Saathee Charlotte December 2018 by Shukla Entertainment

Bridging America and the Indian Subcontinent

Saathee.com

December 2018

IN THIS ISSUE

THE GREAT AMAZON

CON Holiday

Events Doctors & SINGLE PAYER HEALTH CARE

December 2018 Issue # 247 Editor

Samir Shukla

(Samir@Saathee.com)

page 14 Doctors Beginning to Warm to Single Payer

page 18 Upcoming Events in the Region

Hello ReadeRs!

Once its greatest foes, some doctors are now embracing Single-Payer. See page 14 for the story. Find all the holiday events in the region beginning on page 18. Do you have a student in the family getting ready for college? Read about five mistakes to avoid on the FAFSA application. Go to page 52. Read about sedation, a necessary tool for dental treatment in our House Call column on page 64. Read how to avoid weight loss diets and fads in our informative Nutrition for Life column on page 72. List of community organizations in the area and their activities begin on page 94. Pop’s world famous puzzles are on page 118. The AstroScope, our exclusive monthly horoscope is on page 122. As always, we welcome your comments. Get updates about the community, local and national news, movie releases, analysis and videos at Saathee.com.

Quote:

"Every post is honorable in which a man can serve his country." - George Washington

page 28

Film Clips and Movie News

In tHIs Issue

The Editor’s Desk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 12 Single Payer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 14 Community Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 18 Upcoming Movie Releases . . . . . . . .pg. 24 Film Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 28 Raajeev’s Corner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 32 Mirror Mirror . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 36 Namaskar Y’all . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 40 Sangeet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 44 Youth Corner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 46 Spot the Differences . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 50 College Admissions Insider . . . . . . .pg. 52 Test Your India Knowledge . . . . . . . .pg. 54 Mastering Meaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 58 Dances of India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 60 Thinking About Thinking . . . . . . . . .pg. 62 House Call . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 64 Subcontinental Divide . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 70 Nutrition for Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 72 My Voice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 74 Personal Finances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 76 Buy Right, Sit Tight . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 80 News Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 86 Community Organizations . . . . . . . .pg. 94 Pop’s Puzzles and Jokes . . . . . . . . .pg. 118 Festivals and Holidays . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 120 Puzzle Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 120 AstroScope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 122 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 124 Index of Advertisers . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 128

Cover: Bengal Tiger The tiger arrived in the Indian subcontinent about 12,000 years ago. The Bengal tiger ranks among the biggest wild cats alive today. Majority of them are in India. Photo: Pixabay

page 50 Spot the Diﬀerences in these Images

Publisher & Advertising Divakar Shukla

(rakavid@aol.com)

Ad Design / Layout Nageshwar Andrews

Digital Media & Marketing

Jennifer W. Allen & Dhruv Pathak

Contributors for this issue:

Kirit Shukla, Judith L. Bergman, Parul Kharod, Surabhi Kaushik, Dr. Maha Gingrich, Ahsen Jillani, Dr. Vatsal Suthar, Kristen Moon, Mo Vidwans, Balaji Prasad, Raajeev Aggerwhil, Amit Rupani, and Jalendu Vaidya. All content

Opinions expressed herein are those of the writers and advertisers and not necessarily of the publisher or editor. Please contact us prior to submitting articles or photographs. Saathee is published monthly. Deadlines for advertisement, submissions and events information is 15th of the month. For a free Saathee subscription, visit saathee.com/subscription Mission: Our goal is to be a valuable source of information for the South Asian community and to be a vital advertising tool for businesses.

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“Bridging America and the Indian Subcontinent.”

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The Editor’s Desk By Samir Shukla

the Great amazon Con

Man, Jeff Bezos sure knows how to pull off cons. Bezos is of course CEO of Amazon and for the past year or more Amazon has been pursuing a location for their second headquarters, HQ2, if you will. Over 200 cities originally put in applications and 20 were selected as finalists. Amazon wound up picking two locations that will split its second headquarters - Long Island City, NY and Arlington, VA. Both areas already have some of the highest numbers of Amazon employees outside of Seattle, its home base and the Bay Area. So, the big announcement about the final picks was anticlimactic. My astute guess is that Bezos already knew he was going to select these two locations as it makes sense to beef up their existing workforce. It was never going to be Raleigh or Nashville or wherever. Amazon had cities and states salivating at the idea of a major company pulling into their area and creating thousands of jobs. Cities put together proposals and sent Amazon massive amounts of valuable data, Folks, this was all about absolutely free, that the free publicity, free data company will now use to sell mining, and getting cities to more trinkets online. cough up massive tax Amazon extracted some 1.5 breaks and incentive... billion dollars’ worth of concessions and tax breaks from New York alone. Hey, New Yorkers, Amazon needs you more than you need Amazon. Folks, this was all about free publicity, free data mining, and getting cities to cough up massive tax breaks and incentive packages as they try and land Amazon. I call it the Great Amazon Con. I’m betting Amazon had already decided on these two locations months earlier, or even before they announced they were seeking HQ2. Amazon received tens of millions of dollars of free publicity with the ploy. They received vast caches of valuable data given up freely by cities. Yeah, yeah, I know what you’re thinking. How do you know this? Ok, admittedly I don’t have proof that they would have picked these two locations anyway. But anyone with the capacity to see through the hype can spot the con a mile away. If not, I’ve got a NY bridge to sell you. Cheap. You see it connects these two boroughs…oh, never mind. Amazon didn’t become a dominant company by luck. Bezos is clearly a marketing genius with the foresight to see the advantages of changes in technology and buying habits years before most. Amazon has become a behemoth that doesn’t need tax breaks. It can buy some of the smaller cities that were vying for its HQ2. Small businesses and startups struggle to raise funds, get tax breaks, yet Amazon can just belch and cities will line up to give them money. Amazon recently announced they would pay $15 per hour to employees. This was no charity on their part, you can thank Bernie Sanders for putting the pressure on them. Of course, the positive effect of this will be that many other companies will announce better, living wages if only as a PR move. Saathee.com

the Price of Free

The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize to Kailash Satyarthi (along with Malala Yousafzay). Satyarthi has been working for decades to free children held in labor bondage or slavery. He left a career as an electrical engineer and started Bachpan Bachao Andolan (Save the Childhood Movement) to rescue children from the shackles of slavery. In the last nearly four decades, he has rescued more than 87,000 children and built a global movement including the Global March Against Child Labor that demanded an international law on the worst forms of child labor, and the 100 Million Campaign, a youth-driven call to action launched to support young activists to mobilize for the rights of the world’s most marginalized children. Now his work is documented in the gripping new documentary film The Price of Free, directed by Derek Doneen. The film showcases Satyarthi’s team and their raids, where the cameras follow them into “factories” where they locate children who make everything from toys to clothing. Some of the children wind up here after their parents send them to work with “agents” on a temporary basis, but the agents turn out to be traffickers. Poverty and lack of access to education also is part of the web that feeds child labor. He helps parents track down missing children. It’s very emotional to watch as children are reunited with their parents. The film documents many aspects of Satyarthi’s work, from secret raids to his activism and peaceful marches bringing light to the scourge of child labor and trafficking. Child labor is not just a problem in India, it is a global scourge. “This film shows the real scourge of child trafficking, child labor, slavery and exploitation that is ruining the childhood of millions and ruthlessly crushing their dreams,” says Satyarthi. “It shares stories of the most marginalized and vulnerable children that I have been fighting for all my life and will continue to. I call on everyone to work with us in creating a world where all children are free, healthy, safe and educated – a world where every child is free to be a child. For, if any child is not free then none of us are free.” More details about his work and organization can be found at www.satyarthi.org. The Price of Free is now playing on YouTube.

Samir Shukla

Editor of Saathee magazine contact - Samir@Saathee.com

December 2018

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December 2018

But the battle lines are shifting as younger doctors flip their views, a change that will likely assume greater significance as the next generation of physicians takes on leadership roles. The AMA did not make anyone available for comment. Many younger physicians are “accepting of single-payer,” said Dr. Christian Pean, 30, a third-year orthopedic surgery resident at New York University. In prior generations, “intelligent, motivated, quantitative” students pursued medicine, both for the income and because of the workplace independence — running practices with minimal government interference, said Dr. Steven Schroeder, 79, a longtime medical professor at the University of CaliforniaSan Francisco. In his 50 years of teaching, students’ attitudes have changed: “The ‘Oh, keep government out of my work’ feeling is not as strong as it was with maybe older cohorts,” said Schroeder. “Students come in saying, ‘We want to make a difference through social justice. That’s why we’re here.’” Though “single-payer” health care was long dismissed as a left-wing pipe dream, polling suggests a slim majority of Americans now support the idea — though it is not clear people know what the term means. A full single-payer system means everyone gets coverage from the same insurance plan, usually sponsored by the government. Medicare-for-all, a phrase that gained currency with the presidential campaign of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), means everyone gets Medicare, but, depending on the proposal, it may or may not allow private insurers to offer Medicare as well. (Sanders’ plan, which eliminates deductibles and expands benefits, would get rid of private insurers.) Meanwhile, lots of countries achieve universal health care — everyone is covered somehow — but the method can vary. For example, France requires all citizens purchase coverage, which is sold through nonprofits. In Germany, most people get insurance from a government-run “public option,” while others purchase private plans. In England, health care is provided through the tax-funded National Health System.

Once Its Greatest Foes, Some Doctors Are Now Embracing Single-Payer

By Shefali Luthra, khn.org

When the American Medical Association — one of the nation’s most powerful health care groups — met in Chicago this June, its medical student caucus seized an opportunity for change. Though they had tried for years to advance a resolution calling on the organization to drop its decades-long opposition to single-payer health care, this was the ﬁrst time it got a full hearing. The debate grew heated — older physicians warned their pay would decrease, calling younger advocates naïve to single-payer’s consequences. But this time, by the meeting’s end, the AMA’s older members had agreed to at least study the possibility of changing its stance. “We believe health care is a human right, maybe more so than past generations,” said Dr. Brad Zehr, a 29-year-old pathology resident at Ohio State University, who was part of the debate. “There’s a generational shift happening, where we see universal health care as a requirement.” The ins and outs of the AMA’s policymaking may sound like inside baseball. But this year’s youth uprising at the nexus of the medical establishment speaks to a cultural shift in the medical profession, and one with big political implications. Amid Republican attacks on the Aﬀordable Care Act, an increasing number of Democrats — ranging from candidates to established Congress members — are putting forth proposals that would vastly increase the government’s role in running the health system. These include single-payer, Medicare-for-all or an option for anyone to buy in to the Medicare program. At least 70 House Democrats have signed on to the new “Medicare-for-all” caucus. Organized medicine, and previous generations of doctors, had for the most part staunchly opposed to any such plan. The AMA has thwarted public health insurance proposals since the 1930s and long been considered one of the policy’s most powerful opponents. Saathee.com

continued on page 82

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December 2018

Community Events BAPS Charities Health Fair: Morrisville, NC (December 8, 2018)

Join BAPS Chariities for their annual Health Fair on Saturday, December 8, 2018. The event will be at the BAPS Shri Swaminaryan Mandir at 1020 Aviation Pkwy, Morrisville, NC from 9am - 12pm. Get screened for back pain, diabetes, gynecology, orthopedic, eye and dental issues, cholesterol and more. Educational materials will be available during the fair. There will also be free health & health insurance awareness counseling. On December 1, 2018 they will be performing blood testing from 8am to 11:30am with results provided on the day of the Health Fair. All services will be provided at no cost. Register online at www.bapscharities.org/hf18raleigh.

Holiday Parade of Boats: Charleston, SC (December 8, 2018)

CCA Christmas Celebration: Charlotte, NC (December 15, 2018)

The Carolinas Cristian Assembly presents the annual Christmas celebration on Saturday, December 15, 2018 from 6 - 8:30pm at CCA Main campus (New Heaven Community Church) 8823 Albemarle Rd., Charlotte. There will be songs in several Indian languages, a Christmas play, Indian food, kids’ activities and more. The event is free but RSVP is required. Send an email to ccaeventrsvp@gmail.com. For more details about cca, visit www.carolinaschristianassembly.org.

Vailkunta Eka Dasi: Charlotte, NC (December 18, 2018)

Boats adorned with colorful lights will promenade past the viewing docks at the Charleston Maritime Center from 5-8pm on Saturday, December 8, 2018. Guests on shore will ﬁll the air with their favorite holiday carols and feast on the scrumptious tastes of the season. There will also be a raﬄe to win prizes including a boat, dinner packages, and more. This family-friendly event is sure to become a holiday tradition for young and old from near and far. Tickets are $25 per person in advance and $30 per person at the door. Admission for kids 17 and under is $5. See www.charlestonparadeofboats.com for further info and ticket purchasing.

The Hindu Center of Charlotte will be celebrating Vailkunta Eka Dasi on Tuesday, December 18, 2018. The temple will open at 6am with Vailkunta Dwara Aradhana at 7am followed by an opening of Vailkunta Dwara. Evening celebrations will begin at 7pm with Vishnu sahastranama parayanam and at 8:15pm Sayanotsvam & Lalli songs to the Lord. For details contact the Hindu Center priests at 704.535.3440.

Queen City Christmas Expo: Charlotte, NC (December 22, 2018)

The 2018 Queen City Christmas Expo, to be held on Saturday, December 22, 2018 at 1pm, is the perfect holiday experience. Families can take free pictures with Santa Claus, there will be a free toy giveaway for the kids, free gift wrapping, Christmas coloring and word search, ornament decoration and more. Look for vendors, entertainment, crafts, and food to round out this family-friendly free event. It will take place at Carole A. Hoefener Community Center, 610 E. 7 th St., Charlotte. For more details, visit www.charlottecultureguide.com/event/423532/2018-queen-city-christmas-expo.

Candlelight Christmas Eve: Charlotte, NC (December 24, 2018)

Christmas Concert & International Reception: Charlotte (December 9, 2018)

The Calvary Church of Charlotte presents the annual Christmas Concert & International Reception on Sunday, December 9, 2018 beginning at 6pm with concert and 7:30pm reception. Celebrate Christmas with this free event. RSVP by December 5 to srajappan@calvarychurch.com. For more details, visit www.calvarychurch.com /internationalchristmas.

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The Calvary Church of Charlotte presents a Candlelight Christmas Eve on Monday, December 24, 2018 at 4pm, 6pm and 8pm. Join for a special evening of worship and celebration for the community. The church is located at 5801 Pineville-Matthews Rd., Charlotte, NC. Dr. John H. Munro is the senior pastor. For more details call 704.543.1200 or visit www.calvarychurch.com/christmas.

December 2018

outdoor celebration will take place in downtown Columbia, SC starting around 6:30pm with musical entertainment starting around 7pm. For more information, check out www.famouslyhotnewyear.com

First Night Charlotte (December 31, 2018)

Charlotte will host the New Year’s Eve celebrations on Monday, December 31, 2018 in downtown streets and various venues, theaters, and concert halls. The family-friendly event is alcoholfree with tons of activities for kids of all ages starting in the afternoon and leading up to the countdown into the New Year. For more details, visit www.charlottesgotalot.com.

Christmas Town USA: McAdenville, NC (Through December 26, 2018)

Since 1956 the residents of McAdenville, NC have changed their town to Christmas Town USA. over 160 decorated homes, 265 trees and other common areas of town are lit with a vast array of Red, White, and Green lights. Walk or drive through the town between November 30 and December 26, 2018 and see the entire holiday splendor. The experience is free for all ages. For more information, visit www.mcadenville-christmastown.com

Famously Hot New Year: Columbia, SC (December 31, 2018)

The Famously Hot New Year is South Carolina’s largest NYE celebration and will feature a free, full-length concert starring iconic female trio En Vogue, along with the Soda City Brass Band and Little Stranger. This

Saathee.com

First Night Raleigh (December 31, 2018)

The family-friendly New Year’s Eve celebrations, First Night Raleigh, will take place on Monday, December 31, 2018. Ring in the New Year with festivities that fill venues from museum lobbies to church sanctuaries to street corners across more than 20 blocks of downtown Raleigh, offering entertainment for all ages in a safe, alcohol-free setting. Festivities begin with the early afternoon DIY Festival on Bicentennial Plaza and at the NC Museums of History and Natural Sciences. The Evening Celebration comes alive with performances in 30+ downtown Raleigh locations, featuring participatory art installations, drama, magic, music, comedy and dance. The night is capped off with music on the outdoor Main Stage, the famous “Raleigh Acorn” drop, and a spectacular fireworks show. For more details, visit www.firstnightraleigh.com.

December 2018

Community Events Piedmont Winter Fest: Greensboro, NC (Through January 27, 2019)

Bundle up and head to Piedmont Winterfest in downtown Greensboro, taking place at LeBauer Park. Glide down an ice slide and let your kiddos go wild in the snow play box. There’s even an ice rink, which lets you rock those ﬁgure eights. To really show oﬀ your moves though, lace up your skates on Friday and Saturday nights for dance music with synchronized disco lights at the rink. Located at 208 N Davie St. Greensboro, NC. For more details, visit www.piedmontwinterfest.com

season when the train arrives at the North Pole to ﬁnd Santa Claus waiting. Santa will board The Polar Express, greeting each child and presenting them with a special gift as in the story, their own silver sleigh bell. Christmas carols will also be sung on the return trip. This holiday tradition will operate in the evenings between November 9 & December 31, 2018. Prices available for First, Crown, and Coach class seats. Learn more at www.gsmr.com/events/polar-express

Holiday on Ice: Charlotte, NC (Through January 6, 2019)

Winter Wonderland: Charlotte, NC (Through January 7, 2019)

Winter Wonderland is a holiday delight for the whole family, including a 142’ ice rink, holiday lights, décor and music, daily snowfall, hot chocolate, tasty food, and an adult bounce house called Santa’s Pub, complete with a full bar tuned to the latest game. Plus, enjoy Tree Elves, a service that sends real elves to deliver premium Fraser Fir Christmas Trees to your door. Winter Wonderland is located in South Park, nestled between Symphony Park and South Park Mall. It runs through January 7, 2019. For more details, visit www.winterwonderlandsouthpark.com.

Holiday Lights on the River: Columbia, SC (Through December 31, 2018)

Experience the magic as Saluda Shoals Park in Columbia comes alive in a blaze of more than a million sparkling lights. Take a journey through colorful lights and see more than 400 animated light displays of all shapes and sizes. Create lasting family memories this year and every year at Holiday Lights on the River. The lights will be displayed every evening from November 30 to December 31, 2018 between 6-10pm. There will also be special family events including train rides, Winter Wonder Tube Slide, roast marshmallows, and even visit Santa between December 14-23. Admission is $20 per car, $40 per passenger van, and $60 per bus. Visit www.icrc.net/event/holiday-lights-river-49 for more information.

Polar Express Train Ride: Bryson City, NC (thru December 31, 2018)

The 1-1/4-hour round-trip excursion comes to life as the train departs the Bryson City depot for a journey through the quiet wilderness for a special visit to the North Pole. Set to the sounds of the classic motion picture soundtrack, guests on board will enjoy hot chocolate and a treat while listening and reading along with the magical story. Children’s faces show the magic of the

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Uptown Charlotte’s outdoor ice rink returns to the NASCAR Hall of Fame Plaza. Perfect for a date night, a family ice skating session or an outing with friends, Holiday on Ice has become a beloved tradition in Charlotte. Skaters and nonskaters alike will want to have their pictures taken with our giant polar bear, under our 39foot-tall tree or in the Ceremonial Garden decorated with thousands of glimmering holiday lights. Don’t miss holiday-themed merchandise from the ice rink souvenir stand and snacks and hot cocoa from the concessions hut. This festive spot is available from Wednesday to Sunday through December 17 and then all 7 days a week through January 6. Ice Skating is $10. Ice Skating + Skate Rental is $14. Learn more at www.charlottesgotalot.com/events/holidays/holid ay-on-ice

Sankranti / Lohri / Pongal: Charlotte, NC (January 13, 2018)

The Hindu Center of Charlotte will celebrate a Day of Goodwill and Friendship on Sunday, January 13, 2019. Kite ﬂying (weather permitting) will take place from 12 noon to 5pm with Abhishek, Puja with Bhajan, and Shlokas followed by Kari / Bhogi Pallu & Mahaprasad. Fruits, candles, coins and other gifts will be provided by the Hindu Center, so bring your kids! Any questions, contact Nirav Pandya at 570.205.2636. December 2018

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Community Events Uthsaav Triangle Indian Bridal Expo: Durham, NC (January 13, 2019)

Uthsaav Wedding and Event Planners present the Triangle Indian Bridal Expo on Sunday, January 13, 2019 from 1pm-6pm. The event will be held at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel at 4700 Emperor Blvd in Durham. Vendors will be on hand to fulfill whatever you need for the perfect wedding. Fashion shows will be held at 3:15pm & 5:30pm and Raffle Prizes will be available for the first 50 registered Brides. Registration for the event can be found at www.uthsaav.com. Contact uthsaav@gmail.com or vocalists and dancers from around the world, including 919.694.3748 for further details. Charlotte’s own Vadim Kolpakov and his VS Guitar Duo, this show tells the fascinating stories of the Romani people and their Chinese Lantern Festival: Cary, NC remarkable migration from India to Europe. The show is a (Through January 13, 2019) cultural journey created by Blumenthal and VS Guitar Duo in Charlotte. Tickets begin at $24.50. For more details call 704.372.1000 or visit www.blumenthalarts.org.

India Republic Day Celebrations: Charlotte, NC (January 26, 2019)

The Hindu Center of Charlotte presents the annual India Republic Day Celebrations on Saturday, January 26, 2019 at the Gandhi Bhavan. Activities include ﬂag hoisting, singing of national anthems, a cultural show and performances, followed by lunch. For more details call 704.535.3440 or visit www.hcclt.org.

The NC Chinese Lantern Festival will take place at Booth Amphitheatre, 8003 Regency Parkway, Cary, NC through January 13, 2019. See how lanterns are created, watch performances, and participate in children’s activities and more. Tickets are sold for daily festivals held between 6 - 10pm. Food and beverages will be available for purchase. For more details call 800-514-3849 or visit www.BoothAmphitheatre.com.

Charleston Jazz Festival (January 24-27, 2019)

The Charleston Jazz Festival is a special time of year when jazz fans throughout the Southeast ﬂock to Charleston, SC to celebrate the Holy City’s rich jazz heritage and thriving jazz scene. 2019 marks their 5th year with an exciting 4-day program bringing over 100 local, regional and nationally recognized jazz musicians together to share their talent and love of jazz. Music will ﬁll the streets from January 24-27, 2019 at various venues all over town. To learn more including performances schedules and tickets, visit charlestonjazz.com/festival/

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Gypsy Soul: Thousand Year’s Journey: Charlotte, NC (January 25-26, 2019)

Gypsy Soul: A Thousand Year’s Journey will be presented from January 25 - 26 , 2019 at Booth Playhouse at Blumenthal Performing Arts Center, 130 N. Tryon St., Charlotte. Enjoy a mesmerizing musical and dance venture along the Romani (“Gypsy”) Trail at Gypsy Soul – A Thousand Year’s Journey. Featuring a cast of internationally-acclaimed musicians, Saathee.com

December 2018

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Upcoming Movie Releases December 7

December 21

Zero (Director: Anand L Rai) Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Anushka Sharma, Katrina Kaif, and Tigmanshu Dhulia

Bumblebee (Director: Travis Knight) Cast: Hailee Steinfeld, Jason Drucker, Jorge Lendeborg Jr, and John Cena

the accidental Prime Minister (Director: Vijay Ratnakar Gutte) Cast: Anupam Kher, Akshaye Khanna, Arjun Mathur, Aahana Kumra, and Suzanne Bernert

Game over (Director: Ashwin Saravanan) Cast: Taapsee Pannu

Kedarnath (Director: Abhishek Kapoor) Cast: Sushant Singh Rajput and Sara Ali Khan

aquaman (Director: James Wan) Cast: Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Willem Dafoe, Patrick Wilson, and Dolph Lundgren

Mary, Queen of scots (Director: Josie Rourke) Cast: Margot Robbie, Saorise Ronan, Martin Compston, and Jack Lowden

Welcome to Marwen (Director: Robert Zemekis) Cast: Steve Carell, Leslie Mann, Janelle Monae, Gwendoline Christie, and Diane Kruger

December 14

December 25

Mere Pyare Prime Minister (Director: Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra) Cast: Anjali Patil, Makrand Deshpanfda, and Rasika Agashe

on the Basis of sex (Director: Mimi Leder) Cast: Felicity Jones, Armie Hammer, Justin Theroux, Sam Waterston, and Kathy Bates

Mortal engines (Director: Christian Rivers) Cast: Stephen Lang, Robert Sheehan, Hera Hilmar, Ronan Raftery, Jihae Kim, and Hugo Weaving

Holmes & Watson (Director: The Cohen Brothers) Cast: Will Ferrell, John C Reilly, Rob Brydon, Kelly MacDonald, Rebecca Hall, and Ralph Feinnes

the Mule (Director: Clint Eastwood) Cast: Bradley Cooper, Clint Eastwood, Dianne Wiest, Michael Pena, Alison Eastwood, and Laurence Fishburne

Vice (Director: Adam McKay) Cast: Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Amy Adams, Tyler Perry, Sam Rockwell, and Bill Pullman

dosti Ke side eďŹ&#x20AC;ectss (Director: Hadi Ali Abar) Cast: Sapna Choudhary, Vikrant Anand, Zuber K Khan,

destroyer (Director: Karyn Kusama) Cast: Nicole Kidman, Scoot McNairy, Bradley Whitford, Toby Kebbell, Tatiana Maslany, and Sebastian Stan

second act (Director: Peter Segal) Cast: Jennifer Lopez, Leah Remini, Dan Bucatinsky, Vanessa Hudgens, and Milo Ventimiglia

december 28

simmba (Director: Rohit Shetty) Cast: Ranveer Singh, Sara Ali Khan, and Sonu Sood

December 19

stan & ollie (Director: Jon S Baird) Cast: John C Reilly, Steve Coogan, Stephanie Hyam, and Danny Huston

Mary Poppins Returns (Director: David Magee) Cast: Emily Blunt, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ben Wishaw, Emily Mortimer, Colin Firth, Meryl Streep, & Dick Van Dyke Saathee.com

December 2018

Years

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December 2018

Film Clips Mission Mangal

India’s successful mars orbiter mission just celebrated its fifth anniversary. Veteran actor Akshay Kumar is now working to bring the story to the screen in his upcoming film Mission Mangal. The shooting for the film is set to commence this year. Other actors joining the cast include Vidya Balan, Sonakshi Sinha, Taapsee Pannu, Nithya Menen and Sharman Joshi. In early November Kumar tweeted, “Proud and excited to bring the story of India’s Mars Mission, #MissionMangal to you. Coincidentally the mission was launched on this very date, 5th Nov. 2013.” Mission Mangal will be the second collaboration between Akshay Kumar and R Balki after the success of Pad Man. The release date is August 15, 2019.

Anupum Kher Honored as IndiaGlobal Distinguish Fellow at MIT

Kedarnath

The upcoming film Kedarnath tells a Hindu-Muslim love story. Director Abhishek Kapoor directe the main characters portrayed by Sushant Singh Rajput and Sara Ali Khan. The story is about how a Muslim man saves a Hindu tourist during the Uttrakhand floods at the famed pilgrimage, and the love that eventually develops between them. In November, priests of Kedarnath demanded a ban on the film as they believed it promotes love jihad. The film is scheduled for release on December 7.

Saathee.com

The Mule

Clint Eastwood stars in and directs The Mule, which tells the tale of a 90-year-old horticulturist and WWII veteran who is caught transporting $3 million worth of cocaine through Michigan for a Mexican drug cartel. The ensemble cast includes Bradley Cooper, Dianne Wiest, Michael Pena, Alison Eastwood, and Laurence Fishburne. Look for the ﬁlm in theaters worldwide on December 14.

Zero

alleges that Singh was not entirely in control of his cabinet—or even the Prime Minister’s Oﬃce (PMO).

Instead, signiﬁcant power was wielded by the Congress party’s president Sonia Gandhi. The ﬁlm, directed by Vijay Ratnakar Gutte, also stars Akshaye Khanna, Arjun Mathur, Aahana Kumra, and Suzanne Bernert. It opens on December 21.

Simmba Shah Rukh Khan returns in the new film Zero. Born to a wealthy family and raised in an environment of affluence and indulgence, Bauua (Khan) was never failed by Meerut or its people. But when he meets two women (Katrina Kaif, Anushka Sharma), his experiences with these women take him on a journey to complete his “incompleteness” and broaden his horizons to find a purpose he never knew he had. The film is produced by Gauri Khan and directed by Anand L Rai. It begins its run in cinemas on December 21.

The Accidental Prime Minister

The Accidental Prime Minister is the new ﬁlm starring Anupam Kher. It is based on the book “The Accidental Prime Minister: The Making and Unmaking of Manmohan Singh,” a 2014 memoir by Indian policy analyst Sanjaya Baru, who was India’s 14th Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s media advisor from May 2004 to August 2008. The book 28

Director Rohit Shetty’s next project is Simmba, starring Ranveer Singh and Sara Ali Khan in lead roles. The ﬁlm, produced by Karan Johar, is a remake of 2015 Telugu ﬁlm Temper. The movie opens on December 28, few weeks after Singh ties the knot in real life with his longtime girlfriend Deepika Padukone.

Stan & Ollie

Laurel and Hardy, the world’s most famous comedy duo, attempt to reignite their ﬁlm careers as they embark on what becomes their swan song - a grueling theatre tour of post-war Britain. Stan & Ollie is directed by Jon S Baird and stars John C Reilly, Steve Coogan, Stephanie Hyam, and Danny Huston. Look for it in theaters on December 28. December 2018

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December 2018

RAAJEEV’S CORNER Equally oﬀensive to all

By Raajeev Aggerwhil

european Memoirs

It is funny how the mind works, or how the Bania mind works. My family visited London, Paris and Rome a couple of years back around Christmas. There are primarily three things that first come to mind about Paris; the Eiffel Tower, the Palace of Versailles and our hotel there. I had been worried about the lodging expenses in Paris because we had to book two rooms for five days. Using tools like Priceline, Hotwire, Trip Advisor, Cheap Tickets, and Hotels.com, I was not only able to research on the surrounding neighborhoods, I was able to get a 4-star hotel for $55 a night in the La Defense area, only 20 minutes away from the Champs-Elysees. That was definitely a highlight of our trip. The stay in London was not too bad either. We ended up paying close to $120 a night. I Another reason could be was feeling guilty that maybe that the British did so I paid too much but the rest many bad things in other of the family wanted to stay in Central London and I countries that they are wanted to keep them happy. inherently insecure. It was only for two days. Also, considering it was the day before Christmas, it was still a really good deal. What made me feel even better was that the sign on the door said the maximum rate was $520. Granted those rates are the maximum rate they can charge but seeing those figures certainly elevated my mood after paying a seemingly exorbitant amount. My eldest son is a filmmaker and he had stayed in London for a few months. We met some of his friends. One of the interesting things I noticed was that instead of saying, “Hello, how are you?” most people greeted each other with, “Are you alright?” I think the reason is that Indian food is so common there but the British haven’t gotten used to the spices yet, so they keep asking, “Are you alright?” Another reason could be that the British did so many bad things in other countries that they are inherently insecure. To make matters scarier for them, there are so many ethnic people there: men walking around with long beards, women wearing burkas or hijabs and the rest of the population wearing grumpy faces. The native Brits are genuinely afraid so they keep asking each other “Are you alright?” On a more serious note, we were able to save another $125 on one of the tourist attractions –Westminster Abbey. It was Christmas Eve and we had no other plans so we decided to Saathee.com

stand in line to attend mass. You might view it as a desperate attempt by a bunch of Hindus to avoid going to hell. It was not. It was a desperate attempt to see some tourist sites for free. Having learned this valuable lesson in London, we were able to replicate our divine experience in Paris. We stood in line to attend New Year’s Eve mass at the famous Church of Notre Dame and enjoyed its magnificence for free. I had heard some horror stories from friends that they had their wallet and passport stolen on their European trip so we were extra careful. We left our passports at the hotel, emptied the contents of the wallet and left it in the locker in the room. I had carried an extra wallet for this trip. I decided to put my regular wallet with a couple of credit cards and enough cash for a day in my front pocket. Just for fun and to test out the finesse of the pick pockets of London, Paris and Rome, I walked with my empty wallet dangling out from my back pocket. No takers. I was so disappointed! Earlier this year, my wife and I made a quick trip to Barcelona. We had never been there and it was a lot of fun. The narrow streets of Barcelona reminded me of the streets of Old Delhi, except they were cleaner and had no cows. On the second day, we took the metro from the La Rambla area where we were staying to La Sagrada Familia, Antoni Gaudi’s renowned unfinished church. Just before our stop, I noticed a young gentleman with a moustache who reminded me of my brother in his younger days. I told my wife to take my picture with him in the background. After we got out of the metro, when I felt my back pocket, I realized that my wallet had been stolen. It definitely was my brother look-alike who must have inferred that we were tourists. It was my real wallet with my driver’s license, credit cards and cash. I had no one else to blame but myself. It was stupid to pose for a picture in a metro considering the excellent track record of pickpockets of Barcelona. I had also become complacent from my last “uneventful” European trip that I did not bother to bring a fake wallet this time. I didn’t even take the precaution of putting my real wallet in my front pocket. The only consolation I had was that I had the wisdom of emptying the contents and leaving only a couple of credit cards, driver’s license and about 50 euros. It was a loss but it could have been a lot worst had it not been due to my ingrained habits of being a Bania.

continued on page 82

Raajeev Aggerwhil

LA-based comedian Raajeev Aggerwhil has starred in Nickelodeon’s TV show 100 Things to Do Before High School and also acted in the ﬁlm based on the television series. Follow him on Instagram and Twitter @raajeevcomedy December 2018

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December 2018

Mirror, Mirror

A Conversation From the Outside Looking in... By Jennifer Allen

Being “diﬀerent” is My superpower

“America is made of diﬀerent races and diﬀerent religions, but we’re all co-travelers on the spaceship Earth and must respect and help each other along the way.” ~ Stan Lee

On November 12, 2018 many people in the world were suddenly sitting in silence. While the day was an observed celebration and remembrance of Veterans, it was also the day that we all learned that Stan Lee, one of the co-founders of Marvel Comics and co-creator of so many memorable comic book characters… had died at the age of 95. Even to those who are not comic book fans, his name is fairly well known. For many years he was as well-known with the Marvel brand as Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four and many other characters. When you saw something from Marvel Comics, Stan “The Man” Lee was always involved in one form or another. He was the face of comic books, and he enjoyed every moment of it. My husband and I were fortunate enough to see Mr. Lee at DragonCon in 2017. Before he came out we were told by the Emcee not to talk about his wife (they were married for an astonishing 69 years) since her passing had only been a few months earlier. Luckily everyone at the panel understood and was Stan Lee helped create respectful with the questions ranging from what inspired superheroes that were him to start doing comic flawed.They had problems books to how much he just like us. enjoyed doing the movie cameos. We could tell when he was on stage that her passing was still on his mind, but he loved the fans almost as much as he loved her… and we all appreciated seeing him. Sadly we all didn’t realize that this would be one of his very last convention appearances. His cameo appearances in movies actually started as far back as 1989, but he’d been doing voiceover narration in the 1980’s with Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends. Over time, and as the Marvel movies began to gain popularity, it became a game of “Find Stan Lee” in each new release. He’s not in every Marvel film, surprisingly. To date 15 films including the Fantastic Four and Blade films did not have a Stan Lee Moment. Due to his age, Disney was filming many of his cameos far in advance of the movie release, so the films coming out in 2019 will offer us all more moments from him to make us smile. But let’s back up and go over why Stan Lee was so special and became a Geek Icon. In the 1930’s and 40’s there were only a few comic book titles (or “funny books” as they were called back then) out there. You had Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Shazam, and pre-Marvel Captain America. Stanley Lieber started out as an intern with Timely Comics in 1939 when he was only 17. Over the years at Timely he went from cleaning inkwells and sharpening pencils to writing filler pages. Finally in 1941, Joe Simon and Jack Kirby left Timely as coeditors, and a 19 year-old Stanley (now using the pen name, “Stan Lee”) was made a temporary editor to fill the void. Saathee.com

From 1942 to 1945, Lee would serve in the US Army’s Signal Corps during World War II and then in the Training division where he wrote manuals and drew the occasional cartoon strip. Officially he was classified as a “playwright” while in the Service. Obviously he did so much more than that, but “inspirational artist” isn’t something you’d say about an Army Man in those days. By the early 1950’s, superhero comics had hit a huge slump. They were originally written to inspire soldiers during the War, but now that all those soldiers were back home, heroes like Captain America and Superman had a much smaller audience. Stan was actually to the point of leaving his editor position at Timely (which eventually became Atlas comics and later he cocreated Marvel). But because DC Comics was determined to revive superheroes, and Lee’s boss, Martin Goodman, wanted to take advantage of what their competition DC was doing. Goodman told Lee to create a new superhero team, and Lee’s wife Joan told him to write these new characters the way he wanted. Soon after, the Fantastic Four was born and he (with co-creators such as Jack Kirby, Bill Everett, Steve Ditko, and John Romita, Sr) brought the world such memorable characters as Hulk, Daredevil, Iron Man, Black Panther, Spider-Man, and the X-Men. So what did Stan Lee precisely do to make his comics so iconic? He was the first to include a “Dear Editor” page in each comic. He was the first to credit not only the writer and artist on the credit page, but also inker and letterer. He created “Stan’s Soapbox” where he would write a short commentary about either the story in the book, or something going on in the current world climate. Most importantly, Lee helped create superheroes that were flawed. They had problems just like us. Iron Man became an alcoholic. Spider-Man was evicted from his home. Many characters like members of the X-Men were so physically different that they couldn’t ever go out in public. Others like The Hulk had powers that came at great cost. Marvel also had the first LBGTQ characters in comics. In the 1960’s, Marvel heroes were there to personify how it feels to be “different” in a society that cannot accept it. continued on page 82

Jennifer Allen

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December 2018

Namaskar Y’all

Reﬂections and a few confessions as an Indian American in the Carolinas

perceived as “less than normal.” In the Hindi movie, Hichki, Rani Mukherjee played the protagonist with Tourette Syndrome, and while it wasn’t stellar cinema, I genuinely applaud the attempt to throw some light at her situation and voice her thoughts. Dear Zindagi, another refreshingly different film with popular actors portrayed the therapist – client relationship fairly well. And that is coming from a former counselor herself. When I was practicing as a counselor, people had a hard time fathoming what I did. Worse, they had all kinds of misconceptions about why people chose to see a therapist. Movies do have some power to influence social change, after all charisma has won actors votes and political positions. Even if it cannot change the world, I hope cinema exerts a gentle nudge in the right direction. One area that the United States has worked hard at is attempting to even the playing field, so to speak. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) was introduced to “ensure that people with disabilities have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else. The ADA guarantees this for people with disabilities in all aspects of everyday life — from employment opportunities, to being able to purchase goods and services, to participating in state and local governments’ programs and services.” (Source: www.dol.gov). One outcome of this is building codes that outline accommodations for wheelchair access. Even the county inspector, who came to assess our sunroom, seemed satisfied with everything but turned up his nose at the steps outside. He asked us to install handrails so that an elderly or disabled person can get support. If this had been a few years back, I would have rolled my eyes and thought that he was being overly concerned, but now I know that if my mother visits, she will not only appreciate but will need those handrails. Placing your own needs ahead of others is definitely acceptable and often a requirement for mental health. For instance, parents of a newborn have to set aside time to eat and rest even though the infant’s needs take priority. I like to think of it this way, we are unique in our own way and sometimes because of it we may feel left out or forgotten or ignored. Ever been to a party where there was no vegetarian food or where everyone spoke in their native tongue and you were standing there clueless? Wouldn’t you have liked your hostess to have thought about it? As a polite guest you may not complain but you would probably decline their next invitation. I sincerely believe that it pays to be thoughtful and step into someone else’s shoes. My Christmas Wish for this year is to hope for a worldwide culture that is not about staring but about being supportive. It is a world in which people are not only borrowing music and fashion trends from each other but are also adopting some of the best practices for accommodating dis…no, different abilities.

By Shyama Parui

a Christmas Wish

You walk into a store, heads turn and for a few seconds you have everybody’s attention; but that is the last thing you want because those seconds feel like minutes. It is as embarrassing as walking into a public restroom of the opposite sex. Yet, there are individuals who have to face such stares on an everyday basis due to a characteristic that makes them “different.” Take age for example. We are all slowly aging regardless of the number of candles on our birthday cake. Yet, aging is often harder than it needs to be. This sad realization came to me when I spent time in India this past summer. My mother, who is now an octogenarian, is not as strong as she once was. Walking is not as easy as it used to be, balance is a challenge, and her faith in herself is dwindling. She needed assistance. I was pleasantly surprised that the Society (similar to the HOA in the US) provided a wheelchair to residents of her building, who needed it on occasion. When I set out to take my mother to the car using the wheelchair, we experienced several bumps along the way. From raised thresholds, to uneven transitions from the floor to elevator, to the lack of ramps, having a wheelchair only solves part of the problem. Where I found ramps, such as a hotel or a different residential Placing your own needs building, it was too narrow ahead of others is definitely and steep to safely manage a wheelchair up or down. acceptable and often a Mobility is merely one issue. requirement for mental An elderly person’s need for health. peace and quiet is forgotten every time a festival is celebrated in Mumbai. From dawn to dusk, loudspeakers blast off music. Not to mention the noise from traffic that is unavoidable. The incessant honking on the other hand is completely avoidable. Shouldn’t festivals be a pleasant experience for all? None of us can escape aging. We can choose to embrace it or deny the possibility that our feet won’t be able to bear much weight and our arms will be weaker. What is our normal today may not be normal tomorrow. So, creating an environment that helps the geriatric population will ultimately benefit the young. In general, I feel like there is an improvement of accepting children with challenges in the field of learning or academic performance. I distinctly remember one of my classmates in elementary school, who stood out as different, odd and unfortunately the target of ridicule. As a six or seven-year old bystander, I was completely ignorant about what to do. Having a sibling with special needs had made me empathetic from a young age with others, particularly with the pain a person with developmental challenges experienced and the consequences that affected their family. It was also a time when there was less awareness about special education. School was the same for everyone and if you couldn’t cope, too bad. There are educators who are of the belief that learning disability is merely a teaching disability. Most people though are unaware or just indifferent to the perspective of the ones Saathee.com

Shyama Parui

Shyama is a long time North Carolina resident and an ardent writer. You can reach her at: shyamashree_parui@hotmail.com

December 2018

Insurance Shopping

Second Location Now Open in North Charlotte / University area

Accounting, Payroll & Taxes

SONAL PATEL

• Federal, State Income Taxes • ITIN Applications

• IRS Audit Representation

AUTO

• IRS back taxes

COMMERCIAL

HOME

HEALTH & LIFE

Sonal Patel - Independent Agent

• Business Accounting and Book Keeping

CERTIFIED SPECIALIST FOR MEDICARE BENEFITS Enrollment Period for marketplace: from 11-1-18 to 12-15-18

• Paroll Services

• New Business Set-Up

For the best coverage for all your insurance needs, call Sonal TODAY!

New to Medicare or Looking for answers? Please call Sonal at 704-733-8216 Educational Meeting or Appointments.

704-733-8216 Timetorise1213@gmail.com Sonal.Insuranceshopping@gmail.com

www.Insuranceshopping.co

REPRESENTING MOST MAJOR CARRIERS.

Neetu Singh Realty Group Licensed in NC/SC

Neetu Singh

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December 2018

INDIA GROCERS Where Quality Meets Value. Low Prices Every Day!

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2nd Location

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We Accept EBT Cards & All Major Credit Cards (Including American Express) Like us on Facebook at India Grocers Charlotte

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December 2018

Sangeet

Popular Music of India

Contemporary Film lyrics (1990 - current)

By Kirit Shukla

evergreen Classic Film lyrics: oldies (1940 - 1990)

sat Guru nanak pragat yā Theme: A Traditional Gujarat Garba and Raas song

ek vo bhi diwali thi Theme: Gita Jayanti (December 19, 2018)

Raas is one of the most popular group dances performed in weddings, receptions, parties and of course Navaratri. A portion In the film the song is sung by Sulakshanā Pandit, who received of this movie was filmed in Vadodara, Gujarat. a Filmfare award for best female playback singer in 1975. The lyrics says: You (God) are the ocean and beach; who’s support Song: Chogālā tārā, chhabilā tārā, rangilā tārā... are you looking for? It has the universal message from Shrimad Film: Loveyatri Bhagavat Gita: “The Karma is your own right, not its fruits.” Year: 2018 Just do the work. These words have been much discussed over Music: Shantanu Moitrā, Amāl Mallik the years by scholars. They denote a simple outlook and way Singers: Darshan Rāval, Asis Kaur Lyricist: Darshan Rāval of life. Tāl/Rhythm: Traditional Garba Thekā Starring: Aayush Sharma and Warina Hussain Song: Tu hi sāgar ... Film: Sankalp (Determination) lyrics in english: Year: 1974 Ho.. ho āwi gai rāt, pana bhulo badhi vāt Music: Khayyam and Mohammad Rafi Premani ā mausam chhe, ab āo mere pās Rah jāo mere sāth, premani ā mausam chhe Singer: Sulakshanā Pandit, Vinod Sharma Mil jāye mujhko agar sāth terā Lyricist: : Kaifi Azmi To bhulun main sārā jahān Based on Indian Classical Rāgā: Mishra Ahir Bhairav Chhogālā tārā, chhabilā tārā, rangilā tārā lyrics in english: Rangbheru jue tari vāt re, hān Tu hi sāgar, tu hi sāgar hai tu hi kinārāDhundhatā hai tu Chhogala tārā, oye chhabila tārā, oye rangila tārā kisakā sahārā, dhundhatā hai tu kisakā sahārā Rangbheru juve tāri vāt re, chhup chhup ke tumhe Usakā sāyā hai tu, usakā darpan Dekhā main karun, sāri sāri rāt, sāri sāri rāt Tere sine men hai usaki dhadakan, teri ānkhon men usakā Chhup chhup ke mujhe dekhā tu kare, sāri sāri rāt, ishārā,Dhundhatā hai tu kisakā sahārā, -2 Sāri sāri rāt, mil jāye mujhko agar sāth terā, To bhulun main sārā jahān, chhogālā tārā, [A verse from Shrimad Bhagavat Gita] Chhabila tārā, rangilā tārā, rangbheru jue tāri vāt re. Ha “karmanyevādhikāraste mā phaleshu kadāchanamā Chhogālā tārā, oye chhabila tārā, rangilā tārā, karmaphalahetuh bhuh mā te sangoastvakarmani” Rangbheru jue tāri vāt re Pāpa kyā punya hai kyā yah bhulā deKarma kar, phal ki chintā mitā de-2, ye parikshā na hogi dubārā-2, lyrics in Hindi: Dhundhatā hai tu kisakā sahārā, Tu hi sāgar, tu hi sāgar hai tu hi kinārā Dhundhatā hai tu kisakā sahārā, dhundhatā hai tu kisakā sahārā.

lyrics in Hindi:

Kirit Shukla

Contact him at kiritsshukla@hotmail.com

Saathee.com

December 2018

Flexible Banquet & Meeting Space

9500+ SF of Flexible Banquet & Meeting Space Complimentary Parking Downtown location with over 20 restaurants/shops within walking distance Group blocks available; 156 Guest rooms, Complimentary Hot Breakfast & Wiﬁ, Outdoor Seasonal Pool South Indian, North Indian & Gujarati Catering Options Available

Wishing You a Very Merry Christmas! • Home Insurance • Auto Insurance • Landlord/Condo insurance • Rental Insurance • Umbrella policy

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December 2018

Youth Corner Word World

3. What are the alphabet letters not used in the Territories and Provinces’ names of Canada? (a) W, X, Y, Z (b) G, H, I, J (c) G, J, X, Z (d) Q, J, X, Z

Make words using 4 or more letters. The central letter must be used in each word. Letters cannot be used more than once per word. Use all letters for the subject word (underlined in solutions below) 10 + = Excellent; 6 to 9 words = Good; 5 or less = keep looking. Words we found are in solutions below.

4. In car racing, which is the fastest? (a) Formula-1 (b) Formula-2 (c) Formula-3 (d) Formula-4

never stop learning

5. This country was first to broadcast TV (a) Britain (b) Russia (c) Japan (d) USA

Learning is like a friend, a hidden treasure and advantageous, too. Learning is like an endless well, yielding sustaining water in all seasons. A learned man or woman is honored by people everywhere. Learning is retained via continuously putting that knowledge into practice. It takes an open mind, willingness to learn skills that ﬁt one’s abilities and mental capacity. Mechanical as well as analytical skills require hard work and perseverance. Arts, crafts, math, science, all are open to those who want to learn and develop skills. Think about what you like and you will do better at learning those subjects. Learn more and earn more, not just money but prestige and respect. Be a student for life. The most important advantages of learning are: you can mentor others and invent something like the computer chip, which will be useful to the entire world and future generations. At the age of eighty, I still learn something new everyday. Now, what are you waiting for? Start and Never Stop Learning.

7. The “Laughing Gas” is (a) Nitrous Oxide (b) Nitric Oxide (c) Nitrogen (d) Ammonia

8. The land area of India is about (in. Sq. miles) (a) 1.00 x10⁶ (b) 1.80 x 10⁶ (c) 2.00 x10⁶ (d) 1.27 x 10⁶

9. Vande Mataram, patriotic song was penned by (a) M.K. Gandhi (b) Bankimchandra (c) Subhas Bose (d) Rabindranath Tagore.

10. The fastest fish in the world is (a) Swordfish (b) Blue Shark (c) Tarpon (d) Sailfish

dadaji’s moral short stories

There was a big celebration of Eid in the city of Medina. Many children were holding the hands of their parents and going to the carnival. One boy was standing by the roadside, looking at all those children and crying. No one was looking at him. One man saw him and asked with love, “Son. Why are you crying?” The boy: “I want to go to the carnival, but I don’t have anybody. I don’t know whose hand I can hold to go there.” The kind man told him: “Hold my ﬁnger. From today, you are my son and I am your father.” The boy held his ﬁnger, and they both went to the carnival. Do you know who the kind man was? The kind man was Prophet Muhammad, the founder of Islam .

Answers are below. No Peeking.

Scholar: All correct; 1st Class: 9 Correct; 2nd Class: 8 Correct; 3rd Class: 7 Correct; Need to improve: 6 or less

4.a

Moral: A kind person always helps the helpless. Be kind.

Saathee.com

Word World (Solution): ENVY, EVENT, NEVE, SEEN, SENT, SENTY, SEVEN, SEVENTY, SYNE, TEEN, TEENY, TENSE, VENT, VEST

2. The music directors of 2018 Hindi film Loveyatri. (a) Sachin, Jigar (b) Vishal, Shekhar (c) Shankar, Ehsan, Loy (d) Shantanu Moitrā, Amāl Mallik

3.c 10.c

2.d 9.b

1. Arrange these cities of Tamil Nadu States of India from North to South. (a) Kanyakumari (b) Chennai (c) Madurai (d) Pondicherry

Scholar Answers: 1.b, d, c, a. 5.a 6.b 7.a 8.d

By Kirit Shukla

Who wants to be a scholar?!

Answer the ones you know and research to answer the rest. There is only one correct answer.

December 2018

Customized Elegant Stage Designs Wedding, Mandap, and Mehndi Decorations

Event Decor by Ghazala

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Versha anand Realty

Helping you find the property of your dreams!

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LAND FOR SALE

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Mohan Daggubati

Versha Anand

NC Broker/Realtor®

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Broker in Charge NC/SC Broker/Realtor®

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I 1725 Candlewood Ridge Ln, Matthews, NC 28105 47

December 2018

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smita Parekh

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anupam Patel 856.266.7664

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sisir Penugonda

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December 2018

Spot the Differences See if you can spot the 10 diďŹ&#x20AC;erences between the original photo on top and modiďŹ ed one on bottom. Answers are on pg 120.

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December 2018

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For your convenience we accept FSA & HSA Payments

College Admissions Insider By Kristen Moon

money is doled out on a “first come, first serve” system, so if you wait too long, it could be gone. Many organizations that give out financial aid tend to have tighter deadlines, so if you file by December, you have a better chance of getting more significant scholarships from various foundations, agencies, or schools. Some state agencies have winter deadlines, so check the FAFSA deadline list found on the US Department of Education (studentaid.ed.gov/sa/fafsa#deadlines).

5 Mistakes to avoid on the FaFsa

Regardless of your financial level, if you are planning on going to college, you should be filling the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). FAFSA opened their application on October 1st, and if you haven’t done it yet, make this your top priority. It can be a tedious and intimidating process, but don’t put it off! To make sure you are getting all the financial leaving out schools aid possible, here are five FAFSA pitfalls you should avoid. If you have started to fill out the FAFSA form, you might have noticed that you can only add 10 schools on the not Completing the FaFsa application. Once you have received your Student Aid Report The biggest mistake you (SAR), you can send all the information to more schools. It is can make is skipping the important to note that any school codes you add will replace FAFSA altogether. Some one of the school codes already listed. Once you make that students might think that change, any college removed from the list does not have FAFSA is only there for automatic access to any new information you provide after you students with pressing removed that college. Your information will not be deleted from financial needs, but that the college’s system. isn’t true. While income is one of the factors used Giving up to determine the amount The application process can be long and difficult for those of aid you receive, the who are filing for the first time. Completing the FAFSA can number of children in a have an impact on whether or not you stay enrolled in college. family and how many According to the NCAN, high school graduates who file the are enrolled in college at FAFSA are 63 percent more likely to enroll in college than the same time is also graduates who don’t fill it out. considered. According to a survey Spend a weekend dedicated to completing the FAFSA to done by the National make college more affordable, and pave your path to college. College Access Network, only 61 percent of high school students file a FAFSA. That number is even less with lowincome students. That Kristen Moon means that more than $24 is an independent college counselor and founder billion in state, federal, of MoonPrep.com. She specializes in Ivy League, and institutional aid is BS/MD Programs, and International Students. going unused. By She works with students 9-12th grade. spending a few hours kristen@moonprep.com filling out the FAFSA, you can help make college more affordable.

Completing the Wrong Form The official FAFSA website is fafsa.gov. You should never have to pay or put in credit card details on the official government site. In addition, make sure you are completing the form for the correct year. Even if you are currently enrolled in high school for the 2018-2019 school year, make sure you are selecting the form for the 2019-2020 year. Otherwise, you won’t qualify for financial aid, regardless of whether or not you filled out everything correctly.

Waiting too long By not acting now, you could be missing out on aid from organizations that give out scholarships. Many times, the Saathee.com

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test Your

Knowledge

India’s third most followed religion.

Roman Catholicism was introduced to India in 16th Century by __ , ___, and ___ Jesuits.

Which three Indian states have Christianity as the predominant religion?

Christianity in India harks back to the arrival of _____ in Kerala in 52 C.E.

The largest cathedral church in India ____ .

The smallest percentage of India’s Christians are in this state.

He coined the famous Indian independence phrase “Swaraj is my birthright.”

She was Olympic bronze medalist in 2012 Summer Olympics and subject of a Bollywood film.

According to the 2011 census, the number of Christians in India.

Answers: 1. Christianity 2. Portuguese, Italian, Irish 3. Saint Thomas 4. Nagaland, Mizoram, Meghalaya 5. Medak Cathedral in Telangana 6. Bihar 7. Joseph Baptista 8. Mary Kom 9. 28 million

pen Now O

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December 2018

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December 2018

Mastering Meaning Harnessing the Power of American English By Judith L. Bergman

Repeat very slowly, practicing “shrinking the last syllable by omitting the vowel: button (BuTTn), curtain (CURTTn), cotton (COTTn), rotten (ROTTn), eaten (EATn). After you can say these words slowly and accurately, try repeating these words that add a ﬁnal sound AFTER the /n/: important (imPORTnnt), sentence (SENTnns).

“We don’t know what we don’t know about pronouncing words in a second language. Equally surprising is that even native speakers use correct pronunciation rules unconsciously because these were learned by “absorption” or immersion in the native language when they were children. This month I will be sharing a very valuable copyrighted handout that I developed some years ago.1 My clients receive this along with a sound ﬁle to help them learn how to correctly pronounce the four American “t” sounds along with the rules governing the variations.

suggested strategies to polish your pronunciation of american english this month: To receive the exact sound ﬁle that my clients get to practice with this handout, please send me an email and then try listening to the sound ﬁle and practicing using the material in this article.

In this sentence, T” is pronounced four diﬀerent ways depending upon where it is in a word: “I’m certain that the photagrapher is coming to take our PHOtagraphs.” Rule #1 When “T” is at the beginning of a word or in the stressed (strong) syllable, it is the familiar plosive, or popped, breathy and voiceless sound: to, take and in the stressed syllable in photagrapher. Repeat: to, take, ten, tender, takeout, teamwork, toothpick, townhouse attack, attempt, atomic, Italian, anticipate, intelligent, criteria, particular

References: Triangle Speech Services enhanced materials (c) Judith L. Bergman used with the PESL (Pronouncing English as a Second Language) accent modiﬁcation program.

Judith L. Bergman M.A CCC

is a speech-language pathologist and corporate speech trainer who owns Triangle Speech Services and specializes in foreign accent modiﬁcation. Her book, Mastering Meaning: Harnessing the Power of American English, is now available at lulu.com and amazon.com. Contact her at www.trianglespeech.com or bergmanj783@gmail.com or 919-489-5464.

Rule #2 If “T” is in the middle of a word, unstressed and between two vowels OR at the end of a word in a sentence when the next word starts with a vowel, “T” is pronounced with a light tap of the tongue tip, called a “flap d” but with much less pressure than a /d/ sound. We will show this “flap d” as in Longman’s Dictionary by a t in italics, PHOtagraphs. Note that it doesn’t matter if there are two “t’s” in the spelling. What matters is that the /t/ sound has to be in the unstressed syllable and between two vowel sounds. Repeat: atom, attic, butter, city, cutting, daughter, duty, letter, getting Italy, article, United, potato, elevator, operator, diameter In a phrase or sentence followed by a word that starts with a vowel, the flap t links to the next word. “Yes itis.” Repeat: Yes, it is. At a glance. The hat is on the table. He bought a new car.

Rule #3 At the end of a word, as in “that” the “T” is not popped or released. Called the “unreleased T” the tongue tip touches the roof of the mouth or palate just behind the front teeth, cutting off the vowel sound before it. Non-native speakers have to train their ears to notice this difference. Notice the difference in the length of “ee” and “oo” in these sets of words: “he” vs. “heat” and “too” vs. “toot” Repeat: at, ate, it, hit, hot, fought, beat, late, what Repeat these phrases with an unreleased t: at the beach, ate dinner, hot coffee

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Rule #4 The “glottic T” is an unstressed “T” followed by an /n/ sound. The “t” is not released AND the vowel following the “t” is NOT pronounced. Instead you must “freeze” and hold the /t/ and then change the sound to /n/ without moving your tongue. You just push and will feel a “catch” in your throat. Practice changing the last syllable by omitting the vowel. So “certain” should sound like “CERTnnn.” Saathee.com

December 2018

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December 2018

Dances of India By Dr. Maha Gingrich

the essence of Navarasa

One of the specialties of classical dances is its ability to tell stories using Abhinaya or expression/mood. In the last few years I have noticed in most of the recitals, the importance is placed on the speed, glamor, costumes, lights, and the uniformity of the dancers. The most diﬃcult part of learning classical dances is to master the Abhinaya. In the past, many years were spent by dancers mastering this skill Dr. Gingrich's student Ana Bristol, using their eyes, eyebrows, photo by RP Video & Photo. lips, in short, all muscles in their face connecting them to their soul. The dancer lives the character, drawing the audiences to a deeper level of psychological partnership creating a journey into the dancer’s own world. In order to achieve this deeper level of partnership, classical dances use Navarasa, the nine basic essences of emotions. Indian classical dance forms like Bharatha Natyam, Kathak, Kuchipudi, Odissi, Manipuri, Kudiyattam, Kathakali and others, place a very high priority on learning to tell a story using these emotions. It is important to note that according to the dance styles, these emotions are portrayed in either exaggerated ways or in extremely subtle ways. For example, due to the large costumes and makeup, these expressions are much more elaborate in Kathakali. On the other hand, Kathak uses very subtle facial expressions. Bharatha Natyam and Kuchipudi dance styles express as we do in our daily lives. Expressing Rasa in classical Indian dance form is referred to as Rasa-abhinaya. The Nātyasāstra, a book on dramaturgy, carefully delineates the bhavas used to create each rasa.

The names of the Navarasa/nine emotions are: Ringara (love), Hasyam (comic), Karunam (pathetic), Raudram (furious/anger), Viram (heroic), Bhayanakam (fear), Bibhatsam (disgust), Adbhutham (wonder), and Shantam (tranquility/peace). There is a shloka or prayer on Lord Rama in the Sanskrit language that describes all the nine Rasas.

Shringãram kshithinandiniiviharane viiram dhanurbhanjane Kãrunyam hanumantham adbhutharasam sindhau girisdhãpane Hãsyam shuurppanakhãmukhe bhayamakhe biibhatsamanyãmukhe Raudram rãvanamarddane munijane sãntham param pãthunah

In Adhbuta, as he looks at the bridge of stones across the ocean; In Hasya, as he watches Surpanakha; In Bhayanaka and Bibhatsa, as he gazes upon others, except Sita; In Raudra, as he kills Ravana; In Shanta as he sees the Sages; May, He, Lord Rama, protect us !” All the Navarasas provide scope for presentation. However, it is the Shringara Rasa in its manifestations provides maximum subject matter for choreographing the dance. For instance, songs, which define the Ashtanayika (eight heroines) theme, have their basis as the Shringara (love) Rasa. It is imperative at this stage to understand that the emotion of love or the Shringara Rasa when depicted in dance; it has a deeper philosophical and metaphysical intent. There is an inherent religious symbolism contained while presenting the Shringara Rasa. Indian dance has always been regarded as a medium of worship - an offering to the God. It is the search of human soul (Atman) for the Supreme and its desire to unite with the Ultimate (Brahma). The Bhakti Rasa or the feeling of devotion ought to underline any presentation of Shringara Rasa. It ought to be a case of “AntarBhakti-BahirShingara” (internal devotion in the external manifestation of love) wherein the love depicted is not the earthy physical emotion but the sublime longing of the soul for Union with the Lord. Therefore, as we understand the Shringara Rasa a little more, let me describe the eight heroines and their specific characteristics. This particular dance, Ashtanayika used to be very popular. However, as long dances started to lose their popularity, these dances are being performed as individual dances.

The eight Nayakis or heroines are: Abhisarika: yearning for her lover, goes out to meet him, For Example, Radha; Kalahantarita: separated due to a quarrel, like Satya Bhama; Khandita: broken hearted; Prositapriya: whose lover or husband lives abroad; Svadhinabhartrka: whose husband is charmed of her and stays with her; Vassakasajja: dressed up for union, used a lot in Kathak; Vipralabda: the deceived; Virohitkhantita: distressed by separation.

In Bharatha Natyam, Kuchipudi and Kathak dances like Varnams, Javalis, and Tumris speak of such characteristics in the heroines. I know all these names and their characteristics are hard to memorize. However, it is good to understand the importance of these roles and the pre-deﬁned regulations of Natya Shastra when we choreograph dances. Accordingly, we can actually try to live the character we play and feel all the emotions of the characters we depict.

Meaning of the shloka is: “He whose body is in the sentiment of Shringara as he moves with Sita; In Vira, as he breaks the mighty bow; In Karuna, as he protects the crow;

Saathee.com

Dr. Maha Gingrich

For questions or comments contact via e-mail at: Gingrichmaha@gmail.com

December 2018

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December 2018

Thinking About Thinking By Balaji Prasad

swing slow, sweet Harried nut “Wisely and slow. They stumble that run fast.” ~William Shakespeare

The line between sanity and insanity is a thin one. It is not always obvious that this is so. But if we take the time to pause, observe and do some comparison, the line of lunacy comes into full, glorious view. Just look at the talking heads on television, or the rantings of people who labor under the delusion that they are “journalists” as they weigh in on political matters. Now go back in time. Play some clips from the past. There is a difference, and it is stark. Somehow, people seem much more comfortable letting their lunacy shine through. We see this on social media too – on Facebook, Twitter and other spaces. But it is all for the best. Is it not better to see the truth in all its gory glory, rather than getting confused by the lipstick on the pig? Friends, the mask has slipped! Yes, we are in a world where lunacy lives happily alongside sanity. We get some of it one day, we get the other on another day, and we don’t We sit cross-legged on the know when which comes at floor, and as we do so, we us, and with what degree of can’t help noticing the ferocity. presence of a navel. We don’t even have to go across time to see such stark differences in people who otherwise are cast from the same cloth. People in one part of the world do things that their fellow beings from a different latitude and longitude would consider lunacy. And, the feeling can be quite mutual: “They are nuts!”

What drives us nuts? nuts are tasty! It is hard to believe be that there has been some biological evolution (or devolution) that has taken place in the intervening period of a few decades. So, it may be circumstances that we look to for an explanation of the extraordinary difference in behavior. In any case, we would be wise to admit, at least within each of us – however grudgingly and reluctantly we do so – that we are nuts at some level. So, if we can agree that nuttiness is an inescapable part of the world we live in, the question that arises is why this is so! Maybe human beings like hoopla. Perhaps a bland, ascetic, stoic existence doesn’t hold the same appeal that flying pigs have. We love fantasies, and the fantastic experiences that enter our souls from the creative narratives we weave for ourselves. Of course, as many wise people have cautioned, “be careful what you wish for, for you may get what you wished for!” so, when the flying pig lands on your head, you get a pretty nasty headache at the very least, and, at its worst, the pig may live, but you may not. However, that is the price that we must pay, if we have a hankering for those flying porcine creatures. Nuts are tasty, and we have an incurable addiction for nuttiness. Saathee.com

But, nuts beget buts The bad news is that the pigs do land. On your head! So then comes a reckoning. A soul searching. Why? Why must I do this to myself? Why must I make those chubby animals fly? After all, they don’t demand the flight of fancy we take them on! And, at some level, it may even qualify as animal cruelty, if not to the imaginary flying creatures, then at least to the nutty ones whose frantic brains cause these escapades to come into being. And so it comes to pass that, occasionally, we pause to catch our breath. We sit cross-legged on the floor, and as we do so, we can’t help noticing the presence of a navel. Even getting fixated on it. If there is a navel, there must be an owner of this thing. “It is I”, the man exclaims, excitedly, as he comes to the novel realization that navels do not exist in a vacuum. “I have a navel, therefore I exist!” says the suddenly enlightened reincarnation of Descartes. There is a deep realization that starts to suffuse through the almost-penitent man who is slowly, if only temporarily, awakening from what seems like a deep slumber. “I do all these silly things that feel good when I do them. But! But, should I?” asks the somewhat disturbed philosopher-wannabe, cradling a head that is most definitely throbbing by now.

a nut and a but – caught in a rut It is not easy to think when your head hurts. But we don’t seem to have a choice. The tendency to be both nutty and butty seems to be somehow deeply ingrained in our core. It is almost as if some evil being has put these paradoxical extremes into us, watching us with sadistic glee, as we oscillate helplessly and painfully, like a pendulum that swings eternally between nuttiness and buttiness. If you think this is an exaggeration, just stop to consider that, every once in a while, there are at least some among us, who let the spirits flow into them through the wee hours, only to wake up with a throbbing head the next morning. Literally. And, swearing never to do this again, yet doing it again. And again. And, yet again. The pendulum keeps swinging from one end to the other. slow my clock! Will these swings from nutty to butty stop, and will the pendulum find its place, finally, and rest? Yes, it will, but that will happen only once, and none of us is overly eager for that trauma-inducing thought. Meanwhile, one way to think about it is to accept that pendulums will be pendulums! They will swing. But not all clocks are the same. As time flows forward, we may notice that the grandfather clocks start winding down a tad bit. They swing too, but maybe the extreme points of the continued on page 82

Balaji Prasad

is an IIT/IIM graduate, a published author, SAT/ACT Online and Offline Coach, interview, resume, and career coach at NewCranium. Contact: 704.746.9779 balaji.prasad@newcranium.com December 2018

Saturday, Dec. 15, 2018 â&#x2014;? 3:45 pm

House Call

Analysis from medical professionals It is a complete myth to think that paying for sedation is a waste of money. In order to save ﬁfty bucks on laughing gas or couple hundred dollars on getting “knocked out” so many folks force themselves into a bad experience in the chair that leads to them never going back. Getting sedated in when getting dental work done is a very good option, but unfortunately it is still the patient’s choice at the end of the day. Medical appointments such as colonoscopies, vasectomies, childbirth, and joint replacements all require that you be sedated before treatment. I promise paying a small price now for safe sedation will save you more money (and even more anxiety!) on larger, complicated dental treatments down the road.

By Dr. Vatsal Suthar

sedation: a necessary tool for dental treatment

Two months ago, it was published that Americans spend twice as much money on high end procedures like caesarean births, joint replacements, and heart surgeries compared to other industrialized nations. What do all of these things have in common? They all require a person go to the operating room and be put under with the use of anesthesia. Sedation is done so that the treatment can be done quickly, safely, and to allow for faster recovery without prolonged pain. If this stuff was done with the person awake - listening to all the sounds, smells, and sights of the surgery, it would be a living nightmare. Wouldn’t you want to be sedated for the most nerve-racking thing of all: getting dental treatment? While most Indians, as a whole, give low importance to dental health, they all have teeth and need maintenance so they can continue to eat rotis, daal, butter chicken, and gulab jamuns comfortably. If there I wonder how many women is a cavity in your tooth that are delivering twin babies reaches your nerve, it will on separate visits or men start to hurt. When that happens, no amount of clove getting one blockage of ... oil, haldi, turmeric, or Vicco Vajradanti will help you. Your only option will be to do a root canal and crown or take the tooth out. While both of these procedures are very common in most dental offices, they can be a very anxious events for the patient, especially when undergoing a procedure for the first time. Getting sedation is a safe way to reduce anxiety, minimize time for treatment, and increase chances for a favorable recovery period. If you sat in the chair and fought to calm down while the dentist worked on you, your heart rate goes up, which causes your blood pressure to go up. If you have diabetes, your sugar levels are out of control and you can even develop symptoms like eye blurriness, light headedness, and dizziness. No wonder people avoid the dentist! The people that avoid the dentist due to anxiety wait until something hurts to make an appointment. Chances are high that one toothache means there are several teeth that also need treatment. So, someone that is avoiding dental treatment for a long time probably needs to spend a lot of time in the chair. Suppose you needed a tooth pulled and it cost $400. Next time you hurt, you go back and spend another $400. Then afterwards, your gums are infected and three need to come out and your bill is $600. Who wants to go to the dental office for multiple visits? Wouldn’t it make sense to spend your time and money only once and get it done while you were sedated? I wonder how many women are delivering twin babies on separate visits or men getting one blockage of heart opened then wait few months for the other one... Saathee.com

Saathee invites medical professionals to write analysis pieces. Contact Samir@Saathee.com with your idea or query..

Dr. Vatsal Suthar

is a private practice general dentist in Columbia, SC aiming to increase dental awareness for the South Asian Community.

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December 2018

HINDU CENTER Support Hindu Center Expansion

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Grading, Parking Lot and foundation completed. Building work in progress, stone work 90% complete and outside stonework started!!

2018 MEMBERSHIP DRIVE

Annual Membership: $101, Students & Seniors $31 Donate Brick and Become life member for $1001!

Upcoming Hindu Center Events & Activities: Election Day / General Body Meeting: Dec 9 (Sun) Balaji Anniversary: Dec 15 (Sat) Gita Jayanti: Dec 16 (Sun) Vaikuntha Ekadasi: Dec 18 (Tues) Tiruppavada Seva: Jan 1 (Tues) Sankranti/ Lohri/ Pongal: Jan 13 (Sun) Republic Day Celebrations: Jan 26 (Sat) Maha-Shivratri: Mar 4 (Mon)

HINDU CENTER OF CHARLOTTE

7400 City View Drive, Charlotte, NC 28212 Ph. 704.535.3440 Fax. 704.535.6923 email: administrator@hcclt.org

OF CHARLOTTE

Hindu Center Celebrating Vaikunta Eka Dasi on December 18th, 2018 (Temple will open in the morning at 6am)

Morning start 6 am: Suprabatham, Nitya Puja 7 am: Vaikunta Dwara Aradhana Followed by opening of Vaikunta Dwara Evening 7 pm: Vishnu sahastranama parayanam, 8:15pm Sayanotsavam and Lalli songs to Lord. (Local devotes will sing songs for Lord)

For more details talk to Hindu Center priests 704-535-3440 Lakshmikanth bhattar 980-254-1022; balaji bhattar: 704-906-2109 Vijay Raghava bhattar 803-470-8377; pattabhi Ram: 980-729-2466

Tiruppavada Seva for Lord Venkateshwara

at Hindu Center On Jan 1st, 2019 Tues. 11am â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 12 noon This service consists of cooking a large quantity of rice as pulihora and offering it to the Lord. The cooked rice is heaped up in mukha mantapam to take definite customary primidal trapezoid shape and the delicacies are deposited there on with coconuts, flowers, sandal paste, kumkum, deepam and is offered to the Lord with appropriate mantras.

Minimum Suggested donation for this seva $21 (This includes the archana).

Om sarve bhavantu sukhinah sarve santu Nir-Aamayaah | sarve bhadraanni pashyantu Maa Kashcid-Duhkha-bhaag-bhavet | Om shaantih shaantih shaantih ||

HINDU CENTER

Lord Venkateshwara Anniversary Saturday, Dec 15th, 2018, 9am with Suprabhatam

Gita Jayanti

Sunday, Dec 16, 2018

(10 am to 12:30 pm)

Sankranti/ Lohri/ Pongal "Day of Goodwill and friendship event"

Puja: Sun, Jan 13, 2018 (5 PM)

Abhishek/ Pooja with Bhajan/Shlokas. followed by Kari/Bhogi Pallu & Mahaprasad

Kari/Bhogi Pallu: Parents/ Grandparents will Bless & Shower their kids with fruits, candies, coins, Cranberries etc., supplied by Hindu Center. Please bring kids and don't miss this unique event. Dress up in Indian tradition outfits if possible.

Kite flying - Sun, Jan 13, Noon to 5 pm Weather permitting call Nirav Pandya 570-205-2636 for details.

OF CHARLOTTE

Republic Day Celebration!

When: 26th January, 2019 Where: Vihar Hall @ HC of Clt Time: Noon to 3pm Entry: FREE FOR ALL!

Flag hoisting National Anthems Cultural show

CONTACTS : Cultural Show- Email: hc_cultural@yahoo.com Anitha Gowtam 704 206 9348, Shweta Tewari 425 638 2811 HC Contacts- Hemant Amin 704 258 3588; Reena Roy reena.roy@hcclt.org

MAHA-SHIVRATRI Mar 4, 2019 (Mon)

Lord Shiva Abhishekham all day Maha Shivaratri will be celebrated by performing Pooja all night long including Rudhrabhishekham.

Evening Puja Abhishek, Bhajans, Aarti and Prasad

Subcontinental Divide An Indian Subcontinent & America Dialogue By Ahsen Jillani

M.a.G.a., t.a.B.a., Paychecks, Checks & Balances

Approaching the midterm elections, the editor and I exchanged a couple of emails. I thought about how we had been discussing politics over nearly four decades. He has been more of a journalist through this, remaining objective and fact based. I thought about my history of landing here in 1979 totally ignorant of where I stood in America’s weird and complex love affair with “greatness.” In 1979, I knew that Jimmy Carter was president. That ended my knowledge of American politics. While adjusting to life my first semester in the fall of ’79, I started to get a different sort of education on cold, sunny weekend mornings. A democrat host family took me around to put up signs for a county commission candidate. In those days, you nailed signs to a stake and hammered the stake into the ground. It was a much slower process. Computers were the size of buses, so there were notepads with names and phone numbers so you could tell who wanted a sign. Of course, there were no cell phones and no Google maps. You read a paper map. Just weeks apart, the other host family had me go door to door to hand out flyers supporting some guy named Ronald Reagan. Host families were folks who committed to “adopting” foreign students who came to the US alone and scared. These families introduced people from all over the world to American culture, often In 1979, I knew that Jimmy taking time to pick students up from their apartments on Carter was president.That birthdays, Thanksgiving, and ended my knowledge of even Christmas. The host American politics. mothers looked at your sparse apartment and gave you plates, towels, soaps, canned food. They were faith driven, rather than politics driven—and they always thanked us for educating them and their children about the diversity of the world outside of America. For lots of us, the heart of America was this selfless and warm group, and we saw them as being perfect, enviable, and free of politics. But 19-year-olds who start hanging out with rich Middle Eastern guys driving TransAms and Porsches hardly have much concern about politics. It took a couple of years for me to put the Reagan Era in perspective. What it meant to have outrageous gas prices, or the consumer price index in 1980, or even 18 percent mortgage rates, were all Greek to me. I had nothing to compare those numbers to. All I knew was that foreign students with foreign money operated in a bubble which could not be penetrated by a lousy economy. All I knew was that Reagan stopped those annoying Ted Koppel “America Held Hostage, Day xyz” Nightline broadcasts, and we were going to bomb Russia shortly. There was not much of a political dog whistle in the Reagan template. Reaganomics and trickledown economics simply pointed to two Americas—you didn’t mess with the rich, and you got their crumbs in the form of a paycheck, economic Saathee.com

stability, global machismo, and the fiscal responsibility the Republicans said they stood for back in those ancient days. I became an activist then because of nuclear war rhetoric that was about as frequent as Trump’s vile attacks on everyone not blonde. But by mid-decade, it was clear to me that there were indeed two Americas—the world of cocaine and yachts, and the world of beer and nightshifts. It was my ignorance in 1979 that I didn’t realize that I was landing in an America just five years removed from Nixon’s impeachment and resignation; that I was laughing at racist jokes from Americans just 15 years out from the 1964 civil rights legislation. With the TV shows “Good Times” and “Different Strokes” and Michael Jackson and Mean Joe Green—well, this was America, and it was the beacon of equality, just like all the propaganda reels said all over the world. Of course, complex things happened as I worked tirelessly through Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Cheney and Obama. The Nword became inert and then went mainstream again. Post Iranhostage-crisis, middle easterners became known as “rich-Aaaraabs” and post-9/11 became brutal terrorists. What the Dick Cheney administration started by taking a license to discriminate through sheer fear, started driving that wedge of “Us vs. Them” narrative that Donald Trump (with Russian help or not, we will see) turned into the birther-driven and overtly racist art form that became the America of 2016. So, this brings us to the midterm elections last month. Lying is so brutally open in politics now thanks to where this president has set the bar, that every intelligent voter, the media, the political opponents, just have this dropped-jaw reaction to what comes out the mouths of right-wing politicians still trying to massage the Trump base in their districts or left-wing politicians setting their hair on fire for the silliest tweet or perceived micro aggression. I am scared that TABA (Take America Back Again) will only land us back in the Johnson Administration, or in the Nixon Oval Office, or Ronald Reagan spouting anti-Russia spiel standing in the Rose Garden. I realize that I want to return to the rose-colored glasses America I landed in as a teenager, where my host families were bringing Thanksgiving turkey to the dining table on some cold, cloudy fall day. There were smiles everywhere, and from the bedroom to the boardroom, America was a mighty good place to be in, where you were Better Dead than Red, where beer, pizza and a Harley and a Mustang in the garage made you the luckiest person in the world. America was a shining beacon of the pursuit of happiness and that was my America, and that is still the America I want to wake up in every morning. So let’s assume all the checks and balances work and the 35 percent of the racists go back in their holes until the next tyrant who confers on them the power to act out hatred openly. Let’s

continued on page 82

Ahsen Jillani

a former editor and publisher, is originally from Islamabad , Pakistan , and now lives in Mint Hill. He owns Must Media, a PR company focusing on both political and corporate clients.

December 2018

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Nutrition for Life By Parul Kharod

• Increased risk of kidney stones and gall stones • Lack of important minerals in the diet • Loss of muscle mass • Menstrual irregularity and hormone imbalance In summary, the keto diet is an extremely restrictive diet. It is not a foolproof way to lose weight, and does not protect against cancer, diabetes, or other chronic diseases.

Weight loss and Popular diets

There are a variety of diets, each claiming to be the best, to help with fast weight loss. But which diet is really the best for you? The reality is that there is no one single diet plan that is best for everyone, and what works for one person may not Here is a list of other diets to be careful about: work for others. Fad diets come and go and achieve popularity. • the alkaline diet: The recommendations for this diet are The current favorite is the Ketogenic Diet also known as the good but for all the wrong reasons. There is no research Keto Diet. proving that pH affects our weight. Our body is incredibly efficient at keeping our pH levels stabilized. the Keto diet: What is it, and how does it work? Food is our fuel. Our body, and especially our brain, uses • the Blood type diet: There is no relationship of blood glucose as its preferred source of fuel to generate energy. The group to diet, and may cause unnecessary restrictions. Keto diet deprives the body of carbohydrates. For some context, • the Five Bite diet: Eat whatever you want—but only five the average diet contains 50-55 bites of it. This is a very low-calorie restrictive diet and will percent carbohydrates, 30 cause your body to go into a starvation mode and slow percent fat, and 15 percent Life is already complicated down your metabolism rather than help you lose weight. protein. The Keto diet enough. Limiting food Plus, it is not sustainable for long term. You can gain back recommends 80 percent fat, all the weight you lose, once you start eating more than five choices or following rigid 15 percent protein, and a bites. meal plans can add extra mere 5 percent of calories • Master Cleanse/ 10 day Green smoothie Cleanse/Juice stress. come from carbohydrates. Plans/liquid diets: Overly restrictive, impractical and not The idea is that if you deplete sustainable. You will gain back all the weight once you eat yourself of carbohydrates, solid food. An extreme low-calorie diet can cause muscle your body will start breaking down fat for energy. When the loss which is not what you want your body to lose. body metabolizes fat, it generates molecules called ketones (also

known as ketone bodies). When this occurs, the body goes into a state of ketosis. As you restrict carbohydrate intake and amp up the dietary fat, more fat is metabolized and greater quantities of ketones are created. These ketones enter the metabolic pathway to generate energy. Thus, the ketones work as a backup generator in the absence of glucose.

• one Ingredient diet, for example, Cabbage Soup Diet or Grapefruit Diet: Same reason as above.

• the HCG diet: This diet limits you to about 500 calories a day while taking human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), a hormone that is marketed as an appetite suppressant. However, there’s no evidence that HCG does more than act as a placebo. The weight loss happens only due to the extreme calorie restriction. Though a health care provider may legally give you HCG injections, they’re typically used to treat fertility issues in women and the FDA has not approved them for weight loss. Keep in mind that over-thecounter products with HCG are illegal!

How long does it take to get into Ketosis? Anywhere from 2-7 days, depending on your body type, activity levels, and what you’re eating. If you have been consuming a lot sugar, it may take a while for the body to completely burn it oﬀ - most likely a month to six weeks for your body to switch over.

• Other diet plans that continue to be popular include the Military Diet, The HMR Diet, Bulletproof Diet, Paleo Diet, High Protein Low Carb Diet, No Grains Diet, and detoxes and cleanses.

Who is this diet most beneficial for? Ketogenic diets have proven to be very successful for people with neurological disorders such as Epilepsy, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and treatment of certain cancers in conjunction with chemotherapy. Despite their superficial differences, many neurological diseases share one major problem – deficient energy production. During metabolic stress, ketones serve as an alternative energy source to maintain normal brain cell metabolism.

Life is already complicated enough. Limiting food choices or following rigid meal plans can add extra stress. With any new diet, always ask yourself: “Can I eat this way for the rest of my life?” If the answer is no, the plan is not right. Never do a “weight loss diet”. Instead, think long term. Your diet should address any medical issues you may have and help improve your overall health and quality of life.

What are the negative aspects of the ketogenic diet? Ketones are emergency fuel sources and we’re not meant to run on them long-term. We do not have really long-term data yet on the impact of using ketones as our fuel, although we have some research that shows there are a few risk factors. • Bone loss and increased risk of osteoporosis and fractures • Constipation • Dehydration Saathee.com

Parul Kharod, MS, RD, LDN

is a registered dietitian and licensed nutritionist and works as a Clinical Dietitian with Outpatient Nutrition Services at WakeMed Hospital in Cary and Raleigh. She can be reached at parulkharod@gmail.com 72

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December 2018

My Voice Readers' Forum

By Surabhi Kaushik

nameless Bonds

“Where we love is home - home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts” - Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

Despite living in a country of amenities, convenience and comfort, I am hounded by a feeling. I constantly feel the lack of something important. Sometimes being away from your home country for long makes everything from there feels like “Home.” My eyes are constantly searching for familiarity, even though I have made a few good friends now. A known face, brown skin, a lady in a saree, chai, green bangles, overhearing people speaking in my mother tongue, all of this or any of this draws me to it, like a magnet to iron fillings. Every little thing makes me nostalgic. For the rest of the world, I am living abroad; living in a dream country but my heart tells me a different story. I yearn for affection beyond the fake smile and crisp handshakes. I crave to feel warmth in voices and hear words like “Khaana kha ke jaana” which translates to please join us for a meal before They brought along with you leave. These Hindi words them not just a part of are not merely a sign of India and the feeling of hospitality but also indicate being my family, but most... acceptance, friendship, the beginning of building lasting bonds when you visit someone’s house. These emotions are hard to describe but easy to experience for almost every newbie immigrant. Having moved to the US more than three years ago, it’s been hard staying away from loved ones and fighting internal battles to fit into this new world of mine. I love living in uptown Charlotte because everything is super convenient for me and my family. But the downside is there are no Indian neighbors. My neighbors are mostly young people working in one of the banks / offices uptown. They usually do not have anything to say to me except the polite good mornings and “have a good day.” It is completely opposite to the close knit community that I was used to living in, back in India. I shared nothing in common with these people and I knew that I would never have the same comfort levels that I used to enjoy with my Indian neighbors. My mind was constantly aware that there are some unseen boundaries which I can never cross. It is no surprise that my visa status added many layers to this quilt of emotions that I was trying to sew together. I’m on a dependent visa, which adds to the wrinkles in my quilt. The list of restrictions on the “don’t do list” seemed endless. I can neither work nor study, a condition familiar to many of the spouses living here on “Dependent visa.” I ironed out the wrinkles by jumping into all the volunteering opportunities that came my way. But despite all this, there was still a part of my quilt that I was unable to piece together. My quilt was missing the layer that held all the layers together; the comfort of being with people with whom you can just be yourself. I was not entirely isolated, but something was missing. Saathee.com

Something vital. There was a vacuum in my world. And I did not know how to fill this up. There was a young Indian couple living in my apartment complex. I became friends with them. But little did I know that I was in for something special. The emptiness in my world slowly began to fade away when my Indian friend’s parents visited them. With the seeds of love and affection that they sowed, a new relationship was born, a relationship that changed my world for the better in many ways than one. It was delightful to meet and talk to Uncle & Aunty. From the moment I met them, I felt like I was home, at least this was the closest I could get. I felt a geniality in their voice, a thing that I had not felt in a long time. Simple gestures of inviting me for a cup of tea, sending me homemade delicacies, sharing recipes and enjoying short walks around the neighborhood helped us form a new bond. It felt like stringing bright, colorful beads along a string, creating a new pattern in life. Our bond grew stronger as their affectionate ways not just comforted my longing for meeting people from my home, but quickly filled up the vacuum, and rejuvenated me like I had just come back from a week-long spa! I was beyond being grateful. Life has strange ways of showing us how to value what we have. At this point in time, I not only valued Uncle & Aunty but I treasured each moment that I spent with them. Regular good mornings had a light shining through it, making my day brighter. Their welcoming smiles had the power to make all my worries vanish. Their concerns about how I was doing in this home away from home were so precious to me that they warmed my heart in a way that nothing else could. They brought along with them not just a part of India and the feeling of being my family, but most importantly a huge chunk of positivity through their personalities. I could feel a mother’s love in Aunty’s specially cooked meals. I could feel a father’s concern when Uncle asked me how my day was coming along, even though it was just a mundane question. A connection was instantly made, a connection that I was pining for. We both cherished the connection that had so effortlessly sprung to life. I was pleasantly cocooned by their fondness for me. In no time, it felt like we all belonged together, maybe because that’s what I was looking for. Belonging. Acceptance. Endearment. And I wanted all of this without trying too hard, in a country which I was struggling to call home. Some people come and go, but when the right people walk into your life, they help you make memories that you hold close to your heart forever. I am thankful for this lovely bond that I forged with Uncle and Aunty. Their words and gestures strengthened me in a time when I most needed it. They gifted me a whole new level of emotional sustenance that has helped me build a fresh relationship with the place that I now call home.

Surabhi Kaushik

Writing is my ﬁrst love and you can ﬁnd most of my published works at surabhiwritersmind.blogspot.com Email: writersmind.surabhi@gmail.com December 2018

Personal Finances more examples, that the tax laws are bent favorably towards the small businesses, your guess is right. I could point this out with some other examples, too. The medical expense deduction is preserved and actually enhanced just for one more year. Not only did lawmakers opt to keep this popular write-off but they have also temporarily lowered the AGI threshold for deducting the 2018 medical expenses on schedule A to 7.5 percent. Normally this threshold would have gone to 10 percent this year. The charitable contribution write-off survived and was actually enhanced a bit. The AGI limitation on cash donations to qualified charities is hiked to 60 percent from 50 percent but I think this will change to all donations and not just cash donations. In the haste of getting the law passed congress did not vet this out properly. Several other write-offs are eliminated; basically, everything on the itemized form which had a 2 percent-of-AGI threshold is gone and not deductible any more. That includes employee business expenses, brokerage and IRA fees, hobby expenses, tax return preparation fees, safe deposit box fees, theft losses and many more.

By Mo Vidwans

new tax law: Beneﬁts and downsides

Most of us have heard of Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), the new tax law passed by Congress and President Trump late last year and one that went into full effect at the beginning of 2018. It was wrapped up in such a big frenzy that it was probably one of the fastest actions our legislative body has ever taken. But with the speed comes peril; there are many questions still not quite answered and many issues not quite vetted out and still many concerns IRS is feverishly working on before they face the music early next year when the tax season starts. At the moment, as of this writing, even the new tax forms (1040, schedule A, B, C etc.) are in the draft form and not yet released. Those concerns notwithstanding, let us look at what is different in the new law and how it will affect us overall. Everyone has heard about the Standard Deduction going up (it was tooted so much in the media by the current Govt.), in fact almost doubling for all: single, married filing jointly and for heads of the households. It has increased to $12,000, $24,000, and $18,000 respectively. Folks age 65 or up and blind people get $1,250 more per person. This is all good news. But what we don’t hear much about, unless we dig in deeper, is the fact that the personal exemptions ($4,050 per taxpayer and dependent last year) are completely repealed. Because of this new set-up, generally, those who were not itemizing before will not see much change in taxes, unless you had a large family, and those who were itemizing and cannot itemize any more will pay more taxes in general; not much more but it will be noticeable. This is not something anyone wanted to hear. In the past IRS had estimated that about 30-35 million people/families itemized on their tax returns. That number, it is expected, will dwindle now to about 10 million. TCJA also pares back or axes many deductions claimed by individuals. Here are some of the most common examples. Home mortgages are affected. Mortgage interest payments can be deducted on up to $750,000 of new acquisition debt on a primary or second residence (down from $1 million). The new limit generally applies to mortgage debt incurred after December 14, 2017. Older loans are grandfathered into the new law. You may not be aware of the home equity loan rule changes. Before we could borrow upon our home equity, assuming there is enough equity built into our home, and claim all the interest paid on such loans. This is not the case anymore, unless that loan is actually used for building or adding on the home. So, if you were thinking of borrowing to pay for vacation or buy a car or a boat or for children’s education you can still do that, but cannot claim the interest on that loan when you itemize. The popular deduction for state and local taxes is being squeezed. Now you can deduct any combination of residential property taxes and state income or sales taxes up to a cap of $10,000 for a residential property. Exception: property taxes remain fully deductible for taxpayers in a business or for-profit activity or taxes paid on rental realty can be taken in full on schedule E. If you are surmising from this, and there are plenty Saathee.com

Others that are aﬀected: • Deductions for job-related moves except for military. • Alimony for post 2018 divorce decrees. • Personal casualty losses excluding those declared in Presidentially declared disaster areas.

The tax law keeps seven tax brackets but with different rates and breakpoints. For example: the top individual tax rate is lowered from 39.6 percent to 37 percent and that rate kicks in at a higher income level. Also note that whatever new bracket you fall into, more of your taxable income will be hit with the slightly lower rates than before. Tax rates on long-term capital gains and qualified dividends do not change but Congress decided to set the income thresholds differently. The 0% rate will continue to apply for married tax filers up to $77,200 and 20 percent starts at $479,000; the 15 percent rate will apply to filers between these breakpoints. You can see which class of taxpayers this will benefit the most. If you get the impression that Congress has not left much for the middle-class taxpayers to take advantage of for reducing the taxes legally, you are absolutely right. However, there are still some things we can do. The most obvious thing is to try to bunch the itemized deductions for one year and then just taking the standard deduction the next. The idea is to try to exceed your standard deduction for one year and then go for just the standard deduction the next year. We will look at how to reduce taxes legally given this new environment in the near future.

Mo Vidwans

Vidwans is an independent, board certified financial planner. For details visit www.vidwansfinancial.com, call 984-888-0355 or write to mpvidwans@yahoo.com.

December 2018

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December 2018

Buy Right, Sit Tight Rational side of the investing pendulum

By Amit Rupani

Businesses – the Great, the Good, and the Gruesome!

percent return on invested capital. So you invest $100 at beginning of the year and the earnings you get end of the year is $20. Now if you want to double your earnings from $20 to $40, you will have to add additional $100 in the business. This is what a typical good capital intensive businesses like banks work.

Warren Buffett in his 2007 annual letter explained difference the Gruesome: A gruesome business is the worst sort of between a great, good, and gruesome business. Let us dive into business that grows rapidly, requires significant capital to each of these types of businesses to better understand them. engender the growth, and then earns little or no money. the Great: A great business is one which generates high According to Warren, airlines are a type of gruesome business. return on invested capital and doesn’t need much extra capital The airline industry demands additional capital for to grow its earnings. Warren shared See’s Candy as an example reinvestment in its growth but at the same time earns very little for great business. Warren Buffett bought See’s Candy business return on capital on the invested capital. There are few in 1972 when it was generating around $5 million pre-tax exceptions in the airline industry that have generated decent earnings. The capital then required to conduct the business was return on invested capital, but they have been very few. But the $8 million. It was earning ~60% pre-tax on invested capital. In crux here is that any business which generates low return on 2007, See’s was generating pre- invested capital and then requires additional capital to grow tax earnings of $82 million which also earns low return on capital would qualify under and the capital then required “gruesome” bucket. Great businesses essentially To sum up, think of three types of “savings accounts.” The to run the business was $40 are the ones whose million. Its pre-tax return on great one pays an extraordinarily high interest rate that will rise business economics have invested capital went up to as the years pass. The good one pays an attractive rate of low capital requirements to ~200 percent from 60 percent. interest that will be earned also on deposits that are added. Between 1972 and 2007, See’s Finally, the gruesome account both pays an inadequate interest grow the earnings. generated total $1.35 billion rate and requires you to keep adding money at those in pre-tax earnings for disappointing returns. Happy investing! Berkshire and Warren used these annual cash flows (after paying taxes) to buy more attractive businesses. Warren mentioned in his letter that just like Adam and Eve kick-started Note: The above examples of “Businesses – The Great, the Good, and an activity that led to billions of humans, See’s gave birth to the Gruesome!” are adapted from Warren Buffett’s 2007 annual letter for Berkshire Hathaway shareholders. Stocks discussed above are for multiple new streams of cash for Berkshire Hathaway. Great businesses essentially are the ones whose business example purpose and not Buy or Sell recommendation. Please consult economics have low capital requirements to grow the earnings. your investment advisor before acting on any of the above discussed They are like getting more and more sugarcane juice without stocks. putting in the new sugarcanes. There are very few “great” Amit Rupani, CFA businesses on this planet but few like Google, Microsoft, is an Independent Investor, practices Value American Express, Unilever, Gillette, and Nestle would qualify Investing principles, manages money for longin this bucket. Great businesses, earnings huge returns on term wealth creation through Equities asset capital, can’t for any extended period reinvest a large portion class. Email: rupaniamit@yahoo.com of their earnings internally at high rates of return.

the Good: A good business is the one which requires signiﬁcant reinvestment of earnings for it to grow further. Warren shared example of his FlightSafety business which was bought in 1996. FlightSafety provides model simulated airplanes for training pilots and crew members. In 1996, its pretax earnings were $111 million which was generated by deploying $570 million of capital, providing ~20 percent return on invested capital. Between 1996 and 2007, FlightSafety had to invest total $1.635 of additional capital for simulators to match new airplane models that are constantly being introduced. Pretax earnings in 2007 were $270 million, a gain of $159 since 1996. As we can see, FlightSafety is a good business but far away from See’s where additional $509 million dollars were invested in the business to maintain its competitive position in the market. Most of the businesses on this planet are like FlightSafety where additional reinvestment of earnings is needed to grow the earnings. Most banking businesses qualify in “good business” bucket. Assume you have a bank which earns 20 Saathee.com

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Thinking

Single Payer

continued from page 14

American skeptics often use the phrase “socialized medicine” pejoratively to describe all of these models. “Few really understand what you mean when you say single-payer,” said Dr. Frank Opelka, the medical director of quality and health policy for the American College of Surgeons, which opposes such a policy. “What they mean is, ‘I don’t think the current system is working.’” But the willingness to explore previously unthinkable ideas is evident in young doctors’ ranks. Recent surveys through LinkedIn, recruiting firm Merritt Hawkins and trade publication NEJM Catalyst indicate growing support. In the March NEJM survey, 61 percent of 607 respondents said single-payer would make it easier to deliver cost-effective, quality health care. Delving further, that survey data shows support is stronger among younger physicians, said Dr. Namita Mohta, a hospitalist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and clinical editor at NEJM Catalyst. But it’s unclear whether these findings reflect young doctors’ feelings about the policy or whether they are tapping in to broader frustrations with the American health system. Much like the general public, doctors often use terms like single-payer, Medicare-for-all and universal health care interchangeably. “Our younger generation is less afraid to come out and say we want universal health care,” said Dr. Anna Yap, 26, an emergency medicine resident at UCLA, who served as a medical student delegate to the AMA until this past June. “But how? It’s different in what forms we see.” Younger doctors also pointed to growing concern about how best to keep patients healthy. They cited research that broadly suggests having health insurance tracks with better health outcomes. “Medical students, I would say, are very interested in public health and improving social determinants of health — one of them being access to health insurance,” said Dr. Jerome Jeevarajan, 26, a neurology resident at the University of TexasHouston, referring to non-medical factors that improve health, such as food or housing. Some of the shift in opinion has to do with the changing realities of medical practice. Doctors now are more likely to end up working for large health systems or hospitals, rather than starting individual practices. Combined with the increasing complexity of billing private insurance, many said, that means contracting with the government may feel like less of an intrusion. The debate is, at this point, still theoretical. Republicans — who control all branches of the federal government — sharply oppose single-payer. Meanwhile, single-state efforts in California, Colorado and New York have fallen flat. Also, doctors represent only one part of the sprawling health care industrial complex. Other health care interests — including private insurance, the drug industry and hospital trade groups — have been slower to warm to catchphrases like single-payer or universal health care, all of which would likely mean a drop in income. But increasingly physicians seem to be switching sides in the debate, and young physicians want to be part of the discussion. “There’s tremendous potential … to be at the table if singlepayer becomes a significant part of the political discourse, and create a system that is more equitable,” Pean said. Saathee.com

continued from page 62

swing pull in a little closer toward the center. The damping eﬀect may be a result of the springs being a little worn from wear. Maybe they get a little more tuned toward moderation, based on experience gained from ten thousand swings, and the associated dings. It feels better maybe to swing a little less. It damages the machinery a bit less. Can we ﬁnd a way to give up a bit of the fantasy in exchange for a little less pain in the head? Must I wait until father time eventually slows down my time? Or, can I choose to become a slower grandfather clock today? And feel a little more at peace?

Raajeev’s Corner continued from page 32

The lesson from these trips is that when you travel, especially overseas, you have to be an informed traveler and you have to exercise caution. Follow the tips from wise travelers, like dressing up like locals, not projecting a lost or confused look and not attracting attention in common places like metros by taking pictures. The key is to outsmart the bad guys. Be a hawk and watch your wallet – literally and metaphorically. It’s not too diﬃcult, especially when you have tools at your disposal, like Google, Priceline and a fake wallet.

Subcontinental Divide continued from page 70

assume a shift in the anti-abortionists who claim precious human life happens the minute the sperm meets the egg during beautiful romance but who cheer at the prospect of colored babies being yanked from mothers, or even being shot at by the Army at the border. I would say that Trump and his lies and his base have all been negative for me, but I would be lying myself. It’s always good to learn the truth—and then if lucky, we will land in Reagan’s two Americas all over again. TABA.

Mirror, Mirror

continued from page 36

But Lee himself was in his own way just as flawed as his creations. Artists such as Kirby & Ditko left Marvel, and sold the rights to the characters they helped create upon their exits. Lee proceeded to claim he was the sole creator for many years, and the artists who helped birth these icons never received due compensation or acknowledgement. By the 1970’s, Marvel was licensing out properties to TV which gave us shows like The Incredible Hulk with Bill Bixby & Lou Ferrigno. Sadly acknowledgment has only been reinstated for these artists within the last few years. Steve Ditko before his passing in early 2018 said he received absolutely no income from the SpiderMan films. Jack Kirby was forced to sign over any creative rights he had for Captain America just so he could remain an artist at Marvel. Lee (and the movie studios) eventually relented and have given proper acknowledgment to the co-creators. Flawed or not, Stan Lee grew from a funny book intern to one of the most influential icons in recent memory. He gave us hope in a world where hatred makes us fearful of simply being who we are. We live in a world where being “different’ should be celebrated instead of ostracized. Lee told us to celebrate our diversity, and to never be ashamed of that one little thing that gives us our own superpower. Good bye, Mr. Lee and thank you. Excelsior…

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News Notes Children’s Day Celebration in Morrisville

The Heritage India Association of North Carolina celebrated Children’s Day on November 4, 2018 at the HSNC Cultural Hall, Morrisville. This is the day when children take charge as Emcees, volunteers and performers, helping them develop their skills such as team spirit, leadership, and cultural virtuosity and appreciation. The 2018 celebration presented a variety of dances from folk to Bollywood and from classical to modern, performed by all children of all age groups, four years and above. Teams of youngsters and teens performed their best dances, dressed in colorful vibrant costumes. The EMCEES were Shreya Sahoo and Praveen Puviindran. The program began with Ribbon-cutting ceremony by chief guest Govind Chandak and it was immediately followed by an invocatory classical dance “Pushpanjali” by Sujay Vundavalli. Morrisville Mayor TJ Cawley delivered the keynote speech and read out the Proclamation. There were Bollywood, fusion, and folk dances in competition dances, performed with passion and team spirit. The best dance in each category received a Heritage trophy. Ruchi Puri Arora entertained the audience with her melodious singing of Bollywood songs. A special classical dance performance by guest artist “Nritya Ratna” Guru Rohini Ananth, accompanied by Amith Jagannath on Mridangam, gave a lovely performance. During the Heritage Award Ceremony, Amith received Excellence in Community Services award; Sanjana Sundhar received Excellence in Performing Arts award; and Srikar Nanduri received the Academic Excellence award. Volunteers included Program chair Sangeeta Nayak for scheduling, Aruna Bhatnagar for music compiling, Ruchika Giri and Vidya Arvapalli for stage decoration, Naresh Giri for general supervision, and Bhaskar and Geetha Rao and Dr. Harish Chander for managing the ticket desk.

AAPI s Global Healthcare Summit to be Held in Mumbai

The American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) will hold its Global Healthcare Summit in Mumbai from December 28 - 31, 2018. The summit oﬀers a chance for physicians, health professionals, academicians, and scientists of Indian origin to interact. Physicians and healthcare professionals from across the country will convene and participate in the scholarly exchange of medical advances, to develop health policy agendas, and to encourage legislative priorities in the coming year. President of India Shri Ram Nath kovind will inaugurate the Global Health Summit. AAPI is working to expand its vision in India - in educational research, clinical programs, Saathee.com

global outreach and collaboration with the Government of India’s healthcare program. For more details, visit www.aapiusa.org.

Anupum Kher Honored as IndiaGlobal Distinguish Fellow at MIT

Bollywood actor Anupam Kher was honored as a “Distinguished Fellow” by IndiaGlobal – a leading think-tank that works on the issues concerning NRIs and India’s position with the world. The actor was given a fellowship on November 3, 2018 at the 3rd IndiaGlobal Summit organized by India Global held at the MIT Sloan School of Management in Boston, and was facilitated by MIT Sloan India Business Club. Kher said, “This honor gives me a further sense of responsibility towards my country. A lower middle class Kashmiri boy from Shimla has come a long way. Jai Ho.” Giving her Chief Guest address, Minister for Rural Development, Government of Maharashtra Pankaja Munde said, “Those days are gone where we want to market India’s depravity, now we want to market India’s strength.” Munde was leading the delegation of four women self-help-groups from rural Maharashtra. R Vimla, CEO MSRLM told the gathering about the amazing work done by these small women microentrepreneurs and urged American-Indians to adopt the goods made by SHGs to promote quality handmade items in United States. The 3rd IndiaGlobal Summit also discussed the growing importance of a relationship between India, USA and China. On this occasion the Senior Fellow and the Convener of IndiaGlobal Dr. Nikhil Agarwal said, “Now we can proudly say that the sun never sets on Indian Diaspora. Indians are present in every corner of the world and many of them are top entrepreneurs, Prime Ministers and Presidents of their countries.” For more details, visit www.IndiaGlobal.org

Ekal Vidyalaya Galas Surpass Fundraising Goals

During the week of October 6 -13, 2018, Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation, Ekal (as it is popularly known), hosted three fundraising Galas at three strategic places in USA and raised a record $5.5 Million in pledges. This was in addition to $7.5 Million it had already realized through its annual 50+ fund-raising concerts across USA. On October 6 Ekal-Houston, TX hosted a Gala where donors collectively gave $1.5 Million. In similar fashion, on October 12, Ekal-Washington hosted a Gala in Bethesda, MD and raised $1.1 Million. The gala in NYC was the grand ﬁnale and it raised $3 Million. This crowning achievement pushed Ekal’s donation total for 2018 beyond $10 Million it had initially hoped for. At the NYC Ekal-GALA, the presence of John Sculley, former CEO of Apple and Pepsi and veteran ﬁlm actor Anupam Kher as two key-note speakers were the highlight of the evening. Sandeep Chakravorty, Consul General of India was the Chief Guest. 86

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The pledging process at all three galas was focused on supporting a variety of projects in the field of education, health and skill development. With support from patrons Ekal has revised its developmental agenda. The year 2018 saw the highest ever growth in Ekal’s 30-year history. New schools were opened in 18,000 villages. E-Shiksha - tutoring by “Tablets” – was initiated in 180 schools, as a pilot project. For digital literacy, 10 “Ekalon-wheels” mobile digital labs have been added. Each van can educate 5,000 youths, each year, in basic computer skills. Four “Gramotthan Centers” that directly benefit 400,000 farmers (indirectly up to 4 Million) have been planned along with “Satellite Skill Centers.” The first “Tele-Medicine” project, with support from John Hopkins University, was undertaken in Odisha to bring expert Medical advice to the doorsteps of remote Villagers. As Bajrang Bagra, CEO of Ekal-India said, “the primary objective of this all-round integrated development is to give dignity and self-esteem to rural-tribal folks of India.” For more details, visit www.ekal.org/us

suggestions about the creation of an environment in which their respective private sectors can partner, thrive, and enhance bilateral commercial ties to expand trade and economic links between the United States and India. About the U.S.-India CEO Forum Established in 2005, the U.S.-India CEO Forum brings together leaders of the respective business communities of the United States and India to discuss issues of mutual interest, particularly ways to strengthen the economic and commercial ties between the two countries, and to communicate their joint recommendations to the U.S. and Indian governments.

Fish Oil and Vitamin D Pills No Guard against Cancer Or Serious Heart Trouble By Liz Szabo, Kaiser Health News

AIIS Language Programs in India for 2019-2020 Applications Now Open

For more than five decades, AIIS language programs in India have been crucial to most U.S.-based scholars of South Asian area studies in the humanities and social science disciplines. Area experts employed in government, NGOs, and the private sector have also benefited. More than 4,000 students have completed programs through the Institute. Three types of programs are offered: Summer Programs: 8 weeks, from June to August; Academic Year Programs: 9 months, from September to May; One Semester Programs. AIIS is now accepting applications for our 2019-20 summer, semester, and academic year language programs. AIIS offers intensive, immersion-based instruction in over 15 modern and classical South Asian languages at multiple sites in India. Undergraduates, graduate students, and teachers are eligible to apply. Full fellowships are available for qualified applicants to the fall semester and academic year programs (for U.S. citizens and permanent residents only). AIIS is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing knowledge about India in the United States. The application deadline for the 2019-2020 academic year is December 31, 2018. Learn more about AIIS at: www.indiastudies.org/languageprograms/

U.S. Department of Commerce Appoints CEO Brett Silvers to U.S.-India CEO Forum

The U.S. Department of Commerce in late October appointed Brett N. Silvers, President and CEO of WorldBusiness Capital, Inc. to serve as a U.S. representative to the United States-India CEO Forum. In a letter to Silvers about his appointment, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross said, “Your experience and know-how will positively contribute to the advancement of the U.S.-India commercial agenda in the Forum.” The Forum will have U.S. and Indian private and public sector co-chairs and members. The Secretary of Commerce will serve as the U.S. Government chair. The Forum will allow private sector members to develop and provide recommendations to the two governments and their senior oﬃcials that reﬂect private sector views, needs, concerns, and Saathee.com

A widely anticipated study in the New England Journal of Medicine has concluded that neither vitamin D nor fish oil supplements prevent cancer or serious heart-related problems in healthy older people, according to research presented Saturday at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions. Researchers defined serious heart problems as the combined rate of heart attacks, stroke and heart-related deaths. Although hundreds of studies of these supplements have been published over the years, the new clinical trial — a federally funded project involving nearly 26,000 people — is the strongest and most definitive examination yet, said Dr. Clifford Rosen, a senior scientist at the Maine Medical Center Research Institute who was not involved in the research. Doctors have been keenly interested in learning the supplements’ true value, given their tremendous popularity with patients. A 2017 study found that 26 percent of Americans age 60 and older take vitamin D supplements, while 22 percent take pills containing omega-3 fatty acids, a key ingredient in fish oil. The new study also suggests there’s no reason for people to undergo routine blood tests for vitamin D, said Rosen, who cowrote an accompanying editorial. (Both were published in the New England Journal of Medicine.). That’s because the study found that patients’ vitamin D levels made no difference in their risk of cancer or serious heart issues, Rosen said. Even people December 2018

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who began the study with clear vitamin D deficiency got no benefit from taking the supplements, which provided 2,000 international units a day. This amount is equal to one or two of the vitamin D pills typically sold in stores. A recent Kaiser Health News story reported that vitamin D testing has become a huge business for commercial labs — and an enormous expense for taxpayers. Doctors ordered more than 10 million vitamin D tests for Medicare patients in 2016 — an increase of 547 percent since 2007 — at a cost of $365 million. “It’s time to stop it,” said Rosen of vitamin D testing. “There’s no justification.” Dr. JoAnn Manson, the study’s lead author, agrees that her results don’t support screening healthy people for vitamin D deficiency. But she doesn’t see her study as entirely negative. Manson notes that her team found no serious side effects from taking either fish oil or vitamin D supplements. “If you’re already taking fish oil or vitamin D, our results would not provide a clear reason to stop,” Manson said. Manson notes that a deeper look into the data suggested possible benefits. When researchers singled out heart attacks — rather than the rate of all serious heart problems combined — they saw that fish oil appeared to reduce heart attacks by 28 percent, Manson said. As for vitamin D, it appeared to reduce cancer deaths — although not cancer diagnoses — by 25 percent. But slicing the data into smaller segments — with fewer patients in each group — can produce unreliable results, said Dr. Barnett Kramer, director of the cancer prevention division at the National Cancer Institute. The links between fish oil and heart attacks — and vitamin D and cancer death — could be due to chance, Kramer said. Experts agree that vitamin D is important for bone health. Researchers didn’t report on its effect on bones in these papers, however. Instead, they looked at areas where vitamin D’s benefits haven’t been definitely proven, such as cancer and heart disease. Although preliminary studies have suggested vitamin D can prevent heart disease and cancer, more rigorous studies have disputed those findings. Manson and her colleagues plan to publish data on the supplements’ effects on other areas of health in coming months, including diabetes, memory and mental functioning, autoimmune disease, respiratory infections and depression. Consumers who want to reduce their risk of cancer and heart disease can follow other proven strategies. “People should continue to focus on known factors to reduce cancer and heart disease: Eat right, exercise, don’t smoke, control high blood pressure, take a statin if you are high risk,” said Dr. Alex Krist, a professor of family medicine and population health at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Seven out of Top 10 Fastest Growing Languages in the United States are from India

Newly released Census Bureau data for 2017 shows nearly half (48.2 percent) of residents in America’s ﬁve largest cities now speak a language other than English at home. Overall, the number of U.S. residents speaking a foreign language at home reached a record of nearly 67 million. The total number is up seven million since 2010 and has increased by nearly 35 million since 1990. So which language is the fastest growing in America? Telugu wins out as the fastest growing language. In fact, of the top 10 fastest growing languages in America, seven are from India. Saathee.com

This past September, the Census Bureau released some of the data from the 2017 American Community Survey (ACS). The survey reﬂects the U.S. population as of July 1, 2017. The annual ACS survey includes over two million households. The Census Bureau has posted some of the results from the ACS to its section “American FactFinder” on the Bureau website. The Census Bureau has not released the public-use version of the ACS for researchers to download and analyze, but organizations such as the Center for Immigration Studies has analyzed information found at FactFinder. There are three language questions in the ACS for 2010 and 2017. The ﬁrst asks whether each person in the survey speaks a language other than English at home. Second, for those who answer “yes,” the survey then asks what language the person speaks. Third, the survey also asks how well the person speaks English. Only those who speak a language at home other than English are asked about their English skills. The 1980, 1990, and 2000 decennial censuses (long form) asked almost the exact same questions. The Census Bureau’s “foreign-born” population is comprised of those individuals who were not U.S. citizens at birth. It includes naturalized citizens, legal permanent residents (green card holders), temporary workers, and foreign students. According to the American think tank Center for Immigration Studies Analysis, “Of languages with more than 400,000 speakers in 2017, the largest percentage increases from 2010 to 2017 were among speakers of Telugu (up 86 percent); Arabic (up 42 percent); Hindi (up 42 percent); Urdu (up 30 percent); Chinese (up 23 percent); Gujarati (up 22 percent); and Haitian Creole (up 19 percent). Hindi, Telugu, and Gujarati are spoken in India, and Urdu is the national language of Pakistan. The largest numerical increases from 2010 to 2017 were among speakers of Spanish (up four million); Chinese (up 653,000); Arabic (up 363,000); Hindi (up 254,000); Telugu (up 192,000); Tagalog (up 173,000); Haitian Creole (up 140,000); Bengali (up 128,000); Urdu (up 118,000); and Vietnamese (up 117,000). Telugu and Tamil are spoken in India, Tagalog is the national language of the Philippines, and Bengali is spoken in India and is also the national language of Bangladesh.” Many of these languages are still not large enough to count in the 20 most spoken non-English languages in the United States. Telugu is mainly spoken in the south Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. They have a combined population of 84 million people. It’s the fourth most spoken language in India, according to the 2011 census. Many Telugu speakers arrive in the US via H1-B visas.

Languages Spoken by Those Who Speak a Language Other than English at Home

December 2018

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I have SOLD most of my listings and am in need of new listings. If you are thinking of selling, please contact me! New Listing - Belair at Carolina Lake

Immaculate home in desirable Belair at Carolina Lakes with open floorplan and tons of natural light. Beautiful wood floors in 2-story Foyer, Breakfast and Kitchen. Kitchen with gas range/oven, granite counters, tiled backsplash, and SS appliances. Dining Room with trey ceiling, Family Room with gas fireplace and Guest Bedroom suite on main level. Inviting Master Bedroom with trey ceilings and luxurious Bath with dual vanities and roomy soaking tub. Large backyard is great for entertaining. Enjoy the neighborhood pool, clubhouse and playground. Wonderful opportunity! $309,900

New Listing - Bryant Park

IMPROVED PRICE. MOTIVATED SELLER. BEST LOCATION IN BRYANT PARK! Better than new. Gorgeous endunit Rosecliff Model featuring new carpet, new light fixtures, and fresh paint throughout. Kitchen offers SS appliances, granite counters, 42" cabinets, great storage, and new Subway Tile Backsplash. Open, light-filled floorplan, exquisite 5" Hardwood floors throughout first level. Upstairs features spacious secondary bedrooms, a cozy Loft area and Laundry. Inviting Master Suite with trey ceilings, large walk-in closets, and luxury Bath featuring tiled garden tub & shower, and dual vanities. Tankless Hot Water Heater, attached 2Car Garage, plus ample adjoining common area to enjoy. Just minutes from Uptown! Lots of Green area in the back and side. Huge green open space in the front. Unit feels like Single Family home. Call today. $314,900

SOLD

New Listing - Bellington

SOLD

Former model home loaded with Upgrades! Dramatic foyer welcomes you into this bright, sunny former model home. Large living room, huge windows throughout 1st floor. Large upstairs offers 2 master suites, 2 bedrooms plus bonus/office with massive walk-in-closet that could be 5th bdrm. 3 Car Garage! 100% energy star with Nest learning thermostat. SS appliances, granite c-tops, tile backsplash, Hardwoods throughout. Professional Extensive Landscaping w irrigation system. This home will wow you! Bring Offers. $404,900

New Listing - Oakbrooke

Beautifully updated 3 bed/2.5 bath End Unit Townhome w/ 1-car Garage and huge Deck. Private Wooded Backyard w/ scenic view of Lake & Fountain. All new Granite Countertops, SS Appliances & Light Fixtures. New Laminate floors & new Carpet.dFresh y! 1 aw/ inRoom Paint thru-out. Large Great Gas Fireplace. Spacious Master Bedroom w/ large Closet. Oversized secondary Bedrooms. Convenient location. Best Schools & just a 5min walk to Ballantyne Elementary. This is a Must See! Will not last. $194,900

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New Listing - Kensington Forest

Amazing 3 sides brick home in desired Kensington Forest on 0.72 Acre Large Lot! 2 story Great room with lots of Windows, Beautiful Breakfast nook, Spacious Office, Grand Dinning room, Gourmet kitchen w/ commercial grade appliances, Granite countertops, Tiles and Hardwood Galore, Expensive carpet in secondary bedrooms, New paint Thru-out! Large guest bedroom and full bath on main floor. Totally updated master suite and bath. Over-sized secondary bedrooms. Nice bonus room. Detached building has Kitchenette and Full bath. It is not included in HLA. Perfect for Gym or Music studio or a hobby room. Side load Garage, In-ground Irrigation, Lots of storage, Tons of other details and upgrades. Beautiful Deck over looking a big backyard. Lots of privacy. Top rated Schools. This one will not last. It is a Must See! $499,900

SOLD

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Seller Wants House Under Contract THIS WEEKEND! REDUCED $50,000! Beautiful, move-in ready home in sought after Cady Lake! Gourmet kitchen with brand new stainless steel appliances, granite countertops & 42" cabinets. New subway tiles Backsplash. Hardwoods throughout first floor except Master Bedroom. See-Thru gas log fireplace. Huge master suite w/ tray ceiling, garden tub w/ sep shower and huge walk in closet. Private fenced backyard with stone patio perfect for relaxing. 5th Bedroom could make a great bonus room! New neutral paint throughout. New carpet on stairs and entire second floor. Large fenced-in backyard. Ready for you to move in! $449,900

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New Listing - Carlyle

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Pristine 3 bedroom home with open plan and full of natural light. Built-ins, wrought-iron stairwell banister, plus gorgeous wood floors throughout the main level. Inviting Kitchen with stainless steel appliance, granite counters, kitchen island, and open to Family Room. Spacious Bonus/Office with separate private room. Luxury Master suite with wood floors recently installed in 2016. Roomy Deck overlooks a spacious, fenced Backyard bordered by large shrubbery for privacy. Side-Load Garage and inground Irrigation System. Roof installed in 2015. This is a must-see!

New Listing - Kenilworth

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Spectacular home in desirable Ballantyne area. Exceptionally updated with brand new appliances, fixtures, carpet and fresh paint. Exquisitely remodeled Bathrooms with a brand new frameless shower door scheduled to be installed in Master ys! aGreat bath. Pristine Kitchen, sun-filled 2-story 3d n i Room with fireplace, spacious Master Bedroom with trey ceiling, and a very nice open floorplan. Roomy deck overlooks beautiful treed yard. Excellent schools, shopping, and convenient to 485. $399,900

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Community Organizations group meets the second and fourth Sunday from 3 - 5pm. This course is based on the Home Study Course of the Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, Saylorsburg, PA. Each session starts with meditation followed by a recorded lecture in English and discussion For Further Details: dshetti@gmail.com - 214.587.7331 skdave@hotmail.com - 704.844.9567

Charlotte

art of living (Charlotte) Art of Living is dedicated to serving society by strengthening the individual. This is done through self-development programs that recharge the body, mind and spirit and allow people to function at their optimum potential. People from all backgrounds, religions and cultural traditions are welcome. For Further Details: 980.216.8732 charlotte@us.artoﬂiving.org www.artoﬂiving.org/charlotte

Charlotte Hindu Center table tennis The Charlotte Hindu Center Table Tennis group meets every Wednesday from 6.30 - 10 pm. All levels and types of play. Takes place at Vihar Hall, Hindu Center, 7400 City View Dr., Charlotte, NC. For Further Details: 704.607.8412

BaPs shri swaminarayan Mandir (Charlotte) A spiritual, volunteer-driven organization dedicated to improving society through individual growth by fostering the Hindu ideals of faith, unity, and selﬂess service. Activities include: Daily Arti - 6:30 am & 6:30 pm; Weekly Satsang Sabha held every Sunday which includes Bhajans and spiritual discourses: Adults: 4pm, Young Men (Ages 23-36) - 3pm, Young Women (Ages 23-36) - 4pm, Teens - 4:30pm, and Children - 5pm. For Further Details: www.saathee.com/baps-charlotte

Charlotte Malayalee association The association promotes and facilitates the cultural, educational, social and economic welfare of the Charlotte Malayalee community. For Further Details: cltma@cltma.org 704.517.5850 www.cltma.org

Bethel Christian Fellowship BCF was founded to “Raise Up The Next Generation For Jesus Christ.” The Fellowship oﬀers services in various Indian languages (Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam) with a Sunday School from 9 - 9:55 am and Sunday Worship from 10 - 11:45 am. The Fellowship is located at 7604 New Town Road, Waxhaw, NC 28173 For Further Details: 803.792.7223 Pastor Rajan Samuel - pastorofbcf@gmail.com www.bcfcog.org

Charlotte Marathi Mandal The Mandal adds to the vibrancy of Charlotte with various events including the Ganapati Festival which are designed to keep the cultural values and traditions alive. The community is encouraged to participate. For Further Details: 704.565.9237 committee@charlottemarathimandal.org www.saathee.com/charlotte-marathi-mandal

Charlotte telangana association The Charlotte Telangana Association is a non-proﬁt organization formed to promote two diﬀerent aspects. On one hand to promote not only the telangana cultural activties within greater Charlotte area, but also to bring together all the telangana people living in greater Charlotte area. On the other, to discuss, plan, and take action around the development of Telangana focusing both on rural and urban Telangana areas. For Further Details: Charlotte.telangana@gmail.com www.charlottetelangana.com

Carolina Khadayata samaj All Khadayata families of NC and SC are welcome to be part of the Carolina Khadayata Samaj. For Further Details: carolinakhadayatasamaj@yahoo.com Jaswant Mehta - 704.839.1965 Rita Shah - 704.321.0740

Carolinas Christian assembly The Assembly located on 12601 Idlewild Rd., Matthews, NC, oﬀers worship, fellowship and community assistance to all South Asians living in the Charlotte area. Sunday morning worship services are currently being held at New Heaven Community Church, 8823 Albemarle Road, Charlotte, NC 28227 at 9:30amam. Pastor Cherian, oﬀers free counseling services to married couples and is a licensed premarital counselor. For Further Details: Dr. Shibu Cherian (Pastor) 704.208.9099 www.carolinaschristianassembly.org

Charlotte Vipassana Meditation Group Vipassana, which means to see things as they really are, is one of India’s most ancient techniques of meditation. It was taught in India more than 2500 years ago as a remedy for universal ills. The Charlotte Vipassana Meditation Group holds weekly group sits and monthly all-day sits for established students. Ten-day courses are also available for all students. There is never a charge for a course. For Further Details: 704.277.5013 - rbddesai@gmail.com 704.807.3933 - madhaviparikh@yahoo.com www.dhamma.org

Charlotte Gita study Group Beginners and advanced students of the Gita are welcome. The Saathee.com

December 2018

Community Organizations Indian american Muslim Council (IMaC) of Charlotte IAMC is committed to promoting peace, pluralism and social justice through advocacy as well as promote and protect human rights and dignity in India as they are the foundation of freedom and justice. IAMC-Charlotte seeks to reach out to Indian Muslims living in Charlotte to strive for Inter-Community understanding with focus on Indian Diaspora. For Further Details: Ashfaq Mehdi - 704.904.5778 iamc-charlotte@yahoogroups.com

Classical Music association of Charlotte (CMaC) CMAC sponsors many classical concerts during the year in Charlotte. Membership forms are available at shows. For Further Details: Lakshmi & Muthukrishnan - 704.814.9355 Jayashree & Panduranga - 704.442.1186 memberservices@onlinecmac.org www.onlinecmac.org

dada Bhagwan Foundation (Charlotte) Every living being is in constant pursuit of happiness; no one likes suﬀering. This search ends only when the source of eternal happiness is found. It can be attained through realizing your true Self. A path to eternal happiness was discovered by Gnani Purush A. M. Patel, also known as Dada Bhagwan and it was revealed to the world as Akram Vignan, a spiritual science. This spiritual science is based on the foundation of Self Realization. Ssatsang held Every Sunday 1- 3pm & once a month Saturday 2-7pm, which includes watching DVD Satsang or Question/Answer Sessions Satsang, Aarti & Mahaprasad.Venue: Hindu Temple, 7400 City View Dr, Charlotte, NC 28212 For Further Details: 877.505.3232 x 1027 wccharlotte@us.dadabhagwan.org www.dadabhagwan.org

Indian Performing arts association of Charlotte (IPaaC) IPAAC promotes Classical Hindustani music in and around the Queen City. IPAAC is the result of a shared dream of a small group of music enthusiasts to bring the rich world of Classical music and dance from the Indian subcontinent. For Further Details: Jyoti Kulkarni - 704.804.1275 Chaula Jain - 704.248.1515 contact@ipaac.org www.ipaac.org

IsKCon (Charlotte) There are weekly meetings to learn and practice bhakti-yoga for all ages. Celebration of festivals, delicious prasadam, heartfelt kirtan, spiritual discourses, class for kids, association with visiting monks and teachers, and make friends. Bhagavad-Gita class is held on every Friday at multiple locations in Charlotte. For Further Details: 980-277-GITA (4482) Iskconofcharlotte@gmail.com

Gurdwara sahib (Charlotte) The Gurdwara works to enrich the lives of the Sikh & Punjabi communities of Charlotte and surrounding areas. Regular Program: Every Sunday: 10 - 11am, Asa Di War by Bhai Satnam Singh Jee, 11am - 12pm, Keertan by Children, 12 1:15pm, Keertan by Bhai Satnam Singh Jee, 1:15 - 1:30pm, Ardaas, followed by Guru Ka Langar. Located at 1760 Stoney Creek Lane, Charlotte, NC 28262 For Further Details: 704.509.2828 www.charlottegurdwara.org

Jain Center of Greater Charlotte (JCGC) Serving the spiritual, cultural, and community needs of Jain families. Dedicated to the practice, understanding, promotion, and preservation of the Jain faith. Members meet regularly for worship, ceremonies, and festivals. JCGC organizes numerous religious activities year-round - including celebrating major religious festivals such as Mahavir Jayanti, Paryushan, and Diwali, and routine programs like Swadhyay, Pujas and children’s Pathshaala. Address: 7631 Mallard Creek Road, Charlotte, NC 28262. Regular events: Weekdays: 9:30am - Prakshal & Puja; 7:30pm - Aarti & Mangal Divo Weekends: 10:30am - Prakshal & Puja 7:30pm - Aarti & Mangal Divo For Further Details: JCGC President: Saumya Kothari: 858.382.351 info@jaincenterus.org www.jaincenterus.org

Hindu Center of Charlotte The Hindu Center of Charlotte holds many regular events and religious ceremonies. The temple library is stocked with books, CDs, DVDs and other materials on varied genres such as religion, culture, history, philosophy, yoga and health. Upcoming Events: Dec 15: Lord Venkateshwara Anniversary Dec 16: Gita Jayanti Jan 13: Sankranti, Lohri, Pongal Jan 13: Kite ﬂying For Further Details: www.saathee.com/hindu-center-charlotte

Jet usa (Charlotte, north Carolina) These organizations are operated across the world to empower the communities across the world. Activities include personality development and spiritual activities like discourses / puja / homam etc. (JETworld.org). VTSeva (Volunteering Together for Service) focusing on various service activities (VTSworld.org) For Further Details: charlotte.jetusa.org jetcharlotte@jetusa.org / 704-981-1JET

India association of Charlotte The organization works to foster better understanding of the rich diversity of Indian culture by the larger community in and around Charlotte. For Further Details: Toni Sawhney - 704.604.2133 Lal Vishin - 704.545.3727 indiafestival.iacofcarolinas.org/ Saathee.com

December 2018

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Community Organizations sangamithra Foundation A charity organization formed to make a diﬀerence in society. The team has taken the path of identifying the needs of underprivileged communities in India and provides support to meet those needs. Sangamithra works collectively towards realizing its vision. For Further Details: info@sangamithra.org www.sangamithra.org

Kriya Yoga (Charlotte) The group promotes Kriya Yoga Meditation as taught by the lineage of realized masters such as Mahaavatar Baba Ji, Lahri Mahasaya, Sri Yukteshwar Giri, Paramahamsa Yogananda, Hariharananda, and Prajanananada. A sincere seeker who follows the path of Kriya Yoga with love and devotion and a desire for spiritual growth can attain Self-realization. The center hosts two annual initiation programs and a weekly Sunday meditation for initiates. For Further Details: Adesh Gupta - 704.814.7476 info@charlotte.kriya.org www.kriya.org

shanti niketan senior Center of Carolinas The Center values diversity, holistic health, peaceful living, civic and community engagement, especially for under-served populations including Refugees, Immigrants, and Minorities (RIM). Eﬀorts are made to support a population with the understanding that a vibrant diverse population adds to the strength and well-being of the whole community. Located at 7701 Wallace Ln., Charlotte. For Further Details: NimishBhatt@bellsouth.net / 704.491.1186 uisac.org

Pratham - Charlotte Pratham organizes grassroots programs in the area of primary education and has made an impact on the learning levels of several million children through its Read India campaign. With nearly half the children in India who attend schools not learning to read and write at the required level, Pratham is trying to ﬁll an important gap in the area of primary education. For Further Details: Anju Desai - ajdesai66@gmail.com - 980.622.0125 Shubhra Chakraborty - shubhra.chakraborty1@gmail.com 704.942.4798 www.prathamusa.org

shree swaminarayan satsang Mandal Vadtal On the 1st Saturday of every month, Shree Swaminarayan Satsang Mandal Vadtal has kirtans and bhajans at the Hindu Center of Charlotte at 5pm. After the bhajans, there is Aarti and Mahaprasad. In addition, on the 3rd Sunday of every month, an additional Satsang Sabha is held at a sponsor’s house, 3 - 5pm. For Further Details: Divyesh Chauhan - 704.965.9735 Sanjay Savaliya - 704.779.7574 admin@issvcharlotte.org issvcharlotte.org

Probasi of Charlotte Probasi’s goal is to organize cultural and educational program related to Bengal in the Charlotte area, to increase Bengali cultural awareness, and to provide community service in the area. For Further Details: Swapan Nandi - 704.708.5993 Anindita Paul Bhunia - 704.360.2326 welcome@probasi.org www.probasi.org

shri Rang avadhut Parivar (Parspar devo Bhav) Devotees of Guru Dattatraya Rang Avadhut and Shri Prem Avadhut meet on Thurs from 6-8pm in Charlotte for recital of “Datta-Bavani,” singing devotional Dattatraya Bhajans and reading “Guru-Lilamrut.” Info about meetings, literature, videos, as well as biographies of Nareshwar Ashram and Shri Avadhut’s lives are available. For Further Details: Bharat Shah - 704.724.6247 Nagesh Patel - 704.399.7805

sahaja Yoga Meditation Sahaja Yoga Meditation classes are free to attend and meant for all age groups who desire to ﬁnd his or her true self, which is full of peace, joy of life and love for others. Sahaja Yoga was founded and developed by Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi and teaches very simple techniques of meditation. Sessions are conducted weekly or biweekly at 5935 Hickory Grove Rd, Charlotte. For Further Details: www.meetup.com/SYCharoletteNC/

sindhi association of the Carolinas The Sindhi Association of the Carolinas (SAC) organizes religious, cultural, community, and social events in Charlotte. SAC also sends donations for the needy to the schools in India for Scholarships and for camp refugees in India. For Further Details: sindhiassociationcarolinas@gmail.com 704.779.2396

samskrita Bharati sthanam of Charlotte The Samskrita Bharati USA organization (www.sbusa.org), SBUSA promotes Samskritam (Sanskrit) as an everyday language and provides access to its rich and diverse repository of knowledge. Trained teachers teach Samskritam in spoken and written forms among people of all ages in an interactive and engaging environment. Start your journey to speak this ancient foundational language by attending a one-day introductory workshop. No prior knowledge of Samskritam is needed. Four Further Details: Shreedhar Murthy: murthy90232@gmail.com or 513-967-4775 Joy Vyloppully: vykuntha@gmail.com or 704-906-5665. Saathee.com

south Park Cricket Club (sPCC) The South Park Cricket Club is a group of gentlemen who play competitive cricket for fun. SPCC is based in Charlotte and has been a part of the Carolina Cricket League since 2010. For Further Details: anishtr@hotmail.com / www.southparkcc.org 98

December 2018

Large Selection of Indian Groceries

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Other Locations

Raleigh 67514 Hillsborough St. Raleigh, NC 27606 919-859-5403

Durham 1708 E. NC Hwy 54 Durham, NC 27713 919-572-5599

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Community Organizations sparsh of Greater Charlotte Sparsh seeks to build community, preserve our heritage, and showcase the culture of the states of Bihar and Jharkand through cultural, charitable, and social events. For Further Details: sparshofcharlotte@gmail.com 980-221-9641 www.facebook.com/sparshofgreatercharlotte

srishti of Charlotte Srishti works to fulﬁll the NC community’s need for togetherness and the desire to showcase Bengali culture, literature, theatre, music and popular arts. Literally, the word Srishti means an act of creation. Srishti welcomes and brings together people of varied cultures, ethnicity, languages, and backgrounds who are interested in East Indian traditions. For Further Details: Santanu Sarkar - santanu_kumar@yahoo.com 704. 541.3451 www.srishtiofcharlotte.org

telugu association of Greater Charlotte area (taGCa) TAGCA was formed with an intention of preserving and promoting the Telugu cultural heritage and traditions among the Telugu speaking people residing in Greater Charlotte area. The association organizes social and cultural events and festivals that reﬂect the Telugu people culture from India. For Further Details: pr@tagca.org www.tagca.org

trimurti temple devasthanam The temple grounds oﬀer many areas to explore including 14 sanathis with traditional Mandabams for various Hindu deities. Open daily with a Morning Puja at 10am and Evening Puja at 7pm. Sunday Abhisekhams at 11am as well as other special pujas. The temple is located at 6519 Beatties Ford Road, Charlotte, NC, 28216. For Further Details: 980.219.7556 contact@trimurtitemple.org www.trimurtitemple.org

Vallabh Pushti samaj of Carolinas (VPsC) VPSC’s objective is to ﬁll devotional need for hundreds of Vaishnavs in Carolinas to worship and pray together, to observe and celebrate festivals, and to engage in humanitarian and educational activities. Paath and Bhajan recitations are held on the 2nd Sunday of each month from 4 - 6pm. A VYO Youth (ages 6-14) educational Meet is also scheduled on the 1st & 3rd Saturdays of each month. The Shrinath Dham Haveli is located at 1006 Vickie Lane, Matthews, NC 28104. For Further Details: www.saathee.com/vallabh-pushti-vpsc

Vibha Charlotte Vibha Charlotte is volunteer driven organization dedicated to create a brighter future for underprivileged children. This group came together through a strong belief in Vibha’s mission and resolved to create a positive societal impact in India. The group Saathee.com

works to organize social events that spread awareness and raise funds to further the organization’s mission. For Further Details: Volunteers@charlotte.vibha.org sites.vibha.org/Charlotte

Greensboro

art of living (Greensboro) The Art of Living Foundation offers programs to uncover the strength, peace, and joy that lie at the core of every human being. Part I courses are offered regularly in Chapel Hill, Raleigh, and Greensboro which cover breathing techniques to eliminate stress & tension; skills for improving relationships at home and at work; practical wisdom to get the most out of life; insight into the laws that govern the mind & emotions; low-impact yoga and the breathing-based technique called Sudarshan Kriya, or the healing breath. For Further Details: Sonal Chhawchharia - sonal.chhawchharia@gmail.com Puja Verma - puja_usa@yahoo.com www.artofliving.org/us-en/greensboro

BaPs shri swaminarayan Mandir Greensboro BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir of Greensboro features activities which include Sunday Sabhas: Shishu (Toddlers) sabha: 4 - 5pm; Bal/Balika sabha: 4:15 - 5:30pm; Kishore sabha: 2 - 3:30pm; Main sabha: 4 - 6pm; Gujarati classes: 2:30 - 3:45pm and Arti at 6pm followed by Mahaprasad. Fresh Shayona snacks available on Sundays. Located at 922 Gallimore Dairy Road, High Point, NC. For Further Details: 336.355.9798 bapsgreensboro@gmail.com www.baps.org/Greensboro Gujarati Cultural association of Piedmont (GCaP) The Gujarati Cultural Association of Piedmont serves the Asian Indian community through sponsored events, cultural, educational and social programs. Located at 127 Landmark Drive, Greensboro, NC 27410 For Further Details: Janak Patel - 919.799.1603 www.gcap.us

India association of the triad (IatnC) The objective of the Association is to promote social, cultural and educational interests of its members, develop understanding between members of the Indian community and other residents of the Triad area, and make the latter aware of issues of concern to the Indian community. For Further Details: committee@iatnc.org www.iatnc.org

Indian association of the Carolinas (IaC) The mission of the IAC is to promote the Indian culture by hosting community events such local picnics, Diwali and Garba and similar celebration and sports events. Their Center is located in Winston-Salem. 100

December 2018

T H R E E

L O C A T I O N S

All Of Us at Aroma Want to Wish You a Very Merry Christmas!

Three Convenient Locations Opposite of Concord Mills Mall 8455 Pit Stop Ct., Ste 150 Concord, NC 28027 704-979-8533 www.aromainconcord.com

Transamerica Building Uptown Charlotte 401 N Tryon St., Ste 106 Charlotte, NC 28202 704-919-0502

Three Wells Fargo Center Uptown Charlotte 401 S Tryon St., Ste 120 Charlotte, NC 28202 704-919-0502

Community Organizations For Further Details: Gopal - 336.509.5943 Hasmukh - 336.971.5594 (Membership Help) indianac14@gmail.com www.indianac.org

Indo-american society of nC (IasnC) The objectives of the IASNC are to support the Indian, South Asian and American communities residing in Greensboro, NC and vicinity and other individuals interested in learning the culture, traditions, and arts of India. Promotes Indo-American cultural, arts and sports events and volunteering activities. For Further Details: Krishna Balu - balu4428@inﬁonline.net - 336.292.9462 www.iasofnc.org

Indo-us Cultural association of Winston-salem The primary mission is to increase awareness of the cultural heritage of India which is tremendously rich in its diversity and history. The Association seeks to reach out to the thriving IndianAmerican community within the Piedmont and Triad areas to share the vibrant Indian culture and promote cross-cultural understanding. For Further Details: President: Aanchal Chopra - indouswinston@gmail.com 336.575.5348 www.indouswinston.org

life Mission, usa This ashram has been established to provide helpful beneﬁts for all - physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. All these beneﬁts can be achieved through the natural remedies of yoga therapy, Ayurveda, naturopathy and diet. The ashram is located at 8136 NC Highway 119, South Mebane, NC 27302. For Further Details: 336.421.0690 Dr. Manoj - 848.459.7401 lifemissionusa@gmail.com www.lifemissionusa.org

Quan am Buddhist temple All interested in Buddhism are welcome. The temple is located at 1410 Glendale Dr, Greensboro, NC 27407 For Further Details: www.ChuaQuanAm.com

sri Mata Hindu temple of north Carolina The temple strives to meet the community’s Religious, Spiritual, Cultural, Artistic and Literary Needs. Panchayatana Puja is the system of worship in the Smarta Sampradaya of Hinduism. It is said to have been introduced by Sri Adi Shankara. It consists of the worship of ﬁve deities: Shiva, Vishnu, Devi, Surya and Ganesha. The Temple is located at 8535 Lasater Road, Clemmons, NC 27012 Regular Events: Weekdays: 6:30 - 7:30pm; Sat & Sun: 10:30am - 12:30pm For Further Details 336.LOK.MATA (565.6282) info@matahindutemple.org www.matahindutemple.org Saathee.com

sri sathya sai Baba Center (Greensboro) The Sri Sathya Sai Baba Center regularly conducts Sai Bhajans, Study Circles, various service activities and SSE classes (for students) every Sunday from 9:45am - 12:15pm. For Further Details: Swami Rajendran - 908.875.6964 Dr. Varatharajah - 336.851.9150 www.sathyasaicentergso.org

Winston-Greensboro Cricket Club (WGCC) Everyone from Triad Area in NC, including Greensboro, High Point, Winston Salem and nearby locations are welcome to come and join the club. The goals of the WGCC are fun, ﬁtness, and friendship. WGCC is also a member of the Carolina Cricket League. Practice Sessions during the regular season are held every Wednesday at 5:30pm in Weston Park, Winston-Salem. For Further Details: www.wgcricketclub.com

Raleigh

art of living (Raleigh) Art of Living gives practical knowledge and techniques to unlock deepest potential and bring fullness to life. The techniques are effective in reducing stress levels and increase health, physical energy, enthusiasm, self-esteem, awareness, and clarity of mind. Advance courses are also available once every few months. Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravishankar’s mission is to create a violence free, stress free society and One World Family. The Center is located at 4000 Bear Cat Way, Suite 102, Morrisville, NC 27560. For Further Details: 919.659.5939 rdu@us.artofliving.org www.artofliving.org/us-en/raleigh

assamese association of north Carolina AANC is a Socio-cultural organization with the objective of promoting and providing understanding of Assamese culture and language. AANC celebrates Assamese festivals and organizes cultural activities like Bihu Dance, music, songs and social get-togethers with essential touch of Assamese culture. Everyone from Assam as well as anyone with any connection to or interest in Assamese culture is welcome. For Further Details: Nilaskhi Phukan - 919.949.1618 - nilakshi_phukan@yahoo.com 919.200.4020 assameseassociation.nc@gmail.com

BaPs shri swaminarayan Mandir (Raleigh) A spiritual, volunteer-driven organization dedicated to improving society through individual growth by fostering the Hindu ideals of faith, unity, and selﬂess service. Activities include: Daily Arti - 7am & 6:30 pm; Weekly Satsang Sabha held every Sunday which includes Bhajans and spiritual discourses: Adults: 4pm, Young Men (Ages 23-36) - 3pm, Young Women (Ages 23-36) - 4pm, Teens - 4:30pm, and Children - 5pm. Location: 1020 Aviation Parkway, Morrisville, NC 27560 For Further Details: Saathee.com/baps-shri-swaminarayan-mandir-morrisville-nc 102

December 2018

NOW O FORT M PEN IN ILL, SC

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One of the LARGEST FULL BAR in Indian Restaurants in the Carolinas.

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Persis Indian Grill 1504 Carolina Pl Dr #101 Fort Mill, SC 29708 We are located in Baxter Area, off the exit 85 on I-77.

(803) 396 0444 persisfortmill.com (803) 806 2303

Community Organizations Bengali association of north Carolina (BanC) BANC seeks to promote Bengali culture, language, music, arts and social activities by oﬀering varieties of programs for members of Indian-American community within North Carolina and adjacent states. The association is organized exclusively for charitable, cultural, social and educational purposes. For Further Details: exec@banc-online.org www.banc-online.org

Bhartiya senior Citizens of nC (BsCnC) The organization for senior citizen of Indian origin that are age 60 years and over. BSCNC members meet on 2nd Saturday of each month at Cary senior center in Bond park in Cary NC from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. The next meeting will be on Saturday, December 8, 2018. New board members will be declared and president will be elected. Each member will also get special gift from the organization. For Further Details: mahenlata@gmail.com

Chinmaya Mission Raleigh-durham (CM Rdu) Chinmaya Mission was founded by Swami Chinmayananda. He pursued the spiritual path under the guidance of Swami Shivananda and Swami Tapovanam. Dedicated to spreading the knowledge of Vedanta and other Hindu scriptures and to provide to individuals and the practical means for spiritual growth and happiness. CM RDU conducts weekly discourses (Satsanga-s) and study groups for adults, and classes for youth (Yuvakendra) and children (Bala Vihar). For Further Details: www.chinmaya-RDU.org

dada Bhagwan Foundation (Raleigh) Every living being is in constant pursuit of happiness; no one likes suﬀering. This search ends only when the source of eternal happiness is found. It can be attained through realizing your true Self. A path to eternal happiness was discovered by Gnani Purush A. M.. Patel, also known as Dada Bhagwan and it was revealed to the world as Akram Vignan, a spiritual science. This spiritual science is based on the foundation of Self Realization. All are invited to the regular satsang events at HSNC, Saturdays 5 - 7pm. General Satsang followed by Aarti and Prasad. Satsang Venue: HSNC, 309 Aviation Pkwy, Rooms 5 & 6, Morrisville, NC. For Further Details: 877.505.3232 x 1003 wcraleigh@us.dadabhagwan.org www.dadabhagwan.org

datta Yoga Center (Raleigh) Mission: Spread the teachings of Sadguru Sri Ganapathi Sachchidananda Swamiji of Mysore. Activities: Namasankeertana - Bhajans written, composed and sung by Pujya Sri Swamiji. Kriya yoga classes conducted by Pujya Sri Swamiji-trained teachers from India. The group meets on the ﬁrst Saturday of every month and every major festival day for Satsang and Namasankeertana (divine singing). For Further Details: Suresh and Madhavi Kota - 919.434.1604 www.dycusa.org Saathee.com

duke diya Diya is a Duke University student organization that committed to providing a forum for interaction through events relating to South Asian Americans and anyone interested in South Asian culture, politics or economics. Duke Diya represents the six major nations of South Asia: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. Social events like club mixers and semiformals, especially with other Duke cultural groups and South Asian organizations at UNC and NC State, are also an enjoyable aspect of life with Diya. For Further Details: diya.duke@gmail.com www.dukediya.com

eKtaa student organization (nCsu) EKTAA (meaning unity) is the South Asian Student Organization at North Carolina State University (NCSU). The organization was founded in 1970. The motto is “unity within diversity.” EKTAA strives to spread culture and heritage of South Asia all over the campus as well as the local community and the organization works hand-in-hand with many organizations on and oﬀ the NCSU campus, as well as South Asian organizations from area universities. For Further Details: ektaaexec@ektaa.org www.ektaa.org

Geet Bazaar Radio (nCsu) Every Sunday morning from 10am - 12pm on WKNC 88.1 FM, join hosts Afroz Taj and John Caldwell, for a wide variety of music from South Asia, including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and beyond. They specialize in the music of the Indian ﬁlm industry, with lots of ghazals, qawwalis, bhajans, and Indi-Pop to round out the mix. Listen to Geet Bazaar worldwide using the NC State Student Media App or live streaming on wknc.org. For Further Details: Dr. Afroz Taj & John Caldwell - 919.851.1119 geetbazaar@wknc.org

GeM Raleigh Church of God Come and join in every Sunday from 10:45am to 1pm. They have worship services, prayer meetings, Sunday school, and much more. Located at 3331 Blue Ridge Road, Raleigh, NC 27612 For Further Details: Pastor Thankachan Mathai - 919.395.6208 globalem@gmail.com

Gokul Bhajan & Vedic studies (Raleigh) Weekly satsang of parents and children singing bhajans and glorifying past times of Lord Krishna. Satsang every Friday 7pm - 9pm at the HSNC in Morrisville, NC with a dinner afterwards. Gokulam Learning Center in Durham every 1st & 3rd Saturday from 5pm - 9pm with a dinner afterwards. Children learn slokas, presentation skills, manage and lead various projects such as book distribution, charity for cow protection, food for the poor, and prison seva. For Further Details: bkdasa@gmail.com 919.491.9536 www.gokulbhajan.com 104

December 2018

IMMIGRATION ATTORNEY LAW OFFICES OF DAVID A. CONCHA

725 east trade st., suite 105 (Court Arcade building)

Charlotte, NC 28202 tel: 704-525-8824 Fax: 704-525-8820

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Auto Accidents Workman’s Compensation DWI, Speeding Revoked License and Similiar Traffic Infractions and Simple Divorce

SERVING THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY My parents are IMMIGRANTS therefore I can understand your situation. You will be treated with the utmost integrity and respect. Saturday and telephone consultations available

Member American immigration Lawyers Association (AiLA)

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• Audit Representation and Tax Resolution to 100% clients satisfaction before federal, state and local tax authorities, including filing past year returns. • Review for possible Federal or State income tax exposure. • Monthly Bookkeeping Services.

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i am committed to providing close, personal attention to my clients. i take pride in giving you the assurance that the personal assistance you receive comes from 15 years of my public accounting experience including several years of big 4 accounting firm’s advanced training, technical experience and financial acumen. My continual investment of time and resources in professional continuing education and extensive business relationships is indicative of my commitment to excellence. Saathee.com

105

• Financial reviews and compilation including compliance testing. • Corporate, partnership, individual, trust and estate tax consulting, planning and compliance. • Mergers and acquisition reviews including business valuations. • Comprehensive business services in accounting and auditing. • Management information systems consulting and technology implementation services. December 2018

Community Organizations Gurdwara atlantic Coast sikh association One of the oldest Sikh associations in the Southeastern US meets every Sunday for Diwans along with Akhand Paths celebrated on appropriate dates. Classes for Punjabi and religious studies are held for children at the same time. Located at 3108 Sparger Road, Durham, NC 27705. For Further Details: Yadvinder Singh - 919.477.7035 acsikhassociation.org

Heartfulness Meditation (triangle) A heart-based meditation system open. It is a simple system of meditation centered on the supremacy of heart that helps one realize the ultimate potential within oneself. Regular practice under capable guidance enables aspirants to progressively experience the sublime presence of the divine in their daily lives. Heartfulness meditation is freely oﬀered to seekers worldwide through Shri Ram Chandra Mission. In the Triangle area, group meditations are held on Sunday at 8:30am & Wednesday at 7pm. For Further Details: Raj Solanki - raj_solanki@yahoo.com www.heartfulness.org

Heritage India association of nC (HIanC) The Association provides Indian cultural experience through performing and cultural arts, ﬁne arts & crafts of India. Its mission is “to preserve and promote Indian heritage and culture.” During the year, HIANC presents several annual events such as Heritage India Festival in April, Gandhi Jayanti in October, Children’s Day in November, and also participates in the International Festival of Raleigh in October. For Further Details: www.saathee.com/heritage-india-association

Hindi Vikas Mandal of nC The Mandal, based in the Raleigh-Triangle area, promotes study and appreciation of the Hindi Language, and strives to foster Indian culture and traditions through Hindi. HVM has special focus on the youth for the preservation of Indian heritage. Every year HVM organizes Kavisammelan (Poetry Reading); Independence Day Function, Dushera Festival and a members’ picnic. HVM also conducts weekly Hindi classes (10:30 - 11:30am on Saturdays) at HSNC for children. For Further Details: www.saathee.com/hindi-vikas-mandal

Hindu society of north Carolina The Hindu Society of NC temple is open daily from 7am - 9pm. Morning Aarti: Mon-Fri 10.30am, Sat-Sun 10am. Evening Aarti: Mon-Fri 7pm, Sat-Sun 6pm. There are many other regular events taking place at the temple. All major religious celebrations are observed. Facility rentals are also available. Activities: Yoga, Hinduism and Meditation classes; Weekend Community Classes: Jain pathshala, Hindi classes, Sanskar Gurkul Classes, Tamil classes, Balmukund classes; Youth Aﬀairs: Ohm Squad is the youth wing of HSNC involved in the youth activities like camp, games, craft and arts. Located at 309 Aviation Parkway, Morrisville, NC and serves the greater Triangle area. For Further Details: www.saathee.com/hsnc Saathee.com

Humsub HumSub is dedicated to sharing the social and cultural traditions of India with the residents of the Research Triangle Park and North Carolina. For Further Details: www.saathee.com/hum-sub

Immanuel assembly of God A full Gospel Christian church serving the Indian / South Asian community in the Raleigh area of North Carolina. Service is oﬀered Sundays at 10:30am & Bible Study is Wednesdays at 7pm. The Church is located at 5419 S. Alston Ave, Durham, NC 27713. For Further Details: Pastor Sam Daniel 919.442.8537 thechurch@immanuelassembly.org samimmanuelag@gmail.com www.immanuelassembly.org

Indian Classical Music & dance society (ICMds) ICMDS is dedicated to promoting Indian classical music and dance in the Triangle area by inviting top artists from all over the world to perform. For Further Details: www.saathee.com/icmds

Instepp Located in Durham, the organization has served women residing in the Triangle area and oﬀers long-term support and training to women who are victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and human traﬃcking; women who are transitioning back into the workforce following separation or divorce; women transitioning from prison or jail, and immigrant women, including women from South Asian cultures, who are victims of crimes. For Further Details: 919.680.8000 info@instepp.org www.instepp.org

International Community Church ICC is a worship center for people from India and neighboring countries. Church services at Reedy Creek Baptist Church 1524 N. Harrison Avenue Cary, NC 27513 For Further Details: 919.233.2900 Pastor: Joseph B. Jesudason www.icc-nc.org

International Hindi association IHA promotes Hindi language and literature and has chapters all over the United States. The Raleigh Chapter periodically organizes Kavi Sammelans with local and indigenous talents. Open to those interested in listening to poetry or in reciting poetry. For Further Details: Saroj Sharma - 919.460.7830 / 919.656.5224 www.hindi.org 106

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Community Organizations IsKCon of nC (Hillsborough) New Goloka temple is a member of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Visitors can come have darshan of Sri Sri Radha Golokananda. Sundays at 4pm, enjoy arati, kirtan, Bhagavad-gita discourse, and a prasadam feast. New Goloka also provides educational classes and programs for children and adults. New Goloka Daily Darshan Times 4:30 - 5am, 7:15am 1pm, 4:15 - 5:45pm, 7 - 8pm. Saturday and Sunday Darshan open from 7:15am - 8pm. The Radha-Krishna temple is in a rural setting at 1032 Dimmocks Mill Rd. Hillsborough, NC. For Further Details: 919.732.6492 newgoloka108@gmail.com iskconnc@gmail.com www.newgoloka.com

Jain study Center of north Carolina (JsCnC) The JSCNC was organized to study and understand Jain religion, philosophy, rituals, and literature and to educate the children. Over the years the Center has participated in many activities for youths and adults, where an environment is created making members feel like a part of the family. Jain pathshala and swadhyay are held routinely for children and adults respectively. For Further Details: jscnc101@gmail.com / jscnc.org

Kiran, Inc. Kiran serves and empowers South Asian victims of domestic violence in NC by helping them rebuild their lives and ending the cycle of violence. Although domestic violence is rarely talked about in South Asian communities, it is a rampant and preventable public health problem. Kiran promotes healthy family relationships and raises awareness on the prevalence of domestic violence through outreach and advocacy. Kiran’s core services comprise of a 24 hour free and conﬁdential hotline, crisis counseling, legal advocacy, translation assistance, resource referrals, skills development and other culturally sensitive support services needed to meet the unique challenges of South Asian victims. For Further Details: www.kiraninc.org 24 hours Crisis line: 877-NC-KIRAN (877-625-4726) kiran@kiraninc.org Oﬃce: 919.831.4203

Krishnadham usa The mission is to foster richness of Hindu cultural heritage in children and to provide learning experiences on cultural values to visitors and residents alike under the guidance of Vaishnavacharya Shri Dwarkeshlalji Mahoday. Krishnadham will be established on a 16 acre sized tract located at 795 Beaver Creek Road in Apex, North Carolina (in Chatham County) not far from Jordan Lake. Krishnadham USA is having weekly Satsangs and Monthly manoraths to celebrate various Pushtimargiya festivals. They meet at 4000 Bearcat Way, Suite 102 in Morrisville, NC 27560 on Saturdays from 5:30pm to 7:00pm for Satsang. Everyone is invited. For Further Details: Hemant Sura - 919.608.2412 krishnadham.nc@gmail.com Saathee.com

Maitri (nCsu) A student organization at NC State that aims at unifying various cultures at university. The organization works to help and support Indian students at NC State, but also creates opportunities for them to immerse in the global culture while retaining their rich Indian identity. For Further Details: maitri.ncsu@gmail.com www.maitrincsu.org

Pakistani-american anjuman The North Carolina Pakistani-American Anjuman (NCPAA) is a non-political, cultural and social organization that strives to promote the presence of the people from Pakistan living in the Triangle area of North Carolina. Their mission is to provide cultural and social interaction for the families and individuals of the Pakistani community and to oﬀer a variety of programs and services to its members. For Further Details: www.ncpaa.org

Pratham - triangle area Pratham is a grass-roots organization that works towards universalizing primary education in India. It is one of the largest NGOs in ﬁeld of literacy movement in India. Pratham continues to evolve, grow and works to meet the continually changing needs of the children it educates. The NC chapter actively aims to collaborate with individuals, local organizations and community associations and seeks ideas, volunteers and resources to deliver the vision of “Every Child in School and Learning Well.” For Further Details: Sri Rajgopalan - rajagoph@yahoo.com Ravi Sundarajan- ravisrajan@yahoo.com Rajeev Thalla - rajeev.thalla@gmail.com www.prathamusa.org Radha Krishna temple of nC Opening Phase 1 on April 29, 2018 in Apex, NC with keertans/chantings, havan, pooja, abshik, bhog, aratis, and all day festivities. The Temple is located at 635 Hollands Chapel Road, Apex NC, 27523. For Further Info: 919.685.0447 or 919.306.3175

Raleigh sai Center Parthi Sai devotees of Triangle area meet every Sunday from 4 6:15pm in the Mini-Hall of Hindu Bhavan in Morrisville. There is also a study circle, Bhajan Practice, Veda Chanting etc. between 4 - 5pm depending on the week, followed by bhajans from 5 - 6:15pm. The center carries out several service activities as well, including Human Values Education (SSE) classes for the children of diﬀerent age groups. For Further Details: rsc.president@yahoo.com raleighsaicenter.org

Raleigh Won Buddhism Meditation Center Won Buddhism is a modern and simpliﬁed expression of Buddhism that stresses equality between the sexes, between the ordained and laity and teaches practical spirituality of both mind and body. Sundays from 5-6:30pm, the center cultivates a deeply 108

December 2018

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Community Organizations calm and peaceful state of mind with various forms of meditation. Also contemplate and discuss practical dharma teachings. Thursdays from 7-8:15pm is the opportunity to rest and restore. Meditations include Qi-gong, deep silent sitting, and lying down relaxation. Located at 2816 Pleasant Union Church Road, Raleigh. For More Details: 919.933.6946 ncwonbuddhism@gmail.com www.WonBuddhismNC.org

Ramakrishna Vedanta society of nC The Ramakrishna Vedanta Society draws inspiration from the timeless, philosophical wisdom of the Vedanta as practiced and preached in the modern day by Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Sarada Devi and Swami Vivekananda. Practical Vedanta and the message of the harmony of religions and the spiritual oneness are studied. Regardless of background and/or knowledge the organization welcomes participants. The address is 3109 Globe Road Morrisville, NC 27560. For Further Details: 919.412.8304 vedantanc@gmail.com www.vedantanc.org

RtP Maharashtra Mandal The Mandal is a home away from home for Marathi-speaking people. The goal of the Mandal is to advocate the vibrant culture, the rich heritage and the language of Maharashtra. The Mandal is dedicated to showcase the cultural, social and traditional attributes of Maharashtra to the local community through variety of entertaining programs, and events such as Makar Sankrant, Shiv Jayanti, Gudi Padwa, Picnic, Ganesh Festival and Diwali. For Further Details: mail@rtpmm.org www.rtpmm.org

sahaja Meditation Ongoing meetings, seminars and workshops are available in Raleigh. There is never a charge for Sahaja Meditation instruction. RSVP in meetup: Sahaja-Meditation-Triangle-Group Thursdays at 7:30pm. Located at 9308 Fairbanks Dr, Raleigh, NC. For Further Details: balaram.krishna@gmail.com 919.757.3135 www.sahajamediation.com

sewa RtP Sewa RTP - a chapter of Sewa International - is a team of volunteers who organize various activities - ranging from local community service to fundraisers for developmental projects in India. Currently Sewa RTP has following activities on monthly basis: Sewa Day, Workshops / Seminars, Assisting Community in Emergency situations, Chapter Meetings - 3rd Thursday of every month. Sewa International USA is a Hindu faith-based humanitarian service organization. For Further Details: www.sewausa.org/chapter/raleigh/raleigh-overview Saathee.com

shree swaminarayan Hindu temple (Isso) ISSO’s primary objective is to advance the Sanatan Dharma in accordance with the principles and teachings of the Original Shree Swaminarayan Sampradaya, founded and ordained by Bhagwan Shree Swaminarayan Himself. They organize a weekly “Satsang Sabha,” every Saturday, which includes Kirtan bhakti, Katha, Aarti and Mahaprasad. Temple is now open daily 8am to 12pm and 4pm to 9pm; Daily Sandhya Aarti: 7pm; Weekly Satsang Sabha: Saturday 5pm to 8pm. The Mandir is located at 500 SE Maynard Road, Cary, NC 27511 For Further Details: www.saathee.com/issonc

sky Meditation and Kaya Kalpa Yoga Beneﬁts include longevity, wellness and stress management. Triangle Sky Meditation group holds weekly group meditation and Simpliﬁed Physical Exercises every Friday in Triangle area. SKY Meditation initiation and SKY Kaya Kalpa Yoga Courses are held several times a year for anyone 14 years and above. For Further Details: Rajendran Kailasam - 919.824.8429 sky.cary@yahoo.com www.vethathiri.edu.in

south Indian Fine arts academy (sIFaa) SIFAA is a non-proﬁt organization that works to arrange and promote concerts and performances in the Triangle and Triad areas, concentrating on Carnatic music. For Further Details: sifaa.music@gmail.com www.sifaa.org

sri shirdi saibaba Mandir of nC Sri Shirdi Saibaba Mandir of North Carolina (SSMNC) promotes Sai philosophy and facilitates worship and services similar to Shirdi SaiBaba Temple, located in Shirdi-India. This organization is dedicated to sponsoring and supporting religious, spiritual, cultural, educational and charitable activities in the United States and abroad. Located at 1150 NW Maynard Road, Cary, NC. For Further Details: 919.386.1085 info@shirdisaimandirnc.org www.shirdisaimandirnc.org

sV temple of north Carolina This grand tribute to Lord Venkateswara and his consorts is designed to exacting standards of shilpa shasthra and features the only shrine in North America to incorporate abodes to Lord Viswaksena and Lord Sudarshana/Lord Narasimha as part of Srinivasa Parivaram. The temple rituals are performed in accordance with Pancharathra Agama Shastra. For Further Details: www.saathee.com/sv-temple-nc tamil Cultural association of north Carolina (tCa nC) TCA NC was formed for the purpose of providing youths with exposure to Tamil culture. Everyone is invited to join TCA and become part of the organization promoting Tamil culture in the Triangle area. For Further Details: tca_nc@yahoo.com / www.tcanc.org

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Community Organizations triangle area telugu association (tata) TATA is committed to building a vibrant Telugu Community and promoting Telugu culture and language in the Triangle area of North Carolina. For Further Details: www.triangletelugu.org

triangle Bangladesh society (tBsnC) TBSNC strives to arrange musical programs by artists who have captured the hearts and minds of millions of Bengali, Urdu and Hindi-speaking music fans all around the globe. For Further Details: Ishtiaquem@gmail.com www.tbsnc.org

triangle Gujarati association (tGa) TGA’s mission is to promote and serve Gujarati culture in the Triangle area by organizing various events and programs throughout the year and impart Gujarati culture and language on the youth. For Further Details: www.saathee.com/triangle-gujarati-association

triangle Vegetarian society (tVs) The mission of TVS is to build a sense of community between current vegetarians and people who are interested in vegetarianism and have a forum for a discussion of issues. TVS was formed promote the nutritional, ethical, environmental, and other aspects of vegetarianism. Open to all, they aim to build a sense of community among people of varying interests in plantbased diets, encouraging healthy, sustainable, and peaceful lifestyle choices. For Further Details: barman@cs.unc.edu www.trianglevegsociety.org

triangle Vipassana Meditation Vipassana, which means to see things as they are, is one of India’s most ancient techniques and was taught 2500 years ago as a universal remedy for universal ills. The group holds weekly group sittings in Cary on every Saturday. These sittings are only meant for old students who have completed 10 day Vipassana course as taught by S N Goenka in tradition of Sayagyi U Ba Khin. For Further Details: Hitesh & Vaibhavi Parekh - 732.213.9660 / 919.601.3555 carync.sittings@gmail.com www.dhamma.org

urdu Majlis Urdu Majlis, the Triangle’s Urdu Literary Society, meets monthly on the campus of UNC: Chapel Hill. Meetings include discussions of the life and works of major South Asian poets as well as opportunities to share original poetry and other writing. Urdu Majlis is co-sponsored by the Carolina Asia Center and the South Asia Section of the UNC Department of Asian Studies. It is an intellectual endeavor with no political or religious aﬃliations. For Further Details: Afroz Taj - taj@unc.edu - 919.851.1119 Saathee.com

Seema & Ashraf Faruqi - seemafaruqi@hotmail.com 919.596.4792

Vaishnav samaj of triangle area A group of like-minded devotees who meet for religious worship and understand Pushti Marg Principles at large. Regular Bhajan recitations are held 2nd Sunday of the month from 4-6pm and Seniors are requested to encourage youngsters to participate in the activities. For Further Details: Arvindbhai Shah - 919.233.7677 Vithalbhai Shah - 919.803.9027

Vraj education Raleigh Kendra The Vraj Education Raleigh Kendra is conducting comprehensive weekly teaching of Hinduism and Pushtibhakti Marg backed by Vraj Temple Pennsylvania. Raleigh Vaishnav children will get an opportunity to recognize, learn, and exercise Pushtimarg guidelines and leverage rich Shri Vallabh Mahaprabhuji heritage to improve individual life style. For Further Details: vraj.raleigh@gmail.com for timing and location information.

Won Buddhism Meditation temple Won Buddhism is a more modern and simpliﬁed expression of Buddhism that stresses equality between the sexes, between the ordained and laity and teaches practical spirituality of both mind and body. Join on Saturdays and Sundays from 10-11:30am at the peaceful, wooded temple location for meditation, chanting, Qi-gong exercise and practical dharma talks. The primary teacher is Rev. Wow-Gong, who was ordained as a Won Buddhist Priest in 1994. Located 8021 Old NC 86, Chapel Hill, NC. For More Details: 919.933.6946 ncwonbuddhism@gmail.com www.WonBuddhismNC.org

Regional

ekal Vidyalaya Foundation of India Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation of India (EVFI) was established to help in the overall development of the remote tribal and rural villages in India. Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation of USA along with EVFI is committed to the cause of eradicating illiteracy from tribal areas. Education is the key to self-esteem, self-sustenance, and economic freedom. The Carolinas Region of the EVFI USA conducts fundraising and awareness programs in Raleigh & Columbia. For Further Details: Southeast Regional President: Chander M. Aggarwal cmaggarwal44@gmail.com - 407.454.3739 Carolinas Regional President: Janak Dalal jaydalalcolumbia@gmail.com - 803.665.4050

Grihastha Family Institute The Grihastha Family Institute has a mission of preparing everyone with the basics and nuances of marriage and family management, and to compensate for the loss of traditional 112

December 2018

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Community Organizations structures, norms and methods that used to support the family structure. 3 Day workshop camps and private consultations are available. For Further Details: www.grihastha.org

fellowship, worship, scriptural study, and kirtan. Also facilitate spiritual festivals, Bhagavad-gita and Srimad Bhagavatam discussions, teach puja, vegetarian cooking, and are experienced family counselors. For Further Details: 336.593.8108 or 336.593.3031 Hindu society of eastern nC (Greenville, nC) sarvadrik@gmail.com The temple celebrates major festivals and holds regular bhajan www.prabhupadavillage.com seesions and Geeta study. For Further Details: sri somesvara temple (asheville) Temple - 252.752.2670 The Sri Somesvara Temple is located in the Blue Ridge Mountains B.S. Srivatsa - 508.654.0360 of Western North Carolina. It is a Vedic Shiva temple at the center Hindutemplenc@gmail.com of Mount Soma, a community commonly referred to as “Mount Kailash of the West.” People travel great distances to experience IsKCon temple of the Holy name in Prabhupada Village Sri Somesvara’s powerful Linga, profound silence, and timeless The Temple of the Holy Name, situated in a very peaceful, rural vibrations. The temple is open every day from 9:30am to 6:30pm. area, is a member of the International Society for Krishna Aarti is at 6pm. Consciousness (ISKCON). They welcome you, your friends and For Further Details: family to take darshan of Sri Sri Parama Karuna Nitai 828.476.4073 Gaurasundara from 5am-7:30pm, 7 days a week and invite you www.srisomesvara.org to their special program held every Sunday at 3pm with arati and kirtan, bhajans, discourse on the Bhagavad-gita, As It Is, and a south Carolina pure vegetarian feast - all free! Festivals are celebrated year round. Temple is located at 1283 Prabhupada Rd. Sandy Ridge, NC 27046 For Further Details: american south asian Cultural association of Columbia, sC 336.593.2322 The American South Asian Cultural association of Columbia’s tothn@iskconpv.org fundamental goal is to increase cultural awareness and develop www.iskconpv.org cultural understanding among American South Asian

nithyananda sangha north Carolina (Inner awakening) Inner Awakening works to spread the knowledge of Yoga and meditation by letting people experience the teachings of Vedic Science in its purest form delivered by the enlightened master Paramahamsa Sri Nithyananda. Nithyananda Sangha North Carolina is part of a worldwide movement for meditation and healing. Paramahamsa Nithyananda is a global leader in the science of enlightenment and the author of more than 300 books published in 27 languages. For Further Details: 704.766.1420 / 704.992.6114 innerawakening.org nithyananda.org

Community in Columbia, SC area. A lunch meeting will be held on the second Sunday every month between 12:30 - 2:30pm at Persis Biryani & Indian Grill, 1728 Bush River Road, Columbia, SC 29210. Cost is $11 per person. For Further Details: Contact in the evenings: 803.233.7042 / 512.547.7077

Carolina Buddhist Vihara (Greenville, sC) Carolina Buddhist Vihara is a temple and monastery in South Carolina, USA. It is a non-profit organization dedicated to offering teachings of the Buddha, primarily by bringing Theravada Buddhist nuns and monks to Greenville. “Theravada” refers to the oldest surviving branch of Buddhism, the highly traditional school found in countries such as Sri Lanka, Burma, Cambodia, and Thailand. The meditation is on Monday, & nuv Yug Thursday from 6- 8pm & for women only on Friday 9- 10am. Nuv Yug is a cultural organization with a mission to promote Sutta discussion on Saturday from 2-4pm. Full moon Poya awareness of Indian cultural arts and heritage. Striving to create program from 9am - 3pm on the closest Sunday to the Full moon. synergy among various cultural groups from the South Asian The Temple is located at 113 Woodridge Circle, Greenville, SC region. 29607 For Further Details: For Further Details: www.saathee.com/nuv-yug 864.329.9961 greenvillebv@gmail.com Prabhupada Village www.carolinabuddhist.net A rural, ISKCON, devotional community, nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Inspiration and guidance is derived dada Bhagwan Foundation (Columbia) from the books, letters, lectures, and example of His Divine Grace Every living being is in constant pursuit of happiness; no one A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the Founder-Acharya likes suffering. This search ends only when the source of eternal of ISKCON, The International Society for Krishna Consciousness. happiness is found. It can be attained through realizing your true Following Srila Prabhupada’s personal example, spiritual values Self. A path to eternal happiness was discovered by Gnani in order to achieve true happiness, prosperity and spiritual Purush A. M. Patel, also known as Dada Bhagwan and it was fulfillment are taught. Serving communities, visiting homes for revealed to the world as Akram Vignan, a spiritual science. This Saathee.com

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Community Organizations spiritual science is based on the foundation of Self Realization. Weekly satsang held Every Saturday 5- 7pm at Regency Inn, 1335 Garner Ln, Columbia, SC. For Further Details: 877.505.3232 x 1035 wccolumbia@us.dadabhagwan.org www.dadabhagwan.org

Hindu society of Greater spartanburg The Society holds Satsang from 5-7pm on the second Sunday of each month. There are usually around ten families present. The Society also celebrates many religious and social festivals based on the Hindu calendar. Recent celebrations have included Navariti, Diwali, Janmashtami, Ganesh Chaturthi, Geeta Jayanti, and many others. Though the Balvihar does not meet on a regular basis, the temple is quite active in sponsoring children’s programs, such as Rangoli classes and classical and contemporary dance classes. Temple is located on 1130 Fairview Church Road in Spartanburg, SC 29303. For Further Details: 864.599.7048 pluralism.org/proﬁle/hindu-society-of-greater-spartanburg/

Hindu temple and Center (Columbia, sC) The temple is open on weekdays between 8:30am to 12 noon and between 5pm and 8:30pm. On weekends, the temple is open between 8:30am to 1pm and 5pm to 8:30pm. Bal Gokulam (Sunday School) classes are held every Sunday from 10:30am to 12 noon. Classes are designed to help children build physical, mental, cultural, social & spiritual lives. It is located at 5704 Kiawah Road, Columbia, SC 29212. For Further Details: 803.772.6940 www.hindutemplesc.org

India assoc. of Greater Charleston (IaGC) The India Association of Greater Charleston (IAGC) was incorporated when the residents of Indian origin in Charleston felt the need to organize a community of people who were interested in the culture and heritage of India and share the profound beauty of this culture with others. They celebrate various events throughout the year including Diwali & various Picnic gatherings. For Further Details: Omi Hasija (Chairperson) - 843.766.4661 iagcchs@gmail.com www.indiaassociationofgreatercharleston.com

from 6pm - 8pm, an Islamic session is held by Haﬁz Mohammed Basheer. Quran reading classes for children are also conducted daily. The Mosque is located at 517 Winmet Drive, Columbia, SC. For Further Details: Masjid main number - 803.754.2632 www.noorulhuda.org

spartanburg Buddhist Center of sC The Center’s resident monks seek to preserve Theravada Buddhist traditions and welcomes all who are interested in Buddhism, Southeast Asian culture, or meditation. Since the center opened in 2010, a regular English-speaking group meets at 6pm on Thursdays for meditation, a brief Dhamma talk, and short discussions. The Center is located at 770 Bryant Road, Spartanburg, SC 29303. For Further Details: 864.327.8726 www.facebook.com/spartanburgbuddhist2012

telugu association of Greater Greenville Telugu Association of Greater Greenville (TAGG) is a non-proﬁt organization devoted to the awareness and promotion of Telugu Culture in the Greater Greenville Area. The association caters to the cultural and social needs of the Telugu people living in and around Greater Greenville Area. TAGG organizes events to celebrate major festivals and organizes a picnic during the summer as scheduled activities. In addition, TAGG screens choice Telugu Movies mostly throughout the year and organizes special cultural events from time to time, usually performed by artists from USA and visiting from India. For Further Details: www.taggsc.org

Vedic Center of Greenville Daily Aarti is conducted Monday - Friday at 8pm. Bal Vihar classes are conducted Sundays from 11:15am - 12:30pm. Sri Venkateshwara Suprabhatam is held on 2nd Saturday of each month at 9am. Temple is open from 9 to noon and from 5 to 9 PM daily. Various religious services are oﬀered by Priest Bhattarji. The Center is located at 520 Bethel Road, Mauldin, SC 29662. For Further Details: President: Janak Desai - 864.884.5183 www.vediccenterofgreenville.org

Kannada association of Greater Greenville (KaGG) An organization devoted to the awareness and promotion of Kannada culture in the Greater Greenville area of SC. KAGG is a primarily run by volunteers and invites Kannadigas living in and around Greenville area to participate in the organization. Kannada classes for children are also conducted. For Further Details: 864.430.4973 kaggculturalcommittee@gmail.com www.kagg-sc.org

Masjid noor-ul-Huda (MnH) The Mosque is open for ﬁve daily prayers in congregation every day of the year. On the ﬁrst and third Saturday of every month Saathee.com

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many more interesting stories, articles and community news at

w w w. s a a t h e e . c o m

December 2018

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December 2018

Pop’s Puzzles & Jokes By Kirit Shukla

Note: * denotes abbreviation of the word or phrase

Clues across: 1. The oﬃcial language of Egypt. 7. A heavy wooden shield used by ancient Greece infantry. 11. A province of Pakistan, capital is Quetta. 13. The stationary part of electric dynamo or motors. (Plural) 14. The loss of ﬁne motor skills in athletes. 16. Of or relating to frogs. 18. A dry indehiscent one-seeded fruit with a woody pericarp. 19. Rupees. (*) 21. National Shelter System. (*) (US FEMA) 22. An American cyber security & data protection company. 24. An extremely young child. 26. Transition Radiation and Ionization Calorimeter. (*) 28. South Carolina. (*) 29. A person’s sense of self-esteem or self-importance. 30. A slight touch or trace. 32. The last day of the year. (Dec. 31) 35. The faculty by which the body perceives an external stimulus, like sight, smell, hearing, taste and touch. 36. Fill (a bag) with things needed when away from home. 38. A 700 verse Hindu scripture in Sanskrit, the Yoga as narrated by Krishna, that is a part of epic Mahabharat. 39. To permit to enter, pass or leave. 41. Account Executive. (*) 42. A tavern for the lodging and entertaining of travelers. 43. A fruit as a cross between blackberry & a red raspberry. 46. A small lump of gold found ready-forms in the earth. 47. Sharp curves in the road, river or paths. Saathee.com

Clues down: 1. A substance that soaks up liquid easily. 2. A rodent that resembles a little mouse. 3. Wing like or wing-shaped. 4. The science of plant life and a part of biology. 5. Symbols of the software tools or file shortcuts on the PC. 6. The holiday honoring the birth of Jesus on Dec. 25. 7. To the same degree or amount. 8. A pen for pigs. 9. The material used to apply color or pigment. 10. Information fed into a computer. (Plural) 12. Initial Sequence Number. (*) 15. The goods kept in a warehouse available for sale. 17. Directs the publication of. 20. A mature man of wise and sound judgment. 23. A person taking the responsibility for military service. 25. Raising or hauling with a tackle. (Nautical terms). 27. Not often; infrequently. 30. The upper chamber of the United States congress. 31. High Voltage Amplifier. (*) 33. Nevertheless. 34. A digital version of a greeting card sent via a hyperlink. 37. Small metal instruments cut to fit in the locks. 38. An ox like antelope, white-bearded, of South Africa. 40. The flowing back of the tide to the sea. 42. Indiana. (*) 44. A monetary Subunit of a kip. (Laos currency) 45. Registered Nurse. (*) (Puzzle solutions are on page 120. NO peeking!)

Hee Hee

Jokes From Around The World

In a restaurant, an angry customer said: “Waiter, what is wrong with this egg?” Waiter: “I wouldn’t know, sir. I only laid the table.” ••••••••••••••

Mafatlal: “Is the Mega million lottery ticket 50% oﬀ on sale?” Vender: “No sir. But I can assure you that if you win, the prize will be 50% oﬀ, because you will pay 50% in taxes.” ••••••••••••••

A burglar entered in a poor minister’s house at midnight. The minister was awakened. Drawing his weapon, burglar said: “If you stir, I kill you. I am hunting for your money.” Minister: “OK. Let me get up and turn on the lights and I will also hunt with you.”

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••••••••••••••

December 2018

Word Find (Created By Kirit Shukla)

Find & circle the words in the puzzle. (Subject: “Books of the Bible”)

Math Magic Use these numbers only once: (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9) in empty squares, to get = the final given answers. Note: Follow the order of operation per basic math rule: ×,÷, +, The multiplication or division is done before addition and subtraction.

AMOS APOCALYPSE CHRONICLES DANIEL ESDRAS ESTHER EXODUS EZEKIEL EZRA GENESIS ISAIAH JEREMIAH JOSHUA

JOEL JOHN JUDGES KING MACCABEES MALACHI MATTHEW OBADIAH PETER PSALM RUTH TIMOTHY TOBIT

The unused 14 letters spell: ”A book of the Hebrew Bible, the Old Testament of most of Christianity.” (Answer on page 120)

(solution on page 120)

eZ-BZ

TEST YOUR IQ The common letters are “RT” - Fill in the blanks) 1. Begin. _ _ _ RT 2. Research Triangle Park.(*) RT _ 3. At right angle to horizontal plane. _ _ RT _ _ _ _ 4. The 12th-largest city (population) in SC. _ _ _ RT _ _ _ _ _ _ 5. Regular Trading Hours.(*) RT _ 6. One sketch in a comic strip. _ _ RT _ _ _ 7. One approximating the qualities of another. _ _ RT 8. “Jimmy ___ “, Ex-President of USA. _ _ RT _ _ 9. Rating.(*) RT _ 10. 1/4th of a dollar coin. _ _ _ RT _ _ 11. Skills acquired by learning & experience. (Plural) _ RT _ 12. Contented well-being. _ _ _ _ _ RT 13. A cardinal number = ten + three. _ _ _ RT _ _ _ 14. Emergency Response Team. (*) (FEMA) _ RT 15. Gautama Buddha! _ _ _ _ _ _ RT _ _ 16. A Hindu religious ritual, a part of puja, in which light from wicks soaked in ghee is oﬀered to deities. _ _ RT _ 17. Ready-Time-Fire-Assist. RT _ _ 18. A sudden gushing stream. _ _ _ RT 19. The capital of Indonesia. _ _ _ _ RT _ 20. A blood vessel carrying blood away from the heart to all parts of the body . _ RT _ _ _ 21. Combining form means straight. (Greek) _ RT _ _ 22. Routing Table Maintenance Protocol.(*) (Apple) RT _ _ 23. The organ that pumps blood in the body. _ _ _ RT 24. A fermented semisolid food made of milk. _ _ _ _ RT 25.The morning oﬃce in the Orthodox church. _ RT _ _ _ _

(Puzzle solutions are on page 120. NO peeking!) Kirit Shukla Contact him at kiritsshukla@hotmail.com

Saathee.com

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December 2018

Festivals & Holidays

spot the diﬀerences solutions from page 42

december 2018

Dec. 1 - World AIDS Day Dec. 2 - Utpatti Ekadashi Dec. 3 - Hanukkah Begins Dec. 7 - Darsha Amas (No Moon) Dec. 7 - Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day Dec. 10. - Hanukkah Ends Dec. 15 - Pramukh Swami Maharaj Birthday Dec. 19 - Gita Jayanti Dec. 19 - Mokshadā Ekadashi Dec. 21 - Dattātreya Jayanti / Winter Solstice / Yule Dec. 22 - Margashirsha Purnima (Full Moon) Dec. 24 - Christmas Eve Dec. 25 - Christmas Day Dec. 26 - Kwanzaa Begins Dec. 31 - New Years Eve

1. Flag Color Changed

6. Duck Added

2. Tire Added

7. Window Added

4. Clouds Added

9. Side of Boat Cleaned

3. Tower Added

8. Color Changed

5. Man Added to boat

10. India Flag Added 4 10

January 2019

Jan. 1 - New Years Day (2019 Begins) Jan. 1 - Safalā Ekadashi Jan. 1 - Kwanzaa Ends Jan. 5 - Darsha / Pausha Amas (No Moon) (Solar Eclipse) Jan. 5 - Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti Jan. 6 - Epiphany Jan. 12 - Swami Vivekanand Jayanti Jan. 12 - Bodhi Day Jan. 13 - Lohri / Maghi Jan. 14 - Makarasankrānti (Uttarāyan) / Pongal Jan. 17 - Putradā Ekadashi Jan. 20 - Poshi Poonam (Full Moon) Jan. 20 - Tu Bishvat Jan. 20 - World Religion Day Jan. 21 - Martin Luther King Jr. Day Jan. 21 - Mahayana New Year Jan. 26 - Republic Day (India) Jan. 30 - Gandhi Nirvana Day Jan. 30 - Shattilā Ekadashi

Puzzle Solutions from page 118

Math Magic from page 119

Saathee.com

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December 2018

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December 2018

Astroscope -

December 2018

aRIes (March 20 – april 20) This period will give you mental peace. Your partner will be the best support for you. Enjoy the holidays with friends and family. Opponents may try to damage your reputation. Minor losses are also possible, but you may still feel comfortable. Avoid business-related travel. Your friends and associates will keep their promises. Your family atmosphere will be very supportive. You can count on luck in ﬁnal week of the month.

tauRus (april 20 – May 21) If you don’t compromise your ideologies, you will lose something very important. Relationships with both family and superiors may deteriorate. Take care of your health in the last week of the month. The time is not good to start new venture. You may also receive some bad news, but the period is quite favourable for love and ﬁnancial gain.

GeMInI (May 21 – June 21) Try to watch your inner thoughts, as you will lose your moral power. If you are not careful, this might hurt your reputation. There is also danger of a major health-related problem. However, the month will end with some delightful ﬁnancial beneﬁts, so try to curb your expenses until then and don’t stress.

CanCeR (June 21 – July 22) Heavy expenditures will frustrate you this month. Tendencies towards secret, objectionable acts should be avoided. It is advisable to devote some time to religious activities. Your old-time relations may come forward to help you out of a miserable situation. Short distance travel may also bring peace of mind.

leo (July 22 – august 23) Financially this will be a very positive period. You will gain beneﬁts from proﬁtable deals. Your friends and family will help in achieving success for your venture. There is a danger of becoming too egoistical, and this can lead to unpopularity. It is advisable to spend some money on a religious activity.

VIRGo (august 23 – september 23) Even though you will lose an opportunity gain higher status, a marked increase in your income is indicated. You will feel more courageous. Any journeys undertaken shall be fruitful. You will support your siblings. Relations with clients, associates and other concerned persons will improve as the period rolls on. You will likely spend on luxury items.

sCoRPIo (october 23 – november 22) Even though the period is taking a downward trend, you will still feel confident. Speculation may pay off more than you expected. Be careful of wicked friends as your reputation could suffer on their account. Don’t create personal problems. Your child may also need specialized medical treatment. The middle of month is very crucial in these regards.

saGIttaRIus (november 22 – december 21) You could be subject to false charges, where your real involvement is negligible. Try to be practical. The period is very good for you ﬁnancially, but you may lose your reputation. Be very careful in this matter. Business-related journeys might prove to be very fruitful. Do not hold back anything from your seniors. The stock market and investing in it may prove beneﬁcial for you and your family. Don’t cheat on your partner. CaPRICoRn (december 21 – January 20) During this month you will be amiable and avoid friction. A fruitless journey is also possible, so avoid any travel. You will see aggression in your family atmosphere, so be careful while dealing with them. A health problem may also disturb you. Your stubborn mentality may cause you to work hard without any reward.

aQuaRIus (January 20 – February 19) Control your aggression and avoid greediness. If you can do that, you will get a promotion and increase in status. If you cannot, you will lose this opportunity. The time is positive for entering in to new partnership deal, but be prepared to work hard. You will sign a contract, which will not last long, but it will bring you fast income. You may spend most of the month in business-related travel.

PIsCes (February 19 – March 20) An important move will be delayed. You will lose a very important opportunity, and your mistake can put you in hot water. You may need some kind of spiritual help. Financial loss is unavoidable. Try to protect your morals and avoid any risk-taking tendencies. Your regular income will remain undisturbed. A sense of insecurity will prevail as far as personal aﬀairs are concerned.

lIBRa (september 23 – october 23) There won’t be a big increase in income, but an unexpected beneﬁcial business deal will boost your bank balance. If you are hoping for a promotion, it will come your way at the end of the month. Avoid business-related travel, if possible. The time is also good for a potential love aﬀair. A minor health ailment or illness may disturb your peace of mind. Saathee.com

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December 2018

CLASSIFIEDS BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

Businesses for sale: Frenchies and independent motels available with finance. Call 404-903-3362. C-store for Rent in Radford, VA. Good location. 4000 sqft. Asking rent $2850 per month. Contact Mr. J Patel 520-629-6318. C-store/Gas station for lease in Monroe NC, (15 min from Charlotte). Asking $199k+inventory. Inside sales $70k & Gas $25k per month. ATM, Lottery, U-Haul and other extras. Call 617-792-5909.

#1 Franchise Restaurants for sale. Prime locations in Triangle/Raleigh area. Low rent & operating costs. Third party delivery. Some financing possible with collateral. Call or text 919-345-8255. 7-11 for sale in uptown Charlotte. Business gross yearly: $1.5M+. Asking price $165K + Franchise fee. Serious inquiries only. Call 201-912-0185 between 9am to 4pm. C-store for sale or lease 45 miles from Columbia, SC includes displays for fresh produce & frozen items. Gross income $45K. Lotto $25K. Call 904-307-4770. subway for sale in Hickory, NC. Extremely low tent. Make a reasonable offer. Call 828-244-1205. C-store for sale in Wadesboro NC. Owner Retiring. Perfect Opportunity. Call 336-825-4442 for more details. Motel for sale: 83 unit property in High Point, NC with Swimming Pool and Manager Apartment. Call 336-688-2888. Convenience store for sale near Cowpens, SC. No gas. Good location. Contact 704-813-2462. Franchise Motel for sale near Charlotte, NC. 68 rooms. Serious inquiries only. Call 704-786-3100 and ask for Ken. C-store / Gas station for sale/lease. Includes 3600 sq ft (3 Bays) office/garage space. Two bedroom apartment on property. Located on Highway 220 between Greensboro, NC & Martinsville, VA. Contact 704-307-7419. subways for sale: 2 locations in Goldsboro, NC Low rent / operating costs. Call 848-219-9427 Retail / Convenience stores: Grocery Store: Statesville, NC $239,000 + Inv, Inside Sales $1,400,000; C-Store: High Point, NC $1,750,000 + Inv, with Property, Inside Sales $881,032; C-Store: Kings Mtn, NC $2,500,000 + Inv, with property, Inside Sales $1,165,000; Call County South at 704-821-8888 or visit www.Countysouth.biz Saathee.com

C-stores with Gas: Multiple locations in Housekeeping couple needed: Hotel NC & SC with an average investment of in Cleveland / Akron, Ohio. No English $160k. Call Brian 864-300-4889. necessary. Accommodations provided. Motel for sale: 15 units in eastern NC. email: ram@omdevelopmentcorp.com Fully renovated and perfect for or 919-673-7623 owner/operator. Serious inquiries only. nanny needed for 1 year-old girl in Call Mr. Patel 252-621-2141. Charlotte (Arboretum area). 7:30am - 4pm EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES (30-35 hours/week). Includes baby food preparation. No accommodation or nanny needed for 11 month-old near transport. Call 309-339-7640. uptown (Providence Road) in Charlotte, NC. Live-in or Live-out. Also some light Motel Help Wanted: Housekeeping, Managers & Night Auditors for household chores. Call 910-209-4749 Independent & Franchise Motels in South Manager needed for small weekly rental 18 Carolina. Good pay and accommo.dations room motel in Rock Hill, SC. Must speak provided. Call 803-664-0477 English and have legal status. Call 803-262Indian restaurant in Charlotte looking 3337 or 803-504-8603. for Servers and Jr Manager. Full-time, looking for nanny for 8 month-old boy in Good pay and friendly work South Charlotte/Providence Waverly area. environment. Willing to train. Must have Full-time 9am-5pm.. References required. legal status & fluent English. Contact Jay Contact: ranjana29.singh@gmail.com or 847-532-0796. 408-431-7224. Part-time nanny needed in Concord(North lab assistant cum delivery/pick-up person Charlotte) weekday evenings/weekends for for Dental Lab, 7 miles from UNCC. No 3.5 year-old. Must be able to drive. Flexible prior experience needed. Must have valid hours. Call or text at 704-763-5140 or email US driving license. Call 704-493-8221. gnsha07@yahoo.com. Full-time nanny needed (Live-in/Live-out) Housekeeping couple needed for 15 month old daughter in Concord, NC. immediately for 36-Room franchise motel Call/text at 980-298-2828. in North Carolina. Accommodations Housekeeping couple needed for hotel with Indian TV channels provided. Call near Greenville, SC. Legal status Bipin Patel at 910-916-3288. required. Accommodations provided. Full-time experienced nanny needed Contact Nick at 864-270-8253. for two 3 month-old babies in the Kitchen Help (Cook, Fry, Prep) wanted for University area of Durham, NC. restaurant in Morrisville, NC. 50+ Accommodations not included. Please hours/week (or less if preferred). Excellent contact Tara at 606-422-2755 compensation for high performing C-store / Gas station Help Wanted in employees. Contact 919-523-6670. Gaffney, SC. Part-time or Full-time. live- In nanny needed to take care of 8 Single, Couple or Family. Legal status month-old baby in South Charlotte. Also required. Fluent English & previous some cooking and other household chores. experience preferred. Call 704-726-7544 Contact 704-430-0373. Front desk Help needed for Franchise Motel Help Wanted: Housekeeping couple motel in Richmond, VA (Airport area). and front desk (night shift) for multiple Legal status required. Accommodations hotels in Raleigh. Legal status required. provided. Call 804-512-7810. Some computer skills & fluent English for estheticians & front desk. Accommodations provided. threaders, Contact 843-433-4210 (Raghu), 919-757-7462 Cosmetologists wanted in Charlotte & Raleigh. Great pay & flexibility. (Pranay) or hotel.raleigh@gmail.com Experience required. Good English skills. looking for full-time nanny (8am-6pm) to Call 704-612-2255 (M-F, 9-5) take care of 4 month-old baby boy in Huntersville, NC. Should be able to drive. live-in / live-out nanny needed for 4 month-old & 3 year-old in Mooresville Email nkumar.aparna@gmail.com (North Charlotte). Includes some night auditor wanted for Red Roof Inn in housekeeping & cooking. Call 585-230-0186. Anderson, SC. Fluent English required. nanny/house helper needed (Live-in or Accommodations provided. Contact 614Live-out) for 3 year-old daughter in 981-1885 or 619-592-2504. Greenville SC in the evenings and eyebrow threading Position available in weekends. Also help with cooking and Winston-Salem, NC. Excellent Pay + Tips light housework. Please contact Geetika & Benefits! Some Experience and fluent 318-562-0664 or Vikas 318-344-4662. English required. Contact 336-422-7582. 124

December 2018

Hotel Help needed: Housekeeping Couple and Front Desk Clerk in High Point, NC. Accommodations provided with Indian TV. Contact Sam Patel 704467-6891 or spatelmicro@outlook.com Full-time, live-out nanny needed for 1 year-old toddler in Charlotte (Steele Creek). Must have own transportation. Call 773-458-0457. Front desk Clerk needed for franchise motel in Charlotte. Full-time or parttime. Experience & fluent English required. Must be honest & reliable. Call Nina 704-299-3364. 7-11 Convenience store Help Wanted: All 3 shifts in South Charlotte (Indian Land/Ballantyne area) and near Northlake Mall. Experience preferred. Fluent English & legal status a must. Part-time or full-time. Contact 856-2665059 or store10700@gmail.com. Hotel Help needed: Housekeeping couple and Front desk for Franchise Hotel in Hickory/Conover, NC. Accommodations provided. Legal status & fluent English required. Call Rick 919724-6772. Full-time nanny needed (live-in or liveout) for 6 month-old in Durham, NC. Contact 304-482-1390 or raj.gondalia@gmail.com. C-store/Gas station help wanted. Fulltime or part-time. Multiple Locations within 30 mins from Greensboro. Experience required. Call 336-509-4054 Front desk Clerk/Housekeeping needed for Motel in Durham, NC. Must have front desk experience, computer literate, fluent English, and legal status. Call 919-452-3131 or email kenco00@gmail.com. nanny needed (full-time/live-in) for infant in University Area of Charlotte. Also some basic household chores & cooking. Contact 704-287-5508. Hotel Help Wanted: Front Desk/Manager, Night Auditor and Housekeeper (Single/Couple) for franchise hotel in Charlotte/Gastonia. Accommodations provided. Call 704460-0379 between 6 to 9pm. Manager Couple and Housekeeping Couple wanted for small Motel near the foothills of Stone Mountain/Elkin, NC. Fluent English required. Accommodations provided. Call 336-244-4199. Part-time vegetarian cook wanted for household in S. Charlotte / Fort Mill area. Schedule negotiable. Call 803-230-4402. nanny needed immediately (live-out full/part-time) in Raleigh to take care of 2 year-old, M-F. Reliable transportation required. Rachana at ragupta@ncsu.edu Saathee.com

Hotel Help Wanted: Front desk/night auditor, Housekeeping and Laundry Person needed for a franchise Hotel in Rock Hill, SC. Contact: 850-218-8579 or Hojorockhillsc@gmail.com. live-in/live out nanny needed starting Immediately for 6 month-old babies in Fort Mill, SC (10 mins from Ballantyne). Call Gauri: 980-254-8070. Housekeeping couple needed for 40 room independent motel in Rock Hill, SC. Legal status preferred. Call 803-487-3303. Hotel Management Firm Hiring: Housekeepers, front desk (must speak fluent English), and General Manager of franchise hotels. Experience required. Email resumes to abcone@abcinns.com or call 704-649-6833 (M-F, 9AM-5PM). Front desk help wanted (single or couple) for hotel off I-85, Exit 41 (next to Wendy’s). Fluent English and basic computer skills required. Accommodations can be provided. Email mars803@gmail.com or call 704-302-3318. Hotel Help needed: Front desk (Single/Couple) and Housekeeping (Couple) needed for Independent Hotel. Accommodations provided. Legal status, Experience & English required. Contact 301-338-4035. nanny needed (live-in) in Goldsboro, NC (1 hour south of Raleigh). Gujarati vegetarian cooking, light housekeeping and laundry. Accommodations provided. Call 919-394-6224. Hotel Help Wanted: Front Desk, Laundry & Maintenance for franchise motel near Hickory, NC. Fluent English required. Experienced preferred. Couples welcome. Please call 919-659-8897. Front desk Clerk needed for hotel on Carowinds Blvd (Charlotte). Fluent English and computer skills a must. Email resume to bwhospitality78@gmail.com.

PROPERTY & EQUIPMENT FOR SALE Hotel equipment for sale: 95 rooms of Hotel furniture in mint condition. Onity T-24 Locks in working condition. Call Rusab at 704-772-5554. used Hotel locks and RFId keys. Onity, Kaba-Ilco, Saflok and Vingcard. Also selling RFID keys for all major hotel brands. Contact Neal 410-349-1967 skhospitality@yahoo.com or Neal@JSKcards.com Beautiful spanish Villa for sale in the heart of Kodaikanal. Perfect for B&B or multi-family. Vastu compliant. For video tour, pictures, and details, lease email abbas616@gmail.com. 125

MATRIMONIAL

seeking well settled us match for extremely beautiful and multi-talented 28 yrs Hindu Vegetarian family oriented daughter MBA/Yoga RYT500 from Delhi. Email biodata and photos to luckyhappyhomes@gmail.com Gujarati parents invite proposal for son 30/5'5", Slim, Fair and Family oriented. Electronics Engineering. Email Biodata and photos to hpatel7370@gmail.com or 571-508-8042. us based parents invite alliance from Hindu families for daughter: 29, light complexion, slim, very pretty, Pursuing Pediatric Residency Match. Email Biodata, Kundli & latest Photos to sgarg2004@gmail.com Canadian citizen, Gujarati Vaishnav Vanik family settled in Brampton, ON invite correspondence for son (26/6’1”/software engineer). Looking for girl from Canada/US citizen/PR/green card holder, who is well educated, vegetarian and family oriented. Caste no bar. Send Bio data, birth details (place, time, DOB) and recent photographs to Shahfamilygujarat@gmail.com Hindu-Punjabi parents seek match for us citizen daughter: 27/5’4”, slim, very pretty, fair complexion, family oriented. Medical assistant. Send biodata & photos to nudaak@gmail.com or 520-442-5482.

SERVICES Pari Beauty In Matthews: Threading, Waxing, Facials, Massage for newborn and mom & other services. 28 years of experience. Special Deals & Great Service. Call: 704-846-7912.

Gujarati Priest: Devendra Dave Independent priest. Ganesh, Randal, Navratri, Diwali’s Laxmi & Sharda Pujas, Satyanarayan Katha, Weddings, Vastu, Baby Shower, Funeral Seva. Call Daveji 704-780-3563. God Blessings to All. saree draping: specializing in draping sarees, dupattas and jewelry for any event. Weddings, Engagements, Baby showers, Birthdays, etc. Contact Rital Patel at info@bridaldraping.com or www.bridaldraping.com Wedding doli Rental: Elegant design. Customizable, excellent "no worries" service in Chapel Hill. Visit website for more info: www.DulhanDoliRental.com, call 919-408-3029 or text 919-824-5144. neeta’s Beauty Parlor: Charlotte area open 7 days a week. Full service. Call for appointment. 704-968-0270.

December 2018

CLASSIFIEDS CONTINUED SERVICES CONTINUED Rajeshree Beauty - Available 7 days a week for Eyebrows, Facial, Waxing, Hair Massage, Henna art, Henna hair, and Body Massage. Please call 704-995-5230 or 704-547-0317. Priest available for the following services: Shree Satya narayan katha, Shanti hawan, Vastu shanty, Weddings, Baby shower, Bhumi pujan, Mata ki chowki pujan, Funeral, all types of karmakand. Please call Viral Bhatt 704438-6334.

Property Management Consultation: STRealty of the Carolinas is happy to offer management consultation for commercial-retail (motel, gas station, convenience store) and residential properties. Contact 704-763-8667 or sahiltrivedirealty@gmail.com.

Gujarati Priest in nC & sC for Ganesh, Randal, Laxmi, Sharda Pujan, Satyanarayan Katha, Wedding, Vastu, Baby Shower, Hawan, Grah Shanti. Kishor Trivedi Home: 336-774-0597 Cell: 336-4867925 E-Mail: kishor7@juno.com

dholi For Hire: Plays the Dhol (drum) for any occasion! Barat, Doli, Graduation, Birthdays, Baby Showers & any other festivity. Affordable rates! Call Arpan Bhandari 704-641-4761 or email: arpandholi@yahoo.com Carolina software testing Hub: QA / Mobile / ETL Testing / Business Analyst Training in Charlotte and Fort Mill. Hands on Technology, Live Projects and training on Testing Tools. Resume & Interview Guidance with Job Placement assistance. Call: 704-552-4010 / 704-8068907 / 803-228-0468 need an affordable dJ for Graduation, Birthdays, Baby Showers & any other festivity? Look no further! Contact DJ Rahul at 980-319-7389 or TheRealDJRahul@gmail.com

Priest specializing in all kinds of Hindu Ceremonies. Poojas, Vrathas & Homams/Havan, Satyanarayan Pooja, Rudraabhishegam, Gruhapravesam & Japam, Baby Showers and Weddings. Self- Transportation to Pooja site anywhere. Call Pralad Joshi: 704-5002210 (home), 704-450-6447 (cell)

SUPPLIES WANTED

donate your old Indian saree/Clothing for art projects and crafts. Willing to pick up in the Charlotte area. Contact 704957-1925.

looking for work? Check Saathee.com daily for additional help wanted classified ads visit Saathee.com/employmentopportunities

To Submit a Classified visit: Saathee.com/classifieds or email: info@saathee.com or call 704.527.7570 Business ads are $25 Personal ads are $15 Upgrade to color for an additional $10 or add a box for $15 Saathee.com ads posted daily Ads up to 25 words. Deadline for print is the 20th. Web ads daily.

Serving Buyers and Sellers Since 1989 Our experienced and talented agents can speak

English, Hindi & Gujarati Offering Motels, Restaurants, Dry Cleaners, Laundromats, Convenience Stores, Land and more CONVENIENCE-STORES:

C-Store: Jacksonville, nC $329,000 + Inv. Annual sales $1,600,000, Fuel Gallons 60k C-Store: Danville, VA $89,000 + Inv. Inside Sales $617,813, Fuel Gallons 200,000 C-Store: Morganton, nC $849,000 + Inv. Property Incl. Inside Sales $1,140,000 C-Store: warren Cty, nC $699,000 + Inv., Property Incl., Inside Sales $690,000 C-Store: Morganton, nC $229,000 + Inv. Annual Sales $1,000,000+ C-Store: Mocksville, nC $569,000+ Inv., Property Incl., Annual Sales $1,000,000+ C-Store/Grill: Lancaster, SC $449,000 + Inv. Property Incl., Inside Sales $340,000 C-Store: Charlotte, nC $699,000 + Inv. Prop. Included, Possible Owner Financing

FOOD:

Let Us Help You Buy or Sell A Business!

County south Realty & business brokers 303 Indian Trail Road South Indian Trail, NC 28079

704-821-8888 www.CountySouth.biz

Homestyle Restaurant: Lincolnton, nC $360,000, Annual Sales $1,080,000 Indian Restaurant: Burlington, nC $89,000, Annual Sales $264K, Seats 90

OTHER SERVICES

Dry Cleaner: Spindale, nC $129,000 Annual Sales $183,000 Dry Cleaner: Triangle Region, nC $600,000, Annual Sales $765,000 Used Auto Dealer: Albemarle, nC $695,000 property included, Sales $3.8M

More listings available at:

Saathee.com

CountySouth.biz 126

December 2018

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December 2018

Advertisers Index Bhindi Jewelers ......................................................2

Fairview Home Mortgage .......................................121

Accounting Solutions (Muhammad Kamran Awan)...33

First-in-Smiles Dentistry .....................................84-85

Patel, Mrugesh (Law Offices)..................................129

Akruti Collections......................................................79

Geetu Sarkar (Book: The Princess & Her Secrest of Beauty)15

Patel, Tony (Real Estate)............................................17

Anand, Versha (Real Estate) .....................................47

Gift Surplus LLC .......................................................33

Pathak, Atul (Real Estate)..........................................65

Patel, Champa (Real Estate)......................................71

Anil & Anjali Bedi LLC (CPA & Consultants)...............59

Gilles Law, PLLC (Immigration & Family Law) ...........43

Persis Indian Grill (Ft. Mill, SC).................................103

Aroma Indian Cuisine (Charlotte) ............................101

Global Mall / Legacy Jewels ..................................131

PNC Bank (Commercial Financing - Reena Ruwala).71

Around The World Market (Charlotte)........................99

H2 Laser & Skin.....................................................107

Pramukh Mandapam ...............................................58

Asiana Fusion.Sushi .................................................43

Handy Andy Services................................................39

Puja Boutique (Charlotte)........................................127

Aspect Commerical Realty (Prashant Parmar) ..........59

Hawthorne Inn & Conference Center........................45

Raghu Mothukuri Allstate Agent................................45

Austin Village Eye Care (Dr. Keshav Bhat) ...............105

Hindu Center of Charlotte (Events) ......................66-69

Raj D Batra Photography........................................121

Bala Sure (Broker / Realtor, NC & SC)......................31

Home Decorators Of America (Sonal Furniture - Atlanta)87

Raj Jewels (Morrisville, NC) ..................................6 & 7

Balance by Touch Massage .....................................51

Hull & Chandler, P.A. (Ketan Soni - Legal)..................83

Rajbhog Foods .......................................................123

BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir (Charlotte)............63

Idolize Brows & Beauty ...........................................81

Rajdeep Video & Photography (Ramesh Panjabi)......15

Barot, Tushar (State Farm) ........................................22

Illume MD (Laser Hair Removal)................................35

Ram Realty (Ram Kalagara)......................................78

Bashyam, Spiro & Coats, LLP (Immigration Law)......75

Inchin's Bamboo Garden Charlotte...........................17

Ramana Coaching Center ........................................29

Bawarchi Indian Cuisine (Charlotte) ..........................38

India Grocers (Charlotte) ...........................................42

Red Line Auto Services (Charlotte)..........................113

Bipin Parekh Realty, LLC...........................................48

Insurance Shopping (Sonal Patel - Independent Agent) .41

Regal Oaks Dental .............................................84-85

Blooming Buds.........................................................33

International Community Church ...........................117

Ritu Selects - India Inspired Couture.........................55

Bombay Grille (Charlotte)........................................115

Jay Bale (Real Estate - Commercial & Residential)....35

Robert Brown LLC (Oza, Rishi: Immigration Law)......23

Brijal Shah (Keller Williams - Real Estate)..................73

Jyoti's World Cuisine (Vegan & Vegetarian)...............56

Rocket ATM..............................................................61

British International School of Charlotte.....................77

K & M Accounting ....................................................41

Royal Events LLC (DJ Service & More)......................23

C4D Mortgage (Jubi Chackunkal, P.E.) ...................129

K Scott Weddings (Wedding & Event Designer).........59

Rukshmani's Tijori ....................................................10

Calvary Church...........................................................9

KB Zaveree.................................................................4

Saathee.com..........................................................116

Carolina Christian Assembly (Christmas Celebration)13

KD Financial & KMD Realty.......................................91

Sadagi Styles .........................................................109

Carolina Elite Ventures .............................................19

Khanna & Sons Jewelers .........................................21

Saffron Restaurant and Catering...............................71

Carolina Law Group (Monty Desai)............................95

KMD Realty (Divyesh Chauhan)..............................107

Sani Designs ............................................................39

Carolina Software Testing ........................................27

Kumon Math and Reading Center ...........................16

Shah & Trivedi CPA, PLLC ......................................121

Carolina Tax Service and Bookkeeping .....................27

Maadhurya Photography..........................................49

Shah, Anish (Real Estate) ...................................92-93

Carolina Wedding Belle (Event Design & DĂŠcor)........37

Maharani Indian Cuisine (Charlotte) ..........................31

Shah, Kirti (CPA - Sepa Consulting) .........................73

CaroMont Medical Group (Dr. Manu Patel)................71

Malak Jewelers........................................................25

Shining Stars Academy ............................................97

Charlotte Chess Center ............................................57

Malani Jewelers.....................................................132

Shukla, Kirit (Music Lession & Band).........................57

Charlotte Eye Ear Nose & Throat ............................111

Malaya Kitchen.........................................................64

Singh Tutoring ..........................................................57

Charlotte Music School.............................................30

Mathur, Gitanjali (Allen Tate Realtors) ........................13

Skyvision Events.......................................................81

Chiro-Carolina

..................................................113

Matthews Family Dentistry ....................................127

Southern Oncology Specialists (Dr. Swetha Gujja).....79

Code Ninjas..............................................................53

Monroe Oil Company................................................26

Thakkar, Beena (Realty) ............................................57

Concha, David (Immigration Attorney).....................105

Nationwide Ins. (Maqsood Khan) ..............................61

The Blue Taj..............................................................89

Concord Children's Clinic ....................................109

Nawabs Kebabs (Charlotte) ......................................37

Travel Passion ..........................................................52

Copper Restaurant (Charlotte)...................................89

Neeta's Beauty Parlor.............................................109

Travelinks .................................................................49

County South Realty & Business Brokers ...............126

Neetu Singh Realty Group ........................................41

Triveni Supermarket .................................................55

Curry n' Cakes (Charlotte) ......................................107

New Year Party at Goels Plaza ....................................3

Ttravel Guru..............................................................73

Dentist (Pineville Dentistry - Lina V. Mistry, DDS).....117

New York Life Insurance (Rasheed Ulhaq).................27

Tyagi, Rita (Real Estate)...........................................109

Desai & Desai LLP (CPA & Financial Services)..........23

Noisebliss.com.........................................................80

Uni World Travel........................................................65

Desai, Rajarshi (CPA, PLLC)....................................105

North American Bancard ........................................11

Uthsaav - Triangle Indian Bridal Expo ..........................5

DJ Desi (Amit Vasi) ...................................................65

OM Tech Training .....................................................47

Vyas Travels..............................................................23

DJ Lalit (Lalit Hemnani)...........................................129

One2 Entertainment .................................................73

Worldwide Travels .................................................123

DJ Murali..................................................................43

Passage To India - Fine Indian Cuisine......................34

Zafran Kabab Palace (Charlotte / Pineville)................83

Event Decor by Ghazala............................................47

Patel Brothers (Charlotte)........................................130

Zest Of the Rest .....................................................15

Saathee.com

128

December 2018

JUBI J. CHACKUNKAL MORTGAGE LOAN OFFICER ( NMlS ID: 1087366 )

Are you looking to buy a new house or refinance your current mortgage? Get a free quote to see how much money you could save!

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Saathee.com

129

December 2018

Two Convenient Charlotte Locations! rlotte a h C h t u So ille) (Pinev

North Ch arlotte ( Univer

sity)

Finest Indian & Pakistani Groceries • Fresh Vegetables Frozen Foods & Ice Cream • Fresh Sweets & Snacks Stainless Steel Utensils • Clean & Organized

OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK | 10 AM - 8:30 PM University Location is the BIGGEST INDIAN GROCERY STORE IN SOUTHEAST, USA

South Charlotte

North Charlotte

(Pineville)

(University)

704.540.2013

704.509.2305

10701 CENTRUM PARKWAY, PINEVILLE, NC 28134

8109 UNIVERSITY CITY BLVD. SUITE A

ACROSS FROM CAROLINA PLACE MALL (Next to Wells Fargo Bank, Across From Best Buy)

(Next to Value City Furniture)

CHARLOTTE NC, 28213