May 4 Pages 1-36

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Friday, May 04 2012 | Vol. 31, No. 18

Indo American erican News

www.indoamerican-news.com Published weekly from Houston, TX

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JAWAHAR PUNJABI SOCIETY

Ek Sham

Shri Shirdi Sai Baba Ke Naam

PSH’s Vaisakhi

Tradition with Modern Flair Photo collage Pg13

Tradition with a modern. youthful touch was the essence of the Vaisakhi program that the Punjabi Society of Houston presented to a packed house at the Cullen Auditorium of the University of Houston this past Saturday, April 28 as it once again focused on showcasing youthful talent.

Ek..

Ek, the first English-language musical on the life and times of Shirdi Sai Baba, is being brought to Houston this Sunday, May 6 (at the Old Stafford Civic Center) by Surender Talwar (right) of Media Circle & Art Promotions.

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Proving Her Mettle, Breaking the Glass Ceiling Sonal Bhuchar in Race for Republican State Representative District 26

BY KALYANI GIRI HOUSTON: There is a spirit of inherent serenity and grace that surrounds Sonal Bhuchar. She wears it like a comfortable mantle that whispers of contentment and great fortitude. A devoted wife and mother, and a career woman running a successful business, she hopes to lead by example and be a champion of change. If she is voted in on the Republican ticket for State Representative District 26, Bhuchar will make history as the first Indo American woman from Texas to hold the coveted office that encompasses the heart of Fort Bend County, one of the fastest growing regions in the nation. The Texas primary election is slated for May 29, 2012, with the early voting option from May 14 – 26. And Bhuchar has a message for constituents residing in that jurisdiction.

“Please do come out and vote,” urged Bhuchar. “The only way that we can make our voices heard is if we get involved in the political process.”

She also suggested that voters ask for the Republican ballot.

A physiotherapist by profession, Bhuchar began her odyssey in public service about eighteen years ago serving Fort Bend Independent School District (FBISD) on the Parent/Teacher Organizations at the schools that her children attended, and at district level committees and advisory committees. In 2006, she was elected to the FBISD Board of Trustees, and served as Secretary in 2007, and as President in 2008 and again in 2010 – 2011. She has also served on the District Accountability Task Force, Audit and Finance Committee, and the Discipline Management Committee. She led the formation of the Student Leadership and legislative advocacy programs in FBISD. District 26, that Bhuchar aspires to represent, includes the City of Sugar Land, Richmond,

Sonal Bhuchar, Dr. Subodh Bhuchar, and their daughters, son, and son-in-law

Sonal Bhuchar

Stafford, and Missouri City, to name a few.

By proving her mettle with the FBISD, Bhuchar has won wide respect and support from the diverse communities that reside in that area, and she brings a wealth of hands-on experience to the table.

“I have decided to run because I know that I can effectively represent the voice of entrepreneurial small businesses, the voice of education, and the voice of healthcare because these constitute a better quality of life and excellence in a community,” said Bhuchar. “I want to be a part of the budget process and confront the issue of excessive state spending; from 2001 to 2010, the state debt grew from $13.4 billion to $37.8 billion, an in-

crease of 281%, which is unacceptable,” added Bhuchar.

Deregulating mandates, keeping taxes low, and sanctioning free enterprise will foster increased growth of the economy, added Bhuchar. Education is a subject also crucial to Bhuchar’s campaign. She underlined the need to invest in 21st century education reform; a strong public education will generate an educated workforce and lead to a robust economy. She supports policies that help the Texas energy industry to cultivate natural resources, create jobs, and improve the economy. She is obdurate about increased security, manpower, the construction of impenetrable fences, and effective surveillance being implemented to ensure security on the Texas-Mexico border to deter illegal immigration and the infiltration of drug cartels. Bhuchar and three others are in the race for the Republi-

can State Representative District 26 seat.

Bhuchar’s leadership roles within the community include serving on the Board of Directors of Fort Bend Education Foundation, the Sugar Land Exchange Club, Child Advocates Council, the Indo American Charity Foundation, and the Economic Development Council of Sugar Land.

Bhuchar’s strength lies in her ability to listen to other opinions and weigh them with impartiality and wisdom. Hindu of faith and proud of her rich cultural heritage, she draws resilience from her supportive husband Dr. Subodh Bhuchar, her children Sunaina, Sameer, and Supriya, and a loving circle of extended family and friends. The Bhuchars’ live and practice in their healthcare vocations in Sugar Land.

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English Musical Play “Ek” Brings Shridi Sai Baba to Stage

HOUSTON: In the small jungle town of Shirdi, about 150 miles west of Mumbai, an international spiritual movement had its humble beginnings in 1858 with a mystic named Sai Baba. Details of his early life are uncertain, but this only adds to the mystique of the guru and fakir (a wandering Sufi ascetic) considered a saint by Muslims and a god by many Hindus.

Considered to be a modern manifestation of Lord Krishna, and one of the true gurus of the 20th century, he is remembered the world over as an ascetic who combined both Hindu and Sufi Muslim teachings all the while proclaiming, “Sabka Malik Ek ” (“one God governs all”).

HIs life story is now being presented in English, in Texas, through the musical Ek: The Life of Shri Shirdi Sai Baba this coming Sunday May 6, at the Old Stafford Civic Center.

“The production an original, unique production about the life and times of Shirdi Sai Baba,” said Surender Talwar, a well-known community leader who is bringing the play to town. “It is the first to be offered in English and performed in America.”

Baba lived a strange and removed existence, dressing simply, and lived for years under the shade of a neem tree. The gurusaint preached acceptance of all, regardless of religion or caste. His message was revolutionary in late 19th century India. Ek aims to capture the tense Muslim-Hindu dynamics of the time and show why Shirdi Sai Baba remains a religious icon for millions decades after transforming the lives of those in one small village.

By retelling the story through English dialogue and music, the musical should appeal to not only Sai Baba’s current followers, but others who don’t know this revered Indian saint. “Even if you are not a follower, the message of love and peace is pretty clear and everyone can get that message,” said Talwar.

The musical recreates the Shirdi village scenes of Sai Baba’s life, and mixes the traditional style of Indian “life epics” with modern Broadway production quality featuring professional actors and directors, with Devaguptapu Babu of San Antonio as Sai Baba. A stirring Qawwali, powerful dances, moving bhajans, an inspired cast of children, young and old people deliver a

message of unity.

The first show in Pflugerville outside Austin this past February was completely sold out, with over 900 people in attendance. Organizers hope to take this play across the United States, but it is no coincidence that it is being launched in Texas.

“There are over a million followers around the world,” said Talwar, “There are three temples to him and 1,000 devotees in Houston alone.”

Personal connection is what draws many of Sai Baba’s followers to devote their lives to following his teachings and learning from his life and his appeal has spread to Hindu, Muslim, Jain, Sikh and Christian alike.

“This production will inspire many others to know who Baba was,” said Talwar, who believes their lives will be changed by learning of Baba’s story in vivid detail, music and dance.

(Credit: Houston Chronicle) “Ek” is being presented to Houston audience by Media Circle & Art Promotions on Sunday, May 6, 2012 from 5 to 7pm at the Old Stafford Civic Center, 1415 Constitution Ave., Stafford, TX 77477. For tickets ($25, $35, $50, $75, $100) call 713-6682948 or online at www.sulekha.com or tickets2events.com

Scenes from “Ek” when it was first staged in Plugerville outside of Austin in February, with the cast (above) and Devaguptapu Babu (right) in the title role of Baba.

Indo American News (ISSN 887-5936) is published weekly every Friday (for a subscription of $30 per year) by IndoAmerican News Inc., 7457 Harwin Dr., Suite 262, Houston, TX 77036, tel: 713789-6397, fax:713-789-6399, email: indoamericannews@yahoo.com.

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PSH’s Vaisakhi Spotlights Tradition Mixed in with Modern Flair

BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA HOUSTON: For all the nine bhangra troupes competing for three cash prizes, there should have been a separate prize for the most creative video introductions. Each troupe’s performance started with a slide show of the individual members, set to music and sliced and diced with computer graphics and video that showed how creative young minds work, even if they perform Punjabi folk dances. And as each face and name flashed by, encouraging screams from their supporters in the audience punctuated the hall.

And that was the essence – tradition with a modern. youthful touch - of the Vaisakhi program that the Punjabi Society of Houston presented to a packed house at the Cullen Auditorium of the University of Houston this past Saturday, April 28 as it once again focused on showcasing youthful talent in a event that lasted just over five hours. After a 30-minute intermission where people could grab a bite to eat from Gourmet India’s layout in the plaza outside or buy colorful t-shirts with catchy phrases (like those that said “Pure Punjabi”) from the PunjabMall booth, nearly 80 percent returned to see the remaining eight items and hear the judges’ decision on the winners.

The event was jam packed with colorful costumes and equally vibrant music set to the Punjabi dhol beat as the evening rolled through 19 different numbers, including those in the bhangra competition. Although as ambitious in showcasing the local talent (and some from Dallas) as last year’s program, this year the organizers decided to mix it up like a variety show, and the results were more exciting to watch.

“I wanted to do something that broke up the flow,” said Jasmeeta Singh, the event chair

One of the bhangra groups who performed at PSH’s Vaisakhi program last Saturday at UH’s Cullen Auditorium. Event Coordinator Jasmeeta Singh (right) and models after the fashion show (below) Photos: Parash Shah

and Board member who headed up a roster of nearly 40 volunteers, “so that people didn’t get overwhelmed by the bhangra beat and dances alone.” Her group worked with the PSH board for over four months to put the show together, cajoling community members for financial support, putting a cast of 200 performers together and rehearsing tirelessly. The Grand Sponsors of the program were Jasbir Singh of Bawa Jewelers and Monty Singh of Re-Max Realtors.

“It was a great undertaking,” said Bhai Amar Singh, a Board member as he and PSH president Manohar Singh Mann surveyed the crowd with pride towards the end of the show.

“We have learnt from last year,” said fellow Board member Pritpal Singh as he solicited feedback, “and next year will be even better,” he said looking forward already.

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A trained classical dancer who also choreographs the free flowing style of Bollywood dancing, Jasmeeta is known among the desi community for her focus on working with kids and perfectionism when it comes to undertaking a project, and has been active in other nonprofit groups for many years. She has a unique perspective when it comes to stage shows, preferring bright colors, sequined dresses and lively music.

“So when I looked at the whole show, I wanted to break up the long bhangra competition (over an hour long) with other items,” she explained a day after the event. “Just two weeks before the show, I thought of the fashion show and gathered up the models and dancers and started rehearsals.”

with village utensils as props as they danced, sometimes in the rural fashion with the chuni over their faces, in celebration of the harvest.

The bhangra competition included groups of all ages, many of them girl groups, and they all executed a series of moves with short clips of different music, using long sticks, flappers and other props, to meet the judging guidelines.

Exceptional though they all were, Nishani Bhangra of UH won the competition winning $1,000, with Republic of Bhangra (which has two non-Indians dancers, Megan Kush and Inez Escandon) coming in second winning $700 and Texas de Gabroo third with $500.

The Republic group showed great coordination and the five couples went through their steps in synchronized harmony. The Texas de Gabroo group put on silver pantomime masks for one of their moves and ended with explodingconfettisticks.Othergroups used LED lights, smoke bombs and other high-tech items to embellish their performances. Other dancing groups who were not part of the competition also performed in between, notably an instrumental featuring two dhols, Western drum set and Rajinder Pal Singh, a master table player on a dias and later, a battle of the dhols played by three young teenagers.

The evening started with a video showing the rise of the Sikh faith and community

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And the fashion show had to be the hit of the evening, as it brought several female models (Paige Gill won an award for best model) on stage in beautiful lenghas and saris, with embroidered shawls (the clothing arrangements were loaned by Sari Sapne) displayed overhead like sails, interspersed with dances (Jasmeeta was the lead dancer) and props like matkas, a spinning wheel, a cane sieve and other items that you find in a Punjabi village during the harvests.

Equally invigorating was the performance by the H. K. Gidha group from Dallas (who won a $300 award for best traditional item) which claims it is the only singing, female gidha (a Punjabi folk-dance for women) group in Texas. The eight women troupe loudly sang folk songs, to hand-clapping, two dhols and

and Jasmeeta doing a quick introduction with 9-year old Rajvir Kindra, who later gave a rousing speech on Sikh unity. She quickly asked for the person in seat LC M6 to come onstage as a guest emcee. Obviously staged, Gurvinder Singh, a young software engineer from Seattle who Jasmeeta met at an event there earlier this year, strode up in an embroidered sherwani and acted dumbstruck when taking the mike.

“I was taken by his amazing sense of humor and delivery,” she said, “and asked him to come to emcee our show.” Gurvinder did so with the greatest of charm, playing coy sometimes, and funnily mischievous in his delivery of puns and jokes, between stage performances, aided by a small cadre of Houston’s Panjabis who were the foil to his jokes. It was a welcome addition of levity to the long, but enjoyable program.

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, MAY 04, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

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Jyoti and Pramod Kulkarni (Partner/Editor, Indo American News) celebrated the 1st birthday of their granddaughter Manasi, daughter of Avanti and William Seymour, at the Pine Forest Country Club with family and friends on Saturday, April 28. In the picture above are, from left, Jyoti Kulkarni, Pramod Kulkarni, little Manasi, Avanti Seymour and Asim Kulkarni.

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Love the Love: A Tribute to Sathya Sai Baba by Dana Gillespie

HOUSTON: On April 28th, at the Unity Church in Houston, famed British blues vocalist, Dana Gillespie, performed in concert a loving tribute to Sathya Sai Baba, a revered spiritual leader and teacher. Over 900 people gathered to attend the concert titled, “Love the Love,” to commemorate the first anniversary of the passing of Sathya Sai Baba. For His numerous devotees, the event was not just a memorial service or a tribute; it was an outpouring of thanks for Baba’s grace in every aspect of their lives and a celebration of the universal spiritual values that have imbued their hearts and minds with joy and love.

The program began with introductory remarks by Alex Grana, President of Sai Region 10. Master of Ceremonies Miya Shay (reporter on KTRK 13’s Eyewitness News) ably provided an overview of the program. City Councilman Mike Laster presented a proclamation on behalf of Mayor Annise Parker and the Houston City Council declaring April 24th Universal Love and Unity Day in commemoration of the passing of Sathya Sai Baba and to express the city’s appreciation for the Sai Organization. Julia Laskowski and John Hardesty rendered a few songs expressing themes of unity and love in the opening act.

Finally, the moment that the entire audience had been waiting for arrived—the entrance of Dana Gillespie on stage. Dressed elegantly in a black velvet jacket and jeans, wearing masses of colorful bangles on her hands, Gillespie won over the audience right away with a beautiful smile and a couple

Dana Gillespie and musicians of sweet introductory remarks.

Gillespie began her performance by a melodious Ganesha invocation, a prayer for auspicious beginnings. The note-perfect “Vinayaka Vinayaka” immediately engaged and elevated the audience; all it took was a minute gesture from Gillespie to get the audience to sing louder—such was her command over the stage.

This command, over the music and over the audience, was evident time and again through the concert; the audience smiled and swayed with Gillespie as one mesmerized multitude. The next number, “Om Shakti,” spoke to the unity of all religions. The amazing power of Gillespie’s compelling vocals and the perfect harmony provided by her accompanying musicians created a vibrant energy that was as tangible as it was joyous. The subsequent numbers—“Guardian Blue Angel,” “All is One,” “Big Daddy Blues” and “Your Love

is True”—were scintillating harmonies that throbbed with intensity. It was in these numbers with their mellifluous blend of notes and words, in the combination of pathos and hope that Gillespie showed her mastery over the blues. If these numbers were classic blues rhythms, the audience also received ample opportunities to appreciate the global nature of Gillespie’s repertoire. “Move Your Body Close to Me” was a soulful number that drew inspiration from the Indian ghazal. Like the blues

lyrics that seemingly talked about worldly matters but hid deeper, esoteric connotations of the divine, her fusion numbers embodied tantalizing combinations of east and west, of the physical and spiritual.

Thus, while “Move Your Body Close to Me” could be construed as physical love, Gillespie infused into it the evocative pathos of the ghazal, personifying the yearning of the soul for its eternal destination.

“For a prayer to work, it has to come from the heart of hearts,”

said Gillespie as she proceeded to the next number, “A Light in my Heart of Hearts.” The chant-like beat of this sufi-inspired number served as the perfect showcase for the musicians who shone with a harmonious, unified performance.

The tabla player, in particular, enhanced the pulsating rhythm of this number with his brilliant percussion. “Unify” and “Strange are the Ways of Love” truly demonstrated the power of music to unite people; the audience sat transfixed as Gillespie sang of the indomitable spirit of man and the power of love to bring hope in the darkest of moments. “Shower the Rose Petals” invoked fond reminiscences among devotees of Sai CONTINUED ON PAGE

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Meenakshi Theaters Stage Encore of Play Nadandathu Enna?

BY SOWMYA NANDAKUMAR Meenakshi Theaters staged an encore of Nadandathu Enna, on popular demand, on Apr 29 at 3:00pm in Sugarland Auditorium.

First staged in March, the play’s success made an encore imminent!

Written by Ganesh Chandra, Vishy Raman’s directorial debut, produced by K. Saranathan, Nadandathu Enna transliterates to “What may have transpired?” A refreshing story of a murder investigation, it reminds one of an Agatha Christie murder mystery in Tamil.

Abirami, (played by Priya Chandru) in her late twenties/early thirties, dies in her sleep supposedly because of a heart attack. Her family stipulates that this is the consequence of severe stress in her stock investment business, which took a toll on her moods, her marriage, and family relationships, making her money minded and ruthlessly ambitious.

The local police station gets an

rogant Abirami was exceptionally convincing. Her performance was particularly compelling when she emoted, Abirami’s opinions on the subject of family, her moments of immense frustration and fury with her husband and family, and her inebriated state due to stressful personal circumstances. Venky as Arvind expressed the conflicting aspects of his character - the innocent, understanding, cajoling husband; in contrast the secretive, sinister and controlling person, aptly striking those contrasts.

Saranathan’s performance was riveting! His theatrics were exceptional - funny at times, interspersed with phases of serious emotion. A principled man with an unsuccessful film career, the father supposedly turned eccentric after his wife’s demise (when his children were very young) and now regularly consults a psychiatrist.

When confronted with emotional stress, he resorts to an alter ego of

The story moves between the present (after Abirami’s murder), interspersed with the past (when Abirami lived). The crew did a fine job of representing this - Two mirror image sets of the family’s living room, simple and tastefully decorated, present events occur to the right and past to the left, with lights clearly differentiating time periods. Cast-crew coordination and quick transitions on stage between time periods were well implemented.

The play’s title score composed

by Arizona based Sathish PV with the lyrics Nadandathu Enna, sung

by Tara Venky, Sowmyanarayanan and Eashwar Sethuraman was original, and well rendered. Vishy Raman’s debut direction was a fantastic effort. Background music by Dicman Alfred, lighting by Anthony Alfred, stage management by Ganesh Bala, Hariharan Mahadevan, Kiran Unnikrishnan, Prasanna Venkatachalam and

anonymous phone call suggesting that the police investigate to rule out possible foul play. Police inspector Jeet (Ganesh Raghu) investigates the mysterious circumstances of Abirami’s death.

Constable Kandaswamy (Satheesh Kumar) and a crime reporter Divya (Surabi Veeraragavan) are also involved.

Abirami lived with her husband, Arvind (Venky Narayanan), father Ramamurthy (K. Saranathan), brother Ravi (Vishy Raman- also play director) and there’s a house maid, Saroja (Lalitha Sundaresan).

In the course of her investment business she interacted with her stock broker, Madan (Mani Vaitheeswaran), a sleazy character. Others who frequent this house are the father’s psychiatrist Dr. Deva (Ravi Seshadri), and his friend, Ramakrishnan (Murali Santhanam), a television director.

As the investigation progresses the audience is lead to believe that the primary suspects with motive and opportunity are the husband, brother, and maid. The crooked stock broker has a convincing alibi, having been arrested by the police for drunken driving. The others are secondary suspects. What may have transpired that lead to Abirami’s murder? This question reveals the truth about all the characters.

Priya as the ambitious and ar-

Sivaji Ganesan. His eccentricities and sudden outbursts of emotion were excellently articulated. With the wonderful ability to intensely engage the audience his melodramatic soliloquy was engrossing.

Lalitha as the maid Saroja was brilliant, making theatrics seem almost effortless. She is naturally in character and her dialogues have a likeable spontaneity. She projects an innate talent and the colloquial lingo she used for the role came to her quite naturally, adding authenticity to her character. She adds so much drama to her character that it is theatrically very appealing! Vishy as Ravi was completely comedic, endearing, and annoying as the irresponsible, unemployed brother, always coaxing his sister to lend him money to audition for the movies – something that never yields results!

Ganesh as the inspector revealed his presumptuous nature well.

Satheesh as the witty constable was hilarious and brought giggles all through with his comedic countenance. This duo was well complemented by Surabhi who represented the gossipy, interfering and flirtatious journalist. Ravi as the psychiatrist, Murali as the father’s friend, Mani as the shady stock broker with an immoral history and Mahesh Ramanathan as the forensics officer were convincing in their performances.

creative contributions by Chandramouli Subramaniam and Arun Surendran heightened the play’s success.

A few minor faux pas - the set had established exits (sides of the stage and a set curtain), but sometimes the cast used other set doors (which hypothetically led to rooms in the house) for stage exits. Also, perhaps a better way to transition between past and present scenes may be to freeze present characters, get the lights out first and then have them exit a scene; as opposed to have them exit and then get the lights out.

From 2008-2012, the group’s production standards have stepped up phenomenally. Their attention to detail deserves a mention. People with full time day jobs, the cast and crew, make time for practice sessions, acting, and production, set construction, costumes and several other aspects of staging a play, which surpassed one’s expectations in every respect. Hats off to Meenakshi Theaters for their endeavor, and for generating such a crowd on a Sunday afternoon!

Meenakshi Theaters, a Tamil theatre group in Houston since 1987, has performed about 24 plays, all over Texas and other major cities in the USA. Visit http://meenakshitheaters.com/ Email:MeenakshiTheaters@ gmail.com

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, MAY 04, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

COMMUNITY

May 04, 2012

11

Love the Love: A Tribute to Sathya Sai Baba by Dana Gillespie

CONTINUED FROM PAGE

9

Baba at His darshans in India; it ended with the Sanskrit chant “Samastha Loka Sukhino Bhavantu.”

Inspired by the ancient Hindu texts called the Upanishads, “The Whole Universe” plucked at the heartstrings of the audience.

The highlight of the evening was the eponymous “Love the Love,” inspired by the Indian qawwali and composed with noted Indian singer Pankaj Udhas. “Love the Love” exhorts the listener to love nature, to love all of creation and to love oneself. Set to a catchy beat, this number causes an almost instantaneous urge to dance in the listener; however, a careful examination of the lyrics reveals a profound message that exemplifies Baba’s teachings. By popular demand, Gillespie had to provide a second rendition of the song; the second time, the audience clapped with gusto while a few members of the audience swayed in ecstasy, such was the uplifting experience of her performance.

To call Gillespie a blues singer would be limiting her to a single genre; her music is truly global and eclectic. Her repertoire embraces a wide variety of styles; the undertones of Indian classical music and its derivatives add a dimension that is as thrilling as it is captivating. The beauty of her music is its all-encompassing appeal;

From left: Raghu Amara, President, North Houston Sai Center, Ajit Paralkar, President, South Houston Sai Center, Chris Brown, Chief Deputy City Controller, Mike Laster, District J Council Member, Alex Grana, President, Sai Region 10 with a proclamation from the office of the Mayor, City of Houston Photos: Prafull Kumar

it is in the soul-stirring melodies as much as it is in the simplicity and sincerity of her lyrics. Along with Gillespie, the listener makes the journey into the darkest recesses of the heart only to be blinded at the end by a flash of light that is drenched with hope and love. She demonstrated just how seasoned of a musician she was both through her command over the stage and her almost-instantaneous rapport with the audience— no mean feat given that there were close to a thousand people in the audience.

Gillespie interspersed her songs with brief narratives about her experiences with Sai Baba; with humor and humility, she described her many interactions with her spiritual leader and the exhilaration of performing at His birthday celebrations for many years.

While her experiences resonated with devotees in the audience, her reiteration of Baba’s message of universal love needed no context; her heartfelt exhortation that we need to recognize that all religions are the same earned unanimous af-

firmation from the audience. More than the music it was the vibrations of love that captured the audience.

Expressions of elation and bliss were writ large on the faces of the audience as they reluctantly left the auditorium to partake of refreshments. Asked how they felt, often-repeated adjectives were awesome, fantastic, amazing, etc.

One person remarked that the performance was “surreal” while another said it was “absolutely beautiful.” One devotee who has heard Gillespie perform at Baba’s birthday events mentioned that she creates a heart-to-heart connection. A fan of Gillespie for the last thirty years flew in from Arizona just to listen to her; several other blues fans and music lovers in the area came to listen to the music, and left uplifted by the message.

The program ended with a vote of thanks by Vinod Patel, Vice

President of Sai Region 10. A post concert music event by a talented group of young musicians, held in the arena outside the church, was a fitting conclusion to the evening.

Gillespie also took her Love the Love tour to the University of Texas at Austin, Texas Southern University and the Rothko Chapel in Houston.

“Love the Love” was organized by the Sathya Sai Organization (www.sathyasai.org), a network of groups (“Sai Centers”), which facilitate service, devotional and educational activities along with living the spiritual ideals as instructed by Sathya Sai Baba. Sai Centers welcome people of all faiths while providing a place to study and practice the teachings of Sathya Sai Baba. For more information about Sai Centers in Houston, visit www.saicenterofhouston.org.

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COMMUNITY

12 May 04, 2012

An exhilarating experience despite 21 mph headwinds

Over 300 Indo-Americans Join in MS150 Bike Ride

HOUSTON: Over 300 IndianAmericans of all ages joined 13,000 bike riders on the weekend of April 21-22 for the 28th annual BP MS150 fundraising ride from Houston to Austin.

Despite the headwinds of 21 mph on the first day, the riders remained determined to reach the finish line at the Capitol in Austin the next day to help fight multiple sclerosis and fund research in finding a cure for the dreaded disease which affects 56,000 people in Texas.

The riders were cheered along the way by the beautiful wild flowers and the scenic spots that motorists may miss in a flash.

“There were millions of flowers on the way, a great gift from God,” said Hemant Jadhav, an eight-time rider and captain of the Star Team.

Many Indian riders, who reached Austin early, waited for fellow riders to catch up. And then they rode to the finish line waving American and Indian flags. “It was a spectacular finish line show to watch.

A sign of unity and integrity,” Jadhav said.

The Star Team was among several teams of Indian-American riders. Another team, the Houston Desis with 20 riders was taking part in the trek for the sixth year.

The captains of the Houston Desis were Ramana Anantha and Srini Kamana. Supporting them was cocaptain Vikram Raghu.

Riders with the Houston Desis and the Star Team at the finish line in Austin

The MS150 is the largest fundraiser of its kind in North America.

Over 180-mile long, the HoustonAustin ride is stretched over two days with break points every 10 to 15 miles. The riders camp for the night at La Grange. The National MS Society’s aim was to raise $17 million. It raised over $16 million last year. The funds go to fund research and services for those coping with MS. “It was like looking at a rainbow, every size, color, and shape of people were participating in this event,” said 12-year-old Nundini Rawal who trained hard with her dad to ride with Houston Desis.

“At that finish line I felt like I’ve accomplished something big...

raise money for Multiple Sclerosis.” she added.

“Riding for miles and miles through the hilly terrains of the Hill Country at my ripe age of 67 for ‘Creating a World Free of MS’ makes it well worth it,” said Madhukar Prasad, former president of Indo-American Chamber of Commerce and a second time rider.

“This year I dedicated my ride to two persons - Ivan Keith Yates, father of a good friend Susan Brown, who lost his battle with MS a few years ago. The other person is a charming young woman rider whom I met during a training ride.

‘Thanks for riding today. I am one of the reasons why you are. I have MS and your efforts will go

a long way towards finding a cure for me.’ Touched by these people, I realized that my ride had a purpose that transcended just the physical challenge. It was about a world where the Yates of the world and this young lady would someday walk up to me and say, ‘Thanks to your ride …I am MS Free,’” he said.

Vijay Pallod, a fifth-time participant who rode with his wife Sushma, a third-time rider, finds the experience very rewarding. “The experience teaches me many things.

It gives me the opportunity to meet many, who offer selfless services, and the camaraderie gained by perfect strangers is heart-warming, at best, not to mention for a great

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, MAY 04, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

charitable cause.”

He said the headwind factor this year made the ride most challenging in the past five years. “Despite this, twenty of us rode and made it to the finish line together.”

Umesh Parwal, first time rider, was equally impressed with the unforgettable experience. “MS150 was the most exhilarating event. It inspired me to put in the best efforts and never give up as one’s desired destination may be closer than they think.”

Hinal Patel thought that MS150 was a “great way to reach out and help patients that are suffering from this disease.” The seven-member team of Spring Branch Pharmacy trained to make sure that everyone reached the finish line.” This ride gave us chance to get healthy, eat healthy and help others.”

Anil Adoni hopes to build on this year’s experiences and have more riders in his team the next year.

“We are a group of 20 riders who call ourselves the 100 Mile Bike Club. We started biking to stay in good health. Our riders range from age 14 to 65 and we live in The Woodlands. This year 10 of us rode the MS-150 and raised more than $5000 in total contribution for the cause.”

“I felt like a hero that day, and so can you by doing this next year,” concluded Nundini Rawal and echoing the emotions of all.

COMMUNITY

May 04, 2012

Tradition with a Modern Flair Punjabi Society of Houston’s

Vaisakhi 2012

Cullen Auditorium, Sat., April 28, 2012 All photos by Parash Shah

Story on page 6.

Slideshow & videos on indoamerican-news .com

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, MAY 04, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

13

14 May 04, 2012 COMMUNITY A Tale of Three Friends, and One White Canvas Playing to and refining the chords of a lifelong friendship, or echoing criticisms of a friend’s decision to purchase an overpriced, modern, white-on-white canvas of ‘Art’?

Three friends make a choice.

Shunya Theatre presents Art, its first production for its tenth season, a comedy by Yasmina Reza. Art is a sardonic and witty comedy that revolves around three college friends, now men approaching their forties.

Three friends face questions about the nature of art, their friendship and ultimately, their own identities.

How would you feel if one of your best friends suddenly bought a white-on-white painting with fine, white, barely discernible, diagonal lines, at an unthinkable amount, whilst seeking your approval with bravado?

Wouldn’t you feel the need to question the sanity of your friend? Serge holds a modernist mindset, and becomes a newfound collector of modern art. Marc maintains a classical sentiment, and of course disapproves of Serge’s pretentious purchase. Yvan, the

humanist and reconciler, brings to the chaos an otherwise harmonial accord.

Art is witty, sardonic, and charming humor. It questions the interpretation of arts, individuality and honesty among three friends. It puts an old adage, “a friend in need is a friend in deed,” to test. It uses the white-on-white canvas to expose the whitish-grey diagonal lines in the trio’s decades old friendship.

It deftly reveals the pitfalls of contemporary friendship via contemporary art.

Yasmina Reza is a French playwright and actress, with Hungarian and Iranian roots, well known for her critically acclaimed play, God of Carnage. Art is another gem of Yasmina Reza that has received critical acclaim and awards internationally, including Molière, Olivier and American Tony Awards. Writ-

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by Shunya Theatre, a South-Asian nonprofit theatre troupe.

Shunya Theatre is celebrating its tenth season providing a voice to the South Asian American experience through the visual and performing arts for Houston audiences. “The theatre is shunya, or ‘empty’ until we come together as artists and patrons to bring it to life with our collective imagination. When you start with nothing, anything is possible.”

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BY SWAPAN DHAIRYAWAN HOUSTON: The India Culture Center (ICC) Houston and International Hindi Association (IHA) presented an incredible evening of poetry on Sunday, April 29. Early afternoon, the banquet hall of India House started filling in. Hindi poetry enthusiasts were impatient to listen to the trio, Gajendra Solanki, Dr. Sarita Sharma and Sanjay Jhala who had come from India for the Annual Hasya Kavi Sammellan. More than 370 avid Hindi poetry lovers came in for what has now become a Signature event. Snacks and tea catered by Madras Pavilion were served before the program.

Swapan Dhairyawan, ICC Trustee welcomed the audience and Sangeeta Pasrija, Chair of IHA Houston Chapter announced upcoming events and introduced the poets. Sangeeta’s tremendous efforts have contributed to keeping the IHA significantly active in the last five years. The core organizing team for this event were ICC President -Rajiv Bhavsar, ICC Director - Rafi Ansar, Past President IACF- Bobby Singh, Sangeeta Pasrija and Swapan Dhairyawan.

In her address Sangeeta requested an enlargement of the Houston Chapter in 2013. She said that Houston would be the hub for an upcoming three day National Hindi Convention which would

Photographer: Sanjay Sohoni

16 May 04, 2012 COMMUNITY Hasya Kavi Sammellan Packs many a Belly Laugh

From Left to Right: Rafi Ansar, Bobby Singh, Swapan Dhairyawan. Sangeeta Pasrija, Gajendra Solanki, Renu Khator, Sarita Sharma, Sanjay Jhala, Suresh Khator & Rajiv Bhavsar

involve plenty of legwork. Following her address, Rajiv Bhavsar welcomed the audience on behalf of ICC and requested Nalini Mathur to light the lamp to kickoff the event.

The poet, Gajendra Solanki is a Delhi resident and a big name in Kavi-Sammelans in India. His patriotic poetry is known to bring tears while his jokes make one’s stomach hurt with laughter.

Sanjay Jhala from Jaipur, Rajasthan who works in the Govt ministry of Food Inspection, acts out his poems comically. He appears regularly on Indian TV channels.

Dr. Sarita Sharma holds a BSc. degree but her hobby, Hindi po-

etry, pulled her into the Hindi literary world, leading her to research and Ph.D. She has a very pleasing and original style of reciting from the heart. IHA has been conducting Kavi Sammellans since 1983 but it was the first time in it’s history that a poetess participated and stole the hearts of the audience with her insightful and touching love poems. She was honored by a warm appreciative hug at the end of the program by Dr. Renu Khator, the President and Chancellor of University of Houston.

The sutradhar kavi Gajendra Solanki managed their stage time.

The program ran continuously for three hours. The event was hon-

ored with the presence of Dr. Renu Khator & her husband Dr Suresh Khator. Officials from the Consulate General of India office, also graced the ocassion. The program ended at 9.15pm with the vote of thanks.

For more information log on www.icchouston.org

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May 04, 2012

17

SONAL

BHUCHAR REPUBLICAN FOR STATE REPRESENTATIVE District 26

Dear Friends,

Sonal Bhuchar

First, thank you for your continued support and encouragement within the community. I could not be at this stage of the campaign without you, from ing thousands of residents in House District 26, I am truly blessed to have you on my team.

SONAL

Austin, I have to win two elections. First I must win, the Republican BHUCHAR Primary Election on May 29th and then the General Election in NovemREPUBLICAN FOR STATE REPRESENTATIVE District 26

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Dear Friends,

BHUCHAR

REPUBLICAN FOR STATE REPRESENTATIVE

-

26 REPUBLICAN District FOR STATE REPRESENTATIVE District 26

Dear Friends, ing thousands of residents in House District 26, I am truly blessed to have Dear Friends, First, thank you for your continued support and encouragement the First, you for your continued and encouragement within the community.

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Forfrom further in House District 26, I am trulying blessed toresidents have you onDistrict mytoteam. you on my team.

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information on the Election, on your polling location, how to get a yard

Election Day May 29 Early Voting May 14 - May 25 For More Information call (832) 814-4902 or visit www.SonalforTexas.com

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Sonal Bhuchar Sonal Bhuchar

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For More Information call (832) 814-4902 or visit www.SonalforTexas.com

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you on my team.

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18 May 04, 2012

Does India Need a Monarch?

India’s presidential race is about to begin. With Rashtrapati Bhavan getting ready to welcome a new tenant, presidential hopefuls have lined up at the starting post. Will Pranab Mukherjee — the veteran warhorse and trusted loyalist of the Congress party, and more particularly of the Gandhi family—give up his finance minister`s budgetary briefcase to don the mantle of the Rashtrapati? Or will vice-president Hamid Ansari find himself elevated to the top job?

A dark horse who might make history by being the first incumbent of the office to do a second term is rocket man Abdul Kalam.

The outer field includes telephony technocrat Sam Pitroda, Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar, Karan Singh and Farooq Abdullah.

Just how wide open the race is might be gauged by the fact that the names of Ratan Tata and Narayana Murthy have done the rounds as possible contestants.

But as New Delhi’s corridors of power are abuzz with rumors, conjecture and out-and-out kite-flying exercises regarding the outcome of the race, now might be the right time to ask the question as to whether India really needs a president at all. Constitutional blasphemy? Perhaps. Or is it?

India’s parliamentary system is based on the Westminster model, in which the prime minister is the head of government. In Britain, the constitutional head — or, rather, figurehead — of state is the monarch. The titular chief of the defence forces, the Indian president is supposedly a part of the machinery of checks and balances built into the parliamentary system. When a constitutional impasse takes place in a state assembly or in Parliament because no party or combination of parties can form a government, the presidential office is meant to come into its own, rather like a monitor in a school imposing order on a classroom.

As a monitor, or referee, the office of the president is in theory supposed to be above party politics. But in fact it never really is.

Presidents can, and have, been used by the government of the day to serve its own ends. While there have been notable exceptions — the scholar and philosopher S Radhakrishnan was one — all too often India`s presidents have been politicians by another name.

Take away the politics, and the presidency becomes just a decorative accessory to be trotted out when protocol demands for state banquets and Republic Day parades.

As pure decoration — the cherry on the cake of our democracy — the presidency with all its establishment costs is an expensive fashion accessory to maintain. If it’s a constitutional safeguard we’re looking for, maybe it’s time to find a less politically pliable alternative to the presidency (the long-delayed Lokpal?). And if it`s only ceremonial show-sha that we expect from that gaddi, we might consider going whole hog and turning Rashtrapati Bhavan into a Rashtriya Mahal, India’s counterpart to Buckingham Palace, complete with a suitably imperious if not imperial occupant.

Indeed, there might be a likely inmate waiting in the wings under the right royal banner of ‘Maa, Maati, Manoosh’ to which could be added ‘Monarchy’. Jug Suraiya in Times of India

EDITORIAL

Down, But Not Out

BY B. RAMAN A year after the U.S. Navy Seals killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, the central command and control of al-Qaeda based in Pakistan continues to be in disarray.

The terror group has not been able to recover from the U.S. drone strikes and the death of many of its senior leaders. Thanks to his lacklustre leadership, Ayman alZawahiri, the new amir of al-Qaeda, who is believed to be operating from a hideout in Pakistan, has not been able to restore the confidence and motivation of its central command and control.

The disruption of the group’s central command and control appears to have affected its ability to plan and launch catastrophic strikes in faraway places.

However, its affiliates—the Taliban of Pakistan and Afghanistan, the Haqqani Network of Afghanistan, the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) of Pakistan, the al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) based in Yemen; the al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb based in Algeria and Mali; the al-Shabaab of Somalia; and the Boko Haram of Nigeria —have maintained their capability for sporadic acts of terrorism involving mass fatalities in their respective areas of operation.

While the global reach of alQaeda has been affected due to the inability of its present leadership to carry out terrorist strikes on a global scale, its regional command and control, regional cadres and regional ability to carry out strikes remain unimpaired.

There are also indications that after the death of bin Laden, who was a Saudi of Yemeni origin with influential family connections in Saudi Arabia, there has been a decline in the flow of funds to al-Qaeda from ‘charity organizations’ and affluent Saudi families.

The shortages caused have not been made good by the money earned from narcotics smuggling.

The weakening of al-Qaeda as a global terrorist organisation should not be taken to mean that the dangers of a catastrophic act of

With the thinning down of the NATO presence, the jihadi terrorist organizations, now operating in Afghanistan, will find at their disposal surplus jihadis, who are well-trained and motivated. India must be prepared because some of its cadres and weapons could be diverted to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) to re-kindle terrorism and the Pakistan-sponsored proxy war in Jammu and Kashmir. terrorism are less likely now. The dangers will remain high so long as the intelligence agencies are not able to identify and neutralize al-Qaeda-trained operatives who were placed in sleeper cells in different parts of the world by bin Laden when he was alive. The central command and control of al-Qaeda has been disrupted, but not its global network of sleeper cells. If a new leader emerges who is able to motivate them, we may still face new acts of mass-casualty terrorism.

So long as al-Qaeda’s global network of sleeper cells is not disrupted, dangers of maritime terrorism, acts involving weapons of mass destruction, material and mass disruption of the internet have to be guarded against through international cooperation in intelligence collection. India must maintain extreme vigilance and preparedness against commando-style, complex terrorist strikes of the kind launched by the LeT in Mumbai on 26/11 and by the Afghan Taliban in Afghanistan recently. The LeT has not repeated its 26/11 style terrorist strikes in India after 2008. But its training camps in Pakistani territory are active and the anti-India radicalisation of its leadership shows no

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EDITOR: PRAMOD KULKARNI BUSINESS MANAGER: JAWAHAR MALHOTRA MANAGING PARTNER: KRISHNA GIRI COMMUNITY REPORTER: KALYANI GIRI COMMUNITY EDITOR: MANASI GOKHALE ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGER: VANSHIKA VIPIN GRAPHIC DESIGN: SAQIB RANA CORRESPONDENTS CHICAGO: NAND KAPOOR, UK: ASEEM KULKARNI NEW DELHI: RAJ KANWAR ®All rights reserved. No material herein or portions thereof may be published without the written consent of the publisher. The deadline for advertising and articles is 5 pm on Monday of each week. Please include self-addressed, stamped envelope for return of all unsolicited material. Published at 7457 Harwin Drive, Suite 262, Houston, Texas 77036. Tel: 713-789-NEWS or 6397 Fax: 713-789-6399, email: indoamericannews@yahoo.com, website: indoamerican-news.com

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signs of abating.

There are no indications of any change in the use of terrorism as a strategic weapon against India

by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). If the U.S. and other NATO forces carry out their plans to thin out their presence in Afghanistan in the coming months, the US is expected to transfer its holdings of arms and ammunition to the Afghan Security Forces.

The danger is some of it would fall into the hands of jihadi groups in the Af-Pak region.

With the thinning down of the NATO presence, the jihadi terrorist organizations, now operating in Afghanistan, will find at their disposal surplus jihadis who are welltrained and motivated. India must be prepared because some of its cadres and weapons could be diverted to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) to re-kindle terrorism and the Pakistan-sponsored proxy war in Jammu and Kashmir.

At a time when there is an urgent need for revamping our intelligence collection, follow-up action and physical security capabilities through close cooperation between the central agencies and the state police and through fresh instruments such as the proposed National Counter-Terrorism Centre (NCTC), it is worrying that the differences between the Centre and the states on the NCTC are threatening to weaken our counter-terrorism capability.

Stability in the Af-Pak region is years away. Until a modicum of stability is established, the Federally-Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan will continue to be the epicentre of the attempts to revive global terrorism and to keep India bleeding. The international community—and particularly India and the US, which face the maximum threats from the terrorists based in the Af-Pak region—cannot afford to slacken its vigilance.

B Raman is additional secretary (retd), Research and Analysis Wing. He was the head of its counter-terrorism division for six years.

COMMUNITY

Chittirai Mahotsavam Celebrations at Meenakshi Temple

BY S. BALAKRISHNAN PEARLAND: During the Pushpa Palakku ceremony, on Saturday, April 28, two-dozen devotees carried Goddess Meenakshi around the main temple in a flower adorned palanquin, following which there was Veda Ghosham and Lalithasahasranamam chanting. A group of devotees performed the Chenda Melam (Kerala drums).

The Annual Chittirai Mahotsavam Celebrations at Sri Meenakshi Temple that started on April 26 will continue through the week and end on May 6.

The celebrations began with the Vaasthu Shanthi Pooja on Thursday April 25 and the flag bearing an image of Nandi was hoisted on the Dwajastambam on Friday, April 27.

Yagasala poojas will be conducted every morning and evening throughout the 10-day event.

Religious discourses, chanting, bhajans, classical music and classical dance are scheduled for the evenings.

The highlight of the first week was the coronation of Sri Meenakshi, the

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Pushpa Pallaku ceremonies at Meenakshi Temple

Meenakshi Pattabhishekam.

During this ceremony, ritual has it that the temple priest receives the scepter as a representative of Meenakshi symbolizing the transfer of power from Lord Sundareshwar to Goddess Meenakshi. On this occasion, the Chairman of the board received the

scepter. The upcoming Sri Meenakshi Sundareswarar Thirukalyanam on May 6 will be followed by the silver chariot procession of deities (Rathosavam).

Later a kalyanam style lunch on banana leaves will be served to all.

For more information visit http://www.emeenakshi.org/

Women- The Peace Makers

BY NARGIS LAKHANI HOUSTON: Within the human kingdom, fingerprinting establishes individual identity, family establishes the innermost circle, community the intimate one whilst nations and tribes mark cultural affiliations. The Qu’ran declares this state of reality and justifies it by stating, “O mankind, We created you from a single pair of a male and a female and made you into nations and tribes that you may know each other [49:13].” God did his job in the creation part and left the other half to us, the ‘know each other’ bit.

Groups like Interfaith Ministries, have made it their mandate, within the civil society domain to work on this very critical job. Interfaith Ministries’ vision - (“We envision faith communities working together to create a more just, compassionate and caring society”), makes it one of the leaders in this field with a number of programs and initiatives on its plate. IM manifests the strength of shared beliefs through four areas of service to the greater Houston community:

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19

May 04, 2012

Meals on Wheels for Greater Houston delivers more than one million meals each year to seniors in Harris county. Refugee Services in conjunction with the U.S. State Department, resettles hundreds of refugees in Houston each year. Office of Disaster Preparedness and Response facilitates communication on behalf of Houston’s faith communities during relief and recovery efforts. Interfaith Relations provides a safe harbor for greater Houston through its many interfaith programs and dialogues.

A free event, “Spiritual Journey for Women” (under the aegis of the Interfaith Ministeries of Greater Houston’ Institute of Interfaith Dialogue) was organized at the Turquoise Center Ottomon Ballroom, W Bellfort, Houston on April 26. An open invitation to all who subscribe to the Interfaith Ministries website was sent out and registrations were open for a couple of months before the event.Unregistered walk-ins were welcome too.

This was a gathering of about 200 women mostly above 30 years of age. Women of all faiths, and even agnostics participated. Bright, smiling

faces that radiated understanding and a sense of purpose, greeted each other.

The message was clear: “there is an objective to be achieved and we are going to achieve it.”

Groups of ten seated themselves at the tables. There were presentations on Islam and Turkey, by the host community, viz the American-Turkish sisters, followed by dinner. Later, a designated facilitator initiated a guided discussion helping participants express themselves on topics including, knowledge gained through the presentations, misconceptions about their faiths, how each one communicates with the Almighty, etc.

Each round of discussion seemed to draw the group closer opening up windows that enabled all to admire the beauty of thoughts and feelings, external to them. The most remarkable take away was something a Buddhist lady from Japan shared: “Women are the peace makers....”

A concentrated attempt such as this evening allows for women to build upon this natural talent and strength that they have ‘to create a more peaceful world.’

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OPINION

The Ordeal of Ill Health

BY HARSH MANDER (The Hindu) For any poor person in India, to fall ill is a monumental calamity, because whatever public health services exist are beyond their reach. In cities, health facilities are available in private clinics and large public hospitals. But it is hard for poor city residents to enter their doors.

The obstacles are highest for homeless persons, stigmatised by public authorities as illegal, illegitimate, unsanitary burdens on the city and its infrastructure, including hospitals.

Public health scholar and paediatrician Vandana Prasad undertook a study to understand the barriers faced by adult street dwellers in Delhi in accessing health care. The study focused on this most marginalised and socially invisible urban population living on city streets, including ablebodied casual workers, rag-pickers, women who escape or are expelled from violent and abusive homes, and people suffering from a variety of disabilities (including mental illness).

Almost all homeless people typically suffer major health problems, not surprisingly because they are forced to sleep rough, exposed to extremes of the seasons, and with virtually no access to clean drinking water, sanitation and home-cooked food. Their health burdens were reported by the Health Initiative Group for the Homeless based on a survey of 2,955 homeless respondents: “A high proportion of homeless people were suffering from serious respiratory ailments including tuberculosis, acute and chronic infections, skin diseases and diarrhoeal diseases”.

Our earlier research by the Centre for Equity Studies found that health issues may be also the reason for homelessness in the first place, including mental illness, mental retardation and stigmatising illnesses that precipitate homelessness. Prasad’s study clearly documents the occurrence of catastrophic illnesses as a factor that has tipped poor people into homelessness The study finds that upper-most among the many barriers faced by the homeless in attempting to access public health care services is simply the lack of money. They lack BPL cards which would otherwise make them eligible for free medicines, and are forced to buy medicines and pay for tests. Many give up because they cannot afford the services even of public hospitals, with devastating outcomes on their health, livelihoods, and their survival with dignity. The researchers encountered from a very small sample three able-bodied, working, homeless men who suffered injuries which could have been treated. But they could not afford the cure in government hospitals. As a result today they are permanently disabled, and forced to beg life-long.

Bureaucratic maze Another prominent barrier to accessing health care was the delays and “shunting” experienced by the participants in busy public hospitals, which led many participants to give up before their health problem

To be poor is bad enough; to be ill as well is a nightmare

could be addressed. A young homeless woman spent two years begging doctors in four tertiary care public hospitals in Delhi to treat her young baby. They kept insisting that there was nothing wrong with her baby.

It was only her persistence — she describes it as haath pair jodna or begging the doctors — that led them to recognise at the end of two years a congenital intestinal blockage, and agree to operate on her child, thereby saving her life.

These problems are compounded by low literacy, isolation, unfamiliarity and stigma. A few homeless people reported insulting behaviour by attending doctors as one of the reasons they hesitate to approach public health facilities: some doctors refuse to touch them because they are unclean; others heap humiliating taunts about their producing too many babies. (But the majority of homeless people said government doctors were courteous.) Other barriers commonly mentioned included difficulties in safely storing their records.

Not a single homeless respondent possessed a BPL card or any other automatic proof of their status as “poor”.

The study confirmed a near absence of social security entitlements that are meant for the poor amongst the homeless participants, such as pension or the BPL ration card, which has great practical significance not only for cheap food but as a prerequisite for getting free treatment.

Other barriers included the lack of address, and no attendant. There is a cultural expectation in India that every patient would be accompanied by family members or friends, who would stay with the patient throughout hospitalisation and assist with various tasks such as buying drugs and other consumables, fetching reports, accompanying the patient for various procedures and even, on occasion,

nursing and dressing. They take the patient to the toilet, and call for the doctor or nurse when required.

At a disadvantage Elderly or disabled persons need attendants to negotiate even outpatient services since there are long queues and services are time-bound.

People who do not have the ability to read signs and fill in forms, or the social confidence to approach designated help-desks which are also overcrowded, also need assistance.

But most homeless persons do not have a family living with them, and even if they do, other members have to work to eat food each day. A woman said that while she was sick and making her endless rounds of hospitals, her husband had to pull his rickshaw and take care of their children on the streets.

It is often said that the greatest crime in India is to be poor. Vandana Prasad’s rigorous and compassionate study documents in painful detail how hard it is to be homeless and require health care. She concludes that it is only a comprehensive universally free public system of health care, one that does not require any cash transactions between the service providers and the users, which could enable the homeless to surmount the barrier of prohibitive costs of care.

They would require, in addition, comprehensive social protection, homeless shelters, recovery shelters, and support for their peculiar needs as homeless persons such as nutritional support and paid attendants for the periods when they need to be hospitalised. But in a country where even existing public health services are being down-sized and privatised, there can be little optimism that the homeless will secure the dignity of health care if they have the misfortune to be houseless, alone, and unwell.

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The Actor Who Brought Gandhi to Life – Sir Ben Kingsley!

BY SOWMYA NANDAKUMAR One of the eight actors of Asian origin to be nominated for an Academy Award in the acting category, Ben Kingsley (Krishna Pandit Bhanji), was born on December 31, 1943 in Snaiton, Yorkshire, England.

Kingsley’s father Rahimtulla Harji Bhanji was a medical doctor of Gujarati lineage, born in Kenya. Rahimatulla’s father was apparently a spice trader who had moved to Zanzibar where they lived till Rahimatulla was 14, after which they moved to England. Kingsley’s mother Anna Lynn Mary was a British actress and model allegedly born out of wedlock. Her father was believed to be a Russian or German Jew and her mother, an English lady who worked in East London’s garment district. Kingsley was raised in Pendlebury, Salford and studied in Manchester Grammar School, University of Salford, and Pendleton College, which houses the Ben Kingsley Theater.

Kingsley’s professional debut on the London stage was in 1966, as the narrator of The Smashing Day produced by The Beatles’ manager, Brian Epstein. Kingsley wrote music, sang and even played the guitar for this production. After one of the performances, John Lennon and Ringo Starr supposedly went backstage and told him to take up music as his career otherwise regret it all his life. But in 1967, he was invited to join the Royal Shakespeare Company and in 1971, made his American debut on Broadway. He made his career choice. There was no looking back! His first marriage in 1966 to actress Angela Morrant, gave him two children, Thomas and Jasmin Kingsley.

The marriage lasted six years.

His first film was Fear is the Key followed

by Hard Labor in 1973. He starred in the BBC’s

Ben Kingsley as Gandhi

historical drama, The Love School (1975) and played the defense counsel in Crown Court (197679). He acted in Peter Hall’s Volpone (1977) for the Royal National Theater, and in Peter Brook’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Fearing that his foreign name would be detrimental to his acting career, he changed his name from Krishna Pandit Bhanji to Ben Kingsley, drawing his last name from his paternal grandfather’s nickname, King Clove. In 1978, he got married a second time to theatrical director, Alison Sutcliff, and had two children, Edmund and Ferdinand Kingsley - (The marriage lasted until 1992).

In 1982, at 39, after the film Gandhi, Ben Kingsley, the actor, was an international

phenomenon! He won the Oscar for the Best Actor, The Golden Globe, BAFTA, and the London Film Critic’s Circle awards. Recognized as one of Britain’s best actors, he was awarded the Padma Shri in 1984, and won a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word or Non-Musical Recording in 1985 for The Words of Gandhi.

After Gandhi, Kingsley experimented with a range of roles, many a time villainous or reticent characters - the Arab potentate in Harem (1985), a reclusive bookworm in Turtle Diary (1985), a spy in Pascali’s Island (1988), a New York gangster in Bugsy (1992) for which he got an Oscar nomination, an ethical American Vice President in Dave (1993), a Jewish bookkeeper in Schindler’s

List (1993), a Nazi war criminal in Death and the Maiden (1994) to name a few. In 1995, after a huge hiatus from the ‘good guy’ roles, Kingsley, (reportedly much to his relief), finally got to play the ‘good guy’ again in Species (1995).

His repertoire continued to encompass a wide variety of roles including Sweeney Todd in the TV movie, The Tale of Sweeney Todd (1997) for which he received the Screen Actors Guild Awards nomination. In 2000 he was named Commander of the Order of the British Empire. He won the Screen Actors Guild Award for his performance as Otto Frank, in the TV movie, Anne Frank: The Whole Story (2001). He was nominated for a Golden Globe and a third Oscar for his role as a manipulative criminal in Sexy Beast (2001), which is ranked #97 on Premiere Magazine’s 100 Great Performances of All Time. In the 2002 Queen’s New Year’s Honors list, (on his 58th birthday), he was awarded Knight Bachelor of the Order of the British Empire, for his services to drama. He received a fourth Oscar nomination in 2004 for House of Sand and Fog in which he played an Arab American patriarch. His third marriage to Alexandra Christmann in 2003 ended in 2005; Daniela Lavender, a Brazilian actress, became his fourth wife, in 2007. In 2011 Kingsley featured in Hugo directed by Martin Scorsese. He is presently working in Iron Man 3 and Epic, both in the preproduction stage. He now lives in his decade-old residence in Spelsbury, Oxfordshire, England.

Since being knighted, his demands to be addressed as ‘Sir Ben Kingsley’, even in film credits, (allegedly documented by the BBC) have received enormous criticism. But, given his stellar contribution - bringing the legacy of Gandhi to life for generations to come, ‘Sir Ben Kingsley’ seems like an apt title!

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22 May 04, 2012

COMMUNITY

UH Chancellor, Dr. Renu Khator’s Success Story Inspires YLDP Students HOUSTON: On April 28, Youth Leadership Development Program (YLDP) students visited with an extraordinary woman, Dr. Renu Khator. She recounted her mission, obstacles, and journey to success. The President and Chancellor of the University of Houston, Dr. Khator, is the first IndoAmerican woman to serve as the President of an American university. In her speech, Dr. Khator imparted many lessons she believes are the foundations of leadership.

The first of these is to have a wild dream,

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whether it is a little crazy or completely irrational. Dr. Khator explained to the students how her dream of earning a PhD was faced with difficulty when her traditional Indian family forced her into an arranged marriage. However, she managed to put herself through college and beyond, sticking to her crazy dream and finally making it a reality.

The second characteristic of effective leadership, according to Dr. Khator, is to act on one’s dream and never let anything

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President and Chancellor of UofH, Dr. Renu Khator (in white), with YLDP students

obstruct that. She described how after she transferred to the United States, she overcame a tough language barrier by watching eight hours of television everyday to immerse herself in the English language.

Dr. Khator’s final piece of advice for

aspiring leaders is simple – be humble.

She believes that “no leader travels alone” and that great leaders are defined by their humility.

Dr. Khator builds on current goals to create future goals that she can keep working on throughout her career. This enables her to continuously perfect whatever she wants to accomplish because she is never completely finished with something.

Dr. Khator’s lessons and incredible success story inspired YLDP students.

Reported by: Aditya Srinivasan, Raj Kavadi, Srimahesh Vangavolu, Isha Dr. Renu Khator addresses YLDP session Deo, and Nicole Bhatnagar.

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, MAY 04 , 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

COMMUNITY

May 04, 2012

23

Read-a-thon 2012: Shloka & Essay Competition at DAV Sanskriti School

BY SHVETA BHATT HOUSTON: On Sunday, April 29, DAV Sanskriti School (DAVSS), Houston held an awards ceremony to recognize and honor participants and student winners of the 2012 Read-a-thon, Shloka and Essay competitions.

The spirit of this recently concluded competion is to channelize children’s zest for reading towards fund-raising for social causes. This creates a feeling of empathy in children’s impressionable minds inculcating values of community service. The efforts of DAVSS children raised a whopping sum of $17,600 (a recordbreaking amount) for Jeevan Prabhat, a charitable organization founded and run by Arya Samaj for orphaned and underprivileged children in India.

The Read-a-thon is an annual event at DAVSS and in the last 5 years, has contributed over $67,500 (excluding this year) to Jeevan Prabhat. This year, 44 children participated – top fund-raisers were Roma Nayyar ($2,510) and Rohan Chawla, Sagar Chawla, and Ansh Khanna with $700 each.

Funds raised by children were matched by Arya Samaj Greater Houston. Roma was also the top reader, followed by Mahi Tomar – both read over 10,000 pages each.

Other STAR readers recognized were Asha Waran, Aditya Waran,

Arnav Sood and Ria Otwani.

Jeevan Prabhat’s objective is to provide care for underprivileged children – housing, nutritious food and best of education. Jeevan Prabhat has two locations – Gandhidham and Pondicherry. Gandhidham location was founded in 2001 after the Gujarat earthquake and the Pondicherry location in 2004 after the Indian Ocean Tsunami.

Arya Samaj of Greater Houston is a partner of Jeevan Prabhat, Pondicherry, and supports the organization through donations and other means. The Pondicherry child care facility was recently constructed at a cost of $400,000 – all raised through donations. It currently

houses about 50 children.

The Read-a-thon was kicked off in early December 2011. The children were sensitized to Jeevan Prabhat’s cause of ‘giving & sharing’. They were given piggy banks and were asked to imprint the phrase, vardhasva vardhaya cha (uplift yourself and others).

The children had three months to read books and collect pledges (in dollars) from friends and families against the number of books or pages read. In support of the Reada-thon, DAVSS lent out precious books through its library – books about great men and women, and Indian history. Read-a-thon funds collected by all the children were

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pooled together end of February at a pizza party celebration hosted at the DAVSS School.

The annual Shloka and Essay competitions for the DAVSS children were also held in February. The Shloka competitiom was judged by age group, and the essay competition by school levels (elementary, middle and high school).

Pronunciation and flow of recitation were the judging parameters for the Shloka competition. The shlokas, chosen by DAVSS’ Acharya Pravin, were from Yajurved this year. Scripts of selected shlokas with meaning and a voice recording were provided to the children to help them prepare for

the contest. Sibling rivalry had an exciting positive effect for this contest as a number of sibling pairs were award winners. Gayatri and Pranav Thatte took the top spots in 5-6 and 9-10 year categories while Meera and Kabir Borle took the 1st and 2nd spots in the 7-8 year-old group. Smriti and Siddhant Ahuja took the 1st and 2nd spots in the 13+ age group. Other winners were Gaurav Garg who was 1st in the 11-12 year age group. Anjai Gupta, Shreya Chanth and Anushree Biradar were the 2nd place winners in the 5-6, 9-10 and 11-12 year age groups respectively.

The topic for this year’s essay competition was “How (and why) do you apply Vedic Dharma in your daily (practical) life?” The essays were graded by a panel of three judges and the children had put in very high quality work.

The top spot earners were Arnav Sood (Elementary), Gaurav Garg (Middle) and Uma Zingde (High School). Shreya Chanth (Elementary), Ria Otwani (Middle) and Trisha Gupta (High School) were the 2nd place winners in their respective categories.

The DAVSS school committee and the volunteers deserve huge praise for their enormous thought and effort in organizing these successful events and shaping our children as true leaders of tomorrow.

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24 May 04, 2012

OPINION INDIA

Indian presidential election

Who would be the new tenant at Rashtrapati Bhawan?

RAJ KANWAR An eerie sense of uncertainty hangs over the forthcoming presidential elections in India since no single party or even a coalition of national and regional parties enjoys majority in the Electoral College. By itself, the Congress party has a voting strength of 31% while its main BJP rival musters only 24% of the votes. The Congress with its volatile allies such as Trinamool Congress of Mamata Banerjee, Nationalist Congress Party of Sharad Pawar and DMK of M Karunanidhi has only 40% of the total voting strength while BJPled NDA has just 30% votes. All the non-BJP and non-Congress parties together have a voting strength of 45%. Thus in a way these parties enjoy an upper hand and should be able to call the tune in the choice of the presidential nominee. However, it is easier said than done. Most of these parties do not see eye to eye with one another and would rather support BJP or the Congress if push comes to shove. For instance, the DMK will never join hands with AIADMK of J. Jayalalitha. Likewise Mamata Banerjee will never support the CPI (M) or other left parties or a candidate even remotely showing leftist leanings. Similar disharmony and antagonism exist amongst most regional parties who are natural rivals in electoral battles in their respective states.

Thus in this divisive political scenario, no nominee sponsored by Congress or BJP with support from one or more of regional groupings or even one sponsored by non-Congress and non-BJP parties could hope to win the tenancy of Rashtrapati Bhawan. Looking at the overall strength of the various parties in the Electoral College, it would appear that the regional parties could become a decisive factor provided they or

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at least some of them shed their mutual animosity.

Alternately, if the Congress and the BJP in the unlikely spirit of bipartisan politics could find a common acceptable choice, then they could easily dispense with the support from regional and other peripheral groups or parties. But this bonhomie too between these two arch rivals is seems like a mirage.

With less than three months left before the present incumbent demits her office, no clear straws in the wind are visible. A few names have been bandied about but no serious candidate has as yet emerged. Almost all the parties are keeping cards close to their chests and no party of any significance has so far shown its cards. Laloo Prasad has suggested that the vice president Hamid Ansari should be elevated to the presidency.

Some others have even started lobbying that the previous president APJ Abdul Kalam be asked to occupy this august position once again.

Mulayam Singh Yadav, on the contrary, would perhaps like to project himself as a potential candidate. The recent overwhelming victory of his party in the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections has considerably boosted his ego bringing about delusions of becoming the first citizen of the country. In this hotchpotch of political crucible,

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even regional political chieftains have started nursing undeserved ambitions.

Though intrinsically, there is nothing wrong in harboring such ambitious illusions, yet it must be remembered that a potential presidential candidate must have a broadly acceptable persona and is eminently capable of independently interacting not only with political leaders from other states in the country but also with the visiting dignitaries from foreign countries. He should also have a pan-India appeal. Other attributes of a presidential hopeful should include a high academic background, excellent conversational ability in more than one language and impeccable credentials. Without casting any aspersion on the incumbent president or some of her predecessors or even current presidential hopefuls, one must ruefully confess that some of the 12 Indian presidents did not fulfill these exacting standards, yet it must be said to their credit that most of them were able to complete their respective tenures without any ado.

Of course, a couple of them did not bring much honor to their high office but that is the price that a country has to pay when its leadership succumbs to short-term political expediency.

Despite all this cacophony by the heterogeneous and internecine political parties or groups, it is fast becoming clearer that no politician of whatever standing will be acceptable to all or at least to a majority of the electorate. If a consensus is to be evolved around an acceptable candidate, he will have to be from a non-political background, preferably an academia of high standing or an outstanding industrialist of unimpeachable integrity. Let me throw a few names in the ring just to see if politicians across the spectrum would consider them. First, how about Ratan Tata of Tata

group of companies or NR Narayana Murthy of Infosys? Even the former president APJ Abdul Kalam or for that matter the incumbent vice president Hamid Ansari will be good choices.

There is no denying the fact that there could be a general consensus on one of the suggested names even among the mutually inimical political outfits.

No one will deny the qualifications or impeccable integrity of the names suggested. Let it be understood that most of the 12 presidents had come from political background barring of course Dr. S. Radhakrishnan and Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. They too were really known as the “scholar-presidents” and could hold their ground anywhere in the world in any august company.

Incidentally, the presidential elections in India are based on proportional representation and the Electoral College comprises elected members from state legislative assemblies and the two houses of the Parliament. Each voter from its state assembly is assigned a certain number of votes depending on the population of the constituency from where he is elected. The equation used for its determination is Total population of the state Total number of elected members x 1000 In other words the total population of the state is divided by the number of its elected members and that is further divided by 1000. The idea behind this formula is to give fair weightage to the population factor. The population of Uttar Pradesh, for example, is 199,581,477 and number of elected legislators is 403. The value of the vote of each legislator thus is 495 while in the smaller state of Uttarakhand with a population of 10,116,752 and 70 numbers of legislators, the value of each vote is 145.

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ARIES Mar 21 - Apr 20: You will have many opportunities to make more money.

Since the financial inflow will be more than expected, you may seriously consider buying another house or investing in long-term bonds.

Try not to get carried away by it and take due precautions before making any move. On the personal front, you may face problems in relationships. Try to not to avoid facing problems.

TAURUS Apr 21 - May 21: You are on the way to solving all recent prickly issues. During this phase your work pressure will increase, and at the same time your loved ones will demand more quality time from you. Your efforts to increase your monetary income, will prove successful as this happens to be yourlucky phase. Romance is in the air and you may get passionately involved with someone, but go slow. You need to control your anger, to avoid unpleasant consequences.

GEMINI May 22 - Jun 21: You may be so engrossed in your work now, that the toll it takes on you may go unnoticed. However, unless you take precautionary measures like some relaxation techniques to cool down, there may be a breakdown waiting down the line. While this is a favourable time to make rapid strides in your profession, which is why you are slogging, you will have to squeeze out time to unwind. To add to your woes, the atmosphere in your workplace may distinctly turn hostile, which you will have to handle very tactfully.

CANCER Jun 22 - Jul 23: Though you feel happy and contented, powerful cosmic forces may be pushing you to work harder. You will have to burn the midnight oil to meet deadlines fto complete the projects.You are looking at the big picture, and planning for it so that you can secure your future and be free from worries. This is not going to be all work and no play. There will be time to enjoy with your family and friends.

LEO July 24 - Aug 23: This is a very favourable phase for a romantic rela tionship .

You may even begin a new one now, as meeting that ‘someone special’ is on the cards. Even existing relationships will get better, richer and smoother.

There shall be more understanding, love and affection in personal relationships, and improved rapport in the more professional ones.

The compatibility with your partner will help you both to make mature decisions. You’ll also share your responsibilities and relish each others’ success. A new spiritual dimension may be added to your life.

VIRGO Aug 24 - Sep 23: Opening up your perception to gain a better understanding of the world around you is the theme of the week. Your interest in finding the unknown will surprise you. You will also try to figure out a way to get more involved in an activity at hand, which is sure to open up many more opportunities for you.

May 04, 2012

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LIBRA Sep 24 - Oct 23: With all your financial troubles behind you now, you will feel a lot more relaxed and would want to indulge in your desires. You shall feel like celebrating life, so late night parties, social gatherings, developing new contacts are all a possibility. You will be passionate and flirtatious in this phase. You may get involved in things like past life regression therapy, and the soul’s journey after death. Remain grounded, though.

SCORPIO Oct 24 - Nov 22: You will be preoccupied with financial matters as you realise the importance of money. But chances are that by now, you have learnt to use it judiciously. Now, you will explore ways to use your time well, so that you can earn more by putting in the same amount of labour. There may be romance in the air.

SAGITTARIUS Nov 23 - Dec 22: Expanding and diversifying your business will remain tops now. This is bound to demand more of your time and money. Focus on de-cluttering your life. You will have to let go of some outdated opinions and grudges you may be holding on to. To be successful in your projects you may need to give up your relaxed lifestyle.

CAPRICORN Dec 23 - Jan 20: You may suddenly be overloaded with personal and professional affairs. But you will have enough energy to accomplish them all, despite several obstructions. Finances and family matters may be of particular concern; you may even have to resort to taking short-term loans to raise the required funds. Even so, your altruistic nature will shine forth, as you go out of your way by squeezing out time to help the needy.

AQUARIUS Jan 21 - Feb 19: Having achieved many of the goals you had set for yourself, you can now afford to take the liberty to soothe your nerves after weeks of hard labour, even if it means spending a chunk of your hard-earned money on a holiday, or some long-desired luxuries. You’ll feel more comfortable in your relationships . A new romance could blossom, or there shall be an improvement in rapport with your spouse or lover.

PISCES Feb 20 - Mar 20: You will make satisfactory and consistent progress at work this week, so your professional life will be the least of your concerns as things are smooth on this front. You main concern will be about money, and all sorts of financial transactions like arranging funds for property deals, loans or even lending it to someone needy will keep you busy. Your own expenses are also likely to increase, particularly medical expenditure as an elderly member of the family may need hospitalisation. A little interaction with a member of the opposite sex may lead to a major affair of the heart.

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BY SOWMYA NANDAKUMAR HOUSTON: If you are looking for an apartment to move into, check out Stancliff Park Apartments, 10350 Lands End Drive, Houston, TX 77099. Located near West Bellfort Avenue, this 400-unit property is owned by HK Capital Management, owners of six other properties in Houston, in Montrose, the Hobby Airport and Bellaire areas.

Stancliff Park Apartments is close to freeway 59 and the Beltway. There are quite a few schools nearby - Smith Elementary, Cummings Elementary, Klentzman Intermediate and Kipp Houston, all perhaps just under a mile. Grocery stores, Foodarama and Savoy Food Market, and the Ibn Sina Community Medical Center are all about a five minute walk away. The first factor that determines where one chooses to live is, the location, location, location and Stancliff Park Apartments definitely fulfills that criterion.

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127

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, MAY 04, 2012 • WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

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May 04, 2012

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Mukesh Ambani’s RIL Becomes Debt Free NEW DELHI (HT): Helped by a huge cash pile of over Rs. 70,000 crore, corporate giant Reliance Industries has become a debt-free entity -- a feat its billionaire chief Mukesh Ambani had promised to achieve about ten months ago.

At the end of the last financial year ended March 31, 2012, Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) had total cash balance of Rs. 70,252 crore ($13.8 billion), as against an outstanding debt of Rs. 68,259 crore ($13.4 billion) -- making the country’s most valued firm debt free on a net cash basis.

RIL’s outstanding debt rose marginally by about one per cent during last fiscal, but the surge in its cash position was much larger at about 66% during this period.

As on March 31, 2011, RIL had outstanding debt of Rs. 67,397 crore, as against a cash balance of Rs. 42,393 crore.

Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director, had told RIL’s shareholders at their Annual General Meeting on June 3, 2011 that the company would

become debt-free during 2011-12.

“Reliance will be completely debt free, net of cash balances within this year,” he had said at that time.

Meeting the target, RIL’s full-year financial results for the fiscal ended March 31, 2012 showed that the company has become “debt free on a net basis as compared to the gearing level of 13.5% as on March 31, 2011.”

The company said that its has primarily invested its cash in fixed deposits, certificate of deposits with banks, mutual funds and Government securities or bonds.

While its fourth-quarter net profit declined by 21% to Rs. 4,236 crore, it recorded a record consolidated net profit of Rs. 19,724 crore for the year ended March 31, 2012.

It’s full-year turnover rose 31.4% to an all-time high of Rs. 339,792 crore.

Commenting on the company’s financial performance for the fiscal year 2011-12, Ambani said: “We have created a strong foundation for future growth and are investing in our core upstream and petrochemical

businesses in India.

“Response to our organized retail business has been very encouraging and we continue to expand our footprint by building more stores across verticals, formats and geographies.

We remain committed towards providing world class, high speed wireless data services through the launch of our broadband access business,” he added.

In an investor presentation of its 2011-12 results, RIL said that it will look to capture a $500 billion market opportunity through its world-class consumer retail business.

With regard to its broadband business initiatives, the company said that India was the world’s largest and most competitive wireless market and broadband wireless would be a key driver to growth of data services.

RIL’s cash outflow on account of capital expenditure last year amounted to Rs. 7,426 crore, while its net capital expenditure for the year was Rs. 12,563 crore, including Rs. 6,706 crore on account of exchange difference on long term loans.

Pranab Pushes for Three Key Reforms WASHINGTON (HT): Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said in Washington on Sunday that he hopes to have three key reforms passed in the ongoing session of Parliament.

The insurance amendment bill, pension fund regulatory bill and the banking amendment bill were the three for which the minister said at a news briefing he expects to get Parliament’s clearance.

On the contentious proposal to amend tax laws in the context of the Vodafone case he said fears of a large number of tax cases being reopened were “totally unfounded”.

Mukherjee was addressing a news briefing, rounding off his visit for the annual spring meetings of the IMF-World Bank.

After being reported to have said that before the next general election in 2014, Kaushik Basu, the finance

ministry’s chief economic advisor, told Hindustan Times India would see some important reforms soon.

These would include a review of subsidies, partial diesel price decontrol and FDI in retail, in addition to the reforms in insurance, banking and pension fund.The one reform not likely before 2014 was an amendment of the Industrial Disputes Act, he said.

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China Permits Indian Basmati Rice Imports

With China permitting the import of Indian basmati rice, the Indian embassy in Beijing plans to conduct a publicity campaign to push basmati rice into the Chinese markets.

BEIJING (TOI): China has for the first time allowed imports of basmati rice from India. Welcoming the decision, embassy officials, however, said it would be a tough task for Indian traders to penetrate into Chinese market dominated by Thai varieties and to some extent Pakistani aromatic rice. Indian ambassador to China S Jaishankar said, “It is a very positive move by China.” “We are in touch with basmati producers back home to see how to take this forward,” he told PTI reacting to China formally granting permission for Indian exports of basmati rice. The Indian embassy plans to conduct a publicity campaign to push basmati rice into the Chinese markets.

The diplomats here regard it as a diplomatic success considering that Beijing was found dithering ever since New Delhi formally sought an opening for India’s top rice in 2006.

The approval came after passing through testing procedures of the Chinese official bodies.

In its absence, Pakistani basmati rice is widely used by star hotels and Indian restaurants which have come up in big numbers all over China -- the world’s largest rice market.

Islamabad had no such problem in securing permission earlier to market its aromatic rice taking advantage of the strategic friendship with China.

K Nagraj Naidu, Trade Consular of the Indian embassy, said that it is a challenge to enter the market here as Chinese eat sticky (glutinous) rice which is easy to take it with chop sticks. “Not only basmati is a new variety but also it has to take along with spoon,” Naidu said. It is not going to be easy to penetrate the market and efforts would have to be made to introduce India’s aromatic rice in a big way, Naidu said.

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Air India Aims to Wipe Off Losses in 6 Years

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and EPFO. These NCDs would be used to repay part of the airline’s close to Rs 21,200 crore working capital loans.

The debt-ridden carrier has outstanding loans and dues worth Rs 67,520 crore, of which Rs 21,200 crore is working capital loan, Rs 22,000 crore long-term loan on fleet acquisition, Rs 4,600 crore vendor dues, besides an accumulated loss of

Rs 20,320 crore.

The officials said Air India was now on a revival mode and “our fundamentals are strong”.

The airline posted a healthy 46 per cent revenue growth last month over March 2011. While its yields on domestic sector had a significant improvement of 38.5 per cent, its seat factor also rose nearly 7.9 per cent.

On international routes too, Air India put up a good performance, clocking nearly 33 per cent growth in passenger revenue. The higher growth came on the back of an eight per cent jump in load factor and higher yields at 28 per cent.

The officials said the turnaround and financial restructuring plans would

give the national carrier a cash deficit support of Rs 4,552 crore till 2021, as also equity for the already-guaranteed loan of Rs 18,929 crore till the same period for aircraft acquisition.

The SBI-led consortium of banks has also approved conversion of short-term working capital loans of Rs 11,000 crore into long-term loans.

Under the revamp plan, the airline would have to maintain on-time performance of up to 90 per cent, passenger load factor (PLF) of about 73 per cent and improving its yields per revenue kilometre by at least 5-10 per cent.

The officials said the airline would aim at raising PLF to 75 per cent by 2018 on the global routes as it would be aided by a considerable fleet of long-haul Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners. The acquisition of 27 of these planes on sale and leaseback basis has also been approved.

In five years, it would add 130 new aircraft and retire 37 older planes, almost doubling its fleet to around 200.

The hiving off of engineering and ground handling services into two subsidiaries -- Air India Engineering Services Limited and Air India Air Transport Services Limited, would reduce the the airline’s workforce by 19,000 from a total of about 28,000 employees.

Another focus area would be to improve aircraft utilisation to international standards, the officials added

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NEW DELHI (Outlook): Ailing Air India, which would get equity infusion of Rs 30,000 crore till 2021 as part of its turnaround plan, expects to wipe off its losses and become cash positive in the next five-six years, official sources said today.

The airline, which would get an upfront equity infusion of Rs 6,750 crore this financial year, estimates that it would slash its current yearly operating loss of Rs 1,700 crore to just Rs 23 crore in five years and become cash positive by 2018, top Air India officials said.

The estimations are based on the assumption that the airline’s turnaround plan (TAP) and the financial restructuring plan (FRP), now approved by the government, would be implemented as planned.

Apart from deciding to infuse additional equity worth Rs 30,231 crore between 2012 and 2021, the government 10 days ago also approved hiving off its engineering and ground handling services into two whollyowned subsidiaries that would reduce its employee-aircraft ratio to 100 from 224 now.

Air India has also been allowed to issue government- guaranteed non-convertible debentures (NCDs) worth Rs 7,400 crore to its lenders, like financial institutions, banks, LIC

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31

Indian State Finds Itself in Tight Grip of Addiction

BY JIM YARDLEY (NYT) KAZIKOT VILLAGE: In this village not far from the Pakistani border, the wheat harvest is only days away. Water buffaloes are resting in the shade. Farmers are preparing their fields. And drug addicts like Pargat Singh are crouched in the shadows, injecting themselves with cocktails of synthetic drugs.

Last Thursday, just after 11 a.m., Singh followed another man into a dark corner of a decrepit building favored by the roughly 50 addicts in this village. Cracked prescription bottles littered the ground. The other man jabbed a syringe into his arm and injected a blend of prescription drugs that delivers a six-hour high.

“Save some for me,” said Singh, who is H.I.V. positive and stricken with tuberculosis. He told a photographer: “Shoot my picture. Make me famous.”

Throughout the border state of Punjab, whether in villages or cities, drugs have become a scourge. Opium is prevalent, refined as heroin or other illegal substances. Schoolboys sometimes eat small black balls of opium paste, with tea, before classes.

Synthetic drugs are popular among those too poor to afford heroin.

The scale of the problem, if impossible to quantify precisely, is undeniably immense and worrisome.

India has one of the world’s youngest populations, a factor that is expected to power future economic growth, yet Punjab is already a reminder of the demographic risks of a glut of young people. An overwhelming majority of addicts are between the ages of 15 and 35, according to one study, with many of them unemployed and frustrated by unmet expectations.

For the Punjab government, the problem is hardly unknown. Private drug treatment centers, some run by quacks, have proliferated across the state, and treatment wards in government hospitals have seen a surge in patients. Three years ago, a state health official warned in a court affidavit that Punjab risked losing a whole generation to drugs. Roughly 60 percent of all illicit drugs confiscated in India are seized in Punjab.

Yet when Punjab held state elections this year, the candidates rarely spoke about drug abuse. In fact, In-

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Pargat Singh, left, and a friend prepared to inject drugs in a derelict building in a village in Punjab, a state where drugs have become a scourge.

Photo: Manpreet Romana

dia’s Election Commission said that some political workers were actually giving away drugs to try to buy votes.

More than 110 pounds of heroin and hundreds of thousands of bottles of bootleg liquor were seized in raids.

During the elections, party workers in some districts distributed coupons that voters could redeem at pharmacies, activists said.

“We have encountered the problem of liquor during elections in almost all states,” S. Y. Quaraishi, India’s chief election commissioner, told reporters. “But drug abuse is unique only to Punjab. This is really of concern.”

Punjab’s reluctance to treat the drug situation as a full-blown crisis is partly because the state government itself is dependent on revenue from alcohol sales. Roughly 8,000 government liquor stores operate in Punjab, charging a tax on every bottle — an excise that represents one of the government’s largest sources of revenue. India’s comptroller found that liquor consumption per person in Punjab rose 59 percent between 2005 and 2010.

“We are promoting addiction in our state,” said Dr. Manjit Singh Randhawa, the city of Amritsar’s civil surgeon, a job akin to chief medical officer. “I’m getting calls from people saying they have lost their children, they have lost their breadwinners. In every village, people are falling prey to this drug abuse.”

Ranvinder Singh Sandhu, a sociologist in Amritsar, surveyed 600 drug

Dr. Rana Ranbir Singh, a psychiatrist in a government-run clinic, talked to a patient being treated for drug addiction in Punjab State.

addicts in rural and urban areas of Punjab and found that they were usually young, poor and unemployed. He said that most villages did not have health clinics but did have three or four drugstores, which often made sizable profits selling pills and other synthetic drugs to addicts who cannot afford heroin.

Sandhu said he had completed his study six years ago, at the request of Punjab’s governor, yet had never been contacted by any state official about the findings. “The state is not conceiving it as a social problem,” he said. “They are conceiving it as a personal problem.”

Opium has a long history in Punjab, and was commonly and legally consumed here before India and Pakistan gained independence in 1947. Today, Punjab is a primary gateway for opiates smuggled into India from Pakistan and Afghanistan. Opium is also grown legally in India for medicinal purposes, and some of the crop arrives in Punjab on the black market.

The problem is prevalent in middleclass enclaves, where some users are hooked on heroin. One impoverished neighborhood of Amritsar, called Maqboolpura, is known as the Village of Widows — because so many young men have died of drug abuse.

“Drugs are available everywhere,” said Ajit Singh, who has spent 13 years running a school for poor children affected by drug abuse. Of the school’s 656 students, roughly 70 percent have lost a parent to drugs.

One girl, a fifth grader, lost five uncles and her father to drug-related deaths.

In Kazikot Village, about a twohour drive from Amritsar, a local nongovernmental organization tries to prevent the spread of H.I.V. by regularly distributing clean syringes to addicts. The group’s workers say there are 48 hard-core addicts in the village (out of more than 2,000 people) but that many other people use drugs. Government officials have sponsored “camps” here, with health officials providing antidrug information or trying to persuade addicts to undergo treatment — neither of which, villagers say, has been successful.

“Everybody knows about it,” said Hira Singh, a local shopkeeper. “But nobody does anything to stop it.”

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Singh, the H.I.V.-positive addict, lives at his parents’ home with his younger brother and his sister. He started using drugs at age 15, and then quit school. He worked for several years pulling a rickshaw, got married and had a daughter. Later, his wife gave premature birth to twin sons, who died. Unable to abide her husband’s drug use, his wife left him and their daughter, Harpreet, 3.

“He steals things from the house,” said Seema Kaur, his sister. “Sometimes, he steals money.”

Singh, now 29, said he had tried

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, MAY 04, 2012 • WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

many times to quit using drugs, but the urge was too strong. Because of his tuberculosis, he said, he is careful not to get to close to his daughter. “I play with her from a distance,” he said. “I try not to hug her, so that she doesn’t get infected.”

He added: “My future is finished. I am basically dead now.”

Hari Kumar contributed reporting from Kazikot Village, and Nikhila Gill from New Delhi.

32

May 04, 2012

Good Location, Safety, Value for Money, and Amenities CONTINUED FROM PAGE 27

The community has a clean, well maintained laundry room with stainless steel washers and dryers.

There are two saline water swimming pools, a larger and deeper pool on one end of the property and a smaller and shallower pool on the other. There is a fitness center with all the required equipment, open from 6am-10pm, a spacious

play area for children and a huge softball court, which apparently serves as a cricket field over the weekends!

The business center near the office, equipped with computers and internet facility, is open to residents. The management is working towardsB:6” increasing the number of Wi-Fi hotspots in the property. Other amenities are a

community center/hall used many a time for community gatherings, parties, etc. and a prayer hall/mini mosque. There is ample space available for parking with the possibility of reserving spots.

The leasing office staff is multi lingual and speaks English, Spanish, Hindi, Urdu, Guajarati and Arabic! They have great office hours: 9am-5pm, Monday

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through Friday, and 10am-3pm on Saturdays and Sundays.

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SPORTS

May 04, 2012

IPL 5: A Big Hit with Indian Cricket Fans

BY SANJAY MANJREKAR It is no exaggeration when I say that the atmosphere at Feroz Shah Kotla the other day, during the Delhi Daredevils vs. Mumbai Indians game, was similar to those seen during World Cup matches in India. It was, of course, a big-ticket game involving some of the biggest names in world cricket, but the atmosphere for other IPL games played at the Kotla and other metro venues this year has not been too different. I’m not saying this because I am now a contracted commentator for the IPL, but because it is something I have seen for myself: IPL 5 is a big hit.

I don’t understand the game of TRPs and ratings; I just look at what’s out there to see and draw obvious conclusions. Fans have come in their throngs and they have made a lot of noise, suggesting that they are having a great time in the stands.

I keep getting frequent requests for free tickets to IPL A fine take from Gautam Gambhir to get rid of Ankit Sharma in Kolkata Knight Riders’ games. That’s the simple hard-fought win against Deccan Chargers in Cuttack. yardstick I use to judge the when you watched the Indian and Sri Lankan again that the T20 format and the time when success of an event.

The IPL has seen some terrific matches this teams play recently in the Asia Cup in Dhaka, most matches are played (8pm to 11pm) are year, and some individual performances have an international tournament. Maybe there is a the tournament’s two fortes - and also the two main weaknesses of mainstream international been simply breathtaking. We are seeing the lesson there for the administrators.

IPL 5 has also thrown up another message cricket. attacking game evolve further, where sixes hit This piece is not about glorifying everything with reverse sweeps and switch hits landing for followers of Indian cricket. Many felt that the recent Indian debacles in England and about the IPL, so let me now come to a bit of in the second tier of the stands are not as rare as they used to be. (I have a problem with the Australia would have a negative impact on this criticism. With every advancing season, the switch hit and its legality, but that is a subject year’s IPL, since the success of the IPL depends more successful the IPL becomes, the more largely on how Indian fans react to it, and challenging it will be for the BCCI to sustain for another day.)

A strong point of this year’s IPL has been the Indian fans were a depressed lot in the weeks its Test cricket. With all its mass following intensity shown by the foreign players, espe- prior to the IPL. But as Santosh Desai recently and the money it generates for the players, cially the big global stars like Kevin Pietersen suggested on ESPNcricinfo’s Time Out show, the undeniable fact remains that the IPL is not and AB de Villiers. One only has to see the Indian cricket fans seem to be actually flocking good preparation for Test cricket. And we have intensity on the face of a de Villiers as he faces to IPL games, taking solace in the fact that India seen over the years that the image and stature of a country’s cricket are defined by its team’s up to a bowler, or Pietersen’s body language cannot lose, come what may.

What has also emerged from the success of Test performances. The IPL may help India on the field, to realise that these guys are not holding anything back - they are giving their IPL 5 is the knowledge that Indian cricket fans become a better 50-overs team but not a better have now started following the IPL as an inde- Test team. all for their franchises.

This is what the BCCI has to be mindful of. As As for the fans, they react to the intensity of pendent event, separate from the international the contest on the playing field, and feel content cricket that India plays. This should delight all it watches the IPL go from strength to strength, that they are getting full value for their money those who have invested in the IPL; it’s a happy the board has to ensure that its Test cricket does spent. They are now feeling increasingly as- learning for them that the success of the tourna- not become weaker in the process. It is possible: sured that they have bought tickets to games ment is not dependent on how the Indian team India can have a strong Test team along with a where they will not only see their favourite stars performs at the international level. The IPL’s vibrant IPL. ESPNcricinfo.

Former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar in action but see them giving their best. Sadly, success depends on its own performance.

This year’s IPL has also established once commentates on the IPL and other cricket. as a cricket fan you did not get that feeling

33

Hockey: India On the Rise

NEW DELHI: Erstwhile champions India need to play top-ranked teams on a consistent basis if they wish to return among the creme de la creme of world hockey, feels chief coach Michael Nobbs. Nobbs said that the upcoming four-nation test event for the London Olympics, will provide the eight-time champions India a first hand knowledge about their present status. India will lock horns against hosts Great Britain, world champion and Beijing Olympics bronze medallist Australia and reigning Olympic champions Germany in the test event, to be held in London from May 2 to 6. “In the test event we are playing three of the four top teams in the world and it should serve as good preparation for the Olympics. But we need to play top teams consistently if we want to improve our world ranking,” Nobbs told PTI in an interview before leaving for London this afternoon. With a fit squad at his disposal, the Australian is hoping to create a few upsets in the tournament. But he is also realistic about India’s chances in the event.

“After the Olympic qualifiers, we had a three weeks training programme where we worked on our speed and strength. The good thing is that there are no injury concerns in the team,” said Nobbs, who guided India to this year’s London Olympics after missing out on the 2008 Beijing edition.

“I am looking at the test event as another step for us to improve. It will provide us with an opportunity to test our skills.

“We will try and look to win a few games, and if possible, the tournament. But at this point of time, probably we are not good enough to beat these teams on a consistent basis,” admitted Nobbs, who has infused fresh life into the Indian hockey set-up with his straight-forward approach. Unlike normal green astroturfs and white balls, hockey in this year’s London Olympics will be played in blue and pink pitches with yellow balls at the Hockey Centre in the Riverbank Arena, the main venue for the event. Nobbs said India would be playing on such a surface for the first time in the test event, unlike some other Olympic participating teams. “Other teams have been playing quite frequently on blue pitches, but we will be playing on the blue pitch for the first time. I have been told that the blue pitch at Hockey Centre has some different characteristics. So, it will be a good experience for us,” he said. Asked about promising striker Yuvraj Walmiki’s injury, Nobbs said, “He (Walmiki) has just started training, but we will not race him. His injury is such that if it is not taken care of properly it can damage his career.”

Yuvraj suffered a hamstring injury during the Olympic qualifiers in New Delhi earlier this year, which also forced him to sit out of the London-bound team for the test event.

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, MAY 04, 2012 • WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

34

May 04, 2012

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The Texas Lottery Commission Invites You to Attend: “Doing Business texas style” spot Bid Fair in conjunction with: DFW Minority Supplier Development Council’s ACCESS 2012

The Texas Lottery invites small, historically underutilized, and minority-owned businesses to participate in a spot bid fair held in conjunction with the DFW Minority Supplier Development Council’s ACCESS 2012. Businesses will have a unique opportunity to compete for bid awards and network with state agencies and institutions of higher education.

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