Indo-American News: July 28, 2023

Mughal–E-Azam Creates History in Houston!

Houston: Harry Shah of Bollywood Entertainment took Houstonians back nearly 500 years to relive the splendor of the Mughal Era for three days - JULY 14-1516 during Mughal-E-Azam, the Broadway Musical at the Wortham Center, presented nationally by Cinema on Stage. The recently remodeled Wortham Center with its spectacular high ceilings, lush maroon carpet and towering windows peeping into the downtown skyline, mirrored the luxurious Mughal sets that changed 48 times throughout the Musical. Cinema on Stage – the masterminds behind the entire North America tour - created a picturesque lobby with dazzling giant backdrops of all the most iconic Musical scenes and distributed red Anarkali Qawwali feathered caps to get everyone in the spirit. Harry Shah and Sunil Thakkar of Masala Radio created a unique pre-event Social Hour filled with Sitar strokes, rich Saffron Chai, Veg Indian street foods and Audience interviews.

This was a special tour stop for the Houston-based partners of Cinema on Stage – Aanand Dawda and Dushyant Kansara. Harry Shah said’ “It was like attending a wedding – everyday my extended family – and the Dawda, Kansara, and Thakkar families - dressed up in different Moghul themes and welcomed over 2000 guests per night!” Dawda said “Bringing Mughl-e-Azam to US is a dream come true.”

Sunil Thakkar said “In my 30 year history with Masala Radio, I have not seen anything like this in Houston. Back to Back 3 days SOLD OUT ! 6500 people in total. And what a mesmerizing show with a production that was so lavish & the sets as opulent as the Akbar’s real palace. The production was beyond spectacular. Wow ! I watched it on Friday and had to see it again on Sat & Sun. If I could I would watch it again this weekend.”

“With the outstanding success of Mughal-E-Azam in Houston, when so many shows are going less than half full, I realized that today’s audience is looking for something new - unique concepts away from traditional Bollywood concerts. Yes, this show was expensive with average ticket prices of $250, but not one person told me it was not worth it,” said Harry Shah. Indeed this is the single most expensive theatrical production to come out of India and rightfully so, since the 1960 film Mughal-E-Azam was the most expensive film ever made in India (inflation adjusted).

Mughal-E-Azam boasted 150 performers, 4 containers of sets, 550 costumes intricately designed by Manish Malhotra and has completed over 200 shows since its inception in Mumbai in 2016. “I want to thank Ash & Leena Shah of IMPEX, Arshad & Rasul Ramji of RAMJI LAW GROUP, Nitin Narag of SOUTHWEST MIT-

SUBISHI, and Gopal Agrawal of TARA CAPITAL, Malik Jamal of DISCOUNT POWER and Sheetal Bedi of INDO AMERICAN ASSOCIATION (IAA) for their sponsorship and giveaways during the Social Hour.”

Cinema on Stage created the hype with a national media campaign showcasing reviews from Bollywood Stars, Indian Industrialists, and Politicians. Even Rishi Kapoor, grandson of Prithvi Raj Kapoor who played Akbar in the film, appeared in videos saying “The production was so real to the film that he didn’t miss his grandfather. After travelling to Delhi, Ahmedabad, Dubai, Kuala Lumpur, and Singapore, the show started its 3 1/2 month tour in the USA, beginning in NYC. In the North America Prelude Event, sixteen of the Musical’s apsara-like kathak dancers performed “Pyaar

Kiya To Darna Kya” in NYC’s Times Square on WED, MAY 24th, covered by all the major Indian channels in the US, and some Indiabased channels as well! Invited to Times Square to hype The Musical, Sunil & Sandhya Thakkar of Masala Radio dressed up like Akbar & Jodhabai and Sunil created excitement for each performance with playful audience interactions and interviews with the director Feroz Abbas Khan. The Times Square experience moved Sunil to create his most heartfelt promotional radio & social media campaign, personally encouraging the Houston listeners, sponsors, friends & family with “Do not miss this once in a lifetime show!”

Contd on Pg 3

Continued from Page 2

To take such a scaled production and tour of 3 1/2 months in the US was no easy task, though you could not see any sights of stress from the Mughal-E-Azam team, from the producers to the cast to the technical crew. Harry Shah said “When we hear the glowing feedback and when some people come a second night to take in all of the production and still come out bedazzled, this is why we do this.”

Just before Houston, the troupe of kathak dancers gave one more aflatoon prelude performance for the Canadian Media on a bridge over the roaring cascades of Niagara Falls.

Harry Shah was a regular on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 6-7 PM on Masala Radio talking about the Musical’s awesomeness occasionally bringing one or more of his supportive family: wife Shital, younger brother Dipesh and elder brother Ash. They talked about the film, the history, the cast & director and the 7 Broadway India World Awards including the Best Play, Best Director, Best Original Choregraphy, Best Original Costume Design, Best Ensemble Cast, Best Original Lighting Design and Best Original Set Design. Every week Hostonians learned a little more about the Mughal Era, the fascinating real forbidden love story of Ak-

bar & Jodhabhai’s son Salim and Anarkali a court dancer. Salim invokes his right as exercised by his forefathers Babar & Humayun, and as heir to Hindustan, to simply choose his own wife. Akbar, full of royal pride cannot let his only son marry a lowly courtesan and imprisons Anarkali, leading to Salim’s open rebellion against his own father. The play, in Hindi and Urdu with English Subtitles remains faithful to the original film with live singing of the entire film track. Indeed while “Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kiya” has become a lovers’ anthem throughout generations in India other popular favorites raised goosebumps while being sung live: the Qawwali competition song

“Teri Mehil Mein Kismat”, the song foretelling disaster if Akbar does not concede “Ae Mohabat Zindabad” and the chilling finale as Anarkali leaves “ Khuda Nigehbaan Ho.” “I loved Dilip Kumar in Mughal-E-Azam” said Ranjan Sanghani and I explained it to my kids…it was priceless that this Musical allowed my grandkids to experience it…in the equivalent awe it deserves.”

Mughal-E-Azam, The broadway Musical has religiously posted reviews from each city, along with glimpses of scenes from the US Tour. After Houston is Dallas. Seattle, Vancouver, Phoenix, San

Jose, and by popular demand the last show added Los Angeles. If you haven’t seen this truly once in a lifetime play, don’t miss the remaining shows and spread the word, the culture, and the history of this epic love story. Houston Photos & Videos were taken by Neha and Alex of Gaurav Hariyani Photography. Harry Shah & Bollywood Entertainment thanks his family, Cinema on Stage, sponsors, Masala Radio, and the entire Houston community for their support and success, and promises to bring more of such high caliber performances to Houston.

NRIs in the Diaspora Race to Stock Up Rice Despite No Ban on Basmati

new York: India’s move to ban certain rice exports has sparked some panic buying in various countries, with videos on social media showing bags of the staple food flying off the shelves and long lines outside grocery stores.

From the US to Canada and Australia, reports of overseas Indians stocking up are going viral. Some shops have imposed buying limits, while others hiked prices to cash in on the frenzy. Indian restaurants worry about a shortage.

A lot of Indians have been flocking to Indian stores and Costco to stock up on the rice bags until the ban ends. But many Indian stores have limited the selling to the ‘1 person – 1 bag’ formula. Also, a lot of stores increased the prices between $32 and $47 which was not more than $22 earlier

As scorching temperatures ravage farms from the US to China, crop harvests, fruit production and dairy output are all coming under pressure. That extreme weather is just one of threats to food supplies that are once again mounting around the world. This week, top rice exporter India banned some The government on Thursday banned the export of non-basmati white rice with immediate effect, in its bid to ensure adequate availability in the domestic market and allay the risk of rise in price. The modal or most common price of rice across cities has increased by Rs 5 a kg in the past one year

Rice is vital to the diets of billions in Asia and Africa. India’s restrictions, which apply to shipments of

non-basmati white rice, are aimed at controlling local prices, but they add to strains on global food markets that have already been roiled by bad weather and the worsening conflict in Ukraine.

“Over the past few days, people have started buying maybe twice as much rice as usual. So we had to restrict,” said Shishir Shaima, a manager of MGM Spices, an Indian grocery store in Surry Hills in Australia.

The store is now allowing customers to buy only one 5-kilogram bag of rice each. “Some people get mad when we won’t let them buy more than one bag, but we won’t let them,” Shaima said.

In the US, videos show people caught up in a buying frenzy. Some South Asian grocery stores in Toronto have also implemented buying restrictions and increased retail prices.

Govindasamy Jayabalan, President of the Malaysian Indian Restaurant Owners Association, said he’s concerned this will lead to a shortage of rice and increase the cost of making dishes such as thosai and rice vermicelli.

“We are very worried about this. Most of our restaurant customers are from the lower income groups,” he said. “It’s not that we want to increase food prices but this is putting us in a difficult situation.”

The possibility of a long ban on export of non-Basmati white and broken rice has the Telugu diaspora in the US worried. “Sona Masuri or BPT fine variety, which

is also on the list of prohibited exports, is a staple diet of Telugus and others from southern India in the US. Over the years, its consumption in the US has increased. We receive a very small share, so we urge the central government to consider lifting the ban. We will soon write to the Centre after discussing the issue with all diaspora organisations,” said Jayaram Komati, restaurant and store owner, and AP government’s former representative in the US..-- Times of India

Swami Mukundananda Lecture Series: Aug 5-18

Houston: Swami Mukundananda ji, a worldrenowned teacher of Spirituality, Yoga & Meditation, will conduct two different programs from August 5 (Sat.) – August 18 (Fri.) in Houston. In the first week-long program, Swamiji will delve into the topic of Golden Rules for Living Your Best Life at India House, from August 5 to August 11. In the second week program, Swamiji diverges in a different direction to help us focus and progress on our spiritual journey with Bhagavad

Gita – The Song of God, at the Houston Durgabari Auditorium from August 12 to August 18. Swamiji will also have a meet and greet session each day to answer your specific questions.

Swami Mukundananda received his degrees in Engineering and Management from two world famous institutes in India- Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and Indian Institute of Management (IIM) respectively. However, the call of God was so strong that after a short while on a successful corporate executive career path, he renounced his professional career to take Sanyas at age 23 in quest for God-realization and has subsequently dedicated his life for the last 40 years for the welfare of humanity.

During the first week-long Program from Aug. 5-11, Swamiji will be presenting Golden Rules for Living Your Best Life. Every complex gadget in this world comes with its user’s guide. Likewise, it is with life as well. Swami Mukundananda’s lecture series Golden Rules for Living Your Best Life… is meant almost as a

user’s manual for life.

During the second week of his visit Swamiji will be lecturing on the Bhagavad Gita. In his own unique way Swamiji will explain the eternal wisdom of the Gita and reveal its relevance in the modern world.

Admission to program is Free and Dinner Prasadam will be served after discourses. Free Registration is requested.

Swami Mukundananda’s enlightening discourses clarify the deepest concepts of the Vedic scriptures with wit and perfect logic. Swamiji has been invited to speak at vari-

Hyd Woman Starving in Chicago

CHiCago: A video recently surfaced in social media in which an Indian woman is reportedly seen starving on a street in Chicago. Her name is Syeda Lulu Minhaj Zaidi. She hails from Hyderabad and had gone to the US to pursue a master’s degree.

Syeda’s belongings were allegedly stolen.

The video was shared by the spokesperson of the Majlis Bachao Tehreek (MBT) Amjadullah Khan on Twitter.

In an appeal to the Indian government, Syeda’s mother has written to external affairs minister S.

Indian Canadians Get Key Appointments

ous Fortune 500 companies like Google, Oracle, Yahoo, Amazon, Microsoft, and he has conducted programs at prestigious universities like Princeton, Stanford, Kellogg, MIT, and Duke.

Details:

Golden Rules for Living your Best Life - daily discourse at India House at 8888 W Belfort Ave, Houston, TX 77031 from 6:45pm - 9pm from August 5 - 11 (Sat to Fri)

Bhagavad Gita– daily discourse at Durgabari Auditorium, 13944 Schiller Road, Houston, TX 77082 from 6:45pm - 9pm Aug 12 – 18 (Sat to Fri)

Please Join and enhance your life’s journey.

Contact 281-630-5982, 281780-4877, 832-377-6070 Free Registration at https://www. jkyog.org/Houston

ottawa: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in a major Cabinet shuffle on Wednesday, promoted Indo-Canadian Anita Anand to treasury board president from the defence minister portfolio. Anand, who told reporters that she is extremely excited about her new role after the reshuffle, is part of what is being seen as a stronger economic policy team of the Canadian government. A lawyer and MP from Oakville, Ontario, since the 2019 federal election; Anand was the procurement minister in PM Trudeau’s last government and worked closely him to procure COVID19 vaccines for Canada. Besides Anand, another high profile Indian Canadian Harjit Sajjan, who was minister of international development, has become the King’s Privy Council president and the minister of emergency preparedness. He also becomes

the minister responsible for the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada. Born in Punjab, India; Sajjan is an MP from Vancouver, British Columbia. He had served as the minister of national defence from 2015 to 2021 and was also the first Sikh Canadian to command a Canadian Army reserve regiment.

Jaishankar asking for help.

“Syeda Lulu Minhaj Zaidi from Hyd went to pursue MS from TRINE University, Detroit was found in a very bad condition in Chicago, her mother appealed @DrSJaishankar to bring back her daughter,” tweeted Amjadullah.

Counselors Meet for 39th Hindu Heritage Youth Camp (HHYC)

BY maYa HarPavat and aesHa sHaH

Houston: In the few weeks before school starts, campers and counselors look forward to a special week in the summer. It’s a week packed with games, camp friendship reunions, and learning more about Hindu culture. For some, it is their first time coming to camp, and for others, they have been coming for as long as they can remember.

Now in its 39th year, HHYC (Hindu Heritage Youth Camp) has embraced and shared knowledge of Hinduism with campers during a week-long summer camp. Led by counselors, many of which were former campers themselves, this is a week where campers can learn more about their culture while meeting friends and enjoying summer camp activities, such as dodgeball, basketball, canoeing, and swimming.

However, HHYC isn’t just a normal summer camp. Each summer, counselors spend their Sundays at Keshav Smruti, learning about Hindu educational topics, brainstorming games, and planning festivals and celebrations for campers.

Camp counselors are college students and graduates excited to learn more about their culture, and create an environment for campers to feel welcomed, wanting to come back for years to follow. Each meeting starts with a progress check in where counselors share new details about various events they are in charge of. For example, counselors who lead the Talent Show Night, will share how they planned to structure the event, how

they will encourage campers to participate and try out for the Talent Show, and discuss ways to to support the campers in this event. Once each counselor has shared their updates, our young leaders split up into the camp’s three main groups- Elementary, Middle, and High. At this time, they share their ideas for new or improved activities that would educate and inspire the campers.

Counselors come up with ideas for arts and craft, free rec, education on Hinduism, and other structured activities such as a debate event for the High School campers. Once the camp logistics have been discussed, we move onto practicing Shakha and Yoga. Each week different counselors will volunteer to demonstrate a few Yoga poses

or techniques for us all to learn. To close out our meetings, all of our counselors will play two camp games together and find ways we can make them better for our campers!

“I really enjoy the diverse group of ages coming together and I feel like everyone is so passionate to help the camp come together. It’s interesting to see the planning turn into the best week it can be,” says Nitika Veludandi, a second-time counselor at camp.

Each year, the directors, coordinators, and counselors work hard to inspire youth to expand their knowledge of Hindu concepts, culture, and rich values in unique ways.

Counselors are led by camp directors, who are typically former

campers and counselors themself. This year’s directors for HHYC 2023 are Shivangi Dixit and Parth Dargan.

Shivangi Dixit is the daughter of Amulya and Smriti Dixit, and recently graduated from Texas A&M University. Her favorite part of camp is the talent show. She loves seeing campers hype up their friends and have fun together with their new and old friends. She decided to become a director because she appreciates the impact counselors make on campers, and wishes to relive the week of camp over and over again. She’s looking forward to “the campsite and the different format in counselor skits. Having a different panchatantra story and moral every night will be exciting and different. I’m also looking forward to the quality of education- some topics have never been taught before, and the fact that camp keeps on growing each year is awesome.”

Parth Dargan is the son of Simi and R. Dargan, and is a recent graduate of The University of Texas at Austin. His favorite part of camp is Garba, because he loves seeing camper’s moves on the dance floor. He was motivated to become a camp director because “Serving as President of UT’s Seva Charities pushed me to

get more involved with my culture and religion.” He hopes to continue this involvement through camp. Parth is most excited for the new campsite, and revamped educations this year.

HHYC is only possible due to the support received from local business and organizations, such as Hindus of Greater Houston, a banner organization that HHYC runs under. We are thankful to volunteers, who are Auntys and Uncles who work as camp doctors, as well as prepare the amazing food that we get to eat each day. As we get ready to begin the construction on our very own campsite, we would like to invite everyone to follow along on the progress at texashinducampsite.org and join us at our fundraiser on October 1, 2023 at the Gujarati Samaj of Houston.

Campers and Counselors are counting down the days until camp, excited for a week of celebration, learning, and lifelong friendships! Make sure to follow along at hinducamp.net!

Maya is a first-time counselor after being a camper for many years, and will be a sophomore at Rice University in the fall. Aesha is a returning counselor who is a graduate of The UT at Dallas and Texas A&M.

Top row left to right: Rahil Dalal, Ronak Shah, Sarthak Bansal, Ansh Bhandari, Smit Shah, Abhishek Pratap, Pratham Rathi, Akash Tarkunde, Row 2 left to right: Sahara Oberoi, Maya Harpavat, Tanish B, Vedant Bhat, Mahika Dawar, Disha, Arjun Wali, Ishan Shah, Anunay Dixit, Shakti Dash, Saaj Patel, Keshav Shah, Parth Dargan(director)*, Row 3 left to right: Nitika Veludandi, Prisha Menon, Anjali Asarpota?, Siddhi Bavare, Ana Patwari, Srushti, Pooja Patel, Smeet Parekh, Aneesh Deshmukh, Arnav Mehta, Rahil Choksey, Annika Gandhi , Bottom row left to right: Sara Joshi, Krupa Rathi, Radhika Patwardhan, Payal Mehta, Eesha Patel, Ruhi Dalal, Siddhi Bavare, Aesha Shah, Shivangi Dixit (director)

‘Bawaal’: Romance in the Shadow of WW II

BY dHawal roY

Story: A young couple going through a rough patch in their marriage embarks on a journey to Europe to explore World War II sites. Will they mend their relationship amidst the historically-charged backdrop?

Review: You know what to expect from a romantic travel movie—postcard-perfect sites, adventure, and the lead pair falling in love on the escapade. Then there’s director Nitesh Tiwari’s Bawaal, which offers all this and much more. To begin with, props to Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari (renowned for writing and helming quirky films such as Nil Battey Sannata, Panga, Bareilly Ki Barfi, and more) and for weaving a story on love and war that’s poignant and heartrending yet has light moments and romance without one element overpowering the other. And the movie also teaches some life lessons.

Piyush Gupta, Nikhil Mehrotra, and Shreyas Jain do not have much to offer in terms of the duo’s romantic encounters or Ajay turning into a new leaf. Nisha’s life lessons are done well, such as the real war we fight is looking outward for happiness and our undying greed.

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 July 25, 2023. Email us at indoamericannews@yahoo.com. Please send us your solved Sudoku for your name to be published.

Ajay Dixit, aka Ajju (Varun Dhawan), is a hotshot middle school teacher from Lucknow who has faked his way through life and is about keeping up appearances. He marries a full-of-life and bright girl, Nisha (Janhvi Kapoor), because a trophy wife would be good for his image. But Ajay witnesses something on their wedding day that convinces him Nisha might tarnish his perfect image. So, he bars her from stepping out of the house and mistreats her at home.

An incident at his school leads to his suspension with pending disciplinary action. To evade this, he decides to deflect everyone’s attention and complete his History syllabus on World War II by conducting classes from the holocuast sites in Europe. Since his parents fund the trip, Nisha joins him, too. The rest of the movie is about how they relive the soldiers’ and war victims’ agony. The trip proves to be one of self-discovery for Ajay.

The movie’s buildup is a tad sluggish, and it spends too much time overexplaining Ajay’s fabricated image and how he mistreats Nisha. Some tracks are long-drawn and lose the punch after a point—like a Gujarati family constantly passes packets of dry snacks to each other on the plane or when Ajay erroneously ends up at an opera instead of a museum.

The captivating run begins post-interval with the WW II recreation. All the sequences—at Omaha Beach, Anne Frank’s house, and the concentration camp—are intense and splendid. Director Nitesh Tiwary, cinematographer Mitesh Mirchandani and editor

Charu Shree Roy show their prowess, especially in the transitions between the 1940s and the present. The gas chamber sequence during the fag end of the duo’s trip will especially give the viewers gooseflesh. Daniel B George’s background score also complements the scenes well. Mithoon, Tanishk Bagchi and Akashdeep Sengupta’s tracks are hummable, too.

Varun Dhawan gives a powerful performance as a mediocre and selfish guy who cares about nothing else but his image. He effortlessly pulls off scenes where he admits his flaws. He is excellent in the scene when he imagines being a war victim with only 30 minutes and a small bag to pack his entire life and what he prioritises. Janhvi Kapoor shines in the role of a bright but humble girl who holds on to the hope of finding love in her husband. She especially proves her mettle in the scenes she takes Ajay through the painful history of World War II, and her dialogue delivery is on-point. Other cast members, including Manoj Pahwa and Anjuman Saxena as his parents, and Mukesh Tiwari as the MLA, lend able support.

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While rediscovering love against the backdrop of the World War II is a fresh concept, writers Nitesh,

Kaushika Shah

Licensed Sales Agent 832-282-3515, TT Y 711

Bawaal is worth watching for World War II history, especially the recreation of the holocaust, and Varun as well as Janhvi’s stellar performances..-- Times of India

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Mughal–E-Azam Creates History in Houston!

Houston: Harry Shah of Bollywood Entertainment took Houstonians back nearly 500 years to relive the splendor of the Mughal Era for three days - JULY 14-1516 during Mughal-E-Azam, the Broadway Musical at the Wortham Center, presented nationally by Cinema on Stage. The recently remodeled Wortham Center with its spectacular high ceilings, lush maroon carpet and towering windows peeping into the downtown skyline, mirrored the luxurious Mughal sets that changed 48 times throughout the Musical. Cinema on Stage – the masterminds behind the entire North America tour - created a picturesque lobby with dazzling giant backdrops of all the most iconic Musical scenes and distributed red Anarkali Qawwali feathered caps to get everyone in the spirit. Harry Shah and Sunil Thakkar of Masala Radio created a unique pre-event Social Hour filled with Sitar strokes, rich Saffron Chai, Veg Indian street foods and Audience interviews.

This was a special tour stop for the Houston-based partners of Cinema on Stage – Aanand Dawda and Dushyant Kansara. Harry Shah said’ “It was like attending a wedding – everyday my extended family – and the Dawda, Kansara, and Thakkar families - dressed up in different Moghul themes and welcomed over 2000 guests per night!” Dawda said “Bringing Mughl-e-Azam to US is a dream come true.”

Sunil Thakkar said “In my 30 year history with Masala Radio, I have not seen anything like this in Houston. Back to Back 3 days SOLD OUT ! 6500 people in total. And what a mesmerizing show with a production that was so lavish & the sets as opulent as the Akbar’s real palace. The production was beyond spectacular. Wow ! I watched it on Friday and had to see it again on Sat & Sun. If I could I would watch it again this weekend.”

“With the outstanding success of Mughal-E-Azam in Houston, when so many shows are going less than half full, I realized that today’s audience is looking for something new - unique concepts away from traditional Bollywood concerts. Yes, this show was expensive with average ticket prices of $250, but not one person told me it was not worth it,” said Harry Shah. Indeed this is the single most expensive theatrical production to come out of India and rightfully so, since the 1960 film Mughal-E-Azam was the most expensive film ever made in India (inflation adjusted).

Mughal-E-Azam boasted 150 performers, 4 containers of sets, 550 costumes intricately designed by Manish Malhotra and has completed over 200 shows since its inception in Mumbai in 2016. “I want to thank Ash & Leena Shah of IMPEX, Arshad & Rasul Ramji of RAMJI LAW GROUP, Nitin Narag of SOUTHWEST MIT-

SUBISHI, and Gopal Agrawal of TARA CAPITAL, Malik Jamal of DISCOUNT POWER and Sheetal Bedi of INDO AMERICAN ASSOCIATION (IAA) for their sponsorship and giveaways during the Social Hour.”

Cinema on Stage created the hype with a national media campaign showcasing reviews from Bollywood Stars, Indian Industrialists, and Politicians. Even Rishi Kapoor, grandson of Prithvi Raj Kapoor who played Akbar in the film, appeared in videos saying “The production was so real to the film that he didn’t miss his grandfather. After travelling to Delhi, Ahmedabad, Dubai, Kuala Lumpur, and Singapore, the show started its 3 1/2 month tour in the USA, beginning in NYC. In the North America Prelude Event, sixteen of the Musical’s apsara-like kathak dancers performed “Pyaar

Kiya To Darna Kya” in NYC’s Times Square on WED, MAY 24th, covered by all the major Indian channels in the US, and some Indiabased channels as well! Invited to Times Square to hype The Musical, Sunil & Sandhya Thakkar of Masala Radio dressed up like Akbar & Jodhabai and Sunil created excitement for each performance with playful audience interactions and interviews with the director Feroz Abbas Khan. The Times Square experience moved Sunil to create his most heartfelt promotional radio & social media campaign, personally encouraging the Houston listeners, sponsors, friends & family with “Do not miss this once in a lifetime show!”

Contd on Pg 3

Continued from Page 2

To take such a scaled production and tour of 3 1/2 months in the US was no easy task, though you could not see any sights of stress from the Mughal-E-Azam team, from the producers to the cast to the technical crew. Harry Shah said “When we hear the glowing feedback and when some people come a second night to take in all of the production and still come out bedazzled, this is why we do this.”

Just before Houston, the troupe of kathak dancers gave one more aflatoon prelude performance for the Canadian Media on a bridge over the roaring cascades of Niagara Falls.

Harry Shah was a regular on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 6-7 PM on Masala Radio talking about the Musical’s awesomeness occasionally bringing one or more of his supportive family: wife Shital, younger brother Dipesh and elder brother Ash. They talked about the film, the history, the cast & director and the 7 Broadway India World Awards including the Best Play, Best Director, Best Original Choregraphy, Best Original Costume Design, Best Ensemble Cast, Best Original Lighting Design and Best Original Set Design. Every week Hostonians learned a little more about the Mughal Era, the fascinating real forbidden love story of Ak-

bar & Jodhabhai’s son Salim and Anarkali a court dancer. Salim invokes his right as exercised by his forefathers Babar & Humayun, and as heir to Hindustan, to simply choose his own wife. Akbar, full of royal pride cannot let his only son marry a lowly courtesan and imprisons Anarkali, leading to Salim’s open rebellion against his own father. The play, in Hindi and Urdu with English Subtitles remains faithful to the original film with live singing of the entire film track. Indeed while “Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kiya” has become a lovers’ anthem throughout generations in India other popular favorites raised goosebumps while being sung live: the Qawwali competition song

“Teri Mehil Mein Kismat”, the song foretelling disaster if Akbar does not concede “Ae Mohabat Zindabad” and the chilling finale as Anarkali leaves “ Khuda Nigehbaan Ho.” “I loved Dilip Kumar in Mughal-E-Azam” said Ranjan Sanghani and I explained it to my kids…it was priceless that this Musical allowed my grandkids to experience it…in the equivalent awe it deserves.”

Mughal-E-Azam, The broadway Musical has religiously posted reviews from each city, along with glimpses of scenes from the US Tour. After Houston is Dallas. Seattle, Vancouver, Phoenix, San

Jose, and by popular demand the last show added Los Angeles. If you haven’t seen this truly once in a lifetime play, don’t miss the remaining shows and spread the word, the culture, and the history of this epic love story. Houston Photos & Videos were taken by Neha and Alex of Gaurav Hariyani Photography. Harry Shah & Bollywood Entertainment thanks his family, Cinema on Stage, sponsors, Masala Radio, and the entire Houston community for their support and success, and promises to bring more of such high caliber performances to Houston.

NRIs in the Diaspora Race to Stock Up Rice Despite No Ban on Basmati

new York: India’s move to ban certain rice exports has sparked some panic buying in various countries, with videos on social media showing bags of the staple food flying off the shelves and long lines outside grocery stores.

From the US to Canada and Australia, reports of overseas Indians stocking up are going viral. Some shops have imposed buying limits, while others hiked prices to cash in on the frenzy. Indian restaurants worry about a shortage.

A lot of Indians have been flocking to Indian stores and Costco to stock up on the rice bags until the ban ends. But many Indian stores have limited the selling to the ‘1 person – 1 bag’ formula. Also, a lot of stores increased the prices between $32 and $47 which was not more than $22 earlier

As scorching temperatures ravage farms from the US to China, crop harvests, fruit production and dairy output are all coming under pressure. That extreme weather is just one of threats to food supplies that are once again mounting around the world. This week, top rice exporter India banned some The government on Thursday banned the export of non-basmati white rice with immediate effect, in its bid to ensure adequate availability in the domestic market and allay the risk of rise in price. The modal or most common price of rice across cities has increased by Rs 5 a kg in the past one year

Rice is vital to the diets of billions in Asia and Africa. India’s restrictions, which apply to shipments of

non-basmati white rice, are aimed at controlling local prices, but they add to strains on global food markets that have already been roiled by bad weather and the worsening conflict in Ukraine.

“Over the past few days, people have started buying maybe twice as much rice as usual. So we had to restrict,” said Shishir Shaima, a manager of MGM Spices, an Indian grocery store in Surry Hills in Australia.

The store is now allowing customers to buy only one 5-kilogram bag of rice each. “Some people get mad when we won’t let them buy more than one bag, but we won’t let them,” Shaima said.

In the US, videos show people caught up in a buying frenzy. Some South Asian grocery stores in Toronto have also implemented buying restrictions and increased retail prices.

Govindasamy Jayabalan, President of the Malaysian Indian Restaurant Owners Association, said he’s concerned this will lead to a shortage of rice and increase the cost of making dishes such as thosai and rice vermicelli.

“We are very worried about this. Most of our restaurant customers are from the lower income groups,” he said. “It’s not that we want to increase food prices but this is putting us in a difficult situation.”

The possibility of a long ban on export of non-Basmati white and broken rice has the Telugu diaspora in the US worried. “Sona Masuri or BPT fine variety, which

is also on the list of prohibited exports, is a staple diet of Telugus and others from southern India in the US. Over the years, its consumption in the US has increased. We receive a very small share, so we urge the central government to consider lifting the ban. We will soon write to the Centre after discussing the issue with all diaspora organisations,” said Jayaram Komati, restaurant and store owner, and AP government’s former representative in the US..-- Times of India

Swami Mukundananda Lecture Series: Aug 5-18

Houston: Swami Mukundananda ji, a worldrenowned teacher of Spirituality, Yoga & Meditation, will conduct two different programs from August 5 (Sat.) – August 18 (Fri.) in Houston. In the first week-long program, Swamiji will delve into the topic of Golden Rules for Living Your Best Life at India House, from August 5 to August 11. In the second week program, Swamiji diverges in a different direction to help us focus and progress on our spiritual journey with Bhagavad

Gita – The Song of God, at the Houston Durgabari Auditorium from August 12 to August 18. Swamiji will also have a meet and greet session each day to answer your specific questions.

Swami Mukundananda received his degrees in Engineering and Management from two world famous institutes in India- Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and Indian Institute of Management (IIM) respectively. However, the call of God was so strong that after a short while on a successful corporate executive career path, he renounced his professional career to take Sanyas at age 23 in quest for God-realization and has subsequently dedicated his life for the last 40 years for the welfare of humanity.

During the first week-long Program from Aug. 5-11, Swamiji will be presenting Golden Rules for Living Your Best Life. Every complex gadget in this world comes with its user’s guide. Likewise, it is with life as well. Swami Mukundananda’s lecture series Golden Rules for Living Your Best Life… is meant almost as a

user’s manual for life.

During the second week of his visit Swamiji will be lecturing on the Bhagavad Gita. In his own unique way Swamiji will explain the eternal wisdom of the Gita and reveal its relevance in the modern world.

Admission to program is Free and Dinner Prasadam will be served after discourses. Free Registration is requested.

Swami Mukundananda’s enlightening discourses clarify the deepest concepts of the Vedic scriptures with wit and perfect logic. Swamiji has been invited to speak at vari-

Hyd Woman Starving in Chicago

CHiCago: A video recently surfaced in social media in which an Indian woman is reportedly seen starving on a street in Chicago. Her name is Syeda Lulu Minhaj Zaidi. She hails from Hyderabad and had gone to the US to pursue a master’s degree.

Syeda’s belongings were allegedly stolen.

The video was shared by the spokesperson of the Majlis Bachao Tehreek (MBT) Amjadullah Khan on Twitter.

In an appeal to the Indian government, Syeda’s mother has written to external affairs minister S.

Indian Canadians Get Key Appointments

ous Fortune 500 companies like Google, Oracle, Yahoo, Amazon, Microsoft, and he has conducted programs at prestigious universities like Princeton, Stanford, Kellogg, MIT, and Duke.

Details:

Golden Rules for Living your Best Life - daily discourse at India House at 8888 W Belfort Ave, Houston, TX 77031 from 6:45pm - 9pm from August 5 - 11 (Sat to Fri)

Bhagavad Gita– daily discourse at Durgabari Auditorium, 13944 Schiller Road, Houston, TX 77082 from 6:45pm - 9pm Aug 12 – 18 (Sat to Fri)

Please Join and enhance your life’s journey.

Contact 281-630-5982, 281780-4877, 832-377-6070 Free Registration at https://www. jkyog.org/Houston

ottawa: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in a major Cabinet shuffle on Wednesday, promoted Indo-Canadian Anita Anand to treasury board president from the defence minister portfolio. Anand, who told reporters that she is extremely excited about her new role after the reshuffle, is part of what is being seen as a stronger economic policy team of the Canadian government. A lawyer and MP from Oakville, Ontario, since the 2019 federal election; Anand was the procurement minister in PM Trudeau’s last government and worked closely him to procure COVID19 vaccines for Canada. Besides Anand, another high profile Indian Canadian Harjit Sajjan, who was minister of international development, has become the King’s Privy Council president and the minister of emergency preparedness. He also becomes

the minister responsible for the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada. Born in Punjab, India; Sajjan is an MP from Vancouver, British Columbia. He had served as the minister of national defence from 2015 to 2021 and was also the first Sikh Canadian to command a Canadian Army reserve regiment.

Jaishankar asking for help.

“Syeda Lulu Minhaj Zaidi from Hyd went to pursue MS from TRINE University, Detroit was found in a very bad condition in Chicago, her mother appealed @DrSJaishankar to bring back her daughter,” tweeted Amjadullah.

Counselors Meet for 39th Hindu Heritage Youth Camp (HHYC)

BY maYa HarPavat and aesHa sHaH

Houston: In the few weeks before school starts, campers and counselors look forward to a special week in the summer. It’s a week packed with games, camp friendship reunions, and learning more about Hindu culture. For some, it is their first time coming to camp, and for others, they have been coming for as long as they can remember.

Now in its 39th year, HHYC (Hindu Heritage Youth Camp) has embraced and shared knowledge of Hinduism with campers during a week-long summer camp. Led by counselors, many of which were former campers themselves, this is a week where campers can learn more about their culture while meeting friends and enjoying summer camp activities, such as dodgeball, basketball, canoeing, and swimming.

However, HHYC isn’t just a normal summer camp. Each summer, counselors spend their Sundays at Keshav Smruti, learning about Hindu educational topics, brainstorming games, and planning festivals and celebrations for campers.

Camp counselors are college students and graduates excited to learn more about their culture, and create an environment for campers to feel welcomed, wanting to come back for years to follow. Each meeting starts with a progress check in where counselors share new details about various events they are in charge of. For example, counselors who lead the Talent Show Night, will share how they planned to structure the event, how

they will encourage campers to participate and try out for the Talent Show, and discuss ways to to support the campers in this event. Once each counselor has shared their updates, our young leaders split up into the camp’s three main groups- Elementary, Middle, and High. At this time, they share their ideas for new or improved activities that would educate and inspire the campers.

Counselors come up with ideas for arts and craft, free rec, education on Hinduism, and other structured activities such as a debate event for the High School campers. Once the camp logistics have been discussed, we move onto practicing Shakha and Yoga. Each week different counselors will volunteer to demonstrate a few Yoga poses

or techniques for us all to learn. To close out our meetings, all of our counselors will play two camp games together and find ways we can make them better for our campers!

“I really enjoy the diverse group of ages coming together and I feel like everyone is so passionate to help the camp come together. It’s interesting to see the planning turn into the best week it can be,” says Nitika Veludandi, a second-time counselor at camp.

Each year, the directors, coordinators, and counselors work hard to inspire youth to expand their knowledge of Hindu concepts, culture, and rich values in unique ways.

Counselors are led by camp directors, who are typically former

campers and counselors themself. This year’s directors for HHYC 2023 are Shivangi Dixit and Parth Dargan.

Shivangi Dixit is the daughter of Amulya and Smriti Dixit, and recently graduated from Texas A&M University. Her favorite part of camp is the talent show. She loves seeing campers hype up their friends and have fun together with their new and old friends. She decided to become a director because she appreciates the impact counselors make on campers, and wishes to relive the week of camp over and over again. She’s looking forward to “the campsite and the different format in counselor skits. Having a different panchatantra story and moral every night will be exciting and different. I’m also looking forward to the quality of education- some topics have never been taught before, and the fact that camp keeps on growing each year is awesome.”

Parth Dargan is the son of Simi and R. Dargan, and is a recent graduate of The University of Texas at Austin. His favorite part of camp is Garba, because he loves seeing camper’s moves on the dance floor. He was motivated to become a camp director because “Serving as President of UT’s Seva Charities pushed me to

get more involved with my culture and religion.” He hopes to continue this involvement through camp. Parth is most excited for the new campsite, and revamped educations this year.

HHYC is only possible due to the support received from local business and organizations, such as Hindus of Greater Houston, a banner organization that HHYC runs under. We are thankful to volunteers, who are Auntys and Uncles who work as camp doctors, as well as prepare the amazing food that we get to eat each day. As we get ready to begin the construction on our very own campsite, we would like to invite everyone to follow along on the progress at texashinducampsite.org and join us at our fundraiser on October 1, 2023 at the Gujarati Samaj of Houston.

Campers and Counselors are counting down the days until camp, excited for a week of celebration, learning, and lifelong friendships! Make sure to follow along at hinducamp.net!

Maya is a first-time counselor after being a camper for many years, and will be a sophomore at Rice University in the fall. Aesha is a returning counselor who is a graduate of The UT at Dallas and Texas A&M.

Top row left to right: Rahil Dalal, Ronak Shah, Sarthak Bansal, Ansh Bhandari, Smit Shah, Abhishek Pratap, Pratham Rathi, Akash Tarkunde, Row 2 left to right: Sahara Oberoi, Maya Harpavat, Tanish B, Vedant Bhat, Mahika Dawar, Disha, Arjun Wali, Ishan Shah, Anunay Dixit, Shakti Dash, Saaj Patel, Keshav Shah, Parth Dargan(director)*, Row 3 left to right: Nitika Veludandi, Prisha Menon, Anjali Asarpota?, Siddhi Bavare, Ana Patwari, Srushti, Pooja Patel, Smeet Parekh, Aneesh Deshmukh, Arnav Mehta, Rahil Choksey, Annika Gandhi , Bottom row left to right: Sara Joshi, Krupa Rathi, Radhika Patwardhan, Payal Mehta, Eesha Patel, Ruhi Dalal, Siddhi Bavare, Aesha Shah, Shivangi Dixit (director)

‘Bawaal’: Romance in the Shadow of WW II

BY dHawal roY

Story: A young couple going through a rough patch in their marriage embarks on a journey to Europe to explore World War II sites. Will they mend their relationship amidst the historically-charged backdrop?

Review: You know what to expect from a romantic travel movie—postcard-perfect sites, adventure, and the lead pair falling in love on the escapade. Then there’s director Nitesh Tiwari’s Bawaal, which offers all this and much more. To begin with, props to Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari (renowned for writing and helming quirky films such as Nil Battey Sannata, Panga, Bareilly Ki Barfi, and more) and for weaving a story on love and war that’s poignant and heartrending yet has light moments and romance without one element overpowering the other. And the movie also teaches some life lessons.

Piyush Gupta, Nikhil Mehrotra, and Shreyas Jain do not have much to offer in terms of the duo’s romantic encounters or Ajay turning into a new leaf. Nisha’s life lessons are done well, such as the real war we fight is looking outward for happiness and our undying greed.

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 July 25, 2023. Email us at indoamericannews@yahoo.com. Please send us your solved Sudoku for your name to be published.

Ajay Dixit, aka Ajju (Varun Dhawan), is a hotshot middle school teacher from Lucknow who has faked his way through life and is about keeping up appearances. He marries a full-of-life and bright girl, Nisha (Janhvi Kapoor), because a trophy wife would be good for his image. But Ajay witnesses something on their wedding day that convinces him Nisha might tarnish his perfect image. So, he bars her from stepping out of the house and mistreats her at home.

An incident at his school leads to his suspension with pending disciplinary action. To evade this, he decides to deflect everyone’s attention and complete his History syllabus on World War II by conducting classes from the holocuast sites in Europe. Since his parents fund the trip, Nisha joins him, too. The rest of the movie is about how they relive the soldiers’ and war victims’ agony. The trip proves to be one of self-discovery for Ajay.

The movie’s buildup is a tad sluggish, and it spends too much time overexplaining Ajay’s fabricated image and how he mistreats Nisha. Some tracks are long-drawn and lose the punch after a point—like a Gujarati family constantly passes packets of dry snacks to each other on the plane or when Ajay erroneously ends up at an opera instead of a museum.

The captivating run begins post-interval with the WW II recreation. All the sequences—at Omaha Beach, Anne Frank’s house, and the concentration camp—are intense and splendid. Director Nitesh Tiwary, cinematographer Mitesh Mirchandani and editor

Charu Shree Roy show their prowess, especially in the transitions between the 1940s and the present. The gas chamber sequence during the fag end of the duo’s trip will especially give the viewers gooseflesh. Daniel B George’s background score also complements the scenes well. Mithoon, Tanishk Bagchi and Akashdeep Sengupta’s tracks are hummable, too.

Varun Dhawan gives a powerful performance as a mediocre and selfish guy who cares about nothing else but his image. He effortlessly pulls off scenes where he admits his flaws. He is excellent in the scene when he imagines being a war victim with only 30 minutes and a small bag to pack his entire life and what he prioritises. Janhvi Kapoor shines in the role of a bright but humble girl who holds on to the hope of finding love in her husband. She especially proves her mettle in the scenes she takes Ajay through the painful history of World War II, and her dialogue delivery is on-point. Other cast members, including Manoj Pahwa and Anjuman Saxena as his parents, and Mukesh Tiwari as the MLA, lend able support.

Solution Next Week

While rediscovering love against the backdrop of the World War II is a fresh concept, writers Nitesh,

Kaushika Shah

Licensed Sales Agent 832-282-3515, TT Y 711

Bawaal is worth watching for World War II history, especially the recreation of the holocaust, and Varun as well as Janhvi’s stellar performances..-- Times of India

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