Upakar Foundation Unveils 2024 Scholars
Rockville, MD: Upakar Foundation proudly announces its 2024 class of Upakar Scholars. Continuing its tradition of awarding undergraduate tuition and textbook scholarships to gifted high school graduates, this year UF collaborated with four generous donors.
Upakar continued its partnership with the Neetu Watumull Scholarship Program to award three scholarships. The India Development and Relief Fund (IDRF) also partnered
with Upakar on one scholarship to further its mission of helping high achieving students afford a quality college education.
In addition, Upakar awarded one student the Shrimati Kaushalya Butail Scholarship, one student the Shanti S. Gupta Memorial Scholarship, and one student the Upakar Scholarship. Two students were each awarded the Upakar Textbook Scholarship.
Upakar Scholars receive up to $8,000 each in tuition scholarship over their four years of undergraduate studies. Textbook scholars receive a one-time award of $250 each.
Upakar was founded in 1997 in the Washington DC metropolitan area to provide highly qualified college-bound Indian-American
students with need-based tuition assistance so that they could graduate without a crushing burden of college debt. According to a 2024 analysis by the Pew Research Center, approximately 6% of Indians in the US live in poverty. US Census Bureau data for 2023 set the average poverty threshold for a family of four at $31,200. Since its inception, Upakar has awarded more than $1 million in scholarships.
In order to qualify for an Upakar Scholarship, students must meet the criteria of being born in India or who have at least one Indian-born parent. The scholar must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. Financial need is determined by the family’s adjusted gross income. Scholars must have attained a raw high school GPA above 3.6. Finally, as long as a scholar’s GPA exceeds 3.3 in college, Upakar will renew the $2,000 annual scholarship for up to four years.
Upakar Community College Scholarships provide $500 per year for up to two years; and if the Scholar transfers to a 4-year program, Upakar will increase its commitment to $2,000 annually until the Scholar has received a total of four years of scholarship support. Upakar Textbook Scholarships are one-time awards of $250.
Upakar scholarship applications for 2025 will be available in February 2025. The submission deadline will be April 30, 2025.
To learn more about our organization, donating, or setting up a named scholarship, please visit www.upakar.org
October 18, 2024
COMMUNITY
Shri Sita Ram Foundation’s 13th Diwali-Dussehra Festival
Houston: The Shri Sita Ram Foundation, USA will celebrate the 13th International DiwaliDussehra Festival, a free event, on Saturday, October 26, from 2 to 8 pm at the Fort Bend Epicenter in Rosenberg. This year’s festival promises unforgettable cultural performances, spectacular displays, and rich traditions celebrating the timeless victory of good over evil, offering a day filled with excitement for the entire family.
Diwali, known as the “Festival of Lights,” holds deep cultural and religious significance for over a billion and a half people across the world. Celebrated with joy and fervor, Diwali symbolizes the triumph of light over darkness and knowledge over ignorance.
One of the most anticipated additions this year is the life-size stone replica of the Ram Lalla vigraha. In a rare honor, the original dress worn by Ram Lalla in Ayodhya will also be brought to Houston to adorn the deity, providing a deeply spiritual connection to this historic temple and its cherished icon.
Swami Anantacharya ji Maharaj, a globally renowned Ram Katha orator with over 40 years of experience, will also grace the occasion as a guest of honor. His presence will deepen the cultural and devotional resonance of the festival, bringing devotees closer to the
timeless wisdom of Ramayana. Returning to the festival, Baba Satyanarayana Maurya will once again dazzle attendees with his live painting sessions, bringing deities to life on canvas with his extraordinary talent. His intricate and spiri-
celebrating India’s rich cultural heritage. A laser show within the arena promises to enthrall the audience and keep them on their toes. Families and children can enjoy face painting, free balloons, magic shows, train rides, and moonwalks.
and themes from our scriptures. As evening falls, the traditional burning of Ravan, Kumbhkaran, and Meghnad effigies outside will light up the sky, symbolizing Lord Ram’s victory. A spectacular fireworks display will follow, leaving
A
dance from last year’s Diwali-Dussehra festival
tually uplifting artwork promises to be one of the focal points of the celebration.
The festivities will kick off with events like Kids’ Talent Show, where kids will showcase their talent in singing, music and dance. Stage performances of different dance and art forms from around the country will grace the stage with traditional dance and music,
The traditional Diwali Bazaar will feature over 100 booths with merchandise, handicrafts, Diwali items, and spiritual displays. Visitors can also indulge in delicious Indian cuisine from local vendors, enhancing the festival’s cultural experience.
The Grand Parade will showcase over 25 colorful floats, representing various cultural organizations
attendees in awe and celebration, and the night will continue with a lively Garba where everyone is invited to join the DJ’s energetic beats.
Several Consuls General from various countries will join the celebrations, along with numerous other dignitaries. In line with the belief in ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam,’ flags of all 200
United Nations member nations will be flown at the festival. This year’s event will also feature distinguished guests, including religious leaders and community dignitaries.
“Diwali is more than a celebration; it’s a reminder that light will always overcome darkness and that we are all connected as one global family,” said Dr. Arun Varma, the founder of Shri Sita Ram Foundation. “In that spirit, we welcome everyone to come together to celebrate this beautiful festival that transcends boundaries and unites us in the universal message of love and righteousness.”
Since its founding in 2010, the Shri Sita Ram Foundation has worked tirelessly to promote Indian culture, values, and charitable work in the United States. Their Diwali-Dussehra Festival has grown into one of the largest in the U.S., attracting over 10,000 attendees annually. Through events like this, the foundation aims to foster community spirit while contributing to various charitable causes, including scholarships and aid for underprivileged communities.
For more information, visit www.shrisitaram.org and follow on Facebook and Twitter @ ShriSitaRam.
DAV Houston Students at Gandhi Jayanti, RIICAS
H ouston : Vedic Sanskriti School Houston (DAVSS) students Ritvik, Manya, Prisha, Dhruvi and Vraj (DAV Montessori & Elementary School Alumni) performed during the 1000 Lights For Peace event at the Eternal Gandhi Museum Houston on Saturday, October 5.
The young children spoke about the values they learnt in Shloka 16.2 of the Gita, a book dear to Gandhiji.
Under the guidance of Acharya Bramdeo, they emphasized on how Satya (truth), Akrodha (freedom from anger), Tyaaga (sacrifice, renunciation), Shanti (peace, tranquility), Achaapalam (consistency, determination), and Ahimsa (non-violence) help us to consolidate our personality in like manner as these values
forged Gandhiji’s identity. Meanwhile, the DAV Montessori & Elementary School students participated in a Spelling Bee and Math Competition in Houston hosted by RIICAS (Reuniting Indians in Cultural and Social Activities).
Aarav K, a remarkable First Grader achieved an impressive second place in both the Spelling Bee and Math competitions.
Closse coaching byMrs. Aruna, Grade 1 teacher brought out these exceptional accomplishments!
VOTE BY NOVEMBER 5! LEARN MORE
PAID FOR BY ELIZABETH PANNILL FLETCHER FOR CONGRESS
Bridging the Mentorship Gap through Research Made Accessible (RMA)
High school students, especially those from underserved communities, often face significant barriers to accessing academic research opportunities. Lacking mentorship and proper guidance, these eager learners struggle to find the support needed to navigate the complexities of research. This creates a gap between students with access to academic resources and those without, limiting potential for innovation and growth.
In 2022, five visionary students from Jordan High School—Ishaan Hemrajani, Fahim Jahangir, Niam Jasani, Mihir Gannavarapu, and Sanjay Sreedhar—founded Research Made Accessible (RMA) to tackle the gap in research mentorship, with Sudhanva Vasista serving as Chief of Operations to
help drive the initiative forward.
RMA connects students from underserved areas with expert mentors from top-tier institutions like Princeton, Stanford, MIT, and Baylor College of Medicine.
RMA’s mission is powerful: to provide personalized mentorship in fields such as gene therapy, artificial intelligence, and evolutionary medicine. This hands-on approach allows students to dive into advanced research topics while learning directly from some of the brightest minds.
RMA’s structure maximizes impact. The organization matches students with mentors based on shared research interests, ensuring tailored guidance throughout their research journeys. From selecting topics to critically reviewing
academic literature, RMA’s mentors provide comprehensive support. With over 300 active mentors spanning 12 countries, RMA has empowered more than 2,000 students, creating a ripple effect of academic growth, curiosity, and innovation.
The success stories of RMA participants highlight the transformative power of the program. For example, Emilian Lipnevich was paired with Professor Giasseti from Baylor University, whose research in evolutionary medicine inspired him to explore bioinformatics and gene-editing technologies like CRISPR/Cas9. Professor Giasseti’s journey from a veterinary school in rural Brazil to academia served as an inspiration for Emilian, fueling his research ambitions.
Similarly, Vanshika Burman, another RMA student, developed a deep interest in gene therapy and AI under the mentorship of an RMA advisor. Through her literature review, Vanshika learned about advanced topics and contributed to ongoing scientific discussions, demonstrating how RMA students actively participate in the broader academic community. Beyond one-on-one mentorship, RMA hosts research seminars led by distinguished experts. In August 2023, Dr. Ashok Kumar, a biomedical scientist with over 43 years of experience, delivered an enlightening talk on his career in biomedical research. His seminar encouraged students to think critically about their future in research and the broader scientific community. These seminars allow students to learn
directly from seasoned professionals, enriching their research experience.
As RMA continues to expand, it remains dedicated to addressing the persistent challenges students face in accessing research mentorship, particularly in underserved areas. With new projects in Massachusetts, Texas, and California, RMA ensures that students nationwide have access to quality mentorship and academic guidance. Through its commitment to equality in research opportunities, RMA is not just supporting students—it’s reshaping the future of academic research by empowering the next generation of innovators to drive meaningful advancements.
OBITUARY A Letter to Gandhi Ji: 40 Years after the Sikh Riots COMMENTARY
Dear Gandhi Ji, Today is October 03, 2024, and all the newspapers, TV media, in India and around the world carried news of your birthday celebrations from yesterday. In India, you being the father of the nation, it was a national holiday where your lasting legacy of “Ahimsa” meaning nonviolence was recalled. In fact, now your birthday is celebrated as International Day of Non-Violence. Even The Wall Street Journal, out of New York carried a picture of your birthday celebration in India on the front page. In the picture a child was attired like you, in a gesture of refreshing your core message of “Ahimsa.”
Suddenly, my thoughts flashed to forty years ago. It was the last day of the month of your birth in 1984, and by evening in the capital of India the air was filled with smoke billowing all around, and an eerie silence gripping the capital. There were targeted killings, burning of properties and vehicles, looting, raping, burning by pouring kerosine and petrol. The police had suddenly disap-
peared from the scenes of crime, and if they happened to be there they either turned a blind eye or rooted for the perpetuators. What was being unleashed was unbelievable, and even the media coverage of such incidents was totally blacked out. Your message of “Ahimsa” was being replaced with violence “Hinsa” in the capital as well as other major cities of the nation. The trains, airports, roads were not safe for venturing out. The houses, shops and businesses owned by Sikhs were being selectively burned and goods looted. The mobs had voters list where the faith of residents were available to target. With that information the houses of Sikhs were identified and marked with ‘X’ for killing, loot and plunder. Any attempts to stop the attackers was not just futile but dangerous, as it made the person attempting vulnerable to mob attack. The Sikhs, lauded as warriors, and protectors of the nation, had been reduced to victims, despised second class citizens, worthy of elimination. Your promise of February 21,
1931, to the Sikh community at Gurdwara Sis Ganj in Delhi had been very conveniently forgotten after August 15, 1947, but today they had become pariah in the month of your birth plus following month. You had assured Sikhs that their rights would be respected, and their aspirations would find fulfillment in an independent India, but on that day and days that followed over 3000 Sikhs lost their lives in Delhi. It was an open Sikh genocide with slogans filling the air “Khoon Ka Badla Khoon.” Where you are the father of the nation, the violence, killing, raping, looting, pillaging were just not sanctioned, but also officially abetted. The pride of Sikh, the turban had become their own privation. The widows, who lost their husbands, the kids who were orphaned during this carnage, are still languishing after 40 years and paying the price. Till date these sufferers have not been able to rebuild their lives.
Forty years after the tragic event, there is no official apology, or an attempt to get to the bottom of it, or punishment of the perpetuators has not been initiated. Even the com-
Indo American News
FounDeR: DR. k.l. sinDwani PublisHeR: JawaHaR MalHotRa
eDitoR: PRaMoD kulkaRni coRResPonDent: sancHali basu
®All rights reserved. No material herein or portions thereof may be published without the written consent of the publisher. Deadline for advertising and articles is 4 pm on Monday of each week. Please include self-addressed, stamped envelope for return of all unsolicited material. Published at 7457 Harwin Drive, Suite 212, Houston, Texas 77036.Tel:713-789-6397, email: indoamericannews@yahoo.com, website:
plicity of the police in the atrocities which is a serious issue has also not received adequate investigation or punishments for dereliction of duties. Even the issue of Sikhs in the police forces being sent home from their duties has not been dealt with adequately. Many enquiry commissions have been appointed not catch the perpetuators, but to wash those and give clean chit to elected and government officials glossing over their acts of omission. The call for a reconciliation has fallen on deaf ears. The state machinery was unleashed not against an enemy in times of war, but against the citizens, duly abetted by elected officials.
Gandhi Ji! The father of the nation! Tell me how this could take place in your nation? You are the revered figure of the nation, where hardly any city exists without any street or road named after you plus with your statue on a pedestal greeting the visitors on the street. Your legacy has inspired others as Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Madela, Lech Walesa and many others, but in that country is your legacy for lip service and show
alone? That aspect bothers me even today. Additionally, there are numerous museums in India and even outside of India that promote your legacy, yet after 105 years of your birth anniversary, what we saw was an unbelievable trauma being unleashed, together with collective consciousness amnesia from the leaders professing to be following your teaching.
I am writing this letter to you Gandhi Ji, to plead with you about the need of a museum to showcase and share the tragic stories and voices of these unfortunate victims. So that in future a carnage, a genocide of this nature and scale will not be perpetuated. In fact, this should be the place where we share how when the mockery of the lofty principles is made through their use for solely political gains, the results will be disasterous. This museum will become an essential extension to share the results of perpetuating “Hinsa” in the name of “Ahimsa”. Let us create such a legacy so that these brazen acts don’t get repeated. Bhupinder “Bo” Singh
ENTERTAINMENT
‘Jigra’ : Alia Bhatt is Gripping in Action Thriller
by DHaval Roy
Story: In this prison break drama, a sister goes on a daring mission to free her brother when he is wrongly implicated in narcotic charges. With just three months to his death sentence, will she succeed and reunite with him?
Review: Revenge and prison break dramas thrive on robust scripts and screenplays, delivering edge-of-the-seat thrills and impressing viewers with sharpness.
Director Vasan Bala’s thriller, Jigra, starts strong, introducing Satya (Alia Bhatt), a resilient and dependable young woman driven to protect her younger brother, Ankur (Vedang Raina), at all costs.
When Ankur is framed on drug charges in the unforgiving Southeast Asian island, Hanshi Dao, Satya transforms into a force to be reckoned with. Undaunted by the stringent law enforcement that metes out death sentences to those caught on narcotic offences, she embarks on a daring mission to free him. Teaming up with retired gangster Bhatia (Manoj Pahwa) and ex-cop Muthu (Rahul Ravindran, Satya devises an intricate plan to break four young men — including Ankur — out of prison after the legal system fails to deliver justice.
The premise had immense potential to portray the journey of a sister who makes morally questionable decisions and takes on
a foreign land’s staunch system. However, what should have set the viewer up for an engaging and awe-inspiring ride soon turns out to be chaotic. Written by Bala and Debashish Irengbam, the story becomes one-dimensional, and the narrative focuses more on stylised action than substance. Also, a parallel prison break plot only adds to the complexity. Satya’s chain of action to take on the bullies becomes repetitive.
The film has moments of brilliance, credited to cinematographer Swapnil S Sonawane and action director Vikram Dahiya, who excel in delivering slick and well-executed stunts and —action sequences. Scenes like Satya sliding down a sloping rooftop and the pyrotechnics are impressive. Still, the proceedings are mired by longdrawn sequences and, for the most part, the focus mainly remains on Satya’s derring-do rather than the plot itself.
Alia Bhatt delivers a standout performance as an action star and a deeply emotional character. The actress pulls off the death-defying stunts with elan and convincingly portrays anger, helplessness, and resilience. Vedang Raina does well in his role as the brother.
Manoj Pahwa, as Satya’s accomplice whose son is also an inmate, deserves special mention.
While Jigra showcases moments of brilliance, particularly through Alia Bhatt’s remarkable perfor-
mance and impressive action sequences, its chaotic narrative and focus on style over substance hinder its overall impact. A more streamlined narrative and stronger premise would have elevated this film greatly. -- TNN
‘
Vicky Vidya Ka Voh Wala’
It’s 1997, an era when home entertainment equalled recording all kinds of stuff– beach vacays, birthdays, and ahem, X-rated activities– on handheld video cameras, and playing them back on personal VHS machines.
On their ‘shaadi ki first-night’, nudge-wink, Vicky (Rao) and Vidya (Dimri) record their ‘voh wala video’, the loss of which propels the film into motion. Given the director’s track record with his Ayushmann Khurrana-led ‘Dream Girl’ films, in which he mixed soft-core raunch with family drama with a degree of success, it would have been foolish to expect anything else.
Basically ‘Vicky Vidya’ is more of the same, except that mix which elicited a degree of laughter has dwindled to a few stray chuckles. Small-town India with their repressed young couples getting it on has been milked dry, and the challenge is real: where will you find the laughs? Out come the risible-cheap jokes which land with a thump, and exactly five lines which will make you crack a smile.
Place a number in the empty boxes in such a way that each row across, each column down and each 9-box square contains all of the numbers from one to nine.
Send us the correct answer before October 22, 2024. Email us at indoamericannews@yahoo.com. Please send us your solved Sudoku for your name to be published.
Solution Next Week
Recent Winners
Kumud Athavale, Krishna R. Vuddagiri, Sanchali Basu, Prabha Barvalia, Ramana Vadrevu, Yudhveer Bagga, Taranjit Singh, Rohini Mahajan, Tulasi Devireddy, Prabhu Narumanchi, Subramanian Krishnaiyer, Sahiti Palle, Vinod Kumar, Kirit Suthar, Arup Gupta
