HUM Magazine August 2012

AUGUST 2012

SWEET LADY

Creator of Edible Pieces of Heaven

KOLAM

When Hands are Drawing

INDIA UNVEILED

Devotion that Touched My Heart

SURVIVOR’S STORY The Very Long Life of Alice’s Playhouse

GINA AND DEVINDER BHATIA

A COUPLE OF GIVING HEARTS

FROM

THE PUBLISHER’S DESK

It was with great trepidation and some misguided euphoria that we launched HUM and cowered in anticipation of brickbats rather than bouquets. So imagine our profound sense of relief and joy when the bouquets were many. My team and I would be remiss if we did not start by saying a huge thank you to you, Houston, for welcoming HUM with open arms and encouraging words. To readers across the nation and abroad who have been so positive and kind in response to our publication online, thank you too! We worried endlessly whether we’d pass muster; we fretted about our content and wondered whether it would engage you. We worked long hours and it’s all been so worthwhile. You made it worth our while.

You’ve motivated us to grow and improve, and we look forward to your continued feedback and support, which is essential to our progress. Let us know what you want to see in HUM. Greetings to our new readers…let me tell you a little about HUM. We’re very young, just into our second month of publication. HUM is a monthly lifestyle magazine that celebrates the wildly multicultural spirit of Houston through articles, profiles, homes and living stylishly, interviews, opinions, news and views, food, travel, the environment, health, fashion and the latest trends, parenthood, humor, education, business, society, and the arts and culture. HUM is more than just another frothy and frivolous confection; we will address serious social issues that impact our daily lives. Through HUM, we hope to celebrate our diversity in a convivial climate of sharing thoughts and cultures.

Many of you outside of this city have visited our website hummagazine.com that showcases our eMagazine. We are now pleased to announce that we’ve initiated Daily HUM On Line (DHOL), that will revolutionize how news is gathered and reported locally. This would be the perfect forum for articles, community news, upcoming events, and anything that is timesensitive.

Beginning with this edition of HUM we’ve introduced new columns that we hope will encourage interaction between you and uzz. With more stay-at-home dads taking on primary parenting roles, we veered away from the traditional motherhood column and created Nurture, a platform where we invite either parent to share their parenting experiences in 500-600 words. You don’t have to be a Houstonian to participate as the joys and challenges of parenthood are universal.

Spinning off the series is Helen Buntting Langton of New Zealand, whose essay is replete with wisdom and humor.

Gripes and moans, rants and raves. HUM Magazine’s new page Caviar & Cabbages is all about what you like and dislike about Houston. We invite you to give it your best shot in 100 words or less.

Next month, we’re ushering in a cool new page called HUMwee. Send us photographs of your kids and grandkids that inspire, make you laugh, or are just downright cute! We’d love to see them and have them color our page. Don’t forget the captions. Photos must be in high resolution.

All contributions to Nurture, HUMwee, and Caviar & Cabbages can be sent to info@hummagazine.com.

Team HUM takes this opportunity to wish our readers of the Islamic faith a very blessed Ramadan Mubarak and Eid Mubarak.

HUM means we or us in the Hindi language, or buzz universally.

The buzz is about uzz...

Warmly,

Kalyani Giri Publisher

CONTENTS

AUGUST 2012 06

Gina and Dr. Devinder Bhatia A Couple of Giving Hearts HUM Debuts

14

Annie Rupani The Sweet Lady

The Locked Inpatient Psychiatry Unit

18 Kolam, when hands are drawing Chantal Jumel

Big Bosses of Little India All that Glitter is Gold Tamara Levine Mousner

26 India Unveiled

Devotion that Touched My Heart

Robert Arnett

30 Bring on the Heat!

Ian Mellor-Crummey

32 Rukmini Vijayakumar Bharatnatyam to Ballet 33 India is a Long Way from

team HUM

Arjune Rama, MD

Kalyani Giri

Motherhood and other crimes

East Texas

Dr. Rathna Kumar

36 Myths and Truths:

Helen Buntting Langton

22

‘Tis the season to be dancin’ Arangetrams are in the Air!

Carolyn Farb

11

17

34

Judge Ed Emmett

Publisher/Editor - Kalyani Giri Art Director - Saqib Rana Marketing Director – Kelly Blakley Printing Consultant - Ken Hoffman Correspondents – Tamara Levine, Stefani Twyford, Ian Mellor-Crummey, Priya M. James, Dr. Arjune Rama, Tajana Mesic

37 What I Love About Houston

Ease into Fall: 38 2012 Fall Fashion Preview

Sara Speer

Priya M. James

40 Painting the Block RED Being More 42 Environmentally Friendly Sustainability 2.0 Tajana Mesic

44 A Survivor’s Story

The Very Long Life of Alice’s Playhouse

45 Sister Cities 46 Caviar & Cabbages advisory board

•Anil Kumar • Bhuva Narayan •Dr. Carolyn Farb •Chitra Divakaruni •George Eapen •Jayashree Naidoo •Krishna Giri •Leela Krishnamurthy

Andrea White

•Nellie Naidoo •Rachel Dvoretzky •Dr. Rathna Kumar •Robert Arnett •Sarah Gish •Seetha Ratnakar •Sunderasen Naidoo

7457 Harwin Dr #250, Houston, TX 77036 - Tel: 281-888-4552 - email:info@hummagazine.com - www.hummagazine.com

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FEATURE

6

A Couple of Giving Hearts

Gina and Dr. Devinder Bhatia

By Carolyn Farb

It was at a wedding in 2007 that I recall meeting Gina and Dr. Devinder Bhatia for the very first time. Over the years, I have learnt that this magical couple personifies the best of the next generation of Houstonians who give of their hearts for the betterment of others and will keep Houston a place that welcomes newcomers with a plethora of offerings to entice.

For the Bhatias, family always comes first. Gina is originally from New Orleans, Louisiana, and Devinder from Little Rock, Arkansas. Gina holds her beloved late mother Debbie close to her heart at all times and is a devoted daughter to her father Anthony who visits frequently. Very recently, her father was here for Gina’s fabulous 40th birthday celebration at Brennan’s. The occasion, magnificently orchestrated by Devinder, was reflective of her love for her Louisiana heritage, and his love of fine wines. The endlessly long dining room table that accommodated sixty guests was ablaze with candles, sparkling crystal goblets, and breathtaking flowers. The piece de resistance of the evening was the Louis Armstrong rendition of When The Saints Go Marching In. Friends toasted the beautiful Gina throughout the evening. Gina, who epitomizes timeless classicism, was named one of Houston Magazine’s Fresh Faces of Fashion 2010, and was also a Rose Ribbon Foundation Honoree in 2010.

Devinder looks very much like his handsome father, the late Dr. Pritam Bhatia, who hailed from India and wore a turban regally. The senior Dr. Bhatia came to the USA as a Fulbright Scholar in 1962 and soon after, married Sandy, an American. He instilled in Devinder the importance of education. Devinder’s mother Sandy resides in Ohio.

The couple’s three children Morgan, Drake, and Mia are the light of their lives. You will see them at all their children’s activities ranging from ballet to sports. They never miss being there even if Devinder, a highly-respected heart surgeon, has to totally rearrange his busy surgery schedule. Whether it is ballet for Mia or baseball for Drake, Gina and Devinder are there to coach and cheer them on. A prominent member of the Bhatia household is their beloved black lab Max, and Chester, the adorable tri-colored guinea pig. Max is the official greeter at their beautiful home while Chester holds court in the pool house/ media center with its Lalique glass tiles.

When you walk into a home that bespeaks of grace, one always gets a sense of the joy and happiness that permeates from those who live there. Gina has created a magnificent French décor for their historic early 1920s Georgian home, yet it is warm and welcoming. Designer Pam Pierce, known for her French Houston approach, worked closely with Gina on creating the perfect backdrop for their lifestyle. The look of the Bhatia home is authentic with a serene mood and a romantic Southern mystique. This engenders a

breathtaking visual once you enter the stately home. Their cavernous kitchen, with its whimsical roosters artfully peppered here and there, is a gathering place when entertaining, or when Devinder decides to be the chef for the evening and prepares his favorite beef tender or delicious holiday fare.

The underground wine cellar that was added in the 1980s, with its superb collection of over 7500 bottles of wine is known internationally. Many distinguished guests have cautiously navigated the cellar staircase to enjoy a festive dinner; the stellar lineup includes Governor Rick Perry, Wolfgang Puck, former New York Mayor Rudy Guiliani, Houston Rockets owner Les Alexander, and renowned jeweler Franco Valobra who shares Devinder’s love of exotic cars. When Devinder attends a special evening, he always arranges in advance to bring rare vintage bottles of wines from his cellar as a special treat for guests.

Wine became a passion for Devinder quite by chance. He fell in love with the concept of pairing great wines with culinary offerings. It began with a group of doctors having grilled steaks, opening a bottle of wine, and just like anything else Devinder does, the research began. In a recent tally of those who have purchased the wine cellar dinners at the Bhatias, they have raised in excess of $250,000 for charitable causes.

Little did I realize the vitality and enthusiasm Gina and Devinder bring not only to their lives but to the non-profit organizations they support in the community. They are both generous - each with their own passions and very positive individuals. They share a combined love for the arts. Gina fell in love with the art of San Antonio artist Franco Mondini Ruiz and has several of his treasures in their home.

Their collection includes works by Salvador Dali, Angelbert Metoyer and rare black and white French engravings as well as Texas and Louisiana artists. Devinder serves on the Houston Symphony Board.

They are on the committee for the River Oaks Baptist School children forever endowment fund which is just short of its goal of twenty million dollars. This year, Texas Children’s Hospital will honor them with the Community of Champions Award in early fall.

Gina and Devinder have opened their beautiful home for so many wonderful causes in Houston demonstrating their generosity of spirit. Many of their interests are focused in the medical community and issues where children are the primary consideration. Devinder served on the Cardiac Cup – Texas Children’s Hospital Honorary Committee in 2009, and was the auction committee Chair for the March of Dimes in 2010. Recently, Devinder and Gina chaired the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce Gala and are very committed to causes benefitting the Indian community. They were involved early

Photos: Roswitha Vogler

on with the Indian Film Festival and will chair the Mardi Gras Gala in 2013 for the University of St. Thomas. The quality of life and culture of Houston has benefitted through Gina and Devinder Bhatia’s efforts of concern. Among those organizations are the San Jose Clinic, the Asia Society Texas Center, Society for the Performing and Visual Arts and the Hermann Park Conservancy and Amphitheatre which captured their philanthropy and hearts. This is just the beginning of their benevolence towards their fellow man. To quote Mahatma Gandhi, “You must be the change you wish to see in the world”.

Carolyn Farb is an internationally known volunteer fundraiser, author, businesswoman, and philanthropist.

She has been published in Interview Magazine, bRILLIANT Magazine, Origin, and is the author of three books; How to Raise Millions, Helping Others, Having a Ball, The Fine Art of Fundraising, and Lucas Comes to America.

Photos: Roswitha Vogler

Cover Photo: Roswitha Vogler

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Decidedly more coquettish than an ingénue at a cotillion, HUM Magazine made her stylish debut at an exclusive soiree held in her honor at Momentum BMW on June 28, 2012.

As guests arrived, they got a first glimpse of HUM’s premiere cover, enlarged and propped on a decorative easel in the entranceway to the cavernous showroom. Over choice beverages and delicious hors d’oeuvres catered by Kiran’s Restaurant, gatherees, that included beloved family and friends, writers, well-wishers, media, community leaders, and advertisers, enjoyed a relaxing evening in a trendy atmosphere surrounded by the latest in luxury cars. Mistress of Ceremonies for the evening DJ Samia Adil introduced Kalyani Giri, the Publisher of HUM. Kalyani described her vision for the publication, which is to create a marketplace that encourages dialogue and cultural exchange among the diverse communities of Houston and globally.

She released the first copies of the magazine to guests and acknowledged her team in the creative ilk of Krishna Giri and Art Director Saqib Rana. The music/sound director for the event was veteran DJ Yogi Goyal whose pleasing tunes proffered the perfect backdrop to a memorable evening. And Roswitha Vogler was there, camera in hand, to capture vignettes (shown in the next two pages) of that unforgettable occasion. Team HUM is grateful to all who made the launch party such a glorious success!

DEBUTS

itha Vogler

Photos: Rosw

RISING STAR

14

Annie Rupani The Sweet Lady

By Kalyani Giri Annie Rupani’s passion is chocolate. It’s an obsession we share. Mine is in rapaciously consuming them, and hers in concocting edible pieces of heaven. As she articulates luscious swoon-inducing words like heavy cream, cocoa butter, cardamom, and pralines, I savor the sounds as they linger evocatively in the air like audible aromas. While her slender hands dance eloquently to add emphasis to her thoughts, Annie’s entire being is engaged in the intensity of expounding the rationale of how soil types impact flavor notes, and of the crucial process of tempering. She reaches into her capacious purse and pulls out a transparent box festooned with bright ribbons and inspects it. A frown wreathes her pretty face.

“I brought you some chocolates but they’re slightly melted,” she says. “I can’t let you have them because the flavors may have melded.”

Her disappointment is so palpable, that I resist wrestling the box away from her. Drat Houston weather! I reassure her that I’d tasted several of her beautifully crafted pieces at the Curry Crawl event at City Center in June. She heaves a sigh of relief.

At just 23, the young chocolatier is all set to blaze flavorful new trails in the world of gourmet chocolate through her company Cacao & Cardamom. Annie’s imaginative and relentless in her quest to juxtapose chocolate with the unusual, and is constantly experimenting with varieties of spices, herbs, fruit, and oil-rich seeds. Her intrepid and exotic amalgamations include guava and tamarind, garam masala and pistachios, black sesame and ginger, Szechuan peppercorns, litchi and basil, and hazelnut pralines infused with star anise, cloves, cinnamon,

Szechuan peppers, and fennel. Her favorite is dark chocolate that contains about 70% of pure cocoa. She’s very partial to French chocolate, which she uses in her confectionary. A veritable globetrotter, Annie’s research has compelled her to try a diverse range of chocolate; she tells me that like coffee and wine, cocoa is influenced by the soil in which it grows. Madagascan chocolate has strong vanilla and fruit notes and an inherent sweetness, whereas cocoa grown in the Dominican Republic has strong tobaccolike flavor tones. Over the past several years, there’s an emerging market of bean-to-bar small companies in the US that create chocolate from its origins, keeping in high levels of pure cocoa, Annie tells me. The cultivation and use of cocoa can be traced back to 1100 – 1400 BC through artifacts discovered at a site in the Honduras.

The Mayan civilization was drinking chocolate around 400 AD. The Chocolatier at Work Annie’s elegant nuggets of indulgence are the end result of a labor-intensive process that involves much skill and patience. For me, it’s quite the learning experience. First she makes cocoa butter and adds fat soluble colors, then she hand-paints the inside of the moulds. The tempering of chocolate is a scientific technique; the chocolate is heated at 113 F to melt the crystals, then cooled at 84 F to create small crystal seeds, then it is heated again at 88 F in liquid form, the point at which it is stable. As chocolate contains cocoa butter which crystallizes during the heat treatment, incorrect tempering can dramatically alter the color, sheen, snap, or texture of the chocolate, so it takes diligence to get it right. Next, Annie puts in a layer of

RISING STAR

15

tempered chocolate into the decorative moulds that forms the shell of the truffle. She makes the ganache, a soft creamy filling, and pipes it into the individual shells, and seals it. She freezes the chocolates for ten minutes and then gently knocks them out of their moulds and they’re ready to be relished.

Her younger sister Mona, a psychology senior at Boston University, has been helping her this summer.

Mona stays up nights to help with large orders, and the sisters have deepened their bonds through chocolate.

“My mom helps by cleaning the moulds with cotton balls while she’s watching television,” laughs Annie. The moulds have to be scrupulously clean for the chocolates to look glossy.

Annie spent six months in Pakistan volunteering with the Rupani Foundation, a philanthropic organization founded by her father Nasruddin Rupani. The foundation helps maximize early childhood development through proper nutrition and learning tools.

Annie returned to Houston in April this year and has started a cottage industry out of her home. She hopes to relocate her business and has been busy scouting for a retail location in midtown or in the Upper Kirby area to open her first Cacao & Cardamom boutique. In the interim she further indulges her love of creating delectable pieces of art at the Houston Racquet Club under the mentorship of Executive Chef Bernard Hurley.

Photo: Krishna Giri

Navigating Unconventional Paths Annie intrigues me. She’s energetic and ambitious, and her interests are diverse. Two years ago she won the Ms. Pakistan World title at a pageant held in Canada. About two months ago, she was voted 2nd runner up in the Ms. Intercultural contest in Miami. When she’s not at the gym, or traveling, or at the theatre, she’s back in the kitchen preparing gourmet French meals.

She’s fashionable and well-groomed.

Today she’s chic and youthful in a light summery frock and strappy sandals.

An alumna of Boston University, she graduated with a degree in Anthropology and Religion, focusing primarily on monotheistic faiths like Islam. During her sophomore year, she spent a semester in London in a liberal arts program and later took Arabic language lessons in Jordan.

A trip to Malaysia brought cocoa to her fingertips, so she took an intensive course in crafting chocolate and found her personal holy grail.

Even though she had planned on law school with a possible career in public service, she’s put that on hold for now.

“I realized that my love for the culinary arts was better fulfilled through creating gourmet bites of chocolate,” says Annie. “I’m still young and can always get to law school in a couple of years.”

Her family supports her untraditional path, a tad unusual in the South Asian community, but a positive sign that mindsets are changing with the times. Annie admits however that she does encounter some who look askance at her choice.

“While I’m always inspired by the culture I grew up in, my travels have taught me to pursue my dreams. But I do meet people whose eyebrows fly up when I tell them what I do! Doesn’t bother me because my parents are progressive and encourage me,” says Annie.

NUTURE

17

Motherhood

By Helen Buntting Langton

and other crimes

When I was young I had all these prejourney. A traffic jam can mean the two-hour boring acting by a class full of 5 year olds conceived, romantic notions of motherhood. journey becomes a four-hour nightmare with just for that moment when their little one In my deluded mind’s eye I saw cute, cuddly a hungry, thirsty, cranky toddler. Make sure scintillates on stage with his one liner. This babies, smelling sweet and nestling warmly you always dispense travel sickness pills same mum will spend hours listening to tales in my arms, replete with love. They wouldn’t and don’t dress up in your best clothes when of woe, disappointments, unrequited love, cry or scream or keep me up at night betraveling on winding roads with a child prone friendships gone bad, worries that can make cause after they were bathed, fed, and to travel sickness. They will always ask you little kids really anxious. She will lie next to a cuddled to sleep with a lullaby, they would to stop the car simultaneously as their stomsleepless child at night comforting them with settle down until the morning. I was going to achs expel their food. Eau de vomit is not a her presence and listening to how sad they be a perfect mother raising perfect kids who bewitching perfume. If there’s some virus goare, no matter how exhausted she is. would be well-mannered, tidy, obedient, and ing around and your toddler ends up in hosAs the years roll on you realize that happy people. Instead, I got four normal chilpital and you have to give the medical staff only the brave and reckless need apply for dren and an ongoing practical education that permission to stick a big needle into your long-term parenting. There is no cut-off date won’t even get me a PhD. Because it doesn’t baby’s spine, you are going to experience the as you see them through the hormonally end. Ever. After death I will be that angel who pain yourself. And the guilt, because in the challenged teenage/young adult years. There will be flying over my troops checking that world of parenting you will always be blamed are the hopeless girlfriends/boyfriends, cathey’re still making good choices. The funny for your kids actions or illnesses. When my reer choices, unexpected grand children that thing about this education is that as soon as four year old collapsed with a virus in his arrive too soon. There are endless sacrifices, you think you’ve mastered a particular secbrain we were questioned at length about the much laughter, and sadness. It’s an exhilarattion and gained a qualification, the teachers possibility of him having gotten hold of illegal ing roller coaster -ride and, along the way as throw a surprise from out of left field and drugs in the home. I had no idea what magic if your life is not full enough, you pick up their literally take your feet out from under you. I mushrooms were until that day. friends and the parents of their friends, thus guess that’s why it is such an exciting, exhilaCome the growing years and more making your circle of love bigger. There are rating, frustrating, eye and mind opening kind lessons are learned. You learn some not so many surprises and earthshaking changes. of job. nice things about yourself, that you are a very Sometimes you can experience the whole My first lesson was the illusion of the impatient person because young children gamut of emotions all in one day. From fulldesigner baby who sleeps according to its lose/misplace things, change their minds blown laughter to tears, to rage. I’ve learned mother’s dreams. I haven’t slept soundly for overnight about extra-curricular activities that there are no lukewarm emotions when 29 years, not since my first gorgeous baby that you’ve just spent a fortune on, wear out you are a mum. And that you have to be made her appearance. At first it was all that their shoes as fast as a tube of toothpaste, humble to accept all the mistakes and failcrying, that endless walking, rocking, feeding, forget to do homework, tell you in the mornures you and your kids will make. changing and cuddling, that helped none. ing that they need a dozen little cakes for They are their own people now, my Then on the miraculous night when my baby school, don’t want to eat breakfast, don’t gorgeous four. We’ve learned so much from was quietly asleep in her cot, her dad and I want to get up in the morning, don’t want to each other. The biggest lesson I’ve learned would be checking every half hour to see if go to sleep at night. It really hurts your ego to is that there is no substitute for the time we she was still breathing or had succumbed admit you are not infinitely patient mummy give our children. If anything softens the to SIDS. We realized we would rather have material. But you also learn that parenting bumps of life it is in knowing that mum was a crying baby because it meant that it was brings out contradictory things in you; the always there, in their corner, rooting for them. still alive. In the morning (having survived yet mum who can stay up all night with a sick Even when she was grumpy, she was still another night in the parental trenches) with child, who waits at different sports practices their champion in every way. my baby cuddled up to me all warm, soft and and goes to all the games, come rain, wind, smelling slightly sour, I learned what love is. and extreme cold, who praises endlessly all Helen Buntting Langton So what else have I learned from efforts on the field, who will drive to the store is a writer and a dedicated these four beautiful young people whom I to buy a cake for school donations or hunt wife, mother, and grandmothonce dreamed of teaching? Lots of things, the town looking for ballet shoes or a sword er residing in New Zealand. some really painful, others exasperating, still for the Japanese sword artiste. The mum who In a former life in her native others, humbling. I learned that you never sews stage clothes together very badly, beSouth Africa, she worked as a take a long trip with a toddler without the cause her dancer must have something with teacher for 18 years. necessary bottle of milk or food to break the sequins. The mum will sit through mindless, We invite readers to submit parenting experiences (500-700 words) to HUM at info@humagazine.com

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KOLAM,

By Chantal Jumel The divine is invoked everywhere in India, even on the ground through drawing or painting with rice paste or vegetable and mineral based coloured powders. In Tamil-Nadu, these drawings are called kolam and bear testimony to the richness of Indian graphical patrimony as well as to the extraordinary feminine creativity. Auspiciousness is not only contained within temple walls; mountains are the abode of gods, and animals and birds their vehicles. Trees, plants, and flowers are means not only to worship them but also to symbolise their vegetal incarnations.

Tamil-Nadu, essentially rural, celebrates the sun, the cattle, and the snakes. This culture owns “totemic” trees and addresses god in the temple as if he was a king, dressing

him with great pomp, pampering and feeding him, and in the evening, putting him and his queen to sleep with entertaining renditions of amorous verses. It is a society where every village offers appeasing rituals to the territory guardians, and a culture still deeply imbued with the worship of heroes to whom villagers of the past venerated by erecting memorial stones. It remains a region where the roads overlap the circuits of ancient temples where poets described human emotions according to the country’s five landscapes: hills, desert trays, forests, the seaside, and fertile plains.

It is there in the Southern most part of the Indian peninsula that just before sunrise, women of all communities and beliefs draw on the ground. On the earthen lanes

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when hands are drawing of a village or on the carefully swept pavements of a city, female hands create with the tips of their fingers, patterns that invite the divine to protect the house and the family.

With the ground as their canvas, hands as the instrument, rice paste or rice flour and coloured powders as paint, the kolam draws the viewer into a world of divine symbols and mystical attributes. The designs vary in accordance with current events or the Hindu calendar. Their silhouettes change depending on the day, sometimes figurative, sometimes sinuous, they become linear on Tuesdays and Fridays.

It is an anonymous feminine world of powder images, which border on calligraphy, geometrical diagrams, and fine embroidery.

Behind every drawing, we read the story of

a woman, of a mother and her daughter, and the memory of a culture through time.

The kolam is a tradition passed down the generations from mother to daughter, but each household keeps a notebook where the most difficult patterns are recorded. The girls learn by watching, and later they will create new patterns with dexterity and speed.

Because the kolam blossoms at daybreak and celebrates the Earth and the link that human beings maintain with her, I always compared it with a visual chant that resonates silently in the hearts of the passers-by like the painted prayer renewed every day, not unlike the Suprabhatam, Sanskrit hymns chanted early in the morning to awaken the gods. The graphic recurrences similar to the priest’s incantations, punctu-

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UP FRONT

38

Photos: Chantal Jumel ates the passing of time. By repeating motifs or lines, we try at all costs to suspend the present moment. The hand tunes the breath on the delicate weft of dust which becomes a pattern and immobilizes time.

An early hour stroll through the Tamil streets captivates the ears much before the eyes can distinguish the surrounding world. Unnoticed, objects welcome daybreak and suggest their presence by assuming a rhythmic sound form. A faint whispering of the straw brooms and the splashing of water succeed the rustles of night-insects and the croaking of crows.

In the early hours, women come out of their homes with a powder-filled container.

They call out to one another and one can feel the glances which gauge the spot where they will draw. Bodies bend over at right angles; the wrist induces a slow pace to the fingers, which drop down at regular intervals, discreet rice flour or quartz powder marks called pulli in Tamil. It is on this perfectly symmetrical dotted canvas that gradually, flowers, birds, divinities, or geometrical diagrams come to life.

Other women stretch out long parallel lines in a fluid and broad movement, almost as if brushing the ground. The swaying of the arms and of the whole body, the clear and wavy gesture freezes the lines that never seem to be willing to unite with the earth.

When they finally land on the floor which has become powerful by the radiance of their whiteness, they elude by their modest playfulness the malevolent forces and protect the

walker as well as the house members.

To me, the diagrams seem like geometric metaphors used to illustrate the idea of time in Hinduism, a periodical cycle where creation and destruction alternates rhythm of the universe and human life. How not to be fascinated by these geometrical arabesques?

They are intimately linked to a life style and a culture which has always exalted the divine by drawing beauty out of disorder. The graphical exuberance akin to Tamil writing is disarming as we stroll through the streets of a city or the narrow lanes of villages at dawn.

If there is music in these lines, then it is similarly joyful and sensual. It glides under the steps of early passers-by, under the wheels of cyclists or handcarts pullers or still under those of small vans carrying away tiny grains of the rice dust as many unveiled intentions. The surrounding noise gets louder and louder as morning breaks, throbbing trucks, piercing rickshaw horns, bicycle bell ringing, sputtering mopeds, insistent calls of chai sellers, the day has begun and the busy anthill is a whirl of activity.

Today, the cultural as well as the economic context for the kolam has changed in Tamil-Nadu. Women are working so the house is not anymore the only place for this morning ritual. Competitions take place in schools, in public halls or on the street like the Mylapore contest in Chennai. Welfare schemes use it as a tool to focus on social harmony and to promote awareness of environmental and health issues. Overseas, within expatriate Indian Diasporas, kolam

explores new areas, reshaping itself according to new socio-cultural background.

The journey from a world to another world, from one culture to another has surely expanded its significance but hopefully the essential will remain through its intrinsic values, which are to welcome, to embellish, to pay tribute, to celebrate, and to attract prosperity.

Chantal Jumel is a graduate from the Sorbonne University, and the author of “Kolam, Kalam, Peintures rituelles éphémères de l’Inde du Sud” (South Indian auspicious thresholds and ritual designs). Jumel initially went to South India to learn the traditional dance drama art form of Kathakali from the renowned maestro Padmashri Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair in Kerala. While there she was fascinated with kolam. Through the Indo-French Cultural Exchange Program she researched and took lessons in kolam from local women, and kalam techniques from Sri Parameswara Kurup, a ritual painter attached to the prestigious temple of Ambalapuzha in Kerala. The world of ephemeral paintings and its symbolism as well as Indian philosophy constitute the background of her artistic research. She teaches, gives demonstrations and workshops at art galleries, conferences, and festivals globally. http://www.chantal-jumel-kolam-kalam.com/index_eng.html

UP FRONT

Auspicious Expressions

By Nalini Sadagopan Memories drifted to an authentic scene of the ritualistic art, when my little niece pointed to the intricate aishwarya kolam on a beautiful kancheevaram sari in the wardrobe as we were getting ready for a wedding ceremony.

The deep soothing toll of the temple bells blended with the rooster’s crow passes through the village at the crack of dawn, as women are carefully casting final touches on their beautiful kolams on a Margazhi morning. Plop, plop she first splashes the water emulsified with cow dung; followed by scratch, scratch sweeps with her broom stick - made from dried coconut leaf stems - as the lady of the house prepares her muddy front yard for laying down the beautiful kolam. Within minutes, she creates a dark green background that offers both an antiseptic guard for her house and a great canvas for her artistic display. She draws her kolam swiftly using straight lines, curves and ripples by simply pinching and laying the rice flour with her thumb and pointer without touching the floor but gently dropping the fine powder from less than a quarter of an inch above the ground. She bends, scoots and squats as she weaves her magic in her front yard unknowingly performing her early morning whole body workout. She draws her kolam with rice flour, which serves as an early morning food offering for the tiniest of the living beings such as insects and ants around, demonstrating the altruistic nature of her family.

Kolam, the age old Tamil traditional art form, can be as simple as drawing straight lines on your door step to those that can fill up your front yard. While the day to day kolam can be small, it is typically medium sized on Fridays along with some chemman (red paste) to add color. The month of Margazhi (mid Dec to mid Jan) is when the pomp and splendor is show cased of this beautiful art, where kolams that can fill up the whole front yard, about 6-8 feet long and wide, are crafted with stiff competition between neighbors. In fact, the gala starts from the night before when the ground gets prepared and the kolam is drawn – typically puLLi (dot) kolams are drawn in Margazhi, as

they showcase a highly complex pattern. The next morning, touchups such as borders or colors top off the kolam display. Bright yellow colored pumpkin flowers held by a small ball of cow dung go in the middle adding specialty to the Margazhi kolams. Contests are run to award the best kolam of the street in some towns. In larger cities, where independent homes are becoming less common, folks living in the flats can’t help but be satisfied with a smaller kolam at their door step or even better use sticker kolam that come readymade on colorful plastic sheets.

Although it is traditional to use rice flour, for a brighter white color and for finer drawing purposes, powder made from chalk is also used. Some homes use chalk sticks to draw out a kolam that would stay intact at their doorstep when traveling away for a few days in a row. Kolam when absent in front of a house signifies an inauspicious incident such as death or mourning. Hence it used to be a taboo to leave the front yard without a kolam.

Besides being a warm and welcoming decorative art piece in front of the house, kolams are also drawn at religious ceremony altars, at worship centers or puja rooms of a home, and at wedding lunches prior to laying down the platter or the banana leaf. In general, Kolam, the word which means pattern, signifies auspiciousness and adds festivity to the scene in a South Indian household. If you are interested to try a kolam in your own front yard or home, all you need is fine rice powder or a piece of chalk along with plenty of your imagination!

Nalini Sadagopan is a Houston area resident and loves writing and public speaking in her spare time. Her passion for arts, culture and heritage motivates her to volunteer time in the local community to promote these, especially among the youth. She is a chemist by training and works as a Technical Specialist for Agilent Technologies. She is married to Rishi and they are parents to Shilpa and Vishnu.

39

Big Bosses of

little india

all that glitter is gold

By Tamara Levine Mousner Visionary Aku Patel, owner of Karat-22 Jewelers, has been a dynamic force and job creator in Houston’s Hillcroft area for decades.

Having received his Electrical Engineering degree in England in the 1970s, this enterprising man could have engineered a successful business and life wherever he settled. However, his path was not always an easy one and was fraught with challenges through the years.

Furthermore, this humble architect of Little India is the first to admit he didn’t do it alone and is thankful for the help and support he was given along the way.

The Journey Aku arrived in Houston with his wife, Meena, and their two young children by way of New York, where he earned his MBA from Cornell University in 1979. The Patel family settled in the Hillcroft area because they relatives in the city. After enduring years of cold winters in upstate New York, they ventured south to enjoy this city’s warmer climate.

Early Years In 1982, the Hillcroft area looked vastly different than it does today. Automotive dealerships and empty lots dominated the landscape. According to Aku, aside from a few automotive-related strip malls, the nearest developed shopping area was located in the Sharpstown area. The thriving strip malls and shopping centers in ex-

istence today didn’t spring up until 1988-1989 because the area was largely depressed after the oil crisis of 1981. A lot of businesses were up for sale in every area in the city.

“It was the perfect time to pick up something for nothing if you were prepared to wait it out, knowing that nothing would come up for another four or five years,” he says.

Although it meant taking a significant risk, Aku was always clear about one thing: his goal of owning his own business.

“I am from a business family. My father always told me there’s nothing better than to have your own business, whatever that is, so with that in mind, I was looking for some opportunity. I looked at every type of business that was for sale. I looked at some industries, I considered retail operations, manufacturing, and spent almost a whole year looking through all the different types of businesses that were available and crunched some numbers.”

With more drive and passion than experience, Aku’s first venture was opening a Hallmark store. Whilst working on that deal, the Patels would frequent Patel Brothers grocery store and on one fortuitous day, one of the grocers suggested that Meena try the jewelry business. Because of Aku’s family’s existing connections with jewelry manufacturers in Europe, it seemed like a good idea, so phone calls were placed, an agreement was reached with the grocer Patels and before too long, Meena Patel organized a jewelry show. During that show, he stood back and observed how excited people were in the 22

Photo: Krishna Giri The left and right wing of the expanded Karat 22 Jewelers in 2005 showcase their gold and diamond departments respectively

karat jewelry and the ethnic designs; knowing that that no one else was offering 22 karat jewelry in Houston at that time, he saw a business opportunity.

After their first successful jewelry show in Houston, Aku was determined to test other markets. One month later, he held a second jewelry show in Dallas. As it turned out, the Dallas show was even more successful than the Houston show had been, largely because Dallas was not as economically depressed as Houston. With two successes under his belt, Aku was determined to test a third market.

He made contact with a businessman in Kenner, Louisiana, and that show was a huge success as well. Building on that momentum, Aku held subsequent shows in Atlanta and Miami with the same results.

From 1983 – 1984 he traveled constantly, seeking Indo American communities across the United States in Boston, Chicago and Detroit.

That was the beginning of Karat 22.

The following year, Aku started looking to invest in a retail storefront. As fate would have it, real estate developers were building an indoor mall exclusively for Indian products located on Voss between Westheimer and San Felipe, to be called Gandhi Mall. Gandhi Mall was intended to house sari shops, Indian grocers, stores offering everything Indian. However, near the development’s completion and when Aku’s store was half finished, he learned at the very last minute that the developers were going out of business. With less than twenty-four hours at his disposal, Aku had to move everything out of

the space or risk losing what he’d invested in furniture, display cases, fixtures and the like.

After securing a warehouse space and moving everything into it, he learned of a potential storefront that was coming available on Hillcroft, originally a hubcap business. Without looking at any other spaces, Aku secured the space and moved in. That was in February of 1985. Though they’ve expanded operations several times, Karat-22 Jewelers still occupies the same space today.

From the beginning, Aku was struck by how warm and straightforward Houstonians were to him and found that many people were content to seal deals with little more than a handshake. At no time did he unwelcome or face outward discrimination as he built his business. Along the way, he encountered supportive people who he in turn supported. Naturally, those relationships grew and have strengthened over the years. It wasn’t just the Indian community who supported him; the Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities have proved to be some of his strongest supporters.

Hands down, though, his biggest supporter has always been his wife, Meena. Married for 34 years, superwoman Meena not only managed their household and raised their children while he was on the road, but she also helped build the business, worked in the store and became his star salesperson.

Photo: Krishna Giri Aku Patel (at left) and extended family collectively cut the ceremonial ribbon to mark the inauguration of the newly expanded showroom in the year 2005

Challenges Despite the strides they’d made in building Karat-22 Jewelers, the Patels soon learned that securing the retail storefront was no guarantee of success. From 1985 – 1988, Aku continued to travel across the nation to make ends meet. During those early years, some issues that impeded business were traffic and drainage problems.

Every time it rained, business ground to a halt because the roads flooded. But even when it didn’t rain, Hillcroft was a heavily congested street, so customers found the roads slow to travel. And moreover, as the market was growing, Aku, along with the other businesses in the area, had no choice but to stay open seven days a week, which was exhausting. Business in the Houston market did not truly thrive until 1989, when the economy began to improve.

Though in time, the road was widened and drainage systems improved. But more recently, security became an issue. Over Superbowl weekend of 2011, Karat-22 was robbed by a well-organized group of thieves that cleaned out their entire inventory. While insurance covered the majority of losses, the Patel family’s personal jewelry collections were also stolen, and no amount of money can replace sentimental value. Nevertheless, “material possessions come and go,” Aku says. He is thankful no one was hurt, because his family’s safety is what matters most.

Thanks to the diligent work of the Houston Police Department, individual research conducted by the Patel family and a family friend (also a former FBI-agent) as well as the cooperation of fellow storeowners in the area, persons of interest were identified and a traceable license plate number was obtained from surveillance footage.

Through everyone’s collective efforts, the Houston Police Department built a solid case against the Dallas-based perpetrators who were arrested and are currently in jail awaiting trial.

But regardless of the tough times, Aku has always relied on his faith to see him through.

“In my life, nothing works without Him,” he says.

Lessons Learned When asked what advice Aku has for young entrepreneurs just getting started in today’s business climate, he says, “Persistence. If you want to do something and are willing to work hard at it intelligently, there is no reason why you should not succeed.” He adds that competition is omnipresent.

“You must always think of how you can make your business better. Spend your energy on bettering yourself and improving and increasing your product lines. You must keep track of your inventory.”

Regardless of his success, the satisfaction that Aku enjoys most now comes from two places. “Raise a family properly and give good values to your children. We always thought it was our duty to provide them with the right education. We’ve been lucky that after college our children said they wanted to come work with us, that that was what they were interested in and was what they wanted to do.

So these days I just sit back and let them make most of the decisions and if I see they are going in the wrong direction then I will let them know I think this is the wrong way. Since both of them joined me, we’ve doubled our size and increased our product lines. We got the Rolex dealership; they did all the work, they talked to them, wrote all the letters and we are one of seven dealers in all of Houston authorized to sell Rolex watches. We also carry the Mont Blanc line, the Swarovski line and the Lladro line.”

Through his unshakeable faith, his strong family and the support of his community, Aku has become more than a big boss of little India; he embodies the American Dream. In addition to decades of hard work, the biggest secrets to his success lay in his understanding of the value of unity and working together and those are invaluable lessons everyone can learn and benefit from.

Tamara Levine Mousner is a Special Features Correspondent for HUM Magazine. She is an author, copywriter, and voice talent. She resides in Houston.

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INDIA UNVEILED

DEVOTION THAT TOUCHED MY HEART

By Robert Arnett

Women praying in the Yamuna River. Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh. © Robert Arnett

What a delight it was to awaken in the morning to the sonorous sounds of ringing bells. I was staying in an ashram 12 miles north of Kolkata on the heavenly banks of the Hooghly River, a tributary of the Ganges. Rhythmic chanting wafted across the mist-shrouded river from yet more ashrams on the other side. Interspersed with the sacred music were the exotic trills of birds whose warbling created a counterpoint to the drone of a nearby ferry’s outboard motor. It was only 6 a.m. and Kolkata was already offering me a glimpse into the soul of India: Devotion!

What makes India so special is the openly expressed devotion of her people. The deep devotion of Hindus to God seemed to me to be inborn. An Indian medical doctor I visited in Gujarat explained to me, “Because of the devotional nature of the Hindu people, the foremost thought of the mother and the father are of God. This devotion manifests itself within the mother’s womb during pregnancy through the influence of the parents’ conscious and subconscious thoughts, and when the child is born, devotion is part of its nature.” Embryology supports the doctor’s thesis.

Many of the acts of devotion that I observed while traveling in India immensely

touched my heart. During my stay in a suburb of Kolkata, an artisan who repaired my luggage invited me for a nice lunch that weekend in his one-room home.

After the meal, he took me to the house of one of his neighbors, who also owned very little materially. I noticed that sitting on a piece of rudimentary furniture was a large, glazed pottery vase.

When I commented on how beautiful it was, he introduced me to his daughter who had made it.

As we were preparing to leave, the young artist presented me with the vase, but I explained to her that I could not accept it as it was too large and would get broken. Going into the adjacent room, she came back with a small bouquet of artificial roses.

When I told her that it was the perfect gift, and I would use the flowers for my daily meditation in front of my travel altar, she left the room abruptly. After a short time, she returned holding a small bottle of perfume—probably her only bottle of perfume— clutched in the palm of her hand.

She then sprayed the artificial flowers profusely with perfume so they would smell good for God. Though the fragrance has long since faded, I still use those artificial roses at home in front of my altar. The memory of her devotional gesture is perennially

present.

I observed numerous outpourings of deep love for God, especially from women, all over India. At most temples at the conclusion of the arati ceremony, a priest carried a flaming oil lamp among the worshipers. The flame symbolized that God is Light, and most persons present would pass their hands above the sacred flame and touch their forehead in reverence for God’s presence. The women in the temple usually rushed forward to receive the sacrament with such childlike enthusiasm and devotion that it was as if God was actually there.

One of the endearing qualities of Indians is their spontaneity of devotion, a quality not normally seen in the West. When I entered my first Hindu temple, I was surprised to see no pews inside on which to sit. The interior is an open space, except for an altar at the rear of the temple. Lengthy services and sermons have no function here. Prayer books are not necessary to offer the Lord untutored chords of one’s heart. Spontaneity of devotion requires no formal structuring.

One of my fondest memories is of a young child when I visited one of Bengaluru’s oldest temples, the Bull Temple. A little boy standing in front of the temple’s altar was too short to see the image of the deity, and kept tugging on his mother’s sari until she could ignore him no longer. When she lifted him up for a peek, he leaned over and lovingly kissed the statue.

The child’s adoration was not unique, and I witnessed similar occurrences at several other shrines.

Such spontaneous expressions of love and devotion even by young children are one of the things I love most about India.

Devotion to God is revealed and best seen at a Kumbha Mela, a large religious festival that rotates among four different sacred locations and is held every three years. To my knowledge, on the most auspicious days, it is the largest gathering of people in recorded history.

The tented camp directly across from the one where I was staying at a Kumbha Mela in Allahabad used a loudspeaker at an ear-piercing volume. The speaker system blared 15 to 17 hours a day as various persons of all ages evidently gave testimonials praising God. When a Westerner complained about the noise to an Indian, he responded, “If you understood what they are saying, you would not say that.” At that moment, I had a mind-shift. From then onwards, I never heard “noise” again—only sounds of devotion.

How inspiring it was to wake-up at 4:00 in the morning and hear the hum of collective prayers coming from millions of pilgrims camped on the flood plains of the Ganges.

Many of the people attending the Kumbha Mela were from the villages and had come by special

Male pilgrims bathing in the Ganges River. The women on the steps are drying saris. Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. © Robert Arnett

A girl ringing a bell at a Hindu roadside shrine to attract God’s attention. Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh. © Robert Arnett

Shrine figure bedecked with flowers underneath a banyan tree on the bank of the sacred Shipra River. Clay (taken from the river) with red, white, and black pigment. The Unmanifested Absolute, that cannot be put into form, is often devotionally represented and worshipped in India in countless artistic renderings. Photo ©Robert Arnett

buses or by second class trains. They no doubt made great financial sacrifice to attend the mela. Because of snow in the Himalayas, the nights were extremely cold that year. It was the coldest weather India had had in many years. I bought an extra wool blanket and slept in my warmest clothes. I noticed some peasants sleeping on the ground in lightweight clothing. Many had only cotton blankets, and some had no coverings at all. Often when in the presence of the villagers, their humility and simple acts of devotion stirred my soul.

Just being at a Kumbha Mela was inspiring, and it helped me to pierce the shroud of India’s mystique and to intimately witness its national outpouring of devotion.

Devotion to God expressed itself outwardly in various ways, including the strong sense of responsibility that individuals exhibited for their parents and members of their extended family. A man I met while traveling on a bus told me a poignant story.

His mother had been in a coma in a Mumbai hospital. Against all hospital regulations, the man’s wife insisted on staying in the same room and even slept on the floor to be close

to her mother-in-law, ensuring that she was timely bathed and kept in clean clothing.

Doctors and even the husband’s relatives told her that the mother would not survive.

But against all odds, she did! The mother had a total recovery and now lives happily again with her son and daughter-in-law. He commented, “Loving feelings can save a life.”

In the homes I visited, it was a delight to behold how so many family members of all ages devotionally performed their familial responsibilities. One mother explained to me that the child is next in importance to God, and until the child is four or five years old, the parents make sacrifices and stay at home as much as possible. She never left home except for a few hours once a week on Friday night to go out with another couple, after her baby had gone to sleep. It is incomprehensible to many Indians how so many American mothers leave their young children so frequently. Even with the situation changing today in metropolitan India as more young mothers join the workforce, most still have the extended family to care for the baby in their absence.

Indians, through the example of their

devotion, inspired me to connect God more with my daily life. Devotionally performing all actions for the Lord gives us right attitude towards our work, towards our tests —and to all experiences of life. With devotion, regardless of our outer circumstances, life becomes a joy.

Whether we acknowledge it or not, we are all on our own spiritual journey. Deep faith (shraddha), or unconditional devotion, is necessary for success, regardless of which spiritual path one follows. Devotion hastens our liberation, for devotion is the magnet from which God cannot escape. Because shraddha is an intrinsic quality of the soul, our final union is assured and one day we will find our hearts purified from the inside out!

Robert Arnett is the author and photographer of internationally acclaimed India Unveiled and multi-award-winning children’s book Finders Keepers?.

For more information about Robert Arnett and his work visit www.AtmanPress.com

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FOODIES

30

Bring On The Heat!

Photo: Krishna Giri

By Ian Mellor-Crummey

Chef John Sikhatanna of Straits

Rejoice Houstonians! A wonderful new culinary tradition has been born. Even in the sweltering Texas heat, hundreds of hungry foodies swarmed to Straits Asian Bistro at City Center for the first annual Curry Crawl on Sunday, June 24th . The event, held in support of the Professionals United to Lead St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital (PULSE), was organized by Jason and Lindley Arnoldy. The curry-based competition called upon local culinary experts, including Greg Morago of the Houston Chronicle and Sarah Rufca of CultureMap, to evaluate the day’s offerings, while guests cast their own votes to decide the people’s favorite.

Though the head chefs of ten of Houston’s finest restaurants may have left their kitchens, each competitor brought the heat with them in the form of their creative curry-based concoctions. Guests were treated to an awesome array of dishes, each distinctly different from the last.

Uchi’s foie gras and curry cotton candy, freshly spun by genial and exuberant chef Philip Speer, had heads turning and mouths watering. Pondicheri’s spicy curried prawns provided welcome heat,

while guests cooled down with Samba Grille’s pisco sour cocktail steeped with curry leaves paired with unctuous grilled octopus served with a curried chimichurri sauce and chorizo infused yucca. Chef Kiran Verma of the eponymous restaurant added an element of glamour to her food by applying gold leaf to her tandoori halibut served with a refreshing watermelon curry. Those looking for an alternative to the many seafood options needed to look no further than Straits’ Singaporean styled curried lamb chop served over cashew couscous or Korma Sutra’s crispy tamarind duck served with curried potatoes. Blu Restaurant & Lounge, The Queen Vic, RA Sushi, and Roots Bistro also wowed guests with their artfully prepared creations.

Beyond the culinary offerings outside, inside guests were treated to a few unexpected delights. Sandy Tran and Anne Luong of Sweet provided chai mini cupcakes and chocolatier Annie Rupani’s luscious, handcrafted chocolates incorporated exotic spices and flavors such as Szechuan peppercorns and cardamom, in keeping with the event’s theme.

Photo: Ian Mellor

As the jovial event drew to an end, guests and chefs alike were reminded that it was, in fact, a competition. The judges deliberated after sampling each of the restaurants’ offerings, guests cast their necklaces into the voting bins, and at the end of the day Queen Vic’s chef Shiva Patel stood on top both by judge’s decision and popular vote for her crab kofta served with basmati rice in a Balchao curry. “[The event] went great,” remarked Chef Patel. “The judges were truly professional curry connoisseurs, while the people’s choice speaks for itself. We were just happy to serve and interact with the guests.”

Second place was awarded to Chef David Guerrero of Samba Grille for his fusion of Peruvian and Thai flavors. Chef Guerrero is collecting impressive accolades to accompany the rave reviews of his restaurant, as he had also previously won at the International Food and Wine Week held at The Woodlands. So much talent and creativity was exhibited by the participating chefs that one can only wonder what the next Curry Crawl will bring.

It shows great promise and I hope to see it expand in the future. So, all you foodies out there, mark your calendar and keep an eye out for the Second Annual Curry Crawl, because this is one event that you won’t want to miss.

Chef David Guerrero of Samba Grille

Ian Mellor-Crummey is a freelance writer and photographer. His photography recently appeared in Houston Center for Photography’s Collaborations IX: Aging. He is currently a senior at St. John’s School. (ianmellorcrummey@gmail.com)

Photo: Krishna Giri

Chefs Ryan Gordon & Shiva Patel of Queen Vic Pub & Kitchen

Bharatnatyam to Ballet Rukmini Vijayakumar A Multi Faceted Dancer, Model, Pilates Instructor And Actress

Rukmini (Rukku) Vijayakumar is a very atypical Indian artist. She graduated from the Boston Conservatory with an arts degree in modern dance and ballet, and also took intensive training in Bharathanatyam, the classical dance style of her native Tamil Nadu from Guru Padmini Rao of the Tanjore tradition. She honed her skills in all the art forms and has choreographed a rich and varied repertoire with the incorporation of all the genres. The globetrotting artiste has amassed critical acclaim through her profound and thought-provoking ballets. Notably, Rukmini has performed in India and abroad, and at the world-renowned Khajuraho Dance Festival and Kalidasa Samaroha in Ujjain.

The non-profit organization All India Movement (AIM) for Seva will present Rukmini in the dance drama Nayani on September 22nd. It will be the first time that this stellar artiste will be performing in Houston. Nayani is a love story of a tribal girl who discovers the Hindu god Shiva in every facet of nature. She responds to the sound of the reverberating Aum in the formless expressions of wind, fire, and water. The tribal people, unaware of the girl’s devotion to Shiva, encourage her immersion in nature. But the question is how long would they permit her reverie? Will they force her to come out of her inner world or will they follow her?

Nayani will benefit AIM for Seva, a grass roots movement started by social reformist Swami Dayananda Saraswati. AIM for Seva serves tribal children in India by providing shelter, food, education, and healthcare and strives to provide a holistic approach to the word Seva by catering to the physical needs and cognitive growth of the child.

Rukmini is also a very successful model and was the face of Pepsi, Hitachi, Fiat, and AOL. Rukmini further expanded her artistic repertoire by entering the theatric world. She has starred in movies such as Bharathi Raja’s Bommalattam, Ananda Thandavam, and her latest venture is with the Tamil super hero Rajnikanth in the epic movie Kochadaiyan to be released later this year.

AIM For Seva Houston team presents

A dance expression by Rukmini Vijayakumar

Saturday, September 22, 2012 at 6.00pm Stafford Center, Stafford, Texas Tickets: $100, $50, $30 & $15 available at www.sulekha.com For further information, contact 832-303-AIM1

MEMORIES

33

India is a Long Way from East Texas

By Judge Ed Emmett As a small child growing up in the East Texas Oil Field, my wildest imagination did not take me to India. Later in life, I became aware of various exotic locations, the Taj Mahal, Gandhi and other things Indian, but still never thought I might be a bridge between India and Texas. Today, though, because of the many trips to India, I frequently find myself explaining India to Texas and vice versa.

My first trip to India was in the 90’s when I was asked to speak at an air cargo conference in Agra. I was excited about the opportunity to visit India and the Taj Mahal.

Within hours of landing in Delhi, disenchantment overwhelmed me. A private car was scheduled to meet me at the airport and drive me to Agra. Instead, I was taken to a hotel which, by U.S. standards, was unacceptable, to say the least. The next day, after several hours delay, I boarded what appeared to be the oldest Boeing 737 in existence for the flight which landed in Agra with young boys riding bicycles along the tarmac. The hotel in Agra was better, but not enough to restore excitement. I knew I would likely never return to this “wretched” place.

Then, I began to experience living metaphors. My obligatory visit to the Taj Majal was preceded by a walk down a dirty road past beggars of all sorts. Stepping through the doors of the Taj Majal, I was surrounded by beauty – not natural beauty, but beauty created by individuals centuries ago. How could such beauty exist mere yards from such deplorable conditions?

The next day I asked the hotel concierge to suggest a jewelry store where I could buy something for my wife. He hailed a taxi, gave the driver instructions, and off

s Rao’

we went. Pulling up in front of a derelict storefront with almost no signage, I “knew” something was wrong and demanded to be taken back to the hotel, where I expressed disgust to the concierge. He was patient and asked me to trust him, whereupon the driver took me back to the same run-down building.

After ringing a bell and being ushered into a dimly lit foyer by the manager, I was more convinced than ever that I was being taken for a ride. The manager then opened the main door and flipped a light switch and I found myself standing in a most glorious showroom surrounded by jewels so large and fancy they simply could not be real. After much looking and a little haggling, I selected a unique ring of emeralds and sapphires, which could be transformed by flipping the outer bands. The price was too low for the jewels and gold to be high quality, but it was high enough that I would be cheated if they were not. Nevertheless, I bought the ring. During the ride back to the hotel, the parallel between the Taj Majal and jewelry store haunted me. If the ring were real, it would be another case of individuals creating great beauty in the midst of squalor.

When I returned home, I took the ring to a reputable jeweler and asked for an appraisal. The jewels were real and of the highest quality. The workmanship was exquisite. In fact, he offered to buy the ring on the spot.

My work in transportation policy took me back to India almost annually. I have spent many days in Mumbai, Pune and other cities. I have seen glamour and filth. My oldest son, Joseph, against all of our family instincts, studied under Swami Parthasarathy at the Vedanta Academy in the village of Malavali. He is now Director, Vedanta World,

s ’ o a R h s i Sat

Los Angeles.

I have also come to understand the people of India. That first driver who took me to a hotel instead of driving me to Agra knew that the drive at night was too long and risky.

He was watching out for my well-being.

Only half joking, I tell people that India is the most wretched place I’ve ever been but I cannot wait to go back. In the midst of decay and ruin, is great physical beauty. But, more importantly, in the midst of what appear to be shattered lives, is great joy, compassion and understanding of human existence.

Yes, India is a long way from East Texas.

I have become a better person for making the journey.

Edward M. Emmett became Harris County Judge on March 6, 2007. A member of the Texas House of Representatives from 1979 to 1987, Judge Emmett was chairman of the Committee on Energy, a member of the Transportation Committee, and represented the state on numerous national committees relating to energy and transportation policy. In 1989, President George H. W. Bush nominated Emmett as a Commissioner at the Interstate Commerce Commission. After being confirmed unanimously by the United States Senate, Judge Emmett served on the commission for three years. Among his many other activities, Judge Emmett is director of Harris County’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

Judge Emmett and his wife, Gwen, have been married for 37 years and have four children and eight grandchildren.

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‘Tis the season to be dancin’

Arangetrams are in the Air!

Photo: Krishna Giri

By Dr. Rathna Kumar

Urmila Gadgil Ranga Pravesam

Every summer, from June to August, Houston reverberates with the sound of ankle bells!

Resplendent in vibrant silk costumes and temple jewelry, belles on their toes present their solo debut performances in venues across the city, to audiences consisting of family, friends and dance enthusiasts. And this is not just a Houston phenomenon. From New York to New Braunfels, from Atlanta to Arizona, wherever there is an Indian community you will find an Indian dance teacher, and, lo and behold, an Arangetram will happen in due time!

“Arangetram” (pronounced ah-rung-aytrum) is the Tamil translation of the Sanskrit word “Ranga Pravesam”, both meaning ‘entering the stage’, a reference to a student’s maiden performance in classical music or dance, a kind of rite of passage when a student ‘graduates’ from being merely a student to becoming an artist in her / his own right. In the olden days of gurukulavaasam (or simply gurukul), parents who saw artistic potential in their children took them to well known gurus in classical dance or music and left them in their expert care for a few years, during which time the young ‘apprentices’ lived as part of their guru’s family. In exchange for some simple daily household chores, received extensive training in one of the most complex art forms in the world. When the training was over and the guru felt that the student was ready to exhibit her / his talents to the outside world, a public performance was organized, usually in a temple, and the young artist was ‘launched’. Such was the stuff of which Arangetrams were made more than a century ago.

Fast forward to the twenty-first century. It is a hot Texas summer afternoon, with a sweltering 98 degrees. Threatening clouds looming here and there, but undeterred by the heat or impending thunderstorms, a group of busy mothers and

ARTS

fathers have gathered at the Kaplan Theater, Houston’s most popular Arangetram venue, helping with decorations in the foyer and on the stage – always a very important and integral part of the Arangetram! Inside the dressing room friends of the young dancer chatter away, happily distracting her, till the teacher shoos them away, patiently putting finishing touches to the girl’s make-up. Soon all the decorations are in place, the young dancer is completely ready, the teacher ceremoniously hands over the bells to her, the dancer respectfully touches her guru’s feet before proceeding to wear the bells, and waits in the wings as the musicians, led by her guru, take their place on the dais to the right of the stage. And then, the magical moment happens! The curtains open, music begins, the mridangam and the cymbals strike the appropriate rhythm for the first dance, and, butterflies fluttering uncontrolled in her stomach, the dancer makes her entry on the stage, unsure of how the evening will unfold.

But soon the trepidation is replaced by a sense of calm, and then excitement, as dance after dance increases her self confidence, and she gives herself up to the sheer joy of the whole experience, reveling in each dance. She savors the applause and the smiles of approbation from her guru and the professional musicians who have come all the way from India just to accompany her and all her friends that are making their debuts this year. And then, all too soon, the performance comes to an end, people rush to the stage to congratulate her, pressing flowers and gifts into her hands, cameras flash from all sides, with ‘look here, smile…one more please’ coming from many a professional and amateur photographer. She does not mind.

This is HER moment! She is the heroine, the princess, the most important person today, and she savors each and every compliment and captures it in her memory, because there will not be another moment like this in her life again, for an Arangetram is a once-in-a-lifetime event. The crowd moves from the auditorium to the dining area (but of course! We Indians love food and dinner after an Arangetram is a must these days!). Once again our young heroine is surrounded by admiring friends, family members and well-wishers, and continues to bask in her new-found glory. The teacher and the musicians receive their own share of compliments, and the parents, delighted with the success of the event, go home with full hearts, ready to take a well deserved break form the frenetic activities and preparations of the past few months. As for the guru and the orchestra, there is no break for them, for another young lady, and then another, are waiting their turns, and

must be thoroughly groomed and rehearsed before they present their performances. When the last Arangetram / Rangapravesam is done, the exhausted guru breathes a sigh of relief and gets a breathing space – of a week – before she starts working on a new set of young dancers who will making their debuts the following year!

No rest for the weary, and the Arangetram saga continues… But this is what brings joy to several people – parents, dance students and their guru. So why deny them the happiness?

Be it India or the UK, Australia or the US, South Africa or Sri Lanka, there are many parents eager for their daughters and sons to learn classical dance, and there are youngsters who seriously pursue Indian classical dance, mostly Bharatanatyam, the most popular style of all.

There is that small percentage of students that becomes so involved with it after years of training that they are ready to chuck up everything else in favor of a career dedicated to dance.

Dance and music are ‘addictive’ art forms, and in some rare cases, what starts as a hobby and supposed to stop with an Arangetram (as the parents often think, hoping that their children will then dedicate themselves completely to their studies and a ‘proper’ career) suddenly becomes a passion, and sometimes an allconsuming magnificent obsession. I have had students who initially took up dancing for fun, and now have their own dance companies, in New York, California and Atlanta, and doing very well indeed! Suffice it to say that an Arangetram is a very important landmark in a young artist’s life, and helps boost his / her self confidence and self esteem, besides providing a wonderful ‘connection’ to the young dancer’s cultural roots and traditions. Often students who complete their Arangetrams / Rangapravesams (as it is called if it is a debut Kuchipudi performance) and then leave to colleges in other cities try to find good teachers locally, to continue their thirst for knowledge, or, if this is not possible, return to their old teachers during Spring and summer breaks to keep up their dancing. For teachers of Indian classical dance this is indeed very heartening and rewarding, and becomes their morale booster for continuing their imparting of cultural and artistic knowledge to aspiring youngsters.

Dr. Rathna Kumar is the Founder-Director of the Anjali Center for Performing Arts & Artistic Director, SAMSKRITI. She can be reached at rathnanil@ gmail.com or281 265 ARTS. For more information on the Anjali Center, visit www.anjalicenter.org

Photos: Navin Mediwala

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Myths and Truths:

The Locked Inpatient Psychiatry Unit

By Arjune Rama, MD

As I walk onto any one of the locked psychiatric units at our hospital I am immediately struck by the hum of intense activity. It’s like the startling feeling of stepping out of an air-conditioned apartment into the steamy height of a New Haven summer. Across from the nurses’ station, a psychologist interviews a patient retelling the story of constant childhood molestation as rivulets of mascara run down her cheeks. A confused nineteen-yearold man recently diagnosed with schizophrenia talks to an unseen critic telling him he should just “end it all.”

In the heavily-fortified clinical station nurses enter vital signs, psychiatric technicians rapidly discuss overnight events and psychiatry resident physicians like myself collect all this data in order to present our patients’ clinical profiles on morning rounds.

While this bustling environment might suggest a power differential in which patients are at the mercy of their treatment providers, such an interpretation could not be further from the truth. The days of psychiatrists wantonly admitting patients against their will has been replaced with a legal procedure that firmly puts patients’ rights first. The question of whether a patient possesses “psychiatric disabilities and is dangerous to himself” is reexamined daily to ensure that the patient can be treated in the least restrictive environment possible. Just as the patient’s commitment criteria are constantly being reevaluated, long-term management strategies run alongside. Psychological and pharmacological therapies are used together to stabilize patients and transition them into outpatient treatment where their long term psychological needs can be met. Additionally, as many of our patients are in dire financial straits, housing and vocational opportunities are aggressively pursued by the treatment team’s social workers.

Perhaps you’re saying yourself, “This all sounds way too normal. Where are the screams? The shackles?

And where, oh where, is ‘Nurse Ratched’?!” These are questions that have plagued the perception of psychiatric inpatient treatment since Ken Kesey’s seminal work One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and the classic movie adaptation. Certainly the screams occur. I wish I could say there weren’t situations in which patients need to be forcibly restrained. However, these events happen far less often than might be expected. Just as our colleagues in surgery and emergency medicine note that fiction wildly dramatizes certain elements of their fields, inpatient psychiatry is also a victim of such inaccurate portrayal. In fact, much of inpatient psychiatric care involves a lot of routine work, like any other medical unit. We admit patients, treat them, and discharge them. That’s not to say incredible things don’t happen, of course. The reality of a locked inpatient ward is less outwardly dramatic than fiction but perhaps even more potent. True transformations occur during psychotherapy, medication management

sessions, and art therapy classes. When a patient who has been kicked around his entire life finds an empathic ear, the click of connection is almost audible during a session. When just the right medication or psychological therapy falls into place, the heart and soul of inpatient psychiatry emerge. These moments don’t photograph well and similarly don’t move books or sell movie tickets.

Pictures of cruelty sell better than the truth, unfortunately.

Despite the well-worn image of the inpatient made into a zombie by mind-numbing agents, I’m pleased to say that our patients, on balance, do well. And they are doing better with every passing year. Emerging medications have made patients’ lives outside of the hospital less encumbered by severe side effects such as drooling and confusion that previously served to isolate and stigmatize. Long-acting forms of our medications have been developed to help patients who are unable to manage having to take pills on a consistent basis. While celebrity rapid-detoxes and costly boutique psychotherapy treatments seem to command widespread interest, I am more excited to hear everyday people tell me that they have been admitted to an inpatient unit during a crisis and our now able to return to the satisfactions of life and work while managing their illness through a combination of therapy and medications. Although images from Cuckoo’s Nest and the like persist in the minds of many, I think the future holds an intense change in perception of the inpatient psychiatric ward. As our government has now recognized the increasingly high cost of lost productivity due to mental illness, perhaps the average inpatient stay will increase, the funding for outpatient care will similarly climb, and patients will have a greater shot at wellness. Such an outcome may not make for a great movie but is high drama nonetheless.

Arjune Rama has always been captivated by stories. As an undergraduate at Tufts University he dove headfirst into English courses as well as abnormal psychology and biopsychology as a way to examine stories of people suffering from mental illness and the various approaches to treating them. By his sophomore year he decided to go to medical school to become a psychiatrist. He went on to earn his MD at American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine. In addition to practicing psychiatry he hopes to continue writing essays on mental illness as well as general topics in contemporary culture. He is currently a resident physician in psychiatry at Yale University School of Medicine. Dr. Rama lives with his wife and daughter in New Haven, Conn.

VOICES

Photos: Sara Speer Selber

37

What I Love About

Houston

By Sara Speer Selber I am a native Houstonian and love this city for so many reasons. Trying to consolidate the many thoughts and vivid images in my mind on this topic, I find myself frustrated. How does one that has a 55-year history with a city really appreciate and describe that which has surrounded them since birth?

I decided to not write the retrospective, I am so proud of Houston, blah, blah, blah article.

Instead, I am turning to my recent bucket list revelation.

You see there is a bucket list item I was able to scratch off this summer. I just returned from almost two weeks in Tuscany, a long held dream. Check, now that is off my list. And yes, it was well worth making the list. Funny thing, India is also on my list of places I MUST see. So are Vietnam and Ethiopia, and Guatemala.

I have loved to travel and EXPERIENCE other cultures since my high school days. I attended Hockaday, a boarding school for girls that had “us plain ol Texas girls”, girls from other states, daughters of foreign diplomats, and thankfully, met my dearest girl friend to this day, from Mexico City. Through my many visits and work, I fell in love with Mexico, especially the food, music, and warmth of the people. The funny part is I fell in love with Tuscany for the same reasons.

Something in me says, I would fall in love with India, Vietnam, Ethiopia, and Guatemala for the exact same reasons.

So track with me. What do I love about Houston? C’mon, I can go to any country in a day and never leave Houston. Today, I was in Mexico. Started at Fiesta on Wirt Road for

fresh napolitos, elote from the food truck in the parking lot, La Michoacan for cheese, and finished at a panederia for fresh bolillos.

Yup, played music from Los Panchos and Armando Manzanero for drive time. Zipped home traffic free, to prepare my feast for friends coming to dinner. Tequila is chillin’, my house smells like Mexico, music is appropriately all in Spanish and in my mind I am in Mexico. Of course I used a few recipes from the Latin Womens Initiative, Latin Flavors Cookbook, because my friends from many Latin American countries created this treasure from their family’s favorites. It was a wonderful experience for those involved in creating the cookbook and the Co-Chairs were friends from middle school, one from Mexico City and the other a past president of the Junior League of Houston. (By the way, one can never go wrong with any Junior League of Houston cookbook).

I was recently in cooking school at Rice Epicurean (a local family owned grocery store) with Shubra Ramineni, author of Entice with Spice. The Cajun in me wants to scream Talk About Good, but that would not begin to describe the feeling I had about India and the culture. For some reason, it just felt like my Jewish and Cajun culture (oh boy, that is a whole other story). So here is my thinking. Why am I waiting on a bucket list item to go visit another country when I can experience that visit to say, India. I can go today if I choose. Like my day in Mexico in Houston, I am now searching for someone to share an India day in Houston with me. Show me India. You know the fun stuff

that brings us together; food, music, a little shopping, sipping, and a meal we prepare together and share with friends at the end of the day. And then we can have real conversations and maybe have so much fun we are all talking at the same time. Is that your culture too? Any takers, HUM’s publisher Kalyani can find me! I will in return show you my Jewish or Cajun culture.

It is crystal clear why I love Houston. In the last 55 years I have seen our city grow physically as well as a population explosion.

For years, the city seemed to me to be very white, segregated, and boring. Then one day I woke up to people from every continent living in my backyard. The more people I meet, the more countries I experience and fall in love with. My children have never known anything but a city full of people that moved or immigrated to Houston. But, today, I want to urge each of you, take one day a month and go visit a country in Houston, for that is why my bucket list may have filled quicker than I could have anticipated as a child growing up in Houston. Yes, I love Houston and all her countries.

Sara Speer Selber is the Founder of the Project Management Team, providing consulting services for socially responsible companies and community initiatives. http://www. thepmteam.com/

Ease Into Fall: 2012 Fall Fashion Preview

By Priya M. James

Colorblocked Pencil Skirt

Nordstrom

$69.00

It’s that time of year again, when summer is winding down and fall is just around the corner. It heralds a time when designers have finished showcasing their fall couture collections and stores begin to have fall preview sales offering discounted prices on the upcoming season’s styles.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when putting together your fall wardrobe for the year. Colors for this fall consist of darks, muted brights, and neutral colors. Pantone’s Fashion Color Report for Fall 2012 included rich brown, deep blue, gray, tangerine, gold, deep blue-green, a soft shade of purple, rose, pink, and chartreuse.

Many of last year’s trends that included the leather bomber jacket, the leather motorcycle jacket, riding boots, and capes, have returned for a curtain call this year. Tweed jackets are a fall classic, and can be worn with wide leg trousers for a sophisticated outfit that is great for work and business meetings.

Colored denim has been a huge trend for the Spring/Summer season, and its bright colors are transitioning into deep dark colors for the fall. Colored denim leggings like those shown in the photo from Nordstrom are great paired with riding boots. Color blocking in apparel, shoes, and accessories is another Spring/Summer trend that has continued on for the fall, and like colored denim, bright colors darken up for next season. The most important thing to remember when shopping for your fall wardrobe is to stay true to your personal style, but add a few trends for an up-to-date look.

Rubbish leather motorcycle jacket

Nordstrom

$198.00

Priya James is a fashion stylist and owner of Priya M. James Fashion Consulting. She has worked for high end department stores and boutiques as a women’s and children’s stylist and merchandiser. Priya has a Bachelor of Science in Fashion Merchandising and Marketing from The Art Institute of Houston. She has styled and assisted in the production of fashion shows and photo shoots and has provided fashion consulting services to small businesses and start-ups in the fashion and retail industry. www.fashionmepretty.com www.facebook.com/PriyaM. JamesFashionConsulting

HUE Stretch Denim Leggings

Nordstrom

$39.00

STREET SCENES

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As the blazing sun retreated and gave way to a gentle breeze, the Sugar Land Town Square transformed into downright hip as revelers sipped on artisan beers and wine, devoured delicious sliders, and grooved to the irresistibly engaging tunes by local super-group, Moodafaruka. The Red Hot Block Party held on July 21, and facilitated by Food & Vine Time Productions, drew chefs from swank area eater-

ies out of the kitchen and onto the square, plying the crowd with those ubiquitous mini burgers with an array of ďŹ llings. Participating restaurants and establishments were Blu Restaurant Lounge, Fish City Grill, Turquoise Grill & Bar, Lasagna House, Baker Street Pub & Grill, Kroger, Sugar Land Marriott Hotel, The Burning Pear, and Stadia Sports Grill. Guests got to vote for the best slider and

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first prize went to Sugar Land Marriott Hotel. Sponsors for the party included Bogle Vineyards, Saint Arnold Brewing Company, Sugar Land Town Square, Mix 96.5, Underdog Wine & Spirits, to name a few. Mark your calendar for the Brewmasters Craft Beer Festival to be held August 31 – September 1, 2012, at Moody Gardens in Galveston.

Madras Pavilion Indian Cuisine

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For Fine Dining, Catering & Banquet Services, Contact: Mahesh 713 256 5441 shahxyz@aol.com Rajan 832 656 7861 Four Texas locations Houston 713 521 2617 Sugar Land 281 491 3672 Austin 512 719 5575 Dallas 972 671 3672

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GREEN

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BEING MORE ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY CAN BE GOOD FOR YOU:

SUSTAINABILITY 2.0

By Tajana Mesic Daily we are bombarded by images and news touting yet another story of melting glaciers and tsunami waves destroying entire coastlines and cities. It’s not all gloom and doom. What if there was a way to be more environmentally friendly beyond just recycling? Doing good and living well, all at once.

Reduce, reuse, recycle is the mantra of sustainability. For biggest and most lasting impact, I noticed that rethinking processes and our behaviors before having to reduce, reuse, and recycle makes most sense.

How about Sustainability 2.0? In this column, we will strive to share resources, discuss trends and bring you the latest and greatest on how you can be part of the solution. We will discuss energy, out of the box water conservation, socially responsible investing, ecotourism, healthy eating, and collaborative consumption.

It is summer in Texas, and our minds are on travel and entertaining, so we will start with eco-tourism and wines.

Voluntourist – Leave a Good Footprint Have you booked that vacation to Maui or your trip to the Hot Springs in Arkansas? If you are like me, you know that travel creates a huge carbon footprint, so you offset your travel carbon emissions by buying shares in a wind farm or other carbon offsetting products to help neutralize the CO2 you emit while traveling. My provider of choice is Carbonfund.org, because it encourages you to reduce your eco-footprint the best you can and only then to offset the rest.

Keeping my car maintained and tires properly inflated, combining my errand trips, using my bicycle whenever possible, telecommuting and directing virtual meetings, all of it piles up and has helped decrease my carbon footprint from 30 to 10 tons of CO2 in two years.

The single largest source of emissions in the average U.S.

household is from driving, averaging at 48 tons of CO2 per year.

One acre of new forest can absorb about 2.5 tons of CO2 per year, so it takes about 19 acres of forest to neutralize or sequester one household’s carbon production in a year. Most current findings by Houston’s Regional Forest show a count of 663 million trees. They removed over 60,000 tons of air pollution per year.

But if you are looking for more than just resort travel and want to give back, there are more eco-options available for travel. As an eco-traveler, you can go on trips that engage you with scientific research and education to promote actions necessary for a sustainable environment, either domestically or internationally. You can sign up for a river cleanup in Costa Rica, volunteer in a charity in Kerala, India, or do a Galveston Turtle Patrol.

Organizations such as The International Ecotourism Society (TIES) lead the efforts to make tourism a tool for conservation, protection of bio-cultural diversity, and sustainable community development. The key ingredient for eco tourism is to leave the place you visit better than you found it. You will not only enjoy it more, but will be able to show your children by example what it means to give back to the communities you visit.

As a voluntourist, you could enjoy the off- the-beaten-track travel experiences and still give back to the communities you visit. But what if you don’t want to just build houses and work in trenches? You can put many of your skills to use – anything from teaching English, hospitality training with home stay host families, light construction work, planting community gardens, cleaning activities on beaches, and mangrove forest restoration.

To give you a taste, one of our favorite Voluntourist opportunities is the American Hiking Society’s Alaska Trail Work. While voluntouring in Alaska, you won’t need any special skills, just a will-

GREEN

ingness to get dirty and leave our nation’s trails better than you found them. The project hopes to build and maintain over 18 miles of hiking trails in the state of Alaska through volunteer trail work.

Another volunteerism experience involves a boat, a rainforest and a river. It is Earthwatch Institute’s Discover Earthwatch, where voluntourists work side-by-side with scientists to discover, document, and protect some of the planet’s most spectacular places and animals. Brazil anyone?

Wines with Character While you are voluntouring, you may want to enjoy a good wine and some delicious cheese, so often made with pride locally. Organic is all the buzz these days. All types of industries are becoming responsible these days, and it is often difficult to differentiate between good marketing and good product. Many wineries use organic grapes to make the heady concoction and use the organic method of winemaking, which excludes non-organic additives to the grapes. If they use sulfites to stabilize the wine, the wine cannot be called organic, so the label reads “made with organic grapes”.

If you want to go for the full organic experience, try wines with character, the “biodynamic” wines. The wine makers adhere to the strict rules associated with organic practices, and the grown and cultivated in a vineyard that is considered

a complete, living eco-system.

The soil, plant and animal life all coexist in the vineyard. The grapevines are pruned, sprayed with organic ingredients to prevent bugs, and harvested based on the phases of the moon and positions of the planets for the health of the vines and to produce the best-quality fruit. The grapes are harvested according to the lunar calendar and the goal is to create a holistic, regenerative environment for the eco-system and for the harvested grapes that become the wine. The biodynamic growing system is fully embraced in France and in parts of Europe, and the United States is making inroads as well.

Five Organic Wines Under $15 1. Leth, Gruner Veltliner, Steinagrund, Austria, 2009 2. Montinore, “Borealis”, Willamette, 2009 3. Gassier Nostre Pais Blanc, Costieres de Nimes, 2008 4. Christian Venier Gamay “La Gautrie”, Touraine, 2009 5. Chateau La Chapelle Maillard, Bordeaux Rouge, 2008 So, if you want to feel good and do good, take out your suitcase and book your voluntouring trip and enjoy a good bottle of biodynamic red.

Don’t forget to offset your carbon footprint, too. Cheers!

Next month, we will bring you a discussion about energy and socially responsible investing.

Photos: Tajana Mesic

43

Tajana Mesic is the president and founder of GGG Sustainability Solutions, a speaker and a philanthropist. GGG is a full-service sustainability and resource efficiency consulting firm operating in Houston and Dallas, providing clients with professional services and guidance on integrating sustainability strategy into operations in a financially viable way.

GGG is a certified B Corporation and deeply involved in the Dallas and Houston international community.

LANDMARKS

44

The Very Long Life of Alice’s Playhouse:

A Survivor’s Story

By Andrea White When I was graduating from Memorial High School in Houston, my best friend’s mother told me that she was going to give me a surprise party. I was so excited. When it came time for the big day, she took me and several friends to the Heritage Society, that group of old homes on Sam Houston Park, near downtown Houston. I’m embarrassed to tell you that I was not impressed.

Given my youthful reaction, it was perfectly ironic and totally fitting that Alice Collette, Executive Director of the Heritage Society, would call me forty years later. She asked me to get involved in Heritage Society and posed this question: How can we make our beautiful houses a destination site for children and their families?

Alice mentioned that the Heritage Society had a playhouse built in the mid-1890s by Captain James Baker for his daughter, Alice.

Although there is no registry of playhouses, Alice told me that this might well be the oldest playhouse in Houston. We decided that we would focus on the playhouse and try to make it more interesting to children through a story.

I reached out for help to a very talented writer, Elaine Scott. Her first suggestion was that we write about Alice Graham Baker, the young girl for whom the playhouse was built.

Born in 1887, she is the daughter of the Alice Baker who started Neighborhood Centers.

To get information about our Alice, I met with Kate Kirkland who is writing the biography of Captain James Baker, which comes out this fall. Not that much is known about Alice Graham Baker’s childhood, and ultimately, Elaine and I decided that we couldn’t write a book focused on her.

Instead, we decided to write the story from the point of view of the playhouse.

We found out that the playhouse had been behind six big houses and that four of these had been torn down. A light bulb went off. We began to realize how remarkable this little playhouse was. It had survived six moves.

When I went to Google and typed “Houston hurricanes” into the search box, I learned that the playhouse also survived around ten significant hurricanes. We knew

from our personal experiences how strong this playhouse must be. Imagine, wind gusts up to 175 miles per hour multiple times yet the playhouse still stands.

Elaine came up with an apt title for the book: The Very Long Life of Alice’s Playhouse: A Survivor’s Story. We both got so attached to the playhouse that we actually had a debate in a string of emails about whether the playhouse should be referred to as she or it.

To help tell the story, Elaine and I had one colorful fact. When he was a boy, Secretary of State James Baker stored elk heads in the playhouse.

We were tempted to make our book into a ghost story but resisted.

When you are trying to teach kids, you can’t be too obvious. And a children’s book relies on illustrations to tell much of the story. So I turned to another talented Houstonian, Bill Megenhardt, and he agreed to donate the illustrations and the graphic design.

Bill reinforced the history lesson by showing the different ways in which the playhouse was transported to its different homes.

By horse and cart. Model T and cart. And then a series of moving vans.

So we had a story for the playhouse but we wanted to add another dimension to its life: music. We imagined the voices of children playing on its steps, and we reached out to the Houston Grand Opera. The Opera graciously agreed to tape children singing old fashioned jump rope songs at its opera camp. Next fall, you’ll be able to hear the kid’s voices on the Heritage Society’s audio cell phone tour.

The opera also agreed to have one of its story tellers sing the playhouse’s story and to train students from Kashmere Gardens to be the playhouse’s docents.

While I don’t want to give away too much of our plot, I will say that our story poses a central question - how could this small playhouse survive in Houston, Texas, considering its many challenges? The answer Elaine and I came up with was simple.

The playhouse survived because the

Baker children and other kids loved it so much.

Elaine and I had fun making up a story about our little playhouse, but we all know that the best stories are true. And the saddest stories are the ones we’ll never know; untold and lost forever.

We have come together from so many continents, countries and cultures here in Houston. Think about the objects which are precious in your life, and consider sharing their stories with your grandchildren, children, nieces, nephews, and neighbors. You can tell them why that old watch meant so much to Uncle Jose; why Grandma Chitra loved that porcelain cup. And long after that watch goes missing and the cups breaks, the stories will linger. It’s the stories that are cherished the most.

I love Houston for being a new city, vibrant, growing and welcoming to newcomers. I love it even more when it manages, against all odds, to save its old buildings and to showcase its history. If you haven’t gone to Heritage Society lately, stop by and see Houston’s history preserved. www.heritagesociety.org Andrea White is an award-winning author of historical fiction for children. Her book Surviving Antarctica was selected for the Bluebonnet list, and the Texas State Reading Association awarded Andrea the Golden Spur award for the best book by a Texas author. More recently, she published Windows on the World, the first book in the Upcity Chronicles trilogy that won the Spirit of Texas award established by the Texas Library Association for middle school fiction.

The Very Long Life of Alice’s Playhouse; A Survivor’s Story, is her latest work. Married for twentysix years, Andrea and her husband, Bill, formerly mayor of Houston, have three grown kids.

SOCIETY

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ANNAM

POWERED BY 30 YEARS EXEPTIONAL CULINARY EXPERTISE

Now Expanded

Sister Cities The U.S. sister city program originated in 1956 when President Dwight D. Eisenhower proposed a people-to-people, citizen diplomacy initiative. The nonprofit network creates and strengthens partnerships between United States and international communities. More than 2,000 cities, states and counties are partnered in 136 countries around the world. The organization strives to build global cooperation at the municipal level, promote cultural understanding and stimulate economic development. Sister Cities are official relationships that link cities with mutual interests from around the world. They are established through formal commitments by the respective municipal governments. Citizen volunteers coordinate a variety of exchanges and programs that promote friendship, understanding, trade and cooperation. Generally sister city partnerships share similar demographics and town size.

The goals of the Sister City program include the development of municipal partnerships between U.S. cities, counties, and states and similar jurisdictions in other nations, provide opportunities for city officials and citizens to experience and explore other cultures through long-term community partnerships, create an atmosphere in which economic and community development can be implemented and strengthened. The program aims to stimulate environments

BIGGER FACILITY FASTER SERVICE

through which communities will creatively learn, work, and solve problems together through reciprocal cultural, educational, municipal, business, professional and technical exchanges and projects.

Sister Cities International furthers its mission through cultural exchange, humanitarian assistance, youth and educational programs, and economic and sustainable development.

Cultural exchanges occur on an individual level from city to city. Sister Cities International facilitates these exchanges by providing support and funding. The organization undertakes humanitarian endeavors like the Sino-African initiative that addressed poverty in African countries, among others.

Houston is an integral part of the program with seventeen Sister Cities globally. The Houston Office of Protocol and International Affairs is the city’s liaison to Houston’s sister city associations and to the national governing organization, Sister Cities International and the local Sister Cities of Houston.

Starting in September, HUM will highlight one Houston Sister City each month and bring you interesting facts and information about the cultural, business, educational, humanitarian efforts that form the bedrock of the program.

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Samskriti

Artistic Director Rathna Kumar

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Bollywood Blast 2012

TIMELESS an eternal romance

Produced & Directed

Mahesh Mahbubani Miller Outdoor Theatre (Hermann Park)

Sunday September 2, 2012 8pm for further information contact

www.samskritihouston.org 281-265 –ARTS (2787) Made possible by a grant from the City of Houston through The Miller Theatre Advisory Board

Caviar & Cabbages Gripes and moans, rants and raves. HUM Magazine’s new page Caviar & Cabbages is all about what you like and dislike about Houston. In a succinct few lines, have your say and we shall print your words. Team HUM recently handed the microphone to those who reside in Houston and asked them to voice pet peeves, air grievances, or heap kudos on this city.

The following are excerpts in their own words.

I was born in Houston, as were my parents, and I have lived my adult life here.

It’s a great city, full of diverse people from all walks of life and from around the world. Houstonians are more interested in what you can do than who you are. My favorite place is my own home. But I enjoy Buffalo Bayou and the Waugh Drive bat bridge. I take visitors to the Houston Zoo and the Museum of Natural Science. Houston is a dynamic, culturally unique city full of wonderful attractions.

More than 30 million people visit the Greater Houston area every year to experience Houston’s restaurants, museums, attractions, and sports arenas.

Mayor of Houston, Annise Parker

What I like most about Houston is that you can satisfy any craving, be it artistic, culinary, architectural, or fashion. But the thing I dislike is the lack of a citywide commuter rail system. We’re the 4th largest U.S. city with a population of 5 million and the only thing we lack to be a world-class city is commuter rail.

Susan Lycans Atkins

I like the people who were/are a part of the harsh lessons life has taught me. Those who made me discover my potential and my true self by being what I would NEVER want to be! I dislike those who have given me immense love and make me feel so special, for looking up to me, asking for advice and having the faith and trust in me to guide them through to the right path.

I dislike them for making Houston my forever home as they made this the place where I belong!

Samia Adil

I have lived in Houston for 12 years, and I love the variety of people, interesting cultures, and the foods. What I dislike about Houston is the poor condition of our streets and main roads. We pay taxes to have them fixed, not just patched over.

Penny Templeton

Write to us at info@hummagazine.com with Caviar and Cabbages in the subject line.

a

Seven years ago when I landed at the Bush Intercontinental airport with my books and my cooking spices from India, little did I know that Houston would be the city that I would eventually come to love and call home. I must admit that my first impression of Houston was kind of anticlimactic - it was nothing like the America portrayed on TV. But It didn’t take me long to realize the bustling metropolis Houston really was.

From then to now, Houston has given me everything.

Houston is a big bowl of caviar for sure. There is something for everyone.

Our thriving South Asian community here has made adequately sure that newcomers don’t miss home all that much. Where else would one be exposed to

all the festivals and colors and flavors, from all regions of the Indian subcontinent, in one city? And whenever I have ventured out, I have been greeted with open arms from native Houstonians with the best of Southern hospitality.

I actually happen to like cabbage as a vegetable!

But the one thing I do not enjoy about Houston is the lack of “beauty spots” in the city. We are a big enough city that we should have a central park or a beautiful plaza or other landmarks all throughout the city that will show our love and pride for the city we live in. I hate calling this the city of freeways because it has the potential to be so much more. It’s time to beautify Houston.

Shyam Pillai

presentation

enjoy an incredible cultural journey to the North and South of India through her beautiful and vibrant dances, presented by two extraordinary ensembles fromIncredible India

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As a native Houstonian and having traveled the world, I can say that there is no other place I would rather live than in Houston. Houston offers a multitude of restaurants with cuisines from around the world, a variety of cultural entertainment ranging from museums to theatre performances, and for those looking to venture out at night – the clubs on Upper Kirby gives the sense that you are in New York City. While the construction and traffic issues are painfully agonizing, the pros outweigh the cons 100 to 1. I love this city!

Tommy Phillips

Samskriti

Artistic Director

Rathna Kumar Miller Outdoor Theatre

(Hermann Park)

Saturday September 8, 2012 8pm for further information contact

www.samskritihouston.org 281-265 –ARTS (2787) Made possible by a grant from the City of Houston through The Miller Theatre Advisory Board

INFOCUS

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congratulations & best wishes to

from a wellwisher

FAITH

49

Ramadan Month of Happiness, Time of Bliss

Photo: Robert Arnett

By Angel Wesley The holy month of Ramadan, as we Muslims refer to it, lasts for approximately 30 days and begins when the crescent moon of the 9th month of the Islamic calendar is sighted by special committees set up across the world for this purpose. For us it is a blessed time, not just for the religious importance it plays in our faith, but for the opportunity it brings us to slow down a bit and enjoy the aspects of life that are most important.

Religiously speaking, Ramadan is a month for fasting and reading the Quran.

The Quran is not merely read, but recited out loud by the reader in a slow and measured tone. Most Muslims endeavor to read the Quran in its entirety at least once during Ramadan. During daytime, from Fajr, our prayer before dawn, until Maghreb prayer, our prayer at sunset, we refrain from eating or drinking. In fact, nothing must pass our lips; no medicine, no cigarettes, no water.

Fasting takes a fair amount of wherewithal, but the benefits we reap spiritually and physically are numerous.

In addition to fasting and reading our Quran, we offer prayer. Muslims pray five times a day, every day, all year long. During Ramadan, however, we add extra night prayers and we make an extra effort to go to the mosque and pray in congregation. As with all religions, our community is an important part of our faith.

While the religious aspects of Ramadan are the cornerstone of this blessed month for us, there are other deeply meaningful aspects of our life at this time. We

slow down and take time to savor the precious things in life that we have been given. We strive to be more grateful, as we should be throughout the year, but often we get caught up in ourselves and our lives.

We forgive those against whom we have held grudges and even ourselves, for our shortcomings and imperfections. We ask for forgiveness from others and most of all, from God. Every day at sunset we break fast with family and friends, eating an often lavish meal we call iftar. In the early morning hours we often eat another, smaller meal called suhoor before our fast for that day begins.

Every community and every family has their own special Ramadan foods and drinks.

Often these are delicious dishes that take hours to prepare and may be something that we don’t usually eat the rest of the year.

Families often send a dish or two to neighbors, friends and loved ones.

Of course there are plenty of other social activities, depending on your culture, your country, your community. Many stay up late after prayers, drinking tea or coffee and playing board games or cards.

Ramadan is also a time of great charity.

In particular, you will find Muslims coordinating projects to feed the less advantaged and to help orphans. Often people will cook and send the food to local mosques or to other places where those in need can have their iftar. At the end of the month, all Muslims who are financially able will pay their zakat or alms “tax”, 2.5% of their wealth. This money is given directly to charitable organizations

that are providing for those less fortunate.

The celebration of Eid al Fitr marks the end of Ramadan. We gather in the morning of Eid and pray together. Everyone dons their best dress, typically purchased for the occasion, and children go from family to family, where they are gifted money by the adults.

Everyone gathers with family that evening to eat and spend the rest of the evening visiting relatives.

Imagine 30 days where you delay gratification, where you fight off impulse and avoid getting angry, when you forgive everyone no matter whom you think is at fault, where you take time to reflect on who you are and what matters most. Imagine 30 days where you sit down to dinner with your loved ones every single night and often spend hours on end with them afterwards, sharing quality time in the pursuit of mutual beliefs and shared interests. Imagine these things and you will get a sense of what Ramadan is like for us Muslims. A sense of why to us this holy month is called the month of happiness, the month of bliss.

A native Houstonian, Angel Wesley is a lawyer by day and in her free time, runs a successful cookie business. She has founded a philanthropic organization in her adopted home city of Abu Dhabi. She teaches at the local university and travels extensively and enjoys her hobbies of horseback riding and Arabic language classes.

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