E newspaper06242016

Friday, June 24 2016 | Vol. 35, No. 26

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Indo American erican News

Movie Review

P23

www.indoamerican-news.com Published weekly from Houston, TX

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Poetry &

h t g e u r a L

P5

at India House

The poets who performed at the Hasya Ras Hungama at India House on Friday, June 17.

From left: Manjit Singh, Ana Dehalvi, and Mahendra Ajnabi.

Sudoku/Recipe SHIAMAK P22

workshop in Houston P11

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June 24, 2016

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June 24, 2016 COMMUNITY C24+ Philanthropy Under the Arc of a Rainbow

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BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA

KATY: The stage was set for an

evening of socializing and handing out donations to deserving organizations, with black tablecloths and white linen draped chairs, all centered around the pool and a small stage set up for the occasion.

But the weather had other plans, and – as has been the case with the Bayou City and its environs of late – and thunder clouds rumbled overhead, threatening the arrangements, even as some guests had to drive through pouring rain to get to Fry Road in Katy.

Chatting amicably by the outdoor bar, a few guests were startled by a sudden loud pop and realized that an unopened bottle of tequila had suddenly exploded on its own, untouched by hand. The shattered shell of the bottle stood still propped up on the counter - an intriguing, unexplained conversation piece and thankfully, no one was hurt - while broken shards of glass lay in a puddle of smelly liquor on the floor.

As the rain clouds drifted away, a beautiful rainbow made an arc between the palm trees, as if signaling auspiciously all was well.

The ninth year of giving by the members of the Club 24 Plus organization began at the huge home with the enormous backyard lawn of Annu and Sagar Naik, who had graciously offered it for the evening after the previous volunteers had to back out at the last minute.

Chair of the C24+ signature event, Dr. Asra Oberoi emceed the short program, and recognized her co-chairs Dr. Aparna Kamat and Vipra Bhasin. C24+ President Pradeep Gupta acknowledged the hard work in producing the event, as well as his other Board members and committee chairs for Nominations Ashok Garg; Social Events Savita Rao; Manisha Gandhi for Outreach; Communications Vandana Prakash and Treasurer Prakash Roopani .

“The mission of C24+ is to build bridges and make connections between the Indian community and the mainstream communities,” explained Gupta, “by highlighting our culture and matching each member’s funds with those from the Club, to support causes they are passionate about.”

After dinner which was catered

by Madras Pavilion (whose own-

and Nat and Leela Krishnamurthy; UNICEF to Nelson Bowman

by Nat and Leela Krishnamurthy; and Memorial Spring Branch Rotary Foundation to Gwen Corolla

by Dr. K. T. Shah, Venu and Elsie Rao, Jagdip and Daman Ahluwalia and Rudy and Linda Ramos.

The remainder of the program went to a young standup comedian, Jafar Khan, whose most immediate claim to fame is that his is the son of Shah Rukh Khan … except she is his mother! A young twenty-something man who explained

Photos: Bijay Dixit

that he was a high school teacher in addition to his avocation as a comedian, Jafar tried a 15-minute routine on the mostly middle-aged Indian crowd. He confessed to not being a Muslim but he was going to talk about Islamophobia, Homophobia and Terrorism, none of which he actually touched. Apparently gaining a reputation among the inner-city comedy clubs, he abandoned his risqué routines for tamer fare, but they fell flat on this audience.

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The shattered tequila bottle that spontaneously exploded before the event.

A beautiful rainbow appeared after the dark rain clouds drifted away.

ers Mahesh and Alpa Shah are also C24+ members) the rest of the program dealt with handing out donations checks to ten organizations, earmarked by the benefactors: Asia Society received by Sadhavi Chauhan and presented by Nat and Leela Krishnamurthy; Ekal Vidyalaya presented to Naren and Bharti Chavda by Jugal and Raj Malani and Pradeep and Kiran Gupta; Habitat for Humanity to Allison

Hays by Nat and Leela Krishnamurthy; Interfaith Ministries to Maria Magee by Anu and Mani Subramanian; Ovarcome to Vipra Bhasin by Juhi Ahuja and Aparna Kamat; PBS Houston Public Radio to Mary Ann Marucci by Vivek and Madhan Kavadi and Anu and Mani Subramanian; Pratham to Swatantra Jain by Pankaj and Asha Dhume; Save a Mother to Sangeeta Pasrija by Veena and Kuldip Kaul

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June 24, 2016

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June 24, 2016 5 COMMUNITY The Colors of Hasya Ras at India House H

BY VANSHIKA VIPIN

OUSTON: Known to bridge the gap by uniting cultures in Houston, India House hosted Hasya Ras Hungama, a comedy show dedicated to promote Hindi language, on the evening of Friday, June 17. Jam-packed audience of more than 300 plus Hindi lovers had a rollicking time listening to the witty anecdotes and limericks of the three well-known Hindi Hasya kavi -Manjit Singh, Mahendra Ajnabi and Ana Dehalvi.

In the times of an up rise in standup comic shows from the likes of Jerry Seinfeld and Russell Peters, one would witness a parallel movement in India that has reinvented the humor swag with the likes of Kapil Sharma, East India Comedy and more. When the humor is interspersed with poetry, it creates what one knows as ‘Hasya kavita’. Although, the poetry is written in all languages of the world, it’s only in Hindi and Urdu that it enthralls the audience more. The Kavi Sammelan is a scintillating exhibition of humor, satire, sensation, love, patriotism and cultural values.

The evening began at 7 p.m. starting with a delectable dinner from Madras Pavilion. Satiated taste buds set the endorphins at work. Starting with a welcome address by Col. Vipin Kumar, the evening was hosted

by Arun Prakash, a veteran Hindi linguist. Three of his protégées, namely Rahul Agarwal, Varun Agarwal and Jasmine Singh, spoke on the occasion while expressing their love for the Hindi language and the Indian Culture while Usha Mehra set the tone of the evening with Saraswati Vandana.

Arun Prakash introduced the renowned Humorist and Hasya Kavi Manjit Singh who in turn introduced Mahendra Ajnabi and Ana Dehalvi in his signature style. The funny bone was awakened from its slumber.

Each humorist engaged the audience with their distinctive style. Manjit Singh started off with the much favored subject of Indians, cracking jokes on wives. Srimati formed the most relatable premise of ice breaking humor followed by satire on the current obsession with Social media.

He highlighted the dry humor through references of people posting pictures of broken legs before they went to hospital and of progressing ‘Suhaag raat’ (First night of wedding).

Could people relate to Manjit Singh? Oh yes, every word he spoke evoked an affirmatory chuckle.

The second entertainer of the evening was Ana Dehalvi, the poetess, who romanced with Urdu and Hindi

Photos: Bijay Dixit

language. She, despite being a Muslim, sang the Saraswati Vandana and called herself ‘Mein Saraswati ki beti hoon’. (I am the daughter of Saraswati). Her witty limericks were an amalgamation of Urdu and Hindi language and to ascertain this medley, she added “Sagi behno ko miladu, Urdu ko Hindi se miladu”.

The third performer in line was Mahendra Ajnabi. Poets are known to address the issues of the society through their satirical humor.

Ajnabi got the audience thinking on some hard hitting issues of the society through his poems like “TV ki aisi rawani... Bacche Bhool chale Dadi aur Nani ki Kanani”.

The guests enjoyed the cup of masala tea at intermission to keep the momentum on. The second half of the programme began with the vote of thanks by Col. Vipin Kumar followed by a speech by Dr. Virendra Mathur.

Dr. Mathur thanked the Hindi loving audience who came in for the ‘Hasya Ras Hungama’ and Arun Prakash for taking the initiative to organize such a wonderful programme. He also expressed his gratitude to Col. Vipin Kumar and his enthusiastic team who meticulously organized the evening at the India House. Darshak and Mona Thacker of Krishna Sounds provided the light and Sound, while T.V Houston, T.V Asia and Indo-American News covered the event.

The program ended close to midnight with a vote of thanks to the talented artists and the generous sponsors. The evening’s success was marked with a donation pledge of $100,000 by one of the India House member. Indeed a rollicking night for the Hindi lovers in Houston.

For more details and for upcoming events contact vipin@indiahouseinc.org or call 713-929-1900 or visit www.indiahouseinc.org

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.

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June 24, 2016

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June 24, 2016

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COMMUNITY

June 24, 2016

Five Fun and Educational Summer Vacations for the Whole Family

School might be out for summer, but that

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doesn’t mean kids have to stop learning during their months off. Summer break gives families the opportunity to take off on vacations that are both fun and educational. From the nation’s capital to local school related programs, there are tons of ways for kids to continue learning outside of the classroom.

Best in Class Education Center rounded up five of the best summer vacations that will keep the whole family engaged and entertained: Washington, D.C. The list of educational activities in Washington, D.C. is seemingly endless.

From national museums to monuments and memorials, planning a trip to the nation’s capital is a great way for families to stay sharp over the summer. Washington D.C. is filled with the nation’s history and culture, opening the door to countless educational opportunities.

Space Center Houston Space Center Houston, the visitor center of NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, is another destination worth visiting with the family over summer vacation. The center offers fun exhibits and activities that are focused on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). It also features more than 400 space artifacts.

Williamsburg, Virginia Colonial Williamsburg gives families the opportunity to witness and experience the nation’s history during revolutionary times. The city aims to preserve, restore and present itself as it was in the 18th Century, giving visitors a unique look at America’s beginnings. Williamsburg also

goes beyond history with its museums, theme parks and theaters.

Children’s Museums The U.S. is home to a network of impressive children’s museums. From the nation’s largest—The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis—to other local programs, planning even a one-day getaway to a children’s museum is a great way to incorporate learning during the summer months.

Local Libraries Not all summer vacations require travelling to a new city or spending money. Neighborhoods across the country offer educational experiences of their own. One of the best ways to tap into these local resources is by signing up for a library card. Libraries offer way more than just books—from competitive reading programs to group activities, libraries are a great place to spend a summer weekend.

To help your student exceed his or her academics goals, a local resource, Best in Class Education Center, offers a variety of customized, supplemental enrichment courses and tutoring options to ensure your students are equipped with the tools they need this school year.

Best in Class Education is targeting the addition of 20 more units in 2016. The state of Texas has been identified as a key state for growth. The current team behind Best in Class is looking for passionate and dedicated individuals to join this premier franchise family and ensure our youth will excel academically.

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COMMUNITY

June 24, 2016

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Seduced by a Heritage Fast Disappearing in the Mists of Time

BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA

HOUSTON: It is often said that

preening into your past becomes an intoxicating drink that only takes you delving further and further back in Time and you have to be pulled back to share what you found. In the case of Amardeep Singh, who had read books on the history of the Punjab and in whom burned the desire to revisit the jewels of a bygone age, that look backward was at a whole architectural and cultural heritage which was fast crumbling through neglect and lack of practitioners, in a land that had been divided seven decades ago.

After 21 years of working as the head of Asia Management for American Express, Singh could no longer control the impulse inside him to learn more about the places he had heard about from his elders and all those that history books had described. For him, the epic narratives of nineteen century cartographers Lt. Alexander Burnes (who was later hacked to death by Afghans), William Moorcroft and the nineteen-year-old George Trebeck were as fascinating for their contributions as spies for the British Empire as for what the travelogues revealed of the terrain and the people during the zenith of Raja Ranjit Singh’s rule around 1839.

A map of the places which were major settlements and towns during the reign of Ranjit Singh’s Empire in 1839

When he could hold back no more, Singh, who lives in Singapore, decided on taking a yearlong sabbatical from working in the corporate world to visit these sites himself, “My health was really down in 2013 and I decided to stop working if I had to live,” recalled Singh as he spoke to a full hall of over 200 at India House on Wednesday, June 15, with a surprising large number of Sikhs, who had never even stepped into the building since its inception, in the audience. “When my health had returned,” he continued, “I remembered my father’s recollec-

tions of Muzaffarabad and thought of going to Pakistan.”

Armed with his facts and history books, and his cameras (as he is an avid photographer), Singh went to the Pakistani Embassy and objected when he received a ten-day visitor’s visa, instead demanding – and receiving – a 30-day visa to travel unrestricted all over the country. He visited 36 places in 30 days and stayed only two nights in a hotel, otherwise staying in ancient Gurudwaras or the homes of people he met. He counts 14 such Pakistanis who were like-minded and whom he connected with

Gary Hanspal gave a brief introduction of the book and its author, Amardeep Singh

Amardeep Singh spoke passionately of the please he visited in Pakistan in search of his Punjabi heritage

as his good friends. “It was one man’s journey in search of community roots,” Singh told the rapt audience, “and it happened due to Divine intervention. It was a labor of love from the prime years of my career.”

In those 30 days, Singh visited many of the sites of the former undivided Punjab – 80 percent of which went to Pakistan after it was created by the Partition in 1947.

He visited the few Gurdwaras, still barely functioning by the 12,000 Paktoon Sikhs in the country, and the many more which were crumbling through neglect and the even more temples which were fast dis-

appearing. He visited Muzaffarabad and stayed only a day. “There I saw the Neelum River where it makes a sharp U-turn and was reminded of the U-turn that the Sikhs, Hindus and Muslims made in 1947.”He related the story of Noori whose parents were killed on the Muzaffarabad Bridge massacre of Sikhs and who was then raised as a Muslim.

In the process of his travels, taking pictures and notes, Singh became an “accidental historian but I infuse emotions into the narrative.” What emerged for him is a

INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUNE 24, 2016 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

CONTINUED ON PAGE

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INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUNE 24, 2016 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

COMMUNITY

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June 24, 2016

Bollywood Shake Collaborates with SHIAMAK in Houston

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HOUSTON: Houstonians had

the opportunity to experience a high-energy dance workshop this week brought to you by Shiamak Davar Dance Academy in association with Bollywood Shake and Agni. Ruchika Dias of Bollywood Shake is hosting these workshops at the Bollywood Shake studio in West Houston and the India House from June 19-25. Students can choose to attend the workshop for 1 day, 3 days or 5 days and all the students will come out as stronger, more confident dancers! Bollywood Shake would like to thank Prakash Mohandas and Prayrana Sharma of Agni Austin for collaborating on this project.

Lester Fernandes, who has been an instructor with the Shiamak’s Academy for 17 years and has worked with many Bollywood celebrities like Hritik Roshan, Shahid Kapoor and Varun Dhawan, taught the workshop and all the kids and adults who attended were mesmerized by Lester’s dancing and teaching abilities!

Lester’s believes in “Dance from your heart and the rest will follow!”

Who has not heard of Shiamak Davar? An Indian dance choreographer who has revolutionized choreography in Bollywood, Shiamak is also noted as one of the first to bring contemporary jazz and western forms of dance to India. In 1998, he received the prestigious National Award for choreography for the film Dil Toh Pagal Hai and went on to choreograph blockbusters such as Taal, Kisna, Dhoom 2, Taare Zameen

Par, Rab Ne Bana De Jodi and Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. With Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, Shiamak’s choreography reached international shores. World class shows on national and international platforms such as the IIFA Awards have made Shiamak the most sought after choreographer.

Shiamak has been the celebrity judge/ guest judge for dance based reality shows including Dance Ke Superstars (Superstars of Dance), Dance India Dance- Li’l Masters, Jhalak Dikhla Ja (Dancing with the Stars), Dance Premier League (DPL), Bollywood Star (Australia and Canada) and India’s Got Talent.

Singer, choreographer, performing artist Shiamak Davar is known as the “Guru of Dance” in India. He is largely responsible for modernizing India’s dance scene especially in the film and theatre industry.

With the motto Have Feet. Will Dance, Shiamak Davar International is the world’s biggest dance academy enriching the lives of over a million dance enthusiasts across India, Canada, Australia, U.S.A, UAE and the UK. Spreading the joy of dance to ages four to eighty four, his faculty teaches his original dance styles including Shiamak Style (Contemporary), Shiamak’s Bollywood Jazz, Shabop (Hip Hop & Street Funk) and Shiamak’s Yoga – Inner Dance Movement amongst many others.

With an aim to provide quality dance training and making dance available to all, SHIAMAK USA dance classes run in New York and New Jersey and have multiple

Photos: Murali Santhana

workshops in other states for students from ages four to eighty four providing them with training in various dance styles

by Shiamak’s expert faculty. The classes give them an opportunity to learn dance, express themselves creatively and perform on stage.

And Houston is getting a small glimpse of what Shiamak USA has to offer this week!! After the success of these workshops and due to public demand, we hope to see more Shiamak USA dance workshops in Houston in the future.

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COMMUNITY

The 2016 MetLife South Asian Spelling Bee Dallas & Houston Winners Announced

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HOUSTON: Continuing its quest

for the best speller in the community, the 2016 MetLife South Asian Spelling Bee (www.SouthAsianSpellingBee.com) traveled to Texas this past weekend with stops in Dallas and Houston.

With a huge turnout this year as well, the Bee attracted some top talent as well as young and new spellers that competed for the coveted prizes and titles.

In the Dallas Regional, Ananya Kodali (14) of Highland Village, Texas was the regional champ,

Rohan Rajeev (13) of Edmond, Oklahoma, was the first runner up, and , Smrithi Upadhyayula (14) of Coppell, Texas, was second runner up.

In Houston, Raksheet Kota (13) from Katy, Texas was named regional champ, Alex Iyer (13) from Hill, Texas was first runner up. Abhirami Jeeyseelan (13) of Baton Rouge, Louisiana second runner-up.

The event is open to children of South Asian descent up to 14 years of age. It will give South Asian children a chance to test their spelling skills in their core peer group. Interested spellers need their parent or guardian to register them online at www.southasianspellingbee.com.

Organized by Touchdown Media Inc., the 2016 MetLife South Asian Spelling Bee will be conducted in 12 locations across the United States starting on June 11.

Regional level events will be held in Los Angeles, the Bay Area, Dallas, Houston, Chicago, Seattle, Atlanta, Charlotte, Washington, D.C. Metro, New Jersey, New York and Boston. All events will be free to attend and open to the public. Accra, Ghana was announced as the 13th center from where spellers of South Asian descent will qualify for the finals.

“For the past eight years, the Bee has consistently provided a firm platform for the community to come together and hone their

INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUNE 24, 2016 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

craft. It’s become a family activity that contributes towards the overall development of the child.

We are proud to enter our Ninth consecutive year and look forward to engaging some of these wonderful spellers,” said Rahul Walia, founder of the South Asian Spelling Bee and CEO of Touchdown Media Inc. The top two spellers of each regional competition will advance to the finals to be held in New Jersey in August. Similar to previous years MetLife has once again funded the $10,000 champion’s grand prize that will be awarded to the winner at the finals.

This year, the Bee is proudly presented by Britannia - Britannia Industries Limited is India’s leading food company and marketer of cookies, dairy products and bread, while Kawan- the world’s most popular Roti paratha brand returns as the powered by sponsor and as always, SONY Entertainment Television Asia is the exclusive broadcast partner for the MetLife South Asian Spelling Bee and will be airing the series across 120 countries.

Britannia is extremely happy and excited to continue its association with this platform as a presenting sponsor. With its 120+ years of golden heritage of making healthy, fresh & delicious food, Britannia is a household name among South Asian consumers. This unique platform will help Britannia to reach out to Gen Z & showcase some of its popular brands like “Milk Bikis” and the new introduction, “Milk Bikis Creams” which are perfectly suited for the budding spellers.

“Kawan is proud to return as a sponsor and we have tremendous faith in contributing towards crucial family time for the community. We look forward to getting to know the spellers and their families through this wonderful journey,” said Tim Tan, Managing Director Kawan Food.

“Year over year, the MetLife South Asian Spelling Bee has made for great programing that gels with our ethos of compete family entertainment. We are all about family values and encourage platforms such as these that highlight the talent of our community,” said Jaideep Janakiram, Head of North America, Sony Entertainment Television-Asia.

For a complete schedule, registration and any other information, please visit: www.SouthAsianSpellingBee.com.

Find us on Facebook at South Asian Spelling Bee and you can follow us on our Twitter handle at Spell South Asian.

COMMUNITY

Fathers and Grandfathers are Serenaded at ISCA’s Function

From left, Govind Shetty, on the tabla; Tej Ganju on the harmonium; Saumya Rege singing and Suresh Shenoy on the sound board and singing solo and duets performed at the Father’s Day program at India House for the ISCA seniors. Vidya Hegde, a ghazal singer is not pictured.

ISCA President Praful Gandhi (right), with Secretary Bharat Shah and Board member Ramesh Patel

Saumya Rege with the emcee, Subodh Bhuchar

June 24, 2016 has been Madras Pavilion for several years.

The Father’s Day event this past weekend was performed and sponsored by a group of middleaged music enthusiasts with the hastily found name of Subodh and Company, after the mastermind and radio personality, Subodh Bhuchar, a doctor himself but self-professed music aficionado, comedian and auctioneer at many a gala. Bhuchar pulled together a bunch of his friends to form the orchestra and singers while he emceed and joked his way through the over hour-long set on stage in the large banquet hall.

Along with him were Govind Shetty, a banker and an accomplished table player; Tej Ganju, a keyboard specialist on the harmonium; Suresh Shenoy on the sound board and singing solo and duets with the other singer, Saumya Rege and Vidya Hegde, also a doctor in The Woodlands and a ghazal singer who went to medical school with Bhuchar. The group played some delightful music and songs from yesteryear which the seniors could hum and sway along to and showed their delight by clapping in on the faster numbers. Shenoy started with an old patriotic song “jahan dal dal kar” and Rege and Hedge added in with melodious songs and ghazals. And then the music flowed until lunchtime.

Prior to the beginning of the event, ISCA President Praful Gandhi started the function off with chanting Om five times and then prathna (prayer) before turning it over to a few other Board members who spoke about the importance of Father’s Day. ISCA Secretary Bharat Shah spoke in Hindi about his feeling for Fathers, noting that “when it’s a small situation, we say “hey Maa” but when it’s a big problem, we say “Baap re!” Sudha Trivedi spoke lovingly about Fathers quoting a story she found online about how you would spend the last 24 hours of your life. Arun Banker spoke the last piece on Fathers in a long passage in Hindi.

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Tahir Ansari (left) and Ajit Ahluwalia of Security Nationwide kept an eye out in the parking lot.

BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA

HOUSTON: It was a large crowd

of seniors - and even many elderly seniors - who came out to wish each other a happy Father’s Day at India House last Saturday, June 18. It has become a sort of tradition over the past few years to serenade seniors at Mothers and Father’s Day - and over the past two years, even on Grandparent’s Day which the Indian Senior Citizens

13

Association is organizing in partnership with the Indo American Charity Foundation which dreamt up the idea.

And at each Mother’s and Father’s Day, different groups of people from the community have ventured forward with musical programs to serenade the seniors, usually to packed halls, followed by a luncheon from a local restaurant, again sponsored by the performing group. This year it was Udipi Café with some comforting vegetable dishes; and in the past it

INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUNE 24, 2016 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

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16 June 24, 2016 Sri Govindaji Vedic School Kicks off Tree Planting Project

COMMUNITY

Seduced by a Heritage Fast Disappearing in the Mists of Time CONTINUED FROM PAGE

HOUSTON: On Sunday, June

12, the children of Sri Govindaji Vedic School gathered to undertake a project that is expected to plant a seed of tradition and set a precedent among community members. With their small hands and tiny fingers, they each placed a sapling into a little cup and matted soil around the roots to ensure that their plant had enough nutrients to grow. In doing so, they accepted a responsibility that is rooted in deep tradition. Vedic scriptures teach us the sacredness of Mother Earth and the responsi-

bility that each of us has towards preservation of the environment.

The children will nurture the saplings regularly by watering and tending to them. Once these saplings grow into Texas Red Oak and papaya trees, they can be used in the service of Lord Krishna and His devotees by providing shade, offering fruits, producing oxygen, removing carbon dioxide and contaminants from the air, creating a home for a vast number of jivas, and adding beauty to the temple.

Other devotees of the temple also planted saplings in memory of

Photo: Rishika Dewan

loved ones. These saplings were donated very graciously to Sri Govindaji Gaudiya Matha by Dr. Kusum Vyas, founder of Living Planet Foundation and the Green Yatra Action Network (GYAN).

We pray that this project bears the sweet fruits of inspiring our children and our larger community to continue performing seva.

Sri Govindaji Vedic School is open during the academic school year and the summer. To enroll your child, please contact Vimla Agrawal at (281) 949-8351.

09

picture of an undivided Punjab that was truly a secular empire during the time of Ranjit Singh and beyond. He remembered visiting a grave, inscribed “Ghulam Sarwar, vlad (son of) Makhan Singh” in a Manshera graveyard. He related more examples of the mixing of the population and realized that all religions had coexisted sideby-side. “In partitions of lands, the Third Generation always asks the questions,” Singh declared, “just like the Syrians will many decades later” referring to the conflict in the Middle East.

It took Singh 14 months to put his book “Lost Heritage: The Sikh Legacy in Pakistan” together, during which he “was lost to my wife and two daughters”. And since the publication of the 504 page volume interspersed with 507 photographs of historic monuments, forts, battlegrounds, commercial and residential establishments and places of worship, Singh has travelled to 40 events across the world to promote it. In virtually all the events, he asks what his audience first thinks of when thinking of Pakistan, and the Sikhs almost always give the same answers: Lahore, and the Gurdwaras at Panja Sahib and Nanak Sahib.

But Singh admonishes his audi-

INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUNE 24, 2016 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

ence that the history and heritage of the Punjab was much more varied and vibrant and to be inquisitive about it, but is in sore need of their attention before a large portion of their legacy crumbles into dust. “Seven decades later, 70 per cent of these heritage sites have been wiped out, and the rest are crumbling.”

Singh was brought to Houston by his friend Gary Hanspal who gave a brief introduction on his work. The event, which concluded with a buffet dinner by Madras Pavilion, was sponsored by Bal Sareen, a Trustee of India House.

Copies of the book were available for sale and those wishing one of their own can order the book Lost Heritage: The Sikh Legacy in Pakistan by Amardeep Singh online at www.lostheritagebook.com or through the author’s publishers in India who will air ship it to a local address.

COMMUNITY

June 24, 2016

The Extraordinary Life and Times of Mahatma Gandhi - Part 4

Gandhi’s Impact in South Africa: The story thus far… Gandhi arrives in South Africa and is rudely made aware of the rampant racism in that country when has to visit Pretoria on work. He is unceremoniously thrown off a 1st class compartment on a train to Johannesburg. He manages to board another train where his white fellow traveler is quite willing to share the compartment. They travel harmoniously on to Pretoria.

It was late in the evening when the train pulled into Pretoria.

Gandhi, relieved to reach his destination stayed at a hotel that night and moved into a lodge the next day. There he began to study the Abdulla lawsuit. While he was working on it, he made the time to call a meeting of the Indians in Pretoria. This he did with the help of Tyeb Haji Khan Muhammad, an influential Indian merchant. Only a handful of Indians attended. It was the first time Gandhi had addressed a meeting.

“There is too much division among us,” he said. “Why should we be kept apart by differences in birth, family, caste, and religion?

Let us form a league, representing every group, and keep the Government informed of our difficulties and our needs.” The audience listened to him with great interest. It was decided to hold regular meetings of all the Indians in Pretoria.

Involved in his work, Gandhi was entrusted with the task of translating into English all the correspondence between Dada, Abdulla & Co. and the rival party.

After studying all the facts, he was convinced that his client’s claim was just and true. He knew, however, that if the case were taken to court it would drag on for a long time, so he called together representatives of both parties.

“Why don’t you choose a good man, whom you both trust, to arbitrate between you?” he said.

Both parties were astonished at this new idea. This young man was not the kind of lawyer they were familiar with; they appreciated his stand and agreed to his suggestion.

An arbitrator was appointed, and he gave his award in favor of Gandhi’s clients. Although they had won, Gandhi persuaded his clients to be lenient with their opponent.

They agreed not to demand the money due all at once, but in easy installments spread over a long period. Both parties were happy over the settlement.

Gandhi’s first success as a lawyer was not a crushing victory over an opponent, but the triumph of good sense and humanity. In the Orange Free State, Indians had been deprived of all their rights by a law enacted in 1888. They could stay there only if they did menial work. Traders were sent away with nominal compensation. Under a law passed in 1886, Indians

who wanted to live in the Transvaal were forced to pay an annual poll-tax of £ 3 per head. There they were not allowed to own land except in certain locations. They had no freedom to move about. If they wanted to go out of their houses after 9 p.m., they had to carry a permit with them. They were not allowed to use certain highways at all.

Gandhi felt personally humiliated at the way Indians were treated there. He thought it was his duty to defend their rights and remove their grievances. He often went out for an evening walk with an English friend, Mr. Coates, and he rarely reached home before 10 p.m. He had obtained a letter from the State Attorney allowing him to be out of doors at any time without police interference.

Walking alone one evening, Gandhi was suddenly attacked and knocked down. He was injured.

He struggled to his feet to face a police constable.

“That will teach you to obey the law,” shouted the policeman. “No Indian has the right to walk past the President’s house. Didn’t you know that?”

The policeman kicked him.

“Gandhi, are you hurt?” asked a familiar, friendly voice. It was Mr. Coates. He happened to be passing that way when he saw Gandhi being attacked. Mr. Coates warned the policeman.

“This man is my friend and a distinguished lawyer,” he said. “If he brings a complaint against you, I shall be his witness.”

Then he turned to his friend and said, “I am very sorry, Gandhi, that you have been so rudely assaulted.”

“You need not be sorry,” said Gandhi. “How is the poor man to know? All colored people are the same to him. I have made it a rule not to go to court in respect of any personal grievance.”

Coates turned again to the policeman and said, “You should tell

an Indian politely what the regulations are - not knock him down.”

“Never mind,” said Gandhi. “I have already forgiven him.”

Now that the Abdulla case had been settled, Gandhi thought there was no need for him to stay on in South Africa. Towards the end of 1893 he went back to Durban to book his passage to India. Abdulla arranged a farewell party in his honor. While going through the newspapers that day, Gandhi was surprised to read that a bill was pending before the Natal Legislative Assembly that would deprive Indians of their right to elect members to the Assembly. He brought this to the notice of the people gathered there for the party.

“What do we understand about such matters?” Abdulla Seth said.

“We only understand things that affect our trade.”

Gandhi responded that the bill, if it passed into law, would make it extremely difficult for Indians.

“It is the first nail in our coffin. It strikes at the very root of our selfrespect,” said Gandhi.

The Indians now realized what was at stake; but they were unable to decide what to do. They requested Gandhi to postpone his departure and help them. He agreed to stay on for another month and organize resistance to the new bill.

Late that night the Indians held a meeting in Abdulla Seth’s house under the presidency of Seth Haji Muhammad, the most influential Indian merchant there. They resolved to oppose the Franchise Bill. Telegrams were sent to the Speaker of the Assembly and the Premier of Natal requesting postponement on further discussion of the bill. The Speaker promptly replied that the discussion would be put off for two days. The Natal Indians then drew up a petition to the Legislative Assembly pleading against the bill. This was followed up by another petition to Lord Ripon, the then Secretary of State for the Colonies.

More than 10,000 Indians signed the petition. Copies were circulated in South Africa, England, and India. There was much sympathy for the Natal Indians’ plight, but the campaign had started too late to stop the bill becoming law.

However, the campaign did do some good. For the first time, the people of India came to know of the conditions in Natal. An even more important result was the new spirit that now awakened the Indians in South Africa.

To be Continued next week...

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For more information and registration visit www.gandhilibrary.org

INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUNE 24, 2016 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

18 June 24, 2016 16 More IITs: Wrong Direction Union Cabinet’s decision to set up six new IITs in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Jammu & Kashmir, Kerala and Karnataka is a step in the wrong direction. Not only will this dilute the premier brand but also compound problems for the 16 existing IITs. IITs were meant to be institutions of national importance. Accordingly, they were supposed to admit and train the best brains in the country. Establishing ever more IITs automatically forces lowering of standards. Many of the IITs that were set up in 2008 have failed to impress – IIT Mandi hasn’t even fully shifted to its main campus. They also suffer from a staff crunch, with a significant number of permanent faculty posts lying vacant. Placements in these IITs have been lacklustre too. Even the older IITs have failed to make a mark at the international level, with none of them breaking into the top 100 world universities rankings.

In such a scenario, the focus ought to be on upgrading the existing IITs. This would involve attracting the best teaching talent through flexible compensation, filling faculty vacancies and boosting research. Much like the US Ivy League colleges, IITs should be preeminent institutions. Government should create more general institutes of higher learning rather than harumscarum add to IIT ranks.

The argument that adding half a dozen more IITs would reduce quality and diminish the brand value is specious. Such an argument severely misjudges the enormous role IITs have played in building quality education in the country. In fact the first five IITs established their global credentials as early as the 70s and 80s when they accounted for close to 10% of the total engineering enrolments in India. However, IITs have failed to keep pace with growth in demand and their share in total enrolment has shrunk to less than 1% now.

An increase in the number of IITs will not only help to restore their earlier share but also help make up for the large leakage of students who drop out or opt for management and other careers – thereby depriving the economy of contributions in areas of their core competency.

Numbers in fact also show that the 16 IITs are now able to enrol only 10,000 plus students annually, which is only a miniscule share of the estimated 1,00,000 high quality engineers needed in the country each year. Six new IITs would mobilise new talent from far flung, untapped regions and restore the premier role that IITs have historically played in expanding quality education in engineering. Times of India

EDITORIAL/COMMENTARY NRI’s Tough Love Letter to RIs

BY RAJIV J. CHAUDHRI If Indians are respected everywhere and being Indian has brand value, it is because of the achievements of NRIs. The main reason why the world takes India seriously is because of the expectation that 1.3 billion RIs could eventually become like NRIs, and the staggering economic possibilities and opportunities inherent in realizing that potential.

The 30 million NRIs constitute the most successful diaspora in history. We have demonstrated the fastest professional, economic and social mobility of any migrant group wherever we went.

We experienced discrimination and racism (no reservations for us!), but regardless, fought our way to the top of the economic and social ladder of these societies and earned their respect. We succeeded financially and also as assimilated, responsible civic leaders of the communities we live in.

If we NRIs were a country, our GDP would be in excess of $800 billion, equal to 40% of India’s GDP even though our population is less than 3% of yours. We pay more than $50 billion in annual income taxes, which is greater than the income taxes paid by the entire population of India. We give away more too, for charitable causes in both India and the countries where we live. NGOs operating in India are more likely to be funded by NRIs than by RIs. We keep India from running out of foreign exchange. India runs an annual current account deficit of $60 billion. Our remittances of $70 billion per year allow you to import more than you export.

If we did not fund this deficit, foreign investors would lose faith in the Indian corporate sector, there would be less FDI and the exchange value of the rupee would be lower. To fund this deficit, every year the average NRI sends back 2,000 dollars. This allows each of you – all 1.3 billion of you – to add $50 to your annual consumption. Each of us consumes 9% less of our income so each of

you can consume 3% more.

And you know what you do?

You turn around and use half of that to buy gold. Instead of building roads, bridges and providing people with education, water and electricity, every year the average RI sends $25 of foreign exchange out of India to buy gold. It has probably never occurred to you how morally depraved this behaviour is.

Let me tell you how we do it.

We are not smarter than you. We are, however, harder working, more law-abiding, more honest, more respectful of rules and governance, more socially-aware, less ideological, less complacent, less cynical, and less corrupt than the Indians you have chosen to become. We are religious but we do not waste our time thumping our chests about how great our ancient civilization is.

Most importantly, we have much higher expectations of ourselves and from life, we are willing to dream big and do what it takes to achieve those dreams. We have a sense of urgency about our dreams and we want to win now.

It is time to stop making excuses and get on with it.

Rajiv J Chaudhri is the President of Sunsara Capital, an investment firm focused on renewable energy.

Previously, he was a high technology equity strategist at Goldman Sachs & Co and President of Digital Century Capital, a high technology hedge fund.

Reader Feedback

Indians can not change when it comes to bragging. It is in their blood. NRI’s do not send dollars for free. Indians will think about themselves first before they will think about USA or any other country.

Giving donation in USA has tax advantage and I never read that average Indian origin US citizen gave millions of dollars in charity in USA or India.

Every US citizen/green card holder has to pay federal, state and local taxes because they are taken out from the pay check. There are

Indo American News FOUNDER: DR. K.L. SINDWANI PUBLISHER: JAWAHAR MALHOTRA EDITOR: PRAMOD KULKARNI BUSINESS & PRODUCTION MANAGER: VANSHIKA VIPIN GRAPHIC DESIGN: BHUMI PARMAR CORRESPONDENTS

CHICAGO: NAND KAPOOR INDIA: RAJ KANWAR, ASEEM KULKARNI ®All rights reserved. No material herein or portions thereof may be published without the written consent of the publisher. The deadline for advertising and articles is 4 pm on Monday of each week. Please include self-addressed, stamped envelope for return of all unsolicited material. Published at 7457 Harwin Drive, Suite 262, Houston, Texas 77036.

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INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUNE 24, 2016 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

many Mom and Pop stores where there are cash transections they do not report real income and there is no name on cash receipts.

NRIs have not much choice except to behave like good citizens.

How many times do NRI’s have violent demonstration USA? But in India it is a daily affair because of corrupt leadership starting from Nehru-Gandhi times. People have elected corrupt so -alled leaders time and again. More than 50% elected politicians have criminal cases against them.

Pella Lai Let’s forbear from pointing out that we natives too work like donkeys, sometimes in environs and organisations that are quite blind to creativity, ingenuity, sincerity, commitment, and long hours of working.

Us locals typically work from 9 thru 9, if not later, with no overtime pay when this tendency to overwork is actually held against us as being indicative of a lack of life beyond blind drudgery - with zero recompense for this excessive allegiance to achieving our goals.

With all due respect, if the author sees a young woman working her backside off right through the night because she’s a level 3 or 4 support for some system that he perhaps is using himself.

If he recollects the basic truth that he exists because there are folks like the above who produced, suckled, nurtured, clothed, educated, buffered his feeble ego and self-esteem and sent him to the land of apples and cider, then, maybe, just maybe, he wouldn’t address his polemic to all of the 1.2 billion folks here?

Just sayin’ that he should specifically direct his post-spicy-breakfast perorations to those in wide khaki kilts and not everyone for NRIs have always been dangerously susceptible to bloated images of themselves with not much reason for it excepting the exchange rates between INR and US$.

BN Sunder Times of India

COMMUNITY

June 24, 2016

Air Bag Recall and learn if your car has a defective airbag.

• If affected, call your car maker’s dealership to schedule an appointment to have the defective airbag replaced, free of charge.

• Spread the word throughout your community and share this link with family and friends – AirbagRecall.com.

H

OUSTON: In the wake of the largest automotive recall in U.S. history, millions of Americans are driving in “ticking time bombs” that put them at risk of serious injury or death. Visiting AirbagRecall. com can help save lives here in Houston, and across the country.

• More than 60 million airbags made by Takata are under recall due to a dangerous defect that causes the device that inflates the airbag to explode and spray shrapnel toward the head and neck of the vehicle’s occupants.

• At least ten people have been killed by defective airbags and more than 150 people have suffered injuries, including broken teeth, broken facial bones and vision loss.

• Vehicles affected by the recall include models from both U.S. and foreign manufacturers, such as Honda, Chrysler, Ford, GM, Toyota and Nissan, among others. The recall includes airbags on both the driver’s and passenger’s sides.

Older affected vehicles, and those in hot and humid climates, are more likely to have airbags that deploy explosively, making Houston one of the country’s most at-risk populations.

• The propellant inside defective airbag inflators deteriorates over time as a result of prolonged exposure to hot, humid conditions. Upon deployment, the metal housing can shatter, creating a shrapnel-like effect that makes any crash – even a fender bender – potentially fatal.

• The latest death occurred just outside of Houston, when a 17-year-old girl from Fort Bend County was killed after a minor fender bender in her 2002 Honda Civic. A fingernail-sized piece of shrapnel flew into her carotid artery, causing her to bleed to death.

Auto manufacturers are responsible for notifying drivers that their vehicle is atrisk and for replacing defective airbags, free of charge, at authorized dealerships - even if you didn’t buy your vehicle from a dealership.

• Free replacements can be scheduled by contacting your car maker’s local dealership. The replacement is a routine procedure that typically takes roughly 30 to 60 minutes to complete.

• Dealers are often able to assist in making the repair convenient by offering rental or loaner cars, shuttle service, towing or expedited repair completion while you wait.

Visiting AirbagRecall.com can help save lives here in Houston, and across the country.

• Click the SAFERCAR button to look up your vehicle identification number, or VIN, INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUNE 24, 2016 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

19

20 June 24, 2016

COMMUNITY

Ryan Alam Wins Morgan Stanley Competition

BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA

HOUSTON: As a teenager he was

always tinkering around with cameras and at one time considered going to college for to learn about making movies. Fast forward and Ryan Alam used his zeal for tinkering instead to get a Masters Degree in Social Entrepreneurship from the University of Southern California (USC) Marshall School of Business in Los Angeles, graduating just last month in May. But while still in college, he par-

ticipated with two other team mates – Suzie Amoes and Megan Strawther - in a worldwide competition sponsored by the investment firm Morgan Stanley. The completion was to devise a scheme to benefit a society or a country with sustainable results.

After a stiff round of eliminations, Alam’s team, Terra Limpa, won First Place for its smallholder agriculture project.

The Challenge, presented by a

three year-old partnership between Morgan Stanley’s Institute for Sustainable Investing and Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, invited proposals from graduate students to address critical social and environmental challenges.

This was a worldwide competition and 341 students made up 104 teams from 64 colleges in 21 countries.

Alam’s team developed a proposal to eradicate four decades of land mines from Angola, and establish an agricultural industry for the country.

Angola currently imports 80% of its food supply, even though it has some of the richest soil on the planet.

During the first round of judging, Team Terra Limpa was selected to be among the top ten finalists. The ten teams were flown to Hong Kong on Friday, April 15 to present to a board of judges from the World Bank, Morgan Stanley, The Rockefeller Foundation, T. Rowe Price, Blackrock, and other prestigious investment firms.

As the winning team, Alam, Amoes and Strawther will now present to the Milken Family Foundation in Santa Monica, California for funding consideration and possible implementation of their plan.

In addition to winning this worldwide competition, Ryan Alam has recently been accepted to Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government for his second Mas-

Ryan Alam at his graduation in May with a Masters Degree in Social Entrepreneurship from the University of Southern California (USC) Marshall School of Business in Los Angeles, flanked by his dad Sohail “Sam” Alam and mom Polly Alam.

ter’s in Public Administration. He is the son of Sohail “Sam” Alam, a long-time resident of Houston from Pakistan and medical planner, and

INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUNE 24, 2016 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

his wife Polly Alam, who is the a Vice President and branch manager of Amegy Bank in Bellaire.

COMMUNITY

June 24, 2016

21

Chef Sanjeev Kapoor to Headline Akshaya Patra Houston Benefit Gala Comedian Omi Vaidya will be the event’s Master of Ceremonies

HOUSTON: The Akshaya Patra Foundation will be holding its 2016 Houston Benefit Event on Friday, October 7 at the Sugar Land Marriott. Chef Sanjeev Kapoor will be the event’s keynote speaker. Comedian Omi Vaidya will act as the event’s Master of Ceremonies.

Sanjeev Kapoor is inarguably one of the most recognized faces of Indian television. He has been in people’s living rooms for almost two decades introducing them to the delights of Indian and international cuisine. His show Khana Khazana was a trailblazing cooking show on Zee TV. He has the proud distinction of being the only chef in the world to have his own channel – FoodFood. He has been conferred the ‘Best Chef of India’ award by the Government of India. Chef Kapoor represented India in the World Association of Chefs’ Societies (WACS) in South Korea and brought Indian Ayurvedic cooking to a world stage. He was the Indian ambassador for the United Nation’s Clean Cook Stoves campaign for the underprivileged of developing countries. He represented India as a Food Ambassador in Spain under the Spanish Government’s Indian Future Leaders Program (IFLP). He has also cooked for many dignitaries, including the Honorable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. Sanjeev Kapoor’s restaurants—Khazana, The Yellow Chilli, Signature, Hong Kong and Options—are considered the best in their categories in India and abroad.

Omi Vaidya is one of the few actors and filmmakers working in Hollywood and Bollywood.

A graduate of NYU’s Film School, Omi started as a video editor on independent films and went on to direct short films that have won awards at film festivals worldwide. Omi’s work in front of the camera includes memorable characters on American TV shows like The Office, Arrested Development, Bones, Growing up Fischer, and The Comeback. In Bollywood, Omi made his major debut in Aamir Khan’s film, Three Idiots, which became the biggest Indian box office success of all time.

The event will be held at the Marriott in Sugar Land, Texas, and will begin with a welcome reception. Over 350 business, non-profit, government, and philanthropic leaders from around the region are expected to attend and support the organization’s dual mission of addressing childhood hunger and malnutrition and to promote education for underserved children in India.

Established in 2000, Akshaya Patra began by serving 1,500 in 5 schools in Bangalore. Today Akshaya Patra is the largest NGO-run school meal programs in the world and serves over 1.5 million children daily in over 11,501 schools through 24 kitchens in ten states in India. In 2016, Akshaya Patra is celebrating its 15th Anniversary and the serving of its 2 billionth meal to children in India. Akshaya Patra USA is the US branch of Akshaya Patra and raises funds and awareness for the school meal program in India.

Akshaya Patra has received international recognition for its life-changing mission. In 2016, Akshaya Patra’s Founder Madhu Pandit Dasa received the Padma Shri Award, India’s fourth highest civilian award, for his work with Akshaya Patra. Shridhar Venkat, CEO of Akshaya Patra India, was recognized as being among the 50 Most Impactful Social Innovators in the world. Akshaya Patra was recently awarded the Nikkei Asia Prize, an award established to recognize an organization’s outstanding achievements that contribute to the region’s sustainable development.

For more information about Akshaya Patra, please visit www.foodforeducation.org.

This year’s event will feature an evening of networking, entertainment, and dinner.

For more information email Manisha@ apusa.org or call 832-876-2142 To register: Piyali@apusa.org or 781-4628454 To register or purchase tickets: www.foodforeducation.org/houston Chef Sanjeev Kapoor

INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUNE 24, 2016 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

Omi Vaidya

22 June 24, 2016

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PUZZLES / RECIPES

Mama’s Punjabi Recipes Aaloo Di Tikki (Potato Cutlets)

Solution Next Week

The lowly aloo (potato) is not so low

on the culinary scale for Indian food as it is, by far, the most used vegetable in desi cooking and is certainly one of the cheapest. Potatoes are found just about everywhere; there are stunted, small varieties found even among the sand soils of the desert in Rajasthan and West Africa where potatoes are especially pricey.

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You find potatoes in samosas, paranthas, rice biryani, daals, curries, chaats, pakoras, cutlets, sautéed with other vegetables and, of course, cooked in many ways on its own.

It is probably used in more dishes in Indian cooking than in any other variety of cuisines.

Potatoes are generally very high in carbohydrates (about 26gm in a medium potato) predominantly in the form of starch, both of which can contribute to weight gain. A small but significant amount of starch is resistant to digestion by enzymes, and remains in the large intestine intact as fiber which provides bulk and protects against colon cancer. Potatoes are classified as high glycemic and so are not suited to individuals on a low sugar diet.

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Still, Indians love potatoes in one form or the other without any concern; in fact they often eat them with lots of other heavy carbohydrates, like white rice, rotis (flat bread) and puris (fried breads) or in fried foods which are saturated in oils and although these dishes are tasty, they are fattening. Aloo tikki (potatoa cutlets) are as comforting as pakoras (fried fritters) eaten with chutney and can be made on a tava (flatplate) or if making many, deep fried.

Ingredients: • 6 medium aaloo (potatoes) – red or plain, but not the baking kind • 2 slices bread – preferably white • As needed tael (olive oil or veg etable oil) • Spices taste: dhania (coriander powder), lal mirch (red pepper), namak (salt); amchoor (dried mango powder)

Directions: 1. Peel the potatoes, then wash them and let them boil in a pot of salted water.

2. Cut the edges off the slices of bread, shred them and keep aside.

3. After the potatoes are tender, drain the water. Place them in a bowl and mash the potatoes. Add in the shredded bread and mix in well with the spices.

4. Grease your palms with a little oil; pinch off a portion of the mixture and make into a 1 inch ball. Flatten the ball between your palms into ¼

inch thick discs and set aside on a plate. Repeat till all the mixture has been made.

5. Heat up a tava (flatplate) on high setting and then coat with a little oil. Once hot, reduce the setting to low and place four or five discs on to cook.

6. When one side is brown, turn over to brown the other side. The tikkis should be slightly crispy in order to get the right texture and taste.

Serve with chutney or your favorite spicy sauce.

Shakuntla Malhotra is a skilled cook of Punjabi dishes made in the oldfashioned style that she learnt as a young woman in her ancestral home in Lyallpur (since renamed Faisalabad), 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.

MAMA’S TIP OF THE WE EK COOL DOWN BE

LET POTATOES

FORE M

AKING TIKKIS Cooking tikkis an d other similar sn acks potatoes is a matter of the right tempera that use mashed tava (flatplate) but ture, not only for th als e boiled, it is importa o of the potatoes. Once the potatoes are nt to let them cool down for a while be using them, especia fore lly if the potatoes ar Sometimes you ca n even keep them in e of the soft variety. the fridge to cool do This way, the starc wn. h in the potatoes se ttles down and the will not come out tikkis sticky.

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June 24, 2016

ENTERTAINMENT:REVIEWS/NEWS ENTERTAINMENT:REVIEWS/NEWS

Shahid, Alia, Kareena, Dijit Live up to all the Hype

BY

A

UDTA PUNJAB

fter much controversy, Udta Punjab opened to audience on Friday morning, and unlike the censor board’s earlier claims, the film doesn’t glorify substance abuse.

Instead, the film has its heart in the right place: Punjab is in the grip of drugs, and only its youth can unchain it.

What may look like an indigenous version of the hugely popular American series Breaking Bad, it circles around a group of people who operate on both sides of the IndiaPakistan border. They are the ones ensuring a constant drug supply in the wheat bowl of India. Protected by the high and mighty in politics, it’s hard to pinpoint anyone. At its current scale, the onus is on nobody to contain the menace.

Enter fading rockstar, Tommy Singh (Shahid Kapoor), who is cussing and sleepwalking through his career. As we try to understand his circumstances and what’s driven

him to this point, there are others like him, and all these characters keep crossing each other’s path. But can they stick together to put up a fight against the mafia?

Director Abhishek Chaubey unfolds his story with a lot of promise and takes the audience through the lush green fields only to give a shocker.

What lies on the other side of the paddy fields is raw and appalling.

Then there’s a Bihari migrant (Alia Bhatt) whose zeal for a better life captures you. But just as you begin to empathise with her, you realise the futility of her efforts. It’s not a world she can control.

Similarly Sartaj (Diljit Dosanjh), a junior officer in Punjab Police, has questionable morality. He doesn’t get a hang of the reality until Dr Preet (Kareena Kapoor) shows him the bigger picture. But again, he is not on top of the food chain, and decision making is not his prerogative.

What begins as a satirical retort to

Punjab’s social situation slowly turns into a thriller. Tommy and his gang’s antics amuse and ease us into this darker zone. He can’t control his actions. In fact, he is long past that now.

He is only a mocking representation of our transformed musical sensibilities. You hesitate to laugh when he blames his fans for taking his verbal diarrhoea as creativity. Every bit of a cynical singing sensation, Shahid Kapoor is a treat to watch.

Alia Bhatt, the show stealer, carries no baggage and delivers the performance of a life time. From accent to body language, she has got almost all of it right.

Diljit Dosanjh is nuanced and likeable and carries his ambiguous morality with ease.

Satish Kaushik deserves a special mention here. As Tommy’s manager, he knows how to ace the game.

Witty and humorous, Udta Punjab works mostly because of its tone and stand against drugs, though the

second half is no match for the first.

Sometimes though, it appears like an opportunity lost as the narrative keeps dragging in search of closure.

The film is entirely Chaubey’s.

Bringing in inspiration from Quentin Tarantino, the Coen Brothers and Vishal Bhardwaj, he showcases the paradox of Punjab in Bollywood films. The land of lassi and mustard fields isn’t about a romantic duet anymore, and if you don’t act fast… well, watch the movie to find out. There are no reasons not to.

- hindustantimes.com

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INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUNE 24, 2016 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

24 June 24, 2016 Sran, Bumrah Wreck Zimbabwe as India Level Series

BY ALAGAPPAN MUTHU HARARE (ESPN Cricinfo): India 103 for 0 (Mandeep 52*, Rahul 47*) beat Zimbabwe 99 for 9 (Sran 4-10, Bumrah 3-11) by 10 wickets “Kuch mat karna [Don’t do anything],” screamed MS Dhoni.

Zimbabwe were 57 for 5 at the time and they were gifting their wickets away.

Left-arm fast bowler Barinder Sran picked up three in a single over and recorded the second-best figures by a debutant in T20I cricket. His 4 for 10 sprung the trap on Zimbabwe, Jasprit Bumrah’s 3 for 11 made sure they couldn’t even think about escape and India levelled the series 1-1 with their first ten-wicket victory in T20 cricket.

If a team was kept to 99 for 9, it would be reasonable to think that conditions had been bowlerfriendly. But a 1pm start in Harare with not a cloud in sight reduced the chances of swing. The pitch was being used for a third time on the tour, which gave the team batting first a slight advantage.

Zimbabwe gained that advantage when the coin fell in their favour.

If they had put up a big enough total, the natural wear and tear of the surface could have made the chase that much more difficult.

Instead, Zimbabwe were 35 for 4 after the Powerplay on the same deck they had made 170 on only two days ago.

India gave the new ball to two debutants for a second time in as many matches and Sran made sure to extract as much as he could from it. Only one delivery in his first spell of three overs was pitched short.

His first wicket was excellently constructed. Zimbabwe could not find a single run off the bat in nine balls. Chamu Chibhabha came on strike. He had found eight of his 10 runs through boundaries.

Sran sensed the batsman would go for a release shot and bowled his offcutter. The batsman mistimed his swipe over mid-on and Ambati Rayudu snapped up an excellent catch over his shoulder while running towards the boundary.

Mandeep Singh steers the ball to the off side, Zimbabwe v India, 2nd T20I, Harare, June 20, 2016.

Hamilton Masakadza got his first run off his seventh ball with a fearsome drive through the covers and moved into double figures with a thump down the ground. To the next ball he faced - an inswinger, pitching on a good length - he heaved across the line and lost his middle stump.

Sran welcomed the new batsman Sikandar Raza with a wide slip and he obliged by steering his second ball to that fielder. Tinotenda Mutumbodzi fell for a golden duck, though replays indicated he was incorrectly adjudged lbw by umpire Russell Tiffin. The batsman was struck above the knee roll and Hawk-Eye suggested enough of the ball had pitched outside leg stump.

Nevertheless, Sran had three wickets in an over and Zimbabwe were on course for a terribly underwhelming performance. Not even one of their eleven batsmen could reach a strike-rate of 100 only the fourth time that has happened in 559 T20Is. Peter Moor, brought in for the injured Richmond Mutumbami, top scored with 31 off 32 balls. His presence would have given Zimbabwe hope but Dhoni played a mean trick. Knowing the opposition was in recovery mode - in other words fearful of losing any more wickets - he called on his spinners to rush

through the middle overs. Yuzvendra Chahal deceived an advancing Malcolm Waller in the flight, and refused Elton Chigumbura the leverage he so desperately wanted.

With the score at 73 for 5 after 14 overs, panic set in for Zimbabwe. India preyed on that by bringing back their premier fast bowler - Bumrah. Moor never saw the slower delivery coming and was caught at point, Chigumbura’s stumps were bulldozed a few minutes later, and with all their specialist batsmen dismissed, the best Zimbabwe could do was play out the 20 overs. Bumrah, now, has 24 wickets in 2016 - the most by any bowler this year.

The chase was straightforward.

Mandeep Singh cruised to his maiden T20I fifty, but he could have been caught in the fifth over had Malcolm Waller, rushing forward from deep square leg, and Taurai Muzarabani, running back from short fine leg, communicated better.

In the end the ball fell between them and trickled for four. The India opener offered another chance on 22 when he pulled straight to Donald Tiripano, the fielder on the square-leg boundary, who parried over the rope for six. It was just that kind of day for Zimbabwe.

They struggled with the basics from start to very early finish.

Alagappan Muthu is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo.

England Eves Beat Pakistan by 7 Wickets GRACE ROAD -- England 166 for 3 (Beaumont 70, Knight 50*) beat Pakistan 165 (Ameen 52, Knight 5-26) by seven wickets A new era for the England women’s cricket team began on a successful note as Heather Knight marked her first match as successor to Charlotte Edwards as captain with a victory over Pakistan at Leicester in the first of three Royal London one-day internationals, putting her name in the record books for good measure.

Knight, appointed to the job

when Edwards was controversially deposed last month, led from the front by taking five wickets with her offspin and adding an unbeaten 50 with the bat.

It is the first time in 50-over international women’s cricket that a player has scored a half-century and taken five wickets in the same match. Chasing 166 to win at the Fischer County Ground in a match originally scheduled for Monday but delayed because of a waterlogged outfield, England cantered home by seven wickets.

INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUNE 24, 2016 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

SPORTS

Sardar Singh Returns to Lead India in 6-Nations NEW DELHI: Rested from India’s silver medal winning Champions Trophy campaign, Sardar Singh was on Monday named captain of the 18-man squad for the 6 Nations Invitational hockey tournament to be held in Valencia from June 27.

Drag-flicker Rupinder Pal Singh also made a return with Sardar, and so did Birender Lakra.

Goalkeeper P R Sreejesh captained the Champions Trophy side in London where India won their maiden silver in the competition history.

The squad features a strong defensive line up, with experienced campaigners VR Raghunath and Kothajit Singh joined by the returning Lakra and Rupinder Pal. Vikas Dahiya remains a back up to custodian Sreejesh.

The other teams in the tournament are Argentina, Germany, New Zealand, Ireland and hosts Spain.

“After winning our first medal at the prestigious Champions Trophy tournament over the weekend, we are confident to deliver our best at the 6 Nations Tournament as well.

All these matches are stepping stones towards the ultimate goal Rio Olympics 2016,” said Sardar.

“The brilliant display of tactical hockey during Champions Trophy by the squad has positively elevated our Olympic medal-winning hopes. Three of the teams we face in Valencia are in our Pool at the Olympic Games, so that will help us assess and analyse our tactics better too,” he added.

Chief Coach Roelant Oltmans said the squad is building up nicely for the Rio Olympics.

“The key to the tournament will be to use it almost as a host of friendlies, before the Games. We will try to maximise on our squad rotations, tactical experiments and analyse our opponents there,” he said.

“Most teams, will come with what resembles their full strength squad and so it will give us a good indication of our strengths and weaknesses, prior to Rio.” India take on Germany in the opener on June 27.

June 24, 2016

25

UK not yet Approached for Extradition of Mallya, Lalit Modi: Sushma Swaraj

Delhi-Varanasi Bullet Train May Cover 782km in 2 Hrs 40 Mins

Both Mallya and Modi are wanted by the ED in its money laundering probe and the agency has also sought a global arrest warrant against them from the Interpol.

I

BY MAHENDRA SINGH

NEW DELHI: The second bullet

train after the Mumbai-Ahmedabad corridor will run from Delhi to Varanasi, a distance of 782 km, and could complete the journey in just two hours and 40 minutes.

The project connecting the capital to the pilgrimage city, which is also PM Modi’s Lok Sabha constituency, while passing through Lucknow has been fast-tracked ahead of the UP polls next year.

Though it will be a while before the service rolls out, the Delhi-Varanasi stretch — part of the Delhi-Kolkata corridor — has been accorded topmost priority for the railways after the national transporter accelerated the Mumbai-Ahmedabad stretch by tying up funds with Japan and setting up of the High Speed Rail Corporation.

Fast-tracking of the stretch seems to be part of the Modi regime’s strategy to project a pro-development image ahead of UP polls. The DelhiVaranasi stretch will pass through

Aligarh, Agra, Kanpur, Lucknow and Sultanpur. 52830501 An official said the interim report by a Spanish firm, which is conducting feasibility study of the highspeed rail corridor, was discussed by the Railway Board and the firm is likely to submit its final report in November.

As per the report, the travel time between Delhi and Lucknow (506 km) is likely to be 1 hour 45 minutes while travel between Delhi to Kolkata (1,513 km) will take 4 hours 56 minutes.

The preliminary cost, without rolling stock, being worked out is estimated to be about Rs 43,000 crore for the Delhi-Varanasi stretch and around Rs 84,000 crore for the entire Delhi-Kolkata corridor.

However, an official said the final cost will be worked out only after detailed field study of the finally chosen alignment. The possibility of operating doubledecker high speed trains on this section is also being explored by the consultant.

- indiahtmes.com

ndia has not yet approached the Mallya was also spotted in the audi- too because they (LSE) had to fill a UK for extradition of liquor baron ence, Swaraj said the envoy was “not hall of 400 people and students go on Vijay Mallya and former IPL boss at fault at all.” vacation in summers. Hence, through The Minister said neither event the open invite anyone could come,” Lalit Modi, wanted by Indian investigators in multiple cases, External organiser London School of she said.

Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said Economics(LSE) nor the Indian High Swaraj added that the HC’s reception Sunday, as the ED is still to provide Commission had invited Mallya for invite too did not go to Mallya. the event where a book by socialite “There was no authorised invite by required documents to her ministry.

Swaraj said that in the case of Mal- Suhel Seth was launched.

LSE to him (Mallya) nor any from the lya the Enforcement Directorate(ED) “If Suhel Seth invites someone then High Commissioner. You also know had sent her Ministry the extradition the High Commissioner did not know that as soon as the HC (Sarna) saw request but certain that Mallya is changes were present there, suggested and the he left in five probe agency was minutes. yet to respond.

“I don’t unWith regard to Laderstand then lit Modi’s case, she why this is besaid the ED has not ing made an sent the required issue. When documents. we see the in“When we get vitees list and requests for extrathe conduct of dition in both the HC then this cases, we will send issue does not them (to the UK),” remain,” she Swaraj told a press said. conference. She Television said the previous news channels UPA government had showed had only sought On the controversy over Indian High Commissioner pictures of deportation proSarna and in UK Navtej Sarna attending an book launch event cedings against Mallya in the where Mallya was also spotted in the audience, Modi and it was hall where the only NDA govevent was held Swaraj said the envoy was “not at fault at all.” ernment which and questions that. There were two kinds of invita- were raised over the presence of was seeking his extradition.

Both Mallya and Modi are wanted tion that were sent. The first was for the High Commissioner at an event by the ED in its money laundering launch of book and the other by the where a personality wanted by enprobe and the agency has also sought High Commissioner for reception. forcement agencies in India was also “The first invite was sent by LSE. present. a global arrest warrant against them LSE has formally written a letter to from the Interpol.

On the controversy over Indian High us and said that they did not send - indianexpress.com Commissioner in UK Navtej Sarna invite to him (Mallya) but it is also attending an book launch event where true that there was an open invitation

INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUNE 24, 2016 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

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