HUM Magazine May 2015

MAY 2015

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CONTENT May 2015

Parsons and the 10Lucy Origins of Mayday TORRY MERCER

Kalaprapoorna Dr. Anasuya Devi

My mother is a poem I’ll never be able to write, though everything I write is a poem to my mother

Happy Mother’s Day

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Marty McVey

young business leader on the rise

MICHELLE LEIGH SMITH

a mother in anguish over her child battling a deadly malignant brain tumor turns to

12 Praying for a Miracle BINDU MALHOTRA

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An Homage to Divine Mother in All Mothers ROBERT ARNETT

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the Puppeteer, his Puppets, and their Timeless Stories SOWMYA NANDAKUMAR

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team HUM CEO & Founder Krishna Giri

and the art of Job Hunting 28 Judo

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RAMESH ANAND

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Two Decades of Educating With Excellence KALYANI GIRI

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Art Director Saqib Rana

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Correspondents Dr. Arjune Rama Kalyani Giri Ken Chitwood Lisa Brooks Nalini Sadagopan Priya M. James Robert Arnett Sowmya Nandakumar Tajana Mesic

Way of Water Mother of Life TAJANA MESIC

Contributors BINDU MALHOTRA HELEN BUNTTING LANGTON MICHELLE LEIGH SMITH MISHTY DEB PRADEEP ANAND RAMESH ANAND TORRY MERCER

from the Abrahams 41 Tips on maintaining 42 A Mum in a Million

HUM Magazine May 2015

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Marty McVey young business leader on the rise

BY MICHELLE LEIGH SMITH Houston business leader Marty McVey, 41, is the youngest candidate in the 2015 mayoral race. If elected, the high-energy statesman will be one of the youngest mayors in Houston history. He brings a fresh, vibrant view of government.

McVey began traveling to India at age 35; he has been to Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore, and Hyderabad. He plans a trade mission to Southeast Asia as mayor because he sees India as a gateway to Houston’s international growth. There are already more than 155,000 Southeast Asians in Houston and McVey has spent the past few years interacting with them at several venues such as the India House and addressing their cocerns that include the Nepal disaster and relief measures.

“I look forward to bringing our two nations closer together through commerce,” says the young proponent for real economic development.

While his opponents in the November 2015 race for Houston’s top job talk about fixing potholes, McVey has been in the trenches helping growing nations build long lasting infrastructure.

In 2011, he was honored to be appointed

by President Barack Obama to travel over the world as a member of the Board of Directors of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Board for International Food and Agricultural Development (BIFAD).

USAID plays a critical role in US efforts in stabilizing regions and building responsive local governance; the agency addresses many of the same problems as military interventions, but uses a different set of tools.

McVey has been proud to be a part of the

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C

Photo: Krishna Giri

McVey helps implement technology advancements for feeding the future in Coimbatore, India

efforts to ease the transition between conflict and long-term development by investing in agriculture, health systems and democratic institutions. USAID extends help from the American people to achieve results for the poorest and most vulnerable around the world. That assistance does not represent Democratic values or Republican values, but American values. It has also afforded McVey the opportunity to travel and build relationships all over the world.

Responsibilities with the agency include providing guidance to the federal government regarding investments in training, research, and technology transfer to developing countries. As part of these responsibilities, McVey served as Chairman for the Haitian Reconstruction Task Force, as well as Chairman of the BIFAD Budget Committee.

McVey’s unfettered passion for India and Souteast Asia stretches to all cultures who are poised to join with Houston’s engines in energy, technology, manufacturing, robotics, maritime, aviation and transportation.

“Houston has all the tools necessary to be the epicenter in the international business arena,” says McVey. “This highlights how much Houston needs a mayor who will create a world class economic development team to attract new national and international businesses to the Bayou City. I want this team to report directly to the mayor as it is the lifeblood of our city.”

He has embraced the splendid culture in the way he creates special evenings for his guests in Houston, often dining at Kiran’s on his favorite Indian cuisine of daal makhani, tikka butter chicken, saag paneer, naan paratha, and of course, a hot cup of chai tea at Kiran’s. His most beloved Indian film is Before the Rains by

In Katmandu, McVey explores empowering women farmers through education

McVey visits Avinashilingam University for Women, Coimbatore, India www.hummagazine.com

May 2015

acclaimed Indian director Santosh Sivan – and produced by Houston entrepreneur Ashok Rao – set in the 1930s against the backdrop of a growing nationalist movement.

“Even though India is now a donor country, it’s still a developing nation,” says McVey. “It’s always been a great country culturally and has now taken its place on the world stage. They’ve done a fantastic job of managing their wealth.

India has evolved as the exemplary model for foreign aid and development. One of India’s four U.S. consulate general offices is located in Houston. That’s a partnership we need to build on.”

We now have two sister cities in India. We were outgunned by San Antonio on bonding as a sister city to Chennai, population 700,000 and a big player in healthcare. “Houston really wanted Chennai as their sister city and it made life difficult for us,” said then San Antonio Mayor, Phil Hardberger.

“But we just flat outworked them.”

“While Houston has 18 sister cities, Laredo has 29. I

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intend to change that,” says McVey, the determined diplomat.

“Houston was voted as the best city for young entrepreneurs by NerdWallet,” says McVey. “Not very many people realize that. In the skilled labor market today, people do not necessarily follow jobs. Instead, jobs appear to be following people. In an economy dominated by services and constant innovation in transportation and communication technology, labor has become the most critical factor for many firms. The skilled segment of this workforce has grown to be even more significant. A talented labor pool is no longer a luxury; it is a staple for competition in the global marketplace.”

“There are so many hidden gems in Houston – 62,900 acres of park space, and the 350 miles of bike trails. We can grow that. Already, Houston is the No. 1 destination in America for night life, according to National Geographic. More than 90 languages are spoken here.”

McVey’s civic engagements are far-reaching. He has been a major supporter of charitable organizations that

Photo: Josh Blake

include Halo House Foundation, Human Rights Watch and the World Affairs Council. He is a lifetime member of the NAACP, a National Advisory Board Member of the Tahirih Justice Center, and a committee member of the Bush-Clinton Ike Coastal Recovery Fund. He is also actively involved in promoting the economic development and sustainability of the City of Houston, and served as an executive committee member and former Chair of the Political Engagement Committee of the Greater Houston Partnership.

A much requested public speaker, McVey has been guest lecturer at the Borlaug Institute at Texas A&M University, Trulaske College of Business at the University of Missouri, the Moody College of Business at the University of Louisiana, the Bush School of Government & Public Service at Texas A&M University, the Center on Conflict and Development at Texas A&M University, the Center for International Studies at the University of St. Thomas, the Center for International and Comparative Studies at the University of Houston and the Jake Jabs College of Business & Entrepreneurship at Montana State University.

McVey earned a Bachelor and Master of Business Administration, with concentration in Management, from American University. He received his Global Master of Business Administration from Georgetown University as well as a Master Universitario en Administración Empresas from Esade University. Additionally, he completed Harvard Business School’s Developing Future Leaders’ Program.

McVey founded a private equity firm that spurred the creation of award-winning businesses in the Real Estate, Clean Energy Services and Healthcare sectors.

Follow Marty McVey on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram: MartyMcVey and on the web at www.martymcvey.com

Some of Marty’s Favorites Favorite U.S. President: Theodore Roosevelt Favorite sport: Extreme sports such as skydiving, extreme caving, scuba diving and race car driving Favorite yoga pose: Ananda Balasana First job: Worked in a grocery store in western North Carolina.

Last movie he saw: Focus, with Will Smith Last book he read: The Art of Happiness by Dr. Howard Cutler and the Dalai Lama Marty McVey visits a research lab in Coimbatore, India

Michelle Leigh Smith is a Houston based journalist. She is a graduate of Rice University and serves on the Executive Board for the University of Houston’s Friends of Women’s Studies, as Program Chairman of the Rice University Owen Wister Literary Society and on the 2015 Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo’s Lamb & Goat Junior Auction Committee www.hummagazine.com

May 2015

Lucy Parsons and the Origins of Mayday

BY TORRY MERCER Lucy Parsons was a woman of African and Native American descent. She was born a slave in Texas just prior to the U.S. Civil War. She married a white man, Albert Parsons, who was a former confederate soldier. Together, they registered former slaves to vote and were eventually chased out of Texas by the Ku Klux Klan. The Parsons became anarchist labor organizers in Chicago. Albert was one of the Haymarket Martyrs. Because of his radical labor activism he was tried, convicted, and hung for a crime he did not commit. Lucy Parsons reached out to people across the world to make May 1st a day to commemorate workers’ struggles and to remember the martyrs of Haymarket. Mayday is now a national holiday in almost every country on Earth except for the USA where it originated. It took almost 100 years to get a statue put up in Chicago to commemorate Lucy Parsons, mainly because the Chicago police of today still hate this woman even though she passed away several decades before they were even born. They called her “more dangerous than a thousand rioters.” Mayday IS Lucy Parsons’ Day. We need to have a statue of Lucy Parsons in Texas. Texas history, women’s history, African American history, radical history, labor history, suffrage history... she should be a chapter in each!

The history of Mayday has been hidden from us.

Anarchists were at the forefront of the labor movement in Chicago in the later part of the 19th century. In the spring of 1886, 400,000 Chicago workers went out on strike for an 8-hour day. On May 1st peaceful protests convulsed the city. A force of 200 police arrived. Without warning, they began to attack the crowd with clubs and the butts of their revolvers. They killed a striker and seriously wounded many others.

At a protest meeting the following night in Haymarket Square the crowd was orderly. The Mayor was present and told the large force of police reservists to go home. The police however were in the pockets of the large Chicago industrial corporations and attacked the protesters once again.

As the police moved in, a bomb went off killing a policeman. Many have speculated that this was a ploy by an agent of the corporate bosses to instigate a violent crackdown on the unions.

The police opened fire. A reign of terror swept over Chicago. Meeting halls, union offices, printing works and private homes were raided. All known socialists and anarchists were rounded up. People were tortured.

Eight radical union organizers, five of whom were not even at the Haymarket protest, were selected to stand trial with a rigged jury of businessmen and a relative of the dead policeman. The defense was not allowed to present evidence.

No proof was offered by the state.

The union organizers that spoke at the Haymarket Square rally had not incited violence.

The Mayor described their speeches as “tame.” Seven of the eight organizers were sentenced to death, one committed suicide, and four were eventually hung. 600,000 workers turned out for the funeral.

The Governor of Illinois at that time, Richard James Oglesby, eventually commuted the sentences of the remaining two men because they were innocent of the crime for which they had been tried. He said they and the hanged men had been the victims of “hysteria, packed juries, and a biased judge.”

The corporate bosses and their cronies in the police department wanted to break the back of the eight-hour movement. Evidence eventually came to light that a police agent working for steel bosses wanting to discredit the labor movement was likely to have thrown the bomb.

Lucy Parsons, now Albert’s widow, lobbied international labor organizations to make May 1st an international Labor Day to commemorate the martyrs of Haymarket Square. She died in 1942 at the age of 89. Workers in all corners of the Earth now take this day to commemorate this historic struggle for workers rights.

We now still need a further reduction in working hours, without loss of pay, to make work for the unemployed. We need fresh political thinking that can lead us towards a genuine social equilibrium where freedom knows no limit other than not interfering with the freedom of others, a democracy of efficiently coordinated workplace and community councils, a society where production is to satisfy needs, not to solely and soullessly make profits for a privileged few.

Torry Mercer is a writer, historian, and filmmaker living in Houston. He is currently working on a documentary film The Quiet Storms of Reform about people working to make changes in our criminal justice, foster, and medical care systems to end homelessness caused by disabilities and illness.

Mercer may be reached at torrymercer9@hotmail.com

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a mother in anguish over her child battling a deadly malignant brain tumor turns to

Praying for a Miracle

BY BINDU MALHOTRA This is a tribute to all mothers, my children, but especially to my 38 year-old son Sumant who has been battling a deadly malignant brain tumor for over five years now.

This morning, I received an unexpected call from the CEO & Founder of HUM Magazine. To my greatest surprise, he asked if I felt up to sharing my thoughts as a mother facing the challenges and anguish of dealing with a child experiencing a terminal illness. I was awestruck at that moment and not sure of myself. However, after praying for guidance, I realized that this may be a source of encouragement and blessing to someone out there suffering a similar stroke of fate. So, here is my humble attempt.

There is absolutely no easy way to express my feelings and emotions. No matter how old or how young, Sumant is still my child, my first-born.

I am certain that any parent — especially a mother — would agree that for one to witness one’s offspring suffer has got to be by far the most painful and devastating experience.

Today, I’ve been given the opportunity to share my innermost thoughts — an array of mixed emotions that have not been shared openly with many — that have been piling up over the last few years.

Those who have known me, bear an impression of one who always smiles even during immense crisis. I have been perceived as a “strong” individual.

Here is where I confess my weakness in the human flesh, and the strength to deal with the challenges of life by a strong faith in the Divine. Yes, I do have more than my fair share of “low” moments whereby I choose to cope in quietness, to stay aloof and in prayer, and to lay my emotions at the feet of Almighty God. I realize I need to stay strong for my family at this time and remain calm outwardly.

Coming back to sharing my thoughts — needless to say, my sons have been the strongest source of inspiration in my life. In the past I have shared “My Magical Moments” pertaining to my younger son Kavin, who was born with a congenital defect (no ears at birth), and who, by the grace of God, is a board certified radiologist now and happily married to his beautiful wife Ameena with whom he is raising two lovely daughters, Riya and Sophia. Praise God! Today, my older son Sumant is battling a life threatening illness for which a cure has yet to be discovered. He was diagnosed with Anaplastic Astrocytoma (stage three) in October 2009, at which point his lovely wife Kavita was eight months pregnant. A month later she gave birth to their gorgeous daugh-

12

ter Sarina on November 14, 2009 — which also happens to be his own birthday. What an awesome birthday present!

At that time, Sumant went through a complete left frontal lobectomy, a course of chemotherapy, and radiation. He was cancer-free until February 2015 when a tumor showed up during a routine MRI, much to the surprise of his neuro-oncologist and himself . He had experienced no symptoms of any kind!

He went through another surgery, and this time the pathology report revealed secondary glioblastoma (grade 4), a very deadly and fast growing tumor, with medically proven poor prognosis statistically. I am trying very hard to stay positive.

At this time, Sumant may become eligible for a clinical trial involving a vaccine. His very competent neuro-oncologist also encourages the consumption of curcumin and other such holistic practices, keeping chemotherapy as a back-up.

I am sure you are aware that clinical trials bear no guarantee; therefore it is my humble request to everyone to continue to lift him up in your prayers. I believe strongly that the power of collective prayer is beyond imagination and has sustained him thus far. Thank you.

Sumant has maintained an unbelievably positive outlook and has offered no complaints in dealing with the ongoing struggles and challenges due to the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation. He has been such a tremendous source of inspiration and encouragement, not only to himself, but also to numerous individuals all over the world, thanks to modern technology. Sumant is an optometrist by profession in Dallas.

In addition to working full-time, he continues to remain a loving and responsible husband and father.

This is the positive side of my “mixed” emotions. However, I cannot ignore the fact of the gravity of this situation.

In my humanness, and also as a result of being a healthcare professional myself, the pain of dealing with reality is more than overwhelming. Fears are only natural.

During my prayers ever since I can remember, even as a child, I was taught never to ask for tangible or materialistic blessings, but to seek Divine wisdom, guidance, and strength to deal with whatever situations I was faced with — and I did adhere to this principle, till I saw the suffering my son and the family were going through.

I confess that my prayers have now taken a selfish turn, whereby I do ask God to heal Sumant completely. His wife needs a husband and his daughter needs a daddy.

And if it comes to “bargaining” with God, I pray that my life and goodness of health be transferred to my son. God has been

very merciful in having from their cheerleadblessed me with a “full” ers and coaches. This life, and at this point I brought a big smile to am living a bonus. his face, and a gush of I fall short of words emotions. The magical in expressing my thankmoment touched every fulness to the Almighty heart that witnessed it God for having blessed Needless to say, it was me with so much love not easy for me to hold and a beautiful family. I back my tears. do try and make every A big thank you effort and avail of every to the Houston Rockets opportunity to spend as Organization and to Bindu Malhotra with her son Sumant much time together as Sumant’s friends Rishi possible.

Goswami, Arjun MohinBetween Kavin, Ameena, Sumant, and myself, who are dra, and Akash Bhagat for their hard work and efforts in trying all healthcare professionals, it takes a lot of scheduling to be to ease Sumant’s recovery and for standing by him during this able to achieve this. Oh, how I wish Sumant and his family difficult period. lived in Houston!

Last but not least, I am eternally thankful to God for Very often I wish I could drop everything and take off having chosen me to bear and raise my sons and for allowing to Dallas to offer my much needed physical and emotional me the privilege of becoming their mom. I am also immensely support. Unfortunately, with my husband having retired, my grateful for all the wonderful lives that have touched them, employment has become a necessity. As of now my family and also for the innumerable lives they continue to be a part medical leave is also exhausted, leaving me with a sense of of on a daily basis. extreme frustration and helplessness.

May God keep us together in His love and may He be Over the years, I have learned to treasure each living glorified through these times of tests and trials. This is a sinmoment as well as good health and relationships. All three cere and heartfelt blessing bestowed on this mother. are invaluable and cannot be bought with any amount of This is also my prayer for everyone who may be going wealth. I have learned not to take life for granted or to comthrough any kind of crisis, especially within their families. plain about daily struggles, but to deal with life’s situations Please stay strong, pray for each other, and together we shall with the strong belief that God is in complete control. We may overcome! Miracles do happen, and I am continuing to pray not know what the future holds, but we do know who holds for one. the future.

In closing, I would like to share my favorite hymn from Sumant is very blessed to have innumerable individuGuru Granth Sahib — a hymn of blessing from a mother to her als who love him dearly and care deeply for his wellbeing. It child: Poota Maata ki Aasees. would be very appropriate for me to share the most memoraThis hymn can be accessed online at www.sikhnet.com ble surprise that his friends had given him recently: personal along with English translations for those that may be interget well messages from the entire team of the Houston ested.

Rockets, of whom he has been a long time fan, as well as Happy Mother’s Day. Bindu Malhotra has been a resident of Houston for the past 25 years. She works in the healthcare indusrty as a certified maternal/child nurse. In the time she makes to spare, Bindu volunteers in taking care of the needy and infirm. Recently, she launched SAFEST, South Asians For Each other’s Spiritual Toning, an organization to avail, enjoy and gain support for uplifting each other’s spirits. Her passion lies in music and she offers vocal support to her group, the Heartbeats. Bindu can be reached at bindia2@earthlink.net www.hummagazine.com

May 2015

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Mother’s Day: An Homage to Divine

Mother in All Mothers

BY ROBERT ARNETT “Though bad sons are many, never has there been a bad mother.”

Swami Shankara Prayer to the Divine Mother for Forgiveness of Sins In the West, most people think of God as masculine or fatherly. In Hindu mythology, God is depicted as both masculine and feminine, and as a result, in India, many Hindus like to refer to God as Mother Divine. Many Hindus feel that the Mother aspect of God is the closest and most beautiful of all the relationships they have with the Lord, because the essence of a true mother, unlike the father, is love and forgiveness, no matter how naughty her child may be.

As Divine Mother’s representatives on earth, mothers

love their children unconditionally, with or without cause. In that sense each woman is an expression of the unconditional love of God. One of women’s most admirable traits to me is her compassion. It is one of the twenty-six soul qualities that is mentioned in The Bhagavad Gita that makes man God-like.

Compassion towards all beings (daya) is necessary for Godrealization, for it is said that God Himself is overflowing with that quality.

In traditional Hindu homes, the children are brought up to respect both the mother and father as gods, and the mother dedicates her life to nurturing and inculcating values in her children. Women are the devotional ones who hold the marriage, family, and heterogeneous country of India togeth-

Top left: A temporary shrine constructed for the Sarasvati Puji. Hindus worship Sarasvati as the goddess of learning, wisdom, knowledge, music, art, and culture. She holds a vina, a musical instrument, symbolizing the cosmic sound “Aum” from which the universe was created.

Goddess Sarasvati is traditionally depicted riding a swan or a peacock. The variegated plumage of the peacock symbolizes the planets, stars, luminaries, Milky Way, and universes that God miraculously created from the dark nothingness of the Cosmic Void. The swan, which separates water from the solids that it scoops up in its beak, represents our need to discriminate between ignorance and wisdom in our daily thoughts and actions. Serampore, West Bengal.

Top right: Durga image made in contemporary style. Durga is the embodiment of Shakti, the female creative energy that governs all cosmic creation, existence, and change. Durga Festival. Kolkata (Calcutta), West Bengal.

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Women lighting lamps in front of a sacred banyan tree before praying to God. Offerings of areca nuts and betel leaves, symbolizing devotion and respect, are an ancient tradition in Assam whose roots go back to its aboriginal culture. Note the bells hanging in the background.

Local belief is that prayers made under the tree come true.

After the prayers are answered, the custom is to return to tie a bell to one of its branches. Tilinga Mandir (Bell Temple), Tinsukia District. Dibrugarh area, Assam. (p.

235).

www.hummagazine.com

May 2015

A woman and child in front of Buddhist prayer ags. Note the marking of the spiritual eye on their foreheads. Diwali festival.

Observatory Hill, Darjeeling, West Bengal. (p. 214)

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er. It is difficult to imagine what life would be like for a child who is raised without a mother. But a mother should learn to expand and give unconditional divine love to all.

Paramahansa Yogananda* has said that “those who look upon all women as incarnations of the Mother Divine find in them a sacredness that is inviolable… and that every man who looks upon woman as an incarnation of the Immortal Mother will find salvation…. When you can see every woman as your mother, as some of the Godrealized masters in India did, universal love comes into your heart.” Though very rare in contemporary American life, the father of one of my childhood friends always addressed his wife as “Mother.”

A story is told of some skeptics of a great saint in India who decided to test him, and sent to him some beautiful prostitutes. Immediately he jumped up and said: “Mother Divine, in these forms You have come to me. I bow to you all.” The women were ashamed and knelt before him. From that moment onwards, they were spiritually changed.

The Mother aspect of God also plays a very important role in Hindu cosmology. Poetically, after God created the cosmos, He withdrew from it and no longer takes an active role in creation. Instead, Cosmic Nature (Prakriti) became God’s consort in creation. It is from the womb of Cosmic Nature that Comic Intelligence, the only reflection of God in the world, was born.

In Hindu mythology, to enable humankind to understand the complexity of God, His different functions within creation, though indivisible, are separated among various goddesses, including Sarasvati, the feminine aspect of the Creator; Kali, the Cosmic Mother of the universe; and Durga, the feminine form of creation. Durga is the embodiment of Shakti, the female creative energy that governs all cosmic creation, existence, and change.

In Hinduism, the power resides with the goddesses, and they are the ones who actively oversee the governance of creation.

Abraham Lincoln, one of America’s greatest presidents and possibly the country’s most spiritual president, gave a poignant personal testimony to the importance of his mother in his life. He said, “All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my mother.”

This Mother’s Day let us celebrate the occasion by honoring not just our own mother, wife, or female family members, but all women, as the pure divine channel for Divine Mother to love all children — not just their own — unconditionally. Let us bow to the divinity within each mother.

A woman praying in the holy Ganges River. Varanasi (Banaras), Uttar Pradesh.

*Man’s Eternal Quest by Paramahansa Yogananda, “God’s Nature in the Mother and the Father”, published by Self-Realization Fellowship, Los Angeles, CA. Robert Arnett is the author and photographer of internationally acclaimed India Unveiled and multi-award-winning children’s book Finders Keepers?.

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

May 2015

Mother

How do you say goodbye to your mother?

You cannot.

You don’t.

All you can say are words that will fall so short of expressing the heaviness in your heart.

How can you express the emptiness, the vacuum, the nothingness you will feel when she is not here?

You cannot.

You don’t.

You can see pictures and videos to recapture the innumerable moments of joy.

But there are no cameras or recorders to capture the warmth of her love.

These affectionate memories are singed in your heart.

How do you say goodbye to your mother?

You cannot.

You don’t.

Because, a mother never leaves her children.

She is in you and others around you.

Wherever she goes, you will meet her.

Again and again and again.

Pradeep Anand

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supported by

Anand & Dr. Ashima Chauhan

the Puppeteer, his Puppets, r i e h t and Timeless Stories

BY Sowmya Nandakumar

Dattatreya Aralikatte

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I really cannot recall when was the last that I resorted to seeking gratification from a puppet show.

But, something about the mention of puppets thoroughly excited me, momentarily enriching my visual thought process that instantly filled with color, movement, storytelling, music and mirth. It was happenstance that I met Sri Dattatreya Aralikatte, a Master Puppeteer from Bangalore, India, who was here on vacation with his wife, Ramamani, spending time with their two sons and families.

Dattatreya, or Datta as he affectionately called, is an award winning and acclaimed puppeteer, regards puppeteering as an ancient and exclusive art mentioned in a chapter of Atharva Veda (one of four Vedic texts in the Hindu religion) titled Puthali Ka Prayoga – construction and uses of puppets. He inherited this venerable art form from his forefathers, who five generations ago, won accolades from the Maharaja of Mysore. This invaluable inheritance isn’t just an artistic skill to Datta but his ultimate passion – his life’s purpose.

“Many a time, in place of earning money for having entertained, he has had to invest his own financial resources to get the show going,” says Karthik, his elder son Both of Datta’s sons, Karthik and Manohar, recall their childhood being filled with many vividly animated puppet shows, for which Manohar helped with puppeteering and Karthik assisted with stage set up, and other production logistics. Datta heads his own puppet theater company, Puthali Kalaranga and his wife too is an integral part of it. The company’s logo, the face of Lord Krishna holding the flute, was sketched by Karthik (now a father of two) when he was eight years old.

Scenes from Kumara Sambhava using Mudrika style traditional puppets

Girija Kalyan

a

Cherishing childhood memories, Karthik has preserved one of his father’s puppets, a woman in a sari, adorned with traditional Indian accessories. What adds greater value to the puppet is that Datta sculpted and built it. He researches and engineers the creation of all his puppets. “The puppets are an embodiment of my life. Making them is like giving life to a new child,” stresses Datta.

He explained that constructing puppets involves emulating human anatomy. His puppets are made of a specific kind of wood, and built to proportion with a certain amount of innate mobility and flexibility in pivotal joints, like the human body, with a supportive spine and torso. They are 3-3.5 feet tall and weigh about 18 pounds. They have arms but no legs. In performance, the puppeteer’s legs become the puppet’s legs. There are five kinds of puppets commonly used in India – puppets maneuvered with strings, rods; strings and rods; leather puppets and glove puppets.

Datta’s are string and rod puppets.

Their working is intricate. The puppet is borne on the head of the standing puppeteer, by means of an oval shaped rope from which the three strings of the puppet suspend. It hangs from the puppeteer’s head down. The strings and rods are now accessible to maneuver the puppet in performance – which still remains an arduous task. For the puppet to dance, jump and move, the puppeteer has to be on his feet, agile and energetic. Every small movement of the puppet requires the puppeteer to exert his muscles. Little did I know the immense physical labor entailed until I saw Manohar demonstrate.

The puppet has two iron rods attached to its hand at chinmudra (hand position in Yoga where forefinger meets thumb, and the other fingers point

Rambha and Tharakasura

Parvathi and

uise

Shiva in disg

Bramha and Tarakasura

Dattatreya Aralikatte receives the CCRT (Center for Cultural Resources and Training) National Award from President Dr. K.R. Narayanan in 1999 outwards). Elaborating the spiritual allegory, Datta says, “the forefinger symbolizes Jeevaatma (living soul) and thumb, Paramaatma (God), the union of the two fingers is symbolic of the living soul attaining the eternal being. The three strings represent the trinity of the Hindu Gods, Brahma the creator, Vishnu the protector and Shiva the destroyer, who depict the cycle of birth, life and death. The oval rope from which the the three strings originate stand for Shunya – zero/infinite whole; or Bindu/Nada – the resonating sound of the universe, Om; from which emerged this trinity. The rods symbolize two concepts – Shiva, the masculine force; and Parvati, the feminine force; Dhyava, sky; and Prithvi, earth. They represent separate yet interconnected entities.

Puppeteering requires proficiency in its distinct aspects – the science of constructing a puppet and putting in place the mechanics of operation; the entire gamut of production elements for a puppet show – selection of story, scripting, lighting, music, stage planning and management; and an understanding of the philosophical and spiritual connotations.

“Metaphorically, a traditional puppeteer needs to know not just one sutra (string) of the puppet but all the sutras (strings) required for the whole puppet show, which in the spiritual realm highlights the infinite idea that Lord Krishna, the puppeteer of the universe, knows every string of the universe. Puppeteering is a humbling and spiritual art form to pursue. It serves as a constant reminder of the omniscience of the Almighty,” emphasizes Datta.

“When we were kids we were just enchanted by the puppet shows and wanted to help him in putting them together. It is only much later in our adult lives that we are giving the philosophy and spiritual principles a serious thought,” adds Manohar Datta chooses stories and themes from Hindu mythology. The popular ones are Kumara Sambhava (the union of Lord Shiva and Parvathi, leading to the birth of their son, Lord Karthikeya), Sri Krishna Tulabhara (Satyabhama’s desire to own Lord Krishna), Hanumat Vilasa (feats of the Monkey God, Hanuman, in the Sundara Kandam chapter of the Indian epic, Ramayana). Puthali Kalaranga is the first

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Dattatreya Aralikatte receives National Award for “Best Teacher” from President Abdul Kalam in 2004 company to ever make a puppet show of the writer Kalidasa’s Kumara Sambhava. These stories help bring Indian culture and Hindu deities alive, enabling the audience to relate to them. Performances range between an hour to two and a half hours. Datta’s shows are usually performed in the South Indian languages of Kannada, Telugu and Tamil. He plans to produce puppet shows in Hindi and English too. Every performance requires about 18-20 puppets. Datta has steered Puthali Kalaranga all over India and abroad, presenting shows in Iran, Brazil, and Israel. Puthali Kalaranga performed Kumara Sambhava in Portuguese and Persian illustrating puppet theater’s potential global appeal.

“It is not just a local art. It is a global art. It should be propagated more because keeping it alive is tough. This art form is on the verge of vanishing and needs some oxygen. Sometimes, the oxygen comes from outside,” says Datta, conjuring words to express his emotions.

There are enormous production challenges involved. Several elements of a story need to be re-created to make the story and the characters come alive. For instance, “in Hanumad Vilasa, Hanuman enters Lanka, and sets fire to Ravana’s kingdom. This fire and the resulting chaos needs to be created live on stage, both technically and through the act of puppeteering, and there’s only one chance to get it right,” states Datta. Although a puppet show offers seemingly simple entertainment, it requires expertise in numerous theatrical components, all in addition to the physical task of puppeteering behind the curtain.

Every show is followed by a Q&A session to cultivate audience interest and giving it an opportunity to interact with the puppeteers.

Datta invites interested members backstage to experience first hand all the production arrangements. He discusses the philosophical implications of puppeteering with the curious inquirer.

“Classically, there are three forms of ranjana – entertainment; jana ranjana – entertainment for the general public; mano ranjana – individual entertainment; and atma ranjana – entertainment for the soul. In puppeteering, all the three forms of entertainment converge,

making it a holistic art.” He uses this comprehensive medium to scientifically address traditions and practices of the Hindu religious culture, for educational purposes and awareness campaigns in Indian villages, such as the case for girl-child education, issues relating to cleanliness, the environment, etc. He strives for his audience to be entertained and also take away life lessons from a puppet show.

Dattatreya Aralikatte has been bestowed with prestigious awards including Karnataka Janapadha Yakshagana Academy Award and the Centre for Cultural Research and Training “Teachers Award” in 1996. He is recognized for his innovative use of puppetry as an educational aid. He also received the National Award for “Best Teacher” from President Abdul Kalam in 2004. He features in World Puppeteer’s Encyclopedia, the Who’s Who General Knowledge Book and Asia Pacific Men of Arts and Culture.

His honorary titles include “Karnataka Bhushana”, “Puthalika Chakravarthi” and “Puppet King” among others.

He believes that puppetry is a timeless art to be spread and hopes that the resulting vitality be shared with the world. His style of puppetry is the “Mudrika” style — Mudra translates to ‘impression’.

With Mudrika puppetry he leaves in the minds of his audiences a lasting impression of Indian culture, traditions and the richly vibrant heritage of the art form of puppetry with its profound philosophical and spiritual undertones.

Dattatreya Aralikatte and his wife Ramamani with their sons Karthik (right) and Manohor

Sowmya Nandakumar holds a Masters in Mass Communications, University of Houston, and is an alumnus of Stella Maris College, and the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai.

She has worked as assistant director for three feature films including Vaaranam Aayiram with Gautham Menon. She is a certified Yoga instructor teaching in the Houston area, learns ballet and is studying Carnatic music on the violin.

She enjoys writing and freelances for The Hindu occasionally. She may be reached at sowmya1310@gmail.com

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May 2015

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Judo Job Hunting and the art of

BY RAMESH ANAND Judo is a martial art and sport that has fascinated me for over a long period of time. While in college, I learned and practiced the sport and soon realized that it had much more than just exercise, recreation and discipline. Not only did Judo teach me many invaluable lessons of life but also helped me get to meet my future wife, my wonderful Zarina. Among other things, Judo taught me to be resilient without being aggressive; to be respectful without losing self-respect; and to see opportunity in resolving every crisis. Being a Judoka (one who practices Judo) has made me the person I am today.

Judo also helped with my chosen profession of headhunting. I have always had the desire to help people, especially in finding the careers they seek, and headhunting was just the right way for me. I have been passionate about it and have been actively headhunting for over thirty years. During this space of time, I have recruited personnel for a myriad of industries and professionals in nearly every field, and have travelled to wonderful countries in search of talented professionals.

Surprisingly, there are many principles and practices of Judo that can be applied to life in general, and specifically to the process of looking for a job.

Taking a look at some of these principles and processes, I have translated them into how they can be effectively applied to one’s job search. Here are just that you can apply to your job search: Judo Means “Gentle Way” The fundamental principle of Judo is that resisting more powerful opponents will result in your defeat, while adjusting to and evading your opponent’s attack will cause them to lose their balance. As a result, their power will be reduced, and you will defeat them. This principle applies regardless of the relative values of power, thus making it possible for weaker opponents to beat significantly stronger ones.

This also describes the general principle for any job hunt. From the point of applying for a job through the inter-

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view and follow through, your stance should always be soft, but firm. Remember that the hiring manager has a tough task at hand — selecting an appropriate candidate from many competent applicants. During the interview and any subsequent interactions, you may find yourself pushed to a corner.

Your task is to remain collected, understand the issues, and present acceptable solutions. Similarly, while hiring managers often appreciate a candidate following up, it needs to be soft and subtle. One needs to nudge, not push. In Judo, when an opponent pushes, a Judoka merely takes a step back and the opponent will fall on his face. You do not want that to happen to you. Consider sending an occasional email sharing updates that are relevant to the job or the industry, or some other way to let the interviewer know that you are still in the market, without being a bother.

Learn to Break Your Fall The first thing one learns in Judo is to break a fall. I remember when I started learning Judo, my palms were literally black-and-blue after slapping them on hard surfaces as I learned to break my fall. In judo, learning to successfully break a fall is what allows you to get up again and continue the fight.

A job hunt is no different. As a job seeker, you will fall.

Your application may not receive a response, or you may not be selected after an extensive interview process. You must learn to break those falls. Often, this means leaning on the support of friends and family.

If You Fall Seven Times, Make Sure You Get Up Eight Times They say the real art of Judo is falling seven times and getting up eight times. The same applies in a job search.

While you may be suitable for the first seven jobs you applied or interviewed for, there may have been seven others who may have had just a marginal edge over you in suitability.

It is your ability to realize that by getting up each time with

renewed vigor simply ensures that you get the job the eighth time around. I have seen candidates feel disappointed after a rejection; they often blame the interviewer but the secret is to realize that the answer lies within you more than with others.

You are the one looking for a job. Focus on identifying why you fell — it will help you avoid falling the next time.

While practicing Judo, I have been thrown to the ground and fallen hard innumerable times. Each fall gave me an opportunity to understand where I had made a mistake. I learned that the harder I fell, the more inclined I was to understand my error. It made me a better Judoka, and also helped me in life in general. This concept also applies to a job search.

A job search is a process. Like Judo, it was not about just one game, but a series of games, with the goal of emerging as a winner. If you realize that falls — even the hard ones — are just a part of the process, and not the end, it will help you hone your abilities so much better and be prepared for the next interaction.

Judo Begins With a Bow to Show Respect to Your Opponent Any game, whether friendly or competitive, begins and ends with opponents bowing to each other or shaking hands.

This is a sign of respect for each other and acknowledging gratitude for the interaction.

An interview is quite the same.

It may seem hard to believe, but I have heard from HR managers how candidates are often condescending during the interview. For example, senior professionals going through a first-round interview with a relatively junior recruiter may knowingly or unknowingly end up talking down to the interviewer. Others rely on this as a tactic in an effort to make themselves appear in high demand. Don’t do that; it can only hurt your chances. Instead, leverage the opportunity to understand the job better, or to explain to the junior recruiter why you suit the position. By showing respect to an interviewer—

even one doing a screening interview — you have not undersold yourself, but demonstrated your confidence in yourself.

Your Ability to Flow with Things Will Keep You Standing In Judo, it is common to push your opponent in a certain direction to check his sense of equilibrium. The moment your opponent pushes you back, your opportunity opens up and you know your opponent will soon fall.

An interview is no different. A skilled interviewer will nudge you during the interview process, perhaps by questioning your abilities and skill on the job in question. The interviewer is waiting for you to push back, and that is the moment you will falter in your response. It is your ability to flow with the direction and keep your balance that will keep you standing to continue the fight. That is what will make you a winner.

Aim for Maximum Efficiency with Minimum Effort As a Judoka, I always had the disadvantage of being smaller than most of the adversaries I faced. I had to find ways to deliver maximum efficiency with minimum effort. The same principle can be successfully used in a job search as well.

Take a resume, for instance. It needs to be precise, specific, and communicate the strengths you bring to the table. I see a lot of resumes that have a lot of words, and yet say very little. Your resume should include the right amount of action words describing what you have achieved and what you can bring to the employer. Be selective in what information you choose to include in your resume. If it has little bearing on the job you are applying for, consider omitting it.

The same principle holds true during an interview. As a Judoka, if I can gauge my opponent’s strength and weaknesses, I can decide how to leverage his weakness and win the game with minimum effort. Similarly, if you have done your groundwork prior to the interview and know the “pain-points” of the company, you can address the issues during the interview and demonstrate how your experience and knowledge

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May 2015

Ramesh & Zarina (Sunny) Anand.

Zarina is the first woman to get a black belt in Judo.

She was the National Champion of India in her weight category for three consecutive years

can help the company overcome its challenges.

Throwing Someone Who is Trying to Throw You Judo is always a combination of mind and body. As a Judoka, I am trying to throw an equally competent Judoka who is simultaneously devising ways to throw me. My mind has to simultaneously look for ways to attack my opponent while I physically defend myself from being thrown.

As a job seeker, your situation is no different. When you prepare your resume, while you are trying to make yourself appear suitable for a particular job, your interviewer is comparing it to other responses to evaluate why you may be less suitable.

The same holds true during an interview. Your interviewer is assessing you based on your body language and responses.

Stay one step ahead of your interviewer. For example, be on the lookout for trick questions. The most common example is: What are your strengths and weaknesses? Many candidates go overboard when explaining their weakness. You are not in church for a confession. Obviously, be honest; but the question really wasn’t intended to elicit a laundry-list of your personal weaknesses. Find a few examples, preferably those that can also be recast as strengths or potential areas of growth.

You Can’t Win if You Don’t Play As a Judoka, one has to leverage every opportunity that presents itself. Any throw one does not attempt is a lost opportunity.

This also applies to your job search. Opportunities to network present themselves everywhere — at the gym, a social event, or your child’s school. Don’t be pushy, but at the same, time, be on the lookout for opportunities to network. These sorts of connections are what frequently lead you to potential opportunities.

Similarly, during an interview, you need to consistently be on your toes. Whenever the opportunity presents itself, explain why your qualifications and past experiences will provide value

to company. Remember: any opportunity you lose will not come back.

Keep the End Goal in Mind Judo is about using combination of multiple throws and grapple techniques to achieve one final objective: winning the match. The Judoka has to defend against the opponent’s attacks and simultaneously breaking his defense to deliver a throw, followed by one or a multitude of other throws, all of which leads to a final throw that is executed with perfection.

You can apply this to a job search as well. At every stage of the job search process — whether networking, preparing your resume, or giving an interview — you need to be alert and armed with varied combinations and options. During an interview, if one of your answers results in a negative response or body language from the interviewer, you must be flexible enough to immediately change your strategy. Only if you are prepared with alternatives can you manage these issues with the ease of a Judoka, and impress upon the interviewer that you are the perfect person for the job.

Finally, Have a Singular Focus When attempting a Judo throw, my entire body and mind are focusing in that one movement. I must keep my mind extremely alert to the fact that my opponent may also be planning an attack, or may resist my throw with a countermove. My body has to move in sync with my mind to ensure that I execute the technique flawlessly to ensure victory. There is no scope for error or distractions.

A job search is no different. Once you have decided that you will pursue a new job, you need to be focusing in that direction. At any networking opportunity, you should be prepared with an “elevator pitch” about yourself, and a business card or some form of handout about yourself. As in Judo, if you put all your energy and focus in one direction, there is no stopping you from getting hired for a job suited just for you.

Ramesh Anand has worked in the headhunting profession for over thirty years. He is President of American Personnel Resources LLC. He can be contacted at ramesh@aprllc.com

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Asia Society celebrates Asian Pacific American Heritage Month with

AsiaFest

will engage in family-friendly activities such as Burmese lacquerware, Asia Society Texas Center will celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month with AsiaFest — a colorful, entertaining and fun-filled Taiwanese calligraphy, Persian tile designs, henna, among others. Attendees can also purchase local merchandise from Community Cloth, family-friendly event that will engage the Houston community and its neighbors.

Ten Thousand Villages, A.R. Designers, and others.

Houston community performaning artistes will entertain with AsiaFest is a free, two-day event from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM on Polynesian movement, South Asian folk dance, Filipino kundiman Saturday, May 16 and Sunday, May 17 and will feature fusion cuisine, community performaces, creative activities, songs, Taiwanese aboriginal dance, Japanese taiko drumming, and more. exciting artwork, and local vendors.

To cater to the hungry and advenAmong the performances are will be Anjali turous of Bayou City’s culinary diversity, Center for Indian Performing Arts, Kalkriti Performing Arts, Tawain’s Aboriginal Culfood trucks representing the Casian King, Doughmaker Doughnuts, Foreign Policy, tural Tour Group, and Filipino-American hip-hop artist and Houston music legend Belly Up, Flip n Patties, It’s a Wrap, MuiiRocko Stedy Narvios. shi Makirritos, Pho-Jita Fusion, Smoosh The public will also receive compliCookies, Tila’s Taco Truck, Waffle Bus, and mentary admission into the two exhibitions Wokker TX Ranger will be at hand. Asia Socurrently on view; The Other Side: Chinese ciety’s Jade Stone Café will also serve light and Mexican Immigration to America and bites and beverages throughout AsiaFest.

Round Trip: Bicycling Asia Minor, 1891.

Asian movement and fitness demonstrations will include yoga, tai chi, muay For further information, visit thai, vovinam, storytelling, and other demAsiaSociety.org/Texas/AsiaFest2015 onstrations. And the Creative Activity Zone Dancers from Anjali Centers for Indian Performing Arts

Celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month FREE

SATURDAY, MAY 16 and SUNDAY, MAY 17 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM Celebrate Asian Pacific Heritage Month with this family event featuring fusion cuisine, community performances, creative activities, exciting artwork, and local vendors.

AsiaSociety.org/Texas/AsiaFest2015

Pratham Two Decades of Educating With Excellence

BY KALYANI GIRI There was an almost palpable sense of accomplishment and jubilation as Pratham Houston’s founders gathered along with luminaries in education and business, and supporters from Houston’s diverse communities, to celebrate the organization’s milestone two decades of educating underprivileged children in India. With nearly 800 guests in attendance, the fundraising gala event held at the Hilton Americas on April 25, 2015, raked in over $2 million and feted Pratham’s trajectory from a grassroots endeavor birthed on bedrock of innovative ideology and commitment, to the veritable powerhouse of workable models it is today.

With Nina Davuluri, Miss America 2014, serving as Mistress of Ceremonies the evening began with the lighting of the lamp by gala co-chairs Lillie Robertson, Beth Madison, and Harriet Latimer. Noteworthy is it that Robertson was also a pioneering contributor to the cause of Pratham when Vijay and Marie Goradia founded the Houston chapter 20 years ago; the organization has since spawned 13

32 Dr. Marie Goradia, President of Pratham Houston

Photos: Bijay Dixit

more chapters across America.

In her address as President of Pratham Houston, Marie Goradia paid homage to two outstanding Nobel Prize recipients; Kailash Satyarthi for his struggle against child labor, and Malala Yousafzai for her passionate fight for a girl’s right to education.

She told of the hapless plight of the poor in India, particularly young girls, who are trapped in the vicious cycle of poverty, illiteracy, and violence. The statistics are grim; 47% are married and 22% give birth to a child before they are 18.

She lauded Pratham’s co-founder Dr. Madhav Chavan as a “visionary leader with the innovation and passion of an entrepreneur”, who saw the bleak plight of millions of destitute children in India and knew that “education was the key to break that vicious cycle”. Goradia also commended her husband Vijay as “the second visionary” who threw down the gauntlet and galvanized this city into action garnering unprecedented support. www.hummagazine.com

May 2015

Nina Davuluri, Miss America 2014

“With generous donors like you, Pratham has given the gift of high quality education to 40 million children in India and has become a powerful force for education reform. The cost? $25 per child for a whole year, the cost of two pizzas. Your gift today is invaluable, it’s a gift of love, a gift of hope,” said Goradia. Vijay Goradia, in his remarks, reiterated her sentiments and exhorted gatherees to donate generously as a “living legacy to a child”.

Following the screening of a video of a child’s typical day at a Pratham school, keynote speaker Rukmini Banerji told guests that Pratham’s prodigious success was due to the efforts of the children in India as well as US support.

“We didn’t do it alone,” she added. Banerji, a PhD in Economics from Chicago University, is the Director of Pratham’s Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) Center and has earned national and international recognition for her role as an educator, researcher, and innovator par excellence. She is the incoming CEO of Pratham, succeeding Madhav Chavan who will be focusing on shaping the future of Pratham as a fulltime innovator of the second generation of educational and vocational programs.

The Pratham model has already been adopted by and utilized in countries in Asia and Africa, said Banerji. The lives of five million children have already been impacted through Pratham’s collaboration with state governments. The organization’s flagship Read India program reached 4.7 million children. The Pratham Open School for Girls reached 4,200 financially bereft girls and women.

The Pratham Institute empowered 7,100 indigent youth to find employment through vocational training.

“Clearly, our work is not done and we need your help to reach the other 240 million,” she added.

Special honoree for the evening was the Chancellor of the University of Houston, Renu Khator, who was introduced as a “superstar of education”. Regal in a purple saree, Khator told of her passion for learning. She was studying at college when her parents arranged her marriage to Suresh Khator, who brought her to the US as a young bride. Desperate for a higher education, she enrolled at Purdue University but her lack of English language skills frustrated her. Khator confided that she had to work much harder than other students, but she prevailed because of a supportive husband.

Up for auction at the gala were: jewelry donated by Karat 22; Bon Vivant Gourmet Packages from local restaurants Bombay Brasserie, Kirans, SongTran Thai Kitchen, and India’s; and 40 interior design hours from Nina Magon of Contour Interior Design.

Dinner was catered by Daawat, a division of Madras Pavilion.

Dinny DeVitre, Chairman of Pratham USA, presents a token of appreciation to Dr. Rukmini Banerji, Director of Pratham ASER Center

Vijay Goradia, Founder of Pratham USA presents a token of appreciation to Dr. Madhav Chavan, Founder of Pratham

The more that you read, The more things you will know.

The more that you learn, The more places you’ll go.

— Dr. Seuss

34

From left, Dr. Madhav Chavan, Dr. Rukmini Banerji, Dr. Suresh Khator, Dr. Renu Khator, Dinny Devitre, Dr. Marie Goradia, and Vijay Goradia

Way of Water Mother of Life

36

BY TAJANA MESIC

Water Days International Festival in Vodice, Croatia

At 21, I thought that spending a summer surrounded by water was all I needed to be happy. While studying business and communication at the University of Alabama, my semesters were long, work hours longer, and the summers couldn’t arrive soon enough. The Tuscaloosa summers are pleasant and Florida beaches within a few hours’ drive.

After a good friend, an international student from Iceland and a certified PADI scuba instructor offered to teach me how to scuba dive, I embraced spending my summer on the Florida beaches, surrounded by friends and learning to better explore secrets found off the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. It’s never been more gratifying to learn about the currents, fish species, how to read the regulator, how to equalize, and many other things one needs to know while swimming 30 feet below surface, surrounded by nothing but water and a diving buddy. Water became my teacher for that summer and for life.

I always loved water. Ever since my Dad taught me to swim at the age of two, at the cerulean blue beaches of my native Adriatic, I was a natural explorer. Each summer of my childhood, swimming in the sea became my favorite pastime. All by myself, I would go far out to the surf, snorkel for shells and enjoy the quiet of the deep blue water with nothing but my snorkel, fins and the deep unknown.

Albert Einstein said that there is more perfection in the single drop of water than in any machine created by man. Each summer, I would learn anew, revel in the swimming and exploring, and my body would learn its limits of how deep to go, how far to swim out, and how

www.hummagazine.com

May 2015

Plitvice Lakes in Croatia to respect the sea. My love for Nature and its preservation was born in these early days of my childhood and has been fostered over my lifetime.

Water is also filled with symbolism, which differs from culture to culture and is reflected in art. It is mostly respected as the Mother and Source of Life, found at the beginning and at the end of all life. Water plays part in the Circle of Life and connects our bodies to our souls. And connects people. Scientists say that eighty percent of Earth’s surface is covered by water and that our bodies are composed of ninety percent water.

Only one percent of all flowing water on this Earth is potable water – the rest is either ocean water or glaciers and ice. The rich water cape enveloping Mother Earth earned our planet the name of Blue Planet, sparking creation of beautiful art all over our world in many cultures.

During my March trip to Croatia, I met a young artist who is deeply inspired by water. Denis Kovacic discovered his passion for drawing and his passion for water in high school.

Despite his youth, he understands that if you respect water, water will respect you. Commemorating UN Water Days, his artistic drawing “Water Handshake” won first place in the recent Water Days International Festival in the coastal Croatian city of

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Vodice.

Water is the source of life, and for the city of Vodice, it is existence itself. The city was built on abundant sources of water. “Water means life and abundance. In March 2015, the city hosted the Water Days International Festival. Through images and music, the artists reminded visitors of the beauty of the landscape, the need to preserve it and pay attention to it, to enjoy its purity and leave it clean for future generations,” said Branka Juricev Martincev, Mayor of Vodice.

Cultural promoter Zoran Skugor founded the “Water Source of Life” art exhibit in 2011. With over 50 international water-themed art pieces, the exhibit has a goal of traveling all over the globe. The exhibit features musical performances by violinist Goran Koncar, pianist Stephen Kovacevich and cellist David Grigorian.

While talking with another colleague – Miro Kasumovic, an executive with Aquaviva in Zagreb, Croatia, I learned that he decided to dedicate his life and his career to water. He often visits the majestic Croatian islands of Hvar and Brac and enjoys the natural beauty of Plitvice Lakes, one of Croatian national wonders.

“Water was always the guiding light for me. We carry our

Denis Kovachich with “Water Handshake”

Another “water” drawing by young Croatian artist Denis Kovachich life with us, and to live it fully we need water. It fascinates me over and over again.

Water is my love, my quietude, my word, and my friend,” Kosumovic said.

With a surface area over 70,000 acres, Plitvice Lakes National Park is the largest of Croatia’s eight national parks.

It became a National Park in 1949 and was included in the UNESCO list of World Natural Heritage sites.

The Park is abundant with beech and fir forests and meadows with many diverse species of plants and animals.

Over 1,200 different species of plants, including 75 endemic plants and 55 differ-

ent species of orchids have ben recorded.

Over 300 species of butterflies, 101 species of birds and 21 species of bats have been recorded as well.

I’ve learned a lot since those early college days in Tuscaloosa, but my love for water remains. Water always finds a way. By giving water, we extend our friendship to others. Many people don’t understand that and think that water is just to drink and washing. Water gives us great lessons. It always flows onwards and doesn’t take a look back. It breaks all barriers or goes wisely under it. We need to be more like water.

Tajana Mesic is a sustainability consultant with GGG Sustainability Solutions, a speaker and a City of Fulshear Councilwoman. GGG is a fullservice sustainability and resource efficiency consulting firm, providing clients with professional services and guidance on integrating sustainability strategy into operations in a financially viable way.

Fashion Foray

at U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship River Oaks Tennis Tournament

BY By Michelle Leigh Smith

The Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championing matches. Ashmore has all the presence of a Thomas Hardy ship River Oaks Tennis Tournament has grown so international, suitor, with his quiet brooding and resolute demeanor. Poindexit now requires two airline sponsors, Emirates, a commercial carter shares that Hermes is his primary destination for Christmas rier and Western Airways, a private airlines based in an opulent gifts as well. hangar off Highway 6 once owned by Alan Stanford.

The dapper Sid and Ann Mashburn, were also seen freThe matches, where the speed of the aces has been known quenting the posh Lexus Lounge throughout the week long exto rival that of scud missiles, have an intimate, collegial feel perience. Their first Texas outpost of the Atlanta-based clothing because the players stay with River Oaks Country Club members store is at 2515 River Oaks, replete with colorful trousers, Levi’s, during the week-long tournament.

Barbour jackets and Sartono blazers, as well as Sid’s namesake CoAmerica bankers Jonathan Heine and Jeff Treadway say collection of tailored suits. He was thrilled to see so many women the classy River Oaks Tennis Tournament is their number one cliwearing crisp, feminine sunbonnets. ent relationship building event of the year. “It’s centrally located, Jeremy Doran, who is in charge of business development for it’s a world-class event and sponsor Western Airways, our clients love coming out,” Inc., a private airline with Heine confided.

22 jets in their stable, Bellaire Realtor Rachel says, “We look forward to Crochet says she is somethe tournament all year times the guest of a title as it is a great opportunity company, other times she to thank our clients for will he daughter Caley and their continued patronher friends. “At some point I age.” Western is owned will be selling them a house, by oilman Keith Mosing, but Thursday night, it was grandson of the founder just about having a Girls’ of Frank’s Casing Crew Night Out,” says Crochet. “I and Rental Tools (now started going years ago as Frank’s International) the guest of a title company who brought his five-yearwho would often invite their old twins, Nicholas and top producers. You can Marshall out Friday night. certainly network while you Keith and Alice Mosing are there.” are hosting Serbian player Winfield Campbell and Janko Tipsarevic and his In the first all-American final at the U.S. Clay Court Championships since 2003, his wife Lynn have front 14-month old daughter, Jack Sock defeated Sam Querrey 7-6(9), 7-6(2) for his maiden ATP singles title. row seats in the stadium.

Emilie, in their home.

Sock is the first American to claim his maiden ATP title on clay since Andy Roddick Campbell, an attorney with Lenny Matuszewski in 2001. He’s now 19-3 in singles and doubles for 2015, including one singles title and one doubles title, since coming back from a three month hiatus due to injury Campbell & Riggs is CEO and Tootsies presented of Becks Prime which has their annual fashion show a popular presence on the over the swimming pool grounds in a tent between the club and the tennis stadium. Beat the River Oaks Country Club, this year with a Cirque de Soleil tween matches, Campbell relishes catching up with friends in the theme opening the sold-out show. Ballgowns galore graced Lexus Pavilion, the VIP sponsor tent for the tournament, known the runway, including some by Naeem Khan, Emilio Pucci and for its caviar and Texas quail, lamb and premium beef. He is both pageant designer Sherri Hill, who designed a gorgeous black excited and proud that this is the 81st Anniversary of the River tulle gown topped with a silver leather jacket. Through the years, Oaks Tennis Tournament.

ROCC winners have included Vitas Gerulaitis, Bjorn Borg, John IsCampbell buys his custom shirts at Norton Ditto, in blue ner and Fernando Verdasco. Identical twins Bob and Mike Bryan, cotton with white collar and cuffs. Energy magnate John Poindexwinners in 2010, played in their band with their father Wayne one ter and financial advisor Marshall Ashmore with UBS follow his night, poolside. The Bryan boys have been playing since age six, course, adding a yellow or soft peach Hermes tie for the evenfrom their home turf in Camarillo, CA to Dubai.

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Dick and Susan Hansen joined friends in the Lexus Lounge at the 2015 U.S. Men’s Clay Championship ROCC tournament

Kokin’s red rose spring sunbonnet adorned a black and white strapless Dolce & Gabbana dress

Marshall Ashmore and oilman John Poindexter both chose Hemes ties for an afternoon at ROCC Men’s U.S. Clay Championship matches

Photos by Michelle Leigh Smith

Kathleen and Terry White of New Orleans chose Pucci and a Tom Ford floral pant from London

Western Airways’ Business Development Director Jeremy Doran with Cindy Stephens, Heath and Cynthia Barnes www.hummagazine.com

May 2015

A Mum in a Million

BY HELEN BUNTTING LANGTON My mother was a woman before her time. She was born in 1915 and as she often joked: “I left school at break time’’. At that time, girls were seen as little other than future wives and mothers - careers were for men and boys. She left school at age 12 and became a nanny. At 15, she met my dad, and at 16 she became a bride. My mum spent the first 9 years of her marriage grief-stricken because she was unable to have babies. A simple operation on the floor of a mud hut back in 1941 sorted her problem out and in 1942 her dearest dream came true when she gave birth to my eldest brother, the first of 7 children. My mum fell in love with her children and we became her greatest treasures. Her love was absolute, unconditional and complete. I am the mum I am today simply because I had the best mum in the world - Margaret or Maggie as she was called.

When I was a little girl growing up, my mother would sometimes say that she missed her mother. She was in her late forties and grey headed and I couldn’t for the life of me imagine her as someone’s child. My grandparents had all passed away by the time I was born and because there were no photos of them, I couldn’t relate to the idea of my parents having parents. Now, 18 years after my mother has passed away, I fully understand my mother’s words. I miss my mum and there are so many moments when only a mother will do.

Her voice, her laughter, her quirkiness. It’s all just a whisper away in all the memories I have of her.

Even though mum didn’t finish school she valued education for women and insisted that her four daughters have the same educational opportunities as her three sons.

She ended up with two teachers and two nurses. My mother never learnt to drive a car but she was an accomplished horse rider. One night, while my dad was away fighting in the trenches of World War II she rode many miles in the dark to fetch the doctor for her very sick child. On another occasion intruders threatened all the women and kids living together because of the war. Mum didn’t really know how to handle a gun but she picked up the rifle and fired it… into the ceiling! I don’t know who was more shocked, the intruders or my mum but they retreated very quickly from the crazy woman with the gun. Mum was also a healer. Doctors were few and far between in the wilds of Underberg in the 40’s.

Using natural herbs she cured many very ill kids and adults with her herbal remedies.

There were two things that children in my time could expect from their parents: Strict discipline and being fed to within an inch of their life. My parents included scolding, lectures and physical discipline as part of their child rearing

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practices. Nobody in my family was an abused child but we had a healthy respect for the possibility of the ‘rod’ if we became too disobedient and recalcitrant.

My parents always gave us the ‘talk’ about why we were being punished and afterwards they would wrap us in affection and warm hugs.

As for food, this was a way that mums in the old days showed love and affection. They would cook huge amounts and expect them to be eaten, every single morsel. There was always food in our home even though my parents weren’t wealthy. Visitors were always given something to eat whether they were expected or not. When mum and dad came to boarding school once a term we were enthralled by the amount of food she would bring along. My cousins remember her roast chicken with great fondness because everyone was invited to pitch in.

Mum remained old-fashioned about some things but as the years went by she learnt some lessons from her kids. She was horrified on the occasion when she saw my husband ironing his own pants. She took me aside and had a stern word with me. At the time when he was ironing his pants I was cooking a meal in between breastfeeding my new baby. I gently told my mum he was not handicapped.

She eventually became a convert to the idea of men helping in the house and I’d hear her scold my dad in later years for being a lazy man and not being like his son-in-law!!

My mum left us a legacy of courtesy, respect, dignity, and pride in ourselves. She also had the most infectious sense of humour. Sometimes even now, when a madcap idea enters my head or I’m absolutely caught up in a funny situation, I hear echoes of my mum’s delightful laughter in my own. When people die they leave behind a ripple effect of memories in the way they lived, the lessons they taught, the love they shared. My mum didn’t just leave a ripple effect.

She left behind an ocean of memories, love and longing.

Whether you’re “mum” or “mom” to your brood, here’s wishing you a very Happy Mother’s Day.

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.

Acclaimed as the best book of its type on India In over 10,000 school and public libraries

Over 40,000 Copies Sold

• Newly released Expanded and Revised Edition in larger format • 308 pages, 9.5” x 12.5”, Hardcover • Organized by regions into six chapters with seven color maps • 307 color photographs on 170 gram Garda gloss art, acid-free paper • ISBN: 979-0965290098

To order a copy of India Unveiled or other books by Robert Arnett, or to learn more about how you can donate books to your schools or libraries through the Indian American Education Foundation-Atman Press School Library Project, please visit www.AtmanPress.com or telephone 706-323-6377. www.hummagazine.com

May 2015

How can

immigration law

finance your new business?

Highlights of the program

EB-5

BY MISHTY DEB As a country, the United States wants to attract people that will start and invest in small businesses. The US would like for these types of individuals to immigrate to the U.S. as opposed to other countries. Policy makers believe that creative small business is essential to the robustness of the economy and as such these types of immigrants are highly desirable as they will bring innovation, jobs, and continued economic growth that might otherwise go elsewhere. For this purpose, the EB-5 investor program was created. In this article, we will dwell on some of the key highlights of the EB-5 program, but this is by no means everything you need to know and we encourage everyone to do thorough research and to consult with an attorney.

There are 2 main categories of people who are interested in EB-5 investor visas. The first are immigrant entrepreneurs who are interested in starting a business or investing in a business, have the capital to invest, and are looking for a non-family alternative to visa status for themselves and their families. The second category of individuals are those entrepreneurs seeking to raise capital for their business through the EB-5 program by setting up their business as a qualified EB-5 investor center.

The benefits to applicants applying under the EB-5 program include the following: First and foremost, that the applicant is not subject to quotas or waiting lists in this preference category, which is a typical issue with more traditional employment based visa routes. Second, the EB-5 program often allows a foreign national a more expeditious path to permanent residence status. Some applicants have had their applications processed and through the program received approved for

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citizenship within as little as 5 years. Third, all nationalities may apply. There are no language requirements and the applicant has job flexibility. Additionally, the EB-5 investor visas program can provide a path for the investor and their immediate family to permanent residency in the U.S. (This includes the principal investor and the investor’s spouse and unmarried children under 21). Because employment is not a requirement, the applicant also doesn’t need to prove up an employment offer. This is especially attractive for those that do not have qualified sponsoring family members for family based visa programs.

Requirements for the program include: Investing in a commercial enterprise that will create 10 full time jobs for U.S. workers for at least 2 years, demonstrating that the money invested must come from authenticated and verifiable legal sources and showing that said Investment is not just passive. This means investor must have an active management role. In case this sounds too good to be true, you should note that the process is not cheap. The last central requirement for applying for an EB-5 investors is that the applicant invest either $500,000 in a targeted rural area or high unemployment area, or $1 million in other areas. Yikes! Why is the investment threshold so high?

This is because the purpose of the EB-5 investor program is to fast track entrepreneurs who will start and invest in businesses that create jobs for U.S. citizens.

How does this help innovators that are already in the U.S.?

Specifically, the program allows for investment through creating a business or investing in an existing EB-5 regional business center. Each year approximately 3,000 visas are specifically

set aside for EB-5 investors who invest through these regional centers. So, in essence, by having your business set up as an EB- 5 center, you have made yourself highly desirable to those looking to invest in a regional center to meet their investment requirement. Today, there are over six hundred EB-5 centers and the number grows every day. Those who invest through a regional center are given priority by the USCIS. Investing in a regional center can take the form of a partnership between the investor and the regional center in a specific project. Regional centers often offer both equity- and loan-based projects allowing investors to be less involved compared to if they invested in their own private for-profit enterprise. This model can allow investors the freedom to have other jobs or work on other projects.

Those who want a great deal of control over their investment may opt for creating their own for profit business instead.

Highly experienced business professionals may prefer the flexibility of their own project. This is especially true for experienced business entrepreneurs with the opportunity to create a business that will create the requisite 10 full-time jobs for U.S. citizens up front. But for obvious reasons, Regional Centers are popular options since they have already been approved aftersuccessfully completing the business plan vetting processes.

Note: there is a perception that because Regional Centers are “government approved” that the investment is “safer,” but this assumption is false. Investments must by definition be totally at risk to qualify for the EB-5 program. This means the investment cannot be guaranteed. However, it does not mean that any investment is more or less risky. The amount of risk depends on the specific project.

If you are interested in starting your own business as an EB-5 regional center you need to have the following: First and foremost, you will need a clear and well written business plan that demonstrates that your regional center is a legal and successful investment venture. This includes demonstrating that your regional center has technical and financial resources

to operate as both a investment and a employment-generating venture. You will need to show that you have sufficient human capital and experience to operate and execute the plan. Since, the EB-5 program is based on promoting job creation for U.S. citizens, you must show that your regional center will provide jobs. In fact the EB in EB-5 stands for “employment based”. The purpose of having a regional center is to encourage immigrant investors to invest in business that create jobs. The plan and the application must meet the burden of proof required by the USCIS to be acceptable, which means it is well worth the time and investment to consult with an expert attorney when putting this together. Without meeting the essential elements and burden of proof EB-5 applications may be rejected or subject to lots of back and forth with USCIS. Once a business files an application with USCIS for a regional center it will usually take several months at best before getting approval. It is very important that the business not collect any money or advertise in any way or solicit any investment until such approval. This can get businesses and investors in major trouble with law enforcement and securities regulators. Consult with your EB-5 attorney if this is an issue and discuss options such as setting up an escrow fund to hold funds contingent upon approval. Businesses may file for expedited review if project delay is an eminent concern due to lack of funds or inability to spend funds because of delay in waiting for approval.

While EB-5 regional centers are a creative way of starting and financing a business, these types of ventures require expertise. It is unadvisable to go through the process without using a good attorney. You should not only feel comfortable with your attorney, but they should also understand your business and ultimate goals. Communication with counsel is critical.

To learn more about EB-5 visas and EB-5 regional centers visit the USCIS website at http://www.uscis.gov/eb-5 The law is ever-changing, so be sure to also sign up for USCIS updates.

Mishty Deb is a founding partner of LaSusa & Deb, PLLC, attorneys at law, and author of the blog LawGirl101.com She has worked extensively in the public, non-profit and private sectors of the legal field. She successfully represents both individuals and large institutions, providing practical counsel that helps transform long-term business goals into reality while addressing daily operational challenges. Her approach to providing effective legal counsel is to think logically, critically, and creatively — she encourages her clients to do the same. She may be contacted at Mishty@LaDebLaw.com

www.hummagazine.com

May 2015

coming to your neck of the woods

Celebrating Mother Earth In all Her Glory

Earth Day is a celebration of life on this planet and is that energy with an emerging public consciousness about air and celebrated around the world in over 175 countries. It brings focus water pollution, it would force environmental protection onto the to environmental and humanitarian issues on a large scale. The national political agenda. Senator Nelson announced the idea for actual date of the official Earth Day and the first to initiate the a “national teach-in on the environment” to the national media; holiday are subjects of current day controversy, but whatever day persuaded Pete McCloskey, a conservation-minded Republiyou celebrate Mother Earth, there are many things that you can can Congressman, to serve as his co-chair; and recruited Denis do locally to educate and affect change on a global level.

Hayes as national coordinator. Hayes built a national staff of 85 Each year, Earth Day — April 22 — marks the anniversary to promote events across the land. of what many consider the birth of the modern environmental As a result, on the 22nd of April, 20 million Americans movement in 1970. took to the streets, parks, and auditoriums to demonstrate for At the height of hippie and a healthy, sustainable environment in flower-child culture in the United massive coast-to-coast rallies. ThouStates, 1970 brought the death of sands of colleges and universities orJimi Hendrix, the last Beatles album, ganized protests against the deterioraand Simon & Garfunkel’s Bridge Over tion of the environment. Groups that had Troubled Water. Protest was the order been fighting against oil spills, polluting of the day, but saving the planet was factories and power plants, raw sewage, not the cause. War raged in Vietnam, toxic dumps, pesticides, freeways, the and students nationwide increasingly loss of wilderness, and the extinction of opposed it. wildlife suddenly realized they shared At the time, Americans were common values. slurping leaded gas through masEarth Day 1970 achieved a rare posive V8 sedans. Industry belched out litical alignment, enlisting support from smoke and sludge with little fear of Republicans and Democrats, rich and legal consequences or bad press. Air poor, city slickers and farmers, tycoons pollution was commonly accepted as and labor leaders. The first Earth Day the smell of prosperity. “Environment” led to the creation of the United States was a word that appeared more often Environmental Protection Agency and in spelling bees than on the evening the passage of the Clean Air, Clean news. Although mainstream America Water, and Endangered Species Acts. “It remained oblivious to environmental was a gamble,” Gaylord recalled, “but it concerns, the stage had been set for worked.” change by the publication of Rachel As 1990 approached, a group of Carson’s New York Times bestseller environmental leaders asked Denis Silent Spring in 1962. The book repreHayes to organize another big camsented a watershed moment for the paign. This time, Earth Day went global, First Earth Day poster in 1970 modern environmental movement, mobilizing 200 million people in 141 selling more than 500,000 copies countries and lifting environmental isin 24 countries and, up until that moment, more than any other sues onto the world stage. Earth Day 1990 gave a huge boost to person, Carson raised public awareness and concern for living recycling efforts worldwide and helped pave the way for the 1992 organisms, the environment and public health.

United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. It also prompted Earth Day 1970 capitalized on the emerging consciousness, President Bill Clinton to award Senator Nelson the Presidential channeling the energy of the anti-war protest movement and put- Medal of Freedom (1995) — the highest honor given to civilians in ting environmental concerns front and center. the United States — for his role as Earth Day founder.

The idea came to Earth Day founder Gaylord Nelson, then a On Earth Day, enjoy the tonic of fresh air, contact with the U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, after witnessing the ravages of the soil, and companionship with nature! Walk through the woods in 1969 massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, California. Inspired by the search of emerging wildflowers and green moss. Go outside, no student anti-war movement, he realized that if he could infuse matter what the weather!

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HOUSTON

EARTH DAY NETWORK www.hummagazine.com

May 2015

Tips from the Abrahams on maintaining the beauty of your priceless rugs with an absorbent material like cotton, wool or blotting paper. Do not rub the residue in the carpet, but remove with a warm cloth.

To remove spots, use soap lather on a clean cloth and do not soak the rug. Dry the wet spot before walking on it. Remove the rug from a wet or damp floor.

6. Rugs should be professionally cleaned. All handmade rugs need to be hand washed and stains removed and completely dried, something which the Abrahams specialize in.

Abrahams cleaning and restoration department has been working for the family-run business for more than 40 years, repairing slight to severely damaged rugs. Their expertise is unsurpassed in the industry, and their commitment to quality means outstanding results.

SUCCESS

27

Call the Abrahams at 713-622-4444 to schedule a personal consultation or stop by the West U store Monday through Friday between 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Photo: Alexander Photography

The intricate beauty of a fine Oriental rug is the living legacy of a culture that spans over a thousand years. Abrahams Oriental Rugs is keeping that legacy alive with their vast selection of new and antique rugs, which are comprised of a weave averaging more than 320 hand-tied knots to the square inch.

These magnificent rugs are made by skilled craftsmen and will last for many years and will steadily increase in value if cared for properly.

The Abrahams are experts in caring and cleaning Oriental rugs and have tips for cleaning them at home.

1. lf the rug is going to be used under heavy furniture, put plastic caps on the pointed legs to avoid tear on those spots in the long run.

2. Once or twice a week, brush the rug in the direction of the pile, never against it, with a medium bristle or nylon brush. A vacuum cleaner can be used as an alternative if it works by suction not rotating brushes.

3. Once or twice a year, turn over the rug and beat on the back firmly but not violently with a carpet beater. This will disFrom Rugs lodge any dirt or grit which might have become embedded in the to Refl ection base.

4. Have an exterminator spray the floor for moth and silverfish. Powder some moth balls and spread on the carpet pad.

5. lf any liquid should fall on the rug, soak it up immediately

Sam and Omana Abraham with their three daughters Rachel, Annie & Elizabeth

skilled at providing those essential services that help prolong the life of the rug.

The Beginning Sam and Omana met for the very first time in New Delhi.

It was a love match, but the couple waited five years for the blessings of their families before marrying. Both are highly educated; Omana earned a Masters degree in Islamic Art and History from Delhi University, while Sam received his Bachelors degree in business from Kerala State University in 1968 and a law degree from the Delhi University School of Law. The Abrahams came to the US as post-graduate exchange students in 1972 with six-month old baby Annie. Sam got an MBA and a second law degree from the University of Houston. The early years were tough as the young couple struggled to cope. Soon they had their second child, Elizabeth. Sam’s work with the law firm he’d joined took him out of town a lot, while Omana stayed home with the babies, isolated and lonely. She wanted to do something, and selling Indian handicrafts seemed like a good idea at the time. They asked relatives back home to send brassware, but when they arrived, were unable to sell them. So, the Abrahams gave the pieces away as Christmas gifts. In the meantime, the law firm was going through a bad patch. Sam decided it was time to diversify and start a rug business.

On Working Hard and Success The couple spent hours poring over books at the local library, researching carpets, and learning everything they could about the different kinds of rugs, the regions they came from, craftsmanship, design, and procurement. So knowledgeable did they become that they were asked to give talks at seminars about the history and origins of rugs and the enduring influence of the Mughal period. As they did not have venture capital, Sam took the advice of a banker and started building a credit history. He worked hard at different jobs, saved money, took bank loans, and initially started with a small inventory.

“When we sold our first four rugs, we were so excited that we were jumping around like kids in a candy store,” says Sam with a smile.

In 1976, Abrahams Oriental Rugs had its first retail space, and the couple never looked back. Even when the economy was dire, Abrahams Oriental Rugs prevailed; Sam is proud of the fact that they’ve never needed to liquidate.

“In business, never go into something unless you have a great passion for it. You must be able to set your ego aside and work hard to succeed,” says Sam, who lives by his convictions; he is first to open the showroom and the last to leave. “I love coming to work every day to see my treasures, it’s been a tough but joyous journey,” he adds.

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