Friday, December 07, 2018 • Vol. 37, No. 48
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Wrap-2 December 07, 2018
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Friday, December 07, 2018 | Vol. 37, No. 48
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Arya Samaj Houston In Reverence to Recognized
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Guru Nanak
Arya Samaj Houston honored as Model Arya Samaj of the World
BANASilver Jubilee Cultural Fest
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Guru Nanak’s 550th Birth Anniversary was celebrated at India House on Saturday, December 1
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December 07, 2018
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COMMUNITY HOUSTON:
The Consulate General of India, Houston on November 28, 2018 inaugurated the Passport Seva Project (PSP) in Houston. A team led by Minister of State for External Affairs, General (Rtd) V. K Singh has been in USA to launch the Project at Indian Embassy, Washington DC and in five Consulates- Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, New York and San Francisco. During the inaugural event in Houston, the Acting Consul General, Surendra Adhana joined by senior official from the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, Mr. A K Singh handed over the first-ever passports printed using this project to the applicants on the spot. Earlier, the passports applications were processed in the Consulate in Houston, while the printing was done in India. The entire process used to take about 6-10 days. Now, with the launching of the Passport Seva Programme (PSP) Project in Houston, all the passports will be locally printed. It will drastically simplify the overall procedure and reduce the turnaround time. One of the applicants, who was present during the event, received his passport within 48 hours of submission of application! The new system is aimed at enhancing the experience of the applicants in submitting their applications, ushers-in standardization, digital overhauling, end-to-end status tracking and enhanced security. Apart from the speedy delivery of passports, this programconnects the Consulate database with the central database, which makes the application process even faster. The Consulate General of India,
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Launch of Passport Seva Project in Houston
Houston has issued over 16,200 passports in this year alone. With this new initiative, Consulate ensures better and faster services for all Indian citizens here in southwest part of US said the Acting Consul General. The Passport Seva Project launched in May 2010 by the Ministry of External Affairs of the Government of India, has augmented and improved the delivery of passport services to Indian citizens. The Ministry of External Affairs, with Department of Posts, took the decision to start Passport Seva Kendras in Head Post Offices. As a result, 236 Post Office Passport Seva Kendras (POPSKs) have been operationalized as on date and many more are in pipeline. This, when added to 36 Passport Offices and 93 erstwhile Passport Seva Kendras makes a total of 365 Passport Offices for public. The Passport Seva Project since its inception has brought huge transformation towards delivery of Passport Services in India. As part of this initiative, the Ministry successfully initiated the Pilot program at the High Commission of India, London followed by the Consulate General of India in Birmingham and in Edinburgh. The Ministry aims to operationalize this project in all Embassy/ Consulates in the US during the course of next 10 days. The Ministry plans to roll out the Global Passport Seva Project at all Embassies/ Consulates in the world within the next 3-4 months.
Acting Consul General Surendra Adhana Lighting the Lamp
Passport Applicants along with the Consular Officers
INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 07, 2018 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
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COMMUNITY Shomik Verma Wins 2018 Marshall Scholarship
December 07, 2018
LAND: The UK government announced the 2019 Marshall scholarship Winners for 2019 on Dec 3, 2018. One of the Indian-Americans to win the schorlaship is Shomik Verma from the Houston Area. Verma went to school in Fort Bend ISD and graduated from Clements High School in Sugar Land in 2015. Currently he is a senior studying mechanical engineering at Duke University’s Pratt School of Engineering and has been named one of this year’s 48 recipients chosen for the prestigious Marshall Scholarship. Verma was chosen from among more than 1,000 applicants throughout the country and is the 29th Marshall recipient from Duke. He is the fifth Duke engineering student
to earn the honor, and the first since 2011. Duke University President Vincent E. Price congratulated Shomik on behalf of the entire university community and mentioned that Shomik has contributed not only in the classroom and lab but also through public service, cultural engagement and residential leadership. “Shomik stands out among our student organizations’ leadership as being one of the most responsible, involved and passionate leaders that I have seen in over a decade with dozens of student groups each year,” said Linda Franzoni, associate dean for undergraduate education at the Pratt School of Engineering. Verma has also been selected for a Goldwater Scholarship and a Udall Scholarship earlier this year. Pratt faculty has chosen Verma to be both a Grand Challenge Scholar and a Pratt Fellow, honors that offer extensive lab experience. He was also elected to Tau Beta Pi and serves as co-president of Pi Tau Sigma. Verma has pursued research in building a hydrogen fuel cell car and leading a Duke student team to a Guinness World Record for the most fuel-efficient human-carrying prototype vehicle ever built. Verma is also president of the Duke Energy Club, through which he has worked with Duke’s Energy Initiative to create three new assistantships for students to do energy research with faculty, and is co-president of the Duke Smart Home, a living-learning community where residents live in a LEED platinum building and work on technological solutions to sustainability issues. Skilled in playing an Indian classical drum called the tabla, Verma has worked to increase the visibility of Duke’s South Asian music group, Sangeet, on campus. This effort led to their first-ever performance in Duke Chapel during a Diwali service in fall of 2017. “At Duke, I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to ‘live the science’ through various hands-on experiences,” said Verma. “Whether it’s living at the Smart Home, installing solar panels or building highefficiency vehicles, I’ve seen first-hand the benefits novel energy technologies can have on the environment and human health. Seeing these real-world applications motivates me to pursue a research career to develop innovative solutions to energy challenges.” Fascinated by the potential of renewable energy technologies to radically reduce human impact on the environment, Verma will join the lab of Dr. Rachel Evans at Cambridge University to pursue his near-term objective of developing novel materials that increase the efficiency of solar photovoltaic cells. “When I first received the call that I was selected as a Marshall Scholar, I was in utter disbelief,” Verma said. “I had to check my phone’s call history several times to make sure I didn’t dream the whole thing! I’m so thankful for the support of my family, friends and advisors, and I’m beyond excited to spend the next two years in the UK working on developing the next generation of solar technology.” Marshall Scholarships were established in 1953 by the British government to honor the ideals of the Marshall Plan and the special US/UK relationship. Marshall Scholarships finance Details on the scholars is available at http://www. marshallscholarship.org.
INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 07, 2018 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
COMMUNITY
December 07, 2018
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5 Year Old, Raises $1,464 for Pratham Houston!
SUGAR LAND: Established in
1995 to provide education to children in Mumbai slums, Pratham (which means “first” in Sanskrit) is one of the largest and most successful non-governmental education organizations in India. Since its inception, Pratham has transformed the lives of more than 58 million underserved children and youth across 21 of India’s 29 states. In addition, Pratham has equipped 100,000 youth with relevant job skills and entrepreneurship opportunities. On Saturday, December 1, Pratham-Houston participated in Run Houston Sugar Land through Reason 2 Race with Pratham as the supporting cause at the Skeeter’s Stadium in Sugar Land. Each
event hosted by, Run Houston race brings over a thousand participants to engage during the event—from volunteers, to sponsors, to organizations raising funds for their charities, and of course those who run for the causes they are raising awareness for their charity of choice. This year, Pratham Houston participated in the Sugar Land Race and was well represented with over 15 team members. The participants ranged in all ages and backgrounds, who enrolled in both available options, physically running or register in Reason2Race virtual option, which allows anyone anywhere to take part in this event. One of our youngest enthusiasts was Saloni
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Pargaonkar (age 5), who took on the challenge to complete the 5k, while bringing attention to a cause very close to her heart. Her passion for reading was matched with her ambitious goal of raising $500. We are very proud to announce that she not only reached her goal, but
HOUSTON:
Rajender Singh, CEO of Star promotion has brought around a hundred victorious shows across multiple cities. Rajender has had the privilege of garner-ing an esteemed reputation within Bollywood biggies and dignitaries. He was recently invited to the Texas Governor’s Mansion where he celebrated Diwali with the Abbotts. He has been like family to many of the Bollywood stars, and one such big name is the Bollywood legend Anupam Kher. Last weekend he was in New York visiting the actor while Anupam Kher was shooting for his NBC series New Amsterdam. In the evening they met with Navtej Singh Sarna, Indian Ambassador to the United States and Sandeep Chakravorty,
Saloni Pargaonkar
also exceeded it by raising a total of $1464, which led her to be the second largest fundraiser through Reason 2 Run-Sugar Land Race! We are excited to have her along with many other supporting members of Pratham continue the fundraising efforts with passion
and determination! We are also very thankful to Gabrielle and Bill Baumeyer for creating Reason 2 Race and working with Pratham USA to build a team that is giving us the platform to raise funds and awareness through the events. The five part Houston race series begins again in 2019 with the first race on January 1, 2019 at the Sam Houston Race Park. The series kick off will begin another 5 races for the year that will each have a Pratham team presence and fundraising page. To find more information about donating to the cause or upcoming participating events and deadlines, please visit https:// www.reason2race.com/nonprofits and select Pratham USA. To support Pratham, please contact Mani Surkari at mani@prathamusa.org or visit www.prathamusa.org. Our upcoming events include the Holiday Luncheon on December 7, at Junior League of Houston and 20th anniversary celebrations of Pratham USA at our annual gala on Saturday, April 20, at Hilton Americas where we will be honoring founder of Pratham USA, Mr. Vijay Goradia.
Memorable Evening!
Sandeep Chakravorty, Consul General of India in New York (left), Anupam Kher, Navtej Singh Sarna, Indian Ambassador to the United States, and Rajender Singh.
Consul General of India in New York. Rajender described it as “
memorable evening with great company & good Food”.
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December 07, 2018
COMMUNITY
In Reverence of Guru Nanak’s Teachings on His 550th Birth Anniversary
Clockwise from top left: Raj and Kanwal Bhalla, the co-hosts of the celebration at India House on Saturday, December 1; Raj Bhalla with Surendra Adhana, Deputy Consul General with the Consulate of India; the Directors of the India Culture Center who co-hosted the event, from left Rajiv Bhavsar, Charlie Patel, President Nisha Mirani and Swapan Dhairyawan with Raj Bhalla; the Riyaaz Qawali group, led by Sonny mehta, peformed three devotional songs in praise of Guru Nanak’s teachings; Sukhdev Singh on the harmonium and Agampal Singh on the tabla performed a closing kirtan.
BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA
HOUSTON: The emotions in the packed
hall of over 200 people were charged with love and adulation for a saint who lived among us five centuries ago and preached a message of universality, inclusiveness and brotherhood that has transcended the generations and been the founding stone for one of the world’s great religions; Sikhism. Looking over the faces of the invited guests who sat at the round tables laid out in the main banquet hall of India House, Dr. Raj Bhalla spoke about the life of Nanak from his birth in 1469 in the village of Talwandi (now in Pakistan) to his death in 1539 and the evolution of his beliefs and teachings that attracted his followers. Bhalla related the famous incident when Nanak, born to a Hindu family, received 20 rupees from his father Mehta Kalu to buy goods to start a trading business. Instead Nanak took the money to buy clothes, food and medicine
and distributed them among the destitute in the village, saying it was a true bargain to help the needy. Bhalla went on to describe Nanak’s life, his wanderings across the world and how his reputation grew and spread as a wise spiritual teacher and philosopher. He described the hermitage in Kartarpur where Guru Nanak spent 18 years of his life and introduced the practice of three daily prayers and a langar or community kitchen. A retired colonel from the Indian Army and a devout Sikh, Bhalla and his wife Kanwal, have endeared themselves to the Indian community through their many acts of generosity towards many causes as well as the general well-being of community-wide projects. Bhalla, 87, has been active in the India Culture Center as a former director, president and trustee and within the governing committee of India House. He is also a proud freemason who has worked with his lodge in Richmond (a suburb of Houston) to help the mainstream
community and was honored in October 2017 with a special ceremony naming the lodge hall in his honor. With the help of his fellow directors from the ICC Swapan Dhairyawan, Charlie Patel and Rajiv Bhavsar, and especially current President Nisha Mirani, Bhalla arranged for the commemoration of Guru Nanak’s 550th birthyear by arranging a fittingly celebratory program that lasted 90 minutes and was followed by dinner catered by Bombay Brasserie. The Indian government has proclaimed this year and the next as a commemorative period to mark Guru Nanak’s life and teachings and has asked all its missions across the globe to
hold special events in his honor. Although this was a private event hosted by Bhalla and the ICC, the Deputy Consul General Surendra Adhana attended the function and spoke briefly. He explained how the Indian Government has been able to negotiate with the Pakistani Government to open a land corridor for pilgrims without requiring a visa from Dera Baba Nanak to Kartarpur, only two miles from the border, on the bank of the Ravi River where Guru Nanak set up his first ashram. The corridor project has commenced with founding stones laid on November 26 in India and November 28 in Pakistan. He also said that the Lodhi-Sultanpur township would be developed and the Sikh Gurbani translated into all major Indian and world languages. The event started with a video clip of a shabad gurbani sung at the Golden Temple in Amritsar and later a video clip of Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj proclaiming the start of Guru Nanak’s 550thAnniversary celebration. On the small stage, under a picture of Guru Nanak, the hometown group of Riyaaz Qawali with a growing following, led by Sonny Mehta sang three rousing devotional songs spun in their unique style. And Sukhdev Singh on the harmonium, accompanied by his son Agampal Singh on the tabla, sang a closing kirtan.
INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 07, 2018 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
December 07, 2018
INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 07, 2018 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
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COMMUNITY
HOUSTON: Arya Samaj Houston is in ju- Arya Samaj Houston Honored As Model Arya Samaj of the World bilation mood, having won another feather in its cap. The worldwide movement of Arya Samaj founded by Maharshi Dayanand, to raise intellectual, moral and spiritual stature of humankind is well coordinated by its apex body in Delhi, called Sarvadeshik Arya Pratinidhi Sabha. The apex leadership began to organize a large-scale annual gathering from the year 2006 in Delhi, shifting to a different country every year but returning to Delhi every 6 years in the age-old tradition of Kumbh Mela (Fair). So, 2012 also saw a huge gathering in Delhi, followed by the recent one during October 25 to 28, 2018. Arya Samaj Houston was recognized as the Model Arya Samaj among thousands of units worldwide for immaculate functioning and wide-ranging contribution, principally through: ·Vedic education via Sunday morning assemblies ·DAV Montessori School, a regular elementary school ·DAV Sanskriti School, the Sunday school The contingent from Arya Samaj Houston attended the Delhi gathering with great enthusiasm led by Dev & Sushma Mahajan who pioneered its continuous rise since inception. One afternoon session in the main hall began with the handover of an illuminating shield to Dev Mahajan witnessed by the cheering crowd of about 100,000. Yes, you read it right – the figure is one hundred thousand from all over the globe. The statistics of the gathering are mind blowing: ·Two hundred thousand people attended the 4-day event, ferried from airports and train stations at no cost, provided room and food at no cost ·3.3 million square foot of covered area in
the main hall and other 19 halls holding parallel events to every taste ·35,000 people stayed in the makeshift tents in the public ground with individual beds ·About 2000 people from 32 countries were accommodated in star hotels for free ·10,000 individuals performed Havan in unison, a spectacular site at dusk, a new world record, witnessed by the Guinness Book team ·A large-scale event without a single untoward incident Arya Samaj Houston made its presence felt in more ways than the above recognition. The event was inaugurated by the president of India and we were told that the president attended for the first time an event in the public ground; what an exception he made to Arya Samaj to express his gratitude that it was Arya Samaj and its premier educational institute in Kanpur (DAV College) that provided his education when he hailed from a family with meager means. And, the icing on the cake was the only song that was presented in presence of the president; its lyrics by our own, director of the Sanskriti School, Acharya Kavitaji, dedicated to Rishi Dayanand. Another noteworthy event was a specialist 4-day workshop on Vedic Unified Theory of Matter & Consciousness for the foreign delegates, conceived and designed by our own Acharya Harish-Chandraji that ran parallel, in a separate nearby venue. ASGH can be reached at http://aryasamajhouston.org or https://davss.aryasamajhouston.org/ or director.davss@aryasamaj.org -Acharya Dr. Harish Chandra Ved-Ratna
Indian President Kovind inaugurates International Arya Mahasammelan-2018 at New Delhi
Mass Havan by 10,000 People
INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 07, 2018 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
COMMUNITY
December 07, 2018
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New ICC Board Elections Mark the Start of a New Year of Events BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA
HOUSTON: As the year comes to
an end, another ritual of the closing month drew the members of the India Culture Center together to hold its annual elections this past Sunday, December 2 at India House. Outside, on a crisp, sunny day, the grounds of the center off West Bellfort were filled with players from a soccer league that has rented the sprawling facility for a league playoff for the past two weeks and the parking lot filled up with spectators and athletes. Inside the center which has become the focal point and pride of the Indian community, ICC President Nisha Mirani gave a rundown of the close of another year of events under its belt, from those the organization had organized alone like its flagship Indian Republic Day event and the Indian Independence Day festival, to those it had participated in as a co-organizer and those it was a collaborator and had lent its name as a supporter. After she had rattled off the list of achievements, Mirani paused for impact at the latest event which had not been on its radar until only a couple of weeks ago but of which the 45 year-old organization was most proud of. Brought to the ICC by one of its former Directors, President and Trustee Dr. Raj Bhalla, the event marked the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, the founder of the
The Board of Directors and Trustees of the India Culture Center after the elections for vacant positions on Sunday, December 3 at India House.
Sikh faith. The simple but reverent event was held at India House the night before, December 1 (see page XX). After she had finished, Swapan Dhairyawan, another former Director, President and Trustee offered a summary of the audited accounts of the year performed by his accounting firm, MDA Associates. A brief
discussion ensued about the future goals and plans for the ICC. The elections of the 8 vacant seats on the ICC Board were conducted by the Election Commissioners Sam Merchant and this reporter. Only two people had sent in their nominations: Hemant Patel and Namish Sheth in absenteeism, both past Directors. The remainder were solicited from
the floor and 6 more people were nominated and approved by voice vote. They were Dr. Raj Bhalla for a one year position and the remaining 6 for two year terms: Dr. Sarita Mehta, a new Director; Sapna Shah, a former Director; Lachmann Das, a former President, Trustee and Director; Kiran Shah, a past Director and Sai Rajkonda, a new Director.
With the conclusion of the elections, the newly constituted ICC Board held its first general body meeting. Elections for 3 Trustees and the Executive Committee will be held in early January. The ICC will hold its first flagship event of 2019, the Indian Republic Day celebration on Sunday, January 27 at the Stafford Civic Centre of Cash Road.
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December 07, 2018
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COMMUNITY
December 07, 2018
Bihar Association of North America Celebrates its Silver Jubilee Cultural Fest
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HOUSTON: Bihar Association of North America (BANA), a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization, held its Annual Cultural Festival on November 24, at Durga Bari in Houston to celebrate it’s Silver Jubilee Year. The primary purpose of BANA is to foster culture and education in the Greater Houston Area. It was evening full of music, dance and play. The evening started with Ganesh Vandana by Khyatee and Anjuli, two students of Uma Nagarsheth of the Natya Upasana Dance Academy. It was a fusion of old and new beats, combining north Indian classical Kathak and displaying the vibrancy of Kathak with a mod-
ern twist. A group of 5 under 7 girls (Nandika, Raina, Mansi, Saanvi and Anusha) peformed a dance to the tunes of Deepawali and Ghoomar songs and showed mystical rotational movements. The dance was choreographed by Namita Maharana. Namita and Abhilasha peformed a Bollywood number to the tunes of the classical songs “Paan khaye saiyan humaro” and “nainonwale ne”. For the last several years BANA middle and high school children have formed a very talented musical team for orchestra. The instruments used by the team included acoustic guitar (Antara), electric guitar (Arya), flute (Pari), keyboard (Pranay), violin (Abhinav),
Photos: Murali Santhana
drums (Harsh) and tabla (Shomik). This was an extremely well directed musical performance by Tanushree Mishra with her group of young singers (Sweta and Tony). Special melodiuos vocal performances by Mithuya Choudhury and Tanushree Mishra on songs from the 70s Bollywood films were another highlight of the evening. Several Bhojpuri folk songs were part of the evening and included “Patna Se Baida Bulai Dha” by Shikha, “Veer Kunwar Singh” by Mithuya and “Sundar Subhumi Bhaiya” by Tanushree and was very much appreciated by CONTINUED ON PAGE 13
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December 07, 2018
INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 07, 2018 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
COMMUNITY
December 07, 2018
Bihar Association of North America Celebrates its Silver Jubilee Cultural Fest
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11 the audience. Another highlight of the show was a “Lazy Dance” by seven laziest dancers you will ever see to some popular Hindi Songs. The performers were Ravi, Binay, Atul, Rakesh, Umesh, Sanjay and Santosh. It was choreographed by Ravi Choudhary. It was the funniest and rib-tickling performance of the evening. The second half of the show was a play directed by Dr. Chandeswar Sharma and titled “Veer Kunwar Singh Mara Nahin”. Veer Kunwar Singh Mara Nahin was a play with current and historical context. The play had dramatic twists and several songs to keep everybody entertained. It evoked stalwart historical heroes from India’s fight for freedom from the British. The play depicted that oppression and evil exist in every age but it is up to us whether we tolerate it or fight it. The actors were Dr. Chandeshwar Sharma, Praveen Srivastava, Vinay Karna, Bidhu Prakash, Binay Anand, Arvind Maharana, Rashmi Singh, Mithuya Choudhary, Amrita Srivastav and Tanushree Mishra. The music was supported by Shomik Verma, Sweta Gupta, and Joel Adimathra. The Sutradhar of the play was Soni Mishra. The evening was emceed by four high school students, Arya, Ananya, Abhinav and Pari. They kept the entire audience entertained by their wonderful knowledge of drama, music, dance, movies, and the arts of the region of Bihar and Jharkhand. They were very well directed by Ravi Choudhury. BANA also anounced its Annual Service Awards. The 2018 Lifetime Achievment award went to Dr. Chandeshwar Sharma and Mrs. Kunjan Sharma for their outstanding contributions to BANA in performing arts and leadership for the last twenty years. The oustanding service award went to Dr. Nazish Hoda for his continued selfless support to all BANA events for the last 4 years and youth service award went to Shikha
Karna for her oustanding contributions in the performing arts for the last five years. BANA anounced the results of the election for 2019-2020, and Atul Sinha will take over, from Dr. Santosh Verma, as President of BANA. His committee also includes Praveen Srivastava, Manish Sinha, Amaresh Mishra, Rajeev Jha, Prabhakar Sinha, and Amit Kumar.
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COMMUNITY
December 07, 2018
HOUSTON:
9th World Gene Convention, Singapore 2018
Dr. Krishna Dronamraju, President of the Foundation for Genetic Research in Houston, recently delivered the Keynote address to the 9th World Gene Convention in Singapore. Genome sequencing and genome studies have raised fears of ethical, legal, social and medical concerns with no satisfactory solutions in sight. Foremost among these are the risks of discrimina-
tion, public exposure of private records with the consequent fears of possible blackmail, loss of income and employment, loss of insurance protection and medical coverage, exposure of confidential information which could result in divorce and disruption of family life, social stigma, embarrassment, and possible legal actions and other complications. When an individual undergoes whole genome sequencing, they reveal informa-
Ethical and Social issues in Genomics Research and Synthetic Biology
tion about not only their own DNA sequences, but also about probable DNA sequences of their close genetic relatives. This information can further reveal useful predictive information about the present and future health risks of relatives. Hence, there are important questions about what obligations, if any, are owed to the family members of the individuals who are undergoing genetic testing. A major ethical dilemma can develop when
the patients refuse to share information on a diagnosis that is made for serious genetic disorder that is highly preventable and where there is a high risk to relatives carrying the same disease mutation. Privacy concerns can also arise when whole genome sequencing is used in scientific research studies. Are individuals participating in research studies free to leave anytime during the investigation of their family? Are they free to com-
municate the results to anyone outside or inside the family? How can they handle discrimination in employment and insurance coverage because of their genetic disease? Dr. Krishna Dronamraju is the President of the Foundation for Genetic Research in Houston and a Visiting Professor of the University of Paris. He is the author of 22 books and numerous research publications in Genetics and Biotechnology.
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December 07, 2018 India’s Gotra Politics
EDITORIAL/COMMENTARY Avoiding the Perfect Storm BY VIKRAM S. MEHTA
A searing political debate was recently ignited when Rahul Gandhi’s ‘gotra’ was revealed. The Congress president stated that his ‘gotra’ (or the male bloodline that links Hindus with a range of ancient sages) was Dattatreya Kaul Brahmin. BJP protested with Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje arguing that Rahul Gandhi’s was an ill-gotten gotra. Rahul had stated his great grandfather Nehru’s ‘gotra’ and not his own. Union minister Smriti Irani revealed her own bona fide ‘gotra’. Another Union minister Giriraj Singh tweeted a film clip about somebody faking his gotra. Clearly Rahul Gandhi’s gotra had got the BJP’s goat. Primetime news TV decided that it was time to yell ra-ra gotra and ran programs on ‘Rahul Gandhi gotra vivaad’. Rahul Gandhi’s ‘gotra’ even became an internet meme, showing religion and caste are increasingly in the realm of virtual reality. Since Congress has promised the commercial production of cow urine in its Madhya Pradesh manifesto, the party’s hoping that on hearing all the talk of gotra, the voter would appreciate the promise by saying: forget gotra, I got my bottled gau-mutra. Once we had the politics of yatra, but now we have the politics of gotra. In yatra politics political leaders rode raths to holy places to prove they were true Hindus. Now leaders are revealing their gotras to prove they are even truer Hindus In the clash between “hard Hindutva” and “soft Hindutva”, citizens are being squeezed between hard realities and soft options. With BJP advocating the Ram Mandir, Congress is hoping for its own mandirs. Bhakti is all the rage as Rahul Gandhi is dubbed a ‘Shiv Bhakt’, Congress’s Kamal Nath is seen as a ‘Hanuman Bhakt’(having built a 110-feet high Hanuman statue in his constituency), Digvijaya Singh is posited as ‘Narmada Bhakt’ (after his Narmada yatra) and the followers of PM Narendra Modi of course are all self-declared Modi bhakts. Then there are the ‘janeu dhari Hindus’ and those who say ‘Why I am a Hindu’ and those who counter ‘garv se kaho hum Hindu hain’. Meanwhile what about basic needs like job creation? Stop! Healthcare? Stop! Urban infrastructure? Stop! But on religion, caste and community? On those issues politicians across the board are insisting go go gotra. -- Sagarika Ghose in Times of India
BarbaraTuchman’sbook,TheGuns of August, is the definitive account of the seemingly unconnected and localised actions that came together in the aftermath of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, in June 1914, to set off the “perfect storm” of World War I. A tour d’ horizon of global politics today leaves one with a sense of deja vu. Strident nationalism, narrowly defined public agendas, egotistical and autocratic leadership. these are the defining features of the current political landscape. With America now seeking an isolationist shell, Europe reimagining its future, Russia looking to recreate the “Soviet Union” and China pushing to regain its past preeminence, the question arises: Which country will provide the international leadership to forestall another “perfect storm”? Is this an opportunity for India to bestride the global stage? Last month, on November 11, the leaders of 70 nations gathered in Paris to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Armistice day — the day Germany signed the instrument of surrender that brought World War 1Ito an end. This commemorative event should have been an occasion for the assembled leaders to reflect on the devastating consequences of jingoistic nationalism, misdirected pride and inflated egos. Instead, most used it as a platform to pander to their domestic constituencies. President Donald Trump declared he was a nationalist and tweeted that Europe should pay for its own defence. President Emmanuel Macron retorted “Patriotism was the exact opposite of nationalism” and Chancellor Angela Merkel called for the creation of a joint European army. It was ironic that, on the day that marked the end of the bloodiest war in history, world leaders talked of institutions and structures of conflict instead of avenues for securing sustainable peace. The phrase “perfect storm” describes the unexpected or unanticipated confluence of seemingly unrelated events that leads to massive, possibly systemic, adverse ramifications. This phrase is now used broadly and across all disciplines — finance, economics, geopolitics and social sciences.
Which country will provide the international leadership to forestall another “perfect storm”? (Illustration by CR Sasikumar)
But it was first coined to describe a meteorological event. Bob Case, an employee of the US Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, forecast on October 27, 1991, based on satellite imagery, that a huge cold front was on collision course with a highpressure system somewhere along the North American East Coast, and, “to add gasoline to the fire… the dying hurricane Grace (would deliver) immense tropical energy (and create thereby) a perfect storm”. The phrase entered common parlance after the release of a movie, The Perfect Storm (2000). There is a connection between the commemorative occasion in Paris and the term “perfect storm”. The former revealed the chasm between the populist and narrow opportunism of the current political leadership, and the need for institutional structures to tackle the transnational problems of global warming, extremism, pandemics and refugees. The latter is a forewarning that if this chasm is not narrowed and eventually bridged, the world could, one day, find itself caught in the vortex of the “perfect storm” of resource scarcity, geopolitical chaos and climate-induced devastation. In the aftermath of WW II, the world set up multilateral, rules-based and liberal institutions. The objective was to provide a forum for “jawjaw” and not “war-war”, to paraphrase Churchill. Today, this liberal order has been effectively upended. The UN has lost much of its teeth, the WTO is struggling to retain its legitimacy, the idea of a confederated Europe has been effectively shelved, and, most worryingly, the “Make America Great” nationalism of Trump’s America has opened up space for China and Russia to cast themselves as the custodians of a stable international order. All this is
happening when the world is in dire need of international institutions of governance. The challenge of global warming highlights this need. The Paris climate summit was a major step forward in creating such an international fora but it clearly lacks the required authority or sanction. The UN has reported, for instance, that the developed countries have not fully met their Paris commitment to provide $100 billion annually to the poorer countries to mitigate and adapt to climate change. By itself, this might not be an issue. However, consider it against the scientific reality that temperatures are increasing but maybe not everywhere, that sea levels are rising, but stealthily, that fires are wiping out places, but locally — the wild fire that recently ravaged California is illustrative. Then, draw the analogy of the multiple conflicts that buffeted Europe in the early 20th century, which then converged following the assassination of the Austro-Hungarian crown prince, to set off a global conflict. It becomes evident that one has to worry about the possibility that the gradual creeping of climate change caused by the absence of effective international institutions, may suddenly lead to the “perfect storm” of a global catastrophe. Pandemics, migration, extremism and nuclear proliferation are some of the other problems that would be unresponsive to nationalist solutions. The Subcontinent is, according to US former presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, “the most dangerous place” on Earth. This is because two nuclear powers have an uncomfortable adversarial relationship. Furthermore, it is home to nearly one-fourth of the world’s population. These factors alone compel India to do more than simply hope that the above problems will not metastasize into a global catastrophe. The principles of non-alignment were never popular with the superpowers. They did, however, enable India to punch above its weight. Today, India has the space and the moral heft to once again provide global leadership. It should not hesitate to do so. -- Indian Express The writer is the chairman of Brookings India and senior fellow, Brookings Institution.
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BEAUTY
December 07, 2018
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These Beauty Tips will Help You Look Attractive Instantly!
M
ake That Hair Bounce: Nothing works better to make you look more attractive instantly than adding some volume to your hair. There are a number of things you can opt for. Either flip your hair upside down and blow dry your roots or opt for some dry shampoo. You can even use some
hair lifting spray. Get those pearly white teeth: The best way to get pearly white teeth is to brush and floss daily. We all know everyone loves a milliondollar smile. Also try to avoid teeth staining things like coffee, red wine and cigarettes. Use a tongue cleaner for fresh breath and make sure to use a mouthwash daily. Also, carry a box of mints with you in your bag. Apply your eye makeup before using foundation: This is a life-saving tip. Make sure that you do your eye makeup before you apply your foundation. This way if you make any mistakes or if you end up using an excess of product you can always wipe off the residue without removing all of your makeup. Also, make sure that you apply subtle eye makeup so that you can get that dewy look.
use it on all the right areas like under your cheekbones, over your temples and jawline and blend it in properly. Drink Water: The best thing to do for your skin is to drink lots of water. We all know water can work wonders in flushing all the toxins out of your body. It keeps you hydrated throughout the day while also giving your skin a dewy finish. It also works wonders in keeping your skin clear of breakouts. Skin that wows: The best beauty ritual to opt for is to use some moisturising cream or serum once you’ve washed your face with a face wash. If you have sensitive skin you could opt for a mild, unscented moisturizer. And if you have dry skin, try and opt for something with shea butter or aloe vera gel. Not only do these creams have a thicker texture, they’ll instantly moisturise and hydrate your skin. Find your Signature Scent: Nothing makes a person more attractive than smelling good. Choose a signature scent for yourself. It could be musk or something fruity or whatever that you think best suits your personality. They key with perfumes is that less is more. Spritz it on your pressure points like the insides of your elbows or around your neck. You’ll be smelling like a dream all day long. Red lipstick for the win: When you’re in doubt, just pick up a red
lipstick. Trust us, it doesn’t get classier than this. Red lipsticks have this certain aura that they help you exude. Not only do they look chic, they also have the ability to instantly amp up your entire attire. Opt for mattes instead of creamy textures as mattes stay on longer and don’t smudge. Use foundation on your ears: This one is actually a well-kept secret. Not everyone knows that along with their face and neck, they should also be applying foundation to their ears. This helps give one the look of a flawless complexion. You can even take your look a notch higher by tying up a high ponytail or a bun. This way, your flawless look will be highlighted even more. Show your brows some love: Trust us ladies, eyebrows can completely make or break your look. Even if you’re opting for a no-makeup look, we suggest
that you pay some attention to your brows. Use a brow pencil or a gel or some powder to fill in your brows using short strokes to give them a more defined look. This will give your face more definition. Transparent Lipgloss is your best friend: Transparent lip gloss helps take your pout to the next level. It can make your lips look moist and supple. So, what you can do is apply a coat or your lipstick (preferable matte) and then apply some transparent lip gloss on it to give your pout that oh-sofull and kissable look. ~Indianexpress.com
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SPORTS
December 07, 2018
M. Vijay Slams Brisk 100 in Drawn Game vs. Aussie XI BY ANDREW MCGLASHAN SYDNEY (ESPN Crickinfo): Indians 358 (Shaw 66, Kohli 64, Hardie 4-50) and 2 for 211 (Vijay 129, Rahul 62) drew with Cricket Australia XI 544 (Nielsen 100, Hardie 86) Asolid top-order show from Murali Vijay and KL Rahul headlined the final day of the drawn encounter between India and Cricket Australia XI. Vijay demolished an inexperienced host bowling attack as he made a 132-ball 129 laden with 16 fours and five sixes, while Rahul hit form with a 98-ball 62, following a string of low scores. Australia batsmen made the Indian bowlers toil at the start of the day, as they amassed 544 from 151.1 overs, after beginning the day 6 for 356. Harry Nielsen, who added 44 runs to his overnight score to bring up 100, was dismissed by Virat Kohli in the 21st over of the day. Aaron Hardie’s 86, and three 30-plus contributions from the tail, helped the hosts take a 186-run lead. In reply, Rahul reached his halfcentury shortly after tea in the 25th over, while Vijay was batting on 33. There was a short break in play in the 30th over, when a grimacing Vijay sought medical attention to his right thumb, and he resumed playing with a bandage on the finger. In the very next over, D’Arcy Short got the much-needed breakthrough as he dismissed Rahul for 62. Overcoming the pain in his thumb, Vijay set off to entertain the sizeable crowd at the SCG once he crossed 50. He destroyed the young Western Australian offspinner Jake Carder for 26 runs in an over, including three fours and two sixes, to move from 74 to 100. He smashed three more fours and two sixes before falling to Daniel Fallins in the 44th over, following which the teams shook hands with 15 minutes left to play. Vijay had been recalled for the Australia tour after losing his place due to poor form in the last two away Tests against England earlier this year. He impressed in a county stint with Essex and his first-class form was enough to get him picked for the Tests. Speaking about his comeback after the match, Vijay said his focus, even when he was out of the team, was on making sure he was always ready for the top level.
M Vijay cuts in style, Cricket Australia XI v Indians, 4th day, Sydney, December 1, 2018
“You’ve got to find ways to be in that positive frame of mind, where even if you’re not part of the team, you’ve still got to make sure you keep your work ethics to the top level, and
once you get a chance, you should be ready to go,” he said. “That’s my basic funda. Once you play international (cricket), you’ve got to handle responsibility well. Whether
it is four years or your first year, it’s about taking the responsibility and doing it for your team. Age doesn’t matter here.”
Mehidy 12-for Scripts Record Bangladesh Win D HAKA : Bangladesh 508 (Mahmudullah 136, Shakib 80) beat West Indies 111 (Mehidy 7-58, Shakib 3-27) and 213 (Hetmyer 93, Mehidy 5-59) by an innings and 184 runs Nearly five months after being beaten 2-0 in a pace-dominated series in the West Indies, Bangladesh served up revenge on a spinning platter to the same opponents with an inningsand-184-run win in the Dhaka Test to complete a 2-0 series win. The victory was their first innings win in Test cricket. Mehidy Hasan Miraz underscored the supremacy of spinners with his match figures of 12 for 117, surpassing his own record for the best bowling figures for Bangladesh. Mehidy took nine wickets on the third day, the most by a Bangladesh bowler on a single day, and all 40 West Indies wickets fell to the Bangladesh spinners, a first for a bowling side in a two-Test series. Mehidy completed his second fivefor in the game by dismissing Jomel Warrican caught and bowled for a duck, which was West Indies’ ninth,
Mehidy Hasan Miraz took three wickets on the second day.
before Taijul Islam took the wicket of Shermon Lewis to complete the win, after the No. 11 had added 42 runs for the tenth wicket with Kemar Roach. Amid innings totals of 111 and 213, Shimron Hetmyer was the only West Indies batsman to stand out, striking nine sixes and a four in his 93 off 92 balls. His tally of sixes was the most by a batsman in Tests against Bangladesh, surpassing Kumar Sangakkara’s eight sixes in Chittagong in 2014.
The rest of the line-up couldn’t withstand the pressure created by the Bangladesh spinners. Kraigg Brathwaite’s wretched tour of the subcontinent concluded when Shakib had him lbw for one before the lunch break. In four Tests in India and Bangladesh, Brathwaite totaled only 48 runs, averaging 6. Kieran Powell’s response to spin remained poor too: in the second innings, he charged at Mehidy, only to miss and was stumped by Mushfiqur Rahim.
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India Lead in Group C with 2-2 Draw against Belgium BHUVANESHWAR: Hosts India produced a spirited effort to eke out a 2-2 draw against Olympic silver medallists Belgium in an evenly-contested Pool C match of the men’s hockey World Cup here on Sunday. Pegged back by Alexander Hendricks’ goal in the eighth minute, India made a valiant comeback after the change of ends, scoring two goals in the third and fourth quarter through Harmanpreet Singh (39th) and Simranjeet Singh (47th) to take the lead. But the hosts’defence faltered in the final minutes and conceded a late goal when Simon Gougnard scored in the 56th minute to draw level. The draw, however, enabled world no. 5 India to take the top spot in Pool C ahead of Belgium on goal difference. Both teams have a win and a draw from two outings. India had earlier blanked South Africa 5-0 in their opener, while world no. 3 Belgium pulled off a close 2-1 win over Canada. India will play Canada in their last pool match on December 8, while Belgium will be up against South Africa on the same day. Contrary to their last match, the Indians completely looked out of sorts in the opening two quarters against Belgium. The hosts lacked co-ordination in the midfield and that gave them hardly any scoring opportunities. The Indians were slow to get off the blocks as the Red Lions dominated the proceedings in the first two quarters, threatening the hosts defence on a number of occasions. Belgium got their first scoring opportunity in the second minute in the form of back-to-back penalty corners but failed to get past the Indian defence. The home team looked more organised and their mid-field finally started to create opportunities.
The draw enabled India to take the top spot in Pool C ahead of Belgium on goal difference. Both teams have a win and a draw from two outings.
Positions available: 1) Full- time or part-time cashier / counter (must be able to speak English and understand Hindi) 2) Full-time kitchen help. 3) Full-time sales girl for Sari store (must be able to speak English and understand Hindi) Anyone interested in this opportunity, please contact Ramesh Lulla at 713-819-1820 after 2 pm or Aakash Lulla at 832-715-8328 after 2 pm INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 07, 2018 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
December 07, 2018
TCS Cleared by US Jury of Claims of Anti-American Bias OAKLAND: A jury in California rejected claims that Tata Consultancy Services Ltd has discriminated for years against American workers in favor of staffing its US offices with Indians. The verdict is a major victory for the Indian outsourcing industry, whos business model depends heavily on exporting Indian engineers to the US. A federal jury in Oakland, California, sided on Wednesday with TCS against four former employees who claimed they’d been sidelined and fired because they aren’t South Asian. The case was the first of several accusing India’s big IT firms of hiring bias in the US to go to trial. HCL Technologies Ltd, Infosys Ltd and Wipro Ltd face similar claims. “This is a shot in the arm for the industry, which has not seen anything positive come out on the US visa regulation front for some years,”
said Anurag Rana, an analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence. The trial cast a spotlight on workvisa programs that companies use to bring overseas workers to the US, a practice President Donald Trump has criticised in his protectionist push. TCS, Asia’s largest outsourcer, and rivals Infosys and Wipro have all been squeezed by the
Trump administration to hire more Americans on US soil. The ex-employees who sued accused TCS of a “systematic pattern and practice of discrimination” by favoring Indian ex-pats and visaready workers from India for US positions. That has resulted in a workforce that’s almost 80 per cent South Asian, far greater than the 12 per cent
representation of South Asians in the US IT workforce, according to the complaint. At trial, the plaintiffs cited statistical evidence that the odds of race and national origin not being a factor in TCS’s termination decisions are less than one in a billion. They said that since 2011, the company fired 12.6 per cent of its non-South Asian workers in the US, compared with less than 1 per cent of its South Asian employees. TCS attorneys argued the company had no incentive to discriminate, having spent millions of dollars on building a local talent pool in the US. Employees were terminated because they were unwilling to move to cities in the US where TCS needed more engineers, the company said. “We have always maintained the claims made in this case were baseless, and we are gratified that the jury agreed,” Ben Trounson, a spokesman for TCS, said. -- Times of India
Barista Eyes Doubling India Stores to 500 in Three Years NEW DELHI: “Coffee consumption in India is very low compared to developed countries. We see tremendous opportunities in the coffee sector here...We are looking at operating 500 outlets and distributing our FMCG offerings through 10,000 outlets in the next 2-3 years,” Barista CEO said. At present, Barista has over 200 Barista Cafes and Barista Express kiosks across India.. Coffee chain Barista is looking at more than doubling its stores in India to 500 and reaching 10,000 outlets for its FMCG offerings in the next two-three years, a senior company official said. The company has expanded its fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) offerings with the launch of chocolates, cookies and coffee powder. “Coffee consumption in India is very low compared to developed countries. We see tremendous opportunities in the coffee
sector here…We are looking at operating 500 outlets and distributing our FMCG offerings through 10,000 outlets in the next 2-3 years,” Barista CEO Puneet Gulati told PTI. The majority of the Barista outlets will be opened through the franchise route, he added. Barista, which at present has over 200 Barista Cafes and Barista Express kiosks across India, expects its FMCG offerings to
account for up to 12 per cent of its bottomline (profit) by fiscal 2020 from about 5 per cent at present, he said. The company reported revenues of about Rs 104 crore in the previous year. It is also looking at foraying into newer geographies, mainly in countries in South Asia and Middle East, and is in initial talks with a few players to open Barista stores, Gulati said. At present, Barista has about 20
stores outside India in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Nepal and Maldives. “We will open 50 new outlets, mainly through the franchise route by March next year,” he said. “In addition, we will open one new multi-cuisine restaurant called Barista Diner every month, which will be an all-day diner with live cooking. We have opened a diner in Noida and will follow it up with new ones in Punjab and Banjara Hills in Hyderabad.” Barista will launch FMCG products, including honey, instant coffee, chocolates and cookies, which will be sold through modern retail. “We got the idea to enter the FMCG segment when we realised merchandise sales at our outlets contributing 12-14% to our top line,” said Gulati. He claimed Barista currently has a market share of around 11% in the organised café market. -- Indian Express
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4 Indian Women in Top List of US Tech Moguls NEW YORK: Four Indian-origin women have been named by Forbes among America’s top 50 female technology moguls, a list that includes tech heavyweights IBM CEO Ginni Rometty and Netflix executive Anne Aaron. Padmasree Warrior, former chief technology officer (CTO) of Cisco; Komal Mangtani, senior director at app-based cab aggregator Uber; Neha Narkhede, chief technology officer and co-founder of streaming platform Confluent; and Kamakshi Sivaramakrishnan, CEO and founder of identity-management company Drawbrige; are in the list. Warrior (58) served in executive positions at both Motorola and Cisco and is now the US CEO of the Chinese electric-autonomous-vehicle startup NIO. At the USD 138-billion Cisco Systems, she had help Cisco the tech giant grow in influence through acquisitions. She is also on the boards of Microsoft and Spotify. Mangtani, an alumnus of Dharmsinh Desai Institute of Technology in Gujarat, heads business intelligence at Uber. Currently, she serves on the board of nonprofit organisation Women Who Code and led Uber’s USD 1.2-billion donation partnership with Girls Who Code Narkhede, who studied at Pune university, had as a software engineer at LinkedIn helped develop Apache Kafka — which can process the huge influx of data coming from the site in real time. Forty-three-year-old Sivaramakrishnan’s company, Drawbridge, uses large-scale artificial intelligence and machine learning to identify the different devices people.
Padmasree Warrior, Komal Mangtani, Neha Narkhede and Kamakshi Sivaramakrishnan.
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December 07, 2018
SUDOKU Place a Number in the empty boxes in such a way that each row across, each column down and each 9-box square contains all of the numbers from one to nine.
Send us the correct answer before December 11, 2018. Email us at indoamericannews@yahoo.com or mail to 7457 Harwin Drive, Suite 212, Houston, TX 77036. 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
In the cold and often rainy or snowy winter months, when you are in need of some warm comfort food, this dish is a perfect fit and is so easy to make. Below is a reprint of Mama’s Besan de Poode recipe, which is perfect with chutney and hot tea. It is reprinted with some additional information and directions.
Besan ka Pooda
(CHICKPEA FLOUR PANCAKES) Besan (chickpea or garbanzo) flour is used throughout India to make many dishes and is commonly used for batter to make pakoras or fritters in. Besan is a most versatile flour that is also used in making boondi, laddu, papad, dhokla and many of the popular spicy snacks that are sold in stores. In the Punjab, the two most popular dishes using Besan are kaddi and besan di sabzi or gutte and of course there are several sweets dishes made with besan. Besan is also used to make this quick bread which resembles a flour pancake, except it is usually salty and spicy, though, when made thick and smaller in diameter, it is usually sweet and uses different types of aromatic herbs like saunf (fennel). You spread the batter in a circle over hot oil on a black tava (flatplate) and the sizzling sound and aroma immediately makes your mouth water in anticipation!
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Besan is high in carbohydrates and somewhat high in protein but has no gluten, which makes it not suitable for those trying to lose weight (especially when it is fried). Besan is rich in folate, iron, magnesium (47%), phosphorus (45%) and potassium (18%) as well as thiamin and vitamin B6. Besides these attributes, besan also makes an excellent scrub and mask for skin care and can also help in fighting seasonal allergies during the cold months. In home remedies, besan poode are given to people to help reduce their sugar levels. The spicy besan pooda is a comfort food often eaten with pickles and is most satisfying eaten during the rainy Monsoon season, along with some hot tea. Poode are also called “chilla” by people from Uttar Pradesh. You can even make sweet poode using wheat flour, but that is an entirely different recipe.
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Ingredients: • 1 cup besan (chickpea flour) – makes four 6-inch round poode • ½ cup dahin (plain yogurt) • 1 medium pyaaz (onion) – peeled and chopped • ½ cup pani (water) • 1 teaspoon of vegetable or olive oil for each pooda
• Spices (to taste): namak (salt), mirch (red pepper). If desired, add ajwain (bishop’s weed, caraway, carom seeds, or thymol seeds) for a slightly bitter taste. Directions: 1. Chop the onions and set aside. 2. Mix the chickpea flour, yogurt and water together; then add the onions and spices and beat the mixture till it becomes a paste: it should not be too thin else the pooda will not cook and will remain wet inside. 3. For each pooda, heat the oil on a high flame on a tava (hotplate) or in a frying pan. Pour a small amount of mixture and spread it to make a 6-inch circle. When tiny holes start to form on the surface, check to see in the bottom side is cooked. If so, use a spatula and flip the pooda over.
MAMA’S TIP
4. Cook the other side till the pooda is not moist, but do not let it cook too long or become brown. 5. Place the pooda on a plate and serve with mint chutney or ketchup. Shakuntla Malhotra is a skilled cook of Punjabi dishes made in the old-fashioned style that she learnt as a young woman in her ancestral home in Lyallpur, India (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 early-nineties, she continues to cook daily and agreed to share her delectable Punjabi recipes for future generations.
OF THE WE DRINK HOT MILK MIXED WITH HAL EK DI AS A ANTI-INFLAMMATO RY FOR ACHES N The main spice that gives Indian fo ha
od its ldi (turmeric) thou gh too much of it cadistinct yellow coloring is burnt and inedibal n cause th le . Fo rural India for its ay r centuries, turmeric has alsoe food to taste been used in ur ve di c healing qu scrapes, burns, infe ctions and insect bialities as a first aid for minor tes. In the winter month or some other sore s when you are more prone to ge tting a cough can do quick wondness or mild internal infection, drinki Simply warm 1 teasers, though the taste takes some geng some haldi before sleeping fo poon of haldi in warm milk and tting used to. will go down immred4 days to a week. The infection or drink it down inflammation iately and you’ll fe el better in the mor ning.
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INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 07, 2018 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
December 07, 2018 Wrap-3
INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 07, 2018 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
December 07, 2018
INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 07, 2018 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM