India in New York - October 31, 2014 by India Abroad

BOLLYWOOD RAHMAN’S MAGIC AT BERKLEE

COMMUNITY SPECIAL THE TEMPLE BUILDER IS NO MORE

SPECIAL THE BRAVE MALVIKA IYER www.rediff.com (Nasdaq: REDF)

VOL. XVIII NO. 19

India in New York A GUIDE TO EVENTS AND ENTERTAINMENT FROM INDIA ABROAD FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2014

Diwali Memories THE FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS, STRAIGHT FROM INDIA

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India in New York

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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.

INDIA IN NEW YORK OCTOBER 31, 2014

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Former SAC Capital Advisors portfolio manager Mathew Martoma outside the US District Court for the Southern District of New York with his wife Rosemary, September 8.

PARESH GANDHI

Judge denies Martoma’s plea, orders him to surrender November 10 GEORGE JOSEPH

nited States District Court Judge Paul Gardephe, who presided over Mathew Martoma’s insider trading case trial, has denied the Indian-origin former hedge fund trader’s request to be free on bail pending a decision in the appeal he filed. Judge Gardephe said the ‘evidence of his guilt at trial was overwhelming. None of Martoma’s arguments regarding the sufficiency of the evidence or legal error at trail are persuasive. Nor has Martoma articulated any basis for finding that his sentences was procedurally or substantially unreasonable.’ Martoma had requested that the court extend his surrender date to December 2 to allow him to file a motion for bail pending appeal in Court of Appeals. The appeal is scheduled for January 2, 2015. The court asked him to surrender before jail authorities November 10. ‘Martoma, a portfolio manager of CR Intrinsic Investors, a division of hedge fund behemoth SAC Capital, was convicted in February this year for collecting confidential information about a high-profile Alzheimer’s drug trial from two doctors and making profits and avoiding losses of $275 million for SAC Capital,’ the court noted. Martoma was sentenced to 9 years in prison after a monthlong trial when a jury convicted him of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and of two substantive counts of securities fraud. He was also ordered to forfeit a $9.3 million bonus he earned through the insider trading, as well as his interests in his Florida home and several bank accounts.

US District Attorney Preet Bharara had sought a prison term of over eight years along with forfeiture of Martoma’s bonus. Evidence at trial showed that Martoma obtained material, non-public information from two doctors — Sidney Gilman and Joel Ross — about the phase II clinical trial of bapineuzumab, a drug that was thought might be useful in treating Alzheimer’s disease. Elan Corporation and Wyeth owned rights to the drug and were responsible for the clinical trial. The charges against Martoma relate to trading in the securities of these companies, the court noted. Martoma, who had changed his name from Ajai Mathew Thomas, was also sentenced to three years of supervised release following the completion of his sentence. Meanwhile, Martoma’s wife Rosemary has filed a petition in the court saying that she has a right to her husband’s property, and the government should not forfeit her share. The petition notes that Rosemary was a practicing pediatrician, ‘but when their first child was born in 2005, Mrs Martoma and the defendant jointly agreed that she would give up her career in medicine so that Mrs Martoma could take on a larger role in caring for their children and managing household affairs.’ Reports pointed out that spouses of white-collar felons often try to claim ownership in marital assets to prevent them from being forfeited to the government. Under a 2009 agreement with prosecutors, Ruth Madoff, the wife of convicted Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff, was permitted to shield $2.5 million for herself after a judge ordered her husband to forfeit $170.8 billion.

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INDIA IN NEW YORK OCTOBER 31, 2014

SACSS starts countdown to 15th anniversary A CORRESPONDENT

he South Asian Council for Social Services kicked off celebrations for its 15th anniversary next year, with a reception at the Jackson Heights Jewish Center in Queens, New York, October 11. Chief guest Dr Ram Raju, president and CEO, New York Health and Hospitals Corporation, lauded SACSS’s work in helping people get access to health care. Nisha Agarwal, New York City’s commissioner on immigrant affairs, said access for the new immigrants to services was critically important. She explained how the new municipal ID cards program in New York City would help immigrants. ‘The ID cards will ensure that newcomers to the city are able — regardless of immigration status — to participate in all facets of the city – to sign leases, to open bank accounts, and to live their lives in the open,’ Agarwal said. She said she had worked with SACSS in the past, and ‘look forward to working with it.’ The highlight of the evening was SACSS honoree Husam Ahmad, co-founder and chairman of HAKS, a consulting firm providing engineering, architectural, and construction management services, recalling his humble beginnings. Involved in two organizations promoting education and the economic well being of South Asians, Ahmad said he would include SACSS in the list of organizations that he would support and work closely with. ‘SACSS is helping our seniors and our women and my goal is to stay connected

with them,’ he said. Presenting the award, United States Representative Grace Meng commended Ahmad’s service to the community and the educational and economic opportunities he was providing the needy. A tribute was paid to the late Sushila Gidwani-Buschi, a SACSS founding board member, by Runi Mukherji-Ratnam, the SACSS president. ‘What we do for new immigrants, specially South Asians, is critical. We are

From left, Rekha Gupta, Bobbi Nasser; Runi Mukherji-Ratnam, Francesca Gany; Dr Ram Raju, Nisha Agarwal, Sudha Acharya; US Congresswoman Grace Meng, Dr Thomas Abraham, Husam Ahmad, and Shamir Khan. doing great work and expanding and moving into our 15th year,’ Mukherji-Ratnam said. Sudha Acharya, executive director, SACSS, thanked City Council Members Peter Koo, Daniel Dromm, Rory Lancman, Paul Vallone, and Mark Weprin, Borough President Melinda Katz and

Dhil Panakal in City & State’s 40 under 40 A CORRESPONDENT

hil Dominic Panakal, New York City Councilman Rory Lancman’s chief of staff, has been nominated by City & State magazine in its 40 under 40 rising stars in New York City. These young men and women are considered future leaders, the magazine said, especially in politics. Dhil, 25, had shown interest in politics from his school days, his father Paul D Pankal said. In high school, Dhil was president of the student government for four consecutive years. At Rutgers University studying political science, he founded the Gamma Upsilon chapter of the Kappa Sigma International Fraternity. ‘I thought I was going to maybe do some other stuff like finance after

Dhil Panakkal

school, but I loved politics,’ he told City &State. ‘I’ve always been into it, and I thought I might as well make it what I do.’ In college, he helped the city council campaign of Kevin Kim, a staff member of former US Congressman Gary Ackerman. Kim introduced Dhil to Rory Lancman, who was then an assemblyman. Dhil ran Barry Grodenchik’s campaign for Queens Borough president, and worked as Queens director for the Bloomberg administration’s community affairs unit. When Lancman won the city council seat last year, Dhil joined him and soon became his chief of staff. Dhil was recently elected the leader of the Democratic Party in Assembly District 25. Dhil was born in Germany to Paul D and Mary Panakal, and immigrated to the United States at age 5.

Assemblywoman Nily Rozic, for their support. SACSS helps South Asians immigrants by connecting them to vital services including health care. It offers English and computer classes, and counseling services. Its services are free. It has served more than 18,000 individuals so far.

Desi, 62, gets eight months in prison for in-flight molestation

evender Singh from Louisiana was sentenced last week by a Newark federal court to eight months in prison for touching a sleeping woman during a flight from Houston to Newark Liberty International Airport. Singh, 62, who lives in Baton Rouge, was also sentenced by US District Judge Stanley R Chesler to serve two years of supervised release, and to register as a sex offender. Singh had pleaded guilty. US Attorney Paul J Fishman said Singh was seated next to the woman, who was in a window seat on an United Airlines flight. She fell asleep and woke to find Singh kissing her face with his hand inside her shirt.

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INDIA IN NEW YORK OCTOBER 31, 2014

Your vehicle could be attracting converter thieves

SKN Foundation pitches in for special needs children

A CORRESPONDENT

A snapshot from the event.

A CORRESPONDENT

ew Jersey-based nonprofit the Shri Krishna Nidhi Foundation organized its first gala celebrating its fifth anniversary last week. At the event, held at the Place on the Lake in East Brunswick, New Jersey, the organization launched a new program, Special Needs Community Outreach Program for Empowerment or SCOPE, for special needs children. Through the program, the foundation intends to create a network of support

and a resource center for families with special needs children. Parents will be able to call this central location and obtain guidance for better management and learn about the available resources for their special needs child. They will also be able to connect with other similar families. Dr Naveen Mehrotra, SKN Foundation founder and trustee and a clinical assistant professor at Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, said helping special needs children is essential.

The guest of honor at the event was Miss New Jersey 2014 Emily Shah, who said she first learned about special needs when she became involved with Shah Rukh Khan’s film My Name Is Khan. The evening was hosted by television anchor Nisha Mathur, who interviewed mothers who spoke about their special needs children. The program concluded with a dance performance by a Pratik, a young man with Down’s syndrome.

Children at a pumpkin farm in New Jersey.

PARESH GANDHI

he New York City Police department has issued a warning about theft of catalytic converters in vehicles. The catalytic converter is an emissions-control device that contains precious metals. When hot exhaust enters the converter, a chemical reaction turns toxic gases — such as carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons — into less harmful emissions. Since 1975, all vehicles produced in the United States must have a catalytic converter as part of the exhaust system. With the price of precious metals skyrocketing, thieves are helping themselves to catalytic converters that contain enough platinum, palladium or rhodium to make it worth the risk to cut it from the underbelly of your vehicle. You might become aware that your catalytic converter has been stolen when your vehicle starts with a gravelly roar. Stolen catalytic converters are sold to scrap yards for around $150. Catalytic converter thefts typically happen to vehicles that are parked for prolonged periods in large lots, such as shopping centers, mass transit commuter lots, or company parking lots. Vehicles that sit higher from the ground, such as trucks, pick-ups and SUVs, are particularly vulnerable to catalytic converter theft because thieves can slide underneath without having to jack up the vehicle to gain access to the converter. With just a few cuts of a battery-powered saw, the catalytic converter can be stolen in less than a minute. To combat catalytic converter thefts, a number of states have passed laws tightening the restrictions on metal scrap dealers. In many cases, dealers are required to verify the seller’s identity with a photo ID and maintain complete records of sellers for 5 years. To prevent catalytic converter theft, the NYPD says, use commonsense and follow these tips: n Always park in well-lit areas. n At shopping centers and other similar parking lots, park close to the entrance of the building or near the access road where there’s a lot of traffic. n If you own or work at a business or factory, park within a fenced area that’s busy during the day and secured at night. n Engrave your license plate number on the converter to make it traceable. n Purchase a vehicle security system and make sure it’s set to trigger with just the slightest motion. n Visit a local muffler shop and have the converter secured to the vehicle’s frame with a hardened steel welded to the frame. n Check catalytic converter theft deterrent systems at your local auto parts store or online.

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INDIA IN NEW YORK OCTOBER 31, 2014

Diwali in Parlin The Festival of Lights, for which the New Jersey temple obtains special fireworks permits, through Paresh Gandhiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s eyes

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INDIA IN NEW YORK OCTOBER 31, 2014

The temple builder Alagappa Alagappan, father of the Hindu temple movement in North America, passes into the ages. Arthur J Pais pays tribute. Photographs: Paresh Gandhi

ome four decades ago, a mystic in Chennai had consulted the palmyra leaves and declared that the gods had chosen a United Nations civil servant to build a temple in a city starting with the letter N. “I had no idea how to go about and I prayed for days on end asking the gods to lead me and give me the strength to do this,” Dr Alagappa Alagappan told me an interview a few years ago. The former United Nations official, who co-founded the Hindu Temple Society and established in New York in 1977 the first authentic Hindu temple in America and inspired many more temples, soon came to be known as the father of the Hindu temple movement in North America. The Ganesha Temple began at a deconsecrated Russian Orthodox church in Flushing, but soon moved to a location near by. It went on to become one of the most visited of dozens of Hindu temples in the United States. Dr Alagappan died in New Hyde Park, New York, October 24, his family said. He was 89. “I sought out friends who also believed that we needed a full-pledged temple not only for us but for generations to come,” Alagappan had said. “One of the biggest backers of this idea was Chakravarthi V Narasimhan, former under secretary general of the United Nations. We went around aggressively to make the divine mandate come true. The Indian community was very small at that time and was not as prosperous as today, but hundreds of people donated.” Dr Alagappan had said his biggest success was getting the Tirupati Devasthanam, which manages the Tirupati temple in Andhra Pradesh, give a hefty loan to the new project, send statues from India and also send artisans to build the new temple. Once this example was set, other temples — particularly the Sri Venkeshwara Temple in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and the BAPS temples — started importing artifacts, statues and designers from India. Born in Kanadukathan, Tamil Nadu, Dr Alagappan earned his BA and MA degrees from Presidency College in Chennai, and his MSc from the London School of Economics. He later earned an LLB and was called to the Bar at the Middle Temple

in London. He also did his PhD in international relations from New York University. He had also worked as a journalist for the BBC and The Hindu. Among his best received features was an interview with the Pope in the Vatican. He was offered a plum bank job in Madras (as Chennai was known then) but he declined, telling himself that it would bore him. “I loved public life early in my career,” he had said, discussing how he came to apply for a job at the UN. As a career official with the UN, first in Bangkok and then in New York, Dr Alagappan served as chief of the water resources section and later as deputy director of the natural resources and energy division. He was also appointed chairman of the staff of over 10,000 UN employees. In his 30 years of service to the UN, Dr Alagappan valued the opportunity to travel, visiting more than 90 countries. “I was learning more out of these travels than what I had learned at the fine universities I was fortunate to attend,” he had said. After leaving the UN, Dr Alagappan pursued a life of social service. “My mantra is faith heals and inspire,” he had said. He was a staunch Hindu, but he also respected other faiths and found inspiration in them. The granite stone temple of

Dr Alagappa Alagappan, right, with his wife Visalakshi. Below, the Flushing Hindu Temple. the Flushing temple (technically, it is the Maha Vallabha Ganapati ) has a large ecumenical icon at the entrance displaying symbols of various global religions. “Just as all streams lead to the same greater body of water,” he had said a few years ago in his sprawling Queens home, “and all mountain trails to the same summit, so do all world religions lead to the same God.” Dr Alagappan had many admirers, but some challenged him and the leadership of the temple and the Hindu Society slipped away from him. “Whatever I did, I did so not for my benefits,” he had said. “And I have always given credit to others who have been part of this tremendous journey.” Dr Alagappan is survived by Visalakshi, his wife of 59 years, four children — Kumar, Arun, Vairam and Meena — and seven granddaughters: Lakshmi, Jyothi, Visala, Serena, Kaya, Uma and Vimala.

Cover Story INDIA IN NEW YORK OCTOBER 31, 2014

he day before Diwali I had to catch an 8 am flight from Mumbai to Delhi. My cousin’s driver came to pick me up for the ride to the airport. As I brought my bag down to the car I noticed he was packing the trunk with at least several boxes of mithai. During the day those boxes would be distributed to my cousin’s friends, family members and business associates. I was at once reminded of my childhood. My father would do the same in Delhi, as he would take the entire family to visit a large number of relatives and friends on Diwali. Fortunately in the 1960s and 1970s Delhi traffic was much more manageable. We would return home late in the afternoon and then start the preparations for the Diwali celebrations in the evening. Times have changed. Diwali in Delhi has become a complicated affair where more and more money is being pumped into bigger and elaborate things. There are Chinese lights that people decorate their houses with, making October in Delhi feel like an early Christmas, and the more creative, but louder firecrackers that pollute the city’s air! During my childhood we would mostly consume mithai from Bengali sweet shops that would sell a blend of North Indian and Bengal-inspired sweets. The mithais of my childhood included Gulab Jamun, Khoya Barfi, Chum-Chum, Milk Cake and Pinni. In recent years two popular chains has opened up many outlets in Delhi — Haldiram, originally from Nagpur, and Bikanervala that sells mithais and other food items with a Rajasthani touch. And suddenly with these two chains the flavor of Delhi’s Diwali has changed. It is a good and a bad thing. The definition of what is North Indian mithai has evolved and expanded, but the tastes of my childhood have been diluted. Haldiram, for instance, does not sell Gulab Jamuns!

A New Yorker’s Diwali in Delhi Aseem Chhabra on Diwalis past and present

ut times have also changed for me. After living in the US for over three decades, where I would spend Diwali nights with close friends and eat Indian meals, I have recently started to return home during the festival. But none of that old Diwali exists for me. My father passed away two years ago after a long illness, and with his passing the spirit of Diwali lost its edge in our house. One thing I did not inherit from my father was his energy and excitement to mark Diwali. I did meet a number of cousins and a few other relatives over lunch on the Saturday after Diwali and we exchanged gifts — dry fruits, cookies and packets of fruit juices. There was very little

SAHIL SALVI

mithai in sight. And we played cards — teen patti, to bring a touch of the Diwali spirit as I remember from my college days. Diwali day and night was quiet for me even though the

rworld outside was exploding with firecrackers. In the afternoon I met a friend for coffee at a café in South Delhi’s Defence Colony market, something I would have never thought of doing when I was a teenager. Later after sundown, I went out in the garden of our ground floor flat. As my mother sat on the chair and watched, I lit candles, placing them equidistantly on the outer wall of our garden. I was not going for the Christmas look with the Chinese lights. Shortly thereafter my mother and I came inside and sat on two chairs. She is too old to sit on the floor, and this was easier for me too. She had prepared a steel tray with puffed rice, little mithai, a few coins with images of Goddess Lakshmi and a lit candle. And sitting around the table she performed the puja, while the sometimes agnostic in me sat with my hands in a semiprayer form. I only know two Hindu prayers — the Gayatri Mantra and Om Jai Jagdish Hare, having heard them countless times from my late grandmother and in Bollywood films. So I joined my mother in reciting those two prayers. We ended the evening with a simple Diwali was a quiet affair for Aseem — lighting vegetarian dinner. candles and prayers with his mother — though the And later at night I drove with another world outside was exploding with firecrackers. friend to a different coffee shop. ASEEM CHHABRA

Cover Story INDIA IN NEW YORK OCTOBER 31, 2014

India lights up A Border Security Force soldier lights sparklers on the outskirts of Agartala, Tripura,

JAYANTA DEY/REUTERS

Lamps, a quintessential part of the festival, in Chandigarh.

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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the Siachen base camp to meet the Indian troops on Diwali with the message that every Indian stands ‘shoulder to shoulder’ with them. He later traveled to Srinagar to spend time with flood-affected Kashmiris.

Diwali lights against the backdrop of the historic Charminar in Hyderabad. AJAY VERMA/REUTERS

SNAPSINDIA

Kali Puja in Kolkata.

PIETA CHAKRABORTY

Widows, who have been abandoned by their families, celebrate Diwali on the banks of the river Yamuna as part of festivities organized by an NGO in Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh.

AHMAD MASOOD /REUTERS

Cover Story INDIA IN NEW YORK OCTOBER 31, 2014

Amitabh Bachchan welcomes guest to his Diwali party.

From left, Abhishek Bachchan with cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and his wife Anjali.

Actresses Sonam Kapoor and Sonakshi Sinha.

Diwali, the Bollywood way

From left, actors Hritihk Roshan, Uday Chopra, Nargis Fakhri and Sikander Kher.

Actress Shraddha Kapoor

Riteish Deshmukh arrived with his actress wife Genelia Dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Souza, who is pregnant with their first child.

Cover Story INDIA IN NEW YORK OCTOBER 31, 2014

At producer Ekta Kapoor’s Diwali do. From left, businessmen Raj Kundra, his wife and actress Shilpa Shetty, actors Rishi and Neetu Kapoor, actors Anil Kapoor and Tabu.

A peek at Aamir Khan’s Diwali party. From left, actors Hrithik Roshan, Deepika Padukone, Farhan Akhtar, Kangna Ranaut, Varun Dhawan and Sidharth Malhotra.

Aseem in Delhi

INDIA IN NEW YORK OCTOBER 31, 2014

How can SRK be so irresponsible? I

n Delhi I tried to get to a press screening of Farah Khan’s Diwali release Happy New Year. Alas! there were no screenings. And the tickets were sold out for the first few days. Finally, a journalist friend got tickets for the Sunday evening show at the Saket mall in South Delhi. The 6.50 pm show started 15 minutes late and then everyone pushed to get inside the theater. There were a group of kids who were most eager, but many adults also pushed their way through as if they were catching a train that was about to depart the theater. After a round of ads and trailers, the film started. Throughout the three hours plus screening – paused during the nearly 20-minute long intermission – most of the audience laughed at the film, even when I found a lot of the humor offensive. I was particularly disturbed by the way Shah Rukh Khan’s character spoke about Deepika Padukone, referring to her as a cheap, street woman. And he said this a couple of times in the film, while the

A scene from Happy New Year.

audience laughed. They also laughed at a moronic and very offensive joke, with filmmaker Anurag Kashyap and composer Vishal Dadlani playing over-the-top gay men. Many in the audience – especially the two women sitting to my right — laughed out loud at the scene that was playing on the gay stereotypes. They were laughing at the gay characters played by Kashyap and Dadlani, not laughing with them. And then there are some very racist moments against Koreans. It is a worrying trend in Bollywood, especially since Happy New Year is said to have had the biggest opening ever for an Indian film. So Khan the director and Khan the actor-producer would believe they had done no wrong, since the people have spoken. I wish Bollywood would become more responsible. It is not difficult to write and direct a comedy that is good fun. Comedies don’t have to be offensive at people who are different in the way they look, behave and think.

hat night, after the screening of Happy New Year, my friend and I went to the food court at the Saket mall. There were so many options for dinner — from various Indian cuisines to pizza and McDonalds. I settled for Tikka Town run by the Old Delhi-based Chor Bizarre restaurant and ordered a Jodhpuri Paratha. And since my friend was picking up food from Karims – a classic Delhi eatery located near Jama Masjid and also Nizamuddin — I order two Shammi Kababs from there. It was such a delicious meal, a nice combination of tastes, enhanced by Raita and Daal.

REUTERS

Jodhpuri Paratha and Shammi Kababs.

ast week Delhi was all about Diwali, people distributing mithai, decorating their homes (our upstairs neighbors had his apartment painted the day before Diwali) and playing cards. I have often heard people say that Indians are becoming more socially conscious. During Holi I hear many people play with organic colors. But I certainly did not see any such social consciousness around Diwali. On Diwali night I stepped out of my house after midnight to meet a friend for coffee and was shocked to see the amount of garbage that A little reveller seen through a haze of fire cracker smoke during Diwali celebrations, October 23. had been generated from the fireworks. And there was more to come. That night as I was driven through Delhi, I was disturbed to see the blanket of gray smoke that had enveloped the city. And we were all breathing that air. The next day NDTV’s Twitter handle posted this tweet: ‘Delhi: pollution worsens after Diwali, city records 9 times higher pollution levels.’ Along with the tweet was a photograph of a lone woman walking in the fog of smoke on the morning after Diwali. It looked like a scene from a sci-fi film, but it was the reality of Delhi. I do not know how things can change in Delhi. But something urgently needs to happen. Perhaps the government may have to step in to limit the use of fireworks, but those kinds of restrictions are hard to impose. Banning fireworks will kill the fun of Diwali for kids and others.

American Desi INDIA IN NEW YORK OCTOBER 31, 2014

Parul Patel believes in leaps of faith. A former vice president at Morgan Stanley, she now designs cakes for a living. Text and photograph: Paresh Gandhi

t all began because she wanted a particular kind of cake for her son’s birthday. “I asked the baker to make a 3D Thomas the Engine cake,” says Parul Patel. “When they flat out refused, I offered to pay $100 more and told him how to make it.” Her husband Kash Vyas was shocked when he heard the story. “You know how to bake. Why don’t you make the cake yourself ? You just paid the baker an extra $100 for a cake he doesn’t know how to make.” Unhappy with the baker’s version, she did end up making her own 3D cake. It looked like a digger, which was her son’s favorite toy at the time and the theme of the party. The cake, she says, was so realistic that the guests assumed it was part of the decor. Until she fixed the candles and placed it in front of her ecstatic son! “Everyone wanted to know where I had ordered the cake from,” she recalls. “They were shocked when I told them I had made it myself.” For the next few years, she made decorative cakes for family birthdays. And, each time, she was egged on to do it professionally. Parul used to be a vice president at Morgan Stanley, a post she quit after her son was born. Scarred by unhappy experiences with nannies as far as her earlier child, a daughter, was concerned, she decided to be a hands-on mother with her second child. She had also decided she would not return to corporate work. “Business,” she smiles, “is in my blood. My father, who came to America from Madhya Pradesh when I was six years old, owned many businesses over the years. My mother stayed at home, but handled the bookkeeping for each one of them.” Parul now wanted to do something that would take advantage of her creative side. By the time her son started attending pre-school, she gave up all thoughts of buying a business. “The economic conditions were no longer as good and I did not want to risk losing my capital,” she says. At the same time, she noticed people were spending large amounts of money on customized cakes. “My cakes were eggless and as far as I knew no bakery offered to fancy custom cakes.” After researching the requirements and logistics, Parul launched her ‘designer

Sweet route to success cakes’ business in February 2010. Today, she owns a state-of-the-art 2,000 square foot commercial kitchen in Central New Jersey and is the CEO of The Cake Designer company, which specializes in custom cakes for kinds of events, especially weddings, mehendis and sangeets. “I work closely with clients to create cakes based on their theme, decor, invitation, outfit or even jewelry!” Her cakes have featured on Fox, ITV, Sahara One and The New York Times. “I was really thrilled when we were featured in an NBC Royal Wedding Special a couple of years ago. Our seven-tier henna cake was one of the four cakes featured on the show. It was special because this was

the first wedding cake we created.” Another moment she can never forget, says Parul, is when she received an order to create a cake for the spouse of the head of a major multinational company. The only information she was given was that the spouse loved golf and loved to travel. “They gave me complete creative freedom. From the options I sent, they fell in love with the Gucci Briefcase Cake.” Parul decided to surprise them by creating a Gucci luggage cake instead. She included an edible passport, an edible boarding pass and an edible hundred dollar bill. Hanging onto the cake was an edible luggage tag with the client’s name on it

in 24 karat gold. “They were thrilled,” recalls Parul happily. “They said their guests were raving about it.” Her most challenging cake was one that needed an Indian touch. A client wanted a Taj Mahal cake for their daughter who was turning 16. Parul was told that five bakeries had already turned down the order. “I knew I could figure it out and I had tremendous faith in my team of decorators.” The cake was created over two days with a team of two decorators. “We transported the main Taj Mahal building fully assembled, but the minarets and LED lights were set up at the venue to avoid any mishaps during transit. The result was stunning!” “The most rewarding moment came,” says Parul, “when the birthday girl thanked us for making her dream a reality!” A year later, a reporter from The New York Times visited her booth at the Varli Food Festival, and decided to write a feature about her company and the Taj Mahal cake! “That cake had ended up taking a lot longer to make than I anticipated, hence the cost of making it was much higher than projected. Thought it left me with a small profit, The New York Times feature more than made up for it. This was definitely the icing on the cake for me!” The Cake Designer has catered desserts to events that honored celebrities like Shabana Azmi, Preity Zinta, Mukesh Ambani, Madhur Jaffrey, Yoko Ono and Cherie Blair. “Two years ago,” says Parul proudly, “we catered dessert for two prestigious events in Washington DC — the SAALT reception and the Indiaspora Inaugural Ball at the Mandarin Oriental. We also catered dessert for for 2,000 doctors at AAPI’s annual conferences in California and Chicago.” At the same time, she has made time for charity. “I have volunteered my time as well as donated dessert to various charities as well as social and business networking groups such as the America India Foundation, Children’s Hope India, Ladydrinks, BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha and The Indus Entrepreneurs.” In the next five years, she plans to focus on expanding her business by proving desserts on a wholesale basis and shipping them nationwide. She’d also like to turn The Cake Designer into a franchise. She hopes to go international as well and has taken the first steps. “We crafted a cake for a wedding in the Dominican Republic this past summer,” she says. Ask her about the game-changer in her life, and cakes don’t feature in the picture. “Having children has been one of the most life-changing experiences. It completely changed my perspective and priorities.” “Before my children’s birth, my main goal was to achieve success. Now my children’s success is a priority and having a fulfilling and rewarding business comes second.”

Special

INDIA IN NEW YORK OCTOBER 31, 2014

An amazing story of grit At 13, a freak accident caused her to lose both her hands and severely damaged her legs, raising serious doubts about whether she would ever walk again. Today, Malvika Iyer is a social worker, a motivational speaker and model for accessible clothing in India. She is also part of the Global Shapers Community, a World Economic Forum initiative. She gives a first-person account of how she overcame her ordeal to S Saraswathi

was born in Kumbakonam. My father was transferred to Rajasthan when I was still very young. I spent nearly 13 years of my early life in Bikaner, Rajasthan. I had a very healthy and a happy childhood. I was a tomboy; I enjoyed outdoor sports and learnt swimming and skating. I also learnt Kathak for about seven years. It was a fun-filled life till the day I met with the accident: May 26, 2002. I was 13 years old. The accident Some months before the accident, an ammunition depot had caught fire in the city and hand shells, grenades and other bits and pieces were scattered all over the city. One such piece landed in our neighbourhood. We were told that it was a defused shell. I was trying to stick something on my jeans pocket, and I wanted something heavy to hammer it with. I just took this shell and hit it. With the first hit, the shell exploded in my hand. There was almost nothing left of my hands. Both my legs had severe injuries, nerve damage and multiple fractures. It took nearly two years and several surgeries for me to walk again. Bedridden for two years For the first three days after the explosion, I was totally conscious, aware of each and every thing happening around me, but my body was numb. Within moments of the explosion I heard my mom screaming, ‘Meri bachhi ke haath chale gaye (My daughter’s hands are gone)!’ I was taken to the hospital immediately. There was so much damage to my limbs that my body went into a state of shock. I

could not feel anything as the four main nerves were instantly cut. There was 80 percent blood loss. When I reached the hospital there was zero BP, the doctors were not sure if I would survive. Even in that state I remember apologizing to my mom, telling her that I am sorry I put her through this. Then I said I wanted to meet this friend of mine. It was so strange. I gave the contact number of my friend and told my parents to call her. I was terrified; would this really be the last time I was going to see these people? The doctors were not sure that they would be able to save my leg, especially the left one. It was dangling, just hanging from a small bit of skin. They wanted to amputate it, but my parents did not want to risk any more damage. They took me in an ambulance to Jaipur. The splinters were stuck all over my legs and had penetrated deep within. The pain began to sink in and it was terrible. I can remember those days and nights filled with pain. But the doctors were good and managed to save my leg. Though completely disfigured, with no sensation in my left leg and a foot drop (difficulty in lifting the front part of the foot) in the right, I am lucky I still have them. My hands, though, were completely cut off. There was no need to amputate them because they had been blown off; they couldn’t even find any trace of them at the accident site. Later a skin grafting operation was done and with that I am left with just two stumps. Fortunately, the stumps, especially the right one, were quite long, so I was able to lift them like how a squirrel does. I was treated at a Bone and Joint clinic

Malvika Iyer in Anna Nagar in Chennai. After months of intense therapy, I was finally able to walk. My accident happened in May 2002. I took my first few painful steps in November 2003. I still had a long way to go. Getting on with life We started enquiring about artificial hands. There was not much awareness about this, so my mom and I used to Google. We found a German prosthetics company called Ottobock that had a branch in Chennai. That is how I got a pair of bio-electric hands. I started practicing to write; initially my handwriting was very big, and then slowly, with practice, I improved. This was in December 2003. In four months my friends would be appearing

for their 10th board exams. I felt totally left out. I was in touch with a very close friend in Bikaner. She used to tell me how they were preparing. I decided that I would give it a shot. My mom found this coaching centre right behind our street. I had just three months to prepare. All my childhood, I have been into sports and dancing and skating, and now I could do nothing but sit and walk a bit. As I had no other choice, I think all my concentration went into academics. I prepared and prepared and when the results came, my life was completely changed. I got a state rank among the private candidates, and I was one among the state

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Special

INDIA IN NEW YORK OCTOBER 31, 2014

Malvika Iyer with then Indian President Dr A P J Abdul Kalam.

An amazing story of grit f

PAGE 13

toppers, as well. I scored centum in both Math and Science and 97 in Hindi, also a state first. I felt like a celebrity. The next day, all the leading newspapers covered me. They wrote about how I overcame my disability to achieve this distinction. It was all very encouraging. I was invited to Rashtrapati Bhavan to meet Dr APJ Abdul Kalam (then President of India). I got to meet a lot of other celebrities. I was given an award for outstanding model student by Wisdom magazine. After 12th grade, I joined St Stephen’s College, Delhi, where I graduated in Economics (Honors). I then did my Master’s in Social Work from the Delhi School of Social Work. During my field training, I had the opportunity to work with differently-abled children. I realized that this is something I have to be a part of. I could empathize with them and understand them better. Since I was always given a lot of encouragement, I wanted to give something back. A new beginning Last year, I was invited for a TEDx Talk and that talk completely changed the course of my life. Until then I was just doing my work and trying to be a part of society. But that wasn’t helping me much and I would still feel bad that everybody

Malvika Iyer on the ramp at NIFT.

else is normal and I am not. But when I started talking about myself, I realized that I was actually much better off than a lot of people, who would complain even without any problem in their life. I was seen as a motivational speaker. Now I get invited to talk at colleges and schools or to corporates in Chennai and other cities. Last year, I was invited to host the India Inclusion Summit in Bangalore and had the opportunity to meet a lot of differently-abled people. There were people who had actually achieved something or who were in the process of recovering and coming out of it. This helped me realize that I have to accept my disability. It is not like I am ever going to get my hands back. The people around me made this possible — my friends, my family, and my mom especially. She was my support throughout. She was like my shadow. She made sure that nobody hurt me in any way. It is her positive spirit that has made me who I am today. She has given me a lot of freedom; she never treated me differently at all. There was never any show of pity. At present I am Junior Research Fellow doing my PhD in Social Work at the Madras School of Social Work. I am studying the experience of inclusion; how differently-abled people feel in society and what is society’s attitude towards them. Initially, I used to feel bad when people stared at me. It made me very uncomfortable, but now it does not matter. I know who I am. I have become more stronghearted, what they feel or how they see me does not affect me any more. Apart from this, I have been passionately working on everything outside. Recently I did a ramp walk at NIFT (National Institute of Fashion Technology), Chennai. I am a model for accessible clothing; it is an initiative of Ability Foundation and NIFT. The students designed two gowns for me, taking into considering my prosthetic hand. I was the showstopper for that evening and it was an amazing experience. Ever since I have been writing about accessible clothing. When I was in the hospital bed 12 years ago, I thought that I could never come out of this. Now I can see that there is so much more to do. I think life is really, really good. I was invited to host a Run in Bangalore recently. I went all by myself. I handled everything, from the airport, all the travelling, the stay in the hotel, etc. Today I can do 90 percent of my work on my own, without any assistance. When I think about how my life has turned out to be, I think it is fine, whatever happened. I would not have wanted to live a mediocre life. I have always been scared of mediocrity and I am not sure how my life would have turned out if it were not for this accident. I feel I am blessed because I know that something very horrible happened and even now it is not like I am 100 percent all right. I can’t just run around and do everything on my own. My legs still hurt when I walk. But a lot of good has come my way. I am confident I can do something meaningful with this life. I don’t have any regrets. Dancing was my first love. I used to be sad that I could not dance like before. But now I have started dancing again. I cannot dance as gracefully as before, but I still dance. At the Bangalore Run, I danced on the stage. I think life is all about making the best with what you have. I got engaged in February this year to a wonderful man, a design engineer, and there is a lot to look forward to in life rather than just sitting around thinking of what could have been.

India in New York October 31, 2014

MassMutual Honors Diwali and Business Tradition of Chopda Pujan

ANNOUNCEMENT

No-Cost Seminars Help Business Owners Secure Their Futures and Protect the Next Generation.

Almost three million Asian Indians in the United States are preparing to celebrate Diwali, the festival of lights, on Oct. 23. For the more than 300,000 Asian-Indian owned firms* in the U.S., the holiday takes on an added dimension, as the celebration marks the beginning of a new business year. To help business owners prepare for the New Year ahead, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) is offering a series of free, no-obligation business seminars in five cities across the country this Diwali. In a special Diwali ritual for businesses known as Chopda Pujan, new account books are opened and blessed. Business owners use this time to reflect on the past year while looking ahead to new opportunities for prosperity and wealth. It is said the goddess of wealth, known as Lakshmi, visits the homes of devotees on this day, and lamps light the way to welcome her. A MassMutual study** found that although 77 percent of Asian Indian business owners believe financial planning for their business is very important, only 43 percent are concerned about who will run their businesses if they or another owner leaves, becomes disabled or dies; only 46 percent have a formal retirement plan. “Entrepreneurial businesses are vital to our growing economic recovery, so it is concerning that so many business owners seem to be sacrificing their own and their family’s financial future,” says Nimesh Trivedi, Asian-Indian Market lead at MassMutual. “With help,

L to R Adam Segal, Nimesh Trivedi, Nadya Amin, Zaheda, Mitesh Patel

L to R Nimesh Trivedi, Lalit Jallan, Adam Segal and Vikesh Amin

business owners can look past the seemingly overwhelming day-to-day demands of running their businesses and establish and meet their long-term financial goals.” To help Asian Indian business owners open their new books this Diwali and plan for a prosperous new year, MassMutual is offering a series of free video-based seminars featuring stories shared by real business owners. The vignettes explore critical business planning topics, such as passing ownership on from one generation to the next, preparing for the unexpected, the death of an owner, retaining key employees, and proper estate and retirement planning. Seminars addressing these topics critical to Asian Indian business owners will be presented in the following cities across the country this

Diwali: • Houston, Oct. 14 • Atlanta: Oct. 18 • San Jose, Calif.: Oct. 24 • Edison, N.J.: Oct. 29 • Chicago: Nov. 6 For more information on the multi-city business owner seminar tour, contact Nimesh Trivedi, 413.744.1244. For more information on planning for your businesses’ and families’ financial futures, visit massmutual.com/asianindian. About MassMutual Founded in 1851, MassMutual is a leading mutual life insurance company that is run for the benefit of its members and participating policyowners. The company has a long history of financial strength and strong performance, and although dividends are not guaranteed,

MassMutual has paid dividends to eligible participating policyowners consistently since the 1860s. With whole life insurance as its foundation, MassMutual provides products to help meet the financial needs of clients, such as life insurance, disability income insurance, long term care insurance, retirement/401(k) plan services, and annuities. In addition, the company’s strong and growing network of financial professionals helps clients make good financial decisions for the long-term. MassMutual Financial Group is a marketing name for Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) and its affiliated companies and sales representatives. MassMutual is headquartered in Springfield, Massachusetts and its major affiliates include: Babson Capital Management LLC; Baring Asset Management Limited; Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers LLC; The First Mercantile Trust Company; MassMutual International LLC; MML Investors Services, LLC, Member FINRA and SIPC; OppenheimerFunds, Inc.; and The MassMutual Trust Company, FSB. For more information, visit www.massmutual.com or find MassMutual on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Google+ and Pinterest.

*2007 Survey of Business Owners Summaries of Findings, U.S. Census Bureau. This information is the most current data available. **MassMutual’s Business Owner Perspectives: 2011 Insights in an Uncertain Economy, conducted by GfK Custom Research North America for Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual), 2011.

India in New York October 31, 2014

Set in the Sunderbans, high-action thriller ‘Roar’ releases Oct 31

ANNOUNCEMENT

Upcoming Bollywood movie, Roar, which releases across the US on Oct 31, has already grabbed many eyeballs, thanks to its unique storyline and the interesting trailer. Produced by Abiz Rizvi and directed by Kamal Sadanah, the movie stars Abhinav Shukla, Himarsha V, Aadil Chahal, Aaran Choudhury, Ali Quli, Naura Fatehi, Pranay Dixit, Subrat Dutta and Virendra Singh Ghuman in lead roles. Set in the scenic, yet dangerous jungles of Sundarbans, the movie revolves around a white Bengal tigress, whose cub was rescued from poachers by a photojournalist. Unable to find her cub, the tigress ends up killing the photojournalist. Enters the photojournalist’s brother, an elite commando, who sets out to avenge his brother’s killing. The film has high-octane action with

state-of-the-art special effects. Roar has many firsts to its credit, including the following: A team of aerial photographers were

called from Finland under the expertise of Hollywood cinematographer Michael Watson to capture the glory of the Sunderbans for the first time on commercial cinema.

A live recording with European musicians was done in Budapest for a mesmerizing background score composed by John Stewart Eduri, which has been complemented by spectacular sound design of Oscar winner Resul Pookutty. A team of 150 crew member stayed on 4 ships for 40 days in the, where the nearest habitat was 12 hours away by ship. Equipment was loaded everyday on small boats to shoot in locations never ever stepped on by man. The makers of Roar auditioned tigers in different countries like America and South Africa and finally decided to shoot the tigers in Los Angeles. Tigers in Los Angeles, cubs in Thailand, actors in Sundarbans and special effects in Pune, the makers of Roar have truly crossed countries and continents to make the movie.

IAAC FIRST ANNUAL LITERARY FESTIVAL • November 7-9, 2014 The First IAAC Literary Festival

Kickoff Book Launch, Aasif Mandvi’s No Land’s Man Monday, November 3rd, 7:00-10:00pm. AICON Gallery, 35 Great Jones, NYC Opening Reception, Friday November 7th, 6:30 - 9:30 pm. Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian, Bowling Green, NYC Prof. Akeel Bilgrami, Director of the South Asian Institute, Columbia University will engage Booker of booker author Salman Rushdie in conversation about his writing. Post-conversation reception with wine, hors d'oeuvres and music by Zoya November 8th & 9th, 10 am - 6 pm. Two days of amazing book readings, fascinating panels, stimulating discussions, awesome book signings, and literary pub crawl.

will feature work by authors whose heritage lies in the Indian subcontinent, as well as those who have written about a subject connected to any aspect of that part of the world. We will feature veteran as well as emerging authors along with publishers and literary agents in order to create exciting discussions surrounding the various genres and themes represented.

Closing Night Dinner Reception, Sunday November 9th, 7 - 10 pm Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian, 5 Bowling Green, NYC. New York Times Theatre Journalist Patrick Healy will engage Pulitzer Prize winning Playwright Ayad Akhtar in conversation (along w/excerpts of his plays). Post-conversation reception with wine, hors d'oeuvres and music by Somdutta Pal

TICKETS ON SALE @ iaac.us An India Abroad & South Asia Institute, Columbia University co-presented event

Bollywood

INDIA IN NEW YORK OCTOBER 31, 2014

BRIAN BUCK

A R Rahman accepts an honorary degree from the Berklee College of Music

RAHMAN CASTS A SPELL ON BOSTON

A R Rahman posted this photograph saying, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Spent an incredible day with the talent at Berklee College of Music.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

FACEBOOK.COM/ARRAHMAN

Simanta Roy watches the music icon perform at an event hosted by the Berklee College of Music

lla Rakha Rahman galvanized Boston recently, selling out the city's 2,625-seat Symphony Hall to accept an honorary degree from the Berklee College of Music, as part of a night that celebrated the pervasive influence of his music. On stage, an obviously touched Rahman likened the crowd to "one big musical family." He cited nostalgically his 1992 decision to pursue an opportunity to score the Tamil film Roja over an education at Berklee. The Mani Ratnam film was the composer's first big break into the musical scene and was ultimately deemed one of the '10 Best Soundtracks' ever by Time magazine in 2005. As he stood in his gray doctoral regalia, Rahman said by accepting this honor in Boston his life had come "full circle." The honorary degree is a title to be shared by musical greats like Duke Ellington, B B King, James Taylor and Smokey Robinson. For Rahman, who had never attended college, it seemed humbling. "This is such a kind gesture," he said, looking around at members of the Berklee faculty, who shared the stage with him. Among them was the music college's president, Roger H Brown, who presented the award and said that Rahman's "commitment to philanthropy and musical education (was) admirable." As a tribute to the composer from Chennai, a booming synthesis of sound made up of The Berklee Indian Ensemble and the Berklee World Strings group graced the 110-year-old stage and performed two hours of energetic and unique arrangements of Rahman's most celebrated work. The Berklee Indian Ensemble, led by artistic director Annette Philip, is a diverse group of approximately 40 student performers of various musical backgrounds and ethnicities, formed in 2011. Patrons dressed in equal parts glittering, floor-length anarkalis and Western cocktail attire broke out in thunderous applause as the ensemble performed Rahman favourites from films like Dil Se, Lagaan, Taal, and Guru. At one point in the evening, the Boston University dance team BU Bhangra stormed through the aisles and performed an ebulliently choreographed routine to the title song from the 2005 film Rang De Basanti. The night also featured an awe-inspiring, energetic solo by 18-year-old prodigy bass player Mohini Dey, who has previously shared the stage with Rahman, and jazzy riffs by guru guitarist Prasanna, a '99 Berklee graduate. Proceeds from the event's ticket sales, which were sold for as high as $10,000 each, will be used to fund the college's newly established Rahman Scholarship. The annual award will help aspiring young musicians in India attend Berklee to build their artistic careers.

Bollywood INDIA IN NEW YORK OCTOBER 31, 2014

ovinda does not consider himself a superstar, nor does he spend much time thinking about stardom these days. After a sabbatical of four years and several stalled films, rebooting his acting career is now his sole focus. The actor, who will be seen in a negative role in Kill Dil, opens up about his hesitance in playing such a character, how he overcame it and why he is open to all kinds of roles now. You have lost a lot of weight. Yes, I was 114 kilos (250 lbs) when I was in politics. For Partner (2007), with Salman Khan, I lost 17 kilos (37 lbs). I went on a diet, did a lot of gymming, yoga and several other things, but couldn’t reduce any further. Then someone explained metabolism to me and advised me to do Savitri chantings, which is the scriptural knowledge of the gods. You read and chant certain things every day and it helps keep away the negativity. With that, I have reduced a lot more. The audience loves the promos of Kill Dil. I am happy that people have accepted me in a negative character and like the promos of Kill Dil. I never thought I could play a hardcore villain. I wasn’t confident of playing a negative character. When we began shooting, I told Shaad Ali (the director), ‘Shaad, let’s shoot for a couple of days. If you feel I don’t fit the role, we’ll make some excuse and I’ll move out of the film.’ Luckily, the role worked and I enjoyed doing a negative character. I have played a negative character only once in my career (Shikari, released in 2000). At the time, I was at the top of my game and was confident of playing any kind of role. I believe your wife Sunita convinced you to do this role. Yes. She felt the movie would be good for my career. Some of my movies were stuck for various reasons, and I felt disheartened. I refused to take up work and was sitting at home. My wife told me that if work is coming to you, don’t refuse it. Initially, my mother used to guide me about many things in life. After her, my wife Sunita has been my guiding factor. How was your experience working with Yash Raj Films? I remember Shah Rukh Khan played a villain in Darr and it worked really well for him because of YRF. At YRF, even a villain is presented as a hero (smiles). It’s amazing how they do it. I had a dream of working with YRF. I used to visit their studios and see pictures of various actors drawn on the walls and would always feel that my photograph was missing. Now that I am working with them, they will paint mine too (laughs). I guess it was worth the wait and I had a marvelous experience. Would you do more negative roles in the

Govinda in Kill Dill.

Govinda, who will soon be seen in Kill Dill, chats about career lows and comebacks. Sonil Dedhia listens in

‘I wasn’t confident about playing a negative character’ future? Any person who is giving you money and respect is not a bad person at all (laughs). Agar koi mere pass role leke aata hai jisme (if someone offers a role in which) I can earn good money, then I will do the film provided it’s a good role. Ranveer Singh is a self-confessed fan of yours and has been praising you a lot. How was your relationship on the sets? He is an amazing actor. I recently saw Ram Leela and I whistled at a lot of places as I really enjoyed his performance. Ranveer and Deepika (Padukone) look really good together. It’s a joy to watch them performing on screen. He has an amazing physique; I don’t think I can ever have such a physique (laughs). Ranveer does not cheat with his work. He genuinely works hard for any character he does. I hope he stays true to his work all his life. He said you have never got your due. Do you agree with him? I don’t think that’s the case. I come from a very poor background and I became so popular, so all things are enough for me. I don’t think awards and rewards are everything. I don’t think stardom can get

you everywhere. For me, my fans’ love is important and that I think is where I get my due from. Do you think anyone can become the new-age Govinda? When I was working it was a different phase. I did 48 to 49 films at a stretch, which is not possible today. Today’s actors are doing well in what they are doing. Comedy today is completely different from what you did. Would you be comfortable doing a sex comedy or a film that has a lot of double meanings? Main har jagah comfortable hoon (I am comfortable anywhere). I am open to good work and I don’t mind playing any kind of character. Is it true that you quit Vikas Bahl’s Shaandar because he offered you the role of a father? No, these are all rumors. I am open to playing a father or even a grandfather if the character is good. I quit Shaandar because the makers of the film had told me that they would narrate the script to me, but they didn’t because they were busy. Later, a couple of weeks before they started shooting, they told me that they would narrate the script to me on the set itself. I refused to work in the film because

I have never done a film without hearing the script in advance. Salman Khan is trying hard to convince you to work in his home production, which is a remake of the Marathi film Shikshanachya Aaicha Gho. I refused Salman’s film because I didn’t want to do an art film. Unki film ka jo subject hai who art film jaisa hai (The subject of the film is like that of an art film). I did Partner with Salman. Jo Partner jaisi film karta hai woh art film karega to acha nahi lagega na. (If someone who does a film like Partner does an art film, it won’t come out well). I did a film with Ravi Chopra (Banda Yeh Bindaas Hai) in which Salman played a cameo just because I requested him to do it. After Partner, I have never tried to involve Salman career-wise. I have never troubled anyone for that matter. I think if someone is a good human being and has a good heart, then you should not exploit that person. Salman and I have been friends even before we started working together. Maine kabhi socha nahi tha ki hamari dosti career mein kaam ayegi (I never thought that our friendship would be useful in my career).

Bollywood

INDIA IN NEW YORK OCTOBER 31, 2014

VITTORIO ZUNINO CELOTTO/GETTY IMAGES

Actor Shahid Kapoor attends the Haider Red Carpet at the 9th Rome Film Festival, October 24.

Shahid, left, with director Vishal Bhardwaj. Haider bagged the People’s Choice Award in the world category at the festival.

ALL THAT GLITTERS

A PEEK INTO THE WEEK’S GLITZIEST TINSEL TOWN EVENTS

From left, actor Boman Irani, filmmaker Farah Khan, and actors Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, Abhishek Bachchan, Sonu Sood and Vivaan Shah at the premiere of Happy New Year in Dubai.

Actor Jackie Shroff

Producer Gauri Khan

Dancers perform on the Haider Red Carpet

ERNESTO RUSCIO/GETTY IMAGES

Actress Malaika Arora Khan

PHOTOGRAPHS: PRADEEP BANDEKAR

ERNESTO RUSCIO/GETTY IMAGES

From left, composers Vishal-Shekhar.

Bollywood

What on earth is Aamir Khan up to? From left, director Rajkumar Hirani, actors Aamir Khan and Anushka Sharma, and producer Vidhu? Vinod Chopra at the trailer launch of PK.

stealing whatever he (quite wrongly) believes is offered to him. This, as one can imagine, leads to much consternation. And Anushka Sharma, narrator of the trailer and PK’s dost, appears rightfully amused. Will we be? The question will be answered December 19, but for now Khan must be lauded for making fun of his own Vulcan ears. — Raja Sen

The immortal Katrina

atrina Kaif, who will soon be getting her own wax figure at the famed Madame Tussauds in London, recently visited the K museum for her first fitting session. Katrina joins the likes of Kareena Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, her Bang Bang costar Hrithik Roshan and Amitabh Bachchan in Tussauds. ‘Hundreds of exact measurements are taken to ensure an accurate likeness #KatrinaKaifWaxFigure,’ Madame Tussauds said. A sneak peek into the visit.

Meanwhile….

From left, filmmaker Prabhu Deva and actors Ajay Devgn, Yami Gautam, Manasvi Mamgai and Kunal Roy Kapoor at the trailer launch of Action Jackson.

Sadashiv Amrapurkar on life support ollywood actor Sadashiv Amrapurkar is on life support and showing signs of improveB ment, according to his daughter Reema.

The 64-year-old actor, who has starred in films like Ardha Satya and Sadak, was admitted to a hospital in Mumbai two weeks ago after being diagnosed with a lung infection.

Sadashiv Amrapurkar

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heartwarming and overwhelmingly cheerful. On the other, it looks like Aamir Khan — in a sincere attempt to play a Bean-like bumpkin — might be taking his imbecilic Dhoom 3 silliness to a whole other extreme. But hard as it may be to get over the scars of that blockbuster monstrosity, this is still a Rajkumar Hirani film, and is naturally accompanied by much good-natured freshness, far more than we normally see in our movies. The trailer, introducing us to Khan’s titular character (‘a teetotaller named tipsy,’ say the subtitles) does exactly what a first trailer should do. It gets us curious. Very curious. Khan’s P K seems to be an accidental offender, a socially inept fellow who tries to fix whatever comes his way and doesn’t think twice before

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utterly conflicted by the first trailer for Rajkumar Hirani’s PK. IOnfeel one hand, it looks goofy and

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INDIA IN NEW YORK OCTOBER 31, 2014

Saif becomes Mr Chaalu eema Kagti’s (Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd, and Talaash) next film R will be Mr Chaalu, which she

describes as a ‘cheerful, sunny, though not always funny’ film. Saif Ali Khan will play the titular role and will star opposite Kangna Ranaut. “Mr Chaalu is a love story between a pathological liar and a woman who has OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) about telling the truth,” she says. “It is a humorous film about human flaws. Though in a way I am returning to my lighter directorial beginnings, Mr Chaalu has dramatic layers.” “Saif is ideal for the character. Zoya Akhtar and I often discussed him for the character while we were writing the script.” The film also stars Richa Chadha and Pooja Bhatt. Kagti will start shooting early next year. — Subhash K Jha

Bollywood

INDIA IN NEW YORK OCTOBER 31, 2014

First Look Superstar Rajinikanth’s last film Kochadaiyaan, directed by his daughter Soundarya, may have been a dud at the box office, but the superstar is unfazed. He immediately started working on his next film, Lingaa, directed by old friend K S Ravikumar. The film is scheduled to release December 12.

Amitabh Bachchan and Farhan Akhtar were in Delhi recently shooting for the Bejoy Nambiar film — Wazir (earlier titled Do). Big B shared the first look from the film, taken at the backdrop of the Hauz Khas Quila in Delhi. The film, which also stars Aditi Rao Hydari, will have Big B playing the role of a wheelchair bound chess master while Akhtar will essay the role of an antiterrorism squad officer.

Anurag, beyond Bollywood

Farah Khan and Kiku Sharda, dressed as Saroj Khan, on Comedy Nights with Kapil. Inset, Saroj Khan

the buzz is to be believed, filmmaker Anurag is set to helm an international project InextfKashyap year.

Anurag Kashyap

The Mumbai Mirror, which called it a ‘dark crime thriller,’ quoted a source as saying, The international project will kickstart in July and is a completely Western production which will be shot entirely abroad.’

Another season of Rahul

Saroj Khan is not laughing

ast week (India in New York, October 24), we told you that actor Rahul Khanna was negotiatL ing his return to the third season of The Americans.

The deal has now been sealed. He told Mumbai Mirror, ‘I’m cracking open a bottle of vodka to celebrate being invited back for another round of espionage and adventure with the KGB.’ Khanna plays an ISI agent working for the KGB and is expected to have a ‘full blown role’ in the next season.

emember how angry actor Manoj Kumar was about being spoofed in Om Shanti Om? Filmmaker Farah Khan’s penchant for laughing R at Bollywood has now angered another industry veteran. Veteran choreographer Saroj

Rahul Khanna

Khan was not only spoofed in Happy New Year, but also during the cast’s promotional appearance on Comedy Nights with Kapil. She told DNA, ‘Farah Khan is so frustrated. I saw what they did on the TV show. Does this kind of behavior suit her? I really feel sorry for these people. I don’t know what they stand to gain from targeting me in this way.’ She added, ‘I’ve never gone to her for work. Then why do I matter so much to her? Just to stay in the news? I am no more in the limelight. I am out of the film industry now. My focus is on teaching dancing to children… Why does she feel threatened by me? Why is she feeling so frustrated?’

Health

INDIA IN NEW YORK OCTOBER 31, 2014

but has to be performed correctly for all the muscles to benefit. The abs is the primary muscle used but is heavily supported by your shoulders, quadriceps and hamstrings to enable the position to be maintained. Get into push-up position on the floor and widen legs to should be width apart (it can be performed with legs together also) Bend your elbows 90 degrees and rest your weight on your forearms. Your elbows should be directly beneath your shoulders. Your body should form a straight line from your head to your feet. Hold the position for as long as you can. Legs and abs should be tensed throughout. Breathe: do not hold your breath, keep breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth to help you focus and controlled.

ason Johal likes to focus on the core — the section covering one’s abs, back, sides and lower lats. These muscles work as stabilizers for the entire body and improve body balance and posture. In direct result of this, physical performance improves in activities like running and weight training and reduces the risk of injuries. So when he was asked to train the finalists of the recently concluded Miss Diva Universe contest, he did just that and educated them on the importance of core training as opposed to isolation training (sit-ups, bicep curls etc). Additionally, he also drilled in the importance of five golden rules: Technique: learn how to do it correctly No cheating on form: Quality over quantity Diet: 80 percent of the hard work Rest: Muscles need to recover Consistency: Keep going! Here are some of the workouts that he used to whip the girls into shape. 1. Side Plank This one is a classic exercise that works the entire core, but focuses on the obliques, a common issue the girls shared. Lie on your left side with your knees straight. Prop your upper body up on your left elbow and forearm. Position your elbow under your shoulder. Brace your core by contracting your abs forcefully as if you were about to be punched in the gut. Raise your hips until your body forms a straight line from your ankles to your shoulders. Your head should stay in line with your body. Hold this position for the prescribed amount of time while breathing deeply. That’s one set. Turn around so that you’re lying on your right side and repeat.

Jason Johal with ShreeRadhe Khanduja, winner of the Miss Health and Fitness title at Miss Diva Universe 2014.

The diva workout in five simple steps Fitness trainer Jason Johal of Centre of Obesity and Diabetic Support offers a sneak peek into the workout sessions of the models participating in the Miss Diva Universe 2014 contest

2. Bodyweight squats and weighted squats A fundamental exercise that focuses on toning the lower body, especially the quadriceps, hamstrings and glutes. Secondary muscles involved in the exercise are the abs, another common shared problem area. Set your feet shoulder-width apart, toes pointed forward. Pull in your lower abs, and keep your eyes forward. Slowly bend at the knees (knees should bend outwards) and drop your hips to lower your body. Keep your heels flat on the floor. Once you are at a right angle or slightly below, pause for a moment and strongly push back up from the heels to the starting position. Repeat for desired number of reps.

Breathe through the nose on the way down and out through the mouth on the way up. To counter balance your weight, hold your arms out in front of you at shoulder height or cross over the chest. Keep your back as straight as possible throughout the lift to avoid strain or injury 3. Plank Another popular core exercise that works multiple muscle groups,

4. Leg raises Leg raises target the area where most of us find it difficult to lose fat —the lower abs. Another added benefit is that leg raises also use the lower back muscles, not to mention the legs of course. Lie flat on your back with your legs together stretched out in front of you. Keep your hands flat down on the ground. Raise your legs keeping them straight and your toes pointed. Your thighs should be perpendicular to your body. Once your toes are facing the ceiling, slowly lower your legs to about an inch off the floor. Don’t just let gravity work for your — make sure you’re in control. If the exercise feels too easy, try to lower more slowly. Slowly raise your legs back up to the ceiling. Repeat 10 times, rest for 30 seconds. Try to do 3 sets.

5. Circuit training This is a one stop shop for the whole body. Performing a series of exercises for a fixed time period gives the body a full workout. The exercises are a mix of strength, power and fat loss. The girls thoroughly enjoyed this as they were in a group and cheered each other on, especially when things become tough. Squats with 3-5kg medicine ball/jumping squats Russian ball twists Leg raises High knee jogging on the spot Dips Step ups with 3-6 kg dumbbells Each exercise would be for 30-45 secs with 5-10 secs rest between each activity. We would normally do 3 circuits consisting of different exercises for variety but maintained the focus of the core muscles.

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The Week That Was INDIA IN NEW YORK OCTOBER 31, 2014

LA court summons Bachchan

Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan has been summoned by a Los Angeles court over a controversial slogan he allegedly made in October 1984 following then Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi’s assassination. Based on a petition filed by Gurupatwant Pannun, a member of Sikhs For Justice, the Los Angeles Federal Court has given Bachchan 21 days to respond to the allegation of instigating violence through his slogan ‘Blood for blood.’ Last year, 1984 riots prime witness Jagdish Kaur alleged, ‘I watched the live relay on Doordarshan and saw Amitabh Bachchan shouting the slogan, ‘Khoon ka badla khoon se lenge!’ Kaur’s husband and son were murdered by a mob inside her home in West Delhi, November 1, 1984. Bachchan had then pleaded innocence.

Devendra Fadnavis to be Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis was elected leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Maharashtra Legislature Party October 28 and will be the state’s next chief minister. Fadnavis, 44, began his political career in 1992, and was twice elected corporator to the Municipal Corporation of Nagpur — where he became the second youngest mayor in the country. Most recently, he was the BJP’s Maharastra state unit president.

Couple from Nagaland assaulted in Bengaluru

In yet another case of assault on citizens from North-East India, a couple from Nagaland and their friend were allegedly assaulted by four men on the outskirts of Bengaluru, October 25. All four attackers have been arrested.

Communal clashes in East Delhi

Communal clashes broke out in Trilokpuri in East Delhi last week. Over 70 people were injured in the rioting. The clashes began after a Diwali night incident that involved Hindu and Muslim boys drinking together near a place of worship, and were fueled by rumors.

Supreme Court slams federal government over Delhi

India’s Supreme Court October 28 took the federal government and Delhi Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung to task over the delay in government formation in Delhi. ‘In a democratic set-up, people have a right to a government,’ the court said. ‘Nothing seems to be done on this issue by you people. Why wasn’t all this done earlier?’ Delhi has been under President’s Rule after then chief minister Arvind Kejriwal resigned February 14.

Black money: Government reveals eight names

The Indian government October 27 disclosed in the Supreme Court the names of eight people against whom action has commenced for allegedly stashing black money in foreign banks. They are: Pradip Burman of Dabur India, bullion trader Pankaj Chamanlal Lodhiya, five directors of Goa mining company Timblo: Radha Satish Timblo, Chetan S Timblo, Rohan S Timblo, Anna C Timblo, and Mallika R Timblo. The Supreme Court, in its 2011 order, had directed complete disclosure of information on people who have black money abroad, but the government said it could only reveal names of people against whom there was ‘prosecutable evidence.’

SAHIL SALVI

Pitching for politics

Preparations for the swearing-in-ceremony of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Maharashtra government at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai. Despite the Mumbai Cricket Association’s concerns over the condition of the ground at the stadium, the BJP has decided to go ahead. The MCA has said the event will undo years of hard work that went into bringing the stadium up to international standards.

Bangalore: 45 year old held for sex assault on 4-year-old student

ejected without command during landing, leading to a crash near Pune, Maharashtra, October 14.

A 45-year-old office assistant was October 25 arrested for alleged sexual assault on a 4year-old girl at an international school in Bangalore. The school has been slapped with legal notices about the necessary permits it was allegedly operating without.

India re-elected to UN Human Rights Council

A protest march by a United Kingdom-based group on the Kashmir issue October 26 fizzled out as barely a few hundred protesters gathered to wave placards and flags. When Pakistan Peoples Party chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari stepped on to the stage to speak at the so-called ‘Million March’ from Trafalgar Square to Downing Street, the crowd began booing and throwing empty plastic bottles and refused to let him speak because, as a source told the Press Trust of India, ‘The march was to be about Kashmir and for the welfare of Kashmiris.’

Modi government clears forest land for Adani power project

Bilawal booed, heckled during march on Kashmir

Youth on way to Afghanistan for terror training held

Two young men were arrested from Secunderabad, Telangana, with the police saying they were planning to go to Afghanistan to train with Al Qaeda to conduct terror activities in India.

India grounds Sukhoi fleet

The Indian Air Force has grounded its entire Sukhoi-30 fighter plane fleet and is undertaking thorough technical checks after both the pilot seats on a Sukhoi aircraft

India was re-elected to the United Nations Human Rights Council for 2015 to 2017, receiving the highest number of votes in the Asia-Pacific group. Its first term is due to end December 31. India has ordered 148.59 hectares (370 acres) of forest land in Gondia district, Maharashtra, to be ‘diverted’ for the construction of a 1,980 megawatt coal-based thermal power plant run by the Adani Group.

Election Commission proposes to make ‘paid news’ an electoral offence

The Election Commission has proposed making ‘paid news’ an electoral offence. ‘Paid news’ relates to the phenomenon whereby politicians pay newspapers and magazines to publish favorable content before an election.

26/11 mastermind: India, US planning to carry out strikes Muhammad Saeed, the 26/11 mastermind and head of the Jaamat-ud-Dawah, claims India, with the connivance of the United States, is planning strikes against Islamists in Pakistan.

PAGE 27

The Week That Was

INDIA IN NEW YORK OCTOBER 31, 2014

f PAGE 26

responsible for Partition. The article was written by Gopalakrishnan, a BJP candidate in the Lok Sabha elections.

‘Whistleblower’ sailor illegally detained?

Saeed alleged that the conspiracy was hatched during President Barack Obama’s recent meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The wife of an Indian Navy sailor, who raised allegations of financial irregularities against senior officers, has alleged that her husband is being illegally kept in a Kochi hospital and efforts are being made to establish that he is suffering from mental illness.

India ‘Spikes’ American Javelin missiles

India has decided to buy 8,356 Spike anti-tank guided missile and 321 launchers from Israel, rejecting the United States’ offer of Javelin missiles that Washington was lobbying hard for.

Netaji deputy, Nehru aide was Soviet spy: British documents

Defense projects worth a whopping Rs 800 billion ($13.04 billion) were cleared by the Indian government October 25. Six submarines will be manufactured indigenously.

IAF asks personnel not to use this Chinese phone

Make in India: 6 desi submarines to be built

A C N Nambiar, an associate of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, an ‘old friend’ of Jawaharlal Nehru and a former Indian ambassador, has been described as a Soviet spy according to declassified documents in the United Kingdom.

Minister flouts traffic rule

The Indian Air Force has asked its personnel and their families not to use Chinese ‘Xiaomi Redmi 1s’ phones, as it believes these phones could be transferring data to servers in China.

Federal Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari rode into a controversy October 25 when he was caught on camera entering the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh headquarters in Nagpur, Maharashtra, on his scooter without wearing a helmet in violation of traffic rules. According to the Nagpur traffic police Web site, wearing a helmet is compulsory and violators are fined. Photographs of the incident showed a helmet-less Gadkari passing policemen on the way.

Article in RSS journal: Godse should have killed Nehru, not Gandhi

Burdwan blast accused members of Bangladesh terror outfit: NIA

The National Investigation Agency said the accused arrested in the Burdwan, West Bengal, blast case and their associates are members of the terror group Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen, Bangladesh, and were preparing Improvised Explosive Devices for transporting them to that country for possible terror attacks.

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh dissociated itself from a controversial article published in its Malayalam journal that said Nathuram Godse, Mahatma Gandhi’s murderer, should have targeted Jawaharlal Nehru instead of Gandhi as the former was

Photographer accuses Modi’s social team of stealing image

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official Facebook account allegedly used a photograph shot by Boston-based photographer Bimal Nepal to wish people on Dhanteras without attributing it to him, the Indian Express reported. Nepal, who has worked for National Geographic and Harvard Media among others, shared the original photograph and his concerns on his Facebook page.

Pushkar diary

12 new battalions to guard China’s border

India is set to clear a proposal to raise a dozen battalions and induct close to 12,000 personnel on the India-China border. The raising of battalions will be done in a phased manner over five years.

Woman beaten to death on suspicion of witchcraft A 55-year-old woman was beaten to death in Chhattisgarh’s Bemetara district, allegedly by her family, on suspicion of her practising ‘black magic,’ the police said. Twelve people have been held for the murder.

At the Pushkar Fair in Rajasthan, October 28. Thousands of animals, mainly camels, are brought to the fair to be traded.

HIMANSHU SHARMA/REUTERS

Gangotri glacier ‘rapidly disintegrating’: Report

The 18.7 mile Gangotri glacier, from which the main Ganga tributary, the Bhagirathi, emerges, is rapidly disintegrating, the G B Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development said last week. A team from the institute, which has been monitoring Himalayan glaciers, particularly Gangotri, since 1999, visited the glacier between June and October. Kireet Kumar, a scientist at the institute’s glacial study center, told The Hindu that the rapid melting of the Raktvarn, Chaturangi and Thelu — tributary glaciers of the Gangotri — was the main reason behind the heavy disintegration. The Gangotri glacier has retreated more than 1,500 meters in the last 70 years.

Luxuries in a Bihar jail: Mobile phones, foreign liquor, cash

Mobile phones, thousands of rupees in cash and foreign liquor were seized from the divisional jail in Sitamarhi district in Bihar, October 27.

Sports INDIA IN NEW YORK OCTOBER 31, 2014

India drop, Pakistan rise in ICC Test rankings

ndia are all set to drop a rung to sixth in the International Cricket Council Test rankings, replaced by Pakistan in the fifth position after Misbah-ul Haq’s men took a 1-0 lead in the ongoing series against Australia in Dubai. To move ahead of South Africa, Australia needed to win both Tests. Now, their best series result can be a 1-1 draw,

Sri Lanka ODIs: Shami out, Kulkarni in

Sri Lanka Captain Angelo Mathews

Sri Lanka captain vows to put up a fight against India

ormer French World Cupper David Trezeguet, 37, rolled back the years with an opportunistic strike to help FC Pune City register its maiden win beating FC Goa by 2-0 in the Hero Indian Super League, October 26. A depleted Atletico de Kolkata, without star forward Fikru Teferra, settled for a 1-1 draw against a lucky Kerala Blasters FC in its fifth ISL encounter, October 26. The Delhi Dynamos fired three stunning goals and Former French World Cupper David Trezeguet

GIUSEPPE BELLINI/GETTY IMAGES

ri Lanka Captain Angelo Mathews has vowed not to lower his team’s guard against the Indians despite Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni being rested for the first three One Day Internationals. ‘Dhoni is a great strength to the Indian team and if he is rested we have a very good chance but we still cannot be complacent because we all know that India is a difficult place to play cricket,’ said Mathews. Sri Lanka has not beaten India in India in a bilateral ODI series. Their best performance has been a draw in a three-match series, 1-1 in 1997. Mathews said his team did not have an ideal preparation for the tour of India as they were concentrating on fitness and not skills during a break from international cricket after a series against Pakistan in August. They were to play against England late next month, but were told by their board to get ready for a five ODI series tour of India beginning November 2 after the West Indies abandoned their Indian tour midway over players’ pay dispute with their Board. Mathews said, Kumar Sangakkara is struggling with a back injury, and there is a possibility of Niroshan Dickwella keeping wickets. In Dhoni’s absence, the Indian captaincy has been handed to Virat Kohli, who has been a thorn in the Lankan flesh in the recent past. Kohli enjoys a batting average of 52.65 against the Lankans, and a strike rate of 85.16 in ODI contests against them.

At the Indian Super League

Maharashtra medium-pacer Dhawal Kulkarni

MICHAEL STEELE/GETTY IMAGES

TOM SHAW/GETTY IMAGES

edium-pacer Mohammed Shami has been ruled out of the five-match One-Day International series against Sri Lanka, starting November 2, due to an injury. Maharashtra medium-pacer Dhawal Kulkarni will replace him in the 15-member Indian squad, to be led by Virat Kohli, for the first three ODIs. Shami has been advised 10 days’ rest following an injury to his right toe. Dhawal, who made his ODI debut against England this year, will be eager to make an impression after a good showing in the Duleep Trophy quarter-finals this month. The West Zone mediumpacer picked seven wickets (7/90), albeit in a losing cause, against East Zone.

which will keep them in second position, three points behind South Africa. In contrast, if Pakistan win the second Test, then they will leapfrog England, Sri Lanka and India into third position. A 1-1 draw will mean Australia will finish in fifth place on 99 ratings points — three ahead of India and two behind fourth-ranked Sri Lanka, while a drawn Test in Abu Dhabi will see Pakistan move to fourth place.

scored another one from a penalty to outplay Chennaiyin FC 4-1, October 25. NorthEast United FC bagged the Number 2 slot on the ISL points table after they defeated nine-man Mumbai 20, October 25. Atletico de Kolkata handed FC Goa its second home defeat after coming back from a goal down to win 2-1, October 23. Former Hull City wing-back Bernard Mendy scored with a stunning bicycle kick as hosts Chennaiyin FC beat Kerala Blasters 2-1, October 22. Meanwhile, the All India Football Federation suspended Atletico de Kolkata’s head coach Antonio Lopez Habas for four matches while Goa FC’s marquee player Robert Pires and Kolkata’s Fikru Lemessa were banned for two matches each for breaching the disciplinary code during the Indian Super League.

India in New York October 31, 2014

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MANHATTAN family seeks Bengali speaking, educated, live out nanny who is capable of providing basic Hindu education to children. Focus is on warm and energetic interactions with children and reliability. Prefer married, living with husband. Please call (646) 450-2999 if interested.

Job Wanted

BOYS & Girls available for weekends for cooking & cleaning. (646) 407-0008

Services / Miscellaneous REAL ESTATE Apartment/ House To Rent

ASTORIA, DITMARS: 2 Bedroom & 4 Bedroom Duplex apartment for rent. Close to all transportation. Very close to Manhattan. Call (917) 500-0285

House For Sale

WANTED Server/waiter for an Indian Restaurant in Jersey City. Experienced VALLEY STREAM: Great 5 bedrooms, person preferred. Must have work newly renovated. Close to all. Owner authorization. Call Raj (201) 253-7373 (516) 642-5571.

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718.358.2901/917.497.3212 146-31, 61 Road, Flushing, New York 11367 www.swamimanjit.com

CLASSIFIED RATES Regular ads: $2.00 per word; minimum 10 words. Box number $6.00 extra. Display Classified The use of borders, different type or any graphics changes your classified advertisement to display classified. Rate $40 per column inch (column width 2”). Can accommodate upto 25 words per column inch with no graphics. Job Wanted If you are unemployed and looking for a job you may list a FREE advertisement under Job Wanted. Maximum 25 words including your name, address and telephone number. Complete address and telephone number of the advertiser are required for India in New York’s records prior to publishing an advertisement. Full remittance must accompany all advertisement orders. All valid credit cards are acceptable. CLOSING DATE: Monday for coming Friday’s issue. cancellation: Any advertisement cancelled before its publication will be charged a processing fee of $5. India in New York reserves the right not to accept an advertiser’s order. No telephone order will be accepted. All ads are subject to editing.

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

INDEX

................A2

Letters to the Editor ...................A4 ..........A44 People. ..A38 Immigration A32 Business.. Community .........................M1 Magazine... ......................A46 Sports........................................... ...............A37 41 Events........................................... Pages: 56+12=68

EDITION

York Toronto NY/NJ/CT New Los Angeles

XXXVIII No.33 16, 2008 Vol. Friday, May Weekly Newspaper International

Sameer Ahuja helms Sports Museum of America May 16, 2008

The International

magazine

PH GEORGE JOSE áå kÉï vçêâ 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 the museum's and its Operating Officer Philip with co-founder Schwalb, said. cele"The museum sports. all brates sports, millions of There are sports. various fans for houses The museum is no them all. There anythis place like 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 spending hours events. cased an India-born at a special naturalization out big-ticket sportsis unmissable: Tourists coming bers of the military, Lady United States. a soldier in the US the of museum obeisance to The for new citizens Sandeep Singh, 23, after paying 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 desire Army's 3rd US names from "followed his tographs of baseball said he had terrorist attacks of 9/11." and other iconic 21 countries lete Jesse Owens sport. nation after the 26 men and women from by museum feet American Allegiance of square annals 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 from tennis had Jonathan 'Jock' 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

Superstar India

India-born 9/11 inspires America soldier to defend

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