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Indo American News • Friday, January 14, 2011

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Friday, January 14 2011 | Vol. 30, No. 2

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Building Bridges Between World Cultures 1st Annual Hindu Jewish Solidarity Day Interactive, Educational

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Dabangg Sweeps Apsara Awards

By amBareen MUMBAI (Indiamag): After stealing all the limelight at Big Star Entertainment Awards and Star Screen Awards, Salman Khan’s Dabangg once again swept seven awards for excellence in various categories at the recently held starstudded Apsara Awards 2011. The eventful night brought together the stars of Bollywood in their most glamorous avatars.

Bollywood actors and actresses made the Awards night unforget-

From left: Ira Bleiweiss (Bridge Houston), Swami Nikhilanand (Barsana Dham), Ravi Raghavan (Hindus of Greater Houston), Dharminder Dargan (Hindus of Greater Houston) and Rabbi Robert Haas (Congregation Emanu El).

Photo: Rajesh Thatte

By Kalyani Giri HOUSTON: When leaders of the Hindu and Jewish communities came together this past weekend at the India House, it turned out to be more than just an afternoon of revelry in celebration of two world cultures. Rather, through the educational nature of the event with both communities taking the emotional journey back in time to revisit history, it was revealed to the astonishment of many in the audience, that both cultures are old friends who shared a close bond from over two thousand years ago when the first group of Jews migrated to India and made that country their home.

Hosted jointly by the Hindus

of Greater Houston (HGH) and BridgeHouston (BH) the 1st Annual Hindu-Jewish Solidarity Day held on January 9, 2011, with a limited guest list of only 100 vetted invitees, brought together prolific leaders, rabbis, monks, and activists from several influential synagogues, temples, and organizations in this city. The blustery weather failed to deter gatherees in ochre robes, kippahs, sarees, and in deference to Texas, cowboy boots, who met at the reception preceding the event and mingled convivially over samosas, delectable Jewish desserts, and hot tea.

“When two communities get together in friendship, it is a good thing. I hope it sustains itself and

George Eapen Receives Youngest Entrepreneur Award

Kudumbam USA recognized twelve Keralites as Heroes of 2010 in a colorful New Year’s Eve celebration.

Honorees included George Eapen, Sasidaran Nair, George Abraham, Ponnu Pillai, Capt.

George M. Kakkanatt, The Malayalee News, Asianet, Apna Bazaar, Mysore Thampi, Mani Cyriac, Rajesh Varghese and Dr. Anto Parambil. read more on page 14

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table with their power-packed performances; Priyanka Chopra’s sizzling performance on Bollywood’s hit songs, Govinda’s tribute performance on veteran actor Dharmendra and the King Khan’s grand finale performance.

Sexy Katrina Kaif also set the stage on fire with performance on her item song ‘Sheila Ki Jawaani’.

Bollywood celebrities like Dharmendra, Rani Mukerji, Sunny Deol, Karan Johar, Aishwarya continued on page

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that we can continue to build on what we have in common,” said Lee Wunsch, President and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston.

The program began with invocations in Sanskrit and Hebrew by Swami Nikhilananda of Barsana Dham in Austin, and Rabbi Steven Morgen of the Congregation Beth Yeshurun; both prayers expressed similar sentiments of cultivating friendships and of kindness to others. Ira Bleiweiss, founder of BH, lauded HGH’s Ravi Raghavan for being “the driving force” in facilitating the occasion.

“I’m so glad Ravi motivated me to do this. We have no intercontinued on page

This Week Inside:

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icc elects new n executive team t

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divine name celebrated c with Pomp at 9 namadwaar weekly Horoscope w

r rising s star s soham m mehta

no o one Killed Jessicamovie review r 3

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s shubhra r ramineni w wins coveted national cook -book award a

Indo AmerIcAn news • FrIdAy, Ay, JAnUAry 14 , 2011 • Online editiOn: A On: www.indOamerican-news.cOm O

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Indo American News • Friday, January 14, 2011

Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

Houston celebrates First Hindu-Jewish solidarity day “We have never had a gathering like this before to form a bridge between our cultures. We have so much in common,” said Naik.

“This was a phenomenal afternoon,” enthused journalist Micheal Duke with the Jewish Herald Voice, an authoritative publication

that was started by Duke’s grandmother 103 years ago in this city.

“We have so much to celebrate together, particularly 2000 years of solidarity. Our children must be taught to keep this relationship alive for another 2000 years,” added Duke.

apsara awards winners continued from page

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Rai, Katrina Kaif, Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Arjun Rampal, Yash Chopra and many more graced the event with their presence.

Dabangg won awards for the following categories: Best Actor, Salman Khan; Best Female Singer, Mamta Sharma for Munni Badnam; Best Performance in Negative Role, Sonu Sood; Best continued from page

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faith connection with the Hindu community yet we have common histories and challenges that we face because of our faith. We’re also non-proselytizing,” said Bleiweiss. “For over 2000 years Jewish people have lived in India and have never been persecuted by the Hindus. This forum will give us a better understanding of Hinduism and hopefully will be the start of something bigger and better and set an example for the rest of the nation. He added that BH and HGH are planning a joint public event later in the year in celebration of Hannukah, the Jewish Festival of Lights, and Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights.

Jewish guests were privy to a brief program of Indian classical dances by artistes from the Nrityasri School of Dance. Thereafter, the Hindus were invited by their Jewish counterparts to join in sprightly interactive impromptu Jewish dances; all participated with gusto.

For more than 3000 years, Judaism has prevailed because of its strict adherence to laws or commandments that connect believers to god, said Rabbi Robert Haas,

Associate Clergy at the Congregation Emanu El. Articulate and with tinges of humor, the Rabbi opened a wider window into Judaism and its basic principles and correlated several to Hinduism.

“We must be good human beings just because…and without expectation,” said Rabbi Haas. He told of the miracle of Hannukah, which is observed for eight days and nights and commemorates the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt, 2nd century BCE. “Like Diwali, Hannukah is celebrated with lights, the eternal light that signifies that god exists at all times,” added Rabbi Haas.

Speaking on Hinduism, Swami Nikhilananda told gatherees that the religion is “amazingly vast yet monotheistic”.

“God is absolute, He is one Supreme Being, formless, yet can have a form. He is omnipresent,” said the swami. He elaborated on the significance of Diwali, which is the triumph of light over darkness and knowledge over ignorance.

In a well-researched presentation, Ravi Raghavan told of the migration of the Cochin Jews to

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India 2500 years ago where they found safe haven and assimilated into the local communities seamlessly. Quoting from Professor Nathan Katz’s book The Jewish Diaspora in Hindu India, Raghavan described a quiet community that built synagogues and lived and worked and worshipped peacefully amidst the majority Hindu populace. Later other groups of Jews settled in various other parts of India.

“Hindus and Jews are natural allies, given our 2500 year old history of harmonious co-existence in Hindu-majority India. We share prolific proclivities, strategic concerns and common challenges in the current global scenario. Today, the feedback from both the Hindu and Jewish communities has been very positive. Hindus of Greater Houston and Bridge Houston will continue to work together to improve the synergy and goodwill between our communities,” said Raghavan, who worked with the HGH team Girish Naik, Dharminder Dargan, and Vijay Pallod to put together the event.

Girish Naik was optimistic about the future successes of similar programs.

Sharma for Band Baaja Baraat; Best male debut, Ranveer Singh for Band Baaja Baraat; Best Story, Anusha Rizvi for Peepli Live; Best Performance in a Comic Role, Paresh Rawal for Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge; Best Sound Recording, Pritam Das for Love, Sex aur Dhokha; Best Cinematography, Sudeep Chatterji for Guzaarish; and Santosh Sivan and V. Manikandan for Raavan; Best Special

Priyanka Chopra performs to Bollywood hits

Female Debut, Sonakshi Sinha; Best Music, Sajid-Wajid; Best Dialogues, Abhinav Kashyap and Best Male Singer, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan.

After Dabangg, it was Band Baaja Baraat to bag maximum number of awards with six winners.

Other awardees included: Best Actress, Vidya Balan for Ishqiya; Best Choreographer, Farah Khan for Sheila Ki Jawaani; Best Female Singer, Sunidhi Chauhan for Sheila Ki Jawaani; Best Costume Design, Niharika Khan for Band Baaja Baraat; Best Art Director, T.P. Abid and Sonal Choudhry for Band Baaja Baraat; Best Editing, Namrata Rao for Band Baaja Baraat; Best debut director, Maneesh

Effects, Prime Focus for GuzaarGuzaar ish; Best Re-recording, Tapan Nayak for Raavan; Best Lyrics, Gulzar for Ishqiya; Best Screenplay, Rajat Arora for Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai; Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Arjun Rampal for Raajneeti; Best Actress in a Supporting Role, Prachi Desai for Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai; Best Director, Karan Johar for My Name is Khan.

Dharmendra was recognized with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

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Indo AmerIcAn news • FrIdAy, Ay, JAnUAry 14 , 2011 • Online editiOn: A On: www.indOamerican-news.cOm O

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By Tamara Levine HOUSTON: Soham Mehta is a young visionary whose star is on the rise. Already an accomplished writer and director, this humble, soft-spoken artist now adds awardwinning filmmaker to his resume.

Soham was born in Baroda, India, and his family immigrated to Houston when he was four years of age. School was challenging at first because although he spoke English, there were words he had yet to learn. Nevertheless, his teachers recognized something special in him.

He became interested in the theatre at an early age, thanks to a pivotal moment that occurred in the third grade. Soham got cast in the school play because his teachers had faith that he could memorize all of the lines. “Being the nerdy Indian kid, they cast me in the lead role just because of that and I immediately loved it and it was a place where I didn’t feel as awkward.”

Accordingly, Soham acted in school plays throughout his academic career. During his junior year of high school, he directed his first one-act play. The following year, he wrote his first play, which he also directed. By the end of

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Indo American News • Friday, January 14, 2011

Rising Star: A Profile of Soham Mehta

If anything, the obstacle propelled him forward. “There are always exceptions, but as a general rule, there were a lot of limitations in terms of casting for minority actors at UT, so we started our own troupe called The Drive-By Players.” This was his first experience doing a niche, ethnicbased theatre troupe.

This Actor Samrat Chakrabarti (left) and Soham Mehta on the set of Fatakra, Mehta’s was also where next film release. Fatakra was recently selected for the San Francisco International he learned what Asian-American Film Festival, the largest Asian film festival in the country. Photo by: it takes to run a Patrick Rusk theatre troupe.

Meanwhile, another turning his senior year in high school, he transferred to the Theatre Department to learn more about the art of point happened in class after his knew he wanted to direct films.

Theatre professor had read SoIn 1996, Soham entered the un- storytelling.

But his path was not always easy. ham’s one-act play and journal dergraduate film program at UT Austin. In his first year of study, As a Theatre student auditioning entries for a screenwriting assignhe found that many of his classes for school shows, Soham often en- ment. She said, “Your play is fine, focused on the technical aspects countered what he describes as a but your journal is so much more of filmmaking. Dissatisfied with “lack of colorblind casting.” But interesting. Why aren’t you writthis narrow scope of study, Soham his determination did not falter. ing about these sorts of things?”

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This guidance resonated with Soham and inspired him to write about things personal to him, instead of emulating the types of stories he was reading.

Soon thereafter, Soham wrote and directed a play called Reincarnation for his undergraduate thesis. Incidentally, the show featured actor Guru Singh, also a UT student at the time. Reincarnation is about five Indian American 20-somethings all at different stages in their lives. As one can imagine, the show quickly became popular on the UT campus.

“It was an amazing experience because … many, many students from the Indian American community came to the Theatre Department for the very first time to see a play because it was the first time they’d even heard of a play that was about them.” Reincarnation enjoyed such success that people were turned away at the door because of fire code restrictions and on at least one night, the Theatre Manager had to get on stage and announce to the packed house, “If you don’t have a seat you have to leave.”

After graduation and still riding high on Reincarnation’s suc-

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Indo American News • Friday, January 14, 2011

A Profile of Soham Mehta continued from page

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cess, Soham returned to Houston, called the few people he knew who were interested in theatre and said let’s start a theatre troupe.

After all, his experiences at UT had proved there’s a wide audience of people who either grew up here or recently arrived here. That was the beginning of Shunya, the Houstonbased theatre troupe dedicated to providing a voice for the South Asian American experience.

“Houston has a rich mainstream theatre scene; I knew that there had always been Indian people who were doing Salvation theatre but they were doing one or two types.

They were either doing theatre where they were bringing plays from India with celebrities or they were putting on Indian language plays and those are mostly played to the adults.”

But Shunya’s philosophy helped differentiate them from other theatre groups performing in Houston. “It’s a very specific thing, the Indian American experience as opposed to the Indian experience and [I thought] we should do things to address that and also do the plays in English … to show the audience about that experience and also be something that’s not divided by region in India because everyone speaks different languages … so everyone can participate.”

Something else that set Shunya apart from other groups was Soham’s personal mission: he never wanted Shunya be synonymous with him. “A lot of times a theatre troupe is started by a playwright as a vehicle for the playwright’s work,” but that wasn’t his intention. Soham wanted to create something for the entire community. From the very start, he was thinking about how he could get other people involved so that Shunya would carry on with or without him.

Within months, Soham’s vision came to fruition. Shunya’s second production, Triple Bill, consisted of three one-act plays, each written, directed and performed by different individuals. With so many people involved and excited about the troupe, Shunya grew fast. After their third production, Hayavadana by Girish Karnad, Soham felt the time was right for others to direct full-length productions. When Shunya produced Israel Horovitz’s The Indian Wants the Bronx starring Adam Conlon and Sid Truss, Guru Singh made his directorial debut while Soham took on the role of Artistic Director.

The decision to perform The Indian Wants the Bronx was an obvious one, especially in light of America’s post-911 environment, where many innocent people were harassed and some even killed, as was evidenced in the Sikh community. “It was exciting to do this play that was historical but about the same sort of issue. But at the same time,

Guru and I had a number of conversations before the play went up. One of my concerns was, we’re a South Asian troupe and eighty percent of our audience is South Asian, so what’s the point of doing a play and crying about people getting harassed?

There’s nothing particularly useful or productive about having an empathy-fest.”

That was when the duo came up with the idea of interviewing people and incorporating the documentary footage within the show. Doing so not only allowed them to address the issue of discrimination without lamenting a difficult situation, but also, it gave them the opportunity to highlight stories of individuals who immigrated, persevered and found success in America, so the audience could be inspired.

After four years of directing and producing numerous plays, Soham returned to UT Austin where he was awarded the Warren Skaaren Fellowship and earned his Master of Fine Arts in Film Production. Although he only recently completed his course work, Soham’s award-winning short films have played in festivals around the world. One such film, Survivors, can be purchased and downloaded on iTunes. He also co-wrote a feature film starring Kal Penn called Where’s the Party, Yaar?

Soham’s passion for storytelling is largely inspired by the work of Satyajit Ray. He also credits Spike Lee as a major influence.

The aspect of filmmaking he most enjoys is the magic that happens in the collaboration process. Looking forward, Soham wants to tell compelling stories about people and families going through different struggles— exactly the kinds of stories that Satyajit Ray told. Soham also hopes his films will move audiences in the same way that Satyajit Ray’s films moved him.

If given the opportunity to work with anyone in the industry, he would choose Spike Lee. “I would love to see the way he works … I think to be around him and see how he works would be really inspiring … to see what kind of effort he puts in, to see what kind of time he puts in … how his well of ideas is constantly replenished.”

Everyday things inform Soham’s work and he’s always thinking about his next story idea. When asked what advice he has for aspiring filmmakers, in his typical humble fashion, he states, “I don’t think I’m in any position to give filmmaker advice. I don’t see myself as that.” After a brief hesitation, he says, “The important thing is … to be doing it and not talking about it.”

To learn more about this promising film and theatre artist and his upcoming projects, check out his website www.sohammehta. com. Also, be sure and download Survivors, available exclusively at iTunes.

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s success Awareness and Fund r raiser program in n nJ for conference on corruption in India NEW JERSEY: About 100 people attended an awareness and fund raiser program at Ramada Inn in North Brunswick in New Jersey for organizing a conference on corruption in India with international and national experts on March 2nd and 3rd at New Delhi.

About 10,000 dollars was raised for the program. The event was organized by Save India From Corruption and 5th Pillar and sponsored by Global Hindu Heritage Foundation. Satya Dosapati Anand of 5th Pillar, a three-year-old from Save India From Corruption, Vi- Vijay Chennai-based NGO jay Anand from 5th pillar expressed their thoughts about corruption in India. the nation that generated several discussions Satya’s presentation was mainly focused on place of religion in the effort.

The conference will be held at New Delhi on the recent 40 billion dollar 2G scam and 13 billion dollar Common Wealth Game on March 2 &3. The conference is orgascam. Vijay Anand, who gave up his career nized by Transparency International India, in US to dedicate his life to fight corruption 5th Pillar, Save India From Corruption and in India, spoke about the 5th pillar success- other civic bodies. Lead India 2020 has ful efforts in bringing awareness to younger officially announced during the event that generations by addressing nearly 600 col- they would be joining the effort.

International experts invited include Globleges/universities, human chains with students against corruption during country’s al Financial Integrity, World Bank Goverholidays such as independence day etc, the nance, Tax Justice Network (UK), Basel well known Zero rupee brand they devel- Institute of Governance (Switzerland), oped and distributed to millions to use as a SHERPA (France) and others. India’s insymbol not only to take bribe but also not vitees include Supreme Court Chief Justice give any bribe. He told successful stories of Kapadia, Baba Rama Dev, Dr. Subramanian how citizens faced the corrupt officials suc- Swamy, Janaagraha, India Against Corrupcessfully and non corrupt officials can dis- tion, RTI and other activists.

More awareness and fund raising events play zero rupee notes as a symbol to show that they are not corrupt. Many in the audi- will be held on Jan 15 in Atlanta and Jan 23 ence were very impressed with his efforts in Dallas. For additional information contact and have some came forward to support the Satya Dosapati at 732-723-7382, contact@ organization. Babu Suseelan spoke about SaveIndiaFromCorruption.org or at cleanhow corruption is destroying the fabric of politics@gmail.com.

OBITUARY

Sarla Nagar, 1924-2010

JOB OPENING Looking for Graphic Designers and Reporters ( part time and full time) Send your resume to indoamericannews@yahoo.com

COLUMBIA, MO: Sarla Devi Nagar, 86, of Columbia passed away on Thursday, Dec 30, 2010, at Parkside Manor in Columbia, Mo. Sarla was born on March 26, 1924 in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh and as married on Feb 28, 1951, at Jullandar.

She had a Master’s degree in Hindi from Agra University and lectured at Kanya Gurukula in Dehradun. She came to the United States to join her husband in 1951 and began working at the Library of Congress.

She continued her studies at Teachers College in Columbia University and received her Master’s degree in Education in 1956. She studied Library Science at the University of Missouri and received her third Master’s degree in 1968. She

had served as he curator of South Asian art at the MU Museum of Art and Archaeology for many years.

Sarla is survived by her husband, Dr. Murarilal Nagar of Columbia, Missouri.; sons Hari Washington Nagar of Houston and Siddhartha Kumar Nagar and wife Asha of Maryland; stepson Ramakant and wife Indrabala of Houston; and three grandchildren.

A Hindu ceremony was performed at 3pm on Jan. 4 at Memorial Funeral Home in Columbia, Missouri.

Memorial contributions can be made to Shanphi Mandir, the Hindu Temple and Community Center of Mid Missouri in Columbia. Tributes can be left online at www.memorialfuneralhomeandcemetery. com.

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i india c culture c center elects new n executive team t HOUSTON: The elections to the Executive Committee of ICC Houston took place on Sunday January 9th 2011 at the India House. The Election Board comprising of Jagat Kamdar & Nisha Mirani conducted the election process in a very cordial & warm atmosphere.

Colonel Raj Bhalla was unanimously elected to the prestigious post of President for the year 2011. Col Bhalla a very spirited, energetic, passionate & dedicated community worker has been the Director with ICC for the last two years and has worked closely at various Signature Events. The post of Vice President was contested by Nimmi Vale and Surender Talwar.

The Board of ICC including the voting members from Affiliate organizations elected Surender Talwar to this position. Talwar has been a long time Houston resident and has devoted his time in various other Mainstream organizations as also Sewa International & IACF. The position of Secretary was unanimous and Jasmeeta Singh was elected to this post. Jasmeeta has devoted a few years with ICC and has been culturally volunteered with other major Indo American organizations. The position of Treasurer was unanimous and Hemant Patel was re elected to this post. Patel has been a long time ICC volunteer, supporter & Director. Swapan Dhairyawan the current President would continue to be part of the Executive Committee (in his capacity as the Immediate Past President) after handing over the mantle to the

Above: Newly elected ICC Executive Team; below: ICC Board of Trustees. Photos: Jawahar Malhotra

New Team on January 30th. The swearing in ceremony of the New Executive Committee, Board of Directors and Trustees would take place at the India Fair Republic Day celebrations on January 29th at the New Stafford Center.

There were 2 Trustees positions for which the Election Board had 3 nominations. Meera Kapur and Ramesh Anand were elected to

BAn BAn nA A Hosts Annual c cultural and Gala n night 2010

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these positions. Meera Kapur has been the Chairman of Trustees and continues to support and carry the goodwill of ICC in the community. Ramesh Anand is the Immediate Past President of IAPAC and Director with Daya and brings with him valuable experience of community service.

For more information visit www. icchouston.org

Current and Past BANA Executive Committee Members

By ravi ranjan HOUSTON: An unusually warm last day of the year 2010 turned out to be a perfect backdrop for BANA’s (Bihar Association of North America) Cultural Carnival and Gala Night celebration. About 200 BANA members and guests gathered at Durga Bari to welcome the New Year and enjoy the cultural festivities. Other than individual donors, the event was sponsored

by Bachcha Tiwari of New York Life, Yusuf Sultan of US Carpet and Floors, Ravi Choudhary of AcuTech Solutions Inc., Vivek Varma of InsureUS and Nadeem Damani of Farmer’s Insurance.

The doors opened at 7pm with each guest enjoying appetizing snacks and tea. BANA president Ravi Choudhary kicked off the evening by welcoming the guests.

His heartwarming and uplifting

speech overwhelmed everyone in attendance. BANA past President Yusuf Sultan and senior member Chandeswar Sharma released BANA’s signature magazine “Biharika”. Biharika is an ensemble of variety of literature, poem, fact and fun filled articles. .

Visit www.biharassociation.net for festival pictures or to get more details about the event and organization.

9th Annual rockets r run 2011 r

5K run, 2 mile walk and Kids’ 1K on Saturday, January 22 HOUSTON: The Houston tails and more information about Rockets are hosting the ninth the race can be found at Rockets. annual Rockets Run presented com/rocketsrun.

by UnitedHealthcare, benefiting the UnitedHealthcare Children’s WHEN: Sat, Jan 22, 2011 Foundation on Saturday, January Race Day Registration: 22. Racers will be routed from 6:30-7.15am Toyota Center through Mid- Race Times: town Houston and will finish Kids’ 1K begins at 7:30 am on the Houston Rockets basket- 5K run begins at 8 am ball court! The top-three over- 2 Mile walk begins at 8:20 am all male and female 5K runners Post-Race Party ends at 10 am will receive awards and shoes from adidas. The top three male WHERE: Toyota Center and female finishers in each of 1510 Polk Stree, Houston TX the thirteen age groups will be 77002 awarded medals. All participants CONTACTS: will receive a ticket to a Houston Leilani Borbon Rockets game, commemorative Rockets Run Coordinator Rockets Run 2011 T-shirt and 713-758-7303 sponsor gifts. Registration de- leilanib@rocketball.com

Indo AmerIcAn news • FrIdAy, Ay, JAnUAry 14 , 2011 • Online editiOn: A On: www.indOamerican-news.cOm O

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Indo American News • Friday, January 14, 2011

divine name Utsav celebrated c with Pomp at namadwaar

HOUSTON: Seven glorious days filled with the Lord’s names and glories! As the Nama Saptaha Utsav was celebrated from December 27, 2010 to January 2, 2011 at the US Namadwaar (located in the Pearland area) the prayer house was transformed verily into a small bhooloka Golokam, the abode of Lord Sri Krishna. Devotees from several states across the US, along with their brethren in Houston, were drenched in the Grace of the Lord as they celebrated the Utsav, which was conducted by Global Organization for Divinity with the blessings of HH Sri Sri Muralidhara Swamiji of Chennai, India.

The seven days were filled with several events right from Srimad Bhagavata parayan and Akhanda Nama sankirtan to fun quizzes and music concerts and performances by established local artists as well as budding youngsters.

Every day began with prabodhanam (waking up the Lord) and kirtans, and ended with dolotsav (lulling the Lord to sleep). Srimad Bhagavata parayan was done in the mornings where important stutis (songs of praise) and charitrams (stories) from the ancient Purana were recited every day. A Srimad Bhagavata Saptaha discourse was performed in the evenings by Sri Narayanan Sathiamoorthy from Boston, MA. Akhanda Mahamantra Nama sankirtan (continuous chanting of the Hare Rama Hare Krishna Mahamantra) was performed everyday from 10 am to 4 pm. In the spirit of universal love and harmony, several Houston organizations took part in the Nama sankirtan including Sri Govindaji Gaudiya Matha, ISKCON and Houston Iyyappa group. Many prayer requests were received during the Utsav, and prayers were performed for all of them.

Special Gopa Kuteeram (children’s culture enrichment program) sessions were conducted for all children where they participated in several fun activities through the week.

Several popular local artistes— including Sri Mahesh Iyer (violin), Smt. Rajarajeshwary Bhat and Keerthana and Kruthi Bhat, Smt. Neela Iyengar, Shanti Mahabir

Devotees from several states across the US, along with their brethren in Houston, were drenched in the Grace of the Lord as they celebrated the Divine Name Utsav

and Shilpa Sadagopan—offered their musical talents to the Lord with outstanding performances of the devotional compositions of Sri Thyagaraja, Sri Purandaradasa, Sri Annamacharya, Sant Meera Bai, Sri Andal and other great bhaktas. On Dec 29 evening, Smt. Sujatha Sankar and Smt. Ramya Srinivasan from California beautifully led a rendering of the kirtans composed by HH Sri Sri Muralidhara Swamiji. 13-year-old Karun Salvady accompanied all of these artistes on the mridangam.

Other performances during the week included a wonderful Hari Katha on Sant Meera Bai by 12-year-old Muktha Nair who was accompanied on the violin by Maya Iyer and on the mridangam

by Karun Salvady, and several discourses on Bhagavatam by youngsters: 7-year-old Purushothaman from Redding, CA and 16-yearold Suwetha Kalyan, 10-year-old Sanjeev Kalyan and 10-year-old Aravind Meyyappan from Dallas, TX.

A special New Year’s eve cultural program was held on Friday, December 31 evening that included a soul-stirring concert by Keerthana and Kruthi Bhat, a skit on Sant Namdev and bhajans by children of Gopa Kuteeram. The highlight of the evening (apart from the concert) was Kaun Banega Bhagavata, a fun quiz show with questions from the Itihasas and Puranas modeled along the lines of Kaun Banega Crorepati.

Finally, all the devotees welcomed the New Year auspiciously with enthusiastic Mahamantra chanting as they sensed the grace of Lord Krishna upon all present in the Namadwaar.

The utsav was completed on Sunday, January 2 evening with Rukmini Kalyanam pravachan and Anjaneya utsav.

For more information about Namadwaar and Global Organization for Divinity, visit http://houstonnamadwaar.godivinity.org or email houston.god@godivinity.org.

Indo AmerIcAn news • FrIdAy, Ay, JAnUAry 14 , 2011 • Online editiOn: A On: www.indOamerican-news.cOm O

Babulbhai

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Indo American News • Friday, January 14, 2011

entertainment

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In Conversation with Aftab Shivdasani

By Rachana Srivastava DALLAS: To bid a farewell to the year 2010, Aftab Shivdasani visited Dallas on a new year’s eve. Some excerpts from the interview: You are a graduate in commerce but you chose the film as your career instead, had you ever thought you would join the film industry?

I have been working in many advertisements since my childhood and I was always very comfortable in front of the camera. Then Ram Gopal Verma gave me a chance to work in his film and that changed my entire life.

You have been keeping far away from cimena for quite some time.Any reasons?

Yes! I have just taken a break for myself. No specific reasons as such.

Which Director would you like to work with in the near future?

So far I have worked with many reputed and skilled directors . I am lucky that I have been chosen by good people. Right now I wish to work with Raju Hirani ji.

You visited California as a Grand Marshal on August 15, 2010. How did you feel seeing so many Indians gathered together in US? It felt as if I was in India and

dont you think you should write an autobiography?

Well! many people have suggested the same and I do feel like doing it too. But I dont know when would it be possible.

You have done almost all kind of roles, How would you like to be remembered as; a comedian , as a villain or as a serious actor?

I wish to be remembered as a good actor.

What is your new year resolution?

I dont believe in resolutions, every day of your life is important. One should realize its value and work accordingly. There is no particular day to make a change in life, if you feel it necessary you can do it at any point of time.

Would you like to give any message to our readers?

Yes! I wish to thank them for showering so much of love on me and blessing me and I hope I will continue receiving the same from them as I progress in my career. .

Shweta Tiwari Wins Bigg Boss 4

Aftab Shivdasani is an Indian actor who appears in Bollywood films. Photo Credit: Nirav Jayaswal, Platinum Plus Photography

not US. I had heard about the huge crowd gathering together on Independence Day but had not seen it.

It was my fisrt experience and I enjoyed watching more than 15,000 people celebrating Independence Day. At such a young age you have done 40 films , how do you feel when you look back at your career?

I think I still need to go a long way. I feel as if I have just begun my journey but yes sometimes I do

feel good about have worked so much in such a short period of time and have worked with so many wonderful people. Well I dont feel like thinking much about the past, I believe in living today because today make our tomorrow.

What are you future plans?

As of now, nothing concrete.

If I am offered a good role, I will certainly do it. I am a constructive man and for me, job satisfaction comes first.

Your thoughts are wonderful ,

(TNN) It’s the news that all have been waiting for. After fights and quarrels, and some good and bad moments, controversies and melodrama, Bigg Boss Season 4 comes to a grand end. With only four contestants remaining in the

house Ashmit Patel, Shweta Tiwari, Dolly Bindra and the great Khali, just who was going to be the coveted winner of Bigg Boss, was the big question.

Well, Shweta Tiwari seems to have won the hearts of the public. Shweta emerged as a winner in the Fourth season of Bigg Boss after successfully completing 96 days in the Bigg Boss house defeating the likes of Ashmit Patel, Dolly Bindra, Hrishant Goswami, Sara Khan, Aanchal Kumar, Rahul Bhatt etc. Her straightforward nature worked well for her.

So how will Shweta celebrate? It looks like a party is surely on the cards.

To make the evening more memorable, participants from the earlier seasons of Bigg Boss gyrated to the foot-tapping numbers

of Bollywood the hot Veena Mallik set the stage on fire with her performance on Chaliya Chaliya (Tashan) & Sheila Ki Jawani (Tees Maar Khan), Model Anchal and TV actress Sara Khan step into Ash’s shoe to perform on Udi Udi (Guzaarish) and Dance Zor Ka Jhatka (Action Replay) & Chhan Ke Mohalla (Action Replay) respectively. While Hrishant Goswami Dance on title song of I Hate Luv Stories & Bachna Ae Haseno, Manoj Tiwari showed his jalwa on ‘Tinku Jiya’ from Movie Yamla Pagla Deewana..

The finale was hosted by the effervescent Salman Khan who was his flamboyant best throughout the show and kept everyone intrigued and entertained.

On winning the title, an overwhelmed Shweta Tiwari said “I am really happy to win Bigg Boss Season 4. It’s like a dream come true. Throughout my show I was non-pretentious and played the game with utmost honesty. I am grateful to my fans who voted for me, believed in me and helped me reach where I am today. It was indeed unique experiences of my life time” This is the first time a female contestant has won Bigg Boss.

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religion

Indo American News • Friday, January 14, 2011

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Ramineni’s Entice with Spice Wins Coveted Cookbook Award

Shubhra Ramineni at a recent Entice with Spice cookbook-signing event at the Williams-Sonoma in the Highland Village.

Photo: Krishna Giri

HOUSTON: Authoress Shubhra Ramineni’s Entice with Spice, Easy Indian Recipes for Busy People, has been awarded the 2010 Gourmand World Cookbook Award for “Best Indian Cuisine Book” in the US. Now it is in the running for “Best in the World” for the most popular Indian cookbook in the world. Entice with Spice will compete with the other books that won in the Indian cuisine category in their respective countries. The winner of the “Best in the World” will be announced at an award ceremony in Paris in March 2011, and will be followed by a swanky party.

Entice with Spice is available in bookstores around the world and at Borders, Barners and Nobles and on Amazon.com In Houston, it is also available at WilliamsSonoma, Highland Village; River Oaks Bookstore; and the Blue Willow Bookshop.

For further information, visit www.enticewithspice.com or www. greenista.com.

More information about the Gourmand Award is available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Gourmand_World_Cookbook_ Awards (the website is yet to be updated with the 2010 winner listing).

Indo American News • Friday, JANUARY 14 , 2011 • Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

12 Indo American News • Friday, January 14, 2011 Some of the Speakers .....

Zoroastrianism of the Future

Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

Preserving our Heritage & Community

Dinyar Patel, Ph.D candidate Harvard University

Dr. Niaz Kasrvai, Keynote Speaker

2010 North American Zarathushti Congress Com Early Modern Zoroastrianism

Daniel Sheffield, Ph.D Iranian & Persian Studies, Harvard University

Pianist Neville Bharucha (left) & vocalist Armaity Minwalla NextGen Now Panel

Ca

15th North Am Zarathushti Co World Zarathushti Symphony Orchestra conducted by Farobag Cooper

The FEZANA 2010 award recipients

World Zoroastrian Chamber of Commerce members with Chef Jehangir Mehta (6th from left) and Indian Consul General Sanjiv Arora (8th from left) at the conference on December 28, just before the NAZC

Intercontinental Hotel, Houst Wednesday, Dec. 29 - Friday, De

ZAH Choir at the NAZC 2010 opening ceremony

The N gress low Z took p Three speak embr Road and n was t time a Rhythm India at NAZC 2010

Indo AmerIcAn news • FrIdAy, Ay, JAnUAry 14 , 2011 • Online editiOn: A On: www.indOamerican-news.cOm O

Indo American News • Friday, January 14, 2011

Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

The cast of The Silk Road with choreographer Vehishta Kaikobad

mmittee takes a bow

ast of the Parsi-Gujarati Natak Vari Baanna Paachal Thi

merican ongress

Exhibit showcasing Parsi heritage

Shahnameh storytelling by Kaemerz Dotiwalla

ton, Texas Dec. 31, 2010

We are the World - By the ZAH Choir

NAZC 2010 Core Committee (from left) Roshan Sethna, Jasmine Mistry, Arnavaz Sethna and Sarosh Collector

Generation I - Local Zarathushti Band

NAZC has come and gone and the feedback is it was a stellar event. NA Conses have been in existence for the past three decades. They bring together felZarathushtis, their friends, and families. This collage encapsulates the events that place over the three days. e full days of sessions were presented by knowledgeable, cr credible, and well prepared kers covering a wide range of topics. A spectacular exhibit tracing the treasures of roidery, silver, art, coins was on display. The Opening Day ceremony included The Silk d, a spectacular portrayal of the history of the Zoroastrians in costume, music, dance narration. The evenings were packed with entertainment for all ages. And all of this thanks to volunteers, speakers, 550+ attendees and sponsors, who dedicated their and energy to its success.

Photo Credits: Percy Katrak, Sheroy Haveliwala & Yezdi Engineer

Zoroastrian priests who inaugurated the Congress

Dr. Adi Tamboli playing on the key board

Indo AmerIcAn news • FrIdAy, Ay, JAnUAry 14 , 2011 • Online editiOn: A On: www.indOamerican-news.cOm O

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Indo American News • Friday, January 14, 2011

society

Kudumbam USA Celebrates New Year

Honors George Eapen and eleven other Malayalees as Heroes of 2010

HOUSTON: Over a hundred Malayalee families, that have made Houston their home, gathered at the Stafford Center on December 31, 2010 to welcome and celebrate the dawning of the New Year.

Sunny Karikal, President of Kudumbam USA - the organisers of the function, welcomed the guests to engage and enjoy an evening of celebration and camaraderie. He was ably assisted by board members Dias Damodar, Jayan Aravindashan, Raju Kunniyil and George Kolacherril in making the event memorable.

A salient feature of the programme was the recognition of twelve Keralites from the area as

“Kudumbam Heroes of 2010”.

Honorees included George Eapen, Sales Manager of Mass Mutual (Youngest Entrepreneur): Sasidaran Nair (Community Service); George Abraham (Humanitar-

ian of the Year); Ponnu Pillai (Woman of the Year); Capt.

George M. Kakkanatt (Public person of the Year); The Malayalee News (Best Malayalam Newspaper); Asianet (Best Visual Media of Kearala); Apana Bazaar (Best Kerala Grocers); Mysore Thampi (Best Kearala Caterers); Mani Cyriac (Realtor of the Year); Rajesh Varghese (Insurance Agent of the Year); and BEST PHARMACIST of the year- Dr. Anto Parambil (Best Pharmacist of the Year).

Felicitations were conduted by Fr. Jose Ellikunumpuiram, Baby Manakunnel, G.K Pillai and Thomas Thayil. Lisa George, from New Jersey, was the program emcee.

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WIN A DINE-IN GIFT CERTIFICATE!

Above: George Eapen (left) receives award from the Kudumbam Secretary George Kolacherril.

Below from left: Jayan Aravindashan, Sunny Karikal, Capt.George .M. Kakkanatt, Dias Damodar, Bose Kurian, Rajesh Varughese, Mani Cyriac, Mysoore Thampi, Sasidaran Nair, Reji Thomas, Ponnu Pillai, Eapen George, George Kolacherril, Raju Kunniyil

Suresh Raina attempts a big shot during his 41 off 23 balls, South Africa v India, Twenty20, Durban. Locate the ball in the photo.

E-mail us a scanned version with the ball spot marked as an X on your photo. Indoamericannews@yahoo.com OR Mail your entry to: 7457 Harwin Dr, Ste: 262, Houston, TX 77036. Win a dine-in gift certificate for dining up to $50 in value. Send in your entries. One entry per family! Value of gift certificate will be decided by Indo American News. Hurry in with your entry. We will announce the results in 2 weeks by January 28th, 2011. Do visit us online to see our winners: www.indoamerican-news.com. No phone entries. Indo American News and its partners, clients, employees and families are not eligible to participate.

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Indo American News • Friday, January 14, 2011

We’re Fair Game!

What happens when whitening knights meet our fair lady?

Ask a well-known fashion magazine. The glossy featuring reams of dreams hit the headlines for boringly prosaic reasons recently, when it was reported that Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai Bachchan might look a tad too fair for comfort in its new issue.

Confronted with possibilities of having been ‘photo-shopped’ to a dazzling new complexion (with the underlying hint that she wasn’t perfect to begin with), the star is apparently none too pleased, supposedly considering clanging on the bells of justice if the allegations prove true. What a to-do. Instead of fixating on crucial matters like her hairdo, readers will now pore over the mag only to see if Ash looks a little more ashen than usual.

But even as the legal eagles rub their hands with glee, it’s time to lighten up a little, folks! Why grudge anyone the chance to change an appearance (preferably of course, their own, but even someone else’s)? Doesn’t the global cosmetics industry run on the truth that sweet sayings aside, beauty is very much skin-deep? To change what the Lord gave into something much nicer? To evolve from residents of caves into those of condominiums who wax?

It doesn’t stop at wax; there’s quite a bit of polish involved. All those foundations, powders and concealers that slick smoothly onto millions of skins every day whisper seductively, “Here I am, and there you go, here’s brand new you!” The cosmetics are one part catering to your child-like enthusiasm for colors (except the canvas to experiment shifts from your parents’ walls to yourself).

The other part is creams catering to your dread of ageing, which, using gold, silver, carrots, sticks, even nuclear technology, promises to bash up those lines on your face, restoring you overnight to sweet sixteen. We love it. And we buy it.

Women aren’t the only suckers...sorry, ‘dreamers’ the beauty industry targets. Ask any man seeking a potion to make him a sohna munda with snowy skin. Even Bollywood’s badshah, Shah Rukh Khan, understands. That’s why he tenderly endorses creams that take your skin in their hands and turn things around forever. Racism, some shout. It’s color preference, fair over dark, white over black. But the beauty industry is too mixed-up to be anything except grey.

Abrouhaha erupted when German supermodel Claudia Schiffer slapped on dark foundation and donned a black afro over her pale hair. Racism, shouted the kill-joys. Fun, say we. That’s why the Japanese dye their hair blonde, the Europeans spend years tanning and the Indians slap on the talcum. It’s all about chasing what you don’t have. Buying what Mother Nature and Father Christmas didn’t gift you. Righting the wrongs of the past. Who can grudge you that? The doubts, expense and bother are because you’re worth it. And they’ll never let you forget that. Ash should feel so flattered. She’s fair. And everyone’s lovely. Times of India

editorial

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When Americans Leave ...

WASHINGTON: Change may be afoot in the US-Pakistan relationship.

If carried out as recently reported, a new US approach may prove to be a turning point in the nine-year-old Afghan conflict. It may even bring a semblance of peace and stability to the region in the medium term. But New Delhi must watch the developments closely.

The Washington Post reported last week that the Obama administration would give Pakistan more military, intelligence and economic support after assessing that the US could not afford to alienate Pakistan, a precariously perched nuclear armed state and an indispensible ally in the Afghan conflict. In arriving at that assessment, the White House rejected proposals made by military commanders who, after losing patience with Pakistan’s refusal to go after the Afghan Taliban, recommended that the US deploy ground forces to raid the insurgents’ safe havens inside Pakistan.

The idea is to forge a regional peace with Pakistan’s cooperation.

Joe Biden, the US vice president, will be in Islamabad soon to explain the new approach, which aims for a political solution to the Afghan conflict. The US has realised that the war cannot be won without the Pakistani army wiping out the shelter and support the ISI provides the Taliban insurgents. Since that won’t happen, why not buy peace?

The Obama administration faces mounting domestic pressure somehow to bring about a conclusion to its involvement in Afghanistan. Public opinion is now clearly against the war. A presidential election is due in 2012. President Barack Obama would like to show visible progress in Afghanistan by then.

If General Ashfaq Kayani agrees to cooperate with the new US approach after extracting all the goodies he can from the deal, the AfPak region might in fact witness some stability and apparent peace in the medium term. The Pashtun regions of Afghanistan will be effectively under Taliban control with the ISI promising to keep its wards on a leash; Kabul can hava to-

Pakistan’s army has the US over a barrel. General Kayani and his cohorts know well that the Americans want to leave the region without appearing to lose face.

And he is aware that Washington is acutely nervous about an unstable Pakistan that has a nuclear capability within possible reach of terrorists. ken Afghan government while various warlords continue to manage the rest of the country.

The remaining al-Qaida biggies, who are all inside Pakistan and not in Afghanistan, can be quietly shipped off to Yemen or whichever sanctuary money can buy. The Pakistani army, in perennial search of ‘strategic depth’ against India, will have got what it wanted and the region’s war-weary face might acquire a patina of peace.

In other words, Pakistan’s army has the US over a barrel. General Kayani and his cohorts know well that the Americans want to leave the region without appearing to lose face. And he is aware that Washington is acutely nervous about an unstable Pakistan that has a nuclear capability within possible reach of terrorists.

Attempts at democratising and de-radicalising Pakistan have so far failed. The recent assassination of a liberal governor of Punjab merely underscores that reality. As India knows well and as the Americans have apparently accepted, the only source of stability in Pakistan is the military. Or, to put it another way, there can be no peace within Pakistan or in the region unless the Pakistani army agrees to ensure it.

But where does the new US ap-

proach, if implemented and successful over the next couple of years, leave the region as a whole? And where does it place India?

The AfPak region, for better or for worse, will somewhat resemble a status quo ante bellum. In other words, it won’t be all that different from what prevailed in the decade preceding the outbreak of war in 2001. This time, the ISI-backed Taliban will effectively control a large part of Afghanistan while a weak Kabul will go along with the arrangement as long as it can persuade the Taliban not to take over the whole country. Pakistan will once again obtain space outside its borders to shelter radical Taliban as well as other potential insurgents.

An international force will continue to guard Kabul while the Americans can see it all in the driving mirror as they depart.

Such a scenario, if it indeed comes about, will not be very different from what Robert Blackwill, a former US ambassador to India, has been suggesting for a while, his latest articulation coming in the current issue of Foreign Affairs. Which is that Afghanistan be partitioned de facto; the US gets out of a mess; al-Qaida goes away somewhere; Pakistan is left to its devices; and AfPak moves out of prime time TV. As for India, there’s little to do but wait and watch while weighing our options. We must keep looking over our shoulder at the looming presence of China, with which we can’t see eye to eye in many matters, from unsettled borders to its unsettling camaraderie with our hostile neighbour.

And we have to watch every move by a Pakistani military that we know needs an India bogey to justify its hold on power.

In a disturbed neighborhood, we probably have to fend for ourselves.

In case there is trouble, can we rely on support from newfound partners like the US when their national interest and domestic pressure call for a quick exit from the region? Who knows.

Maybe it’s time to put together a few wise heads to rethink policy options.

The writer is FICCI-EWC fellow at East West Centre in Washington DC.

IndoAmerican News Founder: Dr. K.L. Sindwani Editor: Pramod Kulkarni Business Manager: Jawahar Malhotra Marketing Manager: Krishna Giri Community Reporter: Kalyani Giri Community Editor: Manasi Gokhale Administrative Manager: Vanshika Vipin Marketing & Food Reporter: Jacob David Production Manager: Hussain Mandviwala correspondents Chicago: Nand Kapoor ®All rights reserved. No material herein or portions thereof may be published without the written consent of the publisher. The deadline for advertising and articles is 5 pm on Monday of each week. Please include self-addressed, stamped envelope for return of all unsolicited material. Published at 7457 Harwin Drive, Suite 262, Houston, Texas 77036. Tel: 713-789-NEWS or 6397 Fax: 713-789-6399, email: indoamericannews@yahoo.com, website: indoamerican-news.com

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WEEKLY HOROSCOPE ARIES Mar 21 - Apr 20: The positive money trends of the previous week carry over into this week. You will not bother to hedge your bets, and will be in a more enterprising state of mind. You will be walking into all your decisions with a swagger, as you push ahead to implement your plans.

This recklessness could also spills over into matters of the heart, with there being a likelihood of several romantic liaisons during the week.

Do not fritter away the gains you have made both in terms of your health and at home in your pursuit of excessive material gains.

TAURUS Apr 21 - May 21: The keywords for this week will be patience and toil. The single-minded devotion that you have attached to monetary matters will continue. You will be looking for ways and means of expanding your income sources to achieve the financial utopia of your dreams. Your zest and enthusiasm bring your goals within your grasp.

However, do not let the stress of the work-place get the better of you this week. Keep a cool head and pay heed to the words of others. You will need to devote more time to nurturing relationships, both in the personal and the professional domain GEMINI May 22 - Jun 21: Gemini are a restless bunch, and their minds are forever leaping from one idea to the next, quickly evaluating the possibilities and discarding them as the excitement wanes. You will continue with your search of investment opportunities. Stocks, shares, mutual funds etc. will now engage your attention. Travel is a possibility, be it for work or for further studies.

Your industrious nature will win you the approval of your superiors. The caring side in you now comes to the fore. Your dutiful nature as a spouse/ parent/child, will be particularly highlighted during this period.

CANCER Jun 22 - Jul 23: The two Fs ? finance and family are now firmly in focus. You will feel the zeal of a Knight Templar upon a holy crusade as you scamper about trying to sort out various joint accounts, tax or estate issues, equity investments and the like. Keep your own counsel during such times, almost to the point of secrecy, for prematurely revealing your plans could throw a spanner in the works. Do not let others interfere or alter your goals, for they may not necessarily have your best interest at

heart. You are not a fiery sort usually, but emotions can run high during this phase.

LEO July 24 - Aug 23: You will feel overwhelmed by being the centre of attention, and the way you revel in the spotlight. At work as well as in social settings, you will be the person of the hour. You will enjoy leveraging your new found reputation and in exercising your power. But, at the risk of resorting to movie clichés, stay away from the dark side. The exercise of power has to be legitimate, just and accountable. You must keep your ego in check, even as you expand your horizons. If you feel that yours is the last word, remember that pride often comes before a fall VIRGO Aug 24 - Sep 23: You have pressed the right buttons, pushed the right pedals, yanked the right levers and hence are now firing on all cylinders! Your expenses will soar this week as you spend like there is no tomorrow. You need to ask yourself if this is only a cover up for your lack of communication and public relations skills during this period. Guard against being talked into secret deals or indulging in clandestine affairs as they are sure to boomerang. Avoid get-rich-quick schemes, no matter how tempting they may seem. The travel that you undertake during this period will see you meet many people and thus broaden your horizons.

LIBRA Sep 24 - Oct 23: A hectic period, in terms of socializing, lies ahead. Old associations will be revived, and long forgotten friendships could be renewed. You will be the life of every party you attend, as you seek out attention for yourself. Just be yourself and do what you wish to do, to progress, to achieve your goals, and to have fun while you are at it without too much thought to what others think SCORPIO Oct 24 - Nov 22: You are like a run-away train. You do not want to stop, and will brush aside all distractions. The focus is on getting the deals in your pockets, making profits, paring losses, and all of these at top speed. Property matters and real estate deals will come into sharp focus. You are fiery and clear-headed, impatient and obstinate, rash yet decisive, and reckless yet daring, all at the same time! Travel for business purposes is indicated, which will lead to new partnerships. You believe you can always tend to personal life later

horoscope

Indo American News • Friday, January 14, 2011

www.GaneshaSpeaks.com when you have achieved your goals.

SAGITTARIUS Nov 23 - Dec 22: You move along smoothly like a welloiled wheel around a cog. There is a semblance of peace and order in your life, since your personal, professional and financial issues are on an even keel. You will be seized with an urge to push things along faster in your professional life. Unexpected expenses could also cause a temporary cash flow crunch. Heavy demands at work may arise out of the blue. Do not abandon your discipline CAPRICORN Dec 23 - Jan 20: The enthusiasm with which you began the year will spill over into this week. Funds and finances are the domineering themes during this phase, with a little bit of family! You are ruthlessly practical, not wanting to waste time on unnecessary emotions.

You just want to go out there and get the job done. You are possessed by the need to ensure genuine material security. You are likely to acquire new material possessions. Just be careful not to get derailed in the process of rushing for wealth.

AQUARIUS Jan 21 - Feb 19: Since you are a seething ocean of emotions, it will be vitally important to control the emotion you choose to take out of the bag and let loose. You are unable to relate to the world, and to its many demands. You value your freedom and your flights of fancy.

The successes that you achieve are different from the sweat, blood and toil of the Scorpio or the Taurus. And while on the whole you are likely to be in a good temper, even the occasional outburst could mar your good week.

Keep a calm head.

PISCES Feb 20 - Mar 20: Pisces have the ability to slither their way around obstacles, and that trait will be in focus this week. You charm and bamboozle your way through masses of people, diplomatically getting them to concede to your demands, and tactfully stringing together a series of achievements without anyone getting the slightest hint about your shenanigans! During this period travel for business purposes and spiritual journeys constitute your waking hours. Your life will be filled with secretive meetings, hushed discussions, and probably even a furtive love affair! Your shrewd and tactical moves allow you to nimbly sidestep the competition and make rapid progress in the first quarter.

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Indo American News • Friday, January 14, 2011

entertainment

online edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

No One Killed Jessica: “Everyone Should Watch It. Go for the Kill!”

By Mayank Shekhar Director: Rajkumar Gupta Actors: Vidya Balan, Rani Mukherji Rating: *** The lone investigating cop in this film could pass off for a deadly butcher himself. He certainly looks like one. He’s still the more honest of the lot of sharks around (mark the superlative, more).

The forensic lab’s mysteriously swapped the bullets fired from a “22 bore Italian Baretta” at the scene of crime. This tampering of evidence makes the cop’s case fairly weak.

The policeman’s pissed, frustrated.

But he was admittedly the same guy who took home a bribe of Rs 70 lakh, merely to not hurt the murder-accused at the time of interrogation.

“Sab koi khaata hai (Everybody eats),” the cop reasons, “Kisliye, mein fark hai (For what, is the point).”

Those words, I suppose, define the traditional Indian tolerance toward corruption at large: its inescapability remains beyond challenge, only its extents can raise eyebrows anymore.

This is trap enough. Once you’ve sweetly warmed up to the basic idea (of corruption or nepotism), you may as well deal with its inevitable heat boils everywhere. As a young girl (Vidya Balan, stunningly natural) does here -- almost all alone.

“Someone with a pistol in his hand, power in his head, decided that a life was cheaper than a glass of drink,” she says. That life was the her sister’s, a celeb barmaid for an evening

at a club, who’d refused to serve drinks to a son of a gun already drunk on powers of all that money and influence can buy. The sister was shot at. She is no more. That man, a minister’s son, spot-on in the drunk assessment of his clout, could get away with murder. He walks around free. About 300 eyewitnesses pretty much saw this crime play out. No one noticed a thing. Law is in the eyes of its beholder. Conscience is saleable. The setting is New Delhi, political capital, neighbour to three provincial stretches, and a city that’s at once urban in its infrastructure and look, yet feudally rural in its aggressive, arrogant, influence peddling, namedropping mindset: you-know-who, always takes precedence over who’s who here.

The film relates to the infamous Jessica Lal murder (1999). Facts on this

rightly sensationalised case are already known. The supposed characters shown are still among us: Sabrina the sister; socialite ‘Beena Ramani’, the nightclub’s owner; her husband ‘George Mailhot’; her daughter ‘Malini’; model-actor ‘Shayan Munshi’ (key witness to the case, who turned

hostile); ‘Ram Jethmalani’ (the defense lawyer)….

The recreation is pretty bold. The account yet remains somewhat sensitive and neutral to the dramatis personae: politicians, police, page 3, and the press.

Or that’s my guess.

Can a feature film, in a couple of hours flat, ever detail an entire truth about anything? Possibly not. But it can entertainingly dramatise it. That’s what the fine director-writer and a consummate raconteur here (Rajkumar Gupta) manages to do. The narrative is gripping, the music score (Amit Trivedi) uplifting, the screenplay tight enough to allow for very few slippages (only towards the end).

If you scan carefully, the material isn’t quite as strong on paper as it plays out on screen. The murder takes place in the first scene itself.

The film follows Sabrina over about 7 years as she helplessly seeks justice in a system where judgments can be fudged. The once “open and shut” case is conveniently shut, and then reopened, only when the television media, or a celebrity reporter (Rani Mukherji, miscast for an Anglicised, suave role) picks it up, makes it her personal cause. The supportive public is out on the streets. SMS, for

the first time, shows up as a strong political weapon.

Tabloid stories over individual killings of passion, honour or pure rage, suddenly assume national importance only when their subtexts reveal, at some level, a narrative of the times we live in. This has been true right since the first postindependent supermarket sensation of the late ‘50s, the Nanavati case (moral tale between a patriotic naval commander, the murderer; his victim, a rich South Bombay playboy; and a wife who strayed). The press, almost preachy and missionary like, usually plays the plot up to the core, editorialises its reportage, sensationalises the elements, serially sermonises its message….

As Russi Karanjia’s Blitz successfully did with Nanavati. Tehelka and others followed with Jessica. The effect is therapeutic. Opinions converge. Public is unusually charged.

They wish more. Movies for memory would do. Two films were made on the Nanavati case alone (Yeh Raaste Hain Pyaar Ke, Achanak).

This is the third film on Jessica.

The other being Rajkumar Santoshi’s seriously bombastic recreation (Halla Bol). The first one, of course, played out live on national TV to a background score from Rang De Basanti, Aamir Khan’s hit picture of the time.

This one’s equally important. For the way it’s been made, it will be watched. It should be. Go for the kill! HT

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opinion

Indo American News • Friday, January 14, 2011

Deep Kalra: A Trip Down the Virtual World The pioneer of online travel in India, whose favourite holiday destination remains Goa, trusts data and stays resilient

By P.r r. Sanjai Inside Mumbai’s Sahara Star, a hotel constantly in the making, I wait for the man who has actually made it in life. It’s the end of my roughly threemonth chase for Deep Kalra, who has promised to make my trip to near the domestic airport worth it.

Kalra, the poster boy of India’s online travel industry, chief executive and founder of online travel firm MakeMyTrip.com, is late. We were to meet at 8pm and it’s now 8.20.

In July, the parent firm of MakeMyTrip (India) Pvt. Ltd and MakeMyTrip.com Inc. filed a registration statement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offer. Kalra successfully listed his firm on Nasdaq in August, and its stock soared to two times its initial public offering (IPO) price of $14 (around Rs 630) each—it stood at $30.76 as of 5 January.

Two text messages later, at 8.35pm, Kalra sweeps through the door in a formal grey jacket; tall and, at 41, strikingly elegant. We head to the restaurant and the man who says he “loves south Indian food, idli, sambhar and chutney” orders a diet coke and chicken tikka.

Even as the odd light-and-fire show begins at the hotel, Kalra starts with a personal holiday story; after all, he has facilitated holidays for millions through his website (the company clocked sales of Rs 2,200 crore in the last financial year).

“We always travel together,” he says of wife Amrita, who was a travel show anchor for a private TV channel. “We take our children if our holidays include the beach, nature or wildlife. They get bored otherwise.

For instance, we had an awesome trip to Istanbul, just the two of us.

But we invariably end up missing our children. It is cheaper to take them along, considering the heavy telephone bills we have to pay once we return,” he says, smiling, adding that his favourite holiday destination “shamelessly” remains Goa. He urges me to have the chicken tikka before it gets cold and pushes the plate and a napkin towards me. I ask about the popular myth that Kalra jotted down his business plan for www. makemytrip.com on a paper napkin with his venture capitalist friend.

“It’s not true,” he insists. “In fact, my business plan for MakeMyTrip was well-written and in Excel and Word file, spreading into several pages, which was proofread by my wife.

What my friend Neeraj Bhargava of eVentures and I agreed (to) on a napkin was financial terms of investments. This was at the Crossroads Mall in Mumbai. That was a gentleman’s promise,” he reminisces.

“At 30-31, you take risks. At 40, it changes. I will not take such risks now. Children start growing up and you have to keep certain standards in life. My formula is to take the risk early. Everything works if the idea stays with you,” he says.

He has the demeanour of a sincere academic though he is a thorough professional with a string of success-

com for non-resident Indians (NRIs) with a $2 million budget. He says he had started a site for India too at the same time but Indians were still not buying online.

Kalra had to shelve his India project.

“I always trust data. I found that the number of non-resident Indians browsing the Internet was increasing, but in India, they were browsing but not buying. So I made targeted adver advertisements for NRIs. It paid off. We broke even in 2003 after three years.”

At this point, we decide to abandon the chicken tikka for the story of new India. He says the country started Waiting to fly: Kalra says the ‘video-game changing soon after instrument’ is an ‘electric pacifier’ during 2003. “When Indian flight delays when the children are with Railways’ IRCTC (Inhim on holidays.. Jayachandran/Mint dian Railway Catering ful stints at ABN Amro Bank and and Tourism Corporation) started GE Money from 1991 to 1999 at online booking in 2002, they also the senior levels, including as vice- instilled faith among Indians. Then president. He says it is difficult to in 2004, low-fare carriers such as Air escape the golden handcuffs that jobs Deccan came in. Low-fare carriers inABNAmro and GE offer though he were skipping the traditional booking learnt a lot from good bosses who had system to save the cost of commiscontrasting styles. sion. We seized the opportunity.”

He gave it all up to become an “People took a leap of faith and entrepreneur because “if you are used their credit cards,” he smiles, sure about your idea, then take the and sits back with a look of contentleap of faith. But passion cannot be ment before recollecting the dreadborrowed.” ful obstacles over the years—when He believes India’s healthy 8% India faced a financial slowdown, growth makes risk-taking easier. “If the SARS (severe acute respiratory you have a degree, it’s an insurance. syndrome) outbreak practically killed You can always come back if you fail. travel and dot-coms went bust. “VenDon’t live with a regret that you did ture capital firms pulled out. For 18 not try,” says the economics graduate months, we couldn’t pay our employfrom St Stephen’s College in Delhi. ees. Forty per cent of our team left Online travel was not Kalra’s only us. I guess we were resilient. There business plan—he had ideas for on- is a fine line between stubbornness line stockbroking and online second- and resilience. The team stood by us. hand car sales. Online trading came If we had been alone, it would have naturally to the banker but travelling been hard.” was closer to his heart. His conviction He talks about the changing times: grew stronger when Amrita made “In the past, holidays would mean an online hotel booking in Phuket, visiting relatives’ places. Indian travThailand, that saved him $30 a day. ellers are changing and are now open He also made Rs 15,000 by selling his to multiple, albeit short, breaks. The old car online. latest trend is that they are opting for The stage was set to eliminate the adventurous holidays. Indians have middleman. As the chicken tikka started thinking what they will do gets cold, Kalra warms up. “I always rather than where they will go.” wanted to do something on my own.

While we settle the bill, I think about I wasn’t productive enough in my role the tikka and ask, “Any regrets?” as an investment banker. Meetings for He mulls for a bit and says: “The the sake of meetings…” he trails. biggest mistake, not once but twice, The real trigger came when he was was to outsource the technology of put in charge of new avenues for MakeMyTrip. If only I had studied distribution of GE Money products computer science, instead of an MBA in 1999—not surprisingly, the Inter Inter- (from the Indian Institute of Managenet. “I found myself thrown into the ment, Ahmedabad)...” wide Web. I started thinking clinically The only person disappointed with about retail as nobody has the time the Nasdaq listing was his nine-yearto meet travel agents personally. The old son Armaan (Kalra also has an online travel model was working in 11-year-old daughter Manya). “He the US. I could see no reason why it complained that even though he supwould not work in India.” ported me throughout my life, I did Kalra did not wait long. He took not mention his name during inter interthe leap of faith in 2000, leaving GE views to foreign TV channels,” Kalra Money and launching MakeMyTrip. says, laughing

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Indo American News • Friday, January 14, 2011

india

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The Princely State of India: Is India Going Back to Vansh Raj?

India: A Portrait—An Intimate Biography of 1.2 Billion People

By Patrick French Allen Lane/Penguin | pages: 448 | Rs. 699 EXCERPT: It had first become apparent to me during the 2004 election campaign, and it niggled again now. The problem was the first-time MPs. With their spanking faces and sense of bland entitlement, these young men and women were treated with reverence by the Indian media, although their achievement was usually to have shared genes with an earlier leader.

I watched one of these new MPs on television as he drove through the dust of his inherited family constituency in an enormous Pajero, turning now and then to a waiting camera with a purposeful frown and saying things like “I want to help these people, like my father did” or “We are going to make India No. 1.” He looked like a giant baby who had been dressed up and put in a big buggy and sent off on an adventure.

The disjuncture between these fresh fruits and the hopes of the many millions of individuals they were supposedly representing was massive. In person, they were perfectly affable and often idealistic, but as a phenomenon, they were damaging.

Was Indian national politics becoming hereditary, with power passing to a few hundred families, even as the elections themselves became more vibrant and open?

In the case of the new contenders, all you needed to know was the surname. It seemed India’s strong women politicians were not reproducing themselves, for most of the new MPs were only sons, probably on account of the social convention in the 1970s that educated people should have small families. ‘Hum do, hamare do’—‘We two, and our two’—was the slogan. Rahul was the son of Rajiv Gandhi, Jitin was the son of Jitendra Prasada, Jyotiraditya was the son of Madhavrao Scindia, Sachin was the son of Rajesh Pilot and brother-in-law of Omar Abdullah, who was the grandson of Sheikh Abdullah and son of Farooq Abdullah; Akhilesh was the son of the Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav and Dushyant was the son of Vasundhara Raje, the former BJP chief minister of Rajasthan and sister of Madhavrao Scindia. And so it continued.

I spoke to someone who was close to the new batch of Congress party MPs. What did they believe in? “It hasn’t crystallised at all. These boys have all seen the world. They don’t have an ideology.” This was intended, I think, as a compliment, the idea being that India had suffered from, and to an extent still suffers from, ideological politics. Did the new hereditary MPs—for simplicity’s sake we can call them HMPS—have plans? “They work really hard. Their constituents think they will just put in a call and get electricity for their village. They feel there is so much to do, they don’t know where to begin.”

Why had they entered politics? “I can’t promise they are not wanting

that “wherever I go, I am told that if Sanjay Gandhi had been alive, the country would not have got reduced to such a mess.” Later in the year, when the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, died in an accident, the local Congress party said 462 people had died of shock or committed suicide in grief. The purpose of this implausible piece of news was to force the national party to appoint his fabulously rich son, Jaganmohan Reddy, in his place.

The move failed, and an investigation showed that families of people who had died in different ways were paid Rs 5,000 by local Congress leaders for ‘funeral expenses’, and persuaded to say they were victims of The hereditory MPs look like a giant baby who had been dressed up and put in the mass grief. Whichever a big buggy and sent off on an adventure. way you turned, family to make money. I wouldn’t say it’s his inherited position, and rather than politics were playing their from idealism, except perhaps with pursue the obvious course and be- part. In total, twelve of the seats in Rahul. He’s not sentimental, he has come a minister, he was trying to re- Uttar Pradesh in 2009 were won a clinical mind. The Congress party structure the calcified organisation of is a Mughal court, and no one can the Congress party. His work before do anything unless the Gandhis say entering politics full-time—on his so. Sonia has tried to make it more own terms, in his mid-thirties—had democratic. The rest aren’t interested been in management, back-office because they want to keep their own operations and business consultancy. position. Everyone likes to have the The further he proceeded with the ear of someone who is influential, and process of reforming the party, the nominate a few chosen ones.” I tried more he became aware how talent to picture this in a British context and was strangled and individuals were imagined, unhappily, how it would prevented from rising on merit. He feel to have the nation’s destiny in cultivated a mask of Buddhist detachthe hands of the children of Margaret ment and purity in public, and most Thatcher or Tony Blair. of his speeches were deliberately Most political parties shared in this low-key. Even more than his mother, tradition of reincarnation, although Rahul avoided speaking on the record the problem seemed to be worse to the media. in the Congress party. The trajec“There are three-four ways of entertory of these scions was remarkably ing politics,” he said frankly to a gathsimilar—they went from an Indian ering of students in Madhya Pradesh. boarding school to college in Europe “First, if one has money and power. or the United States, followed by a Second, through family connections. stint in banking or commerce and a I am an example of that. Third, if return to a safe family seat in their one knows somebody in politics. late twenties. They were generating And fourth, by working hard for the an atmosphere that gave a dull echo people.” Unlike many of the other of the feeling which greeted ‘Rajiv’s young HMPS, he did not pretend Boys’ in the 1980s, when bureau- otherwise. “Main crats and politicians were presumed apne pita, nani aur to be dynamic simply because they pardada ke bina were younger than those they were us jagah par nareplacing. hin pahunch sakta Press coverage of the HMPS would tha jahan main typically say how encouraging it aaj hoon (Withwas that ‘youngsters’ were involving out my father, themselves in the future of the nation. grandmother and The ‘young guns’ or ‘young Turks’ great-grandfather, were projected as the future: “This is I could never have the era of Rahul Gandhi, where to be been in the place young [he was almost forty, making that I am now.)” him fifteen years older than India’s Nearly all asmedian age of twenty-five] is to be piring politicians politically correct.... The disillusion- with a family conment with politics as usual is at an nection did evall-time low. If there is a time when erything in their the young can make a difference, it is power to exploit now. Their time has come.” it. When camThe problem though was not Rahul: paigning in 2009, he was merely the latest incarnation Rahul’s cousin, of the lead dynasty, the most vis- Varun Gandhi, ible manifestation of a wider, much said the Congressmore serious fault. He had publicly led government expressed a measure of doubt about was spineless and

by women; but three were political widows, three were wives, one was a daughter, two were daughters-inlaw, one was a movie star, one was the wife of a senior police officer and one, Annu Tandon, was the wife of a top executive at Reliance, India’s largest and most powerful private company.

The media continued to report young faces admiringly in 2009, as a new generation coming in like a breath of fresh air. But how new were the faces? Even within the family system, the hierarchy was closely defined: a young minister might inherit a seat, but the imprimatur would come from the first family.

If the HMPs were not HMPs, and had won elections on their own steam, likelier than not, they would not have got the admiring attention the media has been giving them.

The Indian republic was founded on the truth that power should not be handed over by the colonial rulers to the princes. India’s next general election was likely to return not a Lok Sabha, a house of the people, but a Vansh Sabha, a house of dynasty.

HT

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JANUARY 14 , 2011 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

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human rights

Indo American News • Friday, January 14, 2011

21

Lost the File? Jail the Culprit!

Too many RTI applicants are being fobbed by Public Information Officers saying the file being sought is lost. Well, in that case, ask what action has been taken per the Public Records Act delay on any information about any unauthorised removal, destruction, defacement or alteration of any public record under his charge and about the action initiated by him and shall take action as he may deem necessary, subject to the directions, if any, given by Director General or, as the case may be, head of the Archives.

• The records officer may seek assistance from any government officer or any other person for the purpose of recovery or restoration of public records and such officer or person shall render all assistance to the records officer.

Section 10 • Whoever contravenes any of the provisions of Section 4 or Section 8 shall be punishable

with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years, or with fine which may extend to ten thousand rupees, or with both.

In some cases, it is permissible for public records to be classified, preserved, withdrawn or destroyed. These rules, for Central government documents, can be found in the Public Records Rules, 1997 (see this link). Especially read the forms given at the bottom of the Rules, particularly Form 8, which enables citizens to enroll as “Research Scholars” and study the documents at National Archives of India. Many hidden treasures may lie in these archives, waiting to be discovered by you and me. India needs more such ‘scholars’!!

nate one of its officers as records officer to discharge the functions under this Act. • Every records creating agency may set up such number of record rooms in • Green Cards • US Citizenship • Appeals such places as it deems fit • H-1B, L-1 Visas • Deportation Defense and shall place each record room under the charge of a * records officer. *(Restrictions Apply) Section 8 • The records officer shall, We offer compassionate representation in the event of any unauthorand our fees are very reasonable. ised removal, destruction, defacement or alteration of any public records under his charge, forthwith take (Attorney at Law) appropriate action for the recovery or restoration of such public records.

• The records officer shall 4151 SW Freeway, Ste:600, Houston, TX 77027 submit a report in writing to the Director General or as *Licensed by the Supreme Court of New York and admitted to practice before the US Court of Appeals. the case may be, the head Not certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization of the Archives without any

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IA News © 2010

By Krishnaraj Rao (IT) Just as we have the Public Information Officer (PIO) in every public authority, there is a Records Officer (RO) in almost every government department who can be fined Rs 10,000 or imprisoned for five years if documents are lost or tampered. Too often, those who seek information from the government are being told that some file or the other is ‘lost’; to tackle this we should take recourse to the laws pertaining to lost files, and demand action on that front.

The governing law on lost files of the Central government is to be found in Section 10 of Public Records Act, 1993 (see this link; each of the States has similar laws that govern the secure maintenance of their records.

What do these laws amount to, in the context of RTI applications? The various pieces of legislation dealing with lost files make it quite clear that no government employee can blandly say, ‘File lost’to an information seeker. The laws spell out who is to be held responsible, and what is to be done in case documents or files are lost, misplaced or stolen. Therefore, under RTI, “File lost” can only be given as a reason for delay in providing information, but not as a reason for denial of information.

If a file is lost, there is a clear-cut procedure that the officer designated as “Records Officer” has to follow. This may be summarized as ‘SRF’ i.e.

• Search for the file • Reconstruct the file, if it cannot be found • Register an FIR against the person responsible for loss or misplacement.

Here are some key sections of the Public Records Act that users of the RTI Act will find worthy of understanding.

Section 6 • Every records creating agency shall nomi-

713-623-8088 • srichardslaw@aol.com

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Indo American News • Friday, January 14, 2011

By Kapil Kitchlu (Hindu) As one watches unleashed the wrath that accompanies the near-daily tumble of scams, one’s emotions swing from incredulity to uncontrolled laughter. The utter hypocrisy of the chattering classes, led by a generally ghastly media, beggars belief. Off with his head, goes the clamour. You stole more when you had the chance, so don’t preach morality, comes the rebut. Never before seen level of looting, reverberates the cry, as though the quantum somehow makes it a real crime, of the great and the good hurtling into TV studios with their twopenn’orth.

And so, endlessly, is the debasement we are now writhing in, enacted before our eyes, with scarcely a side wink at the open, violent and reprehensible betrayal of the people and the purpose of government.

The innocent among us are allowed utter perplexity. After all, the loot of the public exchequer is a good sixty years old, albeit with fewer zeros attached to each plunder. But loot and plunder have been cosying up to each other for decades. The corporate wallah has always been at the centre of it, now only too often dressed in Armani, but inside quite unaltered, ugly and rapacious, bereft of values and ethics for the most part.

So, what is new? Why is it being pretended that any of this is a cataclysmic shock, when it’s the way this country has been governed almost

opinion

online edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

Maybe, Nations too have Karma

from the start? Policy written for a favourite, doors open for the connected, networks spiralling in all directions, and backslapping and notes in small denominations and large quantities, have been the modus operandi that

has faithfully delivered the desired output a million times, for things minor and big. And while sputter and rage shower upon a few random rascals, vast armies of the crooked carry on doing what they best know how to do, pillage, with no shortage of plum pickings.

This wonderful, fully tested mechanism explains why no reform of the rules has happened, despite all shades of political parties having been in power. So, investigations of the high and higher and the highest are barred and prosecution is a joke,

with 62 years having had not even a SUV-full of such worthies as guests of the sublime jails of India for a few Diwalis.

That’s why investigating agencies have still not been freed to operate independently, to prosecute as they see fit and to take matters to their logical ends. Nonetheless, shamelessly and cynically, a plethora of inquiries and investigations are yet again under way, but don’t hold your breath, expecting a clean broom to come sweeping it all to pristine perfection. After all, if the intention was to punish the corrupt, tens of thousands by any reckoning should have been sent packing by now, and the keys thrown away for life.

The conclusion is out there, sneering and contemptible; this is democracy, our way, and we mean to keep it this way. And if evidence is needed, just look about you; the leading lights of the nation with truckloads of criminal cases against them stutter about, protected by the full phalanx of the state’s security apparatus, the elite corps straining every nerve to keep the most criminal from harm’s way

and safe from you and I. And, when exceptionally, the system actually catches up with one of them and a verdict is pronounced, it usually is an acquittal. This leads to jubilation and laddoos being proffered to one and all amid proclamations of innocence, when all that the judgment actually implied is that the evidence was not there. But, given these circumstances, who would possibly expect the evidence to be there, patiently waiting to be scooped up, should miraculously someone bestir himself to come looking for it with a modicum of competence?

In the middle of all this, when a

civilised society expects its Prime Minister to come forward and tell us why he presides over the ugliest democracy on earth, when even banana republics have greater accountability, we have the astonishing spectacle of the holder of that office playing to perfection his usual response to every crisis: wooden silence. But Brutus is an honourable man, goes the endless refrain and squeal of the acolytes, a proposition as bewildering as it is disgraceful and an insult to ordinary intelligence, as though honour can mystically exist and contentedly reside in the midst of a marauding establishment.

Corruption: Have We Taken It for Granted?

By V.Vijay (Hindu) Corruption has become a routine practice in our society and people learn it faster than anything else; it doesn’t require a gurukul or teacher, a majority of the people have mastered the art.

Everyone knows that in our dayto-day life nothing moves without our giving a bribe. When we watch movies on corruption, we hate the corrupt portrayed therein and wonder where the hell they come from. But soon we realise that they are not “aliens,” that they are one among us; in fact, they are either my uncle or yours or my father or yours. They are our own people and they represent society. You wanted your government servants to be like this and you don’t want things to change. Accept the truth and let’s move forward.

There are examples galore to show that we accept corruption, in some form or other, as normal practice; when we want a licence we pay a “service fee” to get it fast; “incidental expense” for registering our documents in time; railway tickets and bus tickets are bought by travel agency for a fee and we accept it. This is prevalent even in temple for a ‘quick darshan’! We want things to move fast and for that we pay a fee and are ready to pay even double the charge. This practice is widely recognised and we do not call this corruption; rather acknowledge it as part of normal practice. Why? Because, we want it.

There are people who work full time to deliver bribe and get things done faster. They are not called looters, but are recognised as agents, facilitators, intermediaries and what not! They bridge the gap between the general public and government staff, and clear the doubts on rules and regulations, throw light on the “Indian law” and they are the true torch-bearers and light house! Are we ashamed to move with them? Never!

I once went to a revenue office in Chennai for changing the name in my patta. Of course I had all the documents and was charged a standard rate of Rs.3,000 a ground by the middleman; the same day, a revenue officer was caught in Kanyakumari for accepting a bribe of

Rs.3,000 for patta name change.

This shows that there is a standard menu card, so to say, in our revenue offices — there is a price to pay for everything.

Does it mean that corruption has to be endured? That you have to grin and bear? Certainly not.

Corruption has to be fought and fought relentlessly so that it will be minimised if not eradicated.

Technology perhaps provides the tool to bring down corruption, if not eliminate it. The best example being the online application for getting the encumbrance certificate and duplicate copies of land documents. If you go directly and approach the officer, you will be charged Rs.200 a copy and you will get it the same day; but this amount is a bribe. Applying through online will take one to two weeks but you are charged only Rs.50 — the prescribed amount. More advancement in e-governance without any time delay will certainly bring the required change.

Railway tickets through tatkal is another example of bringing revenue to the government from those of you who do things at the last moment but want results and are ready to pay even double the amount to jump queue. This practice can be adopted by all government offices so that revenue will rise and middlemen will be eliminated.

The canker of corruption needs to be fought on other fronts too.

Our population is vast, our system is old and our offices are too crowded and the ratio in government offices is 1:100,000 per population. Our employees are not competent to handle this crowd hence it takes time. So wait for your turn.

Be an example to others in exposing corruption and educate the younger generation that corruption in any form is bad. Teach your children, wife, mother and uncle about corruption in family gettogethers. When you meet friends, talk about it.

We should make people feel ashamed if they are corrupt; while punishment has a limited effect, the moral fear about as corrupt works better.

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JANUARY 14 , 2011 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

online edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

Indo American News • Friday, January 14, 2011

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JANUARY 14 , 2011• ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

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Indo American News • Friday, January 14, 2011

online edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JANUARY 14 , 2011 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM