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Indo American News • Friday, November 19 , 2010

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Partners in Building Sensitive to Needs of the Clients

By Kalyani Giri HOUSTON: Joti Rao was one of the first to build her 6200 sq. foot dream home in Telfair. A software engineer in the IT industry, she enjoys the serenity of the neighborhood.

“I love that we could build according to our own specifications and personalize our home to suit our needs,” said Rao. She and husband Manny, who works for Texas Instruments, are parents to three grown children.

“We have lots of space in our open floor plan. I don’t want to leave home even for a vacation; it’s so peaceful here. Many young professionals and their families have moved it. It’s a very youthful family-oriented community with kids playing outdoors,” added Rao. Partners in Building L.P built Rao’s house in the up-and-coming upscale community. At a recent open house, one of many held every now and then, Tony Farhani, the Custom Home Specialist of Partners in Building in Telfair, entertained homeowners and prospective clients at a cavernous and sumptuously appointed demo house.

Telfair is a part of Sugar Land, a cultured, cosmopolitan metropolis that was named one of America’s Top 25 Places to Live by Money Magazine. It is just 20 miles away from downtown Houston, and is accessible to major employment hubs such as the Texas Medical Center, the Galleria/Post Oak area, Greenway Plaza and Downtown Houston.

The fast developing 2018 acres of Telfair community in Sugar Land is the most sought after pieces of real estate presently. And Partners in Building is one of the many builders in Telfair offering clients unique, custom-created homesteads. With plans ranging from 3,200 to 5,250 square feet, Partners in Building brings 50 years of experience and commitment in identifying the specific needs of their clients through constant communication. From design, to style, floor plans, and additional features such as wine storage chambers, multi-level living areas, sunrooms, and ceiling treatments, all houses are energy efficient, and

Photos: Krishna Giri

Fort Bend county’s Telfair community idyllic for raising families

environmentally safe. Only the best quality building materials are used.

Indigenous to the Partners in Building plan is the concept of open living spaces that flow seamlessly, with extensive entertainment arenas.

For couples with young families like Dr. Priya Ramshesh, an oncologist and her software engineer husband Krishna, Telfair is “awesome”, confided Dr. Ramshesh.

“Partners in Building created for us the perfect home in a great neighborhood,” she enthused. “Our 8 yr. old son goes to the nearby Cornerstone Elementary School, which is excellent. And the community has a strong cultural ethos with regular events taking place,” added Dr. Ramshesh.

Telfair is soon going to have its own Telfair Central Hall, an innovative 9,545 sq. ft. community center, which will take up residence next door to the newly constructed Houston Museum of Natural Science on New Territory Boulevard. It will accord residents of Telfair a place for gathering, and will boast a state of the art fitness center,

and offices for the Telfair Community Association.

As homeowners in Telfair for the past three years, Lori and Aftab Rahmtulla enjoy their lifestyle at their 5000 sq. ft. home in Telfair. The Rahmtullas own Shabana Motors in the southwest part of the city.

“This is a great community, very safe,” said Lori. “We have six grandkids so having the additional space is wonderful. We’ve got a lovely view of the lake and it’s so peaceful. Tony Farahani is a very personable man and we had a great experience having him help us build our dream home,” added Lori.

Partners in Building has distinguished itself over the years and is the recipient of many state and local awards that include the 2007 Star Award from the Texas Association of Builders; Best Custom Home over $200, 000, Grand Award; Houston’s Best Parade of Homes Award 2008.

For more information, visit www. partnersinbuilding.com or contact Tony Farahani at (281) 207 6800.

Clockwise from top left: Residents of Telfair; Naushad Kermally and wife Narmin with their three children, Aftab and Lori Rahmtulla, Joti and Manny Rao with Tony Farhani. Below: Partners in Building Officers from left, Jeremy Woolley-Area Construction Manager, Elizabeth Phillips-Marketing Director, Tony Farahani-Sales Counselor, Judy Forrest-Sales Assistant, Jon Hauck-Superintendent

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Indo American News • Friday, November 19, 2010

BUSINESS INdIA

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India Must Share Growth Model with CEOs at Davos: WEF Chief

by the expectations placed on India NEW DELHI (KME): The World with Indian industry chamber CII. are high,” he said, adding that the Schwab, who rubs shoulders Economic Forum is keen to have Indian political and corporate leaders with several heads of state and country must keep up with crucial share their experience in taking governments and masters of the reforms and address concerns over growth benefits to the poor with other corporate universe every winter at poor infrastructure. It must bridge global CEOs and policymakers at the Davos, said India provided much- the difference between words and international non-profit body’s annual needed hope with its robust economic deeds, Schwab added.

“The time has come for India to summit in Davos, Switzerland, in fundamentals last year when “the close the ‘say-do’ gap and January, 2011. “This to get things done,” he coming year, I believe said.

Indian participation at The government has set Davos can highlight a target for private and the country’s thought public sector investment leadership. At a time of $1 trillion for the next when the world is Five-Year Plan. searching for a new Several Indian industry model of economic leaders like Rahul Bajaj, development, India’s Anand Mahindra, the experience as a crucible Ambani brothers and for new types of inclusive bankers like SBI chief O.P. growth gives it a special Bhatt and ICICI Bank CEO role among developing and Managing Director economies,” WEF Chanda Kochchar have Founder and Chairman Klaus Schwab said. World Economic Forum founder and Chairman been regular participants He said India faces the Klaus Schwab figures if India can be the catalyst in the WEF meeting at challenge of ensuring being where it is today in an enviable spot in terms of Davos. Cabinet ministers the fruits of economic economic development, it can help other third world like Kamal Nath, Anand expansion reach the nations to surge in economic development as well. Sharma and Planning Commission Deputy bottom of the pyramid.

Chairman Montek Singh “It is grappling directly with an issue world was staggering beneath the that has significance and resonance weight of the fallout from the global Ahluwalia are also regulars at the five-day meeting in the snow-laden for the global economy,” Schwab financial crisis”.

Swiss resort town.

Amid the slowdown in the world said.

Schwab talked about the Financial inclusion programmes economy, India stood alongside like the National Rural Employment the few countries like China that accountability of the leadership Guarantee Scheme are flagship continued to witness sustained for implementing development initiatives of the UPA government. growth and expanded by 7.4 per programs. “We need to ensure that Schwab is here for the India cent last fiscal. However, the measures are put in place to hold Economic Summit, which has been country now has to live up to high leaders accountable for yielding real organised by the WEF in partnership expectations. “The challenges set results,” he said.

Govt. Considering Infusing Further Equity in AI NEW DELHI (KME): Government some steps have been taken. RBI has —- 43 from Airbus and 68 from may consider infusing further equity given approval for debt restructuring Boeing —- worth $11 billion. of $20 Bn. in cash-starved Air India, as a special dispensation for the The sources had said that the after it is expected to grant the aviation sector and looking at its airline would require $30 Bn to state-owned airline $12 Bn. by next overall health,” he said. $ $40 Bn. annually to pay off its month. “We can look at pumping Earlier, high-level sources had debt which is primarily on account another $20 Bn. later,” Civil Aviation said that the national carrier might of aircraft induction. The monthly Minister Praful Patel said interest burden on this when asked whether the count averages at $2 Bn, government could infuse while the debt each month more funds to enhance the stands at about $3 Bn., the debt-equity ratio of the they had estimated. ailing national carrier.

Against this backdrop, “We have moved a the airline could ask for Cabinet note for infusion another tranche of $20 Bn. of $12 Bn. equity (in Air as equity, some time in the India). It has already been next financial year, the circulated (to members sources said. The second of the Cabinet). We hope tranche of government that a decision is taken by funds worth $12 Bn. November,” Patel said on to be released after a the sidelines of a seminar By November India’s Reserve Bank of India is looking nod from the Cabinet on air traffic management to restructure India’s Aviation debt and rechecking Committee on Economic its overall health. India’s civil aviation minister Praful Affairs (CCEA), is likely here.

“Air India’s overall Patel is hopeful that a decision to infuse $12 Bn. will to be used for settling turnover would be higher. be approved early November this month. Last year outstanding dues and not $8 Bn. was infused into Air India and an order for 111 As there is a healthy aircraft were placed with Airbus and Boeing to enhance the airline’s growth of air traffic, the equity base. yields are better and costs CCEA is likely to take up are going down,” he said. ask for another Rs 2,000 crore from the proposal next month. According Asked whether there would be a the government in the next financial to official estimates, Air India is “bailout” for private airlines also, year to repay its massive debts, after expected to incur a loss of $56.52 Patel replied in the negative but said it gets Rs 1,200 crore in this financial Bn. in 2009-10. The airline had the government and the Reserve year. Government had infused Rs suffered a loss of $22.26 Bn. in Bank have already taken several 800 crore in the last financial year 2007-08 which rose to $55.48 Bn. measures to come to the aid of the in Air India, which used to have an the following year. aviation industry. equity base of a mere Rs 145 crore “I don’t think there is any bailout but and had placed orders for 111 aircraft INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2010 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

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B U S I N E S S in d ia

India, Russia May Follow China in Auto M&As Cox was a key adviser to Geely Indian and Russian companies utility vehicles maker, could pursue may follow China’s lead in doing overseas deals that would help them at Rothschild. He then left the overseas deals to help grow their better tap a domestic market of more family-owned bank for Ken Moelis’s eponymous, 3-year old outfit to automotive industries, Meyrick Cox than 1 billion people.

China’s state-controlled giants be head of global automotive and of Moelis & Co told the Reuters Dongfeng and FAW also remained steel.

Global Autos Summit.

Cox said China’s carmakers were China’s car industry has spent a keen to boost their know-how, focused on serving their domestic decade augmenting its technology, branding and footprint.

But, he said, all face the same market, the world’s biggest. “It’s brands and distribution capabilities a mistake to think that this is an through alliances, consulting tie-ups problem.

“There aren’t an awful lot of export-driven rush, in the same and overseas takeovers, culminating way as the Japanese in Geely’s $1.5 billion car manufacturers purchase of Volvo focused on exports,” from Ford this year he said.

Cox, speaking at “The focus is the London office of being able to design Reuters, said Russia’s and build cars in automotive industry China for Chinese now faced “the same people.” issue China had ten But with top years ago”.

Chinese automaker Despite joint SAIC Motor Corp ventures such as Lada launching its maker AvtoVAZ’s “Roewe” cars in tie-up with Renault SA, it and rivals such China is at the forefront making deals with other nations selling Europe, Cox said as GAZ were under its automobiles and earning revenue. India and Russia are Chinese carmakers would begin to “very heavy pressure learning from China now approaching the world market make inroads from the Kremlin” to into developed modernise Russia’s assets left to buy,” Cox said. “The markets. car industry, he said.

“I read every now and again it’s “Whether they can do that through car industry tends to restructure paying consultants to help develop itself about once every 10 years in going to be 10 or 20 years before we things, or their own work, or by ownership terms, and we’ve just had, see Chinese cars over here. Nonsense.

We’re going to see them here in the buying things, is an open question, I guess, two years or so of that.”

That echoes Geely chairman Li next five years, and they’re going to but I think it’s entirely possible we would see them buying things if Shufu, who told Reuters in an August be built just as well as mass-market interview that it was “very difficult cars here are,” he said. there are assets around to buy.”

“The manufacturers who think it’s Similarly, Cox said Indian to find a good brand like Volvo you conglomerates such as the family can buy”, and joked that Chinese going to be 10 or 20 years away owned Hinduja Group or Mahindra companies would be interested in are going to have a very unpleasant Group, whose Mahindra & Daimler AG’s Mercedes unit were surprise.”

Mahindra unit is the country’s top it for sale.

Indo American News • Friday, November 19 , 2010

100 Million African Mobile Subscribers in Next Two Years Means Growth for Airtel

NEW DELHI (KME): Telecom giant Bharti Airtel Tuesday said it is confident of reaching a subscriber base of 100 million in the African market in another two years. “In two years, we expect 100 million customers mark from the current 40 million in Africa,” Bharti Group chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal told reporters on the sidelines of the India Economic Summit.

Mittal also noted that the call tariff in Africa is still high and there is scope for cutting tariffs. The firm plans to provide lower tariffs while generating higher revenue through

high volume.

“I am confident the model of low tariffs and high volumes will work in Africa,” he added.

Mittal told the reporters that the company had also cut mobile phone tariffs in Kenya by about 40-45 per cent after acquisition of Zain in order to bring down tariffs to generate high volumes.

Earlier this year, Bharti acquired the African assets of Kuwait’s Zain under a $10.7-billion deal, making it the world’s fifth largest mobile phone services company.

Power Ministry Seeks Expert Opinion for $2.2 Bn. Debt New Delhi: The power ministry is consulting with financial experts to work out the modalities of the proposed $2.2 Bn. debt fund for financing electricity generation, transmission and distribution projects. “We are in talks with some economic experts...can’t name them right now, they would advise us on the debt fund...how to go about it,” a power ministry official said.

The ministry is mulling to sett up a debt fund for financing projects with an estimated corpus of $2.2 Bn. State-run lenders Power Finance Corporation and Rural Electrification Corporation may also be roped in for

the same.

The ministry is also in constant dialogue with the Planning Commission for working out a blueprint of the proposed fund.

Meanwhile, the Planning Commission has proposed a $450 Mn. National Electricity Fund (NEF) to finance development of power transmission and distribution network in the country, which would soon go to the Cabinet for its approval. The plan panel had last year announced setting up of NEF to finance the development of power transmission and distribution network by state utilities, so as to reduce transmission

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and distribution (T&D) losses. It had suggested that the government should provide interest subsidy aimed at bearing part of the interest cost by the Centre. For example, if a state utility plans to raise funds at an interest rate of 10 per cent, four per cent of that would be borne by the government.

Power Finance Corp and Rural Electrification Corp are likely to be the nodal agencies to finance state utilities, as a part of NEF. The support of World Bank and Asian Development Bank could be sought for improving electricity transmission and distribution network in the country.

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Indo American News • Friday, November 19, 2010

INDIA

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India, Japan to Focus On Infrastructure Construction, Rare Earth Production

The summit-level meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Japanese counterpart Naoto Kan saw both countries deciding to expand their bilateral ties into the area of rare earths, a highly specialised area. They also sowed the seeds of extending their ongoing cooperation in the development of infrastructure in India to the southern parts.

With regard to developing transport and industrial development corridors in the peninsular region of India, a joint statement by the two Prime Ministers welcomed Japan’s Concept Paper “Initial Steps towards Regional

Economic Integration in East Asia: A Gradual Approach.”

They also welcomed the “Comprehensive Asian Development Plan,” and recognised the importance of hard infrastructure and industrial policy in the Mekong-India Corridor Study, whose implementation could be further discussed.

As Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao later explained, “the issue is linked to the development of similar projects [Delhi-Mumbai dedicated freight and industrial corridors] in south India to link its infrastructure, industrial and technical bases with

Southeast Asia. It envisions the possibility of linking south India which has infrastructure, technical base, manufacturing ability and export potential.”

In the area of rare earths, the two Prime Ministers acknowledged the importance of rare earths and rare metals for future industries and decided to explore the possibility of bilateral cooperation in development, re-cycling and reuse of rare earths and rare metals and in research and development of their industrial substitutes.

Aw a r e o f the pitfalls of agreements being signed and then not being followed up, they directed their authorities to work towards early entry into force of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement ( C E PA ) a n d its smooth implementation.

They expressed optimism that India-Japan CEPAwill deepen

their economic engagement, in terms of trade in goods and services, investment and cooperation.

Nuclear agreement Although the India-Japan civil nuclear agreement is slated to be under discussions for a few more rounds, the joint statement encapsulated the cooperation taking place between the two countries in this field.

Both sides are actively exchanging information between the nuclear energy industries, including through business missions. They are also active in strengthening international cooperation to addressing the challenges of nuclear terrorism and clandestine proliferation which has seen Japan planning to set up an Integrated Comprehensive Support Center for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Nuclear Security and India the Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership.

On pending projects, the two Prime Ministers aimed for early completion of both phases of the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor in India

in a parallel manner with Japan’s financial and technical assistance.

They also expressed their desire to accelerate progress on the DelhiMumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC).

Mr. Kan expressed his intention to enhance Japan’s involvement to the DMIC through the efforts of related organisations such as JETRO (Japan External Trade Organisation) and AOTS (Association for Overseas Technical Scholarship).

They took note of the potential of the DMIC project to enhance physical connectivity across Asia and wanted to encourage greater investment from Japan into India including in the infrastructure sector over the next decade to realise this vision.

In the area of security and defence cooperation, the two leaders aimed to cooperate to enhance their capacity in responding to security challenges such as maritime security which entails safety and freedom of navigation and counter-piracy, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief and response through several means.

On Afghanistan, Mr. Kan spoke on assistance to the Afghan National Police, reintegration of insurgents and development. Dr. Singh emphasised strengthening and adequate training of the Afghan National Security Forces so that they could defend the sovereignty and independence of Afghanistan. They concurred that the process of reintegration should not deviate from the principles expressed in the Kabul Conference.

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INdIA

Indo American News • Friday, November 19 , 2010

SE Asia Countries Eager for American Engagement and Leadership: Obama WA S H I N G TO N ( E T ) : U S President Barack Obama says Asian countries were “eager” for American engagement and leadership and this was reflected not only by their leaders but also by the youth, citing his interaction with students of a Mumbai school.

“I think all of Asia is eager for American engagement and leadership. We saw that in India; we saw it in Indonesia; we saw it -- during the G20 and we saw it during APEC,” Obama told reporters onboard Air Force One yesterday, while returning from his 10-day trip to Asia.

Stressing that this eagerness was not only from the leaders, he said, “I was struck when I was at the first school that we went to in Mumbai, and those young kids who were talking about the environment and green technology.

“On the way down, I said, ‘Well, what are you guys’ plans?’ ‘Well, we’re of course going to go to college.’ I said, Where are you going to go?’ ‘Well, America, of course.’”

On the second day of their India

visit, the Obamas went to the Holy Name school in one of the quiet bylanes of Colaba, a hub of foreigners and close to the Leopold Cafe, which was targeted during the Mumbai terror attacks.

The US first couple celebrated Diwali with the school children, who also presented a dance show.

The couple moved around, shaking hands with the children and stopping to exchange some words.

Obama told reporters onboard Air Force One that inspite of a few tough years faced by the US, the country is still “central” and leaders and people from Asian nations want them.

The US President said he also got the impression that these countries are marching ahead.

“Now, the second strong impression is, those folks are moving. Korea, China, India, the entire Southeast Asian region -- Japan -- all of them recognise how competitive things are and that they are thinking each and every day about how to educate their workforce, rebuild their infrastructure, enter into new markets,” he said.

Referring to the tough competition faced by the US from Asian countries in various fields including science and technology, he said US should feel confident about its ability to compete but will have to step up its game.

Supermarket Chain Nilgiris Opens 100 Stores in S. India CHENNAI (IF): Supermarket chain Nilgiris has opened its 100th store in South India. The new outlet at Chamiers Road in Chennai promises to address the convenience needs of shoppers in the catchment.

Murali Krishnan, COO, Nilgiris, says, “The key differentiator in the business is the strong private label range of Nilgiris and excellent customer service offered by our franchisees at the stores. We are able

to delight the shopper with a very large assortment of products having a good mix of traditional and imported range in foods. The franchisee model ensures speed of execution and the ability to adapt to fast changing consumer needs.”

Nilgiris, with a major presence in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu for many years now, extended its footprint to the markets of Andhra Pradesh and Kerala earlier this year.

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Indo American News • Friday, November 19, 2010

wEEkly FEAtUrE

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Duchesne Academy of Sacred Heart with Coach Amit Shah: Learning to Win Gracefully

Graduating in 2002 with a BBA in Investment Banking, he did brief internships with Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley. He found that no one was hiring full time in the financial sector just after the 9/11 episode. Armed with a degree and plenty of time to spare, he saw an ad for Field Hockey Coach position in the Cougar publication, published by the University of Houston. - a coachAmit Shah, Middle School Athletic Director ing job for the Duchesne Acadseason sees a lot of field and track emy. Amit had till then thought events. The annual line up of field hockey was only played at sports events keeps Amit Shah a national levels and did not know young coach, only 31, very busy, it existed in schools. Joining as juggling things with ease to no a part time coach at Duchesne in 2002, he was able to lead the team to the official playoffs. In 2003, 04, Amit Shah at the advise of some friends did his Masters in Physical Education thereby extending his student visa as part of the Occupational Practical Theory (OPT) and Curriculum Practical Theory (CPT). Graduating in May 2005, he was hired full time at the Duchesne Academy. They saw his success, recognized his ability to coach and educate the girls, and sponsored his H1-B visa. When a new director for Athlet2010 DASH Varsity Field Hockey Team, with coach Amit Shah ics stepped in, Amit Shah was promoted to Assistant end, in a good way, that benefits to 12, ages 9 to 18 play competi- Duchesne Academy and its stu- Athletic Director. Amit Shah’s goal to become Athletic Director tive Softball, Swimming, Vol- dents. leyball, Basketball, Tennis, and Today Amit Shah is the Middle by the age of 30 came true with intense Track and Field events School Athletic Director. He also a lot of hard work. Amit Shah as well. Add to that repertoire of oversees a baby league called the also took on the responsibilities games, Field Hockey, a game un- Junior DASH (Duchesne Acade- of scheduling all sports events, heard of at many schools here in my of Sacred Heart) a recreation- scheduling buses Houston. Not many coaches are al program for grades 3 - 6, train- for daily and qualified to teach field hockey, ing them very young to develop sports trips, and nor are the umpires. The TAPPS an early interest in games. Having does the IT part (Texas Association of Private arrived and found his true calling of updating the and Parochial Schools) does not to be a sports director took an aw- sports pages of Duchesne’s web site. recognize field hockey as a na- ful lot of hard work early on.

Focusing more on inculcating tional sport. Football on the other Amit Shah was born and raised hand is king and is a monopoly in Kenya in the late 70s. In high sportsmanship in every student, in Texas. Hockey requires high school, Amit made the captain Amit Shah has introduced Yoga, stamina levels and intense prac- for the Nairobi Academy playing Pilates, Golf, and Self-defense tice. Field Hockey still remains soccer and hockey. He also played skills. He figures that every stuas a fledgling sport here in Texas. soccer for the Club Breweries at dent will be better off knowing But volleyball still rules as the 19. He traveled to Belgium and real life skills and exercises that game of choice in every school. England for school team compe- will help keep them healthy and The weather in Texas makes titions, doing exceptionally well. form better families down the field hockey a game conducive In 1998, he moved to Boston, road. “I take pride in what I do. I to be played only in Fall, when Massachusetts, on a student visa. love coaching my 600 kids. I althe sweltering heat has died and He was focused on taking a bach- ways tell others, I am very fortucool climate prevails. Winter sea- elors in Finance and did so com- nate to be teaching at Duchesne, son opens itself to Soccer. Spring ing to the University of Houston. and that if anyone cuts me, I will

By JacoB DaviD HOUSTON: Sports at Duchesne Academy under the able coachman ship of Amit Shah, focuses on Sportsmanship. On field and off field, Duchesne Academy trains its girl students for the realities of life. Amit Shah now going on his 11th year as Middle School Athletic Director, started at the lower rungs of the ladder and made his way up through hard work and perseverance. Amit Shah trains his students in Soccer, Field Hockey and Track events accompanied by 15 coaches.

Duchesne’s girls from grades 3

bleed blue and gold.” Those are the royal colors of the school. “I want every student to be focused on field and off field. I help them develop professional skills and sportsmanship that they don’t resort to anger and name calling - cheap tricks employed by nonprofessional athletes to throw you off your game. My students are well aware of these ploys and act mature at all times.” Every game gives the opportunity to learn social skills, team work, leadership skills, problem solving, handling pressure, and increasing productivity in contained time limits.

His father’s passing in 2002 helped him change perspective on life. “Chasing money is not happiness,” and second when lightning struck his house and burned it down to cinder, he realized that his loved ones were spared, who mattered most in life - his wife Maite and dog Kelsey. The Duchesne Academy, its staff, parents and students came together to collect necessary items needed for restoring what Coach Amit Shah had lost. “They were wonderful, I feel so grateful that they are my family today.” Though the hours of coaching are rigorous starting at 7 am and finishing at 8 pm daily, Amit Shah and his wife Maite have learned to cope with it. “We love each other very much and realize that we are making sacrifices as a couple to have the best possible life in a short while from now.” His wife, an assistant nurse manager at MD Anderson is also passionate about baking with a home run business, the Dessert Diva. Amit Shah organizes family reunions every year taking trips to the

a part of the soccer club Div.1-B which now is the top team, with the games organized by the Football Association League.

With regard to school sports, you win some, you lose some. But in the end it is the participation, the camaraderie and the lessons learnt that are important. Duchesne helps each girl child accomplish this. They learn to manage time, play professionally, respect their opponents at all times, and learn to win or lose gracefully. Most girls leaving Duchesne end up at prestigious centers like Rice, University of Houston, Vanderbilt, Notre Dame, Texas Christian University and St. Thomas among others.

Duchesne holds open house on select weekends. Coach Amit Shah will be there to answer your questions on sports and training procedures. To know more visit, www.duchesne.org | 713-4688211 | 10202 Memorial Drive, Houston, TX 77024

far east.

He also took some time to visit Gujarat, India - his mother’s home town. “When we vacation for 2 -3 months a year, we have a great family time.”

Amit Shah loves coaching at Duchesne. He is now focused on improving the health aspect of kids with games that help cardiovascular endurance. “My future plans are to continue playing competitive soccer.” He plays soccer for the Over 30 League every Thursday night. He is also

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2010 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

Morgan Nash, Captain of one of the Field Hockey teams at Duchesne Academy in action during a playoff.

Indo American News • Friday, November 19 , 2010

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South Asia TRAVEL

Now open in the Satpura National Park in Madhya Pradesh by brothers Faiz and Aly Rashid

Wild at Heart in Reni Pani: Newest Luxury Jungle Resort

By annie M. Mathews

BHOPAL (Outlook Travel): For a long minute in the afternoon all sound ceased—no human voice, no drip of water, no flapping of pigeons, no grating of chair, no roar of engine, no tolling of temple bell, no ring of a cellphone—a resounding silence as birds probably soared silently through a clear blue sky, or snakes slithered very silently through the woods. My very thoughts went still. When it ceased being quite as silent after that minute, it was still a reminder of the city din that I carried in my head most of the year around, the constant urban drone and buzz, where as a matter of self-preservation habit, one ceases to listen.

We reached Reni Pani Jungle Lodge on the penultimate day of the park and lodge closing so we were the only guests Even if there had been other guests, since there are only 12 cottages, I expect all guests are greeted with the same lavish smiles, cold towels and refreshing drinks. Because of various time constraint reasons, which meant that we would only have one

and a half days on the property, we had taken an early flight from Delhi to Bhopal and then a three-hour car journey, so a moment to be languor languorous was quite welcome. And languor is so infinitely possible in this lodge.

It is one very seriously good reason to go there.

The primary reason for any visitor would be the Satpura National Park and Tiger Reserve a few kilometres away. There’s your best reason for going to the Reni Pani lodge.

The Satpura Tiger Reserve is actually a huge spread that, together with the adjoining Bori and Pachmarhi sanctuaries, covers an area of 1,500 square metres. Large enough for a good stretch of a leg and for big cats and scores of other wildlife to live, prosper and in peace and tranquillity. Since the park is also relatively free of hordes of tourist vehicles, the chances of encounters and sightings are that much larger and it is rather magnificent to move around in an open jeep under a heavy canopy of trees, binoculars at the ready, alert to a possible sighting. I did not see a leopard either. Or a jungle dog.

Or sloth bear. But I was with people who had, had stories enough to tell to kindle great hopes. We did stop to examine the evil-smelling gougedout remains of a wild boar, which no doubt a series of animals had had a go at after the initial kill. We did pursue an elusive tiger, which could not have been very far from us considering the alarm calls. We did find fresh steaming scat of jungle dogs, which meant they had crossed that very path a short while before us.

What we did see a great deal of were sambar, cheetal, neelgai and gaur. The much-misunderstood and therefore maligned gaur, the naturalist whispered, as we stood still gazing at them and they stood even more stock-still, returning our gaze of wonderment with large eyes filled with extreme caution. While many tend to think that gaurs are likely to attack or charge with little or no provocation, they are in fact given to being skittish and turning tail and fleeing with amazing agility for such large beasts.

Brothers Faiz and Aly Rashid, continued on page

32

Baby blackbuck who seems chummy with this empoyee of the Satpura sanctuary.

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Indo American News • Friday, November 19, 2010

trAvEl

ONLINE EDITION: www.indoamerican-news.com

Wild at Heart in Reni Pani: Newest Luxury Jungle Resort

continued from page

31

owners of the lodge, Algar, the resident naturalist, and the photographer Rishi are enthusiastic birders. I am enthusiastic too in terms of admiration but my enthusiasm is matched by my extreme ignorance and low powers of ornithology retention, so I cannot share with you the names of the many wonders I saw. My guides are also schooled in extreme patience.

They painstakingly direct my attention to obscure branches and when my eye has finally locked in on the right one, I am, more often than not, fortunate enough to see a brilliant flash of blue or saffron take off in flight, or sometimes quick enough to train my binoculars in on them for closer admiration.

Access to the park is across a water body with a single boat ferry that does the shuttle between park and mainland from sunrise to sunset and the park itself is open to the public from October 15 to June 30. Once done with these rounds, we have all the soothing comforts of the lodge itself awaiting us—the Reni Pani lodge is named after a berry that is nowhere in evidence in June but bursts forth in profusion in the winter months.

At the heart of the lodge is the Gol Ghar. This large central space is winged like a cross with a library lounge in the rear wing, a bar and breakfast area in another across from the large dining table in the third and a living room area in the front. While the furniture is by and large solid and classic wooden stuff, old and new, the spaces are warmly and colorfully

filled with carved wooden miniatures of vintage automobiles or crocodiles, made by craftsmen in a neighboring village, Gond figurines and papiermâché bowls. Despite its newness, one immediately has the impression of old world domestic comfort that is echoed in the wholesome and fresh meals that have been turned over by an expert hand, schooled apparently in the family recipes.

The family is not new to hospitality. They have for long been running the Jehan Numa Palace Hotel, a large and stately property that caters mainly to business travellers in Bhopal. But when the sons, Faiz and Aly, decided to branch out, their personal inclinations headed them in a wilder direction—even if it was a quiet kind of wild. They roped in architect Dean DeCruz and set about building on this large expanse of property in Badhai, close to the park. There are 12 cottages in all: two hill cottages with windows and decks that look out on the undulating Satpura range, six cottages facing the natural nala that runs through the property and four forest-view cottages. They are spread out enough to ensure privacy and close enough to permit neighborly activity. Their attempt at being environmentally friendly goes beyond lip service. Having skirted around every existing tree on the property while building, they also consciously decided against installing noisy and polluting generators though electrical supply is fickle at best. However, their concern that this might engender some discomfort seems unfounded to

me. We are there at the end of June, against the rocky banks one day and cheerful and attentive staff, locals where the weather alternates between stayed on. Butterflies, birds galore, now trained in the trade. stormy skies and searing heat. Within an all-male pack of monkeys, lopIn their first season, Reni Pani had a the high-ceilinged large and spacious ing on the ridge over the other bank, mixed bag of visitors. Some came to rooms with large beds, gaily colored preening peacocks, scorpions by the check out the new branch of the urban bedspreads and cushioned sitting side of the road, intriguingly marked Jehan Numa palace hotel in Bhopal areas, the air-conditioning is perform- beetles, a teeming world bristling and instead found themselves in a ing and effective while there is current in the bushes, the undergrowth, the lodge, albeit comfortable and tasteand the room retains a very comfort- underground… ful, without televisions in the room able temperature with the fan when Our last evening, we tramp to a or cellphone connectivity in parts of the inverter kicks in. As spacious as clearing on the property where the the property. They keenly want guests the room itself is the anteroom for Rashids hold their legendary barbe- who come out for what they have on baggage and then the large bathroom cue nights. A bar counter for aperitifs, offer—access to the wild, a disconwith an attached outdoor shower, delectable plates of barbecued meats nect from the urban churn, served up open to the skies. and vegetables is manned by the ever- with total pampering.

Our time there was far too short (less than two days), but we tried to squeeze in as much as we could.

While we managed the morning We do Let our Chef and evening road Customized touch your trips into the park, Catering palate there was not time for intimate enough to do the with his and Business visit on foot: this passion! is one of the few events! parks that allow it. To make up for Presents Traditional Indian food in a contemporary style that, Algar, the www.greatwkanacafe.com • Open 7 days a week for your dining pleasure excellent resident naturalist, takes Dinner (5:30 - 10 pm) Breakfast (10 - 11) Lunch: (11 - 3 pm) me on a walk by • Vegan Menu • Seafood • Gourmand Lunch • Parathas the disused canal • Chicken • Lamb Combos • Omelettes in the vicinity, and • Chai • Kapi & More • Indian Wraps/Katti Rolls • Soups • Salads • Breads I am treated to the sight of the single, Introducing Special Weekend Brunch Saturday & Sunday 11 am - 3 pm lonely crocodile 11720 W. Airport @ Kirkwood, Suite 600, Meadows Place that mysteri• 832-886-4291 ously washed up

Great W’kana Cafe Boutique Indian Cuisine

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food talk

Indo American News • Friday, November 19 , 2010

33

Out of the Box - Indian in a Box, A New Franchise Concept in Dining

Sometimes, an apparently innocuous event can give birth to the proverbial Big Idea, as was the case with ‘Indian in a Box’. The plate-less restaurant chain, a composition of former hospitality employee Ashish Sondhi, assumes the customer to be ‘Queen’ and offers an experience that is quite literally, packaged rather well.

A short trip to Delhi, a lunch at a friend’s place and a small exchange of thoughts with a middle-aged man were the humble beginnings of Indian in a Box – a three-unit food service format with a unique twist.

The plate-less quick service restaurant aims at offering a value-for-money dining experience, along with timely service, exciting food preparations and effective customer service.

The genesis of Indian in a Box harks back to 2001, when Ashish Sondhi, owner and chief executive officer of the restaurant, visited a friend’s place and offered to order a pizza. But the offer was rejected by the friend’s father, who said, “It’s (pizza is) just stale bread.”

The reply was still lingering at the back of Sondhi’s mind, when it struck him that Indians were by and large still ‘in the box’, not willing to take challenges or create opportunities for themselves. And thus Sondhi, tongue firmly in cheek, embarked upon a new restaurant concept called, what else, Indian in a Box. The first restaurant eventually came up in Pune in mid-2008, on an initial investment of Rs 95 lakh. “All the money so far invested is from my personal funds, not from venture capital, family or friends,” Sondhi admits candidly.

Among the USPs of Indian in a Box, the owner-cum-CEO says, is that meals are served in eco-friendly, biodegradable, microwaveable boxes approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the U.S. The restaurant’s witty tagline – ‘Aap

Khush, Hum Happy’ – is not only meant to attract customers to the restaurant, but also to serve them well.

Indian in a Box claims to be a low-price model and prepares food without using artificial

and IT, based out of Pune, Mumbai, Delhi and London,” he proudly states.

Proudly sharing that his ‘aai’ (mother in Marathi) has been the primary source of inspiration for the venture, Sondhi quips, “We

Ashish Sondhi invested Rs 95 lakh in 2008, in this fast food joint Indian in a Box, a concept that was born while talking to a friend. colors and clarified butter, thus, lending dishes a natural flavor and taste. The restaurant’s ‘Khushi’ value meal starts at just Rs 29.

“Over time, we have realized that percentage discounts become baffling for customers.

Hence, we provide ‘jargon-free’ offers to customers, mentioning the exact amount of discount being offered.

Sondhi, a college dropout by choice but with over 18 years of experience in the food and beverage industry, believes that his firm has a unique proposition. “We have advisors who help us in branding, best practices management

fry love, steam love, saute love, bake love, roast love, marinate love, stir love, barbecue love, steam love, boil love, and grill love.”

Taking hygiene seriously, the restaurant takes great pains to inform on and demonstrate the benefits of hygiene to staff as well as customers. The serving boxes and cutlery used are therefore, ‘use and throw’.

“We also have a weekly deep cleaning schedule at all our outlets.”

Food is cooked fresh on a daily basis, and once prepared, goes straight into boxes. Even the rotis and spring rolls are served in food grade, microwaveable paper.

“To further fine-tune our services, we invite recommendations from our customers in terms of service levels and taste. We use symbols in our menu card to indicate the level of spices in a food item. For instance, meals are categorized as ‘mild’, ‘slightly spicy’, ‘spicy’ or ‘very spicy’, so that customers can choose the items according to their taste,” Sondhi informs.

Each outlet serves around 125 customers on a typical weekday; the statistic nearly doubles on weekends. “Nearly 60 percent of the restaurant’s sales come from deliveries (home and office) and, by the way, we deliver for any bill amount,” Sondhi points out.

The outlets operate seven days a week – from 11.30 am to 11 pm. Between 4-6 pm, though, visitors might not be able to experience the ‘tandoori’ food items.

Commenting on the hurdles for start-up restaurateurs in India, Sondhi appends, “Obtaining a food licence is a long and tedious process in India.

Agreeing that the F&B industry is competitive, the owner says, “The competition is from street vendors and people supplying low-cost tiffins.”

Indian in a Box, which was nominated the ‘Hottest Startup’ by TATA NEN Hottest Startups in 2008, has big growth plans. The restaurant has just three outlets, all located in Pune, but plans to open more outlets in other cities. Sondhi forecasts an annual turnover of Rs 2.5 crore this fiscal, implying a YoY growth of around 12 percent over last fiscal.

Visit www.space.com to learn about Space mysteries

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wild life

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Indo American News • Friday, November 19 , 2010

35

1000TigersKilledinContinued Illegal Trade in Past Decade

By Louise Murray (ET): More than 1000 tigers have been reduced to skin and bone in continued illegal trade over the last decade according to Traffic, the wildlife trade monitoring organisation. Their report was released on the eve of a tiger summit to be hosted by Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg next week which will be attended by representatives from all tiger range countries.

With only 3200 of the iconic cats remaining in the wild, the Global Tiger Recovery Program aims to double the number of wild tigers by 2022, the next Chinese year of the tiger.

The remains of between 1069 and 1220 tigers were seized in 11 of the 13 tiger range countries.

That’s an average of over 100 a year, more than half from India.

Pauline Verkeij a joint Traffic and WWF Tiger Trade Programme manager said, ‘Half the world’s tigers live in India, so it’s no real surprise that the country has the highest seizures.’ This could reflect either high levels of trade or effective enforcement or both. ‘Either way the country’s tigers are under severe poaching pressure. One can only speculate the true numbers of animals plundered for their body parts.’ Clearly these rates of poaching are unsustainable.

Since many seizures of illegally traded tiger parts take place within 50km of protected tiger areas, the support, involvement and commitment of locals to tiger conservation will be vital if these glorious cats are to be saved from extinction. Locals must have a economic stake in ensuring that poaching does not take place in their areas.

But governments must also ensure that prosecutions are swift, sentencing an adequate deterrent, and that critical habitat is protected from destruction.

Actor and environmentalist Leonardo DiCaprio has teamed with WWF in a campaign Save Tigers Now, ‘Tigers are endangered and critical to some of the world’s most important ecosystems,” said DiCaprio. “Key conservation ef efforts can save the tiger species from extinction, protect some of the planet’s last wild habitats and help sustain the local communities surrounding them. By protecting this iconic species, we can save so much more.”

Ultimately though, it is only when demand for tiger parts is reduced in key markets like China that the efforts of enforcement of officials on the ground will bear fruit in advancing tiger conservation to the ambitious 2022 target of over 6,000 wild animals.

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sports

McCollum’s Double Helps Kiwis to A Draw batsman in India and is

By Sidharth Monga third on the list of top scores HYDERABAD

by New Zealand batsmen (Cricinfo): Brendon against India.

McCullum reaped reMcCullum’s double-cenwards for his hard work tury is the fifth in the team on day four, milking a second innings in India. The tired bowling unit to highest is VVS Laxman’s get to the third-highest 281 at Kolkata in 2001. score in second innings Harbhajan Singh has conin Tests in India. The ceded 305 runs and picked game was headed for a up six wickets at an average draw the moment Zaover 50 in the series so far. heer Khan left the field On the other hand, he has again - he had been out scored 295 runs with two of action for a good part centuries. of the fourth day due to Gautam Gambhir scored an abdominal strain his first runs in the second inafter bowling just three nings after three ducks in his overs in the morning previous three outings. session.

VirenderSehwagscoredhis New Zealand, the No. first second innings half-cen8 side in the world, have tury since November 2009, now held India, the No. when he made 51 against 1 side, to four consecuSri Lanka at Ahmedabad. tive draws; in two of He averages just over 30 in those India have done the second innings and over the surviving. India, 70 in the first innings. who seemed to have As McCullum’s good given up surprisingly friend and former Kolkata early in the morning, Knight Riders team-mate have now conceded Chris Gayle moved assured400 or more in at least ly towards a triple-century in one innings of their last Galle, a triple was on here in seven Tests.

There were two out- Brendon McCullum’s maiden double-century ensured Hyderabad too. There were 32 overs to go to the start side chances for the the second Test in Hyderabad ended in a draw. of the mandatory overs, and game to come to life, but there was no way New Zeathough, took 20 runs off the next four both were duly thwarted. Cheteshwar Pujara dropped Mc- overs to disappoint the hopeful and land were going to declare without letting him have a go at the highest Cullum at forward short leg when the the fearful. score by a New Zealander - 299 by It may have seemed like milkbatsman was 148, and the lead 185.

That was the only chance Harbhajan ing because of the ease with which Martin Crowe.

Hence McCullum’s charge towards Singh had created in 26 overs until McCullum got his runs, but he did the record books. He reversed-swept it with some style and nonchalance. then. another boundary, played the chip India tried to pack the leg side and The next time Harbhajan created an opportunity, some excitement was bowled round the wicket, only to see over midwicket, crashed Sreesanth manufactured, with Kane William- him casually reverse-sweep them for back past him, and then cut him furison given out lbw erroneously to boundaries. They were not exactly ously to get to 225.

It was after this that Sreesanth an offbreak certain to miss the leg reverse-sweeps, he was so confident stump. Williamson was on his way he just bent the knees half way and achieved slight personal redemption, to becoming only the seventh man guided them past point. His maiden removing McCullum with a slower to begin his Test career with back-to- double-hundred he brought up with legbreak. Then he bounced Tim back centuries. He had survived the the “McScoop”, having scored his Southee, who had hit him three times tense moments last evening, started last 24 runs off 19 balls. That spell of with bouncers when he was batting. the day with three boundaries in the hitting also included a six over long- Some softening-up and eye-balling first over, and then settled in for an off off Pragyan Ojha and two reverse- later, Sreesanth bowled Southee.

Perhaps to keep their tail away from innings full of his trademark back- swept fours off Suresh Raina.

Brendon McCullum, during the any more bouncers, New Zealand foot punches.

When he got out, though, New course of his double-century, went declared during tea, and bowled 17 Zealand were 223 ahead, and there past his previous highest of 185 overs before the last hour. Virender were 57 overs to go. For those who against Bangladesh at Hamilton in Sehwag, usually bored in such situations, helped himself to a quick fifty, hope or fear too much, a collapse 2010.

McCullum’s double-century was giving the crowd some entertaincould still direct the game towards a result. McCullum and Daniel Vettori, only the second by a New Zealand ment.

Indo American News • Friday, November 19 , 2010

37

Younis, Misbah Save Pakistan DUBAI: Younis Khan reminded Pakistan just what they had been missing as his 17th Test hundred guided them to safety on the final day in Dubai. Together with another returnee, the new captain Misbahul-Haq, the pair combined to defy South Africa for 57 overs, sharing an unbroken stand of 186 to pull off a result which looked unlikely after Pakistan conceded a 132 first-innings deficit.

Shorn of Younis’services since July last year, the brittle Pakistan line-up have struggled against Australia and England but his resilience alongside Misbah, playing his first Test since the Sydney debacle, ensured a satisfying return. Younis will rightly take the plaudits, anchoring the rearguard with third hundred against South Africa but, as Misbah himself acknowledged, it was the he who was under most scrutiny.

“This feels like a win. The team put in a wonderful effort under pressure,” he said. “I was under quite a bit of pressure before this Test but I think my performance today will make it easier for me.”

Pakistan’s first-innings collapse from 176 for 2 to 248 all out underlines just how important Misbah’s contribution was, all the more so given that the next man in was Umar Akmal. It ensured that the “fresh start” Misbah promised on the eve of the game ended well and he singled out praise for his partner. “On the second day the bowlers brought us back into the game the plan today was to be positive and not just try to stick it out. Younis’ knock today was a special one.”

Returning as the senior batsman in a volatile side, Younis could have been forgiven for feeling the burden of responsibility. Yet after a cautious start his increasingly expansive and certain strokeplay betrayed a man just relieved to be back where he belongs.

“There wasn’t any pressure on us because the wicket here is different to those in the subcontinent,” he said.

“It didn’t have the kind of uneven bounce that causes the ball to bounce up off the pads. On this wicket it was possible to bat positively and that’s what I was trying to do. I was trying to hit the bad balls for boundaries.”

Both batsmen, impressive as they were, had some generous South African fielding to thank. Younis was put

down twice, on 16 by Mark Boucher and again by Jacques Kallis when on 70, and Misbah got a slice of luck when Hashim Amla spilled a chance at short leg just before lunch.

It meant another final-innings disappointment for South Africa after twice being denied by England last year but on a flat track Graeme Smith was happy enough with his side’s performance.

“We knew it was going to be hard because on this wicket once the batsmen get in it was tough to get them out,” he said. “The wicket got slower and slower as the Test went on. Credit must go to Pakistan, especially to Younis, he played really well.

“Missed chances are always costly but nobody does it on purpose. It was unusual for those guys to miss those chances because they have been stalwarts of the team for a long time. So obviously they are disappointed with that. But we’ve played good positive cricket throughout the game and

SL Struggles vs. WI GALLE: A testing morning spell from the West Indies bowlers had the hosts struggling at 165 for three on the third day in Galle, before bad light, then rain, intervened to offer them some respite.

The hosts will surely have one eye on a draw with just two days remaining in the match and more rain forecast for the week. Before the interrutption, there was movement, pace, spin and bounce from the West Indies attack, all of which made batting difficult, and despite the presence of the experienced Mahela Jayawardene and Thilan Samaraweera in the middle, Sri Lanka ended the day’s play knowing they had a steep climb ahead of them.

West Indies didn’t have to wait long for their first wicket of the morning as Tharanga Paranavitana, who had poked, prodded and wafted for 10 during his agonising 53-ball stay, was eventually put out of misery by Kemar Roach, who jagged one back in to uproot the off stump. West Indies’ seamers had beaten Paranavitana’s edge on numerous occasions, both last evening and this morning, and the opener never looked like making a substantial contribution to the Sri Lankan recovery effort.

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Advice

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Check Out 12 Dozen Sites to Educate Yourself Online

By Marc All education is self-education.

Period. It doesn’t matter if you’re sitting in a college classroom or a coffee shop. We don’t learn anything we don’t want to learn.

Those people who take the time and initiative to pursue knowledge on their own are the only ones who earn a real education in this world. Take a look at any widely acclaimed scholar, entrepreneur or historical figure you can think of.

Formal education or not, you’ll find that he or she is a product of continuous self-education.

If you’re interested in learning something new, this article is for you. Broken down by subject and/ or category, here are several topnotch self-education resources I have bookmarked online over the past few years.

Science and Health MIT OpenCourseWare – MIT OpenCourseWare is a free webbased publication of MIT course materials that reflects almost all the undergraduate and graduate subjects taught at MIT. Tufts OpenCourseWare – Tufts OpenCourseWare is part of a new educational movement initiated by MIT that provides free access to course content for everyone online.

Tufts’ course offerings demonstrate the University’s strength in the life sciences in addition to its multidisciplinary approach, international perspective and underlying ethic of service to its local, national and international communities.

HowStuffWorks Science – More

scientific lessons and explanations than you could sort through in an entire year.

Harvard Medical School Open Courseware – The mission of the Harvard Medical School Open Courseware Initiative is to exchange knowledge from the Harvard community of scholars to other academic institutions, prospective students, and the general public.

Khan Academy – Over 1200 videos lessons covering everything from basic arithmetic and algebra to differential equations, physics, chemistry, and biology.

Open Yale Courses – Open Yale Courses provides lectures and other materials from selected Yale College courses to the public free of charge via the internet. The courses span the full range of liberal arts disciplines, including humanities, social sciences, and physical and biological sciences. webcast.berkeley – Every semester, UC Berkeley webcasts select courses and events for on-demand viewing via the Internet. webcast. berkeley course lectures are provided as a study resource for both students and the public.

UC San Deigo Podcast Lectures – UCSD’s podcasting service was established for instructional use to benefit our students. Podcasts are taken down at the end of every quarter (10 weeks Fall-Spring and 5 weeks in the summer). If you’re enjoying a podcast, be sure to subscribe and download the lectures.

Once the podcast has been taken offline, faculty rarely approve their

reposting.

Johns Hopkins OpenCourseWare – The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s OpenCourseWare project provides access to content of the School’s most popular courses. As challenges to the world’s health escalate daily, the School feels a moral imperative to provide equal and open access to information and knowledge about the obstacles to the public’s health and their potential solutions.

Carnegie Mellon Open Learning Initiative – No instructors, no credits, no charge. Use these self-guiding Carnegie Mellon materials and activities to learn at your own pace.

Utah State OpenCourseWare – Utah State OpenCourseWare is a collection of educational material used in our formal campus courses, and seeks to provide people around the world with an opportunity to access high quality learning opportunities.

AMSER – AMSER (the Applied Math and Science Education Repository) is a portal of educational resources and services built specifically for use by those in Community and Technical Colleges but free for anyone to use.

Wolfram Demonstrations Project – Wolfram brings computational exploration to the widest possible audience, open-code resource that uses dynamic computation to illuminate concepts. Free player runs all demos and videos.

The Science Forum – A very active scientific discussion and debate forum.

Free Science and Video Lectures Online! – A nice collection of video lectures and lessons on science and philosophy.

Science.gov – Science.gov searches over 42 databases and over 2000 selected websites from 14 federal agencies, offer offering 200 million pages of author authoritative U.S. government science information including research and development results.

The National Science Digital Library – NSDL is the Nation’s online library for education and research in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics.

EnviroLink Network– A nonprofit organization, grassroots online community uniting organizations and volunteers around the world. Up-to-date environmental information and news.

Geology.com – Information about geology and earth science to visitors without charge: Articles, News, Maps, Satellite Images, Dictionary, etc.

Scitable – A free science library and personal learning tool that currently concentrates on genetics, the study of evolution, variation, and the rich complexity of living organisms. The site also expects to expand into other topics of learning and education.

LearningScience.org – A free open learning community for sharing newer and emerging tools to teach science.

Business and Money MIT Sloan School of Man-

agement – MIT Sloan is a world-class business school long renowned for thought leadership and the ability to successfully partner theory and practice. This is a subsection of the larger MIT OpenCourseWare site.

Investopedia Financial Investing Tutorials – A plethora of detailed lessons on money management and investing.

U.S. Small Business Administration Training Network – The Small Business Administration has one of the best selections of business courses on the web. Topics include everything from starting a business and business management to government contracting and international trade. Most courses take only 30 minutes to complete.

VideoLectures.NET (Business) – A free and open access educational video lectures repository. The lectures are given by distinguished scholars and scientists at prominent events like conferences, summer schools, workshops and science events.

My Own Business, Inc. – Offers a free online business administration course that would be beneficial to new managers who is interested in starting a business. This comprehensive course is split up into 16 sessions covering topics like business plans, accounting, marketing, insurance, e-commerce and international trade.

UC Irvine OpenCourseWare (Business) – Rapidly with the addition of nearly 10 new courses every month.

Many of our OCW offerings are directed at working adults seeking continuing education, with the option to enroll in instructor-led, for-credit courses, related to the OCW content.

Part 2 follows... next week.

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NEW DELHI (DC): The National Handicrafts and Handloom Museum, home to more than 20,000 exhibits and a village complex showcasing ethnic and regional crafts and textiles, hosted US First Lady Michelle Obama November 8th.

It is part of her familiarization trip through 5,000 years of Indian culture, crafts and civilization -providing her with an opportunity to sample Indian goods and even indulge in a bit of shopping.

“We are looking forward to Michelle Obama’s visit. She will arrive at 10.55 a.m. Monday morning. The museum has been taken over by security forces. It will be sanitized by 8 p.m. when the cleaners and staff will have to leave the premises to make way for security personnel accompanying the first lady,” an official of the crafts museum told IANS. Michelle Obama will be guided through the gallery spaces and a special exposition of select crafts by the director of the museum.

The crafts spread for the first lady includes cane and bamboo ware from Assam, pata chitra -- the traditional art from Bengal, zari work from Delhi and Madhubani art from Bihar.

The first lady will enter the museum, adjoining Pragati Maidan, through its main entrance near the ancient Bhairon Nath Temple -known to date back to the time of Mahabharata.

“We will mount a special display of Indian art history. Throughout the day, we were busy laying out the gallery,” the official said.

The museum has conceived a cultural showcase for the first lady that will include a Baul soiree from West Bengal.

Besides, the first lady might also be shown a eight-minute documentary.

According to Ruchira Ghosh, director of the museum, “the visit

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Michelle Walks Through 5,000 Years of Culture at Crafts Museum in Delhi

Indo American News • Friday, November 19 , 2010

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The museum serves as a confluence of arts, crafts and culture.

The highlight of the museum is an ethnic village complex spread across five acres. It has 15 structures - mostly homes and temples from the states of India showcasing ethnic lifestyles. The complex has been designed by architect Charles Correa.

The repository has nearly 20,000 exhibits of heritage and cultural value.

The galleries, closed on Mondays, will make an exception to

host the US first lady this Monday.

The gallery spaces include the tribal and rural craft gallery, gallery of courtly crafts, textile gallery and gallery of popular culture, among others.

Some of museum’s prized collections include the Bhoota art collection from Karnataka, rare 300year-old ‘dushalas (shawls)’ from Kashmir, handkerchiefs, known for their unique embroidery, from Chamba in Himachal Pradesh, rare brocade and Baluchari saris from West Bengal and embroidery from Kutch.

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INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 19 , 2010 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

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Indo American News • Friday, November 19 , 2010

online edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 19 , 2010 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM