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Hero in Houston

VSGH Hosts Interfaith Dialogue for Peace

Photo: Krishna Giri

CNN Hero Narayanan Krishnan visits Houston at the invitation of Network of Indian Professionals (NetIP) Page 3-6

How religion could be utilized as an instrument of peace was the crucial and timely question up for discussion at the Vedanta Society of Greater Houston. Seen in the picture above are, from left, Pravrajika Brahmaprana, Resident Minister of the Ramakrishna Vedanta Society of North Texas; Ajit Giani, External Affairs Officer for the Houston Bahá’í faith; Imam Shaikh Omar Inshanally, Head of the Islamic Scholars Committee of Greater Houston; Reverend Betty Adam, Resident Canon Theologian of the Christ Church Cathedral; Bhupinder Singh Paras, Head Priest at the Gurudwara Sahib of Southwest Houston and Swami Prasannatmananda, Assistant Minister, Vedanta Society of Berkeley, California. Page 5

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Saluting CNN Hero Narayanan Krishnan in Houston “Service is My Destiny, I Want to Serve My People”

BY KALYANI GIRI HOUSTON: When CNN’s Anderson Cooper called Narayanan Krishnan on a hot and busy morning in Madurai, India, in early 2010 to let him know that he was selected as a 2010 CNN Hero, Krishnan was in the midst of cooking lunch.

“I didn’t know who he was, but I asked him to call late in the night because people were hungry and waiting for their food,” said Krishnan, with a smile. “And he did call again and said that a CNN team would be coming to Madurai to interview me. I asked if they needed me to pick them up from the airport.”

It is that simplicity, that down-to-earth demeanor, and intrinsic caring that makes Krishnan one of the rare few walking this earth. Undoubtedly he was taken aback when Cooper flew in a few months later with a camera crew and seemingly tons of equipment in tow. The recognition brought Krishnan to Los Angeles for the awards ceremony held at The Shrine Auditorium in November 2010.

“I had no idea that what I was doing was significant enough,” added a bemused Krishnan, who had impressed Cooper by doing what he does best – taking care of Madurai’s impoverished, hungry, mentally disabled, and neglected.

Since 2002, 31-year -old Krishnan has served over 1.9 million meals to the hapless and indigent. A highly trained chef with a bright future, he was shortlisted for a fouryear stint at an elite resort in Switzerland when he had a life-changing experience.

While walking in his native Madurai, he was stricken by the sight of an old man eating his own human waste.

“I literally froze in horror,” said Krishnan.

“When I could move, I rushed to the nearby canteen and bought him some idlies. For me, that was the defining moment, I knew

CNN Hero Narayanan Krishnan with Krishna Giri, Managing Partner of Indo American News Photo: Kalyani Giri

what I was going to do with the rest of my time here on this planet,” added Krishnan.

He gave up the lucrative job at the fivestar European hotel, and used his meager savings to purchase vegetables and rice and dhal and prepared the food and personally delivered hot meals to people on the streets. With the rent that he garnered from a house bequeathed to him by his grandfather, he bought monthly supplies to the initial strong disapproval of his parents who had invested hugely toward his education. They have since joined his cause and supported the establishment of Akshaya Trust that is committed to helping the homeless. With worldwide support after the CNN honor, he started the construction of the Akshaya Rehabilitation Center that would offer succor to the needy. The name Akshaya, said Krishnan, is the Sanskrit word for imperishable. In Hindu mythology, the Goddess An-

napoorna’s Akshaya bowl is ever plentiful.

Many of the people he serves do not know their own names or where they came from, but appear disheveled and oftentimes disoriented and starving for a little human kindness. Aside from just feeding the homeless, he carries a pair of scissors, a comb, and a razorblade and routinely helps groom and render dignity to those that eagerly await his ministrations. His days are long, starting at 4.00am, and go on until late at night in preparation for the next day. There are no days off.

Krishnan was in Houston over the past weekend at the invitation of the Network of Indian Professionals (NetIP), a judge at the organization’s annual For The Love of Food: The Iron Thali Competition. Lakshmi Narayanan, Krishnan’s mother accompanied him on his visit to this city.

“I never wanted him to do this work, but in

this lifetime, he is teaching me about compassion and giving. I’m so proud of him,” said Lakshmi.

Indo American News got an exclusive interview with the real life hero who is truly an extraordinary human being. The following are excerpts of the conversation: IAN - Have you any regrets abandoning what could have been a lucrative job abroad NK - We are right now feeding 450 people three meals a day non-stop, without any break. When I saw a very old man eating his own human waste out of sheer hunger, I thought what is the purpose of life when at my five-star hotel people come and eat a plate of fried rice for 500 rupees and they throw out the remaining food. And in my hometown there isn’t a piece of bread or a banana to eat. These last ten years, I have had no regrets. I don’t think about Switzerland or Euros or dollars. I have no regrets because the amount of self-satisfaction, the job satisfaction I get in feeding and catering to those people is enormous. To me, money is just paper. It has no value unless you use it properly. I know that giving has improved my life.

IAN - How do you think that people can be galvanized into helping others? Is there any segment of society like as movie stars who have so much of influence – are they doing enough?

NK - (Vehemently) No. Any sector, be it corporate, business, or Hollywood/Bollywood stars, do not do enough. Maybe a handful do help society. But once they’re too much into the limelight, glamour, attractions, photos, autographs, and start amassing wealth, good intentions to serve are forgotten. There are celebrities with so much of money, yet in India poverty exists. If they joined together and established

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, MARCH 16, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

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Vedanta Society of Greater Houston Hosts Interfaith Dialogue

BY KALYANI GIRI HOUSTON: How religion could be utilized as an instrument of peace was the crucial and timely question up for discussion when the Vedanta Society of Greater Houston (VSGH) hosted an interfaith dialogue at their Lindita Drive premises on March 10, 2012. Serving as moderator for the event was Pravrajika Brahmaprana, Resident Minister of the Ramakrishna Vedanta Society of North Texas, who quoted the principles of Swami Vivekananda, which was to look kindly upon the religious convictions of others. The platform presented leaders of several faiths an opportunity to discuss candidly how religion could help engender global peace.

Beginning the talks was Imam Shaikh Omar Inshanally, Head of the Islamic Scholars Committee of Greater Houston.

“Human history for thousands of years through the voices of saints and religious texts, made it abundantly clear that peace is not a nicety but an absolute essential necessity,” said the Imam. “Peace has no shortage of definitions, but just by being gracious and treating others with dignity helps,” he added.

External Affairs Officer for the Houston Bahá’í faith, Ajit Giani, told guests that three core principles establish a basis for Bahá’í teachings and doctrine: the unity of God, the unity of religion, and the unity of humankind. The pur-

Photo: Krishna Giri

The interfaith dialogue took place at the newly built worship hall of the Vedanta Society of Greater Houston.

pose of religion is harmony and unity, said Giani.

“Bahá’í believes god is merciful and kind and from time to time we receive instruction and guidance from the divine,” said Giani. “We are living in an age where mankind is equal, science and technology has united us and we have to grow up and realize that psychologically peace is inevitable if we can sit together and understand. If we

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say we are people of faith and we don’t change and do good deeds, then we can’t call ourselves religious. Bahá’í faith believes that if institutions you’ve created are no longer working for you, then get rid of them and create ones that work toward the understanding of human peace. Where there is hatred and war, the onus is upon religious leaders to step in and guide,” added Giani.

Resident Canon Theologian of the Christ Church Cathedral, Reverend Betty Adam told gatherees that every person wants peace and that the tragedy is that religion was fundamentally founded on peace.

“Christianity is in itself divided and if can unite Western and Eastern Christians without the barriers

posed by the Anglican and Roman origins of the religion we could find universality by blending the various branches instead of making war with our own people,” said Rev. Adam. “To transform spiritually, we must be self critical. All religions have so much in common with lessons in compassion, and in having the desire to act on the grief of the suffering,” she added.

She told attendees that if everyone came together in serving each other Houston would become the city most known for its compassion. Already this city had proven so when it opened its arms to those stricken after natural disasters.

Speaking through a translator, Bhupinder Singh Paras, Head

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Priest at the Gurudwara Sahib of Southwest Houston, told of the religious leader Guru Nanak who was born in 1496 and spread the word of peace and love for people of all faiths. The embodiment of the Sikh’s guru is the Guru Granth Sahib, which is installed in the Golden Temple in Amritsar, Punjab. Symbolically, the temple has four entrances and welcomes people of all faiths, added Paras.

Swami Prasannatmananda, Assistant Minister, Vedanta Society of Berkeley, California, spoke of the plurality of religion.

“Each religion founded by seers and realized souls, claims to provide supreme peace and fulfillment. Religious conflicts have intrinsic and external causes, rarely over doctrinal differences, but over economic, social, and political issues. To say all religions are basically the same is wrong. We have to understand each and accept that they are all different, and fostering harmony isn’t toleration.

Acceptance is,” said the Swami.

Addressing a question from the audience on the issue of religious conversion, Imam Inshanally told guests that the Quran, the sacred doctrine of Islam, frowned upon conversion as “unnatural”. Also taking a stab at answering the question, Paras told attendees that it was the individual right of the person if they willingly wished to convert, but to force someone to do so was wrong.

Adams invited guests to join Compassion Houston, an organization that she founded that will meet at the Grace Church Cathedral at 6.00pm on April 18, 2012.

For more information and upcoming events, visit www.houstonvedanta.org.

Indo American News (ISSN 887-5936) is published weekly every Friday (for a subscription of $30 per year) by IndoAmerican News Inc., 7457 Harwin Dr., Suite 262, Houston, TX 77036, tel: 713-789-6397, fax:713-789-6399, email: indoamericannews@yahoo.com.

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Saluting CNN Hero Narayanan Krishnan at NetIP Event

CONTINUED FROM PAGE

3

a charitable trust to help the less fortunate…why don’t they do it?

What is the reason? You have 100 reasons to say why you don’t want to do it and then there is only one reason to say why you want to do it. Just do it!

IAN - What do you envision for India’s future? Will poverty ever be eradicated?

NK - It’s a beautiful question.

But I have my own strong doubts.

Poverty eradication in India will not be possible unless and only if the government situation and policies change.

IAN - What about education being a catalyst for change? If you educate people, they have jobs, and hunger ends, right?

NK - Again it is about giving back. A person who, for example, gets educated in Tamil Nadu, then goes elsewhere for higher education, then decides to settle down there. So where’s the giving back?

They want a car, a house, they pay bills; initially they may have the intention of doing some good, becoming a Mother Teresa or a Gandhi ji, or becoming a doctor and doing free service. But once when they start seeing money, thoughts of giving back vanishes from their minds. Of course education is a gateway, it gives you knowledge and ways to do both good and bad.

But I do not conclude by saying that education can solve poverty.

Rick Pal with Narayanan Krishnan

An uneducated man, an agriculturalist does his best for society, while a PhD/scientist/doctor may not do anything for society. It comes from within, it’s not about whether you’re educated or rich or poor, you need to have the heart for doing something good. If everyone thought a little bit like that, a marvelous change will happen all over the world.

IAN - When you decided to abandon your career and work to alleviate the suffering of the hungry and destitute, were your parents disappointed?

NK - Yes! Initially they were disappointed because they invested a lot of money in my career. And I had the job opportunity in Europe to work. Suddenly when they saw me quit the job and coming and feeding these people with the little

savings I had, the extended family, my friends, everyone, started criticizing what I was doing. And my parents were confused. Initially it was very difficult for them to accept what I was doing, but seeing how determined I was, they started helping me in this cause.

IAN - How did your being named CNN Hero help the Akshaya trust?

Has it brought you more resources to further your vision?

NK - First, I want to thank CNN for selecting me as one of the top ten heroes. I think I was chosen for three reasons; an organization run by a youth, excellent quality of food served to the destitute, and proper maintenance of accounts.

After Akshaya got the CNN global award, it brought attention and we are able to sustain the organization. We are building a rehabilita-

tion home, a huge campus. Only because of the award were we able to march forward with that project.

We are 80% done, with 20% still pending to finish the project.

IAN - Locally in India, has there been any help to your organization because of the CNN award?

NK - Lots of people in India do not know what CNN is. They watch Jaya TV and Sun TV and Raj TV. Even if they watch CNN, it’s only for limited programs. They aren’t cognizant of what good is going on. On the other hand, people in the US appreciate the value of the award, perhaps because I was the only Indian to get the award. There is overwhelming support from the US and Akshaya Trust has chapters here since.

IAN - You’re only 31 years of age and accomplished so much. There are some who live their whole lives without doing anything for others.

How does it feel?

NK - I feel it is my destiny. No

one asked me to do this, it was an inner voice that provoked me to start this work. Chronological age doesn’t matter. Yes, there are people who live until 80 and 90, and are still not useful to anyone or themselves.

IAN - Are you religious, spiritual?

NK - I’m not particularly religious. I hail from a Brahmin community and got lots of opposition because Brahmins are not supposed to touch these people. Because of that I took off my sacred thread (worn by Brahmin men) over ten years ago. If that thread stood in my way of helping others, I did not need it. I am not spiritual either but I believe there are super powers guiding us.

IAN - Are you married?

NK - Yes, just about two years ago and we are expecting our first child.

For more information, visit http://www.akshayatrust.org.

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MABY Jeans By Tanaz Choudhary Gets Recognition at Tootsies’ Ramp

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HOUSTON: MABY Jeans, the high-end line of beautifully embroidered and embellished denim wear by local designer Tanaz Choudhury shared the ramp along with the Collection of Missoni and couture by Roberto Cavalli at an exclusive fashion show held at Tootsies on March 3. The by-invitation-only soiree was hosted in honor of the Patrons of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo’s International Committee and their guests.

Seasonal blossoms inundated the venue turning the posh Tootsies into an ambient bower that proffered a magical backdrop for models strutting the ramp; reiterating the chic mood, was a music quartet that yielded to an edgy DJ spinning tunes more suited for the high-stepping young women in designer duds.

Choudhury’s intricately hand-embroidered glass-beaded jeans line was a featured highlight of the day, winning critical acclaim from enthusiastic fans who covetously pur-

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March 16, 2012

Bringing a Smile on the Face of Seniors with Music and Dance

BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA HOUSTON: By the end of the two-hour show, Surender Talwar almost had the mostly sixty and over audience of Indian seniors on their feet – well, at least their hands were up and clapping – and wiggling in their seats to the beat of a Punjabi folk song. Oye, te eik pal beh janne mere kol, hoi!

Ahoon, ahoon! Ahoon, ahoon!

That was the overall tempo of the musical program that the IndoAmerican Charity Foundation (of which Talwar is the Executive Director) had organized to entertain the nearly 300 members of the Indian Senior Citizen’s Association who came to see the performances this past Saturday, March 10 at the Bayland Park Community Center on Bissonnet and Hilcroft, the usual site of their monthly meetings.

The IACF has made remembering and taking care of the elderly a part of its mission and every year they come with an entertainment program much anticipated by the seniors, followed by lunch.

“You people are so lively – you’re not seniors,” quipped IACF President David Raj as he spoke of the pleasure that came in putting the program together.

Raj also asked the ISCA to attend

Sudhir Mathuria (L), Surender Talwar, Jayanti Patel and Lalit Chinoy, ISCA President

the IACF Walkathon on Saturday, April 7 at Lost Creek Park in Sugar Land and help support other IACF initiatives. He presented IASC President Lalit Chinoy with a check for $1,000 to defray the costs of the afternoon’s program.

This year the program featured songs by two of the winners of the Lil’ Idol contest (held last year)Sirsanvitha Shridarand and Akhila Mamandur - who performed five songs. A lively mix of Bollywood music provided the ryhtym for the three women who make up the Nachle Dreamz troupe. Vanitha Arora, Tej Ganju and Govind Shetty provided a slower interlude with

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bhajans and devotional music.

And after two songs from Talwar, the Infused Performing Arts dance group performed a lively and dazzling mix of synchronized dances.

After all the music was over and Chinoy had passed out presents as tokens of appreciation to all the performers, the volunteers dragged out the long tables and chairs to sit around and enjoy the dinner catered by Uddipi restaurant.

The Indo American Charity Foundation can be reached at www.indoamericancharityfoundaLook for the video of the event at www.indoamerican-news.com

Spring Carnival at Vallabh Vidya Mandir

Infused Performing Arts dance group with choreographers Kiron Kumar (L) and Tina Bose.

HOUSTON: It’s that time of the year again! The bees are buzzing, the butterflies are fluttering and the Vallabh Vidhya Mandir which is part of Vallabh Priti Seva Samaj is preparing for its annual Spring time Carnival. Every year volunteers from the temple community come together to create a feast for the senses. Whether you are looking for food, games, craft, or rides, there is always something for people of all ages. Come challenge yourself on the rock climbing wall, enjoy a pony, take a trip down the bungy walk, make crafts, win a prize at one of the many games, or just indulge your taste buds with some masala corn. This festive event has something for the whole family and is a great way to spend quality time together. All of the funds raised will be used for VVM classroom supplies and activities. The VVM is an invaluable educational resource for our community, particularly for our next generation of Hindus. The carnival date is March 24 from 11am3pm. Tickets are $3 only for unlimited rides.

For more information visit www.vvmhouston.org.

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10 March 16, 2012

To Be in Houston and Be a Hyderabadi for Special Night of Food and Music

BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA HOUSTON: The mehfil was just that, a huge party where most of the people either knew each other very well or were related, and enjoyed the chance to meet and greet each other in a festive atmosphere. “We are not really a very organized group,” said Abbas Ali Khan, the Vice-President of the Hyderabad Cultural Association, “and there isn’t a concrete idea, like a fundraiser, behind the party.”

And the HCA has continued on this way for the past 30 years, with this mehfil happening every Fall, but for the past two years it has come in the early Spring in March.

And the mehfil favors the ornate and delicate courteous trappings of Hyderabad, Deccan from the ladies in brocaded shalwar-kameezes and sarees and the men in long loose sherwanis and tall Ottoman Fez hats. It is an evening for Hyderabadi food, culture and music to flourish in the Bayou City that the 2,500 people who hail from the Indian city now call home.

So this past Saturday, March 10, the two speeches were brief, as Khan – the organizing committee standing behind him – spoke of the history of this great city, its link to the performing arts and the unique blend of cuisine that elicit exclamations of wonder.

Khan introduced the Hyderabadi professional of the year, Dr. Nadir Ali, a cardiologist, who “has logged more miles on a bike than a car”, referring to his passion for biking. Ali gave a brief acceptance speech,

saying that he was speechless (izzat de kar bezeban kar diya) and thanked the five people who influenced him the most – his maternal uncle, brother, sister, mother and wife. Following this, a raffle was held for three prizes.

But the night really belonged to two things that really stood out. The banquet hall – Le Virage – on Westheimer and Kirkwood for its elegant style, artistic flair and spaciousness. It has recently been taken over by Azam Hasan, a man known for his eye for creating beautiful surroundings for parties.

A Hyderabadi dinner was served buffet style in the long dining hall.

And the second item that absolutely made the evening was a performance of music and songs from yesteryear to new and Sufi music to ghazals by five talented artists: Uma Mantravadi, a singer with huge range and a lawyer; Badar Iqbal, a singer with great delivery and a physician; Dharshak Thakkar on the electronic drums; Dexter Ragunandan, a tabla player originally from Trinidad and the one-man band, flutist and master improvisational artist, Anees Chandani from India who has been on the TV show, Sa Re Ga Ma and really blew the audience away!

Most stayed till past midnight to hear Badar and Uma sing a medley of songs, and some till 3am to be immersed by the music.

For more information about the Hyderabad Cultural Association of Houston, contact Abbas Ali Khan at 713-723-6325 or Liakat Ullah Syed t 713-410-0786.

COMMUNITY

Whisky Enthusiasts Club Kicks Off in “High Spirits” HOUSTON: The “Whisky Enthusiasts Club” was officially inaugurated in Houston on March 7, 2012. The founding members are Atul Vir, David Raj, Dr. Vasistha Patel, Sarosh Manekshaw, Raj Thapar, Pradeep Gokhale, Ajay Sarpeshkar and Manisha Gandhi.

In opening remarks, Vir spoke about the coming together of whisky enthusiasts as a group, with a goal to share and appreciate the taste and experience of whisky. He stated that although there was about a 90% migration to wine, there was still a small group of dedicated whisky aficionados. It was therefore felt there was need to set up such a group to cater to this minority. The goal would be to educate the members in the ways to differentiate between whiskies, using specific criteria of smell, taste and appearance. The group would also study the distillation process, and the relationship of raw materials, land, water and smoke in the chemistry of distillation. He went on to say that safety and moderation would be emphasized at events.

At the inaugural meeting, tasting included MacAllen 21 year single malt Scotch, Glen Moray 12 year single malt Scotch, Glenlivet 12 year single malt Scotch, Buchanan 12 year blended Scotch and Tober Mory 15 year Mull Island Single Malt Scotch.

The meeting concluded with Oranjerie Single Malt, a dessert Scotch that was accompanied by a chocolate cake with dry fruits infused with Rebel Yell Kentucky wheated bourbon.

There are more than 5,000 whisky labels in the world. These include whisky from Scotland, Ireland, India, Canada, Japan and many other countries. The most com-

Sitting: Dr. Vasistha Patel (L), Manisha Gandhi, Pradeep Gokhale, David Raj Standing: Ajay Sarpeshkar (L), Raj Thapar, Sarosh Maneckshaw, Atul Vir.

mon ingredient in Scotch whisky is barley.

In the U.S. whisky is called bourbon and primarily made from corn and rye. The process of brewing starches produces beer.

The additional step of distillation of the resulting mash produces whisky.

India is the largest consumer of whisky in the world, and Indians are prominent in this field. The single-malt brand Amrut from Bangalore has been sweeping the global whisky tasting awards. The largest whisky retail store with over 1,000 brands on sale is owned by Sukhwinder Singh in London. Entrepreneur Mahesh Patel organizes the annual Universal Whisky Experience in Las Vegas, a high end whisky fest.

Said David Raj, “The Houston Club aims to develop its members to the level of whisky connoisseurs, who are available as a resource for the industry. This will be done in a fun and educative way at our monthly events.” Participation is open by invitation for men and women from all communities.

Those interested please contact Atul Vir at Atul@ShangrilaArts.com

Indian Student Association at UH brings back its

Uma Mantravadi (left), Badar Ali and Anees Chandani (on keyboards) performed a variety of songs throughout the evening.

5th Nasha 2012 annual talent show An evening filled with dance, food, masti, and unbeatable talent competing for a

$2,000 cash prize.

Friday April 13 at the University of Houston Cullen Performance Hall 7PM. TIckets are $10 presale Hyderabad Cultural Association Vice-President Abbas Ali Khan presenting a trophy of recognition to Dr. Nadir Ali as the organizing committee looks on.

Left: Dharshak Thakkar on the electronic drums and Dexter Ragunandan, on tabla.

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Questions? Email us at isaatuh@gmail.com

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, MARCH 16, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

INDIA

11

March 16, 2012

Muni Seva Ashram: Smallest Big Story of India

It’s the big story. A village woman with 7th grade education goes to the Ramakrishna Mission to become a nun; they reject her because she doesn’t have a college education. So she finds another teacher, who has been in silence for 12 years. He instructs her to serve the world rather than becoming a nun. Without any money, without any house, without any other resources, she builds a hut on a river bank near a tribal village called Goraj. She invites a few village kids to play everyday. That woman was Anuben Thakkar, that year was 1978, that project was called Muni Seva Ashram.

Ashram’s Evolution By 1982, there were two huts on the Goraj wasteland. One was residence quarters, and another was a kindergarten during the days, kitchen during meal times, and hospital during the other times.

Bit by bit, Muni Seva Ashram evolved and grew beyond anyone’s wildest imagination. Thirty years later, Muni Seva Ashram is a 250 acre social service project that is known throughout Asia.

Today, the Ashram operates many programs focused on agriculture, education and medicine, such as: • A nationally renowned cancer hospital and a general hospital where patients from as far away

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Certified Public Accountant Anuben Thakkar

as Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh come • Three senior centers where more than 120 seniors live • Several schools from kindergarten to 12 grade serving around one thousand students. Residential quarters for around 600 students.

• A nursing college for around 150 nurses from across Gujarat • A center for the mentally challenged women where 100 women live • An orphanage for around 50 girls • Cow-sheds for around 500 cows.

The ashram has become an impressive model for sustainable use of technology. In India, we are big into recycling. An old sari becomes a towel, an old towel becomes a napkin, and an old napkin becomes a cleaning rag. Similarly, the ashram makes use of everything from the cow dung to leaves on the trees to wasted water. The ashram produces its own grass; cows eat the grass and produce milk; cow dung is used to produce bio-gas that is

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used to cook farm-fresh food; superfluous water is used for irrigation, plant and human waste is used to create manure for the farms, and so on. A whopping 70% of the resources needed on the 250-acre campus are generated in house. Ashram has projects on the drawing board that will allow it to become 100% sustainable.

Pay-what-you-can!

Perhaps the most striking feature of the ashram is this: nothing is free, but every service is on a paywhat-you-can basis!

Villagers come here to get free help, international patients travel thousands of miles to get cutting edge medical care, and folks from Vadodara can even get shuttles to come here. 20% of the clients will end up paying 50-100 rupees, 50% request about 50-60% concession, and 30% pay whatever is suggested. All the deficits are made up for by donations.

The Muni Seva Ashram is certainly the smallest big story of India. Or, may be the biggest small story of India!

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Divine Ambience with Prayer, Music and Dance at Namadwaar 2nd Anniversary in Sugar Land

SUGAR LAND: The basis of Indian culture is to see divinity in everything—not only in every person, in nature, in places and in objects, but also in work, vocation and art. As a consequence, all Indian art-forms are simply depictions of the divine.

As a testimony to this fact, a divine ambience was clearly obvious during Houston Namadwaar’s second anniversary celebrations on March 10. Accomplished Houston artistes Vidushi Rajarajeshwary Bhat and Divyaa Unni fascinated the watching hundreds with truly divine music and movement, and Sri Poornimaji, disciple of His Holiness Sri Sri Muralidhara Swamiji, concluded the evening with a mass prayer that indeed manifested Divine presence in the arena.

Organized by Global Organization for Divinity (G.O.D.) USA, the program which was held in Sugar Land Auditorium started off with a classical dance performance

by Divyaa Unni and her students from the Sreepadam School of Arts. The brilliance and energy of Surya, the sun-god, was depicted beautifully in the first number.

Next was a solo performance by Nita Joseph, a senior student of Divyaa Unni, showing the play between little Krishna and his mother Yashoda. Finally, Divyaa Unni herself gave a solo Kuchipudi performance dancing excellently on the traditional tambalam (curved brass plate) while balancing a pot of water on her head, to another song on Lord Krishna.

The Carnatic music concert by Vidushi Rajarajeshwary Bhat, accompanied by Vishaal Sapuram (chitravina), Poovalur Sriji (mridangam), and Keerthana and Kruthi Bhat (tambura), was out of the world; and each of the artistes clearly demonstrated their high caliber throughout the concert. The highlights of the concert included a soul-touching piece in the first part seeking forgiveness of the Lord for any mistakes, and a stirring ragam-thanam-pallavi, aptly titled “Mohana Muralidhara Gopala”, where Vidushi Bhat’s creativity and versatility were

Mass prayer with Poornimaji and Rajarajeshwary Bhat

Divya Unni

plainly apparent, as were the skillfulness of young Vishaal Sapuram and veteran Poovalur Sriji. In a relatively short concert that lasted a little over an hour, the artistes beautifully presented all the important elements of a traditional Carnatic music concert. Smt. Bhat was also ably supported by her daughter Kruthi Bhat throughout the concert.

Humanity and Divinity are inseparable. This being one of the tenets behind G.O.D.’s mission, several community projects as well as charitable-giving programs are conducted by G.O.D. throughout the year. As a special commemoration of Namadwaar’s anniversary, G.O.D. was honored this year to present a substantial donation of educational supplies to the Monarch School and the Westview School, both of which provide care and education to children with autism spectral disorders and other neurological differences.

The chief guest for the evening was Andy Hoffman, Chief Operating Officer of Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston. During his address, Hoffman applauded the diversity of cultures in Houston and stressed the need for the mixing and appreciating of vari-

ous faiths and cultures.

Sri Poornimaji then addressed the gathering, explaining why a prayer house’s anniversary was being celebrated with dance and music – because the art-forms are also divine, as everything in the Indian way of life is designed to bring in remembrance of the Lord, just as chanting His Names is something that can be done at any time.

At the end of the program, she again emphasized the importance of prayer and of the Divine Name—that the Lord is where His Name is chanted. This implies that prayers done with the Divine Name are extremely powerful.

Exhorting everyone to chant the Mahamantra—Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare, Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare—every day, she said emphatically that sincere prayers with the Mahamantra will undoubtedly be granted by the compassionate Lord.

A prayer was then made for universal harmony and brotherhood, and for peace within our community, in the state of Texas, in the USA, and in the entire world. The whole audience then sang the Mahamantra enthusiastically along with Sri Poornimaji, Vidushi Rajarajeshwary Bhat and all the other musicians on stage, thus concluding the program on a high, spiritual note.

For more information about Global Organization for Divinity and its activities, call 281-4026585. To send prayer requests or learn more about Houston Namadwaar, visit http://houston-namadwaar.godivinity.org or email houston.god@godivinity.org.

YLDP Leadership Session with Houston Mayor Annise Parker

HOUSTON: On March 3, Mayor Annise Parker visited YLDP students at India House to deliver an inspiring speech on what leadership really means, and why it is so important. Mayor Parker engaged the YLDP students in an interactive discussion, explaining what exactly government does, from the smallest level, the family, to the city level, and how important leaders are in the decision making process. She explained a few key qualities that any leader should possess. One of the main reasons leaders fail is that they are unable to make decisions since they are afraid of making people unhappy. Decisiveness is a must for any leader. She also stressed

YLDP students with Houston Mayor Annise Parker

listening to the will of the people a leader represents. The most important thing is the greatest amount of good, for the greatest amount of people, for the greatest amount of time. Throughout the session students learned that as the youth of this generation, they too can make

a difference by volunteering and participating in various events, through which they can advocate and stand up for what they believe in.

YLDP students Anirudh Pillutla, Aditya Srinivasan, Khushi Parihar, Namita Pallod and Shreeya Upadhyay contributed to the article.

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, MARCH 16, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

CRICKET

March 16, 2012

Rahul Dravid’s Career in Pictures

17

Read story on Page 32

Dravid’s Test debut innings against England way back in June 1996 at Lord’s. Then 23, he made a brilliant 95 in swinging conditions to impress one and all. (Getty Images)

In the mother of all all contests against Pakistan in the 2003 World Cup, Dravid made a crucial 44 not out as India chased down 274

Rahul Dravid with his Man-of-the-Match award for hitting a ton in each innings of the Eden Gardens Test against Pakistan in 2005. (AFP)

Dravid celebrates his ton against Sri Lanka during a 1999 World Cup match at Taunton in England. The right-handed batsman made 145 as India registered a huge 157-run win against their neighbors.

Dravid was instrumental in India’s win against Australia at Adelaide in 2003. He scored 233 and 72 not out in the second Test of the series as India stunned the indomitable Kangaroos.

(Getty Images)

The late MAK Pataudi hands the Pataudi Trophy over to captain Rahul Dravid after India beat hosts England 1-0 in the three-Test series in 2007. (Getty Images)

Dravid bagged the ICC Cricketer of the Year award in 2004. Here he is kissing the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy. (Getty Images)

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, MARCH 16 , 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

18 March 16, 2012 London Olympics: Boycott or Not? There can be no argument that the Bhopal disaster was a horrific incident, an example of industrial malpractice of the worst variety. Union Carbide Corporation deserved to be punished in the severest terms and there are strong grounds for saying that the compensation paid to the victims should have been greater and that certain individuals got off lightly. What is not clear is what bearing this has on Dow Chemicals and the present London Olympics boycott call. Union Carbide’s India division was hived off the main company and sold off. Seven years after the incident, the leftover parts of Union Carbide outside India were bought by Dow Chemicals. Legally, Dow Chemicals cannot be held responsible for Bhopal — which is why no one has filed a credible lawsuit against them over the tragedy. Morally, the credibility of the Olympics boycott call can only be questioned.

The firm that bought Union Carbide India is not being targeted.

And Dow Chemical operates openly across India.

Boycotts and other forms of civil protest require both an unassailable moral position as well as a sense of politics. The greatest practitioners of such activism, whether Mahatma Gandhi or Martin Luther King, understood this well. Neither ingredient is evident in the Olympic boycott call of various non-government organisations and the Indian sports ministry. There can be a case for arguing that the Olympics is the sort of high-profile event where a half-forgotten cause like the Bhopal disaster could receive publicity and potentially justice. British Prime Minister David Cameron ignores history when he says sports and politics should not overlap — the Olympics were politicised even in the days of Athens and Sparta. But he is not wrong in implying no one would notice if India made a no-show. Past Olympics have gone ahead successfully despite the absence of sporting superpowers like the Soviet Union and the US. The impact of an India boycott, a country wins one or two medals every four years, would be felt largely in the broken hopes of its own sportsmen. On top of all this, the sports ministry is only contemplating a boycott of the opening and closing ceremonies — tokenism of the worst variety.

Raising global consciousness about Bhopal is a worthy cause. A well-crafted campaign should have sought to draw in other countries that experienced similar industrial accidents.

Tactically, boycotts only work if the target is economically or politically vulnerable to isolation. Otherwise, they tend to be invisible. The most famous Olympic protests were not boycotts by nations or individuals. They were by sportsmen on the field: Jesse Owens humiliating the racist doctrines of Adolf Hitler in 1936 and Tommie Smith and John Carlos giving black power salutes in 1968. Perhaps that is the template Bhopal activists should consider. Hindustan Times

EDITORIAL

Why Akhilesh ... Why not Rahul?

BY TAVLEEN SINGH Last week’s elections results are very bad news for the Gandhi dynasty. Not the Congress Party. Anyone with even a casual understanding of Indian politics knows that this party runs according to the wishes of one family. It has been that way since Indira Gandhi introduced dynastic democracy as a political idea in the 1970s. She used the Emergency to hand the Congress Party, and virtually the Government of India, to Sanjay Gandhi who till then had not contested an election or shown an interest in politics.

Dynastic democracy has now spread like a lethal disease to almost every political party in India but Congress has been afflicted longer than anyone else. And, it is now beginning to pay the price. Nowhere is this more evident than in Rae Bareli and Amethi where Congress lost nearly every seat. This happened despite Priyanka Gandhi campaigning relentlessly herself and enlisting the services of her husband and children.

Mr Vadra, not a seasoned politician, naively admitted on national television that his whole family intended to play a political role. This smacked of a sense of entitlement that voters no longer seem comfortable with.

In the campaign speeches of Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, the sense of entitlement was more subtly expressed.

It manifested itself in the way they spoke of the money ‘we’ have sent from Delhi. In Rae Bareli, I happened to catch one of Sonia Gandhi’s rallies on television when I stopped to have lunch in a local restaurant.

My lunch companion was a young Dalit man. When Sonia said ‘we’ have sent more than Rs 100,000 crores to UP that was looted by the state government, he asked me if this was not money that belonged to the ‘janata’. It does. It is not just arrogant but offensive to talk this way but this has been the leitmotif of Sonia Gandhi’s speeches for many, many elections now.

Rahul campaigned indefatigably in Uttar Pradesh but wherever he went he behaved like a prince who had deigned to step out of his palace to mingle with people he would not ordinarily have needed to meet. He

Akhilesh Yadav

Rahul Gandhi

boasted often about how he had spent nights in the huts of villagers and shared their humble meals. He made it sound as if he was doing something that other politicians did not do in the normal course. They do and it did not take long for Akhilesh Yadav to point this out.

This brings us to a question I have been asked over and over since the Samajwadi Party won in UP. Why was Akhilesh more acceptable than Rahul since they are both inheritors of political parties? As someone who believes dynastic democracy has been disastrous for Indian politics, I do not have an answer I like.

Except to say that Akhilesh has not yet started behaving like a prince. He may do eventually but during this campaign he did not exhibit a sense of entitlement.

He would, however, do well to study carefully what went wrong with the Congress Party in order to avoid making the same mistakes. The biggest is the delusion that charisma is the only key to electoral success.

When this delusion sets in political parties start to rely on the wisdom of

a `high command’ to decide which candidates qualify for tickets and which ones are unfit. Inevitably then political parties become infested, as Congress has, with power brokers who concentrate on pushing forward their friends and relatives instead of people with a real interest in public life. For political parties this is usually the kiss of death.

In Punjab, voters had a choice between two dynasties and chose to keep the Badals in power. Again, I believe this could be because at the moment the Badals have not started behaving as if all that matters is their ‘charisma’. Their campaign was based not on a sense of entitlement but on a determined effort to convince voters that they would continue to bring development and prosperity to Punjab. They succeeded this time. But, like the Samajwadi Party, and other political parties that believe in dynastic succession, they would do well to observe carefully what has happened to the Congress Party.

Forty years of surviving in the shadow of a dynasty has reduced India’s oldest political party to being little more than the appendage of a court in Delhi. When Rahul Gandhi said after last week’s results that he believed the ‘fundamentals’ were wrong, he made a correct assessment. But, as heir to the dynasty there is nothing he can do about it. Since he himself entered politics because his surname gave him entitlement how can he admit that the ‘fundamental’ that needs changing is dynastic democracy? Indian Express

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EDITOR: PRAMOD KULKARNI BUSINESS MANAGER: JAWAHAR MALHOTRA MANAGING PARTNER: KRISHNA GIRI COMMUNITY REPORTER: KALYANI GIRI COMMUNITY EDITOR: MANASI GOKHALE ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGER: VANSHIKA VIPIN GRAPHIC DESIGN: SAQIB RANA CORRESPONDENTS CHICAGO: NAND KAPOOR, UK: ASEEM KULKARNI NEW DELHI: RAJ KANWAR ®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, MARCH 16 , 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

COMMUNITY

March 16, 2012

India Minister of State for External Affairs, Human Resource Development Visits Dallas

DALLAS: E. Ahamed, Hon’ble Minister of State for External Affairs and Human Resource Development addressed and interacted with a broadbased gathering of Indian-American community in Dallas on February 21 at a well attended function organized by the India Association of North Texas (IANT) and the Texas Chapter of Indian American Friendship Council (IAFC), in cooperation with other community organizations and Consulate General of India, Houston.

MoS visited Dallas after representing India at G-20 Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Los Cabos, Mexico and enroute London to participate in an International Conference on Somalia.

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Jury Deliberating in Dharun Ravi’s Webcam Spying Trial

Open 7 days a week

NEW BRUNSWICK: The jury has begun deliberating in the trial of Dharun Ravi, the former Rutgers student who is accused of committing a hate crime by spying via webcam on his gay roommate.

Superior Court Judge Glenn Berman charged the 15-member jury this morning for about an hour and a half, then three alternates were randomly chosen. Two men and a woman were chosen as alternates, leaving five men and seven women to deliberate.

Ravi faces 15 counts of bias intimidation, invasion of privacy, and tampering with evidence and a witness.

Ravi can only be found guilty of the bias intimidation counts — meaning he targeted his roommate, Tyler Clementi, based on his sexual orientation — if he is found guilty of the accompanying invasion of privacy charges.

Prosecutors say Ravi, 20, was motivated by a hatred of gays when he turned on his webcam from a friend’s laptop on Sept. 19, 2010 and saw his Rutgers roommate of three weeks kissing a man. He tweeted what he had seen and invited others to watch a second time via twitter.

Ravi’s lawyers say he was unprepared for what he saw on the webcam, and reacted as any 18-year-old kid inexperienced with homosexuality would. They contend he acted immaturely, but is not prejudiced or biased.

The jury will break for an hourlong lunch at noon, and will take a mid-afternoon break at 2:30. The

jurors will break for the day at 4 p.m. and resume deliberating Thursday morning at 9 a.m. if a verdict is not reached Dharun Ravi today.

Both the Clementi family and the Ravi family left the courthouse shortly after the jury left the courtroom.

The hallway outside the courtroom is swarmed with reporters.

The trial, which lasted 13 days and included more than 30 witnesses and 100 pieces of evidence, attracted national attention because Clementi committed suicide a few days after the alleged spying incident occurred.

Clementi’s suicide ignited a national dialogue on cyber-bullying and harassment of gay youth.

Ravi is not charged in Clementi’s death, but if convicted of the top bias charges faces up to 10 years in prison.

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COMMUNITY BUSINESS INDIA

Ashok Amritraj: An Ace of Movie Moguls

The producer says choosing diverse scripts and being Indian have much to do with his longevity in Hollywood

BY SANJUKTA SHARMA MUMBAI (Mint): It isn’t much of a surprise to see Ashok Amritraj, 56, in a tracksuit and flip-flops. Sports is in his genes. He is in the middle of one of his frequent whirlwind trips to Chennai and Mumbai. The former tennis player, the youngest of the three Amritraj brothers from Chennai, and now one of Hollywood’s leading movie producers—chief executive and chairman of Hyde Park Entertainment—is meeting “friends from the film world” and young filmmakers with ideas.

We meet at Oakwood Premier, a serviced apartments building in Mumbai’s quintessentially filmi suburb, Juhu, in February. Instead of wine, which he is known to be a connoisseur of, it’s sugary masala chai for him. Being in India has something to do with that choice.

Amritraj is upbeat and unassuming—Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, the latest film from his banner released by Warner Bros in India, is three days away from release and another, a small film, Jayne Mansfield’s Car, written and directed by Billy Bob Thornton, is competing at the Berlinale 2012 for a top prize. These two films, being watched at the same time by two different kinds of audiences, pretty much sum up Amritraj’s philosophy as a movies man.

“One of the reasons for the longevity of my career is that I have made a variety of movies. Double Impact,Ghost Rider in 3D, comedies like Bringing Down the House, smaller, intimate ones like Shopgirl, Moonlight Mile, a sexy thriller like Original Sin with Angelina Jolie—I’ve dabbled in all kinds. It is conscious, so that I am not known as the action guy or the comedy guy,” says Amritraj.

His Hollywood dream is not complete—at present, he wishes to work with director Clint Eastwood and actor Meryl Streep.

Amritraj’s first big break as a producer was with Double Impact, in 1991, which was also the first major role of action star Jean-Claude Van Damme. It was an action-thriller template that many in Hollywood, including Amritraj himself, followed.

They were brain-dead thrillers with limp direction and stony heroes, but for producers, they made a lot of money.

Amritraj’s career has progressed tangentially from that first hit, but it’s a career attuned to Hollywood’s changing dictates. Over the years, he has diversified into the technically advanced big- budget blockbusters (the Ghost Rider franchise with Nicolas Cage, for example) as well as the small-budget, film festival favourites which get limited release.

“The changes have been at the production and distribution levels,” he says, “and of course, the movies have got much larger and more expensive.

The middle-budget films that used to get made a lot in the 1980s and 1990s are rarely made now. The Forrest Gumps of the world, the $40-50 mil-

Amritraj says his company tries to produce four-five films every year with big and small budgets lion (Rs.200-250 crore now) films, are dead. Films like The Descendants, the $12 million film, have taken their place. Then there are Pirates of the Caribbean, the superhero films, and Avatar, for which the budgets go to hundreds of millions of dollars.”

His distribution model is equally scripted: Send out around 6,000 prints all over the world at the same time and plan a, say, $40 million marketing blitzkrieg in the US alone, which gets transmitted to the world market through new media. Amritraj interacts with writers personally— the basic difference, he says, between Hollywood and Bollywood is in the starting point.

“It’s rare that you have a total business guy or a totally creative guy making decisions. While in India, producers or studios depend on six or seven stars, there we know that we can do without stars. I start with the writer. I can make a million-dollar movie without a famous actor.”

Hyde Park Entertainment, the label he set up in 1999, is an independent entertainment production company that collaborates with Hollywood studios. It has tie-ups with the Singapore government, Image Nation of Abu Dhabi and National Geographic to produce creative content in genres spanning film, comics, gaming and television. After more than 30 years in Hollywood’s inner circle and after more than 100 films, Amritraj believes it is “a world of fantasy”.

“I am fortunate to have strong women in my life. My mother, my wife, who is from Chennai like me, and my daughter, who keep me grounded.”

Amritraj played tennis professionally until he was in his early 20s, for about nine years. He played at Wimbledon as well as the US Open.

In 1975, he moved to Los Angeles (LA) and, as he says, got completely lost in the magic of the movie world.

“I still played a lot of tennis but I wanted to say I have made some movies. I took that wish pretty seriously. I got to know a lot of people from Hollywood and played tennis with them. I would hang around at the editing room of (film-maker) Sidney Poitier and networked any way I could. No Indians were of any consequence then. Hollywood was a closed world, very white, and Hollywood folks can grind you to the ground.

“Today, it’s more economic than racial—about how much green you have. The US is not the complete superpower. In the next 10 years, it’s going to change more.

But I find the inner circle of Hollywood does not change much. If you are an outsider, you rub shoulders, you take some pictures with stars and that’s it.”

After seven years of his struggle, what he describes as “anguish”, Amritraj set up his film company and Van Damme walked into his office. “We both made each other with Double Impact. It’s like the film Sliding Doors by Peter Howitt. It’s about a guy and two stories about him. In one, he catches a train and goes to office, in one he misses the train, returns home and finds his wife in bed with someone else. Things change on a dime.”

Things have changed with his tennis as well—now,Amritraj plays with Dustin Hoffman, Pierce Brosnan and Matthew Perry, among others, every Saturday morning on his own private tennis court. In 1999, he suffered a serious back injury and had to give up tennis for a while, but the ritual has restarted at his LA home.

“My children (a son and a daughter, both in their teens) play tennis. I inculcated the game in them because individual sports teaches you lessons on life that team sports can’t.

It teaches you about crying, being responsible for yourself, and getting up on your own after crying. Tennis is a family thing.”

The other constant with the Amritrajs (his brothers are Vijay and Anand), he says, is Chennai, where they are from—where he discovered his love for films and tennis. Amritraj is looking for Indian writers and directors who can tell him stories about the new India.

“Stories are universal. If you can make any producer, including Hollywood producers, feel part of it, it’s a story they will want to make. If I am making a movie that takes India into account, I’d like to do more about India and about the India of today. I don’t make movies about American college life, for example, because I don’t get it.”

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, MARCH 16 , 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

COMMUNITY

Indian American Filmmaker Wins Award

TORONTO (TOI) Indian American filmmaker Manan Singh Katohora has won the “2012 Rising Star Award” for his feature film “ 9 Eleven” at the Canada International Film Festival.

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Written and Directed by Katohora, “9 Eleven” portrays the life of 10 people who belong to different walks of life.

Though each individual has achieved a measure of success in their individual lives, their darkest secrets come out in the open

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The film “9-Eleven” is a fast paced thriller with undertones of terrorism. Terrorism need not be political, “ideologically” generated or xenophobic.

Kashmera Shah features in an item number composed by ‘Dilwaale Dulhania Le Jaayenge’ fame music director Jatin Pandit.

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21

Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/D/V.

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NEWS PHOTOGRAPHER/LIVE TRUCK OPERATOR

KTRK-TV, the ABC O&O located in Houston, TX, has an opening for a full time News Photographer/Live Truck Operator. Candidates should have a minimum three years experience in all facets of television news photography including lighting, audio and editing, and show exceptional knowledge and creativity in these areas. Applicants should have a good eye for news photography, be able to work in the field unsupervised or with various reporters and be able to work in deadline situations. The ideal candidate will have experience shooting investigative reports, the use of hidden cameras and ability to shoot records and documents. Candidates should also have experience operating a microwave live truck and must be able to lift and carry 30 lbs. of equipment.

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INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, MARCH 16 , 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

MOVIE REVIEWS

22 March 16, 2012

Story: A young girl in search of adventure forces an honest autorickshaw driver to kidnap her at gunpoint. Sparks inevitably fly between the two Movie Review: Rich attractive girls have a tendency to run away from home in masala Bollywood. We all know that. We also know that they invariably meet up with decent guys who become their knight in shining armour. So it is no surprise when Mini ( Genelia D’Souza), a rich, thrill-seeking girl, encourages Viren (Riteish Deshmukh), an autorickshaw driver, to kidnap her. We immediately know where the movie is headed for. For her, it is the beginning of all the rush she was looking for. And willy-nilly, Viren becomes her partner. Together they break into homes and get drunk. And she even makes ransom calls to her own father. The twist comes when she discovers that Viren is no autorickshaw driver. Breezy romantic comedies generally thrive on witty dialogues and the

chemistry of the lead pair. And Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya does have some crackling gags and one-liners. Director Mandeep Kumar uses the famed Haryanvi wit to good effect although the narrative stereotypically links big biceps with peapod brains. One hilarious moment in the film comes when Viren shouts at a foreigner, “Simon go back,” a reference to the famous anti-Simon agitation of 1927. The stupefied foreigner mutters, “How did he know my name is Simon?”

The movie also has some of the most hummable tracks of 2012. Whenever the narrative falters, Sachin-Jigar’s music comes to the rescue. Piya o re piya, Pee pa pee pa and Mai vaari jawan are three gems of 2012. And there’s Veena Malik once again doing an item number. Midway the lyrics go something like this: Chhalke chhalke ras ka kuwan, koi bhi pee jaye as the camera focuses on her cleavage. Even without Ms Malik’s open-heart display, TNLHG is passable popcorn fare. (TOI)

Story: A heavily pregnant Vidya Bagchi lands from London amidst a festive Kolkata; searching for her mysteriously missing husband in the bylanes and crowded underbelly of the City of Joy. Only to be told he doesn’t exist.

Movie Review: While the truth is that most women would love to see their husbands ‘missing’, such is not the case with the dusky Vidya Bagchi ( Vidya Balan), whose search for her husband, Arnab Bagchi lands her bang amidst mysterious men and baffling clues in an unknown, sometimes unfriendly city.

If, after ‘The Dirty Picture’ you still needed convincing that you will miss a leading ‘hero’ in this one, get ready for another punch in the jaw. Once again, a ‘pregnant’ Vidya, ironically displays more ‘male ornaments’ (excuse the watering down) than most heroes. She takes on her role with power and pride. Living out of a suitcase, amongst strangers, she takes on the soul of the city. Her performance leaves you in awe of an actress, who walks through her role as easily as a stroll down Chowranghee Lane. And even that is perfected as a pregnant

Story: A globetrotting love story, with modern romantic equations and emotions evolving at every stopover.

Movie Review: Does your love change with the character of the city you are in? Do your pheromones trigger a different response when you kiss the same girl in different parts of the world? That’s the formula of this three-city, romantic tour called London Paris New York.

Reminding us loosely of the Hollywood romance ‘Before Sunrise’ (starring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delphi),London Paris New York, is a story of a couple who spend three nights, in three beautiful cities. This sparks a light-hearted romance over crackling conversational chemistry and long walks through the picturesque metros.

Intensifying with dramatic highs, and emotional meltdowns.

Nikhil Chopra (Ali Zafar) and Lalitha Krishnan (Aditi Rao Hydari) are free-spirited, urban adolescents who meet by chance in London.

They’re instantly drawn to each other. Like most urbane youth on their own, they chat, kiss and vow to meet again in six months. In Lalitha’s home city of New York. However, they decide not to pursue a long distance relationship, yet, they can’t get over this not-so-fatal attraction.

Hence, this mismatched and geographicallycrossed couple go their separate transit lounges around the world, to search out each other, only to love and lose each other over and over again.

Blame it on the rivers - Thames, Seine and

waddle, add to it her disheveled look and eyes dark with anguish.

Rana ( Parambrata Chattopadhyay) is the freshman cop who lets Vidya take the lead, while subtly and impressively leaving a mark of his own. Intelligence Officer A. Khan ( Nawazuddin Siddiqui) shows fine talent as a ruthless, unemotional agent. However, if anyone matches Balan as a ‘hero’, it is the city of Kolkata itself. The rawness, beauty and grime of the city are stunningly captured by Setu (Cinematographer), from haath rickshaws, trams to Kalighat

Hudson - for pouring waters over their attraction each time. With a new twist in each city.

Ali Zafar is just the charming, almost cocky boy this love story needs. He is lovable, natural and subtly brings that slight cheekiness, sprinkled with boyish humour and attitude. He effortlessly adds dimensions to his character that is expected of his age and time. The casualness, yet confident aplomb with which he approaches his role is impressive. His emotional outburst under the Brooklyn Bridge in New York proves he is capable of much more than serenading you with his strings, songs and smiles. (TOI)

and Camac Street. With all its celebration and splash of red and white (symbolic for married Bengali women) spilling over the city.

Sujoy Ghosh’s script and direction show no ‘pregnant’ pauses. It slams home a shock value that a thriller rightly demands. The story totally grips you and leaves you at a dramatic high.

The background score (Clinton Cerejo) is arresting; the music is used beautifully to amplify emotions and dramatize moments. Amitabh Bachchan’s rendition of Tagore’s ‘Ekla Chalo Re’ is powerful. (TOI)

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, MARCH 16 , 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

INDIA

March 16, 2012

Web Sites Shine Light on Petty Bribery Worldwide

BY STEPHANIE STROM (NYT) The cost of claiming a legitimate income tax refund in Hyderabad, India? 10,000 rupees.

The going rate to get a child who has already passed the entrance requirements into high school in Nairobi, Kenya? 20,000 shillings.

The expense of obtaining a driver’s license after having passed the test in Karachi, Pakistan? 3,000 rupees.

Such is the price of what Swati Ramanathan calls “retail corruption,” the sort of nickel-and-dime bribery, as opposed to large-scale graft, that infects everyday life in so many parts of the world.

Ramanathan and her husband, Ramesh, along with Sridar Iyengar, set out to change all that in August 2010 when they started ipaidabribe. com, a site that collects anonymous reports of bribes paid, bribes requested but not paid and requests that were expected but not forthcoming.

About 80 percent of the more than 400,000 reports to the site tell stories like the ones above of officials and bureaucrats seeking illicit payments to provide routine services or process paperwork and forms.

“I was asked to pay a bribe to get a birth certificate for my daughter,” someone in Bangalore, India, wrote in to the Web site on Feb. 29, recording payment of a 120-rupee bribe in Bangalore. “The guy in charge called it ‘fees’ ” — except there are no fees charged for birth certificates, Ramanathan said.

Now, similar sites are spreading like kudzu around the globe, vexing petty bureaucrats the world over.

Ramanathan said nongovernmental organizations and government agencies from at least 17 countries had contacted Janaagraha, the nonprofit organization in Bangalore that operates I Paid a Bribe, to ask about obtaining the source code and setting up a site of their own.

Last year, the Kingdom of Bhutan’s Anti-Corruption Commission created an online form to allow the anonymous reporting of corruption, and a similar site was created in Pakistan, ipaidbribe, which estimates that the country’s economy has lost

Swati Ramanathan, a founder of the site I Paid a Bribe, in India Photo: Namas Bhojani

some 8.5 trillion rupees, or about $94 billion, over the last four years to corruption, tax evasion and weak governance.

“We’re working to create a coalition of I Paid a Bribe groups that would perhaps meet annually and share experiences,” Ramanathan said.

Ben Elers, program director for Transparency International, a nongovernmental organization, said social media had given the average person powerful new tools to fight endemic corruption. “In the past, we tended to view corruption as this huge, monolithic problem that ordinary people couldn’t do anything about,” Elers said. “Now, people have new tools to identify it and demand change.”

Since no names are given on the sites, in part to avoid potential issues of libel and defamation, it is impossible to verify the reports, but Elers and others experienced in exposing corruption say many of them ring true. They are threatening enough that when a rash of similar sites popped up in China last summer, the government stamped them out within a couple of weeks, contending they had failed to register with the authorities.

They are, however, only a reporting mechanism. “In their own right, they don’t change anything,” Elers said.

“The critical thing is that mechanisms are developed to turn this online activity into offline change in the real world.”

Antony Ragui is hoping that hap-

pens in Kenya, where he started an ipaidabribe site in December. The site has gotten about thousands of hits since then and recorded about 470 bribery reports. The bribes are as varied as payments to make traffic infractions vanish from records and payments for admission to schools and for passports and identification documents.

“What if that person who paid a bribe to get a driver’s license because he failed his driving test hits your sister or your child?” Ragui said. “We have a huge issue of Somalis paying bribes to get passports and personal identity cards to come to Kenya — what if one of them is a terrorist who blows something up? The bribes may be small but the consequences may be big for you and me.”

His big concern at the moment is how to pay for the site. Unlike the Indian site, which has received money from the Omidyar Network and is housed within a well-financed nonprofit, the Kenyan I Paid a Bribe thus far is supported by Ragui himself.

Stephen King, the partner who oversees the technology for government transparency and accountability at the Omidyar Network, the organization that manages the philanthropy of the eBay founder Pierre Omidyar, said sustainability was an issue for many such groups.

The Omidyar Network supported Janaagraha to develop I Paid a Bribe, but the Web site will have to find a way to sustain itself. “A couple of the organizations we’re working with in the area of transparency and accountability have been looking at things like microdonations, asking for a nominal amount to help cover their costs like a Wikipedia model,” King said. “There’s also some potential for carrying advertising on the sites.”

Another idea, he said, was for such organizations to customize their platforms for other groups for a fee.

Ragui in Kenya is working to develop a system to A track in Bangalore, India, has automated the testing for driver’s licenses, to avoid enable reporting of bribes Photo: Namas Bhojani

Antony Ragui started an I Paid a Bribe site in Kenya

bribery by mobile phone that he hopes to have ready in time for elections later this year. The idea is to allow people to report vote-buying in real time that will be connected to a map. “It could be really powerful to have real time, granular data to analyze how much corruption affects the election,” he said.

“My real goal, though,” he added, “is to change just one government department and how it does business.”

That is what happened in Bangalore, where Bhaskar Rao, the transport commissioner for the state of Karnataka, used the data collected on I Paid a Bribe to push through reforms in the motor vehicle department. Some 20 senior officers in the department were “cautioned,” Rao said, and many others received ethics

23

counseling.

Licenses are now applied for online — and last year, Bangalore became home to the world’s first automated driving test tracks. Drivers navigate a figure eight, demonstrate their ability to parallel park, put their car in reverse and perform other tasks over a test of about nine minutes that is monitored by electronic sensors.

“It totally eliminated the whims and fancies of the motor vehicle inspectors,” Rao, now inspector general of police for internal security, said in a telephone interview. “It is videotaped so everyone can see the results and everything is very transparent.”

He said he could not have made the changes without I Paid a Bribe.

“It was my unofficial spokesman to drive home the message that the public was really upset about this corruption,” Rao said. “It helped me get my colleagues to fall in line, and it helped me persuade my superiors that we needed to do this.”

Such concrete evidence of impact is nice, but King said the sites also were likely to have a deterrent effect that was difficult to measure. “As the information because more public over time and awareness of such reporting grows,” he said, “I suspect those who might have been tempted to engage in this type of corruption are less likely to because the risk of being caught is much greater.”

- David Barboza contributed reporting.

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INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, MARCH 16 , 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

RECIPE CORNER

24 March 16, 2012

Achaari Murg (Pickle-Style Chicken)

Microwave Milk Barfi

Made with all the same spices that go into a pickle, this delicious dish goes well with chapatis (Indian flatbread), parathas (fried Indian flatbread) or naans (flatbread made in a tandoor or oven).

Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 30 minutes Total Time: 40 minutes Yield: Serves 4-6 people Ingredients: • 1 kg chicken pieces (any pieces of your choice) skin removed • 1 tsp fenugreek seeds • 1 tsp mustard seeds • 1 tsp aniseed/fennel seeds • 1 tsp cumin seeds • 1 tsp onion seeds • 1 tsp red chilli powder • 1 tsp turmeric powder • 6 green chillies • 2 large onions sliced thin • 2 tsps garlic paste • 1 tsp ginger paste • 1 cup yogurt • Juice of 1 lime/lemon • Salt to taste • 3 tbsps vegetable/canola/sunflower oil Preparation: • Mix the onion, fennel, cumin, mustard and fenugreek seeds, red chilli powder, turmeric powder and salt together in a bowl. Take out about 3 tsps in another small bowl and mix with the lime juice.

• Wash, pat dry and slit the green chillies and remove the seeds. Fill the chillies with the spice and lime juice mix and keep aside.

• In a pan heat the oil and add the remaining spice mix. Allow to splutter and then add the onions and fry till golden.

• Add the chicken and fry till sealed.

• Add the ginger and garlic pastes and fry for a minute.

• Whisk the yogurt to make it smooth and add it to the chicken. Stir well.

• Add salt to taste, stir well. Put the stuffed green chillies on top of the chicken and cover the dish.

• Cook till the chicken is done.

• Serve with hot Chapatis, Parathas or Naans (different types of Indian flatbread).

- Credit: www.indianfood.about.com

Ingredients: • 2 cups full cream milk powder • 300 ml thickened/ double/ heavy cream • 1 400 can of condensed milk • 1/2 cup finely chopped skinless pistachios Preparation: • Mix all the ingredients (except the nuts) in a rectangular microwave safe bowl and whisk till smooth.

• Put the bowl in the microwave and set the time for 6 minutes on the High setting. Start and run the microwave. Watch the dish carefully and if the mixture looks like it might boil over, stop immediately and wait for 8-10 seconds. Start again and run till the 6-minute time is up.

• Take the dish out of the microwave and stir well to break all lumps (these lumps are the milk solids that are beginning to form due to the cooking).

• Put the dish back in the microwave and set again on High for 6 minutes.

Watch for the initial minute and then allow to continue cooking. When the time is up, sprinkle the chopped nuts over the surface of the Barfi and let sit/ rest for 10 minutes.

• After 10 minutes remove from the microwave and cut into 2 to 2 1/2inch squares. Serve immediately or after cooling to room temprature.

- Credit: www.indianfood.about.com

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www.GaneshaSpeaks.com Visit us Online www.indoamerican-news.com ARIES Mar 21 - Apr 20: recognition and there’s financial stability. Those Finalising profitable deals, of you working as media professionals, espemaking new collaborations, cially in the electronic media, will enjoy bright and proving your calibre will prospects during the week. Your dedication result into a progressive week. towards your work will take you places. And, However, don’t ruin it all by for the businessmen, this may be the ideal time letting success go to your head. Be polite to to launch a new campaign or start a new venture. your subordinates and treat them with respect. You may even bring in innovative changes at Concentrate on your pending projects. Working your work place by revising work policies.

SCORPIO Oct 24 - Nov dedicatedly on them will result into successful 22: Your new hopes and completion of the task much before the deadambitions will give a new line. Don’t lose your temper if people at work direction to your life. As you try to test your patience, it may not be in your move at a fast pace towards favour. At the personal front, you will enjoy your goals, you will seek help cordial relations with your family members. from your subordinates and TAURUS Apr 21 - May peers. And they will willingly cooperate. Com21 Meeting important people, munication and inter-personal skills will play a collaborating with them, strik- major role in accomplishing your tasks. Your ing profitable deals and ex- efforts will be noteworthy, and you will be appanding your business will preciated by your superiors. Troubles related to form the core of the activities lined up this finances that you were facing will be resolved week. To be precise, you may be travelling a lot this week.

SAGITTARIUS Nov 23 for work-related purposes. Or, at the very least, - Dec 22: A lot of transformathe work may be too much to handle. Neverthetion is predicted for you in the less, fun activities with friends may help you to next few weeks. New people unwind. Get-together, parties, films and similar and relationships, new partentertainment activities will re-energise you for nerships and deals will keep the days to come. But be careful while handling you occupied throughout the week. Your pace financial matters.

GEMINI May 22 - Jun will be unmatchable as you compete with the 21: You will make great efforts best in the business. You will be confident about to expand your professional your decisions, and will eventually emerge a network, which will help you winner. Romantic relationships may bloom grow your business. Profit be- during this phase. If you want to propose to your ing your only focus, you will beloved, this may be one of the best phases.

CAPRICORN Dec 23 be handling the financial matters in a practical - Jan 20: Confident and way. A wedding, engagement or similar family charismatic as you are, you occasion may see a sudden surge of activity at will resolve difficult issues your home front. Your near and dear ones are tactfully. However, it will be likely to demand your attention. Do that, but important for you to be polite don’t forget to enjoy yourself in the process. in your speech and courteous CANCER Jun 22 - Jul 23: You will be optimistic and in your behaviour. Being rude and blunt may highly motivated, as the week not go down well with your colleagues. You begins. Without thinking about will pay more attention to matters related to the past or worrying about the land, property, building and construction. You future, you may want to go with may even consider renovating or redecorating the flow. Luck is likely to be on your side, as your dream home and spend lavishly on the you plan to begin new assignments. You may artefacts. However, luxuries come with a price be travelling from one destination to another tag; don’t be extravagant. This period will not to expand your business. Also, you may enjoy only give you stability in the present, but also a good health, as recovering from chronic health hope for the future.

AQUARIUS Jan 21 - Feb problems or last week’s health ailments is a 19: The week will begin on possibility. a great note! Taking a break LEO July 24 - Aug 23: You from your routine chores, you are likely to experience change may take interest in subjects in all the spheres of life.. As the that may test your intelligent first quarter of the 2012 nears its end, expect changes in the quotient. Higher education, research and depersonal as well as professional velopment, new discoveries, and religious domains of your life. You may either fall in love and spiritual matters will give you a chance to with a person from a different country/ continent explore new avenues. You will be glad to take or may have to handle some international proj- a different experience altogether. Your cheerfulects. Hence, travelling or relocating to foreign ness will be contagious and attract your family shores is on the cards. Although it may be dif- members towards you. For your children, you ficult for you to adapt to the entire episode of will be the source of inspiration. You will perform exceptionally well at the personal as well change, go with the flow.

VIRGO Aug 24 - Sep 23: as professional front.

PISCES Feb 20 - Mar Now that life seems back to 20: Your desire for success normal, there’s nothing that can will get stronger this week. stop you from pursuing your With a renewed zest, you will goals. True to your nature, you be keen on exploring new can never work with restrictions avenues. Moreover, luck too placed upon you as far as work is concerned.

You may like to explore more avenues, and will be by your. Therefore, new and lucrative open more doors to success. Your clarity of opportunities may come your way and you thoughts may help you to shape your profes- will pounce on them with great enthusiasm sional and personal life the way you always and vigour. Needless to say, you will get what you desire. This definitely will be a reason to wanted it to be.

LIBRA Sep 24 - Oct 23: celebrate! However, don’t let success give rise This week you may enter to arrogance in you. Be humble, and watch one of the better phases of your words while conversing with your dear your life. There is flourishing ones. Avoid being argumentative and hurting business, loving family, social someone with harsh words.

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“Rupee is Undervalued by 25%; Fair Value would be Rs 40/Dollar”

BY MINHAZ MERCHANT (Economic Times) On a cool late winter evening 20 years ago, India’s finance minister pulled a rabbit out of the hat. Dr Manmohan Singh was delivering his second Union Budget on February 29, 1992. The first had been an interim Budget on July 24, 1991, to stitch together an economy battered by nearfinancial bankruptcy with 67 tonnes of treasury gold mortgaged by the Indian government to the Bank of England and the Union Bank of Switzerland under the stern gaze of the International Monetary Fund.

The rabbit Dr Singh pulled out that evening was the Liberalised Exchange Rate Management System (Lerms) that created a dual exchange rate for the rupee. The reformist finance minister, demonstrating early signs of the gentle political guile that would stand him in good stead as prime minister in UPA-I and UPAII, dubbed it “a partial float of the rupee”. He was being economical with the truth. The partial float of the rupee was a fig leaf for one of the steepest controlled rupee devaluations in Indian history. On July 1, 1991, the exchange rate was 18 to the dollar. By March 1993, the exchange rate had plunged to 32 to a dollar - a decline of 77% in a little over 18 months.

The ‘partial float’ of the rupee led eventually to current account convertibility but not to the full capital account convertibility the finance minister had promised. Despite the Tarapore Committee and others backing the idea (with riders), the rupee 20 years later remains partially convertible on the capital account with the Reserve Bank of India ( RBI) allowing Indians to remit only up to

$200,000 a year for capital investments abroad.

Dr Singh’s leap year Budget on February 29, 1992, did not celebrate its 20th anniversary this year. The five state assembly elections have pushed the Budget into March, much to be-

leaguered Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee’s relief.

He gets an additional fortnight to balance the nation’s books and use creative accounting to keep the central fiscal deficit from spiralling into dangerous territory - roughly defined as anything above 6% of GDP. Since Dr Singh’s interim Budget of

July 1991 and his magical leap year Budget of February 1992, the rupee has depreciated by nearly 100% in 20 years (from 25.95 in February 1992 to just under 50 today). That’s a compounded annual depreciation of 3.6%. On the face of it, that doesn’t seem too steep. But a constantly weakening rupee pushes up the cost of imports, widens the trade and current account deficits, raises the external debt burden (currently over $320 billion), makes petroproducts more expensive and fuels inflation.

Votaries of a weakrupeepoint to the example of China which - to the rest of the world’s annoyance - has deliberately kept the yuan undervalued, forcing US legislators to consider officially declaring Beijing a ‘currency manipulator’.

The comparison with India though is not valid. China is the manufacturing workshop of the world. Exports comprise around 32% of its GDP. Last year, it displaced Germany as the world’s largest exporter (with annual

exports of $2 trillion). In contrast, exports account for only 18% of India’s GDP. A weak rupee does not help the other 82% of India’s economy. Quite the contrary: a current account deficit arising from an import bill of $460 billion (over 25% of Indian GDP) erodes the currency, pushes up inflation and lowers competitiveness.

A stronger rupee will not only trim our trade and current account deficits and temper inflation, it will attract more FDI and FII. Today, foreign investors factor in a historical 4% annual depreciation of the rupee when computing their return on investment.

Were the rupee to strengthen, dollar returns would rise concomitantly. Average central bank lending rates in the west and Japan are 0.25-3%. In India, the RBI’s repo rate, at which it lends funds to banks, has averaged 7.008.50% in the recent past. The gap mirrors precisely the historical annual depreciation of the rupee against the dollar. A stronger rupee would reduce that gap and bring India in line with advanced economies.

Wouldn’t Indian services - especially IT software - suffer if the rupee hardens? Service exports sell increasingly on quality, not price. Many (especially refined petroproducts and polished diamonds) have high import content. Besides, services include

sectors such as foreign tourism that benefit from a stronger rupee. The biggest long-term beneficiaries of a stronger rupee would be India’s manufacturing productivity.

Cheaper imports would allow companies to ramp up foreign technology and build infrastructural and manufacturing assets. These, in turn, would lead to a spike in competitiveness, boosting exports based on quality, not marked-down prices. This would create a virtuous cycle of high productivity and quality allied with low inflation and deficits.

So what should be the value of a more muscular rupee? The Economist’s latest Big Mac Index shows that the rupee is undervalued vis-A -vis the US dollar by 61% while the yuan is undervalued by 41%. While The Economist’s Big Mac Index has, over the years, been a surprisingly accurate indicator of exchange rate trends, discounting The Economist’s index for India’s low-cost economy, the rupee is probably currently undervalued against the dollar by about 25%. A fair value of the rupee would, therefore, be just under 40 to a dollar.

Our former finance minister, now prime minister, who 20 years ago said 25 to a dollar was fair value for the rupee in pre-reform India, might well agree.

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INDIA

March 16, 2012

Goldman Sachs’ First Board meet in India Points Up to Cultural Changes in MNCs

BY BOBY KURIAN & REEBA ZACHARIAH MUMBAI: Wall Street’s most storied, and arguably most powerful investment bank, Goldman Sachs will hold its annual board meeting in India in a move that symbolizes the country’s growth potential despite a slowing economy.

Goldman Sachs chairman & CEO Lloyd Blankfein and rest of the 12-member board will jet into the country on a three-day visit starting March 29. The 142-yearold bulgebracket financial powerhouse has scheduled a rare board meeting in an emerging market after it travelled to China sometime ago. The board of directors, which includes Indiaborn steel tycoon L N Mittal, will also meet with top business leaders, policymakers and politicians.

“India has had the strongest start to 2012 in terms of currency and equity market performance. Last year was constrained by high interest rates and inflation. With inflation easing and the reversal in monetary tightening, our country is now at the beginning of a new growth stimulus. In that context, the timing of the board’s visit

bears significance ,” Sonjoy Chatterjee, chairman & co-CEO of Goldman Sachs India, told TOI. The boards of global corporate giants like General Electric and PepsiCo have held meetings in India in recent years. But Goldman’s move assumes significance given its reputation as the world’s leading marketmaker (brokerdealer firm with a risk appetite for holding shares in a volatile, thin market), and also comes at

a time when the last quarter domestic GDP growth slowed to 6.1%, the lowest in the past 36 months.

The Indian stock market has outperformed emerging market peers, vaulting 17% in 2012, and big corporates are opening up to M&A deals after going quiet in the second half of last year.

Goldman Sachs upped its performance dramatically to become the country’s second best M&A advisor, behind arch-rival Morgan Stanley, in 2011. Globally, Goldman topped its

rival with $1.84 billion in M&A advisory fees where investment banks netted about $20 billion last year.

Goldman’s investment - proprietary and private equity - has crossed $2 billion in India. It employs 150 staff in Mumbai and about 4,000 at its technology back office in Bangalore.

Soumitra Dutta, dean at Cornell University’s business school, said, “The culture and mindset in many global companies are still focused on developed economies. Investment decisions are still orientated towards the West and North. Global companies need to change their mindsets and decisions to focus more on the East and the South. Holding the global board meetings in India and other emerging markets is a good way to gain support for this change at the very top of the companies.”

“Western multinationals have realized that to win in India, they must innovate for India, not just export to India. This shift in emphasis is a significant cultural change. It demands that their senior executives acquire a knowledge and awareness of emerging markets - and pay attention to the potential opportunities afforded by these markets. It is the same logic that motivates multinationals to hold global board meetings in such countries,” said Vijay Govindarajan, a professor at Tuck School of Business School and one of America’s leading management thinkers.

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29

Elections in Five Indian States

Sons Rise in UP and Punjab, Bahuguna’s Choice Creates Ill Feeling

BY RAJ KANWAR IAN INDIA CORRESPONDENT When the 38-year old Akhilesh Singh takes over as the chief minister of India’s largest state Uttar Pradesh on March 15, he will become the youngest ever chief minister of any state in the country. This will also underscore the growing relevance of political dynastic succession in India. A characteristic feature of the elections recently held in the five Indian states was the crucial and decisive roles played by the sons of the patriarchs of two of India’s important regional political outfits in their respective states viz Uttar Pradesh and the Punjab. It was perhaps not intended that Akhilesh Singh would become Mulayam Singh Yadav’s political heir-apparent. It had always been assumed that Mulayam’s cousin Ramgopal Yadav would eventually step into former’s political shoes.

Even when Akhilesh had won a Lok Sabha by-election from Kannauj in 2000 at the young age of 26 and got reelected twice thereafter, the equation about Mulayam Singh’s successor had not much changed.

In the 2007 general elections Mulayam Singh’s then ruling Samajwadi Party had received a severe drubbing from Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) that continued to rankle it. At that time BSP had won an absolute majority with 206 seats while Mayawati’s bête noire Mulayam Singh’s party came a distant second with 97 seats. It was a defeat that Mulayam was never to forget; the SP never let go of an opportunity to oppose Mayawati, pretext or no pretext.

Even earlier there had been no love lost between these two political rivals and at one time Mayawati had even accused Mulayam of conspiring to eliminate her.

The ruthless drubbing that he had received in 2007 was like a sore boil for Mulayam; revenge was foremost on his mind. The current general elections provided the opportunity.

Mayawati by her authoritarian style of functioning and her total inaccessibility had lost the goodwill of many sections of the electorate that had then wholeheartedly supported her, and thus played into Mulayam’s hands. The change was very much in the air; the two national parties, BJP and the Congress, had fondly hoped and expected that they would be the beneficiaries of this anti-incumbency

Akhilesh with wife Dimple and eldest child

climate in the state. They spared neither money nor manpower; both had launched intensive and extensive campaigns in the state. Rahul Gandhi and sister Priyanka were the foremost campaigners for the Congress and did attract large crowds. But these crowds were more like a mirage and did not get the Congress the vote. BJP’s gamble in importing Uma Bharti from neighboring Madhya Pradesh to lead its campaign in the state and also projecting her as the chief ministerial candidate, thinking that her backward class background would attract a larger number of votes too failed. This was the situation which even the most astute analysts could not comprehend, and they all thought that the elections in the state would be a four-horse race resulting in a fractured mandate. Their calculations were based on the outdated logic that caste and religion would be the deciding factors with the voters.

The electorate, however, proved far too clever and smarter. Ignoring both the national parties, the voters instead decided to support almost en block the Samajwadi Party. Thus the writing on the wall was clear; Samajwadi Party won an absolute majority with 224 seats in a House of 403 while BSP won just 80, leaving far behind both the Congress and BJP licking their wounds and lamenting their lost dignity. Voting had become totally polarized between SP and BSP so much so that the Congress candidates lost their deposits in 323 of the 351 seats it had contested. BJP was not far behind in this ignominy, losing deposit in 230 of the 398 seats it had contested. In a way, its performance was even worse than that in 2007. Strangely, it was a contest between the two major national parties as to which would fare worse in the current elections; BJP got the wooden spoon and thus won this

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dubious distinction.

What exactly influenced the voters to go the SP way was the whirlwind campaign that the young Akhilesh had launched in the state. He had also built a non-political or professional cadre and gave it the task of coordinating the election campaign through state-of-art technology. He had set up call centers of sorts in all the major constituencies and regularly received factual feedback from them. This helped in making midcourse corrections and to avoid pitfalls. What further helped the cause of the party was that Akhilesh spoke the language that his audiences understood and spoke. He also successfully projected himself as ‘one of them’ and was easily accessible. In contrast, Rahul Gandhi, despite his best effort, could not project himself as ‘one of them’ and appeared somewhat distant and elitist.

Akhilesh is professionally educated and did his engineering from Mysore and eloquently spoke Kannada, a local language; later he acquired a master’s degree from University of Sydney. This academic background and wider interaction in India and Australia gave him a new makeover and perspective, very different from that of his father’s image as an exwrestler. Yet, despite all this modern education, Akhilesh essentially retained his earthiness and shunned flamboyance. That was what exactly had endeared him to the educated young men and women of the state.

The Punjab in contrast presented a different political scenario. Here the contest was between the two traditional rivals viz Shrimoni Akali Dal and the Congress. BJP as usual took a piggy ride on Akali Dal’s shoulders.

There the contest was almost polarized between the old rivals who had over the years always displaced each

other from power. Almost the entire election campaign of the Akali party was conceptualized and diligently executed by Sukhbir Singh, son of Akali Dal stalwart Parkash Singh Badal and chief minister of the Punjab. The campaign proved highly effective and for the first time enabled Akali Dal and its alliance partner BJP to retain power in the Punjab. A new political outfit, Punjab People’s Party formed by cousin Manpreet Badal failed to cut any ice and even Manpreet himself lost badly. This kind of polarization had never happened before. It had been customary for the opposition party to replace the ruling party at each general election.

Though coming from a farming background, Sukhbir is much educated and articulate. He boasts of a management degree from California State University that helped him also run his family business. As per the present indications, 84-year old Parkash Singh Badal will be sworn in on 14 March as the chief minister of the Punjab for the 5th time. However, political observers feel that the octogenarian Badal is too old and molded in old ways and might not be able to meet the very high expectations of the people of the state. Sukhbir Singh, who has now been the deputy chief minister for quite some time and many of his innovative ideas had paid off, might be given the top position in the Punjab as his birthday gift when he turns 50 in July next.

Congress dithering causes discomfiture After six days of dithering and confabulations, the Congress High Command was able to announce the name of Vijay Bahuguna on March 12 as its chief ministerial choice.

And this belated decision brought forth protests from other contenders who were generally considered more acceptable. The front runner Harish Rawat, a member of the Manmohan Singh ministry, and his many supporting legislators were downcast.

Vijay Bahuguna

Rawat is believed to have sent a letter to Sonia Gandhi expressing his wish to resign from the ministry. The other Rawat, Harak Singh – leader of the opposition in the outgoing assembly, is annoyed too and has decided not to join as a minister under Vijay Bahuguna. Even the man in the street is not very happy with the choice of Bahuguna who is generally considered as an ‘outsider’.

A Congress worker complained that Bahuguna was never a grass root Congressman in Uttarakhand and was born in Allahabad and had lived most of his life there. Though the Congress now enjoys a comfortable majority in the state assembly with the decision of three-member BSP to extend its support to it, the likely internal dissensions is likely to cause much discomfiture.

Vijay Bahuguna will of course be installed as the chief minister on Tuesday; however, party insiders believe that no other minister will be sworn along with him at this time.

With the support of three independents (who were rebel Congressmen), the lone Uttarakhand Kranti Dal member and three BSP members, the Congress has now more than crossed the half a mark and is quite comfortable. Yet, it is a pity that the party’s chief ministerial choice should have caused intense bitterness in its ranks.

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March 16, 2012

4 IITians Make It to MIT

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MUMBAI (India Times) IIT-Bombay has emerged as the hottest centre for innovation in the country with three of its alumni - V.S.K. Murthy Balijepalli, Nitin Joshi and Vanteru Mahendra Reddy - making it to MIT’s India TR35 2012 list of young technology innovators, along with Abhijit Majumder of IIT-Kanpur.

The list of 20 young innovators, all under 35 years, in biomedicine, communications, computing, energy, materials, transportation and the web for 2012 was announced by the Indian edition of the MIT Technology Review in Mumbai on Saturday.

Balijepalli, 26, made it to the list for developing a method to forecast electricity price, grid frequency and load that can help make power grids smarter.

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The only woman in this year’s list is Priyanka Sharma, 28, from CSIR-run Institute of Microbial Technology in Chandigarh. She developed a plastic chip which uses simple techniques to detect toxic materials in the environment quickly and cost effectively.

Abhijeet Joshi, 28, from Ahmedabad’s National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, has developed an implantable platform to simultaneously diagnosis diseases and deliver drugs.

“Two decades of economic liberalisation unleashed the innovative energies of Indians with the private sector firms in the technology sector garnering mind space in the innovation arena in recent years, “ said Narayanan Suresh, group editor of Technology Review India.

The 20 technologists would present their innovations at the Emerging Technologies conference EmTech India 2012 at Bangalore later this month. The conference will be addressed by a team of eminent scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The India TR 35 programme started in 2010 and in the last two years, has identified 37 young innovators, the majority of them from small and medium-sized private research institutions.

“It is heartening to see IITs solving unique Indian problems. This culture of innovation in public institutions will enthuse thousands of bright students pursuing technical programs,” said Pradeep Gupta, publisher of Technology Review India and an alumnus of IIT Delhi.

This year Technology Review India received over 250 nominations from all over the country. Over a period of three months, a panel of 23 expert judges identified 20 individuals who have developed technologies that are likely to benefit the society at large.

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INDIA

March 16, 2012

How India Became America with Starbucks and Amazon

BY AKASH KAPUR PONDICHERRY (NYT): Another brick has come down in the great wall separating India from the rest of the world. Recently, both Starbucks and Amazon announced that they would be entering the Indian market. Amazon has already started a comparison shopping site; Starbucks plans to open its first outlet this summer.

As one Indian newspaper put it, this could be “the final stamp of globalization.”

For me, though, the arrival of these two companies, so emblematic of American consumerism, and so emblematic, too, of the West Coast techie culture that has infiltrated India’s own booming technology sector, is a sign of something more distinctive. It signals the latest episode in India’s remarkable process of Americanization.

I grew up in rural India, the son of an Indian father and American mother. I spent many summers (and the occasional biting, shocking winter) in rural Minnesota. I always considered both countries home. In truth, though, the India and America of my youth were very far apart: cold war adversaries, America’s capitalist exuberance a sharp contrast to India’s austere socialism. For much of my life, my two homes were literally — but also culturally, socially and experientially — on opposite sides of the planet.

All that began changing in the early 1990s, when India liberalized its economy. Since then, I’ve watched India’s transformation with exhilaration, but occasionally, and increasingly, with some anxiety.

I left for boarding school inAmerica in 1991. By the time I graduated from high school, two years later, Indian cities had filled with shopping malls and glass-paneled office buildings. In the countryside, thatch huts had given way to concrete homes, and cashew and mango plantations were being replaced by gated communities. In both city and country, a newly liberated population was indulging in a frenzy (some called it an orgy) of consumerism and self-expression.

More than half a century ago, R. K. Narayan, that great chronicler of India in simpler times, wrote about his travels in America. “America and India are profoundly different in

Shoppers in the Express Avenue mall, the largest in Chennai Photo: Ruth Fremson

attitude and philosophy,” he wrote.

“Indian philosophy stresses austerity and unencumbered, uncomplicated day-to-day living. America’s emphasis, on the other hand, is on material acquisition and the limitless pursuit of prosperity.” By the time I decided to return to India for good, in 2003, Narayan’s observations felt outdated. A great reconciliation had taken place; my two homes were no longer so far apart.

This reconciliation — this Americanization of India — had both tangible and intangible manifestations.

The tangible signs included an increase in the availability of American brands; a noticeable surge in the population ofAmerican businessmen (and their booming voices) in the corridors of five-star hotels; and, also, a striking use of American idiom and American accents. In outsourcing companies across the country, Indians were being taught to speak more slowly and stretch their O’s. I found myself turning my head (and wincing a little) when I heard young Indians call their colleagues “dude.”

But the intangible evidence of Americanization was even more remarkable. Something had changed in the very spirit of the country. The India in which I grew up was, in many respects, an isolated and dour place of limited opportunity. The country was straitjacketed by its moralistic rejection of capitalism, by a lethargic and often depressive fatalism.

Now it is infused with an energy, a can-do ambition and an entrepreneurial spirit that I can only describe as distinctly American. In surveys of

global opinion, Indians consistently rank as among the most optimistic people in the world. Bookstores are stacked with titles like “India Arriving,” “India Booms” and “The Indian Renaissance.” The Pew Global Attitudes Project, which measures opinions across major countries, regularly finds that Indians admire values and attributes typically thought of as American: free-market capitalism, globalization, even multinational companies. Substantial majorities associate Americans with values like hard work and inventiveness, and even during the Iraq war, India’s views of America remained decidedly positive.

I have learned, though, that the nation’s new American-style prosperity is a more complex, and certainly more ambivalent, phenomenon than it first appears. The villages around my home have undeniably grown more prosperous, but they are also more troubled. Abandoned fields and fallow plantations are indications of a looming agricultural and environmental crisis. Ancient social structures are collapsing under the weight of new money. Bonds of caste and religion and family have frayed; the panchayats, village assemblies made up of elders, have lost their traditional authority. Often, lawlessness and violence step into the vacuum left behind.

I recently spoke with a woman in her mid-50s who lives in a nearby village. She leads a simple life (impoverished even, by American standards), but she is immeasurably better off than she was a couple of decades

ago. She grew up in a thatch hut. Now she lives in a house with a concrete roof, running water and electricity.

Her son owns a cellphone and drives a motorcycle. Her niece is going to college.

But not long before we talked, there had been a murder in the area, the latest in a series of violent attacks and killings. Shops that hadn’t existed a decade ago were boarded up in anticipation of further violence; the police patrolled newly tarred roads.

The woman was scared to leave her home.

“This is what all the money has brought to us,” she said to me. “We were poor, but at least we didn’t need to worry about our lives. I think it was better that way.”

Hers is a lament — against rapid

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development, against the brutality of modernity — that I have heard with increasing frequency. India’s Americanization has in so many ways been a wonderful thing. It has lifted millions from poverty, and, by seeding ideas of meritocracy and individual attainment into the national imagination, it has begun the process of dismantling an old and often repressive order.

More and more, though, I find myself lying awake at night, worrying about what will take the place of that order.

The American promise of renewal and reinvention is deeply seductive — but, as I have learned since coming back home, it is also profoundly menacing.

Akash Kapur is the author of the forthcoming “India Becoming: A Portrait of Life in Modern India.”

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OPINION SPORTS

March 16, 2012

Rahul Dravid Announces Retirement from International Cricket

BANGALORE (TOI) : Batting great Rahul Dravid, the second most prolific batsman in the game’s history and India’s middle order bulwark for years, on Friday, March 9 bid adieu to Test cricket, bringing down the curtains on a glorious 16-year career.

The 39-year-old Dravid, a former India captain, became the first of the three ageing greats of Indian cricket, besides Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman, to retire in the aftermath of India’s disastrous Test tour of Australia.

“I would like to announce my retirement from international and domestic first-class cricket. It is 16 years since I played my first Test match for India and today I feel it is time to move on. Once I was like every other boy in India, with a dream of playing for my country.

Yet I could never have imagined a journey so long and so fulfilling,” Dravid said at a press conference.

“No dream is ever chased alone.

As I look back, I have many people to thank for teaching me and believing in me. My junior coaches in Bangalore and at various junior national camps inculcated in me a powerful love of the game which has always stayed with me,” said Dravid who was flanked BCCI President N Srinivasan and former captain Anil Kumble.

“My coaches at the international level have added to my craft and helped shape my personality. The physios and trainers worked hard to keep me fit -- not an easy job -- and allowed me to play late into my 30s.

“The selectors, who rarely receive any credit in India, occasionally had more confidence in me than I had in myself and I am grateful for that.

The various captains I played under offered me guidance and inspired me. Most of all I have to thank the teams I played with.”

Dravid said he would leave the stage with wonderful memories he shared with his team-mates who are legends of the game.

“I was lucky in my early years to play for Karnataka team which was trying to forge itself into a strong side and they were years of fun and learning,” he said.

“In the Indian team, I was fortunate to be part of a wonderful era when

Rahul Dravid announcing his retirement from international cricket at a press conference at the KSCA Stadium in Banglaore on Friday, March 9.

Photo: G.R.N. Somashekar

India played some of its finest cricket at home and abroad. Many of my teammates have become legends, not just in India but in the wider cricketing world. I admired them, learnt from them and I leave the game with wonderful memories and strong friendships. It is a great gift to have.”

Characteristic to his simple but dignified approach to his cricket, David said he had tried to uphold the spirit of the game.

“My approach to cricket has been reasonably simple: it was about giving everything to the team, it was about playing with dignity and it was about upholding the spirit of the game. I hope I have done some of that. I have failed at times, but I have never stopped trying. It is why I leave with sadness but also with pride.”

He also thanked the cricket fans for their support during his long career.

“Finally I would like to thank the Indian cricket fan, both here and across the world. The game is lucky to have you and I have been lucky to play before you. To represent India, and thus to represent you, has been a privilege and one which I have always taken seriously,” he said.

Dravid had a disastrous tour of Australia where he scored only 194 runs in eight innings at an average of 24.25. Even more disappointing was that Dravid, known for his solid technique, was bowled in six out of the eight innings.

There was intense speculation

about Dravid’s future following the Australian tour and his decision to hang his boots will now turn focus on another batting great VVS Laxman who too had a disappointing tour.

Dravid had already announced his retirement from ODI cricket in England last year after been surprisingly recalled in the ODI team due to his stupendous performance during the Test series against England in which he scored three centuries.

Nicknamed ‘The Wall’ for his dour defence, the always thoughtful-looking Dravid walked into international cricket sunset after making his debut in June 1996 though he will lead the Jaipurbased Rajasthan Royals side in the fifth edition of the Indian Premier League.

Dravid ended his Test career with 13,288 runs -- behind only Tendulkar (15,470 in 188 Tests) -in 164 matches, with 36 hundreds and 63 half centuries at an average of 52.31, the 270 against Pakistan being his highest score.

Initially considered a liability in the one-day arena, he re-invented his game over the years to meet the demands of the shorter format which he played from April 1996 to September 2011. He scored 10,889 runs from 344 ODIs with 12 centuries and 83 half centuries at an average of 39.16.

Under his captaincy between October 2005 and September 2007, India won Test series in the West Indies as well as England but had

a disastrous World Cup in 2007 when they were knocked out in the first round of the tournament.

He captained India in 25 Tests and 79 ODIs. Dravid’s captaincy coincided with Greg Chappell’s controversial tenure as India coach, but that did not affect his performance with the bat, as he garnered 1736 runs at 44.51.

Never a natural athlete, Dravid’s immense levels of concentration also came in handy as he also holds the world record of highest Test catches -- 210 -- mostly at the slip cordon. He overtook Mark Waugh to become the most successful slip catcher in history. In addition to this, he has 196 catches in ODIs. Asked how long he took to reach his decision to retire, Dravid said, “For a year now after each and every series I have assessed ... when I came back from Australia I wanted to take the emotion out of it and look at it dispassionately ...

I have spoken to Sachin and to my team-mates and all of them were supportive.

Dravid denied that his poor form in Australia had been factor in his retirement decision.

“I would like to believe irrespective of how the Australian series had gone, I would have assessed a lot of things and come to the same conclusion.

“I don’t think I based this decision on series, it’s a culmination of a lot of things. These decisions are based on a lot of things.”

“It was an honour and a privilege to play with the galaxy of cricketers I played with ... fortunate to play in an era which was pretty successful in Indian cricket, for me to be sharing a dressing room with them was an honour.”

On the high and lows in his long career, David said, “When you play for 16 years, you will face highs and lows. There have been many disappointments and great highs. There is a huge sense of satisfaction that I have always given it my best shot. I have left no stone unturned in trying to become the best cricketer I can become.

Absolutely no regrets.”

“I felt it was the right time for me to move on, for a next generation of cricketers to play and take the team

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, MARCH 16, 2012 • WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

forward ...a lot of these decisions just come to you in different ways ...I just felt the time was right. I needed to move on.”

He said he has no regrets though it was a difficult decision to call it quits. On his critics, Dravid said, “You have to deal with criticism and praise as well.”

Dravid made it clear that apart from playing in the IPL, he will not play in any domestic cricket.

“Not really, I believe we have a lot of young talents in Karnataka. I felt I’d just be blocking a youngsters place by playing Ranji Trophy,” said Dravid when asked if there was a temptation to consider a season in domestic cricket.

Dravid, who has played many match-winning innings in his long career, was hard-pressed to pick his favourite innings.

“Hard to pick one innings ... 180 at Kolkata, 233 in Adelaide... the couple of innings in Jamaica on a low scoring wickets ... Headingley ... it’s hard to pick one innings.

It’s hard to choose between your sons.”

Asked if he has any future plan to play a role in Indian cricket, he said, “That’s for other people for judge, not for me to make that decision.

What will I do? I have the IPL and then a couple of months to relax. I have not decided. Come June I’ll decide what lies ahead of me.

“A little bit of time away from the game will be good for me. A lot of people I respect have told me if you get away from the game for a while, it will give you a better perspective of it,” he said.

India were battered and bruised in Test series in England and Australia, but Dravid refused to believe that Indian cricket at Test level has gone down.

“We are all disappointed about England and Australia. Having said that I believe Indian cricket is in a good place. There is a bunch of talented batsmen waiting in the wings. When I look back at myself as a 23 year old, I was no where near as talented as some of these kids. But talent alone is not enough.

I hope two or three can establish themselves and play for the Indian team for a long time. It’s going to be a challenging and interesting time.”

SPORTS

March 16, 2012

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All-round India Seal 50-Run Win against Sri Lanka in Asia Cup

BY KANISHKAA BALACHANDRAN MIRPUR (Criconfo): The Asia Cup was a chance for India to wipe the slate clean after the horrors of Australia, and they began their campaign by playing to their strengths - batting the opposition out of the game. Centuries by Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli took India to 304, and though the efforts of their bowlers cannot be ignored, crucial wickets were gifted away by Sri Lanka. It was an underwhelming performance by a Sri Lankan batting line-up that stretches till No.9, which in some ways was a spin-off from their performance in the loss in the third CB series final against Australia.

The tweaked batting Powerplay rule - mandatory before the 40th over - was brought about to make captains think more. In many games since its introduction, including this one, it turned out to be the game-changer. Sri Lanka were still well-placed at the end of the 35th over, needing 109 off the last 15 overs with seven wickets in hand. The loss of Kumar Sangakkara off the first ball of the field restrictions was the start of the turnaround for India; they picked up three more wickets for 31 runs in that period.

Irfan Pathan picked up four wickets, including Mahela Jayawardene, to give India a fairly comprehensive win in the final analysis, though at one stage it looked a lot closer.

India owed their resurgence to their two most in-form batsmen from Australia - Kohli and Gambhir. One was recently made the vicecaptain, the other had the same post taken away from him. Any simmering tension, fictional or not, was barely evident as they added 205 to give India the kind of prolonged authority rarely seen when in Australia.

India managed only two 100-plus stands in the CB Series, that too in the same game, in Hobart. The common thread between the two games was Kohli. This innings wasn’t as manic, but the effect was still demoralising for Sri Lanka, who took control at the start of the innings but had to wait an eternity to strike again.

The departure from Australian pitches to friendlier “home” conditions was evident in the way Gambhir dabbed and poked with regularity to third man. The same shot, which had him caught behind so often in Australia, fetched him several singles, thanks to the relatively lower bounce that suited his style.

The pace wasn’t electric, but steady. Gambhir and Kohli had to be watchful against packed off-side fields, typical of Jayawardene’s captaincy. Short cover and short point were placed to check the cover drive but in due course the pair managed to work their way around those fields, shuffling and nudging it to the on side to pick up the singles.

Gambhir’s stint wasn’t flawless, though. He was dropped on 36 and survived a run-out opportunity on 94, Dinesh Chandimal the culprit on both occasions. Those lapses overshadowed

India began their Asia Cup campaign with a comprehensive win against Sri Lanka.

a more committed display in the field at the start of the innings, when the run-rate was just over four an over.

Apart from the late cuts, Gambhir used his feet well against the spinners, lofting over extra cover and down to the straight boundary. Hitting in the air was a method the batsmen had to employ as several drives along the ground found the fielders. Kohli kept busy at the crease, rotating the strike to ensure India didn’t get bogged down against the spinners.

The period between the second and third Powerplays - overs 21 to 35 - produced 87 runs. Only five fours were struck in that period but the pair wore Sri Lanka down with singles - 53 of them - and six twos. Jayawardene went defensive, pushing the fielders back. Kohli ensured he punished the bad deliveries from the spinners and even produced a reverse-sweep, which raced to third man.

Both batsmen reached their centuries in the 42nd over, and their contrasting celebrations were compelling to watch. Kohli controlled his emotions by merely gesturing to his team-mates with a big smile. Gambhir, however, didn’t restrain himself as he punched the air, removed his helmet and yelled out something to the dressingroom. His emotional reaction signalled the end of a long wait to reach three-figures.

Both departed in the following over, holing out to the deep. The double-strike - in the 43rd over - didn’t give Sri Lanka much respite, as MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina plundered some wayward bowling at the death.

Jayawardene’s visually pleasing half-century gave Sri Lanka the platform to beat their previous highest successful chase against India, but his team needed him to stay on longer. His innings was aggression mixed with serenity. He showed his class by his innovativeness, forcing Dhoni to constantly make field changes to plug

the gaps during the first 10 overs. That was a moral victory for Jayawardene, seeing his opposing number gesticulating to his fielders despite the cushion of 304 runs.

With a keen eye for where the fielders were placed, Jayawardene picked his spots in style, including a lapped six over fine leg, a delicate late cut and pleasing drives wide of point with little effort.

Tillakaratne Dilshan perished by slapping straight to midwicket, the first of Sri Lanka’s giveaways. Sangakkara started pushing the ball into the gaps, even chipping down to loft Ravindra Jadeja over deep midwicket for a six.

Both Sangakkara and Jayawardene were visibly upset with themselves when they got out. When Pathan returned for a new spell, Jayawardene tried to disturb his rhythm by trying to dab one to third man. It resulted in a tame edge to Dhoni and his frustration was palpable.

The pressure increased a touch on Sangakkara when Chandimal was bowled giving R Ashwin the charge, and his own attempt at giving his team the momentum in the 36th over caused Sri Lanka’s steady fall.

A few clean blows by Nuwan Kulasekara and Farveez Maharoof gave Sri Lanka hope, but they couldn’t get on top of Vinay Kumar and Pathan, who bowled with far greater control at the death than their opponents.

India-Pak World Cup Semifinal Fixed?

BY ASHIS RAY LONDON (TOI) : Cricket again came under a cloud as the Sunday Times, London, carried out a sting operation on a Delhi-based bookie who claimed last year’s World Cup semifinal between India and Pakistan at Mohali was rigged.

The man, identified as Vicky Seth and described as “one of Delhi’s most influential bookmakers”, made a slew of “revelations” during a drinking session with an undercover Sunday Times reporter, who videotaped the conversation. The reporter had in 2010 exposed three Pakistani cricketers, who were later convicted, for indulging in “spot-fixing” in the News of the World newspaper.

India had won the semifinal match in which the number of catches dropped by the Pakistan team had become a talking point. However, the International Cricket Council denied to TOI that it was launching an inquiry into these claims although it could not be ruled out that there was an ongoing probe into some of the issues raised by the bookie. The report quoted Seth as saying a Bollywood actress, who was not named, was used by bookies as a honeytrap to tempt county cricketers into corruption. The report asserted: “The ICC is aware of the activities of an actress, suspected of attempting to sub-

vert players.” The ICC declined comment.

The bookie also claimed that “big money” is to be made in Test matches and the Indian Premier League. Asked to react, the head of media and communications at the ICC, Colin Gibson, said: “We don’t comment on ICC’s anti-corruption and security unit matters.” He added the “spokesman” quoted by the UK’s Sunday Times was neither him nor any of his colleagues.

Meanwhile, a source at the ICC pointed to the statement issued by Ravi Sawani, the ICC anti-corruption and security unit’s chief investigator at the time, who denied there was anything suspicious about the Indo-Pak game and recorded that no investigation was needed or carried out. Sawani was last year credited with nailing the three Pakistani cricketers for spot-fixing and has since left ICC. Seth is said to have boasted match-fixing “will always carry on in cricket”. He said, “There is just so much money involved and it’s easy to do as long as people don’t talk”.

Seth claimed “tens of thousands of pounds are on offer to fix matches”. He reportedly told the paper that English county cricket was a growing market for fixing since the matches were low profile and were not being intensely monitored.

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