NRI Pulse April 2016 Print Issue

NRI PULSE 1

Atlanta’s Premier South Asian Newspaper April 2016

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2 NRI PULSE

April 2016

NRI PULSE 1

Atlanta’s Premier South Asian Newspaper April 2016

Tel: 404-235-4998

On April 2, the American India Foundation (AIF) held its annual Atlanta Fundraising Gala at the Atlanta Athletic Club in Johns Creek area of Greater Atlanta. About 240 guests attended. In total, over $297,000 was raised. Full report will appear in our May issue. The report is available online at www.NRIPulse.com. Photo by Bytegraph.com.

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The Bhindi family: Bhindi Jewelers hosted their four day grand re-opening at their 17,000 sq. ft. flagship location in Artesia, California recently. The multimillion-dollar showroom was designed by Sat Garg, founder and creative director of Akar Studios. Full report on Pg 13.

Atlanta’s Sanjay Pandya Recounts Nightmare At Brussels Airport

BY SANJAY PANDYA Atlanta, GA: It was Monday, March 21, 2016. I boarded a flight at 7.45 pm from Ahmedabad’s Sardar Patel Airport to Mumbai. From Chhatrapati Shivaji Airport in Mumbai, I boarded flight 9W 0228 to Newark with a stop over in Brussels.

I had two suitcases checked in from Ahmedabad to Atlanta. We landed at Brussels airport about half an hour before the bomb blasts there. I was waiting to board our next flight at gate (B-38) after the second screening. I was reading.

The first announcement was to evacuate the entire airport. Then came the second announcement- only one wing was to be evacuated. Soon thereafter came the third announcement- evacuate the entire airport. Before I could process the announcements, there was pandemonium. Policemen started ordering us out. No one had a clear idea nor were they ready to explain anything; they were just shouting us out!

I had one hand baggage, which I was forced to leave behind at Brussels airport (near B-40 gate) while evacuating. I had the address tag, with my address written in a special place on the bag too! So many fellow passengers had their diabetes/hyper tension medications in their carry on luggage.

At Brussels, airport officials were in panic mode and were not ready to listen to anyone or anything! Why do we have to leave our carry on baggage? Especially when we came from an international flight and got ourselves re-checked in for next take off? We were all air passengers in transit.

We had no clue.

We stood outside at Brussels airport for a couple of hours in the chilly morning with very little protection against the cold weather and no protection against Brussels Airport Authority’s mood swings. No one knew what was going on. There was no public announcement made to keep us aware of the situation. Rumors were rampant among people as there was no confirmation from the authorities. Some elderly and handicapped people felt they were receiving worse treatment than criminals. Everyone’s cell phone batteries were running low.

Sanjay

We were taken to a hanger in a shuttle bus.

The building did not have proper heating in the minus 1-centigrade temperature. Their washrooms were not ready to accept such large numbers of people. At this point, the airport authorities tried to make public announcements. But their systems and their pronunciations made it difficult for people to understand what was being announced.

Sitting there idly and not understanding a word from the PA system; people went up to the police personnel to get an idea of what was going on.

When we Brussels airport, our carry on bags were still there. The airport was under lock down. All the communications were shut down too. No one had a clue about when, where or how we would get our carry on bag back.

In the evening, they took us to another building where we slept on makeshift aluminum beds. We were too many people in Pandya

that facility! The heat produced in our body protected all of us against cold weather. We had cold running water on a cold day, but the bathrooms were okay.

An elderly lady wanted to have a vegetarian food, but it was hard for people in charge at the shelter to understand that chicken and fish are not considered vegetarian food. Jet Airways personnel were there, but did not have any plan to take care of their passengers.

Everyone understands that one can’t be prepared for such emergencies. However, such emergencies do produce world-class leaders. Compassion is never taught in school, but if you show it, it would take you to greater heights.

Spending a cold night at the shelter, we woke up next day to a cold morning. The American Embassy staff came to visit US passport holders, but I did not see anyone from the Indian Embassy there to aid Indian passport holders. There were passengers from two flights at the shelter: one originated from Delhi to Toronto and the second was our flight, from Mumbai to Newark. One elderly Sikh gentleman told me that people at the Indian Embassy were busy preparing for Prime Minister Modi’s visit!

We traveled to Amsterdam in a coach that …continued on Pg 11

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April 2016

History Of Yoga: Path-Defining Documentary Screened P.O Box 191124 Atlanta GA 31119 Tel: 404-235-4998 Email: nripulse@gmail.com www.NRIPulse.com Publisher NRIPulse Media Inc.

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Atlanta, GA: India Awareness Foundation and Sewa International with other supporting organizations had organized the screening of a path defining Yoga film ‘History of Yoga’ researched and produced

by Deepika Kothari and Ramji Om from India at Chinmaya Niketan, Norcross, GA on March 25, 2016.

Nearly 175 invited guests, yoga teachers, practitioners and enthusiasts were enchanted by the most authentic and lucid history of yoga enumerated in the documentary.

While welcoming the guests, Dhiru Shah, President of India Awareness Foundation (IAF), emphasized the importance of knowing the correct and accurate history of any nation or civilization in planning for the future. He further stated that history is always written by conquerors and not by the vanquished and quoted an old adage to support his argument: “Until the lions have their own historians, the history of hunt will always glorify the hunter.”

Shah further stated that European colonialists and Indologists have distorted Indian history during the last 300 years which has done a great damage to the psyche of the Indian people and the nation as a whole. He quoted George Orwell as to why history gets distorted: ”The most effective way to destroy a people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history”. He stated that it therefore important to rewrite the Indian history based on the current findings from archaeological excavations, DNA research, astronomical and carbon dating, satellite imaginary and literary evidences.

Shah introduced Deepika Kothari as a scientist with a Ph. D in physics whose scientific papers have been published in national and international journals and whose current interest are in research, writing and film making on Indian thought and cultural heritage.

Ramji Om was introduced as a mathematician, officer of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) working for the Indian Railways and an ardent yoga practitioner who has done the research and screen writing for the film “History of Yoga’. He has studied Indian history and dharma scriptures and has delivered many talks on yoga and Indian civilization in India and abroad.

Dhiru Shah recognized community leaders, Shobha Swamy of Aims for Seva, Manhar Valand of Chinmaya Mission and Yashwant Belsarey of Sewa International for their dedicated selfless service and help in organizing this program.

Deepika Kothari explained in detail the efforts, time taken at personal cost thereof in producing the film ‘History of Yoga’. Six years of extensive research, writing and filming has gone into presenting a balanced, rational and authentic view with the contribution of eminent scholars from the field of Art History, Archaeology, History, Philosophy, Medicine, Literature and Yoga. 35000 kms travel, 100s of permissions, 87 Archaeological sites, 35 Museums & Li-

braries, Temple and shrines have built this story.

India’s magnificent Iconography, Temple Art, Diverse Culture & living traditions, Ancient Relics, Wall paintings, Manuscripts unfold with wisdom of yoga in this path defining feature documentary. She further stated: “I think there is no such documentation in the

ancient civilization leading to a very systematic way of life without violence. He spoke about the central role of women connecting to Yoga discovery but said that it needs further study and findings. He also mentioned about the yogini cult of central India significantly finds relation with yogic mysticism.

Om then made comparisons of Indian philosophy with western philosophy and logic, and argued that it reveals the uniqueness of how Indian civilization’s roots were nurtured with the osmosis of dharma. He discussed the technique of yoga responsible for landmark achievements in the field of sciences, arts, architecture, and philosophy.

The film’s breathtaking photography of monuments and temple art is mesmerizing. Buddhism has been shown to influence yoga in its development.

Jainism has its roots in early Vedic period. Yogic postures of Jain Tirthankars are beautifully depicted. The film aims to disseminate and popularize it amongst all continents where Yoga has become a household practice. The film ends in 19th century where modern science acknowledges the potential of yoga in a new light. Mr. Om concluded his speech saying, “ To understand the exact context in which yoga was devel-

world of this depth and vastness on the subject.”

Ramji Om made a power point presentation about his research on the Indian civilization after screening of the shorter version of ‘History of Yoga’ film. He mentioned that the interesting new insight was film’s philosophical links to the Harappa civilization dating back to more than 6,000 years. Archaeological findings from sites in Haryana district of India revealed the significant central role of women in this

oped and practiced, this film has the answer” Highly researched and well interpreted this documentary is a delight to watch, 6000 years in just 98 minutes.

After a lively Q&A session, Yashawant Belsarey of Sewa International gave a vote of thanks.

As ongoing education for all faiths, OLLI Emory University agrees to show this outstanding documentary again at ‘Lunch & Learn Program’ on Sept 27th free of charge.

Gautam Narula’s ‘Remain Free’ Named INDIEFAB Book Of The Year Awards Finalist Atlanta, GA: Remain Free, a memoir detailing the unlikely friendship between author Gautam Narula, a teenager from the Atlanta suburbs, and Troy Davis, the famous death row inmate, has been recognized as a finalist in the 18th annual Foreword Reviews’ INDIEFAB Book of the Year Awards.

Each year, Foreword Reviews shines a light on a select group of indie publishers, university presses, and self-published authors whose work stands out from the crowd. In the next three months, a panel of more than 100 volunteer librarians and booksellers will determine the winners in 63 categories based on their experience with readers and patrons.

“The 2015 INDIEFAB finalist selection pro-

cess is as inspiring as it is rigorous,” said Victoria Sutherland, publisher of Foreword Reviews. “The strength of this list of finalists is further proof that small, independent publishers are taking their rightful place as the new driving force of the entire publishing industry.”

“I’m thrilled Remain Free has been selected as a finalist for the 2015 INDIEFAB Book of the Year Awards,” said Gautam Narula, author of Remain Free.

“My hope is that more people will be interested in reading the book and critically examining the issues it raises with our criminal justice system.”

Haunting and unabashed in its depiction of the realities of death row, Remain Free is a coming-of-age story amid a tragedy that remains all too relevant.

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April 2016

Over $50,000 Raised For Shantiniketan Rehabilitation Center Atlanta, GA: Robert Hensel, a Guinness World Records holder for the longest non-stop

for their buildings in Kondapur in Adilabad district of Telangana. A whopping $51200 was raised within four weeks, most of it in just one evening.

Several families and organizations came forward unconditionally to take care of the new building

wheelie in a wheelchair once said “I choose not to place “DIS”, in my ability.” Just like Robert Hensel there are millions of people all over the world who are proud of their abilities and faith in their future.

The Telugu community living in Atlanta has proved time and again that they are at their best when it comes to charity and philanthropy. This was evident when Shantiniketan Rehabilitation Center for Differently Abled Children, sought funds

project. A group of friends pledged their support of $12000 to acquire a school van. About $15000 more is needed to reach the goal set for this phase.

Shantiniketan was founded in the year 2001 by Janardhan Pannela. He later migrated to theUS along with his wife and two sons to work as a special needs teacher. With the help of a dedicated team, Janardhan manages Shantiniketan remotely by extending advice and financial help.

BY VIJU CHILUVERU Photos by Vakiti Creations

HOPE Partners With UNICEF For Dodgeball Tournament

Atlanta, GA: On March 19th, a dozen teams and scores of volunteers came together for a dodgeball tournament put together by Helping Organizations & People Everywhere Inc. (HOPE Inc). The event was co-sponsored by UNICEF with the goal to raise awareness and funds to provide clean water to those who cannot easily access it.

HOPE Dodgeball with UNICEF was a unique event where people of all races, religions, and communities could come together and participate in a competitive event suitable for everyone. As the teams battled on the court, all who attended learned about the sustainable efforts of UNICEF.

With the money raised, HOPE helped UNICEF provide 1 year of clean water for 100 people or roughly 4 hand pumps serving approximately 1000+ people.

Attendees also helped make and pack over 500 sandwiches to be donated to Crossroads Ministry, a local homeless refugee.

HOPE is a local non-profit founded by young adults in Atlanta who seek to change the world. They focus on raising awareness, engaging the community, and fundraising for non-profits focused on basic needs with sustainable solutions. To accomplish these goals, HOPE hosts a variety of events to bring the community together in a fun way. Visit us at HOPEInc.info to find out how you can help us help others.

The event was put together by Shantiniketan to thank the donors and to reach out to more people for funds. Held on Saturday, March 5 at Taste of India, the event started with the lighting of the lamp by several donors and well-wishers followed by a classical dance by students of Neelima Gaddamanugu, Nataraja Nrityanjali Academy. Later Pannela explained the services offered by Shantiniketan through a PowerPoint presentation. He also spoke about the core idea behind this project.

He and his wife Roopa, got emotional by sharing a sensitive incident of their own family.

Renowned Telugu lyricist Chandrabose was the guest of honor for the evening. He walked the audience through a fascinating journey of his career filled with hilarious and emotional moments, interspersed with anecdotes. This segment was the best part of the night and drew the attention of all the audience. The host of the event Viju Chiluveru made an appeal for more donations as the goal was not met.

He entertained the audience throughout with his wit and spontaneous humor. Swapna Katta did a great job as the MC of the night with her on-thespot improvisation.

Consul D.V. Singh from the Consulate General of India in Atlanta recognized the donors. Community leader and political activist Narender Reddy commended Shantiniketan for doing an extraordinary job in the service of less fortunate children.

Balaratna award winner Haricharan, a physically challenged 7-year old presented a beautiful dance. The display of his confidence and willpower was appreciated by everyone in the hall and he received a standing ovation. He was recognized with a shawl and a souvenir. A proud moment for the ‘differently abled’ children of Shantiniketan.

Prabhakar Boyapally, a donor who visited Shantiniketan personally, said, “I am fortunate to be a part of this noble cause. Every one of us should lend a hand and take it to the next level”.

Dr. Jaganmohan Rao and Suguna, longtime residents and Trustees of Hindu Temple of Atlanta, have also visited the school and the site, were thanked for their support.

All sponsors were recognized by Chandrabose – Pramod Sajja of Paramount Software Solutions, Kiran Pasham of EIS Technologies, Sagar Lagisetty of Magnus opus IT solutions, Ravichander of Softpath Systems, Madhavi Gangasani, Dr. Bhoja katipally, who flew in all the way from San Antonio, TX exclusively for this event and ATA President-Elect Karunakar Asireddy.

All the sponsors, in their message, expressed the same viewpoint “We are glad to be a part of

this initiative and will continue to hold the children’s’ hands in the future too”.

The gold level donors for the event were: Dr. Sreeni R Gangasani & Madhavi Gangasani, Sreedhar Bandaru & Lakshmi Bandaru,Detroit,MI,

Dr. Venugopal Reddy Vundyala & Geetha Vundyala, Sagar Lagisetty & Vanaja Lagisetty, Dr. Bhojareddy Katipally & Sandhya Katipally, (San Antonio,TX), Karunakar Asireddy & Prashanti Asireddy, Dr. Ravinder & Yashodhara Thota, NJ, Ravi Chander & Sushumna Roy, Suresh Volam & Kamala Volam, American Progressive Telugu Association, Houston (APTA), Dr. Laxmaiah Pola and Laxmi Pola, (Cleveland, Ohio).

Other donors included Ravi Kasam & Kavitha Kasam, Los Angeles,CA, Ramana Reddy Battula and Indu Battula, Garudavega, Dr. Aruna Polsani and Rajeshwar Rao Polati of Zenith Radiology.

Dr. Shanker and Management of Taste of India and few IT consulting companies.

Several volunteers worked for three weeks for this event. Shantiniketan acknowledged Sridhar Vakiti for photography, Beats and Events for Audio, Srinivas Durgam and DJ Dev for Lighting, Taste of India for Venue, Suresh Volam for Graphic work, and Plan in Style for decoration. Media partners were Deccan Abroad, Praveen Puram TV5, TV9 and HMTV. Kishan Tallapalli and Sunil Gottoor did a great job at the registration and donation booth.

More information at http://shantiniketanadb.org/ Read about Shantiniketan founder, Janardhan Pannela in our Indians of Atlanta section on Pg 19.

SRIHANUMANMANDI R Cor di al l yi nvi t esal ldev ot eesf ort hec el ebr a onof

F r i da y , Apr i l 15t h, 2016 E v entHi ghl i ght s :

T e mpl eF ounde r Pr i e s tS e s huPur a na m

Mor ni ngf r om 10.

00am *L or dRamaAbhi s hekam

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RamaBhak Samraj yam: Dai l ypravachamgi venbySriPoorni maj i ,adi sci pl eof HHMaharanyamSriSriMural i dharaSwami j i ,starng f rom7thApri lat7.

00PM andl eadi ngupto SriRamaNavamif esval .Thesepravachamswi l lbebasedonthe f ol l owi ngBhaktas-BhaktaShabari ,SantKabi rdas,SantTul asi das, SriTyagaraj a,Bhadrachal aRamadasar ,Vi bheeshanaSharanaga andHanuma m thPrabhavam( l ast3days) .

Thi syear ,al ongwi t hSamuhi kaKal yanam,wear e gi vi ngas pec i aloppor t uni t yf oral ldevot eest o s pons orI ndi vi dualKal yanam.Fort hi s , Sr iHanumanMandi rwoul dbepr ovi di ngas etof Sr iRamaPar i varvi gr ahasf oral lr egi s t er eddevot ees t odoKal yanam asdi r ec t edbyt empl epr i es tont he Sr iRamaNavamidayandt hent ot aket hes evi gr ahas t ot hei rhomef ordai l ywor s hi p.Ther ear eonl y 108s l ot savai l abl e,s oPl eas eHur r y! !

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‘Life In Resonance’ Celebrated At 10th BAPS Women’s Conference Atlanta, GA: In physics, resonance is defined by a phenomenon that follows when a powerful, vibrating system causes another system to oscillate with greater amplitude at a specific frequency. In life, resonance is defined by the innate beliefs and timeless principles that drive an individual’s actions as well as his/her physical and mental state of mind. Harmony within mind and body resonate harmony within our surroundings.

This year, the tenth annual BAPS Women’s Conference at BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Lilburn, Georgia provided a renewed approach to more than 600 attendees on balancing three major aspects of one’s life through the theme of “Life in Resonance”: cultural identity, work-life balance, and emotional health. In today’s world, everyone is constantly striving for balance, whether it be at school, work, or at home. While self-help books and online forums can be great sources of inspiration for those seeking this type of balance; open discussions among peers can often have a greater impact in making this a more achievable goal.

Dr. Angelina Mehta, a Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine and Staff Sergeant in the United States Marine Corps Reserve, and Kirna Parikh, a retired mother

of three, were two of the selected speakers who

delivered insightful messages on building pride in one’s identity through confidence in one’s intrinsic beliefs and practices. Dr. Mehta shared, “Embracing who I am as a culture and an individual with pride allows me to more openly accept and appreciate everyone else I encounter. By maintaining our culture, and appreciating others’ cultures, we are an artistically tasteful society. ” Circling the ever-debatable topic of maintaining a work-life balance, a panel discussion moderated by Sweeney Patel, explored various practical methods and solutions, including self-introspection, for seeking clarity and filtering out purposeful priorities from our chaotic lives. The panelists also pressed on the importance of family harmony for L to R: Keynote speaker Pragya Singh, wife of one to realize themselves as a Consul General Nagesh Singh & Sheetal Desai. part of ‘we’ and ‘ours’ versus ‘I’ and ‘mine’.

In order for us to truly be able to entertain any sense of progress, we must take care of our body. Dr. Heena Bhatt, a Doctor of Ayurvedic Medicine, discussed if our health fails it can overshadow everything

Shruthilaya Celebrates Composers Day

else we do. She explored how diet and exercise influence the body, and in turn the mind. Lastly, the delegates were reminded of the immense power that spirituality holds in practicing the above-mentioned principles of self-awareness and introspection by Mrs. Avani Patel, a Registered Nurse. The knowledge, that in the end, we leave everything behind in this temporary world, allows us to remain grounded and unperturbed through the wavering highs and lows in our life. This knowledge is quintessential for a content mind and a healthy self.

The conference was then addressed by the keynote speaker, Pragya Singh, wife of Consul General of India, Nagesh Singh. Having traveled and lived in different countries in various parts of the world, Singh shared, “One thing that I have learned through my experiences is that no matter where you live or where you come from, each culture provides you something novel and valuable.”

Spreading this message of science, practicality and spirituality across the nation, the conference was held in 12 cities with attendees from various personal and professional backgrounds. Panel discussions and Q&A sessions enabled the speakers to effectively communicate their experiences and thus, enrich the audience with practical applications to bring balance into their lives. The conference delegates were reminded not only of the necessity for maintaining stability, but also of their inherent strengths which allow them to pursue this very goal.

Sewa International Hosts First Workshop On College Readiness

Atlanta, GA: Shruthilaya Carnatic Music School celebrated its annual Composers Day event on March 5th at the Hindu Temple of Atlanta, Riverdale.

The event started with bhajans and keertanas by kids of Geetham levels. They were ably accompanied on the violin and mridangam by budding talents Kirti Subramanian, Gautam Krishnan, Anirudhah Narayan, Varsha Ramalingam and Sriman Thangaraj.

Pancharatna kritis, the five gems of Saint Tyagaraja were rendered starting with Sri Ganapathini in ragam saurastram.

Kala Vasudevan led the group singing with Gayatri Krishnan , Ranjani Yoganand,Anuradha Rao, Divya Sukumar, Meera Jandayala and Sandhya Ramachandran.Additional vocal support was given

by Sanjana Rao, Divya Umapathy, Smruthi Balasubramaniam, Tanvi Raj and Supritha Jagannathan.

The whole segment got enhanced by the instrumentalists C.V Subramanian and Jassotha Balasubramanian on the violin, Prashanth Kallur and

Jayashri Rajagopalan on the flute, Usha Venkatachalam on the veena, Ravi Subramanian on the electric guitar, Suresh Kothandaraman, Santosh Chandru andAmit Narayan on the mridangam, Vikash Achutaramaiah on the morsing & kanjira.

The second segment started with a scintillating flute concert by Prashanth Kallur accompanied by Jassotha Balasubramanian on the violin, Suresh Kothandaraman on the mridangam & Vikash Achutaramaiah on the morsing.

The concert was followed with soulful renditions presented by children and adult students, with compositions of trinity, pre and post trinity .

An ensemble was another highlight of the event.

Carnatic vocals by Shruthilaya students collaborated with Sebastian School of Music for western violins along with Indian and western percussion.

Excellence & Recognition Awards were presented to selected students based on their progress.

The sound system was competently handled

by Adam Vernon.The daylong event of musical bliss concluded with mangalam.

Atlanta, GA: Sewa International USA conducted a family workshop on college readiness for current high school students and their parents on March 5, 2016 at Radha Madhav Society Duluth, GA. This event was offered free as a service to the community. This workshop was the part of series of workshops planned under the family services project of Sewa International in Atlanta and other cities in the US. Going from high school to college is the first major transition in a student’s life. While books, websites and counselors are the resources that can help with preparation but current college students can be a great source for information.

Sewa conducted a first of its kind panel discussion on the topic of preparation for college where students and parents received personalized guidance based on their needs and situations, directly from current college students who have managed

the transition. Panelists included current high school students transitioning to college and current undergraduate and PhD students from UGA, Georgia tech and Boston University.

Through a series of Q&A and discussions, the panelists Urvashi Pandya (UGA senior), Adithi Srinivasiah (Emory Undergrad), Manan Gandhi (Georgia Tech Undergrad) and Vidushi Gupta (North view High School senior) shared their own experiences on various topics such as application process, building the right resume, selecting a college, adjusting to life in college, transitions through the change etc. Kripa Chandran, 3rd year student at Georgia tech moderated the panel.

This interactive workshop was attended by about 40 students and parents, and it provided them an opportunity to ask questions they always wanted to ask about getting better prepared for college.

November 2014

Continued from Pg 1.....

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Atlanta Artist Pays Tribute To Simple Margam- The Chosen Path: Natyam Pleasures Of Life At Solo Exhibition Arts Academy Celebrates 16 Years

BY VEENA RAO Atlanta, GA: Atlanta artist Dr Sivananda Nyayapathi had a solo exhibition of his paintings at the Ventulett Gallery in Atlanta through March.

Titled ‘Of Beauty and Nature, Simple Pleasures of Life’ the exhibition showcased a beautiful range of landscape paintings, still lifes and portraits from the artist’s collection.

Visitors to the gallery were blown away with the fine details, simple realism and skillful interplay of color, tone and perspective in the paintings. Speaking to this reporter, Dr Nyayapathi said the show was his attempt to capture the beauty of nature – the simple pleasures that are given to us free.

“We are surrounded by the beauty of nature every day. Beautiful sunrises, colorful sunsets, majestic trees, the vast sea or the small streams. The landscape paintings in the show are my feeble attempts to capture that beauty,” he said. “While everything in nature is the creation of God, still life paintings are the way artists attempt to emulate creativity. Most of my still lifes show fruits because I love them. I love to place still life settings in dramatic light and shadow.”

The portrait collection at the exhibition included paintings and sketches of famous personalities like MotherTheresa and Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, and friends of the artist. “Humans have two eyes, a nose, a mouth, two ears, two hands, two legs and a torso – but with such vast variations of beauty. I love the challenge of capturing the personality of people,” Dr Nyayapathi said.

Born into an artistic family, as a child, Dr Nyayapathi used to watch, for hours together, while his father, Nyayapathi Sri Venkateswara Row, (who was a painter, writer, dramatist and a singer) painted.

That was the inspiration that led him also to art. He has been winning awards since he was 12 years old.

During his undergraduate studies at Indian Insti-

tute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur, he had got the opportunity to work with oils, which was mostly selftaught from various books. Siva won awards for his artwork and represented IIT in inter IIT competitions.

He had also painted huge backdrops for the stage productions during his college days. He had received special award for his outstanding contribution to art during his stay at IIT. Dr Nyayapathi and his family moved to Atlanta in 1996. Though already an award winning artist, being desirous of learning the techniques of the old masters, he had learnt for over four years from Chris DiDomizio’s atelier. He had also learnt portraiture from International Masters like Daniel Greene, Burton Silverman, David Leffel, Michael Shane Neal, Jim Schell and Nancy Honea.

Dr Nyayapathi is a juried member of the Portrait Society of Atlanta (PSA), a signature member of the Atlanta Fine Arts League, and an associate member of the Oil Painters of America.

He had also served the PSA as a member of the board of directors for two years. He has exhibited in many one man and group shows in the USA. He has also been teaching art for the past many years.

Photo by Bytegraph.com

Atlanta, GA: On March 12th, students of Preeti Vinayak at the Natyam Arts Academy, performed in a two hour presentation titled, “Margam”- The Chosen Path, at North Atlanta High School. Natyam Arts Academy (NAA) celebrated 16 years of serving the Dunwoody area as a premier school for Bharatanatyam and Carnatic Music.

The word “Margam” means path or a way.

Pieces from the Allarippu to Thillana were presented in sequence of increasing degree of difficulty by over 50 dancers. The entire program was dedicated to Preeti’s Guru, Sri. M.V.Narasimhachari, and the legacy he has left behind with his incredible choreography.

Sainath Rajendrakumar served at the Master of Ceremonies and deftly guided the audience through the program. The stage was set with the NAA logo projected and colorful festive lights.

GAPI, GINA and Rotary Club Partner With SAI Health Fair At Global Mall Atlanta, GA: The 35th SAI Health Fair in coordination with Georgia Association of Physicians of Indian Heritage (GAPI), Rotary Club and Georgia Indian NursesAssociation (GINA) held atAshiana at the Global Mall, Norcross on Saturday, March 26, elicited a very good response. The health fair was organized by Dr. Sujatha Reddy.

T h e event was made possible

by Global Mall, Ashiana Restaurant Dr Sujatha Reddy with Dr Sangi Setti Charities.

People of diverse nationalities and cultures from all over Atlanta availed themselves of the free consultancy services provided by dedicated physicians, supported by nurses and technicians and service-oriented volunteers who attended to the various health related concerns of the people after they registered for blood tests, free EKGs, free glaucoma and vision screenings, preventive cardiology tests,

free bone density tests to detect osteoporosis and free consultancy in internal medicine, family medicine, gynecology, cardiology, dentistry, endocrinology, gastroenterology, ophthalmology, orthopedics and nephrology/hypertension, dermatology etc.

Sreeni Gangasani and Dr Jay Sampat.

The GAPI free clinic located at Global Mall functions to see under-insured and uninsured people. Many who visit from India and other countries are generally brought in for a second opinion and to get their medicines refilled. In the event they need further tests or treatments, they are referred to physicians who agree to see them for a very modest fee.

The youngest students of the Academy dressed in vibrant green and red costumes, presented Bharatham. Beginner level students presented a set of pieces titled Ganesha Vandanam clad in red costumes. This was followed by 14 intermediate level dancers who confidently presented the Allarippu, Ganesha Kowthuvam and a Shabdam.

From there on senior students took over the repertoire and began with a fast paced Jatiswaram.

The piece de resistance of the show was the Varnam. Set to Ragam Thodi and Adi Thalam, the Varnam showcased four elaborate and intricate Jatis that were expertly vocalized and choreographed by Preeti through her precise nattuvangam. Her students did apt justice to these Jatis which was evident through thunderous applauses after each one. Seven senior students, Varsha Chari, Manasi Gali, Varsha Jacob, Snegha Saravanan, Pragya Shah, Shreshtha Shah and Nethra Valli Shah, deserved a special mention as they presented the 33 minute long Varnam!

Post Arangetram students, Aishwarya and Soujanya Duggirala and Vaishnavi Gomadam, presented Javalis and Padams. All three students who completed their Arangetram under Preeti’s tutelage, brought out the lyrical beauty of the compositions with realistic facial expressions and a command over story telling. The program included a captivating Thillana and a fusion piece on Kalabhairava. In lieu of a Mangalam, Preeti decided to have her student present a Thiruppavai, in which Vaishnavi Gomadam dressed as the ethereal poetess Andal described the Vamana (dwarf) Avataram of Vishnu. The Duggirala sisters then presented a brisk piece on Annamacharya’s Brahmam Okatey.

Preeti presented trophies to her students and commended them for their dedication to the study of Bharatanatyam; some who have been learning from her for over twelve years now! Preeti’s students went on to perform on March 13th at the Children’s Museum of Atlanta for an hour to promote Indian culture and arts. Preeti thanked all the parents for their continued support and encouragement as Natyam Arts Academy now expands itself to include their Educational Partner, Learning Ridge, to offer enrichment programs for the gifted and Lego Stem workshops.

Natyam Arts Academy Studio is located at 4675 North Shallowford Road, Suite 209, Dunwoody, GA 30338 and Preeti can be contacted at natyamarts@gmail.com for upcoming programs and class schedules.

April 2016

........City News ........

Maha Shivaratri Celebrated At Siddhi Vinayak Mandir Atlanta, GA: Maha Shivaratri was celebrated with religious fervor by Siddhi Vinayak Mandir at Ashiana banquet Hall on March 7.

Lord Ganesha , the remover of obstacles, the patron of arts and sciences and the giver of intellect and wisdom, is the God of beginnings and is honored at the

beginning of all rituals and ceremonies in Hinduism. To fulfill the need of devotees of Shri Ganesha, also known as Siddhi Vinayak , the Siddhi Vinayak Mandir was conceptualized and started by Pdt Gyan Prakash Upadhyay in February 2015 with a goal to serve the religious needs of all the devotees of Sanatan Hindu Dharma and support community activities for

the young adults, women and senior citizens as it relates to Hindu Religion, Indian languages, art, music and dance. The Siddhi Vinayak Mandir is a non-profit religious institution incorporated under the laws of the State of Georgia.

After having worked in the religious institutions

here in USA and India for over 25 years, doing all kinds of Poojas, Sanskars, Katha, Vastu and Jyotish consulting, Pdt Gyan Prakash Upadhyay decided to take on bigger responsibility on himself. With tremendous encouragement and support from devotees, in a short time the new mandir was established in a central location (Global Mall) and provides all kinds of Hindu pujas sanskars, astrolocal and vastu consulting, jap and katha services.

The grand opening of the mandir was done with praan pratistha on Feb 28, 2015. The Ganesha murti was sponsored by Shri Sanjeev and Deepa Luthera Ji. Expert in all type of Yagna and Karmkands, Pandit Upadhayay organized Nav Chandi Yagna first time ever in Atlanta , on March 29, 2015 which was attended by a large number of devotees.

As a service to the community Siddhi Vinayak Mandir continues to organize many religious events. On June 6, 2015, a one day seminar on Yoga by Swami Adhyatmanand Ji was organized.

NRI PULSE 11

Sanjay Pandya Recounts Nightmare At Brussels Continued from Front Page (Pg 3).....

afternoon. The ride was nice, comfortable and warm. Now Jet Airways came to our rescue; we got a room in a hotel with heat and hot water. We all had a nice warm soup and went to sleep in a comfortable bed. I had my first good shower in two days.

Jet airways divided us into small groups and sent us to the airport so that we could start our journey to our destination, one step at a time.

They flew us to Toronto, Canada and provided us with a hotel room there.

Finally, I landed at Maynard Jackson International Airport with a toothbrush and tooth paste provided by Red Cross and a blanket provided by Jet airways. I am still waiting for my two checked in bags and the carry on bag to arrive. After about two weeks from the first day I undertook my journey from Sardar Vallabhbhai Airport at Ahmedabad on March 21, 2016, I still do not have any idea about my luggage and how Jet Airways will assist us in getting our stuff back.

When I wrote to the Jet Airways office in Mumbai, I was asked to follow a link to file my claim with Brussels’s airport authority, without realizing that link was not in English. Since someone responded to my email, I wrote him back requesting help with filling out the form or provide me with link in English. I still haven’t heard back from them.

I wish Jet Airways would understand the phrase “customer service”, and how to win customers over in today’s market place.

........NRI News ........

Infosys Founder Murthy Mourns Techie’s Death

Bengaluru: (IANS) Infosys co-founder N.R. Narayana Murthy mourned the death of company employee Raghavendran Ganeshan in a terror attack in Brussels last month and condoled with his family.

“Raghavendra - a young Indian, a father, a husband, a son, a brother, and an Infoscion - was a victim of senseless violence. Nobody anywhere in the world deserves to be cut down with such violence,” he said in a statement here.

The Software major’s chief executive Vishal Sikka also paid tributes to Ganeshan.

“A great young life extinguished far too early.

Profoundly sad at the senselessness yet thankful for the outpouring of condolences,” Sikka said in a tweet. The mortal remains of the 28-year-old software engineer reached Chennai earlier in the day from Amsterdam for the last rites.

Publisher Drops Support To Trump Washington: (IANS) Sudhir Parikh, a prominent Indian-American doctor and publisher has dissociated himself from ‘Indian Americans for Trump 2016’, a group supporting Donald Trump.

“I allowed myself to be identified with that group,” he said in an emailed statement “because some members of the group are friends of mine”. “I wish to clarify that I no longer belong to the group and I do not support the candidacy of Mr. Donald Trump,” Parikh, founder chairman of Parikh Worldwide Media publishing house, said without assigning any reason.

“For over three decades I have supported both Democrat and Republican candidates based on their individual merits and their commitment to the interests of the Indian-American community and US-India relations,” he wrote. “I remain committed to this course,” added Parikh, who had been named chair of fundraising and advisory committee of Indian-Americans for Trump 2016 formed in January.

Calling Trump the “best hope for America”, the group from New York Tristate area formed a Political Action Committee (PAC) to support and raise funds for him. Headed by Dr A.D. Amar, a business professor with Seton Hall University in New Jersey, the group’s sole declared goal is “to garner actively the support of all Americans, but particularly Indian-Americans, to have Donald J. Trump become the next President of the USA.”

US Military Grants Sikh Officer Religious Rights Washington: (IANS) An Indian-American Sikh military officer in US has been granted permission to wear a religious beard and turban while in uniform, the media reported recently.

The US Army’s decision to the make permanent religious accommodation for Capt.

Simratpal Singh makes him the first active-duty combat soldier in decades to be permitted to wear a turban and beard, www.nydailynews.com reported.

The ruling ended the protracted battle that pitted individual religious freedom rights against what the military said was a need for uniformity and strict safety standards.

“My two worlds are one again… I can fully serve my country exactly the way I want to and still be a full Sikh the way I want to be,” reported nydailynews.com.

Singh, 28, an observant Sikh had to cut his hair and shave his beard when he joined the West Point military academy in 2006.

“It was excruciating. For 18 years of your life, you’ve had a certain image of yourself. All of a sudden, it’s shattered within 10 minutes,” Singh was quoted as saying.

Ten years later, Singh, now an Army Ranger and Bronze Star Medal recipient, in a bid to reclaim that image asked the US Army in Octo-

ber to allow him to begin wearing a beard and turban. Facing a discrimination lawsuit, the Army

granted him a temporary accommodation in December.

In February, with the temporary accommo-

Severed Cow’s Head Placed At Hindu Sanctuary In Pennsylvania New York: (IANS) The severed head of cow has been placed at a Hindu cow sanctuary in Pennsylvania and the state police are investigating the crime as a case of “ethnic intimidation.”

The cow’s head was dumped at over the weekend at the Lakshmi Cow Sanctuary in Monroe County, according to media reports.

The Express Times newspaper reported Tuesday that Pennsylvania State Police are calling the incident which happened between Saturday night and Sunday morning “ethnic intimidation, criminal trespass and harassment.”

State Trooper Carrie A. Gula, who was quoted by the newspaper, said explaining the intimidation description, “The victim’s religion is Hinduism. In this religion, the cow is (a) symbol of life and may never be killed.”

None of the 20 cows at the sanctuary were hurt, local TV station WNEP reported on its web site. The severed head was left where Sankar Sastri, who runs the sanctuary could find it, “but he’s not letting this taint what the sanctuary is all about,” reporter Jim Hamill said. “Now the sanctuary has a chance to educate folks about Hindu beliefs in spite of a disturbing deed.”

Sastri told the station, “I hope this doesn’t magnify anymore. I don’t want to take it to the

next side. I hope just a prank. They probably didn’t realize. People are unaware of what we’re about.” Sastri would use the incident to inform the local people about Hinduism, Hamill said.

The Express Times reported that the cow sanctuary was founded about 20 years ago by Sastri, a retired professor and dean at the New York City College of Technology, and relocated to the area around Jackson Township from another location in the state only about about a month ago.

He told the newspaper’s web site, lehighvalleylive.com, that finding the cow’s head was like the scene from “The Godfather” movie where a severed horse head is left on a man’s bed as a warning from the mob boss. But “they didn’t leave it in my bed.” Sastri said.

Rajan Zed, the president of the Nevada-based Universal Society of Hinduism, said that “Hindus are highly concerned” over the incident and asked Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf and Monroe County Chairperson John R. Moyer to reassure the community.

“It was shocking for the hard-working, harmonious and peaceful US Hindu community numbering about three million, who had made lot of contributions to the nation and society, to receive such signals of hatred and intimidation,” he said in a statement.

dation set to expire, the Army insisted Captain Singh to undergo extensive testing to make sure his beard and hair wouldn’t interfere with his helmet or gas mask.

Singh filed suit citing religious discrimination.A judge ruled that the Army couldn’t impose the individualised testing on Singh and ordered the service to decide on his request by March 31.

Recently, in a court ruling Singh was finally granted a permanent accommodation.

“Because of the Army’s strong interest in maintaining good order and discipline, the Army intends to develop clear, uniform standards applicable to soldiers who have received religious accommodation,” Debra S. Wada, the assistant secretary of the Army for manpower and reserve affairs, wrote in a memo to the captain released recently.

Until those standards are in place, she said, Captain Singh will be expected to appear in a “neat and conservative” manner with a black or camouflage turban.

Singh, who grew up in Punjab, immigrated to the US at the age of nine after his father was granted political asylum in the country. His grandfather often regaled him with tales of fighting in World War I as a soldier in the British Indian Army, which instilled in him the desire to join the military.

Always Protect Minority Voice: Amal Clooney

New Delhi: (IANS) Renowned lawyer and activist Amal Clooney asserted that the minority voice should always be protected in a society advocating a free speech.

“The minority voice is the one you should always protect a society that advocates a free speech. Countries must allow criticism of its rulers, governments and religion,” Clooney said addressing a session at India Today Conclave.

“Locking up a dissenter will not stifle dissent. In fact it will fester it further. For India. using sedition law against students would be a step in the wrong direction,” she added.

Clooney added that sedition is an anachronistic crime but it is unfortunate if a country starts using it more actively. “I hope we could have a healthy debate on the freedom of speech in India since it is well placed for such discussion,” Clooney said insisting free speech is not only a human right but also an essence of being human.

Clooney is a British-Lebanese lawyer, who has fought the case of Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, in his fight against extradition. She is married to popular Hollywood actor George Clooney.

April 2016

........NRI News ........

NRI PULSE 13

Bhindi Jewelers Re-Opens Multi-Million Dollar Showroom In Artesia

Atlanta, GA: Bhindi Jewelers hosted their four day grand re-opening at their flagship location in Artesia, California recently.

After one year of comprehensive renovations to expand the store from 7000 sq. ft. to 17,000 sq. ft., Bhindi now hosts a greater selection of their already impressive collection of fine diamond and gold jewelry, along with an accumulating repertoire of luxury timepieces.

The multi-million-dollar showroom was designed by Sat Garg, founder and creative director of Santa Monica based architecture and design firm Akar Studios. Garg designed the previous flagship Bhindi store and is currently overseeing the $300 million Terminal 2 LAX renovation.

The time and investment poured into this endeavor reflects the Bhindi commitment to quality and attention to detail. The new showroom is designed to complement their exquisite collections, as well as cater to their discerning clientele while creating a destination shopping experience in the process.

The first floor is dedicated to diamond jewelry and luxury timepieces. The redesigned showroom is home to in-shop boutiques for Rolex, Cartier, Panerai, IWC, Hublot and Tag

Heuer, alongside counter collections of Nomos, Tudor and Chanel. In addition to housing over 400 Rolex timepieces, the Rolex shop-in-shop contains two private viewing rooms exclusively for their Rolex customers.

Bhindi also unveiled a brand new, specialty bridal room that displays its signature bridal jewelry collection and hundreds of engagement rings.

The Bhindi bridal room was designed to make the

engagement ring and wedding jewelry selection process special, memorable, and personalized for every bride and groom. Bhindi carries in its inventory a selection of .5 carat to 5 carat GIA certified diamonds and the diamonds are presented by a GIA graduate gemologist. Bhindi takes pride in educating its customers about diamonds through a highly interactive process in which each potential diamond is examined by the customer under the guidance of the GIA gemologist.

Driven by their commitment to deliver the highest quality product possible, Bhindi selected the Switzerland-based Obrist Interior AG to build the entire Rolex and diamond jewelry showroom. Obrist, founded in 1895, has established itself as one of the finest builders in the world; its resume includes boutiques for Tiffany and Mikimoto. In order to ensure exceptional quality, the entire Rolex and diamond departments were built in Switzerland and transported to California for

installation by a team of expert carpenters based in Lucerne, Switzerland.

The second floor displays Bhindi’s dazzling and extensive 22k gold and antique collection. The renovation enabled Bhindi to expand the breadth of their already impressive, marketleading selection by 150%. Bhindi Jewelers is extremely proud to announce the addition of two VIP viewing rooms dedicated to its gold clients. The private viewing rooms will allow Bhindi customers to sit, relax and allow the jewelry to be brought to them for a private and customized shopping experience.

Bhindi offers over 50,000 items in its collection and has revolutionized the market in Little India by introducing luxury couture collections to a diverse clientele. In the newly-renovated showroom, Bhindi Jewelers clients can be assured of an experience that reflects their exquisite jewelry. The sales consultants are highly trained and their insight reflects their experience, enabling a tailored experience for their diverse clientele. The completion of their latest showroom marks yet another step towards the company’s goal of maintaining the highest standards of excellence in order to continue being a leading presence in the industry.

Two Indian-American Students Win First Place In Intel Science Contest Breaking a three-year dry spell for IndianAmericans, two 17-year-old high school students have won the top prize of $150,000 with their medical-related projects in the prestigious Intel Science Talent Search contest, the society for Science and Public (SSP) announced.

Although Indian-Americans have formed one of the largest ethnic contingents year after year at the contest and won several prizes, none had won the top prize since 2012 when Nithin Reddy Tumma received it for cancer research.

Two of the $75,000 second prizes, and two of the $35,000 third place prizes this year were also bagged by Indian diaspora teenagers.

Amol Punjabi won the First Place Medal of Distinction for basic research for developing a software that could help drug makers develop new therapies for cancer and heart disease. He is from Marlborough in Massachusetts.

Maya Varma’s smartphone-based lung function analyzer won her the First Place Medal of Distinction for innovation.

Maya Verma used $35 worth of hobbyist electronics and free computer-aided design tools

to create the low-cost device that diagnoses lung disease as accurately as expensive devices currently used in medical laboratories, the SSP said. She is from Cupertino in California.

The prizes were given in three categories: Basic research, innovation and global good. All the Indian winners were in the research and innovation categories.

Meena Jagadeesan of Naperville, Illinois, won the Second Place Medal of Distinction for basic research for her work in mathematics.

Meena investigated an object in algebraic combinatorics, or the mathematics of counting, to reveal a novel relationship between classes of graphs.

For his study of random nanowire networks as a less costly alternative to the transparent con-

ductors now used in touchscreen devices, Milind Jagota won the Second Place Medal of Distinction for Innovation. He is from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

The two third place winners were Kunal Shroff and Kavya Ravichandran.

Shroff of Great Falls, Virginia, discovered new relationships between the key protein associated with Huntington’s disease and the biological processes of cellular death that cause Huntington’s symptoms. His work may lead to new treatments, SSP said.

Ravichandran studied the use of nanomedicine to destroy potentially fatal blood clots that can cause heart attacks and strokes. She is from Westlake, Ohio.

Fourteen Indian diaspora students were among the 40 students chosen to be finalists from among 1,750 students who entered the contest.

The finals were held in Washington.

14 NRI PULSE

......... Features ........

April 2016

Indian-American Student Empowering Rural Youth As India Goes Digital New Delhi: (IANS) Echoing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call to bridge the “digital divide” in the country, a young Indian-American student has begun on her journey to empower rural youth in learning computer programming technology in a small yet picturesque town in Himachal Pradesh.

Through “Pi A La Code” — a project that began in 2014 — Californiabased Sonia Uppal is helping young talented minds at the Saraswati Niketan Senior Secondary School in a village in Kasauli learn computer programming.

“The experience of using immersive tools to build software that people loved to learn with always excited me and I decided to take computer science to the rural people in India,” Uppal told IANS in a telephonic interview from California.

Born and brought up in California, she stumbled upon a $35 computer developed by Raspberry Pi — the makers of tiny and affordable computers for kids at the Bay Area Maker Faire — an exhibition showcasing invention, creativity and resourcefulness in the Silicon Valley.

The mere sight of the cost-efficient Pi computers brightened up her mind and she initially

thought of taking the Pi device to India — to The International School Bangalore (TISB) in Bengaluru where she was studying computer science during the period when her father was transferred to India.

She realised that students at her school did not need this basic computer device. But what about students in rural India, she thought, for whom

this simple device can become a useful learning tool?

Thus, the “Pi A La Code” idea took shape. “I realised it would be much useful if I take this Pi device to schools in villages which will have much

more impact,” Sonia told IANS. In the meantime, she raised money to buy 10 Raspberry Pi teaching sets. She first taught herself Python — a widely used high-level, dynamic computer programming language while being selected as a Stanford SHE++ fellow — a social enterprise that empowers women to make their mark in the technology industry.

Here, Uppal met people who inspired as well as helped her to take up the noble cause of teaching computer programming to students in rural India.

Emboldened, she developed a curriculum on her own and flew back to India in 2014 for a 10-day trip to the school tucked away in Kasauli — her mother’s ancestral place.

After the initial hiccups, things quickly fell in place for her.

Uppal got the necessary permission to teach computer science at Saraswati Niketan Senior Secondary School. With her broken Hindi, she started to teach computers and the basics of Python to Class 10 and 11 students.

“I thought there would be language and other barriers, but besides internet connectivity prob-

lems, we didn’t have any other major issues,” Uppal added.

Her course was fun, engaging and produced immediate responses with the students.

“The students learnt how to operate the Pi device and basic Python very quickly which was incredible since the only computer experience they had prior was learning how to restart a monitor or to save a word document,” she elaborated.

Following the 10-day pilot run in 2014, Uppal returned to the US but continued teaching the students over Skype for a whole year.

In 2015, she again came back to Kasauli and taught both web programming and Python to the students.

“I am really glad that I have been able to reach so many kids through this project as I wanted to introduce computer science to the underprivileged,” Uppal said, revealing that many of her students, who are now starting for college, want to pursue computer science as a career.

Encouraged, she now wants to extend the “Pi a La Code” project beyond Kasauli.

She also wants to approach the Himachal Pradesh government for its help to start a Raspberry Pi programming curriculum in more schools in the state.

“Since Pi teaching set is quite inexpensive, many kids can be taught for a small amount of funding and this can easily be expanded to other states,” she explained.

Currently, Uppal is focused on making an e-book compiling the lessons she implemented in her curriculum.

Internet Of Things To Connect Millions In Rural India To Mainstream New Delhi: (IANS) Some call it the fourth industrial revolution or “industry 4.0”; for others, the time when machines can “talk” at “smart” factories and “connected” homes to make your life better is here. But for India, Internet of Things (IoT) can bring a real revolution: empowering millions in rural areas and connecting “humans” to the mainstream.

A well-connected nation is the first step towards a well-served nation and, hence, connecting rural India to the IoT will provide the much-needed bridge between urban and rural India.

“It is a surefire way of channelling the benefits of a digital economy to the largest part of the country. IoT will enable delivery of education, health, governance and financial services to otherwise underserved areas,” Oracle India managing director Shailender Kumar stressed.

For example, most patients in rural areas do not have access to specialists. Thus, several large hospitals in the metros are beginning to offer remote consulting services in rural villages using media-rich network capabilities.

“The doctors can see and interact with patients in remote telemedicine centres, with the case history and medical data automatically transmitted to the doctor for analysis. Similarly, the IoT technology can be leveraged to offer high-quality remote education in high schools across the country,” Shailendra Kumar told IANS. The IoT connectivity also offers a host of

development opportunities to untapped areas, including manufacturing and e-commerce to market local and traditional products.

“A host of ‘localisation’ technologies can help different regions to communicate; so language is not a barrier. Relevant information and updates can be provided in local languages and scripts,” the Oracle executive added.

According to K.S. Viswanathan, vice president (industrial initiative) at apex IT body Nasscom (National Association of Software and Services Companies), as IoT emerges as the next big thing to become a $300 billion global industry by 2020, India is all set to capture at least 20 percent market share in the next five years.

“The IoT is dramatically alerting manufacturing, energy, transportation, medical and other industrial sectors worldwide,” said Viswanathan while launching the “Nasscom IoT Centre of Excellence” in Coimbatore last week.

Andhra Pradesh has taken a lead when it comes to leveraging the IoT potential in the country. The state government has approved the firstof-its-kind IoT policy with an aim to turn the state into an IoT hub by 2020 and tap 10 percent

market share in the country.

“We will develop state-of-the-art IoT infrastructure that matches global standards to grab an Indian market share of $1.5 billion by 2020,” said state IT minister Palle Raghunatha Reddy as the Centre is currently drafting an ambitious policy to create an Indian IoT industry worth $15 billion by 2020.

On the global consumer front, Gartner has forecast that 6.4 billion connected things will be in use worldwide in 2016 - up 30 percent from 2015 - and will reach 20.8 billion by 2020. As you traverse through these mind-boggling IoT numbers, where does India stand?

“We see that India will have a significant growth in IoT connections in the next four-five years,” said Mats Lundquist, chief executive officer at Telenor Connexion, Sweden-based leading enabler of connected business solutions.

According to a report from global market research firm Frost & Sullivan, manufacturing contributed 30 percent of the IoT spending in 2014 and it is expected to rise up to 32 percent of total spending in the APAC region by 2020 which equates nearly $79 billion.

“Being an emerging market, India has a big poten-

tial owing to several initiatives like “Digital India” and “Smart Cities”. The next big market (for connected devices) in the world is south Asia and India holds a good position,” Apalak Ghosh, principal consultant at market research and consulting firm CyberMedia Research (CMR), told IANS. So where will the real revenue come from the consumer or the enterprise sector?

“The Digital India initiative has created a strategic roadmap to build and strengthen domain competency and place India on the global IoT map.

We believe that the enterprise sector will bolster IoT revenues,” elaborated Deep Agarwal, regional sales director (India) of US-based Zebra Technologies that builds tracking technology and solutions.

“To begin with, the revenue will first come from the enterprise sector. As the technology booms, the revenue will start coming from the consumer sector,” Ghosh added.

Since IoT is a concept of devices talking to one another, there is a lot of data transfer happening which is vulnerable to cyber threats as well.

“The cloud can work as a catalyst to make IoT work and for that, there has to be a right kind of framework that can assist it. The GRC (governance, risk management and compliance) guidelines can play an important part to make IoT work in a proper manner,” Ghosh said. India is currently a small IoT market but with great potential. “We will definitely see a great development in the country on the IoT front in the coming years,” Lundquist pointed out.

April 2016

......... Biz Pulse ........

“India Leading Country Of Origin For Immigrant Founders Of America’s Billion Dollar Companies” Atlanta, GA: Immigrants have started more than half (44 of 87) of America’s startup companies valued at $1 billion or more and are key members of management or product development teams in over 70 percent of these companies, according to a new report released by the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP), an Arlington, VA-based policy research group.

With 14 entrepreneurs on the list, India was the leading country of origin for the immigrant founders of billion dollar companies.

The research finds that among the billion dollar startup companies, immigrant founders have created an average of approximately 760 jobs per company in the United States. The collective value of the 44 immigrant-founded companies is $168 billion, which is close to half the value of the stock markets of Russia or Mexico.

The report, “Immigrants and Billion Dollar Startups,” is available at www.nfap.com, along with a companion study “Startup Visa Proposals and Job Creation.”

The research involved conducting interviews and gathering information on the 87U.S.startup companies valued at over $1 billion (as of January 1, 2016) that have yet to become publicly traded on theU.S.stock market and are tracked by The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones VentureSource. The companies, all privately-held and with the potential to become publicly traded on the stock market, are today each valued at $1 billion or more and have received venture capital (equity) financing.

Among the key findings: – The research finds that 51 percent, or 44 out of 87, of the country’s $1 billion startup companies had at least one immigrant founder. This shows an increased influence in immigrants at major startup companies.

The billion dollar startup companies with an immigrant founder excel at job creation. The leading companies for employment are SpaceX (4,000 employees), Mu Sigma (3,500 employees) and Palantir Technologies (2,000 employees). Uber, co-founded by a Canadian immigrant, directly employs at least 900 people but reports having 162,037 “active drivers” (completed at least four trips) in the United States as of December 2014.

Entering theUnited States as an international student has shown to be a good avenue for starting

successful U.S. companies. Nearly one-quarter (20) of the 87 billion dollarU.S. startup companies – and almost half of the companies with an immigrant founder – had a founder who first came to America as an international student.

With 14 entrepreneurs on the list, India was the leading country of origin for the immigrant founders of billion dollar companies, followed by Canada and the United Kingdom with 8 each, Israel (7), Germany (4), China (3), France (2), Ireland (2) and 12 other countries with one. -California was the headquarters of 32 of the 44 immi-

grant-founded companies, followed by New York(6),Massachusetts(4) and Illinois (2).

Despite the achievements of these immigrants founders and their companies, a startup visa to enable foreign nationals who start companies and create jobs would be an important addition to the U.S. immigration system, since currently it can be difficult for foreign-born entrepreneurs to stay and grow their business due to the absence of a reliable immigration category. The low quota on H-1B temporary visas also can make it difficult for startup companies to hire new personnel in their fastgrowing businesses.

The second study released, “Startup Visa Proposals and Job Creation,” explained that under U.S. immigration law there is no reliable mechanism for a foreign national to become a lawful permanent resident (green card holder) by starting a U.S. company that creates jobs. Temporary visas, including H-1B visas, are ill-suited for entre-

preneurs and can be disallowed for use by a foreign national who controls a company. Startups have been shown to be responsible for much of the net increase in employment in some recent years. That means it is in the interest of policymakers to encourage both native-born and foreign-born individuals to start new businesses in theUnited States, which establishing a startup visa would help accomplish. An analysis of startup visa legislation in Congress finds: H.R. 3370, “The EB-JOBS Act of 2015,” could create 1 million to 3.2 million jobs over the next decade if enacted into law.

S. 181, “The Startup Act,” could create 500,000 to 1.6 million jobs over the next 10 years if it becomes law. The bill was introduced by Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS) and cosponsored by Senators Mark Warner (D-VA), Christopher Coons (D-DE), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Amy Klobuchar (DMN) and Tim Kaine (D-VA).

A key reason a startup visa could create many new jobs in the United States is it would help unleash pent-up entrepreneurial activity – those eager to start new businesses but unable to do so because they are waiting in the employment-based immigrant backlog or in a visa status, such as an F-1 status, that does not allow an individual to manage a new company. Hundreds of thousands of skilled foreign nationals are currently waiting in the employmentbased immigrant backlog.

Jyoti Bansal, founder of AppDynamics, said, “I waited 7 years for my employment-based green card and I wanted to leave my job and start a new company but couldn’t.” He would have lost his H-1B status if he left his employer, since under its interpretation of current law U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services rarely approves an H-1B for a foreign national as a CEO of a startup company. – Administrative reforms the Obama Administration plans to introduce in 2016 could make it easier for foreign-born entrepreneurs to stay in the United States after creating a business, including by use of a “national interest waiver” and the federal government’s “parole authority.”

NRI PULSE 15

Mallya’s Son Sidhartha Resigns As Director From UB Holdings

Bengaluru: (IANS) Beleaguered liquor baron Vijay Mallya’s son Sidhartha V. Mallya resigned as non-executive and non-independent director of United Breweries Holdings Ltd, the listed firm said.

In a regulatory filing to the BSE, the city-based holding firm said 28-year-old Sidhartha vacated the office of director with effect from March 31, under the relevant section of the Companies Act. Sidhartha, who was first appointed as director in May 2005, was reappointed to the executive on rotation with the shareholders’ consent at the company’s 99th annual general meeting here on September 28, 2015.

The company, however, did not give reason for Sidhartha’s sudden resignation.

As chairman, Mallya holds majority equity stake (52.34 percent) in the holding firm, whose flagship company is the country’s largest beer maker United Breweries Ltd. As a holding firm, UBHL has strategic investments in group companies, securities, overseas trade, real estate development, commercial and residential properties and licensing of trade marks.

Though Sidhartha also has US citizenship, he graduated in science from Queen Mary University in London. The only son of Mallya, he is also a director on the board of other group firms such as Kamsco Industries, Mallya Ltd, Royal Challengers Sports Ltd, Gem Investment & Trading Company Ltd and United Mohun Bagan Football Team Ltd. According to company sources, Sidhartha is currently abroad, pursing a film career in Hollywood and doing a drama course in London. An ardent cricket buff like his father, Sidhartha is in India during summer when his team (RCB) plays in the IPL T20 tournament every year.

US Contractor To Pay $3.1 Million Penalty For Illegal Outsourcing To India New York: (IANS) An American contractor has agreed to pay New York State a penalty of $3.1 million for illegally outsourcing confidential work to India, state officials have announced.

The officials, however, cleared the Mumbai company, which was not identified, of any wrongdoing. The Indian company, which cooperated with the investigation, did not know that it obtained the work illegally and there was no evidence that it shared with anyone else or misused the personal information of 16 million people that was sent to it, officials said.

The action announced Tuesday on the case that goes back to 2008 hits two current areas of heightened concern in the US-outsourcing and cybersecurity. There is growing scrutiny of outsourcing, which has become a contentious is-

sue across in the political spectrum in the presidential election campaigns.

And there are serious concerns about the security of personal data because of cybercrimes.

“The agreement announced today sends a clear message: if you are a government contractor and you illegally ship jobs overseas, you will be held accountable,” New York Attorney Gneral Eric T. Schneiderman said.

Focused Technologies Imaging Services (FTIS) admitted to sending the personal information it received from the New York State Division

of Criminal Justice Services to the Indian company, which was not authorized to receive the data, Schneiderman and Inspector General Leahy Scott said in a statement.

It also admitted to violatEric T. ing a contract requirement Schneiderman to hire disabled people in the US to do half the work, they said.

The overall contract that FTIS had was for $3.4 million, but it paid the Indian company only $82,000 for 37.5 percent of the work, officials said.

The contract was for digitsing and indexing

about 22 million fingerprint cards and creating a searchable database. The cards were of all state law enforcement officials, prisoners, parolees, and personnel undergoing background checks and included their dates of birth, identifying numbers and physical characteristics.

Because of sensitive nature of the information the contract required FTIS to do the digitisation in a warehouse in the state capital, Albany, using only employees who passed a criminal background check.

FTIS’s current sole owner Charles Tobin, is responsible for $3.05 million of the penalty and former co-owner Julie Benware for $50,000. FTIS has also agreed to perform 69 percent of the work of certain contracts it gets within two years using disabled people.

......... Health Pulse ........

......... Movie Review........

Why Good Sleep Is Essential For Both Body And Mind

Ki & Ka: Kapoors Add Captivating Hue To This Engaging Drama

16 NRI PULSE

BY ANIL K. RAJVANSHI We spend one third of our life sleeping.

There must be a good reason why nature makes us sleep for this long. Large number of studies all over the world has shown the beneficial effects of good sleep.

Sleep deprivation, on the other hand, results in impairment of judgment, depression, heart problems, obesity and drastic reduction in general well-being of an individual. In an extreme case, sleep deprivation has also resulted in death through heart failure. In fact, the first sign of sickness is fretful sleep.

How lack of sleep produces ill health has remained a mystery. Now, slowly, scientific investigations are solving this puzzle.

One of the accepted theories so far has been that sleep helps in both consolidation and removal of memories. We perceive the world during the day through our senses and it results in memory formation both shallow and deep. Sleep, it seems, helps in consolidating and removing some of these memories uncluttering the brain.

Another recent, but fascinating, theory (backed with experiments) has shown that sleep helps in flushing out toxic protein waste and biological debris from the brain, formed during waking hours. It seems that during sleep the relaxation of brain helps in opening up the channels through which the debris flows into the blood streams and is removed from it.

Studies have also shown that sleep helps flush out harmful protein plaque (beta amyloid) which is responsible for neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and dementia.

The build-up of toxins in the brain due to inadequate sleep also affects the body. Though there is very little understanding of how this happens, a probable cause is the passage of this

information by the vagus nerve to different parts of the body.

Scientific investigations have also shown that information of any slight change in the brain chemistry is transmitted to various organs by the vagus nerve, which plays an important part in keeping the brain and body in unison.

As the brain starts getting affected by the debris build-up, the message via vagus nerve to various organs might be to slow them down, resulting in their lethargic action.

Just like deep sleep, meditation also enables dissolution of memories. In fact, deep sleep and meditation have similar characteristics and it is quite possible that during meditation the flushing of toxins from the brain may also take place.

Memory is formed both by producing new neural pathways and certain chemical changes in the brain. Memory removal therefore is affected by changes in both these mechanisms.

In deep meditation (where the focus is on a single thought for a long time, also called Sanyam) new neural pathways are formed and the old ones get dissolved. This dissolution may have a chemical signature thereby producing toxic debris which needs to be flushed out.

How can we induce good sleep? Generally when the body is healthy and the person follows a good exercise regime, then this helps to produce deep sleep. Production of deep sleep can also be helped by meditation. Studies world over have shown that long term practice of meditation helps in toning both the mind and body.

A good meditation practice to follow for quickly falling asleep is to close the eyes and focus attention onto the center of forehead. This can be done just before going to sleep and also when one wakes up at night and has difficulty in falling asleep again.

“Yoga-Based Cure For Cancer Within A Year” Panaji: (IANS) A cancer treatment through Yoga that does away with the need for chemotherapy to arrest and cure the disease is just a year away, union Minister of state for AYUSH Shripad Naik said.

Speaking on the sidelines of the AYUSH expo organised by the central ministry near Panaji, the minister said his ministry is in the process of vetting documentation submitted by a Bengaluru-based deemed yoga university, which is said to have cured patients suffering from cancer using yoga.

“There is an institute in Bengaluru. They have found a yoga technique for prevention and cure of cancer. We have collected all documentation and the process is going on,” Naik told re-

porters.

Naik said that prima facie he was confident about the “cancer cure” claimed by the Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana, a deemed university headed by H. R. Narendra, a mechanical engineer who has worked as a post-doctoral research associate at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in 1970 and subsequently had a stint at Harvard University.

Asked how long it would take for the AYUSH ministry to vet the documentation submitted by the Samsthana related to cancer cure, Naik said: “I think it will take about a year. The documentation should be perfect.”

April 2016

Film: “Ki & Ka”; Director: R. Balki; Cast: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Arjun Kapoor, Swarup Sampat and Rajit Kapoor; Rating: ****1/2

BY SUBHASH K. JHA The ‘streeling’ (feminine factor) is pulling Arjun Kapoor into the kitchen. And Kareena Kapoor Khan doesn’t mind as long as he is fully functional in the bedroom.

That, dear audience, in a nutshell is “Ki & Ka”. A film about role reversal between the sexes where the ambitious wife Kia (Kareena) goes out to earn the bread and butter, while the husband Kabir (Arjun) is blissfully happy looking after the

home.

Immediately, there is an infectious charm to the proceedings. Every scene is a joy to behold. It could have something to do with Kareena’s presence.

She lights up every frame as only she can.

And then when you have the cinematographic genius P.C. Sreeram manning the lenses, even Arjun Kapoor looks so radiant, you want to ask this couple… Where do they generate so much sunshine in their souls?

Most films about married couples in Bollywood are paeans of pain. Well, surprise surprise! A marriage need not be a melody of misery, provided the couple does what it wants to without caring about how they would look to the world.

So when Kabir meets Kia on a flight, they hit it off instantly. The words that flow between the cool Kabir and the hot Kia are so conversational that I wondered if Arjun and Kareena thought of the dialogues as they played out their characters’ combined karma. The dialogues are never florid or bombastic.

This is Balki’s take on how to playfully dodge gender stereotyping in a country where even words have a gender.

Given the unbelievable patriarchal prejudices, it takes guts for a man like Kabir to tell his father

to shove his wealth up his you-know-what, as Kabir wants to be a housekeeper like his mother.

It takes even more guts for an actor to play a man who is happy cooking, cleaning and living off his wife’s income.

Arjun Kapoor makes the character’s unconventional, some would say downright embarrassing aspirations seem so normal, you wonder why more husbands don’t adopt the you-go-I-stay route. This is by far Arjun’s most accomplished performance.

The joy he exudes in house-keeping chores is almost contagious. The hurt he conveys is palpable when his wife begins to resent his growing popularity (“Abhimaan” in reverse) as the face of the metrosexual man very happily, very heterosexually in touch with the feminine side of his personality.

Perhaps it is the company that Arjun keeps. Kareena Kapoor Khan’s beauty, plus her ability to communicate her character’s frantic ambitions without making her seem like a man in skirts, makes Balki’s job a lot easier.

This genial film about two young, free-spirited people who assume non-traditional roles and then live happily ever after (almost) is powered by terrific directorial treatment. Freed of flamboyant and florid flourishes, the free-flowing narrative sweeps you with its understated charm.

The crisis point in Kia and Kabir’s winsome togetherness is reached in a tongue-in-cheek homage to Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s “Abhimaan”. Kia’s outburst, accusing Arjun of being a scheming manipulator makes her look awfully unfair and rather paranoid.

Wives, we know, are capable of such temporary lapses of reason.

The crisis, you feel, is brought on because every film needs one. Ironically, the climactic crisis in the couple’s marriage is precipitated by Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan who make a very agreeable joint appearance.

The best dialogue of the film is given to Mrs. Bachchan who tells her superstar husband, “If I had continued my career and if you had agreed to look after our home, I would have been the one waving to fans outside.”

Touche.

The film begins with Arjun Kapoor sobbing on a flight and ends with Kareena Kapoor Khan sobbing on another flight.

They are welcome to their drama. We came away smiling from this affable story that proves a happy marriage is not a myth. Not yet.

April 2016

No! Youngsters Are Not Leaving Facebook

New York: (IANS) Young people are still quite hooked to Facebook, the media reported, refuting the popular belief that youngsters are increasingly abandoning the social media giant.

While investors and the media, in 2015, panicked that Facebook would experience a mass exodus of young people, nearly every internet-wielding millennial — those born after 1980s and now in their 30s — are still obsessively using Facebook on a regular basis, the report said.

Millennials spend more than 2.5 times as many minutes on Facebook as they do on its closest competitor Snapchat, Recode.net reported.

Facebook still has young people, which explains its market cap of nearly $340 billion, the report stated.

The report is based on data from comScore — an US-based Internet analytics company, which showed the percentage of 18- to 34-year-old Internet users who frequent each major social network each month. It also showed the time users spend with each service.

Nearly 100 percent of people aged 18 to 34 in US use the social network as of December 2015.

The data also revealed that Facebook users are on the site (or app), on an average for more than 1,000 minutes a month. Snapchat comes second with under 400 minutes.

Moreover, the data showed that people older than 35 love Facebook almost as much as young people do - and they don’t care about any other social networks.

Oracle Seeks $9.3 Billion In Damages From Google New York: (IANS) Global software and cloud major Oracle has sought $9.3 billion from search engine giant Google over software copyrights infringement, a media report said.

Oracle claims that it should receive $475 million in damages in addition to $8.8 billion relating to “profits apportioned to infringed Java copyrights”, Fortune reported, quoting IDG News Service.

Citing the court documents, the report said the two companies have been at odds over whether Google improperly used so-called APIs (application programming interfaces) related to the Java programming language to create its Android operating system.

Oracle said that Google has not paid the company for its use of Java which was developed by tech company Sun Microsystems acquired by Oracle in 2010. The two companies will again meet in court in May.

........ Tech Pulse ........

Selfie Stick Is Passe, Here Comes ‘Selfie Drone’ Melbourne: (IANS) Annoyed by long selfie sticks in public? An Australian technology company has a solution — a “selfie drone”. This lets you click selfie without stretching the hand and gives you a perfect photo too.

Built by Australian technology company IoT Group, the “ROAM-” drone opened for pre-sale recently and will begin shipping internationally in June, Mashable website reported.

According to Ian Duffell, executive director of the IoT Group, the company’s vision was to build “a selfie stick on steroids”.

“The selfie stick’s problem is it’s confined by the length of the stick. The thought was, let’s get the thing taking the picture flying with you,” he was quoted as saying.

After being tethered to a smartphone, the two rotor “ROAM-e” can be programmed using

facial recognition technology to follow the user at a distance of up to 25 metres.

The device can take 360-degree panoramas and can even stream a live video for up to 20 minutes of flight time.

The $267 device has a 5-megapixel CMOS sensor camera and runs on Quadcore ARM Cortex A7 processor. Its rotors can be folded.

“We wanted it to be small enough to fit into a bag or pocket. We modelled it on not being bigger than a 600-millilitre water bottle,” Duffell explained.

“We all know drones fly around and take pictures, but because we’ve tailored it to be portable and in your space, it fits into a different category,” he said. IoT Group said they will an extra capability that is the ability of the drone to drop a pin on a map application, instructing the ROAM-e to travel to that point and return.

NRI PULSE 17

Get Your Boarding Pass Via Facebook Messenger

London: (IANS) Facebook Messenger has announced a tie up with the KLM Royal Dutch Airlines where the air travelers will receive each and every information related to their travel on Messenger - including boarding pass.

Once you book ticket online and choose to receive info via Messenger on the KLM website, the airline will send you itinerary, boarding pass, check-in confirmation and flight status through the app, The Verge reported.

With digital boarding pass, passengers will be able to get through security and onto their flight.

Passengers will also be able to chat with KLM support staff right inside the Messenger.

“This is one that I’ve been personally eager to solve for a while - removing stress and complication from air travel,” David Marcus, who leads the Messenger team, was quoted as saying.

KLM is Facebook’s “first airline partner,” and Facebook may go for more such partners, he added.

Apple Turns 40, Sets Eyes On Emerging Markets New Delhi: (IANS) From setting out in life on April 1, 1976 from a garage in Los Altos, California, to a new disc-shaped headquarters in Cupertino city amid growing users’ security concern with a recent battle with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), US-based technology giant Apple can count on numerous milestones in the last four decades.

As the company celebrated its 40th birthday on Friday, the aim is increasingly getting clear — to make further inroads into the Indian smartphone market with a huge base of 160 million plus users that is likely to surpass the US smartphone user base in a couple of years.

In March, Apple stunned its rivals by launching a cheaper, smaller yet powerful iPhone SE and a game changer 9.7-inch iPad Pro. As powerful as iPhone 6S, the device has a 64-bit A9 processor and M9 motion co-processor.

But what made headlines was Apple’s legal battle with the FBI over unlocking the iPhone 5C used by terrorist Syed Farook, who died in a shootout after carrying out a deadly attack in San Bernardino, California, with his wife last year.

The company got backing from many tech giants, including Google, Facebook and Microsoft over encryption to unlock the iPhone. The company also reiterated several times its commitment to protect its users’ data and privacy while fighting with the FBI. “We have a responsibility to help you protect your data and your privacy. We will not shrink from this responsibility,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said, adding, “We built the iPhone for you, our customers, and for many of us it is a deeply personal device.”

However, a third party helped the FBI crack

the security function without erasing contents of the terrorists’s iPhone. As the news spread of the FBI hacking into the encrypted Apple iPhone, experts expressed fears of backdoor approach to put users’ security at hackers’ mercy.

With the FBI hacking, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) scrapped its request for Apple Inc’s assistance to hack into the iphone. The two-page

court filing said that the FBI had accessed data stored on the iPhone 5c.

Apple was founded by the late Steve Jobs, along with Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. In the early days, they sold computer kits — each of which Wozniak hand-built.

According to RTE News, Wozniak was the one who created the company’s first computer Apple I - that went on sale in July 1976. This was a heads for the trio, which went on to form its first entity - Apple Computer Company.

The next year was even better with the launch of Apple II - the first personal computer for the mass market. In 1981, Jobs became the chairman.

The company hit a low when Jobs left the firm in 1984 after his pet project — the first Macintosh computer — struggled. However, after a long sabbatical, he returned in 1997 when the company was in a financial crisis and launched the iMac in 1998.

Meanwhile, the company released Macintosh II, the first color Mac in 1987.

After 14 years, Apple released iTunes, OS X and the first-generation iPod in 2001. The first iPod MP3 music player was a huge hit and was released on October 23, 2001 at an event in Cupertino. The device was able to hold up to 1,000 songs and sold over 100 million units sold in the first six years.

“The first Apple Store was opened in May 2001 in the state of Virginia, US - the richest county in the country at that time. Apple now has more than 460 stores worldwide,” the Daily Mail reported.

The market was soon flooded by Apple’s products — the Mac, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad. It released the ultralight MacBook Air and the iPhone, which went on sale in 2007 while the first iPad was unveiled in 2010.

In 2011, Jobs resigned due to illness and handed over command to Tim Cook - the current CEO. Jobs died that October of pancreatic cancer.

The consecutive years saw evolution in iPhones - the device that brings in almost half of company’s revenue.

In 2014, Apple unveiled the Apple Watch and first larger and slimmer iPhones — the 6 and 6 Plus. A year later, Apple purchased Beats from Dr Dre and launched Apple Music to compete with Spotify and other music streaming services.

18 NRI PULSE

Salman Khan Shares Photo With Nephew

Superstar Salman Khan, who became a uncle again by welcoming his half-sister Arpita Khan Sharma’s first son named Ahil, has shared a photograph of himself with the newborn.

Arpita, who married Aayush Sharma in November 2014, gave birth to her son on Wednesday.

Salman took to Twitter to share a photograph of himself with the baby. In the image, the 50-year-old actor is seen holding baby Ahil in his arms.

The “Dabangg” star is seen sporting a cleanshaven look and donning a black t-shirt, while baby Ahil can be seen wrapped up in a white cloth with a black baby cap.

On the work front, Salman is gearing up for his next film “Sultan”, where he will be seen essaying the role of a wrestler, for which he has gained some weight.

Directed by Ali Abbas Zafar and produced

by Aditya Chopra under the Yash Raj Films banner, “Sultan” is slated to release on July 8.

........Bollywood Pulse ........

Hrithik Roshan Finally Breaks Silence On Kangana Issue Mumbai: (IANS) Actor Hrithik Roshan recently decided to break his silence, and sought to clarify that a purported email address said to be his did not belong to him.

“Anything private that becomes public gives rise to speculation and unnecessary controversies simply because the general public are not privy to the whole truth,” Hrithik said in an official statement.

“Out of respect for everyone involved, I followed the legal path to resolve the matter in question so as to keep it private. It was a breach of ethics to reveal the contents of a private legal notice. Dignified silence is dignified up to a point, but there comes a time when the silence needs to be broken to protect one’s name, family and image,” he added.

Hrithik’s statement comes in the wake of explosive revelations made by an unnamed friend of Kangana to Mumbai Mirror. The source claims that Hrithik asked Kangana to marry him, hacked her e-mail and had her shadowed.

Hrithik also said the mail id — hroshan@email.com — does not belong to him.

“The crux of the matter is that the mail id hroshan@email.com does NOT belong to me. I had filed a complaint in this regard with Mumbai Cyber Crime cell on 12 December, 2014 when I learnt of this impersonator communicating with said person. I have absolutely NO CONNECTION with this ID.

“The entire issue stems from a case of identity theft which has carried over to me. My complaint was reactivated on March 5, 2016 and the crime unit has made headway in tracking this person down.

Once that is done, the matter can be laid to rest.”

He also denied Kangana’s friend’s allegation that he told the outspoken actress that she had Asperger’s Syndrome: “And finally, I believe that mental health is a grave and crucial issue which merits serious discussion. I would never address it flippantly nor use it as a personal attack. Any allegation to the contrary is a misrepresentation of facts. I was requested to keep silent and I did so for 2 years,” he said.

The issue began when Kangana hinted at Hrithik being her ‘ex’ as she said in an interview that she fails to understand “why exes do silly things to get your attention”.

The topic in discussion was Hrithik’s purported hand in getting Kangana replaced by Sonam Kapoor in “Aashiqui 33 .

According to the Mumbai Mirror report, Hrithik pursued Kangana while they were filming Kites in 2009. In January 2014, he allegedly followed up with a wedding proposal in Paris. The romance then reportedly derailed over rumors about Hrithik and Bang Bang co-star Katrina Kaif. It allegedly ended finally because of controlling behavior on Hrithik’s part.

TV Actress Pratyusha Banerjee Commits Suicide Mumbai: (IANS) TV actress Pratyusha Banerjee, known for her role of adult Anandi in the popular serial “Balika Vadhu”, allegedly committed suicide here on Friday, police said. The news has left the industry shocked.

Pratyusha hanged herself from a fan at her Kandivali residence but was detected and taken to the Kokilaben Ambani Hospital where she succumbed.

Confirming the news, Mumbai police spokesperson Dhananjay Kulkarni said that the hospital has sent a report on the Jamshedpur-born actress’s death.

Police are investigating the probable cause that may have spurred Pratyusha to resort to the extreme step.

Her colleagues from the industry and her fans are in complete disbelief with news that the talented young girl, all of 24, is no more.

Veteran actress Surekha Sikri, who played ‘Dadisa’ to Pratyusha’s character in “Balika Vadhu”, told IANS: “I am absolutely shocked. I knew her, she was very sweet. She was a sensitive person, she must have taken something to heart

and must have got really emotional.”

According to Tanuj Garg, former CEO of Balaji Motion Pictures, she had plans to marry her beau Rahul Singh.

“Terrible, terrible news about Pratyusha

Banerjee. Met her once at a party. How extreme must pressures be to drive one to take one’s own life. Friends met Pratyusha Banerjee and her boyfriend Rahul (who owns a production house) on

Holi and they seemed happy. They were to get married,” Garg shared on Twitter.

The virtual world went into a tizzy once the news of Pratyusha’s suicide surfaced, with many hoping that it is an April Fools’ joke.

Hailing from Jharkhand, Pratyusha catapulted to fame with her role in “Balika Vadhu” between 2010-2013.

She was later seen in the reality dance show “Jhalak Dikhla Jaa 5”, “Bigg Boss 7” and hosted some episodes of “Savdhan India”. She recently appeared in “Sasural Simar Ka”.

Pratyusha was earlier dating businessman named Makrand Malhotra, with whom she had a bitter break-up and against whom she had lodged a complaint for abusive behavior.

Earlier this year, Pratyusha had filed an FIR against eight men, including three policemen, claiming they tried to barge into her residence here in relation with a car loan that her boyfriend Rahul Singh had taken from a bank.

April 2016

No Respect For Actors These Days: Kareena

Mumbai: (IANS) For almost 16 years now, Kareena Kapoor Khan has been an integral part of the Hindi film industry. The actress, who has not only given hits but is also known for her critically acclaimed roles, however, says people nowadays don’t show much respect to actors as before.

While the actress appreciates the new generation of filmmaking, she is upset with the promotional trend that is taking a toll on celebrities.

During an interview for her upcoming film “Ki and Ka”, Kareena said: “Earlier, there was respect for the actor but now I don’t see such respect among people.

“Earlier, people used to get desperate to get one glimpse of their favourite actors, but now celebrities themselves put their bathroom pictures and too many weird pictures on social media.”

Interestingly, Kareena is one celebrity among all her peers who is surprisingly absent from social media.Though the actress currently promoting her upcoming R. Balki film “Ki and Ka”, she thinks promotions are stressful and too much to take on.

Kareena thinks the film is entertaining and has a different concept, which was never tried before on Indian celluloid. “We are not politicians and we are not causing a revolution. We have made an entertaining film and if people see the message then it is fine, if not even that is fine,” she said.

Arvind Swamy Returns To Bollywood After 15 Yrs

Actor Arvind Swamy, who made his Bollywood debut with Mani Ratnam’s 1992 film “Roja”, is returning to the Hindi film world with debutant director Tanuj Bhramar’s upcoming film “Dear Dad”.

Arvind is said to have chosen this film to return to Bollywood because he found the subject intriguing.

“Dear Dad” is a bitter-sweet coming of age story involving a father-son duo — 14 year old Shivam and his 45-year-old father Nitin Swaminathan, a statement said.

“The father-son duo embark on an impromptu road trip from their home, in Delhi, to Mussoorie (Uttarakhand), where Shivam attends boarding school.

Unexpected confessions, weird strangers, accidental meetings, a drunken escapade and singing in the rain - all these add up to a complicated tale.”

April 2016

......... Indians of Atlanta ........

NRI PULSE 19

#IndiansofAtlanta- A Social Media Driven, Online Archive of Local Indian-American Stories Listed on this page are some of the people we’ve featured this past month, with excerpts from their personal narratives. Please visit www.facebook.com/IndiansofAtlanta or our web page, www.nripulse.com/indians-of-atlanta/ to read more such stories.

I Never Forgot The Neglected Kids Of My District: Janardhan Pannela “I come from a small village in the Adilabad district of Telangana. It has always been my dream to serve. As a child, I wanted to become a doctor; a dream that remained unfulfilled because I could not secure an MBBS seat. While scanning a newspaper one day, soon after graduation, I chanced upon a diploma program offered by the National Institute for Mentally

Handicapped (NIMH) in Secunderabad. It was a program that gave me new direction in life.

My first job was as a mandal resource person for the district primary education program near my home town. My responsibility was to enroll children with special needs into public schools. As the only mandal resource person for the entire district- a cluster of about 20 villages, I walked or took a bus from village to village, educating parents and teachers. I saw social stigma and apathy in every village. It was deeply disturbing to see mentally challenged children treated as a burden on society. They were completely neglected at schools.

The school administrators ignored my suggestions. I felt sidelined and disrespected.

I was only 23 when I registered Shantiniketan with dreams of opening a rehabilitation center for the neglected children of the mandal. At this point, however, a mentor from NIMH advised me to focus on

higher studies or to get a job. Running a non-profit is not easy, she said. I had the right emotions, but no finances. I took her advice and completed my M.Phil in rehabilitation psychology.

I had no dreams of ever coming to the US, but destiny had other plans. In 2004, I got an opportunity to work for the Gwinnett County school system as a special educator. But even as I set up my own life here; getting married and raising two boys, I never forgot my dreams for the vulnerable kids of my home district. In time, I found two parents who wanted to get involved in Shantiniketan. My father-in-law was very supportive. In 2011, my wife went back with our two kids to help start the center.

My dream was realized when the rehabilitation center opened in 2011 in a rented building with 11 children. For the first three years of Shantiniketan’s existence, the center was run almost entirely on the $500$600 I set aside from my special educator’s salary. Not a single penny came from the central government. A small amount came from a state government body, but the hassles of getting that amount outweighed the benefits because of flagrant corruption.

In 2013, my dreams for the center blossomed with a successful fundraiser in Atlanta which helped start a vocational center to train the children in real life skills. In 2015, we registered Shantiniketan as a nonprofit in the US, and, with the help of my dear Atlanta friends, held another successful fundraiser to build a permanent rehabilitation center. It is my goal to enroll 200 more children into the center, and to provide more effective services that will provide them a future. That is my life’s ambition.” – Janardhan Pannela Janardhan Pannela is currently an education program specialist for the Cobb County school system. More about Shantiniketan here: http:// shantiniketanadb.org

Doctors Gave Me Six Months To Live: Dr. H.N. Ramaswamy

“As I stand at the threshold of my eight decades of life and look back to turn the pages of my life story, I feel elated and thankful for all the blessings showered upon me by the Almighty.

My trials and tribulations started at age 7, but I was blessed to come to the United States, get a good education, and I was living a very happy life. But in 2010, one wretched day, I had the shock of my life. A sudden onset of acute stomach ache was diagnosed as stage 4 cancer. It was pancreatic cancer, the doctors said, and without mixing words, they told me that I had six months to live! I am very un-emotional when it comes to bad news. So, I was stoic. But my wife and children were devastated.

During chemotherapy, the surroundings, the smell of the drugs, and the condition of some patients was depressing. I had accepted the call of fate and never dwelt on my future. I went back to India and said my good byes to my family.

But then, by God’s grace, miracles started happening. Prayers came from all walks of life. Six months passed and the doctors said, strangely, the tumors were shrinking. Every six months I went through MRIs and CT scans. The doctors said this kind of recovery happens in 1% of patients. Now, I am cancer free. I am grateful to my family and friends

I Continue To Deal With Prejudices Of The Community: Darshan Kaur “Despite being born to a conservative family, my parents raised me to be fearless and completely independent. Unfortunately, Indian society does not take well to a bold and outspoken woman, especially one who has a mind of her own. I have lived alone in Atlanta for 18 years. Even here, I continue to deal with the prejudices of the community – men, and women even more so – because I choose to be single and not depend on anyone for my needs or to “protect my honor”. I was ostracized by the community for a long time. I lost count of the parties I wasn’t invited to because society presumed my unmarried status was a blem-

ish on my character. I am constantly judged and my intentions are misunderstood no matter how pure they may be simply because I deviate from tradition. I ignore all the negativity and refuse to let it distract me from my personal goals.

I leave the community with one thought- getting married is not an achievement and being single is not a stigma.” – Darshan P. Kaur Darshan P. Kaurworks as a Sr. Director of Global Sourcing at a leading financial institution. Her real passion is theatre and she has performed in several plays in Atlanta including two in a lead role.She also loves to sing, dance, write, travel and volunteer.

who were there for me during those trying times.

This experience in my life reminds me of a great poem by a great Kannada poet Dr. Kuvempu which says, in essence: “Let God define the inner meanings of life, why waste time in debating. In the path of life, let things roll. Let us walk the path of life together.”

I had the honor and privilege of starting Nrupathunga Kannada Koota in 1973, when there was no association in Atlanta to put people of common interest together. For over 40 years, it has united all Kannadigas and has provided a platform for all, particularly, children, to learn and exhibit their talents.

While I was still under treatment, it was a great privilege and pleasure to be a convener for the 7th AKKA national conference; a three day event .I would not have taken on this endeavor if I did not have the support from our fellow Atlanta Kannadigas in this area. Even today, the 7th AKKA conference has become a gold standard in the nation. It is a crowning moment in the colorful pages of NKK’s history.” Dr. H. N. Ramaswamy Dr. H. N. Ramaswamy came to the USA as a student in 1963 and worked as a chemist for over 45 years before retiring in 2008. He lives in Smyrna with his wife Indira. He has two children and four grandchildren. His community initiatives include starting a high school in 1961, which has grown into a junior college today. He has also built a toilet, a library building, a family temple and a choultry for community use in his village. The India Association at Tulane,New Orleans and the Kannada Association in Charlotte, North Carolina are his initiatives. He also volunteers at The Hindu Temple of Atlanta, Riverdale.

If you have an inspirational or unique story to share, please contact us at nripulse@gmail.com for a shot at being featured in ‘Indians of Atlanta’.

We’d love to hear stories of personal battles- dealing with abuse, managing a mental or physical illness, being a caretaker for someone with illness- stories where the human spirit shines through.

........Features ........

I Dharikaben Natavarlal Patel, wife of Mayur J Patel hereby announce that my correct date of birth is October 6, 1981 instead of July 6, 1981. My correct name is Dharika N Patel. And I am also known as Dharikaben N Patel.

To advertise in our Classifieds section, please call 404-235-4998 or email ads@nripulse.com.

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EVENTS TAMA: Delta Infosys APRIL 9 Ugadi Utsavalu Traditional food, entertainment: actor/anchor, programs by local schools, more When: Saturday, April 9 at 3 pm Where: Berkmar High School Auditorium, 405 Pleasant Hill Rd., Lilburn, GA 30047.

Tickets: http://www.tama.org/tickets Contact: info@tama.org IACA Atlanta Indian APRIL Idol 2016 Contest North America’s Largest Bollywood Singing Contest Juniors 12 - 17 Years Seniors 18+ Years Auditions Open Now Qualifying Rounds: April 17, 23 & 24, 2016 at IACA Auditorium, 1281 Cooper Lake Road, Smyrna (Atlanta) GA 30082 Championship Rounds: May 8, 2016 at Robert Ferst Center, Georgia Tech Contact: http://www.Atlantaindianidol.Org Sadhguru in Atlanta: APRIL 16-17 Shambhavi Program Sadhguru will be offering the powerful Shambhavi Mahamudra kriya in Atlanta this coming April. This is a rare opportunity to learn a life transforming practice directly from Sadhguru When: Saturday, April 16 & Sunday, April 17 Saturday: 3:00pm to 7:30pm, Check-in 2:00pm Sunday: 7:30am to 8:00pm, Check-in 6:30am Where: Cobb Galleria Centre, 2 Galleria Pkwy SE, Atlanta, 30339.

Cost: $285+ (Special Early Bird Offer for $250 valid till April 2nd, 2016) Contact: https://innerengineering.com/ SadhguruLive/, SF@IshaUSA.org

GATeS: Fundraiser APRIL 16 for the needy in Telangana State Entertainment & Dinner Everyone Welcome When: Saturday, April 16 at 6:30 pm Where: Skyland Business Center, 540 Access Road, Cumming, GA 30041 Contact: Narender Reddy 404-314-8231 Punjabi Society: APRIL 16 Vaisakhi Celebration with Harbhajan Mann Community program, bhangra & giddha, family entertainment, snacks & dinner When: Saturday, April 16 at 7 pm Where: Ashiana Banquet Hall, Global Mall, 5675 Jimmy Carter Blvd., Norcross, GA 30071 Tickets: $30+ here Contact: Rina 404-295-6966 Indian Armed Forces APRIL 16 Officers monthly meeting All serving & ex-officers of Army, Navy, and Air Force are invited.

When: (every 3rd Sunday of each month) Where:3096 Bagley Psge. Duluth, GA 30097 (only April) Contact: Sqn. Ldr. K.V. Raju, 404-552-0694 The Best of Dhoop APRIL 30 Chaoon annual show. $10, food available.

When: Saturday, April 30 at 7 pm.

Where: Berkmar High School Auditorium, 405 Pleasant Hill Rd., Lilburn, GA 30047.

Contact: 404-585-7247, dhoop.chaoon@gmail.com Or You can get tickets from Sulekha.com

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Airport Counter Staff: “Anything to check These reports reminded me of the time I asked in, sir?” Me: “Yes, these three.” Staff: “I’m sorry, a Satanist why his famous religion had so few memyou’ll have to take them on board with you.” bers. He said their official policy was to be evil which Me: [sighing]: “Okay, fine. Come on, kids.” was not conducive to making friends or partnering I used to think red-eye flights with children were with charities. In the end, all they ever did was file the worst way to pass a night, but then someone complaints against Christmas decorations every year. showed me a recent news But we can’t refer to report about a burglar who frozen rivers without menTHE FUNNY SIDE had the worst night ever. He tioning US amateur fisherbroke into a building but could man Harry Jenkins of not open the safe. So he took Minnesota, who had a legit home, but still failed to pick endary Very Bad Day. He the lock. Panicking, he drove parked his truck on a froto the riverside and threw it zen lake and then threw a in-but the river was frozen stick of dynamite to blow solid, and the safe just sat on open a fishing hole in the top of it. Police in Denmark, ice. His dog thought he where this happened, laughed was playing fetch and ran and admitted that they felt over to bring the dynamite sorry for the thief. Poor guy. stick back. Harry ran for Then an email arrived from reader Kavinda his life. The dynamite vaporized the dog. The exploBabile who told me of a person in Asia who had sion cracked the ice and the truck fell into the water. a Very Bad No Good Terrible Day. Some guy His insurance company couldn’t give him any money organized a ritual protest in Sri Lanka in which because the staff were laughing too much. coconuts would be smashed to express displeaI felt SO OLD when one of my children told sure against heavy-handed law enforcement of- everyone that I was “born in the 1900s”. Her shocked ficers. But the protest was interrupted by angry friends looked at me as if I was Neanderthal man. It farmers who said the coconuts being used had didn’t help that I had just had two wisdom teeth been stolen from them. And then members of the removed and could only drool and grunt. crowd complained that their wallets had been If you’re having a really bad day, cheer stolen by other members of the crowd. Then yourself up by giving someone else a bad night. organizers realized that the normal response, to Instead of spraying mosquito repellent on yourask police for help, would be ridiculous. Clear self, spray it on the mozzie, so all the other lesson here: If you are going to organize a gather- mozzies avoid him and he’ll develop self-esing of folk who don’t like law enforcement, don’t. teem issues. It’s an inhuman thing Vittachi to do, but - Nury remember, I am Neanderthal man.

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News, Views, Blogs, Features, Perspectives, Debates, Community Profiles, Immigration, Health, Business, Youth, Fashion, Entertainment, Bollywood, Cookery, Free Classifieds and more...

April 2016

..... Books .....

NRI PULSE 21

The Art Of Linking Stories: An Interview With Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

BY VEENA RAO

which exists inside of all of us.

Atlanta, GA: Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, award-winning author and professor of creative writing at the University of Houston, is back with another powerful novel, Before We Visit the Goddess, which is slated for an April 2016 release. The novel spans two countries, two cultures and different time periods, as it explores the stories of three strong-willed women- mothers and daughters- as they grapple with what it means to be a daughter, a lover, a wife and a mother.

Divakaruni’s earlier works include Mistress of Spices, Sister of My Heart , The Palace of Illusions, among others.

In an exclusive interview with NRI Pulse, Divakaruni discusses the definition of success for a woman, the challenges of writing a novel-in-stories (stories that are linked with a common storyline), and her reasons for trying something significantly different with each book.

Food is an important part of the lives of the protagonists. Why is food an important symbol for you as an author?

Before We Visit the Goddess is the story of three generations of ambitious women, Sabitri, Bela and Tara. What connected you to their stories? What is the genesis of the novel?

A question that I have been pondering for a long time is, what does it mean to be a successful woman? Does the definition of success change for a woman depending on the generation in which she is born and the place in which she lives? Is it something a woman can learn from her mother, or does she have to reject the wisdom of the past generation and forge a new path for herself? I wanted to explore this through the lives of three generations of women. That is how I began to imagine Sabitri, Bela and Tara, and their lives.

The story is told not only from the diverse viewpoints of its three protagonists, but it also moves back and forth in time, ending a little in the future- and the novel accomplishes this without confusing the reader. What were the challenges of writing a novel-in-stories?

The challenge of writing a novel-in-stories is that the form has to leap from one moment in the tale to a very different moment. This is at once exciting and difficult if one is to keep continuity and not confuse the reader. I had to decide, quite early in the writing, which were the moments in the lives of the women that were important and transformative, and how to move between these moments while keeping the story line straight. I further challenged myself and the reader by not following a chronological order but what I considered an emotional sequence. Overall I love this form – this is the first time I’m writing in it, but it seems to combine for me the best of the novel and the short story. It has the sharp focus of the short story and the amplitude of the novel.

The story moves from Bengal to Assam to Houston. Two of those places have been your home. What’s your connection with Assam? I couldn’t help but wonder if the Assam incident is based on your own experiences?

Actually, I have lived in Assam as well, because my father was posted there for a while. In fact, this book is unique among my books because I have lived in every single place where the main characters have lived. Although the book is not autobiographical, the geographical trajectory of this novel does follow my own life.

And it is my first book in which Texas, where I have now lived for almost 14 years, features so prominently.

Before We Visit the Goddess is the title of one of the chapters in the book. What were your reasons for choosing this sub-title as the title of the book? Does it have a deeper meaning?

I like this title because it was poetic and evocative. But also it is important thematically. All three women struggle with the idea of goodness and at times feel they have fallen away from it and would like to gain forgiveness and recover what they have lost. It is this endeavor that I term “visiting the goddess.” One of my thoughts in this novel is that before we can “visit the goddess,” sometimes we have to suffer, sometimes we have to be honestly contrite, and sometimes we have to learn compassion – both for ourselves and for those who have hurt us. This is what enables us to find the sacred

is forced to switch sympathies with each story.

The novel opens with a quote from Manusmriti: Where women are honored, there the gods are pleased. And yet, Manusmriti is widely considered to be critical of women.

In part it is an ironic quote. It seems to point “A question that I have been pondering for a long time is, what does it mean to be to a contradiction within our culture where a successful woman? Does the definition of success change for a woman depending our goddesses are female and sacred and on the generation in which she is born and the place in which she lives?” worshiped in temples, and yet often in society there are many injustices towards women that are practiced and even condoned. But I say, “in part it is ironic”, because ultimately I believe the quote – when women are honored, respected, educated and given the leadership roles and the dignity they deserve, surely it creates a stronger society with positive values, one that is pleasing to the divine.

Food has always been important in my writing. I guess I’m just interested in food! I have a blog at www.chitradivakaruni.com where I often put up recipes, some of which I’ve created myself (though I would not claim to be as good a cook as my character Bela!)

Early on in my writing it struck me that it is often through food that we pass on customs from generation to generation and that we pass on lessons, values and stories as well through the act of cooking and/or eating together. This certainly happens in the lives of these three women. Food takes on a particularly potent meaning for the immigrant, because it is one of the few things from their original culture that is still available to them – and both Bela and Tara, living in USA, have a particular emotional relationship (though not necessarily simple and positive) with Indian food. Additionally, I always enjoy reading about food – it pulls in all of my senses as a reader – and I want to do the same for my readers in my books. I am pleased and amused when readers say that after reading my books, they get a craving for Indian food!

The three protagonists of Before We Visit the Goddess are strong but complex women. While writers identify at some level with all their characters, whose story resonates with you the most?

It was very important for me to identify equally with all three of these characters. This is because each character is a narrator of certain parts of the book. When I wrote those parts, I had to really inhabit the character, otherwise I felt the reader could not be sympathetic to the character. It was important for me that the reader should feel sympathy with each of these three women because often these women are in conflict with each other, and I knew that this would create an additional tension within the book as the reader

You are a co-founder and former president of Maitri, a helpline founded in 1991 for South Asian women dealing with domestic abuse. You are also on the advisory board of Daya in Houston. How much of your activism do you bring to your stories?

Working in the field of women’s rights is important to me, but I try to keep my activism in the background when I am writing. This is important because fiction works in a way that is different from expository prose, where I might argue my opinion openly. In fiction, the characters must do the work of convincing readers for me by living their complex lives. My women characters are a mix of positive and negative qualities – just like women in real life. My hope is that readers – both male and female – will embrace them in spite of their shortcomings because they are so human. My hope is that readers will identify with them and in doing so become more sensitive to the challenges that women face in everyday life.

From Arranged Marriage to Before We Visit the Goddess; has your writing process changed over the years. How have you evolved as a writer and as a person?

Each book I have written required a different method of writing and research, a different voice. Each book was a different kind of challenge that I set for myself. In Sister of My Heart, I experimented with dual narrators. In One Amazing Thing, I had my characters trapped by an earthquake in a single room for the entire novel, and the challenge was to make that restricted setting dramatic by having them tell stories to each other. In Palace of Illusions, I reinterpreted the epic story of the Mahabharat through the consciousness of a woman: Draupadi. I think over the years I’ve learned much more about writing techniques and I hope I haven’t repeated the same mistakes! But the more I write, the more I realize what an intricate and deep art writing is, and how I’ve just scratched the surface of it, and I am filled with humility and the resolve to become a better writer. My motto, which I have put on my website, www.chitradivakaruni.com, is a quote from Michelangelo, written when he was in his 80s, “Ancora Imparo,” still I am learning. That’s how I feel.

Each book of yours is a different genre. Why is it important for you to try your hand at a different genre each time? What are the challenges of approaching a new project with a completely new perspective, plot and style? What’s your next project?

It’s important for me to try something significantly different with each book – I feel that’s how I grow as a writer. I don’t want readers to pick up a book of mine and feel it’s just more of the same. This is, of course, challenging because one has to learn new skills as a writer each time, and even do a new kind of research. For instance I’m currently working on a mystery novel set in the tea gardens in the Himalayas. That novel has a whole different feel and pacing and required a whole different kind of research. After that, I’ll be writing a novel from the point of view of Sita, and that will provide me with unique challenges. I think perhaps it will be my most challenging project of all!

........ What’s Cooking? ........

22 NRI PULSE

Mixed Dal Kachories

1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds (somph) 1 red chili 1 bay leaf 1/4 teaspoon asafetida (hing) 1 teaspoon salt or to taste 2 tablespoons oil 2 cups oil for frying kachories

Dough

BYP.S. LAKSHMI RAO

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour 2 tablespoons oil 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup warm water

Dals 1/4 cup chana dal 1/4 cup split mung dal with skin 1/4 cup yellow split mung dal 1/4 cup urad dal without skin 2 tablespoons chana flour (besan) Soak chana dal separate for four hours Soak rest of the dals together for four hours

Spices 1/4 teaspoon cardamom seeds 6 cloves 6 whole black peppers

In a bowl mix flour, oil and salt.

Add water and mix until dough becomes soft ball. Roll the dough in a teaspoon of oil and cover.

Roast all the spices in a dry pan on medium low heat for three minutes and grind them into a coarse powder.

Blend soaked chana dal without water until very coarse. Add green mung dal, yellow mung dal and urad dal to chana dal and blend until coarse.

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a nonstick pan on medium low heat. Add the coarsely ground

........ InVogue .......

Flirty Crop Tops & Long Skirts

BY RANI SHARMA, Raneez Fine Boutique

Crop tops and long skirts are the in thing this spring. They are modern, stylish and very Indian. The outfit resembles a traditional lehnga; but with a modern look and feel. You cannot beat the combination of the traditional and the modern urban.

High waisted long skirts look very stylish with the crop top. The combination looks elegant on every body type.

Pair a dark colored skirt with a crop top of any color. If you are headed to a party, and you have a long black skirt in your wardrobe, wear it with a red top- you are sure to turn heads at the party.

The skirts are crafted out of silk, chiffon or tafta. They look great with printed floral designs.

The crop top is fashioned out of lace, net etc and embellished with embroidery.

Jewelry: Wear only long diamond earrings.

Purses: Carry a clutch that matches your outfit.

Makeup: Keep the focus on the eye make-up and bronzer. Keep the lipstick light.

Shoes: Pointed high heeled shoes.

April 2016 spices, dal mixture and salt. Fry until the moisture is evaporated. Add chana flour and mix.

Remove from the stove and set aside until cool.

Shape kachori mix into 20 balls.

Make 20 balls with the dough.

Take one dough ball in the palm of your hand and flatten it into a disc. Put a kachori mixture ball in the disk and cover the kachori ball and press it gently to make a small patty making sure the kachori mixture stays in side. Repeat with rest of the balls.

Heat oil in a frying pan on high heat. When the oil is very hot, drop a few kachories into the oil.

Remove the pan from the heat carefully if it is an electric stove. ( If it is a gas stove just turn the heat off.) When the kachories start to float, return the frying pan to the stove and fry kachories on medium low heat until they become brown on both sides.

Repeat with rest of the kachories.

Make 20 kachories. Tastes great with any chutney and they stay crispy for a long time.

April 2016

NRI PULSE 23