Celebrating Diversity In The Entertainment Industry
® US ELECTION 2020 Matters to India
OKO DRAMMEH Icon of the Gambia
SIR SEAN CONNERY Vice President Elect
KAMALA HARRIS Her Powerful Fashion Statement
LILY LISA Weaving Magical Designs & Love
COLLECTOR’S EDITION Prather Jackson Publisher
Photo Credit: PictureLux/ The Hollywood Archive
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
W
elcome readers to a very special issue of Hollywood Weekly Magazine. We are celebrating the life of Sir Thomas Sean Connery. The world mourns his life. Every nation. All cultures. All of us. Isn’t that was art is supposed to do. Sean Connery united us in his warmth and love as an actor. Nature, art and artists are what unite us as human beings.
PUBLISHER/EDITOR IN CHIEF Prather Jackson VICE PRESIDENT Bernice Harris Michael D. Coxson SENIOR BOOK CURATOR Jane Ubell-Meyer ASSOCIATE EDITOR Anthony Ewart MARKETING & SALES Launy Rhem
We are so honored to have the blessing of The American-Scottish Foundation with this tribute edition of Hollywood Weekly Magazine. We thank ASF Chairman Kenneth Donnelly for providing us with personal photos from their award ceremony for Sir Sean Connery in 2001.
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Anthony Ewart Alex A. Kecskes Jenny Werth Ike Sinha
This is our Christmas Issue, and we celebrate the holidays with our entire International family and here at home of course. Once again we salute the great City of Los Angeles for overcoming every obstacle imaginable in 2020 and pulling through with victories for Angelenos.
ILLUSTRATOR/ DIGITAL MEDIA Jonathan Clark
We’d like to thank our friends at the Canadian Film Commission for their ongoing partnership with HW magazine. There’s also time to give the gift of books and we have the wonderful Jane Ubell and her new selections of favorites for the Holidays. Finally we celebrate with our global family in India “Gurpurab,”the most revered day observed in the Sikh community. As always, readers, we thank you...
Anthony Ewart
Celebrating Diversity In The Entertainment Industry
Associate Editor
® US ELECTION 2020 Matters to India
OKO DRAMMEH Icon of the Gambia
SIR SEAN CONNERY Vice President Elect
KAMALA HARRIS Her Powerful Fashion Statement
LILY LISA Weaving Magical Designs & Love
COLLECTOR’S EDITION Prather Jackson Publisher
Photo Credit: PictureLux/ The Hollywood Archive
Call: (424)371-9900 2 • HOLLYWOOD WEEKLY
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4 FRENCH RIVIERA VILLA 6 RUIJIA WANG 12 JASMINE ORTIZ 14 KAMALA HARRIS 16 LILY LISA 18 OKO DRAMMEH 30 AMERICAN HISTORY 34 GURU NANAK JAYANTI 38 US ELECTIONS 2020 40 SIR SEAN CONNERY
The American-Scottish Foundation Sean Connery’s Former Home Producer/Writer/Director Pop Sensation
Her Powerful Fashion Statement
Weaving Magical Designs and Love Icon of the Gambia
From Recife to Manhattan
Celebration on November 30, 2020 Matters to India
Photo Credit: Marina Tsareva
HOLLYWOOD WEEKLY IS A PUBLICATION WHOLLY OWNED BY PRATHER JACKSON HOLLYWOOD WEEKLY MAGAZINE LLC. © 2020 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. REPRODUCTION OF ANY CONTENT WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSSION OF THE PUBLISHER IS EXPRESSLY PROHIBITED. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR MAY BE SENT TO: PRATHER@HOLLYWOODWEEKLYMAGAZINE.COM. 8345 RESEDA BLVD #117, NORTHRIDGE, CA 91324. FOR ADVERTISING INQUIRIES CALL: (424) 371-9900
SEAN CONNERY HOLLYWOOD WEEKLY • 3
The American-Scottish Foundation ®
IN MEMORIAM
SIR SEAN CONNERY Editor’s Note:
Special Thanks to The American-Scottish Foundation for Sharing
their personal photographs and tribute to Sir Sean Connery.
It is with great sadness that the American Scottish Foundation shares this post today following the passing of Sir Sean Connery who had recently celebrated his 90th birthday in August. In 2001 ASF was honored to present the ASF Wallace Award to Sir Sean for his outstanding contribution to Scotland and International relations on the steps of the Capital. The presentation made by Alan L Bain, was part of the Washington DC 2001 celebration of Tartan Day. ASF Chairman, Kenneth Donnelly was present that day and shares a tribute and memories of one of Scotland’s great icons. “Sir Sean Connery was an inspiration to all Scots around the world. From his days in Edinburgh working odd jobs as a milkman, then bodybuilder to world class actor he inspires us all to take full advantage of all the opportunities in life. “He was fully involved in supporting the idea of Tartan Day in America celebrating Scots contributions to the United States. 4 • HOLLYWOOD WEEKLY
Sir Sean coming down the steps of the Capitol in his kilt where many US Presidents have been sworn in, raising his arms in salute and the crowd raising a mighty cheer, “Scots Wha Hae.”
“I recall back in 2001 standing proud with Sir Sean Connery, Senator Trent Lott, Vice President Dick Cheney and many others on the west steps of the Capitol building as Sen. Lott read the Congressional proclamation of Tartan Day as April 6th. “Picture this Sir Sean coming down the steps of the Capitol in his kilt where many US Presidents have been sworn in, raising his arms in salute and the crowd raising a mighty cheer, “Scots Wha Hae” In 2002 Sir Sean once again celebrated Tartan Day with us in the US, but this time as Grand Marshal of the New York Tartan Day Parade up Sixth Avenue - a great moment that all of us involved in NYC Tartan Week remember or know is one of the great moments of the Parade history. Thank you Sir Sean for all you have done to promote the culture of Scotland.
www.americanscottishfoundation.org
Photos courtesy of The American-Scottish Foundation HOLLYWOOD WEEKLY • 5
Sean Connery's French Riviera Villa Sir Sean Connery, who died on Halloween, was not only one of the most famous actors of the past 50 years, in 1999 he was named the “Sexiest Man of the Century” by People magazine. The screen’s original James Bond: smart, handsome, refined, debonair and by far the most popular of the nine actors who took on the classic-spy role created by British-naval-intelligence-officer Ian Fleming in 1953. One of the world's most cherished celebrities, the Scottish-born star won numerous American and British film awards including an Academy Award, three Golden Globes and an American Film Life Achievement Award. He was granted knighthood by Queen Elizabeth in 2000. Similar to 007, who enjoyed the best food, drinks, cars and girlfriends all over the world, Connery was able to live in some of the world's prime real estate spots with his ritzy homes in England, Spain, France and the Bahamas. His long-time house in the South of France was recently for sale at $33.87 million. Still referred to by locals as “Sean's place,” Connery's former home is one of the French
6 • HOLLYWOOD WEEKLY
HOLLYWOOD WEEKLY • 7
Riviera’s prettiest and well-located villas with views overlooking Nice and the Mediterranean Sea. Adding a touch of reality to his English-spy roles, the home was used in several scenes of his Bond-movie Never Say Never Again when it was filmed in Nice and Monaco. Sited on over one acre, Connery’s home is located along a winding path at the edge of a cliff with views of the Promenade des Anglais and the Old Port. Behind an entrance gate providing privacy from over-zealous fans and paparazzi, the stone mansion is styled in the classic French architecture of the 1920s and dressed in colorful wisteria vines adding more romance to its already idyllic setting. Built on five levels with an elevator and rooftop terrace, its five bedrooms and baths are distributed between all the floors. The entrance opens into the grand hall with floorto-ceiling windows capturing more views of the mountains and sea. Wrap-around and garden terraces invite lounging and the home's period details such as wide-planked parquet floors run throughout the building. The main level also houses a family room and another room and kitchenette. The dining room and kitchen are located on the lower floor and open to a garden terrace. The upper-level master suite has his-and-her baths, a dressing room and private balcony. The bottom level has a fitness complex with gym and an indoor swimming pool that opens to the gardens, shower and dressing areas.
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Sean Connery died on October 31st surrounded by his family in the Bahamas where he lived in recent years. Visit TopTenRealEstateDeals.com for more historic, spectacular and celebrity homes and real estate news and Celebrity Home Video Tours.
Photos by Christopher Amitrano • Source: TopTenRealEstateDeals.com
HOLLYWOOD WEEKLY • 9
"The (TRUE) Last King of Scotland" BY ANTHONY EWART The great Sir Thomas Sean Connery has passed away. Where is Henry Purcell to write his funeral procession music as he did on the death of Queen Mary II. Where is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to write the Requiem for our beloved fallen Knight. Sir Sean Connery was our Last King of Scotland. There will never be another. The mold that made Sir Connery was not broken, it was flown back to Heaven to await him there upon his return. A return that has now left the world stunned. Was there ever a time you didn't know who Sean Connery was? Was there ever a James Bond movie you didn't watch and measure the performance of the actor against the "real" James Bond. It's almost as if every actor who played James Bond after Sean Connery was basing their performance on a real man, not a fictional character. They were not playing James Bond, 007...they were playing Sean Connery. That is an amazing feat for an actor to accomplish. To leave such an indelible stamp on a character that no other actor can ever fully assume the role in the eyes of the public. Frank Sinatra famously said the greatest thing he learned from Billie Holiday was how to make a song your own so no one else can sing it after without being compared 10 • HOLLYWOOD WEEKLY
to you... That is the musical equivalent to what Sir Sean Connery has done in the cinematic universe. There is another connection with Frank Sinatra and Sir Sean Connery, and it has to do with acting. Sinatra hated doing more than one take when filming a scene. The reason has to do with being a performer. When Frank Sinatra sings a song he embodies that song. He lives those lyrics right there in front of you. It's real. Sinatra tried to apply this same method of artistic honesty to acting. So when he felt that he truly did the best he could do in a scene he was...done. The director of course has other reasons for Sinatra to do another take, or several. Camera angles, lighting, a myriad of things. Sinatra would essentially say to the director, "That's it, kid. I laid it all out. Let's knock out the next one." He didn't really say that verbatim; my version is probably a Disneyesque reenactment of the tensions that arose with Sinatra being reluctant to do take after take. The point is what Sinatra craved in acting was sincerity. Honesty. And most importantly, a level of believability in acting or he just didn't want do it. It became fake and silly to him. This even extended to doing his own stunts which is why he injured his hand in a fight scene while filming "The Manchurian Candidate" (1962). Frank Sinatra would have loved to have been the kind of actor that Sean Connery was. And that is an actor of believability.
Cubby Broccoli, Sean Connery, Ian Flemming, and Harry Saltzman look at a map of Jamaica, where filming of Dr. No will commence.
It is the believability in Sean Connery's acting that gives you such a visceral, emotional response to any role Sean Connery inhabits. As an actor Sean Connery was the beautiful fruition of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's "suspension of disbelief" introduced in his "Biographia Literaria" (1817). Coleridge wrote that if art has enough "human interest and truth" the audience would essentially "suspend their disbelief" that what they are experiencing is art and believe it to be true. That fantastic description of art fits Sir Thomas Sean Connery, as an actor, to a tee.
My favorite Sean Connery movie is "Finding Forrester" (2000), which Connery also produced. I wish I could have been a young writer like Jamal Wallace (played by Rob Brown), mentored by the great writer William Forrester (Connery). They were friends. Jamal learned so much from Forrester and Forrester grew so much because of Jamal. The film also stars the fantastic Anna Paquin and the phenomenal F. Murray Abraham. A quiet movie that illustrated the sheer abundance of love Sean Connery had as a human being and an artist.
In his life Sean Connery had many professions before he became an actor...and even after that as any struggling actor will tell you. But it is this real world experience that Sean Connery had that he could infuse into his roles. People he met. Funny situations. Sad moments. Remember Coleridge's "human interest and truth." This is no doubt where Sir Connery's reservoir of emotions were born. Where believability was molded. He worked as a truck driver. A lifeguard...where I imagine all the women conveniently forgot how to swim when he was on duty. He was an artist's model for the Edinburgh College of Art. And he was a bodybuilder. He started in his late teens and competed in a Mr. Universe competition. He served in the Royal Navy. He could have been a professional footballer with Manchester United but decided, to the joy of the world, to be an actor.
Like Billie Holiday and Frank Sinatra songs in their later years meant even more to them. Their delivery of the lyrics grew more sincere. The culmination of Sir Sean Connery's believability as an actor was no doubt crystallized and exemplified in Brian de Palma's "The Untouchables" (1987). That is not method acting employed in that film, that is "Sir Sean Connery" acting based on a lifetime of experiences on and off screen. Sean Connery suspended our disbelief that we were in a dark movie theatre and he transported us back to 1930 and the war against prohibition and Al Capone. Sean Connery won an Academy Award for his performance as "Jimmy Malone." We all cried for Jimmy then. We all cry for Sean now. But we can learn something from Sean Connery's body of work, the same way we can learn from Hemingway's body of work. What authenticity looks like. HOLLYWOOD WEEKLY • 11
m F il Hollywood Weekly Feature Story:
PRODUCER/WRITER/DIRECTOR
Ruijia Wang "A Truthful Filmmaker Committed To Showing Us Our Lives On Film"
BY ANTHONY EWART
Founder and Publisher of Hollywood Weekly Magazine, Prather Jackson, has brought 15-year-old singer/songwriter extraordinaire HITHA to the attention of our nation and the world. Hollywood Weekly Magazine is now formally introducing you to the next great filmmaker Ruijia Wang. A Producer/Writer/Director in her early twenties from China who has a firm grasp on the film images in her mind she wants the world to see. In fact, these are subjects she feels the world should see. Ruijia, or RJ, as she is known to her friends, is truly what the filmmaking world needs. And that is Honesty. As a child Ruijia grew up on a filmset. Not as in "The Truman Show" (1998), bur parents worked in the industry. So many children growing in an environment Ruijia wanted to make it her profession as an adult. Except, unlike most children, Ruijia was more concerned in being behind the scenes. She began to view a filmset as a family. A second family. More importantly, a filmset became a safe place for her to be creative. Ruijia graduated from New York Film Academy with a Bachelor of Fine Art in Filmmaking. For the last six years Ruijia has produced, written and directed scores of short 12 • HOLLYWOOD WEEKLY
films in both China and America. When I say scores of short films I mean close to twenty, and that's not counting the music videos Ruijia produced or the commercials she worked on as line producer. Which brings me to another point: Ruijia is exceptional in every aspect of getting a film made. People in the industry describe Ruijia as a person "who can bring projects to reality." Bilingual in Mandarin and English, Ruijia personally handles casting, location scouting and acts as location manager. She's skilled at all manner of software needed in the completion of film editing. Many of Ruijia's films have been finalists in film festivals, such as "Teddy Bear," which was a finalist at the New York International Film Awards, along with her other short film "Piece of Cake." Ruijia won the Hollywood Gold Award" while still a student for the same film. But what makes Ruijia Wang so important is that she cares about young people are feeling. She has sympathy for all and is able to empathize with some because of her own experiences. Ruijia draws on subjects like bullying, isolation, the inability to communicate with your parents. Ruijia had friends whose friends had divorced and the modus operandi
was always the same. Both parents give the child money and get on with their own private lives. It's almost as if the union of their marriage can't be returned and they have an obligation to keep their child alive and happy. Money solves both problems... Ruijia was bullied early in school. It didn't last long but the feeling never left her. The idea of being afraid to go to school because someone might hurt you. Perhaps feeling it's a problem you have to solve all on your own. These are terrifying thoughts for an adult so a teenager battling these problems is heartbreaking. These are the kind of subjects Ruijia Wang is interested in discussing through the medium of film. Ruijia has a production company behind her and she is now looking for dramatic scripts to produce. This is good news, writers! If you are serious about your craft and you want to make films that can actually help people then you'll soon be referring to Ruijia Wang as "RJ." This is good news for the entire film community. It's about time we utilize the full power of films to heal. HOLLYWOOD WEEKLY • 13
mu sic Pop Sensation
JASMINE ORTIZ
is a Rising Star You Need to Know!
J
asmine Ortiz is not your ordinary artist; she is multi-lingual, multitalented, and is rapidly rising on YouTube. As a singer, songwriter, producer, and actress, Jasmine’s unique background provides her the versatility to excel in many markets within the Entertainment Industry. Born in New York, Jasmine fell in love with music at the age of three when she began her first piano lesson. By the age of six, Jasmine was signed to Abrams Artists, the bicoastal agency for acting and modeling, which became a twelve-year working relationship. Jasmine received her SAG/AFTRA card by the age of 10, with many acting, modeling, voice over and theater accolades under her belt which included Nickelodeon and Sesame Street to name a few. She composed and performed her first song at the age of 8 in front of an entire school. Graduating from one of the TOP 25 Arts High Schools in the United States (Charter Arts High School-PA), she double majored in piano and guitar. Jasmine plays a total of 5 instruments: the piano, the guitar, the viola, saxophone, and drums. Her level of theory composition is at an advanced college level. Having been to over 15 countries by her sophomore year of high school, she is both well-spoken and embraces cultural diversity. Jasmine is also a scholar; she was the Vice President of the National Honor Society, with a GPA of 3.98, & scored in the top 5% in SAT scores for the entire state of PA. Her musical 14 • HOLLYWOOD WEEKLY
ability and incredible GPA, garnered her over $500K in Merit Scholarships from all of her top school choices; in the US and in England. Currently at 19, a sophomore in college, she chose the Presidential scholarship and a Foote Fellowship that was offered to her from the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami, turning down schools such as Berklee School of Music, Occidental, and other top schools in the US & London. As she excels in school by consistently making the Dean’s list, she is also a Model UN delegate representative and winning Model UN competitions in schools such as Harvard, Columbia, and George Washington in DC. Jasmine is extremely passionate about women’s rights, addressing racial injustices, developing humane immigration policies, and aspires to reverse the effects of climate change from the corporate level. Jasmine is also motivated to make an impact with education reform and increasing funds to public schools to enhance student success. Singing in 3 languages (English, Spanish & Chinese), she composes, produces, and also plays instruments which makes her a very unique artist. Jasmine thrives on live performances and being in the studio to create new music. Jasmine has achieved notoriety by working hard and in less than a year, she released numerous music videos in different languages: “Miles Away”(English), “Miles Away” (English/Chinese), “Que Sera” (English/ Spanish), “HOT” (English/Spanish).
Her music video for “Intentions” (English/Spanish) is the first to reach over one million views in only 3 months after being released. In less than a year as an independent artist, Jasmine has garnered over 3 million views and streams between her videos on her YouTube channel, on other channels such as Vevo/ Vydia, TV shows (Music Choice, HTV, Rumba TV etc.) and on Spotify, Audiomack & other streaming platforms. Jasmine’s fan base reaches far beyond the U.S. into Europe, Asia, the Caribbean, and into Latin America. With her latest single entitled “Trick or Treat”, Jasmine aspires to make an impact in the Pop genre. In the first week of her music video for “Trick or Treat” being released, she has exceeded over 500K views on YouTube and continues to climb. Trick or Treat was written to address a common theme which has impacted many . This song is about becoming interested in someone just to find out the person on the other side really did not like you or was just playing mind games. Ghosting has become more and more popular in today’s dating world which can leave someone left being confused, sad, angry, hurt and can really impact one’s self esteem. Jasmine was inspired to write this song because she was personally “ghosted” and could not understand why. Jasmine was affected emotionally and the more that she talked to people about this topic, the more she realized that this was a topic that needed more awareness. Jasmine is definitely a rising artist to watch and is primed for a huge 2021 year!
HOLLYWOOD WEEKLY • 15
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IG: @evalendel HOLLYWOOD WEEKLY • 17
BY ANTHONY EWART
I
n Homer’s “The Iliad” written during The Bronze Age (c. 1260 - 1180 BC), he tells us in his beautifully well-crafted verse that Helen of Troy, who was a Demigod (her father was Zeus), could be found “at her Loom.” Homer describes a magical quality in the weaving of the robes worn by Goddesses. Intentionally or unintentionally implying that the mystical robes worn by the Goddesses of that time were woven by Helen of Troy. Dear readers, we have our own Beverly Hills Helen of Troy -- her name is Lily Lisa, or as the world knows her, Lucky Lily Lisa. In this Holiday Season we have to share the story of this incredible woman, fashion designer, creator of her own skin-care line, and most importantly, the most charitable person we have ever met at Hollywood Weekly Magazine. Many times just knowing that there is a real person making an effort to change the world can give you the confidence and motivation to believe you are not alone in trying to make a difference. 18 • HOLLYWOOD WEEKLY Lily Lisa has received a Certificate of Recognition from Mayor Charlie Klinakis of the
City of La Puente for her charitable efforts and and acts of kindness. This is the same Lily Lisa whose phenomenal dress boutique in Beverly Hills has brought her international fame. But Lucky Lily Lisa weaves beautiful dresses and she also weaves love. In fact, the love that Lily Lisa has been weaving in Los Angeles is truly something to behold. And what is amazing is that while Covid has forced many stores in Beverly Hills, including Lily’s to temporarily close, Lily Lisa’s website for her clothing designs and her incredible skin-care is fully operational 24 hours a day. How Lily Lisa is able to juggle her booming fashion and skin-care business while truly playing Florence Nightingale to the Angels in our city I really don’t know. Lily Lisa has been supplying face masks to people in need. She’s given away hand sanitizers, rubbing alcohol, liquid hand soap, gloves and and even toilet paper. When speaking about Lily Lisa Mayor Klinakis said “All of these items are going to come in very handy, especially for our senior citizens. We are going to be putting packages together to deliver and on behalf of the City of La Puente I thank you for your noble gesture to insure the safety and well-being of our community.” Unbelievable. And this all started because Lily Lisa heard of their need in La Puente and decided to help the senior citizens of La Puente. Lily Lisa has been a long-time advocate for the homeless. A spiritual, prayerful person, Lily Lisa, who always leads with her heart is an inspiration. Her efforts motivate us to be kind and generous with what we have. In an interview at the time of Lily’s award ceremony by the Mayor of La Puente, Lily commented, “The supplies have been hard for everyone to get but they are a necessities for personal protection. I am glad that I have done my part to help the La Puente community. My desire is that this will inspire more people to do the same. Together, let’s pray for the pandemic to be over soon, and then I believe that tomorrow the world will be more beautiful. God Bless America, God Bless the World.
HOLLYWOOD WEEKLY • 19
Once again Beverly Hills Lily Lisa has woven her golden love through Los Angeles... Lily’s philanthropic heart has led to recent collaboration with a local food drive to contribute personal protection supplies in addition to food for those in need. Lily has also been supplying face masks, hand sanitizer, and gloves to All Saints Episcopal Church in Beverly Hills. There was a collection of food organized by two local high schoolers and garnered over 2000 items to be sorted and bagged for the needy in the area by volunteers at All Saints. The church’s Outreach Director, Jean, commented, “We are going to be putting grocery bags together to deliver to people’s homes which will insure not only the safety but the well-being of our community” All Saints also works in conjunction with the Good Shepherd Catholic church to help provide meals weekly for the homeless in Beverly Hills. For protection of those who serve the needy, Lily made a large donation of face shields, a thermometer gun, alcohol, gloves, and liquid hand soap. Lucky Lily always says “Love is beautiful, Love is from your heart,” and God and Nature know she lives those words. I have saved the best for last. Truly. Because this was a matter of immediate life and death. When the postal workers at the Beverly Hills Post Office needed gloves and masks and hand saunters so they could interact with the public they had the funding to buy these items, the problem was almost all of the stores were sold out due to the pandemic. It was Beverly Hills Lucky Lisa, once again, spinning her golden threads of love to those in need. She gave the Beverly Hills postal workers at the post office the lifesaving protection they needed. That is why I say Lucky Lily Lisa is truly a weaver of all. A weaver of fashion. A weaver of love. A weaver of dreams of a beautiful world.
www.LilyLisaCollection.Com Info@LilyLisaCollection.Com
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HOLLYWOOD WEEKLY - PAGE TURNERS It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Save the hassle of shopping for the latest gadget and share the gift of an amazing story with your loved ones this holiday. Bedside Reading is keeping the spirit of the holiday bright by offering complimentary downloads of our favorite books of the season through our novel amenity, on the download at luxury hotels. Be sure to follow @BedsideReading on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn for holiday cheer and gift inspiration to ring in the new year!
❄ BedsideReading.com The Tenant by Katrine Engberg An electrifying work of literary suspense from internationally bestselling author Katrine Engberg, The Tenant—heralded as a “stunning debut” by #1 New York Times bestselling author Kathy Reichs—follows two Copenhagen police detectives struggling to solve a shocking murder and stop a killer hell-bent on revenge. When a young woman is discovered brutally murdered in her own apartment with an intricate pattern of lines carved into her face, Copenhagen police detectives Jeppe Korner and Anette Werner are assigned to the case. In short order, they establish a link between the victim, Julie Stender, and her landlady, Esther de Laurenti, who’s a bit too fond of drink and the host of raucous dinner parties with her artist friends. Esther also turns out to be a budding novelist—and when Julie turns up as a murder victim in the still-unfinished mystery she’s writing, the link between fiction and real life grows both more urgent and more dangerous. But Esther’s role in this twisted scenario is not quite as clear as it first seems. Is she the culprit or just another victim, trapped in a twisted game of vengeance? Anette and Jeppe must dig more deeply into the two women’s pasts to discover the identity of the brutal puppet-master pulling the strings. Evocative and original, The Tenant promises “dark family secrets—and a smorgasbord of surprises” (People).
The Return by Nicholas Sparks In the romantic tradition of Dear John, John, Nicholas Sparks returns with the story of an injured Navy doctor -- and two women whose secrets will change the course of his life in this #1 New York Times bestseller. Trevor Benson never intended to move back to New Bern, North Carolina. But when a mortar blast outside the hospital where he worked sent him home from Afghanistan with devastating injuries, the dilapidated cabin he’d inherited from his grandfather seemed as good a place to regroup as any. Tending to his grandfather’s beloved beehives, Trevor isn’t prepared to fall in love with a local . . . yet, from their very first encounter, Trevor feels a connection with deputy sheriff Natalie Masterson that he can’t ignore. But even as she seems to reciprocate his feelings, she remains frustratingly distant, making Trevor wonder what she’s hiding. Further complicating his stay in New Bern is the presence of a sullen teenage girl, Callie, who lives in the trailer park down the road. Trevor hopes Callie can shed light on the mysterious circumstances of his grandfather’s death, but she offers few clues -- until a crisis triggers a race to uncover the true nature of Callie’s past, one more intertwined with the elderly man’s passing than Trevor could ever have imagined.
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In his quest to unravel Natalie and Callie’s secrets, Trevor will learn the true meaning of love and forgiveness . . . and that in life, to move forward, we must often return to the place where it all began.
Dead Ball: A Novel of Murder and Passion by G.P. Hutchinson Hutchinson’s engrossing historical baseball thriller, “Dead Ball,” begins in 1912 when young St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Hal Gerecke unleashes a throw he’ll regret as long as he lives. Popular Boston Braves hitter Rube Wannamaker evidently never catches sight of the incoming fastball, and the next thing Hal knows, Rube is on the ground, unconscious and bleeding. As succeeding weeks pass, it becomes apparent that the errant pitch has left Rube in a permanent vegetative state. Gutted by the incident, Hal abandons baseball for married life with spunky Gracie Matthews, but recruiters for the newly formed and supposedly safer Mutual League of Professional Baseball soon pull him out of retirement. Certain folks, meanwhile— including mysterious baseball newcomer Johnny Wagner— haven’t forgotten Hal’s fateful fastball. Believing he purposely maimed Rube, they’re out for blood, and Hal’s life is in serious danger.
Under Lock and Key by Betty Bolte Giles Fairhope reluctantly journeys to the Fury Falls Inn in the wilderness of 1821 Alabama for one reason: his beloved sister Cassie needs him after their mother was murdered. He plans to find his mother’s killers, ensure Cassie’s safety, and then go home. When Cassie tells him their mother’s ghost haunts the inn, he suddenly faces his dead mother amidst shocking memories from his past, unexpected changes in himself, and dangerous family secrets. The revelations change everything he thought he knew about his family and threaten his sister’s safety and perhaps even her life...
Limerick Comics by Robert Hoyman Limerick Comics offers lighthearted original limericks on a wide range of history and science topics, each with an informational panel of surprising facts, presented in entertaining comics. Kids of all ages are invited to linger on each page to enjoy the humor, ponder inferences, and view the evocative details of each illustrated panel. This innovative blend of verse and fun facts is crafted to appeal to reluctant and advanced readers alike. Limerick Comics is a cross-curricular deep-dive sure to provide a springboard for discussion between kids and parents, or teachers and students.
Eye of the Moon by Ivan Obolensky Percy, the narrator, begins as someone raised on the fringes of the elite, quasi-abandoned by his traveling parents. He is abruptly reunited with his pseudo-brother and pulled into his hijinks. They stumble upon the artifacts of the legendary socialite Alice, who had died mysteriously twenty years prior. Her letters and journals bring a darker world to light and the two men dive headlong into the shadows. This inadvertently involves everyone at the estate, including the butler, Stanley, who was the only confidante of Alice with hidden knowledge of what happened behind closed doors before her death. She still lives in the places lit with magic, her narrative woven tightly with Percy’s. What will be the cost of revealing the truth? Where does Percy ultimately belong? HOLLYWOOD WEEKLY • 23
Fortune And Glory by Janet Evanovich The twenty-seventh entry in the #1 New York Times bestselling series isn’t just the biggest case of Stephanie Plum’s career. It’s the adventure of a lifetime. When Stephanie’s beloved Grandma Mazur’s new husband died on their wedding night, the only thing he left her was a beat-up old easy chair…and the keys to a life-changing fortune. But as Stephanie and Grandma Mazur search for Jimmy Rosolli’s treasure, they discover that they’re not the only ones on the hunt. Two dangerous enemies from the past stand in their way—along with a new adversary who’s even more formidable: Gabriela Rose, a dark-eyed beauty from Little Havana with a taste for designer clothes. She’s also a soldier of fortune, a gourmet cook, an expert in firearms and mixed martial arts—and someone who’s about to give Stephanie a real run for her money. Stephanie may be in over her head, but she’s got two things that Gabriela doesn’t: an unbreakable bond with her family and a stubborn streak that will never let her quit. She’ll need both to survive because this search for “fortune and glory” will turn into a desperate race against time with more on the line than ever before. Because even as she searches for the treasure and fights to protect her Grandma Mazur, her own deepest feelings will be tested—as Stephanie could finally be forced to choose between Joe Morelli and Ranger.
Borrowed Time – Book One: Broken Promises by Dänna Wilberg Imagine being shot, thrown into a pool, and left for dead. But by some miracle you survive−only to be tormented by visions of young women being murdered… When Suzanne Cash’s dead fiancé, Jack, appears during her near-death experience, she credits him for saving her life. But when he keeps reappearing, hijacking her sanity, and insisting she revisit her past, she questions his motives. Why would he lead her into the lair of a serial killer? And what is his connection to the victims? Detective Sam Metzger wants answers, even if it means suspending his disbelief about things unknown. As the body count rises, Suzanne’s visions become more frequent and Goldorado’s Sheriff’s Department is on the hook. Sam knows the clock is ticking, and although Jack is determined to help Suzanne understand her nefarious visions, lifting the veil to the other side is out of his control. After all, in the Universal Law of Cause and Effect, destiny must prevail.
Blood Orchids by Toby Neal Overcoming a past filled with scars, Lei makes a life for herself and her dog, Keiki, as a cop in the sleepy Big Island town of Hilo. When a routine patrol turns up two murdered teens, Lei’s world is rocked. She knows one of the girls, and she can’t rest until she finds answers—not only about the victims, but about her own shadowed past as well.
Blind Vigil by Matt Coyle A friend arrested for murder. A vicious killer lurking in the shadows. A world of darkness. Blinded by a gunshot wound to the face while working as a private investigator nine months ago, Rick Cahill is now sure of only one thing: he has to start a new life and leave his old one behind. He’s still trying to figure out what that life is when his onetime partner, Moira MacFarlane, asks for his help on a case she’s taken for Rick’s former best friend. The case is simple and Moira only needs Rick for one interview, but Rick is wary of waking sleeping demons. Ultimately, he goes against his gut and takes the case which quickly turns deadly. Rick’s old compulsion of finding the truth no matter the cost—the same compulsion that cost him his eyesight and almost his life—battles against his desire to escape his past. The stakes are raised when Rick’s friend is implicated in murder and needs his help. Can he help the friend he no longer trusts while questioning his own lessened capabilities? His life depends on the answer as a shadowy killer lurks in the darkness. 24 • HOLLYWOOD WEEKLY
A Bend in the River by Libby Fischer Hellmann In 1968 two young Vietnamese sisters flee to Saigon after their village on the Mekong River is attacked by American forces and burned to the ground. The sole survivors of the brutal massacre that killed their family, the sisters struggle to survive but become estranged, separated by sharply different choices and ideologies. Mai ekes out a living as a GI bar girl, but Tam’s anger festers, and she heads into jungle terrain to fight with the Viet Cong. For nearly ten years, neither sister knows if the other is alive. Do they both survive the war? And if they do, can they mend their fractured relationship? Or are the wounds from their journeys too deep to heal? In a stunning departure from her crime thrillers, Libby Fischer Hellmann delves into a universal story about survival, family, and the consequences of war.
The Ancestor by Lee Matthew Goldberg When a man with amnesia encounters his lookalike in the Alaskan wilderness, he becomes convinced they are ancestors and remembers being Wyatt Barlow, a 19th century gold prospector frozen in time, fully thawed now and desperate to get back to his family by getting dangerously close to his descendant, who has the life and the love he left behind.
Never Say Goodbye by Kim Sakwa She’s a famous songwriter who can’t remember a year of her life. He’s the British spy with all the answers. While walking through the tunnels of her family’s estate in the British Isles, successful singer-songwriter Amanda Marceau travels through time and into the arms of Alexander Montgomery, the Royal Navy Admiral who captures her heart. Months later Amanda’s forced back to the present with Alexander’s daughter, heartbroken they’ve been separated, and shocked to discover she’s pregnant. Hoping Alexander will find his way through time to her, she’s later devastated to learn he was killed for being a spy at the dawn of the American Revolution. Unable to cope with the horrible consequences, Amanda suffers an epic breakdown, and tucks away the memories that are just too much for her to bear. But Alexander Montgomery wasn’t executed, nor has he forgotten Amanda. He’s spent each day planning, searching for, and finding his wife and his daughter. He’s made the jump through time, and is using everything at his disposal to reunite his family in the twenty-first century. Then he learns that Amanda has amnesia--she can’t remember the time she spent in eighteenth-century Britain--and has no idea who he is. More determined than ever, Alexander knows it will take all of his love to restore her memory--or just maybe win her heart anew.
The Appraiser by R. Franklin James Remy Loh Bishop carries a newspaper clipping labeling her as the incompetent forensic technician forced to resign under a cloud of supposed evidence tampering. Determined to prove her innocence, she secures an appraiser position in an auction house in San Francisco. Once a hobby, now a necessity, she stumbles on a dead body and once more faces being discredited. Remy befriends an older woman looking for an heirloom. The search uncovers a murderer and this time Remy is a target. Book One is the new Remy Loh Bishop Mystery Series.
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Bond’s Sunbeam Alpine is pursued by the Three Blind Mice in a hearse.
Terence Young is under the camera directing Kitzmiller, Ursula Andress and Sean Connery on location in Jamaica
Ursula Andress as Honey Ryder and Sean Connery as James Bond on location in Jamaica 26 • HOLLYWOOD WEEKLY
Terence Young is under the camera directing Kitzmiller, Ursula Andress and Sean Connery on location in Jamaica
Cubby and Dana Broccoli, Sean Connery, and Jacqueline and Harry Saltzman, on location in Jamaica during the filming of Dr. No in 1962.
Photos by epk.tv HOLLYWOOD WEEKLY • 27
Film Festival Review
Reviewed by Anthony Ewart
The Little Chapel
Alaskan Long Hunters
Writer/Director Richard Schertzer
Writer/Director Marc Rose
Writer/Director/Editor Richard Schertzer is a triple threat. To put this in perspective, Steven Spielberg has only direction one script that he wrote. That was of course "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" (1977). Scherttzer's "The Little Chapel" is also about encounters. Paranormal encounters.
Writer/Director Marc Rose is an aviator and former Alaskan hunter. In his short film "Alaska Long Hunters" based on his book "Last Of The Long Hunters," is a fascinating journey into Alaska pre-1980s, before the natural landscape of Alaska was reshaped into family-friendly parks devoid of wild animals.
"The Little Chapel," Schertzer's short film submission to our film festival, is an engrossing nightmare in just under 5 minutes. A nightmare because Schertzer sets his story in the one place we think is safe. A church.
with beautiful images of Alaska Rose shares harrowing stories of hunting life (by plane for caribou) in that early wild Alaska. This is definitely a pilot's movie or a film for anyone who loves aviation.
One actress, Jessica Cinquemani, holds our attention as unknown spirits vie for hers... Scary stuff. The film is beautifully shot, however. The eerie blue light of Schertzer's chapel has stayed with me...as have the scares. Richard Schertzer is a Writer/Director/Editor on the rise.
But at its core this is a movie about great storytelling, since reenactments aside, this is a colorful narration about meaningful events and moments that happened to people in a land far, far away, yet they emotionally and universally connect us. And... Rose has signed a pre-production agreement to turn this one hour movie into a feature film. Congratulations to you, Marc.
“I have worked in this field for a while and I’ve noticed that the industry looks like it’s run out of ideas with remakes and reboots. But it’s really run out of creative ambition where directors don’t make movies that they want to make. They make movies based on how big studios want them made.”
Little French Fish Writer/Director Eva Lanska Filmmaker Eva Lanska is a graduate of the London Film Academy, majoring in cinematography. Her first film ended up in the Cannes Film Festival. I can tell you after watching Lanska's short film submission "Little French Fish," that Lanska is a filmmaker concerned with revealing the inner thoughts and emotions of her characters onscreen. Lanska's two leads, Britain's Jonas Khan and Devora Wilde with intoxicating intimacy. I can feel air as Devora exhales -- and I want to. Lanska takes me where I want to be: with these characters. The colors in this film are gorgeous, as Lanska shows us Paris as only she knows it. "Little French Fish" is a believable, intimate, passionate cinematic portrait of two people struggling to protect the love they've created. A love that is threatened to be torn apart by cultures and dogma and just plain ignorance. Eva Lanska is the author of five novels and it is abundantly clear that her goal is to give film audiences the same satisfaction one gets from reading a great novel. Mission accomplished, Mademoiselle Lanska, mission accomplished. Expect big things from Writer/Director Eva Lanska. “The year 2020 has placed us in a new reality, and now I would like to see more films and books that leave the reader thinking about True values. I’m talking about the values of family and spirituality. I believe that an invisible thread connects all people in this world. To overcome difficulties, we have to unite by creating films, writing articles, and publishing books that teach us to accept and love each other.“ 28 • HOLLYWOOD WEEKLY
Used and Borrowed Time Writer/Director Sophia Romma Dr. Sophia Romma is a fascinatingWriter/Director. She has more in common with David Lynch and Salvador Dali than most filmmakers. She's an accomplished playwright and has won numerous awards and is known for infusing surrealism and mysticism in her films. "Used and Borrowed Time" is her feature length submission to our film festival and clocks in at over 3 hours. The reason for this is at her heart, Dr. Sophia Romma is a dramatist and playwright, so her character s must speak...about themselves. They must reveal who they are...through words. This is the trap that many novelists and playwrights fall victim to when writing screenplays. But Romma is more like a David Mamet when it comes to transitioning to film, except she's much more visual. A camera may hold on a leaf, or beautiful colors in nature. Bold colors. An explosion of colors. So Dr. Romma allows us to hear who these characters are while being stimulated and entertained by her creative camera angles and shots. "Used and Borrowed Time" is a story about time travel. She has a unique twist to the cinematic flashback in that her main character actually travels back into her own timeline. It is the story of a blind jewish girl who falls in love with an African-American man in the south during the 60s. They were relentlessly persecuted by a southern racist family who also include incest in their bag of sins. This film is a statement about inequality, hatred and bigotry which is of course very relevant today. Dr. Romma wants to turn her characters inside out and show their motivations, regardless of how disgusting it may sound. This is an adult movie made for adults who are capable of change. The horrors and pathos of this film is a road to change.
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“It is the duty of righteous men to make war on all undeserved privilege, but one must not forget that this is a war without end.” --Primo Levi
Gravel Wounds Director Demarcus Brown Not since Billy Wilder's "The Lost Weekend" (1945) have I seen a film that tackles alcoholism in as realistic a way as Brown handles this material from a script by Jessica Waters. This is just great writing and directing, but most importantly, great actors. This movie just pops. The pacing is perfect to sustain the tension of the film. We are witnessing the destruction of a family due to alcoholism. The fallout is mesmerizing in its emotional intensity. Demarcus Brown has made a tiny masterpiece in just over ten minutes. The good news is that Demarcus and Jessica Waters will be teaming up for several more projects, one of which is a feature film. Demarcus and Jessica Waters are a filmmaking duo to keep on your radar. HOLLYWOOD WEEKLY • 29
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BR AZ IL
FROM RECIFE TO MANHATTAN
The Greatest American History Story You’ve Never Heard
Written by Blaine McManus The first Jews who helped to form New York as we know it today landed on America’s east coast by accident as survivors of a capsized ship sailing from their unlikely home in Recife, Pernambuco Brazil! Brazilian Ambassador of Tourism and award-winning Hollywood filmmaker Frederico Lapenda says this is “the most important global history story to ever take place in Brazil.” Because of this, he has channeled his passion for this story and focused it on turning it into a feature film so the world can know how a small beautiful town in Brazil in the 17th century unwittingly contributed to the birth of what the world knows today as the great city of New York. Recife was initially settled by the Portuguese in the 1530s, but the Dutch invaded in 1630 and ruled the region for 24 years. It was during this period that Jews who had previously settled in Amsterdam, many of them of Portuguese descent, began moving to Recife for business and religious purposes. The first migratory flow of Jews fleeing religious inquisition in Portugal and Spain occurred in the 17th century. At the beginning of this century during the inquisition, many Jews who were expelled from Portugal and Spain immigrated to Brazil, a new land with promise of safety and a possible new home with a bright future. In 1638 the first synagogue in the Americas was built (Kahal Zur Israel) in the small coastal city of Recife on the easternmost tip of Brazil. Many of the Jews were converted to Christianity and changed their name to fit in better with their new Christian community. With the arrival of the Dutch however and with the expulsion of the indigenous Portuguese, this scenario changed, allowing for the practice of Judaism between 1630 to 1654. The Dutch period however, while productive for Jews, was short-lived. A little more than 20 years later, the Portuguese resumed dominance of the colony, generating a massive migration yet again of the Jews. In view of the high number of Jews who lived in Pernambuco and the reduced physical space of sea-worthy vessels at that time, many Jews were unable to leave the country, but it is known that seventeen vessels filled with Jews did in fact set sail for other lands. In an attempt to reach Dutch 34 • HOLLYWOOD WEEKLY
Paulo Meira, Frederico Lapenda, Bruno Kehrle
territory, after the Portuguese victory, a group of Jews departed Recife bound for Amsterdam in 1654. Close to the Caribbean, however, the ship sank and only 23 Jews survived and miraculously made their way to North America and arrived in the small town of New Amsterdam, installing the first Jewish congregation where New York City was later founded. Author Daniela Levy wrote the book from Recife to Manhattan portraying this story of the Jews history with mastery and released it inside the Brazilian synagogue in Recife in 2019. Architectural Digest magazine published a survey of the 31 most beautiful streets in the world. Rua do Bom Jesus, in Recife, Brazil, known as Rua dos Judeus, was voted the 3rd most beautiful street in the world and the only Brazilian street in the survey. The colorful street of cobblestone located in a neighborhood known as “Recife Antigo,” or “Old Recife”, is lined with tall palm trees and is brimming with history. On this same street, in the middle of the block is a two-story, tan-painted stucco building with arched windows and doors called the Kahal Zur Israel Synagogue and is most notably known as the first Jewish house of worship in the Americas. Centuries later, the wealthiest man in Brazil, Jose Safra, owner of
Bom Jesus Street, Recife Brazil
Ambassador Frederico Lapenda HOLLYWOOD WEEKLY • 35
Safra Bank, financed the excavation and discovery of the original remains of the Kahal Zur Israel Synagogue and refurbished it to its original grandeur. The building is now a Jewish memorial and cultural center. It was restored to look much as the synagogue would have when it was the center of Jewish life in Recife. The restoration also includes viewing areas of ruins discovered below ground level, including a ritual bath called a mikvah. Producer Frederico Lapenda has licensed the rights to Levy’s book, translated it and will soon release it in the United States. Lapenda intends to produce a film telling the story of this journey of overcoming insurmountable odds and injustice. “This is the story of greatest global relevance that happened in Brazil, as the Jews who arrived in New Amsterdam helped to build what the world knows today as the great cities of New York and Manhattan. This is a story that needs to be told, as a celebration of history but also as a cautionary tale and reminder so as to not repeat the same mistakes.” Lapenda says. He also states, “Historically, countries who have expelled Jews, such as Portugal, Spain and Germany, often they go through extremely hard times financially and culturally afterwards. Whether this is a real thing or simply a superstition, one can only wonder what would have become of Brazil had the Jews not been cast out but rather had been allowed to stay and build the same economy and culture perhaps that New Amsterdam/New York became as a result.”
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Different views of Synagogue Kabal Zur Israel
Columbia Shuswap Film Commission
FilmColumbiaShuswap.com • film@csfilm.ca • 250-833-5947
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ind ia GURU NANAK JAYANTI OR GURPURAB CELEBRATION ON 30 NOVEMBER 2020 Guru Nanak Jayanti - Guru Nanak Jayanti or Gurpurab is
one of the most revered day observed by the Sikh community to glorify the tenets of Sikhism. Guru Nanak Jayanti commemorates the birth of Guru Nanak, the rst Sikh Guru. Both in the literal sense and In essence, Gurpurab means ‘festival of the gurus’. The historic day is celebrated across the world by devout Sikhs with great fervor and collective spirit and effort, asserting the message of morality, hard work and truth inherent in the preachings of Guru Nanak. Owing to the fact that Guru Nanak enlightened the world with his profound teachings, the day is also known as ‘Prakash Utsav’.
The founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak played an important role in shaping and strengthening the Sikh community. According to the Sikh literature, the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak is celebrated on the full moon day of the Indian lunar month, Kartik. Also known as Gurpurab or Guru Nanak’s Prakash Utsav, this day is celebrated with utmost enthusiasm among the Sikhs throughout the nation. In 2020, Guru Nanak Jayanti day will be celebrated on 30th November (Monday) all across India. However ,the best places to observe Guru Nanak Jayanti 2020 in India are Punjab,Haryana, Delhi and Rajasthan Although there are no ofcial reports about the origin of this festival, it is believed that the custom of celebrating Guru Nanak Jayanti is as old as Sikhism. Said to be one of the youngest religions of the world, Sikhism was founded by Guru Nanak, who is believed that the custom of celebrating Guru Nanak Jayanti is as old as Sikhism. Said to be one of the youngest religions of the 38 • HOLLYWOOD WEEKLY
lunar month of Kartik, which coincides with the month of October-November of Gregorian calendar. Therefore, different communities of Sikhs observe Guru Nanak Jayanti on either Vaisakhi or the Full Moon day of the lunar month of Kartik. Mainly associated with the Sikh community, Guru Nanak Jayanti is celebrated with enthusiasm and joy all over the nation. Not just Sikhs but even Hindus also celebrate this day to commemorate the birthday of Guru Nanak. People visit Gurudwaras and recite verses from the holy book of Sikhism, Guru Granth Sahib, on this day. People from the Sikh community decorate their homes and organize grand get-togethers. Multiple celebrations and feasts take place at the Golden Temple, and thousands of Sikh and Hindu families visit Amritsar every year on this day for offering prayers at the holy shrine. Sri Guru Nanak Sahib was the incarnation of Lord Almighty,a prophet and a Jagat Guru. Sri Guru Nanak embodies ten divine forms and Eternal Sri Guru Granth Sahib as one single Divine Entity. Guru Nanak was born on April 15th 1469 at Rai-Bhoi-di Talwandi in the present district of Shekhupura (Pakistan), now Nanakana Sahib. Nanak's religious ideas developed from both Hindu and Islamic thought, but are more than a simple synthesis. Nanak was an original spiritual thinker and he expressed his thoughts and ideas in poetry that forms the basis of Sikh scripture.
Little is known about the life of Nanak, but it is accepted that Nanak was born approx. 40 miles from Lahore in modernday Pakistan) in 1469. Sikh traditions teach that his birth and early years were marked with many events that demonstrated that God had marked him out for something special and was keeping an eye on him. Nanak refused to stay long in school. He devoted most of his time in meditation upon God. Instead of being vigilant on cattle to graze the eld , he meditated on God under the banyan tree. Guru Nanak attaches very great importance to prayers. He says nothing can be achieved by me without divine power. Approach God with total humility and to throw oneself on His mercy. Guru Nanak advocated that there is only one religion ,let anybody practice truth. To the Muslims ,He would ask them recite the Kalma of righteous deeds and then call thyself a Musalman. To the Brahmins who should stick to the vow of good temper and contentment. He breaks all bonds and gets emancipated. For women, he said that in a woman we are conceived, of a woman we are born, to a woman we are betrothed and married. Through a woman new trends are found. The woman continues the race. Why to call her a low of whom are born men great and powerful.
On the third day, that is, the actual day of Guru Nanak Jayanti, the festivities begin with the recital of Asa-di-Var (morning hymns) early morning. Poems, hyms and quotes are read out that uphold Guru Nanak’s exemplary life. This is followed by the ‘katha’ or exposition of the Guru Granth Sahib, along with discourses and insightful lectures. KirtanDarbars or special assemblies are also conducted. After this, a ‘langar’ or community kitchen is organized wherein volunteers serve food with full devotion to people of the Sikh community as well as other communities also. A sweet ‘Karah Prasad’ is also served. Some Gurdwaras also hold night prayers or rehras. This is one of the main sacred festivals in Sikh community and Sikhs celebrate Gurupurav all over India, and notably at the Shrine (Gurdwara) representing the home of Baba Kalu (Father) and Mata Tripta (Mother) called Gurdwara Janam Asthan, situated at Rai-Bhoi-di-Talwandi in the present district of Shekhupura (now Nanakana Sahib in Pakistan). Sikhs from all over the world gather here and celebrate the Gurupurav every year with great devotion and enthusiasm.
Sikh shrines established by Sikh Guru Nanak dev ji are at Nankana Sahib in the year 1490. The second shrine was at Punjab, Pakistan. Sultanpur Lodhi,in the year 1499 Kapurthala District, Punjab (India) and the other shrine is at Kartarpur Sahib, (1521) - Narowal, Punjab, Pakistan.
GURUPURAB RITUALS AND CEREMONIES A series of ceremonial rituals begin ahead of the actual day celebrations of Guru Nanak Jayanti. The rst day activities involve Akhand Paath, which refers to a 48-hour uninterrupted reading of the Sikh scripture Guru Granth Sahib two days before Guru Nanak Jayanti at Gurdwaras and even at homes. To mark the occasion, Gurudwaras are also decorated with owers and lights. On the second day, Prabhat Pheris, (prabhat meaning ‘early morning’ and pheris meaning rounds) are conducted. Sikhs devotees visit early morning at the Gurdwara and start chanting hymns from the Guru Granth Sahib. A huge procession is organized which is also called ‘Nagar kirtan’ with ve armed guards called ‘Panj Pyaras’ fronting it. The devotees holding Sikh ags called ‘Nishan Sahib’, march along with a decorated palanquin carrying the holy scripture of the Sikhs Guru Granth Sahib, as sacred quotes and hymns from the scripture ll the air amidst the resounding drum beats by local bands. As the procession heads towards the streets, people pay obeisance to the pious Guru Granth Sahib and partake of the blessed atmosphere. A team of Sikh people attired in traditional clothes, brandishing traditional weapons play ‘Gatka’ as they display their skills in sword ghting and martial arts.
CELEBRATIONS
Nankana Sahib, the birthplace of Guru Nanak becomes the hub of activity much before the auspicious day arrives. Special arrangements are made with the support of the managing committee and the state government, as Sikh pilgrims arrives in huge numbers from India, Europe and the U.S. to participate in the activities of the holy day and seek blessings. During Guru Nanak Jayanti, the Golden Temple in Amritsar, India also sees a constant stream of devotees from everywhere. It is lit up beautifully and offers a most aweinspiring sight. Gurudwaras in the Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh especially come alive with air of festivity and spirit of inner joy that emanates from the congregation. Elaborate arrangements are made for ‘langar’ as lakhs of devotees are served food by volunteers and people who wish to immerse themselves in ‘seva’ or service to humanity. The distribution of ‘Karah Prasad’ is also looked forward to by the people. Special programs are organized and religious music and kirtans keep a mystical and blessed atmosphere. After the langar, a prayer session takes place. Since Guru Nanak’s birth was after midnight, the celebrations also go on past midnight.
CELEBRATIONS ABROAD In the U.K., Canada and the U.S., members of the Sikh community visit the Gurudwara which hold the programs and prayer service. Devotees turn out in huge numbers to participate in all the ceremonies, reliving the values and paying homage to the teachings of Guru Nanak. Guru Nanak is the Great Eternal.
“ I love God alone who pervades in all ” – Guru Nanak HOLLYWOOD WEEKLY • 39
“ US ELECTION 2020 MATTERS TO INDIA ” The US Election 2020 and a look at how US-India
relationship has evolved, and its highs and lows irrespective of whether the President would be a Democrat or a Republican.
The US relationship is the most important of India’s bilateral ties, having grown in recent years on account of China’s belligerence. In the concluding part of a series on the US Presidential election, this relationship has evolved with its highs and lows irrespective of whether the President has been a Democrat or a Republican.
The reason for the drastic change in the geo-strategic outlook can be summarized quickly. India’s rst serious departure from its Non Aligned posture, the 1971 Indo-Soviet treaty, was a response to the continuing US tilt towards Pakistan and the beginnings of a Washington-Beijing entente. In 2020, it is the frightening prospect of a powerful, belligerent and hegemonic China that has helped New Delhi build its relationship with Washington. Clearly, both Joe Biden and Donald Trump recognize the grave threat from China, but their response may be different. While Trump 2.0 may be willing to even more aggressively counter China, Biden is likely to follow a policy of “Congagement”: containment with engagement. To be most effective, India’s China policy —many would argue — would have to be customized to the US’s response and coordinated with Washington. This has already generated, as it should, a robust debate. A rising power like India has three clear strategic choices: Hedging; Balancing; or Bandwagoning.
The relationship with the United States of America matters to India more than any other bilateral engagement: economically, strategically and socially. American Presidents can often make a real difference to bilateral ties, including on trade, on immigration policies, and larger strategic issues. Outside the fringes, the mainstream of political opinion favours stronger relations between the two countries. AntiAmericanism, once the knee-jerk reaction of the Indian elite, seems almost antediluvian today. The Indian diaspora in the US is one of the most successful expatriate communities, and while their political preferences may differ — they all favour a closer bonding between their janmabhoomi or pitrabhoomi and their karmabhoomi. 40 • HOLLYWOOD WEEKLY
A strategy of Hedging offers the prospects of continuing cooperation with China on areas of mutual interest, while building India’s defences and confronting Beijing on a la carte basis at a time and place of New Delhi’s choice. A Biden Presidency may demand continued strategic Hedging. Bandwagoning is a defeatist option of capitulation and accepting Chinese hegemony (“If you cannot beat them, join them!”). That would also exclude the US from the strategic options available; no self-respecting Indian would be comfortable with such an option. Balancing is the most challenging and confrontational option and is likely to be the preferred option of the Trump Presidency. India is not in a position to balance China on its own, and balancing (soft and hard: economic, diplomatic and military) would demand building a coalition with the US and other “like-minded” states.
The structure and form , balancing would take the shape of a “Quad” (with Australia, Japan and the US). Or a full-edged military alliance such as an Asian NATO. It is yet to be ascertained if India would be comfortable being a junior partner in such an arrangement. Where would it leave India’s deeply held belief in strategic autonomy, dened as the independence to make choices about war and peace.
Nehru). Kennedy also played a role, according to Reidel, in restraining President Ayub Khan of Pakistan from opening a second front against India during the Sino-Indian war. More exceptionally, there were senior gures within the Kennedy administration who wanted India to be helped to test and develop nuclear weapons, before China did so, to give a psychological llip to its standing in Asia.
There is a strong belief that Republican Presidents, historically, have been more pro-India than Democrats .Other than anecdotal evidence and aky intuition, there are few hard facts to support this contention. True, Republican regimes are often associated with the surgical pursuit of American interests, and can be less woolly-headed on issues like democracy, nuclear non-proliferation and human rights; but there had Presidents, across the partisan divide, who have engaged India with passion and vigour.
Had Kennedy not been assassinated in 1963, and Nehru not died in 1964, the history of the US-India relationship may have taken a different course during the difcult 1960s and 1970s. And then take the case of Bush, whose simplicity many compared to that of the ctional character Chancy Gardner — a simple-minded gardener thrust into the Presidency (played by Peter Sellers in the Hollywood lm Being There). But his passion for India and his desire to arrive at a modus vivendi with New Delhi was driven by a zeal uncharacteristic of US Presidents. It even provoked the staid Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to become emotional in his nal meeting with President Bush in September 2008.
Take the two Presidents often viewed as being the most affectionate towards India since World War II: John F Kennedy, in the 1960s, and George W Bush, in the 2000s. The former was a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat, and the latter a neo-Conservative Republican. Both reached out to India and engaged New Delhi with uncharacteristic zeal, in two very different times, but on both occasions the China threat acted as a catalyst to ensure that the bonding extended beyond just personal chemistry. Recently declassied sources have revealed the extent to which Kennedy was willing to support India in positioning it as a democratic counterweight to a totalitarian China in Asia in the 1960s. The President sent one of his most trusted aides, the Harvard Professor John Kenneth (“Ken”) Galbraith as Ambassador; Ken had unfettered access to Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and a hotline to the White House. Later, the First Lady, Jacqueline (“Jackie) Bouvier Kennedy’s goodwill visit to India in March 1962 was not just a spectacular success, but built a deep bond between an ageing Nehru and the Camelot of brilliant minds that Kennedy had assembled (the previous 1961 Nehru visit to the US was surprisingly disappointing).Jackie was put up in the “Edwina Mountbatten” suite at Teen Murti House, while in New Delhi, and according to former CIA analyst Bruce Reidel, Nehru was so smitten by Jackie that for the rest of his life, he had a picture of her on his bed stand. (Reidel‘s study JFK’s Forgotten Crisis: Tibet, the CIA, and the Sino-Indian War is easily the best account of those years.) In 1959, Kennedy (as Senator) had given a major foreign policy speech (drafted by Galbraith, which one reads today with a sense of déjà vu). He said: “No struggle in the world today deserves more of our time and attention than that which grips the attention of all Asia. That is the struggle between India and China for leadership of the East, and the respect of all of Asia…” A battle between a democratic India that supports “human dignity and individual freedom” against Red China which ruthlessly denies human rights. To help India win the race against China, Kennedy had proposed that there be an equivalent of a “Marshall Plan” for India funded by NATO allies and Japan, as it was the duty of the free world to ensure that democratic India prevailed over Red China. During the Kennedy years, India received unprecedented economic assistance, and in the 1962 war almost a carte blanche in terms of military aid (specically requested by
In the Oval Ofce, Singh told Bush: “The people of India deeply love you. And all that you have done to bring our two countries closer to each other is something history will remember.” Indeed, the former Ambassador of the United States, the Harvard academic Robert Blackwill, used to often recount at his dinner roundtables at New Delhi’s Roosevelt House, an intriguing story about how he was persuaded to take up the job. In 2001, President Bush called him to his ranch in Texas and said: “Bob, imagine: India, a billion people, a democracy, 150 million Muslims and no al-Qaeda. Wow!” It was the personal weight that Bush put into it that ensured the success of the nuclear deal between India and the United States, despite the naysayers within the State Department. The agreement mainstreamed India’s nuclear programme. The deal was designed in a manner not to box India and its nuclear programme into a corner, but to welcome a rising power on to the high table of the management of the international system. Similarly, the worst phase of India’s relations with the US was during the Republican Richard Nixon administration and the early years of the Democratic Bill Clinton administration. While the pro-Pakistan tilt of the Nixon Presidency in the 1970s is well known (especially since Islamabad was acting a conduit to Beijing in the new opening of the US towards China, the Princeton academic Garry Bass has recently unearthed that Nixon held deep prejudice against India and Indians In the early Clinton years of the 1990s, India and the US had a dip in bilateral relations; with pressure on India to “freeze, rollback and eliminate” its nuclear programme and to settle Kashmir. The presence of the impetuous Robin Raphael (an FOB — Friend of Bill) as Assistant Secretary aggravated the situation. Before being elevated to that position, Raphael had been a Counsellor in the American Embassy in New Delhi. In that position, she had been cultivated by Kashmiri separatists and the Pakistan High Commission, but treated with disdain by the Ministry of External Affairs (and deservedly so), including by Minister Hardeep Puri, then Joint Secretary for the Americas. Not surprisingly, in her very rst off the record brieng, Raphael questioned Jammu and Kashmir’s accession to India and quickly helped US-India relations fall to a new nadir. HOLLYWOOD WEEKLY • 41
THE MALABAR NAVY EXERCISE – THE QUAD COUNTRIES COMPRISING OF INDIA,US,AUSTRALIA AND JAPAN PARTICIPATES DURING COVID-19 The Phase-1 of Malabar exercise 2020 witnesses the participation of Indian Navy units with United States Ship (USS) John S McCain (Guided-missile destroyer), Her Majesty's Australian Ship (HMAS) Ballarat (long-range frigates) with integral MH-60 helicopter, and Japan Maritime Self Defence Ship (JMSDF) Onami (Destroyer) .
USS NIMITZ AND INS VIKRAMADITYA
The Malabar Navy Exercise is particularly signicant this year. The Phase 1 of the Exercise kicked off on Tuesday,03 November 2020 with participation of Australian navy for the rst time since 2007. The Malabar Exercise is a multilateral naval exercise that includes simulated war games and combat manoeuvres. It started in 1992 as a bilateral exercise between the Indian and US Navy. Japan joined in 2015. This year the exercise will be held in two phases, the rst started on Tuesday,03 November ,off the coast near Visakhapatnam, and the second in the Arabian Sea in mid-November. Last year it was held in early September off the coast of Japan. Malabar Naval Exercise is the quadrilateral event that has taken place at a time when India is witnessing face-off with China and border issues with Pakistan. The 24th edition of the Malabar Naval Exercise was held during the prevalent Coronavirus pandemic and extra precautions coupled with strict measures are being taken to keep the COVID-19 threat at bay.This year’s Malabar Exercise has been planned on a “non-contact-at sea” format keeping Covid-19 protocols in mind.
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For the rst time in over a decade, the exercise had the participation of all four Quad countries. In a statement last month, the Defence Ministry had said that as India seeks to increase cooperation with other countries in the maritime security domain and in the light of increased defence cooperation with Australia, Malabar 2020 now see the participation of the Australian Navy. This is the second time Australia is participating. In 2007, there were two Malabar Exercises. The rst was held off Okinawa island of Japan in the Western Pacic — the rst time the exercise was held away from Indian shores — and the second in September 2007, off Visakhapatnam, with the Indian, Japanese, US, Australian and Singapore Navies. The following year, Australia stopped participating. Japan became a regular participant only in 2015, making it a trilateral annual exercise since then. Australia’s participation is very important strategically. On October 27, following the 2+2 dialogue with the US, the Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said: “We… agreed that upholding the rules-based international order, respecting the rule of law and freedom of navigation in the international seas and upholding the territorial integrity and sovereignty of all states are essential. Our defence cooperation is intended to further these objectives. Both sides welcomed Australia joining the forthcoming Malabar Exercise.” As the standoff in Eastern Ladakh continues, the participation of four large Navies from the Indo-Pacic region has sent a strong message to China. Earlier, it was the possibility of riling up China that had prevented India from expanding the Malabar Exercise, and from Australia joining it. Rear Admiral Sudarshan Shrikhande, who retired in 2016
and had headed Naval intelligence earlier, and had served as the Defence Advisor at the Indian High Commission in Canberra (2005-08), said that with the clearer enunciation of the Quad in recent foreign ministers’ meet in Japan, it would have been counterproductive to the objectives of statecraft not to invite Australia. He said the Quad “must, among other things, contribute to being a key instrument of deterrence that is necessary keeping China in mind”. He said that the Quad need not be NATO in its formality, in its political congruence and as a post-war response but it can “deter nonetheless”.
Singapore Navies participated. However, from 2008, Australia stopped its participation. As India seeked to increase cooperation with other countries in the maritime security domain and in the light of increased defence cooperation with Australia, Malabar 2020 has seen the participation of the Australian Navy. Navy begins Mission Sagar-II to deliver aid to littoral states under which INS Airavat entered the Sudan port carrying100 tonnes of food.Under the mission, India provides assistance to friendly countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. Australian Defence Minister Linda Reynolds said the imperative to cooperate closely with regional defence partners on shared challenges was stronger than ever. “Exercise Malabar is an important opportunity to work in concert with like-minded nations to support a secure, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacic region.”
MALABAR EXERCISE INVOLVING INDIA AND JAPAN At a webinar on September 3, Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat had said Quad is a good arrangement, which will ensure, that the Indian Ocean Region and all other oceans around there is complete freedom of navigation, without fear of any other nation singularly trying to dominate the oceans. Over the last few months, the Indian Navy has conducted a number of Passage Exercises (PASSEX) with Navies from Japan, Australia and the US. But those were basic exercises to increase operability between the Navies, while Malabar involves simulated war games. In late September, the Indian Navy conducted PASSEX with the Royal Australian Navy. In July, India conducted a PASSEX with the US carrier strike group led by one of the largest warships in the world, USS Nimitz. The carrier strike group had been passing through the Indian Ocean Region after completing a freedom of navigation exercise in the South China Sea, which China is quite sensitive about. A similar exercise was conducted with Japan Maritime Self Defence Force in June. The Indian Navy participation in Phase 1 ,was led by Rear Admiral Sanjay Vatsayan, Flag Ofcer Commanding Eastern Fleet. Indian Navy units participating in the exercise included destroyer Ranvijay, frigate Shivalik, Off-Shore Patrol Vessel Sukanya, Fleet Support Ship Shakti and submarine Sindhuraj. In addition, Advanced Jet Trainer Hawk, longrange maritime patrol aircraft P-8I, Dornier maritime patrol aircraft, and helicopters also participated in the exercise, as per details provided by the Ministry of Defence.
SIGNIFICACE OF MALABAR EXERCISE 2020 Amidst growing animosity with China and Pakistan, the quadrilateral event of such magnitude becomes crucial in sending out a stern message. For the rst time over a decade, all four QUAD Countries — Japan, India, Australia and the US took part in Phase 1 of Malabar Exercise 2020. While the Malabar Naval exercises started in 1992 as a bilateral Indian Navy-US Navy exercise, Japan became a regular participant in 2015. In 2007, Indian, Japanese, US, Australian and
This is the 24th edition of the exercise that began in 1992 and this time it is being held in two phases, in the Bay of Bengal and from November 17 to 20 in the Arabian Sea. Indian Navy ships Ranvijay, Shivalik, Shakti, Sukanya, and submarine Sindhuraj were exercising with US naval ship USS John S McCain, Royal Australian Navy ship HMAS Ballarat, and Japanese Maritime Self Defence ship JS Onami.
WARSHIPS, NAVAL SHIPS AND SUBMARINES, The four Navies conducted a range of high-end training, including air defence and anti-submarine exercises, aviation, communications and at-sea replenishment between ships as per the statement from the Australian Defence Ministry.The country has been suspicious about the purpose of the Malabar exercise as it feels that the annual war game is an effort to contain its inuence in the Indo-Pacic region. China hoped that the quadrilateral Malabar exercises involving navies of India, the U.S., Japan and Australia, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a media brieng in Beijing that they hoped that relevant countries’ military operations will be conducive to peace and stability in the region instead of the contrary .China has been suspicious about the purpose of the Malabar exercise as it feels that the annual war game is an effort to contain its inuence in the Indo-Pacic region. The annual exercise was conducted off the coast of Guam in the Philippine Sea in 2018 and off the coast of Japan in 2019.For the last few years, Australia has shown keen interest in joining the exercise. The evolving situation in the Indo-Pacic in the wake of China’s increasing military muscle-exing has become a major talking point among leading global powers.The U.S. has been favouring making Quad a security architecture to check China’s growing assertiveness in the strategic Indo-Pacic region. HOLLYWOOD WEEKLY • 43
A restless child as Priyanka Das had started pre-nursery, perhaps 3 years old, her rst report card had a lot of zeros in it, more than Asian parents could digest. During the parentteacher meet, her parents requested the teachers to explain why her performance was so dismal and what “measures” they should take to help improve her grades. The teacher said, “Those are not zeros. Those are O’s. ‘O’ stands for Outstanding performance”. Growing up, she was interested in several things at the same time. Probably she had been suffering from hyperactivity. Her brain made her restless enough that she had to keep doing something all the time, but was able to sustain interest in the activity long enough that she got better at it. She started to focus on a select few elds - art, her violin, dance, writing, sports and of course, science and puzzles but clearly, wanting a direction in life. She obsessively needed to do a hundred different things and do them well, in order to feel satised. So, just before leaving school she received the “Best All-rounder Award”! She did rather well in competitive science exams like the National Science Olympiads and felt encouraged to pursue a career in science. But deep down, she was always an artist. Also “slight” parental pressure made her focus on her studies again and secured 95% in her board examinations. That really served as a trampoline for her as it secured a place at St. Stephen's College for an Honours course in Physics, and her adventure in science thus began. She was rst offered a place at the prestigious National Institute of Design as she was more inclined towards Art than Science. Two weeks into the Foundation course at NID , she was inform that St. Stephen’s College of the University of Delhi, and a part of the original Cambridge Mission to India, had accepted her for an interview for a bachelor’s in Physics.
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Her favourite subject in Physics is “Astrophysics” because it was her favourite encyclopedia subject.Her admission at St. Stephens was one such singular moment that led her to the HI-SEAS “Moonhab”.St. Stephen’s also helped as a recipient of the Indian Government’s INSPIRE scholarship, and she was able to stay at the school campus. Pursuing the newly developed curiosity for optics, the following year she did an internship at the Photonics lab at IIT Delhi, on holography, a subject that she became obsessed with because it was so artistic and gratifying as well. In the nal year, she was selected for a summer course in experimental physics at the Homi Bhabha Centre (HBCSE) organized by the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) in Mumbai. Her academic experience at St. Stephen's was thus quite rich and eventful. She could afford to turn up for entrance exams for masters like JAM, JEST and TIFR, with very little preparation and still qualify with good ranks. However, she was not satised, as deep down she felt the need to explore more - not just academically but what life had to offer in general. She personally interacted with a few Professors at St. Stephen’s, especially Dr Bikram Phookun, who advised her to apply for masters at Ecole Polytechnique in Paris, one of the most prestigious schools in France and which has produced several of the best French minds since the end of the 18th century. It was also given a military status by Napoleon himself in 1794. Now, people in India do not generally know much about France, except the Eiffel Tower and Louvre Museum. Moreover, there are a lot of unfortunate stereotypes about “western culture”. The course at Polytechnique provided three degrees: an extra bachelor’s in Engineering and two internationally recognized masters’ in Science. The multidisciplinary nature of the course truly seduced her, and she made it a point to have her interest known from her rst year itself to Dr Jean Marc Deshouillers, the representative for Ecole Polytechnique who came every year to the college to recruit students.Her happiness knew no bounds when she received the acceptance letter! Fully-funded and with a paid ight to France, Ecole Polytechnique proved to be the second major trampoline in her life. A new country, a new culture, a new tag of X2013, and a plethora of opportunities. There was so much to learn and do at the same time that she even took up fencing as a sport and competed at university level! And one of the most amazing experiences: parading with the Ecole Polytechnique troop which leads the procession during the 14th July celebrations “Bastille Day”.
By the end of the third year, she was looking for a PhD that would combine navigation, satellites, and machine learning, and give her some opportunities to travel and practice her art. She got accepted at ISAE-Supaéro, from where she earned her second master’s in Aerospace Engineering with a specialization in Autonomous Systems, Decision Sciences and Robotics. Thereafter through a recruitment process, got accepted for an industrial PhD position in collaboration with Safran.
(Left) Bastille Day parade in the Ecole Polytechnique military uniform (2015) (Right) Ecole Polytechnique yearbook photo (2016) During rst year at Ecole, she had learnt that there was a possibility of doing the 4th year as a double diploma exchange student at ISAE-Supaéro, France's top school in the domain of Aerospace engineering. When they came to present themselves at Ecole Polytechnique, they took them on a visit to the campus of Safran, a leading aerospace company in Europe. They were greeted by Jean François Clervoy, an alumnus of both Polytechnique and ISAESupaéro ... and a French Astronaut or the European Space Agency (ESA)! She had then a deep desire to study at ISAESupaéro and one day work for Safran.
Always proud to aunt the mekhela and the saree Graduation ceremonies from (right) Ecole Polytechnique (2016) and (left) ISAE-Supaéro (2017).
In the rst year at Ecole, she participated in an event called ActInSpace, organized by the CNES, the French Centre for Space Studies. The team developed an origami-inspired design of solar panels around a space probe for ease of deployment in space and won the rst prize in the Paris region, making it to top 5 in France.The next year she was part of a team project that made an actual “cubesat” – a 20x10x10 cm3 microsatellite – for the Von Karman Institute’s QB50 project, a mission for developing a network of CubeSats built by Universities teams all over the world to make a global map of the largely unexplored lower thermosphere. Her work was on the communication channel between the CubeSat and ground station. The satellite was launched in May 2017 with the other cubesats from the International Space Station itself via the Atlas-V rocket, and it was still in orbit for about 1.5 years, transmitting atmospheric data. She had a piece of code in space!
She always had a deep interest in Computer Science, and it is a very versatile eld – evident when the way the world is becoming more technology based. She started getting interested in Articial Intelligence (AI) and Autonomous Systems. Her third year specialization, thus was her rst master’s degree from Ecole Polytechnique, which was in Data Science.
Encouraged by the success of her projects, she jumped at the opportunity of applying to the 2015 Caltech Space Challenge, organized by the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), in collaboration with scientists from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). She was named among the 32 selected from around the world! On top of it, both Ecole Polytechnique and the CNES agreed to fund her journey to Pasadena, USA. The challenge itself consisted of simulating the planning of a mission to send astronauts on an asteroid captured and put in an orbit around the moon by NASA's Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM). It was not just all work and no play - she got a chance to visit the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), to play beer pong with NASA scientists, and to have a great time! The experience overwhelmed her from a scientic perspective as realized she was too young and inexperienced to be of any important service to an organization like NASA. This was when she decided that she needed to either do a PhD or work as a research engineer.
During her third year, she got an opportunity for a 6-month exchange for a research internship at the Escola Politecnica, University of Sao Paulo – in Brazil! – for which she got the Franco-Brazilian BRAFITEC grant. Great occasion to experience a different culture, learn a new language, and delve into a new scientic eld. She worked on a Real-time Indoor Localization System (RTILS), and trained a system of trackers for automatically localizing a robot with high precision using “particle lters” and got a taste of the domain of autonomous navigation.
With my team “Explorer” at the NASA Jet propulsion laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, USA (May 2015)
With French astronaut, Jean-François Clervoy at Safran University campus (2014)
HOLLYWOOD WEEKLY • 45
A not-for-prot entity, Ambassadors Forum India was established in the year 2012. The Ambassadors Forum seeks the involvement of serving Heads of Mission from Embassies and Multilateral agencies to make a signicant contribution to growth and prosperity of India. This Forum provides a unique platform where Heads of Mission are invited to participate in developing viable solutions for matters of mutual interest, generating goodwill and understanding among the stakeholders. The objective is to promote bilateral political, economic and cultural relations between India, other countries and multilateral agencies in alignment with policies of the Governments. Never before in the history of mankind has there been such an urgent need to build bridges of cooperation to secure peace, harmony and prosperity as there is today. The Ambassadors Forum India makes a contribution to this need.
Head of Mission, by virtue of his or her nomination to represent Country or Agency in India, the second largest developing economy in the world, is a person of distinguished background, is resourceful and has a record of success. It is believed that there is much to gain from the knowledge, experience and wisdom of the Heads of Mission through a Forum to deliberate, in a non- partisan manner, issues of vital importance which inuence citizens well being, growth, employment, peace and prosperity. Since its inception the promoters have been organizing events on an ad hoc basis involving serving foreign Ambassadors, heads of multilateral agencies and high level decision makers. From time to time AFI collaborates with Indian and International entities and personalities consistent with its objectives.
Notwithstanding a few rays of hope here and there, the global economic recession and unrest are not going away, with political instability in many countries which call not for rhetoric or lofty speeches but concrete result oriented multipronged action, nationally and internationally. Every country has it’s unique resources, heritage & strengths and can contribute to improve the state of the world, which we should recognize, respect and also help its people in achieving their individual and national aspirations, Ambassadors as a Valuable Resource.
Mr. G M Rao, Chairman, GMR Group (front row middle) at the AFI event hosted by him for Ambassadors
Encouraged by the success and stakeholders asking for more to be done, it has been decided to institutionalize AFI to operate with a Secretariat headed by a Secretary General and organize regular events. Membership is now open to distinguished citizens, diplomats, Corporate and institutions to participate in its management, planning of meaningful programmes and their implementation.
Good bilateral relations between countries are key to global prosperity, peace and harmony. Some of the commendable work being done by Embassies and multilateral missions in India is either going unnoticed or not fully appreciated and needs to be brought to the attention of the people at large.
AFI is a unique institution and its laudable mission, its focus is on promoting bilateral relations and activities which are very different from any other organization operating in India.
Based on Ministry of External Affairs data, with 154 Embassies and 37 Multilateral Agencies functioning in the country, India is among the largest hosts in the world to important Missions.
Meet the Leader: Events with Indian Cabinet Ministers,
46 • HOLLYWOOD WEEKLY
Some programmes and projects dignitaries, top Business Leaders and Industrialists from India and other countries.
Panel discussions and lectures: By Heads of Diplomatic
and Multilateral Missions, current and former Foreign Secretaries, Secretaries to various Ministries, Think Tanks
and Eminent Personalities on subjects of interest to Diplomats and Members. With Embassies: Offer to arrange programmes and projects
consistent with the Embassy’s priorities in bilateral relations with India.
Monthly: A Reception with an Ambassador or a distinguished personality as guest speaker. A Women's programme.
A quarterly journal in print and electronic editions with contributions by Indian and international authors, serving and retired diplomats on bilateral and multilateral aspects in general and on specic sectors and issues. Ways to be associated with AFI is to become a Honorary Member.All Heads of Embassies, Multilateral Missions, Diplomats and Senior Government of India ofcials. Other Members are Distinguished citizens and entities . AFI encourages Collaborators to Sponsor and collaborate in organizing meaningful high prole events and projects. The Supporters are Ministries, Embassies and Multilateral agencies which agree with the AFI’s objectives and beliefs.
Delegations abroad: For Business, tourism and participation in national events consisting of members, women entrepreneurs and sports persons.
With Multilateral Missions: Organise programmes to
create awareness of their activities and contribution being made by the multilateral agencies in humanitarians elds and development of India.
In collaboration: Organize activities of mutual interest in
cooperation with other entities e.g. Institute of Foreign Affairs; Institute of Social Sciences; Institute of Directors and eminent citizens.
Showcase talent among diplomats and members: Many
diplomats, members and their spouses are writers, have special interests and expertise e.g. are painters, singers, photographers, collectors of antiques and art and more. To showcase talent and collections, organise appropriate programmes and exhibitions.
Welcome to Ambassadors batch of last year: A welcome
At a joint event L-R: Mr. Ike Sinha, Country Director, U4G, Ms. Nirupama Rao, Former Ambassador of India to USA, Ms. Geeti Bhagat, CEO, AFI, Ms. Lovita Morang, Documentary Filmmaker “Discovery of Rhododendron Forest” visit to DIAL
Reception for the Heads of Mission, who have presented their credentials in 2016.
Awards of Excellence: To Embassies and Multilateral
Missions for outstanding initiatives and achievements during 2017 based on self nomination against dened criteria and judged by an eminent jury. Awards to be given in early 2018 at a betting ceremony.
Group at a joint event to welcome Unite4:Good Chairman Mr. Anthony Melikhov (middle) and his wife Marina Melikhov on his left The Ambassadors Forum India is the brainchild of Mr. Man Mohan Bhagat, Convenor and Ms.Geeti Bhagat, CEO. Due to sudden demise of Mr.Man Mohan Bhagat ,his legacy is being carried forward by Ms.Geeti Bhagat and Ms. Sumohini Bhagat The Ambassadors Forum India is the brainchild of Mr. Man Mohan Bhagat, Convenor and Ms.Geeti Bhagat, CEO. Due to sudden demise of Mr.Man Mohan Bhagat ,his legacy is being carried forward by Ms.Geeti Bhagat and Ms. Sumohini Bhagat and many who promote the laudable mission of Ambassadors Forum. HOLLYWOOD WEEKLY • 47
ed s cl as sif i
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1-877-351-8753 AT&T TV: AT&T TV requires high speed internet. Recommend minimum 24 Mbps for optimal viewing (min 8 Mbps per stream). Limit 3 concurrent AT&T streams. CHOICE: Ends 1/16/21. 1st & 2nd year Pricing: $64.99 for first 12 mos. only. After 12 mos. or loss of eligibility, then prevailing rate applies $110/mo. for CHOICE Pkg, unless cancelled or changed prior to end of the promo period. Includes: CHOICE Pkg. Req’s 1 AT&T TV device, included for well qualified customers; otherwise $120. Add’l devices avail for $120 each or on installment; non-qualified customers must purchase additional devices up front. Additional Fees & Taxes: Price excludes Regional Sports Fee of up to $8.49/mo. (which is extra & applies to CHOICE and higher Pkgs), and certain other add’l fees & charges. AT&T TV: Subject to AT&T TV terms and conditions. Avail. in the U.S. only (excludes Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands). AT&T TV service will continue monthly at the prevailing rate charged to your payment method on file, unless you cancel, subject to any early termination fees. If you cancel in the first 14 days of order, you must return the included AT&T TV device within 14 days of order to avoid $120 non-return fee. Additional devices purchased on installment agreement subject to additional terms and conditions. See cancellation policy at att.com/help/cancellation-policy-att-tv.html for more details. Once you’ve canceled, you can access AT&T TV through the remaining monthly period. No refunds or credits for any partial-month periods or unwatched content. Compatible device req’d. Residential customers only. Pricing, channels, features, and terms subject to change & may be modified or discontinued at any time without notice. Some offers may not be available through all channels and in select areas. Regional Sports & Local Channels: Not available in select areas. Channels vary by package & billing region. Device may need to be in billing region in order to view. GENERAL: Limit 3 concurrent streams per account. Programming subject to blackout restrictions. Taxes may apply. See your Order Confirmation email and att.com/legal/att-tv.html for more details. HBO Max: Access HBO Max through HBO Max app or hbomax.com with your AT&T log-in credentials. Compatible device or browser required. Use of HBO Max is subject to its own terms and conditions, see hbomax.com/terms-of-use for details. Programming and content subj. to change. Upon cancellation of your video service you may lose access to HBO Max. Limits: Access to one HBO Max account per AT&T account holder. May not be stackable w/other offers, credits or discounts. To learn more, visit att.com/hbomax. HBO Max is only accessible in the U.S. and certain U.S. territories where a high-speed broadband connection is available. Minimum 3G connection is requiredfor viewing on mobile devices. HBO Max is used under license. Offers may not be combined with other promotional offers on the same services and may be modified or discontinued at any time without notice. Other conditions apply to all offers. ©2020 AT&T Intellectual Property. AT&T and the Globe logo are registered trademarks and service marks of AT&T Intellectual Property. All other marksare the property of their respective owners.
48 • HOLLYWOOD WEEKLY
Including Local Channels!
included for a year.
The DISH Voice Remote with the Google Assistant requires internet-connected Hopper, Joey, or Wally device. Customer must press Voice Remote button to activate feature.
* Requires eAutopay discount and includes Hopper Duo DVR ($5 discount for 24 months) or Wally/211
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1-855-436-1404 Offer ends 1/31/21.
“All offers require credit qualification, 24-month commitment with early termination fee and eAutoPay. Prices include Hopper Duo for qualifying customers. Hopper, Hopper w/Sling or Hopper 3 $5/mo. more. Upfront fees may apply based on credit qualification.
Prepare for power outages with a Generac home standby generator SCHEDULE YOUR FREE IN-HOME ASSESSMENT TODAY!
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Offer valid August 24, 2020 - December 31, 2020
Special Financing Available Subject to Credit Approval *Terms & Conditions Apply
HOLLYWOOD WEEKLY • 49
150 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE ENJOYING A NEW SHOWER IS EASIER THAN YOU THINK N IG W S E NOWEER D
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FREE IN-HOME DESIGN CONSULTATION-CALL TODAY newshowerdeal.com/hollywood | 888-912-3710 *Offer valid only while supplies last. Limit one per household. Must be first time purchase. Minimum spend amount applies. Financing subject to third party credit approval. Some financing options cannot be combined with other offers and may require minimum monthly payments. All offers subject to change prior to purchase. See AmericanStandardShowers.com for other restrictions and for licensing, warranty, and company information. CSLB B982796; Suffolk NY: 55431H;NYC:HIC 2022748-DCA. Safety Tubs Co. LLC does not sell in Nassau NY, Westchester NY, Putnam NY, Rockland NY.
50 • HOLLYWOOD WEEKLY
HOLLYWOOD WEEKLY • 51
The photographer (Marguerite LeWars) fails to capture Bond on film.
Photo Credit: Epk.tv
