Issuu

Bridging America and the Indian Subcontinent

Saathee.com

November 2026

IN THIS ISSUE Diwali Events: pg 18 When Doctor Becomes Patient: pg 24 Recipe - Paneer Tikka Skewers: pg 74

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Hello Readers Happy Diwali! “Bridging America and the Indian Subcontinent.”

The festival season is a wonderful time to de-stress and think about personal renewal. Food, family gatherings, colorful traditions and lively fireworks can bring joy to the young and old. Diwali is celebrated as the victory of good over evil. Let’s work together to expand the good and reduce the bad. Happy Thanksgiving to our readers. Enjoy this time of year with loved ones and friends.

November 2026

Issue # 342

Editor Samir Shukla (Samir@Saathee.com)

Some highlights in this issue: ♦ Read about “When a Doctor Becomes the Patient” in our new The Physician’s Pen column on page 24. ♦ Ever wonder about “How to Win Every Argument!” Go to page 38. ♦ Read about “Little Known Dances of Jammu and Kashmir” in our Dances of India column on page 46. ♦ Looking for a job or new business? See latest Classifieds on page 108. We would be happy to add anyone in the Carolinas to the Saathee Magazine mailing list at no charge, visit saathee.com/subscription and also sign up for our free weekly e-newsletter. Keep up with us on a regular bassis by following us on Facebook and Instagram (@saatheemagazine). "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead

Publisher & Advertising Divakar Shukla 704-527-7570 or saatheemag@hotmail.com

Digital Media & Marketing Jennifer W. Allen

Ad Design / Layout DSJ Graphics, Cooper’s Hive

Contributors for this issue: Dr. Kinchit Shah, Urvashi Swami, Anuj Kasera Dipika Kohli, Ketu Desai, Balaji Prasad, Taige Shukla, Diya Vijay, Dr. Ari Mukherjee, Hiren Deliwala, Dhruv Pathak, Dr. Maha Gingrich, Anuj Chakrapani, Kristen Moon, and Jalendu Vaidya. Mission: Our goal is to be a valuable source of information for the South Asian community and to be a vital advertising tool for businesses.

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November 2026

In This Issue

Page 14 Editor’s Desk: Jump Skip Fall

Page 18 Upcoming Events

Page 26 The Through Line: When Strangers Become Guests

Page 74 Recipe: Paneer Tikka Skewers

Content The Editor’s Desk . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 14 Upcoming Events . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 18 The Physician’s Pen . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 24 The Through Line . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 26 Kismuth and the Way . . . . . . . . .pg. 28 Everyday Yoga . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 30 Upcoming Movie Releases . . . . .pg. 34 Film Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 36 Thinking About Thinking . . . . .pg. 38 Community Focus . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 40 Improving SAT Scores . . . . . . . .pg. 42 Saathee.com

Dances of India . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 46 The Finance Brief . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 48 College Admissions Insider . . . .pg. 50 Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 52 Ekal at 25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 54 Film Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 56 Mindful Masala . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 58 An Introduction to Robotics . . .pg. 60 News Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 62 Eye on the Markets . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 68 Recipe: Paneer Tikka Skewers . .pg. 74 12

Spot the Differences . . . . . . . . . .pg. 96 Cartoon Corner . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 98 Tune Your Brain . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 100 Pop’s Puzzles & Toons . . . . . . .pg. 102 Festivals and Holidays . . . . . . .pg. 104 Puzzle Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 104 AstroScope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 106 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 108 Index of Advertisers . . . . . . . . .pg. 112

November 2026

Saathee.com

November 2026

Editor’s Desk

by Samir Shukla

Jump Skip Fall You can do it! The mother said to her son. She gave him a look of confidence. It was an early autumn morning, but the sun still sizzled. The boy looked at his mother and then looked up at the one leaf on the tree that had turned bright yellow. He wanted this colorful leaf, but it was out of his reach. I was standing nearby waiting for someone and happened to observe the scene. The leaves on the tree were still green, except this early fall bloomer, its bright yellow color made it stand out, as if it was ready to disengage from the tree and fall to the ground. I can imagine that may have been the first leaf to sprout in the spring and now it was the first one to change color. The boy jumped up and down several times, his right arm outstretched and ready to grab the leaf with every bounce. If only he could get a hold of it. He walked away a few feet and got a running start and jumped up just under the leaf and still no luck. He looked around and found a stick lying under another nearby tree. He picked it up and tried to knock the leaf down with it. No luck. He looked at his mom as if to tell her to pick the leaf for him. C’mon mom, you’re tall enough. Grab it. I want it. He didn’t say it out loud but asked with his eyes and expression. The mother encouraged him. Jump a little higher, she said. You can do it. You can figure it out. The kid finally gripped the stick at one of the ends, walked away a few feet, began skipping and jumped up at the right moment to strike the leaf and it finally swirled down onto the ground. He picked it up and presented it to his mother. A child’s version of a bouquet of flowers. The mother and child melted in an embrace. I’ve always loved childrens’ skipping walks, bouncing along with each step. This time of year, summer ending and autumn stirring, is akin to a child’s jumps and skips. Ups and downs. You have blazing heat one day and cool days and nights for a day or two and then the heat comes fighting back. Wear shorts or grab a sweater? This becomes a quandary during these days. Editor’s Desk continued on page 93

Saathee.com

November 2026

Upcoming Events HC-Clt Diwali Celebrations: Charlotte (November 6 – December 5, 2026)

South Carolina Underground Film Festival: Columbia, SC (November 6 – 8, 2026) The 2026 South Carolina Underground Film Festival (SCUFF) celebrates all genres of independent film in one festival. This is an international film festival, and features films from all over the globe. Enjoy 3 packed days where fans and filmmakers can meet, mingle, and celebrate obscure and independent films. The festival will take place between November 6-8, 2026 at the The Nickelodeon Theater in Columbia, SC. Info: Facebook.com/Southcarolinauﬀ.

WNC Pottery Festival: Sylva, NC (November 7, 2026)

The Hindu Center of Charlotte presents Diwali celebrations beginning with Laxmi Puja on November 6, 2026 and ending with annual Diwali dinner on December 5, 2026. Diwali puja occurs on November 8, 2026, Annakut on November 10 and Diwali cultural programs on November 14 & 15, 2026. The temple is located at 7400 City View Dr., Charlotte, NC. For more details, call 704-535-3440 or visit Hcclt.org.

Master potters will exhibit some of North Carolina’s finest pottery at this one-day festival on Saturday, November 7, 2026, from 10am – 4pm in Sylva, NC. Technique demonstrations and contests will keep pottery lovers busy between checking out local art galleries & boutiques, and shopping at the street fair. There is an $8 entrance fee. Learn more at Wncpotteryfestival.com.

Statesville Pumpkin Festival (November 7, 2026) Classic cars and two stages of live music are marquee attractions at this fest, but pumpkins of all shapes, sizes, and colors are the true reason for celebrating. Say cheers to pumpkins in the Corks, Taps and Barrels Garden featuring local breweries and spending time playing in the Kids’ Zone. The 23rd annual festival will take place on Saturday, November 7, 2026, from 10am – 6pm. For more information, visit Statesvillepumpkinfest.com.

HSNC Diwali: Morrisville, NC (November 6 – November 14, 2026) The annual celebrations from November 6 – 10, 2026 will feature a series of traditional celebrations honoring the spirit of light, faith, prosperity, family, and togetherness with the festival of lights. On November 14, 2026 there will be a Mahayagna and Annakut Utsav beginning at 4pm. HSNC is located at 309 Aviation Pkwy, Morrisville, NC. Info: Hsnctemple.org.

Cape Fear Kite Festival: Kure Beach, NC (November 6 – 8, 2026) Set your sights to the sky at the Annual Cape Fear Kite Festival between November 6 & 8, 2026. An annual tradition, both amateur and professional kiters take to the sky with an array of colorful kites of all shapes and sizes seaside at the Fort Fisher State Recreation Area. Pack picnics or visit food trucks and various vendors onsite during the three-day festival. Bring the whole family and your fourlegged friends for fun beside the shore. Details are available at Wilmingtonandbeaches.com.

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Mythical & Medieval Fest: Myrtle Beach, SC (November 7 – 15, 2026) The Mythical & Medieval Fest is a Renaissance themed festival to raise money for Caleb’s Dragonfly Dreams; a local non-profit in Myrtle Beach, SC that provides positive activities to children that have been abused, abandoned, or neglected and reside in group homes or shelters. The festival brings you a whimsical realm filled with a fairy forest, medieval combat, princesses, artisan’s village area, fire show and so much more. All shows and live music are included with paid admission between the two weekends of November 7 & 8, 2026 and November 14 & 15, 2026. Details: Mythicalmedievalfest.com.

BAPS Charlotte Diwali: (November 8 & 10, 2026) BAPS temple of Charlotte celebrates Diwali on Sunday, November 8, 2026 with Sharda pujan and arti, beginning at 5pm. Arti, Darshan and Annakut will take place on Tuesday, November 10, 2026, beginning at 7:30am. The temple is located at 4100 Margaret Wallace Rd., Matthews, NC. For more details about the celebraton of the Festival of lights, visit Baps.org/Charlotte.

November 2026

Matthews, NC 28105

Saathee.com

November 2026

Upcoming Events Southern Christmas Show: Charlotte, NC (November 11 – 22, 2026)

Carolina Holiday Light Spectacular: Charlotte, NC (November 27 - December 30, 2026)

This year’s theme is “Sounds of Christmas.” Find charming shops, festive music, crafts, food, holiday décor, local wines, Santa, over 400 holiday merchants with gifts for all ages. The 59th annual show will be held from November 11 – 22, 2026 at the Park Expo and Conference Center in Charlotte with a special preview night on November 10. Info: Southernchristmasshow.com.

Step inside a winter wonderland filled with more than one million lights, larger-than-life displays and interactive holiday attractions. The selfguided, half-mile walking trail will feature more than 40 illuminated scenes, oversized snow globes, shops and food trucks, an illuminated ice castle and a princess carriage, with live entertainment included every open night. It will Sri Sri Kali Puja: Morrisville, NC (November 13, 2026) be open on select nights from 5:30 - 9:30pm at Backyard. Details: The Puja, presented by the Ramakrishna Vedanta Society of NC, will Ballantyne’s take place on Friday, November 13, 2026, beginning at 7pm, at HSNC Ncholidaylights.com. Cultural Hall and will be performed by Swami Nirakarananda ji. HSNC, 309 Aviation Pkwy, Morrisville, NC. For more info, visit ICC Christmas Worship: Apex, NC Vedantanc.org. (December 5 – 31, 2026) International Community Church presents its annual Christmas events beginning with a Pageant on December 2, 2026, Carol Service on VUF-NC Chapter and Uma Shakti Dham present a Diwali celebration December 12, 2026, and Christmas morning on November 14, 2026, beginning at 2pm, Gaston Day School, worship on December 15, 2026. There will also be Gastonia, NC. Featuring cultural programs, garba, kids’ activities and a New Year Watch Service on December 31, 2026. 1402 E. Williams St., Apex, NC. Details call 919dinner. For details, call 252-508-9898 or 704-678-3834. 233-2900 or visit Icc-church.org.

Uma Shakti Dham Diwali Celebration: Gastonia, NC (November 14, 2026)

Shaan Live in Concert: Charlotte, NC (November 15, 2026) LMT SEVA and Nachbaliye Academy present legendary singer Shaan in concert with a live band on November 15, 2026, at Belk Theater, Charlotte, NC. Enjoy his many hits from films and solo albums. For details or tickets, call 704968-9081 or visit Blumenthalarts.org.

Cucalorus Film Festival: Wilmington, NC (November 19 – 22, 2026) The Cucalorus Film Festival is a noncompetitive festival showcasing worldwide films, a diverse selection of Stage performances (original productions in dance, music, comedy, and theater), and various Connect Conference events (panels, speakers and workshops). The event will take place between November 19 – 22, 2026 all around downtown Wilmington, NC. Details: Cucalorus.org.

Carolina Renaissance Festival: Huntersville, NC (Through November 22, 2026) History comes alive with entertainment, arts and crafts, games and rides, jousting knights on horseback, and feasting. The Carolina Renaissance Festival is a 16th century European-style art, food and entertainment festival combining outdoor theater, crafts, circus entertainment, and marketplace. Each weekend has a diﬀerent theme. Info: Carolina.renfestinfo.com.

ICC Thanksgiving Morning Worship: Apex, NC (November 26, 2026) International Community Church presents its annual Thanksgiving morning worship on November 26, 2026, 10:30am, at 1402 E. Williams St., Apex, NC. Details call 919-233-2900 or visit Icc-church.org. Saathee.com

Nrityangan Cultural Academy Recital: Fort Mill, SC (December 6, 2026) “Talaash: The Search” is the theme of this year’s dance recital by Nrityangan Cultural Academy that will take place on December 6, 2026, 1 - 4pm. All proceeds go towards Kiran. Venue: Catawba Ridge High School, 1180 Fort Mill Pkwy, Fort Mill, SC. Info: Ritusdance@gmail.com.

Hindu Matrimonial Meet: Raleigh, NC (December 12, 2026) Meet like-minded singles with icebreakers and one on one interactions. Food and refreshments will be available. It will take place on December 12, 2026, from 8:30am – 10pm at HSNC, 309 Aviation Pkwy, Morrisville, NC. For more details, call 732-267-2013 or visit Thehmusa.org.

Keep up with all the events happening in our region with Saathee. The best way to find them is in these pages or online at our regularly updated events section:

Saathee.com/events November 2026

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November 2026

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A Different Kind of Lesson When the Doctor Becomes a Patient

How hard can it be? I thought. It would be another quick, in-and-out visit. I’d examine by Dr. Kinchit Shah him, give his mother a clean sheet of her loved one’s health, or perhaps guide them in the right direction if something That day, I faced the grueling side of autism. Not mild. needed attention. Not something neatly explained by the word spectrum. But That was what I thought. full-blown, life-altering autism - the kind that doesn’t fit comfortably into textbooks, exam rooms, or the confidence The Encounter that comes with years of training. Alongside my full-time As soon as I entered their home, I was greeted by the career as a physician, I run a small, not-for-profit initiative warmest smile, carried by tired but purposeful eyes. The called “Shreeji Clinic”, which I often describe as my way of kind of eyes that tell you, without saying a word, that this “refilling the tank”. Through this initiative, I provide mother’s entire world revolves around her amazing son. affordable, judgement-free healthcare through home visit I complimented the neighborhood, the beautiful country and virtual consultations for individuals who might setting, the impeccable interior of their recently built home. otherwise struggle to find the care they need. Sometimes, Then, out of habit, I rushed to introduce myself to her son, that means addressing a longstanding medical concern. my patient. Other times, it means helping someone navigate a What happened next was one of the most painful things diagnostic mystery that has remained unanswered for years. I have witnessed all year. And sometimes, it simply means listening, offering Our mistake was simple, but consequential: we had not reassurance, and giving someone the time and attention set the stage for a new person entering his home, in a new they deserve. situation, asking something unfamiliar of him. And my bright red doctor’s bag certainly didn’t help. The House Call The outburst. The anger. The struggle. The fear. As a passion project - my little “fill-in-the-tank” side gig - I do not-for-profit work where I often go to people in need, And then the punches—to his own mother. at their preferred location, to make healthcare accessible I froze. For all the years of experience, training, exams, when it otherwise might be impossible. patients, emergencies, and situations I thought had Recently, the sister of a colleague reached out to me. Her prepared me for difficult moments, I suddenly realized how son had just graduated out of the pediatric age range, and inadequately prepared I was for this one. she wondered if I could take a quick look at him and make The Physician’s Pen continued on page 90 sure everything seemed okay.

The Physician’s Pen

Saathee.com

November 2026

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November 2026

When Strangers Become Guests The Through Line by Dhruv Pathak Every November, I try to spend some time thinking about what I’m thankful for. This year, I’ve been thinking a lot about my relationship with being Indian American, particularly the old self-loathing habits I picked up growing up in the US. If you know me, you know I have plenty of criticisms of Indian culture, and I doubt that’ll change anytime soon. But as I get older, I’m finding more things about our culture that I’m genuinely grateful for. One of them is something I’ve experienced my entire life but never thought much about: how we welcome people into our homes. If you’re reading this, maybe you’re South Asian, know someone who is, or are just curious. Either way, you probably know what comes next. When you visit a South Asian home, an auntie quickly oﬀers chai or water, and an uncle brings out snacks. Soon, you’re staying for dinner. If you try to say no, you’ll get a gentle finger wag and a playful scolding as spicy as chili.

A white friend once told me he visited his Indian friend’s dorm and ate so much butter chicken he turned red—not just from the spice, but from the warmth and flavors in the room, since his host wouldn’t take no for an answer. Before anyone asks why you’re there, someone is already saying, “Khana garam karun?” Should I warm up the food? It only takes two minutes. And if you say you’ve already eaten, well, that’s never the right answer. I always thought this was just a normal part of being Indian. But maybe it’s something deeper and older, a sense of duty rather than a habit. When someone comes into our home, we feel responsible for their comfort, hunger, and sometimes even their safety. Whether we know our guests well or not, we believe they should be cared for under our roof. The Through LIne continued on page 72

Saathee.com

November 2026

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November 2026

All the People

Absence Kismuth and the Way by Dipika Kohli

This summer I visited North Carolina, after thirteen years away. I found out a couple of things through the reality of seeing it with my own eyes; things had very much, very definitively changed. I remember Hurricane Fran, way back when, and what went down. Citizens talked about it, and there was a sense of cooperation to right the damage, together. I feel like we were trying to figure things out collectively before, to be there for one another in a community-esque way, and intercommunity, not just intracommunity, I mean. Being there this summer, though, I felt... that was gone. Like there was a natural disaster-like damage but not in a physical way, rather a... more psychological one. It’s hard to stay in touch when you’re so far away, and I understand. Meantime, I’ve found other people, built a diﬀerent sort of community, even found my ‘chosen family’ as so many people who do the same thing I am doing and who have wound up in other worlds like to say. A self-initiated disconnection from NC used to feel personal, but now I think maybe it’s much broader, and far less simple to explain away long mutual silences with old ties. People out and about, people in public spaces, generally moved diﬀerently. Not everyone, but many. I also felt the education system’s degradation when I tried to interact with people. What the, was my feeling. What the, what happened here... An overall cultural shift, too. Some told me it was the ‘snowbirds’ who came to the Triangle, moving for a lower cost of living and better weather from the Northeast. Really? That didn’t seem like it explained it all. Where were the North Carolinians who I know Kismuth continued on page 82

Saathee.com

November 2026

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November 2026

Everyday Yoga

by Urvashi Swami

Vrikshasan (Tree Pose) The trees are changing colors and shedding leaves. It’s nature’s way of showing that change is beautiful and necessary for fresh beginnings. Trees let go of their leaves to conserve energy for the harsh winter ahead. They turn their focus inward to face adverse weather. They are patient creatures as they adapt to the changing seasons, stay calm, and stand firm. We humans can learn to be adaptive and calm from the trees. This is a good time to sync with nature, turn inward, to recognize what needs to be shed, and preserve our energy. As Tony Robbins says, “Where focus goes, energy flows.” Vrikshasana, or tree pose, a foundational yoga pose, grounds you and teaches balance. You challenge your body by standing on one foot, and your mind by drawing your attention inward to stay steady. The pose also reflects one of the eight limbs of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, Pratyahara (prati = against, ahara = intake), the withdrawal from external stimulation so that attention can turn inward. This month, try holding Vrikshasana for five slow breaths on each side, and notice what your mind wants to reach for. To get into the asana Begin standing in Samasthiti with equal weight on both legs, shoulders rolled back, spine straight, and feet together or slightly apart. As you inhale, shift your weight onto your left leg and bring your right knee up. Turn your right knee outwards and place your right foot on your left leg, either above or below the knee, but not on it. Position the foot so that your hips stay in one line. Shoulders stacked over hips. Press into all the edges of your left foot. Keep a soft bend in the left knee if needed. Press your right foot into your left leg and let the left leg press back against it. This creates balance. Engage your core. If you feel stable, raise your hands above your head and bring them together in namaste, keeping your shoulders relaxed. Fix your gaze on a point and hold the asana for 5 breaths. Repeat on the other leg. Your toes mimic the roots of the tree as you widen them to hold your ground, and your arms mimic the branches as you reach up. Practice the asana next to a wall for support What does the asana do to your body and mind? Strengthens the legs and core muscles. In postpartum, it helps restore the center of gravity after pregnancy. Opens tight hips and relieves lower back pain. Improves focus. Reduces anxiety, keeps your mind in the present moment

Urvashi Swami is a 200-hour certified yoga facilitator specializing in postpartum and functional yoga. She works independently. Contact: yogawithu24@gmail.com or IG: @urvashi_yoga. Saathee.com

November 2026

Upcoming Movie Releases November 20

November 6

The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping (Director: Francis Lawrence) Cast: Joseph Zada, Jesse Plemons, Elle Fanning, and Glenn Close

Lakadbaggha 2: The Monkey Business (Director: Anshuman Jha) Cast: Anshuman Jha, Sarah-Jane Dias, Adil Hussain, and Vikram Kochhar

ENE Repeat (Director: Tharun Bhascker) Cast: Vishwak Sen, Abhinav Gomatam, and Venkatesh Kakumanu

Ramayana: Part 1 (Director: Nitesh Tiwari) Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Yash, Sai Pallavi, Ravi Dubey, and Sunny Deol

Kaali Kheti (Directors: Haris Imtiayaz Khan) Cast: Jackie Shroﬀ, Sharad Keklar, Neha Sargam, Veerendra Saxena, and Shaji Choudhary

The Cat in the Hat (Directors: Erica Rivinoja & Alessandro Carloni) Cast: Bill Hader, Xochitl Gomez, Matt Berry, and Tituss Burgess

Pratap (Director: Sachin Saraf) Cast: Amit Sadh, Esha Deol, and Tigmanshu Dhulia

Ghost Soldier (Director: William Eubank) Cast: Jim Caviezel, Olivia Thirlby, Beau Knapp, and Shea Whigham

Josephine (Director: Beth de Araújo) Cast: Channing Tatum, Gemma Chan, and Mason Reeves

Wild Horse Nine (Director: Martin McDonagh) Cast: John Malkovich, Sam Rockwell, Steve Buscemi, and Tom Waits

Aakasamlo Oka Tara (Director: Pavan Sadineni) Cast: Dulquer Salmaan, Satvika Veeravalli, and Shruti Haasan

I Play Rocky (Director: Peter Farrelly) Cast: Anthony Ippolito, Stephan James, and Matt Dillon

November 1963 (Director: Roland Joﬀé) Cast: John Travolta, Robert Carlyle, and Mandy Patinkin

Mouse (Director: Kelly O’Sullivan & Alex Thompson) Cast: Sophie Okonedo, Iman Vellani, a nd David Hyde Pierce

November 25-27

November 13

Yeh Prem Mol Liya (Director: Sooraj Barjatya) Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Sharvari, and Anupam Kher

Ebenezer (Director: Ti West) Cast: Johnny Depp, Rupert Grint, and Ian McKellen

The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliﬀ Booth (Director: David Fincher) Cast: Brad Pitt, Elizabeth Debicki, and Scott Caan

Hurricana (Director: Francesca Gregorini) Cast: Sylvia Hoeks, Holly Hunter, and Michael Nouri

Gunmaaster G9 (Director: Aditya Datt) Cast: Emraan Hashmi, Genelia D’Souza, and Aparshakti Khurana

How to Rob a Bank (Director: David Leitch) Cast: Nicholas Hoult, Zoë Kravitz, and John C Reilly

Hershey (Director: Mark Walters) Cast: Finn Wittrock and Alexandra Daddario

Paper Tiger (Director: James Gray) Cast: Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson, and Miles Teller

Mysaa (Director: Rawindra Pulle) Cast: Rashmika Mandanna, Guru Somasundaram, and Rahul Ravindran

Heartland (Director: Shana Feste) Cast: Jessica Chastain, Carter Faith, and Garrett Hedlund

Hexed (Directors: Fawn Veerasunthorn & Jason Hand) Cast: Hailee Steinfeld, Rashida Jones, and Jodie Foster

Saathee.com/movies has the latest info on where the movies are showing or streaming. Release dates subject to change. Saathee.com

November 2026

p s m i l C l F i

Paper Tiger Ramayana This epic story a prince and princess whose marriage and subsequent exile mark the beginning of a legendary journey. Their story of love, duty and destiny sets the stage for greater challenges. The cast, directed by Nitesh Tiwari, includes Ranbir Kapoor, Yash, Sai Pallavi, Ravi Dubey, and Sunny Deol. November 6, 2026.

Two brothers pursue the American Dream but get entangled in a dangerous Russian mafia scheme that terrorizes their family, testing their bond as betrayal becomes possible. Starring Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson, and Miles Teller, the movie is directed by James Gray. November 13, 2026.

Wild Horse Nine CIA agents Chris and Lee face a trust-testing mission from Santiago to Easter Island during 1973 in Chile. The film is written and directed by Martin McDonagh and stars John Malkovich, Sam Rockwell, Steve Buscemi, and Tom Waits. November 6, 2026.

Ghost Soldier

Ebenezer

A weapon systems engineer and former Green Beret protects his Wyoming neighbors against a ruthless corporation threatening their rural community. Directed by William Eubank, starring Jim Caviezel, Garret Dillahunt, and Shea Whigham. November 11, 2026.

A classic ghost story set in Dickens’ London, following one man’s supernatural journey to face his past, present and future as he fights for a second chance at redemption. Ti West directs Johnny Depp, Rupert Grint, and Ian McKellen. November 13, 2026.

Yeh Prem Mol Liya This romantic family drama is presented under the Rajshri Productions banner and directed by Sooraj Barjatya. Expect timeless music from Himesh Reshammiya and the cast includes Ayushmann Khurrana, Sharvari, Anupam Kher, and Supriya Pathak. November 27, 2026.

Gunmaaster G

s to treme measure A man takes ex res, si de woman he be with the ous er ng da ainst a facing oﬀ ag i, hm as H Emraan adversary. i kt ha rs pa A d za, an Genelia D’Sou ed ct the thriller dire Khurana star in 2026. . November 27, by Aditya Datt Movie release dates subject to change.

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November 2026

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How to Win Every Argument!

Words or swords? As you hear the words coming at you, you need to calibrate them. Are they words that are intended to carry meaning, and designed to point at something in the real world? Or, are they a set of stealth projectiles craftily crafted to keep a potential enemy from assaulting whatever the lord’s fortress is ferociously guarding? A wise and battle-scarred veteran of argument wars of diﬀerent hues would have honed a good instinct for spotting which of the above it is: an innocuous vehicle that is merely a tool to work toward a shared understanding; or something like a B-2 stealth plane? If the words are unlovely, dark and deep, the said veteran will be quick to raise open palms toward the defending warrior to show that they come in peace and are unarmed. Body language, tone and facial expression are additional tools to induce a sense of safety in the edgy potential sword-thrower. Words are never a good option against words that are actually swords. Anyone who has read about or watched a movie with hostage negotiation scenes knows that sudden movements and reaching into hidden pockets filled with words can result in irretrievable losses. Someone who is using words as weapons is likely to view words produced by others as weapons too. You may not be a “wordy swordy” person, but when the situation is showing the potential to get out of control, that is not the best time to recite your resume.

Thinking About Thinking by Balaji Prasad

“If anything interferes with my inner peace, I will walk away. Arguments with family members. All that stuﬀ. None of it matters.” ~ Shirley MacLaine Wouldn’t you like to win every argument you get into? We will consider how to do exactly that, in this piece. But, first, full disclosure … I have lost every single argument that I have ever been in! So, without further fanfare, here is the secret recipe, right up front, to save you the time and trouble of reading the whole article (unless, of course, you have grown fond of my writing). Do not enter into an argument! Ever!! There is one troublesome but critical nuance to accomplishing the above edict, though. Once you enter into an argument, you can never get out of it. It’s the Hotel California trap, as The Eagles sang: “You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave!” This means that you need early detection that you may be entering the quicksand. You need clues and cues so that you never get more than one of your feet into the voracious thing that is waiting to eat you alive. A couple of tips below … Saathee.com

Thinking continued on page 88 38

November 2026

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Community Focus Navarathri Samarpana Tarangini: An Akhandam for Devi

Photos by Arvind Vedantham

A Day-Long Offering to the Divine Mother On Saturday, September 19, 2026, the Ardrey Chase Clubhouse filled with music, devotion, and celebration as rasAnubhavam presented Charlotte’s first-ever Navarathri Samarpana Tarangini: a continuous offering to Devi through the timeless beauty of Indian classical art forms. From the opening notes at 9:30am until the final offering at 8pm, the music never paused. More than 77 performers each presented a single composition, one flowing into the next like the waves of a river, true to the name Tarangini. A rotating team of mridangam artists carried the rhythmic heartbeat of the day, lending every rendition its pulse and grace. The day culminated with a Bharatanatyam dance in praise of Devi. Through graceful movement, expressive abhinaya, and rhythmic footwork, the performance brought the day’s devotion to a moving and fitting close. An Unbroken Akhandam At its heart, the event was an Akhandam, an unbroken offering in which every voice and instrument joined a single, continuous stream of devotion. Over the course of the day, more than 37 ragas and the works of more than 20 composers were presented, with not a Saathee.com

single repetition. The result was a rich and varied tapestry of the Carnatic tradition, each piece adding its own color to the whole. No contribution stood alone. Each performer’s oﬀering became one thread in a larger collective prayer to the Divine Mother. Most artists came from the Charlotte community, while others traveled from Raleigh to share in the celebration, a testament to the spirit of togetherness the tradition inspires. Premiering This Navarathri The complete Samarpana Tarangini premiered on rasAnubhavam’s YouTube channel on the first day of Navarathri in October, allowing audiences near and far to join in this celebration of Devi as the festival begins. You can find the channer here: Youtube.com/@rasanubhavamclt. About rasAnubhavam rasAnubhavam is a Charlotte-based initiative dedicated to bringing the richness of Indian classical arts to the community and advance Indian classical performing arts through the presentation of high-quality concerts, the creation of performance and competition platforms for students and emerging artists, and the development of educational and community-based cultural programs. Info: Sites.google.com/view/rasanubhavam/home Instagram.com/rasanubhavamclt.

November 2026

Your SAT Score Isn’t Improving. Here’s What You’re Probably Doing Wrong.

changes. A practice test serves a similar purpose. It identifies what a student can demonstrate under a particular set of conditions. It does not automatically correct the knowledge gaps responsible for incorrect answers.

by Dr. Ari Mukherjee

A practice test tells you where you are. A carefully designed study plan helps you get somewhere else. The Real Question: Why Did You Get It Wrong? Here is another common mistake. Students finish a practice test, identify the questions they missed, read the correct solutions, and tell themselves, “Oh, I get it now.” Then they move on. But recognizing a solution after seeing it is fundamentally different from being able to generate that solution independently. Consider a student who incorrectly solves the equation: 3(x − 4) = 2x + 7. The correct answer is x = 19. But knowing the correct answer tells us surprisingly little about what the student needs to learn. Perhaps the student does not understand the distributive property. Perhaps she understands the concept but makes an algebraic manipulation error. Perhaps she multiplies 3 by −4 incorrectly. Or perhaps she knows exactly how to solve the equation, but rushes because the clock is running out. Four different causes. One incorrect answer. Should all four students receive identical instruction? Absolutely not. The first needs conceptual instruction. The second needs procedural practice. The third needs greater execution accuracy. The fourth may need to develop a more effective pacing strategy. The correct answer tells us what the student should have done. The incorrect reasoning tells us what we need to teach. That distinction is central to meaningful test preparation.

Why taking more practice tests isn’t necessarily the answer, and what students and parents should do instead. Imagine this. A student takes an SAT practice test and scores 1200. Determined to improve, the student spends the next two weeks studying, completing hundreds of practice questions, watching instructional videos, and memorizing formulas. The next practice test? 1210. Disappointed but determined, the student doubles down. Another week of studying, another practice test. 1190! Now frustration sets in. The student begins questioning his abilities. Parents wonder whether enough effort is being invested. The family considers purchasing additional preparation materials or enrolling in another test-prep course. But what if the problem isn’t how hard the student is working? What if the problem is practicing without actually fixing what is holding them back? Having spent nearly three decades in education, I have encountered students who work very hard yet struggle to translate that effort into measurable improvement. Often, the issue is neither intelligence nor motivation. It is a misunderstanding of what effective preparation should accomplish. The Practice Test Trap: One of the most common mistakes students make is confusing measuring progress with making progress. Consider a student who takes a full-length SAT practice test every Saturday. After each test, the student reviews the score, glances at the incorrect answers, and moves on to the next test. Five weeks later, the student has completed five practice tests, approximately 11 hours of testing alone. But how much actual learning has occurred? Possibly very little. Think about it this way: If you step on a weighing scale every morning, will the act of weighing yourself change your weight? Of course not. The scale provides information. What you do with that information determines whether anything Saathee.com

Familiarity Is Not Mastery: Have you ever reviewed a problem and thought, “I’ve seen this before. I know how to do it,” only to get a similar question wrong on the next test? This happens because familiarity can create an illusion of understanding. A student may memorize the quadratic formula and successfully solve ten equations presented in the same format. But what happens when the SAT presents a quadratic relationship through a word problem? Or asks for the sum of the roots rather than the individual solutions? SAT continued on page 86 42

November 2026

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Rouf Dance: Photo by Ramesh Lalwani - Wikipedia Creative commons

Little Known Dances of Jammu and Kashmir The dancers of each row interlock themselves by putting their hands at the back of the other dancers on both sides, by Dr. Maha Gingrich creating a beautiful chain. The stepping and dance movements are very simple. On I have written about classical dances, folk dances, the rhythmic beats, they step forward and then go back onecommunity dances, funeral dances, and many others. As step. Sometimes, they crisscross their steps along with their Indian culture is ancient, it is amazing to see how dancing hands. Their torsos gracefully bend forward and back in has played a major role in the daily lives of people for beat with their steps. As I am writing this, it reminds me of the Greek Festival thousands of years. I thought I should write about unique recreational that we have been attending in Charlotte, NC for years. dances of Jammu and Kashmir. Sometimes, these dances During their dances, the all-girls groups start their dances overlap a little with the folk dances of India and there are in a line and then form a circle while stepping in a similar countless forms of these dances across the country. The fashion. performance of these dances brings joy to people performing and of course to the audience alike. Many of Hikat: Unlike Rouf, Hikat is generally performed by both these dances are performed during a particular season or at boys and girls and they become dancing partners. However, they hold each other with extended hands, sometimes a festival or on a special occasion similar to folk dances. I would like to share some of the dance styles that you crisscrossing them as well. Dancers sing to musical accompaniments, usually Rubab, a string instrument. Rubab do not get to see often. is a lute-like musical instrument originating from central Rouf: In the Kashmir valley, two kinds of joyous dance Afghanistan. The Rubab is mainly used by Pashtun, Tajik, styles are performed, especially during spring season. Rouf Turkish, Kashmiri, Baluch, Azerbaijani, and Iranian Kurdish dance is performed only by girls. The dancers sing mostly classical musicians. Rubab is accompanied by a drum called love songs while dancing. In Rouf, the girls stand in two Dances of India continued on page 88 rows facing each other.

Dances of India

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November 2026

What if Something Goes Wrong? The Finance Brief For example, imagine a small bakery that gets most of its ingredients from one supplier. Maybe that supplier has the best prices and has always been reliable, so there doesn’t seem to be a reason to change. Then one day, the supplier has a major delay. The bakery now has a problem that has nothing to do with the quality of its food or services. It may not have the ingredients it needs, which could mean canceled orders, unhappy customers, and lost money. The interesting part for me is that the risk was there the entire time, we just didn’t think far ahead enough to see it. The supplier didn’t suddenly become a risk when the delivery was delayed. The risk existed because the bakery depended so heavily on only one source. This is why I think risk assessments are so important. They give businesses a chance to stop and look at what they depend on before something forces them to. When I created my blog “Finance Brief,” my goal was to make financial topics easier for students and young adults to understand. As I worked on different posts, I kept coming back to risk management because it connects so many parts of business. Since it is such a versatile topic, it can apply and be helpful to a lot of different people/things like employees, suppliers, technology, money, customers, legal issues, and even a company’s reputation. A risk assessment can be as simple as looking at what a business depends on and thinking about what would

Youth Voices by Diya Vijay

If you had 24 hours to prepare your business for the worst, would you know where to start? I probably wouldn’t have known how to answer that question before I started learning about insurance and risk management. I used to think of risk as something that happened after a problem occurred, with insurance there to help cover the damage. But the more I learned, the more I realized that some of the most important parts of risk management happen before anything goes wrong. It starts with looking at your business, figuring out what could go wrong, and deciding what you can do about it ahead of time. It starts with asking a simple question: What could go wrong? That question is what got me interested in risk assessment. I started learning about insurance through a club at the High School I currently attend in Charlotte and eventually became interested in the larger sector of risk management. As I learned more, I started noticing risks everywhere. A business can have a great product, loyal customers, and strong sales, but there can still be one part of the business that could cause a major problem if something goes wrong.

Finance Brief Continued on page 70

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November 2026

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November 2026

Beyond the Grades: Proving You’re Ready for a Career in Medicine

For interview questions asking about challenges or setbacks, focus on demonstrating intellectual humility by highlighting the ways in which you identified your by Kristen Moon limitations and took action to make a change. Striking a balance between confidence and humility can make a Applying to medical school is an incredible undertaking. significant difference in how your application and interview In a few essays and a couple of interviews, you are expected are perceived. to convince the admissions committee that you have the maturity, compassion and critical thinking needed to 2. Stewardship of Responsibility become a doctor. The job of a doctor comes with great responsibility as The large majority of aspiring medical students will have each decision affects a patient’s health and quality of life. similar volunteering, shadowing and research experiences. Not only do doctors carry the burden of managing their To stand out in your application and help prove that you’re patients’ diseases, but they also have an added ready for the white coat, focus on weaving together the responsibility of communicating their decisions with the following five core values throughout your essays and healthcare team and the patient. Thus, stewardship of interviews. responsibility suggests an ability to carefully protect and manage the trust placed upon oneself. 1. Intellectual Humility For students, this is demonstrated by following through Students applying to medicine are exceptionally on long-term commitments in research or volunteering, talented, often having numerous academic accolades reliably managing important deadlines and tasks for alongside extracurricular achievements. To differentiate leadership roles, and most importantly, taking ownership applicants, admissions committees go one step further and when outcomes don’t go as planned. While mistakes are look for students who demonstrate intellectual curiosity. inevitable, responsibility and integrity are demonstrated by Doctors are constantly working at the edge of incomplete reflecting on these errors, taking accountability and knowledge, putting together unique patient presentations identifying growth opportunities. to determine diagnoses and patient-centered treatments. To When interviewing, highlight this value by discussing complicate matters, guidelines are frequently evolving as times where you were responsible for outcomes that new research emerges, meaning doctors often need to reach affected others, emphasizing your understanding of trust out to colleagues and review published literature to ensure and accountability. patients are receiving the highest quality of care. Admissions committees want to select students who 3. Integrative Leadership have demonstrated an ability to identify limits in their Today, medicine has moved toward a multidisciplinary understanding and actively seek answers, whether it’s by model, with patients often having several doctors, dietitians, seeking feedback from mentors, approaching peers for help or reviewing difficult concepts beyond the textbook. College continued on page 92

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November 2026

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November 2026

Workers Compensation Insurance Employer Paid: 100% of the cost is borne by the employer and cannot be recovered from the employee by any means. Government Regulated: The number of benefits, coverage, and rules are determined by each state and so provides a great deal of uniformity and clarity on the outcomes.

by Anuj Kasera We recently wrote Workers Compensation policy for a leading restaurant in Charlotte. As I discussed the details with the owners, I realized that many small business owners are not aware of the various aspects of this very important insurance coverage. This insurance is a legal requirement if your business meets certain criteria and there are heavy penalties for not having this coverage.

What is covered: Major coverages include not just the treatment but also the recovery and rehabilitation. Medical treatment: Emergency room visits, doctor visits, surgery, therapy etc. Lost wages: Depending on the injury, a portion of the lost income is paid. Note that the longer the employee is out, the greater the payout. This will result in higher premiums for the employer. Hence employers will try to bring the employee back asap. In my earlier example, the client moved the handyman from operational work to desk work. He came in few hours a day and helped with the scheduling and other oﬃce work. This was a win-win situation for both. Rehabilitation: Disability benefits, vocational and physical retraining. Death: funeral expenses and support for surviving dependents.

What is Workers Compensation Insurance? WC (workers comp) is a form of insurance that provides medical care and wage replacement benefits to employees who are injured while performing work-related activities. Important features of this coverage are: No-fault coverage: Employees can claim benefits without having to prove employer negligence. One of our clients is a property management company and employed a handyman to fix his properties. The employee was on the phone while working and accidentally injured himself. In this case, while it could be argued that the handyman himself was at fault, he is automatically covered and does not have to prove employer negligence. Right-to-sue: In return for the guaranteed coverage, the employee gives up the right to sue their employer for civil damages. If a case is filed, both parties may stand to lose. Saathee.com

Insurance continued on page 82

November 2026

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Ekal at 25 From a Village School to a Life of Service

There was a time when Chandramukhi Murmu had no school to attend and little reason to imagine a diﬀerent future. She grew up in a village where access to education was out of reach. Then an Ekal school arrived. That small school changed the trajectory of her life. Chandramukhi learned to read, discovered her own potential, and was encouraged to continue her education. She went on to high school and graduated. Through Ekal’s Arogya initiative, she trained as a healthcare worker, learning to serve others. Later, she applied to join the police force and was selected as a constable. Today, Chandramukhi is not simply an Ekal success story. She is an example of what happens when opportunity reaches a village and when that opportunity is allowed to grow. The child who once had no access to education is now an empowered citizen, serving and helping protect her community. In the past 25 years hundreds of thousands of Chandramukhis have become empowered citizens.

But the numbers, impressive as they are, tell only part of the story. The school was never the destination. It was the beginning. Over 25 years, Ekal’s vision has expanded from education to holistic community development. Technology has brought new possibilities, with more than 92,000 young people gaining digital literacy. Telemedicine and healthcare initiatives have expanded access to approximately 1.62 million people, with an increasing emphasis on preventive healthcare. More than 1.35 million youth and adults have received skills training, while approximately 67,000 women have received vocational training. 92,000 young adults have gained basic computer skills and have become gainfully employed. Initiatives in organic farming and sustainable agriculture are helping strengthen rural livelihoods. At the heart of this growth is a volunteer-driven organization. Thousands of volunteers contribute their time, skills, energy and resources, helping Ekal keep overheads remarkably low. Their commitment means more resources can reach the communities where they are needed most. The story of Ekal in America is also a story of people who chose to give. Donors and volunteers from North and South Carolina and across the country. Their contributions are part of the foundation on which Ekal’s next chapter will be built. And that next chapter increasingly belongs to the next generation. Through Ekal Yuva Udaan, young people in the US are being invited into a meaningful journey of seva, leadership and humanity.

This is what 25 years of Ekal is about. Ekal has many regional chapters in the United States. Nearly 200 supporters, donors, volunteers and leaders came together in Raleigh, NC recently to reflect on a quarter century of seva, impact and transformation—and to look ahead to the work still to be done. There are also other active chapters in the Carolinas including in Charlotte. Twenty-five years ago, Ekal’s mission was simple: It was to take education to villages where there were no schools. From approximately 10,000 schools, Ekal has grown to more than 90,000 today, with nearly 2.4 million children enrolled and more than 10 million children reached through literacy initiatives. Saathee.com

Ekal continued on page 70 54

November 2026

- Film Review simply move the narrative forward; they place the mother’s increasingly dangerous existence alongside the boy’s innocent world. It is this gradual accumulation of moments beautifully stitched together, backed by fine writing and excellent performances, that makes the first half such a terrific watch. One of the finest stretches comes when a passerby questions the mother about her deceased husband, including the vehicle he used and the house they once lived in. The interrogation happens with the boy kept away, making the scene nail-biting as we wait to see if he will repeat what his mother has told him. A single wrong answer could spell danger. Soon after, the mother assumes the identity of a mentally unstable nurse and lands a job as a caretaker for an elderly woman. Dolly June is terrific as the old lady, and this portion brings together humor, suspense and emotional warmth in satisfying proportions. The relationship that develops between the three becomes another extension of the film’s central theme — the unlikely bonds that people form when circumstances force them together. The film’s treatment of its women is equally striking. The mother is steely in her resolve to protect herself and her son, yet she does not shed a tear well into the film. Her strength is conveyed through action and restraint rather than dramatic declarations. The old lady, too, turns out to be far more formidable than her initial appearance suggests. The film’s only rifle is in her hands, wielded by two other women — not the police. Even the mother’s most dreaded adversary happens to be a woman. Without turning these details into a lecture about female empowerment, Balan: The Boy quietly creates a world in which its women possess both inner and outer strength. And then the mother and son are separated. That separation is what sets up the actual mystery of Balan: The Boy. Does the mother have a hand in a double murder? Is she really where we hear she has landed? And will the two ever meet again? The fascinating first half gives way to a significantly diﬀerent and unpredictable second half, where the emotional warmth recedes and an elusive hunt takes over. The boy has grown a little, and a new set of secondary characters gradually takes over the proceedings. For a while, this can feel like watching two diﬀerent movies. The mother and the old lady, whose presence made the first half so emotionally engaging, are no longer around in the same way, and their absence creates a noticeable void. The film becomes more about chasing clues, understanding what happened and figuring out where its characters have ended up. Yet, with some distance, the structural choice makes sense. Time has passed, the boy has grown, and several of the characters who shaped the first half have either vanished or died. The film’s changing emotional landscape is therefore not merely a departure from what worked earlier; it is also a consequence of the story it has chosen to tell.

by Anuj Chakrapani

Balan: The Boy A fable-like tale of a mother and son on the run

Malayalam movie Balan: The Boy opens in a prison, from where a seemingly inseparable mother and son are released. Played by Farzana Palathingal and Adhisheshan K R, the duo assume one identity after another as they move from one precarious situation to the next. There is an irony to their predicament: they are technically free yet seem far less safe in the outside world than they were behind prison walls. Amid the uncertainty, the film gradually reveals the powerful bond between them. The stories the mother narrates, their long walks from town to town, and their silent understanding all add up to a relationship that feels deeply lived in. There is an undercurrent of suspense throughout, as we become invested in their bond while constantly wondering whether they will ever find a place where they can feel safe. Much of the film’s emotional strength comes from the chemistry between the two actors. There is an ease to their performances that makes their relationship feel completely natural, with neither actor ever overplaying the aﬀection or dependence between them. Their chemistry becomes especially eﬀective because the film allows the relationship to breathe rather than constantly underlining its importance. It gives the first half an almost fable-like quality, as the mother and son move through unfamiliar places, encountering strangers and dangers along the way. Yet the warmth of these moments is constantly accompanied by the nagging feeling that something darker is waiting to emerge. The film cleverly juxtaposes scenes one after the other. When the boy asks his mother if she is capable of hurting someone, we immediately cut to a scene where the elderly lady she has encountered needs help with her medication. Similarly, when the mother settles scores with an adversary, we cut to her son being applauded by his classmates and teacher for a piece of work. These transitions do more than Saathee.com

Film Review continued on page 80 56

November 2026

Make Yourself Smaller Mindful Masala by Hiren Deliwala

My life is mostly about me. My problems, my situation, my challenges, they all take center stage the moment I wake up and follow me around until I fall asleep. Sometimes they live in my head. Sometimes they show up in real life to remind me they haven’t gone anywhere. The employee transition that isn’t going well. A year ago, my wife and I threw out our old furniture. New and better things were coming, we said. We made room. We waited. The sunroom chairs are now doing double duty in the living room and somehow a year has passed. We are still looking. The home that always needs something. All of it circling, all day, like it was specifically organized around me. I work from home, which means there is no commute, no buﬀer, no transition between the world and my head. Just me and whatever is bothering me that day, sharing the same four walls. I don’t think I’m unusual. I think most of us live this way. Our problems feel singular. Unprecedented. Specifically designed to inconvenience us. Nobody in the history of humanity has ever had to wait this long for a sofa. There’s a line I keep coming back to from Arthur Brooks, the Harvard professor who wrote Strength to Strength. He Saathee.com

talks about making yourself smaller. Not shrinking in confidence or giving up ambition. Smaller as in: recognizing that your world, your problems, your timeline — as consuming as they feel — exist inside something much larger and older and less concerned with your living room than you are. It’s not a new idea. The Gita, the teachings of Mahavir, the wisdom of Buddha, they all point in the same direction. We are part of something infinite. The weight we carry is real, but also temporary in a way our anxious minds refuse to accept. Zoom out far enough and the inbox, the employee situation, the sunroom chairs pretending to be a sofa — they exist, but they are not the whole picture. They never were. Shakespeare put it more bluntly. In Macbeth, he wrote: “Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player, that struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more.” Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. Three very diﬀerent traditions. Same basic message. We are small. The world is not waiting for us to sort ourselves out. And then one Saturday morning, my wife and I found ourselves at Lake James State Park in North Carolina, about to spend a full day on a trail. Mindful Masala continued on page 80 November 2026

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November 2026

An Introduction to Youth Robotics Ways to do youth robotics FIRST is not the only competitions or even activity in youth robotics though there are also other competitions like the VEX continuum or activities like PiDog robots. Obviously, there is a lot of variance in youth robotics, making it possible and reachable for anyone. For younger students, using SPIKE Lego robots or VEX kits for experimentation and competitions like FLL and VEX 123 allows kids to understand code, mechanic functions, and how they relate to each other, as well as other STEM related information, as just being very fun. Older students can participate in competitions like FRC and FTC teach many engineering skills at one time. To build the robot, your team must model and negotiate the robot’s design, weigh pros and cons, get and assemble parts. Afterwards, you have to program the robot, making sure everything is wired to achieve the best result. The design can go wrong, and you must fix any problems that arise and find a solution. Robots cost money, so your team also has to fund the robot. Due to all of this, these competitions give you important knowledge on how to build, solve problems, fundraise, and work as a team, which are all essential skills for the future.

By Titan Avengers FTC Team Whether you are a student interested in software programming or a kid interested in Legos, you probably have thought about making a robot at some point. It would probably interest you that robotics for youth is quite accessible, despite how obscure its existence is. So, whatever you are looking for, let us introduce you to youth robotics. We are a team based in Cary, NC. FIRST The organization that hosts the most well-known youth robotics competitions is FIRST. They host multiple diﬀerent robotics competitions, and here is a quick rundown of them: FLL (FIRST Lego League): Kids from ages 6-16 can compete in building a Lego robot and conduct scientific research on a given topic. FTC (FIRST Tech Challenge): This version is for older kids, and there is also FGC, which is a robot competition with national teams that each build a robot to compete for their country. In this competition, teams of 10-15 people create robots by 3D-printing and using metal parts to design a robot that can eﬃciently complete that year’s task. FRC (FIRST Robotics Competition): Where teams of 40-50 high schoolers/college students create giant robots to compete with other ones on the complex game given to them that season. Saathee.com

Robotics continued on page 94

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News Notes IAAC Literary Festival The IAAC Literary Festival will take place on November 14 – 15, 2026. The festival brings together authors, poets, writers, and storytellers whose work spans fiction, non-fiction, memoir, poetry, history and more. Organized by the Indo American Arts Council, voices rooted in Indian heritage and experience, voices that travel freely across borders, genres, and generations are celebrated. Find the lineup of authors and sessions on the website. The fest will take place at Bohemian National Hall, New York City. All sessions are free to attend. Info: Iaac.Us.

World Hindu Congress 2026 The WHC will take place in Mumbai from December 18 – 20, 2026 at Jio World Convention Centre. Hindus represent 16% of the world’s population, with a presence in nearly 180 countries in the 21st century. Across the world, the community has been pioneers and leaders in business, education, governance, media, technology, and culture. The vision of the Congress is of a Dharmic world—prosperous, just, and peaceful. The World Hindu Congress has served as a catalyst for the cultural, social, and material advancement of Hindus worldwide. It also provides a vital forum for confronting the critical challenges faced by the communities, including the denial of human rights, systemic discrimination, and blatant physical and cultural assaults. The theme is “Shared Commitment: Collective Resolve.” The congress will bring together seven parallel thematic conferences designed to articulate the values, creativity, and entrepreneurial spirit of the community. These forums oﬀer a vital space to deliberate upon global opportunities and challenges. A Historic Milestone: For the first time in the history of the WHC, the 2026 edition will feature plenary sessions on Bhasha, Vishwakarma, Samaj, and Dharma. These sessions are crafted to steer the trajectory of Hindu society toward a future of collective progress. The World Hindu Expo: In another addition, the inaugural World Hindu Expo will be launched to stimulate trade and commerce, fostering a new era of prosperity and economic growth. By focusing on areas of critical importance, the Congress provides a unique platform for collaboration among leaders, activists, and thinkers dedicated to the Hindu resurgence. For more details, visit Worldhinducongress.org.

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India’s Space Economy Likely to Reach $ 40-45 Billion The Minister of State for Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh, said that India’s Space economy, currently valued at around 9 billion, is expected to reach 40 to 45 billion dollars over the next seven to eight years. He spoke during a media Roundtable on Space, Sovereignty and New Economy organized by Bloomberg New Economy Forum in New Delhi in October 2026. He stressed that greater domestic and international investment, faster regulatory approvals and sustainable business models would be essential to scaling up Indian enterprises and expanding their presence in global markets. The minister said the opening of India’s Space sector had produced significant results within just five to six years. He said that India’s experience demonstrates the potential of bringing government institutions and private industry together in a sector that requires substantial technological expertise, investment and long-term commitment. The priority now, he said, is to convert these capabilities into commercially viable businesses with the scale to compete internationally. The Minister also stressed the need for timely regulatory approvals, lower business costs and stronger supply-chain integration, noting that India must now move beyond demonstrating its technological capabilities to building globally competitive commercial space companies. Singh stressed that generating demand is essential for the growth of private space companies. On investment and international cooperation, the Minister said, India is opening opportunities for capital and partnerships while continuing to strengthen indigenous capabilities. Greater investment can support technology development, manufacturing and access to international markets, while domestic capabilities remain important for national security and strategic autonomy. Singh concluded that the opening of the space sector to private participation reflects the value of enabling new players to contribute alongside established public institutions.

November 2026

thoughtful and strategic giving anywhere. We invite everyone to join us in making the fifth India Giving Day, to be held on March 12, 2027, the most successful ever.” The delegates drew inspiration from Gandhi’s timeless observation: “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” Info: Indiaphilanthropyalliance.org.

Indiaspora-IPA Philanthropy 2026 Summit

More than 160 leaders in the U.S.-India philanthropy corridor gathered on September 28 – 29, 2-26 in Dallas, Texas to celebrate and seek to further grow American philanthropy to India and Indian American giving of time and money to all causes. This summit has been taking place annually at different locations since 2018. The 2026 Summit, organized by Indiaspora and the India Philanthropy Alliance (IPA), used innovative formats, such as a vigorous and respectful debate about the use of data in philanthropy, and had the audience vote on three proposals from registrants for an afternoon plenary session. The Slido app was used throughout to enhance audience participation, given that everyone in the room was a leader in the U.S.-India philanthropy corridor. Many themes emerged throughout summit: Giving to causes in India, the United States, and that are transnational are all important, valued, and practiced. They are not in opposition to each other, but rather they are deeply synergistic. Progress on social or environmental injustice anywhere is a win for humanity everywhere. Attacks on Indian Americans and any immigrant group based on their ethnicity, culture, or religion should and must be condemned. Violence and threats against people viewed by some as outsiders are unacceptable, whether in the United States, India, or anywhere else. Philanthropy can only be successful with a thriving civil society. Philanthropy is a learned skill that improves with study and practice. A growing body of evidence argues that those who give more of their time and money to nonprofits are happier, healthier, and wealthier than those who give less, or don’t give at all. Investments in philanthropic infrastructure, such as recruiting, training, and supporting fundraising staff, pay off many times when made strategically. India-focused nonprofits in the U.S. have successfully leveraged volunteers but have often underinvested in critical organizational infrastructure and talent. The full inclusion of youth and young professionals in philanthropy is essential. Preventive health measures that reduce diabetes and cardiovascular diseases in India and among Indian Americans are critically important. Work continues to the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and to the vision of Vikshit Bharat: India becoming a developed nation by its centennial in 2047. The delegates learned about and celebrated many philanthropic initiatives and leaders. In his closing remarks, Alex Counts, the Executive Director of the India Philanthropy Alliance said, “Especially in the aftermath of these two days together, IPA stands ready to provide leadership to grow the quantity, quality, and joyfulness of American philanthropy to India while celebrating Saathee.com

Healthier Street Food, Healthier India A Clinton Global Initiative Commitment to Action

On September 22, 2026, in New York at the Clinton Global Initiative 2026 Annual Meeting, the organization Arogya World committed to training 10,000 street food vendors across India to adopt healthier food preparation practices that help prevent diet-related Noncommunicable diseases, particularly diabetes and hypertension. Through this initiative, vendors will be trained to reduce excess salt, avoid repeated use of cooking oil, promote healthier cooking methods, and encourage balanced meals for consumers. “We want to change the way India eats,” said Dr Nalini Saligram, Founder & CEO of Arogya World. “Millions of Indians eat food from corner food carts, before work, after school, and between shifts. We think it is therefore smart to educate street food vendors on healthier cooking, in addition to educating consumers, as part of our comprehensive nationwide diabetes prevention strategy.” News Notes continued on page 94 64

November 2026

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Two Mistakes Core PCE is expected to decline meaningfully next year. One-time factors from portfolio management, software, war and tariff impacts peaked this summer and are expected to roll-off. As oil and diesel cool off, it will have a meaningful impact on inflation. The stock market is often the best economist. It is sending a clear message that hikes are crushing housing, retail, banks, transports, and consumer discretionary. Even names such as Walmart, Costco, and McDonalds are down nearly 20% from their high. Other areas that are more discretionary such as cruise liners, restaurants, homebuilders, and retailers are down much more. The other mistake looks to be from frontier AI lab executives making doomsday predictions. These warnings could be for commercial reasons. Reasons such as regulatory capture, liability protection, and burden of care. It is clear that they are losing market share to open-source models. They are realizing that they don’t have much of a moat. These types of doomsday warnings will and already have hurt them. Anthropic is losing public trust very quickly. This is ultimately a trust business. Recent polling says that just five percent of people trust Anthropic with their passwords. Many corporations will be hesitant to hand over their data to Anthropic. Latham & Watkins, the nation’s second-largest law firm, bought its own Nvidia GPU servers and started customizing its own AI models not using OpenAI or Anthropic. The

Eye on the Markets by Ketu Desai September could be remembered as the month when two important mistakes were made. The first by the Fed, which raised rates with the market odds that this will be a hiking cycle. While the hike helps the new Fed Chair with credibility, the hike is unlikely to have a meaningful impact on overall inflation. The inflation problem is a supply problem. Supply of oil, food, and other commodities due to the two wars. Supply of semiconductors and other AI infrastructure. Supply of housing. Rate hikes won’t solve these issues. If anything, rate hikes raise financing costs that prevent new supply from coming. Rate hikes flatten the yield curve, which hurts banking activity, especially at small and midsized regional banks. The yield curve has flattened considerably recently. We are not that far away from it inverting, which would send a clear message that the Fed has made a mistake. Breakeven rates across the curve have moderated, after peaking in early May. The 5YR breakeven rate is 2.3%, not far from the 2% target. Core PCE (Personal Consumption Expenditures) over the last three months is running at the 2% target.

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Eye on Markets continued on page 92 68

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The Finance Brief

Ekal

continued from page 48

continued from page 54

happen if one of those things suddenly disappeared. In a way, it’s sort of a What If game with questions like these. What if the main supplier stopped delivering? What if the website went down? What if an important employee left? What if a customer sued the business? What if a natural disaster damaged the property? These situations may never happen. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t worth thinking about. One thing I have learned is that for risk management you can’t predict exactly what will happen. No business can know that. But what you can do is be prepared for different possibilities and decide which risks need attention. Sometimes the solution could be insurance. Other times, it could be having a second supplier, creating a backup of important files, training another employee, or changing a process. Insurance can help protect a business financially from certain risks, but it cannot prevent every problem from happening in the first place. That is also why I think risk assessment is useful for small businesses. When you are running a small business, it is easy to focus almost entirely on sales, customers, and growth. Risk management can easily be brushed off as a “later headache”. But waiting until a problem happens can make the problem much harder to handle. The more I have learned about this, the more I have started looking at businesses differently. I don’t just think about how a company makes money anymore. I also think about what it depends on, what could interrupt its operations, and how prepared it would be if something unexpected happened. And you don’t need to be a large corporation to start doing this. Even a small business owner can take a few minutes to think about the biggest risks they face and what they could do about them. I think that’s what makes risk management so interesting. You don’t know what is going to happen, but you can still think ahead and be ready for different situations. That is the idea behind much of what I share through my blog. I want to take topics like insurance and risk management that can seem complicated at first and connect them to situations we can actually understand. Sometimes, thinking about a risk before it happens can make all the diﬀerence. That is why I think risk assessment is something every business should take seriously. For more content about insurance, finance, small business tips, and risk management, follow @thefinancebrief1 on lnstagram.

Part of Ekal’s women’s empowerment efforts

Bharat Exchange connects students with Ekal villages, while medical internships expose college students to preventive healthcare and telemedicine at the grassroots. Scholarship and youth leadership programs are creating pathways for young people to become future stewards of the mission. Chandramukhi’s journey oﬀers a glimpse of what that future can look like: a child given an opportunity, a young woman equipped with skills, and ultimately a citizen empowered to serve her community.

Volunteers of Ekal’s Raleigh, NC Chapter

That is why Ekal’s 25th anniversary is more than a celebration of the past. It is an invitation to participate in the future. There are still villages to reach, children to educate, women to empower, young people to skill and communities to strengthen. Whether through volunteering, supporting a child’s education, contributing to healthcare and livelihood programs, mentoring young people, or simply sharing Ekal’s story, many can help extend this journey of seva. Twenty-five years ago, Ekal took a school to the village. Today, it is helping transform communities.

Diya Vijay is a high school student in Charlotte and enjoys learning about complex business topics and sharing what she learns with others in a way that is simple and easy to understand. She also enjoys photography, traveling, spending time with friends and family, and learning about different cultures! Contact: diyavijay8013@gmail.com

To join the movement or find more information, visit Ekal.org. Saathee.com

November 2026

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November 2026

For Indian Americans, this question probably feels familiar. Many of our families came to the United States knowing very few people. My parents once welcomed a Sikh family who had just moved to America for work. They weren’t related to us or even from my mom’s city in Punjab, but that didn’t matter. My parents knew what it felt like to arrive somewhere new and need people who understood your situation. That bond is still strong today. Our families went on vacations together; I attended their eldest daughter’s wedding, and they traveled from Charlotte to St. Louis for mine. I know my parents weren’t thinking about the Upanishads or ancient Greek philosophy when they welcomed them. It was simply something that we do. We don’t always know where our traditions come from. Our parents, aunties, uncles, and neighbors make the pathway legible: we watch, mimic their gestures, and eventually make them our own. If you think about it, it’s amazing how people can turn an ancient idea meant to reduce fear and violence among strangers into something as simple as oﬀering chai or a snack. That’s what we do. I am glad to have inherited this tradition because it shows how hospitality is passed down from generation to generation. I’m also starting to see that being thankful for hospitality means recognizing how much our lives depend on the generosity of those who came before us, including the people who welcomed our families when we were the strangers. Maybe that’s the bigger duty we’ve inherited: to welcome others as we were once welcomed. Someone— maybe our parents or grandparents—welcomed us before we belonged. Now we have the chance to oﬀer that same welcome to others. That’s the deeper meaning of this tradition. If we truly believe the guest should be treated like God, then that responsibility can’t stop with just our family, our religion, or people who look like us. The next time an auntie insists you sit down and eat, remember what that gesture carries. It is the same inheritance that led my parents to welcome a Sikh family newly arrived in America—not as relatives or old friends, but as strangers who needed a place to belong. We honor that inheritance by opening our doors as our parents and grandparents did, only wider, extending their welcome beyond what felt familiar or comfortable to them. In a plate of food, a seat at the table, and a door held open to a stranger, an ancient duty becomes ordinary practice: Atithi Devo Bhava—the guest is God.

The Through Line

continued from page 26

For most of history, travelers had to rely on the kindness of strangers. When someone arrived in a new village, they had to put aside their fears and trust the locals to welcome them. Trade, migration, and connections between distant communities depended on a shared understanding of how to treat strangers, so kindness would be returned. Early cultures developed various traditions to address this vulnerability. In South Asia, our ancestors made hospitality a sacred duty. In the Taittiriya Upanishad, students getting ready for adult life learned Atithi Devo Bhava, which means “the guest is like God.” This teaching was listed as a duty to honor your mother, father, and teacher. Welcoming a guest was seen as a moral obligation, not just a kind gesture. A good student would treat it as a core value, not just a “nice to have” skill. The Ancient Greeks had their own tradition called xenia, or guest-friendship. In Homer’s Odyssey, travelers rely on the kindness of strangers, and hosts are judged by how they treat guests. In one story, a poor swineherd named Eumaeus welcomes someone who is a beggar, sharing what little he has because Zeus protects strangers and beggars. These traditions were diﬀerent, and neither society treated everyone equally. Greek guest-friendship often came with the expectation that the favor would be returned. Still, both cultures believed strangers deserved kindness, even without a prior relationship. Why make hospitality sacred? Because the usual rules for friends and family were not enough. A stranger had no family ties, no history of loyalty, and sometimes nothing to oﬀer in return. By placing guests under divine protection, these societies gave people a reason to care for someone whose well-being was left to the gods. Here’s a more recent example. I once heard Chris Hedges, an American journalist for The New York Times, share a story from the 1991 Gulf War. While reporting from Iraq, he was captured and taken to Baghdad, where he was imprisoned, hungry, and unsure if he would survive. Looking out a window, he saw women baking bread on a nearby rooftop. In broken Arabic, he called out that he was an American journalist, a prisoner, and hadn’t eaten. One woman sent her young son across the rooftops to bring him bread. Hedges was an American in a country at war with the United States. The woman didn’t know him or what he believed. Still, she heard a hungry man asking for food and chose to help. Later, Hedges wondered how he could ever repay the people who showed him such compassion. More importantly, he asked, “How can I live to be like them?” I think that question gets to the heart of what gratitude really means. We often see gratitude as being thankful for what we’ve received. But what if gratitude also means showing that same generosity to a stranger?

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Dhruv Pathak is a writer based in St. Louis, originally from Charlotte. He writes to better understand human behavior—how it is formed and shaped by our world. Read more of his work over at athroughline.substack.com. Contact: pathak.d@icloud.com.

November 2026

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Saathee RECIPES

by Taige Shukla IG: @whatsthe_chai

Paneer Tikka Skewers

Part 3: Ways to Use Greek Yogurt (or Dahi) in Indian Dishes

Hi Saathee family! I recently thought while trying to hit my protein goals: there are so many “high protein” recipes out there that have started incorporating Greek yogurt, but what about all the Indian classics that have been incorporating it for generations? Homemade yogurt, or dahi, is an Indian household staple. It’s used in curries and main dishes, marinades, rice dishes, breads like naan, chaats, desserts,and sides. While Greek yogurt and dahi aren’t exactly the same, it can be a great substitute when you don’t have homemade yogurt on hand. I thought it would be fun to do a three-part series of recipes using Greek yogurt. Maybe think about some of your go-to Indian dishes when you’re trying to hit those protein goals. This month I bring you the ﬁnal recipe for this series, Paneer Tikka Skewers.

Ingredients 10-14 oz Paneer cubed Marinade: 1 cup Greek Yogurt or Dahi 1 ½ tbsp garlic (minced) 1 inch ginger (minced) 1 tsp ground cumin 1 tsp turmeric 1 ½ tsp garam masala 1 tsp lemon juice ½ tsp chili powder ½ tsp coriander powder 1 tsp salt A pinch of sugar Vegetables: 1 red onion 1 red bell pepper 1 green bell pepper 1 yellow bell pepper Saathee.com

Directions

Servings: 3 - 4 Prep Time: One hour / Cooking Time: 10 - 15 min

Simply add all ingredients listed under “marinade” in a large mixing bowl. Mix until all ingredients are well combined. Set aside about 1/3 of the marinade. Chop all vegetables into bite sized squares (feel free to add or sub in diﬀerent veggies) and toss into the yogurt marinade. Make sure the veggies are fully coated in the mixture. With the remaining 1/3 of the marinade, fully coat the paneer cubes. I chose to do this in a separate bowl to ensure the paneer did not crumble or break apart. Note: if you prefer not to use paneer you can sub in your favorite bitesized protein. Let’s marinate for at least 30 minutes. I chose to let it marinate overnight in the refrigerator. For skewers (if you don’t have a grill): Preheat oven to 400°F, place a wire rack on top of a baking sheet and spray with cooking oil. Once everything has marinated, slide the coated pieces on to 4-6 skewers and place the prepped skewers on to the metal wire rack. Bake for about 10-15 mins. For a little extra crisp, remove the skewers from the oven and place them onto a stove top grill. Let roast for about 3-5 mins, rotating the skewers throughout. Serve your skewers with mint- cilantro chutney and rice or naan. 74

November 2026

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HINDU CENTER Support Hindu Center Expansion Leave a Lasting Memory on HC Wall.

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Upcoming Hindu Center Events & Activities: Dhan Teras: November 6, Friday Kali Chaudas: November 7, Saturday Diwali / Mahavir Nirvana Day: November 8, Sunday Annakut / Govardhan Pooja / New Year: November 10, Tuesday Diwali Cultural Show: November 14 & 15, Satuday & Sunday Jalaram Bapa Pran Pratishtha: November 16, Monday Tulsi Vivah: November 21, Saturday Ayyappa Swami Pran Pratishtha: November 19 - 21, Thursday to Saturday Karthik Poornima Deepotsavam: November 23, Monday Balaji Anniversary: December 5, Saturday Diwali Dinner: December 6, Sunday Election Day / General Body meeting: December 6, Sunday Vaikuntha Ekadasi: December 19, Saturday Gita Jayanti: December 20, Sunday New Year’s Day - Tiruppavda Seva: January 1, Friday Lohri / Pongal / Bhogi Pallu: January 13, Wednesday

HINDU CENTER OF CHARLOTTE 7400 City View Drive, Charlotte, NC 28212 704-535-3440 email: administrator@hcclt.org Fax. 704-535-6923

OF CHARLOTTE

HINDU CENTER 44th Anniversary

Diwali Celebration November 6th (Friday) to December 6th (Sunday)

DATE November 6th (Fri)

EVENT Dhanteras Laxmi Puja

November 7th (Sat) Kali Chaudas / Lord Hanumanji’s Abhisekham

TIME 7 pm - 8 pm

AARTI 8 pm

7 pm – 8 pm

8 pm 8 pm

November 8th (Sun)

Diwali Puja Bhajans

7 pm - 7:30 pm 7:30 pm - 8 pm

November 10th (Tues)

Annakut New Year’s Day, Temple opens Evening Goverdhan puja Bhajans

All Day 6 am 7 pm - 8 pm 6 pm

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Lord Ram Sita Kalyanam

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Tulsi Vivah

5 to 8 pm

8 pm

November 23rd (Mon)

Karthik Poornima Deepotsavam / Lord Satyanarayan Katha

After Aarti 6 to 8 pm

8 pm

November 14th & 15th (Sat & Sun)

Diwali Mela / Cultural Program

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December 6th (Sun)

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Morning Aarti 8:30 am & 10 am Noon Aarti 12 Noon, 2 pm, 4 pm Evening Aarti 8 pm,

December 6th, Sun

Volunteer Contacts:

• Decoration & Annakut – Rashmika Patel 980.322.3505, Prerna Amin 704.548.8454, Bharti Patel 704.678.9991, Varsha and Subodh Patel – 704.264.5949, and Deepakben Jadeja 704.819.0616 Please bring Prasad for the Annakut by Sunday, November 8th • Sparklers only Celebration – Note: NO FIREWORKS ALLOWED. STRICKLY ENFORCED BY POLICE. • Volunteer for Traffic control – Nirav Pandya – 570.205.2636 • Sounds and Lights – Subodh Patel 980-365-1550 • For more information or to participate in the Puja – Call Temple 704-535-3440 Hindu Center Contacts: Office 704-535-3440, Ameeta Patel 203-434-4004, Reena Roy: 704-607-8413; Hemant Amin 704-258-3588

OF CHARLOTTE

Hindu Center & VSHC Celebrating Tulsi Vivah THE WEDDING CEREMONY OF

LORD VISHNU (KRISHNA) WEDS TULSI

on Saturday, Nov 21st (6 pm to 7 pm) at HC Vihar Hall Baraat with live band for Lord Krishna: Vivek Hall 5 to 5:30 pm Vivah Khel, lagna geet, garba and dance for Tulsimataji at Vihar Hall: 5 to 5:30 pm Mosalu, wedding ceremony, Varmala and Kanyadan and Vidai: 6 pm to 7 pm Aarti followed by mahaprasad: 7:15 pm This is a very auspicious opportunity to witness a glorious wedding. For more detail, donations or sponsorship call: Bhartiben Patel 704-678-9991, Ashokbhai Trivedi 980-263-8075, Shruti Shah 704-763-0320 or Deepak Jadeja 704-819-9814 SPONSORS MUKHYA YAJMAN UP TO 4 $1001, MAHA PRASAD YAJMAN $251, YAJMAN $101

Kartika Poornima Satyanarayana Katha & Karthika Deepotsavam Monday, Nov 23, 2026 (6 pm)

All Puja items are provided by Hindu Center. Devotees please bring: 1 Coconut, Fruits, Flowers, 4 Beetle Leaves, Supari Devotees can light the lamp in the temple on this auspicious day @ 8 pm

Minimum suggested donations: lighting lamp donation $21; Satyanarayan Katha $51 For more details call: the Hindu Center: 704-535-3440; Lakshmikanth Bhattar 980-254-1022; Gopalkrishna Bhattar 704-258-5811; Balaji Bhattar 704-906-2109 ; Raghava Bhattar 803-470-8377

The Gita isn’t telling us we don’t matter. Brooks isn’t telling us to stop caring. They’re saying our problems are real and also not the center of the universe simultaneously. Zoom out. Make yourself smaller. Both things can be true at the same time. The living room situation is genuinely annoying, and also not the thing anyone will remember about you. We spend so much energy holding tightly to everything — every slight, every delay, everything that didn’t go our way. What if we loosened the grip a little. Not give up. Just loosened. The volunteer at that water stop knew something the rest of us were still figuring out on the trail. The day gets better when you stop making it about yourself and start making it about the person in front of you. My wife and I went home sore. I was sore the next day too, and possibly the day after that. The sunroom chairs are still in the living room. But for one afternoon at Lake James, I forgot to check my email. That felt like enough.

Mindful Masala

continued from page 58

We were part of a group called Hike-o-Holics — twenty of us within a larger event of eleven hundred people. You could spot us easily. Yellow matching shirts, loud at the starting line, cheering each other on before we even took a single step. Some of these people we had known for twenty years. Some we were meeting for the first time. All of us were about to walk for hours in the heat, pretending we did this sort of thing regularly. I was already somewhere else before we started. Still in my head, still carrying the work situation and everything else I had brought from home. Somewhere around the third hour on the trail, something shifted. I’m not sure if it was the lake appearing through the trees, or the scale of the open plains, or just the accumulation of steps pulling me out of my own head. The trail didn’t care about my employee situation. The giant trees had been standing long before I had opinions about them and would continue standing long after. The blue sky was not organized around my schedule. I noticed I was a tiny speck on a long trail, surrounded by people I liked, in a place that was genuinely beautiful. That should have been obvious from the start. It took three hours of walking to actually see it. Zooming out, even a little, has a way of doing that — making the things that felt enormous an hour ago look closer to their actual size. There was still a part of me that wanted to finish. To cross the line, check the box, go home. That part never fully went away. But it got quieter. Near the end of the trail, we passed a volunteer. He had been out there all day in the heat, stationed at a water stop, cheering every single person through. When I reached him he handed me a cup and said, deadpan, “This one’s vodka. Next stop is tequila.” He was there all day. For us. In the heat. Making a long trail feel lighter for strangers. Asking nothing back. That’s the thing about making yourself smaller, it doesn’t mean you disappear. It means you look up long enough to actually see other people. The volunteer wasn’t waiting to be noticed. He was just there, contributing, keeping it fun. He probably went home that evening without writing an essay about it. I’m not suggesting we all need a full day on a trail to find perspective. It could be a walk around the block. A book by someone who has lived long enough to see things clearly. A conversation where you ask more questions than you answer. Any moment that reminds you that the world is bigger than your current problem. Saathee.com

Special thanks to the Hike-O-Holics group for legally adopting us - Manvendra, Rajni, Vedant, Ravi, Meeta, Ajay, Maitri, Jason, Pallavi, Jeet, Anila and Anisha, Sharan, Shilpa, Ved, and Mahi.

Hiren Deliwala is a Charlotte-based overthinker, closet philosopher, and avid board gamer. He writes about everyday life, Indian upbringing, and finding humor in the chaos. When not philosophizing over chai, he’s usually losing arguments to his wife and, shockingly, learning from them. Contact: hcdeliwala@gmail.com

Film Review

continued from page 56

The mystery remains unpredictable enough to sustain interest. The film keeps moving through its questions rather than oﬀering easy answers, and the eventual resolution is both unexpected and deeply satisfying. The climax brings together the two things that the film has been quietly building towards — the fate of the mother and son, and the mystery surrounding their journey. When the pieces finally fall into place, there is full emotional payoﬀ. At its heart, Balan: The Boy is a story about hope disguised as a suspenseful journey. Its characters are constantly on the move, hoping to find a place where they can finally feel safe and at home. Yet beneath the danger is an uplifting spirit, particularly in the way the mother and son cling to each other through uncertainty. The film’s greatest achievement is that it makes us yearn for their safety long before we fully understand where their journey will take them. And by the time we reach the end, we realize that the mystery was never merely about what happened to them, but about whether their bond could survive everything that was thrown their way.

Anuj Chakrapani loves music and cinema among all art forms. He believes their beauty lies in their interpretation, and that the parts are more than the sum. Contact: anuj.chakrapani@gmail.com. 80

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I 1725 Candlewood Ridge Ln, Matthews, NC 28105 81

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Insurance

Kismuth

continued from page 52

continued from page 28

Who needs this insurance? Per the NC Workers’ Compensation Act, all businesses that employ three or more employees, including those operating as corporations, sole proprietorships, limited liability companies and partnerships, are covered by this act. Part-time workers, minors, paid family members, oﬀ-thebook employees all count towards the three-person rule. Owners are included in the count as well, but they may choose not to be covered by the policy. So, if the owner is working in the store and has 2 other employees, he will have to buy this insurance which will cover at least his two employees. Since the cost is greatly impacted by the payroll and number of employees, he may choose to cover only his employees. 1099 contractors and casual workers also count as employees for this purpose. There are few exceptions, most of which will not apply to your business. One important exception is for agricultural employers – this law is applicable only if you employ 10 or more full-time, non-seasonal farm workers. Some of our community members are buying farms and getting into agriculture business, so please make sure you understand the requirements.

as being folks like me who love to sit out on the front porch, trading friendly, ‘Hey, how y’all doin’?’ exchanges with passerby? Gone. Absent. Just: not there. When I was last in the Triangle it was 2013. Time warping back in 2026, as I did, you can imagine the reverse culture shock. I didn’t find that ease, that old ‘Southern hospitality’ that, even with all the hard parts of living in that part of the world, one could reliably find there and as such, feel relaxed around. My Southern accent came out at times. This was nice. This is where I’m from. Can you imagine how many times I’ve been asked this in Southeast Asia over the last decade? ‘Which country? Where are you from?’ North Carolina, that was my answer. It was the most true reply I could give. It was hugely disconcerting to see that the old Southern easygoingness now only exists, as one business owner said, ‘In my living room.’ I left flyers for my zine club in other places because he had said ‘no’. The library said ‘no,’ too. But a few cafes said yes. It was like Singapore. You had to ask the boss. Really? ‘Really.’ With time to reflect, I think it may be bigger than just a Triangle thing. It could be the whole world. According to ‘State of the World’s Emotional Health 2026,’ a Gallup report put together with the World Health Summit that looked into how people around the world are feeling, negative emotions remain elevated globally. Their words, exactly: ‘Negative emotions remain elevated globally. In 2025, at least one-third of people worldwide reported experiencing worry, stress and physical pain during a lot of the previous day. Roughly one in four reported experiencing sadness and anger.’ They looked at results of surveys of 1000 people over the age of 15, in 97 countries, that were done between March and August of this year. A report summary says, ‘While negative emotions have eased from some of the highs reached during or around the COVID-19 pandemic, they remain well above the levels Gallup measured two decades ago. Since 2006, physical pain has risen 10 percentage points, worry and sadness eight points each, stress seven points and anger by four points.’ Anger by four points. Anger. What happened? I heard from diﬀerent people that things were tough, yes, that things had gotten worse, yes, and that they were just waiting. Waiting... to see. As soon as I’d touched down this past summer, I’d immediately sensed the prickliness in the air. A mood shift. We can’t know what’s going to happen, and I understand that. I know it’s going to take more time. For things to untangle, if they can, if they might. The optimists are there, too. They told me things. How there is no quick fix, no simple answer, no explaining it away. The days are gone when people want to talk about things, share their opinions out loud and freely. Now, you do that at home. But: you do.

How is cost determined? The type of job classification is a major determinant, such as riskier the job, higher the premiums. Roofers will pay a much higher premium vs an accountant. The premium is calculated per $100 of payroll. So, based on the job classification, if the rate is $1.5, the company will pay $15 for every $1000 payroll. Another important factor is your past claim history, compared to similar companies in your industry. If you are filing more claims, it tells the insurance company that you are a riskier client and so they will charge much higher rates. Finally, insurance companies will want to do an audit of your payroll after the end of the policy. If you had lower payroll than what you estimated at the beginning of the policy, they may issue credit. Conversely, if you have a higher payroll, you will be required to pay the diﬀerence. Each policy is diﬀerent and each insurance company has its own rules. Make sure you are truthful about your situation. Injuries to employees are usually not covered by your business policy. If there is a claim and you don’t have WC, there will be personal and professional implications both from the employee as well as the government.

Anuj Kasera is a long term resident of Charlotte, NC and owns an insurance agency, focusing mostly on home, auto and business insurance. He can be reached at anujkasera@gmail.com.

Dipika Kohli

is an author who is based in Phnom Penh. Find more insurance related articles online at Saathee.com. Discover her books at kismuth.com and her projects at dipikakohli.com. Saathee.com

November 2026

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November 2026

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periodic timed testing to determine whether learning has translated into improvement.

SAT

continued from page 42

A student who has memorized one procedure may struggle. A student who understands the underlying mathematical relationships has more tools available. The same applies to reading and writing. Memorizing transition words such as however, therefore, and moreover is insuﬃcient if the student cannot recognize the logical relationship between two sentences. Mastery means being able to apply an idea even when the question looks unfamiliar. After studying a concept, students should ask themselves: Can I explain why this method works? Can I solve a similar problem when the wording changes? Can I recognize when to apply the concept without being prompted? If the answer is consistently no, more learning is needed, not merely more questions.

Notice that a full-length practice test is not required at every stage. Much of the meaningful work happens between assessments. That is when misconceptions are corrected, strategies are refined, and conceptual understanding develops. For example, rather than taking 3 full-length tests over 3 consecutive weekends, a student might take one diagnostic test, spend the following 10 days addressing 2 or 3 recurring weaknesses, and then reassess. That is purposeful preparation. A Message to Parents: Ask Better Questions: I understand why parents ask their children, “How many hours did you study today?” You want reassurance that suﬃcient eﬀort is being invested. But hours spent studying are a poor measure of learning when considered in isolation. A student can spend 3 hours passively watching instructional videos and retain very little. Another might spend 45 focused minutes correcting a fundamental algebraic misconception and accomplish substantially more. Instead of asking how long your child studied, consider asking: What did you learn today that you couldn’t do yesterday? Which mistakes are you making less frequently? What is your biggest remaining knowledge gap? What is your plan for addressing it? These questions encourage students to take ownership of their learning rather than simply account for their time. And remember, progress is rarely perfectly linear. A student may spend considerable time rebuilding foundational concepts before those improvements become visible in an overall SAT score. That work is not wasted. It may be precisely what makes subsequent improvement possible.

Stop Treating Every Mistake Equally: Suppose a diagnostic test reveals that a student answered 4 out of 10 linearequation questions correctly, 3 out of 8 quadratic-equation questions correctly, and nearly every geometry question correctly. Where should the student invest the next several hours? The answer seems obvious. Yet students frequently gravitate toward familiar topics because getting questions right feels rewarding. They practice what they already know while avoiding what makes them uncomfortable. The result? Lots of studying. Limited improvement. An effective preparation strategy identifies recurring weaknesses and prioritizes them based on their likely impact. Importantly, a single missed question does not necessarily indicate a fundamental conceptual gap. We need to examine patterns across multiple questions and assessments. Knowledge & Performance Are Different Problems: Some students perform beautifully during untimed practice but struggle during full-length tests. Others understand individual concepts but cannot maintain accuracy throughout an entire examination. These students may not need more foundational instruction. They may need help with pacing, question selection, efficient problem-solving, or maintaining accuracy under time pressure. Speed should generally follow understanding, not replace it. If a student cannot solve a problem correctly without a timer, adding time pressure is unlikely to fix the underlying knowledge gap. First establish understanding. Then develop accuracy and fluency. Finally, integrate those skills into realistic, timed practice.

Before Your Next Practice Test, Ask Yourself One Question “What can I do today that I could not do after my previous test?” Perhaps you finally understand exponential functions. Perhaps you can identify logical relationships between sentences more accurately. Perhaps you have learned a more eﬃcient approach to solving systems of equations. These may appear to be small accomplishments, but meaningful score improvement is often built on a series of such achievements. An SAT score is useful information. It can guide preparation and inform college application decisions. But it does not define a student’s intelligence, creativity, or future potential. A disappointing score should never become a source of shame. It should become the starting point for a better-informed plan. The ultimate objective is not to accumulate practice tests. It is to accumulate understanding. The goal isn’t simply to prepare students to take more tests. It’s to help them become better problem-solvers. And that is a skill that will serve them long after the SAT is over.

A Smarter Approach: Diagnose, Learn, Apply, Verify My preparation philosophy emphasizes a four-stage learning cycle rather than simply accumulating practice tests. 1. Diagnose: Identify the underlying reason for an incorrect answer. Was it a conceptual gap, procedural mistake, careless execution, or pacing issue? 2. Learn: Rebuild the relevant concept through targeted instruction until the student can explain the principle independently. 3. Apply: Practice that concept through progressively unfamiliar questions, ensuring that understanding extends beyond memorized procedures. 4. Verify: Reassess performance using fresh questions and Saathee.com

Dr. Ari Mukherjee is the Founder and President of HitchHiker’s Guide To College (HHG2C), a Charlotte-based university professor with 3 decades of experience in higher education, he advocates conceptual learning, individualized instruction, and data-driven academic preparation. Info: Hitchhikersguide2college.com. 86

November 2026

Thinking

Dances of India

continued from page 38

continued from page 46

Tumbaknari, a unique native drum of Kashmir. This dance Instead, consider throwing in a smile as an extra – it will can be very high energy as the musicians may increase their be well worth it, especially with particularly ornery itchingspeeds to challenge the dancers. to-be combatants. Sweet or sour? The second capability needed by an argument defuser is nimble peripheral vision. You need to be able to figure out which point on the sweet-sour spectrum the speaker is standing on. But you need mental bandwidth for this task. Words (swords) have a way of penetrating the thing that you call your “intellect”, which sometimes is little more than a limited-RAM, limited-CPU word processor. Processing a stream of words raining down on you is a bandwidthintense activity, especially if the speaker is on the highfalutin end of the spectrum, and fashions themselves to be part of that dreaded sub-species of humans: an “intellectual”! The effect of an onslaught from such a demonic creature is a bit like a “Denial of Service (DoS)” attack in cybersecurity parlance. It hogs all available bandwidth, effectively disabling the organism (you) from doing anything other than useless word processing, attempting to make meaning out of something that was never about meaning or reality anyway. In particular, your peripheral vision that does things other than silly word processing gets severely stunted. Peripheral vision is essential. It senses body language, vocal tones, inflection, pitch, modulation etc. You also need to reserve some bandwidth to process the spaces between the words, things that the speaker deliberately chooses not to say. If your combat zone is online, all bets are off: none of these cues will be there. This is why way more casualties occur online because the battlefield is a words-quagmire with no additional cues.

Jabro: Another joyful dance called Jabro is prevalent in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir. This is more prevalent in the Changthang area situated at a very high altitude. The people who live in this area are mostly Nomads. Their main source of livelihood is livestock, such as yaks, sheep, and goats. This dance Jabro is very popular among these people. It has now become popular in other parts of Ladakh as well. Here, both men and women participate in the dance. It begins with a slower tempo, which increases as the dance progresses. Jabro could be danced for a long time, especially during moonlit nights. The musical accompaniment is provided by Damnyan, a string instrument like Rubab. It is made of wood, animal skin and strings. This area is now becoming very popular due to tourism. Centuries-old cultural and social fabrics are now changing rapidly, influenced by consumerist and modern lifestyles. Naati: In the neighboring state of Himachal Pradesh, a variety of Naati dances are performed. There are around 13 diﬀerent kinds of Naati. For special occasions, three kinds of Naati dances are performed known as Dhili, Pheti, and Bashari. Both men and women participate in these dances. The Naati female dancers wear Thipu, a square red scarf tied on the head; a Kurti, usually made of velvet; Pattu, the main upper embroidered garment; Suthan, a trouser made of colorful printed cloth; Puhla, shoes made of fiber. The dance is performed in a group and the people of the Kullu district dance with great enthusiasm and zeal. As a part of the dance, the participants link their hands and move in step to diﬀerent rhythms. They fiercely dance to the rhythmic and melodious selfcomposed songs. The songs are sung in the local dialects. The Naati dance helps the performers to relieve them of the strains and stress of daily mundane life. This colorful and attractive dance form fills the air with joy and excitement. Naati dance is usually performed to the accompaniment of Shehnai, Dhol, Nagara, Karnal and Narsingha. The society of the tribal encourages all its members irrespective of age and gender to participate in the Naati dance. Since this dance requires lots of energy it is usually performed by the younger generations. Interestingly in the earlier days, it was danced only by the men wearing swirling tunics, churidars, sashes and decorated caps for hours at a time. Over the years, it has undergone modifications so that women too can participate in it. As you can see, these recreational dances are very inclusive and meant to bring people together in a community to engage, celebrate, and support each other.

Disable the bot! The previous tips were directed at examining and reorienting yourself. This one is about reorienting the attacking bot. In cybersecurity, it is often not legal to counter-attack the attacker. But there are no such impediments in the context we are discussing. In any case, it is not even a counter-attack that we want to consider. Rather, it is a freeing up of the assailant’s bandwidth to see their own self. “Hey, it looks like you’re getting really annoyed at me” is a delicious tactic if someone is indeed red in the face and filibustering gloriously. Suddenly, there is a need to go beyond the word blasts and see the self that is engaged in this crazy pursuit. There is a sense of being watched. And voila … the word processor crashes. And a human appears. Maybe a friend is a friend again, at least until the next explosion. And, if it is someone close to you, definitely follow the precept, “make love, not war!” Shirley MacLaine’s quote at the top of this piece is a real winner.

Balaji Prasad

Dr. Maha Gingrich

is an IIT/IIM graduate, a published author, SAT/ACT Online and in-person Coach, and K-12 Math Tutor at NewCranium. balaji.prasad@newcranium.com.

For questions or comments, contact via email at GingrichMaha@gmail.com. Saathee.com

November 2026

The “normal” ones spend their lives chasing abnormalities. And sometimes the special, gifted ones spend theirs trying to chase away the so-called “normal” people No. Years of experience and training didn’t count here. I who enter their world and fill it with unnecessary had just finished a 30-minute motorcycle ride out to this abnormalities. country home. I was warmed up, mentally and physically, A Pure Mind ready to walk in and do what I knew how to do. I often think about children and the clean slate they begin But this little soul? He never got his warm-up. Someone unfamiliar had suddenly walked into the one life with. As they grow, that slate slowly fills with “normal place where he was supposed to feel completely safe, perceptions.” Expectations. Judgments. Assumptions. carrying a red doctor’s bag, approaching him as though he Pretensions. Ideas about what success looks like, what should somehow understand what was about to happen. He intelligence looks like, how a person should speak, behave, dress, socialize, respond, and exist. hadn’t been prepared for me. This was totally on me. And sometimes I wonder: A Diﬀerent Kind of Lesson What if a mind never became spoiled by all those assumptions And then I watched his mother. The patience. and pretensions? There are things medicine teaches you, and then there What if some part of it remained as pure as the day we were are things another human being teaches you simply by born? allowing you to witness their life. Watching this mother left Well… I met a mind like that today. He is 18 years old. me numb. Speechless. I had no clever medical words. No And I’m not sure I have encountered a mind more pure. reassuring explanation. No clinical pearl to oﬀer. Just a small gesture of compassion and maybe a couple The Scars We Don’t See When it was finally time for me to leave, I shook his of tears gathering quietly at the corners of my eyes. What followed—the examination, the consoling, the comforting, mother’s hand. She hugged me. Perhaps she sensed the the extraordinary work required to accomplish what would compassion in my heart. Perhaps she saw that something in ordinarily be an incredibly ordinary physical exam—made me had changed during those few hours. And then I noticed her arms. me feel smaller than I have ever felt. The scars. The marks. The injuries left behind by Despite finding all the usual, reassuring things on his physical exam, nothing about this encounter felt “normal” struggles and meltdowns. It was the physical evidence of one mother’s daily attempt to find that impossibly fine to me. Perhaps because I am not used to this normal. balance with what the rest of us call “normal.” Those marks This is their normal. stayed with me. The normal of a drained but seemingly superhuman I got back on my motorcycle and started the 35-minute mother who wakes up every day and loves her son through ride home. Country roads stretched ahead of me, but my moments most of us will never see. And the normal of a mind stayed behind in that house. perfectly normal young man who had simply been going For those 35 minutes, my heart was full. about his day until a stranger walked into his safe space Full of gratitude. with a red bag and turned his world upside down. Full of humility. Full of admiration for a mother whose strength I could never Rethinking “Normal” adequately put into words. I have friends whose families have traveled their own Full of respect for families quietly living lives most of us journeys through autism and other parts of the “spectrum.” know almost nothing about. Somewhere in my mind, I believed that meant I understood Full of the uncomfortable realization that perhaps our enough. That I could handle it. Or at least that I could definition of “normal” has been backward all along. attempt to. I rode out there thinking I was going to examine an 18This day taught me otherwise. Something in my heart year-old. Instead, that 18-year-old examined something in changed after this encounter. Something moved. Something me. And somewhere along those country roads, with the skipped. And something stayed behind in that house. motorcycle humming beneath me and the afternoon It made me realize how deficit we are as a society when replaying repeatedly in my head, I realized something: it comes to caring for this other “normal” population, Today, I may have met the most “normal” 18-year-old I especially when children become adults and suddenly have ever met. graduate out of systems built around them. And I am grateful that, for a few hours, he allowed me I put “normal” in quotation marks intentionally, because into his world. think about what we do with the people society calls “normal.” Dr. Kinchit Shat Every day, we examine “normal” human beings and try is a practicing physician in Winston-Salem, NC, where he our hardest to find something abnormal about them. Blood writes about medicine, community, and family as an Indian pressure. A lab value. A symptom. A scan. Something we physician in America. This column draws from experience can name, label, treat, change. at the intersection of clinical practice and everyday life Perhaps because finding an abnormality gives us the including his work at his not-for-profit Shreeji Clinic. Info: comfort of believing there is something we can do about it. Kinchitshahmd.com. Contact: admin@kinchitshahmd.com. But really, though?

The Physician’s Pen

continued from page 24

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November 2026

College

Eye on Markets

continued from page 50

continued from page 68

firm’s chief information officer said they don’t want to put their client information on any cloud vendor’s platform. Tighter monetary policy, distrust of frontier labs, and the release of Meta’s Muse is driving investor capital to large cap tech names. Narrow breadth has benefited market cap weighted indices and to the detriment of equal weight and smaller caps. The market cap weighted S&P has outperformed both equal weight and small caps by nearly 5% over the past month. Investors prefer the secular growth of large cap tech and AI infrastructure when the Fed is in a hiking cycle. An additional headwind for many of the names outside of tech is that they could be a candidate for disruption from consumer AI agents. Names across insurance, travel, banks, brokerage firms, and retail sold-off upon the release of Muse. Valuation for the market cap weighted S&P is not demanding. The gains for the year have been entirely through earnings growth. The multiple is down 13% for the year, while margins are near 17%, an all-time high. The ratio of P/E to margins is at levels of major bottoms such as in 2008, 2011, 2018 and 2022. The PEG ratio is the lowest in 30 years, meaning you are not paying much for the earnings growth. The frontier labs and companies such as Google and Meta will battle to be the preferred consumer AI agent. The ultimate winner will be the semiconductor companies. There simply isn’t enough compute to fully utilize consumer agents for large user bases such as from Meta. Bank of America expects the semiconductor industry to double by 2030. Citi expects the memory undersupply to last until 2031. Goldman expects the hyperscalers to increase capex by 54% in 2027, a significant amount of which will go to semiconductors. Analysts expect semiconductor earnings to grow 73.5% in 2027 with 51.2% margins. Korean customs data offer the earliest and cleanest reading on global technology demand. The numbers are astounding. The latest semiconductor exports surged 259.4% from a year earlier! Semiconductors continue to trade below a market multiple. Most trade below a 1.0 PEG ratio. Shareholder return of capital is high. Nvidia announced the largest buyback in history. Expect a large one from Micron in December. Positioning has been cleaned up from the Situational Awareness led sell-off over the summer. Semis have built a beautiful base that they are ready to break out from. The bottom line is that the AI buildout is the largest capital expenditure in history and semiconductors are one of the biggest beneficiaries. Looking forward, the market will focus on earnings, geopolitics, and a Fed meeting.

educators and other healthcare staﬀ caring for them to optimize disease management. As leaders, doctors play a crucial role in coordinating this care across specialties. Integrative leadership specifically refers to the ability to synthesize various perspectives into a clear plan for the team. Students can demonstrate this by underscoring leadership positions and focusing on their experience in managing diverse groups and opinions, mediating disagreements and coordinating initiatives across multiple personnel. When asked about leadership in the interview, emphasize your ability to gather input from the team and balance competing priorities to ensure group goals are being met without alienating individual members.

Ketu Desai

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4. Advocacy Medicine doesn’t exist in a bubble, and doctors are often fighting obstacles beyond the walls of the hospital. Insurance policies, government systems and many social determinants of health can affect patient care. As doctors, advocating for patients is crucial to helping them receive the care they need, whether that means engaging in conversations with insurance, advocating for lower-cost procedures and therapies when possible, or addressing barriers to care with each visit. Demonstrating familiarity with advocacy can help you stand out as someone who will help patients beyond the hospital bed. Examples may include volunteering in underserved communities and initiating and expanding community service efforts targeted at unrecognized or underrepresented challenges. Many interviewers will ask about service or advocacy, and a strong reflection can help your volunteering experience stand out. Emphasize the barriers you noticed and the actions you took to address those obstacles, whether at an individual or systemic level. 5. Proactivity and Adaptability The training path to becoming a doctor is filled with changes, whether it’s transitioning from pre-clerkship to clerkship, rotating through various specialties or switching teams in residency. When patient care directly depends on a doctor’s ability to act quickly, being proactive and adaptive can save time and lives. As a student, you can demonstrate this by actively designing research questions in response to current data; learning and teaching others new systems, protocols, and skills quickly; and offering to take on extra responsibilities without being prompted. In an interview, reinforce your proactiveness by sharing examples of times when you initiated change. To capture your adaptiveness, integrate situations where you responded swiftly and effectively to change.

November 2026

The Editor’s Desk

continued from page 14

Summer is the most grounding and joyous part of the year for me. When the first signs of summer ending arrive, like changing leaves, I feel a stitch of sadness. I also love the bookend seasons of fall and spring, primarily because they wrap their unique glories around sweet summertime tucked in between. When I got home later that day, I thought of the jumps and skips of children. How kids when they are at a certain age, they sometimes do the skip dancing when walking, and if a parent is holding their hand, the skips become more pronounced, as if they are ready to unlatch from the grip. This first bright yellow leaf of incoming fall on this tree swayed in the breeze and was just waiting for someone to skip and jump and help it release from the tree’s grip and float down with an aerial dance. It would have had to wait for a windy day, but the boy’s joyful skipping and stick maneuver did the trick. While the sun began its descent that evening I stood among a grove of trees in our backyard, found a stick lying on the ground, and spotted an early fall leaf that had changed color but was dangling out of my reach on a tree. I walked back a few steps, took a skipping jog and with a properly timed hop was rewarded with a bouquet in the guise of a colorful leaf.

Yes, it was just a pretty leaf, one of many to change in the coming days and weeks on the surrounding trees. But for a moment I felt a joy that I’m sure that kid felt. Later, lying in bed, I closed my eyes and thought of my childhood days in India. Recalling the simple fun of sticks and marbles, jumping on dirt mounds, finding things laying around and turning them into play. I remembered my own unchoreographed skip walking. I drifted into sleep and dreamt of the jumps and skips and falls seesawing between that one of a childhood in the semi-arid land of Gujarat to the lush foliage of the small farm homestead in North Carolina that we call home today. The dream played out in my mind all through that night. I awoke to a cool morning thinking it looks like a sweater day and observed that several trees had batches of leaves now wearing diﬀerent colors. A transformation that happened in the night. Maybe I’ll grab a stick and knock a few more down. In the meantime, thanks kid, wherever you are right now, for rekindling the fading memories of my own childhood’s jumps, skips, and falls.

Samir Shukla is the Editor of Saathee Magazine Contact: Samir@Saathee.com X: @ShuklaWrites Newsletter: ShuklaWrites.Substack.com

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News Notes

Robotics

continued from page 64

continued from page 60

You don’t have to do a competition of course - there are other things you can do. There are robotics kits like PiDog and Circuitmess that you can program on your own, which still are fun to make and program. PiDog even has a program where you can send PiDog robots to the ISS! And if you want to compete by yourself, FTC and other competitions like BattleBots allow people to compete by themselves (as long as you can make the robot, of course.).

The program will be implemented through a scalable partnership model over the next two years. In collaboration with the National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI), vendors from major cities, including Mumbai, Bengaluru, and other urban centers, will be mobilized to participate in structured training sessions. Arogya World and NASVI will collaboratively deliver practical, culturally appropriate training using simple, visual educational materials suitable for vendors with diverse literacy levels. Pre-and post-training assessments will measure improvements in knowledge and practices, and standardized training resources will enable replication across multiple locations. “We are proud to partner with Arogya World on this important public health initiative and will facilitate community engagement and cascade the needed training. We can together empower our community of marginalized workers to improve their own health as well as that of the customers they cook for,“ said Arbind Singh, National Coordinator, NASVI. Each street food vendor serves 80-100 consumers every day, thus street food vendors can influence the eating habits and shape food choices at scale. This program builds on a successful pilot led by Arogya World, in 2024, which showed 80–85% retention of health messages, healthier cooking practices including reductions in oil and salt usage. The effort also showed a high willingness among vendors to adopt healthier practices without affecting sales, and positive consumer acceptance of healthier options. India’s street food ecosystem is deeply embedded in the country’s urban and semi-urban food culture. The sector comprises an estimated 10 million vendors, among India’s most marginalized urban workers. With increasing time constraints and rapidly changing lifestyles, eating outside the home has become routine, and Indians consume outside food at least six times a month on average according to the National Restaurant Association of India. Arogya World (Arogyaworld.org) is a US-based organization addressing the massive diabetes crisis through prevention. Set up by an Ashoka Fellow, this publichealth nonprofit is strengthening health systems and shifting health behaviors, influencing individuals and institutions. Founded by President Bill Clinton in 2005, the Clinton Global Initiative is a community of doers representing a broad cross section of society and dedicated to the idea that we can accomplish more together than we can apart. Through CGI’s unique model, more than 13,000 organizations have launched more than 4,300 Commitments to Action — new, specific, and measurable projects and programs – that are making a difference in the lives of more than 500 million people in 180 countries.

Combat Robotics Oh right, BattleBots! BattleBots is a televised world competition where bots, well, battle. Robots in BattleBots are 250-pound beasts and are allowed to use knives, projectiles, flames, hammers, anything to damage and destroy enemy robots. This is extremely fun to watch, and you can even go to competitions in person to watch them in BattleBots Destructathons in Las Vegas. The world championship for BattleBots is televised on the Discovery Channel, with the next one expected to premiere in January. It started in 1999 and is one of the most well-known robotics competitions. However, it isn’t for your average person; they only hold tournaments in Las Vegas. It is only a part of a wider field of Combat Robotics. If you want to have your own piece of the action, you want to go to smaller local competitions. The three combat robotics you can go to in the Carolinas are Charlotte Combat Robotics Club, Duke Combat Robotics, and Hickory Bot Battles, and Carolina Combat Robots, which are all viewable to the public and utilize one pound and three pounds robots. The biggest combat robotics competition you can go to in the state is the Dash Bash Stadium Showdown in Winston Salem, which utilizes 12 pound robots. But it is more fun to make the robots than watch - 1 pound and 3 pounds robots are extremely accessible to make for the average student and can serve as fun weekend or summer projects. You can arrange to be in local tournaments, and the excitement you get from your robot chopping down other robots is amazing. Go build! So what are you waiting for? There are hundreds of robotics teams in your state and thousands of ways you can do robotics. Go build a PiDog, or something with an arduino chip. Go compete in FLL or FRC and learn the engineering process. Go build a 3-pound combat robot and then have it explode. What you want to do with youth robotics is up to you. Armaan Parikh Is a freshman at Green Level high school, Cary, NC, that is part of FTC team #32162, Titan Avengers. If you have any questions about robotics or are interested in what the team does, email titanavengersftc@gmail.com.

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November 2026

Spot the Differences

Photo by Sagar Shukla

Spot the 15 diﬀerences between original photo on top & modified photo below. (Solution on page 104)

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November 2026

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CarToon Corner

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November 2026

Tune Your Brain Solve these brain teasers - Solutions on Page 105

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PUZZLES

Dedicated to Kirit Shukla (Pop) 6.18.1939 - 8.21.2026

Puzzles 4 Kids Answers on page 105

Answers on page 104 Saathee.com

Magic Maze Answers on page 105 102

November 2026

Key Word Search Fill in blanks of these clues, then take the ﬁrst letter of each word and unscramble them to ﬁnd this month’s Key Word. Canada’s largest city _____. World’s largest continent _____. World’s largest island nation _____. Austria’s largest city _____. One of the world’s largest cities London is in _____. World’s longest river _____.

Go Figure! Answers on page 104

Answers on page 104

Chess Puzzles Difficulty:

Puzzle provided by the Charlotte Chess Center

Visit: charlottechesscenter.org

Game reference: Postny v. Scherler 1998

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Directions: White to play, win material Answer: 1. Bd5+ Kxd5 2. a7 and the pawn promotes.

Difficulty: Game reference: I Popov v Karthikeyan, 2012 Directions: White to move, win material Answer: 1. Re7+ Kb6 2. R(e)xe3

Difficulty: Game reference: Lputian v. Psakhis 1980

Hello Readers

Directions: Black to move, play for checkmate Answer: 1…Rxg4 2. hxg4 Qh4+ 3. Kg1 4. Ng3 with unstoppable threat of Qh1#. 103

We welcome comments and suggestions about our puzzles and cartoons pages. Send your thoughts to Samir@Saathee.com

November 2026

Festivals & Holidays

Puzzle Solutions Spot the Diﬀerences Solutions from page 96

NOVEMBER 2026 Nov. 3 - Election Day Nov. 4 - Rama Ekadashi Nov. 5 - Govatsa Dwadashi Nov. 6 - Dhanteras Nov. 7 - Kali Chaturdashi Nov. 8 - Lakshmi Puja Nov. 8 - Naraka Chaturdasi Nov. 8 - Diwali Nov. 8 - Mahavir Nirvana Day Nov. 9 - Darsh Amas (New Moon) Nov. 10 - Govardhan Puja Nov. 11 - Veterans Day Nov. 11 - Bhai Duj Nov. 14 - Nehru Jayanti / Children’s Day Nov. 15 - Chhath Puja Nov. 16 - Vrishchika Sankranti Nov. 19 - Kansa Vadh Nov. 20 - Devutthana Ekadashi Nov. 21 - Tulasi Vivah Nov. 24 - Guru Nanak Jayanti Nov. 24 - Martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahdur Nov. 25 - Kartik Purnima (Full Moon) Nov. 26 - Thanksgiving Day (US) Nov. 27 - Native American Heritage Day Nov. 30 - Kalabhairav Jayanti

1. Balloon floating 2. Letters rearranged 3. Tower extended 4. Golfer lining up his putt 5. Guy in pink rabbit suit 6. Big top circus tent added 7. Photographer added 8. Kids playing ball

9. periscope in the water 10. People removed 11. Bear added 12. lightning storm added 13. Magician with a rabbit 14. Christmas tree added 15. Tree recolored

Key Word Search Answers from page 103 Puzzle Solutions from page 102

Toronto Asia Indonesia Vienna England Nile Key Word of the Month: NATIVE

Go Figure! answers from page 103

Saathee.com

104

November 2026

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105

November 2026

Astroscope

NOVEMBER 2026

Aries (March 21 – April 19)

Libra (September 23 – October 22)

A lack of self-conﬁdence and frustration may lead you to make mistakes. This period won’t improve until the last week of the month. Try to control your temper and avoid disputes with anybody including your partner. Try to avoid any sort of life change right now and wait for next month. You will be able to maintain your regular income but can lose an extra source.

Your income and expenses will balance each other out this month while wise decisions can prevent the loss of an important opportunity. Investment in real estate and partnerships will prove beneficial. This is a good time to change your workplace or field of study. You will feel happier and more confident this month. A good state of health is also clearly indicated.

Taurus (April 20 – May 20)

Scorpio (October 23 – November 21)

You should experience mixed results this month. Opportunities may be coming your way, but you could not be able to utilize them. Your timely decisions can help earn some additional income. A very positive change is possible by the last days of the month. It is time to start looking for real estate investments but stay away from the stock market or other ﬁnancial speculations.

Business prospects will be favorable this month even if you may be overly optimistic about the results. Contact with inﬂuential people will increase. However, this is not an appropriate time to make decisions on new business deals. Don’t lose self-conﬁdence and try to control your temper. Your friends and associates will support you. Be very careful or avoid driving during this month.

Gemini (May 21 – June 20)

Sagittarius (November 22 – December 21)

The consequences of an egoistic attitude should come to fruition during the ﬁrst week of the month. Accepting advice from a well-wisher can convert this into a beneﬁcial deal by the second half. Avoid any kind of family dispute as this could grow beyond your control. Your kids could prove to be very good guides for you. Your income could also rise this month.

You will experience a gradual negative turn this month. Changes to your personality and mental state can create frustration. Trust your intelligence and make conﬁdent decisions while adopting change. Minor family problems could be there, but you can still count on your friends and associates during this shifting period. Drive very cautiously.

Capricorn (December 22 – January 19)

Cancer (June 21 – July 22)

Fate will help guide your decisions this month. Proﬁts from your business/trade will be higher than expected and help increase your bank balance. Students could see disappointing results. Don’t react aggressively to your partner. This is also a good time to develop new relationships. Maintain an open mind when it comes to unexpected circumstances.

Even though you will do very well ﬁnancially, a lack of peace of mind may constantly bother you. Try to slow down and take a trip or two to feel more relaxed. Things should improve towards end of the month, but lingering aggression could easily turn into frustration. Solutions to old problems will delight you. However, new problems will soon take their place.

Aquarius (January 20 – February 18)

Leo (July 23 – August 22)

This is the time when your property investment plans should materialize. You will be successful due to your extensive creativity. This is favorable time for romance. Friends and siblings will offer whatever assistance you need and opponents won’t dare to face you. The only thing you must seriously watch is your health. Any travel this month could also be troublesome.

After a negative start, things should improve dramatically during the second half of the month. Financial losses can eliminate happiness, so try to avoid taking on any debt to cover those losses. The relationship with your partner will take a positive turn and prove to be an asset for your future. Improvements for any health-related issues are on the way.

Pisces (February 19 – March 20)

Virgo (August 23 – September 22)

Try to control your thoughts, as you could lose your moral standing and tarnish your reputation. Don’t make any major ﬁnancial decisions this month. This is a good time to celebrate religious events. You may also beneﬁt through your business partner. Accept any and all transitions with caution.

You may experience numerous changes in your life, and if you’re not careful, you could lose a very important opportunity. Try to remain relaxed and avoid overanalyzing any unexpected offers. Also be prepared to work hard in coming years. Your luck will favor you through your partner by the last few days of the month. A mild attitude toward your enemy may hurt you.

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November 2026

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Looking for licensed / unlicensed financial professionals for one of the fastest growing companies in North America. Maximize your income with highest compensation plan, ownership & legacy. Guaranteed support & professional training. Contact Bhavesh Patel (Executive Director) 704-3904747 or visit bpatel.experiorfinancial.com. AGH Hospitality Supplies is Hiring a Hospitality Sales Representative. Must be willing to live in Columbia, SC and speak English & Gujarati. Hospitality sales experience preferred. Travel as needed. Contact via WhatsApp text only: 803-665-0508.

Hotel Help Needed Front Desk, Housekeeping, & Laundry for Franchise Hotel in Concord, NC. Accommodations provided. Call 704-772-5554. Elder Care Needed for mother (95 years-old). She's selfsufficient but needs assistance w/ bathing & activities. Hindi or Gujarati speaking female preferred. Part-or Full-time in home near Charlotte. Please call 704-604-2133. Front Desk Couple Needed for franchise motel in Charleston, SC. Accommodations provided. Call 843-425-2840. Gas Station / C-store Help Needed For stores near Huntersville & Northlake areas. Must speak English. Family friendly oriented people. Call 704-402-4661. Front Desk Manager & Housekeeping Couple Wanted for franchise hotel in Columbia, SC. Accommodations provided. Fluent English required. Text / Call 704-701-9975.

Bellacino's in Columbia, SC is Hiring Pizza makers, Sandwich makers & Kitchen Staff. Full-time and part-time positions available. Couple or single person. Experience preferred but training available for the right candidates. Call Sunil at 336944-8003. Immediately Hiring Full-time or part-time Store Associate and Utility Presser for Dry Cleaner Pick-Up stores in Mooresville, NC. Duties include assisting customers, tagging & sorting clothes, and store upkeep. Must speak English. Call 606-467-8910. Sewing & Cutting Supervisor Needed for curtain & window treatment manufacturing company in Triad area. Must have cutting and sewing knowledge and be able to work in a full-time production environment. Salary & benefits offered based on experience. Email resume to rajm@amerifabintl.com.

Two Full-Time Positions Available

Seeking Elderly Help

at Gas Station in Salsbury, NC. Legal status required. Good pay! Call 704-299-8535.

Warm, trustworthy female Gujarati/Hindispeaking companion/support for mid-80s woman with diabetes and early Alzheimer’s in Concord, NC. Start 1– 2x/week. Activities, outings, diabetes management. Dementia experience, housekeeping, cooking, English, and transportation a plus. Call 510-406-3662.

Looking for Nanny Gujarati Doctor couple looking for in-house Nanny care for toddler, and light household help in Myrtle Beach, SC. Pay Negotiable. Please call 954-850-8720 / 954-850-8724. 108

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Help Wanted for Convenience Store

Live-in Caregiver Needed

Elderly Help Needed

in Mooresville, NC. Responsibilities include assisting customers, handling transactions, & maintaining a clean/organized store. Parttime, weekend availability preferred. Please contact 919-951-8924 / lalsenj@gmail.com.

in Greenville, SC for senior parents. Duties include cooking, cleaning, and mobility assistance. Female preferred. Please text 864-275-0710.

For household work + cooking Indian food (Punjabi, Gujarati, etc) 5 days a week in Wilmington, NC. Please call 202-257-7742 or 704-779-4431.

Front Desk / Manager Housekeeping Needed For motel near Charlotte airport. Accommodations available. Call / text Tarun at 704-968-1731. Sales Associates Wanted for Mall Perfume Stores in Charlotte, NC, Pineville, NC, Hickory, NC, Memphis, TN & Knoxville, TN. Full-Time or Part-Time shifts available. Call Veer Singh at 415-2658686. Babysitter / Nanny Needed in Raleigh / Wake Forest area to take care of baby. Live-in / live-out. Good pay! Please call 901-289-5437. Hotel Help Wanted Front Desk / Manager, Night Auditor & Housekeeper (Single/Couple) for franchise hotels in Charlotte (Airport Area) & Winston-Salem (Near Hanes Mall). Accommodations provided. Call 704-626-4849 between 4-8pm.

Saathee.com

Full-Time Cashier Wanted at Gas Station in Charlotte metro area. Evening shifts only. Legal status required. Please contact 704-241-4499 for details. Seeking Furniture Salesperson to join a Hospitality supplier company team in High Point, NC. This B2B sales role focuses on developing new business opportunities, nurturing client relationships, & offering tailored furniture solutions to meet the needs of hotel environments. The ideal candidate must be self-motivated & goal-oriented with exceptional organizational skills. Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite required. Some understanding of commercial space planning and design principles preferred. Competitive base salary plus commission. Mon to Fri in High Point, NC (not remote). Email resume to rajm@amerifabintl.com. Manager / Front Desk Needed for Franchise Hotel in Rock Hill, SC. With Accommodations. Please call 803-517-4662.

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Now Hiring Cashier for Gas Stations/C-Stores around Greensboro, NC. Must have previous experience & legal status. Great pay with benefits. Call/Text 336-509-4054. Help Wanted Immediately for Beauty Salon in Charlotte. Hiring an Eyebrow Threading Specialist. Previous experience required. Salary + tips. Call 803370-0723. Cashier Wanted for Convenience Store near Kannapolis, NC. Accommodations provided. Very attractive salary! Text / Call 704-701-9482. Hotel Help Wanted Couple to manage Hotel in North Carolina. Full-time Front Desk with flexible schedule in South Carolina. Couples for Housekeeping at various Hotels in North & South Carolina. Call 843-333-5810.

Classifieds continued on the next page

November 2026

Employment Opportunities Continued Elder Help Wanted for 80 year-old female in Charlotte (Ballantyne area). Support with daily activities, housekeeping, cooking vegetarian food. 8-10 hours a day. Must have own transportation. Please call 513-218-7844. Gas Station Seeking Help Single or couple. in Rock Hill, SC seeking help. Good pay for an experienced person! No accommodations. Call 803-659-3330. Motel Help Wanted for small Motel in Rock Hill, SC. Reliable individuals for the following positions: Front Desk Manager, Housekeeping and Laundry. Legal work status required. Accommodations available. For details, please call 803-504-8603.

Services One Stop Immigration Services OCI-Us citizenship interview, Indian passport renewal, Indian visa, Emergency certificate, apostille, notary, and more. We are not a law firm. Call or WhatsApp Jignesh Mehta 980349-9843. Need a NC Driver's License? Skip the long DMV lines; A2Z Driving School offers DMV road test for teens and adults in the charlotte area as well as driving lessons. Call 704-269-0929. Pari Beauty in Matthews Threading, Waxing, Facials, Postnatal & Newborn Massage, Home Cooking for Elderly & other services. 37 years of experience & great Service! Call 704-846-7912. Tabla Lessons for all age groups. In person or online from professional tabla player. Call 803-348-7294.

Hotel Help Wanted Front Desk/Manager, Night Auditor & Housekeeper (Single or Couple) for franchise hotels in Charlotte / Gastonia / High Point, NC and Columbia / Gaffney, SC. Accommodations provided. Call 704460-0379 between 6 to 9pm.

Matrimonial / Seeking Companion Seeking Bride Seeking alliance for 43 year-old brother. Well established Physical Therapist in North Carolina. Contact 919-437-1202 or dharmessh57@gmail.com. US citizen, Hindu, business graduate, 35 currently working in a federal position in Raleigh, NC. Looking for educated bride. Contact 336-683-7631, +91 96246 87260, or cstore1947@yahoo.com. 41 year-old groom looking for Bride. Medical Doctor. US Citizen in North Carolina. Contact 919-437-1202 or bpraja1985@gmail.com. Looking for a life partner? Saathee can help you reach hundreds of potential matches for only $15 for classified ad. For details, email saathee@saathee.com or call 704-527-7570.

Travel Passion International & Domestic Air tickets. We process India Visa, OCI, Indian Passport Renewal, Hotel bookings & Tour packages. Call 509-550-9076 or 509-550-9034 or email travelpassion24@gmail.com. Immigration Services Interested in a Green Card, but have no employer-sponsor? We'll be your partner in a legal and reliable pathway to obtaining permanent residency status. Visit partnerbusinessllc.net or email partner.business.llc@gmail.com. Neeta's Beauty Parlor Full service. Near Hindu Center of Charlotte. For details on our services or to make an appointment please call 704-968-0270. Priest Available for Shree Satya narayan katha, Shanti hawan, Vastu shanty, Weddings, Baby shower, Bhumi pujan, Mata ki chowki pujan, Funeral, all types of karmakand. Please call Viral Bhatt 704-438-6334.

Contact for all of your Medical Insurance needs

Condo for Rent Condo for Rent

Minal Patel: 704-299-7145

near UNCC in Charlotte. Walk to light rail station. 2 br, 1.5 bath. Available now. Send text to 704-534-5931.

Your Trusted Medicare Insurance Broker

Saathee.com

momsgifts@gmail.com

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November 2026

BLOOMING BUDS YEAR-ROUND ACCOUNTING & TA X S E R V I C E S For Individuals & Businesses: • Accounting and Bookkeeping • Payroll and Sales Tax Services • Bank Reconciliation • Tax Planning & Preparation of Tax Returns • Preparation of Financial Statements • New Business Set-Up Assistance • Budgeting and Forecasting

DECOR & FLORALS FOR ALL OCCASIONS • Exclusive Mandaps, Wedding Chairs and Furniture • Centerpieces, Florals and Garlands BOOK BLOOMING BUDS FOR ANY OCCASION

Call Manju Nigam: 919-805-1000 Kirti Shah 704-588-0011

Jigna Shah 919-346-1011

Kirti@ShahcpaNC.com Fax: 704-588-0022 10960 Winds Crossing Dr., Suite 400, Charlotte, NC 28273

Jigna@ShahcpaNC.com Fax: 704-588-0022 310 Raleigh St., Holly Springs, NC 27540

WWW.BLOOMINGBUDSNC.COM

www.ShahcpaNC.com

Law Offices of

MRUGESH S. PATEL Member of American Immigration Lawyers Association

(732) 549-0030 Family Petition Fiance Visa H-1, L-1, & Student Visa Visitor Visa Labor Certification

Citizenship Removal/Deportation Re-entry Permit Adoption Consular Processing

Call for consultation! North Carolina Office:*

New Jersey Office:

1913-204 J. N. Pease Place University Ridge Office Center Charlotte, NC 28262

1941 Oak Tree Road Suite 101 Edison, NJ 08820

* Practice in Carolinas limited to immigration only (Office visit by appointment only).

Serving your immigration needs in North Carolina & South Carolina Saathee.com

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Advertisers Index for Charlotte, South Carolina & Atlanta Region A 2 Z Driving School...........................................75 AGH Hospitality Supplies (Help Wanted)............109 AmeriFab International.......................................13 Anand, Versha (Real Estate) .................................81 Anjappar (Charlotte)...........................................75 BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir (Charlotte) . 16-17 Bashyam Global LLP - Immigration Law..............91 Bhindi Jewelers ...............................................116 Blooming Buds .................................................111 Brijal Shah (Keller Williams - Real Estate) ...........101 British International School of Charlotte................9 Brown Immigration Law (Rishi Oza, Partner) .......99 Carolina Elite Events ...........................................37 Carolina Holiday Light Spectacular .......................4 Carolina Home Care & Health Solutions................25 Carolina Law Group ...........................................95 Carolina Medical Partners ...................................83 Charlotte Chess Center ..........................................6 Charlotte Eye Ear Nose & Throat .........................89 Color Master Collision Center ..............................85 Concha, David (Immigration Attorney).................27 Concord Children's Clinic ..................................67 Copper Restaurant (Charlotte) .............................23 Countywide Commercial (Pavement Solutions) ......39 Desai & Desai LLP (CPA & Financial Services) ......97 Desai & Mehta CPAs PLLC .................................43 Dhira Hapani (Realtor) .......................................29 DJ Lalit (Lalit Hemnani) ...................................101 Eesha Realty, LLC...............................................55 Ekal Vidyalaya ...................................................71 Elite Motors.........................................................7 Geological Resources, Inc. ....................................69 Gleams LLC - (Pure Silver Collection)...................37 Glo Dentistry (Ankit M. Amin, DMD)..................27 Global Mall / Legacy Jewels ...............................115 H2 Laser & Skin..................................................67 Harish Bhasin (Independent Insurance Agent)........29 Health Markets (Medicare, Health, Life, Supplemental)107 Heaven Properties LLC (Rohit Patel) ....................71 Hetas Patel (Real Estate, Mortgage, Prop Management)59 Hindu Center of Charlotte (Events) .................76-79 i Care Med Clinic (Pineville).................................31 Insurance - Tushar Barot, Supreme Insurance Serv. 105 Insurance Shopping (Sonal Patel - Independent Agent).45 JVC Realty (Balaji Tatineni Realtor / Broker).........65 KB Zaveree (Atlanta) ...........................................21 Khanna & Sons Jewelers.......................................15 Krunal Joshi (Life Insurance Advisor)....................49 Kumar, Kokila (Real Estate - Allen Tate) ................27 Lead Designs LLC...............................................13 Malak Jewelers....................................................35 Malaya Kitchen...................................................61 Malleswar Varikuti Realtor (Realty One Group).....69 Mass Mutual (Sunil Nagpal & Karl Stuppnig)......114 Master Sakthi (Astrologer & Psychic Spritual Healer)19 Mathur, Gitanjali (Howard Hanna Allen Tate)........25 Maxim Tours.......................................................51 Meenakshi Creations LLC....................................29 Mehta & McConnell, PLLC (Injury Lawyers).........44 Mint MedSpa & Laser Studio ...............................83 Monaco Insurance Agency (Anuj Kasera)...............43 Neeta's Beauty Parlor ..........................................69 New York Life Insurance (Rasheed Ulhaq) .............61 Nexus Capital & Venture Group............................41 Nitro Realty Group (Nitin Aggarwal)...................61 Saathee.com

North American Bancard ....................................11 NRS PAY Credit Card Processing .........................57 NSD Tax & Accounting Services............................39 One 2 Entertainment ...........................................49 One-Stop Immigration Solutions..........................39 Partner Business LLC (Immigration Advice) ..........51 Patel & Samatova, Law........................................53 Patel, Mrugesh (Law Offices)..............................111 PKT Tours USA..................................................47 Pramukh Mandapam...........................................97 Publix..................................................................2 Queen City Smiles (Dr. Kanupriya Tewari).............75 Raja Reslan - Financial Advisor (Edward Jones) .....81 Ruby Realty LLC (Neil Pathak)............................22 Rug & Home.........................................................5 Ryan Shah (Tabla Lessons) ...................................37 Sankalp Restaurant Charlotte ..............................19 Shaan in Concert Charlotte (LMT seva & Nachbaliye).3 Shah & Associates, CPA, PLLC...........................111 Shah & Trivedi CPA, PLLC.................................101 Shah, Anish (Real Estate) ....................................66 Sharma Insurance Agency LLC.............................53 Sona Realty (Venkat Suryadevara) ........................87 Swadhyay Pariwar.............................................113 Taaza Fresh Indian Bistro.....................................49 Taige Media........................................................73 Technone LLC (Securtiy Systems) .........................53 The Blue Taj........................................................23 TMSA (Public Charter Schools) ...........................63 Travel Passion .....................................................53 Union Family Eye Associates (Dr. Keshav Bhat)......73 Union Family Orthodontics (Dr. Bhaven Sayania) ..85 Uniworld Travel ..................................................43 Vema Mortgage LLC (Chirag Rachhadia)......25 & 69 Vimal Realty (Vimal Patel Realtor / Broker in Charge)..32 Vipasana Meditation ...................................................10 Worldwide Travels..............................................105

Index for Raleigh (Triangle), Greensboro (Triad) & Virginia AGH Hospitality Supplies (Help Wanted)............109 AmeriFab International.......................................13 Anjappar (Raleigh & Durham).............................17 Apna Bazar (Morrisville) .....................................61 Aura Skin & Laser (Dipan Patel) ..........................17 Bashyam Global LLP - Immigration Law..............91 Bhindi Jewelers ...............................................116 Blooming Buds .................................................111 Bombay Central (Grocery & Take Out Food)..........81 Brown Immigration Law (Rishi Oza, Partner) .......99 Carolina Elite Events ...........................................37 Carolina Holiday Light Spectacular .......................4 Carolina Law Group ...........................................95 Cary Internal Medicine & Diabetes Center, PA........33 Cary Medical Clinic.............................................31 Chandni's Beauty Salon .......................................75 Cone Health (Triad Foot & Ankle Center - Dr. K Patel) 27 Countywide Commercial (Pavement Solutions) ......39 Crescent Dental (Dr. Kavita Ghai) ........................75 Desai & Desai LLP (CPA & Financial Services) ......97 Desai & Mehta CPAs PLLC .................................43 DJ Lalit (Lalit Hemnani) ...................................101 Eesha Realty, LLC...............................................55 Ekal Vidyalaya ...................................................71 GCAP (Events).....................................................9 Geological Resources, Inc. ....................................69 Gleams LLC - (Pure Silver Collection)...................37 Global Mall / Legacy Jewels ...............................115 112

Health Bloom (Anoon Sheth, MD, MMCI)............85 Health Markets (Medicare, Health, Life, Supplemental)107 Heaven Properties LLC (Rohit Patel) ....................71 HSNC (Hindu Matrimonial USA) ..........................7 Huntington Learning Center ...............................29 i Care Med Clinic (Pineville).................................79 Inchin's Bamboo Garden......................................33 Insurance - Tushar Barot, Supreme Insurance Serv. 105 Insurance Shopping (Sonal Patel - Independent Agent).45 International Community Church.........................63 International Community Church (Christmas) .......10 KB Zaveree (Atlanta) ...........................................21 Khanna & Sons Jewelers.......................................15 Kiran (Events) ....................................................73 Krunal Joshi (Life Insurance Advisor)....................49 Lead Designs LLC...............................................13 Madan Khatri (Vema Mortgage) ..........................31 Malak Jewelers....................................................35 Marriott Raleigh Crabtree Valley..........................59 Mass Mutual (Sunil Nagpal & Karl Stuppnig)......114 Master Sakthi (Astrologer & Psychic Spritual Healer)19 Max Psychiatry ...................................................67 Maxim Tours.......................................................51 Mehta & McConnell, PLLC (Injury Lawyers).........44 Monaco Insurance Agency (Anuj Kasera)...............43 Morgan & Allen Insurance (Hitesh Patel)...............23 Myriad Enterprises (Nitika Prajapati)...................25 NC Dermatology Associates..................................89 Neuro Bloom (Nidhi Seth, Doctor of PhysicalTherapy)85 Nexus Capital & Venture Group............................41 North American Bancard ....................................11 NRS PAY Credit Card Processing .........................57 NSD Tax & Accounting Services............................39 One 2 Entertainment ...........................................49 One-Stop Immigration Solutions..........................39 Partner Business LLC (Immigration Advice) ..........51 Patel & Samatova, Law........................................53 Patel Brothers (Cary)...........................................78 Patel, Mrugesh (Law Offices)..............................111 PKT Tours USA..................................................47 Pramukh Mandapam...........................................97 PreJuve Medspa & Wellness (Neelu Agarwal MD) .....9 Publix..................................................................2 Rajeev Devgon, CPA ...........................................67 RB Realty Group (Ravi Bheemarao) .....................77 Real Triangle Properties (Joe Mathews) .................25 Rug & Home.........................................................5 Ryan Shah (Tabla Lessons) ...................................37 Saathee.com........................................................87 Sahaja Yoga ..........................................................6 Shaan in Concert Charlotte (LMT seva & Nachbaliye)..3 Shah & Associates, CPA, PLLC...........................111 Shah & Trivedi CPA, PLLC.................................101 Sharma Insurance Agency LLC.............................53 Singh, Manny (Real Estate)..................................23 Spectrum Family Medicine (Sujatha Sajeevan, MD)25 Spices Hut .........................................................65 Stylish Me ..........................................................27 Swadhyay Pariwar.............................................113 Taaza Fresh Indian Bistro.....................................49 Taige Media........................................................31 Technone LLC (Securtiy Systems) .........................53 TMSA (Public Charter Schools) ...........................16 Travel Passion .....................................................53 Tutoring (Nirmala Koripella - A+ Tutoring)..........76 Uniworld Travel ..................................................43 Vema Mortgage LLC (Vipul Hapani)............ 19 & 83 Vipasana Meditation ...................................................22 Wake Spine & Pain..............................................83 West Cary Medicine (Dr. Kareem M.D.).................19 Worldwide Travels..............................................105 November 2026