E newspaper05302014

Friday, May 30 2014 | Vol. 33, No. 22

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Indo American erican News

Rasaanubhava 2014

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India’s Future Reimagined

P5 From left: Drayton McLane, former owner of the Houston Astros; Barnik Maitra, Partner in McKinsey & Company’s Mumbai office; Patrick French, a British writer, historian and journalist; Vishakha Desai, Special Advisor for Global Affairs to the President of Columbia University and a Professor of Practice at its School of International and Public Affairs; Harris County Judge Ed Emmett and Adil Zainulbhai, the former chairman of McKinsey India who emceed the panel discussion onstage and edited the book.

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COMMUNITY

May 30, 2014

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Beauty and Grace at Annual Recital of Abhinaya School of Performing Arts

Photos: Amitava Sarkar

cal dances like Mallari, Shabdam, Jathiswaram, Padam, Keerthanams and Thillana. The highlight of the evening w a s

KATY: Colors, choreography and synchronization were the highlights of Rasaanubhava’14, the annual recital of Abhinaya School of Performing Arts, at the Stafford Civic Center on May 18.

The artistic director and teacher Indrani Parthasarathy, well versed in the Pandanallur style of Bharathanatyam and also trained in Kuchipudi style of dancing is the daughter of the dance Guru Karnataka Kalathilaka Smt. Radha Sridhar of Bangalore. Indrani has to her credit more than 100 solo performances and has been a performer in India, UAE and USA

and has been a part of her mother’s dance drama productions.

Indrani established the Abhinaya School of Performing Arts in 2001 which is originally based in Katy, and has now grown and has branches in Cypress and Pearland.

The annual recital began part one featuring with the junior to intermediate student performances.

Anupama Nagasimha, assistant teacher welcomed the guests while senior students Vrinda and Isha introduced the dances.. The curtain raiser was an invocation dance

by Abhinaya graduates Archana, Komal and Prasannah. The junior

students then presented a highly colorful yet synchronized performance maintaining their lines and formations from adavus to jathiswaram. Besides performing dances they had learnt over the year they also performed dances specially choreographed to popular folk and fusion numbers. The students performed with fervor and confidence in their coordinated costumes.

The senior segment began at 4:30 pm. Emceed by senior students Ritvik and Ritika the senior recital had an array of beautifully choreographed traditional classi-

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, MAY 30, 2014 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

a surprise performance by Kavya who presented a highly energetic power charged solo dance Mahishasura Mardhini. The students also presented a colorful presentation called Rangoli which featured dances choreographed to fusion, semi-classical and folk songs. The intricate choreography stood out more because of the colorful coordinated special costumes. The joy and passion for dancing was evident on the faces of the students as they performed. The recital ended with a happ y note about the student performances by teacher Indrani Parthasarathy.

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Reimagining India was Foremost on the Mind, a Week After Historic Elections

BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA HOUSTON: A week after the historic elections in India which saw the Bharati Janata Party catapult into the helm of the nation in a landslide victory, curiosity was rampant at the perfectly timed launch of the book “Reimagining India: Unlocking the Potential of Asia’s Next Superpower” in front of an audience of a little over 200 people at the Asia Society’s auditorium on Southmore in the Museum District.

“The book was two years in the making”, said Adil Zainulbhai, the former chairman of McKinsey India who emceed the panel discussion onstage and set the tone for each panelist to express their opinions and later follow it up with a brief question and answer period in the two-hour long program held on Thursday, May 22, in the evening.

Indian Consul General Parvathaneni Harish opened the program up appreciating the timing of the event. He commented on the essay on Kansas, saying that was coincidental that his office has jurisdiction over Kansas and that he was struck by finding a few Indian doctors practicing in the rural countryside. “It struck me then”,

he recalled, “that in India, a similar policy to send doctors to rural areas to practice for a few years was met with severe objections”.

Written in the same concise and proficient manner and style in which the same team wrote the 2011 book Reimagining Japan: The Quest for a Future That Works, this latest book on India features interviews with some of the same corporate leaders, such as Starbucks CEO Howard Shultz but adds interviews and essays by famous India industrialists and corporate leaders as well as intellectuals from across the globe in the six chapters that the 432 page book is broken down into.

Many would enjoy the insights into the phenomenon that is modern day India by writers like Fareed Zakaria who wrote The Rediscovery of India or In Search of the Indian Dream by Anand Giridharada or We’re Not In Kansas Anymore by Howard Shultz and The Paradise of the Middle Class by Manu Joseph, to name just a few of the 60 essays that are contained in the book which was released in November last year.

It is also full of the statistics that you would expect from a production that came from the esteemed

McKinsey & Company.

The panel discussion in Houston was put together by the President Emerita of the Asia Society, Vishaka N. Desai, who was instrumental in making the new home of the Houston Asia Society come to reality. She is a Special Advisor for Global Affairs to the President of Columbia University and a Professor of Practice at its School of International and Public Affairs and spoke about the soul of India and its capacity to influence how others perceive, express and pursue culture.

The remaining panelists were Harris County Judge Ed Emmett who has traveled extensively in India and has a son who lives there; Patrick French, a British journalist, writer and historian who has written a book, India – A Portrait, in 2011; Barnik Maitra, a partner in McKinsey’s Mumbai office who spoke about agriculture and agri-business in India and Drayton McLane, the former owner of the Houston Astros and chairman of the McLane Group which is involved in the import and export of foods with India.

Zainulbhai asked the panelists what they would tell the new Indian government to do after they

took office on January 26 and to frame their responses in that context. Each was persuasive in their areas of expertise, with McLane saying it was not easy doing business with India, but added that he was impressed with his first experience at the Asia Society’s new building. Emmett said India had lots of government but not enough governance and bad infrastructure. “India was formed from the top down”, he added, “and the US from the bottom up” Maitra added that there were few famines now, though still a lot of malnutrition, while India was the sixth largest exporter of agri products and that its 3 per cent annual growth could be increased to 5 to 6 per cent. French reflected on India’s independence struggle and the looming aspirations of the mostly young demographic of 100 to 120 million new voters who had ushered in the new government and threw out hereditary politics.

When Zainulbhai asked what three things the new government should address immediately, the

answers from the panelists ranged from eliminating bureaucrats, to encouraging entrepreneurs, using talent, change land use, improve employment law, enforce contracts, improve delivery, accountability, the Merchant Marines and logistics and give a boost to wine and coffee production and exports.

In the relatively short discussion which explored ideas in essentially few words and over a whole range of topics, the panelists assumed that the audience, though mostly Indian, had enough of a familiarity with the Indian framework that they could easily follow the arcs of their discussions. Although the discussions were thought provoking, the topics and the myriad of interjections that they elicited have been discussed in many quarters for years and as such, did little to bring forward a unique futuristic perspective that the title of the discussion, Reimagining India, elicited. The book itself, which was on sale in the lobby, promised to provide these answers.

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

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TRANSCENDENT D E I T I E S of I N D I

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THE EVERYDAY OCCURRENCE of THE DIVINE

ON VIEW THRU SEPTEMBER 14 Vishnu-Garud Wahan, Ravi Varma Press, Karla-Lonavla, Paper, ink, fabric, metallic thread, Courtesy of Ramchander Nath Foundation, New Delhi

at Asia Society Texas Center, 1370 Southmore Boulevard, 77004 UPCOMING PROGRAMS WITH EXHIBITION ARTISTS

Manjari Sharma Saturday, July 19, 2014 3:00 pm Abhishek Singh Sunday, September 14, 2014 2:00 pm More information at asiasociety.org/texas or 713.496.9901 THE EXHIBITION IS FUNDED IN PART BY A GRANT FROM THE CITY OF HOUSTON THROUGH HOUSTON ARTS ALLIANCE.

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COMMUNITY

May 30, 2014

35th NABC 2015 kicked off at Houston Durga Bari Society

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HOUSTON: Houston recently hosted a big extravaganza – kickoff for a prestigious mega-event in 2015. Since 1980 North American Bengali Conference (NABC or Banga Sammelan) has promoted the Bengali culture richness in USA and Canada. Tagore Society of Houston (TSH) will host its 35th version on July 10-12, 2015. TSH already erected a statue of Tagore in the heart of Texas and Houston’s energy corridor as the emblem of that vision.

The conference will celebrate the diversity and spread the rich heritage of Tagore’s borderless culture. The kickoff event was wellattended and showed real passion to have a sparking event next year and also, leave a legacy for the future. It left the audience motivated by the message of respect for tradition and giving back and also, absolutely dazzled by the perfection of the execution of the event.

35th NABC 2015 was kicked off on Saturday, April 19 at Houston Durga Bari Society Sur Auditorium. Dr. Bishnupada Goswami, head priest, HDBS Inaugurated the event and lighted the lamp. TSH President Dr. Ruma Acharya gave the welcome speech and signed the contract with Cultural Association of Bengal, President, Purna Bhattacharyya. Partha Sarathi Chatterjee, the General Secretary, explained the relevance of the theme and our mission “Celebrate your heritage; Embrace the change” and launched the theme song and video to thunderous applause.

Highlight of the day was Swami Ishatmananda Minister in-charge, Vivekananda Vedanta Society of Chicago, who addressed the gathering on Bengali - Past, Present & Future culture. In an awe-inspiring speech, he made us aware of so many nuances of our rich heritage but more importantly, called on us to truly make a difference – help humanity as our mission. His speech was a call to action similar to Swami Vivekananda’s “Arise and Awake – stop not till the goal is reached”. He extolled everyone to not only celebrate the culture in the few days of the conference but seriously contemplate building a strong foundation to help humanity. In his words, a country can progress only when everyone does it together and not a handful making tremendous wealth. Swamiji asked for wealth with conscience and not waste money and resources on materialistic pleasures of life. Let’s utilize all of them to make a difference in people’s lives. The audience was spell-bound, gave a standing ovation but more importantly, was inspired to make a difference.

NABC 2015 organizers are committed to have a long-lasting outcome on the lives of the underprivileged – through education, entrepreneurship and welfare. The fruits of the conference must show in those results.

The conference kicked off the “Go Green”

initiative for Earth Day with enthusiastic participation of the youths. It will be a consistent effort throughout the conference.

Dr. Sanku Bose, Co-President of NABC 2015, introduced the guests from all over USA. He was followed by Tapan Das, CoPresident of NABC 2015 shared the vision statement, organization governance, high level plan. Das in his address shared that the NABC 2015 team is excited to host the prestigious 35th NABC –which will be designed around the theme “Celebrate your heritage; Embrace the change”, dedicated to celebrating our glorious Bengali culture and tradition while welcoming the exciting future.

He welcomed all individuals from USA and abroad to attend and support the incredible 35th NABC 2015 to be held in The George R Brown Convention Center, covering 1.8 million Sqft, of meeting rooms, exhibit area, and registration space will be the venue for event from 10 to 12 July, 2015.

All the different NABC committees went through their plans – the depth of the presentation and the passion of the committee members to execute the plans flawlessly impressed all. Representatives of other organizations were very complimentary of the efforts and pledged to help NABC 2015 achieve its success. Jayanta Bandyopadhyay and Pradip Talukdar, VP’s focused on fund-raising, raised pledges of about $250K for the day.

From culture to couture, from business to books, from entertainment to execution, NABC 2015 will deliver a dazzling experience in cultural Extravaganza, literary summit, breathtaking performances, business forum, and trade fair. NABC 2015 is also in discussion with Pratham in developing a Read Bengal program. In short, the potential is endless and the experience will be memorable – NABC kickoff augurs well for a tremendous conference. Finally, NABC 2015 will deliver long-lasting results for the under-privileged – it is a commitment to make meaningful and sustainable contribution for future.

In short, NABC will sparkle during the conference and the luster will remain long after!

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, MAY 30, 2014 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

COMMUNITY

May 30, 2014

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Graduation at the Arya Samaj School

BY SMRITI AHUJA & SANJANA KAPOOR HOUSTON: Arya Samaj hosted a Graduation ceremony for its students on Sunday, May 18. The ceremony, held in the Main Hall, was filled with award presentations and student performances.

The day began with all the students participating in Havan in the school, and chants of Swaha filled the air. After the Havan, everyone proceeded to the Main Hall and the ceremony began.

The Graduation Day celebrations began with Minu Garg welcoming all the parents, kids and the guests visiting Arya Samaj.

Speaker of the week, 9 year old Lakshya Gupta, gave a touching speech on why Humility should be one of the most important virtues for a human being. Beautiful Bhajans by DAV Sanskriti school kids, led by their teacher Smriti Srivastava, mesmerized the audience. A presentation by Minu provided everyone with the significant progress made by the DAVSS school and its students during the past year.

Winners of best attendance in each age group were announced and all those with attendance greater than 95% were offered a fee free school year ahead while

those with 85% attendance or greater were offered 25% reduction in the fees. This wonderful gesture on the part of the school greatly motivated kids and parents for better attendance in the coming years.

There were also two performances by Arya Samaj students,

Next was a presentation about the various impressive Arya Youth Mandal (AYM) activities accomplished including their over 350 hours of community service projects gained from participating in the Interfaith Ministries ‘Meals on Wheels’ on Thanksgiving day serving hot meals to seniors, the

one of singing and the other of dance. The participating students were part of the elective music and dance classes hosted every Sunday. The voices of the singing children soared through the hall, and were delightful to listen to. All of the singers knew their lines and blew their performance out of the park! The dancers wore cute costumes, with a white top and pink skirt, and under the guidance of their teacher Shelly, gave a beautiful performance, which had the audience clapping and swaying with enjoyment. Their spunky performance was dazzling and incredibly fun to watch.

flower planting project, parking lot numbering and active support to the organization for the Holi and Diwali celebrations. Certificates were handed out to the five students with highest number of community service hours for the year.

Awards were given to those who attended the most classes, such as Jai Sehgal and Anusha Sood.

Other awards were given out to those who had participated in special activities, like student Roma Nayyar. Awards were also given to those students who had helped the community and volunteered, like AYM volunteers Smriti Ahuja and

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Daksh Kapoor. There were other awards also handed out, like “Student of the Year” and “Youth of the Year” awards that one gained by working hard, doing well in all the tests and playing an important role in Arya Samaj.

More awards followed for the various quizzes, which had been conducted for all ages, and video documentaries made by the 13+ class presenting all that they had learnt during the year. Acharya Surya Nandaji addressed the audience briefly after the award distribution, and this was followed by Arti and Priti Bhoj.

The kids chattered happily during lunch, none of them sad that the year had come to an end, especially because they were all excited as they were planning to come back in 2 weeks for summer school.

If you are not a student at DAV Sanskriti school, enroll to get a taste of the wonderful environment at their summer school and you will decide to stay even after summer is over! You will find something you will love, learning from our various elective classes like music, dance, yoga, public speaking and Vedic Math. Arya Samaj Satsang is held every Sunday at 10 am and Arya Samaj Sanskriti School is held from 10am to 12 pm, followed by a “Priti Bhoj”.

10 May 30, 2014

COMMUNITY

Ovarcome Adds More Support in Fight Against Ovarian Cancer

The Ovarcome Board with chief guests (from left) Chief Events Officer Bhavana Bajaj; Gala Committee Member Joya Shukla; Advisory Board Member Dr. Anirban Maitra; Gala Committee Member Karen Francis; Keynote Speaker MDA President Dr. Ronald DePinho; Special Guest St. Luke’s Sugar Land CEO Robert Heifner; Advisory Board Member Dr. Anil Sood; Ovarcome Board Vice President Dr. Priya Bhosale; Secretary and Chief Medical Counsel Dr. Alpa Nick; Founder & President Runsi Sen and Chief Financial Officer, Supryo Sen. Photo: Rguetta Photography

BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA HOUSTON: It was the first gala for this nascent organization which got its beginning only a couple of years ago as a concept that was presented to the IndoAmerican community through a performance by the Seattle-based Bengali rock band “Brishti”, orga-

nized in collaboration with Better Bangla Radio (see IAN dated October 12, 2012).

Appropriately so, as the idea of forming a group that focused on the causes and treatment of ovarian cancer came from a transplanted Bengali from Calcutta who enlisted others to support her vision

which was borne out of her own brush with losing her mother Atashi to the dreaded disease in Calcutta in 2009. That singular event marked Runsi Sen’s life and has turned it into a pursuit of helping find a cure for ovarian cancer culminating in forming the non-profit organization aptly called Ovarcome. She is also a

strategy consultant with Optimal Strategy Group and lives with husband Supryo and two young sons in Sugar Land.

After two years of Indian rock concerts to raise money, the organization has coalesced its efforts into its first fundraising gala which was held this past Satur-

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, MAY 30, 2014 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

day, May 24 at the Houston City Club in Greenway Plaza with an audience that was markedly more diverse but still more than half drawn from the Indo American community. Ovarcome was also recognized with a donation check from the social group Club 24 Plus CONTINUED ON PAGE

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COMMUNITY

May 30, 2014

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Four Generations Gather to Celebrate Vimala “JiMa”’s 100th Birthday

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s���T The Merchant-Vir-Kapadia-Coleman clans got together at Bhojan restaurant on Sunday, May 26, 2014 to celebrate the 100th birthday of their matriarch, Vimala Merchant and serenade her with fond remembrances and an acrobatic dance by the youngest of her great grandchildren Kabir and Rana.

BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA HOUSTON: The two brothers Kabir, the elder by 2 years, and Rana, 8 did an acrobatic hip-hop dance, twisting, turning and tumbling while they sang a short poem they had penned for their JiMa (see their video on IAN website, www. indoamerican-news.com) “JiMa, JiMa, JiMa, One double zero, you are our hero; sweet as the chocolate you love to eat; now watch us a we leave our feet. JiMa, JiMa, JiMa” And Rana threw a large, soft sponge replica of a silver covered Hershey’s Kiss at his delighted JiMa, which his older cousin, 12 year-old Avi Vir caught before it crossed the table. Their JiMa, Vimala Merchant clapped softly in her wheelchair and joined in the laughter with the rest of the guests who had gathered to celebrate her centennial!

Eighteen of her direct descendants and half a dozen more relatives along with close friends had gathered at Bhojan restaurant on Sunday, May 25 to celebrate JiMa’s 100th birthday and get her blessings. Some, like son Gautam and his daughters Manjari and

Mayuri with her husband John and kids Matthew and Sarita had flown in from New York for the occasion as well as other relatives from other states..

After the centenarian had been brought into the hall, her daughter, Sita Kapadia with whom JiMa has lived for the past 25 years in Houston, spoke lovingly of her mother’s accomplishments and determined independent-minded lifestyle.

Born in Bombay in 1914 to Tara and Gurdandas Soparkar, the young Vimala was adamant to study despite her conservative and tradition-bound father’s view that “a fourth grade education was good for girls and Matric was more than enough”. She proved him wrong by going to a woman’s college and getting a degree in Humanties and later to Art School to learn painting. She became a respected painter whose works were displayed in Jury shows and a solo exhibition in New York many years after she had moved there following her husband Ishwarlal’s death in 1989.

Anand Kapadia, Sita’s son had flown in from California with his family and related how the family

A painting done by Vimala Merchant and exhibited in New York many years

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got together to publish their grandmother’s painting in a book and read from the dedication that his Gran had written in the copy that he has.

Great grand daughter Amrita Vir spoke on behalf of the six great grandkids. “I’ve only lived a quarter of her life and she’s seen much more than I have”, Amrita marveled, adding that she was inspired by her Jima’s spirit and spunk though she could be very opinionated, relating an incident when Jima disapproved of her clothes as her mom Arti, Sita’s daughter gave a little chuckle.

Her father Atul was sorely missed as he away in India giving the keynote address to graduating seniors from the school that he had graduated from.

“After her mother passed away, Mummy helped raise her younger siblings”, Sita recalled.

“She was strict and authoritarian as her household help would say but kind and affectionate”. Kapadia added that she couldn’t have finished her doctoral work without her mother’s help and sang a verse from a Gujarati poem, translated as “Sweet as honey and sweet as the rains after the monsoon; but sweeter than that is my mother”.

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12 May 30, 2014

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Our Hearty Invitation to all Devotees on the Special Occasion of Shri Gangaji’s Avataran on Earth We Celebrate This Occasion on

Sunday, June 8, 2014

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16 May 30, 2014

COMMUNITY

Ovarcome Adds More Support in Fight Against Ovarian Cancer CONTINUED FROM PAGE

10

of the South Asian Chamber of Commerce who explained the background of Ovarcome and its goals of helping women, raising awareness and raising funds for research in this disease.

“This is possibly the first gala in the region in support of ovarian cancer research”, said Sen when she came to the podium. “We hope to raise awareness of what it is through workshops dealing with diet, lifestyle and genetic consulting and also fund grant requests for research in St. Louis and locally in Memorial Hospital”. The group funds international work in Niarobi, Kenya and the Tata Memorial Hospitals in Calcutta and Mumbai.

She went on to explain that the

just two weeks ago (see IAN dated May 16, 2014) and some of its key members like Ashok and Prabha Garg and Juuhi and Prakash Ahuja attended the gala.

The black tie and formal gown event started off with a cocktail hour featuring a silent auction of memorabilia and custom services in the bar area of the club and then moved into the banquet hall where about 200 people heard about the progress that Ovarcome has made in the ensuing two years and dined on food catered by the club.

The program was emceed by Sonia Azad, a reporter with KTRK TV’s Eyewitness News and Lisa Slater and brief remarks introduced Noman Hussain, President

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short term goals are to expand services in Houston by providing treatment options; offering local accommodations to out-of-towners and meeting with civic groups to increase awareness. Ovarcome’s 2025 Vision is to increase the five year survival rate by 30% through these programs, treatment options and research. After the four OC survivors in the room stood up to be recognized, Sen asked everyone to stand and repeat the pledge “we will care, we will cure, we will overcome”.

Robert A. Heifner, CEO of CHI St. Luke’s Hospital, Sugar Land which sponsored the event, spoke about how impressed he was with Sen’s passion for tackling the disease. Dr. Anil Sood, a researcher at

MD Anderson Hospital received the Community Service Award and disclosed a frightening statistic that 280,000 women worldwide will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer each year and 140,000 of them will die. He explained that it would require counseling and aggressive procedures using laparoscopy to remove tumors and then use chemotherapy, which has so far resulted in substantial improvements. “The costs for treatment are high, about $150,000 and insurance has a 15 to 20% co-pay”, he added, “so Ovarcome goals are laudable”.

The keynote speaker was Dr. Ronald A. DePinho, President of the University of Texas MD An-

derson Cancer Center who appreciated Ovarcome’s goal to bring awareness of this major, dreaded disease which extracts a significant toll while there have been few advances In research and treatment of the cancer. ”When history writes how ovarian cancer was conquered, it will surely note this organization’s role”, he said.

Dr. Alpa Nick and Supryo Sen handed out the Research Grant Awards to four individuals and after an active live auction, which helped the fundraiser close in on its goal of $100,000, entertainment was provided by a piano recital from the Shepherd School of Music followed by a humorous comedy show by ComedySportz.

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18 May 30, 2014 Mandate for Peace Prime Minister Narendra Modi promises a foreign policy reset, where India’s economic interests — rather than nebulous ideas of Nehruvian vintage such as Third World solidarity — will become primary. Peace in its neighbourhood would be conducive for India to break out economically, which is why Modi took the unprecedented step of inviting neighbouring heads of state to his swearing-in ceremony.

Similar considerations apply to Pakistan, which is why Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif accepted.

Given these considerations, the first item on the agenda following the one-on-one meeting between Modi and Sharif should be granting non-discriminatory market access to India. This had been agreed on in December 2012 but is nevertheless hanging fire. The logical next step should be full normalisation of trade ties between India and Pakistan, instead of diverting trade through third countries. The key reason why peace can break out while Modi and Sharif are in charge was stated by Sharif on Indian soil, that both governments now have strong mandates in their respective countries.

That is indubitably true for Modi, who possesses the additional advantage that it is hard to outflank him from the right. Just as Richard Nixon’s or Ronald Reagan’s image of being hawkishly anti-communist Republicans helped them seek accommodation with China and the Soviet Union respectively, Modi will not lack for political capital in seeking accommodation with Pakistan. While there is absolutely no reason to doubt Sharif’s commitment to peace with India — he actually made this a plank of his election campaign and won handsomely last year — questions arise about his ability to deliver. After all, regardless of democratic elections, the India policy mandate in Pakistan has remained with the army and intelligence agencies. Whether Sharif can bring them round is the crucial question.

Following the Modi-Sharif meet New Delhi and Islamabad have agreed to pursue talks at the foreign secretary level, but more of a political push is required. Modi has shown a penchant for unconventional diplomacy. If Sharif proves unable to deliver, at some point down the line Modi should open a direct line of communication with the Pakistan army — perhaps using the Indian army as an intermediary. Terror remains the only outstanding issue between the two nations in a manner of speaking, as a template for resolving even the thorny Kashmir dispute had been arrived at between Pervez Musharraf and Manmohan Singh before the former fell from power and grace. Times of India

Quotable Quotes “Pakistan must abide by its commitment (given in the January 2004 agreement) to prevent its territory and territory under its control from being used against India,” Modi told Sharif.

EDITORIAL

Shiv Sena in a Bind

BY SUJATA ANANDAN Democracy, truly, is a great leveller. For me, the more tickling pink part is that at such times irony dies a thousand deaths when traditions are overturned and stated positions are thrown out of the window.

The best part of Narendra Modi’s ascension was his visit to Rajghat to pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi, who was assassinated by an RSS ideologue for allegedly being a traitor to the Hindu nationalist cause. Now the inheritors of that philosophy are acknowledging the Mahatma as the Father of the Nation.

The second leveller was Modi’s invitation to Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to attend his swearing-in ceremony. While there is nothing wrong in this, for ideologues of the extreme Right it must be galling to have the man who presided over the Kargil War to be invited by a leader who does not need to pander to the expectations of those they describe as ‘sickulars’. After all, former PM Manmohan Singh turned down Sharif’s invitation to attend his swearing-in ceremony last year.

Singh’s grounds were nationalist: he said he would not visit Pakistan until it stops all terror activities.

I wonder if Sharif has come any closer to doing that.

However, what got my funny bone the most is the empty rhetoric of the Shiv Sena that suddenly does not know which way to turn.

Had this been Singh or even Rahul Gandhi inviting Sharif over, the Sena would have dug up cricket pitches, stormed TV studios where Pakistani artistes might be working, burnt effigies or destroyed slums perceived as Bangladeshi settlements. Instead what we got was a deafening silence from the Sena cadre and a rather muted attempt at a roar from Uddhav Thackeray threatening to nuke Pakistan if they did not stop their terrorist activities.

The nuclear button, though, is not in the Sena’s hands and I doubt if Modi will oblige the Sena on this. I suddenly feel sorry for Bal Thackeray’s heirs — after the

What got my funny bone the most is the empty rhetoric of the Shiv Sena that suddenly does not know which way to turn. Had this been Singh or even Rahul Gandhi inviting Sharif over, the Sena would have dug up cricket pitches, stormed TV studios where Pakistani artistes might be working, burnt effigies or destroyed slums perceived as Bangladeshi settlements.

Marathi manoos, if the Sena had a raison d’être, it was in its opposition to everything Pakistani.

Over the years, Bal Thackeray had toned down his extreme opposition to Indian Muslims to call for a secular monument in Ayodhya when he found they had voted him to government in 1995. He called for their disenfranchisement when they swung back to the traditional parties a few years later but even in this flip-flop he was consistent in his opposition to Pakistani terrorism and Bangladeshi immigrants.

With the edges of the regional rhetoric blurred over the years and finding not much resonance beyond a few pockets in Maharashtra, the one thing that continues to define the Sena, even more than the BJP, is its anti-Pakistani stance.

Thackeray was described as a “vivekheen Hindu” by the VHP’s Ashok Singhal when he had called for junking the temple in Ayodhya but when a few months later he trashed former PM AB Vajpayee for wooing the minority community, the late Rafique Zakaria, a noted scholar, told me, “Thack-

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eray has never had to be in power and does not realise the compulsions of governance. His diktats to his chief minister in Maharashtra made it very difficult for that government to maintain a proper balance and when you are in power at the Centre it becomes even more imperative to be inclusive. He can never understand why it is important to take our neighbours along, including Pakistan and Bangladesh because the Gulf nations, which are Islamic, are critical to our oil interests. So while the BJP might be extremist in opposition, it is national interest that determines its responses in government and that includes friendly ties with Pakistan. The Shiv Sena will sooner or later have to come to terms with it.’’

I guess the time for that is now.

Personally, I am a hawk so far as Pakistan goes and empathise with the Sena’s position: It can neither swallow this slight to its selfesteem, nor quite spit it out. I am glad I am not standing in its shoes today.

Hindustan Times

COMMUNITY

May 30, 2014

19

Radio Hungama for South Indian Audiences Celebrates 7th Anniversary

HOUSTON: Radio Hungama, a nonstop entertainer among south Indian households of greater Houston is celebrating its 7th grand year of community service. In the last seven years since inception, they have proved successful in entertaining the Houston Indian crowd with their trade mark events deeply rooted to the Indian culture. “The Radio Hungama Show”, started in June 2007 by Sridhar Dadi, is the first ever Telugu

Radio Show in Texas, and Second among North America, airs every Sunday from 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm CST on KCHN AM 1050. Radio Hungama is also Houston’s first ever 24/7 Telugu online radio station of its class, hosted on state of the art infrastructure of its own.

Radio Hungama show throws the spotlight on the Telugu community through music, concerts, festivals, new-year eve parties, math and spell-

ing bees, local and international news and views. It also addresses the professional, legal, medical, and social issues relevant to the community.

While the median age of listeners is 30 years of age, the program reaches a wide swath of the Telugu community young and older.

Radio Hungama had humble beginnings. The year it was aired in the year 2007, it was an hour long show on every Sundays. Despite its

shorter show duration, Radio Hungama made a mark in the ratings and with listeners. On public demand, the show got extended to two hours within six months. The results were explosive. “We started out with a lot of things working against us, but the belief of those early broadcasters, combined with the unbelievable power of the entertainment combined with enthusiasm, led to our first successes,” says Dadi. Thanks to the continuous support from vendors, sponsors and of course the listeners, the show now runs for three full hours on very Sunday.

Long recognized among the community’s cultural landmarks, the Hungama Entertainment has a conduct of running spectacular events.

On its first anniversary in 2008, Radio Hungama hosted a bumper party at the Durga Bari Mandir hall with food and entertainment; about thousand attended. The second anniversary at the same location was overcrowded.

So Dadi, with the cooperation of the Ashtalakshmi Temple board, and sponsors, hosted the third anniversary on the temple grounds. With wide range of shopping, food and kid’s activities, there was carnival atmosphere of an outdoor mela, over 2000 people congregated and danced in the moonlight. They organized a similar fest again in Nov 2011 at the DurgaBari. On an October evening of 2012, there was only one place where the entire Houston Indian community was gathered- at Radio Hungama’s outdoor extravaganza “Hungama Mela” in Durga Bari temple grounds.

The event was a grand success with an outstanding turnout of over 2500 people. Hungama entertainmet has kick started the year 2013 with “Hungama Super Singers” musical concert, where the singers enthralled audience with their performances.

The songs ranged back from the 60’s movies to the latest hits.

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, MAY 30, 2014 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

In 2013, the Houston Indian community witnessed an event that showcased the rich heritage of the Hindu population while providing wholesome Texas style hospitality and entertainment – The Hungama Ganesh Mahotsav. The event was a testimony to Radio Hungama’s intent to play a significant role in promoting cultural and religious heritage of Indian community, under the leadership of Sridhar Dadi and his able team.

As the saying goes, “Everything is Big in Texas,” and the outstanding attendance certainly appreciated the efforts and dedication of the event committee.

During the entertainment journey of Radio Hungama, Dadi had many trend setting events like New Year Parties, hosting and supporting International award events, and of course the Tollywood Movie Nights.

Radio Hungama were media partners for several Bollywood and Tollywood (Telugu) concerts in Houston and other cities in the US, including Salim Suleiman, and A.R Rehman’s concert. They organized music director Mani Sharma’s concert with a group of friends in Houston in 2010 and supported a concert in 2013.

They are also media partners for TANA (Telugu Association of North America), NATS (North America Telugu Society), ATA (American Telugu Association), and NATA (North America Telugu Association), which are national associations for the Telugu community in the US. Recently they were media partners for the Light of India Awards 2012, and IIFA Awards 2014 held at Orlando, Florida.

As part of Radio Hungama’s community outreach, they have been a strong voice for various non-profit organizations including Vibha, Daya, Sewa International, ICC, NSF (North South Foundation), Telugu Association, Uni

20 May 30, 2014

INDIA

Team Modi: Who Does What in the New Cabinet

Ministers of State (Independent Charge)

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• Gen VK Singh - Development of North Eastern Region (Independent Charge), External Affairs, Overseas Indian Affairs • Inderjit Singh Rao - Planning (Independent Charge), Statistics and Programme Implementation (Independent Charge), Defence

• Prakash Javadekar - Information and Broadcasting (Independent Charge), Environment, Forest and Climate Change (Independent Charge), Parliamentary Affairs • Piyush Goyal - Power (Independent Charge), Coal (Independent Charge), New and Renewable Energy (Independent Charge)

• Santosh Kumar Gangwar Textiles (Independent Charge), Parliamentary Affairs, Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation

• Jitendra Singh - Science and Technology (Independent Charge), EarthSciences(IndependentCharge), Prime Minister Office, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Department of Atomic Energy, Department of Space

• Shripad Yesso Naik - Culture (Independent Charge), Tourism (Independent Charge)

• Nirmala Sitharaman - Commerce and Industry (Independent Charge), Finance, Corporate Affairs

• Dharmendra Pradhan - Petroleum and Natural Gas (Independent Charge) • Sarbananda Sonowal - Skill Development, Entrepreneurship, Youth Affairs and Sports (Independent Charge)

Ministers of State • GM Siddeshwara - Civil Aviation • Manoj Sinha - Railways

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, MAY 30, 2014 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

• Nihal Chand - Chemicals and Fertilizers • Upendra Kushwaha - Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, Drinking Water and Sanitation • Radhakrishnan P - Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises • Kiren Rijiju - Home Affairs • Krishan Pal - Road Transport and Highways, Shipping • Sanjeev Kumar Balyan - Agriculture, Food Processing Industries • Mansukhbhai Dhanjibhai Vasava - Tribal Affairs • Raosaheb Dadarao Danve Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution • Vishnu Deo Sai - Mines, Steel, Labour and Employment • Sudarshan Bhagat - Social Justice and Empowerment

COMMUNITY

21

May 30, 2014

IAN Correspondent Raj Kanwar Felicitated at a Mumbai Function

Raj Kanwar

to felicitate and honor senior oil and gas professionals. The chairman of the Award Selection Committee this year was former secretary, ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, RS Pandey.

Raj Kanwar is the founder of the SK Oilfield Equipment Co Pvt Ltd that has today come to occupy a niche position in the Indian E&P petroleum sector. He retired as its chairman in 2000 and since then his son Manav Kanwar has been its managing director.

Kanwar now is a full time writer.

He has been India Correspondent

Interfaith Ministries Seeks Volunteers for Meals On Wheels HOUSTON: Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston is in need of volunteers to deliver Meals on Wheels meals to homebound seniors in Houston. The program currently needs volunteers to help make deliveries in Houston’s Midtown area. Volunteers can deliver with a family member, colleague, or by themselves.

“Volunteers play a vital role in our Meals on Wheels operation,” said Warren Wenner, Director of Senior Services at Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston. “Volunteers help keep costs low so that we are able to continue to serve more than 4,000 seniors throughout the city each day.

We appreciate those who take the time out of their busy schedules to

help elderly in need.”

The delivery takes only one hour and volunteers can choose the frequency of the time commitment.

Deliveries take place weekdays from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The meals are picked up from the W.T & Louise J. Moran Meals on Wheels Building in Midtown and then volunteers deliver to senior homes in the nearby area.

“Volunteers not only bring a nutritious meal to the seniors, but also a friendly smile,” said Karina Hernandez, Manager of Volunteer Services for Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston.”Some of our seniors live alone and the driver may be the only person they see on a given day. Vol-

unteers provide an important wellness check to these isolated seniors.

Our volunteers tell us visiting seniors is fun and very rewarding.”

Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston’s Meals on Wheels program delivers more than 4,000 meals to homebound seniors throughout Harris County every weekday. The program also delivers breakfast and weekend meals to seniors who are most frail and needy.

Volunteers can find out more information and register at www. imgh.org or by contacting Karina Hernandez at (713) 533-4948.

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for Indo American News for the past few years. He is also actively associated with WORLD OIL, the leading oil and gas journal published from Houston, as its Contributing Editor for South Asia. He is also writing the history of Petronet LNG Ltd, India’s largest LNG importer.

Raj Kanwar is a Dehra Dun-based author and freelance journalist.

CALL: 713-789-6397

Veteran journalist and oil and gas historian Raj Kanwar was felicitated with the Outstanding Achievement Award at the 6th India Drilling & Exploration Conference (IDEC) held in Mumbai on 22-23 May. The citation in particular highlights Raj Kanwar’s lifelong affair with the upstream oil and gas industry in general and ONGC in particular. It says, “the life of perhaps no other individual in India has so inextricably been linked with and impacted by Oil & Natural

Gas Corporation (ONGC) as that of Mr. Kanwar. Whether as an outsider or insider, Kanwar always has had an inextricable relationship with ONGC and other E&P companies in the country.” The citation lauded Mr. Kanwar’s lasting contribution to ONGC as the author of its official history published on its 50th anniversary in August 2006.

Another recipient of the felicitations was AK Hazarika, former CMD of Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. The awards were instituted in 2012 by ‘Oil & Maritime’Austral Asian Maritime Group headed by Mohit Kapoor

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22 May 30, 2014

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Solution Next Week

Mama’s Punjabi Recipes Gobi da Parantha (Cauliflower Parantha)

Everyone has a favorite type of Punjabi parantha, although some, like aloo (potato) paranthas have become quite common all over India and even crossed over into other regional cuisines. Some special paranthas are still very much Punjabi delicacies, like the phul gobi (cauliflower), mooli (white radish) or gajjar (carrot) ones, all of which require better preparation and careful cooking.

Stuffed paranthas are quite heavy to eat and are like vegetarian stuffed pizzas. The secret to making them is to make sure the dough is fully cooked and both sides are crispy with oil coated on it (in the old days, and to this day in the countryside, they still use fresh butter) while the parantha is still on the tava (flatplate).

Phul gobi paranthas are probably the most favorite type for Punjabis but certainly not the cheapest as the vegetable itself is quite expensive.

These require careful cooking but the results are wonderful as many people will eat these with yogurt alone.

Ingredients: • 500gm kanak (gehon) ka atta (wheat flour) • 1 medium phul gobi (cauliflower) • 1 1/2 cups pani (water) • Some tael (olive oil or vegetable oil) for coating the paranthas while cooking • Spices to taste: namak (salt), mirch (red pepper), dhania (coriander powder), garam masala, ajawain (carom seeds) Directions: 1. Carefully clean the phul gobi with a wet paper towel. Do not wash the gobi as it will retain water between its stems and it will be absorbed into the filling mixture.

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2. Cut the gobi into to smaller quarters to allow for easier shredding. If the gobi is small, there is no need to quarter it as it can be shredded easily.

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3. On a hand shredder, rub the tops of the gobi and shred all the way down to the central stalk.

4. Mix in all the spices into the shredded gobi, except for the salt as it will cause the gobi

to shed water and the atta will become too soft to roll or cook.

5. Pour the atta into a bowl, then slowly pour only enough of the water in while kneading the dough till it becomes a nice, round, tender firm ball. Dab the surface of the dough ball with a little water to keep it moist, cover the bowl and set aside for 10 minutes.

6. Pinch off a portion of the dough and make into a 2 inch round ball. Pour a little dry flour on the counter and roll the ball in it to coat it. Make the dough into small paade (balls). Now use a velna (rolling pin) to roll the ball into a nice round, flat 8 to 10 inch pancake, about 1/8 inch thick.

7. Now place a tablespoon of the gobi mixture in the center, add a pinch of salt and garb the edges to pinch off the dough into a ball. Carefully roll the ball into a flat pancake so that the gobi does not pierce the flour.

8. Put a small dab of oil on a hot

9. Try these with a dollop of butter on the top of the warm parantha or with plain yogurt or achaar for best taste.

Shakuntla Malhotra 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.

MAMA’S TIP OF THE WEEK KEEP ATTA FOR ROTIS AND PARANTHAS FIRM

Use whole wheat atta (flour) for good thickness, texture and taste so that each piece of roti or parantha can be made into a wedge to scoop up raita (yogurt sauce) and curries. Some restaurants use maida (finely milled, bleached wheat flour resembling cake flour) to make paranthas and rotis but these come out rubbery and elastic, which make them tough to eat and even tougher to digest. Finally, the atta should not be thin with added water else the rotis and paranthas will be too soft and will fall apart while cooking.

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tava (hotplate or skillet) and place the flattened dough on. When it turns color a little, turn the pancake over. Put another dab of oil on the tava and then turn it over again till it is fully cooked. When the paranthas have some dark brown spots on them, it means they are cooked.

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STOCKS • FINANCE • SOUTH ASIAN MARKETS • TECHNOLOGY

Rupee’s Rise May Hit IT Sector Earnings: Analysts

On Monday, the Indian rupee opened higher against the dollar on expectations of more dollar inflows from foreign institutional investors in the local stock market this week. Photo: Bloomberg

BY MOULISHREE SRIVASTAVA New Delhi: With industry analysts expecting the rupee to strengthen in the near term, the $118 billion-Indian information technology industry may take a hit on margins and earnings growth potential in the coming months—ironically, under what is expected to be a stable Narendra Modi regime.

Between 27 January and 23 May, thebenchmarkSensexgained19.25% while the BSE IT Index lost 10.87% as the rupee gained 7.85%.

A 16 May report by Kotak Institutional Equities Research said there could be a “2-6% cut in FY15-16E

earnings” of IT firms, as a strengthening rupee is expected to hit exports in a sector that benefits massively from sales to the US and Europe.

“Economists have revised the US dollar to Indian rupee assumptions to 59.5 and 58 for FY15 and FY16, respectively from 61 and 60, as the industry hopes for a stable government and improvement in the Indian economy,” the report said.

On Monday, the Indian rupee opened higher against the dollar on expectations of more dollar inflows from foreign institutional investors in the local stock market this week as Modi prepared to take oath as the

new prime minister of India.

Last August, the Indian rupee saw its biggest fall in 18 years, falling to 69 against the US dollar and continued its downward spiral before the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) intervened and the currency settled at 61-62 to a dollar. The rupee depreciation bought cheer to the Indian IT-BPM (business process management) industry, which earns a majority of its revenue in US dollars but pays most of its wages and other costs in Indian rupees.

The trend, however, is reversing, say analysts.

“When the rupee declined, it was a short-term strategy and an easy way for IT companies to increase the top line. It was an accidental gain,” said Sanjoy Sen, senior director, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India Pvt. Ltd. He added that “the situation is correcting itself with rupee appreciating...It has appreciated to 58 and can go up to 55 a dollar. This partial correction is going to take away the advantage of the short windfall”.

Akhilesh Tuteja, head, IT advisory at KPMG India, said if the rupee continues to appreciate, it may impact new outsourcing contracts.

“The IT industry has come of age where it is reasonably prepared for dealing with such kind of fluctuations. As it is being anticipated, because of the dollar fall, the revenue can take a hit, but it is a part of life as the relation between dollar and rupee keeps changing,” he said, adding, however, that if the rupee appreciation continues, it may hit IT companies in the long term.

A percentage rise in the rupee affects the margins of IT companies anywhere between 30 and 50 basis points (bps). One basis point is onehundredth of a percentage point.

However, the blow can be softened, say analysts, since many IT companies have long-term contracts and are seeing growth in their international business.

Long-term contracts give IT companies the ability to alter the contract value depending upon how the relationship between the dollar and the rupee changes, according to Tuteja.

IT companies have also been taking some strategic initiatives to grow their international business, including acquisitions and building good relationships with their partners.

“International growth will be linked

to the growth of other countries as well...So over a period of a year, these things will soften the blow of rupee fluctuation. The companies will be hit but the impact will be offset by the domestic economy...as there is a lot of optimism about stable government and government spending going up,” said Sen. Mid-cap IT companies like Persistent Systems Ltd, who do not hedge as much as the big IT firms, believe if the rupee “stays in a certain range”, they will “manage the challenge”.

“In the short term or quarterly basis, there may be an impact as the sentiment has changed with the rupee moving up, but the real challenge for a company or the industry is the volatility of the currency and not where the rupee is right now,” said Mritunjay Singh, chief operating officer and executive director of Persistent Systems.

Singh believes demand may remain robust for outsourcing contracts, because India is not only the “cost-market” with the attractive costs, but also has become a market that is capable of solving a lot more complex problems than before.

- Livemint.com

Maruti Launches CNG Celerio at Rs 4.68 Lakh

BY NANDINI SEN GUPTA CHENNAI: Buoyed by the success of the Celerio, car market leader Maruti Suzuki has introduced Celerio Green, the CNG powered Celerio on Monday. Priced attractively at Rs 4.68 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi), the Celerio Green is available on the VXi trim (manual transmission).

Powered by the factory fitted iGPI technology (intelligent Gas Port Injection) the Bi-fuel Celerio Green delivers a fuel efficiency of 31.79 km/ kg in CNG mode.

“Brand Celerio has received overwhelming response from the market.

The idea of introducing a bi-fuel CNG variant was to strengthen the brand and offer more fuel choices to the customer. We are confident that factory fitted iGPI technology on the Celerio Green will bring all the benefits to customers such as smooth drive and hassle-free maintenance and help us in expanding the Celerio brand,” Manohar Bhat, VP (marketing), said.

Equipped with well-established contemporary iGPI technology, Celerio Green ensures consistently high performance and seamless drive at par with petrol variants. The pres-

ence of dual ECUs ensures delivery of optimum fuel quantity to engine, leading to consistent performance along with improved fuel efficiency.

“Celerio Green has undergone rigorous tests during the course of development and scores high on safety and reliability like any other MarutiSuzuki vehicle,” the company said in a statement.

“In addition, Maruti Suzuki engineers have deftly created smart space in the boot to tuck the spare wheel alongside the CNG tank. This adds to comfort by ensuring easy access to the spare wheel when needed,”

it said.

Celerio Green also enjoys all the Maruti Suzuki standard warranty benefits and will be serviced across all MSIL service network. With Celerio Green, Maruti Suzuki has strengthened its CNG portfolio and offers iGPI technology on six models, Alto 800, Wagon R, Ertiga, SX4 and Eeco. Maruti had Suzuki launched Celerio with the revolutionary Auto Gear

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Shift technology during Auto Expo 2014.

-Times of India

24 May 30, 2014

SPORTS

IPL 2014: Mumbai Pulls Off Stunning Jailbreak vs. RR

Sri Lanka Skillles England For Huge Victory At Oval

BY GEORGE BINOY Mumbai Indians 195 for 5 in 14.4 overs (Anderson 95*) beat Rajasthan Royals 189 for 4 (Samson 74, Nair 50) by five wickets The scenes at the Wankhede Stadium were scarcely believable as Mumbai Indians’ turnaround of a campaign that had begun so disastrously culminated in the most fairy-tale of finishes. As Aditya Tare swung his first ball - James Faulkner’s leg-stump full toss over long leg to give Mumbai the boundary they needed to claw into the playoffs, Rahul Dravid rose from the dugout and flung his Rajasthan Royals cap to the ground as the team he was mentoring completed the most spectacular of meltdowns to lose an un-loseable game.

The shambles that caused Dravid to lose his temper would have broken less-composed men much sooner. Despite the mad-scientist experiments in their last few matches, Royals had gone into this game with a hand full of aces.

Mumbai Indians, having decided to chase, needed to achieve whatever target they were set in 14.3 overs to get ahead on net run rate.

Royals set them 190.

Corey Anderson, whom Mumbai picked in place of fast bowler Marchant de Lange, played the attack-shredding innings he had been bought to play but had failed to produce so far in the tournament. However, when Mumbai needed nine off three deliveries to win in 14.3 overs and qualify for the playoffs, Anderson could manage only a single off Faulkner’s first to move to 95 off 44 balls and take his place at the non-striker’s end.

Faulkner had eight runs to defend off two balls, but that equation lurched heavily in favour of Mumbai when he delivered a leg-stump full toss that Ambati Rayudu smacked over the long-leg boundary. Rayudu then mis-timed what should have been the decisive ball of the match into the covers and would have been run out had Shane Watson hit at the bowler’s end. But the throw was inaccurate and Rayudu was eventually run out attempting the overthrow

Sri Lanka 256 for 8 (Dilshan 88, Priyanjan 43, Gurney 3-59) beat England 99 (Senanayake 4-13, Kulasekara 3-15) by 157 runs On the eve of this one-day international, Sri Lanka’s coach Marvan Atapattu talked of his belief that the team’s fighting spirit would earn them a way back into the series. His charges proved him right in commanding fashion, skittling England for a paltry 99 to condemn them to their heaviest ODI defeat on home soil. Nuwan Kulasekara knocked off the top order and Sachithra Senanayake improved his career-best for the second match running to earn a crushing 157-run victory It required a reverse sweep from James Anderson to take England past their lowest ODI total - 86 against Australia, at Old Trafford in 2001 - and a six over deepbackward square leg from Eoin Morgan to avoid a record runs defeat. Alastair Cook, the injured captain who missed this match meaning Morgan was in charge, could well have been pondering what had changed in the three days since The Oval as he watched on from the balcony.

Sri Lanka’s batting performance was workmanlike in tricky conditions, having been put in. Tillakaratne Dilshan top scored with 88 - his first ODI fifty on English soil - and a sparky contribution from the recalled Ashan Priyanjan, who struck two sixes in a 33-ball 43 after being dropped on 5, revived a flagging innings in the final 10 overs.

Still, a total of 256 did not suggest how one-sided the second half (or quarter) would be. England’s top order was dismantled as Kulasekara took 3 for 1 in 11 deliveries while Lasith Malinga extracted Joe Root’s off stump as the innings slumped to 29 for 4 - it was a score England remained on for 25 deliveries.

England were being outdone by what they would see as their own methods: a hint of seam and swing against batsman with uncertain footwork.

England’s bowlers had, in fact, not used the morning conditions well, failing to find consistency.

Aditya Tare celebrates Mumbai Indians’ stunning win as a dejected Shane Watson walks by, Mumbai Indians v Rajasthan Royals, IPL 2014, Mumbai, May 25, 2014.

that would have given Mumbai all theyneeded.

That moment in the field capped a horrendous match for the Royals captain. Watson’s timing had been incredibly poor during his struggle for 8 off 18 balls after opening the innings, and then he conceded 33 off two wicketless overs. As Mumbai began building the momentum of a runaway train, Watson looked listless and frazzled, and at times Brad Hodge was seen marshalling fielders to their positions.

As Rayudu sank to his knees after his dismissal, gutted because he thought Mumbai had fallen so agonisingly short, chaos broke out around him. Calculators went to work off the field, the batsmen and fielders crowded the umpires

for clarification, and play halted for several minutes. Some Royals players had begun to celebrate - 14.3 overs had been bowled and the scores were only tied, Mumbai had not won - but substitutes ran out with the message that it was not done yet. If Mumbai hit a boundary off the next ball, they would make it. And then Faulkner bowled a staggeringly loose full toss, Tare hit it for six, got in Watson’s face, tugged his jersey over his head and celebrated like a footballer. Beyond the boundary, Dravid threw down his cap.

The hero on the night was the man striding off the field, chest puffed, and wearing a smile as broad as his shoulders. Anderson had played only because Mumbai

were in desperate need of men who could hit a long ball. His teammates - Lendl Simmons, Michael Hussey, Kieron Pollard and Rohit Sharma - came out swinging but soon ran out of steam. Anderson’s guns never stopped firing.

Coming in at 19 for 1, he hammered his first ball - from Watson - to the cover boundary and pulled his second into the crowd beyond deep midwicket. Anderson then watched Kevon Cooper york Hussey and pocket Pollard with a slower ball. Cooper conceded only four runs in the seventh over, leaving Mumbai needing 115 off 45 balls to qualify.

Anderson slog-swept Tambe’s legbreaks and googlies to and over the deep-midwicket boundary and repeatedly pummeled the seamers between long on and long off.

Only 11 of his 95 runs came behind the wicket. In Rayudu, Anderson found an equally aggressive partner and they put on 81 in 5.1 overs.

When Mumbai needed 51 off 21, Rayudu hit three fours and Anderson a fourth in a Watson over to turn the game. Cooper, Tambe and Faulkner were entrusted with the remaining overs to delay Mumbai beyond 14.3, but a battered Royals outfit had no self-belief.

Rohit Sharma, the Mumbai captain, used five bowlers between overs 11 and 15 and Samson and Nair took more than 10 runs of everyone, scoring 75 runs in this period. They carved over the off side and slog-swept over the leg, they played reverse and orthodox shots and they timed everything sweetly.

Samson brought up his 50 off 36 balls and Nair got his in 26; the century stand took only 9.2 overs.

After they fell in the space of four balls in the 15th and 16th over, Royals finally abandoned their inexplicable tactic of preserving Hodge and Faulkner for later.

The Australians finished strongly, and had Royals used them better the previous games, they might have already had their playoff spot before tonight. But they had given Mumbai an opening, and fell to pieces as Anderson broke the door down.

George Binoy is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo

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May 30, 2014

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Modi and I Can Easily Work Together: Nawaz Sharif

BY HARINDER BAWEJA NEW DELHI: Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said on Monday he could easily work with India’s new government led by Narendra Modi, hoping that their personal focus on boosting business could help “turn a new page” in bilateral ties.

In an exclusive interview with HT hours before participating in Modi’s inauguration, Sharif said he was carrying a message of goodwill, love and friendship for the Indian people.

“I am here to turn a new page in India-Pakistan relations,” said the Pakistan prime minister who had fought off stiff opposition from hardliners in his country to make the trip to India. He will hold a bilateral meeting with Modi on Tuesday.

“We (India and Pakistan) have a historic moment to open a new chapter. The new government under Mr Modi has a strong mandate and I look forward to picking up the relationship from where I and (Atal Bihari) Vajpayee left it in 1999.”

In February 1999, then Prime Minister Vajpayee crossed the border at Wagah for summit-level talks with

Sharif, raising hopes of lasting peace between the two countries, but relations nosedived soon after with the two sides fighting a short but brutal war on the heights of Kargil.

On his first official trip to India as prime minster (he last came for Rajiv Gandhi’s funeral), Sharif looked set to drive an agenda of “trade and economics” at his bilateral meeting with Modi on Tuesday.

“I am regarded as a friend of busi-

nessmen and we are regarded as a business-friendly government. Modi too is perceived as a business-friendly person. He has a model of development,” Sharif said.

“We can easily work with each other.”

From time to time, leaders from both sides have identified boosting business and trade as a way to reduce hostility. In particular, Pakistan’s crippling energy deficit has been viewed

as a lucrative opportunity for Indian businesses.

Indeed, Indian companies such as the Adani Group have proposed producing electricity to be sold to Pakistan. But such proposals have not taken off. On Monday, Sharif once again reminded Indian businesses of such opportunities.

“I will be happy to have Indians invest in Pakistan. We have an acute shortage of energy. If Indians come,

they will find Pakistani markets very attractive, with returns as high as 30 percent.” Sharif said.

Asked if he was willing to give an assurance that terrorism would no longer be sponsored from Pakistani soil, a point likely to be taken up at the bilateral meeting between him and Modi, the Pakistani premier struck a positive note.

“We have lost thousands of lives.

Our economy has suffered at the hands of terrorists. Who can be more serious than us regarding eliminating terror from the region,” Sharif said, seated in the VIP suite at Delhi’s Taj Mansingh hotel.

Sharif took care to avoid answering any questions relating to his relationship with his army chief or statements issued by jihadi hardliners such as Hafiz Saeed, who had warned the Pakistani premier against coming to India.

“Let us focus on opening a new chapter and remove fears and misgivings about each other,” he said.

“We have strong mandates on both sides and need to look forward.”

-Hindustan Times

Un Condemns Attack on Indian Consulate in Afghanistan

The UN today condemned the attack on the Indian consulate in the Afghan city of Herat in which four heavily-armed gunmen launched an assault.

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UNITED NATIONS: The UN today condemned the attack on the Indian consulate in the Afghan city of Herat in which four heavily-armed gunmen launched an assault on the complex and were subsequently killed in an encounter.

“We obviously condemn these attacks whether on civilians or on diplomatic representations,” UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon’s spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters here.

The Indian consulate in Herat was attacked today by four heavily-armed gunmen, who were subsequently killed in an encounter as India attributed the pre-dawn strike to terror elements “beyond the borders” of the war-torn country.

All Indian diplomatic staff and local personnel inside the two-building

complex were unharmed in the attack that was repulsed by India’s ITBP and Afghan security forces.

The gunmen, carrying rocketpropelled grenades and machine guns, opened fire on the consulate.

One attacker was killed while climbing the wall to enter the premises of the Consulate which also houses the residence of the consul general, Indian ambassador to Afghanistan Amar Sinha said.

The assault on the Indian consulate comes just days ahead of the May 26 swearing-in of India’s Prime Minister-elect Narendra Modi, an event whichAfghan President Hamid Karzai is scheduled to attend.

India has invested more than $2 billion in Afghan projects, including those of roads and power.

Karzai and Modi today spoke about

the attack and the Afghan President assured him that “he will do everything to protect India’s missions in Afghanistan.”

Modi also spoke with the Indianambassador to Afghanistan and assured support for the staff at the consulate.

-Times of India

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ENTERTAINMENT

Movie Review: Kochadaiiyaan Thalaivar Rajinikanth’s much touted comeback on the silver screen, Kochadaiiyaan, is here. Is it worth the fan frenzy? Not really.

Kochadaiiyaan is the story of great warrior Kochadaiiyaan Rana Ranvijay (Rajinikanth), who wins the trust of king Mahendra (Jackie Shroff) of Kalingpuri, but breaks it soon to free the slaves from his motherland Kottaipattinum.

Soon, we discover that Rana has a hostile history with Kottaipattinum king Rishikodagan (south actor Nasser).

Rishkodagan’s son Sengodan (R Sarathkumar) is Rana’s friend and marries Thalaivar’s sister, which makes the king furious.

Rishodagan’s daughter Vadana (Deepika

Padukone) loves Rana and the film traces the struggle of the lovers amid warring royals and breaking trusts.

Debutante director Soundarya Rajinikanth Ashwin opens the film on a high note and packages the film with high-octane drama and action.

The first half of the film is gripping and keeps you o n the tenterhooks.

The makers start off with footage of Rajinikanth, Soundarya

and Deepika Padukone working on the project. The movie then begins with Amitabh Bachchan’s narration, initiating the audience into the story.

Rajinikanth makes his entry in the typical superhero style - galloping on his horse between hilltops as he practically flies between the cliffs.

However, the animated format - motion capture picture technology notwithstanding – is not the same thing as watching Rajini in flesh.

This period drama loses its pace in the second half, as it is dragged down by action and too many grand scenes, dances and battles.

Watching the film does not really give you the high you expect from watching Rajinikanth in 3D. In the Hindi version, the high sounding and overtly dramatic dialogues is another downer. Sample a few: “Ye dard waqt ke aankh mein aansu ban ke jam gaya.”

Deepika inspects a statue of Rajinikanth, Rana the fighter, and says, “Itne chikne gaal jaise mere chumban ke liye banaye gaye ho.”

Watch Kochadaiiyaan for the vivid motion capture technology and Rajini’s tandav in the second half. But be warned, an overkill of patriotism, courage and friendship may leave you bored.

-Times of India

Aishwarya Rai Nails her Cannes Look in Yet Another Cavalli Gown

MUMBAI: Bollywood beauty Aishwarya Rai Bachchan opted for a white fishtail Roberto Cavalli gown for her second red carpet appearance at the Cannes film festival.

The former Miss World teamed up her silvery white gown with diamond jewellery and soft loose curls framing her face.

Her make-up had a hint of blue and heavily lined eyes.

The beaded number featured a plunging neckline, shimmery tassels and a diamond pattern. The silhouette

echoed her earlier outfit, which was dual toned golden gown.

The 40-year-old actress, whose red carpet choices at Cannes have often garnered mixed response, made a glamorous first appearance by flaunting her newly thin figure at the red carpet yesterday in a golden fishtail Cavalli gown which she teamed up with red lips.

The star, who is accompanied by her two-year-old daughter Aaradhya and mother Brinda Rai at the 67th Cannes Film Festival, was to make

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an appearance earlier but her trip to the red carpet got delayed last week due to the Air Traffic Control strike in France.

Aishwarya has been a regular at Cannes thanks to her stint as the L’Oreal Paris brand ambassador. It is her 13th festival appearance.

Other Indian celebrities who graced this year’s red carpet at Cannes were Sonam Kapoor, Freida Pinto, Uday Chopra and Mallika Sherawat.

-Hindustan Times

May 30, 2014

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