E newspaper 01272017

Friday, January 27, 2017 | Vol. 36, No. 04

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Indo American erican News

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COMMUNITY

January 27, 2017

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R-Day Festivities Focus on Women, Fun, Games and an International Flair

BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA & SWAPAN DHAIRYAWAN

STAFFORD:

“Here they go again, changing up the rules of the festival one more time!” is the first thought that came to one’s head as the India Culture Center kicked off their celebration of India’s 68th Republic Day. This time, the emphasis was more on fun and involving the audience rather than just giving them a spectacle to look at. And based on the audience reaction, it certainly seemed to have paid off.

The event was held this past Saturday, January 21 at the usual Stafford Civic Centre on Cash Road, site of 12 years of R-Day and I-Day festivals. From 1:45pm till 7:30pm and an estimated 2,400 people showed up, despite a $3 per person entry fee, the first after 6 years of it being free to the public. The ticket stubs were put into a giant roller and every hour a raffle drawing was held for one of 6 Gold Coin prizes, courtesy of Chemmanur Jewelers in Little India. It was coordinated by ICC Directors Nimish Sheth and Dilip Dadhich and the Indian Seniors Citizens Association.

The event kicked off with a few songs by the Ismaili Golden Club Matki Band, a group of 39 performers aged 55 to 81. It was their 5th year in a row to be at the RDay program. This was followed up by a segment entitled “Women who Make India Proud” retelling the personal life stories of Sarojini Naidu, Kiran Bedi, Indra Nooyi, Chanda Kochar, Sania Mirza, Kalpana Chawla, Asha Bhosale and Sushma Swaraj and narrated in first-person by women dressed to correspond to the character. The segment was coordinated by Sangeeta Pasrija and ICC Secretary Sapna Shah.

This segued into “Live Antakshari”, coordinated by Ajit Patel and Manisha Gandhi, with two teams Deewane and Parwane competing on stage while the audience acted as Mastane. They participated in four rounds with a fully engaged audience. The competition was won by the Parwane team of J. K. Paras, Manmeet Patil and Monika Prakash.

The ceremonial lighting of the lamps followed, by Kirti Sohoni and Falguni Gandhi with the National Anthem of India sung by

A segment which honored Women Who Made India Proud, portrayed onstage by volunteers and Board members of the ICC

Eesha Dhairyawan and the US one

by Paarth Maniar. Nira Patel and Harshil Sheth were emcees for the remainder of the program.

Event Chair Sanjay Sohoni welcomed the audience and described the importance of Republic Day and the of the event theme “Our India.” Outgoing ICC President Rajiv Bhavsar appreciated the year round support from his Board and community interaction at large, while incoming ICC President Falguni Gandhi stressed the need to continue the work and build on new initiatives. Deputy Indian Consul General Surendra Asthana spoke about the “Make in India” initiative and the long association of the democracies of the US

and India. Stafford Mayor Leonard Scarcella, the longest serving Mayor in the country, spoke about the culture and vibrancy in India and the determination of the Indian community to succeed.

Community Service Awards were given to Scarcella; painter Anju Mittal; classical dancer Dr. Sunanda Nair; community organizer Harshad Patel; and Indo American News Publisher Jawahar Malhotra as their brief bios were read and Committee chair Col Raj Bhalla congratulated the individuals.

The fun began with the “Live Quiz” co-sponsored by Foundation for India Studies and International Hindi Association and coordinated

by Event Chair Sanjay Sohoni in which two prequalified teams on stage competed against the audience. Trivia questions warmed everyone up, with token gifts given to audience participants. Five rounds of quiz covered many areas of Indian culture, geography and history. First place went to Nadir and Nazneen Hajiyani who received a cash prize, while runners-up were father and daughter team Shrikant and Anjali Vempati also received an award.

The cultural segment of dance and musical groups was coordinated by Swapan Dhairyawan and Nisha Mirani and had over 260 participants. It began with the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh

presentation of the steps for Surya Namaskar (Sun Salutation). The segment the turned to folk, regional, patriotic and Bollywood dance and music by the dance groups and schools HH Creationz, Kalakriti Performing Arts, SPARSH, Sunanda Performing Arts, Kathak Kala Kendra, Aradhan Dancing School, Dance with Dolly, Tarang, Shivangini School of Dance, Katy Balikas and Rice Riyaaz.

In a break from tradition, for the first time, the event highlighted the culture and music of another country, which this year was Turkey as performed by 40 high schoolers of the Harmony School with two thrilling numbers - an authentic Turkish dance and a number set to Country Music featuring Cowboy

and Cowgirls. The Raindrop and Turquoise House also had a booth of Turkish artifacts and an Ebru artist making typical art designs.

As usual, the event also featured 38 booths coordinated by Charlie Patel and Pramod Bengani and a 36-page Tarang commemorative magazine coordinated by Swapan Dhairyawan and Hemant Patel.

Suketu Kapadia, who has assisted in publication of Tarang for the last 4 years was honored. The sound system was provided by Darshak Thakkar, event photography and videography by Raghu Thakkar, Paresh Shah and Gautam Jani and the large digital backscreen was run by Luna and Yagnesh Patel.

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See article on page 5 INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JANUARY 27, 2017 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

COMMUNITY

January 27, 2017

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Delightful Performances by Laasika School of Dance: Natyopasana 2017

BY VANSHIKA VIPIN VARMA

Artistic Director: Pallavi Kumar

HOUSTON: Houston audience was treat-

ed to an enjoyable dance fare by Laasika School of Dance as a tribute to its Artistic Director Pallavi Kumar’s Guru Dr. K.Uma Rama who passed away recently leaving a void in field of Kuchipudi dance. The recital featured an interesting combination of items in dance styles of Bharathanatyam and Kuchipudi choreographed by Pallavi Kumar and her respective gurus on Sunday,

January 8 at the Kaplan Theatre.

Commencing with a traditional prayer song little laasika’s began the recital with Sacred Vedic Chants that are mainly prayers offering salutations to divine beings and guru’s performed by Charve Dhareneni, Deepika Munnangi, Kaivalya Kunadharaju, Sashya Madishetty, Shree Shodasi, Shriya Reddy, Sloka Arigipudi, and Uma Devireddy. These little laasika’s caught the attention of the viewers right from the start and it was heartfelt to see them performing with such precision and effortlessly, that goes on to say the tireless efforts made by teacher and students alike.

It was then followed by Gajavadana Beduve in Hamsadwani ragam by Divya Reddy and Sameera Goddanti, an invocatory item in Kuchipudi in praise of elephant faced god choreographed by Dr.Vempati Chinna Satyam. The following was a prayer written by Tulsidas Goswami glorifying Lord Rama and his characteristics. Saanvi Pullemla, Shaivi Reddy Moparthi, Simran Binnani, Uma Devireddy very ably danced to this song in praise of Dasharatha’s son and pleaded lord to reside in the lotus of their hearts.

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Further, a Kouthvam and Alarippu was well presented by Anuhya Juturi, Ayushi Aggrawal, Nidhi Suraparaju, Priyanka Bhavani, Riya Madhugiri and Shruthi Ezhilarasan. Dancers using the peacock hand gesture depicted movements of the peacock and its wings in Alarippu format with artistic finesse and good synchronization.

Kuchipudi dancers Kamal Pullemla, Neha Achanta, Sivani Mallikarjuna, Soumya Devi Inampudi paid obeisance to Goddess Saraswati and depicted goddesses lotus like face, her beautiful smile and other divine qualities skillfully.

Anuhya Juturi and Ay u s h i Aggrawal presented Dashavataram, a traditional item in Kuchipudi with aplomb. The pair made an impression in the audience with their synchronization of footwork and captivating poses depicting the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu who incarnated on earth from time to time to eradicate evil forces.

Little laasika’s just stood out in Rara Venu Gopabala item on account of striking costumes and by translating the mood into dance gracefully. Krishna’s paired with each gopika at the end of the song cheered the audience.

The second half of the show featured Laasika School of Dance, Artistic Director, Pallavi Kumar’s stellar kuchipudi performance done with precision and fluid grace.

Pallavi’s elaborate explanation of each song with hand gestures that preceded every item earned the audience appreciation. She began with ‘Devi Stuti’ an item in praise of Devi. Pallavi excelled in facial expression

Photos: Murali Santhana Photography

in Annamacharya Keerthana “Yemoko” and did an excellent job switching to the role of heroine’s friend and heroine (Alamelumanga).

Tarangam, a central piece of Kuchipudi recital was the concluding item and the much awaited brass plate dance where Pallavi displayed footwork moving across the stage dancing to rhythm set to long spells of Jathis.

It was a feast to see dancers show finesse and grace in their dance and was a fitting tribute to Pallavi Kumar’s guru by budding talents of Laasika School of Dance.

The school currently offers Bharathanatyam and Kuchipudi dance classes in Sugar Land and Katy locations. For further details reach Pallavi Kumar by visiting, www. pallavikumar.us or email her at laasikaa@ gmail.com.

For photo collage, see page 4

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COMMUNITY New ASIE Board’s Goal to Enlarge Membership Base January 27, 2017

BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA

HOUSTON: Among the thousands of de-

sign professionals who work in the Bayou City, there certainly is no dearth of Indian architects and engineers who contribute their skills and talents in all types of endeavors and every industry. Houston is an engineering town and it is estimated that 60 to 70% of the South Asian population of nearly 150,000 is involved in this occupation in one way or the other.

Of that number, an estimated 80% are of Indian origin, with many first generation immigrants who have settled here for three to four decades. They are well regarded and established in companies, and maybe 100 or more have their own firms, while many others have already reached retirement age.

Realizing that this large pool of design professionals needed a voice of their own, the American Society of Indian Engineers and Architects was formed in 1994 and over the past four years has seen a revival in its mission through the strenuous efforts of their elected Presidents. Last year, the organization held a luncheon gala at the Omni Hotel on Riverway that drew the largest turnout ever for the ASIE as it feted newly elected Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner.

The President for that event, and his Executive Committee and Board turned over the gavel to the newly elected group that was ushered in at a swearing in ceremony held last Thursday, January 19 at the HESS Club on Westheimer. A packed room of over 100 people attended the first meeting of the year

for the ASIE at the evening program that included a buffet dinner catered by Hyderabad House.

Outgoing ASIE President Naresh Kolli introduced his Board and then, in turn, everyone in the room stood up to introduce themselves. It was no surprise that many – perhaps half – were retired engineers and a few part-time consultants as they eagerly announced themselves. Kolli went over the highlights of his tenure and singled out Hashmet Doshi and Hanendra Bhat for their generous support for the Scholarship fund.

His term saw a donation of $10,000 to the Mayor’s Fund for Flood Relief and $10,000 worth of scholarships to students of Indian origin.

Chetan Vyas, elevated from Board Director to Vice President for 2017, introduced Judge Ravi Sandill of the 127th Harris County District Court, who was re-elected to his third four-year term in November, to administer the oath of office to the new Board. Donning his judge robes, Sandill swore in the Board who lined up in front of the audience. Sandill also spoke of his admiration of engineers and joked about how he quit pursuing a degree in chemical engineering at the University of Texas, Austin after he had to tackle differential equations! Jokes aside, Sandill said it was “hugely important that we get out into our community and influence regulatory boards and commissions.”

Incoming President Dinesh Shah, who has been a behind-the-scenes supporter of the ASIE since it was founded, introduced his new Board and Advisory Board and thanked them for their volunteering and service.

Apart from Vyas, the Board consists of Gaju Patel, Secretary; Poolkeshi Patel, Treasurer; Madhu Kilambi, Chaitnya Gampa, Archana Sharma, Tej Kour and Sirish Madichetti.

Shah then outlined his goals for his tenure which include developing management and leadership skills for young engineers;

an Adopt-A-Retired-Engineer program for their experience skills and adding to the membership rolls by asking current members to bring in at least one new one to the ASIE. He stressed involvement of the entire membership in his ambitious goals as “cannot be accomplished only by these nine people alone.” Kilambi closed out the evening with a message from Sugar Land Councilman Harish Jajoo who is has announced he will seek his final term, and announcing the next meeting on Thursday, February 16 at the HESS Club.

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COMMUNITY

BY POOJA GOKHALE

HOUSTON: Houston Maharash-

tra Mandal celebrated the Makar Sankrant event with great pomp and show on January 21, at Shri Radha Krishna Hall. The event was a huge success with over 500 attendees.

Makar Sankrant is celebrated every year in the month of January. It marks the end of winter and beginning of harvest season in India. In Maharashtra, haldi kunku by married women and kite flying by kids hold significance during Sankrant.

Tilgul, a sweet made from jaggery and sesame seeds is distributed by people amongst themselves.

The HMM Sankrant event attendees were welcomed by the committee members to a hall adorned with beautiful decorations including kites, garlands, lights, flowers, rangoli and sarees.

The attendees after checking in at the front desk were offered tilgul.

Ladies were welcomed with haldi kunku and were presented vaan, tilgul and Marathi calendar.

The event started with an opening speech by HMM President Anjou Sathe Keller, followed by a two minutes silence in the remembrance of Tabla maestro Dexter Raghunanan.

The cultural event for the first time featured a fashion show. Little girls wearing traditional 9 yard sarees and little boys wearing pajama kurtas walked the ramp on the beats of authentic Marathi music.

January 27, 2017

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Houston Maharashtra Mandal Sankrant Event 2017

Ladies showcased black sarees, as is customary during Sankrant, draped in different styles. The fashion show was highly appreciated by the audience. Following the fashion show “Bornahan” was organized for little kids. The kids wearing traditional attire and white beads jewelry were showered with white sugar balls, popcorns and candies. Parents were thrilled to see their little ones and captured all the moments that they could.

Every hour, raffle prizes were announced which were given away

by our sponsors.

Along with the activities being performed on stage the event had 21 stalls comprising of food, games, home décor, clothes, jewelry, kite making and henna application. The food stalls featured traditional Marathi delicacies like gul poli, modak, etc. The patrons dressed in beautiful attires also enjoyed other delicious mouth-

watering foods like jhunaka bhakar, dahi vada, bhel, dahi puri, and many more. Thirst quenchers like kokam sherbet and sol kadhee were welcoming.

The event culminated with fun filled games for kids, which included sack race, three legged race and musical chairs. The enthusiasm shown by kids was unparalleled. The adults also tried their

luck in musical chairs.

The effort, enthusiasm, exceptional creativity and great teamwork of HMM 2017 committee made the event successful. HMM 2017 committee would like to take the opportunity to thank all our attendees, HMM volunteers, Shri Radha Krishna Hall patrons and HMM sponsors and Raffle sponsors. We would like to extend our

special thanks to Alings’, Vishala and Bombay Bazaar for their continued support.

Our next event Marathi Movie “Ti Sadhya Kay Karate will be screened at Palladium Theatre on February 4, 2017. For more details and ticket purchase please visit our website at www.hmmhouston.org.

INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JANUARY 27, 2017 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

10 January 27, 2017 COMMUNITY First Ever Gujarati Brahm Samaj Sammelan in Houston

HOUSTON: On January 7, Gu-

jarati Brahm Samaj of Houston (GBSH) welcomed 2017 with an

evening full of cultural performances scripted and crafted by youth of the Brahm Samaj. Dr. Sen

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Pathak, an Emeritus Distinguished Professor at MD Anderson Cancer Center blessed the event as a chief guest. He gave a brief inspirational and motivational talk to the youth of the community encouraging to work harder and never get despaired with challenges on the path. He also explained the four founding principles of Vedic philosophy namely Dharma, Artha, Karma and Moksha. The event was organized at India House followed by dinner catered by Dinesh CONTINUED ON PAGE

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INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JANUARY 27, 2017 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

COMMUNITY

Malhotra, Others Receive ICC Community Service Award

Pradeep Sulhan, P.C.

STAFFORD: At its celebration

of India’s 68th Republic Day, held at the Stafford Civic Center, the India Culture Center handed out Community Service Awards to five people who were singled out for their dedication to helping the community over the years and for their remarkable accomplishments.

The five award winners were Leonard Scarcella, Mayor of Stafford and the longest, continuously serving mayor of a US city for 47 years; Harshad Patel, a founding member of the ICC, Hindu Worship Soceity, Gujarati Samaj and India House; Dr. Sunanda Nair, an internationally acclaimed performer of Mohini Attam dance; Anju Mittal, an artist who uses gold, silver and semiprecious stones in her Tanjore style of paintings and Jawahar Malhotra, Publisher of Indo American News. Mittal and Scarcella received etched glass plaques, while the others received a framed painting of the Indian map set to the national tricolors, made by Mittal.

Jawahar Malhotra has been a Houston resident since January 26, 1969 when he arrived to attend the University of Houston after completing his High School in Teheran, Iran. As his father was a Indian Foreign Service Diplomat, he grew up in London, UK; Karachi, West Pakistan; Teheran, Iran, Bern, Switzerland and Bucharest, Romania. Additionally he has

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January 27, 2017 Certified Public Accountant

14340 Torrey Chase Blvd. | Suite 110 | Houston, Texas 77014 (281) 583-2993 | (281) 580-8700 | Fax(281) 580-7550 www.sulhancpa.com | pradeep@sulhancpa.com

Over 25 years experience Jawahar Malhotra, Publisher of Indo American News, shares the ICC Community Service Award with his mother, Shakuntla Malhotra at the Republic Day program at Stafford Civic Center on Saturday, January 21.

lived in Paris, France and Singapore, visited over 40 countries and speaks 8 languages - Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu, Farsi, French, German, Spanish and English.

Malhotra received his Bachelors in Electrical Engineering and also a Masters in Biomedical Engineering, both from the University of Houston. He has worked as a Consulting Engineer, most recently building huge airports, sports stadiums and arenas for many universities nationwide.

While in high school, Malhotra was the editor of the school’s biweekly newspaper and later in private business, he produced a biweekly newsletter for the British West Indian Airline. His love for writing propelled him, to join founder Dr. K.L. Sindwani, as a partner along with Pramod Kulkarni and Koshy Thomas to formally launch Indo American News, the first and oldest weekly newspa-

per in the Southern US servicing the South Asian community for 36 years. He has subsequently become its publisher and continues to produce the weekly community news source with Kulkarni and partner Vanshika Vipin Varma.

In those 36 years, Malhotra has written thousands of community news stories, interviews and business stories and has produced the popular “Kya Nayi Khabar” cartoon strip as well as worked with his mother Shakuntla Malhotra to produce her immensely popular Mama’s Punjabi Recipes, now in its fourth year. He has been the anchor of the popular TV show, Asiana Television, which IAN produced and aired on Channel 48 for four years in the late 90s. He has also produced the bimonthly newsletter for five years covering the 880 homes in his west Houston subdivision.

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First Ever Gujarati Brahm Samaj Sammelan in Houston CONTINUED FROM PAGE

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Purohit from Café India of Sugar Land.

GBSH is a newly formed notfor-profit organization focused to unite the Gujarati Brahmin community. The idea of GBSH was conceived by Nilesh Purohit and supported by Dhaval Trivedi, Haresh Bhatt, Nalin Bhatt, Rasik Pandya, Bharat Shukla, Dinesh Adhvaryu, and Hardik Raval.

GBSH is the unique group in

the history of Houston focused to bring Gujarati Brahmin community together for preserving ancient customs and values for the generations to come.

GBSH will be undertaking various religious, social and educational activities each year. GBSH is committed to provide affordable medical assistance to the seniors.

GBSH will be working towards providing an access to the ancient

Vedic customs and values for better upbringing of our children.

GBSH will be taking initiatives to encourage higher education giving youngsters chance to build their dreams by recognizing and awarding scholarships to the deserving kids.

GBSH has over 90 families as members in their start-up year. For further details contact Founder Nilubhai Purohit at (262) 7161406 or email at gbshtx@ gmail.com to join the Brahm Samaj.

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COMMUNITY

Jallikattu Support in Houston

KATY: The Tamil people resid-

ing in the greater Houston area organized a peaceful rally to support the Jallikattu and to support the Tamil Nadu people who are protesting to remove the ban on Jallikattu permanently at George Bush Park on Saturday, January 21 at 3:00 pm. There were around 750 attendees from all age group gathered to show their support.

The supporters were carrying various banners and flyers to showcase their support to Jallikattu.

The banners have conveyed the message of Houston in support of Jallikattu and also Jallikattu being the birth right of every Tamilan. The supporters stayed in the park for more than 2 hours and expressed their support on Jallikattu with slogans such as “We want Jallikattu”, “Remove ban on Jallikattu permanently” and many more.

From the overwhelming support received it was evident that the Houston Tamil community has a keen interest and affection towards the Tamil heritage and culture and their spirit on fighting for the rights of Tamil. The event ended with a

peaceful walk around the park.

Everyone came together as one community and showed their support. The event was organized by youth volunteers showcasing the same spirit demonstrated back in India.

INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JANUARY 27, 2017 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

COMMUNITY

January 27, 2017

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Foundation For India Studies (FIS) Participates in 23rd MLK Grande Parade

T.A. DORAIRAJAN, D.D.S., GENERAL & FAMILY DENTIST & ORTHODONTICS (BRACES) Participants in the parade were : Kulwant Bhatia, Atul Kothari, Satish Saridey, Sai Aakarsha Saridey, Thrayee Sai Saridey, Rajender Aparasu, Shravya Aparasu, Saureesh Aparasu, Krishna Vavilala (FIS Chair), Lakshmi Vavilala, Raghavender Nednur (Event Chair), Kranthi Nednur, Apoorv Nednur.

BY RAGHAVENDER NEDNUR

HOUSTON: For the sixth year in

a row Foundation for India Studies (FIS) has participated in the 23rd annual MLK Jr. Grande Parade held in Midtown on January 16, which was a declared a public holiday. Readers may recall that FIS was the recipient of the 2015 Grand Marshall award.

It was a fun filled 2 hour long,1hour walk under clear skies.

Weather was comfortable for kids and adults alike. The parade provided an opportunity for the Indian community to express solidarity with grass roots America through the values expounded by Martin Luther King Jr. who had adopted Mahatma Gandhi ji’s principles of non-violence and civil disobe-

dience in his struggle against racial discrimination in America.

Though the two had never met, MLK Jr. was profoundly influenced and inspired by Gandhi ji’s philosophy of Peace and Non-violence which took him to India on invitation from Gandhi Memorial Fund.

Dr. King Jr. and his wife Coretta Scott visited India in Feb.1959. King declared that he may go to other countries as tourist, but to India he would go as a pilgrim. King also spoke on All India Radio broadcast when he said, “If this age is to survive, it must follow the way of love and nonviolence that [Gandhi] so nobly illustrated in his life.” Upon his return from India, Dr. King also wrote in Ebony magazine that his visit to India was a revelation as if “the spear of frustration had been transformed into a “shaft of Light”.

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COMMUNITY

January 27, 2017

17

Eyewitness to American Pomp, Pageantry at Presidential Inauguration

BY DR. RANDEEP SUNEJA, MD

HOUSTON: “I do solemnly swear

that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States of America”.

With these words, Donald J. Trump took the oath of office to become the 45th President of the United States of America.

As a witness to this historic moment, I feel honored and privileged to have attended the inaugural festivities. I am greatly indebted to my friend, Umesh Jain, who with, a single phone call, made this happen with only two weeks left to the inauguration.

Arriving on January 19 afternoon, at Reagan National Airport, we quickly checked into the Hilton Hotel in Old Town Alexandria, and we prepared to attend a special reception

by Congressman Kevin Brady (R-8th Dist.), Chairman of the powerful Ways and Means Committee. Brady leads a committee with jurisdiction over Taxes, Healthcare, and Social Security, Medicare, International trade and welfare. We were able to talk informally with him and other dignitaries.

We rushed back to the hotel to get ready to attend the hottest ticket in town: the Black Tie and Boots Gala

held at the Gaylord Convention Center. This special event was organized by the Texas State Society of Washington D.C. and is one of the prestigious inaugural Galas in the Capital.

The Texas-size 10th Quadrennial Gala had 11,000 invited guests with handsome men dressed in Cowboy hats, tuxedos and boots and beautiful ladies dressed in formal gowns.

Congressman Roger Williams, President of the Society congratulated incoming President Trump on this momentous occasion and invited all the guests to tip their hats and kick up their boots by welcoming the iconic American band, the Beach Boys who played awesome music for

almost two hours.

We slowly managed to get to the front of the stage and shook hands with lead singer Mike Love when he reached out sporadically to the dancing and cheering crowd. We also socialized with the down to earth power couple of Texas, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick and his wife Jan who were overjoyed to visit with other Texan Friends.

Soon after, Donald Trump Jr. joined the stage to congratulate Texas for helping his father in the historic win.

He pointed out that Texas raised more money than California and New York combined. The festivities ended past midnight, and we retired to our hotel

room to get up at 5am and get ready for the Presidential Inauguration.

With massive security and numerous road closures the only way to get to the event was by subway. We arrived close to the Capital around 7:45am but thousands of people had already lined up the streets since 6am, creating extremely long lines at the entrance gates.

The Inauguration started on a spiritual note with Rev. Timothy Michael Dolan, Catholic Cardinal and Archbishop of New York reading King Solomon’s prayer from the Book of Wisdom. At exactly noon, in the presence of former Presidents Carter, Bush and Clinton, Supreme

Court Chief Justice John Roberts administered the oath of the office to Donald J. Trump. In his inaugural 16 minute address comprising of 1433 words Trump proclaimed to “America First” with almost a million supporters chanting “Trump.

Trump”, “USA. USA”.

At the conclusion, Jackie Evancho, a 16 year-old, sang the National Anthem in operatic style, touching the hearts of everyone there. We then swiftly joined the sea of people exiting the event and flew back to Houston the same evening, both feeling awed to be part of American History. It truly was an experience of a lifetime!

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18 January 27, 2017 Pushing India into Margins In one of his first executive acts, United States President Donald Trump pulled the US out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). He has said he will now turn his guns on the North American Free Trade Agreement. Given he had once pledged to reconsider US commitments to the World Trade Organization, it seems international trade is set to enter an unusually contentious time. Most major multilateral trade negotiations are at an impasse. And anti-trade sentiment has found voice even in an export champion like Germany.

India has reason to be nervous but also has few grounds to complain. The forerunner to Mr Trump’s protectionist sentiments, if anything, was the trade policies enacted by New Delhi. Morgan Stanley has listed India as among the countries “relatively exposed” to hostile US trade action, specifically because of India’s $7 billion surplus in information technology services. This seems already happening. The new US Congress is moving to shut the door on H-1B visas and may target L visas next. Generic drugs are also on the firing line. Nonetheless, it is relatively evident that it is countries with large surpluses in goods trades that will face the brunt of Mr Trump’s ire, most notably China and Mexico.

The Narendra Modi government seems to hope Mr Trump’s perception that he has a convergence with India ideologically and strategically will stay his hand on more punitive actions against India. That will only be clear once all the empty seats in his administration are filled. But the evidence, so far, is that Mr Trump’s economic nationalism will override all other considerations as this directly addresses the job concerns of his white working-class political base.

Mr Modi will not be able to claim the high road when it comes to trade. India has been among the most obstructionist countries in multilateral trade negotiations, the WTO’s Doha round being on its victims. Its use of anti-dumping actions against imports has more than doubled between 2013 and 2016, and it has imposed tariffs to try and encourage domestic manufacturing, a policy with a long history of failure. India has been a free-rider in global trade, expecting access to other markets even while keeping its own door closed. Mr Trump’s unilateral trade policies are likely to inspire similar actions by other countries. India can expect to be at the receiving end of such moves, and recognise that its own stance to trade is partly responsible.

India’s only saving grace in a worst-case scenario of unilateral trade actions is that it barely counts in international commerce. Its share in world exports has fallen to 1.6%.

While its export picture is less gloomy than figures make it out to be, once exchange rate changes are taken into account, the truth is India remains irrelevant to global trade. And it will be pushed further into the margins in a Trump world of rising trade barriers. -Hindustan Times

EDITORIAL/COMMENTARY Women’s March ... in India?

BY RADHIKA IYENGAR In the United States of (Divided) America, a protest march spearheaded by women (as well as men), clogged up the streets of Washington, New York and other cities. At the forefront walked the strong, vociferous, bold women who took to the streets shouting at Donald Trump, “Welcome to your first day! We will not go away!”

Women were holding placards that read “Women’s rights are human rights”, “We shall overcomb”, “Girls just wanna have fundamental human rights”. The women channeled their outrage into peaceful protests, with telling, ingenious quotes.

In a democracy, human protests are linchpins for change, particularly where there is a seething discomfort with the establishment. Indians are known to protest. When there is something that doesn’t sit well with them, people are known to take to the streets, raise an alarm and voice dissent. Take the on-going pro-Jallikattu protests, for example. However, seldom has one seen nationwide, women-led rallies that fight for empowering women.

In fact, marches for women’s rights, particularly in patriarchal societies like India, take place in spurts and are seldom accompanied by the support of men. If there is any support from men, they are in insignificant numbers. In the past, there have been small marches like the Pinjra Tod movement held by Delhi University’s female students, where women opposed the curfew restrictions imposed on them by the University’s hostel; or the marches led by BLANK NOISE, a non-profit outfit based in Bengaluru that advocates women liberation and encourages them to walk on the streets alone.

Interestingly, alongside the mass protests in the United States that took place to show collective dissonance against the new President, miles away in India, a brigade of women gathered to march for the #IWillGoOut campaign, to voice their need to reclaim public spaces.

Women in India have often been restricted from walking on the streets alone, particularly at night.

The #IWillGoOut campaign was

A crowd listens to speakers a rally near City Hall before a women’s march during the first full day of Donald Trump’s presidency in San Francisco, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017.

Marches for women’s rights, particularly in patriarchal societies like India, take place in spurts and are seldom accompanied by the support of men. launched to protest against this restriction and to exhbit anger against the large-scale sexual molestation incident in Bengaluru on December 31, 2016.

Sexual assaults on women are rampant in India. So rampant, that they tipped the scales to over 34,000 rape incidents in 2015, according to the National Crime Record Bureau. This number, however, reflected only the incidents which were reported. The overall number of incidents would be far more.

Characteristic of patriarchal societies, it’s always the women who are held responsible for the violence inflected onto them. In fact, in the aftermath of the Bengaluru incident, the Karnataka Minister G. Parameshwara tried to normalise the incident by saying, “These things do happen”, while Samajwadi Party’s Abu Azmi said that women should always be chaperoned by men in their family.

He went on to say, “It is wrong to expect [men] to treat [women] with respect…if there is sugar somewhere, ants will come.”

Of course, there was a great sense of outrage, dismay, disillusionment

and disappointment, but while certain women-led groups did take to the streets to protest, it did not gather much momentum. And the fact is, if the issue is concerning women, it almost never does.

The only time I can recall the country erupting into mass protests was in the 2012 gang rape incident, when a woman was physically assaulted and raped on the bus, and then dumped on the streets to die. The gruesomeness of the incident was so despicable that it forced people out of their homes to make a hue and cry about it. At that time, the protest seemed mammoth, unwavering, inimitable, powerful.

At that time, it felt like it would go on to irreversibly change the situation in India when it comes to respecting women. Unfortunately, it didn’t Four years have passed since the incident. And no change has taken place. Sexual assault on women and rape crimes continue to spike.

That’s the question being raised regarding the Women’s March as well: Alright, so you gathered in mass numbers and covered the streets in unison to protest against the new President. But, what now?

What will come out of it? Yes, you’re voicing your dissent and distaste for his policies that are unfavourable for women, but will it waver a self-interest-driven man who has an unapologetic, disconcerting view of women, to deter from his stance?

Indian Express.

Radhika is a Senior Sub Editor with the indianexpress.com She is an alumna of Columbia University.

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INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JANUARY 27, 2017 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

COMMUNITY

January 27, 2017

19

Delight all Your Senses with a Trip through the Sugar Land Home & Garden Show

Flora, food and fun will fill the Stafford Centre the final weekend of January

Cambria Summerhill Slab Quartz Counter

Chef Michelle Morris, Ferguson Enterprise’s first in-house chef, will demonstrate the ease of cooking with Thermador appliances. The chef will whip up some tasty dishes four times each day of the show from the Sugar Land Home & Garden Show’s Thermador Live Cooking Stage sponsored

by Ferguson Bath, Kitchen & Lighting Gallery.

Photo: Ferguson Enterprises.

SUGAR LAND: On Jan. 28 and 29,

the 7th Annual Sugar Land Home & Garden Show in Stafford will provide a one-stop home improvement event for homeowners looking to spruce up their homes, landscapes or outdoor living areas. The show will be held at the Stafford Centre at 10505 Cash Road in Stafford, which is easy to find and has plenty of available parking.

“We’re really excited about all of the new products and exhibitors at this year’s show,” Tony Wood, president of Texwood Shows Inc., the producer of the Sugar Land Home & Garden Show, said.

Kitchens will receive special attention at the show with demonstrations

from the Thermador Live Cooking Stage sponsored by Ferguson Bath, Kitchen & Lighting Gallery.

Chef Michelle Morris, Ferguson’s in-house chef, will produce exotic cuisine such as Cumin Spiced Lamb Sliders, Asian Beef Bulgogi Nachos and Butternut Squash Focaccia Pizza in a demonstration of the company’s Thermador 36-inch Induction Cooktop, as well as its Thermador Built-In Steam Oven. Scheduled for four times daily, the demonstrations will conclude with free samples, while supplies last, to those in attendance.

With the stain-resistant, nonporous qualities of natural stone quartz surfaces – kitchen, bath, laundry room or anywhere countertops are used – continuing to grow in popularity, representatives from Cambria will be at the show to provide information and an opportunity for homeowners to see and touch the company’s most popular countertop products. In addition to samples of Cambria’s more than 130 designs, the booth will contain full-size slabs of the company’s Brittanicca, Princetown, Harlech and Roxwell designs.

Homeowners attending this year’s show will have an opportunity to learn from the best as experts including Certified Professional Organizer Lisa Giesler, GardenTalk Host Randy Lemmon and Solar Energy Expert Bill Murphy each take the Fort Bend Lifestyles & Homes Presentation Stage throughout the weekend to share their specific knowledge and answer questions from the audience.

In addition, Master Gardeners from the Fort Bend County area will be on hand throughout the show to answer questions and provide tips to those with a desire to step up their gardening efforts.

Landscape enthusiasts will want to

be sure to hear Pearl Fryar of The Pearl Fryar Topiary Garden spread his message of “love, peace and goodwill” through the beauty of plants. Fryar will describe his journey from selftaught gardener to award-winning topiary artist and will continue his inspiring story by sculpting live from the presentations stage and sharing photos of his beautiful topiary garden in Bishopville, South Carolina.

The increasing popularity of outdoor living has prompted an update to the Belgard Hardscapes Mobile Display. Crisscrossing the country, the semi-truck is filled with brandnew hardscape designs and products to provide curb appeal or turn the surrounding property into an extension of the house with the addition of pavers, a fireplace, an outdoor kitchen, or even a pizza oven.

The 2nd Annual Brew & Vinos VIP Craft Beer and Wine Event will be set up adjacent to the show in the parking lot of the Stafford Centre from 1-5 p.m. on both days of the show. The event will include a shopping tent with artesian vendors, a wine auction and a beer competition. To purchase a specially priced combination ticket to both the Home & Garden Show and the Craft Beer and Wine Event, visit brewandvinos.com/.

“The Sugar Land Skeeters’ mascot ‘Swatson,’ always a crowd favorite, will appear each day of the show from 1 to 3 p.m.,” Wood said. “And please be sure to stop by and visit with the folks from the Fort Bend Children’s Discovery Center, the show’s 2017 Charity Partner, to learn how to help the group fulfill its mission of transforming communities through innovative child-centered learning.”

Also set up outside the show on both days will be local food trucks, Cousins Maine Lobster – providing lobster in a variety of ways from bisque to tacos, St. John’s Fire, which serves Gulf Coast specialties ranging from Cajun Egg Rolls to Fried Crawfish Mac & Cheese Balls -- Curbside Sliderz and Houston’s Finest Soul Food Truck.

Show hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 28, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 29. Tickets for the Sugar Land Home & Garden Show are cash only at $9 for adults, $8 for seniors, and children 12 years and younger can attend for free. Parking is available at no cost.

For show and ticket information call 832-274-3944 or visit SugarLandHomeAndGarden.com, where a downloadable discount coupon for $2 off admission is available.

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OBITUARY H

Illustrious Tabla Maestro of Houston Passes Away

OUSTON: Dexter Raghunanan was a highly accomplished tabla player based in Houston, Texas.

He was one of the most distinguished Indian Classical artistes to originate from Trinidad W.I. Dexter was originally from Mon Repos, San Fernando. He always had a great penchant toward percussion as a child. His paternal grandmother recognized his innate talent and passion for drums bought him his first pair of Tabla and subsequently encouraged him to learn Tabla formally. His musical journey began under the tutelage of Shri Tensing Ramlakhan. It was not long before Dexter became a sought after accompanist and performer in Trinidad and the rest of the region. He established his own tabla school that started off with just four students in a temple in south Trinidad, which soon expanded to a school of over two hundred. Dexter taught for several years as a Primary School teacher at Debe Primary school (at Standard 5 level) before migrating to the US.

Dexter’s love of tabla took him to the U.S. and Canada, where he accompanied many world-renowned artistes.

In 2005 Dexter moved to Houston Texas where he began teaching tabla and performing extensively in the U.S. with Classical musicians, Ghazal singers, Dancers and Fusion artistes. The United States Congress recognized him in 2010 and most recently by the Mayor of Tulsa OK USA. On the January 15, 2014, Dexter represented Trinidad at a concert on the lawns of the Majestic Taj Mahal, featuring other world famous artistes such as Grammy award winner, Ustad Zakir Hussain.

Dexter, has been an outstanding cultural Ambassador of Trinidad and Tobago to the Americans and by extension to the rest of the world. His selfless service as a music teacher to hundreds of aspiring musicians in Trinidad and abroad will not go un-noticed.

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COMMUNITY

BY SUBHIKSHA SRINIVASAN

HOUSTON: On January 7, in a

conference room in India House, a group of aspiring students sat amazed.

Eyes open, ears listening, brain processing each word that escaped the lips of Dr. Latha Ramchand. Her love for numbers drew her to the banking industry, where, unknown to her, laid down the foundations of her success as the Dean of University of Houston Bauer School of Business.

She jumped through the obstacles of exams, becoming a gold medalist in Economics from Bombay University and furthered her education when she came to the U.S. in finance, receiving a Ph.D. from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University. Academically, Ramchand was an academic star who would make any Indian parent proud, but that day Dr. Ramchand told to the students that academics, though very necessary, isn’t the only thing that leaders strive in. She dived into the discussion of what makes a leader discussing just what is a leader, what motivates a leader, how adversity is not the downfall but rather the turning point of successful leaders and most importantly to constantly learn, constantly build your skill set to increase your value in the market place.

One of the most powerful topics Dr. Ramchand covered was a method to developing one’s skillset. Here’s the process: Step 1: Analyze your strengths and weaknesses Make a t-chart of your strengths and weaknesses. Than ask yourself how can you work on your weaknesses?

Let’s say one of your weaknesses is people skills. Ask yourself, “What can I do to strengthen my people skills?” Which leads us to step 2.

Step 2. Find an expert/mentor and learn from them.

Find someone who is amazing at want you are weak at. Who do you know is an expert in people skills?

Who do you know is an expert in

January 27, 2017

21

Meeting Dr. Latha Ramchand

having fun? Who do you know is an expert in math? You know over 2,000 people by the time you turn 21, imagine how many people you know, there must be someone you know who is an expert in people skills. Once you find the expert, humble yourself before them and ask them for their guidance. Dr. Ramchand advises that once you find your mentor you need to understand that you are holding yourself accountable to listen to them and not offer any opinions or suggestions, after all they are the ones who are the expert not you.

Step 3. Build a personal board of directors.

Build a community around you who holds you accountable, they can be mentors, teachers, family, friends, people you trust, a board of people where you can be yourself.

Dr. Ramchand left us with one last strong message: What characteristics do you find in people you trust?

If you can be an expert in those skills you just made yourself trustworthy.

Trust is the difference between a leader who constantly turns behind

their back making sure they have followers and a leader who looks

straight and knows that they have followers.

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PUZZLES / RECIPES

Mama’s Punjabi Recipes

Sabat Massar Di Dal (Whole Masoor Lentils)

Dals (lentils) are

the mainstay of many Indian diets, especially those who are vegetarian or eat little meat.

The provide 3.5 times the amount of protein in rice and 2.5 times that of wheat though boiled dal only contains 9% protein by weight, 70% water, 20% carbohydrates (including 8% fiber) and 1% fat. All dals are also rich in B vitamins, thiamine and folic acid as well as minerals like iron and zinc.

Each region of India has its own style and recipe for dal, made according to local tastes. Nowhere will you find the heartiness and full flavor taste of dals as you will in the Punjab. Punjabi dals are known for their smooth, thick texture and the perfect blend of spices. They are not runny or thin and the hot tardka - blend of hot oil, spices, onions, garlic and sometimes hing (asafetida, an Aryuvedic medicine that relieves gas) – stirred into the cooked dal lets off a sizzle that demands attention, especially as it fills the air with an exciting aroma.

Many people in India make dals in pressure cookers and they have brought this method to their new homes in America too. But, in our ancestral homes in Jhung and Lyallpur in West Punjab there were no pressure cookers and we used to make dal in a large patila (pot) simmered for an hour or more over a slow to medium flame. Very often, the dal made in a cooker gets overcooked and comes out like soup! Dal should be cooked so that you can spot the grain and scoop it up with a little turri (curry).

Dals come in a rainbow of colors and tastes. There is the green moong dal; the yellow pea like channa, toor (also called arar dal) and dhuli (skinless) moong; the black cylindrical urad (known in Punjabi as mahn); the red flat sabat massar; the brown round maut. Punjabis usually stick to the whole moong, whole mahn or split mahn and channa (also called chole ki dal).

There are about 50 varieties of dals (also called pulses) and they come either whole skin (sabat) or split skinless (dhuli). Skinless (dhuli) dals cook faster than those with the skin which have a high fiber content and a nuttier, earthier taste. According to Punjabi

tradition, sabat massar dal is eaten only in the cold months for the energy and warmth it gives especially when eaten with chawal (rice). Massar dal cooks very easily in a pot rather than in a pressure cooker where it dissolves into soup.

Ingredients: • • • • • • • •

rinse it out.

2.Bring the 2 cups of water to a boil over high heat. Pour in the masar dal into the pot, cover, and add the haldi, ginger and salt and let it come to a second boil then reduce the heat to medium.

3.If the water boils off before the dal becomes tender and not too thick, then add some more and let it continue to boil for about 20 minutes till the dal is tender but not soft. Keep a frequent eye on the dal to make sure it does not become soupy.

4.Heat the oil in a small karai or wok and add the garlic and brown it a little. When roasted and the smell of the pieces starts to come through, take off the heat and drop the masala into the pot of cooked dal and stir to mix well.

5.Sprinkle the top of the dal with garam masala and the cut coriander leaves above.

250gm sabat massar dal (whole masoor lentils) 2 cups pani (water) 2 tbspn olive oil 2 cloves of lasan (garlic) – peeled and chopped, or use powdered garlic 1 medium adrak (ginger) – peeled and chopped, or use powdered ginger 1 tspn garam masala 5 stalktops fresh dhania (coriander) – pinch off the leaves and cut into pieces Spices (to taste): lal mirch (red pepper); namak (salt); haldi (turmeric)

Directions: 1.Place the masar dal in a bowl and wash it thoroughly in cold water, then

Shakuntla Malhotra is a skilled cook of Punjabi dishes made in the oldfashioned style that she learnt as a young woman in her ancestral home in Lyallpur (since renamed Faisalabad), India before it became part of Pakistan after the Partition. People have often admired her cooking for its simplicity and taste that comes with each mouthful. Even in her late-eighties, she continues to cook daily and agreed to share some of her delectable recipes.

MAMA’S TIP OF THE WEE K TAKE CARE, DALS GETS T WHEN COOLED D HICKER OWN

One of the most co mmon complaints th have when making dals is that they mak at young, inexperienced cooks e then just right for use, but find that, so the im on hard to eat with ro after they take cool down, the dal gets mediate ti and doesn’t mix well with rice. That’ thicker and dal just soaks up th s because the e water in which it has been cooked.

It is best to cook da l so that it is a little stove. That way, it’ thinner when first tak ll still be okay for en off the a second helping lat keep the dal in a fri er. But, if you dge for use later, it will certainly be m that case, thin it ou uch thicker. In t by adding only bo iled – not cold – w ater.

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January 27, 2017

ENTERTAINMENT:REVIEWS/NEWS ENTERTAINMENT:REVIEWS/NEWS Ustad Bismillah Khan’s Stolen Shehnais Recovered, Grandson Arrested

VARANASI: In a breakthrough

in the Bharat Ratna Ustad Bismillah Khan’s shehnai theft case, the Varanasi unit of Special Task Force (STF) arrested three persons including his grandson and two jewelers on Tuesday. Out of the four shehnais, three silver made shehnais were melted by the jewelers. The police recovered 1.066 kg melted silver. Ustad’s priceless shehnais were sold off at a petty amount of Rs 17,000 only.

According to SSP STF Amit Pathak, on the basis of surveillance outcome the STF personnel caught Ustad’s grandson Najre Hasan, who was trying to leave the city. During interrogation he confessed that he had stolen the shehnais to repay the money he had borrowed from some people. He sold the shehnais to jewellers Shankarlal Seth and Sujit Seth of Piyari locality.

The STF recovered Rs 4,200 from him, later the jewellers were arrested and the melted silver was recov-

ered from them. An FIR was lodged at Chowk police station for further legal action.

The three silver shehnais were gifted to Ustad by former Prime Minister Narasimha Rao, RJD chief Lalu Prasad and Congress MP Kapil Sibal, and the silver plating of one shehnai were melted, according to STF officials.

Maestro’s shehnais were stolen from his son Kazim Hussain’s house, located in Chahmam area.

Kazim lodged an FIR against unidentified persons with Chowk police station on December 5. According to Kazim, he found the lock broken on returning from their old house situated in Hadaha Sarai locality. All the shehnais of his father were missing, Najre Hassan is Kazim Hussain’s son.

Immediately after the theft of the shehnais, Ustad’s youngest son and Yash Bharati awardee Najim Hussain had suspected something fishy about the theft. He told to TOI that he is surprised to know that the shehnais were stolen by a family member.

-timesofindia.com

23

Majaz: Ae Gham-e-Dil Kya Karun Movie Review The film is the real life story of film may appeal to pur-

famous Urdu Poet, Majaz — his rise to fame, his star-crossed love life and his downfall that led to an early, lonely death.

Biopics on poets in India are few and far between, because of which we tend to forget that poets were the rock stars of our recent past.

Majaz: Ae Gham-e-Dil Kya Karun is one such film based on the life of Indian romantic poet, Asrar ul Haq Majaz also known as Majaz Lakhnawi (played by Priyanshu Chaterjee). A young, revolutionary poet of the 30s, Majaz is a rebel and a romantic who starts out as a proverbial ‘good guy’ compared to his peers and achieves fame early in life. However, the company he keeps slowly transforms him into an alcoholic. He falls for a girl who is married to his friend, and that drives him deeper into alcoholism.

His family life breaks down we see a genius throw his life away as the world around him crumbles.

Given that this is a period film, the makers have tried their best to recreate the 30s; however, the modest production values don’t really help achieve that. The real takeaway in the film is the music composed by Talat Aziz, based on the work of the late poet. The research employed, too, is top-notch, where the makers have tried to explain Majaz’s life.

The heavy-duty Urdu used in the

ists, but the masses will need an upgrade in their vocabulary to get the gist of the scenes. Also, given its two-hour plus runtime, you may find it tough to keep track. Priyanshu Chatterjee does a decent job, although he is less convincing as a college student than he is later on, as a full-blown alcoholic. The rest of the cast though, including Rashmi Mishra as the unrequited love of his life, seem to struggle with their lines. The film may solely appeal to Urdu poetry buffs.

The rest can give this a miss.

-timesofindia.com

Bobby Deol January 27, 1967

Shruti Haasan January 28, 1986

INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JANUARY 27, 2017 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

Preity Zinta January 31, 1975

24 January 27, 2017 1rd ODI: Stokes, Woakes Help England Defend 321

BY ANDREW MILLER

R

AJKOT: (ESPN Cricinfo): England 321 for 8 (Roy 65, Stokes 57*, Bairstow 56, Pandya 3-49) beat India 316 for 9 (Jadhav 90, Pandya 56, Kohli 55) by five runs Chris Woakes pulled off the Kolkata grandstand finish that had eluded his team-mate, Ben Stokes, in last year’s World T20 final, as he held his nerve in the face of a supreme onslaught from India’s man of the moment, Kedar Jadhav, and delivered for England their first victory in India in eight matches and more than 10 weeks of touring.

The end, when it came, was anticlimactic to all but the 11 relieved Englishmen in the outfield, and their nerve-shredded dressing room. With 16 runs to defend, Woakes recovered from being slammed for six and four in the first two deliveries of the game’s final over to chalk up four consecutive dot-balls, including the vital scalp of Jadhav for 90 from 75 balls, to seal a consolation win in the three-match ODI series.

It was a supremely hard-earned victory at the end of an extraordinary series that has featured a grand total of 2,090 runs in six innings - a record for a three-match rubber. And England’s effort was all the more impressive given that they lost the toss (and with it the chance to pace their innings against a measurable end-point) as well as one of their frontline seamers, David Willey, who had to withdraw from the attack with a shoulder injury after two overs.

However, thanks to another tapestry of hard-hitting cameos all down the order - from Jason Roy against the new ball to Woakes and Stokes at the death - England ended up with just enough runs on the board. And when 321 for 8 on a sporty seamer’s surface equals “just enough”, you know the format has entered a new dimension.

The foundations of England’s victory were laid by the opening pair of Roy and Sam Billings, who was playing in his first match of the series after Alex Hales’ withdrawal with a broken hand. From the outset, India’s seamers found bounce and movement from a probing line and length outside off stump to force a naturally

Hardik Pandya hit a belligerent half-century, India v England, 3rd ODI, Kolkata, January 22, 2017.

aggressive duo to sit tight for their opportunities.

To both men’s credit, they did just that. Roy once again took the lead with his third fifty of the series while Billings played the holding role, contributing 35 to a 98-run stand that was only broken by the advent of the first drinks break.

Bairstow, a late replacement for Joe Root, made 56 from 64 balls to keep England ticking along in the middle over, while Morgan, a centurion in Cuttack, showed once again that he’s rediscovered that pocket-battleship power that once set him apart among England one-day batsmen.

The return of Hardik Pandya threatened another decisive momentum swing, as he picked off both set batsmen, plus a slightly subdued Jos Buttler, in a brilliant six-over spell that proved both incisive and restrictive.

England, however, no longer know how to stop attacking in the closing overs, and Stokes in particular served notice of his intention to banish the memories of his last visit to Kolkata.

He finished unbeaten on 57 from 39 balls, with Woakes chipping in with 34 from 19, as England posted a total that would have counted as formidable in any series.

Nevertheless, having demonstrated the potency with the new-ball in defeat at Pune and Cuttack, the onus was on England’s seamers to strike hard and strike fast in the most favourable conditions they had encountered all winter. And they should, by rights, have done so with the very first de-

livery, when Woakes was shown on replay to have grazed Ajinkya Rahane’s glove with an off-stump lifter, but nobody thought to appeal.

But India just kept coming. KL Rahul took a block-or-blast approach against the new ball, slotting a monstrous six over the covers in Woakes’ first over before falling to a similarly aggressive wallop when Jake Ball entered the attack as Willey’s replacement in the sixth.

Virat Kohli calibrated the conditions in his inimitably forensic fashion, and set about pacing the chase with his second half-century of the series.

On 35, Ball at deep backward square dropped a clanger as Plunkett banged in a bouncer - a terrible miss from a fielder who clearly had too long to think about the stature of the man who had launched the ball his way - but for once such a let-off wasn’t overly costly.

Yuvraj Singh kept India’s innings ticking along for a while, climbing into a rare Moeen long-hop to batter a huge six over midwicket. But, on 45, he aimed in the same direction off the extra pace of Plunkett, and could only pick out Billings on the edge of the rope.

MS Dhoni, too, was a victim of that extra spring in the pitch, as he climbed into a drive against Ball to snick another flying edge to Buttler.

Cue Jadhav’s most outrageous stroke of the night - an open-shouldered slam for six over wide long-off, to reduce the requirement to 10 from

five, and revive agonising memories of Stokes’ own implosion nine months earlier. When Jadhav followed up one ball later with another flat-bat for four over mid-off, Eden Gardens was ready for lift-off.

But Woakes and his captain Morgan weren’t done yet, knowing full well that, at eight-down, one good delivery could still derail the chase. Instead, Woakes offered four, finding a consistently awkward length outside off that forced Jadhav to reach for his strokes. He reached, fatefully, with a drive into Billings’midriff at long-off, and with him went the game.

India have added legspinner Amit Mishra and offspinner Parvez Rasool to their squad for the three T20s against England, choosing to rest their first-choice spin pair of R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja for the series. Ashwin and Jadeja had been part of the initial 15-man squad for the series, which also includes legspinner Yuzvendra Chahal.

The series begins on January 26 in Kanpur, rounding off England’s full tour of India.

Mishra played two Tests against England in the recent home series and picked up five wickets. In the home ODIs against New Zealand before that, he was India’s top wicket-taker with 15 strikes at 14.33 and an economy rate of 4.79. He had played that series, too, in the absence of Ashwin and Jadeja, who were rested.

In all, Mishra has played eight T20Is, and taken 14 wickets at 13.71 and an economy rate of 6.40. Only one of those eight T20Is have come in the last year; before playing West Indies in Florida last August, his previous T20I was in early 2014 at the World T20 in Bangladesh where he finished as India’s second-highest wicket-taker behind Ashwin.

Rasool, who is handy with the bat down the order, has played just one international game till date - against Bangladesh in Dhaka in mid-2014.

It is understood that the selectors felt this series was a good opportunity to blood someone like Rasool as there were no high-profile T20I tournaments in the near future.

In 37 T20s, he has 27 wickets at 34.44 with an economy rate of 6.88.

Andrew Miller is UK editor of ESPNcricinfo.

SPORTS Pakistan’s Sikh Hope: Mahinder Pal Singh

K

ARACHI (ESPN Cricinfo): Dr Harjeet Singh finally gets it. “Until he [was in the] headlines on TV, no one knew that we also play cricket.”

Who is the “he” here, and who are the “we”? Putting Dr Harjeet into context by way of his location, Nankana Sahib, will answer a few questions.

The tiny 20,000-strong Sikh community in Pakistan found itself on the sports news pages when the doctor’s son Mahinder Pal Singh, 20, a medium-pacer, was one of 30 players selected for the PCB’s National Cricket Academy training and skills camp in Multan last year in October.

Mahinder became the first Sikh in Pakistan’s history to join the mainstream of cricket’s second-largest country.

It was the fact of Mahinder’s ethnicity that made the news, belonging as he does to perhaps the smallest minority in Pakistan. Seven nonMuslim cricketers have represented the country in a total of 207 Tests and two ODIs. Among them, from Wallis Mathias to Yousuf Youhana (before he became the cricketer formally known as Mohammad Yousuf) are seven Christians and two Hindus, but no Sikhs.

Mahinder is only starting out in his career, but he has already been on a fairly long and difficult path to get to where he is. A few like him were well known in club cricket in Pakistan names like Papinder Singh, Madan Singh and Gulab Singh, of whom the last played two or three grade-two matches but was never seen again.

“It has been a childhood dream for me to play for Pakistan,” says Mahinder. “I wasn’t allowed until I did my matriculation, [when] I made a deal with my father that I will carry on studies but will also play cricket.”

Pakistan cricket prospect: Mahinder Pal Singh.

INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JANUARY 27, 2017 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

January 27, 2017

25

Apple is Ready to Start Making iPhones in India, but at a Price

B

ANGALORE: Apple Inc. is willing to start making iPhones in India, but it wants a big helping hand from Narendra Modi’s government first.

The Cupertino, California-based company is scheduled to meet with officials in New Delhi next week to discuss the prospects for setting up manufacturing facilities in the country this year.

Apple, the most valuable company on Earth, is asking for a long list of financial concessions from India, one of the poorest countries. Among the requests, the company is seeking a 15-year tax holiday on imports of components and equipment, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter.

“We would like Apple to set up base in India,” Ravi Shankar Prasad, minister for information technology said on Wednesday, without disclosing the company’s negotiating stance.

Apple wants to boost business in India as the country of 1.3 billion becomes the fastest-growing smartphone market and sales flatten in the US and China. Chief executive officer Tim Cook visited the country for the first time in May as he sought government approval for Apple to open

its own stores. India has insisted that Apple, like any single-brand retailer, source 30% of its components locally, though the country is relaxing those rules so technology companies can operate stores for three years before meeting that requirement.

Still, Apple wants more. The company has sent a list of requests ahead of its 25 January meeting with officials from several government departments, including Electronics and Commerce, the person said, asking not to be named because the matter is private. Apple is also asking for a waiver on customs duties for new and used equipment brought into India. The Indian Express newspaper reported Apple wants full exemption from duties on raw materials, components and capital equipment.

Apple won’t insist on getting everything on its wish list, the person said.

Apple didn’t respond to requests for comment.

The company doesn’t manufacture devices itself, but rather partners with contract manufacturers to handle the capital intensive demands of building factories and hiring staff. One surprise in India is that Apple plans to partner with Taiwan’s Wistron Corp. rather

than Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., its usual manufacturing source, according to the person. Assembly of iPhones could start at Wistron’s existing facility in the suburbs of Bengaluru, the person said. The work may be expanded to other suppliers including Hon Hai later, depending on demand, the person said.

Apple and India’s officials have met several times amid a prolific exchange of correspondence, but next week’s meeting will be crucial.

If the government gives in to Apple’s demands, it may have to offer similar incentives to other global brands, such as Samsung Electronics Co. and Xiaomi Corp.

“Historically, the government has given no such concessions to any other company and there is no room in the policy to do so,” said Anshul Gupta, the Mumbai-based research director at Gartner Inc. “What Apple is asking for is outside the trend so it will be interesting to see how the government looks at it.”

India isn’t the only country pressing Apple for local manufacturing.

US President-elect Donald Trump has said he wants to see iPhones made in Apple’s home market, part

of a broader push to get companies to keep or create manufacturing jobs.

Hon Hai has said that it is in preliminary discussions to broaden its investment in the US. Prime Minister Modi wants companies to make products in the country as part of his “Make in India” policy, aimed at reaping the benefits that come from manufacturing facilities and jobs. His administration doesn’t want technology companies to sell products and take advantage of its vast consumer base without making their own capital investments.

Despite its global success, Apple

is a minor player in India, largely because its phones are too expensive for local consumers. Apple holds about 2 percent of the market in a country where about 500 million smartphones are expected to be sold in the next few years. Samsung Electronics Co. and local player Micromax Informatics Ltd. are the leaders, thanks largely to their low-cost devices. For Apple, setting up manufacturing and retailing facilities could make the devices cheaper and help fuel growth. Cook has said Apple is just “scratching the surface” in India.

-livemint.com

Mystery $9 Billion in Cash with Indians after Modi’s Demonetisation Move MUMBAI: |India’sunprecedented

Reserve Bank of India has refused to share the amount of invalidated bills that have been deposited and said on 5 January that it is still counting the notes to eliminate errors.

ban on high-denomination currency bills has led to a mismatch in cash supply that has flummoxed some economists and data crunchers.

Indians withdrew about Rs60,000 crore ($9 billion) more than the Rs9.1 trillion of currency in circulation as of 13 January, according to a report submitted by the Reserve Bank of India to a parliamentary panel on Wednesday. A copy of the document was seen by Bloomberg.

“This is usually not the case,” said Sujan Hajra, chief economist at Anand Rathi Securities Ltd. in Mumbai, who was a director at the RBI from 1993-2006. He added that

cash with public should be lower than currency in circulation “but then you don’t have demonetisation usually.”

Clarity will emerge only once the central bank reconciles and publishes final figures, he said.

The RBI’s spokeswoman declined to comment. The central bank has refused to share the amount of invalidated bills that have been deposited and said on 5 January that it is still counting the notes to eliminate errors.

In a shock move late on 8 November, Prime Minister Narendra Modi cancelled Rs15.4 trillion of the Rs17.7 trillion in circulation and pledged to swap the worthless notes

with fresh bills. Between 9 November to 13,25,197 January million bank notes aggregating Rs6.78 trillion have been put into circulation, taking total currency in circulation to about Rs9.1 trillion, according to the RBI’s document on Wednesday. As on 13 January the public had withdrawn close to Rs9.7 trillion from bank counters and cash-dispensing machines, the document said.

-livemint.com

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INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JANUARY 27, 2017 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

26 January 27, 2017 Samajwadi Party, Congress Make Alliance Official

Raj Babbar and Naresh Uttam at the joint press conference.

NEW DELHI: Ending all their

differences over seat sharing, the Samajwadi Party and Congress on Sunday sealed their alliance for the Uttar Pradesh polls. A formal announcement in this regard was made at a joint-press conference, addressed

by Congress UP chief Raj Babbar and SP leader Naresh Uttam Patel. After days of tussle, the ruling SP decided to allot 105 seats to the Congress, keeping rest for itself.

“For unity and integrity of India and following secular ideology, we will continue our fight under SP National

president Akhilesh Yadav,” said Naresh Uttam. “The country’s secular fabric will become stronger when Akhilesh Yadav becomes the chief minister again,” he added.

“We will contest on all 403 seats. while Samajwadi party will field candidates on 298 seats, Congress will contest on 105 seats,” said the SP leader. He also said the idea behind the alliance was to “uproot communal BJP” and make UP a leading state by removing both BJP and Mayawati’s BSP. Expressing hope for good show in

the polls, Raj Babbar said the alliance will strive hard for upliftment of poor and development of state. “We hope to win the confidence of people of Uttar Pradesh. If voted to power, the alliance will work to strengthen the law and order situation in the state.

I am sure that the alliance will set an example. We will strive hard for upliftment of poor and development of state,” said Babbar.

The PCC chief said Congress has accepted SP’s offer of 105 seats keeping in mind the prevailing situation in the country and also the atmosophere in the state. “Keeping these factors in mind, Congress leadership agreed to strike an alliance to thwart BJP’s divisive politics and at the same time

to boost secularism and promote communal and social harmony.

“Our ideologies are not different.

We share many common ideologies,” he said, adding both the parties believed in social justice and development, peace and good atmosphere.

He said the alliance between the two youth leaders — Akhilesh and Rahul Gandhi — will ensure that politcs transcends narrow boundaries of caste and religion.

He also said BJP had created hardships for the people with its note ban decision. “Now people have an opportunity to teach BJP a lesson,” he said.

When asked to comment on Congress’slogan “27 saal, UP behaal” Raj

Babbar said, “Now UP will embark on the rapid path of progress and there will be no ‘badhali’ (in a bad state).”

He said a Common Minimum Programme will be drafted within a week.

Talks between top Congress and SP leaders had been going on for the last several days for but an announcement got delayed as the two parties refused to scale down their demand for the number of seats each would contest.

Earlier in the day, the Samajwadi party released its manifesto and promised a host of schemes for all round development of poll-bound Uttar Pradesh.

-indianexpress.com

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