HUM Magazine January 2013 by Hum Magazine

Photo: Krishna Giri

JANUARY 2013

NIKITA & ATMAN Wedding in Wonderland

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FROM

THE PUBLISHER’S DESK

HUM was privy to an extraordinary Hindu wedding, the magnitude of which we’d never before witnessed. While Hinduism is rooted in 5000 years of ancient Vedic traditions, it’s not always about formalities; lighthearted moments abound. The Malani/Shukla nuptials, our cover feature, weren’t short on revelry, grandeur, and opulence. Determined to make their beloved daughter Nikita’s wedding memorable, her parents Raj and Jugal Malani brought in the very best in every specialty to make the occasion a huge success. It is a feather in our cap that they included us on that exalted list and invited us to cover the events exclusively. While we celebrated a union so sacred, so joyous, the tragic irony wasn’t lost on us that the twenty beautiful children of Sandy Hook Elementary School whose lives were cut short so mercilessly, will never walk down the aisle in a church with stained glass windows, throw a bouquet, or cradle a baby of their own. The very wise Maya Angelou said it best when she wrote, “As we come into 2013, we bring with us the need to ﬁnd answers and the hope to ﬁnd what can we do to prevent the recurrence of these despairing occurrences. I think we must commit to a commitment to all human beings and a decision to accept our responsibility to nature’s outpouring and human misbehavior. 2013 can bring us the chance to be kind to each other and kind to ourselves. We deserve each other and each other’s generosity.” Indeed, let’s be kind and compassionate to each other. My team and I wish you a safe, healthy, joyous, and peaceful 2013. Warmly,

Kalyani Giri

Publisher

team HUM Publisher/Editor Kalyani Giri Art Director Saqib Rana

CONTENTS

Print Consultant Ken Hoffman

indotcomInc

a concept-to-completion, every stage in between - and beyond - enterprise 7457 Harwin Dr #250, Houston, TX 77036 Tel: 281-888-4552 email:info@hummagazine.com www.hummagazine.com HUM Magazine assumes no responsibility for the content of articles or advertisements, in that the views expressed therein may not necessarily reďŹ&#x201A;ect the views of the publisher or any magazine employee or contributor. This publication and all of its contents are copyrighted.

What I Love About

06 HOUSTON Dr. Venugopal K. Menon DIPLOMAT & 08 A A FAMILY MAN Kalyani Giri

Contributors Ayesha Hakki Chitra Divakaruni Dr. David Courtney Kathleen Haney Karu Manickavasakam Ken Chitwood Dr. Manisha Ghei Dr. P.G. Parameswaran Dr. Venugopal K. Menon JANUARY 2013

NIKITAMALANI MALANI&& NIKITA ATMANSHUKLA SHUKLA ATMAN

WhatDreams Dreamsare areMade Madeof of What Kalyani Giri

POMPAND ANDPAGEANTRY PAGEANTRY POMP 20 Hallmarks of Wedding of the Year Ken Chitwood

23 24

PALACE OF DREAMS

A Feat of Mindboggling Creativity Kalyani Giri

A World-Renowned Author Shares Her Wedding Story

CHITRA AND MURTHY DIVAKARUNI Chitra Divakaruni

Photo: Krishna Giri

Correspondents Dr. Arjune Rama Ian Mellor-Crummey Lisa Brooks Nalini Sadagopan Priya M. James Tajana Mesic Tamara Mousner Helen Buntting Langton

NIKITA & ATMAN Wedding in Wonderland

Cover: Nikita & Atman Photo: Krishna Giri

JANUARY 2013 WEDDING 26 THE HOROSCOPE

(MOST) DIET AND 40 WHY EXERCISE REGIMENS FAIL Arjune Rama, MD

Dr. David Courtney

Bridal Lookbook:

Celebrating the Cinema of India at

28 GLAMOROUS

42 WORLDFEST

THE LEGACY OF LOVE

Revelry 44 Bollywood at Abrahams’s Holiday Soiree

CALMING THE VATA

Ayesha Hakki

Helen Buntting Langdon

Winds of the Holiday Season! Dr. Manisha Ghei

You Have The Power

34 TO SAVE LIVES P. G. Parameswaran, MD

LADY TEXANS FOOD DRIVE Helping Fight Hunger

FESTIVALS OF INDIA 38 HARVEST Karu Manickavasakam

Kathleen Haney

Delicious Arrival of Signature Truffles at

SAKS FIFTH AVENUE

Houston, Hostess with the Mostess, Hosts First Annual Total Energy USA:

48 CROSS-COLLABORATION

ACROSS ENERGY SECTORS Tajana Mesic

49 PRATHAM’S Festive Holiday Luncheon

Voice

What

ILove

About

Houston BY DR. VENUGOPAL K. MENON I could declare, ‘if I owned Heaven and Houston, I would rent out Heaven and live in Houston’, contradicting Philip Henry Sheridan, the U.S. General who made the often quoted statement in 1866. Having made this beautiful metropolis my home for over forty years, I have justifiably earned the claim by living it. Legitimately and realistically, I have the relevant distinction of owning a home in Houston and in Kerala, God’s own country — the ‘Heaven’. For sentimental reasons, I have chosen not to rent my house in ‘Heaven’, built on the property that our ancestors owned for generations, but nevertheless preferred Houston as our home. I have my reasons. It was a bitterly cold October morning in Hartford, Connecticut, when I drove to the airport to catch a flight to Houston, Texas. The year was 1972 and I was finishing the Chief Residency in Pediatrics at the University and flying to Houston for an interview for Fellowship in Allergy and Immunology at the Baylor College while working at the McGovern Allergy Clinic. After four hours of flight the plane glided over a vast expanse of greenery and landed in the bright, warm and inviting city of Houston. I may already have chosen my new home, right then, excitingly, and enthusiastically. After the interview when I was offered the Fellowship, the acceptance was an easy decision. Looking back, it has been an exceptionally rewarding professional experience, working at the distinguished McGovern Allergy Clinic and serving as its President for eight years before I retired. The hot tropical climate with downpours reminiscent of the monsoons in Kerala, keep my nostalgic instincts intact, while I remind myself of the relief not having to shovel snow or bundle up to pick up the newspaper. The enormous stretches of land and abundance of space are more appreciated each time we visit New York or San Francisco and compare notes about the real estate values, parking spaces and spacious shopping malls. Our world famous Texas Medical Center attracts millions of patients from all over and employs about a hundred thou-

sand. NASA is famous for the several space missions as well as innovative inventions that help improve our lives and comforts. Texas is recognized for its oil related and cattle industries and a spectrum of productive businesses. When the rest of the country struggled and strained with collapsing markets and a suffocating economy, Houston compromised to remain robust on its own merits. With our multifaceted theater district and our exciting professional sports teams we are recognized as among the best in the nation. The international Olympics Committee may have excluded our city for economic, political or ‘sporty’ reasons, but most Houstonians are content to enjoy its many amenities and opportunities. For Indians away from ‘home’, one cannot conceptualize a better setting than Houston. The climate, the spectrum of native population representing every region, religion, language, cultural and shopping options, we can claim to be enjoying the best of India in a clean and comprehensive setting. We have created temples and churches and cultural centers and we celebrate every auspicious event with extensive pageantry and enjoyable harmony. Our children excel in education and we have strived to instill the best of our traditional values into our next generation. As we fade, we can rest on our laurels and proudly pronounce that we have done our best. We often subscribe to sentiments that our life is intimately integrated with the cosmic existence, that we may all be tiny pieces in the colossal conglomeration, controlled by the celestial inﬂuence of galaxies and beyond. We tend to believe that astronomical and astrological entities exert their authority in ‘playing chess’ with and manipulating our lives. Irrespective of whether such thoughts have scientiﬁc validity or superstitious endorsement, they may be extended to include assigning a spot for each of us on the globe that we inhabit. And even if destiny played a role, I am at peace, being in my beautiful Houston. Yes, I love Houston, and these are just a few of my reasons.

Dr. Venugopal K. Menon graduated in Medicine from Trivandrum Medical College in 1962. He came to the US in 1969, and completed Residency in Pediatrics and a Fellowship in Allergy and Immunology. He was an associate at the McGovern Allergy and Asthma clinic for 35 years, serving as its President for 8 years before retiring. He has been involved with many organizations such as India Culture Center, Indian Doctors’ Club, Indo-American Charity Foundation, AKMG, Kerala Association and is a founding member of the Sri Meenakshi Temple in Pearland.

Spring/Summer 2013 collection available now

Conversation

A Diplomat & A Family Man BY KALYANI GIRI A light breeze gently unfurls the tricolor Indian flag like petals of a flower against an azure sky as we arrive at the Tanglewood area Indian consular residence on a recent December afternoon. The huge front door cheerily painted bright red swings open and the Consul General of India, Honorable Parvathaneni Harish, receives us. Warm and unpretentious, he leads us through an outdoor atrium so redolent of India with its tribal art and unexpected bursts of color that it virtually begs one to linger and savor its vivid complexity. We step into the living areas of the home where Hon. Harish’s lovely wife Nandita joins us. Draped in a traditional silk saree, her skin is luminescent, untainted by artifice. The couple’s older daughter Ayushi, 18, who studies at Lady Sriram College in New Delhi, is visiting home for the holidays, a matter of joy for the family. Younger daughter Amani, 11, the artist in the making whose creativity inundates the house, is at school; the couple opted for Pin Oak Middle School as they wanted to experience the public school system and get to meet and know the diverse communities better. In the past we had visited the house on innumerable occasions when Hon. Harish’s predecessors inhabited it. Now in little over four months since their arrival it already bears the unmistakable stamp of this young family’s history and the inimitable ambience of their collective personalities. It hovers tantalizingly on a low divan that reclines invitingly below a large bay window, festooned with a mirrored throw and heaped with sequined cushions, and in the exquisite art bedecking the walls – spanning twenty years of meticulous acquisition. We enjoy their hospitality and get to know this delightful family better over hot tea and lively conversation. Since his arrival the highest-ranking Indian diplomat in Texas has also done some housecleaning at the Indian Consulate offices in the trendy Heights area. Approachable, he’s met with community leaders and addressed their concerns, getting the consular website and communication systems revamped, and generally made the consulate building more user-friendly for those seeking consular services. With India’s Republic Day coming up on January 26, we talk with Hon. Harish on his thoughts about serving India, his thoughts on this city, the

challenges he faces, and about life in general. His jurisdiction includes Texas, Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Colorado, and Nebraska. How are you adjusting to your work here? With the opening of new consulate in Atlanta we had an adjustment in our consular jurisdiction effective since October 1, 2012. For an intermediate period, we will be providing certain consular services such as visas, Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI), Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) Cards to the four states of Georgia, Alabama Mississippi, and Florida; passport services for these four states will be provided by the consulate in Atlanta. We are also providing passport services to new states of Nebraska, Colorado and New Mexico that are now part of our consular jurisdiction. Once the intermediate period is over, our consulate services will cover the eight states. The volume of consular services is very significant, quite considerable. The challenge is to ensure that our services are consistent, predictable, and meet the expectations of those who seek our assistance. You visited outsourced agencies for the consular services incognito when you arrived here. Tell us about that. I visited our outsourced agencies (for visa, OCI, PIO and Passport services) to talk to the people seeking our services and find out if things were running smoothly. Our primary objective is to be responsive. We wish everyone a very pleasant experience while seeking consular services. If there are grievances, we ask that they convey it to us through email for the simple reason that telephone queries on consular matters are not productive. Every consular issue is unique and difficult to be addressed in a five-minute telephonic conversation when the database isn’t available to the telephone operator. It is best answered via email. We make every effort to reply within one working day. I implore everyone to bring their concerns to our attention. Tell us a little about your background. I was born in Visakhapatnam, and grew up in Vijayawada.

Photo: Krishna Giri

Consul General of India Honorable Parvathaneni Harish & Nandita Harish

My father was in the Indian Police Service, and grandfather was the Principal of an Industrial Training Institute in Andhra Pradesh. I had my schooling in Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh where my father was posted as a Police Officer. I also studied Mechanical Engineering at Osmania University, Hyderabad and Management at IIM Calcutta. I think that like most youngsters of that generation, at least in my state, the general approach was to professionally equip oneself with qualiﬁcations that were sought after or prized in that time period. And these included an engineering degree, and probably an MBA from a good institution. That was what propelled me, along with my interest in science and mathematics. Was your marriage arranged? Yes. My family arranged the marriage after I joined the Indian Foreign Service and was posted as a probationer in Cairo. What drew you to the Diplomatic Corps? The fact that my father was a Senior IPS Officer was an important factor in terms of a career, and Foreign Service offers bright opportunities. The last few years since the Kothari commission (http://www.kkhsou.in/main/education/edu_commission.html), many professionals including doctors and engineers and management professionals have joined foreign, administrative or other civil services. The Indian government believes that people from various academic backgrounds enrich public service and function. Did you ask to be posted here or were you deployed? Usually we have an option to ask for postings. You give a list of two or three choices where you’d like to be posted, and Houston was one of my choices. Why Houston? I think I was looking at diversifying the portfolio of places that I’d served in. I served for 14 years in the Middle East, in Saudi Arabia, Cairo, the Gaza Strip, and in Delhi. I’d been on deputation to the United Nations and served as Joint Secretary to the Vice President of India. I was looking for a different geographic and functional experience. The United States is an important partner of India and working here, I believe, would complement my existing experience. What do you think of Houston now that you’ve been here for several months? Houston is a warm place with warm people. Climatically it is closer to the places I grew up in. But what really struck me as remarkable about Houston is that it welcomes you with open arms. The fact that this has been a place where people from all parts of the world could come and study, look for a career thereafter, and contribute both in economic and cultural terms to the life of the city and the state. I believe that this quality has been the key to the economic success of Houston and Texas. This is a characteristic that is under-appreciated even here, within the United States. I can think of very few cities that truly represent a salad bowl where every community comes in and they’re a part of the life here. Every community has kept its own cultural heritage and they celebrate the festivals and have vibrant community and cultural associations that promote their affiliations whether they are linguistic, religious or professional. They do

this while keeping their identities as American citizens intact. Here, the environment allows them to maintain their ethnic roots, contributing to the vitality of Houston. There’s a hectic social calendar here. The cultural calendar is very hectic not only for the Indian community but for the wider Houston community and the various professional associations. Do you tire of the demands on your time? Far from it, this is the pleasant duty of a diplomat. What message do you want to share? It is pertinent for me to mention that the primary function of a consulate is to provide consular services. That is our bread and butter work. We aim to provide efficient, consistent and predictable Consular service. We are working at promoting commercial engagement between our two countries. Texas is very crucial in this task and accounts for about 11% of our bilateral trade – it’s a balanced trade both in exports to India and imports from there. We need to focus on emerging opportunities, including in the energy sector. Texas is in the midst of an energy revolution that is taking place, especially with shale gas. Many Indian companies have invested here in the energy sector and in manufacturing; many have local operations. The idea is to bring the two countries, business and industry, and our peoples together. What would you like your legacy to be in Houston? It’s a very difficult question as our lifespan in a station is around three years. So we have to live with multiple legacies in a career span (laughs). But having said this, if I can accomplish delivery of efficient consular services, reach out to the community effectively and build stronger commercial relations between the two countries, it will go a long way toward my personal satisfaction as a diplomat. We have a lot of Indian students in Texas and in other states and I would be happy to improve exchanges between the academic communities of both countries. At the end of it, I would like to leave with the sense that we have addressed the multifarious needs of this diverse community. If you had more free time to spend with family what would you do? We like traveling and visiting new places and meeting new people. We’d probably go to places we’ve not visited. Anytime we get a chance we like to be at home spending time with each other, watching television, reading, or chatting. What do you miss most about India? The fact that you can open your door, stand on the balcony and see all the creative energy that ﬂows in front of you whether it is the noise or activity on the street, which is sometimes chaotic. But there’s never a dull moment. You have so many people pursuing their dreams as part of one nation, and doing it to the best of their abilities. What are your favorite foods? I love the food of my childhood, of Andhra Pradesh. Of course I have acquired tastes for various other cuisines, but to me Andhra food is comfort food. http://www.cgihouston.org

Nikita Malani & Atman Shukla

What Dreams are Made of BY KALYANI GIRI

Even after all this time the Sun never says to the Earth, “You owe me.” Look what happens with a love like that. It lights the whole sky. There’s no questioning it, some couples are just simply destined to be together.One can blame it on the baffling confluence of happenstance and a spectacular alignment of the stars, or a bucketful of wellintended interference from pesky yet affectionate friends that nudged Nikita Malani and Atman Shukla into the right direction of finding each other. Nikita, 24, on the brink of graduating as a medical doctor, and Atman, 28, a corporate attorney, took their romance to a higher level when they got engaged on December 3, 2011. A little over a year later, their sumptuous three-day wedding celebrations December 29 - 31, was a highly anticipated social event held at the Hilton Americas and Chateau Cocomar. Unprecedented in magnificence and scope, the bridegroom arrived at the nuptials on a colorfully bedecked elephant, an intricately designed palace crafted especially for the pre-wedding party occupied the entire fourth floor ballroom of the Hilton Americas, the inordinately lovely bride in her bridal finery dazzled, and the wedding cake was a towering confection topped with marzipan peacocks. The peacock-themed festivities, with imaginatively diverse and delicious vegetarian cuisines, drew a cross section of invited guests from the manifold communities of this city and heralded the union of two wellrespected families in the Indo American community. Philanthropist, business tycoon, and CEO of Unique Industrial Products, Jugal Malani, and his wife Raj, are Nikita’s parents. Atman’s parents are Dr. Amitabh Shukla and Namita Shukla. The Beginning Unbeknownst to the young couple, they’d been on the peripheral radar of each other’s lives from their kindergarten years when both attended the Chinmaya Mission Houston with their families. When they met in passing for the very first time at the Vishwa Hindu Parishad summer camp in 1998, Atman thought of Nikita as “rude, annoying even”, and promptly decided to ignore her. Both were at St. John’s School, with Atman three grades ahead of her. As the high school years went by, never did the twain formally meet, even though they had several mutual friends and acquaintances. In 2003 Atman set off for undergraduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania, while Nikita upon completion of high school, joined the University of Texas at Austin. In 2006 she transferred to the University of Pennsylvania as

Photo: Krishna Giri

www.hummagazine.com

January 2013

a sophomore to complete her undergraduate studies. Atman was a senior there at the time. A mutual friend, Sameer Kirtane, introduced the pair, but Nikita wasn’t impressed; she found Atman to be standoffish and “mean”. But that changed over the months as the young couple saw each other more often as they had many friends in common. By 2007, the friendship evolved and deepened; Nikita silently acknowledged to herself that she could envision being married to Atman someday. Courtship Atman graduated and joined law school at the University of Texas in Austin. The couple stayed in touch and met during summer and other school breaks. When Nikita graduated, she moved back to Houston to start medical school at Baylor College of Medicine. The courtship, that both deem gloriously memorable, began in earnest in 2009 with them seeing each other on weekends. Two years later Atman returned to Houston a newly minted attorney and started practicing corporate law. By then, he was completely enamored of Nikita and was ready to pop the crucial question, with the blessings of both sets of parents. He craftily conspired with their friends, who readily agreed to help set the stage. On December 3, 2011, Atman got the love of his life to take him to dinner to celebrate his birthday at Tony’s, one of their favorite restaurants. During dessert, a debonair Atman gracefully sank onto one knee, and proffering an exquisite diamond ring, asked Nikita to marry him. Overwhelmed by shock and elation, and admittedly a little teary, she said yes… and their friends who had “magically” appeared recorded those

Photo: Krishna Giri

golden moments on camera for posterity. How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count The Ways What drew Atman to Nikita? What does he most love about her? “Nikita is so down-to-earth and caring, she’s very beautiful, intelligent, and ambitious,” said Atman. How about Nikita? What attracted her to Atman? “We are actually very similar people, the boy/girl versions of each other. We have so much in common. Atman’s more serious, more grown-up. Our interests are different, and that makes us appreciate each other more. Atman can easily get up at dawn and go play golf. My idea of the perfect weekend is being with family, and just hanging out and watching television with them,” said Nikita. Both Nikita and Atman feel a strong sense of connection to this city. Their families reside here; Nikita has an older brother Pankaj, and Atman’s younger siblings are Vevek and Mihir. “Our roots are strong, and we feel safe and comfortable because of our support system. We are blessed with a huge network of family and great friends, so while we’re at school or busy with our careers, we can focus 100% on whatever we’re doing. Our families have been so excited about the wedding,” added Nikita. Raised within the Hindu faith, Nikita and Atman’s traditional marriage reiterated their cultural roots and the ancient Vedic rituals of their ancestors.

Photo: Krishna Giri

Sangeet

Family, Food, Fun, and Togetherness

I stepped off the fourth floor elevators at the Hilton Americas, and wandered into a dramatic wonderland. Architecturally reminiscent of the fabled palaces of Jaipur, tall archways bathed in warm pink and lilac light led to a raised wooden bridge straddling a gurgling â&#x20AC;&#x153;brookâ&#x20AC;?. Flanking the walkway, a profusion of flowers in every hue wound their sinuous way up trellises or roosted artfully in earthenware pots, inundating the near landscape. Quaint Rajasthani puppets peeked out from the most unexpected of niches. And in the cavernous ballroom, a breathtakingly beautiful palace, crafted of Styrofoam and wood especially for the Malani/Shukla sangeet evening on December 29, formed a stage fit for royalty. Free-standing pieces of similar design made for inventive vegetarian food and full-bar stations offering the over 1000 guests a plethora of cuisines and drinks. From samosas to sushi, and enchiladas to chaats and biryani, desserts galore and sweets from India, there was something for every palate; local caterers Dawat, and Chef Ruffy Sulaiman for the Hilton outdid themselves. In the reception area, tables covered with Rajasthani indigenous bandhani fabric, carried baskets of opulent keychain ornaments for female guests to hook onto the waist area of their sarees. The keychains have their own significance

in Rajasthani culture; in joint households where extended families shared a roof, the mother-in-law would welcome her new daughter-in-law into her home as a symbol of Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, and would hand her a bunch of keys. In doing so, she gives the daughter-in-law the power to control the financial aspects of the household. During the cocktail hour, singer Sunil Mungee regaled guests with a repertoire of golden oldies and movie songs. The bride Nikita and groom Atman arrived dressed resplendently in garments created by one of Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s storied designers, Manish Malhotra. After dinner, the bridal couple as well as family and friends entertained through a lively dance. The mother of the bride, Raj Malani, in a burgundy and mustard lehenga outfit, led the women of the family in revelry with song; so infectious was the performance that it spurred the men of the Malani/Shukla families to join in the fun. Simultaneously henna artists saw a steady stream of women and children eager to have their hands painted. Later in the evening, the dance floor proved irresistible as DJ Rocky spun tunes that added to the vibrancy of the event. The sangeet was a fun event that begged for the spirited participation of all present. www.hummagazine.com

January 2013

Photo: Krishna Giri

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where. I love you simply, without problems or pride: I love you in this way because I do not know any other way of loving but this, in which there is no I or you, so intimate that your hand upon my chest is my hand, so intimate that when I fall asleep your eyes close. Pablo Neruda 100 Love Sonnets

Raj & Jugal Malani

Photo: Krishna Giri

Shaadi Nikita Malani and Atman Shukla were joined in holy matrimony at the picturesque Chateau Cocomar on December 30, 2012. The bridegroom arrived spectacularly seated on an elephant to the staccato beat of the dhol. Not to be outdone, the rest of the wedding party made an equally dramatic appearance on an impressive ﬂoat shaped like a peacock. Ceremonially welcomed to the nuptials, the bridegroom and his family were received with sweets and gifts. As guests arrived they were ushered into a capacious transparent tent draped in rich brocades, silk, and satins in varying shades of pink and blue that was constructed in front of the chateau. As the evening air turned chilly, internal heaters kept guests warm as they met, mingled, and enjoyed delicious appetizers and hot chai from Kiran’s Restaurant. Flanking the entrance of the Chateau where the wedding would take place, stood two life-size

peacocks fashioned admirably out of flowers. Guests gathered in the flower-bedecked hall to witness the ceremony and welcome the radiantly lovely bride and her handsome groom who were elegantly attired in finery by Sabyasachi, designer to India’s elite. But a little revelry first as the bridegroom’s shoes were “stolen”, a fun element inherent in a Marwari wedding. The “thieves”, Kavita and Namita Pallod, cousins of the bride, received a princely reward of $1000 for its return. The nuptials were thereafter solemnized with sacred Vedic incantations, the exchanging of garlands, and the tying of the mangalsutra. Guests thronged the aisles eager to offer congratulations and shower the happy couple with rose petals. Joining the newly-weds in the receiving line were the pair’s proud parents Jugal and Raj Malani, and Dr. Amitabh Shukla and Namita Shukla. Kiran’s catered the wedding dinner.

Photo: Krishna Giri

“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

The Reception Nikita and Atman Shukla’s wedding reception at the Hilton Americas on December 31, 2012, was yet another magical evening in celebration of the young couple and their future together as man and wife. As the night segued seamlessly into 2013, it whispered of hope, commitment, shared dreams, and a lifetime of joy for Nikita and Atman as they danced in carefree abandon surrounded by adoring family and friends. Over 1200 attended, including about forty-five close relatives of the bride who had flown in from India especially for the marriage ceremonies. During the cocktail hour preceding the reception, guests were serenaded by a musical quartet as they lingered in the foyer over hors d’oeuvres by caterers for the evening, Bombay Brasserie and Chef Ruffy Sulaiman of Hilton Americas. Inside the ballroom, the décor was icy silver and white; tall vases of creamy bougainvillea, lilac-hued roses, and perky tulips added bursts of color matched only by the vibrantly attired guests. The bride and groom, stunning in Manish Malhotra and Armani confections, were the cynosure of all eyes as they entered the room. When they took to the floor for their first dance as man and wife, they epitomized romance. Among some of the most heartwarming moments of the evening – and there were many – was when Nikita’s father Jugal Malani enveloped his beloved daughter in his arms and danced with her. His pride and happiness were almost palpable as they moved gracefully on the dance floor to the popular My Girl by The Temptations; mid-song, the beat changed and both father and daughter broke into a spirited rendition of the catchy Gangnam Style, much to the delight of the audience. DJ Jay Dabhi and Master of Ceremonies Marco G, both from New York, were commendable in keeping the celebratory spirits high and smoothly expediting the formalities. The newly weds cut the shimmery gold wedding cake which was several tiers high and artistically embellished with peacocks, staying with the recurring theme of the occasion. Raj Malani stood by her husband’s side as he talked about their cherished daughter. It was her day and they had put their

hearts and souls into making it extraordinary and memorable for her. “We were blessed when Nikita was born, and like satellites, we hovered around her and enjoyed watching her grow into a beautiful young woman. We’re so happy to welcome Atman into our family. We’re impressed with the love he has for Nikita,” said Jugal Malani. “Our only regret is that we will not get to call Nikita ‘Dr. Malani’,” he added, to laughter. Nikita graduates from medical school in six months and when she does earn the appellation of Dr., it will be followed by the Shukla name. Nikita’s older brother Pankaj had guests laughing at his humorous recollection of his sister’s birth. Apparently, he wasn’t very excited at the prospect of having a sister; he really wanted a brother. The father of the groom, Dr. Amitabh Shukla, welcomed Nikita to the Shukla family and lauded his son for his “sharp intelligence and great sense of humor.” “I am so proud of all your achievements, including your riding an elephant to win the heart of your lady,” said Dr. Shukla. Both Nikita and Atman thanked their parents and families for their love and support over the years, and for giving them the wedding of their dreams. The couple shall be honeymooning at an undisclosed location. After dinner that included delectable Indian and Italian delights and a tantalizing array of desserts, guests ushered in the New Year 2013 on the dance ﬂoor. Kudos to Raj Malani, who along with her son Pankaj, had meticulously planned every detail of three-day event that was nothing short of breathtakingly elegant. So much of thought went into making guests feel pampered and honored to be a part of the celebrations. As much as the Malani/Shukla wedding was a highly anticipated event, it will continue to be talked about for some time to come and shall go down in the annals of history as a tough act to follow. That is until Pankaj’s wedding comes to pass…

Jugal Malani & Atman Shukla

Recognition of Vendors

Main Wedding Planners Raj Malani & Pankaj Malani Wedding Coordinator Jo Ann Schwartz Woodward Photography Joe Cogliandro Videography A&A Video Travel & Hotel Arrangements Pankaj Assar, Four-Way Travels

Sangeet

Hilton Americas Claudia Behring, Senior Catering Manager Bridal Attire Manish Malhotra Jewelry Parikh Jewelers, Kolkatta Décor Imagination 3D Plants n’ Petals Elegant Beginnings Prashe Decor Caterer Dawat Chef Ruffy Sulaiman, Hilton Americas Sound & Light Bright Star Productions Music Sunil Mungee & Party DJ Rocky

Shaadi

Chateau Cocomar Bridal Attire Sabyasachi Décor Prashe Décor Caterer Kiran’s Float & Horse A to Z events DJ Rocky Elephant Trunks & Humps

Reception

Hilton Americas Claudia Behring Bridal Attire Manish Malhotra Armani Décor Todd Events Caterer Bombay Brasserie Chef Ruffy Sulaiman Sound & Light Bright Star Productions DJ Jay Dabhi Master of Ceremonies Marco G Photo: Krishna Giri

Pomp And Pageantry BY KEN CHITWOOD While Will and Kate’s wedding was certainly a big deal with its signature pomp and pageantry, a Marwari wedding is at least comparable, if on a smaller scale. When it comes to BIG weddings in India, the Marwari community takes the cake. Featuring live animals, visually vivid festivities and myriad matrimonial traditions that span over multiple days, no other nuptials can compare. From December 29-31, 2012 in Houston, Texas, the Malani family brought the fanfare to Houston and hosted over 1,000 individuals for three-days of celebration on the occasion of their daughter Nikita’s marriage to Atman. Steeped in tradition, Marwari weddings are the stuff of legend in India, and here in the United States, despite the logistical difficulty, they are maintaining their ﬂair for over-the-top wedding observances. An Indian ethnic group, known for being successful traders and industrial leaders, the Marwari - or Marwadi - originate from the state of Rajasthan in India. Marwaris are generally well respected and typically wealthy in India. Many have translated their universal entrepreneurial skills into successful business ventures upon emigrating to the United States. Jugal Malani of Houston is a case in point. Having lived in the U.S. for several decades, Malani built a prosperous life upon supplying, and trading in, piping for plumbing and the oil and

gas industry. This is one of the main reasons that Malani and his wife Raj are able to host such a lavish party for their daughter’s wedding. “It is an expensive endeavor,” said Malani, “but my daughter wanted a large wedding so I wanted to make her happy and give her a dream wedding, so that’s what we are doing, no matter the cost.” “Marwari weddings are the most lavish of all Indian marriage ceremonies,” said Amisha Thakur, a local Rajasthani living in Houston. She said that the whole event proved quite the scene, and was one of the grandest happenings on the Houston Indian calendar all year. “Marwari weddings are all about the endless list of traditions, the religious rites and family rituals, passed on from generation to generation,” said Thakur. Every Marwari wedding, like all Hindu observances, begins with the Ganesh Puja, which is an act of worship to invoke the protection and guidance of the elephant-headed god Ganesh, destroyer of obstacles and god of prosperity. This ceremony is meant to bless the wedding, and the ensuing marriage, with good fortune. Rituals are performed separately for the bride and the groom, and on the ﬁrst day of pre-wedding rites the sagai, or

Hallmarks of Wedding of the Year engagement ceremony, takes place at the home of the groom and is an all male affair. This is when the engagement is made official and the groom is blessed with the placing of a tika, a dot of vermilion powder, on his forehead, and is given symbolic gifts such as a sword and his wedding clothes. The pithi ceremony is also an interesting custom, with the bride and groom being pasted with turmeric and sandalwood and a few drops of scented oil. At the bride’s home, pithi is a major matter with the lady of the hour being dressed in orange attire and brought under a silken shade erected with swords at four sides. Singers also serenade the lovers with auspicious songs of marital bliss. Maternal uncles play a large role in Marwari weddings, with the special benefactors hosting parties and giving grand gifts to the bride and groom. They also play a special role during wedding ceremonies and the formalized wedding procession, or baraat. While there are many other traditions, the Malanis featured a sangeet for the ﬁrst major public gathering of the wedding. Family members and friends performed songs and put on a show for the bride and groom and their loved ones. At least 1,000 people were in attendance for the event on December 29. “The entertainment evening before the wedding is impor-

tant and usually a time for general frivolity as families celebrate, sing, dance and drink together,” said Thakur. The evening also involved a cake-cutting ceremony, a ring ceremony and festivities that lasted until the wee hours of the morning. For the performances, Malani contracted a custom builder to construct a multi-thousand dollar stage that took nine months to build and resembled a modern day Indian palace. “It is a grand palace, for a grand wedding,” he said. Once the sangeet came to a close, the groom headed to his residence where a sacred thread, or janev, was tied to him. Simply garbed in the clothes of an ascetic, at this moment in time he faced the choice to either enter into a life of marriage or, become a traveling recluse. He made the right choice. The next day, December 30, was the wedding ceremony. The bride was adorned with beautiful attire and the ritualistic, and mesmerizing, mehndi tattoos of a wife-to-be. While the rest of the ceremony is typical of Hindu weddings, involving incantations from the priest, the circumambulating of the sacred ﬁre and such, there were some special Marwari overtones that included jokes from the priest and young girls stealing the groom’s shoes for a ransom; though most notable among Marwari wedding day customs is the baraat, said Malani. Following an invitation from the groom’s father and uncle,

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January 2013

the groom and his family made their way to the wedding in grand fashion. Replete with fireworks, a music band, and dancing, the wedding party, known as the baraati arrived brightly dressed; the groom was the man of the hour. In India, bridegrooms are accustomed to arrive on a horse after the baraat. Today, some grooms choose a limosine and eschew customary modes of transit. Not so for Atman, Malani’s new son-in-law. For their wedding he came on an elephant, another traditional choice. Asked if procuring the elephant presented any difficulties, Malani said that finding the right source was important and that cost, of course, was a factor. As before, it was worth it for the beaming father of the bride. The entirety of the wedding ritual, from pre-ceremony rites to the wedding day itself and the reception, which doubled as a New Year’s celebration, were filled with ceremonial conventions observed for ages in India. And while they may cost more in the U.S. and some of the elements may be more difficult to procure, Malani said, “These are our traditions, and it depends on the family, but we wanted to follow them as much as possible and so, we found a way.” With vast resources and large families, Marwaris are able to make it a bit easier to create a sense of “Little India” right here in Houston. Beyond Marwari family ties, there is also a significant Asian Indian immigrant population in the USA, numbering near 3 million nationwide, with over 100,000 living in Houston. Thus, there is a growing network of businesses that support Asian Indian traditions, including Marwari weddings. This makes things much simpler for those who desire to maintain traditions within their own communities. There is even a U.S. based website - www.MarwadiMatrimony.com - which caters to young people and their families and helps them find suitable Marwari mates. And so, most Marwaris do not have to choose between a

distinctly Indian wedding or a typical American fare. They get to combine the best of both for a grand wedding celebration, the likes of which Houston rarely sees. Of course, some practices have been modernized and reshaped and given current cultural context. “Our reception had American elements in them, things we liked and wanted to add,” said Malani. “We took our Indian traditions and added the U.S. customs such as the father/daughter dance and other typical ‘American’ party elements.” One notable change was that at the Malani wedding reception, alcohol was served. While in India this would never be the case, Malani insisted that there would be no party here in Houston if liquor were not provided. “It is a very important part of weddings and receptions in the U. S. so we added it to our sangeet and reception,” Malani said. “It’s one of the things we had to change.” Near the end of festivities, the bride had to bid a formal farewell to her family, who had not only raised her, but had so generously provided her with a dream wedding. Called the bidai, the ceremony featured a tearful goodbye from the bride to her family and friends. A coconut was crushed under the wheel of a car and the bride then lifted her veil so that her new husband could revel in her beauty. The groom placed jewelry on his new wife and took her to meet his family and start a new life together. As the bride and groom transition from one stage of life to the next, they reﬂect the Marwari community in the U.S. Bidding farewell to what they have known, the people must now marry their long-established customs with a new American context. More expensive, and to a certain degree more difficult, many Marwaris are nevertheless making the choice to do things as they have always been done. “We may pick up some good things from the U.S. and add them,” said Malani, “but you can’t change what we’ve been doing for hundreds of years – it’s our heritage.”

Ken Chitwood covers religion from Houston as a freelance writer. Passionate about religious education he writes to share fascinating religious stories from various spiritual perspectives. His work regularly appears in the Houston Chronicle and his work has appeared with Religion & Politics, RealClearReligion, Publisher’s Weekly, IndoAmerican News and Sightings from the University of Chicago. Ken serves two local churches and is a graduate student in theology and culture. Ken has learned about, and taught, religion in several countries and actively encourages religious literacy through teaching, blogs, professional writing and speaking. Follow Ken on Twitter @kchitwood.

Suresh, Hansa, Dipak & Jitesh Pindolia, Photo: Krishna Giri

Palace of Dreams A Feat of Mindboggling Creativity

BY KALYANI GIRI On a sultry mid-December morning, I met with Dipak Pindolia, the director of Imagination 3D. It’s the company that conceived and created the magnificent three-dimensional palace of dreams for the sangeet celebrations of Nikita Malani and Atman Shukla wedding. At the capacious workshop and storehouse located beside train tracks on bustling Murphy Road, I found Dipak, his parents Hansa and Suresh, and older brother Jitesh, industriously engaged in spraying tall fluted pillars and ornate friezes with earth toned water-based paints. Intermittently muted by the roaring rush of cargo trains passing by, huge industrial fans hummed as they rapidly dried the paintwork. The Pindolias took me on a tour of the warehouse. It was surreal, the larger-than-lifesized pieces of an intricate puzzle crafted of medium density fiberboard (MDF) and Styrofoam, that will fit together through interlocking rivets. When assembled, the

set will stand at 160 feet long, 36 feet deep and 27 feet tall, and transform the Hilton Americas Grand Ballroom on the fourth floor into an abode fit for royalty, come December 29. “When we met with Jugal Malani (father of the bride), he wanted a palace architecture that would be, in his own words, ‘grand, unique, and awe-inspiring’,” said UK-born Dipak, 26, whose work at the local BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir first drew Malani’s attention. Dipak started designing the Malani set from the ground up in January. After copious research he incorporated six designs while keeping the traditional theme in mind. Fabrication of the sprawling structure consisting of more than 1000 pieces began in June, and encompassed elaborate archways, gates, domes, a stage, food stalls, and a garden area. On the day of the sangeet, several truckloads of the pieces will be transported

to the hotel and carefully constructed for the five hour-long event. After the soiree, the set which cost Malani several thousand dollars to commission, will be dismantled and put back into storage. It’s unclear as to its fate, which will be determined by the Malanis. Dipak told me that it was the most ambitious project tackled by his company, whose previous accomplishments include a custom built temple at a beach house in Florida, and European precision-designed kitchens. The Pindolia family moved from the UK to Houston two years ago to explore opportunities in the U.S. At Imagination 3D, they design and manufacture specialist packaging, props, displays and models for applications for media production, exhibition displays, and custom interiors themes. The business has offices here and in the UK. www.imagination-3d.com www.hummagazine.com

January 2013

Rewind A World-Renowned Author Shares Her Wedding Story

Chitra and Murthy Divakaruni

Photos Courtesy: Chitra Divakaruni

Dayton, Ohio, 1979

BY CHITRA DIVAKARUNI Ours was one of the ﬁrst weddings to be actually held in Dayton, Ohio, as around that time people (men, generally) would mostly go to India to get their marriages arranged. Or if they married outside the community, they chose to have non-Indian weddings. Murthy and I met while I was going to college, and though a situation like that is common now, it sent a bit of a ripple through the community at that time. In fact, it took my mother almost a year to agree to the marriage because it was an inter-community alliance, Murthy being Telugu and I being Bengali. But ﬁnally she came around when I threatened to remain a spinster for the rest of my life! Money was tight in those days. I was a graduate student, and Murthy was working while doing his MBA. Neither of my parents held jobs, and my older brother and bhavi, who had just started working as doctors, had two young

children and a sizeable mortgage to pay. In any case, Murthy and I both wanted a small wedding. We are fairly simple people. So that is what we had: a wedding and reception in the backyard of my brother’s home — and everyone had a wonderful time. The Indian community in Dayton, Ohio, was fairly small at that time, and they came together with a lot of excitement to plan this very home-made wedding. The day before the wedding, I was given the traditional bridal bath by a group of my bhavi’s friends, who smeared me enthusiastically with turmeric paste. My mother and bhavi cooked my favorite dishes — including fried brinjal and luchis (pooris) and shukto, which is made from bitter melon. These were fed to me during a special ceremony called Aiburo bhat, or Spinster Meal! The idea behind the Spinster Meal is that perhaps in the in-laws’ home, the bride will not have a

chance to eat her favorite dishes. In my case, this worked out to be true for a different reason — my cooking talents were minimal, and in the next few years, Murthy and I often dined (not unhappily) on pizza. In the evening, friends brought collapsible chairs and strung up lights in the backyard in preparation for the reception and set up a sound system to play a traditional shehnai tape which someone had found. The next day, Murthy and his family drove up at the appointed time and were greeted by my mother and a group of women with lamps and escorted to the backyard. I was dressed by friends in a maroon Benarasi silk that my mother’s best friend had sent us from India. My mother gave me her wedding jewelry set. I was lifted up on a plank and carried out to the wedding area by my brothers and their friends (all of them joking about how heavy I was, and making me laugh

though as a bride I wasn’t supposed to). Our priest had ﬂown in from New York — there were no priests in Dayton at that time. He was Maharashtrian, so our wedding was a long one, with Maharashtrian traditions added to Bengali and Telugu ones. Murthy and I often joke that we ended up being married three times! The wedding dinner had also been cooked by friends, who had set up extra stoves in our garage. At this time there were no Indian restaurants in the area for catering, and we probably couldn’t have afforded them, if there had been any. Everyone helped — even I was roped in the day before the wedding to grind masalas. We ended up with a pan-Indian meal that was truly delicious. As I ate, I could feel the love and caring that had gone into each of the dishes. After the wedding, a bashar (a night-long singing and joking session with the bride and groom, along with wedding games) was set up in the basement of my brother’s house. The room was decorated with ﬂowers, colorful bedspreads and bright satin pillows from many homes. I remember laughing a lot at the jokes and being

teased because, at some point of the night, I dozed off as I was exhausted from all the excitement! Our community has come a long way since those early days. Its growing success is reﬂected in the contemporary Indian American wedding. These are often elaborately orchestrated and lavish, with wedding planners, trousseau shopping trips to India, and beautiful wedding cards that are works of art. Scintillating mehendi and sangeet events precede the actual wedding. Baraats have live music and horses and sometimes, even elephants. There is amazing entertainment at the wedding reception, delicious menus consisting of separate cuisines, western and Indian and often Asian and Mexican as well, to suit the palates of the different kinds of guests, and dancing late into the night to the latest Bollywood and Western songs. They are a pleasure to attend. But I have to say that I have the fondest memories of my very home-grown wedding, and a special appreciation of the fact that it truly took an entire “village” to make it happen.

Chitra Divakaruni teaches Creative Writing at the Univ. of Houston. She is the author of 16 books; her latest novel is the international bestseller One Amazing Thing. In 2011, along with Salman Rushdie, she received a Light of India award. She invites HUM readers to join her at http://www.facebook.com/chitradivakaruni Her website is http://www.chitradivakaruni.com www.hummagazine.com

January 2013

Constellation

The Wedding Horoscope BY DR. DAVID COURTNEY “We’ll have to find a nice Indian girl for you.” I constantly heard this from elders during my first few months in India. It was always said jokingly because Americans just didn’t go in for arranged marriages. But as the months turned into years, these remarks became less of a joke. Finally I said that I would consider it. This set the wheels in motion. There would be enquiries to people with marriageable daughters. But before this could happen, I needed one thing — I had to have a horoscope. It was 8:00 in the morning in February 1978 when a companion and I were off to meet the astrologer. It was a typical Indian morning. The air was clean, but scented with a musky aroma. This was a fantasia composed of the fragrance of coffee, chai, idlis, sambaar and a myriad of other scents. There was the sound of lorries driving into the city to supply the markets with their day’s goods, desperately struggling to make all of their rounds before the start of the day’s traffic. There was the chink... chink... chink... of bells that were crudely wired to the axle of a cycle rickshaw. This rickshaw had its seat removed and a cage mounted in its place. The cage had six young children dressed in crisp, freshly starched school uniforms of green and white. They reminded me of chickens off to the market, and like chickens, the children were completely unperturbed by their caged transportation. We arrived at our destination. As usual, parking was a challenge. We first dislodged a nanny goat and her kid who

had ensconced themselves in our intended parking space, then pulled up to an electrical pole that was located in front of the astrologer’s house. The house had a small veranda with a metal grill to separate it from the street. This grill was made of numerous small steel strips that were welded together to assumed a large floral pattern. We tried ringing a doorbell. Unfortunately, this doorbell proved useless, because the electricity had been shut off in the locality. It was normal for this time of day. Still, a person sitting on the veranda already knew our presence. He was a dark man in his late twenties, wearing a white undershirt and a printed lungi (a sarong-like garment). He opened the door of the veranda. We entered and climbed a flight of stairs to see the astrologer. He was a thin but healthy looking brahmin in his mid fifties. He lived with his wife, grown son, daughter-in-law, and small grandchild. We explained the reason for our coming. He asked me the usual questions about both the time as well as the place of my birth. Then he looked at my palms. I doubt that the palms were relevant to astrology, but it was clear that he just wanted another perspective. After some more socializing, he told me to come back later for my horoscope and an analysis. I went back after a few days, received an explanation of both my past lives as well as my prospects for the future, and was given my horoscope. It felt like I was being given a diploma.

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I paid the agreed upon sum and took the papers. This important marriage prerequisite was now taken care of. My companion explained to me that there was a standard procedure for handling horoscopes. During the matrimonial negotiations, families exchanged either birth information or complete horoscopes. These were taken to their respective astrologers. It was the astrologers’ duty to do two things. First and foremost, they had to select an auspicious date and time (muhurtham) for the wedding. Secondly, the astrologers gave an opinion as to the compatibility of the two horoscopes. In the old days, an incompatibility was sufficient to cancel the wedding plans. However, I never saw this happen. Sometimes there was an inauspicious arrangement of planets (dosh). Generally there was a yagna (religious ceremony) that could be performed to deal with the matter. But not every potential problem was astrological. During marriage negotiations friends and family discreetly scoured the entire locality, hunting for any “dirt” they might find on the opposite party. Did the girl have any boyfriends before marriage? Did the boy drink, or have any other bad habits? Furthermore, there were tense discussions concerning dowry and other financial aspects of the marriage. If something went wrong, a dosh in the horoscope came in handy. One could always claim that the boy, girl, etc. were all fine, but due to an incompatibility in the horoscopes, they needed to bring all marriage plans to a stop. This would not insult the opposite family, nor would it “air their dirty laundry” to the whole community. I saw this tactic used on more than one occasion. It didn’t matter whether one believed in astrology or not, a horoscope was an absolute necessity!

Dr. David R. Courtney is a writer, musician, teacher, activist, and ﬁlmmaker. He has over 65 publications on the subject of Indian culture and Indian music The Wedding Horoscope is excerpted from Courtney’s book, An American in Hyderabad: Life in India in the 1970s.

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By Ayesha Hakki Editor and Publisher of Bibi Magazine

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January 2013

Style

Forever

The

Legacy of Love

BY HELEN BUNTTING LANGDON Whenever we think of weddings, we think of a stunning bride wearing an exquisite, long, flowing dress, heavenly flowers, and an amazing ceremony followed by music, dancing, and eating. We also envisage a nervous but handsome bridegroom waiting in anticipation to begin a fairy tale marriage. The reality is, of course, something quite different. There is just something about weddings that can bring out the worst in all the people involved, especially the bride in her quest for the perfect wedding. No wonder so many brides earn the title of Bridezilla. During the lead up to a wedding one can discover personality traits about the bridal couple, their parents, bridal party, and various relatives that you would rather not have known. My dressmaker was a prime example. Until two nights before my wedding she still hadn’t finished putting my dress together. It appeared that the sewing of my masterpiece was so stressful that she needed copious amounts of alcohol to encourage her flagging spirits. Every fitting involved me getting a full dose of alcoholic fumes. It was not encouraging. A perfect wedding is only a precursor to the most important union in life: marriage. In my opinion, if a couple survives the wedding shenanigans with their sanity and love intact, they are well prepared for marriage. A wedding is really a practice run for the normal tensions, decision-making, and irritations of marriage, which can be exacerbated by the inlaw phenomenon. Those who think they are marrying the man or woman of their dreams and not the entire family are very delusional. The family and all its baggage come as a package deal with the wedding vows. In fact, accepting and getting on with his/her family should be part of

the wedding vows. I believe the ‘’through thick and thin’’ of the old wedding vows was attempting to address this very issue. Wedding preparations can actually be fun especially if you are on a limited budget but have the right attitude. Family and friends can chip in to make it less expensive. I’ve heard of families doing a kind of potluck thing or a bringand-barbeque for the wedding feast. I saved lots of money on my wedding cake because my sister offered to bake it as her gift to us. The end product was stunningly professional. I borrowed a veil from a friend, my ‘something borrowed’. I had a pair of white shoes I’d worn that looked good: ‘something old.’ My fiancé wasn’t keen on wearing a wedding ring. I wasn’t impressed at the time but now I can crow about the money I saved. My cousin played in a band which provided the music. My parents hired the local church hall on the farm where we had the reception. My city friends who attempted to decorate the dusty, ugly, old hall never let me live it down. Despite a bit of a wobbly start we have recently celebrated 31 years of marriage with our four kids and two grandkids. We have been battered, beaten, and bent by time and life. But miraculously we remain together and in love. There has been no manual or handbook that I can say we followed. I don’t have many answers although I have a truckload of theories. Some of the glue that has kept us together is laughing together, respecting each other, mutual fidelity, enjoying a simple family life and enjoying our kids. We also have completely different interests and yet we give each other space to enjoy these pursuits. I’m a bookworm and a very social animal. He prefers his own company and fishing on his kayak. I com-

plain about the ﬁshy smells, he complains about how I ignore him when I have my nose in a book. When we come back from our separate worlds we love embracing the world we share. In conclusion it is lovely to have a perfect dream wedding but we must never mistake the elaborate success of a wedding for the enduring beauty of a good marriage. This very real commitment means going beyond the physical passion, the successful careers/money, the gorgeous children, the accumulation of earthly things. It means going further, loving your partner’s heart and soul no matter how disappointed you can be in the inevitable changes that will take place. As we get older, have more responsibilities, get sick, or just get bent out of shape by life, we all need to be sure we have one person in our corner who remains our chief cheerleader through it all. We all need that one special person who will take our calloused and wrinkled hand in theirs and feel only the softness of love. I have now come full circle as my only daughter prepares for her wedding in a mere six months. While she lives through this very challenging season in her life my heartfelt prayer is that she will be married happily and forever. And that the legacy her dad and I have given her of a committed marriage will be a blessing and a reminder in the years to come. A reminder that anything is possible in the context of real love and real commitment.

Helen Buntting Langton is a writer and a dedicated wife, mother, and grandmother residing in New Zealand. In a former life in her native South Africa, she worked as a teacher for 18 years. We invite readers to submit parenting experiences (500-700 words) to HUM at info@hummagazine.com www.hummagazine.com

January 2013

Constitution

Calming the

winds of the holiday season! BY DR. MANISHA GHEI The festive season of fall and winter is a time of reflection on the year gone by and a time to be thankful for one’s blessings. It is also a time of overindulgence in seasonal treats, which compromises the body. To counteract these effects, traditional cultures of the world have devised some simple lifestyle techniques that I use in my Integrative Medicine practice. Integrative Medicine is the coalescence of modern Allopathic medicine with an upcoming field of medicine called Functional Medicine and traditional and complementary healing methods like Ayurveda. Traditional Chinese Medicine, Acupuncture, Mind-Body healing techniques like yoga, meditation, and healing touch, to name a few. These tools in the tool-box of any Integrative Medicine practitioner are pulled out at the appropriate time. Integrative Medicine is truly “whole”ness in medicine. It is as individualized as it gets! While my main area of focus is Functional Medicine (finding out the root cause of illness, i.e. the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of any disease process), I do integrate it with other ancient healing arts, my favorite being Ayurvedic Medicine, which was an integral part of my upbringing in India. Ayurveda, a 5000-year-old consciousness based healing tradition from India, is made up of two Sanskrit root words, Ayus (life), and Veda (knowledge) — Ayurveda means the knowledge or wisdom of life. Ayurveda’s premise is that we are an inseparable part of the universe, so are most certainly impacted by even the subtlest of changes in our environment. According to Ayurveda, at the time of conception each one of us is infused with a different proportion of the five great elements (known as “The Panch Mahabhutas”) — Space (Akasha), Air (Vayu), Fire (Tejas), Water (Jal) , and Earth (Prithvi) which contributes to three major mind-body constitutions or body types of Ayurveda (Doshas) namely, Vata (preponderance of space and air), Pitta (preponderance of fire and water), and Kapha (preponderance of water and earth). While detailed discussions of these three Ayurvedic mind-body types and their subtypes is beyond the scope of this article, it is pertinent to state that the objective of any integrative physician should be to

understand and evaluate their patient’s unique Dosha and to try and restore it back into balance. Environmental changes are very closely mirrored by our body systems. During such transition periods it is of utmost importance to give our body as much nourishment as we can, so with minimal effort it continues to maintain harmony of all organ systems. At these times, I would prescribe an individualized regimen of lifestyle, diet, sleep, exercise, and mind-body techniques to match, balance and support my patient’s individual constitution. Fall and winter is Vata season (November through February). Vata Dosha controls all movement in mind and body, i.e. blood flow, breathing, waste elimination, movement of thoughts, to name a few. It even governs the movement of Pitta and Kapha Doshas, hence Vata is rightly considered the leader of the three. It is imperative to keep Vata in a balanced state at all times since when out of balance, it pushes the other two Doshas out of balance very easily. The qualities of Vata Dosha are: cold, dry, rough, light, windy and irregular, so an increase in these qualities during the Vata season can cause dry, cracking, dull and rough skin; exacerbate worry, anxiety, irritability, spaciness and sleeplessness (insomnia) in some; cause slowing or irregularity of the bowel transit time leading to constipation, gas, bloating and IBS-like symptoms; cause spells of forgetfulness; painful joints and even easy fatigability. If one is predominantly of Vata constitution, that is, eating mainly a Vata-aggravating diet (cold, raw foods and liquids), living a Vata-aggravating (irregular schedules) lifestyle, or is in the Vata time of life (from 60 years of age on up), the effect of Vata imbalance on skin, mind and all body organs is even stronger. To counter these, Ayurveda suggests some simple but very effective techniques that reduce the chances of forming toxic residues (Ama) and enhance the flow of vital life force energy (Praana) and build the sweet essence of health and vitality (Ojas) within us: •Abhyanga: Daily full-body self-massage using warming and heavy Dosha specific Ayurvedic essential oils

•Stay warm, keeping the skin, head and ears covered to prevent further drying and loss of moisture; •Preferentially using natural silk or wool clothing rather than synthetics; •Using sweet and floral essential oils in your warm bath regularly; •Diet: Ayurveda recommends cooking with Dosha specific herbs and spices; drinking warm fluids throughout the day; eating fresh, warm and well-cooked foods and avoiding raw and cold foods like salads. Most certainly avoid processed, stale foods including left-overs as they have no life force or Praana left in them. •Eat largest meal around noon when the digestive fire (Agni) is at its strongest. To pacify Vata, sweet, sour and salty tastes are best eaten at this time. Eat your meals in a peaceful environment. •If you are expecting some dietary indiscretions in the day, sip ginger tea or eat some sliced ginger a

few minutes before your meal. •Avoid all stimulants: caffeine, nicotine; •Practice breathing exercises (Pranayama) daily, especially when stressed and anxious; •Meditate; practice Yoga daily; •Maintain regular sleep-wake schedule in spite of irregular and demanding holiday schedules. Routine is the key! •Ensure regular daily bowel elimination to prevent build up of toxins. •Keep some “me” time in the midst of the chaos. My aim is to help explore these expansive wonderful ﬁelds of Integrative Medicine and Functional Medicine with the intention to empower one with the basic knowledge of how ‘real’ food and a nourishing lifestyle not only prevents illness but creates a positive impact towards leading “whole-istic” lives. Cheers to a blessed, healthy and safe ‘Vata’ season in this New Year!

Dr. Manisha Ghei is the founder and Medical Director of Praana Integrative Medicine & Holistic Health Center, PLLC in Sugar land, TX. She is Board Certiﬁed in Internal Medicine and in Integrative Holistic Medicine. Dr. Ghei has undergone intensive training in the ﬁelds of Integrative and Holistic Medicine, Functional Medicine, Yoga, Meditation, Ayurvedic Lifestyle and Nutrition, while keeping up with latest research and developments in Internal Medicine. www.praanaim.com

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January 2013

Drive

You Have The Power

To Save Lives BY P.G. PARAMESWARAN, MD The year was 1996. I was ﬂipping through the January 26th issue of India Abroad when an advertisement with the picture of a smiling young woman caught my eye. She was not selling anything but making an appeal to the South Asian (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka) community to register to be bone marrow donors. Reading the appeal, I learned that the woman, Vrushali, was 22 years-old and had just graduated from college. She had hopes of starting a career and family but had to put her dreams on hold because just three weeks after her graduation, Vrushali was diagnosed with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML). Her doctors had been unsuccessful in ﬁnding a match for her for a bone marrow transplant through the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) registry — Be the Match registry — which, in 1996, probably had very few South Asian registrants, if any. Vrushali was making an urgent appeal to the South Asian community because she needed a match to save her life. Vrushali’s appeal was the reason I began conducting bone marrow donor registration drives for South Asians. CML is a cancer that starts inside the bone marrow, the

soft gelatinous tissue inside bones that help form red and white blood cells and platelets. It is only one of many forms of Leukemia affecting the white blood cells, the other main types being Acute Myelogenous Leukemia and Acute and Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia. Leukemia is characterized by the rapid and uncontrolled growth of immature cancer cells in the blood and bone marrow that are incapable of becoming healthy white cells and that leave no room for healthy white and red blood cells, and platelets. As a result the patient may suffer from anemia, infection and bleeding, with symptoms such as tiredness, fever, night sweats, weight loss and fullness on the left side below the rib cage from an enlarged spleen. It is possible for a leukemia patient to be asymptomatic with the diagnosis made when a blood test is done for other reasons. When a leukemia patient stops responding to chemotherapy, he or she will need a bone marrow transplant to stay alive. Apparently, Vrushali had stopped responding to chemotherapy and was unable to ﬁnd a match within her family. Only 25% to 30% of patients have a parent or sibling who share the

same genetic type as the patient; 70% to 75% of patients have to look outside the family for a donor. Since the most likely match outside the family is someone from the same race, Vrushali had to find a donor of South Asian descent. Whereas Caucasians have a 80% chance of finding a match from the existing registry, the ethnic minorities have only a 30% to 40% chance. This is because, of the seven million registered donors in the current registry, only 25% are ethnic minorities (Asians, Pacific islanders, African Americans, Hispanic/ Latinos, Native Americans and multi-racials), and South Asians comprise less than 1% of the 25%. The odds of finding a compatible donor, in general, are at 1 in 20,000 - 100,000 and the odds become much less favorable for minorities. This difficulty is compounded by the fact that approximately 50% of all registered ethnic minority donors do not follow through with donating if contacted as a match compared to 70% of Caucasians willing to donate. While there may be genuine reasons for not wanting to donate, such as becoming medically ineligible, the staff at the NMDP have contacted me more than once to speak with matched South Asian donors unwilling to donate because of unfounded fears and superstitious beliefs. When an eligible matched donor refuses to donate, it is almost always a death sentence for the patient because, without the transplant, the patient will die. Unable to find a match, Vrushali died in April 1996. Every 4 minutes someone is diagnosed with a blood cancer which translates into 15 people each hour and 360 people a day. Many of them will die unless they receive a bone marrow transplant. There are simply not enough registered donors to help not only patients diagnosed with blood cancers but also other malignancies such as lymphoma and other life threatening diseases. Registration and subsequent donation process (if found to be a match) are fairly simple. Individuals who are between 18 and 44 years of age and in good general health with no history of cancer, heart disease or heart attack, AIDS and diaHillcroft: betics not on insulin, can register to be a marrow donor at no cost. Research shows that cells from donors this age group 5959 inHillcroft, Houston, lead to more successful transplants. At time of registration, TX 77036 - 713-334-5555 a swab is taken from the insides of the cheeks (oral mucosa) from which the potential donor’s Human Leucocyte Antigen (HLA) type or “tissue type” is determined and entered in the NMDP data bank. Donor drives are usually conducted by volunteers in the community throughout the year at various locations. People between the ages of 45 and 60 can register only on line. All registrants become a part of every patient’s search for a donor. The process of matching the donors and recipients is a multi-step process. If all six antigens of the donor blood cells match with that of the patient, the individual is contacted for additional tests and a thorough physical examination before making a final decision about becoming a marrow donor. The actual donation process is carried out in the operating room. About two to five percent of the liquid marrow is extracted from the pelvic bone using a special needle under local or general anesthesia. The human body replenishes the marrow within four to six weeks and the donor suffers no iil effects

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January 2013

from the donation. There may be some discomfort for a few days and this varies with each person. Once the matching donor is identified, the patient undergoes a pre-transplant treatment consisting of radiation and/or chemotherapy to destroy the cancer cells. The donated marrow is transfused directly into the patient’s blood stream. The healthy donated cells settle in the patient’s bone cavities and form new marrow. Donors never pay for donating as all medical costs for the donation process are covered by the NMDP or the patient’s medical insurance. When a person joins the registry, he is making a commitment to donate marrow for any patient, and it is of utmost importance that he keeps his commitment when identified as a match. Matched potential donors who are uncommitted to donate give false hope to the patients awaiting transplant. In most cases and especially for South Asians, the matched donor is almost always the only person who can save the patient’s life as it is very rare to find another perfect match. Although the matched donor may decline at any stage in the process, once the patient has started the pre-transplant treatment, he has a moral obligation to proceed, as the patient would almost certainly die without the transplant. Apart from bone marrow, transplantations can also be done with both peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC) as well as umbilical cord blood. PBSC are collected from the donor after the individual has received a drug called Filgrastim to increase the number of stem cells in the blood stream. The donor’s blood is withdrawn from one arm and circulated through a machine that separates the cells used in transplantation and returns the remaining blood through the other arm. Stem cell donation may be a preferable option for some donors. Pregnant women have an unique opportunity to share their happiness with another family whose member may be waiting for a transplant. In the past, the umbilical cord was discarded soon after the baby was born; today the blood can be collected from the umbilical cord after the baby’s birth and donated to a public cord blood bank to help someone with a life threatening disease. Labor and and delivery are not affected. Blood is taken only from the umbilical cord and not from the baby or the mother. If the cord blood donation guidelines are met between the 24th and 38th week of pregnancy, the mother can contact the public cord blood bank that works with her hospital and arrange for a donation. Bone marrow, stem cell and cord blood transplants offer us a unique opportunity to help save the life of a child or

father or sister or spouse while we are alive and healthy. Unlike organ transplant, bone marrow transplant does not require us to make any major sacriﬁce. Our bodies generously replenish whatever we donate while giving us the power to keep a loved one alive to the unending joy of his or her grateful family. This is reason enough, I think, for all young South Asians in Houston to look up the information on registering and register to be a bone marrow donor today. Everyone in the registry is critical in saving lives. The personal satisfaction of giving another human being the gift of life cannot be paralleled by any other gift. The donors to whom I have talked tell me like most other donors, that they will donate again if given a chance. A Chinese proverb says “dig the well before you are thirsty”. Saving a critically ill family member is easier when every eligible South Asian committed to donate, is registered in the Be The Match registry. be a donor, eady registered to If you have not alr register. please decide to ed to register red there is no ne te gis re dy ea alr If ation ur contact inform , bu t update yo again out joining the ab ds en fri and Talk to your family try ur wo rk pla ce , sc ho ol or regis yo Organize drives at of the general place of worship d misconceptions Allay the fears an and transn tio t marrow dona ou ab ing rn lea by public plantation marrow. W-2 or visit www. Call 1-800 MARRO nation and do g, rin te ation on regis m or inf e or m or org f transplantation t Regional Blood call the Gulf Coas n to us Ho In 63/ visit www. 2 00 or 1 888 48 56 12 0 79 713 at er cent and local registra more information giveblood.org for (IACAN) at tion drives n Cancer Network Call Indian-America ork.org to ﬁnd curit www.iacannetw vis or 89 34 0 37 713 unity ives in our comm rent registration dr ul advice on holdef us s ha rg e.o liv to ce an ch w. ww ing a drive.

Dr. P.G. Parameswaran has been conducting bone marrow donor registration drives in the South Asian community since 1996. He is a surgeon who was in private practice for over forty years. He currently practices alternative therapies including acupuncture and hypnotherapy for problems such as chronic pain, phobias and addictions. He and his wife Lakshmy have been active members of the Houston community for over 30 years.

Photos: Krishna Giri

Empathy

Tiffany Smith, wife of Texans GM Rick Smith, with Mascot Toro, and Rita Smith, wife of Texans player Wade Smith

Lady Texans Food Drive

Helping Fight Hunger

Southwestern National Bank celebrating

Y R A S R E V ANNI

efitted the Houston Food Bank during the holiday season. Photo opportunities abounded with fans eagerly lining up to pose with Toro and the Lady Texansâ&#x20AC;Ś and, of course, the cheerleaders! A raffle conducted by the Houston Texas Foundation accorded patrons a chance to win tickets to Texans games or licensed merchandise if they brought in cans of food. It was a fun day for a great cause.

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Crowds inundated the parking lot of HEB at Bunker Hill and Katy Freeway with bags and boxes of non-perishable groceries on December 6, to support the Lady Texans in their efforts to fight hunger in the Houston community. The food drive saw the wives of the Texans players and coaches, Texans cheerleaders, and mascot Toro, meeting and thanking benefactors as they dropped off their donations of food that ben-

January 2013

Reap

Harvest Festivals of India

BY KARU MANICKAVASAKAM India is a land of festivals. It is so rich in culture and traditions that each and every festival has a traditions attached to it. The Indians celebrate their festivals together, irrespective of their religious beliefs. Like all other festivals, Pongal is an ancient festival also known as Tamizhar Thirunal, and is celebrated by the people of Tamil Nadu, a South Indian state. Pongal is also celebrated with family and friends. Pongal literally means â&#x20AC;&#x153;boiling overâ&#x20AC;?. Pongal is also known as harvest festival. In this harvest festival, farmers offer thanks to the Sun God for granting good crop and bringing prosperity to their homes. Though Pongal is basically a Tamil festival, other Indian states also celebrate the arrival of harvest during this period. The harvest festival of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka is called Sankranti whereas it is called Makar Sankranti in northern India. The North India states of Punjab and Haryana celebrate Lohri as their harvest festival. In Western states of Maharashtra and Gujarat, it is celebrated as Uttarayan. Since time immemorial, the agricultural and related activities have enjoyed a sacred, unique and matchless status in India. People from diverse regions, following varying beliefs confer equal importance to land and agriculture, the basic means of livelihood in India. The festival has

derived its name from a rice pudding called pongal, made of jaggery, milk and freshly harvested rice. The festival has its roots lying deep in the countryside regions of the city; however it is equally popular among the urban residents of the city who celebrate it with equal gusto. Pongal is usually celebrated for four days, starting from the last of the Tamil month Maargazhi to the third day of Thai. It falls in the month of January, it is the time when the people get ready to thank God, earth and their cattle for the wonderful harvest and celebrate the occasion with joyous festivities and rituals. First day of the festival initiating the festival on January 13th of each year is called Bhogi Pongal. People set ďŹ re to old clothes and materials to mark the emergence of new after the end of old. The second day of the Pongal is known as Surya Pongal and the main festival day. It is devoted to the worship of the sun god; on this day, the houses are decorated with colorful kolams (rangoli). The worship is performed when rice is boiled in milk outdoors in a earthenware pot and is then symbolically offered to the sun-god along with other oblations. All people wear traditional dress and markings. In the village, the Pongal ceremony is carried out more simply but with the same devotion. In accordance with the appointed ritual a turmeric

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Monday to Sunday 5:30pm - 10:00pm plant is tied around the pot in which the rice will be boiled. The offerings include the two sticks of sugar-cane in background and coconut and bananas in the dish. A common feature of the puja, in addition to the offerings, is the kolam, the auspicious design which is traditionally traced in white lime powder before the house in the early morning after bathing. The third day Maattu Pongal marks worshipping of cattle while the fourth and the last day of the festival is known as the Kaanum Pongal and is reserved for meeting friends and relatives. Maattu Pongal is a festival celebrated together by the villagers to thank the cows for their favor in farming; and offered to cattle for ploughing their ﬁelds and giving milk. Maattu Pongal is intended to demonstrate our recognition and affection to cattle. People bath their castles and paint their horns with colorful paints. In rural Tamil Nadu state, adventurous games the bull ﬁghting, called jallikattu, is organized at each village along with

the cart races and cock fights. Kaanum Pongal is a festival for family reunions in Tamil Nadu. Brothers pay special tribute to their married sisters by giving gifts as affirmation of their filial love. Landlords present gifts of food, clothes and money to their workforce. During Kaanum Pongal (the word kaanum means “to view”), people visit relatives and friends to enjoy the festive season. In the cities this day is synonymous with people flocking to beaches and theme parks to have a day out with their families. This day is also significant as it celebrates and thanks relatives and friends for their support in the harvest. Although it started as a farmers’ festival, today it has become a national festival for all Tamils irrespective of their origins or even religion. Festivals are about spending quality time with family and friends. During festivals, people celebrate with their close ones, have fun, and exchange sweets and gifts with friends. The whole atmosphere is that of pleasure and enjoyment.

Karu Manickavasakam is an IT Analyst residing in Manvel, Texas. He enjoys writing poetry, acting in plays, and participating in debates. He teaches the Tamil language to Houston area kids through Greater Houston Tamil School. He’s also served on the board of the Meenakshi Temple Society and at Bharathi Kalai Manram.

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Reevalution

BY ARJUNE RAMA, MD Every January, Americans nationwide start the year off with a new diet and exercise regimen. I am confident that almost all of these will fail. I am loath to bet against the underdog, as I have found myself in that very position multiple times in my life, but with this one I can’t help myself. This approach to change is simply fundamentally flawed because it does not acknowledge that being overweight is an addiction. Like so many other addictions, being overweight is merely the tip of the iceberg below which myriad other addictions reside. Not only are we addicted to the transient hyperglycemia/ caffeine high from our high-sugar cereals and coffees, we are addicted to the speed with which our cars take us to our parking spots as this allows us to sleep in just a bit longer. We are addicted to the convenience of the elevator that whisks us to our comfortable desk where we will work our sedentary jobs that keep us at a comfortable heart rate. We are addicted to the productivity we feel as we motionlessly work while eating our lunches at these desks and eventually reverse the entire trip home all the while jonesing for the largest meal of the day, the calories from which will transform directly into fat as we slip into sleep. Then the cycle begins again. With all of these micro-addictions, it makes sense that wholesale change is Herculean at best and Sisyphean at worst. I don’t blame people for failing; the entire enterprise is destined for failure. I don’t mean to say that change is impossible but I think the only way to approach the kind of change most people seem to want (lower BMI, definition of skeletal

Why (most) diet and exercise regimens fail musculature, higher exercise tolerance, lower daytime fatigue, improved mood, etc.) is to assess every change you are considering instituting as something you will do for the rest of your life. For example, ask yourself, “Will I wake up every day for the rest of my life and run thirty minutes before work?” or “Is it realistic for me to never eat sugar again?” The answer is most likely no. Nothing frustrates me more than to see new diet programs advertised on television. These programs propose a precisely opposite approach to what has been proven to help people overcome addiction. We don’t need more options. We need better ways to utilize the ones we already have. I think we should approach our addiction to food and our sedentary lifestyles via the Alcoholics Anonymous model for change. Alcoholics Anonymous has been demonstrated to work in the long term. In the market of ways to curb alcoholism this program has the largest body of evidence for success. In AA, successful members of the

program acknowledge first that they are powerless to alcohol. I love the seriousness of that word: powerless. I have never heard a dieter say that they are powerless to food. But its true. The truly amazing part of AA is despite the rigor with which they have achieved their longlasting effects, even the most stalwart participants have relapsed twenty and thirty years after sobriety. This is how devastating addiction really is. I also love that alcoholics consider themselves alcoholics for life as a way to internalize the disease and remain constantly vigilant. To approach such a difficult change with any less intensity is like trying to fight a lion with an overcooked noodle. You might as well put an apple in your maw and lie down on a plate. So what the hell are we supposed to do? I have an idea. If being overweight is a multifaceted addiction, why not approach each part individually as opposed to some kind of all encompassing diet/ exercise regimen. I would employ a multistep method akin to AA. The first step could simply be taking the stairs to your office every single day for a few months. That’s it. Eat anything you want day-in and day-out but you no longer use elevators. You don’t even remember what that box with sliding doors and buttons does. I know that sounds incredibly slow on the scale of weight loss progress but I guarantee you many would fail. I don’t say that to be harsh; the odds are stacked against people as its not easy to even find the stairs in many buildings. Also, you’re busy. You are expected to be somewhere quickly all the time. I think if you can do that for a couple months

you’re ready for the park-your-car-faraway-from-the-office-and-walking routine. That’s not easy either. You’re going to need a good parka because you will be the only one who parks in the last space and walks through a torrential storm while coworkers silently consider the state of your mental health. Now, here comes the real challenge. Now you have to take the stairs every day AND walk from the furthest parking lot spot. And remember: this is for the rest of your life. Let’s do just that for another few months. Notice that we have not even touched the issue of diet. No gym memberships purchased. No spandex worn. Indeed no money has changed hands and yet you have done an incredible amount of change: you now leap up stairs to meetings, powerwalk in the parking lot daily, and have replaced that once savory morning sleep time by going to sleep earlier. Forever. Of course, it stands to reason that at some point in the future when a large number of obesity promoting habits have been stably changed that you could start using the elevator or the closer parking spot. However, at that point you’ll likely be making up for those easy yet inconvenient tasks with replacements that are far more rigorous and in a much more compressed time frame such that you might miss the days of a simple walk up the stairs.

Eventually, if one is successful at stacking these tasks I imagine one could tack on a diet change here or there. But just like the stairs and parking lot scenario, this would have to be relatively small and repeated for a rather long time before larger changes are instituted. If all of this seems exhausting, then you’re accurately appreciating how incredibly difficult it is to treat an addiction. You need to physically change your brain on a neuron-

to-neuron basis. Considering there are billions of neurons in the cerebral cortex alone, this is no simple task. I think the problem with most people’s wish to diet is our underlying desire is not to actually change the way we look but rather to be someone else entirely. We see a picture on a magazine cover or in a film and secretly covet not only the way that person looks but the glamour of their very existence. Being ourselves with an improved phy-

sique is nice but far from glamorous. Consider that rarest-of-rare person who is hard-headed enough to start January 1st running thirty minutes daily, consistently eating low-fat, low-carbohydrate, high-protein foods, sleeping eight hours nightly, and drinking copious amounts of water and actually keep it up for, say, six months. The pounds will no doubt come off but that person is the same person with the same hang-ups that made him overweight in the first place. Relapse is almost inevitable. The problem is that no real neuronal change has been effected as this blitzkrieg of reform was enacted out of the excitement of turning over a new leaf rather than a reasoned decision to completely change one’s life forever. The discipline that comes out of slow and steady piecemeal segmental modification represents actual character change for which I can’t think of any substitution. That level of discipline likely feels superior to any level of glamour and probably leads to a greater likelihood of overcoming the addiction in the long-term. If this seems overwhelming and impossible, consider what they say in AA: you have to take it one day at a time.

Arjune Rama is a resident physician in psychiatry at Yale University School of Medicine. You can follow him on twitter at @arjunerama

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January 2013

Celluloid

BY KATHLEEN HANEY

Actress & Filmmaker Trisha Ray with Hunter Todd, founder of WorldFest Houston

Celebrating the Cinema of India at

WorldFest

Bapsi Sidhwa, author of Cracking India, with ﬁlmmaker Deepi Mehta & WorldFest Program Director Kathleen Haney

As the 100th year of cinema in India is being celebrated across the globe, it is fitting that we here at WorldFest join in as well, to honor the remarkable journey that began in May, 1913. That year, Dadasaheb Phalke, considered the Father of Indian cinema presented a public screening of Raja Harischandra, a 40 minute black & white silent film which he both produced and directed; a story about a king who sacrifices and then regains his kingdom. Phalke’s career spanned 19 years of the silent era in India with 95 features until Ardeshir Irani produced Alam Ara in 1931, the first talkie of India. Adding the element of sound to movies caused many changes, the most important to Indian cinema being the growth and integration of song and dance into a majority of Indian films, a strong defining construct remaining in place to this day. On through the decades, the film industry of India grew robustly like in many other nations reaching out to ever wider audiences. Filmmakers kept learning and applying new film techniques, storytelling skills, and applying innovations of craft and technology, yet India always kept her own unique yet hard-to-define identity. The successful commercial venues continued to entertain and thrill their own national audiences both in the urban as well as a vast array of regional settings growing to what is today regarded as the largest film industry in the world. Forged amidst such a wide spectrum of artistic and commercial cinematic achievements, cinema from India has offered and continues to offer films with such a diversity of language, culture, and theme yet retain a distinctive flair for independence set apart from the world of Hollywood, an ongoing truth that well deserves respect and admiration. For more than 35 years, WorldFest has been fortunate to acquire, consider and share with Houston

audiences a tiny slice of cinema of India and/or directors from India or of Indian heritage. Beginning with the illustrious filmmaker Satyajit Ray without whom no reference to Indian film lore would be complete, WorldFest is delighted to list the following films from India that we have been proud to present at our film festival through the years (in mostly chronological order): Satyajit Ray’s The Chess Players (Shatranj Ke Khilari) set in colonial India a century ago, Goutam Ghose’s The Crossing (Paar), Singitam Rao’s Mayuri, Ketan Mehta’s Spices (Mirch Masala), Saeed Mirza’s Don’t Cry for Salim the Lame (Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro) & Last Chance Mumbai (Ek Tho Chance), K. Bikram Siingh’s The Absolution (Tarpan), Jagmohan’s Sandstorm, T.S. Nagabharana’s The Jasmine of Mysore (Mysoora Mallige), Rahul Bose’s Everybody Says I’m Fine, Sujoy Ghosh’s Jhankaar Beats, Menahem Golan’s Return from India (Ha-Shiva Mehodu), Saket Chaudhary’s Side Effects (Pyaar Ke), Rajnesh Domalpalli’s Vanaja, Arun Bhadali’s Bolly Double, Krante Kanade’s children’s’ fantasy Mahek, Sanja Puran Singh Chauhan’s Lahore, Nikhil Nagesh Bhat’s Salon, (Saluun) have all been Official Selections at WorldFest for public screening. Many of these films were made as the directorial debut of young directors at the onset of their careers. Most of these aforementioned films were top award winners at WorldFest-Houston, many of whose directors received their accolades personally at the WorldFest annual awards ceremony, a Gala where over 24 nations are represented each year. WorldFest also premiered compelling films from two of India’s neighboring countries, Sri Lanka (Ceylon) and Pakistan that are of special interest as follows: Bennet Rathnayake’s The Compensation & The Wind (Sulanga), Somaratne Dissanayake’s Saroja, Asoka Hand-

agama’s This is My Moon, Samy Pavel’s The Music Garden Athula Liyanage’s Bambara Walalla, Nilantha Hapanweera’s Theja and Jamil Dehlavi’s Jinnah and Infinite Justice, In the year 2000, WorldFest screened ABCD which starred the lovely Sheetal Sheth in one of her earliest roles. Directed by Ahmedabad born, Krutin Patel, of Laxmi Pictures, NY, ABCD turned out to be a true sleeper hit requiring multiple add-on screenings. This serio-comedic and timely film which broke new ground as it looked at the confusion facing first generation immigrant children from India had the ability to become more than just an ‘India diaspora’ film festival entry and was able to cross over to a larger US audience and achieve box-office success. Krutin’s warm personal style and unflagging enthusiasm during the WorldFest screenings was another key element in this film’s particular appeal to the growing Indian community of Houston. In 2004, WorldFest presented the World Premiere of Indian heritage director Houstonian, Sanjay Fellini/Benny Matthews, (Where’s the Party?) with his second feature, Revelation, a dark and gory tale of a demonized child. The following year, WorldFest offered Houston audiences a somber film, Dancing in Twilight as Opening Night feature produced by Houstonians Howard Griffith and Rakesh Vij. An intriguing drama, Dancing in Twilight featured a vibrant ensemble cast including Oscar winner Louise Fletcher, Mimi Rogers and starring Darjeeling-born Erick Avari in the title role with his inimitable style. Also in 2005, WorldFest hosted another Indian film with Houston connections presenting the USA premiere of Vishwa Thulasi a lyrical tale of ill-fated lovers directed by Houstonian Sumathy Ram of Tamil heritage in her debut feature film. In 2006, WorldFest was very

proud to host the Texas premiere of internationally acclaimed director, Deepa Mehta’s Water, the final part of her trilogy, Fire, Earth & Water expressing so poignantly the voice of a new India. We were delighted to have Deepa Mehta in attendance and award her with WorldFest’s highest honor ~ The Remi WorldFest Career Achievement Award. WorldFest presented in 2008, as Opening night premiere, Before the Rains, a film directed by Kerala-born and internationally acclaimed cinematographer, Santosh Sivan. WorldFest-Houston audiences enjoyed the talents of Linus Roache, Rahul Bose and Nandita Das in this David Lean styled epic set in the spice-growing region of India in 1937, when a British overlord crosses moral boundaries by getting involved with a married woman leading to tragic consequences. WorldFest in 2010, hosted the World Premiere of Houstonian Calcuttaborn, San Banarje in his first foreign language film, Bodhisattva, filmed on location in India starring acting legend, Soumitra Chatterjee (The World of Apu, Charulate Home & the World, etc). The following year, Trisha Ray’s third feature, Sugarbaby, which was also filmed in Calcutta enjoyed its World Premiere at WorldFest. Trisha Ray, a multi-hyphenate artist with an illustrious background of Indian heritage has produced film work as editor, writer, actor and producer alongside film partner, San Banarje, another WorldFest alumni. In 2011, WorldFest offered another Opening Night film with an Indian connection, Exodus Fall, a poignant coming-of-age story set in 1970’s western USA about 3 siblings on the road to flee their abusive mother. Directed by Ankush Kohli and Chad Waterhouse, the film starred Jesse James and Rosanna Arquette. Though co-director Ankush Kohli was born in Los Angeles, he grew up in India working with top industry

professionals there making short films and documentaries. His feature, Exodus Fall, was his debut feature film and as he stated “…a realization of his dream.” Whether it be directly from India or indirectly from filmmakers whose heritage includes that great nation, WorldFest has, through the years, offered a great slate of films that commemorate the cinema of India, We are thankful and delighted to work with the Consular corps of Houston and we welcome Honorable Parvathaneni Harish, the new Consul General of India in Houston who we look forward to working with in the future. We are proud to have been a part of the unfolding of such a wide and appealing array of cinematic fare offered in particular to our devoted Houston audiences, many of who met these talented directors to share the WorldFest experience of spotlighting and promoting truly independent cinema. At WorldFest, we virtually have a front row seat to discovery; to find films with passionate insights, thoughtprovoking issues, beautiful cinematography and compelling stories shared through the magic of cinema. WorldFest is honored to be able to spotlight these authentic voices and visions from India. We are so glad for our Houston audiences who can enjoy with us the rewards of discovery and warmly welcome a new wave of cinematic talents whether they come from a village down the road or faraway places we may experience only through cinema. We look forward to another great harvest of films from around the globe in 2013 and in particular we are delighted to honor India in the celebration of her centennial cinematic achievement…! The 46th Annual WorldFest-Houston is April 12-21st, 2013 at the AMC Studio 30 Theaters at 2949 Dunvale. HYPERLINK “http://www.worldfest.org” www.worldfest.org

Kathleen Haney, a Cum Laude graduate of the University of Houston, holds a Liberal Arts degree. She has been working with WorldFest since 1989. She has served as the Vice-President of Operations for WorldFest-Charleston & WorldFest-Houston. Currently, Kathleen works as the Program Director for WorldFest-Houston. In her free time, she volunteers at Radio Amistad, St. Catherine’s Visitation Guild at St. Thomas Episcopal Church and enjoys sailing, traveling, cooking, writing, film and scuba diving. www.hummagazine.com

January 2013

Celebration

ollywood

evelry

at Abrahams’s Holiday Soiree

John Bradshaw & Patsy Brown

Chip Gift & Sherry Gift

Sam Abraham & Omana Abraham

Abraham Thomas & Annie Abraham Thomas

Over 250 guests ornately garbed in Indian finery gathered at the Memorial area home of Omana and Sam Abraham on December 1st 2012, for an exclusive Bollywood-style holiday soiree. As invitees arrived, they were escorted to a runway fashioned of rugs and warmly welcomed by their hosts. A tent constructed to the side of the Abraham home was transfigured into a magical cave with its walls and floors decorated with magnificent carpets. Adding dramatic illumination to the elegant confines were arresting chandeliers by artist Jason Lawson. A photo opportunity saw gentlemen getting to be ‘Maharajas’ for a moment as they flourished scimitars, donned turbans, and regally posed with their ladies; the photos were later presented as mementos of the holiday event. As they met and mingled with old and new friends, guests sipped cooling mango lassis and bracing margaritas, or browsed the open bar for wines and spirits of their choice. Among other tempting fare, delectable butter chicken, saag paneer, and naan from Madras Pavilion, Laurenzo’s famous prime rib, and El Tiempo’s feisty fajitas, made for a superb supper. Bollywood dancers enthralled the distinguished crowd that included family and friends of the Abraham’s, community leaders, patrons of the purveyors of fine rugs, board members and directors of various organizations in the ilk of the Houston Symphony, the Houston Opera, The White Hall Club, and the Asia Society Texas Center, to name a few. The revelry continued ‘til the wee hours as guests danced to tunes spun by DJ Brett Mann. Photographs: Anthony Hynes

Gina Gaston, Tiffany Smith & Jacqueline Chaumette

Annie Abraham Thomas, Sam Abraham, Omana Abraham & Rachel Abraham Duvvuri

Margaret Alkak Williams

George Eapen, Grace Eapen, Sarah Abraham & Tom Abraham

Rachel McNeill & Dr. Wayne Franklin

Nancy Levicki, Bryan Stanford & Selina Stanford

Ashish Mahendru & Sameera Mahendru

Daivd McKeithan & Mary Ann McKeithan

Iris Jackson

Dr. Devinder Bhatia & Gina Bhatia

Lance Livingston & Carolyn Farb

www.hummagazine.com

January 2013

Delicacies Delicious Arrival of

Signature Trufﬂes

Theresa Roemer with her signature truffles at Saks

Photos: Krishna Giri

at Saks Fifth Avenue

Thesresa Roemer with Phillippe Schmit of Phillippe’s

Entrepreneur, author, and motivational speaker Theresa Roemer launched her signature line of delectable handmade truffles at the Bar 12, Saks Fifth Avenue, Houston Galleria on December 13. Guests sipped cocktails, enjoyed delicious appetizers, and splurged on the prettily-boxed cookies and cream ﬁlled chocolates. Texas-based blues band Luther and the Healers had feet tapping with their high-energy performance. Glamorous in a drape-necked black dress and stiletto heels, Roemer, formerly Mrs. Texas United America for 2010, charmed gatherees as she mingled and posed for photographs. HUM had a brief chat with Roemer. The following are excerpts from the conversation: Why chocolates? Chocolate makes you feel good and I am all about making people feel good, whether it is through my motivational speaking, my book, the truffles, or my line of candles that debut January 2013. Is Saks the only location carrying the Theresa Roemer signature truffles?

Theresa Roemer with Peter Remmington, Publisher of Houston Magazine

Yes, for now. We are currently in the talks with other locations. We would love to go national but it’s too early to predict. What would be your advice to women entrepreneurs? I would say reach for the stars. Dreams do come true with a lot of hard work. You have to set goals, stick to them and never lose sight of the end result. You need to stay focused regardless of what others say. What are other projects you’re involved in? I am currently serving on the Board of Directors of Child Legacy International, I have new books in the pipeline, I am working on exercise videos, a candle line launching January 2013, a fitness wear line coming out the fall of 2013 and many motivational seminars on the schedule. What are your favorite things to wear? Exercise wear! With so many clothes changes in between for various events I always wear fitness wear, because it is the only thing that seems to fit with my busy lifestyle as an entrepreneur. But I do love extremely high Christian Louboutins and a great Donna Karan dress!

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Green Houston, Hostess with the Mostess, Hosts First Annual Total Energy USA:

CROSS-COLLABORATION ACROSS ENERGY SECTORS BY TAJANA MESIC The chief goal of the Sustainability 2.0 column is to share valuable resources, discuss relevant trends and bringing you the latest and greatest on how to act and be part of a solution. We will discuss energy, out of the box water conservation, socially responsible investing, eco-tourism, healthy eating, and collaborative consumption. What connects Houston, its generous people and energy? A number of things come to mind. Deregulated power makes it easy for consumers to choose their own electricity provider. Our Energy Corridor hosts headquarters of many energy companies. How about large energy conferences? Raise your hand if you knew that Houston hosted over 350 conferences in 2012. If Houston were a woman, she would be considered “hostess with the mostess”, a generous and beautiful Southern hostess, attending to her guests’ comforts in style. Houston is a global hostess, accommodating a growing number of international guests. Being a global city, she attracts events that bring global thought leadership, especially in the large energy-cluster sector. Such a perfect choice for the first annual Total Energy USA conference! It was the first show in the United States to bring together traditional and renewable energy leaders under one roof. You and I know that with almost seven billion people in the world today, energy needs are greater than ever. Environmental costs and risks of energy production are likely to escalate in the coming years — rising energy demand, supply pressures, climate change, waste, emissions, water, and resource depletion. What are the risks and opportunities of energy supply? What will it take to create a sustainable energy future? On November 27-29, 2012, Houston was “hostess with the mostess” to a unique Big Picture energy conference. In its first year, Total Energy USA assembled a wide circle of energy players including oil and gas, wind, solar, nuclear, and biomass. Mayor Anise Parker enthusiastically addressed the attendees: “What is great about the conference is that Total Energy USA has created a forum for producers and consumers. It is a place to discuss problems, ideas, solutions that cross-connect different sectors.” The conversations focused on solutions such as wind energy and liquid natural gas, but also on financing renewable energy solutions and biomass production, such as ethanol. Most Ameri-

can gas stations sell ethanol-enriched gasoline at the pump. Did you know that the gas you pump in your car contains up to 10 percent ethanol? The ethanol market is a $25 billion market today and estimated to grow into a $100 billion market by 2020. In a roundtable session, Jan Koninckx, Ph.D., DuPont’s Business Director for Biofuels, said that our energy supply will continue changing and diversifying. In partnership with local universities and farmers, DuPont is developing cellulosic ethanol from corn plant to produce sustainable fuel for local consumers. But are these production methods fast enough, in light of the dwindling resources and growing number of people? When asked what keeps him up at night, Terry Tamminen, CEO of Seventh Generation Advisors and former Chief Policy Advisor to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said: “We see rapid shifts to sustainable industry, but is it going to be enough? We don’t need drips and drabs but a comprehensive approach to scaling the solutions.” Conferences such as Total Energy USA fit the bill and help come up with cross-pollinating solutions, where energy and technology meet. What did the organizers think? According to Wayne Chappell, a vice president at the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau, the show was the first of its kind in the United States. The conference organizer, Vinnie Polito with VP International, measures the first year’s success by attendees’ reaction. “Our content was well received this year. We talk about more than a slice of the energy pie. We talk about intersection points, and that is where the future lies.” Was it a success? Like the proverbial “hostess with the mostess” and a true representative of Houston, Mayor Anise Parker is known for her progressive ideas and results. Addressing the conference audience at the keynote speech, she said, “We are a city where ideas can go from laboratory to boardroom to marketplace with speed and efficiency. This is the first, but not our last Total Energy USA.” Total Energy USA 2013 is scheduled for Nov. 19-21 at the George R. Brown Convention Center.

Tajana Mesic is the president and founder of GGG Sustainability Solutions. GGG is a full-service sustainability and resource efficiency consulting firm, 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. You can get more relevant sustainability tips at www.facebook.com/greengrovegroup or connect with Tajana at www.greengrovegroup.com.

From left: Brij Kathuria, Treasurer & Board Member, Pratham Houston, Dr. Sapna Singh, Co-Chairs Annu Naik and Anuja Mehta, David Weekley, Chairman, David Weekley Homes, Swatantra Jain, President, Pratham Houston

Pratham’s Festive Holiday Luncheon Raises $120,000 for Education From left: Dr. Gauri Varadhachary, Board Member, Dr. Atul Varadhachary, President, Pratham USA, and Marie Goradia, Board Member

Elegance and philanthropy were the hallmarks of Pratham Houston’s annual holiday luncheon fundraiser held at the Junior League of Houston on December 7, 2012. Co-chaired by Annu Naik and Anuja Mehta, the event garnered $120,000 that will beneﬁt the organization’s education programs in India. President of Pratham Houston, Swatantra Jain, shared some of Pratham’s recent achievements with gatherees. In 2011, Pratham Houston raised $1.6 million that is helping 70,000 at-risk children, with over 2.6 million children in India bettering their education through Pratham’s various programs. 54,000 youth gained vocational skills that enabled them to enter the workforce, and 48,000 teachers were trained to teach more effectively. Jain also spoke about a new program Pratham recently launched, The Beauty Entrepreneurship Program, to encourage the spirit of enterprise for women wherein Pratham loans $1600 to set up a beauty salon by providing training material and required guidance.

Keynote speaker, David Weekley of David Weekley Homes, who donates half of his income each year to charity, spoke inspirationally about why he chose Pratham as one of his beneﬁciaries and said that Pratham’s dedicated leadership, history of success, and transparent governance impressed him. Weekly exhorted attendees to give generously to the worthy cause that helps positively impact the futures of young people. Via video, guests got to see Pratham’s co-founder Madhav Chavan receive the prestigious WISE award (akin to the Nobel prize), and deliver his acceptance speech. Chavan’s dedication to Pratham came across eloquently. He has donated the $50,000 award to Pratham. Preceding the event, guests were treated to complimentary makeovers by Saks Fifth Avenue, and during lunch, got a sneak preview of the latest trends through a fashion show also by Saks Fifth Avenue. www.prathamusa.org www.hummagazine.com

January 2013

Photos: Deborah Wallace, Barﬁeld Photography

Voice

Shimomura Crossing the Delaware (detail), by Roger Shimomura, acrylic on canvas, 2010. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; acquired through the generosity of Raymond L. Ocampo Jr., Sandra Olesky Ocampo, and Robert P. Ocampo

Asia Society Texas Center 1370 Southmore Boulevard Houston, TX 77004 (713) 496-9901 asiasociety.org/texas

January - February 2013 Arts & Culture - Education & Outreach Business & Policy - Networking Events & Mixers

January

February

PARTNERSHIPS & COLLABORATIONS

LIFELONG LEARNING Saturday, February 2, 1:00 pm Architecture Tour

Sunday, January 6, 5:00& pmMixers y | Networking Events

Programs

Unﬁnished Country: New Video from China

Presented in collaboration with Contemporary Arts Museum Houston

LIFELONG LEARNING Saturday, January 12, 1:00 pm MISSION Architecture Tour

LIFELONG LEARNING Saturday, February 2, 2:00 pm Art Tour PARTNERSHIPS & COLLABORATIONS

Asia Society is the leading educational organization dedicated to February 6, 7:30 pm | Reception 6:00 pm LIFELONG LEARNING Wednesday, Saturday, January 12, 2:00understanding pm Ocean Heaven by Xiao Lu Xue starring Jet Li promoting mutual and strengthening partnerships Art Tour Presented in partnership with Jewish Family Service in association among peoples, leaders, and institutions of Asia and thewith United Opening Night of ReelAbilities: Houston Disabilities Film Festival 2013 ARTIST TALK States in a global context. Across the fields of arts, business, culture, Saturday, January 12, 3:00 pm |Members Brunch MONTHLY MIXER education, the Society provides insight, generates ideas, and Gallery Talkand 11:00policy, am (limited availability) Thursday, February 7, 5:30 pm and promotes collaboration to address present challenges Kip Fulbeck in Conversation Leoand Bar create Sponsored by Texas Capital Bank a shared future. BOOKS IN CONVERSATION Tuesday, January 15, 7:00 pm | Reception 6:30 pm VISITOR INFORMATION Manu Joseph, author, The Illicit Happiness of Other People

HOURS ASIA SOCIETY GLOBAL

Thursday, January 17, 9:00 am | Continental Breakfast 8:30 am Tuesday – of Sunday The Triangle Sino-American Energy Diplomacy: A Symposium AMin–collaboration 6:00 PM with Asia Society New York 11:00 Presented

First Thursdays PARTNERSHIPS & COLLABORATIONS 11:00 AM – 9:00 PM pm Saturday, January 19, 7:30 Voices of the Spirit–III8:30 PM Leo Bar: 5:30

(Global Sacred Music) Presented in collaboration with Houston Arts Alliance

PARKING

PARTNERSHIPS COLLABORATIONS 0-60 minutes:&$3 Sunday, January 20, 3:00 pm 1-24 $6 III Voiceshours: of the Spirit (Global Sacred Music)

Presented in collaboration with Houston Arts Alliance STAY CONNECTED ASTC PRESENTS! Thursday, January 24, 7:30 pm facebook.com/asiasocietytexas Mamak Khadem sings the poetry of Shorab Sepehri (Iran/USA, Music and Poetry) Presented in association with the 20th Annual Iranian Film Festival twitter.com/asiasocietytx FAMILY FLIX @ ASTC Saturday, January 26, 11:00 am and 2:00 pm flickr.com/asiasocietytx 11 Flowers/Wo 11 by Xioshuai Wang PARTNERSHIPS & COLLABORATIONS youtube.com/asiasocietytx Saturday, January 26, 5:00 pm Dallas Asian Film Festival Experimental Shorts (Contains mature content) – search Asia Society Texas Center foursquare.com Presented in collaboration with Aurora Picture Show and the Asian Film Festival of Dallas EDUCATOR NIGHTS Tuesday, January 29, 4:30 pm | Reception 4:00 pm Introduction to Sikhism SIGNATURE EVENT Thursday, January 31, 11:30 am Huffington Award Luncheon Honoring Jon Huntsman, Jr. Located at Hilton Americas – Houston

+ Details and Ticketing For event details and ticketing, please visit AsiaSociety.org/Texas or call 713.496.9901.

ARTIST TALK Saturday, February 9, 2:00 pm | Members Brunch and Gallery Talk 11:00 am CYJO in Conversation PARTNERSHIPS & COLLABORATIONS Sunday, February 10, 2:00 pm Manzanar Pilgrimage by Tadashi Nakamura Post-screening conversation with the filmmaker and Karen L. Ishizuka Presented in partnership with Japanese American Citizens League Houston and Holocaust Museum Houston to commemorate the Signing of Executive Order 9066 PERSPECTIVES Wednesday, February 20, 7:00 pm | Reception 6:30 pm Eugene Gholz on Iran and the Nuclear End Game: What are the Odds of Peace? PARTNERSHIPS & COLLABORATIONS Thursday, February 21, 7:30 pm Interfaith Roundtable: Islam Presented in partnership with Boniuk Center for the Study and Advancement of Religious Tolerance at Rice University ASTC PRESENTS! Thursday, February 21, 7:30 pm Hyakki Yumehina Puppet Theater featuring Michika Iida Presented in partnership with Asia Society New York Sponsored by Japan Foundation, New York PARTNERSHIPS & COLLABORATIONS Friday, February 22, Time TBA Mountainfilm on Tour—Houston Presented in partnership with Mountainfilm in Telluride PARTNERSHIPS & COLLABORATIONS Saturday, February 23, Time TBA Mountainfilm on Tour—Houston Presented in partnership with Mountainfilm in Telluride FAMILY DAY Sunday, February 24, 1:00 pm Storytelling and Portraiture PARTNERSHIPS & COLLABORATIONS Wednesday, February 27, 7:00 pm Beyond Diversity: In Conversation with Stephen Klineberg, Ph.D., and Claudia Kolker Presented in partnership with Houston Arts Alliance

+ Late Breaking Programs Reacting quickly to breaking issues and events means many

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