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Friday, April 12 2013 | Vol. 32, No. 15

Indo Indo American American News

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

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April 12, 2013

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COMMUNITY

April 12, 2013

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IMAGH Launches Club 65: A Club for Senior Citizens

HOUSTON: On April 7, Indian Muslims Association of Greater Houston, launched its much awaited initiative, Club 65, in the presence of Consul General of India P. Harish and his wife, Nandita Parvathaneni. Gordon Quan, a great friend of the South Asian Community, Dr. Beverly Gor of MD Anderson Cancer Hospital, and Candidate for City Council, Rogene Calvert (both are also co-founders of Hope Clinic), Khairunisa Hashmani, Chairperson, Aga Khan Social Welfare Board, Lalit Chinoy, President, Indian Senior Citizens Association, PV Patel, President ICC, Rajeev Bhavsar, Immediate Past President of ICC, Board of Directors, Board of Advisors, Executive Committee of IMAGH, their family and friends, and over 175 guests representing the entire South Asian Community.

In his welcome speech, Latafath Hussain, President of IMAGH, said that the Steering Committee, first met on Nov.10, 2012 to discuss the framework of Club 65.

Six months and hundreds of volunteer hours later, it is very heartening to see so many distinguished community leaders and members gathered here today to celebrate the unveiling of this newest initiative of IMAGH. He also credited Lutfi Hassan for advising IMAGH to take up the cause for Seniors.

The Steering Committee led by Fateh Ali Chatur has determined that in our universe there are two kinds of Seniors: the Active seniors and the Passive Seniors. Active Seniors are those who came to Houston 20,30, 40 years ago, had a career, started a family, but now their kids have grown and gone, and are typically ‘empty nesters.’

Passive Seniors came to Houston, after retirement from India, live with their children and grandchildren. They typically do not drive, may have language and culture

Photos: Bijay Dixit

From Left : Gordon Quan, Khairunisa Hashmani, Latafath Hussain, Dr. Beverly Gor and Rogene Calvert

barriers, and are stuck in an empty home during the day. Club 65 intends to harness the energy and mobility of Active Seniors to pair them up with the Passive Seniors, and organize joint activities, like picnics, walk in the mall, movies, card games, gardening, lectures on health, Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, Nutrition, etc.

Club 65 will also seek young volunteers to ‘adopt‘ Seniors, ala Big Brothers Big Sisters but in reverse. The program is that both can learn so much from each other. The ABCD generation growing up here needs to learn about our culture, traditions, languages,

Over 175 people attended the event held at the Chateau Crystal banquet facility.

customs, while the Seniors need to see the new country through the eyes of these young people. They can also learn about computers, internet, while teaching cooking, sewing, and other such stuff.

It was thus very elating that there were more than 20 young adults who signed up to volunteer.

Fakhruddin Sabir is the Chairman of Club 65 and he outlined specific ideas and activities of Club 65. He also promised that the Steering Committee will soon elect new office bearers, and will actively solicit businesses, foundations and charities to underwrite the many activities that have been

Uma Mantravadi sang beautiful old songs during the entertainment.

planned.

Abeezar Tyebji, Chairman of Board of Advisors, unveiled conceptual pictures of the Community Center, that is envisaged in the very near future. He declared that IMAGH will build upon the tremendous goodwill demonstrated in abundance today, to come up with their own center, where the young and old can spend time together. It will be self-sustaining and have a library, Current Indian Newspapers, Magazines, card tables, table tennis, health club, as well as, basketball court, and an area for baseball, cricket, badminton, etc.

However, this will just be the beginning and eventually they will build an entire Seniors Village with residential cottages.

Club 65 awarded Founding Memberships to Consul General of India P. Harish presented Eleven Indi-

viduals who either actively participated in the Steering Committee or encouraged the founding of the club with their advice, and blessings. The first Membership was awarded to Shakuntla Malhotra, mother of Jawahar Malhotra. Kanwal Bhalla, Col. Raj Bhalla, Moni Thomas, Koshy Thomas, Dr. Khalid Razvi, Tyeb Shipchandler, Syed Asif Ali, Shaukat Ali Upadhya, Farida Jinnah and Paru McGuire, were the other recipients. Lalit Chinoy, President of Indian Senior Citizens Club was given an Honorary Membership to Club 65, for his advice and support in forming this Club.

The event concluded with beautiful rendition of old songs sung by the very talented Uma Mantravadi, an Immigration Attorney, and an Advisor to IMAGH. The event was underwritten by the CPA firm of Arjunani and Hasan. Angeli Arjunani is an Advisor to IMAGH and a big supporter of Seniors causes.

For Membership and Volunteer Opportunities, please contact, Latafath Hussain at 713-269-6171 or at latafath@imagh.org.

awards to the founding members.

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April 12, 2013

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COMMUNITY

April 12, 2013

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IACCGH Shell Distinguisher Speaker Series

Drayton McLane: “To Be a Great Leader, You Have to Have Great Vision” HOUSTON: McLane Group Chair-man and former Houston Astros owner Drayton McLane, Jr was the keynote speaker at the IACCGH Distinguished Lecture on April 3rd at the Hess Club. Mr McLane’s spoke on the topic of “Leadership and Business Acumen”.

This lecture was sponsored by Shell. IACCGH Executive Director Jagdip Ahluwalia welcomed the attendees and President Pankaj Dhume introduced on of Houston’s great champions.

Mr. McLane explained that great leaders have great visions. They see way beyond what is needed today to solve a problem. Here are excerpts from McLane’s encore presentation at the IACCGH. In 1896, the largest city in Texas was Galveston. It was a port city and all European immigrants would pass through the city. In contrast, Houston had about 3,000 inhabitants and it wasn’t growing.

Six of Houston’s largest landowners finally got together with the express purpose of growing their city, asking themselves, “What can we do to make Houston grow?”

One of the community leaders suggested building a ship channel leading to Houston. They approached Washington to fund the ship channel but the government only provided half of the needed funds—Houston leaders had to raise the remainder. The 47-mile channel was completed in nine years.

Today, the port of Houston is the

Speaker:

Houston’s champion Drayton McLane made an inspirational speech in his encore appearance at the IACCGH Distinguished Speaker series.

Photo by Bijay Dixit.

second largest port in the United States and the fourth largest port in the world. When the Panama Canal is widened, even more shipments will pass through the channel and Houston will continue to grow. There was no reason to build the Houston ship channel in 1896.

But were it not for the visionaries who were committed to growing their hometown, the city may never have reached the level of growth it has today.

Do you know what slows down

vision? Success! Our success may impede our growth and development of a vision to drive growth!

Vision comes from individuals who are somewhat disenchanted, angry, mad and driven by a desire to change things. They want to become risk takers!

What is a crucial responsibility of visionaries, entrepreneurs, and other successful people? Philanthropy. Jessie Jones, a philanthropist in the 1920s, created the largest endowment fund in the

Mr. Daniel W. Krueger, P.E. Director, Public Works & Engineering, City of Houston

Time & Venue:

Friday, May 3rd, 2013, 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM The HESS Club, 5430 Westheimer Rd, Houston, TX

The Proceeds from this event will help fund the ASIE Scholarship Program Sponsorship Levels: Platinum : Gold: Silver:

$1000 [Seating for 8 @ Reserved Table] $500 [Seating for 5] $300 [Seating for 3]

All Sponsors will be recognized at the event, on the ASIE Website and ASIE Newsletters For Registration & Payment, please click the link below or copy & paste in the browser http://asiehouston.org/about.php?id=21

For More Details Contact: Vishal Merchant Madhu Kilambi

409.225.6346 713.824.4308

vishal.merchant@aguirre-fields.com madhu.kilambi@arkkengineers.com

ASIE is a non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of engineers, architects, designers, and engineering technicians of Indian origin in the Greater Houston area. Please visit www.asiehouston.org for more details

southwest—Houston Endowment.

The fund manages and donates several billion dollars to charitable causes.

Part of Houston’s success is not only it’s growth, but also that its successful residents give back.

This past year, Forbes rated Houston as the coolest place to live and work, based on its business environment, available opportunities, education, and recreation. When we see limitations, we don’t take the time to see the good things that we have here at home.

The Houston economy is reviving out of the recession of 20082009 and the rejuvenation of Houston is not complete. This has led to the creation of “Opportunity Houston 2.0”.

“Opportunity Houston 2.0” is a six-year program commencing in 2014. The program will continue to act as an aggressive marketing initiative that will generate leads for economic development organizations.

The Distinguished lecture is one of the IACCGH signature events.

The next event is a small business outreach on April 24 at the Katy Campus of Houston Community College. Visit www.iaccgh.com or contact info@iaccgh.com to learn about IACCGH membership.

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

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COMMUNITY

April 12, 2013

Shah Makes a Splash on Bollywood and at Worldfest

BY MANU SHAH HOUSTON: The 46th Annual WorldfestHouston International Film Festival will premiere 150 new Feature and Short Indie Films at the AMC Studio 30 on Dunvale starting this weekend from April 12 through 21. This year, one of the entries - Binoy, Badal, Dennis, starring Naseeruddin Shah, Jimmy Shergil, K.K. Menon, Shauvik Kundagrami and Sandhya Mridul (showing on Thursday, April 18) has a very special Bayou City connection. The Executive Producer for the movie is none other than a well-known Houston entrepreneur, businessman, and philanthropist, Ash Shah.

As one of the financiers of the $2 million budget film, Shah’s is candid about the fact that this is a commercial film and they do hope to make money but he also shares his excitement about helping bring good movies to the silver screen.

An avid movie buff, Shah’s admits flirting with the idea of getting into the movie business for a while now. A meeting with Direc-

tor Anjan Dutta a few years ago in Houston sparked his interest in Anjan’s narration of a possible story for a movie. A few lively discussions followed, ideas were swapped, suggestions were seriously considered and Ash made up his mind to finance the movie.

The fact that Naseeruddin Shah had been roped in to play the pivotal role of a corrupt politician was but icing on the cake.

The storyline deals with three men, Binoy, Badal and Dennis, who decide to right a wrong done to them by a manipulative politician. The idea of angry young men taking the law into their own hands is not a new one but what makes BBD different, according to Shah, is that the three protagonists are not aware of each other until the very end. The storyline has historical echoes of three lesser-known freedom fighters, Binoy, Badal and Dinesh who had plotted against General Dyer for the Jallianwala bagh tragedy. A social message about communal harmony is also interwoven in the 118 minute Ash Shah, the Executive Producer of the new movie Benoy, Badal, Dennis

long movie.

Shah is the Managing Director of Impex

International, a $28 million company that manufactures a wide range of plastic films for many brands. He has also dabbled in several other businesses along the way, and divested them when the opportunity was right. He and his wife Leena are active in several charitable organizations like Akshay Patra and Pratham, and donate generously.

They are a down-to-earth couple who greet you with a warm and friendly hello.

Shah describes his first foray in the movie industry as an “overwhelming and emotional” experience. While not totally unaware of what it entailed, he still describes it as an eye opener to see the amount of forethought, preparation and time spent behind the scenes to bring it all together in three short hours before a demanding audience.

Asked to name five favorite movies, Shah quickly rattled off Titanic, Mohabaatein, Sixth Sense, Devdas and Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam as his all-time favorites. He laughingly admits to a strong streak of romanticism and is looking forward to landing a role in his next movie venture. Clearly, it’s not just the “bottom line” that interests this businessman; it’s also about having fun along the way!

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April 12, 2013

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COMMUNITY

April 12, 2013

Radio Masti Celebrates its 4th Anniversary

The Radio Masti team.

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BY SANCHALI BASU HOUSTON: Four years ago saw the fulfillment of a dream seen by founder Samrat Bhattacharya and producer/director Shyamal Bhattacharya. Their musical background helped and inspired them to start a radio show that aired a mix of Bengali as well as Hindi songs. It was the first of its kind to feature that genre of music in Houston and it is all to the credit and indomitable spirit of Shyamal, Mita and their son Samrat. This radio station, despite its trials and tribulations, has survived through it and is now back with a bang.

It’s innovation and novelty attracted the entire Indian subcontinent and USA, especially Bengali communities in Houston initially.Its listening audience has spread all over the world to the point where one can listen to it online on www.radiomastihouston.com. Radio Masti airs in Houston on 1090 AM KULF on Saturdays from 7AM11AM and on Sundays from 7AM-9AM. Radio Masti has grown in leaps and bounds over the years and is unique in the sense that it encourages and promotes new artistes from the Indian subcontinent and the USA and gives them exposure.

On Saturdays there are segments called Kabi Pranam (where a single composer is highlighted) and Banglar Adda (where a prominent figure is interviewed live on air and listeners are encouraged to call and participate in the discussion). Besides music and recitations, there are quizzes on the radio show and also lively discussions on

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medical topics, filing taxes, astrology, etc.

In other words, there is a new flavor to the show every week such that one gets addicted to the show and wants to keep on listening to it. It also has several different RJs on the show that spice up the show and keeps the show exciting.

On Saturday, April 6, they celebrated their 4th anniversary at their studio with RJs, well-wishers, supporters, and friends in attendance. In addition to playing an array of music, several RJs including Mita Bhattacharya and Remi Mookerjee, as well as technician Roni Shome, events coordinator Sharmila Mitra, and several long-time supporters and sponsors livened up the celebrations. The festivities also included singing Happy Birthday live on air while cutting the cake. There was a lot of food and drinks and the atmosphere was very lively and cheerful.

Radio Masti listeners were continuously calling throughout the entire period of the program to show their love and support as well as many contributions and donations were made.Their words of encouragement made producer Shyamal quite emotional.

He announced that Radio Masti is on its way to having its own studio and thanked and encouraged listeners to keep listening and keep supporting the station. Now with all the young blood that have become a part of the Radio Masti team, he was confident that it has no boundaries and it will keep growing from strength to strength.

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evening’s short entertainment session were dance and singing performances by the young Zara Shipchandler and the talented young couple of Phoenix Rose Murphy (his real name is Keshav Parikh) and Sarah Chybrzynshi.

Ali is of Iranian descent, having come moved to Mesa, Arizona as a young 3 yearold, where his father Mehdi and late mother Mina settled. His father is retired from his pedriatric practice and stills lives in Mesa. Ali has two older sisters, also doctors.

Anushka, 31, grew up as an only child in College-Station and graduated from UT-Austin.

The young couple moved to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in June 2012 where Anushka joined a private practice and Ali will complete a fellowship in Pediatric Gastroenterology at Oklahoma University Children’s Hospital by

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BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA SUGAR LAND: Dressed in a heavily gold-embroidered, deep purple lengha and choli, her hands painted with henna designs, Anushka Kinra was describing the episode when she met her future husband as they stood in line to hear the schedules for their pediatric residency rotations in Chicago four years ago.

“I had all my papers neatly arranged and in a portfolio, and in walked this disheveled guy, papers flying everywhere, his face in a panic and I thought, ‘I hope I don’t get on a team with him’,” Anushka recalled with a chuckle. When Ali dropped his papers, she offered to help and later discovered that yes, they were assigned to the same team after all. She soon came to realize that Ali was a warm, caring man with an incredible sense of humor, all of which eventually won her heart.

Ali Ghazi-Askar, 33, of The newlyweds Anushka Kinra and Ali Ghazicourse remembered the Askar with the bride’s mother Anita Kinra at the incident a little differently. reception.

“It’s true I had all my paI spotted Anushka.!” he said with a pers flying everywhere that day, broad, gleaming smile.

2015. but I thought to myself ‘Who’s the The hall full of guests burst into most organized person there in line laughter at the Madras Pavilion, who can help me?’ and that’s when Sugar Land last Saturday, April 6 as the couple stood in front of them to celebrate their marriage almost a year ago. Due to their heavy work schedules, they were unable to plan the reception that Anushka’s mother Anita wanted to throw in their honor till this Spring. “But six months ago, we finally settled on a date that worked,” smiled Anita, a long-time Houstonian, “and I prepared for the reception.”

The reception was full of oldtime friends and some relatives of the Kinra household. Anita has recently retired as a teacher from HISD and has been devoted to Vapasana Yoga for many years, even teaching courses every year and so has a large following among the community, as fact that Anushka alluded to as the extended family Phoenix Murphy and Sarah C. that she expressed thanks to for performed at the reception. their support. A major part of the

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COMMUNITY

April 12, 2013

11

Rahat Fateh Ali Khan to Perform in Houston on Saturday, April 20

HOUSTON: Rahet Fateh Ali khan will be performing in Houston in the Reliant Arena on April 20.

Rehan Siddiqi of Hum Tum Shows who has brought many successful shows in the past, is the show promoter and the mastermind behind organizing this show in Houston. He recently presented Houston, in the last three weeks with two successful shows, Adnan Sami and Strings.

Both shows were sold out events.

The audience enjoyed Adnan Sami show a lot and the team had to put together a second performance which was also a sold out event.

Rehan has a passion for doing shows and is an expert in organizing them well, in a way very different from others. The sound, light, and stage management in his shows are exceptional; he adds a

Photos: Meedu’s Fotografy Rehan Siddiqi with Strings.

clusively in Houston on Wednesday April 17, and is organized for VIPs and Houston’s media. It is a party to kick start Rahat’s North American 2013 tour.”

Rehan Siddiqi promises that the upcoming concert will be a totally different one as compared to the past performances that Rahat Fateh

A sold out Adnan Sami show.

personal touch to every element of the show, which make him different from all other promoters. He works hard and delivers top quality shows by working on the minutest details. The entire Houston audience believes in him and knows that if a show is organized under his banner, it will be a world-class event.

Rahat Fateh Ali Khan will be arriving in Houston next Wednesday, on April 17 for a special VIP meet and greet event. Rehan Siddiqi has put together this event after convincing Rahat to make a special visit during the week, before his concert. Rehan Said, “This will be a special meet and greet event ex-

Ali Khan has given. Rahat will be landing directly in Houston to initiate his North American 2013 tour consisting of his performances in over 25 cities across USA, Canada and the Caribbean.

The group will be arriving inHouston on April 17 and will leave for the Dallas show and will return to Houston on Saturday April 20, where Rahat Fateh Ali Khan will perform in front of an estimated audience of over 8500 people at the Reliant Arena. With a group of over 20 musician performing all his latest hits like Dagabaaz Re, Halki Halki Khumarian, Tere Mast Mast Do Nain, to his amazing qawalis and all major hit songs.

Rahat Fateh Ali K h a n ’s , L a s Ve gas concert was recently televised on Star and since then fans are going crazy for the tickets.

His performance is world class, he is one of the best performer in the world w i t h number one rating across S o u t h

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This year there is a special sound company who will be touring with the maestro ensuring that the audiences get top class sound across the tour. Therefore, get ready to sit back, relax and enjoy the biggest Please send resume to: performance of this year! powerinvest123@gmail.com In conclusion, Rehan Siddiqi says, “This is a very special treat for Rahat fans and all I can say is one world, one voice, On 21st April 2013 billion folHMM Presents Two Awesome Events In One Afternoon lowers, so Houston get AT: VPSS Hall , 11715 Belfort Village Dr. Houston, TX 77031 ready for the best perforTickets: Tier 1 -- Member $25, Non-member $30 mance ever Tier 2 -- Member $20, Non-member $25 at Reliant Arena on Marathi Natak April 20.

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COMMUNITY

Houston Readies for 16th National Hindi Convention

BY HAIDER KAZIM HOUSTON: The Houston Chapter of International Hindi Association (IHA) is planning to host the 16th National Hindi Convention in the grand Texas tradition of doing everything bigger and better than before.

The Adhiveshan will be held on the Labor Day weekend from August 30 to September 1. The three-day convention will include seminars, workshops, cultural programs and youth competitions to draw in more young adults and school age kids to encourage and test their proficiency in Hindi language. A major highlight of the convention will be a kavi sammelan featuring well-known Hindi poets from India.

A working committee of the Houston Chapter for the convention has been set up and has already dived-in mega preparations.

Sangeeta Pasrija is the President and Swapan Dhairyawan is the Vice President. Rajiv Bhavsar is the Treasurer and Rafi Ansar & Sanjay Sohoni the Joint Secretaries. Other Committee members are Abha Dwivedi, Dinesh Singhal, Fatehali Chatur, KD Upadhyaya, Om Gupta, Meera Kapur, Vijay Pallod, Ashish Thapliyal, Nausha Asrar and Sangita Bhutada.

“Hindi is often regarded as a dialect continuum. The following languages are often taken to define its boundaries: Punjabi, Sindhi, and Gujarati define the western and northwestern boundaries; Marathi delimits Hindi’s southern boundary; Oriya marks the southeastern boundary; Bengali provides the eastern boundary; and Nepali marks the northern boundary. Along with Urdu, Hindi refers to a standardized register of Hindustani. Although it is spoken primarily in India, Hindi is spoken by large numbers in Nepal, South Africa and Uganda. Hindi speakers can be found on all continents of the globe.

Hindi has been listed as a crucial language by the American State Department since 9/11/2001 because of the strategic business and security interests in South Asia.

India is respected as the regional power of South Asia. It is the largest South Asian economy and most populous nation of South Asia, the largest democracy in the world and is also a nuclear power.

According to the 2000 census there are 317,057 Hindi speakers in the United States which must be almost double by now!

Hindi is the official language of India. As such, it plays a key role in society. Hindi is used in government, education, mass media (newspapers, radio, television), trade, and everyday communication. In terms of total number of speakers, Hindi ranks second in the world behind Mandarin Chinese.

As many as 800 million people are estimated to understand Hindi.

Members of the Hindi Convention working committee.

We now realize in America that the knowledge of critical languages, including Hindi provides career opportunities such as communications (foreign correspondent, reporter, translator), international finance (international banker, international consultant, political risk analyst), industry (manager of government relations for oil company, market analyst for export company), government (foreign service officer, development program officer, intelligence analyst, government relations specialist, translator or interpreter, linguist), law (contractual and corporate consultant), academia (teaching and research positions) and work with United Nations Organizations. “We can only instill the love of our national language in our next generation by example, exposure and teachings. How wonderful it is to keep our culture alive here in United States through our kids! It is possible only by knowing the language that binds India. “ quoted by Sangeeta Pasrija.

“Hindi is the national language of India. It is a connecting link and a rich language that needs to be preserved for sustaining our Indian culture and identity,” said Dhairyawan, a well-known Houston CPA. “We are fortunate to be part of the host team for this upcoming National Adhiveshan in our own city. This Adhiveshan is just a beginning and much work needs to be done thereafter for preserving and promoting Hindi in our extended communities.”

The committee is seeking sponsorship for the convention which ranges from $500 to $2000. A souvenir will also be released to mark the historic convention and presents a unique opportunity for advertisers.

Texas has been in the forefront of efforts for propagation of Hindi language and culture in the United States. Texas boasts of three IHA chapters – Austin, Dallas and Houston – out of a total of 15 chapters nationwide. It is mainly due to the efforts of Hindi lovers that seven U.S. states proclaimed September 14 as Hindi Day.

The International Hindi Association or ‘Antarashtriya Hindi Samiti’ was established in 1980 in the United States for promotion of Hindi language and literature among Indian diaspora spread all over the world. The organization aims to foster Indian heritage among younger generations and wants to ensure that they not only read and speak Hindi but also understand its rich literary tradition.

The non-religious, non-political, and non-profit lingo-cultural organization is run entirely by volunteers with the support and patronage from its growing membership worldwide.

The association organizes Hindi classes, youth camps, poetry recitals, literary symposiums and publications promote and inculcate human values inherent in the Indian culture.

The annual and biennial IHA conventions have been instrumental in getting the message to public at large. Hundreds of people were drawn to IHA by the conventions held in Washington, D.C. in 1991, Rochester in 1992, D.C. in 1993, Houston in 1994, Syracuse in 1995, Cleveland in 1996, New Jersey in 1997, Boston in 2000 and Dallas in 2003. Many political and literary luminaries from India and USA took part in these conventions. They included Shatrughna Sinha, the famous actor and former cabinet minister of the Government of India, Kalraj Mishra, a member of India’s Rajya Sabha, late Narendra Mohan, another Rajya Sabha MP and publisher of famous Indian newspaper Dainik Jagran. In Boston Convention (2000), Vinod Khanna, another luminary of Indian films and politics joined US Congressman McGovern of Massachusetts to grace the occasion. This was the first time ever that the parliamentarians of US and India joined to promote Hindi from the same stage. Another Rajya Sabha MP, Uday Pratap Singh, was a special guest poet in 2005 Kavi Sammelan.

For further information Call Sangeeta at 281-788-9750 or Swapan at 281-382-0348

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2013 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

April 12, 2013

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As part of its ongoing efforts to support Asian Indian youth, the SEED Foundation is offering college bound high school seniors

two scholarships of $10,000 each.

Scholarships are awarded to highly motivated college bound youth in need of financial assistance who have shown leadership within their Indian and American communities.

All candidates must meet the following eligibility criteria:  Must be of Asian-Indian heritage with at least one parent of Indian ancestry  Must be a graduating U.S. high school senior (Class of 2013)  Must have a minimum G.P.A of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale  Must enroll as a full-time undergraduate student in a U.S. university in the Fall of 2013  Must be a legal resident of the United States

If you meet the above criteria and are interested in applying for the SEED scholarship, please visit our website for further information:

www.seedfoundation.org

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2013 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

14 April 12, 2013

COMMUNITY

BAPS Hosts Annual Women’s Conference Highlighting Timeless Hindu Traditions HOUSTON: Committed to the progress and growth of women worldwide, BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha celebrated its sixth annual Women’s Conference in Houston, Texas on Saturday, March 30th, 2013. Over 600 women of all ages were in attendance at the conference which focused on this year’s theme of “Timeless Traditions: Celebrating the Past, Cultivating the Future”. The conference focused on understanding the importance of Hindu traditions, com-

municating them with ease, and nurturing future generations by preserving a priceless culture and traditions.

Various speakers shared insights from their personal experiences and related to the audience on the various subjects. The conference first started by welcoming all guests and hearing from the Chief Guest, Alpana Thakkar, a lawyer in the Houston community who also served on a legal team that consulted on procuring the land

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Lamp lighting ceremony on the stage

for Delhi Akshardham. Thakkar highlighted the importance of the role that parents play in ensuring our Hindu culture and values live on. Also, speaking at the start of the conference was special guest, Nandita Parvathaneni, wife of Honorable Consul General of India in Houston, Harish Parvathaneni.

Addressing the old Hindu tradition of “Atithi devo bhava” or treating guests as God. She urged everyone to instill such values in our future generations.

Krupa Amin, a student, connected with the audience through conveying her personal pride of her Hindu heritage. She spoke of the cherished values of her upbringing with emphasis on truth (satya), non-violence (ahimsa), and compassion, and how those values have guided her in all situations of daily life. She stressed the role of her Hindu background in forming her healthy and proud Hindu-American identity and provided examples of many successful Hindu-American women who have done the same. In highlighting her sense of pride, she also reminded the audience of the many contributions to the world by Hinduism (and India) in the areas of science, math, astrology, architecture, and medicine. Her talk linked the audience to a priceless heritage and served as a reminder of the traditions and values of their upbringing.

As Hinduism is not just a religion, but also a way of life, Ramola Panchal, spoke about living that way of life with pride and conveying it with comfort and confidence. She stressed the importance of having knowledge

and understanding behind one’s religion, traditions, and values. In doing so, one can become a true ambassador of Hinduism and the Hindu way of life, better enabled to answer questions and clarify misconceptions.

Hiral Patel, a research professional, made the case for preserving these values, traditions, and culture and presented realistic, actionable methods to practice and preserve them for future generations. Through personal stories and realistic examples, she illustrated how to incorporate traditions in one’s daily routines to maintain culture with language, music, and other practices. She shared special ways one can celebrate Hindu holidays and festivals, which not only provide families with joy but more importantly, knowledge of the history and purpose behind them. The most instrumental tool shared in all the testimonials was “family time”. This one tool was stressed in order to maintain the Hindu family centric values based on shared sacrifices, and to pass on traditions and culture with solid historical foundations.

Women of all generations attended the conference, each group finding inspiration in the talks for the current phase of their lives and finding priorities to help shape their future. Daksha Nagar, a mother of young children agreed that the theme of this year’s conference was helpful for all generations. She added, “As someone that grew up outside of India, I am grateful for the steps my parents took to ensure I retained Hindu values and it is refreshing to have an opportunity to share ideas and

thoughts about the same with other parents in similar situations. It helps me think of ways I can ensure my kids get a similar exposure to our culture that I had.”

After the conference, Alpana Thakkar, chief guest, shared her thoughts. Speaking on the significance of such conferences, she said, “As a woman, or the mother, is the backbone of the family, and in turn the local community. Any mother or woman who attends such conferences will surely find inspiration to do more.” Not only did the attendees experience a rejuvenation of pride in their heritage, they felt more informed to better represent their faith and values.

The conference concluded with a traditional Hindu prayer for peace.

Attendees enjoyed the opportunity to network and socialize with one another during a post-conference reception. Participants noted the importance of holding an event focused on women and returning attendees were particularly pleased to see the continuation of discussions related to a popular theme such as ‘Timeless Traditions’.

BAPS, drawing inspiration from His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj, holds this annual conference as a stage to allow discussion of various topics important to women in society and to serve as a conduit for empowering women of all ages. This year, 10 such conferences were hosted by BAPS across North America. Many women felt enriched by the discussion and identified the importance of implementing the message in their lives, particularly with their future generations.

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2013 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

April 12, 2013

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2013 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

15

16 April 12, 2013 Job Posting:

Digital / Interactive Account Executive

KTRK, the local ABC Owned Television Station is seeking a Sales Professional to sell our portfolio of digital assets. The ideal candidate is a self-starter with tangible experience in closing sales and 2+ years of sales/business development.

Experience in the media/online industry, the desire to build lasting client and agency relationships, taking ownership of a project and seeing it through to completion are big pluses.

If you are conversant in online advertising, search marketing and mobile advertising, have professional presentation skills and the ability to build and present client proposals this may be your opportunity to work with Houston’s Leading News Properties. Only those with strong prospecting, networking, successful cold calling and a great closing ratio need apply.

BA/BS degree is preferred.

Candidates must apply on-line at www.disneycareers.com by uploading a resume ďŹ le. Please reference Job ID: 99761BR on all materials submitted.

No phone calls please, no third parties.

KTRK-TV is an Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/D/V.

COMMUNITY

Sony Entertainment Network Announces the Launch of their New Music Channel - ‘MIX’ on DISH Network NEW YORK: Sony Entertainment Network proudly announced the launch of MIX, A pure Hindi Film Music channel on DISH Network for the South Asian diaspora in the USA. The newest addition of the SEN bouquet is a channel dedicated to music and all that belongs to it. Coming from the SET, MAX, SAB & AATH family of channels - a group that has prided itself on providing fresh breakthrough programming - MIX too promises an exciting and expansive library of Hindi film songs spanning all eras.

Addressing the fact that other channels in the genre carry out comic interstitials to drive differentiation, MIX shall reinforce its brand promise of being a destination dedicated to music by providing musical factoids. The songs lined up MIX as a channel where everyone will find their favorites daily.

In addition to the extensive variation of music, MIX will maintain its undeterred focus on content by producing packaged shows offering right from user generated content to people profiles executed in the most unmistakably musical fashion.

Moving into the gap created by erstwhile music channels rechristened as ‘youth channels’

and other music channels dishing out non-music content as interstitial programming, the channel is confident that viewers shall enjoy MIX as a channel that remains true to the music genre.

Commenting on the launch of MIX, Jaideep Janakiram, SVP International Business-Head of North America said “We are proud to announce the launch of our music channel – MIX on DISH Network for the discerning South Asian lovers of Hindi film music.

We are confident that MIX will connect with every viewer with its variety of music and special programming. MIX is and shall stay true to music�

Sruta Vootukuru, DISH Director of Programming, states “Sony MIX’s unique theme-based music format helps DISH deliver a better experience to our customers. Adding the Sony MIX channel compliments DISH’s robust international programming and enhances our South Asian offerings.�

MIX is a music channel by the music lovers, for the music lovers and of the music lovers.

About Sony Entertainment Network: Since its launch on the Indian subcontinent in 1995, Sony Entertainment Television (SET) has enjoyed rapid success, leading to

the establishment of European, North American and African feeds known as SET Asia. SET and SET Asia are now available in over 150 countries. The channels offer their viewers a distinctive blend of entertainment programs twenty four hours a day, including, soap operas, dramas, sitcoms, concerts, movies, and game shows. Besides SET Asia, SET also has three other leading channels: MAX, India’s #1 premier movies and special events channel, SAB, the only dedicated comedy channel, MIX, the recently launched Hindi Film music channel and AATH, the only dedicated Bengali Movie channel.

Visit their website at www.sonymix.tv For Press Enquiries, Call Sheila at 201-566-0610

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April 12, 2013

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April 12, 2013

BY SAGARIKA GHOSE The forthcoming electoral contest of 2014 is fast passing into pop culture. The Battle of the ‘Bachelors’ - Rahul Gandhi vs Narendra Modi is a colorful confrontation. Pappu vs Chappan, RaGa vs NaMo, Yuvraj vs Hindu Hriday Samrat: you know a political contest has caught the public imagination when it is described in multifarious ways in choicest slang. On social media, Twitter trend wars between RaGa supporters and NaMo bhakts have been joined.

Yet the question arises: is there really a significant difference in what Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi actually say? Both talk of changing systems, both have made pitches to business and industry, both shun press conferences, although Modi has attended two media gatherings. Both have talked of systems change, empowering the citizen and making government accountable. Both have generally refused to take “uncomfortable” questions from journalists, although Mr Modi did face some tough ones at the India Today conclave but sadly did not acquit himself as well on questions on the 2002 riots as he did on questions on his plans for India. Precisely because of his future plans, the refusal of Mr Modi to engage at all with the Gujarat riots is unsuitable in someone taking a stab at being a national statesman.

The same incongruity applies to Rahul Gandhi who has so far not done a single serious interview either in print or on television, nor addressed a truly combative press conference. In fact Rahul Gandhi perhaps went the farthest he has ever gone when he spoke of the “accident of DNA” that had put him where he was. But he has still not engaged openly with something that obsesses the entire chattering class, namely the hereditary principle in a democracy.

In the age of the media, both Mr Modi and Mr Gandhi refuse to open themselves up fully for media questioning. Both concern

COMMENTARY/EDITORIAL Battle Royale of Polls 2014 Like a good cricket match, it isn’t certain which team will win.

Yet the fact that both are increasingly pushed to declare their respective visions for India, both are increasingly under pressure to provide an agenda for change, shows how our democracy is maturing.

Today’s voter demands that politicians perform and provide a blue-

print for future performance and that’s exactly what the two combatants are doing. So whether you are a Rahul fan or a Modi one, the Modi-Rahul face off is a festival of democracy for all to enjoy. HT Sagarika Ghose is Deputy Editor, CNN-IBN

Balkan Bharat

The Battle of the ‘Bachelors’ - Rahul Gandhi vs. Narendra Modi is a colorful confrontation. Pappu vs Chappan, RaGa vs. NaMo, Yuvraj vs. Hindu Hriday Samrat themselves with the best way to deliver services - Rahul Gandhi emphasising the rights based programmes of the UPA and the need to devolve power to the grassroots, Modi on efficient governance systems and as he so aptly puts it, converting “file” to “life”. The one point of difference is how to effect change: Rahul Gandhi says change cannot come from a single man riding in on a horse, Modi positions himself as the man, the single individual who can deliver on everything he promises.

The difference in ideas is thus marginal. Both the Congress and the BJP are now agreed on reforms, both agree on the aam aadmi’s centrality and both agree on growth. In fact, the spectrum of ideas in which all our political parties operate is rather narrow. Apart from the secular communal divide, which is a divide on identity rather than ideas, the contest between Mr Gandhi and Mr Modi, is hardly a contest of major new ideas.

Where they are different is not on ideas, but in personality. Narendra Modi is the Mr Fixit, the rather bombastic and swaggering Gujarat CM has a proven track record and each of his speeches is a list of his undoubted achievements in Gujarat. Rahul Gandhi

is Mr Dreamer, the Peter Pan of Indian politics, still boyish at the age of 42, still on a discovery of India journey and wrestling with dilemmas. Rahul Gandhi’s CII speech was not so much about what he said, but the distinct contrast in persona he strategically offered against Modi. While NaMo’s style is expansive, macho and self-congratulatory, RaGa offered a tentative, dreamy persona.

They couldn’t have had more divergent lives. One, the silver spoon in mouth scion, and a child of social privilege, now almost on his way to renouncing power to tramp through villages of Real India. The other, an up-by-his-bootstraps pracharak, rising through the sangh hierarchy to claim leadership of his party on the basis of undoubted Herculean efforts and sheer grit. One marked by fire and brimstone oratory, the other hardly an orator, though because he is unlike a conventional politician, may just be someone who offbeat young voters may identify with.

Others argue that a Mr Dreamer is only well suited to conditions of 8% growth. In conditions of economic crisis, it is a Mr Fixit who really wins hearts because the country is yearning for a no-nonsense problem solver at the helm.

New Delhi often accuses Pakistan of trying to Balkanise India, split it up into separate little states. Some might argue that this is an unfair accusation because today’s India doesn’t seem to need any outside help to split itself; it can do this on its own, thanks to the rising tide of rampant regionalism.

It is said of Indians that they put their regional identity before their national identity: we are Punjabis, or Marathis, or Gujaratis, or whatever, before we are Indians. India used to take pride in this diversity, claiming that in it lay its unity. But increasingly it appears that in our much-vaunted diversity might be our eventual disunity.

Thanks to what is called ‘the compulsions of coalition politics’, the Centre is increasingly being held to ransom by political and economic diktats issued to it by the states. Despite their claims of being ‘national’ parties with an all-India presence, neither the Congress nor the BJP is in any position to form a central government on its own.

This rise of regionalism might be seen as a triumph of the constitutionally guaranteed principle of federalism. But if carried to an extreme it can weaken the foundations of the Indian state as a whole.

A recent case in point is that of AIADMK-ruled Tamil Nadu passing a resolution in the state assembly calling on the UN to create a separate Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka, a move which is in open defiance of India’s foreign policy and could prove deeply embarrassing to New Delhi.

Even in the most federal of structures like the USA, foreign policy has to be the sole prerogative of the central government. For Tamil Nadu — or any other Indian state — to seek intervention in the domestic affairs of a foreign country is like the state of California, say, in the US demanding the creation of an Azad Kashmir or a Khalistan in India. If California, or any other American state, were to make an official demand of this sort, what credibility would the White House have left in the eyes of the world as the supreme representative of the USA? It’s not just Tamil Nadu that has overstepped its federal rights by trying to dictate India’s foreign policy. Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee created a diplomatic impasse last year by refusing to go along with a river water-sharing agreement worked out between New Delhi and Dhaka.

What with organisations like Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena vocally — and often violently — championing a ‘sons-of-the-soil’ policy, the unity of India is already in danger of being subverted. Should this happen, no one would be more pleased than Islamabad. For we would have done to ourselves what Pakistan could not do in all these years: create the Disunited States of India that is a Balkanised Bharat. Jug Suraiya in Times of India

Indo American News FOUNDER: DR. K.L. SINDWANI PUBLISHER: JAWAHAR MALHOTRA EDITOR: PRAMOD KULKARNI ADVERTISING & ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGER: VANSHIKA VIPIN

CORRESPONDENTS

HOUSTON: HAIDER KAZIM, MANU SHAH, CHETNA SAMAL CHICAGO: NAND KAPOOR, INDIA: RAJ KANWAR ®All rights reserved. No material herein or portions thereof may be published without the written consent of the publisher. The deadline for advertising and articles is 5 pm on Monday of each week. Please include self-addressed, stamped envelope for return of all unsolicited material. Published at 7457 Harwin Drive, Suite 262, Houston, Texas 77036.

Tel: 713-789-NEWS or 6397 Fax: 713-789-6399, email: indoamericannews@yahoo.com, website: indoamerican-news.com

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DIASPORA

April 12, 2013

Indian Enterprises Thriving in Cyprus

19

Southwestern National Bank Scholarship 2013: $1,000 Awards

Southwestern National Bank Scholarship Program is funded

by Southwestern National Bank to recognize and assist outstanding high school graduates to reduce financial burdens for college. Southwestern National Bank Scholars are selected on the basis of their financial needs, academic achievement, and community involvement. Each year a total of $5,000 is awarded to five selected scholars. Each scholar is awarded a total of $1,000.

Application Process & Award Announcement • Send your application package to Southwestern National Bank, Attention Scholarship Program Jennifer Zhou, 6901 Corporate Drive, Houston, Texas 77036.

• Applications and all supporting documents must be received by the end of May, 2013 for application to be considered.

• Interview may be a part of the application process for all semi-finalists.

• Scholar for the 2013 Scholarship program will be announced by mail before end of June, 2013.

Indian Shops store near the UN buffer zone in Nicosia sells discount clothes, bags and trinkets.

BY PRAMOD KULKARNI NICOSIA, Cyprus: The adage that Indian enterprises—Tata to the street vendor—can thrive anywhere in the world is proven in the tiny island of Cypress.

Despite the banking crisis, an Indian shop is thriving in the busy shopping bazaar in Nicosia, adjacent

to the UN buzzer zone, which divides the Greek Cypriot portion from the Turkish sector. As in any urban center throughout the world, it is easy to spot some South Asian faces, local workers in the services or IT sector, shopkeepers and restaurant staff, and even tourists like myself.

For scholarship application and information, please contact scholarship coordinator by E-mail at Jennifer.zhou@swnbk.com or call: 713-272-5004.

Contact person: Jia fang Liu or Jennifer Zhou

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RECIPES/PUZZLES

April 12, 2013

Mama’s Punjabi Recipes Aloo Baingan (POTATOES AND EGGPLANT)

Eggplant are very popular in India per se and especially so in the North where they are generally cooked in only a few variants, with the most popular being the bhartha or the dish that is presented here, aloo baingan.

The plant that bears the eggplant is native to the Indian Subcontinent but it is widely available all over the world and cooked in many ways. There are many varieties of the plant that produce different sizes, shapes and color, though typically purple. The small variety, sold in grocery stores here as “Indian eggplant” are the ones used for this recipe as they provide the best taste and consistency, although this dish can be made with the large, round eggplants cut into pieces. You may try it that way and will notice the difference in overall presentation and flavor.

One thing to remember when cooking with eggplant is that once it is cut and left open, the flesh will start to oxidize and turn brown and eventually black. It is for this reason that I suggest placing the cut vegetable in water so that the flesh remains clean and fresh.

On a healthy note, eggplants have all the B vitamins, and are high in B9 (folate) as well as in calcium (1%), phosphorus (3%) and potassium (5%).

Ingredients: •1 lb small desi baingan (small Indian eggplant) •1 lb aloo (potatoes) (small round are preferable) •1 large pyaaz (onion) •2 medium tamater (tomato) – soft ones are best •1 medium clump of adrak (ginger root) •1 medium kernel of lasan (garlic) •2 tablespoons of vegetable or olive oil •Spices: namak (salt), mirch (red pepper), haldi (tur meric) and sukha dhania powder (dried coriander seed powder), garam masala

Aloo Baingan

Directions: 1.

Cut the eggplants and potatoes lengthwise and let them soak in water so that they don’t turn dark.

2.

Heat the oil in a medium skillet, wok or khadai. Cut the onion, ginger and garlic into small pieces and brown them in the oil. Now add the diced tomatoes. Add the turmeric, pepper and coriander powder and stir for a while till the mixture has a nice consistency and aroma.

3.

Drain the eggplant and potatoes, add to the skillet and stir well to coat them with the masala.

Be sure to add salt at this point, to your taste. Cover the skillet well and turn the heat down to medium.

4.

The vegetables will cook in their own steam so let them cook covered for 15 minutes. Check to seek that they are tender and stir gently to make sure they are sticking to the bottom. Turn the heat to very low and then let cook covered in their own steam for 10 more minutes.

5.

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Uncover the skillet and

sprinkle with garam masala and let it sit covered for a while to let the taste and aroma of the garam masala seep through. This dish is best eaten with roti or naan.

Shakuntla Malhotra recently returned to Houston after a six-week vacation in her homeland India. She is a skilled cook of Punjabi dishes made in the old-fashioned style that she learnt as a young woman in her ancestral home in Lyallpur, India before it became part of Pakistan after the Partition in 1947. People have often admired her cooking for its simplicity and taste that comes with each mouthful. Even in her mid-eighties, she continues to cook daily and agreed to share some of her delectable Punjabi recipes.

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COMMUNITY

Urdu Ka Safar - Meer Se Haali Tak

IAN STAFF REPORTER SUGAR LAND: Two huge ‘Deewans’ of Meer Taqi Meer and Mirza Ghalib adorned the podium. A pleasant fragrance of rare ‘Khuss Itar’ filled the hall.

Calligraphy art and arabesque displays set the mood. In a traditional fashion of Urdu Mehfil of Mughal India, Professor Ahsan Syed lit the candle marking the commencements of the 3-day literary workshop, ‘Urdu Ka Safar - Meer Se Haali Tak’. This literary conference on classical Urdu poets and their unparalleled poetry was organized on April 5,6,7, 2013 at Maryam Masjid, in Sugar Land, Texas and was attended by prominent Urdu poets of Houston and many others. The workshop was conducted by Professor Ahsan Syed of Palo Alto, California, originally from Hyderabad, India, who has been teaching Urdu literature in North America for many years. Besides Meer and Ghalib, other classical poets of 18th, 19th and 20th century India included Momin Khan ‘Momin’, ‘Daag’ Dehlvi, Moulana ‘Haali’, ‘Jigar’ Muradabadi and ‘Akbar’ Allahabadi. Urdu-lovers of Houston are invited to join their mailing list by sending an email to UrduMehfil@ yahoo.com for member privileges and discounted tickets or free invitations for their next event.

April 12, 2013

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Top: Event organizers and the instructor, From Left: Hassan, Professor Ahsan Syed, Tauseef Siddiqi.

Bottom: Audience enjoying Urdu Ka Safar workshop.

Photos: Hassan Studio

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Sushain Cherivirala, 15, of Sugar Land, Texas, a student at Dulles High School and a winner of IBM’s Master the Mainframe competition takes a tour at IBM’s facility in the Town of Poughkeepsie. Karl Rabe/ Poughkeepsie Journal

POUGHKEEPSIE (Poughkeepsie Journal): A new generation of tech students is learning how to use a computer that has been a key part of IBM Corp.’s business since long before they were born.

Five of those students visited Poughkeepsie — a prize they won in IBM’s Master the Mainframe contest.

The local plant is still making mainframe computers, 20 years after some industry analysts were tooting, “The mainframe is dead.”

Next year, the venerable platform observes its 50th anniversary.

What about the people? Anybody left who knows how to run the mainframe? Program it? Put an expanding variety of new applications on it?

Not to worry. Young people are being introduced to that as the older generation ages into retirement.

The mainframe contest is part of IBM’s Academic Initiative. No experience is needed, just an aptitude.

Miles Nosler of Texas State University in San Marcos, who took first place in the contest, said, “I kind of knew what a mainframe was” but, undaunted, jumped in anyway. He described three levels of challenge in the self-guided test that asks the students to solve computer problems using a mainframe.

“It’s up to you to kind of solve it the best way,” he said.

For IBM, this is not about games.

“This is really about building skills for IBM customers,” said Michael Todd, an IBMer who has run the contest for all of its eight

years. The idea is to keep the pipeline of tech talent filled so that the big companies, agencies and universities that buy these “enterprise class” computers can hire help who know what to do with them.

It’s not games for the students, either, as they consider careers. All the winners are thinking of working in information technology.

The top three winners were Nosler; Benjamin Paul, Rose-Hulman InstituteofTechnology,TerreHaute, Ind., second place; and Sushain Cherivirala, Dulles High School, Sugar Land, Texas, third place.

Cherivirala is a sophomore.

“Ever since fifth grade, I’ve been interested in computers,” he said. He tried the contest last year but didn’t do too well.

So this year he tried again.

Most entrants got word of the contest through their teachers.

“I heard about it in high school,” Paul said.

The contest has grown steadily, Todd said. This year, more than 4,600 students from North America participated and 13,813 globally, from 33 countries.

Argentina was one.

Nahuel Tori of the University of Buenos Aires won a trip to Poughkeepsie. He’s already done work on a mainframe and said, “In Argentina, it is more common to start working while you are still in school.”

“In Spain, we have a very similar situation,” said Pedro Adan, from Madrid.

There are jobs taking care of mainframes and putting them to work.

Actually, the range of work that the big systems do is expanding, adding cloud computing service, “big data” and analytics projects and social business.

They’re also in the background for the rising use of mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets.

Mainframes are known as “enterprise” systems, meaning they are most commonly used in large businesses, agencies and universities.

IBM says 96 of the top 100 banks globally use System z.

IBM traces the birth of the line back 49 years and through numerous evolutions and names.

That development continues today, with Poughkeepsie being a central point for the work.

Mainframes are thus a large part of the Dutchess County economy, with most of the roughly 8,000 IBMers locally connected to them in some way.

The microchips in them come from IBM’s East Fishkill plant.

Mainframes also are manufactured in Singapore.

IBM maintains a jobs board called Systemzjobs.com.

It links clients and students to show job opportunities. So far, 4,300 students have registered, and it regularly posts more than 1,000 mainframe-related jobs, IBM said.

The students got a detailed tour of Poughkeepsie’s manufacturing floors, talks from IBM specialists, including Distinguished Engineer Charles Webb and a tour of IBM’s Green Data Center.

The last is a project in which IBM took a small data center in Building 710 on the north end of the campus and rebuilt it to save energy and develop concepts it could then sell to clients.

Christy Schroeder, an IBM specialist who briefs clients who visit the center, conducted the tour. She said they needed to add capacity but were running out of power and heat loads were exceeding specifications.

“We decreased our power consumption by 50 percent and doubled our capacity ... without adding additional cooling,” she said.

Some of the big boxes are now water-cooled, a recent revival of an old IBM technology made necessary again because the chips inside are more powerful and run hotter.

The mainframe is still evolving.

It will still need people to run them.

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Think New York Is Costly? In New Delhi, Seedy Goes for 8 Figures NEW DELHI (NYT): The fading bungalow at 38 Amrita Shergil Marg does not immediately shout real estate bling.

There is no tennis court, no infinity pool, no Sub-Zero refrigerator or walk-in closet.

The paint is chipped, the bathrooms are musty and the ceilings have water stains. The house may ultimately be torn down.

Yet when it went up for public auction, the winning bid was almost $29 million. And many neighbors consider that a bargain.

One block away, a gracious if not quite Rockefeller-ready residence once leased by the Mexican ambassador is now reportedly on the market for more than $100 million. Other nearby houses are going for $40 million to $70 million.

Real estate prices in the heart of New Delhi, especially for the bungalows built nearly a century ago during the British Raj, are among the highest in the world.

Though India’s economy has cooled, the demand for property in elite areas remains so strong that even finding a house for sale is tricky.

The buyers are often Indian industrialists looking for a trophy property, a real estate Rolex. Or, real estate agents and sellers say, they can be politicians or their proxies, who often pay with trunks of cash.

For their money, buyers get a lovely piece of land and a piece of history, if not much in the way of amenities. Many houses require a major overhaul. Services, if far better in these elite areas, are still inadequate: drinking the tap water is not advised, and power failures remain an irritant.

The obvious question about the prices, in a country where hundreds of millions of people still live on less than $2 a day, is: Why? To a large degree, India is ex-

SOLD: $29 Million This crumbling home from the British Raj.

periencing the sort of real estate boom common to big, emerging economies. When Japan’s economy was soaring in the 1980s, prices in Tokyo were so frothy that the 845-acre compound of the Imperial Palace was valued at more than all the real estate in California. More recently, China has seen a boom, with real estate values rising in some cities by 500 percent.

But the spike in New Delhi is also being fueled by ego, status and some unique distortions in India’s economy. Few properties come available in the leafiest, most prestigious section of the capital, known as Lutyens’ Delhi, because the area is mostly dedicated to government housing. Powerful government ministers live in British-era bungalows with stately lawns of several acres, while lesser officials are eligible for different categories of government housing in an oasis largely separated from the rest of the chaotic capital, where many people live crowded into slums or shanties.

“This is the best part of Delhi, the core of Delhi,” said Munish Kumar Garg, who oversees the allocation of government housing.

“If these properties in Lutyens’

Delhi were put on sale, there would be a queue two kilometers long.”

It was a British architect, Edwin Lutyens, who in the early 1900s designed what is now the governmental heart of the capital. Beyond the grand buildings erected as the seat of British imperial power, Mr. Lutyens and other architects also built a residential bungalow zone of whitewashed single-story homes surrounded by verdant gardens. When India won its independence in 1947, the British moved out of many of the houses and the Indians moved in.

Given the shortage of such housing, the recent death of former Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral has spurred jockeying over who will get the bungalow.

Navin Chawla, who was India’s chief election commissioner from 2005 to 2010, lived with his wife in a bungalow on six acres, with accommodation for 17 servants, including a separate house most likely worth many millions of dollars. When his term ended, so did his tenancy.

Not surprisingly, as Indian industrialists have amassed great fortunes in recent years, the temptation to buy into a zone where

status is so nakedly demarcated and only a few hundred private properties exist has proved irresistible. Property values in the Lutyens’ bungalow zone, as well as in nearby neighborhoods, have appreciated steadily for many years but skyrocketed in the past decade.

In some cases, families have held these private houses for generations. Many were refugees from Pakistan after partition in 1947, when streets like Amrita Shergil Marg were hardly exclusive. Veena Kumar’s parents arrived almost penniless in 1947 and rented a bungalow on the street for about $5.50 a month, before buying it eight years later. In those days, the house was at the southern rim of the city, beside what is now Lodi Garden, which is known as the city’s most beautiful park but seemed like jungle back then.

Longtime neighbors recall hearing the cry of hyenas at night.

Now the house lies in the heart of the city and Ms. Kumar and her sister are looking to sell. Ms. Kumar declined to discuss her asking price, but local media reported it as about $55 million.

“One cannot afford these taxes,” she said, explaining that the upkeep and property taxes had pushed her to sell. “It is very expensive.”

The wild prices have also affected the rental market. For decades, owners happily rented to ambassadors or diplomatic missions. Now, rents have jumped so sharply that some ambassadors are moving.

Mr. Oliveira, the Portuguese ambassador, recently relocated after his rent soared. Mexican ambassadors had lived at 13 Prithviraj Road — the house priced at $110 million — for a half-century, with the original lease signed by Octavio Paz, the Nobel Prize-winning writer and poet who was Mex-

ico’s ambassador in the 1960s.

(The United States Embassy is a beneficiary of the rising real estate values, because for several decades it has owned several residential properties in elite areas.)

Rahul Rewal, a local real estate agent, said that demand was pushing up prices all over the capital region and that the Lutyens’ zone actually was a safe investment, since values keep going up, partly because so few places come onto the market. Fifteen years ago, the telecommunications magnate Sunil Mittal paid about $6.6 million for a property on Amrita Shergil Marg that he razed and rebuilt. At the time, the price was astonishing; today, it would be a bargain.

Mr. Mittal’s brother, Rajan, was the winner of the auction for 38 Amrita Shergil Marg. The property had been entangled in a family legal feud for three decades until a judge ordered that the property be sold at auction, with the proceeds divided among family members. Had it been sold privately, many neighbors and brokers say, the final price would have been higher. To avoid taxes, many sellers demand huge, secret cash payments to supplement the publicly recorded selling price.

Even now, the owners are still bickering. G. K. Gupta lives in the front half of the house, while his nephew Shivraj Gupta lives with his family in the back half. The uncle is in favor of the sale, but the nephew says he is still challenging it in court. And though both would be wildly rich when the sale is completed, the elder Mr. Gupta said that kind of money only goes so far in New Delhi.

“I’ll have to invest it in property,” he said. “And property is very expensive in New Delhi.”

Jim Yardley in New York Times

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SPORTS

April 12, 2013

Kohli Helps Challengers Rout Sunrisers

BY ANDREW FIDEL FERNANDO BANGALORE: Royal Challengers Bangalore 162 for 3 (Kohli 93*, Agarwal 29) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad 161 for 6 (White 52, Perera 40) by seven wickets Virat Kolhi’s imperious 93 not out from 47 balls helped Royal Challengers Bangalore avenge their Super-Over loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad and delivered the team’s second win in three matches.

Chris Gayle could manage nothing but a start as Royal Challengers chased the opposition’s 161 for 6, but Kohli was fluent almost from the outset and, despite his hyperaggression, rarely played a false stroke throughout his innings.

The Sunrisers’ total had largely been set up by Cameron White and Thisara Perera, who helped overcome their team’s slow start, but Royal Challengers finished the match at a gallop with seven wickets in hand and 14 balls to spare.

Kohli came to the crease at 39 for 1 in the sixth over, and began his rampage in earnest when AB de Villiers joined him after Gayle’s dismissal. The pair struck 49 together from 35 balls, setting their side well on course for a win - although de Villiers made only 15 of those runs. On 37 from 22 at the time, Kohli found yet another gear and, by the end of the match, Moises Henriques, who came in to bat after de Villiers, had contributed only seven runs to an unbroken 65-run fourthwicket partnership that secured the result. Fittingly, the winning runs came off Kohli’s bat as he hit a square-drive off an Ishant Sharma delivery in the 18th over.

Kohli hit four sixes and 11 fours in his innings, getting off the mark with a four off the first ball he faced as he leaned back to punch Thisara Perara powerfully through the covers. The boundaries flowed all around the ground, as the delicate cuts off the spinners were counterbalanced by arrogant drives off the faster bowlers. With 45 needed off the last five overs, Sunrisers may have felt they still had a chance in the match, but Kohli launched Amit Mishra for consecutive straight sixes early in the 16th over,

Virat Kohli’s unbeaten 93 was his personal best in the IPL.

in which he eventually plundered 21. He hit five more fours in the next two overs to close the match.

White and Perera came together for Sunrisers after their side had ambled through the Powerplay overs, and traveled at barely a runa-ball in the first half of their innings. Neither batsman risked adventure early in their innings, but quickly began pushing the scoring rate along after the 14th over.

White began the charge in the 15th over with a pull off Jaydev Unadkat, before Perera clubbed the bowler over the long-on fence, with a shot that was effectively a two-handed tennis forehand. Unadkat conceded 14 runs in that over.

By the 17th over, the pair had

added another 37 runs as they exploited the length deliveries that the Royal Challengers bowlers offered them. White hit three sixes and three fours in his 52 from 34 balls, while Perera struck four sixes and a four in his 24-ball 40. Both men perished searching for boundaries, but they had put on 80 together, leaving their side within touching distance of a competitive 160. A good final over from RP Singh, who took 3 wickets for 27, ensured Sunrisers did not get much more than that.

Andrew Fidel Fernando is ESPNcricinfo’s Sri Lanka correspondent.

Is NBA Coming to India?

WASHINGTON: Here’s the tall and short of the story: India is a midget when it comes to world basketball (ranked No. 58, below Mali and Cape Verde); but it is a giant when it comes to size of market and running a business.

The phenomenal success of the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket, the world’s second richest sporting league in terms of player payout, has brought the world’s richest, America’s National Basketball Association (NBA) to India, looking for opportunity to expand its footprint.

It’s another matter that cricketcrazed India has no great appetite for or culture of other great sports. The lure of a large market, including television audience, has tickled the fancy of NBA pashas, the chief of whom, NBA Commissioner David Stern, arrived in Mumbai on Monday.

India will have a player in the NBA within five years, Stern boldly predicted to reporters in Mumbai, mercifully not rubbing in the fact that hoopsters from Senegal, Sudan, Turkey, and Lithuania, not to speak of China, have already made the cut.

What Stern also didn’t mention was that while an Indian hoopster going slam-dunk in NBA may still be some years away, NRI tycoons are already muscling into the business side of American basketball.

Stern’s visit to India comes against the backdrop of a bid by a consortium led by an Indian tech billionaire, who already co-owns an NBA franchise, to buy a second one -- the Sacramento Kings.

And part of the sales pitch of the consortium is the Indian market.

Vivek Ranadive, a Mumbai native who founded the technology company TIBCO, became the first person of Indian origin to own an NBA franchise when he bought into the Golden State Warriors in 2010. Evidently, that has not whetted his appetite.

He is now bidding for Sacramento Kings in a battle that has pitted him against a Seattle group that includes Microsoft honcho Steve Ballmer.

Both sides made a presentation in New York City last week before Stern embarked on his India visit. The NBA Board of Governors will make a call on the matter on April 19.

The politics of sport and its economic impact on cities, which IPL is only now becoming familiar with, is very much part of the battle.

Sacramento Kings’current owners, the Maloof family, agreed to sell 65 per cent stake to Seattle’s Ballmer & co for $341 million. If that sale is approved, Kings will move to Seattle and be reborn as the Seattle Supersonics at the start of the 2013-2014 season.

To prevent that, Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, a former NBA All-Star himself, has drafted Ranadive and Co. Both sides have committed millions to build a new arena and attract new fans.

Sports industry pundits say Ballmer and Co are favored to win the bid against the Sacramento consortium, except for one wild card: India.

“Ranadive’s recent inclusion not only financially strengthened Sacramento’s bid, it introduced a unique and tantalizing element into the equation: the potential presence of an Indianborn owner to put a face on the league’s forays into the secondmost heavily populated country in the world,” writes Sacramento Bee columnist Ailene Voisin, who says Ranadive is giving the NBA “a lot more to think about”.

Although Stern’s India visit was planned months in advance, his presence in the country in the midst of IPL fever will give him a chance to weigh the market and see if NBA can use an Indian-American beachhead to make advances in India.

Who would have thought India would be a factor in a basketball scrap between Sacramento and Seattle? “The NBA was there first -- Greece, Argentina, Russia, China -- and, yet, what prominent and highly populated country continues to elude its persistent tentacles? India, it is,” Voisin writes.

“India is the next NBA frontier.”

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