E newspaper08302013

Friday, August 30 2013 | Vol. 32, No. 35

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Indo American erican News The Show Will Go On ! www.indoamerican-news.com Published weekly from Houston, TX

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The Value of Friends Helping Friends P12

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Years 40

of the ICC

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Many Dances, One Body; Many Emotions, One Stage; Many Celebrations… One Life – the words took form in real life as nearly a hundred Naach dancers took stage at the Stafford Centre on August 22.

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40 Years On, ICC Looks Back with Pride with Musical Extravaganza, I-Day Program

BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA STAFFORD: Even as many of the Presidents from all the previous years stood onstage to accept recognition for their work, it was a wonder that forty years had passed by since the India Culture Center came to take a hold of events near and dear to the community’s heart.

Four of them had passed away – Dr. Harb S. Hayre, Dr. K. L. Sindwani, Dr. Paul Mehta and Keshu Patel - but as the current President, P. V. Patel said from the podium, “individually we don’t count”.

Forty years earlier, this was a small community of perhaps 5,000 - mostly students, some engineers and doctors - trying to get started in their careers. Once a month, they would hold movie nights at the Agnes Arnold Hall Auditorium of the University of Houston: someone would run the projector (invariably the film would get cut midway through) and 200 people would show up for a chance to meet, exchange gossip and buy the $1 a piece samosas that someone would make at home to help pay for the movie’s rental and shipping costs to and from New York.

To the Indian mind, banding together seemed the way to go as the ICC was born, and then stayed on for years in a converted, one-story wood frame house on Cypress Street across from the Vivekananda Society’s similar structure that the Sindwanis owned. “It was the community center for all”, added Patel, and was the standard bearer for all the major Indian events.

As the community grew, many groups splintered away and with varying degrees of success and attendance, the ICC held onto its signature events, the Republic Day and Independence Day celebrations. When Indian dignitaries came to visit – like Prime Ministers Rajiv Gandhi and Narasimha

ICC President P. V. Patel (left). The ICC parade float (center) was followed by the parade walkers representing the ICC. Photos : Jawahar Malhotra.

Rao and President Kalam – the ICC was the go-to organization to organize and deliver community meetings.

That’s the path that the ICC has taken as it has evolved over the past 15 years, becoming the umbrella organization for all the other groups, bringing them together, “especially during calamities, like the recent death of four fire fighters’, recounted Patel. “The ICC has always been in the forefront of helping victims of disasters and tragedies. We all got together and delivered a check for $57,000 to Mayor Annise Parker to help the bereaved families.”

Mustering the forty or so organizations to work together, while not interfering in their goals can be frustratingly hard work, admitted Patel but as the community continues to grow in numbers, businesses and affiliations, it is clear to them all that they must have a single coherent voice.

Patel spoke about his own jour-

ney in carrying for a sick wife who died seven years ago, alone raising two songs who have graduated with good careers, and thanking the many people who helped him.

“When you do public work, God pays you back ten times over,” he said, ending with a paraphrase from the Lebanese-born poet and philosopher Khalil Gibran best known for his 1923 book The Prophet, “A life without inspiration is no good, inspiration without knowledge is useless, knowledge without hard work has no value, hard work without love is worthless.”

Patel didn’t want to stand any further between the half-filled auditorium at the Stafford Civic Centre on Cash Road and the performer they waited on for the evening, Jatin Pandit who had come with his troupe of 30 singers, musicians and staff to perform at ICC’s musical night extravaganza celebrating its 40th anniversary.

Earlier in the evening of Friday,

August 23, the crowd of about 600 had been treated to a buffet dinner catered by Ashiana restaurant in the large meeting hall next door and then had sauntered over to see the live program, emceed by ICC Board member Jasmeeta Singh, herself a talented choreographer and dancer.

Just after the musicians took their seats and struck up the chords, the young singers Reya, Nauzad and Khushi started to warm up the crowd with a medley of songs from now and yesteryear, with Reya, dressed in purple opening with a stylistically modern version of the bhajan Ragupati Ragav Raja Ram. Khushi, dressed in yellow joined in with a tribute to Lata Mangeshkar, Aaja Reh, Pardesi, sounding a great deal like the legend herself.

Nauzad, dressed in a white coat and dark pants strode onstage and cracked a joke about the exchange rate of the Indian rupee, which almost matches the number of years

of independence. “At the 50th anniversary, it was down to 50!” he quipped. He then dove into Dil Hai Hindistani. All three were animated, energetic and lively in their deliveries, getting the audience to clap along. Then, Nauzad sang a number with Khushi from Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, a Jatin-Lalit musical (“the movie has played for 900 weeks in a local Bombay theatre”, he revealed), Tujhe Dekha Toh Yeh Jana Sanam.

“And now let me introduce to you the Monarch of Melody,” exclaimed Nauzad as Jatin Pandit strode onstage, looking suave in a gold-sequined black shirt and black pants. The other half of the Jatin-Lalit composing brothers duo who split up working together in 2006, he revealed little tit-bits of gossip from the Bollywood music scene which drew the audience’s rapt attention. He reminisced about one of his idols,

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The Show Must Go On… and It Will!

BY MALAY VYAS STAFFORD: Many Dances, One Body; Many Emotions, One Stage; Many Celebrations… One Life – the words took form in real life as nearly a hundred Naach dancers took stage at the Stafford Centre on August 22. A near full house crowd on a weekday was enthralled by different dance genres from Bollywood to Contemporary by dancers of various age groups from six to sixty five touching on subjects as varied as Mumbai Riots to rise of hip hop in urban alleys of USA. Naach is a celebration of life and that’s what the evening led to.

Since its inception as an independent dance studio in December 2012, the team at Naach dreamed about its own production and despite of all the growing pains, there was no stopping Naach – the event was aptly titled “The Show Must Go On”, an analogy to life’s challenges – no matter what, life goes on. From ticket printing to arranging for props, lights, fog machines, from seeking sponsors to getting involved in spreading the word on social media, the Naach team overcame one hurdle after another to set up the show.

On the creative front, of course, Naach is blessed with some of the best choreographers and students in Houston. Together, the idea was to create a carnival of celebrations through dance.

A carnival it was, as the show opened with about thirty dancers with various props from hula hoops to ice wings, cartwheels to circus moves, all tuned to the beats of ‘Baawre’ from ‘Luck By Chance’ simulating the circle of life. As the audience settled down from this Rajasthani ensemble number, we embarked on a picnic with Naach juniors performing ‘Jungle mein Mangal’ depicting the age of innocence. Act 2 shifted gears into the rise of anti-establishment culture

Glimpses of the Naach Houston show, that took place at the Stafford Centre on August 22.

Photos: Navin Mediwala

in suburban USA with street side hip hop, face off and how dance helped the youth channel their aggressive energy creatively into positive ways to transform their lives.

Act 3 was focused on Madhuri Dixit, the queen of Bollywood.

From the memories of Ek Do Teen to her with her modern day avatar as a television dance show judge, the dancers emulated Madhuri Dixit on stage. As the audiCONTINUED ON PAGE

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OBITUARY Vasant Shah

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Long time Houston resident, Vasant Shah, passed away on August 6, 2013 at her home at the age of 72. She preferred to be called Vasantben or Spring, the translation of her name in English.

Vasantben was born in Palitana, India on July 11, 1941. She was one of six children born to Nemchand B. and Personben Sheth. She graduated from high school in 1960 and lived in Palitana until her marriage to Dr. Kirtikumar T. Shah of Ahmedabad, India in 1964. Their eldest son Saurabh was born in Ahmedabad in 1966.

In 1968, Vasantben and her husband, moved to the United States and spent their first five years in Cleveland, Ohio before finally settling in Houston in 1973.

A daughter, Gopi, and the youngest son, Baiju, were born in Houston in 1977 and 1978, respectively.

She lived an extraordinary life that could not have been anticipated as a young girl growing up in Palitana, a small town in India.

She was a devoted mother and homemaker who put the highest priority on family life. Being part of the Sheth and Shah families was a source of great pride for Vasantben and being around family members gave her so much joy. She loved her husband, children, grandchildren, brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews and would always assist them if anybody ever in need of help. She would not miss a wedding, whether in America or India.

Her guiding principle in life was always to find ways to help and never to cause harm. Her glow was obvious from the moment you met her and it lit up wherever she went.

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Born as a Jain, she was deeply religious, followed the Jain principles and ensured that her husband and three children maintained a vegetarian diet. Each week, she visited the Houston Jain Temple and annually donated to the Temple to help and encourage Jain children to attend Sunday school (Pathshala). In addition, Vasant maintained her Indian cultural values and taught her three children to be fluent in Gujarati. She enjoyed serving as an informal ambassador of India’s customs and culture to the larger community in Houston.

Vasantben enjoyed new experiences, learning new things and visiting new places. From that small town in India, her life’s journey took her to over 20 countries. She had many talents. She will be remembered for her independence, her curiosity, her creativity (in cooking, in oil painting, in jewelry-making, in arts and crafts and in many other ways that made our lives richer). Her sense of style, hospitality and generosity always left a lasting impression. She always kept herself busy by developing new interests.

This was Vasantben’s 40th year in Houston and she was deeply rooted in Houston’s Indian community and its social, civic, charitable and religious activities. She was very generous in nature and donated to multiple charities. She loved to be around people and was always so happy to see her many, many friends.

She was the founder and president of the Houston Gujarati Ladies Club for more than 25 years and was a long standing member of the Houston Bead Society, Houston Porcelain Society, and the Houston branch of the American Sewing Guild.

She enjoyed teaching others her cooking, jewelry making and sewing techniques.

There was nowhere else she would rather have lived than in her adopted hometown, Houston, Texas.

Vasantben was fortunate enough to live the life she wanted and accomplished nearly everything that was important to her.

She is survived by her husband, Dr. K.T. Shah, her three children, Saurabh Shah, Gopi Shah and Baiju Shah, her daughterin-law, Vinisha Patel and her two grandchildren Keval and Vikram Shah.

A memorial service remembering the life of Vasantben was held at the Bayou City Events Center on August 10.

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ISKCON Houston Celebrated Balaram Purnima

BY GANGA NARAYAN DAS HOUSTON: ISKCON Houston grandly celebrated Balaram Purnima (Appearance day of Lord Balaram) on Aug 20. This annual festival falls on the full moon night right before the appearance of Krsna.

Balaram is known as the elder brother of Krsna and the son of Rohini. Garga Muni, the royal priest of the Yadu dynasty, gave three names to the son of Rohini: since he would be very pleasing to everyone, his name would be Rama. Because he would possess unlimited strength, he would be called Baladeva. And finally, the third name given by Garga Muni was, Sankarshana.

Someone may ask, can God have a brother? The answer is, yes, He can have a brother. He can have a mother as well as a father and friends. In fact, we notice these relationships amongst us, within this material realm, only because they first exist in the spiritual world.

But unlike ours, which begin and end with the body, these are not material relationships. These are completely spiritual relationships.

These spiritual relationships or “rasas” are unique to the Vedic theology. God or Krsna has a unique relationship with every individual soul. The basis of that relationship is loving devotional service,

Photos: Nagalla Nagaraj

although, the expression of that relationship may differ from soul to soul. There are five primary rasas or relationships which Krsna enjoys with His devotees: shantya rasa (neutrality), dasya rasa (servitude), sakhya rasa (friendship), vatsalya rasa (parental) and madhurya rasa (conjugal). For example, Hanuman is considered as a devotee in the mood of servitude or dasya rasa, and Arjuna is considered as a devotee in mood of friendship or sakhya rasa. The gopis of Vrindavan relate to Krishna in a conjugal relationship.

Balaram is also called Adisesha. Adi means the foremost and sesha means servant. So Balaram

is considered the foremost servant of Lord Krsna. He loves to serve Krsna so much that he serves Krsna in all the five rasas. In shantya rasa, Balaram expands as the paraphernalia of Krsna - flute, slippers, crown, jewellery, bed, etc. Even the abode of the Lord’s descent is an expansion of Balaram for his service in shantya rasa. In sakhya rasa, Balaram joins Krsna in playing games with the cowherd boys of Vrindavan. They steal butter together and fight demons as a team.

In vaatsalya rasa, Balaram relates to Krishna as the elder brother who sometimes corrects Krishna. In madhurya rasa, Balaram expands as Ananga Manjiri, the younger

sister of Srimati Radharani.

Balaram represents spiritual strength. He provides the capacity to carry our devotional service. Lord Balaram is the original spiritual master. The various spiritual masters derive their spiritual strength from Balaram! Thus is the exalted position of Lord Balaram.

On the very auspicious day of the appearance of Lord Balaram, the devotees pray to Lord Balaram to give them the strength to face the waves of material existence and carry on their journey of spiritual realization with determination. It is customary for devotees of Krishna undertake a complete fast untill noon and spend that time chanting and hearing the glories of Lord Balaram. The joyous occasion was graced by the auspicious presence

of His Holiness Romapada Swami who made a PowerPoint presentation on the appearance and pastimes of Lord Balaram. Devotees sang Kirtans to their hearts content and finally concluded the festival with a delicious prasadam (food offered to Krsna) feast.

Actual day of Sri Krishna Janmashtami was on Aug 28 but ISKCON Houston will conduct a public celebration of the Janmashtami festival on Sun, Sep 1, from 5:30pm, with a bonanza of cultural activities, dramas and dances. We take this opportunity to welcome all of you to ISKCON Houston, Hare Krishna Dham (1320 W 34th Street, Houston TX – 77018, www.iskconhouston.org, 713-686-4482) to take part in Janmastami celebrations.

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An Enchanting Evening at Upma’s Dedicated To Music

Upma Shah (right) with Omkar Dave.

MISSOURI CITY: At the beautiful home of Mukulesh and Upma Shah, it was again dedication to artistry of local artists and a night to remember! The venue was the same, the excitements and fervor were the same but the artists, this time, were different. Remember Mauli Dave? The glamour girl who is an Indian singer, actor, dancer, and television host? She was a finalist on Zee TV’s Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2007? Well, this time it was the source of her success who performed, none other than the family of Mauli!

Her family – mom Dipti, dad Hemant and brother Omkar are just as talented. Dipti, a natural born artist who runs a Bharatnatyam school in Clear Lake, has been active in singing and dancing right from her school years; and her unique voice gives a special feeling to songs.

By profession, Omkar is an orthopedic surgeon in his last year of residency in sports medicine

Photo: Navin Mediwala

in Jackson, Mississippi. He has learned Hindustani classical vocal and the tabla, the bharatnatyam (he completed his Arangetram) and did a minor in western music for his undergraduate degree. He also plays the table, mrudangam and violin and is a composer and a musician. He has produced a CD of bhajans - Prabhu Taare Pagathiye - in Gujarati and Hindi for which he composed and did the musical arrangement. Has also created music for another CD - Flashback to Rafi - of Rafi songs by his father and sister Mauli.

Hemant is a well known singer in the Houston area. He has Hindustani classical music background, and has been singing since his childhood, represented his college in youth festivals, performed at many musical and Raas/Garba programs and has two CDs - Prabhu Taare Pagathiye and Flashback to Rafi - to his credit.

The Daves performed at Upma

Shah’s home on Sunday, August 25 and mesmerized the audience with ghazals, songs and bhajans from a bygone era. Hemant has emulated the late playback legends Mohammed Rafi and Mukesh so beautifully that it brought back sweet memories of the golden era of the 50s and 60s to the audience. Dipti also sang some songs and accompanied him.

The most unusual performer was Omkar, who is widely known as “Mauli’s brother”. He was born in Ahmedabad, Gujarat but came to the US with his parents, but then later went back to Ahmedabad, only to come back again to the US to pursue a professional career in medicine. Omkar sang a unique blend of Gujarati and Hindi songs and took the crowd by storm. He sang several songs written and composed by Avinash Vyas including, Ame Amadavadi and Madi Taru Kanku Kharyu.

This tall, young, handsome and talented young man surely broke the hearts of many “aunties” when he announced that he is married!

The artists were accompanied by on the table and electric piano by Jayendra and Amarish Prabhukots, a father and son team who have always risen to the occasion to play backup musicians. What makes it even more special is that young Amerish was playing Bollywood songs which were popular long before he was born!

The Show Must Go On… and It Will!

– the studio is

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ence was transported back to the rhythms of the 1990’s Bollywood; the seniors took on stage in Act 4. Naach’s Senior Kid’s batch as they are fondly called; Vinod and Vijay Bhuchar took to the stage with Subodh & Sonal Bhuchar, Chetan & Shefali Jhaveri, Sunil and Sandhya Thakkar along with Dilip Kanabar proving that age is just a number and when it comes to Naach, everyone is a child at heart.

Religious harmony has been a theme for many a Bollywood movie and Act 5 brought that to the stage in a dance form. Humanity across various religious forms was depicted through contemporary and sufi genres of dance. Unity led to respect for diversity as act 5 moved into regional songs, Marathi, Tamil, Gujarati and Punjabi songs highlighting the flavor of unity in diversity at Naach Houston.

Continuing with the theme of community, Act 6 set tone with the ‘mehfil’ settings with dancers sitting in far corners of the stage – joining in as the songs changed.

Popular item numbers dotted this segment as the pace picked up to the final crescendo in Act 7 when the show came back a full circle to the carnival atmosphere in line with Naach’s philosophy that in every end, there is a new beginning. The finale end pose (picture on page 1) is a show of hands depicting Naach Houston reaching out to the audience and the community.

Mahesh Mahbubani’s first independent production was a grand success. In his true inimitable modest style, when Mahesh (picture in white on page 1) took the mike during the break – all he said was please wait for the next two acts – there is more for you. Naach Houston always has more instore

more than a dance school, it is a sanctuary for people of all ages, cultures, races and nationalities – a space to evoke positivity and creativity through power of movement in Dance. Naach is a reality; it is a dream come true. Naach has arrived but the journey has just begun, there is more coming from Mahesh Mahbubani and Naach. So watch this space and until then…

Love, Peace, Naach.

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The Value of Friends Helping Friends Comes Together at Annual Fundraiser

BY MANU SHAH HOUSTON: Har ek dost zaroori hota hai (Every friend is important) – goes the jingle of a well know Indian Hindi commercial and no one can attest to this better than some of the people who have been helped by Friends Helping Friends, a non-profit organization that helps those who need medical care and medical financial assistance.

FHF had an innocuously interesting beginning and was born in the living room of the Ahluwalias in 2001. Their daughter, Dimple, needed a stem cell transplant and despite insurance, the mounting medical bills were nothing short of a nightmare. A visit by three friends – Panna Bhatia, Shobha Wenger and Dr. Neera Bhutani turned into a discussion on how to raise the money for the surgery and a fundraiser was planned to raise these much needed funds.

Without losing any time – the three set to work getting in touch with friends and thus was born the name – Friends Helping Friends.

To their pleasant surprise, the first fundraiser was a runaway success with the community coming together in a show of solidarity and the evening raising $80,000!

Dimple’s treatment began in full earnest and today Dimple is, as one Board Member put it “the driving force behind FHF”. From being a friend who was helped, Dimple became the friend who was now doing the helping, but due to health reasons she was sorely missed at this year’s fundraiser organized.

Held at the group’s traditional venue - Maggiano’s on Post Oak – on Sunday, August 25, almost 180 people gathered to raise funds and show their support for the work that FHF does. Board Member Bhatia, started the evening off with an apt quote from Mother Theresa about giving generously.

The popular Meena Datt, host of the long-running Music of India and Ghungroo radio shows, was the emcee for the evening. She

FHF Board member Panna Bhatia with Comedy Central comedian Erin Jackson who performed her routine on Sunday evening.

welcomed the gathering and with her easy, breezy style lightened the mood with a few well-chosen jokes.

President Jason Borillo gave a short presentation about the work FHF does and noted that Texas has the dubious distinction of being the most uninsured state in America!

With budget cuts and reduction of uncompensated care, medical help for the uninsured is a huge stumbling block. In a PowerPoint presentation, several people who had been helped by FHF with medical and financial aid to tackle their problems spoke emotionally about being given a second lease of life and as one lady put it, “FHF saved my life”.

Dr. Bhutani, the first President of FHF also thanked the gathering for their support and recognized people like Dr. Rajinder and Prabha Bhalla and Dr. Ravi Mani who helped the organization with their pro-bono support. She urged everyone to “open their wallets and hearts and give generously, as every little bit helps”. Her plea didn’t go in vain as $45,000 was collected during the evening!

After dinner, the evening ended with Comedy Central stand-up comedian Erin Jackson, who took just a few seconds to connect with the crowd and have them laughing at her sparkling humor. Her inspiration is Bill Cosby and a testament to this claim was her onehour routine that was good clean fun. She poked fun at herself for losing 33 pounds calling it “meeting Jesus halfway” and kept the jokes coming on a range of topics like her embarrassing dates, black stereotypes, her large riotous family and gymnasiums which offered a “free pizza night” to keep their clientele coming back!

A silent auction was also organized which attracted a fair bit of attention. There were tickets to various shows, beauty products and a host of other items but as usual the wine baskets had the most bidders! At the conclusion of a highly successful evening the winners were announced by Board Member Jonjie Bernardo.

For further information, call 281-488-0124 or check their website FriendHelpingFriend.org

At the FHF fundraiser, from left Dr. Ravi Mani, Jason Borillo, President FHF, emcee Meena Datt, of Music of India radio show and Dr. Neera Bhutani, FHF Board member.

A painting by Dr. Anju Syal, who has been on the FHF Board, was displayed in the silent auction.

Photos: Jawahar Malhotra

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August 30, 2013

Notice of Public Hearing

Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, TX (METRO) Notice is hereby given that the Board of Directors of the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, TX (METRO) will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, September 4, 2013, at noon, to receive public comment about proposed service changes. The proposed service changes include: Implementation of METRORail’s Red Line Extension to Northline Transit &HQWHU GLVFRQWLQXDWLRQ RI URXWH URXWH DQG VFKHGXOH PRGL¿FDWLRQV WR URXWHV 24 and 79 (December 2013).

Discontinuation of service on routes 216 West Little York – Pinemont and 219 Northwest Station – West Little York – Pinemont to and from the Pinemont Park & Ride lot, and closure of the Pinemont Park & Ride lot (January 2014).

7KH SXEOLF KHDULQJ ZLOO EH KHOG LQ WKH 0(752 %RDUG 5RRP RQ WKH QG ÀRRU DW 1900 Main Street in Houston, TX (served by METRO routes 3, 9, 11, 15, 24, 30, 44, 52, 56, 60, 66, 77, 78, 79, 88, 102, 108, 137, 249, and METRORail). The meeting will also be streamed live on www.RideMETRO.org.

Copies of proposed timetables and maps will be available Friday, August 23, 2013, for public review at the following locations: • Online - RideMETRO.org • METRO Administration Building - 1900 Main Street, Houston, TX 77002 from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. weekdays, and at our three METRO Outreach 2I¿FHV ORFDWHG DW ş /DV 3DOPDV 6KRSSLQJ &HQWHU DW +DUULVEXUJ VHUYHG E\ URXWH

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How to Comment about the Service Change You may attend the public hearing, or write to us at METRO, 1900 Main Street, Houston, TX 77002. Include “ATTN: December 2013 Service Changes� as appropriate. You may also fax your comments to 713-652-7956 with a subject line referencing the December 2013 Service Changes, or call METRO’s Customer Service line at 713-635-4000 with your comments. Visit METRO’s website at RideMETRO.org to make comments. Comments should be received by METRO no later than the date and time of the public hearing.

Help for People with Disabilities For individuals with disabilities, assistive services or copies of public documents in an alternate format can be provided. Please call 713-750-4271 or 713-635 IRU SHUVRQV ZLWK D KHDULQJ LPSDLUPHQW D PLQLPXP RI ÂżYH ZRUNLQJ days prior to the public hearing.

Language Interpretation Any person who requires language interpretation or special communication accommodations is encouraged to contact METRO Community Outreach at 713-739-4018, or via email at km13@ridemetro.org. Every reasonable effort will be made to accommodate your needs.

1. This public hearing conforms to requirements described in the Federal Transit Administration’s Circular 9030.1D, published May 1, 2010, page IV-13.

2. METRO does not discriminate on the basis of disability in the admission or access to, or in treatment or employment in, its services, programs, and activities.

3. METRO is committed to ensuring that no person is excluded from SDUWLFLSDWLRQ LQ RU GHQLHG WKH EHQHÂżWV RI LWV WUDQVLW VHUYLFHV RQ WKH EDVLV of race, color, or national origin, as protected by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

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August 30, 2013

New Hospice to Offer Considerate Care for the Terminally Ill in Sugar Land

BY MANU SHAH SUGAR LAND: Two of the most dreaded words one hopes never to hear are “terminal illness”, especially in relation to oneself or a loved one. This is usually followed by a host of bewildering decisions that need to be taken - like the right physician, hospice care, insurance matters and confounding medical terminology – none of them easy or simple.

Pearland-based Altus Healthcare Management Services is stepping in to fill the needs of the termi-

nally ill in Sugar Land by opening a new hospice with an in-patient unit in approximately 8 months.

The company held the facility’s groundbreaking ceremony last Thursday, August 22.

The term “hospice” refers to a service that provides medications, equipment, hospital services and additional help, either in the comfort of your home or at an inpatient unit, when life expectancy is about 6 months or less. Patients are referred by their doctors to a hospice and the service is usually covered

Art23

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by Medicare.

Altus Healthcare was founded in 2004 with a novel concept of “empowering physicians”. In short, it allows physicians to invest and become partners at their centers and once operational, doctors focus on practicing medicine and taking care of patients while ZT Wealth, Altus’ sister concern, handles the day to day administration, marketing and cash management. Altus has had a dream run opening several hospices, imaging, surgery and sleep centers in Texas, employing over 800 people and generating $150 million of revenues.

Altus’ strength lies in being patient focused and creating a plan of care that is tailored to the unique needs of the individual and their family. This is overseen by a care team of highly trained healthcare professionals who work in tandem with the patient’s primary physician to ensure that the patient receives the best possible care.

The ground breaking ceremony comprised of the Altus team who were welcomed by Executive VP for Marketing and Business Development Cruize Gaj. He was quick to recognize the efforts of all the people who had made the event possible, starting with David Redman, Sr. VP of Business Development who said this was a rewarding culmination of three years of hard work.

Gaj welcomed Bridget Yeung, Mayor Pro-Tem of Sugar Land who remarked that a community is

known by how it treats its elderly and that she was glad that Altus was opening this much needed facility and offered all the help possible from the City.

Former Mayor Dave Wallace, now a Board Member of Altus Healthcare, described by Gaj as “one of the best people to have in your corner”, said he was appreciative of the jobs the facility would create and the healthcare it would provide for the residents of Sugar Land. “Detractors may complain that the wheels of the Government are not working fast enough,” Wallace said, “but I believe that the “City of Sugar Land is the best oiled machine there is.”

Exuding poise and confidence with a disarmingly friendly demeanor, the young 38 year-old co-founder, President and CEO of AHMS/ZT Wealth, Taseer Badar spoke a few words at the event.

Badar’s is a one of a kind success story. A born entrepreneur, he

encountered his fair share of hiccups and detours – but they were lessons that only made him wiser and smarter. Today, as the leader of one of the most rapidly growing healthcare companies in Texas, he believes that it is even more important to “stay humble and stay the course”.

Dr. Dominic Sresta, a practitioner of Internal Medicine, Hospice Care and Palliative Medicine and one of the prominent partners in this venture was emphatic about the high level of care that would be offered to patients at the soonto-be-built facility. “Patients would be treated with a combination of medical expertise and compassion,” he said, “that would ease the final days of their life. At the end of the speeches, all the partners put on their hardhats, picked up ceremonial shovels and walked over for the ground breaking ceremony.

40 Years On, ICC Looks Back CONTINUED FROM PAGE

3

the late Mohammed Rafi and how Rafi would often discreetly leave behind huge sums of money while visiting composers on the pretense of having tea, “because he knew that they didn’t make the kind of money singers did.”

Jatin slid into several Rafi songs, starting with Aase Toh Na Dekho, noting that the old songs still had an audience overseas but couldn’t do so in India. “I have been coming to Houston since 1983”, he remarked, “and it is just a nicer, cleaner version of India! You get all the desi food, lots of mandirs … and a lot of love from you all.”

He explained how Majnu Sultanpuri used to write songs to tunes and broke off into Diwana Mujse Nahin. After singing the Rafi Hai Duniya Usi Ki, he talked about Kishore Kumar, Yash Chopra and sang Zara Sa Jhoom Loon Main in a duet with Khushi before taking a break.

The backup singers then turned to dance music, with Khushi singing an Arabic, belly-dance inspired song from the movie Guru, using

her voice to its whole range, with long guttural notes and swaying, moving to the drumbeat. This was probably the best number she performed. Then along with Nauzad and Reya, they sang Hare Rama, Hare Krishna. The concert continued on till close to midnight and the performers all stayed in the city for the weekend, Jatin leaving on Monday.

Two days later, on Sunday, August 26, the same venue hosted the 67th Independence Day celebration with the usual parade around the parking lot just before a brief rain shower, speeches from local dignitaries and politicians, community awards and 36 service and food booths. The morning session till about 2 pm didn’t draw in many people, with the organizers, volunteers and vendors outnumbering the crowd. But the afternoon saw the largest attendance, perhaps about 1,000 people, as the entertainment show featuring many local kids, artists and performers came onstage to participate in the cultural shows, ending by 7 pm.

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18 August 30, 2013 Food Security with Growth It took an arduous journey of more than four years, but the National Food Security Bill is set to pass parliamentary scrutiny.

The Lok Sabha has approved it already; the Rajya Sabha will also do so soon. The food security Bill guarantees 67% of the Indian population — 75% in rural and 50% in urban areas — a certain amount of food grain at highly subsidised prices.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who has made food security the central piece of her political programme, counted four other rights that have already been enacted by the UPA government since it came to power in 2004. Information, work and education are statutorily guaranteed; traditional dwellers have certain rights over forests. And now, food has become a right for the poorer sections.

The food security bill has been criticized from diametrically opposite perspectives — some say it is too little and we need to do more; some say it is an unnecessary splurge and must be avoided. The first group says any meaningful food security must account for nutritional requirements; the second one says this will hurt the already ailing economy more. In the limited sense, both are valid points.

But the truth — as all truths about India — is more complex.

While the economic progress that India achieved in the last two decades has been enviable, our track record in terms of human development is rather pitiable.

India’s basic social indicators have worsened even as we recorded higher growth rates. Bangladesh, which grew much more slowly, has overtaken India in many fields such as life expectancy, child survival and fertility rates.

Only a healthy, educated and informed society can progress.

Moreover, extreme levels of inequity could make our society dysfunctional and unstable. State intervention is essential to deal with these developmental challenges and the food security Bill is one such.

There is a possibility that the Congress will not gain much political benefit from food security, since the concentration of poor in India is in regions where the Congress hardly exists — such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal. Moreover, the regional satraps in such places will package these schemes as their own, to the disadvantage of the Congress.

That said, policy-makers — and the Congress particularly — must take note of the fact that such welfare measures would not be possible if the economy is not robust. Finance minister P Chidambaram has said that the cost of food security will not result in fiscal deficits above the redline of 4.8% of the gross domestic product (GDP).

But if the current weaknesses persist, things may not be the same in the coming years. Therefore, there is a strong case for pitching for reforms and growth — it is the poor of India who needs them more. Welfare and growth must feed into each other rather than be pitched as contradictory demands.

Hindustan Times

EDITORIAL

Both a Prince and Pauper

The side-by-side slum and luxury high-rise apartments reveals the dramatic contrast between the rich and poor in India.

BY PRESENJIT CHOUDHURY

I agree with Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi that poverty is a state of mind and that it does not mean the scarcity of food, dollars or onions. So whenever I hear about top brands setting up shop here, I am pleased.

The thought that India has about 55 US dollar billionaires (2013 figure), next only to the United States, Russia, China and Germany and that our luxury market is projected to reach $14.7 billion in 2015 makes me proud — distorted, you would say, in view of the stark tales of inequalities in our country — but I cannot help it.

Legend has it that Rolls-Royce, by far the most sought-after marque in the royal garages of the princely states, once had to pay the price for slighting India. The British company refused to accept an order from Maharaja Bhupinder Singh for a new Rolls Royce car.

Not taking kindly to the snub, the old maharaja put some of his old cars to carry garbage dung and

filth in Patiala, much to the horror and dismay of the Rolls Royceloving viceroy and the class-conscious British ruling class, who eventually prevailed upon the company to ‘comply’ with the old maharaja’s wishes.

Now if you tend to rubbish such fables of ostentatious wealth for being utterly undemocratic, following the years of liberalisation, there has been a spurt in India’s new maharajas – industrialists, entrepreneurs, professionals and the rural rich, not to speak of the returning prodigal children, franchisees, and small and medium retailers as well as high net worth individuals (HNIs).

Besides many of the top brands are available in India and there are far too many recession-proof aunts and uncles in town shopping from Champs Elysées or buying a Piaget in Geneva, quite a number of people flying first class by British Airways, staying at the Waldorf Astoria, or buying über-premium real-estate in Mumbai.

And then there are those who cannot buy branded goods but love them nevertheless and so they go for those with faux Guccis, Calvin Kleins, Christian Diors, Versace, Diesel and Giorgio Armani logos embossed on them!

For me, the arrival of this new India, a greater spread of richer people all around us, is a great democratic thing. It makes me in part aspirational and in part resigned to my karma.

The greatest service that these tales of fabulous wealth has done for me is that it has enabled me to treat money as piffle due also to the fact that I stand in a divide of the class hierarchy — belonging as I do to the great Indian Middle Class.

We stand equidistant from the two top extremes of the Indian economy, a vantage point from where I am both a prince and a pauper.

Being rich is also truly a state of mind.

Hindustan Times.

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HOUSTON: MANU SHAH 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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“Expedite our Economy Act of 2013 (H.R. 2471)”

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for easy passage of Rep. Poe’s bill.

“I believe we as the Indo-American Community need to support this bill and urge all the community members to contact their friends all over the country to call the senators and congressmen to support this bill” said IAPAC president Sujeeth Draksharam.

IAPAC is the political voice of the Indian American community of Greater Houston and it keeps Indian American community abreast of any legislative changes that will affect them and facilitates better understanding between USA and India by positively engaging with members of the House of Representatives and Senate.

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LEGAL NOTICE

IAPAC Supports

HOUSTON: In a recent luncheon meeting, IAPAC president Sujeeth Draksharam applauded Congressman Ted Poe (TX-02), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Non-proliferation and Trade, for introducing bill H.R. 2471 titled the “Expedite our Economy Act of 2013 (H.R. 2471)”. The proposed bill, if passed, will remove the US Department of Energy (DOE) from the approval process of new liquefied natural gas (LNG) liquefaction and export terminals and would transfer the regulatory authority concerning LNG exports directly to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) by amending the current DOE Organization Act. “It is time to remove bureaucratic roadblocks and take the Department of Energy out of the approval process for natural gas exports,” said Rep. Poe and he emphasized “Unnecessary federal red tape is the only thing standing in the way of the United States exporting natural gas. Exporting natural gas would grow our economy and create thousands of new jobs. Washington should be supporting, not stonewalling, the development and exportation of this valuable resource”.

IAPAC is actively engaged with leaders in the U.S. Congress for over a year and lobbying for approving exports of natural gas to India. IAPAC has held series of meetings with Rep. Poe and other members including Rep. Ed Royce, Chairman, Foreign Affairs Committee and has successfully brought this issue on the national agenda. IAPAC has written articles about this issue in local newspapers and is in the process of visiting Capitol Hill to persuade lawmakers

August 30, 2013

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Consul General Helps Announce Fifth Indian Film Festival

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Consul General P. Harish along with his wife, Nandita hosted a Curtain Raiser for the 5th Annual Indian Film Festival of Houston on August 22. In picture, the IFFH Board and guests at the curtain raiser at Consul General Harish’s home.

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BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA HOUSTON: In a small but intimate gathering of supporters, Board members and the media at his private residence in the Memorial area on Thursday, August 22, Indian Consul General Parvathaneni Harish helped to announce the forthcoming Fifth Annual Indian Film Festival of Houston. “Indian films are in our blood,” said Harish, who, along with his wife Nandita, is a big supporter of the arts. “Bollywood still rules”, he added as he introduced a “bright young dancer” Riya Mandalpu to show exactly how pervasive Indian films and music is. “It is very satisfying that the IFFH has grown,” he concluded.

On a small area in the living room cleared of furniture that had been moved aside and with a boombox to provide the dance music, Riya, an energetic 13 year-old who is a student of Rathna Kumar’s dance school and a friend of the Harish’s daughter Amani, started off with some classical dance steps, telling a story with her hands and gestures.

The medley of music then morphed into music from Bollywood movies and then into bhangra-folkcontemporary pop music, all of which she danced to with creative steps and playful abandonment.

“I was just sweating sitting there!” said Sutapa Ghosh, the founder of the IFFH as Riya finished her routine. Talking about this year’s line-up of 92 submissions, Ghosh said she was “hum-

Riya Mandalpu danced for the IFFH guests.

bled that the Festival has achieved such growth even as it is run by unpaid volunteers”. As we are celebrating 100 years of Indian cinema, Ghosh said that Indian movies are technically correct and it was hard to choose which movies would be screened from the 92 submissions the Festival had received.

The Festival will run from October 4 through 6 at the Asia Society.

From this year on, Ghosh said that the Festival would be screened at the Asia Society, whose Board

member, the well-known attorney Charles Foster was among the audience. She went on to thank a community activist, Ellen Goldberg, for being the backbone of the Festival; Houston philanthropist and supporter of the arts Carolyn Farb for “making everything perfect” and the Houston Arts Alliance for their support.

Rick Fergusson, the Executive Director of the Houston Film Commission said a few words about the growth of the movie making business in the Bayou City, saying that the Texas Legislature had increased the access to film promotional funds to $95 million as well as the incentives from 15% to 20%, to which the City tacks on another 2.5%. “We are now in the same league as Louisiana and New Mexico in incentives”, he said, adding that “we are attractive to international producers and specifically to Indian film making.”

Noting that India makes a great many movies every year, Harish said that there were plenty that were made in languages other than Hindi. He looked forward to a good festival this year, as the group broke away for dinner that was based on cuisine from Northeast India and was made at home by Nandita Harish and her staff. “Most Indian food we get is based on North India and Punjabi cuisine,” she said. “I wanted to highlight some of the great cuisine from the northeast, which has influences from China and Thailand.”

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August 30, 2013

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A Hasty Fond Farewell to an Ailing Friend

BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA SUGAR LAND: It was convened two days earlier as soon as he had made up his mind and bought the ticket to leave for India. His friend and business colleague Asheet Yagnik sprung into action, sending out emails that spread quickly like wildfire.

News spreads fast, they say, and bad news spreads faster. But for most, this news was unbelievable.

And it was a powerful reminder of the impermanence of Man, yet the lasting impact of his deeds.

David Raj had shown his community spirit five years ago through his contact with some people whom he gave advice to as a wealth and financial planner.

He had been in Houston since 2001 after he moved to the US from Hong Kong and slowly set up house, eventually settling into a townhome on Houston’s Westside.

But it wasn’t till 2010 that he really showed up on the community scene as a Director on the Indo American Charity Foundation’s Board.

Always vocal and often controversial with a liberal use of four letter words, David had made his mark at first through the IACF, which he supported with all his heart and generously with his money, then as its President in 2012. During the last four years,

Dr. Roy Santosham and Cheruba, Raj’s sister, escorted David back to Chennai with them last Sunday.

David Raj spoke his feelings at the hastily arranged farewell reception for him at Sanjay Rao’s home.

he was forefront in establishing a program, which will be his lasting legacy in Houston. Keen on helping uplift people, David understood that education was the key and pushed for creating the Education Initiative of the IACF for a mentoring program in science and math for young underprivileged kids.

About the same time, two years ago, David learnt that he had stage two stomach cancer and went through a radical procedure that effectively removed the majority of his stomach. From his constantly smiling face, you’d never know that he had gone through

a major surgery and was battling the disease. He continued his life with his usual passion and gusto: playing guitar with his band at his 60th birthday party two years ago in November, visiting friends and relatives overseas; traveling to foreign destinations.

And always with his infectious laugh, with sparkling white teeth, the shoulder length hair he preferred and wide brimmed eyes.

A year ago, he decided to build a “place where people can get together, a place like they’ve not seen before in this town, Bro,” he said when he opened up India Coffee House on Hillcroft next to Kohinoor Diamonds. And with the sparkling Star Lit Ceiling and Civets coffee, he was right. Then, after

Some of the close friend of David’s listened as they learnt of his plans to move back to Chennai.

Photos: Jawahar Malhotra

careful planning, just a month ago, in what is surely his lasting legacy, David launched a new non-profit called iEducate, announcing it in the inner-city Crockett elementary School, to set up a mentoring program for young kids.

He has entrusted this all to the hands of his brother Daniel who has moved here from New Jersey and the staunch band of friends who came to see him off this past Sunday, August 25 at the Sugar Land home of Sanjay Rao. His cancer had returned months ago, more aggressively than before and

David had foregone any further treatment. His doctors gave him a few months, which turned to weeks at his check up last week. As he deteriorated fast, his visiting sister Cheruba and her husband Dr. Roy Santosham who is a physician, convinced him it was time to go home with them. With many hugs to David, as he flashed his gleaming smile, it was an emotional adieu to a friend who endeared himself so quickly to everyone he met.

(David emailed upon his safe arrival in Chennai)

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, AUGUST 30, 2013 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

22 August 30, 2013

COMMUNITY

Sewa Local Events Recognized by the Mayor

HOUSTON: Sewa International Houston was conferred the prestigious 2013 Youth Service Challenge Medallion for outstanding community service by Jefferson Awards in a ceremony held at City Hall in Houston on August 13. Presented by Houston Mayor Annise Parker, this award recognizes Sewa’s monthly community service activities known as Sewa Local Events. From July 2012 Sewa International, Houston has been offering its volunteers a chance to impact in their community and bring forth positive change. These opportunities are known as Sewa Local Events and are aimed at addressing various concerns in our community: homelessness, refugee assistance, hunger, and improving the environment. Through Sewa Local Events, over 120 volunteers have committed their time serving various local organizations including the Houston Food Bank, Texas Children’s Hospital, Star of Hope Mission, Habitat for Humanity, and the Houston Zoo. Sewa Local Events is about experiencing the joy of serving others, and

Sewa International Volunteers receiving Jefferson Awards for sewa Local events.

as such, Sewa strives to provide these opportunities for their volunteers every month.

Along with Sewa Local Events Sewa also operates additional full-fledged programs includingRefugee Empowerment, Family Services, and their internship opportunities.

Through Refugee Empowerment, Sewa provides supplementary academic assistance to youth while also teaching vocational skills to refugee adults. Family Services is Sewa’s newest initiative wherein social support and a helping hand is provided to families during times of need. During the summer Sewa also offers internship opportunities for college students through its Get Inspired Houstonprogram. Additionally, Sewa operates Lead Houston wherein it connects high school students with professionals from various industries through an engaging speaker symposium. All of Sewa’s programs are volunteer-based, and to serve the widening needs of community, Sewa is always looking for individuals to assist with its efforts.

To get involved, visit http://houston.sewau-

sa.org/how-you-can-help or contact us at houston@sewausa.org or 281.909.SEWA. In order to support our programs we would like to humbly invite you all for our annual fundraiser scheduled for Sunday, September 8. An award winning laserist Manick Sorcar and will entertain everyone with his mesmerizing laser documentary on life of Swami Vivekananda. This year we are celebrating

the 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, the great itinerant philosophermonk, and Manick Sorcar and Sewa joined hands to spread Swamiji’s message through this noble and novel event. To purchase tickets for this engaging Laser Light Show visit https://houston.sewausa.org/ticketing.

See ad on Page 7

A Momentous Event in ICC’s 40 Year History

BY KRISHNA VAVILALA SECRETARY OF ICC IN YR.1985 HOUSTON: As we celebrated ICC’s 40 year history, it must be remembered that June 15, 1985 was a momentous day in ICC’s history. Kathy Whitmire was Houston’s Mayor and Ronald Regan was the US President. It was the day, when ICC along with community organizations held a Texas size reception to the newly elected youngest Prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi and his wife, Sonia Gandhi. It was the only State visit to Houston by any Indian Prime Minister in history. The importance of the visit was highlighted by the fact that US Vice-President George Bush and Barbara Bush personally escorted the Gandhis from Washington, D.C. to Ellington Air Force Base in their Air Force Two plane. President Ronald Regan extended extra FBI protection to Rajiv Gandhi in view of the threats by the Khalistani activists. Jawahar Malhotra, a reputed journalist of Indo-American News described the highly charged political atmosphere as follows: ”Outside in the hot sun, the pro-Khalistani Sikhs screamed slogans of protest ….. and two blocks away, a group of Indians, mostly non-Sikhs demonstrated their support for peaceful co-existence.”

The Indian Ambassador to US, K.S.Bajpai and his wife, Saraswathi Bajpai also flew in from Washington, D.C. to participate in the event. The Prime Minster who at 40 became the youngest elected Prime Minister of India noted in his speech that Indians in US are not Brain Drains, but they are Brain Banks for India. Acknowledging Houston as a Centre for Technology, Gandhi said he was looking forward to new areas of cooperation in many fields.

Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and his wife, Sonia arrived at the venue an hour or so late, maintaining the proverbial Indian Punctuality. Uma Mantravadi, then a newcomer to Houston and other local singers engaged the audience until the Prime Minister arrived.

Dr. Suresh Moonat, the Vice-President of ICC was the EMCEE for the event and this writer as ICC Secretary had the privilege of giving Vote of Thanks to the Prime Minister.

A debate ensued as to why ICC should charge admission fee $5.00 per head to hear their country’s Prime Minister and whether the event should be a fund raiser. As usual,

ICC had no money. The revenues from ticket sales and Souvenir advertisements and donations from wealthy community members helped cover the expenses. Brown and Root, my employer then, agreed to my request to support the event by taking a cover page advertisement for $1500/-in the special Souvenir published to commemorate the event. That was the first time any major US Corporation had advertised in an ICC souvenir. Other Patrons and Sponsors for the event were: Dr. V.S.Mathur, Durga Agarwal, A.Dave, Ashok Dhingra, Dr. K. Gupta, F.S. Halim, Dr. Satish Jhingran, N. Kasal, S.Puranik, J.Sharma, R.Shah, M.Vyas, Damm Dees, Dr. Mishra, R.Syal, Dr. Nandeti Rao and Gopal Savjani.

ICC Board members in 1985 were: Vilas Mujumdar, President; Dr. Suresh Moonat, Vice-President; Krishna Vavilala, the Secretary; Leela Krishna Murthy, the Treasurer, Shailendra N. Endley, Ajay Kapoor, Kulbhushan Uppal (Souvenir),Vibhuti Shah, Abhey Jain, Anil Rajguru, Arun Mukhopadhyaya (who sang the national anthem), late Gogineni Subbarayudu, Ramesh B.Shama Rao,Vik Bhagia and late Mohini Sindhwani.

The organizing Committee for Rajiv Gandhi’s reception also consisted of Kamlesh Nigam, Meena Garside of Association of Indians in America (AIA) and Raj Syal, all of whom were elected to represent the Indo-American community-at-large and share the stage with the Prime Minister and Sonia Gandhi.

Although, I do not pretend to remember the names of all people who actively participated and made the event a grand success, a special mention must be made of Mayekar family’s art work which produced the threesided lion emblem which hung over the center stage as a back drop; Dr. Sunita Moonat and Shailendra Sacheti family for overall venue management including decorations; Lakshmi Vavilala for keeping tab on all ticket sales and attending to phone calls; Ajay Kapoor, the volunteer coordinator who ensured all attendees take their respective seats in an orderly fashion. I shall be pardoned if I have missed any other names, all from memory.

After all, a 28 year old event that made history for ICC is hard to recap in greater detail without further research.

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, AUGUST 30, 2013 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

COMMUNITY

August 30, 2013

Dharma and Yoga Fest Heralds Janmashtami

ICC India fest parade banner about Swami Vivekananda, a must see exhibition. Photo: Vijay Pallod

HOUSTON: The community wide, annual Janmashtami celebration at George R. Brown Convention Center is in Houston on Sept.

7 this year and has an early start, with the Dharma and Yoga Fest.

While the usual parade, prayer, music, costume competition and dance will begin at 6 p.m., the Dharma and Yoga Fest, in which 51 organizations are participating, will begin at 2 p.m.

Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh USA Inc. (HSS), Houston will host “Dharma and Yoga Fest” to conclude the year-long commemoration of Swami Vivekananda’s 150th birth anniversary and his vision of “Universal Peace Through Dharma and Yoga.” It will showcase Bhakti, Jnana, Karma, and Raja yoga with parallel sessions on four yoga tracks, which include devotion, service, education and meditation.

The yoga festival’s concluding ceremony will take place from 5 to 6 p.m. The program includes a speech contest for students, a panel discussion by experts and an exhibition on Swami Vivekananda.

Consul General of India, P. Harish will be the chief guest at this event.

Dinner will be provided to all conference attendees. Dinner cou-

pon will be provided at the time of registration of Dharma and Yoga fest between 1:00 to 3:00 pm.

Hindus of Greater Houston President Sharad Amin invites all Houstonians to the historical event to participate in an excellent Bhajan Groups, Raj Yoga demonstration and intellectual discussion.

“Do not miss the ceremony at 5 p.m. celebrating Swami Vivekananda’s 150th birth anniversary,” says Sharad Amin.

Janmashtami celebration this year includes a powerful short play on Swami Vivekananda’s life. The pay has run to packed audiences elsewhere in the U.S. The keynote speaker will be Saumitra Gokhale. Gokhale has been a full-time social services worker with Hindu Swayamsevak

Sangh since 1995, currently serving as an international coordinator.

He will speak on “Global Peace Through Dharma and Yoga.”

The Garba/Dandiya Raas, a participatory dance popular with young and old Hindus and their non-Hindu friends alike, will feature Darshak Thakkar and a female singer Shivangini who is coming to the event from Florida.

Other events are especially for the children including a costume contest where kids will dress as Swami Vivekananda or Lord Krishna or his companions.

Booths by various organizations, beautiful decorations, and more will make for a special evening.

For further information, see www.HindusOfHouston.org.

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Mama’s Punjabi Recipes

Besan di Sabzi or Gutte (Gram Flour Curry or Gutte) Besan (roasted gram flour or garbanzo flour or chickpea flour) is a flour that is commonly used all over India to make pakoras or fried fritters, one of the most favorite and easy to make snacks which can be found at almost every street corner halwai or cooking vendor. The flour, when mixed with a few spices, adds zest as batter for vegetables and it is just a delight to eat hot, pakoras – never mind that they are fried! Pakoras are, after all, Indian comfort food.

The other most common dish that besan is used in is kaddi (see IAN dated Jan. 18, 2013), another favorite all across the country, though the Punjabi variety is thicker. But besan has its other uses. You can make boondi (besan fried drops) to put in dahi (yogurt) or laddus (sweet balls) – either fried and in syrup or made of roasted, sweetened flour; or simply besan ki barfi (sweetened flat cake) or pooda (see IAN dated May 10, 2013).

Besan is high in carbohydrates and somewhat high in protein and has no gluten, which makes it not suitable for those trying to lose weight (especially when it is fried).

This dish is a typically Punjabi rural dish which has now found favor with wedding parties in India. When the besan rolls are made, they resemble a vegetarian sausage. Many Punjabis also call the dish gutte which probably refers to the small, cut pieces that simmer in the curry.

This dish comes in quite handy when you sometimes wonder what to make or there isn’t any vegetable in the house. It is quite a tasty dish, and since it is unusual, the first time eater will not be able to figure out exactly what it is.

Ingredients for gutte or rolls: • 250 gm besan (roasted gar banzo or chickpea flour) • ¼ cup garam pani (luke warm water) • 4 cups thanda pani (cold water) • ¼ cup tael (vegetable oil; some may prefer ghee or

clarified butter) • Spices (to taste): namak (salt), mirch (red pepper), 1/2 tspn ajawain (carom seeds) Ingredients for curry masala: • 1 large pyaaz (onion) – peeled and chopped • 2 cloves of lasan (garlic) – peeled and chopped • 1 medium adrak (ginger) – peeled and chopped • 1 small tamater (tomato) or 1 teaspoon tomato paste • Spices (to taste): namak (salt), mirch (red pepper), haldi (turmeric), garam masala Directions: 1. Mix the besan and oil together with the spices into a dough. Add the lukewarm water and knead the flour into a medium hard dough. The dough should be harder than the dough used to make roti or chappatis.

2. Place 4 cups of cold water and bring to a boil.

3. Take a piece of dough, place it on a board. Put a dab of oil on the palm of each hand and roll it on the board into a thin, long roll, about 6 inches long. Make rolls out of all the dough and place on a plate.

4. Gently place each roll into the boiling water and leave in for 15 minutes. Turn the heat off and let the water cool down with the rolls inside. After the water is cool, take

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the rolls out and place on a plate and cut into 1 inch long pieces. Keep the water for making the curry.

5. Put 2 tablespoons of oil in a pot, throw in the tomato paste, onions, ginger and garlic and spices and brown them while stirring to make the masala. Turn the heat down to extreme low so as not to burn the spices and stir to mix thoroughly.

6. Now put the cut rolls into the masala and stir well to coat, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes, till the rolls become slightly brown.

7. Now add the saved water and bring it to a boil; then turn the heat off and let the besan rolls sit for 30 minutes before serving. Punjabis usually eat this with hot chappatis or tandoori roti.

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.

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All Eyes on Brow Art 23 Elizabeth Porikos-Gorgees first learned about eyebrow threading in 1997 when a friend suggested she try the technique before an event.

After her first experience she returned every three weeks in order to achieve the precise lines and excellent shape the threading technique gave her brows without the irritation of waxing.

By 2006 Porikos-Gorgees noticed that eyebrow threading kiosks were popping up in malls all over the country and the idea for Brow Art 23 was born. Today there are over 170 locations throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, Mexico and Canada making Brow Art 23 the largest eyebrow threading company in the world!

Eyebrow threading originated in India and has gained prominence in Western cultures in recent years.

In threading, a knot is formed with cotton thread specifically designed for threading then rolled over areas of unwanted hair, removing the hair at the follicle level. Unlike tweezing which removes hair one at a time, and waxing which removes the top layer of skin, threading removes short lines of hair and can be quick and painless when done professionally. Professionals at Brow Art 23 are highly trained in this art form which plays a crucial role in the company’s success.

In 2006 Elizabeth Porikos-Gorgees noticed that eye brow threading was not available at a local mall in the Chicago suburbs and pitched Brow Art 23. While several retailers had pitched an eye brow threading kiosk in the past, the passion and energy Porikos-Gorgees brought made her stand out. That July, she opened the first Brow Art 23 on a cart in Old Orchard Mall in Chicago. By that October, her cart

was so successful and garnered so much business that she moved into her first inline location.

Brow Art 23 continued to grow and added temporary henna tattoos, eyelash extensions, permanent makeup, and private label Brow Art cosmetics including brow and lash growth tonic, eyebrow definer, and eye brow brushes to their list of services.

Porikos-Gorgees has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Media Arts, a Master’s Degree in Art Management and is five credits away from her second Master’s Degree in Teaching, which she incorporates into her business model. Unlike other eyebrow threading kiosk and salons, Porikos-Gorgees makes sure that customers of Brow Art 23 get a full experience complete with professional, courteous well trained staff, cutting edge design, and a level of sophistication unmatched by her competitors. Her outstanding business sense, highly trained staff, and the cutting edge design of her location allowed Porikos-Gorgees to make the rent for her inaugural location within one week!

In just less than a decade since the inaugural Brow Art 23 opened, the business has experienced such rapid growth that Brow Art 23 is now the largest eyebrow threading company in the world. People who invest their money in opening their

own Brow Art 23 franchise witness its success first hand. When retailers purchase a Brow Art 23 franchise they get the Brow Art 23 name, a 7 to 10 day training for as many employees as desired, ongoing training opportunities, site visits, assistance with the grand opening, a professional website, full comprehensive corporate marketing, customized POS system and an 800 number to address any questions or concerns franchisees may have.

Porikos-Gorgees uses her stellar business model and experience opening Brow Art 23 to ensure that each franchise, experience the same rapid growth and level of success that Brow Art 23 has achieved as a whole. In return, Brow Art 23 franchisees need only to commit to nothing less than a 5 year agreement, have a strong work ethic, and be as passionate about their own success as Porikos-Gorgees.

Porikos-Gorgees is confident that she can help franchises be successful by sharing the mistakes she made when opening her first locations, thereby providing them a solid path to success. Her template for success leads many franchisees to open multiple locations which in turn leads to continual growth for Brow Art 23.

Brow Art 23 continues to grow and is still committed to bringing a level of professionalism and sophistication that was missing from eye brow threading services.

Franchise opportunities are available worldwide and those interested in opening a Brow Art 23 location can call Erin Franks at 773-571-2667 or visit www.browart23.com for more information.

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Rupee Drops Again, Closes on 64.30 Against Dollar MUMBAI (Indian Express): The rupee tumbled 110 paise to once again close below the 64 mark against the dollar, giving up a major part of Friday’s gains amid heavy month-end dollar demand from importers and capital outflows.

Global ratings agency Fitch said that India’s fiscal numbers ‘look weak’ and warned of a downgrade if the country is unable to meet the fiscal deficit target.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened lower at 63.65 a dollar from the previous close of 63.20 and dipped further to the day’s low of 64.75.

The local currency recovered some ground after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was said to have stepped in through state-run banks, helping the rupee to end at 64.30, a fall of 110 paise or 1.74 per cent.

Month-end dollar demand from oil importers kept rupee under pressure,” said Navin Raghuvanshi, VP for treasury at Development Credit Bank.

The benchmark S&P Sensex erased early gains and closed up 39 points, a gain of 0.21 per cent.

Foreign institutional investors withdrew a net Rs 148.57 crore of stocks on Friday, as per provisional data with the stock exchanges.

In the wake of the rupee’s depreciation and doubts over revenue increase targets, the government has repeatedly asserted it will meet the fiscal deficit target of 4.8 per cent. Fitch said the space to contain expenditure is very limited in the second half of the fiscal.

“A slowdown in fiscal expenditure in the second half of the year remains quite challenging,” Fitch lead analyst Art Woo said on a conference call.

The dollar index was up by 0.08 per cent against a basket of

six major global currencies after US Federal Reserve officials wrapped up a yearly gathering appearing ready to start slowing the monetary stimulus next month.

Concerns among investors about the widening current account deficit have led to turmoil in the stock markets and a sharp depreciation of the rupee.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram held meetings with overseas investors and top bankers in Mumbai as the government sought to allay apprehensions about the economic situation and appraise them of steps taken to boost growth and stabilise the rupee.

After the meetings, the Finance Ministry said steps to attract capital flows to fund the current account deficit can be expected within a week.

“India urgently needs to attract capital as foreign institutional investors have sold about USD 4.2 billion in bonds this year and USD 750 million in equities over the previous six sessions,” said Pramit Brahmbhatt, CEO at Alpari Financial Services (India).

Forward dollar premiums recovered on fresh payments from banks and corporates.

The benchmark six-month forward dollar premium payable in January rebounded to 236-241 paise from Friday’s close of 229234 paise. Far-forward contracts maturing in July bounced back to 451-456 paise from 434-439 paise.

The RBI fixed the reference rate for the dollar at 64.2347 and for the euro at 85.9342.

The rupee fell to 100.12 against the pound from the previous close of 98.47 and tumbled against the Japanese yen to 65.21 per 100 yen from 63.80. It plunged to 86 per euro from 84.40.

127

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, AUGUST 30, 2013 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

28 August 30, 2013 How Will India’s Seniors Perform in South Africa?

BY FIRDOSE MOONDA

PRETORIA (ESPN Cricinfo): There was a moment during Pakistan’s visit to South Africa earlier this year when Misbah-ul-Haq’s eyes glazed over, his voice dropped and his shoulders slumped. It was not the instant his team was whitewashed in the Test series but about three weeks afterwards, when he had to explain why they had also lost the one-day series after fighting hard to lock it at 2-all. His reason was the same all summer and he seemed apologetic and even tired of saying it: the conditions were simply too difficult to adjust to.

It is a stereotype that South African pitches are to subcontinent batsmen what the moon is to people who prefer keeping their feet on the ground: uncomfortable. But it is also cliché that continues to be perpetuated by team after team who visit these shores and struggle, usually everywhere except Durban. India and Pakistan have only won two Tests in South Africa and Sri Lanka have won one.

None of these teams have ever won a series here.

With that record, it makes sense that India, who will compete against the No.1 ranked Test side later in the year, have sent an advance party to glean some knowledge of conditions and practise in them beforehand. India A’s squad included Cheteshwar Pujara, Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay and Ajinkya Rahane, all of whom can be expected to bat again here later in the year.

They will stay on to play two unofficial Tests against South Africa A following the 50-over triseries which they won. Whether they will take back any valuable information at all is questionable because those matches are being played on flat, winter tracks that will not resemble the surfaces the mace will be defended on come December.

The cynics will see it as a plot: South Africa are trying to lure their opponents into a false sense of security by making their batsmen believe run-scoring will be easy.

They can’t be blamed for seeing it that way. Vincent Barnes, high

Up-country, it is dry throughout the winter and the lack of moisture makes for road-resembling pitches. For any life, cricket should be played at the coast. Durban would have been the most likely venue, with a tropical climate that is almost unaffected by the cold the rest of the country is gripped in.

But that should not be confused with what India A’s purpose to South Africa was: preparation for their upcoming tour. At least Pujara knows that. He said he expects a “huge difference” in conditions but that India A could learn about things like the weather instead.

Perhaps someone should inform him that the weather, too, will be vastly different. After all, it will be summer in South Africa then.

Seasonal challenges may simply not sustain that. As a result, while there is a lot of merit in doing a recce trip, it’s unlikely it will give India any advantage when they return for the real deal.

Firdose Moonda is ESPNcricinfo’s South Africa correspondent.

England Team Apologizes for Urinating on the Pitch

Ambati Rayudu is struck on his helmet, South Africa A v India A, tri-series, Pretoria. Getty Images.

performance manager and coach of the A-side, is known for fighting talk against touring teams.

When Australia toured in late 2011, he said the practice game in Potchefstroom, played on a spicy wicket, was part of a plan to “rough up” the opposition. South Africa’s coaching brains trust have also made it clear that after a first-class season last year where pitches were so lively they felt it gave bowlers an enhanced sense of how good they were, they want more challenging strips this time around. But that is not what they are trying to do here.

Barnes himself was disappointed with the lifelessness of the pitch for the four-day match between South Africa A and Australia A. That fixture was a highscoring draw in which David Warner earned his Ashes recall with

193, Glenn Maxwell made a case for Test selection with an unbeaten 155, Dean Elgar scored 268 to make a case to keep his Test place and Thami Tsolekile’s 159 would have put him back in the national selectors’ minds. There were only 18 wickets taken in two-and-ahalf innings and neither attack managed to bowl the other line-up out.

The second match, which was played in Rustenburg, took place on what offspinner Simon Harmer described as a “good four-day wicket” because it deteriorated enough to bring the spinners into play. South Africa A won that match after Harmer took 8 for 87.

While Barnes would not want a turning track against India but he would like something with a bit more bounce, which would be difficult to get at this time of year.

OVAL: The England players have apologised for their celebrations at The Oval after winning the Ashes 3-0. There were reports— neither officially confirmed nor denied—that they had urinated on the pitch but the statement issued via the ECB did not go into the specifics of the incident.

“The England cricket team would like to state that during our celebrations after winning the Ashes at no time was there any intention to disrespect Surrey CCC, The Oval or anyone else involved in the game we love,” the statement read.

“As a team we pride ourselves on respecting all things cricket including the opposition and the grounds we play at. We got carried away amongst the euphoria of winning such a prestigious series and accept that some of our behaviour was inappropriate.

“If that has caused any offence to anyone we apologise for that and want to reassure people that it was a simple error of judgement more than anything else.”

SPORTS

Shocking Win vs. Pak

BY KANISHKA BALACHANDRAN

HARARE: The last time Zimbabwe beat Pakistan in any format was 15 years ago. Back then, Pakistan lost to arguably the most formidable Zimbabwe side in history—one that was capable of standing up to the best international sides.

A strong opening stand of 107 between Vusi Sibanda and Hamilton Masakadza was the bedrock in their chase of 245. Having dealt with the seamers with ease during the T20s, Zimbabwe’s chances of victory hung on how they would perform outside their comfort zone. They looked ill at ease against the spin trio in the T20s but crucially, this time, they didn’t let the spinners run away with the advantage.

Saeed Ajmal managed to strike, but the long interval between breakthroughs meant that Pakistan were always playing catch-up. In the closing stages, Pakistan had created enough pressure to bring the equation down to a run-a-ball, but a combination of poor fielding and freakish luck meant that it was Zimbabwe’s day.

Masakadza reached his fifty by sweeping Ajmal and reading Shahid Afridi’s variations. He chipped down the track and lofted Afridi over extra cover for six in an over that produced 13. The frustration showed in Pakistan’s fielding, when in that over, a drive back to the bowler which should have been stopped resulted in two runs.

Zimbabwe’s Hamilton Masakadza ensured Zimbabwe held the edge with 85.

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, AUGUST 30, 2013 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

INDIA

August 30, 2013

How Mumbai Gang-Rape Case was Cracked

BY PUJA CHANGOIWALA MUMBAI (HT): It was not exactly a whodunit. All the same, the manhunt for the five rapists of the Mumbai photojournalist took around 72 hours. Eighty police personnel — 20 teams — had to question as many people.

And the field of the search extended from Mumbai to Delhi.

What made the task of the police difficult was that the accused were habitual offenders. Right after raping the woman, and despite threats to ensure her silence, they all switched off their cellphones.

The police had to dig deep into its informer network.

“We rounded up eight to ten persons who are regular offenders or drug addicts living in the area. But that did not prove fruitful. After the survivor’s statement was recorded late on Thursday, we prepared sketches of the five accused,” said an officer.

The sketches helped. Soon after they were circulated, it was learnt that two of the five had criminal records.

“We learnt Chand Abdul Sattar Shaikh had a case of theft registered against him at Agripada police station in 2011. Through our informers in the area, Shai-

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kh was arrested from the Dhobi Ghat area at noon on Friday,” said an officer from Agripada.

It provided the key break.

Through Shaikh, police were able to establish the identities of the four other accused and a manhunt was launched to arrest them.

Teams were sent to Mumbra, Vashi, Diwa, Nalasopara, amongst other places in and around Mumbai.

Unit 3 of the Mumbai crime branch arrested the second man, Vijay Jadhav, from a video centre in Nagpada where he was watching a B-grade film. Jadhav has several cases of thefts against

him at Tardeo police station.

Monitoring the houses of the friends and relatives of the two led to the arrest of Siraj Rehman Khan alias Siraj from Mumbra.

In the early hours of Sunday, the key accused, Mohamed Kasim Hafiz Shaikh alias Bangali, was nabbed from the sixth floor of Nair hospital.

The battle was won finally after the fifth and final accused, Mohammad Salim Ansari, was arrested from Ashok Vihar in Delhi, “on basis of technical surveillance,” said the officer.

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Upcoming event : ISCA National Convention on Sept. 14 th and 15th, 2013 at Stafford Center, Stafford including Sing for Seniors Talent Hunt and Atul Brahmbhatt’s gazals program.

Auditions for Talent on 13th Sept. at India House and semi-finals and finals at Stafford Centre, on 14th Sept.

Meet 2nd and 4th Saturday (11:30am-3pm)

What Has Gone Wrong with the City We Love?

MUMBAI (TOI): For decades, Mumbai has enjoyed the reputation of a city that, despite all its serious problems, is safe for women. Women here have always enjoyed the freedom to live their lives, travel alone at odd hours, and feel safe. But now the facts prove otherwise ...

According to National Crime Bureau reports, cases of sexual harassment, rape and sexual assault are on the rise. Cases of rape in Mumbai rose at a rate of 5% in 2012. And it is utterly disgusting to note that 45% of these cases were in the age group of 14-18 years and eleven victims were under 10.

Another appalling fact, revealed through RTI, is that on average there has been a rape every day in Mumbai in the first three months of 2013.

The frequency of incidents of sexual crimes against women and

29

the severity of assault in many cases has shocked the conscience of Maximum City. While politicians and law enforcers mouth insipid platitudes, citizens are in a state of introspection as to what has gone wrong with the city we love.

How does one explain why this is happening-huge migrant population, growing gap between haves and have-nots, the role of mass media, and so forth? Or is it the lingering feudal mindset of men who consider women to be ‘property’ and ‘available’? Added to that, our law enforcement, which is so lacking? There is no certainty of punishment, or severity thereof.

Even in one of the latest incidents, where a woman was sought to be assaulted in the ladies compartment of a running local train, the policeman watched in stunned stupor.

How can this ever change? When

will our sisters and daughters feel safe going about their lives in the manner they wish to? While expressions of outrage will stem from all corners, the time has come when we must leverage the collective conscience of the civilized nation to shame the perpetrators, empower the women of this country, while also exerting pressure on law enforcers to do their duty.

The biggest tool we now have is social media. The power of media, in its most democratic avatar, is in the hands of each one of us.

And that is what we must use judiciously to articulate and then strive to bring about the change.

There is not much point in talking about the change.

The challenge for each right-thinking citizen is to make a contribution, walk the talk, and make a difference.

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