Friday, August 13, 2021 | Vol. 40, No. 33
Indo American News
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August 13, 2021
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Published weekly from Houston, TX
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Shri Madan Temple
An Introduction to Hinduism for HPD Cadets
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Dial 100: Good Acting
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W E D D I N G S , S P E C I A L E V E N T S , T E N T E D E V E N T S , O U T D O O R C O U R T YA R D
3 3 3 0 F M 1 4 6 3 | Ka t y, T X 7 7 4 9 4 | 8 3 2 . 8 5 5 . 5 5 2 0 | p a l m ro y a l v i l l a . c o m
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August 13, 2021
COMMUNITY
HPD Cadets Receive an Introduction to Hinduism at VPSS Temple By Kesava B. Chakka
Houston: On a warm sunny afternoon of 23rd July, about 60 young cadets of the Houston Police Department (HPD) were introduced to the core principles of Hinduism through a series of presentations and lectures at Vallabh Priti Seva Samaj.(VPSS). As the Greater Houston area is one of the most culturally diverse communities in the US, it was a much needed introduction to the Hindu faith and a huge step forward to help understand and support the members of the community they serve. This unique engagement with the HPD was initiated by the Hindus of Greater Houston (HGH). HGH Director Manisha Gandhi led the initiative with the keen involvement of Senior HPD VPSS Trustee and HGH Advisor Rasesh Dalal speaking to HPD’s young cadets. Officer Danish Hussain. serving the fact that Hinduism is at home; how people respect the After welcoming the caHGH President Thara Narasimdets and inviting the distinguished better defined “as a way of life than premises by leaving the shoes han congratulated the cadets on guests to the dais, VPSS Trustee a religion,” Rasesh also explained outside the home before entering joining such a noble profession and HGH Advisor Rasesh Dalal the Hindu philosophy of karma - and the practice of wearing gold and noted that over the last 40 kicked off the day’s proceedings one’s life being an eternal circle jewelry on social and religious years, the community has become with a presentation that covered with good deeds in the current life occasions. The essence of Hindu- very diverse. She also emphasized many aspects of Hinduism in- that lead to a better re-birth in the ism, he added, is the same of all the fact that India itself is very dicluding the customs and rationale next life. He also highlighted how true religions - Bhakti and genuine verse with people following difbehind each of those customs. Ob- Hindus receive and treat guests compassion for all beings. ferent customs including dressing
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styles. This, in turn, makes it the very nature of Indians to respect other cultures and customs. She offered the services of HGH to the cadets at any point should there be such a need and concluded her address by requesting HGH and its members to pray for the cadets’ success in their careers. Manisha Gandhi wrapped up the event with the vote of thanks. She thanked HPD for taking the time to learn more about Hinduism and Hindus in Houston and VPSS for providing the venue for such an initiative. She also thanked Officer Danish Hussain for playing an active role in arranging the event and closed out the day’s proceedings with a brief explanation of the meaning of Namaste – the gesture is an acknowledgment of the soul in one by the soul in another. Several interesting questions came up at the Q&A session. HGH Director Somansh Agarwal remarked that in case of any doubt, HPD officers can contact the HGH President at President@hindusofhouston.org or through Manisha Gandhi, to help them out with any issues, as and when needed.
COMMUNITY
August 13, 2021
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India Culture Center’s Celebration of India’s 75th Independence Day Houston: India Culture Center, a proactive community organization of 48 years, with goals to enhance the cultural, health and socio-political sectors of India in Houston is once again celebrating India’s 75th Independence Day in Houston. On behalf of the India Culture Center Board of Directors, Board of Trustees, and with the support of our partnering organizations, it is my pleasure as the current President to invite you on August 15th, 2021, at the Stafford Center, 10505 Cash Rd, Stafford TX 77477 This celebration will be in person with booths, Awards, and an exclusive presentation of “Building Bridges” & “Weddings of India” by presenting the differences and similarities of ritual celebrations in different states of India. And we are building bridges with other communities like Jewish, Indonesia, Nepali, and many more. Our Diversity is our strength, and we wish to live by our motto that “The world is our family”. Through our diversity, ICC recognizes the need to instill key aspects of our culture in our youth and aims to promote the richness and diversity of the Indian heri-
tage, arts, cultures and foster goodwill, and harmony between different communities and cultures. The theme of this year is ‘Vibrant India’, and we are going to exhibit the talents of children from 7 years to seniors of 65yrs and above. Unity in diversity is what vibrant India is today. We would kindly request you to become a sponsor of the evening to support ICC. Your donation will be recognized at our event in several ways (the sponsorship package is attached). We hope that we
can count on your support. Date: August 15, 2021 Location: Stafford Center, 10505 Cash Road, 77477 Event and Booth Time: 1 pm to 7 pm Karaoke: 1 pm to 2:30 pm for all ages ( The audition is every Sunday 10 am to 12 pm on RADIO ICC HOUSTON at 99.5 FM Radio Dabang- Number to call 713.974.4000) Patriotic and Wedding celebrations of India: 2:30 pm onwards
*Attire*- Wedding formal in Orange, Green, and/white representing your state or region. BOOTH- For Small businesses, there is a great opportunity to advertise your business on a large digital screen in the event. *Booth Registration* - https:// icchoustontx.org/booth/ ICC Vice President Kiran Shah 832.865.2105 Food Booth Event Co-chairDinesh Purohit- 732.593.9650 *Participation*https://form.jotform.com/211690843905156
Sing National Anthem Together -- Online!
As the Nation celebrates Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, sing the national anthem together by visiting rashtragaan.in. A compilation of the uploaded videos of the National Anthem will be shown live on 15th August, 2021. As of Wednesday, August 11 morning, there were 8,486,894 uploads.
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Reach 713.858.8229 *Sponsorship and Advertisement* 1. If donating by checks? Check- Payable to INDIA CULTURE CENTER Mailing address- Mr. Hemant Patel, 15734 Springfield Drive, Sugar land, TX 77498 2. If you have a PayPal account. Click here to pay. PayPal.me/ICCHOUSTON 3. You can ZELLE to the email address icchoustontexas@gmail. com.
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COMMUNITY
August 13, 2021
Grand Opening of “Shri Madan Dham Temple” Houston: On August 7, 2021, Indravandan Trivedi, popularly known as MasterJi, organized the inaugural ceremony of a NonProfit Organization to introduce the concept of “Spiritual Empowerment of Individuals” . The inaugural session was held in the Sri Gauri Siddhivinayak Temple, Houston and several eminent residents of Houston attended the inaugural session. At this inaugural session MasterJi was introduced by Dr. (Ms.) Debika Bhattacharya where she highlighted some of the outstanding achievements of MasterJi in several Cultural Events. Dr. Debika also briefly outlined the dedication and devotion of MasterJi to his GuruJi – Shri MadanJi, who is the source of inspiration for him to initiate the Spiritual Empowerment movement. Mr. Girish Nayak, Ex-President of Gujarati Samaj of Houston, spoke about the Non-Profit Organization and highlighted the necessity of Spiritual Empowerment activities for the younger generation. He also talked about the general operational approach of the organization. Ms. Yogina Patel, an entrepreneur and business owner in Houston, also highlighted the needs of the younger generation to participate the Spiritual Empowerment activities. She also mentioned about the basic goals of NonProfit Organization – “Shri Madan Dham Center”. MasterJi had a brief discussion on the basic goals and missions of the Non-Profit Organization and highlighted the future action plan of the organization for the benefit of the younger groups. MasterJi mentioned about “Shri
Masterji Indravan Trivedi organized the inaugural ceremony of the “Shri Madan Dham Temple.”
Pradeep Sulhan, P.C.
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Call Sid or Pradeep Dr. (Ms.) Debika Bhattacharya introducing Masterji Indravadan Trivedi.
Madan Dham Center” and requested voluntary services from the participants and others. Shortly after MasterJi’s brief discussion Bhajans and Musical session were performed by Mr. Saleh Siddiqi, Mr. ….…………. , Dr. (Ms.) Nan-
dini Sarkar, Ms. Debjani Tarafdar. The inaugural session of “Shri Madan Dham Center” was followed by lunch organized and donated by Ms. Yogina Patel with the distribution of Prasad from the Sri Gauri Siddhivinayak Temple.
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INDIA
August 13, 2021
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Climate Change Causing Glacier Melt, Loss of Snow in the Himalayas By Esha Roy New Delhi: Among the most alarming findings as laid out in the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report released on Monday is the effect of climate change on glaciers and the snow cover in the mountains. The Sixth Assessment Report states scientists have ascertained that global warming will have a serious impact on mountain ranges across the world. The consequences are stark and dreary — the freezing level height of mountains are likely to change and snowlines will retreat over the coming decades. The report has further said that glaciers are melting and receding across the globe, including in the Himalayas, and that this is now a phenomenon that is “locked in’” and cannot be reversed. It adds that the level of temperature rise in the mountains and glacial melt is unprecedented in 2,000 years. The retreat of glaciers is now attributed to anthropogenic factors and human influence, it states. Retreating snowlines and melting glaciers is a cause for alarm as this can cause a change in the water cycle, the precipitation patterns, increased floods as well as an increased scarcity of water in the states across the Himalayas. The report also predicts the increased likelihood of incidents such as the landslide caused by glacial break on Nanda Devi at Chamoli in Uttarakhand earlier this year that caused floods in the region. “Extreme precipitation is projected to increase in major mountainous regions with potential cascading consequences of floods, landslides and lake outbursts in all scenarios,” states the report. Dr Friederike Otto, who is the Associate Director of the Environment Change Institute, University of Oxford and one of the authors of the report, said, “Human influence has been responsible for the retreat of mountain glaciers in the 20th century. Glaciers are one of the slowest responding parts of the climate system. The retreat of glaciers being seen now are a result of the actions of the past and not an immediate effect. So even if we were to stop emissions right now, we should expect to see the continued retreat of glaciers over the coming decade. Of course, if its business as usual and emissions are not curtailed, this retreat will be even faster. This retreat of glaciers in the Himalayas is a matter of great concern as it will affect the availability of fresh water in the region.” IPCC’s assessment has found that the freezing level height in mountain areas is projected to rise and this will alter the snow and ice conditions. A rise in temperature has been recorded in the Himalayas, the Swiss Alps and the central Andes,
The report has stated that glaciers are melting and receding across the globe, including in the Himalayas, and that this is now a phenomenon that is “locked in’” and cannot be reversed. File photo)
Indo-American News • Friday, AUGUST 13, 2021 • www.indoamerican-news.com
and this has increased with altitude. Such elevation-dependent warming could lead to faster changes in the snowline, the glacier equilibrium-line altitude and the snow/rain transition height. With a few exceptions, mountain glaciers have retreated since the second half of the 19th century. This retreat has occurred at increased rates since the 1990s, with human influence very likely being the main driver. Furthermore, the report states that glaciers will continue to lose mass at least for several decades even if global temperature is stabilised. -- Indian Express
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INDIA
August 13, 2021
India Sending 43 Athletes to Paraolympics New Delhi: After the conclusion of the postponed Olympics, India shift their focus to Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, Japan, from 25 August to 6 September 2021. Indian athletes have appeared in every edition of the Summer Paralympics since 1984 made though they made their official debut at the 1968 Summer Paralympics. This year, Tokyo Paralympics 2021 will witness Badminton and Taekwondo making their debut along with the regular sports. India will be participating in 9 sports and are sending 43 athletes to the Paralympics. Tokyo Paralympics 2020 will begin on August 24 and will conclude on September 5, 2021. Tokyo Paralympics will be telecasted on EUROSPORT and EUROSPORT HD. The Eurosport channel can now be streamed on the Discovery+ app. The Tokyo Paralympics 2020 will also be available live on Digital Platforms including Prasar BharatiYoutube. Stay tuned to indianexpress/ olympics for the latest updates, interviews, and podcasts.
Have you planned for your future?
Devendra Jhajharia is 36-year-old veteran para javelin thrower from Rajasthan’s Churu district is India’s first gold medallist at the Athens Paralympics.
People don’t plan to fail, they fail to plan
Jesal Patel ARPC, CLTC, LUTCF Afflicted with polio that left her legs deformed as a child, Pooja Rani is the lone Indian participant in the Paralympic archery event.
In the 2015 Paraolympics World Games, Suyash Narayan won two gold medals.
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CRICKET
August 13, 2021
England vs India, 2nd Test: India in Charge with Rahul 127*, Rohit 82 patience at the start of his knock, playing second fiddle to Rohit. Past the 100-ball mark, his scoring rate picked up drastically, as he opened up and started hitting boundaries. A great knock. If the weather holds up, India is in a position to score 350 or more. It all depends on how the ground will help the English seamers: Anderson, Robinson, Wood and Curren. Moeen Ali has a chance if spin comes into play. England (Playing XI): Rory Burns, Dominic Sibley, Haseeb Hameed, Joe Root(c), Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler(w), Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Ollie Robinson, Mark Wood, James Anderson India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli(c), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
By Varun Shetty London (ESPN Cricinfo): India 276 for 3 (Rahul 127*, Rohit 83, Rahane 1) vs England, Anderson 20-4-52-2, Robinson 23-747-1. It rained early on the first day despite a favourable forecast, and India said they had been looking to bowl after Joe Root put them in. By the end of the day, they had an unbeaten centurion in KL Rahul walking off in bright sunshine, having played a part in two century stands, with India looking healthy in all respects - on score, on scoring rate, and on wickets in hand. That last part was particularly significant after they decided to replace the injured Shardul Thakur with Ishant Sharma, effectively cutting their batting down to six specialists alongside Ravindra Jadeja. It was a bold move on many fronts, especially if they believed the dank conditions in the morning were more suited to their bowlers; it was either a show of faith or calculated pressure heaped on the likes of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane. Whatever it was, it needed the openers to click, and click they did. Rahul and Rohit Sharma put up India’s first century partnership outside Asia for the opening wicket since 2010, 126, to set the tone on what turned out to be a glorious day for batting. KL Rahul showed exemplary
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Rohit Sharma hooks Mark Wood for six, England vs India, 2nd Test, Lord’s, London, 1st day.
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ENTERTAINMENT
August 13, 2021
‘Dial 100’: Good Acting, but Film Doesn’t Add Up
By Shubhra Gupta Cast: Manoj Bajpayee, Neena Gupta, Sakshi Tanwar, Nandu Madhav Director: Rensil D’Silva Rating: 2 stars On a stormy night in Mumbai, a call comes in on the Dial 100 helpline in a police station, where a night-shift-as-usual is underway. The caller is a woman (Neena Gupta), on the verge of full-blown hysteria, threatening to do something drastic; the cop (Manoj Bajpayee) who fields the call is already tense, dealing with a teary wife (Sakshi Tanwar) and a young son who’s gone and done something he had
sworn off. Right from the first, we sense there’s something off with the call, and the woman making it. Of course, there’s much more to it, and that’s the whole point. We settle down to a racy, pacy tale. The premise is juicy, with all the elements of a crime thriller in place. Unhinged-sounding people brandishing guns. Troubled cops hot on the chase. Rain-slicked roads. And bang bang. The actors are all first rate. Manoj Bajpayee is on a roll these days, with his previous outing, season 2 of ‘Family Man’ still riding high in our memory bank. On this second wind, Neena Gupta is getting to do stuff she’s never
done before, and she’s revelling in it. Nandu Madhav always adds to any film he is in. And Sakshi Tanwar’s acting skills have never been in any doubt. This tale of crime and punishment, drugs and death, entitlement and justice, which clocks in at less than two hours, shouldn’t have had a single lax moment. But the writing comprehensively lets down the performers; the feeling of edginess and tension which should have rightfully been ratcheted up through the film, kicks in all too rarely. Characters in this kind of film that relies on rapid twists and turns have to ricochet off each other, not deliver dialogue as though written on a page. In short, it needs to zip. And not allow us enough time to notice either contrivances, or loose ends. When Bajpayee’s stunned face reveals the suppressed turmoil going on inside him, that’s a moment. There are more — when Tanwar breaks down at a climactic point; when Gupta speaks through a mix of heartbreak and tears. ‘Dial 100’ should have added up to much more. -Indian Express
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Here was the guest line-up for Sat, Aug 8, 2021 from 4 to 6pm CST on Indo American News Radio (www.IndoAmerican-news. com) on 98.7 FM and available also on the masalaradio app (www. masalaradio.com) You can also hear the Podcast of the recorded show uploaded by Monday on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts, Pocket Casts, Radio Public and Breaker. 4:20 pm with Simone Biles and Niaomi Osaka withdrawing from competitive sporting events, mental health is on the fore front of everyone’s mind. Denise Oncken has been the Executive Bureau Chief for over 30 years over Special Victims and Mental Health at the Harris County District Attorny’a office. She joins us today to explain what her office oversees. 4:40 pm Galson Auto & Body has made a name for itself for 28
years in Northeest Houston for its great work and customer service. Brothers Ravi and Roger Galhotra now manage the business that their dad Harjit started. They call in to tell us what the Houston auto market is like now. 5:10 pm Sandhya Mahesh is a passionate violist and pianist from Houston, who recently performed in Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Orchestra, and the Houston Youth Symphony. She joins us with her mom Anu Mahesh to talk about her experience. Also stay tuned in for news roundup, views, sports and movie reviews Also featured was news roundup, views, sports and movie reviews. IF YOU’D LIKE TO BE FEATURED ON THE SHOW, OR TO ADVERTISE, PLEASE CONTACT US AT 713-789-6397 or at indoamericannews@yahoo.com
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COMMUNITY
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Send us the correct answer before August 18, 2021. Email us at indoamericannews@yahoo.com and send us your solved Sudoku for your name to be published.
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August 13, 2021
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Why Indian Railways Failed to Attract Privates to Run Trains By Sarabjit Arjan Singh New Delhi: On July 1, 2020, the Indian Railways launched the formal process of inviting private parties to run trains on the Indian railway system. Bids were finally opened last month. Hopes of a large participation were belied as there were no bids for nine clusters and only two bids for three clusters. Even for these three clusters, the only serious bid was by Indian Railways’ (IR) own company IRCTC, which in effect negated the basic objectives of bringing in private capital. What are the reasons for this failure? It is an outcome of the lack of alignment of the interests of IR and the concessioners. IR wants the capital and technology without giving up control, while the concessioner wants a far more equal relationship to be moderated by a regulator. IR has imposed constraints that prevent efficient decisions and adopted an organisational design that does not take into account the characteristics and associated risks that will determine outcomes and investment decisions. What are these risks and constraints? The biggest dampener is the lumpiness of investment before a single passenger can be carried. Train sets have to be purchased without really knowing how much traffic the service will be able to attract in the face of rising competition from airlines. IR does not guarantee the
investor that, in case the concession fails, it will acquire the train sets. The other big dampener is the absence of a regulator for resolving disputes. The proposed independent engineer is far from satisfactory. There are other risks that put off investors that we will not go into. But suffice to say that the current model of inviting private players to run trains has failed. To take forward the initiative, a new model based on a new strategy is required. The central issue is how to align the three interests: India’s need to be capable of designing and manufacturing state-ofthe-art rolling stock, IR’s need for private capital participation and private capital’s necessity of earning a profit. They can be aligned provided the lumpiness of investment in train sets can be eliminated by establishing a company that leases rolling stock not only to concessioners but also to IR. This will also enable reducing the concession period from 35 years to a more reasonable 10-
15 years, bringing in competition. The rolling stock company, apart from leasing train sets, can also be the window for bringing in new technology, preferably by purchasing from those who manufacture in India in collaboration with one of IR’s production units and are willing to transfer the technology. This will require IR to guarantee a minimum offtake, say for a period of 10 years, to the manufacturer. For starters, IRFC, which is already into leasing rolling stock, can be that company. A word about bringing in new technology. It is essential that the opportunity opened up by inviting private players is used to move the rolling stock industry up the industrial value chain and bring about a structural change of the Indian economy. This can only be brought about by a vision that encourages long-term arrangements with rolling stock suppliers. An arrangement that gives access to IR’s rolling stock market is the
only way to compel global players to share technology and form joint ventures with Indian companies. H o w e v e r, technology transfer is not simply a matter of manufacturing in India. It requires understanding the critical elements of the technology and absorbing them into the design-production process. This calls for the investment of large sums of money and the involvement of universities, research institutes and national laboratories. For example, for developing highspeed train technology, the Chinese involved 25 national first-class key universities, 11 first-class research institutes, and 51 national-level laboratories for research, development and production. India will also need to do something similar. As far as drawing private players is concerned, all that is required is to reduce the risks for the concessioners, reduce the period of the concession to around 15 years, establish a regulator and moderate charges like the amount for the maintenance of tracks and stations. With these changes, the plan may still take off. However, the initiative will remain limited to just running trains if there is no long-term vision. The writer is former general manager of Indian Railways
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