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Friday, October 26 2012 | Vol. 31, No. 43

Indo American erican News

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

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P30 Masala Radio and Tara Energy, in association with the Gujarati Samaj of Houston, India Culture Center, India House, and the Hindus of Greater Houston, presents a community-wide Diwali celebration, ZEE Diwali Mela on Saturday, November 10 at Constellation Field, the brand new Skeeters Baseball Stadium.

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P3 The Bhandaris and the Turakhias making ritual offerings inside the pit which would contain the foundation bricks.

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October 26, 2012

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COMMUNITY

October 26, 2012

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A Long Dream for a Gujarati Samaj Center Finally Takes Shape with Land Donation

BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA HOUSTON: Along the axis of an arc on West Bellfort from the VPSS Temple to the west and the India House further to the east near South Gessner, the tract of land at the north-east corner of the Beltway 8 is slated to become the future home of the Gujarati Samaj of Houston, almost across from the Raindrop Turkish Center, in an area that has become an international hub for the Bayou City.

A bhoomi puja was conducted on the cleared 4.5 acre site this past Sunday, October 21 in the middle of a scorching hot Fall day as a hundred or so people attended the event and the laying of ceremonial foundation bricks. Each brick was purchased for $101 and had the name of the donor handwritten with a Sharpie and then tied with a saffron and yellow mauli (see picture on cover) before it was consecrated into the eight-foot deep pit dug for the occasion.

The land was donated by Amit Bhandari of The Biourja Group and his partner in the deal, Mukesh Turakhia of Allied Alloys.

Bhandari is a young, self-made businessman in the commodity trading, grain elevator and loading terminal businesses, who moved to Houston from Louisiana six years ago. Turakhia has been in Houston for 25 years and is in the recycling, gas station and hotel/ motel businesses.

“We bought about 17 acres several years ago,” explained Bhandari about their donation as Turakhia shaded his eyes from the afternoon

Indo American News

From left, Mukesh and Nimmi Turakhia and Amit and Arpita Bhandari who donated the land to the Gujarati Samaj of Houston.

Photos: Jawahar Malhotra

The land of future home of Gujarati Samaj of Houston is at the corner of West Bellfort and Beltway 8.

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Sun. “We were approached by the Gujarati Samaj a year ago and had a good vibe about the project to build a good facility for the community.” They also considered giving the rest of the land to the Jain Samaj but that part didn’t go through. They might build another temple on the remainder of the land, but plans are still vague.

But the plans for the Gujarati Samaj Community Center are far

The Bhandaris and the Turakhias at the bhoomi puja ceremony conducted by the priest Viradbhai at the land at the corner of West Bellfort and Beltway 8.

from vague, according to Suresh Patel, affectionately nicknamed “Darbar” for his organizational and sports activities in India, the soft spoken firebrand activist who has worked tirelessly to make this project come to fruition along with Jayanti Patel and Dr. Kirit Desai who are also on the Steering Committee of the Samaj. Real estate developer and community activist Dinesh Shah has already been tapped for the architectural plans.

This is not the Gujarati Samaj’s first attempt to build a community center. Almost 20 years ago it led the coalition that bought the old German Community Center on Elm near Hillcroft in the Glenmont area, a neighborhood that has since deteriorated rapidly with fresh immigrants. It was sold for $2.2 million and since then, with several other donations ($400,000 from a fundraiser in June from the Clear Lake area and $100,000 from Dr. Pulin Pandya), the account has swelled to nearly $3 million. “We intend to hold a fundraiser on November 9 at the Stafford Civic Center, and when we have $4.5 million collected,

we will start the construction,” said Patel. “We definitely want to involve the younger generation in the operation and management of the center,” he added.

The plans for the Center include a large ballroom, kitchen and library and a sports complex with volleyball courts and a gymnasium, all to be built in phases, with the main building to be built first and be ready by early 2014.

Check our website www.indoamerican-news.com for a slide show and video clip.

Indo American News (ISSN 8875936) is published weekly every Friday (for a subscription of $40 per year) by IndoAmerican News Inc., 7457 Harwin Dr., Suite 262, Houston, TX 77036, tel: 713-789-6397, fax:713-789-6399, email: indoamericannews@ yahoo.com.

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October 26, 2012

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October 26, 2012

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COMMUNITY

October 26, 2012

The IIT Alumni Want to Show Off the Bayou City at its Global Conference

BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA SUGAR LAND: Last year at the picnic they held at a private clubhouse in Sweetwater area the Indian Institute of Technology Alumni of Greater Houston (IITAGH) had no idea that they were going to host a scoop for the community when one of the guests, Sonal Bhuchar a former Sugar Land ISD Trustee, revealed that she was going to run for a Texas House race. The “picnic” really ended up indoors in airconditioned comfort, with a clown for the kids and catered food.

This year, the IIT alumni held a more traditional picnic on Saturday, October 20, though the folks

Roopa Gir, an earnest alum who recently retired from Schlumberger, addressing the crowd.

at Dhakshin restaurant did the catering and even cooking dosas on a hot flat-plate, at Lost Creek Park off Shelters Way, for about 150 of their members and their families.

And this year, they let loose a ma-

IITAGH President Witty Bindra speaking to an attentive group under the covered eating pavilion at Lost Creek Park.

Members of Ganna Pechanna company launched by Ram Seetharam (second from left).

Photos: Jawahar Malhotra

jor announcement of their own, revealing that they had been selected by the IIT Board, USA to host the IIT 2013 Global Conference next year from December 6 to 8.

“This is really a great honor for

us as we expect up to 3,000 people from across the world to attend,” explained the current IITAGH President Witty Bindra, who is also the Chairman of the conference, as he spoke to an attentive

The food for the picnic was caterted by Dhakshin restaurant.

group under the covered eating pavilion, prancing little kids and hungry eaters notwithstanding.

Bindra showed the hierarchy of the organization that has been set up to handle the logistics on a wide screen set up for a follow-up song competition organized by a new company, Ganna Pechanna (What’s That Song?) launched recently by Ram Seetharam, himself an IIT Madras alum.

Bindra was followed by the Conference Marketing Director, Partha Chatterjee and Vice-Chair Pratish Kanani, both of whom laid out their plans and invited all the members to work with them to pull off a great show for the Houston Chapter. Chatterjee revealed that the budget was between $600,000 to $800,000 for the three day conference.

Roopa Gir, an earnest alum who recently retired from Schlumberg-

er and has worked hard putting the last IIT event together (see IAN September 28, 2012) at the Asia Society addressed the crowd to enlist them in making the function that would put Houston on the IIT Global map. She was followed by Sundy Srinivasan who implored people to bring in at least another member to the conference, and certainly more.

The Conference will focus on business innovation, social collaboration, and serving humanity with breakout sessions, keynote speeches, and discussions will focus on energy, bioscience, space and high technology - areas in which Houston provides global leadership and expertise – and top it off with a good dosage of fine arts and global affairs. More details will follow in the upcoming weeks as they become available and the plans get firmed up.

In this it’s a reflection of how the Wheels of Life turn on inspite of one’s own life.

The play has some excellent light hearted moments and starts out as such, with delightful casual banter between the young couple who are earnest about getting married, provided Lata gets to continue dancing. It is a shame that the wit of the play slowly takes a turn for the dark as the conflicts gather force.

There are witty lines like “a woman in a man’s world is progressive; a man in a woman’s world is pathetic” or “you never talk, you at-

tack” and you wonder what more gems could have come out from the playwright had the play gone off in a different direction.

The play is directed by Dubey who also produced and acted in it.

She has also done several television serials and films like Zubeida, Gadar, Monsoon Wedding, Baghban, Kal Ho Na Ho, My Brother Nikhil, Corporate and Pinjar, which have received wide acclaim and won the Best Actress award at the Madrid International film Festival in 2008 for her film Bow Barracks Forever.

BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA STAFFORD: Those who didn’t come to the Indian play Dance Like a Man, enacted in English onstage at the Old Stafford Civic Center, really missed not only fine performances by a troupe of close-knit actors, but also missed a great screenplay that ends with a twist that only a few would have suspected because it is so subtlety hinted at and then suddenly revealed just the once. To reveal it would give the ending away, so suffice it to say that audiences should catch the play when it comes to their town next.

Regrettably for the Houston area, and as noted by the local promoter Surender Talwar, a thespian and occasional stage performer of songs himself who lamented the lack of a larger audience at the conclusion of the play after the actors had taken their bows, many in the Bayou City will never know the true story that unfolded in Dance Like a Man whatever the reasons may be. The play was made into a movie in 2004 with screenplay by the writer Mahesh Dattani.

Dance Like A Man was performed for the 440th time last weekend and it is the longest running English language play from

Photos: Jawahar Malhotra

Dance Like A Man Hits with Comedy, Dark Wit and an Unexpected Twist

India in the world, according to the producers and is now in its 13th year. The play is performed by a close-knit family of Bollywood celebrities; Mahesh Dattani (writer), Lillete Dubey (director/producer/ actress), Suchitra Pillai, Joy Sengupta and Vijay Crishna (actress and actors). They have staged the play in many countries including India, Dubai, Sri Lanka, US, Malaysia , Singapore, Thailand, England and Scotland.

This play is about two Bharat Natyam dancers, Ratna and Jairaj and the conflict that drives a wedge with Jairaj’s father who does not want his son to be an effeminate dancer but to be more manly. The conflict drives the young couple out of the ancestral house, only to return when they cannot make

it on their own, but on condition laid down by the father that Ratna dissuade Jairaj from dancing. Instead, he turns to drinking.

The play seamlessly moves from the present to the past and back through a simple trick of staging and presents the whole conflict that ensues between generations and between two sets of spouses - Ratna and Jairaj; their daughter Lata and her suitor, the dim-witted Vishwa. In the intensity of the verbal fights between Rana and Jairaj, the play is reminiscent of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf”. And finally, the play is about the ancestral home which is worth more torn down and the final scene deals with how the young couple moves away.

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

October 26, 2012

RICK

MILLER

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Born to lead.... Prepared to serve

A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy followed by an outstanding 30-year career, retired as a Captain‌ a successful small businessman, now a public servant.

Rick is a family man with strong family values. Married to “Babs�, they have three children and three grandchildren. He and Babs moved to Sugar Land in1999.

REPUBLICAN FOR STATE REPRESENTATIVE

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NEWS • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

10/5/12 11:15 AM

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October 26, 2012

COMMUNITY

A Nostalgic Piece of Devotional Bengal to Mark Durga Puja on an Early Weekend Morning

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BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA HOUSTON: While the rest of the city was slowly stirring to another Saturday morning on October 20, Shaymal Bhattacharya, aka Radio Maasti Maestro, played the one and a half-hour program Mahisasuramardini (Bengali for “The Annihilator of the Buffalo Demon”), which has been immensely popular among Bengali Hindus ever since it was first broadcast at daybreak around 4am on All India Radio in 1932. Bhattacharya has done this for three straight years on Mahalaya (although later, at 7am) and reaches at the heart of the local Bengali community of Radio Maasti DJ Shyamal Bhattacharya (center) about 4,000 families.

The Mahisasuramardini is a flanked by the ladies who set up booths at the Banmontage of Chandipath (recita- gar Adda mela this past Saturday, October 20 at the radio station. Photo: Jawahar Malhotra tion of verses of Durga Sptashati), Bengali devotional songs, classical After the recital, Bhattacharya had armusic and a dash of acoustic melodrama. ranged for a the first ever mini-mela – BanThe legendary narrator Birendra Krishna glar Adda (Bengali Chit-Chat) – to be held Bhadra, the magical voice behind the Ma- in the radio station parking lot from 11am hisasuramardini, recites the holy verses in to 3pm. “But at the last minute, the station a sonorous, reverberating voice and tells the manager backed out,” said Bhattacharya story of the descent of Durga to Earth, in his as he played another song, “but said we inimitable style. could hold it inside the studio.” So the inAs the recital begins, the serene morning defatigable Bhattacharya arranged for an air resonates with the long drawn sound of impromptu mela inside the back part of the the sacred conch shell, immediately fol- studio where five stalls set up selling jewlowed by a chorus of invocation. Chandipath elry, clothing and tutorials (by Excel N Exit is the story of Durga as the primeval source Tutorial) and gave away free snacks. of power. Mahisasura, the terrible king of Although cramped, the mela brought in the Asuras had defeated the gods and driven a few dozen staunch supporters of Radio them out of Heaven. The gods, dejected and Maasti, many of whom appreciate not just humiliated went to Brahma, the God of cre- the music, chit-chat and humor that Bhatation; Vishnu, the God of preservation and tacharya spins but also the poetry recitations Mahadeva, the God of destruction, to report and interviews with celebrities he has on the their defeat. These three Gods projected air. “Where else could we just call in and their energy from their tritiya netra (Third speak with a popular singer or movie star?”

Eye) and evoked a new form of energy asked one admirer, while his wife nodded in which crystallised into the heavenly form of agreement. Encouraged, the ever-optimistic the Goddess Durga. Armed with weapons of Bhattacharya said he already planned for a all kinds, the Mother Goddess defeated the bigger and better mela next year!

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Announcement INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

COMMUNITY

October 26, 2012

ZEE Diwali Mela to be Held on Nov. 10 at Constellation Field

HOUSTON: Diwali is a shortended version of Deepavali, a Sanskrit word meaning “row of lamps.” The ancient kingdom of Ayodhya celebrated the return of Lord Rama, along with consort Sita and brother Lakshmana, from his 14-year exile by lighting lamps along the streets. Even today, Hindus light earthen diyas for 5 days to celebrate this triumph of good over evil, and also to welcome Goddess Laxmi into their homes, and bless them with prosperity for the new year, as Diwali marks the last day of the Hindu calendar. For Jains, Diwali is the day Lord Mahavir attained Moksha – a day of enlightenment. Indeed, Diwali is the Festival of Lights.

Masala Radio and Tara Energy, in association with the Gujarati Samaj of Houston, India Culture Center (ICC), India House, and the Hindus of Greater Houston presents a community-wide Diwali celebration, ZEE Diwali Mela on Saturday, November 10 at Constellation Field, the brand new Skeeters Baseball Stadium.

In 2007, the Diwali Mela held by Masala Radio was a huge success

The Mela took place at the Sugar Land Town Square. The event became overcrowded by City of Sugar Land standards, with guests parking in the nearby mall and outlying shopping centers that traffic came to a standstill. Five years later, now the Constellation Field will serve as the perfect

a on-site recording booth where peeople can record their personalized Diwali greetings. One of them will have a chance to get their ad on Zee Dil Se. The main attraction of the event will be the mind-blowing Masala Entertainment lineup, featuring Indian Idol finalist Bhoomi Trive-

of playing Disco Dandia on the luxiously soft, manicured outfield Bermuda grass, sponsored by the Gujarati Samaj of Houston. The 80 foot wide, 3 level Main Stage will feature over 13 top dance school performances sponsored by Tara Energy, pulsating Alings Hakka Fire Show, ICC /India House Miss Diwali Pagaent, Sari Sapne Fashion Show and Bollywood Extravaganza choreographed by Naach Houston, and spectacular Kohinoor Diamonds Fireworks.

Hindus of Greater Houston will welcome guests with traditional tikko, and organize a grand scale Maha Aarti, with 1001 diyas passed out to the audience. DJ Zee will rock the main stage, and AD Sounds will provide a memorable American-rock-band-style stage

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light show.

Kids will delight in an extensive Keemat Grocers playground, free carousel rides and giant inflatable slide. Youths will love the secret DJ Dance clubs. All of this is available for the low ticket price of $5. Limited Stage Lawn Passes are available for $15 where you can view the entertainment up close to the stage sitting on lawn blankets. ZEE Diwali Mela tickets are available in over 20 major Indian Grocery Store locations in Sugar Land, Alief, Hilcroft, Katy, North, and Clear Lake, or online at sulekha.com.

For more information about ZEE Diwali Mela, visit HoustonDiwaliMela.com or call Masala Radio at 281-277-6874.

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di and three young singers playing the latest Bollywood Tracks and the finale Dandia-Raas (stick dance festival).

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INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

10 October 26, 2012

At

Sri Meenakshi Temple

Saturday, 3rd November, 2012

From 9:30 AM to Midnight PROFESSIONAL FIREWORKS DISPLAY 8:45 P.M. (if no burn-ban)

LAXMI POOJA 7:00 PM Rathotsvam 8:00 PM

GARBA WITH LIVE MUSIC

Display of Utsav Murthis

After Fireworks 9:15 PM.

11:00 AM to 6:00 PM

NEW Kids Fireworks Online Registration limited to 150 children 6.30 – 8.00 PM

Temple open till 9:30 PM

www.emeenakshi.org

FREE HEALTH FAIR 9:30 AM – 12:00 Noon Registration: 9:00 AM EKG, Dental, Eye Check, Women’s Wellness Check, General medical advice, Flu shots (free but limited) Blood tests: Complete blood count & chemistry/Lipid profile, Thyroid Test

For more information contact: Event Coordinator Padma Golla pad.golla@gmail.com

Alternate

Srikanth Venugopalan srikanthvenu@hotmail.com

Health Fair

(For first 75-100 Pooja registrants only.

Overnight fasting Cultural Program recommended for lipid profile) Volunteers PUPPET SHOW

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Roopa Bala roopa@anbsystems.com Swaroopa Reddy roop7007@yahoo.com

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KIDS’ CARNIVAL

4:00 PM to 8:30 PM Train, rock climbing, Mechanical bull, petting zoo, walking magician CULTURAL PROGRAM

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11

Hungama at Cameraman Gangatho Rambabu Premier Show

HOUSTON: There’s one word to describe famous Telugu actor Pawan Kalyan’s latest movie “Cameraman Ganga tho Rambabu” – extraordinary. On Wednesday, October 17, Radio Hungama celebrated the premier of “Cameraman Ganga tho Rambabu” with great pomp and show. FunAsia 6 in Houston was packed with energetic Pawan Kalyan fans from all over Houston. The show was at 8pm and the crowd started piling in at around 7pm. Radio Hungama engaged the fans right from the moment they stepped in to the theater with great music, interesting games and of course, tons of giveaways.

The premier show started off with University students showing off “Pawanism”, Pawan Kalyan’s mannerisms, dialogue delivery and dance moves. The launch reached the highest note with everyone in the theater dancing to the tunes of “Gangnam Style”. Kiran Kumar and Tina Bose of Infused Dance School choreographed the dance.

Hungama’s Sridhar Dadi, Raaga Vahini and Pallavi Chilappagari entertained the crowd with fun games like “Dinchakunda Kottu Guru” and “Vinnava Vadhina”. DJ Anup’s music set the right tone for what turned out to be an extraordinary movie premier.

The audience seemed completely enthralled by the movie and the theater was filled with applause

The premier show of Cameraman Gangatho Rambabu started off with University students showing off “Pawanism”, Pawan Kalyan’s mannerisms, dialogue delivery and dance moves.

and whistles with every punch dialogue delivered by the Power Star.

During intermission, Radio Hungama surprised the audience with a flash mob. The fans appreciation for Pawan Kalyan was apparent in their energetic dance moves. The premier was a grand success with cake cutting by fans and celebrations filled the air as the audience sang and danced to the popular songs of the movie – “Extraordinary” and “Jaramochindhi”.

Radio Hungama’s team stayed true to its name by creating “Huge Hungama” for Pawan Kalyan’s movie second time in a row and lived up to the expectations of the crowd who witnessed “Gabbar Singh” premier. Sridhar Dadi’s excitement came through in every moment of the premier show and the audience is eagerly awaiting his next big event.

Sridhar Dadi of Radio Hungama

and volunteers Sasi, Vijai, Nandu, Swamy and Anuradha made thsi event a big success. The premiere launch was covered by TV9.

Pawan Kalyan starrer Telugu political satire Cameraman Ganga tho Rambabu garnered a whopping Rs 52 crore at the box office, which includes overseas collection, in its opening weekend, despite Telangana activists disrupting screenings in some parts of Andhra Pradesh. The film released worldwide on October 18 in more than 1,500 screens. In the film, Pawan Kalyan plays a mechanic, who accidentally becomes a journalist and locks horns with Prakash Raj, a corrupt politician.

Listen to Radio Hungama on KCHN AM 1050, Sunday 12-3pm.

For more information, visit www. radiohungama.net or call Sridhar Dadi at 281-217-9736 or email HoustonRadio@yahoo.com

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COMMUNITY COMMUNITY The Extraordinary Life and Times of Mahatma Gandhi Gandhi Sets Up Ambulance Corps to Help For AdvertBritish ising in IAN

The story thus far…Gandhi’s activism on behalf of the Indians in South Africa, brought him much strife. The local Afrikaners and the British considered him as a troublemaker. He was attacked by angry mobs. With his calm demeanor, he wins over the people, and even gets to help create an ambulance corps.

The Durban police rescued Gandhi from a bloodthirsty mob.

He was escorted by the police to Rustomji’s house, where a doctor attended to his injuries.

“They are sure to calm down when they realize their mistake,” he said.

Late in the evening, another mob of white people surrounded the house. “We must have Gandhi,” angry voices demanded. The mob was getting more and more threatening.

“Give us Gandhi or we will bum down the house,” they shouted.

Gandhi knew that they might carry out their threat. To save his friend’s house, he slipped out in disguise, eluding the crowd. Two days later a message came from London. Joseph Chamberlain, then Secretary of State for the Colonies, asked the Natal Government to prosecute every man guilty of attacking Gandhi. The Natal Government expressed its regret for the incident to Gandhi and assured him that the assailants would be punished. When Gandhi was called upon to identify the offenders, however, he would not do so.

“I do not want to prosecute anyone,” he told the Natal Government. “I do not hold the assailants to blame. They were misled by false reports about me and I am sure that when the truth becomes known they will be sorry for their conduct.”

Gandhi’s statement suddenly changed the atmosphere in Durban. The press declared Gandhi innocent and condemned his assailants. The Durban incident raised Gandhi’s prestige and won more sympathy abroad for the Indians in South Africa. As the struggle in South Africa continued, a change was coming over Gandhi. He had begun with a life of ease and comfort, but this was short-lived. As he became more and more involved in public activities, his way of life became simpler. He started cutting down his expenses. He took to washing and ironing his own clothes, and he did it so badly at first that the other lawyers laughed at him. But soon he became quite an expert at this and his collars were no less stiff and shiny than theirs. Gandhi once went to an English barber in Pretoria. The barber insolently refused to cut a ‘black’ man’s hair. Gandhi at once bought a pair of clippers and cut his own hair. He succeeded more or less in cutting the front part but spoilt the back. He looked very

funny and his friends in the court laughed at him.

“What’s wrong with your hair Gandhi? Have rats been gnawing at it?” they asked.

“No,” said Gandhi proudly, “I have cut my hair myself.” Then Gandhi tried changes in his food.

He started taking uncooked food.

He believed that if a man lived on fresh fruits and nuts he could master his passions and acquire spiritual strength. He made many experiments with his diet. He even came to the conclusion that fasting increased one’s will power. While he was thus experimenting with himself, the Boer war broke out.

The Boers were South Africans The Extraordinary Life and Times of Mahatma Gandhi is brought to you courtesy Mahatma Gandhi Library. www.gandhilibrary.org of Dutch origin. They were fighting the British. Neither of these two white nations had treated the Indians well. Gandhi did not want to support either of them, but his familiarity with the British made him organize an Indian ambulance corps to help them.

To his puzzled followers, he said: “India can achieve complete emancipation only through development within the British Empire. Therefore we must help the British.” The British won the war and the ambulance corps was disbanded.

The newspapers in England praised the services rendered by the Indians. The relations between the Indians and the Europeans had now become more cordial, and the Indians believed that their grievances would soon be removed.

It was now 1901, six years after Gandhi had brought his family to Durban. Now he felt that his future activity lay not in South Africa but in India. Also, friends in India were pressing him to return home.

When he announced his decision to his co-workers, however, they

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again pressed him to stay on. After much discussion they agreed to let him go, but only if he would come back to South Africa if the Indians there needed his help. He agreed to this. There were farewell meetings and presentations of gifts. The gifts were so many and so valuable that Gandhi felt he should not accept them. The people who had presented them would not take them back. He then prepared a trust deed, and all the gifts were deposited with a of the Indian community. On his arrival in India, Gandhi went on a tour of the country. The annual meeting of the Indian National Congress was being held in Calcutta under the presidentship of Dinshaw Wacha. Gandhi attended the session. It was his first contact with the Congress which he was to lead so gloriously in the future.

The Indian National Congress was the only organization which gave the people of India a chance to express their political views. It was an influential body, as many important Indians were members, but its decisions had little affect on the Government.

At the Calcutta session in 1901 Gandhi had an opportunity to meet Congress leaders like Sir Pherozeshah Mehta, Lokamanya B. G. Tilak, G. K. Gokhale, and others.

He was not impressed with the way the Congress was functioning. He noticed a lack of unity among the delegates. Moreover, while they spoke English and affected the style of Westerners in their dress and talk, they did not seem to bother about essential things like good sanitary facilities in the camp.

Gandhi wanted to teach them a lesson. On his own he quietly started cleaning the bathroom and urinals.

No one volunteered to join him.

“Why do you undertake an untouchable’s job?” they asked.

“Because the caste people have made this an untouchable place,” replied Gandhi.

From Calcutta Gandhi traveled around India by train. As he moved from place to place, he was shocked to see the life of the common people – the famished, ignorant, and neglected masses.

His heart was filled with sadness and anger. Gandhi settled down in Bombay and started practice as a lawyer. He did well, much better than he had expected. In December 1902, however, a cable reached him from South Africa requesting him to return as promised. Joseph Chamberlain, the Colonial Secretary, was arriving from London on a visit to Natal and the Transvaal, and the Natal Indian Congress wanted Gandhi to present their case to him.

TO BE CONTINUED

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EDITORIAL

October 26, 2012

Memories of a Lifetime

From directing songless thrillers (Ittefaq), social stories about the newly partitioned India (Dharamputra), the iconic lost-andfound formulaic film (Waqt), the classic good-vs-bad-brothers film (Deewar), to becoming the very name for romance in Indian cinema (Daag, Kabhi Kabhie, Chandni, Lamhe, Dil Toh Pagal Hai, Darr, Veer Zaara), Yash Chopra gave us memories for a lifetime. No wonder they call him The Institution.

He touched our lives with poetry and brought Switzerland to Mumbai. There really does exist a Chopra Lake in Alpenrausch, Yashji’s favourite place on earth — a honor bestowed on him by the Swiss Government.

It’s difficult to encapsulate his contribution to Indian cinema.

For many of us — especially lovers and friends — he was Indian cinema. Chopra directed 22 films and furnished a filmmaking style so distinct and individual that it came to be known as the Yash Chopra style. It’s not for nothing that when the first teaser of his swan song Jab Tak Hai Jaan was released before the film had a title, many felt the title was unnecessary. Who needed a name for a film when “A Yash Chopra Romance” could communicate it all?

A Yash Chopra Romance was always about the everyman and the everyday.An entire generation fell in love for the very first time while humming Tere chehre se nazar nahin hatthi. The peak of love was with Mera pyaar keh raha hai main tujhe khuda bana doon. The dating ritual got a nod with Dekha ek khwaab toh yeh silsile hue.

The height of eternal love is of course Tere liye hum hain jeeye.And who can forget the first-night song — the Kabhi Kabhie poetry.

He never feared to tweak the conventional and charted his success story following his heart, with an eye on dramatic stories and characters one could relate to. When the country only knew Amitabh Bachchan as the Angry Young Man, Chopra showed the lover-boy side to him. He brought back Rajesh Khanna to the helm with his first production, Daag.

Shah Rukh Khan maintains he owes a huge part of his stardom, especially his lover-boy currency, to Chopra’s films.

If the Yash Chopra lover boy made us swoon, the Yash Chopra heroine is known for the way he presented her, from Silsila’s Rekha to Chandni and Lamhe’s Sridevi to Dil Toh Pagal Hai’s Madhuri Dixit. Chopra acknowledged his hallmark as the leading-lady expert in a chat with SRK on his 80th birthday: “After nature, the most beautiful thing God has made is woman. I never see bad points in a woman. I like to make films that take a peek inside a woman’s heart.”

It’s difficult to imagine cinema without Yash Chopra. Though he had announced his retirement from direction, it was widely accepted that he would stay the guiding light of Yash Raj Films. He was the social face of Bollywood — lighting the ceremonial lamp at festivals, lending an ear to newcomers. Just the sight of him at film events was reassuring. Just like his movies. Yeh lamhe, yeh pal hum barso yaad karenge... yeh mausam chale gaye toh hum faryaad karenge.

Harneet Singh in Indian Express

Is the Nobel Always Noble?

BY FARRUKH DHONDY The European Union (EU) as an institution wins this year’s Nobel Peace Prize and the President, one Mr Jose Manuel Barossa, welcomes the award with a grin that would have sent the Cheshire Cat back to the mirror or his PR personal trainer. He trotted out the expected platitudes about the EU forestalling another World War through European instigation.

The news of the prize was intercut on television with scenes in Madrid of police dragging anti-EU demonstrators off the streets in a very non-peaceful fashion and with scenes from Athens where thousands of milling protesters fought pitched battles with sticks and stones against the helmeted and shield-bearing armies of Greek cops.

Useless to point out to these naysayers that it’s only a Peace Prize and not a Prosperity, Fairness or Freedom-from-Bureaucracy one. A single hit for a single perceived virtue or achievement.

That should be adequately clear as Henry Kissinger was awarded the Prize in 1973. He was US President Nixon’s Security Adviser and the architect of an attempted plan to end the Vietnam War by negotiating a truce with Ho Chi Minh’s North Vietnamese representative Le Doc Tho with whom Henry shared the prize. Neither of these gentlemen was given the prize for Good Books or Good Looks.

War broke out again before the prize was awarded to Kissinger whom very many in the world, including myself, thought of as a warmonger.

It struck us as the award of the Nobel Truth Prize (there isn’t one) to Pinocchio. Perhaps the Nobel Committee thought that a few days of peace were better than none.

The lasting anomaly of the Nobel Peace Prize is the award of 1948. The Norwegian Nobel Committee which judges the prize had made it a rule that there could be no posthumous award.

It had to go to living people or institutions - 1948 was of course the fateful year when Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated. The Committee must have been fully aware of the slaughter that accompanied the Partition of the subcontinent and that very many detractors of the Mahatma, includ-

The story goes that the Mahatma’s candidature was debated by the Norwegian Committee and there were those round the table who objected to the award. ing Nathuram Godse and associates, attributed the tragic resolution and division to him.

The story goes that the Mahatma’s candidature was debated by the Norwegian Committee and there were those round the table who objected to the award. The public contention was that no posthumous award could be presented, but that proved not to be the case when the prize went in 1961 to Dag Hammarskjold, the UN Secretary General who died in a plane crash on his way to negotiate a ceasefire and settlement in Zambia.

Now if anyone has notes on what went on around that table in the debate about Gandhiji’s candidature, please submit them to me (for the usual nominal fee of course) as I think it would make a riveting stage play! Deciding not to award the prize to anyone that year might betoken respect for Gandhi’s unparalleled achievement or it may have been a compromise with the objectors.

The Hammarskjold award seemed a legitimate enough exception to make, though giving the prize in 2007 to Al Gore for his public stance on

climate change seems strange. There is no prize for services to the environment so the definition of peace must have been once again stretched.

The documentary on which Gore’s reputation was largely built has been thoroughly questioned, some of its statistics and scare-mongering disproved in a British court and some of its photography, such as pictures of a polar bear cub isolated on a floe of ice, have been shown to be nothing more than staged and doctored advertising shots in the greater cause. The cute polar baby was helped off the floe where they had posed him and fed a good lunch of fish by the camera crew when the photo-shoot was done.

Europe has not been completely at peace either. Nationalist movements in Catalonia and Northern Ireland have resorted to violence, terror and what each movement would see as war against a colonial state.

The conflicts in Kosovo and Bosnia, though territorially in Eastern Europe occurred before Eastern European countries were members, associate members or candidate members of the EU. Would full membership have averted what were essentially territorial conflicts stimulated by religious divisions?

Mother Teresa was awarded it in 1979. She was cited as a citizen of Albania. Whether she was working for the promotion of peace or to bring the souls of mortals to the Kingdom of Heaven through Jesus Christ remains a question which I think I can answer but won’t. She took grants and money for her saintly work from Enver Hoxha of Albania and from Papa Doc of Haiti, both dictators without any reputation whatsoever of peaceful behaviour towards their citizens.

Again, the Nobel Committee would probably have been aware of these facts and once again the definition of peace was expanded to include the works of the saintly nun.

So the remaining question: is there no candidate living or dead from the Indian subcontinent whom one could nominate, keeping in mind the elastic definitions of peace I have demonstrated, as deserving of the prize? HT Farrukh Dhondy is an author, screenplay writer and columnist.

Indo American News FOUNDER: DR. K.L. SINDWANI PUBLISHER: JAWAHAR MALHOTRA EDITOR: PRAMOD KULKARNI MANAGING EDITOR: MANASI GOKHALE ADVERTISING & ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGER: VANSHIKA VIPIN CORRESPONDENTS HOUSTON: MANU SHAH, CHETNA SAMAL CHICAGO: NAND KAPOOR, INDIA: RAJ KANWAR ®All rights reserved. No material herein or portions thereof may be published without the written consent of the publisher. The deadline for advertising and articles is 5 pm on Monday of each week. Please include self-addressed, stamped envelope for return of all unsolicited material. Published at 7457 Harwin Drive, Suite 262, Houston, Texas 77036. Tel: 713-789-NEWS or 6397 Fax: 713-789-6399, email: indoamericannews@yahoo.com, website: indoamerican-news.com

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October 26, 2012

Rathna Kumar Honored with Two Awards

HOUSTON: Rathna Kumar, Founder/Director of Anjali Center for Indian Performing Arts and Founder/Artistic Director of Samskriti, has been recognized for her outstanding Contribution towards presenting, preserving and promoting Indian Performing and Visual arts for the past three decades in USA and in particular – State of Texas.

At a a glitzy banquet celebrating the 4th annual Indian film festival of Houston, she received an award from Consul general Hon P. Harish.

The second prestigious award has been given by National Federation of Indian Associations (NFIA) in their 17th Biennial convention, recognizing those Indians making an impact in USA in various fields. Seven such individuals from around USA have been recognized including Dr. Rathna Kumar of Houston . The NFIA is the largest US based Indian umbrella organization and their convention took place in Chicago, Illinois on October 14.

nized as a true cultural ambassador in the US through countless awards and recognitions.

Rathna Kumar who is presently busy co-directing a massive production ‘Ram Leela’,to be performed on the October 28, presenting a world famous danseuse Alarmelvalli on November 11 and curating an International Conference on ‘ Manifestations of Shiva’ in association with the Rathna Kumar received a Special Recongnition Museum of Fine Arts Award at the 4th Annual International Film Houston.

Festival from Consul General P. Harish (left).

Dance is her passion Photo: Navin Mdiwala and service to community through dance is Rathna Kumar, an internationally her mission, say her well wishers renowned dancer, choreographer and applauding the well deserved recogan arts educator has been recog- nitions she just received .

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Grand Navaratri Celebration at Sri Meenakshi Temple PEARLAND: Sri Meenakshi Temple (MTS) celebrates Navarathri with utmost gusto each year.

On each of the nine days there is a new alankaram for Shakti. At Sri Meenakshi Temple, both Shaivite and Vaishnavite traditions are followed and therefore two separate alankarams are done to depict each of these traditions daily.

Navarathri Golu (Bommai Golu) is another eye catcher during this fest and at MTS this was done very elaborately in the Ganesh Temple.

The first day (Monday, Oct 15) started off with a grand violin con-

Consul General P. Harish with wife Nandita attended the Navratri celebration at Sri Meenakshi Temple.

cert by Sri Abhishek Balakrishnan, a sophomore student at Duke University, accompanied on the Mridhngam

by Mayuram Siva of University of

Houston.

On Tuesday, October 16, the Consul General of India, Honorable CG. Parvathaneni Harish, along with his wife Srimathi Nandita and daughter Amani attended the Sangeetha Upanyasam by Vyjayanthi and Vivek Natarajan.

Every day, there were different cul tural programs including the dance

by Surabhi Padmisini. vocal performance by Anuradha Subramanian and group etc.

On Saturday, October 20, there were several dance performances by students of local dance schools.

Ex-Goldman Director Rajat Gupta Gets Two-Year Sentence for Insider Trading

BY PETER LATTMAN NEW YORK (NYT): Rajat K. Gupta, the former Goldman Sachs and Procter & Gamble director, was sentenced to two years in prison on Wednesday, October 24 for leaking boardroom secrets to the former hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam.

Gupta, 63, who ran the consulting firm McKinsey & Company and served as a top adviser to the foundations of Bill Gates and Bill Clinton, is the most prominent figure to face prison in the government’s sweeping crackdown on insider trading. He was also ordered to pay a $5 million fine.

In a statement, the United States attorney in Manhattan, Preet Bharara, said of Gupta, “His conduct has forever tarnished a once-sterling reputation that took years to cultivate.”

“We hope that others who might consider breaking the securities laws will take heed from this sad occasion and choose not to follow in Gupta’s footsteps,” the prosecutor added.

The Justice Department’s campaign has reached onto the trading floors of some of Wall Street’s largest hedge funds and inside the most

Rajat Gupta arrived at Manhattan Federal Court on Wednesday, October 24 for his sentencing.

revered boardrooms of corporate America. Over a three-year stretch, more than 70 traders, bankers, lawyers and corporate executives have been convicted of insider trading crimes.

Judge Jed S. Rakoff of Federal District Court in Manhattan handed down a more lenient prison sentence than the 8 to 10 years stipulated by nonbinding federal sentencing guidelines. An Indian from Kolkata and a graduate of Harvard Business School, Gupta rose swiftly through the ranks of McKinsey and headed the firm for

a decade. He was a trusted adviser to captains of industry, including Henry R. Kravis of the private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Company and Peter R. Dolan, the former chairman of Bristol-Myers Squibb.

A noted humanitarian, he has also played a leading role in organizations fighting diseases in poverty-stricken nations.

Gupta is one of 23 people criminally charged in a seven-year insider trading conspiracy orchestrated by Rajaratnam, who was convicted in 2011. In May, a jury found Gupta guilty of providing Rajaratnam with advanced word of secret, marketmoving news that he learned as a Goldman director.

Gupta’s sentence is far less than the 11 years being served by Rajaratnam in a federal prison in Ayer, Mass. But it is in line with prison terms handed down by Judge Rakoff in other recent insider trading cases.

The judge rejected the recommendation from Gupta’s lawyers for a sentence of probation combined with a “rigorous and lengthy program of community service” that included a proposal to work in Rwanda on a health program to combat H.I.V.

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October 26, 2012

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Daya & HPD’s “One Voice 2012” Reverberates Across Hillcroft Area

HOUSTON: “Honk to stop violence”, “Our children deserve safer homes” and “Love is not abuse:” These were the signs that volunteers and supporters of Daya carried as they formed a human chain on Hillcroft Avenue on Saturday, October 20. Dressed in turquoise blue t-shirts and dancing to the beat of dhol and desi music, they marked One Voice Against Domestic Violence, Daya’s sixth annual outdoor event held in partnership with the Houston Police Department to bring awareness to family violence in South Asian communities.

The sun was bright, the energy level was high, and the message of zero tolerance to violence was just as loud and clear. More than 110 participants showed off their signs and distributed pamphlets and the passers-by responded by honking and cheering.

Since 2007, Daya has been conducting this event in East-West Shopping Plaza, the hub of SouthAsian businesses buzzing with activity on Saturday mornings.

The setting with the white tent, DJ music, dhol, food and comaraderie provided an ideal forum to inject the message of domestic violence in a non-threatening manner.

The event was sponsored by the Simmons Foundation and Kohinoor Diamonds. Food and refreshments were donated by Udipi Cafe, London Sweets, Mayuri restaurant, Sweet Intent bakery, Hot Breads and Sam’s Club.

Daya promotes healthy family relationships in the South-Asian community by providing services that include counseling, referrals, legal advocacy, and financial support to women and children affected by family violence and sexual assault. A temporary shelter

Daya volunteers (left) hold up home-made posters about domestic violence. Community leader Sam Merchant (center) read a proclamation from Cong. Al Green for Daya with HPD officer and Daya board members at the showing of solidarity.

is also available. Daya promotes awareness on topics relevant to the welfare of South Asian families through educational seminars, publications, and outreach events. Daya’s vision is to create a South Asian community in Houston that is free from family violence.

For more information, visit www.dayahouston.org or call Daya board members, staff and volunteers perform “thumbs up” with Cong. Al Green at the One Voice 2012 where more than 110 community visitors in attendance formed a human chain to raise awareness 713-981-7645. about domestic violence.

Chinmaya Mission Celebrates Navaratri Festival

BY UMA AGGARWAL HOUSTON: Navaratri, meaning nine nights devoted to Goddess who represents Divine energy of Supreme was celebrated with a bang on October 13 at Berry Center by Chinmaya Mission Devotees. This year this very popular festival had a special significance for the Chinmaya family. The invocation of Goddess Durga and the Garaba songs in Gujarati together with music was all done by Bal Vihar choir children under the supervision of long time devotee Jamuna Murali. As Acharya Gaurang Nanavaty told the delighted participants that the three lead singers - Aditi Deshmukh, Avantika Gopal, Sasha Raman - who did an awesome job of singing Garaba, sang the Gujarati devotional songs flawlessly even though none of them is from Gujarat. The credit goes to their mentor Jamuna Murali, the parents and of course the singers themselves. The orchestra consisting of CMH choir children Anish Pandit, Jignesh Mehta, Girija Chatufale, Rohan Konde, Arun Sabapathy, Rishabh Shah and a guest artist Prabhu Khot provided an excellent accompaniment for the singers.

Photos: Jayesh Mistry and Nilesh Shah

The true significance of the Navaratri celebration was enjoyed by one and all – dancing with the mind absorbed in Divine songs of Goddess Durga and Lord Krishna and enjoying festivities in the company of fellow devotees. Like one devotee expressed, “On regular Sundays we have fixed class schedule and specific volunteer duties, so we do not get to know or socialize with other members. This is a great way to get to know each other, dance and enjoy.”

The program began with Invocation of Goddess Durga and the Aarti, followed byGaraba.Everyoneyoung and old joined in. Participants also enjoyed the food sold by Madras Pavilion and the last part of the program was dandia raas, the popular stick dance. Young people always enjoy this a lot, but the enthusiasm of

older ones was also no less, they joined in and danced with equal fervor to the singing by Chinmaya devotees Ruchira Shah, Hemant Bhavsar, Manasa Kethireddipalli, Priya Mohan, Sushila Patel, Daksha Bhavasar and the guest artist Hemang Thakkar.

Traditionally, Navaratri lasts nine days. First three days, Goddess Durga is invoked to get rid of negativities in oneself, next three days Goddess Laksmi is invoked to instill good and noble values, and last three days Goddess Sarasvati is invoked, and now that mind is pure, we are fit to get the final realization of the Supreme.

Tenth day is Vijayadasmi, which signifies being victorious after achieving the high goal.

The evening ended with Peace invocation – “May all be happy, May all be healthy, May all enjoy prosperity, May none suffer. Peace.

Peace. Peace.”

For more information about Chinmaya Mission Houston Bala Vihar, visit www.chinmayahouston.org or call Bharati Sutaria at 281933-0233.

Tidbits About Navaratri What special events occur on MahaNavami, the ninth day?

Books, musical instruments, equipment and tools are placed before Goddess Sarasvati for blessings, seeking Her gifts of talent, ability and inspiration. This rite, called Ayudha (weapon or tool) Puja, began when the kings of ancient India had their weapons blessed. Today any tool of one’s trade may be consecrated: craftsmen’s tools, books, offi ces, vehicles, computers, even iPhones! Devotees refl ect on their skills, strengths, goals and needs. A key rite of passage for children ages three to fi ve is performed on this day. Called vidyarambha, “beginning of learning,” it marks the start of a child’s formal education.

Are there group festivities?

In the evenings, devotees gather to dance in halls and public squares. The Garba, Gujarat’s popular folk dance, is a vigorous dance performed in circles while twirling, jumping, fl ailing the arms, clapping rhythmically and stepping in sync. In the Dandiya-Ras, sticks are part of the choreography. Dancing is a community expression of joy and togetherness.

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

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COMMUNITY

October 26, 2012

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The Akshaya Patra Foundation Helps Flood Victims in Jaipur STONEHAM, MA: The month of August saw heavy rains in the city of Jaipur, Rajasthan, and surrounding areas, causing residents of the region to face flash floods, displacement and food insecurity. Thousands were rendered homeless and a few people were killed in the heavy downpour.At the request of district administration, the Akshaya Patra Foundation came to the rescue of the flood victims and distributed over 50,000 meals in the disaster affected areas.

From August 22 to September 8, Akshaya Patra distributed food in the low lying areas of Jaipur in colonies such as Bhatta Basti, Shastri Nagar, and Jahawar Nagar. The Akshaya Patra distribution vans were stationed near the water logged areas while food was hand carried to the affected places. The officers from the food & civil supplies department, police and district administration guided the relief operation. The Foundation continued to support the district in relief efforts until the threat had passed.

Recently, the District Collector of Jaipur, Naveen Mahajan, recognized the services of Akshaya Patra during the flood. Mahajan awarded a certificate of appreciation to Rathnangada Dasa, Unit President Akshaya Patra Jaipur, who received the honor on behalf of the Foundation.

“We are pleased that we were able to assist and provide some relief to the Jaipur community during this trying time”, said Madhu Sridhar, President and CEO of Akshaya Patra USA. “Our involvement in the communities we serve goes beyond providing

mid-day meals to school children as we are invested in the success of the children’s families as well. Akshaya Patra will continue to, as it always has, provide its services during natural disasters.”

The Akshaya Patra Foundation is one of the world’s largest NGOrun midday meal programs feeding over 1.3 million children in over 9,000 schools throughout 10 states

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of India. A public-private partnership, Akshaya Patra combines good management, innovative technology and smart engineering to deliver school lunch at a fraction of the cost of similar programs in other parts of the world. It costs Akshaya Patra only $15 to feed a child for an entire year. This meal gives these children an incentive to come to school, stay in school and provides them with the necessary nutrients they need to develop their cognitive abilities to focus on learning. In August of 2012, Akshaya Patra served its billionth meal.

In a short time, the foundation has grown to become the largest, and certainly most innovative, school lunch program in the world. Akshaya Patra is a great example of what can be accomplished when the public sector, private sector and the civic society collaborate-- a cost effective, scalable solution with high quality service delivery. After reaching its initial goal of feeding one million children each school day, Akshaya Patra’s next milestone is to serve 5 million children daily by 2020.

For more information, visit www. foodforeducation.org

RELIGIOUS SERVICES Shri Kripalu Kunj Ashram 713-344-1321

Shri Kripalu kunj Ashram, 2710 Ashford Trail Drive, Houston TX 77082, 713-344-1321 , 713-775-6588, established by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj, is an exclusive place to learn practical aspects of selfless devotion to Shri Radha Krishna. All aspirants of true devotion are cordially invited to attend weekly satsang every Sunday 11am – 1pm followed by Aarti and Maha Prasad. email: skkasecretary@gmail.com or call 817-528-5027

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Sri Ashtalakashmi Temple, JET USA Houston Chapter invites you to the Grand Celebrations of Deepavali, Acharya Thirunakshatram, Sri Rama Kratuvu, and Sahasra Kalasa Abhishekam from October 26th to October 31st, 2011. Please join us in celebrating this Historic 6-day Event in the Divine presence of His Holiness Sri Chinna Jeeyar Swamiji.

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INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

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OPINION COMMUNITY

Revered Swami Swahanandaji Passes Away

LOS ANGELES: Revered Swami Swahanandaji, the senior - most monk of the Ramakrishna Order in the US and the Minister of the Vedanta Society of Southern California, Hollywood, passed away peacefully on Friday, October19. He was a direct disciple of Swami Vijnananandaji, who like Swami Vivekananda, was a direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. Swami Swahanandaji was 91 years old.

For the past seven years, Vedanta Society of Greater Houston (VSGH) was blessed twice every year by the visit and presence of Revered Swami Swahanandaji. Many Houston devotees were very fortunate to be initiated by him. At VSGH’s inauguration and dedication ceremony of the new building last year, Revered Swami Swahanandaji unveiled the new pictures of the Holy Trio - Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother Sarada Devi & Swami Vivekananda.

October 26, 2012

23

INDIA CULTURE CENTER, HOUSTON (ICC) NOTICE 2012 India Culture Center, Houston (ICC) is requesting Nominations

All who came in for ICC Board of Directors (8 positions for 2 year term) and contact with Swami Trustees (3 positions for 3 year term) Swahanandajiimme1.

At-Large Board of Directors diately felt his affecThe nomination must be proposed,seconded and signed by paid members of ICC. The candition and love. He was date must be a paid member of ICC as of AUG 31, 2012. The mailing address, phone number the epitome of mothand e-mail addresses of all three(Nominee, Nominator and Seconder) must be provided in erliness. Though the nomination, signed by the nominee as well which should be faxed to the Chairman of the much advanced in Election Committee and also mailed along with a non refundable processing fee of $25 to the years, his intellect address below and should reach by NOVEMBER 30, 2012. Postmark will not be considered. was razor sharp and Checks to be payable to ICC. Incomplete forms will not be considered. ICC By laws are available the whole purpose of on www.icchouston.org his life was to spread Requirements and Qualifications the teachings of the A nominator can nominate only one candidate though he or she can second multiple nominations.

Holy Trio. To ac- The elections for Board of Directors will be conducted on DECEMBER 9th, 2012 (Sunday) at 11:30 complish this he had am at India House, 8888 West Bellfort Houston, TX-77031. You can download the Forms from ICC opened and managed web-site(www.icchouston.org) many Vedanta Cen- 2. Nominations for Trustees ters all over the USA The nominations should be faxed and also should be mailed by any paid member of ICC for Trustee – Washington D.C., position and should reach the election Official no later than NOVEMBER 30, 2012. A simple form Dallas, Ridgeley and with your name and nominee names, address, phone number and e-mail address. The Trustee his latest addition was the Austin Center, just candidate should meet one of the following eligibility criteria. Person can nominate by member self, inaugurated the weekend of Oct. 13-14, which resume should be attached. he attended though he was not in the best of a. Must be a Past President of ICC OR health. Some of his disciples from Houston b. Must have had a distinguished record of past services to ICC, Partnering Organizations or went to Austin for the inauguration to receive Community at Large. Attach Resume to validate qualifications. his blessings. He was not only the Spiritual Guru Requirements: of several devotees in Houston, but had initiated * Only 6 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 many more all over the US. He will be deeply missed by his disciples and the qualifications. Election Committee has right to accept or reject any or all nominees by majority devotees all over the USA, but they understand vote of Committee. that though not present in the mortal form, they Rejected nominees will be informed in advance. still have a deep connection to their Guru who For further information: is constantly with them in spirit and who is conRajiv Bhavsar, President 281-217-7330 Email: rajbhavsar0@gmail.com tinuously showering his blessings and love.

Jasmeeta Singh, Secretary 713-858-8229 Email: jasmeeta_singh@yahoo.com Vedanta Society of Greater Houston (VSGH) www.icchouston.org will be having a Memorial Service for Revered Swami Swahanandaji. The date and time has yet Mail completed and signed nomination to:to be determined.

Ashok Dhingra Member, Election Committee For more information, visit www.houstonve10700 Rockley Rd,Houston TX 77099 Email: ashok@dhingra.com Fax: 281-496-0400 danta.org.

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October 26, 2012

Record Attendance at Flowerful Bathukamma Festival at Sri Ashtalakshmi Temple

BY RAJENDER APARASU & JAGAPATHI VEERATI HOUSTON: For the fourth year in a row, Houston successfully celebrated Bathukamma Sambaralu (a Festival) with record attendance at Sri Ashtalakshmi Temple on October 20. Over 1,000 people joined the festivities from the Greater Houston area. The weather and pious atmosphere at the Temple provided an ideal stage for this outdoor community event.

Bathukamma Sambaralu in Houston was designed to commemorate the festivities of all nine days including Bathukamma preparation, singing, dancing, and a festive dinner. The event was organized with the help of numerous committed volunteers and donors to promote Telugu culture and heritage.

Bathukamma is a popular festival in several southern regions of India that brings people closer for a common good to share, enjoy, and celebrate life. “Bathuku” in Telugu means life and “amma” means mother. In addition to celebrating life with much pomp and pageantry, this festival honors and prays to Goddess Gauri. The festival begins on the 1st day of Aswiyuja (Ashwin) and end on 9th day - maha navami.

Bathukamma is the most “flow-

erful” festival that is celebrated with family and friends. Bathukamma is a beautiful flower stack arranged with seasonal flowers on a plate like base in several concentric layers, of potter’s clay like a cone. Preparing Bathukamma is a joyful activity for the entire family. Bathukammas prepared

by Houstonians showcased their passion for native culture and heritage. Over 50 bathukammas in distinct colors and sizes were specially made for the occasion by the participating families. The

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event festivities started with families bringing Bathukammas to the temple. All Bathukammas were placed on the center stage. The flower arrangements were colorful and creative; some were small and unique while others were large and impressive.

The event started at 6:30pm with puja by Sriman Ugandhara Swami, resident priest of Sri Ashtalakshmi temple, by invoking Goddess, the life giver, for societal prosperity and good wishes. People gathered around Bathukamma stage to participate in this community event to receive the blessing of Goddess Gauri. This stage became the center of the festivities for the evening. The music and dance festivities started with melodious and energetic Bathukamma song by Lakshmi Medi, Madhavi Voma, Saritha Meela, and Pratima Boorgu.

All women and girls in colorful and ethnic sarees and dresses danced as a group around the Bathukammas.

As the evening progressed, the circular group dances expanded as over 300 ladies and children participated in the synchronized dancing with hand claps. Occasionally men also formed their small dancing groups

and participated in the festivities. The songs praised Goddess Gauri¸ patron Goddess of womanhood while describing stories of common woman, their dreams and aspirations. Overall we showcased Telugu native culture in every moment of the festival e.g. an outdoor setting, beautiful weather, native flowers and colors, ethnic attire, simple yet powerful prayers, native music and dance, ethnic food, volunteering and more importantly a sense of natural bonding between us. Everyone danced for non-stop 2 hours to the rhythm of music. The uniqueness of this festival is that everyone is an active participant from the beginning to an end.

Moonwalks were also arranged for the kids to enjoy while parents were actively participating in the music and dance. The bathukamma music team energized the participants with pre-recorded songs.

The awards were announced at 8:30 pm by Karunakar Chowdavarapu for the best three Bathukammas. The winners for 2012 best Bathukammas -Prabha & Karuna Davlapur, Rama & Rama Rao Medi, and Anita & Vijay Devireddy. All Bathukamma participants also received memento as a token of appreciation. Finally, nimajjanam (immersion of Bathukammas in water) was done at a specially arranged pool. The evening ended with delicious festive

dinner exclusively prepared by Mayuri Restaurant and Masala India Cuisine.

The credit goes to everyone for taking this event so personal by enthusiastically participating in the celebrations. Thanks to the entire team of volunteers who served the event with special care and a smile on their face always.

Acknowledgements were made for the donors, sponsors, Voice of Asia, Indo-American news, India Herald, Andhra Mirchi Radio, and Radio Hungama. Special thanks to Sri Ashtalakshmi Temple committee for supporting the event.

Bangar Reddy Aaloori, Karunaker Chowdarapu, Shanker Pabba, Lakshmi Medi and Chary Jonnada, the founding members of Bathukamma Sambaralu, thanked the people for their active participation and contribution. Bangar Reddy praised Houstonians for their rich legacy of maintaining culture and heritage. The Chair and Co-chair of the event Chary Jonnada and Rajender Aparasu thanked the organizing committee members and team leads for various activities ranging from food to stage set-up. They also thanked individual donors and dedicated volunteers that contributed immensely to the grand success of this free event.

Festivals like Bathukamma provide an ideal platform for people to come together to share joy and celebrate life with blessings from Goddess Gauri. It was a perfect ending for a great outdoor event!

For more details about the event please visit www.bathukammasambaralu.org.

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

COMMUNITY

October 26, 2012

SUDOKU

Pratham IACCGH Tee It Up for Literacy

HOUSTON: The 4 Annual Pratham-IACCGH “Tee It Up For Literacy” Charity Golf Tournament was held at Tour 18 in Humble, TX on Wednesday October 10.

First launched in 2002 by IACCGH to offer a networking forum and to foster networking amidst the participants, the goal of the annual tournament continues to be creating opportunities from relationships nurtured on the golf course.

In 2009, IACCGH partnered with Pratham USA to embark on the beginning of the Pratham-IACCGH Literacy Golf Tournament. Although different in their respective missions, the two Houston based non-profit organizations strongly believe in a common cause: knowledge.

While IACCGH focuses on economic empowerment of the business community in the greater Houston area, Pratham USA provides quality education to the underprivileged children in India in furtherance of its vision, “Every Child in School and Learning Well.”

The 2012 tournament was a great success with the efforts of the golf co-chairs Pankaj Dhume and Allen Richards from IACCGH, and Madhukar Prasad and Manish Jain from Pratham USA. A total of 128 players participated.

Major Sponsors included HCL, Bio Urja who were both Gold Sponsors , Vinmar International who brought in five foursomes for the tournament and Dr Harminder Chana..

The winners were as follows: Winning Team with a score of 58, BMC Software with Pankaj Dhume, Bill Griffin, Dean Audley, and Scott Crowder.

In second place with a score of 59, Vinmar International with Doug Friedman, Laurentiu Pascu, Kevin Page, and Chris Lokey.

Tied for third place, with a score of 60, Packwell with Gene Cravey, Glenn Haltovik, and Trent Cox, and Bio Urja with Amit Bhandari, Andrew Putnam, Mark Williams, and Scott Matthews.

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The Golf Team, from left: Jagdip Ahluwalia(IACCGH), Pankaj Dhume (IACCGH), Manish Jain (Pratham), Swatantra Jain (Pratham) and Allen Richards(IACCGH). Photos: Bijay Dixit

Photo Images, IACCGH President Ajit Thakur, Pratham USA President Swatantra Jain, IACCGH Executive Director Jagdip Ahluwalia, Mondira Tangri, Priya Natarajan and Rishi Sohoni of IACCGH, Vasu, Mani Surkari and Dimpal Kalani of Pratham made this event a big success.

The awards reception was co-sponsored by HCL, Click Traffic, Dr. Maninder Guram, and Dr. Rajesh Abrol. The wine for the reception was sponsored by Murphy-Goode Winery, Main Street Winery, and Ashford Liquor. “Blu” in Sugarland served the appetizers and Dr. Harminder Chana

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

was the drink cart sponsor for the tournament.

Hole Sponsors included Amegy Bank, BMC Software, Entrust Energy, Jackson National Life, Kindred Healthcare, Vinmar International, and Virgo Engineers.

In Kind Sponsors were Active Athlete and Nike, who sponsored the golf balls, Madras Pavilion for door prizes, Marriott Hotels, Hilton Hotels, and Karat 22 Jewelers for the silent auction prizes, United Airlines for the raffle prize, and TAJ Hotels for sponsoring all the gift bags for the tournament.

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SPORTS October 26, 2012

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IndoAmerican News

Business IndoAmerican News

STOCKS • FINANCE • SOUTH ASIAN MARKETS • TECHNOLOGY

Ramesh Cherivirala Offers a Career Path in Financial Planning

BY MANU SHAH HOUSTON: For most people, jargon like annuities, mutual funds, dividends, 529’s may be a little…well… intimidating and a visit to a financial advisor probably comes just above that visit to the dentist. But financial planning is one of the most prudent things we can do for ourselves and our families and helping people do just this is partner in New York Life, Sugarland, Ramesh Cherivirala, Cherivirala hails from the small village of Enugal in Andhra Pradesh.

“The village was so small that residents had to get off at the previous stop and walk 7 to 8 miles to reach home,” he recalled with a chuckle. His father was a teacher and hence the emphasis on education was paramount, with the result that Cherivirala and his siblings are all highly educated. Cherivirala himself topped the MSc entrance exam at Kakatiya University, Warangal, Andhra Pradesh and went on to get a PhD. in Organic Chemistry from Osmania University, Hyderabad.

So how did this Organic Chemist become a partner in an insurance and financial company?

Cherivirala, 47, explained that

Ramesh Cherivirala, Partner at Sugar Land Sales office of New York Life Insurance Company.

when he came to the US in 1992 to present a research paper, he decided to stay on, moved to Houston in ‘92 and worked for an environmental laboratory till 1997. That same year he started his own environmental laboratory which conducted testing for air, water, soil contamination.

Collections proved to be a crippling factor as well as the lack of insurance

and other benefits that a big company can provide. In 2001, when a friend joined New York Life, Cherivirala decided to follow suit and discovered that he had a flair and passion for financial planning. This proved to be a life altering decision. Having no prior sales experience proved to be an initial stumbling block but Cherivirala’s persistence and determination

YouTube Plans Paid Video Service in India

CHENAI (The Hindu): Google’s YouTube video-sharing website may soon offer pay-per-view services for its Indian viewers, a move that could help the movie industry fend off growing piracy concerns while expanding the range of viewing options for customers.

Over the past two years,YouTube has started introducing paid video in different countries with Google having introduced its pay-per-view services in Australia, Korea and Japan over the last six months “Our pay-per-view services or

‘rental’ model is a natural step here in India for the partners that we are working with. For instance, Eros Entertainment who has been with us for a long time already has a lot of content up on YouTube.

“Once we have the functionality in, it will be done. There are many Indian media companies which are interested,” said Gautam Anand, Director, Content Partnerships, Google Asia Pacific. In the ‘rental’ model, viewers will be able to pay a one-time fee to stream the movie for a limited amount of time.

Pointing out that it was not a question of conducting talks, he said: “The major roadblock, which we are working on, is the payment mechanism – enabling carrier billing for example. We want to be able to ensure a seamless experience. Once this is done it will happen.”

According to Mr. Anand, regional television has the potential to be converted into YouTube content. At present, close to 30 per cent of television broadcast are in regional languages.

“We are raising a lot of awareness through our YouTube Partner

to succeed propelled him to grow from an insurance agent to a financial services professional and eventually a partner in New York Life in three and a half years.

There is a clear note of pride in Cherivirala’s voice when he talks of working for a company that has been around for 167 years. The Company’s ethics as well as its excellent training systems explain the word of mouth leads they get as well as high retention rates with agents.

Today Cherivirala has 16 agents working with him but his primary role in the Company is hiring, training and motivating the people at New York Life in Houston. Right now they are on a hiring streak and what he’s looking for in a prospective employee is the motivation to make money coupled with keeping the client’s interest at heart. The job offers tremendous flexibility and as far as the potential goes – the sky is the limit.

What is the most common mistake people make in financial planning?

“They don’t plan, that’s the mistake they make” replied Cherivirala, but he is also quick to add that most Indians are pretty good when it comes

to growing their money. What is his advice to people looking to invest? “Check company credentials thoroughly to ensure that they are there when you need them most,” Cherivirala smiled, “make sure your agent is not a product seller but a problem solver and lastly, diversify your money.”

For a man of few - but carefully chosen - words, Cherivirala has a hectic life apart from his work at New York Life. He was chosen as PresidentElect of the India Culture Center in 2003 and served as President in 2004. During those two years, his Committee raised almost $150,000 for the Tsunami victims, oversaw the completion and installation of the Gandhi statue in the Rose Garden in Hermann Park and acquired taxexempt status for the ICC land and later transferred it to the India House Council.

He is currently serving as a Trustee of the Telugu Culture Association of Houston; is on the Board of the Shirdi Sai Jalaram Mandir and the Indo American Charity Foundation and is the President of the Dulles High School Math and Science Academy Booster Club.

Program on how regional content producers in South India can make money by putting up their videos on our website. We have seen its potential, much of this type of content is popular aboard,” he said.

In YouTube’s Partner Program, the content producer’s videos are packaged along with advertisements and then hosted. The revenue generated is then split between the partner and Google. At present, YouTube’s India partner plan has over 1000 participants.

Gautam Anand, Director Content Partnerships, Google Asia Pacific

127

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ENTERTAINMENT

October 26, 2012

Legendary Director Yash Chopra Passes Away

BY BHARATI DUBEY & PRATIBHA MASAND MUMBAI (TOI): Filmmaker and producer Yash Chopra, Bollywood’s long-reigning ‘King of Romance’ , died at Mumbai’s Lilavati Hospital this past Saturday. He is survived by his wife Pamela and sons Aditya and Uday.

Chopra, who celebrated his 80th birthday on September 27, was admitted to the hospital’s intensive care unit last Saturday when the doctors were alarmed by his plummeting platelet

Johar, Shah Rukh, Mahesh Bhatt and Rani Mukherji, rushed to the hospital. His body was taken to his house in Juhu late in the evening.

It was kept at the Yash Raj studio in Andheri (West) from 9am to 3pm on Monday, during which time people paid their last respects to him.

The demise has left the filmmakers of India orphaned, said director and producer Mahesh Bhatt. Chopra not only made films but also fought for the rights of the film industry and

count. After tests, Chopra was diagnosed with dengue. He was put on ventilator as he “developed acute respiratory distress syndrome. His condition kept worsening until Sunday , when he suffered multiple organ failure,” said a senior doctor from the hospital.

In an interview with Shah Rukh Khan recently, the veteran director had announced his decision to hang up his filmmaking boots and his plan to spend time with his wife, holidaying with her. He was even slated to leave for Switzerland-his favourite locale of green fields and snowcapped mountains immortalized in several of his films-where he was supposed to shoot the last song of his still-unreleased movie , ‘Jab Tak Hai Jaan’, with Shah Rukh and Katrina Kaif. At the end of the song, the film unit had planned a huge celebration to mark Chopra’s last shot, but the entire trip had to be cancelled because of his illness.

As the news of his passing away spread, the who’s who of the film industry, including Karan

even moved court to lessen the heavy taxes imposed on it. “Our government does not treat us with dignity. Even in our centenary year, we were running from one ministry to another, begging for relief. Even our own state has not given us our rightful due. This was Yashji’s major complaint over the past one year,” said Mahesh Bhatt.

Even as the tinsel town mourns the passing away of the “guiding force” , Mumbai’s civic body was nudged into action to control dengue that proved fatal for Chopra. The BMC now plans to sensitize workplaces and industrial units as dengue is caused by mosquito bites during the day. “We are going to target workplaces . We will sensitize the housekeeping department of offices and the officials concerned will be asked to keep tabs on places, even the unlikeliest ones, to see if water gets collected there.

Our aim is to get rid of the breeding grounds of dengue mosquitoes,” said additional municipal commissioner Manisha Mhaiskar

Yash Chopra’s death comes at a time when his latest romantic film Jab Tak Hai Jaan was scheduled to release this Diwali. The film starring Shah Rukh Khan and Katrina Kaif was made, after Yash Chopra, at the age of 80, decided to don the director’s hat again. This was to be his last film.

Yash Raj Chopra was born on September 27, 1932 in Lahore, then in undivided India.

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

October 26, 2012

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30

ENTERTAINMENT

October 26, 2012

‘Student of the Year’ is Phoney, But Fun!

BY MADHUREETA MUKHERJEE Cast: Sidharth Malhotra, Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan, Rishi Kapoor, Kayoze Irani, Sana Saeed, Ronit Roy Direction: Karan Johar Genre: Drama Duration: 2 hours 26 minutes (TOI) Story: The tracks are ready and the race is on. What’s at stake?

Love, friendship and the coveted ‘Student of the Year’ trophy.

Movie Review: It’s KJo-Wala Love! Served fresh and piping hot from the Dharma college canteen of romance. And it’s a high (class) school that you’d never want to miss a lecture of, ever. Except that it has its own set of Karan rules. Read the prospectus: 1. Leave your text-books at home but ensure you’re carrying your designer bags and heels. 2.

Drive a Ferrari to school, or if you’re poorer, take a bike. 3. Dating, mating, separating and love lessons shall be part of the syllabus. 4. Girls, don your shortest minis, and guys, rip off the shirts. Welcome to St. Teresa’s.

Rest assured, it’ll be a well-rounded entertainment experience.

ST is run by a happy and ‘gay’ Dean - Yogendra Vashisth (Rishi), who drools over John Abraham, and when he sees the much-married hot coach ( Ronit Roy) usko ‘coach

coach’ hota hai!. The hotshot student of the school is rich brat Rohan Nanda (welcoming Varun Dhawan), who zips around in his hotwheels, flirts, and dreams of being a Rockstar.

His childhood sweetheart, another super rich kid, Shanaya (super filmy intro, Alia! Alia!

Alia!), is Ms. Popularity and Drama Queen (don’t miss the red pout) known for her brands and beauty. Enter (grandly) Abhimanyu (Sidharth), a middle-class boy with mega dreams, a chalta-phirta KBC (Mr Know-it-all), and the in-house Milkha Singh.

There’s a typical rich-poor division in school, the Richie Rich Tatas v/s the bechara gareeb Batas. But withAbhimanyu’s entry the competition heats up - With both boys showing ample abs & attitude (teeny-weeny trunks, for all you drooling women!), chasing the same gal (Shanaya), and aiming for the same trophy - Student of the Year! Their equations from friends-to-foes changing quicker than their school grades.

Their muscles rippling more than their egos; the competition gets tougher and the boys - leaner and meaner. Their loyal friends adding chaos to campus - Eg. Tanya who tries everything in the ‘date- bait-book’ to seduce Rohan (including push-up bras); the Parsi ‘Pseudo’ - the ‘minority report’-card in this bunch; Jeetu - Rohan’s chamcha; tomboy Shruti - Shanaya’s other half (minus her designer do).

This is what we call grandiose debut(s)!!!

Karan’s definitely swooshed his cane for this one. The trio has done him proud and has set a high ‘bench-mark’. Varun expresses and emotes with superb confidence and storms the

There’s too much buzz around PZ’s comeback vehicle. But how will this film do? How does her career look in the future?

Does Preity even a future in B-town?

(Bollywoodlife) Preity Zinta is an Aquarian, ruled by the Air element; plus she is also ruled by the passionate and fiery number 9. What this means is that Preity has great ideas, energy and enthusiasm, yet finds it difficult to stick to one profession, which is why we see her delving into different areas of work. This may not always work in her favour, as she may not be able to excel in one career to the best of her gifted abilities.

How does this effect her new film, Ishkq in Paris? Or even her career as a whole? The fate of Ishkq in Paris may not be the best, despite positivity created about the film. The Star card sits in its environment position reaffirming this positivity, but the Four of Swords, the Hanged Man and the Eight of Cups all represent a disappointing outcome for the film. It will be very important for the makers to fine tune Ishkq in Paris, especially as the Lovers card shows lack of chemistry that would not be expected from a film like this.

The result of this film will affect Preity, but she will take it in her stride. With the King of Wands drawn, Preity will adapt herself. In fact, she will re-invent herself by making the right changes and therefore gain more control over her acting career. This process will start with Preity feeling unsure on how to resurrect her career, but towards May/June 2013, there will be immense change in her approach – she will be strong and determined. The Ace of Wands explains her ability to attack her work positively. She will improve her career by taking risks – a challenge she will thrive in. Her acting craft will improve, which will eventually take her closer to great pinnacles of success.

Ishkq In Paris will not elevate Preity’s career, but it will certainly be a reality check for her on how to move forward.

There is a lot of talent waiting in the wings from Preity, which we will get to see, especially as the Magician card presents a tremendous turnaround in her work overall.

dance floor with swag. Sidharth stands equally tall, has amazing screen presence and is man of few words and many smouldering emotions.

Alia wins your heart with her cuteness, effervescence and naivete. Yes, she reminds you of Kareena’s Poo days (with all that oomph), but she comes into her own. The chemistry between the three (even outside the lab) grows on you.

Shabhash! SOTY’s supporting cast is brilliant, each have favourite subjects and score high in those areas. But the star who scores a straight A-Plus is undoubtedly Rishi Kapoor - simply superb. The other guy who can take a bow is the director.

The film is full of KJo-isms - it’s largerthan-life, colourful, lavish, beautifully shot and directed. With medleys, dance, drama and everything good-looking (from cast to couches, dorms to discos).

Vishal-Shekhar have caught the right beat with this high-school musical, and the songs are as fresh as the leads. The story is simple and entertains throughout, though it’s not the first time this marathon of an idea has run past the screen. ‘SOTY’ takes you back to your books and sinks you in true-blue Bollywood syllabus, following the ‘formula’- Two boys, one girl, one glorious trophy and lots of testosterone.

If this one doesn’t pump you up with nostalgia, it’s time for you to go back to school already!

Tip Off: You may not like this movie if bubble-gum romances, picture-perfect worlds and candy-floss clouds are not your idea of a movie-going experience.

Is Ishkq In Paris Lucky for Preity Zinta

IN PHOTOS: Saif & Kareena’s Wedding INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

October 26, 2012

31

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For the Crowded Masses, a Push to Provide Additional Escape Patches

BY NEHA THIRANI MUMBAI (NYT): Not far from where Anusaya Nair lives, a room that measures barely 5 feet by 5 feet, is her main escape: a 9,200-squarefoot park, boxed on three sides by a ramshackle garage, tenement housing and an apartment complex. A few women take their evening stroll on the walking track circling the park; elderly companions exchange gossip on a handful of scattered benches; neighborhood children play on a swing set at the back.

Nair, 43, lives in the Ambedkar Nagar slum, like many of the domestic workers who take care of the area’s high-rise apartment buildings.

She spends her days cleaning the homes of more affluent residents of southern Mumbai and regards her twice-a-week visits to the garden as a welcome relief from her routine.

“I’ve liked gardens since I was a child and always try and find some time to visit,” Nair said. “I like the natural beauty. The mind finds peace.”

Small as it is, the relatively new garden, off First Pasta Lane in the city’s Colaba neighborhood, is a luxury in Mumbai: a green space accessible to anybody, where people can unwind without being jostled.

Much of the open space in this fastgrowing metropolis of more than 13 million people is inaccessible to typical residents, and much of the rest has been eroded or eliminated by commercial development.

A new study reports that Mumbai has only 11.6 square miles of open space, with just 3.9 square miles available to most of its residents. That is about nine square feet per person.

“Open spaces are like the lungs of the city,” said Ashoke Pandit of Save Open Spaces, an umbrella organization of more than 30 civic groups that advocates for more open spaces. “If you can’t breathe, you can’t survive.”

India’s growing middle class and the rich have plenty of places to escape the chaos and crowding of India’s most important business center. Developers typically build play areas, community halls, gardens and swimming pools into the housing complexes where most of them live.

But a vast majority of Mumbai residents have access to only tiny scraps of green like Nair’s park or a handful of large open spaces, most of them in the historic downtown area, that are swarming with crowds.

In a study of Indian cities, the World Health Organization found that a number of environmental factors have led to a rise in respiratory infections, asthma, malaria, diarrhea and neuropsychiatric disorders.

Citing the lack of open spaces and greenery, Dr. Agam Vora, secretary at the Environmental Medical Association here, said, “Overcrowding and industrialization have led to a significant increase in respiratory diseases such as asthma, bronchitis and pulmonary fibrosis in Mumbai.”

Based on his own experience, Dr.

In Mumbai, overcrowding and industrialization have led to an increase in respiratory diseases, a study reports.

Photos: Kuni Takahashi

Children playing in a 9,200-square-foot park, boxed on three sides by buildings, in Mumbai.

Vora estimated that the incidence and severity of asthma have increased by roughly half in the last decade.

Several local nonprofit groups have taken up the cause of more open space. One, CitiSpace, has worked with residents’ associations and lobbied local officials to restore parks and open spaces in many parts of the city.

Last month, the Mumbai government approved a plan to create a 23-acre “city forest” in the northern coastal neighborhood of Juhu, a favorite destination of rich and poor alike. The plan, conceived and designed by P. K. Das and Associates, a Mumbai architecture firm, calls for the planting of 1,000 trees along a creek. Now a barren ground fallen into disuse, a stretch in the area was first suggested in 1987 by a government official. But it languished for 25 years before Das and citizens’groups in the area revived the idea.

The $4.6 million project, which will take a year to complete, was financed through a government fund that provides money to members of Parliament to help build public facilities in their districts.

After fierce lobbying by neighborhood associations, Mumbai’s government agreed to budget $28 million for gardens and open spaces this year, up from $24 million last year. But about half the money is aimed at a renovation of the city zoo, leaving little for parks and gardens in the rest of the city.

The city government is revising Mumbai’s development plan, a 20year blueprint for land use. In the past, bureaucrats and politicians drafted the plan behind closed doors with little input from residents.

“There is a need to cultivate a sensitivity towards environmental

features when creating the development plan,” said Ashwini Bhide, a newly added commissioner at the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority. “Development and environment have to go hand in hand.”

But many experts say the plan itself is not the problem. “We have open spaces clearly set aside in the development plan for the city,” said Ashutosh Limaye, head of research at Jones Lang LaSalle, a real estate company. “What we lack is proper implementation. Political interference and profiteering is getting in the way of that.”

The tiny parcel where Nair unwinds, for instance, was bought by the city in 1974 to create a pocket park. But officials initially leased the land to a popular local fast-food chain, a car-repair shop and a warehouse. Residents learned that they had been deprived of a planned park only when they filed a request under India’s freedom of information law in 2006 to find out more about the restaurant, Kailash Parbat, which many complained was creating too much noise and traffic and a disturbing odor. The owner of the restaurant did not return calls seeking comment.

In 2008, the First Pasta Lane Residents’ Association took the city to court. The case wound its way to the Indian Supreme Court, which ruled in the group’s favor in 2010. The garden finally opened to the public in July 2011.

“It was an uphill struggle all the way; our lawyers made over a hundred appearances in court,” said Vijay Advani, joint secretary of the First Pasta Lane Residents’ Association. “But today the children of the neighborhood have a place to play — and they relish it.”

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

October 26, 2012

33

Starbucks Opens First India Store in Mumbai Starbucks enters Indian market in partership with Tata Group MUMBAI (The Hindu): Starbucks inaugurated its first store in India this past Friday in a historic building in southern Mumbai as the Seattlebased coffee giant seeks growth in Indian market.

“It is perhaps the most elegant, beautiful, dynamic store we’ve opened in our history,” chief executive Howard Schultz said in an interview.

After over six years of studying the local market, Starbucks is making a rapid-fire entry into Asia’s third-largest economy. The company, in a joint venture with Tata Global Beverages, plans to open two additional stores in Mumbai next week on Wednesday in the Taj Mahal Palace hotel and on Thursday in the Oberoi hotel across town before launching in New Delhi early next year.

For the flagship Mumbai store, Starbucks chose the historic Elphinstone Building in the Horniman Circle

neighbourhood of south Mumbai.

The flagship, which can accommodate 120 people, is a cool, soaring space, with hand—carved wooden screens, thick tables of solid Indian teak, painted vintage trunks and old leather—bound books.

Schultz said he hoped the effect would be like “walking into a shrine of Starbucks coffee.”

The shop will offer free Wi-Fi and stay open until 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 1 a.m. on weekends.

The 42 menu items reflect local as well as Western tastes, featuring items such as Elaichi Mawa croissants made with cardamom and milk solids and tandoori paneer rolls.

The prices position Starbucks at the premium end of India’s coffee cafes, with a 12 ounce cappuccino retailing for a little over $2.

“We’ve been trying to in a sense crack the code here,” Schultz said.

The company decided early on they needed to enter India with a local partner, as they did in China. Schultz said he spoke with many interested parties, but none “had the complete suite of things we felt were necessary to build a big, enduring business. That

changed the day we met Tata.”

Schultz came to India in November 2010 to begin “substantive conversations” with the salt-to-SUVs Tata conglomerate, which were followed by meetings in Seattle and a January 2011 coffee sourcing agreement with Tata Coffee. A year later, Starbucks announced it had formed a 50-50 joint venture with Tata Global Beverages called Tata Starbucks Ltd. At the time, the vice chairman of Tata Global Beverages, R.K. Krishnakumar, said the joint venture hoped to open 50 stores by the end of 2012 a statement Starbucks has since tried to distance itself from.

The company won’t comment on expansion targets, but Schultz pointed to Starbucks’ presence in other markets as examples of the scale he is interested in. There are more than 700 outlets in mainland China, he said, and 1,000 in Japan. While those numbers are dwarfed by the over 10,000 outlets in the United States, Asia has emerged as a key driver of growth.

“Asia and the entire Pacific Rim present one of the most significant growth opportunities within Starbucks Coffee Company,” Schultz

said. “India is at the core, along with China.”

Starbucks said in April that China where it opened an average of one store every four days during fiscal year 2011 will likely be its secondlargest market by 2014.

The partnership with Tata has brought Starbucks access to some prime real estate for its outlets. The Elphinstone Building, for example,

is owned by Tata Sons, the holding company that controls the Tata Group. The Taj Mahal hotel, site of the second shop, is also a Tata property. It has also enabled Starbucks to enter a market with a locally grown and roasted espresso for the first time. The “Indian Espresso Roast” is sourced through an agreement with Tata Coffee, a sister company to Tata Global Beverages.

Dreamliner Begins Long-Haul International Operations

File photo of Air India’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner

NEW DELHI (The Hindu): Air India’s newly-acquired Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft started its long-haul international operations with a flight to Frankfurt.

“Air India’s Dreamliner to Frankfurt marks a new era of its operations with the state-of-the-art aircraft on the long haul routes as well,” a statement from the national carrier said.

The airline received the first 787 Dreamliner from the US-based aircraft manufacturer Boeing on 8 September, after a wait of four years. So far, Air India has received three Dreamliners. The aircraft is equipped with 18 business class seats and 238 in the economy class.

Touted as the game changer for Air India, the ailing national carrier had earlier planned to operate Dreamliner planes for flights to Australia and Southeast Asian countries, including Japan. Till now, these aircraft were being deployed on the domestic sectors - apart from operations between Delhi and Dubai, a medium-haul sector.

The flight (AI 121) from Delhi to the German city took off from the IGI airport in New Delhi with Captain A Soman in Command and Captain Nikhil Dongre as co-pilot, the statement said.

With eight more planes joining the airline’s fleet by March,Air India plans to start new routes between India-US, India-Europe and India-Australia with the help of these aircraft. Air India has ordered for 27 Dreamliners.

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34

INDIA

October 26, 2012 Skeletons Rattling in Many Cupboards

Kejriwal Targets Vadra, Khurshid and BJP’s Gadkari

BY RAJ KANWAR IAN INDIA CORRESPONDENT Just a few days into his new avatar as a politician, Arvind Kejriwal seems to have overnight become a electronic media ‘darling’; even the print media is giving him front page coverage.

His stratagem of taking out one exposé after another from his Pandora Box has simultaneously made him a hero of sorts for many people and a despicable villain for the victims of his exposé.

His first foray at this new game was to expose the unholy nexus between Robert Vadra (sonin-law of Sonia Gandhi) and DLF, the real estate Indian conglomerate that gave Vadra enormous profits amounting to millions of dollars (several crores of rupees) in most of the real estate deals; His allegation was that DLF gave him many ‘sweet’ bargains as quid pro quo since it was being granted ‘undue favors’ by the Congress government in Haryana. The denials made by Vadra, DLF and even the state government were at best weak and failed to carry much conviction. To make matters worse, Ashok Khemka, a senior civil servant, too expressed doubts about the veracity of various real estate deals and even revoked the mutation of one such deal involving sale of Vadra’s land in Shikohpur to DLF Universal Limited.

His next target was Law minister Salman Khurshid and his wife Louise and their Dr. Zakir Hussain Memorial Trust, a non-profit organization engaged in the resettlement of handicapped people. The charge against the Trust was that the husband-wife duo was instrumental in forging several certificates purporting to be from the state government in Uttar Pradesh that certified the successful completion of numerous

Salman Khurshid Arvind Kejriwal Nitin Gadkari

Robert Vadra

specified projects and thereby claimed annual grant of rupees seven million for year 2010-11.

Khurshid and Louise vehemently denied these allegations and even threatened to take Kejriwal to court for libel. But all their initial bravado has now been reduced to mere whimpering in the face of mounting evidence that there must have been some ‘hanky-panky’ in some of the transactions. News reports on Thursday point

out the possibility of forgery in certificates from 10 of the 17 districts in the state in which this Trust is operating.

There were a few sideshows to this drama. A federal minister Beni Prasad Verma is reported to have stated that a government of India minister could not possibly be tempted by a petty amount of rupees seven million, further adding that he himself could have been lured if the illegal gain were to be at least rupees 70 million.

Though what Verma stated was the truth but he was naïve enough to make such a ‘politically incorrect’ statement. It was his way of defending one of his ministerial colleagues.

This tirade by anti-corruption activist and a nouveau politician brought rattling out many a skeleton in numerous cupboards. Other people too with their own axes to grind came out with allegations of similar unsavory ‘deals’. One time chief minister of Haryana Om Prakash Chautala also joined this chorus by alleging that Rahul Gandhi too had bought a large lot from scheduled castes called ‘dalits’ in India at MADRAS N PAVILIO T & DAAWA CATERING

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much below the then prevailing market price.

Chautala, whose own reputation is dubious, further stated that even Vadra too made similar land deals at that time which were not legally permissible.

These allegations by Kejriwal caused tremors among Congress politicians and left people wondering who would be Kejriwal’s next target. To Kejriwal’s credit, he soon announced that he would next expose Nitin Gadkari, the BJP chief. True to his promise, Kejriwal painted Gadkari with the same brush and called him an industrialist in ‘politician clothing’. He accused the BJP chief with illegally garnering vast tracks of land in Maharashtra. BJP leadership though stunned by the allegations, nevertheless called these as ‘baseless’ and ‘a conspiracy to malign the party and its president’. The BJP top leaders Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley promptly came on the news channels and put up a brave front, expressing their solidarity with and trust in their president. They said they would not file any libel suit but would fight Kejriwal politically.

Not just content with making such allegations, Kejriwal now has decided to ‘beard the lion in his den’ by visiting Farrukhabad, the home territory of Khurshids and confront them by further proof of their malfeasance or whatever.

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OPINION

October 26, 2012

35

Marriage. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t do it

BY NATASHA BADHWAR (Mint) One evening we lost our two-year-old in the park.

We had just moved into a new home. There were unexpected guests and a pocket of chaos as we cleared away cartons on the ďŹ&#x201A;oor and put enough chairs for everyone. Cool water and sweets were offered. Pleasantries.

Our children were playing outside. Aliza, our ďŹ ve-year-old, came running in to let us know that she couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t ďŹ nd Naseem any more.

My ďŹ rst reaction in an emergency is to stay calm. I ran out with Aliza to the forest park next to our new home. Too many people, gates, trees, bushes, a pond. It was a large space. I was not wearing my spectacles.

How long was it that I was alone in that barrenness? 10, 5, 20 minutes? Some people said they had seen her, some stared at me blankly.

Everyone was a stranger. I sent Aliza to call her father. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Tell him that I cannot ďŹ nd Naseem, run and get Papa,â&#x20AC;? I said to her.

By now, my world had begun to whirl around me. It was Afzalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s turn to be calm. When he found our child, she was sitting near a gate with a ďŹ&#x201A;ower in her hand. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I got this for Mamma,â&#x20AC;? she said.

This month we complete 10 years of being married to each other. It seems like a good time to revisit the moment when I was ready to run out of our home without looking back.

That time when I had been standing in the park paralysed by fear, unable to ďŹ nd our toddler, the thought in my head had been: If anything happens to Naseem, I will leave Afzal.

Later that evening, after I had ďŹ nished crying, put Naseem to sleep and worn her ďŹ&#x201A;ower in my

Sometimes, being together wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t stop you from being alone

hair, I was left with the residue of my panicked thoughts. I had not known that I was this close to the edge in my head. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know who or what this marriage is but it better not come between my wife and me,â&#x20AC;? a friend had once written to me.

Marriage is an accident-prone adventure. It gets hijacked, kidnapped, derailed, distracted and exhausted. Marriage can become a pile of resentments.

Togetherness is a venue. We seek it for respite.

For nurturing and rest. We go there to practise ďŹ ghting. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a boxing ring. Boxing is a sport, remember. We play at boxing to be better prepared for the rest of the world. We analyse our

strengths, compensate for weaknesses.

But donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t always stay there. Go away also.

Be independent. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t expect it to work all the time. It is lazy and busy and easily distracted.

Just like the lovers in it.

And then there are children. Children are like a JCB. They will wreck your marriage and play with the debris. If they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t come along and create utter chaos, something else always does. If nothing else shakes us up, it is quite likely that we will start feeling itchy and draw blood ourselves.

Marriage isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t necessary at all. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t do it.

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a lot of trouble. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a racket. A conspiracy to defeat the individual. A human rights violation

that creeps up on you.

Marriage can be lonesome. Being together wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t stop you from being alone, lost, tempted, greedy, insecure and sleepless.

Just like a two-year-old playing outside the house, love is vulnerable. It is gentle and happy.

It can be wild and tantrum-prone. It doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know its way home.

Love learns to walk. It takes years to grow up. Be gentle with it, holding its hand when the trafďŹ c is fast. Love is looking at him in the evening light and being able to smell the tea that you will have with him. Even on a train.

Specially on a train. Love is made of still images. Clothes hanging together on a clothes peg in the bathroom. Messages saved in an inbox.

Earrings next to a black wallet. A mole on the back. A shared backpack.

Love sulks for attention. Sometimes you make up because thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a rat behind the washing machine and you need company to deal with it. Sometimes the rat is just an excuse.

Love gets taken for granted. We forget what it was like in the ďŹ rst place. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Come and help me choose my shirt,â&#x20AC;? he says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I am working,â&#x20AC;? I say. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Please, I have no idea what to wear today.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Is that your way of saying you love me?â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re the expert,â&#x20AC;? he says. Be creative.

Have an affair with the one you love, so what if you are also married to each other. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s one way to subvert this system. Falling in love with the same silly smile again and again and again.

Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s shaadi for you. Total barbaadi. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t do it. Seriously.

Natasha Badhwar is a ďŹ lm-maker, media trainer and mother of three.

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36

SPORTS

October 26, 2012

Dhoni Wants Spin Friendly Pitches vs. England

BY SANJAY RAJAN MUMBAI (ToI): MS Dhoni had made it clear that he would favour spin-friendly tracks when the two teams visit India for what is being billed as a ‘revenge series’.

The Indian cricket board, however, appears to go on a war-footing this season to improve the quality of pitches and make it “sporting” across all centres hosting domestic cricket.

Many thus feel that there would possibly be no “home advantage”, even at the country’s Test venues.

A senior BCCI curator told the TOI that the board was “very serious” about the makeover of the pitches.

The board’s argument was that competitive pitches at home would, in the long run, help India fare better overseas, but the flipside to it is the high possibility of losing “home advantage” of playing in spin-friendly conditions.

“Traditionally the option of a turning track has been a sort of insurance, a back-up and it has never been the case that all the matches at home are played on turners,”

said WV Raman, a former India batsman and current coach of Bengal.

“I understand the requirement for a turning track, and this has been done in the past, when a series is hanging in balance and India wanting to exploit the home advantage. “It just so happens that talk of “sporting wickets” intensifies each time India fares poorly overseas, but look back and you will see that the likes of (Sachin) Tendulkar, (Rahul) Dravid, (VVS) Laxman and (Sourav) Ganguly grew up playing on good wickets at home and that is what helped them excel overseas,” Raman added.

Former India ‘keeper and selector Kiran More said it was important to strike a balance and yet not lose home advantage in Test cricket.

“I am completely for the drive for sporting pitches in domestic cricket. It is crucial for the development of quality cricketers, but that does not mean that we don’t exploit the home advantage against visiting international

sides.”

The last time England toured India in 2008, India won 1-0.

Anil Kumble had just retired and Harbhajan Singh was India’s No. 1 spinner.

Since then, however, the experienced Sardar has lost his place and the mantle to Ravichandran Ashwin. Eight-Test old Ashwin and left-arm Pragyan Ojha - Ashwin’s senior by eight Tests - form India’s top spin pairing and bamboozled West Indies and New Zealand.

But England and Australia are better and stronger opponents. In Ashwin and Ojha, does India have the wherewithal to lay out spin friendly tracks?

Former left-arm spinner Venkatpathy Raju, said there was every chance of the ploy backfiring.

“India’s frontline batsmen have not been playing domestic cricket recently and could struggle on turning tracks where the idea is to bowl straight. Visiting bowlers do that better,” he told TOI. “Although, when we became No. 1, we predominantly played at home.

But that was a different team.

Now: IPL Style Badminton NEW DELHI: Call it the Saina effect. Badminton is all set to take a superfast shuttle to new heights with the launch of the Indian Badminton League (IBL), a milliondollar event which could change of the face of the sport worldwide.

The IBL, based on a franchise model and tentatively scheduled to be held from January 20 to February 11 next year, would have $1 million (approx Rs 5.5 crore) as prize money, the highest for any badminton tournament in the world, sources close to the event told TOI on Tuesday.

Encouraged by the reaction of the public as well as that of sponsors to the success of Indian players, particularly Saina Nehwal, in recent times, the Badminton Association of India (BAI) has planned to hold the event more or less on the lines of the Indian Premier League.

Sources said the event, which will have six city-based franchises, would try to rope in top players from countries like China, South Korea, Singapore and Malaysia and other country with “hefty appearance fees”.

Former India stars like Pullela Gopichand and Pradeep Gandhe are part of the governing council of the IBL which has BAI’s president Akhilesh Das Gupta as chairman.

Badminton legend Prakash Padukone has been approached to come on board as an advisor.

BAI has asked Sporty Solutionz Pvt Limited to plan and execute the event.

Sources said the IBL organizers are planning to rope in Bollywood stars like Aamir Khan and Deepika Padukone, daughter of Prakash, besides former cricketer Sunil Gavaskar, a former member of the IPL governing council.

“Aamir is known to be an avid badminton fan and has always encouraged Saina (Nehwal), while Deepika not only carries the famous Padukone surname but was a state-level player herself,” sources said.

They added that Aamir was most likely to be offered the ‘brand ambassador’ role for IBL and Deep-

ika will most probably be one of the city-based franchisee owners.

“Gavaskar is being approached to play a big role in the IBL.” When contacted, IBL governing council member Gandhe, who’s the president of Maharashtra Badminton Association, the nodal agency for the event, told TOI that he was not aware of details for the event since Sporty Solutionz Pvt Limited was in charge of executing it.

“We are holding this tournament with some goals in mind. First, it’s aimed at creating more and more opportunities for Indian players.

Then, it will help participation of top players in India which is good for the sport in the country. It will also help upcoming players as they would be getting a chance to play the world’s top stars,” said Gandhe, winner of two bronze medals in the 1982 Asian Games.

The launch of a badminton league along the lines of the IPL is a most welcome development.

Along with the fact that India had its largest haul of medals at the recent Olympics, it is a sign of the fact that the country is beginning to make strides in sports other than cricket.

For any sports lover, that is good news. None of the sports should be seen as competing with each other. On the contrary, the more a variety of sports flourish, the more each will get enriched by a genuine culture of sports and physical fitness, as the Australian example illustrates so well.

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