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Friday, March 15 2013 | Vol. 32, No. 11
Indo American erican News
Rehan Siddiqi Presents
Adnan Sami March 23
www.indoamerican-news.com Published weekly from Houston, TX
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Houston Celebrates Mahashivratri
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George R. Willy P.C. is Now Willy, Nanayakkara, Rivera & Goins
INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, MARCH 15, 2013 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
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INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, MARCH 15, 2013 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
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By George, Willy Firm Becomes Willy, Nanayakkara, Rivera & Goins
BY PRAMOD KULKARNI SUGAR LAND: It is gratifying to see the growth of professional firms in our South Asian community. From a one-man office, Attorney George Willy, a native of Sri Lanka, has built up the firm from the exclusive immigration law practice 25 years ago to a large firm with three additional partners to expand the practice to include family law, employment and select criminal matters.
Attorney Willy and wife Shanti (center top) pose in front of the law firm with all the partners, lawyers and staff in front of the WNRG building. Photos by Navin Mediwala.
Attorney Willy speaking from the podium positioned at the landing of the dual grand staircase.
Before explaining the expansion of the firm, Willy thanked his wife, “I would like to acknowledge the hard work Shanti put into this, first when I was going to school as a penniless foreign student and then a penniless law student and then a penniless lawyer for some time. Many here, who have walked the path of an immigrant, understand the sacrifice spouses make. Shanti
An audience composed of special guests, media and law firm staff cheer the expansion of the firm.
The Willy, Nanayakkara, Rivera & Goins is located at off First Colony Blvd. in Sugar Land.
was a rock.” “The firm will now be known as Willy, Nanayakkara, Rivera and Goins,” Willy explained. “Those are last names of Chiro, Javier and Randy. Chiro graduated from law school in Sri-Lanka in 1993, obtained an LLM from University of Houston and is licensed in the State of Alabama. He worked for me back in the late nineties and early 2000 then went onto work in the wireless phone industry, returned to law and worked at a well known immigration law firm
in Houston for about 10 years and returned home to us. He is a charismatic, hard working lawyer who can be relied on to get things done even in the most difficult circumstances. He is currently in Sri-Lanka and works remotely and will be returning in June. Javier is the silent type. Bright, conscientious and focused. He graduated from Florida Coastal School of Law and received his LLM from the University of Houston. He heads our litigation section. Randy, the baby of the team, is the writer, the
resident scholar and researcher. He comes from a journalist background, which means nothing misses his eye. He graduated from South Texas College of Law.” “As you know for a very long time we have focused on immigration and immigration alone,” Willy elaborated. “We will continue to remain largely an immigration firm. However, given the experience and talent in our team we are going to venture out into commercial law, family law, labor law and selected criminal cases. We recently opened an office in Ahmedabad India and continue to run our Atlanta office run by my daughter Shivanti, maintain our affiliations with law firms in Canada and Pakistan. Rajneesh Chaudhary who was a high ranking civil servant in India and an LLM from U of H will be assisting those who need to deal with complex legal issues in India. He has come on as Of Counsel to the firm.” Willy also thanked the other lawyers and staff at the firm: “Zaheer Zaidi will continue to handle family and employment related cases in the firm. Pauline Appelbaum, who retired from US Citizenship and Immigration Service as their top regional counsel, offers her long years of experience as Of Counsel. Roger Piper serves as a special adviser after 30 years of executive experience with the Immigration service. Tom Fischer is also a special adviser and he also comes to us with 30 years of executive experience. Tom Hutson a former Consul General with 40 years of experience with the State Department also serves as a special adviser. Last not the least is a lawyer called Shangrila Willy. She helps her dad when dad needs a sharp pen and some serious thinking.” The WNRG firm will continue to hold free 30-min. consultations every Thursday. For additional information, visit www.grwpc.com.
INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, MARCH 15, 2013 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
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VEDANTA SOCIETY OF GREATER HOUSTON 14809 Lindita Dr. Houston, TX -77083 www.houstonvedanta.org
Saturday, March 23, 2013 “There is but one God, but endless are His names and endless the aspects in which He may be regarded. Call Him by any name and worship Him in any aspect that pleases you, you are sure to see Him” Sri Ramakrishna
“It is easy to talk on religion, but difficult to practice it.” “God is everywhere but He is most manifest in man. So serve man as God. That is as good as worshipping God.” Sri Ramakrishna
Sri Ramakrishna’s Birthday Celebration Worship - 10:30 a.m. Pravrajika Brahmaprana
Ramakrishna Vedanta Society of North Texas
Interfaith Dialogue – 2:30 p.m. “How Does Your Religion Help You in Dealing With Anger & Anxiety?” Participating Speakers are from the: Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Islam, & Jewish Religions
"All .... denote one and the same thing, the difference being in the name only. ….. Some address the Reality as 'Allah', some as 'God', some as 'Brahman', some as 'Kali, and others by such names as 'Rama', 'Jesus', 'Durga', 'Hari'."
- Sri Ramakrishna
Lunch will be served at 12 Noon and a Light Refreshment at 5:00 pm For more information: Simanti: 281-201-2579 INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, MARCH 15, 2013 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
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Review: “A Modern Vyaasa: Jean-Claude Carrière and the Mahabharata”
BY PRADEEP ANAND HOUSTON: What would you do if you have the opportunity to see, listen, meet, question and chat with one of the most admired creative geniuses of our era, in the one of the most intimate public settings in Houston? What would you do if that per-
theatre, screenplays, acting and other facets of the modern creative languages. My previous experience with his works were moving. I saw many of his films and admired them-The Return of Martin Guerre, The Tin Drum, Valmont, The Unbear-
What made Jean-Claude Carrière’s version different and memorable was his humility in face of the original material, and his craftsmanship in storytelling.
around the circumstances that led to the creation of the performance. Later, it led to insights about Carrière, the artist and the man, his experiences, including his mentorship by Jacques Tati and collaboration with Luis Buñuel, Peter Brook and many other stalwarts of the “new languages of the twentieth century”. Carrière’s next project is a film in Bengali based on Rabindranath Tagore’s short story, Kabuliwala. When asked why he picked that story amongst so many that Indian literature produced, his answer was very moving. He said that when he visited Dharamsala, he saw these very impoverished, aged people who huddled together in an immobile mass. When he inquired who they were, he was told that they were Afghanis, who had left their homes and families to escape their
poverty. What struck Carrière was how little had changed in the fortune of Afghanis over the past century, while the rest of the rest of the world, seemingly, had raced on to greater prosperity. It was then that he picked Kabuliwala as his next project. I was moved by Hemen Gupta’s 1956 movie with Balraj Sahni and Usha Kiron. I am looking forward to Carrière’s version of the story because he has the keen eye of a humanist and because the skilled craftsman will tell that beloved story like no other. I know I will be moved by the experience. I hope there are encore performances of “A Modern Vyaasa: Jean-Claude Carrière and the Mahabharata” in Houston. I hope others, of all ages, experience this performance when it is staged in their vicinity. I am glad I did.
Bill Gates Plugs N-Power at Houston’s CERA Week Jean-Claude Carriere’s Modern Vyasa enactment took place before a standing room audience at the Menil Collection in Houston on March 11-12.
son has this special interest and focus on the Indian Epic Mahabharata that has grown over the past forty years, and was going narrate and retell that story, in person, in this intimate venue? I know what I would do. I would sign up in an instant to be experience this genius and bask in the glory of the epic, spoken in the most appreciative, most tender of voices that can come only from one whose heart has been stirred by the depth, wisdom and insights that are contained in the 100,000 stanzas of The Mahabharata. EnActe Arts (www.enacte.org) is a Houston-based international theatre company, whose mission is to bring South Asian stories to wide audiences. EnActe and the Menil Collection announced that they would present “A Modern Vyaasa: Jean-Claude Carrière and The Mahabharata” on March 11 and 12, 2013. And I jumped at the opportunity to experience it on its premier night. Jean-Claude Carrière is an icon, with many significant accomplishments in writing, film direction,
able Lightness of Being, and Peter Brook’s play, The Mahabharata (It was a mini-series on PBS). However, in hindsight, I discovered that they were through impersonal, remote media, such as film and TV. And what a treat it was to experience Jean-Claude Carrière’s thoughtful and appreciative distillation of the epic into a ninetyminute journey. When we grow up in India, we are exposed to facets of the Mahabharata in so many different ways, through so many different media. We hear fragments of the epic in live and recorded formats, we read them, we see them on stage and on the large and small screens, and we see them interpreted in song, dance and as adaptations, in all these media, in different eras and settings. In other words, this epic poem is inherent in our lives, experience and culture. We all know something about it. What made Jean-Claude Carrière’s version different and memorable was his humility in face of the original material, and his craftsmanship in storytelling. This
Indo American News (ISSN 887-5936) is published weekly every Friday (for a subscription of $40 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. Periodical postage paid at Houston, Texas. POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to Indo American News,7457 Harwin Dr., Suite 262, Houston, TX 77036
master screenplay-writer, director was a master raconteur. He told the story of Mahabharata with the sweetness and grace that can come only from being in awe and its corresponding appreciative humility, and wanting to share the wisdom contained in the ancient work to a larger audience. Besides his humility, he also told an incredibly well-crafted story, picking and choosing salient elements, pearls strung together not just like a precious delicate necklace but also with cadence and curves so needed for drama, to sustain and build the interest of global audiences of all ages, filling in contexts that many Indians take for granted. I learned new details about the epic and its characters that I had, either, forgotten or were absent from all the abridged versions I had experienced. During the performance, Amie Maciszewski provided the background score on the Sitar and interludes on the Israaj. Tejas Kumar danced beautifully a brief invocation to Ganesh, and Rohan Krishna played the young boy, who represented humanity, the subject of Vyaasa’s epic. After the performance, JeanClaude Carrière had a conversation with Vinita Belani, the founder of EnActe. Initially, it revolved
HOUSTON (Reuters): Microsoft Corp co-founder and Chairman Bill Gates said that expanding nuclear power and making it safer was the most economic way to ward off climate change. In an address to the IHS CERAWeek conference of international energy company executives, he said safe and reliable reactors were the best option and dismissed wind and solar energy as less practical. The IHS CERA Week in Houston has become a major venue for top-level oil industry CEOs. Among the Indian executives in attendance were ONGC Chairman S.K. Vasudeva and Oil India Chairman S.K. Srivastava. “The only way to solve the climate challenge is have some source of energy that’s economic,” Gates told the gathering on Thursday evening. Expanding the nuclear option, he said, outweighed any notion of wind or solar energy as large-scale storage systems for both remained unproven. “You can site it where the power is needed,” Gates said. “Unless you think there is a miracle hidden in storage.”Gates is a primary investor in Terra Power, a company working to create an improved, safer reactor intended to reduce waste and avoid creation of any fuel that could be used in nuclear weapons. But technology, he said, had to meet new, worldwide demands for safety and reliability arising from the meltdowns at Japan’s Fuku-
Bill Gates, Microsoft co-founder, has interest in Terra Power, a nuclear reactor innovator.
shima Daiichi nuclear plant after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami - the worst civil nuclear accident in 25 years.“Post-Fukushima, people are expecting to take some of the instabilities out of the design of nuclear reactors,” Gates said. He also called on the U.S. Energy Department to increase its investment in energy technology research and development. “We should put a lot more into innovation. When we get a carbon tax we should put some of that into innovation,” he said, without elaborating. According to the U.S. Congressional Budget Office, the U.S. Energy Department’s investment in research and development in 2012 was $3.4 billion, down from $10 billion (in 2011 dollars) in 1980. (Reporting by Erwin Seba; Editing by Ron Popeski)
INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, MARCH 15, 2013 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
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Adnan Sami to Perform in Houston on Saturday, March 23
HOUSTON: Singer-Composer Adnan Sami is returning to Houston after 8 years. Adnan is a singer, musician, pianist, actor and composer, with a command on Indian and Western Classical, SemiClassical notes, Jazz, Rock & Pop music. He received his formal training in Indian Classical music from the famous Santoor Maestro Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, his music merges Asian and Western music styles and instrumentation. His career has ranged from Classical Music, Indian and Western to Jazz to modern Pop-Rock. He is the man who gave Indi-pop a rich flavor by composing several hit numbers. He is the worlds fastest keyboard player and will be performing at the Arena Theater next Saturday on March 23. The tour has already begun with shows taking place in various big cities. The cities include Chicago, Atlanta, New York, Dallas, Toronto, Houston, Los Angles and many more. The shows are back-to-back sold out in all the cities. Adnan Sami who is a perfectionist when it comes to music and performance assures Houston that this will be an unforgettable evening where he will sing all his hit music numbers like Kabhi to nazar milao, Lift karadey, Sunzara, Noor-e-khuda from My Name is Khan, Dil kya kare from Salame-Ishq, Pyar bina and his most romantic hits like Tera chehra,
Dil keh raha hai dil se. He will also perform his world’s fastest fingers on the keyboard. Rehan Siddiqi, who has brought many successful shows in the past, is the show promoter and the mastermind behind organizing this show in Houston. He is also bringing Ustad Rahat Fateh Ali Khan on April 20. “We have been planning this show for the last eight months and have the best sound and lights for the show. In addition, and most importantly, we have arranged the sound rider of the show according to Adnan’s requirements, who is a perfectionist when it comes to sound. One thing I can assure you is that this will definitely be an unforgettable musical experience”, says Siddiqi. “Adnan will be performing after 8 years and he will not be back soon so Houston, this is your chance to see him perform live, with his changed looks. He has lost over 200 lbs”, he added. Showman Rehan Siddiqi also assured that the audience would be amazed to see him. This will be 2013’s best party.
IACF Donates $15,000 to Daya, Inc.
Seated (from left): Jyoti Kulkarni, Kamala Raghavan, Murthy Divakaruni, Padmin R. Nathan. Standing (from left): Sesh Bala, Devika Ramchandani, Shaila Patel, Viji Raman, Dinesh Pejaver, Lakshmy Parameswaran, Vatsala Bhaskara. (Murthy Divakaruni and Kamala Raghavan are from the IACF board. All others are Daya Board or Advisory Board members).
“We will welcome everyone with beautiful roses, top quality sound and lights to give audience the effect of a great show. All I can say is be there and experience it for yourself”, said Siddiqi. So, gear up Houston for a treat to the ears. Get ready for the singer musician to mesmerize you again! To purchase your tickets visit www.sulekha.com or call Rehan Siddiqi at 713-545-4115. Tickets are also available at Patel Brothers, World Food Warehouse and Maharani Music. For further details about the upcoming shows see ads on Page 2 & 31 or visit www. humtumradio. com
अंतरा�ीय �हंद� सिमती �ारा आयो�जत ëसोलहवा रा�ीय �हंद� अिधवेशनí हमारे शहर, �ु�टन मे होने
जा रहा है. कृ पया इस अिधवेशन के �दनांक नोट कर� - अग�त ३० (शु�वार), अग�त ३१ (शिनवार) और िसत�बर १, (इतवार) २०१३. अिधक जानकार� के िलये सु�ी संगीता पसर�जा (सेल ñ 281
788 9750) अथवा �ी �वपन धैय�वान (सेल ñ 281 382 0348) से संपक� कर�.
COMMUNITY
HOUSTON: The Indo American Charity Foundation (IACF) gave a donation of $15,000 to Daya, Inc at the Daya Board meeting held on Mar 9. The relationship between Daya and IACF goes back to 1999 when IACF, under the stewardship of the then-President Rashmi Desai, provided seed money of $5,000 to Daya. IACF has supported Daya every year since then. Murthy Divakaruni, current President of IACF, along with IACF Treasurer Kamala Raghavan, lauded the cherished relationship between the two organizations as he presented the check to Daya. Accepting the check, Padmini Nathan, President of Daya said “IACF donation has been a key component of the services we deliver to our clients each year.” She thanked IACF for their continued support since 1999. Lakshmy Parameswaran, one of the founders of Daya, said that it is important for Daya to have the support of the South Asian community that it serves, and IACF has provided that support to Daya all these years. Indo-American Charity Foundation (IACF) was founded in 1988 by a group of Houstonians of Indian origin (Indian-Americans) compelled by an altruistic desire to give back to their local community. Their mission to help the underprivileged originated with the effort to fight hunger, has now developed into a multi-faceted philanthropic endeavor to help those in need of health, education and human services in the Greater Houston area. Their upcoming programs for 2013 include a golf outing ei-
ther on May 4 or May 11, the annual fund-raiser gala on Aug 31 and a “Walkathon Funnathon”, date to be determined in Fall. Besides donating to area charitable organizations, IACF has an education initiative, a direct service that helps needy children in inner-city schools in Houston. Please check www.iacfhouston. com for more details. Daya was founded in 1993 by a group of Indian-American women who recognized the need to address domestic violence and sexual abuse in the South Asian community in Houston. Daya provides counseling, referrals, legal help, job training and limited financial help to victims of domestic violence and their children. Daya also owns and operates a Transitional Home for women who are ready to become independent and live abusefree. Daya’s annual budget is $300,000 and it raises the funds from the community as well as other grant-making foundations in our area. In 2012, Daya helped a total of 315 clients and handled over 5,800 helpline calls. Since 2005, Daya has helped 1,319 victims of domestic violence. Daya’s annual fund raiser gala is set for Apr 14, 2013 at the downtown Rice Hotel. The gala will be dance-theme oriented and provide a fun opportunity for attendees to learn Bollywood, Texas two-step and Salsa. For Daya, org. For IACF, com
INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, MARCH 15, 2013 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
more information about visit www.dayahouston. more information about visit www.iacfhouston.
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INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, MARCH 15, 2013 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
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March 15, 2013
Celebrate Holi Masala Style on March 24
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HOUSTON: Masala Radio and Tara Energy present the Sixth Annual Aapka Colors Holi 2013: Festival of Colors 2013 on Sunday, March 24 from 12-5pm at Seabourne Creek Park located at 3825 Hwy 36S, Rosenberg, TX 77471. (Raindate Sunday, April 7). Aapka Colors Holi 2013 is hosted by Sunil Thakkar, who was listed by the Houston Chronicle in December 2012 as one of Houston’s 41 Most Fascinating People. Thakkar is Masala Radio’s Lead Disc Jockey & CEO, a Star TV’s Great Indian Laughter Challenge Champion, Film Producer & Actor, and year-round Comedian and Emcee. Holi 2013 is an open Indo-American Community event, in association with the Gujarati Samaj of Houston and Hindus of Greater of Houston. Aapka Colors Holi 2013 (also referred to as Holi Mela or “Holi Festival”) is the largest celebration of Holi in Texas, last year attracting between 13,500 and 15,000 Houstonians. This year promises new kids rides such as a quad capacity bungee jumping ride, and aqua balls ride. These rides go for $10-$15 per person at the malls, but at Holi they are absolutely free!. Sunil T is ready with new crazy stage contests such as the Keemat Roti Rolling contest. It is a couples contest, where the men will be required to knead the dough, and the women will be rolling their hearts out to see who can roll the most rotis in 2 minutes. Jhalak Dikhla Jaa couple dance competition will also be held on stage. The theme this year is Green Holi. Not just because Green is the color of 2013, but because Masala Radio would like everyone to focus on an environmentally friendly event, beginning with biodegradable colours, décor, and paper products. Of course, the event will still fea-
ture color-powder throwing frenzy, amazing Indian Classical and Bollywood Entertainment, Kids Rides, and ceremonial Holi Pragitya (Holi Bonfire Lighting). The festival will be teaming with Indian merchandise and delicious street food booths. New this year will be a chariot porcessions from the stage to the Holi Pragitya, and characters representing Vishnu, Prahlad, and Hollika, as well as the iconic King Hiranyakashipu on stilts. Holi is a religious festival from India, celebrating the triumph of Good over Evil. According to the ancient texts, the evil King Hiranyakashipu demanded that all bow to him as God. His own son Prahlad, however, refused, as he was a devotee of Vishnu (the Preserver in the Hindu Divine Trinity). The King demanded his daughter Holika (who had the power to burn anyone she touched) to embrace Prahlad and destroy him in fire. Vishnu intervened and she burned instead, and Prahlad emerged unscathed. Thus, every year on the anniversary of this miracle, Indians celebrate the burning of Holika with the Holi bonfire. Holi celebrations include music, dance, food, and the throwing of colored powder. So wear white (something you are not attached to!), and enjoy Holi 2013 at Seabourne Creek Park! For more information about the event, visit houstonholi.com or call 281-277-MUSIC (6874) or see ad on page 32. To read more about Holi, See page 24.
Photo: Golden Dream Productions
Announcement INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, MARCH 15, 2013 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
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A Colorful Celebration of Mahashivratri at Pashupatinath Mandir
BY HAIDER KAZIM HOUSTON: Nearly 1,000 devotees gathered at the Shree Pashupatinath Mandir-Shree Krishna Paranami Mandir complex to take part in the three-day grand celebrations of Mahashivratri, a major Hindu festival in India and Nepal. A tent was erected to accommodate the large number of guests every day. Although Mahashivratri has been celebrated at the Mandir on 14303 FM 762 in Richmond, TX, for several years, it was the first time the festival was celebrated on such a grand scale for three days as it fell on a weekend and was followed by Somvati Amavasya on Monday. Shree Krishna Paranami Mandir was established in 2003 by Guruji Shree 108 Tahal Kishorji Maharaaj with the help from his disciple Saroj Patel, head of the executive committee, to propagate the teachings of Sanatan Dharma and Pranami Dharma. It was the first Pranami temple in the Western world. Shree Pashupatinath Mandir was constructed in 2005. “The aim is to promote Prem, Seva and Shanti (love, service and peace) in the world,” Guruji told this writer after the inaugural Kalash Yatra on Saturday. He thanked Houston’s Paranami community, numbering about 50 families, and the Nepali community which has nearly 10,000 members. Besides religious activities, Acharya Shree 108 Tahal Kishorji Maharaaj is also involved in numerous social activities that include orphanage, medical camps, education and disaster relief. The three day program included Kalash Yatra, Maharudra Abhishek, religious discourses by
Kalash Yatra
Guruji, Dandiya Raas, Mruntyunjay Yagya and Bhajan Sandhya by committee members. The dress code and the theme on Saturday was Gujarati sarees and the Gujarati menu. The dress code and theme for Sunday was red sarees and the Nepali menu. Despite the complexity of the task in organizing such a grand celebration, the entire thing went smoothly due to the help and cooperation of all committee members. Ina Patel, secretary of the committee, praised the active role played by all committee members. “I never felt like I was working with committee members. Each and every one worked as if they were best friends.” For many Houstonians, it was the first time that they had heard about the Shree Pashupatinath Mandir and going there was a pleasant experience. “This is the first time I heard that there is a Shree Pashupatinath Mandir in Houston, I was totally surprised,” said Atul C. Patel and Rita A. Patel. “I had never heard
this. And then I found out that this temple was built in 2005. It seems like biggest secret was revealed. I have never been to Kathmandu, Nepal. I always wanted to go there. So I decided I will go to the one in Houston. And I did. Mandir is in outskirts of Richmond. I went with my family. I enjoyed the scenic drive there and was amazed by the Mandir committee’s warm welcome. We will visit again.” Kokilaben said it was “a unique spiritual experience” for many devotees to have performed puja in the presence of Guruji. They also liked the natural surroundings of the temple.
“We did puja very nicely. I liked the atmosphere & whole committee support. You should do all functions like this way,” said Umang Mehta of Deep Foods. “I felt like I was in Nepal. I met so many of my friends in one place. Also I was allowed to do Abhishek myself. It was totally worth driving from central Texas,” said Yogesh Gorkhali. Among the people and organizations honored at the celebrations were: Dinesh Gupta, Nipesh Gupta Yagna
and Dashan Gupta (not present); Jugal Malani And Raj Malani (not present); Girish Naik, past president of Hindus Of Greater Houston; Madhukar Amatya, President of Nepalis Association OF Houston; Friends of Nepali Association oF Houston; Umang and Daxina Mehta of Deep Foods; Raj Bhavsar, Committee advisor and past president of ICC; Sunil Thakkar and Sandhya Thakkar of Masala Radio; Atul Patel And Rita Patel, past president of LPSH; Nrityam Bharat Natyam and Sunanda’s performing Art Center. Encouraged by their experience, the organizers plan to undertake more such ventures in the near future. The mandir’s activities can be viewed at its recently launched website at www.radhakrishnaorg.
Ashirwad’s Heritage Classes in Katy, Cypress and Sugar Land: Eligibility Kids 4 to 18 yrs - Meditation, Yoga, Slok, Stories from Puran, Ramayan, Mahabharat, Bhagwad Githa, Sri Vishnu Sahasra Nam, Bhajans, competitions and fun activities - Sports Day, Vedic Fair, Holi, Happy :) Day. Adult meditation class on Appointment only. Register - www.ashirwadablessing.org Phone: Sri Ravula 281-995-0930
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10 March 15, 2013
COMMUNITY
Dr. C. Venkata S. Ram Receives Prestigious Award from the Government of India Dr.C.Venkata S.Ram, a well known expert in the treatment of hypertension has been conferred the prestigious “PAdmashri” award by the Government of India for his distinguished and impactful services in the field of medicine on the eve of Republic Day 2013. Indian government bestows civilian awards annually to people from various walks of life. Padmashri is considered as one of the highest recognitions in the country. Dr. Ram’s professional career in Dallas, TX has established him as recognized global expert in the treatment of hypertension; he worked for a long time at University of Texas Southwestern medi-
cal school, Dallas, Texas, where he earned a reputation as a master clinician, excellent teacher, and a careful researcher. After his long tenure at UT
Southwestern medical school , Dr. Ram joined Dallas Nephrology Associates as its director of blood pressure institute, medical education, and clinical research; and is now a consultant to DNA. Dr.Ram served the American Association of Physicians from India ( AAPI) in various capacities and served as its president in 1995-1996. At present, Dr.Ram is serving as the President and C.E.O of MediCiti Medical College, MediCiti Institute of Medical Sciences, and MediCiti group of hospitals, Hyderabad, INDIA. Indian-American community is honored to have one of its own as a Padmashri awardee by the government of India in 2013.
BY KOUNTEYA SINHA LONDON (TOI): An Indian doctor is being investigated for carrying out sex selective abortions in the UK. An “extremely concerned” health secretary Andrew Lansley asked the police to investigate the matter. An undercover investigation found consultant Prabha Sivaraman and another doctor agreeing to terminate a pregnancy based on the baby’s gender. They were suspended after being filmed in the act. They have also admitted on record that they were prepared to falsify paperwork
to arrange the abortions, the ‘Daily Mail’ said. Sivaraman works for private clinics and NHS hospitals in Manchester. She told a young woman who wanted to abort a female fetus, “I don’t ask questions. If you want a termination, you want a termination.” The woman claimed that she had a blood test in France which left her ‘pretty certain’ she was having a girl. She said, “That’s not really appropriate for us right now, we were hoping for a boy. It’s the wrong gender.” The Daily Mail said Sivaraman, a registered obstetrician and
gynaecologist who works at Pall Mall Medical in Manchester, told the woman that she could have the procedure as a private patient for £200 to £300 on top of the £500 she paid for the consultation. Sivaraman later booked the procedure at an NHS hospital for the following week saying it was for ‘social reasons’. A spokesman for Pall Mall Medical said it had ‘suspended clinical contact’ with Sivaraman. “The clinic does not condone in any way the referral for termination on the grounds of gender,” he added.
Dr. C. Venkata S. Ram
UK Suspends NRI Doctor Over Sex-Selective Abortions
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COMMUNITY
March 15, 2013
11
Austin Honors G. Anantha Iyer
BY THARA NARASIMHAN AUSTIN: The Kala Bramha Award was presented to G. Anantha Aiyer of Houston, Founder of Tamil Stage Creations. The celebrated playwright, dramatist, musician and connoisseur of fine arts was recognized by Austin based Kalalaya Productions. This award is to recognize the significant contributions of key individuals who have led live theater performances in North America. The institution honors the stalwarts who have contributed to the Performing Arts for more than 15 years of dexterity to present their stage show. Anantha is the pioneer of the Tamil Theater Arts in Houston. With an uncanny ability to write plays he incorporates music and dance that are centered within it and he showcases the best of Houston talents. He motivates amateur actors as well as seasoned artists to be part of the play. Anantha has been involved in Tamil Drama from his very early years in Madras and acted with Tamil Drama veterans Pattu and Y.G.Parthasarathy, of United Amateur Artistes and later formed his own troupe the
LEASING AGENT G. Anantha Aiyer is the Founder of Tamil Stage Creations
For an apartment complex in Houston
Madras Stage Artist. For over 35 years he has been writing, directing and presenting plays in America. The Nataka Academy in Chennai, in association with the Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha and the Brahma Gana Sabha, felicitated Anantha in 2005. Many well-known celebrities, prominent musicians and the secretary of the Federation of City Sabhas paid rich tribute to his extraordinary talent. A few of his plays have been picked by producers to present it on the silver screen. He was the first to venture into a mega monumental production “Washingtonil Thirumanam” for television and many artistes from Chennai vis-
Contact: hrdept@hkhouston.com Call: (713) 774-1188
11000 Richmond Ave, Ste 300 Houston, TX 77042
ited the U.S. to participate in it. The serial telecast by Doordarshan in 1996 won the Mylapore Academy award for best TV serial that year. With his philanthrophic nature he contributed generously to stage plays to benefit fund raising for Sri Meenakshi temple in Pearland. Always welcoming friends and the drama group to their house Padma and Anantha are excellent hosts and very hospitable in nature. Recently Anantha celebrated his 80th birthday with scores of friends and family and exceptional planning by his loving daughter Luckmi Anantha and Jay Aiyer, their spouses, grandchildren and numerous friends.
After the success of Ram leela 2012, directed by Kusum Sharma, Shri Natraj School is now open for enrollment Bharatnatyam Northwest Kathak Galleria Bollywood Sugarland
832-423-2039 www.shrinatraj.com
15950 N Dallas Pkwy, Ste 400 Dallas, TX 75248
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COMMUNITY
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HOUSTON: On Saturday, March 2, 2013 at 8pm, Kusum Sharma, Director - Shri Nataraj School of Dance, presented a new drama Meera at Shri Radha Krishna Temple in Houston. It was a fund raising event and celebration of the 9th anniversary of Shri Radha Krishna temple. Meera’s story is not new to anybody familiar with Indian culture, values, or religion. Meera-bai was a contemporary of many historic legends. Some of them were Swami Tulsidas, King Akbar, and the great musician Raja Tansen. Meera was a princess of Rajputana in Nagaur district of Rajasthan in northwest India. Her father, Ratan Singh, was the youngest son of Rao Duda (presented by Ram Sharma), ruler of Merta and belonged to the Rathore clan. Some historians say that Meera (little Aashi Sharma), when she was 7 years old, saw a wedding procession of a bride and asked her mother about her groom, then her mother took her in front of the deity Lord Krishna and told her that he was her husband. In the year 1516, Meera (Kusum Sharma)’s uncle and Aunt, Rao Viram Dev and his wife (Ram Sharma and Jasoda Sharma) avoided a clash among Rajput kingdoms by offering poison to their own daughter Krishna (Mridula Karna) and arranged Meera’s marriage with prince Bhoj Raj (Madhukar Miriyala), the son of Rana Sanga of Chittor. She was not happy with her marriage as she considered herself already married to Lord Krishna. She went to live in Chittor accompanied by her childhood mate, Lalita (Indira Modi), who stayed with Meera till the end. Her
new family (sister Saroj Patel) did not approve of her piety and devotion. After refusal by Meera’s brother (Arun Manikantan) to accommodate her in his house, Meera was denied a place in her in-laws house as well. She met the great musician Raja Tansen (Kantilal Patel) and King Akbar (Vipul Shah). The latter offered donation for Lord Krishna. Kulguru (Kirit Modi) and his accomplish priest (Satish Agarwal) of Chittor instigated and ordered poison to Meera. The poison did not have any effect on her. She left for Dwarka and stayed there, worshipping Lord Krishna all her life. This drama was more than an hour-long saga with mixes of music, songs (live songs by Pandit Ravi Puri and , Ms. Savita Puri), and Kathak dances (Surabhi Gaur, Seema Gupta, and Deepshikha Karna). A mesmerizing show, witnessed by more than 250 some guests had left many sweet emotional footsteps in the minds of audience. Kusum feels very proud and appreciative of her team, supporters, and sponsors, many of them being amateurs, volunteers (like Rajeev Agarwal, Tanya Sharma, Vipin Sharma, and Manoj Agarwal), and distinguished guests like Dr. Bishnupada Goswami, head priest of Houston Durgabari Temple, and Priests of Shri Radha Krishna Temple. Amar Agarwal, the person behind Shri Radha Krishna Temple and Abha Dwivedi were the anchors of the show, where Surabhi Gaur narrated the story. The performers were of all ages, mostly senior citizens in ancient dresses and colorful outfits. Kusum has successfully staged
Kusum Sharma (right) with one of the performers.
many Ramleela and Rasleela shows previously and has been working in the field of drama since 2005 and dance for many years. She had arranged one of the first Ramleela shows in Houston with the help of local professionals, and amateurs. She has announced her next Ramleela show for 2013 in the same Cullen Performance Hall for October, 27, 2013 like she staged before. For more information, visit www.shrinatraj.com or email kusum@shrinatraj.com. Ravi Puri announced Mata-kiChowki at Shri Radha Krishna Temple for April 13 and has invited all Houstonians to be a part of it.
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COMMUNITY
March 15, 2013
Mahesh Sriram Plays the Antihero in Chinna Cinema Houstonian Mahesh Sriram has acted in a Telugu movie, Chinna Cinema. Mahesh has played a negative role in the movie. About Mahesh Sriam: Mahesh Sriram’s passion for modeling and acting began in his hometown of Hyderabad when he was scouted by fashion photographers. He’s been a featured model in ad campaigns for various top companies in India. In the US, his acting career took off with Principal roles in multiple industrial films. Mahesh’s recent work includes a supporting role in a national U.S. Lipton Iced Tea commercial and a global campaign for Hewlett-Packard(HP). Mahesh has worked extensively with acting coaches and workshops to hone his craft, and has been cast in pivotal roles in his latest projects - Feature films: “Hang Up!” (Magnapex Productions) and “Chinna Cinema” (JerseyplotsProd). When he’s not acting in commercials and films, Mahesh heads 3D animations company in Houston. Visit http://www. youtube.com/ watch? v=fcP1VpbbouE for official trailer of Chinna Cinema
A still from the movie Chinna Cinema
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14 March 15, 2013
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COMMUNITY Indo American Oral History Interview with Dr. Asha Seth Kapadia
Dr. Asha Seth Kapadia, Professor Emerita of Bio-Statistics and former UT Professor of Management and Policy Sciences was interviewed by Emeritus Professor of Psychology, Dr. Shalom Evineberg, who was also a former Professor of Rehabilitation at Baylor College of Medicine.
HOUSTON: On February 21, another Indo-American Oral History interview was conducted at the Houston Community College (HCC ) studio. Dr. Asha Seth Kapadia, Professor Emerita of Bio-Statistics and former UT Professor of Management and Policy Sciences was interviewed by Emeritus Professor of Psychology, Dr. Shalom Evineberg, who was also a former Professor of Rehabilitation at Baylor College of Medicine. This was the first time an American Professor has conducted an interview for
the Indo-American Oral History Project. All interviews will be transcribed and stored in Houston Public Library’s Houston Metropolitan Research Center archives and will be accessible to historians, researchers,students and the general public. First generation immigrants from India who have made Houston their home for at least 20 years are eligible to participate in the project. Those interested may contact Krishna Vavilala at 713-795-5169 for further details and registration requirements.
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March 15, 2013
Spring Yoga Retreat VYASA Houston is happy to announce its first Spring Yoga retreat in April 2013. This yoga retreat is a comprehensive combination of Yoga practice and philosophy mainly focusing for stress management. The retreat is designed with daily yoga classes, guided meditations, Bhajans, satvik vegetarian diet & Fun filled yoga games in the lap of beautiful nature. Enlightening yoga philosophy lectures & evening sat-sangs, explore and understand Philosophies of yoga with Philosopher, Yoga Master Sri N. V. Raghuram.
Dates: Friday April 5th 2013 6:00pm to Sunday 7th 2013, 12:30 noon. Place: The Gordon Ranch, 7714 FM 359, Richmond, TX- 77409 Registrations
Before 3/22/2013
After 3/22/2013
Regular College Students
$125 $110
$140 $125
Children < 10yrs
$50
$50
Special activities for Children
Limited registrations only… To register call:
Vishwarupa: 281 352 8145, 713 449 5260 email: vyasahouston@gmail.com
Organized by:
Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana VYASA-USA www.vyasausa.org
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EDITORIAL
March 15, 2013
Not Gandhi, Not Modi
With a year to go, the general election is being painted and promoted as a Rahul-versus-Modi contest. It’s a tidy, appealing binary, given that Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi appear to have profoundly different political instincts and personality types. But while it may be tempting to think of Election 2014 as a twohorse race, the political field may be less settled or predictable in reality. In all probability, the real deciders will be regional forces whose support to one or the other pole, Congress or BJP, cannot be taken for granted. Take, for instance, B.S. Yeddyurappa in Karnataka. His importance to the BJP fortunes is being read into the extent of the party’s loss in Karnataka’s civic polls, in which the Congress won with a margin that exceeds its last victory. To be sure, civic polls often hinge on local contexts and candidates; they seldom reliably foreshadow the national-level decision. Yet it is clear that Yeddyurappa’s exit has cost the BJP in Karnataka, its sole trophy in the south. The Congress faces a similar challenge in Andhra Pradesh, where Jaganmohan Reddy’s breakaway YSR Congress threatens to wrest much of its turf. Admittedly, a post-poll alliance between Yeddyurappa’s political front and the BJP is not ruled out, nor between the YSR Congress and the Congress. But these alliances are likely to be negotiated on terms that acknowledge the power of the regional vote-catcher.At this week’s end, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s rally in Delhi’s Ram Lila Maidan will be another reminder of the shifting calculus of smaller players that the two main national parties must remain mindful of. The Bihar chief minister’s show may be projected as an attempt to raise the pitch on the demand for granting special status to his state, but it is also a positioning exercise at a time when Modi has become the BJP’s undeclared PM candidate. As the Congress has appeared to slip and slide in power, regional parties, as much as the BJP, have been positioned for gain. They will tilt the field, one way or the other. The 2014 election looks unlikely, therefore, to bring the satisfying resolution of the ModiGandhi choice. It will be an aggregate of what happens in Andhra Pradesh, in Karnataka, Bihar and other state arenas. Politics in India, in all its complexity and flux, cannot be reduced to the arm-wrestling of two individuals. Indian Express
China in India’s Backwaters
BY C. RAJA MOHAN The Bay of Bengal, India thinks, is its backwaters. It should think again; for Beijing is all set to transform the geo-economics of the Bay of Bengal. The China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) is about to complete the construction of the natural gas pipeline from Myanmar’s Rakhine coast to Kunming, the capital of Yunnan in south-western China. The pipeline traverses nearly 800 km north-east from the island of Kyaukpyu (pronounced “Tchapru”) to enter Yunnan. It is designed to carry nearly 12 billion cubic metres of gas per year, nearly a third of current Chinese imports of natural gas. A small portion of the gas will be consumed along the way in Myanmar. Myanmar and China announced the project in 2008 after Yangon failed to secure an agreement with New Delhi and Dhaka on a trilateral pipeline project that was endlessly debated but could not be moved forward. Work began on the project after Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao visited Myanmar in 2010. That it took barely three years to complete it underlines China’s purposeful implementation of major crossborder projects. Despite the recent setbacks to Chinese investments in Myanmar, Beijing’s economic presence in the country will continue to grow. While Myanmar looks for more commercial partners, China is likely to remain its most important one. In 2011, Myanmar ordered the suspension of work on the Myitsone hydel project that was being developed by China Power Investment Corporation, creating a big flutter in the relations between Yangon and Beijing. Lack of a credible assessment of environmental impact, the massive displacement of people and the plans to ship most of the electricity to Yunnan saw largescale protests by the local population, compelling Yangon to act. More recently, protests have enveloped a major project by China’s
Burmese workers building the Kyaukpy to Yunan pipeline.
The Qing dynasty considered building roads to the Bay of Bengal through Myanmar. ... As China’s resources now match Beijing’s ambitious policy of “looking south”, the Bay of Bengal will never be the same. again. Norinco Company to develop one of the world’s largest copper deposits in Myanmar. Meanwhile, Beijing’s ambitious infrastructure projects are connecting China to the Bay of Bengal through Myanmar. KYAUKPYU TERMINUS The natural gas pipeline is only one of the many projects that are centred on the Kyaukpyu Island. CNPC is also building an oil pipeline along the same alignment as the gas pipeline. The oil pipeline is expected to carry nearly 22 million tonnes of oil a year from Kyaukpyu to Yunnan. An oil terminal is being built by Chinese companies near port de Bruno, the capital of Kyaukpyu special administrative zone. Once operational, ultra-large crude carriers (ULCC) sailing back and forth from Kyaukpyu will be a common sight in the Bay of Bengal. This large capacity oil transportation route will not be an alternative to the Malacca Straits — through which most of Chinese oil imports
pass through. But it will provide a useful complement and a short-cut to moving hydrocarbons into western China. China also plans to build a highway between Kyaukpyu and Yunnan as well as a high-speed rail link. Chinese companies are developing a large special economic zone in Kyaukpyu and power plants to fuel it. Beijing also has plans to build a deep water commercial seaport at Kyaukpyu’s natural harbour. The betting is that Kyaukpyu could become a major port for transshipment in the Bay of Bengal. Authorities in Yangon are reportedly considering China’s plans to build a “mini-Singapore” on the Kyaukpyu Island. Chinese investments in Kyaukpyu could amount to nearly $100 billion if all the current plans materialise over the next two decades. Would it be illogical, then, for Beijing to consider securing its massive investments in Kyaukpyu with a credible naval presence in the Bay of Bengal? DREAMING SOUTH It was the British Raj that first thought of developing a transport corridor into western China through Myanmar in the late 19th century. The Raj of course lacked the financial resources. Its successors in Delhi could not imagine the economic possibilities of the Bay of Bengal. But Beijing’s rulers in the 20th century have never stopped dreaming of the southern waters. The Qing dynasty in the early 20th century considered building roads to the Bay of Bengal through Myanmar. The nationalist government that followed drew up plans for a rail link to the Indian Ocean. In the 1950s, the People’s Republic considered similar proposals. As China’s resources now match Beijing’s ambitious policy of “looking south”, the Bay of Bengal will never be the same again. The writer is a fellow at the Observer Research Foundation, Delhi and a contributing editor for The Indian Express.
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COMMUNITY
March 15, 2013
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NetIP Houston Hosts National Officers Conference, the CIA Showed Up!
BY FARIDA HASANALI HOUSTON: The Network of Indian Professionals (NetIP) Houston for the first time since its incorporation in 2001 hosted the National NetIP Officers Conference. Every year officers from all 25 chapters get together in the first quarter to level set for the rest of the year. This year was extra special for the Houston Chapter because we hosted the conference at the Embassy Suites in the Galleria area. Saturday was an early start at 8am. President Ritu Singh kicked off the conference with 2013’s theme of “Dare to Be!” NetIP’s mission is for its members to continuously improve the communities that they work and live in. NetIP members are not just today’s professionals but also tomorrow’s leaders in business, politics and civic service. NetIP is based on four pillars, Community Service, Cultural Awareness, Professional Development and Political Awareness. In keeping with its mission, each chapter has monthly events that cover one or more pillars encouraging South Asian professionals within the community to get together, to collaborate and to make a difference. The 2013 theme resounded with the four pillars: Dare to Be! Dare to be you! Dare to be Different! and Dare to be Diverse! Singh’s introduction was followed by presentations from NetIP National officers who went over the rules and regulations of how each chapter must run. No small detail was missed regarding the expectations of each chapter and the reputation they must hold in the communities they function in. The highlight of the day however was the keynote presentation from a CIA officer. The Central Intelligence Agency has reached out to NetIP Houston to start an alliance in an effort to educate and inform the
From left: Farida Hasanali, Amit Patil, Majesh Reddy, Kartik Subramanian, Ritu Singh, Archith Seshadri, Sneha Desai, Siddharth Dhar, Dhaval Shah
South Asian community to debunk the myths and the fear of the CIA. Our keynote speaker was of South Asian descent. We cannot reveal her name since she is on active duty and currently leads a unit. She joined the CIA in the 90s as an analyst. In her role, she analysed and helped break down events when they happened in order to ensure that the country was prepared or prevented them from happening again. In her tenure she has met President Karzai and Hasni Mubarak and many high ranking officials including past and present American presidents and officials. Her briefs are written primarily for the White House. She had everyone in the room completely entranced by her charm and wit. Her leadership qualities were evident in the smooth and strong way that she conveyed her message. She is a strong woman and she encouraged all of us to aim high. “Why should you not aspire to be in the CIA,” she said. As kids we all dream of becoming a CIA or an FBI agent and suddenly when we are faced with a real life one, it seems surreal. Later she spoke about personality
types, the tests used by the CIA to gauge personalities and how she uses them in managing her team every day. The next day, all of us officers took a similar personality test to get some insights into who we are, how we communicate, what our strengths are, what are weaknesses are and how we manage, versus how we supervise others. What an eye opening experience. I have taken several of these personality assessments and each time I am always surprised by the outcomes. I guess I change with time, so the responses are different each time. The conference closed with a promise that we would all get together again at the National NetIP Conference held over Labor Day in San Francisco. The CIA promises to bring more agents to talk to us at that conference if they get clearance. To attend NetIP’s National conference, please sign up first to become a member of NetIP Houston at http:// www.netiphouston.org. You can sign up for the conference at the Early Bird special price at http://www.na.netip. org/conference.
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Texas State Representative Meets with Indian Consul General and IAPAC Board
HOUSTON: Texas State Representative and Chairwoman of House Maritime Sub-committee Mary Ann Perez met with Consul General of India Harish Parvathaneni and Indo-American Political Action President Sujeeth Draksharam and Board Member Karun Sreerama at the India Consular office on Friday, March 1, 2013. Representative Perez presented House Resolution 371 to the Consul General recognizing February 13, 2013 as Indo American Community of Greater Houston Day. During the meeting, Consul General of India Harish Parvathaneni stressed the need for increased commerce and business activity between India and Texas. Indian companies have invested about $6 billion in Texas just in the last year. There seemed to be significant interest from Indian companies to
partner with Texas based oil and gas and manufacturing companies. Texas’ pro-business policies, strong local economy, and the availability of qualified and economic resources help in attracting Indian companies to Houston. There is a need to facilitate and encourage Texas based businesses to invest in India and exploit the Indian advantages. Rep. Perez committee assignments also include Economic and Small
Business Development along with sub-committee on Manufacturing, International Trade and Intergovernmental Affairs, and Committee on House Rules. House Maritime Sub-committee, of which Representative Perez is the chair, is tasked with increasing economic activity and trade at all ports in the State of Texas. Indian ports could benefit from working with Texas ports. Rep. Perez indicated she will work business delegations and Indian Port officials. The Representative and Consul General agreed on continuing this dialogue. Indo-American Political Action Committee agreed to organize and facilitate future meetings.
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Delhi Rape Case: Main Accused Ram Singh Commits Suicide in Tihar Jail BY RAJ SHEKHAR NEW DELHI (TOI) : Delhi gangrape prime accused Ram Singh on Monday committed suicide by hanging himself in Tihar Jail. The incident came to light around 5am. Ram Singh was found hanging inside jail number 3. He was rushed to the jail hospital but declared dead on arrival. The body was then sent for postmortem at Deen Dayal Upadhyay (DDU) hospital. Ram Singh hung himself using his clothes probably his own shirt, Tihar sources said. “Singh was not alone in the cell. Other inmates were present and a guard was also posted. But nobody came to know about it. Around 5am, he was found hanging,” a senior jail official said. Ram Singh was to be produced in Saket court today. The gang-rape accused were woken up by 5-5.30am everyday and taken to Saket court on their hearing date in a bus and were kept in a lockup there. The incident came to fore when the guard spotted him this morning. He was apparently disturbed by the recent hanging of Afzal Guru, a source said. A metropolitan magistrate will inquire into the incident, the source added. However, the incident has raised several questions on the safety of inmates inside the high-security jail. The manner in which the incident has unfolded has brought forward conspiracy theories. It was unlikely for the gang-rape accused to succeed in his suicide bid using his clothes and without any intervention. Ram Singh, one of the six accused in the Delhi gang-rape case, was the driver of the bus in which the 23year-old paramedical student was raped. The victim died in a Singapore hospital December 29. Ram Singh was arrested along with his brother and four others, including a minor, hours after the crime. He and his co-accused have also faced fellow inmates’ ire after being lodged into Tihar Central Jail. Ram Singh’s brother Mukesh has been informed about the incident. Tihar Jail authorities had earlier said that all the five accused in the case were under ‘suicide watch’ as
they had stopped talking and interacting amongst themselves. Ram Singh’s counsel had filed a petition in the Supreme Court asking the case to be shifted out side Delhi as his client is apprehensive about a fair trial. “He knew he was going to die anyway because we had and still have such a strong case against him,” the victim’s 20-year-old brother said. “I’m not very thrilled with the news that he killed himself because I wanted him to be hanged ... publicly. Him dying on his own terms seems unfair. But, oh well, one is down. Hopefully the rest will wait for their death sentence,”he added. The trial of the five adult men began in a special fast-track court last month
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while the juvenile’s trial began last week. Ram Singh’s brother Mukesh Singh, gym assistant Vinay Sharma, bus cleaner Akshay Kumar Singh and fruit vendor Pawan Kumar are the other men on trial. Police allege the six attacked the woman and her male companion on the bus as the couple returned home after watching a movie on December 16. The woman was repeatedly raped and tortured with a metal bar. The couple were also severely beaten before being thrown onto a road. Singh was a bus driver, despite an accident in 2009 that fractured his right arm so badly that doctors had to insert a rod to support it. He appeared on a reality television show in a compensation dispute with a bus owner, who in turn accused Singh of “drunken, negligent and rash driving”. In the show, the moustachioed, slightly-built man was seen walking stiffly and holding his right arm at an awkward angle. Singh’s neighbours in the south Delhi slum where he lived described him as a heavy drinker with a temper. One young woman said he used to get embroiled in violent rows and a relative recalled a physical altercation with her husband.
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March 15, 2013
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Speech Contest Held at Sri Meenakshi Temple
BY SURAJ SUBRAMANIAN PEARLAND: It was a bright sunny day at the Shri Meenakshi Temple Pearland, TX on February 24 when the high spirited young children delivered incredible speeches in the presence of esteemed guests and distinguished judges. The children were very confident and authoritative even in the presence of highly knowledgeable judges. Under the leadership of the current temple Chairman, Tupil Narasiman , and the Executive Director Meena Subramanian , director in charge of MTS Youth and Education committee, the first MTS speech contest was conducted in 2001. After a few years gap it is getting a renewal at the temple with the leadership from the same people who started it several years back. Meenakshi Temple Society will be hosting this contest on a yearly basis from now onwards. There were more than 25 children who participated in the contests. The contests were divided into two groups, one for ages twelve and under and another for ages twelve and above. The first group was given the topic “The impact of the Visit of Vivekananda to the USA and the associations he forged with mainstream America”. As the 150th birthday of Vivekananda is being celebrated across the world the topic was apt and provided the children an opportunity to know more about Vivekananda
who changed the view about India and Hinduism specifically in the western world. The second group had a challenging topic “Is salvation achieved through faith (bhakti-marga) OR Knowledge (jnana-marga)?” Even though it was a heavy topic, the children did talk incredibly well convincing the judges. The judges, in their review of the speech contest acknowledged that it was a great pleasure listening to the youngsters talking about such an in-depth subject and was a learning experience for some. The event started with the prayer and a welcome speech by the MTS Executive Director for Vedic Heritage School, Meena Subramanian. Temple Chairman Tupil Narasiman
introduced the judges and explained the rules for the contest. The speech contest for the two groups ran in parallel with three judges for each group. The judges for the junior group were Dr Venugopal Menon, Radha Jayakumar and Malar Narayanan. The Judges for the senior group were Sindhu Baskaran, Ranjana Chari Narasiman and Dr. K.P Subramanian. There was a lot of enthusiasm for the MTS speech contest as the participants and their parents mentioned the need to organize similar events more often at the temple. Every participant was recognized with an award. Cash awards were given to the three top most speakers in each group. Surabhi Subhash from the
junior section got the outstanding performance award in the group followed by Divya Ramamurthy, Aarav
Kumar and Prateesh Vijayakumar. In the senior section the first prize was given to Muktha Nair, second prize to Samhit Punukula and the third prize to Anirban Sarkar. Prizes were given by Tupil Narasiman, Raj Mikkilineni , the temple secretary, and MTS board member, Jeyam Thiagarajan. The Vote of thanks was done by the VHS Lead Coordinator Suraj Subramanian. Special thanks to Amar Achalesh for helping with the junior group , Malar Narayanan for the sumptuous lunch and Vairavan Subramanian for the photographs. . We do hope that this kind of youth activities events will be a regular part of Shri Meenakshi Temple enriching the Hindu Community. For more information about MTS, visit http://www.emeenakshi.org.
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Movie Review: The Attacks of 26/11 BY ANUPAMA CHOPRA The Attacks of 26/11 Direction: Ram Gopal Varma Actors: Nana Patekar, Sanjeev Jaiswal, Atul Kulkarni (HT) The good news is that The Attacks of 26/11 is one of the better films Ram Gopal Varma has made in recent years. The bad news is that Varma’s last few films were duds like Department and Bhoot Returns so the bar is set very low. In The Attacks of 26/11, Varma recreates Mumbai’s tryst with terror on November 26, 2008 when ten men came over in a boat and laid siege to the city. More than 160 people died and over 300 were injured. It was one of the worst terrorist attacks on Indian soil. Nana Patekar playing joint commissioner of police Rakesh Maria, narrates the events to an inquiry commission. He recounts the 60 hours of horror as young, brain-washed men walked casually around South Mumbai indiscriminately pumping bullets in to men women and children in the Taj hotel lobby, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Leopold Café and other locations. The Mumbai police struggled valiantly. Eventually the NSG Commandos have to be called in. This film tells us little that we don’t already know. Like Kathryn Bigelow in Zero Dark Thirty, Varma is trying to give us boots-on-the-ground experience. But unlike Bigelow, he is unable to create a visceral feel or provide new insights. The action is broken by the commissioner’s deposition to
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the inquiry commission, where half a dozen men sit impassively. Varma relies too much on bullets in slow motion and gore so we see a man’s neck being sliced, another’s brain exploding with a bullet and blood spread so thickly that people slip in it. All of which is based in truth but the fact is that most of us have already been through this harrowing experience via live television coverage and at some point, you have to ask; what do I get in return for putting myself through this
again? And the answer is not much. In a few places, The Attacks of 26/11 is startling. The tragic absurdity of constables fighting heavily armed terrorists with stones and lathis hits you. Nana Patekar, speaking with unduly affected pauses, has a few moments of power and eloquence, especially toward the end when he explains the real meaning of Islam. But mostly, the film is plodding. Varma insists on bludgeoning background music and the terrorists remain faceless caricatures. Even Ajmal Kasab, who is the only one fleshed out to some extent, is sketchy and simplistic. The Attacks of 26/11 is a powerful subject watered down by ineffective story-telling. This could have and should have been so much more.
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March 15, 2013
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Tagore Society Celebrates Netaji Subhas Divas
BY JAYA GHOSH HOUSTON: Tagore society of Houston celebrated Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s birth Anniversary at Durgabari, Sur Auditorium on Sunday, February 24t with full of patriotic spirit and enthusiasm. Subhas Chandra Bose, the patriot of patriots was born on january23, 1897 at Cuttack Orissa. He was one of the greatest patriots, popularly known as ‘Netaji’. His name in modern India stands as a symbol of patriotism. He was one of the most prominent nationalist leaders who felt the need for armed force to actually evict the British from India. He was courageous enough to create his own army INA,( Indian National army) and had the guts to use (axis powers of World War II), Japan and Germany’s help to challenge the British rule. It was reported that Bose died in a plane crash near Taiwan in 1945. The mystery surrounding “India’s bravest son” is still unsolved. He is hailed by all his countrymen as a great leader very near and dear to their hearts. Clement Richard Attlee , British prime minister mentioned that INA activities of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and the Royal Indian Navy mutiny in 1946 were major reasons that made the British realize that they were no longer in a position to rule India. His ultimate sacrifice and love for motherland are rare instances of noble quality that are found in the history of Indian freedom movement.
TSH organized a cultural program to commemorate Netaji’s Birth Anniversary and observed February 24th as Netaji Divas in Houston. It was a sunny afternoon, children and members were all gathered in Durgabari, Sur auditorium. Local artists presented a wonderful program with patriotic songs and dances to honor Netaji . The program began with, president Ruma Dey Sarkar’s speech and a brief discussion about TSH‘s present achievements and future programs through power point slides. Tagore society of Houston is one of the promising cultural organizations in Texas, established in 1974, promoting the universal ideas and philosophy of Noble aureate poet Rabindranath Tagore with regard to Art and literature. The primary vision of this organization is to fulfill Tagore’s dream of
borderless world. In order to propagate Tagore’s universal idealism TSH has taken various steps, including a proposal of putting Tagore’s Statue and a plaque with his message in Houston , is truly a significant one .The biggest cheers came from the audience when she has officially announced that department of park and recreation of Harris county already approved the proposed plan and very soon they will start working on implementing it to build TAGORE’S GROVE at Ray Miller Park, located at Eldridge and Briar forest, near Energy corridor in Houston .It will be a replica of Shantiniketan, an open air, Topobon like serene place with a Tagore’s statue and his words in a plaque, surrounded by rose gardens and weeping willows. The audience was very responsive and appreciative when Dey Sarkar
said that full responsibility of North American Bengali conference 2015 has given to TSH. It is a major event of Bengali community in North America, usually held during 4th of July weekend every year.She has requested everyone to support this great effort with active participation and with some financial help. The actual Musical program started with tribute to American and Indian Flag ,followed by singing of American and Indian National Anthem by kids of Durgabari Bangla School, KalaBhavan and others. The odissi dancers of KalaBhavan graciously presented a fabulous dance ‘Jai Bharati’ choreographed by Guru Supradipa data. The young dancers were a delight to watch with their intricate footwork,graceful movements and subtle expressions! Bibortan jha’s power point presenta-
tion about Netaji , Followed by INA song “Hindi Sipahi” and “Vandemataram” “presented by students of Sangeet Bharati got huge response. It was a joy to listen to a little boy Veeru Mishra’s patriotic speech about Netaji. Kamalpriya and Alok Roy’s Duet Patriotic rendition of Tagore’s “sarthok Janam Amar” took the crowd and mesmerized everyone.“ Jodi tor daak shune” sung by kalbhaban’s student was graciously bold and uplifting. Another noticeable performance was ‘Bharat Hamara” presented by Sonali puri from Payel School of dance, choreographed by Arpita Mukhopadhyay touched everyone’s heart. The program ended with Sanhita moulik,Rupa,swapan and Ganesh Mandal’s melodious Songs. Audience thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon .The whole event is co ordinaed by Sanhita Moulik and nicely emceed by Gopa mullick. Most of the family members were excited about the performances and were delighted by the quality and punctuality of the program. Subhas Chandra Bose was one of the true heroes who paved the path to Indian independence. Who also believed in Tagore and Vivekananda’s idealism. Remembering him with our children is really praise worthy initiative by TSH. For more information about TSH, visit www.tagoresociety.org
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RELIGION
March 15, 2013
H
oli is wild and raucous, a frolic of friendly playfulness. During Holi, India’s streets are overtaken by crowds awash with colored powder. Not only clothes, but faces, arms and hair are smeared and sprayed with every color of the rainbow. People sing, dance, play, hug each other and smile with such child-like joy that it makes one wonder where so much happiness comes from! No religious festival in the world compares to Holi in terms of engaging young and old alike. It is a celebration of love, forgiveness, hope and just plain fun. What is Holi? Holi is a community’s exuberant expression of joy to welcome the warmth of spring. In a refl ection of nature’s abundance, Hindus celebrate with bursts of color, camaraderie and shared abandon. It begins on Purnima, full moon day, in the Hindu month of Phalguni (February/March) and lasts for as long as 16 days. How does the festival start? Many communities create a central bonfi re on the night before Holi, starting with kindling and logs and adding organic debris as they clean up their property. The fi re symbolizes the torching of negative or troublesome experiences and memories. An effi gy of Holika, a demoness personifying negativity, is consigned to the fl ames, and freshly harvested barley and oats are offered. The embers are collected to light sacred fires, and the ashes are used to mark the forehead as a blessing. This year, Holi will be celebrated on March 27. For Holi celebrations in Houston, see page 8 & 32
Tidbits About Holi
• What is the meaning behind the bonfire? Love, positive values and goodness are celebrated on Holi. Their triumphs over divisiveness and negative forces have been reinforced in legends, such as that of Holika and her brother Prahlad. The famous king Hiranyakashipu had earned a boon that made him virtually indestructible. Blinded by this power, he thought he was God, the only being worthy of worship. His young son Prahlad was devoted to Lord Vishnu and refused to obey his father. Infuriated, the king devised the cruelest punishments. In one attempt, Prahlad’s evil aunt Holika, who possessed the power to withstand fi re, tricked him into climbing a burning pyre with her. Prahlad’s love for true Divinity protected him from the fl ames. Holika burned while Prahlad lived. The bonfi re of Holi is symbolic of this victory of good over evil. • How did the frolicking with color originate? Legend has it that Krishna noticed one day how much lighter Radha’s complexion was than His own. His mother playfully suggested that He smear Radha’s cheeks with color to make Her look like Him, which Krishna did. The strongwilled Radha gleefully retaliated, and a merry chaos ensued. Another legend has it that Krishna celebrated this festival with His friends and the gopis. They danced and frolicked, fi lling the air with color in a joyous welcome of spring. • Is this a romantic occasion? The festive dancing and camaraderie create the perfect environment for matrimonial alliances. Young people find mates, and families formally seal marital agreements during these days.
Making Safe, Natural Colors Dyes made of toxic chemicals are too often used during Holi. The food-based recipes below, along with edible food coloring, offer safe alternatives for all colors. RED: Soak red pomegranate rind in water overnight. A pinch of edible gypsum mixed with turmeric powder in water gives a bright red. Soak red hibiscus flowers in water overnight. YELLOW: Turmeric powder makes a terrifi c yellow. BROWN: Soak betel nut in water overnight and dilute as necessary. Or boil tea or coffee in water. PURPLE: Boil blueberries in an iron vessel and let stand overnight. MAGENTA: Slice or grate one beet root. Leave overnight in water. Dilute as needed for different shades. GREEN: Purée spinach, coriander or mint leaves in water. Strain and use. Source: Hinduism Today
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Nokia Offers Insurance with Mobile Purchases
NEW DELHI (The Hindu): Nokia, on Tuesday, announced a partnership with public sector general insurance company—New India Assurance— for offering its mobile phone users insurance against theft and damage of handsets. “Mobile phones have emerged as the consumers’ most preferred personal device and users are consistently increasing their investment in new technology. The NIA (New India Assurance) insurance plan is aimed at safeguarding Nokia consumers against the angst caused by loss, theft or damage of their devices,” Nokia India Director (Retail) Kannan Go-
palakrishnan told reporters here. The service will be available with all new devices that are bought from Nokia branded retail store on payment of an insurance premium of Rs. 50 or 1.25 per cent of the cost of the
phone, whichever is higher, at the time of purchase. Quoting a survey, Gopalakrishnan said about 43 per cent of Indians had their mobile phones lost or stolen in 2012. The insurance would cover theft and burglary along with accidental physical damage, including liquid damage. However, it would not be applicable to regular wearand-tear. Also, loss of phone when overseas or simply misplacing the handset would not be covered. The insurance cover would be valid for a year from date of purchase of the handset. If customers wish to renew the insurance, they would need to approach NIA directly as “the terms of insurance may differ.” The value of device for settling of claims will take into consideration the depreciation of the phone’s value. The claims will be settled within five days, Gopalakrishnan said.
Acrobat XI and Lightroom 4. Creative Cloud’s monthly subscription will cost Rs 2,885 till April 30, following which it will be priced at Rs 4,040 per month. The annual subscription will cost Rs 34,620 till April 30, after which the price will be Rs 48,480. The subscription service is much cheaper than buying Adobe Creative Suite 6 outright, which costs
Rs 1.76 lakh. Users don’t have to bother about connection drops as the cloud service doesn’t need an active Internet connection. Users can use Adobe tools from their desktop, after the initial download. Creative Cloud prompts users for updates once a month. The services is targeted at the SMB (small and medium business) segment and offers 100GB cloud storage to each Creative Cloud for Teams (CCT) user. Adobe offers centralised purchase and licence management tools to SMBs. Under licence management, the administrator can revoke and assign access for the software to his employees. Adobe also plans to introduce Creative Cloud with 20GB cloud storage for individual users.
The service will be available on payment of a premium of Rs. 50 or 1.25% of the cost of the phone
Adobe Launches Creative Cloud
BY CHAITANYA GUDIPATY NEW DELHI (IE): Most of us have used Adobe Photoshop at least once. But have we paid for the software? The answer is yes for some and no for the most. Adobe Systems has launched Creative Cloud -- a subscription-based model -- to prevent use of pirated Adobe software in India. “With easy availability of out products through Creative Cloud and attractive pricing, we see a significant impact on the piracy rate of our products,” Umang Bedi, Managing Director South Asia, Adobe, said. Creative Cloud is a membershipbased service that offers users access to download and install all Adobe Creative Suite 6 applications besides other Adobe software like Muse,
Sistema Bags Spectrum in Eight Circles for Rs.3,639 Crore NEW DELHI (The Hindu): Sistema Shyam Teleservices Ltd, which runs CDMA-based mobile services under the MTS brand, has decided to exit three more circles (the company had earlier shutdown operations in 10 circles) reducing its pan-India operations from 22 circles to nine. The company on Monday bought spectrum in the 800 MHz band in eight circles for Rs 3,639 crore. The auction ended within a few hours because Sistema Shyam was the only bidder. The operator also has mobile service in Rajasthan under a licence given to it before the 2008 2G scam was discovered. Although the company had earlier expressed interest in bidding for 11 circles, it decided to stay out of Mumbai, Maharashtra and UP East circles. This would impact around 400 employees and 1.5 million subscribers. Sistema Shyam said that it would immediately initiate the process to inform its customers in three circles to port out to other telecom operators. The company said that efforts are being made to absorb affected employees in other circles or offer placements in other companies. Earlier, the company’s move to shutdown services in 10 circles had affected more than 300 workers and two million subscribers. The company was forced to take this move due to the uncertainties resulting from the Supreme Court’s decision to cancel 2G licences given in 2008 by the then telecom minister A. Raja. Repositioning for data The scaled down operations will shave off 25 per cent SSTL’s revenues and brings down the subscriber base to just over 10 million across the remaining nine circles. But it
A file photo of Vsevolod Rozanov, President & CEO, Sistema Shyam TeleServices.
has also given an opportunity to the company to consolidate its business in circles known to generate high revenues. The nine circles — Delhi, Kolkata, Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh (West), Rajasthan and West Bengal — account for over 60 per cent of current data market in India. The spectrum in eight circles is technologically neutral (which means Sistema can deploy even 3G or 4G services on these airwaves) and is valid for 20 years. This provides an opportunity to strengthen SSTL’s data-driven strategy through possible 4G roll out in the future. In addition, Russian major Sistema’s claim under the bilateral investment protection treaty is alive under which it can claim compensation for cancelling its licences. The money paid by the company, Rs 1,626 crore, in 2008 for 2G licence will be adjusted as the upfront bid amount. Therefore, the Government will get Rs 2,013 crore from selling spectrum to Sistema. The company plans to pay this amount over a 10-year period at just over Rs 200 crore a year.
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SPORTS
March 15, 2013
TCC Taped Ball Tournament Winter 2012: ECC Winners, SICC Runners Up HOUSTON: Eldridge Cricket Club (ECC) won the TCC Taped Ball Winter 2012 tournament defeating Sri Lanka Cricket Club (SLCC) in the finals by 22 runs. It was a welldeserved win for ECC having stayed unbeaten in the entire tournament and ending with a perfect season. On a sunny and chilly Saturday afternoon , March 2, ECC won the toss and elected to bat first. Openers for ECC (Sandip and George) provided a quiet yet solid start to the innings (15 runs after 3 overs) without losing a wicket. Having got their eye in, they started to accelerate with a flurry of glorious shots all around the wicket from the 4th over and the score was 79/1 at the end of 10th over having lost Sandip (35 runs) in the 8th over. After the break, ECC batsmen (George and Pankaj) continued their aggression to score as many runs as possible. George almost carried his bat through-out the innings only to get out in the 19th over and scoring 82 runs. Pankaj was not out on 34 runs. The score was 160/3 in 20 overs. Kanchana was the stand-out for SLCC bowling with the figures (3 overs, 13 runs, and 1 wicket). Sampath was consistent with his bowling as well. Setup with a daunting task of chasing 161 to win in 20 overs, SLCC kept losing wickets at regular intervals in attempt to maintain an aggressive run rate. Praveen picked up Ranil (12) and Wickrama within the first 10 overs. SLCC required close to 10 runs an over in the last 10 overs. After the break, they started aggressively with Sujeeva and Gihan accelerating the score in the first 3-4 overs but they could not hold on for long. ECC bowlers (Venkat, Bharath, Avinash and Sankar) bowled a tidy line and picked up wickets at regular intervals. At the end of 20 overs, SLCC managed 138/9. Gihan (31 runs) and Sujeeva (24 runs) were the stand-outs for SLCC in batting. Praveen (4 overs, 26 runs, and 3 wickets) Avinash (4 overs, 21 runs, and 2 wickets) and Venkat (3 overs, 21 runs and 2 wickets) were the top performers for ECC bowling. The game had high quality umpiring from two neutral umpires Arun and Ketan.
ECC beats SICC in TCC Taped Ball Tournament Above: ECC Team, Below: SICC Team
The game was followed by a well-organized prize distribution ceremony arranged by TCC. The presentation party had Nanda Kumar, the president of TCC and HCL, Nataraja Rao, secretary for TCC and Surya Saladi, board member of TCC. The chief guest was Nanda Kumar. Jagadish Biradar, organizer for TCC Taped Ball tournament coordinated the presentation ceremony. Venkat, the captain of ECC was presented with the championship trophy and Gihan, the captain of SLCC was presented with the runners up trophy. The players of the winners and runners up received individual trophies. Man of the match for the finals was George from ECC for a wonderful
batting performance – 82 runs. George from ECC won the Best Batsman trophy with 289 runs. Sandeep from STYX won the Best Bowler trophy with 15 wickets. Ninad from Gladiators won the Best All Rounder trophy with 179 runs and 13 wickets. Trophies were also given to the man of the match for Semi Finals and Quarter Finals. Sandip from ECC and Sampath from SLCC were the recipients of the man of the match for Semi Finals. Ram from Rattlers, Samantha from SLCC, Vijay from ECC and Ninad from Gladiators were the recipients of the man of the match for Quarter Finals. STYX was given a special award for their cricketing spirit in the Quarter-Finals.
Vijender Refuses to Give Samples
CHANDIGARH (NDTV) International boxer and Olympics bronze medallist Vijender Singh on Monday refused to give his blood and hair samples to investigators even as a Punjab Police team questioned him for nearly four hours in the seizure of a huge quantity of heroin in the state last week. A Punjab Police spokesman said Monday evening: “As per the procedure, in the presence of two private witnesses, he (Vijender) was asked for his consent for giving his blood and hair samples required for forensic examination for investigation purpose, which he refused.” Vijender, who is a deputy superintendent of police (DSP) in the Haryana Police, was questioned by the Punjab Police team at a police establishment in Panchkula town, 20 km from here. The questioning took place in the presence of Haryana’s Superintendent of Police (Crime) Hardeep Singh Doon. Police sources said that two Punjab Police officers, including a DSP and an inspector, questioned the boxer at the Haryana Police lines near Panchkula town from 5-8:30pm. “The Punjab Police tied up with Haryana Police for questioning of Vijender Singh. The team questioned him regarding the drug case registered last week,” the Punjab Police spokesman said. The Fatehgarh Sahib district police had recovered 26 kg heroin, worth Rs.130 crore in the international market, from the possession of Canada-based drugs dealer
Anoop Singh Kahlon and had arrested him on Thursday. The drug haul was made from Kahlon’s flat in Zirakpur, near Chandigarh and his car. Police also found a SUV, registered in the name of Vijender’s wife Archana, parked outside Kahlon’s flat. Kahlon reportedly told the police that Vijender and fellow boxer Ram Singh were his “clients”. Though police have so far refrained from directly linking Vijender with the drugs haul, Ram Singh’s statements to police have seen his name figuring in the controversy. “Vijender was in touch with some Mumbai celebrities, who were regular in rave parties and took drugs. Therefore, we also tried it. However, we did not pay anything to Kahlon for drugs,” Ram Singh said. Ram Singh and Vijender are very close friends and they were roommates at National Institute of Sports (NIS) for nearly six years. Vijender had allegedly promoted Ram Singh in various platforms by using his influence. Vijender has denied any involvement in the drugs racket. He had offered to undergo dope testing to prove himself. Vijender’s close friend and roommate for nearly 15 years at NISPatiala, Jai Bhagwan, rubbished reports of the popular boxer’s involvement in the drugs smuggling racket. He said that Vijender’s name was being unnecessarily dragged into the issue.
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A Fight to Save Baby Girls in India BY KAMALA THIAGARAJAN USILAMPATTI, INDIA (NYT) Back in the 1980s, this rural patch of the southern state of Tamil Nadu had the dubious distinction of the worst reputation for “gendercide,” or murder of unwanted baby girls, in India. There were no official statistics, of course. Just as no one keeps a tally of how middle-class Indians today use scans to determine a baby’s sex and whether to abort a female fetus, the child deaths in the Usilampatti region, home to about 85,000 people, were whispered about, not totaled. Often, births were unregistered, conducted by a village midwife who would then also kill unwanted girls. This was done quite openly — and prompted Valli Annamalai, head of the Mother and Child Welfare Project, an initiative of the Tamil Nadu state branch of the nongovernmental Indian Council for Child Welfare, to act. She started by trying to grasp the size of the problem. Council statistics suggest that, in 1990, there were as many as 200 unaccounted-for infant deaths, all of girls, in this region. “Girls were considered a burden and a liability in these parts,” she recalled during a recent visit to a council center in the village of Pannaipatti. Raising economic prospects “was the only way to stop the mindless violence and discrimination.” One way to improve women’s lot, she said, was to care for infants and thus allow mothers to return to their work — mostly toil in the fields of this spottily fertile region, where women have been second-class for centuries. The Pannaipatti center — a bare room with dog-eared posters of fruits, letters and numbers hanging from the ceiling, — is one of three run in the area since 1988. At one point, there were 14 centers with more than 350 children, but when the government started to provide more child care,
Annamalai diverted attention to other projects. At Pannaipatti, as the midday sun beat down on a recent day, 22 children 1 to 3 years old were in the care of a teacher and a trained assistant, who work 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. six days a week, playing, singing, telling stories and ensuring that children eat a lunch of sprouted green gram, lentils and rice. Mothers, most of whom work in the fields from dawn, arrive about 3 p.m. to collect the children and chat. Annamalai, now 62, recalled the long slog to win trust. “It took a
Medical staff members had to be on hand, for babies often arrived with infections from crudely cut umbilical cords and needed monitoring or even hospitalization in the nearby city of Madurai. In 1994, after failing to save one baby girl, the council started to recruit volunteers from Usilampatti’s 309 hamlets. “We realized that we couldn’t be everywhere,” said R. Ramraj, the council’s rural development officer in Usilampatti. “We had to create not just awareness, but allies too amidst the villagers.”
year to break the ice,” she said. Getting direct access to young mothers through child care centers helped the council to understand their problems, she said. A first daughter was usually allowed to live, said P. Pramil Kumar, 48, a council worker in Usilampatti. But subsequent girls were under threat, so “we would register every pregnant woman and monitor their second and third pregnancies, as these were deemed high-risk.” In 1991, while counseling parents to keep their daughters, the council opened a center where babies could be dropped off in a special cradle. A total of 146 babies — all girls — arrived from 1991 to 1999.
After just a month, a group in the village of Lingappanayaganur, tipped off council staff members in good time. “Not only did we prevent the murder,” Ramraj said, “we also got the family to sign the adoption papers.” Rathinam, then a 22-year-old field laborer in the hamlet of Kaluthu, recalls the first baby girl she saved, early one Sunday 17 years ago. Rathinam, who like many women here uses only one name, arrived as a village family prepared to feed its newborn girl poisonous milk of oleander. With two other volunteers, Rathinam persuaded the midwife who had delivered the baby to hand her over. “We took the baby, 10 minutes after
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birth, still caked in blood and with the umbilical cord wrapped around her, and fled,” Rathinam recalled. En route to a council center, the three rescuers purchased sugary milk at a roadside tea stall. “What an appetite that little one had,” Rathinam said. “The way she drank the milk with such gusto, it struck me she would have drunk poison in much the same way.” Outside a thatched hut near the Pannaipatti center, Mockapillai, 47, a construction worker with one daughter and two granddaughters, summed up the changes of 20 years: “There is no more infanticide in these parts. We used to think that if we kill a female baby, we would cry only for a day, but if the baby were to survive, we would cry all our lives. But now, with so many women and girls educated, working and earning well, our attitude has completely changed.” Today, there are 300 self-help groups in Usilampatti with 20 to 25 members each. Now, they provide microloans, or lobby government for street lights and water. “Earlier, we couldn’t even handle five rupees , but now we manage over a lakh of rupees in savings with ease,” giggled P.Arul Jyothi, 43, of Meyanampatti village, discussing an increase from 10 cents to about $2,000. She was married as a teenager, but after eight stillborn children, her husband abandoned her. “I was bedridden for years, depressed and alone,” she said. Joining and now leading her group, she said, “was like being given a new purpose.” She has taken and repaid loans five times, investing in home businesses like selling incense or firewood. Women now command respect
in a still patriarchal area. “My teenaged son approaches me and not his father if he needs money for books or school,” said Bharathi, 40, of Poochipatti, who joined a self-help group in 1998. “I make the decisions for my family now and no one lays a finger on me anymore.” Kalaiselvi Pethusamy, 45, of Rengasamipatti village, joined her village’s group in 2005. At the time, she owned a small parcel of good agricultural land, but had very little skill or knowledge. Over three years, the council trained her in cattle rearing, soil testing, horticulture and floriculture, then sent her for a week to observe a successful poultry and cattle farm in another part of Tamil Nadu. Most important, she saw how to irrigate barren, drought-prone land that had helped keep the Kallar people, the main inhabitants of Usilampatti, in poverty for centuries. Her self-help group helped Kalaiselvi get a loan of 50,000 rupees (about $1000) from a bank. She invested in five goats and today owns 20. Her farm has expanded from one to seven acres; she is repaying the last of her latest 150,000 rupee loan. She sells cow and goat milk and rears poultry. A local radio station invited her to talk of her success. Annamalai said that since 2001, no baby has been reported killed or abandoned in the region. Levimatteo Mathews, who heads an Italian aid association that has been the biggest single donor to the council in Tamil Nadu, said the project had worked “because of its personal touch and its holistic approach” to mother and child needs. Since 1993, more than 1,000 girls from this region have completed high school with sponsorship. His group most recently gave furniture for the new community college in Usilampatti, reflecting a shift in focus from babies to adolescents. Last year, 16 young girls trained as hospital nurses, and 19 graduated in garment stitching and design. By contrast, boys as young as 14 have problems with alcohol and drugs. “Perhaps,” Kumar told Annamalai, “it’s time to focus on the boys now.”
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