E newspaper 06092017

Friday, June 09, 2017 | Vol. 36, No. 23

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Indo American erican News

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Scholarship recipients with elected officials, and IACF members Dr. Ramesh Cherivirala (scholarship committee member and former IACF president), and Dr. Vanitha Pothuri (IACF president).

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12th Anniversary Celebrations IIFA 2017 in New York!

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June 09, 2017

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Salman, Katrina & Alia Unveil a Teaser to the Extravaganza of IIFA

BY VANSHIKA VIPIN VARMA

HOUSTON: The heat is on! For

the biggest night of the year is around the corner. The star-studded spectacle that boasts of hosting the biggest names in Bollywood, the awe-inspiring and majestic International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) is all set to mesmerize the Indian film industry and Bollywood buffs. This 18th edition of the extravaganza is to be held in New York from July 13-15.

The IIFA fever is known to grip the world much before it is hosted.

The IIFA press conference was held on June 1, in Mumbai, and epitomizing IIFA’s plan to construct connects crosswise over silver screens, organizations, groups, and countries, a live video press conference was held in Houston, Chicago and New York. The Houston press conference was organized by Wizcraft International Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. and Star Promotions. The live video conference was held from 9.30 am at East West International, Houston, and joining this conference were the mega stars Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif and the bubbly Alia Bhatt.

The video conference at Houston started an hour after the Mumbai conference ended, and the Houston media were anxiously waiting to speak to these stars. The terrific trio had a live and a friendly interaction with the Houston media.

Salman, who looked dapper in a black suit commented, “It always feels great to be a part of the IIFA movement and I look forward to the 2017 IIFA Awards”. The absolutely gorgeous Katrina who was dressed in a short bodycon dress with a plunging neckline said, “I’m really excited and looking forward to performing at the IIFA Awards this year. It is such a great platform that not only showcases the celebration of cinema globally, but also it’s a great

Houston Media and other attendees with Rajender Singh of Star Promotions.

opportunity for us to reach out to our fans worldwide. I am excited that this year, it is happening in one of my favorite cities – New York!”. The adorable Alia, who is to debut with this year’s IIFA, was dressed in a cream and olive green colored outfit, and she went on to mention, “I am very excited to be a part of IIFA 2017, as this is going to be my debut at the IIFA Festival after 5 years in the industry. I am super excited that IIFA is being held in the beautiful city of New York. IIFA is all about togetherness and the celebration of the Indian cinema globally and I eagerly look forward to this celebration”. Also, speaking at the press conference in Mumbai were R. S Kalsi, Executive Director, Marketing & Sales, Maruti Suzuki, Vivek Zhang, CMO, Vivo India, Raj Nayak, Chief Operating Officer, Viacom18, and Pankaj Srivastava, Air India’s Commercial Director.

Rajender Singh of Star Promotions, a notable bigwig amongst the Bollywood fraternity and a household name in Houston was the backbone for this event. Ra-

jender has been instrumental in bringing many International shows in the past 20 years to cities across North America. Having established successful events and concerts, Rajender has garnered an esteemed reputation within the entertainment industry and won the respect of friends, fans, business associates and industry legends.

Over the past few years, he has represented Houston at the IIFA. Last year too, Rajender represented the IIFA at Madrid, welcoming Bollywood biggies who walked through the green carpet.

The celebrity studded IIFA Rocks 2017 will celebrate 25 years of A. R. Rahman in the industry and is set to feature a never-before-seen medley of musicians that includes A. R. Rahman, Diljit Dosanjh, Benny Dayal, Javed Ali, Neeti Mohan, Jonita Gandhi and Haricharan Seshadri. IIFA Rocks will be hosted by the funny two-some, the inimitable Riteish Deshmukh and Manish Paul. The IIFA Awards will witness power-packed performances by Bollywood megastars Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Alia

Photos: Meedu fotografy

Video Press Conference with Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif and Alia Bhatt.

Bhatt, Shahid Kapoor, Sushant Singh Rajput, Kriti Sanon among others. To make this flashy ceremony even more exciting, it will be hosted by the very talented Karan Johar.

IIFA continues on its journey of celebrating Indian Cinema across the world. This year’s event is eagerly awaited and anticipated by fans around the world as they present the opportunity of a lifetime for guests to witness an action-packed

INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUNE 09, 2017 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

weekend showcasing the best of Bollywood. The premiere edition in New York promises to be a mélange of glitz and glamour, extravagant productions with splendidly choreographed performances. IIFA promises to be a great show at the spectacular MetLife Stadium.

For IIFA tickets, contact Rajender Singh at 281-222- 4500.

And stay tuned for more updates and spicy bytes on IIFA by logging on to www.iifa.com

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Village School Elementary Readathon Raises $3,000 for Pratham

BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA

HOUSTON:

Once again this year, the students at the Village Elementary School participated in the Pratham Readathon Challenge during the Spring semester. Many kids from kindergarten through the fourth grade competed in their grade levels to raise money for the Indian NGO Pratham which helps to educate kids in poor areas of India. This is the third year that the Village School kids have participated in a Readathon. In 2015 they raised $10,000, and last year at a similar event organized by Manjit Soni they raised $3,000.

Many of their parents are committed Pratham supporters and have donated at the Gala earlier this year.

The premise of the Readathon is pretty simple: kids commit to read a number of books and find sponsors who commit some money, but the idea is to encourage and challenge kids to get in the habit of reading. “This helps to sharpen their skills and sparks the thought process,” said Manjit Soni. “It promotes imagination, builds vocabulary and spelling and gets the family together to discuss, spend quality time. It lays the platform for further interaction on various issues.” Soni couldn’t have been more pleased, since she is both a Pratham volunteer and a volunteer at the school who has helped with the Readathon challenge for these three years.

The Pratham Readathon Committee of nine fourth graders and lead teacher Jessica Parker organized the event. The students also created a huge Readathon bulletin board that was up on the wall by the gym so all students could see the number of books read by each grade level as they were posted as the class that read the most books would be the winner. At one point the Kindergartners were winning but then the first graders got ahead and finally won by the end of April

cutoff date by reading an astonishing over 1505 books!

Kelly Broaddus, the Director of the Elementary School, along with Jessica Parker, the fourth grade Language Arts teacher, and team leader Pat Spears worked hard at promoting the Readathon by making daily announcements, writing notes in the school newsletter and electronic messaging to parents.

They had a goal of raising $5,000 but as many parents had already donated at the Pratham Gala, they raised $3,000 which will allow 120 disadvantaged kids in India to go to school for one whole year.

Teaching is close to Soni’s heart.

She taught at SIES College in Mumbai, then was in the National Social Service before coming to the US. She taught social studies at Cy-Fair and Alief ISDs and has been a substitute teacher at the Village School since 2014, when she also became the National Readathon Coordinator for Pratham.

The Readathon 4th Graders

From left: Manjit Soni, Darcy Broaddus and Kelly Broaddus, Director of The Village Elementary School.

“I’m sure the students at the Elementary School had fun reading,”

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said Soni at the medals awards ceremony held later. “It helped them further develop their reading skills and parents got an opportunity to engage and interact with their kids about the books they read. So it’s a win-win program.”

Pratham recognized the kids efforts with a ceremony held at the School on May 23 and 24 at which Pratham board member Prat Gupta presented the awards. The 104 first graders received certificates

Front row from left: Pratham student committee members Darcy Broaddus, Zindagi Malhotra, Brylie Peters, and Manny Aireme.

Back row from left: Pat Spears, language arts team leader, Jessica Parker, lead tracker for the fundraiser, and Manjit Soni, Pratham Houston Mentor.

since they won the competition and the 4th grade Pratham Student Committee received medals. Jessica Parker won a trophy and Kelly Broaduss received a plaque. Gupta is a successful businessman who is the founder and owner of the mul-

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tinational software company, The Bursys Group. Gupta and his wife Charu are committed Pratham supporters and have a daughter Vani at The Village School.

Manjit Soni contributed to this story

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COMMUNITY

June 09, 2017

Hindu Sangathan Divas (Hindu Unity Day) Organized in Houston by HSS

BY CHARUDATTA MALUSARE

HOUSTON: The Houston chapter of Hin-

du Swayamsevak Sangh USA (HSS) held its twelfth annual Hindu Sangathan Divas conference on Saturday, June 3, at the Houston Durga Bari Society (HDBS) in Houston, Texas. This event was attended by over 165 participants from over 49 Hindu organizations from the greater Houston area.

Hindu Sangathan Divas offered representatives of Houston area Hindu organizations the opportunity to network with each other with the goal of synergizing the work of different Hindu organizations, exchange ideas, share material and resources.

The event began with the meaningful Sangh Geet “Chale Nirantar Sadhana”,

which set the perfect tone and aligned all minds with the agenda. Arun Sharma referred to the different Hindu organizations as blooming flowers of different colors and fragrance, and “Hindu Identity” as the string which strings the flowers together to form a beautiful garland, “Hindu Society”.

After an introductory session, representatives attended one of three parallel breakout sessions, covering “Synergizing Seva Activities amongst Hindu Organizations”, “American Hindu Identity and Awareness”, and “Creating Second Generation Hindu Youth Leadership”. Each breakout session included a presentation from an experienced panel member from Hindu organizations actively working in the respective area followed by group discussion.

Photo: Madhukar Adi

The first group outlined the importance of Sewa as serving society selflessly. The seva efforts should ultimately lead to empowerment of the society by taking the role of “Sevak” than “Seva Seeker”. This can be achieved by increased networking between organizations, sharing platform with each other, appreciation of the efforts of other groups and complimenting them with their own efforts. The emphasis was made to put up the framework structure for togetherness, to unite such organizations under one umbrella to take up the causes of natural calamities or crises, to serve better and faster.

The second group expressed their thoughtful views on the significance of proudly projecting our Hindu identity in the mainstream community. Greater clarity and proactive approach is needed and this can be done by Hindu involvement in governance, inviting politicians to our cultural events such as Diwali, Holi, Garba celebrations. HSS is organizing Guru Vandana and Raksha Bandhan which are gaining popularity in mainstream community such as the police , teachers and fire fighting departments. The broader and inclusive meaning of “Hindu” should reflect in our behaviour than mere words. All Hindu organizations need to unite on protecting and projecting “American Hindu” identity and increasing awareness.

The third group brainstormed the topic of creating second generation youth leadership. The young individuals participating expressed that this can be achieved by giving autonomy, nourishing their curiosity, developing common interest areas and respecting suggestions. The youth camps conducted by youth can be a great engaging tool and create a sense of responsibility.

It was recommended that support groups

for youth be formed to communicate their challenges and take guidance during the leadership transition process. The creation of a Hindu Youth forum database as a platform for sharing ideas and organising Hindu Youth leadership conferences will be a step closer to achieving this goal.

All groups assembled back and a summary of each session was presented to the audience. Arun Kankani, keynote speaker thanked all attendees for their enthusiastic participation. He urged all organizations to understand the massive change happening globally over the last two decades and align with Hindu Ethos, Values, and Cultures.

He outlined our collective approach to be “Think Globally, Act Locally”. “Hindu Dharma” resonates where diversity is valued and multiple perspectives are promoted however, our Hindu identity as a whole should be distinct, protected and promoted proudly. This broader understanding will lead to the ultimate goal of Sangha where the entire society will be transformed, safeguarding our own Hindu dharma.

The keynote speech was followed by Sangh Prarthana and Durga Arati. The atmosphere was so enchanting and divine that everyone felt empowered with the blessings of Durga Devi. This event was made successful with the lively participation of many community leaders, including youth, HSS volunteers. Special efforts and warm hospitality by HDBS members made the event more enjoyable.

HSS conducts a structured values education program through its 150 chapters nationwide to develop strong character and teamwork and leadership skills to organize a dynamic and flourishing Hindu-American community.

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COMMUNITY

June 09, 2017

Dr. Agrawal Meets Minister Pradhan to Strengthen Houston-India Relations

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Dr. Durga Agrawal (right) with India’s Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan.

NEW DELHI: During his world tour in

May 2017, Dr. Durga Agrawal, a prominent Houstonian, met India’s Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan.

Dr. Agrawal thanked Mr. Pradhan for his support to Oil India’s commercial agreement with the University of Houston. He requested Mr. Pradhan to expedite a similar agreement between the University of Houston and ONGC. Dr. Agrawal also apprised Mr. Pradhan of his recent meeting with Prime Minister Modi.

During his meetings with the ministers, Dr. Agrawal suggested that Government of India implement a program similar to the Texas DNP (Doctorate of nursing) program in India. Such a program is being actively considered by the Indian government. Mr. Pradhan is keen to implement this program in his state of Orissa.

Dr. Agrawal mentioned his trip around the world to Kyoto, Myanmar, Jerusalem, Ethiopia etc., where ancient religious site (1,200-1,500 years old) are huge tourist attractions. He suggested that Mr. Pradhan should speak to Prime Minister Modi about developing Kedarnath (Shiva temple which was built by Pandavas over 5,000 years ago), Badrinath, Gangotri, Kashi temple, etc. to showcase to the tourists India’s ancient culture and civilization. Minister Pradhan assured Dr. Agrawal that he would follow up on the suggestions.

Dr. Agrawal also told Mr. Pradhan about a proposal for the India Studies Program that aims to bring scholars from US and India to educate and prepare Americans for India’s growing strength as a world economic power.

Mr. Pradhan had visited Houston recently and discussed Ujjwala Plus Yojna, the extension of Ujjwala Yojna (PMUY – Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojna), a flagship scheme of Prime Minister Modi with Mr. Jiten Agarwal and Dr. Durga Agrawal. Under this scheme, Modi government’s endeavor is to ensure that free gas connection is provided to about 50 million poor families over the next three years.

According to surveys, cooking in firewood leads to inhalation of smoke, which is equivalent to smoking 40 cigarettes. Over a million people die of indoor air pollution India and it is second biggest killer after high blood pressure in India, as per a recent report by Hindustan Times.

On behalf of Indian American community in Houston, Mr. Jiten Agarwal has floated a nonprofit organization to support the Modi’s government’s Ujjwala Plus scheme to provide liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) connections to those certified below-poverty line families that have not received benefit under the government’s existing Ujjwala Yojna.

Individuals and businesses in the US will be able to make voluntary donations for the Ujjwala Plus scheme. Fully 100% of the funds donated will reach beneficiaries without any administrative fees or overheads.

Minister Pradhan appreciated the efforts of Indian American community in Houston and emphasized its important role in bilateral investments and strengthening the US-India relationship.

Dr. Durga Agrawal is a founder trustee of India House, regent at University of Houston, and a well-established businessman in Houston.

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COMMUNITY

June 09, 2017

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Southwestern National Bank Celebrates Sugar Land Branch 12th Anniversary

From left: Operations Officer Jenny Chien, Senior Vice President Operation Officer Joy Langston, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Betsy Reese, Vice Chairman Ted Hsieh, Chairman of the Board, C.K. Lee, Board member Hasu Patel, President /CEO Gary Owens, Senior Vice President and Commercial Lending Officer Selina Hsieh, Senior Vice President and Lending Officer Jack Kuo, Public Relations Officer Ling Chuang, Senior Vice President and Lending Officer Catherine Liang.

SUGAR

LAND: Southwestern National Bank – Sugar Land branch, located at 3508 Highway 6, Sugar Land, celebrated its 12th anniversary on May 25, 2017.

Those in attendance to greet customers and extend the Bank’s appreciation for their business were President/CEO Gary Owens, Operations Officer Jenny Chien, Chairman of the Board, C.K. Lee, board member Hasu Patel, and Vice Chairman Ted Hsieh. Re-

freshments were served.

Mr. Owens stated that the bank looks forward to continued growth in the area and is very appreciative of the community’s continued support. Southwestern National Bank is a minority owned community bank headquartered at 6901 Corporate Drive, Houston, in Chinatown.

The bank is centered in a dynamic and bustling business community that is highly diversified

in its ethnicity and rich in culture.

The bank has five branches located in Texas, including the main location in Houston, and branches in Sugar Land, Plano, Richardson and Austin. The Bank is opening a second location in Richardson later in 2017.

This privately owned community bank was founded on November 3, 1997, according to the bank’s website (www.swnbk. com).

From left: Senior Vice President Lending Officer Jack Kuo, Lending officer Jason Lim, Senior Vice President and Lending Officer Sally Li and Lending Assistant David Wu.

“We understand that our customers have individual needs that can best be served by the traditional banking services that we provide. We cater to our customers’ needs in a customized and personalized way,” continued Mr. Owens. “We know we are not the only bank in the community deserving of your trust and confidence so we strive even harder to earn your business”.

To better serve our community the bank staff speaks several languages, including but not limited to Hindi, Urdu, Taiwanese, Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean and Vietnamese. The bank offers a wide range of products in order to meet a customer’s financial needs.

(Member FDIC).

President /CEO Gary Owens, Senior Vice President Operation Officer Joy Langston, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Betsy Reese, Operations Officer Jenny Chien with Sugar Land Branch employees.

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10 June 09, 2017

COMMUNITY

Riversand Technologies Raises $35 Million in Series A Funding Led by Crestline Investors

HOUSTON: Riversand Technologies, a

Master Data Management (MDM) Visionary, and a Product Information Management (PIM) Leader announced today a Series A investment of $35 million in growth capital led by Crestline Investors. The funding will be used to accelerate Riversand’s global expansion and for further investment in its

disruptive MDM 2.0 platform.

Founded in 2001, Riversand has experienced significant growth, increasing revenue at more than 25% CAGR over the last 6 years. Its MDM solutions help clients construct business strategies and maximizing their customers’ experiences based on relevant, trusted and insightful data.

”We are excited to partner with Crestline Investors at a time when we are expanding globally. With our MDM 2.0 vision, we are bringing together Relevance, Trust and Insights to our customers in an era of Cloud, High Scale and Data Discovery. We will use this capital infusion to strengthen our foundation in core verticals, accelerate growth in

targeted geographies and enter new markets through product innovation, sales and marketing,” said Upen Varanasi, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Riversand.

“Riversand has a strong brand presence across multiple industries, data domains, and geographies. With their MDM 2.0 platform, Riversand has now created a name in the industry for being an innovative MDM solution provider with the most disruptive vision and unique strategy,” said Will Palmer, director at Crestline. “We look forward to supporting Riversand’s continued growth and the development of the new platform as Riversand expands its offerings.” Mr. Will Palmer of Crestline will join Riversand’s Board of Directors.

“Riversand is recognized as an emerging and disruptive cloud player in the data management and infrastructure software space with an incredible opportunity ahead of them,” said Yogesh Amle, Managing Director and Head of Software at Union Square Advisors. “The Union Square Advisors team is pleased to partner with Upen and the Riversand team on this capital raise and advise them during this pivotal time in the company’s history.”

About Riversand Riversand is a Master Data Management (MDM) visionary and a Product Information Management (PIM) Leader. Riversand serves leading global enterprises in Retail, Manufacturing, Distribution, Energy, Healthcare, and Food Services. Riversand MDMCenter helps clients enhance their customers’ experience and move products faster to the market. Riversand is headquartered in Houston with offices in Bangalore (India), London (UK), Stuttgart (Germany), Switzerland and Sydney (Australia) Visit us at www.riversand.com for more information and follow us @RiversandMDM on Twitter @Riversandtech on Instagram, @ RiversandTechnologies on Facebook.

Riversand Media Contact: Shamanth Shankar 713-934-8899 shamanth.shankar@riversand.com Writers are requested to limit their words to 500.

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11

June 09, 2017

Who Knew Glass and Cold were Such Revolutionary Ideas? The CC Knows!!

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Rao and his wife Sheila hosted the CC quarterly meeting at their house. A CC founder, Atul Vir (left) stood by as Surinder Talwar (right) regaled the couple with two lines of a popular Hindi song.

BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA

HOUSTON: If he had another

hour, he would have kept on going as Ashok Rao was in his element – literally, since this was his home and entertainment room – and figuratively as he was doing something that he loved: sharing the secrets he had uncovered in the dusty rumblings of old and forgotten texts, of the universe we inhabit. His upstairs study, visible through the cutaway in the ceiling, was lined with books in shelves and the internet was not far away.

But inquisitiveness is one trait of this serial entrepreneur, and sharing is the other, both of which he put to good use to become the global president of The Indus Entrepreneurs, a non-profit formed in 1992 in Silicon Valley by a group of successful entrepreneurs, corporate executives, and senior professionals with roots in the Indus region. He has been associated with the GOOSE (Grand Order of Successful entrepreneurs) Society of Texas and the Rice Business Plan through which he has become an investor in a medical device venture. He is a co-owner of Songkran Thai Kitchen and has made three indie movies.

This evening was special for him and the rest of the Connoisseurs Club members who arrived for their second quarter get together. As CC co-founder Atul Vir, a serial entrepreneur himself, explained later in the night after dinner, the group was celebrating its fifth year, having started out as a Whisky Lovers Club where peo-

Ashok Rao sharing the secrets of Glass and Cold at the Connoisseurs Club meeting last Friday, June 2.

ple brought along their own bottles of unusual Scotch to share with their friends. “That idea expanded very soon to include sharing stories of travels, unusual experiences, tastings of cigars and other things over a potluck of dishes,” Vir explained, “usually at the homes of club members.”

Rao landed right into that spirit of sharing as he told everyone of the revolutionary technology of creating glass, rising from “the lowly and most commonly available product on the planet – sand – and changing the way we saw ourselves in refection, creating our identity and of course,” he ended with a flair of his hand, “how we communicate now on glass fiber.”

He explained the “hummingbird effect” – fluttering in space and coalescing many new ideas - that allowed glass to become so perva-

sive.

Though overwhelmed by all the information, the group stayed together to listen to another fascinating discourse by Rao on the concept of “Cold’ and how the desire to have cool dwellings and drinks in the tropics led to a burgeoning trade in ice blocks and later led to the discovery of refrigeration by Willis Carrier in 1902.

As he finished, Rao quipped, “you wanna stick around? I have five more technologies to present!”

As people were milling around their exotic Scotch drinks and diving into the potluck dinner, Rao responded to a question on how much research he had done for the presentation. “It’s something I have been working on for the past 60 years,” he quipped, of his quest and thirst for knowledge.

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BY DR. SUDHA TALLAVAJHULA

HOUSTON: The serene woods

surrounding Camp Cho-Yeh in Livingston, TX formed a pictureperfect background for the 2017 VYASA Houston’s annual Yoga retreat. This initiative organized by the Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana (VYASA-USA) chapter of Houston is an annual event that is a tribute to one of the greatest gifts that India has to offer.

Yoga, a scientific way of life crafted by ancient Indian seers, has often been misconstrued as a series of difficult physical postures (asanas). The holistic approach to health including attention to the breath, mind, emotions and intellect in addition to the body is central to VYASA’s mission. This was evident in the proceedings of the retreat, presided by Dr. H. R. Nagendra, the Chancellor of SVYASA Yoga University. He founded SVYASA in Bengaluru, India in 1987 to bring a modern scientific dimension to the discipline of yoga. He, along with Dr. Manjunath Sharma, the (Director of Research at SVYASA Bengaluru), through multiple lectures presented an overview of the educational, research and clinical aspects of yoga at SVYASA. This institute offers multiple courses in the mainstream education paradigm, starting from a yoga instructor’s course, to Bachelor’s, Mas-

ter’s and doctoral level programs.

The Yoga Instructor Certification Course (YICC) is also conducted in the Houston branch as a 200 hour curriculum, including didactics, asana, pranayama, kriya and meditation training as well as a 40 hour internship in teaching provision. Graduates from this program who began the YICC in 2016 and completed all requirements were felicitated during the retreat. They were recognized amidst a diverse and refreshing mix of professionals and yoga enthusiasts from all over Houston and its suburbs.

The retreat was a collage of talks, fun-filled activities, wholesome food as well as dedicated yogasana, pranayama and mediation sessions. Dr. Nagendra led the group with insightful discourses on Upanishads in our daily life, the four streams of yoga, panchakosas and the science behind an integrated approach to yoga therapy. Dr. Sharma discussed the neuroscience of yoga, research literature in the field and rationale behind yogic practices that modulate mind and the emotions. Talks were preceded by melodious bhajans and interjected with good humor. The audience had the opportunity to ask discerning questions, especially facilitated by the reasonable group size and the open, affable attitude of the speakers.

Krida yoga, led enthusiastically

by Ms. Sarika Adi, a prospective University of Houston student, unveiled the child in each of the participants. It was a memorable event, effectively functioning as an ice-breaker. A campfire completed the spirit of social camaraderie. Yogasana sessions, tailored for level of experience were led by

INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUNE 09, 2017 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

Smt. Daksha Shah and Mr. Vishwarupa. To be able to perform asanas in the woods, surrounded by nature and covered by the bright blue sky is truly a rare experience.

The retreat exceeded all expectations in terms of bringing together people with similar goals, attitudes and interests. Yoga is not a new concept. On the contrary, it is one of the oldest disciplines known to humankind. It has withstood the trials of time, only because of its inherent strengths and benefits.

For the same reasons, it has also undergone many variations and iterations. There can be no greater testament to the principle of going beyond tolerance to whole-hearted acceptance in Vedantic philosophy, than the enduring science of Yoga.

SVYASA fulfills an important mission in constantly reinforcing the comprehensive nature of yoga.

The unspoken, yet implicit connection to spirituality was palpable throughout the retreat. VYASA Houston offers yoga teacher training program, yoga therapy training, general yoga classes and yoga therapy research. The young and dynamic couple, Shri. Vishwarup Nanjundappa, Director and Smitha Mallaiah (Program Director and researcher at M.D. Anderson) are the leading forces behind VYASA-USA Houston center. They are also the lead teachers for all of VYASA’s educational endeavors in the area. This retreat was a glimpse of the breadth and depth of this organizations capacities, all performed with simplicity and adherence to principles of Karma yoga- duty without expectation.

For more on VYASA-Houston visit www.vyasahouston.org or email vyasahouston@gmail.com

COMMUNITY

June 09, 2017

13

Third International Day of Yoga, Celebrate the Spirit and Power of Yoga on June 21

BY MANU SHAH

HOUSTON:

The Consulate General of India, Houston in partnership with several supporting organizations is gearing up to celebrate the spirit and power of yoga through several events scheduled across the state of Texas. June 21st will mark the Third International Day of Yoga (IDY) led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and celebrated simultaneously in 155 countries around the world.

In a statement, the Consul General remarked that yoga is what “we (India) export – wellbeing of mind and body – we do not export hatred or say that my religion is better than yours… what we say is that yoga is good for all.” Longtime Houstonian and Swayamsevak Sharad Amin who is responsible for the overall coordination of Houston’s yoga program stated that he “wanted to involve maximum number of yoga practitioners and followers and spread the awareness that yoga is not only an exercise but brings many benefits such as stress release, increased concentration and focused thinking.”

The Indian Consulate of Houston has planned a series of events spread over a week in Houston, Woodlands (Houston), Austin,

Dallas and San Antonio.

IDY will be celebrated in Houston on June 21 at the Levy Park (3801 Eastside St, Houston Texas 77098). Lawn activities will begin at 6:00pm. The guided group yoga will start at 6:35 after a brief message from the Consul General and will include restorative asana practice, wisdom, breathing and meditation. It will be led by the initiator of Pralay Yoga, one of Houston’s leading yoga schools, Robert Boustany. He will be accompanied by well-known yoga teacher Lindsey Law and the Director of SVYASA Houston, Vishwarupa Nanjundappa. The event will conclude by 7:30 pm with a color powder dance party.

The Hindu Temple of the Woodlands “Education Youth and Service” (EYS) yoga group is also sponsoring the IDY in the very beautiful Town Green Park (2099 Lake Robbins Dr., The Woodlands, TX 77780). The event will be held on Saturday, June 24, and will be from 7- 9:15am. It will begin with live music and chanting by the Art of Living group, followed by Raja Yoga Meditation by Mark Ram. Besides group participation in yoga, including Surya Namaskar or the Sun Salutation asana, there will be booths with information about yoga, yoga books for sale,

and a free Indian-style breakfast.

IDY will be observed in front of the stately State Capitol building in Austin on June 17 at 6:00 pm.

(1100 Congress Ave. Austin, Texas 78701), in Dallas on 25th June, Sunday at 7:30 am at the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Plaza (1201 Hidden Ridge Dr., Irving, Texas, 75038) and in San Antonio on 17th

June, Saturday at 8:00 am at Tripoint Center (3222, N. St. Mary’s St, San Antonio, TX, 78212).

Discover yoga if you’re a beginner or participate in a group session if you’re a practicing yogi. Join the global yoga movement and nations around the world as they gather to ignite the connection between the body, mind and soul.

The event is free and open to all.

Bring your yoga mats and do plan to arrive 20 minutes ahead to find a comfortable spot to roll out your mat.

For more information, visit http://yogadayoftexas.org/ or Sharad Amin 713-854-0633

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See article on page 15 INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUNE 09, 2017 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

June 09, 2017 15 COMMUNITY Motivational & Inspiring Charity Foundation Evening the true sense the spirit of IACF’s mission, “We live here We give here”.

For more information on IACF visit www.iacfhouston.com

Scholarship Recipients with IACF 2017 scholarship committee and emcee’s Saiesh Kalva and Jhanvi Jain.

BY VANSHIKA VIPIN VARMA

SUGAR LAND: The Indo American Char-

ity Foundation (IACF) 2017 Scholarship Awards Reception event was held on Tuesday, May 30, at the FBISD Administration Building in Sugar Land. 26 well deserving and outstanding high school students from Fort Bend ISD, Alief ISD and Stafford Municipal School District were awarded scholarships based on their grade point average (GPA), SAT/ACT scores, personal essays, recommendations and after carefully assessing their needs. The IACF board presented scholarships ranging from $500 to $2500 and totaling to $36,000, along with the prestigious David Raj Scholarship that is bestowed each year to a student pursuing a career in medicine.

The event that lasted for around 2 hours began at 6:00 pm, and like each year it witnessed a gathering of over a hundred, that included excited parents, teachers, administrators and dignitaries. The ceremony began with a quick networking session where delicious appetizers were served. The emcee’s for the evening were Saiesh Kalva and Jhanvi Jain, who were at their charming best. Dr. Ramesh Cherivirala, committee member and former president of IACF welcomed everyone. He acknowledged all the past and present committee and board members, and thanked them and everyone else for their dedication and hard work. He informed everyone that IACF has been working with the Fort Bend ISD and Alief ISD for the past four years, and was happy to announce the addition of Stafford Municipal school district (SMSD) to this year’s list. Dr. Vanitha Pothuri, IACF president, followed his note with a presentation. She helped fill the gap for those who were not aware of IACFs background, and also informed the audience about the two big upcoming eventsThe IACF Grants Awards Night that will be held on June 29, where they will be funding almost 25 organizations, and the IACF Gala themed, “Twinkle Twinkle Little Stars”, to be held the October 7.

Prominent Houstonians that included the past presidents of IACF, heads of IACF’s partnering organizations, supporters and donors, then presented the scholarship certificates to each student. The motivational and inspiring evening saw quite a few dignitar-

2017 IACF Scholarship Recipients Maite Ramos, FBISD Sharde Shorter, FBISD Miguel Robles, FBISD Jessica Garcia, FBISD Ava Mclauglin, FBISD Stassney Brown, FBISD Pauline Umyhoza, AISD Chioma Duru, AISD Emily Dycha, FBISD Meyer Wilson Doe, FBISD Faith Johnson, FBISD Isabella Gallegos, FBISD Z’Nae Magnum, FBISD Deja Gardiner, SMSD Leonardo Flores, AISD Nikita Bhagat, FBISD Amina Mabizari, AISD Minnu Augustine, FBISD Veronica Lopez, FBISD Saraiah Walker, FBISD Saul Flores, AISD Debbie Tran, FBISD Jannelly Areche, AISD Christina Osuagwu, AISD Yazan Abuashour, AISD Helena Sutton, FBISD

See photo collage on page 14 Photos: Roy Photography

ies in attendance and some of them shared some encouraging notes that will incite these kids to do even better. The notable dignitaries and VIP’s included City of Sugar Land Councilman (At Large) Himesh Gandhi, Councilman Harish Jajoo, Fort Bend County District Attorney John F. Healey, Jr., Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy E. Nehls, Council Member Stafford Ken Mathew, Fort Bend ISD Trustee KP George, SMSD Trustee Xavier Herrera, Maria Raspberry (Deputy Superintendent, SMSD), Dr. Terry Sheneman (Director FBISD, Career and College Readiness Program), Dr. Crystal Collins (Alief ISD, Coordinator of Counseling). Towards the end of the event, these dignitaries helped Dr. Ramesh and Dr. Vanitha to present the ceremonial check to all the students.

This was followed with a vote of thanks by committee chair Venkat Iyer.

The IACF Scholarship committee had concluded on the list of deserving students for this scholarship after a comprehensive process. This committee was led by committee chair Venkat Iyer and team members Dr. Ramesh Cherivirala, Joseph Ellankil, Alpa Shah, Dr. Ratna Kumar, Mahesh Wadwa, Dr. Purvi, Nanda Vura, Prem Cholia and assisted by Subha Iyer. This diverse and strategically assembled committee underwent an extensive selection process to review individual applications and hand pick the most deserving ones, from a long list of brilliant students, that seem to be growing each year in numbers. Through scholarships, the IACF supports dedicated, hardworking and immensely talented students who aspire to become health care professionals, entrepreneurs or engineers. The IACF hopes to make a difference in the future of these bright students. This event demonstrates in

INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUNE 09, 2017 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

16 June 09, 2017

COMMUNITY

Six Tips for Traveling with Kids this Summer

HOUSTON: While summer is

the perfect time to take that trip your family has been wanting to go on, traveling with kids can often add a bit of stress to the trip.

Away from home and off of the normal schedule and routine, little ones can sometimes act out. In order to keep everyone in the family happy, healthy, and always learning this summer, Best in Class Education Center compiled a list of our best tips for making the most of your family vacation.

Best in Class Education Centers help K-12 students succeed academically through customized educational programs. The brand is always thinking of ways for students and parents to find new learning opportunities.

Here are six tips to guide you through making the most out of your summer travels with the whole family: Always Plan Extra Time Plan ahead and always give yourself extra time. The more people in your family you are traveling with, the more time you can get stuck waiting for someone to go to the restroom, leave something at home, or even get stuck in traffic. To keep your trip stressfree, give yourself extra time to get to the airport or drive to your destination.

Keep Games on Hand Have a number of family games ready to play, especially in case of a delay on the road or in the airport. Along with the family’s favorite games, try to also include at least one or two that are new to keep kids engaged and learning.

Card games, board games, or even

old-fashioned road trip games like I Spy are fun to teach children.

Snacks Are a Must Keeping snack on hand is a must when traveling with kids. Whether you are in the car or getting on a plane, having pre-packed snacks will avoid multiple stops and unhealthy options that you may not normally allow your children to eat at home.

Junior Travel Journalist Have your child keep a travel journal to document all of the fun adventures during your travels.

Whether they write during the trip or once you arrive at your destination, have your child try to remember what they saw, how they felt, and what they did to improve their memory and practice writing skills.

Offline Gaming If you don’t want to use up all of your phone’s data, download a few apps or games that work offline for your kids to play on your phone or tablet. In order to make

sure they fully take in their surroundings and experience the trip, make sure to limit use of electronics and games.

Summer Reading Club Bring along your child’s summer homework or reading to avoid summer learning loss. Always have a book for your child to read, or try listening to audiobooks while in the car or in their headphones.

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

Learn more about the Best in Class Summer Camp programs available here: https://www.bestinclasseducation.com/programs/summercamp

Vasavi Jayanthi Celebrated at Meenakshi Temple on May 27

BY SAIPRANAV KURAPATI

PEARLAND:

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Sri Meenakshi Temple celebrated Vasavi Jayanthi on May 27th, 2017 in a grand manner, and I had the honour of telling the great story of Vasavi during the sit down lunch. Goddess Vasavi is famously known as the first to preach non-violence. According to one legend Vasavi is considered to be a manifestation of Parvati, who was born into a Community known as the Vaisya community. She was born as the daughter of a great king and was an ardent devotee of the lord Shiva and dedicated her life to him by remaining unmarried. As she was beautiful it was understood that someone would fall in love with her. It turns out that someone was a Prince and he wanted to marry her at once.

Vasavi’s dedication to lord Shiva caused her to refuse the offer.

The enraged prince waged war on her kingdom. Vasavi being a

preacher of non- violence, wanted to prevent bloodshed at any cost.

She decided to end her life by sacrificing herself to Agni, the god of fire. Along with her went 102 people who supported her views.

INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUNE 09, 2017 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

These people’s families came to be the true Vaishyas and we are still here today to celebrate her dedication.

A grand Pooja was held including Homam, Purnahuthi, Abhishekam, Alankaram, and Aarthi.

The event ended with a procession of devotees chanting the goddess’s praises and was a sight to cherish by all. We are the Vaishyas, and we have Sri Vasavi Mata to protect and guide us!

Saipranav Kurapati is a 7th grade student in Katy, Texas.

COMMUNITY/ADVICE

June 09, 2017

17

Arjun Rampal Joins CRY America for a Great Cause

CRY America, Houston to host its 2nd Annual Dinner Gala on Sunday, June 11, for the cause of underprivileged children

H

OUSTON: CRY, Child Rights and You America Inc (CRY America), a 501c3 non-profit that works to restore the rights of underprivileged children, especially in India, will host its 2nd Houston Gala Diner on Sunday, 11th June, 2017 at the Sweetwater Country Club in Sugarland, TX. The Dinner will be attended by celebrity guests model and Bollywood Actor Arjun Rampal; Master of Ceremonies Rashi Vats (FOX TV) & Pooja Lodhia (ABC TV); Houston Texans Cheerleaders and performances by Malika Ghei and Bollywood Shake.

Proceeds from the dinner will go towards ensuring that thousands of underprivileged children have the basic rights to live, learn, grow and

play. One of the Projects featured this year will be from Chittoor Distt in Andhra Pradesh. CRY America supports over 70 projects in India including Bihar, Gujarat, Himachal, Orissa, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh to name a few.

CRY America’s unforgettable evening of dinner, silent and live auction, music and dancing will enable better childhoods for thousands of children deprived of education, healthcare and protection. The evening will include an exclusive auction of a Guitar autographed by all members of the Rolling Stones, a picture autographed by all the actors that played James Bond, bat autographed by Indian Captain Sourav Ganguly and other

Arjun Rampal with the CRY team - Patrick & Lipika.

6 Tips for Strengthening Your Relationships

It doesn’t matter if it’s your mom,

best friend, neighbour, or romantic partner: all relationships are important, and all can be strengthened.

Detox your relationships Not all relationships should be strengthened, however, so first off, take a long look at your relationships to determine if any are toxic to your well-being. Sometimes, people can be hurtful and it may not be worth it. Remember, relationships should have a positive impact on our health. Our friends can influence all aspects of our life—even our weight and fitness—

designer items.

Local event sponsors include Vantive Inc, Amir Dodhiya of New York Life & Volterra Energy. Ruchika Dias of Bollywood Shake would be choreographing the dances, Sage Productions is sponsoring DJ & Light services for the event and photography is by Murali Santhana. Media support provided by Meena Datt Radio, Dabang, Masala Radio, Indo American News & Voice of Asia.

To purchase dinner tickets, tables, or sponsorships visit http://www.america.cry.org/cry_ america_dinner/pledge2017/houston/details.html For more information: visit http:// america.cry.org or write to support@ cryamerica.org

so it’s crucial that we take the time to evaluate our relationships.

Lighten up As adults, we often forget to have fun, or we just don’t make time for it. Why not grab a friend or your romantic partner and do something silly, such as seeing an improv com-

edy show or trying a laughter yoga class to boost your mood and get you smiling.

Show your love How do you let your loved ones know you care? Do you shower them with gifts or give them words of affirmation? It may surprise you to learn that everyone registers caring in different ways. There is no “right way” to show love—it depends what the other person prefers. Take some time to discuss what makes the other person feel loved, and then show them your love in this way.

Break bread Has the tradition of eating dinner as a family died out? We think not. Actually, it doesn’t really matter whether it’s dinner, lunch, breakfast, or Thursday night snacks and board games, as long as you bring everyone together and chat in a meaningful way. Try to carve out some time each week for this important family ritual.

Strengthen your communication skills Sometimes, the important relationships in our lives could use a bit of work. And that’s okay! Ef-

A dad is someone who holds you when you cry, scolds you when you break the rules, shines with pride when you succeed, photo ather, a s u and had faith in you Send u and your Fat .com of yo message s@yahoo w even when you fail. with a ricanne in our E it me SU indoa will print ECIAL IS P e and w R’S DAY S E FATH eek. next w 7 3, 201 ceed 1 e n y Ju ld not ex b l i a Em ge shou ords a Mess han 100 w t more

INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUNE 09, 2017 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

fective communication skills can help. Read our article “Express Your Emotions” to get started Log off You may find that, ironically, what’s holding you back from strengthening the most important relationships in your life is too much social media. After all, it’s difficult to maintain a meaningful conversation while checking for status updates. Are you in need of a tech detox? Check out our tips for logging off.

-Alive.com

18 June 09, 2017 z

EDITORIAL/COMMENTARY Building on Aadhar

Taoiseach Varadkar

BY NANDAN NILEKANI

My work on India’s unique iden-

L

eo Varadkar, elected leader of Ireland’s Fine Gael Party, has become the republic’s youngest Taoiseach or prime minister at 38. This is not the only first to his credit. Varadkar is also the first Irish politician of Indian origin — his father, a doctor who trained in Mumbai, moved to Ireland in the 1970s, marrying an Irishwoman — to lead the republic. And he is the first openly gay PM Ireland has ever had.

Varadkar’s story reflects the remarkable changes that Ireland has undergone through time. From a grindingly poor colony under England’s Victorian rule, that once severely punished homosexuality — its most famous playwright, Oscar Wilde, was imprisoned for years, the great writer dying, destitute, devastated by prison’s harshness — Ireland decriminalized homosexuality in 1993.

The change came after decades of tireless campaigning by civil society activists who faced constant discrimination and great violence. Yet, in 2015, Ireland held a pathbreaking marriage referendum which radically changed the republic’s ideas of love, relationships and unions, allowing citizens — like Varadkar — to come out, demanding an equal and dignified life.

Today, sexuality is no longer one of the dark bogies of identity Ireland must fear; several factors propelled the republic towards this change, including the slow decline in the influence of the Catholic Church and the powerful rise in the 1990s of a liberalized economy, which saw the once-poor colony integrate with the economies — and the ideas — of the modern world.

However, Varadkar will find this refreshing openness has not extended to the nation of his origin. Homosexuality is still considered a serious crime in India, a fact which may deter visits — despite a village called Varad in Malvan, Sindhudurg, Maharashtra, which reportedly is eager to welcome its most famous emigre. Unlike Ireland, India, once a Victorian colony too, continues to criminalize and punish sexualities, admitting to which identity could easily, tragically, lead to Wilde’s heart-breaking scenario in The Ballad of Reading Gaol: “I never saw sad men, who looked, with such a wistful eye, upon that little tent of blue we prisoners called the sky…”.

-Indian Express

tification project — named Aadhaar — began in July, 2009. I was invited by then-Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to join the government and lead this project.

At that point, I had worked for 28 years in Infosys. I had written about how getting every Indian a unique ID would be beneficial for the economy and society in my book Imagining India. Now I was being given a chance to actually implement the idea!

The Aadhaar project had two purposes. One was inclusion. Since the birth registration system was not robust enough, there were millions of people in the country with no birth certificates.

So, a large number of people had no ID, or relied on a group ID like a ration card, or a voter ID that was only for adults. Having everyone on a single digital ID which could be verified anywhere in the country would be hugely useful for people as they migrated… or wanted to access their benefits or learn new skills.

The second purpose was efficiency.

As India built a welfare state with pensions, employment guarantees, scholarships, etc., it was deploying a large part of its budget to such social benefits. However, the lack of a proper ID system meant that in every welfare scheme, there were lots of ghost and duplicate beneficiaries…

The project faced several challenges. The first was how we establish uniqueness… This had to be done without most people having a “root” document like a birth certificate.

It was decided that the only way to do so was by biometric deduplication.

This meant taking a person’s biometric (in this case, the fingerprints of both hands and the iris prints of both eyes) and comparing them to the entire set to ensure a person was not in the database twice…

The second challenge was scale at speed. To cover a billion people, the system had to do more than one million enrolments a day. Moreover, it required at peak time more than 30,000 enrolment stations… Scale in the technology was achieved by using an internet class open source

There are over 400 million people who have linked their Aadhaar number to a bank. An Aadhaar law has been passed with advanced data protection and privacy features.

software-based architecture. Scale in enrolments was done by activating a whole network of registrars and enrolment agencies…

The third challenge was design for privacy and security. A lot of thought went into the design, to keep it minimalistic, to have secure encryption and the use of digital signatures.

The final and most important challenge was executing such a large project in a complex political and bureaucratic environment… The Aadhaar project had complete political support.

The project was conceived, and implementation began, in the UPA government. The current government… has not only endorsed Aadhaar, it has accelerated its use and adoption. Today, over 1.1 billion Indian residents have an Aadhaar number. There are over 400 million people who have linked their Aadhaar number to a bank… An Aadhaar law has been passed with advanced data protection and privacy features…

The Aadhaar ID system has been designed like a platform of innovation, like the internet or GPS. Early signs are emerging of various innovative uses of the platform… This has been enabled by creating a set of layers above the JAM infrastructure, which allows presence-less and paperless applications.

A separate initiative of India’s national payment company, NPCI, has led to a advanced mobile-to-mobile payment platform called UPI (Unified Payment Interface) which will

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

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INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUNE 09, 2017 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

accelerate India’s move to a less cash economy…

This convinced me that several challenges in developing countries can be solved at speed and scale in a sustainable way, by using technology wisely, built in a way that society can take advantage. We call this building “societal platforms”. My wife Rohini and I are funding one such societal platform as a philanthropic initiative called EkStep to make learning opportunities widely available. Being selected for this very prestigious Nikkei Prize has reinvigorated our efforts to solve social challenges leveraging technology. -- Indian Express The writer is former chairman, Unique Identification Authority of India. This article is an edited excerpt from his acceptance speech of the Nikkei Prize 2017 on June 4.

Reader Feedback

Monumental project undertaken and executed by Nandan Nileakni & his team. Considering our crab mentality, Nandan has done great service to his country and deserves the highest honor.

-- Kevin Castelino And you I d i o t designed the card so big that it needs a bag to carry.

And you eulogize yourselves for that stupidity?

-- Foam.Ministry Friend, improve your knowledge regarding the Aadhar and your IQ. -- Prakash Kiran Gupta

THE STORY OF GANDHI

June 09, 2017

19

The Extraordinary Life and Times of Mahatma Gandhi - Part 2

Gandhiji’s Story Thus Far…

Last week, we read about the birth and youth of the young boy Mohandas who would grow up to be universally revered as the Mahatma.

He had an ordinary childhood, went to school, made friends, and got a rude awakening into the dreaded social specter of the caste system.

This week, we continue the story of Gandhi ji.

Upon completion of high school, Mohandas enrolled at Samaldas College at Bhavnagar. He was discontent with the classes; they did not stimulate or engage him, so he returned home after the first ten days.

At home a huge surprise awaited him.

His eldest brother and a family friend suggested that Mohandas should go to England to study and become a barrister. Mohandas was thrilled. It was a great opportunity to see the world. His mother, however, disapproved. She did not like the idea of her son being so far away from her. There were also the financial implications. And she was fearful that he would lose his caste if he crossed the oceans, an age-old taboo against overseas travel among the high caste Hindus. The family friend assured her that there would be no such difficulty and all would be well. She had reservations and talked to him about it. She worried that he would eat meat, imbibe alcohol, and fall victim to bad influences. Mohandas vowed to do none of those, and pled with her to be permitted to go.

Putlibai at last gave in and allowed him to go to England.

Mohandas was sorrowful when he left Rajkot for Bombay, because he had to leave behind his mother, his wife, and son Harilal, who was only a few months old. On September 4, 1888, Mohandas left Bombay to set sail for England. Dressed in western style, he stood on the deck as the ship slowly steamed out of the harbor. Mohandas never forgot his first morning on board. He felt uncomfortable in his black suit and shirt and tie. He was quite sure that Indian attire was more suitable. A glance in the mirror made him feel proud of himself. He thought he looked very impressive.

Mohandas was shy. He rarely left his cabin. He even ate by himself. He was not sure of all those unknown foods served on the ship. He thought they might contain meat and did not wish to break his vow to his mother never to eat meat. So he lived mainly on the snacks and sweets he had brought from home.

On landing at Southampton he looked around and saw that all the people were in dark clothes, wearing bowler hats and carrying overcoats.

Mohandas was embarrassed to find that he was the only one wearing white flannels. In London, he stayed at first at the Victoria Hotel. Dr. P. J. Mehta, a friend of the Gandhi family, was the first to meet him. Mohandas was impressed with Dr. Mehta’s silk top hat. Out of curiosity, he reached out and touched the pile of the silk. Dr.

Mehta then gave him his first lesson in European manners cautioning him not to touch other peoples’ things. He advised Mohandas to never ask too many probing questions, and not to talk loudly.

Young Gandhi found everything around him strange. He was homesick. He almost starved until he discovered a vegetarian restaurant.

Struggling to learn western manners and customs, he rented a suite of rooms. He bought well-tailored clothes and a top hat. He spent a lot of time before the mirror, parting his straight hair and fixing his tie. He took lessons in dancing, but soon gave it up as he had no sense of rhythm. He tried his hand at playing the violin, but failed. He took lessons in French and elocution, but went to sleep. His attempt to be an Englishman lasted about three months. Then he gave up the idea. He converted himself into a serious student.

“I have changed my way of life,” he told a friend. “All this foolishness is at an end. I am living in one room and cooking my own food. Hereafter I shall devote all my time to study,” he said.

His meals were simple. He avoided expenditure on transport and went on foot everywhere in London. He started to keep an account of every penny he spent. Mohandas joined the London Vegetarian Society and soon found himself in its executive council. He wrote articles for the magazine, Vegetarian.

The bar examination did not require much study and Gandhi had ample time to spare. Oxford or Cambridge was not possible as study at those institutions would entail long course

work and much financial resources. He therefore decided to appear for the London matriculation examination. It meant hard work and sacrifice, but he enjoyed hard work. He passed in French, English, and chemistry but failed in Latin. He tried again, and this time passed in Latin too.

Meanwhile, he progressed in his study of law and in November 1888 was admitted to the Inner Temple. It was the tradition of the Inns of Court for the students to dine together at least six times each year.

The first time Gandhi dined with his fellow students, he was nervous. He was sure the boys would tease him for refusing meat and alcohol. When wine was offered, he refused to have any. He did not touch the meat either, and sat there, quite content with his bread, boiled potatoes and cabbage.

He was pleasantly surprised to find that his strange habits did not make him unpopular. The next time he went for the dinner, he had a pile of law books with him. He was taking the books to his room to study. The other students were amazed by his dedication to learning and very surprised to find him reading Roman law in Latin.

Some friends suggested he read abbreviated versions of the law instead of bothering unduly over such tomes.

Gandhi explained to his lighthearted friends that he worked so hard for sheer interest in the subject, and that he wanted to acquire knowledge for its own sake.

After a short trip to France, he prepared for the final law examination.

The results were soon declared. He had passed with high marks. On June 10, 1891, Gandhi was called to the bar. He was admitted as a barrister and the next day was formally enrolled in the High Court. The following day, June 12, he sailed for India. Gandhi’s three-year stay in England was eventful. Those were days of great intellectual activity, and there was tolerance for every school of thought.

The country as a whole was a living university. As Gandhi sailed for home on the S.S. Assam, he felt that, next to India, he would rather live in England than any other place in the world.

-To be Continued next week...

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20 June 09, 2017 A

No Tie this Year. California Girl is Sole Winner of Scripps National Spelling Bee

nanya Vinay never and it looked like it might looked all that impressed come into play as Ananya by any of the words she and Rohan dueled for 21 was given in the finals of of the allotted 25 champithe Scripps National Spellonship rounds. ing Bee. Ananya was on the raThe 12-year-old from dar of some veteran bee Fresno, California, showed watchers but didn’t come little emotion and didn’t take in with a high profile. much time as she plowed Her score on the written through word after word. spelling and vocabulary Sometimes she would test would have been blurt out questions, with high enough to make the little intonation — “Part of top 50 last year, but she speech?” “Language of orimissed a relatively easy gin?” — and sometimes she word, “multivalent,” ondidn’t even bother. stage.

Unflappable to the end, “She panicked. It was Ananya seized the oppornot a hard word,” said her tunity when her steely Ananya Vinay, a 12-year-old from Fresno, California, father, Vinay Sreekumar. opponent, Rohan Rajeev, holds the trophy after being declared the winner of “I think she learned from flubbed a Scandinavian- the 90th Scripps National Spelling Bee, in Oxon Hill, that and she consciously derived word, “marram,” Maryland, on Thursday. worked on it, how you which means a beach grass. shouldn’t panic, just foShe calmly nailed two words in a row, from his eyes. cus on the word.” ending on “marocain,” which means “It’s like a dream come true,”AnanAs a sixth-grader, she could have a type of dress fabric of ribbed crepe, ya said. “I’m so happy right now.” come back for two more years, had to win the 90th Scripps National Later, she flashed a broad and she fallen short. Now, she’ll return Spelling Bee on Thursday. toothy grin as she lingered onstage only in a ceremonial role to help pres“I knew them all,” Ananya said. accepting congratulations. She will ent the trophy to next year’s winner.

Ananya barely cracked a smile take home more than $40,000 in cash And she’ll have to find time to watch even when her parents and younger and prizes. her beloved Golden State Warriors in brother stormed onto the stage to It was the first time since 2013 that the NBA Finals while enjoying the embrace her as the confetti fell. And the bee declared a sole champion. champion’s whirlwind media tour. she took time to console Rohan, who After three straight years of ties, the -thewashingtonpost.com remained in his seat, wiping tears bee added a tiebreaker test this year,

DIASPORA

Gurdwaras in UK Offer Shelter to London Terror Attack Victims LONDON: Gurdwaras in Lon-

don on Sunday opened their doors for the victims stranded after the terror attack in the city by offering them shelter and food, according to media reports.

Almost immediately after the attack was reported, Sikhs tweeted that their places of worship were opened for those caught up in the horrific ordeal.

In an incredible show of unity, Sikhs posted maps of nearby Gurdwaras that were open to help those in need in the early hours of the morning, the metro.co.uk reported. “#Sikh Gurdwara in London are open to help & support those affected tonight with shelter & food #LondonBridge #United,” GlasgowGurdwara tweeted.

Other Londoners have been using a new feature on Facebook to offer help to those stuck in London Bridge.

People have been offering food, shelter, clothing, and even blood donations for anyone caught up in the terror attacks.

Over 25,000 Sikhs are expected to congregate in Trafalgar Square in central London to remember the victims of 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

The Sikh Federation UK said: “Having discussed arrangements for the Remembrance and Freedom

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event with the Metropolitan Police last night and this morning we have come to the mutual decision that the event today (Sunday 4 June) will continue.”

“This sends a strong message to all terrorists that they will never stop us remembering the tens of thousands of Sikhs who lost their lives in 1984,” it said.

“It will also be an opportunity to remember and to stand shoulder to shoulder with the innocents killed and injured in the last few weeks in Manchester and London,” the Sikh Federation UK said.

Three knife-wielding attackers wearing fake suicide vests unleashed a terror rampage through central London, plowing a van into pedestrians on the iconic London Bridge and then running to a nearby market where they randomly stabbed multiple people, killing seven and injuring 48.

The three terrorists had been shot dead.

-timesofindia.com

June 09, 2017 21 TRAVEL Slowly Flows the Pace of Life in Yangon by the River

BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA

YANGON, MYANMAR: It was

34 years ago when I last visited this city when it was still called Rangoon, the name that I learnt during my school days. Back then, under an authoritarian military rule, it was considered risky being a foreigner traveling through the streets and a contact I had in Singapore spoke to me in hushed tones about what to expect. The visit then was during the rainy months, and the mood was definitely colored by the overcast weather and the meetings we had with the generals I still had those same memories when I visited Rangoon – now called Yangon – again in March, but under the blazing sunshine and heat of a late Spring, and I was struck by the remarkable changes to the city as it was shaking off years of slumber.

There was the energy of construction everywhere as old buildings were being torn down and new ones coming up.

With new overseas investment flowing in, the city was beginning to hum with activity, traffic jams were more common and there was a general improvement in living standards, though the vast majority of people are still quite poor. The US dollar gets you about 1350 kyat and most things, especially food, are quite cheap. But you can tell that in a few years, all the prices are set to soar up.

Rangoon is very spread out and has about 8 million people but it doesn’t really feel crowded. The people are gentle, unobtrusive and always polite.

The men wear lungis which they sometimes hike up with a huge knot in the front, which makes me think of the punksters in the US who go around with their boxers showing and this could be the next fashion hit for them!

But the old Rangoon of the British Raj, of the Burmese Days novel written by George Orwell (and still available at roadside booksellers) was still all around you. English is widely spoken; men walk around in lungis or sarongs; and many third and fourth generation Indians – mostly Muslims from the South – still speak a little Tamil or Urdu; eat the Mughlai style food and some are vegetarian; and you can find small shops selling laddus, samosas, burfi and other Indian snacks. Side-by-side, newly affluent Burmese mingle with a growing number of expatriate foreigners who are ushering a new era of technology and working ethos in the city.

The Ring Train What a better way to start a day than a slow train around Yangon, never mind it’s a commuter ring train which takes 3 hours to go around.

Sitting here with the locals and many tourists who want to experience the ride which goes through some far off countryside.

We got off the Ring Train ride around Rangoon after 2 hours, but

The lobby of the renovated Colonial-era Strand Hotel

A villager with her chubby baby son on the Ring Train

A compartment on the Ring Train allows passengers to jump on and off along the route

Jeremy standing beside the truck used for additional tables in the parking spot

My son Jeremy and I having dinner at a sidewalk table outside the Cherry Man

it was a fascinating kaleidoscope of hawkers, farmers with their produce and other rural people using the means to transport their goods across town. Some even sat on the bench seats to sort out their produce and bundle them for sale, bur were careful to clean up after for other passengers to sit.

A woman with four kids, one a six-month old bouncy baby boy, sat next to me and through hand signals we had a chat. She was wearing the pale-yellow creamy mixture called “thanaka” (made from rubbing the cut stem of a special tree) that many women and kids use on their cheeks to keep themselves cool and fend of bugs!

And then my son, Jeremy and I got off at Baukhtaw Station on the city’s east side to search for the two-story house that a friend’s family used to live in before they fled to India in 1950. We found the location and spoke with one of the present occupants who said the original house had been razed, the plot divided and two new houses had been built there. I was able to show the whole

SE Asia.

The hotel has been completely redone and is an island of luxuriousness (at$428 a night) unimaginable out-

search to my friend in New York live through WhatsApp! Isn’t technology liberating?!!

The Cherry Man Dinner was at the Cherry Man where we sat on the sidewalk at a table with a steel top and plastic chairs to devour sumptuous mutton and chicken kebab curries with four rotis, a la Malaysian style, served by waiters in lungis tucked up to their knees and wearing rubber flip flops!

The local city officials gave the area restaurants an ultimatum to get their tables off the aide of the roads to allow for parking. Facing a drop off in customers, the Cherry Man responded with an ingenious idea of parking an open air truck by their restaurant; adding tables and chairs and letting customers climb up by stepping on a chair and dining there!

The Strand Hotel And then there’s the complete opposite to the Cherry Man with the Colonial era Strand Hotel which was built in 1901 by the Armenian brothers and later taken over by the Gaw family of Thailand and Singapore who own many other hotels in the

INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUNE 09, 2017 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

side the front doors. The drinks were still very affordable at $6-$9 each, which would easily have cost double as much in the US or elsewhere.

22 June 09, 2017

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PUZZLES / RECIPES Mama’s Punjabi Recipes Portobello Khumban Appetizer (Sauteed Portobello Mushroom)

Solution Next Week

Though khumban (mushrooms)

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have recently started showing up in Indian vegetable markets, these are generally the more widely known small white or button type that are easy to cultivate in greenhouses. But there are many more other kinds of mushrooms that are just not freely available in India and so have no place in traditional Punjabi family dishes.

Though neither meat nor vegetable, mushrooms – known scientifically as Agaricus bisporus - are known as the “meat” of the vegetable world. They are cultivated in more than seventy countries, with China producing half of all edible mushrooms and Poland the world’s largest exporter at 194,000 tonnes each year. Mushrooms are low in sugar but an excellent source of the B vitamins, riboflavin, niacin and pantothenic acid as well as phosphorus. When the mushroom is immature it may be white or brown but when mature, the large ones are known as Portobello and the smaller brown ones Crimini.

Though the same spices as their white cousins, Portobello mushrooms have a distinctively different, heavier and more bitter flavor. The dark coloring, taste and texture of the cooked flesh of the cap is often compared to a cooked hamburger patty. It only takes a few minutes to cook them and so they are a quick dish to cook in a pinch. You can cut a Portobello into 4 or 6 thick slices and so, a few can

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these easily fill up a plate.

Just as with the small white mushrooms, it is best to make sure not to wash Portobellos in running water before cooking, as they will retain the moisture in the gills of their caps. This is why this recipe uses damp cleaning for the mushrooms.

Ingredients: •

4 Portobello khumban (Portobello mushrooms) • 1 tbsp olive oil (olive oil) • Spices to taste: namak (salt); lal mirch (red pepper) optional Directions: 1. Trim the short stems of the mushrooms and place the caps on the side on a dry cloth.

2. Take a damp paper towel and clean the dirt off each mushroom.

Make sure not to wash them as the water will lodge in the caps. Leave the cleaned mushrooms on the cloth for 10 minutes to air dry.

3. When dry, cut the mushroom cap into about ¼ inch thick slices.

4. Pour the olive oil in a frying pan and warm it over high heat.

5. Pour in the mushrooms into the hot oil. Stir continuously for a few minutes till the mushrooms are brown. Sprinkle with salt and mix.

There is no need to add too many spices as they will mask the taste of the Portobello.

6. Remove from the heat, pour into a platter and serve.

Shakuntla Malhotra is a skilled cook of Punjabi dishes made in the oldfashioned style that she learnt as a young woman in her ancestral home in Lyallpur (since renamed Faisalabad), India before it became part of Pakistan after the Partition. 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 some of her delectable recipes.

MAMA’S TI P OF THE W EEK GET N ICELY BROWNED ONIONS FOR BRIYANIS & P ULAOS

Briyanis and pulao s have become a fav orite of many gathe restaurants which se rings and several rve only these two dis hes are popping up Apart from the other all over the place. ingredients in the ric e dishes, it is importa appealing with just nt to make them the added touch of sp rinkled sliced brow The trick is to cook ned onions. these sliced onions separately but usua anxious to cook the lly you may be m quickly at the en d and can easily bu a pinch of sugar to rn them. Try adding the onions while the y are cooking and faster. they will brown

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June 09, 2017

ENTERTAINMENT:REVIEWS/NEWS ENTERTAINMENT:REVIEWS/NEWS

23

Toilet Ek Prem Katha: Akshay Kumar is more excited about its trailer launch than his fans

Akshay Kumar-Bhumi Ped-

nekar starrer Toilet-Ek Prem Katha is a movie that has a social message attached to it and inspired by PM Narendra Modi’s Swachh Bharat Campaign. The film’s trailer is set to launch on

Sonam Kapoor

June 9, 1985

Mika Singh

June 8, 1957

Kirron Kher

June 8, 1975

June 11. And if you thought you are too excited to catch its first glimpse, then wait till you see its lead actor Akshay. He is even more thrilled and has been sharing a lot of things on his social media accounts. Akshay, posted a video this morning, and he is seen jumping saying, “Toilet aa rahi hai”. He captioned the video as, “Excitement level !!! #ToiletAaRahiHai.” The actor has constantly been sharing a lot of things around the plot of the film. “Something to think about…50 percent of the rape cases in India can go down

A

if we build TOILETS! #SochBadloShauchBadlo; 100% sharmanaak baat hai, 60 percent of the world’s population who do not have toilets, are only in India! #SochBadloShauchBadlo,” he wrote recently.

Toilet-Ek Prem Katha’s trailer will be launched on Star Sports.

Akshay had announced this a few days ago in another video with his co-star Bhumi. The video caption reads as, “Every house needs a TOILET,to know why catch us on June 11 with our film #ToiletEkPremKatha’s Trailer on @

StarSportsIndia #TEPKTrailer11June.”

The actor is currently on a vacation. He recently flew to Florida with son Aarav.

Akshay’s wife Twinkle Khanna and daughter Nitara will join the actor in London on June 8. The family will be celebrating Dimple Kapadia’s 60th birthday and will also travel to Paris, Italy and other cities in Europe. -indianexpress.com

Sara Ali Khan’s late night dinner with Sushant Singh Rajput confirms her Bollywood debut

lot has been said about SaifAli Khan and Amrita Singh’s daughter Sara Ali Khan’s Bollywood debut. Her frequent meetings with director-producer Karan Johar gave rise to further speculations.

It was reported earlier that Karan might launch Sara with his film Student of the Year 2. However, the rumours died a natural death.

The latest tidbit from tinsel town suggests that Rock On director Abhishek Kapoor’s next will star

Sara Ali Khan and Sushant Singh Rajput. An India Today report confirmed that Sara will indeed make her debut with Abhishek’s film titled Kedarnath.

Sara along with her mother Amrita was spotted having a late-night dinner with director Abhishek Kapoor and Sushant. This is a departure from Sara’s earlier public appearances. From attending Karan Johar’s birthday party to working out in the gym with Malaika Arora, Sara made sure to create a paparazzi frenzy every time she stepped out of her house. The latest sighting of Sara seems to be more of a formal, workmeeting rather than a casual hang out. These pictures suggest that the film is indeed rolling.

Like all her public appearances,

Abhishek Kapoor film Kedarnath is reportedly set in Uttarakhand and Sara Ali Khan will be playing Sushant Singh Rajput’s love interest in the film.

Sara displayed the right amount of confidence and restraint. So was this meeting to discuss Sara’s debut? Amrita, Sara, Sushant and Abhishek happily posed for the shutterbugs.

Abhishek’s film Kedarnath is reportedly set in Uttarakhand and Sara will be playing Sushant’s love interest in the film.

Meanwhile, Sushant Singh is gearing up for his next release Raabta co-starring Kriti Sanon.

The actor who is currently on a

press tour to promote his film says that he is not bothered about the personal stories written about him. “These stories could be more interesting. They tend to get repetitive, not only with regards to Kriti, my other relationships, but also other stuff – that fans tried to meet me and something happened. These are very old stories,” the actor told PTI. -indianexpress.com

Munna Micheal actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui: I felt I was forced to dance, until I started enjoying dancing

T

he trailer of Munna Michael

was much better than anybody had ever expected. Watching it release in front of Tiger Shroff’s fans who kept roaring for a glimpse of their favourite star has proved one fact that Tiger is no more a

INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUNE 09, 2017 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

newbie in the industry. He has arrived and he growing slowly and steadily.

In the trailer we see Tiger teaching Nawazuddin Siddiqui a few dancing steps. Nobody had expected that Nawazzudin would be such a treat to watch dancing on-screen. On his debut in a full fledged dancing film, the versatile actor that he is, Nawaz said, “I will not dance just to get a lead actor role, but will definitely like to do a lead role in a film. Dancing was very difficult for me, I don’t dance personally, but Tiger taught me very well. It is difficult to match with Tiger’s steps, but I have tried to do it a little bit, I think I have tried for five percent.” -indianexpress.com

24 June 09, 2017 Champions 2017: India Thrash Sloppy Pakistan by 124 runs

BY SIDHARTH MONGA

Hardik Pandya hit three successive sixes in the last over of India’s innings, India v Pakistan.

E

DGBASTON: (ESPN Cricinfo): India 319 for 3 (Rohit 91, Kohli 81*, Dhawan 68, Yuvraj 53) beat Pakistan 164 (Azhar 50, Umesh 3-30) by 124 runs (DLS method) For what can be significant part of a match against many other teams, India were not at their best in the first match of their title defence. Yet, confirming how far Pakistan have fallen behind modern limited-overs cricket, they won by a whopping 124 runs.

Even if Pakistan had not grappled with the age-old problem of dropped catches - Yuvraj Singh and Virat Kohli plundered 45 off 24 and 38 off 12 after being reprieved - Pakistan might have still had to chase 280, which on the evidence of their batting might have been a handful. Thanks to the fielding lapses, all of India’s top four scored half-centuries - only the third time for them - to set Pakistan 324, which, given their batting, was pretty much game over.

The first two to score fifties for India were reuniting at the top after 17 months, having started the partnership four years ago, in the same tournament, in the same country, with instant success. Success was instant on reunion as the two added India’s first hundred opening stand against a top-eight ODI side since they themselves did it last January.

The platform of 136 runs in 24.3 overs between Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan was strong enough to survive a mid-innings slowdown, especially when Yuvraj and Kohli punished the generous Pakistan by taking 89 runs in the last six overs.

At various times, though, Pakistan could have held India back. The match began with Mohammad Amir beating Rohit Sharma’s bat three times in a maiden over, but the next ball was bowled by Imad Wasim and misfielded at point to sum up Pakistan’s day. There is no data to suggest India might struggle against unsubtle left-arm spin early in the innings, but Rohit, Dhawan, and later Kohli, got a soft start to their innings through Imad’s welcome. It might be safe to presume Pakistan wanted to get rid of Imad’s overs when India were taking it easy: since the 2015 World

Cup, they had scored 4.95 an over in the first 10. Imad wasn’t hit out of the park - his first eight overs went for 43 - but India’s batsmen got set with no threat to their wickets.

And soon enough, both Dhawan and Rohit began to hit. It was, in many ways, a typical Rohit-Dhawan partnership. Rohit started off slowly and took a large share of the early strike, then he opened up, then Dhawan went big, and Rohit then set up his stall for a long innings even as Dhawan perished. Rohit got going with languid punches with Pakistan’s lengths letting him sit back, and Dhawan took a shine to the error-prone Wahab Riaz, scoring 23 off 12 balls from him. Rohit’s ascent was more gradual than Dhawan’s, who went from 12 off 22 to 50 off 48. He then put a full toss straight down deep midwicket’s throat. Pakistan went back to Imad immediately.

A curiously slow partnership - 56 in 12.1 overs - followed between Rohit and Kohli. Having got two more Imad overs out of the way, Pakistan went to Amir and Hasan Ali from the 30th over onwards. This is when India were pulled back.

A rain break didn’t help. The bowling was accurate, but India didn’t go out of their way to hit either. These overs - from around 25 to 40 - can be the difference between 300 and

325, which can be crucial in matches against stronger opposition. Here India scored 75 in those 15 overs.

In his 90s, Rohit was run out failing to keep his bat down as he dived. For a moment it seemed Pakistan’s outand-out defensive tactics might work.

They had their best bowlers on when India were looking to break free, and the frustration had given them an opening. For defensive tactics to work in modern ODIs, though, you need fielders on your side and you need to keep at it for the duration of the innings. Pakistan couldn’t manage either.

Yuvraj had just come in, and had been given a couple of short balls before a Shadab Khan wrong’un brought about an easy - by international standards - catch for long-off.

Hasan dropped it. Mayhem followed.

Playing his first ODI in 10 years in a country where he played perhaps his most famous innings back in 2002, Yuvraj unleashed sensational checked drives to beat fielders all over the ground.

The endeavour was not to look for power but for timing, and he was not too fussed about the odd dot ball when the bowlers bounced him.At the other end, though, Kohli still struggled for timing, and would have been out with a strike rate of under 80 but Fakhar Zaman, substituting for Amir

who had walked off mid-over with cramps, dropped him off Wahab.

Wahab’s nightmare continued as his length remained all over the place.

Injury was added to insult as he did his ankle but not before registering the most expensive analysis in the Champions Trophy: 87 in 8.1 overs.

Poor Imad had to come back - in the absence of two frontline bowlers - to be hit for three successive sixes by Hardik Pandya in the last over of the innings.

This was all too much for a struggling batting unit, which has been able to win them only one of the last 13 matches against top-eight sides in which their bowlers have conceded over 250. There was hope, but only for about half an hour when it rained.

The moment the rain relented to leave Pakistan 289 to get in 41 overs, it was back to despair for them even though India were a little sloppy in the fielding, dropping two catches, missing a couple of run-outs, and letting the odd ball slide through their reach.

Only three batsmen managed to play 20 balls, and because these batsmen did so at strike rates of 77, 55 and 77, the others were obliged to play high-risk cricket and give India a sixth straight win over them in ICC events.

Sidharth Monga is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo

INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUNE 09, 2017 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

SPORTS

Bopanna-Dabrowski Beats Mirza-Dodig to Reach Semis

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ARIS: Rohan Bopanna and his Canadian partner Gabriela Dabrowski stormed into the semi-finals of the mixed doubles event of the French Open with a straight-set upset win over the duo of Sania Mirza and Ivan Dodig of Croatia here on Monday.

The Bopanna-Dabrowski pair, seeded seventh, defeated the secondseeded Sania-Dodig pair 6-3, 6-4 in the 52-minute quarter-finals contest that involved two Indians.

Bopanna is the only Indian left in the fray in the Grand Slam tournament. He is though already out of the men’s doubles event.

With Monday’s loss, Sania’s campaign ended in the tournament. She and her Kazakh partner Yaroslava Shvedova had crashed out of the women’s doubles event in the opening round.

Bopanna-Dabrowski pair, seeded seventh, defeated the secondseeded Sania-Dodig pair 6-3, 6-4.

Lahiri’s Sizzling Round Vaults Him in 2nd Spot

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UIRFIELD VILLAGE, OHIO: After his sizzling finish at the Memorial tournament in Ohio on Sunday saw him vault into a tie for second place, Anirban Lahiri may be regretting his decision to withdraw from U.S. Open sectional qualifying.

Lahiri stormed home with the day’s lowest round, a bogey-free sevenunder-par 65, to finish three strokes behind winner Jason Dufner at Muirfield Village.

“Sometimes when you push yourself harder, it works against you, and I feel that was what was happening. I wasn’t in a good frame of mind and I think that’s what’s changed this week.”

After starting the week ranked 90th in the world, Lahiri is projected to rise into the low 60s. The top 60 on Monday June 12 will be exempt into the year’s second major, which starts three days later at Erin Hills in Wisconsin.

June 09, 2017

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India’s First ‘Private’ Railway Station to Come Up Near Bhopal

HOPAL: If all goes according to plan, Habibganj in the suburbs of Bhopal will redefine the concept of a railway station in India. The country’s first railway station to be redeveloped as a public-private partnership (PPP), Habibganj is set to become a swanky commercial hub with shops, offices and hotels, all in a span of three years.

The operation and maintenance responsibilities for the station have been given to Bhopal-based Bansal Group for a period of eight years. It has also received four land parcels on a 45-year lease. The group, which operates in the infrastructure and construction sector, also runs a television channel and educational institutions.

It won the bid in 2016.

Bansal Group will invest Rs100 crore to overhaul the station which was opened in 1979, and around Rs350 crore to develop four commercial land parcels adding up to

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17,245 sq. m.

“We plan to develop the commercial areas in two phases—two officecum-shopping complexes in the first phase, and under the second phase, a multi-speciality hospital and a budget- and five-star hotel,” said group managing director Sunil Bansal.

On 9 June, railway minister Suresh Prabhu will launch commencement of the station re-development work in Bhopal. The Habibganj railway station will be designed as a world-class transit hub, with a central concourse equipped with amenities for waiting passengers; arriving and departing passengers will be segregated. The environment-friendly station will be powered by solar energy and has facilities for the differently-abled. The station will have six lifts, 11 escalators and three travelators, along with two underpasses of 4m each provided for arriving passengers.

The station will have parking space

for 300 cars, 850 two-wheelers, rickshaws, taxis and buses. In case of an emergency, the premises can be evacuated in four minutes and passengers can reach designated points of safety in six minutes.

The management of the Habibganj railway station was given to the Bansal Group on March 1, 2017. They will be taking care of all the facilities at the

station like food stalls, retiring rooms, power, platform maintenance, parking,” said Indian Railway Station Development Corporation (IRSDC) managing director and chief executive officer S.K. Lohia. The company will not be responsible for core operations such as train and parcel movement, signalling and ticketing.

-Live Mint

Adani to Start Work on Mine Near Australia’s Great Barrier Reef

YDNEY: Indian mining giant Adani said it will start work on a huge $16 billion coal project that environmentalists warn will damage Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.

Billionaire chairman Gautam Adani said in Townsville that the board had made its “final investment decision” which marked the “official start” of the Carmichael coal mine, destined to be one of the world’s largest.

The controversial project -- the biggest investment in Australia ever by an Indian company -- encountered numerous regulatory and legal hurdles, leading to seven years of delays, with a lease finally granted last year.

It has also been slammed by environmentalists who say it will hurt the reef, a World Heritagelisted biodiverse site stretching along Australia’s northeastern

coast, which is already threatened by climate change.

“Now the time for waiting is over and the time for doing is beginning,” said Federal Resources Minister Matt Canavan.

The development proposes exporting coal to India from a massive open-cut and underground coal mine 160 kilometres (100 miles) northwest of Clermont in central Queensland, home to the reef, via a 189-kilometre rail link to port.

The conglomerate, which had delayed final approval due to uncertainty over royalty payments, forecasts it will produce 60 million tonnes of thermal coal a year for export.

It also estimates it will generate 10,000 direct and indirect jobs, with pre-construction works starting in the September quarter of 2017.

Adani hit out at activists who have challenged the project for years, accusing them of exploiting legal loop-

Solar Boom Threatens Indian Makers to Financial Collapse

N The Narendra Modi government and Indian Railways are betting big on the Habibganj railway station, which they plan to turn into a world-class facility by March 2020.

The controversial project -- the biggest in Australia by an Indian company -- encountered numerous protests and regulatory legal hurdles.

holes to stall development.

“We have been challenged by activists in the courts, in inner city streets, and even outside banks that have not even been approached to finance the project,” he said.

“We are still facing activists.

But we are committed to this project. We are committed to regional Queensland and we are committed to addressing energy poverty in India.”

-ToI

INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUNE 09, 2017 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

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EW DELHI: Some of India’s biggest solar equipment makers are facing financial collapse, priced out by Chinese competitors as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government prioritises cheap power over local manufacturing despite his ‘Make in India’ push.

Though President Donald Trump is pulling the United States out of the Paris accord on climate change, India is sticking to its huge renewable energy programme. That has created a multi-billion-dollar market for Chinese solar product makers, who are facing an overcapacity at home and steep duties in Europe.

India’s solar power generation capacity has already more than tripled in three years to over 12 gigawatt (GW) as Modi targets raising energy generation from all renewable sources to 175 GW by 2022.

Chinese companies have gained the most from that increase, accounting for around 85% of India’s solar module demand and earning around $2 billion, according to industry data.

The total annual market could jump to more than $10 billion in the next few years going by the government’s capacity targets.

Local companies such as Jupiter Solar, Indosolar Ltd and Moser Baer India Ltd, however, are struggling to win contracts.

Orders funnelled through a domestic-content policy have all but dried up after the World Trade Organization last September upheld an earlier ruling that found the move violated global trade norms.

As a result, Jupiter said it could shut shop by July after delivering their last orders this month; Indosolar auditors have raised doubts over it remaining as a “going concern”.

26 June 09, 2017

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US Pullout to Brighten Climate for Modi’s Green Energy Plan

EW DELHI: US withdrawal from the Paris climate deal can potentially elevate India to a leadership role in the global fight against climate change and sharpen investor focus on the Narendra Modi government’s programme to build massive renewable energy capacity.

The government is working to build 175 GW (giga watt) of renewable energy capacity by 2022, envisaging an estimated investment of $175-180 billion. The green push will not end there.

The government expects non-conventional sources to account for 40% of total generation capacity by 2030.

The sheer scale of the government’s programme -- the largest such scheme in the world -- offers heavy traction for investors. This has already been demonstrated in successful green Masala bond issues worth nearly half a billion dollars by coal-burning behemoth NTPC and IREDA, government’s funding agency for renewable projects.

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“India will pick up any investment slack in the US after the pullout as investors and fund managers look for a country with a solid green energy policy and commitment. This means fatter and wider sources of funding for Indian solar and other renewable energy projects,” a government official said.

Other such as Raj Prabhu, CEO of US-based green energy market tracker disagrees. “The impact for India will be almost zero in the short-term. It will not have a significant impact in the shortterm as the withdrawal will take approximately four years, which means the next election could decide what will happen,” he told TOI on Saturday.

But there are yet others who feel that emerging technology and economy of scale have created enough market force to drive renewable capacity building in years to come, though coal will remain the mainstay for providing ‘base load’. Solar tariffs recently dropped to Rs 2.44 per unit for a project in Rajasthan’s Bhadla

solar park. This is 18% lower than the average tariff of Rs 3 per unit for power from NTPC’s coal-fired plants.

Simultaneously, solar module prices have continued to slide, with Chinese supplies becoming 11% cheaper than a year ago and the government announcing several incentives to promote domestic manufacturing.

Officials said such market dynamics is enough to drive growth in renewables. The government’s policy focus and commitment, then, is the icing on the cake.

“With all the attention given to the solar industry, we need to recognise that electricity gener-

ated from solar makes up just 1% of the total power generated in India and there is a long way to go for India to shift from its dependency on coal to renewable energy. (but) Because of severe pollution issues, China and India have no other option but to continue to develop renewable energy sources,” Prabhu said.

According to Prabhu, the Indian renewables industry, especially solar, should be more worried about GST impact, poor financial health of discoms, poor traction in demand growth, RPO (renewable power obligation) shortfall, curtailment and other issues.

-timesofindia.com

Sher Bahadur Deuba Becomes Sole Candidate in Nepal Prime Ministerial Race NEPAL: Veteran Nepalese politi-

cian Sher Bahadur Deuba is set to become the country’s prime minister for the fourth time as he is the sole candidate in the election slated to take place later on Sunday. Deuba, President of the Nepali Congress party, became the sole candidate in the prime ministerial race, after the main opposition CPN-UML decided not to field its candidate. The voting is said to be a mere formality to pave his way for the post, Kathmandu Post reported.

Outgoing Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal of the CPN (Maoist Centre) proposed Deuba’s candidacy while senior NC leader Ram Chandra Poudel seconded the proposal at the Parliament Secretariat which on Friday published the schedule to elect the new prime minister on majority basis.

Deuba, 70, needs to secure 297 votes in the 593-strong Parliament to prove his majority during today’s election, and with the NC-Maoist Centre alliance enjoying 287 seats in Parliament and four other parties supporting the alliance having 21 seats, it looks plain sailing for Deuba, the report said.

Deuba served as the prime minister from 1995 to 1997, from 2001 to

Outgoing Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal of the CPN (Maoist Centre) proposed Deuba’s candidacy.

2002, and from 2004 to 2005.

However, the election process may get postponed as the main opposition CPN (Maoist Centre) has been protesting against the Election Commission’s decision to conduct re-election in a ward. The EC called for re-election after the CPN (Maoist Centre) representatives allegedly tore ballot papers when vote counting was underway.

The House meeting summoned

INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUNE 09, 2017 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

for 11 am today was postponed to 3 pm today after the CPN-UML ‘s protest.

Prachanda resigned on May 24 after a brief stint of nine months, honouring a power sharing understanding with the ruling coalition partner Nepali Congress to hand over the country’s leadership to the largest party in Parliament.

-indianexpress.com

June 09, 2017

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June 09, 2017

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