India Herald 01219

Web: www.india-herald.com • Editor@india-herald.com • Tel: 281-980-6746

20 Pages

India Herald

VOL. 25 • NO. 4 • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 23, 2019 • P.O. BOX 623, SUGAR LAND, TX 77487 • PERIODICAL PERMIT USPS 017699 • 25 cents

Indo American participants in Houston Half Marathon A determined group of Indo Americans made their presence felt, running and walking at the 47th Chevron Houston Marathon and 17th Aramco Houston Half Marathon held on Jan 20 in Houston. Indo American participants in 2019 Houston Half Marathon. Left to Right – Chintan Mehta. Ramesh Anand, Zarina Anand, Sesh Bala, Pankaj Desai, Shilpi Desai, Jui Jagad, Shirish Boradia, Kinner Patel, Atul Desai. Amit Desai not in the photo was also part of this group. In 2019, Sesh Bala completed his 16th Houston Half Marathon, and Pankaj Desai his 11th. See story on Page 3.

Makar Sankranti & Lohri at Arya Samaj of Houston

Senior volunteer of Arya Samaj Houston, Shekhar Agrawal, center, lights the traditional fire. Right, Pongal Dance, a south Indian tradition. Story on Page 6.

Indo American Chamber enters 20th anniversary

Kirti Jewelers & K.V. Diamonds

Come see our large collection of gold, diamond, ruby, pearl and emerald jewelry in latest, aĴractive designs.

All of this in our spacious showroom 6655 Harwin Dr Ste A101 • Houston, TX 77036 713-789-GOLD (4653)

We have special low fares on Emirates

281-530-3000; 888-881-LESS; Emergency contact 281-236-8475

Call us for last minute fares! 12808 W Airport Blvd.,#252,Sugar Land, TX 77478

The Indo American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Houston commemorated the start of its 20th Anniversary at the Houston City Hall. Above, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, left, and IACCGH President Swapan Dhairyawan address the gathering which included Indian Consul General Dr. Anupam Ray and over 170 members and supporters of the Chamber, representatives of other local chambers and resource partners.

Story on Page 9.

Wholesale consolidator for Qatar and Emirates Airlines; Consolidator for Turkish & Asiana Airlines.We Call us for confirmed do special seats at competitive prices packages to all major cities in India. & tours

WHOLESALER FOR MAJOR CARRIERS • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Emirates Gulf Airways Kingfisher Singapore Airways Jet Airways Sahara Airlines Indian Airlines Eva Airlines Qatar Airways PIA Air India Royal Jordanian China Airlines

CALL Ramesh Cherivirala, MS, Ph.D, LUTCF Financial Adviser For all your insurance & financial services

AUTO • HOME • LIFE • BUSINESS • HEALTH

RONNIE PATEL, MBA, CPA, LUTCF CFP

TM

INSURANCE AGENCY Tel: 281-752-8000 12603 Southwest FreewayTX Ste 100 5901 Hillcroft Ste D4 • Houston, 77036 16126 Frwy 120 • Sugar Land, TX 77479 Fax: 281-752-8008 StaffSW ord, TXSte77477

Life Insurance Long term care insurance Disability Insurance* 13135 Dairy Ashford Rd.,#550 Fixed# and Variable AnnuiƟes Sugar Land, TX 77478.

Health Insurance* Email: rcherivirala@ Managed Accounts # ft.newyorklife.com.

IRA, 401k, 403b, 529 plans## Bus: (281) 295-2726 Roll over of 401k, 403b, TRS, TSA Cell: (713) 875-4336 DeĮned BeneĮt Plans

Planning Services: Estate Planning ReƟrement Planning EducaƟon Planning Life Insurance Planning Business Planning Investment Planning Net worth Analysis

# Financial Adviser oৼers advisory services through Eagle Strategies LLC, A Registered Investment Adviser; ## Registered representative oৼers securities through NYLIFE Securities, LLC (Member FINRA/SIPC);

Member 2005, 16 & 17 - Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT): Premier associaƟon of Įnancial professionals, recognized globally as the standard of excellence in life insurance sales performance in insurance and Įnancial services industry.

Visit his website at www.RCherryFinancial.com

A licensed insurance agency Agent, New York Life Insurance company, 3200 Southwest Freeway, # 1900 Houston, TX 77027; 713-961-4545. *Products oৼered through one or more carriers not a৽liated with New York Life insurance company, dependent on carrier authorization and product availability in your state and locality.

PAGE 2 • INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 23, 2019

COMMUNITY Brilliant Pongal performance

by ShreeKrithi’s Youth Band

ShreeKrithi Youth Band members in concert

The students of ShreeKrithi School of Music rendered yet another lively performance, this time at the extravagant Pongal gala conducted by Greater Houston Tamil Sangam at the Seven Lakes High School in Katy, on January 13th.

This band is a full Live band with youth on various instruments including, but not limited to Violin, Guitar, Piano, Flute, Drums, Cello etc. and with youth singers completing the group. It was a colorful and captivating performance and the band mesmerized the audience with their memorable song selections. In keeping with the Tamil Sangam’s language philosophy and the Pongal event, they rendered an all exclusive Tamil performance. They began with a medley composed of very popular tunes from the nostalgic Nayagan tune to Raasathi Unnai from Vaidehi Kathirundal to Maang kuyile Poong kuyile from Karagattakaran which was aptly situated for the Pongal event! They ended the show with a bangon medley from AR Rahman which made the audience move to the peppy numbers.

Some of the feedback: “The youth orchestra was really fantastic! It’s very impressive to see our kids rendering Tamil songs, particularly without referring to the lyrics using mobiles or paper… very well done and congrats to everyone

involved” - Muthu Natarajan, Secretary, Greater Houston Tamil Sangam.

“ShreeKrithi’s live orchestra was very entertaining, organized in grandeur. This splendid performance was given by school kids who played the instruments effortlessly. The song medley was excellent and the transition was seamless. The audience thoroughly enjoyed the whole show.” - Shobha Krishnamurthy, Parent Teacher Representative, Greater Houston Tamil School (Katy).

Founder-Director Maha Krishnan and full time faculty and music composer/arranger Sandeep Kumrouth train these immensely talented group of children to perform Bollywood/ Kollywood music. The dedication of these teachers can be seen in the passionate performance of the group. Though all these kids have been born and raised here in the US, and are not fluent in the Indian languages, they performed flawlessly.

The knowledge and experience of the teachers, the commitment of the children, and the dedication of the parents come together in making ShreeKrithi a very unique and one of a kind school in the Houston area!

Please call Maha Krishnan at (713)-594-5844 or visit http:// www.shreekrithi.com/ for more details and be a part of this wonderful group!

Download India Herald Free App at the Apple Store or Andorid Playstore.

ShreeKrithi School of Music students with teachers, Maha Krishnan, far left, and Sandeep Kumrouth, right.

INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 23, 2019 • PAGE 3

COMMUNITY Indian Americans join the Houston Marathon The 47th Chevron Houston Marathon and 17th Aramco Houston Half Marathon held on Jan 20 lived up to their reputation for being flat and fast, aided by 44 American athletes with running times that qualify for the 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials.

A total of 6,930 runners finished the marathon, while 12,986 completed the half marathon on a day that saw runners brave an unseasonable start temperature of 33 degrees and 27 degrees wind chill.

The near freezing cold weather did not deter the runners! The sun came out bright with clear skies later at 8 am making the cold somewhat bearable, but even at 10 am it was just 40 degrees.

A determined group of Indo Americans also made their presence felt, running and walking, at the 2019 Chevron Houston Marathon.

The Marathon is the largest sporting event in Houston. It starts and ends at the George R. Brown Convention Center in downtown.

The prize money for the Full Marathon first place was $45,000 and for the Half Marathon $20,000 and is equal for both men and women.

The following are the winners and their running times. Full marathon - Men: Albert Korir of Kenya 2:10:02; Women: Biruktayit Eshetu Degefa of Ethiopia 2:23:28. Half Marathon - Men: Shura Kitata of Ethiopia 1:00:11; Women: Brigid Kosgei of Kenya 1:05:50.

Many personal records were broken. The Marathon is also a charitable event; the runners and the organization raise money for many area charities.

Each year the organizers make some changes. This year, the route was the same as in 2017 and 2018. The organization of flow of some 20,000 runners through a common start gate is very inefficient since it can take up to an hour for the last person to cross the start line! However, the finish line at the Convention Center was handled extremely well.

The cheering squads at the hoopla stations along the route were entertaining as usual; the spectators came bundled up and prepared. Security precautions were very visible. The organizers deserve praise for the management of such a large race.

A casual scanning and observation suggested the Indian American community participation is increasing; there is room for greater presence as runners, walkers, volunteers and spectators. There were more volunteers along the route from the Indian American community seen this year than prior years.

In fact, in one of the water stations, a supervisor was giving instructions to the volunteers in Hindi!

The Houston Marathon has been a sell-out each year for many years. The next Houston marathon is on Jan 19, 2020. The details are at the site chevronhoustonmarathon.com. Organizations like USA Fit, Fort Bend Fit and KatyFit can help get one trained.

,QGLD +HUDOG

Established in 1995

by Rajeev Gadgil, Seshadri Kumar & Salim Sindhi India Herald (USPS Periodical 017-699) is published every Wednesday by India Herald, Inc. for a subscription rate of $25 per year. Periodical postage paid at Houston and Sugar Land, Texas. POST MASTER: Send address changes to India Herald, P.O. Box 623, Sugar Land, Texas 77487 Publisher & Editor: Seshadri Kumar www.india-herald.com; email:editor@india-herald.com India Herald assumes no liability resulting from action taken based on information included herein. ©India Herald. All rights reserved.

OBITUARY: Rev. Thomas M Thomas May 23, 1931 – January 2, 2019 We pray for the blessed repose of the soul of Rev. Fr. M. T. Thomas, as he fell asleep in the Lord, on January 2, 2019.

Rev. Fr. Thomas Manonu Thomas was born in Maramon, Kerala on May 23, 1931 to Manonu Iype Thomas and Rahelamma Thomas.

As the elder of twins, he earned his BA from the University of Madras in 1954, MA from the University of Bombay, 1957.

While studying for his BA degree, he won several accolades for swimming. From 1960 -1961, he served as a mission worker in Sihera Ashram in Madhya Pradesh, India.

He married his wife, Grace from Chenganur, Kerala in 1965 at Chenganur Mar Thoma Church. They moved to Ethiopia, where Rev. Thomas served as a teacher.

In 1971, after the birth of two sons, Stephen and Peter, the

WASHINGTON — The White House is considering Indra K. Nooyi, the former chief executive officer of PepsiCo, for the position of World Bank president, according to several people familiar with the process.

Ms. Nooyi, who stepped down from her role at PepsiCo last August after leading the company for 12 years, has been courted as an administration ally by Ivanka Trump, the president’s eldest daughter, who is playing a role in the selection of a nominee.

The decision-making process for the top post at the World Bank is fluid and in its initial stages, and early frontrunners and candidates often fall off the radar, or withdraw from consideration, before the president makes his ultimate pick. Mr. Trump often makes his own gut decisions about whom to chose.

It is unclear whether Ms. Nooyi would accept the nomination if chosen by the admin-

For all your mortgage needs call today!

CALL KRISH at 713-859-5024 E-Mail – krishnan@sutherlandmortgage.com visit us at www.sutherlandmortgage.com Sutherland Mortgage Services Inc. – NMLS # 9891 Krishnan Swaminathan NMLS #20770 5959 Corporate Dr, Suite 3000 Houston, TX 77036

We offer Purchase, Rate & Term and Cash out Loans Conventional, FHA, VA and Jumbo Loans Licensed in 50 states, PR & DC High balance nationwide No escrow waiver fee 5/5 ARM programs No MI programs

family moved to the US, where Rev. Thomas joined Drew University in Madison, New Jersey.

While in NJ, his younger sons, twins Joseph and Koshy were born. He earned his M. Div in 1975 and an additional Masters in Sacred Theology in 1977.

Indra Nooyi under consideration to head the World Bank

Great time to buy a NEW HOME or take CASH out of your house!

9 9 9 9 9 9 9

Rev. T.M. Thomas

In 1975, H.H. Ignatius Yakub III, Patriarch of Antioch, in Damascus, Syria, ordained him a deacon. In 1978, along with his twin brother, Rev. M. T. Philip, he was ordained as priest

by H.H. Baselios Mar Thoma Mathews II. Along with his family, he moved to Houston in 1979 and started as the Associate Priest at St. Gregorios Orthodox Church until 1986.

He served as the vicar of the Dallas St. George Church, from 1992-1995. He was currently serving as associate priest at St. Thomas Orthodox Church in Houston.

Thomas Achen, as his parishioners referred to him, is lovingly survived by his wife Grace Kochamma, his sons, Stephen, Peter, Joseph and Koshy, his twin brother, Rev. Fr. M. T. Philip, and numerous nieces, nephews and grandnieces and grand nephews.

WINNER OF BBB’s PINNACLE AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE

istration, but Ms. Trump, who has written on Twitter that she views Ms. Nooyi as a “mentor + inspiration,” has floated her name as a potential successor. Ms. Nooyi has dined with the president and other business leaders at his golf club in Bedminster, N.J. She drew criticism for assuming an advisory role on his business council, which was disbanded after many chief executives quit following Mr. Trump’s comments that blamed “many sides” for white supremacist violence in Charlottesville, Va., in August 2017.

Negative comments that Ms. Nooyi made after the 2016 election, during which she did not publicly endorse any candidate, are seen as a potential roadblock to her nomination.

Mr. Trump’s win, she said, created a lot of questions among her daughters and her employees.

“They were all in mourning,” Ms. Nooyi said in an interview with Andrew Ross Sorkin at The New York Times’s DealBook conference in 2016.

“Our employees are all crying. And the question that they’re asking, especially those who are not white: ‘Are we safe?’ Women are asking, ‘Are we safe?’ LGBT people are asking, ‘Are we safe?’ I never thought I’d have had to answer those questions.”

Ms. Nooyi later tried to clarify her remarks, and a spokesman for PepsiCo told Fortune magazine that “Mrs. Nooyi misspoke. She was referring to the reaction of a group of employees she spoke to who were apprehensive about the outcome of the election. She never intended to imply that all employees feel the same way.”

That those past comments

may hinder her chances are a reminder that Mr. Trump does not have a large circle of loyalists to choose from for top positions.

Other candidates are also being considered, including David Malpass, the under secretary of the Treasury for international affairs, whose loyalty to the president runs deep: He served as an economic adviser on Mr. Trump’s 2016 campaign. Another name in the mix is Ray Washburne, the president of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation. Mr. Washburne also served on Mr. Trump’s 2016 finance team and was seen as an early candidate for a cabinet position.

The World Bank’s current president, Jim Yong Kim, said this month that he would step down in February to join a private infrastructure investment firm, an unexpected departure that comes nearly three years before the end of his term. Mr. Kim was first appointed by the Obama administration in 2012, on the recommendation of Hillary Clinton when she was secretary of state, and was reappointed by President Barack Obama in 2016 to serve a second five-year term.

The process of choosing a successor is being overseen by Steven Mnuchin, the Treasury secretary; Mick Mulvaney, the acting chief of staff; and Ms. Trump, whose role in the process was announced by the White House on Monday.

Ms. Trump’s role in the process drew some criticism from ethics watchdogs on Monday, who said that it could pose a conflict of interest for the president’s daughter to be involved in international economic matters when she has not completely divested from her assets.

PAGE 4 • INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 23, 2019

VIEWS

The ‘Acharya envoys’ propagate Indian culture

Three ‘ambassadors’, whose mandate is to spread yoga and the Vedas in the U.S., explain their vision and mission In a new initiative by the Narendra Modi government, a band of Indian officials posted to three missions in the U.S. now promote ‘Indian culture’ as part of diplomacy.

Designated as ‘Yoga and Indian Culture Acharya’, the three officials in Washington DC, New York and Chicago are experts in Sanskrit, yoga and Hindu scriptures. They were selected by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations through a special recruitment process and have diplomatic passports and offices in Indian missions.

Their appointment is initially for two years, extendable by two more. And all three have the mandate to travel around the country and organise events that promote ‘Indian culture’.

Giving a glimpse into the initiative, Mokshraj, one of the three ‘Acharyas’ who joined on January 12, says: “Jaisi drishti, vaisi srishti — you act according to your vision.”

A PhD in Vedas from the Rajasthan Sanskrit University, Mr. Mokshraj goes on to explain: “This is the vision of the current government, but previous governments did not have this.

It is not that this knowledge did not exist earlier... There is a yoga revolution happening around the world. And then Modiji showed what he could do in the last three years.”

“Twenty four Indian missions and cultural centres abroad now have this position,” he says.

Dayashankar Vidyalankar, an ‘Acharya’ at the Indian Consulate in New York, tells that the entire world was “guided by the wisdom of Vedas at one time but we lost that due to various factors. After Independence, this is the first time that India has a government that thinks that Indian culture should be propagated. That is how I am here.”

Prerna Arya, who serves at the Indian consulate in Chicago, became part of the initiative on December 7, 2016. Ms. Arya, who completed her PhD from the Gurukul Kangri University in Haridwar and whose thesis was on ‘Naturopathy in Vedic Literature’, says that she plans to popularise traditional forms of treatments. “For example, the yagna chikitsa. If a patient experiences the environment of yagna, it could be therapeutic in many cases,” she says. “The government has selected us to spread the wisdom of our rishis [sages], to spread our Bharatiya [Indian] culture... I have been conducting pravachan [discourses], yoga classes etc. through our consulate since I came here,” she says.

Mr. Dayashankar was born in Gorakhpur. Mahant Avaid-

Mokshraj, one of the three Yoga and Culture Acharyas. yanath, guru of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, sent him to Haridwar, where he served lepers until he joined Baba Ramdev. He then headed to Gujarat, where he learned Sanskrit. “I taught yoga in Parliament House for nearly 15 years and serve on several advisory boards of government departments,” he tells The Hindu. “I worked with Yogiji in all elections that he fought. He is my guru.”

He says it would be appropriate to call these band of officials India’s “cultural ambassadors”.

These ‘Acharyas’ feel that yoga is being commercialised and, in the process, its spiritual dimension gets lost. They say the Indian government, through this initiative, seeks to to teach yoga in its entirety.

“Yoga is about using all that you have — body is only part of it — for union with the God. Asanas, the exercise part of it spread fast... but yogvidya is about the person’s physical, spiritual, intellectual, social, psychological, and economic progress... We have to spread these values. That is our sacred mission,” says Ms. Arya.

She adds: “The basis of Indian culture is the Vedas... Ved hamara samvidhan hain [Vedas form the basis of our conduct and our rules and regulations]... following them helps in the fulfilment of our lives. This is basis of Bharatiya culture... No aspect of human life is beyond this knowledge. Personal, family, social, economic.”

Mr. Mokshraj explains it similarly. “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam [The world is one family] and Jiyo aur Jeene Do [Live and let others live] — these are two spiritual mottos that guide this initiative. How will this happen? When we think good of others... through the route of yoga and meditation... Our responsibility is to… take yoga to each individual, without cost, so that they could reduce their medical bills and lead peaceful lives.”

Mr. Mokshraj has been making rounds of temples and gurdwaras around the DC area, “wherever our Bharatiya community lives, with the message

Music meets science Renowned Pianist Anil Srinivasan played from his wide music repertoire to prove how music is all pervasive.

Can you think of combining a ‘kuthu’ song like ‘En Uchi Mandaile Surrunguthu’ and the popular Mozart’s composition ‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star’?

“You can,” asserts popular pianist Anil Srinivasan. “Both can be combined and played.

The music pattern of Mozart’s tune is such that it can be combined with any other tune in the world. For instance you can also mix ‘Thendral Vanthu Theendum Pothu Enna Vannamo’ with the rhyme,” he adds.

Lecturing on Music and STEM, an acronym that stands for Science and Technology, Engineering and Management at Thiagarajar College of Engineering, Anil Srinivasan drew parallels between music and architecture. He explained they were inter-disciplinary. “The Cologne Cathedral in Germany and Srirangam Temple in Tiruchi have something in common,” he said and added, “19th century composer and one of the Trinity of Carnatic music Muthuswamy Dikshitar’s composition Rangapura Vihara is based on the Srirangam Temple architecture. If you plot frequencies of mid notes of each that if they organise a camp, this free service from the embassy is now available”. He has also started a regular yoga class for the embassy staff. He says the embassy is planning to organise week-long camps.

“Yoga is rooted in Vedas, and Sanskrit. So everything is combined. The more knowledge they have, the deeper their practice of yoga will become.

Camps will have yoga sessions in the evening and morning, and through the day, Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads, and Sanskrit will be taught,” he says.

He believes that though the ICCR was founded in 1950, the promotion of Indian culture did not get enough attention until Mr. Modi became Prime Minister.

Mr. Dayashankar has plans to explain havan and yagna to American audiences. “Havan and yagna can benefit the world. [They have] a role in resolving the problems that the world faces today... when people think beyond themselves and think of the whole universe, that will lead to end of conflict.

—The Hindu

ON A MUSICAL NOTE Pianist Anil Srinivasan at Thiagarajar College of Engineering line of the song on a graph, the shape resembles like the temple tower. Similarly if you do the same with the third piece of the Johann Sebastian Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos, the shape looks like that of the Cologne Cathedral. It proves how musicians drew inspiration from architecture.”

He brought out different aspects of music and explored how music is more than entertainment. “If the happy birthday song, which was first composed 225 years ago, has the power to stand the test of time and is played all around the world, the power of music can be understood. Even without sophisticated communication gadgets, the tune has spread all over the world and has become a universal song on birthdays,” he said.

The relationship between music and space is also mutual as many architects have drawn inspiration from music for their designs. “American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, who shot into fame with his Falling Waters design, was inspired by music. He had even written how he wanted his construction of a house to resemble a prelude of Bach. He wanted his constructions to be in perfect proportion and also wanted to maintain austerity without being simple,” he said.

He also demonstrated how music and science were closely related. Explaining the neurophysiological impact of music on human body, Anil said the rhythm automatically triggered body movement and played the

song ‘Annathe Adurar Othikko’ and ‘Tumhi ho’ songs.

“When you play these songs the body automatically moves.

It is more like reflex action.

You don’t have time to think,” he said. Probably, that is why music is used as medicine for its therapeutic effect on human body.

Also, music has the power to trigger emotional impulse.

When a song is played it evokes different visuals in different persons. “The brain responds with a speed no one can imagine. Scientists have proved that 30 seconds of exposure to music triggers three million images in the brain and if musicians include something educational and enriching in their compositions, imagine how music can change a life,” he said.

He urged architects to learn music, as it can do wonders in their designs. “For instance, the structure of TCE auditorium resembles the rhythmic pattern of the song ‘Andhimazhai Pozhigirathu’. When you listen to ragas and explore space structures one could understand the correlation,” said Anil.

The way he handled the three hours long lecture, interspersing with interactive sessions, drew attention of the audience till the last minute. Hopping from one tune to another with relative ease, Anil threw light on different musical concepts.

Even a five-minute break was dedicated to musical performance. It was an enlightening session as spectators got to know the intricacies of music.

—The Hindu

INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 23, 219 • PAGE 5

NEWS Indian-American Sikh presented with Rosa Parks Trailblazer award An Indian-American philanthropist and entrepreneur, Gurinder Singh Khalsa, has been presented with the prestigious Rosa Park Trailblazer award for his campaign that forced US authorities change their policy towards headgear of the Sikh community.

Indianapolis-based Khalsa, 45, was presented the award for his continued demonstration of courage and compassion.In 2007, Khalsa was refused access to board an airplane because of his turban, organisers of the event said.

Thereafter Khalsa mobilised more than 67,000 people nationwide for petitions and took the issue to all the way to the US Congress, which forced Transportation and Security Administration (TSA) to

Tulsi Gabbard apologizes for her past stand on LGBTQ Democratic presidential aspirant Tulsi Gabbard apologised on Thursday for her past remarks that were critical of the LGBTQ community, saying now she has a strong commitment to ďŹ ght for their rights.

Gabbard, 37, the ďŹ rst Hindu elected to US Congress and a four-time Democratic lawmaker, last week announced she will run for President in 2020.

In the past, she “forcefully defendedâ€? her father who was ďŹ ghting against gay rights and marriage equality in Hawaii.

In a video message, Gabbard said: “In my past I said and believed things that were wrong, and worse, hurtful to the LGBTQ community and their loved ones.

Many years ago, I apologised for my words and, more importantly, for the negative impact that they hadâ€?. “I sincerely repeat my apology today. I’m deeply sorry for having said them. My views have changed signiďŹ cantly since then, and my record in Congress over the last six years reects what is in my heart.â€?

Less than a week into this campaign, former DNC Chairman Howard Dean is already attacking Tulsi on CNN saying: “Tulsi Gabbard. I don’t think she knows what she’s doing and I don’t think she ... is qualiďŹ ed. She’s not qualiďŹ ed.â€?

Tulsi’s campaign responded: “We’re calling BS. There is no Presidential candidate more committed than Tulsi Gabbard in leading our country to peace and prosperity in an era of endless counterproductive regime change wars. Tulsi knows the true cost of war because she’s seen it ďŹ rst hand. She’s our leading voice in Congress calling for an end to America’s interventionist wars that have cost our nation trillions of dollars, lost thousands of lives, and created mass human suering and devastation.â€?

change its headgear policy towards the Sikh community.

As a result, Sikhs can now wear their turban through airport security in the US. “I was prevented from boarding the ight because I refused to remove my turban.

I took this stand for all those who believe in religious liberty and freedom of faith,� Khalsa, who also heads the Indianabased Sikhs Political Aairs Committee, said.

Khalsa dedicated the award to the Sikh community. “This award is not about me.

Change does not exist without the support of a community.

I dedicate this award to more than 67,000 individuals from all walks of life across America, and to one of the largest Sikh advocacy group, Sikh Co-

alition. Without their countless eorts change in the TSA Turban policy would not exist,� he said.

The award ceremony was attended by top State oďŹƒcials and eminent community leaders. “Sometimes those who bravely protest for civil rights are stereotyped as somehow threatening ďŹ gures - perhaps simply because of the raw courage required to ďŹ ght for justice. But in the personalities of both Gurinder and Rosa, we see the great power of quiet resolve,â€? Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill said. “I know that Gurinder in his lifetime has experienced and witnessed certain perceptions and situations that have been unjust. But in his cheerful and

digniďŹ ed manner, he has stood for justice and free speech and freedom of religion and for so many truly American principles that make our nation great,â€? he said.

Indiana State Assembly Speaker Brian C Bosma con-

gratulated Khalsa on receiving the 2019 Rosa Parks Trailblazer award for his principled commitment to faith and his “pursuit of positive change� that embodies the American principles of free speech and religious freedom.

Sharma Tilal Senanayake, CPA Certified Public Accountant

Off: 713-984-4852 • Cell: 832-283-1677 • Fax: 713-278-1656

Email: Email:Sharmasenanayake@yahoo.com sharma@sharma-cpa.com Web: Sharma-cpa.com Web: sharma-cpa.com 6200 Savoy #425Blvd Ste 230-7 7100 RegencyDr., Square Houston,TX Texas 77036 • Houston, 77036

Sharma Tilal Senanayake CPA, MA, FCA

* Business & Personal Tax Preparation * Maintain Books of Accounts for Businesses * Project Evaluations and Feasibility Studies * Payroll, Payroll Taxes and Statutory Filing

The Life After Series: Role of Insurance in Retirement FREE EVENT

“Hope for the Best. Prepare for the worst.�

- Chris Bradford, The Ring of Earth

India House and Share Our Secrets (SOS) Organization, join together to continue the community education VHPLQDU VHULHV ´7KH /LIH $IWHUÂľ VSHFLĂ€FDOO\ RQ RQH RI WKH PRVW YH[LQJ LVVXHV IDFHG E\ WKH UHWLUHG DQG HOGHUO\ “5ROH RI ,QVXUDQFH LQ 5HWLUHPHQWÂľ 6HQLRUV RIWHQ GR QRW UHDOL]H WKH JDSV WKDW H[LVW LQ WKHLU UHWLUHPHQW SODQV WKDW FRXOG WKUHDWHQ D FRPIRUWDEOH UHWLUHG OLIHVW\OH 7KH SULPDU\ SXUSRVH RI WKLV VHPLQDU LV WR GLVFXVV KRZ OLIH LQVXUDQFH ORQJ WHUP FDUH LQVXUDQFH DQG PHGLFDO LQVXUDQFH FDQ EH XVHG WR Ă€OO WKH JDSV GXULQJ RQH¡V UHWLUHPHQW 7KH SDQHOLVWV ZLWK OHJDO Ă€QDQFLDO DQG SHUVRQDO H[SHULHQFH RQ WKLV VXEMHFW hope to respond to questions and PLVFRQFHSWLRQV RQ KRZ WKHVH LQVXUDQFHV ZRUN DQG ZKDW LV FRYHUHG DQG QRW FRYHUHG WKURXJK WKHVH SROLFLHV 7KH\ ZLOO DOVR ZRUN ZLWK VHQLRUV RQ LGHQWLI\LQJ ULVNV LQ UHWLUHPHQW SODQV Ă€QGLQJ WKH DSSURSULDWH RSWLRQV WR FRYHU WKRVH ULVNV DQG LPSOHPHQWLQJ PRQLWRULQJ WKRVH SROLFLHV RYHU WLPH ,QWHQW RI WKH VHPLQDU LV WR SURYLGH JHQHUDO LQIRUPDWLRQ RQ LQVXUDQFH SODQQLQJ IRU IDPLOLHV DQG LQGLYLGXDOV DQG LV QRW PHDQW WR SURYLGH VSHFLÂżF advice. Individuals should seek professional or expert help as needed based on their circumstances.

Sunday, February 10th, 2019 | 4:00 PM to 6:30 PM ,QGLD +RXVH :HVW %HOOIRUW $YHQXH +RXVWRQ 7; 7R 5HJLVWHU ZZZ LQGLDKRXVHLQF RUJ OLIH DIWHU VHVVLRQ For further information, contact: 6KDUH RXU 6HFUHWV 626 2UJDQL]DWLRQ VRVRXWUHDFKWHDP#JPDLO FRP ,QGLD +RXVH YLSLQ#LQGLDKRXVHLQF RUJ

PAGE 6 • INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 23, 2019

NEWS

Arya Samaj celebrates Lohri and Makar Sankranti

Offerings to the holy fire .

For the third year in a row, Arya Samaj Houston went full steam in celebrating the Indian festival known by various names such as Makar Sankranti, Lohri, Pongal, Bihu, etc. bidding goodbye to the peak of winter.

Its Sunday School, the DAV Sanskriti School converted the occasion into a learning tool for its 150 children to grasp the rich Indian culture.

Acharya Harish Chandra described God’s wonderful design that the earth is slanted by about 22 degrees as it orbits around the sun. The peak of winter is now almost over and the days will be getting longer.

If you see the sun in the morning from a window that opens to the east then you couldn’t have missed noticing that the sun is now shifting northward, having touched its maximum southern point.

This magic of the 22 degrees slant creates various seasons that is so important for rainfall, snow deposits, crops, etc, and crucial to life support on the earth.

Indian Rishis taught harmony with nature. For them, nature manifests God’s intelligence flowing toward us as pure love. That harmony requires us to return the bounty of nature back to her with a deep sense of gratitude. Offering the bounty to the fire transports it in its minute form to all living beings without any discrimination.

The traditional fire was lit by senior volunteer of Arya Samaj Houston, Shekhar Agrawal followed by the children of DAV Sanskriti School lining up to offer rewari, gajak, and other foodstuffs into the fire before having a taste of them. Their discipline was in full display.

Traditional folk dances from different regions of India were performed such as Garba, Bhangra and Pongal dance. Dance teams included all age groups – from little children to seniors.

The six-week coaching by dance teacher and founder of “Steps for Dancing” Dolly Goyal was well appreciated, free for all, including members of the public.

As Chidanand’s dhol began the high octane sound, all in the 600+ adult audience were invited to dance in the foyer that doubled as a large-size stage. Kites were available and children were thrilled to fly them.

The Kitchen committee served the special meal that included makki di roti and sarson da saag, among other delicious dishes with a smile. New parents showed interest in enrolling their children to the spring term of DAV Sanskriti School.

For more details, call director Dr. Kavita Vachaknavee at 832.874.3376.

House Cleaner needed $600/Weekly Working Days: Monday and Friday Time Schedule: 9AM - 2PM Email: jenniferbenny18888@outlook.com

Folk Dance by Sanskriti School students.

Kites being readied for children by volunteer youth and parents.

INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 23, 2019 • PAGE 7

VIEWS

By CHANDNI KAMNANI The greatness of a culture can be found in its festivals and the way they are celebrated. It comes as a break from the daily routine and a chance to unwind oneself. A day to have fun, enjoy and create memories for parents, children, grandparents - in other words – enjoy with the entire family.

I had the privilege of attending the Makar Sankranti celebration last Sunday at the Kite Flying festival here in Houston.

All of us who came from India and are now living in the US follow certain norms and make sure to abide by them wherever we go.

A simple basic principle of forming a line and giving priority to the handicapped and the seniors , whether in the shopping mall, airport check in, restrooms, fast food restaurants, etc makes life easy for everyone, things get done faster and nobody feels oended.

We follow this simple rule everywhere we go, then why

not at Indian places and events?

I was in line to board the shuttle from the parking lot to the event ground. I had an elderly lady behind me with two kids.

On the arrival of the shuttle, I oered the elderly lady to board ďŹ rst with the children (I heard murmurs in the back “Why is she letting that lady board ďŹ rstâ€?)

As soon as she was in the van, several people just broke

many of them.

Let’s observe ourselves and our surroundings next time we are at an Indian event.

Why are we so dierent at our events and places as opposed to local events and places?

Where does our patience and courtesy go and why?

Till next time Namaste and Jai Hind

After all there were more shuttles operating and one could just wait for the next one.

I observed the same thing happening at the ticket counter to purchase entry tickets.

People did not want to make a line, and behaved like if they would not get inside within the next few seconds, the Sun might go down and they would be left in the dark at 12 noon!

This incident made me think about all the Indian events I have been to in the past and realized the same pattern in

Something to Ponder...

the line and rushed to get in the van as if letting that lady go before me was an invitation for them to board, almost knocking me over.

I asked myself a question, “What and why did this happen?â€? If it had been any other event, they would have waited patiently for their turn rather than breaking the line or getting mad at letting an elderly person go ďŹ rst.

For comments please email at ckamnani@hotmail.com.

COLLEGE ADMISSIONS

SAT PSAT

GRADUATE ADMISSIONS

ACT SAT Subject

GMAT GRE

PRIVATE SCHOOL ADMISSIONS

ISEE HSPT

LSAT TOEFL

PROF. ENGINEERING LICENSING

OLSAT

FE-CBT

PE

Higher Scores Guaranteed

Most Perfect Scorers and National Merits Annually!

'LÎ?HUHQW /HDUQLQJ 2SWLRQV $YDLODEOH

Classroom

Online

1-on-1

. 0DWK WKURXJK &DOFXOXV (QJOLVK %LRORJ\ 3K\VLFV &KHPLVWU\ (FRQRPLFV *RYHUQPHQW DQG PRVW $3 ([DPV

281-276-7777

www.testmasters.com

facebook.com/testmasters youtube.com/testmasters @testmasters

“49 “44Years Years Visit www. India-herald.com.

and Counting, Providing Services Email: 1970-2019 1970 - 2014 To Generations editor@india-herald.com of Businesses and Professionals Around The World�

PAGE 8 • INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 23, 2019

NEWS

Launch’s debut fashion show comes to life at Discovery Green HOUSTON Spring is soon to bloom as LAUNCH, a downtown-area pop-up boutique, collaborates with Discovery Green® to host its first fashion show featuring local designers.

The show will take place on Saturday, January 26 from 5 – 8 p.m. at Discovery Green, the 12-acre urban park located at downtown’s Avenida Houston.

“We are thrilled to collaborate with Discovery Green to host LAUNCH’s first fashion show and market place,” said Sydney Dao, director of retail for Houston First.

“This partnership will allow some of Houston’s most unique and talented designers to make their dreams a reality on the runway while attracting new audiences to LAUNCH. We are certain the diverse roster of designers will offer something for everyone.”

Free and open to the public, this celebration of style will give more than 40 Houstonbased apparel and accessories designers the opportunity to showcase their talents on the runway.

Each look will reflect Houston’s sophistication and edge.

Wellness salon and spa Riot Salon HTX will provide hair and makeup and DJ Little Martin will provide live runway music.

Designer Chloe Dao, winner of Project Runway Season 2, will headline the show, which will also include Of Myth & Muse, Marilyn Biles, Edwige Pierre, Magpies & Peacocks and Kimono Zulu, among others.

Fashion and art will collide as the park’s winter art installation, GUST: Celebrating a Decade of Discovery, commissioned from Mexico Citybased design studio Cocolab, illuminates the show’s runway.

Composed of nearly 2,000 custom-made pinwheels installed along Discovery Green’s Brown Foundation Promenade, the work is animated by fluctuating breezes as well as interactions with the public, creating a kinetic field of color under Discovery Green’s live oak allée.

“While the Cocolab team was working on the design concept for GUST, I couldn’t help but notice that the work’s

vivid colors and the sense of movement along the Brown Promenade took on the feel of a fashion runway,” said Judy Nyquist, chair of the Discovery Green Conservancy’s Public Art Committee.

“As the park’s neighbor and a champion of local designers, LAUNCH emerged as a natural fit for our programming partner. We are thrilled to see our beloved allée used in this new and unique way.”

Fashion-forward guests are invited to shop before and after the show at the Pop-Up Market located on the Hess Patio Deck.

The market will have products from more than 20 LAUNCH vendors, including Chloe Dao, Modern Artifacts, Inclan, Brenda Grands, Diverscity and more.

The evening will roll on with an after party on Discovery Green’s Brown Promenade with DJ Little Martin spinning the latest hits as the models line the runway, giving guests a closer look at designers’ products.

GUST activation stations along the promenade will allow guests to “be the breeze” and fully interact with the pinwheels.

LAUNCH is located on the ground floor of Houston First Corp.’s Partnership Tower at 701 Avenida De Las Americas.

The hours are from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Monday – Saturday.

Shoppers visiting the boutique can park in Avenida North Parking Garage or take the Green Line on the Metro Rail to the Convention District.

Follow LAUNCH on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @launchHTX to learn more about the designers, artists and news.

LAUNCH, operated by the Houston First Corporation, is based in Avenida Houston and is a retail platform for Houston-based designers as well as a place for community development and business education.

The name is not only a nod to Houston’s reputation as “Space City,” it references the “launch” of emerging designers from the city’s growing creative community.

The downtown pop-up boutique aims to promote and edu-

cate visitors and Houstonians alike of the high-level of goods designed and produced in the Bayou City.

LAUNCH introduces a new roster of designers every two months offering goods in art, home goods, apparel and accessories.

In July, they kicked off their first series of “Inside LAUNCH with Joy Sewing,” a quarterly series of educational programs created for entrepreneurs in the creative industry.

Houston First operates the city’s finest convention and arts facilities to position Houston as a world-class destination.

In 2014, Houston First and the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau aligned operations to create a single voice representing the city under the brand Visit Houston.

Houston First owns the Hilton Americas-Houston hotel, manages the George R. Brown Convention Center and 10 city-owned properties and is a driving force in developing the new Avenida Houston entertainment district. Learn more at HoustonFirst.com and VisitHouston.com.

Discovery Green is a highly acclaimed 12-acre park created by a public-private partnership between the City of Houston and the nonprofit Discovery Green Conservancy in downtown Houston, Texas.

Since opening in April 2008, the park has welcomed more than 13.5 million visitors. Discovery Green features sprawling lawns, a one-acre lake, an interactive fountain, a playground, public art installations, gardens and an allée of century-old live oaks.

The Discovery Green Conservancy works with hundreds of programming partners to present more than 700 artistic, musical, educational, familyfriendly and health-focused events each year, most of which are presented free to the public. As a nonprofit organization, the Conservancy raises all the funds needed for the programming that Houstonians enjoy.

For more information, please visit www.discoverygreen.com.

Trump nominates three Indian Americans to key posts

U.S. President Donald Trump has nominated three Indian Americans to key administration positions, as per the latest list of senior nominations sent by the White House to the Senate.

Rita Baranwal has been nominated for the post of assistant secretary of Energy (Nuclear Energy), Aditya Bamzai for Member of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board and Bimal Patel as the assistant secretary of Treasury. The intent to nominate Baranwal, Bamzai and Patel was announced by Trump earlier, but the nomination was sent to the Senate on Wednesday.

So far, Trump has nominated or appointed more than three dozen Indian Americans in key positions.

Nikki Haley, the first cabinet ranking Indian American and Raj Shah, the first Indian American deputy Press Secretary, have left the Trump administration.

Baranwal curently holds the post of Director, Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear initiative. If confirmed by the Senate, as assistant secretary of Energy Baranwal will be heading the powerful Office of Nuclear Energy. She will also be responsible for the department’s nuclear technology research and the development and management of the department’s nuclear technology infrastructure.

Baranwal, previously, served as director of the Technology Development and Application at Westinghouse and was a manager in Materials Technology at Bechtel Bettis, where she led research and development in nuclear fuel materials for US naval reactors.

A Yale graduate, Bamzai teaches and writes about civil procedure, administrative law, federal courts, national security law and computer crime. He has earlier served as a law clerk to Justice Antonin Scalia of the U.S. Supreme Court and to Judge Jeffrey Sutton of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

Before entering the academy, Bamzai served as an attorneyadviser in the Office of legal counsel of the U.S. Department of Justice, and as an appellate attorney in both private practice and for the National Security Division of the Justice Department.

Patel currently serves as deputy assistant secretary of the Treasury for the Financial Stability Oversight Council. Prior to joining the United States Department of the Treasury, Patel was a partner and head of the Financial Advisory and Regulation practice in Washington, DC, office of O’Melveny & Myers LLP, the White House said. Patel previously served as senior adviser to Director Jeremiah O Norton on the Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

Facebook brings India on a par with Menlo Park Facebook, in a major overhaul of business structure, has carved out India as a separate region with a six-member board that will be treated on a par with the one at its Menlo Park headquarters in the US. The India board will also be the first such for Facebook in any of its markets outside of the US. The local office will also report directly to Menlo Park and will no longer be part of Facebook’s Asia Pacific operations.

Although the elevation of the status of the India office is a reflection of the country’s growing importance, it is also a reaction to tightening regulations on foreign internet companies in India following a spurt in the spread of deadly rumours on social media. One of the requirements for such companies was to incorporate a local entity.

“The changes mark a significant step, reinforcing Facebook’s commitment to India and will enable more local accountability, faster and efficient decision-making, and closer connection with the headquarters,” said a person directly aware of the matter.

India is the largest market for Facebook outside of the US and with general elections due by May in the world’s largest democracy, Facebook will need to show deeper commitment to prevent political actors from using the platform to spread fake news to manipulate elections.

The changes at Facebook are also expected to accelerate localized consumer products and stronger partnerships with stakeholders in the country, the person cited earlier said.

The new Facebook India board comprises Ajit Mohan as vice president and managing director; Sandeep Bhushan, director and head of global marketing solutions; Ankhi Das, policy director; Prashanth Aluru, strategy and operations director; Manish Chopra, director of partnerships; and Amrit Ahuja, director of communications.

Siddharth Banerjee, director of global sales organization (customer partnerships and agencies), and Archana Vohra, director of small and medium business, will also join the company but will not be part of the board and report to Bhushan.

Mohan, who joined Facebook from Hotstar earlier this month, will report to David Fischer, who is part of Facebook co-founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg’s core team and oversees business and marketing partnerships globally.

“We are excited about the formation of our new leadership team under a new organization structure in India. We have appointed Ajit Mohan to the role of VP & MD (vice president and managing director) of Facebook India, who will be supported by a strong leadership team comprising of some new roles that have been created to bring greater focus to India,” a Facebook spokesperson said in response to a query.

INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 23, 2019 • PAGE 9

COMMUNITY

The Indo-American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Houston celebrates 20 years of excellence

IACCGH’s primary focus is on local economic development and creating local jobs through empowering small and medium enterprises and professionals. Leveraging the powerful “India Advantage� the Chamber facilitates trade between the United States of America and India. The Chamber has achieved steady growth through innovation and robust leadership over the course of two decades.

The Chamber commemorated the start of its 20th Anniversary at the Houston City Hall with Guests of Honor Mayor Sylvester Turner and Indian Consul General Dr. Anupam Ray. It was attended by over 170 members and supporters of the Chamber, representatives of other local chambers and resource partners the Chamber works with including the Greater Houston Partnership and the Confederation of Indian Industries whose representative ew in from Washington.

IACCGH Advisors Dr. Anupam Ray, Dr. David Leebron, Dr. Renu Khator, Dr. Durga Agrawal and Vijay Goradia were joined by Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo, Judge Ravi Sandill , Council member Himesh Gandhi, HCC Trustee Neeta Sane, Senator John Cornyn’s representative Jay Guerrero and Senator Ted Cruz’s representative Jason Fuller, Andy Icken Chief Economic Development OďŹƒcer City of Houston, Michael Wolfe City of Hempstead Mayor, and Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee’s representative in congratulating the Chamber on its anniversary and thanking it for its service to the community.

Other community leaders who were in attendance were Colonel Raj Bhalla, Asif Dakri, Sanjay Jain, Nisha Mirani, Charlie Patel, Manisha Gandhi, Murad Ajani, Nagraj Eleswarapu, Ash Shah, Asha Dhume, Dr. Prasun Jalal & Saeed Pathan.

President Swapan Dhairyawan, in his speech, thanked the past Presidents, naming each for their contribution in building the Chamber to its current stature in the community. He also shared the success of 2018 and outlined his plans for 2019.

The current Board and the Directors at Large were joined by major supporters Shell and Halliburton in a group picture when the Chamber formally announced a Lifetime Achievement Award to be presented to Dr. Durga Agrawal at the 2019 Gala.

The event was catered by Dawaat Catering, a division of Madras Pavilion. Kijana Wiseman led the singing of the US and Indian National Anthems.

A one minute silence was observed in memory of IACCGH

The IACCGH board members with guests.

Consul-general Dr. Anupam Ray Advisor John Mendelsohn.

Twenty years ago a group of local Indo-American businessmen and professionals met the then Consul General of India in Houston and discussed the need to create an Indo-American Chamber of Commerce to serve our region.

The group saw the role India would play in the emerging global economy and wanted to help leverage the India Advantage to help grow our local economy.

The Chamber was chartered in 1999 with Dr. Durga Agrawal as President, Jagdip Ahluwalia as Secretary and Jitu Shah CPA as Treasurer.

Consul General Rinzing Wangdi was the ďŹ rst Advisor and was later joined by eminent local leaders like Compaq’s CEO Michael Capellas, Rice University President Malcolm Gillis, Memorial Hermann President Dan Wolterman and Continental Airlines Chairman Larry Kellner.

Over the years the Chamber kept evolving to address the changing needs of the community. Visit www.iaccgh.com for more information and upcoming events.

IMMIGRATION

LAW OFFICES OF

'$.6+,1, 5 6(1 3 & $WWRUQH\V DW /DZ

7H[DV /RFDWLRQ

6DYR\ 'U 6WH +RXVWRQ 7; 7HO )D[

1HZ <RUN /RFDWLRQ 'DNVKLQL 5 6HQDQD\DNH % 6 // 0 %URDGZD\ 6WH

/LFHQVHG E\ WKH 6XSUHPH &RXUW RI 1HZ <RUN

1HZ <RUN 1<

)D[ 7HO

+ % / 3 71 2 5 ( ( DQG RWKHU QRQLPPLJUDQW YLVDV (PSOR\PHQW )DPLO\ EDVHG *UHHQ &DUGV 3(50 , , , &LWL]HQVKLS

:HE ZZZ GDNVKLQLVHQ FRP (PDLO GDNVKLQL#GDNVKLQLVHQ FRP

HARDIK VYAS Youngest Astrologer in North America Vaastu & Gem Stone Consultant; Hindu Priest for all Pujas & Marriages Languages spoken: English, Hindi, Gujarati & Marathi

House Cleaner Needed

Astrologer Hardik Vyas, a famous young face in Vedic Astrology from India is in Houston. Call for guidance on Health, Wealth, Education, Career, Business, Property, Love & Passion, Marriage & Compatibility, Horoscope-Making, Child Problem, Luck & Fortune, Peace & Prosperity, Karma & Economic success.

$600/Weekly Working Days: Monday & Friday Time Schedule: 9AM - 2PM

Vaastu Shastra is an ancient science. Fix an appointment for personal visit to your home, plot, business/office, shop, factory, or hotel. Gain peace of mind and prosperity by doing little changes as per Vaastu Shastra. Simple, Easy, Scientific & Affordable solutions/remedies to overcome problems in your Horoscope and Vaastu.

Email: jenniferbenny18888 @outlook.com

Astrology & Vaastu Shastra are Science of Nature, and are not related with any religion, caste, or community. It is an Occult Science and gift of nature for the welfare of the people.

Listen to Hardik Vyas live on 1320 AM Shoba Joshiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Geetanajali Radio

E-mail: askfuture@hotmail.com Ph: 832-298-9950 www.toaskfuture.com

PAGE 10 • INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 23, 2019

NEWS NRIs are India’s brand ambassadors, symbolise country’s capabilities: PM Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday described NRIs as India’s brand ambassadors and said they were the symbols of the country’s capabilities.

The prime minister was inaugurating the 15th Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas convention in

his parliamentary constituency Varanasi.

“I consider NRIs India’s brand ambassadors. They are the symbols of our capacities and capabilities,” he told the gathering.

“People of Indian origin are in leadership roles in countries

such as Mauritius, Portugal and Ireland,” he said.

Modi also alluded to former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi’s comment that only 15 paise of Re 1 reaches masses and said the Congress government had done nothing to stop the leakage.

Call for appointment

832 542 0172 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.

7 days a week

9663 Richmond Ave. Houston, Tx 77063

Saturday, Jan 26th, 3:00 PM Sugar Land Town Square 2711 Plaza Drive, Sugar Land, TX 77479

Shyama Popuri Email: sspopuri1@hotmail.com Phone # 832 520 5204 Jaydeep Chaudhary Email: jdbasna@yahoo.com Phone # 334 332 5706

This event has been moved from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM due to cold weather

The prime minister added that his government had stepped in to rectify the situation. The “85 per cent loot” taking place during the Congress regime had been plugged “100 per cent” through technology, he said.

“We have given about Rs 5,80,000 crore to people, transferred to their bank accounts through various schemes. Imagine, if the country was being run on the older system? Then Rs 4,50,000 crore would have vanished,” Modi said.

Continuing his attack on the Congress, he said efforts to stop the “leakage” could have been made earlier as well but there was no intention and will power.

“Our government is moving towards ensuring that the aid given by government is directly transferred to beneficiary accounts through direct benefit schemes,” he said.

Mauritian Premier Pravind Jugnauth, who is the chief guest for the three-day event, also spoke on the occasion.

He hailed the prime minister for India’s transformation through initiatives such as the Skill India and the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao schemes.

He also praised Modi’s global stewardship in promoting clean energy and for setting up the International Solar Alliance.

Jugnauth announced that his country will hold a Bhagwad Gita Mahotsav next month and a Bhojpuri Festival next year.

For the first time, the three-day convention is being organised from January 21 to 23 instead of January 9 to allow participants to visit the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad and attend the Republic Day parade in the national capital.

The theme of this year’s convention is ‘Role of Indian diaspora in building new India’.

Mauritian PM wows crowd with Bhojpuri Many foreign dignitaries speak a few Hindi words to wow crowds in India but Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth went a step further on Tuesday and broke into chaste Bhojpuri in his address at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, much to the delight of the gathering.

“Bahut bars pehle, jaun logan hiyan se Mauritius jal rahlan, aaj oo logan ki santaan ee pavitra dharti par aal howan, ja humni ki khatir ee apan aap mein aego teerthba (Many years ago, those people who had left for Mauritius, their children have come to this pure land and for them this land is pilgrimage), the visiting leader said, drawing loud cheers from the crowd.

Jugnauth, who also spoke in Hindi several times during his address, signed off saying, Dono deshon ki gehri mitrita bani rahe (the friendship between the two countries continues).

Many of those from India who first arrived in Mauritius to work as indentured labourers were those from Bihar, speaking Bhojpuri.

India to issue chip based e-passport PM Modi said work was on to issue chip-based e-passports to Indian citizens under a centralized passport system.

“Our embassies and consulates are being connected to the Passport Seva Project worldwide,” he said addressing the inaugural ceremony of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas.

“This will prepare a centralized system connected to the passport service for all of you,” he added. “Going one step ahead, work is on for issuing of the chip-based e-passport.”

He also said that work was on to simplify the process of issuing visas to PIO (Person of Indian Origin) and OCI (Overseas Citizen of India) cards.

The government’s endeavour was to see to it that Indians were happy and safe wherever they live abroad, he said.

“In the last four-and-a-half years, more than two lakh Indians stranded in crisis situations abroad have been helped by the government and its efforts,” he said.

Pravasi Bharatiya Divas is celebrated in India every year.

• It is celebrated to mark the contribution of the overseas Indian community to the development of India.

• The day also commemorates the return of Mahatma Gandhi from South Africa in Bombay on January 9, 1915.

• The decision to celebrate Pravasi Bharatiya Divas was taken in accordance with recommendations of the High Level Committee on the Indian Diaspora set up by India Government under the chairmanship of L M Singhvi.

• The day was formally established in 2003 and is sponsored by the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Ministry of Development of the North Eastern Region of India.

• The 14th Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas was held in New Delhi.

INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 23, 2019 • PAGE 11

GENERAL MEETING LUNCHEON YHGH

Our organization aims to connect young Hindus in Houston by offering leadership, cultural, social, and service programs.

Guest Speaker

Event Details DATE& TIME: January 26th -Saturday DATE& TIME: 12:00 PM–2:00 PM LOCATION CATION: Arya Samaj Houston 14375 Schiller Rd, Houston, TX 77082

We have monthly meetings everyone is welcome to attend.

If you would like more information, visit youth.hindusofhouston.org or reach us at yhgh@hindusofhouston.org

Brij Kathuria

Indo-American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Houston

Kirti Jewelers & K.V. Diamonds Exquisite Gold and Diamond Jewelry for all festive occasions Buy with confidence. Check out our superb collection of fine jewelry.

Custom-made diamond engagement and wedding rings Your Designs! Our Workmanship!!

Pamper yourself with the most well-crafted, traditional, modern or fashion jewelry in eye-catching designs...

A truly charmed collection that will enhance your personality!

6655 Harwin Drive Ste A101 • Houston, TX 77036

Tel: 713-789-GOLD (4653)

The largest and most pleasing selection of gold and diamond necklaces, rings, bangles, ear rings, bracelets and much, much more.

PAGE 12 • INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 23, 2019

INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 23, 2019 • PAGE 13

NEWS The Madras High Court on Friday directed the Industries Secretary and the Joint Director of Geology and Mines in Tiruvannamalai district to file status reports on steps being taken to transport a huge piece of rock from the district to Bengaluru for carving an idol.

A Division Bench of Justices M. Sathyanarayanan and P. Rajamanickam sought the status report from the two officials by February 14 on a public interest litigation petition filed and argued in person by activist advocate P. Rathinam, 71, of Namakkal district.

According to the petitioner, a religious trust based in Bengaluru had obtained permission from the Tamil Nadu government in 2014 to quarry 460 metres of charnockite stone from a hillock situated at Korakottai village in Vandavasi taluk of Tiruvannamalai district.

The purpose of the exercise was to carve out a 64-foot statue of Kothandaramar in Bengaluru. Since such a huge rock could not be transported easily, the trust had engaged the services of a specially-designed truck with nearly 160 wheels.

Further, many residential houses and commercial establishments in the locality had to be demolished to pave the way for transportation of the rock.

Though the trust had promised to compensate property owners, the entire amount was not paid, he alleged.

Stating that he had taken stock of the situation during a personal inspection, the advocate said that a fruitful solution could not be found for the problem despite taking it to the notice of the local Member of the Legislative Assembly as well as Member of Parliament.

Research on Ayurveda drugs through nanotech Efforts of Union Ayush Ministry have started yielding results with various research institutions initiating experiments using latest scientific technology in the ancient Indian medicine. After Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), now Madhya Pradesh-based Jiwaji University has come forward in this direction.

The Gwalior situated University and Delhi-based AIMIL Pharmaceutical firm, engaged in manufacturing herbal drugs recently inked a pact to develop new drugs as well as scientifically validate the existing drugs in the ayurveda sector using nanotechnology.

Several researches have shown that drug delivery through nanoparticles is efficient and is important in allopathy, as well as in Ayurveda. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Jiwaji University Vice-Chancellor, Dr Sangeeta Shukla and AIMIL Pharmaceutical Executive Director Sanchit Sharma in the presence of Union Health Ministry’s Department of Health Research (DHR) exSecretary VM Katoch.

On the occasion, Katoch said that Ayurveda has answers to many chronic diseases and if intensive research on modern

scientific basis is undertaken in the sector, world class medicines can be developed for the humankind.

Katoch gave instance of how in the past, the DRDO had developed Leukoskin to treat white patches while country’s premier research agency, CSIR has developed anti-diabetes herbal drug BGR 34.

It has properties to contribute to the maintenance of normal blood glucose metabolism, restore quality of life and reduce the chances of long-term complications. Incidentally, AIMIL Pharmaceutical has role in developing and marketing both the herbal medicines.

Amil Pharmaceutical Vice President Anil Sharma explained that as per the MoU, emphasis will be on testing old formulations as well as developing new medicines. “Nano techonolgy will be used for research purpose. With the help of this technology, huge difference can be brought in the quality of molecules.”

It means, he explained, it will be possible to prepare more effective medicines. As per the MoU, a battery of scientists and experiment related facilities will be provided by the Jiwaji University while AIMIL Pharmaceuticals will help in chipping requisite equipments and infrastructure for the initiative.

Sewa International’s Family Services Hot Line

832-900-9354

Visit www. India-herald.com.

Email: editor@india-herald.com

Court seeks report on moving giant stone to Bangaluru

The charnockite stone was meant for a deity’s statue

Last chance to save Sanatan Dharma, says former DGP T P Senkumar, the then Director General of Police, Kerala, who also headed the Intelligence Wing , cautioned the Ayyappa devotees on Sunday that the agitation for preserving traditions and customs at Lord Ayyappa Temple at Sabarimala was the last opportunity to save the Sanatan Dharma. Addressing a mammoth rally named Ayyappa Bhaktha Samgamam at the historical Putharikandam Maidan in the Capital city, Senkumar warned the devotees that the next target of the Kerala Government would be Sri Pamanabha Swamy Temple which is believed to own treasure worth more than Rs 1,50,000 crore.

“The writ petition demanding the entry of women of all ages in the Sabarimala Temple was filed by five individuals who were ignorant of the Agama Sasthras that Govern the customs and traditions of the temple. Three of the petitioners withdrew from the case once they understood the reasons behind the rules governing the worshipping by women. The present Kerala Government led by the CPI-M and the Travancore Devaswam Board did not furnish the relevant details to the Supreme Court which resulted in the September 28, 2018 verdict by the five-member Constitution Bench of the

Supreme Court,” said Senkumar.

The former Kerala Police Chief accused the Kerala Government aswell as some of the over zealous police officials for vitiating the atmosphere in Sabarimala by “air-dropping” women devotees camouflaged as men inside the sanctum with an intention to humiliate the devotes. “Would this government dare to meddle with places of worship belonging to the minority religions? The need of the hour is a provision in the Constitution which offers the rights enjoyed by the minority communities to the majority community too,” said Senkumar.

The rally and meeting held to mark the protest of the Hindu community towards the Kerala Government for its “high-handed” actions in Sabarimala and elsewhere in the State turned out to be a unique event as Matha Amritanandamayi, known as the Hugging Saint of Vallikkavu making her first ever appearance in a public function. The meeting also saw saints, sants and sanyasins from all the southern States participating in the meeting despite severe criticism from the Kerala Government and the CPI-M. The Matha and Swami Chidanandapuri, spiritual leader of

the Hindus in the State made an important disclosure in their speeches. “The mandatory 41 days penance observed by the Ayyappa devotees as a prelude to their pilgrimage to the shrine is the time of the year when women in the rural households see peace and happiness. This is because the pilgrims stay away from consumption of alcohol,” said Swamy Chidanandapuri. The Matha said that a research held by the medical team of her Ashram has found that the number of patients brought to hospitals in Kollam and neighbouring districts were 40 per cent less during the Sabarimala season because of the disciplined life and abstinence from liquor.

She said she was for gender justice and equality. “But one should not destroy temple traditions and culture in the name of gender justice. If the temple culture si destroyed , the temple ceases to be a plae of worship,” warned the soft-spoken Matha. The Samgamam had its own dramatic scenes. Bharat Bhooshan, brother of Kanaka Durga, who entered the sanctum of Sabarimala, declared from the stage that his family or Kanaka Durga’s husband’s family won’t accept her till she apologises to the devotees for violating the tradition.

All Bengali refugees will be given citizenship:Amit Shah Kick-starting the BJP’s campaign in West Bengal, party chief Amit Shah Tuesday said all Bengali refugees will be granted citizenship with the passage of the Citizenship Bill.

Speaking at a rally in Malda, Shah took on the ruling Trinamool Congress and said the upcoming Lok Sabha elections will be for restoring democracy in the state.

“I want to assure that all the Bengali refugees will be given

citizenship under the Citizenship Bill. The TMC government has done nothing for the refugees but we will give them citizenship,” he said.

Taking a jibe at the rally of opposition parties in Kolkata, he said the anti-BJP parties did not utter ‘Bharat Mata ki jai or ‘Vande Mataram’ even once during the public meeting, but kept chanting ‘Modi Modi’.

He alleged that the ‘mahagathbandhan’ of opposition

parties was meant for “gaining power and serving personal interests”.

“Mahagathbandhan is all about greed and lust. They want to remove Modi, while we want to remove poverty and corruption,” he said.

Describing the Trinamool Congress dispensation as a “government that facilitates murders”, he said the party will be ousted in the general elections.

PAGE 14 • INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 23, 2019

NEWS US-based hacker Syed Shuja claims 2014 Indian elections were rigged A US-based hacker has sensationally claimed that 2014 Lok Sabha polls were rigged and veteran BJP leader Gopinath Munde was murdered because he was aware of the election rigging using EVMs. Speaking to media, the USbased hacker, Syed Shuja, said that the 2014 Lok Sabha elections were rigged.

“Entire 2014 election was rigged, actual results was completely different than what shown to world. And since then all elections have been rigged. There is a transmitter in the EVM chip,” he said.

Shuja also claimed that Gopinath Munde was murdered because he was aware of EVM hacking.

He claimed that Reliance Communications helped the BJP to get low frequency signals to hack EVMs. “Reliance Communications have the network to transmit the date, BJP is the beneficiary.

There are nine places in India where there are facilities.

The employees don’t know that they are tampering with EVMs. They think they are doing data entry,” he said.

He said that aside from the BJP, the SP, BSP and the AAP too approached him to know if EVMs could be hacked. Shuja said once he was attacked by the BJP in Hyderabad when he went to meet a saffron party leader.

Veteran Congress leader Kapil Sibal too joined the press conference.

Syed Shuja appeared through video conferencing link as a part of Monday’s much-publicised hacking event.

The organizers of the event had claimed to show the live hacking of EVMs. This assumed significance in light of this year’s crucial Lok Sabha polls. Many opposition parties have often accused the BJP of tampering with EVMs to achieve favorable election results.

Unlike many developed democracies, India has abandoned the use of ballot papers many years ago with elections now taking place using EVMs. The invitation by the organiser read, “IJA Europe in co-operation with FOREIGN PRESS ASSOCIATION London cordially invite you to the presentation by and question & answer session with the cyber expert starting 12 noon on Monday 21 January next at the Lutyens and Wedgewood Rooms of The Clubhouse, 8 St James’s Square, London SW1Y 4JU (nearest tube station Piccadilly Circus).”

Among those taking part in the hacking event is also a cyber expert, who has claimed to be one of the designers of EVMs, used in India.

According to him, not only are these machines hackable, but have routinely been hacked in recent Indian national and state elections to rig results.

Taking cognisance of claims made at a press conference in London by Syed Shuja, the Election Commission of India on January 22 asked the Delhi Police to register an FIR. The Commission wrote to the Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi), alleging that by making such claims, Shuja had caused public mischief, which is an offence under Section 505(1) (b) of the Indian Penal Code.

The Supreme Court and several High Courts, in their judgments, had endorsed the use of EVMs in elections.

Following doubts raised by various political parties, the Commission, in June 2017, organized an “open challenge”, inviting experts to demonstrate any vulnerability in the machines, the poll panel said.

“Nobody turned up for such demonstrations,” said the ECI in its complaint, adding that the act of Shuja was violative of Section 505(1)(b).

Shuja — who is said to be in the United States — addressed the press conference in London through Skype on January 21. He claimed that he was part of the EVM design team and that he could hack the machines.

Firmly stand by foolproof nature of EVMs: EC The Election Commission of India has responded to the outlandish claims made in London regarding Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) that are used in Indian elections.

The Election Commission says it “firmly stands by the empirical facts about foolproof nature of ECI EVMs deployed in elections in India” and that it is “wary of becoming a party to this motivated slugfest”.

The commission said it is reiterating that EVMs used in Indian elections are manufactured under “very strict supervisory and security conditions”. The commission suggested that it is mulling taking legal action in response to the claims made at the London event today. “It is being separately examined as to what legal action can and should be taken in the matter,” the EC said.

Election Commission’s statement: “It has come to the notice of Election Commission of India that an event claiming to demonstrate EVMs used

by ECI can be tampered with, has been organised in London.

Whereas, ECI has been wary

of becoming a party to this motivated slugfest, ECI firmly stands by the empirical facts about foolproof nature of ECI EVMs deployed in elections in India. It needs to be reiterated that these EVMs are manufactured in Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) under very strict supervisory and security conditions and there are rigorous Standard Operating Procedures meticulously observed at all stages under the supervision of a Committee of eminent technical experts constituted way back in 2010.

ECIL statement The self-proclaimed Indian cyber expert, who alleged that the 2014 general election was ‘rigged’, was not an employee of the Electronics Corporation of India Ltd. (ECIL) as claimed by him, the public sector undertaking said on Tuesday.

The EVMs are designed and developed by the ECIL. The Election Commission of India has already rejected the charges and asked the Delhi Police to lodge an FIR against Shuja.

Mr. Shuja had claimed he was part of a team at the ECIL that was involved in the design and development of EVMs between 2009 to 2014.

In a letter to Deputy Election Commissioner Sudeep Jain, the ECIL said that Mr. Shuja had neither been in the rolls of the ECIL as a regular employee nor was he in any way associated with EVMs. “The records of this company have been verified and it is found that Mr. Syed Shuja has neither been in the rolls of ECIL as a regular employee nor was he in any way associated in the design and development of EVMs in ECIL produced between 2009 to 2014,” the letter

by ECIL chairman and managing director Rear Adm. (retd.)

Sanjay Chaudey said.

Jallikattu enters world record even as two killed in the act

A grand “jallikattu” (bulltaming) event held here on Sunday entered the world record for the maximum number of bulls released into the sporting arena which was over 1,300 and almost double than the previous record.

The bull taming sporting event, coordinated by Tamil Nadu Health Minister C Vijayabaskar at Viralimalai near here saw the participation of 1,354 bulls and 424 tamers.

Two of the participants were killed in the event while 31 men, including some spectators, were injured, according to the district police.

“The number of 1,354 bulls that participated was almost double (than the previous record) of 647 two years ago and it is an amazing record for Tamil Nadu,” a Worldkings World Records Union representative said. Although about 2,000 bulls were originally scheduled to be released into the sprawling sporting arena, it could not be completed owing to paucity of time, the organisers said.

“It was the highest number of bulls in a single day,” Vijayabaskar said and added that he

was happy to have coordinated the sport of valour of the Tamil people.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami hailed ‘Jallikattu’ as a symbol of the valour and courage of the Tamil people. Successful bull tamers and owners of bulls that could not be tamed were showered with gifts.

On January 17, a spectator died of heart attack during the bull taming sport of Jallikattu which was held at Alanganallur in Madurai district.

More than 300 persons had been injured in various jallikkattu events which commenced after the Pongal festivities of this year.

These are the first fatalities of the 2019 Jallikkattu season which is expected to last up to September.

The year 2018 saw 32 persons getting gorrrd to death by bulls (unofficial figures put that fatalities as 68 dead). More than 20 bulls got killed in last year’s event.

“Jallikkattu stands out as a symbol of Tamil’s valour. By conducting such a grand event Viralimalai has grabbed a place

in the list of Jallikkattu famed places like Alanganallur, Palamedu and Avaniyapuram,” said the Chief Minister while inaugurating the event.

Antony Rubin, an animal rights activist who has been waging a legal battle against the Jallikkattu pointed out that the exact number of persons killed in bull taming event would never be known.

“We saw two persons getting killed at Viralimalai. The fate of those persons who have been admitted to hospitals would never be known as these events take place in remote villages.

The attenction of the media as well as the officials shift to the next location and Viralimalai id forgotten,” said Rubin.

Supreme Court is hearing a batch of petitions filed by animal rights activist pleading for a ban on Jallikkattu, which is described as sport of death.

Though a division bench of the apex court had banned the event, the Tamil Nadu Government got the court order nullified by enacting a law in the Legislative Assembly in January 2017 and making the Centre promulgate an ordinance.

Download Indiaherald App from the App store or Google Playstore.

INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 23, 2019 • PAGE 15

ANALYSIS

Don’t confuse Trump’s style with substance

By ISHAN JOSHI Aesthetically repugnant as he may be, many of the US President’s policies, if he walks the talk, represent an opportunity for India to further its national interest Of all the speeches, tweets and off-the-cuff remarks which together constitute President Donald J Trump’s articulation of the US’ global policy priorities and ideological positions (or lack thereof), there has never been one that defines his presidency more than his address to the United Nations in end-2017.

It was the most unambiguous speech by a world leader to the globe’s most ambiguous institution in recent history. In a sense, it was a rather effective exercise in showing the mirror to the UN. He started off by putting the cat firmly among the pigeons by reminding the gathering that President Harry S Truman was instrumental in establishing the UN as an organization specifically for post-WW II nation-states to help build democratic institutions in their respective countries that would strengthen memberstates’ sovereignty and help them serve their citizens better.

It was a timely intervention.

After all, someone needed to juxtapose what was intended with what the UN has become — a sinecure for the elite of various nations which passes ineffective and often unimplementable resolutions, an illiberal club which has ended up bestowing legal rights to groups at the cost of the individual and an organization that happily tolerates grotesque aberrations of a Libya or Sudan finding a place on its human rights council, for example.

Trump also laid out his doctrine for America’s place in the world which, over the past year and a bit since his speech, seems to have been broadly accepted by the American establishment though his style of doing things is, perfectly understandably, unacceptable to many, including the simpatico.

But let us not confuse style with substance.

This doctrine emphatically underlines the supremacy of the nation-state in global interaction and/or cooperation while championing sovereignty, security and prosperity for them individually.

Crucially, he was careful to emphasise the demonstration effect of robust, liberal, democracies even as he iterated that Washington was not in favour of imposing a way of life on others and was accepting of diversity in governance models across the globe which may not albeit be ideal.

Where he was explicit was in calling out Iran/Yemen, as corrupt, despotic (Islamist) dictatorships and Cuba/Venezuela as corrupt, totalitarian (Socialist) dictatorships.

He did, of course, take a swipe at Russia and China, without naming them, for their expansionist moves in the Ukraine and the South China Sea respectively as well.

But there was a qualitative difference in the latter criticism, rooted as it was more in fighting both countries as global power competitors as opposed to the “bogus internationalism” of the so-called Islamist/Socialist countries which are ideologically committed to undermining the global order premised on nation-states or blocs thereof as the primary unit of interaction.

(North Korea and Syria, also attacked by Trump, represent proxy threats for the US and are a discussion for elsewhere.)

His definition of such rogue nations as the “wicked few” and his exhortation to “decent nations not to become bystanders” were just sound and fury signifying American strategic interests, so they need not detain us here.

But his frontal attack on bogus internationalism and exhortation to all UN member nation-states to put their country first just as he was putting America first provides India the opportunity it needs to recalibrate its own place in the world at a time of geo-strategic flux.

In calling for a renewal of the founding principle of the UN, which is its memberstates’ sovereignty, focussing on outcomes not ideology and adhering to what may be termed principled realism, the US, if it continues down this path, has opened up space for India to attempt and secure its strategic interests in a substantial manner.

To be facile, all we need is to replace Iran with Pakistan in the countries listed by Trump at the UN and we are good to go! The reality, of course, is more complicated than that; for example, Saudi Arabia should in an ideal world make it to any list of despotic Islamic regimes but it is neither in the US’ nor India’s interest to proffer such a suggestion.

The situation, however, is not so complicated as to not provide New Delhi enough leverage to make space for itself at the high table, provided we keep our domestic internal security situation under control, economic growth robust and democratic institutions ticking over despite the odd setback or two.

Especially, given Washington’s targeting as articulated

by Trump in his UN speech of those nations which support and promote the aims of “Al Qaeda, Hezbollah, Taliban and others”, the last-mentioned presumably keeping the door open for inclusion of terrorist tanzeems operating in the Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir in this list.

Trump’s frontal attack on bogus internationalism and exhortation to all UN member nation-states to put their country first just as he was putting America first provides India the opportunity it needs to recalibrate its own place in the world at a time of geo-strategic flux.

Of course, in isolating pseudo-socialist totalitarian regimes and repressive Islamic theocracies — though that does not mean one doesn’t deal with them in one’s national interest even if with a pinched nose — Trump is focussed on US interests; the trick for New Delhi to pull off is to see how far our interests align with Washington’s given this oncein-a-generation opportunity.

It is not only about metanarratives but also the smaller issues on which there is an emerging convergence of views.

For example, Trump was emphatic in telling the UN that pressure by its refugee organization on the US to allow refugees stateside was in effect dictatorial, chipped away at sovereignty and untenable. At the cost of resettling one refugee in the US, we can help 10 make a better life in their own countries, he said.

New Delhi, grappling with similar pressure despite not having the economic wherewithal of the US in regard to,

say, accommodating Rohingya refugees, should obviously take note. It is the citizens of low-income neighboring countries who bear the cost both of refugees fleeing conflict and oppression or plain economic migrants.

US emphasis on result/ outcome-orientated global actions, however, does require a fundamental reform of the United Nations itself. That is where the real opportunity for India lies if it can find common ground with the US. For example, given his transactional approach, President Trump has been quick to articulate the long-standing grouse of the American conservative establishment that the US’ contribution to the UN budget is 22 per cent of the total despite the US being just one of the UN’s 193 memberstates. But he was quick to add even while encouraging other members to contribute more that the investment was worth it if peace and global order could be delivered.

The disproportionate mili-

tary/financial contribution of the US in terms of the influence it has on the world body is a sentiment India is in a good position to exploit if it is adroit in the steps it needs to take to secure its strategic objectives.

The US President’s paean to the nation-state and advocacy of independent, strong, prosperous countries guiding the UN as the best way to secure peace in our time as opposed to letting far-off, faceless bureaucracies such as the UN have the deciding say is in consonance with the approach of the Indian deep state.

It’s better to have people taking ownership of their future rather than be led by a paternalistic global elite that in the name of seeking mutual bliss-points ignores the oppressive nature of the regimes that push this line.

(The writer is an independent journalist and commentator based in New Delhi.)

—The Daily Pioneer

PAGE 16 • INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 23, 2019

NEWS

10% quota giving sleepless nights to Opposition: Narendra Modi A day after the Opposition’s massive unity rally in Kolkata, Prime Minister Narendra Modi termed the grouping against his party an “alliance of corruption, negativity and instability”.

Stating that his government’s decision to provide 10% reservation to economically weaker sections (EWS) in the general category was giving “sleepless nights” to the opposition, he said it was the reason for the latter to fan across the country to “spread rumours” about the move.

Mr. Modi was addressing BJP’s booth-level workers from Lok Sabha constituencies of Kolhapur, Hatkanangle, Madha and Satara in Maharashtra and South Goa through video-conference on Saturday.

“You must have seen that one of the leaders who was sharing the dais recalled the Bofors scam. Truth cannot be kept hidden. The Opposition’s mahagathbandhan is an alliance of capitalists, corruption, scams, negativity and instability,” he said. “The Opposition has dhanshakti (money power), we have janshakti (people’s

power),” Mr. Modi added.

“Those who were on the dais in Kolkata were either son or daughter of a big person or who wanted to make his son or daughter big in politics,” the Prime Minister alleged.

Those who never believed in democracy within their parties were now talking about democracy from a public platform, he said, taking a dig at the Opposition’s rally.

He said such people do not have faith in any institution and are busy defaming constitutional authorities.

“While on one hand they are busy saving or nurturing their own families, we are busy developing a nation. Our country is our family... Those who start violence against the person contesting against them even at the panchayat level, are now singing songs of protecting democracy,” Mr. Modi said.

On social injustice “If our decision had no strength, then these people would not have had sleepless nights. They have to get down in the field to spread lies and rumours. This means we have done right work and worked

CJI refuses to specify date for hearing Sabarimala review petitions Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi on Tuesday refused to specify a date for hearing a slew of review petitions filed against the September 28 judgment of the Supreme Court revoking the bar on women of menstrual age from entering the Sabarimala temple to worship.

A five-judge Bench led by the Chief Justice was scheduled to hear the review petitions on Tuesday (January 22).

However, the Bench did not assemble as one of its members, Justice Indu Malhotra, was on medical leave.

Responding to an oral mention by advocate Mathew Nedumpara to fix a date of hearing, Chief Justice Gogoi said that would not be possible until Justice Malhotra returned after her leave, possibly on January 30.

“We will have to ask the learned judge, who is on medical leave. We cannot ascertain a date without asking her [Justice Malhotra],” Chief Justice Gogoi addressed Mr. Nedumpara, who represents one of the several review petitioners.

Justice Malhotra had delivered the lone dissent in the majority judgment of the fivejudge Constitution Bench on September 28. The judgment had declared the exclusion, solely based on the menstrual status of women, to be a smear on individual dignity. It said the bar amounted to “treating

women as the children of a lesser God”.

Justice Malhotra, in her dissent, had declared the prohibition on women aged between 10 and 50 years to be an “essential practice”. She held that imposing the court’s morality on a religion would negate the freedom to practise religion according to one’s faith and beliefs. Her judgment has since then become a rallying point for the review petitioners.

Review petitions were filed by a range of persons, from the Sabarimala temple’s chief priest to individuals and Ayyappa organisations, including women devotees’ bodies. They have urged the court that ‘reform’ does not mean rendering a religious practice out of existence on the basis of a PIL plea filed by “third parties” who do not believe in the Sabarimala deity.

Justice Malhotra’s rationale that courts should not allow “interlopers” to file PIL pleas challenging religious practices is a common thread in the review petitions. The review petitioners have argued that the right to move the Supreme Court for violation of fundamental rights must be reserved for those whose personal rights to worship have been violated.

Entertaining of PIL pleass on religious practices by third parties may invite “perils even graver for religious minorities”.

for the country,” he said.

“After researching the Constitution, we made 10% reservation for the economically weaker sections. They (opposition) have not done anything for social injustice. When we did it, they were caught napping,” he said.

Additional seats Seeking to allay concerns about lack of seats in educational institutes to accommodate the new quota provision, Mr. Modi said, “I would like to assure that we will increase 10% seats in every educational institution so that despite reservation, everyone will get an opportunity.”

He said the government would ensure that no one faced injustice and that the quota for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes remain intact. “But with (the new) 10% reservation, new opportunities have been opened up,” the Prime Minister asserted.

“Those who say that I took the decision keeping polls in mind, I want to ask them, when do we not have elections in the country,” he said. “If I did it before, they would have said I did it for the Karnataka elections, before that they would have said I did it to get benefit in Gujarat elections,” he added.

DMK moves High Court against 10% quota The DMK, which demanded earlier this month that the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly pass a unanimous resolution against the 10 per cent reservation announced by the Centre for the economically weaker sections in the forward communities, approached the Madras High Court on Friday with a writ petition, challenging the Constitutional validity of the recent amendment incorporated in the Constitution in this regard.

According to R S Bharati, MP, the petitioner, the amendment made in the Constitution setting apart ten per cent quota in Government jobs and seats in educational institutions to the underprivileged sections in forward communities was unconstitutional and violated the basic feature of the Constitution.

A division bench consisting of Justices S Manikumar and Subramanioum Prasad agreed to hear the case as and when the High Court Registry lists the matter before them for admission.

Bharati stated in his affidavit that reservation in education and public employment were provided under the Constitution for uplifting the oppressed and backward classes and to end caste-based discrimination in existence in the country for about three millenniums.

In such circumstances, the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Fourth Amendment) Bill of 2019, intended at providing reservations on the basis of economic status, was introduced in the Lok Sabha on January 8 and rushed through its introduction was not part of the agenda of the Lower House of Parliament on that day, he claimed Though the ruling AIADMK too had expressed their Opposition to the Constitution amendment to ensure 10 per cent quota for the poorest of the poor in the forward communities, it has not shown any interest in adopting a resolution in the legislative Assembly. Thambi Durai, deputy speaker of the Lok Sabha and the propaganda secretary of the AIADMK had stated in the House itself that his party would vehemently oppose any move to dilute the reservation system.

The reservation in Tamil Nadu is already at 69 per cent due to the operation of the Tamil Nadu Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Reservation of Seats in Educational Institutions and of Appointments or Posts in the Services under the State) Act, 1993 (Tamil Nadu Act 45 of 1993) which has the protection of Article 31-B and has been placed in the IXth Schedule of the Constitution.

Kolkata rally: A statement of intent With Mayawati’s political moves and Mamata’s rally, it’s clear they’re both contenders for the PM’s seat. But what about the Congress’ Rahul Gandhi?

Saturday’s mega Opposition rally in Kolkata was, on the one hand, a strong statement of intent on the part of the Opposition parties — while at the same time, it also exposed the inherent faultlines in their ranks in the run-up to the 2019 elections. The absence of Rahul Gandhi and BSP supremo Mayawati from the rally served to underline the contradictions that still exist within their ranks.

At the heart of the issue is the question of who would lead the coalition of opposition parties if the numbers add up in their favour.

While it is crystal clear that no one party is in a position to either defeat the BJP on its own or form the next government all by itself, what is still not clear is who will head this combine. Though the opposition maintains that the leadership question will be decided after the polls, a point that was reiterated at Saturday’s rally by the TMC chief herself, it’s no secret that there are already three obvious contenders.

Ideally, the Congress party would want Rahul Gandhi to become the Prime Minister in 2019.

The second is BSP chief Mayawati and third but not the last is Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

While neither of them has openly staked their claim, the positions they have begun to adopt, whether on the question of conceding seat

adjustments, alliances or sharing a platform, all of it is being done with a view on the post-poll scenario.Last week; Mayawati put her foot down on the idea of including the Congress as a part of the alliance in UP. Earlier, the Congress failed to concede seats to the SP and the BSP in Rajasthan, MP and Chhattisgarh. In Bengal, Mamata Banerjee refuses to concede an inch to the Congress when it comes to the question of seat sharing, all with a view to limiting the Congress party’s tally of seats.

Her decision to host and bring together opposition leaders was aimed as much to subtly promote her own position as a potential leader of a post-poll alliance of political parties that are now part of the opposition.

The Gandhis chose to stay away, though they sent Mallikarjun Kharge and Abhishek Singhvi and a letter of support, largely because in Bengal, they have an alliance with the Left parties, and also because Mamata has shown no inclination of accommodating the Congress party. She sent a personal invite to the Congress leadership but chose deliberately to ignore the state leadership of the Congress party. In her own mind, Mayawati too sees herself as a Prime Ministerial candidate and went out of her way to ensure that the Congress party was kept out of the alliance in UP. By not attending the rally herself, Mayawati sought to send out a message that she was unwilling to subsume her

own ambitions.

The post-poll scenario has, to a large extent, dictated the choice of allies of all three parties. Mamata Banerjee and Mayawati are both banking on the fact that the regional parties put together will have more seats than the Congress and its allies — thereby forcing the grand old party to support a leader from amongst the regional parties to head their coalition. The Bengal CM has a door open to the likes of Telangana CM K Chandrashekhar Rao, Andhra leader Jagan Reddy and even Orissa CM Naveen Patnaik — all of whom are opposed to the Congress.

Mayawati is banking on the alliance winning a big chunk of seats in UP and thereby emerging as a front runner to become the first Dalit PM of the country.

The Congress party has long fancied itself the natural party of governance and hopes to emerge as the single largest party from at least amongst the non-BJP parties, so that it can have a shot at leading the next government. It is also banking on its allies, the JD(S), DMK, NCP, TDP, National Conference, IUML, and Badruddin Ajmal, to swing the leadership its way. For now, these leaders will have to rein in their personal ambitions for the larger cause. TNarendra Modi and the BJP will not fold up and retreat into the sunset — and their defeat is by no means certain. One false step by the Opposition could spell doom for the Mahagathbandhan.

INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 23, 2019 • PAGE 17

NEWS The new retail king: Mukesh Ambani It is quite clear that Mukesh Ambani has been wanting to get into online retail for some time. A lot of the discussions around a new e-commerce policy being put together by this government can clearly be seen to be influenced by his vision.

The tycoon’s comments at the Vibrant Gujarat summit about ‘data colonialisation’, which indirectly attacks foreign players in the online space from social media companies to e-commerce players, has been timed to make maximum impact.

And Mukesh Ambani could well be very successful in this space given the tremendous success he has had in telecom.

Reliance Jio has pretty much overnight become one of the largest players in India and has done wonders to Ambani’s reputation.

From a man routinely dissed by some politicians and a person whose reputation was not necessarily the best among the public, he is now widely considered the man who brought down the prices of data.

Frankly, there is little arguing with that contention. But transforming telecom and transforming retail, especially online retail, are two different

Mukesh Ambani wants to dethrone Amazon and Walmart from the Indian e-commerce space. It may not be easy. things altogether.

However, one stratagem that Ambani used in telecom might come in handy in online retail as well, which is going after the mass market instead of the topend.

While India is a very lopsided consumer economy with the top 25 million households contributing an outsize amount to the economy, Ambani, with Jio, clearly looked at the next hundred million big spenders, who may not be big spenders today but as the Indian economy continues to grow, this aspirational ‘middle class’ is where the big bucks are.

Or so the idea is. The ‘great’ Indian middle-class has been a fairly ephemeral beast so far, its potential held back by a lack of jobs or as some have

described, enough high-paying jobs, which is evident from income tax data.

However, Mukesh Ambani seems confident that this growth will come, a confidence that American investors in the Indian e-commerce space Amazon and Walmart also feel confident about.

The changes in policy that appear to be driven by Reliance might, however, have an impact of driving them away.

The last thing Indian consumers need is a monopoly but that is the way that Reliance has always operated.

While we wish Mukesh Ambani the best in his endeavours, the government through its policies should ensure a competitive sector that is viable and thriving.

India to buy U.S. oil and gas, says envoy to Washington

India has committed to purchase $5 billion worth of oil and gas from the United States annually, and $18 billion worth of defence equipment that are under implementation, a top Indian diplomat here said, highlighting growing bilateral trade cooperation between the countries.

U.S. export to India has gone up by at least 30%, India’s Ambassador to the U.S. Harsh Vardhan Shringla told the American business community in his first major public engagement on Tuesday.

In the last two years, bilateral trade has increased from $119 billion to $140 billion, he said.

At a reception hosted in his honour by the U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC), Mr. Shringla said India has been sourcing and buying much more from the U.S. than ever in the past.

In the field of oil and gas alone, he said, India has committed to purchase $5 billion from the U.S. every year.

Commercial Indian airlines, Shringla said, have placed orders of 300 aeroplanes worth $40 billion.

“We are looking at importing products that we have never bought from the

US before,” he said, adding that the demand for some of the consumer products from the U.S. is increasing in India.

In the defence sector, India is looking at $18 billion worth of orders that are under implementation.

Not only this, the large number of Indian students, numbering 227,000 currently, contribute $6.5 billion to the American academic sector, Mr. Shringla said, as an example of India’s contribution to the U.S. economy.

Addressing representatives from the American corporate sector, he said that the progress made by India and the U.S. in the last few years has been unparalleled.

“What amazes me is that in the last few years, the amount of progress that our relationship has made is unparalleled in many senses.

The United States is India’s largest trading partner. We are among the top 10 trading partners in terms of sheer volume of business,” Shringla said.

Referring to the pro-business initiatives of the Indian government, the Indian Ambassador urged the American corporate sector to take benefit of the new businessfriendly atmosphere in India and invest in the country.

In his remarks, the US Chambers of Commerce president Tom Donohue said there are many issues in common, many challenges that the two countries have to deal with collectively.

“Our promise (is that) we will put all the attention and energy it takes to make this relationship successful,” Donohue said.

The US-India relationship has gone from being a bilateral relationship to be both global and local, USIBC president Nisha Desai Biswal said, observing that the two countries have boundless opportunities in partnership.

We’re partnering across the Indo-Pacific. But we’re also deepening the ties between our cities and states.

In fact, throughout the year, you will see more and more engagement between our states in our cities, more and more governors, mayors going to India, chief ministers and legislators coming here,” said Biswal, the former Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia.

Noting that the US-India relationship is strong, Indian-American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi said it transcends politics and is getting stronger.

India likely to surpass UK in the world’s largest economy rankings: PwC India is likely to surpass the United Kingdom in the world’s largest economy rankings in 2019, according to a report by global consultancy firm PwC. As per the report, while the UK and France have regularly switched places owing to similar levels of development and roughly equal populations, India’s climb up the rankings is likely to be permanent.

PwC’s Global Economy Watch report projects real GDP growth of 1.6 per cent for the UK, 1.7 per cent for France and 7.6 per cent for India in 2019.

“India and France are likely to surpass the UK in the world’s largest economy rankings in 2019, knocking it from fifth to seventh place in the global table,” the report said.

According to World Bank data, India became the world’s sixth largest economy in 2017 surpassing France and was likely to go past the UK which stood at the fifth position.

PwC’s Global Economy Watch is a short publication that looks at the trends and issues affecting the global economy and details its latest projections for the world’s leading economies.

“India should return to a healthy growth rate of 7.6 per cent in 2019-20, if there are no major headwinds in the global economy such as enhanced trade tensions or supply side shocks in oil.

“The growth will be supported through further realisation of efficiency gains from the newly adopted GST and policy impetus expected in the first year of a new government,” said Ranen Banerjee, Partner and Leader - Public Finance and Economics, PwC India.

Mike Jakeman, senior economist at PwC, said India is the fastest growing large economy in the world, with an enormous population, favourable demographics and high catch-up potential due to low initial GDP per head.

“The UK and France have regularly alternated in having the larger economy, but subdued growth in the UK in 2018 and again in 2019 is likely to tip the balance in France’s favour. The relative strength of the euro against the pound is an important factor here,” Jakeman said.

The global economy as a whole is expected to slow in 2019 as G7 countries return to long-run average growth rates, the PwC report said.

PwC expects that the pick-up in growth of most major economies seen between the end of 2016 and the beginning of 2018 is now over.

As per the World Bank data, in 2017, India became the sixth largest economy with a GDP of USD 2.59 trillion, relegating France to the seventh position. The GDP of France stood at USD 2.58 trillion.

The UK, which is facing Brexit blues, had a GDP of USD 2.62 trillion, which is about USD 25 billion more than that of India, the data showed.

The US was the world’s largest economy with a size of USD 19.39 trillion, followed by China (USD 12.23 trillion) at the second place in 2017. Japan (USD 4.87 trillion) and Germany (USD 3.67 trillion) were at the third and fourth places, respectively.

Maharashtra Cabinet approves ₹100 crore for Bal Thackeray memorial

The Maharashtra Cabinet on Tuesday approved ₹100 crore for the construction of a memorial for the late Shiv Sena supremo, Bal Thackeray. “Late Balasaheb Thackeray was not just leader of the Sena but a leader of this alliance. Balasaheb will remain a person of high importance for all political parties. Therefore, in today’s Cabinet, ₹100 crore has been approved for his memorial, which will inspire the youth,” State Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar said. Mr. Mungantiwar said funds for the memorial would be provided by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) and the BJP-led State government would ensure its availability.

After the Cabinet meeting, Mr. Mungantiwar told reporters in Mumbai that relations between the BJP and its ally Shiv Sena “were and will remain sweet.” There are “high chances” of a tie-up between both the parties (for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections) because the BJP had always been in favour of an alliance, he said. The Sena, an ally of the BJP at the Centre and in Maharashtra, has been often critical of the two governments. Last year, the Uddhav Thackeray-led party had announced to go solo in future elections.

Mr. Mungantiwar expressed the confidence that both the parties would be able to forge an alliance ahead of the polls. The BJP has observed that there was an exceptionally good response from Sena Ministers in the Cabinet meetings, he said, adding that “they congratulate the chief minister on various issues and firmly back the BJP on issues of farmers.”

The memorial is set to come up at a location in Shivaji Park area where earlier Mumbai mayor’s bungalow was located. The prime seafacing property, measuring around 11,500 sqm, was handed over to the ‘Balasaheb Thackeray Rashtriya Smarak Nyas’ Trust last year, clearing the decks for the memorial.

PAGE 18 â&#x20AC;˘ INDIA HERALD â&#x20AC;˘ WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 23, 2019

COMMUNITY CALENDAR Art Museum Kannappan Art Museum will be open for public Tuesday 5.30 PM to 7.30 PM, Saturday 10AM to 2 PM, Sunday 12 noon to 4 PM. Address: 2341 N. Galveston Ave, Pearland, TX 77581.

Ashirwad Classes for Kids in Katy Enrollments are open for Indian Heritage classes for Kids and Teens from 4 to 16 yrs. Class curriculum includes Yoga, Meditation, Sloka, Ramayan, Mahabharat, Bhagwad Githa, Sports Day, VEDIC Fair Presentations, Dance, Drama, Hindi & more. Contact : 281-995-0930 or AshirwadABlessing@gmail.com.

Durga Bari Temple Durga Bari temple is open from 9 to 11 a.m. and 4 to 7 p.m. Mon. thru Sat. Sandhya aarti at 6:30 p.m. Temple closes at 7 p.m. Sunday special from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Temple is located at 13944 Schiller Rd (oďŹ&#x20AC; Hwy 6 bet. Bellaire & Westpark). Call Ganesh Mandal at 713-797-9057 / 832-423-8541.

Arya Samaj Satsang Weekly Havan Satsang every Sunday from 10 a.m. to 12 noon. DAV Sanskriti School Sundays 10 a.m. to 12 noon. - Havan, Hindi and Naitik Shiksha classes. DAV Montessori School for ages 2 to 7 years. Call Arti Khanna 281-759-3286. Free Yoga classes on Sat. Sanskrit & Upanishad classes Tue. 6-8 p.m. At 14375 Schiller Rd. (bet Westpark & Bellaire oďŹ&#x20AC; Hwy 6). 281-752-0100.

Brahma Kumaris The Brahma Kumaris Raja Yoga Meditation Center is open 7 days a week. The center oďŹ&#x20AC;ers free Raja Yoga Meditation classes: MonFri @ 6:00-6:45am and 7-8 pm, BUY

SELL

Sat-Sun @ 7:00-8:30am, 10 am-2 pm. Visiting hours are Sat-Sun @ 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Contact us at (832) 379-8888, houston@bktexas. com, or bktexas.com to sign-up for classes. All Raja Yoga Meditation teachers at the Houston center are samarpit and have 15+ years of teaching experience.

Chinmaya Mission Sunday satsangs for adults, youth, and children. A unique Bala Vihar program for each grade, from PreK to Grade 12. Satsangs in two sessions between 8:35 a.m. - 10:15 a.m. and 11:20 a.m. - 1p.m. Bala Vihar students can take shloka, bhajan and orchestra classes or language classes for Hindi, Telugu, Marathi, and Gujarati. Chinmaya Mission is located at Chinmaya Prabha, 10353 Synott Road, Sugar Land, TX 77498. New members may visit the welcome desk between 8 a.m. - 8:45 a.m. or 10:15 a.m.-11:30 a.m. Please visit www. chinmayahouston.org or contact Bharati Sutaria 281.933.0233 for more information.

Jeeyar Educational Trust Translate knowledge into action classes every Sunday at 10:15 a.m to 12 p.m. at Sri Ashtalakshmi Temple, 10098 Synott Road, Sugar Land, Tx 77498. Call 785 550 3621 or 832-334-9163. Visit www. ashtalakshmi.org for registration.

Vedanta Society Vedanta Society of Greater Houston, VSGH (oďŹ&#x192;cial Branch Center of Ramakrishna Math, Belur), 14809 Lindita Dr. (77083), has lectures & talks on every Sunday 11 am - 12 pm, followed by Arati & Prasad; Bhagwad Gita Class on Tuesdays, 7:30 pm - 8:30 pm; OLD

NEW

RESIDENTIAL & COMMERCIAL Cell Phone

SANJEEV KUMAR Your realtor for life.

832-689-1819

Email: sksrealtor@hotmail.com

WE DEALININ WE DEAL Houses, Houses, GasMotels Gas Stations, Stations, and Farm &Motels Ranch. and Farm & Ranch Apartment Complex properties Available!! Call Now

Office: 713-722-8870 281-497-7000 Fax: 713-779-4656 281-497-7007

Open Forum Radio Program Â&#x2018;Â&#x17D;Â&#x203A;Â&#x17D;Čą Â&#x2DC;Â&#x17E;Â&#x203A;Čą Â&#x2122;Â&#x2019;Â&#x2014;Â&#x2019;Â&#x2DC;Â&#x2014;Čą Â&#x2DC;Â&#x17E;Â&#x2014;Â?Â&#x153;

ČąĹ&#x2014;Ĺ&#x161;Ĺ&#x17E;Ĺ&#x2013;Čą ȹȹČ&#x160;Čą Â&#x160;Â?Â&#x17E;Â&#x203A;Â?Â&#x160;¢Â&#x153;ČąĹ&#x161;ČąÂ?Â&#x2DC;ČąĹ&#x153;ČąÂ&#x2122;ÇŻÂ&#x2013;ÇŻ Listen to Open Forum on 106.1 FM Informative programs with doctors, in Houston. lawyers, politicians and other Every Saturday 4.00 PM to 6.00 PM. newsmakers.

Studio line 800-444-1061

Call 713-784-1480

Hosts: Dinkar Chheda, Jagat Kamdar & Subodh Bhuchar

Chandra & David Courtney Tabla and Vocal

Classes now ongoing Visit www.chandrakantha.com

or call for info.

(713) 665-4665

Classes in Houston, Mission Bend, & Sugar Land

and Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna on Thursdays, 11 am - 12 pm. Rev. Sw. Atmarupanandaji, the Resident Monk, gives all classes, lectures & talks. Ramnaam Sankirtan is on 1st Saturdays 6 pm - 7 pm.

Please visit www.houstonvedanta. org or call 281- 988-7211.

Jain Society Jain Society of Houston, JSH, is located at 3905 Arc Street Houston Texas 77063. Key tenets of Jainism are: Non-violence - Ahimsa, Philanthropy with multicity in views â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Anekantvad, No possessiveness - Aparigrah, Right Knowledge -- Samyak Gyan, Right Path â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Samyak Darshan, and Right Conduct â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Samyak Charitrya. JSH has Jain Pathshala Classed for students of all ages each Sunday starting at 10:15 AM. The center is open M-F from 7:30 AM to 12 Noon and 4 to 7 PM, and Sat, and Sun from 8 AM to 6 PM. Call Jain Center at 713 789 2338 or visit www.jainsocietyhouston.org for calendar of events and other detailed information.

Shiv Shakti Mandir Sanatan Shiv Shakti Mandir, 6640 Harwin. Open daily 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. All major festivals, as well as birthdays, naam karan, engagement and other ceremonies. Call Pandit Virat Mehta 713-278-9099 or Hardik Raval 361-243-6539 for puja or other ceremonies.

Heartfulness Meditation Heartfulness Meditation is a practical technique of tuning inwards to experience our higher selves. Meditation with someone who has the capacity of yogic transmission can help you explore the Heartfulness practice more deeply.

There are no charges for this, and we invite you to experience the unique beneďŹ ts of this transmission. Workshops on Heartfulness relaxation and meditation are held weekly throughout Houston. Web: www.heartfulness.org; Email: houston.heartfulness@gmail.com.

Cell: 713-929-0040.

Hare Krishna Dham Houstonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s original Vedic temple, ISKCON of Houston. At 1320 W 34th St. (77018). Daily Darshan & Arati Times: 4.30 a.m, 7 a.m, 8.30 a.m, 12 noon, 4.30 p.m, 7 p.m, 9 p.m. Sunday Festival: 5.30 pm to 7.30 p.m. Weekly Gita classes for adults; call 281-433-1635 or harekrishnadham @gmail.com Houston Namadwaar A prayer house where the Hare Rama Hare Krishna Maha-mantra is continuously chanted. Weekends: 8-11 AM & 4-7 PM, Weekdays: 7-8 AM & 6-7 PM. Weekly â&#x20AC;&#x153;Gopa Kuteeramâ&#x20AC;? childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s heritage classes and Srimad Bhagavatam classes. Call 281-402-6585; visit www.godivinity.org (Global Organization for Divinity).

Saumyakasi Sivalaya Sri Saumyakasi Sivalaya is located at Chinmaya Prabha, 10353 Synott Road, Sugar Land, TX 77478.

Temple timings: Monday to Friday: 9:00 AM - 12:00 Noon and 5:30 PM - 8:00 PM. Saturday and Sunday: 9:00 AM - 2:00 PM and 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM. For more information Contact 281-568-1690 or Jay Deshmukh at 832-541-0059 or visit www.saumyakasi.org Gauri Siddhivinayak Temple Darshan from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. All major festivals as well as birthdays, naam karan, engage-

ment and other ceremonies. Call Pandit Pradip Pandya 832-4669868 for puja and other ceremonies. At 5645 Hillcroft Ste 701, Houston, TX 77036.

Veerashaiva Samaja VSNA Houston is a group of families who believe in Veerashaiva dharma (Basava dharma).

Monthly Mahamane program for prayer and discussion on Vachana Sahitya followed by Prasada. Contact: vsnahous ton@gmail.com or Jagadeesh Halyal 832-744-4166.

Mar Thoma Church Trinity Mar Thoma Church every Sunday at 5810 Almeda Genoa Rd. Sunday School at 9:15 a.m.

Malayalam service at 9:30 a.m. on 1st & 3rd Sunday. Adult Bible class at 9:30 a.m. English service at 10:30 a.m. on 2nd & 4th Sunday. Call 713-991-1557 or 281261-4603.

Telugu Christian Fellowship Telugu Christian Fellowship meets every third Saturday of the month at Triumph Church, 10555 W. Airport Blvd., StaďŹ&#x20AC;ord TX 77477 at 6:30 p.m. Join us for a time of praise, worship and fellowship. Worship is in English.

For information call Chris Gantela 281-344-0707, or Rev. Vijay Gurrala 281-997-0757.

Sri Guruvayurappan Temple Hours: Mon to Fri 6 a.m. -8 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Weekends & Holidays: 6 a.m. to noon and 5:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Bhajans Saturdays 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.; Sundays 9 a.m. to 1 a.m. Special poojas (weekends and holidays) Choroon (Annaprasam) for kids, Thulabharam, Vahana Pooja, Nirapara. Temple is located at 11620 Ormandy St. (77035) Tel: 713-7298994 email: temple@ guruvayur.us Preksha Meditation JVB Preksha Meditation Center conducts weekly Meditation, Yoga and Swadhyay sessions inside its unique Pyramid hall under the auspicious guidance of Samani Kanchan Pragyaji and Samani Pranav Pragyaji who are stationed at Houston Center this year. It also runs special events and programs like I-Choose, Meditation Camps and Gyanshala program for children ages 4-14 yrs. JVB is located at 14102 Schiller Rd. Houston 77082. Every Tuesday, 9:30am11:30am, Samaniji has pravachan for all adults interested in learning about Jainism. Every Wednesday there is Swadhyay class from 7-8pm and meditation from 8-9pm.

Every Thursday from 9:30-11am there is special Yoga class for Ladies only. Every Saturday, there is Yoga Class from 9-10am and Meditation from 10-10.30am. Ist & 3rd Sundays, there is Gyanshala Classes for Kids ages 4-14yrs. from 10-12:15pm followed by Lunch.

Visit www.jvbhouston.org or send email at info@jvbhouston.org for more details.

Patanjali Yogpeeth Free Yoga Classes every Sat/Sun at Arya Samaj from 8 am to 9:30 a.m. Call Anil 281-579-9433. For other free classes, call Indra 281537-0018. For Yoga/Herbal products, call Shekhar 281-242-5000. www.pyptusa.org; www.DivyaProducts.com.

Hindu Temple of The Woodlands

7601 S. Forest Gate Dr, The Woodlands, TX 77382 Temple Hours, Weekdays: 7:30 AM - 9:30 AM 5:30 PM - 8.30 PM Aarti @ 7:30 PM Saturday and Sunday 8:30 AM - 1:30 PM Aarti at 12:00 PM 5:30 PM - 8:30 PM Aarti @ 7:30 PM; Contact 832-585--0001 or temple@myhtw.net Sathya Sai centers Sunday program held at two locations (North Houston: 12127 Malcomson Road, Houston; South Houston: 246 Fluor Daniel Drive, Sugar Land) from 3:00 to 5:30 pm) - Sai Spiritual Education (SSE) classes for children; Study Circle for adults & Devotional singing for all. Service programs - food distribution, canned food drives, nursing home visits, tutoring at schools, etc. Contact Venkat Rao (North) - 602-503-2249 or Ranji Raghavan (South) 281-451-8238.

Visit www.sairegion10.org Sadhu Vaswani Center Sadhu Vaswani Center of Houston holds regular Satsang on 3rd Thursday of the month and daily Arti at 7.30 p.m. Call 281-4630379 or e.mail ramolaj@aol.com Gaudiya Math Shri Govindji Gaudiya Matha is a Hindu Vaishnava temple of Sanatan Dharam and worshipping place of Shri Shri Radha Krishna, Shri Gaur Nitai & Shri Ram Darbar.

Mandir is open daily from 5.30 AM until 8.30 PM. The services are held from 5.30PM to 7.30PM followed by prashad. Daily Aarti times : Mangala Aarti- 5:30 am.

Bhog Aarti - 12:30 pm. Evening Aarti - 7:00 pm. Enroll your child in Sri Govindaji Vedic School. We oďŹ&#x20AC;er Hindi classes for all ages. Sri Govindaji Gaudiya Matha is located in Northwest Houston at 16628 Kieth Harrow Blvd Houston TX 77084. For more information, call at 832-464-4686 or visit our website: http://sggm.org.

Swaminarayan Temple Hindu Satsang at Shree Swaminarayan Hindu Temple, under Shree NarNarayan Dev Gadi kalupur.

Opens daily from 7 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and from 4 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Daily aarti at 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.

Saturday sabha from 5 p.m to 7 p.m. followed by aarti at 7 p.m. and Maha-Prasad (free dinner). www.issotx.org. (281) 530-2565.

Sanatan Dharm Maha Sabha West Indian Religious Organization called Sanatan Dharm Maha Sabha Branch # 377 is located at 26100 Tina Lane, Katy, TX 77494.

Durga Mata Pooja is held every Friday from 7 pm to 9.30 pm.

Contact Ram Sharma @ 713-4129985.

Gandhi Library Mahatma Gandhi Library Book Club: Meets 2nd Sunday of each month; 12:30 PM at Arya Samaj Greater Houston, 13475 Schiller Rd. Join the discussion of the great manâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s autobiography â&#x20AC;&#x201C; The Story of My Experiments with Truth.

Call Manish Wani 713-829-6979.

Sant Nirankari Mission Sant Nirankari Mission holds its weekly spiritual congregation on every Sunday at India House 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. followed by community meals. All are welcome. For further information, call Raj Bhala at (281) 980-2825.

INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 23, 2019 • PAGE 19

PAGE 20 â&#x20AC;¢ INDIA HERALD â&#x20AC;¢ WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 23, 2019

Spring Branch Family Dentistry,P.A. 1111, Gessner, Suite B Houston, Texas 77055 (713) 461-8050 (713) 461-4747 WeWe Speak English, Hindi & Gujarati speak English & Gujarati CONVENIENT HOURS Monday: 9 am â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 6 pm Tuesday: 9 am â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 7 pm Wednesday: 9 am â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 6 pm Thursday: 9 am â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 7 pm Friday: 9 am â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 4 pm Saturday: 9 am â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 4 pm (Closed one Saturday a month) '

%

$ !# $

#/6/7 385 $+( '-+

::: 645/2-(5'2).*+27/675; )31

'

"

% & ! $ " ! ! ! # " FLUORIDE TREATMENT (A $125 VALUE)

! !

65

('+-%, ,$(' !(* * +

$85 $ 65

+1(+5 3,

$

!$ ! %&# ' ! $+ 39+ ./0*5+2 361+7/) $./7+2/2- !337. 3035+* /00/2-6 5'0 85-+5; +2785+6 '57/'06 32 685-/)'0 85-/)'0 75+'71+27 3, 81 /6+'6+ 5+9+27/9+ +27/675; 337 '2'0 53)+*85+ UG 0RODU :LVGRP 7HHWK ([WUDFWLRQ

$+ "6+ '8-./2- '6

Sanjeev Khosla, D.D.S

$ ! "

Exp. ([S %

Exp.FEBRUARY 28, 2019 ([S Exp. May09/30/2011 31, 2016

35 2+: 4'7/+276 320; 384326 237 -33* :/7. '2; 37.+5 3,,+5 35 40'26

Darshani Patel, D.D.S

&

# #

$ ! "

Exp. May09/30/2011 31, 2016 Exp. ([S Exp. FEBRUARY 28, 2019 ([S %

35 2+: 4'7/+276 320; 384326 237 -33* :/7. '2; 37.+5 3,,+5 35 40'26

% % % %

! ! # ! ! ! " ! ! !$ $ ! ! $

Exp. FEBRUARY 28, 2019 Exp. March 31, 2016 ([S Exp. 09/30/2011 ([S $ ! " & %

35 2+: 4'7/+276 320; 384326 237 -33* :/7. '2; 37.+5 3,,+5 35 40'26