Indo-American News August 20, 2021

Friday, August 20, 2021 | Vol. 40, No. 34

Indo American News

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August 20, 2021

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Published weekly from Houston, TX

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Special Reports Community Briefs Local Politics South Asians in the News

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ICC’s Celebration of India’s 75th Independence Day

India’s Bravehearts

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India’s Win @ Lord’s

India Culture Center’s Board of Trustees, including President Jasmeeta Singh (center), and special guests, including Congressman Al Green and Fort Bend County Judge KP George.

Story on Page 3 and Photo Collage on Page 8-9.

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W E D D I N G S , S P E C I A L E V E N T S , T E N T E D E V E N T S , O U T D O O R C O U R T YA R D

3 3 3 0 F M 1 4 6 3 | Ka t y, T X 7 7 4 9 4 | 8 3 2 . 8 5 5 . 5 5 2 0 | p a l m ro y a l v i l l a . c o m

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August 20, 2021

COMMUNITY

Houston Joins the World for I-Day with Flag Hoistings, Lighting of Landmarks

CG Aseem Mahajan with Indian Consulate staff at the flag hoisting on August 15 morning The Reunion Tower in Dallas as well as numerous landmarks throughout the world on the steps of the Consulate building on Scotland Street. were lit in the Indian tricolors.

Flag hoisting took place at India House and Gujarati Samaj in Houston. Consulate hosted The Matterhorn peak in the Swiss Alps was bathed in the Indian tricolor as well as other a reception 15th evening despite thunder, lightning, and loss of electricity. monuments throughout the world such as Brazil’s Christ the Redeemer statue.

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COMMUNITY

August 20, 2021

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Masked Crowds Eagerly Come Out for a Memorable ICC I-Day Event

By Jawahar Malhotra With the Delta virus spreading rapidly across the county, most half expected the India Culture Center’s Indian Independence Day festival to be sparsely attended and rigidly held to CDC guidelines – like the Tokyo Olympics. Of course, that would have taken the fun out of the event, But this past Sunday, August 15 – also the official date – turned out to be quite a surprise as the ICC marked the 75th anniversary with its usual mix of trade booths, restaurants catering food and a cultural extravaganza of music, dance and stage show at the Stafford Civic Center on Cash Road.

The rows of parked cars gave the first indication that there could be a crowd brewing inside. Though less than in previous years, surprisingly an estimated 1,000 people walked through the doors and mingled – both masked and unmasked – from 1 to 7pm.

The entire event had the trademark signs of being coordinated by the ICC President Jasmeeta Singh who has several years of experience in pulling together fashion shows on runways and long dance programs, like the bhangra competitions for Vaisakhi. She and her team had a marvelous idea of bringing all these elements together in a colorful and vibrant way to showcase the Indian weddings from various parts of India.

And a simple maneuver of turning the seating 90 degrees so that people could see the stage as they walked in, and then shortening up the hall made all the difference in the world. Suddenly, the hall felt more cozy and friendly: of course since many people hadn’t seen each other in 18 months, that also contributed to their eagerness and sense of closeness.

The stage program started off with karaoke for over an hour.

After the Indian Consul General Aseem Mahajan lit the ceremonial lamps, the rest of the program followed There were speeches by the Mayor of Stafford, Ft Bend County Judge KP George and US Congressman Al Green.

Awards Indian Consul General Aseem Mahajan handed out the Bhalla Outstanding Student Scholarship winner of $5,000 Two need-based $1,000 scholarship award winners: sponsored by Swapan Dhariyawan, Charlie Patel and Rajiv Bhavsar Two ICC scholarship awards sponsored by Nirmala Patel and Malla Mekala ICC Lifetime Achievement Award given by CM Ed Pollard to Krishna Vavillala Entertainment Maharashtra Wedding - WEST: choreographed by Maddie Kulkarni Kathak classical by Aaradhana Academy, Neha Pendse Gujarati Wedding- WEST: was

ICC Board of Trustees with CG Aseem Mahajan.

A wedding cultural presentation by the Houston Maharashtra Mandal.

A Bhangra dance during the Punjabi wedding presentation..

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner with India’s Consul General Aseem Mahajan at India Culture Center’s I-Fest at the Stafford Civic Center.

choreographed by Yogina Patel ISCA Garba: choreographed by Urmila Patel Rajasthani Dance – WEST: Dhadak Dance School choreographed by Surbhi Mahajan SOUTH Wedding: choreographed

by Lakshmi Peter Kashmiri dance- NORTH: Dhadak Dance School Punjabi Wedding – NORTH: choreographed by Jasmeeta Singh Aditi’s Bollywood Dance Sensation Kathak Beats Hyderabadi Wedding: choreographed by Fateh East Wedding: choreographed by Sarita Das, Debleena, Chetna and Zakia Katy Bollywood Beats Dance Academy Leaders of the Cultural Event West- Yogina Patel Maharashtra- Marie Kulkarni North- Jasmeeta Singh East- Zakia Deen Quaderi, Debleena Banerji Sarita Das, Chetana Hyderabad- Fatehali Chatur South- Lakshmi Peter Singers Vivekanand Chandrasekhar Debarshi Roy, Rana Raja Nikita Kadaki, Teesta Acharya Designers Minhaz Couture- Jasleen Minhaz AVA’s Collections- Aditi Patodia Mini Collections- Yamini Shetty Make Up Artist: Mary Kay Cosmetics- Monica Garcia

Token of Love Harvinder Arora

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Ashvin Patel Harinath Medi Rani Juneja Volunteers Anmol Kaur Brar, Krish Singh Jayde, Raghav Singh Meenakshi Singh, Jon Locke Ritu, Shobana Media Sponsors Masala Radio 98.7 FM Indo American News Indo American News Radio Radio ICC Houston on Radio Dabang Namaste Radio on Radio Dabang Pooja Lodhia- ABC 13 Houston TV Asia - Manisha Gandhi Geetanjali Radio- Shobha Joshi Ghungroo- Meena Dhatt India Herald DJ & Sound - AJ Photography - BJ Dixit- Unique Photo Images Dignitaries Mayor of Stafford- Cecil Willis Mayor of Houston- Sylvester Turner Mayor of Sugarland Joe Zimmerman CG of India Aseem Mahajan KP George CM Alice Chen CM Ken Mathew CM Ed Pollard Platinum Sponsors Mr. Malla Mekala- InfoDat Texan Minerals & Chemicals- Mr. Mani Palani Gold Sponsors Sita Ram Foundation -Mr. Arun Verma Mr. & Mrs. Nimesh Seth Silver Sponsors Mr. & Mrs. Swapan Dhariyawan from MD associates FS Group- Mr. F Sabir Wallis Bank -Mr.Rajiv Bhavsar Jaz Creationz -Jasmeeta Singh IMAGH - Dr. Munir Ibrahim Mr. Ramesh Cherivala - New York Life Special Sponsors Mr. & Mrs. Karuna S. Medinet Clinic -Falguni Gandhi Flagship Capital Partners - David M. Mincberg Mr. & Mrs. Jugal Malani Nirmala Patel ABC Travels Bronze Sponsors Smile Rangers Dental -Dr. Nisha S. Mr. Bangar Reddy Mr. Charlie Patel Mr. & Mrs. Arun & Sangeeta Pasreja Mrs. Neeta Sane All the BODs and BOTs Mr. Irfan Motivala- Aling Mr. & Mrs. Mahesh Wadwa Mr. & Mrs. Girish Pandey Dr. Virendra Mathur Dr. Sewa Legha Mr. Vijay Pallod- Hindus of Greater Houston Mr. & Mrs. Lachmann Das Dr. Nik Nikam Mr. Aman Sidhu Mr. Ramesh Bhutada Mr. Ashvin Patel Mr. & Mrs. Vasdev and Veena Bhagia

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INDIA

August 20, 2021

India’s Midnight Evacuation from Afghanistan

Kabul: Outside the main iron gate of the Indian embassy in Kabul, a group of Taliban fighters waited -- armed with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenade launchers.

Inside the compound were 150 Indian diplomats and nationals -growing increasingly nervous as they watched news of the Taliban tightening their grip on the capital, which they took a day earlier without a fight.

Their position was a precarious one.

But the Taliban fighters outside the Indian embassy weren’t there to extract revenge, but rather to escort them to Kabul airport, where a military aircraft was on standby to evacuate them after New Delhi decided to shut its mission.

As the first of nearly two dozen vehicles drove out of the embassy late on Monday, some of the fighters waved and smiled at the passengers -- an AFP correspondent among them.

Afghanistan crisis: Islamic emirate at doorsteps poses a challenge to India One guided them towards the street leading out of the city’s green zone and on the main road to the airport.

The embassy’s decision to ask the Taliban to shepherd the Indians out was made when the fighters closed access to the once heavily fortified neighbourhood after capturing Kabul the previous day.

A quarter of the 200 or so people who had gathered at the foreign mission had already been flown out of Afghanistan before the country’s new leaders took full control of the city.

“When we were evacuating the second group... we faced the Tali-

IAF C17 plane lands at Jamnagar, bringing 120 Indians back home from Afghanistan.

ban, who refused to allow us to exit the green zone,” said an official who left with Monday’s group.

“We then decided to contact the Taliban and ask them to escort our convoy out.”

Two separate pledges of an escort failed to materialise during the day, unnerving the large group bunkered down at the embassy, with one diplomat likening the experience to “house arrest”.

It had been dark for several hours when the cars finally left the compound and embarked on the fivekilometre (three-mile) journey to the airport.

The snail-paced journey took five hours, with passengers passing each minute in constant fear of a potential attack.

Unfamiliar checkpoints had been set up and thousands of people displaced by the war were along the road.

At intervals, the Taliban fighters accompanying the Indian convoy jumped out of their own vehicles and aimed their guns at the crowds, forcing them to step back.

One man who appeared to be commanding the troops fired a few rounds in the air to scare back

a large group gathered around one intersection.

The escort departed once the convoy reached the airport, where American soldiers had taken up positions and were coordinating flights.

After a wait of another two hours, the group boarded a C-17 Indian military transport plane that took off at dawn, landing at an air force base in the west Indian state of Gujarat later that morning.

“I’m so happy to be back,” Shirin Pathare, an Air India employee flown out of Kabul, told AFP as he stepped off the aircraft. “India is paradise.”

Another Indian citizen, cradling his two-year-old daughter, recalled the chaos and anxiety of his hasty departure from his office and the city.

“Just hours before I took the flight a group of Taliban visited my workplace,” said the man, declining to give AFP his name.

“They were polite but when they went, they took two of our vehicles.

“I immediately knew it was time for me and my family to leave,” he added.

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COMMUNITY

August 20, 2021

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Academic Fest 2021: BANA Presents Grade 1-12 Kids with Academics

By Vijay Karna Houston: Covid has changed our lives in many ways. However, it was not able to dent in our resolution of success and hope for better future. Our young kids and their parents have proven their resolution by attending the academic festival, organized by BANA. Bihar Association of North America (BANA), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, hosted online its signature event, BANA Academic Fest-2021 on August 7.

This Academic Fest (or Festival) is full of multi-room, multi grade tests. The enthusiasm of students, parents, volunteers were the key to the success of this event.

BANA Academic Fest started at 8:00AM and concluded around 4:00PM. The lead organizers of this year’s event were Vinay Karna, Rajeev Jha, and Sumeet Anand.

They were helped by several lead coordinators/volunteers who worked hard to make this event successful. Additionally, several non-BANA personnel graciously contributed their time to serve as judges/evaluators.

The event began with welcome speeches by BANA President Ravi Ranjan and youth-representatives; Pari Prasad, and Abhinav Sinha.

They highlighted the Mission and key achievements of BANA in past 28 years. Students/parents were also briefed about the exam schedule/rules.

Top: Children participating in the BANA Academic Fest. Below: volunteers.

Subsequently, students were led to respective events/ online rooms by event coordinators.

About 90 students from grade one to twelve (as of fall 2021) started their day with full suite of tests in different online zoom rooms. These students participated in Primary (Grade 1-3), Elemen-

tary (Grade 4-5), Middle (Grade 6-8), and High (Grade 9-12) school sections in Math, Spelling Bee, Vocabulary, Science, Art/ Coloring, SAT Practice Test, and Speech categories.

Started on time, the contest continued with brisk speed. The event closed with the final round of the

Spelling Bee. Vinay Karna and Ravi Ranjan thanked and congratulated all organizers, volunteers, judges, and sponsors for their help/support for a successful Academic Fest-2021. They tendered their special congratulations to all the winners and participants and also the participants who scored prefect or close to perfect scores.

BANA Mock-SATExam was sponsored

by TestMasters. Spelling Bee testing for Elementary/Primary groups was coordinated by Dr. Ganesh Dasari of Spellpundit and his team of volunteers. All Science and Math tests came from TMSCA. Grading Organizing was computerized in iclickexam to enable fast and accurate test grading and coordinated by Ravi Choudhary. ExxonMobil was the key sponsor of this event.

Dr. Santosh Verma, Tony Jha, and Santosh Jha, and Sumeet Anand were instrumental in organizing all these events for Math, Science, and Vocabulary exams.

Mr. Verma also arranged scoring

for the whole event in a fair and equitable manner with a special rule for the tie breaker.

Speech for primary and elementary were judged by three distinguished members of our society: Dr. Sharad Borle, Dr. Jaideva Goswami, and Dr. Nazish Hoda. On the other hand, Art and coloring were judged by three amateur but highly art-skilled ladies; Neelam Mohan, Mithua Choudhary, and Mridula Karna.

Bihar-Jharkhand (ancient Bihar) had been a pace setter in education. Bihar has produced many academicians since ancient times.

The mission of BANA has been to preserve and promote social and cultural heritage of India by fostering academic and cultural excellence among children in USA. It has been a great achievement for BANA to successfully organize this event for 23 years.

Academic Fest allows students to stay engaged in academic activities and keep motivated/challenged during summer. It also provides a competitive platform to prepare for the upcoming school-year. In recent years BANA Academic Fest has become a community tradition recognized for promoting academic enrichment and professionalism among our next generation. Awards were given for top three (3) position in each category with objective tests for each grade.

For most subjective tests, total five awards are given.

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FINE ARTS

August 20, 2021

An Astounding Classical Vocal Debut by a Young Prodigy

Krisha performing at the Asia Society with her two older sisters Divya and Diksha.

By Hanu Vamaraju & Annu Khanna Houston: It’s not often you get to see a young girl on stage singing “Hori Jhelum Kesar Rang” in Dadra Taal”, with constant applause from an appreciative audience. It also comes as a surprise to them that the young teenage girl is a child prodigy just made her vocal recital back to back from her Kathak Rangrapravesham only three weeks earlier. And an even more amazing fact is that she is headed to the University of Houston this Fall to major in Mathematical Bi-

ology. Now you realize how truly special this girl is!

Krisha Rath, a 14 year-old, performed her Hindustani classical vocal debut, or Manch Pravesh, on Saturday, August 14 at the Asia Society. She has trained under her guru, Vinita Arora, (founder and director of Alankar Sangeet Academy, Houston). The evening began with a warm welcome from her parents Durbha and Kalyan Rath followed by the traditional lighting of the lamps by the guests of honor, Nidhika Mehta, and Sheetal Bedi.

Krisha began the evening with

The young artist Krisha Rath with her Guru Vinita Arora and her accompanying musicians (from left) Chirag Dixit on the sarangi, Ambarish Prabhukhot on the harmonium and Bobby Jutley on the table.

an invocatory bhajan sung by her and her two older sisters, Divya and Diksha. This was followed by a bada khayal, chhota khayal, and tarana in Raag Yaman, and finishing off the first half of the program with a semi-classical Hori piece in Raag Mishra Pilu, composed by her guru. She appeared very confident, being in full control of the proceedings on the stage!

After a short intermission, Krisha continued with Raags Kedar and Malkauns, singing a chhota khayal and tarana in Raag Kedar, and two chhota khayals in Raag Mal-

kauns. The program ended with two bhajans in Raag Bhairavi.

Krisha marveled with silky smooth and soothing vocals, radiating joy and warmth to the over 130 people who attended the 4 hour long event. She demonstrated incredible control on her ragas and talas, while coordinating with accompanying artists and kept the audience engaged! Overall, the performance was a treat for classical music lovers, who left energized and mesmerized! Even novices of hindustani classical music could engage and cherish the event.

Krisha was accompanied by

Bobby Jutley on the tabla, Ambarish Prabhukhot on the harmonium, and Chirag Dixit on the sarangi.

Undoubtedly Krisha is a high achiever and the performance was flawless. The guests of honor gave some valuable insights on how she could possess these multifacet talents! They amplified that this level of success could only be achieved with “focus”, “ability to quickly switch subjects” and “being level headed”! Krisha thanked her parents, family, Guru and her mentors and said she hoped to continue singing for many more years to come.

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ENTERTAINMENT

August 20, 2021

Shershaah: Inspiring War Drama of Bravehearts Catch IAN Radio on FM98.7

By Shubhra Gupta Story: ‘Shershaah’ chronicles the events in the run up to the Kargil war and the role of Captain Vikram Batra (PVC), whose indomitable spirit and unparalleled courage contributed immensely to India’s victory.

Review: The Kargil conflict – the toughest mountain warfare ever. Fought at a dizzying altitude of 17,000 feet, this historic war had a lot at stake. The Pakistani troops had infiltrated into the Indian side of the Line of Control (LoC), disguised as Kashmiri militants. The skirmishes quickly escalated into a full-blown war that also chalked the journey of a soldier from Lieutenant to Captain for his absolute dare-devilry and patriotic spirit to unfurl the tricolour at the highest point of conflict. Even if that meant laying down his own life for the cause.

But before we get there, director Vishnu Varadhan and his writer

Sandeep Srivastava take it slow.

So we are taken right back to a childhood sequence of Captain Vikram Batra (Sidharth Malhotra) and shown his growing up years, finding the love of his life Dimple Cheema (Kiara Advani), before he is finally posted at the 13 JAK Rifles as a Lieutenant. While this build-up depicts the character’s journey, it doesn’t do so very sharply to merit so much screentime. In fact, most of the times, Kiara Advani’s track and the romantic songs featuring her, feel like a distraction from the heavy-duty subject at hand. This also impacts the pace of the film that suffers from a slow first half.

Of course, director Vishnu Varadhan had a mammoth task of doing justice to the copious amounts of data and milestones from the Kargil war, but the bulk of it is dealt with, in the second half.

Sidharth Malhotra shines in the war scenes and his performance evolves through the film. His ear-

nest efforts to recreate the aura of his character’s larger-than-life persona shows on screen and this is one of his better performances. Kiara Advani looks her part as a resolute Sardarni, who loves her man with all her heart. But she doesn’t have much scope to perform.

Shiv Panditt is very aptly cast as Captain Sanjeev Jamwal, who is tough on the outside, but emotional from within. Nikitin Dheer is impressive as the cheerful Major Ajay Singh Jasrotia and so is Shataf Figar as the straight talking Col. Yogesh Kumar Joshi.

Together, these men make for an able team that you will root for, at all times. Among the many other character actors, there are a few stereotypes and clichés too, especially on the Pakistani side.

The film’s overall tone is obviously high on patriotism. Many combat scenes don’t reflect the large canvas that the film is set up on, perhaps more deserving of a big screen experience. Yet, as an industry, Bollywood has seldom churned out epic war films that have been critically and commercially acclaimed. By those standards, ‘Shershaah’ ranks high than most of the recent war dramas and tells an inspiring story that needs to be told.

The source material so strong that it is bound to grip you once the men in uniform take it upon themselves to drive out the enemy and reclaim our land. ‘Shershaah’s biggest victory is its effort to recreate one of the most important chapters of our recent history with characters, who lead the way to a rousing climax.

-- Times of India

Here was the guest line-up for Sat, Aug 14, 2021 from 4 to 6pm CST on Indo American News Radio (www.IndoAmerican-news. com) on 98.7 FM and available also on the masalaradio app (www. masalaradio.com) You can also hear the Podcast of the recorded show uploaded by Monday on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts, Pocket Casts, Radio Public and Breaker.

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4:20 pm Ever since he has joined the Ft Bend County Sherrif’s office as a Captain in February this year, Nasir Abbasi has been making the rounds of all the diverse communities in his district to cultivate their support. He is a genuine peacemaker and seeks to bring harmony to all religious and cultural grows. He joins us today to explain his programs and goals.

4:50 pm This is the fourth time Ashok Moza has been on our show. He was born and raised in Kashmir and is a past president of the Kashmir American Association. We asked him to explain

what the current situation in Kashmir is like since he first described it in November 2020; especially in light of the resurgent Taliban expansion in Afghanistan and what that might mean to the region.

5:20 pm Our favorite psychic, Miss Renu calls in LIVE again from Bangalore to give us some predictions for people born in August and September. She will also explain a little about astronomy and the terms used to describe the Zodiac signs.

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OBITUARY

August 20, 2021

Dr. Asha Seth Kapadia 1937-2021

Houston: Dr. Asha Seth Kapadia passed away on August 13, 2021 at the age of 83. She resided in Houston, Texas. Dr. Kapadia is survived by her beloved son, Dev Kapadia, who meant the world to her. They had a unique and beautiful bond. She is also survived by Dev’s wife Sonia Sharma and their children Karina and Brij who live in New York.

Dr. Kapadia was born in Lahore in pre-partition India. Family meant everything to her and she supported her family in every possible way. Her parents Dr. Dev Raj and Sushila Seth had five daughters. Her sisters Shobha Wenger and Suvita Luthra passed away and she is survived by her two sisters Dr. Mira Seth and Gita Verma in India and many nieces and nephews. She loved spending time with family and friends and traveling around the globe.

Dr. Kapadia was a Professor Emeritus of Biostatistics at the University of Texas School of Public Health. In 1963, she won a Scholarship, the only one offered that year, from the Government of India to come to the United States. Dr. Kapadia completed graduate studies at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and was one of the first women to graduate from the business school. She also received a Ph.D. in Statistics from Harvard University. During her illustrious and distinguished career, she

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Have you planned for your future?

People don’t plan to fail, they fail to plan

Jesal Patel ARPC, CLTC, LUTCF earned numerous awards and honors. She co-authored several books and participated in many research projects.

Dr. Kapadia loved tennis and politics and was a strong supporter of women’s rights and an advocate for the power of education.

She was a role model and an inspiration to many young women. Always one to think of others, she supported many causes and charities and served on several philanthropic boards.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to The University of Texas Health Science Center at https://giving.uth.edu/memorial and select “Dr. Asha Seth Kapadia Memorial Fund” under “Designation.”

Due to Covid restrictions, a virtual memorial service will be planned for a later date.

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August 20, 2021

CRICKET/ENTERTAINMENT

India is Now Ace of Pace with Bumrah, Shami, Ishant and Siraj

By Shamik Chakrabarty London: Ten English wickets to take in less than two sessions. A fifth-day pitch with critics sighing about the absence of Ravichandran Ashwin. The match situation where a draw would have been easily seen as an honourable result at the start of the day.

All these factors could have prompted the Indian pacers to be relaxed. No one would have cussed them. Instead, they wowed with their talent, intimidated with their presence without resorting to too many bouncers, and showcased their creativity to break through any English resistance.

Jasprit Bumrah dug deep to produce a vicious leg-cutter to remove the seemingly impregnable Joe Root, Ishant Sharma nailed a perfect nip-backer to take out the in-form Jonny Bairstow, Mohammed Shami curled out opener Dom Sibley with a ball that would have tested Geoffrey Boycott, and Mohammed Siraj crafted a straightener that leapt to knock down the resolute Jos Buttler.

They didn’t just do the regular things extraordinarily well, but were also very creative. When it seemed Ollie Robinson wouldn’t budge, Bumrah produced one of the great slower balls in the dying make-or-break minutes of the Test match. When Mooen Ali kept pushing his bat inside the line to his away-curlers, Siraj forced his hands by getting a full ball to slant away from the line of the stumps.

This abundance of riches – a four-pronged pace attack – is a far cry from the early and mid-1970s, the worst of times for Indian fast bowling when Abid Ali used to share the new ball with Eknath Solkar, or occasionally, a certain Sunil Gavaskar. The current Indian fast bowling cartel is a fourpronged attack bullying and battering opposition batsmen, apart from taking 39 England wickets in the first two Tests. On a fifth-day Lord’s pitch which, on the face of

it, demanded Ashwin’s guile, the four Indian fast bowlers cleaned up the hosts in 51.5 overs to win the Test.

India’s Jasprit Bumrah celebrates after taking the wicket of England’s Joe Root. (AP Photo) Bumrah and Shami were the expected threats for Joe Root and company. But Siraj and Ishant, too, raised their game to the level of seriously impacting the outcome of the Test. Ishant’s double blow to remove Moeen Ali and Sam Curran in the first innings brought his team back into the contest. Siraj’s dismissals of the two batsmen off successive balls during England’s second innings took India closer to victory. Ishant carried rustiness and the pressure of being picked over Ashwin for the game, but he came through with flying colours, with a match haul of 5/82. Siraj played at Lord’s for the first time, returning with a match haul of 8/126. The batting heroics of Shami and Bumrah took India to a winning position. Team effort secured the victory.

The Lord’s pitch had grass, but much shorter in length than what was on offer at Trent Bridge. The surface gradually became very

good for batting. Understandably, leaving out Ashwin had raised many an eyebrow. Kohli, though, stuck to his four-pacers template, using them as attacking options.

His decision was spectacularly vindicated. The much talked-about Lord’s slope played a part in the decision-making.

Both Ishant and Siraj are essentially incoming bowlers who don’t have very potent outswingers. However, they can make the ball hold its line and their ability to use the seam made them very effective, bowling both up and down the slope.

Lord’s has an east-west slope, eight feet from the top to the bottom, running downhill from the left of the pavilion diagonally across the pitch to the media box at the Nursery End. Usually, bowlers with a natural inswinger prefer to bowl with the slope. When they bowl up the hill, their stock deliveries sometimes straighten.

Siraj’s strength is making the ball jag back off the surface. He intelligently used the slope to dismiss Sibley in the first innings.

A plan was laid out with two close-in fielders on the leg-side.

Siraj bowled a length ball on Sibley’s pads, which seamed off the surface. The England opener was caught by the slope quagmire. He played early and the leading edge went to KL Rahul at short midwicket.

The 27-year-old has given the Indian seam attack a new dimension.

This pace battery is a complete package – Bumrah’s all-round skill, Shami’s swing and deceptive bouncer, Ishant’s movement and bounce, and Siraj’s seam and ability to bowl long spells. Three of them can go past 140kph. Also, it was astounding the way Siraj successfully negotiated the slope in his first Test at Lord’s. Former India medium pacer Manoj Prabhakar was impressed.

“He clean-bowled one (Haseeb Hameed) with a cross-seamer. It skidded off the surface rather than seaming in down the hill. The batsman played inside the line and was bowled. You need to bowl the right length (good length) to take full advantage of the slope, which Siraj did. Also, when he bowls inswing, his arm is straight, which is important for a bowler at Lord’s.

And he can bowl from close to the

stumps,” Prabhakar told The Indian Express.

As for Ishant, Buttler’s wicket in the first innings triggered a revival. An inswinger went through the gate, as Buttler tried to play an expansive drive. Once again, the slope played its part. Ishant was a horses-for-courses selection at Lord’s. Seven years ago, his career-best 7/74 had won India a Test at this venue. At his happy hunting ground, Ishant was back in his element.

“Your arm needs to be straight and high to make full use of the slope. When Ishant bowls inswingers, he bowls them with a high-arm action, a reason why he is successful at Lord’s,” Prabhakar observed.

Dilip Vengsarkar, the ‘Lord of Lord’s’ with three centuries at the venue, agreed that the slope can confuse batsmen. “See, in England the ball moves. It’s not that the ball is coming down the slope or moving away up the hill. The ball is moving in the air as well and you have to negotiate that.

The right approach is to not have the slope factor at the back of your mind, play the ball on merit and play late, like Rohit Sharma does.

I’m very happy with the way India bowled. About Siraj, he always bowls to take wickets. Ishant used all his experience,” the former India captain told this paper.

Playing open-chested became England batsmen’s biggest problem, Root excluded. For example, Sibley got out to a Shami outswinger in the second innings, getting square-on in his stance while going for a defensive prod.

“Cricket is a sideways-on game when you bat and when you bowl.

It has not changed for 200 years,” Geoffrey Boycott wrote in his Telegraph (London) column.

The two teams now move up north to Leeds for the third Test, with India carrying the pace intimidation factor.-- Indian Express

What Arunita Told Pawandeep Rajan after He won Indian Idol 12

By Sana Farzeen Mumbai: On Sunday night, at what was publicised as the ‘greatest finale ever’, Pawandeep Rajan walked away with the trophy of Indian Idol 12 and a cash prize of Rs 25 lakh. Arunita Kanjilal and Sayli Kamble were announced as the first and second runners-up, respectively.

Minutes after his name was announced as the winner, Pawandeep spoke exclusively to indianexpress.com and shared that it was a bittersweet moment for him.

Breathing heavily amid all the excitement and chaos around him, he shared, “It’s an unmatched feeling to be holding the trophy. However, given the close bond we formed over the past few months, I wanted

each one of us to win. I wish I could share the trophy with all my five other finalists. It’s a very mixed feeling for me right now. I know that everyone is so talented that we will all forge great careers soon. We will also be collaborating together whenever we get a chance.”

While the contestants shared a warm bond, Pawandeep’s close friendship with Arunita Kanjilal led to speculation of a budding

romance. The two have, however, time and again maintained that they are just good friends. On being asked what did his bestie tell him after his big win, Pawandeep smiled, “We haven’t got much time

to speak but on the stage, Arunita said congratulations and that she is really happy for me.”

As seen in the episode, his mother could not hold back her tears as the announcement was made by host Aditya Narayan. Sharing that it is indeed an emotional moment for all of them, Pawandeep thanked his fans for their continuous support, “I don’t know how can I ever

Indo-American News • Friday, AUGUST 20, 2021 • www.indoamerican-news.com

repay the love they have showered on me. If it was on me, I would have met each one of them individually to thank them.”

This is the Uttarakhand boy’s second win after The Voice in 2015, and he shared that it has only made him more responsible towards his listeners. He shared, “Given that they love me so much I cannot let them down. I think I can only work on my craft better to give them good music. That will be my payback for them. Ashish (Kulkarni) and I have decided to work as a composer duo and we plan to churn out some amazing music in the future. This is just the beginning and I cannot wait to see where my musical career takes me.” -- Indian Express

August 20, 2021

Indo-American News • Friday, AUGUST 20, 2021 • www.indoamerican-news.com

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SPORTS

August 20, 2021

2021 World Table Tennis Championship in Houston MLB Drafts Two Indo-Americans

Kumar Rocker pitching for Vanderbilt.

Houston: The 100-day countdown to the 2021 World Table Tennis Championships in Houston has begun as the historic showpiece event, set to get underway from November 23-29, gets ready to become one to remember for the ages.

This will be the first time the flagship event is hosted in the Americas and for the first time outside Europe and Asia since 1939. Dating as far back as 1926, the World Table Tennis Championships showcase the world’s best table tennis players.

With the launch of the 2021 World Table Tennis Championships logo, the start of the event is also moving even closer with

ticket sales and early bird registration process beginning to commence. Registered users of WorldTableTennis.com will be provided access to the early bird ticketing offers first, so if you are looking to purchase tickets for the events, complete your registration online, and be first in line.

Adopting a revamped and expanded format for the first time, the flagship event of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), will feature 128 players in singles (Men and Women) and 64 pairs in each of the doubles competitions (Men Doubles, Women Doubles, Mixed Doubles) competing in a straight knockout format at the George R. Brown Conven-

tion Center.

The World Table Tennis Championship was last held in Budapest in 2019. The Team edition was scheduled to take place in the Republic of Korea, in Busan last year was postponed and eventually cancelled due to COVID-19.

Table tennis fans worldwide are now able to get the latest news on the World Championships, at their fingertips with the new WTT App, the first global app to be made available for table tennis. The WTT App is available for free on both the Apple and Android platforms.

Fans can also search “World Table Tennis App” directly to find the app in their preferred platform.

New York: New York Mets, the baseball team based in the New York City of Queens, drafted Indian-American Kumar Rocker as the 10th overall pick in the first round of the 2021 Major League Baseball Draft on Sunday.

Rocker, a 21-year-old and 6-foot-4 right-handed pitcher from Vanderbilt University, was one of the most sought-after players in this year’s draft. With a fastball in the high 90s and a slider in the mid-80s, Rocker was expected to go as high as Number 1.

The New York Post reported earlier this week that the Mets will pay Rocker $6 million as a signing bonus. The recommended signing bonus for the 10th overall pick is $4.74 million. That the Mets are going above and beyond it shows how highly the team rates the pitcher.

In 2019, as a freshman, Rocker was selected as the most outstanding player of the College World Series.

Rocker’s mother, Lalitha, who goes by the name Lu, is an Indian-American instructional designer. Her parents immigrated to America from India. Rocker’s parents met in Washington DC when his father, Tracy Rocker, was playing for the Redskins and her mother was a student at the University of Maryland.

In a 2019 interview with The Tennessean, Lu said she taught Kumar to honour both his IndianAmerican and African-American heritage.

“I told Kumar when he fills out forms, put ‘blindian’ because you’re black Indian,” she had said.

“I want him to be aware of his heritage and for other people to question where his heritage is, and not look at him only as an AfricanAmerican child.”

Another Indian American pitcher, Rohan Handa, 21, was also selected by the San Francisco Giants team for the 2021 MLB draft, earlier this week.

The Yale junior Handa was the 146th overall player selected. According to the New England Baseball Journal, Handa speaks three languages - Chinese, English, and Hindi- and started a charity to promote child literacy, and was preparing for a career outside of baseball prior to his 2021 performance.

-- Times of India

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SUDOKU/BUSINESS Place a number in the empty boxes in such a way that each row across, each column down and each 9-box square contains all of the numbers from one to nine.

Send us the correct answer before August 24. 2021 Email us at indoamericannews@yahoo.com. Please send us your solved Sudoku for your name to be published.

Solution Next Week

August 20, 2021

15

Masala Style Grand Opening

Keemat Grocers North’s Keemat Kitchen Houston: Keemat Grocers North finally opened their long awaited Keemat Kitchen in a Masala Style Grand Opening event on Independence Day, Sunday August 15th. Guests were greeted with complimentary Pani Puri and Frooty drinks, even before stepping in to enjoy 75 cent Vada Pav, Bhel Puri and Samosas. Gulped down with free Chai or Chai Gold Coffee, it was a tasty treat before loading up cart-fuls of the 75-cent grocery sale. Hundreds of items were marked down to just 75 cents in celebration of India’s 75th Independence Day. Keemat has a long history of celebrating Independence and Republic Day with attractive sales with Masala Radio. Hundreds of shoppers went out of their way to remark how the Keemat produce is the freshest produce they’ve seen.

Keemat Kitchen also featured mouthwatering Dahi Puri, Samosa Chaat, Papdi Chaat, Sev Puri, Pav Bhaji, Chole Puri, ahi Vada, Alu Tikki and Kaman Dhokla all for under $5. North side residents can enjoy the same full Indian menu items in store or togo that Keemat Sugar Land patrons have flocked to for years! Visit Keemat Kitchen inside Keemat Grocer North on 6911 FM 1960 or call 281-377-3347.

Last Week’s Solution

Last Week’s Winners Sanchali Basu, Krishna R. Vuddagiri

Indo-American News • Friday, AUGUST 20, 2021 • www.indoamerican-news.com

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August 20, 2021

Indo-American News • Friday, AUGUST 20, 2021 • www.indoamerican-news.com