Issuu

Friday, December 14 2012 | Vol. 31, No. 50

Indo American erican News

Sunil T’s

#41 on Inﬂuential List

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Just Dancin’ With Lightnin’ on the Soles of Their Feet

Pratham Holiday Luncheon Pg 5

Pratham President Swatantra Jain with Houston Builder David Weekley

1920 - 2012

Ravi Shankar, Sitar Legend Arzan Gonda (center) with Rhythm India dancers

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December 14, 2012

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COMMUNITY

December 14, 2012

Dancers With Lightnin’ on the Soles of Their Feet

BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA STAFFORD: If dancing is another language, only one that makes you move, then the woman sitting in the middle of the rows within eyesight of the tiny tots performing on stage was a virtual encyclopedia of words. She knew every move that the four and five year-olds had to make and coached them with the next step – kicks, twirls, waves and bends – all while sitting in the plastic chair, letting those behind her look over her head to see the performance. As if that wasn’t enough, Arzan Gonda had the whole two-hour program for the Just Dance 2012 evening choreographed in her head and conducted the whole twenty four separate dance performance with seamless precision that made you marvel at her energy level and how she viewed movement, set to music. For she is a product of the fashion, acting and dance scene that makes Bombay the Indian movie and entertainment capital that it is. Gonda seems to delight in the myriad of ways that the human form can respond to a musical beat, with each segment of a song bringing out new poses that are tuned to the frequency. It’s as if, through her mind’s eye, she views a day in the life as a series of elegant rhythmic leaps and bounds, which is all why she called her dance school and troupe Rhythm India. Tying all this to desi music, most of it Bollywood Hits, only emphasized how the whole range of that genre of music has become universal and danceable and popular worldwide. The school has quite a large following and for the third year it has produced Just Dance at the Old Stafford Civic Center (this year on Friday, December 7) which a compilation of performances by groups arranged according to their age and category. This year’s performances featured over 200 dancers, 24 different dances, most of them done to a medley of dances, and 19 different groups (see collage on pages 14-15). Emcee Sara Kumar in a green chudidaar kameez tied the evening together with announcements in her husky voice.

Gonda herself performed alongside several of the key dancers in her troupe, starting with the opening act in black Turk pants and red tops and then moving later into portions of the Evolution of Bollywood, Parts 1 and 2 which shows how dance in Hindi movies has changed over the years and was the entertainment segment at the Indian Film Festival of Houston Awards night this past summer. What was truly remarkable was the carefree way that all the performers were enjoying themselves, whether the small tots, young kids, teenagers, college aged girls or older women. There was even a segment by five women – four of whom aren’t South Asian at all – who chose to study classical Indian dance very seriously and showed their mastery in a group dance narrating the story of Gopis and Lord Krishna. If the enthusiasm was infectious, it was due to the eye to detail that Gonda has inspired in them, like when walking off stage and keeping both hands, palms out, at the small of the back. But it is obvious that the high-energy Gonda also cares for each dancer and showers them with attention and affection, a fact that became obvious when the little ones shouted out “We love you Arzan!” as the program ended, close to the two-hour mark.

Most of the family and friends were excited about the performances, but several others who came for the program were delighted by the high level of professionalism and punctuality, as they attended their first show. They won’t have to wait long for Gonda to do the community proud again as she and her select older troupe members will perform at the half time show in the Toyota Center when the Houston Rockets take on the Memphis Grizzlies next April 12, 2013. Some may remember April of this year when

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COMMUNITY

December 14, 2012

Bollywood Style Holiday Kick Off at The Abrahams A Magic Carpet Ride Affair

HOUSTON: On Saturday, December 1, more than 250 guests joined Sam and Omana Abraham at their Memorial home to kick off the holidays. The Abrahams greeted their guests upon arriving down a stunning carpet runway, not your typical red carpet. Upon entering into a magical tent that was transformed by a plethora of their showroom’s rugs. It truly was a breathtaking design moment. Guests were in awe of Jason Lawson’s, of Lawson Glass, stunning glass antler chandelier. This sophisticated piece was one of the lighting masterpieces within the tents all dawned with chandeliers. Another tremendous crowd pleaser was the “sultan style” portraits that guests laughed over, and took the gorgeous images home with them as a perfect memory from the unreal evening. Guests were transported to another world through music, dancing, food and decor. From the mango lasse’s from Madras Pavilion, paired with their culinary delights of butter chicken, saag paneer, samosas galore. Saddled with Texas tradition of holiday prime rib and fajitas from Lorenzo’s catering, and the infamous El Tiempo margaritas. Everyone was smiling and happy to kick off the holidays in style. Just in time to join the Bollywood dancers who kept the party going, and DJ Brett Mann got everyone dancing throughout the night. Over heard through out the night was the excitement of being able to see old friends and kick off the Houston holidays in style, culture and fun - it’s just like our amazing city, a melting pot.

The Abraham’s home was full of past clients, Houston Symphony board members, Houston Opera board members, and The White Hall Club friends, and of course smiling with pride to have their two daughters Rachel and Annie, and their husbands, Raj Duvvuri and Abraham Thomas with them at this amazing celebration. On hand in the sari scene were Joann and Bill Crassas, Betty and Jess Tutor, Carolyn Farb and Lance Livingston, Tracy and Valerie Dieterich, Margaret Alkek Williams and Jim Williams, Gil and Harriet Gertner, Channel 2‘s Rachel McNeill and husband Dr. Wayne Franklin, Channel 13 anchor

Gina Gaston, Director of Development at Asia Society Texas Center, John Bradshaw, Cortney Cole-Hall, Jacquie Baly, Liz Gorman, Nancy Levicki, Dr. Mohan Jacob and Shehnaz Jacob, Snehal and Smeta Mehta, Beth Wolff, Audrey Drought Miller and husband Lee Miller, Brian and Selina Stanford, Rob and Diane Sandberg. About Abraham Rugs: Abrahams Oriental Rugs and Dhurries was established in 1974 as a small Oriental Rug import company at 7101 Beechnut in Houston. The company grew to include a trade showroom in the Decorative Center as well as the retail showroom at 5000 Westheimer

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COMMUNITY

December 14, 2012

Pratham Holiday Luncheon Raises $120,000 for Education

BY CHITRA DIVAKARUNI HOUSTON: On Friday, December 7, Pratham Houston held its annual holiday luncheon fundraiser at the Junior League of Houston, in a hall decorated with colorful blooms and filled to capacity with Pratham supporters dressed in their festive best. Saks Fifth Avenue provided free makeover sessions before the event, and an elegant fashion show as well as several generous door prizes after lunch. The luncheon was co-chaired by Annu Naik and Anuja Mehta. Sapna Singh was the MC. Brij Kathuria, Board Member and Treasurer, provided valuable support with the entire event. Swatantra Jain, President, Pratham Houston, shared some of Pratham’s recent achievements with the guests. The facts and figures were truly impressive. Last year over 2.6 million children in India bettered their education through Pratham’s various programs. 54,000 youth gained vocational skills that enabled them to enter the workforce, and 48,000 teachers were trained to teach more effectively. Pratham is always

Swatantra Jain (left), President, Pratham Houston, Emcee Dr Sapna Singh and Brij Kathuria, Board Member and Treasurer, Pratham Houston. Photos: Deborah Wallace, Barﬁeld Photography

Swatantra Jain, President, Pratham Houston along with Co-Chairs Annu Naik and Anuja Mehta, presenting the award to David Weekley, Chairman, David Weekley Homes.

expanding to meet new needs, and one of its exciting new initiatives is providing micro financing so that youth can be trained and then start their own small businesses. Jain shared some heartwarming stories of

success by the youth that Pratham has sponsored. The Houston Chapter, which is one of the most active in the U.S., raised $1.6 million last year, thanks to its staunch donors. This

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er, David Weekly of David Weekly Homes. Weekly, a generous supporter of Pratham who donates half of his income each year to charity, gave a powerful inspirational speech where he listed why he has chosen Pratham as one of his beneficiaries. It is because of Pratham’s dedicated leadership, strong history of success, transparent governance and the clear metrics by which they measure their outcomes. Weekly ended by urging the listeners to open our hearts, be grateful for all that we have been blessed with, realize that we have a responsibility to the world, and experience first-hand the joy of giving. The audience also had the opportunity to watch and hear, via video, Pratham’s cofounder Madhav Chavan receive the prestigious WISE award, which is similar to the Nobel prize, and deliver his acceptance speech. Chavan’s dedication to Pratham shone through his words. He has, since then, donated the $500,000 award in its entirety to Pratham. Pratham raised $120,000 at this event and

Fashion show by Saks Fifth Avenue

money is helping around 70,000 at-risk children. Pratham is always expanding to meet new needs, and one of its exciting new initiatives is providing micro financing so that youth can be trained and then start their own small businesses. Jain was followed by the keynote speak-

thanks its generous donors and volunteers without whom this would not have been possible. To learn more about Pratham, or to support this great cause, visit www.prathamusa.org.

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December 14, 2012

Classical Concert Reaches Spiritual Heights

Pandit Suman Ghosh (center) mesmerized the audience by his vocal renditions with superb accompaniment on the tabla by Pandit Shantilal Shah (left) and Sameer Kotasthane (right) on the harmonium.

BY PRAMOD KULKARNI HOUSTON: Pandit Suman Ghosh presented an uplifting classical music concert with spiritual overtones as the first fund raiser for the Hindu Temple of The Woodlands on Sunday, December 9. Pandit Ghosh was accompanied by Pandit Shantilal Shah on the table and Sameer Kotasthane on the harmonium. The concert was single-sponsored by Woodlands resident Suresh Raghavan, a financial executive, as a birthday present to himself. Assisting in the organization of the concert was Raghavan’s wife, Shashi. The couple’s son, Shan, a high school senior, served as the emcee. The Raghavans are enthusiastic supporters of Pandit Ghosh’s Center for Indian Classical Music of Houston

and the Woodlands Hindu Temple. Detailed introductions of the performing artistes was given by CICMH Chairperson Archna Tripathi. Since the concert was for the benefit of the Hindu temple, Pandit Ghosh opened with a beautiful bandish in Gorakh Kalyan. Panditji very aptly picked beautiful devotional bhajans, which touched the audience. Panditji’s performance of Chandra Kaunsa was divine. With Kotasthane on the harmonium and Shah on the table, Pandit Ghosh created a beautiful triveni sangam to delight to the audience and transformed the evening into a sublime experience. Dignitaries at the concert included Consul General P. Harish and his wife Nandita. CG Harish expressed his pleasure at the ex-

cellent classical music rendition oceans across from the cultural center of gravity in India … saath samunder paar! Also in attendance were Rathna and Anil Kumar of the Anjali School of Performing Arts, where both Pandit Ghosh and Pandit Shah are resident artistesIn her remarks, Ratna Kumar quoted dancer Agnes de Mille, who said, “If you want to know country listen to its msuc and watch its dances ... and don’t listen to its politicians.” During the vote of thanks, temple President Sanjay Joshi expressed his appreciation the artistes for their dedication to a spiritual cause. Sponsor Suresh Raghavan thanked the artistes, volunteers. In return, Pandit Ghosh offered to return to The Woodlands for future fund raising performances.

Texas Resident Vedant Patil - National K-12 Chess Champion BY MANU SHAH ORLANDO, FL: After winning the Texas State K-12 Championship in the Kindergarten section, 6 year old Vedant Patil faced some stiff competition from 59 kindergarteners from across the country this past weekend at Orlando. To his credit, Vedant was not only the solo champion of the 2012 National Championship in the Kindergarten section but the only player in the tournament to win all 7 games spread over three days. As mentioned in our earlier ar-

Vedant Patil won ﬁrst place in the Kindergarten division of the 2012 National K-12 Chess Championships.

ticle, Vedant was only 4 years old when his parents realized that their son had an outstanding aptitude for mathematics. They initially enrolled him in chess classes at Sri Meenakshi Temple and later in James Liptrap’s Tournaments and the Panda Chess Academy in Houston where Vedant showed a natural flair and focus for chess. Vedant’s parents, Milind and Anuja Patil are overjoyed at their son’s astounding achievement and credit his success to his coaches Bradley Sawyer, John Hendrick and Levi Mercado.

COMMUNITY NRI Doing Yeoman Service for Disabled BY DEV SARUP MATHUR AMBALA: A Houston-based non-resident Indian (NRI) Raj K Aggarwal is doing yeoman service in helping the physically challenged persons through his eight-yar-old Lala Durga Charan Foundation ‘Jaipur foot’ being prepared at the centre in and Parwati Devi Ambala. HT photo Trust. Talking to Hindustan Times, for making the famous ‘Jaipur Aggarwal claimed that as many foot’. “Since it is very difficult for the disabled to travel to as 11,000 persons had been provided with artificial Ambala from remote areas, our limbs since the trust was estab- four-member team holds regular camps in Punjab, Haryana, lished in 2004. Making quarterly visits to India Himachal Pardesh, Uttarakahnd every year to monitor the opera- and UP. They bring the measuretions of the trust, Aggarwal said ments to Ambala and then return the family had formed the trust with the artificial limbs to fix in the memory of his grandfather them,” he said. Asked about the inspiration Durga Charan, who was a freedom fighter and as the district behind the project, Aggarwal Congress committee president said he came across the ‘Jaipur had participated in Mahatma foot’ when he had gone to Jaipur Gandhi’s ‘Civil Disobedience to solemnise the marriage of his Movement’ in 1920 and was son and decided to undertake this humanitarian service at Ambala. even jailed several times. He lamented that he had apHe said Sadar Bazar’s main ‘Durga Charan Road’ was named proached the successive deputy after his grandfather when he commissioners for land to start passed away in 1930, adding that the project, but nothing happened he was popularly known as Mas- till 2005 when the then deputy terji as he was the headmaster commissioner JP Kaushik proof Hindu-Mohammedan School vided them accommodation in (later named CB School) and had the Red Cross building. However, Aggarwal said, the founded the Desh Bank of India accommodation was proving to in 1929. Aggarwal, who established the be insufficient now and he has ‘Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang been urging the administration to Sahayta Samiti’ in Red Cross building, said limbs to the hap- provide a piece of land to the less were provided free of cost, trust and it will undertake the which included amputees and construction on its own. “We want the centre to be close calipers for polio afflicted pato the station, so that it reduces tients. He said the staff at the samiti the botheration of those visiting was trained specially at Jaipur us,” he said.

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COMMUNITY

December 14, 2012

Houston Habitat Celebrates 25 Years in Community with Successful Gala

HOUSTON: In honor of the Houston Habitat for Humanity 25th Anniversary, the organization hosted There’s No Place Like Home RED SHOE Gala on November 7 at Hilton-Americas. Event Co-Chairs included Kelli Cohen Fein & Martin Fein, Leela & Nat Krishnamurthy, Anita & Gerald Smith and Trini Mendenhall-Sosa & Frank Sosa. The gala honored Chevron, Houston Bar

Slaughter and other local and national artists to create meaningful artwork to benefit Houston Habitat. The pieces were auctioned to raise funds for decent, affordable housing. In spirit of the Wizard of Oz theme, a Toto look-alike was auctioned to one happy family. Funds raised directly benefit families like the original Dorothy, Houston Habitat homeowner and guest speaker, who showed attendees that there is truly no place like home. Dorothy recounted the past 25 years since moving into her Houston Habitat home in the Fifth Ward.

About Houston Habitat For Humanity: Since 1987, Houston Habitat for Humanity, along with thousands Frank Sosa, Trini Mendenhall-Sosa, Nat Krishnamurthy, Leela Krishnamurthy, Kelli Cohen Fein, Martin Fein, Anita of sponsors and volunteers, has built more than Smith & Gerald Smith 900 affordable homes for purchase by hard-working, Association, Wells Fargo Bank, Inner- low-income Houstonians. Qualified Houston Change Freedom Initiative, Irene & Brian Habitat homebuyers agree to a no-interest mortgage and contribute 300 hours of “sweat equity” Binash and The Kinkaid School. Representing the transformation Houston in lieu of a down payment. Partner families are also provided with classes on money manageHabitat partner families’ experience, 25 art- ment and home maintenance.

ists used ordinary, recycled doors as canvas for unique works of art. Doors Project CoChairs Gaynell Floyd-Drexler and Philamena Baird coordinated with Linda Limb, Kermit Eisenhut, Loli Fernandez, Tra’

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December 14, 2012

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HOUSTON: Every day you hear or read about a member of the Indo-American community making a splash in the mainstream – whether it is in politics, business, medicine, etc. But today one Indo-American – Sunil Thakkar – was named by the Houston Chronicle as an entertainer and one of Houston’s 41 most fascinating people of the year. Thakkar was the only South Asian on the prestigious list that included Texas quarterback Arian Foster, Houston Rocket Jeremy Lin, socialite Carolyn Farb, and billionaire George Mitchell. Thakkar fame in the Bayou City has gained traction – and particularly in the local Hindu community - after the recent successful Diwali Mela that he hosted in November as well as five years of the even bigger Holi Melas. Sunil’s Masala Radio reaches Houstonians throughout the year plugging events, grand openings, and promoting top desi concerts.

Thakkar has organized well over a hundred dance parties at many of the city’s best mainstream clubs, acted in a Bollywood film, become a Great Indian Laughter Champion on Indian Zee TV, and produced a film in Houston, Where’s the Party Yaar? starring Kal Penn. After putting together six Dandia Raas events, ten New Year’s Eve parties (some with 3,700 guests), and 37 Masala Cruises over the past 20 years, he is known for throwing a mean party. When asked about the Chronicle listing, Thakkar joked “All I want to know is who paid Houston Chronicle to put my name in… and how much did they pay? But couldn’t they have used a better picture? I had no idea until I got a text from someone saying ‘Congrats’. It was a cool feeling I must say, to find out. Yes the name on the list is mine… but it’s mostly because of a lot of effort by my wife and partner Sandhya and the amazing office/radio crew.”

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COMMUNITY

December 14, 2012

Hindi Divas Celebration: Kavita ki Shaam

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ence, set-up and delicious food. Arun Pasrija and Sanjay Sohoni were the photographers. TV Asia’s Gautam Jani and Manisha Mehta covered the event on video and the Indian Senior Citizens Association members sold tickets and came out in large numbers. The program was sponsored by American General Life Insurance Companies, Abha Dwivedi, Rajiv Bhavsar and Swapan Dhairyawan. The evening ended with token Appreciation certificates to all the participants. IHA (Houston Chapter) President Sangeeta Pasrija announced the upcoming Hindi Annual Adhiveshan (convention) slated for Labor Day Weekend 2013. For more information or to get involved with IHA, call Sangeeta at 281-788-9750 or Swapan at 281-382-0348.

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ous with his romantic poems while Fateh Ali Chatur’s ‘Jungle mein chunav’ poem by Ashok Chakradhar kept the audience spell-bound. “Mahke aangan madhumaas” was created by Manglesh Mujmer who turned out to be a pleasant surprise addition. He is visiting here from Bhopal, India. He happens to be a professional writer who shared his creations in the pure manner of a poet. Dr. Kamlesh Upadhyaya spoke about the ease with which Hindi can be learned. He started with simple, secondgrade poems and built it up to the ultimate veer-ras poem ‘Khoob ladi mardani woh toh Jhansi wali rain thi’ by the celebrated poet Subhadra Kumari Chauhan. Dr. Anant Desai again brought back smiles with his collection of Bollywood related material, along with some anecdotes about poets Shailendra, Hasrat Jaipuri and others. Desai’s presentation was very well received as he sang the songs in his melodious voice too. A word about the moderator Abha Dwivedi. She seemed to have an unlimited supply of funny one- and two-liners, anecdotes, and jokes which greatly embellished the program. Her banter and comments between performers were a pure delight even as she kept a tight watch on time allotted to each presenter. ICC President Rajiv Bhavsar was lauded for his steadfast support to IHA events. The organizers also thanked volunteers Harshad Patel and Man Friday Rafi Ansar who worked the ticket desk. Darshak Thakkar of Krishna Sounds did a perfect job with sound. Sunil Srivastava of W’kana Café was thanked for a great ambi-

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HOUSTON: The second annual celebration of Hindi Divas saw a good crowd of nearly 150 people thoroughly enjoying an evening of Hindi poetry at The Great W’Kana Café on Friday, December 7. The program was organized by the India Culture Center and the International Hindi Association’s Houston chapter (IHA). All the works presented were of high quality - some of the dozen poets recited their own works, others recited poems of well-known Hindi poets, including Hindi cinema’s great lyricists. Om Gupta, who dabbles in poetry himself (he has recited his poems at Hindi Kavi Sammelans in Houston that featured some of India’s renowned poets), set the tone with a welcome poem in Bhakti ras, followed by a light-hearted poem in which he flirted with his ‘Saali’ (sister-in-law) in his dream. Meera Kapur read two poems on patriotism and India’s great heritage written by her father. Sanjay Sohoni’s humorous poem, ‘Chal Gayi,’ from the famous collection of Shail Chaturvedi, described several funny situations arising from a man’s involuntary winking. The audience was very responsive and appreciative, reciting in unison ‘chal gayi’ at the end of every stanza. Hari Kewalramani’s recited ‘Jo hua so Hua’ and “Jeevan Anubhav” — works from his recently released book of poems in Hindi and Urdu. It was a joy to listen for the first time to Devika Dhruv’s ‘Pehli Bar’ and ‘Phir Ek Bar’ describing her feelings as she goes down memory lane, visiting the place where she grew up. Dhruv is new to Houston and is a Gujarati writer. Sangeeta Pasrija, President of IHA recited a Bhakti poem, followed by here favorite author Kunwar Bachain’s ‘Nadi boli samundar se.’ Her recitation was delightful and received great applause. Swapan Dhairyawan, ICC Trustee, recited a poem that lauded the role and richness of Hindi. “Rastrabhasha ka geet,” was an apt piece for the event, a short, sweet and very well delivered poem. Ramesh Dwivedi really got seri-

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10 December 14, 2012

COMMUNITY

Indian Classical and Western Vocal Ensemble for Fund Raiser

MANVEL, TX: Young Indian singing duo from Houston, Kruthi and Keerthana Bhat, will perform “Melody of Compassion”, a musical ensemble of Carnatic, Hindustani and Western music, along with a host of accomplished young instrumentalists from Texas, for a fundraiser by Global Organization for Divinity. Directed by renowned Indian classical vocalist, Vidushi Rajarajeshwary Bhat, the concert will be held at 5pm on Saturday, December 22, at Pearland ISD’s Robert Turner High School Auditorium located at 4717 Bailey Road, Pearland TX adjacent to Pearland Junior High South. Admission to the concert is free. Patrons are requested to donate generously towards the cause, which is the construction

Keerthana Bhat

Kruthi Bhat

Rajarajeshwary Bhat Sri Hari:

Global Organization for Divinity (Houston Namadwaar Group)

Cordially invites you to

Melody of Compassion A ENSEMBLE OF YOUNG MUSICIANS PRESENTING

INDIAN CLASSICAL & WESTERN MUSIC

of a charitable healthcare center in rural India, in a village that is in need of medical facilities. Detailed information about this project is available at www.godivinity.org/ supportmedical. Teenagers Kruthi and Keerthana Bhat are singers par excellence who have numerous Indian classical music awards and accolades to their credit. They have given innumerable concerts both in India and the USA, and are well-known budding Houston stars in the Indian classical music arena. In this concert—depicting the universal spirit of compassion that transcends all boundaries—they will bring an innovation to their usually traditional Carnatic renditions, with the added flavor of Hindustani and Western pieces. The accompanying artistes will be Vishaal Sapuram on the chitravina, Mayavaram Siva on mridangam, Aditya Srivatsan on tabla, Sreenivasan Ponnappan on ghatam, Elisabeth Swim on the piano and Sanath Aithala on western drums. “Humanity and Divinity are inseparable.” Guided by this principle, Global Organization for Divinity works towards universal harmony and peace through love and care. In the USA and specifically the Texas area, G.O.D. supports many social causes under its Joy of Sharing initiative, including the annual Life and Soul free health fair in Houston, blood donation and bone marrow drives, food and clothes drives to benefit local organizations, educational supplies drives for special-needs schools, City clean-up drives and other eco-friendly initiatives. For more information about G.O.D., the concert, or the medical center project, call 281-4026585 or emailhouston.god@godivinity.org.

Sanath Aithala

Aditya Srivatsan

Mayavaram Siva

Kruthi Bhat

Keerthana Bhat

DIRECTED BY

Vishaal Sapuram Sreenivas Ponnappan

VIDUSHI SMT. RAJARAJESHWARY BHAT

Elisabeth Swim

A FUNDRAISER IN SUPPORT OF Sri Sandeepani Gurukula Trust’s Proposed Charitable Healthcare Facility in Rural India Saturday December 22, 2012 - 5:00 pm Turner High School Auditorium Adjacent to Pearland Junior High South 4717 Bailey Rd., Pearland TX 77584 For more info about the cause or to donate online, go to www.godivinity.org/supportmedical. Jeevan 281-402-6585, Sriram 832-515-1251 houston.god@godivinity.org

Admission Free. Please contribute generously for our cause. All donations will go a long way towards helping those in need! GOD is a 501(c)(3) federally taxexempt non-profit organization.

Dinner available at a nominal price.

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

From all of us at IndoAmerican News

COMMUNITY

December 14, 2012

Vishal Merchant Elected as New ASIE President

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BY DINESH SHAH HOUSTON: American Society of Indian Engineers (ASIE) is a Houston, Texas based non-profit organization established in 1994 for engineers, architects, and engineering technicians of Indian origin. In the month of November, during the annual General Body meeting estimated fifty members out of about one hundred fifty membership selected Vishal Merchant as a President for 2013. He is a Project Manager at Aguirre & Fields, LP in Sugar Land. He was also selected as Young Engineer of the Year for 2013 by AISE. He is a Life Member and has served on the Board for three terms. His board comprises of Karthik Balasubhramanium, Amal Dutta, Sekhar Amadapuri, Showri Nandagiri, Madhu Kilambi, Rajesh Tolikonda, and Chetan Vyas. The ASIE Board of Advisors are Dinesh Shah, Hasmukh Doshi, two newly elected Mahesh Wadhwa and Virendra Bansal, and current President Srinivas Chintalapati. Due to term-limit the outgoing BOD Bhavna Patel and Naresh Kolli, and BOA members Ravi Arora and Ravi Kaleyatodi were honored with a large applaud for their dedicated service. “I am honored to be elected the President for 2013. We have had an ex-

cellent year under the leadership of Srinivas and I will try my level best to keep up the momentum. I would like to congratulate all the elected Board Members as well as Advisors” said President-Elect Merchant. This year, ASIE organized Science and Engineering Fair at the Diwali holiday family social event at the Mayuri Restaurant. After the social hours, the current President Srinivas Chintalapati, an engineer at KIT professionals, Inc., welcome over hundred people included members and their families, and guests. A special welcome was extended to Consul Anil Matta with Counsul General of India, Houston, who has graciously accepted the invitation to attend the event as a Chief Guest. Srinivas briefed about Awards and Scholarships, “American Society of Indian Engineers (ASIE) is a Houston based non-profit organization. ASIE was established in 1994 with specific objectives for engineers, architects, and engineering technicians of Indian origin. ASIE provides a forum to assist its members in career advancement by providing opportunities for networking through continuing educational seminars, workshops and field trips. Every year, we support engineering and science education in our communi-

ties by volunteering in Mathcounts competition, volunteering as judges during Science & Engineering Fair of Houston and giving out nine Awards to students in Junior, Ninth &Senior Divisions based on For an apartment complex in Houston. their projects. ASIE also awards Minimum 2 years of experience required. five scholarships every year to students pursuing undergraduate &graduate degrees in engineering Contact: programs from public universities in the Greater Houston Area.” He invited Consul Anil Matta, a Chief Guest, and Mr. Showri Nandagiri, an ASIE member •Quality Advocacy •Creating Working Relationships •Honesty and Objectivity and Chair for the ProfessionThe law firm of Donnelly-Ashby & Nguyen, PLLC is al Development dedicated to providing quality immigration advice and Committee, and the winners legal counsel to domestic and international were honored companies and individuals. with the award. The scholarThe attorneys at Donnelly-Ashby & Nguyen PLLC combine ships recipients have over fifteen years of immigration experience. Anne T. Nguyen were Maruti Kumar Muduthrough the self-petitioning processes to •Temporary Nonimmigrant Classifications obtain permanent resident status. The law firm of Donnelly-Ashby & Nguyen, nuri, Mukesh PLLC provides immigration assistance and Rungta, Rad•Employment Compliance legal counsel to corporations wishing to hakrishnan Equally important, the law firm provides bring foreign national workers to work in the Kotti, Manisha corporate clients with comprehensive and United States on a temporary basis, such as Parameshproactive legal guidance to establish and the E-1, E-2, E-3, B-1 in lieu of H-1B, L-1, waran, and maintain Form I-9 compliance policies and TN nonimmigrant classifications, to name a practices. In addition, Donnelly-Ashby & Shyam Janafew. Nguyen, PLLC offers legal guidance on the kiraman. The ever changing complex E-Verify system and •Immigrant Classifications recipient of performs onsite Form I-9 and LCA Public Donnelly-Ashby & Nguyen, PLLC also this year’s provides legal advice to corporations wishing Access File audits. Young Engito sponsor foreign nationals to become perneer/Architect •Citizenship and Naturalization manent residents as multinational managers of the Year The law firm of Donnelly-Ashby & Nguyen or executive or through the Labor CertificaPLLC also assist clients with citizenship and was bestowed tion process. Further, the attorneys dedicate naturalization filings. to Vishal Merconsiderable time to assisting individuals in chant. After family based cases and those who proceed the ceremony Free 30 min consultation every Wednesday. the dinner was served and then guest enjoyed Anne T. Nguyen the entertainAttorney at Law ment by Sharda Akunuri and Donnelly-Ashby & Nguyen, PLLC Anup Lohya 10200 Richmond Avenue, Suite 210 Houston, Texas 77042 till late night. email: anguyen@danpllc.com - web: www.danpllc.com

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The Extraordinary Life and Times of Mahatma Gandhi

INDIA

India’s Dour Mood Makes British Nervous

The story thus far…It was announced that a meeting was to be held in a garden called Jallianwala Bagh, to protest against the government’s actions. General Dyer took no measures to prevent the meeting. He reached the place soon after the meeting began and he took with him armored cars and troops. Without giving any warning he ordered, “Fire till the bullets are finished.” The soldiers fired 1600 rounds into that unarmed mass of people. Once a park, Jallianwala Bagh was now a scene of the most brutal massacre of hundreds. Hundreds of men, women, and children were butchered, though the official figures given were only 379 killed and 2000 wounded. Leaving the wounded and dying on the ground, the troops marched away. The name Jallianwala Bagh became synonymous with massacre. There were other even more shameful deeds done all over the Punjab. Indians were ordered to crawl on their hands and knees. General Dyer also ordered that in certain areas all Indians were to alight from vehicles and salute whenever they passed a British officer. At certain places men were stripped naked and flogged. Students and children were ordered to walk miles for roll call, to attend parades, and salute the British flag. Then there was the stripping and flogging of marriage parties, the censorship of communications, and cutting of water and electricity supplies to Indian families. The administration of General Dyer’s martial law created a reign of terror in the Punjab. C. F. Andrews, who had already reached the Punjab, wrote to Gandhi and begged him to come at once. Gandhi wanted to go, but the Government turned down his requests for permission to visit the place. Finally, in October that year, the Viceroy permitted him to visit the Punjab, and Gandhi went. On his arrival at Lahore railway station, Gandhi found that almost the entire population of the city was waiting for him. The Congress had appointed a committee to enquire into the atrocities committed in the Punjab. On his arrival in Lahore he was requested to join the committee. He started a slow but most methodical investigation of the incidents in the Punjab. Gandhi thus had the opportunity to get to know the Punjab and its people. The people flocked to him. They loved and respected him. Jawaharlal Nehru, who was also there in the Punjab, realized that Gandhi was the leader of the masses. People were drawn to him because of his thoughts and deeds. Nehru saw the scientific accuracy with which Gandhi was

conducting the enquiry. Gandhi’s report of the atrocities showed that the Government was trying to shield certain persons. He was never interested in taking revenge on anybody but he was shocked at the way the government sat silent when its own report was published. He was greatly moved by the sufferings of the people in the Punjab. He knew the extent of the atrocities committed on the defenseless people. Gandhi now The Extraordinary Life and Times of Mahatma Gandhi is brought to you courtesy Mahatma Gandhi Library. www.gandhilibrary.org advised the people to not cooperate with the Government in every possible way. He advised them not to accept any of the honors offered by Britain, and requested those who had already received honors to return them. He wanted people to start a movement to boycott the law courts. He advised people not to buy any foreign goods. He wanted every effort to be made to persuade Indians not to serve the Government in any capacity. He called out students from the educational institutions. Gandhi’s influence on the Indian people was steadily growing. The old leaders, many of them with liberal policies, were vanishing from Indian politics. By the end of 1920 Gandhi was the undisputed leader and head of the Indian National Congress. The Congress was fighting for immediate Home Rule. Its method of fighting was nonviolent noncooperation with the government, and defying carefully selected laws at suitable times. Gandhi was very interested in Jawaharlal Nehru and his socialistic views. He was most impressed with the account given by Jawaharlal of his contacts with the peasants. Jawaharlal explained the difficulties the peasants were experiencing, particularly the high taxes they had

to pay. The political situation in India grew worse. The Government became nervous. There was tension everywhere and amidst the suppressed people there was the danger of violence. In spite of the hard attitude of the Government, Gandhi believed that England would soon right the wrong before it was too late. Jawaharlal was of the opinion that England would not change her policy unless she was forced to do so. Jawaharlal was right. Soon the Government started arresting the leaders and imprisoning them. The British were afraid to loosen their grip on India. On August 1, 1920, in a letter to Lord Chelmsford, the Viceroy, Gandhi gave the signal for a noncooperation campaign. Along with it he returned the Kaiser-iHind gold medal which had been awarded to him in 1915. In the columns of Young India Gandhi wrote in detail in defense of nonviolent noncooperation. With other leaders he traveled extensively addressing huge meetings and preaching the essentials of satyagraha. Everywhere the crowds welcomed him with great love and enthusiasm. Again and again he warned the people against violence. He abhorred mass fury. “If India has to get her freedom by violence,” he said, “let it be by the disciplined violence named war.” At the end of August the Gujarat Political Conference passed a noncooperation resolution and a special session of the Congress was held in Calcutta on September 4 to 9. Gandhi had prepared the draft of the non-cooperation resolution. Gandhi was not sure how much support he would get at the Congress session. When he moved the resolution he said that he knew the resolution envisaged a policy which was different from the policy hitherto followed. “But,” he declared, “knowing this, I stand before you in fear of God and with a sense of duty to put this before you for your acceptance.” The special Congress session adopted the noncooperation plan as a means of attaining Swaraj. During the latter part of 1920 Gandhi advocated a triple boycott. He wanted an absolute boycott of the Government and all government institutions, including schools, colleges, and courts. If the people were free of these they could easily have their own schools, colleges, and courts, and the power of the British would collapse at once. There was much laughter and ridicule from the moderates and the supporters of British rule. But Gandhi paid no attention. — To be Continued

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

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14 December 14, 2012

Just

Frid Old S

Arzan G

& 210 o a marv to

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

December 14, 2012

Dance 2012

day, December 7 Stafford Civic Center

Gonda,

Artistic Director

of her students performed vellous two-hour program o a delighted audience

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

See article on page 3

16 December 14, 2012

COMMUNITY

Samskriti’s “Manifestations of Shiva”: A Glorous Tribute to the Creator-Destroyer

HOUSTON: Indian Performing ArtsSamskriti, presented a one day conference titled “Manifestation of Shiva - Hinduism’s Great God in Myth, Art & Poetry”, in collaboration with the Museum of Fine Arts Houston in the Brown Auditorium, MFAH. Samskriti’s President, Thara Narasimhan, welcomed the gathering and highlighted some of Samskriti’s significant achievements. Samskriti was founded in 1994 and started solely with performances, but has since expanded its programming by including educational and informative seminars conducted in collaboration with the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Asia Society Texas Center, and the University of Houston’s College of Arts & Sciences. Samskriti takes great pride in being the first non-profit arts organization in the US to have organized seven unique and first-of-their-kind dance and art conferences in North America. Samskriti has become an established presenter at the prestigious Miller Outdoor Theatre, adding a new dimension to the Theatre’s programming. Samskriti’s Executive Director Vatsa Kumar can be credited with selecting the scholars and the artists for the conference. Involving the younger generation in its artistic endeavors has been an important factor for Samskriti. The conference started with a Sanskrit Vedic Prayer on Lord Ganesha and Shiva by a brilliant young 11th grader, Shivam Dave, who was also an emcee, along with two other equally bright and intelligent high school students, Karun Salvady and Srinithi Kumar. Christine Starkman, addressing the audience on behalf of MFAH, talked about the many years of harmonious collaborations

Invited speakers with the artists from Anjali Dance Center. From left: Dr. Harris, Dr. Kaimal, Dr. Indira Peterson, Dr. Rathna Kumar, Thara Narasimhan, Dr. Iyer and far right is Vatsa Kumar. Photos: Amitava Sarkar

Saints” was followed by “Telling Tales: Shiva and his stories at the Kailasanatha Temple in Kanchipuram”, by Dr. Padma Kaimal, Professor, Art & Art History Department, Colgate University, who showed detailed photographs of the sculptures. Padma Bhushan Dr. Vidya Dehejia, Barbara Stoler Miller Professor of Indian Art, Columbia University, gave a masterful presentation on “Chola Bronzes: Connoisseurship and Archival Research”. The post-lunch session started with a site-specific demonstration of dances on Shiva by Rathna Kumar in the Nidhika & Pershant Mehta India Art Gallery, in front of the Nataraja statue. Back in the Brown Auditorium, Dr. R. Nagaswamy, former Director of Archeology, Tamil Nadu State, and former Vice-Chancellor, Kanchipuram University, spoke with passion about “Tracing the Dance of Shiva in Sculpture”,

with Samskriti and commended the youngsters on their eloquence and their involvement with the arts. In his inaugural speech, the Consul General of India, Harish Parvathaneni, spoke about the lasting greatness of Indian temple architecture, and of his own profound experience visiting Mount Kailash, the abode of Shiva, and Mansarovar. The unveiling of commissioned art works was done by Nandita Parvathaneni, herself a great lover and a collector of paintings from all over the world.

Venugopal strikes a pose as ‘ Shiva’ in ‘shivoham’ directed by Rathna Kumar

The focus of this year’s art works was, appropriately, Shiva-Nataraja, and each of the artists presented unique perspectives and beautiful art. George Ty’s painting showed Nataraja as the cosmic dancer performing his divine dance inside a ring of flames which represents the universe with all its illusion, suffering and pain. Reputed contemporary artist Neil Sen chose to depict Shiva as the dissolving force in life, destroying in order to create. Geetha Prakash presented Ardhanarishvara, Shiva and Shakti as one form, complementing one another. Harleen Chhabra’s art captured the dichotomy of Lord Shiva’s fearful and auspicious attributes in Shiva-Rudra. Pooja Kakar’s representation of Kundalini, the spiritual energy within life as Shiva-Shakti, was symbolic of spiritual development, creation, purity and rebirth. Vinod Patel‘s Om Namah Shivaya was an interpretation of Lord Shiva’s story in a modern contemporary context, as perceived by the left and the right brains and culminated by the frontal lobe, also known as Shiva’s third eye. The conference’s keynote address was given by Dr. Indira V. Peterson, David B. Truman Professor of Asian Studies, Mount Holyoke College, MA and the Academic Advisor to the Conference. Dr. Peterson’s excellent presentation on “Singing of Shiva and his sacred places: The poems of Tamil

and from the American perspective, Dr. Gardner Harris, Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Religion, Bucknell University, spoke eloquently on “Overwhelming the heart: Experiencing Shiva’s presence in Manikkavachakar’s Tiruvachakam” (medieval Saiva devotional poetry). The extraordinarily well presented conference ended with a dance performance by the Anjali Dance Company, “Shivoham”, at the Jewish Community Center. This thematic dance presentation, choreographed by Rathna Kumar, was homage to Nataraja, Lord of the Dance. Venugopal Josyula, as the ‘deity’, Shiva-Nataraja, was the personification of energy and dignity, and the ‘devotees’, Jahnvi Jain, Meera Devarajan, Nikita Rao, Sindhu Sathees, Smrithi Ramachandran, Sreya Raju, Srividvatha Sridhar, Tejaswi Veerati and Vidhya Madhubala, showed, through Rathna Kumar’s carefully selected and exquisitely choreographed dances, how evocatively bhakti can be expressed. The scholars to the conference were the special guests to the performance, and had nothing but words of the highest praise for both the conference and the superbly put together “Shivoham”. At the end of the day, the organizers as well as the participants in the conference and performance felt a sense of deep contentment for an event that went off smoothly, with no fanfare, but with class.

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

December 14, 2012

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INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

EDITORIAL

December 14, 2012

First Indians, Then Texans When you’re emotionally invested in your sports team, there’s nothing like the joy of victory and the agony of defeat. When your team is imploding in front of your eyes, there’s nothing you can do, but watch the nightmare unfold. First, the Indian cricket team lost twice in rapid succesion to the visiting England cricket team. When I was growing up, getting a decision even on the fifth day was difficult. You could always count on Bapu Nadkarni to bowl 50 overs, 30 maidens and give up 10 runs. More recently, Rahul “The Wall” Dravid could be depended upon for at least a whole day in order to get a draw. Perhaps it is the influence of one-day and IPL cricket that the batsmen go all out and now it is possible to get a result in a 5-day test match as early as the third day. After the Indian team cracked up, I transferred my allegiance to the 11-1 Houston Texans football team in their all-important Monday night clash against the New England Patriots. Matt Schaub, Andre Johnson and JJ Watt were no match for Tom Brady, Wes Welker and Vince Wilkmore. Lad luck abandoned the Texans and the Patriots administered a bare-bottom spanking. Should I invest in the Texans for the rest of the season or turn off the TV? Of course, we sports junkies can’t wait for the next roller coaster ride. Pramod Kulkarni

Lose-Lose Proposition

Now that Parliament has decided the matter, the BJP’s opposition to the executive decision permitting FDI in multi-brand retail raises more questions than it answered. During the debates in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, it failed to convey whether the focus of its ire was foreign capital or organised retail, or if its resentment was primarily driven by not having been consulted by the government. It suggested all three, with talk of global behemoths bullying farmers, of hypermarkets wiping out kirana stores (applicable to big domestic chains as well), and of how the will of other political parties had been steamrollered by the UPA. In the end, its stand in the House was not only a repudiation of its own established economic orientation, it was also a political failure. The government managed to sail through with comfortable numbers in both Houses, with some adroit alliance-building. For all the BJP’s claims about the “sense of the House”, the majority of the MPs voted for FDI in retail. By provoking a debate on a matter where the UPA stands on ﬁrm ground, the BJP effectively gave the government a golden opportunity to look like a force of reform. FDI in retail has clear beneﬁts for farmers, consumers, and the GDP. While the government laid out these evident advantages, the BJP, itself an erstwhile champion of the idea, appeared either hypocritical, or suddenly seized with misgiving about the very nature of economic liberalisation and globalisation. Either way, it helped the government look better than it arguably deserves to. Unable to keep itself together and riddled with corruption scandals, policy mis-steps and a crisis of authority, the UPA has now been bolstered by both the debate and the parliamentary vote. Indian Express

No More the Friendly Skies BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA SOMEWHERE OVER ARIZONA: As my United Airline’s flight 68 was waiting for the last lingering passengers, it became abundantly clear that this would not be a full plane. Of the 150 passengers that this Boeing 737-800 could carry, only 42 seats ended up being occupied (including 15 of the 16 first class seats), so slightly more than 70 per cent of the seats were empty of the direct afternoon flight from San Francisco to Houston, with four crew members and two pilots to fly it. Figuring that I could move from my seat with cramped leg room (I’m a fairly tall guy) to one of the exit row seats, I asked the pert young flight attendant if I could do just that since no one else was boarding. She looked at me and hesitatively replied, “Well, you’d have to pay more for that.” In all of my years of taking commercial airline flights, just as many other fliers have experienced no doubt too, it has been a common occurrence to jump to a different seat when it became available in the economy cabin at least. So, I was bewildered by her response. “This row has extra leg room,” she said noticing my reaction. If you want, you can talk to the guy there,” she added, motioning to the man – the purser I presumed - at the back of the plane. Which I did. “You’d have to pay $100 more,” he said. “They want us to police that,” he added, nodding in acknowledgement at the absurdity of the ruling and the awkward position it placed the crew in to police the rule. “it’s a rule that United just implemented two months ago along with the narrower galley and tinier toilets. After all, you wouldn’t jump to the first class cabin, would you?” And just like that, without making much noise over it, United had launched another rule to make airflight more uncomfortable and discomfiting to the traveler, in this case me, a business traveler paying full fare. On top of the fee for an extra bag, the self service check-in kiosks, the onboard snacks for purchase, pay for legroom seating and the reduction in the number of available flights, the airlines have tried every which way

To cut costs, the airlines have left the comfort of passengers—especially the economy class ones that make up most of the bulk of the travelling public—out of the equation, albeit dangling the prospect that it can all be had for extra money. to reduce their costs saying that they can’t make enough money to keep flying. In doing so, they have left the comfort of passengers—especially the economy class ones that make up most of the bulk of the travelling public—out of the equation, albeit dangling the prospect that it can all be had for extra money. On the other hand, airlines still spend millions on advertising their brands, their advertising agencies often using catchy jingles and visual imagery to create the lure of a plush, lofty, mighty plane, ferrying passengers with a smile, in safety and with comfort, to far off exotic locations. Over the past five years, especially after the financial meltdown in of 2008, most travelers agree that nothing can be further from the truth. The truth, they realize is, that airlines have trimmed ground staff and all passenger amenities in the terminals and concourses to make getting on a plane the equivalent of pumping your own gas into the car. Now, with passengers lugging huge bags into the cabin, there aren’t enough overhead compartments to handle the load being dragged in by tired passengers already disgusted with paying high fares for low service. Most times, the gate agents resort to offering to check in stuffed carry-on bags free of charge just to move the flight out. So, the hype that brand name advertising is supposed

to make is lost to a public that recognizes the deception. Airlines should realize that their advertising dollars aren’t getting them what they want in their bottomline, which is more revenue; rather it’s just the add-on fees that are helping. Regardless of the advertising they use, travelers have now become successfully weaned to using any of the on-line travel services to choose their flights and make their selections based on convenient schedules and competitive fares. Since there is such little difference between the quality of service between all the carriers (with the possible exception of Southwest Airlines), airlines should rid themselves of the fanciful notion that they somehow have a better quality product to offer, when in fact it all comes down at the of point of delivery, to the same service and inability to provide better comfort at a reasonable price. The other place where airlines can really save a lot of money is in salaries for executives and upper management, which can be a few hundred million dollars. United Airlines CEO Jeff Smisek, 57, drew in $13.4 million last year (or $1.12 million a month or $257,692 per week or about 572 $450 round-trip tickets each week) while Chief Financial Officer Zane Rowe, Chief Operations Officer Peter McDonald and Chief Revenue Officer James Compton made $1.65 million apiece. Before the flight took off, Smisek came on in a preflight video to show off the expensive new operations center in the Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower) in Chicago which monitors the whereabouts of all the United flights worldwide. It looks like a something out of NASA and with all that data, huge monitors and 1,300 people working 24/7 to see how flights are being handled, one wonders what more information is being gleaned that makes for a better or more efficient profitable airline? Or is this all just an Information Taj Mahal show-and-tell that creates an impression that something important is being done? After all, flights for other smaller airlines still take off and land in spite of all this expensive equipment.

Indo American News FOUNDER: DR. K.L. SINDWANI PUBLISHER: JAWAHAR MALHOTRA EDITOR: PRAMOD KULKARNI MANAGING EDITOR: MANASI GOKHALE ADVERTISING & ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGER: VANSHIKA VIPIN CORRESPONDENTS HOUSTON: MANU SHAH, CHETNA SAMAL CHICAGO: NAND KAPOOR, INDIA: RAJ KANWAR ®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 5 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. Tel: 713-789-NEWS or 6397 Fax: 713-789-6399, email: indoamericannews@yahoo.com, website: indoamerican-news.com

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

DIASPORA

December 14, 2012

Family Suspects 'Foul Play' in Indian Nurse's Death in UK

BANGALORE (TOI): British authorities will conduct a postmortem and an inquest into the mysterious death of Indian nurse Jacintha Saldhana in London, but her family in Karnataka suspects “foul play” and wants an independent inquiry into the tragic episode. “Jacintha’s grieving family is anxiously waiting for the postmortem report and the outcome of the inquest by the Scotland Yard, because they suspect foul play in her tragic death as she was a strong woman and would not have resorted to such an act (suicide),” her family’s close friend Ivan D’Souza told IANS Tuesday from Mangalore, about 350 km from Bangalore. In the absence of details or more information on the incident from Jacintha’s husband Benedict Barboza from London, members of both the families have been avoiding media as they are in a state of mourning. “They are too shocked to say anything to the media and are more worried on how Benedict and his two kids are coping with the tragedy in Bristol, where they reside. “Am told Benedict was allowed to see Jacintha’s body Monday at the King Edward VII Hospital in central London,” said D’Souza, general secretary of the opposition Congress in the state and a neighbour of Jacintha’s family in Mangalore. Barboza’s family, however, lives at Shirva, about 60 km from Mangalore and 400 km from Bangalore. D’Souza met Barboza’s family members at Shirva along with former party MP Vinay Kumar Sorake to condole Jacintha’s death and enquire about their welfare. According to Jacintha’s

In the absence of details or more information on the incident from Jacintha’s husband Benedict Barboza from London, members of both the families have been avoiding media as they are in a state of mourning.

brother Naveen Saldhana, the family is waiting for the arrival of the body in Mangalore, with Benedict and his two children Junal, 16, and Lisha, 14, for the last rites that will be performed at Shirva as per the Catholic tradition. “The family is expecting the British authorities to hand over Jacintha’s body to Benedict either Tuesday or Wednesday so that he could fly to Mangalore via Mumbai on the same day or Thursday for the last rites Friday. “It depends on how long the postmortem and inquest would take and when Benedict would get the flight to Mumbai and a connecting flight to Mangalore,” D’Souza noted. The family members are also mulling over seeking a second postmor-

tem in India if they and Benedict are not satisﬁed with the inquest outcome in London. “As Indian laws are applicable even in Britain, the family members are thinking of asking for a second postmortem under section 154 of the Indian Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 if they are not convinced about the exact cause of Jacintha’s death, being investigated by the Scotland Yard,” D’Souza asserted. Saldhana was found unconscious Dec 7 in the quarters of the hospital in central London where she was working as a senior nurse, and was pronounced dead when wheeled into the hospital in an ambulance. “I have known and seen Jacintha when ever she visited Mangalore over the years as her family members, including mother, a sister and a brother reside next door. She was a pleasant lady and warm with friends and relatives,” D’Souza recalled. Jacintha, 46, who graduated from Father Muller College of Nursing in Mangalore in the mid-1980s, ﬁrst worked at Muscat (Oman) for a few years and went to London after marriage 15 years ago to live with Barboza, an accountant in the British National Health Service at Bristol, 190 km from London. “We didn’t even know that Jacintha got unwittingly involved in the hoax call though we read something about it in newspapers last week that there was a prank call to the hospital from a radio station in Australia, whose jockeys tried to know about the princess’s ( Kate Middleton) health by imitating the voice of the queen (Elizabeth) and prince (Charles),” Jacintha’s nephew said but declined to be named.

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Changes to Checked Baggage Policy: Air India Air India has amended its baggage policy by enhancing overweight and excess baggage fees on its transatlantic India services for all tickets issued after Nov 15, 2012. For First and Executive class, 2 pieces of 70 lbs (32kgs) per piece is permitted. Each additional piece upto 50 lbs (23kgs) will be charged USD 200. The total linear dimensions (length+breadth+width) of each piece is to be within 158cms (62 inch). For Economy class, 2 pieces of 50 lbs (23kgs) per piece is permitted. Each additional piece upto 50 lbs (23Kgs) will be charged USD200. Any check-in piece between 51 to 70 lbs (23kgs to 32kgs) will be charged additional USD 100 per piece. The total linear dimensions (length+breadth+width) of each piece is to be within 158cms (62 inch). Yet, both pieces put together should be within 273 cms (107 inch). The following will be considered one piece irrespective of its dimensions: One sleeping bag or bedroll; one rucksack, knapsack or backpack; one dufﬂe type bag or a soft-sided zippered bag with zip-

pered side panel; one pair of portable musical instrument not exceeding 100cms (39 inch); one golf bag with clubs and one pair of golf shoes; and other sporting equipment. For non- US tickets, the checked-in baggage allowance for international travel is First – 40 kgs (88 lbs); Executive – 30 kgs (66lbs); Economy – 20 kgs (44 lbs). For domestic travel, First – 40 kgs (88lbs), Executive – 35kgs (77 lbs), Economy – 25 kgs (55lbs). Infants not allowed a seat - 10kgs (22lbs) for a collapsible stroller or carseat or carrycot/basket. In UK and elsewhere no piece can exceed 32kgs, even with payment of excess baggage charges. Additional seat can be paid for at non-rebated/non-child fare for unchecked/carry-on baggage of sensitive nature. Carry-on /Hand-Baggage for all the classes of travel is 1 piece of maximum 8 kgs (17.6 lbs). Laptop or ladies purse permitted, subject to small size. The linear dimensions should not exceed 55cms(22 inch) by 40 cms (16 inch) by 20 cms (8 inch). It is particularly important to note that valuable and important items like

personal medicine (with prescription copy), jewelery, money, travel and securities documents, fragile or perishable permitted goods, portable electronic devices, heirlooms, house and car keys must not be checked-in, and carried in the handbag. If for any reason the handbag is excessive in size or heavier than permitted, the same will be taken at the boarding gate and checked-in with Limited Release and No Liability tag. Passengers must remember to take out medicines and valuables as once checked-in, these bags cannot be retrieved till the ﬁnal destination. These bags must be locked, and keys kept safely in purse as the bags may not be accessible in transit stations. Traveling light is most recommended. “Smaller and lighter is always better”. Especially for the aged, inﬁrm/incapacitated passengers and family traveling with infants. Passengers on wheelchairs should not carry anything more than required medicines and travel documents for their safety and convenience. Airlines pay handling charges to airport service providers for wheelchairs.

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INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

December 14, 2012

COMMUNITY

“Dealing in Deities is Difﬁcult Business”: Surender Talwar

BY KEN CHITWOOD (Houston Chronicle) Dealing in deities can be difﬁcult business, says Surender Talwar of Houston. Talwar has been allocating, importing and distributing Hindu and Buddhist statues from India for over 20 years. His is a task necessitated by the modern era and increased Asian immigration to the United States in the late 20th and early 21st century. Despite the modern impetus, the process by which statues are shaped from stone or metal and become objects of devotion in temples, is one steeped in divine history. “I can tell you this business is so much more than just selling pieces of art, of brass and stone,” said Talwar. “In this business there are no coincidences,” he added, “a connection between souls is part of this work.” Many often associate Hinduism with statues

of gods, but what some commentators call “the cult of the idol,” has not always been prevalent in one of the world’s most ancient religions. It gained momentum during the Puranic, or Classical, age of Hinduism some 2,500 years ago. There are still some Hindus who do not accept that statues can contain the spirit of a god, and still other Hindus who believe that while there are many manifestations, there is only one divine force in the world – the Brahman. To fashion the idol of a god, to install it in the sanctuary or home, to treat it as “animated” and to anoint it; all of these became major rites for

Surender Talwar, a Houston importer of Hindu and Buddhist statues, stands in front of the storage unit housing his wares (Photo: Ken Chitwood)

the practice of Hinduism. Worship, or puja, is the central point of this religious activity. Only after certain puja, which involves welcoming the god as a distinguished guest, bathing him, dressing him, adorning him and applying scent, feeding him, putting flowers on him with music and song, is the statue animated and able to be worshipped as a deity. This type of devotion is often public, taking place in many temples, but today in the U.S., many Hindus have their own deities in their homes to which they offer prayer and gifts. The majority of Talwar’s clients purchase his statues for their homes. Talwar believes he has a special connection with the individuals who come to him for religious artwork and divine statues. “God brings you together with others who believe in him, he brings us together because we knew each other in another life or we are meant to connect in this one,” he said. All of the statues are imported from India, after Talwar visits temples throughout India looking for the finest and most beautiful deities. He finds them in places like Tamil Nadu where

Talwar tells of one occasion when importing a large stone statue intended for a temple in California that the Dept. of Homeland Security became suspicious of what was inside. Looking for drugs or other contraband, the agent “drilled into the statue” said Talwar, effectively stripping the statue of its sanctity. Once the statues are brought in and past security, Talwar must ﬁnd clients for the statues. It seems that even the deity business has seen a downturn during the recession. “We moved out of our Rice Village storefront into a storage facility,” said Talwar, “now all of our merchandise can only be viewed online or in person by appointment.”

Even then, the statues are not safe. Talwar reported that the sacred unit off I-10 was broken into and half the statues were burglarized or damaged. Talwar is undeterred, he believes in this business. “When you do this type of business it changes your inner perception,” said Talwar, “it is not about the money – you are selling someone’s god.” He said, “There is no comparison to work like that, being able to import these and pass them on to others is a high honor I will never abandon, no matter the cost.” To view any of these art pieces, call 713668.2948

he contracts with stpathy, or “idol makers,” who continue to craft these statues according to a centuries’ old process losing its way in the modern world. “With kids looking to information technology and other industries this art will die out in just one or two generations,” said Talwar. The “idol maker” shared Talwar’s sentiment of their being a special connection between artisan, dealer, deity and devotee. Everything from the sculpting to the selling to the special devotional acts is a form of worship to the god encased within the statue.

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

COMMUNITY

December 14, 2012

A Huge Reception for Sanjay Ramabhadran, Jaycees’ Outstanding Young American

ternational Trade Development Council -South Asia), served as the Master of Ceremonies and recognized guests from various organizations including the HESS Club, Leadership Houston, Rice University’s Kinder Institute’s

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Back row - from left: Dick Huebner - HMSDC & Past chair of Leadership Houston; Jay Guerrero - Senator Cornyn’s ofﬁce; Matthew Shailer - Houston Mayor’s Ofﬁce of International Trade; Abraham Joseph - IAPAC; Thulasidass Kalidas; Chetan Vyas; Sriram Natarajan; George Willy; Rene Cantu - Leadership Houston; Jagdip Ahluwalia - IACCGH & MITDC Front Row from left: Jane Cummins - HEART program; Showri Nandagiri - ASIE; Ellen Goldberg - Sister cities; Houston Mayor Annise Parker; Vidya and Sanjay Ramabhadran; Harris County Judge Ed Emmett; Linda Toyota - Asian Chamber; Pankaj Dhume - IACCGH Photos: Bijay Dixit

Connecting Communities Initiative, IACCGH, IAPAC, IACF, and ASIE. All in all, it was a memorable evening and a remarkable start to the holiday season.

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on professional, charitable, civic, or political fronts; Sanjay has been involved on all these fronts and has done so by leading with integrity and enthusiasm. She started by complimenting Sanjay’s wife, Vidya, for allowing him to do the amazing things he does in the community. Both Judge Emmett and Mayor Parker presented proclamations from Harris County and the City of Houston. Mayor Parker and Sheriff Adrian Garcia toasted and mildly roasted the honoree. Sheriff Garcia noted that the turnout despite the weather was an indication of the person being felicitated. Sheriff Garcia presented an ofﬁcial Harris County Sheriff’s hat and badge. Jay Guerrero presented a letter from Senator John Cornyn recognizing the recipient and his contributions to the city and the State. Sanjay Ramabhadran saluted the many organizations that had allowed him to be part of their good work beneﬁtting the Houston area. He stressed the importance of re-investing in infrastructure to retain our competitive advantage on the global stage. He thanked his parents for the inspiration to be involved in the community and thanked his family for allowing him to be engaged on the civic, professional, charitable and political fronts. He spoke passionately about working to improve quality of life, the need to engage diverse perspectives into the community fabric and to align our passion and priorities to collectively work towards not just living but preserving and enhancing the American dream. The HESS club had a festive look in keeping with the season. Jagdip Ahluwalia, the Chairman of MITDC-SA (Mayor Annise Parker’s In-

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HOUSTON: Close to a 100 people gathered at Houston’s iconic HESS Club in the Galleria area for a Holiday Reception to felicitate Sanjay Ramabhadran in honor of his receiving the “Ten Outstanding Young Americans Award.” The evening featured recognition by Harris County Judge Ed Emmett, Houston’s Mayor Annise Parker, Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia, Senator John Cornyn’s district director Jay Guerrero, HCC Trustee Richard Schechter, members of the Houston Consular Corps and Indo-American leaders from IACCGH, IACF, IAPAC, and ASIE. The Host Committee for the Reception included a broad cross-section the Indo-American and mainstream Greater Houston community. The Ten Outstanding Young Americans Award by the United States Junior Chamber (Jaycees), initiated in 1938, is one of the oldest and most prestigious awards in the country and is given to people who exemplify the best attributes of the nation’s young people via accomplishment, leadership in the community and/or inﬂuence of public opinion. Recipients join the ranks of such honorees as Presidents John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Bill Clinton; Vice Presidents Dan Quayle, Dick Cheney, and Joe Biden; Howard Hughes, Nelson Rockefeller, Christopher Reeve, Peyton Manning, Gale Sayers, and Elvis Presley. In his remarks, Judge Emmett noted that while the award is in recognition of the many contributions Sanjay Ramabhadran has made to the Greater Houston area; the excitement is about what he will continue to do in the future. Mayor Annise Parker echoed similar thoughts and noted that while many people are involved

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December 14, 2012

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Sitar Maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar Passes Away

SAN DIEGO, CA (NDTV): Legendary sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar, who spearheaded the worldwide spread of Indian music and had a major inﬂuence on Western musicians like The Beatles, died on Wednesday in San Diego at the age of 92. Shankar, whose health had been fragile for the past several years, underwent a surgery on Thursday at the Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, California where he breathed his last. The music icon was admitted to the hospital last week when he complained of breathlessness. “It is with heavy hearts we write to inform you that Pandit Ravi Shankar, husband, father, and musical soul, passed away today,” his wife and daughter, Sukanya and Anoushka Shankar, said in a joint statement. Arecipient of Bharat Ratna in 1996, Shankar maintained residences in both India and the United States. He is survived by his wife Sukanya; daughter Norah Jones; daughter Anoushka Shankar Wright and husband Joe Wright; three grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. “As you all know, his health has been fragile for the past several years and on Thursday he underwent a surgery that could have potentially given him a new lease of life. Unfortunately, despite the best efforts of the surgeons and doctors taking care of him, his body was not able to withstand the strain of the surgery. We were at his side when he passed away,” the joint statement said. “We know that you all feel our loss with us, and we thank you for all of your prayers and good wishes through this difﬁcult time.Although it is a time for sorrow and sadness, it is also a time for all of us to give thanks and to be grateful that we were able to have him as a part of our lives. His spirit and his legacy will live on forever in our hearts and in his music,” they said in their joint statement. A three-time Grammy award winner, Shankar last performed in California on November 4 along with his daughter Anoushka Shankar. Shankar has also been nominated for the 2013 Grammys for his album The Living Room Sessions Part-1 and was pitted against Anoushka in the same category. “ Shankar had suffered from upperrespiratory and heart issues over the past year and underwent heart-valve

Sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar, who carried Indian music worldwide and had a major inﬂuence on Western icons like The Beatles and John McLaughlin, died on Wednesday in San Diego at the age of 92. Photo: R. Ragu

replacement surgery last Thursday. Though the surgery was successful, recovery proved too difficult for the 92-year-old musician,” said another statement issued by the Ravi Shankar Foundation and East Meets West Music. In recent months, performing, and especially touring, became increasingly difficult for the musician. However, health couldn’t prevent Shankar from performing with Anoushka on November 4 in Long Beach, California. “This, in what was to be his final public performance, was in fact billed as a celebration of his 10th decade of creating music,” the foundation said. It said the memorial plans will be announced later. A Bengali Brahmin, he was born Robindra Shankar on April 7, 1920 in Varanasi, the youngest of four brothers, and spent his first 10 years in relative poverty, brought up by his mother. He was almost eight before he met his absent father, a globe-trotting lawyer, philosopher,

writer and former minister to the Maharajah of Jhalawar. In 1930, his eldest brother Uday Shankar uprooted the family to Paris, and over the next eight years Shankar enjoyed the limelight in Uday’s troupe, which toured the world introducing Europeans and Americans to Indian classical and folk dance. As a performer, composer and teacher, Shankar was an Indian classical artist of the highest rank, and he spearheaded the worldwide spread of Indian music and culture, said writer and editor Oliver Craske, who provided additional narrative for Shankar’s autobiography ‘Raga Mala’. Shankar achieved his greatest fame in the 1960s when he was embraced by the Western counterculture. Through his inﬂuence on his great friend George Harrison, and appearances at the Monterey and Woodstock festivals and the Concert for Bangladesh, he became a household name in the West, the ﬁrst Indian musician to do so.

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Sri Ashtalakashmi Temple, JET USA Houston Chapter invites you to the Grand Celebrations of Deepavali, Acharya Thirunakshatram, Sri Rama Kratuvu, and Sahasra Kalasa Abhishekam from October 26th to October 31st, 2011. Please join us in celebrating this Historic 6-day Event in the Divine presence of His Holiness Sri Chinna Jeeyar Swamiji.

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INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

ENTERTAINMENT

December 14, 2012

Khiladi 786: Another Mindless Comedy from Akshay Kumar

BY TARAN ADARSH (Bollywoodhungama) Now that the 1980s’ variety of masala films are being lapped up by spectators, it is heartening to see Mumbaibased film-makers working hard to create zany entertainers, also boarding the next available flight to South India to clinch the deal/s for the remake rights of Southern blockbusters. The Alist actors, on their part, are equally gung ho for unabashed entertainers, consenting to allocate ample time to movies of this variety. Akshay Kumar, who tasted super success earlier this year with ROWDY RATHORE [besides HOUSEFULL 2 and OMG - OH MY GOD!], comes up with his second masala outing before the year draws to a close, KHILADI 786. What makes KHILADI 786 conspicuous is the fact that it marks Akshay’s return as ‘Khiladi’ after more than a decade. From the immensely likeable KHILADI in 1992 to KHILADI 420 in 2000, Akshay was the face of over half-a-dozen ‘Khiladi’ movies during that phase -- some good, some plain average, some terrible movies. The brand ‘Khiladi’ got affixed to Akshay in those years. KHILADI 786 borrows the ‘Khiladi’ brand, but has no correlation with the ‘Khiladi’ mov-

ies attempted earlier. KHILADI 786 has a skeletal plot, but is padded with ingredients that are aimed at the hoi polloi: The lead man bashes up 10/15 goons at one go like we swat mosquitoes, punches the wall in anger and the wall crumbles, even gulps down a man as if he we were consuming a soft drink from a straw [yes, you read it right!]. This is a mere sample of what you gonna see in KHILADI 786. So, be prepared! Come to think of it, KHILADI 786 has been made with the intention of grabbing the attention of the hardcore masses, hitting the ton [Rs 100 cr Club] and giving the tag of a ‘Hit Machine’to its lead man, Akshay, who has delivered three solid hits this year. Ashish R. Mohan, who has been an apprentice to Rohit Shetty in the past, adapts his mentor’s formula of wooing the audience, stretching the term unbelievable more than it should. More on that later! Born to the owner of a marriage bureau Champak Lal [Manoj Joshi], Mansukh [Himesh Reshammiya] has been a complete failure ever since he has grown up and tried to help his father in their family business. All the alliances he had tried to get done have resulted in separation even before the marriage took place. To prove his worth to his father, he takes up an unusual challenge of getting the underworld don, TT Bhai’s [Mithun Chakraborty] spoilt sister Indu [Asin] married to a cop called Bahattar Singh aka Khiladi 786 [Akshay Kumar] in Punjab. Mansukh convinces TT Bhai to pretend as a cop. Little do they know that Bahattar Singh, his father Sattar Singh [Raj Babbar] and his uncle Ikhattar Singh [Mukesh Rishi] are not cops, but a family of con men. The two families now pretend to be policemen in front of each other, but the cat is out of the

bag soon... KHILADI 786 is an old-school wacky potboiler. There isn’t an iota of logic here and one is not even looking for intelligence, rationale or justification either. The film is packed with ingredients that constitute a wholesome entertainer such as humor, South-styled stunts with the one-man army outsmarting a bunch of deadly goons and of course, visually enticing songs every 15/20 minutes, but the writing has its share of hiccups... * Mithun is supposed to be a dreaded don in Mumbai, whose name and pics have been splashed in newspapers and TV channels since decades [we’re even shown clips], but how come Raj Babbar, Akshay and their family are completely clueless of his identity? * The track of Asin’s lover [Rahul Singh] is a yawn. What was the writer thinking while penning those sequences? * The climax, with Rajesh Khattar landing up at the wedding, Johny Lever unlocking himself from a room where he was held captive and Mushtaq Khan and Bharti suddenly becoming news reporters at the wedding mandap, looks too much of a cinematic liberty. On the plus side, the first-time director throws every trick in the book to entice the spectator and moves on to the next scene, before the viewer gets the feeling of deja vu. There’s no denying that you actually enjoy certain moments in the narrative. The concept of having an African and Chinese in the family is so funny. Also, the lost-in-mela brother surfacing in the end may look ridiculous, but makes you smile again. In a nutshell, the film caters to the masala loving audience and the director has no qualms about admitting it. Himesh Reshammiya, who enacts a pivotal part in the film, belts out super numbers here. ‘Balma’, ‘Lonely’, ‘Hookah’ and ‘Long Drive’ have already made it to the music charts and are, without doubt, standout tracks. The action sequences are very much macho and executed with zest and enthusiasm. Akshay’s desi punches, raw and masculine

action and the correct comic timing is sure to win a lot of hearts yet again. He is in his element, in complete form, brimming with charm and conﬁdence. He’s the mainstay of the ﬁlm and lives up to the title every bit. Asin is the prototypical heroine who has to look her best, dance admirably and pair off with her on-screen man. Himesh Reshammiya does very well, while Mithun Chakraborty and Raj Babbar add lots of weight to their characters. Sanjay Mishra is in

his element. Mukesh Tiwari impresses. Johny Lever is under-utilized. Manoj Joshi, Rajesh Khattar, Mukesh Rishi and Gurpreet Guggi are perfect. Mushtaq Khan, Bharti and Rahul Singh deserved better roles. Claudia Ciesla’s item song adds glamour to the proceedings. On the whole, KHILADI 786 is not for purists, but for lovers of hardcore masala ﬁlms completely. If zany amusement, wacky humor and over the top entertainers is what you enjoy, this one’s for you. Go, have fun!

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

BUSINESS INDIA

December 14, 2012

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UPA Victory on FDI Leaves Opposition with Bloodied Nose BU RAJ KANWAR IAN INDIA CORRESPONDENT As forecast in this column last week, India’s Congress-led ruling alliance UPA-II secured convincing victories in both the Houses of the Parliament last week on the opposition’s motion for rejecting the government notiﬁcation on permitting 51% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in multi-product retail. Voting in support were 218 members while 253 stoutly opposed the motion giving the government victory by 35 votes. Earlier, over 40-odd MPs of Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party had staged a walkout from the Lok Sabha that indirectly showed their neutrality but in fact greatly helped the government in as much as it lowered the number of members present and voting, thereby bringing down the number of votes required to win. Likewise, the government secured a thumping win in the Rajya Sabha too when the House rejected another opposition motion against FDI in retail by 123 versus 109 votes. In the Lok Sabha, Mayawati’s party had walked out from the House. But in the Rajya Sabha, it decided to openly vote in favor of the government rather than stage a walkout; Mayawati was stung by Sushma Swaraj’s accusation that she had supported the government in Lok Sabha because of her fear of the CBI and thus decided to vote with the government; this was her way of answering Swaraj. Until Mayawati’s crucial decision to vote with the government, the opposition parties, sure of the defeat of the government in Rajya Sabha, had started counting their chickens even before they were hatched. BJP’s leader of opposition, Arun Jaitley even hinted that government would make use of its outside allies to disrupt the proceedings of Rajya Sabha rather than face a vote. Similarly, AIDMK’s V Maitreyan had stated, “whether debate will go to vote we don’t know. The opposition is prepared for any eventuality including possible disruption of the House. If the arithmetic is clear, the opposition will win.” But these loud-mouthed declarations by these and other opposition leaders boomeranged, and the government emerged victorious. Once again the principal opposition party BJP has faced a humiliating defeat on an issue on which it had staked all of its prestige and reputation, and had used every possible trick in the trade by casting unedifying aspersions and attributing motives to the government. Acting like a doomsayer, BJP predicted that the introduction of FDI in retail would result in catastrophic consequences. Sushma Swaraj in her inimitable style lamented that this will snatch, “char crore logon ki roji and bees crore logon ki roti”. Why has she chosen to become a prophet of doom? Pray, who are these four crores (40 million) Indians who will lose their livelihood? And who are these 20 crores (200 million)

Mayawati

who will lose their bread? Unfortunately, she did not identify these millions of people who will be swept away in this ‘Indian Sandy’. For BJP, this strident and stubborn opposition to FDI was more Kamal Nath like a suicidal attack which destroys the perpetrator; but here the target, to its discomfiture, has fortunately emerged unscathed. Strangely, ideologically FDI is very much a BJP’s cup of tea and the bitter opposition launched by it seemed somewhat incongruous with its ‘Rightist’ and conservative agenda. More bizarre was the coming together of diverse and mutually hostile political outfits on a common platform, which was unnatural to say the least. BJP not only embraced CPI (M) and its fellow-travelers, its ideological opposites, a la two banks of a river. In the same way, Trinamool Congress Party shook hands with CPI (M), its worst enemy; in fact Trinamool Congress owes its very birth to its pathological hatred to CPI (M). It was indeed the most unnatural ‘flocking together of birds of different feather’. In such a political crucible, the mutually antagonistic and hostile parties were able to melt together without even bating and eyelid. In a way, the positive vote on the contentious issue of FDI in retail has greatly boosted the morale of the government and has emboldened it to continue to pursue to logical end its agenda for economic and financial reforms on which it had dithered for a long time. Parliamentary Affairs minister Kamal Nath and Commerce minister Anand Sharma deserve greater credit and kudos than any other minister in successfully steering this much hyped and tumultuous issue through the serpentine corridors of India’s Parliament. Kamal Nath astutely did the ‘management of numbers’ in the two Houses by force of sheer logic and his own rapport with MPs cutting across party lines. Anand Sharma ably defended the introduction of

51% FDI in multi-product retail trade by marshalling the required statistics. Minister Nath’s management, in fact, proved irksome for the opposition parties who sheepishly rued that Mr. Nath had managed the numbers, as if this was something shady or dishonorable. Another silly argument being advanced by the vanquished opponents on their defeat in the Parliament on the issue of FDI is that, “it is their moral victory” since a vast majority of the MPs of spoke against the introduction of FDI and that actually reflected the consensus of the Parliament, irrespective of the voting figures. There cannot be a more naïve and farcical explanation, coming specially it does from legal luminary such as Arun Jaitley. The Indian politics is becoming more and more ridiculous and preposterous in many ways. Graceful acceptance of defeat is not in the lexicon in the current political scenario and passing the buck is a general rule. Bipartisan politics, as unfortunately in the USA also, is no longer acceptable or even considered possible. That is unfortunate state of affairs on the political landscape in India. Trinamool Congress, BJP and CPI (M) have all emerged with bloodied noses from their skirmishes against the government and it will take a long time, if at all, for them to recover their lost esteem and self confidence. For Mamata Banerjee and her party, the latest rebuff couldn’t have been a worse snub, for it has not only lost its face but also the very raison d’être of its existence when it agreed to sleep with CPI (M), its worst enemy. BJP, however, is too thick skinned to feel embarrassed by its ‘marriage of convenience’with CPI (M), which stands at the opposite end of the ideological barge pole.

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

PUZZLES/RECIPES

December 14, 2012

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Carom seeds

SUGAR KI DAVA (SUGAR MEDICINE) Home remedy to tackle high blood sugar Diabetes has become a worldwide epidemic among Indians, and especially gets manifested when they reach mid-life and beyond. Our Indian diet which is rich in foods that are fried, have high triglycerides and are rich in reﬁned sugars contribute to stress on the liver, pancreas and kidneys. In the old traditional Punjabi methods of treating high blood sugar levels, we have often used karelas (bitter gourds) either cooked or in juice form; methi (fenugreek) and dal chini (cinnamon sticks), but I have found that the following recipe is more convenient and has helped control my own sugar level. In the olden days, we did not have a method to measure the blood sugar, but now the meters have made it more convenient, so it is important to take a sample reading every morning.

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INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

SPORTS December 14, 2012

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Business IndoAmerican News

STOCKS • FINANCE • SOUTH ASIAN MARKETS • TECHNOLOGY

“More States will Allow FDI in Retail”: A. Godrej NEW DELHI (The Hindu): More states will realise the benefits of allowing FDI in retail in a short time and accordingly “fall in line” to allow multinationals to open stores in their respective regions, Godrej Group Chairman Adi Godrej said on Monday. “My guess is that it will start with only some of the states allowing (it). In a short period of time, the others will see how beneficial it is for their consumers and farmers and they will also fall in line,” Godrej told reporters here on the sidelines of the Indian School of Business (ISB) launching a new masters course. As of now only 10 states have endorsed the Centre’s decision to allow FDI in multi-brand retail. The states and Union Territories which support the initiative include Delhi, Manipur, Daman & Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli. Godrej said that there were various states which stayed away when VAT was introduced but after witnessing the benefits they too adopted it. Speaking about benefits of allowing FDI in retail in the country, Godrej, who is also the President of industry body CII, said the move will create competition in the country and benefit the consumer. “I think, what is very good about allowing modern retail in the country, (is) it will create more

Adi Godrej

competition. More competition is always good, especially for the consumer,” said Godrej, who is also currently the Chairman of ISB board. He said the opening up of the sector will also help investment in the supply chain, which will be good from the farmer’s point of view. When asked about the budget wish list, Godrej said the most important issue would be to ensure that it is a “growth oriented budget” and gives a boost to the country’s GDP. “I think some of the steps which have been taken are growth oriented and whatever it takes to bring the GST earlier,” Godrej said. He added that bringing in GST earlier would be a tremendous boost to the Indian economy. When asked about his views on the Land Acquisition Bill, Godrej said that the bill should be fair and just for all stakeholders.

Swiss Firm VistaJet to Enter Indian Market BY P.R.SANJAI (Mint) Mumbai: A fortnight after placing the world’s biggest business aircraft order of $7.8 billion with Bombardier Inc., Switzerland-based luxury business air charter operator VistaJet Holding SA on Monday announced its entry into India to sell flying hours to rich individuals, entrepreneurs and large companies, shrugging off the effects of a slowing economy. Thomas Flohr, founder and chairman of VistaJet, said India is a “superimportant market” for the company alongside the likes of China, Kazakhstan and West Asia. “It makes no sense for Indian businessmen to buy expensive private planes if they are not flying frequently,” he said in an interview. “We offer them flexible flying hours. We guarantee planes available in 24 hours to connect to any long-haul destination.” Flohr said no VistaJet planes will be based in India and that his firm is not looking at partnering with Indian companies. “Our business model is not having a base in India. We fly in and fly out in 24 hours. We have a sales team here to coordinate the business,” Flohr said. On 27 November, Montreal-based Bombardier announced the largest business aircraft order in its history. As part of this, VistaJet signed a deal for up to 142 global business jets, which includes firm orders for 56 and options for a further 86 planes. If all the options are exercised, the deal would be worth at least $7.8 billion at the 2012 US list price. The value of the firm order is approximately $3.1 billion. The Indian market was growing at 5.5% while the European markets were not growing at all, said Nilesh Pattanayak, Bombardier SouthAsia’s

VistaJet, set up in 2004, is one of the world’s fastest growing private aviation company with its ﬂeet of Bombardier aircraft based across Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and West Africa.

managing director (business jets). “India has only 100 business jets while the US has more than 4,000,” he said. “Fundamentals of India as a market was always good. Indeed, there was some slowdown in certain segments. But we do business not taking quarterly performance, but for 10 years perspective.” Pattanayak was referring to business jet planes, excluding helicopters and piston-engined planes. The industry could see new aircraft sales for general aviation— that includes business jets, helicopters, turboprops and piston-engined planes—of up to $12 billion over the next decade, by which time the general aviation fleet is expected to reach 2,000 aircraft, up from 680 now, according to a consultancy firm Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, or Capa, report released last year. The report estimated that the direct and indirect economic contribution of general aviation could be close to $4 billion per annum by 2020. In November, V.P. Agarwal, chairman of state-run Airports Authority of India (AAI), said the country will require 200 airports by 2020 for general aviation.

India now has 454 operational and non-operational airports/airstrips. AAI operates 125 of them—14 international airports, 80 domestic airports, 12 custom airports and 19 other civil enclaves. VistaJet, set up in 2004, is one of the world’s fastest growing private aviation firms with a fleet of Bombardier aircraft based across Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and West Africa. The aircraft order is a continuation of the company’s strategic decision to fast-track the growth of the fleet, focusing on wide-cabin, long-range aircraft to provide non-stop, point-topoint global coverage, VistaJet said in a statement. The new aircraft will directly service growth markets (including Russia, China, all of the Middle East and Africa), connecting them to the rest of the globe, as well as serving the US east and west coasts for intercontinental travel needs, it said. “We are expecting 100 to 200 Indian individuals to undertake flying 300-400 hours per year,” Flohr said. He added that his company carried 25,000 passengers on 10,000 single international flights in 2012, and it is focusing on emerging markets.

127

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

SPORTS

December 14, 2012

India Seeks Fresh Start vs. England at Nagpur

India is dropping veterans and brining in raw talent in an effort to thwart Graeme Swan and his team mates in their miracle run.

MUMBAI: India have dropped Zaheer Khan, Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh for the Nagpur Test. Delhi fast bowler Parvinder Awana and Saurashtra allrounder Ravindra Jadeja have received their first callups, and legspinner Piyush Chawla replaced Harbhajan. Zaheer’s is the biggest fall. This is the first time he has been dropped from the Test side after his rousing comeback in 2006-07. He has taken 15 wickets in eight Tests in 2012 at a strike rate of 98 balls per wicket. In this series, he has taken four scalps at a strike rate of 133. Moreover, his fielding has been below par for some time. His replacement, Awana, took 5 for 81 against Karnataka in a Ranji Trophy match a day before the selection meeting. Reputed to be brisk, Awana has taken 21 Ranji wickets at an average of 21.57 this season. Yuvraj, called back after a doublecentury in the Duleep Trophy was deemed enough to prove his fitness, did not take his chance either. He scored 125 runs in five innings in the series. He has now played 40 Tests over various comebacks for three centuries and an average of 33.92.

Yuvraj’s replacement, Jadeja, recently scored his third first-class triple-century in 13 months. He was dropped from India’s limited-overs squads earlier this year, but the two triples in one month this season and 18 Ranji wickets at 23.72 have put him ahead of Rohit Sharma and Manoj Tiwary in the queue for a middle-order slot. Jadeja told PTI he had hoped to get his chance after his run in domestic cricket: “I have proved my ability to stay at wicket for a long time, which is necessary while playing Test cricket, and I was hoping after making two triple centuries I would be selected for Test cricket.” Even as the squad was being debated, Tiwary was busy rescuing Bengal with 55 out of a score of 112 against Jadeja’s Saurashtra in the Ranji Trophy. Four of Bengal’s wickets, though, fell to Jadeja. Tiwary retired-hurt with a pulled muscle, but that happened after the squad was announced. Harbhajan was recalled for the Tests without any improvement shown in domestic cricket, but a lacklustre show in Mumbai means he will be

stuck on 99 Tests for a while. Not that his replacement, Chawla, has set the domestic scene on ﬁre, with nine wickets at an average of 48.33. Awana and Jadeja made it to the T20 side too. Uttar Pradesh allrounder Bhuvneshwar Kumar joined them in place of the injured Irfan Pathan. Virender Sehwag and Zaheer, left out of T20 squad, were unavailable for reasons the BCCI didn’t state. Ajinkya Rahane took Sehwag’s place. Harbhajan has been dropped for T20s as well. Squad for Nagpur Test: MS Dhoni (capt & wk), Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, ViratKohli,RavindraJadeja,Cheteshwar Pujara, R Ashwin, Ashok Dinda, Pragyan Ojha, Ajinkya Rahane, Piyush Chawla, Ishant Sharma, M Vijay, Parvinder Awana. Squad for T20Is: MS Dhoni (capt &wk), Gautam Gambhir, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Manoj Tiwary, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Piyush Chawla, Ashok Dinda, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Lakshmipathy Balaji, Parvinder Awana. ESPNCricinfo.

India Storms into Kabbadi Semis

The Indian men’s team today stormed into the semiﬁnals of the 3rd Kabaddi World Cup, crushing Denmark 73-28 in a completely onesided match here. Malaysia’s women team surprised everyone by topping the pool after a 39-29 win over Turkmenistan. England were out of reckoning despite beating Afghanistan 64-21. At the end of ﬁrst half, India were leading 35-16. Indian raiders Baram Singh, Manminder Sran and Sukhbir Sarwan earned 13, 11 and 11 points respectively whereas stoppers Eakam Hathur, Gurpreet Gopi Manaki, Narinder Ram Bittu Dugal bagged 6, 5

and 5 points respectively. Denmark’s Major Singh and Loverthy Lundbery got 5 points each. Malaysia’s raiders Manpreet Kaur, Paramjit Kaur and Jaswinder Kaur got 9, 7 and 7 points respectively, while stoppers Mandeep Kaur and Rekha bagged 5 and 4 points respectively. In another men’s match, the England team was leading 34-8 after the ﬁrst half. England’s raiders Jaskaran Singh, Gurdev Singh, Inderjit Singh and Rajvir Singh scored 10, 10, 9 and 8 points respectively, while stoppers Jagtar Singh and Gurpreet Singh got 10 and 8 points respectively.

Pakistan Climbs to 5th in Hockey Pakistan leapt from 9th to 5th place in the updated Men’s World Rankings table released by the International Hockey Federation (FIH), said the federation’s website on Tuesday. Pakistan became the most improved nation in the top ten by winning the Bronze medal at the Champions Trophy in Melbourne. The Greenshirts had ended eight years of medal drought in the tournament when they overcame India 3-2 in the bronze medal play-off last week. The top four positions, held by London 2012 Olympics Gold medalists Germany, Champions Trophy winners Australia, Olympic and Champions Trophy Silver medalists Netherlands and England, remained unchanged.

New Zealand continue to hold 6th place ahead of Spain on 7th, Champions Challenge finalists Korea on 8th, Belgium on 9th and Champions Challenge winners Argentina on 10th. Earlier, Pakistan beat India 3-2 in the Field Hockey Champions Trophy and won bronze, finishing third place in the championship, This was Pakistan’s first medal in the championship after 2004. A few minutes into the match, India scored the first goal and took the lead over Pakistan. Pakistan’s Muhammad Rizwan scored the equalizer. Shafqat Rasool scored the second goal for Pakistan and Ateeq took the penalty hit, scoring Pakistan its third.

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

COMMUNITY

December 14, 2012

“I Don’t Want My Shadow Hanging Over the Group”: Ratan Tata BY AVEEK DATTA & P.R. SANJAI MUMBAI (Mint): Ratan Naval Tata, who will step down as Tata Group chairman later this month after he turns 75, does not want his “shadow hanging over the group” once he hangs up his boots. “I am very conscious that I don’t want to have my shadow hanging over the group, a ghost walking the corridors, someone giving unsolicited suggestions or expressing an unsolicited viewpoint,” Tata said in an interview published on the conglomerate’s website on Thursday where he speaks about his journey so far, postretirement plans, and his expectations from his successor. Tata would be happy to offer his counsel, if needed by the group, but doesn’t consider himself “playing the role of mentor to Cyrus” in the coming years, he said. In November 2011, after a year-long global search for Tata’s successor, a five-member selection committee zeroed in on 44-year-old Cyrus Mistry, whose father, Pallonji Mistry, is Tata Sons’ largest individual shareholder. Tata Sons is the flagship holding company of the Tata Group. Commenting on Mistry’s capabilities, Tata said that having watched the group’s chairman-designate from close quarters, he found him to “possess the ability to analyse businesses”. “I consider myself to be more of a numbers person than JRD (J.R.D. Tata, the group’s chairman before Ratan Tata) was. I believe Cyrus is more of a numbers man than I am,” Tata said. A Tata Group official used the adjectives “solid, detail-oriented, wellprepared, engaged and hands-on”, to describe Mistry’s style of leadership. “He takes a lot of time and effort to understand what the value drivers for the group companies are,” this official said. “With the analytical vigour he possesses, he could well be a partner in a private equity firm.” The official did not want to be named. Tata also mentioned that the greatest challenge that Mistry and his set of chieftains will face in the coming years would be “staying faithful to the Tata code of ethics”. They would have to stay away from compromising and

Though Tata is preparing to spend more time pursuing ﬂying, learning music, and with his pet dogs, the septuagenarian industrialist doesn’t seem too keen to dissociate himself with his pet project—the Tata Nano—just yet. Photo: Mint

Tata says he will offer his counsel, if needed, but doesn’t consider himself playing the role of mentor to Cyrus. surrendering to a “venal system”, Tata said, rating this challenge higher than the ability to run the business prudently. “I am quite certain of this now that I have worked with him for a year— Cyrus’ values and principles are not different from ours, and he does have the strength of character to manage this critical aspect,” Tata said. Having mentored Mistry till now, Tata seems to be keen on allowing Mistry a free hand in leading the conglomerate that recently became the ﬁrst to cross $100 billion in revenue in India, and not letting his own legacy come in the way. There has been speculation that despite stepping down as chairman, Tata may continue to remain associated with the group’s operations by virtue of heading the charitable trusts that own a majority stake in Tata Sons. “I would like to make a clean break. I will be available if called upon in any way to help,” Tata said. “I could never do anything to hurt the group. I want to see Cyrus and his team succeed.” Though Tata is preparing to retire from daily duties at the Tata Group and spend more time pursuing ﬂying,

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learning music, and spending time with his pet dogs, the septuagenarian industrialist doesn’t seem too keen to dissociate himself with his pet project—the Tata Nano—just yet. Tata said he believed that with a different marketing plan, the world’s cheapest car could be relaunched to serve its originally intended purpose of being an affordable family car. “Unfortunately, it has come to be perceived as a low-priced car and various stigmas have been attached to it. It has been marketed like other cars, but as a minimal automobile at a low price,” Tata said. “I think that is the wrong way to go, and I would love to have a chance to implement a new marketing plan for the product, if that were possible.” This is not his stated wish, but something Tata “would gladly devote time to”, if called upon, he said. Tata was also candid in admitting that he had failed in creating a flat organization within the Tata Group where hierarchy was downplayed and a culture of rewarding performance monetarily and through placing the meritorious in positions of importance was fostered. “Designations would have been flat in such a system. I have found the reactions to such an idea absolutely contrary to what people want,” Tata said. “To that extent, I think we have failed—I have failed—in creating a flat organization.”

Suresh Vaswani’s New Challenge at Dell BY PANKAJ MISHRA (Mint) At 52, Suresh Vaswani, the new president of Dell Inc.’s $8.3 billion software services and outsourcingbusiness, faces the toughest assignment in his over 25-year career, much of which was spent at his former employer Wipro Ltd. Vaswani will be reporting directly to At Dell, Suresh Vaswani is putting Michael Dell, the sec- the lessons learnt from his previous ond founder chief he assignment at Wipro in terms of doing is working with after more with less. Photo: Mint Wipro Ltd’s founder January, resigned as Wipro’s joint Azim Premji. “They (Dell and Premji) are great chief executive in January last year, people, icons to work with, you after investors raised concerns learn a lot from them, they also learn about the company’s performance from you,” Vaswani said in a phone that lagged Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. and Tata Consulinterview early Thursday. Vaswani’s promotion to lead tancy Services Ltd (TCS). An alumnus of the Indian Institute Dell’s biggest bet to transform its business globally is a reflection of Technology, Kharagpur and the of how multinational firms are in- Indian Institute of Management, creasingly tapping into the pool Ahmedabad, Vaswani joined Wipro of experienced Indian outsourcing in 1985. After spending six years leaders as they push for a big- working in Wipro’s computer hardger share of the market. Last year, ware business, Vaswani was made Capgemini SA promoted its India executive assistant to Premji. Dell, the world’s third-largest chairman Salil Parekh to lead the European firm’s North American, maker of personal computers (PC), UK and Asia-Pacific businesses as has been attempting to grow a proportion of its revenue from the the chief executive. “Indian service providers have lucrative software and outsourcing created an impact on outsourcing business, a market dominated by models, but that’s happened and multinational rivals such as Intereverybody does it now,” said Vas- national Business Machines Corp. wani, who will be relocating with (IBM), Accenture Plc, and Indian his family to Texas, US, in a few firms including TCS, Infosys Ltd months. At Dell, where Vaswani and Wipro. As Dell attempts to joined last year as chairman of its transform its business, it faces chalIndian operations and executive lenges in the computer segment that vice-president of Dell Services, is still accounts for nearly half of its putting the lessons learnt from his total revenue. With top enterprise previous assignment at Wipro in customers such as Wells Fargo and terms of doing more with less. But Co. shifting to newer computing devices including Apple Inc.’s iPad, that’s not enough, he says. “You can’t drive looking at the time is running out for Dell to reduce rear-view mirror. The world is dependency on its traditional PC changing fast and it’s no more only business. “We (at Dell) are building about outsourcing,” he said. “It’s not private clouds and are doing more about scale but also looking beyond standardized solutions, so as I look forward, it’s a very exciting future,” just managing customers’ past.” Vaswani, who will turn 53 on 2 Vaswani said.

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