E newspaper 01192018

Friday, January 19, 2018 • Vol. 37, No. 3

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Empowering Women!

Celebrations at Arya Samaj

Felicitation for Community Service

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January 19, 2018

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COMMUNITY

January 19, 2018

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Amir Dodhiya, Agent with New York Life Insurance Felicitates Sanatan Shiv Shakti Temple for its Philanthropic Act During Harvey!

BY VANSHIKA VIPIN VARMA

HOUSTON:

The mention of Hurricane Harvey that roared ashore towards the end of August, last year, and parked above the greater Houston area for five destructive and ruinous days, still sends shivers down our spine.

But it was heartening to see that so many organizations and individuals from all across helped communities with shelter, food, relief supplies and other support systems. Several Indian businesses and places of worship had opened up their hearts as well as their doors to shelter Harvey victims. Sanatan Shiv Shakti Mandir in Houston, which is known to be amongst the first to help during times of crisis also left no stone unturned to support during this catastrophic event.

At a felicitation event on Monday, January 8, Sanatan Shiv Shakti Mandir received a $5000 check from New York Life Insurance Company as a token of appreciation for their support to Harvey victims. In the ceremony, Amiralli Dodhiya, agent with New York Life Insurance Company, who himself volunteered at the temple during Harvey presented the check to felicitate the temple for their noble and tremendous support offered during the storm’s trajectory.

The entire managing committee of the Shiv Shakti temple had used its premises diligently, with its parking lot transformed into a distribution centre. This was a convenient approach as it helped volunteers to deliver the necessities for shelters, from all over. They welcomed generous donations in form of supplies, and these started pouring in huge numbers from restaurants.

Forty food trucks and supplies were transported from the temple to the Beaumont victims and it also helped serve around 10,000

From left (standing) Pralay Pandya, Prakash Adhvaryu, Jashu Atodariya, Jaydeep Bhatt, Umang Mehta, Dhirubhai Kotak, Virat Mehta, Amiralli Dodhiya, Rajan Bhatiya, Vijay Adhavaryu. From left (sitting) Gopal Pandya, Hardik Raval, and Haresh Bhatt at the felicitation event on Monday, January 8 at Sanatan Shiv Shakti Mandir, Houston. a good cause because we believe

meals. Hardik Raval and other members of the temple, Amiralli Dodhiya and Umang Mehta of Deep foods played vital roles at the temple during Harvey.

Amiralli Dodhiya, has been a New York Life agent since 2008, and associated with New York Life’s Houston General Office in Sugar Land. He has several feathers to his cap, such as being a 9-year MDRT member and a 4-time ‘Court of the Table’ qualifier. By achieving ‘Court of the Table’ status, Dodhiya establishes amongst the top professionals in the global life insurance and financial services industry.

His caliber has been well recognized in the industry, with him time and again demonstrating exceptional professional knowledge, client service and ethical conduct. Being a member of NAIFA (National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisory), he has received the acco-

lade of the NAIFA National Quality Award, consecutively since 2010. To add up to yet another feather in his cap, Amiralli has been named a member of the 2017 Chairman’s Council of New York Life. The philanthropist is also an active member in the community and supports various non-profit organizations, as he strongly believes in sharing- whether it is money, time, or knowledge. With such noble and kind thoughts, he went ahead and supported to the best of his capacity during the deluge.

The temple priests, committee members and trustees were present at the felicitation ceremony to receive the check. In his note of thanks, the head priest and trustee, Virat Mehat, mentioned, “I would like to thank New York Life and Amiralli Dodhiya for this kind gesture. It was our duty to help the victims during Harvey and we are happy that we were able to do so.

This amount will be used towards

in helping and donating”. Trustee Rajan Bhatiya also shared his emotions and stated, “We are very thankful to Amiralli Dodhiya as he was extremely helpful during Hurricane Harvey. We had cancelled all our Ganapati festival celebrations and converted the temple to a shelter. Even now we are focusing on serving the community.

We have been holding cultural classes during weekends to teach kids more about the Indian culture and its languages, Sanskrit classes, classical and bollywood dance, and these are all free of cost. We are always thankful to Umang Mehta who has been supportive from the very beginning of us knowing each other. Several of our trustees don’t charge us anything for their services. In fact each year, they contribute towards the development and betterment of the temple. We would like the community to come forward and utilize our facilities, which

has been built for them”. Following his speech, trustee Dhirubhai Kotak also shared his views that he was extremely happy to see the way the temple was shaping over the years. He mentioned that from where they started off several years back, they have grown tremendously with the support of everyone including Amiralli Dodhiya, who is like a son to him.

An elated Amiralli Dodhiya mentioned, “It was my privilege to help during Hurricane Harvey.

I was fortunate that I am part of this temple that believes in the act of philanthropy. The members of this temple are like family and we are available for each other.

I would like to highlight the fact that this temple is open to everyone. The noble act of this temple deserves everyone’s respect and love as they have helped rebuild Houston”. While the Ganpati festival could not be celebrated with fervor and enthusiasm, they are geared up for the upcoming Mahashivratri festival on Tuesday, February 13. Volunteers are excited and set to prepare the food within the premises of the temple, and they have organized over 10,000 thandai’s and prashad for over 5000 people. It surely is an event that everyone is looking forward to.

The Sanatan Shiv Shakti Mandir of Houston is located at 6640 Harwin Drive, Houston.

For further details visit their website at www.shivshaktimandir.org

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January 19, 2018

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COMMUNITY

BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA

HOUSTON: You got to have a

passion for running and competing just to be in a marathon, but to top that off with frigid cold weather means the runners have to show their true grit. Of course, when you are down the homestretch and the adrenaline starts pumping, the cold air cools you down and helps you get a second wind, so it may be a bit of an advantage.

But it’s really tough getting started. Each of the runners featured in this story probably said as much on their Facebook page. But they also said they loved the experience for the running rush!

This past weekend, on Sunday, January 14, the Chevron Houston Marathon, wound its way through downtown, Greenway and Uptown before heading back to finish at Discovery Green, a typical 42.2km or 26.2 miles course. And the Aramco Houston Half Marathon worked itself through Washington, River Oaks, Upper Kirby District, Montrose and back on Allen Parkway for 13.1miles.

Of the 27,000 participants, almost an equal number ran in each marathon. And as in years past, the top ten field was dominated by African runners, with Bazu Worku of Ethiopia winning the men’s race in 2;8;30 and Biruktayit Degefa

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Marathoners Brave the Frigid Weather for a Running Rush!

Aditya Bansal

Andy Master

Chintan Mehta

Kuldip Kaul

Meeta Jain

Moez Mangalji

Ramesh & Zarina Anand

Shirish Boradia

past few years and are featured here.

The husband and wife team of Ramesh and Zarina Anand the Half Marathon finished despite his congested chest and misbehaving knee and her falling at mile 10 and hurting her hand (a fracture it was later found to be) and a bloodied nose from the scrape. They motivated each other along with good humor through the finish line.

Ashok Jain could not compete this year, but his wife Meeta made it across the finish line with her 13 year-old son encouraging her on.

Kuldip Kaul added another Half Marathon to his list of many races – running, biking or hiking (as in Mount Kilimanjaro which he recently completed). Moez Mangalji made it across the finish line as did the lanky Andy Master, who finished the full marathon despite lit-

tle practice due to his heavy travel schedule. “It was a cold start but gorgeous day,” Master wrote later.

Shirish Boradia made it through the half marathon full of smiles and so did Aditya Bansal. And Chintan Mehta was glad to complete his third half marathon and got a double medal for completing the ABB 5K also. “It was a bitter cold run but fun,” he wrote on his Facebook page.

of Ethiopia winning the women’s in 2:24:51. The closest Asian runner was Hiruni Wijayaratne of Sri Lanka finishing eighth in the women’s race in 2:36:35.

Although not in the same league as the top ten, a large number of Indo-Americans from the local community once again participated and the number only grows each year. Among them are the constants who have come for the

2018 Houston Marathon

HOUSTON: It was a cold 35 de-

grees and wind chill of 29 at 7 AM at start of the 47th Houston Marathon race on Sunday, Jan 14. The near freezing cold weather did not deter the runners! The sun came out bright with clear skies at later 8 AM making the cold somewhat bearable. It was a sell-out marathon at 27,000 runners, half each for the Full Marathon (26.2 miles) and Half Marathon (13.1 miles). A determined group of Indo Americans as well was out in open space, running and walking, and making their presence felt at the 2018 Chevron Houston Marathon.

The Marathon is the largest sporting event in Houston with 27,000 registered runners, 7,500 volunteers and over 200,000 spectators. A 5K race was held on Sat-

January 19, 2018

From left: Kinner Patel, Shirish Boradia, Nat Annamalai, Sesh Bala, Shilpi Desai, Pankaj Desai, Jui Jagad, Chintan Mehta. With 2018, Sesh Bala has completed 15 Houston Half Marathons and Pankaj Desai has completed 10.

urday for better crowd control and management. The Marathon starts and ends at the George R. Brown Convention Center in

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downtown. The prize money for the Full Marathon first place was $45,000 and for the Half Marathon $20,000. It is the same amount for men and women. The men’s full marathon was won by Bazu Worku of Ethiopia with a timing of 2:08:30 hours. The women’s full marathon was won by Biruktayit Degefa also of Ethiopia with a timing of 2:24:51. The men’s half marathon was won by New Zealander Jake Robertson with a timing of 1:00.01

hours. The women’s half marathon was won by Ruti Aga of Ethiopia with a timing of 1:06:39 hours.

Many personal records were broken. Some said the cold weather actually helped! There were a couple of men who ran shirtless!

The Marathon is also a charitable event; the runners and the organization raise money for many area charities.

Each year the organizers make some changes. This year, the route

was the same as in 2017. The organization of flow 27,000 runners through a common start gate was not as efficient as in prior years; it took about an hour for the last person to cross the start line! However, the finish line at the Convention Center was handled extremely well. The cheering squads at the hoopla stations along the route were entertaining as usual; the spectators came bundled up and prepared. Security precautions were very visible. The organizers deserve praise for the management of such a large race.

A casual scanning and observation suggested the Indian American community participation is somewhat steady; there is room for much growth and greater presence as runners, walkers, volunteers and spectators.

The Houston Marathon has been a sell-out each year for many years.

Jan 2019 Marathon registration was already open on Jan 15! The details are at the site chevronhoustonmarathon.com. Organizations like USA Fit, Fort Bend Fit and KatyFit can help getting trained.

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COMMUNITY Women: Holding the Key to the New Era!

January 19, 2018

BY VANSHIKA VIPIN VARMA

HOUSTON:

“If you want something said, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman”. This was a famous quote by the ‘Iron Lady’ Margaret Thatcher, who appropriately said so as women are celebrated not only because of their beauty, but also for their courage and perseverance to do the things they want to achieve in life. Empowering women to contribute in all sectors is vital to strengthen economies, meet the objectives for development and sustainability, and improve the quality of life for women, men, families and communities. Completely conscious and in harmony with this belief, Jaz Creationz in collaboration with India House presented an event on Women Empowerment, “Ignite Your Power & Fire”, on Sunday, January 7. The event, held at India House, was a thoughtfully designed program that took place after a 3-day workshop on the subject of “Women Empowerment in Action”. This workshop was held by Mrs. India 2016, “Queen of Substance” – Sneha Shergill, and Jasmeeta Singh, founder of Jaz Creationz, which received an overwhelming response from Houstonians. With a wrap-up to the workshop that ended late that afternoon, this evening gala was a significant route to meet-and-greet with Sneha Shergill, followed by some entertainment.

The visitors walked into a completely transformed India House that was graced right from the entrance to within the hall, with vibrant designer clothes and accessories. The decor was just perfect to set the mood and frame the

Photos: SMB Images

emotions. As the attendees started meeting and greeting each other,

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January 19, 2018

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COMMUNITY

January 19, 2018

Women: Holding the Key to the New Era! CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6

delicious gourmet bites were being served, sponsored by Kiran Verma from Kiran’s Restaurant. Jasmeeta Singh warmly welcomed everyone, her gracious & ravishing smile did not unveil the fact that she had been engaged in a hectic workshop, for the past couple of days and almost until this event kicked off. And this facet too is a symbol that manifests that there is no limit to what women can accomplish. In her welcome statement, Jasmeeta mentioned that through this event they aim to inspire women to feel, to connect, to create and to believe in themselves, and to grow. That would be in line with Jaz Creationz’s mission of creating awareness by building bridges within the diverse communities, through fashion and culture. Her note, appreciated by the audience, was followed by a welcome dance that was performed by the models from the workshop. Both Sneha Shergill and Jasmeeta Singh joined the UH-Houston Jannat troupe to mesmerize the audience with their Bollywood style spin and whirl to Swag se karenge sabka swagat. Sneha then took on the stage and mentioned that her mission is on similar lines to that of Jaz Creationz, to embrace and encourage women, to help them overcome challenges and boost their confidence, to recognize and have them reach their full potential.

Mrs. India 2016, Sneha Shergill is a pageant grooming coach, a choreographer and fitness enthusiast, while she shares her passion with writing and directing musicals, and being a corporate life skills coach for topics like professional etiquette, stress management, image branding and grooming, business networking, work-life balance, confidence building, performance optimization, time management. The multi-talented Sneha is also a product designer and a print shoot model, and she has modeled for various fashion designers and jewelry brands. With her career spread over 15 years, she has also been teaching individuals right from the age group of 3 to 60 years, facilitating them to overcome their limitations, have a 360 change in their lifestyles and transform. After being crowned Mrs. India by the Bollywood actresses Mahima Chaudhry and Bhagyashree in 2016, she has been actively involvement with women empowerment initiatives and NGOs, which continue to be the driving force in her life.

Sneha’s brief introduction was followed by an enchanting singing performance by

Shriya and Melrose. And then, it was time for some glitz and sparkle, as the glamorous fashion extravaganza was set ablaze. The participants, Silhouette by Payal, Amy Jewels

by Amy, Ekta Designs Collection, Dhanak Couture by Bushra, Jewelry House by Saira Hussain, Meenoz Designs by Marium and Mini & Ritu Designs left the audience flabbergasted with their elegant and stunning line of clothes and flamboyant jewelry. The audience was treated with a delightful amalgamation of dance and spiritual pursuits, in a stunning Kathak performance by Virtosi of Performing Arts, led by the elegant performer Keka Kar. Some of the eminent guest speakers for the evening were the affluent and successful women speakers Neeta Sane-HCC Trustee, Dr. Vanitha Pothuri- Internal Medicine physician with multi-faceted business interests and immediate past IACF President, and Pragya Sen- Mrs. Asia Pacific International 2017. These flourishing women spoke about women empowerment and how feminism is not just about making women strong, it is much more than that. The event ended with Jasmeeta inviting all the sponsors and volunteers on stage and recognizing each one of them. In her thanks note, she mentioned, “I would like to specially thank Ekta Taneja, Bobby Kaur, Jasleen Kaur, Gauri Seth, Sachin Butala, Reshma, Anasuya, MUA Glitz E’clat by Yadira Bonnette, KJ Salon by Kiranjot Bhusri, Zora & Meena of Kaya Salon, Fabiana, Orchid Salon by Wajeeha, and Executive Director of India House, Col. Vipin Kumar”. Jasmeeta also thanked Richard Colman Photography and SMB Images for doing a fantastic job. She did shout out a big Thanks to her determined companion Sneha Shergill, who worked tirelessly in putting this show together, choreographing the dance and fashion shows and encouraging everyone to be united as a team. The sponsors for the event included Kiran’s Restaurant & Bar (Kiran Verma), New York Life Insurance (Amir Dhodhiya), Tim Jerro, Manmeet Likhari, Mr. & Mrs. Raj Bhalla, and India House.

While a lot more progress will be needed worldwide to achieve a level of empowerment in which women can realize their full potential, organizations like these are helping to get there.

For further details & for information on dancing and modeling classes for all ages starting from January 24 visit www.jazcreationz.com or call Jasmeeta Singh @ 713858-8229.

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January 19, 2018

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10 January 19, 2018 HOUSTON:

DAV Sanskriti School of Arya Samaj Greater Houston celebrated last Sunday the event known as Makar Sankranti, Lohri, Pongal, Bihu, etc. in different parts of India reflecting its colorful diversity. Acharyaji spoke at length about its significance that is sun’s reversal from its southern journey to back to northward. In plain terms, that translates into winter becoming less harsh and paving the path for spring. Indeed, the Sunday weather attested to that by plenty of sunshine without the cold wind that had become common in the last few days.

Sanskriti School kids had a direct learning of both theory and practice behind the science, art and festivities of the event. This event has a fixed date because of sun’s movement whereas the other Indian festivals follow moon’s movements. The Sanskriti School teachers, parents and kids were told that the classical Indian calendar is the most scientific, taking into account lunar months synchronizing with the solar year. The Vedic concept of 12 months in a year was adopted by the western calendar that earlier had 10 months in a year – March to December – the term December referred to the 10th month, Dasham in Sanskrit.

One fire pit was made active, a replica of the ancient practice of Havan. There were heaps of peanut, revris, etc. for the children to offer into both the fires – the one

COMMUNITY Makar Sankranti and Lohri at Arya Samaj in the fire pit and the other in their belly. This reflected the farmers’ gaiety and festivity on seeing their crops maturing at this time of the year. Soon began the sound of dhol that increased the decibel level as well as the festive spirit. The open area converted into a makeshift stage and the people began dancing. The children were treated to Bhangra, Gidda, etc. Their special delight was the Bhangra master Arjun Barua who came in the attire that is seen in photos only.

Many kids went to touch him and his clothes to get the real feel of

it.

Nearby were the kite flying kids.

If someone didn’t bring a kite then there was an expert supplying the necessary raw material and guiding to make a kite. Imagine a kid’s delight to fly a kite made by him some minutes ago. As usual, the food was attractive with Makki di Roti, Sarson ka Saag, etc. The food committee had been quite liberal in arranging foods but the number of people (around 500+) enjoying the event far exceeded anybody’s expectations that they went into jittery. Not to be outsmarted, they went into war like emergency drill and ensured that everybody’s belly fire met its expectations as the fire pit did. One seasoned Punjabi remarked, “I had never seen such a lively and vibrant Lohri in my so many years in Punjab”. That befits the humble thanks to all the volunteers of Sanskriti School and Arya Samaj.

Sanskriti School noted a number of new enrollments for the spring term and were forced to keep it open for another Sunday, the 21st January.

They can be reached at 832874-3376. Not to be left behind, DAV Montessori School (the regular elementary school at Arya Samaj) announced its open days during the week of January 16.

INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JANUARY 19, 2018 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

COMMUNITY

BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA

HOUSTON: A relative unknown

to the Indo-American community in the Metroplex until a fundraising relief gala for Hurricane Harvey (see IAN dated October 19, 2017) in which his company had joined forces with the Indian Doctors Association and its national organization AAPI, Tahir Javed, 51, was better known among the local Pakistani-American community for his successful business acumen.

Last December, Javed made sure to change all of that by surprising everyone and filing papers to run for the 29th Congressional District House seat being vacated

by Gene Green who is retiring after 25 years in the position. The meandering district which circles around East Houston, includes South Houston, Pasadena and extends around Interstate 45 North and South is predominantly Latino with 88% of Mexican descent.

Earlier in November, State Senator Sylvia Garcia (D-Houston) announced her intention to run for this seat. She is a former Houston city controller and Harris County Commissioner who was elected to the District 6 Senate seat in 2013.

Javed and a crowded field of candidates - none have ever held public office before - will face her in the March 6 Democratic primary.

The other candidates include Marine veteran Augustine Reyes, real estate agent Dominique Michelle Garcia, teacher Hector Morales, businessman Pedro Valencia and attorney Roel Garcia. Four

January 19, 2018

Riceland’s Tahir Javed Running for Gene Green’s Dist. 29 Congress Seat

Pakistani American Tahir Javed, the CEO of Riceland Healthcare, is running for Congress in Texas’ 29th congressional district.

(Website Picture)

Republicans are running in the GOP’s primary also on March 6: Carmen Maria Montiel, Jaimy Z. Blanco, Phillip Aronoff and Robert Schafranek.

Javed is accustomed to challenges. He is the CEO of Riceland Healthcare based in Beaumont, where he has lived ever since he came to the US in 1989. He and his brother Shawn leveraged their original single convenience store business into a conglomerate of 27 separate companies. Javed is well-known for his advocacy in building bridges across different communities and enterprises, a strategy that has allowed him to rapidly grow Riceland from an idea to an integrated network of physicians, hospital, hospice and home health based out of Winnie, Texas just southwest of Beaumont.

He has been an ardent supporter of many philanthropic causes.

Javed has contributed to the campaigns of many candidates and traveled extensively to raise funds for Democrat Hilary Clinton’s 2016 race for President. He is basing his Congressional campaign on opposing President Donald Trump citing his “collusion with Russia, weakness with China, Muslim Ban, Border Wall and treatment of women” as well as poor response to Hurricanes Harvey and Maria.

Javed believes his is prepared to represent the district as his businesses serve underserved communities, like a medical facility being opened in Galena Park. He says he understand how to provide healthcare with less waste and would fight to bring better access to health care, better schools, roads and employment opportunities.

But his unexpected entry into the race has caught criticism from the perceived front-runner Garcia, 67, who has pointed out that Javed only recently bought a home in the district and had a 9,000 sf homestead till now in Beaumont. She was also critical of a picture of Javed and his wife in a Bentley, which has since been removed from his Facebook page. Even then, though he is not a Latino, Javed believes that as an immigrant, he understands the struggles that others who came to the US like him have had to make and can relate to their needs.

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Have you planned for your future?

People don’t plan to Fail, They Fail to Plan

Consulate General of India Houston Republic Day Flag Hoisting Flag hoisting ceremony on the occasion of India’s 69th Republic Day will be held on Friday, 26 January 2018 at 7:30 AM at the Consulate General of India (4300 Scotland St, Houston Texas, 77007). This will be followed by singing of the National Anthem, reading the address of the President of India and light refreshments.

Indian nationals, members of the Indian American community, friends of India and their families along with children are cordially invited to the function.

Participants are requested to assemble at the Consulate General of India. Kindly bring your photo ID.

To plan your future, contact:

Jesal Patel ARPC, CLTC, LUTCF Financial Adviser*: Eagle Strategies LLC Life Member MDRT Ph: 281-221-5061/713-499-7670 Fax: 832-201-5394 Website: www.jesalzpatel.com *Financial Adviser offering investment advisory services though Eagle Strategies LLC, A Registered Investment Adviser.

Registered Representative offering securities through NYLIFE Securities LLC-Member FINRA/SIPC, A Licensed insurance Agency. Agent with New York Life Insurance Company. 3200 Southwest Freeway, Suite 1900, Houston, TX 77027 (713) 9614545 California Insurance License # 0F53803

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12 January 19, 2018

COMMUNITY

A Vintage Lohri, from Simpler Times, Remembered Once Again

Shakuntla Malhotra, who writes the Mama’s Punjabi Recipes column, shares homemade popcorn and gur to toss into the bonfire lohri with her eldest grandson Sanjay Stefan and his fiancé Alexandra Shepherd

The trio celebrated lohri on Saturday, January 13 with mama sharing some tales of her youth in Lyallpur, British India.

BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA

HOUSTON: She was stretching

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back 73 years in time, when there was a naiveté about the world around you, even among murmurs of cracks in the British Raj. News traveled at the speed of a bicycle postman carrying telegrams and if you were lucky - and of a certain class - a black rotary dial telephone.

Mama, my 89 year-old mother, wistfully remembered this period of her life in Lyallpur in the western corner of Punjab an hour from the Chenab River and how the cold wind blew in the winters during the month of Poh, in the Hindu lunar calendar. Even at that time, the British system of the weekend had become commonplace and people worked half days on Saturdays (Shanicharvar) and had Sundays (Aetvar) off. In the winter time, Sundays were big bathing days.

During Poh, which lasts from December through January, mama remembered that every Saturday people would sit around bonfires they would light in front of their homes and share the food they had prepared. The fires were called dhoondi or smoke (after the smoke they would give off) and people would make them with spare firewood, sticks, twigs and goye (dried cowdung patties) also called upale in Hindi.

“And on the last day of Poh,

A micro-bonfire of twigs collected from the garden burns in a clay pot

which is always January 13, we would celebrate lohri, which is a bonfire with a special meaning” mama told her eldest grandson Stefan who came with his fiancé Alexandra to celebrate with her in the backyard. “Lohri is to give thanks for the successful passage through the first winter of a young couple’s marriage or a newborn child (usually a boy),” mama went on.

This “bonfire” was a clay flower pot into which we threw in twigs and branches and then lit up. Soon it was a healthy crisp fire which crackled as each new branch was added, and a plume of smoke rose upwards. Mama brought out a pot in which she had roasted some corn kernels till they popped soft white bellies and in another bowl she handed out broken pieces of gur (jaggery or solidified brown sugar cane juice) and some til or sesame seeds. We followed her lead and threw in some of each

into the fire, and mama softly said a prayer and remembered her other children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.

In her younger days in Lyallpur, people would prepare a week in advance for the lohri night, which was a major celebration. The house celebrating lohri would gather the wood, send the dried corn kernels to the bhatti (central oven stall) to get it popped and then bring it back in large baskets and bring bags of gajjak (sesame seeds pressed into gur in small candy sizes), peanuts and fruit. The women would gather around and sing folk songs accompanied along on the dholki (double-faced long drum). And at the end, people would give out bags of all these things to the others who would come, Early in the morning, the teenage boys of the neighborhood would dance in front of the home holding the lohri and ask for money.

“We would give them 5 paisa or an anna or two,” mama recalled with a smile because these units went out of circulation 50 years ago. There were 3 pies in one paisa, 4 paisa in one anna and 16 annas is a rupee when an English pound was worth 13 rupees (it is now worth 90 rupees).

“And if they didn’t get any money, they’d sing-song out loudly ‘hookah, bai hookha; eh ghar bhuka’ (hookah, oh hookah, this house is heartless’,” mama said with a giggle, recalling those days of long ago.

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HAPPY NEW YEAR

January 19, 2018

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14 January 19, 2018

HAPPY NEW YEAR

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HAPPY NEW YEAR

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HAPPY NEW YEAR

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COMMUNITY

January 19, 2018

17

Google Honors Nobel Laureatte Har Gobind Khorana on His 96th Birthday

BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA

HOUSTON: People logging onto

Google on Tuesday, January 9 were pleasantly surprised by a Doodle of a bespectacled man working in a laboratory with what appeared to be a DNA sequence in the background.

If you hovered over the Doodle you saw the phantom caption identifying the man as Har Gobind Khorana, and if you clicked on it, the link took you a top stories page which showed Khorana’s Wikipedia page, twitter feeds about him and three inset pictures and highlighting stories that were trending about why Google was honoring him.

For most people, Khorana is not a well-known personality, but in the sphere of natural sciences, and especially in microbiology, Khorana is a giant who shared the 1968 Nobel Prize for Physiology with Marshall W. Nirenberg and Robert W. Holley for research at the University of Wisconsin that showed the order of nucleotides in nucleic acids which carry the genetic code of the cell and control the cell’s synthesis of proteins. Khorana and Nirenberg were also awarded the Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize from Columbia University in the same year.

Korana’s story is an inspiration to those who believe that a bril-

Google Doodle

Har Gobind Khorana as a young man

Har Gobind Khorana in later years

liant mind can never be trampled by humble beginnings or the lack of money. He was born in Raipur, a village in Punjab (which later became Pakistan), in British Occupied India on January 9, 1922 – the reason why Google placed his Doodle on his 96th birthday – as the youngest of five children. Although poor, his family was the only literate one in the village and he received the first four years of his education under a tree in the village, a practice that still continues to this day in many parts of India.

He attended the DAV High School in Multan, and then went onto Punjab

University in Lahore, receiving his Masters of Science in 1945. He left in

MUMBAI:

A UK citizen of Indian origin was allegedly duped of Rs. 2 lakh by a woman who claimed that she would extend the victim’s visa.

Police said that Jaspal Bansal had come to India in July on a personal visit and wanted to extend her visa by a month.

“During her stay at a hotel in Andheri, Bansal came in contact with the accused woman who

1945 to pursue his PhD at the University of Liverpool receiving it in 1948, and then postdoctoral studies at the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule in Zurich, Switzerland, where he met and married his wife Esther Elizabeth Sibler. Khorana moved to Canada in 1962 and then to the US in 1960, becoming a US citizen in 1966. Esther died in 2001 and their

daughter Emily Anne died in 1979; his survivors are their daughter Julia Elizabeth and Dave Roy. Google released three Doodles on January 9, and different ones were viewed depending on the user’s geographic location. The Doodle in Khorana’s honor was drawn by Bangalore-based illustrator Rohan Datore.

Indian-Origin Man From UK Defrauded Of Rs. 2 Lakh Over Visa Extension

promised to help Bansal claiming that she had contacts at the Indian Embassy,” said the official.

The official added that the accused

demanded Rs. 2 lakh from Mr Bansal for the work and later disappeared after getting the money.

Based on a complaint filed by Mr Bansal, Juhu police registered a case under relevant sections of the IPC adding that further investigations were underway -ndtv.com

INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JANUARY 19, 2018 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

18 January 19, 2018 “Jai Hind” with Newfound Enthusiasm

The other night when leav-

ing my fortress in Gurugram, the building security man frightened the life out of me by leaping out of his seat and saluting me with a loud, and clearly proud, “Jai Hind!”.

So far, it had mainly been good morning, sir or good night, sir. I liked this. You see, I do not consider it a talent to remember the date, day and hour so I had come to rely on this greeting to give me a rough idea of what time it was. And as an added bonus, it confirmed that my androgynous fashion choices were working.

This Jai Hind business on the other hand told me just one thing – I was a girl standing in front of a very nationalistic Indian boy. Naturally, I asked the guard what in the world he was thinking. He didn’t seem to know either, he was merely following instructions – it was a new style of greeting for the New Year.

Before any of the faux patriots reading this work themselves into a fever, I would like to pull my Air Force credentials card.

I grew up in the armed forces and they are my family. Which is why I am well aware that even they don’t greet each other as such when in civilian territory.

We have gone so far off the grid in this country that today every commercial airline brightly issues a Jai Hind immediately after asking us to stow our tray tables. And let’s not forget the imagined patriotism displayed by the non-armed forces people from the cosy confines of cinema halls across the country. Our soldiers are really counting on you. They say (and by they I mean me) that when there are no jobs the best thing to sell people is national pride – it’s a nice distraction and the only thing they will be able to afford under the circumstances.

It gives people without purpose something to focus on and because one has to do little other than pretend that you would die for your country literally any coward can do it. Forcing one’s personal brand of patriotism on another is futile. It’s like stalking a woman in the hope that your creepy aggression will make her fall in love with you. And that I suspect is where these jingoists got their ideas in the first place. Now let me go have a word with building security.

-Radhika Vaz in Times of India. Radhika is a comedian who lives between New York and Mumbai. Radhika’s new book “Unladylike, AMemoir” is available online and in stores. Her one-woman shows “Older. Angrier. Hairier.” and “Unladylike: The Pitfalls of Propriety” have sold out to audiences in NY, LA and all over India.

EDITORIAL/COMMENTARY India’s Invisible Walls

BY AADITYA MATTOO, SIDDHARTH SHARMA

India is becoming more integrated.

Goods and services are beginning to flow more freely thanks to recent reforms. But, to increase economic growth and reduce poverty, people too need to move to where they are most productive. In China, for example, eliminating impediments to internal migration could boost national income by an estimated 10% .

India has no explicit restrictions on internal labour mobility as in China’s “hukou” system. Yet Indians, particularly men seeking education and jobs, are surprisingly reluctant to cross state borders. On the face of it, internal migrants represented 30 per cent of India’s population in 2001, the latest Census round for which comprehensive data on migration flows are available. But this number is deceptively large: Two-thirds were migrants within districts, and more than half were women migrating for marriage. Census data reveals that internal migration rates across states were nearly four times higher in Brazil and China, and more than nine times higher in the United States in the five years ending in 2001. Other researchers found that India ranked last in a comparison of internal migration in 80 countries.

We looked deeper into the 2001 Census data on district-to-district migration between each pair of India’s 593 districts. We examined patterns by gender, age, education, duration of stay, and reason of migration. To illustrate the restrictiveness of state borders, consider Nagpur, a district in central India (Maharashtra) and close to three other states — Telangana, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

The four neighbouring districts in Maharashtra (Bhandara, Wardha, Amravati, and Chandrapur) sent a total of 31 per cent of Nagpur’s immigrants. The remaining three neighbouring districts in Madhya Pradesh (Balaghat, Chhindwara, and Seoni) sent a total of only 13 per cent. In fact, more migrants came to Nagpur from other districts in Maharashtra hundreds of kilometres away than from neighbouring districts in other states. Almost identical patterns are observed when we look at emigration

from Nagpur to other districts.

In our analysis, we accounted for barriers to internal mobility such as physical distance and linguistic differences between districts. We also considered differences in economic and social features. Even after controlling for these other influences, state borders still emerged as critical impediments to mobility. We found that migration between neighbouring districts in the same state is at least 50 per cent more than migration between neighbouring districts in different states.

The Economic Survey 2016-17 uses less detailed, early-release data from the 2011 Census data to reach similar conclusions. Even though the rate of migration doubled between 2001 and 2011 relative to the previous decade, state borders remain impediments to mobility: Labour migrant flows within states are much larger than flows across states. In our analysis, state borders turn out to be a bigger hindrance to the migration of men than of women, and for younger men of working age. The negative effect was also linked to education levels — the more educated were more reluctant to cross state lines.

India’s low level of inter-state mobility is puzzling because there are no explicit barriers. We suggest a possible explanation: The entitlement programmes implemented at the state level. First, major social benefits are not portable across state boundaries since they are administered by state governments, even when they are centrally funded. For example, access to subsidised food through the public distribution system (PDS), and even admission to public hospitals has been administered through “ration cards”, issued and accepted only by the home state government. We find that in states where the PDS offers higher levels of coverage, unskilled migrants are less likely to move outof-state.

A nationally portable identity is an important step. But the disincentive to move will disappear only when, say, someone from Bihar can access all social benefits when they move to Maharashtra. And those benefits would need to include access to public hospitals and schools even

when people move from one state to another. While non-portability of benefits inhibits the migration of the poor and the unskilled, two other factors contribute to the inertia of those seeking higher education and skilled jobs.

Many universities and technical institutes are administered by state governments, and state residents get preferential admission through “state quota seats”. For example, the state quota in state medical colleges is more than 70% in Maharashtra.

The “domicile certificates” necessary for eligibility for the state quota require continuous residence in the state, ranging from three years in Uttar Pradesh to 10 in Rajasthan.

Not surprisingly, the relative share of migrants moving out-of-state to seek higher education is lower in states with higher rates of access to tertiary education.

Even though the public sector accounts for only about five per cent of total employment in India, it employs more than half of the higher-skilled.

And in most states, more than threefourths of government jobs are with the state rather than central government. State domicile is a common requirement for jobs in state government entities. Sure enough, we find that in states with higher rates of public employment, skilled migrants are relatively less likely to move out-of-state.

The impact of this discrimination in state employment should diminish as the private sector grows. However, some states are flirting with broader “jobs for natives” policies.

In 2016, Karnataka announced that both public and private sector firms would have to reserve 70% of their jobs for state residents, or lose access to state government industrial policy benefits. Odisha, Maharashtra, and Himachal Pradesh have similar quotas for state residents in factory jobs.

India’s “fragmented entitlements” are likely to dampen growth and perpetuate pockets of poverty by preventing people from seeking the most productive opportunities across the entire country. Only when each Indian state grants all Indian citizens equal access to benefits, will India really be on the move. -- IE

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ADVICE/IMMIGRATION

January 19, 2018

19

How to Make the Most Out of the Second Half of the School Year

A guide to turning grades around before summer for students that struggled the first half of the year

It’s that time of year again, the time when we look internally and consider what we can do to make sure we are set up for a great year ahead. While this is a great time for you, as parents, to consider areas where you can be better yourself, it is also a time to look at your children and find ways to make sure they have the support and guidance needed for a strong 2018.

For students who might have struggled during the first half of the year, it’s not too late to turn grades around before summer. By utilizing the right skills and tools, and putting in incredible effort, students will be able to start 2018 on the right foot. Best in Class Education Center, which helps K-12 students succeed academically through customized educational programs, shared a few tips on how to get your students back on track for the new year.

• Talk with their teachers You might be thinking, “Where do I even start?” A good place to begin is to talk with your student’s teachers to know if there is a main issue to overcome. Some students have a difficult time focusing in class, and others have a hard time being motivated to do work. Whatever the issue may be, their teacher would be a great resource to start making 2018 their best year!

• Get organized For many students at younger levels, a lack of organization is usually a large reason for struggling in school.

They haven’t mastered what tactics work for them, and in turn forget about assignments, lose important notes and homework, or do not know how to study effectively. In the new year, make it a resolution to help your child improve their organization. One idea is to buy them a bookkeeper binder and have different sections for each class or subject. You can color code each subject and then place a sticker on every assignment or piece of paper for the class so they know where everything goes. Another idea

is getting them used to using an day planner. Not only should they write down the assignments for every night and when tests are happening, but they should also note what they talked about in class so they can go over it at home.

• Make learning fun Many students who are struggling are actually having a hard time enjoying the learning process, so they refuse to put in the effort needed to succeed. It is very important to build strong education skills at a young age, while also making learning enjoyable so students continue to strive in their later years. One way to do this to create a homework chart and give your children small gifts or rewards when they finish their homework. Another idea is to give them rewards for doing well in school such as telling them you’ll take them to a movie if they get a good grade on their next test. Make sure you are setting realistic goals. If your child is consistently getting C’s push them to get B’s beforeA’s. Pushing for unrealistic goals can backfire and discourage students from trying it all. Finally, try and make learning fun.

While getting their homework done is important, so is studying. If they have a spelling test coming up, play a game where you say the word out loud and if they spell it correctly they can make a move or roll the dice.

• Be proactive as a parent Students learn at different paces, so it is important to notice the pace your child needs to learn. If you know they have a harder time understanding science but are great at language arts, make sure you know when science tests are coming up, and start helping them study as soon as possible.

Create practice tests for them to start taking while learning the material, rather than scrambling to memorize everything at the last minute.

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

Best in Class Education is targeting the addition of 20 more units in 2017.

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

For more information about Best in Class services for your student, or about current franchising opportunities, visit www.bestinclasseducation.com or call toll free at 1-888683-8108.

Donald Trump Pushes for Merit-based Immigration System

WASHINGTON: US President

Donald Trump pushed for a meritbased immigration system, saying he wants only those people who can help America become “strong and great again”.

Trump has been calling for the merit-based immigration system, of which people from countries like India could be a major beneficiary, to reduce overall immigration to the US. On Friday, he reiterated his support for the merit- based immigration system which will take America to the “next level”, asserting that he wanted safety and security of Americans and an end to “massive” inflow of drugs.

“I, as President, want people coming into our country who are going

to help us become strong and great again, people coming in through a system based on MERIT,” Trump said in a tweet. The president also said that there will be no more diversity lottery visa. The decades-old diversity lottery visa system gave green cards to people from countries from where people would normally not

qualify to come to the US through a merit-based system.

“DACA is probably dead because the Democrats don’t really want it, they just want to talk and take desperately needed money away from our military,” the president said.

Trump has also called for ending the chain migration, the fastest and easiest way to gain legal entry into America, through sponsorship by a family member who is already a legal resident or citizen of the US. Earlier, in an interview to The Wall Street Journal, he asserted that he will not accept any immigration deal that does not have a provision to build a wall along the Mexico border to stop illegal entry of people from that country.

-indiatvnews.com

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PUZZLES / RECIPES

Mama’s Punjabi Recipes

Bajre Gur Di Roti (Pearl Millet & Jaggery Flatbread) Directions:

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y popular demand, here is a reprint of Mama’s Bajre Gur Di Roti recipe, which is just the kind of tasty, hot sweetbread that you need for the winter months to take your mind off the bitter cold outside. It is reprinted with some additional information and directions.

This recipe is made with the bajra (pearl millet) grain about which we young girls growing up in Lyallpur and Jhung used to sing a song in Jhungi Punjabi: Bajre de olle veh, menu banna veh pewa deh, (Oye, build me a wall, hey, besides the millet wheat bush) Main chiddiyan ouwandi thuk gayi hun (I’m tired of shooing away the birds that peck at it) Bajra is part of the Punjabi folklore, celebrated in songs associated with birds and their flights in the air. There is a well-known Punjabi folksong, Bajra da Sitta (the cobb of bajra) which was made famous in the 1940s

by Prakash Kaur and Surinder Kaur that went “Bajre da sitte veh assan talli te maroreya” (we scrapped the cobb of bajra between our palms).

Bajra gur di rotti (pearl millet and jaggery flatbread) is about as rustic a Punjabi roti as you can get, just like makki di roti (corn flatbread). And it is also a comfort food to ward off the cold of the winter months and give warmth and energy to do all the household chores. Since we grew up in Lyallpur, which, though it was the District Center, was still a small town, we would get fresh grains by the jute bag full from our farmlands and also the deep brown bricks of gur (jaggery, an uncentrifuged concentrated sugar made from cane juice).

Bajra is a type of grass with a small seed grain, which has a short season growing under, dry, high temperature

conditions. Bajra is high in protein and a good source of iron, vitamins B1, B2 and B3 and is gluten free. It has no saturated fat or cholesterol and the flour contains about 260 calories per half cup.

In the winter months, bajra roti provides warmth. You simply make the bajra atta (dough) and then you can make the pancakes between the palms (as the dough can be too tender to spread with a rolling pin) and let them cook over low heat on a tava (iron flat skillet). This is a really tasty sweet roti that goes down well with hot milk and makes you feel warm all over during the cold of winter.

Ingredients: • 2 cups bajre da atta (pearl millet flour) • ½ cup gur (jaggery) • ½ cup ghee (clarified butter) • 1 tsp saunf (fennel seed) • 1 cup pani (water). You can also use 1 cup of milk instead of water.

• Vegetable or sunflower oil to grease the hands and tava

1. Heat the water and add the gur.

Stir till the gur is melted. Let it cool down for 30 minutes.

2. Pour the bajra atta in bowl and add the ghee. Mix thoroughly. Add the cool gur water mixture a little at a time and knead the flour till it is soft.

3. Grease your hands with a little oil and break away some dough and make a ball between the palms till it is about 4 to 6 inches in diameter.

4. Heat the tava on medium and then coat with a little bit of oil.

5. Place the pancake on the tava.

When it turns a little brown, flip it over. Wait for both sides to be browned but do not overcook else the roti will burn.

6. Make the rotis out of the rest of the flour. Serve while hot with hot milk.

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 vegetarian recipes for future generations.

MAMA’S TIP O F THE

WEEK

CAREFUL STEPS TO BOILING MIL K SO IT DOESN’T SPIL L OR BURN If the milk in th

e fri already gone over a dge is getting close to the expiration date day any microbes and th or two, place it in a pot and let it boil. Th or has e milk will be good is will kill for When boiling milk , place a spoon of w another week to ten days. ater in the saucepan insides. This way, the to boils. Always place milk will not stick to the sides and bu coat the the milk under low rn when it heat to let it boil gent it does boil, pierce ly, an the avoid the milk from top soft film that rises up with a knife d when in order to bubbling over and spilling.

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January 19, 2018

ENTERTAINMENT:REVIEWS/NEWS ENTERTAINMENT:REVIEWS/NEWS

Kaalakaandi

1921 W

Unfolding through a course of a night in Mumbai, Kaalakaandi showcases three parallel tracks — a man who discovers he has terminal illness decides to let go of his principles and live a little; a woman involved in a hitand-run seeks redemption and two goons must decide if they can trust each other.

Kaalakaandi Review: After writing an unconventional comedy (Delhi Belly), Akshat Verma’s Kaalakaandi, set in Mumbai, is partially fascinating.

It revolves around people who must do the right things, wrong things and wonder if what they did was right.

If you are a fan of the Coen brothers and fancy their brand of dark humour, it’s refreshing to see Indian filmmakers attempting the genre as it’s vastly scarce back home. The soul touching and yet amusingly absurd track

featuring the inimitable Saif Ali Khan in Kaalakaandi is a testament to that achievement.

When a quintessential good guy (Saif) discovers he has cancer, he regrets wasting his whole life being proper. He decides to fulfill his bucket list, which includes tripping on acid and putting his curiosity about the anatomy of a transgender woman (Nary Singh) to rest.

Only a Saif Ali Khan can make a line as shady as, “humko aapke samaan ke baare mein curiosity hai,” sound inoffensive and funny!

His portrayal of a broken man is heartbreaking and liberating at the same time. You can feel his pain and his long-standing desire to let loose.

Saif’s heart-warming bond with Nary Singh is the highlight of the film and will go down in the history of Indian cinema as one of the most iconic Queer moments. The two make you feel all warm and fuzzy,

reminding you why sexuality is overrated and that human connect transcends societal norms and disparity.

Akshay Oberoi as Saif’s cousin is pleasantly understated. Vijay Raaz stands out as well. However barring Saif Ali Khan (who must be applauded for his bold choices), Kaalakaandi has nothing to offer. What begins as a promising and edgy thriller soon runs out of gas, gags and gravitas. The other two tracks fail to make the desired impact as they lack the ability to evoke humour, thrill or any emotions.

Even as you continue to watch the film patiently, beyond a point, it’s nothing to write home about. You eventually sum up your thoughts on the film by borrowing the film’s expletive-laden dialogue —, ‘experimental ke naam pe chu*****’?

-timesofindia.com

Saif Ali Khan: Sacred Games is Going to be the Best Show Coming Out of India

He is one of the first mainstream ac-

tors to dabble into the digital platform and Saif Ali Khan believes his stint in a web series is only a way forward, not a step down. The 47-year-old actor, who features in Netflix’s upcoming, original show Sacred Games, said he felt liberated as a performer while working on the web series.

“It (web series) is not any way the come down, it is a step in new direction (for me as an actor). It is very liberating as an actor to have a platform (like Netflix) to act in,” Saif told PTI.

The actor said web series is the next in-thing today and he “jumped at the idea” of doing one when he was offered the project.

The series is based on Vikram Chandra’s novel of the same name, which will be directed by Motwane

and Anurag Kashyap. Saif, who has already started shooting, said he has read some parts of the book and the series is quite different. For the actor working on a film set and web series has been a completely different experience.

The web series also stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Radhika Apte and Saif said when you work with talented actors like them it ups your game.

-indianexpress.com

hen Ayush (Karan Kundra) arrives in England to learn music, he is shocked and scared when the manor he is living in becomes haunted by spirits. To exorcise them, he seeks the help of Rose (Zareen Khan), a woman who can see and speak with them.

What different could Vikram Bhatt do in the fourth instalment of his period horror franchise, you wonder? Well, he has a female exorcist this time, but her talents are suspect.

Why? Because in one scene, when Rose says that she can see spirits ever since she was a kid and can talk to them and even helps them, you want to believe her. But the fact that she nearly jumps out of her skin whenever she sees even a little shadow of the ghosts makes you suspect her abilities as an exorcist. But you play along because her neighbouring manor, where a strapping young pianist from India strums the piano like a pro is in danger.

The Wadia manor where he is living is haunted by ghosts who run around giggling like little girls, strum a wicked piano tune themselves and are attacking him by turning his body all cracked-up and black. When Rose looks around the house, with all her years of experience of ‘helping’ the ghouls achieve moksha, she comes to the conclusion that there is a very malevolent presence in

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the house and needs to be investigated and dealt with pronto. How the two manage to achieve this is what makes up the film.

The problem with ‘1921’ is, that Vikram Bhatt has added too much of a story to it. While the ghosts he has created do manage to scare you, they pop-up like such overzealousness and dedication so often, that after the interval, you are almost numb to their presence. You actually become better at sensing their presence than Rose herself and can say exactly when they will jump in and scare the poor, pretty lady. The production is impressive and the mood that Bhatt creates, with dim candle lights, is actually effective, but the film quickly develops a formula and your attention wavers. While Bhatt has managed to piece together the disjointed ends of his extremely laborious story, and there is a climax that one did not expect, it already too late. With the number of songs in the film, which all sound the same, ‘1921’ is more of a horror-musical. Even if you are weak-hearted, this one will not scare you for too long.

-timesofindia.com

Happy Birthday

Sushant Singh Rajput January 21, 1986

INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JANUARY 19, 2018 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

Subhash Ghai

January 24, 1945

24 January 19, 2018 Debutant Ngidi’s 6 for 39 Seals Series for S. Africa BYSIDHARTH MONGA

CENTURION: (ESPN Cricinfo)

South Africa 335 (Markram 94, Amla 82, du Plessis 63, Ashwin 4-113, Ishant 3-46) and 258 (de Villiers 80, Elgar 61, Shami 4-49, Bumrah 3-70) India 307 (Kohli 153, Morkel 4-60) and 151 (Rohit 47, Ngidi 6-39) by 135 runs It was a brown banana peel for South Africa. Morne Morkel said it was 100% like bowling in India. Virat Kohli batted as if he was in India.

However, in the end South Africa not only dodged a bullet, they caught the bullet and shred it into pieces with their determined batting, ruthless bowling and sensational fielding, beating India by 135 runs and winning back the Freedom Trophy.

South Africa began the day needing seven wickets, but closed the match even before the lunch break.

Lungi Ngidi ended his impressive debut with a six-for, but the start of the final collapse was self-inflicted.

When he was under pressure to keep his place in the XI in the West Indies, Cheteshwar Pujara ran himself out.

In Centurion, he became only the 23rd player to be run out twice in the same Test.

As with the first-ball duck in the first innings, Pujara’s mouth wrote a cheque his knees couldn’t cash. With AB de Villiers and Ngidi chasing after a ball, Pujara overestimated his speed and was caught short. The other overnight batsman, Parthiv Patel, batting ahead of Rohit Sharma, soon hooked Kagiso Rabada in the air, and Morne Morkel took a splendid diving catch after running to his right at fine leg.

Hardik Pandya and R Ashwin have provided resistance with the bat earlier in the series, but this time they couldn’t. Pandya repepated his first innings dismissal from Cape Town, edging when looking to ramp a wide bouncer. Ashwin fell on the loose drive. Seven down, India still needed 200 to win.

Rohit and Mohammed Shami then added 54 runs to delay the inevitable and bring India to the brink of the lunch. However, in the last over before the scheduled lunch break, de Villiers pulled off a sensational catch diving forward at deep fine leg. Rohit had got enough bat on his pull shot,

Cheteshwar Pujara lies prone on the pitch after being run out, South Africa v India, 2nd Test, Centurion, 5th day, January 17, 2018.

which resulted in a low flat offering.

Given only a split second, de Villiers judged it perfectly, took the required paces, threw himself at the ball and caught it smoothly. Not for a moment did he look like dropping the chance.

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Usually these low catches go to the third umpire; there was no need here Lunch was now delayed, and moments later, Ngidi had Shami caught at mid-on, his fifth wicket. The crowd wasn’t big given it was Wednesday,

but the appreciation was whole-hearted and Ngidi soaked it all in, kissing the badge on his shirt and then walking back to fine leg to an even bigger applause. He made it one better in the next over and end the Test.

Roy’s 180 Leads England to 1st ODI Ashes Win

RISBANE: England 5 for 308 (Roy 180, Root 91*) beat Australia 8 for 304 (Finch 107, Stoinis 60, Marsh 50, Plunkett 3-71) by 5 wickets With an Aaron Finch century at the top of the order, a staunch middleorder partnership and acceleration at the end, Australia seemed pretty well placed at the halfway mark of the first ODI. That expectation was turned dramatically on its head by a rampant Jason Roy, who soared to England’s highest ever 50-over score, and in the company of a rejuvenated Joe Root helped England fly to the steepest ever ODI chase on the MCG with seven balls to spare.

If this was the first match of a series lacking much in the way of context, Roy’s combination of daring and determination - with a dash of good fortune via numerous skiers that landed

safely - will allow England to look optimistically towards next year’s World Cup. It was on this ground, of course, where Australia had thrashed England in the opening match of the previous tournament, setting the scene for their ultimate success.

This time around, England showed themselves to be at the vanguard of the new ODI breed, while Australia, with eight losses from their past nine games, look some way off the pace.

Steven Smith’s side were left with plenty to think about after looking toothless in the face of England’s high tempo game.

Jonny Bairstow and Alex Hales had fallen early, but Roy was far from perturbed in dictating terms against an Australian bowling attack that seemed flat after a combination of Ashes and Big Bash League duties.

By contrast, Roy had barely fired a

shot for Sydney Sixers, but came into his own for England.

Roy’s determination to punish anything even slightly loose was demonstrated in the very first over of the pursuit, when Mitchell Starc concluded an accurate over with something slightly wider that was hammered through the covers.

Above all else it meant that Root and Roy could reassess their target without needing to worry too much about finding the boundary every over, even as the latter reached his 50 from just 32 balls.

Australia’s fielders and many in a crowd of 37,171 cursed their ill-luck as Roy lofted numerous shots barely over the top of the infield, at times landing these blows with the precision of Frank de Boer’s long ball to Dennis Bergkamp at the FIFA 1998 World Cup.

SPORTS

Women’s Hockey Team Gets Ready with Fitness Training

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ENGALURU: There is an energetic air to the Indian women’s hockey team’s training sessions at SAI, South Centre here.

On Friday morning as chief coach Harendra Singh put the senior team campers through their paces, the difference in fitness levels was evident.

There was no rustiness coming into the first camp of a crucial year.

With three major tournaments Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and the World Cup - lined up this season, the players are working hard at getting faster, fitter and skillwise better. Their hard work is showing and the latest yo-yo tests are a case to point. The 33 campers underwent the yo-yo intermittent recovery test (level1) - a test to measure an athlete’s ability to repeatedly perform highintensity aerobic work - on Thursday under the watchful eyes of the team’s scientific advisor Wayne Lombard.

The scores have not only been encouraging but have left the coaching staff pleasantly surprised. The highest score was 21.1 - reached by four players - while the lowest was 17.7.

Harendra, told TOI, “We are pleasantly surprised. The average is very good. We will take time to reach the optimum levels. But I’m glad the process has started.”

Lombard, who has been with the team since March last year, pointed to the improvement in the team’s yo-yo test results and said, “When I first arrived, the team average was about 17. It went up to 17.5 and now it is just above 18. We also have seen improvement in their strength as well as speed over the last couple of months.”

With a 2020 Olympic berth also up for the grabs this year, Lombard, a doctorate holder in exercise science from the University of Cape Town, pointed out, “There is always room for improvement, but it is difficult to put a number on it. This is especially so with players running on the lower side of the team average. Ideally, we want every player running 18 or higher before the Commonwealth Games.

That said, the yo-yo test is only one performance indicator. Things like strength, agility and speed, and repeat sprint ability are just as important, especially for injury prevention as well for playing at international level hockey

INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JANUARY 19, 2018 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

January 19, 2018

PM Modi Launches $6.8 Billion Refinery at Barmer in Rajasthan

BARMER, RAJASTHAN:Indian

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched the construction of a $6.8 billion refinery in the western state of Rajasthan, hopeful to lift national capacity to meet the surge in fuel demand.

By 2030, India’s demand for petrol and diesel is expected to go up by two-thirds to 170 billion litres, as an expanding middle class spends on cars and air travel.

The 180,000-barrel-per-day refinery and petrochemical project in the state bordering Pakistan is being built by the country’s third-biggest state refiner Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) in a tie-up with the state government.

The refinery will incorporate best of technologies used in the world so that environmental impact resulting from the refinery can be minimised.

The foundation stone for the project was first laid in September 2013 by

the then ruling Congress Party chief Sonia Gandhi. However, the project remained a non-starter as the state government had not given adequate incentives.

The project is now estimated to be completed by 2022-23, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said. Modi said the project will create employment for thousands of people in Rajasthan.

To make the project viable, the state government has offered an interestfree loan of 168.45 billion rupees ($2.63 billion) to HPCL to be paid back in 15 years from the commissioning of the project, Pradhan added.

Energy analysts are, however, skeptical about the project’s profitability in a land-locked desert state.

The Rajasthan refinery will have to bear the crude transportation costs as well as deal with water scarcity, said a senior executive at a private refiner who requested anonymity, citing company policy.

Pradhan said underground water

PM Modi (center) views model of the Barmer refinery with Rajasthan CM Vasundhar Raje (left) and Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

will be drilled in the region and will be desalinated and used in the refinery.

A senior HPCL official said a water pipeline is being considered.

Rajasthan accounts for a meagre 1.07 percent of water resources in the country, according to official data.

Pradhan said the Rajasthan refinery will buy about 50,000 bpd oil from the nearby oilfield operated by

Cairn India Ltd, a unit of Vedanta Resources.

However, a senior HPCL executive said his company prefers to fully operate the refinery on Vedanta’s oil to cut transportation costs.

“The ability to process imported crude oil, commonly known as ‘swing capacity’, will also be built,” he explained.

-Indian Express

NRI Businessman Yusuffali MA Acquires Iconic Scottish Hotel LONDON: Leading NRI busi- lence,” said Adeeb Ahamed, managing director of T14H.

nessman Yusuffali MA has acquired an iconic Scottish hotel based in Edinburgh in a $120 million deal clinched by Twenty14 Holdings (T14H), the hospitality investment arm of his Abu Dhabi headquartered Lulu Group International.

The Caledonian, a grand Edwardian hotel overlooking Edinburgh Castle, joins his portfolio of $650 million worth of luxury properties across the UK, the Middle East and India. The T14H on Tuesday announced plans to invest $28 million for the expansion and enhancement of the historic hotel under its ownership, while retaining its heritage and distinctive architecture. “We are excited to add The Caledonian to the portfolio of Twenty14 Holdings. With more than 100 years of history, The Caledonian brings with it a rich heritage, character and unique opu-

Ahamed added that the company plans to honour the “Scottish landmark”, while adding to the experience the hotel already offers. Among some of the plans for the site, the T14H intends to engage local craftsmen to work on the hotel’s historic Caledonian suites.

“Luxury and style will be the keynote of these improvements. Bespoke furniture, eclectic artwork and en-suite bathrooms featuring marble and burnished chrome fittings will feature among a host of exclusive additions,” T14H said.

The latest acquisition fits into the company strategy of investing in profitable luxury sites while preserving their historical legacy. The Caledonian operates under the Hilton group’s flagship Waldorf Astoria brand. First opened in 1903 as part of the old Princes Street Railway Station, the hotel currently has 241

Yusuffali MA of Abu Dhabi based Lulu Group International.

rooms and is home to two famous restaurants operated by Michelin-starred brothers Chris and Jeff Galvin—the Pompadour by Galvin and Galvin Brasserie de Luxe.

It also houses the only spa by French skincare brand Guerlain in the UK, echoing the glamour of its counterpart in Paris. Twenty14

Holdings was founded in 2014 as the hospitality arm of Lulu Group International.

The group has struck a £110 million agreement with property developer Galliard Homes to create a boutique five-star hotel on the site—1-5 Great Scotland Yard.

-LiveMint

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Patanjali Ayurved Expands Online Sales, New Products

NEW DELHI: Baba Ramdev-led

Patanjali Ayurved has announced its foray into e-commerce for its FMCG items, partnering major players in the space, including Amazon and Flipkart, and targeting over Rs 1,000 crore this year itself.

The Haridwar-based company said it has partnered eight players, which also include Grofers, Shopclues, BigBasket, 1mg, Paytm Mall and Netmeds, through which its entire range of products would be available online.

Besides, Patanjali said it will also expand into new product segments such as bottled water through brand ‘Divya Jal’and apparels and footwear under the brand name ‘Paridhan’ this year.

“Online mechanism aims to provide convenient and efficient options along with extension of traditional retail market”, said Baba Ramdev.

He further added: “We are targeting sales of over Rs 1,000 crore this year and would try to have more than that as we have just started now”.

The Haridwar-based company had started trial of online sales of its Swadeshi range of products, through its platform www.patanjaliayurved. net on trial basis and got encouraging results, Ramdev said.

“This was reflected in online sales which crossed Rs 10 crore during December itself, the highest online sales by any FMCG brand in a month,” he added.

Besides, Patanjali is also expanding its retail network in brick and mortar format and has plans to introduce more products in the value based small offering targeting rural customers.

“We have around 5,000 exclusive stores and would add more into that.

We are going to launch a new loyalty card on January 26, named ‘Swadesh Samridhi’,” said Ramdev.

Patanjali has plans to connect around five crore people through its loyalty programme, which would also offer insured sum to the holders in case of death and disability, he said.

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