E newspaper08242018

Friday, August 24, 2018 | Vol. 37, No. 33

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Indo American erican News

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Rajender Singh of Star Promotion with Atul Khatri The India Culture Center Board takes a bow midway through the Indian Independence Day program last Sunday, August 19 at the Stafford Civic Centre

India House , Celebrating t he Triumph of free India

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Dr. Durga Agrawal (left), Jugal Malani, Congressman Al Green, Dr. Virendra Mathur, and Col. Vipin Kumar at India House on Wednesday, August 15.

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COMMUNITY

August 24, 2018

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Swami Mukundananda Bestows Two Weeks of Spiritual Bliss to Houstonians

HOUSTON: Houstonians braved

the traffic and adjusted their summer schedules to attend Swami Mukundananda’s programs at India House and at the Hindu Worship Temple. Swamiji as he is affectionately called by his followers is a world-renowned teacher of Spirituality, Yoga & Meditation.

His academic background includes degrees in Engineering and Management from prestigious institutes in India; The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and The Indian Institute of Management (IIM).

However, his spiritual calling was so intense that he renounced his promising professional career to take Sanyas at the young age of 23. Swamiji is a senior disciple of Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj and the founder of JKYog - a nonprofit organization dedicated to the spiritual, mental and physical wellness of humankind.

During the first week-long program at India House from Aug. 4-10, Swamiji presented a Life transformation program (LTP) for the holistic well-being of body, mind and soul. This program is a combination of yoga, meditation and intellectual discourses by Swami Mukundananda. Swamiji explained the 7 Divine Laws for Happiness and Fulfillment in great detail covering one Divine Law each day.

The participants listened to Swamiji with rapt attention and participated in every activity with great vigor. Some of the remarks shared by the participants at the India House program are identified be-

the spiritual gems hidden within the Ramayan. The audience were led on an enchanted journey by Swamiji’s narration of the divine pastimes of Lord Ram. Swamiji easily held the attention of a diverse audience ranging from children to elderly; evoking laughter as well as tears from his listeners.

Throughout the 7-day program, the listeners were taught the essence of spirituality covered in the nectar of the Ram Katha. The audience appreciated the uniqueness of Swamiji’s Ram Katha and were

low.

Swamiji’s lectures are so profound and powerful that it forces you to examine your own priorities, values, beliefs, habits, etc with total honesty and humility.

Swamiji leads listeners step by step towards an understanding of

how to remove obstacles to your progress and how to make the necessary changes in your life.

Swamiji explains difficult concepts with simplicity, accuracy, wit and humor.

His techniques are based on Vedic scriptures, but He makes the

process of life transformation so easy and practical.

He literally moves you to transform yourself.

Swamiji treated Houstonians to a second week of spiritual joy at The Hindu Worship Temple from Aug 11-17. The focus this time was on The Ram Katha Rahasya.

Swamiji is a master story-teller; delving into the depths to reveal

saddened when the program concluded on the last day.

Houstonians were grateful for Swamiji’s wonderful programs and eagerly await Swami Mukundananda’s next visit to Houston on Sept 21 and Sept 22.

For more details visit JKYog. org/events or call 281-630-5982 or 832-377-6070.

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COMMUNITY

August 24, 2018

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This I-Day Brought Out Kids of All Ages, Onstage and in the Aisles

The mayors of Houston, Missouri City, Sugar Land and Stafford with the ICC organizers and the major sponsors of the Independence Day event, Jugal Malani and Swatantra Jain (on right) watch the stage show.

Photos: Raghu Thakkar

BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA

STAFFORD: Sure you can con-

vince a little kid to get dressed up and go onstage to prance around and sing the national anthem while the proud parents sit in the front row lip synching the words to them. But try doing that with the little tykes dressed up in white pajama-kurtas and salwar-kameezes and a saffron turban balanced on his head as they wave the Indian tri-color and sing the Indian national anthem - “Janna Ganna Manna” - and you certainly can imagine the hours of rehearsals and patient coaching that it took to the them there!

But there they were, in front of a large audience with many of their parents sitting cross-legged in the front excitedly taking their pictures. The occasion was the cultural program and bazaar held this past Sunday, August 19 at the Stafford Civic Centre on Cash Road as the India Culture Center celebrated the 72nd anniversary of India’s Independence. In an oftenrepeated festival held at the same

venue for more than a decade, ICC organizers were thrilled by the estimated over 2,300 people who came to the event.

This year’s event had large turnout of youngsters who were encouraged by their parents and the organizers who held many contests for them to participate in.

Many were given a topic to choose from when they entered the venue

The Essay contest winners Arunima Para, Shriman Thandra, Vani Jain, Juhi Choudhury and runners up receive their awards.

The Extempore speech contest winners Shriman Thandra, Rayaan Lakhva and Diksha Chandra receive their awards.

Models in the fashion show take a bow with the organizer and choreographer Jasmeeta Singh (at the mic).

and then spoke extemporaneously in the Extempore Contest (coordinated by Parul Fernandes and Sangeeta Pasrija). Others wrote essays (coordinated by Santosh Verma) which had been submitted and judged by a panel.

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The highlight of the event came towards the evening when Jasmeeta Singh of Jaz Creations emceed the fashion show that she produced and choreographed featuring works by several local designers and make-up artists. The judges were International Bollywood winners Mayuri Rana and Ziva Malin.

Among the local leaders who attended and spoke were Mayors Sylvester Turner, Allen Owen, Leonard Scarcella and Joe Zimmerman as well as Sugar Land Councilman Himesh Gandhi and Stafford Councilman Ken Mathew.

There were over 20 cultural dance performances including two thrilling Filipino items.

Among the more than 50 booths was one from the Guruvarappan Temple collecting funds for the Kerala flood emergency rehabilitation. There were also three food booths serving mouth-watering Indian dishes in the food court.

Adjacent to that was the children’s crafts area where they could build or draw many other ideas.

After picking up a copy of ICC’s “Tarang” souvenir magazine, people could get a chance to play at the spot brain stimulator quiz

conceived by Sanjay Sohoni. Dr. K. D. Upadhyaya, dressed in a saffron jacket and a Gandhi cap, and Swapan Dhairyawan gave a heartful tribute to India’s 10th Prime Minister Atal Bihar who had just passed away.

Event chair Pramod Bengani gave a poignant speech about “Life” and “Freedom” and how these have formed the backbone on which India has progressed from a nascent nation to the largest thriving democracy in the world.

ICC President Nisha Mirani told

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COMMUNITY

August 24, 2018

DAV Sanskriti School Opening Day and Independence Day Celebrations at Arya Samaj of Greater Houston

HOUSTON:

Last Sunday, August 19, witnessed celebration of DAV Sanksriti School’s and Arya Yuva Mandal (DAV high school youth group) opening day and India’s Independence Day celebration by coming together of children and parents at the campus of Arya Samaj of Greater Houston, Schiller Road. AYM students and Teachers of DAVSS welcomed new DAV students, parents, volunteers and returning students with traditional welcome Tilak.

Recently, Arya Samaj of Greater Houston, DAV Sanskriti School and DAV Montessori Schools were recognized by Sarvadeshik Arya Pratinidhi Sabha and awarded recognition of Model Arya Samaj (Abroad- Out of India) at IAMS 2018 – Delhi. DAV Sanskriti Sunday School in parallel with the Sunday Satsang caters for about 150 children in age 4 to 13.

While AYM for ages 14 to 18, focused on Sewa in local community.

The morning was kicked off with a short meditation, and a joint Havan/ Yajna Roop performed by children of both schools lead by Acharaya Harish Chandra. All the three Havan Kunds were setup and with over 25 School children as Yajmaans. Acharya Ji explained the meaning of mantras and Vedic scientific Pravachan to the children & families. DAV Sanskriti School provides complementary curriculum to traditional school with

Naitik Shiksha classes to develop moral compass to discern various life issues.

DAV Sanskriti School empowers kids towards their spiritual growth, inner development, strength, insightfulness, yoga, havan, cultural bonding, community service, music, arts and patience.

DAV Sanskriti School is committed to bring East and West together with their best. AYM youth, Vipashchit Nanda, gave short inspirational speech on the law of karma. Nearly 300 people, on a hot Texas Sunday morning, attended the grand event!

The assembly moved to the open front area to celebrate Independence Day with flag hoisting ceremony. The children of DAV Sanskriti School performed delightful serving of patriotic songs and dances orchestrated in the outdoors, including the full recitation of Rashtriya Geet Vande Maatram and Jana Gana Mana national anthem. One song item by the little kids attracted everyone’s eyes as well as ears as it was based on the fusion of multiple patriotic songs.

The crowd was served a delicious meal in a smooth quick manner. ASGH library was converging point for various volunteer teams to sign up new volunteers for Sewa activities for 2018-2019 calendar year.

DAV Sankriti School is open for new registration and can be reached at www. facebook.com/SanskritiUSA/ or www.

DAVSS.org

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COMMUNITY

BY VANSHIKA VIPIN VARMA

HOUSTON:

Commemorating India’s 72nd year of independence, a grand event was organized at India House on Wednesday, August 15 at 10:30 am. Patriotism and love for the motherland could be seen as the enthusiastic crowds started pouring in from 10 am onwards to celebrate the triumph of free India. The event was attended by about 160 patriotic people, inspite of the celebration being held on a weekday. It was an emotional sight to see, where people sang to the tunes of the patriotic songs that were being played throughout. The attendees included luminous personalities like Congressman Pete Olson, Congressman Al Green, Heads and representatives of many Indo-American organizations, Democratic candidates running for political offices like Sri Preston Kulkarni and Juli Mathew.

The event commenced with the hoisting of American, Indian, Texas and India House Flags.

Congressman Pete Olson hoisted the American Flag, Trustees of India House - Dr. Durga Agrawal, Dr. Virendra Mathur, and Jugal Malani, hoisted the Indian Flag.

Anil Aggarwal and Kul Bhushan Uppal hoisted the Texas Flag and Jiten Agarwal hoisted the India House Flag. As the participants paid their respects to the Nation, the flag waving was followed by renditions of National Anthems of USA and India, melodiously sung

by Kruthi Bhatt. Patriotism could be seen as the crowd saluted the

August 24, 2018

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India’s 72nd Independence Day Celebrations @ India House

Kruthi Bhatt

Flag hoisting ceremony.

From left: Dr. Durga Agrawal, Jugal Malani, Congressman Pete Olson, Dr. Virendra Mathur, and Col. Vipin Kumar.

National Flag with pride in their hearts. People from all walks of life had gathered to witness the flag rise up to the tune of the Indian National Anthem. This gesture holds sentiments of several generations of Indians who sacrificed a lot for the freedom of India and we could see moist eyes as the Indian flag rose up the pole. This emotional experience followed by

Dr. Rucha Seth

Photos: Bijay Dixit

a gathering at Brij-Sunita Agrawal Hall. Col. Vipin Kumar, Executive Director India House warmly welcomed the guests. He called upon Jugal Malani, the President of India House to share his views.

Malani gladly introduced the dignitaries present who expressed their views.

Dr. Virendra Mathur shared excerpts from Indian Prime Minister

Narendra Modi’s speech addressed to the nation from Red Fort, New Delhi, India. Congressman Al Green congratulated everyone on the 72nd Independence Day and mentioned, “Today I am proud to be a part of this celebration.

It’s a special day for me because you have invited me here and included me as part of your family.

India House has always opened its doors to me and like me it has welcomed everyone who wants to be a part of this community. I thank India House for this”. Stating this

he presented the certificate or recognition to India House.

Expressing his love for India, Congressman Pete Olson said, “I love India and have enjoyed meeting India’s Prime Minister Modi four times”. He gave insights about the strengthening bonds between India and America. He also assured that he looked forward to welcoming Prime Minister Modi in Houston. In his ending note, he thanked India house for its dedica-

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COMMUNITY

Flood Disaster Relief Project of Sri Guruvayurappan Temple

H

OUSTON: Devastating natural calamities have been causing ongoing suffering to the people of Kerala.

Hundreds of people lost their lives in the recent flood and landslides. Several thousands have been admitted to relief camps. Home, hospitals, schools and roadways have been taken away by catastrophic flooding (from insurgent monsoon). The tragic flood created damage several magnitudes worse than the Hurricane Harvey Houstonians experienced in 2017.

The victims are in need of food, medicine, money and all basic amenities to rebuild their lives. Any help or donations will have tremendous effect rebuilding lives for our friends and families. Understanding the urgent need, the temple has initiated efforts to alleviate this unfortunate situation with a goal to raise and donate $100,000; so far, we have raised $20,000 since Friday, Aug 17.

Sri Guruvayurappan temple (https:// www.guruvayurappanhouston.org/) of Houston is collecting donations for Kerala flood disaster relief fund. Donations are tax-deductible. Please make check payable to Sri Guruvayurappan Temple and include “Kerala Flood Disaster Relief Fund” in the memo. You may drop off your contribution at the temple front desk, or by mail to 11620 Ormandy St., Houston TX 77035.

Temple president Biju Pillai asked to express our compassion and sovereignty as true citizens and help in the recovery process. Upon receiving the donation, official receipt from the temple will be sent to your email.

Online donations can be done on temple website: https://www.guruvayurappanhouston.org/Services. aspx?cat=04&serv=976 For assistance contact treasurer (Babudas 443-600-7774), PR coordinator (Remasankar 404-680-9787 or President Dr.Biju Pillai 832-2473411).

Email:president@guruvayurappanhouston.org

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COMMUNITY

August 24, 2018

Funny Desi, Atul Khatri Brings the House Down

BY VANSHIKA VIPIN VARMA

Pradeep Sulhan, P.C.

Certified Public Accountant

cracked jokes on Indian government and current political situations.

To ensure he could connect well with the audience, he shared relatable jokes on many of his real life experiences with his family and his two daughters and also on modern day parenting. His act had the audience in splits and the roar could be heard all along. He amusingly added that anytime anyone travels to UK from India, people tell them “Bring

STAFFORD: “Laughter is the

tonic, the relief, the surcease for pain”, quoted the legendary comedian Charlie Chaplin. This holds so true, and laughing is, and will always be, the best form of therapy. The icing on the cake is when you get to end a hustling week with a comedy act. That’s exactly what Houstonians encountered

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From left: Amiralli Dodhiya, Atul Khatri, Rajender Singh, and Swapnil Agarwal. Photos: Dr. Nik Nikam

last weekend as Rajender Singh of Star Promotion in association with Karya Property Management & Amiralli Dodhiya presented the show, ‘Atul Khatri Live Stand Up Comedy’ on Friday, August 17 at the Stafford Civic Centre.

Stand up comedy shows have lately been in vogue in Houston and people fondly await an opportunity to be a part of one. What better could it be than to unwind a laborious week with one such act.

An hour or two of laughter riot was a perfect end to a week and keeping in mind the Friday schedules the show was rightly timed at 9 pm.

The show was elegantly anchored by RJ Guddi Shah, who welcomed the spectators and thanked all sponsors. As she rolled out the red carpet for the star of the show, the audience cheered with a round of applause for Atul Khatri, who has been on a one month comical USA and Canada tour.

Designating his comedy as his mid-life crisis, Atul narrated how he started comedy. A businessman turned stand up comedian, Atul Khatri set about his career as a Chief Executive Officer of his family run computer business.

At the age of 43, Atul decided to have an alternate career. Whilst still being engaged in his business, at first, he tried his hands on comedy by posting jokes on Facebook. He was amongst the three finalists at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival held in Delhi in 2012. However,

he rose to fame after winning the ‘CEO’s Got Talent’ award by FremantleMedia in 2014 and became India’s one of the most loved stand up comedian, proving that ‘funny’ has no age. He proclaims himself as ‘Horny Sindhi’. Atul performs at The Comedy Store, The Canvas Laugh Factory and East India Company besides staging at shows across the world. A well known YouTube personality, Atul was rated among the top Indian comedians by CNN-IBN and was the only Indian to perform in the Hong Kong International Comedy Festival.

He is 50 years old and is notoriously named as India’s Oldest English Stand up Comic amongst the comedy circuit. The crowds eagerly awaited the fun show to commence. Atul, in his witty style, claimed that his show will be vulgar, and so it was but hilarious all throughout. Being the only oldie amongst the young standup comedians of today, he jokingly said that they generally get confused if they should call him Dude or Dad. In his usual style, Atul mocked some from the audiences who enjoyed sportingly.

Being a Sindhi, he made fun of it and said he always makes sure that he orders soup 1 by 2 even if he is alone. That way he gets more soup. He also humorously added that he is always amazed with how much luggage Indians carry when they travel. They travel with more than they should. If the plane crashes in an island then they can survive forever. He also

back the Kohinoor Diamond”. His fans had a belly laugh throughout the show. His jokes were a mix of English and Hindi to ensure the audiences relate easily.

Atul concluded the show by inviting the organizer Rajender Singh of Star Promotion, Swapnil Agarwal of Karya Property Management & Amiralli Dodhiya on stage.

Live Sound was provided by Darshak Thacker from Krishna Sounds Productions.

Upcoming show includes AR Rahman Live in Concert on Saturday, September 15 at the Smart Financial Center in Sugar Land.

To buy your tickets and for further information call Rajender Singh at 281-222-4500 or visit starpromotioninc.com

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COMMUNITY

Kaderi Kibria at Surangan’s Annual Student Appreciation Day

BY SANCHALI BASU

HOUSTON:

Surangan Music School, celebrated its annual program at the HDBS Sur Auditorium the evening of August 12. After months of rigorous rehearsals, students got to showcase their talent on a platform, which boosted their confidence and brought the Surangan family closer. Kudos to the energetic melodious, talented teacher, and founder Rupa Ghosh in accomplishing the herculean task of training the young talents, most of who are born and brought up in the US. The program was inaugurated with the lamp lighting ceremony by community leaders, Dr. Hannan Khan, President of BASGH, Shah Haleem, President of BAH, Sujit Sengupta, Vice President of HDBS and Debleena Banerji, President of TSH. Emcee Mila Sengupta, welcomed the audience with a brief introduction of the school.The first half of the program was titled, “Aalor Anandaloke Panchakabi”

signifying the message of enlightenment through the propagation of happiness by the 5 stalwart poets of Bengal, namely Rabindranath Tagore, Kazi Nazrul Islam, Dwijendralal Ray, Rajanikanta Sen and Atulprasad Sen. The script-based program was narrated by Biplab Samadder, who with his smooth, soothing, and baritone voice. Solo and group songs accompanied by Raja Banga, Niranjan Roy and Barun Choudhury on the tabla, Biplab Samadder on the violin, Vikram Banga on percussion, and Bidyut Ghosh on the mandira were inter-

spersed with solo and group dances. The dancers ranged from considerably young artistes to more mature, skilled ones, and brought some color and life to the music program. Rupa, with the help of her ever accommodating husband Pradip Ghosh was successful in putting together this program with a large contingent of 92 participants.

What makes Rupa’s students very special is that, not only is their pronunciation of the Bengali lyrics impeccable, they also play the harmonium while singing. Group and solo dances were choreographed

by Supradipta Datta, Silvia Faruque and Shown Sarkar, and performed very beautifully by Polin, Nusaiba, Tithi, Shanta, Shown, Shinjini, Ananya, Sanchali, and a number of other youngsters.

This year’s annual program was made special by the presence of Bangladesh’s pride, renowned exponent of Rabindra Sangeet and recipient of Ekushey Padak award Kaderi Kibria. He was felicitated

with a plaque and “uttoriyo”. He was invited to award certificates to the students of the school and participants.

Finally Kaderi took the stage and Rupa accompanied him in some of the songs. He enthralled the audience with his with his rendition of not so popular, but rich Rabindra Sangeet numbers mixing them up with some popular ones. He spiced up the musical performance with tidbits of anecdotes related to some of his songs. He shared his experiences with his Gurus Debabrata Biswas and Chinmoy Chatterjee.

He also sang some “Harano Diner Gaan” (old Bengali songs). Rupa ended the program with a vote of thanks to all participants.

Surangan family deserves high accolades for presenting yet another excellent program showcasing the gems of Bengali cultural creativity. The journey that Rupa has undertaken will undoubtedly carry the torch of Bengali cultural heritage to the newer generations growing up far from their place of origin.

Photos: Mohammad Rob & Farhana Jahan

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COMMUNITY

August 24, 2018

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HOUSTON: The 23rd Brahman 23rd Brahman Samaj Convention in Houston Attracts a Global Audience Samaj of North America (BSNA) Convention and its Silver Jubilee Celebration, and 8th Global Brahman Convention (GBC), was held in Houston from July 27–29, 2018. The program started with lamp lighting ceremony by BSNA youth in presence of Dr. Sen Pathak and Dr. Shrikant Mishra and President Dr. Keshav Shukla and the core organizing committee. Then followed a grand Hasya Kavi Sammelan by kavis from India: Dr. Suresh Awasthi and Dr. Kirti Kaley.

Saturday July 28 commenced with a power yoga session followed by Bhajans early morning.

The convention was formally inaugurated with Vedic Mantras, lamp lighting and Brahm Vandana by senior BSNA patrons. Dr. Keshav Shukla delivered the welcome speech, which was followed by the keynote speech from Dr. Shri Kant Mishra, President of GBC. After the keynote speech, Youth chair Abhay Dubey presented the Importance of Janeu, followed by Dr. Sen Pathak’s emphatic presentation on Healthy Ageing.

During the pre-lunch session, several BSNA members participated in panel discussions on Brahmanic values and relevance in today’s context. Discussion on Stress/Anger Reduction & Management in Youth/Adults via Spirituality, Yoga, Ayurveda and Modern Medicine drew significant youth participation.

Other post-lunch notable panel discussions included topics on Business (moderated by Sanjay Pathak and panelists Vashishth Sharma, Devesh Pathak and Sanjay Tiwari) and Healthcare (moderated by Dr. Swapan Dubey). In the post-panel discussion, there was an impressive question and answer session with physicians including Dr. Shrikant Mishra, Dr. Vinod Mishra, Dr. Hans Ghayee, Dr. Ragini Miryala, Dr. Ramesh Hariharan and Dr. Ramesh Krishnan.

These panel discussions were followed by a discourse by His Holiness Shri Roopchandra ji Maharaj and concluding presentations for the night by Dr. Sukrit Mukherjee on Scientific Interpretation of Some Religious Practices.

Saturday dinner was followed by the presentation of dances from youth and dramas by local BSNA professional actors such as Kusum Sharma and Master ji, thumri by Dr. Lakshmi Shankar Dube and Bollywood Songs by Mrs. Jayesha Mukherjee accompanied on tabla

by Dr. Sukrit Mukherjee.

The award ceremony and youth recognition were the highlights of Sunday morning session wherein contributions of all the volunteers were acknowledged and recognized with plaques and certificates.

Special efforts of Food Committee led by Suman Pathak, Vibha Goswami and Chetna Upadhyay in

Senior BSNA members with Kavis after the grand Kavi Sammelan.

providing fabulous food were appreciated by all attendees and recognized by patrons. The most notable recognitions were Life Time Achievement awards to Dr. Sen Pathak, Mr. Akkaraju Sarma, Dr. Shrikant Mishra, Yoga sessions

by Yogi Arun Tiwari, discourse by Swami Roopchandra ji Maharaj, Bhajans and cultural programs by Vandana Dadhich, etc.

The Convention provided an excellent opportunity for all to network, remember their roots and exchange ideas on various topics. The Convention Director Mrs. Abha Dwivedi and the convention committee volunteers worked tirelessly to organize the convention and ensure comfort of the delegates. The convention was adjourned Sunday July 29th noon with a luncheon and the vote of thanks by President Dr. Keshav Shukla.

Brahman Samaj of North America (BSNA), founded in 1994, is a not-for-profit, cultural, educational, religious and charitable organization, serving the

needs of Brahman Community and Hindu community at large in

North America.

BSNA President Dr. Shukla awarding Life Time Achievement award to Dr. Shrikant Mishra (left) and Dr. Sen Pathak.

INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 2018 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

14 August 24, 2018

INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 2018 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

August 24, 2018

INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 2018 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

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16 August 24, 2018

COMMUNITY

Setting the Stage for Success An annual mega event provides Houston children with backpacks and school supplies.

HOUSTON: With a mission to

help Houston families, Alka & Ajay Gupta Foundation, a nonprofit organization in collaboration with Indus Management Group coordinated their annual Backpack giveaway in thirteen different Houston locations. Hundreds of children were provided school supplies and medical services for the upcoming school year.

The Foundation’s community outreach effort this year has helped over 2,000 economically disadvantaged Houston area students as they prepare to return to school in August.

Over the past eight weeks, Gupta Foundation and Indus Management Group have organized several outreach events across Southwest Houston area where thousands of backpacks and school supplies kits were handed out to students.

Each backpack was filled with a notebook, a pack of crayons, pencils, erasers, and other materials, and distributed to children from Kindergarten through fifth grade.

Local churches and organizations generously offered help by donating books and clothing for the students as well.

Texas Children’s Mobile Clinic provided free vaccinations to children. Health and dental screenings, immunizations, and social service resources were offered to hundreds of families at no charge during these events.

Additionally, Alka & Ajay Gupta Foundation and Indus Management Group actively participated in Houston Police Department Midwest Division’s Back to School Bash by contributing funds, school supplies, books, and

clothes to families attending the event. Raj Adnani, Chief Operating Officer at Indus, visited HPD’s back to school event to show his appreciation and gratitude for their hard work and dedication. Captain Yasar Bashir of the HPD Midwest division that covers Mahatma Gandhi district was very appreciative of Indus Management’s support and cooperation.

“Each year we hope that our back to school events will not only gear children with supplies they need for school but will also bring hope and happiness in these kid’s lives”, said Indus Management Group’s Chief Executive Officer Ajay Gupta. “We look forward to lending our helping hand every year and facilitate improving lives of our community families”.

I-Day

vendors, sponsors, and dignitaries for making the event grand.

and their topics: Shriman Thandra (12) spoke on pollution in India; Rayaan Lakhva (10) on Indian flag and Diksha Chandra (7) on the Indian flag.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 05 the audience that the “achievements of the any organization multiply when they confer and work together,” referring to the other groups that had partnered with the ICC to bring this event together.

And finally, event co-chair Ajit Patel thanked the audience, booth

India House

For advertising in Indo-American News Contact:

Vanshika Vipin

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CONTINUED FROM PAGE 09 tion and hard work and for doing a tremendous job in raising funds and supporting hurricane Harvey victims. He also presented the certificate or recognition to India House. In an emotional speech, Dr. Durga Agrawal reminded everyone the reason for our freedom.

He mentioned that our freedom fighters are the reason we are here today, and it is because of their struggle and their sacrifice that we see today the way it is. He said, “I am proud to be born in the largest

The ICC Fashion Show winners: Reshma Mathews for Miss Talented; Priyanka Shrivaastav for Miss Facebook Popular and Amardeep Kaur Miss Super Personality.

Extempore Contest winners

Essay Contest winners and their age bracket categories: Arunima Para (age 7-10); Shriman Thandra (age 11-14); Vani Jain (age 15-18) and Juhi Choudhury (age 19-22).

democracy in the world- India, and I am proud to be an American”.

Patriotic and classical songs sung by Kruthi Bhatt, who recited Bharat Anokha Rag Hai, and Dr. Rucha Seth who sang ‘E mere watan ke logo’ and ‘Sare jahan se accha’ followed his speech. Col. Vipin Kumar thanked all the attendees, sponsors, volunteers and staff for supporting this event. He encouraged everyone to sponsor India House events considering the noble cause behind it. The sponsors this August are Energy Guru for Yoga, Sethna Financial Group for Charity Medical Clinic,

Stephanie Madan for Urban Youth Program.

Scrumptious refreshments sponsored by Umang Mehta of Deep Food and Madras Pavilion awaited the enthusiastic crowd. The event was brought to life with an excellent live sound system provided

by Darshak Thacker from Krishna Sounds Productions. The credits to the glamorous decor of India house goes to Touch of Elegance.

For more information on India House and its various programs visit www.indiahouseinc.org or email vipin@indiahouseinc.org or call at 713-929-1900.

INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 2018 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

COMMUNITY

August 24, 2018

HGH to Honor Beth Kukarni for Decades of Volunteer Service sity of North Carolina at Charlotte, and a son David S. Kulkarni, a real-estate developer of high-end apartments and student housing, and

HOUSTON:

BY HAIDER KAZIM

HOUSTON: Hindus of Greater Hous-

ton (HGH) will present their 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award to Beth Kulkarni for her volunteerism and inspirational service to the community for nearly four decades.

The award will be presented on August 25 at the Janmashtami celebrations at George Brown Convention Center in downtown Houston. Bollywood legend Anupam Kher will be the star attraction this year at HGH’s signature event from 6 p.m. to midnight.

“She is second to none in doing years of selfless service to the community,” said Pundit Bhargava Sarma, a former priest at the Hindu Temple of The Woodlands. “Her dedication in promoting Sanatana Dharma, devoted participation in puja rituals, and commitment shown as a medium between Eastern and Western cultures are highly commendable. We believe she truly deserves this award.”

Beth Kulkarni has been associated with almost all Hindu organizations in Greater Houston area in a leadership role, or as an advisor or volunteer during different periods of time. These include Hindu Worship Society, VHPA, HSS, and Sri Meenakshi Temple. She was also President of VHPATexas chapter. She is one of the founding members of Hindus of Greater Houston and the Hindu Temple of The Woodlands and is actively associated with these organizations, including HTW’s Senior Forum.

Besides community service projects, Beth Kulkarni has helped community organizations in media work, interfaith outreach, and educational activities. She has taught English as a Second Language to children and adults and helped in training of teachers in Indic Culture and Traditions. Her volunteer work includes speaking to non-Hindu groups on Hindu culture and traditions. She actively took up Hindu causes whenever disrespect was shown to Hindu deities by manufacturers of commercial products.

She has actively promoted Raksha Bandhan, a unique Indian tradition that celebrates the ties between siblings in which a sister ties a bracelet or rakhi on the wrist of her brother, praying for his protection and getting a promise of protection from brother. Vijay Pallod, an active member of HGH, relishes his rakhi bond with Beth Kulkarni and calls her “Didi” or elder sister.

Beth was a physics undergraduate at the University of the Pacific in California when she met Sharad Kulkarni who was doing his Ph.D. They were married in 1964 when Sharad completed his doctorate. She did her BA in Physics at The University of the Pacific. She then completed a year of post-graduate studies at California State University at Sacramento.

After moving to Houston, Beth spent about 20 years in the workforce, including serving as part of an international technical training team for Amoco and BP. She has a daughter, Shanti Kulkarni, who is a professor of Social Work at the Univer-

Rathna Kumar’s “Forest of Fantasy” is an imaginary story that weaves together re-ality and fantasy to drive home a very important point - that we need to take Nature seriously, respect it, and do our best to protect our environment before things get any worse.

The story concept by Seetha Ratnakar, has been specially set to music by Sandeep Kumrouth and Mahalakshmi of Sreekrithi School of Music, and choreography is by Rathna Kumar, who re-ceived an Individual Artist Grant for this original project. Costumes and lighting have also been designed by Seetha Ratnakar, former Asst. Station Director of India’s na-

daughter-in-law Melissa Kulkarni, and muchloved grandchildren Meera Brennan, Matthew Kulkarni, and Sofia Kulkarni.

17

Beth is currently working on a cookbook, a compilation of vegetarian recipes submitted by local community members for the Hindu Temple of The Woodlands. The book Traditional Indian Foods and New Favorites will be available at HTW Diwali Mela.

Forest of Fantasy tional television net-work, Doordarshan.

This dance theater project features puppeteer Greg Ruhe of Puppet Pizzazz and the Anjali Dance Company and members of the Anjali Center for Performing Arts.

Come and journey with us through our surreal forest at 5pm on Saturday, August 25, at the Kaplan theater, Evelyn Rubinstein Jewish Community Center, 5601 S. Braeswood Blvd, Houston, TX 77096.

Tickets are $25 & $15 act the door and early bird specials are $22 and $12. For tickets and in-formation please call (832) 275-9658.

INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 2018 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

18 August 24, 2018 Rehabilitation & Reconstruction

EDITORIAL/COMMENTARY Remembering Atalji

BY INDRANI BAGCHI

Even as the flood waters recede in most affected areas and people look forward to getting back to their normal lives, Kerala is staring at a much bigger problem: rehabilitation and reconstruction.

If the floods were quick to erupt and reasonably fast in abating, the humongous devastation it has left behind throughout the state will be a drain that can at least temporarily bankrupt the state, and a large number of its people.

Barring Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam, almost all districts have been ravaged by flood waters, landslides, or both. Floods and landslides have destroyed houses, property, public and private infrastructure, farmlands and businesses, apart from killing over 200 people.

Initial estimates by the government suggest that the damage to property caused is about Rs 20,000 crore, which is most likely to be a conservative amount given the high population density, a predominantly urban public and private infrastructure and massive investments by people in houses and household goods.

Even if one overlooks the natural aftermath of floods that are yet to come – such as epidemics and disruption to education and health – the government doesn’t seem to have the resources to cope with the cost of reconstructing the state. Even under normal circumstances the state has very little money for capital expenditure (Rs 10,333 crore), with most of its income going towards revenue expenditure (Rs 115,661 crore). It’s hard to guess how it will find the resources to rehabilitate and rebuild. The Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund to which people are generously contributing, and the meagre central aid of Rs 600 crore, will be just a drop in the ocean.

Although the government has promised all possible support, it will certainly be hard pressed for money to rebuild damaged roads, bridges, utilities such as water and electric supply systems, hospitals, schools and other forms of public infrastructure. People may have to find the funds to restore their lives, just as they finance their health and educational needs. The state’s residents are anyway used to fending for themselves – Kerala has the most privatised health and education sectors, which incidentally, have also recorded among the fastest declines in government investment.

However, there will definitely be large sections of people who will fall between the cracks. They will not be able cope with the tragedy without government support. Many of them will also have suffered a loss of livelihood. Will the government strategically reach out to them with targeted measures? -- Indian Express

Was Atal Bihari Vajpayee only a peacemaker? It would be more accurate to describe his foreign policy as “bold”, a departure from the timid doctrines that preceded it. Despite low moments, Vajpayee gave Indian foreign policy frisson of excitement, as India recalibrated its compass to suit its ambitions and capabilities.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s bus ride to Pakistan in February 1999 was also the first time I travelled to our neighbouring country. Back in Calcutta, Pakistan rarely intruded on my consciousness. In Delhi, however, Pakistan dominated my waking moments, because, I realised later, the partition experience here was a little different from Bengal.

At the Wagah border, we waited impatiently for the bus which carried the Indian PM and his entourage. Standing in front of me was Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif and Mushahid Hussain, who was minister-in-waiting. Mushahid talked non-stop, and we overheard him telling Sharif in Punjabi that it needed a “right winger like Vajpayee to make that trip across the border. Couldn’t have happened with a Gujral or the Congress.”

The bus rolled in. Nawaz Sharif jumped into the bus, bade a greeting to Vajpayee, then said, “Where is Dev Anand?” Dev had been thoughtfully placed in the bus, because everybody knew of Nawaz Sharif’s weakness for Bollywood. So the first lines from India in Pakistan were Dev Anand’s, who didn’t disappoint Nawaz. Then diplomacy took over.

The most important part of that visit to Lahore was not the fact that the bus service captured everyone’s imagination. Pakistanis reading every Indian move, only focused on one thing — Vajpayee’s visit to the Minar-e-Pakistan and his remarks in the visitor’s book there. Essentially, he confirmed India’s acceptance of Pakistan as a sovereign nation, with its own identity. For Pakistanis who had laboured for decades under the notion that India wanted to either break up Pakistan or undo partition, it was momentous.

That moment overshadowed the nuclear CBMs and all others that Rakesh Sood and Vivek Katju in

MEA had painstakingly negotiated.

We were told, ominously, that Pakistan’s army chief, Pervez Musharraf had “skipped” the reception for Vajpayee at the Governor’s House. It was a portent of what was to follow — the Kargil conflict in May of that year.

Vajpayee persisted with Pakistan, and his low point was the Agra Summit in July 2001. There were ample signs that Musharraf was not coming with any deal in mind. Yet, Vajpayee’s government conceded something successive Indian governments would rue — allowing the separatist Hurriyat to meet with the Pakistan president and high commissioner, a concession that stuck in Indian throats forever. In fact, almost all of Vajpayee’s low points in foreign policy had to do with Pakistan — the disastrous negotiations on IC-814 hijacking, the India-Pakistan composite dialogue without an end-date and Operation Parakram, which convinced everyone that India did not have the nerve and/or, did not have a follow-through plan, which became painful after the Kaluchak camp attack on May 14, 2002.

Musharraf scored his characteristic self-goal in Agra with a live broadcast breakfast with fawning Indian editors.

But the summit had collapsed before that. Musharraf insisted Vajpayee recognise Kashmir as the “core” dispute. It was L.K. Advani, Vivek Katju and Brajesh Mishra who prevented Vajpayee from giving away the diplomatic store, because they correctly reckoned that it would be used by Pakistan to continue the low-cost proxy war against India.

Fast forward to January 2004, for Vajpayee’s last attempt with Pakistan

and the same Musharraf. It was a more realistic Vajpayee then. That last image of Vajpayee preparing to board his aircraft to return to India if Musharraf didn’t agree to a line saying he would not allow terrorism against India from Pak-controlled territory, will remain a fun one of staring the dictator down.

Everyone knows of Vajpayee’s transformation of India-US relations, a baton picked up willingly by Manmohan Singh and Narendra Modi on the Indian side and Clinton, Bush, Obama and Trump on the US side.

Less commented was the fact that Vajpayee took a more realistic approach to China. Defence minister George Fernandes’ declaration of China as India’s #1 “enemy” for the first time re-oriented our strategists’ gaze from a 24/7 obsession with Pakistan to looking at China as a strategic challenge. Vajpayee’s own explanatory letter to Bill Clinton about the 1998 nuclear tests pointed to Chinese capabilities as the real reason for India’s actions. Fernandes’ red-flags about Chinese activity in Coco Islands was the first indication of what would become China’s “string of pearls”. Needless to add, Beijing was hopping mad. It was a year before foreign minister Jaswant Singh travelled to Beijing to build bridges, which culminated in the 2003 summit with Vajpayee. It was this realisation that not only prompted India to take a harder look at its own preparedness, at the real possibility of fighting a two-front war, and .. to recast its relations with the US. If Narasimha Rao rewired the India-Israel relationship, it was the Vajpayee-Ariel Sharon summit in New Delhi in 2003 that changed the course of this particular relationship. In the decade under Manmohan Singh, Israel became India’s favourite, as long as you didn’t come out of the closet.

That changed with Modi.

If you think Japan-India strategic love has been forever, let me remind you of the harsh Japanese reception to India’s tests back in 1998. It was Indian persistence and a summit between Vajpayee and Yoshiro Mori in 2000 to get Japan to look at India differently. The natural convergences of the relationship came into play only afterwards. -- Indian Express

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INDIA: 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, AUGUST 24, 2018 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

LIFE OF MAHATMA GANDHI

19

August 24, 2018

The Extraordinary Life and Times of Mahatma Gandhi - Part 11

The story thus far…For two years

Gandhi traveled extensively in India and had talked at different places. His interest first centered on the problem of indentured labor where poor, ignorant laborers were enticed away from India to work in the British colonies. He disapproved of this system in South Africa, fought it there, and he wanted to see it abolished.

Gandhi started a great agitation on this issue. As a result, the Government announced that the system of indentured labor would be stopped before July 31,1917. In Ahmedabad at textile mills, prices had gone up and the mill workers were demanding higher wages. The mill owners would not agree. Gandhi sympathized with the workers and launched a struggle and resorted to peaceful resistance.

The workers proudly followed Gandhi and paraded the streets saying they would not go back to work until a settlement had been reached.

Days passed. The mill owners wouldn’t budge. The strikers were getting impatient for they were faced with starvation. Their discipline became weak. Gandhi feared that some workers would break their pledge and go back to work. That would be a great moral defeat. One morning he called the workers and told them that unless the mill workers held to their pledge, and reached a settlement, he would not eat. The workers were shocked. “Not you, but we shall fast,” they said. “Please forgive us for our lapse; we shall remain faithful to our pledge.”

Gandhi did not want anybody else to fast. His fast was not against the mill owners, but against the lack of coordination and unity among the workers. The fast lasted only three days. It was powerful enough to influence the mill owners that they came to an agreement with the workers.

Hardly was the mill workers’ strike over, when Gandhi had to plunge into the Kheda satyagraha struggle. The Kheda district of Gujarat was on the verge of a severe famine. Crop yield had been so low that the cultivators, especially the poor farmers, were unable to pay the revenue. But the government insisted that the yield had not been so bad and that the cultivators should pay the tax.

Gandhi saw the injustice advised the farmers to offer satyagraha by not paying their taxes. Leaders, like Vallabhbhai Patel, Shankarlal Banker, Mahadev Desai and others took an active part in this struggle. There had been signs that the campaign might fizzle out, but after four months of struggle there was an honorable settlement. The government asked rich farmers to pay and granted relief to poor farmers. The Kheda satyagraha marked the beginning of an awakening among the peasants of Gujarat, the beginning of their true political education. It gave to the educated public workers the chance to establish contact with the actual life of the peasants.

During this time the war had entered a critical phase. Britain and France were in a difficult position.

In the spring of 1917 Germany had inflicted crushing defeats on both the British and French troops in France.

Russia’s war effort had broken down and the Revolution was threatening its Government. Though America had entered the war, no American troops had yet reached the battlefront.

The Viceroy of India, Lord Chelmsford, invited various Indian leaders to attend a War Conference. Gandhi was also invited. He accepted the invitation and went to Delhi. Gandhi was not happy that leaders like Tilak or the Ali brothers had not been invited to the conference, so he was un- willing to attend. After meeting the Viceroy, however, he went to the conference.

The Viceroy was keen to get Gandhi’s support on military recruiting. Gandhi spoke only one sentence. “With a full sense of my responsibility I beg to support the resolution.”

Gandhi had supported going to war! Many of his friends were taken aback. Some said, “You are a votary of ahimsa, how can you ask us to take up arms?” Others said, “What good has the government done to India to deserve our cooperation?” Even some of his best friends could not understand how he could reconcile his war effort with his campaign for ahimsa. But Gandhi stuck to the belief he held at that time that “absolutely unconditional and wholehearted cooperation with the government by the educated Indians will bring India within sight of our goal of Swaraj as nothing else will.”

Gandhi had made his decision and he now set out to implementit. The response to recruit went was not in any way encouraging, but Gandhi was determined to carry out his mission. He held meetings. He issued leaflets asking people to enlist in the forces. His steady work began to bear fruit. Many men were recruited and he hoped to get a bigger response as soon as the first batch had been

sent. Gandhi nearly ruined his health during the recruiting campaign. He worked very hard. He could not take his food at regular times, nor could he take enough nourishment to keep up his energy. He had an attack of dysentery. He refused to take medicine and his condition worsened. Friends tried their best to advise him but he was beyond all advice. He passed restless days and nights and he himself felt at times that he was near death’s door.

It took him a long time to regain his health, but before then news came that World War I was over. Germany had been completely defeated.

Friends and doctors advised him to go away for a change and recover his health. He went to Matheran, but the place did not suit him. He went to Poona, where a doctor was consulted.

He advised him to take milk to rebuild his body, and prescribed some medicine. Gandhi took the medicine but he would not agree to take milk, for he had given up cow’s milk and buffalo’s milk. He was finally convinced to take goat’s milk.

Gandhi returned to Ahmedabad.

He was recouping his health there when he read in the papers the Rowlatt Committee’s report had just been published. The committee recommended that for the maintenance of peace, the government could arrest any person without a warrant and detain him for any length of time without any trial or right to appeal.

Thus, the law was a direct attack on the ordinary civil liberties of the people and a clear indication of the autocratic and barbarous tendencies of the British rule in India. These recommendations startled Gandhi. He described them as “unjust, subversive of the principles of liberty and justice, and destructive of the elementary rights of individuals.”

Friends approached him for guidance. “Something must be done,” he said to them. “If the proposed measures are passed into law, we ought to offer satyagraha.” Gandhi lamented the fact that he was in poor health.

From his sick-bed he wrote articles for the Indian papers explaining that the proposed bill was an act of tyranny which no self-respecting people could submit to it. The only possible step against the government’s proposal, Gandhi thought, would be to launch a satyagraha movement in right earnest. A meeting of some of the leaders was called at the ashram and a satyagraha pledge was drafted.

It was unanimously signed by everybody present.

Gandhi did not believe that the existing institutions could handle such a noble weapon, so a separate institution named Satyagraha Sabha was formed with headquarters in Bombay. There were agitations everywhere against the Rowlatt Committee’s report. But the government was determined to implement the Rowlatt recommendations and in 1919, the Rowlatt Bill was introduced. When the bill was debated in India’s Legislative Chamber, Gandhi attended as a visitor.

— To be continued next week

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Mahatma Gandhi Library, Inc. Essay

CITY-WIDE CONTESTS

Poster

Coloring

iTribute

Speech

The contest are open to all children in the greater Houston Area. The winners of these contests will be recognized at the 1000 Lights for Peace, a celebration of Mahatma Gandhi’s Birthday, on Sunday, October 14, 2017.

For more information and registration visit www.gandhilibrary.org

INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 2018 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

20 August 24, 2018

COMMUNITY

Indians in the News of Sex, Lies and Sarcasm

BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA

H

OUSTON: In the continuing trend of Indians popping up in the news all over the national map, here are three who made headlines – two not of type that you’d normally expect from a model minority – and one that is blazing a path in comedy.

Coming on the heels of the box-office hit movie “Crazy Rich Asians”, the New York Times recently released a survey that showed that among Asians in the US, Indians have the highest median annual income – about $100,000 – compared to other Asian minority populations.

Filipinos were a distant second at $80,000, Sri Lankans at $75,000, Chinese at $70,000, Pakistanis at $65,000 and Bangladeshis and Nepalese around $50,000.

Dr. Shafeeq Sheikh, 46: This internal medicine physician practiced medicine at Houston’s Methodist Hospital until his arrest two years after the incident of rape on 2 November 2013. The state medical board revoked his license to practice medicine. He was accused of raping a “heavily sedated” patient identified only as Laura.

In a trial just recently concluded in Houston, a jury found Sheikh guilty but he will not serve any jail time for the crime but instead the judge sentenced him to 10 years’ probation, fined $10,000 and ordered to register

for life as a sex offender.

Sheikh, a father of four who emigrated from India, told jurors the patient led him on. He said she took his hand to her breasts when he was performing a chest exam. He returned later, allured by her breast implants, and she touched his genitals, he said.

She then shifted onto one side and pushed her buttocks to the edge of the gurney, signaling that she wanted more, he said.

Sheikh’s defense lawyer, Stanley Schneider, pleaded with the jury for a lighter sentence than prison time given his client had no prior convictions and that Sheikh’s wife and four children had suffered through an ordeal. Sheikh’s wife and brother also testified on his behalf during the trial.

Sheikh has been free on bond since the guilty verdict.

Prabhu Ramamoorthy, 35: A federal jury deliberated 3½ hours before convicting Ramamoorthy of Rochester Hills, Mich. of sexual abuse on a late-night Spirit Airlines flight from Las Vegas to Detroit on January 13. Ramamoorthy, an Indian national in the United States on a work visa, faces up to life in prison after he’s sentenced on December 12 and will be deported back to India after serving his sentence.

The 22-year-old woman rested her head on the window as the plane neared Detroit and was startled awake by Ramamoorthy, the man in the middle seat next to her. His hand

Dr. Shafeeq Sheikh

Prabhu Ramamoorthy

Samir Khullar

was down her unbuttoned pants, and her shirt was undone.

Ramamoorthy initially said he had taken Tylenol and fallen into a deep sleep. He said he hadn’t done anything besides learning from his wife seated in the aisle, that the woman was sleeping on his knees. According to a federal complaint, the woman said she woke up as Ramamoorthy was putting his “fingers in her (genitals) and vigorously moving them.” He stopped when she woke up, she said.

The woman immediately alerted the flight attendants.

Samir Khullar, 42: Better known as Sugar Sammy, is a Canadian comedian, actor, writer and producer from Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

His comedy routines are delivered in a mixture of fluent English, French,

Punjabi and Hindi.

Khullar’s parents emigrated from northern India and his father sold juice out of the back of a truck before opening two convenience stores and his mother worked in a textile factory.

He grew up in a basement apartment in Cote-des-Neiges, a gritty multicultural neighborhood in Montreal, and worked as a cashier at his father’s shops, which sold beef jerky and cigarettes.

Khullar was immersed in French at school. He and his younger brother spoke Punjabi and Hindi at home and learned English on the street and by watching TV. He decided to become a comedian when he first saw Eddie Murphy’s 1983 stand-up comedy television special “Delirious”. He settled on the nickname his

female friends had given him while studying at McGill University: Sugar Sammy.

His first big break came in 2004 at the Montreal-based “Just for Laughs” festival, the largest international comedy festival in the world.

He became co-creator in 2014 of a successful French television sitcom called “Ces gars-là,” (“Those Guys”) in the spirit Larry David’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” and began crisscrossing the globe.

When he came up with the idea of doing a bilingual act, “You’re Gonna Rire” (“You’re Gonna Laugh”) in 2012 and produced it himself, the show became an overnight sensation.

It transformed Khullar into a household name in Quebec and made him a millionaire.

INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 2018 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

COMMUNITY

August 24, 2018

21

UH Nursing Leadership, Nursing Council of India Create Exchange Opportunities

For advertising contact: 713-789-6397

HOUSTON: The University of Houston

WRITERS ... TAKE NOTICE

College of Nursing and the Indian Nursing Council began a new chapter in academic exchange following the signing of a memorandum of understanding and a trip to New Delhi, India.

Kathryn Tart, professor and founding dean of the college, together with Associate Professor Shainy Varghese, participated in a two-day conference with the Indian Nursing Council, June 27 -28. Fifty nursing programs from around India were in attendance, selected to create the Nurse Practitioner Critical Care program (NPCC). The selection process was based on recommendations from the Indian Nursing Council and a willingness from the nursing programs themselves to participate.

“India has begun the process for advanced practice nursing care and have many obstacles to overcome, not least of which is the current salary of nurses, and what those salaries would look like with Nurse Practitioner or Doctorate of Nursing Practice degrees,” Tart said.

The Nurse Practitioner Critical Care programs in India will be of support to hospitals to increase the number of higher educated nurses that will be trained to care for critically ill patients. The nurse practitioners will work closely with physicians to provide treatment and care for patients in intensive care units.

Of those programs participating in the conference, four expressed interest in creating a Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP) program. Graduates of the Nurse Practitioner Critical Care program will be eligible to pursue the doctoral program. The DNP is a professional graduate degree, which focuses on the clinical aspects of a disease process and uses evidenced-based practice to improve patient outcomes. Nurses in India with a DNP will have completed the highest level of training in nursing practice.

Conference attendees learned about programs at the UH College of Nursing, and about nursing leadership, advocacy and philanthropy in a presentation by Tart on “Nurses at the Table.” Varghese gave a presentation on “Nurse Practitioner and Doctorate of Nursing Practice Programs in the USA.” The UH Nursing officials met with nursing leadership from two New Delhi hospitals, Apollo and AIMS, and toured both facilities.

“The hospital tours and meetings with nursing leadership helped us to understand the Indian aspects of patient care and how the NPCC nurses could be utilized in the intensive care units of the hospitals,” Varghese said.

Officials at the college and the Indian Nursing Council will further this new relationship by developing opportunities for nursing education in India and the University of Houston College of Nursing through academic and leadership exchange.

For more information on the UH College of Nursing, visit http://www.uh.edu/ nursing/

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22 August 24, 2018

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Send us the correct answer before August 29, 2018.

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Send us your solved Sudoku for your name to be published (for first three entrees only & 1 submission per month).

Solution Next Week

PUZZLES / RECIPES Mama’s Punjabi Recipes Below is a reprint of Mama’s Kerela Phittu recipe which brings out the same flavor as the cooked vegetable but is much faster and simpler to cook. It is especially suited for new cooks as it will give them a chance to refine their skills with this vegetable before tackling the other karele recipes. It is reprinted with some additional information and directions.

Karela Phittu (BITTERMELON CHIPS) with or without salt Although the bharva (masala

stuffed) karele with onions is the style most favored by Punjabis, there is another variation that is easier and faster to make and just as tasty. After all, karele are one vegetable you can cook and eat entirely, seeds, peels and all!

Karele originated in India and were carried into China in the 14th century though the Chinese variety is much bigger and not as bitter or tasty as the Indian one. Karele and the bitter juice extracted from the vegetable have many medicinal uses like treating stomach complaints, preventing malaria, reducing blood glucose and fighting cancer due to the antioxidants mostly in the green exterior skin. Some companies even sell gel capsules made of the karela extract and juice which can be bought from nutritional shops.

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This recipe will allow you to experience the same bitter taste and also get the plant’s benefits, a lot of which come from the green exterior skin. I have known some people to even eat the leaves of the plant! The beauty of this recipe is that it is made as sliced chips and needs no special cleaning or preparation of the vegetable.

For easier cooking use one medium onion, peeled and sliced instead of the small onions used in other karela recipes. And for those on salt restricted diets, the amchoor (mango powder) and dahin (yogurt) can substitute for the salt flavor.

Ingredients: • • • • •

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4 fresh karele.

2 tbsp tael (oil) vegetable or olive ½ cup saadi dahin (plain yogurt) 1 pyaaz (onion), medium Spices (to taste): namak (salt), mirch (red pepper), haldi (turmeric), amchoor (mango powder) and sukha dhania powder (dried coriander seed powder)

Directions: Wash the karele well then let them dry well.

1. Peel the onion and then slice finely slice it and keep to the side.

2. Cut off the tips and then slice the karele, but not into very thick slices.

3. Cut the karele in half lengthwise, pick out and discard the tough seeds with a knife and then slice the karele, but not very thick slices.

4. Heat the oil in a karahi (wok) and pour the sliced karele. Stir till brown and then add the spices and try not to let it stick to the wok.

5. Pour in the dahin (yogurt), stir and cover the wok till the karele are dry. Now add the sliced onions and cook for ten minutes until the slices are tender, but don’t let the

onions get limp.

6. Serve with hot roti and a little plain dahin which adds to the taste.

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, India (since renamed Faisalabad) 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 late-eighties, she continues to cook daily and agreed to share her delectable Punjabi recipes for future generations.

MAMA’S TIP O F THE

HOW TO SELEC

WEEK

T AND BUY TEN DER KARELE FOR COOKING

Selecting some vege tables like karele (b plant) requires som ittermelon) and bain e special skills to fi gan (eggnd the ones which tenderness. If they have the right are too hard, they won’t then they may be ho llow inside and beco cool well and if too tender, me mushy when co oked.

If the karele are fat, then the seeds insid the flesh won’t take e may be too tough in to not have many yello the flavor. It is best to choose green on eat and w spots. es that do If the karele are sle nder, chances are chew. These are ju that the seeds are st the right kind to not hard to cook.

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August 24, 2018

ENTERTAINMENT:REVIEWS/NEWS ENTERTAINMENT:REVIEWS/NEWS

Gold

23

This Akshay Kumar Film is an Emotion-laden Drama

Given Bollywood’s feeble re-

cord at making films based on real events, it is no surprise that Gold is more fiction than fact.

Fact: India, the newly freed nation from ‘do sau saal ki ghulami’, beat Britain in the 1948 Olympics hockey final. How this happened, the events that shaped the triumphal win, the players and the officials who made it possible, is almost all fiction.

You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to get why: if you have a big star, you have to build him up at the expense of all else. So what if you have to sacrifice accuracy and authenticity in that pursuit; all you need is a rousing, emotion-laden drama, full of patriotic fervour.

What other kind of sporting film is there, after all? All sports stars have to be the cheer-leaders of the nation, and Bollywood knows that better than anyone else.

Reema Kagti is skilled enough to give us a film with all its moving parts in fine working order, even if

it is bereft of nuance. Akshay plays the wholly fictional Tapan Das, the man who has been closely involved with Indian hockey for years, from the pre-World War II years when the ‘British Indian’ hockey wizards under the great Dhyan Chand ran off the

Germans in the 1936 Berlin Olympics (in the movie, we see the grumpy character playing Hitler stomp out of the stadium) to the time after, when the freedom struggle and the Quit India movement was at its peak, resulting in the bloody Partition which divided the subcontinent, and tore the Indian hockey team apart. Some went to Pakistan, some to Australia, the rest disbanded dispiritedly.

It is left to the Bengali babu Tapan, whose accent keeps slipping despite his pouty wife Monobina’s (Roy)

exhortations about ‘feeesh’and brainpower, to pull together a rag-tag team and lead it to Olympic gold. Along comes a benign Parsi gentleman who smoothens things for the doughty Tapan and his boys, comprising, among others, the snooty Thakur (Sadh) who will only play centreforward, the young Sardar (Kaushal) who is so good that he is the ‘turup ka ikka’, the player (Singh) who chooses to choose his side after 1947, as well as the former captain (Kapoor) who turns mentor.

The period is done beautifully, and despite the predictable sports film tropes–underdogs coming up top, conflicts being resolved, last minute fortune reversals—the younger players keep up the tempo, with debutant Sunny Kaushal doing a stand-out job.

It’s not as if Akshay isn’t fully there. He immerses himself in his role, playing the sad sack when things go awry, fooling his wife for some monetary handouts, falling about drunkenly after his alcoholic bouts, always redeeming himself by keep-

ing his love of the sport squarely in the centre. But all this takes up much too much screen time, and takes crucial focus away from the game and the players.

So do a couple of superfluous songs-and-dances, which slacken the pace. A little less Akshay, and minus the songs, Gold would have been tauter, better.

What makes the film worth a watch, despite these problems, are the flashes of well-done humour, the skirmishes between the players, and the rousing finale. You know you are being played, but you don’t expect anything else, because it’s that kind of film : when the `tiranga’ went up, I teared up. ~Indianexpress.com

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Kailash Kher “Good singers are not getting a chance in Bollywood”

Powerhouse performer and singer

Kailash Kher will be seen next in a musical web series called Lockdown, a concept produced by rapper Badshah. In an exclusive conversation with indianexpress. com, Kailash talks about the ZEE5 original and Bollywood music.

Q. The concept of the show is about recreating iconic tracks. So far, you have only sung originals.

How do you think this is going to turn out?

Many assume recreation to be remix but that is not true. In this show, we will be giving a new dimension to our own songs. In India, the understanding of the word ‘recreation’ is very wrong. I have sung Baahubali track in collaboration with YouTube sensation Raja Kumari. She will add her elements to the song and make the number entirely different. So, for music lovers, this show is going to be a treat.

Q. Do you think it is right to take credit for a recreated song?

Art cannot be justified. It is a natural process. I would, as a listener, compare the original and the new version and take my call on it. Music or art, it depends on our choices, our taste.

The taste in music is changing. People are giving chance to independent music while many are still stuck on Bollywood music. So, Lockdown is a nice attempt to bring the two worlds together and create something like never before.

Q. You are paired with Raja Kumari, a YouTube sensation. How was your first interaction?

I did not know about Raja Kumari till the time I met her. When we met, I got to know that she is a YouTube sensation. I was curious to know about her. When I heard her on YouTube, I realised how the world of music is evolving and being accepted. It was so much fun to collaborate with her.

Q. Would you like to try rapping?

Maybe learn from Badshah?

Haha, why not. Rap was difficult for me to understand because of the

speed. But let me tell you, rap is not new to our culture. In Indian history, rap was known as Katha Gaan.

People would narrate a story by orating it in a rhythm, a tempo. Now, it got evolved. But just because it has been given a westernised term, it has become ‘cool’ for the audience.

Q. It is said a good song needs time and patience. With the 24 hours deadline, how was it making a song?

I thought these guys must be joking about making two songs within 24 hours. But the team was so good!

When we finally started work on it, I started enjoying. Now, we want to see if the audience likes the concept or not.

Q. While you have been absent in Bollywood, South industry has been showering love on you. Why do you think this is the case?

See, there is a change in Bollywood too. They are focusing on remixes.

Bollywood is losing music. It has just become a business. Now, because of this change, musicians or singers have nothing to do. So, it is not that

I am absent from the industry, good singers are not getting a chance anyway. Music in Bollywood is now all about commercialisation. They want to bank on existing music only, which I do not support. According to me, Bollywood is known for its music but now…

Q. With YouTube and other mediums lending support to independent music, what changes have you noticed?

I am happy about the change. I think they will add to the music world which is dying. This new beginning is a beautiful sign for music and musicians.

Apart from Kailash Kher and Raja Kumari, the show features duos such as Badshah-Jonita Gandhi, Harrdy Sandhu-Neha Bhasin, Raftaar-Thaikkudam Bridge, Monali Thakur-Mickey Singh, Benny Dayal-Bryden & Parth and Shirley Setia-Sachin & Jigar amongst others.The show is currently streaming on ZEE5.

~Indianexpress.com

INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 2018 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

Neha Dhupia Aug 27, 1980

Richa Sharma Aug 29, 1980

Akkineni Nagarjuna Aug 29, 1959

24 August 24, 2018 Kohli, Pandya and Bumrah Star in India’s 203-run Win NOTTINGHAM: (ESPN Cricinfo): India 329 (Kohli 97, Rahane 81, Anderson 3-64) and 352 (Kohli 103, Pujara 72, Pandya 52, Rashid 3-101) beat England 161 (Buttler 39, Pandya 5-28) and 317 (Buttler 106, Stokes 62, Bumrah 5-85) by 203 runs It took India 17 balls on the final morning to take the last wicket and wrap up their seventh Test win in England, an utter domination of the hosts from the moment India were inserted on day one. The win also made Virat Kohli India’s secondmost successful captain in Tests, behind only MS Dhoni now.

It ended with a carrom ball that bounced unexpectedly and took the top edge from James Anderson’s bat. India got the other 19 wickets through pace. This would have been only the second time India would have taken all 20 through pace, following closely on the feat they first achieved in Johannesburg earlier this year. The win came in similar circumstances: India two down in the series, their batting under the scanner, and on both occasions the batsmen stepped up to give their bowlers something to bowl at. And how the bowlers responded. Hardik Pandya took a five-for in the space of 29 balls in the first innings, and then Jasprit Bumrah laid to waste the hard work done by Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes in the second with a spell of high pace and control.

India were behind by 2-0 going into the Trent Bridge Test, but it seems there wasn’t too much panic in the dressing room. After sealing an emphatic 203-run victory, that kept India alive in the series, Virat Kohli revealed that the only thing the team was concentrating on was “putting runs on the board” because “the bowlers were doing so well”.

“We only spoke about the fact that we were outplayed in only one Test out of the last five overseas, which was at Lord’s and there was no need for us to change anything because Birmingham was close,” he said at the post-match presentation. “As a batting group, we spoke about how the bowlers are doing so well and if we just stepped up as batsmen we will definitely be on top and that’s exactly what we did.”

India made 329 in the first innings, having overcome a tough period in the morning to make runs

Virat Kohli leads India off after completing the decisive win against England, taking the 5-test series to a 1-2 score with two tests remaining.

Jasprit Bumrah soars into the air with five wickets in second inning.

in the sunshine. Then in a reversal of events from the last Test, the clouds returned when it was England’s turn to bat. Harnessing the help on offer, Hardik Pandya picked up five wickets in six overs to bundle the hosts out for 161.

“The bowling group was eager to take 20 wickets again. It was just a question of as batsmen what we can do to provide them with that cushion of going hard at the opposition and that’s exactly what we did in this game. When both skills come together with slip catching, you win Test matches and I’m really happy to see everyone taking the responsibility at the right time. Couldn’t have come at a better time for us.”

An important contributor to the victory was India’s vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane. He came out to bat on the back of a string of low scores - 15. 2.

19 and 13 - but changed the “complex of the game” with a fine half-century, his first in 14 innings.

“Jinx was very clear with his mindset. That’s something that we really love about him. He’s very positive in his set up. He prepares that way and when he goes out and plays like that he’s very attractive to watch and he changed the whole complex of the game. Exactly what he did. We just kept talking about how we need to keep building a strong and a big partnership and just march on from there. It was all about getting stuck in, not throwing our wicket away, having that patience to grind out the opposition. They’re a quality bowling attack but you need patience grit and determination to score against them. I think Jinx in the first innings and Puji in the second showed that immensely.

Kohli and Rahane put on 159 runs in 40.2 overs and then tagged in the bowlers and this time it was Jasprit Bumrah’s turn. Long considered a white-ball specialist, he broke through England’s resistance in the second innings dismissing the centurion Jos Buttler and hastening India’s rush to victory with figures of 5 for 85.

“We dominated the game because we put runs on the board and then the bowlers were waiting and ready as always. Someone like Bumrah stepping in, Pandya taking five, Ishant experienced as always, Shami running in as well, Ash as well with his injury bowled so well.

“The most pleasing thing for me to see in the morning was the four fastest bowlers in the series so far have been all Indians. That’s something that we’re really proud of. We’ve worked on our fitness levels. We’ve worked one our mindsets and we’re just eager to go out there and make a play for the team.

Cutting down any loose deliveries or loose phases. We want the opposition to bat well to get runs, not gift them any. So these guys are getting into that kind of mindset as they’re playing more and more Test cricket.

It’s just such a delight to watch guys running in and going hard at the batsmen because as batsmen you understand how hard it is to get Test runs and you want to make it as hard for the opposition as well and these guys are doing it beautifully.”

SPORTS

Indians Win Medals in Wrestling @ Asiad

JAKARTA: India has won a medal in wrestling every day since the start of Asian Games 2018. Divya Kakran, on Tuesday, ensured that the day ended with another medal for wrestling as she settled for bronze in the 68kg category in Indonesia on Tuesday.

The Commonwealth Championship gold medallist did extremely well to win the bout against Chinese Taipei’s Chen Wenling with technical superiority with the final scoreline reading 10-0. Divya used her strength wisely and completely dominated her bout, ending the match under one minute 30 seconds.

Earlier, Kakran went down against Mongolia’s Tumentsetseg Sharkuu, who beat her in the quarterfinals.

However, the Mangolian went all the way till the final that gave the Commonwealth Games bronze medallist a chance to play for bronze.

This is India’s third medal in wrestling after Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat claimed gold in their respective categories.

Manish began well, surviving a final salvo from Shimyadama and winning 7-3 on his way to the quarterfinals, where he lost 8-0 to Kazakhstan’s Almat Kebispayev in the Men’s Greco-Roman 67 kg. Manish looked like he was injured midway through the bout but even otherwise, the Kazakh was dominant throughout.

Almat later qualified for the final, which gave Manish a chance at repechage. However, Manish lost the repechage bout by class points.

Indian teenager Saurabh Chaudhary blew away one of the toughest fields in a shooting final in his first senior tournament to announce his arrival as 10-m air pistol’s latest sensation at the Jakabaring Sports City of Palembang on Tuesday. His two-day picking was 1 gold, 3 silver, and 2 bronze.

Wrestler Divya Kakran flies the flag after winning a Bronze medal for India.

INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 2018 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

August 24, 2018

Alibaba in Talks with Reliance for a Retail Joint Venture MUMBAI: China’s Alibaba Group Holding Ltd has initiated talks with Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Retail Ltd to form a mega Indian retail joint venture (JV), with an investment of at least $5 billion to challenge the dominance of Flipkart and Amazon in the world’s fastest-growing economy, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said.

Alibaba Group has proposed to acquire a large stake in Reliance Retail to create a behemoth in the digital marketplace and also expand Alibaba’s physical retail businesses in India, the people said, requesting anonymity.

The talks indicate that the battle for India’s booming e-commerce market may only intensify further, with two large and deep-pocketed companies planning to come together to take on the market leaders.

Alibaba’s executive chairman, Jack Ma, met Reliance Industries Ltd chairman Mukesh Ambani in July-end in Mumbai to discuss the proposal, the people said. The two discussed a number of issues, includ-

Alibaba’s executive chairman Jack Ma met Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani in July-end in Mumbai to discuss a joint venture.

ing a plan to create a large omnichannel retail entity through the proposed joint venture, they said.

“Alibaba is willing to pick up a significant stake in Reliance Retail, preferably 50%, which will require Alibaba to invest $5-6 billion,” one of the two people said. “It could also result in a strategic JV between Alibaba and Reliance Retail, with a smaller stake held by Alibaba.”

Goldman Sachs is advising Alibaba on the proposed venture, the person said. A Goldman Sachs spokesperson declined to comment. Emails sent to Reliance and Alibaba remained unanswered.

The joint venture, if it goes through, will be the largest investment by Alibaba in an Indian company.

“The deal is crucial for Alibaba, especially after RBI (Reserve Bank of

India) directed Paytm (in which Alibaba holds 49%) to stop on-boarding new customers because of the shareholding pattern of Paytm,” said the second person.

RBI was concerned that the Chinese company has access to Paytm’s customer data, the person said. It has asked Paytm to improve security mechanisms to store customer data, Mint reported on 1 August.

“Alibaba had picked up the stake in Paytm with the objective of benefiting from Paytm’s successful e-commerce and digital wallet business in India.

Reliance Retail is planning a similar model like Paytm, and once that happens, Alibaba will benefit the same way it was gaining from its association with Paytm,” added the second person.

Alibaba’s Taobao and Tmall are two of the world’s largest and most popular online retail marketplaces.

Together, they achieved a total transaction volume of $478.6 billion in fiscal 2016, and hope to double the figure to over $900 billion by 2020.

-- Live Mint

Microsoft’s Nadella Rakes in $35 Million in Stock Sales SEATTLE: Microsoft Corp.’s Indian-origin Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella has netted over $35 million after selling almost one-third of his common shares in the software giant. Nadella sold 328,000 shares in multiple trades at prices ranging from $109.08 to $109.68, with the stock trading near record highs. The stock sale, disclosed in a regulatory filing on Friday, raked in more than $35 million for Nadella.

Microsoft shares have soared 53% in the past one year, closing the week at $109. The record closing price was $110.83 on July 25. Nadella, 50, still own 778,596 shares of common stock. He is required to have 15 times his base salary in

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, whose annual compensation is $20 million, sold 328,000 shares in multiple trades at prices ranging from $109.08 to $109.68.

stock. His annual base salary in 2017 was $1.45 million, and his total compensation exceeded $20 million.

“The stock divestitures made were for personal financial planning and diversification reasons,” a Microsoft spokesperson told CNBC. “Satya is committed to the continued success of the company and his holdings significantly exceed the holding requirements set by the Microsoft Board of Directors,” he said.

Since Nadella took over from Steve Ballmer in February 2014, Seattle-based Microsoft’s shares have tripled in value. He last sold shares in 2016, when the stock was worth around $58 per share.

25

IITs to Woo International Students by Lower Fees NEW DELHI: The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) have decided to cut fees for foreign students as these premier institutes seek to attract more students from abroad, even as the Union government on Monday said it may soon allow IITs and other top schools to hire foreign faculty on a permanent basis.

The decision comes at a time when a debate is raging across campuses about the size of foreign faculties and students and how they help improve India’s global ranking in higher education.

Union human resource development (HRD) minister Prakash Javadekar said at a meeting of the IIT Council that he will discuss the issue of hiring permanent faculties from overseas with the ministries concerned. The council, the apex decision making body for the IITs, is headed by the HRD minister and comprises directors and chairpersons of all IITs. The council decided to allow the IITs to fix the fee for foreign students. As the fee for foreign students is about 600,000 per year, three times that of Indian students, it is not competitive enough, the IITs said.

“We are hiring and looking to attract quality students from middle and low income countries in Asia and Africa. You can not charge very high fees. This is working as a deterrent in bringing in foreign students,” said S.K. Das, director of IIT Ropar.

“We are not looking to make profit but to promote diversity.”

The IITs are targeting countries such as Nigeria, Indonesia, Ethiopia, Nepal, central Asian nations, Philippines and Sri Lanka.

INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 2018 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

26 August 24, 2018

Job Posting:

Solve Word Search & Win 2 Free Tickets to Texas Renaissance Festival

WORD SEARCH

Digital Producer/Assignments Editor

Are you a news content guru? Are you obsessed with major news and top trending stories of the day?

Do you have a knack for producing creative content that generates high engagement?

KTRK TV, the ABC owned station located in Houston, Texas is looking for a full-time digital producer/assignment desk editor to be part of the team leading the charge to take our digital efforts to the next level. In this position, you will split your time working on the assignment desk and producing content for digital platforms. The ideal candidate can multi-task in a fast-paced environment and has experience gathering information and writing news stories - along with a good understanding of social media trends and apps. College degree and experience in a working newsroom is required.

Ideal candidate must have: • Gift for recognizing and creating impactful, innovative and distinctive digital content • Extensive newsroom digital background (supervisory skills a plus) • Unerring news judgement • Ability to shoot and edit video • Knack for writing powerful and accurate copy and headlines • Ability to multitask and manage multiple projects at one time • Proven social media expertise in both content creation and strategic optimization • Working knowledge of digital publishing tools and analytics • Ability to excel in fast-paced news station environment and able to work under pressure to meet deadlines • Strong leadership, organizational and communication skills • Flexibility with work schedule depending on station needs and projects We are a 24/7 news operation, so employees must be willing to work any day or shift, as needed and be called in as necessary.To be considered, candidates must apply on-line at www.disneycareers.com by uploading a resume file, and cover letter. Job Req.: 585236BR. No telephone calls please.

KTRK-TV is an Equal Opportunity Employer Female/Minority/Veteran/Disability/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity

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Part - Time, Flexible Hours/ Work from Home • Candidate will be responsible for various office duties and will report to the owner of the company.

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• Deadline-Oriented, Acute Vision, Handles Rejection, Team Player.

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E-mail resume to : jobofficeassistant.ian2016@gmail.com

Find 15 Words Related to Family Ties:

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