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Treasury’s Geithner Calls on India

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner shakes hands with India’s Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee (L) before the start of their joint media conference in New Delhi.

NEW DELHI:U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner met Tuesday with Indian leaders to discuss steps to strengthen economic ties and boost U.S. business prospects in the fastgrowing South Asian economy, officials said.

Geithner started off his two-day visit to India with a stop at a store in the capital that offers mobile banking services, highlighting steps to expand Indians’ access to financial services.

He spoke briefly to a street vendor who irons clothes and is a customer of the mobile banking shop.

Geithner later met with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Indian counterpart, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, and took part in the first meeting of the U.S.-India Economic and Financial Partnership, designed to promote trade and investment.

“Deepening our ties with India is critical to the broader global effort to develop a framework for strong, sustainable and balanced growth and will facilitate more trade, investment and job creation in our two countries,” Geithner said in a statement.

The vice chairman of the Federal Reserve, Donald Kohn, and other U.S. officials also are on the visit aimed at deepening ties with India -- the most populous democracy, one of the fastest-growing economies and the most stable U.S. ally in a complex region.

Relations between the U.S. and India are at a high point, thanks partly to the Bush administration’s push to allow U.S. civilian nuclear trade with India. The Obama administration has used that as a foundation for improving ties and hopes of cooperation on Washington’s priorities of combating terrorism and climate change.

India’s economy has surged in the past decade and is the second fastest-growing major economy after China.

India is a member of the Group of 20 nations, which brings together the wealthiest industrial countries and major developing economies

such as China, India and Brazil. The G-20 was designated by President Barack Obama and other leaders at a summit last September in Pittsburgh as the top policy-setting group for the global economy.

The meeting of the US-India partnership group was led by Geithner and India’s Finance Minister Mukherjee.

On Wednesday, Geithner is due to travel to India’s financial capital, Mumbai, and meet with Indian entrepreneurs and chief executives of leading companies.

Early reviews of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner’s quick trip to India this week were mixed, with some seeing a lost opportunity to build momentum but with a U.S. trade group content, believing the sojourn may be a prelude to a visit from President Barack Obama later this year, experts said Tuesday.

“What pops up is a lack of concrete goals or substantive ideas or a concrete plan. I am sure it was a useful visit. I also think it was lost opportunity to do more,” said David Karl, president of the Asia Strategy Initiative and former project director of the Joint Task Force on Enhancing India-U.S. Cooperation in the Global Innovation Economy.

On the other hand, Ron Somers, the president of the U.S.-India Business Council, was enthusiastic. Geithner’s trip was “a preamble and prelude” to creating a partnership “that is going to shape the economic destiny of the 21st century,” Somers said.

The Treasury secretary’s trip isn’t over. He will meet with U.S. and Indian business leaders in Mumbai on Wednesday. However, his talks with Indian government officials have finished, and some experts found the public results wanting. “This is still very much at the level of atmospherics. It doesn’t look like this visit will pick any locks” that keep the two economies apart, said Uri Dadush, director of the international economics program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

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Indo American News • Friday, April 09 , 2010

Kerala IT Company Listed as India’s Top Innovator of 2009 THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Trade forum National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) has listed Kerala-based IBS Software as one of the top 50 innovators in India for the year 2009.

The company is a technology so(IANS)

lutions provider to the travel, transportation and logistics industries. It was nominated in the “market facing innovation” category for its product Road Safety Management System (RSMS), an accident database management system that redefines the way road accident data is managed.

“There is a tremendous opportunity for innovative technology solutions

to make road management more efficient and safer. RSMS is one such solution. The recognition by NASSCOM is a huge encouragement for us to pursue further initiatives that harness the power of IT for the common good” said V.K. Mathews, IBS chairman and CEO. With increasing accidents and fatalities on Indian roads, several stats are turning to technology to improve the functioning of their transport and police (traffic) departments.

RSMS, currently used by some governments, is the only proven web-based solution in its category designed for large-scale accident data system implementations for planning, managing and controlling accident data.

The UK-based Transport Research Laboratory, a world leader in research and consultancy, has signed an agreement with IBS to develop technology solutions to improve safety and efficiency of road transport.

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‘Airtel Talkies’ to Offer Movie Content on Phone

Shashi Arora, CEO, Bharti Airtel Ltd. (Mobile Services) Delhi and NCR along with film director Aparna Sen and actor Rahul Bose during the launch of ‘Airtel Talkies’ in New Delhi on Monday. Photo: R.V.Moorthy

NEW DELHI: Telecom major Bharti Airtel on Monday launched ‘Airtel Talkies’, for offering exclusive content from upcoming movie releases to its subscribers.

The service brings original movie content, dialogues, storyline and song clips before the release of the movie, Airtel said in a statement.

Airtel users can subscribe to Airtel

Talkies at Rs 30 per month for four movies with 30 days validity, or Rs 10 per week for one movie with seven days validity, it added.

The format of cinema on Airtel Talkies comprises a 15-minute narrative, where songs and dialogues are connected together by a ‘Sutradhar’ to provide a complete experience of the movie Airtel Talkies would offer both upcoming releases and all-time classic movies in five languages — Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam.

“Bharti Airtel is committed towards enhancing the level and experience of customer engagement through their mobile phones. We are confident that Airtel Talkies, our latest initiative, will delight our customers and value-add to their experience with Airtel,” Bharti Airtel CEO (Mobile Services — Delhi and NCR) Shashi Arora said.

OpenGear Enters Indian IT Server Market BANGALORE: OpenGear, a provider of console server, infrastructure management solutions, makes its entry to the Indian marker with the partnership of 20North.com as its distributor.

20North.com is a portal that enables the U.S. retailers to sell their product and services in India. With this new partnership, Indian enterprises can order online on 20North.com for OpenGear’s products. The company’s range of products like open source, console server products including its

newly launched - advanced console server solutions, is now a click away for the Indian enterprises.

Announcing the entry to the India market, Tony Merenda, Director and Vice President Engineering, Opengear, said, “The open source market in India is definitely on the growth curve with Indian enterprises warming upto the concept. 20North.com will shorten our time to market and make our products easily accessible to interested enterprises.”

The Indian foray has come at a

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, APRIL 09 , 2010 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

time the Infrastructure Management services industry is moving towards a remote delivery model that allows for remote management of computer servers, networks and databases due to its significant cost savings.

Jawad Ayaz, Managing Director, 20North.com, said, “We are excited to partner a technology leader such as Opengear and are confident that our customers from the enterprise market will find the easy availability of Opengear’s extensive range of products.” - SI

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Budget Will Spur Investment

Economy’s recovery validates government’s policy response, says Mukherjee NEW DELHI: Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday exuded confidence that the measures outlined in the budget for the current fiscal would spur private investment and put the economy back on track for a nine per cent growth.

“I am optimistic that the measures I have outlined in this year’s budget will revive private investment and put the economy back on the growth path of nine per cent,” Mr. Mukherjee said while addressing a function here to commemorate the Small Industries Development Bank of India’s (SIDBI’s) 20th Foundation Day. On the back of an expected growth of 7.2 per cent in 2009-10, which itself was “impressive by global standards,” he said the GDP (gross domestic product) expansion during 2010-11 would be about 8.25-8.75 per cent.

The Finance Minister’s optimism is in line with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s statement in Mumbai on Thursday when he said “the economy can get back to 9 per cent growth by the end of the XI Plan (2007-12) and do even better thereafter.”

Mr. Mukherjee noted that although the last fiscal year (2009-10) was difficult and posed many challenges, the government’s response was effective and yielded results. “There was a significant slowdown in the growth rate in the second half of 2008-09 following the financial crisis that began in the industrialised nations in 2007 and spread to the real economy across the world. The good news is

phasis on making available more credit to the small sector, he said “timely availability of credit to MSMEs is extremely important to meet their growing needs and to help them keep their business lifeline vibrant and progressive.” The Finance Minister, Mr. Pranab Mukherjee with Chairman, M S M E Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., Mr. R. C. Bhargava releasing sector, the a book “The Maruti Story” .in the captial on Thursday, F i n a n c e April 2.

Minister said, accounted for 8 per cent of the that the world economy today seems country’s GDP, 45 per cent of its to be recovering from this severe manufactured output and 40 per cent crisis. The fast-paced recovery of of its exports. Apart from generating the Indian economy underscores the the highest employment during the effectiveness of the policy response XI Plan, the sector helped in checking of the government in the wake of this migration to urban centres. financial crisis,” he said.

Speaking to the media on the Lauding the micro small and medisidelines of the function later, Mr. um enterprise (MSME) sector’s role Mukherjee disclosed that the Cenin the country’s economic growth, tre’s direct tax collections had exMr. Mukherjee said the government ceeded the budget estimate of Rs. would examine the report of the Prime 3.70 lakh crore for the 2009-10 Minister’s Task Force in a time-bound fiscal.-The Hindu manner. Pointing to the report’s em-

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Join India’s IT Boom, Minister Tells Canadian Companies TORONTO: Sachin Pilot, India’s minister of state for communications and information technology, Wednesday asked Canadian companies to invest in India to take advantage of the IT revolution in the country.

Pilot, who is here to meet with leaders of Canadian companies such as BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIM) to discuss investment opportunities and issues related to cyber security, said there is a huge scope for Canadian IT companies in India’s telecom sector because of its on-going “exponential growth.”

In his invitation to Canadian companies, he said, “Though our two countries have great relationship, but it has now to be translated into business. High technology is opening big opportunities for foreign companies in India.” The minister said India’s IT and BPO exports have touched $60 billion, but Canada’s share was just $600 million. “Which is low by Canadian standards,” he said.

Pilot said the opportunities for foreign companies in India’s telecom revolution can be gauged from the fact the country currently has 560 million mobile subscribers and “adding 15 million each month.” The telephone density in India, he said, has gone up from just 1.5 a few years ago to 50 percent. But the tele-density was even much higher than this in big cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata

and Bangalore, he said.

However, the government was targeting rural India to offer broadband connectivity to every village to spread education, provide health care and make the country a knowledge hub, he said. According to Pilot, the Indian telecom and IT sector will need investments to the tune of nearly $400 billion in the coming years, offering huge prospects for foreign players in software and hardware.He said most of Forbes’ 500 companies have set up shop in India because of its “great market, R & D facilities and support by the government.” Pilot said a task force on IT has prepared a comprehensive report to make India a software and hardware hub.

Referring to US President Barrack Obama’s opposition to outsourcing of IT jobs to India and other countries, he said the Indian IT sector has maintained growth rate of 30 percent and not been much impacted by recent global developments. Pilot will meet top bosses of BlackBerry before leaving for India.

He is the second minister to visit Canada this year. Kamal Nath, minister for road transport and highways, was here last week to woo Canada companies. The visits by Indian ministers follow visits by as many as 13 Canadian ministers, including Prime Minister Stephen Harper, to India last year.

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India’s Children Have a Precarious Right

One hardly needs a reminder that the Right to Education is different from the others enshrined in the Constitution, in that the beneficiary cannot demand it nor fight a legal battle when the right is denied or violated.

By Krishna Kumar Now that India’s children have a right to receive at least eight years of education, the gnawing question is whether it will remain on paper or become a reality. One hardly needs a reminder that this right is different from the others enshrined in the Constitution, in that the beneficiary —a six-year old child — cannot demand it, nor can she or he fight a legal battle when the right is denied or violated. In all cases, it is the adult society which must act on behalf of the child. In another peculiarity, where a child’s right to education is denied, no compensation offered later can be adequate or relevant. This is so because childhood does not last. If a legal battle fought on behalf of a child is eventually won, it may be of little use to the boy or girl because the opportunity missed at school during childhood cannot serve the same purpose later in life. This may be painfully true for girls because our society permits them only a short childhood, if at all. The Right to Education (RTE) has become law at a point in India’s history when the ghastly practice of female infanticide has resurfaced in the form of foeticide. This is symptomatic of a deeper turmoil in society which is compounding traditional obstacles to girls’ education. Tenacious prejudice against the intellectual potential of girls runs across our cultural diversity, and the system of education has not been able to address it.

The new law has many critics. Some of them are among the nation’s best known educators and, therefore, their concerns must be heard.

They have raised two major issues: one, the law does not cover pre-school education; and two, it offers no vision of systemic reforms leading to a decent common school system. Both issues are valid and the government’s strategy to implement the law must cover them. As for the first issue — coverage of early childhood — a first step can be recognising the year before Class I as a necessary pre-school year to provide an enabling experience for the success of eight years of formal education stipulated by law.

This step would require substantial planning and coordination among the departments of Child Development, Health and Education.

The second point the RTE critics are making draws attention to the divisive, and not just divided, character of our system of education.

A vast gap of resources, facilities and efficiency exists between the private schools which cater for the better-off strata of society and the ones run by the government. Within government schools, there is a vast difference between Central schools and those run by municipalities and village panchayats. It is not true that RTE offers no vision of improving our fragmented

Where a child’s right to education is denied, no compensation offered later can be adequate or relevant. Photo: U. Subramanyam

system. The provision for 25 per cent reserved seats for poor children in all private schools as well as Central schools makes a gesture towards the common school model. Critics of the RTE rightly find it a weak gesture but they forget how difficult the execution of even this diluted form of common schooling is going to prove in a stratified and divided society.

Already, lobbyists of private schools have gone to court, challenging the legal validity of the RTE. The private sector in school education has grown quite substantially and rapidly over the last two decades. Not just private schools, a strong ideological lobby which favours privatisation has also grown. Members of this lobby believe that the RTE can best be implemented by market forces and the government should subsidise these forces by distributing school vouchers. This remarkable philosophy sees the RTE as a crowning moment in the ongoing history of the state’s withdrawal from education. Critics of the RTE rightly suspect that it could speed up commercial privatisation.

Considering how fast popular disillusionment with the state’s capacity to provide education of reasonable quality is spreading, we should not be astonished if the critics are proved right.

Many State governments see privatisation as a real option, and the signals coming from the Centre seem to endorse this view.

However, the debate over private versus public interests conceals the single greatest problem both private and government schools face: the shortage of qualified teachers. Behind

this shortage lies a long history of neglect of teacher training and the poor social status of the elementary school teacher. Teacher training has remained on the margins of the Indian academia, and the training of primary school teachers outside it. The National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) has reinforced this message of the RTE by demanding a higher entry-level qualification for elementary teachers’ training.

The NCTE has also sent a strong policy signal that all courses for this level should come under the purview of universities. These signals will require sustained follow-up action, for which the NCTE will have to improve its own functioning and image as a regulatory body.

Going by RTE norms, at least a million teachers will need to be freshly recruited and trained.

The challenge of teacher recruitment and training will prove especially grim in the Hindi belt and the northeast, West Bengal, and Jammu and Kashmir. In Bihar, the number of teachers required is very huge and the institutional capacity for training very low, and in Madhya Pradesh, no one knows how to undo the decision taken long ago to stop the recruitment of career-path teachers. In West Bengal, overlapping structures have impeded curricular and administrative reforms. These States are not the only ones battling internal legacies of neglect or confused planning. The northeastern States have a vast number of untrained and poorly qualified teachers who are already in the system. Violent conflict between the government and the people has cast a shadow on childhood

in many parts of central and northeastern India. The progress of the RTE in these parts cannot be easy or smooth. This also holds true for mega-cities like Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai where children of the poor live in Dickensian misery.

For the southern States where the system is in better health, the RTE will pose the challenge of radical improvement in quality. How things turn out will depend on the willingness of the directorates to adjust their outworn perspective and policies to the new expectations the RTE arouses in syllabus design, teacher preparation and deployment.

Kerala and Tamil Nadu are better placed than any other State to implement the RTE with confidence, but even they require radical measures to improve teacher training. The courses available are uninspiring and based on obsolete ideas. The pedagogic perspective of the National Curriculum Framework (2005) is yet to percolate into teacher education programmes.

While the RTE’s future depends on the initiative and resolve of the State governments, the Centre’s role is going to be crucial too. If its policy signals remain coherent, the States will have a better chance of staying on track. One major signal the Centre must send pertains to institutional strength and capacity to deliver the RTE. No case illustrates this better than the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), which has the responsibility to monitor the RTE. It is supposed to keep a vigilant eye on several million classrooms where children are to be taught and protected from corporal punishment, mental harassment and discrimination.

How is the NCPCR going to perform this huge task with the extremely meagre infrastructure it has today? When a child falls victim to neglect, abuse or violence, the protective arms of the state must reach out fast. For a national commission to serve children in every corner of the country, it must have good State-level units with district-level branches. As of now, the NCPCR’s presence in most States is barely symbolic.

Between the responsibility entrusted to it and its apparatus, there is a vast gap. It has no academic staff to study cases and to work with the States to find solutions. Its first chairperson, Professor Shantha Sinha, was a tall academic figure who put in a monumental effort to make its presence felt. Asking her to stay on to initiate institutionbuilding would have been a sensible step, and one hopes that the Ministry of Women and Child Development might still take this decision. If the NCPCR becomes an empty shell, so might the RTE.-The Hindu

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Laxmi Mittal Funds 400-Ft Tower for London 2012 Olympics LONDON: The ArcelorMittal Orbit, a teetering tower planned for the 2012 Olympic Games, is set to become the largest work of public art in the United Kingdom.

The tower, almost 400 ft tall, will give guests a wide view of London’s landscape. It will be taller than both Big Ben and the Statue of Liberty.

British mayor Boris Johnson said of the architect behind the tower, Anish Kapoor: “He has taken the idea of a tower and transformed it into a piece of modern British art.

It would have boggled the minds of the Romans. It would have boggled Gustave Eiffel.”

The tower, named after steel mag-

nate and the richest man in London, Lakshmi Mittal, consists of almost 1,000 tonnes of steel which visitors will be able to climb.

The Tower of Babel was apparently a reference, according to Kapoor; “There is a kind of medieval sense to it of reaching up to the sky, building the impossible. A procession, if you like.

It’s a long winding spiral: a folly that aspires to go even above the clouds and has something mythic about it.”

The Arcelor Mittal Tower is built from 1,000 tonnes of Steel by architect Anish Kapoor.

Maharashtra Government Opens Additional Lanes of Bandra-Worli Sea Link Mumbai into the downtown area to a six-minute ride, are now operational. A cavalcade of 50 vintage cars was organised to commemorate the event.

The engineering marvel was commissioned by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) and built by engineering and Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan inaugurating the Northern c o n s t r u c t i o n major HinduCarriage Way of the Bandra-Worli Sealink on March 24, 2010. Actor stan ConstrucAmitabh Bachchan was also present at the site. tion Company gy leader MUMBAI: The Northern Carriage Way of (HCC). the Bandra-Worli Sea Link in Mumbai - India’s HCC Chairman and Managing Director Ajit first open-sea and longest cable-stay bridge, Gulabchand and Mr S Srinivasan, Managing which provides four additional lanes, was Director, DAR Consultants, were felicitated at opened for traffic on March 24. the function for their contribution to the world The new carriage way of the Rajiv Gandhi Sea class project.

Link was formally inaugurated by Maharashtra Union Ministers Murli Deora and Gurudas Chief Minister Ashok Chavan and Deputy Kamath, Maharashtra Ministers R R Patil, Ajit Chief Minister Chagan Bhujbal. Bollywood Pawar, Jayant Patil, Arif Naseem Khan, Suresh mega star Amitabh Bachchan was the Guest of Shetty, Sachin Ahir, Varsha Gaekwad, Mumbai Honour at the function.

Mayor Shraddha Jadhav and member of ParliaWith this, all eight lanes of the 4.7 km bridge, ment Priya Dutt were amongst those present on that cuts the 40-minute journey from suburban the occasion.

The sea link connects Mumbai’s Mahim intersection of the Western Express Highway and Swami Vivekananda Marg at the Bandra end to Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan Road at the Worli end.

Mumbai motorists are benefiting from enhanced route options and easing of traffic congestion along the western corridor, especially at the Mahim, Dadar and Worli intersections.

The highlights of the sea link are the two aesthetically designed cable-stayed bridges at Bandra and Worli of 500 and 150 metre spans, respectively, with the highest towers soaring to a height of 126 metres, equivalent to the height of a 43-storied building.

The sea link is a pre-cast segmental box girder continuous bridge with twin carriageways of four lanes each. Immediately, one carriage-way will be opened to traffic with two-lane traffic in both directions, an HCC press release said.

The sea link

is equipped with state-of-the-art systems for traffic management and monitoring, emergency support and an automated toll system.

A modern toll plaza with 16 lanes has been installed at the Bandra end. The toll plaza is designed as much to act as a control centre for traffic surveillance, as for monitoring the control systems for an intelligent bridge, which includes electronic tolling, counting and classifying variable traffic message signs as well as a remote weather information station. It also houses emergency telephones. -Netindians

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‘Mind Your Language’: Buddhadeb Tells Home Minister Chidambaram KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee today hit back at Union Home Minister P Chidambaram for his comments that the buck stopped at his table on maintaining law and order in the state and asked him to “mind” his language.

“Buck is the not the language of politicians. It is a slang. I will tell him to mind his language. I had asked him to tell the Opposition to cooperate with the government,” Bhattacharjee told reporters here.

Asked to comment on Chidammbaram’s views, the chief minister said, “I do not accept what he said.

I know my responsibility. Let me do my job and and let him do his,” Bhattacharjee said.

Chidambaram had, during a visit to Lalgarh yesterday, expressed unhappiness over recurring inter-party clashes in the state and said he had told the chief minister “the buck stops with you”.

Bhattacharjee said he knows the

responsibility lies with him. “I am trying to discharge my responsibilities. I have my own views about the law-and-order situation of the state.

He gave me his views and I gave him mine.

“But I also told him that it is very difficult to maintain law and order if the Opposition does not cooperate.

I told him that you should tell the Opposition to attend meetings when called by the government,” he said.

Asked to comment on Chidambaram’s statement that the law and order situation was very bad in eight select police stations in the state as agreed to by Bhattacharjee himself, he said, “I had only told him that there are difficulties in maintaining law and order in these areas.”

On whether the home minister was within his jurisdiction to comment on the law-and-order situation in any state, Bhattacharjee said, “He can give his own observation, but maintaining law and order was the state’s responsibility.”-Outlook

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Taliban Attack on U.S. Peshawar Consulate A cloud of smoke rises after an explosion near the U.S. consulate in Peshawar.

IndoAmerican News news of the south asian diaspora that matters

Chinese Cyberspace Spy Ring Hacks into India’s Top Secrets NEW DELHI (HT): The computer systems of scores of Indian embassies, military establishments and corporate bodies, as well as the email account of the Dalai Lama, were hacked by a Chinese cyber spy ring.

Hundreds of documents, including classified files, were stolen, says a Canadian cybersecurity team that monitored the ring — the Shadow Network — for eight months.

The Shadow Network focussed on India, especially its military. The Canadians, in effect, hacked the hackers and saw many documents themselves.

“We snuck behind the backs of the attackers and picked their pockets,” team member Ronald Deibert told NYT. The Chinese hackers stole foreign ministry reports on India’s policy in West Africa, Russia and West Asia.

They got National Security Council secretariat assessments of security situations in Assam, Nagaland, Tripura and Manipur as well as the Maoist

problem.

The penetration of India’s defence establishments was remarkable.

Three air force bases, two military colleges and an array of military institutes like the Army Institute of Technology, Pune, were broken into.

The Canadian team saw the hackers access over 300 military documents.

The hackers seemed interested in any defence information they could find: from sensitive issues like live fire exercises and Project Shakti — the army’s artillery command system — to more innocuous material like personnel files.

“This is a very serious, broad spectrum assault,” said strategic technology expert Ajay Lele, whose own agency, the Institute for Defence and Security Analysis (IDSA), was robbed of 180 documents.

The Shadow Network broke into computers of analysts and stole reports on India’s missile systems. It hacked those of academics and journalists for work on Kashmir. Data was also stolen from firms like Tata and DLF. The Canadians informed Indian intelligence on March 24 and were instructed on how to dispose of the classified data.

The ring is believed to be based in Chengdu, in China’s Sichuan province. The cybersleuths, based at the University of Toronto’s Munk School

of Global Affairs, avoided saying this was government-approved but did say it was “possible”.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Jiang Yu said: “We have from time to time heard of this kind of news. I don’t know the purpose to stir up these issues.”

However, the Indian security establishment has little doubt the Shadow Network is cast by Beijing. Says K. Santhanam, former IDSA head: “These rings are normally consortia in which Chinese academia, intelligence and military work together.”

Indian officials said the foreign ministry server was breached last year and a security audit “traced the Internet protocol addresses left in the wake of the hacking back to mainland China”. The air force too reported an officer’s account being hacked last month and the Net trail led back to China.

The hackers had a clear India focus, says the report. Of 130 Net protocol addresses compromised, 62 were from India.

India Secretly Buries Mumbai Attackers The bodies of nine militants killed in the 2008 Mumbai attacks have been secretly buried in an undisclosed place, according to state government officials in India.

The gunmen killed 166 people in a 60-hour rampage in India's financial capital that traumatised the nation and strained already tense relations with Pakistan.

The burials took place in January, Maharashtra state home minister RR Patil said, giving no details of the exact date or place.

"Thirty officials were involved in the mission to dig and bury the bodies. Nobody knew about these but the officials involved," Patil was quoted in the Indian Express newspaper on Wednesday as saying.The bodies had re-

mained at the JJ Hospital morgue in Mumbai for more than a year after India's Muslim community opposed giving them space in their graveyards.

A judge will hand down his verdict in early May in the trial of the sole surviving gunman, Mohammad Ajmal Kasab, who was caught during the attacks in November 2008.The prosecution has demanded the death penalty for Kasab and presented evidence it considers overwhelmingly proves his guilt, including a photo of him carrying an AK-47 machine gun through the main train terminal in Mumbai.Patil announced the burials in response to legislators' questions about the costs incurred by the state to preserve the bodies.

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Beauty Made from Loneliness

Held captive, Sonabai Rajawar found an outlet through art

By Jennifer Marshall Corning breaks and the day begins like any other in Puhpatra, a remote, dusty village set amidst fields of rice paddies in the Surguja district of Chhattisgarh. Women gather in doorways of weathered, white washed houses, nursing newborns and watching their children scamper about barefoot, throwing stones at a scattered pack of feral dogs. Men prepare for a back-breaking day of work in the fields planting or harvesting rice. Aromas of spice and vegetables waft from the houses and women chatter excitedly as they cook.’ A young girl from the village will be married tomorrow and the elders and the young mothers speculate about the suitability of the groom, the bride’s wedding sari, and argue as to whether there’ll be enough food to last the weeklong celebration.

For most of us, marriage, starting a family, and other life-changing events signal the beginning of an exciting future of love, happiness, and companionship. Sonabai Rajawar’s arranged marriage to her husband, however, marked the beginning of a life lived in solitude, hidden from her large family and community for 15 years in her marital home.

Sonabai guessed she might have been 14 or 15 when she married at her parents’ request.

As a new wife, she lived with her husband and in-laws, carrying out household chores and working disproportionately harder than the rest of the family. She felt under intense pressure to conceive a son and finally gave birth to Daroga Ram whom she affectionately called “Babu.” Babu’s birth relieved her of some of the strenuous duties in the household and Sonabai was finally freed from the taunt of baanjh, or “barren,” by her husband’s family.

However, after moving into their marital home, her husband became jealous and demanded that she not leave except on occasions when it was necessary to draw water from the well. She was prohibited from visiting her family and friends in the village. Adhering to his wishes, Sonabai stayed in the house, her living space a small, pressed dirt courtyard with one door and no windows. Sonabai’s husband worked long hours building houses for others in the village. Babu became her sole source of joy and companionship in an otherwise bleak and lonely existence.

To keep her infant son occupied, Sonabai molded a toy from clay, a horse with a round belly, legs made from small sticks, and a mane bound from straw. The figure was reminiscent of traditional images of Goddess Saraswati made by local potters for her village’s festivals.

Sonabai felt great joy as she watched her son play with his toy. Soon enough, figurines and sculptures filled the house and Sonabai used the same sculpting techniques to transform

rows of women dancing, and Krishna frolicking with his consorts. Over time, Sonabai’s sculptures and decoration filled every doorway, pillar, wall, and baseboard in the house. She had transformed the interior of her house into a wonderland of color, texture, and light.

Sonabai’s brightly colored and whimsical creations seem born from a lightness and optimism that distanced her from her dire circumstances and provided a mental escape from the isolation she endured for so many years. Molding clay sculptures from the earth around her affirmed her relationship with her environment and, fundamentally, with nature, strengthening her spirit and combating what might have otherwise been overwhelming loneliness.

Members of Sonabai’s family and community are unwilling to shed light on the reasons for her husband’s decision to open their house to visitors, after 15 years of enforced isolation, in 1968.

Many people marveled at her creations and, decades later, Sonabai finally returned to her family when she was in her late 70s. She wept upon meeting old friends and was deeply moved when women of parts of the house. Using bamboo, she tied together woven circles within a frame and joined them to create a jali, akin to lattice. She coated the jali with a mixture of clay and cow dung, which, when dry, held it together. The screen cast a softer light into her house and displayed a myriad of patterns on the floor at certain times of day. Jali was not a common architectural detail in the Surguja district. Although women in her village traditionally decorated doorways to commemorate seasons and festivals throughout the year, Sonabai’s creations were unique. Her vision extended beyond traditional floral and geometric motifs to create entirely original designs, unlike anything seen previously in Indian art.

Sonabai continued to experiment with different materials to create bright and bold colors to decorate the jali. She used white lime left over from painting her house and, showing astounding resourcefulness, she experimented with spices, vegetables, and minerals to achieve bright and steadfast colors—green from leaves, yellow and red ochre from various spices, black from clay and burnt leaves, and blue from powder she used to whiten her linen.

Using this rainbow of colors, Sonabai decorated and embellished the jali with an array of dancing figures, Hindu icons and scenes from nature—figures of musicians playing under eaves, monkeys climbing trees and eating fruit,

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artistic achievement in India. Following this accolade, she was invited to America as a visiting artist at the Mingei International Museum in San Diego. Sonabai later exhibited in the Queensland Art Gallery in Brisbane, Australia, and her installations became a permanent exhibition at the National Handlooms and Handicrafts Museum in Delhi. It was at this museum that the renowned author, cultural anthropologist, and photographer Stephen Huyler met Sonabai and was captivated by her creations. Huyler visited Sonabai’s house in 2001 and spent two weeks with the family interviewing Sonabai and recording the process of her self-taught artistic style. The collaboration has resulted in the astounding exhibition, “Sonabai: Another Way Of Seeing” at the Mingei International Museum in San Diego. Wall panels created by Sonabai frame the entrance to the exhibition and large chiffon panels of festival dancers hang throughout the exhibition, suspended in a frenzy of color and motion. Thirty-nine of Sonabai’s sculptures, along with 51 works created by artists influenced by her works, are featured in the exhibition as well as jali embellished with figures of Krishna and Rada, birds, and small animals.

Huyler’s photography and clips from his accompanying film, which received the Milagro Award for “Best Short Film” at the Santa Fe Film Festival in December, complement S o n a b a i ’s pieces, providing an environment thatre-creates the intensely private world she inhabited. Sonabai passed away August 17, 2007, however, her work has been immortalized in her work, Huyler’s documentation, and the art of her son, Daroga Ram. He effectively became her chela, or disciple, over the years, carefully observing and learning her techniques and adapting them to his own style. He and his wife, Rajenbai, continue the legacy of his mother’s artistic skill. Rajenbai became a great friend to Sonabai during her later years, awakening her to the joys of companionship after an eternity of solitude. The couple embody Sonabai’s eternal message of strength of spirit and champion her legacy for the wonder of the world.- IT

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the family kneeled before her and washed her feet in a heartfelt gesture of honor and respect.

In 1983, Sonabai’s world changed when a team of field workers from the Bharat Bhavan, a museum in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, visited after being told of her art by one of the neighboring craftsmen. They left with a portion of the jali from Sonabai’s wall for public display and commissioned her to create sculptures for an exhibition at the museum.

In 1985, Sonabai was awarded the President’s Award, the highest national recognition of

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Got Glass?

Are you an optimist or a pessimist? Under normal circumstances, a clear line can be drawn between the two. The rule of thumb is whether you consider your glass to be half full or half empty. There is also a third category of person, the realist, who reminds both the optimist and the pessimist that if they choose to drink the water from the glass, then they have to be ready for the inevitable outcome.

By Lakshmi Palecanda All my life, I have been a cardcarrying optimist married to a dyedin-the-wool realist, but lately I’ve been having problems finding a silver lining in the overcast sky that is my life. As if the economy weren’t bad enough, I recently had to go to the dentist. Later, I thought back on the whole episode and tried to find something, anything, good to take from the experience.

It all started when I went to the store and found some baklava on sale. That was good. Unfortunately, while eating it, one of the nuts got lodged in a gap in one of my molars.

Fortunately, I was able to pry it loose. Unfortunately, it broke off a piece of my tooth in the process, exposing a nerve. Fortunately, it was in an already existing cavity. Unfortunately, it meant a trip to the dentist that I’d managed to put off successfully for years.

Fortunately, I got a quick appointment with the dentist. Unfortunately, he said I had to have two root canals.

Fortunately, they were on adjacent teeth. Unfortunately, both were in my mouth. Fortunately, I had dental insurance. Unfortunately, it would cover only part of the damage.

I was lucky to get in for my root canals after work. It was unlucky for me that the doctor was performing long procedures on four other patients at the same time. That meant that he wasn’t in my face all the time. It also meant that I spent quite a few minutes alone, staring up at the ceiling with my mouth propped wide open.

Fortunately, the dentist gave me Novocaine, and it worked. Unfortunately, he had to give me so much of the stuff that you could have knocked out a baby hippo with it.

It felt good when he said “Wow!” Problem was, he wasn’t looking at my figure, but at the Grand Canyon in my jaw.

Fortunately, when he began drilling in my teeth, I couldn’t feel anything.

Unfortunately, the rest of me was feeling weird enough to make up for it.

Talking to him, I was glad to find out that he had voted. Then I was sorry to hear that he had voted Republican, with his view on achieving energy independence being “Drill, baby, drill!”

It was nice that, after some time, I discovered a rhythm to the highpitched buzz of the dentist’s drill. It was a problem, though, that some parts of me began to vibrate to that rhythm.

It was great that the dentist didn’t hit any blood vessels and send blood gushing into my mouth. However, after all that time and pain I went through, it was a pity he didn’t hit any oil gushers, either. We could have used some money to pay his bills.

Fortunately, after one and a half hours, my dentist said, “We’re done!”

throbbing in pain, I couldn’t care less if the mafia got its man or if the feisty young thing got hers.

The idiot box will help distract me, I thought; there are always reruns to watch. However, the boob tube was showing reruns of reruns, and I found it hard to go, “You stupid … owww …” every time I changed the channels.

The pain meds helped, and normally I like taking hydrocodone—it gives me a pleasant buzz. But now that I really needed them to work, they just reduced the acute pain to a dull throb.

I used the experience to issue statutory warnings to my kids about not having proper dental hygiene. Being forced to talk softly through clenched teeth in a Godfather-esque manner robbed my speech of any forcefulness, though.

I nurtured some graphic fantasies of murdering my dentist, for surely I would find a jury of similarly brutalized peers who would acquit me in a heartbeat. The thing was, the crowns put on my teeth were temporary, and I needed him to fix the permanent ones.

The known devil—sorry, dentist— being better than the unknown one.

It took me a week to recover, and then life resumed. Unfortunately, I came out of the experience battered and scarred, prone to bawling like a baby every time I heard a power tool.

When the bill came, we were able to pay it off instantly. Of course, it was so big and fat that it maxed out a credit card.

Now I can stand up tall and say that I literally put our money where my mouth is. Unfortunately, the only dividend on this investment is added girth around my equator.

So, having tried to find a glimmer of goodness in this morass of misfortune, I have come to the conclusion that some situations have no upside.

Dental surgeries, for one, don’t have any fantastic outcomes other than getting back to your old cranky, overweight self. Our current economic situation, that has us rolling down a slope with no end in sight, seems like another such. Economists may say that, with all the reforms, we will come out better than before, but right now it hurts like hell when your 401K looks like the past 10 years never happened, and 60-something men and women have to think about re-entering the work place. The worst part is the uncertainty of it all, when you don’t know which part of the heap you’ll find yourself in when it all shakes down.

These are trying times for all of us, and I think it’s okay to call a spade a bloody shovel sometimes. And if anyone has the gall to ask you, “Is your glass half full or half empty,” feel empowered to respond: “What glass?”- IT

Unfortunately, he followed up with, “Now we’re starting on the second one.”

I thought I had gotten more bang for my buck when I finally got out of that chair, because I felt like I was stepping off a roller-coaster at Six Flags. Pity was, I then had to drive myself home.

Fortunately, I rested comfortably that night. Unfortunately, the next day, the Novocaine wore off.

Good news: my daughters laughed merrily when they saw me. Bad news: with one cheek swollen twice as much as the other, I looked lopsided and couldn’t respond.

Luckily, my husband found a package of bendy-straws for me to use to drink my coffee, and my girls selected a purple colored one especially for me. It was just my luck that I discovered that I didn’t like drinking lukewarm coffee from my favorite cup with a bendy straw.

I love tomato soup, and that was lucky for me because I couldn’t eat solids. Unfortunately, I began to hate the stuff when it became my entire diet.

I was cheered by the idea that this enforced liquid diet might help me lose a few pounds. That theory developed holes when the weighing machine barely showed a blip.

I was happy that I got to stay home from work, because it meant that I could finally catch up on my reading. But I found that, with my cheek INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, APRIL 09 , 2010 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

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In the Name of the Father

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A detailed, but partisan--and often vengeful--portrait of murder and manipulation in the Bhutto family

By Chandrahas Choudhury Of all the stories available to human beings, none is as instantly fascinating as that of a powerful family riven down the middle, feuding in public view and throwing the entire world out of shape with its might. This storyline is central to our epics, and is often reprised by contemporary events, especially in feudal societies. In such cases, the testimony of any one participant inevitably turns the story into one of good versus evil—the stakes are too high for it to be anything else, but the thrill of receiving the inside story more than compensates for the lack of detachment in perspective.

Just such a story—longawaited since the first metaphorical gunshots were fired in recent years—is served up by Songs of Blood and Sword, 28-year-old Fatima Bhutto’s angry and sometimes incoherent retelling of the macabre lives and internecine warrings of the first family of Pakistani politics, the Bhuttos of Sindh.

Bhutto is best-known as the estranged niece of Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated in 2008 shortly after her return to Pakistan after several years in exile.

What she would like to be known as, however, is the daughter of the older of Benazir’s two brothers, Murtaza, who was himself estranged from his sister and was shot dead in an encounter with the police in 1996, while

The Author: Fatima Bhutto

Benazir’s government was in power. Her book is, among other things, an attempt to claim for her late father the legacy of her grandfather Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, the founder of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) now run by Asif Ali Zardari, Benazir’s controversial husband, who appears to be keeping the seat warm for Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Fatima’s cousin. In Fatima’s icy view, it is herself and her brother and her cousin, and not the children of Benazir, who are “the only Bhuttos remaining”. Clearly, the fighting is not over yet.

Meanwhile, the story of the past goes something like this in Fatima’s often laboured telling.

In the arid political landscape and frequent periods of military rule in the newly formed state of Pakistan, one figure stood out for his inherent nobility of mind, nationalistic fervour, commitment to democracy, and intelligence: Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, scion of one of feudal Pakistan’s most prominent families and head of its government from 1971 to 1977.

This portrait itself requires many dodges around some of the more unsavoury actions of Zulfiqar, but in this Fatima has a precedent:

Reconciliation, the book published posthumously in 2008 by her own aunt Benazir, who was just as keen to claim Zulfiqar’s legacy.

Indeed, as Fatima herself says, many in her own circle of family and friends have noted the resemblance between herself and her headstrong aunt, which makes her flaming hatred of Benazir all the more ironical and compelling.

When Zulfiqar was unseated by a coup

by General Zia-ul-Haq in 1977 and later executed, his sons Murtaza and Shahnawaz fled Pakistan and set up an insurgent movement, AlZulfiqar, in Kabul, while Benazir, his eldest child, and Nusrat, his wife, were kept under house arrest

by Zia but slowly managed to revive the party in the 1980s. Shahnawaz was mysteriously found dead in 1985—an event in which Fatima sees the hand of her aunt (throughout the book, no conspiracy theory is ever thought too outrageous to be discounted, and much of the testimony dredged up by Fatima’s research is clearly partisan).

Murtaza, meanwhile, remained in exile—allegedly because Benazir felt threatened by him—even as his sister came to power as Pakistan’s youngest prime minister in 1988, following Zia’s death in a plane crash.Against his sister’s wishes, Murtaza returned to Pakistan in 1993, launching a splinter faction of the party and running for parliament himself and winning. His assassination in 1996— this is where Fatima’s evidence is strongest— was clearly a set-up, with Benazir and Zardari the most likely ringleaders of the operation.

For Fatima, Murtaza Bhutto was the real legatee of Zulfiqar’s ideas on Islam, democracy, socialism, foreign policy and governance, while his feted sister Benazir was actually a shrewish and corrupt manipulator who would do anything for power and wealth, and who turned the party into a personality cult. A long section of the book is devoted to Murtaza’s life and legacy, but the effect is often that of being forced through every photograph of a family album. Ingenious explanations are devised for every one of Murtaza’s controversial actions, such as this three-pronged analysis of the hijacking of a PIA plane by Al-Zulfiqar in 1981. Murtaza knew nothing about it until it was done, claims Fatima; it was Zia’s government which staged the hijack as a propaganda move against Al-Zulfiqar; further, it was Benazir who got Murtaza into trouble by exulting and speaking intemperately about the hijack.

One understands Fatima’s love and devotion for her father, and her courage in launching a no holds barred attack on Zardari and others in power in Pakistan today is certainly to be admired. But her narration is often so partisan, and her language so loaded, that it asks to be taken with more than a pinch of salt.

Further, Fatima’s book never seriously chal-

In this book, Benazir isn’t just a suave Oxford graduate

lenges the basic assumption that has been the ruination of democratic politics in Pakistan: the idea that political parties are the fiefdoms of families. There is a lot of vengefulness in the book, but very little by way of a larger vision.

The sense of her story is that a Bhutto deserved to be in charge of the PPP, only that it was the wrong Bhutto, and that her father was cheated of his due. Much of her contempt for Zardari appears to derive from the fact that he was a lowborn, unlike the Bhuttos. She recounts, entirely unselfconsciously, the story that her grandfather

Zulfiqar had disliked Zardari’s father Hakim even though Hakim was a PPP man, and that “he humiliated him and even had him thrashed on occasion”, as if this reveals something about Hakim’s inferiority and not about Zulfiqar’s feudal arrogance.

A more realistic picture of the Bhutto family and all the other actors implicated in the story is formed by reading against the grain of this black-and-white reconstruction of the past, not with it.-Mint

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STRAIGHT UP

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S T R A I G H T U P FOOD T A LK

Indo American News • Friday, April 09 , 2010

Straight Up

Food Talk

IndoAmerican News Siva Group acquires 50% in Glacial Water Company of Norway Siva Group, a diversified $3-billion conglomerate from Chennai, has acquired a 50% stake in Isklar, a Norwegian glacial water company for $22 million (approx. Rs 100 crore).

The original promoters of Isklar are Sabco, a mineral water company from Oman, and Java Holdings of Norway, a shipping company. Isklar will issue additional shares to the Siva group, thus the holding of the existing promoters will come down to 50 per cent.

The Isklar water brand is bottled in the Hardanger region in Norway, the water comes directly from the thousands of years old Folgefonna glacier.

The company says that this water is one of the “purest natural waters on earth”. The brand was launched in the UK in April 2008 and in Norway in February 2009 where it is available in convenience chains and high-end department stores.

The brand wants to highlight ecological requirements. The bottling plant is operated with hydropower, and the company is recycling the plastic used for the bottles.

The Siva Group, earlier known as the Sterling Group but renamed in 2009, is promoted by multifounder C. Sivasankaran and has operations in re-

alty, telecom, project engineering, shipping, energy, agri exports and e-education / software.

It seems that the early success of the Isklar brand should be leveraged to other markets. “It always believed in spotting business opportunities ahead of time and further enhancing the value of the business it entered. The acquisition reinforces the vision of the group, and it will expand operations of the brand in other international markets,” said Vaidyanathan Sinivasan, CEO of Siva Group.

Health & Wellness Foods Market in India to Reach Rs 55,000 Crore by 2015 Tata Strategic Management Group, the largest Indian owned management consulting firm in South Asia, on Tuesday launched a report on Health & Wellness (H & W) Foods in India. The report pegs the potential market of H & W foods at Rs 55,000 crore by FY 2015 up from the current Rs 10,150 crore. Tata Strategic underlines new product development, technological advances in ingredient introductions and regulatory support as key growth drivers of Health & Wellness (H & W) food and beverages industry in India.

Raju Bhinge, CEO, Tata Strategic Management Group, said, “The global Health & Wellness foods market estimated at $460 bn in 2008 has grown at twice the rate of the packaged foods market during the period 2002-2008. With the growing awareness of lifestyle diseases in India, Indian consumers are increasingly open to the benefits provided by Health & Wellness foods. Therein lies the mega-opportunity that Indian food & beverage companies could leverage to create large packaged food brands in India.

McDonalds Plans Rs 50-60 cr Investment for Marketing McDonalds has announced the launch of new campaign for its happy price menu which starts with Rs 20 onwards. Termed – ‘Har Chotti Khushi Ka Celebration’, the campaign is design to position McDonald’s as the ideal venue and platform for individuals to celebrate their little joys of life.

Arvind Singhal, director marketing, McDonald’s India (west and south) stated, “For us, it’s not just a campaign line but the way of making our consumer’s life more enriching - and McDonald’s provides consumers a chance to celebrate ‘har choti khushi’ by offering dual benefit of quick service and affordable pricing. In today’s hectic pace of life, ‘har choti

khushi ka celebration’ needs to be a mantra for a fulfilling life.”

“We also have plans to launch a campaign for our meals such as McVeggi and McChicken this year.

We also plan to open 40 more McDonald outlets this year. To market our new products and initiatives for consumers we look forward to spend across Rs 50-60 crore in 2010,” he added.

Ronald McDonald and Omi Vaidya (who shot to fame after his role of ‘Chatur’ in 3 Idiots) marked the launch of happy price menu at an event organised in Mumbai.

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Big Bazaar is the ‘Most admired F&G Retailer of the Year’: FFI Food Forum India (FFI) 2010 last night recognised the Indian food industry’s top achievers in a glittering ceremony of the CocaCola Golden Spoon awards at the Renaissance Hotel and Convention Centre, Mumbai. While Big Bazaar was one of the biggest winners on the night, the audience was mesmerised with scintilating performances by renowned singer Shibani Kashyap and stand up comedian Ash Chandler.

Big Bazaar’s award as the ‘Most Admired F&G Retailer of the Year: Large Formats’ was recognition for the company’s tremendous growth in a challenging financial environment from 110 stores in 2008-09 to 125 today.

Big Bazaar narrowly beat out a competitive field of nominees for the award, which included Spencer’s Hyper, Easyday Market, Hypercity, Star Bazaar, More MegaStore and Spar.

Walmart’s India Retail venture with Bharti Retail’s Easy Day with 56 stores won them the Coca

Cola Golden Spoon Award for the ‘Most Admired Food & Grocery Retailer of the Year: Small and Medium Formats’.

Pantaloon Retail claimed the ‘Most Admired F&G Retailer of the Year: Private Label’ on the back of news that its Future Group division is set to register a turnover of Rs.440 crores for the sale of food and packaged food through its private label. Other nominees in the category were Reliance Retail, Spencer’s Retail, Aditya Birla Retail, Max Hypermarket and Trent.

The ‘Most Admired F&B Retail-

Babulbhai

the Year: Premium Restaurant) while Dominos Pizza won the award for ‘Most Admired F&B Retailer of the Year: QSR Foreign Origin’ among stiff competition from KFC, McDonalds, Subway and Pizza Hut. The Coca-Cola Golden Spoon Awards recognise excellence in food retailing and honour the brave innovative spirit of leaders in the dynamic Indian food retail and service industry. Food retailers are leading a change that has redefined consumption habits in India, resulting in a change in food tastes, preferences, awareness, consciousness and choices over the past few years.

-Imagesfood

er of the Year: Cafes, Juice Bars & Parlours’ category was one of the most competitive of the night. Cafe Coffee Day was voted the winner by industry members ahead of Barista, Costa Coffee, Baskin Robbins and Jus Booster Juice.

The award for India’s best premium restaurant went to Indigo (‘Most Admired F&B Retailer of

Supermarket Lights Found to Make Spinach More Nutritious Scientists in the US have found that keeping spinach under artificial lights could help preserve, or even increase its vitamin levels.

The study was published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry in March. Spinach was kept in continuous darkness or light for three to nine days, and then tested for levels of vitamins C,K,E, as well as folate, lutein and zeaxanthin. After nine days in the light, folate levels had increased by between 84 and 100 percent, with levels of vitamin K increasing between 50 and 100%.

In contrast, the spinach that had been kept in the dark had either

remained at the same level, or lost nutrients.

The study could lead to advances in the storage of spinach, as well as other vegetables, which may lead to produce remaining fresh for longer as well as being more nutritious.

According to Gene Lester, one of the researchers, the reason for the increased nutrient levels is that the plants continue photosynthesizing after they are picked, as long as they remain near a light source and there is moisture in the leaves.

(Reuters).

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A Memory Flows By: Indus River Has Become Bone Dry KARACHI (Outlook): Historical accounts often describe the Indus as ‘mighty’. And mighty it has mostly been, defeating Alexander the Great and his rampaging army and spawning the ancient civilisations of Harappa and Mohenjodaro. The British successfully tamed the Indus, building the world’s largest canalbased irrigation system and providing succour to millions.

But the once-mighty Indus is now shrinking rapidly, courtesy climate change, bad irrigation practices and an exponential increase in population. In addition, Islamabad accuses India of curtailing the flow of rivers into Pakistan. Whatever the cause, the sight of the river today wrenches you, as my two friends and I experienced on our road-trip cutting through a wide swathe of Sindh and Punjab. On our first stop at Sehwan, Sindh, where the Sufi saint Hazrat Lal Shahbaz Qalandar is buried, we climbed a hillock. Down there was the Indus, an apology for the river of our memory, a thin strip of water snaking across the dark brown landscape, the riverbed shallow and muddy. Amidst sighs of disbelief, a glance at the map confirmed to us: yes, it was indeed the Indus.

It was at Sukkur, though, the sheer enormity of the tragedy befalling the mighty Indus became palpable to us.

The British built the Sukkur Barrage in this town in 1923. Since childhood, we were bred on stories of this engineering marvel which controlled the rhythmic, rapid flow of the Indus and diverted its water to irrigate land through an intricate system of canals.

A beautiful park was laid out on its banks to enable locals and visitors to partake of the Indus experience. They would take boats to the Hindu temple located in the middle of the river.

But the sight belied those stories.

Where is the river, we asked, blaming the disappearance to the early morning mist. Horror! Horror! This was the river—shallow puddles of water, punctuated by a rapidly increasing expanse of muddy land, the riverbed itself. In some parts, the riverbed peeked out like isles. Our taxi driver, Dilshad, said this was the lowest level to which the river had fallen in recent history. Really, you could simply wade through it.

A shepherd and his herd cross the dried bed of the Indus 160 km north of Karachi.

“Seasonal variations lead to fall in water levels. We need to work on the conservation and management of water.”Jamaat Ali Shah, Indus Water Commissioner T h e picture in Punjab was equally dismal, as the western tributaries of the Indus—Chenab and Jhelum—are also shrinking rapidly. Lower Punjab, like neighbouring Sindh, is arid, and agriculture here is primarily dependent on rainfall and water supplied from the rivers to the canal irrigation system. En route to Bahawalpur, one could see fields being prepared for sowing, but no water in sight.Aspring drizzle was enough to bring smiles on the faces of local residents, who bemoaned the progressive decline in precipitation. And now aid workers use the F-word to predict what lies ahead in 2010: “Famine”. Tahir Qureshi, senior advisor on coastal ecosystems at the International Union for Conservation of Nature, Pakistan, says global warming has affected the region. “In the past, there were regular rains in the summer but these are becoming erratic. In the future we may become a drier nation and experience scanty rainfall.”

This is why Maqbool Anjum, a

Shiv Sagar

farmer in south Punjab with a landholding of 12.5 acres, is worried. He has seen the rainfall decline, and the gushing irrigation canals reduced to a trickle. About this year, Anjum said, “Farmers had prepared the fields to sow crops, but there was less water from the canals and we have to rely on groundwater from tubewells to make up for the shortage. There’s been less rain this year. Obviously we’re worried.”

Environmental lawyer Rafay Alam says the depletion in Pakistan’s water resources is linked to the population boom and bad irrigation practices. According to Alam, in 1947 Pakistan had 5,000 cubic meters of water/person/ year. A 2007 report by the Asian Development Bank says Pakistan is nearly at the water scarcity threshold of a 1,000 cubic meters/person/year; a 2008 World Bank report dubs Pakistan as “one of the most water-stressed countries in the world”. Alam believes this figure will fall in the next decade, because the population is multiplying even as resources are decreasing.

According to Alam, “Nearly 95 per cent of Pakistan’s water is used for agriculture. The irrigation water is put

into canals. It’s an inefficient system designed in the 1860s. The canal is not lined and is just a trench; imagine the seepage that occurs. We’re losing up to 40 per cent of water to seepage, evaporation and theft.” Alam says farmers should switch to drip irrigation instead of the current flood irrigation system, which would help save water.

“Nearly 95% of water is used for irrigation through canals. Up to 40% is lost to seepage, evaporation and theft.”Rafay Alam, Environmental lawyer The Pakistan government blames India for the acute shortage. According to the Indus Basin Water Treaty of 1960, the Sutlej, Beas and Ravi were handed over to India; Pakistan controlled the Jhelum, Chenab and Indus. In Multan, we saw what the Sutlej had been reduced to—mounds of sand and a dry, cracked riverbed.

Pakistan claims India is building barrages and dams that violate the treaty.

India denies any violations.

Pakistan Indus Water Commissioner Jamaat Ali Shah says, “The treaty must be implemented in letter and spirit.” But even Shah agrees that the Pakistani government must im-

plement efficient water storage and conservation systems. “The water level falls due to seasonal variations, and then we don’t have water storage facilities. We have to work towards the conservation and management of water.”

It’s not just India and Pakistan who are fighting over water. Pakistan’s provincial governments regularly allege that the 1991 Water Accord stipulating the distribution of water resources is not being implemented adequately, with Punjab often being accused by other provinces of usurping their share of water. Amidst this battle of words, the World Food Programme noted, “The current wheat crop in the rain-fed areas will give less production due to crop failure during sowing season because of late rains.” It further says the Pakistan government must address the water security issue, which is “intrinsically linked with food security and rural livelihoods”.

The Food Security Risk Index ranking of 2009 puts Pakistan at number 11, an “extreme risk” country. If the current scenario prevails, the lack of water may be the final push that sends Pakistan into the abyss.

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Indo American News • Friday, April 09 , 2010

india

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Sachin Meets Saraswathi

The legend approached the 87-year-old Saraswathi Vaidyanathan with folded hands and sought her blessings. Affectionately calling Tendulkar her fourth grandson, she gifted an idol of Lord Ganesh to the batting maestro CHENNAI: The air suffused with warmth, Sachin Tendulkar greeted a special admirer at a city hotel on Monday, APRIL 5. The legend approached the 87-year-old Saraswathi Vaidyanathan with folded hands and sought her blessings.

Despite an illustrious career of miles and milestones, cricket’s most successful batsman has retained a great sense of humility. “I read in the article that you have followed all my innings and know all my records. I need your good wishes,” said the man who cuts across barriers.

The April 1 issue of The Hindu Metro Plus broke the story of how Saraswathi, unmindful of her advancing age, had kept track of Tendulkar’s glorious journey. She maintained her own statistics of the maestro, kept awake all night to follow his innings on television and prayed for him.

Her body weak, Saraswathi had difficulty walking. Yet her eyes laughed when she saw Tendulkar in flesh and blood. Not wanting the moment to fly away and turning distinctly emotional, she said, “I am lucky to meet you.” Tendulkar corrected her. “No, I am lucky to meet you,” he said.

Saraswathi recalled Tendulkar’s records — to the legend’s great delight — and expressed her wish that he complete 100 international centu-

Saraswathi Vaidyanathan, an aged Sachin fan blessing Master batsmen Sachin Tendulkar at Park Sheraton Hotel in Chennai.

ries. Tendulkar is seven short of the landmark. “I will,” replied a beaming Tendulkar.

She then gifted Tendulkar an idol of Lord Ganesh. Tendulkar touched her

feet, again in all humility. Soon, he autographed her prized possession — a bat signed by several accomplished cricketers. The maestro’s name had been missing from the list.

Born in Pakistan, But Heart’s in Kashmir ISLAMABAD: The hearts of twin brother and sister, Zaid-Bin-Aijaz and Zainab Aijaz, started beating for the first time in the capital of Pakistan last year, but their parents believe they belong to Kashmir.

Parents of these children, Mian Aijaz Ahmed and Dilshada Begum, are residents of Jammu and Kashmir but their children were born in Islamabad. For the first five months of lives, Zaid and Zainab lived in Pakistan but their parents believe they belong to Kashmir.

“We are Kashmiris and naturally our children are also Kashmiris. It doesn’t matter where they were born, their identity is with Kashmir and their heart will beat for Kashmir,” said Mian Aijaz Ahmed.

It is for the first time in five years, after the commmencement of the cross-Line of Control (LoC) bus service that such a case has come into light. Thousands of people have moved across the LoC but these children are special because they didn’t need any clearance certificate from any intelligence agency to travel from Muzzaffarabad to Srinagar.

Mian Aijaz Ahmed and Dilshada Begum of Hamza Colony in Srinagar traveled to the capital of Pakistan Administered Kashmir (PAK) Muzzaffarabad on September 17, 2009 in the Srinagar-Muzzaffarabad bus service to meet their relatives across the border.

At that time, Dilshada Begum was seven and a half months pregnant and after a few days of her stay in Muzzaffarabad, her condition deteriorated

disappears. He is a tonic for her.”

Despite being pressed for time, Tendulkar had happily agreed to meet Saraswathi. It came after a team meeting of the Mumbai Indians at Park Sheraton, ahead of the evening practice session.

Tendulkar was moved on more than one occasion. Saraswathi had the final say. “You are short in stature, but very big in deeds,” she said. Tendulkar smiled, once again.-Hindu

Affectionately calling Tendulkar her fourth grandson — Saraswathi has three grandsons and a granddaughter — she asked the legend, “How are Anjali [Tendulkar’s wife], Arjun [son] and Sara [daughter] doing?” Tendulkar answered, “They are all well.”

Saraswathi’s second son C.V. Venkitakrishnan said: “Whenever she has a health issue, all she needs to do is to watch Tendulkar bat. All her pain

following which doctors advised her not to travel back to Jammu and Kashmir.

Doctors at Muzzaffarabad referred her to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in Islamabad where she gave birth to her children on Oct 23, 2009.

Before the birth of these children, their father Mian Aijaz had to come back to J&K because as per the rules of LoC bus service one can only live across the border for 42 days. But his wife Dilshada Begum got special permission to stay back.

After a bit of a struggle, Dilshada Begum with the help of her relatives in PAK was able to get the birth certificates for her twins when the officials of the Indian embassy in Pakistan intervened in the matter.

Dilshada along her children came back to Srinagar in March this year and the twins have brought smiles on the faces of everyone in the family.

“I am very thankful to both the countries, India and Pakistan, and especially the Indian embassy that helped us a lot in Pakistan,” said Mian Aijaz Ahmed.

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sports

Chennai Scores Three Straight Wins out by a direct hit from S Badrinath at short cover. The only wicket the bowler can take credit for in the entire collapse was McLaren’s - offspinner R Ashwin trapping him lbw in front of offstump, so plumb that Chennai’s appeal was more a celebration than a question. Mumbai had lurched to 92 for 7 and even the return of Tendulkar couldn’t extend their winning run.

Their bowlers had done a better job earlier in the evening, shackling a powerful Chennai batting line-up. Opener M Vijay couldn’t complete a hat-trick of brutal innings in front of his M Vijay catches Kieron Pollard despite interference from Thilan home crowd, bottomedging Harbhajan Singh Thushara, Chennai Super Kings v Mumbai Indians. onto the stumps early.

Matthew Hayden is ball from Suresh Raina. When

By Siddharth Chennai celebrated, Rayudu prac- supposed to be the bruiser at the Kavichandran CHENNAI (Cricinfo): Chennai tised the stroke that would have top of the Chennai line-up, but yet again he couldn’t find the boundSuper Kings completed a sweep served him better, a cut.

The potentially explosive Trini- aries, dealing mainly in singles. of their three-match home leg after the Mumbai Indians’ batting dad pair of Dwayne Bravo and After the lethargy in the Powerfell apart in a rash of poor strokes Kieron Pollard have done little of plays, Suresh Raina was just startfollowing Sachin Tendulkar’s re- note with the bat all tournament, ing to catalyse the innings before tirement due to dehydration. On a and the trend continued at the failing in his attempt to clear midtrack where 467 runs were plun- MA Chidambaram Stadium. Both wicket off a short ball Chennai were kept on their toes dered three days ago, boundaries looked to launch the ball into the were hard to come by and, despite crowds beyond the sightscreen when Dhoni made a typical busbeing hampered by dew, Chennai but got more height than distance tling start, and Hayden flicked easily defended their moderate on their strokes, and a pair of and drove Bravo for ten runs in well-held catches sent them on the next over. When Dhoni edged total. one past the keeper for four in the Tendulkar was on his haunches their way.

Indian audiences are yet to see 12th over, 63 runs had come off and breathing heavily as early as the fourth over of the chase. the Kieron Pollard who wowed the previous six. It was two overs However, he and Shikhar Dha- them during the Champions later that the match swung. Polwan provided their customary League, and he disappointed with lard’s slow bouncer tricked Dhosolid start, hitting a four an over the bat again, falling for 5. Mum- ni, and Hayden’s Mongoose bat in the Powerplay to take Mumbai bai slipped to 86 for 5 in 13 overs, wasn’t enough to clear long-on to 46 for 0. Dhawan chopped on and they never recovered from off the next delivery.

The home side slid to 119 for Thilan Thushara’s first delivery, there. In between, the promising but Mumbai progressed smooth- youngster Saurabh Tiwary who 4, after which boundaries again ly, if slowly, to 62 after nine overs had looked the most assured of proved scarce, none coming in when Tendulkar decided to retire. the Mumbai batsmen barring Ten- the next four overs. Michael After looking in control of the dulkar, also perished, slogging Hussey and S Badrinath picked match till then, Mumbai implod- straight to deep midwicket off the off the singles but struggled to hit ed, losing a wicket in each of the impressive Shadab Jakati, whose top gear, before some innovative strokeplay from Badrinath lifted next six overs. Ambati Rayudu solid tournament continued.

R Sathish and Ryan McLaren Chennai to 165, which ultimatewas the first to go, stumped after tearing out of the crease and miss- were involved in some nervy run- ly proved enough for the third ing when looking to loft a short ning before Sathish was caught straight win.

Indo American News • Friday, April 09 , 2010

45

Flying Sikh’s Hockey Epic on Film

By Abhay Vaidya

MUMBAI (DNA): Even before a line of script has been written and the first shot canned, Milkha Singh’s act of selling his life’s story to filmmakers for just a rupee has already been extremely inspiring.

An orphan of the Partition who struggled against trauma and adversity, the very mention of his name creates a wave of excitement. Therefore, when the Flying Sikh (so nicknamed because of his spectacular athletic record at the Tokyo Asiad (1956), Cardiff Commonwealth Games (1958) and the Rome Olympics, 1960) decided to help capture his life on film there was jubilation all around.

By publicly disclosing that he wants no more than a rupee from the biopic, Singh has forsaken a handsome amount that could have easily come his way from a Bollywood film. His passion and a burning desire to see his country prosper in sports are evident and he has been pained by India’s dismal performance in international sports, especially athletics.

The inspiration from his film will come but whether it will translate into medals is a moot question because inspiration alone is not enough. The ground reality is such that India is unlikely to get medals till professionals take charge and politicians are restricted to ceremonial duties in sports.

Although Pune has been famous as the cradle of Indian hockey, having produced such legends such as Babu Nimal, Joe Philips and Dhanraj Pillay, the city lacks a decent hockey ground for its children. Till recently, a newly constructed hockey stadium was left neglected to the extent that the ground could not be played on and the fittings and fixtures were stolen and vandalized. The irony is that this did not bother any of Pune’s politicians- including Kalmadi- even after it was brought to their notice.

The absence of grounds with synthetic surfaces such as astroturf for junior teams at the inter-

school level, inspite of heavy government subsidies, is part of the reason for India’s poor performance in international hockey.

A small country like Holland has 400 such grounds- across schools.

Indian professionals say that the game is lost by the time our best players reach the national team because of inadequate practice on synthetic surfaces in the formative years. India needs such grounds in every promising city and European coaches to elevate standards in hockey.

The pursuit of sports in India originated essentially as a recreation for British officers and this legacy passed on to wealthy businessmen and bureaucrats.

Politicians became important to help raise funds or lobby with the government to get grants and land for various associations.

They were thus valuable for valuable for various associations and federations butthe flip side was a culture of favouritism and regionalism in the selection of players and coaches. Talent was never the most important criteria for selection.

Professionals lament the complete lack of a long-term national vision and a road map to achieve specific goals in sports. There’s plenty ofmoney today, but no direction. Politicians are efficient when it comes to spending crores of rupees in constructing stadia and sports complexes; but disastrous in sports administration and management.

Indian sports needs Milkha Singhs by the hundreds to inspire and guide budding talent,along with visionarieslike Sam Pitroda to chart a roadmap for revolutionary change. We have done it in telecom; we can do it in sports.

Till this happens and till politicians are not kept at bay in sports, we can only dream of winning medals. An inspiring film will make us feel good. Winning medals is an altogether different ballgame.

Do you have a local sports story? Please send your articles and photos to indoamericannews@ yahoo.com

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Indo American News • Friday, April 09 , 2010

Arya Samaj of Greater Houston 281-242-5000

community connections

RELIGIOUS SERVICES Havan Satsang 10 AM - 12, discourse by Dr. Premchand Shridhar: 281-7520100 DAV Sanskriti school 10 AM - 12 - Havan, Hindi and Naitik Shiksha classes. Shekhar Agrawal: 281-242-5000

april 2010

10 Sat

Every Sunday satsang assembly accompanied by Santo with inspirational BAPS 281-765-BAPS (2277) talks & devotional bhajans from 4:30pm - 6:30pm followed by arati and mahaprasad. 281-765-BAPS (2277), www.houston.baps.org

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CURRENT EVENTS

3pm: Jagadguru Srimad Vallabhacharya (Mahaprabhuji) Pragatyotsav, VPSS, VPSS Haveli, 281-5648777, www.vpsshaveli.org 5.30pm: Maitri 2010, The Graduate Indian Student Organization, Cullen Performance Hall, University of Houston, Ravi Goyal: 713-540-6586, uh_giso@yahoo.com

Durga Bari Society Temple hours: Monday - Saturday: 9am- 11am and 4pm to 7pm; Sandhya Aarti 6.30pm. Sunday 9am- 7 pm. www.houstondurgabari.org, Champak 832-347-4003 Sadhu. • 13944 Schiller Road.

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Daily Darshan & Arati Times: 4.30am, 7am, 8.30am, 12noon, 4.30pm, 7pm, 9pm. See darshan live on www.iskconhouston.org. Sunday Festival: 5.30pm to 7.30pm. Located at 1320 West 34th St, Houston, TX 77018.

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11.30am: Wells Fargo Lecture Series on South Asia: IndiaU.S. Can they Reinvest Partnership?, Asia Society Texas Center, The Houston Club, fritzl@asiasociety.org , Fritz Lanham: 713.439.0051 x17

16-18

Annual Tyagaraja Utsavam, Sri Meenakshi Temple, 281-4890358, www.meenakshi.org

Hare Krishna Dham

Hindu Worship Society Temple JVB Preksha Center

281-596-9642

Priest – “Bhibhdutt Mishra Ji”. Open for Darshan all days, except Thursday, from 8am -10am & 5pm - 8pm. Sunday 11:30am to 1:30pm – Regular Puja, Religious discourses and Prasad. Website www.hwst.org Regular weekly program of Yoga and meditation Mon-Thu 7.15pm to 8.15pm.

On Saturdays from 9.00am to 11.15am. Located at 14102 Schiller Rd.

Sanatan Shiv Shakti Rudrabhiskek every Monday followed by Aarti and mahaprasad. 5645 HillMandir croft, #701 Houston TX 77036.

713-278-9099

Saumyakasi Sivalaya 281-568-1690

Temple hours: Mon - Fri: 8.30am-Noon, 5-8pm, Sat & Sun: 8.30am-2pm, 5-8pm, Aarti: Noon and 7.30pm, Chinmaya Prabha, 10353 Synott Rd, Sugar Land, TX 77478. www.saumyakasi.org, Bharati Sutaria: 281-568-1690

Sri Ashtalakshmi Temple 281-498-2344

Daily Schedule: 7:30am – 9:30am -Suprabhatam, Sri Murthy Aaradhana, Tiruppa:vai Sevakalam, Theertha Ghosti, Balabhogam, 9:30am – 11am :Temple is open, 6:30am – 7pm, www.jetusahouston.org

Shri Kripalu Kunj Ashram 713-344-1321

Satsang & spiritual discourses, Sun: 10.30 am.-12.30pm. with simultaneous prog. of Hindi, Sanskrit and Moral science for kids, dance classes for children and adults every Fri:8 pm, www.shrikripalukunj.org

Shri Radha Krishna Four Arti daily: 6:30am , 12 noon, 7pm & 9pm. Tuesday & Saturday 7:10pm.

Sunday Bhajan and Kritan at 6pm. Maha Arti 7pm, More information www.

Temple srkt.org Located at 11625 Beechnut Houston, TX 77072.

281-933-8100 Swaminarayan Mandir (ISSO) 281-530-2565 Vedanta Society

Darshan: Daily 7.30am-12.30pm, 4-8.30pm. Aarti: Daily 7.45am & 7pm. Hanumanji Aarti: Sat: 7.15pm. Rajbhog Thaal (No Darshan): 10.30-11am. Dinner Thaal 5.30-6pm. Located at 10080 Synott Rd, Sugar Land TX 77498.

5906 Cypress • Classes Sunday from 10.30am to 12.30pm on Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, 1st &3rd Sunday; Bhagavad-Gita, 2nd Sunday; on works of Swami Vivekananda, More information visit www.houstonvedanta.org

Foundation for India Studies Saturday, April 24, 2010 : Foundation for India Studies presents a Lecture by world renowned Indian American Physicist and author Padma Vibhushan Dr. E.C.G.Sudarshan on “Modern India’s Expanding Role In Science” at Madras Pavillion, 1620 Kensington Dr.,Sugarland, Tx. 77479 Social hour: 6.00p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Lecture and Q&A: 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. followed by dinner. Admission $20/- includes dinner.

Free parking • For Information: Call 713-795-5169 / 979-240-9496 / 713-743-4689 / 281-494-7656

Sri Guruvayurappan Temple Houston 11620 Ormandy St. Houston, TX 77035 Balalaya Prathishttha celebrations - Poster Contest – Theme Mahabharata for children (Ages 6 – 18) from 1:30 PM to 2:30 PM on Saturday, May 22, 2010 Costume Contest – Theme Mahabharata - For children ages 6 and under from 2:30 PM to 3:30 PM followed by Mahabharata Quiz – Knowledge Contest for children (ages 6 – 18) from 3:30 PM – 5:30 PM For Details visit: www.guruvayurusa.org last day for registration is May 14, 2010.

Free Citizenship Classes @ Houston Public Library

February - May 2010

Mondays & Thursdays Wednesdays 7-8.30pm 5.30-7.30pm Carnegie Neighborhood Library Henington Regional Library 832-393-1820 832-393-1970

Wed Thu

Fri-Sun

17 Sat

7pm: Vishu and Tamil New Year, Sri Meenakshi Temple, 281489-0358, www.meenakshi.org

8.30pm: Asha Bhosle Live in Concert, Star Promotions Inc., Arena Theatre, Rajender: 281-222-4500

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5.30pm: Chai Exchange, South Asian Chamber of Commerce, Westin Oaks Galleria, 832-660-2952, jeff@sacchouston.com 6pm: Free Seminar on Osteoarthritis, Methodist Sugar Land Hospital, 800-451-2006 Ext. 3335, www.managingosteoarthritis.com

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4pm: Phite Andhaaraache Jaale’: musical program by Shridhar Phadke, Houston Maharashtra Mandal, Cross Point Community Church, www.hmmhouston.org 7.30pm: Vaisakhi Celebration, Punjabi Society of Houston, Cullen Performance Hall, University of Houston, Jasmeeta Singh: 713-858-8229

Wed

Sat

7.30pm: Rahat Fateh Ali Khan Live in Concert, Rehan Siddiqi, Arena Theatre, 877-786-1180

25 Sun

Noon-5pm: Bibi Bridal Show for the Luxurious South Asian Wedding, Hilton Americas, 713-992-4085

mAy 2010

1

Sat

6.30pm: Pratham Houston Gala 2010, Pratham USA, Westin Galleria, 713-774-9599, www.prathamusa.org

2

5.30pm: The Blue Mug- A Comedy Play, Media Circle and Art Promotions, Stafford Civic Center, Surender Talwar: 713-668-2948

Sun

7

Fri

7.30pm: Mera Gaon: Save a Mother’s 2nd Annual Gala, Ashford Oaks, veenakaul8@gmail.com, www.save-a-mother.org

Sat

5.30pm: Classical Concert with Pandit Shantilal Shah, Anjali Center, Raman: 281-630-6075

Fri

8pm: India Jaz Suites, Indo American Association, Wortham Center, 281-648-0422

8

21 22 Sat

8pm: Sukhwinder Singh Jai Ho, Hum Tum City, Arena theatre, www.humtumcity.com

SatSun

8-9.30am: Free Yoga Classes by Patanjali Yogpeeth Center, Arya Samaj, Anil: 281-579-9433

Send event information to indoamericannews@yahoo.com Listings should be concise and occur within 15 days of submittal

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