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Vedic Vaibhavam

This past week, Houston was blessed by the visit of His Holiness Sri Sri Sri Tridandi Srimannaryana Ramanuja Chinna Jeeyar Swami. Swamiji was accompanied by His Holiness Sri Ahobila Ramanuja Jeeyar Swami, Sriman Ranga Ramanujacharyulu, and an unprecedented 51 Vedic Scholars from India in an auspicious observation of Deepavali and Sri Rama Seva celebrations conducted at the Ashtalakshmi Temple under his guidance.

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Houston Blessed with Acharya Vaibhavam!

HOUSTON: This past week, Houston was blessed with the presence of His Holiness Sri Sri Sri Tridandi Srimannaryana Ramanuja Chinna Jeeyar Swami during Deepavali and Sri Rama Seva celebrations. Swamiji was accompanied by His Holiness Sri Ahobila Ramanuja Jeeyar Swamiji , Sriman Ranga Ramanujacharyulu, and an unprecedented 51 Vedic Scholars (Ruthwicks) from India here in Houston for this very auspicious occasion.

With the participation of number of volunteers under the auspicious direction of Sri Swamiji, the celebrations began on a large scale on October 26. Swamiji’s very arrival to Houston on Sunday, October 23 created such a wonderful aura as to inspire the spirit of Deepavali in all devotees. On October 24, Swamiji visited eagerly awaiting devotees in the Woodlands area and at the Woodlands Temple. Swamiji visited the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir on October 25th. Aarti was performed and Swamiji spoke there about the meaning and significance of a guru. Later on that day, Swamiji spoke to all the volunteers for the upcoming event igniting a great deal of energy for what would be a most memorable event for all.

During the early morning hours of October 26, many devotees were offered the unique and very special opportunity to participate in Naraka Chaturdasi celebrations, preceeding the Deepavali celebrations later in the day. Swamiji spoke about the significance of Naraka Chaturdasi,

Swamiji performing the Sahsra Kalasa Abhishekam

and devotees were given a specially consecrated oil to be applied with the purpose of removing negative energies.

Deepavali celebrations began later that evening. The program began with the mass chanting of the Vishnu Sahasranamam.

Following this several eminent community leaders were honored by Sri Swamiji. Proclamations from elected officials and dignitaries were presented and read out on the occasion. As is considered very auspicious on the Amavasya Day of Deepavali, Saamuhika Sri Dhana Lakshmi Puja was conducted. It was a grand success with over a thousand participants and devotees.

On a most auspicious day, our Acharya Sri Chinna Jeeyar Swamiji’s Thirunakshatram Day (birthday), October 27 saw the beginning of the Sri Rama Kratuvu or Yajna as well as the Nrusimha Isthi. Blessed were

the devotees and the very land to have such a great number of Ruthwicks and scholars assembled to perform the Yajna for the benefit of all (Lok Kalyan). Amazingly,

after the initiation of the Yajna and completion of the Nrusimha Isthi, Houston saw a very heavy rain!!

This was very much needed after the long dry spells that Houstonians had become much accustomed to.

On October 27, the Jeeyar Educational Trust (JET) USA and Sri Ashtalakshmi Temple JET USA Houston Chapter, were blessed to be able to perform Acharya Thirunakshatram Celebrations.

Sri Chinna Jeeyar Swamiji was given Temple honors from preeminent and most sacred Temples in India and abroad. This was truly a sight to see. It was an emotional and most humbling time for most devotees. The evening’s program

continued on page

Swamiji sprinkling the holy water from the Yagna Kalasa Photos: Vijay Pallod, Rajesh Ratnala & Sai Gandhi

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commenced with words from Sri Swamij’s devotees who have been instrumental in moving Swamiji’s mission forward in India and here in the United States. The Prajna students of the Sri Ashtalakshmi Temple JET USA Houston Chapter presented a beautiful song with orchestra as a birthday gift to Sri Swamiji.

Swamiji’s motto is “Serve Vedas and Save Vedas!” For this reason, on the occasion of His Holiness’ Thirunakshatram Swamiji honors a Vedic scholar every year. This year we were very fortunate to have Brahmasri Parameshwara Deekshitar from Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, India. He is responsible for preserving the Maitrayani Shakha

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November 04, 2011

Icc c celebrates a secular s diwali for the whole community

By Jawahar Malhotra HOUSTON: India House was agog was colorful decorations, exhibits and excitement this past Sunday evening, October 30 as over 200 people from across the community came to participate in a cultural program and some refreshments to mark the advent of Diwali in one of the last celebrations of the festival (that was free to the public) in the Bayou City.

The function was organized by the India Culture Center in collaboration with many of the other regional organizations and held at India House on West Bellfort and South Gessner. The front lobby of India House was festooned with strings of lights, garlands and rangoli designs on the flower, one made of paper flower petals on which the arriving guests could place a LED candle after being welcomed by the IH President, Jugal Malani. (ICC President Raj Bhalla is still on vacation in India but coordinated the function by phonecalls and email).

To capture the festive spirit of Diwali, which is celebrated with great pomp and fireworks in India, in the far end rotunda, several vendors who supported the function had their booths while Hindu themed artwork lined up against the far wall featuring Tanjore art with gold flakes and pearls by local artist Anju Mittal. In an adjoining room, face painting and henna designs were given to those who lined up and a clown made balloon designs for the very young.

In a nod to the difficulty that people have in catching all the performances on the small

center stage, a much larger stage was set up along at one end of the room and the decorated backdrop designed by Anuradha Patel of Mandap Creations added brilliance to the room. Rows of chairs lined the remainder of the room for the audience which filled the room to standing room capacity midway through the function.

The function started with an introduction by event co-chair Falguni Gandhi (and was fittingly closed at the end by the other cochair, Swapan Dhariyawan), who left the stage in the able hands of Dr. Manju Chandana Sachdeva, who emceed the event with remarkable ease and small details, despite the improvised backstage setup. She led the audience through performances by dance troupes from several local schools encompassing over 60 youngsters – Roopa Dance School, Sunanda Performing Arts, Anjali School of Performing Arts, Avantika Akademi of Dance and Jasmeeta Singh’s students – all of which were highly entertaining and energetic. Many of the same troupes have performed elsewhere in the city at other functions and it is always impressive that the young women in our community have committed themselves to excel at mastering such complex and colorfully choreographed dances, whether the genre is classical, folk or fusion.

In addition to the dances, two winners of the Lil’ Champs singing contest held this past July - ten-year old Purva Das and twelve-year old Srisangeeta Shridar wowed the audience with their vocal range

and mastery of the rhythms as they sang two songs apiece. The program also included an improvised Indian costume line up to represent the diversity of cultures in India.

Also attending the entire program was Congressman Pete Olson of District 22 which encompasses Sugar Land and a little after the start, Congressman Al Green who had to leave midway. Indian Consul General Sanjeev Arora and his wife Chaya came to the event towards the tail end of the program. Both he and Olson spoke briefly and admiringly onstage about the vibrant Indian community and conveyed their felicitations for Diwali to everyone.

If there was one thing to be critical about it was the length of the show, which stretched out for 90 minutes, which, given that it was

the Sunday evening before going to work the next day, was a challenge for many to stay throughout. Midway through the performances, the hall was full, but people slowly drifted out to the serving line for the refreshments and towards the end, very few were left in the hall. Some repetitive performers could have easily been taken out of the line-up to keep the function down to an hour.

Still, the function was well received and a fitting conclusion to the Diwali festivities, thanks to the efforts over an intensive three weeks of many volunteers and organizers among the ICC and India House Boards who have been striving over the past year to make the India House a cultural destination for the area’s desi community.

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From left: Event co-chair Falguni Gandhi with emcee of the event Dr. Manju Chandana 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: 713-789-6397, fax:713-789-6399, email: indoamericannews@yahoo.com.

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COMMUNITY

November 04, 2011

m medicare e enrollment options 2012 s o seminar at India House

By JacoB DaviD HOUSTON: Medicare, a federal health insurance care package for people 65 years or older has a lot of options. Sudhir Mathuria, a licensed professional for Medicare and Medicaid health related plans. Dr Nik Nikam, heart specialist, and author of “Heart Healthy Lifestyle” was also present at the seminar. He had recruited two high school students, Ramya Krothapally and Rachel Neycheril to introduce PCIP - a health insurance for people with pre-existing condition.

The chill brought in by the cold front over the weekend resulted for a lean attendance of senior citizens at India House.

A brief presentation of the options available followed by a question and answer session by both Sudhir and Dr Nik Nikam helped the audience understand what was available.

Medicare has four parts Part A, B, C and D and provides medical and drug coverage. Part A provides inpatient hospital access with no monthly or annual premium charge. Part B pays for doctor services, outpatient hospital care and medical supplies when necessary. Part C is a tie up with federal and private insurance companies to administer health care with lower co-payments and get extra coverage for additional days in the hospital. Part D is

Sudhir Mathuria explains the benefits of Medicare, Medicaid and PCIP, Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan among others

Ramya Krothapally and Rachel Neycheril with High Tower high school introduced the PCIP - Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan, which covers primary and specialty care, hospital care, and prescription drugs. The US Health and Human services has made this possible after tedious lobbying by President Obama. Various leaflets and brochures were laid out at the entrance for people to pick up

Prescription Drug Coverage and requires you to enroll when you become eligible to join Medicare. If people join Part D at a later stage, they may be entitled to a penalty.

Medicare Advantage has plans that cover vision, dental, hearing and annual physicals with coverage for health services while travelling.

Sudhir Mathuria is licensed as a Medicare Professional to operate in over 20 states. The brief presentation was an overview of what options are available. He said that each plan has to be tailored to the individual and he is available to help senior citizens discuss their options in person going over their plan with them in detail.

Turning 65 can be a challenge when it comes to choosing health coverage. Visit www.medicare.gov Sudhir Mathuria can be reached by phone at 7137771-2900 or sudhir@MyMedicarePlanning.com For more details, visit, www.MyMedicarePlanning.com

Dr Nik NIkam, Rachel Neycheril, Ramya Krothapally along with a group of senior citizen attendees watch the power point presentation on several comparable plans available with varied deductibles and options for people wanting to choose health insurance over 65

Indo AmerIcAn news • FrIdAy, A noVemBer 04 , 2011 • Online editiOn: Ay, On: www.indOamerican-news.cOm O

COMMUNITY

November 04, 2011

c dham Temple’s Auspicious char Bhoomi Puja on saturday, s nov 12

By chetana SaMal HOUSTON: Char Dham evokes a collage of images. From northern Himalayas to oceans on three sides of our beautiful motherland, India, the images form a dream for every Indian to do a Char Dham yatra at least once in a lifetime! Badrinath on north, Rameswaram in South, Dwarka in west and Jagannath Dham in Puri- together form the Char Dham.

With this in mind, the SKAI foundation has picked up this ambitious plan of building the Char Dham Hindu Temple here in Houston. Nestled in the beautiful wooded area of Woodlands, Texas, the lords will

people living in different part of the subcontinent started appreciating each other’s culture and values.

Establishment of Four Mathas was Adi Guru’s intention of doing more research and preservation of four Vedas and dissemination of right information to all people whoever came forward to gain knowledge.

Jyotir Matha as an example at Badrinath, was assigned the task of maintaining and pre-serving of Atharv Veda. Sharada Matha at Dwaraka was assigned the task of maintaining and pre-serving the Sam Veda. Govardhan Matha at Puri was assigned the task of Rig Veda and Sringeri Matha at Sringeri

have a serene, calm and peaceful abode to rest and to bless devotees.

Sometimes it makes us to wonder, what really made Adi Guru Sankaracharya, the philosopher and reformer to establish these four Dhams at four corners of India in as ancient as 8th century? Was it only a spiritual revival for Hinduism? Or he tried to unify the whole India through his journey?

Geographically the Char Dham makes a perfect square with Badrinath and Rameswaram falling on the same longitude and Dwarka and Puri on the same latitude, representing the farthest north, east, west, and south points of India at the time of Adi Shankara.

For regular masses, Vedas and other scriptures were way beyond their comprehension. Adi Sankara studied them, discovered the real explanation, wrote commentaries for propagate the deep meaning of Vedas.

He travelled far and wide(must have been painstakingly difficult keeping in mind that it was ancient India with very little infrastructure) , debated on their true explanation with the purists and pundits, finally brought back glories of Hinduism back to Hindus and for the first time the whole Bharat was united. Probably, because of his great efforts

hills in the South India was assigned the task of Yajur Veda.

For thousands of years, with all geographical change, glacial effects, the ‘dot’ is still place in the mountain ‘Om Parvat’. The same way, the importance of unity through Char Dham will have same prominence for coming ages too!

The SKAI foundation has planned to complete the temple in 2012/2013. The beautiful temple which is also called as ‘Shree Dham’ will encompass kitchens(separate for Lord’s Prasad and community needs), Priest quarters(will house 8 priests), Multiuse cultural center which will be available to all irrespective of cultural affiliations and Ratha Storage facility for annual Ratha Yatra of Lords.

The SKAI Foundation invites all Houstonians to participate in the ‘Bhoomi Puja’ event which is happening on November 12, 2011, and be part of this unique endeavor. In the Houstonian multi cultural Diasporas, the Char Dham temple will work towards universal unity and brotherhood and facilitate devotee’s dream of visiting four Dhams at one place!

For more information, please visit: http:// www.skaifoundation.org/

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COMMUNITY

November 04, 2011

diwali c celebration at Bcm

HOUSTON: Diwali, the festival of lights needs no introduction to Indians. Each one of us has some vivid memories associated with the festival, be it going to Ram-leela with friends and family, firecrackers, new clothes or the mouth-watering sweets.

When we leave our country in pursuit of better prospects, we certainly miss out on these celebrations. Good thing is that our traditions and cultures are so deeply ingrained, unique and exquisite that we find ways to celebrate our festivals whichever part of the world we reside. I recently experienced this with the Diwali celebration at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM). Diwali celebration organized by the Indian Students and Scholars Association (ISSA) at BCM on Oct 22, had such energy and expression that the feeling of home away from home was self evident and all pervasive. The event was organized in the Main Baylor building where beautifully decorated walls created a nice ambiance and soft Indian classical mu-

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sic set the tune for the Diwali celebration.

The event was kick started with Ganesh and Lakshmi Puja followed by prasad distribution to all the attendees. Shortly after, Smita Jha, the President of ISSA welcomed everybody and summarized the importance Diwali to a crowd that included people from various nationalities. She also introduced Surender Talwar, the Vice President of India Culture Centre who graced the occasion with his presence. He had very kind and encouraging words for the youth and commended ISSA for its role in bringing people together and celebrating Indian festival.

The first cultural event of that day was a wonderful dance performance by Surabhi Gaur, Geetali Pradhan and Parineeta Galgalikar that celebrated the various festivals of our land to the tunes of Bollywood music and applauding crowd. This was followed

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by a breathtaking performance by the Rice Bhangra team from Rice University that looked splendid in the traditional Punjabi costumes. The show maker of the day was a witty skit performed by students and researchers from BCM and MD Anderson Cancer Center that had the audience in splits right from the beginning. The skit was based on modern day version of Ramayana where Janak (Dr. Umesh Karandikar) along with his friend (Adithya Raghavan) organizes a talent show to find an alliance for his daughter Sita (Pooja Mehta). The contestants of the talent show included the likes of Gabbar Singh (Mayur Gadhikar), Akbar, Ravan (Dr. Mohan Joshi), a struggling graduate student (Aditya Kulkarni), a chinese warrior (HsingI Ho) and Amitabh Bacchan (Arpit Tandon) along with Ram (Shhyam Moorthy) and a Hollywood star (Bryan Danielson).

Besides the cultural events, Sasirekha Ramani of ISSA talked about the highlights of BCM India initiative led by Dr. Navneet Kathuria that is part of the recently established global outreach program at BCM. Ruchi Masand, the Vice-President of ISSA, emceed the entire event. Just like no celebration in India is complete without delicious food, Diwali celebration at BCM culminated with sumptuous Indian food graciously sponsored by Mantra (Sugar Land), Raja Sweets, Neeta’s Indian cuisine and Spice of India. The event was made possible by generous gifts from Dheerubhai Kottak and Himalaya Restaurant and jubilant participation by students and researchers at BCM, M.D. Anderson Cancer Centre and Rice University in the Texas medical centre.

Altogether, it was a memorable Diwali 2011 celebration brought together by ISSA at BCM. The Texas Medical Center has a sizeable Indian population and ISSA now plans to expand its member base and extend the advantages to the Indian community from other institutions in the medical centre.

The organization can be contacted on facebook at www.facebook.com/bcm.issa

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COMMUNITY

Hindu Temple in The w woodlands Holds First diwali c celebration at Temple

WOODLANDS: Hindu Temple of The Woodlands (HTW) achieved another important milestone this past week. This was the first Diwali celebration at the temple which was inaugurated this past June. HTW had a very successful Diwali Mahotsav, beginning with a Lakshmi Puja on Wednesday, October 26th and followed by Srinivasa Kalyanam and its first Annual Diwali Mela on Saturday, October 29th. Over 200 Hindus participated in the Lakshmi Puja, many of them having a thali plate with puja items so that they and family members could perform puja along with the priests who were performing puja to Lakshmi as present in the temple’s Panchalokam Utsava Murthy.

For a weekday evening, this was great participation.

On Saturday, over 500 people attended the various events and enjoyed chaat, sweets, snacks, shopping, and games Several vendors, including Indian restaurants and retailers, participated. The vendors did brisk business as people enjoyed the food and shopping throughout the day. The variety of the food suited preferences of all. Women, especially, enjoyed the variety of fashionable Indian attire available.

Other activities were provided by the temple with the help of many volunteers.

Youth volunteers, in particular, had a great time assisting with the younger children’s

Volunteers with Diwali decorations at HTW

HTW’s Utsava Murthy of Goddess Lakshmi decorated for Puja on Diwali Photos: Anil Adoni

activities. There were toss games, a bouncing house, face painting and more for all to enjoy.

HTW appreciates the community support and the efforts of the many volunteers. It expects that this event will be even bigger and better next year.

Hindu Temple of The Woodlands serves the religious, cultural, and educational needs of the Hindus of the North Houston area, including 1960 area, Spring, Kingwood, Tomball, Conroe and other surrounding communities. HTW also has a goal of serving both the Hindu community and the broader community through health fairs, educational activities and more. The temple is located at 7601 S. Forestgate at Woodlands Parkway, Spring, TX 77382. It is open daily for arti and archana and other pujas to Lord Ganesha, Lord Shiva, Sri Venkateshwara, and the Navagrahas. The temple is a 501(c)(3) non-profit religious organization.

November 04, 2011

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cybersoft Technologies Inc. r c recognized at m minority med w week Houston 2011 HOUSTON: At the Procurement Breakfast on October 18 at Houston Community College the Minority Enterprise Development (MED) Week awards were presented.

Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee was the keynote speaker at the event. Vinmar International was awarded the 2011 Exporter of the Year Award and Cybersoft Technologies Inc. was presented the award for the IT Company of the year.

The Minority Enterprise Development (MED) week, designated by a presidential proclamation in 1983, signifies recognition and validation for the entrepreneurial drive and achievements of minority owned businesses and advocates of minority business.

During MED week minority owned businesses are awarded for being outstanding and are given an opportunity to network with each other, share knowledge and conduct business-to-business matchmaking. It is a national initiative of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA).

The IT Company of the year award was accepted on behalf of Cybersoft Technologies Inc by Milind Sethi (Business Development Manager) and Bhaskar Patel(General Manager) who said “On behalf of the entire Cybersoft team, it’s my pleasure to accept this award. The Greater Houston Region is an awesome place for business primarily

due the richness and the diversity of its work force and also due to the infrastructure & the growth opportunities that are available to all small businesses. We will strive to grow as a more responsible and inclusive member of the business community.”

About Cybersoft Headquartered in Houston, Texas and founded by Chowdary ‘Charlie’ Yalamanchili, Cybersoft Technologies is a leading provider of innovative technology solutions since its inception in January 1998. Cybersoft’s clients in the US include K-12 School Dstricts, State and local government agencies, and Fortune 1000 corporations. Cybersoft’s mission is to leverage the power of proven technology to solve department problems and offer strategic business alternatives to increase efficiency and performance. The slogan, “CYBERSOFT makes IT easy” permeates all they do as we go about applying technological advances to improve the lives of our customers. Cybersoft operates two complementary divisions- their Education Solutions Division- serving educational institutions with software products, custom solutions and services and the Consulting Services Division - providing business and technology solutions based on unparalleled industry knowledge and proven best practices.

For more information please visit www.cybersoft.nett and www.primeroedge.com

Indo AmerIcAn news • FrIdAy, A noVemBer 04, 2011 • Online editiOn: Ay, On: www.indOamerican-news.cOm O

COMMUNITY

10 November 04, 2011

Houston Blessed with Acharya Vaibhavam! continued from page

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take part in the celebrations. The scene at the Sri Ashtalakshmi Temple was buzzing with the true happiness and bliss of devotees.

On October 29, a large number of devotees joined to take part in the Sri Sita Rama Kalyanam. Sri Ahobila Jeeyar Swamiji initially led the devotees in initiating the Kalyanam process. He led the crowd in bhajans that had all the devotees singing and clapping with joy. The Pravachana Mandapam rang with the sounds of the divine music, a true joy to witness. Sri Chinna Jeeyar Swamiji explained the Kalyanam meaning and process in detail to the devotees. The Hayagriva Isthi for knowledge and the Vainateya Ishti for those seeking children were also conducted on this day.

On October 30, the feature event, the Sahasra Kalasa Abhishekam, took place for the first time outside of India. Performing the Sahasra Kalasa Abhishekam at the time of Swamij’s Thirunakshatram Celebrations has been a tradition since 1994 as Swamiji described to the audience. It is performed to honor Swamiji’s deities. As the

story goes, Swamiji’s deities were stolen once in 1994 and found by a dedicated policeman Sriman Koteswara Rao. Since that time, Sahasra Kalasa Abhishekam has been performed every year. As part of this, Sriman Koteswara Rao is felicitated every year on this day. Sriman Koteswara Rao is present and takes a central part in the annual Sahasra Kalasa Abhishekam celebrations. This year, since the Sahasra Kalasa Abhishekam was taking place in Houston, Sriman Koteswara Rao was specially flown in to take part in the celebration. It was truly a great honor to have him here and to hear the story of his great feat.

Truly blessed are the city of Houston, the Jeeyar Educational Trust USA, and all the devotees to have been able to take part in such a momentous and rare event. The memories of this event will linger on forever in the hearts and minds of devotees. It is truly thanks to the all of the volunteers who worked endless hours to make this event a success. The presence of all of the devotees was indeed the essence of the celebration.

lighted and passed them to each other.

Hamdard Center was then pleased to have Pranita Jain of Kalapriya organization bring dancers of Hareepa chicago who performed bhangra and led a workshop for the clients with many of them participating in the dance moves taught

by Hareepa. The robust dancing was followed by a sumptuous vegetarian lunch of Vegetarian Biryani

with Chick Pea gravy and sweets were distributed to seniors and guests to mark the beautiful holiday.

Dr. Hamid thanked the audience for their presence and joining him in celebrating the Festival of Lights and assured for more such events to come. Nand Kapoor, former president of the Association of Indians in America expressed his pleasure that Hamdard in action is imparting the very essence of what it means to support the community and also thanked acknowledged the efforts of Hamdard’s executive Director, Kiran Siddiqui.

Hamdard center c c celebrates diwali

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of the Yajur Veda . Sri Chinna Jeeyar Swamiji sent Vedic students to learn the Maitrayani Shakha from Brahmasri Parameshwara Deekshitar. These Vedic students are in turn passing this knowledge on to more students. Very blessed were we to be able to listen to the words of such a magnanimous person.

We were also very blessed to have the original Vedic students of Swamiji’s Ashram who learned the Maitryani Shakha from Brahmasri Parameswara Deekshitar here with us on this occasion. Brahmasri Parameshwara Deekshitar spoke about his initiation into the Vedas and his experience in setting out to learn the Maitrayani Shakha .

He also spoke a great deal about his regard for Swamij and how Swamij truly stands for the motto: “Worship your Own, Respect all”.

Swamiji in turn spoke about Brahmasri Parameswara Deekshitar and his great contribution to our Vedic heritage.

October 28 saw the continuation of the Sri Rama Kratuvu (Yajna) and the Lakshmi Narayana Ishti.

Devotees continued to pour in to

By nanD Kapoor ian chicago correSponDent CHICAGO: Hamdard Center for health and human services celebrated the auspicious occasion of Diwali on October 25 at its Devon offices. Over 60 of Hamdard’s clients came to the center to mark the auspicious occasion.

Two community leaders, Nand Kapoor and Sher Rajput were the key speakers at the event. The event began with Sudaksha Kapoor reciting the history and significance of Diwali to the guests.

There was also the Deepak lighting ceremony that was led by Cofounder and Chairman of the board for Hamdard Center Dr. Mohammad Hamid and community leader Nand Kapoor. Once the first deepak was lighted, clients brought the diyas decorated with flowers to be

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November 04, 2011

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rant. Apart from their delicious pizza, Straw Hat Pizza also serves burgers, sandwiches, pasta and all you can eat salad bar. They also serve veggie pasta and three kinds of veggie pizza. They can also

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KATY: Straw Hat Pizza celebrated their grand opening on Saturday, October 29 in Katy. 500 guests shared their congratulations with owners Ajit Patel and Adeeb Munir. Why Katy? Patel said the population is booming. And Straw Hat is an extremely popular pizza chain in the North US, but this is only their second franchise in Texas, the other being in Dallas.

As a part of their grand opening, Straw Hat Pizza offered 99 Cents individual pizzas with one topping with choice of four secret sauces and their special California style crust. Masala Radio’s Grand Opening Crew supplied the hype with the Masala Hummer, Balloons and DJ Zee mixing live.

All the ingredients are fresh and made from scratch at their restau-

11

N Hilcroft

COMMUNITY

COMMUNITY

12 November 04, 2011

The Extraordinary Life and Times of Mahatma Gandhi

Gandhi s sets Up Ambulance corps to Help British

The story thus far…Gandhi’s activism on behalf of the Indians in South Africa, brought him much strife. The local Afrikaners and the British considered him as a troublemaker. He was attacked by angry mobs. With his calm demeanor, he wins over the people, and even gets to help create an ambulance corps.

The Durban police rescued Gandhi from a bloodthirsty mob.

He was escorted by the police to Rustomji’s house, where a doctor attended to his injuries.

“They are sure to calm down when they realize their mistake,” he said.

Late in the evening, another mob of white people surrounded the house. “We must have Gandhi,” angry voices demanded. The mob was getting more and more threatening.

“Give us Gandhi or we will bum down the house,” they shouted.

Gandhi knew that they might carry out their threat. To save his friend’s house, he slipped out in disguise, eluding the crowd. Two days later a message came from London. Joseph Chamberlain, then Secretary of State for the Colonies, asked the Natal Government to prosecute every man guilty of attacking Gandhi. The Natal Government expressed its regret for the incident to Gandhi and assured him that the assailants would be punished. When Gandhi was called upon to identify the of offenders, however, he would not do so.

“I do not want to prosecute anyone,” he told the Natal Government. “I do not hold the assailants to blame. They were misled by false reports about me and I am sure that when the truth becomes known they will be sorry for their conduct.”

Gandhi’s statement suddenly changed the atmosphere in Durban. The press declared Gandhi innocent and condemned his assailants. The Durban incident raised Gandhi’s prestige and won more sympathy abroad for the Indians in South Africa. As the struggle in South Africa continued, a change was coming over Gandhi. He had begun with a life of ease and com-

fort, but this was short-lived. As he became more and more involved in public activities, his way of life became simpler. He started cutting down his expenses. He took to washing and ironing his own clothes, and he did it so badly at first that the other lawyers laughed at him. But soon he became quite an expert at this and his collars were no less stiff and shiny than theirs. Gandhi once went to an English barber in Pretoria. The barber insolently refused to cut a ‘black’ man’s hair. Gandhi at once bought a pair of clippers and cut his own hair. He succeeded more or less in cutting the front part but spoilt the back. He looked very funny and his friends in the court laughed at him.

“What’s wrong with your hair Gandhi? Have rats been gnawing at it?” they asked.

“No,” said Gandhi proudly, “I have cut my hair myself.” Then Gandhi tried changes in his food.

He started taking uncooked food.

He believed that if a man lived on fresh fruits and nuts he could master his passions and acquire spiritual strength. He made many experiments with his diet. He even came to the conclusion that fasting increased one’s will power. While he was thus experimenting with himself, the Boer war broke out.

The Boers were South Africans of Dutch origin. They were fighting the British. Neither of these two white nations had treated the Indians well. Gandhi did not want to support either of them, but his familiarity with the British made him organize an Indian ambulance corps to help them.

To his puzzled followers, he said: “India can achieve complete emancipation only through development within the British Empire.

Therefore we must help the British.” The British won the war and the ambulance corps was disbanded.

The newspapers in England praised the services rendered by the Indians. The relations between the Indians and the Europeans had now become more cordial, and the Indians believed that their grievances would soon be removed.

It was now 1901, six years after Gandhi had brought his family to Durban. Now he felt that his future activity lay not in South Africa but in India. Also, friends in India were pressing him to return home.

When he announced his decision to his co-workers, however, they again pressed him to stay on. After much discussion they agreed to let him go, but only if he would come back to South Africa if the Indians there needed his help. He agreed to this. There were farewell meetings and presentations of gifts. The gifts were so many and so valuable that Gandhi felt he should not accept them. The people who had presented them would not take them back. He then prepared a trust deed, and all the gifts were deposited with a of the Indian community. On his arrival in India, Gandhi went on a tour of the country. The annual meeting of the Indian National Congress was being held in Calcutta under the presidentship of Dinshaw Wacha. Gandhi attended the session. It was his first contact with the Congress which he was to lead so gloriously in the future.

The Indian National Congress was the only organization which gave the people of India a chance to express their political views. It was an influential body, as many important Indians were members, but its decisions had little affect on the Government.

At the Calcutta session in 1901 Gandhi had an opportunity to meet Congress leaders like Sir Pherozeshah Mehta, Lokamanya B. G. Tilak, G. K. Gokhale, and others.

He was not impressed with the way the Congress was functioning.

He noticed a lack of unity among

the delegates. Moreover, while they spoke English and affected the style of Westerners in their dress and talk, they did not seem to bother about essential things like good sanitary facilities in the camp. Gandhi wanted to teach them a lesson. On his own he quietly started cleaning the bathroom The Extraordinary Life and Times of Mahatma Gandhi is brought to you courtesy Mahatma Gandhi Library. www.gandhilibrary.org

and urinals. No one volunteered to join him.

“Why do you undertake an untouchable’s job?” they asked.

“Because the caste people have

made this an untouchable place,” replied Gandhi.

From Calcutta Gandhi traveled around India by train. As he moved from place to place, he was shocked to see the life of the common people – the famished, ignorant, and neglected masses.

His heart was filled with sadness and anger. Gandhi settled down in Bombay and started practice as a lawyer. He did well, much better than he had expected. In December 1902, however, a cable reached him from South Africa requesting him to return as promised. Joseph Chamberlain, the Colonial Secretary, was arriving from London on a visit to Natal and the Transvaal, and the Natal Indian Congress wanted Gandhi to present their case to him.

— To be Continued

Board elections for Indian senior s citizens Association c HOUSTON: The Indian Senior Citizens Association will hold elections for the a new executive team to take over the reins from the outgoing team whose terms have expired. Elections will be held at Bayland Park Community Center on Beechnut and Hillcroft on Saturday November 12 for the seven seats on the Board of Directors for the 2012-2013 term. Voting is open to all members of the ISCA. The ISCA has grown steadily over the past few years as the desi population of first generation immigrants has aged and retired and comprises upto 800 people, with nearly 200 to 300 attending many of the events that the organization puts together. The ISCA hopes to continue with a progressive and dynamic leadership to lead this growing segment of the community and this requires a knowledgable team willing to work hard.

About a dozen members are standing for the election. Based on early responses from some members, the team of five (Ravind Trivedi, Sudhir Mathuria, Devendra Patel and Nitin Vyas) led by Lalit M. Chinoy appears to be a favorite. Other members also running are Arvind Patel, Shailesh Desai, Sheila Desai, Pankaj Shah, Mansuk Waghela, Bhagwandas Patel, Niranjana Patel and Ravi Arora.

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November 04, 2011

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13

RECIPE CORNER

14 November 04, 2011

dal makhani (creamy creamy Black Lentils) c

Dal Makhani is a traditional North Indian signature dish that is not only high in protein but is also very delicious. This particular black dal (Lentil) along with kidney beans is cooked on low flame & cream and/or butter is added to it for the lovely creamy texture. This dal is usually served with Tandoori Roti, Naan (types of indian breads) and even rice. This is the one of the most popular dishes ordered in Indian restaurants.

The whole spices that are added to the dal gives lovely aroma and taste. Cinnamon sticks, green cardamom, black cardamom, bay leaves are those wonderful, aromatic spices.

Ingredients: 1 cup black lentils (called whole urad dal) 1/4 cup red kidney beans (soaked for 2-3 hours in water) 6 cups water

1/4 cup heavy cream 2 tbsp butter 3 tbsp ghee (clarified butter) 1 medium onion 2 tomatoes 2 green chillies 1 tbsp chopped ginger 1-2 cloves chopped garlic 1 no. black cardamom 2 nos green cardamom 2 small sticks of cinnamon 1-2 small bay leaves pinch of asafoetida 1 tsp cumin seeds 1 tsp coriander powder 1/4 tsp garam masala salt and red chilli powder- to taste 1 tbsp of cream - for garnish few coriander leaves- for garnish Method: 1. Pressure cook dal and kidney beans with salt, black cardamom, green cardamom and cinnamon sticks for about 20 minutes on medium low flame. When you open the lid, check to make sure the kidney beans are soft and tender. If they are not, cook on low flame until they are done. You can add more water at this time depending on the amount of water left in the dal.

2. Add the heavy cream to the dal and let it cook on low flame while stirring in between.

3. In a food chopper, finely chop onions, tomatoes, green chillies and garlic

cloves together.

4. In a pan, heat 3 tbsp of ghee, add asafoetida and cumin seeds. When cumin seeds starts to change the color, add the bay leaves and ginger. Stir for 10-15 seconds and add the chopped onion tomato mixture.

5. Cook the onion tomatoes mixture for about 8-10 minutes and then add all the dry spices (salt, red chilli powder, coriander powder and garam masala). You can add a tbsp of water if the mixture is dry. Let the mixture cook while stirring until the ghee starts to leave from the sides. Switch off the gas.

6. Add the prepared mixture to the dal and mix well. Let dal cook for another 10-12 minutes on low flame. The dal when done should have a thick creamy texture.

7. Add the butter in the end and mix well.

Garnish with cream and coriander leaves right before serving. Serve hot with Roti, Naan, Parantha or Rice.

Formorerecipes,visit www.zestyflavors.com or visit https://www. facebook.com/pages/ Zestyflavors-AddingZest-to-your-Cooking/145518712165348 Also “LIKE” Zestyflavors on FACEBOOK.

Recipe by Vaishali Sharma

Please send your feedback to indoamericannews@yahoo. com

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COMMUNITY

November 04, 2011

Book signing signing e event vent by nikhil n modi Saturday, November 12, 2011 from 3-5pm at River Oaks Book Store at 3270 Westheimer Road (at the junction of Westheimer and River Oaks Blvd).

For more information call Nikhil Modi at 281-660-5997

Synopsis: American born nine-year-old old Meera, are about to take the their family, they’re travtrav India to learn ture.

Ooma and her little sister, six-yearadventure of a lifetime. Along with eling to a relative’s wedding in more about their heritage and culIt’s a trip they won’t soon forget!

Their first stop on a crowded full of colorful passengers acthem with “squat” toilets, exotic and remnants of the British Raj sights are far removed from comfortable Texas upbringOoma and Meera make the experience, getting to know relatives—including their in the process. make their way to the Histop and tour the glorious ruined city of Fatehpur Hawa Mahal, the PalBut it is when they reach snow-capped Himalayan

train quaints foods, rule. The t h e i r ing, but most of the their other grandfather— As they malayas, they Taj Mahal, the Sikri, and the ace of Winds. the magnificent, Mountains that the children feel the connection between their past and present.

It is fascinating to see how life-long memories and unbreakable bonds are created through these wanderings. A lot of human stories and quirky human behavior are entwined very skillfully on these pages. This novel not only will make you laugh but it will probably make you shed a tear or two.

Tales from the Himalayas will keep tugging at your heart, long after you finish the book.

So, put on your traveling shoes and get ready to be enthralled!

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Indo AmerIcAn news • FrIdAy, A noVemBer 04, 2011 • Online editiOn: Ay, On: www.indOamerican-news.cOm O

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November 04, 2011

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17

18 November 04, 2011

Lying Figures

We all know about the half-empty glass also being the half-full glass.

It’s about your disposition that makes you see the water in the glass either way. That, however, isn’t the case with mobile phones in India. According to official figures - and we’re guessing that by ‘official’, it means mobile companies - India has 900 million cellphone users. A reality check in the form of figures released by the department of telecommunication says something else: we have 300 million mobile users. So who is this phantom 600 million? They are literally the ghosts of mobile phones past - cellphones that are no longer in use. Thus, and let’s tuck away our celebratory ringtones for a minute, India’s teledensity isn’t 75% (three out of every four persons), but 50% (one out of every two persons).

India’s ease with numbers is legendary. No one jacks them up or makes them sing a different tune like we do. The recent chin-scratching over how many poor people this country has became more a battle over deciding a nice spot to draw the poverty line rather than about head-counting to help. The biggest parlor trick, of course, is the one about India’s ‘demographic dividend’. The banner reads: ‘We have the number - 1.2 billion and counting - to take over the world, and 63% of this number are under 30. So watch out!’ But out of this sea of potential workforce, how many are really capable and qualified to do the work?

Everyone loves a Great India Success Story. So to point out anything that doesn’t quite match the script smacks, at best, of churlishness, and, at worst, sedition. Our defence to these charges would be: isn’t it more helpful if we take into consideration unpleasant truths, which, minus the hype, would be less unpleasant, and build our fancy house on solid ground? Hello? Oh, we’ve been speaking to a dead line.

Hindustan Times

sstalled in the Air

Air India is in trouble again. Nearly 120 of its pilots have threatened to quit; 25 of them, on deputation to Air India Express, have already started reporting sick, causing considerable disruption in services, which are likely to continue. Previous problems with the airline’s pilots have centred on those who were, pre-merger, part of what was then Indian Airlines, who believe that the conditions of the merger were discriminatory. This round of problems emerges from an association of 200 pilots who were with Air India pre-merger, and who object to those from Indian Airlines being trained to use the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner that the airline has bought. With touching concern for their fellow pilots, they worry that this will “stall their career progression”. Well, pilots worry about stalling.

But Air India’s pilots are pretty unique in that they never seem to worry about stalling their airline.

Times of India

EDITORIAL Tsunami in a Pakistani Teapot

By AyeshA yeshA siddiqA iddiq As the former cricket captain Imran Khan stood before the cheering crowd in Lahore at his rally on Sunday, October 30, he promised that support for him would prove to be a tsunami, sweeping away all that he considers as political deadwood and garbage. In what appeared a carefully choreographed show, Imran Khan challenged his main political rivals: Pakistan’s president and the co-chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party, Asif Ali Zardari, and the two Sharif brothers in Punjab. He threatened them with a mass movement unless they declared their assets. Corruption is indeed one of the major issues that seems to have badly hurt Pakistan, especially in the past couple of decades, making it difficult for ordinary people to access facilities like electricity. Some of the major public-sector corporations are also sinking under the burden of corruption and nepotism.

But, more important, Pakistan is a country visibly burdened by ten years of the war on terror. To the ordinary Pakistani, the war has brought violence and disrepute, a situation that Imran Khan believes has not been improved by Pakistan’s partnership with the US in the war on terror. Khan promised the crowd he would never use the country’s army against its own people, as he said has happened at the behest of the Americans.

He even taunted Zardari and Pakistan’s ambassador in the US, Hussain Haqqani, for seeking personal protection from the US government against the Pakistan army.

The Imran Khan apparent at the Sunday rally is certainly a more confident leader; but his confidence also emanates from the realisation that there may be few gaps between him and the country’s all-powerful security establishment — which he was careful to not criticise during the political show. Many believe that his success on Sunday was partly a result of some silent support provided by the security apparatus. This is nothing peculiar in a country where a nod and a wink from the establishment has created leaders from Bhutto to Nawaz Sharif, and now, Imran Khan.

In fact, what seems likely is that the “Khan tsunami” may be localised for the time being and remain limited to parts of

PTI chief Imran Khan addresses a rally in Lahore on October 30, 2011 PHOTO : AFP

urban Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), where it is intended to have the greatest impact. One wonders if it is sheer coincidence that the coming of age of the cricketer-turned-politician has coincided with the growing unhappiness of the country’s politicised army with Nawaz Sharif, a leader General Zia-ul-Haq picked up from the business community and turned into the “Lion of Punjab.” It’s vital for the establishment to keep control of, and watch over, Punjab, which many consider Pakistan’s heart.

Contrary to his claims of possibly sweeping the next general elections to be held in 2013, Khan is predicted to gain some ground in Punjab and KPK, and have only a relatively small impact on Sindh and Balochistan. Given his af affinity with the Punjab-centric establishment, there is little likelihood of the PTI chief persuading the Baloch to renounce their resistance, or the army to change its policy of coercion in the province.

Sindh, on the other hand, will remain dominated by the politics of the PPP and the MQM. Although there are many issues on which Khan needs to show clarity and a visible plan that would add to his rhetoric, the fact remains that he represents a new promise for young and increasingly urbanising Pakistan. More than his party, Imran himself represents a mellow brand of political Islam, one that is not influenced by the rabid Deobandism-

Wahhabism, but has a more inclusive character. In many ways, the coming of Imran Khan harks back to the political theory of Mohammad Iqbal and the struggle for Pakistan. Imran Khan’s for formula does not disown religion, or talk of liberalism-secularism, which many find alien in today’s Pakistan.

However, the real test for the cricketerpolitician is to make sure that his sociopolitical agenda remains inclusive rather than exclusive. The shade of Sufi-Islamic philosophy as a source of his political Islam may give rise to some hope. It’s also worth mentioning that his sympathy for the Taliban is not driven by pure radicalism but his peculiar understanding of the WoT and American politics in the region. There are numerous issues that need greater clarity — including what his regional policy would be. Will he be inspired to build regional ties, or will he take directions from his technicolourhaired, hawkish foreign policy advisor, the journalist Shireen Mazari?

A popular conclusion drawn by many in the media is that Imran Khan has ar arrived. Despite no one being sure how many seats he will manage in the next general elections, his success on Sunday should make the older parties and political players more thoughtful about the future.

Indian Express The writer is a security analyst based in Islamabad

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INDIA

November 04, 2011

corruption scandals, s market drops Hit India’s rich r

Help Wanted

report on illegal mining in the state.

By heAther A timmons Adani is ranked the seventh-wealthiest (NYT) India’s 100 richest are nearly person in India, with a net worth of $8.2 $60 billion poorer than they were last billion, down from $10.7 billion last year. year, Forbes said Thursday in its annual He denies any involvement1 in illegal wealth survey. mining.

Corruption scandals and allegations of One-third of Savitri Jindal’s family wrongdoing, as well as the overall drop fortune evaporated in the past year, leavin India’s stock market, were often to ing one of the list’s few women ranked blame. The combined wealth of country’s number five with a net worth of $9.5 top earners fell 20 percent from last year, billion, down from $14.4 billion last year.

Forbes said, to $241 billion.

One son’s JSW Steel cut production after The 2G telecom scandal and related the Supreme Court banned iron ore mininvestigations trimmed the net worth ing in Karnataka. Her other son’s Jindal of — among others — Anil Ambani, Steel & Power is accused of operating a chairman of Reliance Group, Unitech’s coal processing plant without the right Ramesh Chandra, Swan Telecom proenvironmental clearances. moters Vinod Goenka and Shahid Usman Number 10-ranked Adi Godrej is Balwa, and Kalanithi Maran, chairman of among those untouched by scandal but Sun Network.

Vinod Goenka, who was last year The people who appeared to avoid ranked as the 54th richest Indian by still affected by it. He took over the chairmanship of India School of Busiscandal were rewarded. Airtel’s Sunil Forbes was arrested in April 2011. ness this year, replacing Rajat Gupta, Bharti Mittal, for example, with a net Photo: Pankaj Nangia who was criminally charged yesterday worth of $8.8 billion, is one of the few telecom executives untouched by the 2G Ravi Ruia, ranked number four with a for his role in the Galleon Group insider scandal. He is also one of the few to see combined wealth of $10.5 billion, are trading case.

The Forbes list does not include some his ranking rise this year on the Forbes list minority owners in Loop Telecom, which (up three spots to number six), and his net was investigated earlier this year in con- of India’s wealthiest politicians. The famnection with the 2G case. Their net worth ily wealth of Kamal Nath was declared worth increase (by $200 million). this September at 263 crore rupees, or $54 Dilip Shanghvi, who controls Sun Phar Phar- fell $4.5 billion from a year ago.

Gautam Adani’s Adani Enterprises million, making him the wealthiest Union maceutical Industries, was this year’s top dollar gainer, with a $1.5 billion increase dropped in value after local papers re- minister. But the figure is still well below Kar- the $370 million net worth necessary to to put his net worth at $6.7 billion. Mr. ported that it was featured in the Kar Ambani of Reliance Group was the year’s nataka ombudsman’s yet-to-be released climb on to the Forbes richest 100 list. biggest loser, with a $7.4 billion drop in net worth.

Of the top 10 on the list, only a few, includSubscribe to Indo-American News Today ing Mr. Mittal, Wipro’s We cover your world!

Azim Premji, steel baron The Indo Qu is Name: ____________________________________ Lakshmi Mittal and KuAmerican Deaeen d News mar Birla, chairman of the Phone: ____________________________________ slumdog millionaire BollywoodShows4 Aditya Birla group, have U Brings EXPLOSION 200 9 to Houston been untouched, even peripherally, by widespread Address:___________________________________ investigations into corruption and illegal activity __________________________________________ under way in India’s courts in the past year.

Number of Years: 1 2 5 10 Lifetime Number-one ranked (circle one) $30 $58 $130 $277 $399 Mukesh Ambani’s net worth fell $4.4 billion, Credit Card: Master Card / Visa (Circle One) to $22.6 billion, in part because of reports the _________________________________________ government will invesYour Signature: tigate how his Reliance Exp Date: ___/___ 3 digit code:______ ___________________________ Industries operates in an off-shore oil and gas field Do cut and mail to: 7457 Harwin Dr, Ste 262, Houston, TX 77036 (OR) Scan and E-mail to: Indoamericannews@yahoo.com • Call us at 713-789-6397 • Call us to sign up for E-mail Blast known as K.G. Basin.

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19

Read all about it inside.

HOUSTON: Sonu Nigam, Sunidhi Chauhan and Hard to make a stunning Kaur are set the Explosions eventappearance in Bollywood Shows organized by 4

by Moid Khan. The U conducted event be held at the Reliant is set to Arena on August 7, 2009.

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Houston. The Foundation could not have chosen to raise awarenessa better topic among IndoB P Americans in Houston K about its HOUSTON: If there’s one recent Indian studies programs. Prior movie that has to polarized opinions the discussion of the film, Parul about India, it Fernandes is lionaire. The movieSlumdog Mil- explained and Krishna Vavilala ements of entertainmhas all the el- is currentlythat the Foundation ent conducting designed to glue you to Hindi Level I and Level your II courses as awe, amusemen seat – shock, well as t, love and inspiration disgust, true Jainism classes on Hinduism, and the Anthropol have seen movie . Some people India. ogy of The each time moved several times, received Foundation has also to tears and joy. support from There are a few Indian others, however, government’s Ministry of Overwho could not get past the slum seas Indians to fund a Chair for kid’s jump into Indian studies at the UH. blinding of a child. cesspool or the An 11-minute clip of Slumdog More than 120 people with prob- Millionaire, edited by Anil Kuably 200 opinions about the movie mar, was screened to stimulate assembled at a the discussion. The town clip included held at India House hall meeting scenes depicting negative last Sunday afternoon. aspects of India such as religious disharThe town hall mony, child prostitutio meeting was oror n, and ganized by the Foundation for lice brutality. These scenes poIndia Studies at were the University of followed by uplifting scenes in 4

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BUSINESS

20 November 04, 2011

s shridhar ssubramaniam: The counterculture Perk The president of Sony Music India talks rock while taking Bollywood music global

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(Outlook) A bunch of audio engineers fiddle with complicated machines on the left while a group of musicians informally gather on stage to perform. Cigarette smoke rises from another corner, cover covering in its wake a not-so-subtle sign that discourages smoking in the hall. On the right, a small bar lists the prices of a range of beverages. Thick wires run across the room near the entrance, taped to the floor, ensuring that those who do not tread carefully are likely to make a flying entrance.

K.C. Loy and his band of boys sing Aai No. 1 in Marathi followed by Hariyali Chhayi Hai in Hindi. Young boys walk in and out with great urgency, most of them with long hair or Bandra-style haircuts, in dark T-shirts, keds and torn jeans. This is the setting for Live from the Console, Sony Music’s monthly attempt to revive indie music, at Mehboob Studios in Bandra, Mumbai.

I am 30 minutes late but Shridhar Subramaniam, president, Sony India and Middle East, of Sony Music, is more than an hour late. We decide to blame, rightly, the Bandra fair which has started that day and clogged all the roads leading into the suburb.

Two glasses of beer arrive, in plastic glasses, as is the norm at rock concerts, before we find a quiet room away from intense musicians.

Subramaniam is slim, wearing a dark shirt, Ray-Ban spectacles, and bursting with energy. The 47-year-old can barely hide an innate restlessness and passion for music, which is now also his profession. “I am not the content, happy kind of guy,” he says. “I am a committed, start-up kind of guy.

I don’t like to worry about a rocket’s trajectory; I say let’s just get it off the ground first.”

His instincts for start-ups show in his career choices—he joined Titan and Sony Music India when they started. But for a restless person, he has ironically stayed with just two companies. He joined Titan in 1988, when they came into the market with Timex watches and later the Fastrack series, and has been with Sony Music since its inception in India in 1996.

“Headhunters call me and say, will you ever leave? But it goes back to values—Titan established character and values and now it’s my turn to instil that in Sony.”

This is again a contradiction to the rebellious streak that Subramaniam says he had growing up in Mumbai, with a love for rock music and reading. His father Shiv, a self-made man who was in the Indian Revenue Ser Service, with Nehruvian ideals of nation building, was not always in favour of his son’s musical inclinations.

“We have gone through the stages of teenage angst when he would lock up my records,” remembers Subramaniam, of days when he would trade in records, lounge with friends older than him, have the “Pink Floyd experience” and head to Eros Cinema for a 10am show of Woodstock. Most friends were in bands, he says—his biggest regret was not having learnt an instrument.

“You know how it is, if I was inter inter-

Subramaniam listens to music for about 4 hours every day on his Spotify device, a music streaming service. By Jayachandran/Mint

ested in Carnatic music, things would have been different. It tends to happen in families of second-third generation with their sense of value systems being challenged.”

In certain respects, he followed the conventional academic path. A degree from Mumbai’s Sydenham College of Commerce was followed by an MBA at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, US. College meant blowing up a semester chasing the Grateful Dead and Bob Dylan— “for me, being in the US was about music,” he says.

Subramaniam’s decision to return to India in 1988 had something to do with his innate Indian-ness, because the practice in those days was to follow up graduate school with a one-way ticket to Silicon Valley, as his brother Sundar did. Subramaniam took one look at Mumbai and decided it could not be his life. His father was posted in Kolkata, but that did not work either. Someone suggested Bangalore, with its green boulevards and lovely weather, and Subramaniam headed south, to Titan’s offices.

“Even when I came back and started working, I had not grown up in the truest sense, in the sense of having a purpose,” he says. That changed when he met Xerxes Desai, Titan’s former managing director and vice-chairman. “He is my mentor, the teacher I never had. He threw me into the deep end having absolute confidence and faith and let me swim with it,” Subramaniam says. This included launching Titan in Europe, getting into the luxury business with its jewellery division Tanishq and doing all the “swish, French stuff”

for three years from 1994.

His hardest decision was to tell Desai about his decision to quit when the opportunity to join Sony came in 1996. He got a few words of advice: Be careful about making your passion your profession. At some point you will lose one.

If his first job interview at Sony in their US office was slightly surreal— on the 32nd floor, with a sushi restaurant around, and Billy Joel lurking somewhere—the second, with the Asian head, was weirder. “In a girlie bar in Bangkok, in Thailand. Here I am, in front of a pole, and you are talking to me about what you want to do in India?” he says, laughing.

This was a time when the likes of Alisha Chinai and Baba Sehgal were rocking newly instituted countdowns on fresh television channels in India, like MTV. It was also a time when audio companies were not run professionally and several labels were vying for a slice of the growing market.

Over time, not only did that brand of Indian rock-pop-hip hop merge into film music, but many of the labels disappeared too. “Between Bollywood and pop, the former was more remunerative. It just sucked up all the talent, from music, advertising.

At a $2 billion (around Rs9,600 crore) business, you can buy all the talent,” says Subramaniam.

“People falsely accuse the music industry for this singularity of what music is put on now,” he continues.

“It’s not the music companies, it’s the media: Their fixation with all things Bollywood is incredible and depressing.”

But there is hope, because the “beauty about music”—and Subramaniam uses the word beauty often— that drove him and continues to drive generations “is the counterculture rebellious component attached to it.

Cinema is not a counterculture business. Music is. I like something my parents don’t. It’s a separating line, it’s a divider,” he says.

The counterculture lives in pockets, one of these being Sony’s newly started Live from the Console, where the company invites and pays musicians to play one Saturday a month.

Set in Mehboob Studios, with 200300 people attending after buying inexpensive tickets, the event gives Subramaniam another reason to feel proud and happy. “Why I enjoy Sony is because the music business allows you to do these super-cool things.”

With a 16-18% market share of a $200 million industry in India, Subramaniam is looking for the “magic sweet spot”, which is 25%.

That’s the reason why the company is stepping into regional zones— it entered Tamil Nadu three years ago and will soon be in Punjab. He still wants to take Bollywood music global, a journey that started with the company’s first Indian product, A.R. Rahman’s Maa Tujhe Salaam.

“For every hit, we have had misses, an equal number of wrong calls. The humbling component, it comes in the hit rate,” says Subramaniam.

Indo AmerIcAn news • FrIdAy, A noVemBer 04 , 2011 • Online editiOn: Ay, On: www.indOamerican-news.cOm O

ENTERTAINMENT

M

November 04, 2011

21

salman Khan upset with sonakshi sinha? s

ovie

Reviews

damadamm

Story: Himesh is the star employee in a film production company and has a live-in girlfriend too. Life looks good except for the fact that the girlfriend is over possessive and loves to keep him on a tight leash.

When she goes on a family trip to Indore, Himesh suddenly discovers the joys of freedom and finds a new friend in Sonal Sehgal, the proprietor’s sister. Will he be able to get back to his old, suffocating relationship?

Movie Review: Ironically, it’s the songs of the film which stand out much more than the script, narrative, drama and performances. Umrao Jaan, Madhushala and the title track are extremely peppy numbers which suddenly infuse life in an otherwise comatose film. So what does this prove? While Himesh remains an excellent music director, his acting skills will always remain largely a one-man belief: his own.

The actress was launched by Salman Khan in ‘Dabangg’ and much appreciated for her role in the film. Of course, the girl insists she remains indebted to Salman for the big break. However, her closeness to Salman Khan have made all and sundry think that she is in fact a part of the Sallu camp.

At an event recently, the lady was asked what she would do if she was offered a movie with SRK, especially since she’s a part of Salman’s camp?

Sonakshi clarified that she isn’t a part of any camp and doesn’t believe in the camp culture. She also said that she would love to work with anybody and everybody. Of course, working with Shah Rukh would be a dream come true for the damsel.

It’s heard that Salman Khan is miffed with this statement of hers. However, with both of them coming together in ‘Kick’ and ‘Dabangg 2’, Sonakshi will have enough time to explain her point of view and sort out this mess.

At an event recently, actress Sonakshi Sinha seems to have been caught on the wrong foot.

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22 November 04, 2011

INDIA

real Life ‘slumdog r s m millionaire

Sushil Kumar had earned $ 120 a month, plans to use money for civil service exam prep course MUMBAI (DNA): Hailing from the state of Bihar, Sushil Kumar became the first person to win five crore rupees in the TV game show Kaun Banega Crorepati,.

A computer operator and tutor by profession, Kumar is the first person to win the coveted prize in this season of the show.

The host, Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan, praised Kumar for his deter determination and confidence.

“Today, he has come and won five crore in the show, which is the top prize.

Any person can achieve a lot, if he takes upon any challenge and is determined to achieve something in life. He is a living example of this theory,” said Bachchan.

Kumar, a small-town man was pleasantly sur surprised to win the prize and was even happier to meet Bachchan, who is one of his favourite actors.

“I had not even thought that I would be able to win such a huge amount and I Sushil Kumar, left, with Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan, shows his $1 million check after his appearance on the popular Indian version of “Who wants to be a Millionaire.”

haven’t thought about what I am going to do. First of all, I don’t own a house; my house is not in a good shape. So, when I came here, I had thought that I would get my house renovated, but now I am going to get a new house,” said Kumar.

“It is a very big thing for me to meet Amitabh Bachchan. I used to see him

on the television, so when I came here I touched his feet because I was unsure if I would be able to reach this stage, since ‘Fastest Finger First’ is very tough and there is no guarantee if one would play the game, even if he is very knowledgeable.

So, I hugged him and I think this is a big achievement for me,” he added.

mukesh Ambani: r m richest Indian

DELHI (SI): Mukesh Ambani, who heads the oil-to-retail conglomerate Reliance Industries Group, has retained his position as the world’s richest Indian with a net worth of $22.6 billion, as per the Forbes India annual rich list.

Despite a fall of $4.4 billion in his net worth over the past one year, Ambani managed to hold the top slot.

He is followed by steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal and technology czar Azim Premji, as per the list published on Thursday by the Indian edition of global business magazine Forbes.

Mittal was ranked second with a net worth of $19.2 billion, while Premji was at the third position with $13 billion of net worth, Forbes said.

The 100 richest persons in the country together saw their net worth falling by 20 per cent in one year, to $241 billion, as inflation, corruption scandals and falling stock and currency prices diminished their wealth.

The list comprises 57 billionaires, a dozen less than the last year.

Forbes said that Mukesh’s younger brother Anil Ambani saw the biggest erosion in his wealth in absolute terms, while power producer Lanco Infratech’s Madhusudan Raw was the biggest loser in percentage terms as his net worth fell by 78 per cent during the past one year.

Anil Ambani’s net worth declined by $7.4 billion to $5.9 billion and he “slipped out of the top 10 for the first time since his 2004 debut”. He was ranked 13th in this year’s list.

In the top-five, Mukesh Ambani, Lakshmi Mittal and Azim Premji were followed by Essar group’s Shashi and Ravi Rua ($10.2 billion at 4th position) and Savitri Jindal ($9.5 billion at 5th).

Others in the top 10 include Sunil Mittal ($8.8 billion at 6th position), Gautam Adani ($ 8.2 billion, 7th), Kumar Mangalam Birla ($7.7 billion, 8th), Pallonji Mistry ($7.6 billion, 9th) and Adi Godrej ($6.8 billion, 10th).

This year’s list included 14 new faces and the richest debutante was the founder and CEO of the London-listed oil and gas firm Indus Gas -- Ajay Kalsi, at the 38th position with a net worth of $1.39 billion.

Father-son duo Kapil and Rahul Bhatia of travel group, InterGlobe Enterprises, made their debut at position 51, with a net worth of $1.09 billion after their budget carrier IndiGo became India’s third-largest and most profitable airline.

Also debuting on the list was V G Siddhartha, ranked 84th with a net worth of $595 million, and founder of coffee shop retail chain Cafe Coffee Day. Naazneen Karmali, India Editor of Forbes Asia, said: “This has been a turbulent year for India?s richest. Despite the economy growing at close to 8 percent, a spate of corruption scandals and rising inflation have taken a toll.”

Indrajit Gupta, Editor of Forbes India, said: “Even though it’s been another tough year for the wealthiest Indian entrepreneurs on the 2011 India Rich List, the fact that there are as many as 14 new entrants is a clear pointer to the exciting and diverse business opportunities in this part of the world.”

The magazine said that the net worth of persons on the list are based on share prices and exchange rates as on October 12 and privately held companies were valued on the basis of their comparison with similar publicly traded firms.

The net worth figures of individuals also include family fortunes, it added.

Indo AmerIcAn news • FrIdAy, A noVemBer 04 , 2011 • Online editiOn: Ay, On: www.indOamerican-news.cOm O

INDIA

November 04, 2011

The dropouts’ story s

By K.C.deepiKA eepi (Hindu) Forget research and Ph.Ds. In Kar Karnataka, only 12.2 per cent of those who have completed pre-university/12th Standard join college. These astounding facts have been made available in a study conducted by the Karnataka Knowledge Commission on ‘The gross enrolment ratio in higher education in Karnataka’.

As per the data, only 9.47 lakh of the 77.5 lakh students go on to join college. The calculated gross enrolment ratio (GER) for 2010-11 indicates that 87.78 per cent of the population in the age group of 18 to 23 are outside the purview of higher education.

The present GER is not a dramatic improvement from what it was. The GER in India in 2006 was 11. This was way less compared to the U.S. (82), Australia and Brazil (73), the U.K. (59), China (22) and South Africa (15). There is a substantial discrepancy between the number of students who are eligible to enrol in higher studies, and the number of those who actually do. Out of 56.7 per cent of eligible candidates, only 12.22 per cent are pursuing their higher studies.

The EER (eligible enrolment ratio) indicates that 43.3 per cent who have not completed higher secondary have not enrolled for higher education.

The difference GER is an index which measures the enrolment in higher education over the population in the age group of 18 to 23. EER, on the other hand, is the index which measures the enrolment in higher education over the eligible population – pass-outs at the 12th Standard or higher secondary level (the pass-outs from the State pre-university board for the years 2006-10 were summated for this).

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Students discontinue studies for a variety of reasons like financial problems, wrong guidance, parental pressure

Male vs. female The Commission’s findings also validate another strong trend – that of more males having the privilege of education than females. Both the EER and GER of males are higher than that of females. The male GER stands at 14 per cent, as opposed to 10.38 of females. This means that for the 5.52 lakh males enrolled in higher education, only 3.95 lakh females are enrolled.

University data Among the State universities, Bangalore

University (BU) has the highest GER of 13.88, while the least is of Davangere University. BU tops in terms of enrolment and the number of affiliated colleges. BU has the highest enrolment per college with 458, while Mangalore University has the least enrolment per college with 142.

The GER of specialised universities is dismal – a measly one per cent, while the EER is five per cent. Among these, Visvesvaraya Technical University (VTU) has the highest GER due to the enrolments in engineering courses. The en-

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rolment for Ph.D. is very minute – 0.003 per cent of total enrolments. Here too, male enrolment is 2.52 times more than female enrolment.

Arts still tops Among streams, Arts holds the sway in both undergraduate and postgraduate courses. In undergraduate courses, the enrolment percentage for arts courses is about 33.7 per cent, followed by commerce, science, engineering and management. A less favoured course is agriculture, with a share of 0.29 per cent.

At the postgraduate level, arts continues its dominance with 32.7 per cent, while science has a 19 per cent share. Law has the least demand.

Reasons So, what is it that forces these students to opt out of studying further?

As per the Commission’s study, the reasons can vary from being as serious as financial problems and non-availability of colleges in the locality, to as bizarre as not finding any meaning in studying and following the path of friends who have discontinued studies.

The other reasons include marriage plans, lack of guidance on what to study, health problems, parents’ pressure to discontinue, repeated failure in exams and household work.

Recommendations The panel from the Knowledge Commission came up with some recommendations for the discouraging enrolment figures. Among the recommendations are extending financial support, restructuring courses and revamping courses such as B.A., B.Sc and B.Com, establishing ‘district higher education councils,’ establishing linkages among primary, secondary and higher education, and developing common data formats and maintaining them for decision making.

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SENIOR HEALTH

24 November 04, 2011

medicaid is Health Insurance that Helps many People who can’t Afford m m medical care Pay for some or all of their m medical Bills

By sudhir mAthuri AthuriA thuriA Good health is important to everyone. If you can’t afford to pay for medical care right now, Medicaid can make it possible for you to get the care that you need so that you can get healthy – and stay healthy.

Medicaid is available only to certain low-income individuals and families who fit into an eligibility group that is recognized by federal and state law. Medicaid does not pay money to you; instead, it sends payments directly to your health care providers.

Depending on your state’s rules, you may also be asked to pay a small part of the cost (co-payment) for some medical services.

Medicaid is a state administered program and each state sets its own guidelines regarding eligibility and services.

Many groups of people are covered by Medicaid. Even within these groups, though, certain requirements must be met. These may include your age, whether you are pregnant, disabled, blind, or aged; your income and resources (like bank accounts, real property, or other items that can be sold for cash); and whether you are a U.S. citizen or a lawfully admitted immigrant. The rules for counting your income and resources vary from state to state and from group to group.

There are special rules for those who live in nursing homes and for disabled children living at home.

Your child may be eligible for coverage if he or she is a U.S. citizen or a lawfully admitted immigrant, even if you are not (however, there is a 5-year limit that applies to lawful permanent residents). Eligibility for children is based on the child’s status, not the parent’s. Also, if someone else’s child lives with you, the child may be eligible even if you are not because your income and resources will not count for the child.

In general, you should apply for Medicaid if your income is low and you match one of the descriptions of the Eligibility Groups. (Even if you are not sure whether you qualify, if you or someone in your family needs health care, you should apply for Medicaid and have a qualified caseworker in your state evaluate your situation.)

Screening Tools To help you see if you may be eligible for a variety of governmental programs, you may access the Gov Benefits and Benefits Check Up websites.

When Eligibility Starts Coverage may start retroactive to any or all of the 3 months prior to application, if the individual would have been eligible during the retroactive period. Coverage generally stops

at the end of the month in which a person’s circumstances change. Most States have additional “State-only” programs to provide medical assistance for specified poor persons who do not qualify for the Medicaid program. No Federal funds are provided for State-only programs.

What is Not Covered Medicaid does not provide medical assistance for all poor persons. Even under the broadest provisions of the Federal statute (except for emergency services for certain persons), the Medicaid program does not provide health care services, even for very poor persons, unless they are in one of the designated eligibility groups. Low income is only one test for Medicaid eligibility; assets and resources are also tested against established thresholds. As noted earlier, categorically needy persons who are eligible for Medicaid may or may not also receive cash assistance from the TANF program or from the SSI program.

Medically needy persons who would be categorically eligible except for income or assets may become eligible for Medicaid solely because of excessive medical expenses.

Many groups of people are covered by Medicaid. Even within these groups, though, certain requirements must be met. These may include your age, whether you are pregnant, disabled, blind, or aged; your income and resources (like bank accounts, real property, or other items that can be sold for cash); and whether you are a U.S. citizen or a lawfully admitted immigrant. The rules for counting your income and resources vary from state to state and from group to group.

There are special rules for those who live in nursing homes and for disabled children living at home.

Your child may be eligible for coverage if he or she is a U.S. citizen or a lawfully admitted immigrant, even if you are not (however, there is a 5-year limit that applies to lawful permanent residents). Eligibility for children is based on the child’s status, not the parent’s. Also, if someone else’s child lives with you, the child may be eligible even if you are not because your income and resources will not count for the child.

In general, you should apply for Medicaid if you have limited income and resources. You must match one of the descriptions below. (Even if you are not sure whether you qualify, if you or someone in your family needs health care, you should apply for Medicaid and have a qualified caseworker in your state evaluate your situation.)

Pregnant Women Apply for Medicaid if you think you are pregnant. You may be eligible

Call To Learn How Medicare Advantage Plan Can Help You With Additional Benefits Such as Over The Counter Medi Medicines, Transportation, Emergency Coverage When You Travel Abroad and more, at NO Cost, if You Are Enrolled in Medi Medicare and Medicaid both.

if you are married or single. If you are on Medicaid when your child is born, both you and your child will be covered.

Children and Teenagers Apply for Medicaid if you are the parent or guardian of a child who is 18 years old or younger and your family’s income is limited, or if your child is sick enough to need nursing

home care, but could stay home with good quality care at home. If you are a teenager living on your own, the state may allow you to apply for Medicaid on your own behalf or any adult may apply for you. Many states also cover children up to age 21.

Person who is Aged, Blind, and/ or Disabled Apply if you are aged (65 years

How to Get Help?

In Texas, Call 2-1-1 Calling 2-1-1 is a free, easy way to find out about services you can get. You can find services in your area or through state programs.

When you call 2-1-1, you pick a language and then pick from 3 options: Press 1 to learn about services in your area such as: Food , housing, Child care ,After-school programs,Senior services, Help after a disaster and aTax help Press 2 to learn about state benefits such as: SNAP food benefits (used to be called food stamps), Medicaid , Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and Cash help for families (TANF Staff can talk with you Monday to Friday from 8am to 8pm Press 3 to report waste, fraud and abuse in state health and human services programs: Staff can talk with you Monday to Friday from 8am to 5pm You might not be able to connect to 2-1-1 if: • You are calling from outside of Texas.

• Your cell phone won’t dial 2-1-1.

• You use voice-over-IP (use the Internet to make calls).

old or older), blind, or disabled and have limited income and resources.

Apply if you are terminally ill and want to get hospice services. Apply if you are aged, blind, or disabled; live in a nursing home; and have limited income and resources. Apply if you are aged, blind, or disabled and need nursing home care, but can stay at home with special community care services. Apply if you are eligible for Medicare and have limited income and resources.

Other Situations Apply if you are leaving welfare and need health coverage. Apply if you are a family with children under age 18 and have limited income and resources. (You do not need to be receiving a welfare check.) Apply if you have very high medical bills, which you cannot pay (and you are pregnant, under age 18 or over age 65, blind, or disabled).

(To be continued) Sudhir Mathuria, a Houstonian for over 30 years, has been an active participant in various community associations.

He is a licensed proffesional for Medi Medicare and Medicaid related health care plans. He can be reached by phone at 713-771-2900 or via email at sudhir@ MyMedicarePlanning.com.

For more information, visit: www.My www.MyMedicarePlanning.com

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TEL: 713-771-2900 Email: sudhir@MyMedicarePlanning.com www.MyMedicarePlanning.com

Indo AmerIcAn news • FrIdAy, A noVemBer 04 , 2011 • Online editiOn: Ay, On: www.indOamerican-news.cOm O

SUDHIR MATHURIA Licensed Professional

HOROSCOPE ARIES Mar 21 - Apr 20: This week will be relaxing, you feel happy and content. At work, you are appreciated and rewarded for your fine per performance. It is likely to raise your social status. You wish to celebrate your happiness with your beloved. You would like to indulge in romantic conversations followed by a candle-lit dinner. You may even consider a luxurious indulgence like a visit to a salon/spa and take your beloved along with you! Doing your favorite things or helping children with their chores is likely to refresh your mind.

TAURUS Apr 21 - May 21 At work, you wants to introduce some changes and wish to channelize your energy in the right direction. Your innovative ideas will help to do this.

In the process, you may face some distractions or objections. You will go forward with your plans. After a week full of pressure and hectic work, you may want to pay a visit to a spa or a salon to recharge. Romantic conversations and perhaps a picnic are likely to make your weekend exciting. There is a lot of fun and frolic for you Bulls this week!

GEMINI May 22 - Jun 21: You are in for some good news this week as your finances are likely to soar. Your dedication and sincere efforts catch your superiors’ attention. Thus, perks, incentives and promotions are on the cards. Your confidence level is too high to get affected by any obstacles. You feel ecstatic and your inner happiness reflects in your attitude. It may attract love, business, money and creativity. You take time to bonding with family and friends. Some occasions may require you to loosen your purse strings.

CANCER Jun 22 - Jul 23: Neither your personal nor professional fronts are too dif difficult to tackle this week. You may indulge in some family bonding activities to keep the environment peaceful. You feel the need to help the poor and the underprivileged. You wish to lend emotional and financial support to them. You may also want to donate money to charity organizations. However, think twice before donating money because expenses are likely to mount. Be practical and face the situation bravely and have faith LEO July 24 - Aug 23: You have faced hardships in life, withstood tough times and emerged a winner. Now you know what ‘survival of the fittest’means. This week you will be busy making strategies in order to survive the cut-throat competition of the modern world. Meetings, collaborations, partnerships, short-term and long-term goals are on your agenda. You may realize that spending time on your business is necessary to get in touch with the big players of the industry.

You have imbibed all the qualities of a successful businessman/professional.

VIRGO Aug 24 - Sep 23: You may seek guidance of the Almighty and go on a pilgrimage to a shrine, because on the personal front, you may be going through a rough patch and loneliness may engulf you.

Visits to temples and similar spiritual sojourns will pacify you and help divert your attention. On the professional front, however, things are pretty much on the right track. The personal crisis will make you wiser and motivate you to prove your calibre on the professional front. A change of job is in the offing. It’s time for you to get a hold on your emotions, be practical and focus only on the positive aspects of life.

LIBRA Sep 24 - Oct 23: As the week be-

November 04, 2011

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gins, your energy levels will be on an all-time high. Optimistic and enthusiastic, you are all pumped up about the new developments happening around you. This is likely to motivate you to explore new avenues, grab the opportunities that come your way and achieve everything professionally and personally. Your positive outlook is likely to be your strength to fight against all odds. If you put in hard-work, success is bound to follow you. Confident, you would want to conquer the world, and your time starts, now!

SCORPIO Oct 24 - Nov 22: You are likely to be in the pink of health this week. Your joy and happiness are likely to double.

Everything seems to be in perfect order, be it about per personal, professional, financial or social matters. You may think of innovative ideas to make money, and fortunately, they may work wonders for you. Your cards do indicate financial benefits. If you are a parent, your children are likely to make you proud by their achievements and progress. Nothing seem to dampen you spirits at the moment.

SAGITTARIUS Nov 23 - Dec 22: This week you are into social causes. You take up philanthropic activities, to help the less fortunate and the underprivileged. Besides counselling them and lending emotional support. As your focus remains on the charity work, you are likely to miss out on socializing and catching up with friends. So during the weekend, you may spare some time to renew old ties or relationships and strengthen old and new bonds. You are likely to reap personal as well as professional benefits during this phase.

CAPRICORN Dec 23 - Jan 20: You may be caught in a whirlpool of thoughts. Exploring new avenues and business expansion are on your mind. More focus will be on monetary matters, funds, investments and capital-raising. Think twice before you spend. You may even consider buying and selling of assets, property or shares. Besides business, family activities too will demand your attention, and you will strive to maintain a good rapport with family members.

AQUARIUS Jan 21 - Feb 19:You are likely to be surrounded by people and be a part of many events. Like a social butterfly you are likely to be seen paying flying visits to various social events. The spotlight will be on you, as you take the centre-stage at most of the events. As a result, you will enjoy this exciting phase to the hilt. A believer in joy of giving, you are likely to spread love and pearls of wisdom all around. In this process, you may receive love and affection from the people, and feel blessed and humbled.

PISCES Feb 20 - Mar 20: Rewards and recognition are in store for you this week. Your dedication and excellent per performance are likely to impress your superiors at work. Don’t get surprised if you are promoted or become entitled to incentives. You really deserve all the praise and perks! You see a gradual rise in your bank balance and thus, financial security is no more a reason for worry, at least for some time. You are in a jubilant mood, and keep the home environment lively by spending quality time with family members.

Besides making new friends, you may bump into someone special. Positive vibrations and peaceful times will leave you asking for more.

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26 November 04, 2011

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