Friday, May 31 2013 | Vol. 32, No. 22
Indo American erican News
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May 31, 2013
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COMMUNITY BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA LOS ANGELES: Revealing the central element would not be giving away too much of the plot of The Advocate, the new indie movie that will have its premier next week on Saturday, June 8 at the Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. The film has many more twists that will keep you riveted till the end, just when you thought it was all over. The plot revolves around an attorney who has had his fill of practicing criminal law a few years after he finds his wife killed in the beautiful hillside home with a pool that he bought to surprise her with. While his office is being remodeled, the attorney, Ray Shekar (Sachin Mehta) temporarily moves his work and staff to this home. But a spate of unsolved murders of the clients that he defends puts him in the cross hairs of the eagle-eyed Los Angeles Detective Perkins (Michael Raynor) and his rookie partner Detective Teller (Dalia Phillips). While contemplating a change to civil law, Ray is sought out by the young and beautiful wife, Allyson Daugherty (Kristina Klebe), of a rich, unscrupulous businessman. She is caught with bloodied hands near a bloodsoaked mattress on a yacht off the California shoreline by the Coast Guard. They suspect she killed her husband, but the body is never found and, facing a death sentence, she pleads with Ray to take her case. He takes the case though his law partner Julia (Steffinnie Phrommany) is skeptical of Allyson’s story, especially as mounting evidence shows her in a bad light. The rest of the story develops as Ray shows how he is able to unravel the strands of clues to defend Allyson, while getting romantically involved with her. The rest of the story has you guessing her fate, and the twists – three of them in the final seven minutes – will certainly sur-
May 31, 2013
In Attorney’s First Movie, Plot Twists Mimic Real Life Court Dramas
Ray Shekar (Sachin Mehta) with Allyson Daugherty (Kristina Klebe) in the courtroom in the newly release indie movie The Advocate which will premier in the Dances With Films festival in Hollywood on Saturday, June 8.
prise you. For Sachin Mehta, the legal jargon and maneuverings were all too familiar aspects of the cases he had to fight as a public defender in Los Angeles, though now his practice mostly deals with civil litigation, contracts and intellectual property. This is his first attempt at production full-length feature film, and he admits that some of the elements of the cases he has fought have rubbed off into the onscreen scenes. The movie was written by Tamas Harangi, a Hungarian who came to the US ten years ago, but Mehta consulted with him on the legal elements. “But it was Tamas who came up with the plot line and the twists in the story,” said Mehta in a telephone interview. “Tamas was fascinated by the concept of ‘mock juries’ and that’s how the story line started.” A mock jury via camera on a television screen features prominently in the movie as Ray ponders his next moves.
Steffinnie plays Julia, Ray’s law partner.
Mehta caught the acting bug seven years ago and took some night classes at the UCLA extension program. One class turned into two, then six, and then he got an agent who was able to land him a few TV commercials. A few years ago Mehta and Harangi made their first short take, a seven-minute video called “The Pier”. Then two
years ago the project that became The Advocate took shape. “We spent a year in pre-production and over another year editing it,” explained Mehta, “but the filming actually only took sixteen days in December 2011.” The film was shot entirely in the Los Angeles area, with many scenes indoors in the house and the courtroom scenes in a studio, with cinematography by John Honore. The released version has a well-scrubbed feel to it that’s often hard to find in first-release movies, and Mehta attributes that to the painstaking editing that David Abramson did with Harangi to get the cuts between scenes and the flow of the story just right, the original musical score by Frederik Wiedmann and the opening and closing graphics, often overlooked in tight-budget movies. The cinematography is also very crisp, although a few of the outdoor scenes are grainy, but the focus is on the development of the
INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, MAY 31, 2013 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
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characters, especially that of the main protagonist, Ray Shekar who is The Advocate. He is ably supported by the rest of the cast, who are comfortable with their roles – Phrommany as the quick thinking Julia who guides Ray along the right path; Klebe as the pretty but disturbed Allyson; Cardiff as the mysterious investigator with a dubious past and Raynor as the detective eager for a collar – and the results are great for a first effort. So much so that The Advocate won the Audience and Jurors Awards at the Durango Film Festival this March. It is an official entry at the Dances With Films festival that has its red carpet opening this coming Thursday, May 30 at the Chinese Theatre, followed by its premier on June 8. Mehta already has his sights set on the AM/FM Film Festival in Palm Springs on June 15 and a few more festivals on the way, he hopes, to better distribution channels. Mehta’s late blooming passion for film making and acting has caught on with other members of his extended family who have supported him, especially Nalin Shah, of Mumbai who came onboard with financial support as the Executive Producer. “I can’t thank him enough,” said Mehta, who co-produced the movie with Harangi. Mathew Temple, Adam Herring and Andrew Hayes. Born and raised in Hollywood, Mehta still visits Mumbai (“I’ve made 13 trips,” he chuckled) where his parents came from in the ‘70s, though he speaks only some Gujarati and little Hindi. He finished college at USC in Los Angeles, where he also continued on to Law School. “This film was a huge learning curve for all of us,” he explained, “but we have a great team and would like to work together again.” Mehta and Harangi are already working on new scripts and “in a year or so, we hope to make another movie,” he added.
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INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, MAY 31, 2013 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
COMMUNITY
May 31, 2013
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Masala Radio Celebrates 20 Years
BY SANDHYA THAKKAR HOUSTON: The entire night, all we heard was “20 Years? Really? You guys have been doing this for 20 YEARS? Wow..Time sure flies…” Sunil and I celebrated 20 years of Masala Radio with a bang throughout Houston…100% Masala Style. On the Wednesday May 22, Rush Hour show, we ran a special trip down memory lane with the top hits from 1993 to present. On the same day, we promoted a city-wide Buy-OneGet-One FREE promotion at all our Restaurant sponsors - Madras Pavilion, Mayuri Indian Cuisine, and Tandoori Nite offered BOGO FREE on their entire menu (and all three were packed). Baloch offered the deal only on their Kulfis and Faloodas selling out their entire Inventory. Chef Nirman Shah said all three of his restaurants, Kurraywalahs, Café India, and Chowpatty Chaat were extremely busy, the latter having a line out the door. Shahnai and Zaika, who offered the promotion only on Biryanis and Chaat, were shocked at the response. Meanwhile that night, we had a private celebration at Fadi’s Mediterranean (also our sponsor) with all past & present Masala Crew: Radio Jockeys, Office Crew, Event Team, Print & Web Designers, DJs & Dancers. The night featured an emotional 500-photo slide show from 1993 - 2013, and cake cutting celebrating 20 years of team achievement. Preanka and Rajoo, who have been on the show for 19 of the last 20 years, recounted their most memorable moments, which led to an outpouring by everyone, right down to the newest 2-monthago hired Naina & Shah. A special thank goes to the Current Masala Crew. It includes Radio Jockeys: Preanka, Rajoo, Bijuria, Dilip, Alka, Abhishek, Kashmira, Priya,
Naina, Ajay, Priti and Sushil. Office: Rinku, Hima, Shah & Jose. Designers: Zaheer, Purav & Ravi. Dancers: Sonali, Anand, Malav, Priti, Ashka & Mehran (who met on Masala Cruises, and are getting married this summer – Masala Ne Bana Di Jodi). Event Team: Shilpi, Nimi, Ninad, Krupa, Devan, Shreya. Priya has danced, choreographed, and RJ’ed for Masala, going from a teenage listener faxing in requests for her parents anniversaries to “now being a Radio Jockey and playing other teen’s requests… just
too cool!” The final 20th Anniversary celebration was Sunday, May 26 at Blu Lounge, where nearly 700 die-hard party-goers danced to a frenzy along with the Masala Crew. Cake, Confetti, Balloons, hottest Bollywood music & videos by DJ Zee, DJ Nish, DJ Scoop and one of our originals - DJ Alxxx. It was an amazing night, amazing year, amazing twenty years. Throughout the week Listeners called in with their special Masala moments, some who have been listening SINCE 1993. It seemed all of Houston had a special song, or dedication, or joke that had made their day. “Sunil and the Masala Radio crew always make me forget my troubles and laugh.” And really, that is all why Sunil has been on the radio, straight out of college, right after we were mar-
ried, nonstop, for twenty years – to bring out the laughter, to spread his boundless energy, excitement, and passion. One couple had met at one of first Masala parties in 1994, and now has teens looking forward to their first Masala Party. We have hosted over 100 Bollywood music club parties – at Crystal, Caza Cozo, Shock, Spy, Toc, Oz, Azure, City Streets, Betty B’s Bomber Bar, Gatsby. Sunil was the South Asian Gatsby. In 1995, we expand-
ed the radio show to Los Angeles, San Fransisco, Chicago, and New Jersey through Asia One. Sunil and the show was an overnight success particularly in Los Angeles, and was invited to emcee shows and judge Miss LA and Mr. LA competitions. We didn’t live there, but people felt like they knew us, such was the power of radio. Of course we couldn’t keep up with the travelling required after the birth of our first child Simran in 1997. Another couple called in who met and married at one of our six huge Masala Dandias held between 1998-2006. One of our Panjabi fans called and said “Gujju doing a Gujju Dandia was expected. But Gujju doing Bhangra event - chak
de Fatte!” We had designed a few shows of Bhangramania – Bhangra team competitions featuring B21, Sukhbir, and UK’s Dhol Foundation. 1999 was a busy year, from parties with Bollywood stars like Tabu and Sunil Shetty (Club Shock Memorial Sunday), to our first “Millenium Masala Cruise,” running our first commercial on ZeeTV which also premiered in the US in 1999. The ship sold out with 500 passengers going on a “Cruise to Nowhere.” Did I mention our second child, Sahil was born in 1999? O n e
listener called in to recall being one of over 3500 people at the rocking New Year’s Eve parties at the Funplex in the late nineties and early 2000’s. He recalled the craze of those New years Eve Parties where there was some exciting aspect for every member of the family, and even though by IST he is always late, this was the only party he was in line with his wife and kids at opening at 7PM, and had to be thrown out with the last Ghazal-listening guests at 4:00 AM. Masala had a huge party at Gotham on 12-31-1999 to welcome the new millenium. Our first event of 2000? Sunil emceed
a show in Singapore, and our DJs Yogi & Alx were also invited to spin at the pre-party. We toured Singapore with Apache Indian, Hari Haran, KK – what a thrilling experience to kick off the Millenium! While most everything was a grand, grand success, we did have some “learning experiences.” Late in 2000 we opened a CDDVD-Coffee-Pastry shop in Sugarland – Plant M. Closed it after 2 months, realizing retail was not our thing – no excitement like the minute-by-minute action of radio! While the shop failed, it attracted the admiration of Farid Virani, who inspired Sunil to quit his job with Shell Oil in 2001, and produce a full feature film – Where’s the Party Yaar?(WTPY). We worked on the film for nearly 2 years, finally releasing it in theaters in 2003. Filmmaking was an adventure, we learned every aspect of film shooting, editing, and distributing. We worked 4 months alongside our film editor Shamit Amin, who later moved to Mumbai to edit and direct award winning movies like Chak De India with Shah Rukh Khan. Our star Kal Penn went on to become a huge star, and later made it to the White House. But he still remembers us, the month he spent in Houston, and our wild 2004 promotional tour of WTPY in Delhi & Bombay! The glamour and the money faded quickly, but there was always the radio to come back to! In 2002 Tara Energy was formed – and became one of our backbone sponsors. Tara Energy supported the radio in ways no one will ever CONTINUED ON PAGE
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 INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, MAY 31, 2013 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
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COMMUNITY
May 31, 2013
Former Indian Table Tennis Champion Kabad Makes The Bayou City his Home BY MANU SHAH HOUSTON: When Jay Kabad casually introduced himself to the members of TT Nuts (a table tennis players association) at the Durga Bari Temple on the city’s westside a couple of years ago, there were gasps of disbelief and faces mirroring incredulity. It took a while for the fact to sink in that they were shaking hands with THE JAYANT KABAD – the renowned table tennis champion who won accolades for India in various national and international tournaments. After the death of his father in an industrial accident, 4 year-old Kabad and his family moved to Bangalore to his maternal grandfather’s house. When he was 10, his uncle, B.Sai Kumar, himself a State table tennis player and only 4 years older, introduced him to the game. Kabad’s innate talent and a natural flair for the game caught the eye of Amrit Kumar who would go on to coach him during his entire career. A meteoric rise at the State Level followed but it was from 1968 that Kabad joined the league of national players like Mir Khasim Ali, Monty Merchant and Niraj Bajaj and ranked number 3 in India. He was selected to represent India in the Munich World Championship which was all well and good - but there was a slight problem: he had no money! Kabad laughingly recalls the movie that was premiered to raise the funds – “Dil Diya, Dard Liya.” Munich proved to be a great experience but it was another keenly watched match that Kabad recalls vividly. At the National Championship Finals in Bangalore, the excitement was palpable as the odds of winning were heavily in his favor. The Chief Minister, Governor and all of Bangalore turned up with garlands in the certainty that their hometown boy would win –
P a r t n e ring with him in this successful venture is Kabad’s wife, Kanchan. The Zen-like reasoning that made her accept his proposal was that a sportsman learns to deal with victory and defeat with equal composure and well, Life’s no different. This philosophy has stood her in great stead as the A picture of the young Jay Kabad playing in a tournament. couple are celebrating zation, Kabad applied to Pittsburg their 29 years of togetherness and University, Pennsylvania for a have two children. As Vice President of JayKay one-year MBA course. A job offer brought him to Houston but Wealth Advisors, Kanchan overthe slump in the oil industry and sees the administration, complihuge student loans forced him to ance and trades. She is also acapply for a job at a financial plan- tively engaged in the Chinmaya ning firm. Six years later, Kabad Mission and as President of `the branched out on his own with Jay- Indo American Cancer Awareness Network (IACAN) – an organizaKay Wealth Advisors. Kabad’s business focuses pri- tion that seeks to educate and supmarily on five main areas: tax port those suffering from cancer in reduction planning, estate plan- the Indo American community. The couple love to travel and ning, income planning, risk management and asset management. consider Sorrento, Italy, their most He offers a customized approach memorable holiday. When not to his mostly Indian clients and working, Kanchan designs coshelps them protect and grow their tumes for Indian dances and is a accumulated wealth with the makeup artist. She is also a marawatchword being safety. Kabad thon runner while he unwinds by describes Indo Americans as being playing – no, it’s not table tennis mostly affluent, savers, cautious - but golf! and moderately conservative.
A family picture, from Left: son Atma, daughter Anasuya, wife Kanchan along with Jay Kabad.
and Kabad lost! The Asian games in Japan also proved to be a great learning experience where he was pitted against the Chinese and the Japanese. “The Chinese,” Kabad explains, “are near impossible to beat because each player has a different way of playing the game whereas the Japanese though hard to beat too at least have only one style!” Ugly politics snaked its way into the playing fields in 1975 and even though Kabad ranked No. 1 in the country in a nail biting finish at the Indore Nationals, he wasn’t selected to represent India in an international tournament. Sports officials didn’t even have the courtesy to send him an invite! Kabad clearly credits his successes to his supportive mother, his no nonsense coach Amrit Kumar, his
uncle Sai Kumar and his grandfather who encouraged his grandson to skip exams if it clashed with an important match because “exams would come and go but the opportunity to represent the country wouldn’t!” A remarkable attitude, as this was in the ‘70’s when every parent wanted his son to be either a doctor or an engineer. If Kabad was a celebrity in the world of sports, he was no slouch when it came to academics. He aced them sometimes even studying between match breaks and in fact was among the top 20 in the PUC exam in Bangalore. This academic acclaim would come in handy as a career in sports is hardly a viable option in India. After graduating in Physics from IIT, Chennai, and a short unchallenging stint at a government organi-
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COMMUNITY
May 31, 2013
Masala Radio Celebrates 20 Years CONTINUED FROM PAGE
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Sunil and Sandhya Thakkar, along with Masala crew and friends at the 20th Anniversary celebration on Sunday, May 26 at Blu Lounge.
know, and for that, we are eternally grateful. And with Sunil joining Masala full time, we launched Masala Cruises with a bang – he directed Marketing & Entertainment, and I managed the Operations & Finance. Our first Galveston Carnival Cruise in 2003 featured comedian Vir Das. Now, ten years later, he is coming out in the next big Bollywood movie. In December 2004, we featured Russell Peters in a cruise from LA, and now look where he is! We have sailed over 37 cruises with over 15,000 Indo-Americans to Alaska, Mexcio, Carribean, and Europe. And yet have many, many places to go. In 2007, we decided to host a grand Diwali Festival of Lights event in Sugarland’s Town Square. The unexpected 8000 that came out jammed all roads and parking garages in the surrounding area, effectively banning Masala Radio events in Town Square. The City allowed us to host our first HOLI festival of Colors at Oyster Creek Park, however with 3 years of recording breaking crowds, we were forced to move the event to the larger Seabourne Creek Park, which is also approaching max capacity at 15,000+. Meanwhile, the City of Sugarland is developing a Festival Grounds particularly to woo us back with a permanent home that can handle up to 50,000 people. In 2006 we sailed our first Europe cruise, Venice to Istanbul. In 2007, Sunil was invited to lead a float
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dressed as Amitabh Bachchan in the New York City Independence parade. With our Dance crew, we went down 20 block of Manhattan in front of 100,000 screeming fans. Later Sunil shared a comedy jam with Johnny Lever, and Grand Marshal Priyanka Chopra. All the while, the radio has been growing – in 2007 we doubled the hours from Saturday to all weekend. In 2008, Star TV USA caught site of all those Masala Cruise commercials and invited Sunil to participate in the Great Indian Laughter Challenge Season IV. Sunil never dreamed he would advance to top ten, or that they would pay for 2 months of training. While he did the Saturday shows live from Mumbai, he had to quit in the summer to come back to the US for Masala Cruises. In 2010, we launched the Rush Hour show daily from 5-8 PM, then a year later 4-8PM. For 17 years we just didn’t have the time to do weekday shows, but once we started, it changed the game. With a fabulous team of Radio Jockeys, 24/7 seems the next logical step. We love Houston and what we are able to do here. God has shown us the path and we are cruising…with speakers on full blast. Not sure what the destination is… but the journey has been incredible…and of course we are taking all of you with us! Halo Re Halooooo!!!
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COMMUNITY
This Week’s Special
Discover Your World Through International Melodies News series at Discovery Green to highlight cultures from around the globe with music, dance and fashion
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crafts and jewelry representing each culture. The Discovery Green advisory committee, representing a broad cross section of cultural organizations, helped put this new series together for the enjoyment of park visitors. The free familyfriendly series is made possible in part through the City of Houston’s Initiative Grant Program of the Houston Arts Alliance. Celebrating Latin America on Sunday, May 19, 4 – 10 pm will include performances by: Gracie Chavez-Bombon Djs ; Farra8 ; Raices Del Peru; Brazilian Arts Foundation; Mixteco Folklorico; Colombian Ballet Folklorico; Bang Bangz; and Los Skarnales. Celebrating Asia on Sunday, June 2, 4 – 10 pm will include: a
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HOUSTON: Get ready to celebrate Houston’s international communities through a new series of performances and music at Discovery Green! Discover Your World will highlight different cultures in a three part series beginning Sunday, May 18 with Celebrating Latin America, followed by Celebrating Asia on June 2 and Celebrating Africa on June 16. “Houston is rich with culture and Discover Your World will showcase and celebrate the communities that help contribute to making Houston the diverse city we call home,” said Discovery Green President, Barry Mandel. In addition to performances, attendees will have the opportunity to explore vendors selling food,
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May 31, 2013
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INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, MAY 31, 2013 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
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COMMUNITY Glowing Tribute Paid to Yoga Teacher Rama Rao
BY HAIDER KAZIM HOUSTON: A prayer meeting (Shraddhanjali) was held by VYASA-USA (Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana) Tuesday evening at Keshav Smruthi for Yoga Teacher and therapist B.S. Rama Rao who expired last week at Mysore, India, at the age of 77. Rama Rao inspired hundreds of students in Houston and was highly respected in the Yoga circles. He taught therapeutic yoga courses at Memorial Herman Hospital-Southeast since August 1999 and both general and therapeutic yoga in Keshav Smruthi from April 1999 to June 2011. He also taught general yoga classes at University of Houston at Clear Lake from September 2000 to January 2002. In addition, he conducted workshops, several teacher training courses and classes for different groups in the Houston, Los Angles, Tampa, Orlando and bay area. He was diagnosed with colon cancer and had undergone surgery. His dedication to yoga was immense and even one day before his death he was talking about taking yoga courses at Infosys-Mysore in India. During the period of his brief illness, he kept smiling although he knew his end was near. He told his wife Meera: “Don’t lose enthusiasm and strength. Continue to do yoga. Death is nothing but a positive change for the people who are suffering from physical disease.” He is survived by wife Meera, daughter Seema, son-in-law Naresh and grandchildren Nikhil and Sharmila. At the prayer meeting, organized by Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana (SVYASA), several students and people who knew him recounted their association with Rama Rao. The whole group, whole heartedly
Rama Rao send off April 2010.
engaged in chanting the Bhagavad Gita, Bhajans & Nirvana Shatakam praying for departed soul to rest in peace. “Rama Rao was a monument of simplicity and humility. He never said no to anyone asking for help” said Ramesh Bhutada, well-known businessman and founding president of VYASA-USA in Houston. Bhutada recalled his association with Rama Rao and said that the yoga activity he was engaged in after retirement was inspirational to many people. Jugal Malani, President of India House and a leading businessman, said we can proudly call him Baba Rama Rao and he was a mentor to many of us. Sharad Amin, President of Hindus of Greater Houston, said that Rama Rao’ nature and his smiling face always amazed the people. He disclosed that when HGH was considering the T:6” choices for its first Akhil Chopra Memorial Service
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Award the first name that popped up in every committee member’s mind was that of Rama Rao. He was presented the award by then Indian Ambassador the US Ronen Sen. Dr. Sudha Rajan, present President of VYASAUSA, said he was very energetic even at this age and was very enthusiastic about his work. She said that Rama Rao left an example for others to follow. Vishwarupa Director & Smitha, Assistant Director of VYASA-USA, who conducted the program, described Rama Rao as a true karma yogi. They described him as a strict disciplinarian who will get up at 4 a.m. every day and get ready to go to yoga classes.
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Dr. Durga Agrawal, a wellknown businessman and community leader who could not attend the prayer meeting said, Houstonians were fortunate to have a Yoga teacher like Rama Rao. “ It was a privilege to have yoga teacher like Rama Raoji in Houston. He taught yoga with a lot of compassion. My wife and I started practicing yoga with Rama Rao Ji 11-12 years ago, We both have more energy than we had before we started practicing yoga.” “For me, Rama Rao Ji was an angel in disguise. He showed me the right path and has changed my life, not only through yoga, but also through his personal guidance. A very loving, caring, and kind person, that is what describes Rama Rao Ji. His presence will always be felt,” said Neelofer Ali, a student. Rama Rao had a B.E. degree in civil engineering and had done specialization in architecture. He worked in several capacities in Bhilai and Rourkela in India as T:4”
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Rama Rao and Meera Rao.
INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, MAY 31, 2013 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
well as in Dubai, UAE and Muscat, Oman. He played cricket, chess and carom and loved travelling. After his retirement, he took up yoga which became his passion until his last day. As suggested by Ramesh Bhutada, he went to India and received a diploma in Yoga and Naturopathy upon the completion of the Yoga Shikshak course conducted by the SVYASA, Bangalore, India, in January 1999. He also completed practical training in Nature Cure and Yoga in Paramarth Nature Cure Hospital and Bapu Nature Hospital, New Delhi, India. He was a participant in the “All India Nature Cure Conference on Diabetes and Asthma” in December 1998. Rama Rao taught yoga and provided instructions in basic & therapeutic yoga in Houston since 1999. Since then, nearly 250 students of yoga have graduated under him in Houston and other parts of USA.
COMMUNITY
May 31, 2013
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“Preserve our Heritage, Pursue Dreams, and Perform with Passion” is Anantha Aiyer’s Message
HOUSTON: Octogenarian, Anantha Aiyer, a native Houstonian for more than 35 years was interviewed at HCC studios on May 17 for the Indo-American Oral History project of the Foundation for India Studies (FIS). Anantha at 81 does not look his age. Still walking upright, active and full of zest for life, he engages himself to the promotion and propagation of Tamil language and culture. Tamil is the oldest and richest classical language, only after Sanskrit, that has existed in India for more than 2000 years and FIS is proud to have been instrumental in recommending more than 250 Tamil language books to Houston Public Library which are available today for the public to borrow. Anantha Aiyer, affectionately called “Ananatha” throughout the South Indian community has worked tirelessly to retain the rich tradition, values, and religious faith amongst the Indian immigrant community living in America. Anantha is an engineer by profession, but his true passion in life for the last seven decades, has been Theatre! In fact, he has been the torchbearer of Tamil theatre in the US for more than 40 years. From his humble beginnings in Chennai, India, he has left his mark on Tamil theatre in 3 continents, spanning seven decades. He was born in Madurantakam, and was brought up and educated in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, where he started his career as an engineer at Royal Enfield. His interest in Tamil theatre started when he was just a boy. Anantha has been involved in Tamil Drama from his very early years in Chennai and acted with Tamil Theatre veterans, Pattu and Y.G.Parthasarathy, of United Amateur Artistes, and later formed his own troupe known as “ Madras Stage Artists.” After leaving for London, UK in 1965, Anantha pursued his interest in Tamil theatre, by writing, producing, and staging Tamil plays. Traveling extensively in Europe, he staged many Tamil plays in several European countries. In 1967, he was a founding member of London Tamil Sangam and actively participated in cultural and religious projects for several years. The group presented radio plays for the BBC which also had a good number of listeners in Singapore and Malaysia, until he left for New York in 1973. His love for Tamil theatre and his culture, led him to form his stage company, “Vadivel Theatres”, in 1975, with which he staged numerous plays, including the extremely popular “Thanikudithanam”. While in New York, he joined the executive committee of Bharathi Society of America, and later became President of the organization. During his time in New York, he staged many Tamil plays, and traveled all over the
G. Anantha Aiyer, a multi-talented Engineer who won numerous awards in India and America for writing, directing Tamil dramas. A native Houstonian, he was the founder of a Tamil drama company in America, and was interviewed by Padmaja Sarathy, PhD.
Northeastern US performing in many cities. In addition to his affiliation with the Arts, he was also very cultural and civic minded, and participated in many fundraisers for the Ganesh Temple, in Queens, NY. In 1977, he moved to Houston, with his wife, Padma, and his two children, as job opportunities were plenty in the oil and gas industry. Once in Houston, he was inducted into the Sri Meenakshi Temple Project, and became one of its founding members. He also founded Tamil Stage Creations the same year. Over the last 35 years, Anantha has written over 20 original plays, and has staged Tamil plays for 35 consecutive years to commemorate either the Tamil New Year, or Deepavali, each year. For nearly 40 years he has been writing, directing and presenting Tamil 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 be presented on the silver screen. He was the first to venture into a mega monumental production, “Washingtonil Thirumanam” for television, and many artistes from Chennai visited 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. Anantha has been the recipient of numerous prestigious awards and titles, including “Nataka Siripi,” “Iyakkunar Imayam,” and “Nataka Thandhai” . He has received awards from both Indian and US based Arts Alliance organizations. In recognition of his great community service and to further honor Anantha and Tamil Stage Creations, the City of Houston, and Senate of the State of Texas had made the proclamation as “Tamil Stage Creations Day” on October 17, 1998. He has celebrated his 35th anniversary of his theatre
company, with 35 consecutive stage productions since 1977. Most recently Ananatha was awarded the” Kala Bramha Award” by Austin based Kalalaya Productions. This award is to recHELP WANTED ognize the significant contributions of key individuals who have presented live theatrical perforProperty Management Company is looking mances in North America. The infor a supervising help (Males only) stitution honors the stalwarts who have contributed to the Performin the North Houston Area(45 & FM 1960). ing Arts. With his philanthropic demeanor Knowledge of Gujarati or Hindi Preferred. he has contributed generously to stage plays to benefit fund raising Please send resume to: efforts for Sri Meenakshi temple in Pearland. Recently Anantha powerinvest123@gmail.com celebrated his 80th birthday with scores of friends and family by his daughter Luckmi Anantha Pawa, and his son, Jay Aiyer, their spouses, •Quality Advocacy •Creating Working Relationships •Honesty and Objectivity grandchildren and numerous The law firm of Donnelly-Ashby & Nguyen, PLLC is friends. When asked, dedicated to providing quality immigration advice and what his meslegal counsel to domestic and international sage would be to companies and individuals. the future generations of IndiThe attorneys at Donnelly-Ashby & Nguyen PLLC combine ans, Anantha’s have over fifteen years of immigration experience. Anne T. Nguyen clear message is: “Preserve •Temporary Nonimmigrant Classifications through the self-petitioning processes to our Heritage, The law firm of Donnelly-Ashby & Nguyen, obtain permanent resident status. Pursue Dreams, PLLC provides immigration assistance and •Employment Compliance and Perform legal counsel to corporations wishing to Equally important, the law firm provides bring foreign national workers to work in the with Passion”. corporate clients with comprehensive and For participa- United States on a temporary basis, such as proactive legal guidance to establish and tion in the Indo- the E-1, E-2, E-3, B-1 in lieu of H-1B, L-1, maintain Form I-9 compliance policies and American Oral TN nonimmigrant classifications, to name a practices. In addition, Donnelly-Ashby & History project, few. Nguyen, PLLC offers legal guidance on the ever changing complex E-Verify system and please contact •Immigrant Classifications performs onsite Form I-9 and LCA Public Krishna Vavila- Donnelly-Ashby & Nguyen, PLLC also la, Founder provides legal advice to corporations wishing Access File audits. Chairman of the to sponsor foreign nationals to become per•Citizenship and Naturalization Foundation for manent residents as multinational managers The law firm of Donnelly-Ashby & Nguyen India Studies by or executive or through the Labor CertificaPLLC also assist clients with citizenship and email: kvavila- tion process. Further, the attorneys dedicate naturalization filings. considerable time to assisting individuals in la1@gmail.com family based cases and those who proceed
Article contributors: Thara Narasimhan, Luckmi Anantha Pawa and Padmaja Sarathy, PhD.
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A Classy Conference Organized by Houston Kannada Vrinda
From Left: Parvathaneni Harish (Consul General of India, Prof. S. N. Sridhar, Stony Brook University, New York and Vatsa Kumar, President, Kannada Vrinda.
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BY DR. M.S. NATARAJA HOUSTON: Houston Kannada Vrinda (HKV) did it Again! More than 250 lovers of Kannada literature gathered and celebrated the tenth anniversary of Kannada Sahitya Ranga (KSR), the one and only national organization dedicated to the growth of Kannada literature in the United States. It was a meticulously executed conference showcasing literary and cultural events for two days on May 18 and 19 at the Hamman Hall auditorium inside the beautiful campus of Rice University in Houston. When the out-of-town guests arrived on Friday evening, the HKV volunteers were buzzing with activities -- decorating the foyer with art work specially made to suit the occasion, and setting up the registration desk and a book exhibition/store while many artists were going through their final rehearsals for the show. Three scholars, two from India and one from Stony Brook University in Long Island, NY joined the several office-bearers of KSR and HKV and felt the enthusiasm of the local organizers under the leadership of Vatsa Kumar, a veteran organizer of multiple conferences. The Saturday inaugural session started promptly with the honorable Consul General from the Indian Consulate, Parvataneni Harish lighting the lamp and releasing the conference publication “BeruSooru,” a 550-page book of essays written by Kannada writers settled in the United States, covering a variety of topics and their rich experiences. HKV-funded project, in which a hitherto unpublished book of Raja Rao was re-created and translated into Kannada from an existing manuscript in English, also was brought to light during this conference. This book and three other books --two of trans-
lated poetry and one on humor -- were released by the two other special guests, professors S.N. Sridhar and Sripati Tantri. Professor K.V. Tirumalesh a well-known scholar of Linguistics delivered the keynote speech in which he enlightened the attendees with several interesting nuances of languages in general and Kannada in particular. He explained the meanings of the words that originated from the native Indian languages and are retained in their pristine form; he gave the examples of the names of several states in this country, including that of Texas (friendly folks!). There were several interesting literary sessions during the two days. There was one in which people read their poems and essays, another in which a short story converted into a play was read such that the story could be visualized by the audience. There was a special session that was a tribute to Raja Rao (the translator professor C.N. Srinath from Mysore was also present to share his experiences while professor Sridhar gave his literary evaluation of the translated novel “Nareegeeta”). A special session showcased our own writers who have recently published books while another session was devoted to introducing the languages and culture of the west coast of Karnataka (Professor Sripati Tantri was the main speaker). And finally, there was a very stimulating dialogue session with the chief and special guests with audience participation. It was not all literature; there was a segment of cultural events on Saturday evening where for the first time, Rajam Ramamurthy of San Antonio presented a ballet in Kannada based on the famous ballet Swan Lake. Other artists from HKV (directed by Indrani
INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, MAY 31, 2013 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
Parthasarathy and Rashmi Sahshi) presented brilliant segments of group dances and artists from California (coordinated by Vasu Aitala) put together a very interesting Yakshagana episode. The program started off and ended with melodious group songs presented by HKV artists (coordinated by Neela Chakravarthy, music by Jayasimha Murthy) while young musicians (students of Vidushi Rajeshwari Bhat) enthralled the audience on Sunday morning. It was the segment by the children of Texas that stole everybody’s heart with their demonstration of flawless conversational Kannada in their hilarious skit (Poornima Kashyap’s group) and a mock Kannada class (Nataraja Kallur’s group). Texas Kannadigas showed their generosity and hospitality and made sure that all the guests had a wonderful stay. After the millennium Kannada conference of the year 2000 which brought name and fame to Houston Kannada Vrinda, they have once again demonstrated their enormous strength and organizational capability by successfully conducting a two-day literary convention in a remarkably classy way! While a large number of volunteers (starting with Venkatesh Gowda and friends transporting the guests from the hotel to the venue and back) have worked long and hard for the success of this program, two of them stand out for their dedication and commitment –Dr. Mangala Prasad and Yashvanth Havalimane. The members of KSR are ever indebted to this show of support for our work being done by the literary enthusiasts scattered all over the country. Long Live Kannada in the United States.
COMMUNITY HOUSTON: Houston’s biggest South Indian language school, the Greater Houston Tamil School (www.houstontamilschools.org) celebrated the completion of its academic year with a fantastic annual day program. The event was conducted at Mayde Creek Junior High School, Houston on Saturday, May 25 and was attended by more than 350 Tamil enthusiasts. About 160 students, from the three branches at Pearland, Katy and Woodlands, completed their academic year 2012-13 and proficiently displayed the language skills. From Kindergarten to sixth level the students of each school gave a memorable quality performance. The show started with the Pearland kindergarten children talking about shapes and their favorite colors in their sweet naive voice. This was followed by the kindergarten children from the Katy Tamil School reciting the songs learnt during the academic year. The students from the first level to third level of both schools melodiously sung the legendary poet Mahakavi Bharathiyar’s songs and displayed their Tamil skills by choosing an animal of interest and talking about it. The fourth and fifth level students of Pearland Tamil School compared the state of Texas with Tamil Nadu state in India. The detailed description comparing the geography, history and the important cities in both regions enthralled the audience. Meanwhile, their counterparts from Katy enacted out scenes on the “Seven
May 31, 2013
Greater Houston Tamil School Annual Day Program
Ancient Philanthropist Tamil Kings”. This was followed by a presentation by the Katy sixth level students on their Tamil Wikipedia project (places to see). They also released a video documentary about their school. The last piece of the entertainment came from the Woodlands School. They enacted the story of Veerapandia Kattabomman. The amount of practice that had gone into this production was clearly evident on the stage with amazing background and props too. It was well presented and brought out the history of a great king who stood for his rights
against the British to the audience. It was a fitting finale for the day that was all about showcasing the academic excellence of the students in all three art forms of Tamil (Iyal, Isaai, Nadagam). The chief guest for the event, Dr.Sankaran Radhakrishnan, Professor of Asian Studies, UT Austin was felicitated by Dr. Gopal Krishnan, president of Greater Houston Tamil School. Dr. Sankaran Radhakrishnan emphasized the importance of learning Tamil and also explained that the purpose of learning Tamil is not to just learn another
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language but to learn it so that the culture behind the language will survive with future generations in USA. He requested the parents to talk in Tamil at home and asked the children to insist that their parents only talk to them in Tamil. It was also announced that all branches of HTS have been awarded the candidate status for curriculum accreditation by AdvancED. This is a significant step in obtaining accreditation for the school which, in turn, will enable recognition of Tamil for language credits in regular American schools. The teachers of the school were honored by the chief guest for their hard work, time and effort. Students received prizes for perfect attendance, academic ranking and competition from their respective teachers. Prizes were also awarded for the Thirukural competition which was recently held between the three schools. The completion of the school year ended in a pleasant evening with good food for ears and mouth. Registration for academic year 20132014 is now open for Kindergarten to grade 6. For more information, visit www.houstontamilschools.org or email, Katy/West Houston: principal_kts@ houstontamilschools.org Pearland: principal_pts@houstontamilschools.org Woodlands: principal_wts@houstontamilschools.org
INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, MAY 31, 2013 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
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Actor Politician Chiranjit Inaugurates NatyoUtsav Bengali Dramas at Houston Durgabari HOUSTON: Eminent actor turned politician, an MLA (member of legislative assembly) of West Bengal in the eastern part of India heartland Chiranjit Chakraborty accompanied by his wife and daughter, was the Chief Guest of Drama Festival at Houston Durgabari Sur Auditorium. Introduced by Mila Sengupta Houston Durgabari (HDBS) Vice President, Chakraborthy and Head Priest Dr. Bishnupada Goswami inaugurated the Drama Festival at 6:30 pm on Friday, 24 May. This 3-day festival is one of Durgabari’s important fund raising events. At the occasion of NatyoUtsav, dramas by directors of Houston, Seattle, and Laramie, Mila Sengupta, Sudip Bandopadhyay, and Mita Shome took the dias to start the event. Chiranjit, amid the Ved-Path of Pandit Goswami, lit the lamp for the inauguration.
Chiranjit is also the actor – director of many hit Bengali films including movie Antarale opposite Munmun Sen. “I am here as an emissary of Honourable Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamta Banerjee (famously called Didi)”, a joyous and excited Chakraborthy announced at the stage. Didi asked me “I want you”. That’s why I am here in the West Bengal and Indian Politics. He contributed a decent speech of Mamta Banerjee’s thoughts and values and contribution of Bengali Community to the Indian American value system. He says all his speeches and contributions are attributed to Mamta Banerjee. The Head Priest of Durgabari, Dr. Bishnupada Goswami lauds Chakraborthy’s generosity and valued communication. Dr. Goswami said, “Mamtadi and Chiranjit have done very deep routed growth to the downtrodden and
Chiranjit Chakraborty (center) doing Puja with Family.
masses.” He recalls that the whole West Bengal considers Mamta-di a firebrand of poor, women, and elderly. Dr. Goswami thanked Chakraborthy for his gracious stoppage at Houston Durgabari and asked him to convey his message, respect, and blessings to Mamta-di. Dr. Goswami told Chakraborthy that, on behalf of Bengali and Indian Resident of Houston, we would like to convey to Mamtadi that, you have successfully establish your manifesto of “Ma Mati Manush”. Dr. Goswami elaborated that, “We congratulate you on your success in conquering hearts and minds of not only Bengalis from rural and urban areas of Bengal, but also the Bengalis around the world. We, the Bengalis of Houston, do support your earnest desire to bring transparency, remove bureaucracy, expose and eliminate falsehood of opposition parties for over three decades, who have succeeded in taking the state of Bengal almost to ruins. Last May, US secretary of state Hillary Clinton had met Mamta Banerjee when the Trinamool Congress was celebrating a year in office. Very recently, US Ambassador to India Nancy Powell recognized and congratulated our firebrand leader from Bengal, during meeting in Writers’ Buildings.
Nancy Powell, US Ambassador to India.
We, the people of India recognize when some outsider recognizes the leadership and development work. This is exactly what happened when Powell’s envoy showered praise on Mamta Banerjee and Trinamool Congress for their constructive and creative work. Chief priest Dr. Bishnupada Goswami (of Houston Durgabari) has organized for mass prayer and offered special puja for the efforts to Maa Durga (in Houston Durga Bari) where well-wishers and supporters showed up. He performed a puja to Maa Durga for Mamtadi’s success and wishing her make
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a place in the history of India and Bengal. Dr. Bishnupada Goswami, Head Priest of HDBS (previously chief priest at Chittaranjan Park Kali Bari, Delhi) has invigorated the Durga Temple, making it the largest Durga Temple outside India with such a stature. He invited Chiranjit along with Mamtadi to visit them. He hoped that relentless effort to connect with people will progress and make Bengal the most desirable destination in South East Asia.
Call Jawahar Malhotra/ Vanshika Vipin
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Gita Wheels in Values at Chinmaya Prabha Houston BY PADMASHREE RAO AND UMA AGGARWAL HOUSTON:The Bhagavad Gita and Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda were invoked with a loving Bala Vihar spirit on May 11, at Chinmaya Prabha, Houston. The memorable weekend began with an awe-inspiring Chanting competition on the 11th chapter of the Lord’s Eternal Song and culminated with the “Wheel of Values” - an inaugural activity to celebrate the Chinmaya Birth Centenary celebrations. In honor of Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda whose commentaries and Gita Jnana Yajnas are timeless, Chinmaya Mission Houston has been conducting Gita Chanting Competitions for Bala Vihar children for over a decade. The 2013 Gita Chanting Competition (GCC) showcased Chapter 11, “The Yoga of the Vision of Universal Form,” one of the most challenging chapters with most of its 55 verses quartetstyle. “Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda loved the Bhagavad Gita and children like you. What could be a better birthday gift to him than to hear you all in this Gita Chanting Competition on his birthday?” asked Acarya Darshana Nanavaty during her special address to the children on Saturday, May 11. She said that the participating children were already true winners since they had learned such divine verses. Even months before the competition, the Sarasvati Nilayam brimmed with the enthusiastic young voices chanting the slokas which describe Lord Krishna’s Visvarupa. Many of the participants took advantage of the special GCC classes by dedicated teachers and were trained in correct chanting style and pronunciation. Over 80 Bala Vihar children, grouped into four levels from kindergarten to high school, participated. Apart from chanting the Sanskrit verses perfectly, the older children explained the meaning of some chosen verses and even had to elaborate on them! The audience of parents, teachers, and judges were amazed and humbled by the chanting style and sincere expression in the youthful faces. To hear the immortal verses and the description of the Immortal Universal Form was the best prize of that day. Even as the winners were named for each group at
Over 80 Bala Vihar children, grouped into four levels from kindergarten to high school, participated in Gita Chanting competition. Photos: Jayesh Mistry and Mahendra Vaishnav
Acarya Gaurang Nanavaty listens to Komal Kallur, youngest toddler of Bala Vihar as she captivate audience.
Meghna Prabhakaran receiving Gita Chanting certificate from Acarya Gaurang Nanavaty.
the end of the competition and recognized with award certificates the next morning by Acarya Gaurang Nanavaty, the celebrating spirit was shared by all the children and adults. While the very young preschool children officially do not enter the competition, it
does not stop them from eagerly memorizing the difficult verses, just by listening to their siblings. Every year, these youngest toddlers of Bala Vihar captivate everyone when they are invited to chant a few verses. Once again this year, these cute, delightful tots mesmerized the devotees by me-
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“Wheel of Values” - an inaugural activity to celebrate the Chinmaya Birth Centenary celebrations.
ticulously reciting the divine words of Lord Krishna uttered more than 5000 years ago! For their part, the adults also participated, but in a different way. They created posters depicting their main learning points from the eleventh chapter which are displayed alongside the halls of Chinmaya Prabha. Following the Gita presentations, to celebrate Pujya Gurudev’s Janma Jayanti this year, Acarya Guarangbhai then initiated an introspective activity with a colorfully designed “Wheel of Values.” With the Wheel of Values, one value every month for each session will be chosen to be followed as the “Value for the month.” With the spinning of the wheel and the tinkling of the bells, the values that got chosen for the month of May were “Right” (Session 1) and “Unity” (Session 2). Explaining the initiative, Acarya Gaurangbhai encouraged all members, including the Bala Vihar children, to research/ reflect and enhance their respective “Value” throughout the month. To act as a reminder of this Value inculcation movement, the members would use their specially created Cords. As the values became the virtues ingrained in character, life will be blessed by the Wheel of Fortune! In tune with the global theme of Chinmaya Birth Centenary Celebrations which focuses on an “Event to Movement” approach, the glory of the Gita and Gurudev was set into beautiful motion with the Wheel of Values energizing Chinmaya Prabha Houston. For more information about Chinmaya Mission Houston, please visit www.chinmayahouston.org or contact Bharati Sutaria at 281-933-0233.
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EDITORIAL
May 31, 2013
Drugs, Ranbaxy and Lies Seven years after the first warning in June 2006 from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and five years after the Department of Justice initiated legal proceedings against the company, Ranbaxy is back in the news for the same wrong reasons. Last fortnight it pleaded guilty to felony charges in the U.S., admitting to selling adulterated drugs with intent to defraud, not reporting that its drugs failed to meet specifications and making intentionally false statements to the government. These are serious charges against any company, not to talk of one from the critical industry of pharmaceuticals, whose products are responsible for curing illnesses and ensuring the well-being of humankind itself. In the event, it is indeed surprising that Ranbaxy managed to get away with a fine of just $500 million. If the charges of the whistle-blower, Dinesh Thakur, are to be believed, Ranbaxy is guilty of not just failing to follow good manufacturing practices as prescribed by the FDA but of outright fraud. The company’s actions are a breach of the sacred trust that patients, whether foreign or Indian, place in it when they buy its drugs. The company deserves to be penalised more severely; at its harshest it could even include blacklisting of its drugs pending investigation. Why has Ranbaxy been permitted to continue its U.S. operations? Why have the former owners of the company, brothers Malvinder and Shivinder Singh, been permitted to walk free with the $2 billion that they made from selling Ranbaxy to Daiichi Sankyo in 2008? Few, if any, fingers have been pointed at regulators in India for permitting a fraud of such breathtaking magnitude to occur under their noses, and allowing the venality of a single corporate entity to bring disrepute to “third world generics.” Yet the fact on the ground is that the Indian government has done precious little to either probe or act against the company since the misdemeanour first came to light. As recently as in November, Ranbaxy was forced to withdraw its anti-cholesterol drug from the American market after some batches were found to be contaminated with glass powder. It is a reflection of the state of governance prevailing now that even after this, and Ranbaxy’s admission of guilt, neither the government nor the regulator — the Drug Controller General of India — has announced a probe into the company. Even assuming that Ranbaxy has mended its ways, don’t consumers need reassurance of the same and is it not the government’s responsibility to provide that after suitable investigation? The Ranbaxy fraud raises two vital issues. First, about the quality and efficacy of drugs produced not just by that company but by the entire pharmaceuticals industry in India. We need robust regulation of the sector, including of surprise checks and visits to production facilities to reassure ourselves. Second, about the consequences for India’s fast-growing generic drugs export industry. Ranbaxy-like episodes will not only set back the fortunes of the export industry but also give a handle to multinational pharmaceutical companies — no angels themselves — in their endeavour to push their patented, branded drugs as opposed to the cheaper, generic versions. The Hindu
The Idea of Pakistan BY MEGHNAD DESAI There is good news from Pakistan. After Nawaz Sharif was displaced as prime minister in 1999, it seemed Pakistan would always have a cycle of democratic rule cut short by military dictatorships. Now, at last, we have for the first time a transition from one legitimately elected government to another. Nawaz Sharif has cemented a commanding lead in the number of seats over his rivals. Imran Khan has enriched the menu by offering another alternative. The voters have not fallen for his lure but not rejected him out of hand either. His party will be the regional power in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as the PPP is in Sindh. Sharif heads the PML-N which is the Punjab party. Punjab is for Pakistan what Prussia was for old Germany, a guarantee of stability thanks to its sheer size in relation to the whole nation. There have been many alarmist stories about the future of Pakistan from Indian as well as foreign authors. We were told Pakistan was on a powder keg or that it was a difficult country. Many said it would break up or that Islamist fundamentalists —Taliban or someone else—would come to power. I had always felt that the Punjabi elite, which controls the country, would never let anyone deprive it of its possession. It has run the country off and on for the last 67 years, finding one agent or another and it seems like it will go on doing so. Along the way there were several problems. But the central problem was that Pakistan had no clear definition about its national identity. Jinnah had argued that there were two nations in pre-independence India. Even so, there were not two separate ‘nation states’. Muslims may have been a nation as Hindus were, but each was scattered across the entire territory of pre-Independence India. Had everyone agreed to the Cabinet Mission proposals of 1946, we would have had an undivided India broken into three large regional sub-federations—roughly Pakistan as it is now (with an undivided Punjab), India as it is now (except for West Bengal and Assam) and Bengal plus Assam. That did not happen and we got West and East Pakistan. Later, there was a second partition and we have Bangladesh now. In 1971, Pakistan had to face yet again the question: What was its identity? Jinnah wanted a state for Muslims but not an Islamic nation; he was a Western-style lib-
was equal to if not better than India. It is not all that different from India in terms of Human Development Index. It has a nuclear weapon like India has. Maybe Pakistan will begin to look at itself and find out what it wants to be positively. India can only benefit from that. Indian Express
Nawaz Sharif as PM
“Maybe Pakistan will begin to look at itself and find out what it wants to be positively. India can only benefit from that.” eral, after all. Later, the motley collection of civil servants and army generals who ruled Pakistan also did not have an answer. When it broke up, Pakistan realised that religion was not enough to unite the two wings; language was a dividing issue. So what was Pakistan? It is not enough to define a nation by its ‘Other’. Many in Pakistan define their nation in terms of the enmity with India. There are a few people in India, mainly on the Hindutva side, who do the same by defining India in terms of its enmity with Pakistan. But a nation needs a positive definition. After 40 more years of military generals and democratic leaders, we are back to that issue. Pakistan is not untypical of South Asia in not having a clear identity. India is the exception since Nehru was there to define its identity while Jinnah died soon after Pakistan was born. Bangladesh floundered after its birth before it settled down to a democratic constitution. Sri Lanka has gone through a civil war of 25 years since the Sinhala-speaking majority wanted to monopolise power and marginalise the Tamil minority. From a civilised liberal nation, it has become a brutalised Buddhist republic. Pakistan now seems to have arrived at a tentative answer. Pakistan will be a modern democracy which has an overwhelmingly large Muslim population but it will not be an Islamic state. It has not done too badly. For the first 50 years after independence, its GDP growth rate
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ISLAMABAD (ToI): Pakistan Prime Minister-elect Nawaz Sharif will oversee the sensitive foreign and defence portfolios as he seeks to forge a working partnership with the all-powerful military in the early days of his tenure, sources close to him said on Tuesday. Sharif, ousted in a bloodless military coup in 1999, has decided not to appoint defence and foreign ministers in the cabinet he is putting together. He led his party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), back to power in May 11 elections. Instead, he will select a retired civil servant as an adviser on foreign affairs - Tariq Fatemi, a former ambassador to the United States and the European Union, the sources said. The army has ruled Pakistan for more than half its history since partition with India in 1947 and critics say generals have jealously guarded the right to dictate foreign policy. The move to defer appointing a foreign minister suggests that Sharif wants to get to grips with the government’s relationship with the army. “The incoming government and the army need to be on the same page on key foreign policy issues, not least Pakistan’s relations with Afghanistan, India and the United States,” a PML-N insider told Reuters, requesting anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to the media about the issue. Pakistan is beset by high unemployment, a failing economy, widespread poverty, a Taliban insurgency and sectarian violence. The United States is troubled by elements in the country supporting Islamic militants fighting US troops in neighbouring Afghanistan. Sharif was a protege of military dictator General Zia ul-Haq in the 1980s. But he was overthrown by General Pervez Musharraf because he refused to allow an airliner carrying the army chief to land in Pakistan.
ADVICE
May 31, 2013
Graduation
BY VIDULA JOSHI HOUSTON: When the music played and the lines began filing in neatly, I cried. I had never imagined it would invoke any kind of emotional response. Yet the sky was overcast that evening and a heavy violent deluge had spoiled my plans of wearing a sari. So after all these years of trying to fit in, to blend in with the crowd and to be like the many other moms, I took refuge in a sari. At long last sari it would be. This day, that marked such a significant moment of my life called for an exquisite outfit. And I would celebrate in one, celebrate in full five yards of silk draped ceremoniously around myself. And it would not be the official black. If I was breaking rules why not go all the way? It would be the color green, one of the stripes in the Indian flag. I would wear a green sari for my son’s graduation. As the class of 2010 in my son’s roaringlyy diverse school walked on stage to receive their diplomas I would drape in the comfort of familiar silk of a familiar color green. Then I realized it was not about me it was about you. You had never asked that I look this way or that; that I dress one way or the other. You were comfortable all along: comfortable being who you were, amid who they were. I never saw the tell tale signs of “peer pressure.” I had completely skipped the
rebellious, sulking, angry teenager. Instead, I got a son who kept the continuity of our bond. Luckily for me the toddler child, the missing teeth first grader, the goofy junior high basket ball player, and the lanky high school runner, had kept me in the loop of love smoothly, seamlessly. The movement of time had manifested through the obvious physical changes of your growing up, yet nothing else had changed. Everything else had remained the same, especially our love untainted, unobliterated, unmarked by
the territories of your transforming. And, therefore, on the day of your graduation you brought me to my roots. Or your supple growing up did: Sari? Why not? So, I could rest the humongous effort now. As your class glided one by one to their seats, I knew you were there somewhere- The gown, far too baggy for your thin frame and the tight cap making your freshly cropped crown far too tiny- I also knew one other thing. That I had graduated, and that you were congratulating me.
Get Ready for Summer Sunscreen vs. Sunblock
(TOI): Sunscreen: Absorbers What is sunscreen? According to Cosmetologist and Dermatologist, Dr. Udhay Sidhu from Apollo Hospital, Bangalore, “A sunscreen is also referred to as a chemical sunscreen. It is absorbed into our skin and in return absorbs the UV radiation. It primarily absorbs UVB and only some of UVA. These are cosmetically more acceptable but may cause allergic reactions.” What’s in it: Your sunscreen is made up of chemical blockers like oxybenzone, avobenzone, and sulisobenzone. What not to do: The next time you shop for sun protection, Dr. Sidhu says, “Avoid products with ingredients such as Para- aminobenzoic acid and parabens.” These chemicals can cause redness, itchiness and other skin problems. Sunscreen - Yes or No: Since we are faced with the harsh sun for most of the year, sunscreen may not be the apt option. As the name suggests, sunscreen is a screen and does not block the harmful rays. On the contrary, it absorbs UV rays that have a potential risk for your skin. Sunblock: Reflectors What is sunblock? On the other hand, Dr. Sidhu says this about sunblocks: “They provide protection against both ultraviolet A (UVA) and ultraviolet B (UVB) rays. They act by reflecting UV radiation before it touches the skin. These
are also referred to as physical sunscreens. These tend to be greasy and thick on application, but cause very few allergic reactions.” What’s in it: The ingredients to look for in your sunblock are titanium dioxide and zinc oxide, which are physical blockers. What you need: Dr. Sidhu explains, “Look for products that mention Broad Spectrum (protects against UVA and UVB rays), water resistant sunscreen, with an SPF of at least 15. This should be
used all year round on exposed skin. For fair skinned individuals with light colored hair it is preferable to apply sunscreen with a higher SPF.” Sunblock - Yes or No: Since sunscreens are mostly used to screen some part of sunlight while absorbing the rest, they are better suited for tanning or lower sun damage threat. Sunblock seems to be a better option when it comes to sun protection for us Indians. It reduces aging, brown spots, sun burn, skin cancer and wrinkles.
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So You Think You Have Friends! BY FARIDA HASANALI HOUSTON: Most likely you don’t! I know…sounds pretty morose doesn’t it? Every one of us wants to believe we have friends. Not just a friend, but different groups of friends. I find myself often explaining that I have many groups of friends. A group of Desi friends, a non Desi group, work groups from many different units and programs I am part of and one lone solitary friend from way back in India. To explain what I mean, I need to first establish what a friend is. According to Dictionary.com a friend is a person attached to another by feelings of affection, OR a person who gives assistance, OR simply a person who is on good terms with another, a person who is not hostile OR a member of a religious society of friends. You didn’t expect that did you? Somewhere along the way, our idea of a true friend has changed. We now expect a friend to be a soul mate, someone who completes our sentences before we do, some one who guides us even when they know we don’t want to hear it, someone who is never afraid of losing us. Some people have had the good fortune to find such a friend in a life partner, but very few, if any of us find or have such true friends. A wise person once wrote about friends that come into our lives for a reason, a season or a lifetime. If a person comes into our lives to assist us in some way, they came for a reason and we should receive it as that and let them go when the reason is fulfilled. Most of us I believe fall in the category of having friends for seasons. I’ve had many seasons of different groups of friends. It feels like their lives change; marriage, children, education, moves… whatever it may be, when the season is over the friends go away but I stay the same. Maybe
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there is nothing wrong with that. It’s almost as if you come into someone’s life for a reason, but stay for a season because there is a need to do so and during that period you have changed too and it’s really time to move on. Now let’s tackle the elusive lifetime friend. I would like you all to take a moment and take a mental stock of your friends. How many people in your life will come to your aid in the worst moments of your life? If you were in dire need of a substantial sum of money, how many of your friends would offer it to you? And the true test, if you comment on something that a friend is doing wrong with the intent to improve them, how many of your friends learn from it and how many react defensively. I guarantee you, most will fall into the latter category. True friendship is like marriage. Friends have to grow together, they have to learn to trust each other, and they have to accept the fundamental premise that no one is out to get them, or make them feel or look bad. Friends have to leave their egos and insecurities at home when they are together and think for the group instead of just themselves. So now how many friends do you think you have? If you have just one, Congratulations! You are truly blessed. Farida Hasanali is a freel a n c e writer for several Indo-American publications. In her day job, she works as a Knowledge & Program Manager for BP’s Remediation Management Division.
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COMMUNITY
May 31, 2013
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Dr. Beena George Named New University of St. Thomas Cameron Dean HOUSTON : Dr. Beena George is the fourth dean of the Cameron School of Business effective on May 20. George previously served as the associate dean of the Cameron School and contributed to the school’s elite accreditation by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. As dean, George said she sees three priorities for the Cameron School of Business. “We should develop and maintain a strong community of learners where all students are encouraged and supported to achieve their best. We want to create an innovative portfolio of program offerings that supports the school’s mission and meets the needs of the community we serve. We will continue our intellectual work to advance ideas that have an impact on practice in a manner that is mindful of business and development challenges,” George said. “As we complete activities in support of these priorities, we will see continued success in educating students to be strong leaders making ethical decisions that result in business success and sustainability.” George teaches courses on business strategy and the use and management of information technology resources in organizations. In her classes, students are encouraged to share with each other their experiences in the business world, connecting in-class learning with real-life events. Her course on sourcing management was awarded the Innovations in Information Systems Education award by the Association of Information Systems, the pre-
mier academic association in the information systems discipline. The course is also recognized by the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals as a bridge program for training for certification as a Certified Outsourcing Professional. With her involvement in the IAOP, George has helped put CSB on the map with the IAOP as an Academic Alliance Partner. Dr. Dominic Aquila, vice president for Academic Affairs, is delighted that George emerged as the successful candidate in the University’s national search for a dean. “The entire University celebrates Dr. George’s appointment, as evidenced by the thunderous applause she received when Dr. Ivany announced it at the April 30th Town Hall Meeting,” Aquila said. “Like many on campus, I have worked
closely with Dr. George on a range of projects. She does all things well and inspires those who work with her by her work ethic, sharp intellect, joyful spirit and affability. She is exactly the right person to take the Cameron School of Business to a new level of excellence.” Between her work at UST and spending time with her husband and three children – two who are UST graduates and the third who is a senior at UST – George volunteers at St. Laurence Catholic Church in Sugar Land. George, a native of south India and a graduate of the Indian Institute of Management in Kolkata, India, has been teaching at UST since 2003. She received her doctorate in Management Information Systems from the business school at the University of Houston.
Amitabh Bachchan Named Brand Ambassador for Xoom
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SAN FRANCISCO : Xoom Corporation, a digital money transfer provider, announces Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan as its brand ambassador to launch Xoom’s revolutionary speed of bank deposits to India within four hours. “Amitabh Bachchan is the ultimate Indian icon and he is the perfect ambassador for Xoom,” says Julian King, Xoom’s Senior Vice President of Marketing and Corporate Development. “Amitabh Bachchan, a trusted spokesperson to Indians, is starring in the new Xoom campaign that launches the ‘Xoom bank deposit within four hours’ service.” “I am very excited to be part of the Xoom family. I highly recommend people use Xoom.com to send money from U.S. to India. No matter where you live, taking care of your family is an important part of our Indian culture. Now Xoom has reduced the transfer time of bank deposits to just four hours, making it easier for our families and us,” says Amitabh Bachchan.”
With Xoom, people can send money to all banks in India using their computers or mobile devices from any Internet-enabled location. Banks serviced include ICICI, Punjab National Bank, HDFC, SBI, Axis Bank, Citibank and many more. Xoom processes transactions in India through Punjab National Bank, one of India’s largest and most trusted banks. Xoom is a fast-rising money transfer company and went public on February 15, 2013, which was the first tech IPO on the NASDAQ Stock Market this year.
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Amitabh Bachchan first gained popularity in the early 1970’s and has appeared in more than 180 Indian films in a career spanning more than four decades. He has won numerous National Film Awards, Filmfare awards and his achievements have been recognized at several International Film Festivals, including the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2010 Asian FilmAwards. Amitabh Bachchan can be seen as “Meyer Wolfsheim” in Baz Luhrmann’s “The Great Gatsby,” released May 10. Xoom is a digital money transfer provider, focused on helping consumers send money in a secure, fast and cost-effective way using their smartphone, tablet or computer. During the 12 months ended March 31, 2013, Xoom’s more than 840,000 active customers sent more than $3.6 billion to family and friends in 30 countries worldwide. The company is headquartered in San Francisco and can be found online at www.xoom.com.
ENTERTAINMENT
May 31, 2013
Ishq In Paris : Movie Review
Cast: Preity Zinta, Rhehan Malliek, Isabelle Adjani Direction: Prem Raj Genre: Romance Duration: 1 hours 36 minutes
Movie Review: The ideal conclusion when a man, Rhehan Malliek (Aakash) and woman, Preity Zinta(ishkq) spend one night roaming on the streets of Paris, would be that they fall in love. Alas, in Prem Soni’s Ishkq in Paris, this doesn’t happen. The girl is afraid of commitment and the guy is happy to play along. So they soak in the sights—the Eiffel Tower especially—drink, dance, make a mock film and do several insipid things but never get around to being serious. Love is not on the agenda as yet. Nearly one half of the film is wasted, doing precious nothing. When your patience starts to wear thin, you’re told the reason why the beautiful Ishkq is against commitment is because her French mother Marie (Isabella Adjani) has been ditched by her Indian father (Shekhar Kapur) when she was just seven. This Indo-French girl therefore lives in a cocoon; hates
I’m a Big Critic of Myself: Madhuri Dixit MUMBAI (TOI):Madhuri’s the dancing diva of Bollywood and the epitome of grace. The petite actress has been receiving rave reviews for her ghagra number in Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani opposite Ranbir. And now, the dhak dhak girl is set to once again co judge a dance reality show on Television. Madhuri will also be performing with kathak guru Pt. Birju Maharaj for the show. Although she seems to have impressed all, there are a few actors who’ve impressed Madhuri with her dancing skills. “I love the way Hrithik Roshan dances. I’ve always said that. From the women I like Katrina Kaif, Priyanka Chopra and Anushka Sharma. I’d seen her in Band Baaja Baarat and I thought she danced really well. Everybody gets their own per-
MUMBAI (TOI): Boy and girl spend a night in Paris, the most romantic city in the world. Will cupid strike?
marriage and fears divorce. So even though romance may have stared her in the eye at that chance meeting with the lighteyed Aakash, on their first night in Paris, Ishkq continues with her life as if nothing ever happened. Aakash returns to London where he is a humdrum existence as an agent(whatever!). Few reels later, they reunite at one of his friend’s wedding in Paris. In round two, they drink, frolic and dance. To the audience’s delight, they
even manage to snag a balle balle with Salman Khan in a lovable cameo. By now, Aakash is very sure that he loves Ishkq. However the stubborn woman that she is, she will not concede. Finally the script runs out of steam and Ishkq, thank God for that, runs straight into Aakash’s arms in true Bollywood style. Preity Zinta’s maiden production has its aesthetics in place. Paris is enchanting. The actress is good but there ends the show.
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sonality and adds their own style to dancing. You have to look at it that way”, says Madhuri. But when it comes to her, she’s humble in spite of being one of the best dancers and actresses in Bollywood. “I’m a big critic of myself”, she concludes.
Shah Rukh Khan Undergoes Successful Shoulder Surgery MUMBAI (India TV): Shah Rukh Khan underwent a successful surgery on his left shoulder in Mumbai’s Lilawati Hospital on Tuesday, after he suffered an injury during the shooting of Rohit Shetty’s Chennai Express. Shah Rukh Khan had been prone to accidents and injuries, with a broken backbone, broken ribs, neck injury, twisted
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ankles and a knee injury too. He made up his mind to undergo surgery soon after the IPL and Chennai Express shoot were over. Shah Rukh’s son Aryan who was in London came down to be with his father. After recuperating, Shah Rukh will be busy promoting Chennai Express, and then begin work on Farah Khan’s film.
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RECIPES/PUZZLES
May 31, 2013
SUDOKU
Place a Number in the empty boxes in such a way that each row across, each column down and each 9-box square contains all of the numbers from one to nine. Send us the correct answer before June 05, 2013. Email us at indoamericannews@yahoo.com or mail to 7457 Harwin Drive, Suite 262, Houston, TX 77036. Send us your picture and we will publish it if you are a winner (for first three entrees only).
Solution Next Week
Mama’s Punjabi Recipes Kanji (Black Carrot Juice) There are many benefits attributed to carrot juice, but in North India where black carrots are readily available, the juice of these carrots is called kanji and it is considered much superior to red carrot juice. Black carrots contain anthocyanins which are flavonoids with many more antioxidants properties than red carrots. Flavonoids are anticancer compounds and black carrots also have anti-bacterial and anti-fungicidal properties. Black carrots are not usually eaten raw but in this healthy summer drink called kanji. Two glasses of kanji can boost your immunity levels by more than 50 per cent. Black carrots can be hard to find in the US, though some organic stores do carry them. If you can’t find any black carrots, then you may substitute them with a small amount of beetroot which will give the red color but not the taste of carrots. You could add a small amount of red carrots to add their taste.
Directions: 1. Peel the carrots, wash and drain them. Cut each carrot into three pieces then slice them lengthwise. 2. Place the sliced carrots in the jar of water then add the salt, red pepper and mustard seeds and close the jar. 3. Place the closed jar in the sunshine for three or four days but stir two to three times a day with a wooden spatula. Taste to see if the juice is slightly sour, if so then it is ready then take out of the heat. Then place the jar in the fridge to conserve and drink. 4. If there is no sunlight, then place it indoors, but not in a cool area. You could place it inside the pantry at room temperature for four days. Again, remember to stir two to three times a day with a wooden spatula. 5. The kanji will be ready to drink after the third day.
Ingredients: • 1 kilo kali gajar (black car rots) • 1 large jar of pani (water) • 2 tablespoons raai seed pow der (mustard seed powder) • 2 tablespoons namak (salt) • 1 tablespoon lal mirch (red pepper)
Seven Spices Garam Masala By popular demand from many readers, below is a reprint of the Garam Masala recipe that was published in December 2012. Its mama’s own recipe, and seeing how expensive garam masala is in the stores, it may well be the best way to go!
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Garam masala (literally “hot mixture”) is an essential ingredient in all Indian dishes. It adds aroma to the food, especially if it is freshly made. When making the masala, make sure you do not add too many cloves as it will make the food appear black. If you do not want the additional aroma, you need not add nutmeg. Also, you can go easy on the cumin if you like. This is my own tried and true recipe and once you use it, you’ll discover you can save a lot of money over retail garam masalas.
Ingredients: • 150gm kali mirch (black pep per) • 150gm jira (cumin seeds) • 50gm moti illachi (large car doman) seeds • 50gm dal chini (cinnamon) • 50gm saunth (ginger powder) • 20gm jaiphal (nutmeg) • 20gm loung (cloves)
Directions: 1. Combine the ingredients and crush them into a powder in a mixee or blender.
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2. Store in a tight fitting glass jar to keep out humidity and keep in the aroma. 3. Use a small amount per dish, but always add it at the end by sprinkling it on top, especially on dals (lentils) and other curries. ShakuntlaMalhotra is a skilled cook of Punjabi dishes made in the old-fashioned style that she learnt as a young woman in her ancestral home in Lyallpur, India before it became part of Pakistan after the Partition in 1947. People have often admired her cooking for its simplicity and taste that comes with each mouthful. Even in her mid-eighties, she continues to cook daily and agreed to share some of her delectable Punjabi recipes.
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Reliance Industries’ KG-D6 Natural Gas Find May Be Game Changer
NEW DELHI (Indian Express): Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries (RIL) significant natural gas and condensate discovery in the KG-D6 block may be a gamechanger for the flagging eastern offshore block with analysts estimating that the find will help reverse the falling trend in output. RIL on Friday evening announced a major gas find more than four kilometres below the sea bed and two-kilometres directly underneath the currently producing D1&D3 field in the Krishna Godavari basin KG-D6 block off the east coast. Shares of RIL ended up 5.12 per cent on the Bombay Stock Exchange to close at Rs 828.25, its biggest gain in 8 months. Bernstein Research in a research note said that the partnership between RIL and BP is starting to pay off. “The first test of deep syn-rift Mesozoic sediments within the KGD6 block has yielded what could be one of the largest (2 Trillion cubic feet) gas discoveries offshore India for several years,” it said. Stating that the find opens up a new liquid-rich gas condensate play offshore India, it said independent estimates put the Cretaceous section of KG-D6 block may hold 9 Tcf of gas and 1.2 billion barrels of inplace oil reserves. Satellite fields in the KG-D6 block along with finds in Block NEC-25 off the Odisha coast can help RIL boost gas output to over 50 million standard cubic meters per day by FY18, it said. “Low gas prices remain the barrier to further exploration offshore India and over the past few years, there has been a hiatus in exploration drilling, it is important the increase in gas prices from USD 4 to USD 8 will make further exploration at-
D-55 discovery had a hydrocarbon column of 155 meters. “Moreover, if this discovery leads to a new commercial reservoir, it could meaningfully add to D6 reserves,” it said. UBS Investment Research said with this significant gas discovery, and the same being below the producing D1-D3 fields, utilisation of common infrastructure should facilitate a faster time to production. Barclays said given that the find is located 2km below the producing D1-D3 fields and is near the MA oilfield in the same block, RIL should be able to use existing infrastructure like the underutilised FPSO that pumps out crude from the field. “Still, much will depend on the pace of approvals; these routinely get delayed but with the government patting itself on the back after the MJ-1 (D-55) and Cairn-Rajasthan finds, we hope approvals are expedited,” it added. RIL, with its partners BP plc and Canada’s Niko Resources on May 24 announced “significant” discovery of gas and related liquids (condensate) in a deposit that lies under the biggest producing areas, D1&D3 in the KGD6 block in the Bay of Bengal. BP holds 30 per cent interest in KG-D6 while Niko has 10 per cent. RIL is the operator of the block with 60 per cent stake. The follow-up exploration potential across India’s east coast margin exists (9 Tcf inplace across KG-D6 alone).
Mukesh Ambani
tractive and future development economically viable,” it added. HSBC said KG-D6 had reached a peak production of 60 mmscmd in early 2010 before declining to about 15 mmscmd now. “However, there are discovered pockets within the KG-D6 block (R Cluster, Satellite 1 and 2) that have yet to be developed,” it said. The new find, which was named D-55, can produce 8-10 mmscmd of gas along with about 10,000 barrels per day of condensate, HSBC said, adding that RIL was likely to take up to two years to bring the find into production. Deutsche Bank said with an additional deep-water rig expected by August 2013, exploratory/development/work-over drilling activity in RIL’s blocks will further accelerate. “Government approval for a hike in natural gas price during FY14 would be a key catalyst as it will aid development of over 4 Tcf of recoverable resources in KG-D6 (R-Series and Satellite fields), which we estimate would otherwise be unviable at current gas price of USD 4.2 per million British thermal unit,” it said. Goldman Sachs said the announced discovery looks significant given that the largest D6 discovery had a gross hydrocarbon column of 194 meters (MA-2 well).
Tata’s Cyrus Pallonji Mistry: Tightening Belts as More Frugal Era Begins NEW DELHI (Indian Express): As Ratan Tata strode the halls of the Geneva Motor Show in March, joking with journalists and chatting with auto industry leaders, his successor Cyrus Pallonji Mistry, at the helm of India’s biggest business group stood silently on the sidelines. Shunning the spotlight since taking charge of the $100 billion Tata group in December, 44-yearold Cyrus Mistry has focused on belt-tightening at a conglomerate left bloated by explosive growth under his predecessor. “Ratan was much more strategic, more over-arching.The CFOs as well as the business heads are going to find it a much more rigorous exercise,” a director who sits on multiple Tata company boards said. In early February, at his first Tata Chemicals board meeting as group chairman, Cyrus Mistry sat quietly as directors debated efforts to find synergies between interests dotted around the globe, from Wyoming to Gabon. Bringing the discussion to a halt, Cyrus Mistry politely but firmly outlined that further consolidation was the only way forward. “He summed up the decision: ‘This is what we are doing’,” a person present at the meeting said, “It’s quite clear he believes in the process of consolidation.” The last decade of Ratan Tata’s tenure saw revenue grow ten-fold to $100 billion in the year ended March 2012. The group spent billions more on overseas assets like engineering firms, luxury hotels and coffee brands. Tata Chemicals alone bought, invested in or merged with eight companies between 2004 and 2011. Cyrus Mistry’s job is to consolidate, three directors said,
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Cyrus Mistry
an effort focused on getting more from existing businesses, as opposed to shedding assets. “A very good numbers man, very hard-nosed in the way he approaches things, which is what is probably sorely required now,” the first director said. In his first five months on the job, Cyrus Mistry has ordered his CEOs to tighten spending, and replaced oversight structures to give him greater influence over the running of the more than 100 group companies. The impact is starting to be felt. This month Tata Steel announced a $1.6 billion write-down, an acknowledgement that it overpaid for Corus. Last month, its mobile phone unit, which ranks sixth in India by users, said it will surrender part of its CDMA mobile airwaves in most of its zones after the government asked carriers to pay surcharges. “Each company will be doing it for himself that’s the overall guidance and the strategic direction,” another director said. Besides Tata Chemicals, Cyrus Mistry’s to-fix list includes underperformers such as the domestic arm of Tata Motors , Tata Steel, and Tata Power, people familiar with the plans said.
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May 31, 2013
IPL: Aggressive Mumbai Indians End Title Drought BY SIDHARTH MONGA Pollard had scored 57 not KOLKOTA (ESPN out then too. They won Cricinfo): Mumbai Inby nine back then. dians 148 for 9 (PolThis time, though, they lard 60*, Bravo 4-42, would need something Morkel 2-12) beat Chenspecial. Malinga, asked nai Super Kings 125 for to bowl the first over, de9 (Dhoni 63*, Johnson livered nothing less than 2-19, Harbhajan 2-14) special. A swinging yorkby 23 runs er first squeezed under Kept alive by Kieron Michael Hussey’s bat. Pollard’s fighting 60 off Out came Suresh Raina. 32, the Mumbai Indians In came a backward short bowlers attacked their leg. Out came an accurate way to a first IPL title. bouncer. Raina fended at Mumbai were struggling it while looking towards at 52 for 4 in the 10th third man. Backward over, but Pollard batshort leg took the catch. ted through the innings Super Kings now sent to take them 148 even crisis man S Badrinath as wickets kept falling ahead of the bigger hitas the other end. Lasith ters. If consolidation Malinga and Mitchell was his brief, Badrinath Johnson then were too exceeded it by driving at good for the Chennai a wide length ball from Super Kings batsmen, Mitchell Johnson and yorking and bouncing edging it through. Still no them out. Dhoni. Bravo and RavSuper Kings’ two big indra Jadeja didn’t take Indian batsmen fell to too long, and Dhoni had bouncers, their best to finally come out at 36 batsman was done in for 5 in the seventh over. by a perfect Malinga However, he ran out of yorker, and the rest fell Kieron Pollard top-scored against Super Kings once batsmen soon with M under the weight of the again. Vijay falling to a Johnpressure and their own son bouncer and Morkel tryman, Dwayne Bravo, though, conservatism. MS Dhoto a full Pragyan Ojha ni came in to bat at No. 7, and Al- threatened to ruin his plans. delivery, and actually had to bePollard had taken Mumbai to gin farming the strike and refuse bie Morkel at 8. Twenty20 doesn’t always favour aggressive sides, in 129 for 6 after 18 overs, and would singles with six overs still to go. that wickets don’t mean as much have been looking for 40 more. Most of Dhoni’s 63 off 45 came as they should, but in this match A tight Chris Morris over later, after the match had been lost, and Bravo kept Pollard away from the only gave Mumbai an extended it did. Wickets were there aplenty strike through two wickets off the time on the field to celebrate the for Super Kings too. There were first three balls of the last over. title even when the match was on. three in the first four overs as the Pollard took the risk fourth ball Chennai Super Kings coach ball seamed, and Mohit Sharma and ran even though the ball had Stephen Fleming has said he was and Morkel bowled smartly and reached the slip straight on a half- “perfectly happy” with where steadily. When Dinesh Karthik fell volley. Now Pollard had two balls MS Dhoni batted in the IPL fiin the 10th over, Super Kings were to do something about the score nal against Mumbai Indians and arguably one big wicket away that read only 136. stated that the captain batted And do something Pollard did. at No. 7 because he was there from killing the game. That one The first of the two balls was a to win the game for the team. big wicket never came. The first ball Pollard faced he low full toss and he flicked it for “He has a role to play,” Fleming defended away for four. That was a straight six. Then came a slower said. “He was left not out at the sweetly played. He just pushed at a ball, which pitched on a length, end after recovering a pretty poor shortish delivery, but the ball scur- and Pollard dismissed it out of his innings but the strength of the side ried along between the bowler and presence. Twelve runs taken off is that we have key players that mid-off. He lost Ambati Rayudu the last two balls, Mumbai were come in at key times.” after a 48-run fifth-wicket stand, reminded by their analyst that Sidharth Monga is an assistant but kept bringing up fours and six- they had scored 148 in their first editor at ESPNcricinfo match against Super Kings too. es without taking risks. His coun-
Sachin to Retire
KOLKOTA: Moments after Mumbai Indians won their first IPL title, Sachin Tendulkar announced he had played his last IPL. He didn’t say if he will play the Champions League T20.
The last ball Tendulkar played in the IPL didn’t come in the victory in the final, but a fortnight ago in a league match against Sunrisers Hyderabad. That ball was sent over longon for a six, but in the process Tendulkar also injured himself. “This is my last IPL,” Tendulkar announced casually in a TV interview after the win. “This has been a fantastic season. I thought our third IPL season was the best before this. “I think this is the right time to stop playing the IPL. I am 40. Got to accept it. I had decided this was my last season.” In 78 IPL matches, Tendulkar scored 2334 runs at an average of 34.83 and a strike rate of 119.81. He scored one century and 13 half-centuries. When asked if he was tempted to play the first match of the next season as a defending champion in front of his home crowd in Mumbai, Tendulkar said he was happy with his decision. “This is the best point to say ‘thank you very much’ to all the supporters and well-wishers,” he said. Tendulkar had announced his ODI retirement towards the end of the last year. With the IPL retirement, the Champions League remains the only cricket he might play other than first-class cricket.
INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, MAY 31, 2013 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
SPORTS Sreesanth in Slammer NEW DELHI: Sreesanth, the India and Rajasthan Royals seamer arrested on charges of spot-fixing, has been remanded in judicial custody by a Delhi court till June 4. Sreesanth had been placed in police custody, and the Delhi Police had sought a two-day extension. Sreesanth had applied for bail on May 26. He was one of three Royals cricketers - Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila being the others - arrested on May 16, following which they were suspended by the BCCI pending an inquiry. Chavan’s bail plea in order to get married on June 2 was rejected by a Delhi court and he will also remain in judicial custody until June 4. Royals had suspended the contracts of all three players and also filed a police complaint against them. The players were allegedly promised money ranging from US$36,000 to 109,000 by bookies for each over of under-performance. Eleven bookies were also arrested along with the three players on May 16. One of the middlemen was identified as Jiju Janardhan, described by the police as Sreesanth’s close friend and teammate at the Ernakulam club. Delhi Police had registered cases under the Indian Penal Code section 420 and 120B, which deal with fraud, cheating, and criminal conspiracy.
Morose Sreesanth on his way to the court hearing.
During the course of arguments, Senior Public Prosecutor Rajiv Mohan informed the court that interception of various calls suggested that several big names may be involved in the episode as calls were made to underworld don Dawood Ibrahim. The police said there are some missing links and they are working on it.
INDIA
May 31, 2013
Meeting Nehru Then Was a Child Play Raj Kanwar Reminisces About First and Last Meetings with Nehru
BY RAJ KANWAR IAN INDIA CORRESPONDENT As a rookie journalist in the Nehru era, I regularly covered visits of Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi. I still carry some vivid recollections of Nehru’s last sunset in Dehra Dun on that sultry and humid Tuesday evening of May 26 in 1964. When Nehru left for New Delhi that evening, no one at that small helipad imagined that it was to be his last sunset. As Nehru’s 49th death anniversary was observed on Monday (27 May), I nostalgically recall the memories of my first meeting with Nehru sometime in mid 1950s. It was a humid Tuesday afternoon of 26 May, 1964. I was in a group of about 30 people, gathered at the Dehra Dun Cantonment Polo Ground to see off Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. He was to take a helicopter ride to the Air Force base at Sarsawa, and thence to Delhi by an Air Force plane. Nehru had spent the previous three days in Dehra Dun, relaxing and resting. The Circuit House was his favorite abode; he loved its heavily wooded expansive lawns. He would stroll across the length and breadth of the large grounds. Here he would sit silently for hours under the shade of his favorite camphor tree, with birds as his companions, listening to their chirping; here he felt at home and at peace. Occasionally, he would read or write, depending on the mood of the hour, or dictate sometimes. Neither anyone in the assembled farewell party at the helipad nor among the large crowds that had earlier cheered Nehru and waved at him during his short drive from the Circuit House, could have dreamt that the sunset that evening would be his last, and that he would not see another sunrise. We watched Nehru slowly climb up the stairwell of the helicopter. Daughter Indira was close behind him. He stood at the open doorway of the helicopter, and looked back, almost blankly at the small and assorted farewell group. There were Congress leaders, senior civil and defense officers as per the protocol, and a few journalists, this writer included. A pale, faint smile appeared on his otherwise rosy countenance. He waved at us with his right hand, but that seemed a labored effort. There was a strange sort of expression on his face. What did he wish to convey to those
Possibly, Jawaharlal Nehru’s last photograph Photo by Jitendra Goyal.
of us who had assembled there to bid him adieu? Was that to be the last and final good-bye? Did he have a premonition about his death? As the blades began swirling, raising a cloud of dust, the farewell group instantly fell back. The helicopter took off and disappeared soon yonder beyond. In Delhi that night Nehru awoke several times, and was given a sedative by his trusted attendant, Nathu Ram. He awoke one final time before dawn. Indira and his physician, Dr. Bedi were summoned. And then he fell into a coma, and died at 1.44 p.m. on Wednesday the 27 May. The news of his death the following day shocked us all. I shed many silent tears, and cursed myself for not meeting Nehru oftener. I met him off and on whenever he visited Dehra Dun, and adored his charming and graceful manners and the innate courtesy that he always accorded to one and all. In his own way, Nehru seemed to like me and would often tell me “come again”. But on that 26 May in 1964, Nehru possibly was too preoccupied in other thoughts that he did not ask me to “come again”; he even perhaps did not notice me in that small group. As I write this, my mind wanders back to those days in mid 1950s and later when I invariably tried to meet Nehru on his numerous visits to Dehra Dun. However, the most momentous of those meetings was the very first one I had had with Nehru. In fact, meeting Nehru then was like a child play, more so because one could count on the finger of one’s hand the number of journalists in
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Dehra Dun those days. I was at that time editor of a Dehra Dun weekly VANGUARD and a stringer for some of the mainstream English newspapers. A year earlier I was also the president of DAV College Students Union which had given me additional confidence and self-assurance. Thus one winter morning I cycled all the way to the Circuit House porch, and parked my bicycle against its outer wall. Ram Prashad, the all pervasive bearer there, accosted me and smiled, “Have you come to see Panditji,” was his obvious question, and my reply was just a nod. A couple of constables with lathis lolled about while some other sauntered inconspicuously deep on the expansive lawns under the shades of giant trees. Ram Prashad pointed towards the lawns, and I saw Panditji strolling there. So close to the great man, I felt scared. Mustering courage, I diffidently approached him and hesitantly introduced myself. Nehru saw through my confusion and nervousness and smiled. “I have no news to give, young man,” he said without slowing his steps. My nervous response was, “I haven’t come for any news; I just wanted to see you.” Nehru again smiled and that reassured me. I was tight-lipped as a rookie journalist I was tight-lipped; what would a rookie journalist ask a great man like Nehru. I murmured some inane words; realizing my nervousness, Nehru asked me what subjects I had in the college. “I did my masters in political science.” By then I had overcome my nervousness. I also told Nehru that I was the president of the Students Union a year before. This seemed to impress Nehru, so I assumed. I spent another 15 minutes with the great man and then thanked him for having met me. Nehru smiled, and asked me to feel free to see him whenever he visited Dehra Dun. This carte blanche lifted me to seventh heaven. That first meeting, in a way, was perhaps one of my best and most cherished. Raj Kanwar is a veteran Dehra Dun journalist and author. At 83, he writes regularly on local and current affairs.
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Pass Percentage Goes Up, Sharp Increase in Number of High Scorers NEW DELHI (TOI): They were the first batch of students to miss out on the Class X board exams in 2011 but have put fears of parents and teachers about the Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) system at rest by scoring high in the CBSE Class XII boards, results for which were announced on Monday. Appearing in their first public exam, the students not only increased the pass rate by more than two percentage points but also scored higher overall. There are joint all-India toppers this year—commerce student Paras Sharma from Delhi and science student Sopan Khosla from Jabalpur have scored 495 out of 500, with perfect 100s in four subjects. Pratyush Kumar Singh from Arunachal Pradesh has topped humanities with 98%. Lauding the good results, the ministry for human re-source development has an-nounced that around 200 meritorious students from government schools will get cash rewards of Rs 1 lakh each. “It has been a pleasant surprise, as I was not expect-ing 99%. But I was confident of getting 95-96%. I was anxious before the exams as this was my first big exam, but now I am happy. I want to pursue BTech in computer science from an IIT,” said Sopan. The pass rate (82.10%) this time is the best in five years and 2.01 percentage points more than last year’s. The number of students with scores above 90% has increased by 37% to 44,676 while those with scores above 95%
number 7,231, an in-crease of 62.27%. A total of 10,509 merit certificates have been given this year, up from 9,076 in 2012. “This speaks well of the CCE system and the credit goes to students and teachers. This is the first batch which faced a completely new evaluation system in classes IX and X, and it seems to have contributed to better results in Class XII,” said CBSE chairman Vineet Joshi. Chennai and Delhi regions retained the top two positions with Chennai recording a 91.83% pass rate and Delhi 86.78%. All of the eight regions improved upon their pass percentage. However, the decade-old trend of girls outshining boys in the boards continues and the gap still exceeds 10 percentage points. While the pass per-centage for both boys and girls improved, girls recorded a rate of 87.98% as against 77.78% among boys. In the special category, Sonali Gupta of DAV Centenary Public School, Hanumangarh, Rajasthan, topped with 96.6% in the commerce stream.
To Further Peace Process, PM Sends Envoy to Meet Sharif
NEW DELHI (Indian Express): In a bid to take forward the dialogue process, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Monday sent a special envoy, Satinder K Lambah, to meet Nawaz Sharif, PML-N chief and prime minister designate of Pakistan. Lambah is PM’s special envoy on Pakistan and Afghanistan and has had a good rapport with Sharif that was built over two decades. He was High Commissioner to Pakistan between 1992 and 1995 and his tenure partly coincided with Sharif’s first term as PM (1990-93). He has been been involved in backchannel talks for the last 10 years. “They took the opportunity to discuss ways to take the dialogue process forward, to address all issues of concern and to advance
peace, friendship and cooperation,” a PMO statement said. On May 12, Singh had conveyed India’s desire to work with Sharif to chart “a new course” in Indo-Pak relations. He had also invited Sharif to India at a mutually-convenient time. This meeting, the PMO said, is a follow up to the conversation between Singh and Sharif. Lambah, 71, also has a personal connect with Pakistan. The 1964 batch IFS officer was born in Peshawar. Sharif, 63, is set to become Pakistan’s PM for the third term on June 5 when the the formal election by members of the Pakistan National Assembly will be held. The PML-N had earlier nominated Sharif for the OM’s office after the party won a majority in 342-member National Assembly.
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