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Indo American News

Friday, June 10 2011 | Vol. 30, No. 23

With the highest concentration of Asians in Texas at 34%, it is hardly surprising that both contenders vying for the Sugar Land City Council District 4 seat would be of South Asian origin. Engineer Harish Jajoo attorney Farha Ahmed, both longtime residents of Sugar Land, are in the deciding week of the June 11 runoff, their fate in the hands of their constituents.

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Satyagraha Against Corruption Held at Arya Samaj In India, Baba Ramdev vows to train followers to retaliate against future interferences

By Kalyani Giri HOUSTON: Local community leaders, activists, and students joined Baba Ramdev’s Bhrastachar Mitao Satyagraha by fasting on June 4-5 in support of the yoga guru’s mission to end corruption in India. Over 500 from the local Indo American community gathered intermittently at the Arya Samaj of Greater Houston over the past weekend in solidarity with Ramdev who has demanded that the Indian government take immediate action in the repatriation of ill-appropriated wealth hoarded abroad and the issuance of a mandate to direct the funds back to India. Several cities across the nation and worldwide joined the protest against corruption.

However, the fast headed by Ramdev at the Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi, and drew over 50,000 supporters, was aborted sometime during the early hours of Sunday when Indian police clamped down on anti-corruption demonstrators and used tear gas and violence to disperse the crowds. Ramdev was briefly detained by police and ordered to leave New Delhi.

The incident sparked outrage as women and children were indiscriminately beaten. Government sources cited security reasons for the crackdown and that Ramdev had been given permission to hold the protest only for 5,000 followers, not the 50,000 that had gathered and had exceeded the limit; India’s Prime Minister has since averred publicly that the incident was “unfortunate”.

Not to be stymied in future by recurrences of governmental interference, Baba Ramdev has threatened an armed rebellion, saying that he will raise an 11,000-strong force of men and women that will be trained to retaliate if authori-

ing for the cause.

“It is such a shame that India has lost moral etiquette and that corruption is there at every level,” said Gulati. She also confided that fasting is good for the health. “It’s a great way to detoxify the body,” she added with a smile.

Krishna Vavilala, founder of the University of Houston’s Center for Indian Studies, was skeptical that corruption could ever be quelled in India.

“In a conversation with Digvijay Singh, the General Secretary of the Congress party during his last visit to Houston, I had raised the topic of corruption in India which

Pg 11

From left: Shekar Agrawal, Bhishma Agnihotri and Jugal Malani in discussions at the Arya Samaj Photo: Krishna Giri

ties interrupt their anti-corruption campaign. Displeased, the Indian government deemed it “anti-national”.

In this city, gatherees at the Arya Samaj of Greater Houston continued to fast, practice yoga, and sing patriotic songs through the weekend. Many said that weren’t surprised by the Indian government’s latest gaffe.

“I knew that this would happen because many in the top level of government have money in Swiss banks and they couldn’t run the risk of disclosure,” said Dr. Bhishma Kumar Agnihotri, former Indian Ambassador-at-large to the USA and Chairman of Bharat Swabhiman Overseas, a movement launched by Baba Ramdev five years ago to fight corruption.

“Swami Ramdev believes that the systems in India require change and it’s not possible unless the masses join the movement and uproot the current system built on corruption,” added Dr. Agnihotri who was chief guest at the weekend event.

There were mixed feelings among attendees about whether the fast would be an effective way to compel the Indian government to act on Ramdev’s demands. He has drafted a list that demands that the government of India declare the stashing away of black money in tax havens as a national crime, and lifetime imprisonment for the corrupt among others. Ramdev also called for the enactment of a strong Lokpal bill, an attempt control corruption in the country.

“If the people unite and support Swamiji it can easily be accomplished. The black money must be brought back to India and declared national funds that could be utilized to improve India’s infrastructure and for education,” said prominent local businessman Jugal Malani.

Eesha Gulati, a third year student at UT Austin along with several friends listened to Ramdev’s televised speech on a large screen.

Gulati is the Creative Director of the Hindu Students Association on the college campus and was fast-

I said has become cancerous in the Indian society. Mr. Singh immediately retorted ‘don't you have corruption in America?’ as if corruption in India is justified by that logic. If that is the attitude of a high official of the ruling party of India, how can you expect eradication of corruption even if the Government under pressure passes the Lokpal bill to appease Baba Ramdev's followers?” asked Vavilala.

Vale Subramaniam, Trustee of India Culture Center, said Ramdev seemed to be politically motivated. “It’s like he’s preparing to form his own political party,” said Subramaniam.

Sukanya Roy Latest NRI to Win Bee WASHINGTON: 14 year old Sukanya Roy from South Abington, Pennsylvania, took home the Scripps National Trophy with her correct spelling of the championship word: cymotrichous, which means having wavy hair. Sue, as she is affectionately called, took the top prize during her third trip to the national contest. Last year, she Sukanya Roy, 14, of South Abington came in 20th place, and Township, Pa., holds the trophy after in 2009, she tied for winning the National Spelling Bee, in 12th.

Oxon Hill, Md. on Thursday, June 2 It should be a matter of great pride for the South Asian community that a desi speller has once again clinched the Scripps National Spelling Bee Championship. Sukanya is the fourth-in-a-row champion following in the footsteps of Sameer Mishra (2008); Kavya Shivashankar (2009); and Anamika Veeramani (2010) during the past three years - making that a grand total of eight winners of Indo American origin in the past twelve years.

“You need to have some experience to survive,” her father, Abhijit Roy, said from the family’s hotel room in Oxon Hill, Md. “It is a continued on page 7 brutal competition.”

Indo American News • Friday, JUNE 10, 2011 • Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

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Indo American News • Friday, June 10, 2011

IamCharityNews

Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

IACF Tries a New Approach: Golfing for Giving

By Jawahar Malhotra HOUSTON: It was hot and humid, typical golfing weather for Houston last Saturday, June 4 at the Tour 18 Golf Course off FM 1960 North near Hwy 59 north. Blue skies, a slight breeze but not windy and acres of deep green foliage and lush grass over rolling hills.

In the clubhouse, 65 golfers came together for a quick lunch, register and grab their goodie bags and ice cold water bottles before battling it out in the intense sun-soaked heat in the first ever golf tournament put together by the Indo American Charity Foundation.

“We have several fund raising events every year,” said IACF President Anu Bala, a felt hat shading her brow as she darted between the 15 teams of four golfers each, checking last-minute details. “This year, we decided to also reach out to the golfing community for their support.” And it certainly seemed like a wise decision, as the event raised $20,000 for the IACF. The IACF is a 23-year-old non-profit organization that raises funds to support many causes, such as ending hunger, family and children, promoting education, health services and animal welfare, in the Houston Metropolis. It channels funds to serving groups and also provides scholarships to deserving college-bound high school graduates (this year’s awards will be held in August).

At the golf tournament, Randy Stine with Advantage BMW in Clear Lake offered a brand new BMW to anyone who could get a hole in one, but alas, no one was able to make that perfect tee shot.

The winners of the First Annual Golf Tournament by the Indo American Charity Foundation.

(Top) The first place winners (from left) Vipul Anand, Raja Basu, Dharma Rajah and Rick Pal with the second place winners (from right) Bud and Andrew Prangle and Gene and Sue Kushlan. Sweetwater Country Club offered prizes for four tickets for four to the winner of the Longest Drive (top right with Vipul Anand on left) and for a round of golf for four for Closest to the Pin (with Tour 18 Golf Course Director on left).

Still, all the golfers had an enjoyable time and 12 of the teams actually made it through the over 6-hour long tournament in the bak-

ing sun and dense humidity. “Next year, we will plan to have the tournament earlier in continued on page

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campaign Flyer a s serpent in s sugar Land ‘Garden of eden’ race r

By Kalyani Giri SUGAR LAND: The City of Sugar Land represents quintessential American suburbia, an affluent master-planned metropolis with manicured lawns and tree-canopied streets. Named as the nation’s 12th safest city, a study based on an analysis of FBI crime statistics, its top-notch school system, and diversity of its citizens, Sugar Land is considered a prime place to raise a family.

With the highest concentration of Asians in Texas at 34%, it is hardly surprising that both contenders vying for the Sugar Land City Council District 4 seat would be of South Asian origin. Attorney Farha Ahmed and engineer Harish Jajoo, both longtime residents of Sugar Land, are in the deciding week of the June 11 runoff, their fate in the hands of their would-be constituents.

Both have served on the City of Sugar Land Planning and Zoning Commission. The candidates, to all appearances, ran clean campaigns and met with voters at gatherings in private homes, and talked issues.

However, as the race heated up late last week, an anonymous flyer surfaced in mailboxes in the District 4 jurisdiction, alleging that Ahmed harbored links to the terrorist organization Al Qaeda, and quoted its source as The Express Tribune, a Pakistanibased publication. The flier claimed that Ahmed represented Dr. Aafia Siddiqui, an American-educated Pakistani cognitive neuroscientist who was convicted in 2010 in a New York magistrate’s court for trying to murder U.S. officers in Afghanistan in 2008. Siddiqui claimed in a letter that she had fired her lawyers and named Ahmed as her attorney; the fact is that Ahmed was not legally representing Siddiqui, but spoke to her only as a “family friend” when the latter was brought back to the US in 2008.

Ahmed’s silence and her reluctance to set the record straight regarding her relationship to Siddiqui has caused perplexity among the voting public. In an emailed note to a local mainstream publication, Ahmed wrote that she isn’t a criminal lawyer, nor is she licensed to practice law outside of Texas. Ahmed referred to the flier as a “smear campaign”. She wrote that “those who have a hidden agenda” would “continue to ask questions unrelated to the platform I’m running on.” Several email messages (the only option offered on her website) from IANews, requesting an interview early last week before the flier made its inauspicious debut, received a terse response advising this reporter to get whatever information she needed from Ahmed’s website. Post flier emails were ignored, so IANews was unable to get Ahmed’s input for this story.

A disclaimer on the flier read “paid for by a concerned citizen of Sugar Land District 4. Not by any candidate or committee.”

Thus far, no one has taken responsibility for Indo-American News (ISSN 887-5936) is published weekly every Friday (for a subscription of $30 per year)

by Indo-American News Inc., 7457 Harwin Dr., Suite 262, Houston, TX 77036, tel: 713-789-6397, fax:713-789-6399, email: indoamericannews@yahoo.com.

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(Above) Harish Jajoo with wife Shashi; (below) Farha Ahmed with her husband and their two children.

the flyer.

That the flier was unnecessary and harmful to the campaign was a foregone conclusion, said Jajoo.

“The flier has impacted my campaign in the most negative sense and I’ve been getting lots of phone calls and emails, some supportive and others accusing me outright of being behind this, which, of course, isn’t true,” said Jajoo. “I do not condone these

tactics. It (the article) has been out on the internet for some time. But I do believe that voters should hear from my opponent on this.”

Jajoo added that he had worked very hard since January laying the foundation for voters to know more about him, his family, his qualifications, volunteerism, and his experience with city issues. He said that he had

visited over 3000 homes in the constituency, introduced himself and told people what his vision is for the city.

“I’m absolutely appreciative of the Indo Americans and the mainstream communities for supporting me,” added Jajoo. Jajoo has the endorsement of the incumbent termlimited councilman for District 4, Michael Schiff, and that of the Mayor Pro-Tem of Sugar Land, Thomas Abraham. Jajoo said that if he were successful in his bid for the District 4 seat his goal would be to review his pledges to the residents and make Ahmed part of his team.

Several political figures have denounced the flyer and those responsible for it. The Mayor of Sugar Land James Thompson issued a statement June 3 denouncing the flyer.

“The City of Sugar Land has always prided itself on its diversity and has been recognized with numerous state and national awards, including the Anti-Defamation League as a Community of Respect for the past four years,” Thompson wrote. “This honor is reflective of how we embrace all residents and what makes our community so unique. It is unfortunate that some have used the election campaign to bring up issues unrelated to the qualifications needed to serve on city council. The focus on who to elect to city council should be based on who would best serve our community, not religious or ethnic consideration. I encourage residents that are eligible to vote in the runoff elections to take this into consideration when casting their vote.”

Later in a Channel 11 interview, Mayor Thompson suggested that Ahmed should put the matter to rest with a simple clarification. He added that if he was similarly accused but was indeed innocent, he would vehemently deny it.

In 2008, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that the city’s population was 79,943, with a median family income of $110,327 and a median home price of $272,151. Sugar Land has a $282 million, five year, Capital Improvement Program budget. Jajoo has pledged to work conservatively within the budget to improve, upgrade, and maintain the city’s infrastructure. He also hopes to spearhead an efficient public transport system. Ahmed is against the construction of high-density apartment complexes as they impact adjoining neighborhoods, schools, traffic and crime.

If you receive your paper more than four days after the dateline, please file a complaint with your post office or call the USPS Consumer Affairs Office at 713-226-3442

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Indo American News • Friday, June 10, 2011

Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

cues at JVB Preksha c c center for the Pursuit of Happiness

By Jawahar Malhotra HOUSTON: The quest for happiness seems like a never ending journey for many who have labored through the trials and tribulations, the challenges of Life. Many seek out clairvoyants, oracles, horoscopes, palmistry and psychics to overcome their problems, often spending thousands of dollars to find the answers to their problems.

So, it may seem odd that the JVB Preksha Mediation Center is offering cues to the pursuit of happiness at no cost.

“We want to start off with a program on Tuesdays geared to those who may already been retired or have free time,” said Swatantra Jain, a Board Member of the Center. “And it will be totally religionfree, anyone of any religion can come to participate.”

“The program is structured to help people realize the truth about themselves,” added Alok Jain, a retired professor and now actively involved in the Center himself.

The program will be held from 10:30 am to 2:30 pm and starts with an initiation period of 20-30 minutes followed by guided meditation for an hour and a half-hour of guided relaxation. A pravachan or discourse in Hindi on a relevant topic runs for an hour followed by a half-hour of discussion among the participants.

To hear both men speak about

A lecture by Bajrang Jain in the JVB Preksha Center’s Meditation Hall (file picture).

the path to happiness is almost scientific in its approach. It consists of being conscious of what is around us, maintaining a state of alertness and reducing the chances for accidents.

“We should keep our mind in the present,” explained Swatantra who has taken many courses over the years to help control his own

actions and reactions. “We should not live in the past or the future.”

This translates into a knowledge base that allows us to make choices based on the consequences and make an alignment between the mind and the body.

What this knowledge evokes in us are emotions and sensations that form the basis for our likes

and dislikes of our experiences.

Some of these may even be programmed into our genes.

And these emotions dictate our actions or karma, whether they bring pain and suffering or joy and pleasure eventually become our accumulated destiny.

If this way to finding happiness sounds very rational and scientific,

it also shows how the approach is not steeped in religion but borders on more contemporary self-help techniques or self-realizations also sometimes referred to as Actualizations.

It comes as somewhat a surprise to the uninitiated that this very contemporary and scientific approach actually is core to the philosophy of Vipassana Meditation, whose chief exponent in our times has been Satya Narayan Goenka.

The courses that are being of offered will show how to achieve the state of mind to understand the process and control the emotional responses and consequently the actions that we take.

Both men realize that the appeal for these new programs can transcend cultures and religions and hope that they can offer it to the Greater Houston community when they have developed a suf sufficiently large base of trained instructors.

They have other plans for future programs and outreach, but for right now, they hope the message that the Tuesday programs will of offer can make a difference in someone’s quest for greater harmony and overall happiness.

The JVB Preksha Meditation Center is located at 14102 Schil Schiller Rd, Houston, TX 77082; 281596-YOGA (9642); www.jvbhouston.org

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Sukanya Roy Wins National Spelling Bee

continued from page

3

He was in the audience as his daughter correctly spelled “zwischenspiel,” (a musical interlude), “orgeat,” (a drink flavored with barley, almonds and orange flowers) and “thalassocracy” (having dominion over the seas) through 20 excruciating rounds.

The hard-earned experience “absolutely” made a difference, added Dr. Roy, an associate professor of management and marketing at the University of Scranton.

But, to the disappointment of his fans and well-wishers from Houston, Sivateja Tangirala’s bid for a national spelling title was cut short when the Sugar Land student failed to qualify for the semifinal round of the Bee. The seventh-grader at Fort Settlement Middle School swayed and fiddled with his nametag in the Bee’s morning round as the Bee’s pronouncer, Jacques Bailly, asked for the spelling of “intaglio.” Tangirala briefly paused, asked for the word’s language of origin -– it is Italian­­ — and rattled off the correct spelling.

The 12-year-old fidgeted while waiting for his round three word, “bailiwick.” But after asking for the noun’s definition, origin and part of the speech, Tangirala correctly spelled the word with a steady voice.

Sivateja Tangirala, 2011 HoustonPBS Spelling Bee

But his flawless on-stage spelling performances failed to garner enough points when combined with the results of a 25-word written test and Tangirala was one of 234 spellers eliminated that day.

He declined to comment on the loss.

The winner will receive a $30,000 cash prize from Scripps, a $2,500 savings bound and a complete reference library from Merriam-Webster, a $5,000 scholarship from the Sigma Phi Epsilon Educational Foundation, $2,600 worth of reference works from Encyclopaedia Britannica and an online course and a Nook eReader from K12 Inc. It may also be noted that, more

than half of the 13 finalists in this year’s Scripps National Spelling Bee were of South Asian origin, with four of them: Sriram Hathwar (2010 DC Regional Champ, National Second Runner-Up); Arvind Mahankali (2010 NJ Regional Second Runner-Up); Prakash Mishra (2010 DC Regional Second Runner-Up); and Sukanya Roy (2010 NY Regional Champ, National First RunnerUp) being South Asian Spelling Bee alumni.

“We have seen these contestants evolve at our Bee over the years and I am really looking forward to seeing all the new talent this year”, says Rahul Walia, CEO, Touchdown Media Inc. and Founder of the South Asian Spelling Bee. Another 2010 MetLife South Asian Spelling Bee alumni, Arvind Mahankali, placed in the group of the top 5 spellers surviving five perfect rounds. At only 9 two years ago, Arvind was the 2009 MetLife South Asian Spelling Bee National Runner-Up. Sukanya Roy was the 2010 MetLife South Asian Spelling Bee National First Runner-Up Houston Regionals of the 2011 MetLife South Asian Spelling Bee will be conducted on June 26 at the University of Houston. Log on to www.southasianspellingbee. com for more information

Indo American News • Friday, June 10, 2011

Room for Rent Needed Decent Indian Lady looking for room with bath for rent. Safe community with utilities Contact: bhilak_80@yahoo.com 832-660-4721

For Sons, Indo-Americans Also Try Sex Selection

college and 15 held advanced degrees in medicine, law, business, nursing and scientific research.

In addition, women who carried a female foetus said they were subject to varying degrees of verbal and&physical Rajat Sonamabuse.

Chopra “Health care providers often are wellpositioned to intervene or suggest options, but may be hesitant to approach issues perceived as ‘cultural’,” said lead author Sunita Puri, a resident doctor in University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).

The researchers sought to understand how women exposed to cultural pressures to have male children react in an environment where reproductive choice is allowed and sex selection technologies are openly marketed and available.

Not just in India, even in US some Indian women The Indian government progo for sex selection. This despite several hibits using ultrasound and campaigns against the unfortunate and illegal sperm-sorting technologies practice. explicitly for sex selection. In fertilisation and implanted only the male em- contrast, choosing an abortion for whatever reason, as well as selecting the sex of a bryos. Others aborted female foetuses.

The study doesn’t mention how widespread child through various medical techniques, the practise is, it covers a small sample group. is legal in the United States.

Women identified female in-laws and Researchers interviewed 65 immigrant Indian women in California, New Jersey and New husbands as sources of significant presYork who pursued foetal sex selection between sure to have male children. This was especially true when in-laws lived nearby, but September 2004 and December 2009.

Of the women, 40 percent had terminated also occurred if they remained in India, prior pregnancies when carrying a female; 89 according to the study.

The study participants immigrated after percent who found out they were carrying a girl age 18 from the Indian states and territoduring the interview period, had an abortion.

The women came from various religious and ries of Punjab, Haryana, New Delhi, Gueducational backgrounds and approximately jarat, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

Puri conducted the interviews in Enghalf the women interviewed held jobs outside the home. These results were consistent lish, Punjabi and Hindi. among all education levels; thirty eight had finished high school, 12 had graduated from SAN FRANCISCO (TOI): Under cultural pressure to have sons, some Indian immigrant women are using reproductive technologies and liberal abortion policies in the US to abort female foetuses, according to a study conducted by University of California.

The women used sperm sorting or in-vitro

Indo American News • Friday, JUNE 10, 2011 • Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

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Indo American News • Friday, June 10, 2011

NNews IamF FashIoN

Hindus Upset at depiction of Lord s shiva on Leggings, Pants (TOI) Hindus are upset at the depiction of the image of Lord Shiva in Nataraja form on leggings, harempants and skirts, by inin ternationally acclaimed “Manish Arora” fashfash ion label, which they termed repugnant.

Dancing Nataraja Layered Miniskirt was available on order from company website for EUR 570, kneelength Dancing NataraNatara ja Print Harem Pants for EUR 405, and Dancing Nataraja Print Leggings for EUR 250.

Rajan Zed, President of Universal Society of HinHin duism, in a statement in Nevada, said that it was disturbing to see the imim age of Lord Shiva, who was highly revered in HinHin duism, on legs. Shiva was meant to be worshipped in temples or home shrines and not to be desecrated by wearwear ing on legs and other lower parts of the body for the mercantile greed of a fashion house, Zed argued.

Zed urged the designer-mandesigner-man ufacturer Manish Arora to publicly apologize, stop selling and immediately rere call all such legwear. Inappropriate usage of Hindu deities or concepts for commercial or other agenda was not okay, Zed said, as it hurt the devotees.

Hinduism is the oldest and third largest religion of the world with about one billion adherents and a rich philosophical thought.

Zed further said that in view of his Indian heritage, Arora should have known better the significance of Lord Shiva and how much venerated he was among Hindus.

“Manish Arora” label, launched in 1997

Announcement

Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

and now known worldworld wide, is headquartered in Noida, India as Three Clothing Private Limited with an office in London.

It added a diffusion label “Fish Fry” in 2001 and besides clothing, has also launched eyewear, cosmetcosmet ics, watches, and crockery.

Its products are stocked in well known stores worldworld wide and besides India, it has held shows in London and Paris.

It has its own stores also and had some kind of colcol laboration with Reebok, Nivea, Absolut Vodka, and Mercedes Benz. EntertainEntertain ers like Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, Rihanna, Kate Moss, Katy Perry, and M.I.A. have reportedly worn Manish Arora designed dresses. Its website is www.manisharowww.manisharo ra.ws (.ws is the internet country code domain for Samoa, an island in South Pacific Ocean).

Nataraja (Lord of the dance) is a well known iconic representation of Lord Shiva, symbolizing his salvific, destructive, and creative roles; when he dances the world to dede struction to create it again as a chapter of the ongoing cosmic cycle. Shiva, along with Brahma and Vishnu, forms the great triad of Hindu deities.

Recently, a model displayed an image of Goddess Lakshmi on swimwear at a fashion event held in Sydney, Australia, which caused worldwide protests. Swimwear company immediately apologized, halting all its related production, and promising that the protested swimwear would never be available for sale.

Information Event on Consular Services Consulate General of India, Houston has been addressing the Indian-American community in the nine southern states of USA serviced by it, on consular and other issues.

In continuation of the same practice, the Consulate will be organizing an Information Event on its Consular Services on Saturday, June 11 at 2:30 pm, at

India House (8888 West Bellfort Street, Houston).

All Indian nationals and persons of Indian origin are welcome. The attendees are requested to show their ID cards at the entrance. After a briefing by Anil Matta, Consul(Consular) and other officials of the Consulate, a question/answer session will follow.

Indo AmerIcAn news • FrIdAy, Ay, JUne 10 , 2011 • Online editiOn: A On: www.indOamerican-news.cOm O

Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

IamCharItyNews

Indo American News • Friday, June 10, 2011

IAcF cF Tries a n c new Approach: Golfing for Giving

continued from page

4

lighted Dr. Nat Bala, an organizer and golf enthusiast.

First place overall went to the team of Vipul Anand, Raja Basu, Dharam Rajah and Rick Pal while second place went to the father son duo Bob and Andrew Prangle and husband and wife duo Sue and Gene Kushlan and each person won a handsome etched glass award. Four other prizes (tickets for lunch and a round of golf for four at Sweetwater Country Club) were given to the winners of the Longest Drive and Closest to the Pin. For more on the Indo Amer American Charity Foundation visit www.iacfhouston.com or call Anu Bala at 832-865-6222 or Executive Director Surender Talwar at 713-370-0478.

From top down: IACF President Anu Bala with the golf carts at the start of the tournament; Randy Stine of Advantage BMW in Clear Lake City with the BMW that was the prize for the holein-one (which was not won) with Asheet Yagnik and another team member; IACF Exec. Dir. Surender Talwar and Board Director Jawahar Malhotra (right) visited all the teams on the greens for group pictures; Anu Bala with Randy Stein and her husband Dr. Nat Bala, who helped to organize the tournament.

Photos: Jawahar Malhotra

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summer w workshop by sargam school of music

Sargam School of Music will offer summer workshop that includes North Indian Hindustani Vocal Classical Music & Light Music. Available in groups as well as solo lessons at very reasonable rates. Also available Tabla, Punjabi Dhole, American Drum and Guitar lessons. It can also offer Skype lessons.

The lessons can be offered in Katy and Sugar Land. For more information visit http://Mangal1.cloud.Prohosting.com or call Mangala Sane at 281-498-6126

With the dream of greater accessibility world-wide to the in-trend, premium, and exclusive Indian Designer Products, Angarkh.com promises to be available across the globe. Exquisite designer web boutique serving the needs of Indian NRI’s and who so ever yearns for Indian wearable crafts and textiles around the world can find the products delivered right to their doorsteps.

At Angarkh.com one can indulge from Mid to High end products from Sarees, Lehengas, Sherwanis, Suits, Kurtas, Bags, Semi precious stone Earrings, Rings, Necklace sets made from silver to gold plated cuffs and bracelets.

Angarkh.com currently boasts 10 very exclusive designers in the area of Mens/Womens apparel, Jewellery, and Accessory with Home Décor brands on the decks to be introduced later this summer. While the Apparel products focuses mainly on weddingwear, Jewellery and Accessory products are targeted for casual events and wedding or Indian cultural events.

Most of the products on Angarkh.com are manufactured after they receive the order, which gives them an opportunity to tailor-make

it according to customer’s requirements. “This is our very important aspect of customer service where we make sure that our exquisite products are fit-

ted according to our customers’ sizes and preferences”, says Runali Shah, head of Customer Relations at Angarkh. com.

The website is marketed heavily in US and Europe, Jaini Sutaria, co-founder of Angarkh.com, is looking to carve out a name in Middle East, Asia and Africa as well. “We started out with focus on NRI’s and shoppers mainly residing in US and UK, but we quickly realized the potential our products have in the Middle East, as well as Asia”, says Jaini Sutaria, the co-founder of Angarkh.

com. Jaini launched Angarkh. com in December 2010. Furthermore, Sutaria adds “We continuously look to add more brands that complement our taste and other designers already on our website. We will keep adding more and more brands and products as we move forward”.

The current global Indian Wedding Wear market is expected to be US $22 billion. The demand for premium designer clothing for weddings and other important personal events is very high, Sutaria’s market research suggests. Sutaria has visited Indian Clothing stores in the US and UK extensively and has determined that there is a gap in the trends that is available in India, and abroad. “I can say for sure that many of the products available in New Jersey or California are something our designers used to sell back in 2002, and not everyone has a liberty to travel back to India just to look for that dream outfit for their wedding”, says Sutaria highlighting her reasoning behind making available current designer trends in ethnic Indian clothing to the world.

Angarkh.com will start selling its products in India this summer.

maids e enslaved by wealthy w n york new y couple

By Sunita SohraBJi NEW YORK (TOI): Two women from India who worked as maids in the home of a wealthy New York couple filed suit May 20 against their former employers, claiming they were forced to work 13-hour days, seven days a week, for a salary of roughly $225 per month.

The suit seeks an unspecified amount of damages for back pay and overtime from defendants Dhanbir Saluja, a doctor, and real estate agent Harjit “Potee” Saluja.

Monika Akka, one of the two maids, alleges in the 25-page suit that she was paid $150 per month for the 11 years that she worked for the Salujas. Leela Kumari, who was hired in 2005, said she was paid $300 per month to perform a variety of tasks.

Akka and Kumari were both recruited in India by Potee Saluja’s mother Mohini Singh, who is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit. They were required to work seven days a week, from 6 am to 11 pm, according to papers filed with the US District Court for the eastern District of New York. Their duties included housekeeping, cooking, landscaping, cleaning unoccupied homes that Potee Saluja was selling and assisting construction workers.

The maids also performed clerical tasks and distributed real es-

tate fliers. They allegedly washed the Salujas’ dogs and their three cars, shoveled snow, and cleaned out the sewage systems and rain gutters of the Saluja home.

The maids were not allowed to cook inside the home, but had to prepare food in an unheated garage, according to the suit.

When the Salujas threw parties in their home, Akka and Kumari

allegedly cooked and served all the food and cleaned up, often staying awake until 2 am, thus working a 20-hour day. Neither were allowed time off or allowed to leave the home, according to the suit.

The two maids finally fled the Salujas’ home in June 2008.

Amy Hong, a staff attorney with the Legal Aid Society, which is representing Kumari and Akka, told India-West that the scope of the maids’ work was not defined prior to coming to the US. And while both had agreed to a rate of pay with Mohini Singh,

Indo AmerIcAn news • FrIdAy, Ay, JUne 10 , 2011 • Online editiOn: A On: www.indOamerican-news.cOm O

New York state labour laws stipulate that all employees must be paid a minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, with time and a half for overtime, said Hong, adding that the Salujas never met the minimum wage requirements.

The suit alleges that Kumari was forced to tell immigration authorities that she only planned to stay in the US for six months.

Both Akka and Kumari had their passports confiscated by the Salujas, according to the suit.

Christopher Ho, senior staff attorney at the Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Center in San Francisco, told India-West that – regardless of arrangements made in the home country of foreign workers – employers in the US are required to pay minimum wage to their employees. Domestic worker abuse is a very underreported condition, he said.

At press time, Potee Saluja had not returned several phone calls placed to her cell phone.

She told the New York Post that she was “shocked” by the lawsuit.

“It just doesn’t pay to be good to some people,” Saluja said.

In August 2010, New York State adopted the Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights, which guarantees nannies, maids, cooks and others one day off per week, overtime pay, sick pay and protection from discrimination.

Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

IamhealthNews

Indo American News • Friday, June 10, 2011

Indian American dr. Prasad to steer s Henry Ford’s Innovation Institute

BANGALORE (SI) : Obama says that “technology will save healthcare” and it is very true that information technology is what broadening our access to a different level of medical resource.

Technology has only added different dimensions to healthcare and the biggest question is how would we be making use of it in the next coming years or rather how are we implementing it?

Thinking on something rational as that, the Henry Ford Innovation Institute has come up with a state-of-the-art healthcare centre as Dr. Madhu Prasad the director of the Institute. The institute is geared up to unite physicians, healthcare workers, engineers, scientists and design students in an effort to improve healthcare.

The institute is building its innovation on next-generation robotic platforms for surgery and the application of new aerospace engineering materials for medicine and sensor technology. The institute is currently working on Raman spectroscopy (a technique used to study vibrational, rotational and other low-frequency modes in a system).

According to Dr. Madhu Prasad, director of the Innovation Institute, “We believe the application of technology is one of the key approaches to improving the quality of patient care, reducing costs and broadening access to state-of-the-art healthcare in the U.S. and globally.”

The Institute is also encouraging collaborations with academic institutions like Wayne State University, the College for Creative Studies, Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, the University of Chicago and the Universidad Complutense de Madrid in Spain.

The innovation centre will also hold business partnerships with Lockheed Martin Corp, Texas Instruments and GE Healthcare.

The goal of the institute, says

Dr. Madhu Prasad Prasad, “is to synergistically apply space-age science to medicine to advance human healthcare. This cross-fertilization of people with diverse backgrounds is critical,” he says, adding that “design thinking” - a protocol for solving problems and discovering new opportunities “has proved to be very successful in the development of medical ideas and new approaches to treating patients.”

Dr. Prasad said that the details of the deals are yet to be worked out. He also said that the plan is to create at least some for-profit companies based on the students’ work, with the students having some ownership in partnership with Henry Ford Health System, CCS and investors.

Madhu Prasad is an Indian American who expertises in Digestive System Abnormalities; Liver Diseases and Surgical Oncology. Dr. Prasad did his medical schooling at the Wayne state University School of Medicine.

He completed his medical graduation in the year 1990. He is also associated with many medical

associations and colleges like AMERICAN PSYCHIATRIC ASSOCIATION, AMERICAN ACADEMY OF MEDICAL ACCUPUNTURE and American college of surgeons. He is associated with nearly 15 hospitals.

Coming to the Carnegie Mellon University, Pradeep K. Khosla is currently Dean of the College of Engineering. Pradeep K. Khosla is an Indian American computer scientist and Dean of the College of Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University’s College of Engineering. He is also the Philip and Marsha Dowd University Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Robotics at Carnegie Mellon. Khosla received a B.Tech (Hons) from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur in 1980. After graduating he worked in the area of real-time control with Tata Consulting Engineers and Siemens until 1982.

By 1986 he received both an MS and PhD degree from Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) where he continued to work as a professor.

Carnegie Mellon is renowned as one of the world’s top centers for robotics design and virtual reality systems to help doctors plan for and practice complicated surgeries. The institute, which will occupy a 15,000-square-foot Albert Kahn-designed building on the main campus of Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, will be completed in the fall. According to Prasad, “We will focus on product development, protection of intellectual property, licensing our products to existing companies and creating the center point of a new medical tech/biotech industry in Detroit.”

11

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Heritage summer s camp with Innovative workshops w

MANVEL, TX: Global Organization for Divinity Houston presents Gopa Kuteeram Summer Camp 2011, a unique heritage summer camp featuring several innovative workshops such as Photography, Caricaturing, Creative Writing, Origami and Cricket. The camp is designed for youngsters aged 8 to 15 years and will be held at Houston Namadwaar located at 3642 Bailey Ave, Manvel, TX 77578 (Pearland area). The camp timings are 4-8 pm every Wednesday from June 29 through August 17. The cost of participating in the camp is $125 for the entire 8-week camp and $75 for each 4-week segment. Early registrants signing up before June 15th will receive $20 off the entire camp and $10 off a 4-week registration. A 25% discount is available for one or more siblings. Healthy snacks and dinner are included in the price. All proceeds go to a non-profit cause and are tax deductible. to register online, visit http://gkcamp.eventbrite.com.

For more information about the camp, call Sriram Ramanujam at 832-515-1251 or email houston.god@godivinity.org.

Indo AmerIcAn news • FrIdAy, Ay, JUne 10, 2011 • Online editiO A ditiO ditiO On: n: www.indOamerican-news.cOm

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Indo American News • Friday, June 10, 2011

Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

Tagore150Fest : Tagore’s 150th Birth Anniversary Tagore Society of Houston Thanks All for Active Participation and Support!

Moods & Expressions

Prerna

Mukti

Sasha Ghoshal

Glimpses of Tagore

S.I. Tutul

Pdt. Chitresh Das

MFAH Film Shows June 10 & June 17, 2011 Celebrating Rabindranath Tagore and Satayajit Ray Presented by Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and Tagore Society of Houston at Museum of Fine Arts Houston - Brown Auditorium 1001 Bissonnet Houston TX 77265 Rabindranath Tagore a documentary by

Satyajit Ray

Fri, Jun 10 7:00 PM Introduction by author Chitra Divakaruni

Charulata (The Lonely Wife) a novel written by

Rabindranath Tagore and directed

Fri, Jun 17 7:00 PM

by

Satyajit Sa atyyajjijit R aty Ray Ra ayy

Charulata is based on a story by Rabindranath Tagore, Nastanirh (The broken Nest) and set in Calcutta in the late nineteenth century. Bengal Renaissance is at its peak and India is under the British rule.

The dramatized sequences of boy Rabi (Rabindranath Tagore) and young Tagore in his twenties are moving and lyrical. Ray has been reported to have said, “Ten or twelve minutes of it are among the most moving and powerful things that I have produced”.

TSH Monthly Movie Show Saturday July 16 (3 pm, Bollywood 6): Tagore’s

“Naukadubi” by Rituparna Ghosh (Prosenjit Chatterjee, Jisshu Sengupta, Raima Sen, Riya Sen) Indo AmerIcAn news • FrIdAy, Ay, JUne 10 , 2011 • Online editiOn: A On: www.indOamerican-news.cOm O

Indo American News • Friday, June 10, 2011

Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

“MASALA WOK IS HOT. ITʼS COOL, ITʼS WOW” Dallas Morning News

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Indo American News • Friday, June 10, 2011

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Indo American News • Friday, JUNE 10 , 2011 • Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

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Indo American News • Friday, June 10, 2011

IamEntertainmentNews

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How the Precursor to Taare Zamin Par Came into Being

By Amole Gupte MUMBAI (Outlook) In the year 2008 I was all ready to go on floor armed with an A-list dream team— Vikas Sivaraman on camera, Nitin Desai for production design, Deepa Bhatia on edit, and Excel to co-produce, with Farhan Akhtar and Bipasha Basu in the lead—but the film just did not take off. After knocking on all, except one, A-list star doors and getting refusals—with hardbound scripts sent for but returned with unturned pages—I understood the realpolitik of “jolly-bolly”. It was a lesson. Taare Zameen Par didn’t matter to the A-list. You are what you eat.

Stanley Ka Dabba took shape from the pell mell of openness as credo.

All technicians, including me, would have their hands tied, but the children would be free.

My young team lapped up the rulebook, and stuck to the philosophy.

In the interim, sessions in theatre and cinema with children is what kept me sane. The ease of my young friends on the rehearsal floor while performing extended soliloquies was very fulfilling. There was not a hint of pressure in their body language!

In one such session I merely conjectured: how about bringing into a theatre session a script and shooting it raw and pulling out a feature film? Guerilla intent and lots of

spirit! I had already written a script about school life, a cache of my own childhood memories with the tiffin box as a metaphor for hunger—Stanley Ka Dabba.

I decided to begin a cinema and theatre class in the very school from where I had extracted the memories. The script would begin to breathe then. Also necessary was a guerilla crew of volunteers that you could count on the fingers of one hand—Hum Paanch.

My namesake Amol Gole came with a proposal: the just launched Canon 7D, with his own collection of wonderful lenses. We quickly assembled a sessions crew—Faraz Ansari, all of 23, Archana Phadke, also 23, Jeetendra Rai, theatre volunteer, also 23, petit Sheetal Baa-

pardekar, art director, also 23— God, how many 23s! Add to them Nyla Masood and my five-man army was ready. Not one of them doubted my model and stood with me in this most fun-filled weekend filming endeavour.

So, the rules were laid out. Shooting for not more than five hours on Saturdays, no school missed, no Sundays, no pieces of paper to mug up from, no focus marks for children to walk towards. And, most importantly, no jibs, no cranes, and the miracle of miracles—no lights!

Too many NOs for senior technicians to buy into!

In other words, every technician, including me, would have their hands tied, or be working with restrictions but the children would be

free. My young team happily lapped up the rulebook and never compromised on the philosophy.

The film would emerge, but with a set of values and ethics that would be at its base.

Gole’s skills were up for a hitherto untried test— the rehearsal was the take!

Children had the freedom to move at will. And that’s a cameraman’s nightmare.

In fact, I strictly forbade him from communicating directly with the child actors. I merely narrated and enacted the scenes to the children, like an oral rendition of an episode from the Mahabharata. Then, it was their turn to enact the scene—and 90 per cent of the times, their first take found its way into Deepa’s edit. The surprise of those moments was pristine! At times, none of us really knew which child would be speaking and what! There were times when I told him to roll the camera and Gole would scream, “Sir but what’s the shot?”, and I would whisper, “Observe the children, and settle on the most non-

conscious child”. And I think Gole always did the right thing because he has a child-like innocence and honesty in him that made him connect with the children.

Another achievement is that of “location sound”, recorded delicately by Madhu Apsara, who, just like his name suggests, is a sweet angel: so non-obtrusive, so friendly, so invisible! And his counterpart, sound-designer Dwarak Warrier, equally gentle, just like his soundtrack. And young music director Hitesh Sonik—a zen master in mental make-up—and his music, mature like the best of wines. What a debut album!

And the last chapter belongs to Deepa Bhatia, who gave birth to Stanley. An incisive mind, a filmsurgeon par excellence; the best collaborator any artist would wish for, Deepa is cutting-edge film editor, a filmmaker I am married to— the wisest thing I have done so far!

Stanley formed on her edit table, hours and hours of impulsive material crunched into a racy 90-minute film—finding the note and hitting it.

A bow to this young team that is family to me—Stanley belongs to us all!

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Indo American News • Friday, JUNE 10 , 2011 • Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

IamEducatIon onnEws E

online edition: www.indoamerican-news.com Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

Indo American News • Friday, June 10, 2011

17

nalini Gangadharan: empowering People through education The foundation also tied up with madrasas, to reach out to children from minority communities; girls in particular. Shares Nalini, “The importance of community learning centres, like madrasas, is often underestimated. Coming to think of it, they are actually strong local community enterprises. The Foundation helped provide access to additional benefits from the government like fee exemptions for children who couldn’t afford education, midday meals, free study material etc. Besides religious education, we helped them impart for formal education to children as well.

Finally, this project that reached out to 80,000 children through 900 madrasas was handed over to the State government. I am happy about the fact that CAP Foundation played a significant role in trustbuilding between the madrasas and the government.”

Apart from academics, CAP Foundation focuses on providing vocational training for broader livelihood opportunities. The CAP vocational junior college offers a variety of courses in the fields of automobile engineering, computer science, accounts and taxation, physician assisting among others.

Currently, there are three vocational junior colleges run by the Foundation in Andhra Pradesh. Besides this, there’s the CAP community college with flexible diploma and associate degree programmes. It is registered with IGNOU.

Another programme that has greatly impacted the lives of many young people is Ek Mouka, which is a basic employability skills training programme for unemployed youth at risk-living in urban and semiurban neighbourhoods. It involves new partnership strategies for providing an integrated and placement oriented platform for out of school and at risk young people.

Through one of its most recent programmes, Meri Pehchan, CAP Foundation is also reaching out to 100,000 people from poor, lower and middle income groups; from 66 localities of five districts in Andhra Pradesh.

Alumni groups The CAP alumni groups are a strong presence now too, with about 8,000 alumni already and still counting. They offer guidance to newly employed students on the importance of saving and responsible spending. They also lend money among themselves. “I hope they have a bank of their own sometime,” smiles Nalini.

Nalini is passionate about young people and attributes her high energy to being associated with them.

“I learn from any young person I meet. The energy of the young is so full of potential. It just needs channelling in the right directions. I see India as soon to become a nation led by the young, for the young, and of the young.” She humbly adds, “Our contribution is but a drop in the ocean.”

PRATHISHTA MAHOTSAVAVAM

Foundation strives to empower youth with a range of academic, vocational and occupational oppor opportunities. “The idea was to provide meaningful livelihood options.

There is no purpose in education without enough livelihood oppor opportunities. There are innumerable choices available these days and what these children and youth need is access to opportunity,” she says.

Learning itself needed a different kind of approach. That idea gave rise to Teen Channel, which is an accelerated learning programme for out of school and adolescents at risk.

It provides academic competencies for Std. X exams, life skills, basic computer literacy, basic English among many others. It’s all about flexible timings wherein students can learn at their own pace.

P. Madhavi, aged 25, a carpenter’s daughter who dropped out of school after Std. VII, had joined as a student under the Teen Channel programme. Today, she works with CAP Foundation so that she can give back to the community what she has learned. In her own words: “I was working at a textile shop after dropping out of school. A volunteer from CAP approached me one day and spoke to me about the Teen Channel programme. I didn’t know even a word of English then but today I can speak confidently in front of any number of people. I completed Std. X, which was for me an achievement in itself. Recently, I acquired a B.Com. degree from

PRATHISHTA MAHOTSAVAVAM PRATHISHTA MAH PRATHISHTA MAHOTSAVAVAM PRATHISHTA MAHOTSAVAVAM

By Mona RaMavat CHENNAI (Hindu): When Nalini Gangadharan, chairperson and founder of CAP Foundation, was in the tenth grade, she may not have known how exactly her career would shape up but she knew for sure that it would revolve around development. The idea was triggered by a flood relief programme that she happened to be a part of in Chennai many years ago. “Even in the eighth grade, I was teaching children from slums behind my school,” she recalls. Nalini later acquired a degree in social work and has been working as a development professional ever since.

In 2003, the CAP Foundation was initiated as a partnership between corporates, government and civil society in response to the challenge of providing successful learning programmes to children working in hazardous conditions; bringing together various stake holders including parents, the police, community volunteers etc.

“Bridge schools meant for providing mainstream education opportunities were set up, so that children were equipped to be accommodated into regular schools,” explains Nalini. But the core issue was that a more effective bridge was needed to link learning to livelihood. This was among the most important concerns that came up from the children and youth themselves.

As a response to that, in its current and more evolved avatar, the CAP

PRATHISHTA MAHOTSAVAVAM

PRATHISHTA MAHOTSAVAV

H Our Hindu community’s efforts to buildOur a Our Hindu community’s efforts to build a temple are culminating on templ Nalini Gangadharan began on temple are culminating June through to June initiating bridge schools 17th for children about 10 years ago.

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Jun 18th Kalasha Sthapana Contact us at and much much more... info@woodlandshindutemple.org Jun 19th Kumbhabhishekam Cultural Program featuring local talent. •Fri JunA 17th Jun Indo AmerIcAn news FrIdAy, Ay, june 10Sun , 2011 • online o19th edition: www.indoamerican-news.com Three Dayand Festival Hindu Temple of the Woodlands Jun 17th Ganesha Puja 18th Mata ki Chowki on Jun 7601S. ForestGate Drive The Woodlands, TX 77382 Jun 18thFestivities Kalasha Sthapana Games and for Children

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Indo American News • Friday, June 10, 2011

Do People Matter?

If it is fine for the National Advisory Council to recommend legislation, why is it not all right for Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev to do likewise? Cracking under the relentless pressure from the Hazare-Ramdev campaigns over the last eight weeks, the Government is making one mistake after another as it desperately tries to divert public attention away from corruption. The main takeaway for the people is that this Government will go to any lengths to protect the corrupt. The mistakes have been well-chronicled, but it is the ingenuous arguments that now stand out. One is that groups of wellmeaning citizens cannot be allowed to hijack the legislative agenda; the other is that the RSS is behind the anti-corruption movement. Taking the second argument first, one must ask: even if it is true that the RSS is behind the movement, does that somehow make it illegitimate? Why is the Government trying to shift attention from corruption to the RSS? If RSS volunteers helped out in an earthquake or a flood, would that help be rejected by the Government? So the point is not who is doing it but what it is sought to be done. And this clearly makes the Government nervous to the extent that it is even using phrases from the Emergency days, such as “an attempt to de-stabilise the Government.”

The first argument — that citizens should not drive the legislative agenda — is intellectually identical to what colonial and Soviet-style authoritarian governments tended to use: we know what’s good for you. According to this view, people don’t matter, only the rulers. That this is sheer effrontery in the 21st century has not occurred to the Congress party apparatchiks. But that is not all: it is the Congress party that created the NAC, chaired by its President. If it is fine for the NAC to recommend legislation, why is it not all right for Anna Hazare and Ramdev to do likewise? As Shakespeare said, it is surely a tangled web they weave when they seek to deceive. If the people now conclude that the Congress party is trying to protect some of its high-ups, it will have only itself to blame. And this impression will only be strengthened after the ham-handed attempt by the party to distance itself from the Government’s action against Ramdev. The effort, clearly, is to minimise the negative fallout against the party. It is not likely to succeed. It is also remarkable that the party has learnt nothing from the Bofors years. Then also, faced with allegations of corruption, the party had tried to brazen and bulldoze its way out.

What next? In all likelihood, the monsoon session of Parliament is a goner now and, with it, any legislation for economic reform. The Government can try and blame the Opposition but, the fact remains: both in the winter session of 2010 and the forthcoming session, it is its own actions that are responsible. The Hindu

editorial

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Kalyug’s Warriors

By Sagarika Ghose The UPA has dispatched Baba Ramdev to his ashram. The police action at the Ramlila Maidan was insupportable and the BJP has now gained a cause celebre. The RSS and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) have fully supported Baba Ramdev from the start. On Twitter, anyone critical of Ramdev is being dubbed a ‘Congress agent’ by Sangh parivar activists.

The Ramdev phenomenon and, to some extent, the Anna Hazare campaign are part of India’s right-wing nationalist revolution. It is rightwing because it is based on national pride and individual entitlement. It is a movement of the middle and lower middle class buoyed up by 9% growth that now seeks a responsive, overtly honest government and a hard State.

This revolution is closely linked to a Hindu consolidation spreading through society. Perhaps as a backlash to globalisation, urban religiosity and Bharatiya sanskriti have become fashionable; faith in gurus is growing and it cuts across classes.

Baba Ramdev jumps from colas to homosexuality to black money in his choice of enemies, yet his devotees’ faith remains constant.

Notwithstanding the BJP’s crushing electoral defeats, the Hindu nationalist consolidation is gathering tremendous cultural momentum, much of which feeds into the anticorruption campaigns. The Ram janmabhoomi movement is back, in a new sophisticated avatar.

The revolution has its virtues and dangers. Its virtues are, first, that it is based on an engaged sense of ‘desi’ cultural pride. Second, it is forcing a debate where none existed on issues like corruption and black money.

But the danger of the Hindu revolution is that it may overthrow liberal constitutional values and revive street justice, of which Ramdev’s prescription of death penalty for economic offences is one example and shoe throwing is another.

It is also a revolution that is being played outside formal politics, at least for now. Govindacharya, one of the organisers of Ramdev’s

Baba Ramdev jumps from colas to homosexuality to black money in his choice of enemies, yet his devotees’ faith remains constant. movement, has been openly critical of the BJP leadership. Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj are fighting a battle in Parliament, not at the Ramlila Maidan.

But just as the Ram mandir agitation was begun by the VHP and later used by the BJP to come to power, there are those within the Sangh who are eyeing a similar opportunity to piggyback on an anticorruption movement being built at the grassroots by Hindu outfits.

Next year’s elections in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Uttarakhand will be a test of whether the BJP can convert Hindu consolidation into electoral victory.

Many protests are contained within the umbrella: protest against an overly westernised ‘elite class’, protest against ‘anti-national intellectuals’ embodied in the persona of Binayak Sen and protest, at its very root, against rule by the ‘foreignborn’ Sonia Gandhi.

No surprise therefore that Ramdev brought up Gandhi’s foreign-ness again. Hatred of Sonia Gandhi and the Congress dynasty is the leitmotif and spur of the Hindu revolution, the reason why large numbers of middle class folk are lining up behind the Hindu revolution. Analysts have pointed to right-wing consolidation in the lower judiciary, gauged from the judgements on the Babri masjid title suit as well as from judgements on Binayak Sen, both criticised by the apex court.

IndoAmerican News Founder: Dr. K.L. Sindwani Editor: Pramod Kulkarni Business Manager: Jawahar Malhotra Managing Partner: Krishna Giri Community Reporter: Kalyani Giri Community Editor: Manasi Gokhale Administrative Manager: Vanshika Vipin Business & Recreation: Jacob David Graphic Design: Saqib Rana correspondents Chicago: Nand Kapoor, UK: Aseem Kulkarni New Delhi: Raj Kanwar ®All rights reserved. No material herein or portions thereof may be published without the written consent of the publisher. The deadline for advertising and articles is 5 pm on Monday of each week. Please include self-addressed, stamped envelope for return of all unsolicited material. Published at 7457 Harwin Drive, Suite 262, Houston, Texas 77036. Tel: 713-789-NEWS or 6397 Fax: 713-789-6399, email: indoamericannews@yahoo.com, website: indoamerican-news.com

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The saffron think tank Vivekananda Foundation consists of many public figures. Already, the BJP is asking why Syed Ali Shah Geelani’s seminar did not get the same treatment as Ramdev’s protest.

The first Hindu revolution begun in the 1980s by the VHP, based on a desire to restore Hindu pride by building a Ram mandir in Ayodhya.

‘Hindu rage’ at the Rajiv Gandhi government’s ‘minority appeasement’ in the Shah Bano case added to the momentum. The movement acquired a mass character through LK Advani’s rath yatras.

Shocked by the electoral reversals of 2004 and 2009, Sangh activists are angry with the BJP for letting the temple movement down, for straying towards the path of ‘Shining India’. A desperate search for a cause and a new rallying cry has led them to the ‘war on corruption’.

It has replaced ‘Hindu pride’ just as ‘corrupt’ has replaced the earlier ‘pseudo-secularist’.

Kiran Bedi and Arvind Kejriwal may be genuinely driven by nationbuilding sentiments. Yet, their voices are in danger of being drowned by those with more supporters on the street.

Will the Hindu right-wing revolution spell the death-knell of the UPA? Rajiv Gandhi created his party’s nemesis by allowing the shilanyas at Ayodhya in 1989. Manmohan Singh, too ,could prove unequal to right-wing consolidation.

The UPA’s handling of Ramdev — first kow-towing and then arresting him at midnight — showed how politically weak the government is.

India’s Hindu consolidation today has a benign face, focused on forcing governments to deliver on corruption. But the Hindu revolution could start to devour liberal values if met with governmental paralysis. ‘Hang the corrupt’, ‘Jail anti-nationals’ or ‘Bomb Pakistan’ cannot become mantras of a modern rational India.

Today, it’s Ramdev and Anna.

Tomorrow, a new people’s messiah might emerge from the wings.

Hindustan Times

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what the Admiral’s daughter Found w

By tRidip Ridip SuhR uhRud Rud Satyagraha, ashram life, constructive programmes and institutions that nurture these three have been Gandhi’s enduring legacy.

But it is the Gandhi of satyagraha that has been the focus of most studies on the Mahatma. We have no histories of the ashrams, his constructive programmes have mostly been reduced to khadi and village industries, and none of the institutions that Gandhi established or helped nurture have merited a scholarly account.

Thomas Weber is one of those rare scholars who Many women who sought Gandhi out as inspiration crowd these pages, but his feminised soul is unexplored wrote the most authoritative account of the Dandi March, gave him as one of themselves. His aim, Lester and Agatha Harrison weren’t a history of the Shanti Sena and in short, was to become a woman, looking for an idol in Gandhi—they studied the impact of Gandhian ide- in deed and mind, if not body. saw him as a source of inspiration, als in movements such as Chipko. Whether he attained this or not is a but having found a “new ally” they This enabled him to understand different matter but it was a lifelong returned home to continue their the people around Gandhi who quest. Weber, however, does not life’s work. There were others like influenced him and were in turn venture into this question, although Mary Barr, Katherine Heilemann influenced by him—Gandhi both he constantly alludes to its pres- and Marjorie Sykes who came to ence. It’s a presence which defined India as missionaries of one hue as a disciple and a mentor.

In his new book, Weber examines many of his relationships with the or other and found the civilising another rarely explored aspect of women in Weber’s book as well mission unjust. They then ‘went Gandhi’s life: his relationship with as with the many Indian women native’, with Gandhi and his conthe dozens of Western women who who became his co-workers and structive programmes providing the fulcrum. sought him out either as equals, co-experimenters.

And what were Gandhi’s motives What attracted these extraordichallengers or interrogators and for investing so much of his spiritual many others who came to him as nary women to Gandhi? As Weber disciples. He examines Gandhi’s shows, they were all without excep- and organisational energies in these encounters with about 25 West- tion intellectually accomplished— relationships? It’s a challenging ern women—from Sonja Schlesin, feminists, pacifists, socialists, question to address. Gandhi was not Muriel Lester, the three Margarets champions of rights of women looking for converts or messengers (Sanger, Bourke-White and Spie- over their reproductive behaviour, who would carry his message to the gel), Mary Barr, Nilla Cram Crook, and attracted to non-conformist West. He was, of course, aware and Katherine Heilemann and of course religious practices. Many saw him alive to the symbolic power of an as an answer to their spiritual long- English admiral’s daughter serving Miraben.

Weber skilfully weaves their sto- ings, as a Christ-like figure, with him as a disciple as he challenged ries, their life histories and their in- Romain Rolland’s Mahatma Gan- and negotiated with the Empire, tense and always difficult encoun- dhi: The Man Who Became One but that could not be the sole moters with Gandhi through archival With the Universal Being providing tivation.

Was there something in his undocuments, letters and biographies. their first insight into Gandhi. Some Each encounter is significant: it not of them were—as Sudhir Kakar derstanding of the modern West and only shapes the destinies of these has suggested—emotionally ‘high- the role that women played in chalwomen but also shapes Gandhi strung’ and in need of physical lenging the masculine modernity proximity with a healing presence. that characterised the West which the man.

In a Europe savaged by war, Gan- attracted him to these women? But One rarely recognised aspect of Gandhi is in fact his highest aspira- dhi was the answer to the spiritual this does not answer the larger tion and the real point of his much- and emotional vacuum. The other question of the role of women— discussed brahmacharya. Through Indian who answered this need was Indian and Western—in his life and brahmacharya, by stripping himself the Bard of Santiniketan, Rabin- thought. It awaits an answer, and its of every vestige of manly lust, he dranath Tagore. But there were own book.

Outlook hoped that women would regard exceptions. Women like Muriel

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Lawyers: New Electronic H1B Visa System Can be ‘Gamed’ by Large Indian IT Firms

By Harsimran Julka NEW DELHI (Economic Times): The Obama administation is seeking to change the filing and acceptance of H1B visa petitions, to an electronic format, a move which it says will reduce the burden and on government, and save $23 million over next 10 years for US employers.

But immigration lawyers the new system can be twisted, to one’s favour by stuffing it with a large number of applications, and thus increasing chances of selection.

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has proposed an advance registration process via an electronic system that would seek to minimize administrative burdens and expenses related to the H-1B petition process. The USCIS says it will reduce the need for employers to submit petitions for which visas would not be available under the statutory visa cap.

Under the new proposed rule, employers seeking to petition for H-1B workers would register electronically with USCIS-a process that would take an estimated 30 minutes to complete.

Before the petition filing period begins, USCIS would select the number of registrations predicted to

exhaust all available visas. Employers would then file petitions only for the selected registrations. The registration system would thus save employers the effort and expense of filing H-1B petitions, as well as Labor Condition A p plications, f o r

workers who would be unable to obtain visas under the statutory cap.

USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas invited a 60-day comment period, till last month, on the proposed rule, which is likely to be effective for 2012 period, if passed.

“The proposed rule would create a more efficient and cost-effective process for businesses interested in bringing workers in specialty occupations to the United States,” he said.

USCIS is likley to set aside a two week registration period in March each year.

But some immigration lawyers say that the new rules may make

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IT companies game the system. Indian IT companies such as Infosys , TCS, Mahindra Satyam , Microsoft , Wipro are the major users of H1B visas. Immigation lawyers say some companies might game the system by filing a large number of applications, and thus increase their chances of getting considered by the e-system, by sheer probability ratios.

In an interview to Computerworld, Cleveland based Brian Halliday, an immigration lawyers likened the new registration system to music fans that may buy all the front row tickets to a rock concert.

“How will this electronic system be safeguarded from potential abuses such as ‘stuffing’ the electronic registration system with huge numbers of speculative H-1B cases to hedge their bets for a number; or other unfair ‘gaming’ of the H-1B registration process system?,” he was quoted as asking in the report.

A final version of the rulem after due deliberations, is expected to be published by January 2012, and the USCIS could implement the proposed registration system for the fiscal year 2013 H-1B season, which opens in April 2012.

By statute, H-1B visas are subject to an annual numerical limit, or cap, of 65,000 visas each fiscal year.

The first 20,000 petitions for these visas filed on behalf of individuals with US master’s degrees or higher are exempt from this cap.

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w woodlands now Has a Hindu temple t THE WOODLANDS, TX: In June 2011, Hindus and people of all faiths will have a new place in The Woodlands to pray, meditate and learn.

The Hindu Temple of the Woodlands, will hold a three-day traditional Hindu celebration, Pratishtha Mahotsavam, starting June 17th through the 19th to commemorate the Grand opening of the Temple in the North Houston/Woodlands area.

A new 10,000 sq. ft. building will

Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Hindu philosophy teaches that all religions have the same goals and therefore all faiths will be welcome to come and pray and meditate here.

SR Pinnapureddy, one of the temple’s founders, said that the temple would be a place where the Hindu youth would come to explore their heritage and religion.

The Hindu Temple of the Woodlands was established in 2005 with

be home to the Hindu Temple. The $3 million complex will include one main building on eight acres adjacent to Forestgate Park. The temple site is located at the southwest corner of the intersection of Woodlands Parkway and South Forest Gate Drive in The Woodlands, Texas.

According to Nimish Dhuldhoya,

land purchased in the same year, with expected completion in June 2011. Because of its location in The Woodlands in a wooded area adjacent to Forestgate Park, one of The Woodland’s one hundred parks, it will be one of the most beautiful temple sites in the area.

While the Hindu religion affirms the existence of one Brahman (Supreme God), most people find it dif difficult to cultivate devotion to such an abstract, impersonal concept. Most Hindus worship one or more deities, which are personal forms of the Divine. According to the Rig Veda, the oldest Hindu scripture, while the truth is one, people perceive and explain it differently. The temple will have various forms, including Ganesha, Venkateswara, Shiva, Lakshmi, and Radha Krishna, of the one God enshrined. The temple will also have yagna facilities, classroom and library space, a large lobby and a kitchen. SR Pinnapureddy, one of the temple’s founders, said that the temple would be a place where the Hindu youth would come to explore their heritage and religion.

A dedicated Hindu priest, Pundit M. M. Chakrapani Bhattacharya, will be available to serve the temple’s Hindu members.

Hinduism is widely regarded to be the most ancient of faiths with a known history of over 7,000 years.

Hinduism has its origins in India and is the source of Buddhism and other major schools of thought in Eastern Philosophy. There are an estimated 100,000 Hindu’s in the North Greater Houston area, making this temple a valuable resource for community celebrations, religious festivals and other community gatherings.

For more information please visit www.woodlandshindutemple.org .

Program details will be available on the website soon.

India Among Top Four wealth w creators in world c w NEW DELHI (SI): India has emerged among the four fastest wealth creator countries in the world and its growth momentum is expected to gather further steam going forward, a global study has said.

In its annual Global Wealth Report , management consulting firm Boston Consulting Group has listed the U.S., China, the UK and India as the nations showing the largest absolute gains in wealth in 2010.

Global wealth continued a solid recovery in 2010, driven by growth in nearly every region and registered an increase of $9 trillion, to a record of $121.8 trillion.

Tjun Tang , BCG partner and coauthor of the study, believes global wealth is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 5.9percent from the end of 2010 till 2015 to about $162 trillion, driven by per performance of capital markets and the

growth of GDP in countries around the world.

“Wealth will grow fastest in emerging markets. In India and China, for example, it is expected to increase at a compound annual rate of 18 percent and 14 percent, respectively,” Tang said, adding that the Asia-Pacific region’s share of global wealth (ex Japan) was projected to rise from 18 percent in 2010 to 23% in 2015.

In Japan, however, the amount of wealth is expected to decrease slightly in 2011 and then grow slowly for several years owing to the lingering impact of the recent disaster. In 2010, North America was the world’s richest region, with $38.2 trillion in assets under management, nearly one-third of the global wealth.

In Asia Pacific (excluding Japan) wealth grew at the fastest rate, at 17.1 percent, whereas in the West

Asia and Africa, it was 8.6 0percent, Latin America (8.2 percent).

Millionaire households increased by 12.2 percent in 2010 to about 12.5 million, BCG said, adding that the U.S. was home to most millionaire households (5.2 million), followed

by Japan, China, the UK, and Ger Germany, while Singapore continued to have the highest concentration of millionaire households.

Three of the six densest millionaire populations were in the West Asia: Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. In terms of ultra-high-networth (UHNW) households- defined as those with more than $ 100 million in assets - the U.S. has the largest number (2,692).

Saudi Arabia has highest UHNW concentration, measured per 100,000 households, at 18, followed by Switzerland (10), Hong Kong (9), Kuwait (8), and Austria (8).

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Homework Help desk in india i

Holidays burdened by homework for kids? Not anymore as parents get the whole thingamajig outsourced

By neha Bhatt NEW DELHI (Outlook): ‘Busy with office work? Single Parent?

Give us all your worries. Great opportunity for kids & parents to get rid of school holiday homework.’

The advertisement, bold-lettered on pamphlets, pasted on online classifieds, stamped across ‘summer camp’ promo fliers, and whispered to you at the neighbourhood stationery store, couldn’t be more to the point.

What’s more startling is that parents are biting the bait, signing their child up for a lesson in how to cheat pretty early. In a trend catching up in metros this summer, ‘homework packages’ are in. And it comes with cut-rate to premium price tags, customised to your taste, and starts as early as primary school levels.

Many summers ago, the term ‘holiday homework’ meant children and parents hunched over pink and blue chart papers, thumbing through old magazines to cut out photographs.

But Mumbai-based homemaker Ritu Ruparilia prefers not to have homework worries while on holiday; she depends on the expertise of Preeti Shah, a professional ‘project-maker’ in her neighbourhood. “Taking professional help definitely helped my children get top marks,” she says, quite guilt-free. Parents are now willing to shell out any amount for ‘unique’ homework projects that will get their children a very good grade (from Rs 500 for an ordinary solar system to Rs 19,000 for working science models). School holiday projects, big or small, can be bought over the phone, across the counter, even ordered on the internet.

On the ground, the hotbed of this thriving business up north is the nar narrow lanes of Nai Sadak in Old Delhi.

Here, a slew of stores sell academic books by day and moonlight as onestop shops for ‘homework solutions’.

Dehati Pustak Bhandar, for example, has on offer over 200 projects, all neatly catalogued in shiny blue albums, with accompanying price tags (Rs 340-4,000). You can choose between models of the Bhopal gas tragedy, 26/11-Nariman House attack, tsunami danger zones, wind and solar energy plants, a variety of charts on math theorems, or any other project that’s assigned at school. “We already have over 50 orders and this is just the beginning of the season. Over 60 per cent of Delhi school students come to us to get their projects done, so I hire professional craftsmen to do the work. Parents today want the best in the market for their children,” says owner Vikas Aggarwal.

On the Net, transactions are far more discreet. Tap on ‘Homework Help Desk’ at homeworkedu.com and a “complete package” (which includes assignments in every subject) is yours for Rs 4,500. In addition, you are assured that your identity will never be exposed. Private tutors on tuition portals are happy to make an extra buck by taking up holiday assignments and even give you “safety tips”. “The trick is to take the child through the project before submitting

School projects on sale in Nai Sadak shopping center, New Delhi

shop tutored t Total homework package: Rs 4,500 Basic to fancy solar system model/working camera with film: Rs 300-19,000 Topical projects like working model of tsunami zones, 26/11 attack, energy-saving tools, gadgets made from waste material etc: Rs 1,2003,000 PowerPoint presentations: Rs 200-500 it, so that if the teacher quizzes the kid he or she is able to answer and it doesn’t seem like it’s been done by a professional,” offers Shalini, who runs a tutor network across NCR but will not disclose her full name even when one poses as a parent.

Educationist Abha Adams says she’s “baffled by the inclination of parents who seek to get external help for their children’s homework”, calling it another instance of urban corruption. “Does it let them boast about their children’s prowess? Do they want to ‘teach’ them to look for the easy, unethical way out? And then we worry about the ‘moral fibre’ of our country!” she exclaims.

Well, moral fibre is the last thing on the mind for a host of homemakers, out-of-work graduates, and even teachers and tutors who have turned professional project-makers. Preeti is one of them. “Students are under pressure to compete, what with the endless hours of tuition and other activities. Where will they find time to do holiday homework? That’s where professional project-makers like me come into the picture.” Nitin Garg, a young MBA, is part of this new league, taking up a record 100 projects every summer at ‘Projects’, a venture he runs out of a tiny oneroom workshop in Delhi. “Many clients who go away for vacation with their children ask me to download the homework list from the school website. I have it all ready by the time they return. Last year, I got a number of orders for projects based on the Commonwealth Games. This year, I assume the hot topic is going

to be Osama bin Laden. My USP is making every project unique, my business won’t run otherwise,” says Garg, who is clearly proud of the work he churns out.

The young man may have no apprehensions about his chosen ‘business’ but his clientele, understandably, turn out to be a little more reticent.

No one was willing to risk a backlash when school reopens. But Harsh Wardhan, 19, now a college student Professional hands at work in Mumbai. (Photograph by Dinesh in Mumbai, had no such qualms, Parab) “When I was in school, my parents are readily available,” says private “not marking students on holiday did not have the time to help. And school teacher Seema Sinha. Other homework”? Perhaps that could spur once I started tuitions, I didn’t have teachers admit it is simply impos- the return of unadulterated school time to do research for my projects. sible to pull up every child who has holidays where parents and children So they found me professional help outsourced his/her project. Is it time bonded over chart paper, scissors and which I use even now in college.” then to take Abha Adams’ advice of sketch pens.

Work overload, however, isn’t the only excuse— the competition for better grades plays a big role.

As Ritu puts it, “I would rather get professional help because teachers get impressed with the projects then.”

But surely, one must ask, wouldn’t teachers be able tell —General Generaland andCosmetic CosmeticDentistry Dentistry — — General and Cosmetic Dentistry a professionally done project —Advanced AdvancedRestorative RestorativeDentistry Dentistry — — Advanced Restorative Dentistry from one done —Equipped Equippedwith withcomputerized computerizedinjection injectiontechnique technique — — Equipped with computerized injection technique by a student?

“Well, teachers —CAD CAD///CAM CAMTechnology Technology — — CAD CAM Technology are aware that 90 —CT CTScan Scanused usedfor fortreatment treatmentplanning planning — — CT Scan used for treatment planning per cent of holiday homework is —InIn Inhouse housedental dentallab lab(Rush (Rushdelivery, delivery,crown, crown,bridge bridge — — house dental lab (Rush delivery, crown, bridge not done by stuanddentures dentureswithin within333days) days) and and dentures within days) dents. But they are overworked, —All Alldental dentalwork workguaranteed guaranteed — — All dental work guaranteed and can’t go through every MostMajor MajorInsurances InsurancesAccepted Accepted Most Most Major Insurances Accepted project in detail.

There’s also been talk of reducing Weaccept acceptMedicaid Medicaid,,,CHIP CHIP •••We We accept Medicaid CHIP the workload Freeexam examand andconsultation consultationfor forthe the ••• Free Free exam and consultation for the on children. But on the flipside, monthofof ofApril, April,2011 2011 month month April, 2011 parents consider schools that EasyPayment PaymentPlans Plansavailable available •••Easy Easy Payment Plans available give less holi15%off offfor forthe theElderly Elderlyand andDisabled Disabled •••15% 15% off for the Elderly and Disabled day homework as inferior. And SaturdayAppointments Appointmentsavailable available •••Saturday Saturday Appointments available where money talks, options such as outsourc“Keepaaahealthy healthymouth, mouth,Live LiveaaaHealthy HealthyLife” Life” “Keep “Keep healthy mouth, Live Healthy Life” ing homework

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Indo American News • Friday, June 10, 2011

IamEntErtaI rta nmEnt rtaI ntnEws E

duck m mr Bose, duck!

By anil thakR hakRaney Raney NEW DELHI (Outlook): If I recall correctly, it was Shahryar, the lyricist of Umrao Jaan, who lamented that modern songwriters load their pens with urine rather than ink. The master said this some years ago, but when he listens to the Delhi Belly track, Bose DK, I can only imagine the euphemism Shahryarsahab

lyrics in New India? Has it suddenly become fashionable to be obscene?

For an answer, perhaps we need to look at the business of movie making holistically. In the last few years, Bollywood, which was essentially run by passionate, creative directors and producers (sometimes financed by the mafia), has surrendered itself to studios controlled by pinstriped

The rise in popularity of raunchy songs and obscene lyrics portends the stifling of filmic creativity

would use to describe the degradation. I’d wager that it shall not smell very pleasant.

Bose DK has further pushed the envelope on obscenity. Hindi film songs, in general, have brought the mawaali street lingo into the multiplexes. Character dhila hai, Main hoon taaza mutton mutton, Potty pe baitha nanga are some recent gems, though I suspect Subhash Ghai set the ball rolling with Choli ke peechhe kya hai in the early ’90s.

This was a period that saw a number of films go the raunchy song way, but these were few and far between and didn’t start a trend. But it’s different now. So much so that even Mr ‘Nice Family Man’ Aamir Khan has come to believe that a little vulgarity is good for his films.

The question to be asked is this: Why are our songs getting tasteless?

Is there no place for refined, dignified

suits and accountants. And these suits, characteristically, don’t see cinema as a medium to tell good stories and exhibit tasteful art. They are in it to make money. For them, marketing movies is no different than selling detergent tikiyas and flavoured condoms: the same rules apply.

However, despite aggressively incorporating the four Ps of marketing into their PowerPoint presentations, despite assiduously plotting out various segments of the cinema going public across the four quadrants, over 90 per cent of their films go slithering down the tube. Which explains the desperation to cast one of the top 10 mega stars to guarantee a good opening (read: money made on the first weekend and advance TV rights, before the audience has a chance to discover that the film is absolute trash). But even that

strategy has met with little success. Akshay Kumar and Abhishek Bachchan guarantee disaster from the first show.

So then, what else can be done?

A quick-fix solution is to get some testosterone pumping in at least one song. So that it creates a wicked prerelease buzz, the salivating media frantically discusses and ‘disses’ the lyrics (I assure you Aamir Khan must be pretty pleased to read this article), and beguiled viewers rush to park their bottoms into multiplex seats to quickly suss what all the fuss is about. Rather than wait for the pirates to decode the mystery (which is why it’s so very important to tweet or put out a Facebook update immediately after the first show). In short, Bose DK is another P poured into the marketing mix. The ‘Piss’ ingredient, as Shahryarsahab might term it.

Since forced censorship is not a solution in these days of Youtube videos, the only question that remains to be asked is: What impact does this drivel have on our kids? That’s for us broke columnists and bitter PIL (public interest litigation) filers to worry about. Movie studios don’t give a rat’s ass about such minor details.

Well, I guess you have to live with it, hope that it’s a passing fad, and quietly accept that your school-going child(ren) could well be humming these chart chartbusters in public. On Holi this year, I tentatively stared down my tenth floor apartment to see what the more exuberant building society residents were up to. A five-year-old girl was grooving to Sheila Ki Jawani, with the same gusto and body thrusts as Ms Katrina Kaif. Her parents had downed many glasses of bhaang and were looking the other way. That’s all you can do really. Ignore. Pretend.

Duck. The suits appear to have won the sleazy battle. The piss ingredient has worked its odious magic.

Many years ago, I started my career as a trainee with an advertising agency. There was a very senior executive in the organisation who went by the name of D.K. Bose. I believe he’s retired now, and that’s good for him. Else, the poor gent would be standing in a very long queue to file a name-change affidavit. Under the tatkal scheme, of course.

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Double Dhamaal opens o jjune 24 The new Bollywood comedy DOUBLE DHAMAAL opens in theaters worldwide on June 24 featuring an all-star cast including Sanjay Dutt, Arshad Warsi, Jaaved Jaaferi, Riteish Deshmukh, Ashish Chowdhry, Mallika Sherawat, and Kangna Ranaut.

Kangna Ranaut copies Jaya Bachchan’s Sholay look for ‘Double Dhamaal’. The retro Bollywood widow is all set to come back in Indra Kumar’s next. Double Dhamaal sees Kangna Ranaut play a character inspired by Jaya Bachchan’s role in Sholay. Says a source from sets, “The quintessential widow from Sholay is back with Kangana in DD.” nspired by Sholay’s iconic vidhwaah (widow), played by Jaya Bachchan, the director has styled KR in a similar look for one of the scenes in the film. Instead of wearing normal clothes required for the scene, the director told the stylists to give Kangana an old white saree, just like the ones widows in old films wore.

Indra Kumar confirms, “It is a spoof, a funny scene all in good humor. We are not making fun of or passing derogatory remarks on Jayaji and Sholay. It’s just that in earlier times all widows were stereotyped.

They wore white sarees and would only cook gajar ka halwa and alu parathas for their mothers. The particular scene, with all the other actors, is a spoof where she is in a widow’s garb with minimal make-up. In the film, she plays a modern, smart and sexy young secretary to Sanjay Dutt.”

His Parsi character, Boman, in Dhamaal was a laugh riot. And now

Kangana Ranaut in Double Dhamaal

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A s hi s h C how dhr y i n Gorilla costume

Ashish Chowdhry is returning in the sequel with half-a-dozen getups.

“From a girl to a gorilla, I’ve done it all in Double Dhamaal,” sighs the actor, who’s also passed himself off as an African, a ‘tapori’ goon and a bathroom cleaner.

Interestingly, his gorilla outfit in the comic caper has a Hollywood connection: “On the plus side I got a chance to slip into a Planet Of The Apes costume. On the downside, it stank to high heaven,” he says wrinkling his nose in disgust. “ It can’t be dry-cleaned. I don’t know how many others got into it and sweated buckets inside it.”

It was a damp and chilly day when they shot the scene in Hong Kong, but the actor felt he was inside an oven.

“They had to keep me hydrated so I didn’t pass out,” he says, shuddering at the memory.

Ashish is making a comeback to the big screen after a two-year selfimposed break following a personal tragedy that hit his family on 26/11.

“Induji (director Indra Kumar) urged me to accept his offer, promising that it would bring me back into the spotlight with a vengeance,” he says.

“I accepted it because the industry has stood by me in difficult times. And given the camaraderie I share with the boys, Sanju sir (Sanjay Dutt), Riteish (Deshmukh), Arshad (Warsi) and Javed (Jaffri), I was confident Double Dhamaal would be a great comeback movie for me.”

horoscope

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WEEKLY HOROSCOPE

www.GaneshaSpeaks.com

mum of your attention. With property matters, renovations and domestics issues on your mind, you’ll have a lot to handle. Diplomatic and skillful, you’ll find a common ground between two different groups of people. The Scales will have to balance work and personal life well during this week. But balancing things comes naturally to you. You want to spread the message of peace and happiness, you’ll successfully find a way through for that noble cause. Keep up the good work!

SCORPIO Oct 24 - Nov 22: Health issues of someone very dear may give you sleepless nights. You’ll put your heart and soul into the service of this person. You’re aware about the fact that not paying enough attention to your life in general can damage your future. You are fully aware of your responsibilities. Travelling is on the cards for the Scorpion. You’ll have to make major changes in your plans, and it may put your energy level through a test. But, nothing can hamper your positivity. Your willpower assures you that this too shall pass.

SAGITTARIUS Nov 23 - Dec 22: You’ve come a long way! You are finding answers to some important questions, and the picture is definitely getting clearer. The week begins on a happy note and this positive streak will last sometime. Your positive outlook towards life or affectionate nature, makes you calmer and tolerant. Now you have your ‘reality’ glasses on, and you look at things with a different perspective now. You’ve seen it for yourself that happiness or sadness, nothing is permanent, except change. A lesson well learnt!

CAPRICORN Dec 23 - Jan 20: After some struggle, life is now on an even keel. You focus on improving the quality of the life you lead. You will examine the tiniest of details and make sure that nothing goes against the plan. You become extra vigilant, so that nobody has a chance to take you for a ride. While precaution is better than cure, there’s a flip side too. You become fussy about little things, doubt your well-wishers’ intentions become rigid and that will irritate the people around you. However, it doesn’t deviate you from your goal. You’re determined to hit the bull’s eye. Way to go!

AQUARIUS Jan 21 - Feb 19: Celebrations and entertainment are over, and the Water Car Carrier is now brought back to the hardships of life. You’re now face to face with domestic issues, strained relationships and problems at your work place. Deal with them.

One-by-one, you untangle the knots of your life. But, watch your health. Pay attention to your financial matters. Associates, family members, friends and your social circle will demand your time. You will manage your troubles successfully. Good job in advance!

PISCES Feb 20 - Mar 20: It is time you execute your ideas, to get the desired financial security. Money means a lot to you, therefore, a slight dip in the bank balance or earnings puts your under pressure.

So, now you’ll make special efforts to strengthen your finances. You’re not a workaholic, but one or the other assignment keeps you occupied, and at the end of the day you have no time left for your personal life. Work is probably the reason why you are not able to convert your imaginations into reality.

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ARIES Mar 21 - Apr 20: As you carry forward the goals for this week, you need to reorganize your schedules. Your efficiency will increase, much to the pleasure of your peers and juniors, and have success.

You will find yourself under undertaking several tasks at a time, and accomplishing them all successfully. You Rams possess great multitasking abilities. Keep up the good work! Moreover, instead of feeling fatigued, you will feel mentally rejuvenated.

There is also some travel on the cards.

TAURUS Apr 21 - There’s magic in the air, and what a fabulously lucky phase for you it is!

Luck favours you so much that whatever you desire, will appear in front of you! Just go and buy a lottery ticket. You find yourself feeling really happy and satisfied at the way life has shaped up so far. You pay attention to the minute details of your business and streamline your work methodology to increase efficiency.

Generating money is important this week, and you will coast at the workplace.

GEMINI May 22 - Jun 21: The spiritual insights of past weeks will play on your mind as you seek peace and harmony in your life. Take heart! Even a long-pending legal battle concludes agreeably. Don’t get mixed up in things that are none of your business. The dual nature of a Gemini could be very confusing, you work hard, yet could be frivolous; you will discharge your responsibilities sincerely, yet you could be arrogant and hurt your kith and kin with your harsh words and actions.

Be patient, don’t lose your head. Control your temper, words and actions.

CANCER Jun 22 - Jul 23: You need to become more steady and focused now. There is some domestic work and it is a good way to keep yourself engaged, as your mind has the tendency to run helter-skelter.

Find some work to keep your yourself preoccupied so that your mind stays in control. You also have the proclivity to blow up your money on the luxuries of life, and this is one of those phases. You may thus overhaul your living space to give it a facelift. You will also try to find a new love in your life, someone with whom you can share your deepest emotions.

LEO July 24 - Aug 23: It has perhaps taken some time, but by now you have proved your dependability and created your own power structure. Your actions have spoken louder than words, and you are now in a position to sit back and relax.

There will be loads of appreciation, and you will bask in the glory. Live in the present and enjoy every bit of it. Buy all the things that you have been resisting to buy for a long time, even if you have to shell out a hefty sum. Life is short, and since you have done well, you might as well enjoy yourself. It is a time for rejuvenation.

VIRGO Aug 24 - Sep 23: You are pegging away incessantly at work just as you have been doing in the past. Nagging problems in your life have been ironed out and you feel far more confident now. You find yourself on firm ground, but having observed life closely, you realize how temporary and fleeting success can be. You will be preoccupied with saving hard-earned income for the rainy day, securing the future of your family, the most top priority in your life. You will invest your money smartly so that you can stay afloat. You have enough time to party, but will avoid indulgence.

LIBRA Sep 24 - Oct 23: Family and friends, pillars of strength will still get the maxi-

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Indo American News • Friday, June 10, 2011

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4/11/11 2:47 PM