Friday, June 14 2013 | Vol. 32, No. 24
Indo American erican News
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www.indoamerican-news.com Published weekly from Houston, TX
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INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUNE 14, 2013 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
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June 14, 2013
Enjoy the clouds,
Enjoy Air China, Welcome on board.
Air China’s four weekly nonstop flights between Houston and Beijing start July 12, 2013. Air China offers the most convenient connecting service to Delhi via Beijing. Visiting your family and friends is easier and more affordable than ever. For a limited time, Air China is offering an economy class fare starting at $1,403 (fuel surcharges and taxes included) from Houston to Delhi. Onboard the new-generation Boeing 777-300ER, your flight is an experience in comfort and style. Individual TV screens and entertainment system with audio-video-on-demand (AVOD), in-seat personal power sockets and ambient mood lighting are few of the amenities in Air China’s economy cabin. In addition to two free checked pieces of baggage for passengers on North America routes traveling to Delhi and Southeast Asia, Air China also offers complimentary transit lounge. Plus, passengers carrying U.S. or Canadian passports can stay in Beijing for 72 hours visafree, enough time to explore Beijing’s stunning attractions before your connecting flight. Contact your travel agent or call the Air China North America Ticketing Hotline at (800) 882-8122 or visit www.airchina.us. Book NOW! Flight
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Asia Society Presents!
Riyaaz Qawwali Saturday, June 15, 2013, 7:30
PM
Asia Society Texas Center welcomes these longtime favorites to our stage to celebrate the release of their debut CD Kashti. Asia Society Members $18 | Seniors/Students $20 | Nonmembers $25
Supported by The Brown Foundation, Inc., Houston Arts Alliance, City of Houston, The Cullen Trust IRU WKH 3HUIRUPLQJ $UWV %DQN RI $PHULFD DQG 8QLWHG $LUOLQHV ² 2IÀFLDO $LUOLQH RI $VLD 6RFLHW\ 7H[DV &HQWHU
We know Asia. Get to know us. 1370 Southmore at Caroline Houston, Texas 77004 713.496.9901 AsiaSociety.org/Texas STAY CONNECTED Facebook.com/AsiaSocietyTexas
INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUNE 14, 2013 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
COMMUNITY
June 14, 2013
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Down the Memory Lane of Melodious Bollywood Oldies for ISCA’s Father’s Day
Rajan Radhakrishnan and Alpa Shah went through a medley of 16 Bollywood songs from yesteryear as they entertained the seniors of the India Senior Citizen’s Association at their early Father’s Day event last Saturday, June 8 at the India House.
The singing duo posed with ISCA President Lalit Chinoy (second from left) and other members of the Board. Photos: Jawahar Malhotra
BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA HOUSTON: For Rajan Radhakrishnan, doing what he loves best - which is singing and acting – on Father’s Day is his way of giving joy to the older segment of our community and also a way to remember his own Dad, who passed away many years ago in India. The mustachioed and perennially smiling Rajan – as he is universally known to all and sundry – has a flair for theatrics that has moved him to try his hand at acting and making his own soon to be released movie in India. Onstage, he is a dynamo, constantly moving
with abundant energy, and gesticulating with the words to the songs and the rhythm of the music. This past weekend marked his seventh year of serenading the elders of the India, usually with other talented ladies from the community who love to sing also, and volunteer their time. In the past, the India Senior Citizens Association has held its functions in the Bayland Park Community Center on Bissonnet and Hillcroft, but from this year onwards, they have been meeting in the India House on West Bellfort, which was the venue for this year’s event – an early Father’s Day program - on
Saturday, June 8 at noon. “In the previous two years, Alpa has been out of town,” explained Rajan of his solo female companion, “so this year I told her “We’ll feature only you’ to sing all the songs.” He was referring to Alpa Shah, his associate in the Madras Pavilion restaurant in Sugar Land, which Rajan manages with her husband, Mahesh. Alpa has sung in previous years too and was eager to do so this year after being in India the last two months. Alpa is a connoisseur of the Indian performing arts, and has even tried her hand at acting in local dramas and Indian classical dance
after a vigorous training schedule, though she has no formal training in it. Likewise, she adores Indian music, and is especially conversant on the songs of Indian movies, down to the names of directors, lyricists, playback singers and the actors who played the associated roles. As about 250 seniors sat in the large hall of India House, Alpa and Rajan visited the hits of yesteryear, from the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s and Alpa gave a short background of each song before diving into it, while Rajan prepped the music CDs and the mics. Each of them sang five solo numbers and then joined together in six duets from old time favorite movies like Kashmir ki Kali, Gumrah, Guide and Waqt, much to the delight of the audience who knew the words to the songs and had seen the
movies, and gave them rapt attention. Rajan was his best when he sounded like the late Kishore Kumar, whose songs he has modeled his voice to. At the end of the sixteen song medley which lasted over an hour, the seniors ate a lunch that was catered and donated, as also in the past six years, by Madras Pavilion. “The greatest compliment to us was when one of the elders who doesn’t know me came up and said that she really loved the performance,” smiled Alpa. And for Rajan, that is what encourages him on to serenade the elders every Father’s Day. Stay tuned for the ISCA Convention coming up in September. For further details and to volunteer contact Lalit Chinoy at 713481-4222.
INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUNE 14, 2013 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
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June 14, 2013
VEDANTA SOCIETY OF GREATER HOUSTON 14809 Lindita Dr. Houston, TX -77083 www.houstonvedanta.org
Invites You to Meet SRIMAD SWAMI GIRISHANANDAJI MAHARAJ Trustee, Treasurer, Math Office Manager, Belur Math, India
Sunday, June 16, 2013:
Monday, June 17, 2013:
5:30 p.m. – Tea with the Swami 6:00 p.m. – Talk – “Sri Ramakrishna & Swami Vivekananda Guru/Disciple Relationship” 7:00 p.m. – Arati 7:45 p.m. – Dinner (pot luck)
7:00 p.m. – Arati 7:30 p.m. – Satsang 8:30 p.m. – Dinner (pot luck)
For further information please contact, Swapna – 832-594-0488. For participation in the Pot Luck dinners, please contact Simanti – 281-546-0012
INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUNE 14, 2013 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
June 14, 2013 5 COMMUNITY Nitin Mukesh Performs in Texas HOUSTON: Houston’s Namaskaar Entertainment in association with Tara Energy and Kohinoor Diamonds presented Nitin Mukesh in the month of May and June. The first show in Houston, held on May 10, at the Stafford Center, was a sold out performance. Rajesh Desai (Namaskaar Entertainment) and Mayur Gangar (International Promoter – Sajni Events) got on stage after the first show held in May and immediately announced a repeat performance in Houston on June 2. The first concert in Houston lasted more than four hours with no intermission. It’s amazing to see and experience Nitin Mukesh’s energy level and charisma in person. Not only that, but he made the concert more memorable by walking to the top balcony and giving people a chance to sing, dance, and even take pictures with him. “He really took us back in time with classics that we have not heard in a while but they were still in our hearts” as one patron stated. The concert started with Nitin Mukesh singing his favorites for the first part of the concert and then followed by live requests by the audience. He interacted with the audience throughout the show and encouraged people to cheer and whistle. The next show in Texas was in Dallas at the Majestic Theater on May 12. Namaskaar Entertainment along with Tara Energy and FunAsia had another sold out performance. Nitin Mukesh was so excited that he decided to break his own record. In Dallas, he sang a total of 51 songs and sang for more than five hours straight. Now he knew the meaning of “Everything is Bigger in Texas.” Before leaving for his other concerts, he promised that the second show in Houston will be more entertain-
Nitin Mukesh with the organizers and sponsors of the show.
ing and exciting than the first one. As soon as he landed in Houston on June 1 for the second show, he was greeted with the news that the second show is also sold out. This kind of news would excite any artist and in this case it did just that. Nitin Mukesh got on stage at 6 PM on Sunday, June 2 at the Stafford Civic Center and sang his heart out for more than five hours and tied his record that he had created in Dallas. He was accompanied by a great orchestra and two fabulous singers – Manasi Datar and Namrata Mukesh Seth (Nitin Mukesh’s youngest sister). He was also accompanied by his wife and he introduced her to the audience with the song, Chand si Mehbooba. Another concert attendee said that
this concert and the first concert were both therapeutic and soothing experiences and people who missed this concert have missed one of the best shows of the year. Another patron said “this was the best concert of my lifetime. Thank you Namaskaar Entertainment, Tara Energy and Kohinoor Diamonds for bringing this type of entertainment into our lives.” Tune in for the next event, Saptapadii – A Modern Gujarati Film, produced by Amitabh Bachchan Corp Ltd, starring Swaroop Sampat, to be screened on Friday, June 21 at 9:15 PM at the Stafford Civic Center.
Nitin Mukesh interacting with the audiences during the show held in Houston.
For further information and tickets contact Namaskaar Entertainment at 281-240-3333.
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, JUNE 14, 2013 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
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COMMUNITY
June 14, 2013
BY SANCHALI BASU HOUSTON: Houston had the rare opportunity of listening to Ustad Aashish Khan on the Sarode on June 7 at the Anjali School of Performing arts in Sugar Land. Being the grandson of virtuoso Ustad Allauddin Khan and the son of legendary Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, music runs in his veins. The Houston audience felt lucky to have him in their midst thanks to the association of Ustad Ji with our very own local talent Kaushik Roy, who is a disciple of Ustad Ali Akbar Khan. The evening was definitely a unique event in the sense that the audience listened to the jugalbandi of Aashish Khan and Kaushik Roy, the former on the traditional Sarode and the latter on his Indian classical guitar played in the style of the Sarode. The duo of local tabla stalwarts Raja Banga and Dexter Raghunanan played accompaniment. One could sense the suspense and anticipation amongst the audience before the show began because everyone knew they were in for a treat and sure enough the artistes lived up to everyone’s expectation. Srabani Roy Akilla started the evening with a brief introduction of the artistes. She touched on Khan being the recipient of the Sangeet Naatak Academy Award and nominated for a Grammy award. He currently teaches at UC, Santa Cruz and the California Institute of Arts. Roy is not only a very talented musician in his own right but a great photographer as well. Banga needs no introduction to the local Houston music arena. He has his own Prana School of music where he coaches students on playing the tabla. Dexter Raghunanan, although from Trinidad and Tobago, is impressive in his the dexterity in tabla playing, as he has been in his accompaniment of several other
Sarode-Guitar Tabla Quartet a Musical Treat for the Ears
From left: Dexter Raghunanan, Ustad Aashish Khan, Kaushik Roy, Raja Banga.
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great artistes visiting from India. Khan opened the performance with a tribute to his grandfather Ustad Allauddin Khan. He drew parallels of this being the 150th birth anniversary of not only his grandfather, but also Swami Vivekananda and Rabindranath Tagore. He reminisced of his grandfather becoming a disciple of Amritalal Dutt, a close relative of Swami Vivekananda and music director at Kolkata’s Star Theatre, with the goal of becoming an instrumentalist. The first raga played was Hem Behaag, which is an evening raga in North Indian classical music and this was composed by Ustad Allauddin Khan. The second piece played was the raga Manj Khamaj in two gats the Teentaal and the Drut Teentaal followed by a short intermission with refreshments. The evening concluded with the Mishra Bhairavi in Rupak and Drut Teentaal. This performance
was marked by the beautiful alap, kind touches to the notes, variations in taans and the fast jhala accompanied by the dynamic duo tabalchis. The color of the raga came to life with the immense concentration and effortless flow of the individual artistes. The evening ended with a standing ovation and felicitation of the artistes. The best news of the night was an announcement by Khan that he will be back in Houston next year and take an active role in teaching instrumental music to Houstonians. On talking to him during a free moment, he casually mentioned that he is not too impressed with the quality of the music composers in present day India who have come to the limelight. He feels that politics played even in the music arena is keeping talented composers out of work which is shameful. He has kept himself away from the music scene in India for the same reasons.
INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUNE 14, 2013 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
June 14, 2013
Public Speech by Dr. Subramanian Swamy “INDIA AT CROSSROADS” Hosted by Arya Samaj Greater Houston (06/15/2013) Dr. Subramanian Swamy is a foremost authority on Economics and renowned prosecutor of corruption in India. He will address Economic promise of India Extreme corruption in Indian Government Appalling poverty and political corruption Hindu Unity in 21st century Join this pivotal movement to: Hold Indian Government accountable Restore wealth looted by politicians to rightful owners, the people of India Liberate people of India from grinding poverty Brief Profile of Dr. Subramanian Swamy
Previously served as Cabinet Minister of India and member of Planning Commission of India Ex-Professor of Economics at Harvard Business School President of Janta Party Ranked among Top 50 powerful persons in India Author of 17 books on Economics, Politics & Vedic History
Program Details For More information contact Saturday June 15, 2013 Arya Samaj Greater Houston: 114375 Schiller Road, TX 77082 Dharminder Dargan 713-855-9818 Pradip Parekh 361-652-5532 6:30 PM to 7:30 PM Dinner with Dr. Swamy ($50 per person) Dr. S. JayaKumar 713-412-2923 7:30 PM to 8:30 PM - Speech by Dr. Swamy (No Charge) Rahul Chandra 713-429-4037 8:30 PM to 9:30 Q&A session - Written Questions (Please arrive promptly)
Please register at http://drswamy2013.blogspot.com This event is Hosted by Arya Samaj Greater Houston & supported by Arsh Vidya Satsang and Hindu Mahasabha of America
2014 Election will have a major Impact on India Lets come together and show our support INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUNE 14, 2013 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
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COMMUNITY
June 14, 2013
Dr. Devinder Bhatia Appointed to the Texas Medical Board.
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HOUSTON: Texas Governor Rick Perry has announced the appointment of eight new members to the Texas Medical Board - the state regulatory body that oversees and promotes public health, safety and welfare by setting and maintaining standards of care to be observed in the practice of medicine to ensure that Texans can expect and receive quality health care Dr. Devinder Bhatia specializes in thoracic surgery, peripheral vascular disease, vascular surgery, cardiac surgery, cardiovascular disease in a Humble, Texas practice. Dr. Bhatia is also president of Southeast Texas Cardiovascular P.A, and a former clinical assistant professor in the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Department of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery, and a member of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, Society for Vascular Surgery, and Southern Thoracic Surgical Association, a member of the Peripheral Vascular Surgery Society, Society for Clinical Vascular Surgery, Michael E. DeBakey International Surgical Society, and Houston Northwest Medical Center Executive Committee. Dr. Bhatia received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Arkansas and a medical degree from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, and completed his cardiothoracic and peripheral vascular surgery fellowships at Carolinas Medical Center. He is appointed to the Medical Board for a term to expire April 13, 2019.
International Hindi Association Convention HOUSTON: The planning for the National Adhiveshan for the Hindi Samiti is on track and moving in the right direction. The Committee has decided upon the venue for the three day conference. The Adhiveshan is taking place on the Labor Day weekend (Aug 30,31 and Sep 1) at the Vallabh Hall, VPSS Haveli, Houston. The program committee is making much headway on the theme topic “ Hindi Evam Yuva varg”. The committee anticipates more than 200 attendees across the country and also from India to come out for this educative convention. The seminars/workshops will have almost 12 sessions running in parallel series discussing and brain storming the future course of action to preserve Hindi language and culture. Some of the sessions are designed for various age groups and their involvement in continuing the spread of Hindi language. There would be exhibit booths, cultural performances, national po-
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etry sessions, hasya kavi sammellan and melodious Hindi music group for entertainment for the audience. The program would also display the evolution of International Hindi Association and its journey of almost 30 years. IHA founded in 1980 has 16 chapters. This year Houston Chapter hosts the biennial National Convention. The Houston Chapter has been active since the last 6 years and has been bringing to town entertainment programs through the spread of Kavi Sammellans. The committee requests Hindi supporters and lovers to be involved and register for the upcoming convention. The committee is also requesting for any additional volunteers who are interested to be involved. For more information you may contact Sangeeta Pasrija at 281 7889750 or Swapan Dhairyawan at 281 3820348 or visit www.hindi.org
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INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUNE 14, 2013 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
Indo-American News © 2013
IMMIGRATION
June 14, 2013
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Undocumented Immigrants to Receive Legal Status, Work and Travel Authorization
BY RAHUL REDDY & LIZ MARY CLEVELAND HOUSTON: In completing the Senate Judiciary Committee markup process last week, the Senate’s comprehensive immigration form bill cleared a substantial hurdle on its path to becoming law. This bill, S. 744 The Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act, offers meaningful benefits to undocumented immigrants in the form of Registered Provisional Immigrant (RPI) status. The Senate RPI Plan allows qualified undocumented immigrants in the U.S. to become documented by filing an application to adjust to RPI status. If granted, RPI status holders will enjoy a 6 year temporary protected status during which they may travel and work with authorization and will eventually be provided a path to a green card, provided they meet certain requirements. Provided the proposed plan becomes law, in order to be eligible for RPI status an applicant must meet the following requirements: 1) must have been physically present in the United States on or December 31, 2011 2) must have maintained continuous residence in the United States since December 31, 2011;
3) must have a clean criminal record; 4) must pay $1000 penalty in addition to the filling fee;
For further details contact Reddy & Neumann PC at 713953-7787
5) must pay all federal taxes for which they are liable; and 6) must not have been in a lawful nonimmigrant or immigrant status when the bill was introduced into the Senate in April 2013. A clean immigration record is not required to qualify for RPI Status. Any individual who remains in the U.S. despite a removal or voluntary departure order is still eligible to apply. Although the Senate bill is still working its way through the legislative process, we are optimistic that a comprehensive immigration reform bill will pass in late July 2013 and will be signed into effect by the President in August 2013. The initial application period for RPI status will last 12 months and will begin immediately upon the law taking affect. However, no applications will be processed until the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security submits a border security plan to Congress, which may take up to 6 months after the bill’s passage.
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After the success of Ram leela 2012, directed by Kusum Sharma, Shri Natraj School is now open for enrollment Bharatnatyam Northwest Kathak Galleria Bollywood Sugarland Rahul Reddy
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For advertising contact: Jawahar Malhotra / Vanshika Vipin
713.789.6397
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INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUNE 14, 2013 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
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COMMUNITY
June 14, 2013
HCC Trustee Neeta Sane Receives Greater Houston Service Award
Neeta Sane, Houston Community College Trustee
HOUSTON: To salute the volunteer service of outstanding individuals, Volunteer Houston proudly presented its 2013 Greater Houston Service Awards to individuals from all walks of life who are transforming Houston through their acts of service. The event was held at the Bayou City Events Center Wednesday, June 12 and highlighted the impact of unique volunteers who are making meaningful changes across Houstonarea communities. Houston Community College Trustee Neeta Sane is the first HCC trustee to receive a Greater Houston Service Award for her
service to HCC and the Greater Houston Area. “Volunteer service for the betterment of the society has been my passion and making a difference in the lives of others has always been and will continue to be my focus,” said Sane. To honor the award recipients and celebrate their volunteerism, several executives from corporations and non-profits joined event presenters Melanie Lawson, KTRK Channel 13; Greg Hurst, KHOU Channel 11; Bill Balleza, KPRC Channel 2; and METRO’s Jerome Gray. Houston Community College commends the vision of Volunteer Houston in encouraging and supporting the community service that dramatically affects the lives and livelihoods of citizens of the Greater Houston Area. HCC is one of the country’s largest singly-accredited, open-admission, community colleges offering associate degrees, certificates, workforce training and lifelong learning opportunities for 75,000 students each semester. HCC is composed of six colleges that serve the greater Houston area’s diverse communities by preparing individuals to live and work in today’s increasingly international and technological society. For further information visit hccs.edu.
Ambrosia Restaurant is a Small Gem
Chef/owner Rikesh Patel at the entrance to Ambrosia restaurant. (Photo: Michael Paulsen)
HOUSTON (Chron.com): Good things come in small packages, they say. By that measure, the tiny Ambrosia restaurant is a good thing. Especially since its creative menu sports such outsize flavors. Chef/owner Rikesh Patel has taken a wee space on Lexington at Shepherd and turned it into a dark, sexy bar that serves delicious, Southeast Asian-inspired dishes. Patel’s Indian offerings sport flavors from other Asian culinary traditions, much like the dish he recently created for the 2nd Annual Curry Crawl, which he won. Miso Chicken Curry deftly married several Asian cuisines into
one – Japanese miso, Vietnames fish sauce, Thai shrimp paste and Indian garam masala lent their flavors to the coconut-rich sauce that bathed roasted chicken and ground chicken sausage served with basmati rice. That dish is a good example of the food on Ambrosia’s small menu. “Our food stems from my travels. I’ve been all over Asia,” said the 34-year-old Patel, who is a graphic designer with no culinary education. “What you learn quickly is that ingredients are used in many different ways. You go to a food mall in Singapore and you have
an Indian stand making fried rice and noodles. And the Vietnamese guy is making curries. It’s such a melting pot. In American we’re so used to people completely separating cuisines. I never felt like I wanted to be restricted like that. I didn’t want to limit myself to one type of cuisine.” How he manages to turn out inventive dishes from his 10-footby-10-foot kitchen is a mystery. But a tasty one. Ambrosia is located at 2003 Lexington. For further information call 832-649-4636 or visit ambrosiatx.com
Taped Ball
Cricket Tournament Fall
2013
All matches are played: -On full pitches and full ground -With a semi -hard ball
Tournament starts from
07/20/2013
Contact Jagadish Biradar
(jaggub@hotmail.com) for registration. Registration ends 06/28/2013 http://www.triggerscricket.com/index.php/about-tb INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUNE 14, 2013 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
COMMUNITY
June 14, 2013
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George Willy to Lead Mayor’s International Trade and Development Council – South Asia
SUGAR LAND: George Willy, a well-known voice in our communities as an immigration lawyer and a leader, has taken over as the Chairman of the (Houston) Mayor’s International Trade and Development Council – South Asia (MITDC) beginning May of this year. The MITDC is a body created by Mayor Annise Parker out of an older body to aggressively promote trade between Houston and other countries. Willy has had extensive experience in this area, first as Governor Ann Richards’ Co-Chair of her International Task force and then as a leader in several trade organizations. He was also an integral part of President Clinton’s trade strategy in South Asia. Asked what his priorities are going to be under his Chairmanship, he said, “in the past year Jagdip, our past Chair and I developed a new strategy to accelerate trade by organizing video conferencing between foreign businesses and
George R. Willy
trade organizations with US businesses, using the Mayor’s office and the Greater Houston Partnership (GHP). This strategy collapses foreign contact by the city to a mere half hour as opposed to expensive and sometimes unfocused delegations that can take days or weeks. I am also going to increase
the interaction between all of the MITDC’s. But most of all connect South Asian economies to Houston in as many ways as we can. We are going to reach out to the community to give us suggestions and ideas to push forward these endeavors.” The executive committee for the current year is as follows. George R. Willy – Chairman Nishan Khan – Vice-Chairman Rachel Varghese – Secretary George Willy recently visited India and Sri Lanka, representing Mayor Parker and the City of Houston, meeting with various large corporations and trade associations and introducing them to the benefits of doing business in Houston. If you would like more information about George Willy or to schedule an interview, please contact Marketing Manager Jodi Jablonski at 281-690-5110 or via email at jjablonski@grwpc.com.
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www.indoamerican-news.com •Quality Advocacy •Creating Working Relationships •Honesty and Objectivity
The law firm of Donnelly-Ashby & Nguyen, PLLC is dedicated to providing quality immigration advice and legal counsel to domestic and international companies and individuals. The attorneys at Donnelly-Ashby & Nguyen PLLC combine have over fifteen years of immigration experience. •Temporary Nonimmigrant Classifications The law firm of Donnelly-Ashby & Nguyen, PLLC provides immigration assistance and legal counsel to corporations wishing to bring foreign national workers to work in the United States on a temporary basis, such as the E-1, E-2, E-3, B-1 in lieu of H-1B, L-1, TN nonimmigrant classifications, to name a few.
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COMMUNITY
June 14, 2013
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advisory committee, representing a broad cross section of cultural organizations, helped put this series together for the enjoyment of park visitors. The free familyfriendly series was made possible in part through the City of Houston’s Initiative Grant Program of the Houston Arts Alliance. The third and final Discover Your World event, happening on Sunday, June 16 from 4 – 9:30 p.m. at Discovery Green, explores the diverse sights and sounds of Africa and features a headlining performance from ‘Mellow Rythm, a Fela Kuti tribute band. Discovery Green is a 12-acre park created by a public-private partnership between the City of Houston and the non-profit Discovery Green Conservancy. Since the park opened in April 2008, it has welcomed more than 5 million visitors and hosted more than 2,000 public and private events. The Discovery Green Conservancy works with hundreds of programming partners to present three dynamic programming seasons each year most of which are FREE and open to the public.
As a non-profit organization, the Conservancy raises all the funds needed for the programming that Houstonians enjoy. For further information contact www.discoverygreen.com or call (713) 400.7336.
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HOUSTON: Hundreds of Houstonians celebrated Asia on Sunday, June 2, with an evening full of native food, music and performances at Discovery Green. The second event of the new, three-part Discover Your World series at the park, the evening offered visitors a chance to partake in unique aspects of different Asian cultures, with entertainment provided by local performing groups representing China, Korea and India. Emcee Surender Talwar introduced Houstonians to the evening’s entertainment, which included a fashion show, Shailon Academy’s Dragon Dance and performances by the Kuja School, Infused Performing Arts, and Ustad Lal Singh Bhatti with drummer Chidanand Singh. “Houston is rich with culture and Discover Your World Asia showcased and celebrated our city’s vibrant and growing Asian community,” said Discovery Green President Barry Mandel. In addition to performances, attendees had the opportunity to explore vendors selling food, crafts and jewelry. The Discovery Green
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Houston Arts Alliances Celebrates the Art of the Indian Wedding BY PARTH DWIVEDI HOUSTON: Houston Arts Alliance held a reception for its wedding exhibit, Anointed and Adorned, this past Thursday, June 6, which was marked by the presence of some 300 guests. Walking in, one was greeted by a simple but impressive display designating the exhibit in simple lettering, ornamented by flower garlands, rangoli designing, and a bronze statue of Sri Ganesha, to bless the event. Anointed and Adorned is intended to explore the artistry of Indian weddings in America, under the premise that they recreate the traditions of India and craft artful observances reflecting their new environment. This exhibit is a part of a larger series called Remembered, Regained: Immigrant Arts of Houston, which examines “the incredible way immigrant communities expand the cultural palette of Houston and invigorate us all,” as Pat Jasper, Director of the Folk-life and Traditional Arts Program, put it. Her program is the arm of HAA responsible for organizing the Remembered, Regained initiative, amongst others. Jasper pointed out that the exhibit is actually about Houston, which one can get a sense of after reading all of the panels accompanying the displays, each of which explores a distinct aspect of the Indian wedding and how it has evolved in the local metropolitan culture. The displays themselves were chromatically themed, corresponding to a specific wedding element, and information was presented across multiple forms of media, as displays consisted of images or a video, a written explanation, and prerecorded audio explanations. Decorations of rose garlands, Indian fabrics, and even a large rangoli set the tone for the rest of the exhibit, along with catering from Udipi and wedding fusion music provided by DJ Rocky. At one A decorative rangoli was created by Sangita Bhutada
point a dhol introduced Jasper to speak, before models provided by Anjali Center for Performing Arts illustrated regional differences in traditional wedding garb—namely between Bangladesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Hyderabad, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh. The content was the result of the combined efforts of photographer Sohil Maknojia, videographer Dylan Reid, and researcher Rati Ramdas Girish. Maknojia attempted to capture matrimonial moments from a more candid and unscripted lens, while Girish noted that traditional ceremonies had to adapt to their guests and participants once they came stateside, shortening rituals and adding Western-Christian elements.
Photography by Sohil Maknojia was showcased
Model brides provided by Anjali Center of Performing Arts showed differences in regional wedding attire. Photos: Alexander Fine
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COMMUNITY
June 14, 2013
Chinmaya Prabha Awaits an Inspiring Jnana Yajna by Swami Tejomayananda
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BY PADMASHREE RAO HOUSTON: When deep questions such as, “What is the cause of this world? Where did we come from and where are we headed? By what is life defined? Who really oversees our experiences of pleasure and pain in our existence?” remain unanswered by superficial explanations, it is time to sit at the feet of a true Master and reflect with care. That timely opportunity will be presented to the seekers in Houston during a weeklong Jnana Yajna from July 6 to July 13, when His Holiness Swami Tejomayananda, the spiritual leader of worldwide Chinmaya Mission, will discourse on “Svetasvatara Upanisad” at Chinmaya Prabha, Houston. Adored and addressed as Pujya Guruji by the global Chinmaya Mission (CM) family, Swami Tejomayananda carries forward the brilliant torch of Vedic wisdom lit by the Chinmaya Guru Parampara. With a head and heart that upholds the vision and mission of the renowned Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda, Pujya Guruji leads over 300 CM centers worldwide. Praised as the “Hindu of the Year” (2005) and recognized for his spiritual leadership with a National Eminence Award in 2012, he inspires service-based
projects in all walks of life, spiritual and secular. Pujya Guruji wears his title as a global head with admirable humility and grace. Accomplished as a sublime Vedantin among scholars, he is so approachable that young and old of any background can reach out to him. His commentaries on great texts like Yoga Vasistha, Adi Sankara’s Drg-Drsya Viveka and Ramana Maharsi’s Upadesa Saram make the highest Vedantic truths relevant to a seeker at every stage of life. The books he has authored such as Bhakti Sudha, Jnana Sarah, Manah Shodhanam, Dhyanasvarupam and Jivanasutrani offer insights into a realm
Houston Science Group Honors Consul General Harish
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of knowledge beautified with devotion. One of his books, ‘Hindu Culture: An Introduction’ introduces Indian culture to students in some American schools. Pujya Guruji effortlessly elaborates on the most intricate Vedantic texts with a clarity that makes even a new seeker grasp the spirit of the scriptures. His discourses on Ramayana and Srimad Bhagavatam moved even his own Guru, Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda, and continue to transport devotees to epic heights of devotion. With his melodious bhajanas that move the soul, and ready wit that makes learning joyous and unforgettable, Pujya Guruji mesmerizes audiences around the world in year-round jnana yajnas. Chinmaya Prabha welcomes everyone to a profound week of introspection in the loving presence of Pujya Guruji and the accompanying acaryas of Chinmaya Mission. It will be a time to touch the horizons of knowledge with the power of scripture, soulful music and a sublime Master. Hari Om! For program details and more information on Chinmaya Mission Houston and its activities visit www.chinmayahouston.org or Contact Jay Deshmukh 832541-0059 or Bharati Sutaria 281933-0233.
(Sitting from Left):Mony Thomas, Nike B. Luqman, Robert Curl, Raj Chhikara. (Standing from left): Koshy Thomas, Manik Talwani, Jagat Kamdar, Kapil Mehta, Krishna Dronamraju (host), Consul General Harish Parvathaneni, and Durga Agarwal.
HOUSTON: Consul General Harish Parvathaneni was honored by the Houston Science Group, hosted by Dr. Krishna Dronamraju, at the Narin’s Bombay Brasserie Restaurant. Both Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee and Houston Mayor Anise Parker were represented at the meeting and messages were read honoring the Consul General by the U.S. Congress and the City of Houston. Among those gathered for the
occasion were Nobel laureate from Rice University Robert Curl, Kapil Mehta, Durga Agarwal, Jagat Kamdar, Koshy And Moni Thomas, Krishna and Michele Dronamraju, Manik Talwani, and Raj Chhikara. Also present were Nike Luqman the Senior Protocol Manager for Houston who represented Mayor Anise Parker and Deirdre from the office of Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee. Indian Consul General in Hous-
ton Harish Parvathaneni is a distinguished member of the Indian Foreign Service and an experienced diplomat. Since joining the India Foreign Service in 1990, he has learnt Arabic at the American University of Cairo and passed the examination with distinction. He has served in India Mission in Cairo and Riyadh and headed the Post as India Representative to the Palestinian Authority stationed in Gaza city. He was on Secondment to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) as the Chief of the Policy Analysis Unit at UNRWA Headquarters in Gaza. He thereafter worked in the East Asia and External Publicity Divisions in the Ministry of External Affairs. For a period of five years since 2007, Consul General Harish was the Joint Secretary and Officer on Special Duty to the Vice President of India and Chairman of the council of States of the Indian Parliament, M. Hamid Ansari. Consul General Harish is a Mechanical Engineering graduate from Osmania University College of Engineering, Hyderabad. He is married to Nandita Parvathaneni and has two daughters, Ayushi and Amani. He assumed charge as the Consul General of India, Houston on 30 July 2012.
INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUNE 14, 2013 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
COMMUNITY
June 14, 2013
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Eminent Scholar Inspires Audience Through a Journey From India to Greece
HOUSTON: On June 6, Houston played host to eminent scholar Dr. Bharat Gupt, who spoke on the knowledge transfers between ancient India and ancient Greece. The talk was hosted by the local history enthusiasts group, IHAR - Indian History Awareness and Research, an initiative of Arsha Vidya Satsanga. Dr. Bharat Gupt, an Associate Professor (Retired) in English at the College of Vocational Studies of the University of Delhi, is an Indian classicist, theater theorist, sitar and surbahar player, musicologist, cultural analyst, and newspaper columnist. Trained both in modern European and traditional Indian educational systems, Dr. Gupt worked in classical studies, theatre, music, culture and media studies. Dr. Bharat Gupt was Senior Fellow of the Onassis Foundation in Greece on revival of ancient Greek theater. His first book, “Dramatic Concepts - Greek and Indian”, was directly inspired by his Greek travels and studies, and offers a fresh approach in comparing ancient Greek and Indian dramatic theories. He has also translated several chapters of the Natyashastra. Dr. Bharat Gupt is one of the founding members of the International Forum for India’s Heritage, a network of scientists and thinkers who have come together to promote India’s cultural heritage. He has also participated in the Hindu Dharma Acharya Sabha, the apex body of Hindu Acha-
Dr. Bharat Gupt engaging the audience in a lively Q&A after an insightful talk.
ryas, and the Hindu-Jewish Leadership Summit, both spearheaded by H. H. Swami Dayananda Saraswati. Speaking at the Mayuri restaurant before an audience shy of a hundred, Dr. Gupt talked about the prevalence of symbolism or gestures, music and dance in Greek theater that is so close to the Indian theater model, and how modern Western theater that claims heritage from the Greek theater has omitted symbolism. Dr. Bharat Gupt indicated that of the five types within Indian Astrology (Jyotisha), one was inspired from Greek Astrology. Indian systems of
medicine or Ayurveda were so well developed that Greek armies took Indian doctors along with them. Dr. Gupt gave examples such as the use of the word “Atmos” in Classical Greece to refer to an individual, like Atma in Sanskrit for the self. The Bull is used as a symbol of strength in Ancient Greece, while bulls are prevalent in the Indus Valley seals. In the Bhagavad Gita, Sri Krishna often refers to Arjuna as the “Bull” of India. Dr. Gupt objected to western scholars’ attempts to date the origin of Vedas with reference to its availability
in “text” form only. The existence of the Vedas in vocal form and memory needs to be accepted and acknowledged. Another subtle observation was that Indians are used to calling Vedas as their “scripture”. The word scripture in the Abrahamic context specifically means a revelation by a prophet at a specific time. Since the Vedas are apourusheya (not authored by a human being) and therefore are timeless, he suggested using alternate Sanskrit words such as shruti. Speaking critically of the Aryan Invasion Theory, Dr. Gupt called to attention the ancient Indus Valley Civilization and showed photographs of seals showing a proto-Shiva in yogic poses. Dr. Gupt also suggested that Indian temples from 300BCE were probably inspired by Greek temples. Dr. Gupt’s talk was succeeded by an animated question and answer session. Speaking after the talk, community leader Prabha Bala said, “I enjoyed Dr. Gupt’s non judgmental and balanced presentation of ancient and classical Greece, juxtaposing similarities seen in a parallel Indian
context. He indicated these in political, social, cultural, art, architecture and worship aspects, such as the symbolism of the goddess, snake, bull, exalted positions of priests and so on, leaving it up to those in the audience to draw their own inference. His skill in being able to cover a broad range of topics in so engagingly in a short duration was impressive”. Haraprasad Sastry said, “It is understandable that Dr. Gupt did not answer the question of origin of concepts of Atma and its continuity more research needs to be done”. Some stated that they expected a few more evidence pointing towards India as a source of inspiration. The meeting was called to attention by IHAR Director Dr. Rajkumar Vedam. Dr. Sarath Menon summarized the talk, Dr. Bharat Srinivasan honored the guest, and the vote of thanks was delivered by Dr. Jayakumar Srinivasan. Arsha Vidya Satsanga would like to invite those interested in joining this new and intense initiative. For further information, please call 949-350-3495.
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EDITORIAL
June 14, 2013
Gold Fever
In The Merchant of Venice, suitors for the hand of the rich heiress, Portia, must choose between three caskets, one made of gold, one of silver, and one of lead. The one who chooses the right casket — which contains Portia’s portrait — gets to marry her. The first suitor, the Prince of Morocco, chooses the golden casket — which turns out to contain not Portia’s portrait but that of a ‘blinking idiot’. By being gold-crazy, like the prince seemed to be, are today’s rich and middle-class Indians behaving like ‘blinking idiots’? India is the world’s biggest gold importer, importing $62 billion of the metal every year, amounting to 30% of the world’s supply. Vijay Mallya — who says he can’t afford to pay the salaries of Kingfisher Airlines staff — has donated a total of 11 kg of gold to Tirupati. A Pune moneylender has had made a 22 carat gold shirt at a cost of 1.27 crore. A Mumbai socialite has commissioned a gold-leafed toilet seat for the loo. OK, so Indians are gaga about gold. So what? So a lot. After oil, gold is India’s biggest import, and is largely responsible for the country’s current account deficit (CAD) — the shortfall between what we earn through our exports and what we spend on our imports — rising to 5.4% of our GDP, which is almost double the percentage that economists recommend. When the CAD goes up, the value of the rupee vis-A -vis the international currency, the dollar, comes down, because a high CAD is the sign of a vulnerable currency which in turn encourages investors to park their money in dollars rather than in rupees. This outflow of capital by foreign investors means that there is less capital available to fund industrial and business growth in India. Slower growth means that we produce less by way of products and services, both for internal consumption as well as export. Lower exports further increase the CAD. This further weakens the rupee. Which means more foreign currency outflows. And so on and on, in a vicious downward spiral. India’s gold mania — without the give-and-take of gold jewellery no Indian wedding is considered auspicious — is literally beggaring us. If all the gold lying idle in the country were to be converted into funds for industrial and business growth, the flagging economy would revive almost overnight. Business and industrial growth would result in the creation of more jobs. More jobs would mean greater demand for goods and services, which would mean even more business and industrial growth. This would strengthen the economy, make India a more attractive destination for foreign investors, turn the outflow of dollars into an inflow, which would stop the rupee weakening further and help to lower the CAD. The vicious downward spiral would become a benign upward growth chart. All this, and more, would be possible if we didn’t suffer from gold fever, a totally illogical and toxic fixation on the yellow metal which is literally pauperising us. As in the case of Shakespeare’s Prince of Morocco, the illusory glitter of gold has turned us into a nation of ‘blinking idiots’. The saying goes that there’s no fool like an old fool. In India’s case, that should be changed to there’s no fool like a gold fool. Jug Suraiya in Times of India
India’s Great Gatsby Curve BY VIKRAM S MEHTA As income inequality grows, social mobility is constrained. Could this partly explain the IPL spot-fixing scandal? F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic American novel, The Great Gatsby, triggers a complex of thoughts. But the one that crossed my mind as I recently watched the movie was the similarity between the shady origins of Jay Gatsby’s enormous wealth and the nature and pattern of monetary accumulation in India in recent years. It also struck me that the dreams, and then despair, of the simple and not-so-wealthy garage owner in the movie provided a part explanation for the still-unravelling IPL spotfixing scandal. I was also reminded of the research carried out by the Canadian economist Miles Corak. He traced the connection between income inequality and social mobility, and established that as income inequalities grew, the opportunities for upward social progression were reduced. The rich got richer whilst the rest struggled to stay on the ladder. Alan Krueger, at one time the chairman of the US president’s council of economic advisors, had termed this connection “the Great Gatsby curve”. Over the past decade, the Indian economy has averaged a growth rate of around 8 per cent. This was a boom time for many companies, and a handful of politicians, bureaucrats and relatively unknown businessmen amassed an enormous amount of wealth. It is clear that three factors drove this success: Access to capital, political patronage and a favourable international climate. The fastestgrowing companies were those that borrowed to the hilt and “bought” political and bureaucratic largesse to secure land, licences and approvals. Most were in mining, construction, real estate, infrastructure and telecommunications. Many were led by first generation entrepreneurs whose companies did not figure on any ranking of companies in the 1990s. In fact, if one were to compare the list of the top 100 companies by market cap in 1990 with a similar list in 2010, one would find that only 42 companies made it to both lists. The exporters
of minerals were also helped by the international market. It was not, however, boom time for those that did not have the connections or collateral to access capital and political/bureaucratic support. No doubt, they had the aspiration for material advancement, but they faced the Gatsby curve. The opportunities for social mobility had constricted. The rich, it appeared, had pulled the ladder of growth that they had used to climb to the top up behind them. The Anna Hazare campaign was an expression of protest against this monopolistic stranglehold over the ingredients of economic success. The spot-fixing shenanigans of the second-tier IPL cricketers can also be interpreted against this Gatsby-esque economic phenomena. Most IPL cricketers, I am told, come from middle class, salaried families. They have talent and have trained hard to get to where they are. They have had dreams to break into the elite echelons of cricket, but they know that given competition and, alas, politics, these dreams will most likely not be realised. The IPL has been a godsend for them. It has given them public exposure, and held out the prospects of good money. The problem today is that these prospects have dimmed. This is because whilst the IPL is a massive money spinner, the earnings are not evenly distributed. The bulk of these earnings go into the hands of the cricketing establishment, the owners, and the “star” players. The others receive a disproportionately smaller share. There is a thin line between dreams and despair. The garage owner in The Great Gatsby had set his heart on acquiring a coupe owned by Tom Buchanan, a rich client. Buchanan deliberately kindled this hope. When it became clear, however, that his dreams would never be fulfilled, he took a gun to Gatsby and then to his own head. In the case of IPL cricketers, the line was between the bending of the law and the breaking of it. As realisation dawned that the avenues for income growth were getting progressively choked, some crossed that line. I should make clear that this explanation, even if somewhat valid, does not justify the act, nor extenuate
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the crime. Looking ahead, I am hopeful that the Gatsby curve will face a discontinuity in India. This hope rests on today’s changed economic and social context. Growth has slowed, the pull of the international market has weakened, the cost of capital remains high and our “gotcha media” has brought to public notice the spread and depth of corruption. Many of the companies that hit the good times are now in deep financial difficulties. Their balance sheets are bloated with debt and they are struggling to keep afloat. The master of the good times has seen his pet aviation project go under, and it is an open question as to how many others might follow in his wake. The stranglehold of big business has weakened. Further, politicians and bureaucrats are running nervous. This does not mean corruption has ended, but in the face of a vigilante press, an activist judiciary and an emboldened CBI, CVC and CAG, it does mean that people have to be particularly self-assured or foolish to want to extract rent in the manner they extracted it in the past. My hope is that other than the scams that have already been completed and have yet to be uncovered, there are no fresh ones currently in the making.Anaive hope, no doubt, but one has to merely read the introductory chapter of Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson’s book, Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity and Poverty, to know the consequences if this hope is totally off-base. The central message of the book is that nations that have had “inclusive” institutions that allow everyone to participate in the governance of the country, and that ensure fair access to economic opportunity, have succeeded. Those that have had “extractive” institutions that were controlled by a few whose main objective was to monopolise power and to extract as much as they could from the rest of society for their personal benefit, have failed. India has, in recent years, exhibited the traits of an “extractive” nation. The question is whether the cathartic revelations of corruption, combined with the changed fortunes of many in the elite, will shift the pendulum towards inclusiveness. Indian Express
COMMUNITY
June 14, 2013
DAV Montessori Celebrates its Graduation Day
BY RAJEEV KHANNA HOUSTON: May 19, was a memorable day for the little graduates of DAV Montessori School (DAVMS) as they walked across the stage in their sky blue graduation caps and gowns to receive their graduation certificates from Chief Guest, Ramesh Bhutada. The awards ceremony was followed by a cultural program, centered around the theme of Nature, our environment and the mother earth. The Arya Samaj Greater Houston complex was teeming with students, parents and grandparents to celebrate the momentous event. The stars of event were the young graduates and their fellow students who put together the stupendous cultural program that followed. The different classes of the school presented dances related to the theme of Nature; celebrating the fruits and joys provided by Mother Nature and warning against the damaging effects of the human behaviors on nature. The dazzling music and the dances had the whole audience gyrating and tapping their feet – wishing they were on the stage as well. The flawless presentation showcased the beauty, talent and innocence of the children and the hard work and dedication of the teachers. DAVMS children have a multitude of opportunities to perform on stage in front of audiences throughout the year, and this gives them an edge by building their self-confidence and a foundation for future success. The whole performance was enacted as a labor of love, the music, the choreography, the colorful costumes, and the makeup were simply breathtaking. To top it all the school director, Arti Khanna, in her annual school report, informed the gathering of the top-rate academic performance of DAVMS students in the Iowa tests that measures nationwide performance. DAVMS students scored in the top 1 percent of national average, and most of them were performing 2-3 grades higher. This year the school also held its very first science and geography bee for the first grade students. The past school year started with anticipation and eagerness, for the
completion of the new school building. Thanks to Arya Samaj Management and the generous donations of supporters, the school inaugurated its building addition at the start of the year in September. This building addition fulfilled the need for more space due to the growing enrollment. To keep pace with the growth, the school will be adding another KG class in the coming school year. The school building addition has also allowed the school to fulfill another long standing wish of the school parents. Shekhar Agrawal, on behalf of the Arya Samaj Management, announced that the school will be growing vertically and adding a 2nd and 3rd grade class in the coming school year. Not only do the students excel academically, they are also very active in a multitude of extracurricular activities and community outreach events. The audience saw an impressive video presentation chronicling the various school activities and events - like the annual Halloween carnival, the book fair and trike-a-thon to raise money for the St. Jude’s children research hospital. We take our hats off to Arti Khanna and her dedicated team of teachers and parent volunteers – for all they do to give these children such a grounded education. The DAV Montessori was started in the year 2000 as a unique school providing academic excellence with spiritual growth to the children ages 21/2 yrs. to 7yrs. This concept blends a successful Montessori curriculum with instructions on Indian Culture, Traditions, (Moral Science), Yoga, music, dance, art and Hindi language. Arti Khanna thanked the management committee members, Acharya Surya Nanda ji and Acharya Praveen Gulati ji, the parents, and reminded everyone that, though only a few were mentioned by name, she has an
army of teachers, volunteers and others who make it possible for DAVMS to be successful in its mission. The function concluded traditionally with a beautiful rendition Aarti and Shanti Path by the DAVMS children.
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COMMUNITY
June 14, 2013
LEARN TO DRIVE TODAY!
Anniversary Celebrations at the Spiritual Center Madandham
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HOUSTON: On 30 May, a grand celebration was celebrated by the devotees on the occasion of Lord Madan Jee and Mata Rupwatiji’s anniversary. Event was blessed with Devji Trivedi Maharaj’s discourse on all in one god explaining righteousness and love for all in a shining humanity.
Particularly for the young generation to understand the basic fundamentals of life & respect parents. He emphasized that children who attended the discourse had actually sacrificed their precious time to learn practical and precious teachings of Lord Madan Ji to live a disciplined and successful life with a spirit of
positive energy which will bring positive change to society and develop peaceful and prosperous generations in future.Once again all religion lead to one God. For further details contact Devji Trivedi Jee Maharaj at 281-8895813 or email at allinoneim@yahoo. com
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HOUSTON: Dave Ghosh, a 7th grade student at the Harmony School of Excellence- Houston attended the Junior National Young Leaders Conference (JrNYLC) during June 8 through June 13 this year in Washington D.C. Dave was among over 250 outstanding middle school students from across the United States who took part in this extraordinary leadership conference in Washington, D.C. themed “Voices of Leadership: Reflecting on the Past to Create the Future”. JrNYLC introduces young people to the rich tradition of leadership throughout American history, while helping them to develop their own leadership skills. Dave was nominated to represent his school this year by his teacher Hannah Frank as a result of his outstanding academic achievement and demonstrated leadership potential. He has gotten distinguished honor roll (grades above 90%) with a perfect 4.0 cumulative GPA throughout his student life. Dave is a fierce debater and has won several debate awards. He is also in the school’s Robotics Team and is a member of National Junior Honor Society. “The aim of the Junior National Young Leaders Conference is to inspire students to recognize their own leadership skills, measure their skills against those of current and former leaders and return home with new confidence in their ability to exercise positive influence within their communities,” said Marguerite Regan, Ph.D., Dean of Academic Affairs for the Congressional Youth Leadership Council (CYLC), the organization that sponsors JrNYLC. “Young people are not only welcome in Washington, D.C., they actually keep this city
Dave Ghosh
and our country running.” During the six-day program, students took part in educational activities and presentations and explored relevant sites, such as Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, West Vir-
ginia and Washington, D.C.’s museums and memorials. In addition to examining notable U.S. leaders and historic figures, students studied the impact of leadership throughout critical periods of American history including the Civil War and Reconstruction, World War II, the Great Depression and the Civil Rights Movement. Upon completion of JrNYLC, students gained a greater sense of the role of individuals in American democracy, as well as the responsibilities of being a leader. CYLC is a nonpartisan, educational organization. Since 1985, the Council has inspired more than 200,000 young people to achieve their full leadership potential. For further information, visit www.cylc.org.
Letters to the Editor Dear Editor, Recently, we have heard of great successes and great tragedies on the local and national fronts. Another bright young Indo-American wins the National Spelling Bee. Tragedy hits Oklahoma more than once in the last ten days. Closer to home, we Houstonians lose four brave Houston Firefighters as they serve their community by fighting a monstrous fire of an Indo-American owned business establishment. These events must not go without acknowledgement. Just as we celebrate the successes of our people in this great country, we must be of support to our local communities in moments of tragedy. Now is the time that the Indo-American com-
INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUNE 14, 2013 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
munity come together publically and visually to mourn and support the families of the fallen firefighters. Now is the time for local IndoAmerican organizations such as SEWA, who has already pledged financial support, and others such as Indo-American Chamber of Commerce, Indo-American Charities, and others to create a fund or contribute to an existing fund to show financial support of the grieving families and their children. There is much that the Indo-American organizations can do to be a visually active part of the American mainstream community. Let those moments not be only during successes, but also during tragedies. -Amanda Vavilala
ENTERTAINMENT
June 14, 2013
Yamla Pagla Deewaana 2 : Movie Review
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Indian Police Arrest Boyfriend in Actress Suicide
Are the Deols Paying Tribute or Sending up the Khans?
Cast: Dharmendra, Sunny Deol, Bobby Deol, Neha Sharma, Kristina Akheeva, Annu Kapoor, Anupam Kher, Johnny Lever, Sucheta Khanna Direction: Sangeeth Sivan Genre: Comedy Duration: 2 hours 35 minutes
MUMBAI (Indian Express): The Yamla Pagla Deewana gang is back with a sequel, with more of the same. Papa Bear Dharmendra doing his senior conman act, Sonny Bear Sunny doing the good guy with macho muscles and soft heart, and Baby Bear Bobby doing what Bobby does. A plot that should shame a wafer by its thinness. Random characters popping in and out. And the only thing one can say in its favor is that it is not as terrible as the first. And that’s because this one is not as shrieky or loud, not all the time. And it has one laugh-out-loud, near-brilliant gag. Of course, being what it is, it needs to have the Deols reprise what the Deols did in the first YPD. So we get Dharam and Gajodhar (Bobby) pulling off a fake baba number on the Benaras ghats. A rich UK based businessman (Kapoor) shows up, looking for salvation. Who just happens to have a pretty girl (Sharma) for Gajju to romance. Meanwhile, bada bhai Paramveer (Sunny) is busy demonstrating his dhai kilo ka haath, and ‘sau kilo ka dil’ in the UK: the
first with a long, blond-haired villain called Dude (Kher) and his henchpersons (Lever and Khanna), and the second with a Punjabi-Brit ‘soni kud’i called Reet (Akheeva). There is also, I must tell you, an orange-haired ape called Einstein, who wears glasses to denote erudition and reads a book about ‘understanding humans’. Haha. Don’t knock me, I was looking for laughs where I could find them. Einstein, in fact, is instrumental in the best gag of the film, which involves an art gallery and a painting that makes everyone cry (not because it is so bad but because it is so moving), and the media frenzy
that it causes. If Sivan wanted to, he could have milked this monkey business much more (there is something hugely funny about the snobbishness around art that no one understands, articulated by experts in words no one understands). But ultimately, the film is about Dharam-Sunny-Bobby, so that’s where it remains. And the running gag that could have bubbled some more gets deep sixed by the 2.5 kg and more of heavy handedness. By now, we’ve got used to Sunny doing this exact thing ― the sardar who wears his turban right, and gets ‘full tight’ on one peg. Bobby is the light-hearted flirty fellow, who in
this one, is made to ride on Salman’s antics (Johny Lever takes off on Shah Rukh: are the Deols paying tribute or sending up the Khans?). This is what we fully expect, and they two of them don’t disappoint. But it is Dharmendra who is much less of a hoot than he can be: every time I see him deadpan to such little effect, I flash to the kind of effortless comic timing he has shown in the past. A nudge-wink scene tells us there’s definitely going to be a Yamla Pagla Deewana 3. How about giving Dharam some blow-out fun stuff to do? As a favor to him, and to us?
INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUNE 14, 2013 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
NEW DELHI (AP) -- The son of a Bollywood couple has been arrested on suspicion of abetting the suicide of his girlfriend, actress Jiah Khan, police said. Suraj Pancholi was arrested late Monday, Officer D. Deokar said. Deokar confirmed Khan, 25, committed suicide at her home in Mumbai last week. A letter she wrote alleges that Pancholi cheated on her, physically abused her and forced her to have an abortion. Police authenticated the letter was from Khan, and Indian media have published it. Pancholi’s parents are Aditya Pancholi and Zarina Wahab. Neither they nor their son has spoken about the allegations. Khan began her career in the 2007 Hindi film “Nishabd,” in which she portrayed a teenager in love with her best friend’s father, played by Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan. She had also performed with other top stars, including Aamir Khan and Akshay Kumar.
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RECIPES/PUZZLES
June 14, 2013
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Mama’s Punjabi Recipes Gajar da Halwa (Carrot Halwa)
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For Punjabis, carrots are one of the few vegetables that can be cooked in many ways: as a pickle, pulped as a juice, as a spicy dish with peas or methi (fenugreek) or sweet as a pudding or halwa. And it is as the halwa that carrots are served the most, now not just in the North but all over India. The gajar da halwa (also called gajrela) can be found in any halwai (confectioner’s) shop, in a deep, wide platter, covered with silverleaf. Along with gulab jamun, ras gullas and ras malai, gajar da halwa has to be the most popular sweet dish among Indians. It is mainly eaten during the festivals of Diwali, Holi, Eid-ul-Fitr and Raksha Bandan. Nowadays, this dish that is made of grated carrots, nuts, milk, cream, sugar and ghee or clarified butter, is popular worldwide. The traditional way to make the halwa is to use a large quantity of milk and let in boil till it is evaporated and becomes a tick cream. But, with the use of canned evaporated or thick cream, this has cut down the cooking time a lot. Of course, as we all know, carrots are good for you. They contain almost no starch but have 7 per cent free sugars and get their bright orange color from beta-carotene which is partly metabolized into Vitamin A which is essential for good vision. In North India, carrots can be found in many col-
ors and shapes, mostly black, red, orange and white, each of which have their own taste and cooking methods. The gajar da halwa is usually made with red or orange ones. Ingredients: • 1 kilo gajar (carrots) • 1 cup doodh (whole milk) – use 1 per cent for less calories • 2 cups milk powder (or 1 small can of cream or evapo rated milk) • 1 cup tael (vegetable or sunflower oil) – you can also use ghee (clarified butter) • 2 cups chinni (sugar) • 1/2 cup badam (almonds) Directions: 1. Peel the carrots, rinse in cold water and then grate them. 2. Place in a large kadai (wok), add the milk, stir, cover with a lid and let it simmer over low heat for 30 minutes till the carrots are cooked. 3. Add the oil and stir till most of the liquid has been evaporated and some oil starts to show along the edges. 4. Add the sugar and stir continuously, making sure that the carrots do not start to stick and burn. 5. For a thicker khoya (cream) taste, add some milk powder. Stir well to mix and let the carrots cook over low heat for 10 minutes. Some prefer to use evapo-
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rated or condensed milk instead of milk powder. In this case, add less sugar. Turn off the heat and let the halwa sit covered for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. 6. While the carrots are cooking, place the almonds in a small saucepan full of water and bring to a boil for a few minutes, then turn off the heat. Let the almonds sit for 10 minutes then drain the water, rinse in cold water then peel the almonds and then slice them. (If you prefer, you can add packaged blanched almonds, but boiling them also will help to make them softer and tastier.) Add the sliced almonds to the carrots and stir.
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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STOCKS • FINANCE • SOUTH ASIAN MARKETS • TECHNOLOGY
Potholes Ahead for Automobile Shares
MUMBAI (HT): India’s automobile segment will probably have a lot of pot-holes to drive over and shares in the sector may get punched in the face. With sales sinking to worst levels in more than a decade and overall macroeconomic conditions unkind, investors have to be careful in handling this sector, say experts. “Domestic automakers continued with their poor run in May 2013, broadly on the expected lines, due to slowdown in economic activity and negative consumer sentiments,” said Yaresh Kothari, Angel Broking. The slowdown is broad-based and continues to be prominent in the medium and heavy commercial vehicle (MHCV), passenger car and two-wheeler segments. “Overall we expect the volume growth across the automotive seg-
ments to remain under pressure in FY’14 (estimate),” said Ajay Shethiya, analyst, auto and auto ancillaries, Centrum Broking Limited. A lack of pick up in the investment cycle and weakening consumer sentiments is expected to impact overall demand. The continued pressure on the rupee is also expected to be a spoilsport as also discount pressure on commercial vehicles is expected to continue. So what does the retail investor do with his auto stocks? Buy or sell. Gaurang Shah, assistant vice-president, Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services, believes that analyzing a company’s strategy works well. He says like Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) has a diversified profile and is positive for investors. On the flip side, Tata Motors has a decreasing local product profile, though JLR gives
little comfort. “If there is competition in this segment then Tata Motors will be under pressure,” Shah continues. Similarly, Maruti has only passenger cars so there is a little overhang for now. “I would use a rally to exit from Tata Motors. I prefer M&M and Bajaj Auto and I would look at a 10-15% target upside from here,” he said. Meanwhile, some believe that demand is expected to improve. “A retail investor should try to buy in dips as demand is expected to improve from the second half of FY14,” said Savitree Singh, senior equity research analyst, Tathastu advisory Pvt Ltd. “The retail investor must have a selective approach in auto stocks,” said Shethiya. Shethiya recommends Maruti Suzuki (Buy, TP – R2055) and Tata Motors ( Buy – TP R875)
Now, Log on to These Websites to Get a Home-Cooked Meal Delivered MUMBAI (HT): Ray Kroc was 52 when he joined McDonald’s and transformed it into America’s most popular fast food brand. He is also Wadala resident Bela Gupta’s inspiration.A former retail professional, Gupta, who has a repository of more than 2,000 world recipes collected from her travels abroad, turned 52 in March. For over a year, she has been catering these curated recipes to friends, and friends of friends, who learnt of her culinary skills through word of mouth. Three weeks ago, tech-savvy Gupta stumbled upon a tweet from Imly. in—a website that directly connects home cooks with those yearning for homely meals. She immediately signed up. Atotal of 15 city-based home cooks, including Gupta, are together offering Asian, Continental, Goan, Italian and
Mexican cuisines, and desserts and chutneys, on this site, which is one of five recent platforms launched over the past nine months to connect home chefs with potential clients. The other sites are Samaas.in (Bengali, Punjabi, Puneri and Malvani cuisines), BowlsToYou.com (salads), Potluck Me (low-calorie, preservative-free foods), and Cooked-AtHome.com (an aspirational, Googlelike directory for home cooks). Potluck Me, which works on a Sunday-to-Sunday format — orders
must be placed between Sunday and Thursday and will be delivered the following Sunday — made its first batch — of 47 deliveries — on June 9. These items included mushroom and chicken quiches, basil pesto sauce, wholewheat pasta, and parmesan-and-rosemary biscuits. Potluck Me founders Rakhee Ghelani, a freelance business consultant and writer who moved back to the city from Australia in 2011, and Chhavi Sachdev, a radio journalist and creative head at a travel audio tour company who lived in the US for 12 years, both enjoy food. “We’re pretty careful about what we eat. And we miss a lot of quality food that we can’t procure easily in Mumbai. That was the impetus for the PotluckMe collective,” says Sachdev.
Infosys Aiming to Grow Revenue from India Six-Fold to $1 bn in Five Years MUMBAI (HT): When Infosys set up a separate division in India for its business practices, the new arm accounted for just 1.3% of its then total revenue, R268 crore. This figure has more than tripled in five years to R887 crore. But it still contributes a mere 2.2% to tech bellwether’s total revenue. CN Raghupathi, vice-president of the company’s India division, said the strategy is to achieve domestic revenue of over $1 billion (R5,700 crore) in five years’ time. He said the company is building solutions and technology models tailored to the needs of the Indian market, which can also be used in similar markets across Asia, Latin America and Africa. “It makes sense as growth will be faster in these regions. By 2030, the GDP of nonOECD countries will surpass that of OECD countries,” he said. Infosys will focus on solutions for smart grid rollout, public finance modernisation, financial inclusion, health and education in India, he
said. The first phase of Infosys’ R800crore contract to modernise India Post’s financial services will be done within this year while the company looks to bag smart-grid implementation projects in a number of states. A R275-crore project to revamp the ministry of corporate affairs’ portal will also begin this year. “Our strength is building platforms and solutions that run on top of the base (IT) infrastructure. Going forward, we will have a greater role,” he said.
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SPORTS
June 14, 2013
ICC Champions Trophy 2013: Dhawan, Jadeja Anchor India into Semis
West Indies’ Darren Sammy, center, reacts after pitching a delivery as India’s Shikhar Dhawan, left, and Rohit Sharma add runs during the ICC Champions Trophy group B cricket match between India and West Indies at The Oval cricket ground in London, Tuesday, June 11, 2013.
LONDON (Indian Express): India stormed into the semi-final of the ICC Champions Trophy tournament with a resounding eight-wicket victory over West Indies, riding on Shikhar Dhawan’s second consecutive ODI century. The Indians first restricted the Caribbeans to 233 for nine as Ravindra Jadeja (5/36) ripped through the middle-order as Dhawan yet again took centrestage with dazzling strokeplay to give India its second win in as many matches in group B. The 27-year-old Delhi boy, who made a spectacular Test debut against Australia with a knock of 187, had scored a match-winning 114 against South Africa in the tournament opener. The stylish left-hander yet again sizzled at the Oval as his unbeaten knock of 102 helped the ‘Men In Blue’ chase down a target with 65 balls to spare. Dhawan smashed 10 fours and a six in the process. The three-figure mark was achieved with a slashed six off Dwayne Bravo over backward point and then played dot balls to allow his partner Dinesh Karthik (50 no) to complete his welldeserved half-century. Dhawan is enjoying a golden period in international cricket as his three knocks since comeback into Indian team has been centuries (187, 114, 102 no). India thus made it to the last four of
the Champions Trophy after a gap of 11 years with the last time being way back in 2002. The opening pair is turning out to be a smash hit in the tournament as yet again Dhawan and Rohit Sharma added 101 in only 15.3 overs to lay the foundation of a comfortable victory. Rohit, who is revelling in the role of an opener again scored a half-century. Rohit’s 52 came off 56 balls with seven boundaries. While Virat Kohli (22) couldn’t cash in, Karthik who hit eight boundaries in his 54-ball knock proved to be an able ally as they added 109 runs for the undefeated 3rd wicket stand in 19.1 overs. India will now play Pakistan in Birmingham on June 15. The West Indian attack looked loose and stingless on a placid wicket. West Indies pace spearhead Kemar Roach turned out to be the biggest disappointment. Erring in line and length, he let the Indian batsmen free their arms, conceding almost eight runs an over. Sharma and Dhawan paced their innings to a nicety. They ran hard and knew the value of patience. And as the West Indian pacers gave them width, the batsmen plundered runs with strokes square of the wicket. Most of Sharma’s seven boundaries pierced the gap between point and extra-cover. India scored at a slightly better pace than the West Indians. The first 10
overs produced 66 runs with almost equal contribution from the openers but Sharma broke free getting to his 50 first off 52 balls. India lost their first wicket when Sharma was out for 52 in the 16th over. The TV umpire overturned the on-field umpire’s decision after West Indies successfully reviewed an appeal for caught behind against Sharma. Hotspot revealed a faint nick and Sunil Narine finally broke the opening stand. Playing his 100th ODI, Virat Kohli arrived to the crease with aggressive intent. First ball, he delicately cut Narine to the third-man fence. With the light worsening and a little drizzle sweeping the stadium, Kohli played a timely cameo to always keep India ahead on the run-rate. Narine got his pound of flesh when he bowled Kohli for an 18-ball 22, the batsman playing across the line of a ball that kept straight after pitching. Dinesh Karthik had a mild scare when Pakistani umpire Aleem Dar ruled him out caught behind off Ravi Rampaul but the Decision Review System came to his rescue. There was a big gap when the ball beat the bat. As Hotspot revealed, the umpire was mistake by a ‘sound’, probably the bat hitting the pad. There were no hiccups for India thereafter. Dhawan and Karthik (51 not out) quietly went from strength to strength as the duo posted an unbeaten 109-run third-wicket stand to steer India to the shores of victory. A brief rain interruption in the 36th over (India 204 for two wickets) did not matter because according to Duckworth-Lewis, India were a good 76 runs ahead at that stage. The match, however, resumed after a 28-minute delay and the India duo knocked off the required runs without much ado on a slippery and fast outfield. Dhawan was the toast of the Indian batting. He lived life to the fullest after being dropped by Kieron Pollard and Roach on 23 and 42, respectively. While Pollard’s catch at point was a difficult one, Roach dropped a sitter at fine leg off Dwayne Bravo’s bowling. Those blemishes asides, Dhawan carried on from where he had left at Cardiff. String on both sides of the wicket,
Dhawan punished the loose balls, much to the hurrah of the packed Indian crowd who chanted “Jai Ho” and “Chak De” every time the ball went past the ropes. He scored his 100, cutting Bravo for a six at backward point. Earlier on a cloudy day, man-of-thematch Jadeja’s maiden five-wicket haul broke the back of the West Indies batting. Only a late charge by Darren Sammy (56 not out off 35 balls) lifted the West Indians past the 200-mark. Jadeja picked up three West Indian wickets in a space of 14 balls on a cloudy morning which proved to the turning point of the innings. The wicket of Johnson Charles, LBW to the Jadeja after scoring a classy 60, opened the floodgates as West Indies slid from 103 for two to 109 for four wickets. Given the overcast conditions, Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni opted to field after winning the toss on an Oval track that was used for the low-scoring Pakistan versus West Indies game on Friday. But only Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled the right length from the Pavilion End with the new ball. Umesh Yadav, from the Vauxhall End, was expensive conceding 11 in his first over and was promptly taken off. The West Indian openers looked to be settling down quickly as Chris Gayle scored three lovely boundaries, including a couple of exquisite ones off Yadav at mid-wicket. On Monday, Dhoni had marked out the left-handed Jamaican as the dangerman in the West Indian camp and it was Bhuvneshwar, who answered his captain¿s call for an early breakthrough. Gayle was the first to go, chasing an angling Bhuvneshwar delivery outside off-stump. The healthy edge was brilliantly taken by the tall Ravichandran Ashwin at first slip. Gayle scored 21 off 18 balls and hit four boundaries. Charles, who has scored two centuries in his first 12 ODIs after making his debut in 2012, looked to be in promising touch. The right-handed 24-year-old from Windward Islands took time to settle down but once he gauged the pace of the wicket, scored freely. He struck five boundaries off seven balls, three of these coming off successive Yadav
INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUNE 14, 2013 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
deliveries. Charles’ 78-run partnership with Darren Bravo kept the pressure on Dhoni, who rotated his bowlers and even introduced the part-time medium pace of Virat Kohli in the 13th over. But it was Jadeja’s introduction from the Vauxhall End that spun West Indies’ doom. After enjoying a life at 32, when Ashwin missed a difficult caught and bowled chance, Charles was finally out leg before to Jadeja for a 55-ball 60 with eight fours and two sixes. Charles played back and across to an arm ball that kept slightly low. Jadeja’s next scalp was the in-form Samuels, who scored just 1 run. The Indians successfully saw their appeal for an lbw upheld after a review by the TV umpire. Ramnaresh Sarwan continued his poor run as he nicked trying to glance a Jadeja ball pitched just wide of leg stump. Dhoni held a smart catch. Sarwan has scored 2 runs in as many games. An act of indiscretion cost the patient Darren Bravo his wicket. He should have been the one to hold the innings together till the last but he danced down the wicket to Ashwin, got beaten by turn and Dhoni did the rest. The Lara-bat alike scored 35 off 83 balls. The sixth-wicket partnership between skipper Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard threatened to take the game away from India. Both batsmen, adept in the art of stroke making, adopted some Indian Premier League strategy. Pollard’s first two scoring shots were sixes off Ashwin. But this belligerence was too good to last. Dwayne Bravo and Pollard fell to big strokes after putting on 23 off 28 balls. Bravo (25 off 40 balls) was caught at deep square leg, pulling a Yadav ball right into the hands of Jadeja. Pollard tried to muscle a fuller ball from Ishant but could not cross Bhuvneshwar at long on. Pollard managed 22 off 32 balls. Sammy missed support from the tailenders. Narine and Rampaul gifted their wickets cheaply. Sammy tried his best, once plundering 21 runs off Ishant¿s 10th over. It got West Indies very close to the average first innings total at The Oval, 243.
INDIA
June 14, 2013
RSS Makes Sulking Advani Climb Down, Modi Stays Put
BJP leaders (L-R) Uma Bharti, Sushma Swaraj, Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari during press conference at LK Advani’s residence in New Delhi. HT Photo/Arijit Sen
NEW DELHI (HT): The BJP on Tuesday defused the crisis precipitated by patriarch LK Advani’s dramatic resignation from party posts by securing a U-turn from him without diluting Narendra Modi’s position as the party’s face for its 2014 election campaign. The climbdown by the 85-year-old came after an intervention by the BJP’s ideological patron, the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS). In a phone conversation organised by rightwing ideologue S Gurumurthy and former BJP chief Nitin Gadkari, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat requested Advani to withdraw his resignation, saying it would harm the party. Advani, who has had a rocky relationship with the RSS in recent years but understands only too well its hold over the BJP, acquiesced.
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Sources said he had been assured that as part of the party’s parliamentary board, he would retain a say in crucial decisions like the choice of PM candidate. In effect though, he secured little or no more leverage over key decision-making than he already had before he resigned. Significantly, there was no announcement of the parallel poll campaign panel he had wanted. So in the end, it was Advani’s bete noire Modi who emerged unscathed in this round of the damaging power struggle within the BJP, his position as frontrunner for PM candidate intact. Party chief Rajnath Singh read out a BJP statement at a news conference at Advani’s residence, noting the parliamentary board had rejected his resignation and asked him to continue
as member of the board, election committee and national executive. “On behalf of the party Shri Rajnath Singh assured Shri Advani that his concerns about the functioning of the party would be properly addressed and the President would discuss the modalities of addressing these concerns with Shri Advani,” the statement said. But while Rajnath was flanked by Sushma Swaraj, Nitin Gadkari, Jaswant Singh, Uma Bharti, Ananth Kumar and others, Advani himself skipped the conference, which many saw as a sign that the truce was shaky. Over the last 24 hours, Advani apparently conveyed to BJP leaders that he was unhappy with the way RSS pointsmen in the BJP Suresh Soni and Ram Lal were trying to “micromanage” the party. In his resignation a day earlier, Advani had complained that most leaders in the party were pursuing their “personal agendas’. Modi welcomed the turn of events promptly, but not without making it clear that he was the leader: “I had said yesterday that Advani ji will not disappoint lakhs of karyakartas. Today, I wholeheartedly welcome his decision. Earlier in the day, the BJP’s Odisha state executive passed a resolution in favour of the decision taken by Rajnath Singh regarding Modi’s elevation, a pressure tactic in Modi’s favour.
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Veteran Congress Leader Vidya Charan Shukla Dies of Bullet Wounds
VC Shukla had sustained bullet wounds in a Maoist attack in Chhattisgarh on May 25. (IE photo)
GURGAON (Indian Express): Congress veteran Vidya Charan Shukla, who sustained bullet wounds in a Maoist attack in Chhattisgarh, died at the Medanta Hospital in Gurgaon after suffering from multi-organ failure. He was 84. V C Shukla, a former union minister, is survived by wife and three daughters. Shukla was undergoing treatment since May 26. “He developed multi-organ failure. Severe bullet injury and old age were major risk factors in his case,” said Yatin Mehta, Chairman of Institute of Critical Care and Anaesthesiology in the Medanta Medicity Hospital. Shukla had shown marginal improvement a week ago but his condition deteriorated on Monday following an infection. Prior to his shift to Gurgaon, Shukla
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had undergone an operation at a Jagdalpur hospital for removal of the bullets. The Congress leader was airlifted to Medanta Hospital in Gurgaon from Raipur May 26, a day after the attack which eliminated almost the entire top leadership of Chhattisgarh unit of Congress. Maoists had ambushed a convoy of Congress leaders in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar district on Saturday, killing 27 people including PCC chief Nand Kumar Patel, his son Dinesh, senior Congress leader Mahendra Karma and ex-MLA Uday Mudaliyar and injuring Shukla and 36 others. Shukla, son of illustrious lawyer, freedom fighter and veteran Congressman Ravishankar Shukla, was the first Chief Minister of the reorganized Madhya Pradesh. Elected to Lok Sabha nine times, the first time in 1957, he was Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting under the late Indira Gandhi and had a controversial tenure in the ministry during the Emergency. He had sided with VP Singh in the late 80s and joined the Jan Morcha in the run up to the Parliament elections in 1989. Shukla became a minister in VP Singh government and later switched to Chandrashekhar to remain a minister in the shortlived JD (S) government. Then he returned to Congress and became a Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Water Resources under Prime Minister Narasimha Rao.
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KTRK-TV, the ABC O&O located in Houston, TX is looking for a SPORTS PRODUCER to be responsible for gathering, shooting, writing, editing and producing content from the field or inside the newsroom to be presented on multiple platforms including on-air and online. The ideal candidate would be proficient in enterprising sports stories, shooting footage, proficient in ENG/SNG technology, writing content and using production techniques such as graphics and new forms of media (viewer pictures, webcam interviews, etc.) to enhance stories and produce wellpaced segments under daily pressure. Must be a solid live presenter and be web savvy and can be used as a news gathering asset when called upon by management. The ideal candidate should also have experience producing long form sports shows and specials, 30 to 60 minutes in length.
KTRK-TV, theABC O&O located in Houston, TX is looking for a TEMPORARYSPORTS PRODUCER to be responsible for gathering, shooting, writing, editing and producing content from the field or inside the newsroom to be presented on multiple platforms including on-air and online. The ideal candidate would be proficient in enterprising sports stories, shooting footage, proficient in ENG/SNG technology, writing content and using production techniques such as graphics and new forms of media (viewer pictures, webcam interviews, etc.) to enhance stories and produce well-paced segments under daily pressure. Must be a solid live presenter and be web savvy and can be used as a news gathering asset when called upon by management. The ideal candidate should also have experience producing long form sports shows and specials, 30 to 60 minutes in length.
Candidates must have 3 to 5 years of television reporting/photography experience; with a college degree in journalism or an equivalent combination of education and experience. Additionally, must demonstrate experience in shooting, writing, non-linear editing and on-air presentation skills as well as have the ability to work under pressure in a fast paced and deadline driven environment. Current valid driver’s license and excellent driving history required.
Candidates must have 3 to 5 years of television reporting/photography experience; with a college degree in journalism or an equivalent combination of education and experience. Additionally, must demonstrate experience in shooting, writing, non-linear editing and on-air presentation skills as well as have the ability to work under pressure in a fast paced and deadline driven environment. Current valid driver’s license and excellent driving history required.
For consideration, all interested applicants must apply on-line at www.disneycareers.com by uploading a resume file, cover letter and list of references. If you thrive on sports and enjoy a fast paced environment please send examples of video photography, including game action, along with editing and sportscasts and/or sports segments that you have produced to: Human Resources, KTRK-TV, 3310 Bissonnet, Houston, TX 77005. Please Reference Job ID: 111796BR on all materials submitted. No phone calls please, and no third parties.
For consideration, all interested applicants must apply on-line at www.disneycareers.com by uploading a resume file, cover letter and list of references. If you thrive on sports and enjoy a fast paced environment please send examples of video photography, including game action, along with editing and sportscasts and/or sports segments that you have produced to: Human Resources, KTRK-TV, 3310 Bissonnet, Houston, TX 77005. Please Reference Job ID: 112113BR on all materials submitted. No phone calls please, and no third parties.
KTRK-TV is an Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/D/V.
KTRK-TV is an Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/D/V.
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