India in New York - February 21, 2014

BOLLYWOOD BONDING IN BERLIN

KEJRIWAL QUITS AS DELHI CHIEF MINISTER

COURT REFUSES TO SCRAP SUIT AGAINST SONIA

India in New York www.rediff.com (Nasdaq: REDF)

VOL. XVII NO. 35

A GUIDE TO EVENTS AND ENTERTAINMENT FROM INDIA ABROAD FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2014

WHIFF OF DESI SOUTH ASIAN INSPIRATIONS AT THE NEW YORK FASHION WEEK

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INDIA IN NEW YORK is published every Friday by India Abroad Publications, Inc. 42 Broadway, 18th floor, New York, NY 10004.

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Bill de Blasio speaks at a rally for immigration reform with community leaders and activists during his mayoral campaign, at the steps of the City Hall in New York October 23, 2013.

New York City ID cards could be a boon for undocumented immigrants GEORGE JOSEPH

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ew York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s announcement to create a municipal identification card for New Yorkers who do not have a valid state ID — including undocumented immigrants — has been welcomed by immigrant advocacy groups.

‘Every day, undocumented immigrants like myself are stopped and questioned by the police,’ Gustavo Gómez, a Mexican immigrant and member of Make the Road New York, told the media. ‘And without a valid ID, we don’t have anything to show them.

This ID will allow all of us to live without fearing the city government.’

‘Now,’ said Valeria Treves, executive director, New Immigrant Community Empowerment, ‘we must work to ensure that the ID will be something easily accessible to all immigrants so that key departments, like the New York Police Department, respect the rights of those who have it.’

The mayor’s office said it would introduce the legislation in the City Council in the coming weeks. So far, no member of the council has expressed opposition to the measure, which, if passed, would go into effect before the end of the year.

De Blasio promised that the police and all city agencies would recognize this ID. ‘The mayor has not provided specifics, The New York Times noted, ‘but the proposal’s general outlines are solid: a city-issued ID card, bearing a photograph, signature, address and biographical data, would be available to all New York residents, regardless of immigration status.’

Applicants could use foreign passports or other government-issued papers to prove identity, and things like utility bills to prove New York residency.

Card holders would be able to file police reports, which many unauthorized immigrants are now unable to do.

Being undocumented often forces immigrants to be mute victims and bystanders to crime; allowing them to assert their identities would remove one reason to shun the police.

The cards would allow residents to enter government buildings and have easier access to public services. They could get library cards and sign leases.

Besides undocumented immigrants, the initiative will benefit parts of the population who have trouble obtaining and keeping an ID, like the elderly or the homeless.

DRUM organizes free deferred action clinics GEORGE JOSEPH

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esis Rising Up & Moving will organize their monthly free Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals clinics for undocumented South Asian youth February 26, 5 pm.

“There is still a very large number of undocumented youth who have either not applied, or are being charged thousands of dollars for a simple application,” Sharmin Piancca, DACA outreach coordinator, DRUM, said.“With the immigration debate still going on, this has been a major issue in our communities.”.

The Deferred Action program was announced by the Obama administration June 15, 2012. Undocumented youth with DACA will receive a twoyear work permit, which can be renewed indefinitely, and a social security number.

DACA status allows the youth to apply for opportunities like receiving in-state tuition for college, scholarships, driver’s license, a state ID, some forms of public health insurance, and also gives them the ability to travel inside the United States.

The prerequisites for DACA are: Those who came to the United States before the age of 16; lived here continuously for over 5 years and present in the US as of June 15, 2012; currently in school, graduated high school; have not been convicted of felony offense, significant misdemeanor, or multiple misdemeanors; currently under the age of 30.

Contact: Roksana Mun, 718-205-3036/646-509-0922, roksana@drumnyc.org

Community

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INDIA IN NEW YORK FEBRUARY 21, 2014

Court denies Sonia Gandhi’s plea for case dismissal

New Jersey legislature declares January 26 as India Day SUMAN GUHA MOZUMDER

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he New Jersey State Assembly and Senate issued a joint resolution recognizing January 26 as India Day in the state.

NJ Senate President Steve Sweeney (DemocratGloucester, Salem, Cumberland) and Assemblyman Upendra Chivukula (Democrat-Middlesex, Somerset) sponsored the resolution.

‘I want to thank Assemblyman Chivukula for his continued support and advocacy for the Indian community in New Jersey,’ Sweeney said. ‘The Indian-American community plays a vital role in our state. It is my honor to congratulate them on the anniversary of India Independence and to declare January 26, 2014 as India Day in the state of New Jersey.’

The resolution noted the community’s contributions in academics, business, politics, medicine, science, and the arts.

It also recognized India as an important strategic partner of the United States, one that President Obama was willing to support for permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council.

The resolution praised Indian Consul General Dnyaneshwar Mulay for bringing the elected officials of the state closer to the community.

AJAY VERMA/REUTERS

New Jersey Senate President Steve Sweeney, left, with Assemblyman Upendra Chivukula.

Above, Sikh girls at a protest against the Congress party in Chandigarh, April 7, 2009.

GEORGE JOSEPH

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federal judge in New York denied Congress party President Sonia Gandhi’s request to strike down the human rights violation case filed against her by rights group Sikhs for Justice.

The court allowed her legal team to file additional information regarding the new issues raised by the SFJ, Gandhi’s attorney Ravi Batra said.

February 11, demanding dismissal of the case, Batra noted that the SFJ had added new allegations of rights violation.

In his order, Judge Brian M Cogan, of the US Federal Court for the Eastern District of New York, said, ‘The motion to strike is silly and is therefore denied. If there is something wrong with the plaintiff ’s opposition, that’s what the defendant’s reply is for.’

ADNAN ABIDI/REUTERS

February 10, the SFJ filed a motion before the court to schedule a hearing about the confusion surrounding Gandhi’s presence in New York when the court summons were served.

The Sikh group’s motion stated that Gandhi failed to produce any document, witness or credible evidence that she was not in New York September 2-9, 2012.

Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the SFJ’s legal adviser, SFJ, said that the 1984 anti-Sikh riot victims “will and should get a fair shot through US justice system to raise the issue of Sonia Gandhi’s practice of impunity towards Congress (party) leaders responsible for the genocide of Sikhs. Victims are following the federal laws and the Congress (party) leader should know that US laws do not differentiate the acts of crime based on an individual’s political status.”

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A community divided over minimum wage GEORGE JOSEPH

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resident Barack Obama signed an executive order hiking the minimum wage for federal contractors to $10.10 from $7.25 starting next year at a White House ceremony February 12. But the community is divided on the subject.

Miami-based Hemant D Patel, former chairman, Asian American Hotel Owners Association, told India In New York, “The proposal to increase the minimum wage is going to have a huge impact on AAHOA and its members. AAHOA as a group owns close to 48 percent of the entire lodging industry and more than 24,000 hotels in the US. The Obama administration has already put a huge (employer) mandate of Obamacare, which is a very expensive one.

An increase of minimum wage after this will affect the lodging and overall tourism industry heavily.”

“People change jobs just because they get 50 cents more somewhere else, which we respect, but the cost involved in training and retaining an employee is very high also.

The lodging industry has gone through a major recession in the last four years and it did not get any help from any government agency,” Patel added.

In California, T S Khanna of the Foundation for Better Government, a nonpartisan organization, blogged, ‘Raising the living standard by raising the minimum wage is a myth, not a reality… Raising the minimum wage of unskilled workers is a political ploy to solicit their votes, not raise their living standard.’

‘Raised minimum wage does not raise the living standard as the dollar depreciates to

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President Barack Obama signs the executive order to raise minimum wage for federal contract workers to $10.10 an hour starting next year, at the White House, February 12. the same extent. It has an additional adverse effect in creating more unemployment and pushing the jobs out of America,’ Khanna felt.

‘To raise the living standard, effort should focus on raising the purchasing power of the dollar. If we let the wages of unskilled and skilled workers be decided by the free market of supply/demand, some adjustment may be necessary in the prevailing wages with positive effects.’

In the face of industry bodies and the

Republicans vowing to oppose it, President Obama said, ‘The opponents of the minimum wage have been using the same arguments for years, and time and again, they’ve been proven wrong. Raising the minimum wage is good for business and it’s good for workers and it’s good for the economy.’

He urged Congress to do the same for all other workers by 2016.

New York-based Seema Agnani, executive director, Chhaya Community Development Corporation, told India In New York,

Remembering a legend GEORGE JOSEPH

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ans of legendary Telugu actor Dr Akkineni Nageswara Rao, who passed away recently, paid homage to him at an event in Edison, New Jersey, February 7.

They shared memories of the actor from his visit to the state in August last year.

Vidyadhar Garapati, chief executive officer, Movers.com, and Dr Mohan Patalolla, joint treasurer, North American Telugu Association, were the main sponsors of the event.

NATA member, Srinivas Ganagoni, gave an introductory speech, followed by the lighting of the traditional lamp.

Ravi Kondabolu, vice chairman, Dr Akkineni Foundation USA, spoke about his association with ANR’s family.

Ganagoni recalled the meeting held at Royal Albert’s last year to celebrate ANR’s 89th birthday. There were nearly 1,500 people who listened and interacted with him for over four hours.

Fans pay homage to Telugu actor Akkineni Nageshwar Rao.

“Chhaya fully supports the increase.

Everyone deserves to live in dignity and even if it’s difficult we all need to play our part. It will lift up wages for many hard working people. Small businesses in the community are not really affected unless they work with the federal government. At this point, we would still want to encourage them to pay their employees a fair wage and health insurance.”

Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant, who won the election as a Socialist supporting a $15/hour minimum wage, derided the increase.

‘Let’s be honest: $10.10/hour — or $20,000 per year if you are lucky enough to have a full-time job — is not a ticket out of poverty for working families,’ she had said earlier.

‘Fast food workers and Walmart workers have gone on strike and built powerful protests in cities in every part of the country over the past year for $15/hour. And that is the only reason politicians are now talking about raising the minimum wage.’

Sawant, who cut her salary to one third after she was sworn in last month, has pledged to contribute a part of her salary to a 15Now.org, a grassroots campaign that campaigns for a $15 minimum wage.

Asking people to join a rally for the cause February 15, she had noted, ‘To win a $15/hour minimum wage, we need to organize. Big business is gearing up to spend tens of millions of dollars to defeat us. We don’t have their money — we have each other — and to win — we need to organize a campaign to educate our neighbors, coworkers, classmates, parents, sons and daughters on why $15/hour now.’

Cover Story

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BIBHU MOHAPATRA

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ibhu Mohapatra’s fall/winter 2014 collection (pictured left and right) was created for the global woman inspired by the beauty and colors of Tibet.

‘It’s a land that is so close to my homeland, and it’s the spirituality, bonding that kind of got me in there,’ the India-born designer, who crafted 41 looks, told AFP. He made ample use of the traditional Tibetan pangden pattern of offset stripes, which he transformed into a digital print.

Prints of a hazy mountain scene made multiple appearances — on a gown, on a skirt, on a dress.

And Mohapatra’s other subtle nod to Tibet was in the scarves, noted Style.com: ‘He slung them elegantly around models’ necks and tied them at the back.

They gave the collection cohesion, but also a certain polish.’

South Asian inspirations at the New York Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2014

Whiff of desi

PRABAL GURUNG

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n a complete 180 from his spring collection of pastels that paid homage to ’50s Americana, Prabal Gurung’s fall collection (pictured right) paid tribute to his other home, Nepal.

‘The PRABAL GURUNG collections have often referenced Nepalese culture,’ the designer who grew up in Kathmandu says on his Web site, ‘but this season is directly inspired by Nepal, and the richly mythical and legendary culture it celebrates.’

The inspiration came from Mustang, an ancient Tibetan kingdom that is now part of Nepal.

Gurung’s homage to his Himalayan upbringing and this mystic landscape was visible first in the red palette and with each passing creation — don a runway lined with gongs to keep with its Himalayan theme — in the folds of the fabric and the sarong-inspired angles.

The vibe was briefly disrupted by a streaker, later identified as Vitalli Sedium, a Ukranian-born wannabe-actor, but it didn’t overshadow the collection that is being called one of Gurung’s best.

Gurung also presented his ICB line, focusing on the ‘forward thinking and fearlessly aspirational’ woman.

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Cover Story INDIA IN NEW YORK FEBRUARY 21, 2014

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NAEEM KHAN India-born designer Naeem Khan, a red carpet and FLOTUS favorite, found inspiration away from South Asia. He channeled the Prohibition era glamour with designs inspired by the world of cabaret.

The trademark Khan beading dazzled. ‘The layers of sequins, feathers and embroidery that adorn these dresses (and evening rompers!) show a painstaking, nearly couture

level of effort,’ Jezbel noted. ‘There was a clear 20s influence in the Deco flourishes and flapper-style dresses, and, of all the collections we’ve seen so far, this is definitely one of the most red-carpet ready.’

The 44 pieces he showcased included cocktail dresses, skirts, trumpet gowns, pants and evening coats that were embellished with gold filigree embroidery, jewel trims, ostrich feather hems, floral appliqué work and miuki beads.

SHEENA TRIVEDI For her fourth show at the New York Fashion Week, Sheena Trivedi (pictured here) presented a collection titled ‘Kids of Bengal.’

Her designs (pictured right and left) spoke of the multiculturalism of her upbringing.

Models wore tribal-inspired makeup, and jewelry, including from India.

COURTESY: FACEBOOK.COM/SHEENATRIVEDI

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ADAM SELMAN

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dam Selman, (pictured left) who has designed for the likes of Rihanna, was another designer who sought an Indian inspiration. His sophomore women’s collection (pictured below) began when he heard the story of a hiker in the French Alps who found a box of jewelry in the snow from a Mumbai to New York plane that had crashed in the 1950s. He described the collection as ‘hiking clothes meets India.’

The prints, he told the Los Angeles Times, were based on the Indian sari and the splashes of the colors of Holi, ‘but in a really stark, New York Stephen Sprouse way.’

Models walked to an Indian-flavored soundtrack and an occasional cloud of incense, making the stark Industrial Color office space ambient.

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RACHEL ROY

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hea Andrews (pictured above) walked the runway at Lincoln Center wearing a Rachel Roy at Go Red For Women — The Heart Truth Red Dress Collection 2014 Show February 6.

She showed her own collection— designed to make looking feminine and cool very simple — digitally.

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INDIA IN NEW YORK FEBRUARY 21, 2014

From left, actors Blake Lively, Freida Pinto, Rose Bryne and Michael Douglas attend the Michael Kors fashion show during MercedesBenz Fashion Week Fall 2014 February 12 in New York City. Kors, who entered the industry stratosphere after listing his company on Wall Street in 2011, was one of the biggest draws of the fashion week.

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Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi, left, and jewelry designer Ranjana Khan attend the Naeem Khan fashion February 11. Actresses like Holland Roden, Debby Ryan, and Laura Vandervoort; and stylists like Robert Verdi and Mary Alice Stephenson were also at the show.

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THE FRONT ROW From left, actors Angela Simmons, Adepero Oduye, Sarita Choudhury, and Tashiana Washington attend the Vivienne Tam fashion show with TRESemme February 9. Choudhury was also spotted at the Nanette Lepore show.

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Vogue editor Anna Wintour, center, with her daughter Bee Shaffer and designer Prabal Gurung backstage at the Prabal Gurung show, February 8.

Actor-designer Waris Ahluwalia at the Yigal Azrouel fashion show February 9. He was spotted in the front row for various names, including Tory Burch.

Miss USA Erin Brady at the Sheena Trivedi, right, show.

COURTESY: FACEBOOK.COM/SHEENATRIVEDI

CHELSEA LAUREN/GETTY IMAGES

Bollywood

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fter making such films as Jab We Met, Love Aaj Kal and Rockstar, director Imtiaz Ali is ready with one of his toughest films yet, Highway.

The road movie starring Alia Bhatt and Randeep Hooda, which was to release February 21, had no bound script, wasn’t meticulously planned and was shot across six states — Delhi, Rajasthan, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Kashmir and Punjab.

Imtiaz on the film that took him 15 years to make.

I can tell you stories about how difficult it was and what a big deal I have achieved, but actually it was not difficult at all — filmmaker Imtiaz Ali speaks to Patcy N about the organic making of Highway

After Rockstar, you were supposed to make your next film with Ranbir Kapoor. What made you start on Highway instead?

Ranbir and I had decided that once his commitments get over, we will start shooting a film together.

There was time so I thought of making this film.

The script of Highway has been with you for 15 years. How relevant is it today?

Certain things are relevant forever. What has been said in Highway is universal; we have given it a contemporary garb.

This is a travel movie and you said you didn’t plan anything; you just went along and shot wherever you liked.

I had a script which was not finished. There were no dialogues, but the story was clear in my mind.

I had planned the locations and route and been to some of Imtiaz Ali and Alia Bhatt shoot for Highway, which was shot across Delhi, Rajasthan, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Kashmir and Punjab. those places — I could not visit all because certain places were the way you fight with a Mumbai auto-rickshaw guy. You We travelled light. We did not have extra people in the snow bound. They opened only later, during the shoot. unit. We did not have extra gadgets. We did not have cam- have to take local support when you are shooting.

I had done all the preparation work that I could in one Was all the travelling exhausting for a Mumbai girl like month. Then I started shooting the film. Much of the cast- era accessories so we could restrain our costs.

Alia Bhatt?

A R Rahman composed the music for this film. You have ing was done. But most of the preparation happened durAlia was the last person to complain when we went into also used local music that you recorded while travelling ing the making of the movie, like costume designing. extreme conditions of Kaza and Tabo in Himachal and filming. How did Rahman work with this music?

I kept the script flexible. It was only after the filming Pradesh.

Rahman sir is also doing the background score was over that the script was over.

She sat on the road in Kaza and ate Maggie with her Isn’t it difficult doing a movie in this unplanned manner? of Highway. When I say we are using local music, we hand. She was so easy and comfortable that she never ever mean we are using local singers and instruments to play It is a difficulty you impose upon yourself for the sake of had a problem. with Rahman sir. flexibility and making a film more organic and taking I don’t know how she managed with the cold. You The words used by (lyricist) Irshad Kamil for his songs more from the location. dreaded the point when you had to go to the loo because are also local, from various parts of our travel. We have It is extremely difficult if you are not clear in your mind the water was ice and there was no electricity. singers and folk music as a scene in the film, but all of it is what the story is. Otherwise, it is not difficult. It is only What made you choose Alia and Randeep for this film? with the approval of Rahman sir. the attitude that makes the difference. An attitude that Was it because they were available to shoot for so many You also used local people in the film? says you have to do it under any circumstances, in the days?

Yes, I have used all local people and local actors, except given light, camera, and actors, makes it easy.

They are in the movie for who they are. Alia has never for Randeep and Alia, and that also includes Delhi’s high I can tell you stories about how difficult it was and what been on a journey like this one before, so she was making society. a big deal I have achieved. But actually it was not difficult her own discoveries, which really helped the script.

Some people are not actors and some people are actors at all. It was damn thrilling.

Often, after an interaction with her I would realize what from that local area.

How do you control the budget when you travel and the next scene can be.

There was a fight with the locals once when shooting. shoot?

For instance, while travelling in Rajasthan she did not What do you do when locals don’t accept you?

You don’t know the extent of your budget. Expense also expect to see women working as much in the countryside, You can’t shoot if the locals don’t accept you. When depends on how much time you take to finish shooting but they do. She was surprised. She thought women would there is a fight, you try to calm them and talk and even and not just on the hotel and travel costs. sit at home but instead, she could see only women workfight if they are being unreasonable.

I feel if you finish in time then your budget is okay ing. It was almost like men don’t work in the north.

You just solve it like you solve your family squabbles or because there is always a buffer.

‘It was damn thrilling’

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INDIA IN NEW YORK FEBRUARY 21, 2014

The brilliance of Balu Mahendra

‘AN INSTITUTION

BY HIMSELF’

S Saraswathi revisits the rich legacy of the filmmaker who died February 13 1939-2014

KOKILA (1977) Balu Mahendra made his directorial debut with Kannada film, Kokila starring Kamal Haasan, Shobha, Roja Ramani and Mohan.

A love triangle with a lot of comedy, the film was a huge success and became the first Kannada film to be screened for over 150 days in Madras.

Kokila was later was remade into Hindi as Aur Ek Prem Kahani by Mahendra in 1996.

The film earned him the Best Cinematography Award at the 25th National Film Awards.

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MOODU PANI (1980) A psychological thriller inspired from Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, Moodu Pani (The Mist) is a film about a man’s hatred for prostitutes.

This Tamil film featured

days, Moondram Pirai won Balu Mahendra another National Award for Best Cinematography.

The film also won Kamal Haasan a National Award for his brilliant portrayal of a compassionate man in a beautiful relationship with a childlike woman suffering from amnesia, played by Sridevi.

The film was dubbed in Telugu as Vasantha Kokila, and later remade in Hindi as the classic Sadma.

Shobha and Prathap Pothan in the lead roles.

Music by Ilayaraja became a huge hit, especially the song Yen Iniya Pon Nilavae.

The film was not only a huge commercial success, but also received much critical acclaim.

MOONDRAM PIRAI (1982) A huge blockbuster that ran for over 300

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alu Mahendra and I shared a very close relationship. His debut film as a cameraman was with me. We used to sit and talk about films between shots. He used to listen to my scripts. So we had a bond.

In spite of being my senior, he was a friend. I acted in the first film Balu directed, Kokila. Shoba, who Balu loved, played the lead. It was about a very unusual relationship.

For Sadma, both Balu and I made a conscious decision to keep sex out of the relationship between Sridevi and me.

Not that he or I was averse to the idea of sex on screen. We had grown up watching cinema from the world over.

And I’d like to think we had imbibed a certain maturity in our outlook, which showed in our work together.

However, my character in Sadma finds Sridevi in a place that epitomizes sex. A brothel.

That whole contrast between her innocence and the world at large was preserved in the way I cocoon, shelter and protect her from the outside world.

My character was based on Balu Mahendra who at that time was in love with Shoba, who was much younger than him.

I had known the girl from my childhood. So I asked him what he was doing playing his creative cards so close to his chest. But he just kept quiet.

He was senior, so I couldn’t question him beyond a point.

I heard Shoba committed suicide when I was shooting the climax of Ek Duuje Ke Liye.

I played my part instinctively in Sadma.

The railway platform finale was partly my idea. Balu wanted a restrained finale where she drove off quietly. He was very minimalist in his approach.

When Sridevi came on location, Balu gave her coconut to rub on her face. No make-up was allowed. The face had to be washed with soap only.

His unit was the smallest I’ve ever worked with. There were only 12 people on location in Ooty. When he saw the size of my crew Balu warned me, ‘I think you’re being had. You don’t need so many people.’

I knew something far more dramatic

was needed in the climax in Sadma. My character had to show the desperation of a man who’s losing the love of his life.

How would a man react if he feels he would have to spend the rest of his life without love? I had to act like a man gone crazy with desperation as he watches his life go away.

Usually, directors are cautious about actors’ suggestions. But Balu who was very fixed in his ideas, loved the idea of my character going berserk on the railway platform.

As for my erotic dance with Silk Smitha (O Babua Yeh Mahua), I didn’t really think it belonged in Sadma. It was a commercial concession and I had to go along with it.

We decided to put in an erotic dance, but in a way not done in any film before

and without spending money. So we had just me and Silk.

And she didn’t know how to dance… at all! The dance was choreographed

by Prabhu Deva’s father, Sundaram Master. He just incorporated whatever she could do.

— Kamal Hasan, actor and filmmaker knew ace director-cinematographer Balu Mahendra closely, as they worked together, including Balu’s directorial debut Kokila, and the celebrated Moondram Pirai, which was later remade in Hindi as Sadma.

He spoke to Subhash K Jha

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Bollywood

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INDIA IN NEW YORK FEBRUARY 21, 2014

The brilliance of Balu Mahendra I PAGE 10 OLANGAL (1982) Balu Mahendra made his directorial debut in Malayalam with Olangal.

This critically acclaimed film, featuring Amol Palekar and Poornima, was inspired from the Erich Segal novel titled Man, Woman and Child.

A family drama with an unusual storyline, Olangal had some beautiful songs and excellent cinematography.

who is uprooted from his village after the death of his wife.

Balu Mahendra brilliantly highlights the hardship of a helpless old man, who has outlived his usefulness and is struggling to adapt to his new life in the city.

VANNA VANNA POOKKAL (1992) Balu Mahendra’s Vanna Vanna Pookal is a poignant love story starring Prashanth, Mounica and Vinodhini.

The film won the National Film award for Best

VEEDU (1988) One of Balu Mahendra’s finest works, Veedu — starring Archana — is a realistic portrayal of the struggles of a lower middle-class family trying to build their own house.

Film in Tamil at the 39th National Film awards.

Known for its melodious songs and spectacular visuals, the film was critically acclaimed as well as commercially successful.

Archana is the sole bread-winner of the family, who takes on this enormous responsibility.

Besides directing, Balu Mahendra is also credited with writing the script, editing and handling the camera.

Veedu secured two National Film Awards, the award for Best Film in Tamil and the Best Actress Award.

THALAIMURAIGAL (2013) After more than four decades in the industry, Balu Mahendra added yet another feather to his already illustrious cap.

In Thalaimuraigal, the 74-year-old Balu

SANDHYA RAAGAM (1989) Sandhya Raagam (Tune of Twilight) won Balu Mahendra yet another National Award, this time for Best Film on Family Welfare.

The film deals with the emotional upheaval in the life of an 84-year-old,

Mahendra faced the camera for the first time and played the protagonist.

A heartwarming story that depicted the beautiful relationship between a grandfather and his grandson, the film opened to rave reviews.

This is also the first time that a film has been shot in the digital format with a still camera — Balu Mahendra used the Canon 5D DSLR to shoot the entire film.

‘AN INSTITUTION BY HIMSELF’ I PAGE 10 It is a great loss to the industry.

He was a legend and among the best talents this industry has produced. I will always carry fond memories of working with him in Rettai Vaal Kuruvi.

Being on his sets is unique. You don’t get the same feeling anywhere else. I have acted in more than 300 movies, but can still recall my times working with him.

He was one of a kind.

He had carved out his own space, and his death will leave a void in the industry and in our hearts.

In Tamil Nadu where film stars are treated as gods, Balu Mahendra was an institution by himself.

— Radhika Sharatkumar, actress She spoke to A Ganesh Nadar Thank you for being an inspiring visual poet, for directing such life changing Tamil movies...

AR Rahman, composer Via Twitter As I stood before the glass casket in Balu Mahendra’s own studio, it looked as if he was just sleeping.

He was just like he used to be — in his favorite dark green jeans, light green shirt, his specs on his face and the famous hat on his head…

It all looked like a scene for a film shooting...

I had worked as Balu Mahendr’a assistant during the Hindi remake of his classic Moondram Pirai (Sadma). I had seen the discipline and the silent atmosphere in which he worked.

Today it was just the same. The same silence, the same discipline, only this time he was in lying in the casket, silent once and for all.

But his work will speak, his films will speak, each and every frame in all his films will speak. What a cameraman! What a director!

What an editor! What a writer! A complete filmmaker.

I remember during the ’80s people would see a film just because the cameraman was Balu Mahendra or it was a film

by Balu Mahendra.

There was a scene in Sadma that we had shot in Ooty with Silk Smita and now it had to be matched in Chennai.

I was in disbelief. How could someone match the hill station’s greenery and soft back light with the harsh light of Chennai?

He… just canned the shot. There were no monitors then and nobody knew what the frame was. Only he knew.

When I saw it in the editing room, I was amazed. Nobody can find out which is the Chennai shot.

That was his mastery of photography.

Ooty became popular simply because he showcased it as never before. The back light photography, the perfect source lighting indoors, all made his films look so natural but visually stunning.

His protégés, Urvashi Archana, the late Shobha and many more actors have given stunning performances and are still known because of their work in his movies.

I hope that film organizations, film schools and film archives store all his classic works for posterity.

His films such as Moondram Pirai, Kokila, Azhiyada Kolangal, Moodu Pani, Shankarabharanam, Yathra, Veedu, Mullum Malarum and many more, for some of which he was cameraman and some, writer and director, are all timeless classics.

They must be shown to the next generation of film-makers and should be part of film appreciation courses…

In his last years he had decided to give back all that he had learnt.

One of his students, Jagan, who is working as my assistant, told me that he was an amazing teacher.

He would be there every day, morning to evening, interacting with every student, seeing all the films shown in the work shop, meticulously interacting with every student. Making them understand the joy of cinema.

His last film, which was released two months ago, was Thalamurai.

He acted in it for the first time and also directed the film which has his stamp all over.

He showed that he still had the fire in him. He was still a film-maker par excellence.

Balu sir, we will miss you.

— Suresh Krissna, director As told to Radhika Rajamani

12

Bollywood INDIA IN NEW YORK FEBRUARY 21, 2014

Designer Manish Malhotra flanked by actresses, from left, Malaika Arora Khan, Lara Dutta, Madhuri Dixit Nene, Preity Zinta, Isha Kopikkar and Evelyn Sharma at the ‘Save & Empower the Girl Child’ initiative in Mumbai.

The Bollywood stars walked the ramp in Manish Malhotra creations and urged the audience to take a pledge in support of the girl child.

Madhuri said, “Let every girl child bloom, flourish and spread her fragrance in this world. Let us salute every girl child, every woman, every little Laxmi and Saraswati reincarnate in India. Let us join hands to abolish female foeticide and make this world a better place.”

Divas for a cause Bollywood actresses support a Save & Empower the Girl Child campaign

Bollywood actresses like, from left, Gul Panag, Waheeda Rehman, Poonam Dhillon and Madhoo supported the event that honored women achievers and had panelists discuss the state of the girl child.

Bollywood

13

INDIA IN NEW YORK FEBRUARY 21, 2014

A date with the president PINT-SIZED SALMAN FAN ON THE ELLEN DEGENERES SHOW Akshat Singh, an eight-year-old from West Bengal who has taken the Internet by storm with his dance moves since his appearance on Dance Bangla Dance Junior, has been invited for a chat with none other than Ellen DeGeneres.

Akshat, who is in grade 2, floored all with his Salman Khan-inspired moves on the reality TV show India’s Got Talent recently.

‘Ask him where he learnt his killer moves from, and he says, “Bhai se seekha (Learnt from brother),”’ writes the Hindustan Times. ‘When prodded if he’s talking about his elder brother, Akshat, who was invited by Ellen’s team after his video went viral, instantly clarifies, saying, “Nahi Nahi, Sallu Bhai.”’

The die-hard Salman fan, who will soon be on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, adds, ‘Bhai big boss hain, aur main chhota boss hoon. US mein jakar bhi faarh dunga sabko!” (Salman bhai is the big boss and I am the small boss. I am going to impress everyone in the US too.)’

Vicente Fox Quesada, the former President of Mexico, second from right, meets Shah Rukh Khan on the sets Happy New Year, which is being shot in Mumbai.

Fox was accompanied by his wife, Martha Fox, right, and the current Mexican ambassador to India, Jamie Nualart.

The Gulaab Gang controversy

M

uch has been documented, in print and video, about the Gulabi Gang, a group of Indian women vigilantes in Uttar Pradesh. And there was little doubt in anyone’s mind — at least in the minds of those who know of the group — that Anubhav Sinha’s Gulaab Gang portrayed the gang and its leader Sampat Pal. But the producer has denied that his film portrays Pal or her group in any way.

“It’s a woman’s fight for women’s rights who ends up fighting another woman,’ he was quoted as saying. ‘The film is not inspired by Sampat Pal at all. The story is set in Madhya Pradesh…. The high-voltage action and war between two women (Madhuri Dixit and Juhi Chawla) in the trailers suggest what the film is about.’

Gunjan Utreja

GUNJAN UTREJA, MADHUBALA’S NEW RK

Spot the difference: Left, Madhuri Dixit as the Gulaab Gang leader and right, Sampat Pal, the leader of Gulabi Gang.

A

fter much speculation about who will fill Vivian Dsena’s shoes as RK in Madhubala: Ek Ishq Ek Junoon — a race where names like Karanvir Bohra, Shaleen Malhotra and Ravi Dubey were thrown up — television host Gunjan Utreja has been chosen to play the new lead in the show.

The 29-year-old is not expected to be RK’s replacement, but an entirely new character. Abhay Kapoor, also a superstar like RK, will be seen romancing RK’s daughter on the show that recently took an 18-year leap.

PAWAN KUMAR/REUTERS

ANIL KAPOOR AS SHERLOCK?

A

recent court ruling in Chicago has cleared the decks for a desi Sherlock Holmes!

Following a lawsuit by Los Angelesbased lawyer and author Leslie Klinger against Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s estate after the latter sought a fee for his using the fictional detective in his stories, a judge ruled that though some of the plotlines cre- Anil Kapoor ated by Doyle were are still protected by copyright, the fictional detective was not.

While the author’s estate plans to appeal, many are treating this as a go ahead to cast Sherlock in their own moulds.

Unfortunately, for Sherlock fans the buzz is that a Punjabi version is being mooted in India and Bollywood star Anil Kapoor is in talks with Britain-based director Anand Tucker to play the part.

We Benedict Cumberbatch fans aren’t particularly enthused.

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India in New York February 21, 2014

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India in New York February 21, 2014

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Bollywood

16

INDIA IN NEW YORK FEBRUARY 21, 2014

D

irector Rohit Shetty, known for his signature action sequences in his films, has taken over hosting reality show Khatron Ke Khiladi’s (Fear Factor) latest season.

Set to be aired on Colors from March, the shoot will commence in Cape Town, South Africa.

What was your reaction when you were invited to host Khatron Ke Khiladi?

Initially, I was like, ‘How can I do it? I’m working on my upcoming film Singham 2.’

Also, Akshay Kumar and Priyanka Chopra have anchored the show in the past so I was worried about looking like a complete misfit.

I have done a couple of shows on TV before — Comedy Circus and Big Switch — so I wasn’t insecure about appearing on TV. When they came to me with the format, I felt I could do it. The format this season is quite entertaining and different from the earlier seasons.

How worried are you about the show’s ratings? All the three seasons hosted by Akshay Kumar were a hit while the one hosted by Priyanka Chopra got a lukewarm response.

I never think negative. My entire energy is focused on doing good things.

Challenges are everywhere, whether I make a film or a TV show.

My attitude is to do my best. How it will be accepted is something we can’t predict.

Are you designing the stunts for the show?

I am working hard on it, designing the stunts and safety measures. I am enjoying it.

It is a new adventure. In films, you can do retakes, but it’s not the same here.

We have planned different kinds of stunts in every episode, which will look dangerous.

I have to take care of these people as they are not stunt actors. There is a lot of responsibility.

What is your biggest fear?

I have been trained by my father (fight master M B Shetty) and then Veeru Devgan.

It is all about training.

On an emotional level there is the fear of losing your loved ones. Like I get worried if my son is late coming back from school.

Between Chennai Express and Singham 2, filmmaker Rohit Shetty speaks to Rajul Hegde about hosting Khatron Ke Khiladi

‘IT’S A NEW ADVENTURE’

Apart from hosting Khatron ke Khiladi, Rohit Shetty is also involved in designing the stunts and safety measures for the show.

F

Ajay Devgn

The fear is always there for your family.

There will be some other kind of fears that I will come to know of when I face them.

What have you learnt from your father as far as action and stunts are concerned?

It is important to be a good human being.

He was a great human being and would think about workers and team members. I try to do the same.

How difficult is it to tell your seven-yearold son not to copy your stunts/actions?

The problem is that action is in our DNA. He is undergoing training and he does somersaults.

The show has the disclaimer ‘Do not try these things as participants are trained.’ I try to stop my son from doing it, but he doesn’t stop.

I am not trying to create fear in him, but technically I try to tell him that this is not the age to do it.

He has to get trained in these things properly and then do it.

How are you planning to prepare the contestants?

I don’t create controversies to make contestants fight.

I want to give a new color to the show…

I want to motivate the family audience by bringing a lot of humor and emotional stories.

I want to take the fear out of it.

Will your crew follow you to South Africa for the shooting of the show?

My crew is preparing for Singham 2. The moment I land here we will be doing a huge action sequence.

The film this time is based in Mumbai so we are shooting action sequences here.

The team is planning things. We are doing action on a large scale. But they will join me for few stunts and then go back.

Are you planning an Independence Day release?

Yes.

TV takeovers

arhan Akhtar — the toast of the 2014 award season thanks to Bhaag Milkha Bhaag — has reportedly been approached to host the next season of Kaun Banega Crorepati (the Indian version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire).

The show has been hosted by actor Amitabh Bachchan for all seasons barring one, which was hosted by Shah Rukh Khan.

Though Farhan’s team refused to confirm the buzz, a source told the Hindustan Times, ‘It seems the team of

the show is planning to attract younger viewers with their choice of host. As new aspects of the show will demand someone who can connect particularly with the youth, they have approached Farhan.’

Rumors are also afloat that actor Salman Khan has recommended that his friend Ajay Devgn replace him as the host in Bigg Boss (the Indian version of Big Brother) season 8.

While it is known that Salman has already expressed his desire to quit the show, Devgn, not surprisingly, refused to confirm or deny the buzz.

Farhan Akhtar

Desi View

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INDIA IN NEW YORK FEBRUARY 21, 2014

‘Being a New Yorker means never being able to say you’re bored’ SARINA AMIN

PARESH GANDHI

I

t’s 3 am on a Thursday night. But one might just as easily think it was broad daylight, based on the crowds lining up on MacDougal Street.

MacDougal embodies what it means to live in the city that never sleeps. Whether you’re craving a Chicken Tikka Kathi Roll, Nutella Crepe, Pork Lo Mein, Falafel with Hummus or pizza, the melting pot that is MacDougal represents the multi-culturalism that makes New York City one of the most fascinating and rewarding places to live in.

When people ask me why I continue to live in a city where the subways are overcrowded, the streets are full of garbage, and studio-size apartments come at mansion-size prices, I’m often forced to stop and ask myself the same question.

But it always comes back to the same answer — where else can I get warm cookies delivered to my door within an hour, dry cleaning 24 hours a day, off-Broadway shows featuring celebrity actors, a hole-in-the-wall with 21 varieties of grilled cheese, a club so exclusive it doesn’t even have a name, and champagne brunches in the middle of the week?

Being a New Yorker means having access to anything you want at almost any hour of the day. It means never being able to say you’re bored, and always feeling like there are a millions of things you should be trying, starting, or doing.

It means constantly learning about different people, finding new friends, and experiencing things that you never would otherwise. Most of all, it means discovering who you are and who you want to be, and becoming comfortable with both of those things.

When you look around the city, there are people from different backgrounds, professions, and aspirations — but most New Yorkers are drawn here by a desire to immerse themselves in a city that offers endless opportunities.

As an example of the opportunities that abound, I left a long-term corporate job two years ago to launch an online business. While I had thought about making the move for quite some time, it wasn’t until I joined an entrepreneurship group in the city that I felt truly inspired to change my path.

Being part of the start-up community in New York was like having a constant mentor and motivator by my side.

Although I learned new tactics from fellow business owners, the greatest value was being surrounded by others with a similar passion for building something.

The inspiration I felt to start a business is just one of many examples of the power of New York’s collective energy. The city is truly a unique juxtaposition of history and innovation, with 60-year old establishments standing alongside pop-up novelty concepts. It makes just a simple

A Bhangra party led by DJ Rekha of Basement Bhangra fame at the South Seaport Diwali Mela last year in New York City.

A part of the India Music Week, it broke the Guinness Record for the largest coordinated bhangra dance. Inset, Sarina Amin walk around New York an eye-opening experience in itself. When you witness new college grads starting their first New York job or entrepreneurs chasing their dreams alongside veterans who have seen it all, you realize the magnitude of hope and ambition that not only brings people to this amazing city, but keeps them here far longer than they expected.

But while many people flock to New York for professional reasons, living in the city is just as much a springboard for unparalleled personal development.

If you’re looking for diversity, you’ll find it in bounds. If you’re looking for like-minded people, there are plenty of pockets where they gather. I’ve found myself spending just as many hours in East Village poetry houses as trendy meatpacking nightclubs.

On occasions where friends dragged me to see unknown live bands, I went unwillingly, but emerged with a newfound appreciation.

Among the constant scream of police sirens and buzz of traffic, lies the steady pulse of people debating social issues, challenging norms, and redefining culture. For me, the environment and people of New York have been as integral in enhancing my personal perspective as all my schooling put together.

Lastly, growing up as an Indian American and understanding what that means to your identity can be challenging in many areas. But being an Indian-American in New York City means having an abundance of cultural opportunities to help you discover and strengthen ethnic ties.

The city has long been a land of opportunity for immigrants to settle, open businesses, and contribute a piece of their heritage – which is why today, New York is just as well known for its ethnic-centric neighborhoods (like Little Italy, Chinatown, Koreatown, Curry Hill, etc.) as it is for food, entertainment, and nightlife.

As an Indian American, one of the most amazing transformations has been witnessing the rising influence of Indian culture and restaurants on mainstream New Yorkers. From events like the India Day Parade to parties like Basement Bhangra to Michelin-starred restaurants like Junoon, being Indian in New York feels surprisingly at home.

So the next time someone asks me why I continue to live in this crazy city…I’ll tell them it’s because I can’t imagine living anyplace else.

Sarina Amin is the founder of Bridebuggy.com, an online wedding planning tool.

18

Food INDIA IN NEW YORK FEBRUARY 21, 2014

‘The chocolate industry is much more complex than I ever thought it was going to be’ Aditi Malhotra, who is on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list, tells Arthur J Pais why chocolate making is more than just a business for her

A

diti Malhotra has been voted one of Business Insider’s Sexiest Chefs Alive, Zagat featured her on of their 30 under 30: NYC’s hottest upand-comers, and recently Forbes chose her as one of 30 Under 30 entrepreneurs.

Malhotra, 28, who owns Tache Artisan Chocolate in New York, has been featured several times in The New York Times.

She spent many months training with the famed pastry chef Christian Vautier in France before opening the store, Christian Vautier Le Concept, in the Lower East Side of Manhattan in 2012.

Since stepping out on her own rebranding ChristianVautier Le Concept, as Tache Artisan Chocolate, Malhotra says she has been deriving a lot of her inspiration for her chocolates and flavorings from her Indian heritage.

taught me how to discipline myself when making chocolates, the importance of not rushing the process.

His passion for making chocolate is very inspiring and motivates me to keep working with new ingredients, being creative, thinking out of the box and to not give up.

The chocolate industry is much more complex than I ever thought it was going to be- I am learning something new everyday and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Are all the recipes your own? How do you get the inspiration to create them and how do you test the recipes?

All of the recipes at Tache are my own. It

Were you born with a sweet tooth?

In a way, yes but I have been surrounded by family members, including my grandfather (who started the Gaylord restaurant in Mumbai) and my own parents and family members who owned the Akbar restaurants in New York and New Jersey.

But you decided to make things for yourself ?

My family thought that if I want to be in culinary business, I could join the family. But I wanted to do something on my own and that meant not only getting trained in Switzerland, but also at the French Culinary Institute in America. I may join the family business, but not for a few more years.

I am interested in more than being an entrepreneur. For just as my business is growing, I devote a few hours a week teaching people about making Aditi Malhotra, above, says the inspiration for her chocolates comes from her chocolates, including children above three years.

Indian heritage.

What is it like teaching children to make chocotakes a couple of different trials to get the perfect truffle. lates?

From using the perfect amount of spice, to the right They are so curious and they appreciate the color and amount of cream, I always have to remember I am not just design. They ask many questions and replying to them making these chocolates for myself (I am a very big spice means that I must always be alert and on top of things. lover).

They also challenge you to be more creative.

I get inspired from anything and everything around me.

What are some of your bestselling items?

My recent trip to Turkey really opened my eyes to a whole Moroccan Five Spice and Date Truffles with Peri Peri, other variety of ingredients, specialty cocktails, flowers, bonbons and mustache-shape chocolate lollipops. colors, and seasons.

How do you promote your chocolates?

How did you decide on the name Tache?

There have been stories about me in major publications Tache means stain or spot in French — every time I am such as The New York Times. And then there is word of wearing my chef coat, I usually have a smudge of chocolate mouth. I also carry samples of chocolate, which I hand out on it as business cards at bars and events. Like I say, You never This is more than a business to you… know who will be your next customer.

It is a passion in the first place. Why would anyone What have you taken from your partnership with spend great many hours in a basement each day preparing Christian Vautier? and looking over the making of chocolates?

Christian has been an absolutely wonderful mentor. He

Spiced Chocolate Grignotines Preparation: 15 minutes Inactive (Refrigeration): 15 min Yield: 12 clusters INGREDIENTS 1 cup almonds, toasted, coarsely chopped (can also be toasted with some spices such as 1 teaspoon garam masala or fleur sel) 1/2 cup dried cranberries, coarsely chopped (could also be infused with liquor such as brandy or whiskey and soaked overnight and then dried) 1/4 cup candied orange peel, chopped 6 ounces dark chocolate, finely chopped (I prefer a 70%-75% dark cacao for this recipe, Domori or Callebaut) 1 cup puffed rice cereal For sprinkling; 1 tsp curry powder, or 1 tbsp fresh coconut or 1 tbsp pink peppercorn, crushed METHOD In a medium bowl, toss together the almonds, puffed rice cereal, chopped orange peels and the spiced spiked cranberries. Line a baking sheet/sheet tray with waxed paper.

Melt half the chocolate on the top of a double boiler over slightly simmering water, over the lowest possible heat, stirring frequently. Make sure the water is not touching the top bowl. Always make sure that you are using a steel or aluminum bowl as you will be more than likely to burn the bottom of a glass bowl- which in turn might burn your chocolate. No one likes burnt chocolate!

Remove your double boiler off of the heat and stir in the rest of the chocolate. Remove the top pan with the chocolate in it, gently wipe the bottom of it and set it aside for a moment. You never want water to come in to contact with your chocolate or you might have the chocolate seize. When chocolate melts, it is ideally a smooth, satiny mixture. However, if it comes into contact with even a small amount of water, it will “seize,” or turn into a grainy, clumpy texture in your bowl.

Chocolate is a mixture of fat (from cocoa butter) and dry ingredients (cocoa and sugar). When the melted chocolate comes into contact with water, the dry ingredients become moist and begin to stick together, quickly forming a sandy, rough mass of chocolate.

Replace the simmering water in the bottom put with warm tap water. Put the bowl of melted chocolate on top of the warm water. This will keep the chocolate at the right temperature while you make your clusters.

Stir the fruit-nut mixture into the chocolate. Spoon out heaping tablespoon-sized clusters of the chocolate mixture onto the baking sheet about 1-inch apart. Put them in the refrigerator to set for 15 minutes. Store and serve at room temperature.

I love to add spices on my chocolates! Sprinkle some curry, coconut and pink peppercorn on top of each cluster for the finishing special Tache touch!

American Desi

19

INDIA IN NEW YORK FEBRUARY 21, 2014

Driving Minto Grewal To carve a life for himself in America, Minto Grewal was ready to do anything — from selling newspapers to driving a car.

Text and Photograph: Paresh Gandhi

H

e stood on the Mexican border, looking into California.

One more step, and he would be in America.

There was nothing he had wanted more in his life.

As a little boy in Ludhiana, Punjab, as a student in Chandigarh’s well-known DAV College, it was all he dreamt of.

“My family didn’t want me to go,” Minto Grewal says.

“But I was obsessed. I would work in a hotel after college to save up the money I needed. And finally, in 1985, I did it!”

Minto made his way to New Jersey, where he found a job in a warehouse. “I was part of the packing and shipping team and made $3.35 an hour, before taxes,” he says.

The salary was inadequate, but he was an illegal and didn’t have a say in the matter. Not that it mattered; Minto was happy — he had taken his initial steps towards achieving his great American Dream.

Impressed with his hard work, the company offered to sponsor his green card. “Those days,” recalls Minto, “it was compulsory to have some education in America to complete the green card process.”

He signed up for a course in computer programming.

Studying and working at the same time was difficult, but Minto refused to be deterred. He only focused on his goal, the green card. Before long, the coveted prize was his.

Minto then faced his next problem. “I had absolutely no

money,” he laughs. “I would walk two miles to work every day — even through rain and snow — to save the dollar that taking the bus cost.”

Now that he had his Green Card, he could look for more jobs. After finishing his day job at the warehouse, he found a part-time job at a candy store in New York, putting together the morning newspapers.

It was hard outdoor work, and he would shiver through the winter nights. But it earned him his first tip in America.

“One day, a man drove up in his Rolls Royce car, lowered his window and asked for a copy of The New York Times.

He tipped me a quarter,” Minto smiles.

Slowly, Minto started saving money and, when he had enough, he went home and got married.

“When I returned to America, I started a new job at photo lab in Manhattan,” he says. He quickly picked up the required skills and, before long, his boss offered him a commission if he could bring in more clients.

Minto was thrilled at this opportunity to make some extra money. The clients came in; the money never did.

“My commission at the lab was two percent. They still owe me a little over $30,000,” he says.

Disgusted, he decided to quit and start his own lab with the help of a bank loan.

By this time, his wife, Jitender, had joined him.

His new business was doing well and, soon, their family

was growing.

Minto — “My real name is Sukhchain, but nobody ever calls me that,” he laughs — bought a nice house in Edison.

Life was looking up when, suddenly, technology intervened. “Everything became digital so quickly,” he says. He suffered huge business losses. Finally, in 2008, he shut his lab.

“I had to find a living so I started a luxury limousine service” he says. His company is called All American Transport.

“I drive too,” he says. “It was a little strange at first but, very soon, I started enjoying myself. It’s fantastic to be paid to drive these beautiful cars.”

Most of his clients are senior managers who work for big companies. “Driving a limo is safe,” he says. “Since our assignments are booked in advance, we don’t have to worry about harassment or cheating.”

If you are a good driver, and have a well-maintained car, the tips flow in, he says. “You can then make as much as $500 to $700 a day.” A good limo driver can make $100,000 a year, he adds.

He enjoys the flexibility of the business — “I stay home when I want to” — and the fact that he can buy a new luxury car every alternate year. Today, he has 10 cars in his fleet; the latest is a Lexus.

Minto is a strong believer in both astrology and karma.

“What goes around comes around,” he says. He treats his employees with respect and pays their dues on time. “An employer can only make money when his employees work hard.”

It’s his belief in karma that makes him stop when he sees an elderly person walking on the road. “I always offer them a ride and, sometimes, they accept. But they all thank me and the smile on their face makes me feel on top on the world,” he says.”

He also offers his astrology services — he had learnt to read the charts in India as a young man — for free.

“People come to me for help but, because I don’t charge, I have a lot of requests and it takes time to go through all of them.”

Minto’s wife, Jitender, is a nurse and earns well. His eldest daughter, Navdeep, is completing her medical education. His second daughter, Navjot, who is in high school, plans to become a doctor as well.

“My third daughter, Sukhjit, is in middle school. On a recent visit to India, she was shocked to see the poverty there. She too plans to become a doctor and give free medical treatment to the poor in India.”

His son, Roshan, is in fourth grade and Minto hopes he will follow in his sisters’ footsteps.

Despite living his American Dream, Minto remains connected to his homeland. His yearly visits to India, he says, are short but they allow him to catch up with his relatives and friends.

The Grewal home in New Jersey remains a typical Punjabi home. “My parents — my father has retired from the Indian Army — live with me. We talk in Punjabi and visit the gurdwara regularly.”

His children are comfortable in both Indian and Western clothes. They celebrate as many Indian festivals as possible.

Life, for Minto, has come a happy circle.

India Special

20

INDIA IN NEW YORK FEBRUARY 21, 2014

F

ive years after it garnered many good reviews from Indian academics, professors and writers such as Gurcharan Das, ignited controversies and the wrath of Hindutva activists across America, Wendy Doniger’s The Hindus: An Alternative History has been withdrawn in India, ending a court case that dragged for two years.

The publishing house, Penguin India, has said it will pulp unsold copies of the book that takes a nontraditional view of Indian history and Hinduism, and also gives voices to non-mainstream views. The book raises questions such as how much of the Ramayana is fiction and how much it is historical..

Doniger, who was raised in New York by non-observant Jewish parents, has for decades considered India a home, and has written books and articles on the country.

The University of Chicago professor, an alumna of Harvard University and Oxford University, is considered gutsy and imaginative by many who applaud her critical and offbeat insights into Indian culture, Hindu religion and social and political life.

For long Doniger, who is in her early 70s, and writers including Paul B Courtright, the author of Ganesa: Lord of Obstacles, Lord of Beginnings, who share her thinking have found themselves opposed vehemently by a group of Indian businessmen and professors who have spurred protests against them in India too.

Some academics not associated with Hindutva too found Doniger’s book wanting. ‘There are several issues that need more detailed and nuanced analysis rather than straight-jacketed formulations that we read in The Hindus,’ pointed out Mohan Shrimali, professor of Indian history at the University of Delhi. ‘On the whole, this is neither a serious work for students of Indian history, nor for those with a critical eye on ‘religious history’ of India, nor indeed it is the real Alternative History of the Hindus.’

Such scholars did not ask for the book to be withdrawn.

Doniger, in a statement, said she ‘was thrilled and moved by the great number of messages of support that I received, not merely from friends and colleagues but from people in India that I have never met, who had read and loved The Hindus, and by news and media people, all of whom expressed their outrage and sadness and their wish to help me in any way they could. I was, of course, angry and disappointed to see this happen, and I am deeply troubled by what it foretells for free speech in India in the present, and steadily worsening, political climate.’

And as a publisher’s daughter, she wrote, ‘…I do not blame Penguin Books, India. Other publishers have just quietly withdrawn other books without making the

Book, brouhaha In an out of court settlement, publishing giant Penguin’s India arm decides to 'pulp' academic Wendy Doniger's The Hindus: An Alternative History. Arthur J Pais reports

Wendy Doniger effort that Penguin made to save this book. Penguin India took this book on knowing that it would stir anger in the Hindutva ranks, and they defended it in the courts for four years, both as a civil and as a criminal suit. They were finally defeated by the true villain of

this piece — the Indian law that makes it a criminal rather than civil offense to publish a book that offends any Hindu, a law that jeopardizes the physical safety of any publisher, no matter how ludicrous the accusation brought against a book.’

‘We are against Westernization’ T

here are limits and one should not cross that. The Supreme Court of India has often said while dealing with similar subjects that one needs to look at the intent and the language of the author of a book. In the case of Wendy Doniger's book, the intent is wrong and the language deployed is not right.

Yes, there is a debate about freedom of speech and expression, but then it has its limits as well. Freedom of speech does not mean you can write or say anything and everything. You cannot hurt the sentiments of the people on the pretext of freedom of speech. Also, it is not at all

acceptable that one can distort facts under the name of freedom of speech.

The book in question has several factual errors and hence the objections raised by me are very valid in nature.

Nothing suggests that our identity can be trampled or our religion and traditional values hurt under the garb of freedom of expression and speech.

The author clearly says that she only wanted to write about sex in Hinduism. Her intention to bring out sex in Hinduism is

offensive and does not have the right intention. Why I am repeatedly saying her intention is bad is because the content and language are not only abusive, but also anti-national.

There is nothing wrong if I have protested against the book, because it is not right on her part to hurt the feelings of the Hindus.

We have protested in the past and will do so in the future against anything that we find offensive or portrays a bad image of our society. No one has the right

DINANATH BATRA

to hurt the religious sentiments of people.

Although the actions initiated by us have been considered to be against modernisation, what I would like to say is that we are against Westernisation and not modernisation. Westernisation, according to me, enslaves the country and it is our duty to ensure that this does not happen.

Dinanath Batra of the Shiksha Bachao Andolan Samiti , one of the main petitioners against Wendy Doniger's book, spoke to Vicky Nanjappa.

Special

21

INDIA IN NEW YORK FEBRUARY 21, 2014

Qurrat Ann Kadwani appears off Broadway Arthur J Pais

I

magine an American reporter taken prisoner by a group of radicals who on the surface appear cosmopolitan, integrated, successful, secular Muslims but have now embarked on a terrorist attack.

The off Broadway play Blind Angels, according to its writer Dick Brukenfeld, is inspired by Daniel Pearl, the reporter kidnapped and brutally killed in Pakistan. The new play comes with a twist.

Its reporter has long relationships with two of his kidnappers — one is his exfiancée (Qurrat Ann Kadwani) and the other was his college roommate.

The three would-be terrorists are American citizens and not fanatics. Two are Ivy League educated jet setters.

All of them know they need this trusted Jewish newsman, Aaron Samzer, to tell their story as they plan to hit New York City with ‘a small catastrophe to avoid a larger one.’

‘I wanted to write a play that would look at the other side of terrorism,’ Brukenfeld, a former reporter for The Boston Globe and

theater critic for the Village Voice, says in the production notes of the play. ‘My goal was to get beyond the self-serving cliché, they want to destroy us, because they hate our way of life. I felt I could get closer to the truth by exploring why people who enjoy our way of life might turn against this country.’

Pearl, he says, is stamped in his mind ‘as enterprising, compassionate, and brave — an iconic figure, a finished product.’

But for his reporter he wanted a character who is a work in progress as Aaron is and terrorists who were more evolved and complex than Pearl’s killers.

‘This is why Blind Angels is not based on but inspired by Daniel Pearl,’ he adds. ‘He was out there doing what all of us dream of — getting the crucial story that wasn’t being written, finding out who the terrorists were and what was motivating them.

Unfortunately, the people holding him were too dumb and vicious to recognize the opportunity he was offering. In this play, they do.’

Blind Angels is produced by Theater for New City, one of the more recognized off Broadway companies and is best known

Qurrat Ann Kadwani and Scott Raker in Blind Angels.

COURTESY: JONATHAN STAFF/THEATERFORTHENEWCITY.NET

for plays like The Divine Sister.

It is directed by Melissa Attebery and has a cast of seasoned artists from the off Broadway community, including Alok Tewari.

Blind Angels Theater for the New City, 155 First Ave. Between 9th and 10th Streets Through March 2

Engaging performances lift Bronx Bombers Arthur J Pais

A

seriously devotional sports drama like Bronx Bombers may look like not having an appeal to someone who is not a Yankees fan, or for that matter, someone who is not a sports fan. But the play, though some times too adulatory, could appeal to anyone who can see it as a story of a large family, full of rivalry and egos.

Of course, reading a little about the legendary Yankees, who come together for a bit bizarre yet appealing dinner in the dream sequence in the second half, would help.

Several tense scenes, a handful of amusing turns and engaging performances, especially by the befuddled Yogi Berra (Peter Scolari in a Tony-worthy performance), who wants to keep the fractured team together, keep the play from being just a homage to Yankee

greats.

The Yankees/Red Sox game June 18, 1977 is the background for the opening scenes.

The Yankees manager, Billy Martin, has punished his star outfielder, Reggie Jackson, for underperforming. As tension mounts and tabloid journalists hunger for a showdown, Yogi Berra, the team’s Hall of Fame catcher in an earlier era and now a coach, brings Martin (an amusing Keith Nobbs) and Jackson (a dignified Francois Battiste, who can also be suitably indignant) in a hotel room and urges them to reconcile.

Caught in the feud is the team captain Thurman Munson (Bill Dawes).

For Yogi Berra — he received his famous nickname from his friend Bobby Hofman, who said he resembled a Hindu yogi whenever he sat around with arms and legs crossed — this is devastating.

The Yankees, to him, are more than a

team and money machine. Without them as a team, he feels much more is lost than the game.

Watching Scolari plead for reconciliation, you feel as if the helplessness of the situation is aging him right in front of you.

We also get to hear some of the fractured English and malapropisms that made Berra famous, including his declaration, ‘I really didn’t say all the things I said.’

The second act in the show has roused quite a controversy, with some complaining that it is too surreal.

In the dream sequence, Berra and his wife (Tracy Shayne, Scolari’s wife in real life) invite the giant Yankees (some who were dead by that time and some like Derek Jeter who were not around) for a midnight dinner.

Surreal, contrived and farfetched this could be, but writer and director Eric Simonson offers some affecting scenes,

and you can feel Yogi Berra’s pain and angst, not to forget his passion for the game, in scene after scene.

To many ardent Yankee fans watching actors portray legends like Mickey Mantle, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio with distinctive personalities is more than guilty pleasure.

At a recent staging, when each of the giant Yankees appeared one by one, there was prolonged applause.

The changing nature of baseball and the Yankee spirit is well enunciated by Mantle, who blames the ’60s for the dangerous shift when ballplayers went from playing on teams to performing as personalities. The scene is one of the best in the show, well developed and executed. Old world fans would love it.

Bronx Bombers Circle in the Square.

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22

Aseem in Germany INDIA IN NEW YORK FEBRUARY 21, 2014

Bollywood bonding in Berlin T

An Indian restaurant in Berlin.

L

ast weekend, on my way back from Berlin, the AirBerlin flight served us a light meal before the plane landed at JFK. It was a cold meal, we were told.

There were two tiny strips of chicken with pasta salad, cheese, crackers and dessert. I took one bite of the chicken — it was red in color — and wow, it was amazing. I had to take another bite to confirm that is was Tandoori Chicken. And it was delicious!

I looked at the German passengers seated around me, and they seemed to like the chicken.

Right behind me there was an annoying elderly American couple. The man had been kicking my seat throughout the flight, and I had to ask him to stop. After the food was served, the couple called the flight attendant.

“What is this?” the American woman asked. “It’s chicken,” the attendant said. “It tastes strange,” the American woman responded.

Trust Americans to sometimes not know the taste of Indian foods.

In Berlin, however, there are a lot of Indian eateries. There is a Bombay restaurant with two giant Buddha statues on the famous Friedrichsrasse (Berlin’s the equivalent of Fifth Avenue), an eatery by the name of Samadhi one block behind the Jewish memorial in the heart of the city, and Namaskar, a Gujarati place that hosted Vishal and Rekha Bhardwaj when they visited the city for the screening of 7 Khoon Maaf in 2011.

PHOTOGRAPHS: ASEEM CHHABRA

I love the signs outside Indian restaurants in Berlin – the way the name of the eatery follows the word Indisches (Indian).

The Germans also love currywurst or pork sausage with a generous helping of curry ketchup — regular ketchup blended with curry powder. I first discovered curry ketchup in Belgium, but the Germans cannot seem eat their favorite pork sausage without the taste of curry.

Walking the streets of Berlin, I saw the word ‘curry’ all the time.

And while Indians do not like all their foods to be labeled as curry, there was a sense of excitement that spices that originated from my country are so familiar to German taste buds, especially given that there is no colonial historic connection between the two countries.

And then there is the love for Bollywood. It has been noted that Shah Rukh Khan is very popular among German women. It all started when a dubbed version of Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham was broadcast on German television.

Counting on Khan’s popularity, in the past years the Berlinale has featured films starring the Bollywood star: Om Shanti Om, Don 2 (parts of it were shot in Berlin) and My Name is Khan.

But here was another surprise. It is not just the films that are popular. February 18-24, Berlin fans of popular Hindi cinema can attend an event titled Bollywood: The Show. There were posters all over the city, but alas I left Berlin before the show started.

his was my sixth trip to the Berlinale.

In addition to seeing new films and rediscovering classics, the most fun I have at the festival is in meeting up with old friends. These are people who I met at the Berlin Film Festival and some of them I only see once a year — in February in Berlin.

There is a lovely young physiotherapist from London, Pragya Mishra, who also writes film columns for a Hindi newspaper in Nagpur, Maharashtra. The first time I met her, she offered Til Laddoo that she had brought from London.

Then there is a Berlin-born Pakistani film writer Schyan Riaz, who is also a Twitter friend so it seems as if we meet regularly.

And there is the young Indian filmmaker Prashant Nair (Delhi in Day), who moved from Paris to Berlin, since he found the German capital to be more welcoming to younger people.

There are also the regular journalists and film festival programmers who visit from India including three Bengali men — whose names I can never remember — who program the Kolkata International Film Festival. They can always be found together — on the streets, inside the theaters.

It is a fun group of people and we bond together over an eclectic mix of foreign and some Indian films as well. We were all together, at least 10 people of South Asian origin, at the press screening of Imtiaz Ali’s film Highway. We made up nearly half of the entire press that attended the Bollywood film’s screening.

And we are usually together at the press conferences of Bollywood films, making up the entire group of those attending the event.

But most important, the festival gives us a chance to catch up with our lives and then part with the promise of meeting again the next year.

23

India in New York February 21, 2014

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The Week That Was

24

INDIA IN NEW YORK FEBRUARY 21, 2014

Kejriwal quits as Delhi chief minister

Ruckus in Parliament

After 49 days in power, Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal quit as the Delhi chief minister. The final trigger being the Jan Lokpal Bill, which could not be introduced in the Delhi Assembly.

Kejriwal blamed his government’s demise on Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani, Congress party and the Bharatiya Janata Party. He said the three colluded to thwart AAP’s efforts to get the bill approved in the assembly.

After his resignation Kejriwal said, ‘Now we will take our fight from the assembly to the parliament.’

President’s rule was imposed in Delhi after the government’s resignation.

ADNAN ABIDI/REUTERS

AAP releases first list of candidates for Lok Sabha election

Indian parliamentarian K Narayana Rao is rushed to hospital after he collapsed inside Parliament due to the effects of the pepper spray, February 13.

Pepper spray attack

Mic brandishing

Andhra Pradesh parliamentarian Lagadapati Rajagopal — who was expelled from the Congress party for protesting against the bifurcation of the state — used pepper spray inside the Lok Sabha when the Telangana Bill was being tabled by Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde February 13.

The spray triggered coughing among parliamentarians, who rushed out of the House. Doctors were summoned and three MPs were hospitalalized.

Rajagopal had to be rescued by security staff after other members attacked him, Press Trust of India reported.

Telugu Desam Party member M Venugopal Reddy, who was initially accused of brandishing a knife at members in the House, said, ‘I pulled out the microphone, it was not a knife.’

As pandemonium reigned and members almost came to blows, Speaker Meira Kumar adjourned the House. ‘What has happened has shamed us. It is a blot on democracy,’ she said.

Rajagopal and 17 others were suspended from Parliament.

The bill was finally passed in the Lok Sabha by voice vote February 18, despite threats from ministers and MPs from Seemandhra resisting the move.

The Aam Aadmi Party announced its first list of 20 candidates for the Lok Sabha elections February 17.

Former journalist Ashutosh will be pitted against Federal Law Minister Kapil Sibal from the Chandni Chowk constituency in Delhi.

Mukul Tripathi will be contesting against External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid from Farukkhabad in Uttar Pradesh, and Kumar Vishwas will be pitted against Rahul Gandhi in Amethi.

Other prominent names include psephologist Yogendra Yadav from Gurgaon, activist Medha Patkar from Mumbai North East, banker Meera Sanyal from Mumbai South.

Meanwhile, Soni Sori, arrested earlier for her alleged links with Maoists, will be the AAP candidate from Bastar, Chhattisgarh. While her name did not figure in the first list, Sori told The Indian Express that she had been contacted by AAP leader Prashant Bhushan.

Interim budget seeks to please the common man India’s Finance Minister P Chidambaram presented the 2014 interim budget February 17.

He sought to win over key sections like the scheduled castes, minorities, women, farmers and army personnel with more money for their welfare while pleasing the middle class with excise cuts on items of daily consumption.

Major sops

PAGE 25 J

India’s Finance Minister P Chidambaram, fourth from left, arrives at the Parliament to present the interim budget.

COURTESY: PIB

Air conditioners, television sets, food processors, cameras, vacuum cleaners, dish washers and washing machines to be cheaper.

Subsidies on food, fertilizers and fuel.

A Dalit venture fund to be set up Capital goods like boilers, turbines and forklifts to cost less No service tax on cord blood bank for stem cell preservation A 9 percent hike in the federal funds for the education sector

The Week That Was

25

INDIA IN NEW YORK FEBRUARY 21, 2014

I PAGE 24

The e-passport will replace the existing passport document with a plastic card embedded with an electronic chip containing details of the passport holder, including biometric information, besides the digital signature of a passport officer, he explained.

Tejpal charged with rape

The Goa police filed a chargesheet against former Tehelka chief, Tarun Tejpal February 17. He was charged with rape, sexual harassment and outraging the modesty of his female employee on two consecutive days in the elevator of a hotel.

Tejpal is currently lodged in Sada sub jail at Vasco and his bail plea was adjourned till March 4. If proved guilty, he could face a prison term of over seven years.

4 men charged with murder for student’s death The Delhi police told a court that it had slapped murder charges against four men, in connection with Nido Tania’s death.

The 19-year-old student from Arunachal Pradesh was beaten to death January 29 in New Delhi after an altercation with shopkeepers who allegedly passed racist comments at him.

In a landmark verdict, India’s Supreme Court granted relief to the three convicts in former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination case by commuting their death sentence into life term on the grounds of inordinate delay in disposal of their mercy petitions by the President.

Mumbai gets new police chief After over 15 days of having no police commissioner, a situation unprecedented in the history of the Mumbai police, the city finally has a new top cop: Anti-terrorism squad chief Rakesh Maria.

Maria was appointed the new chief after his predecessor Satyapal Singh quit to join politics two weeks ago.

UK historian sparks row A United Kingdom-based historian described Indian freedom fighters — Bhagat Singh and Chandrashekhar Azad — as ‘terrorists’ during a lecture held in Surat, Gujarat, recently, sparking a controversy.

Delivering a lecture on ‘Nonviolent Resistance In India during 1915-1947’, Warwick University’s professor David Hardiman said, ‘Terrorist groups, who predate Mahatma Gandhi, were always there alongside Gandhi’s non-violent movement.

Some of these famous figures were Bhagat Singh and Chandrashekhar Azad, who were involved in organizations like Hindustan Republic Association and Hindustan Republic Socialist Association.’

Hardiman’s remarks against the Indian revolutionaries angered the audience, who compelled him to clarify, following which, he said, ‘I did not use the word terrorists as a derogatory term.’

Court asks Karnataka to stop devadasi system India’s Supreme Court directed the Karnataka chief secretary to take all steps to prevent women from being forced into becoming devadasis during a temple function held February 13 in Devnagar

SAHIL SALVI

Supreme Court commutes Rajiv Gandhi’s killers’ death sentence

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena protestors block a road in Thane.

MNS’s toll booth agitation in Mumbai Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray’s anti-toll agitation brought Mumbai to a halt for a couple of hours, February 12.

MNS activists, including those from the women’s wing, stormed highways in and around Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Aurangabad inconveniencing officer-goers during the morning rush hours.

Thackeray was detained when he was proceeding to the a toll plaza in Navi Mumbai. He was released later. MNS workers went on a rampage across Maharashtra, damaging buses and forcibly shutting shops.

district.

The court was responding to a public interest litigation filed by a non-governmental organization. The petitioners alleged that the devadasi practice, in which a woman is dedicated to the service of god at a temple for life, was prevalent in different parts of the country despite laws against it.

Assam: 30 hurt as mob clashes with police At least 30 people, including two police officers and four constables, were injured in a clash between protesters and security forces in south Assam’s Cachar district February 12, police said. Five policewomen were missing since the incident, sources said.

Trouble broke out as locals blocked the National Highway protesting against illegal ‘taxes’ being collected from vehicles plying on the Assam-Mizoram road, sources added. When the police tried to remove the protestors, they became violent and pelted stones.

Malegaon blast accused urges bail Sadhavi Pragya Thakur, the prime accused in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blasts, sought bail in the Bombay high

court on medical grounds, but the prosecution opposed it saying there was evidence against her.

Thakur is accused of hatching the conspiracy with others, which led to the September 29, 2008 blast at Malegaon in Nashik district, leaving six people dead.

Indian Army gets first northeastern lieutenant general Major General Konsam Himalay Singh, who was named a lieutenant general in the latest promotions list of the Indian Army, became the first army officer from India’s northeast to reach the rank. General Singh hails from Charangpat in Manipur’s Thoubal district.

E-passports to be a reality New generation electronic passports, which aim to secure data and curb the menace of fake passports, are likely to be introduced by next year.

‘A task force has been set up to look into the e-passport project, which has held deliberations with different stakeholders (departments). We are planning to start issuing e-passports to new applicants by next year,’ Chief Passport Officer Mukesh K Pardeshi told reporters in Hyderabad.

Delhi police to the rescue on Facebook Under fire over repeated attacks in the city on citizens from India’s northeast, the Delhi police has decided to open dedicated Facebook and Twitter accounts for reports on such attacks.

Court to hear sexual assault plea against judge India’s Supreme Court said February 14 that the plea of a former law intern seeking a probe against a retired judge Swatanter Kumar for allegedly sexually harassing her will be heard March 26 by a three-judge bench.

Sikkim only state in India with 100 percent sanitation In a country ranked poorly on the health and environment front, Sikkim has done remarkably well to become India’s first state with 100 percent sanitation coverage, according to a report of the drinking water and sanitation ministry.

Sikkim, ranked first among the 28 states and seven union territories in terms of sanitation coverage for both urban and rural areas in households, schools and sanitary complexes.

Italy petitions UN over marines’ trial Italy has petitioned the United Nations over the trial of its marines in India under a strict anti-piracy law for killing two Indian fishermen.

The Italian authorities said they would exercise ‘all options’ to bring back the naval personnel.

Italy also summoned its ambassador from India to protest over a new delay in the legal proceedings against the marines Ambassador Daniele Mancini was to return to Italy for consultations, the Italian foreign ministry said in a statement, condemning ‘a new and unacceptable delay by the Indian Supreme Court’ in a case that has heightened tensions between the two countries.

Sports

26

INDIA IN NEW YORK FEBRUARY 21, 2014

India’s flag at Sochi finally

JULIAN FINNEY/GETTY IMAGES

JULIAN FINNEY/GETTY IMAGES

Indian athletes Shiva Keshavan, center, Himanshu Thakur, to his right, and Nadeem Iqbal, right, at a special ceremony to celebrate India’s return to the Olympic fold February 16.

The Indian contingent arrives for the ceremony.

T

he Indian flag was unfurled at the Winter Olympics Village in Sochi at a special ceremony February 16, five days after the International Olympic Committee revoked a 14-month suspension on the country.

The event was attended by the three Indian athletes competing in the Games, along with Indian Olympic Association president Narayna Ramachandran. It marked the end of India’s suspension, a week after the IOA conducted its elections according to the diktat of the IOC. Luger Shiva Keshavan, alpine skier Himanshu Thakur and cross country skier Nadeem Iqbal and their coaches stood silent as the tri-color was hoisted with the national anthem being played in the background.

‘It is a special moment when you see your country’s flag being

raised in the Games Village. I was so thrilled that I had goose bumps. It was a wonderful feeling,’ said Thakur, who was to compete in the men’s Giant Slalom competition February 19.

Keshavan, who finished 37th in the men’s luge singles event said, ‘the symbolic change has happened. Now we need to see the real change. It is a fresh start for us and hopefully better days will come for Indian winter sports.’

‘We were not allowed to fly the Indian flag or wear clothes with our country’s name, but now we can proudly fly our national flag and sport symbols that show our Indian identity,’ Roshan Lal Thakur, secretary, Winter Games Federation of India, said.

The three Indian athletes will also be able to take part in the closing ceremony February 23 with the Indian flag in their hands.

Iqbal finishes 85th in cross-country skiing ndia’s cross country skier Nadeem Iqbal finished 85 in the men’s 15km classic run Ievent during the Winter Olympic Games. th

SHAMIL ZHUMATOV/REUTERS

Russian soldiers raise India's national flag.

The 30-year-old Indian armyman clocked 55 minutes, 12.5 seconds to cover the distance and secure the 85th position out of 87 athletes who finished the race at the Laura CrossCountry Ski and Biathlon Center.

Iqbal was 16 minutes, 42.8 seconds behind gold medal winner Dario Cologna of Switzerland, who clocked 38 minutes, 29.7 seconds.

Swedish skiers Johan Olsson (38m:58.2s) and Daniel Richardsson (39m:08.5s) grabbed the silver and bronze medals respectively.

KAI PFAFFENBACH/REUTERS

27

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Sameer Ahuja helms Sports Museum of America May 16, 2008

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GEORGE JOSEPH áå kÉï vçêâ

aka Singh Rana Wrestler Dalip with India’s The Great Khali Patil at President Pratibha May 6 Rashtrapati Bhavan,

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forMichael Bloomberg York Mayor of America When New into the Sports Museum dream transform mally inaugurated Ahuja saw a May 7, Sameer multivibrant reality. first and only interactive, proved an The nation's museum experience before its media all-sports people lining the street from across the street instant hit, with entrance, just get in. The building to 26, Broadway Liberty ferry, Company, the Statue of Standard Oil housed the had earlier D Rockefeller. the street, so he on founded by John spent all night be the first visitor "One person could museum," to enter the Ahuja, the Delhi-born Chief museum's the and its Operating Officer Philip with co-founder Schwalb, said. cele"The museum sports. all sports, brates millions of There are sports. fans for various houses The museum is no them all. There anythis like place Ahuja where," a proud lives said. The museum he gives up to the billing more than Sameer Ahuja it: It houses movies and 20 original variAZIZ HANIFFA 1,100 photos, experience 600 artifacts, Visitors get to through áå t~ëÜáåÖíçåI a` within 19 galleries.related memorabilia, end up and and week showous sports, Security last presentations, histories of memof Homeland detailed interactive multimedia six foreign-born The Department studying the soldier, one of ceremony hours India-born spending cased an out events. at a special naturalization big-ticket sportsis unmissable: Tourists coming States. bers of the military, to Lady in the US of the United The museum after paying obeisance for new citizens Sandeep Singh, 23, a soldier Team, by 24-foot phoColor Guard of Battery Park Ludhiana-born in their tracks athInfantry Continentalto serve his adopted Liberty are stopped legend Babe Ruth, stories the Army's 3rd US his desire from baseball of names "followed had iconic tographs 9/11." of said he and other 21 countries terrorist attacks lete Jesse Owens sport. nation after the 26 men and women from Allegiance by square feet museum annals of American He was among the Oath of range of the 100,000 and Immigration The interior sports fan; seminal exhibits report who were administered US Citizenship the Sandeep Singh Mall.

King's school is manna for director of the icon Billie Jean celebrating historic Scharfen, acting in the ceremony at the Nationaltaken place on these tennis 'Jock' from had Jonathan memorabilia of the DHS, such an event part of varicard through Page A8 US history that museums; the event was Service, an appendage third time in Recognition Week.

It was only the bounded by the Smithsonian of Public Service are Page A8 the celebration grounds, which connected with ous activities

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India in New York February 21, 2014