indoamericannews@yahoo.com.

Periodical postage paid at Houston, Texas. POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to Indo-American News, 7457 Harwin Dr., Suite 262, Houston, Texas 77036.

DESIGN A WEBSITE Expand your business with an online presence Great Rates for Non-Profit organizations and Institutions

Indo AmerIcAn news • FrIdAy, A noVemBer 12 , 2010 • Online editiOn: Ay, On: www.indOamerican-news.cOm O

• Online Stores • Informative Website • Professional Blogs • CMS Websites • Radio/Music Stores

Start your business Online today!

Call 713-349-3726

4

Indo American News • Friday, November 12 , 2010

Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

Indo AmerIcAn news • FrIdAy, A noVemBer 12 , 2010 • Online editiOn: Ay, On: www.indOamerican-news.cOm O

Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

Society

Indo American News • Friday, November 12 , 2010

5

Diwali and Hindu New Year Celebrated with Enthusiasm at BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Houston

STAFFORD: India is a country with rich culture and ancient traditions. Each festival brings joy and color to the world. Diwali is no different as it is the most widely celebrated Hindu festival, marking the victory of good over evil and the beginning of the Hindu New Year. This past week, BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Houston was brightly lit in orange, white and green representing its theme this year “Sare Jahan se Achcha” or Glorious India. What a great time to showcase the unity in diversity of India to Houstonians while reiterating the message of renewal, reflection and resolution for the upcoming New Year.

The festivities began with the sounds and voices of the diverse languages of India through a musical kirtan-bhakti program. Visitors were greeted traditionally with a chandlo by the youths of BAPS and rangoli, a beautiful floor design made with colored rice and powder, as they entered the brightly glowing Mandir. “Coming to the Mandir brings excitement and joy,” said Subhash Desai. He added, “The environment here makes

Children’s Diwali Celebration was held and proved to be as fun as it was educational. The children learned the history and origins of this festival, played a variety of exciting games, and were given an assortment of gifts and goodies.

Shardool Shukla pointed out, “success does not come on its own, it only comes with blessings from God. Each year I have my accounting books blessed during this time.” Diwali is traditionally the day when business owners close existing account books First New Years Arti at BAPS Shri Swaminaand open new ones rayan Mandir in preparation for me feel proud to be from India.” the year ahead. The Diwali is a time where all ages ceremony – called Sharada Pujan can celebrate. On October 31, the or Chopda Pujan – is also a time to

take stock of one’s spiritual relationship with Bhagwan.

As the evening of November 5th started to darken, streams of wellwishers and devotees watched the youths of BAPS perform a musical drama on Shravan and Nachiketa. The audience left inspired to be kind to all creatures, to respect one’s parents, to be strong willed to do something one has decided, even in the face of difficulties and obstacles and to seek for eternal happiness.

The highlight of the evening came with a vast array of colorful fireworks lit up the night sky.

The fireworks not only celebrate the coming of the New Year, but are also symbolic of the happiness people experience while participating in Diwali festivities.

A new year brings a new beginning. On November 6th, more than 1,200 dishes of snacks, savories, sweets, curries, pickles, salads, fruit drinks and various other items were artistically arranged to create a breathtaking ensemble of exotic vegetarian food, the Annakut, The Annakut– literally, ‘mountain of food’ – is a devout offering to the

deities as thanksgiving for all their providence throughout the year.

One of many visitors, Tina Varga of Sugarland, amazed on her first visit, “I have never seen so many vegetarian delicacies and what a beautiful way of offering God the first meal of the year.”

The entire past weekend the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan was filled with festivity and divinity as devotees greeted each other.

The head sadhu of the Mandir in Houston, Pujya Priyaseva Swami offered prayers for peace and success in each step that one takes for the upcoming New Year.

“I have been in the US for 5 years now and BAPS Mandir brings the memories and excitement of Diwali from India back,” said Sachin Patel. “Being away from home is difficult but this year with the theme Sare Jahan Se Achcha, the food, people, presentations and colors all brought happiness,” added Patel.

“Diwali is that time of year when family, friends and relatives get together and strengthen their bonds

Indo American News • Friday, NOVEMBER 12 , 2010 • Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

continued on page

10

6

Indo American News • Friday, November 12 , 2010

society

Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

Arya s samaj of Greater Houston celebrates c diwali

HOUSTON: Splendid display of fireworks, a captivating rendition of Bal Ramayan Chaupais by DAV Montessori children and enthralling music, dance performances

by DAV Sanskriti School children were the highlights of the Diwali celebrations at Arya Samaj Greater Houston, Sunday evening, November 7th. The festive atmosphere

drew throngs of families and friends, as everyone enjoyed the celebrations at the Arya Samaj grounds.

The guests were welcomed in the traditional Hindu way by putting a Tilak on their foreheads. The Ceremonial Havan and discourse by Acharya Premchand Shridhar who reminded the assembled audience of

on how important it is for people the religious, culto maintain their cultural roots, tural and the moral so that they know who they are, relevance of Diwali what their cultures represent and to the Indian commubring to their new homeland, thus nity. Diwali also coenriching their local communities. incides with celebraHe emphasized how the peoples tion of Rishi Nirvan of India, the largest democracy Divas – the day when in the world, and USA, the oldest the soul of Maharidemocracy in the world, share this shi Dayanand Sarastrong common thread of deep beswati, the religious lief in freedom & prosperity for scholar, reformer all. Diwali is a symbol of that and founder of Arya celebration of the victory of good Samaj departed from this world. We saw a Congressman Pete Olson ad- over evil, truth over untruth, and video clip of Swami dressing ASGH congregation light over darkness. It brings us all closer as citizens of the world Ramdev’s message

DAV Montessori children singing Ramayan Chaupais

extolling the contributions of Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati not only in spreading the knowledge of Vedas to the masses, but also in being the first to call for Swarajya in 1876 – a movement later taken up by his disciples and others, which ultimately led to India’s independence from British rule.

The MCs for the evening were Neha Srivastava and Pooja Salhotra who guided us through the evening’s program and kept every one engaged. Diwali is also known as the festival of lights symbolizing the homecoming of Rama, the deity, after a 14-year exile in the forest, and his victory over Ravana the 10-headed king of the demons, representing the good overcoming the evil. This message was encapsulated in a heartwarming rendition of the Ramayan Chaupais by the tiny tots from DAV Montessori School. It was really exhilarating to see them not only render the Chaupais from memory, but also in their mastery over Hindi language in singing the Chaupais under tutelage of Acharya Praveen Gulati ji and musical guidance of Smt. Vinita Arora ji.

This was followed by a scintillating dance performance by DAV Sanskriti School students under the direction of Jhilmil ji.

Chief Guest for the evening, Hon. Congressman Pete Olson of Sugarland, Texas was given a warm welcome by Sh. Brij Kathuria on behalf of ASGH. He described Congressman Olson as a friend, philosopher and guide to the Indian Community and as a person who is deeply committed to the cause of a peaceful and prosperous community. Congressman Olson shared his views

as it is also a festival of sharing of gifts and blessings. After the program, the Congressman was given a tour of the facility and the Schools, with which he was extremely impressed. Rounding up the cultural program were a couple song performances – first, by the children of DAV Sanskriti School who sang “Aaj Ki Raat Karen Duur Andhera..” – in synch with the message & celebration of Diwali – the lighting of lamps banishes the darkness of a New Moon night. This was followed by the Arya Youth Mandal children rendering a warm and stirring “Bhagwaan Aryaon Ko Aysi Lagan Lagaa Do..” and reinforcing the message of Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati. They were accompanied by their music guide and teacher Smt. Smriti Srivastava ji. After the cultural program, Acharya Shridharji led the gathering in the Aarti to seek blessings of the Gods for a prosperous and peaceful year ahead.

Everyone then moved to the grounds behind Arya Samaj building to savor the plentiful Indian delicacies from the various booths set up and run by volunteers. All the children and the adults waited patiently for the capping highlight of the evening – a display of professionally conducted fireworks which went on for quite a while lighting up the night sky in vibrant colors and illuminating the Arya Samaj premises. This was the final ‘zing’ for all those present who then went onto burst firecrackers and enjoy the traditions of Diwali.

Indo AmerIcAn news • FrIdAy, A noVemBer 12 , 2010 • Online editiOn: Ay, On: www.indOamerican-news.cOm O

Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

society

Indo American News • Friday, November 12 , 2010

Thousands of Walkers Coming to Houston Partnership Walk to Help End Global Poverty HOUSTON: On November 13, over 9,000 are expected to participate in the Houston Partnership Run/Walk to demonstrate their support for ending global poverty at Sam Houston Park Downtown in Houston. Partnership Walk, now in its 16th year, is an event held annually in major cities across the U.S. The Walk is an initiative of Aga Khan Foundation U.S.A. (AKF USA) to raise awareness and funds to alleviate global poverty and promote partnership between America and the developing world. Nationwide, over 33,000 are expected to participate in the Walk in nine cities, including Atlanta, Birmingham, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Memphis, Orlando and San Francisco. Visit www.PartnershipsInAction.org/walk.

The Run/Walk will bring together families, friends, students and leaders in government, business, media and the arts for a day of learning activities, fundraising and culturally diverse performances. 100% of funds raised at Partnership Walk go directly to the projects supported by the Foundation.

The cost of organizing the Walk is completely underwritten by AKF USA and inkind contributors. No contributions are used for administrative costs. Since 1995, PartnershipsInAction events have attracted over 313,000 participants, raising $36 million.

The 2010 Houston Partnership Run/Walk will be held on Saturday, November 13 at Sam Houston Park Downtown in Houston.

In addition to the traditional 3K Walk, Partnership Run/Walk will feature a 1K Run and a 100-yard dash for children. Participants will walk or run to demonstrate their support for ending global poverty. A detailed schedule will be available soon on our website.

Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee will give the keynote address and tour the interactive exhibits on site that showcase innovative solutions for reducing poverty in Africa and Asia. Distinguished guests participating at the event will include Marcus Coleman, former NFL player of the Houston Texans.

The program featuring lively entertainment celebrating the diversity of world cultures and educational exhibits will be hosted

by Jacqueline “Jacquie” Baly Chaumette, councilmember for the City of Sugarland and Sharron Melton, news anchor, ABC 13.

For a detailed schedule and directions, visit the Partnership Walk website at www.PartnershipsInAction.org/walk.

The 2010 theme for the Walk, “Our Environment: One People, One Planet” calls attention to the urgent need for environmental stewardship and strategies that build sustainability and resilience to the mounting challenges of climate change, deforestation, resource depletion and diminishing biodiversity. Poor and marginalized communi-

ties are on the front lines of climate change, at risk from melting glaciers in Tajikistan, floods in Pakistan, salt water intrusion in Bangladesh, and prolonged drought in Kenya where food security and famine hang in the balance. Aga Khan Development Network’s solutions to environmental problems are intricately linked with mobilizing communities to champion innovative approaches to natural resource management and alternative energy in their surrounding habitats. Responsible stewardship of our planet extends to all people from Asia to Africa to America. 2010 PartnershipsInAction will engage Americans as global citizens in the widening grassroots movement to improve the quality of life of our planet and its people.

One of the most inspiring features of Partnership Walk is the Village in Action, where participants can enjoy interactive displays and hands-on exhibits that spotlight how the Foundation is implementing creative solutions in poor regions from Afghanistan to Zanzibar with projects that promote quality education and health care, expand microcredit opportunities and improve incomes and agricultural productivity. Volunteers will guide participants through interactive exhibits to introduce the innovative ways that Aga Khan Foundation is alleviating hunger, disease and illiteracy. This year’s Village in Action will focus on environmental solutions that have a positive impact on the poor and help them to be more self-reliant.

AKF USA, established in 1981, is a private, non-denominational, non-profit international development organization committed to alleviating poverty, hunger, disease and illiteracy. AKF USA is part of the Aga Khan Development Network (www.akdn. org), a network of private, non-denominational, development agencies around the world, established by His Highness the Aga Khan to empower communities and individuals, often in disadvantaged circumstances, to improve their living conditions and opportunities. The overarching goal of the Network’s programs is to help poor communities achieve a level of self-reliance whereby they are able to plan their own futures. The Foundation presently supports over 100 programs in 18 countries for the common good of all citizens regardless of their gender, origin or religion. The geographic focus of the Foundation’s development programs is in East Africa and South and Central Asia.

For more information, contact Martha Sipple at 202-203-0838 or Nisha Kapadia at 713-487-8414

Upto 3% BACK to home buyers!

NATIONAL REALTY & ABLE MORTGAGE

One place for all Residential & Commercial deals / 24-hr pre-qualification & fast closing We will beat any real mortgage deal - Good & Bad Credit - No Origination / No Cost Options We can Find, Finance & Build Apartment, Gas Station, Shopping Strip, Office Building, Church & Motel

281-733-4242 / 281-242-8500

www.ablemortgageloans.com

TX Mortgage Broker #: 2874

Indo American News • Friday, NOVEMBER 12 , 2010 • Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

7

8

Indo American News • Friday, November 12 , 2010

ACCOUNTING SERVICES UNLIMITED 6666 Harwin Drive, Suite 335, Houston, TX 77036

• Small Business Solutions • File your tax return electronically

• Book-Keeping and Tax Services • Incorporations - C and S • Income Statements & Balance Sheets Corporations, LLCs • Payroll & Payroll Tax Returns • Sales Tax and Franchise • Filing of all Individual and Business Tax Returns Returns, 1040, 1120, 1120S and • Income Tax and Sales Tax 1065, Representation • Free Initial Consultation

15 Years of Solid Experience • Call: 832-877-9625

Srini Ram • acct77036@yahoo.com • www.asu2020.com

ALEXANDER P. MATHEWS, CPA For Services In:

INDIVIDUAL & BUSINESS TAXES • BUSINESS TAX CONSULTATION INCORPORATION, FORMATION OF LLC CERTIFIED QUICK BOOK ADVISOR AVAILABLE

25 Years in Public Accounting 11104 West Airport, Ste 114, Stafford, TX 77477

(281) 564-9500

GURUCOOL Learning Center

5862 New Territory Blvd, (Randalls Shopping Center)

281-494-MATH (6284) See how we can improve your skills in:

• Math drills and Word problems • Phonics, Vocabulary, Reading Comprehension, and Grammar • Pre-Algebra, Algebra, and Geometry • Algebra II, Pre-Cal, Calculus

Learning Hours: 4PM - 7PM Monday - Thursday

Check our new exciting programs for:

• Elementary GT Preparation • Middle School Math Counts • High School AP Preparation IA News © 2010

society

Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

Anjali School’s 35th Anniversary

c celebrating colors of l life through dance Interview with classical dancer and guru Rathna Kumar

By Kalyani Giri HOUSTON: Eminent local Indian classical dancer and guru Dr. Rathna Kumar performed at the exquisite Theatre des Champs Elysee in Paris on the same day as the Beatles and the doyen of sitar Pandit Ravi Shankar. She has enjoyed spirited conversations about ragas with former president of India, Dr. Abdul Kalam, and was invited by Indian philosopher and statesman Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan to perform for him at the Rashtrapathi Bhavan. Her performance in 2000 at the Mecca for all musicians/ dancers, the Madras Music Academy, won her the Best Dancer Award for that season.

She has amassed awards and recognition internationally.

Yet her greatest joy, as she has reiterated time and again, has been in teaching dance to legions of students who have passed through the portals of the Anjali Center for Performing Arts, a dance school Dr. Kumar founded 35 years ago. To celebrate its anniversary, Dr. Kumar has choreographed a rousing dance theatre presentation, The Colors of Life - Navarasa, that will incorporate her students of the Anjali Dance Company.

Created in classical and contemporary styles of dance, the event will feature Shipra Mehrotra, Anisha Rajesh, Sunaina Rao, Archana Sharma, Venugopal Josyula, with Dr. Latha Ramchand as the narrator. Navarasa will be held at the Kaplan Theatre of the Jewish Community Center on November 20, 2010, at 5.00pm.

Here are excerpts from an interview with Dr. Rathna Kumar about her life in dance: What is the story behind your latest production Navarasa?

I have been mulling over this subject for a very long time, but since it is an oft-done theme, my main concern was approaching it from an angle that has not been done before. My theatrical background came in handy here, and combined with my dance training, Navarasa has turned into a dance theater production. I have interspersed dance with spoken word, and ‘woven’ into the fabric of the show a traditional sutradhara (narrator) in a contemporary context. In fact, there is a constant juxtaposition of the ancient and the contemporary throughout the production - stories from mythology as well as happenings from today’s world, not necessarily just India. After all, emotions are universal and eternal, and transcend time and geography.

What has it been like, devoting your life to dance?

I have known no other life.

I seem to have been doing little

else with as much dedication or as constantly, since I was eight years old. Of course I went to school and then college, got a Masters in English, taught in various colleges for a few years, acted in some 25 movies as a child star, but the strongest pull for me was my dance. Throughout my life, dance has given me solace and comfort. It is cathartic and cleanses my soul when I am stressed and feeling low. I am deeply in-

debted to God for giving me an art from which I can attain so much joy. Today, as Anjali celebrates her 35th Anniversary, and with Thanksgiving around the corner, I express my deep gratitude to my entire family, my friends, my students and their families, for their unquestioning and ongoing support.

How has dance enriched your life?

It has given me a better understanding of people, a deeper knowledge of my history, culture and traditions, an opportunity to learn many languages, make wonderful and lasting friendships, ‘create’ some exceptionally talented students, connect with my counterparts in the field of performing arts from various countries; it has given me the chance to travel far and wide, to perform in the presence of dignitaries at prestigious venues; it has garnered me awards and titles, kept me in the public eye, and has steered me in the direction of what I enjoy most today - new choreography. Far from home, dance has brought to me the realization that, more than anything else, I am very proud to be Indian and that I represent India every time I perform for nonIndian audiences.

What insights have you gleaned about human nature through your association with the community through dance?

The first lesson I learned was ‘never take anything for granted,

just because the student’s parents are Indian’. When I first started teaching 35 years ago, a parent demanded to know why I was making her daughter do the same ‘tai yum tat ta’ for three classes in a row! She had expected the child to learn dances and perform within the first couple of months of joining. I explained the necessity of a strong foundation. Now I ask parents at the outset what their expectations are, and tell them up front that classical dance is a rigid discipline and it takes years before they can see results. There are others who ‘shop around’, checking out each teacher’s fee, and decide on the cheapest, and still others who hop from teacher to teacher! They do not seem to realize that frequent changes are detrimental to the child’s progress because each teacher has a different approach to the art. I have had a good rapport with most of my colleagues in this city, but I have realized that competition has its ugly side. A rumor has been floated that one of my best students has been trained in India and that is why she is so good! When I told this to the girl’s mother (the family is from Sri Lanka and has never been to India), she had a hearty laugh, since most people know that this prodigious student started her training with me from age four, as did a majority of my senior students. There was a time when I trusted everyone, thinking that if they are from India they must be friends. I have learned bitter lessons resulting from my naiveté, and will never, hopefully, make the same mistakes again.

Primarily, what are the obligations of a guru to the sishya?

A guru has to treat all her students as a mother would treat her children – with equal love and affection, no favoritism, instilling the necessary discipline as well as respect for the art. A guru should give of his/her very best to each student, irrespective of how good or bad the student may be. A real guru should know his/her subject thoroughly, understand the lyrics of every song he/she choreographs, perhaps even know the languages he/she frequently works with.

In your opinion what are the obligations of the sishya to the guru?

First and foremost, the students must understand the concepts of loyalty, respect, trust and gratitude. Throughout my whole dancing career I have had only two gurus – Kalaimamani K.J. Sarasa, of the Vazhuvoor style of Bharatanatyam, and Padma Bhushan Dr. Vempati Chinna Satyam who is considered to be one

Indo AmerIcAn news • FrIdAy, A noVemBer 12 , 2010 • Online editiOn: Ay, On: www.indOamerican-news.cOm O

continued on page

9

Indo American News • Friday, November 12 , 2010

society

Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

enticing with spice e s

9

Shubhra Ramineni’s cookbook teeming with traditional wholesome, easy dishes

By Kalyani Giri HOUSTON: When I first met Shubhra Ramineni she was signing copies of her new cookbook Entice with Spice – Easy Indian Recipes for Busy People at Williams –Sonoma at Highland Village. The line of book buyers snaked around the cooking island at the front of the store where a chef was frying batches of aromatic samosas prepared

by Ramineni for the occasion. Without undertaking the labor-intensive task of rolling out strips of dough, Ramineni took a shorter route by fashioning the delectable little pockets out of Mexican white flour tortilla halves and filling them with lightly spiced potato and peas. Served with cool mango lassi, it was a huge hit with customers who kept coming back for seconds. The easy-to-follow recipe is just one of a hundred tried and tested no-fuss authentic Indian dishes, making this book a must-have for food enthusiasts who do not have the luxury of time. The book has diverse and generational appeal for anyone who relishes Indian food.

For Ramineni, 34, the book was a personal adventure; a chemical engineer by profession with an MBA in Finance, she often found herself yearning for a wholesome home-cooked meal after a long tiring day at the office. She and husband Naveen, a medical doctor, soon tired of eating out or ordering food in. Over the years, Ramineni often called her mother Neelam Verma and her mother-inlaw Rajani Ramineni, both good cooks, to ask for simple tasty recipes, which she’d scribble, haphazardly on scraps of paper.

Her mother, a former native of

Punjab, and mother-in-law from Hyderabad, offered polarized insights of their indigenous cuisines. Both also cooked like most mothers; a pinch of this and handful of that.

“One day, I looked around and realized that there wasn’t a book in existence for practical everyday Indian home cooking for a young Indian American raised in this country and understands the dayto-day lifestyle,” said Ramineni.

“My American colleagues were also asking for my recipes.”

So she hauled out those handwritten recipes, standardized the quantities by handing her mother exact measuring tools, tested the dishes, and typed her notes. The result is Entice with Spice, a 160page, hardcover book fragrantly teeming with a medley of recipes, techniques, cultural and traditional insights, a glossary on various ingredients and spices, and warm personal notes richly describing the evolution or creation of every dish featured.

Photographed eloquently by Masano Kawana, a recipient of the prestigious James Beard Foundation Award, the lusciously showcased array of foods, from

homemade yoghurts and pickles, appetizers, puffy fried breads and fluffy rices, chicken, fish, and lamb dishes, and desserts, definitely entice one to the kitchen.

Spices can be tweaked according to individual tastes, suggests Ramineni. The book has 80 vegetarian recipes and 20 non-vegetarian dishes. Included are some restaurant favorites such as saag paneer. Ramineni has recreated some recipes, like the creamy mulligatawny soup, easy shrimp curry, and vegetables with coconut curry, to name a few. She and Naveen are parents to a baby girl, Jaya.

“As young parents, we find that this book will be useful to others with our lifestyles. Mine and the younger generation will find it user-friendly as it isn’t complicated, but the recipes are fancy enough for you to have a dinner party and impress your guests,” said Ramineni.

The book is published by Tuttle Publishing and sells for $27, 95.

Ramineni has taken a sabbatical from work to spend more time with her baby. She also teaches cooking classes at WilliamsSonoma, Sur La Table, and at Whole Foods Market both here and in Los Angeles. Ramineni will be signing copies of Entice with Spice at a wine and cheese meet-and-greet the author event at the River Oaks Bookstore at 3270 Westheimer on November 17, from 5.00pm – 7.00pm. The public is welcome. For more information, call (713) 520 0061.

For more information visit Shubhra Ramineni at www.enticewithspice.com or at www. greenista.com.

Anjali: c celebrating the colors of Life Through dance continued from page

8

of the greatest teachers / choreographers of Kuchipudi. Everything that I have achieved, or what I am today, is because of their meticulous training. I still visit them many times on each one of my trips back home, and grieve that they are getting older and frailer.

But the legacy that they leave behind is immense.

What message would you like to give to the younger generation?

This is a broad-spectrum question. Be true to your teacher, practice diligently and be prepared for every class. Art is like an ocean,

Shiv Sagar

and the more one learns, the more there is to learn. Be open-minded, and be prepared to learn and be enlightened.

Tickets to the Colors of Life – Navarasa program, available at www.tickets2events.com or call 281 265 ARTS / 832 275 9658.

PURE VEGETARIAN RESTAURANT Our Specialty Gujarati Surati THALI

• Great Family Dine-In Atmosphere Free Wi-Fi Available CALL US ! VISIT US TODAY! • Friendly management & waitstaff • Full Service Catering Available • Great Vegetarian food 6662 SW Fwy, Houston, TX 77074 (at Hillcroft by India Grocers)

713-977-0150

We do CATERING for all occasions serving GUJARATI, NORTH & SOUTH INDIAN food.

Indo AmerIcAn news • FrIdAy, A noVemBer 12 , 2010 • Online editiOn: Ay, On: www.indOamerican-news.cOm O

10

Indo American News • Friday, November 12 , 2010

society

Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

BAPs shri swaminarayan mandir celebrates diwali continued from page 5

through various festivities. Being away from India should not cause a lapse in our traditions”, said Babu Patel. “Preparations for the festivities begin months in advance. Devotees, young and old, sacrificed their time to help in creating decorations, preparing food, arranging for the Children’s Diwali Celebration, as well as setting up the stage for the most significant ritual of Diwali, the Annakut,” concluded, Babu Patel.

This year His Divine Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj celebrated Diwali and Annakut in Gondal, Gujarat, India. He blessed the devotees on the New Year day.

“Everyone’s devotion could be seen today. If we develop Dharma and Bhakti in our hearts, God becomes pleased, and thus He graces us with His blessings.”

About BAPS The BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), a worldwide socio-spiritual organization in Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, 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. Through a number of social and spiritual activities, BAPS endeavors to produce better citizens of tomorrow who have a high esteem for their roots their rich Hindu culture. Its 3,300 international centers support these

Diwali Fireworks at BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir

Annakut Darshan at BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir

activities of character-building.

Under the guidance and leadership of His Divine Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj, BAPS aspires to build a community that is morally, ethically and spiritually pure, and free of addictions.

About Pramukh Swami Maharaj His Divine Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj, the fifth spiritual successor of Bhagwan Swaminarayan, has inspired millions of people across the world to lead a Godcentered, morally pure life. As the present leader of BAPS, Pramukh Swami Maharaj travels from village to village, continent to continent, emphasizing the importance of family harmony, community service and spiritual progress.

A scene from cultural program

Indo AmerIcAn news • FrIdAy, A noVemBer 12 , 2010 • Online editiOn: Ay, On: www.indOamerican-news.cOm O

Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

society

Indo American News • Friday, November 12 , 2010

11

Star Pipe Products Diwali Celebration Observed with Decorations, Diyas, Diverse Dishes

By Kalyani Giri HOUSTON: There’s nothing like a good festive occasion to inspire creativity. Star Pipe Products, global manufacturer and supplier for a broad range of pipe

bies along, adding to the family atmosphere.

“We enjoy the spirit of fellowship and the chance to share the Indian culture,” said Dale Andrews, one of the longest serv-

Diwali decoration at Accounting department at Star Pipe Products

fittings for water and waste water industry, celebrated Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights, with spirited verve this year with employees outdoing themselves in

ing employee at Star Pipe Products. “Being in this company has taught me so much about Indian hospitality and their adherence to family values.”

dressing was a huge hit. After receiving accolades for the dish, he sheepishly confessed that the dish was his wife’s concoction.

“I always enjoy participating and coordinating the pot luck for Diwali as well as the 4th of July, Thanksgiving and Christmas parties,” confided Glenda Cruickshank, employee and facilitator of the celebratory events. “Everyone joins in and brings their favorite dishes and we all enjoy each other’s company. We get to decorate the office for Diwali with beautiful sarees, garlands, and lights. We even have judges come by to see which department has the best decorations,” added Cruickshank.

For the employees at the cavernous adjoining warehouse, the company had food catered from the popular Ninfa’s Kitchen whose staff was on site preparing fresh tacos. The Star Pipe headquarters employs about 140 people.

Cristal Janak and Jeanette Garey drawing rangoli

Diwali pot luck at Star Pipe corporate office

Star Pipe Products employees in Indian outfits. Seen from left: Melodye Muchow, Pamela Garey, Glenda Cruickshank, Alice Holley, Megha Bhambhani, Rolonda Hills, Jessica Fair, Francis Trevino, Helena Lu, Umesh Parwal and Rishi Bhutada

creating a pitch-perfect ambiance of colorful conviviality at the local company headquarters located in the southwest side of this city.

Aside from a lavish and diverse range of 51 vegetarian dishes created by staff members and their families, every department within the company was imaginatively decorated, reflecting the significance of the Diwali observance.

Several donned Indian garments and some even brought their ba-

The potluck luncheon, held at the company’s large conference room, ran the gamut from I will say both American and Indian dishes to pastas and pastries; with enough food to serve a small army, there was something for every palate. Vice President of Star Pipe Products Dan McCutcheon’s salad teeming with shredded cabbage, all kinds of nuts and seeds, dry fried noodles, and citrus tossed in a sweet soy vinegar

“Over the past few years our Diwali Festival of Lights event has engaged more of our individuals and departments to participate in the preparation for Diwali by decorating areas throughout the building,” said Luis A. Garcia, Star Pipe Products Corp. Human Resources Manager. “Our unique tradition helps captures the great family spirit we have as a company.”

Pam Garey, Manager of the Cus-

tomer Service Department, said she was glad of the opportunity to mingle with her colleagues.

“Events such as this give us a chance to actually sit down and eat together. There are so many new people in the company that we wouldn’t get to meet but for these festive days,” said Garey.

Without a doubt, Jeanette Garey and Cristal Januk from the Customer Service Department created a work of art out of colored powder; their rangoli, after much research and planning, took four hours to execute. The girls were delighted with the many compliments from co-workers who stopped by to view their work.

Upstairs at Purchasing and New Product Development, Pallavi Parekh and Bhagwan Bhutada enthusiastically showed off a temple-themed tableau with the gods and diyas. The doors and windows had posters explaining the significance of Diwali. However, the Sales division won the first prize in the decorating competi-

tion and will be treated to lunch at a restaurant of their choice.

“This was my first experience celebrating Diwali. It was very fresh and colorful and reminded me of our Chinese Spring Festival, as togetherness is an important part of the celebration. Everyone wore beautiful fabrics and the spicy dishes were delicious too,” said Helena Haiyan Lu, a Star Pipe Products employee from the China office.

President and CEO of Star Pipe Products Ramesh Bhutada mingled with staff and shared in the camaraderie.

“The tremendous diversity here allows us to recognize and foster brotherhood. We celebrate Thanksgiving, July 4th, Christmas, and several other festive occasions,” said Bhutada. “The potluck dinners are a great way to get everyone involved and to appreciate the richness of each culture.”

The company’s next big event this year will be Thanksgiving.

Life Goes On. . . A Tale Modeled after King Lear

HOUSTON: “Life Goes On” a movie after the tale of King Lear, Shakespeare’s powerful emotional drama of a father and his three daughters is to screen on November 20th, 3:00 PM at Fun Plex.

The film is a joint presentation by Tagore Society of Houston and Data Bazaar Media Venture.

The drama explores the relations between a grief stricken father and his three daughters. The story is set in London and deals with an Indian family.

With his wife’s sudden death, Sanjay is suddenly thrown into close proximity with his three daughters. The drama unfolds over five days from the day when Manju dies to day of the funeral.

Haunted by memories, grappling with this devastating loss, missing the mediating influence of his wife, Sanjay finds himself assessing and carving out new relations with his three daughters. He is faced with a further crisis when he discovers his

youngest and most loved daughter Dia, has a Muslim boyfriend -Imtiaz. Confused and angry, Sanjay leaves home and wanders the streets of London one night. With an unexpected series of events, Sanjay is forced to face his past demons, his trauma over the partition of India when as a child, he was forced to leave his home with his parents.

As he sits drenched and tired on a bench on Hampstead Heath and watches the sun rise – Sanjay puts

his demons to rest.

Director’s Note: Life Goes On is inspired by the old tale of King Lear and his daughters.

It is trying to find meaning for Shakespeare’s King Lear in a contemporary multicultural British context.

The Iraq war, rising terrorism and global violence, and resultant Islam phobia in the West have all led me to urgently tell a story of overcoming prejudice and fear.

Indo American News • Friday, NOVEMBER 12 , 2010 • Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

12

Indo American News • Friday, November 12 , 2010

Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

Indo AmerIcAn news • FrIdAy, A noVemBer 12 , 2010 • Online editiOn: Ay, On: www.indOamerican-news.cOm O

Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

Indo American News • Friday, November 12 , 2010

Indo American News • Friday, NOVEMBER 12 , 2010 • Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

13

14

Indo American News • Friday, November 12 , 2010

Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

Indo American News • Friday, NOVEMBER 12 , 2010 • Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

online edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

society

Indo American News • Friday, November 12 , 2010

15

Houston’s South African Indian Community Celebrates Diwali

From left: Kalyani Giri, Annie Pillay and event hosts Nellie Naidoo, and Saroj Naidoo.

HOUSTON: The local South African Indian community gathered at the banquet hall of Greenway Inn & Suites on the SW Freeway at Buffalo Speedway to celebrate Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights.

The event, held on November 6, 2010, was facilitated by Saroj Naidoo and co-hosted by Nellie Naidoo. The festive occasion drew many South Africans and their extended families and friends, who gathered and shared a delicious dinner and revelry.

Read us online at indoamerican-news.com

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 12 , 2010• ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

16

Indo American News • Friday, November 12 , 2010

Course Correction

The massive midterm losses for the Democratic Party, which President Obama has characterized as a ‘shellacking’ will result in mid-course corrections on several progressive causes such as healthcare, carbon trading, illegal immigration and economic stimulation.

The course correction was evident in President Obama’s speeches in India. On the campaign trail, Obama had villianized India for taking away U.S. jobs through outsourcing. While in India, he had glorified the role of Indian investments and imports of high-tech goods that have created jobs in the U.S. While other U.S. presidents have fudged on the role of Pakistan in the export of terror, Obama did not hesitate in identifying the source of terror. He also briefed the Indian leaders on the role of David Headley, a convicted drug dealer who was an informant for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), while also making trips to Mumbai to perform reconaissance for terror attacks on behalf of Pakistan’s ISI. An added plus for India’s policymakers was the U.S. support for India’s membership in the UN Security Council.While it may take years to overcome objections from China and Pakistan, Obama has set the change in motion.

For an oldtimer like me who has grown up with aid packages from the West and PL480 wheat from the U.S., it was gratifying to hear Obama say that India is not emerging, but has emerged as a world leader. One could not have imagined such a massive transformation in just one lifetime.

Uttam Udavam

How do you coax money for charitable causes? In the mainstream community, they hold charity balls where high society guests can dress up in designer outfits and open up their wallets.

In the South Asian community, we hold galas with high cuisine and plenty of variety entertainment. One of the classic examples of such galas was the Udavam Karangal fund raiser last Sunday evening. The attendees enjoyed a banquet catered by Madras Pavilion and a full-length, four-hour variety entertainment Show.

The evening began with vintage rock set by David Raj and his group performing “Black Magic Woman”, originally recorded by Santana in 1968. The rock performance was followed by a Ganesh naman and Thillana by Houston’s leading classical dance teachers -- Rathna Kumar, Padmini Chari and Indira Parthasarathy. They danced to vocal music performed by the leading musical divas of Houston -- Chandrakanta Courtney, Anuradha Subramaniam and Jamuna Murali. This may be the first time that Houston’s leading classical performers were on stage at the same. time. It was truly a delight.

Pramod Kulkarni

editorial

online edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

Obama Comes to New World

By Rashmee Roshan Lall The American president flies smack into the throbbing heart of the new New World because Mumbai is India’s financial capital and Barack Obama’s main business here is commerce. The irony is unmistakable. America was once the New World, having been ‘discovered’ in the 15th century when Pietro Martire d’Anghiera, an Italian at the Spanish court, first referred to the novi orbis that Columbus found on his voyage.

Six centuries on, Barack Obama represents the old New World. Or the new Old World. The future seems to be here in India. This New World bears an unmistakable likeness to the one it has displaced as young, enterprising and hopeful. Back in the 19th century, French aristocrat Alexis de Tocqueville noted America’s signature characteristics. Five of these might be an accurate description of India 2010. The commonalities mean more than the chance for India to brag about its double-helix DNA bond with America, the superpower. Instead, they illuminate great truths and could crucially help insure against the failures of the brash democratic experiment that was America.

In his 1835 classic, Of Democracy in America, de Tocqueville noted that Americans “combine the notions of faith and of liberty so intimately in their minds, that it is impossible to make them conceive the one without the other”. If that sounds startlingly familiar it’s because the majority of Indians - particularly its 80.5 per cent Hindus - is often heard to say that it is the live-and-let-live values of their faith that make India a tolerant and free country. Of course, this does not factor in the rise of right-wing Hindu nationalism. But nor did de Tocqueville’s frank praise for America’s “conviction and faith” predict the rise of televangelist Pat Robertson.

Few could have foreseenAmerica’s faith in its dominant faith transpose into dangerous excess. No one could have imagined that Fox News cable television and radio host Glenn Beck, who reaches two million people every day, would be seen as the intellectual guide of the idiotically illiberal

Six centuries on, Barack Obama represents the old New World. Or the new Old World. The future seems to be here in India.

This New World bears an unmistakable likeness to the one it has displaced as young, enterprising and hopeful.

Tea Party movement even though his hobbyhorse is to warn Americans against the progressives’cunning plot to “separate us from our history to be able to separate us from our Constitution and God”. This is how religion is helping unmake America, leaving it vulnerable to what President Kennedy once deplored as the “counsels of fear and suspicion.” On digging “deeper into the national character of the Americans”, de Tocqueville observed “that they have sought the value of everything in this world only in the answer to this single question: how much money will it bring in?” Is India, the new New World, in danger of following too closely in its predecessor’s footsteps? For, despite oftrepeated claims to a civilisation with deep spiritual roots, India unbound and post-1991 has taken the worship of materialism to gross levels of acquisitiveness, greed and corruption.

The third shared signature characteristic is significant in the light of the self-censorship demanded of Arundhati Roy and the calls for her prosecution because she spoke the truth as she saw it. It was the same in the old New World with de Tocqueville describing how “the majority raises formidable barriers around the liberty of opinion; within these barriers an author may write what he pleases, but woe to him if he goes beyond them”.

He diagnosed two further problems, which caused America then - and perhaps India today and tomorrow - to

“perish miserably amongst the shoals of democracy”. The political leader, he lamented, had a “desire to be reelected...(the president’s) personal interest takes the place of his interest in the public good...(this) tends to degrade the political morality of the people and to substitute management and intrigue for patriotism”. He found the US House of Representatives, much like today’s Lok Sabha, to be “remarkable for its vulgar demeanour and its poverty of talent”.

Most telling of all was his observation of the country’s statesmen “50 years after America was struggling in the high cause of independence to throw off the yoke of another country and when it was about to usher a new nation into the world”. They are “vastly inferior today’’, he said, using words that might appear in any commentary in any Indian newspaper 63 years after independence and the passing of Nehru, Patel and other freedom fighters.

The parallels are clear. It is hard to imagine a greater twinning of mindsets - and reality - between two countries separated by half the world, as well as a century and a half.

This matters only if India recognises that its commonalities give it a unique chance to avoid the mistakes of yesterday’s New World. When de Tocqueville tried to compute democratic America’s extraordinary insistence on equality, he studied income levels and his data is thought consistent with the early stages of a developing country’s growth. At the time, it was reliant on agriculture - another parallel with India - but America’s egalitarianism of economic and political opportunity gave its people room to build and grow. However, unlike Europe, the old Old World, it never thought to provide community support in a disinterested way - for instance, quality free education for all and universal healthcare.

Today, it is no longer the thrusting New World and is left with islands of poverty and ignorance unbecoming of one of the wealthiest countries of the world. This is one parallel India cannot allow to become true as it lives the American Dream. TOI

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, NOVEMBER 12 , 2010 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

online edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

society

Indo American News • Friday, November 12 , 2010

The Inaugural GOPIO Health Summit Will Honor 5 Individuals/Organizations

Focus on diabetes, cardiovascular health, and stress management, free children’s program NEW YORK: The Health Council of Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO), together with GOPIO chapters of Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Long Island, Upper New York and several partner organizations will honor five healthcare professionals/organizations, namely, Ms Rita Batheja, Dr. Suresh Khanna, Dr. Jatin Shah, SATHI and SEVAK Project during its inaugural Health Summit on November 12 -14 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel LaGuardia, East Elmhurst, New York. GOPIO is a non-profit, non-partisan and secular community service global organization working for the well-being of people of Indian origin. GOPIO was founded in New York in 1989 and has over 70 chapters worldwide.

The three-day summit will kick-off on Friday, November 12, from 7 10:30 pm with an opening reception, and opening comments by Sangeeta Ahuja and Dr Vivian Rambihar, who will explain why GOPIO is embarking on this initiative, to respond to a health crisis across the Indian disapora, and to invite everyone to be part of helping to improve the health, wellbeing and future of PIO’s globally. This would be followed by summit inauguration, awards, dinner and music On Saturday, November 13, from 9am - 5pm, a panel of distinguished speakers and health practitioners will share their expertise on Disease Prevention & Health Management. The day conference will include interactive sessions with audience participation with breaks for exercise and meditation. The target audience will comprise of people of Indian Origin (PIOs) from around the world with a majority from the Tri-State area who are committed to healthier living, and eager to learn more about the products and services offered by the diverse set of holistic healthcare providers. The day conference on Saturday is free to first 25 full time students who pre register.

To register, please call Gyan at 203273-9959 or e-mail at gyanendra. aggarwal@gmail.com.

The evening program on Saturday, November 13 from 7 - 10PM will include a talk on Oral Health, speaker recognitions, dinner and music. On

Sunday, November 14 from 10am12 noon. A free event will be offered on children’s health and wellness to celebrate the occasion of “India’s Children’s Day” to mark the birthday of late Pandit Jawaharlal “Chacha” Nehru. This special health fair for children will include education on oral health as well as obesity amongst children within an entertainment medium. A health lunch as well as game prizes and take home goodies will be offered to all attendees. Concurrently, on Sunday, November 14, 2010 from 9am - 12Noon. there will be optional health workshops for adults on alternative health practices including a Group Healing session with Master Del Pe. Two major collaborating organizations for this first-of-a-kind event include American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI0 and Coronary Artery Disease among Asian Indians (CADI) Research Foundation. Sponsors and Participating Organizations include Merck; Bristol-Myers Squibb; Arora Foundation; Society of Indo American Engineers and Architects; Indian Dental Association of North America- New Jersey; Hindu Vedic Mandir; Arya Samaj of Suburban NY; Sabinsa Corporation; Arya Samaj of Garden State - Om Temple; TravelSpan; Hindu Temple of Tristate; Diva America Incorporated, and local chapters of GOPIO, viz. GOPIO-CT, GOPIONY, GOPIO-LI, GOPIO-Upper NY, and GOPIO-Central Jersey.

“The Health Summit is a new initiative from GOPIO International and the Summit program is developed such that the general population can interact with experts in different health fields and other related areas so as to bring awareness and improve the health and wellness of the Indian Diaspora,” said Dr. Thomas Abraham, Chairman of the Program Committee. “November is Diabetes awareness month....Come learn how to avoid a premature heart attack and prevent complications associated with Diabetes”, suggests Mrs. Sangeeta Ahuja, Chair of GOPIO Health Council. “What you will learn from this summit will not only inform you today but give you the tools you need to stay healthy for a lifetime!”, said

One of the Award Recipients, Dr. Jatin Shah, Chair of the dept. of head and neck Surgery at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, whose passion is patient care, surgical education and research.

Ms. Rita Batheja is a New York based registered dietitian and integrative nutritionist who utilizes complementary therapies and principles of functional medicine when dealing with pediatrics through geriatrics age group patients. She is the founder of the Indian American Dietetic Association and serves on the American Dietetic Association (ADA)

Meera Vasudevan, member health summit team.

More details on the upcoming GOPIO Health Summit will be available at www.gopiohealth.net, or contact GOPIO Health Council Chair Sangeeta Ahuja at email gopiohealth@ gmail.com or 203-329-9744.

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 12 , 2010• ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

17

18

Indo American News • Friday, November 12 , 2010

online edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 12 , 2010 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

online edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

By Pradeep Anand America has been a beacon to India during the twentieth century and continues to be so even during the twenty-first one.

After the country’s independence from the British in 1947, India’s constitution was based substantially on the American one. The architect of India’s constitution, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar received his PhD in constitutional law from Columbia University.

Indians, in general, are enamored by USA and its accomplishments. The richest nation is held in very high esteem but in recent times, its invincibility received setbacks, after 9/11 and the credit crisis that sank global fortunes.

President Obama’s visit to India will bring some muchneeded additions to the American aura for the Indian population. He will certainly promote an American agenda for India and the region. However, after having some spent some time in the country, I hope he comes back with some fresh perspectives about what Americans can learn about Indians.

India can learn from America thousands of different lessons. However, India, a 5000 year-old civilization that, in 1776, had about 25% share of the global GDP, may offer some interesting lessons too.

Community It was in 2005 that the stark difference in American and Indian responses to disaster became obvious. The levees broke flooding New Orleans and the skies exploded with rain and flooded Mumbai.

Media stories that followed showed very different pictures of how the populace of the cities responded. On one hand, in the richest nation in the world, scenes included widespread instances of looting and violence; on the other hand, in one of the poorer nations in the world, the population came together to help each other out, pulling stranded strangers out of rising waters and hosting and feeding them in their homes.

America is a land that promotes individualism, while in India a strong sense of community prevails. Indians understand that the government is useless in responding to any emergency. The local population in the vicinity of a disaster mobilizes itself, creating makeshift disaster relief ar-

OPINION

Indo American News • Friday, November 12 , 2010

What America Can Learn from India! rangements to help the stricken.

In America, though individualism is celebrated, there is a strong sense of entitlement and reliance on the government to deliver relief that sucks away the need for creating local community initiatives.

Secularism The US and India are secular countries that celebrate a democracy that is built on a strong foundation of “separation of church and state”. However, the two countries practice secularism

in different ways.

In both countries, we equalize all religions. However, In America, we equalize by neutralizing all religions.

Though we don’t go as far as France and Switzerland in banning hijabs and minarets, we often hear voices that try to restrict and control the public celebration of religion. In India, all religions are equal but the equality is not created through neutralization but through celebration.

Every major global religion in practiced in India by millions of people.

Predominantly Hindu India has more than one hundred and fifty million Muslims, and at least seventy million Christians. People of other religious pursuits include Jews, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Zoroastrians (Parsis), and many others.

Every city and town is dotted with a variety of temples, mosques, churches, fire temples, and other holy shrines, where local populations celebrate their religions. Besides places of worship, religion is manifested in clothes, speech, and even holidays.

All are celebrated in public, not in ghettos or certain restricted areas.

The Indian Constitution recognizes that family law differences based on religion and assures freedoms for practitioners of different religions.

Entrepreneurship A recent issue of Economist highlighted that India is a land of driven by individuals, unlike China, where

entrepreneurship is driven by the state. It continued that there are more than fifty million such entrepreneurs in India and that the economic growth of the country was assured.

Thomas Friedman of New York Times and The Economist are recent discoverers of Indian entrepreneurship and cannot be faulted for their glowing appreciation of this Indian characteristic. They are comparing it to their own countries where entrepreneurship is celebrated but rarely practiced.

America has a huge population of venturesome consumers but hasafraction of venturesome entrepreneurs that it needs to sustain economic growth and in creating jobs.

The recent election rhetoric about “job creation” was another indication of the electorate’s expectation that it is the government that needs to deliver solutions rather than individual initiatives. Yes, governments can create uncompetitive environments and stymie growth with regulations and policies but that is true in both countries, perhaps substantially worse in India.

However, the response of individual entrepreneurs to this governmental chokehold that is different.

Corporate chiefs of Indian business firms have large stakes in their own firms. They continue to be entrepreneurial and find ways to overcome and circumvent their barriers. A majority of their American counterparts are caretakers of their businesses with minor stakes in their firms and disproportionately high rewards. The government and its policies and regulations become convenient piñatas to beat.

Debt India is a cash-flow nation. A significant majority of the nation lives from hand-to-mouth, barely meeting sustenance needs. Indians do borrow but at huge costs that can ruin lives, if not generations of the family that are encumbered with repaying loans.

Indian folklore, stories, and family history is filled with the evils of borrowing money. The horrendous

consequences of borrowing and lending money, like death and disease, has touched every family. Consequently, the average Indian abhors credit, prefers to be debt free, live within means and have significant savings for droughts that are bound to follow years of plenty. (Indians don’t save for a rainy day, because rainy days are celebrated in India.)

America, on the other hand, is a venturesome economy, a term proposed by Prof. Amar Bhide. American consumers are confident of their continued, consistent earning power and are willing to take credit risks.

Banks and financial institutions are willing partners in extending this credit that fuels the economy.

However, during the past two decades, Americans were drugged by the Feds and Wall Street into believing that we could get far greater rewards at lower risks, with easily available money. The economic fundamental that “there ain’t no free lunch” was thrown to winds, and the country raced ahead for many years of unprecedented economic growth.

As the credit crisis unraveled, many Americans’ primary assets, their homes, were devalued and submerged under water, below their mortgaged borrowings. Jobs disappeared and foreclosure signs began showing up all over the country.

Americans can learn from Indians that there is no free lunch and that

19

every penny or paisa has to be earned the hard, with toil and labor. Promises of fast economic miracles are mirages that seem very real for a brief period but disappear abruptly, leaving us high and dry without parachutes.

There is great wisdom in the biblical concept of seven years of plenty, followed by seven years of famine. The fortune of the world and individuals regresses to the mean eventually.

Resources All resources are always in short supply in India. Therefore, everything is recycled fully. India is a not the epitome of consuming resources in the most efficient or effective manner but it compensates some of this shortcoming by collecting and recycling its useful natural resources, especially non-renewable ones.

Even as early as in the 1950s, there were commercial networks to collect and recycle waste. Consumers were paid to drop off their recyclables at a convenient store in the neighborhood. Each store was independently operated by one of these countless Indian entrepreneurs.

America is a land of waste. We have wasteful practices, especially with non-renewable resources. Just leaving our recyclables in assigned containers at the curb is inadequate.

Our consumption practices have to become less wasteful. India can provide some insights and business models in improving our resource recycling habits.

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 12 , 2010• ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

20

Indo American News • Friday, November 12 , 2010

society

online edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

Celebrating Sadanand Nilekini: A Life of Service for the People

By Jayanth Kabad “I slept and dreamt that life was all joy, I awoke and found that life was but service I served and realized that service was joy”

By Rabindranath Tagore, Poet and Nobel Laureate. This is the quote that is on the plaque at the entrance of Methodist Hospital, Medical Center Houston.

My father in law Sadanand V. Nilekani, also known to us as Annu and to his grandkids as Sirsi Annu or Shirsh had no advanced degrees.

He had no professional career or political power either. Yet we all gathered to celebrate his life and pay our respects.

He exulted and celebrated in the successes of others. First it was his daughters, my wife Kanchan, her sisters Kalpana and Kirthi, and the sons in law Ajit, Nitin and I. But soon, we were on the sidelines!

He was soon captured by his grandkids. He would talk about his granddaughters Sona, Megan, Ambika, his only grandson Atma (my son), whom he would take for tennis, orchestra, school. He would talk about his youngest granddaughters Niyati, Aditi and Avanti. My in-laws Sadanand and Kumud Nilekani lived with us in Houston for almost 24 years.

His granddaughter (my daughter) Anasuya was his boss!. He would not listen to his wife, his daughter Kanchan or me, but he would only listen to her. She would tell him that he had to be active, walk around the house 30 times or take 100 steps. He would also be careful not to offend her or make her feel bad. After all the age difference was not too great- he was 79 or 80 and she was in her teens maybe 14 or 15, maybe 18 or 19!

His celebration in the successes of others were not limited to family, it was an ever expanding circle of friends who became family. Born and brought up as a farmer in a small town called

Sadanand V. Nilekani Born February 22, 1930, Departed October 29th, 2010 Sirsi, in North Karnataka, India . he had everything he could ask for – land, property, wealth, help and people at his beck and call. People called him the Maharaya (king) of Sirsi. With all this, however, his heart was in the ‘service of people’.

In 1958, he was involved in the founding of the first girls English speaking convent, the Ave Maria School, which celebrated the 50th anniversary in 2008 and wanted to honor him. He also started the Subramanya Nilekani Prathima Shaale for Elementary and Middle school. In

the 1970’s, he started the Progressive Education Society School for grades 10 through 12, then the Modern Education Society College. He also started the Heepanalli Society (a cooperative) for farmers to bring produce directly to markets.

These are living organizations that continue to flourish today. It is therefore no surprise that the town of Sirsi closed many of its schools, colleges, stores, and offices to mourn the loss of its ‘Maharaya’ In the last forty years, Rotary international became his passion, being involved first with PolioPlus project. In 1972, he became Governor of Rotary District 3170 and was a delegate at the International conference in Houston. He was also a founder of the Rotary Charitable Hospital, in Sirsi.

This hospital which started as a one-room eye clinic (villagers had to travel sometimes 6 hours for 50 -60 miles to get an eye exam) is now a full-fledged hospital doing advanced surgeries with advanced equipment treating a few thousand people during the year. In fact he also encouraged his wife Kumud to promote her single-line drawings to raise funds for the Charitable Hospital.

He was honored in February 2010, during his visit to India at the Rotary Conference in Goa, India. Three weeks before his surgery, he wanted to discuss funding for a joint project with Mr. Sunny Sharma, the new Rotary Governor.

Unfortunately, due to time conflicts the meeting never took place.

He gave up all this comfort and fame in Sirsi to be with his children in the US. He did not give up on his old friends, he just made new ones.

As a farm exchange student in 1956-57, he had stayed with an American family, a relationship he maintained over 54 years. So it was that friends visiting the US would be invited to our house for lunch or dinner, with my wife Kan-

chan being asked to provide the transportation for these visitors in the city.

On our long journeys together for some reason or other, he never mentioned his accomplishments, but he would talk about his friends, sports or politics. When Walmart set up the super center in Sugar Land, he wanted to see how such a big store was set up and how it operated.

At age 70, he worked as a ‘greeter’ for 1 year just to tell everyone how the products were received, put on the shelves, inventoried, etc.

Again, some of his co workers at Walmart still enquire about him. If anyone was going to India and needed help or contacts, he would offer help. So I go back to Tagore’s quote -Sadanand Nilekani found joy in helping people!

On a personal note, many, many years ago my own father passed away in an engineering accident when I was 4. I did not know about death so I knew no grief. My mother passed away in 1987 in India after an illness. My son was born a couple of months earlier and I was barely making a living and putting food on the table. At the time of her death, I was neither able to be at her bedside nor attend her funeral (my sister and other relatives took care of her and I completed the other rituals).

I have carried this burden of guilt for almost 23 years. Many of us pay and continue to pay a heavy emotional price for being in this country.

But for the last three weeks, I saw my father in law at the Methodist Hospital being cared for by the wonderful staff with the help of the ventilator, the heart pump, etc and with the support of family and friends. I then saw him naturally and peacefully pass away on October 29th, amidst prayers. Ultimately it is “His Will” that we must all, without exception or question, accept.

It was my opportunity at redemption and peace!

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 12 , 2010 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

ONLINE EDITION: www.indoamerican-news.com

society

Free Flu Shots to Keep You Healthy at the Sikh Center

Indo American News • Friday, November 12 , 2010

Need help with an Immigration Matter ?

• Green Cards • US Citizenship • Appeals • H-1B, L-1 Visas • Deportation Defense FREE Consultation*

*(Restrictions Apply)

We offer compassionate representation and our fees are very reasonable.

IA News © 2010

Sharlene Sharmila Richards (Attorney at Law)

713-623-8088 • srichardslaw@aol.com 4151 SW Freeway, Ste:600, Houston, TX 77027

*Licensed by the Supreme Court of New York and admitted to practice before the US Court of Appeals.

Not certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization

From left, Dr. Gurnab Singh Sidhu, Ranjit Kaur and Dr. Harcharan Singh Narang administering free flu shots at the Sikh Center on October 31 and November 6. Below: Ranjit Kaur adminsiters a flu shot.

By JawahaR maLhotRa R Ra HOUSTON: Getting sick during the winter is never a fun experience, but the kind generosity of two area physicians has helped that make less of a concern for 150 people who took avail of it.

The physicians, Dr. Harcharan Singh Narang, along with his wife Ranjit Kaur, and Dr. Gurnab Singh Sidhu were at the service of those people who lined up for the free flu shots that their office donated at the Sikh Center Gurudwara on 8819 Prairie Drive, off Fairbanks-N. Houston Road in northwest Houston over two weekends.

On Sunday, October 31, 70 people came

21

for the shots and on the following Sunday, November 7 another 80 people received the vaccination.

The free flu shots drive were organized by the Sikh Center President Sumpuran Singh and the General Secretary Bhai Amar Singh who said concern for the welfare of the elderly, young and otherwise feeble prompted them to organize the vaccination drive. If there is still demand, the Center may follow-up with more free flu shots.

The Sikh Center is located at 8819 Prairie Dr, Houston, TX; 713-466-6538

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 12 , 2010• ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

22

Indo American News • Friday, November 12 , 2010

It happened In dallas!

society

ONLINE EDITION: www.indoamerican-news.com

Sunidhi Chauhan lent her glamor and melodious voice to the Diwali Mela held at Dallas by the DFW Indian Cultural Society for five successful years. About 85 thousand people attended the Mela. The Dallas Ram Leela was organized by Rangmanch. Over 90 food vendors took care of the hungry crowd feasting on Indian delicacies. Ramesh Gupta, the organizer of the entire mela was happy that the event was a crowd puller and hopes to include Houston for 2011 Diwali event. Indians, Pakistanis, Nepalis and Americans participated in this joyous event. Credit / Photo: Rachna Srivastava

MENU CHANGES DAILY! Seafood • Bar-B-Q • Roast Beef Ribs • Fried Chicken Chicken Fried Steak Enchiladas • Tacos and much more

Vegetarian Menu also available Full Salad Bar and Bakery

Everyday at Dinner Buffet

Special Rates for Catering and Office Parties

BUY 2 BUFFET GET 1 FREE* 6200 Bandera San Antonio, TX

T: 210 256 6200

BUY 1 BUFFET GET 2nd 1/2 OFF* Valid only at Houston and San Antonio Locations

$2 OFF ADULT BUFFET ONLY

9501 S.W Freeway, Houston, TX

T: 713 270 1100

*Not Valid with any other offers • Valid after 4PM • 1 Coupon per person per visit • Expires October 31, 2010 • Drink Purchase Required

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 12 , 2010 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

online edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

SOCIETY E V E N T

Indo American News • Friday, November 12 , 2010

23

An Occasion for Songs & Dances to Help the Disadvantaged

Story Starts on page 1. . .

Udavum Karangal of USA thanks the performances from: Abhinaya School of Performing Arts; Anjali School of Performing Arts; Natya Upasana Dance Academy; Nritya School of Dance; Nrityasiri Center for Performing Arts; Sreepadam School of Arts; Sunanda’s Performing Arts & Tarana Dance Group .... and all the singers for making this event possible !

We also thank all our supporters and individual and corporate donors for their generosity A special thanks to Nalini Kannan of Decor One for the decorations, MetLife and Madras Pavilion

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 12 , 2010• ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

24

Indo American News • Friday, November 12 , 2010

online edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 12 , 2010 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM