Friday, June 23, 2017 • Vol. 36, No. 25
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June 23, 2017
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COMMUNITY
June 23, 2017
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TCC Taped Ball Professional Tournament Spring 2017: Houston Arrows Winners, BBCC Runners up
HOUSTON:
Houston Arrows won the TCC Taped Ball Professional League Spring 2017 tournament by defeating Ball Breakers Cricket Club (BBCC) by 6 runs in a low scoring thriller. For both HA and BBCC, this was their maiden final entry. It was a well-deserved win for HA who finished second in the group. The Professional League tournament was a highly competitive one featuring 10 participating teams from Divn 2. HA won the toss and elected to bat. BBCC bowlers (Saurabh, Vikrant and Raj) bowled to a plan and had HA down to 35/4 at the end of 6 overs. Bhushan scored briskly and hit 3 boundaries in a quick 20 before getting out. Ankur and Abinash played steady after that. The score was 51/4 after 10 overs. After the break, Pritam joined Abinash and both of them played sensible cricket rotating the strike and combined that with a few boundaries and one six to take the score to 91/5 by 16th over. BBCC kept getting wickets at regular intervals and the score was 119/10 in 20 overs. For HA, Abinash scored 28, Pritam scored 17 and Vinod was not out on 12. For BBCC, Raj took 4 wickets and Vikrant took 3 wickets. There was a brief shower for 20 mins during the break. It made batting difficult for BBCC to start with. BBCC started cautiously and made sure that wickets were not lost. After Rishi was out to Pritam due to a brilliant catch by Ankur, Gautam and Nandu played sensibly till the break and the score was 42/1 in 10 overs. By now the wicket was suitable for batting due to the bright sunshine that followed the shower. The stage was set for an interesting last 10 overs with BBCC requiring 78 of 60 with nine wickets in hand.
Winners Houston Arrows with Jagadish Biradar
After the break, Gautam, Nandu and Amar scored briskly with boundaries and sixers to score 24 runs in the first three over to bring the score to 66/2 in 13 overs. The brisk scoring continued till the 16th over to bring the required equation to 33 runs in 4 overs with 8 wickets in hand. Nandu got run out on 46 in the 17th over due to a brilliant effort by the wicketkeeper Ashwin and that was the turning point of the game. HA bowlers held their nerve to bring the equation to 16 runs in the final over. BBCC fell short by 6 runs with 6 wickets in hand. It was a thriller worthy of a final with both teams having a chance till the end. For BBCC, Gautam scored 24 and Amar scored 14 runs. HA bowlers (Vinod, Radhe, Neil, Abinash, Pritam and Yash) managed to keep BBCC in control even though they did not take a lot of wickets. The game was followed by a well-organized prize distribution ceremony arranged by TCC. Jaga-
Runners up BBCC with Jagadish Biradar
dish Biradar, the organizer of the tournament coordinated the presentation ceremony and presented the awards. TCC extended its warm thanks and appreciation to Dinesh Kasliwal from Gladiators for his wonderful voluntary service in the scheduling of the tournament. Neil Armstrong, the captain of
Houston Arrows was presented with the championship trophy and Rutuparna Pathak, the captain of BBCC was presented with the runners up trophy. Man of the match for the finals was Abinash Panda from HA for a steady 28 and economical bowling effort. Bharat Venkatesh from Eagles
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won the Best batsman with 273 runs. Neil Armstrong from HA and Sunil Menon from Eagles won the best bowler with 16 wickets each. Neil also won the best All-Rounder for making 182 runs along with his 16 wickets. Navin Warier from Eagles won the Best Wicket Keeper with 19 catches.
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June 23, 2017
Ram Leela 2017
BY SUDESH PILLUTLA & SANGEETA PILLUTLA
COMMUNITY
HOUSTON: Ram Leela comes early to
Houston this year. Shri Sita Ram Foundation has been presenting this play twice a year for several years to promote our Vedic culture and moral values exemplified by Ram in Ramayana. This year the play is in the form of a Kuchipudi dance ballet which shall be presented at the Stafford Center on Cash Road on the July 15. Sri Rama Katha Saram (Kuchipudi Dance Ballet) On July 15, the stage at Stafford Civic Center will come alive with the characters from the beloved Ramayana. This story, authored by our revered rishi Valmiki, is a beacon for mankind on the principles of life and ideal living. While being entertaining, the Ramayana contains numerous lessons to be learnt and internalized. Valmiki weaves the plot around the young prince ‘Rama’, who, starting from a young age, is a paragon of virtue. With colorful human characters and a myriad of species, the Ramayana is the oldest and most retold epic. In every art form Rama Katha or Rama story is captivating and entertaining. This time the story is being told, with much flourish, thru the classical Indian dance genre of Kuchipudi. The story-telling tradition is central to the Kuchipudi art form. Props, costumes, and various back
and the legendary Vempati Chinna Satyam. In addition to teaching the dance form, Vedantam Kalakshetram also produces highly professional Kuchipudi dance dramas in the Houston area and other cities in Texas. Over the last few years, the students of Vedantam Kalakshtram have brought Bhakta Prahlada, Chandalika, Bhama Kalapam and Kalyana Srinivasam dance dramas to Houston. This next dance drama, Rama Katha Saram, will be yet another wonderful treat for the Houston audience. Sri Rama Jaya Niketan The play this year is also a fund raiser. All proceeds from this play will go towards assisting Sri Rama Jaya Niketan, a 501 C (3) non profit organization to build a temple in the Katy area. The mission of the Sri Rama Jaya Niketan is to provide a place of worship and be the spiritual resource center for the Hindu Community living in the Houston area in general and Katy in particular. Priest Sriman Hanuman Swamy of Sri Rama Jaya Niketan already provides all types of Vedic /religious Services for all the occasions to people living in the Greater Houston area. A
drops have come customized from India to bring the essence of the culture to the shores of Texas. This extravaganza will have the central emotions of the human experience – love, jealousy, duty, and sorrow bringing tears and wild shouts of joy alternately. No story of Rama is ever complete without
the Vanaras and their tremendous energy. Please come prepared to dodge the desire to join the Vanaras while they build Rama’s bridge or fight the Asuras in Lanka. Kuchipudi dance is derived from Bharata Muni’s Natya Sastra. Legend has it that Sage Siddendra Yogi founded, codified and popularized this particular dance tradition and brought it to the small village of Kuchipudi in Andhra Pradesh for which the dance came to be named. Since then, the families hailing from the village of Kuchipudi, the families of Vedantam, Bhagavatula, Pasumarthi, Josyula, Vempati, Mahankali, Chinta and others have brought this classical art form to high international repute. Guru Vedantam Raghava, a descendent of one of the original custodian families of this art has established the Vedantam Kalaskhetram School of dance in the Greater Houston area to impart the art to the students in the Houston area with the same rigor and tradition that has always been central to the art. Guru Raghava learnt this art from his father Vedantam Rattaih Sarma, uncle Pasumarthi Ramalinga Sastry WRITERS ... TAKE NOTICE Writers are requested to limit their words to 500. The deadline for advertising and articles is 5 pm on Tuesday of each week. For more information: Call 713-789- 6397 or email us at: indoamericannews@yahoo.com
temple will further enlarge these services. Shri Sita Ram Foundation, USA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization engaged in several philanthropic activities directly and indirectly. It assists and provides modest funding to Cultural and Educational institutions promoting Vedic Culture. It also provides scholarships to under privileged students and assists disadvantaged persons of the community. The Foundation organizes and/or supports the following annual cultural events in the Greater Houston area: Ram Leela Play in a prominent Theater; the annual Diwali/Dussehra Festival at Skeeter’s Stadium in Sugar Land; the annual Rath Yatra in association with Orissa Culture Center, and Vedic lectures and activities throughout the year. Shri Sita Ram Foundation in association with Sri Rama Jaya Niketan and the greater Houston Hindu community have come together to bring you this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience grand stage play in the timeless story-telling traditions of India. The play shall be at Stafford center on Cash Road between the hours of 3:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Tickets are VIP, $75.00, $50.00 and $25.00. All proceeds will go to establishment of a temple in Katy area. For more information, please go to www. ShriSitaRam.org or www.sriramajaya.org For tickets, please contact Sharmila at 713-444-6167
INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUNE 23, 2017 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
COMMUNITY
June 23, 2017
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Vaisakhi, Celebrated Even Late, is Still A Joyful Community Affair BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA
HOUSTON:
Halfway through the 26 dance segments, the Sohniya Houston Diyan Gidha group took the stage and they were mesmerizing. Their footwork, singing and brilliantly colored kurtas, duppatas and skirts and swinging long braided ponytails just enveloped the entire stage as all twelve women dashed around alternating between rounds of duets and group gidha numbers (choreographed by Navneet Kaur) that stretched out into the longest segment of the program. Either they had been practicing for weeks or they really
The organizing committee for the Vaisakhi Night onstage with Punjabi Society of Houston president Pritpal Singh
The Virrasat e Khalsa group appeared as the Panj Pyare
Some of the participants in a gidha dance.
were from the same village that held dances each day! They weren’t alone in projecting the sheer energy of dance in abandonment. The two teenage boys of Sheran di Kaum Junior Bhangra brought along happy feet, arms, body and everything else as they energetically and effortlessly (it seemed) went through many bhangra moves and the audience broke out in huge applause. The eight
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boys (and the two little ones who brought them out) of Houston de Shaukeen Gabroo were certainly exuberant enough for the prime of their life (which is what gabroo means) and the audience loved them too. This was the Vaisakhi Night program that the Punjabi Society of Houston had promised they would once again hold this year, after an absence of two years. It showed
that the Vaisakhi spirit is still alive, even two months after the festival. After being postponed, it came together, this past Saturday, June 17 at the same venue as before – the Cullen Auditorium at the University of Houston – and with many of the original organizing team, although the Fashion Show that was CONTINUED ON PAGE 16
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6 June 23, 2017 COMMUNITY TiE Houston Hosts Panel on Successful Business Exits
HOUSTON: TiE Houston hosted a well-
attended panel discussion on “Successful Exits: The Truth About Growth and Exits” at the Westin Oaks hotel in the Houston Galleria. Participants came to network and listen to three local Houstonians share their success stories on business exits as well as gain valuable insight and advice. TiE Houston President, Dr. Arun Pasrija, began the evening by welcoming new members and described the organization’s mission as fostering entrepreneurship through mentoring, networking, and education. Dr. Pasrija introduced Sammy Haroon, a long time TiE Charter Member and the CEO of RBR Group. He then introduced the moderator for the evening, Dr. Sara Terheggen. Dr. Terheggen is a corporate partner at Morrison & Foerester, specializing in corporate finance transaction and private equity fund formation. The panelists for the evening were Samina Farid, Ashish Gupta, and TiE Houston’s Board Member and former President Aruna Viswanathan. Samina is a leading energy and technology entrepreneur and co-founder of Merrik, a global provider of software to the oil and gas industry. She successfully exited Merrick in 2014. The company was sold to P2, whom she served as an advisor. Ashish Gupta is a serial entrepreneur, investor, and business mentor, with over 25 years of industry experience in IT, Education, Health Care and Real Estate. Ashish has founded, grown, and successfully exited three technology companies over 17 years. Aruna Viswanathan is the COO of the RBR Group, a firm that serves as an invest-
Panelists from left: Aruna Viswanathan, panelist; Dr. Arun Pasrija - TiE Houston President; Ana Rojas Bastidas, TiE Houston Executive Director; Samina Farid, panelist, Dr. Sara Terheggen, moderator; and Ashish Gupta, panelist.
ment and commercialization office for venture capital and private equity. Each panelist shared his or her unique insight. In summary, the business owner must understand their key assets, which are likely to be attractive to a potential buyer. These could include one of more of assets such as unique product or service, customer base, repeatable process for delivering product/ service, recurring revenue base, profitability in terms of revenue growth and/or margins, and human talent, along with its unique company culture
Panelists suggested that the entrepreneur should keep records and documentation to demonstrate the any/all of the above business assets to a potential buyer. These could include patents/copyrights, process documents, audited financials, customer contracts, etc. Professional help from accounting and legal professionals is recommended to go through the process of exiting a business. The entrepreneurs should be prepared to spend six to 12 months in the process of agreeing to valuation, due diligence including financials and legal documents at the
same time ensuring running the business continues be important. “The session was very informative”, said Mr. Aku Patel, one of the attendees from Indo American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Houston. TiE is a global organization dedicated to fostering entrepreneurship. Next event: How to Launch a Successful Food Business on Thursday, June 29, 2017. For more information, visit www.houston.tie.org.
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June 23, 2017
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COMMUNITY BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA
HOUSTON: He must have been
jet-lagged from his long plane ride the day before from Mumbai to the Bayou City, but dressed in blue jeans, a black vee-neck t-shirt and white sneakers, Anuj Gulati looked like a college student out for a stroll in the hot humid weather of the city. The short-cropped hair and tinted eyeglasses on a slight, tall frame only emphasized the carefree, casual look that made one admirer wonder whether the bemused 31 year-old movie maker was much younger than his age. His short movie – his first foray into feature films – though, dealt with an age-old problem in India, female infanticide, and added a twist to it, set in a deeply conservative village in Madhya Pradesh. “The Manliest Man” dealt with the dilemma of a poor village laborer whose wife had given birth to yet another baby girl. Deeply ashamed by his lack of male producing power, the village chief orders other virile men of the area to help bring out a male offspring. “This wasn’t the movie that I set out to make,” explained Gulati eagerly while waiting for the festival’s there top films to be screened. “I actually was working on a documentary on female infanticide in 2015 and visited a village in the Madurai District of Tamilnadu. I met with the pastor of the church and interviewed villagers.”
June 23, 2017
9
Literally Short Films Festival Selects Gulati’s “The Manliest Man”
The organizers of the Literally Short Film Festival, from right, Rose Mary Salum, Founder & Director, Literal, Latin American Voices and Lorís Simón Salum, Festival Director with the winner of the Best Picture “The Aeronauts” represented by Rita Basulto and the Grand Jury Prize winning film “The Manliest Man” producer and director Anuj Gulati.
The documentary was to be part of his thesis at New York University’sTisch School of the Arts in Singapore, where Gulati had lived for 10 years. The sevenyear-old school closed in 2014, the year that Gulati completed his degree, and then he moved back to Mumbai, where he lives in Andheri. After small stints with other studios, Gulati struck out to make the documentary and got the inspiration for his screenplay from the real-life story of a couple who had twelve girls, all of whom they killed. Hoping their thirteenth would be a boy; they had another girl, but decided to keep her. Gulati spent some time writing the screenplay, then used his savings and money from relatives
and friends to start shooting in a typical village with theater actors, whom he paid, from Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. After the filming was over and he had started editing, Phantom Films, for whom Gulati had worked, saw his first rushes and decided to invest in the still unfished product. Gulati submitted his film to the Literally Short Film Festival in March when he read about it on the internet. The Literally Short Film Festival is now in its fourth year and is an outcrop of the Literal magazine which was founded in 2004 by Rose Mary Salum. The quarterly magazine provides “a medium for the critique and diffusion of the Latin American literature and art”, according to its website and
At the Literally Short Film Festival, prior to the screening of the top three films, Grand Jury Prize winner Anuj Gulati (center) met with from left, Raj Sehgal, Jawahar Malhotra, Poonam Sehgal and Kavish Sehgal of Sehgal Diamonds.
publishes in both English and Spanish. But the catalyst for the film festival appears to be Salum’s daughter, Loris who exudes a passion for film as a medium to merge “a multitude of arts into one vision”. This year’s festival had four selection categories: International with 15 films; German with 9 films; Mexican with 7 films and Local with 6 films. This year, the Festival was held over four days, June 14 through 18, with opening night party on June 15 and screenings the next three days, at 5425 Renwick just off Westpark and Fountainview in a large white metal building painted with a large yellow triangle on one corner. Inside, the large space was divided into a screening area behind tall velvet
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drapes, where about 200 guests sat to view the top three films: Verde (from Mexico) by Alonso Ruizpalacios, which received for the $500 Award of Excellence; The Aeronauts (from Mexico) by Leon Fernandez receiving the $1,000 Best Picture award and Anuj Gulati’s “The Manliest Man” (from India) winning the $5,000 Grand Jury prize. Both Rose and Loris Slum made brief introductory remarks about the festival and the artistic expression inherent in the films. Just prior to the screenings, Dr. Issac Bustos, a classical guitarist and a faculty member at Texas A&M University’s Department of Performance Studies gave an impressive recital of a song by the late Spanish guitarist Andres Segovia.
10 June 23, 2017
HOUSTON:
Orissa Culture Center (OCC) in collaboration with Sri Sitaram Foundation will celebrate the tenth chariot festival of Houston on June 25, at the India House, 8888 W Bellfort Blvd., Houston, TX 77031. The event is free for all and we invite people from Houston and neighboring cities to participate in this day long festival. As per tradition, OCC has celebrated the Lord’s bathing ceremony, also known as Snana Purnima and devotees are now waiting for their beloved Lord to
Chariot Festival - 2017
come upon the chariot with His elder brother Balabhadra and sister Devi Subhadra to give darshan to all on the daya of the chariot festival. This year OCC is proud to present an interfaith seminar during the late afternoon cultural programs. Speakers from different religious faith have agreed to share their views on their faith and belief system and bring out the oneness that binds all human being under one family. Among the distinguished speakers are Asvin Dave
from BAPS, Venerable Seido from Budhist Organisation, Thomas Wallace of Christian Faith, Rabai Jonathan Siger of Judaism, Mrs. Ummehani Ismali on Islam, Mr. Harish Chandra on Sanatan Dharma and other speakers on Hinduism. The primary objectives of this yearly celebration have been to promote traditional art forms of dance and music from Indian subcontinent and to propagate the philosophy of universal brotherhood and religious tolerance.
COMMUNITY
The evening program includes “Nrityanjali”, an offering of Indian classical dances, presented by dance schools based in Houston. The dances include Bharat Natyam, Kuchipudi, Kathak and Odissi. The schools participating are Kalangan School of Odishi Dance, Anajali School of Performing Arts, Abhinaya School of Performing Arts, Natya Upasana Dance Academy and Odishi Academy of Houston. The events of the day starts early in the morning at 9am with a free health camp organized by OCC. Everyone is welcome to come early and take this opportunity to get free health evaluation. The days’ programs include the following. • Free Health Fair – 9:00 am to 11:30 am • Rituals and worship – 10:00
INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUNE 23, 2017 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
am to 4:00 pm • Interfaith Seminar – 4:30 pm to 5:30 pm • Nrityanjali (An offering of classical dances) – 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm • Chariot Procession, Maha Arati followed by Mahaprasad Dinner for all – 8:00 pm to 9:30 pm Celebration of this festival is possible by generous support and sponsorship of participating organizations and individuals. For sponsorship and other details please visit www.rathjatra. org.For information, please visit www.rathjatra.org or call 713859-0507 or You may connect on https:// www.facebook.com/HoustonRathYatra -An Orissa Culture Center Publication
COMMUNITY
11
June 23, 2017
Peers Reminisce at Harish Jajoo’s Retirement Reception
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BY SANCHALI BASU
SUGAR
LAND: It was very nostalgic for everyone around, when peers, friends and relatives gathered for Harish Jajoo’s retirement reception at The Sugar Land Museum of Natural Science on Thursday, June 15. The Mayor and Members of City Council of The City of Sugarland had arranged the reception honoring the retiring Council member of District Four. As attendees rolled in after work, they were warmly greeted at the door by Kayla Samek and scrumptious cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. As the crowd loosened and warmed up during the social hour, Harish, his wife Shashi, son Sid and the rest of Harish’s family mingled and made everyone feel welcome. Emcee for the evening City Manager, Allen Bogard introduced the first speaker Council member Amy Mitchell. She thanked Harish for his continued valued and dedicated service to the city, highlighting all the major accomplishments during his tenure. Of special mention was the completion of the Smart Financial Center, the Brazos Park and Festival Site, implementation of Sugar Land’s fire based EMS
Photos: Sanchali Basu
and crime prevention cameras on major roads, sidewalk and pavement rehabilitation, completion of major roads University North and South and Dulles Ave. He was also instrumental in attracting hundreds of jobs via recruitment and expansion of corporations like Nalco, TI, Fluor and expansion of Memorial and Methodist hospitals. He also oversaw UH Sugar Land transition to Tier 1 branch. Council member Mary Joyce echoed Mitchell’s sentiments and commended Harish on the passion with which he undertook to help the city. Current Mayor, Joe Zimmerman took the stage and congratulated Harish for his upcoming stint as a new grandfather. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect. He invited other council members to join him in presenting Harish with a very apt memento of a rocking chair and a plaque of recognition on behalf of The City of Sugarland. Other council members also thanked Harish for his long ranged vision and bringing projects to fruition. Dr. Mazie Leftwich remarked about the trustworthy, respectful, patriotic attitude of service and his appreciation of diversity. Dr. Subodh Buchar, his personal physician joked about how he knows Mr. Jajoo inside and out (anatomi-
cally, physiologically etc.) and commended him on his growth over the years that he had known him and lauded the participation of Americans of Indian origin in mainstream US politics. Kolbe Curtice (his treasurer for the last six years) also delivered a great speech in Mr. Jajoo’s praise. Some other dignitaries in attendance were James Patterson - Fort Bend County Commissioner, Justin Joyce - Justice of Peace of FB County, Jimmy Thompson - Former Mayor of Sugar Land, Carol McCutcheon, Incoming Council Member District 4 in Sugar Land and Ken Mathew- Mayor Pro Tem of City of Stafford Finally, Mr. Jajoo and family were invited to be recognized and Harish thanked everyone of the very well attended audience. He was overwhelmed by the love, encouragement and support he received from his family, peers, friends and well-wishers. All clamored to pose for pictures with the dynamic duo of Harish and Shashi and they pleasantly obliged. Some special friends were invited to Madras Pavilion for a quiet dinner after the reception.
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June 23, 2017
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14 June 23, 2017
COMMUNITY
Yogrishi Swami Ramdev in North America BY MANU SHAH
HOUSTON: North America will
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soon get a lesson in yoga from none other than yoga’s global icon Yogrishi Swami Ramdev. He will lead the way showing thousands of yoga amateurs and practitioners various postures (asanas), breathing techniques and meditation that promise a medicine free life. The declaration of June 21 as the International Day of Yoga (IDY) by the UN three years ago helped India gain an international platform overnight. Efforts by PM Narendra Modi has seen a sharp increase in yoga’s popularity – not just in India but around the globe. More than a hundred countries will embrace the day cutting across age barriers, nationalities and ethnic backgrounds to ignite health and harmony of the body, mind and soul. India’s biggest cultural export will be a mark of unity and solidarity around the world. In a statement, Shekhar Agrawal, President, Patanjali Yogpeeth (USA) noted that after “celebrating the 3rd IDY with half a million people in Ahmedabad, India on June 21, Pujya Swamiji will visit North America to further spread the message of yoga to the masses as he conducts yoga sessions in Gaithersburg, MD, Atlantic City, NJ and Toronto, Canada. Baba Ramdev is also one of the founders of the Divya Yog Mandir which aims t o
promote yoga and Patanjali Yogpeeth Trust in Haridwar devoted to research on
the healing powers of yoga and Ayurveda. With Patanjali Ayurved Ltd., a 10,000 crore outfit, that manufactures and markets more than 700 products ranging from herbal toothpastes to foodstuff, he stunned business analysts and corporate honchos with his marketing acumen. His phenomenal success in encouraging consumers to opt for a chemical free lifestyle in all strata of people in India is being studied at business schools around the world. Swami Ramdev’s worldwide visit will begin in Washington D.C on June 23 to celebrate the Yoga Diwas or the International Day of Yoga at the JSS Spiritual Center from 4-7pm. For more details, visit
( h t t p : / / w w w. jssmission.org/). He will head to an AAPI private event on June 24 for a 6-8 am yoga session in Atlantic City, NJ followed by a talk and a Q&A session from 2-3:30 pm on Yoga and Spirituality. With the support of the Consulate General of India in Toronto, Canada will also welcome the yoga master on Sunday, June 25, at the International Centre, Toronto. The program, which is expected to attract 8,000-10,000 yoga enthusiasts from across the Greater Toronto area, will be the largest congregation of yoga practitioners, at a single venue in North America practicing yoga. Yogrishi Swami Ramdev will lead the session from 10-12:30 in the morning. For more information, visit http://iydc.ca. In a statement issued in Toronto, Satish Thakkar, Chair of the Board of Directors of the International Yoga Day Canada, said, “We are very excited to welcome Yogri-
INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUNE 23, 2017 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
shi Baba Ramdev to Toronto on the occasion of the third IDY on Sunday, June 25. It will be a rare privilege and a special blessing for everyone participating in the event to be guided by such a world renowned Yogrishi.” On June 26, Swami Ramdev will hold a n Interactive session from 7-9 am to learn and practice yoga, meditation and spirituality for a stress free live at the BAPS Sri Swaminarayan Mandir in Toronto. Swami Ramdev will also be honored with the 2017 CIF Global Indian Award on 26th June by the Canada India Foundation. Past recipients of this prestigious award have been Ratan Tata of the Tata Group, Narayana Murthy of Infosys and Dr. Subhash Chandra of the Essel Group. “Baba Ramdev epitomizes the vitality and profoundness of ancient Indian disciplines of Yoga and natural health sciences, and by honoring him with the CIF Global Indian Award, we are acknowledging his significance to the world of both material and spiritual wellbeing,” said Ajit Someshwar, Chair of CIF. On June 27, Swami Ramdev will conduct a “Yoga in daily life” talk at TV Asia in New Jersey from 6:30 -8:00 pm after which he will return to India. For more information, visit www.pyptusa.org
COMMUNITY
June 23, 2017
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How to Unbox the Twin Cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad BY MOHAN GURUSWAMY
HYDERABAD:
Hyderabad is the 24th largest city in the world. The twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad have 5.3 million people living in 172 sq km and by 2030 will be home to 10.15 million. This will mean more motor vehicles, more commuting, congestion, effluents and chaos. The twin cities are among the most congested and air polluted in the world, because almost two thirds of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation population is concentrated within them. Hyderabad is almost on par with Bangalore and Bangkok in air pollution. It has a Pollution Index (PI) of 79.98 compared to Bangalore’s 80.56 and Bangkok’s 79.08. The PI is an estimation of the overall pollution in the city. The biggest weight is given to air pollution, then to water pollution/accessibility, the other two main pollution factors. Ditto for the Pollution Exponential Scale (PES) which is arrived at using an exponential scale to show very high numbers for very polluted cities, and very low numbers for unpolluted cities. India’s most polluted city using this composite scale is Kanpur with a score of 182.98, but Hyderabad is not very far behind with a score of 143.36. Compared
to it Shenzhen, China’s biggest export center, has a score of 149.75 and the world’s most built up and among its largest cities, Shanghai, has a score of 155.86. It should come as no surprise that Indians have a 30% lower lung function compared to Europeans. Traffic congestion on road networks occurs as use increases, and is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queuing. As demand approaches the capacity of a road, extreme traffic congestion sets in. When vehicles are slowed or stopped by traffic congestions and jams they spew forth huge concentrations of air pollution. Interestingly Hyderabad is not among the top India’s car owning cities, but yet its air quality is among its worst. Clearly the solution to Hyderabad’s increasing pollution and traffic congestion is to spread out the city more evenly. But this will not be helped by the Chief Minister, K. Chandrashekhara Rao’s, recently expressed intentions of building a new Secretariat at Secunderabad’s historic Parade and Gymkhana grounds, and to build a high rise city center around the excessively polluted Hussainsagar. By doing this he will only heap more misery into the lives of Hyderabad and Secunderabad residents.
Rao would be better advised to pull down the ramshackle State Secretariat and move it to a more open and well-located part under the GHMC. For instance, by moving to the eastern side, say on the Hyderabad-Bhongir axis, the new Telangana State can relocate its administrative capital with modern, spacious and spread-out office and residential areas, like Gandhinagar is to Ahmedabad. The Hyderabad-Bhongir axis is perfectly suitable because of the ready availability of government owned vacant land and the existing transport infrastructure. It lies on the main Secunderabad to Kazipet rail link that joins Delhi in the north, Calcutta in the east and Madras in the south. The construction a new mega rail terminal here
will reduce the pressure on the Secunderabad terminus and ease the congestion around it. The new Metro line also begins at Nagole and by extending it a bit more the new capital area will be linked to the Metro grid. The outer ring road also gives it fast access to Shamshabad airport. The expansion avenues for the twin cities are quite limited considering they are hemmed in the north by the cantonment and military facilities. Its expansion towards the west is limited both by Air Force Station Begumpet airport (established in 1968) which now sits plumb center in Secunderabad and by the Sanatnagar and Balanagar industrial areas. The only direction the urban habitation can extend is between the east and south. In-
stead of seeking to repossess the Parade and Gymkhana Maidan’s from the Ministry of Defence, the State Government should repossess Begumpet airport and build a new financial and commercial center for the twin cities. Any new construction in Secunderabad’s only open space will be restricted in height because it comes in the Begumpet flight path. While the Metro will help in decongesting, it will also serve to build traffic pressure along its arteries and stations. To keep this pressure low, the twin cities need a secondary mass transit system, like a monorail to crisscross between the major transport arteries. Monorails cost a lot less, and require lesser space on the ground and will allow more trains and routes. Rao broke tradition by holding Telangana’s first August 15 event under the watchful ramparts of Golconda fort, which is a central part of Telangana’s history. Likewise he must break the mold and build a new administrative capital, equally for the sake of posterity, as it would be to save the twin cities from choking to death on its air and drowning in its liquid effluence. Rao has shown himself to be capable of out-of-the-box thinking and now needs to put it to use to unbox the twin cities.
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COMMUNITY
Commemorating 150 Years of Mahatma Gandhi’s Spiritual Inspiration HOUSTON: From
the early days of the Montgomery bus boycott, Martin Luther King Jr. referred to Mahatma Gandhi as “the guiding light” of nonviolent social change. Deeply influenced by the works of Gandhi while studying at the Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania, King made the struggle for civil liberty for African- Americans in the USA his sole motto. He later said, “I firmly believe that the Gandhian philosophy of nonviolent resistance is the only logical and moral approach to the solution of the race problem in the United States“ The Father of the Indian Nation, Gandhiji, has been praised by the whole world as a messenger of non-violence. But, one may wonder who captivated him? Who was his inspiration? Shrimad Rajchandra, a Jain poet, philosopher, scholar and reformer, was foremost amongst those he considered to be his guides. Shrimadji’s direct interaction
with Gandhiji and his letters, both played a pivotal role in shaping Gandhiji’s character and kindled in him the novel idea of using ahimsa to attain independence. Shrimadji’s emphasis on truth, compassion and non-violence in every walk of life, crystallized as the fundamental tenets of Gandhism, which played a significant role in the Indian struggle for independence. In the history of India, the success of Gandhiji’s non-violent struggle as a means of achieving freedom will be engraved in golden letters. Even in the history of the world his unique contributions will be immortalized. Commemorating the glorious oc-
casion of Gandhiji and Shrimadji’s 150th birth anniversary year, Houston will witness a theatrical presentation, a tribute to two great souls on July 16th at the Stafford Centre, 3:30pm. The play highlights the value of expanding one’s capacity to love and give selflessly, respecting diversity, speaking truth, fostering trust, and building lasting communities. It brings to the forefront a powerful experience of looking within, upholding truth and fearlessness, as well as transforming character and consciousness. Shrimadji is an inspiration behind a non-profit organization, Shrimad Rajchandra Love and Care (SRLC). It offers service and brings joy to the lives of the undeserved sections of the society. The mission does these through holistic, multi-approach community outreach and development programs designed to provide humanitarian, education, and medical care.
Vaisakhi, Celebrated Even Late, is Still A Joyful Community Affair CONTINUED FROM PAGE
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advertised didn’t materialize. In true Punjabi style, this was a show that waited on the audience to arrive so that they could start and the program began at 8pm, 90 minutes after it was advertised. Then there were miscues and technical glitches, especially in the early dance numbers with little kids, but soon the program found its footing. More than half the show was devoted to dances by kids – big and little – and their parents, relatives and friends lined the hall seats on one side.
“This program is not from people outside but from those of Houston,” said Navdeep Kaur Grewal, who was not only one of the emcees, but also a tappe performer. She, along with Narinder Aujla, PSH President Pritpal Singh and many others had labored hard to piece together the event in two months, and coaxed all the dance teams to keep practicing. Pritpal Singh thanked the PSH Board, all the committee members and promised that the program would be bigger and better next year. The official emcee this year was Sherry Dutta from New York, who
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held an easy banter with the audience, especially in the front VIP section. But, enjoyable as it was, the program was an exercise in endurance as it went through 26 segments and lasted for close to 4 hours, not counting the 90-minute delay. The sheer explosion of music – some of it repetitious – was overwhelming and a certain variety would have added to the allure of the evening. One of the entertaining aspects were the ad spots and photo shots of the organizers and sponsors and sharp video clips by Kanha Arts photography which had the stage projection screen buzzing with digital effects.. Still, the program brought out some of the most talented and lively entertainers in this city. The tail end of the program was devoted to bhangra performances by some of the better known groups in Texas Nishani Bhangra, Space City Diya Mutiyaran, Red City Bhangra group, Alamo Bhangra, UT-Texas Bhangra and Sheran Di Kaum Bhangra Dallas – all of who are semi-professional. Though they competed for best place, at the end of the evening, they agreed to divide the cash prize between them and hold a more lively competition at the same venue on July 1.
EID
?
What is Eid ul Fitr Throughout the month of Ramadan, Mus-
lims observe a strict fast and take part in religious activities like peace-making and charitable giving. It is a time of extreme spiritual rebirth for those who observe it. At the end of Ramadan, Muslims all over the world observe a festive three-day celebration known as Eid ul-Fitr, which is the Festival of Fast Breaking. Eid ul-Fitr, frequently called Eid means “festivity”, and Fitr means “to break fast”; therefore the holiday signifies the breaking of the fasting period. It is observed after the end
June 23, 2017
of the Islamic month of Ramadan, on the initial day of Shaw’waal which is the 10th month of the Islamic calendar. Eid ul-Fitr or the ‘festival of fast breaking’ is the most festive of all the Muslim celebrations. The term ‘Eid’ has been originated from the Arabic word ‘oud’, which also means ‘the return’ and signifies the return of the festival each year. The celebration is momentous as much for its timing, as it is for its religious connotations. Legend has it that the Koran was made known to Prophet Mohammed in the final ten days of Ramadan. The celebration signifies the start of festivities and enjoyment for a time frame of three days. Eid ul-Fitr is filled with thanksgiving and joy. Prior to the day of Eid, within the final number of days of Ramadan, every Muslim fam-
Lighter Pistachio Baklawa Ingredients: For the syrup: ½ cup sugar or 100 g 1 cup water or 250 ml 1 teaspoon lemon juice 1 tablespoon cornstarch or 15 g, (to
thicken the syrup) ½ cup water, cold, to mix with cornstarch For the baklawa: 1 packet filo pastry, thawed if frozen 1/3 cup butter or 75 g, melted
ily bestows an established amount as a contribution to the poor. This contribution is of real food such as barley and rice and other provisions. This is to make sure that the needy can have a holiday meal and take part in the festivities. This contribution is referred to as Sadaqah al-Fitr, which means Charity of Fast Breaking. On the day of Eid, women cook sweets at home and every Muslim is seen embellished in new attire, as they are persuaded to dress in their best clothes, new if feasible for the celebration. Muslims assemble early in the morning in outdoor spots such as fields, squares or mosques to carry out the Eid prayer. After the Eid prayer is the Khutbah which is a sermon that educates Muslims as to the act of the rituals of Eid, like the Zakat (an offering of a small fraction of one’s belongings to charity, usually to poor
1/3 cup water, hot ½ cup ground almonds ¼ cup caster sugar or 50 g, mixed with the ground almond For the filling: 1.3 cups pistachio nuts 1 tablespoon blossom water 2 tablespoons rose water 1 tin nestlé fat free sweetened condensed milk or 405 g 5 slices toast bread, crust removed Method: To prepare the syrup: Add sugar and 1 cup of water to a saucepan. Bring to boil and simmer for 6-8 minutes. Dissolve the 1 tablespoon of cornstarch in the remaining ½ cup of cold water then add to it the lemon juice. Add the cornstarch mixture to the simmering sugar and water, stir constantly on heat for 2 min until syrup thickens, and set aside to cool. To prepare the filling: Combine all ingredients for the filling in a blender; beat until well combined and set aside.
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and Muslims in need). Afterwards there is a prayer, known as Dua’ requesting pardon, forgiveness and assistance for each and everyone all over the world. It is then traditional to hold in your arms the individuals sitting on either side of you, when you are greeting them. After the Eid prayer, Muslims usually go to visit several friends and family members, provide gifts, especially to children, and make phone calls to distant family to offer them wellwishes for the holiday and some persons also go to visit graveyards. These actions customarily go on for the three days of the celebration. In many Muslim countries, the three days are certified government and school holidays. Eid ul-Fitr promotes the shared characteristics of the fast, which conveys many of the essential values of the Muslim community. It is a time to give in charity to those in need, and rejoice with friends and relatives, the close of a month of joy and blessings. -www.whatisramadan.com
To prepare the baklawa: Grease a 30cm x 20cm oven tray, place 1 sheet of filo pastry, brush with butter and repeat the same with 5 more sheets. Carefully spoon the filling all over the pastry. Place 1 sheet of filo pastry to cover the filling, brush with butter and sprinkle with a little of almond mixture. Top with another sheet. Sprinkle with little almond mixture and repeat method with the remaining sheets. Brush the surface with melted butter, then cut parallel lines through pastry and filling to get diamond shaped pieces. Bake in a 185°C preheated hot oven for 25-30 minutes or until it becomes golden color. Pour the cool syrup over the baklawa as soon as it comes out of the oven. - www.nestle-family.com
Eid Special Henna Tips Applying Henna Designs Today henna filled cone is used to apply henna designs. The benefit of using a cone is that you can achieve incredibly fine lines with it. Hold cone like a pencil in your hand and apply design. Henna designs look prettier when something decorative is added to it. Today, glitter of different shades are used in designs for filling and for shading in flowers. It is great for kids because they love glitter. For a glamorous look you can make an outline of design with glitter. Another advance approach which you can apply is “kunden” and crystals in design of arms and legs (for half sleeves and Capri). These type of henna designs look awesome. You can also make small heart shape leaves around filled circular in the center of the palm and on opposite side use beads around filled circular. -www.khanapakana.com
INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUNE 23, 2017 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
18 June 23, 2017 z
EDITORIAL/COMMENTARY “You Take a Selfie, I’ll Tweet”
Lessons from the Match
Are you an Indian cricket fan who is crushed by the defeat
of your national team to the one from Pakistan in the Champions Trophy final? Then I will tell you what happened. We saw the defeat of people who were arrogant in one victory and took a jingoistic approach to the game. It was the defeat of hyper-nationalism, of jingoistic news anchors, commentators, ex-cricketers—basically anyone and everyone who turned this match into another opportunity to ridicule and insult Pakistan. It was a defeat of those war-mongers who spew venom online and offline and turn every India-Pakistan match into a proxy battle. Today was a spectacular defeat of some loudmouthed news anchors, forever-frothing-in-the-mouth former military veterans turned TV commentators, politicians of a particular ideology, former cricketers whose bats no longer do the talking but their Twitter handles do, and a host of other people who were bombarding your Facebook and Twitter timelines with Father’s Day memes and telling you that you were either with the Men in Blue or “Terrorists in Green”. Yet there is a lesson to be learnt in this defeat. No, this isn’t about our cricket team. They will win some, lose some, and learn their own lessons. But those outside the pitch will have to learn to be humble in victory and graceful in defeat. They will have to learn that arrogance always takes one down. They will have to learn that this new kind of hypernationalism that they believe is kosher isn’t going to take the country anywhere; it will only make you the butt of jokes and ridicule, as nature has its own way of giving it back. They will have to learn that hate begets hate and only love can unite hearts. And they will have to learn to be good human beings first, Indians or anything else later. So now, let us celebrate the grand victory of a sport that’s dear to over a billion people in the subcontinent. Today, cricket won. Today, those who love this sport genuinely won. Nothing else matters. Congratulations, Team Pakistan! And Men in Blue, we love you even in your defeat. Let the ‘gentleman’s game’ remain true to its name, please. -- Manimugdha S Sharma in Times of India
BY SAGARIKA GHOSE
P
M Modi and President Trump meet for the first time this month. Extracts from a conversation that will not be. Modi: Ah Donald, can I give you a tight hug like I gave my friend Barack? Barack and I used to hug each other. Trump: I’d love to hug you Mr Modi but I got a problem with Indians who’ve had visa problems in the US. Modi: Arre forget the past. I want to discuss this H-1B visa with you. Discrimination is bad. In India, there’s no discrimination. We all live by my slogan sabka saath, sabka vikas. Trump: My slogan is America first, Trump first and me first. I do my own isolationist thing. Modi: But I hear you have a Trump tower in Mumbai and are outsourcing
your name to Indian builders? Trump: Hey, that’s business, being a Gujarati I thought you’d know. Modi: Talking of business, when will you demand that Pakistan hands over Dawood and Hafiz to India? Trump: Dawood? Hafiz? Who’re they, pal? I only know Osama and he’s dead, right? In any case, am too busy bombing Syria and squeezing Qatar to worry about Pakistan. Modi: What about taking a stand against China? I took the Chinese to Ahmedabad. We swung on jhoolas. But still they want to do their own thing. Trump: Ah China, now those guys are big business. You covfefe? Modi: Donald, you make too many gaffes on social media. That’s why I have more followers than you. Trump: I am staying away from the Chinese because I have troubles with Russians at the moment. You
know how the media are gunning for me because of my so-called Russia links. Modi: Arre, I’m also a good friend of Vlad. And why you worried about media? Don’t you have the CBI? Trump: What’s CBI? Like FBI? Modi: Something similar. Except I control it. Trump: Great! Now we’re talking, Narendra. How about I send FBI to you and you send CBI to me? Modi: No, CBI is a caged parrot, it can’t go anywhere. Trump: I hate the press. Bigly. Modi: I do too, Donald. But now can we have a selfie please with the White House as background? Trump: Sure and then let’s tweet together at midnight! Deal? Sagarika Ghose has been a journalist for over two decades, starting her career with The Times of India and an author of several books.
Genius Has a Gender? Only in Our Minds
W
hen Cambridge University advised its examiners to avoid words like ‘genius’ and ‘brilliant’ because they exclude women, many of us rolled our eyes and dismissed it as political correctness gone wild. But close your eyes – what’s the first image that comes to your mind when you hear the word genius? Is it Albert Einstein? Stephen Hawking or Srinivasa Ramanujan, perhaps? Shakespeare or Premchand? Steve Jobs? Whether you’re female or male, odds are your mind sees a man. These associations affect our perceptions of others, which in turn affects their self-image and choices. Gender gap in the sciences, for instance, can be partly
explained by the notion that these areas call for ‘genius’ or raw natural ability, which many women don’t feel confident they possess. Reasons for that lack of confidence are also cultural; in the US a depressing piece of research found
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that even six-year-olds were likely to think of only boys as ‘brilliant’. When professors are rated, it’s men who’re described as stars and visionaries, and the same qualities are overlooked or disparaged in women. Think of the routine putdown ‘hysterical’, which literally means a disorder caused by the womb. The idea of a lone genius is a Romantic myth; hard work, collaboration and luck have as much to do with accomplishment as ability, and none of these traits are sexual characteristics. Thinking harder about how we fling around words like flair and brilliance might foster a better intellectual climate, all around. -- Times of India
THE STORY OF GANDHI
June 23, 2017
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The Extraordinary Life and Times of Mahatma Gandhi - Part 4
T
Gandhi’s Impact in South Africa
he story thus far… Gandhi arrives in South Africa and is rudely made aware of the rampant racism in that country when has to visit Pretoria on work. He is unceremoniously thrown off a 1st class compartment on a train to Johannesburg. He manages to board another train where his white fellow traveler is quite willing to share the compartment. They travel harmoniously on to Pretoria. It was late in the evening when the train pulled into Pretoria. Gandhi, relieved to reach his destination stayed at a hotel that night and moved into a lodge the next day. There he began to study the Abdulla lawsuit. While he was working on it, he made the time to call a meeting of the Indians in Pretoria. This he did with the help of Tyeb Haji Khan Muhammad, an influential Indian merchant. Only a handful of Indians attended. It was the first time Gandhi had addressed a meeting. “There is too much division among us,” he said. “Why should we be kept apart by differences in birth, family, caste, and religion? Let us form a league, representing every group, and keep the Government informed of our difficulties and our needs.” The audience listened to him with great interest. It was decided to hold regular meetings of all the Indians in Pretoria. Involved in his work, Gandhi was entrusted with the task of translating into English all the correspondence between Dada,Abdulla & Co. and the rival party. After studying all the facts, he was convinced that his client’s claim was just and true. He knew, however, that if the case were taken to court it would drag on for a long time, so he called together representatives of both parties. “Why don’t you choose a good man, whom you both trust, to arbitrate between you?” he said. Both parties were astonished at this new idea. This young man was not the kind of lawyer they were familiar with; they appreciated his stand and agreed to his suggestion.An arbitrator was appointed, and he gave his award in favor of Gandhi’s clients. Although they had won, Gandhi persuaded his clients to be lenient with their opponent. They agreed not to demand the money due all at once, but in easy installments spread over a long period. Both parties were happy over the settlement. Gandhi’s first success as a lawyer was not a crushing victory over an opponent, but the triumph of good sense and humanity. In the Orange Free State, Indians had been deprived of all their rights by a law enacted in 1888. They could stay there only if they did menial work. Traders were sent away with nominal compensation. Under a law passed in 1886, Indians who wanted to live in the Transvaal were forced to pay an annual poll-tax of £ 3 per head. There they were not allowed to own land except in certain locations. They had no freedom to move about. If they
wanted to go out of their houses after 9 p.m., they had to carry a permit with them. They were not allowed to use certain highways at all. Gandhi felt personally humiliated at the way Indians were treated there. He thought it was his duty to defend their rights and remove their grievances. He often went out for an evening walk with an English friend, Mr. Coates, and he rarely reached home before 10 p.m. He had obtained a letter from the State Attorney allowing him to be out of doors at any time without police interference. Walking alone one evening, Gandhi was suddenly attacked and knocked down. He was injured. He struggled to his feet to face a police constable. “That will teach you to obey the law,” shouted the policeman. “No Indian has the right to walk past the President’s house. Didn’t you know that?” The policeman kicked him. “Gandhi, are you hurt?” asked a familiar, friendly voice. It was Mr. Coates. He happened to be passing that way when he saw Gandhi being attacked. Mr. Coates warned the policeman. “This man is my friend and a distinguished lawyer,” he said. “If he brings a complaint against you, I shall be his witness.” Then he turned to his friend and said, “I am very sorry, Gandhi, that you have been so rudely assaulted.” “You need not be sorry,” said Gandhi. “How is the poor man to know? All colored people are the same to him. I have made it a rule not to go to court in respect of any personal grievance.” Coates turned again to the policeman and said, “You should tell an Indian politely what the regulations are - not knock him down.” “Never mind,” said Gandhi. “I have
already forgiven him.” Now that the Abdulla case had been settled, Gandhi thought there was no need for him to stay on in South Africa. Towards the end of 1893 he went back to Durban to book his passage to India. Abdulla arranged a farewell party in his honor. While going through the newspapers that day, Gandhi was surprised to read that a bill was pending before the Natal Legislative Assembly that would deprive Indians of their right to elect members to the Assembly. He brought this to the notice of the people gathered there for the party. “What do we understand about such matters?” Abdulla Seth said. “We only understand things that affect our trade.” Gandhi responded that the bill, if it passed into law, would make it extremely difficult for Indians. “It is the first nail in our coffin. It strikes at the very root of our selfrespect,” said Gandhi. The Indians now realized what was at stake; but they were unable to decide what to do. They requested Gandhi to postpone his departure and help them. He agreed to stay on for another month and organize resistance to the new bill. Late that night the Indians held a meeting in Abdulla Seth’s house under the presidency of Seth Haji Muhammad, the most influential Indian merchant there. They resolved to oppose the Franchise Bill. Telegrams were sent to the Speaker of the Assembly and the Premier of Natal requesting postponement on further discussion of the bill. The Speaker promptly replied that the discussion would be put off for two days. The Natal Indians then drew up a petition to the Legislative Assembly pleading against the bill. This was followed up by another petition to Lord Ripon, the then Secretary of State for the Colonies. More than 10,000 Indians signed the petition. Copies were circulated in South Africa, England, and India. There was much sympathy for the Natal Indians’ plight, but the campaign had started too late to stop the bill becoming law. However, the campaign did do some good. For the first time, the people of India came to know of the conditions in Natal. An even more important result was the new spirit that now awakened the Indians in South Africa. - To be Continued next week
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PUZZLES / RECIPES
Mama’s Punjabi Recipes Maal Pudde (Fried Sweet Flatcakes)
mixture well. 4. Pour the oil a small karahi (wok) or a wide flat frying pan and warm it up over high heat. 5. When the oil is hot, take a small amount of the mixture with a large spoon and pour it in a 3-inch diameter disk. 6. Let the round disk fry till it is golden brown on both sides, turning as needed. Once done, take it out with a slotted ladle and place on a paper towel to soak the excess oil. 7. Now repeat with the rest of the mixture. You can make two or three of the disks at the same time. 8. Once the maal pudde are cooled down a bit, serve with tea or coffee.
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snacks know that the taste of a namkeen pudda (salty flatcake) is between that of a pakora (fried fritter) and a soft parantha. Part of this is because pudde are made on a tava (flat plate) much like a parantha is and the other part is that the dough mixture is very similar to that of a pakora, though sometimes puddas are made with a daal (lentil) paste. But the amazing thing is that when you fry the same mixture, it has a different taste and of course, texture. Take for example, the same lentil paste: when fried it can become a bhalla (fried lentil dough ball) and if it is made with less water, it comes out hard like the common South Indian vadda. In the same way, many people aren’t familiar with maal pudde (fried sweet flatcakes) - and shouldn’t confuse them with jalebis (fried sweet dumplings) - as it is not a sweet snack that is made too often now, even among Punjabis. Maal pudde are actually made with the same dough as the salty pudde, but the only difference is that they are fried and made with chasni (sugar syrup). The results are quite pleasing as the texture and taste make this an ideal snack to have on a cold, rainy Monsoon day with a bowl of kheer (rice pudding) and a cup of hot tea. The more popular snacks in the rainy season, of course, are pakore and samosas (stuffed triangular pies) but the maal pudde are tough to beat!
Ingredients: • 2 cups atta or maida (wheat flour or bleached flour) • 2 cups chinni (sugar) • 2 cups pani (water) • Vegetable or sunflower oil for frying • 1.Flavoring:1 tsp saunf powder (fennel seed – thin ones are better)
Shakuntla Malhotra is a skilled cook of Punjabi dishes made in the oldfashioned style that she learnt as a young woman in her ancestral home in Lyallpur (since renamed Faisalabad), India before it became part of Pakistan after the Partition in 1947. People have often admired her cooking for its simplicity and taste that comes with each mouthful. Even in her late-eighties, she continues to cook daily and agreed to share some of her delectable Punjabi recipes.
Directions: 1. To make the chasni, pour sugar into a bowl and slowly add warm water while mixing thoroughly with a spoon. 2. Slowly add in the atta and beat it with a tablespoon, making sure not to leave any lumps, so that you get a smooth mixture. 3. Add in the saunf powder and
MAMA’S TI P OF THE W EEK FOR EXTRA QUIC K MAAL PUDDE, USE A SHALLOW KARAHI (WOK) The depth
of karahis, the India n style woks or wide comes with their ow -rimmed iron or ste n purpose. To make el bowls, large amounts of ha for a religious offeri lwa (flour pudding ng or to evaporate ) a lot (thickened milk) or of milk quickly to make a rabddi khoya (congealed mi lk), a deep karahi is In the case of maal best. pudde, or other items that you want to fry much oil and can ea but not use too sily fish the items ou t, it is best to use the would call a tavi shallow karahi. We but these are not co mmonly available to use a shallow fry now. Instead, it is be ing pan when makin st g maal pudde.
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21
Jab Harry Met Sejal mini trail 2: Shah Happy Birthday Rukh Khan is not scared of Anushka Raj Babbar Sharma, thanks to the ‘Indemnity Bond’. June 23, 1952
J
ab Harry Met Sejal’s second mini trailer is out and we cannot keep calm about it.After Shah Rukh Khan gave all sort of warnings about his cheapness, trying to shoo Anushka Sharma away while highlighting his personality in the film’s first mini
trail titled ‘Character Barbaad’, it was her chance to take the lead. And this, she has done like a boss in the second trail. In the latest teaser of the film, we meet Sejal, a Gujarati girl who has done LLB and knows how to get hold of a situation, since she ‘handles legal family matters’. Anushka is calm and confident, yet her the innocence of her character is evident, which takes us back to the first promo which released on Sunday. But mind you, her innocence cannot be taken for granted. She is smart at dealing with situations too. Sejal drinks, does a sensuous dance, seduces Harry and yes, offers him an ‘Indemnity Bond’ – which is also the title of the second trailer.
But what exactly is this Indemnity Bond? Sejal hands it out to Harry saying ‘I have clearly stated that if we ever have a sexual interaction, amounting or not amounting to full intercourse, you are absolved of all legal charges,” which leaves SRK aka Harry in a complete shock. The guy who was showing-off his ‘cheap’ mannerism around girls in the first promo, was left stunned giving us a fair idea about Sejal’s power. Apart from the two characters who absorb the screen in their own way, leaving us wanting to know more about them, what draws our attention is their chemistry. There are scenes when Shah Rukh and Anushka are really close to each other, so does that
mean the two will also have intimate moments in the film? But wasn’t it said that Anushka is in love with someone else and SRK hels her find him, as it has been toutted that Jab Harry Met Sejal revolves around an Karisma engagement ring? We’ll have to wait Kapoor to know more. June 25, 1974 Another thing which has left us wondering is why Sejal keeps Harry away from any sort of legal troubles? Are they living-in together? Is the story about how a guide and a tourist get into a one-night stand sort of thing? Well, the promos have got us all confused. But we hope, with the upcoming trails, we will get more clear about the story of Harry and Sejal. -indianexpress.com
Tubelight running time reduced, becomes shortest Salman Khan film in recent times
T
ubelight has been making news right from the day it was announced. And now that the release is just a few days away, there is no way that people won’t talk about Salman Khan and his film, which is an Eid gift this year. However, fans might get disappointing about one thing. The play-time of Tubelight has been reduced by
19 minutes. According to Bollywod Hungama, the film was as long as any other Kabir Khan film but the CBFC decided to reduce its screen time, making it the shortest film of Salman Khan in recent times. His previous releases Sultan was 2 hours 50 minutes long, Bajrangi Bhaijaan was 2 hours 43 minutes, and Prem Ratan Dhan
Payo a little over 3 hours long. Earlier, there was news that the film’s playing-time would be of 2 hours and 35 minutes however, post its production, Tubelight was pruned down to 2 hours 16 minutes. The leading daily quotes a source saying, “Kabir Khan’s films are habitually lengthier than the stipulated 2 hours that the multiplex viewing audience favours. Kabir’s last film with Salman Khan – Bajrangi Bhaijaan was nearly 3 hours long, and it worked just fine. Tubelight was edited and readied at a playing-time of 2 hours and 35
minutes. But then for some reason they’ve now decided to prune down the film by 14 more minutes just a week before release.” Meanwhile, Tubelight makers are leaving no stone unturned to keep the hype around the film alive. Recently, the film grabbed headlines for becoming the first Bollywood film to launch an official channel on GIPHY, the world’s first and largest GIF search engine. GIPHY has previ-
Arjun Kapoor
June 26, 1985
ously worked with Hollywood Films like Moonlight, Finding Dory and Beauty & the Beast. -indianexpress.com
Sunil Grover won’t be a permanent actor on Krushna Abhishek’s new show, will rather be a guest comedian
In the biggest
update on comedian-actor Krushna Abhishek’s new show on Sony, it has been learnt that Sunil Grover will indeed join the series but not as a perma-
nent member. Sunil will be a guest artiste on the show, and will appear according to the script requirement, a source from the channel told indianexpress.com. “Sunil will not be a regular member but he will appear in some acts, as and when required. While the rest members are permanent,” the insider said. The series, whose working title is Comedy Company, will also feature Ali Asgar, Chandan Prabha-
INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUNE 23, 2017 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
kar, Sudesh Lehri and Sugandha Mishra. While there’s a natural excitement among the audience about the show, it seems it will have to wait for some time as the makers are currently brainstorming on the concept of the show. The creatives want to make sure that the show is different from The Kapil Sharma Show, Sony’s long-running successful comedy series. “There’s a lot of back and forth going on regarding Comedy Company. Things are still in conceptualising stage. We want it to be quite different from our other comedy show,” the source said. It will be interesting to see the biggest comedians on Indian television, who also share some personal and professional history with each other, coming on the same channel but as rivals. -indianexpress.com
22 June 23, 2017 Champions 2017: ‘We’ve Proven Everybody Wrong’: Imad BY GEORGE DOBELL
T
HE OVAL:
(ESPN Cricinfo): Pakistan “proved everybody wrong” in the 2017 Champions Trophy, according to allrounder Imad Wasim. Despite Pakistan coming into the event as the bottom-ranked team and starting with a chastening defeat at the hands of India, Imad rubbished the suggestion that Pakistan were unpredictable and instead claimed they were “one of the best in the world”. And he had special praise for Mohammad Amir, whose spell in the final proved decisive, and who Imad hailed as “the No. 1 bowler in Pakistan”. “This is not a fluke,” Imad said. “We’ve got a great side; one of the best in the world right now. I don’t see that we’re an unpredictable side. We’ve won our last four games and we’ve proven everybody wrong. We won against South Africa, who are the No. 1 side in the world, so we had the belief we could take anyone down.” Imad credited the experience of playing in the PSL, and the confidence inspired by the team management as key factors in the success. “The PSL is a big event for us,” he
T
Pakistan’s Mohammad Amir celebrates taking the wicket of India’s Virat Kohli.
said. “You do improve from playing in it. Look at Fakhar [Zaman], Shadab [Khan] and other youngsters who came into the side and made an impact in this major tournament. Credit goes to all the young cricketers who stepped up. “And credit to the management, too. I’ve been really lucky to play under Mickey Arthur and Sarfraz Ahmed. They get along really nicely.
It’s great for bonding. Arthur has supported us throughout the campaign. Even when we lost, he told us we were going to come back and turn things around, and we did. “Our bowling has been unbelievable, and [in the final] our batting was absolutely fantastic.” He had particular praise for Amir. “I’ve always believed in Amir. I’ve played with him since 2007 and cap-
tained him for Pakistan Under-19s. I’m one of his best mates, and we really wanted him in the team. He has always been world-class and he is a big-match player, too. “I met up with him when he had the ban and it was not a good feeling. To live for five years without cricket… he was absolutely distracted from everything. He was down and out. “Luckily, I played with him in his first game when he was coming back in domestic cricket and I saw him bowling. It was unbelievable same pace, same everything. He’s a natural. “He’s working hard at it now and you can see the way he’s bowling. Whatever happened, happened, but he’s the No. 1 bowler in Pakistan cricket. After five years out, you imagine how tough he is mentally. The best is yet to come from him.” Imad also believed the best is yet to come from this young Pakistan team. “Imagine the confidence we get from this,” he said. “It’s a young team and to win this major event - which we’ve never won before - is a big achievement for us.” George Dobell is a senior correspondent at ESPNcricinfo
At a Loss: ‘We Leave with Our Heads Held High’: Kohli
HE OVAL: (ESPN Cricinfo): In the end, Virat Kohli fronted up with a smile on his face. He had lost a match that India entered as favorites. India had a superior record over Pakistan at ICC events, including a win when the sides last met in the final of a global event, the World T20 in 2007. But it all came tumbling down in the final as Pakistan’s bowlers unraveled the Indian batting unit like a pod of green peas. India were that bad. Batting, bowling, fielding and intensity - they fell short in each of these facets of their game they had worked hard to improve in every subsequent match this tournament. Kohli was honest in defeat, gave credit to Pakistan for being the better team, but pointed that India should be proud to finish as the runner-up. “We can be very proud of that as a unit, and we leave here with our heads held high because we understand the
Hardik Pandya makes his displeasure known after his blitz ended with a miscommunication, India v Pakistan, Final, Champions Trophy 2017.
kind of expectations and pressures we face as a team,” Kohli said. “Credit to everyone for standing up and showing that resilience and reaching the finals, and today we were outplayed in all departments.
“They had to earn their win. They made us make those mistakes because of the way they were bowling and the way they applied the pressure in the field, as well. And we have no hesitations or shame to admit that we
could not play our best game today.” Kohli did not hesitate to bowl first, perhaps because of India’s comfort factor in chases. He has done so Bangladesh in the semi-finals too. When it was their turn to bat, Mohammad Amir turned the match by removing Rohit Sharma and Kohli in his first two overs. Kohli admitted failure to stitch a partnership didn’t help matters. “Early wickets are never good, especially in a chase,” he said. “Then we kept losing wickets. One big partnership would have been the key to set it up nicely. It is always a bad feeling when you get out or the batting doesn’t work collectively. “Not that we are not playing at our best, we tried our level best, but we just couldn’t make things happen today. But personally, yes, it does feel bad.” Nagraj Polludi is a senior correspondent at ESPNcricinfo.
INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUNE 23, 2017 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
SPORTS
India Displays Rampaging Form in Hockey Semifinal
L
ONDON: India’s rampaging form would be put through a tough test when they take on world No.4 the Netherlands in their final Pool B match of the Hockey World League semifinal, here. India, ranked sixth in the world, are presently atop in Pool B with three wins from as many games, while Netherlands are placed second with two wins from two games. But going by performance so far in the tournament, India hold an edge over Netherlands as they have so far recorded convincing wins in the tournament. India defeated Scotland 4-1, Canada 3-0 before demolishing archrivals Pakistan 7-1 in their first three games. Netherlands, on the other hand, beat Pakistan 4-0 before getting the better of Scotland 3-0 in their first two games. On form, India are expected to give Netherlands a run for their money tomorrow, provided they can keep their composure on the turf. With their place already secured in the quarterfinals, India would be hoping to keep up the good work and keep a clean slate going into the business end of the tournament. Barring a few lapses early in their games, the Indians have been clinical so far in the tournament, controlling the proceedings in each and every match. The performance of India’s forward-line has been outstanding with the likes of Ramandeep Singh, Akashdeep Singh and Talwinder Singh showcasing their brilliance with the stick by scoring some fantastic goals. The mid-field, led by a talismanic Sardar Singh, and also featuring the likes of skipper Manpreet Singh, has been providing ample support to the strikers.
The performance of India’s forwardline has been outstanding.
June 23, 2017
Bribes, Borders and Middlemen: Why GST is India’s Game Changer by creating a common market of N D : Seized vehicles. since independence in 1947. The EW
ELHI
Bribes. Days-long delays. Moving goods across Indian states isn’t exactly easy—and that’s a major barrier to economic growth. Rolling a truck of vegetables into Gujarat, the state once governed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requires a bribe of Rs500 to Rs2,000 even with your papers in order, according to Rakesh Kaul, vice-president of Caravan Roadways Ltd, which has about 400 trucks plying India’s pot-holed roads. But getting past the state tax collectors into Uttar Pradesh will cost you more: Upwards of Rs20,000, Kaul says. The penalty for not paying off the right people is steep fines from factories whose raw materials are stuck at state borders—sometimes for as long as five days. That’s why he and other companies are cheering the 1 July implementation of India’s biggest tax reform
move will replace more than a dozen levies with a new goods and services tax. That should help reduce the immense power India’s myriad middlemen wield at state borders, free up internal trade, make it easier to do business and widen the country’s tiny tax base. “Even if your documents are correct, they will find some small error and hold your vehicle,” Kaul says in his New Delhi office, located in a dusty trucking depot where hundreds of drivers sit near their brightly painted trucks in the 108-degrees F heat. “Once GST is there, all that is gone.” The new tax would be Modi’s most significant economic reform since coming to power in 2014. Yet with less than two weeks to go before its implementation, the government is still refining the details, announcing on Sunday it would relax initial
Lorry drivers in India lose 60% of transit time to road blocks, tolls and other stoppages.
filing requirements for July and August amid concerns businesses were not ready. Despite the last-minute tweaks, finance minister Arun Jaitley confirmed Wednesday the tax would roll out on 1 July. While India already boasts one of the world’s fastest growing major economies, architects of the reform say it will stoke efficiency and growth
1.3 billion consumers—a population greater than the US, Europe, Brazil, Mexico and Japan combined. Take the border crossings: Lorry drivers in India lose 60% of transit time to road blocks, tolls and other stoppages, which means logistics costs are up to three-times higher than international benchmarks. While truck drivers may still need to stop to have their goods checked, cut that time in half, and logistics costs could fall by up to 40%. India will have four tax brackets instead of a flat rate many other countries have. Air conditioners, refrigerators and makeup will be taxed at 28%, while toothpaste lands at 18%. Plane tickets attract a 5% GST rate, but business class tickets are 12%. Staples such as food grains and fresh vegetables are not taxed, while education and health services will continue to be exempted. -- LiveMint.
Adi Godrej Steps Aside, Daughter Nisaba Gets Flagship Baton M -Adi Godrej has handed who will lead the company in its next UMBAI
over the baton of the Godrej group flagship firm Godrej Consumer Products Ltd (GCPL) to his daughter Nisaba Godrej. GCPL chairman Adi Godrej, who turned 75 on April 3, will assume the position of chairman emeritus. Nisaba Godrej, currently the executive director of the company, will become the executive chairperson from May 10. Commenting on the leadership changes, Adi Godrej said: “It has been a privilege to serve as the chairman during a period when we have delivered strong results and transformed the company. I am grateful to our Board for their thoughtful and planned approach to executing our succession plan. The foundations of GCPL are extremely strong.” “This is an opportune time to transition to a new chairperson,
phase of growth. I feel very confident that Nisa will be an outstanding executive chairperson. Over the last decade, I have worked closely with her and seen her deliver tremendous results. She is an inspiring leader who will always uphold our values. I will continue to serve the GCPL board and contribute in whatever way I can to GCPL’s success and long term growth,” he said. “Nisaba has been a key architect of GCPL’s strategy and transformation in the last decade. In 2007 she initiated and led Project Leapfrog, which created a playbook for GCPL to accelerate domestic organic growth through innovation and consolidation, and to become a more global company by investing in emerging markets outside of India,” GCPl said. Over the last ten years, GCPL’s market capitalisation has increased
Nisaba Godrej has an MBA from Harvard Business School. After the announcement, GCPL shares zoomed by 9.74 per cent to Rs 1,929.25 on the BSE.
20-fold — from Rs 3,000 crore to Rs 60,000 crore. “Under Nisaba’s leadership, GCPL has developed a very strong, engaged and ambitious team, and consistently ranked as a great place to work. She
has also institutionalised design driven thinking and directly leads product development. She has served on the GCPL Board of Directors since 2011,” GCPL said. -- Indian Express
INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUNE 23, 2017 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
23
Infosys US Employee Alleges Bias, Retaliation by Managers
B
EGALURU: The former head of immigration of Infosys Ltd in the US has filed a lawsuit against India’s second largest software services company, alleging employee discrimination and retaliation by senior management, and sought damages from the Bengaluru-based company. Erin Green, who joined Infosys in 2011 and was head of immigration in US before being asked to leave the company last year, filed a lawsuit on 19 June before a US district court in the Eastern District of Texas, seeking for a trial by a jury. As part of his complaint, Green also questioned the manner in which Infosys decided to fire him, and raised serious charges against two of Infosys’s senior executives, Vasudeva Nayak, then head of global immigration and Binod Hampapur, executive vice-president and global head of talent and technology operations of Infosys. “Plaintiff (Green) was terminated because of defendant’s (Infosys) obsessional preference for employees of South Asian race and national origin, usually Indian, and as retaliation for reporting Nayak and Hampapur’s discriminatory treatment of himself and others on the basis of race and national origin,” reads a statement from the 53-page complaint filed by Green’s counsel Kilgore & Kilgore, PLLC. Under Sikka, Infosys has seen a flood of senior management exits, even as the company struggles to get back on the growth track. For the current year, Infosys expects to grow between 6.1% and 8.1%.
24 June 23, 2017 Weeks after hinting political foray, Rajinikanth pledges Rs 1 crore for linking of rivers CHENNAI: Tamil superstar Ra- In 2002, Rajinikanth had famously will represent the issue to PM Modi
jinikanth on Sunday met a delegation of 16 farmers led by PAyyakannu and assured them his support for their plea to interlink rivers. Weeks after asking his fans to “prepare for war,” hinting that he might consider joining politics+ , the Kabali star today told the visiting farmers that their plea to link up rivers will be represented to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and pledged Rs 1 crore in this regard+ . “Rajini told us that he will take steps to facilitate interlinking rivers, he said first (Peninsular) rivers like Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna, Palaru, and Cauvery should be linked,” Ayyakannu said after meeting the top star.
offered Rs 1 crore towards interlinking Himalayan and Peninsular Rivers after a fast on the Cauvery issue. “Rajinkanth offered to give us Rs 1 crore immediately towards river linking, however, we requested him to hand it over to PM Modi for a project in this connection,” the farmer leader who kicked up a storm with his recent multiple forms of protest in Delhi told PTI. He said, “we wanted Rajinikanth to help make a beginning (pillayar suzhi) for this river link-up effort and he said he will do it.” The farmer leader said the top star, who is shooting for his upcoming flick ‘Kaala’, told them that he
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“though he did not specifically say that he will personally meet Modi in this regard.” Ayyakannu, president of National South Indian Rivers Inter-Linking Farmers Association said Rajinikanth assured support to farmers on all issues faced by them. Rajinikanth while addressing his fans last month had asked them to be ready for war when it comes, asserting the “system is rotten”+ and that it needs to be changed. While DMK working president MK Stalin had said that it was Rajinikanth’s wish “whether or not to join politics,” others including pro-Tamil leader Seeman opposed it even as others like BJP welcomed the actor’s remarks. All India Mahila Congress General Secretary and actress Nagma had said days before Rajini addressed his cad-
res that the top star will be successful if he chose to come to politics. She had paired with Rajinikanth in
the blockbuster 1995 movie Baasha. -timesofindia.com
Narendra Modi affirms India’s commitment to Paris climate deal
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi appreciated the steady all round progress in diverse areas of bilateral engagement with Canada.
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Na-
rendra Modi late on Monday reaffirmed India’s commitment to the 2015 Paris Climate accord, during a conversation with his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau, a statement from the prime minister’s office said. Trudeau had called up Modi on Monday evening. “Both leaders exchanged views on developments of mutual interest, specifically climate change. Prime Minister Modi reaffirmed India’s commitment to take forward implementation of the Paris Agreement,” the statement said.
Modi also congratulated Trudeau on the 150th anniversary of the Canadian Confederation this year, the statement said. He also appreciated the steady all-round progress in diverse areas of bilateral engagement with Canada, it said. Modi’s reaffirmation of India’s commitment to climate change comes after the US last month pulled out of the Paris pact, saying it was disadvantageous to the US and that the current deal could cost the US as many as 2.7 million jobs by 2025. Citing the examples of India and China who would be allowed to use coal to fuel power plants as well as receive
INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUNE 23, 2017 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
billion of dollars to clamp down on emissions, Trump had said that the pact was unfavourable to the US. The Paris pact was a common theme of discussion during Modi’s May-June visit to Europe during which he visited Germany, Spain and France. In Germany and France, Modi had affirmed India’s commitment to the Paris climate change pact. Modi said preservation of the environment was “part of the world’s shared heritage” and that India would “continue working on this... above and beyond the Paris accord”. -livemint.com
June 23, 2017
INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUNE 23, 2017 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
Wrap-3
June 23, 2017
INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUNE 23, 2017 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM