India in New York - June 27, 2014

CRICKET INDIA GEAR UP FOR ENGLISH CHALLENGE

COMMUNITY NEW YORK INDIA DAY PARADE GETS BIGGER

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VOL. XVIII NO. 1

India in New York A GUIDE TO EVENTS AND ENTERTAINMENT FROM INDIA ABROAD FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014

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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 JUNE 27, 2014

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New York’s India Day parade just got bigger

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Three-day extravaganza begins August 15, culminates with parade August 18. George Joseph reports

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he Federation of Indian Associations, the largest and oldest nonprofit umbrella organization for Indian Americans in the New York-New Jersey-Connecticut tristate area, last week held a curtain-raising ceremony at the Indian consulate in New York to launch the campaign for the 34th India Day Parade in New York City.

This year’s parade, with the theme Colors of India, will be a three-day affair with events in New York and New Jersey beginning August 15.

“FIA plans to be inclusive and inviting to all communities including the mainstream Americans with the three-day celebrations and wants to broadcast the colors of India in the right light to them,” said Ankur Vaidya, FIA president.

The celebrations will begin with a live concert by Kailash Kher at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, August 15. The Empire State Building will be lit in the Indian tricolor that day.

Simultaneously, the FIA will host two days of events, ‘freedom celebrations,’ at the Garden State Exhibit Center in Somerset, New Jersey. Among the highlights will be an Indian real estate expo, jewelry displays, a food court, a celebrity chef, a magician, dance performances, Bollywood celebrities, health awareness, fitness awareness program, and a kids’ zone.

“The event will include 20-inch Dosa in our $3.99 food court, which will feature Parathas, Gol Gappe, Mumbai Vada Pao, Kachhi Dabeli, Kathi roll, etc, for one price,” Vaidya said.

The celebrations will also feature London R&B singer Arjun, who will perform at the youth festival August 16 at the Garden State Exhibit Center, and a show by Sonalee Vyas Dance Studio.

The celebrations will culminate with the largest India Day Parade on Madison Avenue in the heart of New York City, August 17.

The consulate event began with the traditional lamp lighting by India’s Consul General in New York Ambassador Dnyaneshwar Mulay, FIA Chairman Ramesh Patel, 2014 title sponsor Sameer Goswami from Apka Colors, and associate sponsors Dipak Patel and Jessica O’Keefe of Standard Chartered. It was followed by a cultural performance

From left, Sudhir Parikh, Ankur Vaidya, Consul General Dnyaneshwar Mulay, actress Reshma Shetty, H R Shah and Ramesh Patel cut the tricolor-themed cake organized by Miki Patel of FIA and performed by Anu Sahasrabudhe, Sarita Gupta, Nikunj Vasoya, Anisha Ghosh and Bhavin Thakker.

Dinesh Goswami of Indus American Bank, Jignesh Pandya of Rohan Group, Parvin Choksey of Air India, Pravin Kumar from SBI, Mahesh Pai of Canara Bank, Rajeev Bhambri of India Abroad, Adris Chakraborty of Mediamorphosis offered their support and sponsorship for the events.

The event’s reception committee comprised Shobhna Patel, Andy Bhatia, Shiv Dass and Subhash Kapadia. The decor and event management was done by Ayesha Hakki of Bibi Publicity with a commemorative custom made tricolor cake for the occasion by Sonam of Chocl8kiss.

On Long Island, the India Day Parade August 10 will bring together more than 100 organizations, according to the organizers.

IBA’s New Jersey India Day parade on August 10

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ver 250 people attended the announcement ceremony for the 10th annual New Jersey India Day Parade, which will be hosted by the Indian Business Association August10.

Leaders from nearly 100 New Jersey-based Indian-American organizations attended the announcement event as did Assemblyman Raj Mukerjee, Edison Councilwoman Sapana Shah and Vin Gopal, Monmouth County chairman of the Democratic Party.

The parade will be from Edison to Iselin on Oak Tree Road, the epicenter of New Jersey’s IndianAmerican community. It will be followed by a cultural show.

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INDIA IN NEW YORK JUNE 27, 2014

New Jersey jewelry store owner admits role in $200 million credit card fraud A CORRESPONDENT

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New Jersey jewelry store owner last week admitted to using his business to further one of the largest credit card fraud schemes ever charged by the Justice Department, New Jersey United States Attorney Paul J Fishman announced.

Vijay Verma, 46, of Iselin, pleaded guilty before US District Judge Anne E Thompson in Trenton federal court to information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud.

Verma was indicted in October 2013 as part of a conspiracy to fabricate more than 7,000 false identities to obtain tens of thousands of credit cards. Members of the conspiracy doctored credit reports to pump up the spending and borrowing power associated with the cards.

Federal agents last February arrested 13 people, including six Indian Americans, for stealing at least $200 million through a sprawling criminal enterprise across dozens of states and involving at least eight countries, including India. In raids by hundreds of officers from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the US Postal Inspection Service, the defendants were arrested from New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut from their homes and businesses.

The arrested included Raghbir Singh, Vijay Verma, Sat Verma, Vinod Dadlani and Tarshem Lal. Three of them ran jewelry stores in what is known as the Indian market on Newark Avenue, Jersey City’s desi business hub.

Persecutors alleged the jewelry or other businesses were allegedly a front behind which the defendants hid their scheme to mint money through credit card frauds, creating dozens of sham companies that did little or no legitimate business. They obtained credit card terminals for the companies before running up charges on the fraud cards.

They then borrowed or spent as much as they could, based on the phony credit history, but did not repay the debts — causing more than $200 million in confirmed losses to businesses and financial institutions.

These debts were incurred at his jewelry store, among many other locations, where Verma would allow fraudulently obtained credit cards to be swiped in phony transactions.

The scheme involved a three-step process in which the defendants would make up a false identity by creating fraudulent identification documents and a fraudulent credit profile with the major credit bureaus; pump up the credit of the false identity by providing false information about that identity’s creditworthiness to those credit bureaus; then run up large charges.

The scope of the criminal fraud enterprise required his conspirators to construct an elaborate network of false identities.

Across the country, the conspirators maintained more than 1,800 “drop addresses,” including houses, apartments and post office boxes, which they used as the mailing addresses for the false identities.

During his guilty plea proceeding, Verma admitted he worked with other conspirators, who came to his Jersey City store and allowed them to swipe cards he knew did not legitimately belong to them. Dadlani would then split the proceeds of the phony transactions with the conspirators.

Earlier the prosecutors said the fraud enterprise spanned at least eight countries, including Pakistan, India, the United Arab Emirates, Canada, Romania, China, Japan and the United States, and at least 28 US states, including Alabama, California, Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Virginia and Washington.

The count to which Verma pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gain or loss caused by the offense. Sentencing is scheduled for September 25.

A snapshot from the event.

IBA’s New Jersey India Day parade on August 10 f PAGE 2

The IBA recently settled a 2012 lawsuit with Edison Township, permitting the IBA to run the parade in the township for at least the next seven years.

According to the 2010 census, nearly 300,000 residents are of Indian

descent in the state. This represents a 72.7 per-cent growth rate over the past decade. Middlesex County, the site of the parade, is home to nearly a third of that population.

‘Planning for the parade is a yearlong process starting the day after last year’s parade, but the next seven weeks will be very busy for us,’ said Dhiren

Amin, IBA president.

Headlining last year’s parade was Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno, US Senator Cory Booker, US Congressman Frank Pallone, US Congressman Rush Holt, and New Jersey Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver.

— A Correspondent

Sikhs for Justice wants to sue India’s former prime minister for anti-militancy operations in Punjab A CORRESPONDENT

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ikhs for Justice has filed an opposition to the United States government’s affidavit in court to grant immunity to former Indian prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh in a human rights violation lawsuit before the Washington Federal Court.

Last year, the New York-based SFJ had filed a civil case against Dr Singh, claiming that Dr Singh, as the then Indian finance minister, funded counterinsurgency operations in Punjab during the 1990s, resulting in more than 100,000 Sikhs being killed extra judicially by Indian security forces.

The SFJ tried unsuccessfully to serve a summons during a summit between Dr Singh and President Barack Obama at the White House September 27, 2013. The organization also tried in vain to serve a summons in New York.

Stuart Delery, assistant attorney general, civil division, Department of Justice, wrote April 15, ‘The Department of State recognizes and allows the immunity of Prime Minister Singh as a sitting head of government from the jurisdiction of the US District Court in this suit…’

The Department of Justice filed an affidavit May 2, when Dr Singh was still the prime minister, saying, ‘No court has ever subjected a sitting head of government to suit once the Executive Branch has determined that he or she is immune. The United States expresses no view on the merits of Plaintiffs’ claims against Prime Minister Singh.’

The Supreme Court had held that the courts of the United States are bound by Suggestions of Immunity submitted by the Executive Branch.

The SFJ argued that the Foreign Sovereign Immunity Act does not cover acts committed by the foreign officials in their official capacity and also pointed out that defendant is not prime minister of India anymore and therefore does not enjoy immunity as head of a foreign government.

Citing US Supreme Court’s precedent decision in Samantar versus Yousuf, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, legal adviser to the SFJ, said former heads of governments could be sued for overseeing killings and other atrocities.

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The Week That Was INDIA IN NEW YORK JUNE 27, 2014

One of 40 Indians kidnapped in Iraq, escapes

AMIT DAVE/REUTERS

ANI

One of the 40 Indians abducted in the crisisridden Iraqi town of Mosul, fled from the captors this week, according to reports, while sixteen others stranded in the violence-affected areas of Iraq have been evacuated.

The developments came on a day when Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviewed the situation at a highGurpinder Kaur's brother Manjinder Singh is one of the men kidnapped in Iraq. level meeting attended

by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth, Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh and heads of intelligence and security agencies.

External affairs ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin said that the meeting reviewed the ‘entire dimensions’ of the situation taking into consideration all facts and information available to the government.

‘We can confirm to you that one Indian has escaped and is in touch with our embassy in Baghdad,’ Akbaruddin said.

The 40 Indians, who were working on a construction project, were abducted in Mosul, which was seized by Sunni militant group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria last week.

Akbaruddin added that the abducted Indians were safe and the government was making ‘every effort so that it is resolved at the earliest.’

School students in Ahmedabad pray for the Indians kidnapped in Iraq.

Black money probe: India to get Swiss bank details India’s efforts to crackdown on black money stashed abroad got a major boost this week with Switzerland readying a list of Indians suspected to have un-taxed money in Swiss banks.

The list of such persons and entities is being shared with India, while further details would also be provided in due course and all necessary administrative assistance would be made available as well, a senior Swiss government official told the Press Trust of India.

Justice M B Shah, who is heading the Special

Investigation Team on black money in India, said that the list would be verified and action would be taken against those found to have kept unaccountable money.

Modi government to present first budget July 10 The budget session of the Indian Parliament will be held from July 7 to August 14 and the first General Budget of the Narendra Modi government will be presented July 10, the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs revealed this week.

The committee added that the Railway Budget would be

ARUN PATIL

Homi Bhabha’s bungalow goes under the hammer

Mehrangir, Homi J Bhabha’s iconic bunglow in Mumbai, was sold at an auction for $61 million.

The iconic Mumbai bungalow of Homi J Bhabha — father of India’s atomic energy program — was sold at an auction for $61 million, despite demands to turn it into a museum.

Though there was no official confirmation, sources told Mumbai Mirror, the bungalow — which Dr Bhabha had bequeathed to the National Centre for Performing Arts — was bought by industrialist Jamshyd Godrej’s sister Smita Crishna-Godrej. The property fetched $19 million more than the reserve price of $42 million.

presented July 8, while the Economic Survey would be released July 9.

Government school heads misuse education funds to build own homes The Bihar education department found last week that funds granted under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan — a government of India program which aims to provide free and compulsory education to all children of ages 6 to 14 years — were being used by 54 principals of government-run primary and middle schools to build their own homes instead of constructing new classrooms and schools, officials in Patna said June 23.

Brazil invites Modi to FIFA World Cup final Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been invited to watch the soccer World Cup final in Brazil by Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff.

Modi will be traveling to Brazil for the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) summit July 15-17 in Fortaleza. The World Cup final will be held in Rio de Janeiro, July 13.

CBI to probe Munde’s death India’s Central Bureau of Investigation will investigate the death of Bharatiya Janata Party leader Gopinath Munde following a road accident in Delhi. BJP leaders from Maharashtra, including former party president Nitin

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The Week That Was

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INDIA IN NEW YORK JUNE 27, 2014

f PAGE 4 Gadkari, had sought a CBI probe into Munde’s death.

India gets 43rd tiger reserve The Uttar Pradesh government has notified the Pilibhit Wildlife Sanctuary — a dense forest on the India-Nepal border — as a tiger reserve with effect from June 9. India’s National Tiger Conservation Authority had asked the state government to notify Pilibhit reserve forest as it had a good density of 4.5 tigers per 100 square kilometers, which sometimes led to tigers straying out of the ‘unprotected’ zone and attacking villagers.

Kolkata: No riches found in 300-year-old iron chests Ever since three iron chests were found under a construction site in Kolkata in 2008, there had been speculation about their contents. After a long court battle over the imagined goodies inside, the boxes — said to be over 300 years old — were finally opened June 16.

‘No gold, no silver, no jewelry and nothing of historical importance has been found,’ Ujjal Ray, officer-in-charge, Gariahat police station, said.

The chests contained eight boxes of rusted iron needles, a calendar, a few keys and a coin from 1953.

CBI boss loses race for Interpol secretary general’s post India lost the race for the post of Interpol secretary general with its executive committee appointing Germany’s Juergen Stock as the successor to incumbent Ronald K Noble of the United States.

Central Bureau of Investigation Director Ranjit Sinha was the first Indian to be shortlisted for the post.

Scientists find diabetes-fighting molecule in Himalayan tree According to the Deccan Herald, researchers in Lucknow have isolated a molecule from the Himalayan Elm tree that mimics adiponectin, a hormone known to have the potential to produce a drug to combat lifestyle diseases like dia-

betes. ‘Initial studies suggest that our molecule (called GTDF based on its long and complicated chemical name) is non-toxic. But we would prefer to do preclinical trial jointly with a company,’ team leader Sabyasachi Sanyal from the Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow, told the newspaper.

Anti-nuclear activist sends legal notice to India’s home ministry Reacting to the leaked Intelligence Bureau report that alleged foreign-funded non-governmental organizations were creating obstacles to India’s economic growth, S P Uday Kumar, antinuclear activist and convener of the People’s Movement Against Nuclear energy, sent a legal notice to the India’s Ministry of Home Affairs last week. He sought action against an IB official for allegedly defaming him by ‘leaking’ the report, which claimed that Udayakumar, who protested against the Kudankulam Nuclear plant in Tamil Nadu, had ‘deep and growing connections with American and German entities.’

The report also went on to say that the activist received an ‘unsolicited contract’ from an Ohio State University institute through which he got thousands of dollars for filing fortnightly reports.

Kumar rubbished the charges. ‘I worked at the university institute as a people’s fellow and was paid for my work, which had nothing to do with nuclear energy.’

Meanwhile, the home ministry has reportedly directed the Reserve Bank of India that all foreign contributions originating from Greenpeace International and Climate Works Foundation — two principal international contributors to Greenpeace — must be kept on hold until individual clearances were obtained from the ministry for each transaction.

Chennai proves it is big-hearted June 16, Chennai came to a halt when surgeons of two hospitals coordinated with the city traffic police to help a heart transplant patient by ferrying a donor heart between two hospitals in record time. A medical team transported the heart from the Government General Hospital to the Fortis Malar Hospital, about 8 miles away, in less than 14 minutes by creating red-light free corridor. It usually takes 45 minutes to cover the stretch. Reportedly, ordinary people also cooperated with the authorities to allow the ambulance free movement.

RUPAK DE CHOWDHURI/REUTERS

Modi’s bitter pill?

Police personnel scuffle with an activist of the Socialist Unity Centre of India (SUCI) during a protest against the hike in rail passenger and freight fares in Kolkata June 21, 2014.

The government last week pushed through a steep hike in rail passenger and freight fares. Modi had earlier said that ‘bitter medicine’ was needed to rescue the Indian economy and restore its fiscal health even if the measures dented his popularity and hurt the Bharatiya Janata Party in the short run. the first dose of the ‘bitter medicine’ Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned was needed to revive the economy.

Rape cloud over Modi’s minister A woman from Jaipur, who has alleged India’s new Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers Nihalchand Meghwal — and 16 others — had raped her in 2011, last week alleged that the minister sent his men to threaten her and also offered her a job if she withdrew the case. She sought a Central Bureau of Investigation investigation and said she wanted to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

‘We all know that Narendra Modi is a good person and highlights women’s rights,’ she said. ‘I don’t think a person like Meghwal should be allowed to continue as a minister... I clearly remember what he did to me along with others.’

Scientist held on rape charges A scientific assistant at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Tarapur, Maharashtra, was arrested June 22 for allegedly raping a woman on the pretext of marriage. According to the complainant, the accused Anirudh Sehgal (37), whom she had met through a matrimonial Web site, pretended to be a bachelor though he was married.

The woman said Sehgal lured her into a physical relationship, but when she got to know of his wife and decided to walk out, he threatened to post their intimate photographs online. The woman then went to the police.

Odisha’s honor killing shame A man allegedly strangulated his daughter to death before hanging her to a tree to pass it off as suicide in Odisha’s Ganjam district, June 22. The police said that he and his two sons had planned the crime since they did not want the girl to marry her boyfriend.

It was the second such incident in the district. Last month, a 20year-old girl and her boyfriend were killed by her two brothers when she refused to marry the man of their choice. Three persons were arrested in connection with the incident.

Madhya Pradesh horror In Madhya Pradesh, a tribal woman was allegedly gang-raped June 15 by 10 people including her husband, paraded naked and forced to drink urine in front of her minor son following a land dispute.

After the woman lodged a complaint in which she alleged that the attack was carried out at the behest of her husband, all the accused were nabbed, the police said.

12-year-old beaten up for opposing harassment A 12-year-old boy was beaten up when he opposed three men who were sexually harassing his sister-in-law in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar district. The police have registered a case against the three unidentified accused after the incident sparked protests.

8-year-old raped, dumped in field An 8-year-old girl was allegedly raped by two minors in a village near Allahabad.

The alleged rapists dumped her in a nearby field when she began to bleed profusely. The girl was spotted by her father who happened to pass by.

Meanwhile, Even as Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav called a committee to review the law and order situation in the state, Samajwadi Party leaders continued to court controversy with their insensitive comments.

SP leader Naresh Agarwal sought to reject claims of an alleged rape victim by saying that even a calf could not be forcibly taken.

‘You cannot even forcibly drag a calf...,’ he told the Press Trust of India, when asked to respond to the allegations of a woman who was abducted and gang-raped in the state.

Aseem in New York

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INDIA IN NEW YORK JUNE 27, 2014

GERRY GOODSTEIN

When America feels like India

A scene from When January Feels Like Summer. side of Manhattan — close to 11th Avenue and 52nd Street — but it was worth the walk.

A five-character play written by Cori Thomas and direct-

film festivals (it just won the best film award at the Beijing Film Festival) and its recent release in Israel, Siddharth is opening in the United States — June 27 in New York City, and July 11 in Los Angeles.

Last Thursday the film’s distributor, Zeitgeist Films, held a premiere screening of Siddharth at the Museum of Modern Art, followed by an after party at the KLounge on the second floor of Bombay Palace restaurant.

Mehta was in town (the film also played at the Human Rights Watch Film Festival this past weekend) along with Chatterjee, who was visiting from Mumbai.

There was much to celebrate, since it is hard for foreign language films to get theatrical space even in a city like New York. And as someone observed, by this Friday there will be three Indian indie films running Tannistha Chatterjee and Rajesh Tailang in Siddharth in Manhattan — Siddharth, Miss Lovely (which opened son. The film highlights the plight of the June 20) and The Lunchbox, which has poor in India, with little access to the legal been playing at the Angelika Theatre since route and a relatively uncooperative police February 28 and has become the most sucforce. cessful foreign film in 2014 in the US. After having made the rounds of several ast year Indo-Canadian filmmaker Richie Mehta took his new film Siddharth to the Venice and Toronto film festivals. A deeply sad story about a poor couple in Delhi (played by Rajesh Tailang and Tannishtha Chatterjee) searching for their missing son, Siddharth was much appreciated by critics and the audience.

A very realistic film, Siddharth has Tailang’s character, a zip repairman, travel from Ludhiana to Mumbai in search of his

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n Sunday, I stopped over at Merit Kabab & Dumpling Palace in Jackson Heights, a Bangladeshi and Tibetan coowned eatery. I was in the mood for vegetable samosas.

To my surprise the television screen up on the wall at the end of the restaurant was showing the FIFA World Cup soccer match between Germany and Ghana, instead of the usual cheesy Bollywood songs. And there were quite a few Bangladeshis along with one white man, with long hair tied in a bun, watching the game. To add to the ethnic diversity inside the restaurant, the television commentators were speaking in Spanish.

There was much excitement on the screen and in the restaurant, as the patrons ate snacks and biryani and drank hot tea. As everyone knows, the game ended in a 2-2 draw.

The most excited among the patrons was a Bangladeshi man who couldn’t speak and Patrons watch the Germany-Ghana match at Merit Kabab. yet he feel the desperate need to made his comments through hand gestures to his speaking and hearing friends who were seated next to him.

My sense is that apart from the white man, the rest of the patrons were supporting Ghana. They still have a lot more to look forward to in the next few weeks.

ASEEM CHHABRA

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ast Wednesday I went to see an off-Broadway play, When January Feels Like Summer. The show had been running for a month all the way on the west

ed by Daniella Topol, WJFLS is set in Harlem. The characters include an Indian sister and brother who run a convenience store, two young African-American men who work at Burger King, and a New York City sanitation worker.

The sister and brother are played by New York Citybased actors Mahira Kakkar (recently seen in the indie film Hank and Asha) and Debargo Sanyal. Relatively new immigrants in the city, the characters’ lives are complicated by the fact that the sister, Nirmala, is also caring for her husband — who is in a coma after he was shot in the neighborhood — and the brother Ishan wants to have a sex change.

As the play progresses Ishan slowly transforms into Indira — wearing a wig, women’s clothes, and even developing breasts. After much reluctance, Nirmala starts to accepts Indira’s transformation.

Meanwhile, with the odd summer like weather in January, coupled with some blessings from Lord Ganesha, romance starts to blossom. So while WJFLS is sad and moving, it is also funny and highly romantic.

Beautifully directed with minimal but effective sets — from the inside of a subway to the cash register desk at the convenience store — WJFLS is a wonderful play. And it is also a rare chance to see Indian characters in a mainstream New York City play.

Cover Story

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INDIA IN NEW YORK JUNE 27, 2014

The best of America and India At the India Abroad Person of the Year Awards 2013

India Abroad Person of the Year Judge Srikanth Srinivasan addresses the audience as Preet Bharara, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, US Congressman Ami Bera, and Wells Fargo Executive Vice President Raj Bharadwaj look on.

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resident Barack Obama calls him one of his ‘favorite people.’ Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the legendary first female Supreme Court Justice, says the US is ‘lucky as a nation to have him now serving as a federal judge.’

Former US Solicitor General Walter Dellinger believes he is “one of the most gifted lawyers of his generation.”

And India Abroad considers him the best of America and India.

For India Abroad the choice of Judge Srikanth Srinivasan as the India Abroad Person of the Year 2013 — much like

PARESH GANDHI

his confirmation as a federal judge in the US Court of Appeals in the District of Columbia, America’s second highest court — was unanimous.

Judge Sri catapulted into greatness when, as an Assistant to the Solicitor General, he became the first Indian American to argue before the US Supreme Court in November 2002. He went on to serve as Principal Deputy Solicitor General before becoming the first South Asian American to be nominated as a federal judge in the DC Court of Appeals. He was not only confirmed 97-0 by the US Senate in May 2013, the first confirmation to this court

in seven years, but also instantly earned the buzz of a ‘Supreme Court nominee-in-waiting.’

He formally accepted India Abroad’s highest honour June 20 evening when the India Abroad Person of the Year Awards returned to The Pierre in , the iconic flagship of the Taj Hotels, for the fourth consecutive year.

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Cover Story INDIA IN NEW YORK JUNE 27, 2014

The best of America and India f PAGE 7 Looking his usual dapper self — his love for suits, ties and shoes is well known, only second to his love for family and basketball — Judge Sri charmed the audience as effortlessly as he did last year.

The then newly minted judge, humour and humility unmarked by his recent achievement, had opened that awards ceremony posing as his namesake host of the evening, Sree Sreenivasan, the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s first chief digital officer.

That humour and humility were just as evident this year when in the presence of his children Maya and Vikram, sister Srinija, and mother Saroja he received the award from Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and US Congressman Ami Bera.

The 11th edition of the India Abroad Person of the Year Awards, hosted by Sree Sreenivasan for the 10th time, once again saw stars from the community come together to celebrate its brightest achievers across generations.

As a community, Indian Americans have been most widely applauded for their tremendous contributions to science and technology, and in the winners of the India Abroad Award for Lifetime Achievement 2013, Professor Arogyaswami J Paulraj, winner, India Abroad Award for Lifetime Arogyaswami J Paulraj, and the Dr Manu Prakash, winner, India Abroad Face of the Future Award.

Achievement winner.

India Abroad Face of the Future Award 2013, Manu Prakash, it PHOTOGRAPHS: PARESH GANDHI was evident why it continued to remain so decade after decade.

National Spelling Bee 2013, is deeply interested in physics Award for Lifetime Service to the Community 2013.

India-born and educated Paulraj transformed the Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley, in an exclusive math and their relation to biology — the nature of black Indian Navy’s sonar system before coming to Stanford at age 48 and revolutionizing wireless technology; holes, how gravity affects biological organisms, particularly message prepared for the evening, said, “As our first Indianhis technology is at the heart of current high speed WiFi the growth of plants or on human muscle and bone growth, American state legislator and the longest serving, Kumar is among others — and is considering MIT, Stanford or a paradigm of public service. Over the last two decades, and 4G mobile systems.

Serendipitously, Prakash — again India-born and educated Caltech as options after he finishes at Stuyvesant, a select Kumar has dedicated his life to making Maryland a better place to live, work and play, all while mentoring the rising although nearly 40 years Paulraj’s junior — also headed to high school in New York for the academically brilliant.

Sathwik, the winner of the National Geographic Bee generations of new leaders coming up through the legislaStanford University and became the force behind revolutionary innovations. He recently hit the headlines international- 2013, is still in middle school and has already demonstrat- ture here in Annapolis.”

Barve, who attended the event with his wife Maureen ly for the Foldscope, a 50 cent microscope that has a resolu- ed some major strengths in science, mathematics and Quinn, a judge, told India Abroad, “I strongly believe that tion equivalent to many in laboratory and can fit in a child’s music.

The evening also recognized the contributions of those there has to be a South Asia in every state legislature in pocket; a $5 chemistry set; and an insect vector that can revwho had dedicated their lives to building acceptance, toler- that has a South Asian population. There has to be 10 or 15 olutionize the way data about mosquitoes is collected.

With rising stars like Arvind Mahankali and Sathwik ance and spaces of belonging, so that the community could Karnik, winners of the India Abroad Special Award for play to its myriad strengths and flourish.

Kumar Barve, who was elected to the Maryland House of Achievement 2013, in the community, this legacy seemed to Delegates in 1990 becoming the first Indian American to be be in good hands.

Arvind, who was honoured for his win at the Scripps elected to a state legislature, was awarded the India Abroad

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INDIA IN NEW YORK JUNE 27, 2014

The best of America and India

Former District of Columbia Chief Financial Officer Dr Natwar Gandhi, left, presents the India Abroad Award for Lifetime Service to the Community to Kumar Barve. Also seen, India Abroad Editor Aziz Haniffa.

PHOTOGRAPHS: PARESH GANDHI

Arvind Mahankali receives the India Abroad Special Award for Achievement from Surgeon General nominee Dr Vivek Murthy, as Commonwealth gold medalist shooter Roopa Unnikrishnan looks on.

f PAGE 8 members in Congress or two or three Senators because you need people at the table... It is a feature of American civilization that decisions are made in legislative bodies... You either are a member of it and you have a say or you are not a member of it and you have no say — it’s as simple as that.”

This importance of a voice that can be heard above the clamour in the political discourse was also keenly felt and acted on

by Mallika Dutt and Deepa Iyer, winners of the India Abroad Gopal Raju Award for Community Service 2013, and Anuradha Bhagwati, winner of the India Abroad Publisher’s Special Award for Excellence 2013.

Dutt is the co-founder of Sakhi for South Asian women and founder, president, and chief executive officer of Breakthrough, an international human rights organization that aims to make violence against women and girls unacceptable. As a college student, as an intern, as a budding lawyer, she has been at the forefront of the human rights movement and continues to do so.

With Breakthrough she has succeeded in bringing human rights activism out of academic circles into drawing room conversa-

tions.

Iyer, who stepped down last year after serving as executive director of South Asian Americans Leading Together for over a decade, galvanized the pioneering civil rights organization and the community’s voice by taking the South Asian voice in the United States to Washington, DC. Under her the organization stood at the forefront of the community’s fight in the face of the post-9/11 backlash of hate crimes, racial profiling, civil rights infractions and threats to civil liberties. Even more importantly she effectively conveyed the message that is facing xenophobia and racism African Americans, Arab Americans, Mexicans, South Asians and others don’t stand in isolation, they shouldn’t.

Bhagwati is a former US Marine who took on the world’s most powerful military through her Service Women’s Action Network to end sexual harassment in the military.

US Representative Niki Tsongas, who serves on the House Armed Services Committee and the Military Personnel Subcommittee, said in a citation prepared for India Abroad.

“Her efforts have helped lead significant reform on behalf of the men, women and families impacted by these terrible crimes.”

In a special video citation, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who has also stood

by Bhagwati, said, “She (Anu) has taken on the issue of sexual assault in the military and has taken it directly to the chain of command... She knows

India Abroad Special Award for Achievement winner Sathwik Karnik prepares for his acceptance speech as Dr Ravi Sahni and lawyer Vanita Gupta cheer.

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The best of America and India f

Winners of the India Abroad Gopal Raju Award for Community Service, Mallika Dutt, left, and Deepa Iyer.

PHOTOGRAPHS: PARESH GANDHI

Anuradha Bhagwati receives the India Abroad Publisher’s Special Award for Excellence from India Abroad Publisher and Rediff.com Founder, Chairman and CEO Ajit Balakrishnan.

PAGE 9

that until there is transparency and accountability justice can’t be done and she believes that these men and women who serve in our military deserve justice.”

Bhagwati received her award — as her source of courage, her mother Professor Padma Desai looked on — from India Abroad Publisher and Rediff.com Founder, Chairman and CEO Ajit Balakrishnan.

Balakrishnan, in welcoming the guests earlier in the evening, had said, “From a Nobel Prize winner, to an astronaut who recorded her acceptance speech from space; Governors, MacArthur Geniuses, Pulitzer winners, a Booker Prize winner, music maestros, and a clutch of phenomenally talented kids — in the last decade, we have seen a host of super achievers that have made us all proud.”

“India Abroad has been a chronicler of the IndianAmerican dream in this country for over four decades — these Awards are a measure of the culmination of those dreams. Of how fired by the immigrant experience and by the example set by the generation before them, young men and women have gone onto achieve great things in this country,” he added.

As Indian Americans expand their footprint in America from science to art, politics, activism and more it is also important to recognize those who — though not Indian by origin, but definitely Indian by soul — contributed vastly to deepening the understanding of India outside the subcontinent.

In recognition of their pivotal impact, the India Abroad Friend of India Award went to Sanskritist Sheldon Pollock and filmmaker James Ivory.

Pollock is the Arvind Raghunathan Professor of South Asian Studies at Columbia University. He made his first acquaintance with Sanskrit in the 1970s and dedicated his life to preserving the language.

His newest initiatives are helming the Murty Classical Library of India, which is working on making great Indian literary works of the past accessible through translations; and the Ambedkar Sanskrit Fellowship Program at Columbia, which aims to establish an endowment to fund graduate studies in Sanskrit for students from historically disadvantaged communities.

He told India Abroad, “When I talk about the inheritors of these great achievements of Indian culture, great works of literature or systems of thought, I consider myself as much an inheritor as my Indian friends and colleagues. I wasn’t born in my karmabhoomi. It is not my janambhoomi, but it is my karmabhoomi.”

As Rohan Murty, Infosys co-founder N R Narayana Murthy’s son who donated $5 million for the Murty Classical Library, said, “He is a phenomenal friend of India, a great ambassador for India, its culture, its language and its heritage.”

Like Pollock, Ivory’s association with India goes way back. It began nearly six decades ago when he made two documentaries about India and deepened with the six features he directed in India — each an iconic representation of India of that period — and his lifelong partnership with producer Ismail Merchant, the Merchant Ivory

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PAGE 10

Productions.

India in New York columnist Aseem Chhabra said, “They were young with the desire to make a different kind of cinema in India. I arrived in New York in 1981 and still remember the massive reception for Heat and Dust. An hour before the screening a long line formed outside Manhattan’s Pars Theatre on 58th Street. I remember thinking how wonderful it was that a film about India, with Shashi Kapoor in the lead had been accepted so openly by New Yorkers... Ivory has made an immense contribution in examining this aspect of India and sharing it with viewers in the West.”

Ivory’s films since then may have been set outside India, but it is a place that he still dreams of: “I dream that I am in India.”

India Abroad Friend of India Award 2013 winner James Ivory flanked by Malayalam superstar Mohanlal and legendary actress and chef Madhur Jaffrey.

Sheldon Pollock, winner of the India Abroad Friend of India Award, speaks as, from left, India’s Consul General in New York Ambassador Dnyaneshwar Mulay, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Vijay Seshadri and the Trehan Foundation’s Ranvir Trehan look on.

PHOTOGRAPHS: PARESH GANDHI

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Cover Story INDIA IN NEW YORK JUNE 27, 2014

Our Pride PARESH GANDHI

India Abroad Person of the Year Award winner Judge Srikanth Srinivasan with Maryland State Delegate Sam Arora and community activist Dr Sambhu N Banik

Guests at the event.

GUNJESH DESAI

Cover Story

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INDIA IN NEW YORK JUNE 27, 2014

Our Pride

GUNJESH DESAI

GUNJESH DESAI

From left, filmmaker and India Abroad honoree James Ivory; his colleague Melissa Chung; Dr Dattatreyudu Nori; Jay Chaudhuri, General Counsel and Senior Policy Adviser to the North Carolina State Treasurer; author Suketu Mehta and Indian contemporary dancer Astad Deboo.

GUNJESH DESAI

Kumar Barve, winner, India Abroad Award for Lifetime Service to the Community, with wife Judge Maureen Quinn

GUNJESH DESAI

Judge Srikanth Srinivasan’s adorable twins Maya and Vikram photograph their father as he receives the India Abroad Person of the Year Award. Also, seen Judge Sri’s mother Saroja Srinivasan.

Dr Manu Prakash, winner, India Abroad Face of the Future Award, poses with his mother Dr Sushma Rani Singh as his wife Dr Sophie Dumont captures the moment.

Sree Sreenivasan, the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s first chief digital officer, and host of the ceremony, has a word with India Abroad Special Award for Achievement winner Sathwik Karnik’s mother Rathma, as his father Vishwanath and brother Karthik look on.

GUNJESH DESAI

GUNJESH DESAI

US attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara with Deepa Iyer, winner, India Abroad Gopal Raju Award for Community Service.

Bollywood

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INDIA IN NEW YORK JUNE 27, 2014

The Roshans, from left, Sunaina with her brother Hrithik, mother Pinky and father Rakesh.

‘MY FATHER TRIED EVERYTHING TO MAKE IT BIG’

Sunaina Roshan tells Patcy N what inspired her to chronicle her dad Rakesh Roshan’s story PRADEEP BANDEKAR

F

ilmmaker Rakesh Roshan’s daughter Sunaina Roshan has released a coffee table book on her father titled To Dad, with Love.

The book covers all aspects of Roshan’s life, from his childhood to marriage, children, grandchildren, and of course, his movies.

How did the thought of writing a book on your father come to your mind?

The idea of writing the book came to me when we were shooting for Krrish 3. I assisted my father, besides co-producing the movie.

I was scared to write the book as it would involve lots of work. I also had to keep it away from my dad as it was a surprise for him. But a friend encouraged me that I could write the book because I am closest to my father.

How long did you take to gather all the material and write the book?

It took me about a year or a year-and-a-half to put this book together.

The research wasn’t a big thing because I knew him as a father, I knew him at work and any other information I

wanted, was available on the Internet.

I have grown up with all his friends so that wasn’t tough for me.

How did he react when you told him you wanted to write a book on him? What was his reaction when he saw the complete draft of the book?

He didn’t know I was writing a book on him. He came to know on his birthday, September 6, last year.

I wanted to present the book to him on his birthday. But I had contacted Ajay (Mago, publisher of Om Books International) only a month before. He told me it was too short a notice.

So then we got the dummy book ready with all the pictures and most of the matter intact.

I gifted it to him on his birthday. He had no clue what was going on. He knew that my brother, mom and I were having a big party for him, but he didn’t know what else was in store for him.

When he got the book, he was completely shocked.

Did your mother and brother help you with the book?

My mom played a major role in getting the book together.

She gave me all the old pictures. She helped with dad’s friends’ numbers What part of your father’s life is covered in this book?

Every aspect of my father’s life is covered — from his childhood, his training in Satara, Maharashtra, when he got married, when he had his children, when he was shot at, his being the first sci-fi director in India...

What was the toughest part about writing this book?

I wish I had penned this book five years ago. I also feel that I still don’t have enough information.

Because it was a surprise for dad, I couldn’t talk to him.

But I did get a little information after his birthday. I wish I had pictures of the old building he stayed.

Did you learn anything new about your father when writing this book?

I have been living with him for 42 years. I know him as a person. I work with him so I know him as a working man.

There is nothing new for me to learn. I know what kind of person he is.

My mom often tells me I am a replica of my dad.

Whatever everybody said about my father made me proud. Like his punctuality, his discipline, his sense of humour.

When I heard all that I felt like my father is something.

I am so happy to have written a book on him.

What are the interesting details about him in the book?

There are many interesting things — the way he would plays pranks with Prem Chopra, when he had to get up early in the morning, he would put the clock backwards.

Which is your favourite story from the book?

My favourite story concerns mom and dad when they got married.

And the cutest chapter is between his grandchildren and him. I had to have my daughter and my little nephews in the book.

Whenever he comes home and he sees his grandchildren, he leaves everything and plays with them. I would say that is my favourite part in the book.

What about your father’s obsession with his falling hair?

I have always seen my father with a wig. Mom was the one who pushed him to shave his head, as he would take hours to do his hair.

Mom told him why don’t you just shave it off, but he would ignore the suggestion.

Then one day he just shaved his head! He didn’t even tell us. When he came bald in front of us, we were all shocked.

It took some time to get used to it. But I think he looks better with his bald look.

What about the tough years when your father was struggling to be an actor?

I can only talk from the years when I was with him. I really don’t know what he must have gone through before that.

My father worked round-the-clock. He tried everything to make it big in life.

Even now, after being so successful, he still tries as if it’s his first time. I love that spirit in him and I want the world to learn from him.

The hunger for work is still there in him. He keeps telling us this is his last movie but we know that will not happen.

He keeps saying ‘I am tired of doing Krrish’ and we know that he will come up with something new.

You have mentioned in the book that your parents had a good relationship, but you also said that your dad was

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Preity Zinta at the Mumbai airport, June 21. The actress, who had left India immediately after filing a molestation case against former boyfriend and Kings XI Punjab co-owner Ness Wadia, was asked by the Mumbai police to cut short her American visit and return to Mumbai to record her statement in the case.

Zinta’s lawyer Hitesh Jain had earlier dismissed reports about her selling off stakes in the IPL franchise.

PRADEEP BANDEKAR

Aamir’s date with the Prime Minister Aamir Khan met Prime Minister Narendra Modi June 23 in Delhi to discuss the issues which he highlights in his television show Satyamev Jayate.

‘Just came out of my meeting with the Honorable Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modiji. Was very kind of him to spare his valuable time,’ Aamir wrote on Twitter. ‘Shared with him the overwhelming support that we got from people across the country through 'Vote for Change' campaign on SMJ (Satyamev Jayate) on the various issues that we tackled in our show. He has assured me that he will look into all the matters.'

PRADEEP BANDEKAR

INDIA IN NEW YORK JUNE 27, 2014

Amitabh Bachchan at the Bombay Stock Exchange as part of the promotions for his upcoming television series Yudh.

The 71-year-old actor, who plays a real estate baron in the soap, tweeted, ‘Rung the Bell at the Bombay Stock Exchange and held the horns of the Bull... promotion for Yudh... Thank you BSE for this honor.’

Drashti Dhami out of Jhalak Dhikhhla Jaa elevision anchor-turned actor Manish Paul will replace actress T Drashti Dhami, as the host of the dance

reality show Jhalak Dhikhhla Jaa Season 7.

Drashti tweeted last week that that her Jhalak journey had come to an end, and thanked her fans for their support.

She was the winner of the dance show last season, and was hosting the seventh season along with Ranvir Shorey.

“When it comes to dancing, Drashti was a powerful contestant and everyone liked her. But as far as hosting the show is concerned, her anchoring skills don’t seem up to the mark,” a source said.

When we asked Drashti to comment, said, “It was communicated to me last night by the channel that I was getting replaced. It’s unfortunate that my stint had to end so quick and abruptly.

Honestly, I had a great time back on the Jhalak sets where I belong. Nonetheless, it’s over for me and I wish all the contestants and the channel all the very best.”

Rajul Hegde

Manish Paul will replace Drashti Dhami as the co-anchor of Jhalak Dhikhhla Jaa...

16

Bollywood INDIA IN NEW YORK JUNE 27, 2014

‘My father tried everything to make it big’

Star cruise After making a hit road film Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Zoya Akhtar is now busy shooting her new film Dil Dhadakne Do, shot entirely on a posh cruise liner exploring European shores.

The ensemble cast of the film includes Farhan Akhtar, Ranveer Singh, Priyanka Chopra, Anushka Sharma and Anil Kapoor. The crew has reportedly finished shooting in Spain and France and will soon be heading towards Turkey for the final scenes.

f PAGE 14 short-tempered. Did that cause misunderstandings and fights between them?

He is like a soda, so once in a while he gets upset if things are not done the way he wants it.

He will scream that one minute and within the next five minutes he will come and tell us he’s sorry, even if it is not his fault. He likes peace around him.

Your dad is a very humble man...

When I started working with him on Krrish 3, I observed that he would treat the spot boy in the same way he would treat his actors. He would eat, fool and joke with them.

Every time I think I am getting carried away, I think of all the incidents about him. If being a top director he can be so humble, why can’t we? This keeps me grounded.

In the book you say your father helped you when you were ill with tubercular meningitis, cancer, and went through two divorces. How did he help you?

Whenever I am down, I always look up to him. He has been my greatest inspiration.

Whenever I am down with some illness or I feel I can’t do something, I just think of him. His image pushes me to do things.

If he has not given up, how can I? I am his blood, I have his genes. I should fight back.

Your parents have been married for 43 years. How are they dealing with Hrithik’s divorce and your two divorces?

They are okay with it. For them, their kids should be happy.

If they see us happy without a spouse or a companion then they are happy too. For them, Hrithik and I are their happiness.

If we find someone and they know that person gives us happiness, they will be happy for us.

Obviously, they will guide us and tell us to be more careful. Ultimately, parents just want their kids to be happy.

Sussanne has just a few lines about her former fatherin-law. This book must have been planned well before the divorce happened. Did you cut off her part from the book?

I would not like to comment on that. It is a very personal issue in my family.

You and your brother lived in the same house as your parents till recently. Is it true that you have moved out now with your daughter?

We have all grown up. My father was always scared that if they are not there, God forbid, can I live my own life? Can I handle my own house?

It was his idea I shift. If I need any guidance, they are always there. They wanted to be convinced that I can stay on my own.

Hrithik has moved out of the house too.

Our house is undergoing a lot of renovation, therefore he went. He has a rented house. It is not that we have left the house.

I shifted three or four months ago. Nothing has changed. In fact, we have become much closer.

Dad pops in, I go there, nothing has changed at all. It is just that at night we all go back to sleep in our own homes.

COURTESY: TWITTER.COM/PRIYANKACHOPRA/MEDIA

Priyanka Chopra tweeted this photograph of the cast and crew of Dil Dhadakne Do on the luxury cruise liner.

Bend it like the star cousins Ranbir Kapoor, left, and his cousin Armaan Jain, who is all set to make his debut in Lekar Hum Deewana Dil, play soccer at a promotional event for the film. Armaan is Ranbir’s aunt Reema Jain’s son.

PRADEEP BANDEKAR

17

India in New York June 27, 2014

IMMIGRATION NEWS

JUNE 2014 IMMIGRATION UPDATE

By Cyrus D. Mehta* USCIS Limits Validity Period for Report of Medical Examination/Vaccination Record As of June 1, 2014, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is now limiting the validity period for Form I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record, to one year from the date of submission to USCIS. Applicants must also submit the I-693 to USCIS within one year of the immigration medical examination.

USCIS said it will provide additional ways to submit an I-693. This updated policy applies to any I-693 supporting a benefit application that USCIS adjudicates.

USCIS permits filing of a Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, without the medical report. USCIS will issue a request for evidence for the report, which will be valid for submission within one year of the civil surgeon's signature and valid for one year from submission. Although the medical examination report is generally valid for adjudicatory purposes up to one year after filing, the officer may order an additional immigration medical examination at any time if he or she has concerns about an applicant's inadmissibility on health-related grounds. The medical examination report may be submitted to USCIS concurrently with the immigration benefit application, or at any time after filing the application but before adjudication. If not filed concurrently with the application, USCIS "encourages applicants to wait until USCIS requests the medical examination report before submitting it." This includes a request to bring the medical examination report to the interview.

USCIS will hold an engagement on Thursday, June 12, 2014, to address questions about the new policy and provide guidance on filing Form I-693. The agency also has updated the I-693 webpage.

The announcement is at http://www.uscis.gov/policymanual/Updates/20140530-I-693Validity.pdf and http://go.usa.gov/8y9d. See also http://www.uscis.gov/policymanual/HTML/PolicyManual-Volume8-PartB-Chapter4.html#S-C-4. The updated I-693 webpage is at http://www.uscis.gov/i-693.

DHS Proposes Rule To Extend Work Authorization To Certain H-4 Dependent Spouses of H-1B Nonimmigrants As part of the Obama administration's efforts to attract highly skilled workers, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has proposed extending the availability of employment authorization to certain H-4 dependent spouses of principal H-1B nonimmigrants. The extension would be limited to H-4 dependent spouses of principal H-1B nonimmigrants who are seeking lawful permanent resident status through employment.

The proposed rule includes such spouses of H-1B nonimmigrants who are either the beneficiaries of an approved Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker (Form I-140) or who have been granted an extension of their authorized period of admission in the United States under the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-First Century Act of 2000 (AC21), as amended by the 21st Century Department of Justice Appropriations Authorization Act. DHS said this regulatory change is intended to lessen any potential economic burden on the H-1B principal and H-4 dependent spouse during the transition from nonimmigrant to lawful permanent resident status, furthering the U.S. goals of attracting and retaining highly skilled foreign workers. The lack of employment authorization for H-4 dependent spouses often gives rise to personal and economic hardship for the families of H1B nonimmigrants the longer they remain in the United States, DHS noted. In many cases, for those H-1B nonimmigrants and their families who wish to remain permanently in the United States, the time frame required for an H-1B nonimmigrant to acquire lawful permanent residence through his or her employment may be many years.

As a result, DHS pointed out, retention of highly educated and highly skilled nonimmigrant workers in the United States can become problematic for employers. "Retaining highly skilled persons who intend to acquire lawful permanent residence is important to the United States given the contributions of these individuals to the U.S. economy, including advances in entrepreneurial and research and development endeavors, which correlate highly with overall economic growth and job creation," the agency said.

DHS believes that this proposal would further encourage H-1B skilled workers to remain in the United States, continue contributing to the U.S. economy, and not abandon their efforts to become lawful permanent residents (to the detriment of their U.S. employers) because their H-4 nonimmigrant spouses are unable to obtain work authorization.

DHS said this proposal also would remove the disincentive for many H-1B families to start the immigrant process due to the lengthy waiting periods associated with acquiring lawful permanent resident status.

DHS seeks public comments on the proposed rule. The agency noted that the most useful comments will reference a specific portion of the proposed rule, explain the reason for any recommended change, and include data, information, or authority that support the change.

The proposed rule is available at https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2014/05/12/2014-10734/employmentauthorization-for-certain-h-4-dependent-spouses.

DHS Proposes Rule To Enhance Opportunities for H-1B1, CW-1, and E-3 Nonimmigrants and EB-1 Immigrants In another Obama administration effort to attract highly skilled workers, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has proposed updating its regulations to include nonimmigrant high-skilled specialty occupation professionals from Chile and Singapore (H-1B1) and from Australia (E-3) in the list of classes of those authorized for employment incident to status with a specific employer, to clarify that H-1B1 and principal E-3 nonimmigrants can work in the United States without having to apply separately to DHS for employment authorization.

DHS also is proposing to provide authorization for continued employment with the same employer if the employer has timely filed for an extension of a nonimmigrant's stay. DHS proposes this same continued work authorization for Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI)-Only Transitional Worker (CW-1) nonimmigrants if a Petition for a CNMI-Only Nonimmigrant Transitional Worker, Form I-129CW, is timely filed to apply for an extension of stay.

In addition, DHS is proposing to update the regulations describing the filing procedures for extensions of stay and change of status requests to include the principal E-3 and H-1B1 nonimmigrant classifications. These changes would harmonize the regulations for E-3, H-1B1, and CW-1 nonimmigrant classifications with the existing regulations for other similarly situated nonimmigrant classifications.

Finally, DHS is proposing to expand the current list of evidentiary criteria for employment-based first preference (EB-1) outstanding professors and researchers to allow the submission of evidence comparable to the other forms of evidence already listed in the regulations. This proposal would harmonize the regulations for EB-1 outstanding professors and researchers with other employment-based immigrant categories that already allow for submission of comparable evidence.

DHS said it is proposing these changes to the regulations to benefit these highly skilled workers and CW-1 transitional workers by removing unnecessary hurdles that place such workers at a disadvantage when compared to similarly situated workers in other visa classifications.

The proposed rule is available at https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2014/05/12/2014-10733/enhancing-opportunities-for-h-1b1-cw-1-and-e-3-nonimmigrants-and-eb-1-immigrants.

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Bollywood INDIA IN NEW YORK JUNE 27, 2014

Aamir Khan with wife Kiran Rao at the Star Pariwar Awards.

ALL THAT GLITTERS

A PEEK INTO THE WEEK’S GLITZIEST TINSEL TOWN EVENTS

Television actor couple Lata Sabharwal and Sanjeev Seth, who star in the show Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlaata Hai, arrive for the do.

Divyanka Tripathi of Yeh Hai Mohabbat fame at the awards.

PHOTOGRAPHS: PRADEEP BANDEKAR

Sunny Leone, second from left, with, from left, husband Daniel Weber, designer Rohit Verma and actor Koena Mitra at a fashion launch.

Salman Khan and Jacqueline Fernandez at the music launch of their film Kick.

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INDIA IN NEW YORK JUNE 27, 2014

Rahul Bhatt to debut in Pooja’s Bad

‘I come from a small country, but I have been given the freedom to dream’

fter a long and Aanxiety-ridden wait for his act-

ing career to take off, Mahesh Bhatt’s estranged son Rahul Bhatt is finally getting ready for his big launch.

Titled Bad, Rahul’s launch vehicle will be produced by elder sister Pooja Bhatt.

Incidentally, Pooja had originally chosen the title for a biopic on notorious serial killer Charles Sobhraj’s escape from Tihar Jail in Delhi.

“The script is being worked on. We will rope in a director once it’s ready,” Pooja Bhatt said.

An excited but cautious Rahul revealed, “I’ve waited very long for this to happen. I am not saying anything until my sister makes an announcement.”

— Subhash K Jha

Jolly LLB director arrested in molestation case

leven-year-old Teriya Magar, who hails from Nepal, won Dance India Dance L’il Masters E Season 3.

Teriya Magar with her choreographer Omkar, after winning Dance India Dance L’il Masters Season 3.

“Minutes before the announcement the audience was shouting out the names of another finalists,” she said. “I was disheartened. I thought I wouldn’t win. Even when my name was announced, I couldn’t believe I had won. I thought I was dreaming!”

Teriya has been dancing since the age of two.

“I am grateful to my guru in Nepal,” she added.

“I come from a small country, but my sister and I have been given the freedom to dream. Although I am passionate about dancing, I am also interested in studies. I always come first in class. Now that I have won Dance India Dance Li’l Masters, I will go back home to continue my studies.”

— Subhash K Jha

ilmmaker Subhash Kapoor, accused of molesting an upcoming actress, was F arrested June 23.

Actress Geetika Tyagi had filed a complaint against the Jolly LLB director in April alleging that he and his associate

Filmmaker Subhash Kapoor

Danish had in May 2012 come to her residence and misbehaved with her in a drunken stupor.

The actress also alleged that Kapoor defamed her on media platforms after the incident.

— Subhash K Jha

Super Dad

PRADEEP BANDEKAR

Shah Rukh Khan shakes a leg with kids at a children’s amusement center in suburban Mumbai. The actor celebrated Father’s Day at the center, June 15.

‘Being a father is the most special feeling in the world and my three beautiful children make it even more special for me,’ he said. ‘I am glad that I got to spend time with kids and their fathers who share my feeling. It truly was a very special Father's Day for me.’

21

India in New York June 27, 2014

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Big fashion houses turn to India

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

INDEX

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Letters to the Editor .......................A4 ..........A44 People............................................

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

Sameer Ahuja helms Sports Museum of America May 16, 2008

magazine

The International

GEORGE JOSEPH 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, presentations, histories of Security last memof Homeland detailed interactive multimedia six foreign-born The Department studying the soldier, one of ceremony spending hours events. out cased an India-born at a special naturalization big-ticket sportsis unmissable: Tourists coming bers of the military, to Lady United States. a soldier in the US the of museum obeisance 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 of Allegiance 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 King's school Mall. is manna for director of the icon Billie Jean celebrating historic on these Scharfen, acting in the ceremony at the National from tennis had taken place of variJonathan 'Jock' memorabilia of the DHS, such an event part card 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

Weekly Newspaper

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INDIA IN NEW YORK JUNE 27, 2014

D

career and me as a person.

Even at that time the Cleveland Clinic was the best place for training and all the innovations in cardiac care were taking place there.

By the time I trained under Dr Cooley for a month he was at the fag end of his career.

COURTESY: THE ASIAN HEART INSTITUTE

r Ramakant Panda grew up in the 1960s in an Odisha village, which did not attach much premium on getting an education, but through singleminded devotion and an urge to succeed helped him beat the odds.

Today he has performed over 18,000 cardiac surgeries, 3,000 of them in the highrisk category, 1,000 redo bypass surgeries, including one on former Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh in 2009.

Dr Panda, vice-chairman and managing director, Asian Heart Institute, Mumbai credits his parents, his grandfather and his school headmaster for his success.

He recalls two incidents from his childhood, which left an impression on him.

Once he bunked school for five days in a row to play with his friends, but was caught by his mother and the school headmaster.

“I got the beating of my life from my mother and for more than eight hours she locked me in a room and didn’t give me any food,” he says, recalling how strict his mother was.

Later, as a 14-year-old while preparing for high school exams he and his friends would sneak out at night to watch movies and come back to the hostel only by 2 in the morning.

But soon the headmaster got wind of it.

“He made me kneel in front of the school for three hours,” says Dr Panda. “That was the most humiliating event in my life, something that brought about a major change in my life.”

He went on to study medicine at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi and from there on to the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.

Life lessons People might consider these as old-fashioned values, but I cherish hard work, integrity and honesty and that is what is the secret of my success.

Apart from value systems, I also learned empathy and doing something for the less privileged from my life.

Motivation Two years ago I did 10 grafts on a person.

This man, who is originally from Karnataka, underwent an angiography in Hyderabad where he was told he was inoperable because his arteries are very, very small and there is no major artery to bypass.

When he came here, he was in a very critical condition; we had to use a balloon pump to support his blood pressure because he was almost in dying condition.

We did 12 bypasses on him; then we did his angiogram before he got discharged.

All the grafts were working fine and then after three weeks we did his stress test and found that his heart pumping function, which was 25 percent before the bypass, had improved to 45 percent.

This is the greatest satisfaction a man like me can get to help a person who is almost dying to recover and lead a normal life in just about three weeks.

That’s what keeps me kicking; that is my drive.

An errant schoolboy who went on to become one of India’s finest heart surgeons Dr Ramakant Panda recounts his amazing journey to Prasanna D Zore

Growing up I grew in Damodarpur which is about 9.3 miles from the district headquarters Jashpur in Odisha. Though there was a high school just half-a-mile from my home I went to another school, 5 miles away, because that was the best school in our area.

My brother, my sister and I, all decided, that we would study at the Benod Behari High School.

We would walk 5 miles every day. We did that for six years.

After that I did my college from the Sriram Chandra Bhanja Medical College, Cuttack. It was then the best medical college in Odisha and one of the oldest in the country dating back to 1869.

Later I went to AIIMS, did my cardiac surgery training and from there I went to the Cleveland Clinic.

I worked there for about eight years. It was a really fruitful experience for me because there I saw the best results and patient care in the world.

There I realised that it was not just your own excellence and brilliance that succeeds, but more importantly teamwork and a very robust system process. That is what made the place so good.

It is not just because they have the best doctors, but because of a great team and system processes. I wanted to replicate a similar system in India. So, I came back, it took us eight years, but we succeeded in benchmarking ourselves against the best in the field.

Challenges faced as a child...

The biggest challenge was to keep away from getting astray and spoiled. There was always peer pressure. I grew up in a village and education then was not considered a

very big thing.

To see your friends playing while you studied all the time and then not getting tempted to be like them was a big challenge.

Role models I had fantastic parents. My grandfather was a freedom fighter and the principal of one of the schools in Jashpur.

He died before I could go to high school. But he had a significant influence on me.

My high school headmaster Satish Chandra Das was a really good man and he too had a significant influence on my childhood.

I was his most favourite student. Whenever I would go to Odisha I made it a point to meet him. Even on his deathbed he wanted to see me.

Unfortunately, I was stuck in Mumbai in an emergency and he passed away suddenly. When he got admitted to an ICU in Bhubaneshwar he was looking for me.

I came to know about his wish in the daytime and I promised him that I would be there the next morning.

But he died the same night.

I think all these people prevented me from going astray and become what I am today.

Inspiration to become a doctor My maternal uncle was a doctor, a pretty successful one.

He was my inspiration.

In 1967 when Dr Christian Barnard performed the first heart transplant I was in Class IX. Dr Denton Cooley, who performed the first heart transplant in the US, was profiled in Life magazine.

When I read that interview I realised I too wanted to become a heart surgeon though I had no idea how to become one and what kind of hard work it required.

These small things influenced my life and shaped my

How do you keep your heart fit?

Every morning I practise yoga. I have got a small gym in the hospital and four to five times a week I do some exercise there.

I am very strict about my diet.

From Monday to Friday I am pure vegetarian. I eat mostly salads, fruits and soups.

I enjoy non-vegetarian food on Saturday and Sunday, but by and large I keep my diet very heart healthy: lot of fresh fruits, vegetables and sometimes fish.

I love cooking; it is my hobby. I cook everything. I have been cooking since I was a child. On weekends I cook for my family.

I have tried to inculcate good eating habits in my children too. My son is a computer science engineer working for Microsoft in Seattle. My daughter is also an engineer and working with the Aditya Birla Group.

The Asian Heart Institute I conceptualised this hospital in 1993 when I came back to India. Then I was working with the Cleveland Clinic. I saw that even the average hospital there was better than the best hospitals in India.

I really had that burning desire to come back to India and build a hospital that would rank among the best in the world.

It took me seven years.

We got the land at the swanky Bandra-Kurla Complex business district in suburban Mumbai in 2000 and by November 2002 we inaugurated the hospital.

We started surgeries January 27, 2003. Since then it has been quite an eventful journey.

Sports

23

INDIA IN NEW YORK JUNE 27, 2014

ÂWe know what our challenges in England areÊ I

ndia captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said that finishing games at the first opportunity would be crucial for his side in England during the upcoming fivematch Test series at Trent Bridge, Nottingham.

‘The 2011 series in England and Australia was very disappointing for us, even when we went to South Africa and New Zealand we were not really able to close the games,’ he said. ‘It was a good effort by our bowlers, but we were denied by some fantastic batting from the opposition. When we come to a 50-50 situation we should capitalise on that.’

Dhoni spoke to the media before the 18member Indian squad left for England last weekend.

He said that he had decided to play his normal attacking game, adding that he wanted to back his instincts and go for the shots.

‘As far as my batting is concerned, I need to be far more aggressive. When I am aggressive, I am far better than when I try to play like a proper batsman. I intend to go for my shots from the first ball,’ he said. ‘I have to back my instincts and not think too much about the situation. It is very important that I back my strength and score runs

HITESH HARISINGHANI/REDIFF.COM

PHILIP BROWN/REUTERS

The England team celebrates after their Test series win against India at the Oval in London August 22, 2011. India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, below, said that his team was confident about their performance on this tour.

rather than taking my time out.’

Dhoni said it was good that the team would be in England well before the series since it would help the players adjust to the conditions before the two practice games and get into the groove for the five-match Test series.

‘We know what our challenges in England are. For quite a few players it’s a first tour to England. It’s a long series and not very usual to play 5-Test match series. Overall, it’s looking good. We have got enough time to prepare,’ he said.

Dhoni added that 18 members were being flown to England this time to prevent a sit-

uation like 2011 when India had too many injuries and players had to be flown in later.

‘In 2011 in the Tests and ODIs we had close to 8-9 injuries. We missed one fast bowler, (Zaheer Khan) which put pressure on the other players. Last time we lost quite a few players due to injuries and we had to play few players without them getting used to conditions,’ he said. ‘It looks like a big squad, but it was needed due to the duration of the tour. It increases the bench strength and you can replace injured players and also help in having quality practice session when the main bowlers take some time off.’

Dhoni was also keen that his side maintain their required over rates as the fast bowlers can be brought in when needed, instead of trying to complete the requisite number of overs by using a spinner.

‘When you play a four-match Test series outside India, you get banned. So that is something I have to look forward to maintaining the over rate. So we have to see we keep the over rate up, we are not in a rush to do things. You want to have some kind of plan set and bowl according to that. If you are too many overs down, then at times there is pressure to maintain over rate with the spinners when you actually want to bowl the fast bowlers.’ he said.

Indian coach Duncan Fletcher said despite the comprehensive losses in 2011-12 to England and Australia, this is a relatively young side and won’t carry that baggage.

He pointed out that the England team was also in a rebuilding phase.

‘They won’t have Kevin Pietersen, which will be a huge blow for them. It will make the tour quite interesting. Our focus will be to get Alastair Cook and Graham Bell out quickly. Their bowling side is still experienced with Stuart Broad and James Anderson. We have to go there and adapt to the conditions fast,’ Fletcher said.

The England tour commences June 26 with a three-day game in Leicester. The visitors are to play one more warm-up threeday game against Derbyshire (July 1-3) before the five-match Test series starts July 9 at Trent Bridge.

The remaining Tests are to be played at Lord’s (July 17-21), The Rose Bowl in Southampton (July 27-31), Old Trafford (August 7-11) and The Oval (August 15-19).

24

India in New York June 27, 2014

GURUPURNIMA CELEBRATION