07202012

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Friday, July 20 2012 | Vol. 31, No. 29

Indo American erican News

HGH Awards 2012

www.indoamerican-news.com Published weekly from Houston, TX

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Skylink Launches a Revolution in Airline Reservation System

BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA HOUSTON: To hear from some of the travel agents who were in the room this past Tuesday, July 17, the system that they saw a trial run of was just short of revolutionary, especially for the profits that they saw it could realize for them and the time and headaches they could save in finding the perfect fare. “”This system is a game changer,” said Sanjay Kopalkar, the Director of Business Development, USA for Skylink, a major consolidator of fares from the US, Canada and UK. As he made the very first live presentation of Skylink’s new on-line booking service, Kopalkar went through all the steps that it would take to get a reservation.

When he got to the step where the system could check flight availability plus or minus three days,

Sanjay Koparkar (second from left), Director of Business Development USA for Skylink; Mark Culmer (third from left), Houston-based Sales Manager for the Southern US for Emirates Airways; Ashish Vyas (right), Manager, Skylink Houston office with the rest of the team of Skylink Houston Photos: Bijay Dixit

Winner of raffle items with Mark Culmer

there were “oohhs” from the crowd.

“This is brand new,” added Koplakar. “Whichever agency signs up for this system tonight will be the first of its kind in North America.” He then went on to give a live preview of the not yet launched software called tripspro. com which will “revolutionize the way to receive lowest-priced international fares from multiple consolidators, delivered to your booking screen,” added Koplakar.

Skylink held the event over cocktails and dinner at Maggiano’s Italian restaurant on Post Oak in front of about 50 travel agents, although many more who accepted but could not make it. This did not dampen the enthusiasm of the crowd who were familiar with Skylink and the new Houston of-

fice managed by Ashish Vyas, who previously owned and ran the Skybird Travel Agency. The remainder of the three people who make up the Houston office were also introduced.

Skylink represents a group of six companies, all in various forms of the travel business, but the original firm was founded 33 years ago

by Surjit Babra. Now, with of-

Indo American News

fices in major cities across the US, Canada, Europe, Middle East and India, Skylink has become a true consolidator, with no retail business. It can process 100 million fares with 78 airline partners and envisions more growth having received private equity funding and support from the Mondee Group of Companies that will allow it to make a further push into automation technology.

Later, the co-partner of the event, Mark Culmer, the Houston-based Sales Manager for the Southern US for Emirates Airways made a sales presentation of the airline, how it has grown, its new fleet of aircraft and the new gateways (Dallas-Ft. Worth being the latest) that it will be opening in the US as well as overseas and the new newest air routes and cities that Emirates will serve.

To the delight of the guests, Culmer first gave out door prizes to those who answered relatively simple question from his presentation. He then offered up four raffled items – including two economy tickets and two business class tickets on Emirates to any location it flies – from cards selected from a fish bowl.

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July 20, 2012

5

HGH Heralds Young Future Community Leaders of Hinduism

BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA HOUSTON: Over the last four years, the elders in the Hindu community in the Metroplex have struggled with how to hand off responsibilities for the institutions they have created as well as how to perpetuate the work of projecting the religion and culture itself in the five county area. Through a concerted effort, they have gone out to seek and recognize those much younger who may rise to the occasion both in the religion but also in the arts.

After they spread the word throughout their organizations, the elders were delighted to discover that there were rays of hope in the cadre of youngsters who had been standing in the wings, assimilating the culture and customs and willing to get more involved.

Last year, the umbrella organization of Hindus in the Metroplex, Hindus of Greater Houston, held its first function to recognize these young people on who many hopes have been laid out. This year, in measure of further reassurance, HGH held its Second Annual Youth Awards and presented eight young men and women who brimmed with enthusiasm and related their stories of immersion in Hindu culture.

The event was held at India House this past Sunday evening, July 15 to a larger than expected crowd of 300 and a light appetizer, followed by dinner after the awards, catered in vegetarian style by the BAPS Swami Narayan kitchen. Emcees for the evening were two other youths, Tejas Dave and Priya Ramchandra, who were intermittently assisted by the HGH’s Janamashtami 2014 coordinator Partha Krishnaswamy. They introduced each awardee with a short bio and the awards were then presented by some of the elders who have contributed much to the spread of Hinduism in the Bayou City and beyond (see box). One of the awardees, Divya Kompella who has started the temple’s recycling initiative, even sprang into action to collect two large bags of plastic water bottles at the event to recycle when she found that there were no plans to do so!

But the event went further to recognize, not formally but with their eyes, ears and response, those young people who have excelled in the performing Indian arts. It was marvelous to see the opening of the event through three bhajans in invocation by the bhajan and orchestra group of five performers singing and playing exquisitely, and led by their musical director, Jumuna Murali. Four others performances were interspersed between the awards – Srivanvitha Sreedhar sang a bhajan; Akrithi sang another bhajan; Smitha Prahlad led the entire audience in an interactive song; Apurva Batra sang a bhajan and Srivihvatha Sreedhar danced a semi-classical dance which was part pantomime and the range of her facial expressions of emotions were absolutely on-key and a sight to behold!

The event also featured the Award for

$35,000 to keep the Janamashtami event going for five years. “We are confident that we will collect more throughout the year. ”The work of SEWA International was visible at a volunteer recruiting table in the lobby and its local Coordinator, Kriti Dogra spoke of the work it was doing in resettling refugees and its recent Family Services initiative.

HGH founding members with past president Girish Naik (right)

Invocation by Chinmaya Mission Houston choir

2012, which went to Soham Chanchalani, a young man who related his experience growing up in the Arya Samaj of Greater Houston and how he went through the DAV School for 7 years. “I have learnt so much,” said the exuberant Chanchalani, “that I can give detailed information on my religion and culture. At first, my parents struggled to take me, but then later, the roles were reversed and I had to drag them with me to DAVS!” Not to be forgotten, the founders of the Janamashtami Celebrations which were started 22 years ago were brought to the stage to light the ceremonial diyas and were recognized with the award winners. Towards the end of the program, the HGH President Sharad Amin brought one of the major stalwarts, Raj Syal, to the podium to speak of his persistent work in making Janamashtami a success throughout the years. “Hearing of the Youth’s accomplishments makes us proud,” Amin said, “that the younger generation is stepping forward in the right direction to build a stronger Hindu community with Sewa Bhava.”

Another fiery supporter of Hinduism and Indian culture, Vijay Pallod who is ever present at all functions, spoke about his yearning to keep Janamashtami going and Rishi Bhutada explained the work of the Hindu American Foundation. Pallod recognized Ramesh Bhutada and Jugal Malani for their financial commitment of

Photos: Rajesh Thatte

HGH 2012 Award Winners Soham Chanchalani with the Arya Samaj of Greater Houston. Presented by Ramesh Bhutada, Acharaya Parveen Gulati and the new Acharya.

Vidha (Nupur) Dixit with the Hindus of Greater Houston, parents: Radha and Bijay Dixit. Presented by Pankaj Malani.

Ramesh Cheruvu with the Chinmay Mission, parents: Subramanyam and Shyamala Cheruvu. Presented by Harish Jajoo.

Ruchita Naik of the Hindu Students Association, parents: Girish and Heena Naik. Presented by Tupil Narasiman.

Yagnesh (Parth) Patel of the Yogi Divine Society, Clear Lake, parents: Rambhai and Kapila Patel. Presented by Dr. Urmil Shukla.

Divya Kompella of the Hindu Temple at Woodlands, parents: Jaswinder Ghai and Srinivas Kopella. Presented by Rajiv Bhavsar Komal Bhandari of SEWA International , parents Bhakti Sharma and Chitra Bhandari.

Presented by Surinder Trehan.

At the SEWA International booth, from left, President Vasu Dev; Project Coordinator Kriti Dogra, volunteer Ujjwal Brara, volunteer Suryansh Purwar, and summer interns Lisa Soto, Rob Sollis and Sheryl Lo. Intern Chloe Thonsall was not available for the picture.

Photo: Jawahar Malhotra Indo American News (ISSN 887-5936) is published weekly every Friday (for a subscription of $40 per year) by IndoAmerican News Inc., 7457 Harwin Dr., Suite 262, Houston, TX 77036, tel: 713-789-6397, fax:713-789-6399, email: indoamericannews@yahoo.com.

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COMMUNITY

July 20, 2012

HPL 2012 Reaches Fever Pitch with Stallions, Rangers & Avengers at Top

BY ROHAN BAVADEKAR HOUSTON: The 2012 Houston Premier League (HPL) excitement reached fever pitch this past weekend with the teams completing their third round of games.

This year’s edition has seen a turnaround in fortunes for some of the teams while others have continued to show much needed consistency in the performance.

The past weekend saw two of the teams fall out of contention of playoff spots in comprehensive fashion. The Houston Texans, in addition to being the defending champions, were considered to be one of the stronger teams in the competition with some big names in their ranks. But having lost their first two games of the tournament, they were facing a must win situation in their game against the Rangers on Saturday.

Unfortunately, their team failed to click at the right time again and they lost another close game by 3 runs. Chasing a huge Rangers’ total of 171/8 in 20 overs, the Texans needed 14 runs off the last over. But despite a hurricane knock of 82 by their star Charan Gowda, the Texans fell short of the required target of 172. With this result, the Texans became the first team to be knocked out of playoff contention in this year’s HPL. Kishan Patel, who scored 73 for the Rangers, was named the game MVP. Sunday (July 15) featured games between the Avengers and the Lions followed by the Stallions playing the Gladiators. The day was affected by a thunderstorm in the morning and the game between the Avengers and the Lions was shortened and the target revised using the D/L method.

The game began with the Avengers captain

It’s celebration time: The victorious Houston Avengers team along with co-owner George Eapen.

Niraj Shah winning the toss and deciding to bat first. Avengers looked to consolidate at the start, then accelerate and put up a huge total on the board for the Lions to chase.

The Avengers openers Ashish Mayekar and Manas Dasaraju came in and began solidly with a partnership of 21. After Manas was dismissed, Mustafa Hemani and Ashish Mayekar then built a crucial partnership of 43 for the Avengers. They were both looking good until Hemani was run out in unfortunate circumstances with a direct hit from the long-on boundary. Avengers then lost a couple of quick wickets but accelerated the scoring to reach 89/4 in 14 overs before the showers stopped the game.

After play resumed, the Lions were asked to bat and set a revised target of 80 in 10 overs. They began well, getting to 45/2 off five overs, but the Avengers team rose to the occasion splendidly, led by captain Niraj, who gave away just 6 runs in his two overs and picked up two crucial wickets.

The fielding effort was highlighted by two breathtaking catches by Chaitanya and brilliant athleticism by the rest of the team.

Showing excellent defense in the field, the Avengers won the game comprehensively

by 11 runs.

The Lions fell out of playoff contention after their third loss in the tournament, while the red-hot Avengers moved to third place in the team standings. Ashish Mayekar of the Avengers , who scored an unbeaten 46 under extremely tough batting conditions, was named the game MVP. “I’m extremely proud of the way the team has performed till now. It has been a complete team effort and credit goes to each and every member of the squad. The fielding and the bowling has been outstanding and we hope to continue performing at the same level in the rest of the tournament. We want to thank all our supporters and most importantly, our proud sponsor Wheatstone Resource Group and their President Ajith John for giving relentless encouragement and showing a huge amount of faith in our team.”, said a visibly ecstatic co-owner George Eapen, after the victory.

The second game was between the Stallions and the Gladiators turned out to be a relatively one-sided affair. The Stallions scored 149/6 in their allotted 20 overs and then stifled the Gladiators lineup by getting wickets at regular intervals, winning their third game of the tournament by 18 runs. With this loss, the Gladiators are under intense pressure and face a must-win situation in their remaining games. Majid Rizvi of the Stallions, was the game MVP for scoring a blistering 56 and a devastating spell of 4-17.

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COMMUNITY

July 20, 2012

U.S. Eases Visa Application Norms for Indian Travelers

MUMBAI (TOI): The U..S has eased visa application norms for Indians wishing to travel to the country for business and leisure.

Children under seven years of age are not required to appear for a non-immigrant visa interview after completed visa form is submitted. An applicant would not have to pay

visa fees again if he reapplies after his application had been earlier kept on hold or shown pending for various reasons under section 221g of U.S. visa rules.

In Mumbai, the U.S. consulate has opened over 40 windows. This has reduced the waiting time for a visa interview with a consular officer to one hour as compared to three hours earlier.

The consulate has further upgraded its emergency appointment module for applicants seeking visas in case of unforeseen

travel. Such applicants would get an automated email text reply notifying the status of their request made for emergency appointment.

The Consulate shared this information at an interactive session held with travel agents, some of who are also members of Visit-USA committee at the consulate office in Bandra Kurla Complex. The session was held to explain relaxed visa norms to travel agents and who in turn can facilitate legitimate travel for their clients.

Though they welcomed the U.S. initiative, many travel agents still had concerns to many visa norms. They pointed out instances of the consulate denying visas to parents if their only son or daughter were residing in U.S. At times, students were denied visa for further studies though they had earlier visited the country as tourists. Some said there was resentment among travellers due to the interview sessions which tend to be a bit personal.

U.S. consular officials tried to allay fears, saying such instances are stray cases. “We process almost 1,500 applicants a day. So, it depends on how the applicants are able to convince the visa officer the genuineness of his proposed visit. There have been instances where applicants have fudge data,” said a consular officer.

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COMMUNITY

July 20, 2012

IMAGH Plans A Great Farewell for CG Sanjiv Arora at Iftar and Dinner

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HOUSTON: Indian Muslims Association of Greater Houston (IMAGH) is planning a farewell to outgoing Consul General of India, Hon. Sanjiv Arora, on July 22 at an Iftar and Dinner at Bohra Community Center. Over 1200 people, consisting of representatives from ICC, ISGH, Mahatma Gandhi Library, Greater Houston Partnership, Houston Sister City Project, Aligarh Alumni Association, Hyderabad Cultural Association, are expected to attend.

Latafath Hussain, the President of the Association said that this function has two objectives; to showcase to the non-Muslim population, the importance of Ramadan and give farewell to a very popular Consul General, who in his over three years tenure has done so much for the community. We are all very proud that he is going to be India’s Ambassador to Qatar.

According to Latafath, it is perhaps for the first time that all hues of Muslims from the sub-continent are getting together to break the fast together. They will be joined by mainstream Americans, as well as, leaders from government, industry, and social organizations.

The event will take place at Bohra Community Centre near Katy. Tasked with the responsibility of catering to such a large crowd, Amil Saheb, the leader of the Bohras in Houston said, “Traditionally, we always

The TOYA award, initiated in 1938, is given to people who exemplify the best attributes of the nation’s young people. Sanjay Ram is active with Leadership Houston, GHP, Rice University’s Kinder Institute, IndoAmerican Charity Foundation (IACF), Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IACCGH) and Indo-American Political Action Committee (IAPAC).

Photo: DeAnna Grace Photography

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break our fast together. To be able to invite friends from the community and break the fast with them is a great blessing. Islam teaches us to share, especially during Ramadan, and what a wonderful way to share, and at the same time, say au revoir to a great friend.”

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COMMUNITY

July 20, 2012

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Gladiators Win TCC Spring 2012 Tournament by Beating Rattlers HOUSTON: Gladiators won the TCC Spring 2012 tournament beating Rattlers by 10 runs in a low scoring but intense and exciting final. Gladiators won the deserving championship in a well fought out tournament that had 12 participant teams.

On a gloomy day and wet outfield, Rattlers won the toss and elected to field in conditions difficult to bat. Early on Gladiators lost Sandeep (6 runs) in the first over of Sai. It was followed by couple of quick wickets of Hiren (run out) and Prateek (4 runs) who was brilliantly caught by Sarang of Sai’s bowling. Sanman and Akshay played steady till the 10th over and the score was 40/3 at the end of 10 overs due. Sanman scored aggressively in the 10th over.

Akshay (9 runs) and Sanman (19 runs) were out in quick succession to Bala and Sai in an effort to score quickly followed by Saurabh (run out for 4 runs) leaving Gladiators in a delicate situation of 54 for 6 after 13 overs.

Ketul who played a captain’s knock (31 runs) and Sheetal (13 runs) first stabilized the innings for a couple of overs and later accelerated the scoring thru big shots in the last 4 overs. Both of them hit some handsome boundaries on both sides of the wicket. Wickets fell at regular interval trying to accelerate the scoring rate in the end of the innings. The final score was 98 after 20 overs. For Rattlers, Aditya and Sai took 3 wickets each while Mahesh got 1 wicket. They were backed up by exceptional fielding.

Chasing 99 for victory in tough batting conditions, Rattlers lost quick wickets early on. Ram was out in the first over by Ninad, followed by Satish (6 runs) of Sandeep’s bowling and Aditya (4 runs) of Ninad’s bowling. Senthil and Mahesh then steadied the innings till the 10th over and the score was 30/3 at the end of 10 overs. Rattlers lost Senthil (6 runs) due to a brilliant catch by Ketul of Prateek’s bowling. Mahesh (21 runs) hit an elegant six and then got out due to a superb diving catch by Akshay of Ketul’s bowling. Manik

Winning Gladiators team with TCC Board Chairman Venkoba Rao

and Ashwin played sensibly from there on. Manik (13 runs) was picked up by Ketul. Ashwin hit a huge six and was looking dangerous. 23 runs were required of 18 balls with four wickets in hand. Bunti (5 runs, 1 wicket) and Ninad (5 runs, 2 wickets), then bowled an exceptional 18th and an outstanding 19th over. Ashwin (18 runs) was out going for big shots due to an exceptional catch by Saurabh. Rattlers fell short by 10 runs in the end due to exceptional fielding and great catching backed by tight bowling by Gladiators.

For Gladiators, Ninad took four wickets, Ketul took three wickets while Sandeep, Bunti and Prateek took one wicket each. The game had high quality umpiring from two neutral umpires Jagadish and Chaitanya.

Though it was a low scoring game, it was very exciting and keenly contested and was decided in the last 3 overs.

The game was followed by a well-organized prize distribution ceremony arranged by TCC. The presentation party had members of TCC Board Chairman Venkoba Rao and chief guest was Mr. Masood Ahmed, EC member of HCL. Mr. Masood Ahmed was honored with a memento by TCC. Jagadish Biradar, organizer for TCC Taped Ball tournament coordinated the presentation ceremony.

Ketul, the captain of Gladiators was presented with the championship trophy and Senthil, the captain of Rattlers was presented with the runners up

trophy. The players of the winners and runners up received individual trophies. Man of the match for the finals was Ketul from Gladiators who played his match of the tournament with 31 runs and 3 wickets.

Sanman from Gladiators won the Best Batsman trophy with 265 runs. Ketul from Gladiators won the Best Bowler trophy with 18 wickets. Ketul from Gladiators also won the Best All Rounder trophy with 92 runs and 18 wickets. Trophies were also given to the man of the match for Semi Finals and Quarter Finals. Prateek from Gladiators and Mahesh from Rattlers were the recipients of the

Rattlers pose with Runnersup trophies and Venkoba Rao

man of the match for Semi Finals.

Adithya Bala from Rattlers, Sudhir from Houston Arrows, Kartik from Gladiators from and Anukul

from RCC were the recipients of the man of the match for Quarter Finals.

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Indian Businessman in New York Pleads Guilty to Illegal Ivory Sales NEW YORK (TOI): An IndianAmerican businessman has pleaded guilty to selling jewellery and artifacts in Manhattan worth over $2 million made from ivory illegally obtained from endangered and threatened elephants from Africa.

Mukesh Gupta, 67, alongwith Johnson Jung-Chien Lu, 56, entered into a plea agreement with the Manhattan District Attorney’s office under which Gupta and his firm Raja Jewels must forfeit elephant ivory worth nearly $2 million.

The investigation led to the seizure of close to one tonne of illegal ivory articles and items.

Gupta, Lu and their companies pled guilty to five counts of illegal commercialisation of wildlife.

“Poachers should not have a market in Manhattan,” Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance said in a statement.

“It is unacceptable that tusks from elephants wind up being sold as mass-produced jewellery and unremarkable decorative items in this city.”

Under the plea agreement, Gupta and his company are also required to pay $45,000, which will be donated to the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) for use in the organisation’s projects involving elephant population protection, anti-poaching efforts and combating the illegal ivory trade.

Lu and his company New York Jewelry Mart must forfeit ivory valued at approximately $120,000 and pay $10,000 to be donated to the WCS. Vance said despite efforts to protect populations of endangered and threatened species, poachers are pushing them to the brink of extinction.

“In order to curb the poaching of elephants in Africa and Asia, we need to curb the demand side of the illegal ivory trade right here at home,” he said, adding that Gupta and Lu’s guilty pleas are a small, but important, step in protecting endangered and threatened elephant species.

According to documents filed in court, Gupta illegally sold elephant ivory from his Manhattan store and supplied the ivory to Lu. Investigators and agents seized elephant ivory articles, including bracelets, carved tusks, earrings, charms, pendants, carvings and beads.

The elephant ivory items seized from Raja Jewels, which filled more than 70 boxes, had a retail value of more than $2 million.

Neither Gupta nor Lu had official permits to sell ivory.

The global demand for elephant ivory jewelry, carvings and articles has resulted in a significant reduction in both species’ populations.

Despite international efforts to halt elephant poaching and stem

Mukesh Gupta, owner of Raja Jewels, who pleaded guilty to illegal commercialization of wildlife, in Manhattan Criminal Court in New York, July 12, 2012. Gutpa and the owner of another jewelry store pleaded guilty to marketing what prosecutors said was more than $2 million worth of ivory goods.

Photo: John Marshall Mantel

the illegal ivory trade, the black market for elephant ivory is thriving. Under the New York State Environmental Conservation Law, it is illegal to sell, offer for sale or possess with intent to sell any articles made of endangered or threatened wildlife species unless the seller has been granted a license or permit from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).

A condition of any such permit is that the applicant or licensee may only sell ivory that meets strict federal requirements regarding proof that the ivory is antique or pre-dates the listing of the species under the US Endangered Species Act (ESA).

In 1976, the Asian Elephant was listed as an endangered species under the ESA and in 1978 the African Elephant was added to the list as a threatened species.

All elephants today fall into one of these two species listed on federal endangered and threatened

species list and so the sale of any elephant ivory is prohibited without a permit from the DEC. According to TRAFFIC, a wildlife trade monitoring organization, in 2011, more than 24 tons of ivory was seized, making it the worst year in elephant death since the 1989 ivory ban.

Between 2002 and 2006, four out of every 10 dead elephants were killed by poachers, but today eight out of 10 dead elephants are killed by poachers, according to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

The largest demand for this illegally traded ivory comes from China and Japan, and popular uses for the ivory include billiard balls, piano keys, carved art and jewelry.

DEC Commissioner Joe Martens said as an endangered species, the existence of elephants is threatened whenever opportunists kill them recklessly for their valuable ivory.

Indian-American Woman Murdered in California Motel by Army Veteran WASHINGTON (TOI): A US Army veteran has been charged in the brutal sexual assault and murder of a 62-year-old Indian American woman at a motel in California run by her family, according to local media report. Stephen Carreiro, 25, was arraigned on Tuesday in San Joaquin Superior Court on charges that he raped and murdered Lalita Patel on Saturday night at the Hacienda Inn, in Tracy city, California, San Jose Mercury News reported. Carreiro was naked when he was arrested around 7.15pm on Saturday after fighting with witnesses and police at the motel, it said. In addition to charges of murder, elder abuse, and resisting arrest, prosecutors filed five special-circumstances counts of murder during the commission of a burglary, rape, rape with a foreign object, sodomy and mayhem, Mercury News said.

Police said that Carreiro had also attacked the victim’s 82-year-old mother, but would not give the details of that assault. She is expected to recover from her injuries. But it would not describe the nature of Carreiro’s attack on Patel or reveal whether a weapon was used. Carreiro had recently been discharged from the Army, Mercury News said citing Tracy police Capt. John Espinoza. Patel was found near the office of the motel, where she was working on Saturday night, Espinoza said. She was taken to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Espinoza confirmed that there was a live-in unit next to the motel office for employees, but would not say if that room was where Patel was found. Carreiro is being held without bail at the San Joaquin County Jail. He will appear next at a hearing on July 24.

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JULY 20, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

DIASPORA

July 20, 2012

Norah Jones – A Decade of Singing

BY SOWMYA NANDAMUKAR Norah Jones, (Geetali Norah Jones Shankar) was born in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York on March 30, 1979 to Sue Jones (a concert producer at that time) and Pandit Ravi Shankar of Sitar glory. Her father named her Geetali at birth, a name which contains the word Geet, which means song or melody. And Norah Jones more than lived up to that name!

In 1986 when Norah was seven, her parents separated. Sue Jones raised Norah in a Fort Worth suburb, Grapevine, Texas. Norah sang for the church choir, learned to play the piano and the guitar. She studied in Colleyville Middle School and Grapevine High School, after which she transferred and went to Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas, Texas. During her summers she attended Interlochen Center for the Arts. In 1995 at 16 years, she officially shortened her name to Norah Jones, and let go of Geetali and Shankar.

Jones majored in jazz piano at the University of North Texas. She won the award for Best Original Composition in 1996. Two years in a row, (1996 and 1997), she also won Best Student Music Awards for Best Jazz Vocalist. During this time she met Jesse Harris, a singer and song writer. Jones would soon collaborate with Harris to make her finest album. In 1998 she performed with her father, Pandit Ravi Shankar in New Delhi.

In 1999, when she was 20 years old, she moved to New York City, mesmerized by the innate musical quality of the city. She played with many artists and bands including Wax Poetic and Peter Malick Group. She then collaborated with a group of friends who were also very talented - Lee Alexander (her bassist, who also became her boyfriend at some point) Jesse Harris, Adam Levy, Richard Julian, Daru Oda, Andrew Borger and others. It was during this period that she became a huge success after the release of her first pop album Come Away With Me in 2002, by Blue Note Records.

In New York, Jones used to perform as a background vocalist for singer and song writer Victoria Williams. Williams’ producer, JC Hopkins’ wife, Shell White, worked at Blue Note’s royalties department. She passed on Jones’ three track demo to Bruce Lund-

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vall, President of Blue Note and Brian Bacchus the recording brain and genius of Blue Note. They heard the demo, which had two jazz standards and a song by Jesse Harris. They both really liked the quality of the music although it did not strictly fall under the jazz genre, which was what Blue Note usually promoted. Still, they decided to give Jones a chance and it worked!

This album was a huge hit – 10 million copies sold in the US and 20 million worldwide. It rose to the top of the Billboard 200 chart the year of its release. In 2003 Norah Jones’ Come Away with Me won eight Grammy Awards, of which Norah won five! Only three other women have the distinction of winning five Grammy awards the same year – Lauryn Hill, Alicia Keys and Amy Winehouse. (This record was later broken by Beyonce Knowles in 2010 with six awards). Many music experts have noted the eclectic nature of this album, which incorporates, different styles – acoustic pop, jazz, soul, folk and elements of country music.

It is commonly known that Jones’ paternal half -sister is Anoushka Shankar, also a musician. Allegedly there were rumors in 2003 that Indian actor and filmmaker Dev Anand wanted to make the film Song of Life based on the life of Norah Jones and her disturbed relationship with her father, Ravi Shankar. Apparently the father and daughter were annoyed by this and Jones is even reported as commenting that this was their personal lives and nobody else’s business.

In 2005 Norah Jones released her second album Feels Like Home, which had a country flavor to it. In just a week after release, it sold over a million copies, overall 4 million

copies in the USA and 10 million copies worldwide. In 2004 Time Magazine featured Norah Jones as one of Time’s 100 most influential people in the world. In 2005 Norah Jones won the Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, for the song, Sunrise. That year she won two more Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals for the song, Here We Go Again, in Ray Charles’ last album Genius Loves Company.

In Jan 2007 she released her third album, Not Too Late. It was the first album in which she had either written or co-written every song. This was also her first album without Arif Mardin, her producer, who died in the summer of 2006.

This album reached the #1position in 20 countries; four million copies were sold worldwide. The same year, she took her artistry to a whole new medium – film. She starred in much-admired director Wong Kar Wai’s film My Blueberry Nights, which premiered in the Cannes Film Festival in May 2007. Although the film was not well received by the mainstream audience, it still had its own charm attracting a niche audience.

In 2008, it was reported that Norah Jones broke up with her boyfriend Lee Alexander. In November 2009, Jones released The Fall, her fourth album. It was the first of her albums that did not reach #1 in the USA. Her fifth album, Little Broken Hearts was released in May 2012. American Songwriter, a bi-monthly magazine which extensively covers the business and craft of songwriting, has commented that Little Broken Hearts is the “most dramatic and rewarding departure” Norah Jones has made in her career. Perhaps it’s time to listen to a few songs from this album since it is so talked about for being different, and fresh!

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INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JULY 20, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

COMMUNITY

12 July 20, 2012

IACF Sing for Charity Idol Competition Reaches Finals

BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA HOUSTON: The Indo American Charity Foundation will hold the finals of its Sing for Charity Idol Song Competition this coming Saturday, July 21 and will crown the winner from 14 semi-finalists. The event will be held at the Arabia Shriner’s Center on 10510 Harwin Drive on the city’s Westside and will start at 6:30pm.

“It will really be an exciting event,” said IACF President David Raj, who has personally invested much of his time and effort into making this event a success.

Raj is himself an accomplished sell-taught guitarist and often plays for charity events and other occasions with his band.

The semi-finalists were selected from a much larger field through two rounds of judging held over the past month at the JVB Preksha Center. The semi-finalists are Aparjita Maitra, Srivalli Rangaraj, Dipti Kanhere, Anu Cherukara, Samrat Bhattacharya, Pradeep Suresh, Neha Srivastava, Apurva Batra, Dimple Swali, Vijay Shenoy, Gaurav Garg, Arushi Garg, Vinisha Vasan and Srisanvita Sridhar.

In addition to the crown, the winners stand to collect up to $2,000 in cash prizes. Local singer turned Bollywood artist Mauli Dave will be the chief entertainer at the event.

For tickets contact Surender Talwar at 713-668-2948, Manisha Mehta at 832-876-2142 or Vanitha Poduri at 832-752-7279.

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JULY 20, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

July 20, 2012

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ENTERTAINMENT

King of Romance, Rajesh Khanna Passes Away in Mumbai

NEW DELHI (HT): Bollywood’s original superstar Rajesh Khanna, who charmed his way into the hearts of millions of swooning women in the 1960s and 70s, died in Mumbai on Wednesday.

69-year-old Khanna, who shot to superstardom with the 1969 hit Aradhana opposite Sharmila Tagore, passed away at his home, a day after being discharged from Lilawati hospital. He had been ailing since April.

Expressing shock at the the demise of Rajesh Khanna, veteran actor Hema Malini said she always hoped that he would recover.

“We always thought he would come back (from the hospital). We are in shock right now,” Hema told a TV news channel.

Though a romantic hero, Khanna essayed a variety of roles with ease in his illustrious career spanning four decades. His portrayal as a cancer patient in the Hrishikesh Mukherjee-film Anand (1971) in which he got the better of Amitabh Bachchan left many teary eyed.

Nicknamed “Kaka” by his adoring fans, he is survived by estranged actress wife Dimple Kapadia and daughters Twinkle and Rinkie, all of whom were by his side when his end came.

Khanna’s family as also Lilawati Hospital authorities were tightlipped about the nature of the actor’s illness. “We cannot tell you about the nature of Khanna’s illness....Please get in touch with his family,” a spokesman for Lilawati who identified himself only as Dr Trivedi told PTI. According to sources close to the family, the cremation will take place on Thursday at 11am.

Vijay, a close friend of Khanna who had been interacting with

the media since his illness, said, “Kaka’s food intake had gone down over the last few days making him very weak.” The news of Khanna’s death this afternoon spread like wildfire and hundreds of teary-eyed fans descended at his bungalow ‘Ashirwad’ in Bandra.

“My father-in-law is no more.

He has gone to a nice and heavenly place. I am happy that he has gone there and hope that everyone will pray for him,” his actor son-in-law Akshay Kumar told waiting reporters and fans outside ‘Ashirwad’.

Several Bollywood celebrities including actors Rishi Kapoor, Prem Chopra and film maker Sajid

sorrow and grief at the demise of Rajesh Khanna. “Rajesh Khanna was always a symbol of romance.

His smiling face and the ability to connect with people at ease had made him popular. We lost a big pole star in the film world today,” West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee said.

Expressing profound grief, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar said, “his (Khanna’s) death has caused irreparable loss to Hindi cinema.”

The veteran actor, who lived a secluded life of late, recently appeared for a film advertisment of a well known brand of fan, his faces and eyes sunken. His real fans were shocked to see him a

and wrote love letters to him in blood while young men would sport his hairstyle.

Born as Jatin Khanna on December 29, 1942, he was adopted and raised by foster parents. He began taking interest in acting while in school and performed in a number of plays.

It was his uncle who changed Khanna’s first name to Rajesh when he decided to join films.

In 1965, he won an all India talent contest organised by United Producers and Filmfare and as a result made his debut the next year in Aakhri Khat, directed by Chetan Anand. His second film Raaz was also a part of his predetermined

Khan visited Khanna’s home to pay homage to the actor.

The political fraternity including prime Minister Manmohan Singh too condoled his demise.

“I convey my heartfelt condolences to the members of the bereaved family and countless fans and admirers of Shri Rajesh Khanna,” he said in his condolence message. Congress president Sonia Gandhi too expressed deep

pale shadow of his former self.

During his illustrious career Khanna gave 15 consecutive solo superhits between 1969 and 1972 including Aradhana, Haathi Mere Saathi, Anand and Amar Prem.

Debuting with Akhri Khat which he bagged after winning a talent contest in 1965, Khanna went on to star in over 180 films.

He carved a niche for himself in Bollywood dominated in those days by the troika of Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand and Raj Kapoor and the likes of Shammi Kapoor and Rajendra Kumar.

However, it was Aradhana in 1969 opposite Sharmila that catapulted him to superstardom overnight.

His disarming smile and twinkling eyes made him the darling of millions. Female fans lined the streets he took, covered his car with kisses leaving lipstick marks, married his photographs

prize for winning the competition.

He found success with films like Baharon Ke Sapne, Aurat, Doli and Ittefaq, but it was the 1969 film Aradhana opposite Sharmila Tagore that catapulted Khanna to superstardom.

The film also saw the resurgence of Kishore Kumar, who eventually became the official playback voice of Khanna and the actor-singer duo delivered a number of hit songs subsequently, memorable among them being Mere sapno ki raani, Roop tera mastana, Kuch to log kahenge and Jai jai shiv shankar.

After Aradhana, Haathi Mere Saathi (1971) became the biggest hit and also the biggest grosser ever till then. Khanna appeared in 163 feature films of which 106 had him as the solo lead hero and 22 were two hero projects. He had 15 consecutive solo superhits between 1969 and 1972, which is still an unbroken record in Indian

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JULY 20, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

film history.

He won three Filmfare Best Actor Awards and was nominated for the same fourteen times. He was awarded the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005.

Despite his heartthrob status, Khanna played a variety of roles - the terminally ill Anand, a chef in Bawarchi, a lonely husband in Amar Prem, and a psychiatric patient in Khamoshi.

He worked with the best of the talents of his time, be it directors, actresses and composers. Sharmila Tagore and Mumtaz became his leading ladies in many films including Amar Prem and Aap Ki Kasam. Directors like Shakti Samanta, Yash Chopra, Manmohan Desai, Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Ramesh Sippy worked with Khanna. His films’ music made them more memorable, with the trio of composer RD Burman, Kishore and he himself working together in more than 30 films.

The commercial success of his films declined during 1976–78.

After 1978, Khanna starred in critically acclaimed films such as Amado, Phir Wohi Raat, Dard, Dhanwan, Avtaar and Agar Tum Na Hote. If Khanna’s rise to fame was meteoric, so was his fall from stardom. By the late 80s his charm at the box office had waned but it did not affect his personal charisma. He held a Lok Sabha seat as a Congressman from 1992 to 1996.

His enigmatic personality not only charmed his fans but also led to him into relationships with three Bollywood actresses in their heydays. Khanna was in a long-term relationship with Anju Mahendru in the early ‘70s, and later went on to marry Dimple Kapadia, 15 years younger to him, in 1973. They have two daughters Twinkle and Rinke - who followed their parents into showbiz.

Dimple split from the actor in 1984. Though they lived separately, the couple never completed divorce formalities. Khanna was also romantically involved with his Souten co-star Tina Munim (now Ambani). The pair starred together in films like Fiffty Fiffty, Bewafai, Suraag, Insaaf Main Karoonga and Adhikar.

July 20, 2012

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16 July 20, 2012

India Fest 2012

India’s 66th Independence Day Celebrations Dedicated to

Swami Vivekananda

On the eve of 150th birth anniversary

Save the Date Sunday Aug 19, 2012 At New Stafford Civic Center 10505 Cash Road, Stafford, TX 77477 Timings 11 AM to 7 PM.

FREE Admission and Parking

Major Attractions;

Cultural Show, Booths, Food Court, Parade and Awards

Presented by

India Culture Center Consulate General of India & all major Indo American Organizations

Come and Celebrate the spirit of Tri-Colors

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JULY 20, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

MOVIE REVIEWS

July 20, 2012

Cocktail: A Predictable Feel-Good Story

Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone, Diana Penty, Randeep Hooda Direction: Homi Adajania Genre: Romance Duration: 2 hours 25 minutes Story: Gautam likes Veronica. Veronica likes him too. Gautam falls for Meera. Now what does Meera do? Three close friends find themselves caught in a vortex of emotions.

BY MEENA IYER (TOI) Movie Review: Two’s company; is three a crowd? Homi Adajania’s romantic comedy Cocktail is a slice-of-life film mounted beautifully and imaginatively on a large canvas with the vibrant colours of London, Cape Town and New Delhi. The film addresses the proverb--two is company; is three a crowd-situation throughout. With some super-light, sweet moments that one has seen in the mid-90s American sitcom Friends; that revolved around a group of friends in Manhattan; Cocktail deals with the fun moments and then the emotional turmoil faced by three Indian friends settled in the UK, whose paths cross inadvertently.

Saif (Gautam)-the flirt; Veronica (Deepika) the rich-bitch and Meera(Diana Penty)the simpleton find themselves under one roof singing daaru desi and dancing to tum hi ho bandhu in perfect sync and rhythm. To start of, the wild yet vulnerable Veronica and the shameless flirt Gautam are happy to be in a no-commitments relationship, providing laughs galore. Veroni-

ca’s best friend Meera is also happy to be the flower wall around the house, making sure not to get in the way.

Written by Imtiaz Ali, the script in the preinterval phase breezes through with some light-hearted camaraderie between the three lead actor; some comic moments (provided by Dimple Kapadia playing Saif’s loud Punjabi mother); and has rocking tracks by Pritam that transport you straight into the night-club mode, singing and moving in your cinema-hall seats.

However there’s also a downside. For example, the music provides an adrenaline rush and the comic scenes make you smile; but there’s a drastic drop in the tempo during some of the talkie portions, where the gaps in the conversa-

tion make you restless.

Also the friendship between the two girls— Veronica and Meera is captured realistically and runs deep; but the same cannot be said for the relationships the girls share with Gautam.

While Veronica and Gautam’s equation comes across as flaky; Gautam’s love for Meera too could have translated into a deeper passion. The longing and the yearning doesn’t come across like it did in a Jab We Met or a Love, Aaj Kal. In all fairness where Cocktail scores, is the fact that most of us living in urban metro India, will definitely be able to identify with the three principle characters and what the emotional upheaval that this bunch of friends go through.

The bonding, the fun-filled moments do strike

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a very real chord.

The film takes a more serious turn in the second half when friendship makes way for love.

Yes, Cupid strikes at the intermission point; and the film follows the oft-seen path of a typical triangular drama that has been a Bollywood staple through the last two decades.

Cocktail does have some terrific highs. One is Deepika Padukone’s performance. Easily the best in her five-year-long career; Deepika also looks sensational throughout. You almost wish the camera had stayed her longer on her in that red itsy-bitsy bikini. DP will definitely win notices and nominations for her near-faultless performance of the rich-spoilt-neglected-girlwith-a-heart-of-gold.

Saif is terrific in parts, insipid in others. And the other DP, Diana Penty makes for a pretty picture; but she could certainly do with some polishing. Randeep Hooda as a rake, running a hoax marriage business, is completely wasted.

Pritam’s music is charged and chartbusting.

While tum hi ho bandhu and daaru desi are right on top; yaariyan and jugni are stirring and soulful.

The dialogue is funny; even outrageous with lines like--`I’m carrying his bun in my oven’and `you’re lonely-I’m characterless.’

However what Cocktail should be truly applauded for is its permissiveness. As a film it breaks shackles and ushers in a new free spirit that Gen-Now will relate to.

Tip off: Go see Cocktail with your closest friends. It will definitely strengthen the bond.

Bol Bachchan: A Dhamaal Entertainer Bol Bachchan Direction: Rohit Shetty Actors: Abhishek Bachchan, Ajay Devgn, Prachi Desai

BY ANUPAMA CHOPRA (HT) A few years ago, I interviewed the Swedish actress Noomi Rapace. She had recently blazed into the spotlight with her ferocious performance as Lisbeth Salander in the Swedish film version of the blockbuster novel The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. A-list Hollywood director David Fincher had just started casting the same role for a big-budget English version of the film. It was one of the most coveted roles of the time. But despite the obvious temptations of the project, Noomi said that she wasn’t interested in being Lisbeth again because “repetition would be cynical”.

RohitShettyclearlyhasnosuch hang-ups. Almost every year, he regurgitates a formula consisting of Ajay Devgn, cheerfully cheesy jokes and cars crunching at ear-splitting decibel levels to resounding box-office returns.

In Bol Bachchan, he’s added Abhishek Bach-

chan to the mix. Abhishek plays Abbas Ali, his alter ego, also called Abhishek Bachchan and another alter ego, also called Abbas. Confused?

It hardly matters. Because Bol Bachchan, like most of Shetty’s earlier films, including the Golmaal series and All the Best: Fun Be-

gins, isn’t so much a film as a series of gags strung together with songs and the requisite car-bashing action.

There is no attempt at plotting, storytelling, delineating a character, building coherence or following logic. Shetty’s only agenda is to give you a good time.

So did I have a good time? I laughed in a few places. Ajay Devgn, playing Prithviraj Raghuvanshi, a village strongman who insists on speaking wrong English, has his moments.

But the humour consists of the kind of PJs that you might have giggled at in your college canteen. There are lines like ‘When elder get cosy, younger don’t put nosy’ or ‘Boy under armpit and hypercity noise pollution’, the latter being Raghuvanshi’s translation of bagal mein chora aur shehar mein dindhora. Mostly, the gags feel laboured.

The best thing about the film is Abhishek Bachchan, who lets l o o s e without inhibition. He manages to sparkle even in a script that is lazy and determinedly lowbrow, so the alter ego Abbas is an effete dance teacher who wears flowery shirts. The climax has people hanging on the side of a cliff, which immediately took me back to the equally infantile films of Anees Bazmee (No Entry,

Welcome), which is never a good sign for any film. In between the sound and the fury, Shetty also slips in a sermon on communal harmony. At one point, a character reminds us: Ramzan mein Ram hota hai aur Diwali mein Ali. Did I mention that Bol Bachchan is an official remake of Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Gol Maal, a genteel comedy of errors in which the unassuming Amol Palekar takes on the fiery Utpal Dutt? But there are very few signs of that film in this one. What you get instead is mediocre entertainment, which is almost depressing in its repetitiveness.

A fitting label would be: The Cinema of Exhaustion.

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JULY 20, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

18

EDITORIAL

July 20, 2012

Playing the Bigger Game Playing cricket with Pakistan is inevitably a source of controversy. There was no shortage of complaints when India resumed playing with its neighbor after the Kargil conflict.

The shadow of the 26/11 terrorist attacks understandably hangs over the latest decision to invite the Pakistan national team to tour India.

The strongest argument in favor of maintaining cricket ties with Pakistan is to say that India’s neighbor is a house divided and the cricket-playing side is the version of Pakistan that India favors. Pakistan is a nation under siege. It is being sucked into a civil conflict largely of its own creation, a domestic struggle about the future nature of Pakistan. At one extreme is the Lashkar-e-Taiba, whose vision of Pakistan is violent and medieval, governed by a primitive Islamicist ideology and consumed by a hatred of India. On the other is an older Pakistani nationalism that is democratic, moderately religious and animated by desires not overly dissimilar from those evident in the Indian polity. Many will ask whether hitting bats with balls matters when it comes to a matter as weighty as the course of a nation’s evolution. It should be evident that the manner in which India can assist Pakistan the most in choosing a less nihilistic path is to allow interaction between the two countries’ civil societies.

There is a formal view that India and Pakistan need only solve their territorial disputes to fall into each other’s arms, but the truth is that the problem of Pakistan goes far beyond just the issue of land and water. Resolving Kashmir and the like is important, but it is crucial in large part because it is the main obstacle in the way of bilateral civil society engagement.

The Pakistani military establishment has sought to keep the two societies at arm’s length. This stance has begun to soften over the past several years. Travelling between the two countries by air and land is now taken for granted. Pakistan has at last conceded most-favored nation status, paving the way for cross-border trade and investment.

With this sort of momentum behind the relationship, it would be absurd for India to suddenly become opposed to something as politically neutral as cricket matches. There is a dangerous and much more crucial game on for the soul of Pakistan. The only strategy with a chance of success is one that looks beyond individual events, however bloody and tragic, and looks towards healing the larger social disease that afflicts Pakistan.

Hindustan Times

Rewire, Don’t Retire

BY AAMIR KHAN

I think India must be one of the few countries/societies where culturally, and traditionally, there is so much respect for elders. It is probably the only country where we touch the feet of our elders as a mark of respect. Yet on a practical level and in our infrastructure we are far behind many other countries and societies in looking after our elderly.

With Indian society changing and with the gradual shift from joint family system to the nuclear family system, our relationship with the elders in our own family is also changing. Today a person working and living in a large city has many demands on him. He or she has very little time for himself and his own immediate nuclear family (children and spouse). In this changing scenario what happens to our elders. We need to plan better for our elders, and in fact for ourselves, because sooner or later all of us, (no matter how much we resist it) will eventually get there.

The average lifespan in the year 1947 was 31 years! So the number of people living beyond the age of retirement, i.e. sixty years, would not have been very high. Also, at that time, the support system of the joint family was very much prevalent. Today the average life span is around 65 years. So the number of people living beyond 60 years is dramatically higher. It is now fairly common to see people living up to the age of seventy-five or eighty years. That is twenty years of life after retirement. Add to this the remaining living years of your spouse. So, whatever I have earned and saved over 40 years has to last my spouse me and another 20 years! And remember these last 20 years of life will be the years when my spouse and I will have the highest expenditure on health.

Of course, I’m not even getting into inflation. So can my spouse and I live comfortably and independently for 20 to 25 years without earning? - Unlikely for most of us. So who is going to look after us? - Our kids? But they might have their own problems. So per-

As a society, we have created infrastructures and support systems to help us to look after our children. No such support system exists in our society for the elderly. We need to have more and more professional organisations which bring the elderly together so that they can be productive. haps one of the things that we really need to look at is, even after I retire at the age of 60 from a government or a corporate job, I must still find other ways to continue to earn a living and continue to be productive for as long as I can.

As a society we have created infrastructures and support systems to help us to look after our children. So, we have for our children 10 years of school i.e., from the age of 6 to 16. Before that, we have kindergarten, before kindergarten we have nursery, before nursery we have play schools and crèches to help look after our children. No such support system exists in our society for the elderly.

We need to have more and more professional organisations which bring the elderly together so that they can be productive in their time and how they spend it, and

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have a good time even after they are past retirement age. Examples of these are some ‘Nana-Nani’ or ‘Dada-Dadi’ parks. Recreation Centres or parks for senior citizens are being run by local self-government bodies, NGOs, senior citizen groups and local area bodies in different parts of the country. They get some grants from the government/municipality and sometimes, funds from donors/sponsors. Delhi has been particularly active in this regard - they have over 75 such recreation centres and the Delhi government offers some financial aid and assistance for starting and the upkeep of such endeavours.

As pointed out by Mr. Himanshu Rath on our show, a huge percentage of our voting population is above the age of 60 and that number is only growing. And most of our politicians are also above the age of 60. Despite this obvious synergy, there are very few facilities or policies designed for the elderly by the centre or various state governments. The Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS) was launched by the Ministry of Rural Development.

All persons of 65 years (and above) who are living below the poverty line, according to the criteria prescribed by the Government of India, are eligible for the scheme.

The pension amount is Rs. 200 per month per person. Most states give between Rs. 200 and Rs. 500 and only to those below the poverty line. Some state governments have been more generous. Tamil Nadu gives Rs. 1000, 20 kg of free rice to cardholders and 35 kg to BPL families. Goa gives all senior citizens a pension of Rs. 2000 per month, not just those below the poverty line. In essence we need to remember that just touching the feet of our elders is not enough. It should not become a meaningless gesture which we go through because of tradition, rather it should be a gesture born out of genuine affection, love and respect. And what we should never forget is that where our elders are today we will be tomorrow.

Hindustan Times

OPINION

Dallas IANT, GDIACC & IAFC Host Grand Farewell Reception to CG Arora

RICHARDSON, TX: India Association of North Texas (IANT), Greater Dallas Indo American Chamber of Commerce (GDIACC) and the Indian American Friendship Council (IAFC) hosted a grand farewell reception to Hon. Consul General of India (Houston) Sanjiv Arora on Sunday, July 15 at FunAsiA Banquet Hall in Richardson, TX. The Banquet reception was well attended by several Indian American community leaders.

Hon. CGI Sanjiv Arora will be shortly joining as Ambassador of India to Qatar.

Sunil Maini, President of GDIACC welcomed the gathering. Sridhar Reddy Korsapati, President of IANT, Prasad Thotakura, General Secretary of IAFC, Taiyab Kundawala,

Successful Kavi Sammelan and Mushaira Fills Audience with Laughter

Consul Genereal Sanjiv Arora (left) with IANT President Prasad Thotakura

Vice President of IAFC, AK Mago Founder Chair of GDIACC, Shabnam Modgil, BOT Chair of IANT spoke on the occasion and recollected the association and interactions with CGI and his office. Hon. Arora

thanked the whole Indian American community of DFW metropolis for extending their support to him and his staff over three years in many community activities. On behalf of the Indian American community, IANT, IAFC and GDIACC officials felicitated Hon. CGI Arora with a bouquet of flowers, shawl and a plaque.

CG thanked and appreciated the vibrant Indian community of DFW for arranging the reception. He recalled his close relationship with different Indian cultural and business organizations of North Texas Region.

He presented a token of appreciation to Sridhar Korsapati, AK Mago and Prasad Thotakura.

The event ended with a vote of thanks by Sunil Mani, President of GDIACC.

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In Troubled Pakistan, Still Time for High Society Magazine

BY DECLAN WALSH KARACHI, PAKISTAN (NYT): Can celebrity and fashion save Pakistan from its dark image? That’s the proposition of Hello! Pakistan, a glossy new magazine that has opened a new window into the lives of the country’s gilded elite, and rekindled an old debate about their role in a troubled society.

Hello! Pakistan is the local edition of the British celebrity magazine Hello!, famous for its soft-focus interviews with movie stars and lavish photo spreads of aristocrats and minor royalty. But the Pakistani publishers promise something different: an emphasis on their country’s “soft side” that cuts across the relentless Western focus on burqas, bombs and the Taliban.

“We’re not out to save the world,” said Zahraa Saifullah Khan, 29, the magazine’s Pakistan-born, Englandeducated publisher. “But this is a starting point, to show that we’re not all a bunch of terrorists with beards.”

Many young Pakistani professionals, tired of their country’s portrayal as a caldron of chaos, would applaud that idea. But not all agree that airbrushed images of the moneyed upper-crust is the way to achieve it.

“It’s life within the bubble,” said Shakir Husain, a software entrepreneur who set up Fashionistas Against the Taliban, a satirical Facebook group that has acquired cult status in Pakistani social media. “And that bubble is filled with self-congratulatory nonsense.”

The magazine is the latest assertion of a fizzy celebrity culture that has thrived in Pakistan in the past decade despite political turmoil and extremist violence. Glossy society magazines have sold well, showing well-heeled Pakistanis at lavish parties, weddings and charity balls, usually with their glasses of wine or whiskey discreetly hidden. The most famous is named “Good Times.”

The glamour, meanwhile, comes from the fashion industry. Designers anchor the celebrity party scene, while models, who can earn $1,000 a night on the catwalk, showcase sexy clothes and provide daring eye-candy in a country where public displays of flesh are frowned upon.

The models are also a source of tabloid fodder: one, Veena Malik, caused an uproar this year when she appeared mostly naked on the cover of an Indian men’s magazine, with the initials I. S. I., for Pakistan’s top spy agency, tattooed on one arm.

But championing the rich and glamorous can be controversial in a country with a dizzying social gulf and a flailing economy; where much wealth stems from inheritance, corruption or contacts; and where the top tier of society is notoriously bad at paying its fair share of taxes or, indeed, any taxes at all.

The debate was embodied by one of the hottest fashion labels, Sana Safinaz, after it ran billboard adver-

Zahraa Saifullah Khan, publisher of Hello! Pakistan, said it helped show “we’re not all a bunch of terrorists with beards.”

tisements in March that showed aging train porters — still known by the colonial term “coolie” — holding Louis Vuitton luggage for a lithe model in flowing dress. “How Uncoolie” read one headline.

Then Hello! Pakistan interviewed the brand’s two designers at a luxurious seaside mansion; one, Safinaz Muneer, boasted how employees could spend 1,500 hours embroidering a dress “that will cost you nothing.”

To critics, it reflected the tonedeaf sensibilities of an increasingly disconnected elite — two years earlier, another designer told a reporter how she had wept “when my tailors formed a union and I had to fire them all.”

But the designers were unrepentant; in a backstage interview at the Karachi fashion show, Muneer struck back at her critics.

“A storm in an elitist teacup,” she said, as models draped in her latest designs prepared to step onto the runway. “Tell me, what have these critics contributed?”

And the controversy did no harm to business. Her collection of lawn, a diaphanous cotton used to make traditional summer dresses, now a fashion sensation, sold out within hours. It was a sign, fashion insiders say, that their industry is breaking out of the celebrity straitjacket, and into the middle-class mainstream.

It is crossing borders, too: the lawn craze has spread to India, where a sale in New Delhi over the spring led to frantic scenes of competitive shopping.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s fashion fraternity has split into rival camps, based in Lahore and Karachi — a sign of the country’s fractious political culture, certainly, but also of a business with growing financial stakes.

“Fashion shows used to be just about entertainment, but that has changed,” said Maheen Khan, a veteran designer who provided embroidery for the set design of the recent Hollywood movie “Snow White and the Huntsman.” “The bubble has burst.”

Yet the cultural merit of the fashionfueled celebrity boom is contentious, because its prominence stems from the withering of other forms of expression.

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JULY 20, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

While Bollywood dominates Indian pop culture, Pakistan’s movie business has been crushed by Islamic nationalists. Traditional South Asian dances, deemed “un-Islamic” by conservatives, have waned. Pakistani writers have excelled abroad, yet struggled to gain widespread recognition at home. The threat of Islamist violence has stymied pop concerts and sports events.

The resulting vacuum, said Faiza Sultan Khan, a literary editor and critic, has pulled Pakistanis in conflicting directions — toward religion or Western-style consumerism.

“Consumerism has become the art form, and fashion is responding to that,” she said. “That’s what happens when you have a society with no shared culture.”

So far, Hello! Pakistan has struck a middle course between good works and glamour. The first three issues featured the actor Sean Penn talking about flood relief, fashionistas in slinky dresses discussing Louboutin shoes, and photos of a horse-mounted ISI general galloping up the polo field.

Sultan Khan, the literary critic, said the magazine should concentrate on what Hello! does best — celebrity tittle-tattle and glowing photography.

“The idea that it should be about Pakistan’s image irritates me,” she said. “It’s not as if the scores who die violently every day are perishing from our bad image.”

Khan, the publisher, said the sales figures — a healthy 15,000 copies per issue — spoke for themselves.

“It’s easy to sit in a drawing room and bitch about everything that has gone wrong with Pakistan. You’ve got to do your part.”

Others expressed a more complex position: uncomfortable with the reality that Hello! portrays but, in a country shadowed by dark forces of intolerance, glad that it simply exists.

“The rich inhabit a parallel reality everywhere, although in Pakistan their opulence seems excessive because the middle class is so stunted,” said Moni Mohsin, a writer who specializes in social satire. “But if it was a stark choice between life in the pages of Hello! or as Osama bin Laden would have wanted it, I’d go for Hello! It might drive me mad, but everyone has a right to a party.”

21

July 20, 2012

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Was PM Lal Bahadur Shastri Poisoned in Tashkent? Secrecy Heightens Mystery

BY SABA NAQVI NEW DELHI (Outlook): The fatal poisoning of a prime minister, a cover-up at the highest levels, stoic silence when questions were asked, conspiracy theories involving international players and national figures, mysterious accidents that claimed the lives of witnesses who could have shed more light on the matter, parliamentary inquiries that have vanished from the library.

This is not a plot from a Robert Ludlum thriller or a film sequel to Bourne Identity, but a real chapter from Indian history that has been buried and forgotten. Last week, Outlook carried extracts from Kuldip Nayar’s book Beyond the Lines in which the veteran journalist reminisces about many figures from the past. When he comes to Lal Bahadur Shastri, he has posed the question—was Shastri poisoned? As his media advisor, Nayar was with Shastri in Tashkent when the country’s second premier died suddenly in a Russian dacha on January 11, 1966. On his return to India, Nayar recalls, he was confronted by Shastri’s wife Lalitha who was troubled by the fact that the body was blue and inquired about “certain cuts” on his body. She also pointed out that no post-mortem had been done either in Russia or in India.

After the book extract was published, Outlook was contacted by members of the family. As we pieced together the strange circumstances of Shastri’s death through family accounts and on the basis of RTI applications, we can only conclude that the mystery deepens and some answers must be found

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What is also significant is that in spite of RTI applications, the PMO has refused to declassify information about the former PM’s death in Tashkent 46 years ago.

Shastri had gone to Tashkent for a summit with then Pakistan president Ayub Khan after the 1965 Indo-Pakistan war. He died hours after signing the joint declaration.

His family has always maintained that he was poisoned and his death hushed up.

There are certainly unanswered questions. For instance, press reports of the incident show that the authorities in Tashkent immediately arrested a Russian cook. He was released after five hours of questioning. However, in spite of the initial suspicion of poisoning, no post-mortem was done, either in Russia or in India. His late wife kept trying to raise questions about his death, but nothing was ever investigated. The couple had six children, of whom only two, Anil and Sunil Shastri, survive. Both

are members of the Congress, although the latter had joined the BJP briefly. Grandson Siddhartha Nath Singh (son of Shastri’s late daughter Suman) is in the BJP. But regardless of political affiliations, there is a unanimity within the family that Shastri was poisoned and the case was never investigated.

In 2009, the PMO had replied that it had only one document relating to Shastri’s death but refused to declassify it under a clause that would “prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of the country, the security, strategic, scientific or economic interests of the state, relation with foreign state or lead to incitement of an offence”.

Both the facts are strange. First, it defies logic that there can be only one document relating to the death of a prime minister in a foreign country. The correspondence between the MEA and the Indian embassy in Moscow too remains classified.

Says Siddhartha Singh: “I’m willing to believe my grandfather died of a heart attack. But please share the information with us as our family has never got closure on this issue. Please just declassify the information.”

There is a fascinating story he recounts, something that was an obsession with his late mother who was the last family member to speak to Shastri. She was on the phone with her father, as her husband, V.N. Singh, an employee of the State Trading Corporation, was travelling to Cairo on work where Shastri too was headed.

Shastri therefore told his daughter CONTINUED ON PAGE

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INDIA

July 20, 2012

Was Lal Bahadur Shastri Poisoned?

CONTINUED FROM PAGE

24

to ensure that her husband carried Indian newspapers to Cairo. His last words to her were—“I’m going to have a glass of milk and sleep.” The line got disconnected and Suman tried again. However, when she got through 15 minutes later, she was told her father was dead.

One can imagine the questions that have remained with the family since. Particularly as the first inquiry was conducted only after the Emergency when the Janata government was in power. Called the Raj Narain Inquiry, it never came up with any conclusions but began the process. However, no record of this can be found in the Parliament library— by itself not a sinister event as lots of vital documents have disappeared often due to carelessness.

But there is an even more curious series of events linked to the inquiry. Two witnesses were scheduled to depose before this

parliamentary body in 1977. One was R.N. Chugh, Shastri’s doctor who accompanied him to Tashkent. The second was Ram Nath, his personal servant, who was also present on the day of his death. Chugh was travelling to Delhi by road to testify before the committee and was hit by a truck and died.

Ram Nath came to Delhi and visited Shastri’s widow before the deposition. According to family members, he told her, “Bahut din ka bojh tha, amma. Aaj sab bata denge (I have been carrying this burden too long.

I will shed it today).” Ram Nath left the 1, Motilal Nehru, residence to make his way to Parliament. He was hit by a moving vehicle, his legs crushed (eventually amputated) and he lost his memory.

One can only be left gasping at the strange twists and turns. It suggests a real historical whodunit, the answers to which may turn out to be as unbelievable and bizarre as the death of the prime minister itself.

Sangeet Radio Features Annual Ramadan Transmission HOUSTON: Sangeet Radio, Houston’s only 24-7 South Asian American radio network, honors the holy month of Ramadan with its traditional Islamic radio broadcast on KBRZ 1460 AM. The radio network has been broadcasting this special annual programming across radio airwaves for nearly two decades.

Sangeet Radio’s annual Ramadan programming features religious segments throughout the day during the holy month of Ramadan. This unique broadcast enables Muslims living within the Greater Houston area to create an Islamic environment within their homes and gather as a family during this time of year. Each daily, religious broadcast starts as early as 4:30am., and offers reminders throughout the day with the radio network’s “Call to Prayer” broadcasts, or Azan, and features religious, interactive segments from sunset through late evening.

“Our efforts with our Ramadan transmission is to help bring together our community as we commemorate this holy month, a very important month for all Muslims around the world,” said Saeed Gaddi, founder and CEO of Rajput Media Services and Sangeet Radio.

For more information, visit www.sangeetradio.com

Bollywood Strongman Dara Singh Passes Away MUMBAI (Stabroeknews) Dara Singh, the wrestler-turned-actor best known for his role as Hanuman in the television series ‘Ramayan’, died this pastThursday. He was 83.

Singh had been battling for life in a Mumbai hospital for several days following a cardiac arrest and was taken home after doctors said there was little chance of his recovery.

During a successful wrestling career in the 1950s and 60s, Singh often starred as the bare-chested superhero in Bollywood films, impressing audiences with his physique.

“He truly was the only human being who could not be pulled apart by even airplanes,” actor Abhishek Bachchan, who worked with Singh in the 2002 film “Shararat”, tweeted.

His last Bollywood role was in the 2007 film “Jab We Met”. Singh had also been nominated to the Rajya Sabha in 2003.

Following are some reactions from political leaders and Bollywood celebrities.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh “I am deeply saddened to learn of the passing away of Shri Dara Singh who has been an inspiration and icon to many generations in our country. A self educated son-ofthe-soil, he rose to the heights of the entertainment world, sports arena and public life with humility and grace. His contribution to the Hindi and Punjabi cinema, wrestling and the Upper House of the Parliament will be remembered by millions.”

Anand Mahindra on Twitter “Rare when an individual’s name becomes an idiom..

During my schooldays, any strong guy

was a ‘Dara Singh’ May he find new rings to wrestle in.”

Anupam Kher on Twitter “Dara Singh ji was LARGER than life but never made anyone feel dwarfed with his presence.

The strongest and the humblest. A Hero All The Way.” Akshay Kumar on Twitter “Sad to know the great Dara Singh ji is no more. Some more goodness taken away from us… He was Hanuman for every kid and the God of all wrestlers, the original action hero who truly inspired me.”

Mahesh Bhatt on Twitter “Dara Singh passes away!Memories of this warm ‘pehlwan’ turned actor flicker in my memory.When childhood heroes die the world looks desolate.”

Farhan Akhtar on Twitter “RIP Dara Singh. Always respected the honesty & dignity with which you lived your life.”

Amitabh Bachchan on Twitter “Dara Singh ji passed away this morning.

A great Indian and one of the finest humans..An entire era of his celebrated presence gone !”

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STOCKS • FINANCE • SOUTH ASIAN MARKETS • TECHNOLOGY

CEO Ratan Tata Still Sold on Nano Despite Slow Sales Figures New Delhi: The head of India’s vehicle-to-steel conglomerate Tata Group says he still has high hopes for the Nano, billed as the world’s cheapest car, despite a slow sales start.

“The fundamental economies of the Nano... will continue to establish itself in the Indian market with a wider sales and service network,” Tata chairman Ratan Tata said in the firm’s annual report released on Friday.

Ratan Tata’s desire to create a safer, cheap vehicle for families travelling on scooters on India’s dangerous roads inspired the creation of the four-door hatchback known as the “people’s car”.

“The potential market for such an affordable car is enormous throughout the developing world,” said the 74-year-old Tata, one of India’s most respected businessman, who retires at the end of the year.

During the last fiscal year, Nano sales rose 10.73% to 77,989 units from a year earlier. But the number is still a far cry from Tata’s hopes, voiced at the car’s unveil-

CEO Ratan Tata says the fundamentals of the Nano are solid, despite slow sales.

ing in 2008, of eventually selling a million cars a year.

Tata started working on the snubnosed car when he saw families riding scooters -- “the father riding with his young kid standing in front of him, his wife seated behind him holding a baby” -- and being told the death rate for two-

wheel riders on India’s busy roads was three times that of those in cars.

But after the car received global acclaim at its unveiling, the Nano was plagued with start-up problems. A land acquisition row forced Tata to abandon a nearly completed plant and build another,

badly delaying production.

Tata has insisted the concept of the low-cost Nano, whose base model sells for Rs. 154,540 or $2,800, is solid.

“The launches of similar small cars (in the Indian market) by others vindicate our belief that this segment was missing in the product line.”

But after several years of disappointing sales, it has become clear the car’s low price and image as a “poor man’s car” was actually a commercial sticking point.

Rather than embracing the Nano, status-conscious consumers shunned the car’s “cheap tag” and opted for slightly pricier rivals or second-hand vehicles.

Also, there were also safety concerns after a number of cars burst into flames.

To boost sales, Tata has given the car a makeover — making it available in more colours, sprucing up its interior, offering fast-track loans and a “Tata Nano happiness guarantee” doubling the warranty to four years.

Foreign Exchange Reserves Plunge After Sale of U.S. Dollars India’s foreign exchange reserves (forex) plunged by $336.5 million to $287.62 billion in the week ended July 6, data from India’s central bank showed.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) did not provide any reasons for the decline, but it is understood the central bank has sold dollars from the reserves to curb the slide in the value of rupee.

The Indian rupee slumped to record lows in recent weeks owing to high current accounts deficit, increased demands from oil importers and outflow of foreign

institutional investors (FIIs) funds, as poor gross domestic product (GDP) growth data dampened sentiment in the Indian markets.

However, the rupee value gained some strength Friday when it closed at 55.15 against a dollar as the trade deficit narrowed down to $10.3 billion in June against $14.4 billion in the same month last year.

The forex had grown by $1.36 billion to $289.992 billion in the week ended June 29.

Foreign currency assets, the biggest component of the forex re-

serves kitty, fell by $ 357.4 million to $254.63 billion for the week under review, the RBI said in its weekly statistical supplement.

According to RBI, assets in US dollar terms included the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US currencies such as pound sterling, euro and yen held in reserve.

The foreign currency assets had grown by $1.17 billion to $256.95 billion for the week ended June 29.

The value of gold reserves remained during the week under re-

view remained the same at $25.76 billion.

The value had increased by $0.17 billion in the week ended June 29.

It had declined in the week ended June 1 by $1.03 billion to $25.58 billion and since remained the same till week ended June 22.

The value of special drawing rights (SDRs) fell by $5.5 million to $4.35 billion and India’s reserves with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) plunged by $3.6 million to $2.87 billion.

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INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JULY 20, 2012 • WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

Outsourcing Leaders

As many as 12 Indian companies including Infosys, HCL Technologies and Wipro are among top 100 outsourcing companies in the world.

In the latest ‘20012 Global Outsourcing 100’, compiled by the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP), three Indian firms have found a place in the top 10, with Accenture heading the list.

Infosys has improved its position to the second spot from last year’s fourth place while HCL Technologies’ position jumped to third place from last year’s 20th. Wipro Technologies too scored a better ranking to seventh place from ninth in 2011.

Other Indian companies in the list include iGATE Patni (18), Firstsource (22), WNS Global Services (26), Zensar Technologies (53), Hexaware Technologies (55) and Infotech Enterprises (56).

Besides, NIIT Technologies (65), Aditya Birla Minacs (66), ITC Infotech (70) and Birlasoft (72) are also in the list.

Companies on the list averaged USD 1.6 billion in annual sales with a growth rate of 6 per cent vs. 13 per cent in 2008.

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Averse to Outsourcing, Obama Wants India to Open Up WA S H I N G T O N (PTI): Noting India prohibited foreign investment in too many sectors such as retail, US President Barack Obama Sunday cited American business community’s concern over “deteriorating investment climate” in the Asian country to endorse another “wave” of economic reforms . Still sounding positive about Indian economy, “which continues to grow at an impressive rate,” he said to some extent the country’s slower growth was a reflection of the slowdown in the global economy.

Careful to avoid a direct criticism, Obama said many in the American business community had expressed concerns that the investment climate in India was U.S. President Barack Obama went on the deteriorating. against India’s FDI policies.

“They tell us it is still too hard to invest lions of people out of poverty to in India. In too many sectors, such create one of the world’s largest as retail, India limits or prohibits middle classes. the foreign investment that is necDescribing Prime Minister Singh essary to create jobs in both our as “my friend and partner with countries, and which is necessary whom I have worked closely”, for India to continue to grow,” Obama said he valued the insights Obama said in an interview to of the Indian leader.

PTI. Responding to US President BaHis comments come within days rack Obama raising concerns over of US magazine Time’s Asia edi- “deteriorating” investment climate tion describing Prime Minister in India, government on Sunday Manhoman Singh as an under- said certain “international lobbies” achiever, “unwilling to stick his were spreading such stories and he neck out” on reforms. was not properly informed about Refraining from prescribing any the country’s strong economic solutions, the President said, “It is fundamentals. “Certain internanot the place of the United States to tional lobbies like Vodafone are tell other nations, including India, spreading this kind of a story and how to chart its economic future. Obama was not properly informed That is for Indians to decide.” about the things that are happenObama said “there appears to ing, particularly when India’s ecobe a growing consensus in India nomic fundamentals are strong,” that the time may be right for an- corporate affairs minister Veerother wave of economic reforms appa Moily told reporters in Banto make India more competitive in galore when asked about Obama’s the global economy”. remarks in an interview to PTI. “It is important, though, to put Opposition parties lashed out at this in the context of India’s in- Obama for his remarks that India credible growth and development prohibits foreign investment in too in recent decades.” He pointed out many sectors, with BJP saying the that India had lifted tens of mil- country cannot open its markets

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just because he wants it.

“If Obama wants FDI in retail and India does not want, then it won’t come just because he is demanding it,” was the terse reaction of BJP leader Yashwant Sinha said in Delhi.

Moily said the perception of deteriorating investment climate in India was not based on economic parameters, but on certain impression of few individuals, entrepreneurs and investors. “That is also being removed. Once that perception is removed, I think in 2-3 months, we are back again with a kickstart to pick up the same speed as we had done in the last decade,” he said.

Moily said there offensive was no crisis in India, whereas the US and other countries were facing crisis, “not once but twice in 2008 and 2010”.

“Not even a single financial institution has collapsed in this country, whereas many such things have collapsed in US and other countries,” he said.

“That is the potential of India which can recover back immediately by taking some remedial steps,” Moily said.

He said 55% of the investment in the form of FIIs and FDIs comes from as many as ten countries like Mauritius, Cyprus and Singapore, and only 19% comes from the US and other countries.

“Ultimately Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is going to address all these problems and it is being considered. That’s why again the investment climate is picking up,” he said.

BJP Vice-President Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi termed the US President’s remarks as “laughable”.

“That country is giving us a certificate on investment and economy when it itself is facing economic problems. We have to ensure our national interests on our own. It is laughable,” he said.

29

UK Immigration Restrictions Creat Mirpur Marriage Boom MIRPUR: New British immigration laws have unleashed a stampede to wed and a frenzy of English lessons for Pakistanis desperate to migrate as new restrictions come into effect.

The boom was particularly marked in Mirpur, where Islamabad estimates 200,000 of Britain’s 1.2 million Pakistanis have their family origins.

Almost all the town’s 403,000 residents have relatives in the former colonial power, after a huge surge of migration from the area in the 1960s when a major dam was built, costing thousands of farmers their livelihoods.

At the time Britain needed more workers for its factories in the industrial cities of central and northern England, and granted immigration permits to many of them and their families.

Now with immigration an increasingly controversial issue in Britain, Mirpuris rushed to secure residency rights before the door was pushed tighter.

Wedding planners were rushed off their feet, English teachers overwhelmed and immigration consultants buried under mounds of paperwork as brides and grooms queued to file immigration papers by July 6, the last working day before the deadline.

Faisal Mehmood, a self-styled immigration consultant, said business was several times higher than the six to eight cases he normally processes a week.

“I consulted on and helped fill in immigration papers for 53 couples in the first week of July,” he told AFP in his office in Mirpur, the wealthiest town in Pakistani-administered Kashmir, 83 kilometres east of Islamabad.

From July 9, new restrictions made it impossible for anyone who earns less than GBP 18,600 ($29,000) a year to move a foreign spouse to Britain, or less than GBP 22,400 if that spouse has a child.

To acquire British nationality, foreign spouses now have to wait five rather than two years to test whether a relationship

is genuine, must be proficient in English and once in Britain, pass a Life in the UK test.

For Britons of Pakistani descent, April is by tradition the peak month for holidays and weddings in their parents’ homeland, before the summer heat becomes unbearable for those accustomed to northern climes.

But wedding planners say they saw record business from Britons in June and the first week of July, with nuptials up 20 per cent in Mirpur so far this year.

Arshad Hussein Shah, the manager of eight marriage halls, said his company organised weddings for 15 Britons from June 1 to July 6.

“There was a sudden surge because the UK government changed the immigration laws for spouses and everybody rushed to marry and file papers before the deadline,” he said.

It was a similar tale for Ali Raza, managing director of the UK College of English Language, who says 35 students enrolled in June—50 per cent more than usual.

“There were more girls than boys. Everybody wanted to complete a quick English course and obtain certificates to file immigration papers,” said Raza.

“Nobody was expecting this sudden implementation of the new laws. It created panic among the candidates,” he added.

Batool Bukhari, 25, married her cousin in April and raced through an English course as quickly as possible.

“I applied for immigration in the second week of June. I had to rush my application when I found out that the new laws are being implemented soon. It was very tense,” said Bukhari.

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July 20, 2012

Bopara Back in England Test Squad vs. S. Africa Test Series

BY ANDREW MCGLASHAN

LONDON (ESPN Cricinfo): Ravi Bopara is back in the England Test squad for the first match against South Africa at The Oval next week. There are five fast bowlers in the 13-man group, with Graham Onions, Steven Finn and Tim Bresnan competing to form the pace trio with James Anderson and Stuart Broad.

Bopara’s form in the ODI series against Australia - 182 runs and four useful wickets - confirmed he is primed for a return to the Test side, after a frustrating period during which his opportunities were curtailed by injuries. He was set to make a comeback in Sri Lanka after Eoin Morgan was dropped but picked up a side strain that prevented him from bowling, and so Samit Patel was preferred. Then, at the start of this season, Bopara injured his thigh and was ruled out of the series against West Indies.

That opened the door for Yorkshire’s Jonny Bairstow, who struggled in the three Tests against West Indies, making 38 runs, and has not had a huge amount of batting since. Bairstow returned to Championship action this week and made a first-ball duck against

Ravi Bopara took a wicket with the first ball of his first two overs, England v Australia, 5th ODI, Old Trafford.

Hampshire.

The only other debate is who will

be the third fast bowler behind Anderson and Broad. England’s regular new-ball pair was rested for the last Test against West Indies but Anderson and Broad will return to spearhead the attack for the main event of the season.

In the first two Tests against West Indies, they were accompanied by Bresnan, who was Man of the Match at Trent Bridge after a destructive spell of reverse swing on the third evening sealed the series for England. He currently has a Test bowling average of 26.09 and a batting average of 40.22 and will be tough to dislodge. Finn, however, made a very strong case for himself with his performances in the Australia ODIs. In four completed matches, Finn took eight wickets at 19.37, including 4 for 37 at Chester-leStreet. He played the final Test against West Indies, when Broad and Anderson were rested, but was out-bowled on that occasion

by Onions, who was playing his first Test since January 2010.

Geoff Miller, the national selector, said: “Ravi Bopara has worked hard to regain his place in the Test squad following some injury concerns earlier in the season and is

the only player included who is yet to play a Test match this summer.

“We have played some very good cricket over the last couple of months in all formats to win series against West Indies and Australia and after a month of limited overs cricket, preparations are now underway for what is sure to be a very competitive Test series against South Africa,” Miller said.

“We know we will need to play excellent cricket to win this threematch series and the squad will be determined to start with a strong performance this week during the first Investec Test and set the tone for the rest of the series.”

On Saturday, the ICC’s annual refresh of the rankings pushed South Africa to third but if they beat England they will replace them at the top of the table. England will retain their spot with a won or drawn series over the three Tests at The Oval, Headingley and Lord’s.

Squad Andrew Strauss (capt), Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Matt Prior (wk), Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, James Anderson, Steven Finn, Graham Onions.

Aussie Speedster Brett Lee Retires from International Cricket SYDNEY (ESPN Cricinfo): Brett Lee has confirmed his retirement from international cricket, but he has declared his intention to play on in the Big Bash League and the IPL. Lee, 35, had originally planned to retire after the ICC World Twenty20 in September, but after flying home early from the ODI series in England due to a calf injury, he decided the time was right to make way for Australia’s young fast bowlers.

He will depart the game as the equal leading wicket taker for Australia in one-day internationals, having moved level with Glenn McGrath on 380 victims, although McGrath also took one wicket for the ICC World XI, taking his career tally to 381. Lee retired from Test cricket in February 2010, but remained a valuable player in the shorter formats, for his country and his various domestic teams around the world.

Lee made his debut for Australia in the 1999 Boxing Day Test against India.

Lee’s final appearance for Australia came in Durham last week, when he hurt his calf while bowling the third over of his 221st oneday international.

Lee said he wondered as he was clapped off whether it would be the end of his international career, and he made his decision on Friday morning before making the retirement official with an announcement at the SCG. “I guess you ask yourself a lot of questions when you’ve been injured or been through a tough time,” Lee said. “It’s been the last two or three nights I have thought about it a lot. I woke up this morning and I knew this was the right day to do it.

“In a team environment you have to be committed 100%, both mentally and physically. Looking at the next two months I just didn’t have that desire any more. It wouldn’t be fair on me or the rest of the

team if I was to go over there with that attitude - not lack of commitment, but you just get to a point in your life when you decide enough is enough.

“The great run must end. It was going to be post-World Cup [Twenty20]. We had spoken about that with the selectors and that was the time I was going to walk away from the game. But I woke up this morning and just felt like I was ready. It was time to go.”

Lee made his debut for Australia in the 1999 Boxing Day Test against India and he will retire as international cricket’s tenth leading wicket taker of all time, with 718 victims across all three formats. He has been involved in a World Cup triumph in 2003 and three successful Ashes campaigns, and although he will leave on the low of a 4-0 one-day loss to England, Lee said he was confident Australia were heading in the right direction.

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JULY 20, 2012 • WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

SPORTS Sushil is Flag Bearer

NEW DELHI (ToI): Ending days of speculation, the IOA today announced that wrestler Sushil Kumar, a bronze medallist at the Beijing Games, will be the flag bearer of the Indian contingent at the upcoming London Olympics.

The names of top boxer Vijender Singh, tennis legend Leander Paes and ace shooter Abhinav Bindra were also doing the rounds for the honour.

Vijender, Sushil and Bindra had all returned with medals from the last edition of the Games in Beijing in 2008.

Indian Olympic Association (IOA) acting President V K Malhotra announced that Sushil will be India’s flag-bearer.

Bindra, the country’s first individual gold medallist at the Olympics, was reportedly the preferred candidate of the IOA but since his 10m air rifle event is scheduled three days after the opening ceremony on July 30, the shooter wanted to focus on his preparations.

Similarly, Vijender’s weighin is scheduled for July 28 so it was tough for him to do the honours.

Paes had led the contingent in 2000 Sydney Games and OA decided Sushil should do the honors this time.

Maithali Tops Women LONDON: Mithali Raj, the India Women’s captain, has reclaimed the top spot in the one-day batting rankings. Raj top scored in the recent five-match series against England, making 251 runs at 83.66, but couldn’t prevent India from going down 2-3.

The bowling chart continues to be led by Australia’s Lisa Sthalekar, whose lead over secondplaced Katherine Brunt of England is now only two points.

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INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JULY 20, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM