Indo-American News: January 17, 2020

Friday, January 17, 2020 | Vol. 39, No. 03

Indo American News

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January 17, 2020

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Published weekly from Houston, TX

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Indian American Going to Moon, Mars?

Youth Appreciate HHYC Camp

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January 17, 2020

Indo-American News • Friday, JANUARY 17, 2020 • Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

3 Indian American Joins NASA’s Artemis Lunar, Mars Missions

COMMUNITY : Indian American Raja Chari is among 11 new astronauts who joined NASA’s ranks on Friday (January 10), taking the strength of the active astronauts corps in the United States space agency to 48. The new graduates have completed more than two years of basic training, and are the first to graduates since NASA announced its Artemis programme.

NASA said its astronauts corps “will expand humanity’s horizons in space for generations to come”.

This cohort of new astronauts may be assigned to space missions to the International Space Station (ISS), the Moon and ultimately, Mars. The agency has targeted the human exploration of Mars by the 2030s.

Raja Chari was selected by NASA to join the 2017 Astronaut Candidate Class. According to his bio on the NASA website, he reported for duty in August 2017, and having completed the initial astronaut candidate training, is now eligible for a mission assignment.

Chari, a US Air Force colonel, hails from Cedar Falls, Iowa.

He graduated from the US Air Force Academy with bachelor’s degrees in astronautical engineering and engineering science. He then earned a master’s degree in aeronautics and astronautics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and graduated from

the US Naval Test Pilot School in Patuxent River, Maryland.

Chari served as the commander of the 461st Flight Test Squadron and the director of the F-35 Integrated Test Force at Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) in California.

Raja Chari NASA, NASA Raja Chari, Artemis mission Raja Chari, Artemis Mission NASA Chari served as the commander of the 461st Flight Test Squadron and the director of the F-35 Integrated Test Force at Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) in California. (NASA) NASA wants to send the first woman and the next man to the Moon by the year 2024, which it plans on doing through the Artemis lunar exploration program.

With the Artemis program, NASA wishes to demonstrate new technologies, capabilities and business approaches that will ultimately be needed for the future exploration of Mars.

For the Artemis program, NASA’s new rocket called the Space Launch System (SLS) will send astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft a quarter of a million miles away from Earth to the lunar orbit.

January 17, 2020

Once astronauts dock Orion at the Gateway — which is a small spaceship in orbit around the moon — the astronauts will be able to live and work around the Moon, and from the spaceship, astronauts will take expeditions to the surface of the Moon.

The astronauts going for the Artemis program will wear newly designed spacesuits, called Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit, or xEMU. These spacesuits feature advanced mobility and communications and interchangeable parts that can be configured for spacewalks in microgravity or on a planetary surface.

The US began trying to put people in space as early as in 1961. Eight years later, on July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first human to step on the Moon as part of the Apollo 11 mission.

While climbing down the ladder towards the surface of the Moon he famously proclaimed, “That’s one

small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”

Armstrong along with Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin walked around the moon for over three hours, doing experiments and picking up bits and pieces of Moondust and rocks.

They left a US flag on the Moon along with a sign that said, “Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the moon July 1969, AD. We came in peace for all mankind.”

Apart from the purpose of space exploration itself, NASA’s endeavour to send Americans to the Moon again is to demonstrate American leadership in space, and to establish a strategic presence on the Moon, while expanding the US global economic impact.

“When they land, our American astronauts will step foot where no human has ever been before: the Moon’s South Pole,” says NASA. In 1959, the Soviet Union’s uncrewed Luna 1 and 2 became the first rover to visit the Moon.

Since then, seven nations have followed suit.

Before the US sent the Apollo

11 mission to the Moon, it sent three classes of robotic missions between 1961 and 1968. After July 1969, 12 American astronauts walked on the surface of the Moon until 1972. Together, the Apollo astronauts brought back over 382 kg of lunar rock and soil back to Earth for study.

Then in the 1990s, the US resumed lunar exploration with robotic missions Clementine and Lunar Prospector. In 2009, it began a new series of robotic lunar missions with the launch of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS).

In 2011, NASA began the ARTEMIS (Acceleration, Reconnection, Turbulence, and Electrodynamics of the Moon’s Interaction with the Sun) mission using a pair of repurposed spacecraft and in 2012 the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) spacecraft studied the Moon’s gravity.

Apart from the US, the European Space Agency, Japan, China, and India have sent missions to explore the Moon.

China landed two rovers on the surface, which includes the firstever landing on the Moon’s far side in 2019. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) recently announced India’s third lunar mission Chandrayaan-3, which will comprise a lander and a rover.

-- Indian Express

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COMMUNITY

January 17, 2020

Hate Crime at Gurudwara in California

O r a n g e va l e , California: The Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF), the oldest Sikh American civil rights and advocacy organization, condemns the hate speech that defaced the Guru Maneyo Granth Gurdwara Sahib in Orangevale, California.

Early in the morning when the Granthi (priest) Manjit Singh from the Guru Maneyo Granth Gurdwara Sahib stepped outside he saw “White Power” and a swastika graffitied onto the sign out front. The local police were called immediately and they took statements from the Granthi. After documenting the graffiti the police immediately painted over the hate speech.

Dimple Kaur Bhullar from the Guru Maneyo Granth Gurdwara Sahib Sangat said, “we began services as of mid-December 2019, the weekend of January 10-12 we had our official Grand Opening with Bhai Sahib Harjinder Singh Ji Sri Nagarwale, without any problems.” She also said, “there was no negativity before this.”

“We are seeing a rise in hate crimes committed by white supremacist groups and we condemn them all,” said SALDEF Executive Director Kiran Kaur Gill.

“When we see our peaceful places of worship attacked it creates a fear among the community and we cannot stand by and allow our brothers and sisters to be afraid to gather at our houses of worship.”

SALDEF condemns these kinds of hate crimes and hopes through education and community outreach that we can one day bring an end to all hate crimes. SALDEF thanks the local police for their swift response and action in docu-

menting and removing this hateful speech. On behalf of the Sikh American community, SALDEF offers support to the local Sangat and the local police in both finding the perpetrator and rebuilding trust in the community.

About SALDEF: Founded in 1996, SALDEF is a national civil rights, advocacy, and educational organization. Its mission is to empower Sikh Americans by building dialogue, deepening understanding, promoting civic and political participation, and upholding social justice and religious freedom for all Americans.

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January 17, 2020

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Vaikunta Ekadasi Celebrated with Devotion and Splendor at MTS

Sri Meenakshi Temple celebrated Vaikunta Ekadasi with devotion and religious splendor in the honor of Lord Venkateswara on Monday, January 6th, 2020.

More than 250 devotees gathered at the Temple on a weekday morning to witness and participate in this auspicious event.

Vaikuntha Ekadasi, is considered to be the most important Ekadasi.

Ekadasi means ‘the eleventh’ in Sanskrit and refers to the eleventh day of the bright fortnight (shukla paksha) belonging to a lunar month. Vaikuntha Ekadasi is the 11th day in the lunar calendar after the new moon in Dhanurmasa.

It is considered to be the day on which the doors of Vaikuntha

(heaven) will be kept open for all the saintly souls.

According to the Vishnu Purana, observing the Ekadasi Vrata (or fast) on Vaikuntha Ekadasi day confers the benefit equivalent to observing all the other eleven Ekadasis during the year. Fasting (according to one’s capacity), chanting the names of the Lord, visiting Vishnu temples are some of the ways this festival is observed.

At Sri Meenakshi Temple the day started with Thiruppalli Ezhuchi at 6AM at the main Temple followed by Nithya Aradhanam & Thiruppavai Sevakalam. Then priests performed abhishekam to Venkateswara while the devotees’ recited Vedic mantra led by

priests. All the devotees exited the Temple and entered through the north entrance for Vaikunta Dwara Darshanam. When the sanctum doors opened, going into raptures all the devotees started chanting loudly the sacred ‘Govindaa Govinda’. Utsava moorthy on a Garuda vahanam was taken in a procession around the temple with devotees chanting bhajans. Puja concluded with Vaikunta Gadyam, Aarthi, Shaathumurai and distributed Theertham and Prasadam to all the devotees. Many devotees participated in Vishnu Sahasranamam chanting.

Light festival lunch was prepared by food committee and served by many volunteers. There

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was a steady stream of devotees throughout the day to pray and get blessings on this auspicious day.

This is the first event for the new board after the leadership transfer with Dhani Kannan as chairman,

Partha Krishnaswamy as Secretary and Bhargavi Golla as Treasurer on January 1st, 2020. RAC chair Vinod Kaila thanked the priests, staff, Board, council and volunteers for this blissful event.

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Indo-American News • Friday, JANUARY 17, 2020 • Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

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COMMUNITY

January 17, 2020

Student Relates Four-year Experience of Hindu Heritage Youth Camp

By Abhi Bhatia

Houston: My name is Abhi Bhatia, and I am in the 11th grade. I have attended the Hindu Heritage Youth Camp for four years now, and it has completely changed my lifestyle. I have made lifelong friends, and I have learned more about my heritage as a Hindu. At camp, we wake up every morning at 6:30 am and do yoga. Yoga is one of the most widely practiced forms of exercise and meditation in the world. It allows for one to live a healthy lifestyle and achieve inner peace. I have implemented this at home as well. Every morning, I wake up at 6 am, drink a glass of water, and do yoga. This has helped me focus more in school, allowing for me to perform better in my classes. When I returned from camp last summer, I decided to become a vegetarian.

Camp helped me realize that I was not only hurting myself by eating meat, I was also damaging the environment. Becoming a vegetarian has changed my eating habits and has taught me to focus on the nutrients that food contains rather than paying attention to the taste of the food.

Camp has also taught me a lot about being a Hindu. I have

learned about the history of Hinduism, and how it has become one of the most practiced religions in the world. One practice that has facilitated the spread of Hinduism is yoga. Yoga is practiced by many people all around the world, but its origins are in Hinduism. The practice of yoga has given many people the chance to experience Hindu culture. Yoga was one of my favorite activities at camp because I felt that it gave me the energy and focus to get through the busy days at camp.

Last week, I attended the HHYC

Annual Winter Lock-In. I am glad that I attended because I got to see all the friends that I had made at camp. When I arrived, I was greeted by a familiar face. I was unsure how the night was going to play out because I had never been to a lock-in. After getting settled, I sat down in a circle with my friends, and we played a traditional camp game. Once everyone had arrived, the directors welcomed everyone, and gave a presentation on Hinduism and Individual Rights. The presentation was like the education at camp. I enjoyed the educa-

tion because we discussed the role of the Bill of Rights in art, and how censorship rules do not apply to art. After that, we ate dinner, and moved onto my favorite camp activity; dodgeball. This brought back memories from my second year at camp because my team won the dodgeball tournament in 2017. After dodgeball, we played a game of Musical Chairs, and I got 2nd place! By the time we had finished, it was 1 am. Everyone splits up and started doing their own things, when the counselors suggested that we do a fashion show.

They brought out white sheets that we could decorate. Once the groups finished decorating, they picked a person in their group to drape the sheet on, so they could walk on the runway and show off their designs. In the end, my team won second place. A few of my friends decided to make a fort using the sheets and chairs and fell asleep inside. The counselors then put on a movie, and at 6:45, we all took a group picture and began to say our goodbyes. That was the end of the HHYC Annual Winter Lock-In. I look forward to attending again this summer because that would be my last year as a camper. I have enjoyed my years as a HHYC camper and hope to become a counselor one day.

I am thankful for all the hard work that the counselors and directors have put in to make the camp as much fun as possible.

Camp has been the highlight of my summer, and I look forward to attending this summer.

A Seniors New Year’s, 10 Days Later, is Still a Fun Affair

By Jawahar Malhotra

H

OUSTON: Time is irrelevant when you are having fun, and for many senior members of Club 65, it didn’t matter that the New Year’s party was being held 10 days later.

With the amount of preparation and persistent phone calls and the new WhatsApp group connection that new Club 65 President Farida Bandali had made, the party was worth the wait.

Held this past Saturday, January 11 at Shahnai Banquet Hall on Hillcroft, the New Year’s party featured music by the talented trio of Imtiaz Munshi, Bindu Malhotra and Sushim “Sonny” Shah who played old Bollywood hits and dance music that brought the guests to the dance floor.

A waltz by three couples started the evening, with an exciting number later by Paru McGuire and Maithily Sripadam. A buffet dinner, a tenitem raffle and door prizes awaited the guests.

The event was coordinated by Club 65 Vice-Presidents Rahat Kale and Meera Kapur, who also served as the emcee for the program. Other C65 Directors Dr. Manazir Shamsi, Babur Khan and Rabia Brohi helped with all the details for the evening.

Club 65 is part of the Indian Muslim Association of Greater Houston, and it’s President Munir Ibrahim, cofounder Latafath Hussain and youth group SAAYA’s President Somaya Razak wished the guests a great New Year. A Valentine’s Day program is next on the list, said Bandali.

Clockwise from top left: IMAGH President Munir Ibrahim wishing everyone a great New Year; the IMAGH Board and Advisoery Board with the Club 65 and SAAYA directors; Imtiaz Munshi (left), Bindu Malhotra and Sushim “Sonny” Shah played old hits and new dance music; Farida Bandali, the Club 65 President welcomed guests to the party held at Shahnai Banquet Hall on Hillcroft.

Indo-American News • Friday, JANUARY 17, 2020 • Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

COMMUNITY

January 17, 2020

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Candlelight Vigil to Highlight Kashmiri Pandit Exodus of Jan 19, 1990

By Rahul Pandit Houston: My name is Rahul Pandit and I was born in Kashmir.

I am a Kashmiri Pandit, a member of the minority Hindu population who were the original inhabitants of the Valley of Kashmir. Descendants of the priestly, or Brahmin, class of India who lived along the banks of the ancient Saraswat river, Pandits gave rise to numerous saints and sages over the generations, and even developed a subset of Hindu philosophy known as Kashmiri Shaivism. Pandits lived peacefully in the Valley until the influx of Islam in the 1300s. Since then we have suffered no less than seven mass exoduses with the most recent occurring 30 years ago.

On January 19, 1990, while I was enjoying my senior year and final semester in high school in America, terrorist-driven violence, rape, torture, and murder led to the forced exodus of my relatives and 350,000 other Hindu Pandits from our homeland in Kashmir.

The world turned a blind eye to their ethnic cleansing. It is hard to fault the world when our people’s own country of India ignored the situation and let a 5000-year-old cultural identity nearly get wiped off the face of the earth. It is easier however to blame the proxies of Pakistani-led terrorist groups, the originators of ‘fake news’, that led people to believe that we

left on our own accord as part of some greater Indian government conspiracy. How repulsive.

While our community and its shortlist of supporters would advocate for recognition of our plight and rehabilitation of our community, it was indeed difficult for my friends and colleagues in America to even remotely grasp the gravity of the situa-

tion created by Islamic terrorists in our once peaceful homeland.

Fast forward 30 years and the Kashmiri Pandit community is still a people without a homeland, and yet the world continues to ignore our plight. The narrative is once again stolen from the Kashmiri Pandits because of continued political fighting and vested interests whose stated claim is the peaceful

resolution to the Kashmir problem without offering any concrete steps to achieve that peace which incorporate our aboriginal community.

January 19 is Kashmiri Pandit Exodus Day, a somber reminder to all Kashmiris of our tragic story.

Thirty years and the beauty of our land fades from our memories; worse yet, this homeland has not even been touched by many in

the next generation. The displacement of nearly all of our small 5000-year-old community lends even greater importance to maintaining our displaced religion and culture so they would not be lost to the melting pot of the world. Nevertheless our hope remains that our safe and secure rehabilition in the Valley will one day return, as we attempt to preserve our community’s socio-religious identity in exile.

On January 19, 2020, the Houston Kashmiri Pandit community, Hindu American Foundation (HAF), Indo-American Kashmir Forum (IAKF), and local cosponsor Hindus of Greater Houston (HGH), invite you to join a candlelight vigil in remembrance of the nearly 1000 Kashmiri Pandits murdered and over 350,000 forced to leave their homeland 30 years ago.

This is one of many remembrance events around the nation being organized on this somber 30th year anniversary of the Kashmiri Pandit Exodus Day. For more information on this event, please visit https://www.facebook. com/events/760216317832319/ For more information on our story, please visit IAKF.org or iheartkashmir.org. iheartkashmir.org.

Mata Kheer Bhawani shrine, a holy site in Kashmir revered by all Kashmiri Pandits. My birthdate is on the holiest day of the year when all Pandits visit this shrine to receive the deity’s blessings.

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Celebrate India’s 71 Republic Day at India House Sunday, January 26, 2020 | Flag Hoisting at 11:30 am

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Programs & Services at India House India House Charity Medical Clinic | Free Food Distribution | Free Yoga Classes Urban Youth Program | Free Tai Chi Classes | Free Zumba Classes Free Line Dance Classes | Free Legal Consultation | Free Technology Classes For Seniors Free Vedic Chanting Classes | Table Tennis Group | Odissi Dance Class Bollywood Dance Classes | Cricket- Taped Ball | Sareen Harris Health Clinic For more information contact: 713-929-1900 | vipin@indiahouseinc.org | www.indiahouseinc.org Indo-American News • Friday, JANUARY 17, 2020 • Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

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SOUTH ASIA

January 17, 2020

President Trump Headed to India in Feb.

US President Donald Trump rime Minister Narendra Modi attend “Howdy, Modi!” at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, September 22, 2019. Tens of thousands of Indian-Americans converged on Houston for an unusual joint rally by Donald Trump and Narendra Modi, a visible symbol of the bond between the nationalist-minded leaders.

Washington DC: President Donald Trump is making plans to globe-trot his way through Democratic presidential primaries and possibly even his impeachment trial – with his first trip to India in the works for February.

A senior Indian official told Bloomberg News the two sides are working out mutually agreeable dates.

Trump hosted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a raucous rally in Wisconsin in September where the two men clasped hands.

U.S. and Indian officials are working on a possible visit to the country by President Donald Trump in February U.S. and Indian officials are working

on a possible visit to the country by President Donald Trump in February The trip would give Trump a commanding perch to try to weigh in on U.S. politics during the most critical weeks of the Democratic presidential primary. The Iowa Caucuses are Feb. 3, the New Hampshire primary is Feb. 11, and the Nevada Caucuses are Feb. 22.

Depending on how the Senate structures its impeachment trial, the trip could also put Trump out of the country while lawmakers are debating his fate – and Democrats are accusing him of abuse of power.

However, unlike last time, when India had invited the President to attend the Republic Day celebrations as the chief guest, Delhi has not taken the risk of tying the visit to an event.

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Indo-American News • Friday, JANUARY 17, 2020 • Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

COMMUNITY

January 17, 2020

On the Air - Once Again - IAN Journalists Get a New Voice

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By Jawahar Malhotra

H

OUSTON: It was 39 years ago that a community that was starved for contact with each other got its first voice when IndoAmerican News was launched by a sociology professor at Texas Southern University, Dr. K.L. Sindwani. For him, it was a bold experiment in connectivity.

When Jawahar Malhotra, Pramod Kulkarni and Koshy Thomas joined in, the experiment took off to explode years later into dozens of media outlets across the Bayou City.

IAN has been a trailblazer for most of its years, launching a bunch of firsts: first weekly paper; first local cartoon strip (Kya Nayi Khabar); first two-hour community TV program, Ashiana Television; first full-color tabloid; first community telephone directory (Desi Connection); first Soduku puzzles; first news website; firsteBlastsandfirstcookingsensation, Mama’s Punjabi Recipes.

And now, IAN has another first - back on the air again with the first news formatted 2-hour radio program on Music Masala Radio, every Saturday, 4 to 6 pm on 98.7 FM. The first show on January 11 featured attorney George Willy talking about immigration policy, news from India and locally; sports and movie reviews with veteran journalists Pramod Kulkarni, Sanchali Basu and Jawahar Malhotra.

They welcome listeners to call-in to the studio line at 281-277-6874. The feedback so far, has been positive!

Clockwise from top right: Jawahar Malhotra at the control board; the three journalists with guest attorney George Willy; Sanchali Basu and Pramod Kulkarni add news, cricket and movie reviews.

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ADVENTURE BUSINESS

January 17, 2020

Fjällräven Polar: Bengaluru Adventurer First Indian Woman to Visit Arctic Pole

By Ralp Alex Arakal

New Delhi: A Bengaluru-based techie is all set to embark on a polar expedition to the Arctic. Selected as the first Indian woman for Fjällräven Polar, an expedition to the Arctic for ordinary people from different parts of the world, Geethu Mohandas will be accompanied by 19 others.

“Travelling has been an integral part of my life ever since I was ten years old. With geography and environmental sciences being my favourite subjects, being a responsible traveler has always been one among my prime goals in life,” Geethu told indianexpress.com While visiting the Arctic was always one of her dream destinations, Geethu said the high costs were a deterrent. The 28-year-old hardware engineer’s dream came true after she was declared the winner in online voting on January 7 from ‘The World’ category that included aspirants from more than 60 countries.

The all-expense-paid trip will take place from March 30 to April 6 later this year. The expedition is conducted with advice and guidance from experts since 1997 and is run by a Fjällräven, a Stockholm-based clothing company.

Citing several cyber-bullying instances fuelled by rival campaigners during the intense online com-

petition, which was held across November and December 2019, Geethu said, “The journey towards being picked the winner itself has been a rough one.”

“Even though the trouble I faced online – including harassment posts, spamming by supporters of other contestants, and offers to withdraw my nomination for money – made the journey tough. The thought of getting one step closer to my childhood dream kept me going, with the strong support provided by thousands online,” she

further said.

Geethu, who originally hails from Aluva in Kerala, said her interest in travelling developed after she attended her first nature camp way back in Class V. “That camp, which took place when I was in the fifth standard, gave me a totally new perspective to what travelling was, which gradually grew with me to become an integral part of my life,” she said.

Geethu-Mohandas-Arctic-Expedition-Sweden-Norway-Indianwoman-759 At present, Geethu

has prioritised building physical fitness in preparation for the expedition. Express Photo Once she moved to Bengaluru in 2015 for a job, she revived her passion and begun a travel group around the theme of sustainable and responsible tourism. “The thought came out of boredom but I was amazed to see many, including my friends showing deep interest in such an initiative,” she said.

Geethu has conducted over 100 trips, including four international trips to villages in other countries

– two to Nepal, and one each to Bhutan and Thailand under the banner of ‘Let’s Go For A Camp’, an online platform for responsible tourism found by her.

On what constitutes “responsible tourism,” Geethu said it included “cultivating a behaviour among tourists to be aware of preserving the culture and history of any place they visit”.

“For instance, one should have an open and flexible mindset to accept and learn something from each person they meet from a place they visit, appreciating the importance of how that particular place is homeland to many,” she said.

This, incidentally, also turns out to be among the few qualifications mentioned by Fjällräven Polar for applicants interested in the expedition as well.

At present, Geethu has prioritised on improving her fitness in preparation for the expedition. “As the journey requires me to stay fit in extreme conditions – even in -30 degrees Celsius temperatures – I have been focusing on cardio workouts, yoga and breathing exercises,” she said.

Earlier, Niyog Krishna (from Pathanamthitta, Kerala) and Babu Sagar (from Kozhikode) were picked for the same expedition in 2018 and 2019. -- Indian Express

Indian-born Top Lawyer is Final Word on Blocking Tweets — Even Trump’s Santa Clara: Whenever somebody on Twitter takes issue with the network’s rules or content policies, they almost always resort to the same strategy: They send a tweet to @jack.

A quick scan of Chief Executive Officer Jack Dorsey’s mentions show just how often he’s called upon to lay down the law for the service he helped create. But what users don’t know is that they’re imploring the wrong Twitter Inc. executive. While Dorsey is the company’s public face, and the final word on all things product and strategy, the taxing job of creating and enforcing Twitter’s rules don’t actually land on the CEO’s shoulders. Instead, that falls to Twitter’s top lawyer, Vijaya Gadde.

As Twitter’s head of legal and policy issues, Gadde has one of the most difficult jobs in technology: Her teams write and enforce the rules for hundreds of millions of internet users. If people break the rules, the offending tweets can be removed, users can be suspended, or in extreme cases booted off Twitter altogether. Dorsey may have to answer for Twitter’s decisions, but he’s taken a hands-off approach to creating and enforcing its content policies.

“He rarely weighs in on an individual enforcement decision,” Gadde said in a recent interview.

“I can’t even think of a time. I usually go to him and say, ‘this is what’s going to happen.’”

That leaves Gadde, 45, as the end of the line when it comes to account enforcement — a delicate position in a world where Twitter’s rules are both an affront to free speech and an invitation to racists and bigots, depending on who’s tweeting at you. “No matter what we do we’ve been accused of bias,” Gadde said. “Leaving content up, taking content down — that’s become pretty much background noise.”

Like most corporate lawyers, Gadde generally operates in the background herself, though her influence has helped shape Twitter for most of the past decade. A graduate of Cornell University and New York University Law School, Gadde spent almost a decade at a Bay Area-based law firm working with tech startups before she joined the social-media company in 2011.

Her eight-plus years at Twitter are about equal to the amount of time Dorsey has worked there over the years.

But as Twitter’s role in global politics has increased, so has Gadde’s visibility. She was in the Oval Office when Dorsey met with U.S.

President Donald Trump last year, and joined the CEO when he met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in November 2018. When Dorsey posted a photo with the Dalai Lama from that trip, Gadde stood between the two men, holding the Dalai Lama’s hand. InStyle just put her on “The Badass 50,” an annual list of women changing the world. “Vijaya defines the word,” tweeted Twitter Chief Marketing Officer Leslie Berland.

When Gadde first joined Twitter, the internet was a different place.

At the time, a lot of politicians were just getting familiar with the platform. Trump primarily used his Twitter to share announcements about his TV appearances (though this would quickly change). The official presidential account, @ POTUS, wouldn’t even come into existence until 2015, under thenPresident Barack Obama.

W h e n Gadde took over as general counsel in 2013, the social-media service had an “everything goes” mentality. A year prior, one of Twitter’s product managers in the U.K. famously said that Twitter viewed itself as “the free speech wing of the free speech party,” a label later repeated by then-CEO Dick Costolo. The company simply “let the tweets flow,” said one former employee.

That freedom is part of what drew Gadde to Twitter in the first place. An immigrant from India, Gadde moved to the U.S. as a child and grew up in east Texas, where her dad worked as a chemical engineer on oil refineries in the Gulf of Mexico, before moving to New Jersey in middle school. “I was the only Indian child most of my education until I went to college,” she says now. “You feel voiceless. And I think that that’s kind of what drew me to Twitter — this platform that gives you a voice, and gives you a community and gives you power.”

Twitter’s commitment to giving

everyone a voice, though, has also come with a general reluctance to take it away. Twitter’s decisions in recent years to ban certain users, including conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and far-right media troll Milo Yiannopoulos, were news in part because Twitter’s decisions to act were so uncharacteristic.

Gadde acknowledges the change, saying that the company has come to realize in recent years the responsibility it has to protect the safety of its users, including when they’re not using the product. “I would say that the company has shifted its approach dramatically [since I started],” she said.

Perhaps no user presents a bigger quagmire for Gadde and her team than Trump, the platform’s most famous user, whose tweets often push the boundaries of Twitter’s rules. The president’s habit of blasting messages to his 70.9 million followers has taken on a new vigor thanks to a looming impeachment trial and re-election bid. Following the U.S. drone strike in early January that killed a top Iranian general, Trump threatened Iran with military force in a number of tweets, including the targeting of cultural sites. That prompted many observers, including some former Twitter employees, to ask why he hadn’t been suspended — a cycle that has played out several times following other Trump tirades.

-- Bloomberg

Indo-American News • Friday, JANUARY 17, 2020 • Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

11 Bhim Chawla, 87, Honest, Simple, Caring, Passes Peacefully

OBITUARY

By Jawahar Malhotra Houston: Neither the heavy downpour nor the occasion of Father’His wife of 62 years would often chide him to be a little less straight forward, but to Bhim Chawla, who belonged to a generation of Indians born with strong principles, being honest, simple and caring was second nature and the only way to be.

He stayed this way when he came to the US and instilled these values in his four kids. The man with a kind smile and gentle words passed away peacefully and quickly, like a saint, on January 7, He was 87.

Bhim Chawla was born on March 3, 1932 in Sargodha, West Punjab and moved during the Partition with his family to Delhi. He studied in Delhi and later in Saharanpur and Meerut, eventually getting a job with the Indian Railroads and moving to Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. At 25 years of age, he was married to Shanta Bajaj – they were married for 62 years – and had four children, Poonam, Sanjay, Anju and Seema, all of whom live in the US. In the mid-70s, Chawla immigrated to the US in search of a

January 17, 2020

Bheem Chawla

better opportunity for his family, and once he was settled, he brought his wife and children over in 1984. He also took great care of his mother, Vasheshra Devi, who came to live with the family and passed away in 2005 at the age of 91. The family has had its share of tragedy, losing a son-in-law, Sanjay Gupta and a daughter-inlaw, Sonika Chawla.

Chawla had a long a career in the Human Resources department of the US Postal Service, from 1982 till his retirement in 2009.

He spent the remainder of his years immersed in the Hindu Worship

Society, Arya Samaj, The Indian Senior CitizensAssociation and at the Gurdwara Sahib of the Southwest off Highway 6. He loved to stay active and be involved with his kids and six grandchildren.

His children remember him for the positive influence he had on everyone he met and for being a hard working, kind and loyal person who sacrificed a lot for his family. He was an excellent communicator and had a proverb for every occasion. His delightful sense of humor brought smiles to all.

Many people recall him as a pious and friendly person who was well respected in the community.

How Swami Vivekananda became the ‘Messenger of Indian Wisdom’ to the West Kolkota: January 12 is the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, the famous Hindu spiritual leader and intellectual from the late 19th century. An important religious reformer in India, Swami Vivekananda is known to have introduced the Hindu philosophies of Yoga and Vedanta to the West.

In his honour, the government of India in 1984 declared his birthday as National Youth Day. Vivekananda was born in Kolkata on January 12, 1863, as Narendra Nath Datta. From an early age, he nurtured an interest in Western philosophy, history, and theology, and went on to meet the religious leader Ramakrishna Paramhansa, who later became his Guru. He remained devoted to Ramakrishna until the latter’s death in 1886.

In 1893, he took the name ‘Vivekananda’ after Maharaja Ajit Singh of the Khetri State requested him to do so, changing from ‘Sachidananda’ that he used before.

After Ramakrishna’s death, Vivekananda toured across India, and set after educating the masses about ways to improve their economic condition as well as imparting spiritual knowledge.

Vivekananda is especially remembered around the world for his speech at the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Chicago in 1893. The speech covered topics including universal acceptance, tolerance and religion, and got him a standing ovation.

Many parts of his speech have since become popular, including “I am proud to belong to a religion which has taught the world both tolerance and universal acceptance. We believe not only in universal tolerance but we accept all religions as true.”; “I am proud to belong to a nation which has sheltered the persecuted and the refugees of all religions and all nations of the earth.”; and “Sectarianism, bigotry, and its horrible descendant, fanaticism, have long possessed this beautiful earth…

Had it not been for these horrible

poorest and the meanest.”

In 1899, he established the Belur Math, which became his permanent abode. Through his speeches and lectures, Vivekananda worked to disseminate his religious thought.

He preached ‘neo-Vedanta’, an interpretation of Hinduism through a Western lens, and believed in combining spirituality with ma-

terial progress. Before his death in 1902, Vivekananda wrote to a Western follower: “It may be that I shall find it good to get outside my body, to cast it off like a worn out garment. But I shall not cease to work. I shall inspire men everywhere until the whole world shall know that it is one with God.” -Indian Express

Sudoku is Back!

demons, human society would be far more advanced than it is now.”

He began delivering lectures at various places in the US and UK, and became popular as the ‘messenger of Indian wisdom to the

Western world’.

After coming back to India, he formed the Ramakrishna Mission in 1897 “to set in motion a machinery which will bring noblest ideas to the doorstep of even the

Please send your solutions to indoamericannews@yahoo.com.

The correct solution will be published in the next issue along with a listing of the winners.

Indo-American News • Friday, JANUARY 17, 2020 • Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

12

January 17, 2020

Editorial A Delayed Action Fuse Eleven years after Mohammed Hanif’s debut novel A Case of Exploding Mangoes was published and won a Commonwealth prize for best book, it has been discovered by the Pakistan army. This has to be the slowest-burning fuse in military history. Actually, the book has been found in translation, after the Urdu version appeared last year. According to Hanif, its publisher Maktaba Danial was raided by persons claiming to be from the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), who confiscated all copies and threatened to return to secure a list of booksellers who carry the novel.

Hanif’s story, told in a satirical vein, is set at the time when Gen Zia-ulHaq’s reign of 11 years ended in midair after he boarded Pak One, his C-130 Hercules, accompanied by a case of mangoes. It is a coming of age novel like Upamanyu Chatterjee’s English, August, which scandalised the IAS. But while Chatterjee anonymised his characters and set them in the fictional town of Madna, Hanif’s story begins in the Pakistan Air Force Academy, from where he graduated himself, includes historical figures from Pakistan and the US, and even features a cameo appearance by Osama Bin Laden.

Hanif suggests that a defamation notice recently served on his publisher by Zia’s son may have something to do with the raid and confiscations. In a Pakistan where civil society has become vigilant and assertive over the years, brazenly repressive steps, allegedly taken by an intelligence agency, would have been unusual enough.

But it is totally bizarre that character assassination, if any, went unnoticed for 11 years in English but was instantly detected in Urdu by the intelligence community. We eagerly await a Punjabi translation which, given Zia’s roots in Jalandhar, can only cut even closer to the bone. -Indian Express

Letter to the Editor Very Sad, Dark Day for Astros Fans Dear Editor, Today, January 13, MLB commissioner Robert Manfred issued a 9-page statement after an extensive investigation that involved interviewing 68 witnesses and 23 Astros current and former players and required review of thousands of pictures, video clips, texts and emails.

The final document released today stated that Houston Astros Team engaged in electronic sign stealing in 2017 including the post season.

The same year Astros became World Champions.

It is extremely disheartening to read in the report that most of the Astros players either received sign information or participated in the scheme by helping to decode signs and transmit information by banging a trash can.

The Astros Manager AJ Hinch was aware of these practices and even attempted to signal his disapproval by physically damaging the monitors twice necessitating its replacement, but Hinch admitted he did not stop it nor disapproved of it.

This is very damaging to the Astros team but Jim Crane, owner of the Astros, who was completely unaware of these unethical practices and was totally exonerated by the commissioner, has taken the very bold step to fire Manager AJ Hinch as the first step to rebuild a New Astros Team.

Millions ofAstros Fans like me are devastated to know a big cloud now hangs on the first and the only World Series Cup that the Astros won in 2017.

It is indeed a very sad day for Houston Astros fans, a tragic day for Houston and a dark day in the history of baseball .

Time is a big healer but this wound is very deep as it has hurt the six million Houston Astros fans who in the past have looked up to Astros as a team displaying Integrity, valor and resilience.

We now look forward to the new leadership of the Houston Astros to rebuild a team that must believe ethics and integrity are foundations of true sportsmanship.

Dr. Randeep Suneja, Katy, Texas

EDITORIAL/COMMENTARY Don’t Call Them Anti-National

By C. Raj Kumar India is facing a significant challenge that will test its commitment to constitutionalism and democratic values. Parliament recently passed the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) that has raised important constitutional questions.

However, what is at stake is more than just the constitutionality of the Act. The CAA provides that migrants from certain communities will not be treated as “illegal migrants” for the purposes of the Passport Act and the Foreigners Act, if they meet four criteria: One, they came to India before December 31, 2014; two, the central government has exempted them from the Passports and Foreigners Acts; three, they are from Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan, and; four, they belong to any one of the six religious communities, Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Parsis, Jains or Buddhists. As per the information of the government of India, only about 31,313 people fulfil the above four criteria and have stated, when they first entered India, that they had come to the country to escape religious persecution. Only these people will actually benefit from this law.

But the CAA might not pass constitutional scrutiny because of the following reasons. One, there is no intelligible differentia. The CAA identifies persons belonging to six religious communities and privileges them over other religions — especially Islam. This doesn’t qualify the test of reasonable classification and the law will not pass constitutional scrutiny, having specifically left out Muslims. It is an example of discrimination — the grant of citizenship on the basis of religion was rejected by the framers of the Constitution.

Two, the classification doesn’t have a rational relation to the object. The classification in the Act has been ostensibly done to provide the privilege of citizenship to those who have been affected by religious persecution. But both the selection of the countries and the inclusion of religions do not have a rational relationship with this objective. There is enough evidence to prove that there are people practising other religions, who suffer from religious persecution in these three countries as well as in other countries in South Asia. In fact, addressing the problem of religious persecution would have been a legitimate criterion for legislation — instead of using a particular religion or country of origin as the basis of granting citizenship.

Three, arbitrariness is antithetical to equality. Article 14 of the Constitution provides for “equality before law or equal protection of the laws within the territory of India”. The Supreme Court has emphasised the importance of non-arbitrariness to pass the test of equality. In this case, the selection

“The non-violent opposition to the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) is part of our democratic culture. Most of the protests and the opposition to the CAA have been non-violent, democratic, inclusive and pluralistic.” of the countries, the identification of the religions and more importantly the selective exclusion of Muslims, is a clear violation of Article 14 . Numerous judgments of the Supreme Court have underscored this and the Court has been unequivocal in its commitment to the jurisprudential foundations of this principle.

Four, the CAA violates the basic structure of the Constitution.

An important doctrine of Indian constitutional law is that the basic structure of the Constitution is unamendable. The power of Parliament to amend any provision of the Constitution and to pass any legislation is plenary, provided the basic structure and framework of the Constitution is not altered. In short, no amendment to the Constitution can change India from being a Republic. Over the years, the Supreme Court has listed what it regards as part of the Constitution’s basic structure and framework, including its power of judicial review, federalism and secularism.

The doctrine of unamendability of the Constitution’s basic structure has now entrenched fundamental values of constitutionalism by imposing limits on the sovereign power of Parliament. The CAA, by omitting Islam, violates the principle of secularism, which the Court has held is part of the basic structure of the Constitution.

While these are four good reasons for the CAA to be declared unconstitutional, there are other reasons as to why this was unnecessary and unwarranted. First, the CAA has undermined the concept of federalism. Given that the Act needs to be implemented by the state governments, and several chief ministers have expressed their disapproval, effectively implementing this law will be difficult. The Kerala legislative assembly has, in fact, passed a resolution to this effect.

Second, the CAA has affected the collective consciousness of the Indian identity. While, globally, identity politics is nothing

new, India has steadfastly adhered to the values of pluralism. But the CAA, in its existing form, places religious identity over other identities for granting citizenship — that needs to be rejected.

Finally, the non-violent opposition to the Act is part of our democratic culture. Most of the protests and the opposition to the CAA have been non-violent, democratic, inclusive and pluralistic. The violence that has happened on account of the protests is unacceptable in any democratic society, committed to the rule of law. It is a huge mistake to dismiss the opposition to the Act as anti-national or anti-Hindu or anti-democratic.

The resistance across the country, particularly among the youth and the students across university campuses is motivated by a deep commitment to constitutionalism and democratic values. It has even been largely devoid of participation by political parties. In fact, non-violent protests are the most democratic form of political engagement and this demonstrates the fact that the youth of India are deeply committed to the fundamental values of constitutionalism and democratic governance.

So, what is the way forward?

There is a strong case for the CAA to be declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. This outcome can be avoided, if Parliament revisits the Act and includes all religions and the beliefs of India’s tribal population who are animists and do not adhere to any of the major faiths in the country. Doing this will send the right message to all citizens across India, including some 200 million Muslims and some 104 million tribals, that it was never the intention of the government to discriminate against anyone on the basis of religion, faith or belief. -- IE The writer is founding vice chancellor of O P Jindal Global University and founding dean of Jindal Global Law School.

Indo-American News • Friday, JANUARY 17, 2020 • Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

SPORTS

January 17, 2020

13

How Starc, Warner and Finch Masterminded Australia’s Victory

By Vishal Dixit

Mumbai: (ESPN Cricinfo): Australia were playing an ODI for the first time since the World Cup last year and they were arguably facing one of the best one-day sides in their backyard - India in India.

And yet they had no problems winning the game, showing, in the process, that they had planned for India’s main batsmen, prepared for subcontinent conditions and had players capable of executing them perfectly.

At one point in India’s innings it looked like Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul were going to lead them towards 300 with their century partnership. Mitchell Starc’s and Pat Cummins’ first spells had been seen off and the two batsmen were tackling the spinners without trouble.

Finch was not giving up though.

When Adam Zampa bowled to Rahul, he blocked the cover region with two fielders - short cover and extra cover - to stop him from playing his fluid drives on the off side that fetched him plenty of runs against West Indies and Sri Lanka.

But Australia needed wickets and Finch decided to change ends for Ashton Agar. The bowler struck immediately by dismissing Rahul, and Finch now had an opening.

He brought back his (current) best fast bowler, and Cummins struck straightaway with a length delivery. The ball was sticking on the

continuing the impressive work from last year’s ODIs in India when he had taken 11 wickets, only behind Cummins’ 14, with an average of 25.81 and economy rate of 5.68.

With Kohli gone, India were 156 for 4, and Finch saw another opening into the hosts’ inexperienced middle order. So he brought back Starc for his fifth bowling change in seven overs.

Starc was playVirat Kohli looks on as Aaron Finch and David Warner pile on the runs © AFP. ing only his second ODI in India and Wankhede pitch on Tuesday and but Zampa stretched his arms he did not start the way he would Dhawan popped a leading edge over his head and grabbed the ball have liked while opening the bowlto cover and both the set batsmen with both hands, and just like that ing: there was no swing from his Kohli was gone, for just 16. Over- end and he was taken for two fours were gone.

Everyone would have thought of all, Zampa has bowled to Kohli in by Rohit Sharma in the first over. the challenges fast bowlers Cum- seven innings and picked him up Seeing the lack of movement, he mins and Starc would pose for four times. That’s well worth con- bowled a cross-seam delivery at 147.7 kph on a good length to Virat Kohli. But Finch had faith in ceding 126 runs off 97 balls.

Even when Zampa had bowled Sharma, who miscued it to mid-off someone else. Someone who had dismissed the India captain three earlier, he sent down a tidy spell for his first breakthrough.

Now back in the attack in the times in previous ODIs. Adam of seven overs for 34, tossing the Zampa. After Kohli pulled a half- ball up, bowling on the stumps 33rd over, with Rishabh Pant and tracker for six, the legspinner re- and using the crease well to make Shreyas Iyer in the middle, Starc plied with a sharp return catch next his wrong ‘uns more threatening. served a mixed bag to Iyer. He The 27-year old conceded only pushed the batsman on the back ball.

It was a half-volley and it had two fours in the first spell, repay- foot with a mean short ball that been smashed back down the pitch ing the faith of his captain and Iyer negotiated a bit awkwardly

for a single to the leg side.

When he got back on strike two balls later, Starc went full and used the angle from over the wicket to make Iyer play away from his body. Iyer was caught behind for 4 off 9 balls.

India slipped to 165 for 5 at that point and never really recovered.

Starc and Finch can take credit for that too. The Australia captain had saved three of his spearhead’s overs for the end and asked him to do just one thing. Bowl yorker after yorker after yorker.

The first ball of Starc’s final spell, Shardul Thakur lobbed a catch to long-on which Kane Richardson put down. The next ball, Starc was only a tad inaccurate with the yorker with DRS saving Mohammed Shami after Michael Gough had ruled him out lbw. On the last ball of the over, Starc nailed the yorker, right on the base of off stump, and Thakur didn’t have any reply for it.

The angles changed, the batsmen changed, but Starc’s plans stayed the same. He conceded a few too many boundaries towards the end off low full tosses, but his job was done and he ended with 3 for 56 from his 10 overs.

Starc returned to India after nearly three years. Australia were playing an ODI after more than six months. Neither looked out of place.

With inputs from Gaurav Sundararaman

Over 70 people Injured in Bull-taming Event ‘Jallikattu’ on Pongal Madurau: At least 71 people were injured on the opening day of Jallikattu (bull-taming event) proceedings at Avaniapuram village in Tamil Nadu’s Madurai on the occasion of harvest festival Pongal on Wednesday.

Out of the 71 injured, 45 were bull tamers and 13 bull owners and spectators each. Ten of the grievously injured were shifted to the government hospital for treatment, said Dr. Vinod, the assistant director of Rajaji hospital in Madurai.

The first competition of the Jallikattu season kicked off in Avaniapuram at 8 am. Around 800 bulls were brought in for the event in Avaniapuram this year.

Apart from this, over 650 bulls were taken to Alanganallur and Palamedu for Jallikattu bouts.

The competitions, which were broadcast live by the Madurai District Police, had taken place amid strict surveillance, with over 10 CCTV cameras placed in the arenas to monitor the crowds in all three villages. All the bulls had been examined for contraband substances and irritants before entering the competition.

Over 100 ambulances had been kept on standby to tend to medical emergencies during the event.

Thousands of bulls will be taking part in the annual competition this year until the end of the month.

Jallikattu is a traditional event in which a bull (Bos indicus), such as the Pulikulam or Kangayam breeds, is released into a crowd of people, and multiple human participants attempt to grab the large hump on the bull’s back with both arms and hang on to it while the bull attempts to escape. Participants hold the hump for as long as possible, attempting to bring the bull to a stop. In some cases, participants must ride long enough to remove flags on the bull’s horns Jallikattu is typically practised in

the Indian state of Tamil Nadu as a part of Pongal celebrations on Mattu Pongal day, which occurs annually in January.

As there were incidents of injury and death associated with the sport, both to the participants and to the animals forced into it, animal rights organizations have called for a ban to the sport, resulting in the court banning it several times over the past years. However, with protest from the people against the ban, a new ordinance was made in 2017 to continue the

sport.

Bulls enter the competition area through a gate called the vadi vasal. Typically, participants must only hold onto the bull’s hump, and in some variations they are disqualified if they hold onto the bull’s neck, horns or tail. There may be several goals to the game depending on region. In some versions, contestants must either hold the bulls hump for 30 seconds or for 15 metres (49 ft). If the contestant is thrown by the bull or falls, they lose. Some variations only

allow for one contestant. If two people grab the hump, then neither person wins.

Bos indicus bulls are bred specifically by people of the village for the event. Bulls that are able to participate successfully in the jallikattu event are used as studs for breeding. These bulls also fetch higher prices in the markets.

Between 2008 and 2014, 43 humans and 4 bulls were killed in the jallikattu events. In 2017, there were 23 deaths in addition to about 2,500 human injuries and several instances of injury to the bulls.

Animal welfare concerns are related to the handling of the bulls before they are released and also during competitor’s attempts to subdue the bull. Practices before the bull is released include prodding the bull with sharp sticks or scythes, extreme bending of the tail which can fracture the vertebrae, and biting of the bull’s tail.

There are also reports of the bulls being forced to drink alcohol to disorient them, or chilli peppers being rubbed in their eyes to aggravate the bull.

During attempts to subdue the bull, they are stabbed by various implements such as knives or sticks, punched, jumped on and dragged to the ground. -- Indian Express

Indo-American News • Friday, JANUARY 17, 2020 • Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

14

TRAVEL

January 17, 2020

India Off the Beaten Track: Pavagadh -- Sultan’s Many Mosques

Jami Masjid (left top), Sahar ki Masjid (left bottom), carvings on a minaret (top left), a colonnade (top right).

By Shashishekhar Gavai The lonely mountain wearing a temple for a crown,rises 2500 feet from the plains around as you get close to your destination,an hour’s drive from Vadodara. There are no signboards informing you that a UNESCO World Heritage site lies ahead. Entering Champaner town, you see fortifications of the old city standing stoically amidst the hustle and bustle of a scruffy subtopia indifferent to the history around it. The surroundings improve as you move on to the well maintained road that takes you up the mountain of Pavagadh and brings you to Hotel Champaner Macchi. Its location is excellent.

The rooms are without frills but large and reasonably clean with air conditioning. The restaurant has limited vegetarian fare and service is average. This is as good as it gets in a government-run hotel.

The hotel staff are only vaguely aware of the world heritage status of their town, bestowed on ac-

count of its historical as Narendra Modi. monuments.But they Really??? I couldn’t speak enthusiastiresist some gentle cally of the Mahakali leg pulling, includtemple, which sits on ing gratuitous advice top of the mountain on a healthy diet that and which can be acwould increase the cessed either by the size of his chest to ropeway starting close make him worthy of to the hotel or on foot. his illustrious name.

Almost everyone who He then disclosed comes to Champaner somewhat sheepishis on a pilgrimage to ly that his real name Guide Narendra the temple which is was Narendra Par“Modi” Parmar one of the ‘Shaktimar but the nom de peeths’. There are also some in- guerre and physical resemblance teresting Jain temples. But visitors to the great man helped business. coming principally for the histori- The resemblance eluded me, but I cal monuments are few as I was to did see a savvy Gujarati entreprediscover As I checked out of the neur. hotel the next morning, I asked The Solankis and Khichi Chauthe manager if he could find me hans had ruled over this part of Gua guide with good knowledge of jarat from the Pavagadh mountain. the monuments.The manager very Mahmud Begada, Sultan of Gujahelpfully made a few calls and rat, captured it in1484. The story tracked down a guide, who would goes that he executed the Hindu meet me outside the Jami Masjid . Raja, who had refused to convert The guide, a slight, bearded but spared the son who did, conyoung man, introduced himself ferring upon him the rather grand

title of Nizam ul Mulk.

Mahmud proceeded to build an impressive city with magnificent palaces and ornate mosques at the foot of the mountain. He then moved his capital here from Ahmedabad.The city flourished but its glory was short lived ... its prosperity was its undoing The Mughal emperor Humayun sacked Champaner in 1535 after which the capital was moved back to Ahmedabad and the city went into rapid decline.Today, Mahmud Begada’s Palaces are in ruin. It is his mosques that survive and make Champaner-Pavagadh a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Constructed of red sandstone, the mosques are remarkable examples of the regional Islamic architecture of medieval Gujarat.Hindu influences are evident in the ornamentation of these Muslim places of worship, including exquisitely carved sun, lotus and torana motifs.These are most visible in the grandest of the mosques in the archaeological park, the Jami Masjid. The monument is reputed to be among the most beautiful mosques in India.

The other major structures include the Sahar ki Masjid and Kevada Masjid, the latter accessible only by a dirt track.

As I complete my tour, it strikes me that I have not encountered any other visitor. Guide Narendra Modi tells me that October is off season. Just a while back, I have seen quite a few tourist vehicles and people around the ropeway station connecting the Mahakali

temple. What could be the reason for the apathy towards these monuments? Godhra is only a short distance away. Have the fissures created by those horrific events earlier this century distanced even inanimate objects from people?

I haven’t been here long enough to be able to find an answer. The guide has told me in hushed tones that the presence of Hindu motifs may be an indication that the monuments were temples converted to mosques by the invader. Perhaps a lot of people would like to believe that, rejecting the evidence of syncretism.

Mahmud Begada’s India was a place where constant wars and religious zealotry and strife were the norm. But that was medieaval India and its rulers and people were creatures of their time. We who claim to live in enlightened times should have learnt our lessons from the many follies of history.

Apparently we haven’t! Yet the seamless weaving of two different cultures in the syncretic architecture of the mosques of Champaner tell you that two different bands can still make beautiful music together. I move on to my next destination.

A retired Indian Foreign Service Officer, Shashishekhar Gavai’s career has included serving as the Consul General of India in Houston and India’s High Commissioner for Canada. For a full version of this and other travelogs, visit indiaoffthebeatentrack. home.blog.

Indo-American News • Friday, JANUARY 17, 2020 • Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

15 Tanhaji: A Simplistic, Dressed-up Slice of the Maratha Past

ENTERTAINMENT

January 17, 2020

By Shubhra Gupta Cast: Ajay Devgn, Saif Ali Khan, Kajol, Sharad Kelkar, Luke Kenny Director: Om Raut Rating: 2 stars Somewhere in central India in the mid-17th century, the only force that is holding up the advancing soldiers of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, are the mighty Marathas.

Maratha valour has always been in vogue, but suddenly it seems unstoppable. Last month, Ashutosh Gowariker’s Panipat had the rousing battle cry of ‘Har Har Mahadev’ ringing across the screen; Tanhaji treads the same paths, more or less, only with a heavier-weight trio in the lead: Devgn as the all-good, valiant Tanhaji Malusare, Kajol as his dutiful, beautiful wife Savitribai, and Khan as the all-bad, utterly villainous Udaybhan Rathod.

There’s a lot of thunderous speechifying combined with thundering hooves, as befits an epic which toplines a historical figure who was chiefly a warrior. The opening credits tell us that eminent historians were consultants for this resurrection of the hitherto

‘unsung’ Tanhaji, to give him his rightful place in the pantheon of Maratha braves.

With this caveat out of the way, the film is free to pile up the songs and dances and non-stop action sequences, always circling back to heavy dialogues about the sanctity of the ‘bhagwaa dhwaj’ and ‘desh prem’, just in case we are in danger of forgetting the kind of film

we are watching.

By now, we are so steeped in Bollywood’s patriots re-creating paeans to our glorious past, that to even bring up the fact that the bad guys are your Muslim ‘outsiders’, seems to belabour the point. For this film, it’s simple; either you are on our side, or theirs.

Things start hotting up when the ambitious Aurangzeb (Kenny,

adorned in heavy brocade) appoints the ‘wafaadar’ Udaybhan as his man in the Deccan. Shivaji (Kelkar, nailing the look) counters with his main man Tanhaji, and we are set. Except we never know just who Udaybhan is, where he comes from. We don’t know why his loyalties lie with the Mughals. None of these niceties bother Udaybhan, as he goes about vamping it up

with great zest, cleaving through body parts, slavering over an imprisoned young woman (who is she? Where does she come from?), and chomping into braised crocodile meat. Yes, that’s right.

Given the times we are in, as long as we get an array of costumery, and our noble ancestors rattling their sabres, flag-waving period films will get audiences. Or will they? Whatever happened to provenance? I enjoyed Saif’s maniacal bad guy, which comes off as yet another variant (Ranveer Singh, Sanjay Dutt) of the fleshdevouring, diabolical, ruthless enemy that Bollywood currently delights in. Devgn and Kajol have a couple of soft moments.

And then there’s the kinetic climax, all strategy and battle and CGI. Scores of soldiers are shown scaling impossibly steep cliffsides, and running into a rain of bows-and-arrows; Tanhaji himself races towards certain doom, but also victory, and the ‘maukaparast darinda’ is handed out an end with a bang.

Just the film for those who long for a simplistic, dressed-up slice of the past. -- Indian Express

Pattas: Dhanush is Excellent in this Formulaic Tamil Film

By Shubhra Gupta Director: Durai Senthilkumar Cast: Dhanush, Sneha, Mehreen Pirzada Mass commercial outings, you like it or not, follow a certain pattern. There is ‘heroism’, loud songs, sentiments, romance, comedy, revenge (a clash between the protagonist and the villain), besides emotional flashback portions.

Pattas ticks all the right boxes as a commercial entertainer. But why are Tamil directors obsessed with the underdog sports movie template? Durai Senthilkumar himself has directed two other sports-based dramas—Ethir Neechal and Kaaki Sattai (starring Sivakarthikeyan).

You have to give the filmmaker this much—he tries. He has good ideas. But everything about Pattas becomes easily predictable.

I liked how the film deals with Adimurai, an ancient homegrown martial arts form—but the screenplay could have been tighter. The film is inspired by real-life people who practise Adimurai. At the same time, there is no attempt to inject novelty to the plot. Pattas director Durai Senthilkumar seems happy to rehash what once worked at the box office. Dhanush plays both Thiraviyam Perumal and Pattas aka Sakthi—the father and son.

The hero-introduction song made me sit up. But I didn’t care much about the rest.

Pattas is a star vehicle tailormade for Dhanush. It gets utterly generic, though the laughs (in the first half) are great. You get ac-

tion sequences, which Dhanush aces. He doesn’t look out-of-place even in a single scene. But there’s nothing more. Durai Senthilkumar simply wants to celebrate Dhanush—a “big” star and his heroism. Thus, he weaves a story around the ‘mass’ elements tailored into a script (yet another done-to-death story) mostly, playing to the gallery.

Thiraviyam Perumal swears by Adimurai, his craft, his land and his birthright. He is projected as the face of the masses. To be more precise—the Bruce Lee of Tamil Nadu and this is where Pattas goes wrong. In a crucial scene, someone sets Thiraviyam Perumal on fire. He doesn’t collapse but continues to fight, seething with rage.

Come on, please. These scenes

look ridiculously staged. (Of course, they are). Pattas cannot get more heroic than this. But again, that’s the tone of the film. It aims at the unapologetic celebration of the hero, Dhanush.

Pattas has something for every segment of the audience. But hey, the film does more for Dhanush than he does to it. I guess Durai Senthilkumar, this time, didn’t want to push the envelope, the way he did for Kodi (which I liked better for its approach to filmmaking and storytelling). Sneha as Kanyakumari, undoubtedly, gets to mouth the film’s best dialogues.

The actor steals the show and is quite a picture of confidence.

Like Rajinikanth’s latest outing Darbar, Pattas too has a weakly written villain character. Naveen

Chandra might be tall, masculine and well-built, but the moment you hear him speak, you lose it all.

(I would have liked to hear Gau-

tham Menon’s voice instead, and I am sure he would have done more justice to it). It is difficult to take Naveen Chandra seriously as the baddie because the film isn’t interested in it. Pattas bothers only about Dhanush and his double role.

Had Durai Senthilkumar tried a bit harder, he could have succeeded in making Pattas less predictable, despite the tried-and-tested masala entertainer-template. For a film that’s “rooted in Tamil culture, values and tradition”, you get Mehreen Pirzada, who doesn’t know Tamil. Sneha’s character defines this-is-how-a-heroine-should be. Then, there’s Mehreen’s role.

If you like loosu ponnu characters, you’ll like Sadhana. But I don’t think there’s anything to admire in an animated character. Let’s leave everything aside, including the brains—but Is it too difficult to get, at least, the lip-sync right?

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Indo-American News • Friday, JANUARY 17, 2020 • Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

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January 17, 2020

Indo-American News • Friday, JANUARY 17, 2020 • Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com