Indo-American News March 1, 2019

Friday, March 01, 2019 | Vol. 38, No. 05

Indo American News

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Houston Loses Its Maaji Jalaram Sai Baba Temple was synonymous with Maaji as she was the one who founded the Little Temple on Hillcroft. The outpouring of love for Maaji was apparent at her funeral which was held on Sunday, February 18 at Sugar Land Mortuary on Eldridge, with almost 800 people coming to pay their last respects. Many others from across the country and India came to pay homage, one last time, to a lady who showed them so much love.

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India House 16th Gala Recognizes Outstanding Achievements

India House President Jugal Malani (right) presents a ceremonial shawl to Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick as India House Executive Director Col. Vipin Kumar (retired) looks on.

The evening’s entertainment included a fashion show by Manyavar Mohe, which featured both bridal and contemporary couture.

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Shradhanjalis, Protests in Houston Confrontation ensued at protests held in front of Pakistan’s consulate by more than 200 people from the Indian subcontinent on Saturday, Feb. 22. Photo credit: N-TV.

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March 01, 2019

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COMMUNITY

March 01, 2019

Shradhanjalis, Protests in Houston Even as Military Escalation Flares Up

By Manu Shah Houston: “Too many lives have been lost. Enough is enough.”

With these words, Col. Raj Bhalla summed up the sentiment at the prayer service held at India House on February 20 for the 44 CRPF personnel killed in a terror attack in Pulwama, Jammu & Kashmir The names of the martyred soldiers were read out during a somber candlelight service while the gathering observed a minute silence in prayer for their souls.

“Shahido ko Shat Naman.”

President of India Culture Center Nisha Mirani saluted the brave sons of India and in a voice tight with emotion stated “India can fight back and will fight back.”

India’s Deputy Consul General of Houston Surendra Adhana read out Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement on the terror attack and the message of condolence from the White House.

Col. Bhalla, who served in the Indian army for 20 years before moving to the US, clearly touched a nerve when he spoke of the “fire that was burning in every Indian’s heart” at this “evil dastardly act.”

An admirer of Mahatma Gandhi, Col. Bhalla disagreed with his quote “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind,” in this case, because “when tyranny crosses all limits, stern action must be taken whether the world becomes blind

or not.”

Composing himself as tears fell, he highlighted the need for abolition of Article 370 of the Indian constitution and stated that it “is about time J & K should be open like any other state… new industries and employment will come to the state and there will be progress and development in every field.”

He also called for a media source to counter the misinformation and fake news being perpetuated by radio stations run by Pakistani Americans.

The prayer service drew over 300 Indian Americans and representatives of elected officials like Jay Guerrero from Senator John Cornyn’s office, Sam Merchant from Congressman Al Green’s office, Jason Fuller from Senator Ted Cruz’s office, Xavier Herrera from County Judge K.P George’s office and Regina Recino from Congressman Dan Crenshaw’s office who all expressed their “solidarity with India.”

Leaders of various Indo American organizations also voiced their abhorrence at this act of terrorism.

IAPAC President Hasu Patel, spoke of “not allowing our resolve to weaken.” IACCGH Executive Director Jagdip Ahluwalia drew attention to the names of the jawans on the banner where you “realize the diversity of India… the prosperous India that these terrorists cannot accept.”

Diginitaries gathered on the podium at India House after the Shradhanjali at India House. Similar services were held throughout Houston, including BAPS and MTS temples. Photo by Bijay Dixit.

Confrontation ensued at protests held in front of Pakistan’s consulate by more than 200 people from the Indian subcontinent on Saturday, Feb. 22. Photo credit: N-TV.

Somansh Agarwal of HGH observed that the soldiers demonstrated the highest level of the selflessness that the Bhagwat Gita speaks of, IMAGH representative Latafath Hussain called for India to “give such a reply that every would-be terrorist would think a

100 times before committing such an act.” IACF’s representative also spoke of “rising above just condemning the act and taking a strong stance.’ Earlier, two patriotic songs were rendered beautifully

by Smriti Srivastava accompanied

by Govind Shetty on the tabla.

Speaking from a personal perspective having served in Kashmir for three years, Executive Director of India House Col. Vipin Kumar cited a chronology of recent terror attacks and concluded with the question on everyone’s mind -“When will this stop?”

Indo-American News • Friday, MARCH 01, 2019 • Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

COMMUNITY

March 01,2019

India House 16th Gala Recognizes Outstanding Achievements

India House President Jugal Malani (right) presents a ceremonial shawl to Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick as India House Executive Director Col. Vipin Kumar (retired) looks on. In the photo on the right, Patrick presents the Community Service Award to Sewa International President Gitesh Desai. Photos by Navin Mediwala.

By Pramod Kulkarni Houston: India House mission of uniting cultures, creating bridges, and serving the community came to fruition during its fashionably elegant 16th annual gala on Saturday, March 9 evening at the Sugar Land Mariott Hotel ballroom. Gala chair was India House Trustee Bal Sareen.

The chief guest for the gala was Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick. It is a tradition at the gala to present awards to outstanding achievers. For 2019, the winners were real estate icons Chowdary & Angela Yalamanchili for Lifetime Achievement, fine dining chef Kiran Verma as Entrepreneur of the Year, and Sewa International President Gitesh Desai for Community Service.

The evening’s formal portion began with the spirited performance of the US and Indian national anthems by Jiya & Malikka Ghei.

In his introductory remarks, India House President Jugal Malani remarked, “India House has laid an impressive and strong foundation by showcasing itself at the forefront of community development, educational programs, healthcare services, wellness programs as social events.”

Lieutenant Patrick spoke of Texas’ attraction to immigrants from across the United States and the world at the rate of 1,000 people per day. Patrick pledged to reduce property taxes to retain Texas’ economic attraction by ensuring that there is no income tax and reducing property taxes, thereby receiving a thunderous applause from the audience.

A highlight of the evening was a speech on social entrepreneurship

by Hersh Kumar, a recent addition to the India House trustees. Ku-

India House Trustees Dr. Durga Agarwal (left) and Dr. Virendra Mathur (far right) present a ceremonial shawl and award to Dr. Stephen Spann, Dean of the University of Houston College of Medicine. In the right photo, new India House Trustee Hersh Kumar spoke with his wife Rita Kumar at his side.

The evening’s entertainment included a fashion show by Manyavar Mohe, which featured both bridal and contemporary couture. Photo by Karthik Photography.

mar spoke passionately about his struggle as an immigrant and how he built up a charitable organization with a current funding of $40 million. Also recognized on stage was Dr. Stephen Spann, Dean of the University of Houston School of Medicine.

Recently reelected Congressman Pete Olson spoke glowingly about the trade ties between Texas

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A full house of India House patrons and guests enjoyed the evening’s entertainment, which included a presentation of bridal and contemporary fashions by Manyavar Mohe and dancing by Infused Performing Arts, coordinated by Vanshika Vipin Verma.

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Mandir ki Maaji Bestows Last Blessings on Her Admirers Houston: If you are in Little India on any day or night and want to get some blessings, all you had to do is visit the temple on Hillcroft behind the first row of shops, almost behind Karat 22 Jewelers. It is small and cozy and until recently, sitting by the entrance on a padded chair was Maaji (Respected Mother) who greeted you with a wide toothless smile on her pretty round face with the large round tilak on her forehead and a disarming “Ajao beta, kaise ho?” (Come in child, how are you?)

It would be fair to say that the Jalaram Sai Baba Temple was synonymous with Maaji as she was the one who founded the Little Temple on Hillcroft (as many knew it) over 20 years ago. And for her, it was a fervent passion to impart the blessings of Shridi Sai Baba every day of the year. Her husband Bechardas Thakkar who owned East West Video (now East West International) at the corner of Hillcroft and Harwin Drive would drop her off at the temple at 9:30 every morning. “And Maaji would stay there until he picked her up at 7:30 in the evening,” recalled her daughter Jyoti Thakkar, “seven days a week.”

Maaji was also the main donor for the purchase of the property on West Bellfort and Highway 6 which she envisioned would become a vridh ashram – old age home – but has now become the Shridi Sai Jalaram Mandir.

The gentle, bright light of Hillcroft was extinguished two weeks ago on the morning of Thursday, February 14 as Maaji passed away.

Maaji was 85 years-old – her real name was Laxmiben Thakkar and had struggled with multiple ailments for many years.

Still, Maaji’s deep devotion brought her each day to the temple, even in a wheelchair, and she would delight in the almost 300 to 400 people - “her children” - who came daily. With her gone, Jyoti Continued on Page 06

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COMMUNITY

March 01, 2019

Stunned Community Mourns Victims of Murder-Suicide Sugar Land: The news of the Indian American couple’s death in an apparent murder-suicide at their home in Sugar Land has left the community in deep shock as friends and family looked for answers. On Monday, February 18 morning, the police responded to a 911 call to the home in the Telfair subdivision 6 am, where they found the bodies of Sreenivas Nakirekanti, 51, and his wife, 46-year-old Shanti.

The body of Shanti was found in the driveway of the home with a gunshot wound to her head.

Her husband’s body was found in a bedroom of the house with a gunshot wound to the chest and a small handgun nearby.

A preliminary investigation indicated that Sreenivas shot and killed his wife Shanti, and then turned the gun on himself. The couple’s 16-year-old daughter, Nitya was home at the time of the shooting but was not injured. The couple’s 21-year-old son, Pranay a student at University of Texas, was not home at the time.

“The two fatalities fit the scenario of a murder-suicide. This case is still under investigation,” said the Sugar Land Police Department in a press statement. “There is no danger to residents and SLPD is not looking for any suspects,” it added.

The police also told friends who had received an email from Sreeni-

Sreenivas and Shanti Nakirekanti leave behind two children: 22-year-old son Pranay, who will graduate from UT-Austin in May and 16-year-old daughter, Nitya, who attended Clements High School.

vas – widely known as Sreeni that day not to share the details of the message.

Close friends and family have since been taking care of the two children and there has been an overwhelming outpouring of support from the local Indian American community as well from all over the United States, and even from India. Shanti’s sister and her husband flew down with family to be with the couple’s children and to help arrange the final services.

Family members and relatives from out of town and India also flew in to attend the services.

Ramesh Cherivirala is among the close friends that have jumped into action taking care of the children and the final arrangements.

Cherivirala said that it was very comforting when Surendra Adhana, the Deputy Consul General of India in Houston coordinated with the family to make it easier for visa formalities.

Sreenivas Nakirekanti was born in Hyderabad and came to the US in 1990 to get a Masters degree from Texas A&M University in College Station, where he met his future wife Shanti, also from Hyderabad, who was also pursu-

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Continued from Page 05 intends to keep the tradition alive by staying daily at the temple.

Maaji’s faith in Shridi Sai Baba was solidified from a very early age and Jyoti recalled being taken to Shridi 63 years ago “with my sister Pratima on a bullock cart”.

Born on October 6, 1933 in Bhuj, Kutch she was raised in Ghatkoper, a suburb of Bombay.

When their sons moved to the US, the parents came to be with them over 30 years ago. In Houston they opened East West and got into other businesses too. survived by seven grandchildren and three great grandchildren.

The outpouring of love for Maaji was apparent at her funeral which was held on Sunday, February 18 at Sugar Land Mortuary on Eldridge, with almost 800 people coming to pay their last respects.

One of those who eulogized her was a man who the Thakkars befriended in California and traveled just for the funeral who said he “was struck by Maaji’s affection and warmth.” Many others from across the country and India came to pay homage, one last time, to a lady who showed them so much love. The sanskar (last rites) were performed by pandits Prakash Kumar Adhavaryu, Pradip Pandya, Narayan Prasad Sharma, Jiwanbhai and Sai Pariwar.

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ing a Masters degree.

The couple married and settled in Houston. Sreeni’s last job for the past 12 years was as director at NRG energy company in Houston and his wife was in IT with United Airlines.

Sreeni was the founding member of Sri Vasavi Association of Houston. He also served as the Treasurer for the Indo-American Charity Foundation and was to head the organization this year.

Shanti is survived by her parents and a sister who lives in Detroit, Michigan where Nitya has now relocated to finish her schooling.

Pranay will graduate in May and move to Seattle to work for Microsoft. Sreeni is survived by his parents and sister, who live in India. His parents are devastated as Sreeni’s’ brother had passed away in India just two years ago.

Final rites for the couple were held on Sunday, February 24 at the Winford Funeral Home. Nearly 300 people came to pay their last respects to the couple, who lay side-by-side in open caskets.

Many of their family and friends spoke, including Sreeni’s manager at NRG, who fought back tears as he recalled “the gentle giant”.

The Nakirekanti children spoke their feelings and Nitya, very maturely, prayed that her parents would find peace.

Credit: Shobana Muratee & Jawahar Malhotra

Mandir ki Maaji Bestows Last Blessings on Her Admirers

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March 01, 2019

COMMUNITY

Successful Session for Empowering Lives by Women’s Voice Network Sugar Land: The Women’s Voice, an allvolunteer community network of women from all walks of life, held a remarkably successful house-full session on ‘Life Coaching and Relationships in Workplace, Marriage and Family’ to encourage and empower the attendees on Saturday, February 23, 2019 at Ismaili Jamatkhana Center, Sugar Land.

This session provided valuable and resourceful information to all attendees to enable them to utilize their talents to the fullest whether in workplace, marriage or family.

“We are glad to provide effective tools and techniques to help women have good health, satisfying careers, better financial stability and a fulfilling life.”, said Neeta Sane, the Founder of The Women’s Voice.

The presentations by speakers Mahtab Moradi, Neeta Sane, Daysi Marin, and Parvin Bagherpour encouraged women to

further their goals in life. This was followed by enjoyable and heart-warming roundtable discussions among the attendees about job satisfaction and careers.

Considering that women face a wide range of emotional, social & financial pressures as they go through many struggles to advance in life, The Women’s Voice will be offering monthly sessions on various topics that impact women’s lives significantly. The Women’s Voice thanks all its partners, supporters and sponsors for joining in for this cause.

The next session to be offered by The Women’s Voice will be on ‘Financial Wellness for Women’ on Saturday, March 16, 2019 from 10:00 AM to Noon. To register, please contact Neeta Sane at 832-279-8601 or Mandy Randhwa at 818-681-2468.

For more information, please visit www.facebook.com/TheWomensVoice2019,

The network of The Women’s Voice 2019 is an all-volunteer community of women from all walks of life. Presenters at the session posed for a group photo with one of the coordinators, Neeta Sane (second from left).

Indo-American News • Friday, MARCH 01, 2019 • Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

COMMUNITY

March 01,2019

IACAN Hosts Seminar on Cervical Cancer

Dr. Surendranath S. Shastri (center) talked about the latest Cervical Cancer Screening Guidelines before an attentive audience at the Clear Lake Islamic Center during an educational outreach program organized by IACAN. Dr. Shastri posed with dignitaries associated with the IACAN and Clear Lake Islamic Center .

Clear Lake City: Commemorating the National Cervical Cancer Awareness month, Indian American Cancer Network (IACAN) held an educational outreach program, “How to Eliminate Cervical Cancer Completely?” on Sunday February 10, 2019, at Clear Lake Islamic Center.

Dr. Surendranath S. Shastri, M.B.B.S, M.D., D.Ph., Professor, Division of Health Disparities Research at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, was the keynote speaker at the information session. In the past, Dr. Shastri headed the Division of Preventive Oncology in Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, India, and was the Director of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Collaborating Centre for Cancer Prevention, Screening and Early Detection for South East Asia.

He often serves on the WHO expert panel for cancer and noncommunicable diseases.

Dr. Shastri began the presentation by explaining the association between Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) and cervical cancer. HPV, he explained, spreads through sexual intercourse.

Women whose sexual initiation starts early, has/had multiple sex partners, or has/had a partner with present/past history of multiple sex partners, are at higher risk of cervical cancer. He provided a brief overview of the progress of HPV infection to cervical cancer.

Discussing the signs and symptoms of cervical cancer, he mentioned that patients do not experi-

ence any symptoms until late stages of the disease. Late detection necessitates, invasive, painful and expensive treatment modalities involving extensive surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. However, HPV vaccination and regular cervical screening could prevent and completely cure the disease.

He talked about the latest (2018) Cervical Cancer Screening Guidelines of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and discussed the screening methods such as Pap test, HPV tests and a new method called vinegar test.

Dr. Shastri recommended that every woman within the age group of 21-65 years should undergo cervical screening i.e. Pap test every three years during 21-29 years and HPV test every five years during 30-65 years. He mentioned about his work in India, where patients from lower socio economic status were able to access the low cost screening technique called ‘vinegar test’, which resulted in increased screening uptake, hence, reducing mortality from cervical cancer by 31 percent.

Vinegar test has also been proven to be effective in reducing mortality from cervical cancer in other resource-constrained countries in Asia and Africa.

The second half of the presentation comprised of discussion on HPV vaccination as a preventive measure to cervical cancer. Dr. Shastri cited the example of Australia, which has embarked on a plan of cervical cancer elimination

by 2035 through HPV vaccination of boys and girls and HPV screening of women. HPV vaccination not only prevents cervical cancer but also other forms of HPV-related cancers such as oral, anal, penile and vulvar cancers. He referenced the latest WHO HPV vaccination guidelines, and mentioned that every adolescent male and female should be vaccinated around the age of 11-12 years to protect them from future HPV infections. If the child receives vaccination before 15 years of age, two doses are recommended, however if the vaccination happens after 15 years of age, three doses are recommended. Even adults can take HPV vaccination to protect themselves from future infections, however, it would not address any infections prior to vaccination.

The presentation was followed by an interactive session with the audience. Dr. Shastri hopes that his message would encourage more people to take up the recommended preventive measures and protect themselves from the disease. He said that it would be a crime if women die of cervical cancer because it is completely preventable.

Audience found the information very beneficial, especially because it addressed misconceptions related to cervical cancer and HPV vaccination. IACAN is looking forward to conducting more outreach events to raise awareness about cancer in our community.

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IIT Gandhinagar Explores Ways to Engage NRIs, PIOs to Advance Educational Stature Ahmedabad: Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar explored ways to engage with NonResident Indians (NRIs), Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) and global professionals to advance India’s educational stature on the international stage at an ‘Overseas Indian Higher Education Conclave’, on its campus, from 22nd to 23rd February 2019.

The Conclave celebrated IITGN’s overseas supporters and brainstormed on ways to engage more widely and deeply with overseas Indians to promote global student and faculty exchanges and educational advancement and fundraising. Recognising that many overseas Indians contribute their time, talent and treasure already, participants at the Conclave explored models, challenges and opportunities for partnerships.

Prof. Sudhir K. Jain, Director, IIT Gandhinagar, said, “The large number of professional NRIs and PIOs are an incredibly valuable resource that Indian educational institutions can tap for their academic and institutional advancement. Several overseas Indians serve as Visiting Faculty, Scholars in Residence or industry associates at IITGN. Many others volunteer their time and effort in fundraising or expanding out overseas network.”

Nearly 40% of IIT Gandhinagar’s undergraduate students and 75% of PhD students receive options to study abroad and other international opportunities, which is among the highest in India and three times the average at univer-

sities in the U.S. In addition, from 10% to 15% of IIT Gandhinagar’s faculty are Visiting Faculty from India and abroad.

The Conclave included intellectually stimulating discussions on various aspects of overseas Indian contributions to Indian Higher Education through sessions on ‘Models for Global Partnerships: Examples and Experiences’, ‘Facilitating Global Student and Faculty Exchanges’, ‘Global Fundraising: Opportunities and Challenges,’ and ‘Leveraging Overseas Indians in Fundraising and Institutional Development.’

Prof Nitish Thakor, Professor of Electrical, Computer Engineering and Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, U.S., said, “Science and Technology have become a global enterprise.

No longer are there small pockets of excellence, example as USA used to be.”

Dr. Jamshed Bharucha, Former President Emeritus of Cooper Union, New York, and Vice Chancellor, SRM University, Amaravati, Andhra Pradesh, said, “Global exchanges are critical because Indian higher education needs radical reform. First, while India has tremendous intellectual talent, the systems of education tend to stifle imagination, creativity, originality, innovation, and risk-taking. Second, while Indian higher education is good at deep dives into traditional academic disciplines, important emerging areas of knowledge are not within traditional academic disciplines, but rather at cross-disciplinary intersections.”

Discussions underway at the Overseas Indian Conclave at IIT Gandhinagar.

Indo-American News • Friday, MARCH 01, 2019 • Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

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March 01, 2019

Masons Show Appreciation to Brother Bhalla, Donors for Renovations

By Jawahar Malhotra Richmond: Many in the community know Dr. Raj Bhalla for his outspokenness, sharp wit, generosity and support and presence in many community activities. He is regarded as the community’s elder statesman and has guided many decisions through his clear and thoughtful purpose.

But his sphere of influence does not end there. Ever since he moved to the Houston area in 1995, Bhalla has also been involved with the Morton Masonic Lodge No. 72 in Richmond where he has devoted much time and money for the historic lodge building’s upkeep. In recognition of Brother Raj’s devoted and outstanding service to Masonic principles, in April 2015 he received the coveted Golden Trovel Award, the highest honor a Texas lodge can bestow.

In June 2017, when Bhalla was surprised but delighted when the Lodge Brethren presented him with a shadow box with a kirpan, an antique Masonic plaque, and a suitably engraved dedication and named the Masonic Lodge Hall, where regular meetings are held, as “Rajinder Bhalla Hall”.

The freemason order was first established in 1717 with the first Grand Lodge of England was formed in London. Fraternity, personal growth and social better-

Members of the Morton Masonic Lodge No. 72 in Richmond with Brother Raj Bhalla in center.

ment via individual involvement and philanthropy have been its guiding lights. Stonemason guilds have transcended national boundaries and religious affiliations and though they were long seen as a shadowy organization, the root of the association has sought to better the lives of those around the local Lodges where the members gather for regular meetings.

They follow a strict code of conduct, each member, addressed as “Brother”, passing through progressive degrees of initiation from Entered Apprentice to Fellowcraft and finally Master Mason.

Some very famous Americans were Masons, including George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Paul Revere and President Teddy Roosevelt.

For Dr. Rajinder Pal Singh Bhalla, this was a fascinating world, one which he had been exposed to as a young boy by his father who was a Past Grand Standard Bearer and Past Junior Regional Grand Warden in the Grand Lodge of India on Janpath Avenue in New Delhi, India. His younger brother GPS Bhalla became Master of Lodge in Madras and inspired Raj and his

youngest brother Paul to join. By June 1964, Bhalla had become a Master Mason at the Northern Star Lodge No. 21 in Ferozepur Cantonment, Punjab, just miles from the Indo-Pak border.

Soon after he came to America, Bhalla joined the Paumanok-Port Washington No. 855 Lodge and stayed there from 1976 till 1993, serving as its Worshipful Master in 1982. Now a very active 88 yearsold, Bhalla has been a Freemason for over 50 years.

Two weeks ago, on Saturday, February 16, the Brethren of Morton Masonic Lodge once again gathered in the large first floor hall with the storefront that opens to Morton Street in the downtown area to honor not just Bhalla for yet another act of generosity but also the other donors.

Almost 80 people – donors, friends and fellow Lodge masons – mingled downstairs over appetizers and then a buffet lunch to admire the results of their financial donation, which has allowed for the banquet hall to be renovated after the flooding it suffered two years ago. “Not only did he make the donation,” Worshipful Master Harold “Chip” Enst said in deep appreciation, “He also paid for this sumptuous lunch (catered by Bombay Brasserie)! He exemplifies what the Masonic tradition is all about.”

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COMMUNITY

March 01,2019

SSS Mandir Offers Prayers for Terror Victims

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Prayer meeting underway for Pulwama victims at the Sanatan Shiv Shakti Mandir.

By Dr. Sarita Mehta Houston: Fresh after the terrorist attack in Pulwama, Kashmir on February 14 that killed 44 Indian paramilitary, prayer and memorial services were held all across the Metroplex as community members came together to pay their homage to those who had fallen.

Houston residents gathered at Sanatan Shiv Shakti Mandir of Houston in Little India on Monday evening, February 18, to pay holy tribute and offer a mantar maii shardhanjali to the CRPF personnel who were martyred in deadly attack. Those assembled included many office bearers of various organizations.

Even though it was a working day, around 400 people participated in this Mahamrityanjay Jap Yagya where 12 members of the

Siyaram Group Houston recited patriotic, nationalistic and religious devotional songs for more than an hour to pay homage to the Pulwama brave hearts. According to the Rig Veda, the holy book of Hinduism, in one of the hymns in the “Window into our own Heroic age”, the “Brave Never Die”.

Fifteen speakers from various organizations spoke on this occasion. Among them were Nisha Mirani, President ICC; Swapan Dhairyawan, President of the IACCGH; Gitesh Desai, President of Sewa International Houston; Achalesh Amar, also with Sewa; Geeta Patel, President of Gujarati Samaj of Houston; Kusum Sharma, Executive Director of Natraj School of Dance; Sangeeta Dua, Apsara Salon; Rashesh Dalal of VPSS; Hasu Patel; Pravin Vyas; Dr. Sarita Mehta, Chairperson Vidya Dham

USA; Ramesh Modi, President of Indian Senior Citizen’s Association and Umang Mehta.

The speakers condemned, in the strongest words, the cowardly terror attack and said that such brutality has to be defeated, adding that no words are enough to describe the pain and suffering. After two minutes of silent prayers, everyone prayed for the welfare of the families of the departed souls and wishing a speedy recovery to the injured.

All agreed that overseas Indian communities would stand united with India in the fight against the forces of terror. An appeal to contribute financially to help the grieving families through financial support and for the education of the martyr’s children raised $12,000.

This two-and-a-half-hour program was followed by aarti and mahaprasad served made by Shiv Shakti Temple volunteers.

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BITSIANs Celebrate BITSAA Day 2018

By Nikhita Punna Houston: On the first Friday of August every year BITSians (students and alumni from Birla Institute of Technology, Pilani) around the world gather to celebrate BITSians’ Day -a global gathering of BITS Alumni to reflect, recognize and share those priceless experiences that shaped them into what they are today.

Year-after-year, this event enables BITSians to bond and positively enhance each others’ professional and personal lives. This year on August 3rd, BITSians in Houston chapter gathered together to celebrate BITSians’ Day at Axelrad, a gathering place in downtown Houston, TX to hang out

outdoors with live music, food and drinks. Alumni from class of 1960 through 2016 enjoyed the evening recollecting and exchanging fond memories of those four to five years of fun-filled life spent at BITS campuses.

Birla Institute of Technology and Sciences (BITS) Pilani, Rajasthan has evolved from the Birla College of Engineering which was established in 1946. The institute was under the private management of Birla Education Trust, headed by late G.D. Birla, a close associate of Mahatma Gandhi. Since then, BITS campuses expanded to other locations including Goa, Hyderabad and Dubai. During the early years of its inception, in 1964 -70, the Institute, with the support of Ford

Foundation had collaboration with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In 2018, the government of India declared BITS as one of the six Indian “Institutes of Eminence (IoE)” which is a recognition of it’s admission standards and academic performance.

BITSian’s Day is a unique initiative taken up by BITSAA International- a 501(c3) non-profit organization registered in USA that represents all BITSians with chapters throughout the world.

The Houston chapter, initiated by Krishna Vavilala (class of 1955-60) was formally inaugurated in August 2013. The Chapter is open to connecting with similar professional groups. To join the group visit https://www.facebook. com/groups/ BITSAAHouston/.

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Indo-American News • Friday, MARCH 01, 2019 • Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

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SPORTS

March 01, 2019

Glenn Maxwell Century Helps Australia Beat India 2-0

By Sresth Shah Bengaluru (ESPN Crickinfo): Australia 194 for 3 (Maxwell 113*, Short 40, Shankar 2-38) beat India 190 for 4 (Kohli 72*, Rahul 47, Dhoni 40) by seven wickets Glenn Maxwell was “disappointed” at not staying unbeaten during Australia’s victory in the first T20I, and he made sure not to repeat that in the second. Coming in at 22 for two, Maxwell struck his third T20I century to chase down 191 in Bengaluru, and hand Australia their first bilateral T20I series win against the hosts.

Chasing a target slightly abovepar on a tricky pitch, Maxwell struck seven fours and nine sixes to top-score for Australia in backto-back games. His unbeaten 55ball 113 helped Australia cruise to victory with seven wickets in hand.

That Maxwell had the liberty to play his shots was also down to the company that D’Arcy Short (40) gave him. Australia looked in trouble early on, having lost Marcus Stoinis and Aaron Finch cheaply once again, but the duo’s 73-run third-wicket stand brought Australia back.

While Short found the boundary six times, it was Maxwell who brought out the fireworks. The proceedings started in the fifth over, when he top-edged a six off Jasprit Bumrah, and did not spare any of India’s other bowlers either.

He paddled Vijay Shankar’s short balls over square leg, whipped Yuzvendra Chahal’s half-tracker over midwicket and crunched Krunal Pandya’s full balls through extra cover. Maxwell used his feet well too, shuffling across the stumps to keep India’s inexperienced bowling attack guessing, and reached his fifty in the 13th over with a nudge to midwicket.

Australia still needed more than 11 per over with seven overs to go, and that’s when Maxwell brought out his bag of tricks. Consecutive sixes off Chahal in the 16th over took the wind out of India’s bowling attack, and when he drilled Bumrah for two fours in the 17th, victory looked imminent.

With two overs to go, and only 14 runs to win, Maxwell jammed

Glenn Maxwell drills one down the ground, as wicket keeper MS Dhoni looks on India v Australia, 2nd T20I, Bengaluru, February 27, 2019

a yorker down to the leg side to bring up his third T20I hundred.

And with that milestone ticked off, he clubbed Siddarth Kaul for a six over long-off and then flat-batted boundary to extra cover to bring up Australia’s victory.

Earlier in the day, KL Rahul’s blazing 40 had set the ball rolling for India after Shikhar Dhawan failed to find his timing. At 16 for no loss after three quiet overs, Rahul took on Jhye Richardson to collect consecutive sixes in a 15-run fifth over. If Rahul’s first six wasn’t quite convincing - a top-edged maximum - he oozed quality the next ball, nonchalantly lifting a wide ball over the extracover boundary.

Rahul followed it up with backto-back sixes off Pat Cummins, first a whip over midwicket followed by a pull behind square, to lift India to 53 for no loss after six. But he perished trying a ramp shot.

That brought in Virat Kohli, but Rahul’s dismissal earned Australia two tidy overs. Dhawan, who was looking out of sorts with just one boundary in his knock, then tried

to play an inside-out drive over cover, only to find Stoinis running in from the ropes. His 24-ball 14 was the primary reason why India were only at 73 for two after ten overs. When Rishabh Pant fell cheaply once again, trying to clear long-off, India’s projected score stood at 134.

But in came MS Dhoni, criticised in some corners for his 37-ball 29 in the first T20I. He struck his sixth ball, off wristspinner Short, over midwicket before shellacking a boundary apiece over the next two overs. Balls that were short and wide were slapped over the infield, while anything on his toes was deposited to cow corner.

With Dhoni finding his range, Kohli soon joined in. He began India’s late charge with a shortarm jab over Richardson in the 15th over, before creaming a hattrick of sixes in the 16th. Nathan Coulter-Nile - Kohli’s team-mate at Royal Challengers Bangalore found his first slower ball whipped to deep midwicket. Kohli then picked a wide ball outside off to club a six over extra cover. And the icing was the third six, which

Kohli - in Dhoni style - muscled over long-on after skipping down the track.

With three overs to go, India were still only at 138 for three.

But Australia captain Finch’s decision to bowl Short for a third over tempted Dhoni to look for boundaries. He struck three, including two sixes, to extract 19 off the over, to move to 39.

By then, Kohli had already reached his half-century and he started the 19th over with a lofted six to a ball that was nearly outside the wide-line. A straight drive over brought Richardson’s expensive spell (0 for 45) to a close.

Cummins broke the 49-ball century stand in the 20th over, but conceded 15 runs off his final four deliveries to finish his spell with an economy of over 13. Dinesh Karthik struck two boundaries, and Kohli finished the innings with a six, to take India to a respectable 190. In their last six overs, India added 91 runs.

The two T20Is turned into the Maxwell show as a brilliantly calculated hundred was able to overcome even Jasprit Bumrah

Wrestler Sakshi Malik Stuns Champion Petra Kochi: Olympic bronze medallist Sakshi Malik stunned the reigning world champion Petra Olli of Finland to enter the finals of the female 65g category freestyle at the Dan Kolov 2019 wrestling meet in Ruse, Bulgaria on Thursday.

In the semi-final bout, Sakshi defeated Olli 4-1 and will face Henna Johansson of Sweden in the finals on Friday. Sakshi, who won a bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics, now has a shot at the gold medal.

Earlier, Malik had said that she is looking to improve upon her performances in each and every competition that she takes part.

Speaking to IANS, Malik had said, “The last few bouts where I had to face defeat were very close affairs. Every time, it was just a matter of few seconds here and there. If I could have managed to hold on for a few seconds longer, the end results could have been different.”

Reflecting on her chances at the Tokyo Olympics 2020, she said, “Winning another Olympic medal is my dream and I am completely focused on that.”

“But before that, there is the world championships where I have to perform well to qualify for the Tokyo Games. I am really happy with my fitness and training at the moment and I am sure, I will be able to make my dream a reality in Tokyo next year,” she added.

In the semi-final bout, Sakshi defeated Olli 4-1 and will face Henna Johansson of Sweden

Indo-American News • Friday, MARCH 01, 2019 • Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

March 01,2019

Indian GDP Growth Slows to Five-Q Low of 6.6% in Q3 Mumbai: India’s economic growth slows to a five-quarter low of 6.6 per cent in October-December this fiscal, from 7 per cent a year ago, as per government data released Thursday. The growth estimate has been lowered to 7 per cent in 2018-19 from 7.2 per cent released earlier, said Central Statistics Office.

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at constant prices (2011-12) had grown at 7 per cent in OctoberDecember quarter of the previous financial year. “GDP at Constant (2011-12) Prices in Q3 of 2018-19 is estimated at Rs 35.00 lakh crore, as against Rs 32.85 lakh crore in Q3 of 2017-18, showing a growth rate of 6.6 per cent.

“GDP growth rates for Q1 and Q2 of 2018-19 at Constant Prices are 8.0 per cent and 7.0 per cent respectively,” the Central Statistics Office (CSO) said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the growth of eight

core sectors slowed down to 1.8 per cent in January due to fall in output of crude oil, refinery products and electricity, official data showed Thursday.

Eight infrastructure sectors — coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity — had expanded by 6.2 per cent in January 2018.

Production of crude oil, refinery

products and electricity contracted by 4.3 per cent, 2.6 per cent and 0.4 per cent, respectively, in January.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath Wednesday referred Gross domestic product (GDP), as a “fancy figure” and said that economic growth must translate into well being of people on the ground.

At a session on the emerging market outlook at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2019, Nath also strongly defended his government’s farm loan waiver decision and said the agricultural sector in India and particularly in his state has been in distress.

Referring to the latest IMF forecast for the Indian economy, he said, “GDP is a fancy figure and at times it can be misleading as one needs to see where all a 7.5 per cent growth figure translates into”.

Defending the loan waiver, the Congress leader, who also had a long stint in central government in various ministries, said it was very necessary as agriculture is a backbone of the Indian economy and he had to take into account the distress the farmers were in.

-- Indian Express

Jet Airways Naresh Goyal to Step Down as Chairman New Delhi: Jet Airways’ founder Naresh Goyal has agreed to step down as chairman of the airline’s board, a source was quoted as saying by Reuters on Thursday even as the cash-strapped Indian carrier inches closer to securing a rescue deal.

The source with direct knowledge of the matter further said that Eithad, which owns a 24 per cent stake in Jet Airways, is reticent to provide interim funding of about 7 billion rupees ($99 million) to Jet Airways. Jet did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Saddled with a billion dollars in debt, Jet has defaulted on loans and has not paid pilots, leasing firms and suppliers for months. Lessors have grounded more than a dozen of its planes pending payment of dues Jet Airways Ltd’s 69-year-old

founder Naresh Goyal, who started out as an assistant in a travel agency, wove together charm, persistence and consummate dealmaking to build India’s biggest full-service carrier. Now, his penchant for control has emerged as a major obstacle as the indebted airline tries to negotiate a rescue deal, several people who have worked closely with him or known

him over the years told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

“He was a visionary in his day but those days are behind us,” said a senior aircraft financier who has done deals with Goyal. “This is the moment of truth for Naresh Goyal.”

The rising dominance of lowcost carrier IndiGo in a price sensitive market as well as high oil

prices, hefty fuel taxes and a weak rupee have left Jet strapped for cash and unable to pay employees and lessors on time.

The 25-year-old airline, which Goyal set up with his wife at a time when state-run Air India was the only real formidable opponent, has outstanding dues of about $400 million.

Jet has survived a near-death experience once before; in 2013, Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways injected $600 million of capital for a 24 percent stake in the airline, three London Heathrow slots and a majority share in Jet’s frequent flyer programme.

The airline is in talks with Etihad a second time and with Indian conglomerate Tata Sons for fresh funds or a stake sale, but sources have told Reuters that any rescue would require Goyal to step down, or take a less prominent role.

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Large Outsourcing May Boost IT Revenue in ‘19 New York: The twin trends of outsourcing larger technology contracts and Fortune 1000 companies awarding work that was earlier done internally to its vendors have led analysts and information technology executives to suggest that the sector could grow faster in the year starting 1 April.

These trends are the third positive development for India’s $167 billion information technology (IT) outsourcing sector, after the first six months of the current fiscal saw IT firms adding more employees and raising salaries of some of them by as much as 40%.

“Digital spend is industrializing a little bit, moving from pilots and PoC (proof of concepts) to big spends. That should look well overall for the industry, so I am quite optimistic,” Nasscom chairman Rishad Premji said in an interaction with Mint last month.

“The other interesting and exciting thing is, again at broad basis, the return of larger deals.”

The ability of IT companies to offer solutions through mobility and data crunching platforms that allows their clients, from Citigroup Inc. to Walmart Inc., to do their business more efficiently saw the technology vendors generating more revenue from stand-alone deals signed in 2018 than ever before.

This development is one reason for improved growth at some of the largest companies, including Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS).

The largest IT services companies, including TCS, Cognizant, Infosys and Wipro, shared this optimism when they briefed analysts.

Indo-American News • Friday, MARCH 01, 2019 • Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

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March 01, 2019

IACCGH Holds Dialogue with Cong. Crenshaw TiE Hosts Houston Exponential

IACCGH President Swapan Dhairyawan presents a momento to Cong. Dan Creshaw as dignitaries look on.

Houston: The IACCGH recognizes that businesses thrive when policies at the State, Federal and International level are business friendly. The Chamber strives to provide access to those that influence and are responsible for policies that impact business and has since 2013 launched its Power Dialogue series.

The first 2019 Power Dialogue was hosted on January 26th 2019 at Double Tree Hilton with the Chamber Board and representatives of small and medium businesses with Congressman Dan Crenshaw over lunch. IACCGH President Swapan Dhairyawan welcomed the Congressman and presented him with a plaque & memento while Founding Secretary/Executive Director Jagdip Ahluwalia walked the Congressman through Chamber video of the history of IACCGH. Newly elected U.S. Representative for Texas’s 2nd District, Dan Crenshaw, was honored to be the Indo-American Chamber of Com-

merce of Greater Houston’s guest at their first Power Dialogue of 2019. The Congressman presented Indo-American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Houston with his first official proclamation as a U.S. Representative in recognition of IACCGH’s 20 year commitment to economic growth and local job creation through bilateral trade.

Congressman Crenshaw stated that, since being sworn-in on January 3rd, 2019, he has hit the ground running and will be serving on both the Homeland Security and Budget Committees.

On trade, he spoke on the positive economic impact trade has had on the Houston region and the State of Texas. He re-affirmed his support of free trade and his belief that tariffs are a form of taxation.

The group shared their concerns with the steel tariffs and the negative impact on local businesses.

On regulations, he emphasized the importance of resisting any new burdensome regulations on businesses.

On immigration, the group shared their concern that many businesses are having difficulty getting the highly-skilled workers they need short-term temporary work visas.

The Congressman spoke of the Fairness for High Skilled Immigrants Act, which would eliminate the per-country numerical limitation for employment-based immigrants. He remains committed to carefully reviewing the legislation in the days ahead.

Both congressional offices are fully operational, and his team is ready and available to help constituents, both in district and in D.C. Upcoming dialogues with Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, Congressman Pete Olson and Congressman Al Green are being planned out and similar dialogues are planned with the Harris County and Fort Bend County Judges and County Commissioners through out the Chambers’ 20th anniversary year in 2019.

Visit www.iaccgh.com for future events.

The special guest for the evening was Russ Capper, CEO of Houston Exponential (HX).

Houston: It’s a new year and that means new events being hosted by TiE Houston. This past week, they hosted their first networking social at the new Post Oak location for The Cannon Houston, which just opened up earlier this year.

Drinks were sponsored by Roxor.

ROXOR Gin is Curated by James Beard awarded Chef Robert Del Grande, owner of Cafe Annie and The Grove in Houston.

The special guest for the evening was Russ Capper, CEO of Houston Exponential (HX). The nonprofit HX which launched in October 2017 was created by combining the Houston Technology Center with the Mayor’s Technology and Innovation Task Force and the Greater Houston Partnership’s Innovation Roundtable. TiE is proud to be an HX ecosystem partner.

Russ shared the tremendous

progress since then and shared some ways we can help the Houston startup ecosystem grow: Get the word out! The easiest way is to like, follow, comment, and share on HX’s social media channels.

Check out HX TV! A YouTube channel dedicated to highlighting Houston entrepreneurs.

Attend events. HX has programming scheduled all around the city.

For more information go to http:// houstonexponential.org/.

TiE’s next event, on March 28, is be a panel discussion on Energy with Jean-Francois Poupeau (VP Corporate Engagement, Schulberger) and Hossam Elbadawy (Managing Director of SCF Ventures and Technology Partner at SCF Partners).

For more information on TiE upcoming events: TiE Houston: www.houston.tie.org

Sanatan Shiv Shakti Mandir of Houston Inc. 6640 Harwin Dr, Houston, TX 77036

Maha Shivratri Celebration Monday – 4 March- 20 19 The First Jyotir Lingam, a Replica of GOD Somnath & Maa ShriAmbaji, in Houston Please Come with your Family and Friends and pray at Our Temple.

Maha Arati 7:00 pm.

Four-Prahar pooja will continue till next day 6:00 am.

List your name for Pooja with the Priest.

Mrutyunjaya japa Yajna will continue for the whole day.

For Mahapooja, a donation of $201 is appreciated; Abhishek during daytimea donation of $21 is appreciated.

Milk for Abhishek& Prasad is welcomed .

ENJOY THANDAI PRASAD & FALAHAR IN THE TEMPLE Devotees who desire to sit in Pooja may give their names to our Priest the temple at 713-278-9099

Monday 04 March 2019    

Maha Aarti –7:00 pm

First Prahar pooja – 8:30 p.m. To 10:00 pm Second Prahar pooja – 10:30 pm To 12:30 am Third Prahar pooja – 1:00 am To 3:00 am Fourth Prahar pooja - 3:30 am to 6:00 am

Indo-American News • Friday, MARCH 01, 2019 • Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

EDITORIAL/COMMENTARY Hard Choices

March 01,2019

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Our Secret is Not Safe: How stigmas around abuse and guns are harming our community

By Madiha Haque & Rachna Khare

It appears now that in dogfights subsequent to the IAF airstrike on Balakot, an Indian fighter was shot down across the LoC and its pilot captured. If this is the case, Pakistan must accord him full POW rights under the Geneva Convention. There are risks that must be confronted if India is to pursue the hard option of going after terror havens in Pakistan. The latter promised to “retaliate” and appears to have done so by entering Indian airspace.

In these fraught circumstances, it is imperative that the entire political class comes together and backs the government and armed forces. The government, too, must be restrained and not try to make political capital out of the situation, as that inherently invites opposition comebacks and rebuttals.

Pakistan knows it cannot defeat India in direct conflict, but hopes to take advantage of India’s fractious polity at a time when the Lok Sabha election is coming up.

Pakistan’s “retaliations” may also take the form of more terror strikes, which its establishment hopes will have a multiplier effect as right wing groups take their anger out on innocent citizens. If, however, the Indian political class can demonstrate that despite its hyper-partisan turn these days it stands united in its resolve against terror and doesn’t allow external agents to sow internal division, that in itself would be half the battle won.

Alongside it’s also time to pursue some diplomatic hard options against Pakistan, with the objective of turning it into an international pariah. Islamabad has said it will boycott the upcoming OIC meet if foreign minister Sushma Swaraj attends.

Among other moves, India should use its superior financial heft to expel Pakistan from the upcoming ICC World Cup cricket tournament. Let Pakistan make a choice between what it wants to pursue: cricket or terror.

The precedent India can cite is that of South Africa under apartheid, who other nations refused to play.

The astonishing thing is that while Pakistan routinely charges India with appalling human rights violations, its behaviour with its own minorities is far worse. The various disabilities under which minorities in Pakistan such as Shias, Ahmadiyyas, Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Balochis and Pashtuns have to labor – some of them legal and on the statute books – are comparable to or worse than those of blacks in apartheid South Africa. India can confront ICC with a stark choice: either India or Pakistan in international tournaments, till Pakistan plays ball on terror. -- Times of India

Indo American News

On February 18, our community experienced a tragedy when a South Asian man shot and killed his wife and then turned the gun on himself. As the investigation continues, we have seen dialogue about whether this constitutes as domestic violence. Indeed, this horrific incident fits the Center for Disease Control’s definition of intimate-partner violence. Additionally, a key conversation is still missing from this incident – how does gun violence impact South Asian-American women? Due to preconceived notions about gun ownership, we often ignore gun violence as an issue that impacts our community. However, 40% of American adults live in a home with a firearm – we are not immune to this public health issue.

Research shows that the presence of a gun increases the risk of homicide for abused women by 500%. Women in the US are more likely to be murdered with a firearm than by any other way, making this the most dangerous

country in the ‘developed’ world for gun violence against women.

According to a recent CDC report, more than half of female homicide victims are killed by their intimate partner.

Guns play a major role in domestic abuse in other ways as well. Across all racial groups, guns are used by abusers to intimidate and control their victims. 4.5 million American women have been threatened with a gun by their intimate partner.

The tragic event this past week should spark a much needed conversation around domestic violence and the role that guns play in violence against South Asian American women. Like domestic violence, gun ownership carries a strong stigma in our culture. Research commissioned by the National Shooting Sports Foundation found that Asian-Americans were the highest ethnic group to say that owning firearms is viewed as undesirable in the community.

Victims often hide or minimize their actual risk out of fear of judgement from the community.

Concerned friends and fam-

ily may not fully understand the risks when they suspect abuse in a home. People may feel it is “not their place” to ask about firearms due to the negative societal stigma associated with gun ownership.

Worse yet, many may not even think to ask about a gun in the home due to the secrecy around this issue in our community.

We are not exempt from the major public health issues in the US such as domestic violence, sexual assault, and gun violence. Research shows these deaths are predictable and, therefore, they are preventable. By recognizing and breaking these stigmas, we have the chance to keep our community safer.

Madiha Haque and Rachna Khare work for Daya Houston where they serve as Housing Client Advocate and Executive Director, respectively.

Daya empowers South Asian survivors of abuse to break the cycle of violence by addressing their mental health, safety, legal, and housing needs with a cultural lens.

The writer is Malcolm Adiseshiah Chair Professor, Institute of Social Sciences.

Statement from Daya on Murder-Suicide in Sugar Land Houston: On February 18, our community experienced a tragic murder-suicide. Initial reports state that a South Asian man shot and killed his wife and then turned the gun on himself. The family’s friends spoke to reporters of the couple’s involvement in the community and said they saw no indications of problems. All expressed their deep love for the family.

Throughout the day, we at Daya spoke with community members who expressed their pain and frustration. We are encouraged to see respectful conversations that speak to the broader problem of domestic violence in our community.

The reality is that the dynamics of South Asian culture keep domestic violence a shameful secret within the family. Non-physical forms of violence such as emotional, psychological, financial, and sexual abuse are minimized or ignored. However, these types of violence have severe traumatic effects not only on the victims but also the children who bear

witness. Survivors are often blamed and shamed when they seek help and are pressured to “stay together for the children’s sake.” In many cases, they lose everything when they come forward. The stigma of divorce keeps families unhealthy and unsafe. This social stigma creates the added risk of losing one’s entire support system.

Research shows us that South Asian survivors face challenges in mainstream systems due to language barriers and lack of cultural expertise. Daya’s goal is to ensure that South Asian survivors do not fall through the cracks due to such issues. It pains us to know that Houston has had five murder-suicides just this month.

Domestic violence crosses all nationalities, incomes, education levels, and social standings. The South Asian community is not immune to domestic violence, and continued silence will only perpetuate abuse.

In 2018, Daya supported 462 survivors; however, research suggests

that 1 in 3 women are impacted.

It is with a heavy heart that we at Daya recommit to our work and we ask that you join us. Believe survivors. Pay heed to their words. They do not deserve abuse and it is not their fault. Hold abusers accountable. Raise the bar for what is acceptable in our community. Prioritize safety and compassion above all else. By breaking the stigma, you create a future where children not only understand what healthy relationships are, they demand them.

To the victims – Your death will not be in vain. We will hold you in our hearts as we continue in our mission to end domestic violence in the South Asian community.

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic abuse, please reach out through Daya’s confidential helpline at 713-9817645. Abuse can be physical, but it can also be emotional, psychological, sexual, financial, or verbal. You are not alone, and we are here for you.

Founder: Dr. K.L. Sindwani Publisher: Jawahar Malhotra Editor: Pramod Kulkarni Reporter: Sanchali Basu Advertising Administrator: Sarita Mehta ®All rights reserved. No material herein or portions thereof may be published without the written consent of the publisher. The deadline for advertising and articles is 4 pm on Monday of each week. Please include self-addressed, stamped envelope for return of all unsolicited material. Published at 7457 Harwin Drive, Suite 262, Houston, Texas 77036.

Tel: 713-789-6397 email: indoamericannews@yahoo.com, website: www.indoamerican-news.com

Indo-American News • Friday, MARCH 01, 2019 • Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

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March 01, 2019

Tamil Nadu Foundation Celebrates an Enchanting Valentine’s Day

Houston: Tamil Nadu Foundation’s Houston Chapter celebrated Valentine’s Day during an afternoon of camaraderie among friends, highlighted by an artistic extravaganza of dances, interludes of music by Sargam Melodies, fashion show of hidden talents by local artists, and gestures of appreciation to service and seniority, over delicious treats of coffee, tea and snacks. The event was held at the San Jacinto South Campus on Sunday, February 24th.

The highlight of the evening was the scintillating performance by Eyakkam Dance Company from Dallas, under the title ‘Konjum Salangai’ (Enticing Anklets), who, as claimed by their title, treated the audience with an array of ‘enticing medley’ of dances. The endowed group of young and younger artists presented a most nostalgic collage of memorable masterpieces of yester years, from an era before any of them were even born. Some of the exceptional pieces were the ‘dance duel’ by Annam and Lavanya, that offered us glimpses of the ever-memorable filmatic contest between Padmini and Vyjayanthimala for the movie Vanchicot Valiban, the Eyakkam Medley and the grand finale of Thillana by all the dancers of the troupe.

The choreography was brilliant, the costumes were exquisite and the discipline and balance of the artists, impeccable. The dancing guests from Dallas presented the audience a treat that would be re-

The highlight of the evening was the scintillating performance by Eyakkam Dance Company from Dallas, under the title ‘Konjum Salangai’ (Enticing Anklets).

All the organizers and associates of the Tamil Nadu Foundation gathered for a group photo after the Valentine’s evening performances.

“The audience left contented with an evening of delightful entertainment and with compassionate hearts motivated by the charitable deeds of TNF.” membered for quite a while.

The professional musicians of Sargam Melodies rendered some pleasing songs that are always the audience’s favorites. Many wished that the music items alone could have been amply entertaining for

an evening. But the surprising finale of the evening entertainment was the dance and music ensemble presented by about sixteen couples from TNF community, who mesmerized the gathering with an assortment of visually glamorous

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to enchanting display of talent as they performed to chosen cinematic songs most appropriate for an evening of Valentine love theme.

The evening of festivities was introduced by Mala Gopal with a brief explanation of the Tamil

Nadu Foundation (TNF) activities along with some video clippings.

The Houston Chapter has been helping the ABC project of TNF, towards ‘Achieving grade level proficiency, Boosting the morale and Championing for higher aspirations’, and thus promoting the education of underprivileged rural students, especially of government schools, providing them with resources, programs and tools being the objectives of TNF. Some of the initial leaders of TNF Houston chapter were acknowledged for their service and leadership, a few senior elderly mentor couples of the community were brought on the stage and offered flowers, the dear departed community member Meena Vairavan was honored by adorning a ponnada on husband Vairavan Subramanian, and a short presentation by the Tamil Chair followed.

The visiting Eyakkam artists were appropriately felicitated with mementoes and the enjoyable evening concluded with some lilting songs from the melody group.

Mala Gopal was the charismatic organizer of the event, who was ably assisted by other members of TNF introducing the items and performers, as Dr. Vaduganathan filled in as the MC with his inimitable style.

The audience left contented with an evening of delightful entertainment and with compassionate hearts motivated by the charitable deeds of TNF.

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COMMUNITY

March 01, 2019

Connoisseurs Learn the Pleasures and Perils of Pilgrimage to Mansarovar & Kailash Parbhat

By Jawahar Malhotra Houston: It was armchair theatre at its best: a glass of favorite Scotch whiskey in hand and hot appetizers followed by dinner brought to the dining table.

On either side of the screen in the dimly lit private hall of Nirvana restaurant, 20 members of the Connoisseurs Club listened in rapt attention, interspersed with inquisitive questions, as the host presenters described their two-week adventure to Mansarovar Lake and Kailash Prabhat, two of Hinduism’s holiest pilgrimage destinations.

This was the Connoisseurs Club’s first meeting in 2019 after a Holiday party last December. The Club’s creed is to share experiences with that can expand the knowledge and enrichen the outlook of its members.

The six-year-old social group ties each event with a chance to learn something new from a member’s experience and its other constant is that each member brings a bottle of their favorite – or unusual – bottle of Scotch whisky to sample, and a dish for snacks or dinner that follows.

At this meeting, Satish Sheth and his wife Dr. Anmona Thacker shared their experiences from their trip last June to Lhasa, Tibet and onwards to Mansarovar Lake and Kailash Prabhat. Mount Kailash forms part of the Himalayan range in Tibet and

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devotees believe that it is the abode of Lord Shiva. Mansarovar Lake lies at its base, just to the south of it and is believed to have been created by Lord Brahma so a parikrama or trek around it, dip in it and drinking its waters can cleanse away sins.

The two sites are considered holy by four religions and are just across the border from Nepal in Tibet.

Satish and Anmona described their “Live Your Dream” trip and the preparations they made for it. They started their trip in Kathmandu, Nepal where they got their visas to enter China.

From there they flew into to Lhasa, the capital of Tibet at 12,000 ft and then took a 50-mile busride to the base camp which was at an altitude of 18,000 ft. “We had to get acclimated

to the height to avoid the nausea and dizziness associated with altitude sickness,” explained Satish and Anmona had packed lots of medications and water for the onward trip to the mountain.

Though thousands of pilgrims visit the site and some do the rigorous 3-day long parikrama on foot, Satish described how tough the trail was getting to the base and even tougher and narrower getting around with most people riding horse led by a guide.

“It’s a good idea to do some endurance training before going on the trip,” said Anmona. “Many people who didn’t take precautions had to rest out the trip in Lhasa or the base camp as there are no shelters or creature comforts along the trail.”

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March 01, 2019

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Mama’s Punjabi Recipes

Hari Mirch De Pakore

(FRIED GREEN CHILLI FRITTERS) What could be more tempting for the typical Indian palate than fried food and hot, hot chilli pakoras? One thing is for sure, so many Indians love hot, spicy food that there are contests even for the hottest chilllies in the country. Chillies come in many colors – green, purple, yellow, orange - depending on the variety.

When dried almost all will turn to red, and have more concentrated sugars and lose their fresh, grassy scent, especially the green ones.

Chillies originated in the West Indies and quickly spread elsewhere.

There are about 300 known species of chillies, and they all contain the active ingredient capsaicin which affects the respiratory system, blood pressure and heart. Capsaicin causes the heat that stimulates the palate and increases blood circulation which makes the body sweat, which in turn has a cooling effect. This is why chillies are so dominant in tropical areas.

The flavor and heat levels (indicating the concentration of capsaicin) of different types of chillies is addictive as endorphins are released to deal with the heat. Some chillies produce rapid, sharp sensations at the back of the throat while others ignite a lingering, low-intensity burning on the tongue and middle palate.

Generally, the smaller the chilli or thinner the skin, the more intense it will probably be.

The seeds and membranes contain the most capsaicin, a peppery compound produced by ripening chillies to ward off insects that attack the fruit and bush. Capsaicins can spread very easily through casual contact and can burn sensitive skin areas and damage your eyes, so gloves should be worn when cutting chillies.

Drinking water will only intensify the burning sensation in your mouth; instead, breathe through your nose and take some salt, milk, yoghurt, cucumber or mint leaves.

Chickpea flour is also called besan and come from dry roasted garbanzos (or chickpeas) which is then ground.

Besan is high in carbohydrates, but contains no gluten and has a higher protein content than other flours.

To most people, pakoras (or pakore) are an inexpensive fried snack that combines the flavor of a vegetable, fish or chicken with a spicy batter and is eaten with some chutney, and served mostly as an appetizer. In many Indian cities, it is

eaten as a snack, often from a hawker stand on the street corner or from the neighborhood halwai (pastry cook), coming hot, straight from the boiling cauldron, Ingredients: • 1.5 cups besan (chickpea flour) • 1 1/2 cups pani (water), enough to make running paste • 1 dozen hari mirchi (green chillies) • 1 tsp dhaniya (coriander) powder • ½ tsp namak (salt) • ½ tsp lal mirch (red pepper) • 1 tsp amchoor (mango powder) • Spices to taste: namak (salt), lal mirch (red pepper)

then release it into the hot oil. Keep doing this till the surface of the oil is covered with battered pieces.

6. When one side is slightly brown, turn it over using a sieved spatula and turn over a few times to make sure both sides are cooked. Be careful that they do not become dark brown. Take them out and place on a paper towel to absorb the extra oil.

7. Mirchi pakoras are best when served hot with some tomato ketchup or mint chutney.

Directions: 1. Wash the chillies and then towel dry them. You can leave the stems on.

2. Combine the spice ingredients in a small bowl.

3. Cut a sit lengthwise in each chilli and stuff a small amount of the spices in them and set aside.

4. Mix in namak and mirch into 1.5 cups of besan and water till it becomes a soft, running paste.

5. Heat the oil in a karahi (wok).

Throw in a small dab of batter to make sure the oil is very hot. Take a chilli, dip it into the batter to coat it

Shakuntla Malhotra is a skilled cook of Punjabi dishes made in the old-fashioned style that she learnt as a young woman in her ancestral home in Lyallpur, India (since renamed Faisalabad) before it became part of Pakistan after the Partition in 1947.

People have often admired her cooking for its simplicity and taste that comes with each mouthful. Even in her early-nineties, she continues to cook daily and agreed to share her delectable Punjabi recipes for future generations.

MAMA’S TIP O F THE

WEEK DON’T MAKE PAK O R A S IN V ERY HOT OIL For mos

t Indians who were brought up in the O the favorite activiti ld Country es on a damp, cool rainy Monsoon da , one of a cup of tea (some y is to have prefer masala chai ) wi hot pakoras and sa mosas. What starts th straight off the cauldron ou a full-fledged, stom ach filling and satis t as a snack soon turns into fying meal over som conversation with e delightful friends But when making th and family. e pa ko ras, be sure oil in the kadai (or wok). If you slide in to moderate the heat of the the battered vegeta hot oil, then the pa bles in very kora lose their appeal. Fo s will immediately turn dark brown and will r best results, make sure by testing with a few drops of batter befo the oil is moderately hot re.

Indo-American News • Friday, MARCH 01, 2019 • Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

March 01, 2019 20ENTERTAINMENT: REVIEWS/NEWS

‘Total Dhamaal’: Comic Misadventure Due to Poor Writing Story: Total Dhamaal is the third instalment in the Dhamaal franchise.

A hidden booty of 50 crore leads to a mad chase amongst a bunch of greedy and eccentric characters. In them, are a bickering couple on the verge of a divorce, greedy siblings, local goons, a police commissioner and the mastermind of the loot. Will they finally discover the hidden treasure?

Review: Trains ramming into cars, falling bridges, roaring wild cats and crash landing helicopters. Director Indra Kumar’s Total Dhamaal leaves very little to imagination in creating a loud comedy. However, the ensemble star cast aside, this pursuit for comic

adventure turns into a misadventure pretty early on in its ride.

To begin with, the film’s plot is weaker than the rickety bridge we have seen in the promo. But it hinges on many strong shoulders, who deliver despite obvious flaws in the writing. The film opens on quite a paisa vasool note with the grand title song introducing each one of them. They are immediately bunged in together in an unconvincing plot twist. While everyone is in pairs of two, it’s the magical pairing of Anil and Madhuri that brings out the most LOL moments. The duo still share a crackling chemistry and an impeccable partnership for comedy. Anil is hilarious as

the distressed pati with his amusing Gujarati accent and Madhuri uses her natural flair for Marathi to hit all the right comic notes. While Ajay Devgn performs well within the limitations of his poorly written character, it’s the otherwise excellent Sanjay Mishra, who comes off as grossly annoying.

Meanwhile, Riteish Deshmukh makes good with his character of a pan-chewing ruffian Lallan, who puts his mouth where the money is, literally. His scenes with Johnny Lever are hilarious.

Rest of the cast like Boman Irani, Mahesh Manjrekar and Esha Gupta are wasted in halfheartedly written characters. -- Times of India

To Let Movie Review: An Authentic Bittersweet Family Drama of Mundane Survival Cast: Santhosh Sreeram, Sheela Rajkumar, Dharun Bala Director: Chezhiyan Rating: 4 stars Mildly-lit rooms. Crayon scribbles on the walls. A nightie-clad woman tuning into a radio station. A lungiclad man trying to unclog the toilet.

We get a glimpse into the lives of an aspiring filmmaker Ilango (Santhosh Sreeram), his wife Amudha (Sheela) and their son Siddharth (Dharun).

While most films build up to herointroduction shots in the beginning, To Let builds up to a lower-middleclass family that does the mundane things.

Ilango and Amudha have their intimate moment and we hear “Oru Iniya Manadhu” from Johnny play on the radio. Then, she thanks Ilango for taking her out. She also yells at him, “Can’t you even make dosas properly?” You know Amudha loves Ilango.

At the same time, she is unhappy with the way he runs the family. It is not that they are poor. They are struggling with whatever little they had.

Like any other housewife, she cribs about not having enough money to meet the monthly errands. What does Ilango do? He pays attention to Amudha, but he pays more attention to the Russian film that plays on television.

Chezhiyan, a former associate of

To Let movie review: Chezhiyan weaves a poignant human fiction with a laser-sharp focus.

veteran lensman PC Sreeram, captures all that so vividly and transports you into the couple’s world.

Suddenly, one day, they are asked to vacate the house. Ilango starts searching for another rented space.

Chezhiyan takes us through the issues that most of us would have faced at some point in time. The landlords question him, “Which caste do you belong to?”, “Are you a vegetarian?”, “Do you believe in God or are you an atheist?” and so on.

To Let, throughout, reminded me of Balu Mahendra’s Veedu (1988),

which revolves around a similar theme. But Veedu, at least, had Ilaiyaraaja’s terrific background score unlike this one—that has no music director. Chezhiyan had managed to fill the film with ambient noise— chirping of the birds, the sound of mopeds and grinders. The filmmaker’s perspective isn’t bound by cliches to simply highlight the situation, but he weaves a poignant human fiction with a laser-sharp focus. To Let is Chezhiyan’s sincere attempt to tell a story in the most realistic way. Hence, it comes as no surprise that it won the

National Award under the Best Tamil Film category.

Four-year-old Siddharth loves scribbling on the walls, but doesn’t realise it’s not something that can be done in a rented house. Amudha gets frustrated and asks Siddharth to erase them all.

Eventually, Amudha and Ilango go in search of houses, and Siddharth asks Ilango, “We have everything, which is ours; but why is the house in which we stay alone, not ours?”

Meanwhile, watch out for Siddharth’s expressions which are endearing.

In another scene, Siddharth invites Amudha and Ilango for a game that involves, guess what? – ‘house-hunting’. It is interesting how this kid is shown being painfully aware of his parents’ situation. In particular, I enjoyed how the scene was written and shot.

To Let is just not about Amudha and Ilango hunting for a house and their economic life, but also partially explores unfair practices in the film industry.

As one of the characters rightly says, “Cinema kaarana nambi naataiye kudupom, aana veedu kudukka maatom.” (You trust cinema folk and let them rule the country, but you don’t give them a house).

-- S Subhakeerthana in Indian Express.

‘Kesari’: An Epic on Battle of Saragarhi

The official trailer from Hindi movie ‘Kesari’ starring Akshay Kumar and Parineeti Chopra was released recently.

‘Kesari’ movie is directed by Anurag Singh and produced by Hiroo Yash Johar, Aruna Bhatia, Karan Johar, Apoorva Mehta and Sunir Kheterpal.

A period war drama, ‘Kesari’ tells the story of Havildar Ishar Singh who participates in the Battle of Saragarhi in which an army of 21 Sikhs fought against 10,000 Afghans in 1897 while yearning for the respect of his estranged daughter.

Distributed by Reliance Entertainment, Kesari movie is slated to release March 21, 2019 Akshay’s next venture is ‘Mission Mangal’ co-starring Vidya Balan.

Indo-American News • FRIDAY, MARCH 01, 2019 • Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

March 01, 2019

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Houston: It’s a new year and that means new events being hosted by TiE Houston. This past week, they hosted their first networking social at the new Post Oak location for The Cannon Houston, which just opened up earlier this year. Drinks were sponsored by Roxor. ROXOR Gin is Curated by James Beard awarded Chef Robert Del Grande, owner of Cafe Annie and The Grove in Houston.

The special guest for the evening was Russ Capper, CEO of Houston Exponential (HX). The nonprofit HX which launched in October 2017 was created by combining the Houston Technology Center with the Mayor’s Technology and Innovation Task Force and the Greater

Indo-American News • Friday, MARCH 01, 2019 • Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

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March 01, 2019 INDIA HOUSE /SOS: THE LIFE-AFTER SERIES

BUSINESS COMMUNITY

Seminar Reveals Role of Insurance for Seniors in Retirement

Principals at the seminar were Insurance Advisor A.J. John, moderator Anasuya Kabad, CFP®; Attorney Benecia Flores and SOS Founder Ranvir “Biki” Mohindra. The attendees discovered that the huddle sessions were popular to get answers to specific questions in small setting.

By Pramod Kulkarni Houston: India House and Share Our Secrets Organization (SOS. ORG) conducted a free seminar on one of the most vexing issues faced by the retired and elderly. The seminar was held on Sunday, February 10, 2019 at the India House.

Seniors, often, do not realize the gaps that exist in their retirement plans that could threaten a comfortable retired lifestyle. For example, as seniors face health issues, they may be relying on long-term care and assisted living, which can be a significant drain on their asset pool.

In order to mitigate these risks and meet their evolving needs, seniors are exploring various insurance options.

The primary purpose of this seminar was to discuss how life insurance, long-term care insurance, and medical insurance can be used to fill the gaps during one’s retirement.

SOS Outreach Coordinator Atma Ram welcomed the audience of seniors and, as a stand-in for Col. Vipin Kumar (retired), Executive Director of India House, introduced a video describing the various activities underway at India House. He also described the activities of SOS,

a task typically undertaken by Mani Subramanian, another SOS Outreach Coordinator.

Anasuya Kabad, Certified Financial Planner, introduced the three expert panelists and then served as the moderator during the Q&A session.

The panelists were Attorney Benecia Flores, Insurance Advisor A. J. John, and SOS Founder Biki Mohindra.

An estate planning attorney specializing in elderly care, and families with special needs children, Ms. Flores explained the intricacies of the Medicare and Medicaid health care programs. She said that it is a common misconception among the seniors that Medicare would cover their long-term care costs. “That is not so.

I help families that have not planned to pay for long-term care possibly through the Medicaid program.”

According to Flores, Medicare provides healthcare benefits for retirees who have paid into the Social Security system for at least 40 quarters. Medicare covers nursing care for only the short term. Medicaid is a need based program and covers long-term care only if the retiree is indigent.

Insurance Advisor A.J. John explained how many insurance carriers have dropped their traditional

long-term care policies because of the rising cost of elderly care. John suggested that a new type of a “hybrid” insurance policy might be an option because it provides the options of either long-term care benefits or insurance benefit for your beneficiaries, if the long-term care benefit is not either used at all or used on a limited basis.

Speaking as an insurance consumer, SOS Founder Biki Mohindra presented a chart to show how much one needs to retire comfortably, based on various income levels.

He also stressed the importance of getting professional help to solve your insurance-related problems as early as possible. “If you use these professionals when you don’t have a problem, it will cost you $0.10. If you wait until you have a problem, it will cost you a $1. Still, if you wait until the problem gets acute, the cost will escalate to $10.00.”

As in previous seminars, the event concluded with a Q&A session and then small group-huddle sessions, which allowed the attendees to raise more specific questions with the panelists.

The organizers and panelists explained that the information present-

ed was for educational and informational purposes only. They said the information presented should enable the individuals to review their respective situation with their family and develop the most suitable strategy and plan.

The organizers’ plan for the rest of 2019 is to hold three additional seminars on major topics, and deep dive hands-on workshops between those seminars. A follow up workshop is planned to be held on Tuesday, March 12 at India House from 9.30 AM to 12.30 PM to address specific questions on long-term care insurance and life insurance The organizers appreciate receiving input on topics for future seminars and hands-on workshops that can be held between these seminars. All input, including interest in attending the March 12th workshop, can be e-mailed to sosoutreachteam@gmail.com.

Share Our Secrets (SOS) is an educational organization, which conducts a gamut of programs for educated young people to teach them skills that are not taught in college curriculums and enabling them to succeed in their careers. SOS also conducts various community outreach events, on topics of interest to Houstonians, and specifically for seniors that could

benefit them in their retired lives.

India House is a community center which provides a myriad of services & activities, either free or at a highly discounted price, including Charity Clinic, Sareen Harris Health Clinic, Yoga, Meditation, After-School and Summer Care, Technology Classes for Seniors, Hindi and Sanskrit Language Classes, Legal Consultations, Dance Classes, Cricket, table tennis and informative/educational seminars. India House, in partnership with Food Bank of Houston, has recently started a program for free food distribution to disadvantaged members of the neighboring community. All are welcome to volunteer at these events.

India House and SOS have a strategic partnership, and have been conducting seminars and workshops of relevance to the seniors in our community. In the “Life After” seminar series, two sessions were held on the subject “Loss of Spouse – Life After” to help the seniors to face this reality and provide etips to cope with the challenges involved. They also conducted a seminar on “Demystifying Estate Planning”, which covered the details of various components of estate planning, and documents that one should consider executing.

The India House/SOS seminar attracted a large number of seniors.

Indo-American News • FRIDAY, MARCH 01, 2019 • Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

COMMUNITY

March 01, 2019

Personal Injury: Traumatic Brain Damage

By Mala Sharma Automobile collisions frequently cause traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) as a result of serious head bumps or blows during the accident. TBIs may lead to long-term health concerns, permanent disability, mental impairment, and possibly death. Thus, it is imperative to understand this injury, symptoms and signs, getting treatment quickly, and knowing your rights to recover these damages, including cost of medical care, lost income, mental anguish, and physical pain. It is in your best interest to contact an experience personal injury attorney as soon as possible to help you recover the maximum compensation you are entitled.

There are different types of brain injuries that occur during all types of auto accidents including: contusion, concussions, coup-contrecoup, and diffuse axonal injuries. Concussions occur when the brain is jolted and strikes the skull due to a forceful blow or impact on the head. Contusions are bruises on the brain, as a result from a hard impact that causes swelling and then blood clots. Coup-contrecoup results when a contusion forms on the side of impact as well as opposite.

Diffuse axonal injuries occur when the axons in the brain tear as a result of the brain shifting inside the skull during a traumatic head injury.

Symptoms of traumatic brain injuries include unending headaches, pain, nausea, dizziness, ringing in the ears, and fatigue.

More serious side effects include seizures, loss of coordination, mood shifts, difficulty with memory, vomiting, numbness, confusion, and inability to sleep. Symptoms are not always noticeable immediately after an accident and a person does not need to lose consciousness to receive a concussion.

Those who have suffered from a traumatic brain injury during a car or trucking accident are entitled to

get all necessary treatment immediately, hold the at fault party accountable, and recover full compensation.

When a brain injury claim is filed, recoverable damages include: past medical treatment, cost of future medical treatment, medical equipment expenses, rehabilitation, cost of long-term care, lost income, loss of earning capacity, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of consortium, mental anguish, physical pain and suffering, emotional distress, and more. Please contact a qualified personal injury attorney immediately after an accident to pursue your brain injury claim again. Photo credit: INCF. About the Author: Mala Sharma has been practicing family law and personal injury with her family at the Law Offices of Sharma & Associates, founded in 1997. Mala has been appointed leadership roles for the American Bar Association GP Solo and GP Solo YLD division, is Board member of the Houston Trial Lawyers Association, Past President of the Houston Northwest Bar Association, and prior board member of the South Asian Bar Association.

She is also a member of the Houston Bar Association.

Mala Sharma has been selected to the 2019 Texas Rising Stars by Super Lawyers. Mala has also been selected as 10 Best Attorneys by the American Institute of Personal Injury Attorney for 2018-2019, Top 40 Under 40 by the National Trial Lawyers for 2018-2019, and Texas Top 10 Personal Injury Attorney by Attorney and Practice Magazine for 2019.

This material is available for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. You should contact an attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular issue or problem.

If you require advice or assistance, you may contact her at office number 281-893-8644 or by email at mala@ sharmalaws.net to schedule a free consultation to discuss your case.

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