June 8 Pages 1-36

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Friday, June 08 2012 | Vol. 31, No. 23

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Light of India Awards Presented to a Host of NRI Luminaries The Winners Are ...

Lisa Ray (left) and Padma Lakshmi are both hosts of the Top Chef series and winners of the Excellence in Arts & Entertainment Awards.

NEW YORK: More than 300 of New York’s crème de la crème from the business, finance, and entertainment communities converged at the 2nd annual The Light of India Awards, an initiative created by Remit2India and presented

by The Amrapali Group.

The awards ceremony, held on Friday, June 1 at the Taj Pierre Hotel, is a platform to honor the excellence and exemplary achievements of Indians living abroad.

“Remit2India The Light of India Awards is our humble initiative to acknowledge the contributions of the global Indian community in

making India the emerging superpower,” says Avijit Nanda, President of TimesofMoney Group.

“These leading lights have lit the global skyline with their beams of brilliance.”

“It is great to see so many leading luminaries excel and build the profile of India globally,” says Dr. Anil Kumar Sharma, Chairman of The Amrapali Group, the title sponsor for the event. “The Amrapali Group is glad to be associated with these leading lights and hopes to work together in further enhancing the global image of India and its people.”

There were two sets of awards - Jury awards and Popular Choice awards. The organizing team, along with KPMG, shortlisted 4-6 nominees per category. Out of these, the eminent Jury selected their winners in each category.

These winners were presented with the ‘The Jury Award’. The shortlisted nominees were also put up on www.lightofindiaawards. com for online public voting. Winners of the popular choice category were based on the maximum number of votes received by the individual nominee.

Excellence in Business Leadership � Bharat Desai Founder of Syntel – Jury Award � Gurbaksh Chahal Internet entrepreneur and a best-selling author – People’s Choice Award Excellence in Technology � Pradeep K. Khosla Dean of the College of Engineering Carnegie Mellon University – Jury Award � Sabeer Bhatia Co-Founder of Hotmail Service – People’s Choice Award Excellence in Medical Sciences � Siddhartha Mukherjee Assistant Professor of Medicine Columbia University – Jury Award Excellence in Corporate Leadership � Anshuman Jain Co-CEO of Deutsche Bank – Jury Award � Padmasree Warrior Chief Technology Officer of Cisco Systems – People’s Choice Award Excellence in Education & Academics – Deans & Presidents � Renu Khator President of the University of Houston – Jury Award & People’s Choice Award Excellence in Education & Academics- Scholars & Professors � Soumitra Dutta Roland Berger Chaired Professor of Business and Technology Insead – Jury Award � Mohanbir Sawhney Director of the Center for Research in Technology & Innovation at Kellogg School of Management – People’s Choice Award Excellence in Literature & Journalism � Amitav Ghosh Author – Jury Award � Indu Sundaresan Author – People’s Choice Award Excellence in Arts & Entertainment � Padma Lakshmi Host of ‘Top Chef’ America– Jury Award � Lisa Ray Actor & Host of ‘Top Chef’ Canada – People’s Choice Award Lifetime Achievement Awards � Jagdish Bhagwati Columbia University Professor & Economist – Lifetime Achievement Award for Study in Global Economics � Narendra Patni Founder & CEO of Patni Computer Systems - Lifetime Achievement in Business Leadership � Arun Sarin Former CEO of Vodafone Group – Lifetime Achievement Award for Global Corporate Leadership Three Special Awards: � Gurbaksh Chahal Chairman & CEO of RadiumOne - AmrapaliYoung Achievers Award � Satish K. Tripathi University of Buffalo President - Power of Influence Award in Education � Ajay V. Bhatt Co-inventor of USB Technology - Power of Influence Award in Technology

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June 08, 2012

email:houstonradio@yahoo.com Web:www.RadioHungama.net

Sridhar Dadi with Lisa Ray at the Light of India Awards in New York

281-217-9736

RJ Mani Sastry

5thAnniversary Sridhar Dadi with A.R. Rehman

Sridhar Dadi

RJ Hema Nalini

& Radio

RJ Raaga Vahini

Hungama

RJ Sonalika Naidu

thank the community, friends, well-wishers, patrons and sponsors

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUNE 08, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

Sridhar Dadi with Padma Lakshmi at the Light of India Awards in New York

COMMUNITY HOUSTON: Radio Hungama, a Hungama Entertainment Inc. regularly broadcasts, locally produced Telugu radio programs.

Hungama's aim has been to serve the South Indian households of Greater Houston and in the last five years since inception, they have proved successful in doing just that. Started in June 2007 by Sridhar Dadi, it airs every Sunday from 10:00 am - 1:00 pm CST on KCHN AM 1050. There are musical programs, jokes, and news.

The radio station also creates awareness about numerous social, welfare-oriented, and national issues in its various segments.

Besides the radio show, Radio Hungama is also associated with several music concerts, carnivals, festival events, New Year parties, Math & Spelling Bee competitions, etc. attracting huge crowds ranging from 500 to 3000 people.

These events seem to have turned out as strong instruments to bring the community together.

Celebrating their first anniversary in 2008, they held an entertainment show attracting more than 1000 people from all over the Greater Houston area. In 2009, they hosted another community event drawing more than 1500 people. Sridhar Dadi, the owner and RJ of Radio Hungama Dadi said, “We had active participation from several dance and music schools, local universities, etc. for this event”.

According to Dadi, one of their biggest events was the outdoor carnival in October 2010 at the AshtaLakshmi Temple from 6:0011:00 pm. Dadi said, “It was something new I guess, for our folks in Houston. Most of the time, carnivals in Houston are in the morning or in the afternoon and indoors. I wanted to do something under the open skies, in front of a temple, in open grounds, like a true "mela" in India, and that too in the evening after sunset.” Apparently 2000 people attended this event which

June 08, 2012

5

Five Years for Radio Hungama!

What will the Hulla-gulla be This Time?

was filled with shopping, food, fun, entertainment, and games for the entire family. They organized a similar fest again in Nov 2011 at the DurgaBari.

Radio Hungama were media partners for several Bollywood and Tollywood (Telugu) concerts in Houston and other cities in the US, including Salim Suleiman, and A.R Rehman’s concert. They organized music director Mani Sharma's concert in Houston in 2010. They are also media partners for TANA (Telugu Association of North America), NATS (North America Telugu Society), ATA (American Telugu Association), and NATA (North America Telugu

Association), which are national associations for the Telugu community in the US. Recently they were media partners for the Light of India Awards 2012 held in New York last week.

As part of Radio Hungama’s community outreach, they have been a strong voice for various non-profit organizations including Vibha, Daya, Sewa International, ICC, NSF (North South Foundation),Telugu Association, University of Houston – NASHA etc. As part of an effort to reach out to the larger South Indian community, they have held Immigration workshops at various universities.

Dadi says, “Being part of festivals

and events celebrated with the community and for the community is community outreach”.

Sridhar Dadi is BOD at ICC (India Culture Center) and served as Cultural Secretary in the local Telugu Association and Publicity and PR Chair for the NATA convention in Houston. The other RJs/ Co-Hosts of Radio Hungama are Mani Sastry, Raaga Vahini, Hema Nalini and Sonalika Naidu.

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The question is what will Radio Hungama, given their reputation for large scale entertainment agenda, come up with for their fifth anniversary? How will they beat the competitive trend they have created in the past years?

For more details visit: www.RadioHungama.Net. Contact Sridhar Dadi at 281-217-9736/HoustonRadio@ Yahoo.com

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INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUNE 08, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

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June 08, 2012

Ratha Yatra

Char Dham Hindu Temple will celebrate Ratha Yatra jointly with Houston Durga Bari Society.

Sunday, June 23, 2012 09:00 AM to 3:00 PM ( Breakfast and Lunch will be served ) http://www.durgabari.org

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For Information Contact:

Location:

Please RSVP by emailing to rsvp@skaifoundation.org

13944 Schiller Rd, Houston, TX 77082

Email: contact@skaifoundation.org

Dr. Bishnupada Goswami, Chief Priest Houston Durga Bari Society (832)-367-6646 Partha Mohanty (832)326-4274

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June 08, 2012

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A Universal Temple-Shree Madan Dham Going Beyond Religion, Community and Race

Devji Prabhu in Shree Madanji Mandir

HOUSTON: At 5645 Hillcroft, Suite 312, Houston, TX 77036, there is a small temple called, Shree Madan Dham or Shree Madanji Mandir. On May 22, Tuesday, the temple was opened to the public after an inauguration ceremony.

The person behind the inception of this temple is S. Indravadan Trivedi, popularly known as Masterji, because he taught Kathak, Kuchipudi and Bharatnatyam before, at what used to be known as the Jhankar School of Dance. According to him, that was one of his life projects which is now complete.

He has now transitioned to the spiritual path following his Guru, Shree Madan whose main ashram, Shree Madan Dham is near the Nangal dam in Durbar, Manakpur, in Himachal Pradesh. Now Trivedi is known as Devji Prabhu.

In Devji’s temple there are no deities or idols. According to Devji Prabhu, his Guru who he believes to be the incarnation of Lord Shiva lives in the mountains and in order to bring the peace of that ambience down to everyday life in Houston, Devji conceived the idea of this temple.

In Devji’s words, Shree Madan is an incarnation of Lord Shiva and in this temple, his picture is at the center flanked by the pictures of Shree Jyoti Shakti who he believes to be an incarnation of Lord Ganesha, and Mata Roopvati who is to him, the incarnation of the Goddess Parvati.

Devji said that the whole concept behind this temple is to simply spread peace, wellness and positive spirit to all. Therefore all are welcome to the temple regardless of their religion, race or community. He said that if one has a long standing wish or desire, this temple would be a wonderful place to sincerely connect with that desire, and make a heartfelt and sincere wish towards realizing it. Apparently the powers of his Guru, Shree Madan and the aura of the en-

ergies in the temple will enable that desire to become a reality.

Devji Prabhu says that in conformance with the regular routine and pattern of functioning of the main Shree Madan Dham in Nangal, he gives discourses every evening at 7:00, on matters of spirituality and philosophy.

Apparently, the fundamental philosophy of this temple is that there is only one God and each person/soul, (Atma) can find the God within themselves, in an effort to unite with the higher consciousness of the universe, (the Paramatma), when their energies are channelized in the right direction.

Devji says that his Guru Shree Madan’s efforts is not to form new religions or seperate people by means of religious boundaries, but to break these very boundaries to unite and weave the whole human race, despite differences, into one single fabric.

Apparently their aim is to promote the idea of ‘Universal Brotherhood’ which they term Vishnu-Bandhutva, which means forging friendships and ties with human beings as one would with the supreme being. They believe that such a committed endeavor will bring people together, promoting peace and wellness for all - Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu.

Deviji’s Guru, Shree Madan was apparently born on Oct 22, 1947. Shree Madan Dham in Nangal, India, is a Practical Training Center of Spiritual Education. Devji said that he derives inspiration from his Guru and would like to make the Shree Madan Mandir in Houston a spiritual education center, just like the main ashram.

Devji also teaches Yoga Mudra during the weekends – Saturdays 9-10am and 4-5pm, and Sundays 10-11am and 5-6pm. These Yoga Mudra classes are not priced. Anyone interested is welcome to attend and contribute whatever they can for the class.

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June 08, 2012

Indian-American Wins US Spelling Contest for Fifth Year

Snigdha Nandipati wins National Spelling Bee

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(Nydailynews) Indian Americans continued to demonstrate their spelling prowess when Snigdha Nandipati, a 14-year-old girl, correctly spelled “guetapens,” French word for ambush, to win the 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee crown.

She retained the coveted national honor for the community, that has been steadily growing in profile and influence, for the fifth straight year.

“It’s a miracle,” said Nandipati from San Diego, California, as she piped fellow Indian American Stuti Mishra, 14, of West Melbourne, Florida who stumbled over “schwarmerei”, German for extravagant enthusiasm, in the last round of the final at a convention center outside Washington on Thursday night.

Nandipati, an avid reader and coin collector who aspires to become a psychiatrist or neurosurgeon, gets $30,000 in cash, a trophy, a $2,500 savings bond, a $5,000 scholarship, $2,600 in reference works from the Encyclopedia Britannica and an online language course.

Nandipati plays violin and is fluent in Telugu. She is the fifth consecutive IndianAmerican winner and 10th in the last 14 years.

The Indian-American community’s victory run began in 1999 when Nupur Lala captured the crown and was later featured in the documentary “Spellbound”. Anamika Veeramani scored a hat-trick for IndianAmericans by taking the crown in 2010.

With Arvind Mahankali, 12, of Bayside Hills, New York, a finalist for the last two years, the three Indian American kids were

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A 14-year-old Indian-American was crowned as the 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee champion. Snigdha Nandipati of San Diego won the title correctly when she spelled “guetapens,” French word for ambush. the top spellers left in the last round from among the nine who made the finals on Thursday.

Forty-one spellers, meanwhile, heard the dreaded bell that signals an incorrect spelling in the semi-finals. Those included one of the favorites, 10-year-old Vanya Shivashankar of Olathe, Kansas. The younger sister of the 2009 champion got the only perfect score in the preliminary rounds. Breezily confident through the first two semifinal rounds, Shivashankar was flummoxed by “pejerrey,” a small fish. She went with “perjere.”

Another Indian American fifth-time competitor, Rahul Malayappan, also did not make the finals.

The finals did not include the youngest speller in bee history, six-year-old Lori Anne Madison of Lake Ridge, Virginia, who was eliminated during the preliminary rounds when she misspelled one of her two words -- “ingulvies” (the crop, or craw, of birds) -and then fell short on her written test.

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COMMUNITY

June 08, 2012

Letter from Akshaya Patra Board to Houston Supporters

June 2, 2012 Dr. K. T. Shah, a former volunteer co-chair of Houston chapter of Akshaya Patra USA, has circulated a letter voicing numerous issues and disagreements with the management of Akshaya Patra.

His heart is in the right place but he has chosen a path that is causing unintended damage to the organization and its noble mission: no child shall be deprived of education because of hunger.

The Akshaya Patra USA board wants to reassure you that while issues and disagreements are driven by Dr. Shah’s passionate support of the Akshaya Patra mission, they are his opinion. The Akshaya Patra board and the staff will continue to work in an ethical manner on behalf of the underprivileged children to ensure that hunger is not a barrier to education for them.

Sri. Madhu Pandit Dasa, the Chairman of the parent organization, Akshaya Patra India, who is also a board member of the Akshaya Patra USA, reaffirms full confidence of the India board in the sincere services of Mr. Desh Deshpande and Mrs. Madhu Sridhar.

The first several questions that Dr. Shah is raising can be attributed to difference in style and approach. Our efforts to close the differences through communication were not successful. So, when Dr. Shah chose to resign on September 30, 2011 the Board accepted his resignation.

Mr. Naveen Khurana, the Akshaya Patra USA board member who resigned in August, 2011 has the following to say on June 1, 2012 in response to Dr. Shah’s comment about the role of arbitrator: “I have been involved with Akshaya Patra India and Akshaya Patra USA for over ten years now.

I served on the board of Akshaya Patra USA since inception. I was very proud to be on the board of the organization with a noble mission that is executing with complete transparency and discipline both in India and the USA. I resigned on August 1, 2011 to pursue my personal interests related to Vedic

teachings. I had been postponing writing, publishing and teaching work and wanted to devote time to that. Even after my resignation, I have been in touch and in discussions with Akshaya Patra and have kept in touch with both Desh Deshpande and Madhu Sridhar of Akshaya Patra USA. I am still helping the fundraising teams both in India and the USA.” Dr. Shah also alludes to a lack of transparency in the reporting of financials. The Annual Report of Akshaya Patra India gives a detailed accounting of the funds sent from the US. To its credit, Akshaya Patra has won Gold Shield awards for three consecutive years for best financial reporting from the Indian Institute of Chartered Accountants.

Akshaya Patra USA files financials with the IRS on a timely basis after they are audited by an independent auditor. In addition, 990s are filed on a regular basis and these are public documents. Mr. Prabhakar Kalavacherla is a board member on the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). Prior to his current role he was an audit partner at KPMG LLP. He serves as the audit committee chair for Akshaya Patra USA board.

The Akshaya Patra India Board is proud to have Mr. Desh Deshpande, a much sought after visionary leader, chairing the Akshaya Patra USA board. He is devoting countless hours in guiding and mentoring both India and the US fundraising teams, traveling all across US promoting Akshaya Patra. He and his wife, Mrs. Jaishree Deshpande, have made personal donation of close to a million dollars to Akshaya Patra since 2004 to help build kitchens and continues to support funding of the US office.

He spends his after tax dollars for travel and any related expenses to raise funds.

Mrs. Madhu Sridhar, the first President and CEO of Akshaya Patra USA, has worked tirelessly to build the first Akshaya Patra office outside of India and has established the appropriate processes that can scale. She has brought the finest

and the most accomplished luminaries to serve on the Advisory Board of Akshaya Patra USA including Mr. Narayan Murthy, Mr. Nitin Nohria, Mr. Deepak Chopra and Mr. Fareed Zakaria. Mrs. Sridhar’s efforts have been an inspiration to start chapters in Canada and UK. Her successful efforts in USA have inspired the organization in India to invest more towards engaging professionals in fund raising in India.

We look forward to the leadership and guidance of Mr. Desh Deshpande and the invaluable services of Mrs. Madhu Sridhar to build an organization that can raise funds globally to achieve our goal of serving five million children by 2020.

The Akshaya Patra USA Board and the staff will continue to strive to make Akshaya Patra an organization that other NGOs can look up to as a benchmark with your enduring support. We thank you for making Akshaya Patra your philanthropic priority.

Board of Akshaya Patra USA

9

Nisha Mohindra Weds Prashant Kolluri

HOUSTON: The wedding of Nisha Mohindra and Prashant Kolluri took place on Memorial Day weekend, May 25-27.

Nisha is the daughter of Biki and Prita Mohindra, who have resided in Houston since 1975. Nisha graduated from Bellaire High School and obtained undergraduate degrees in Economics, Systems and Electrical Engineering, and South Asian Regional Studies from the University of Pennsylvania and premed from University of Texas before getting an MD from

J. CogliandroPhotography Photography J. Cogliandro Northwestern University.

Prashant is the son of Sharma and Kama Kolluri of New Orleans.

He graduated with biomedical engineering and law degrees from Washington University in St. Louis.

The wedding festivities included mehendi at the Mohindra residence, sangeet at Courtyard on St. James Place and both wedding and reception at Intercontinental Hotel.

The couple will reside in Chicago after their honeymoon.

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14-Year-Old Texan Wins National Geographic Bee

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National Geographic Bee host Alex Trebek stands with National Geographic Bee champion Rahul Nagvekar, 14, from Quail Valley Middle School in Missouri City, TX (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

(Stltoday) In the end, it came down to an educated guess as to which Bavarian city located on the Danube River was a legislative seat of the Holy Roman Empire from 1663 to 1806.

Answer: The German city of Regensburg.

And with that, 14-year-old Rahul Nagvekar took the top prize Thursday at the National Geographic Bee. It was a close victory. He and runner-up Vansh Jain had finished the championship round tied after five questions. Next, they were asked a series of tiebreakers in a sudden death round. For the first three, both wrote down the correct answer. On the fourth, only Nagvekar was correct.

“It was a guess, a 50-50 chance,” said the eighth-grader from Sugar Land, Texas. “It just happened to be a good guess.”

The first-time contender in the national competition will receive a $25,000 college scholarship along with a trip to the Galapagos Islands. It was the third time a student from Texas has won the bee in the past four years.

Nagvekar’s mother, Urmila Sabnis, said that helping her son train required her to do a lot of research with her husband.

“I have been reading and reading and reading ...just to be able to make it tough,” said the software engineer who’s originally from India. “He wouldn’t take a question if it was easy.”

Nagvekar said maps have fascinated him for years, but he’s not sure what he’ll study when he gets to college in a few years. He start-

ed preparing for the geography bee in fourth grade and has gone to the state bee every year, placing higher each time.

This year’s bee began with local competitions among 4 million students in schools across the country.

“I think it’s very important for people to know more about the world,” Nagvekar said. “That helps with world conflict. It helps people understand others better.

It helps people understand why problems happen and how to solve those problems.”

The bee tested the 10 finalists’ knowledge of history, world cultures, landmarks and climates.

In one round, students were shown a graph with rainfall and temperature averages and asked to pick which city it depicted. Another round used Google Earth to zoom in on a museum, memorial or church, and the students guessed where it was located.

President Barack Obama asked a question this year by video, quizzing the young contenders on their knowledge of recent events.

Obama asked what Asian capital city on the Han River hosted a gathering of world leaders in March for a Nuclear Security Summit.

The answer: Seoul.

Obama said studying geography is “about more than just memorizing places on a map.

“It’s about understanding the complexity of our world, appreciating the diversity of cultures that exist across continents, and, in the end, it’s about using all that knowledge to help bridge divides and bring people together.”

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUNE 08, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

The contest will be televised Thursday night on the National Geographic Channel and later on public broadcast stations. “Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek hosted the finals.

National Geographic changed the format this year. Rather than eliminate finalists after two wrong answers, the finalists earned points for each correct answer. During four elimination stages, those with the lowest scores were culled.

Jain, a 13-year-old from Minocqua, Wis., will take home a $15,000 scholarship as runner-up.

The eighth-grader was making his third appearance in the national geography bee.

“You have to love to look at maps,” he said. In his spare time, he also is on the swimming team and plays the flute in his school band.

The third-place finisher, 13-yearold Varun Mahadevan of Fremont, Calif., wins a $10,000 scholarship.

Fifty-four contestants representing each state and four U.S. territories competed in Washington.

The 10 who made the final rounds represented Arizona, California, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Texas, Utah and Wisconsin.

Brian McClendon, vice president of engineering at bee sponsor Google, said it is the nation’s best academic competition. Still, it’s often overshadowed by the National Spelling Bee. “You 50 or 54 are the smartest people I know,” he told the contenders.

COMMUNITY

June 08, 2012

Madurai Temple Chairman Karu Muttu Kannan Visits Sri Meenakshi Temple PEARLAND: Madurai Sree Meenakshi Sundreswarar Temple Chairman, Karu Muttu Kannan and his wife Dr. Uma Kannan visited Sri Meenakshi Temple in Pearland, Texas, on Monday May 28, 2012. He was received by the temple priests at the Raja Gopuram with Poorna Kubhambam.

Mr. Kannan was taken along the inside prakaram and then to Shiva sannadhi, Meenakshi, Venkateswara and Padmavathi sannadhis for pooja. Roopa Balakrishnan, Meenakshi Temple Society’s (MTS) Religious Activities Committee coordinator, made arrangements to honor Mr. Kannan, his wife and other visitors who were in Houston in connection with the 37th convention of the Tamil Nadu Foundation.

On inquiry from Raj Mikkilineni, MTS Secretary, Mr. Kannan made brief remarks on a possible memorandum of understanding between the Madurai and Pearland Meenakshi Temples. Mr. Kan-

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nan said that the MOU was under consideration of the Tamil Nadu Government and that he would be happy to visit again when the document is finalized.

Then the group moved to the visitor center where Karu Muutu Kannan, Movie Director S.P. Muthuraman, Professor Gnanasambandham and Umayal Muthu made brief remarks and answered questions from the audience.

Vatsa Kumar MTS Board mem-

ber and Meena Subramanian, Nat Annamalai and Padma Anantha MTS Adjunct Executive Directors gave a tour of the temple complex.

Malar Narayanan, Board member in charge for food services, arranged for lunch. Srikanth, MTS Joint Secretary and Padma Golla MTS Joint Treasurer made necessary arrangements. Sam Kannappan, S. Muthuraman and Jeyam Thiagarajan, MTS Board member, took care of the transportation.

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INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUNE 08, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

TRAVEL

12 June 08, 2012

A Togolese Village, Ahepe, Where Everyone Knows His Name!

BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA AHEPE, Togo: It was just impossible to miss the yelled out greeting, accompanied with a peal of laughter, a flash of a broad smile and a clap of the hands. Little kids would stop, and the boys in the clearing that formed their soccer field would gaze and call him out.

“Je- re- mie! Je-re-mie!!”

Long, tall Jeremy would walk by, and raise his hand in a wave and call back “Bon Soir!” (good afternoon) and keep his pace along the dirt path, his flip-flops leaving a trace on the ochre earth. When he ran into an adult he knew, he’d stop to exchange the rituals of the meeting – a handshake that ended with a snap off the other person’s middle finger and some enquiries. “Comment ca va? Tout va bien? Et la famille? Et la travail?” (How’s everything? All goes well? And the family? And work?).

Jeremy had perfected the ritual, the inflections of the local French dialect, the mannerisms that go with relating to local people.

There we’d stand, sometimes by the side of the road, often the other person stepped off their bicycle or moped, as they exchanged pleasantries, and Jeremy might ask about the project that they had worked on together.

And then Jeremy would introduce us.

“C’est mon papa, et mon grand frère Stefan” (this is my father, and my older brother Stefan) and there would be loud wonderment, broad smiles and incredulous exclamations that we had come all the way from America to visit. “Non!! Ton papa? Aah, bon soir papa!” with a repeat of the handshake and then “Bon soir grand frère!” with another handshake, coupled with much inquisitiveness at our visit as almost no foreigners visited the village and certainly none who were the relatives of a volunteer of the Corps de la Paix (Peace Corps). By our visit, we had effectively tripled the white population in the village.

And when they didn’t know Jeremy – or us – the little urchins playing outside their homes, or by the side of their mothers who toiled at the roadside stall selling vegetables or pounding yams into a soft white pulp for the daily meal of “fu-fu” would sing a little rhyme in their native Kewe that was so universal across the country you’d wonder if it was taught in school, grinning gleefully and staring with wide eyes all the while, but not tauntingly.

“Yowo, yowo bon soir!” “Yowo, yowo bon soir!” (Whitey, whitey, hello!)

It wasn’t mean spirited, just innocence mixed with excitement and onlookers would stop to grin, and occasionally an adult would admonish them not to say so.

This was the village of Ahepe where my son Jeremy Gyan had gone to for the past two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer, with much of my misgivings about the futility of effort and waste of time. Now, as my older son and I had come to visit him – a trip delayed a year due to the flagging US economy and the disruptions of financial markets – those misgivings were transformed into

Clockwise from top left: Jeremy Malhotra at his house in Ahepe with his local mentor Theo and his wife and uncle Bernard (right); from left Theo, Stefan, Jawahar, the Village Chief and Jeremy; village kids after school; Jeremy’s house nicknamed the “Embassy of Texas”; Photos: Jawahar Malhotra

marveling at the impact that the experience had not only on Jeremy and on the villagers but was now having on us, outsiders who had suddenly been taken into the affectionate folds of the village.

The last Peace Corps volunteer who had lived in Ahepe was in 1984, and Jeremy showed us the stone brick that he had left in

the ground of the garden of his home, etched with his name and the year “Ritchie, 1984”.

The old man and owner came out to show it to us, as we arrived without advance notice, but he was welcoming all the same as dropping in is a way of life here. He showed us the stone then we walked to the edge of the path to his house, in the shadows of 200 foot tall Boa Bap trees that have a spindly branch structure, resulting in their sometimes being called Upside-Down Trees. A few hundred feet away were some Flamboyant trees, set off against the sunset that arrives almost punctually every evening at 6:30.

Ahepe is a village of maybe 5,000 people who live on both sides of the main asphalt road, often rutted with potholes, that branches off from the National Highway 1 (also known as Eyadema) at Tsevie and goes by Agbatope, a slightly bigger village. It lies at the junction of two other wide dirt roads that lead to two other nearby villages – Zafi and Kouve and its commercial heart is at the curve of the road that goes southwards off to Tabligbo some 10 kilometeres away.

We had arrived in Ahepe after some four hours on a 194 km ride after we left the capital Lome by bush taxi –a city taxi that we had negotiated a fare with and usually picks up people along the way. And when we turned into the ochre-colored rain-carved dirt road by the Chef du Village’s (village chief) compound, Jeremy’s bungalow came into view behind a walled-in courtyard where he had just hoisted the Texas flag on a wooden pole in anticipation of our visit. The villagers had nicknamed his house “l’Ambassade du Texas” (the Embassy of Texas)!

Natraj School Holds Talent Showcase HOUSTON: After another successful Ramleela 2011, the Shri Natraj School of Dance came back with yet another captivating evening on May 25 in a dance studio by the Texas Medical Center a dance recital where the students of the school presented different forms of Indian dances like Kathak, Bharatnatayam, and Bollywood.

Kathak is a form of classical dance that originated from the Northern part of India while Bharatanatyam originated from the Southern part of India. Both dance forms are extremely graceful and elegant and also very unique. Bollywood dance form, as the name suggests is mostly the free style dance inspired from Bollywood music The program started at 7 pm and went on for an hour followed by a potluck dinner for the performers and family. The beautiful dancers were of all ages - from 4 to 35 years – and were enthralling with their colorful costumes and moves.

It began with a prayer dance ‘Mooshika Vahan’ in Bharatnatyam style. Next, was the enchanting Kathak performance ‘Guru Brahma’ by the junior kids followed by some simple tukdas. The show progressed with an elegant recital consisting of tatkar followed by some chakradhar tukdas by the older Kathak students. Showing versatility, the younger students danced their heart out to some popular Bollywood numbers like ‘Chamak Chalo’ and ‘Zoobi Dubi’ captivating the audience by their latka and jhatkas. The show wrapped up with an amazing performance to the song “Mere Dholna” by the senior Kathak students along with their dance guru herself, Kusum Sharma.

The show was emceed by Runmee Barbara Dutta and attended by the friends and families of all the performers who showed great energy, excitement and enthusiasm.

The flawless technique, expressive choreography by Kusum Sharma, phenomenal

Performing at the Natraj School of Dance showcase, front row: Surabh, Geetali and Seema; Back row: Aditi and Shikha.

dancing, colorful costumes, and fascinating music combined to present a stunning visual

treat while the tabla that accompanied the Kathak performances was captivating.

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUNE 08, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

COMMUNITY

June 08, 2012 Commencement Speech at Alma Mater

13

Randhir Sahni Urges Kansas State Graduates to Defy Expectations

BY PRAMOD KULKARNI MANHATTAN, Kansas: Randhir Sahni, Houston’s leading architect and registered investment adviser, was invited to be the commencement speaker at his alma mater, Kansas State University School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture. The graduation ceremonies were held May 11, 2012. Sahni was accompanied by his wife Sunila and youngest daughter Nandita.

A native of New Delhi, Randhir Sahni migrated to the United States in 1966 after earning his degree in architecture from MS University in Baroda. He earned a Master of Architecture at Kansas State University and a Master of Architecture in Urban Design from Rice University.

Sahni is president of Llewellyn-Davies Sahni, an international, award-winning architecture, planning, urban design and consulting firm. His work over the past 30 years includes: a $250-million building development program for Ben Taub and Lyndon B. Johnson in the Texas Medical Center; redevelopment of 70-city blocks on downtown San Antonio; and redevelopment plans for CBD Pittsburg, PA. and 42nd Street in New York City. 1n 1997, he became a Registered Investment Advisor.

In 2005, Mr. Sahni was elected to the City Council, City of Piney Point. He and his wife, Sunila, have two daughters, Rohini and Nandita.

In his commencement speech, Sahni stressed the value of a life of learning. “In the days and years to come, while there may not be textbooks, professors, papers and classrooms, this school and this degree have primed you for a lifetime of learning.

I have made my way through three different architecture degrees and over forty years of work experience, and yet I find that every day there is a lot more to learn,” Sahni explained. “My life’s work thus far has proven this fact true time and again, as I hope to share with you today. I urge you to begin your professional career knowing that this is true.

It may make you flexible, it will make you curious and it will make you determined.

But, most of all, knowing that you are always learning means that you never take anything so seriously that you forget to enjoy your work, and, more importantly, your life.”

Sharing four snippets from his life, Sahni said almost all adversities are opportunities in disguise. The first example of adversity was failing in boarding school. “I resented lack of an opportunity for self-judgment, causing me to be an academically poor student. I failed once and had to stay back a year. I was crushed. I lost my self-respect and could not face friends and family. It was then, that I promised myself, that come hell or high water; I was going to be very serious about my schoolwork from this point forward. In college, that promise that I made to myself that day, paid off, every year for the next five years I was in the upper tier of the class. With each of those small steps, came more determination and diligence with which I then began to address each challenge that came my way. It slowly, but surely became a habit.”

The second opportunity that came as an adversity was the choice of going to Baroda for college. “To my surprise, early in the semester I was given a clear message by the

to Llewellyn David-Sahni (LD-S).

In 1997, Sahni passed three securities exams to become a registered investment adviser with Resource Horizons Group.

“For the last 15-years, I have practiced architecture/planning along with wealth management. Not just equities related money management, but capital projects related resource management. While disjointed at first glance, it has been a merging of two worlds that makes nothing but sense to me ... My firm sits in the driver’s seat because of understanding of academic and physical requirements, with capabilities that were needed to convince bond lenders about the different funding needs.”

In closing, Sahni urged, “I encourage you to always defy their expectations, to show them a different side of yourself, to ask for more and to always take the time to explore what interests you, even if it seems, at first, completely disjointed from what you have been doing. Doing so has proven, time and again for me, to lead me on the right path.”

For Your Advertisement Needs Randhir Sahni at the Kansas State University School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture commencement with his youngest daughter Nandita.

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students there, I belonged to another part of the country – North India—and was not welcome here, in the state of Gujarat. However, I stayed, and did my utmost to become part of local student population, respecting their culture, learning their values and speaking to them in their language – despite barely knowing more than a few words when starting school. However, I would be unapologetic for hailing from a different part of the country. Eventually, I succeeded.

In the fourth year of college, I was elected to become a member of the University Student Senate, a 14-member student governing body, elected from a student population of over 14,000.”

The third example was of life at KSU. “I landed in the U.S. in September of 1966 with all of eight dollars in my pocket....

Not knowing anything about cooking, one day I decided to do just that in the small 2-bedroom apartment. Not realizing that the aroma of frying onions with loads of spices can make people very uncomfortable? This smell made my roommate quite unhappy, he complained once, and was not taken too seriously by me. He got drunk and came at me with an 8” butcher knife and was ready to slit my throat. I managed to lock my door and the next day I moved out. I learned, in a great and frightening hurry, that respecting other people’s values and preferences was going to be of prime importance in life.

The lesson from an uncomfortable situation forced me into a way of being that has proven indispensable as I have moved from job to job, state to state, meeting new people from a diverse backgrounds and cultures.”

Sahni continued with his life story of coming to Houston to study urban design at Rice University, working for CRS and then joining LDA in 1977. In 1980, he was made partner and the company name was changed

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUNE 08, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

14 June 08, 2012 India’s Ashish Roy, 80, Runs Half Marathon WASHINGTON (NYDailyNews): India’s grand old marathon man Ashish Roy, who turns 80 June 1, is running again after a gap of over six months, this time by participating in a half marathon in Alexandria.

Roy, who has run a record 113 marathons, completed the half marathon in Alexandria, a Washington suburb in neighbouring Virginia, Sunday with a timing of 3 hours, 10 minutes and 40 seconds.

He was awarded a finisher’s medal and an age group winner medal.

Roy, who was bedridden for over three months after a major backbone surgery in Delhi last November, had run his last full marathon in the US in August last year. His 113 marathon tally includes 44 in the US, 12 in Canada, 38 in India and 19 in other countries.

Known as the “Marathon Man of India”, Roy is only Indian to find mention in “The Messengers”, a book by Malcolm Andersen of Kingston University in Canada, about people who have completed

COMMUNITY PSH’s Hands Out Vaisakhi Awards

The Board of the PSH along with the two main sponsors Mangat Singh (fourth from left rear) and Jasbir Singh Bawa (in suit) with a group of young dancers who had received their trophies.

Photos: Jawahar Malhotra

Ashish Roy more than 100 marathons.

Roy started running marathons at the age of 52 after retiring as a cardiologist from the Indian Air Force. Starting with his first run in Rath marathon in November 1985 he went on to complete his 100th marathon in January 2010.

Parminder Singh sang several contemporary Punjabi songs.

BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA HOUSTON: The Punjabi Society of Houston held a dinner and award ceremony this past Saturday, June 2 for all the 40 volunteers and performers who participated in the annual Vaisakhi program, held this year at the Cullen Auditorium of the University of Houston on April 28. The party was held at the Hotel Preet at the corner of Hwy 290 and Beltway 8, which was also the

venue for all the practice sessions for all the groups who danced.

The evening featured a buffet dinner for all the guests and bhangra music to dance to for the young and young-at-heart. The program was emceed by Jasmeeta Singh, who was the main coordinator and choreographer for the Vaisakhi show and the gold cup trophies were presented to all the participants by the Board of the PSH and its main sponsor, Jasbir Singh Bawa of Bawa Jewelers and Mangat Singh of Hotel Preet.

The Board members of the Punjabi Society of Houston (from left) Jasmeeta Singh, Hardeep Kaur, Bhai Amar Singh, Manohar Singh Mann, Aman Singh and Pritpal Singh.

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUNE 08, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

June 08, 2012 15 COMMUNITY Interested in Opening a Niche Salon within Walmart?

Exclusive Q&A interview with Vas Maniatis, co-founder of Seva

HOUSTON: The business philosophy of Vas and Sonal Maniatis, founders of Seva, is, “serving selflessly” in everything they set out to do. Seva is a franchise business, ideal for those interested in beauty.

It specializes in eyebrow shaping, facial hair removal, and waxing. Their signature service is eyebrow threading. Seva grows within retail stores, and has established an exclusive partnership with Walmart, with opportunity for future growth in other retail stores such as Walgreens, Sephora and Ulta. The Seva business model guarantees entrepreneurs foot traffic in the thousands per week.

What is the story behind Seva?

Vas Maniatis (VM): The concept originated in the late 90’s during a trip to the Little India neighborhood of Devon Street in Chicago, IL. My girlfriend then, (and now wife of 12 years), wanted to get her eyebrows threaded. Not caring the least about eyebrows and fleeing at the thought of needles (there are no needles), I reluctantly agreed to accompany her. I walked into a packed storefront - salon chairs filled the circumference of the shop, every chair had a woman having her eyebrows threaded. In minutes, with what looked like hands and arms and a spool of thread dancing to some peculiar rhythm, the customer would have shapely eyebrows. I was mesmerized!

I had witnessed the “art of eyebrow threading” - one of those rare cultural gems hiding in the USA right under our eyebrows! This magnificent and ancient technique needed to exposure outside the Indian community! In 2007, as the idea continued fomenting in my brain, the first waves of threading kiosks opened in malls throughout the country. At that time, I sold a real estate company I had founded, and travelled for a year with my wife and our two children. When we returned to the US we were ready for our threading venture.

We analyzed the now successful mall model and concluded that malls were great for threading but the model had serious flaws. First, malls may be fine for the first round of hair removal but were terribly inconvenient for recurring customers. Second, mall kiosks lacked privacy and made customers uncomfortable. We needed a location that would allow for maximum business exporsure without sacrificing convenience and privacy. It was a no-brainer - within retail environments such as Walmart! More than 30,000 customers per week enter Walmart. This type of retail environment could offer an unparalleled one-stop-shop convenience to the customer.

partnership with based on proximity of their salons to applWalmart will last sicants’ locations. The applications, pushed as long as both to their iPad-based POS is accessible via a parties are happy workflow throughout the hiring process. All with each other. Seva locations have access to certified beauWe are free to of- ty professionals trained in a series of handsfer our model in on threading instructional classes offered at other venues but Seva’s corporate headquarters. are selective in What are the attributes needed to be a who we partner successful Seva franchisee with. Currently, VM: Our franchisees must meet our core the company is values: HLS: Honesty, Loyalty, Skill. Meetpreparing for ex- ing the financial requirements is necessary pansion in retail as well, which is $100k liquid. Business and airport loca- acumen is great; beauty or salon experience tions. is not necessary.

How does What steps do your most successful franyour iPad-based chisees take to build and grow?

POS technology VM: Our best partners listen and follow The owners, Vas and Sonal Maniatis. facilate franchi- our protocols. They realize that we’ve alsees’ efficiency? ready made the mistakes and figured out the In 2008, Simply Eyebrows opened its pilot VM: Our POS best practices. store inside a new Walmart in Indianapolis, technology empowers the franchisee with What do you do to help your franchisees IN. It was an immediate success; 3 ½ years real-time data - live web cam, transaction become profitable? later, the 400 square foot pilot store serves data from anywhere in the world, allowing VM: We never stop improving ever! One more than 1,000 customers per week! In 2009, for an absentee franchisee business model. of our latest efforts: Investing and developwe opened Simply Eyebrows in more states What assistance do you offer franchisees ing a robust e-Learning platform tied to our inside other retail outlets. They were highly for staff recruitment and training? iPad POS. successful. In late 2009-early 2010, Simply VM: We provide them with the best indusWhat are your goals for Seva in the next Eyebrows diversified services and expanded try tools. We utilize our cooperative market- few years?? nationwide. The Walmart-based stores were ing fund to proactively recruit the best. Seva VM: I don’t believe in selling, I believe in now given the trade name Seva, meaning “To Corp. compliments local recruitment efforts awarding. When the right partner approachServe Selflessly.” Simply Eyebrows locations of franchisees.Job applicants submit appli- es us for a franchise, we award them Seva. continued to expand in retail and non-retail cations on SevaBeauty.com. All franchisees Interested franchisees visit www.sevaenvironments outside Walmart. Seva’s initial and their managers receive these application beauty.com franchise offering and nationwide expansion plans came in mid 2010. Seva currently operates in nine states with plans for national and international growth.

Tell us about Seva’s range of products and ak services. How are you different from como-P Ind epali peting salons?

N VM: Seva specializes in brow-shaping faNow Dr. K. B. Singh cial hair removal by threading and waxing, is here, Every Sunday from 11.00AM. nail services including no-chip manicures All Acute and Chronic Diseases are Curable with Ayurveda and pedicures, full spa services including Dr. K.B. Singh Everyday Low Prices While Stocks Last So Call Now for appointment 713-449-5265 body waxing and facials, eyelash extensions, and much more. Salons are conveniently located within Walmart. Appointments are not Amras Mango Zafarani Basmati Rice Golden Temple Atta necessary. Our location and affordable pric(Juice) ing for three servces – (brows and face, spa, and nails), keeps us ahead of competition. We also offer a line of Seva branded products.

Seva’s POS system allows customers easy access to “today’s special” offers. CustomShakti Bhog ers electronically receive offers, appointment Amul Pure Ghee Wai Wai Cup Noodles Whole Wheat Atta confirmations, and beauty service receipts.

How’s the demand for your services among Walmart customers? How long will your exclusive relationship with Walmart last?

VM: Some Walmart-Seva salons service more than 1,000 customers per week. Our

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INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUNE 08, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

16 June 08, 2012

COMMUNITY Telfair Central Opens in Sugar Land

David Weekly homes in Telfair Central are priced from $300,000.

SUGAR LAND : Last weekend, the grand opening was held for Telfair Central, the final neighborhood in Telfair, a Sugar Land community located at U.S. 59 South and University Blvd.

Four new decorated models showcased the lineup for Telfair Central, which is surrounded by lakes and greenbelts, and interlaced with landscaped parks called mews.

The builder lineup includes: Ryland Homes priced from the $300,000s. David Weekley Homes and Village Builders from the $370,000s. David Weekley Homes from the $490,000s.

Planned for fewer than 200 new homes, Telfair Central is the final major chapter in the development of Telfair, a 2,018-acre commu-

nity opened in 2006. Located in the Fort Bend Independent School District, Telfair has consistently been one of the top-selling communities in Houston and the United States, ranking 10th in the nation last year in sales.

“Location has been key to the success of Telfair, which offers one of the final opportunities to buy a new home right in Sugar Land,” said Heather Gustafson, marketing director for Newland Communities. “The location is so convenient that you can see the community’s landmark arched suspension bridges, and the historic building of the Houston Museum of Natural Science at Sugar Land, right from U.S. 59, just past Highway 6.” New homes in Telfair have typically sold fast, and

Telfair Central is no exception.

Even before the grand opening began, 25 percent of the homes had already been sold.

In some ways, Telfair has saved the best for last in Telfair Central, including a location right in the center of the community, near the museum and the Telfair Central community center complex.

Both the home architecture and the land plan for Telfair Central have been designed to create the feeling of a traditional neighborhood that promotes front-porch living and pedestrian activity.

Builders are creating all-new floors plans designed especially for Telfair Central, with architecture inspired by the Craftsman style and other historic influences.

Spacious front porches will be a prominent feature along the streets of Telfair Central, with builders required to provide front porches on at least one-third of the homes.

Some portions of the 58-acre neighborhood will feature a network of rear laneways, or alleys, to provide access to garages. This will add to the neighborhood’s green atmosphere by eliminating driveways and garage doors from the view along the streets.

But perhaps the most unique feature of Telfair Central will be its many mews, or neighborhood parks. A British term, mews traditionally refers to a group of homes

or stables surrounding a central court.

At Telfair Central, the mews are numerous green spaces that provide views for many homesites, as well as parkland for residents. One distinctive feature, a long central mew, leads to an open waterfront park.

Telfair Central is surrounded on two sides by the largest lake in Telfair, and all lake frontage in the

neighborhood is lined with walking trails and open park space on both sides of the water.

The Telfair Central neighborhood is within walking distance of the community’s flagship amenity, also called Telfair Central.

This 25-acre recreation complex includes a community center, fitness center, water park, tennis courts, playgrounds and waterfront park space.

Job Available Opening for Chef de Cuisine and Culinary Trainer for Indian cuisine restaurant in Meadows Place, TX. Required: Bachelor’s degree in culinary arts or related field.

Send resume to: Attn: HR, email: wkanacafe@gmail.com

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUNE 08, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

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18 June 08, 2012

Happy News

If an airliner takes off and lands a 1,000 times without fail, it is not news. It becomes news if it crashed on its 1,001 flight. As such, a newspaper is full of tragedies and bad news. In this particular issue of Indo-American News, I’m pleased to report that there are quite a few instances of happy news.

We have news of UH President Renu Khator win the Light of India award. Then we have the U.S. spelling bee champ Snigdha Nandipati and Missouri City’s Rahul Nagvekar winning the National Geographic bee. India is beaming about five-time chess champion Vishwanathan Anand. And cricket fans from Kolkota and around the world are still in delirium about the Kolkota Knight Riders winning the IPL 5 trophy.

Let’s enjoy the happy news while we can and postpone the news of corrupt politicians and Eurozone financial crisis till tomorrow.

Pramod Kulkarni

Still Ample Time

It’s swelling into an overwhelming chorus now. Even many Congress Working Committee (CWC) members have come round to the view that the economy is the problem, to which the party’s electoral reverses can be attributed. In the circumstances, one would have expected Congress’s apex decision-making body to come out of its Monday meeting guns blazing, in an effort to start up long-stalled policy decisions on the economy. The announcement of a concrete plan of action on economic reforms and effective governance would have gone a long way towards dispelling the prevailing gloom. Instead Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh, leading lights in party and government, played it safe by issuing the usual strictures against the opposition and the Anna Hazare-led civil society movement.

But the delegates voiced real anxieties, on issues ranging from price rise, rupee devaluation, petrol price hike to the overall economic slide. Without openly dissenting with the leadership, state leaders candidly expressed concern about the dismal state of affairs in party and government. The speakers exhorted the top leadership to think big and take bold economic and political steps.

For instance, while Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda suggested another ‘Kamraj Plan’ to cleanse the party.

It’s swelling into an overwhelming chorus now. Even many Congress Working Committee (CWC) members have come round to the view that the economy is the problem, to which the party’s electoral reverses can be attributed. In the circumstances, one would have expected Congress’s apex decision-making body to come out of its Monday meeting guns blazing, in an effort to start up long-stalled policy decisions on the economy.

With two years to go before the Lok Sabha elections, the UPA still has ample room to make bold policy changes. Any further delay in this regard will undoubtedly cost the nation — as well as the party — dear.

Times of India

EDITORIAL

Why Indians Win the Spelling Bee

BY AAKAR PATEL The annual ritual where Indians demonstrate they are smarter than all other Americans is the National Spelling Bee. So dominant are the Indians in this school competition that they have been winners eight times in the last 10 years. If anything, this trend is becoming even more pronounced. Indians took the first spot in each of the last five years and all three top places in this year’s contest that finished on May 31. What explains this total dominance of Indians, who are only one per cent of America’s population? It is hardly the case that we speak or write English better than Europeans or Americans.

How are Indians so good with difficult words?

The online magazine Slate explored this subject in 2010 in their “Explainer” column. The writer concluded that the effort of an organisation called the North South Foundation was responsible.

This body of expatriate Indians conducted local spelling and other contests that made Indian children better. These contests were very competitive, therefore, giving Indians both experience and an edge when they took the national stage.

The Slate writer doesn’t explore why it is that Indians are so enthusiastic about this particular contest in the first place.

The fact is that it plays to their strength, which is learning by rote. Memorising tracts is and has always been the Indian way of acquiring knowledge. It is also the way in which learning is examined in Indian schools. Answers to questions about history, geography and even science that aligned word for word with what the textbook said got you full marks when I was a child, and this hasn’t changed.

Indians have a word in each of their languages for this sort of learning. It is called ratta in Hindi, for instance, and gokh in Gujarati.

It refers to reading, repeatedly reciting, and thereby, memorising whole pages of prose.

This may not be a good way of

Stephen Cohen wrote in his book India: Emerging Power that there was a difference in styles when Indian and American diplomats negotiated.

Indians took pride in recounting the minutiae of events in the past, dates and background and that sort of thing. This was done for no reason other than to show that there was mastery over the subject. Americans, on the other hand, were focused only on the issue at hand. learning, if it is learning at all, but this has always been the case in India. Hindus developed a complex system of memorising and reciting the entire Rig Veda so that it would not be lost in the period before literacy.

Even today, Indian adults consider it an act of learning to be able to put on display their ability to be mug up. Stephen Cohen wrote about this in his book India: Emerging Power. He remarked that there was a difference in styles when Indian and Ameri-

Indo American News FOUNDER: DR. K.L. SINDWANI EDITOR: PRAMOD KULKARNI BUSINESS MANAGER: JAWAHAR MALHOTRA MANAGING PARTNER: KRISHNA GIRI COMMUNITY EDITOR: MANASI GOKHALE ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGER: VANSHIKA VIPIN GRAPHIC DESIGN: SAQIB RANA COMMUNITY CORRESPONDENT: SOWMYA NANDAKUMAR CORRESPONDENTS CHICAGO: NAND KAPOOR, 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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can diplomats negotiated. Indians took pride in recounting the minutiae of events in the past, dates and background and that sort of thing. This was done, Cohen felt, for no reason other than to show that there was mastery over the subject. Americans, on the other hand, were focused only on the issue at hand.

It is true that all students, whether Indian or not, must memorise to be able to do well in America’s National Spelling Bee. A Washington Post report before the finals quoted one American child’s mother saying that her son had studied for 8,000 hours in preparation.

But it is also true that because of their legacy and culture of doing this, Indian kids have an advantage. Our middle class values of parental supervision of studies makes sure more kids spend those thousands of hours learning words.

Indian newspapers take great pride when these values show results, as they did again on June 2 when Snigdha Nandipati won, beating Stuti Mishra and Arvind Mahankali.

Snigdha’s father has trained her since she was four, and used 30,000 flash cards to help her memorise tough words — words like “guetapens” and “chionablepsia” that she is unlikely to encounter again in life.

This advantage Indians have of being able to find the time and motivation to commit things to memory is not particularly useful outside of things like spelling contests. It is of no use in thinking about problems and solutions.

I would say it is the reason why the output of our colleges and universities is low on quality (India’s software body NASSCOM says nine out of 10 Indian engineering graduates who apply to one of the big four software firms are rejected as being unemployable).

So while India’s dominance of the National Spelling Bee puts on display its middle class values, it also showcases the problems of its system of education.

Express Tribune

INDIA

Another Baby Falak in Indore: Cigarette Burns, Multiple Fractures

BY SUCHITRA KALYAN MOHANTY INDORE (JAGRAN POST): Three months after baby Falak’s brutal abuse and subsequent death in the AIIMS hospital which has shaken our collective conscience in nurturing girl children, a similar case of horrific signs of abuse has come to the fore in Indore.

Nobody could put a blind eye on seeing the 11 cigarette burns and multiple fractures on different parts of the body of 18-month-old baby Shireen, who has been recently admitted to a hospital in Indore.

The barbarity meted out to Shireen could well be gauged from the fact that her hands bear the marks of multiple fractures and bruises.

Baby Shireen was brought to the hospital by her mother, Zarina, whose lover reportedly abused the toddler for weeks.

The doctors, however, attending to Shireen says, the baby’s life is not in danger. Like Falak, Shireen has battered baby syndrome, as per TV reports.

It is to be noted that Baby Falak had died in March after being treated for serious physical abuse at Delhi’s

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AIIMS hospital.

Zarina separated earlier from her husband; the couple had three children; including Shireen. She then ran away with a man named, Wahid to Ajmer.

He reportedly abused her children and forced Zarina into prostitution.

She, however, managed to escape with her children and returned to

Indore this week after which she took her children to the hospital.

Acting on the complaint, the police have arrested Wahid.

“It is pathetic to say that such kind of persons exist in our society. No sane person could do this kind of brutal abuse to children,” social activist Ranjan Kumari said.

Obama Campaign Attacks Romney on Outsourcing to India NEW YORK: The Obama Campaign launched an advertisement blitz against Republican rival Mitt Romney accusing him of a dismal economic record and outsourcing jobs to India as the Governor of Massachusetts, contrary to the US President’s stand during his maiden visit to New Delhi.

“Instead of hiring workers from his own State, Romney outsourced call centre jobs to India,” the 1.02 minute advertisement alleges with visuals of call centres in India in the background.

The “Heard it Before” ad is now airing in nine States of Colorado, Florida, Iowa, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio,

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19

June 08, 2012

Pennsylvania, and Virginia.

The ad highlights Romney’s alleged failed economic record as Governor of Massachusetts -- and how he wants to bring that same economic philosophy to the White House.

“When running for Governor, Romney promised more jobs, less debt and smaller government. Once in office, he fell short on those promises and more, Massachusetts plummeted to 47th out of 50 in job creation, taxpayers were left with more debt per

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person than in any other state, and the size of government increased,” the Obama Campaign alleged.

“Now that he’s running for President, we’re hearing the same empty promises. And America can’t afford the same results. The bottom line is simple, Romney Economics didn’t work then, and it won’t work now,” it said.

The Indian IT software and services companies get about 60 per cent of their revenues from the US market, as American firms outsource their back office jobs to India and other countries to cut cost.

On his trip to India in 2010, Barack Obama had said, “...when I go back to the US, a part of the reason that I advertised these 50,000 jobs is I want to be able to say to theAmerican people when they ask me why are you spending time with India when they are taking our jobs.”

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Life Unfolds for Lisa Ray–Model and Actress, to Cancer Conqueror

BY SOWMYA NANDAKUMAR From wanting to major in journalism to a career in modeling, acting and films, Lisa Ray’s story is quite something! Lisa Rani Ray was born on April 4, 1972 in Toronto, Canada.

She is a Canadian of Indian and Polish origins born to a Bengali father and a Polish mother. She went to three different high schools in Canada– Etobicoke, Richview and Silverthon Collegiate Institutes. When she was 16 and vacationing with her family in India, she caught the attention of a modeling agent, and the rest is history!

Wearing a bold, black swim suit for a Bombay Dyeing advertisement was when she was prominently noticed in India. After her brief modeling stint as a teenager, she returned to Canada to pursue journalism. Apparently, her mother had a car accident which foiled Lisa’s career plans, directing her back to India. She modeled for Glad Rags, in a daring swimsuit. This made her quite a sensation winning her more modeling contracts, and magazine cover appearances, and finally landed her in a television job as a host for her own show business program.

In 1996, she made her film debut in a Tamil film, Nethaji, starring Sarat Kumar. In 1996, she was also famous for being the raunchy Afreen Afreen girl, in Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s song.

In 1998, she featured in the Daler Mehendi song, Har Taraf Tera Jalwa.

A Times of India poll, named her one of the Ten Most Beautiful Indian Women of the Millennium - she was the only model in the top 10. Her Bollywood debut, Kasoor came in 2001, in which she starred opposite Aftab Shivadasani and in 2002, she did a Telugu film, Takkari Donga, opposite Mahesh Babu.

Canadian-Indian Director Deepa Mehta, famous for her trilogy –Fire (1996), Earth (1999), and Water (2005), spotted Lisa Ray in Kasoor and offered her a role in the film Bollywood Hollywood released in 2002.

She was voted Star of the Future, at the Toronto Film Festival 2002.

After Bollywood Hollywood, she went to London to study acting with the aim of pursuing a career in the performing arts. After she graduated from drama school in London, she worked again with Deepa Mehta in Water (2005) and became a part of an Oscar nominated film – Mehta’s Water was nominated by Canada to the Oscars, in the category of Best Foreign Language Film. Ray is quite fluent in Hindi, although Hindi is not her first language and she was not raised in India. In the role of Kalyani in water, she is extremely convincing. She even cut off her waist length hair for her role. This hair cut actually takes place as part of a scene in Water.

Her other films include A Stone’s Throw and Quarter Life Crisis (2006), All Hat and The World Unseen (2007). In a review of Water (2005), Ebert and Roeper, declared Lisa Ray, “One of the most Beauti-

The Afreen Afreen Girl, Lisa Ray

ful Women on Film” in 2007. It is rumored that about this time, Ray was strongly considered for the role of Bond Girl, in Quantum of Solace. In 2008, she did Kill Kill Faster Faster based on a novel of the same name, in which she supposedly appeared in a few uncensored sex scenes.

The year 2009 was a big year with good and bad things in store - she worked with Deepa Mehta’s brother, Dilip Mehta in the film, Cooking With Stella, a story that the siblings had scripted together. She appeared in the highly rated television series Psych directed by Jay Chandrashekar. The same year, in May, the Canadian edition of Hello Magazine featured her as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People of the Country, and she was given the title, Trailblazer at the Reelworld Film Festival, held annually in downtown Toronto. She received the Voice Achiever’s Award 2009 given to South Asian immigrants in Canada, who through their focused efforts and perseverance have excelled in their fields. Right after a string of life and career successes, on June 23, 2009, Ray was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, a cancer of the plasma cells in the bone marrow.

When she was at the Toronto International Film Festival 2009, to support her work in two films, she made a public announcement of having been diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma. Reportedly, the support she received after the announcement was overwhelming. She helped to raise funds at the Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto, for the establishment of the first research chair of Multiple Myeloma. In Dec 2009, she had her stem transplant surgery.

During her struggles with cancer, she was extremely optimistic about her cure and started a blog, The Yellow Diaries, (http://blog.lisaraniray. com/) in which she wrote of her experiences. Her voice to fight cancer overpowered the debilitating effects of cancer on her – the candidness with which she shared her personal experiences won her the pride and

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUNE 08, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

respect of people all over the world.

She was awarded the Hope Award 2010, for her fight against cancer. The same year she acted as a cancer survivor in the film 1 a Minute,directed

by Namrata Singh Gujral. In April 2010, it was announced that Lisa Ray was cancer free. An interview about her cancer experiences, reportedly appeared on the cover of the 2010 anniversary issue of the Indian Men’s Luxury Magazine, The Man. In early 2011, to raise public awareness of Multiple Myeloma,, Ray completed a national media tour in Canada called Making Myeloma Matter. For Queen Elizabeth’s visit to Toronto, on July 5, 2011, Ray was conferred the honor of being the host of the informal lunch for the Queen.

In 2011, she acted in television series, Murdoch Mysteries and Endgame, and in a short film, Patch Town.

In November 2011, she was named to host Season 2 of Top Chef Canada, Food Network Canada’s top rated series. A strong advocate of stem cell research and a long time Yoga practitioner, Lisa Ray partnered with co-owners, Paris andAnnette, in 2011 to open Moksha Yoga Brampton. In May 2012, it was announced that she was acting in a film, Boy Toy, a fantasy drama, based on Craig Goodwill’s short film, Patch Town. The shooting for Boy Toy is supposed to begin in Nov 2012.

The Times of India reported on Feb 3, 2012 that Lisa Ray was engaged to Jason Dehni, a banking executive and philanthropist in Toronto. The wedding is to be held on Oct 20, this year, at the Napa Valley in California.

Apparently, Oct 20 is the chosen date as it marks the beginning of the Durga Puja in West Bengal, and is considered a very auspicious day in India. It has also been reported that she has asked Goan designer Wendell Rodricks to design her dress for the big occasion. As Lisa Ray gets ready for the big occasion, one wonders how this woman, sensational for her beauty, will look on one of the most important days of her life!

BUSINESS

June 08, 2012

N. Srinivasan: Two Different Ball Games

21

The India Cements MD, vice-chairman, and BCCI chief on business, cricket, and missing those golf putts

BY ANUPAMA CHANDRASEKARAN (Mint) Quiz Srinivasan Narayanaswami about cricket and the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)—cricket world’s wealthiest administrative body—will dish out rote responses with his much-publicized, trademark straight face. But talk golf, and the 67-year-old beams, gushes and even jokes, no longer sounding like a scratched vinyl record. I’ll save that for later.

A lunch meeting being firmly ruled out due to paucity of time, the venue for this meeting is Srinivasan’s 10th floor office at the Chennai headquarters of India Cements Ltd—south India’s largest maker of concrete, co-founded

by Srinivasan’s father just a year before India’s independence.

The 4pm appointment on a Monday squished any likelihood of rusticity arising from dining at the company’s second-floor canteen. So I found myself seated in his roughly 2,000 sq. ft office overlooking clear blue skies over the Bay of Bengal instead of digging into a masala dosa— Srinivasan’s choicest meal—to break the ice.

It took months to nail this meeting with the BCCI chief and India Cements managing director and vice-chairman, who also wears the top hat at the Tamil Nadu Golf Federation. This is in addition to running a cement business through which he is the de facto owner of Chennai Super Kings (CSK), labelled in 2011 by UKheadquartered valuation agency Brand Finance as the most valuable cricket franchise in the fiveyear-old Indian Premier League (IPL).

With more sports than cement plastered on his résumé, it sounds unconvincing when Srinivasan says, “Cement is not only my heart, it is my job and it is what I do well.”

The disbelief over his response also stems from quarterly profit announcements where Srinivasan frequently glances sideways for prompts from company managers shuffling through financial statements a few feet behind him. Of course, just a fraction of the time is generally spent on discussing the cement business—Rs. 4,203 crore in revenue for April 2011-March 2012. The rest is usually cricket chit-chat.

During one such February meeting, journalists probed for titbits on the tiff between the BCCI and the Sahara group, which had withdrawn its 11-year sponsorship of the Indian cricket team a few days earlier. Srinivasan’s face was deadpan as he hinted that things would be sorted out.

Two weeks later, BCCI and Sahara buried their differences.

This is why Srinivasan is often stamped with superlatives such as “the most powerful” and “the most influential”. But his stocky build, neatly patted-down salt and pepper mop, suspenders, and the slightly smudged kumkum on his forehead, exude the demeanour of a conservative Tamilian accountant rather than a cricket honcho. The only overt signs of his status are the Swiss luxury watch Rolex on his wrist and his voice, an undertone that reminds one of acclaimed actor Kamal Hassan’s awardwinning act as an underworld don in the 1987 Tamil blockbuster Nayakan. In that gravelly, yet assertive voice, Srinivasan tells me about his serendipitous entry into his father’s cement business.

Srinivasan was the eldest of two boys and two girls born to T.S. Narayanaswami—a mathematics major who jointly set up India Cements with S.N.N. Sankaralinga Iyer. The latter’s family, which divested its entire stake in India Cements by 2007, runs the Chennai-based Sanmar Group, with interests in shipping, metals and speciality chemicals.

administration to the BCCI top slot two daughters had an enviable handicap—a in a little over a decade, stoked by his numerical representation of a golfer’s ability, company’s early association with the a lower score being better—of 6. But it now game. stands at 14. “There’s nothing more frustratThe sexagenarian’s game face slips ing than missing a short putt,” Srinivasan says only when I query him about two of about his passion, for which he has had less and his adversaries: former BCCI president less time. But things aren’t as green as the golf A.C. Muthiah and IPL founder Lalit course otherwise.

Modi.

His cement business posted disappointing Four years ago, Muthiah, who last fourth-quarter results—the company’s 2011-12 year retired as chairman of the troubled profits came short of analyst expectations as Southern Petrochemical Industries energy and transportation costs weighed. The Corp. Ltd (Spic), lost to Srinivasan company posted a net profit of Rs. 293 crore in the Tamil Nadu Cricket Associa- for the year ended 31 March and fourth-quarter tion (TNCA) presidential elections. profits rose 18% to Rs. 65 crore. The profit numIn 2010, he filed two petitions in the bers were lower than average analysts’ forecast Supreme Court, claiming there was a of a net amount of Rs. 302.37 crore for the full conflict of interest in allowing Srini- year and Rs. 85.25 crore for the quarter. vasan, who was then treasurer at BCCI, And CSK seems to be losing sheen in the to bid for an IPL team through his IPL—the defending champion team was in company. fourth position after 15 matches before Thurs“I didn’t think Mr Muthiah would day’s match. stoop to this level after he lost an elec“Everyone knows there’s an economic slowtion to me,” says Srinivasan brusquely. down and growth expectations have been “I think he should be concentrating on belied and are being revised downwards,” says his business.”

Srinivasan. “That coupled with high interest has On Modi, currently in London, Srini- increased uncertainties and so capacity expanvasan is even more caustic. “I will sion in the cement industry has slowed down. I say nothing because I don’t respond will hesitate to borrow money to expand.” to him.”

On the personal front, recent news of the arrest N. Srinivasan’s term as the BCCI president exKnowing I’ll have to confront the of his son Ashwin—who Srinivasan says isn’t tends till 2014. blistering Chennai heat as I step out- interested in the cement business—after a brawl side, I shift the focus to golf. It’s the only in a Mumbai pub is keeping up the heat.

As an engineering student in the 1960s at Add to that the controversy of five cricketers Madras University, Srinivasan played cricket, time during the interview that Srinivasan smiles. hockey and tennis. But he figured he should Both Srinivasan and daughter Rupa Gurunath, being accused of spot-fixing in the ongoing who is likely to succeed the India Cements IPL. stick to his books.

It might be a while before Srinivasan lowers “I knew I wasn’t going to become the best managing director, are ardent golfers.

At one point, the grandfather of Gurunath’s his golf handicap. sportsperson and would do better concentrating on my studies,” Srinivasan says. He became a chemical engineer and travelled to the US in the early 1960s to get a postgraduate degree in engineering and business from Chicago’s Illinois Institute of Technology.

When Srinivasan was on the cusp of his final semester of management education at Illinois, he contemplated doing a master’s degree in economics. However, his 57-year-old father died and the reins of the cumbersome, government- controlled cement business were thrust on the shoulders of the 21-year-old.

Attorney Susham M. Modi practices It’s been nearly half a century of cement in immigration law.

Srinivasan’s life, with sales growing at an average 10% clip every year for the past 20 years.

In addition to his private practice, he is Yet, his name is glued more to cricket. currently a Clinical Supervising “From my father’s time, India Cements has Attorney at the University of Houston been supporting cricket,” he says. “Many Ranji Trophy players were employed in the company.

Law Center where he teaches upper When there was no money in the sport, we were level law students the skills necessary to promoting cricket and cricketers,” he says. practice immigration law.

I go down a laundry list of questions on fatigued, ageing cricket players and his contenImmediately prior to working in tious ownership of CSK as a BCCI official. He’s heard these questions before and his responses Houston, Susham was an Attorney/ may as well be lip-synched to a recorded tape.

Advocate at Harvard Law School’s “We’ve had some reverses in England but Immigration and Refugee Clinic. overall the scorecard is good,” he responds, referring to India’s losses in all versions of cricket played in England just months after winning the 2011 World Cup. The downtrend in audience ratings for cricket’s miniature version (IPL) has Family-Based Visas Naturalization and Citizenship been an added thorn for the game’s sponsors.

Employment-Based Visas Deportation Defense But if Srinivasan is worried, he’s adept at Asylum Appeals masking it.

“People expect all three formats of the game to perform at the same level all years,” he says.

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22 June 08, 2012

ENTERTAINMENT

Beyond B-town

Shreya Ghoshal says she doesn’t want to be limited to film music. She would like to bring in a ratio that favors non-filmi music.

BY HARSHINI VAKKALANKA (Hindu) No, she does not know to speak Kannada, but she can understand the language and is learning. Then how does one of Bollywood’s most popular singers, Shreya Ghoshal, ensure her pronunciation is in order?

“Oh I take notes in Hindi. I think Hindi is one of the most phonetic languages. Plus I find out the situation the song is for,” she answers quite breezily to one of the women who had come to welcome her.

Her career, at 28, is going great guns. She has won four National awards and eight Filmfare awards (including the South). But she’s not even close to done.

In town for a concert, Shreya says: “I think good songs, interesting work, the excitement of doing something new everyday keeps me going. I’m in a position where I have so much still to explore.”

Her career was launched with Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s “Devdas.” It’s quite hard to imagine that it is the same delicate voice that is behind “Chikni Chameli”.

“I enjoy singing. It’s not a profession; it’s more of a passion. I think that reflects in my work. I am aware of the fact that I have a lot more to do, I’m always aware of it. There’s always a hunger to learn, to go into other genres and I’m constantly learning by listening to every kind of music. ” Of course, singing in over 300 films offers quite bit of room for experimentation and growth. “I’ve definitely evolved. My singing style and my voice has changed over the time.

I entered the scene when I was 16. Since then maturity has come in, my voice has changed.

I have seen more of life and I express songs differently.”

But she’s still quite uncertain about where she wants to go. “I have lots of things on my mind.

Nothing is clear enough to say this is my future.

But I definitely want to do more than just Bollywood music. Right now, most of our singers are limited to film music. I want to create a ratio that favours non-film music.”

This doesn’t necessarily mean collaborations. “I’m not saying no to collaborations. But it cannot be a forced collaboration, there has to be some kind of commonality of thought between two artists, whether the artist is from LA or from Africa.”

About competition, Shreya says: “I don’t think I believe in competition, especially in the

Shreya Ghoshal

arts because each person has a different voice and personality. There cannot be any competition because you are not doing the same thing, you are two completely different people. I can go on as long as there is belief that I can do justice to a song.”

Shreya has received training in both Hindustani classical and folk music and also trained under film composer Kalyanji Shah. She regrets “Not learning classical music. I was more inclined towards light music. I would like to restart my lessons in classical music and reach performance potential. Then again, had I become a classical singer I would not have understood the nuances of light or film music. I’m glad that

Photo: Bhagya Prakash K

I chose this path.”

The songstress feels films reflect society.

“Today there is so much of junk happening and that is what is shown in the films. Music is also made accordingly. The only way for good Indian music is when we do more non-film music and singers have more say in what they want to do.”

The talented youngster observes that the “Kannada or Malayalam industries are more music centric. You cannot put South Indian film music in one homogenous group as filmmakers in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada, have different tastes. In comparison to the north, there is a lot more respect for musicians in the South.” Though she was first noticed by the film industry for in the television show “Sa Re Ga Ma Pa”, she feels that commercialisation has crept into talent shows.

“It was not a reality show.

I could sing rare, difficult songs which nobody had heard of. Today, everybody has to sing songs which will raise the TRP of the channel.

Having said that, I would not say reality shows are wrong.

After all, it is up to the individual. If one is focused, I think one can do well. The gates are always open gates for freshers.”

Shreya Ghoshal will be performing live in Houston, on September 29,2012 at Arena Theatre. The show is presented by AAPI-IDA Charitable Foundation.

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Movie Review: Rowdy Rathore

BY SRIJANA MITRA DAS (TOI): The film’s an unabashed, gunpowderhot, sambar-spiced star-vehicle which runs along energetically most of the time because its star - Akshay Kumar, essaying a double role as Rathore and Shiva - is worth it, something that’s emphasized often. At one point, a girl asks Shiva, pursuing pretty Paaro (Sinha) from Patna, ‘Na tum mein Hrithik ke looks hain, na Shah Rukh ka charm, na Aamir ki cuteness, na Salman ki body - what’s so cool about you?’Akshay drawls back, “Lagta hai Khiladi ko bhool gayi aap.” Cue for crowd - erupt in rapture.

Multiply that moment by 100 and you have Rowdy Rathore, a peppery pot-boiler brimming over with action, slapstick comedy and romance, dynamite lines and Akshay Kumar - lots of Akshay Kumar, channeling vintage heroes Dharmendra, Vinod Khanna, Amitabh Bachchan, adding a dollop of Jeetendra, topping with his trademark flair as he snarls, tongue deeply in-cheek, “Don’t angry me!”

A lull in its second half aside, Rowdy’s mostly quick-stepping, moving from Mumbai’s malls to medieval Bihar where Baapji (Nasser) and his hamming henchmen terrorise Devgarh’s townsfolk through pillage, beatings and rape.

Till cop Vikram Rathore (Kumar) arrives on the Shramjeevi Express, assaulting local yokels with handy gannas, infusing new meaning to ‘sugar-cane’.

Despite an injury to his brain (which the doctor says causes ‘hammo-rage’), Vikram and his little daughter Chinki reach Mumbai. Here, their paths cross with Shiva who adopts Chinki when Vikram’s felled. And goes to Devgarh where he tells Baapji, ‘A village can have only one Rowdy.’

This involves toe-curling violence though. A guy gets stabbed in the mouth, a head’s crushed on a rock, swords slash through navels. Against the gore, Shiva’s dancing with Paaro provides breezy relief but the music itself is unmemorable. Sonakshi glows as Paaro, a spunky Indian beauty showing flashes of her star-father’s confidence when she snarls at the villains, ‘O saand ke bhes mein kukur.” This Patna girl’s stepped out in style with Rowdy. But the same can’t be said for those playing Devgarh’s dread-struck.

Apart from Yashpal Sharma (sincere as a junior cop), the rest are unconvincing, as is the villainous set-up itself, located somewhere oddly between feudal Bihar, accented Andhra and Sholay’s bandit lair. Indeed, Rowdy Rathore pays homage to iconic filmi characters - identical heroes, golden-hearted chors, brave Men in Brown beating evil people to pulp. However, it pays most homage to its own star, Akshay Kumar, who pulls off Shiva with style but Vikram less so, possibly because all that violence overwhelms acting itself.

Tip-Off: Fans will love Akshay’s moochtwirling masala-act but be ready for hardcore action too - some pretty gruesome.

5/3/12 4:11 PM INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUNE 08, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

RECIPES

June 08, 2012

Eggless Saffron Pistachio Cookies 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/4 tsp salt 1 tbsp- dried or fresh orange zest 6 tbsp melted butter 2 tbsp vegetable oil 1/2 tsp vanilla essence 1 tsp saffron essence few strands saffron few chopped pistachiosfor ganish

Crunchy, aromatic, perfect for tea cookies. I don’t know what came to my mind today, I just suddenly got up and scanned my pantry. Then I picked a few ingredients, mixed those up and baked these delicious cookies! You can also call these cookies- Fusion Cookies!! Why? Because apart from the 2 dominant flavors...Saffron and Pistachio; these cookies have orange and vanilla too....And trust me these are going just so perfect together!

These cookies are so easy and breezy to make. Took 10 min to mix up everything and 12 minutes to bake the cookies!

Ingredients: 1 cup less 2 tbsp- all purpose flour 3/4 cup sugar 2 tbsp- corn starch

Method: 1. Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a baking sheet.

2. In a bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Add in the vanilla and saffron essence.

3. In a bigger bowl, add all the dry ingredients and mix well.

4. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix gently making a soft dough.

5. Make small balls and flatten them a bit in-between your palms.

Arrange on the baking try keeping some distance in between balls.

6. Now garnish by adding pistachio and saffron strands to the center of each flattened balls.

7. Bake for 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Let cookies cool for a 3-4 minutes before removing from the tray and let cool completely on a wire rack.

Is your kitchen filled with aroma already? Mine did....:))

23

Potato Stuffed Spicy Baked Mushrooms It was an impromptu decision to make these today. I had already prepared the lunch and all was set. Opened my refrigerator and saw I had a few button mushrooms left that should be put to use soon enough or else they may spoil. At first I thought let me make Mushroom Peas gravy and we will be done for the dinner. Then don’t know what came to my mind, I decided to make these stuffed baked mushrooms, probably because I had one more leftover I could put to use.

I had made aloo paranthas in the morning and had some potato mixture left in the fridge. I am glad I made these baked mushrooms .....These were delicious! We enjoyed having them as a snack.

My husband poped one HOT mushroom in his mouth (as soon as they came out of oven) and it was a fun show to watch him jumping afterwards :D These were so perfectly spiced, baked well and smelled so heavenly!

And these are one of the quick and easiest appetizers/snack to make.

Here is the recipe Ingredients: 12-15 button mushrooms-large, washed and stemmed 1 large potato (boiled and mashed) 1/2 finely chopped onion 2 medium green chillies finely chopped 1 tsp finely chopped ginger 1/4 tsp garam masala 1/4 tsp red chilli powder Salt to taste some cheese (i used pepperjack)

to sprinkle. some red chilli flakes, dried oregano, parsley and basil.

Some parmesan cheese flakes or you can use the shredded dried parmesan cheese.

Method: 1. Pre-heat the oven to 400 degree F. 2. Make a mixture for the stuffing by adding potatoes, onions, green chillies, chopped ginger, garam masala, red chilli powder together in a bowl and mix well.

3. Now add the potato mixture filling to the top in each mushroom.

4. Now sprinkle some shredded pepperjack cheese on each mushroom. Then sprinkle some of red

chilli flakes, oregano, parsley and basil. Finally top it off with some parmesan cheese.

5. Arrange the mushrooms on a greased baking sheet and bake the mushrooms for about 20-25 minutes.

Enjoy them warm (not HOT ) Both Recipes by Vaishali Sharma Visit www.zestyflavors.com or visit https://www.facebook.com/pages/ Zestyflavors-Adding-Zest-to-yourCooking/145518712165348 Also “Like” Zestyflavors on Facebook

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OPINION INDIA

24 June 08, 2012

End of an Ugly Chapter in India’s Military History Smooth Change of Guard at Army Headquarters in India

BY RAJ KANWAR IAN INDIA CORRESPONDENT Acontroversial, unsavory and somewhat ugly chapter in the history of the Independent India’s army mercifully and thankfully ended 31 May when Gen. Vijay Kumar Singh handed over the ceremonial baton to his successor Gen. Bikram Singh. Almost everyone including the defense minister AK Antony and his successor-to-be Gen. Bikram Singh must have heaved a big sigh of relief when the term of VK Singh eventually ended. The outgoing army chief seemed to have had a Pandora box from which he pulled out one rabit after another almost every second week.

Even on the penultimate day of his tenure, he continued with his agenda and almost ‘incapacitated’ Lt. Gen. Dalbir Singh by sending him a show cause notice and imposing a ‘DV ban’that virtually ruined the prospects of his becoming the next army chief after Gen. Bikram Singh.

Gen. VK Singh had become chief of the army staff on 31 March, 2010 with lot of goodwill.

Everything was honky dory for first 18 months of his 26-month tenure and there was not even an inkling of the things to come. It all started with Gen. Singh’s date of birth controversy. He claimed that his real date of birth is May 10, 1951 and not May 10, 1950. If his claim was to be accepted, then the general would have his tenure as the army chief extended by a year.

Gen. Singh was extraordinarily particular about his correct date of birth and had moved heaven and earth to get his version accepted. Over the following few months, his plea on this matter was considered, reconsidered and rejected by the various authorities; the defense minister too did not give him any relief. The General had become so obsessed about his date of birth issue that he considered it as a matter of personal honor. As a last resort, Gen. Singh knocked at the doors of the Supreme Court. Though the apex court gave him a patient hearing but declined to agree with his contention and allowed him to withdraw his writ rather than face its dismissal. The General then had no option but to acquiesce. In going to the Supreme Court to vindicate, what he called his ‘personal honor’, the army chief had perhaps forgotten the credo of the Indian Military Academy, his alma mater which had enjoined upon all of its passing out gentlemen cadets that “The safety, honor and welfare of your country come first, always and every time. The honor, welfare and comfort of the men you command come next. Your own ease, comfort and safety come last, always and every time.”

It was at this stage that the General came out with one exposé after another. He first said that he was offered a bribe of 140 million rupees by a retired army general if he were to approve

Gen. Bikram Singh, the new Army Chief purchase of 600 Tatra trucks for the army and that he had then verbally informed the defense minister about it. This issue has been dwelt at length in one of my earlier columns; it will be suffice here to say that the General had then decided to rattle whatever skeletons he could find in other peoples’ cupboards. Some of his peers felt that the General was being vindictive and was keen to settle scores with those who had crossed swords with or stepped on his toes during his long and checkered career in the army. This allegation of bribe has spawned other cases, with the retired general filing a libel suit against Gen. Singh.

A day after, Gen. VK Singh demitted his office, Bharat Earth Mover Limited (BEML) has slapped a notice on the retired army chief demanding an apology for his ‘false and motivated’ allegations against it in connection with the Tatra trucks case. Chairman & Managing Director Mr. VRS Natarajan of BEML which is a defense ministry company, has threatened that the company would file a defamation suit against the general if he did not apologize for his unwarranted and baseless allegations. The defense ministry behemoth must have waited for the general to retire before it could legally confront him. The general had also criticized the bureaucracy in the defense ministry for its dithering and obstructive mindset. It is thus

obvious that the bureaucrats there too would have egged BEML corner Gen. Singh in order to settle scores with him.

This is possibly for the first time that a serving army chief was embroiled in unsavory controversies. There had been 25 chiefs of the army staff before Gen. VK Singh. Many of them were men of strong will power who were not afraid to speak their mind even in presence of stalwarts like Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel and later even Indira Gandhi. There were men like Cariappa who took up cudgels against the then defense minister Krishna Menon who was also temperamental and even arrogant. But that was all done within closed doors and no scandals of any significance came out. There were other strong generals such as KS Thimayya, SHF Manekshaw who did what they wanted but did not cross the Lakshman Rekha.

In the couple of months leading up to his retirement, Gen. Singh had become politically active in the sense that he attended meetings of ex-soldiers at which speeches of political nature against the current government were openly made; Gen. Singh kept mum like sphinx. His kin took part in politically explosive meetings by Anna Hazare and his team at which serious allegations of corruptions were made against the Manmohan Singh government.

Hazare team members openly said that Gen.

Singh would join their anti-corruption crusade against the Central government as soon as he hung up boots; the general did not care to issue any denial. He even became hyperactive in giving interviews to print and electronic media during the past two weeks. All these utterances and other acts of commission or omission are certainly against the accepted conduct rules of army officers. Not that the General was not aware of these rules but he nevertheless chose to bypass them.

Despite all the muck that was spewed during the past few months, the change of guards at the army headquarters on 31 May was a smooth affair. Marked by bonhomie, it was a simple ceremony, with the outgoing chief of the army staff handing over the ceremonial baton to his successor Gen. Bikram Singh. His wife Bharti and Gen. Bikram Singh’s wife Bubbles watched their husbands exchange pleasantries and smiles. Traditionally, a chief’s wife also performs a significant role as the president of Army Wives Welfare Association (AWWA).

Thus in a way, Bubbles has also succeeded Bharti as the new chief of AWWA. Gen. Bikram Singh is much decorated chief Though Gen. Bikram Singh’s elevation to the top army post was not a smooth affair and could have gone awry if certain developments had happened. For instance, had the Supreme Court accepted Gen. VK Singh’s contention that he was born on May 10, 1951 and not 1950, he would have continued for one more as the chief and Gen. Bikram Singh will have retired during VK Singh’s extended tenure. Here, I should like to point out that the army chief retires at age 62 and Lt. Generals retire at age 60. There were other possible roadblocks that could have stopped Bikram Singh’s promotion.

Fortunately, however most things went Gen. Bikram Singh’s way and he was duly anointed as India’s 27th chief of the army staff.

Commissioned in 1972 in the Sikh Light Infantry, Gen. Bikram Singh became the first army chief not to have seen action in a conventional war; the last conventional war that India fought was Bangladesh-liberation against Pakistan in 1971. Yet, with over six decorations for gallantry he is possibly the most decorated army chief in many years. He has also held many high profile staff positions and jobs which included three UN Peace Keeping Missions, chief of Srinagar-based 15 Corps and General officer-commanding-in-chief, Eastern Command. Interestingly, Gen. Bikram Singh has twice stepped into the shoes of Gen. VK Singh; first when the former took over from him as the chief of the Eastern Command and now as the army chief.

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INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUNE 08, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

INDIA

June 08, 2012

India’s New ‘English Only’ Generation

BY SARITHA RAI (NYT) Sudhir Nagaraj and his wife, Bidisha, live in the mini-India that is Bangalore. She, a Bengali speaker from a family hailing from India’s east, heads marketing for a social networking start-up. He, fluent in the native Kannada tongue of Bangalore, runs a subsidiary of a multinational telecommunications company.

Between them, they speak and understand half a dozen Indian languages.

Quite ironic then that their daughter, Ahana, six-and-a-half, growing up in a country with a profusion of tongues, speaks only one language: impeccable English. And English is the common tongue that binds the Nagarajs as a family.

In Bangalore and elsewhere in Big City India, factors like great mobility, a demanding school system and mixed marriages are churning up a startling consequence: a generation of urban children is growing up largely monolingual — speaking, thinking and dreaming only in English.

This is a country with 20 official languages including English, some three dozen languages spoken by over a million native speakers each, and a few hundred “live” languages.

“How do we define Ahana’s mother tongue?” asks Nagaraj. He speaks Kannada with his mother; his wife speaks Bengali with hers. Both grandmothers live nearby and attempt to converse with Ahana in their respective tongues.

But she responds only in English.

It is an issue that at once cheers and distresses an entire band of middle-class Indians.

On the one hand, English has opened the doors to great job mobility in the past decade and much economic success. In a country of so many varied languages, English is the only linguistic commonality. Yet as the language in-

creasingly becomes the de facto mother tongue India’s north. However, their two daughters, in urban families, many are dismayed at the Eva, who is 8, and Inika, who is nearly 2, speak trend, contending that its rampant use will strip only English at home and outside. “They’ve them of their sense of Indian-ness. learned Hindi by watching cartoons on TV,” “English is unifying us with the rest of the says their mother. world but alienating us from our familial and Even the children of the Kumars’ friends, cultural roots,” says Nagaraj, who still turns couples who have a common language that they to Kannada metaphors when he needs to drive grew up with, have adopted English as their home a point. primary language at home, she says.

Like and Mrs. Nagaraj, a fifth of India’s popuThe situation is exacerbated in diverse Banlation — some 250 million — is multilingual. galore, where residential buildings represent Many Indians of their generation are polyglots. a microcosm of India. “Somewhere in this They string sentences in English, but insert cosmopolitan-ness, kids growing up with only words from multiple Indian languages.

English are missing something,” rues Kumar.

But even as scientific evidence mounts that Kavita Sabharwal, who runs a chain of upbeing bilingual or multilingual makes a person market preschools in the city called Neev, says smarter and could shield against the onset of de- that English has become the common language mentia, many fear that future Indian generations denominator in families. That is a fraught issue may turn monolingual. Already, English is the for some parents, including herself. first language many urban children learn.

“As both an educator and a parent I find myPreeti Kumar, a communications professional self asking, ‘Where is the Indian-ness in India?’ and her husband, Nipun, who works in the ap-T:10”Is losing our languages the first sign of our dying parel industry, are native Hindi speakers from culture? Or, is it the cause? ” she asks.

25

At her schools, Ms. Sabharwal counsels parents to raise children to speak a native tongue alongside English. In her home, she has knuckled down and initiated compulsory “Hindi time” in the evenings for her children, Dhruv, 10, and Noor, 7.

Her husband, Manish, initially predicted the death of all dinner-table conversation. Ms. Sabharwal happily reports to the contrary. A year on, both her children speak Hindi with confidence.

In the lower socioeconomic strata, where learning English is aspirational, the language is trickling down quickly. Neighborhood private schools have unstated admission requirements: at 3 and 4, the child is required to be toilet-trained and speak English. Parents who stretch their family budgets to get their children into “English medium” schools see that the language has obvious economic benefits in an increasingly globalized world. Higher up the economic ladder, though, it is a matter of convenience.

Rimjhim Chakraborty is 9. Her mother, Pinky, a realtor, speaks Sindhi, a language from the northwest. Rimjhim’s father, Apurba, who heads sourcing for a sporting goods multinational, is fluent in both Punjabi and Bengali.

Rimjhim, despite learning Hindi at school, refuses to answer when spoken to in anything other than English. So that is the language that rules the Chakraborty household.

That is unfortunate, says her mother, who wants to make an effort to teach Rimjhim an Indian language. But “between her math homework, sports, a little bit of PlayStation and television, where is the time?” Ms. Chakraborty asks.

She ends up scolding Rimjhim in Sindhi. “Not the best introduction to a language,” she admits.

Then she makes a dire prediction: “At the rate we are going, all Indian languages will die.”

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IndoAmerican News

Business IndoAmerican News

STOCKS • FINANCE • SOUTH ASIAN MARKETS • TECHNOLOGY

India’s Economy Heading into Stagflation MUMBAI: From “gasping elephant” to “stagflation”, analysts have panned India’s quarterly growth of 5.3% with some ominous language.

India’s growth in January-March was its weakest in nearly a decade, and sparked a new round of economic downgrades from investment banks, with Morgan Stanley cutting India’s forecasts for the second time in as many weeks.

Some analysts also say they now expect a rate cut as early as on 18 June, the next Reserve Bank of India (RBI) meeting.

It will still be a close call though, given the RBI has expressed concerns about continued inflationary pressures and has previously shown reluctance to ease until later in the year.

“There is rising hope for quick monetary policy action supporting the growth outlook, but we believe the current stagflation-type environment will make quick effective reduction of cost capital difficult,” Morgan Stanley analysts said in a report.

The US investment bank cut its 2012 economic growth estimates to 5.7% from 6.3%, after already downgrading its forecasts about two weeks ago from an initial estimate of 6.9% growth.

Though Morgan Stanley does not expect a rate cut in June, others say the chances are growing more likely.

Standard Chartered Bank cut its fiscal 2013 GDP forecast to 6.2% from 7.1%, adding a 25 basis point rate cut in June was “now more likely than before.”

The bank added that the slowdown in investment demand has spilled over to India’s consumption demand, the driving force behind the growth story.

Meanwhile, CLSA said it “will probably” lower its already below consensus GDP forecast of 6.3% to around 6%.

This all but guarantees another few weeks of volatile domestic markets, especially at a time of intensifying worries about the euro zone, signs of a slowing Chinese growth, and continued doubts about the health of the US economy.

In a report titled “gasping elephant”, HSBC warned of the challenges ahead, though it did not cut India’s forecasts.

“The poor growth number has increased chances of another rate cut, but elevated and sticky inflation limits the scope for aggressive rate cuts and suggest a need for continued caution,” HSBC said.

Quizzed on the Indian currency’s precipitous slide to record lows, Prime Minister Manhoman Singh blamed the global economic slowdown and the euro zone’s emergency, and he voiced hope that the G20 would sort these troubles out at a summit in Mexico later this

month.

Two days later, when gross domestic product (GDP) data showed India’s growth rate had plunged to its lowest level in nine years, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee likewise pointed a finger at “weak global sentiments”, as well as the central bank for its tight monetary policy.

But as warning lights flash on India’s economic dashboard - with manufacturing output and consumer demand now fading as well as corporate investment, fiscal and trade deficits ballooning and inflation stubbornly high - few buy the line that it’s somehow not the government’s fault.

“There is so much denial, but almost all of the problems in India are self-inflicted,” said Rajeev Malik, senior economist at CLSA Singapore. “The Indian situation is ... an outcome of policy incoherence, a government that’s asleep.”

Economists say New Delhi’s policy inertia and the absence of significant reforms to sustain growth have now turned India’s

slowdown from a cyclical one to something that is structural or systemic.

The country is now stuck with lower growth than its potential: not the “Hindu rate of growth” of about 3.5% that dogged the statestifled economy before big-bang reforms two decades ago, but a 21st-century version of that, which Malik calls “growth with a government-incompetence discount”.

To be fair, the external environment does partly explain the faltering growth. However, all of Asia’s emerging markets have been buffeted by chill winds from the United States and Europe, and yet India has fared worse than others, losing its ranking as the region’s second-fastest growing economy.

Last week’s news that GDP grew by 5.3% in the first three months of this year, a stunning tumble from 9.2% in the same quarter of 2011, put India fourth among Asian emerging-market economies behind China, the Philippines and Indonesia.

For JP Morgan Chase’s India chief economist, Jahangir Aziz, what the government needs to do is “begin by admitting that the problem lies not in Greece, but at home”.

Western nations might look with envy at a growth rate of more than 5%, but not at India’s inflation rate of over 7%, a current account gap now at its widest since 1980 and a fiscal deficit that has been allowed to swell to 5.9% of GDP thanks to a raft of crippling subsidies.

The rash of macroeconomic imbalances has raised the spectre of India’s balance of payments crisis in 1991, when the central bank was forced to airlift tons of gold to Europe as collateral for a loan to avert a sovereign default.

127

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUNE 08, 2012 • WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

Petrol Prices Cut

NEW DELHI: Petrol prices were brought down by around Rs. 2 a litre by state-owned oil marketing companies on Saturday evening, days after the steepest ever hike set off protests across the country.

Effective from Sunday, the reduction—the first in six months— is thanks to falling global crude oil prices.

Oil companies last reduced petrol prices by Rs. 0.78 a litre on December 1 and by Rs. 2.22 a litre on November 16.

In Delhi, petrol will cost Rs. 71.16 after the cut. Once the reduction of value added tax (VAT), promised in the state budget, comes into effect middle of next week, it will go down further by about 92 paise.

VAT has also been cut by Kerala and Uttarakhand. But the cut failed to please either the Opposition or Congress allies, including the DMK and Trinamool.

The unanimous demand was for a complete rollback of the Rs. 7.5 hike made on May 24.

“The cut is not enough,” BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy said, “We want a total rollback.”

Trinamool Congress chief and main UPA ally Mamata Banerjee told HT in Kolkata, “I am not happy as it is still a burden on the common man.”

Petrol is cheapest in BJP-ruled Goa, at Rs. 59.51, since VAT has been totally removed. It’s the costliest in Hyderabad — at Rs. 79.17— because of steep taxes.

INDIA

28

INDIA

June 08, 2012

Baba Ramdev, Anna Hazare Holding Joint Fast vs. Corruption in UPA Govt NEW DELHI (HT): Ahead of his joint fast with Anna Hazare against UPA government on corruption today, yoga guru Ramdev threatened the government with a fight to finish by August for bringing back black money stashed abroad. As he headed to Rajghat from Tikri Kalan on Delhi border before reaching the dharna spot of Jantar Mantar, Ramdev said the economic situation in the country is very bad as the rupee was falling and growth rate has declined.

“We need to bring back black money. I appeal to people of the country to join this fight. We are intensifying this fight. From today, we are intensifying our protest to bring back black money stashed abroad and want all of the countrymen to be part of the fight to finish

by August,” he said after paying tributes to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose at Azad Hind Gram.

The protest at Jantar Mantar is likely to see Hazare and Ramdev announce their strategy with regard to the 2014 General Elections. The one-day fast demanding bringing back black money stashed abroad and against the corruption and corrupt system will have its echo in the state capitals as well with Ramdev’s Bharat Swabhiman Andolan organising protests.

This is also their first joint appearance on a public platform in the past one year after the team distanced themselves from the

(sic) have a long yoga guru due struggle ahead! to his Hindutva We must strive links. for Right 2 ReStepping up ject. To reject his anti-graft ofdevil/deep sea. fensive, Anna Next round will Hazare on Sunget better candiday made a dates.” strong pitch for Hazare refuted ‘right to reject’ allegations about and said people rift in Team Anna with criminal or any misuncases pending derstanding with against them Ramdev. should be kept “I was on a out of Parliament tour of 36 disusing the clause. tricts in Maha“Arvind (Kerashtra. I left the jriwal) has just tour and came as said people with I had promised cases against Ramdev that I them are sitting would support in Parliament... him,” he said. to stop this, we “If I hadn’t must use right to shown up, peoreject,” Hazare ple would have said addressing again said that the gathering at there is a rift Jantar Mantar during the joint Baba Ramdev and Anna Hazare are planning a joint fast to draw with Ramdev,” one-day fast attenton to corruption issues such as stashing black money he said.

On the other with yoga guru abroad. hand, rebutting Ramdev. one of them is good’, he should allegations that When a voter feels that none of the candidates choose the last option which is he left the fast venue after Ramdev virtually snubbed him, Team Anna contesting is good, he should use right to reject,” he said.

“We have to implement this and member Arvind Kejriwal on Frithe right to reject, he said. day said that he had to leave as he “If eight candidates are contest- not just speak about it,” he said.

Team Anna member Kiran Bedi was unwell and he has the “greating from a constituency, and a voter feels these are all criminals, not said on Twitter, “Anna says v est respect” for the yoga guru.

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“I had to leave fast venue bcoz I am v(ery) unwell. I told this to Anna and swamiji. It is wrong to say that I left in protest,” Kejriwal said in a tweet.

“I have greatest respect for swamiji,” he tweeted.

He said he would convince the yoga guru about the importance of taking names and demand action against corrupt people.

“This is a political battle and we will have to name and shame and demand severe action against corrupt people,” he said in his tweet.

“I will personally speak to Swami Ramdev ji. I am sure I will be able to persuade him that naming is important,” he said.

Earlier, yoga guru Ramdev, while virtually snubbing Kejrival, disapproved of his comments against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other politicians during his fast along with Anna Hazare saying he was against personal criticism.

Soon after Kejriwal, who was on fast along with Anna Hazare and the yoga guru, finished his speech, Ramdev took the microphone and said “today, we thought that we will not take anybody’s name. But Arvind took the names”.

“We don’t want any controversies. Arvind does not have any enmity with anyone. The names have been taken in some context.

We are against personal criticism,” he said.

June 08, 2012

29

Middle Class Ignored as Political Vote Bank Siachin Solution Thwarted by Armies?

Mr & Mrs Rahim Khan New Delhi: A maths teacher who earns Rs 3 lakh annually taking tuitions, the biggest challenge for Khan is ensuring a good education for his own four children. “Though there are many scheme for us, they remain out of reach. For everything you need ID proof, or a bribe.”

BY LOLA NAYAR

MUMBAI (Outlook): The middle class has been left to fend for itself—and no one is talking to it as the political system continues to ignore this constituency. Santosh Desai, social commentator and CEO of Futurebrands India, says that the UPA government and most parties across the spectrum send out the signal that the middle class does not count as a votebank.

“They feel that with the group not being significant in number, why listen to their whining. It is also never clear whether their anger is real, and if so, is it temporary,” says Desai.

However, social activist Nikhil Dey thinks one cannot blame the political class for not taking the urban middle class very seriously, “as it has not shown any propensity to keep to any issue in a sustained manner”. In fact, a common observance of the middle class is that it has a magnified sense of self and a perceived sense of neglect. This class of divergent people rarely comes together as a force, and their sense of power does not get translated into electoral power.

A sales executive in a software company earning Rs 8 lakh a year, he finds it increasingly difficult to save for the education of his two children. “I’m most upset about the rising fuel prices,” he says. “Ear-

lier, I’d spend Rs 5,000 a month on fuel, then Rs 6,000. Now, I’ll pay an extra Rs 1,000.”

But the Anna Hazare-led movement against corruption last year put a lie to that notion. It was an indication of the middle-class’s need to find a political space. Middleclass activism also gained strength on online forums and via NGOs. Sadly, the enthusiasm remained shortlived, and like the television TRP, middle-class activism too disappeared soon from the radar.

And in the current economic scenario, when there is no threat to life or livelihood, it seems unlikely that the middle class will push for a long battle, including against corruption—though inflation remains a concern. According to this point of view, with growth in most sectors having flattened, it is directly impacting rise in salaries and leading to “some frustration”.

Other observers feel that the middle class has no reason to be optimistic as the government continues with populist measures in the name of inclusive growth.

That’s the reality in a country with so many poor people. Diplomatauthor Pavan K. Varma feels the middle class is facing a double jeopardy. “When the economy slows down, the middle class, which has been the beneficiary of higher growth, is likely to be the

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first to be hit. And it is precisely during such times that the government’s focus shifts to the larger population of poor to ensure benefits reach them.” But, as Usha Ramanathan, an expert on development and poverty issues, says, while several policies are formulated for the poor, they are not implemented properly and as such the benefits rarely reach them.

At the root of the present crisis is the government failure to carry out the promise it made in its 1991 budget: of administrative reforms, as also ensuring social protection and quality of employment. “The assumption that we will collect from the people and spend on the people is at fault as the rich are always seeking ways to dodge taxes.

There is no political will to charge the rich high taxes,” says Dr Indira Hirway of the Ahmedabad-based Centre for Development Alternatives.

Under pressure on all fronts then, this is a fresh moment of trial for the middle class. With such poor mood, the economy will go through some turbulence. Many say the Indian middle class— dogged, resolute and always optimistic—will eventually prevail.

If that sounds a bit like the “India story”, the middle class (complaints and all) will continue to bear that cross.

ISLAMABAD (PTI): Ahead of its key talks with India on the Siachen issue, Pakistan has claimed that the biggest hurdle in resolving the military standoff on the world’s highest battlefield are the armies of the two countries.

Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar, who was the defence minister till yesterday and has now been given the water and power portfolio in a minor Cabinet reshuffle, said India and Pakistan both stand to benefit from resolving the Siachen issue.

Both countries stood to gain nothing from the standoff on Siachen and the matter only served to satiate egos, he claimed during an interview with BBC Urdu.

He said the only way for India and Pakistan to coexist was to sit at the table and discuss the Siachen issue.

The Pakistani minister claimed that the biggest hurdle in resolving the military standoff on the Siachen glacier are the armies of Pakistan and India.

Senior Indian and Pakistani officials are set to hold talks on the Siachen issue in Islamabad on June 11 against the backdrop of renewed calls from the Pakistani civil and military leadership for the demilitarisation of the world’s highest battlefield.

In response to a question, Mukhtar claimed Siachen was Pakistani territory and Pakistan had “responded” when India claimed the glacier.

“We think we can come to an agreement. India wants to talk on the Sir Creek issue first, we want to talk about Siachen first - the same issue of egos,” he claimed.

“I think (Pakistan army chief Gen) Ashfaq Parvez Kayani understands this issue better than all of us and will help reach a decision when the time comes.”

Asked how the Defence Minister, who is placed higher than the army chief, would allow a subordinate to take a decision, Mukhtar said that “Kayani would offer guidance (and) support, just as the government cooperates and supports the army.”

Responding to a question why Pakistan is not making the first move of unilaterally withdrawing its troops to resolve the Siachen issue, Mukhtar contended that India was a big country and Pakistan expects it to demonstrate magnanimity by making the first move.

In response to aquestion, he said Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh want to resolve the Siachen issue through dialogue.

Indian and Pakistani troops have been engaged in a standoff on Siachen since 1984.

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INDIA

June 08, 2012

Gujarat Emerging as Global Automotive Hub

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whole,” Modi further said.

Maruti and the Gujarat government have also decided to set up a state-of-the-art automobile research institute, the company said.

Another important factor is the proposed Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) with Japanese aid and loan worth $90 billion.

About 38 per cent of the 1,483-km long industrial highway will pass through Gujarat alone, including Ahmedabad district. This would make transportation faster and cheaper.

Besides, MSIL is also said to favor the possibility of using Mundra Port both for exports as well as coastal navigation to reduce

transportation costs to the southern states.

Maruti Suzuki will be the fourth major carmaker to set up a plant in Gujarat, the three others being General Motors, Tata Motors, Ford and Peugeot. Sources said Maruti Suzuki needed to set up an entire township.

GM had set up its plant at Halol in the Panchmahals district close to Vadodara about a decade ago.

In recent past, Tata Motors, which invested Rs 2,200 crore, had set up their plant in 1,100 acres of land, while Ford India got 480 acres and Peugeot 584 acres, both investing around Rs 4,000 crore in the industrial belt at Sanand.

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AHMEDABAD: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi today said the state is emerging as a global hub in the automobile sector.

After signing of the State Support Agreement (SSA) agreement with Maruti Suzuki for its manufacturing facility here, Modi said that Gujarat has emerged as a prominent global hub in the automobile sector.

“The journey started with Tata Nano, Ford, Peugeot, and now Maruti has entered in Gujarat which will strengthen the ‘brand Gujarat’ as a globally preferred business location,” he said.

Maruti Suzuki will set up two units in two phases in the backward taluka of Mandal-Becharaji in Ahmedabad district.

The first unit (1st phase) will be near the historical town of Becharaji and the second unit (2nd phase) will come up at a location, about 25 kilometres from Becharaji.

“Manufacturing and engineering sector in Gujarat contributes over 27 per cent to state GSDP and overall 9 per cent to the national engineering output,” Modi said.

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PAKISTAN

June 08, 2012

31

Loss of U.S. Funds Prompts CNG Price Hike

A Pakistani waiter distributes free rotis to impoverished men in Karachi.

WASHINGTON: The United States has rejected majority of the demands pressed by Pakistan with respect to the coalition support fund claiming them to be unrealistic, DawnNews reported.

The US is not only adamant in its refusal to apologise for the Salala border checkpost incident that had resulted in the killings of 24 Pakistani soldiers in November last year but also cornering Pakistan as punishment for the apology demand.

Sources claimed that Pakistan’s federal government has decided to pass the burden of the US punishment onto the public and the price of compressed natural gas (CNG) has been increased by 15 to 20 per cent to deal with the impasse. The price hike would be affective from 1st July.

US military authorities rejected Pakistan’s request seeking USD 2.8 billion in respect of the coalition support fund stating the request as ‘unrealistic’.

Both the countries have held more than half a dozen meetings related to the disbursement of the support fund’s amount but the issue remains unresolved in face of the rejection by the US. Pakistani-US relations went into freefall last year.

There were hit when a CIA contractor shot dead two Pakistanis and dented further by an American raid that killed al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden and by US air strikes in November that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.

After the air strikes, Pakistan shut its Afghan border to Nato supplies and ordered US staff out of an air base reportedly used as a hub for drones.

Seven US drone strikes have been reported since May’s Chicago summit, which failed to secure a deal on resuming the supply lines.

In March, Pakistan’s parliament

agreed to reset US relations on condition that Washington apologise for the troops’ deaths and end drone attacks on its soil.

Pakistan has been incensed by Washington’s refusal to apologise for the November air strikes and US officials have so far rejected Pakistani proposals to charge several thousand dollars for each alliance truck crossing the border.

Islamabad, which is understood to have given its tacit approval for attacks on al Qaeda and Taliban targets in the past, has become increasingly vocal in its opposition to the perceived violation of national sovereignty.

Despite Pakistani criticism US officials are believed to consider the drone attacks too useful to stop them altogether. They have argued that drone strikes are a valuable weapon in the war against Islamist militants.

According to an AFP tally, 45 US missile strikes were reported in Pakistan’s tribal belt in 2009, the year US President Barack Obama took office, 101 in 2010 and 64 in 2011.

The New America Foundation think-tank in Washington says drone strikes have killed between 1,715 and 2,680 people in Pakistan in the past eight years.

Different associations related with CNG business and public transport have condemned the imposition of new levy on CNG in the new year’s budget, terming it an “anti-public move” and demanding it’s immediate withdrawal.

A joint meeting of the All Pakistan CNG Association, CNG Dealers Association, CNG Owners Association and Karachi Transport Ittehad was held here on Saturday to deliberate over the government’s decision of slapping new levy on CNG and devise a joint strategy against it.

Addressing the meeting Chair-

man CNG Dealers Association Abdul Sami Khan said that his associations would go on strike against the government decision on 6th June. He appealed all CNG filling station owners to keep their business closed on the day.

Central Chairman of All Pakistan CNG Association, Ayaz Abdullah Paracha rejected the government decision and said it would completely destroy the CNG business and as a result hundreds of thousands of people related to it would become jobless.

Irshad Bukhari, President Karachi Transport Ittehad flayed the government, calling it a regime of looters. He appealed to the public to take to the streets to protest against the government’s decision as it would eventually affect the common man.

Support from China BEIJING: Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi assured Pakistan of co-operation in its agriculture sector’s improvement and in resolution of its energy crises.China has once again stepped up coming to the aid of Pakistan which is surrounded by difficulties and the Chinese foreign minister clarified that nothing is above the friendship between the two countries.

Talking to journalists in Beijing Jiechi said that the Chinese leadership was sincere for Pakistan’s economic development and all possible support was being provided in this regards.

While replying to a question on counter-terrorism cooperation the Chinese foreign minster expressed hope in Pakistan that it would take stringent steps against those backing the extremist elements engaged in terrorist activities in western China’s muslim-dominatedprovince of Xinjiang.

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32

June 08, 2012

Taliban Cricket Club: Liberation on a 22-Yard Patch

BY ANIL DHARKER

A wonderful title like that has a plus and a minus attached to it. The plus is obvious: you immediately want to read the book. The minus is that it raises the expectations of the reader, so it better be good.

The best thing I can, therefore, say about The Taliban Cricket Club is that it lives up to its title.

The book is set in the dark days of Afghanistan when the Soviets had left and the writ of the Taliban ran large in that benighted country.

‘Dark days’, of course, is a relative term; there’s not much light there now either, with American troops about to leave and the Karzai government accused of large-scale corruption. But at least now there is no ministry for the propagation of virtue and prevention of vice as there was under the Taliban, where a man and a woman caught in ‘adultery’ are summarily shot, where beauty parlours, hair-dressing salons and cinema halls are shut; where watching television is haram; where a woman can’t be alone on the streets: if she goes out at all, it has to be with her husband or someone closely related to her.

In fact, as the notorious Zorak Wahidi, head of the ministry for the propagation of virtue and prevention of vice was fond of repeating, “Women should be seen only in their home and in the grave”.

The Tali‘ban’ were aptly named,

because they of the Talibs. The only catch is banned everythat no one in Afghanistan knows thing: “Computa thing about the game. Except for ers, picnics, wedRukhsana, who learnt and played ding parties, New the game as a student in Delhi. But Year celebrations; women aren’t supposed to play childrens’ toys, games, certainly not with men, so including dolls how will our lively heroine impart and kites, card her precious knowledge? and board games, Timeri Murari has an imaginaand chess”. There tive tale to tell, and he tells it with were to be “no the flair of a born story-teller. more cameras, or Rukhsana is spirited and defiant, photographs, or but she has more than her share paintings of peoof complications in her life: she ple and animals. is engaged to a childhood friend No more pet parawho has escaped to the West; she keets, cigarettes is in love with an Indian she met in and alcohol, magDelhi; and as if that’s not enough, azines and newsZorak Wahidi now wants her as papers and most his wife. books”.

The narrative moves swiftly, the In this chillsuspense is piled on expertly and ing and bizarre the oppressiveness of Taliban soscenario, the ciety is described in claustrophoTalibs suddenly bic detail. Aleph, David Davidar’s decide that Af- Taliban clamped down on entertainment and women, but encouraged the young men new publishing venture, has come ghans should play to play cricket. out with cricket. It’s their s u r p r i s ing herself. “Do the Talib know that behaviour, and following the rules attempt to show the human side of they are encouraging the kinds of of the game. Do the Talibs know speed with their regime; besides, it is a non- behaviour they have been trying to any of this? two highly contact sport, and the players are suppress all these years? Because However, the sudden enthusi- r e a d a b l e Result-Based Therapy fully clothed. When Rukhsana, they are presenting us with the asm for cricket in Afghanistan (the is books Ayurvedic the spirited first-person narrator freedom to express who we are, not because of thefor other being Back, Neck and Shoulder Pain game’s attracof the book, hears this announce- to discover ourselves, to express tion or its higher moral values: Now Pinto’s in Houston available it’s Jerry ment, she is amused: the only our defiance on a playing field... merely because the selected play- first novel). national sport in Afghanistan un- cricket is a democracy of ac- ers will be sent abroad for coachReason for to Alleviate Also Therapies til then“Why is the Taliban pro- tions and reactions....” Above all, ing, thus givingArthritis to Migraine a few young men readers Slip Disc Joint Pains Sinusitis Obesity Frozen Shoulder Depression Insomnia Diabetes moting cricket?” Rukhsana asks cricket’s ideal is fair play, ethical the chance to escape celebrate. the clutches Psoriasis Eczema Hypertension etc.

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SPORTS

June 08, 2012

33

“It’s All About How Well You Are Prepared”: 5X World Champ Vish Anand

CHENNAI: World Champion Viswanathan Anand was felicitated in Chennai on Sunday, an occasion when the Grand Master chose to explain how he managed to defend his title despite the pressures.

Anand said it was all about how well he prepared. “Boris was a complicated opponent. In chess, it is all about how well you are prepared and how little your opponent is. I was expected about what was to come and wanted to put him under pressure,” he said.

Saying he has known Gelfand since 1989, Anand said the Grand Master from Israel had a deep understanding of chess. “He had prepared very cleverly. He managed to control the match to a great deal - it was only in game 11 and 12 we started to break out a bit.”

Sponsors NIIT also announced a scholarship to honour the fivetime World Champion. Tamil Nadu government previously, had announced a Rs. 2 crore reward for him.

With players making the Grandmaster cut at the age of 12 or 13, chess is increasingly being seen as a young man’s game. But Viswanathan Anand’s victory on Wednesday at the age of 42 has renewed the debate on whether age has anything to do with performance.

Anand prevailed over older rival Boris Gelfand of Israel, 43, via a tiebreaker to assert his supremacy in match play and in the process made a mockery of the rating system in the game which has 22year-old Magnus Carlsen of Norway at the top , 28-year-old Levon Aronian of Armenia at No. 2 and teenager Fabiano Caruana of Italy at No 8.

Anand’s triumph would also probably bring back the debate

S&S

CRICKET

over the traditional wonder why Anand match play format did not press in the being out of fashtwo classical games ion, with younger when he had white players finding and huge time adit boring and unvantage against wieldy. It doesn’t Gelfand, but the really matter. It is world champion a tribute to Anand’s had clearly calcuprowess that he has lated both the risks mastered a format and the potential that he was not gains in such situcomfortable with ations. when he was a They trash-talked young player himhim, ridiculed him, self and managed and wrote him off. to stay on top even They said he had when the youth slowed down, lost brigade overtook his flair and chutzhim in the ratings pah, and become list over the past 12 conformist and months. traditional in his “I am relieved,” play. But ViswaAnand said after nathan Anand took the match in Moson everything the cow. He refused Russian-Israeli to admit that he chess mafia and was the favorite to his growing band win the rapid tieof critics threw at breaker games. “I him and emerged knew I would get on top yet again Anand has become the five-time world chess champion my chances but I Vishwanathan on Wednesday, at the age of 42. don’t think I was winning the world the favorite when chess title for the lacked the intensity of a World the games started.” championship contest. Was it be- fifth time, and shutting up detracSo what is the next stage for the cause the contestants were both in tors for now. five-time World champion? He their 40s? “Like I said stamina has For sure, they will carp and crib will most probably play his next become a very important aspect . at Anand’s struggle to retain the tititle contest at home, maybe in If you have a small advantage you tle, the same way critics put down Chennai next year, and will have should know how to keep push- Sachin Tendulkar when he’s going to contend with opponents in their ing till your rival breaks down . through a lean patch, or plays con20s. Is age catching up with him?

This could take seven hours and servatively. But these two heroes “Chess is a very strenuous sport. if you make a mistake you could of India have set such stratospheric You can see that the top players be busted almost immediately,” standards for themselves that any are getting younger all the time,” Anand said. hint of a slowdown or downturn Anand told TOI during the match.

Anand is perhaps the most prac- in form is enough for detractors to “We have Magnus (Carlsen ) and tical chess player around. Like write finis to their careers.

(Fabiano ) Caruana in the top 10.” Sachin Tendulkar, who has grown However, 42 is not 24; even The match between the seniors steadier with age, the world cham- the greatest don’t have the same in Moscow mostly centred round pion knows when to press and reflexes and mindset they when theoretical contests and perhaps when to pull back. The world may they push 40 -- much less in the

twilight of a career -- that they had in their teens and twenties.

But when it comes to the crunch, great champions find a way of winning. The flesh and bones might have sagged a little, but a lifetime of experience and a capacious heart comes into play. That is pretty much what Vishy Anand summoned on Wednesday to win the world title in a tie-breaker after Boris Gelfand, an Israeli challenger from the Russian stable of chess greats, held him to a 6-6 tie in regulation play.

The stakes were enormous.

Anand has not been in top form for several months now; he’s given up several titles he routinely won on the chess circuit. He’s also the happy father of a year-old son who is more important than anything on the board. And to top it all, the Russian chess mafia has long been smarting at the loss of the chess crown to the genial Indian after the Karpov-Kasparov combine dominated the game for decades.

Anand has taken on everything they have fired at him from since 2000, including a divided and discredited world title. But since 2007, he had been the undisputed world champion, defeating the Russian Vladimir Kramnik, whom Moscow regarded as the heir to the two Ks, and the Bulgarian Veselin Topalov in 2010.

In each instance, Anand has had to battle not just his opponent, but also a mighty chess establishment, and sometimes even forces of nature. In 2010, he had to drive from Spain to Bulgaria, a distance of nearly 3000 kms across Europe, after the volcanic ash disrupted flights and the (challenger’s) host country refused to delay the start, citing TV rights issues. He got to Sofia just in time -- and went on to win.

The S&S cricket team is restricted to seniors and starter (S&S) players.

Join us Sunday mornings for guilt-free cricket from 9:00 to 11:00 am at India House, 8888 West Belfort. Each player will get batting practice and then we’ll divide up for a friendly match.

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUNE 08, 2012 • WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

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June 08, 2012

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June 08, 2012

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INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JUNE 08, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM