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COMMUNITY

October 21, 2016

Har Har Mahadev Relates the Story of Lord Shiva

STAFFORD: The much awaited

play, ‘Har Mahadev – Nritya Natika’ produced by Shree Madan Dham USA and Manoranjan Inc. was presented at the Old Stafford Civic Center, on Friday, October 14. Subhash Gupta, President of Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation of USA and his wife Sarojini were the Chief Guests of the event.

This two and a half hour long Nritiya Natika was composed with the concept of universal brotherhood, peace, and harmony in mind, written in Hindi, Sanskrit and Gujarati by the well-known artist Indravadan Trivedi, popularly known as Masterji, and with dialogues by Dr. Sarita Mehta.

Masterji, the producer, director and choreographer, single handed organized and trained 47 local budding performers and artists.

This magnificent work transported the audience to thrilling spiritual dances and a musical adventure with an impressive overture. The opening dance of Lord Ganesh, as well as the character of Parshuram, was performed by Masterji himself and both were par excellence.

Dr. Omkar Dave played and danced the main character of the natak, Lord Shiva, one of the principle deities of Hinduism. Shiva, the auspicious one, God of Satya (Honesty), Satyam (Truth), Sundram (Beauty) are the three dimensions of Reality, the “creator, destroyer and regenerator”.

The magnificent dance, the great Tandav Nritya of Lord Shiva was breathtakingly performed by Dave.

The dances of the budding dancer Richita Shah as Chandra Prabha and the Lavani Dance were a sight to behold. Her Nagin dance in a group with other six girls was also highly applauded by audience.

Yogina Patel played the role of Devi Sati, the daughter of Daksha Prajapati and consort of Lord Shiva, who immolated herself after her father insulted her husband Lord Shiva and her performance left the audience spell bound. Akshay Shah as Dakh Maharaj and Rasesh Dalal as Narad won the hearts of the audience. The emcee of the play, Ina Patel, was the anchor, her style of speaking Hindi and grasp of Hindi pronunciation was superb.

Dr. Sarita Mehta, President of Vidya Dham, an eminent poetess and writer and a retired lecturer of

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Sabyasachi’s Couture Unveiled in Houston

Barka Jayaswal of Bollywood Closet displays Sabyasachi’s clothes on the racks

Hostess Asha Dhume provides a spread of delicious food for the shoppers.

SUGAR Hindi language and culture from Rice University delivered a beautiful message of love, peace and brotherhood in her short poetic speech. She honored Masterji with a shawl for his tireless efforts to promote Indian artistic heritage and culture in a foreign land.

The musical panorama, conceptualized and directed by Masterji, was conducted by Hemant Dave, Samita Vasaveda, Kokila Shah, Dipti Dave, Manish Patel, Rakesh

Parikh, and Rashimikant. This magnificent work, transported audience on a thrilling spiritual dances and musical adventure with this impressive overture and received huge applause from the packed audience.

Videography was by Nisha Mirani and Anand; sound by Darshak Thakker and photography by Dr. Nik Nikam. For a video clip visit https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=G8FDwUnJQEs

LAND: More than 120 Houstonians packed the Sabyasachi Couture trunk show on Saturday afternoon at the Sugar Land home of Asha Dhume, current vice president of Pratham Houston and immediate past president of Club 24 Plus.

The private event, organized by Atlanta-based Bollywood Closet (the official U.S. retailer for the Indian designer) showcased more than 50 outfits, including sarees, lehengas and gowns, from the

Sabyasachi Fall Runway Collection, which was previewed for the first time in Houston.

“The response was incredible and overwhelming,” said Dhume. “I started spreading the word about this event to my immediate network of friends about a month ago, and I could not believe how many women were eager to attend and get a first look at the designer’s newest collection.”

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Rose Petals from Heaven! Fireworks Celebrate Rama’s Victory

BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA

SUGAR LAND: It has almost be-

come expected that the Dusserah Mela – now in its fifth year at Skeeters Stadium - will herald the Hindu festive season of Diwali every year, and each year, the organizers keep trying to add another element to keep the audience guessing. Three years ago, the twin sets of demon effigies were added as well as the statue of Ganesh at the entrance which has always been a big draw people to be photographed beside.

Two years ago, the floats and the parade were added and this year it only got bigger. Last year, a tall effigy of Hanuman was added to one side and many more booths to entice people into the bazaar that is created at the concourse.

And this year, things only got better with the addition a helicopter drop of rose petals just after the victory of Lord Ram over the evil demon Ravana and Ram’s coronation, symbolizing the blessings of the Gods. “It was a tricky thing to pull off since we are so close to Sugar Land Airport,” said an exhausted Arun Verma, the main organizer, three days after the event. “We had to convince them it would be fine as well as get the okay from the Skeeters General Manager Matt Thompson.” In the end, Verma prevailed and the petal drop was like blessings from heaven. “Afterwards, Matt said that this was the finest event that he had ever seen at Skeeters,” Verma said with pride.

And the pride is well deserved after the three months that Verma devotes to pulling the mela off, stepping aside from his real estate business (he lets his son handle it instead), friends and family. He spends all his time coordinating and organizing the volunteers and tasks and the results are quite evident.

The Dusserah and Diwali Mela by the Shri Sita Ram Foundation, has become the largest Hindu cultural and spiritual experience in the Houston Metroplex and probably across the State of Texas, if not throughout the Southwest. According to organizers, towards the end of

the evening, almost 10,000 people had attended the mela throughout the 4pm to 11pm slot that it was on, this past Saturday, October 15, so much so that the police had to turn many cars away from the full parking lots.

The concourse was covered by people stopping by in the over 70 booths covered with tiny lights (almost 250,000 lights created the atmosphere), culminating in the 9 food stalls which did such a roaring business that there were long lines snaking around and indicates that more food booths are needed all around the stadium. Banners, flags and pennants honoring Lord

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Ram and Hanuman adorned the entire stadium. The late afternoon programs, though viewed by few in the stands (since everyone was apparently shopping or eating at the booths), produced some spectacular costumes from the children dressed as Hindu deities, as well as fine Indian dance - classi-

cal and Bollywood - performances from local dance schools.

The formal temple in the concourse was managed by Hanuman Swami of Rama Jaya Niketan temple of Katy while the field temple from where the aarti was conducted at the end was managed by priests from Meenakshi Temple of Pearland and all other temples in Houston. Indian Consul General Anupam Ray and his wife Amit, mother and son attended the event and participated in the Maha Aarti. Honoring a request from previous Consul General Parvathaneni Harish, the Hanuman Chalisa was recited this year and according to Verma, will become a permanent feature in future melas.

The parade of floats and marchers has grown this year to 50, and already the organizers have names of other groups which want to be included next year. Each float carried the flag of Sri Ram at its head.

Ravi Shankar Puri spent every

Photos: Bijay Dixit

evening for the last month working on the 12 floats from the Shri Sita Ram Foundation that made the circuit, and he put the finishing touches in the lot behind the stadium where all the floats waited for their moment to shine. Mayor Protem of Sugar Land, Himesh Gandhi was the Dusserah Parade Marshall.

And of course, the culminating fireworks display was spectacular to watch, better than the Fourth of July ones at the stadium!

Verma and the rest of his team are elated by the response. “Everyone felt the presence of Lord Ram, spirituality was in the air and the atmosphere was charged with shouts of “Jai Shri Ram” from the crowd reverberating all night along,” Verma said after the mela, adding that he couldn’t have done it without the full support of several hundred volunteers, dance schools, organizations and temples, parade participating organizations and vendors.

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COMMUNITY

October 21, 2016

Sabyasachi’s Couture Unveiled in Houston CONTINUED FROM PAGE

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Sabyasachi Mukherjee is the ONLY Indian designer who has been invited to showcase his lines at all THREE of the major fashion weeks in the world -- New York, London and Milan. His design philosophy is simple and clear: “Clothes should just be an extension of one’s intellect.” Sarees worn by Bollywood actresses such as Madhuri Dixit, Sridevi, Deepika Padukone and Bipasha Basu were showcased at the event. T

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“We are so proud to be the official U.S. retailer for Sabyasachi’s clothing,” said Barkha Jayaswal, the owner of Atlanta-based Bollywood Closet and Sabyasachi’s childhood friend. “After organizing sold-out trunk shows in New York, Los Angeles and Dallas, we wanted to test out the Houston market.

Based on the phenomenal response, we will definitely be back.”

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COMMUNITY

Saadhana Pariwar’s “Spectrum” Brings out an Array of Musical Colors

BY SANCHALI BASU

HOUSTON: As the spectrum in

a rainbow has 7 colors, the “Spectrum” presentation by students of Pandit Suman Ghosh and Shashikala Ghosh’s Saadhana Pariwar, brought out the best of the seven musical notes. Attended by dignitaries like CGI Dr. Anupam Ray, Rathna Kumar, Dr. Mathur, Govind Shetty, Sonal Buchar and

many more, the afternoon of October 15, at the Rice University Shepherd School of Music was indeed a musical treat.

Pandit Ghosh aptly chose the Sarang ragas (early afternoon) to set the tone of the program. He and his almost 80 students delighted the audience with a good selection of Sarang ragas, beginning with an invocatory bandish, a creation of Sangeet Martand Pandit Jasraj in

Shudh Sarang, “Jao ji jao Shyam Chhaliya,” followed by “Piu palan laagi mori ankhiyan” in Gaud Sarang and a composition by Jnan Prakash Ghosh (one of Pandit ji’s gurus) in raga Brindavani Sarang.

The next set of compositions that were presented was in the Malhar raga, and Panditji mentioned the significance of Tansen’s “Miya ki Malhar” which brought rain in Akbar’s court while he sang. In modern day context, Panditji referred to his guru, the Sangeet Martand who had sung, “Barkha hritu aayi” in the Dhuliya Malhar in Delhi once on an otherwise clear day in the peak of summer and it had started pouring cats and dogs. The Surdasi Malhar, Bin barasan ka chhaye badarwa” was noteworthy.

The meditative, mysterious, soothing late night Kauns ragas were then offered by the choir of exceptionally well trained stu-

dents. Panditji mentioned that each of the students ranging from the age of 8 to over 60 were all capable solo singers in their own right and commended them on being able to keep up with the constant extemporary improvisations as the raga demands.

Emcee Sunanda Vashisht informed the audience about the style of Haveli singing which preceded Khayals by 200 years.

Haveli sangeet in Raga Patdeep, composed by Pandit Jasraj, was then performed by the budding musicians. It was good to know that this genre of music has been revived, popularized and taken to towering heights by the Sangeet Martand, and now by his worthy torchbearer, Pandit Suman Ghosh.

The spring time Shringaar and Bhakti rasa were brought out in the Bahar ragas, ranging from Hindol, Khamaj, Basant and Bhairav.

Carnatic flavor was added to the evening with the Kanada class of 3 ragas – Kaunsi, Suha, Gunji. ‘Khelo na ham sang Hori’ in Nayaki Kanada was a delight to the ears.

The Nagadhwani Kanada was a composition by Pandit Motiram ji – Dada Guruji (father of Pandit Jasraj) who died in 1934.

The grand finale on Darbari Kanada (raga of the kings and King of the Ragas) - Har har har Bhootnath Pashupati, and the excellent Sargam medley on rare raga Hemvati, took the audience on a spiritual high. With permission from the CGI who went “wah wah” and “Bahut acchhe” throughout the course of the program, the evening ended with a bhajan, “Man tohe..

Satya ki raaha chalaaun”. The latter talked about the mind which is the most powerful tool and control of the mind can be attained by simplicity and following the path of truth. The composition is by Sant Kabir and was set to music

by Pandit Suman Ghosh.

Dr. Anupam Ray commended and applauded the guru and students for upholding and transplanting 5000 years of culture and classical music in the Vedantic tradition. Guruji and Guruma thanked and acknowledged all participants and volunteers in the background.

Several members were awarded the Saadhana Gaurav certificate and Archana Tripathi was awarded the Saadhana Rathna award.

INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2016 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

COMMUNITY

IMAGH Sails in on Galveston Bay with a New Committee

The new Executive Board, from right, Munir Ibrahim, President; Dr. Yunus Langha, Vice President; Saeed Pathan, Secretary and Parvin Saiyed, Treasurer. Joint Secretary Rahat Kalle was not available.

Photos: SMB Films & Images

The Star Cruiser at its berth in Kemah just before taking off a short cruise on Galveston Bay with the IMAGH general body meeting onboard on Sunday, October 16.

The atmosphere onboard the cruise was festive and relaxed

BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA

KEMAH: The waters were fair-

ly calm and the Sun smiled down through cloudless blue skies as the Star Cruiser slipped out of its berth with the last of its three passengers who had arrived late. Captain Mark Caldwell guided the boat out of its berth across from the Landry’s and into the channel, under the Texas 146 bridge, past the Kemah Boardwalk and Seabrook, early morning anglers in their flatbottomed boats and fishermen returning from the night’s catch, and into Galveston Bay. Onboard getting settled in, were the 100 members of the Indian Muslim Association of Greater Houston on what was one of their

most relaxed general body meeting, on an outing to herald the end of summer and the great Fall weather that was slowly creeping in on Sunday, October 16. They crowded the aft and fro decks checking out the passing boats, seagulls skimming the top of the waves, the calm green waters and made small talk in the sea breeze and the early morning sunshine.

Others mingled inside the main cabin, at white tables and chairs, with a few small balloons and streamers festooning the rafters, looking through the large bay windows as the waters slipped by.

It was a family affair, with little children scrambling around and babies in their strollers; elderly parents carefully walking to their chairs. Parvin Saiyed and Zaib

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October 21, 2016

Hussain (Latafath’s son) made a few introductions using a video screen and the gathering broke for a much-awaited and well-deserved breakfast of rolls, eggs, grits, potatoes, waffles and pancakes.

As the last gulps of coffee and tea were being drowned, current IMAGH President Latafath Hussain opened up the meeting of the general body, whose main goal that morning was to introduce the changes to the top leadership.

Zaib and Pravin expanded on the IMAGH Vision, current leadership, Board of Directors and Advisory Board, many of whom were onboard. With his usual warmth and gusto and eye to detail, Latafath Hussain hailed Dr. Raj Bhalla for his encouragement in starting the IMAGH seven years ago and honored him with an award and a cream colored, embroidered shawl. Bhalla described the long process that led to the IMAGH being formed as a separate non-profit in 2012.

Hussain then welcomed all the rest of outgoing 2015 Executive Committee – Vice President Karim Maknojia; Ismet Warsi, Secretary; Shaheen Vora, Joint Secretary and Parvin Saiyed, Treasurer - who were presented with awards.

He singled out Maknojia, praising his willingness to respond to all requests and work on any issue that was thrust on him, and honored him with a shawl too.

Maknojia spoke of his devotion to the IMAGH vision and gave credit to his wife Dilshad, who could not hold back her tears of happiness.

Hussain introduced the new Executive Committee – Munir Ibrahim, President; Dr. Yunus Langha, Vice President; Saeed Pathan, Secretary; Rahat Kalle, Joint Secretary; Parvin Saiyed, Treasurer – and then joked about how he would be able to get back to his family and the new 8-acre farm he has purchased. His wife Zabie seconded the sentiments, adding some witty zingers to boot, CONTINUED ON PAGE

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MP Mitra Mandal’s Annual Dal-Baati fun Picnic Sets New Bar

HOUSTON:

Madhya Pradesh Mitra Mandal (MPMM) organized its Annual Dal-Baati Picnic on Sunday, Oct 16, at Bear Creek Park, in Houston, Texas. This day long picnic was attended by record 300 people who enjoyed delicious Dal-Baati and Poha-Jalebi which were prepared at the park.

Day started with ever favorite Poha-Sev-Jiraman-Jalebi. Special FedEx shipment of Ratlami Sev arrived from Indore in time to give everyone authentic taste. Everyone enjoyed charcoal grill cooked dalbaati – a specialty dish, prepared by attendees, which was followed

by Masala Chai.

Kids and adults equally participated in cultural programs by dancing on catchy Bollywood numbers, performing Ganesh Vandana, and singing karaoke on English and Hindi songs to entertain the crowd. Everyone enjoyed playing Tambola and prizes included gold coins sponsored by Chemanur Jewelers. New families were introduced in a fun way; exciting games were also played for audience to get involved. This event provided excellent platform for family entertainment and sumptuous food delicacies. An impromptu jaykara of Maa Durga added the festive mood and colors of spirituality to the event.

Along with all mauj-masti and food, everyone played Cricket, Basketball, Volleyball and other games. Kids enjoyed having fun with balloon artist sponsored by Amiralli Dodhiya of New York Life, playing Piñata game and parading in the Halloween Costume contest.

This event was organized by Ashish & Pallavi Jain, Gagan & Shilpa Pandey, Manish & Richa Sharma, Pradeep & Pooja Jain, Aashish & Kuntal Mahoday, Nikhil & Ritu Jain, Ashish & Jyoti Bhandari and several other volunteers who pitched in with their efforts on picnic day. Their planning, hard work and execution made this picnic set a new bar in

wholesome family entertainment.

Big thank you to all the volunteers and to Navin Mediwala for capturing stunning images of this picnic.

The group also appreciated the support of event sponsors Jhanvi Thakar, Govind & Renu Agrawal and Rahul Vijaywargiya.

For the past few years, response to MPMM picnic has been so overwhelming that RSVP is closed few weeks before the event, to ensure that picnic is managed well by the volunteers.

MP Mitra Mandal is an informal community group made up of people who come from Madhya Pradesh or Chhattisgarh states

Photos: Navin Mediwala

and reside in Houston area. These states reflect “unity in diversity” in true sense which is visible amongst the people who attend MPMM events in Houston. The group was started in Houston in 2001 by Ashish Bhandari & Nikhil Jain and has now grown to over 300+ families belonging to various cities like Indore, Bhopal, Jabalpur, Bilaspur, Raipur, Gwalior, Bhilai etc. More details are available at http:// www.mp.aajausa.com. Its events have been covered by various media groups in Houston as well as in leading news media in Madhya Pradesh in the past.

IMAGH Sails in on Galveston Bay with a New Committee CONTINUED FROM PAGE

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much to everyone’s delight, and the couple’s two sons Zaib and Zain voiced their admiration for their father’s zeal in starting the IMAGH and its sister organizations, South Asian Youth Alliance or SAYA for the youth and Club 65 for the elderly.

Ibrahim, a veteran of other Boards and organizations, said that he had vowed not to serve on any others any more, but couldn’t turn down Hussain persistent appeal to take on the helm. He mentioned three things that influenced him to accept, “but the most important of them all was when my son spoke about the current hysteria against Muslims and I knew I had to do my part to counter it.”

Looking at his electronic navi-

gation system, the Captain rode out for 45 minutes, well south of the dredged sandbar that forms the edge of the ship channel and turned around, back for a short round of Clear Lake, past the enormous mansions with the boat slips and then returned to berth the cruiser.

Sensing the end of the 3-hour trip, Advisory Board Chairman

and a consistent supporter of the IMAGH, Abeezar Tyebji couldn’t resist the microphone, and with his cellphone held close for musical accompaniment, sang a favorite Louis Armstrong tune in his melodious voice, “I see skies of blue and clouds of white …. And I think to myself what a wonderful world”.

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October 21, 2016

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COMMUNITY

“Chasing” Our Dreams, with Chase Untermeyer

BY AKHILA MAMANDUR

HOUSTON:

Saturday morning, Chase Untermeyer, suits, ties, dresses, and a room full of young, ambitious high school students.

What more is needed to describe the intriguing, yet professional environment that is created to foster these young teenagers’ future careers?

On September 24, 57 high school juniors and seniors of YLDP (Youth Leadership Development Program of Houston) gathered to listen to the honorable Chase Untermeyer, a former U.S. ambassador during the George W. Bush administration. He vividly described his experience, on how he got himself to the successful position in which he is in today — and while he reminisced about his

past, what the students liked best was that he started from the day he was born. This is exactly what teenagers, normally confused on how to proceed with their near futures, need when they listen to speakers. They are college-bound, yet confused little souls that need some guidance on how to attack this next, grandiose phase in their lives— and Chase Untermeyer provided them with just that. He went on and described how all it took to reach the turning point in his life was being actively involved in his community. He started off small, and ended up bigger than he ever imagined to be. This was just the type of encouragement and motivation these kids needed to hear. As busy adolescents, with a lot on their minds, teenagers are prone to questioning the reason for

everything: “How does volunteering help me?”

“What about all my other activities?”

With such ease, Chase Untermeyer was able to provide one simple answer to all of our questions: it is vital to start from the bottom to reach the top. As leaders in our schools, communities, and future leaders in our respective fields of work, we were able to gain some clarity on how the work we do today, so many years from the apex of our successful professional careers, will aid in gaining knowledge and experience on work ethic involved in working with others, and more importantly, achieving confidence in our abilities to communicate effectively and carry out duties without hesitation.

Brooke Bond Taj Mahal Celebrates Indian Roots in US with Mehfil-e-Taj An exclusive concert series with Santoor Maestro Rahul Sharma

NEW

YORK: Unilever’s Brooke Bond Taj Mahal, one of India’s finest tea brands and Zee Network, the leading provider of South Asian programming, are coming together to present ‘Mehfil-e-Taj’, an exclusive three-city concert series with renowned santoor maestro Rahul Sharma. The series will kick-off on October 21 in the Bay Area followed by concerts in Dallas and New York, and will be attended by the who’s-who of the South-Asian diaspora in the United States.

‘Mehfil-e-Taj’ is the latest in Brooke Bond Taj Mahal’s threedecade long association with Indian classical music and its forerunners, a relationship that is borne out of shared values of craftsmanship, authenticity, sophistication, and passion. With 2016 marking Brooke Bond Taj Mahal’s 50th year in India, the concert series celebrates the brand’s rich legacyand intends to connect the South Asian community with their heritage. “We believe not only in striving for fineness and distinction through our products but we are also committed to helping the Asian Indian community stay connected to their roots, values and art forms from back home,” said Partha Guha, Senior Manager, Unilever International North America.“We believe that bringing premium Indian classical music to their doorstep, thousands of

miles away from India is a great step towards that endeavor.”

Santoor Virtuoso Rahul Sharma makes for the perfect ambassador for such an endeavor. Trained under his father, the legendary Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, he is one of India’s most prolific classical musicians, with over 60 albums released over a 15 year long career.

“Rahul Sharma is one of Brooke Bond Taj Mahal’s ‘Icons of Excellence’, who through his music, embodies the brand’s philosophy,” said Guha. “He has brought the splendor of classical music to the 3+ million south Asian immigrant population in the US.” Joining Brooke Bond Taj Mahal in promoting ‘Mehfil-e-Taj’ is Zee Network, one of the largest providers of South Asian programming in the United States. “We are grateful to partner with brands and leaders who have created a niche for themselves and are promoting the Indian culture, heritage and ethos around the world by helping Asian Indians stay connected to their origins,” said Sameer Targe, Business Head, Zee Americas.

MIKADOMarketing, a boutique multicultural consultingfirm, is handling all marketing activities for the event. “We are excited to whole heartedly spread the love of Indian Classical music through the much-awaited concerts,” said Sandrine Vohra, Founding Partner, MIKADO Marketing. “We have been associated with Unilever and Zee for a number of years. We believe our partnership will be successful in promoting these brands’ efforts towards creating a strong community outside the nation and this intent resonates strongly with the spirit of these brands.”

The ‘Mehfil-e-Taj’ concert series promises to be a soul-stirring must-see event. Indian classical music and tea aficionados won’t want to miss out on this opportunity to enjoy the finest blend of tea alongside soulful music in three cities across the nation.

For more information, please contact: MIKADO Marketing – info@ mikado-marketing Zee Network - (Email ID) – customercare@asiatvusa.com

INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2016 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

October 21, 2016

INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2016 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

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16 October 21, 2016

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INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2016 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

18 October 21, 2016

EDITORIAL/COMMENTARY

Reality Check: China, Russia

Insecure Leaders, Insecure Democracy

Having successfully isolated Pakistan in the region by get-

Questions have always been asked

ting all neighbors to stay away from SAARC and with no world power opposing the surgical strikes, New Delhi has reason for a measure of quiet satisfaction.

One reality check, however, has come from the BRICS summit in Goa. Having chosen it as a stage from which to push forward the campaign to isolate Pakistan on terrorism, India ran into a wall of sorts. Chinese president Xi Jinping called for “political solutions” to “regional hotspots” and a multi-pronged approach to address “symptoms and root causes” of terror, while Russian President Vladimir Putin avoided any reference to terrorism.

The 109-paragraph BRICS declaration specifically named the Islamic State but did not mention “cross-border terrorism”, leaving out terror outfits that have struck India: Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Muhammad.

The message from the big two in BRICS, Russia and China, is clear: Terror from Pakistan is a problem no doubt, but how to deal with terror targeted at India is India’s problem, first and last.

The reasons lie, as always, in the realities of geopolitics.

China and Russia see a threat emerging from their nationals serving with Islamic State and al Qaeda, as the so-called Caliphate is destroyed in Iraq and Syria, and relocates to Afghanistan. They are seeking to build up the Afghan Taliban as a counterweight, and they see Pakistan as a valuable partner.

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is not just a landmark in relations between the two countries, it is a bilateral agreement of enormous geo-strategic significance.

There will be conflicting interests within any grouping, and there are in BRICS. Yet there are also areas of unanimity for New Delhi to build on.

For instance, after India-Russia talks on Saturday, the joint statement emphasised the “commonality of positions”. “India and Russia recognize the threat posed by terrorism, and believe that the full implementation of the relevant UNSC resolutions, the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy without application of any double standards or selectivity, will be instrumental in countering this challenge,” it said, alluding to the UNSCR 1267 sanctions committee, which proscribes LeT and Jaish.

With China, the common ground is expanding even as Pakistan remains the elephant in the room. On Monday, the BIMSTEC countries endorsed India’s stand on Paksponsored terror though they did not name Pakistan. The surgical strikes may have been accomplished with neatness and precision along the LoC, but in their aftermath, India’s diplomacy will have to pick out a careful path in a wider, untidy terrain.

Indian Express

BY HIREN SARMA about the moral standards of our leaders. But are they victims of an insecurity complex? The mysterious illness of Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayaraman Jayalalithaa has put the spotlight on present-day politicians in India.

May god grant good health to Jayalalithaa and help her return to the helm of the government. Only five months ago, the people of this important Indian state restored their faith in her leadership for the sixth time during the assembly elections. Even before she could begin implementing her poll promises, she was gripped by illness. This has paralysed the state administration. Had Jayalalithaa formed a second line of command, then thousands of people would not have felt neglected. Why didn’t Jayalalithaa do so? To find an answer we may have to remove some layers of dust from the pages of history.

The controversy that erupted after the passing away of MG Ramachandran is still fresh in the minds of political analysts. Not only was Ramachandran a movie star, he also gave a new direction to the ‘Dravidian’ movement. Jayalalithaa was his constant companion in the world of movies and politics. That is why she considered herself a natural heir to Vadiyar’s legacy. MGR’s wife VN Janaki challenged her, but Jayalalithaa was up to the challenge and Janaki was deposed.

If Vadiyar, or teacher, had not given so much importance to Amma in the party, his family would not have had to see such days. That’s why Jayalalithaa didn’t allow a number two to emerge in the party or government, in any capacity. If she became suspicious about anybody, the person was thrown out. That’s why when she was imprisoned for the first time in 2001 and O Panneerselvam’s name was announced as her replacement, people in north India were surprised.

Upon investigation it was revealed that Panneerselvam was Amma’s trusted lieutenant. His world began and ended with Amma.

The story was repeated In 2014, when Jayalalithaa was imprisoned again. This time round, Panneersel-

Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa has been in hospital since September 22, 2016. O Paneerselvam has been given all the responsibilities of a chief minister, but he hasn’t been given the formal designation.

vam has been given all the responsibilities of a chief minister, but he hasn’t been given the formal designation. Jayalalithaa will continue to be chief minister in absentia. By when will she recover? What exactly is her ailment? Whatever the party spokespersons say on this is raising newer questions.

The police have registered cases against a number of people for spreading rumours. Some people are behind bars but the tsunami of rumours refuses to abate.

Jayalalithaa isn’t the only such politician.

Let us begin with Odisha. Its chief minister Naveen Patnaik has regained power for the fourth time with a landslide majority. Even in his party there is no number two. Like Jayalalithaa, Naveen also encourages the politics of no alternative. With clever politics, not only has he made Opposition parties redundant, but he has also stifled every emerging voice in his party. On October 16, Patnaik turned 70. He should ideally announce his political successor. But will he?

The picture is not very different in neighbouring West Bengal. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee neither been a silver screen idol like Jayalalithaa, nor was her father the chief minister like Naveen. She underwent many forms of oppression in order to end the more than three-decade-old

Left Front rule. A big section of the state’s population addresses her as Didi out of respect. Mamata has not shared power with anybody in her party at the top rung. Her nephew Abhishek Banerjee heads the youth wing of the Trinamool Congress and this time had the honour of reaching the Lok Sabha. Will he take over Mamata’s legacy? Nobody appears to have a clue.

The situation appears to be similar in the Bahujan Samaj Party. Mayawati had to struggle even more than Mamata. She became the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh four times while taking on the infamous caste system.

She is one of the leading contenders for power in the next assembly elections. Kanshi Ram had anointed her as his heir well in time. Mayawati herself has made a public statement that she has decided on who will take over her political mantle. Who can this be?

The script is almost identical with Sikkim’s Pawan Kumar Chamling.

He has been chief minister of the state since 1994. If all goes well, in another two years, he’ll become the longestserving chief minister in India. Rising from the village panchayat level to dominating state politics, Chamling, the father of eight children, has neither named a family member, nor anybody else from the party as his successor.

These five states send 183 members to the 543-member-strong Lok Sabha. They have a 25% contribution to the nation’s GDP. These statistics reflect how sensitive the situation is. Shouldn’t those who represent the hopes of millions of citizens make their succession plans public?

Shouldn’t politicians also declare the status of their health along with party manifestos? How can an unhealthy and politically insecure leader contribute to the nurturing of a healthy democracy? Working professionals are asked to retire between 58 years and 60 years of age. It is assumed that they begin to falter by this age. There is no such rule for politicians.

How secure is the world’s largest democracy under the leadership of politicians suffering from such insecurity complexes?

Shashi Shekhar is editor-in-chief, Hindustan Times.

Indo American News FOUNDER: DR. K.L. SINDWANI PUBLISHER: JAWAHAR MALHOTRA EDITOR: PRAMOD KULKARNI BUSINESS & PRODUCTION MANAGER: VANSHIKA VIPIN GRAPHIC DESIGN: BHUMI PARMAR OFFICE ASSISTANT: MANSI THAKKAR CORRESPONDENTS

CHICAGO: NAND KAPOOR INDIA: ASEEM KULKARNI ®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 4 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.

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INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2016 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

October 21, 2016

INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2016 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

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20 October 21, 2016

COMMUNITY

TAGH Celebrates Bathukamma Festival with Record Crowds

BY RAJENDER APARASU

H

OUSTON: Bathukamma, a “flowerful” festival of Dassera, organized by the Telangana Association of Greater Houston (TAGH) attracted record crowds of over 3,500 people at Sri Ashtalakshmi Temple on October 8. The TAGH, a USA registered nonprofit organization, was formed in 2014 by the Non Resident Indians in the greater Houston Area to preserve the cultural identity and to contribute to the development of new state of Telangana. The organizing committee with over 50 volunteers worked hard for the last several months to bring all Houstonians together and make this great outdoor event a grand success.

Bathukamma is the state festival

of Telangana. It is gaining popularity because of its widespread support and participation of the Telugu people.

Although Bathukamma is primarily a women’s festival, it has become a community event for Telugu people all over the world. Bathuku in Telugu means life and amma means mother.

This celebration of life honors the Goddess Gauri, the life giver, for societal prosperity and good wishes.

The festival begins on the 1st day of Aswiyuja (Ashwin) and ends on 9th day - maha navami.

Bathukamma is a beautiful flower arrangement in concentric layers of seasonal blossoms in the form of a cone. The popular flowers used in the preparation of traditional Bathukamma include Gunuka, Tangedi, Lotus, Alli, Katla, Teku, and other local blooming flowers. This year Houstonians prepared over 150

Bathukammas for this occasion. It was delightful to see families bringing variety of colorful Bathukammas to Sri Ashtalakshmi Temple; these were placed on an intricately decorated stage outside the temple. Families took pride in showcasing their Bathukammas; some were small but colorful while others were large and imposing.

The event festivities started with a procession for Goddess Gauri, the life giver, from the temple to the center stage of Bathukammas. The resident priest of the Sri Ashtalakshmi temple started the proceedings by invoking Goddess Gauri for societal prosperity and good wishes. People gathered around the Bathukamma stage to participate in this annual community event to receive the blessings of Goddess Gauri.

As the pre-recoded Bathukamma

songs were played, women and girls in colorful and festive sarees and dresses danced with zest around the Bathukammas. As the evening progressed, the circular group dances expanded with synchronized dancing and hand claps. These are similar to Garba dances which are performed during the Navarathri festival, but they have a typical southern flavor and style. The songs praised Goddess Gauri¸ patron Goddess of womanhood, while describing stories of common woman, their dreams, and aspirations. The festive songs and lively comments energized the participants for over two hours.

The event chairs for this year were Srinivas Mettu and Karunakar Choudavarpu. The organizing committee thanked the volunteers and team leads for various activities including parking, stage and light arrangements, sound system, nimajjanam, and food set-up. The committee also

Photos: Murali Santhana

thanked generous donors and dedicated volunteers that contributed immensely to the grand success of this free event. Acknowledgements were also made for Sri Ashtalakshmi Temple, Voice of Asia, Indo-American News, Andhra Mirchi Radio, Radio Hungama, NNN media, and Fox News. Finally, nimajjanam (water immersion of the Bathukammas) was performed at a specially arranged pool at the Sri Ashtalakshmi Temple. The evening ended with a delicious traditional dinner for over 3,500 attendees exclusively prepared

by Biryani Pot, Vishala, Universal Bakery, and Mayuri Restaurants.

For future TAGH events and volunteering, please contact the organizers at taghgroup@gmail.com or visit http://www.tagh.org/

INDIA CULTURE CENTER, HOUSTON (ICC) NOTICE 2016 India Culture Center, Houston (ICC) is requesting Nominations for ICC Board of Directors (8 positions for 2 year term) and Trustees (2 positions for 3 year term)

1. At-Large Board of Directors

The nomination must be proposed,seconded and signed by paid members of ICC. The candidate must be a paid member of ICC as of AUG 31, 2016. The mailing address, phone number and e-mail addresses of all three (Nominee, Nominator and Seconder) must be provided in the nomination, signed by the nominee as well which should be faxed to the Chairman of the Election Committee and also mailed along with a non refundable processing fee of $25 to the address below and should reach by November 25, 2016. Postmark will not be considered.

Checks to be payable to ICC. Incomplete forms will not be considered. ICC By laws are available on www.icchoustontx.org

Requirements and Qualifications for Directors

A nominator can nominate only one candidate though he or she can second multiple nominations.

The elections for Board of Directors will be conducted on December 4, 2016 (Sunday) at 2 pm at India House, 8888 West Bellfort Houston, TX-77031. You can download the Forms from ICC website (www.icchoustontx.org)

2. Nominations for Trustees

The nominations should be faxed and also should be mailed by any paid member of ICC for Trustee position and should reach the election Official no later than November 25, 2016. A simple form with your name and nominee names, address, phone number and e-mail address. The Trustee candidate should meet one of the following eligibility criteria. Person can nominate by member self, resume should be attached. a. Must be a Past President of ICC OR b. Must have had a distinguished record of past services to ICC, Partnering Organizations or Community at Large. Attach Resume to validate qualifications.

Requirements for Trustee:

* Only 4 nominees will be presented to the board of directors for consideration.

Committee will consider one past president and one person with distinquished record as written in the qualifications. Election Committee has right to accept or reject any or all nominees by majority vote of Committee.

Rejected nominees will be informed in advance. Please verify ICC Bylaws for strict adherence.

For further information: Rajiv Bhavsar, President 281-217-7330; Email: rajbhavsar0@gmail.com Saundarya Sohoni, Secretary 281-943-9758; Email: saundaryasohoni@gmail.com www.icchoustontx.org Mail completed and signed nomination to:Jawahar Malhotra Member, Election Committee 12207 Westmere Drive, Houston, Texas 77077 Email: jawoche@yahoo.com Fax: 713-789-6399

Errors & omissions excepted

INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2016 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

COMMUNITY

October 21, 2016

21

A Wife’s Nudge, and the Engineer Becomes a Hotelier

Prakash Ahuja celebrated his birthday with his wife Juuhi, daughter Divya and mother Mohini at the new Four Points by Sheraton Hotel that he just completed and opened.

ALEXANDER P. MATHEWS, CPA

BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA

HOUSTON: The attention to detail

gave a hint that there was imagination and technical know-how behind all the facets of the hotel, from the rooms to the restaurant and well decorated and spacious lobby, and bright LED screens at the registration desk.

Prakash Ahuja gave a tour of types of rooms – suite, junior suite, double, single – each with the same stylish touch in the finishes and the furnishings, with glass showers and tucked away microwaves and refrigerators; the well-equipped fitness room and the indoor heated pool.

“We’ve already got guests staying here,” he said of the week-old Four Points by Sheraton Houston Energy Corridor at 18861 Katy Freeway at the Greenhouse exit. “And my general manager and his staff are getting all the systems ready.”

The Four points is the most recent project of the demure and jovial Ahuja who sports a thick Chevron mustache. It took him 19 months to build the 134-room building, “but if it hadn’t been for the heavy rains last year, we would have been done 3 months earlier,” he explained. He already has another two hotels in the making – a Staybridge Inn & Suites near the Intercontinental Airport and a Hampton Inn & Suites on Highway 6 in the Energy Corridor – and will be breaking ground before the end of the year.

“But I was more of an accidental hotelier,” said Ahuja with a chuckle.

“If it hadn’t been for my wife Juuhi, I would have still been an engineer.”

The two had gone out to look around for another Spa to add to their other two in Austin, Texas when the realtor showed them a hotel. “Juuhi pushed me to take it and I said ‘Hey, what do I know about hotels?’ and she said ‘What’s so difficult about them?

You’re an engineer, you can figure it out!’.” And with that, the two bought a 100-room Best Western hotel in Austin in 2006. Ahuja not only ran it, but he turned it around. By 2008, they

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The lobby of the new hotel which is located in the Energy Corridor on Katy Freeway at Greenhouse.

had sold the Spas and the hotel and bought the Hampton Inn & Suites in Tomball in 2009. They sold it in 2014 to start up the Four Points.

“I was quite happy being an engineer with Honeywell Controls Systems,” recalled Ahuja as he explained the twist that brought him to becoming a hotelier, “and would have still been one if not for her!”

Originally from Pune, Maharashtra, he received his bachelors in Electronics and Telecommunications, and then joined Honeywell in 1990. Juuhi finished her MBA in New York and was working there when she returned to Pune in 1994 for a visit. The two met, got married and stayed in Pune, till they decided to migrate to the US

in 1996. Juuhi runs her own company, Wise Men Consultants, an IT firm with offices in Houston, Hyderabad and Pune.

Last Friday night, October 14, the 2,500 sf meeting room at the hotel started to fill up with guests who had come to see the new building and celebrate with the Ahujas, their daughter Divya and his mother Mohini.

Prakash gave the short tour and then settled in to mingle with the guests who played at casino night tables.

Before the crowd got too boisterous, they brought out a cake to wish a happy birthday to Prakash, the new hotel owner. The look of mock surprise and a wide smile of happiness brimmed all over his face!

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22 October 21, 2016

COMMUNITY

Fun Field Trip for Refugee and Immigrant Children at Shaw STEAM Center

BY ANUJA DESHPANDE

HOUSTON: Sewa International

and Cryptonite, together organized a fun filled trip to the Robert R. Shaw center for STEAM on October 9, for kids from underserved communities.

Sewa Houston conducts after school programs (ASPIRE) for refugee and immigrant families, and more than 70 kids are enrolled in these programs.

Also, Sewa team celebrates Sewa day annually to promote volunteerism in every section of the society. This year, the Cryptonite group volunteered to teach ASPIRE kids about science as part of Sewa day celebration.

Cryptonite is a group of high school

students from Katy ISD, who study robotics and have won many competitions in designing and building robots.

At the Robert R. Shaw center, Cryptonite students designed three types of fun filled experiments for kids to learn from. These experiments were based on principles such as air pressure, dynamic design, force and elasticity. The field trip also included presentation on robot designing and testing, lab tour and live demonstration. More than 30 kids attended the field trip and had

great learning experience. Many of them would love to come back and know more about robotics.

More than 20 volunteers worked well together to make this event

a success. President of Cryptonite, Chetana Samal and Project Coordinator of Sewa, Kavita Tewary were instrumental in arranging the trip. ASPIRE education coordinators (Camilla Escobar, Amit Pandya, Anuja Deshpande), and volunteers (Andres Erazo,AmeriCorps Vista Hasita Karthick) supported the event. It concluded on a high note with delicious food and goodies for kids arranged by Cryptonite group.

The field trip in form of Sewa day celebration was extremely success-

ful and kids as well as volunteers are looking forward to go back to the Rober R. Shaw Center again.

More such learning activities will be arranged for ASPIRE children in near future by Sewa team. For those who want to volunteer at the center or for an event, please feel free to email us at Houston@sewausa.org or contact (713) 303 4253.

Sewa USA is 501 (c) (3) a Hindu faith-based non-profit, charitable organization. All donations (cash, cars, clothes, securities, etc.) are taxdeductible. (Tax Id# 20-0638718) Sewa serves humanity regardless of race, religion, color, gender or nationality

Schedule for 8th Indian Film Festival of Houston Friday, October 28, 2016, 5:15 pm, followed by Q & A session Driving with Selvi (Documentary Film), Director: Elisa Paloschi, Language: English – 1hr 14min Storyline: Selvi, like so many girls in India, is a child bride in a violent marriage. One day she escapes, and goes on to become South India’s first female taxi driver. This is the tenyear journey of a charming, strong, and courageous young woman who

defies all expectations, moving beyond the pain she’s experienced to create a new life.

Friday, October 28, 2016, 7 pm, followed by Q & A session Born to Run – Budhia Singh (Feature Film), Director: Soumendra Padhi, Language: Hindi – 112min with English Subtitles Storyline: A biopic about Budhia Singh, the world’s youngest marathon runner whose story garnered

controversy and inspiration around the world.

Saturday, October 29, 2016, 4 pm Amdavad Ma Famous - Famous in Ahmedabad (Documentary Film), Director: Hardik Mehta, Language: Gujarati – 29min with English Subtitles Storyline: Set within the kaleidoscopic backdrop of the kite-flying festival in India, ‘Amdavad Ma Famous’, witnesses the transformation of 11-year-old Zaid from a boy next door to an aggressive and passionate kite-runner until he comes across a hindrance that prevents him from

flying kites on the terrace. And thus begins the fight for the terrace on the day of the biggest kite flying festival in India.

Saturday, October 29, 2016, 4:30 pm Daaravtha - The Threshold (Short Film), Director: Nishant Roy Bombarde, Language: Marathi – 30min with English Subtitles Storyline: An adolescent Pankaj is discovering his sexuality. Torn between a patriarchal Indian upbringing full of gender-stereotypes and his natural urge to identify with the opposite gender, he finds an opportunity to express his desires within the bounds

of cultural ethos.

Saturday, October 29, 2016, 6 pm, followed by Q & A session Moh Maya Money - In Greed We Trust (Feature Film), Director: Munish Bhardwaj, Language: Hindi – 108min with English Subtitles Storyline: A young real-estate broker tries to pull off a huge scam, which goes horribly wrong. To fix everything he involves his begrudging wife leading to an end neither could imagine.

For more information: www.iffhinc.org, Tickets: $15 Individual Screening, $35 Day Pass.

INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2016 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

October 21, 2016

INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2016 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

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24 October 21, 2016

Job Posting:

ASSOCIATE PRODUCER

Are you a newscast producer who’s ready to move up to a top 10 market? Here is your chance to work for one of the nation’s best broadcasting companies that is dedicated to covering local news.

KTRK-TV, the ABC O&O station in Houston, TX is accepting applications for an Associate Producer. The person hired for this position will line produce a section of our weekend morning newscasts and have opportunity to fill in on other newscasts as well.

Applicants must have experience working as a line producer.

This is a newsroom that embraces new technology. ENPS /Aurora/Ignite experience a plus – as is good understanding of social media and how it can be used to reach viewers and create content. Candidates must be able and willing to learn both nonlinear editing and writing for our digital platforms. Applicants must be willing to work overnights, weekends and holidays.

To be considered interested applicants must apply online at disneycareers.com, ref job #403168BR. Please upload a cover letter, resume and list of references. In addition, please mail writing samples and a DVD of or link to your latest newscast to: Robin Freese, Executive Producer, KTRK-TV, 3310 Bissonnet, Houston, TX 77005. Reference job #403168BR No Telephone Calls Please KTRK-TV is an Equal Opportunity Employer Female/Minority/Veteran/Disability/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity

Job Posting:

NEWS PRODUCER

We are looking for an aggressive, cool-under-pressure News Producer who knows what it takes to put together a well-paced, creative, highly-showcased newscast. KTRK-TV, the ABC Owned station in Houston, TX wants a confident, passionate producer who knows how to find informative content, knows how to meet the needs of the audience, and knows how to scrap everything for breaking news. You must have excellent news judgment, the ability to come up with unique story ideas every day and be a strong writer who knows how to advance stories effectively. You will required to command the control room and manage an ever-evolving rundown during live newscasts. Knowledge of ENPS and desktop editing a plus. Will need to show examples of your tease and headline writing ability. Candidates must also have complete understanding of social media and digital content, how to use it within newscasts and how to use it to reach viewers. Candidates should have at least three years line-producing experience in a major market.

For consideration all interested applicants must apply on-line at: www. disneycareers.com by uploading your resume, cover letter and references. Job Req. ID: 403169BR No Telephone Calls Please KTRK-TV is an Equal Opportunity Employer Female/Minority/Veteran/Disability/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity

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Online at www.radiohungama.net & Every Sunday 12 PM to 3 PM CST On

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houstonradio@yahoo.com INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2016 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

COMMUNITY

October 21, 2016

Life & Soul Health Fair 2016 Serves Over 200 in Pearland/Manvel

MANVEL: On September 10, the sixth an-

nual Life and Soul Health Fair organized by Love to Share Foundation America in Manvel, attracted two hundred local residents. They benefited from close to 20 different screenings including free mammograms. Over 100 flu shots were given away free of cost to local residents.

The Fair was brought together by local businesses and individuals who generously donated their time, expertise and contributions for the needy in the community.

Participating organizations included Pearland Medical Center, HEB, Texas Medical Association, Alvin Community College, Walgreens, Texas Eye Institute, Sleep Center at Kirby, Dr. Richard Johnigan III, Southeast Cardiovascular Associates, Pearland MRI, Coastal Vascular Center, Genesis hearing clinic, Ina Patel with New York Life Insurance, UTMB Breast Health, Third Coast Terminals , Duke Medical, Resmed, Third Coast, Bandy and associates, Cooling Tower Solutions.

Approximately 11 organizations and individuals were especially endorsed and recognized for their exceptional community services and consistent support for the past five years by the Honorable Mayors of Pearland and Manvel.

Local area physicians providing free consultations and screenings included: Dr. Seema Nanda and students - Texas Eye Institute, Dr Parvathy Krishnan – UT Health, Dr Jorge – UT Health, Dr Stefan – UT Health, Dr Deepa Iyengar – UT Health, Dr Hema Salvady – Clearlake Rheumatology, Dr. Boggia – Bay Area Gastroenetrology, Dr Jyoti Rao – Gastroeneterology Consultants, Dr. Bansal and Dr. Maislos Fernandes – Southeast Cardiovascular Associates, Dr. Divyang Ayar – Coastal Vascular, Dr. Diana Duff, Dr Julie Coombs and Dr. Middleton – Pearland Medical Center, Henrietta Okonkwor – AGNP – Sai Primary Care.

Over 40 enthusiastic volunteers ensured safe parking, shuttling of participants, and a smooth flow during the health fair. These included high school students from Dawson High School, Manvel High School, Debakey High School and University of Houston and volunteers from Global Organization for Divinity.

Love to Share Foundation conducts several social outreach activities across the United States throughout the year. The Life and Soul Health fair is an annual flagship event of its local chapter in Houston and the next health fair is scheduled for Sept 16, 2017. Please visit www.lovetosharefoundation.org or call us at 281.402.6585 if you are interested in knowing more about the organization.

INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2016 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

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26 October 21, 2016

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SUDOKU

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Send us the correct answer before October 25, 2016.

Email us at indoamericannews@yahoo.com or mail to 7457 Harwin Drive, Suite 262, Houston, TX 77036.

Send us your solved Sudoku for your name to be published (for first three entrees only & 1 submission per month).

Solution Next Week

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Mama’s Punjabi Recipes T

Kathal Di Sabzi (Sauteed Jackfruit)

hough you can find kathal most of the year in Delhi, it is hardly the vegetable that most housewives go to first as it is difficult to prepare. First, you have to choose a green, unripe one; then get a quarter or half piece as the kathal is usually very large and next, take the prickly thick-skin off, which is a feat by itself! Finally, because the pulp is so sticky, you have to cut the insides with a sharp knife.

Some people also keep the large, almond shaped seeds which are also edible and can be peeled and used for the curry. Mature fruits have hard seeds similar to chestnuts, with a hard plastic like cover.

Kathal or jackfruit is popular because its texture is starchy and fibrous and once cooked in a curry, people call it the “vegetarian’s meat” because of the way it crunches and has been compared to poultry. The raw kathal has a subtle taste of its own and absorbs all the flavors easily. To make this dish, you need green kathal, because the ripened ones are very sweet and are eaten as a fruit which tastes like is a mix of apple, pineapple, mango and banana.

Kathal is native to the Western Ghats of India, all the way down to the Malabar Coast, and also West Bengal. In Malayalee it is called chakka and kathal in Bengali. The pulp of the jackfruit is 74% water, 23% carbohydrates, 2% protein and 1% fat. It is a rich source of vitamin B6 and has moderates amounts of vitamin C and potassium.

Though it can be cooked sautéed or in a curry, kathal are also popular as pakoras (fried fritters) with some chutney. In North India, it is usually cooked around Holi as kathal is in season then.

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As a dish, it is very quickly devoured by all around and you could find yourself with none left when it comes to your turn!

Ingredients: • 1 kg kathal (jackfruit) – green, not ripe • 2 cups tael (vegetable oil) for deep frying • 1 large pyaaz (onion) – peeled • 1 clove of lasan (garlic) – peeled • 1 small piece of adrak (ginger) – peeled • 1 medium tamater (tomato) – finely chopped • 2 tablespoons of vegetable or olive oil • 1 cup pani (water) • Spices (to taste): namak (salt), mirch (red pepper), haldi (turmeric), dhania (coriander) powder, garam masala

both sides are cooked. Be careful that they do not become dark brown. Take them out and place on a paper towel to absorb the extra oil.

4. Prepare the masala in a medium saucepan. Puree the onions, ginger, coriander and garlic. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium heat, add the puree till it is slightly brown, and then add the 1 cup water and the tomato. Stir well to make sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom. When the mixture is reddish brown, add the salt, pepper and haldi and stir well.

5. Throw the fried kathal pieces into the masala. Stir well to coat over medium heat, cover and let the kathal cook in the masala for 5 minutes.

Add the water and let it simmer for 5 minutes more.

6. Turn the heat off and leave covered for 5 more minutes. It is not necessary to cook the kathal for too long as they are already fried.

7. Before serving with rice or hot roti, garnish the dish with garam masala.

Directions: 1. Peel the thick skin to the inside, then cut the kathal length wise, about 1 inch long and about 1/2 inch thick slices.

2. Heat the oil in a karahi (wok).

Release the pieces of kathal into the hot oil till the surface of the oil is covered.

3. When one side is slightly brown, turn it over using a sieved spatula and turn over a few times to make sure

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 WE EK CAREFUL HANDLING JAC KFRUIT, OR GET THEM ALREADY PEEL ED

Cooking kathal or jackfruit can be tric ky business, since also have a thick, pri these are very large ckly skin. It requir and es a certain amount peel the jackfruit of skill and strength and then it takes a to long time to cook.

Use well-oiled hand s and a sharp knife wh ose blade is coated cut the raw jackfruit with oil when you as it secretes a stick y sap which does no may even cause itc t wash off easily an hing. You could als d o use gloves when avoid the hassle, ma cutting it. If you wa ny supermarkets sto nt to ck packs of peeled ready to cook. and chopped jackfr uit, The insides have sev eral pods as well as lar ge , almond shaped see peel the raw seed, sli ds. To open or t the skin or crack it carefully with a kn peel. It tastes like a ife or just boil them mix of potato and and taro and can be us ed in cooking the dish.

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INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2016 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

October 21, 2016

ENTERTAINMENT:REVIEWS/NEWS ENTERTAINMENT:REVIEWS/NEWS

K

Tutak Tutak Tutiya

rishna (Prabhu Deva), a city bachelor, wishes to get married to a modern, English speaking girl but ends up with village belle Devi (Tamannaah). The newlyweds return to Mumbai and rent out a house as Krishna is too ashamed to introduce his desi wife to his friends. Turns out the house is haunted by the ghost of its previous owner Ruby, an ambitious starlet. She possesses Devi to fulfill her impending dream of becoming a popular actress. Krishna’s predicament forms the story.

Here, horror leads to comedy as Ruby’s spirit randomly jumps in and out of Devi’s body, keeping Krishna and the audience on its toes. It’s all quite silly but the director’s modest approach towards the story works.

The repetition of funny scenes robs it of its glory though. As the story progresses, the horror comedy turns into a drama and like its female protagonist, struggles with its

Why are brands Going Crazy Over Ranveer Singh?

NEW

multiple-personalities a bit. The end result turns out to be a fairly watchable film that works for its honesty and harmlessness more than its entertainment value.

Boasting of a clean family humour, Vijay doesn’t try too hard to please his audience and gets brownie points for keeping things sweet and simple.

The special effects in a particular scene are impressive as well.

The gorgeous Tamannaah, slips in and out of her two diverse characters Ruby and Devi, effortlessly.

Sonu Sood makes an extended cameo and renders a restrained performance. He does justice to his superstar character that is not caricaturish or clichéd.

Despite being a tad underwhelming, Tutak Tutak Tutiya is a fairly enjoyable film that can be watched on a family outing -timesofindia.com

27

DELHI: Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh has recently appeared in Danish fashion brand Jack and Jones first video campaign in India ‘Don’t Hold Back’.

The rap song video, penned and sung by the actor, has already garnered over 3.4 million YouTube views since it went online on 7 October.

“His infectious energy and distinct ‘Don’t hold back’ attitude was the perfect personality to collaborate with and create magic,” said Vineet Gautam, country head, Bestseller India, which markets and sells brands such as Jack & Jones, Vero Moda and Only.

The actor, known for his irreverent attitude and charm, is a clear departure from the mainstream Bollywood actor image and continues to surprise the audience both in his cinematic as well as endorsement choices.

He can, for instance, endorse a home-grown inner wear brand Rupa Frontline and simultaneously join the likes of American hip-hop artiste Kanye West and promote sports brand Adidas Originals in India.

“Ranveer is not a brand ambassador rather he’s a part of our marketing team. Ching’s does not have an advertising agency. We sit together work on the creative brief and go to the production house to execute the idea and Ranveer is a part of

each step of this creative process. He owns the brand as much as we do,” said Ajay Gupta, managing director, Capital Foods (makers of Chinese ingredients and ready-to-eat noodles brand Ching’s Secret).

Ching’s Secret,who brought Singh on board in 2014, rolled out an ad campaign ‘Ranveer Ching Returns’, which was released as a short film in August. Directed by Bollywood filmmaker Rohit Shetty and backed

by Yash Raj Films, the film went viral instantly.

Ownership clearly puts Singh ahead of its contemporaries. The list of his growing endorsements is a testimony of the fact. Currently, the actor has 16 brand endorsements across categories including apparel (Jack and Jones, Myntra’s private label Roadster and Adidas Originals), inner wear (Rupa Frontline), mobile handset (Vivo), liquor brand (Royal Stag), breakfast cereal (Kellogg’s Oats), personal care (Set Wet deodorants/hair gel), hair care (Head & Shoulders), oral care (Colgate Maxfresh), four-wheeler (Maruti Suzuki Ciaz), travel portal (MakeMyTrip), e-commerce (Quikr), condom (Durex), tourism (Switzerland Tourism) and packaged soups/noodles (Ching’s Secret).

Celebrity managers estimate that Singh charges around Rs.3-4 crore per deal taking his overall brand port-

folio fee to around Rs.50 crore. In just two years, Ranveer’s endorsements have grown from three to 16. Safe to say, that’s exponential growth. More importantly, we understand that he has the responsibility of representing reputed and trusted brands.

With such a diverse portfolio, the actor has become selective in choosing the brand and is also exploring creating his own brand and equity stake options in certain categories.

-livemint.com

INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2016 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

Nargis Fakhri October 20, 1979 Parineeti Chopra October 22, 1988

28 October 21, 2016

Pandya’s Debut Three-for Sets Up India’s Six-Wicket Win

BY KARTHIK KRISHNASWAMY

D

HARAMSALA (ESPN Crickinfo): India 194 for 4 (Kohli 85*, Rahane 33) beat New Zealand 190 (Latham 79*, Southee 55, Pandya 3-31, Mishra 3-49) by six wickets Sharing the new ball in conditions that initially encouraged seam and swing, Hardik Pandya and Umesh Yadav ran through New Zealand’s top order to set India up for a six-wicket win in the first ODI in Dharamsala.

From 65 for 7, New Zealand recovered to post a relatively respectable total thanks to Tom Latham, who became the tenth batsman to carry his bat through an ODI innings, and Tim Southee, who struck a 45-ball 55 at No. 10, but a target of 191 was never really going to test India.

Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma got India off to a solid start with a 49run opening stand, and Virat Kohli took over thereafter, as he does so often in chases big and small, and his unbeaten 81-ball 85, full of trademark cover drives - the straight-bat punched variety as well as the wristy flat-bat swishes - guided India home with 101 balls remaining. He brought up the winning runs with a cleanly struck six off Ish Sodhi, skipping out of his crease and clattering the sightscreen behind the bowler.

Sent in to bat, New Zealand would have been disappointed to get bowled out with 37 balls still remaining in their innings. There was swing early on, a bit of seam movement, and a tendency for the ball to stop on the batsmen occasionally, but nothing so devilish in the conditions to cause their top order to collapse so rapidly.

Opting to bowl first, India sprang a bit of a surprise by handing Hardik Pandya the new ball ahead of Jasprit Bumrah, but the allrounder soon showed why MS Dhoni may have taken this decision.

Fifteen minutes before the toss, Pandya had received his ODI cap from Kapil Dev. He may also have absorbed some lessons about newball bowling from the great man: where he has bowled predominantly short in his 16 T20Is so far, Pandya here pitched the ball up and swung it away from the right-handers, while consistently hitting the high 130s.

Having produced two edges and a

Virat Kohli punches the ball onto the off side, India v New Zealand, 1st ODI, Dharamsala, October 16, 2016.

play-and-miss from Martin Guptill in his first over, Pandya broke through with one that straightened towards off stump, forcing the batsman to play from the crease and nick to second slip.

Then, Umesh Yadav removed New Zealand’s two most accomplished batsmen. Kane Williamson slashed the last ball of his third over to third man; then, off the first ball of his fourth over, Ross Taylor, late to withdraw his bat from the line of the ball, edged a perfectly-pitched outswinger to the keeper.

India frustrated Corey Anderson by bowling into his body and denying him room to free his arms, and he made 4 off 13 before seeing a rare glimpse of width and flat-batting Pandya uppishly to the right of mid-off, where Umesh completed a stunning diving catch. The same combination of bowler and fielder then sent back Luke Ronchi, who flicked in the air to mid-on.

When Kedar Jadhav, given the ball for the first time in his ODI career, sent back James Neesham and Mitchell Santner with successive deliveries in the 19th over, New Zealand’s innings seemed unlikely to last beyond

the 30th over.

Watching all this from the nonstriker’s end, Latham may have felt slightly puzzled, because he had looked utterly at ease at the crease, playing close to his body, and driving crisply through the covers and down the ground. He needed someone to stay with him. Doug Bracewell did that for 45 balls before flicking Amit Mishra to short midwicket, helping New Zealand past 100, before Southee arrived at the crease.

He could have been out for 2, but Umesh let him off by dropping a straightforward chance at fine leg after he had skied a pull off Bumrah.

Southee thanked Umesh and hit two fours in the same over, off the unfortunate Bumrah, punching him on the up through the covers and pulling him through midwicket.

He then skipped down the pitch to Mishra and lofted him inside-out over the covers before launching the first six of his innings, off Axar Patel, over long-off. Before this match, Southee had hit a six every 24 balls, roughly, in his international career. This one came off his 25th ball, evidence of the restraint he had shown initially.

He hit two more sixes on his way to

his maiden ODI half-century before skying Mishra to cover in the 42nd over. By then, he had scored 55 out of a partnership of 71 for the ninth wicket.

With only No. 11 left for company, Latham went after Mishra, chipping him inside-out for four and slogsweeping him for six off successive balls, but the innings wasn’t to last too much longer. Almost as soon as he had Ish Sodhi in his sights, Mishra trapped him on the crease with one that hurried on straight, legspinner foxing legspinner.

Meanwhile, Illness has kept Suresh Raina out of two of the three ODIs he has been chosen to play for India against New Zealand.

The second match would take place in Delhi on Thursday, but the team’s medical staff has said that is insufficient time for Raina to recover from a bout of viral fever. No replacement has been named.

Raina had missed the first game in Dharamsala on Sunday, and was also unable to bat while captaining Uttar Pradesh in the first round of the Ranji Trophy on October 6.

Karthick Krishnaswamy is a subeditor at ESPNcricinfo

SPORTS

Pakistan Overcome Bravo Epic for Thrilling Test Win

I

SLAMABAD: akistan 579 for 3 dec (Azhar 302*, Aslam 90, Bishoo 2-125) and 123 (Aslam 44, Bishoo 8-49) beat West Indies 357 (Bravo 87, Samuels 76, Yasir 5-121) and 289 (Bravo 116, Amir 3-63) by 56 runs Scorecard and ball-by-ball details Pakistan’s bowlers held their nerve to seize a 56-run win over West Indies after an intense, attritional fifth day in Dubai, in which Darren Bravo led his side’s plucky tilt at a come-from-behind victory. Bravo scored a 249-ball 116, taking his side to within 83 runs of the target, before Pakistan finally overcame his dogged resistance to wrest back a match that had looked like slipping away. They wrapped it up with 12 overs remaining, to register a memorable win in their 400th Test.

For much of the final day, Bravo proved to be an immovable object at the centre of the Dubai cricket ground. He carried forward his fine form and doughty resistance from the first innings, showing the application and patience to rebuff whatever Pakistan threw at him.

Bravo began the day batting on 26 off 67, with West Indies on 95 for 2, still 251 runs short of their target.

After seeing Marlon Samuels depart off the first ball of the day and losing Jermaine Blackwood inside the first hour, Bravo shared a fighting 77-run fifth-wicket stand with Roston Chase and continued his vigil well after Chase departed. As West Indies pursued what would have been their second-highest successful chase, more and more came to depend on Bravo. He shouldered that burden until almost an hour into the final session. But with 83 runs to win and four wickets in hand, he played a tired drive off Yasir Shah, managing only to squirt the ball back towards the bowler, whose sensational diving catch was the last, decisive turn on a gripping final day.

Yet West Indies had made Pakistan work much harder for the win than they would have expected after a promising start to the day. After Pakistan’s demoralising collapse on the previous day, Amir’s first-ball wicket was just the tonic they needed.

Samuels was drawn into poking at a ball he could easily have left and a thin edge was gleefully accepted by Sarfraz Ahmed behind the stumps.

INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2016 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

October 21, 2016

Ford, GM Lead India’s Car Export Growth in H1 2016-17 N

EW DELHI: Passenger vehicle exports from India grew 15.38% in the first half of the ongoing fiscal with US auto majors Ford and General Motors emerging as surprise packages leading the charge, while their Korean and Japanese peers struggled to maintain momentum.

According to SIAM data, passenger vehicles exports in the AprilSeptember period were at 3,67,110 units as against 3,18,188 units in the year-ago period. In terms of absolute volume, Hyundai Motor India remained the largest exporter with 87,499 units at a growth of 2.01%.

The second largest exporter during the period was Ford India shipping 73,821 units, a growth of 32.25%.

Interestingly, the company’s exports were much more

30,647 units during the period. In comparison, the company sold just 12,059 units in the domestic market, down 28.01%. According to SIAM, German auto major Volkswagen also exported more passenger vehicles from India than it sold in the country during the first half of the fiscal. Volkswagen India exported 43,114 units in April- September, up 19.28%. It sold only 23,329 units in the domestic market during the same period, up 0.45%. “Some of the OEMs are working on a clear, focussed strategy of exporting from India, which has worked out really well for them,” Price Waterhouse Partner and auto expert Abdul Majeed said. He further said these companies are targeting markets in emerging economies such as Latin America,

The most significant gainer was General Motors India which clocked a massive 863.74% jump in its passenger vehicle exports.

than what it sold in the domestic market —46,422 units. Maruti Suzuki India saw a decline of 7.87% in its overseas shipments during the first six months of 2016-17 at 60,526 units, occupying the third slot. The fourth largest exporter Nissan Motor India also witnessed a decline of 7.81% at 49,611 units during the period.

The most significant gainer was General Motors India which clocked a massive 863.74% jump in its passenger vehicle exports at

East Europe and Africa, which are similar to India with the products.

“They have made those investments for exports and they already have big network in those export markets,” Majeed said.

Concurring with him, Ford India executive director, marketing, sales, and service Anurag Mehrotra said: “The most recent commencement of exports of Ford Figo as KA+ to Europe, from our state-of-the-art Sanand plant, showcases our continued investment and commitment.”

-livemint.com

29

Engineers India, Gazprom to Prepare India to Collaborate India-Russia Gas Pipeline Blueprint with Germany for Rail Projects worth Rs 1 trillion

NEW DELHI: India will col-

The statement said the governments also signed two other deals in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Goa, where the 17th India-Russia Annual Summit took place on Saturday.

NEW DELHI: India and Russia on

Saturday assigned their respective domestic companies—Engineers India Ltd and Gazprom PJSC—to jointly study and prepare a blueprint for laying a gas pipeline between the two countries, said an oil ministry statement in New Delhi.

The move is part of India’s plan to enhance the use of natural gas in its energy mix and to increase trade with Russia, for which an international North-South transport corridor is also under implementation.

“The companies will examine whether the pipeline between the countries could pass through either China or through the Commonwealth of Independent States (former Soviet republics),” said a government official. Gazprom owns the world’s largest gas transmission system with a total length of 171,200km.

The statement said the governments also signed two other deals in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Goa, where the 17th India-Russia Annual Summit took place on Saturday.

Cooperation between the countries in the area of civil nuclear cooperation, sourcing of liquefied natural gas (LNG), partnership in the oil and gas sector and engagement in renewables

can construct a promising ‘energy bridge’ between our two countries, the statement said, quoting Prime Minister Modi.

The other two deals signed by oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Russia’s energy minister Alexander Novak on Saturday are for cooperation in the energy sector for 2017-18 and for cooperation in the area of education and training between ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas arm of Oil and Natural Gas Corp. and Rosneft Oil Company PJSC. Both the countries agreed to further work towards boosting bilateral engagement in the hydrocarbon sector.

“In the last four months alone, in a clear expression of our strong and deep engagement in the Hydrocarbon sector, Indian companies have invested close to $5.5 billion in Russia’s oil and gas sector and, with President Putin’s support, we are ready and willing to expand the scope of our engagement further. We are also undertaking a joint study of a gas pipeline route between our two countries,” the statement said quoting Prime Minister Modi.

India has set a target of raising the share of gas in its hydrocarbon consumption from about 7% now to 15% in two-three years as part of its climate change plan.

-livemint.com

laborate with Germany for projects worth Rs1 trillion to improve and enhance rail connectivity of Indian ports.

Road transport, highways and shipping minister Nitin Gadkari held discussions with Germany’s infrastructure minister Alexander Dobrindt on Friday wherein the two countries decided to identify the potential areas where projects can be implemented with mutual cooperation.

India will collaborate with Germany for projects worth Rs1 trillion to improve and enhance rail connectivity of Indian ports.

Representatives from Indian Port Rail Corporation Ltd and Deutsche Bahn AG will work out the details.

In addition, they will also identify cost-effective rail technologies for implementation.

The Indian Port Rail Corporation Ltd was set up by the ministry of shipping for better cargo handling and to reduce the cost of logistics.

-livemint.com

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