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Farokh “Flamboyant” Engineer Charms TiE Houston Audience

Pramod Kulkarni HOUSTON: TiE Houston tossed a googly last Thursday night. Instead of the usual business entrepreneur as its keynote speaker, the business organization invited former Indian test cricket players Farokh Engineer to serve as its keynote speaker.

TiE Houston President Ashok Rao had met Engineer during a recent visit to Manchester and invited him to visit Houston. Engineer, a member of Bombay’s Parsee community (classical music conductor Zubin Mehta is a cousin), had his cricket test debut as a wicketkeeper and batsman vs. England at Kanpur, Dec

1-6, 1961. Engineer had a “happy go lucky” attitude and with the Nawab of Pataudi, added a sense of style and confidence to an Indian team that was easily intimidated by the English, Farokh Engineer (left) auctions off a t-shirt signed by all the current Indian cricket team players for his charity organization to assist the street children in Mumbai. With his long side burns and collar up, Farokh (right) added style and confidence to the Indian test cricket team sorely lacking in both qualities.

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Dr. Abraham Verghese Revives a Dying Art: The Physical

By Denise Grady STANFORD, Calif. (NYT): For a 55-year-old man with a bad back and a bum knee from too much tennis, Dr. Abraham Verghese is amazingly limber as he shows a roomful of doctors-in-training a twisting, dance like walk he had spied in the hospital corridor the day before.“It would be a shame to have someone with a gait that we can’t recognize,” he said.

The issue had them challenging one another. Parkinson’s? Neuropathy?

Stroke?

Dr. Verghese (ver-GEESE) is the senior associate chairman for the theory and practice of medicine at Stanford University. He is also the author of two highly acclaimed memoirs, “My Own Country” and “The Tennis Partner,” and a novel, “Cutting for Stone,” now a best seller.

At Stanford, he is on a mission to bring back something he considers a lost art: the physical exam. The old-fashioned touching, looking and listening — the once prized, almost magical skills of the doctor who missed nothing and could swiftly diagnose a peculiar walk, sluggish thyroid or leaky heart valve using just keen eyes, practiced hands and a stethoscope.

He is out to save the physical exam because it seems to be wasting away, he says, in an era of CT, ultrasound, M.R.I., countless lab tests and doctor visits. Some doctors would gladly let the exam go, claiming that much of it has been rendered obsolete by technology and some admit they do the exam almost as a token gesture, only because patients expect it.

Medical schools in the United States have let the exam slide, Dr. Verghese says, noting that over time he has encountered more and more interns and residents who do not know how to test a patient’s reflexes or palpate a spleen.

Dr. Verghese trained before M.R.I. or CT existed, in Ethiopia and India, where fancy equipment was scarce

and good examination skills were a matter of necessity. He still believes a thorough exam can yield vital information and help doctors figure out which tests to order and which to skip — surely a worthwhile goal as the United States struggles to control health care costs, he said.

A proper exam also earns trust,

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bachelor’s degree and then applying to medical schools, even though he already had more than two years of medical training.

He met his present wife, Sylvia, in El Paso, where she had started a ministry to help people with AIDS. Their son, Tristan, is 12. Dr. Verghese also has two grown sons, Jacob and Steven, from his first marriage.

Making hospital rounds with students, Dr. Verghese is in his

element. He is impeccably dressed under the white coat, in a crisp dress shirt, pale silk tie and sharply pressed pants. He loves being in the wards, he says.

“What’s the most important part of the stethoscope?” He poses this question time and again to his students in training. “The part between the ear pieces.” They reply.

The physical is indispensable, says Dr. Abraham Verghese.

“Flamboyant” Farokh at TiE continued from page

In some cases the physical is now a dying art. Doctors are stressed out having to meet so many patients during the day, they barely have time for a lunch break. Dr. Abraham Verghese is wanting to stress on the importance of a good physical that can catch the right symptoms and help treat the disease sooner reducing health costs

he said, and serves as a ritual that transforms two strangers into doctor and patient. “Patients know in a heartbeat if they’re getting a clumsy exam,” he said.

With colleagues, he developed the Stanford 25, a list of techniques that every doctor should know, like how to listen to the heart or look at blood vessels at the back of the eye.

At times, Dr. Verghese said, he feels almost embarrassed by all the interest in his work, because the exam techniques he is teaching are nothing more than the same ones he learned in Ethiopia and India decades ago.

Dr. Verghese was born in Ethiopia.

His parents were teachers from Kerala, a state in southern India.

The family’s expectations were high.

“You were a doctor, engineer, lawyer or a failure,” Dr. Verghese said.

He left Ethiopia at 15 for two years

Wednesday, October 13, 2010 dow jones

of premedical studies in Madras, India, and then returned to Addis Ababa for medical school. By then his parents, worried about Ethiopia’s stability, had moved to the United States. But he had no desire to leave.

“I loved that land,” he recalled.

The medical training was rigorous.

Students spent a year dissecting

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a cadaver, and then had to pass grueling essay exams.

“It was almost brutal,” he said.

“But it left us changed in some fundamental way, like formatting a disk.”

Medical students in the United States today spend far less time studying anatomy — too little to learn it well, he said, shaking his head.

Civil war broke out in Ethiopia in 1974. Emperor Haile Selassie was deposed, and the military took over.

During Dr. Verghese’s third year of medical school, the university was shut down. Soldiers were everywhere. As a citizen of India, he was a foreigner, and it was time to get out. He joined his parents in Westfield, N.J. His parents urged him to finish his medical studies. He would have to start from scratch, earning a

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Australian and West Indies teams and their intimidating pace bowling.

Engineer played for India until 1976 when he joined the Lancashire English county cricket team. He settled down in Lancashire and served the team with distinction and is currently the vice chairman of the county team’s board. Engineer married his businessmate Julie and the couple has two daughters. He continues his interest in cricket through a call-in show in India and as a commentator in England.

In his introduction, Ashok Rao praised Engineer as an iconic playerand how, as a child growing up, the flamboyant cricketeer had restored pride in the national team. Rao recounted Engineer’s greatest inning when he smashed the bowling of West Indies pace bowlers Hall, Griffith, Sobers and Gibbs in the Madras test of 1966-67, when he scored 94 before lunch and then took just one ball to reach his hundred after lunch.

It was the fastest century ever by an Indian cricket player.

In his keynote speech, Engineer descibed many anecdotes, including an incident with Aussie pace bowler Dennis Lillee. When Engineer was at the crease, Lilee became upset at the Indian batsman’s bantering with the Aussie fielders and said, “I’ll blow your black face off.” Engineer replied to the fielders, “Not only is he foul mouthed, he is color blind as well.”

Engineer said he and Lillee made up after the match over a beer session.

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A highlight of the evening was a Q&A session featuring questions

by Dr. Subodh Bhuchar, radio host Sunil Thakkar, and Engineer’s local test mate, Dr. Bas Nair, who reminisced about their playing days, including a point of pride that in one match, Nair scored 12 runs, where as Engineer was out at 2. Thakkar playfully asked about Engineer’s off-the-field romances with some of the Bollywood heroines. Engineer did not deny the rumors, but avoided any filmi gossip.

An enjoyable part of the evening were live and silent auctions to support Farokh Engineer’s charity that provides aid to street children in Mumbai. Engineer had brought numerous jerseys signed by the current batch of Indian team players, such as Sachin Tendulkar, M.S. Dhoni and Bollywood star and Kolkota Knight Riders team owner, Shah Rukh Khan, soccer players Pele and Rooney.

During the live auction, the most popular items were red boxing gloves signed by the aging boxer, Muhammed Ali. Engineer said Ali, who is suffering from Parkinson’s disease, labored more than twenty minutes over his signatures.

TiE-Houston is a not-for-profit organization focused on fostering entrepreneurship through networking, mentoring, and participation in the local and global economy. TiE, which stands for The Indus Entrepreneurs, was founded in 1992 in Silicon Valley, California, and has raised up over 40 Chapters worldwide.

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Indian Animation Industry Will Grow to $1.7 Billion by Year 2012 at a 30% Rate NEW DELHI (ET): The Indian animation industry will grow at a compounded annual rate of 30 per cent to reach a market size of $1.7 billion by 2012 and add over three lakh skilled animators, an industry lobby said Monday.

With over 1.5 lakh skilled animators, it is currently a $1 billion industry.

According to a study conducted by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the domestic animation industry will undertake all its production activities within India instead of spending its funds in US, Canada, Malaysia and the Phillippines for making advanced animated movies.

It showed India would need skilled professionals like creative animators, conceptualiser, visualiser, 3D modellers, character designer and digital effect artists to handle multimedia softwares like 3D studio Max, Maya and Tictactoon.

The study urged the government to help the industry by giving them adequate funding, guidance on manpower development and recognition of the animation courses.

According to Assocham, the industry in foreign countries are growing at a high rate because

India is becoming a hot zone for Animation. With plenty of brain power in IT Software industry, India is taking on ambitious projects for Hollywood animating movies.

More students are taking animation courses with the help of bank loans. Can China be close behind?

of the special policies and initiaves of the governments.

By recognizing animation courses, students and youths will conveniently get the bank loans which is missing at present, it added.

Assocham also suggested to the government that the corporates that intend to set up the suggested parks should be given a minimum of 10 years tax holidays with concessional rates for land allocations equipped with advanced technology to remove the competitive threats from the other countries.

However, the chamber expressed concerns that the growth might be restricted due to the shortage of manpower and specialized training institutes, lack of government funding, hi-tech studios and tax incentives.

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South Asia News of the Diaspora

Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed Installs Solar Roof for Clean Energy By anD nDrew C. revkin MALE (DE): President Mohamed Nasheed of Maldives, a sun-baked nation of 1,200 low islands south of India, donned jeans and a hard hat earlier today and helped install 48 donated solar photovoltaic panels on the roof of his official residence in the crowded capital, Male (the photo below, taken by Mohamed Ali, is from the government Flickr. com photo stream). Just last year Nasheed donned scuba gear for an underwater cabinet meeting ahead of climate talks in Copenhagen.

According to the president’s office and Sungevity, the American company that designed the installation, the panels, from LG Electronics, will save $300,000 in avoided conventional electricity costs and avoid 195 tons of carbon dioxide emissions over the life of the system. Will President Obama don the presidential hard hat next spring when the White House installs its hot water and photovoltaic panels?

Maldivian leaders have long been out front on climate, and, in the case of Nasheed, on non-polluting energy choices, mainly because the nation, with hardly any land more than eight

feet above sea level, is particularly vulnerable should seas rise several feet by the end of the century.

I first got a sense of their concern in 1988, while in Toronto reporting on a pivotal climate conference — a meeting that in many ways set the stage for negotiations toward the first climate treaty. There’s a scene in my 1992 book, “ Global Warming: Understanding the Forecast,” that describes that moment: Perhaps the most straightforward projections of what a greenhouse future will bring in coming decades are those related to rising seas.

A foot and a half rise [one of the projections at the time] doesn’t sound like much — unless you live in a place that just barely pokes above the ocean. I learned this when I went to Toronto to report on the First International Conference on the Changing Atmosphere. Most of the discussions centered on devising strategies to curb emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases from automobiles, power plants, and the burning of tropical forests. Among those in attendance was Hussein Manikfan, who holds the title Ambassador Extraordinary

and Plenipotentiary Permanent

sprinkling of 1,190 coral islets in

Photo: Maldives Presidency “How much longer will my country exist?” the global warming issue is getting real as President of Maldives, islands south of India, posed this question at the First International Conference on the Changing World Atmosphere held in Toronto, Canada. Rising sea levels has the president genuinely concerned. In a bid to go green, President Mohamed Nasheed is motivating his nation to develop good green habits that will reduce global warming in the long run

Representative to the United Nations from the republic of Maldives.

At first it seemed odd to find a representative from the Maldives at the meeting. The country, a

the Indian Ocean southwest of Sri Lanka, has no tropical forests, hardly any automobiles, and little industry beyond the canning of bonito. I spoke awhile with Manikfan. Why

was he in Toronto? “To find out how much longer my country will exist,” was his simple reply.

You’ll undoubtedly hear from some folks who question whether Maldives is threatened by rising seas by pointing to scientific controversies over recent sea-level trends in the Indian Ocean. There’s little question, however, that a meter or more of rise would pose big challenges in such island nations.

In a statement released recently, Nasheed explained his action, which is an advance “work party” ahead of a big international day of climate action Sunday: “The Maldives stands at the front line of climate change and we don’t have the luxury of time to sit and wait for the rest of the world to act. We are getting to work to start the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy.”

Given that the world’s industrial and industrializing giants are slow to follow suit, it would be wise for Maldivian leaders and developers to keep track of other options for living resiliently in a world with rising temperatures and waters.

Floating resorts, anyone?

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Indo American News • Friday, October 15, 2010

INDIa

Tata Rolls out Aria at Rs 15.5 lakh, Exports Soon Auto major Tata Motors on Monday rolled out the Tata Aria, which the company claims is the country’s first ever cross-over car that straddles a sport utility and multi-utility vehicle.

The company said the car would shortly be exported to Europe followed by Latin America and Asia. “The car has been designed to be in line with European standards and meets the Euro V emission norms,” said Tata Motors managing director for India (operations) P M Telang.

“By next year, we will come up with a left-hand drive version of the vehicle (for exports),” he added at the launch of the six-seater car. The Aria, in three trim levels, has priced its top-end Aria Pride at Rs 15.5-lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) and Rs 15.85-lakh (ex-showroom Mumbai). ($37,000) on average.

The car was launched in the presence of Tata group Chairman, Ratan Tata.

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Air Arabia Launches Visa Service for Indian Passengers Going to Emirates MUMBAI (ET): Air Arabia launched a service to facilitate its Indian passengers to buy tickets and apply for visa to the United Arab Emirates online.

“We now connect 13 Indian destinations to the UAE, and the launch of this visa service will help accommodate the significant increase in visa requests from across these centres,” said A.K. Nizar, Head of Commercial Department, Air Arabia.

Air Arabia lauched the visa service and a call centre in partnership with IVS Global Services.

“Through the new service, passengers can buy tickets and apply for the visa online. The launch of the call centre will also facilitate individuals and travel agents in visa service. The all India

call centre number is 9223330060,” Nizar added.

Air Arabia is also offering convenient value added services to make the entire experience of getting a UAE visa hassle free.

“Passengers can now choose to have all the documents collected from their residence for a nominal fee. There will also be a SMS tracking system that ensures that passengers who opt for that service would get timely updates on their application status on their mobiles,” Nizar said.

Air Arabia started operations in October 2003 and currently operates a total fleet of 23 new Airbus A320 aircraft, serving 65 routes from three hubs in UAE, Morocco and Egypt.

Air Arabia was established on the 3rd February 2003 by an Ameeri decree issued

by His Highness Dr. Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohamed Al Qassimi, the Ruler of Sharjah and Member of the Supreme Council of the United Arab Emirates.

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f o o d q u o t es

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Julia Roberts’ Kids, Hazel, Phinnaeus and Henry, Are Amazed by India

MUMBAI (MN): In an interview, Oscar winner Hollywood star Julia Roberts (Pretty Woman) said that she and her children were amazed by India. “Hazel said when she grows up, that is where she is going to live.”

Julia’s son Phinnaeus even shaved his head. “Hazel also wanted to shave her head, so I let her shave the back half of her head.

They would chant, and they were just interested.” Roberts has three children from her current husband cinematographer Daniel Moder (Grand Champion)—five year old twins Hazel and Phinnaeus and three year old Henry.

Rajan Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, pointed out: Taittiriya Upanishad told us that ‘meditation is Brahman (the supreme Godhead)’ and directed us to seek Brahman through meditation. If Roberts needed any help in deeper Hinduism exploration, he or other Hindu scholars

would be glad to assist, Zed added.

Roberts has been interested in yoga for quite some time. She was in Haryana (India) in September 2009 to shoot for ‘Eat Pray Love’ in an ashram (hermitage). In January 2009, she sported a ‘bindi’ (vermillion mark on forehead) during her trip to India when she also visited Taj Mahal with husband Moder. She has a production company called ‘Red Om Films’, and ‘Om’ in Hinduism is the mystical syllable containing the universe.

Julia Fiona Roberts, one of the most successful Hollywood actresses besides being a producer and fashion model, has won best actress Oscar for ‘Erin Brockovich’ and earned Oscar nominations for ‘Pretty Woman’ and ‘Steel Magnolias’.

India is a place of fascination for Julia Roberts. Her kids though very young are equally fascinated by the varied lifestyles in India and the freedom the country offers >>

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sports

Indians Thrash Aussies by 7 Wickets

double-centurion Tendulkar to

By Bryan Coverdale the crease, and by the time HauBANGALORE (Cricinfo): ritz had his revenge on Pujara Cheteshwar Pujara has not been with a delivery that drifted past part of India’s rise to the No. 1 Test the edge and took off stump, ranking but he could help determine India were only 61 runs from how long they stay there, after his their goal. outstanding 72 on debut set up a Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, seven-wicket win. Guided in the who was demoted to No. 5 to end by Sachin Tendulkar, the hosts accommodate Pujara, had little cruised to their target of 207 to trouble completing the task and confirm the 2-0 series triumph, Tendulkar’s 53 not out - which inwhile Australia slid to fifth of the cluded the winning runs paddleICC rankings for the first time, swept fine against Hauritz - was courtesy of another toothless bowla fitting finale to his magical ing display. series. The challenge for India’s When Virender Sehwag fell early selectors now is to work out how in the chase, the match seemed to to reward Pujara, who won his be heading for similar drama to opportunity only because of Laxthe final day in Mohali, where the man’s back injury. wounded 114-Test veteran VVS It’s a happy problem to have; Laxman dragged his side over the Australia’s issues are not so line. That there was no similarly pleasant. Apart from losing all tense finish was due to the work the Tests in a series for the first of Pujara, who was in his first Test time in nearly 30 years, they will but showed the kind of confidence Cheteshwar Pujara played with the now enter the Ashes on the back expected from an old hand.

Unexpectedly promoted to No. confidence of a veteran in setting up of three consecutive defeats, a run that no Australian side has 3 following a first-innings effort India’s win. endured since West Indies were that lasted three balls, Pujara beslips fielders for the fast men when at their peak in 1988-89. trayed no nerves and drove his They have also dropped below third delivery handsomely to the Australia needed to put the pressure cover boundary off Mitchell Johnson. on India by taking wickets. And after England in the Test rankings, which The introduction of Nathan Hauritz Ben Hilfenhaus had Sehwag caught is an abstract concept but one that will brought out the best in Pujara, who behind in the third over with a terrific frustrate Ponting’s men as they aim to used his feet brilliantly to the spinner ball that bounced sharply and jagged regain the urn. A more concrete meaand drove him through the gaps in a away, Pujara and M Vijay settled in sure of the side’s current state could be seen in the disappointing form of field that an apoplectic Shane Warne for a lengthy partnership.

Their 72-run stand ended when Vi- several key players. felt the need to tweet about from the jay was trapped lbw by Shane Watson So, India have confirmed their staopposite hemisphere.

There were some strange decisions for 37, the victim of a good delivery tus as No. 1 - not that they were in from Ricky Ponting, not the least of that angled in and seamed away. All danger of losing it. Now for Pujara which was the early elimination of all that did was bring the first-innings to lock in his place at No. 3.

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India Revels in CWG Wins NEW DELHI: The Indian contingent came into the Commonwealth Games with little athletics’ pedigree, but leaves with heads held high after some breakthrough performances. The country has always excelled in sports like shooting, field hockey and wrestling, but can now add track and field to its resume, even if the level of competition was diminished with some big names pulling out.

They won 12 medals in total at the Jawarhalal Nehru Stadium, with the money the government pumped in to improve their prospects paying handsome dividends.

The highlight came when Krishna Poonia won India’s first Commonwealth Games athletics gold in 52 years by leading a stunning host nation clean sweep in the women’s discus. Poonia threw 61.51 metres to share an historic day with second-placed teammate Harwant Kaur and third-placed Seema Antil, collecting only the country’s second gold medal ever. The first was won by Milkha Singh in the 440 yards in Cardiff in 1958.

As memorable was the victory by their 4x400m relay team on the final day of action to hand the country its first-ever track gold medal by Indian women. Else-

where, Vikas Gowda and Prajusha Maliakkal won silver in the men’s discus and women’s long jump respectively. Indian triple jumper Renjith Maheswary, who won bronze, summed up the mood when he said: “I think it is a new beginning in Indian athletics.”

Organising committee secretary general Lalit Bhanot said it was the payback from government money invested in the sport to ensure the hosts did well at the blue-riband event. “The government sanctioned a lot of money for Indian athletes that allowed them to get international exposure, to train in better facilities and to benefit from foreign coaches,” he said.

Bhanot added that he expected the support to continue with the London Olympics less than two years away. “The support should continue given the performances they showed,” he said.

Organising committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi said the legacy the Games would leave for India was a greater interest in sports like athletics in a country where cricket dominates. The next challenge for India’s athletes is the Asian Gams in Guangzhou next month, where they will come face to face with fellow Asian superpower China.

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india

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India in Pictures

Women farm laborers crossing the overflowing tank at Kothapalli village on the outskirts of Karimnagar town in Andhra Pradesh. Photo: Thakur Ajay Pal Singh

US actress and the goodwill ambassador of UNHCR, Angelina Jolie, meets Pakistan’s Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani in Islamabad, Pakistan, India’s neighbor. The 35-year-old actress spoke during a trip to Pakistan to raise awareness about the floods that have devastated the largely Muslim country over the last six weeks. She visited in her capacity as a goodwill ambassador for the U.N.’s refugee agency. - AP Photo/B.K.Bangash

Villagers move through floodwaters in Bareily, Uttar Pradesh. Heavy monsoon rains and landslides swept the hilly areas of northern India over the weekend, killing at least 47 people, officials said. - AP Photo/ Manjusha Verma Members of the Indian hockey team celebrate after winning the match against England in the men’s field hockey semifinals during the Commonwealth Games at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in New Delhi. - AP Photo/ Eranga Jayawardena

School children learn fire control methods using extinguishers during a mock fire and safety drill organized by Fire and safety Associate of India (FSAI) in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh. Photo: Mohammed Yousuf

India’s gold medalists Heena Singh, left, and Annu Raj Singh, pose at the medal ceremony of the women’s pairs 10m air pistol shooting event at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range during the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi. India’s medals tally is 31(Gold); 25(Silver); 28(Bronze). - AP Photo/ Mustafa Quraishi

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Wildlife

Indo American News • Friday, October 15 , 2010

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Dolphin Sanctuary Suffers from Funds Crunch

Riding with the Whale Sharks in India

concerned for the restoration of funds.

Set up in 1991, the sanctuary has reported frequent killings of the aquatic animal in the last one year.

These dolphins are usually poached for their oil, which is used as an ointment and aphrodisiac.

Ganges river dolphins fall under Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act and have been declared an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

R.K. Sinha, an expert on Ganges river dolphins and chairman of the working group for dolphin conservation, alleges that poachers had killed two more dolphins in Bhagalpur and Patna a few weeks ago.

There are only about 2,000 Ganges river dolphins left in the sanctuary, down from tens A fisherman holds a river dolphin in river Ganges. There are 4 fresh- of thousands just a few decades water dolphin species in the world, the Yangtze river in China, the ago.

Indus river in Pakistan, and the Amazon river in South America. ReThe Ganges river dolphin is one cently Indian fishermen not sure of what a dolphin is, beat it to death. of the four freshwater dolphin Educating fishermen who live near the Ganges about these rare spespecies in the world. The other cies is the first step to take in order to save these animals. three are found in the Yangtze river in China, the Indus river in The Vikramshila Gangetic Dol- the grants for the sanctuary on Pakistan and the Amazon river in phin Sanctuary is spread over account of non-submission of South America.

The species - found in India, Ban50 km along the Ganga river in utilisation certificate for grants sanctioned in the financial year gladesh and Nepal - is blind and Bhagalpur district. finds its way and prey in the river “No central grants have been 2000-01.”

Khan said the state government waters through echoes. allocated to the sanctuary since 2004. It is affecting the conserva- would soon approach officials

NEW DELHI (IANS) The giant Porbandar to work on the project.

“We are in the process of prowhale shark - a gentle specie of the deep sea about which very little is curing satellite tags and will soon known - will soon be a tourist at- be initiating genetic analysis of traction off the Gujarat coastline individual whale sharks. This is a even as it is tagged for genetic completely new exercise for the analysis and conservation.

Gujarat’s ministry of environment and forests and NGO Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) are also taking training from Australian experts to launch the Whale Shark Conservation Project.

“In India, a large number of whale A conservation project to save the Whale Sharks in the Indian Ocean is underway. Here people sharks have been are seen with a washed up Whale Shark seen off the Gujarat coastline. However, there is little species in India.

The campaign will also ask fishinformation whether these are resident or migratory. If tags are ermen to protect the whale shark, enabled on these sharks, it will to benefit the coastal communities help track and understand their of the state.

A global campaign is underway migratory patterns and habitats,” Dhiresh Joshi, coordinator of to protect the Whale Shark.

The specie was first noticed in WTI, said.

The whale shark, one of the big- 1828 in Cape Town, South Africa. gest species among sharks that Australia has since been doing a weighs a massive 34 tonnes and lot of research on whale sharks, infeeds on microscopic three-milli- cluding tracking through satellite metre-long plankton, is listed un- tagging. Whales or animals can be tracked through satellites by using der Indian wildlife laws.

Marine experts from Australia’s Very High Frequency (VHF) radio Scientific Advisory Council are in waves.

PATNA (IANS): Lack of funds for India’s only dolphin sanctuary in Bihar is badly affecting conservation of the endangered Ganges river dolphin, which is the national aquatic animal.

tion of dolphins,” B.A. Khan, Bihar’s principal chief conservator of forests, said.

An official of the sanctuary said: “The central forest and environment ministry had withheld

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education

Indo American News • Friday, October 15 , 2010

From Ireland to India: Setting Up a School in Bengal

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Meet Elaine Jones, an Irish primary school teacher who has set up her own school in West Bengal, India.

By Meghna Mukerjee KOLKOTTA (Telegraph): When Elaine Jones from Ireland first visited India in 2005, it was just for a twoweek holiday to a country she had hoped to visit since childhood. Had

uniforms and shoes. “All staff salaries, running costs of the school and provisions for the students are paid from my own money and the amount I can gather through fundraising,” says Ms Jones.

The idea for this school was suggested to Ms Jones by Nandalal Baidya, a gentleman she met while visiting schools in the slums of Kolkata on her second visit to India.

“It was early 2006 and Nandalal was working with schools in the slums. My neighbor wanted to sponsor a couple of kids so I visited Nandalal’s village, Purkait Gheri, with the purpose of finding two children. But I met six children instead, who needed help, and I couldn’t just leave the other four. So my friend and I decided to sponsor two of them each. The number of children I sponsor now has gone up to 20,” says Ms Jones.

She returned to India in September 2006 again, for almost four months, and it is then that Nandalal suggested she build a An utopian world where education is free, kids receive free text books, school. “Initially, I didn’t take stationery, uniforms and shoes, Ms. Elaine Jones is the person behind all this, raising funds and helping as many students as she possibly it seriously but then I sent out can. Only 33 years old, she started the Celtic Cross from nursery to e-mails about it to everyone on class IV with four teachers laying emphasis on English whilst teaching my contact list and the positive response I got was overwhelmall subjects. Plans to have classes till X grade is being considered ing,” she says.

With 153 students, from nursery anyone told the 33-year-old from A location for the school had Athy, County Kildare at the time that up to class IV, and four teachers, to be found and Ms Jones was she would set up a primary school the Celtic Cross Free Primary lucky enough to hear about an old in a poor village in West Bengal she School teaches all subjects, laying gentleman in the village who was would have laughed - which is what major emphasis on English, which living in a government house and she did when the idea was initially is rare for most villages. “Having was keen on moving to Kolkata if a sufficient command over Eng- the house could be used for educaproposed to her.

But today, the Celtic Cross Free lish is essential for these children tional purposes.

Primary School that she set up if they are ever to have a chance “I personally went and met him in in the village of Purkait Gheri in of escaping the poverty trap they 2007 and thanked him for putting live in,” says Ms Jones. The chil- education first. Once he agreed to 2008 is flourishing.

“The village is three hours from dren are also provided with art give the house, we met the local Kolkata and the villagers live in programs, and health and hygiene government representatives, got mud houses with thatched or galva- lessons. the planning permission papers A mobile library has been set and started work on the school nized roofs and mud floors. There is no electricity there. Through up with books Ms Jones has col- building. The school officially a survey that a friend conducted lected. Free medical camps are opened on April 24, 2008. Nanin six villages, we found out that organized for Purkait Gheri and dalal runs the school for me now. many children from Purkait Gheri the surrounding villages regularly I get constant updates from him,” had to walk up to four kilometers as well. “My friend from Kolkata she informs. to get to the nearest government helps out with these. Such camps The village has welcomed this school. A good primary school are vital as most families are un- new school warmly. “It’s wonderwas desperately needed,” says Ms able to afford medical expenses, ful to see how eager people are and if children are constantly ill to learn. All the parents are inJones.

The school is free and each child they miss out on receiving a full volved,” she says. receives text books, stationery, education,” she adds.

The way forward for the school

is to eventually have six additional follow-up teachers for classes V to X. “This will be useful because many children do not progress on to government schools as their parents are unable to cover the costs. This is sad when one considers that it would cost less than seventy pounds a year. Unfortunately the average wage for a family in the village is only one hundred and four pounds per year, so they cannot justify spending more than

half their income on education,” says Ms Jones.

Ms Jones, who also teaches children dealing with autism at a school in Athy, now shuttles between Ireland and India. “I’m going back at Christmas this year to spend Christmas day at the school with the children, giving them presents. Hopefully it will be the best Christmas of their lives,” she says. >> Jones’s life is challenging yet rewarding.

Seeing these kids learn she knows she is effecting a valuable change in their lives.

They are a bunch of happy kids.

With 153 children to educate and support, Elaine >

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travel

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CWG Tourists Soak in Beauty of the Taj Mahal After Games NEW DELHI (NDN): The bright sun and the heat are proving quite a challenge for the many Commonwealth Games athletes and officials travelling from Delhi to Agra but the Taj Mahal makes it all worthwhile, officials said.

As many as 320 CWG guests vis-

ited the 17th century mausoleum, famed as one of the wonders of the world, while the number did not cross even 200 in the previous two days.

The sportspersons and officials were taken in 20 odd buses to the Taj Mahal from Delhi, about 200 km away. ‘Groups from England, New Zealand, Canada, Sri Lanka and Malaysia came on Sunday,’ an official said.

The disabled roamed the complex in wheelchairs and had a wonderful time, he added.

Agra Tourist Guides Associa-

tion president Shamshuddin said: ‘The heat is proving a dampener as some tourists are having minor health problems. But now the number is picking up. We expect more tourists from the Games Village.’

At the Taj, the sportspersons look totally relaxed as the soak in the beauty of white marble monument and the landscaping. ‘Some have posed for photos in yoga postures, and while doing aerobics and exercises. They are just enjoying themselves,’ said Vishal, a photographer at the Taj. The Indian Railways have been running a special Shatabdi Express daily between Agra and New Delhi to bring the CWG guests to the Taj city. Air conditioned Marco Polo buses were also arranged for the guests from the Agra Cantt railway station to the Shilpgram complex where gold carts are available to reach the Taj. After spending two hours at the Taj, the guests are taken to hotel Jaypee Palace where they have lunch and relax for a while before returning to Delhi, another official said.

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autHor talK

Evening is the New De

Indo American News • Friday, October 15 , 2010

If 16 is sweet, 62 is svelte, at least when it comes to Shobhaa De. Here the glamorous author of “Shobhaa at Sixty” shares her perspective on aging with grace.

NEW DELHI (Hindu): Even as she grows old she refuses to age.

That’s Shobhaa De for you — prolific author, one-time editor, long ago model but all-time icon. She turned 60 roundabout the same time India celebrated its 60th Independence Day, and that’s when she came out with “Superstar India”, a saucily appropriate title to sum up the parallel she was drawing between her per personal experiences and the trajectory of a young nation.

And now at 62, she has turned to more personal matters yet. In her recently published “Shobhaa at Sixty: Secrets of Getting it Right at Any Age” (Hay House India) she looks back at her own six decades and shares advice about enjoying one’s time as a senior citizen. Advice is never welcome if it comes from someone who has done everything right the first time round. Luckily, or in the case of De, characteristically, the author is frank about her own mistakes and drawbacks, and in coming to terms with them, inspires others to feel as free with themselves.

In this email interview, the Mumbaibased author answers questions on the concept of age and aging in her own sweet-62 style.

Do you think traditionally in Indian urban society (and probably villages too) people didn’t feel such pressure to remain young as they do now? After all, life was in a pattern – studies, marriage, job, children, grandchildren. Within that, growing old was accepted, just as it was accepted that women never got to retire. Yet there was no superwoman tag to live up to.

What an interesting perspective!

But you must remember, the mortality rate for women used to be very high those days. Most didn’t survive beyond 50! Today, we eat better, live smart, are more fit — it’s a worldwide phenomenon. The old pattern is no longer applicable. Women have broken through the mould. But yes, the totally ridiculous Superwoman tag has generated a new kind of neurosis and unfortunately, too many women are succumbing to the pressures of looking ‘hot’ !

Teasing time: At 62 celebrity author Shobhaa De’s wish list includes growing a kitchen garden and dancing the Tango in Buenos Aires. Photo: Vikram Bawa

In India the official age or retirement is mostly 60 or 58, whereas life spans are increasing everywhere.

Debates about the necessity for this in India where we have a lot of unemployed youth aside, do you agree that we have a fictionalised impression of 60 as being ‘old’? Is it something like teenagers’ hor horror of the idea of being 30, with its connotation of being boring, staid, not with it?

Well.... let’s be realistic 60 is not young! But 60 today is not the same 60 as during my mother’s era. Our mindsets have changed. Women view themselves differently... more positively. 60 is no longer the end of the road. In fact, 60 can be liberating on several levels. I have never felt this free from pressures — certainly not when I was 30. There is a wonderful acceptance that comes with age. One more thing — age and ageing are two different stories. Women are victims of an ageist society that clubs them into a pigeon hole.

You write in the book that women “over-invest” in their physical selves, and often don’t develop their inner lives at the same pace.

With everyone seemingly trying to cover their grey hair, and new brands available, the national hair colour seems to be auburn. How important do you feel it is for a woman try to look good in the

conventional sense – good figure, dressing snappily, etc?

These are really vanity issues. It is a matter of personal choice to go grey or not to. I believe if a woman feels far more confident about herself if she uses a suitable hair colour, and camouflages the salt and pepper so be it. The problem starts when women and men begin to obsess over their appearance, while neglecting virtually every other area of their lives.

That can get unhealthy. But there is nothing wrong in looking after ones appearance in a sensible way. If you believe you look good, chances are you’ll FEEL good, too!

You have given some really comforting advice about the 60s being ‘me’ time? What are the things you would like to do and are doing that you were not able to do before?

Frankly, I have doled out excellent advice that I believe in completely ... but don’t always follow! My life is busier than it has ever been. I am always short of the one commodity that falls into the ‘priceless’ category time! I would love to attend summer courses on a stimulating campus where I’ll be able to learn and interact with like minded people. I’d love to grow a kitchen garden. And dance the tango preferably in Buenos Aires.

Youth, as you have pointed out, is a time of some insensitivity. Do you ever look back at certain experiences in your life and think you would have liked to do things differently had you then had the wisdom that the years have gifted you?

Oh yes! Several instances of gauche conduct... impetuous decisions... idiotic behaviour. But really!!

Who needs ‘wisdom’ at twenty. I am a risk taker. Have always been one.

A certain amount of recklessness is essential in life how dull it would be otherwise! Who needs ‘safe’?

Your prolific writing record and your self-confessed workaholism have us wondering what will next flow from your pen. Anything on the cards?

I am always working on something new. But ssssshhhh — let’s not spoil the fun by discussing it!

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