Saathee Charlotte August 2021 by Shukla Entertainment

Bridging America and the Indian Subcontinent

Saathee.com

IN THIS ISSUE Are Biolabs, Researching Pathogens and Viruses, Safe? Page 48 Recipe: Paneer Tikka Skewers Page 72 Classiﬁeds: Jobs, Business Listing Page 92

August 2021

Saathee.com

August 2021

Hello Readers! The lovely summer continues as we spend time on vacations, reunions, and carefree travel. Here are some of the interesting articles we have for you in our August issue. Farewell to Dilip Kumar, an icon of Indian cinema. The passing of the 98-year-old actor marks the end of an era. Read the tribute to this legendary actor on page 22. A research scientist talks about the safety of biolabs: "We work with dangerous pathogens in a downtown Boston Biocontainment Lab. Here’s why you can feel safe about our research.” See page 46. Can President Biden’s plan to remove urban highways improve the health of American cities? Go to page 54. Should we be worried about inflation as the economy improves? Read the Personal Finances column on page 60. Thank you for continuing to read Saathee and please share it with family and friends. Drop us a line with any comments or suggestions. We welcome conversations.

“Bridging America and the Indian Subcontinent.”

August 2021 Issue # 279 - Saathee.com Editor Samir Shukla (Samir@Saathee.com)

Publisher & Advertising Divakar Shukla 704-527-7570 or rakavid@aol.com

Digital Media & Marketing

Email saathee@saathee.com See you next month.

Jennifer W. Allen

Ad Design / Layout Nathan C. Andrews

Contributors for this issue: Kirit Shukla, Shivani Tripathi, Taige Shukla, Raajeev Aggerwhil, Mo Vidwans, Ahsen Jillani, Kristen Moon, & Jalendu Vaidya. 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.

Cover: Tungabhadra Dam, Karnataka The Tungabhadra Dam, also known as Pampa Sagar, is constructed across the Tungabhadra River, a tributary of the Krishna River. See page 34 Photo: Pixabay

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August 2021

In This Issue

Page 22 Dilip Kumar Remembered.

Page 46 Are Biolabs Researching Pathogens Safe?

Page 20 Summer Events

Page 34 Increase your India Knowledge: Tungabhadra Dam

Content The Editor’s Desk . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 14

Subcontinental Divide . . . . . . . . . .pg. 44

Youth Corner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 84

Community Events . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 18

Bio Labs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 46

Pop’s Puzzles and Jokes . . . . . . . . .pg. 86

Dilip Kumar Remembered . . . . . . .pg. 22

Spot the Differences . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 50

Festivals and Holidays . . . . . . . . . .pg. 88

Upcoming Movie Releases . . . . . . .pg. 26

Biden’s Highways Plan . . . . . . . . . .pg. 54

Puzzle Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 88

Film Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 28

Read Watch Listen . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 58

AstroScope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 90

Increase India Knowledge . . . . . . .pg. 34

Personal Finances . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 60

Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 92

Increase USA Knowledge . . . . . . . .pg. 38

News Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 62

Index of Advertisers . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 96

Mirror Mirror . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 40

Recipe: Paneer Kababs . . . . . . . . . .pg. 72

Raajeev’s Corner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 42

College Admissions Insider . . . . . .pg. 74

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August 2021

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Random August A Highway Moment and a Long-Ago Midnight

The Editor’s Desk by Samir Shukla

Whoa. That was close. The idiot in the blue Camry nearly sideswiped me on northbound Interstate 77. I veered my car quickly a few inches to the right to avoid him. I was alert enough to spot him about to connect with my car. Everyone was driving above 70 on a packed highway, and this jerk was doing at least 90, and trying to pass others in the smallest spaces available. A lightest touch by the speedster to any of the cars and a deadly pileup would have ensued. Such randomness affects our daily lives. They are not all heart stopping, like this close call, but we brush them off, let out a sigh of relief and move on. But what if I didn’t have room to maneuver out of the way and the car had made contact? I have always been intrigued by what if scenarios. I don’t mean that in a sense of regrets about past choices. I have come to believe regrets are thorns in a mind unwilling to grow. It’s more about how often things occur randomly, unexpectedly, forcing us to steer our cars, or lives, into a different lane. I have never quite believed in destiny. Well, to be more accurate, I don’t believe our lives have been predestined or pre-planned by some elusive higher being. There are just so many things that happen in each day, that some sort of pre-planned life cycle put in place by some mystical power, is, well, a notion that is rendered nonsensical, at least in my current view of existence. Our lives are marked by choices we make and those we didn’t make, when our parents or guardians made them for us when we were helpless babies and later young children. Sure, we plan our lives, pursue education, launch businesses, perform religious or

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spiritual duties, seek love and redemption, travel, among myriad other pursuits in the daily acts of life. No matter how much we plan, though, trajectories are so often redirected by randomness of life, unforeseen events, and happenings. Other people’s stupidity or negligence. Life on this day, on a highway in early August, continued its path, unaﬀected by the randomness of a reckless driver just barely missing my car. The trajectory didn’t change much, this time. Events that happen, choices we make, choices made by family members, local or regional or national leaders, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, all write the story of us, our children, and descendants. A slight change in plans, marrying a diﬀerent person, an unintended pregnancy, a death or illness, a wrong turn on the road, arguments among family members, or bravado of power play by highly militarized nations, are among countless variations

continued on page 94

August 2021

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August 2021

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August 2021

Community Events Aum School Summer Camps: Huntersville, NC (August 2-13, 2021)

Aum School presents in-person summer camps that will be held from August 2-13, 2021 (Sai Temple, Huntersville, NC). There will be several age groups and the camps will be held from 9am-5pm. The immersive experience camps will include yoga, dharma and heritage, Sanskrit, Ayurveda, cooking, Vedic math, arts and crafts and more. For full details on pricing and more, write to summer@aum.school or visit aum.school and search for information about Charlotte summer camps.

Mt. Mitchell Crafts Fair: Burnsville, NC (August 6-7, 2021) The charming Town Square of Burnsville, NC will once again welcome the Mt. Mitchell Crafts Fair on August 6 & 7, 2021 as the oldest and largest crafts fair in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Every kind of handmade craft imaginable can be found here, whether you are looking for a quilt, jewelry from local gemstones, hand-turned wooden bowls, or pottery of every shape and size made by skilled artists. There will be plenty of food. See more info at Yanceychamber.com/mtmitchell-crafts-fair.

New World Festival of the Arts: Manteo, NC (August 11-12, 2021) The New World Festival of the Arts is an annual juried outdoor festival featuring fine arts and crafts. The fest provides local and regional artists an opportunity to display and sell their creative work. This year, artists will travel to the waterfront between August 11-11, 2021. The free, outdoor show will feature art from exhibitors including watercolors, oil & acrylic, drawings, photography, jewelry, sculpture, and pottery. Details available at Darearts.org/newworldfestivalofthearts. Saathee.com

SC Humanities Festival: Horry County (August 19-22, 2021) Each festival celebrates the local history and culture of the host community, engaging the citizens in lectures, discussions, films, and exhibits and facilitating partnerships among cultural organizations and community groups. SC Humanities has announced that the 2021 Humanities Festival will be hosted by Horry County. The festival will take place from August 19–22, 2021. Find out more at Schumanities.org/annualevents/humanitiesfestival.

Classic Summer Art & Craft Festival: Myrtle Beach, SC (August 20-22, 2021) The 39th Annual Craftsmen’s Classics Summer Art & Craft Festival features original designs and work from hundreds of talented artists and craftspeople from across America. See the creative process in action as many exhibitors demonstrate throughout the weekend. The festival will be held at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center from August 20-22, 2021. Admission is $8 for adults and $1 for Kids aged 612. Discounts are available for groups of 15 or more. See more info at Gilmoreshows.com.

Heavy Thunder Summer Artillery Program: Four Oaks, NC (August 21, 2021) Learn how cannons were loaded and fired during the American Civil War on Saturday August 21, 2021, starting at 10am at the Bentonville State Historic Site. Reenactors will be onsite portraying the 19th Indiana Battery. Cannon demonstrations and historical discussions will occur throughout the day. Food trucks will also be available onsite. COVID safety guidelines will be followed as advised at the time of event. More info can be found at Historicsites.nc.gov/all-sites/bentonville-battlefield.

Night in the Country Carolinas: Tryon, NC (August 26-28, 2021) Night in the Country Music Festivals will hold the inaugural Night in the Country Carolinas August 26-28, 2021 at the Tryon International Equestrian Center & Resort. Rooted in the Carolina foothills, the Night in the Country experience transforms the world-renowned Tryon International Equestrian Center into the next great country tradition. The festival features 3 nights of country music and a wide range of daytime activities from Bands, Brews & Que to Club Beach. The festival also features live music and DJs during the day and an outdoor nightlife experience after the concerts. Details, Nightinthecountrycarolinas.org. 18

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Community Events Charlotte AutoFair: (September 9-11, 2021)

Lowcountry Jazz Festival: Charleston, SC (September 3-5, 2021)

The Autofair will be held between September 9 & 11, 2021 on the grounds of Charlotte Motor Speedway. This event provides collector car Flea Market Vendor spaces to buy and sell restoration parts and supplies for almost any vehicle ever produced — in addition to Car Corral vehicle spaces on the track oval for buying and selling collector vehicles of all descriptions! The collector car Flea Market includes everything automotive, including memorabilia, vintage signs, tires, wheels, automotive toys, restoration supplies, tools, and classic cars for sale. Learn more at Charlotteautofair.com.

The Lowcountry Jazz Festival returns to the Charleston Gaillard Center and with a stellar lineup of artists and up and coming instrumentalists and vocalists. This is the primary fundraiser for Closing the Gap in Health Care, a nonprofit organization whose primary mission is decreasing health disparities and increasing health literacy, especially for African Americans and the underserved in the community. The event will run during the Labor Day Weekend from September 3 to 5, 2021 at various venues in MerleFest: Wilkesboro, NC (September 16-19, 2021) Charleston, SC. Tickets and other info are available now at Lowcountryjazzfest.com. For over 30 years, MerleFest has been known for discovering new talent in American roots music. This year’s celebration, slated for September 16-19, 2021, Matthews Alive Labor Day Festival: introduce many new artists as will (September 3-6, 2021) well as present diverse music veterans and legends. Many new acts will perform at Andy May’s Acoustic Kids Showcases as well. MerleFest is known for its unique mix of traditional, roots-oriented music from the Appalachian region, including bluegrass and old-time music, Americana, blues, country, Celtic, Cajun, cowboy, zydeco, rock and many other styles that the late Doc Watson referred to as “traditional plus.” Find this year’s performers and complete schedules at Merlefest.org.

Charlotte SHOUT!: (September 17-October 3, 2021) Blumenthal Performing Arts will present a variety of both free and ticketed events for Charlotte SHOUT!; returning to Center City for a celebration of art, music, food and ideas September 17 to October 3, 2021. The festival weaves together the extraordinary talents of internationally and locally acclaimed artists, dancers, musicians, poets, storytellers, photographers, chefs and thought leaders. It is a feast for all the senses and all ages, serving up soulful music, tantalizing food, mind-blowing images, playful installations, inspiring performances, and bold ideas. Schedules, tickets and other info can be found at Charlotteshout.com.

The 2018 Matthews Alive Festival is a Labor Day weekend celebration dedicated to the support of local non-profit organizations and will be held on September 3-6, 2021. The festival will be packed with family activities, food, arts, and entertainment. Following the festival, the net proceeds earned at Matthews Alive go back to several non-profit organizations, in order that they may provide services to enhance the quality of life in the Matthews area. To learn more about the event, visit Matthewsalive.org. Saathee.com

August 2021

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August 2021

Farewell to Dilip Kumar, An Icon of Indian Cinema The passing away of the 98-year-old actor marks the end of an era by Shivani Tripathi Legend. Tragedy King. Yusuf Saab. Thespian. Gentleman. These are a few ways in which Mohammad Yusuf Khan, better known as Dilip Kumar, is being remembered by and referred to by fans and journalists. Kumar started his cinematic journey as an actor in pre-Independence India in 1944’s Hindi film, Jwar Bhata and when his career concluded with Qila in 1998, he had more than sixty feature films to his name. The silver screen star was the last remaining member of the famed triumvirate of leading men from the Golden Age of Hindi cinema which included Dev Anand and Raj Kapoor. Anand was known for his style, whether it be his hair, clothing and mannerisms, while Kapoor’s achievements as a producer and director became his lasting legacy. It was Kumar who was admired for his acting chops and complete devotion to the craft. Arguably one of the first film actors to employ what is referred to as Method Acting, where an actor becomes the character, Kumar took great lengths to study his characters and transform, whether it was learning to play the sitar for Kohinoor or exhausting himself by sprinting around the movie set for a pivotal scene in Ganga Jumna. During his lifetime he was the recipient of eight Filmfare Awards and the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award for his immense contribution to cinema. One of my earliest memories of watching a movie, Indian or otherwise, is from 1951’s Tarana starring Kumar and actress Madhubala with the duo singing the song, “Nain Mile Nain Huye Bawre” on a bridge. I was born to a family of cinephiles and grew up with the VCR playing Hindi films from all decades, but films from the black and white era were played often and many of continued on page 76 Saathee.com

August 2021

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Upcoming Movie Releases All Dates Subject to Change - for updates visit Saathee.com/Movies

August 6 Atrangi Re (Director: Aanand L Rai) Cast: Dhanush, Sara Ali Khan, Akshay Kumar, and Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub The Suicide Squad (Director: James Gunn) Cast: Margot Robbie, Idris Elba, John Cena, and Sylvester Stallone

Bhuj: The Pride of India (Streaming) (Director: Abhishek Dudhaiya) Cast: Ajay Devgn, Sanjay Dutt, Sonakshi Sinha, and Ihana Dhillon

August 12 Shershaah (Director: Vishnu Varadhan) Cast: Sidharth Malhotra

August 19 Maha Sanudram (Director: Ajay Bhupathi) Cast: Sharwanand, Siddharth, Aditi Rao Hydari, and Anu Emmanuel

August 13 Free Guy (Director: Shawn Levy) Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Jodie Comer, and Utkarsh Ambudkar

August 20

Attack (Director: Lakshya Raj Anand) Cast: John Abraham, Jacqueline Fernandez, and Rakul Preet Singh

Reminiscence (Director: Lisa Joy) Cast: Hugh Jackman, Angela Sarafyan, and Nico Parker

Respect (Director: Liesl Tommy) Cast: Jennifer Hudson, Forest Whitaker, Marlon Wayans, and Mary J. Blige

Sweet Girl (Streaming) (Director: Brian Andrew Mendoza) Cast: Jason Momoa, Isabela Merced, Raza Jaﬀrey, and Marisa Tomei The Protégé (Director: Martin Campbell) Cast: Michael Keaton, Maggie Q, Samuel L Jackson, and Robert Patrick

August 27 Jayeshbhai Jordaar (Director: Divyang Thakkar) Cast: Ranveer Singh, Shalini Pandey, Boman Irani, Ratna Pathak Shah, and Deeksha Joshi

Pushpa (Director: Sukumar) Cast: Allu Arjun, Fahadh Faasil, and Vennela Kishore

Candyman (Director: Nia DaCosta) Cast: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Vanessa Estelle Williams, and Tony Todd

Beckett (Streaming) (Director: Ferdinando Cito Filomarino) Cast: John David Washington, Boyd Holbrook, and Alicia Vikander Saathee.com

F3: Fun and Frustration (Director: Anil Ravipudi) Cast: Venkatesh, Varun Tej, Tamannaah, and Mehreen Pirzada 26

August 2021

Film Clips Hrithik Roshan and Saif Ali Khan to Collaborate for First Time

Hrithik Roshan and Saif Ali Khan will be collaborating for the first time for the Hindi remake of the hit Tamil film Vikram Vedha. The filmmakers will begin shooting in a couple of months and the remake is slated for release on September 20, 2022. Actress Radhika Apte will play a key character in the film, according to reports. Her character is pivotal as she will portray the wife to a cop (Saif Ali Khan) and lawyer to a gangster (Hrithik Roshan). Directors Pushkar and Gayatri, who directed the original film will also be directing the remake, marking their debut in Bollywood. Vikram Vedha was released in 2017 and starred R Madhavan and Vijay Sethupathi.

Shershaah

Bhuj: The Pride of India

Directed by Abhishek Dudhaiya, Bhuj: The Pride of India tells the untold story of about 300 Gujarati women who helped the Indian Airforce during Bangladesh and Pakistan War in 1971. The cast features Ajay Devgn in the lead role as IAF Squadron Leader Vijay Karnik and Sanjay Dutt along with support cast that includes Sharad Kelkar, Sonakshi Sinha, Ammy Virk, Pranitha Subhash, Nora Fatehi, and Ihana Dhillon. Karnik, the then incharge of the Bhuj airport who, with his team, reconstructed the IAF airbase with the help of 300 women from the local village Madhapar after the base was attacked. The film is slated to begin streaming on August 13.

Pushpa

The film Shershaah marks the first collaboration between Amazon Prime Video and Dharma Productions for a global premiere. The war drama is inspired by the life of Kargil war hero, Captain Vikram Batra (PVC), portrayed in the film by Sidharth Malhotra. Directed by Vishnu Varadhan and jointly produced by Dharma Productions and Kaash Entertainment, Shershaah will release as a lead up to India’s Independence Day weekend. The film also features Kiara Advani along with Shiv Panditt, Raj Arjun, Pranay Pachauri, Himmanshu Ashok Malhotra, Nikitin Dheer, Ankita Goraya, Anil Charanjeett, Sahil Vaid, Shataf Figar and Pawan Chopra. The film will begin streaming on August 12. Saathee.com

Pushpa is an upcoming Telugu action thriller film written and directed by Sukumar. Pushpa stars Allu Arjun, Fahadh Faasil, Jagapathi Babu, Prakash Raj, 28

and Rashmika Mandanna. The film is scheduled to release in two parts, as announced by the filmmakers. The film is centered around the smuggling of red Sandalwood in the in the Seshachalam Hills of the Rayalaseema region of Andhra Pradesh. The film’s music is composed by Devi Sri Prasad. The first part of the film is scheduled to release on August 13 while the second part will release sometime in 2022. It will also be released dubbed in several other languages.

Maha Samudram Maha Samudram, which means Great Ocean, is an action-drama film written and directed by Ajay Bhupathi. The film was shot simultaneously in Telugu and Tamil. Maha Samudram stars Sharwanand, Siddharth, Aditi Rao Hydari, and Anu Emmanuel. The music is composed by Chaitan Bharadwaj. The film is set in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh and is scheduled for release on August 19.

Reminiscence Nick Bannister, a private investigator of the mind, navigates the dark world of the past by helping his clients access lost memories. Living on the fringes of the sunken Miami coast, his life is forever changed when he takes on a new client and a simple matter of lost and found becomes a dangerous obsession. As Bannister fights to find the truth about Mae’s disappearance, he uncovers a violent conspiracy, and must ultimately answer the question: how far would you go to hold on to the ones you love? The movie is directed by Lisa Joy and stars Hugh Jackman, Rebecca Ferguson, Thandiwe Newton, and Nico Parker. Look for it in cinemas on August 20. August 2021

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Amitabh Bachchan Is Recording a Book Written by His Father

Jayeshbhai Jordaar

Amitabh Bachchan often shares his thoughts and feelings through his social media or writes blog entries to directly connect with fans. Recently he tweeted an image of himself reading his father’s book. In the photo he is seen with headphones in front of a mic where he is recording one of his father’s books. He wrote, “I do not distance myself from the writings of my Pujya Babuji; And now his wise words, in my own voice.” His father, the late Harivansh Rai Bachchan, was a poet and a writer. Amitabh Bachchan will be next seen in the films Chehre with Emraan Hashmi and Karan Johar’s Brahmastra, along with Ajay Devgn’s directorial Mayday.

Shah Rukh Khan and Sanjay Dutt Commit to a Full Film Together

The film, directed by Divyang Thakkar, features Ranveer Singh in the lead role of a Gujarati man who believes in equal rights between males and females in society. South Indian actress Shalini Pandey co-stars along with Boman Irani and Ratna Pathak Shah playing Singh’s parents. The social comedy was produced by Aditya Chopra of Yash Raj Films. The film was originally slated for release in October 2020 to coincide with Gandhi Jayanti but was postponed due to the pandemic. The film is now slated for theatrical release on August 27.

Both veteran actors Shah Rukh Khan and Sanjay Dutt have many films under their belts. Now, according to trade reports, both will collaborate on a full-fledged multilingual production. After briefly sharing screen space in the opening scene of SRK’s 2012 film Ra.One and in the title track of the 2007 film Om Shanti Om, the two actors will reunite for the tentatively named upcoming film Rakhee. According to the reports, the stars are currently filming in Mumbai.

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Knowledge Tungabhadra Dam The Tungabhadra Dam, also known as Pampa Sagar, is constructed across the Tungabhadra River, a tributary of the Krishna River. The Tungabhadra derives its name from two streams, the Tunga and the Bhadra, which rise in the Western Ghats. The river, after the confluence of the two streams near Shimoga, runs till it joins the Krishna River. The dam is located in Hosapete, (Vijayanagara district of Karnataka). It is a multipurpose dam serving irrigation, electricity generation, and flood control. Excavation in the riverbed started in 1947 and masonry construction in April 1949. With help of a cofferdam constructed earlier, foundation excavation was continued during flood season as well. In October 1953, the structures were substantially completed, enabling the storage of water in the reservoir. The construction and eventual submersion affected about 90 villages and over 50,000 people. There is an ongoing dispute between Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka for the water of Tungabhadra reservoir. The Dam is a visual treat to watch when illuminated with colors at night. Surrounding the modern town of Hampi, a short distance from the dam, are the ruins of Vijayanagara, the site of the powerful Vijayanagara Empire’s capital city and now a World Heritage Site. In the beginning of winter, a huge congregation of birds is seen along the vast mud-banks that span hundreds of kilometers. Small islands and mudflats provide shelter to migratory birds. About 200 species of birds have been recorded in and around TB Dam reservoir. Many fish species and other aquatic animals thrive in the reservoir. Tunga Bhadra reservoir has a storage capacity of 101 TMC (thousand million cubic feet). TB Dam is about 150 feet in height and has about 33 crest gates. Saathee.com

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USA Knowledge Hoover Dam Hoover Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the U.S. states of Nevada and Arizona. It was constructed between 1931 and 1936 during the Great Depression and was dedicated on September 30, 1935, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Originally known as Boulder Dam from 1933, it was officially renamed Hoover Dam for President Herbert Hoover by a joint resolution of Congress in 1947. When Hoover Dam was built, it would be the most expensive engineer project that the US had ever started. The cost was $49 million, which is about $700 million today. It was initially created to help control local flooding and provide some infrastructure for irrigation. In 1936, just one year after it was finished, electrical power generation was also added to the dam’s purpose. Lake Mead was created as a reservoir behind the dam, and it is the largest artificial reservoir of its kind in the US. It offers visitors over 500 miles of shoreline and its deepest point when full has a depth of 590 feet. Numerous films have used the dam as a backdrop including Alfred Hitchcock’s Saboteur and Superman the Movie. Part of the Hoover Dam complex today includes the O’CallaghanTillman Bridge. The bridge itself is the widest and longest type of structure in its design in the Western Hemisphere. Five million barrels of cement was used to create the dam. Imagine a four-foot-wide sidewalk wrapped completely around the Earth at the equator. That’s how much concrete it took to build the dam, which is 726 feet tall and 1,244 feet long. At its base, the dam is 660 feet thick at its top 45 feet thick. The dam is about 30 minutes from Las Vegas. Nevada’s Boulder City didn’t exist before the Hoover Dam project. The city was built in 1930 solely to house the 5,000 workers employed to build the dam. Following the December 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor and America’s entry into World War II, Hoover Dam was closed to all visitors until the war ended in 1945. Saathee.com

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Mirror, Mirror by Jennifer Allen

From Video Game to Cultural Phenomenon Growing up in central Indiana, I went through a lot of ups and downs when it came to school. One thing I did always look forward to was heading to my Elementary School’s computer lab twice a week to work on one of those clunky Apple IIc’s that were still so endearing back in 1985. We’d just gotten color monitors, which by today’s standards were gigantic paperweights of plastic, metal and glass, which floated above of the white CPU/keyboard combo that was so unique at the time. Saathee.com

One of the first “games” we were allowed to play on these ancient devices was from a lesser-known company at the time called Brøderbund Software. They had just released an educational title called “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?” I was intrigued by it and so slid the first of several slim 5.25” floppies into the IIc’s drive and began my first of many journeys to capture this illusive adversary. The game’s original concept was basically the player pursuing the notorious thief, Carmen Sandiego and her gang of crooks through various countries and landmarks by way of globetrotting, cat and mouse game play, and mix of world trivia and smart humor. It became a fun way to learn world geography and continued on page 80 August 2021

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My eldest son wants to be a filmmaker. I tried to steer him towards the family business, tech support. I told him, “Son, film editors need tech support.” I was concerned how he would be able to make any money. I said, “Make sure you don’t make any porn … without a plot. 50 shades of gray did good. Billion shades of brown will be even better.” I love doing comedy. One of the hardest parts is that every time you do a comedy show, you have to take out all the jokes that didn’t work. Before one of my shows, my son told me, “What are you going to do? Just stand there for five minutes?” Because of my love for comedy, I even tried getting my younger two kids into comedy. They would fight all the time at dinner. “Dad, if I wrote the premise, and he wrote the punch line, who’s joke is it?” I said, “Why don’t both of you try the joke. And if it gets a laugh, the joke is mine. If it doesn’t get a laugh, it’s your mom’s.” My kids don’t like doing comedy. It’s weird, they will do the opposite of what I tell them. I push them towards comedy and their grades suddenly improve. “Dad, I don’t continued on page 76 Saathee.com

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Fruit Chaat

and My Ultimate Demise Subcontinental Divide by Ahsen Jillani At this juncture, which is no fork in the road kind of juncture, because there is now only one road, I wait for the news. I want the doctor to hold my hand, smile, and say the magic words, “You have the liver readings of an Egyptian mummy.” Or maybe, “Your kidneys will fall out in three months.” Something life aﬃrming like that. I have made preparations by talking to my family about this inevitable departure – but who knows if they will acknowledge that while I’m in the afterlife or deep sleep or wherever in space all this happens while most of humanity roasts in the sun digging and planting in the stillness of brutal Time. But one thing is certain after attending a thousand funerals and ten weddings: I do not want the four remaining friends and three family members laying it on thick as my ashes sit in a Dollar Store urn in the den. “He was a righteous man. God centric and a servant. Alcohol, tobacco, paan masala never touched his lips. His body was a temple, albeit a crumbling one, and no fast food like French fries or a Taco Bell triple chicken tostado ever touched his lips. He had a smile for everyone – every woman and animal at least – but those broken brown teeth were not due to 35 years of paan masala; they were brown because he was so humble that he ate dirt so others could eat his organic daal with the burnt onions sprinkled on top. He will be sorely missed.” Guys guys guys, how about for once telling the truth. I mean, I will appreciate it from whatever dimension I’m drinking a beer in. “Okay, he loved fruit chaat. There, I said it. We might miss him.” More than 45 years removed from the subcontinent now, with maybe 5-6 short visits thrown in along the way, my memory is beginning to fade. My parents are long gone, perhaps lounging in their own heavens and hells; and my mom is probably still telling my dad to grow a spine, or pull himself up by the cummerbund, like real men from her childhood in Panipat used to do. I miss all those romantic one-sided sweet nothings directed at my dad – about as much as I miss fruit chaat. Spending my formative years in Southeast Asia, I gained an appreciation for food that would cause a grand mal seizure after two bites. Decades out in America, I tried to impress the ladies by not only ordering 5-star hot, but also 5-star hot “Thai Style.” I had to be carried out of the restaurant and my hands were shaking so bad, my date had to drive me home. Today, in old age, that has become a fantasy with stomach issues, and fists full of medicines that continued on page 78

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We Work with Dangerous Pathogens in a Downtown Boston Biocontainment Lab Here’s why you can feel safe about our research By Ronald Corley Microbiologist Ronald Corley has gone to work every day throughout the pandemic as director of the National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories. Within this secure lab facility in Boston, scientists study pathogens as diverse as tuberculosis, Ebola virus, yellow fever virus and Zika virus. Many investigators there quickly turned their attention in 2020 to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Here Corley answers some of the most frequently asked questions about this kind of biosecure lab and the work researchers do inside it. What is the purpose of a biocontainment facility? A newly emerging or reemerging human pathogen is detected somewhere around the globe every 12 to 18 months. Infectious diseases don’t respect borders. Because of the global economy and unprecedented mobility, everyone on the planet is vulnerable to potentially devastating infectious diseases that may have originated halfway across the world. In this age of high-speed travel, we are as little as 36 hours away from any outbreak.

As with SARS-CoV-2, scientists may know little about emerging pathogens or the diseases they cause. Studying these germs – whether bacteria, viruses or other microorganisms – in the safe environment of a biocontainment laboratory is the best protection humankind has against these diseases. In the lab, researchers can safely test new diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines. The more scientists learn about these new diseases, the better prepared we are for the ones that will come after. This is where labs like the NEIDL, and our stringent safety measures, are important. I feel safer from infection working in the NEIDL than I do in my apartment continued on page 48 Saathee.com

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What does containment look like with these safety strategies in place? Everyone undergoes annual background checks, medical clearances and training. Only cleared staff can enter the building alone. There are limited ways into the space, one for pedestrians, and one for vehicles, like delivery trucks. Entry requires access via biometric or card access or both, and screening by security. Access controls limit staff members to entering spaces where they have permission to work, based on their training, clearances and biosafety protocols. A network of security systems and closed-circuit cameras monitors the facility. Entering laboratories requires that workers don the appropriate PPE for the area. Within the labs, we know what pathogen we are working with and how it is being used and are confident staff are following the safety measures required to keep them safe. This ensures the safety of others in the building as well as the surrounding community. Importantly, the biosafety practices ensure that each pathogen we’re studying is restricted to the appropriate spaces. Researchers work at biosafety cabinets that sterilefilter the air before releasing it back into the lab.

Biolabs

continued from page 48

building. We know what we’re working with in the lab and how to keep ourselves and others safe. But outside, I don’t know who I might pass who could have a transmissible pathogen, including the coronavirus. This is not to say that there is no risk working within the laboratory – there is. But we minimize it through a series of safety measures – including building systems, laboratory design, personal protective equipment, training and safety protocols – that have been tried and tested in laboratories across the world.

What kinds of regulation and oversight are there? Biocontainment laboratories do not function in a vacuum. The building and laboratory designs, and the PPE and operating procedures that protect staﬀ, meet the guidelines set by the CDC and by the 574-page book “Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories” from the CDC and National Institutes of Health. To carry out a project, the lead scientist begins with an application to the Institutional Biosafety Committee. Experts in biosafety and science review the application, as do laypersons who provide a community perspective. These deliberations are open and transparent thanks to public participation on the committee. Its minutes are posted online. Safety professionals also inspect the laboratory facilities before work gets underway. In the city of Boston, projects that involve any BSL-3 or BSL-4 work require review and approval from the Boston Public Health Commission, one of the only local public health departments with this type of oversight. Work with certain types of pathogens called “select agents” that pose a severe threat is further regulated by the Division of Select Agents and Toxins within the CDC. Here at the NEIDL, both city and federal oﬃcials inspect the lab, interviewing personnel and reviewing records, including maintenance records. They also inspect pathogen inventories. Inspections can be announced or unannounced.

How do you try to minimize risk? Our biosafety manual sets the standards for all work with biological material in the NEIDL. Requirements increase in complexity from Biosafety Level 2 (BSL-2) on to BSL-3 and BSL-4. In the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention determines each pathogen’s biocontainment level, based on what’s known about how it infects its host, the severity of the disease it causes, how easily transmissible the pathogen may be and the nature of the work itself – does it potentially create aerosols, for example. The biosafety levels require different types of engineering controls – such as the building materials the space uses, directional air flow to ensure pathogens can’t get out, HEPA filtration so that only sterile air is discharged from the lab space and so on. The administrative controls required vary by biosafety level, as well – safety protocols, requirements for personnel training, limiting access and so forth. Each level requires different types of personal protective equipment: gloves and lab coats in a BSL-2 laboratory, protective lab wear and N95 or PAPR respirators in BSL-3 or a fully encapsulating suit in a BSL-4 laboratory. “Safety First” is not just a bumper-sticker phrase at the NEIDL. Everyone from public safety officers to support staff to researchers has fully bought into the culture of safety. It informs the way we’re trained and drilled, the way pathogens are transported to the facility, and policies that govern our employees. We know the risks of the work, train on protective measures, and ensure every member of our staff follows our protocols. Saathee.com

What would happen if something went wrong? An important aspect of safety is making sure everyone knows what to do in an emergency. Three trainings per year involve first responders from the city as well as from Boston University. These are done as either live drills or tabletop exercises with experts walking through what an emergency would look like. Afterward we review how we did and develop plans for improvement. continued on page 94 48

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Spot the Differences See if you can spot the 15 diﬀerences between the original photo on top and modified one on bottom. Answers are on pg 88.

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Can President Biden’s Plan to Remove Urban Highways Improve the Health of American Cities?

A federal report heralded the project as the type of socially minded renovation that can make appropriate, if partial, amends for the devastation wrought on low-income neighborhoods by the freeway-building boom of earlier decades. “Community involvement was a very important part of the rebuilding process,” said the report, which concluded, “West Oakland residents got what they wanted.” Unfortunately, that’s not entirely the case. Although the 1.3-mile strip of land that Mandela Parkway passes through has cleaner air and better amenities than when it was a freeway spur, many of the neighborhood’s original residents are no longer there to enjoy it, forced out by rising rents and housing costs. And West Oakland more broadly, bordered by the massive Port of Oakland, is still crisscrossed by elevated freeways where cars and heavy trucks spew hundreds of tons of pollutants every year. The successes and failures of the Mandela Parkway are emblematic of the challenges faced by a new urban renewal movement that seeks to replace dozens of stretches of elevated urban freeways built in the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s across the United States. These highways bisected cities, displacing residents and businesses in what were frequently

By Sarah DiGiulio Mandela Parkway, a four-lane boulevard enhanced by a median with trees and a curving footpath, stretches along a 24-block section of West Oakland. It’s the fruit of a grassroots neighborhood campaign to block reconstruction of an elevated freeway leveled by the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989 and reimagine the thoroughfare to replace it. Since the parkway’s 2005 completion, 168 units of aﬀordable housing have sprung up along its route. The air is measurably freer of pollutants than it was when the Cypress Freeway ran through the area.

Saathee.com

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Other research has found that residents from marginalized groups reported a lower sense of community after “greening” transformations. Longtime Latino residents, for example, reported avoiding segments of Chicago’s 606 pedestrian trail that run through mostly white neighborhoods because of concerns of discrimination. Well-off white residents were more likely than Black residents to use the Atlanta BeltLine, a 33-mile network of trails and parks. None of these problems seal an argument against highway removal, say urban activists. The Congress for the New Urbanism, a nonprofit focused on sustainable urban development, has identified 15 highways in major U.S. cities that are ripe for removal in its 2021 “Freeways Without Futures” report. The lesson, instead, is to pay attention to the wishes of longtime community members in planning these infrastructure projects, said Jonathan Fearn, a member of the Oakland Planning Commission and a founder of ConnectOakland, an advocacy group involved in plans to tear down 2-mile-long I-980 and redesign the area. Highway removal and neighborhood renewal should focus on making communities less car-dependent, and adding affordable housing and other amenities, said Dr. Richard Jackson, professor emeritus at the Fielding School of Public Health at UCLA and former director of the National Center for Environmental Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For example, creating community land trusts — nonprofits that buy vacant lots in communities and sell them back to residents at reduced rates — can help ensure affordable housing and rent stability. Some of the congressional bills under consideration have provisions that would require anti-displacement strategies. But the $1.2 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework put forward by the Biden administration, which includes funding for a $1 billion “reconnecting communities” program, offers few details about ameliorating displacement. If the projects get done, conversations about whom they benefit should happen early on, said Ben Crowther, program manager for the Congress for the New Urbanism’s Highways to Boulevards program. But it’s “very encouraging,” he said, that federal bills to fund the remakes include strategies for making sure current residents benefit.

Biden Highways

continued from page 54

lower-income, working-class, non-white neighborhoods. Pollution and noise plague the health of those who continue to live nearby. Today, as many of these roadways near or pass the end of their intended lifespans, policymakers, social justice advocates and urban planners have called for them to come down. President Joe Biden’s administration agrees. His infrastructure plan calls for highway removal to right historical injustices and improve the health of people who live nearby. At least four bills in Congress would fund such efforts, though none is assured passage. But the Cypress Freeway conversion shows how complicated it is to accomplish highway removal in a way that improves the health and well-being of the longtime residents wronged by the roadways’ legacy. The effects of neighborhood “greening” can be paradoxical, leading to “green gentrification.” There’s abundant evidence that living near highways is bad for human health: Research has linked it to higher rates of hypertension, heart attack, neurological illnesses like Alzheimer’s disease and multiple sclerosis, worse birth outcomes, and asthma, especially in kids. But the evidence is shakier on whether transforming the roadways reverses these problems, said Regan Patterson, a transportation equity research fellow for the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. A 2019 study conducted by Patterson and Robert Harley of the University of California-Berkeley’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering showed that rerouting the Cypress Freeway — Interstate 880 — and building the Mandela Parkway cut nitrogen oxides by an annual average of 38%, and soot by 25%, along the parkway. But West Oakland in general is still heavily polluted by the rerouted I-880, as well as the interstate highways I-580 and I-980. “You cannot talk about Mandela Parkway if you don’t talk about the impact of all three highways,” said Margaret Gordon, 74, a founding member of the West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project, an environmental justice organization. And the very upgrade of the area along Mandela Parkway — coupled with the arrival of Big Tech company offices in the area — has contributed to property values spiking and longtime residents leaving. Black residents, who made up 73 percent of the population around the expressway in 1990, accounted for This story was produced by Kaiser Health News (KHN), which only 45 percent in 2010, according to Patterson’s research. publishes California Healthline, an editorially independent service Median home values along the parkway jumped by $261,059 of the California Health Care Foundation. in that time frame. “Green gentrification” is a paradoxical effect of projects intended to support healthier communities, said Jennifer Article courtesy of Kaiser Health News. Wolch, a professor of city and regional planning at UCRead more at khn.org. Berkeley. Her research, focused on the overall public health effects of urban greening, shows that rising housing costs and displacement of longtime residents can also damage their health. Saathee.com

August 2021

Never Have I Ever Second Season

Read Watch Listen by Jennifer Allen When I heard that the series Never Have I Ever, co-produced by Mindy Kaling, had been renewed for a second season, I was overjoyed that we would be able to delve more into the complex teen life of Devi Vishnukumar, played by the always boisterous and amazing Maitreyi Ramakrishnan. Well Netflix has just released the 2nd season on the platform, and it’s not only built upon the groundwork of the first season, but also added some new layers to just about every character involved and there’s a few new faces to bolster an already stellar cast. Season 2 starts oﬀ right where the first Season ended… with Devi and Ben (Jaren Lewison) sharing a sweet kiss in his car… only to be comically interrupted by her mother, Nalini (Poorna Jagannathan). What follows is 10 fun-filled episodes with many characters going through a semester’s long journey. Some will find courage. Others will find new love. Others still find ways to surprise even themselves. Central to it all is, of course, Devi’s own mishaps and her own odyssey to figure out the kind of person she really wants to be. While the first season was primarily about her dealing with grief due to her father’s death, this season was more about her goals to break away from her social status as the brainy Indian girl that most of the other students ignore. Along the way she tackles a love triangle, friendship issues, and more conflicts of interest between her culture and the desire to ‘fit in’ with her Saathee.com

classmates. At the heart of why Devi is so captivating is Maitreyi Ramakrishnan’s performance. She can show so much emotion in just her facial expressions that it’s so easy to feel exactly what she’s feeling in each scene. We as the audience sit back and watch over the course 10 episodes as Devi gradually gains a more confident maturity. The sheer amount of contrasting motivations and outcomes are what make the series so wonderfully written and a pleasure to watch. Unlike older shows and movies, Never Have I Ever doesn’t seek to solve every problem with a crisp, clean satin bow wrapped around it. Many of these characters have flaws and they don’t just immediately change when the script calls for them to. Another standout this season is Nalini who gets to finally be more than a stereotypical overbearing Indian matriarch by questioning her own agency and also interacting with rival dermatologist Chris Jackson (Common). It’s nice to see her less as Devi’s mom and more as her own person. I personally enjoyed the storyline for Kamala (Richa Moorjani) who is now not only struggling with her potential arranged marriage but also her life as an intelligent, beautiful young woman. While we didn’t get to see much of Kamala’s more “brainy” side in Season 1, we are treated to a great arc where she is part of a cell lab rotation group with a rather misogynistic and egocentric boss. When she finally cuts loose on said boss by threatening to “go H.A.M.” on him, it’s both shocking and pricelessly funny. Never Have I Ever Season 2 is just as delightful, funny, and relatable as Season 1, thanks in large part to its cast and incredibly witty writing. Look for both Seasons now available on Netflix. Jennifer Allen works at Saathee and is also a Podcaster, Blogger, Photographer, Graphic Artist, Gamer, Martial Arts Practitioner, and an all around Pop Culture Geek. You can reach her at: Info@Saathee.com 58

August 2021

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Inﬂation

the Federal Reserve has enough tools and expertise to manage both scenes. One thing is certain, however, that even if the inflation isn’t a worry right now, we should still think about it seriously (for the long term) and factor it into our investment strategy and even more so for our retirement planning strategy. Generally, the younger folks don’t think much about inflation in retirement planning because it is too far away (almost 25 - 35 years) and it is hard to fathom that kind of time span. And then it is very likely that these folks will live another 20/30 years beyond the starting point of their retirement which itself was unheard of in the time of their grandparents and perhaps even parents. It was very common to see, in the 1950s and 60s, people retiring at around 65, get the social security started and be gone within five years. This is certainly not the case today. We need to invest today with our retirement in focus. Two things are clear: the planning is going to be for a period of 25 to 30 years after retirement because we do indeed could live that long and secondly manage our expenses now for that long period considering the inflation. At the time of retirement, say if it is 25 years away, all costs are going to double at the rate of 3 percent inflation and then they will double again in 25 years after that. Not only it is an intimidating thought, but quite realistic, and planning for something that far out is even more daunting and formidable. Take heart, it can be done; you just have to get some help for such planning. To start, protect your portfolio with Treasury Inflation Protected Scurities (TIPS). The principal value of these notes rises in step with CPI, and because the market is pricing in very low inflation expectations, TIPS are cheap. Should inflation start to trend higher than current inflation, TIPS would go higher too. You can buy TIPS directly from Uncle Sam or use a Fund. Stocks have historically outperformed inflation over the long periods. If you do indeed have a long-term focus, which I recommend everyone should have especially for stocks, you should be choosing funds or ETFs that invest in companies with long term focus in mind and that includes international stocks. Rising inflation in the US typically results in weaker dollar - a boom for investors in international firms whose foreign currency profits get converted into more greenbacks. Should we be worried about inflation? Yes, absolutely. Is it manageable? Yes. Especially if you recognize that as a concern and plan for it from the beginning while managing the growth and income in your portfolios; especially if you manage your expenses and even more importantly your and your family’s health over the long period. We don’t much think about it, but healthcare is a major expense and needs to be well managed because it is a major contributor to the expenses, especially in our golden years.

Should We be Worried? Personal Finances by Mo Vidwans

It creeps in slowly and we would not even notice it if we are not careful. But at the same time, it is or can be devastating and can ruin all our plans if we don’t recognize this powerful, insidious force. Let me give some examples. Let us assume a gallon of milk costs us $2.50 today and there is about 3 percent inflation that we are dealing with every year. Which means the price of this same gallon of milk will be $2.58 next year. Some people will think, well, that’s ok because it is not much of a change. The same gallon of milk at the same rate of inflation, 10 years from now, will be $3.36. Now that is noticeable. It will double today’s price at this rate of inflation in just over 23 years. Imagine this happening to everything you buy; our cost of living will be twice in about 23 years. If our household expenses are about $5,000 every month, then they will be $10,000 in 23 years. That is just about the time your newborn will be graduating from college. And as you know well, there are many things in our daily use that can inflate much higher like tuition fees, car prices, furniture, and kitchen appliances. It is a good thing that we don’t buy them frequently. We, as investors, like inflation about as much as we liked villains like J.R Ewing on the Dallas TV show, if you remember that one. The animosity is understandable because, for sure, rising prices eat into investment returns and most certainly erode the value of our retirement savings. If I can continue with the example given above: at the rate of 3 percent inflation our expenses in retirement will double in 23 years but the income stream will stay about the same. This means we will have to make up for shortfall to support the expenses somehow, which is a formidable task for most. There was a time back in 1980s when the inflation had become rampant and had crested at 14 percent. It is hard to imagine that now, especially for younger investors, since over the past 15 years or so the inflation has averaged about 1.9 percent, well below the 3.4 percent average annual increase since 1950. Federal Reserve Board has been working on and watching carefully to keep the inflation rate at or around 2 percent. It is expected that in the wake of the pandemic, which brought with it record unemployment, recession and massive destruction of consumer demand, near term inflation will not exceed our expected limit for a while. But, at the same time the massive Govt. spending has Mo Vidwans the potential to derail that, at least for a short while as we is an independent, board certified financial planner. For details visit, are experiencing now for last few months. I do believe that VidwansFinancial.com, call 984-888-0355 or write to: mpvidwans@yahoo.com Saathee.com

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News Notes Charlotte’s Festival of India 2021 to be Part of Charlotte Shout this Fall

Widely regarded as the father of Yoga in the West, Yogananda helped popularize India’s ancient science of Yoga through the transcontinental public lecture tours he made in the U.S. during the 1920s and 1930s, through his nonprofit Self-Realization Fellowship, and through his many published writings. His spiritual classic, Autobiography of a Yogi, celebrates its 75th anniversary this year. The 2021 Online Self-Realization Fellowship World Convocation features:

Charlotte SHOUT! is a multi-week cultural festival designed to showcase the Charlotte community by celebrating its creativity and innovation through art, music, food, and ideas. Located primarily in Uptown Charlotte, SHOUT! features curated programming by Charlotteans born here, and also those who have immigrated from many other countries and call Charlotte home. This year Charlotte SHOUT! will be held from September 17 – October 3, 2021. The Festival of India, held annually in Charlotte, was cancelled last year for the first time in 25+ years, due to the pandemic. This year, the organizers chose to team up with Charlotte SHOUT! to present the Festival of India under its umbrella over the weekend of September 25 – 26, 2021. “One of the challenges about doing our Festival of India this year, has been our continued struggle with gauging visitor sentiment on attending big events, particularly in closed settings,” the organizers said via an email. After officials for both organizations decided to collaborate this year, it was decided to do the Festival of India at Gateway Village in uptown Charlotte, because it offers better social distancing options. According to Festival of India organizers, “The facility is a unique venue with both open and covered spaces, with CLT Shout planning to build a large stage with state-of-the-art sound system. It also offers lots of creative flexibility in reconfiguring our exhibits and also allows appropriate levels of social distancing for visitors. This will be a marquee event for CLTShout that day, and we are excited about this collaborative endeavor.” For developing details, visit IndiaFestival.net or CharlotteShout.com.

2021 SRF World Convocation August 8-14 Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF), founded by Paramahansa Yogananda, will be hosting its second fully online World Convocation from August 8-14, 2021, featuring the yoga meditation teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda. The weeklong program of spiritual renewal, which drew 35,000 registered participants from around the world last year, will be oﬀered this year again—free of charge. The online event will be in English with subtitles in multiple languages. Led by monks and nuns of SRF, the immersive program provides meditations, united prayer, kirtan (sacred chanting), classes on the yoga teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda, and virtual pilgrimage tours to sacred sites established by Yogananda. Saathee.com

• A full program of meditations and classes on the “How-to-Live” teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda, including daily talks on how to apply yogic principles to one’s life on such topics as “The Liberating Power of Positive Thinking and Enthusiasm,” “Being a Spiritual Seeker in Today’s Complex World,” “Faith: A Corner Stone of our Spiritual Lives,” and “Meditation: A Journey to Spiritual Freedom.” • Classes on the SRF meditation techniques, open to all current and graduate students of the SRF Lessons as well as to those who enroll in the Lessons. • Group meditations and kirtans along with virtual pilgrimage tours to SRF locations established by Yogananda. The 2021 Online SRF World Convocation will originate mostly from the international headquarters of SRF in Los Angeles, where Yogananda lived and worked from 1925 until his passing in 1952. Those interested in the meditation technique classes may enroll in the SRF Lessons in advance in order to attend these specific classes. Details, visit Convocation.yogananda.org or call (323) 225-2471.

Tasveer Film Fund Triples Filmmaker Funding in the Second Year Tasveer has announced its second year of the Tasveer Film Fund (TFF), a program first launched in June 2020 to help bolster emerging South Asian filmmakers within the U.S. The Tasveer Film Fund aims to empower South Asian filmmakers to bring their scripts to life with $5,000 grants as well as year-long support with resources and mentorship access. With support from Netflix, Tasveer is expanding the program to support three filmmakers who are developing short film, documentary and LGBTQIA+ film projects. This collaboration is part of the recently announced Netflix Fund for Creative Equity, where Netflix will invest USD $100 million August 2021

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is being released days before our nation’s 245th birthday. There is no greater testament to the strength of America than our willingness to encourage others to join us as U.S. citizens as we work together to build a more perfect union,” said USCIS Acting Director Tracy Renaud. Since the beginning of the Biden-Harris administration, USCIS has taken several steps to reduce barriers to naturalization and restore confidence in our nation’s legal immigration system. More information on naturalization policies issued since January 2021 is available at USCIS.gov.

dollars over the next five years in a combination of external organizations with a strong track record of setting underrepresented communities up for success in the TV and film industries, as well as bespoke programs that will help to identify, train and provide job placement for up-andcoming talent globally. “In an eﬀort to bring out-of-the-box, diverse South Asian story ideas to the forefront, we have tripled our grant from last year. We feel there is an urgency and the time is right. We want to show that the South Asian experience is not monolithic.” says Rita Meher, Tasveer Executive Director. “Having a film fund for South Asian filmmakers within the US I think is vital. It gives us the opportunity to take risks and tell bold, inclusive, and diverse stories as we try to forge a path in an industry where there are not too many people of our background or culture,” says Naman Gupta, Tasveer Film Fund 2020 winner. Last year, Naman Gupta & Janki Parekh won $5000 for their queer sci-fi script “Coming Out with the Help of a Time Machine.” Filmmakers who are interested in applying can submit their scripts online until September 25, 2021. Tasveer will select the top three applicants within each grant category and invite the 9 finalists to pitch their script or documentary treatment at the upcoming Tasveer Festival in October 2021. Tasveer was founded to inspire social change through thought-provoking South Asian films, art, and storytelling. For more details, visit Tasveer.org.

US Government Launches First One-Stop Ransomware Resource at StopRansomware.gov As part of the ongoing response, agencies across the U.S. government have announced new resources and initiatives to protect American businesses and communities from ransomware attacks. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), together with federal partners, have launched a new website to combat the threat of ransomware. StopRansomware.gov establishes a one-stop hub for ransomware resources for individuals, businesses, and other organizations. The new StopRansomware.gov is a collaborative eﬀort across the federal government and the first joint website created to help private and public organizations mitigate their ransomware risk. “As ransomware attacks continue to rise around the world, businesses and other organizations must prioritize their cybersecurity,” said Secretary Mayorkas. “Cyber criminals have targeted critical infrastructure, small businesses, hospitals, police departments, schools, and more. These attacks directly impact Americans’ daily lives and the security of our Nation. I urge every organization across our country to use this new resource to learn how to protect themselves from ransomware and reduce their cybersecurity risk.” StopRansomware.gov is the first central hub consolidating ransomware resources from all federal government agencies. Prior to today, individuals and organizations had to visit a variety of websites to find guidance, latest alerts, updates, and resources, increasing the likelihood of missing important information. StopRansomware.gov reduces the fragmentation of resources, which is especially detrimental for those who have become victims of an attack, by integrating federal ransomware resources into a single platform that includes clear guidance on how to report attacks, and the latest ransomware-related alerts and threats from all participating agencies. StopRansomware.gov includes resources and content from DHS’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the U.S. Secret Service, the Department of Justice’s Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the Departments of the Treasury and Health and Human Services. Ransomware is a long-standing problem and a growing national security threat. Tackling this challenge requires collaboration across every level of government, the private

DHS releases Interagency Strategy for Promoting Naturalization The Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services recently released the Interagency Strategy for Promoting Naturalization, a wholeof-government approach to breaking down barriers to U.S. citizenship and promoting naturalization to all who are eligible, as outlined in President Biden’s Executive Order 14012. “Becoming a United States citizen is a tremendous privilege,” said Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas. “New citizens, strengthened with the power and responsibilities that American citizenship brings, make our Nation better. This strategy will ensure that aspiring citizens are able to pursue naturalization through a clear and coordinated process.” This report reflects the collaboration of USCIS, the Department of Education, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of State, Department of Labor, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Defense, Department of Justice, Department of Veterans Aﬀairs, Department of Agriculture, and the Social Security Administration, who are part of the interagency Naturalization Working Group. This working group was established pursuant to the President’s executive order to prioritize citizenship education and awareness through capacity building and expanded partnerships, which is at the heart of the interagency strategy. “USCIS remains committed to empowering immigrants to pursue citizenship along with the rights and opportunities that come with it. It is fitting that this report Saathee.com

August 2021

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sector, and our communities. Roughly $350 million in Under the new policy, the AMA will: ransom was paid to malicious cyber actors in 2020, a more than 300 percent increase from the previous year. Like most • Encourage the development and dissemination of cyber-attacks, ransomware exploits the weakest link. Many educational resources and tools for physicians, especially small businesses have yet to adequately protect their those more likely to encounter youth or young adult networks and StopRansomware.gov will help these patients, that address effective suicide prevention. This organizations and many more to take simple steps to protect includes screening tools, methods to identify risk factors their networks and respond to ransomware incidents, while and acuity, safety planning, and appropriate follow-up providing enterprise-level information technology (IT) care—including treatment and linkages to appropriate teams the technical resources to reduce their ransomware counseling resources; risk. • Support collaboration with federal agencies, relevant state For details, visit StopRansomware.gov. and specialty medical societies, schools, public health agencies, community organizations, and other AMA Adopts Policy to Address Increases in Youth stakeholders to enhance awareness of the increase in youth and young adult suicide and to promote protective Suicide and Save Lives factors, raise awareness of risk factors, support evidencebased prevention strategies and interventions, encourage awareness of community mental health resources, and improve care for youth and young adults at risk of suicide; • Encourage efforts to provide youth and young adults better and more equitable access to treatment and care for depression, substance use disorder, and other disorders that contribute to suicide risk; • Encourage continued research to better understand suicide risk and effective prevention efforts in youth and young adults, especially in higher risk sub-populations such as Black, LGBTQ+, Hispanic/Latinx, and With an increase in suicide and suicide risk in youth and Indigenous/Native Alaskan youth and young adult young adults across the U.S. since 2007, the American populations, and among youth and young adults with Medical Association (AMA) adopted policy during the disabilities; Special Meeting of its House of Delegates aimed at • Support the development of novel technologies and preventing suicide in young people. The adopted policy therapeutics, along with improved utilization of existing report outlines risk factors for youth suicide, including the medications to address acute suicidality and underlying role of mental health, substance use disorder, adverse risk factors in youth and young adults; childhood experiences, increased use of digital devices, • Support research to identify evidence-based universal and bullying and cyberbullying, and the impact of the COVIDtargeted suicide prevention programs for implementation 19 pandemic. The report also identifies evidence-based in middle schools and high schools; interventions, protective factors, as well as resources to • Advocate at the state and national level for policies to enhance resiliency aimed at mitigating youth suicide risk. prioritize children’s mental, emotional and behavioral According to a recent Centers for Disease Control and health; Prevention (CDC) study, there was a 31 percent increase in the proportion of mental health–related emergency • Advocate for a comprehensive system of care including prevention, management and crisis care to address mental department visits for youth aged 12–17 years during 2020 and behavioral health needs for infants, children and as compared to 2019. Particularly concerning, CDC data also adolescents; showed increased rates of suicide ideation and suicide attempts in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic as • Supports increased screening for Adverse Childhood compared with 2019 rates. Experiences (ACEs) in medical settings, in recognition of “We were deeply concerned by the dramatic increases the intersectionality of ACEs with significant increased we were seeing in youth suicide and suicide risk even before risk of suicide, negative substance-use related outcomes the mitigation measures and disruptions caused by the including overdose, and a multitude of downstream COVID-19 pandemic. As a nation we must do everything negative health outcomes; Supports the inclusion of ACEs we can to prioritize children’s mental, emotional and and trauma-informed care into undergraduate and behavioral health and step up our efforts to prevent suicide graduate medical education curricula. and mitigate suicide risk among our nation’s youth,” said AMA Board Member Willie Underwood III, M.D., MS.c, The AMA is committed to helping address the youth M.P.H. “Physicians play a vital role and we must ensure that suicide crisis and will continue to support policies aimed at all physicians who see youth patients, not solely pediatric preventing more young people from dying by suicide. psychiatrists and addiction medicine physicians, have the ability, capacity, and access to the tools needed to identify when a young person is experiencing a period of imminent For details at ama-assn.org risk and help prevent suicide attempts.” Saathee.com

August 2021

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August 2021

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Paneer Tikka Skewers

Saathee RECIPES

I know our summer months are zooming by, but don’t worry there’s still plenty of time to enjoy your backyard BBQs and cookouts! So, here is another amazing summertime recipe, Paneer Tikka Skewers. These desi kebabs are exactly what you need for your next backyard BBQ bash or even for a fun bite at home. They are super simple to prepare, so grab some skewers, your favorite vegetables, some paneer (or whatever protein your heart desires) and your homemade Indian-spiced, yogurt marinade and you are ready to go! For more step-by-step recipe and easy “How-To” videos visit Saathee.com/Taige. Serves: 3-4 people Prep Time: 1 hour By: Taige Shukla

Ingredients 10-14oz Paneer cubed (See below for homemade paneer instructions) Marinade: 1 cup Greek or regular yogurt (Dahi) 1 ½ tbsp garlic (minced) 1 inch ginger (minced) 1 tsp ground cumin 1 tsp turmeric 1 ½ tsp garam masala 1 tsp lemon juice ½ tsp chili powder ½ tsp coriander powder 1 tsp salt A pinch of sugar Vegetables: 1 red onion 1 red bell pepper 1 green bell pepper 1 yellow bell pepper

Saathee.com

Directions For homemade paneer (Indian cottage cheese): You will need a ½ gallon of whole milk and ¼ cup lemon juice (or citric acid) In a medium-sized pot, bring the milk to a slow-boil on medium-high heat until the surface of the milk begins to foam. Reduce the heat and stir in the lemon juice until the milk is completely curdled. Once the curds and whey are completely separated, strain the curds through a clean cheese cloth. Hold it under running water for about a minute then squeeze out as much of the water as possible. Press the curds (while still in the cheese cloth) into a square shape and place it under something heavy for about 15-20 mins to ensure all the excess water is drained. Remove the paneer from cheese cloth and cut into cubes. For marinade: Simply add all ingredients listed under “marinade” in a large mixing bowl. Mix until all ingredients are well combined. Set aside about 1/3 of the marinade. Chop all vegetables into bite sized squares (feel free to add or sub in diﬀerent veggies here) and toss into the yogurt marinade. Make sure the veggies are fully coated in the mixture. With the remaining 1/3 of the marinade, fully coat the paneer cubes. I chose to do this in a separate bowl to ensure the paneer did not crumble or break apart. Note: if you prefer not to use paneer you can sub in your favorite bite-sized protein. Set the marinated veggies and paneer aside for at least 30 minutes. I chose to let it marinate overnight in the refrigerator. For skewers: Grilling is best but if you don’t have a grill. Preheat oven to 400°F, place a wire rack on top of a baking sheet and spray with cooking oil. Once everything has marinated, slide the coated pieces on to 4-6 skewers and place the prepped skewers on to the metal wire rack. Bake for about 10-15 mins. For a little extra crisp, remove the skewers from the oven and place them onto a stove top grill. Let roast for about 3-5 mins, rotating the skewers throughout. Serve your skewers with mint- cilantro chutney and rice or naan.

August 2021

College Admissions Insider

By Kristen Moon Gap Year Programs to Consider Before College

Thinking Beyond Borders As a global leader in gap year programs, Thinking Beyond Borders is an expert in oﬀering culturally enriching experiences. They provide students with the opportunity for cultural immersion through homestays in foreign countries. If one of your main determinants to doing a gap year is the cost, Thinking Beyond Borders (TBB) gives students options. They oﬀer both scholarships and assistance in helping students raise funds for their tuition. TBB helps students build a crowdfunding campaign through Generosity.com, which has helped students raise anywhere from a few thousand to twenty thousand dollars. Learn more: Thinkingbeyondborders.org

Traditionally, students have transitioned directly from high school into their first year of undergraduate. While some students follow this path and excel, other students might have trouble adjusting. Moving to a new environment, taking classes, and studying for exams all without having their parents monitoring their behavior and grades. Some students are just not ready to go to jump right into college, and that is okay. Many are now taking a gap year between high school and college to gain life experiences to better prepare for university. Students can use the gap years to travel, volunteer, or further their knowledge in a particular subject. Gap years have started to gain in popularity within the last few decades. Malia Obama, Prince William, and Prince Harry all took a year oﬀ before attending college. Luckily, you don’t have to be a member of the elite to take a gap year. More students are starting to take advantage of gap years as universities are allowing students to defer their admission for one year. Schools like Harvard University, Princeton, and Middlebury College often look positively on gap years and frequently give students the opportunity to defer enrollment for one year to pursue this opportunity. One option is to attend a gap year program, like the ones listed below, that give students a structured and transformational experience.

Outward Bound Outward Bound aims to change lives through challenges and discoveries. Participants in the program have the chance to explore the wilderness or cities through 30 to 85-day expeditions that give students realworld, hands-on experiences. Many people have found that Outward Bound pushes them both mentally and physically, allowing them to achieve things they never thought possible before joining the program. Students can also receive between 3 and 18 credits, depending on the length of the expedition. Learn more: Outwardbound.org Completing any of these gap year programs is an excellent way for your college application to stand apart from others—after all, not many college applicants can say that they have completed an 80-day expedition into the wild or lived with a family in a foreign country. A gap year can help students adequately prepare for college by increasing their confidence, rediscovering a love for learning, and gaining invaluable life lessons and skills.

NOLS NOLS is an immersive gap year program that allows students to explore every corner of the world, from India to Alaska to Mexico. NOLS teaches lessons in leadership and confidence, with the chance to earn college credit through courses like backpacking, canoeing, whitewater kayaking, wilderness medicine, and more. The non-profit outdoor education school aims to teach environmental ethics, outdoor technical skills, and risk management and judgment. Scholarships make this gap year program possible for every student. Learn more: Nols.edu

Saathee.com

Kristen Moon is an independent college counselor and founder of MoonPrep.com. She works with students 9-12th grade. kristen @moonprep.com

August 2021

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August 2021

2001’s Lagaan will come to mind. It will also be obvious how the style and grandeur of magnum opus Mughal-e-Azam has been a template for many historical dramas, including director Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Bajirao Mastani. Dilip Kumar has left an enduring, enviable legacy with his contributions to cinema and just as many artists may not be aware of how Kumar has shaped their craft, movie-goers will continue to appreciate Kumar’s artistry, also knowingly and unknowingly, for many years to come.

Dilip Kumar

continued from page 22

those films starred Dilip Kumar. He was known for his command over Hindi and Urdu and I have no qualms in sharing that listening to the actor’s perfect diction is a reason why I speak Hindi so well, despite being born and raised in America. In many of his earlier films Kumar made anguish so intriguing, so beautiful and these qualities, along with his kind gaze and charming smile, made Dilip Kumar my first matinee crush. His pairings with actress Vyjayanthimala, the doe-eyed dancer who starred with Kumar in no less than eight films, remain one of my all-time favorite onscreen couples, as both artists had attributes that would appeal to a child, which I was when I first saw them. To me they appeared to have childlike qualities, with bright eyes, smooth complexions, and pure joy writ on their cherubic faces, on grown-up bodies. I was mesmerized by their playful camaraderie which was especially evident in the song set on a tanga “Maang Ke Saath Tumhara” from the man versus machine movie Naya Daur. While their chemistry wasn’t fiery in the romantic sense like Kumar and Madhubala’s, it certainly was magical. I would experience such joy watching Vyjayanthimala sway, spin and whirl while Kumar would sportingly accompany her, as what he lacked in technique he made up for in enthusiasm! For the past few years Kumar was in the news for his frail health, understandable for a person in their nineties. In the age of social media and its ability to quickly spread false information, his devoted wife Saira Banu, an accomplished actress and movie star in her own right, would provide updates regarding Kumar’s health via his oﬃcial Twitter handle. It was through this account the passing of Kumar was verified. Going purely by social media posts, 1958’s Madhumati seems to be the film many have chosen to revisit, or watch for the first time, to honor Kumar. Simple shots of Kumar’s character enjoying a picturesque valley, with the birds chirping and the sun shining upon him are testament to the ease with which he would captivate the audience with his screen presence. Whether it is his finest performance, or his best film can certainly be debated, but Madhumati keeps an intimacy that a grand film like Mughal-e-Azam may not and includes commercial elements such as song, dance and comedic scenes, and isn’t heartbreaking in the ways films like Deedar or Devdas are. His body of work reflects the acting range Kumar possessed and it is no secret he has influenced many artists, some who intentionally imbibed mannerisms and methods to perform a scene, and also those who unintentionally absorbed Kumar’s style, as they aspired to be like their favorite star and who considered Kumar a model actor. Many, if not most, of Kumar’s films are available on YouTube and for film enthusiasts who are better versed with relatively recent films on streaming platforms, and who are not as familiar with Kumar’s filmography might be pleasantly surprised to see how Madhumati inspired pivotal portions of actor Shah Rukh Khan’s masala blockbuster Om Shanti Om, and upon watching Naya Daur plot points from Saathee.com

Shivani Tripathi cannot remember a time she wasn’t madly in love with Indian cinema and writing. She spends time in New York, North Carolina and Twitterpur @Shivani510

Raajeev Corner

continued from page 42

want to write jokes now. I have to study for my pre-calculus exam.” I reply, “Before you go to the library, give me a tight 5. Revise your 5-minute set and make the punchlines funnier. You can work on your Physics thesis, once you make your punchlines funnier.” My son is in acting classes but apparently, I am not supportive enough. Every day he comes home and says, “Dad, all these other kids had a painful childhood to draw from for their characters. Why did you have to be a good dad and fulfill all my wishes? Why couldn’t you be like a real American dad and just run away?” My son has been acting for six years, has a top agent and I am really proud of him. Suddenly he came to me and said, “Dad, I don’t want to do acting any more. My heart is not in it.” It’s hard for me because I want to be a good father and I want to support him. But he is so … brown … and that look is so in right now. I said, “Why else did Kamala Auntie run for election? It was for us. Our time has come. You may get cast in a movie. You can become rich and famous.” My wife said, “Let him do what he wants. He wants to help people. He wants to be a doctor.” I told her, “He can help people take their mind oﬀ their miseries as he walks the red carpet. Nothing will make people feel better than seeing him hold an Oscar.” She was not convinced. “Who wants their kid to be a doctor? You don’t win any awards for being a doctor.” There is no Emmys for doctors. No doctor will come home and say, “Listen, I didn’t get a Golden Globe, but I got this appendix!” I don’t want my son to become a doctor because I care. Most doctors are overworked, grumpy and miserable. And overworked, grumpy, miserable people forget to pay for their parents’ condo. Besides having to work with the insurance companies would just make him miserable. That’s our job. I told him, “You can be rich and famous. He said, “I don’t want to be rich and famous. I want to help people.” “OK, then help people. Start with your parents. Send the money to us. We are simple people with simple needs. Your mother needs to know she is financially secure in her golden years. And I know I am secure by buying a Maserati.”

Raajeev Aggerwhil is a Los Angeles-based comedian and is a regular contributor to Saathee. Follow him on Instagram @raajeevcomedy See his videos on YouTube, search for his name. 76

August 2021

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Saathee.com

August 2021

Community Organizations

Hello Readers Our Community Organizations section guides you through all the organizations in the Carolinas. Non-profits, social organizations, religious organizations, meditation groups, cricket associations, and many others are listed here and updated regularly. This month, you can find our Community Organizations section on line at Saathee.com/community.asp. The section will be back here on these pages in the near future. Contact: Saathee@saathee.com

to put some puzzle pieces together for me. Tropical and subtropical people tend to eat spicy foods – and these are not limited to hot peppers, but also a variety of complex tastes like cumin, coriander, garlic, onion, paprika, and lots of pastes that would be like the chutneys used in the subcontinent. So, countries like Argentina and Brazil are akin to Vietnam and Singapore in Asia. They generously use spices and herbs, but not the fire that the Mexicans and Thais tolerate in their foods. My craving for desi street food has some basis in history and science. There are some “cooling” spices, which like hot tea in hot weather, may have multiple benefits. Sweating causes evaporation in open air and makes you feel cooler. That is not rocket science. But in tropical climates, the entire spicy, sweet and sour street food formula not only has antimicrobial benefits when you are consuming uncooked foods, it also delivers a potent mix of electrolytes to keep you hydrated in hot weather. So, yeah, I recently bought chaat masala from the Indian grocer and put it in everything I consume, including coﬀee. I need chaat masala. And yes, I sit on my hot porch at 4pm every afternoon and eat a giant bowl of fruit sprinkled with the masala, and I sweat and wipe my face with a wet napkin, and eat some more, while also dreaming about the pani puri, the dahi bullay, the cholay puri, the pakoras and the samosas. You know, things I used to love to eat. And … I was a great guy.

Subcontinental Divide

continued from page 44

give you constant heartburn and all those usual fun senior citizen symptoms. But I have thought now – and we all know thinking can be frequently dangerous. I have thought about why we would be sitting in the sun on brutally hot summer evenings drinking blazing hot cups of tea (even the kids). Add the salted biscuits and the sweets and you would feel pretty weighed down and overheated – and oh, my, a spicy dinner was in only three hours, and it all started again. But this was not just Asia. Arriving in America, I had exposure to a complex food culture that extended into several other continents. Most of us initially experience European food as pizza and pasta. But what we know as pizza and pasta have come full circle from America’s vast PR prowess. Tourists now demand in Italy what they eat at Pizza Hut (and take a bunch of selfies in Rome for social media). Now that I’ve researched this and learned to make pizza and pasta from scratch, there seem to be a million ways to make the stuﬀ. These items were foods that the Greeks, the Spanish, the Middle Easterners made by throwing everything and the kitchen sink onto yesterday’s bread and baking it. If cheese was available, you used it. Otherwise, just garlic and olive oil and a sliced tomato is also a pizza and pasta dish. But what I experienced of northern European food was adapted to their weather. Cold weather required processed meats and dairy with dense proteins. A sausage and some liquor would do wonders on a snowy evening. Those meals also didn’t necessitate running to the bathroom within the hour. And discovering South American food here seemed Saathee.com

Ahsen Jillani a former editor and publisher, is originally from Islamabad, Pakistan, and now lives in Mint Hill. He owns Must Media, a PR firm focused on political and corporate clients. Contact: aj@must-media.com 78

August 2021

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Mirror

continued from page 40

grew to be Brøderbund’s most successful title, spawning 4 sequels as a result. By 1989, Carmen had become such an iconic character that the company was trying to decide how to further expand not only the brand but also educate even more people about world geography and culture. This decision came to a head after the creators found a National Geographic article that as of 1988 per a nationwide survey found that one in four Americans could not locate the Pacific Ocean on a map. A startling discovery, but then again I was 14 at this point and couldn’t tell you where all 50 US states were. Brøderbund decided that the natural progression was to bring the game’s concepts to television. They reached out to Howard Blumenthal, a producer for MTV and Nickelodeon, for insight. He didn’t believe that licensing the show was where the money was. Instead, the show’s intent should be to promote the Carmen Sandiego software. He also recommended that they oﬀer the rights to PBS... as they had a great track record with creating successful educational programs for their already huge audience base. And so, the monumental task of creating the show was put into fruition. Blumenthal knew that pre-teens and teens in the early 90’s responded better to quick, colorful content like those already available on channels like Nickelodeon and Disney. He interviewed over 900 kids to determine exactly what they would watch. Ultimately they wanted adventure, silly characters, comedy, cool prizes, animation and good music. To make it all work, Blumenthal decided to fashion the new show into something of a 40’s Noir parody. While the format gradually changed over the course of the show’s 5-year run, many of the elements remained the same. Three young contestants classified as rookie Detectives or ‘Gumshoes’ would be assigned to hunt down Carmen Sandiego and her gang. They would be given a task by The Chief (played by the iconic Lynne Thigpen) and then shown various 2d animated segments which would involve a member of Carmen’s gang stealing important cultural works or landmarks. Each portion of the game would provide some key trivia about each area of the world they were focusing on. Occasionally celebrities would support the show with pre-recoded clips as special agents of ACME presenting clues. Mayim Bialik, Peter Graves, Rhea Perlman, Walter Cronkite, Penn & Teller and even a young Senator Joe Biden were featured among many others. But perhaps the biggest part of the show that I remember was Rockapella, a foursome acapella group that Blumenthal discovered through a PBS documentary by Spike Lee. His wife suggested they book the group for the show. Their unique style would eventually become an integral part of Saathee.com

the show’s overall lively energy. All 4 singers would also pull double duty from time to time as supporting cast for various comedy sketches. Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? premiered in September of 1991 throughout the US and ran MondayFriday in the after-school block. Even though I was a tad too old (being 18 when it premiered) for their intended demographic, I still watched every episode like clockwork. I was drawn in by the fact that unlike other shows at the time, it focused on the diversity of both its contestants and geography. Executive Producer Kate Taylor once explained, “We did not want to have a show that was culturally insensitive, that focused too much on the Western world. We didn’t want a show that too narrowly defined what geography really is.” Given that this was the early 90’s, that was an extremely innovate decision for the time. Young contestants from many ethnicities including South Asians were featured on the show regularly and made it all the more unique. One of the setbacks the show had to face was the unavoidable series of massive geopolitical changes happening all around the world in the early to mid-1990’s. Because of this, many maps and clues would be out of date within weeks to months of filming. Episodes from season 2 onwards would henceforth include a disclaimer during the credits that “all geographic information was accurate as of the date this program was recorded”. As countries gradually changed their names and borders, the maps used on the show would be updated, often overnight for recording the next day. I have a ton of sympathy for of the producers and crew who had to continually keep up with this as it couldn’t have been an easy task by any stretch. The show eventually became a huge cultural phenomenon and is considered not only one of PBS’s greatest children’s shows, but one of the greatest game shows for children ever made. It influenced the production of various international versions along with 2 separate animated series in 1994 and 2019. There was also a spinoﬀ show called Where in Time is Carman Sandiego? which focused on history. I didn’t much care for that one, but it did run for 2 seasons on its own. Fans can now find VHS rips of the series on YouTube, but no oﬃcial releases of the game show have been produced. Sadly, this may never be a reality due to the inescapable geography discrepancies during the show’s original airings. Still… I find the quirky aspects of Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? are what gave it its unique charm. Thirty years later, I can still remember many of the show’s characters, segments, and even the words to the catchy theme song (which also got changed a few times right along with the maps). A true testament to how monumental and ingenious the show really was at the time. So, let’s all say it one more time… for nostalgia’s sake: “Do it, Rockapella!’ Jennifer Allen works at Saathee and is also a Podcaster, Blogger, Photographer, Graphic Artist, Gamer, Martial Arts Practitioner, and an all around Pop Culture Geek. You can reach her at: Info@Saathee.com August 2021

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August 2021

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August 2021

Who wants to be a Scholar?! Answer the ones you know and research the rest. There is only one correct answer! 1. Arrange these countries with most to least number of islands. (a) Canada (b) Bahamas (c) Finland (d) Philippines

Word World

2. Which of these Bollywood movies has the Censor Board banned in India? (a) Fire (b) Black Friday (c) Sins (d) All of the above

By Kirit Shukla

A U G

3. Acid rain is blamed for forest destruction. The main component of acid rain is...? (a) Nitrogen (b) Carbon Dioxide (c) Ozone (d) Sulfur Dioxide 4. Which of the following means ’Demand as a right’? (a) Insure (b) Claim (c) Earn (d) Ensure 5. Which of these planets has no moons? (a) Venus (b) Mercury (c) Mars (d) Both a & b 6. A water tank of 7’ radius & 10’ high, what is the volume of water in 1/2 full tank? (a) 770 ft³ (b) 670 ft³ (c) 570 ft³ (d) 470 ft³

Make words using 7 or more letters. The central letter must be used in each word. Plural words are not allowed. Use all letters for the subject word (underlined in solutions below)

7. The population of Pakistan is equivalent to % of the total world population. (a) 5.83% (b) 4.83% (F) 3.83% (d) 2.83%

12+ words = Excellent; 8 to 11 words = Good; 7 or less = keep looking. Words we found are in solutions below.

8. The US Open Tennis Championship is held in which city? (a) Chicago (b) San Francisco (c) Austin (d) New York City 9. How many spikes are in the Ashok-Chakra in India’s national flag? (a) 36 (b) 24 (c) 18 (d) 16

Brain-Train

10. The tallest mountain in Canada is (a) Mount Wood (b) Mount Logan (c) Mount Steele (d) Mount Vancouver

Here is a simple quiz. See if you can solve it. No peeking! Match the number in column 1 with letter in column 2 Capital city

Country

Answers are on bottom left. No Peeking. Scholar: All correct; 1st Class: 9 Correct; 2nd Class: 8 Correct; 3rd Class: 7 Correct; Need to improve: 6 or less

A. Caracas B. Georgetown C. Montevideo D. Brasilia E. Buenos Aires F. Santiago G. Paramaribo H. Bogota I. Lima J. Quito

1 Argentina... 2 Brazil... 3 Chile... 4 Columbia... 5 Ecuador... 6 Guyana... 7 Peru... 8 Suriname... 9 Uruguay... 10 Venezuela...

Dadaji’s moral stories for kids THE GNAT AND THE BULL

A Gnat flew over the meadow with much buzzing for so small a creature and settled on the tip of one of the horns of a Bull. After he had rested a short time, he was ready to fly away. But before he left he begged the Bull's pardon for having used his horn for a resting place.

Brain Train: 1-E, 2-D, 3-F, 4-H, 5-J, 6-B, 7-I, 8-G, 9-C, 10-A

"You must be very glad to have me go now," he said. "It's all the same to me," replied the Bull. "I did not even know you were there."

Scholar 1. c, a, d, b 2.d

3.d 4.b 5.d d 9.c 10.b

6.a

7.d

Word World (Solution): AGENT, AGOIST, AUGITE, AUGUST, AUGUSTINE, AUNTIE, AUSTIN, EASTING, EATING, GENISTA, INGATE, INJESTA, SEAUTE, STUNG, UNOTAGE Saathee.com

Moral: We are often of greater importance in our own eyes than in the eyes of our neighbor. 84

August 2021

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August 2021

PUZZLES AND JOKES

Clues Down: 1. The eighth month of the calendar year. 2. Island country of the West Indies; Cap St. George’s. 3. A fermented liquor made with coagulated sour milk. 4. Electronic Statement of Receipts and Expenditures. (*) 5. A member or former member of the U.S. armed forces. 6. — Hall. American actor, comedian, & talk show host. 7. Hindu festival celebrating the birthday of Krishna. 8-30-21. 8. A monetary subunit of the kip. 9. A color whose hue resembles that of blood. 10. An indestructible metal alloy in the Marvel Comics. 12. Profession Engineer. (*) 14. Relating to, causing or marked by an ulcer. 18. A special thread that a sister ties on the brother’s wrist. 19. A branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty, art. 21. California. (*) 22. A town north of Santa Fe in New Mexico. 24. A Zoroastrian descended from old Iran refugees. 26. _ Zedong. Founder of the Republic of China. 28. Curved or rounded projections or divisions of an ear. 30. Unit of magnetic flux density in meter-kilogramsecond system (equals one weber per square meter). 33. An object of attention, concern or interest. 34. The word in Hindi and Punjabi for "road". 37. Local Operating Network. (*) 38. The fluid part of a plant; specifically: a watery solution that circulates through a plant's vascular system. 40. Not Applicable. (*)

By Kirit Shukla

Note: * denotes abbreviation of the word or phrase Clues Across: 1. To fish with hook and line; The figure formed by two lines extending from the same point. 5. A wreath of flowers, worn by Indian woman. (Hindi) 11. Put new spirit or courage in. (Past Tense) 13. A follower of the Persian religion formed by Zoroaster. 15. Tin (*) (The chemical element symbol). 16. District Attorney. (*) 17. The bone on the little-finger side of the human forearm. 18. Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. (*) 20. To use an electronic device to copy an image or text into a digital file; To conform to a metrical pattern. 21. A meld of 7 cards of the same rank in a form of rummy . 23. Thyroid Eye Disease.(*) 24. The Islamic Republic country on west of India. 25. Hare ____ , Hare Krishna. 27. The capital of Inner Mongolia in the north of China. 28. Louisiana. (*). 29. A Hindu ritual of worship, a part of puja, in which light is oﬀered with song to one or more deities. 31. Traumatic Events Screening Inventory. (*) 32. Producing no useful result; Idle. 34. A piece of material placed at a door for wiping shoes. 35. The cutting edge or part of a tool. 36. The religious faith, doctrine or cause of Muslims. 39. Having a horizontal flat surface. 41. A Roman cuirass of leather or metal. 42. A city and port on the Java Sea on the N. Java, Indonesia. 43. One who keeps secret watch on a person to obtain info. Saathee.com

(solution on page 88)

Hee Hee

Jokes From Around The World

Booddhoo: “When I stand on my head, the blood rushes to it. Why doesn’t it rush to my feet now?” Mafatlal: “Because your feet are not empty.” ********* Boy: “Will you marry me?” Shy girl: “Yes.” Then both were quiet for sometime. Girl: “Why are you so silent? Say something!” Boy: “I have nothing left to say now.” ********* A math riddle When Grant was 8, his brother was half his age. Now, Grant is 14. How old is his brother? Answer: His brother is 10. Half of 8 is 4, so Grant’s brother is 4 years younger. This means when Grant is 14, his brother is still 4 years younger, so he’s 10.

August 2021

WordFind

Math Magic Fill in the empty squares to get = the final given answers. Use the remaining numbers from 1 to 9 only once: Note: Follow the order of operation per basic math rule: ×,÷, +, The multiplication or division is done before addition and subtraction. (solution on page 88)

Find & circle the words in the puzzle.

Subject: Parsi Community ARAB ARDASHIR DAKHIMA DRUID FEW HOLIFIRE HOMI BHABA IRAN JADIRANA KUSHTI MUMBAI NAVJOTE NAWROZ

PATETI PERSIA RATAN TATA RUSTOM SARI SELJUK SUDREH SUN WADIA WOOL YASNA ZEND ZOROASTRIAN

The unused 14 letters spell ”The Subject.” (answer on page 88)

EZ-BZ TEST YOUR IQ The common letters are “AUG” - Fill in the blanks)

Note: * denotes abbreviation of the word or phrase 1. A city in SE Georgia on the Savannah River. 2. Female oﬀspring of human parents.

AUG _ _ _ _ _ AUG _ _ _ _

3. A tool with a helical shaft used for boring holes. 4. A type of northwest Atlantic porgy fish.

AUG _ _

_ _ _ _ _ AUG

5. To show emotion with an explosive vocal sound.

_ AUG _

6. To make more intense.

AUG _ _ _ _

7. Aﬀected by anxiety or stress.

_ _ AUG _ _

8. Eighth month of the Gregorian calendar.

AUG _ _ _

9. Guilty of disobedience or misbehavior.

_ AUG _ _ _

10. Past tense of Catch.

_ AUG _ _

11. A county in the central portion of Alabama.

_ _ _ AUG _

12. Killing.

_ _ AUG _ _

13. Pyroxene.

AUG_ _ _

14. An instrument for measuring dimensions.

_ AUG _

15. Signifying the future: ominous or auspicious. AUG _ _ _ _ 16. Current of cold air blowing within a room. 17. Past simple and past participle of Teach.

_ _ AUG _ _ _ AUG _ _

18. Anything at all. 19. Divination from auspices or omens. 20. A city in the Ontario, Canada. 21. A quantity to which another is added.

AUG _ _ AUG _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ AUG _ AUG _ _ _

(Puzzle solutions are on page 88. NO peeking!)

Saathee Puzzle Master Kirit Shukla kiritsshukla@gmail.com Saathee.com

August 2021

Festivals & Holidays Spot the Diﬀerences Solutions from page 50

August 2021 Aug. 1 - Friendship Day Aug. 1 - Lughnassad Aug. 3 - Kāmikā Ekadashi Aug. 8 - Hariāli Amās / Divāso (No Moon) Aug. 10 - Al-Hijra / Islamic New Year ( Sundown) Aug. 14 - Independence Day (Pakistan) Aug. 15 - Independence Day (India) Aug. 16 - Nawroz / Parsi New Year Aug. 18 - Putradā Ekadashi Aug. 21 - Onam Aug. 21 - Senior Citizens Day Aug. 22 - Rakshābandhan / Balev (Full Moon) Aug. 25 - Kajari Trij Aug. 25 - Bol Choth Aug. 26 - Nag Panchami Aug. 26 - Women’s Equality Day Aug. 28 - Balram Jayanti Aug. 29 - Kali Jayanti Aug. 30 - Krishna Jayanti / Janmashtami

1. Color changed 2. Man removed 3. Door added 4. Boat removed 5. Stained glass changed 6. Stick Removed 7. Block removed

8. Color changed 9. Man Added 10. Woman/child added 11. Tire removed 12. Vent Added 13. Clouds Added 14. Bird added 15. Turtle Added

September 2021 Sep. 2 - Aja Ekadashi Sep. 4 - Paryushana Parvarambha Sep. 6 - Labor Day Sep. 6 - Pithori Amas (No Moon) Sep. 7 - Rosh Hashana Sep. 9 - Haritalika Vrat Sep. 10 - Ganesh / Vinayak Chaturthi, Rishi Panchami Sep. 11 - Patriot Day Sep. 11 - Samvatsari Parva Sep. 12 - Grandparents Day Sep. 16 - Yom Kippur Sep. 17 - Vamana Jayanti Sep. 18 - National CleanUp Day Sep. 19 - Anant Chaturdashi / Ganesh Visarjan

10 14

Puzzle Solutions from page 86-87

Math Magic from page 87

Saathee.com

August 2021

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August 2021

Astroscope

AUGUST 2021

Aries (March 21 – April 19)

Libra (September 23 – October 22)

You will relish in love and respect from your co-workers and friends. This is a period of self-control and calm. Your family will support your success, but there’s no need to rush. You should invest some money in business or home affairs. This is a positive time for students. Your enemies won’t dare harm you. Be prepared to work hard. You will make mistakes, but they shouldn’t damage your reputation too much.

Don’t get involved in new ventures this month. This is a good period for family happiness. Otherwise, a vast amount of work and outside activities will develop frustration. Your subordinates will extend their full support towards you. You will see a steady rise in your income. Hard work should even reward you with a bonus this month. Your partner will achieve success in the second half of the month.

Taurus (April 20 – May 20)

Scorpio (October 23 – November 21)

Try to be practical this month and concentrate on your family and social life. You should be able to enjoy some vacation or a short distance trip. A long-term career decision may occur this month. This is also a good time for students. There should be a rise in income. Be aware of surreptitious enemies as they could destroy your happiness. Try to be more analytical and avoid any risk-taking tendencies.

This period will make you extremely comfortable. You will meet some inﬂuential people. A rise in status as well as income are also possible. You might enter into some proﬁtable deals. Traveling may prove to be very relaxing. Others will appreciate your social and religious work. Overall, this month will be both very pleasant and hectic.

Sagittarius (November 22 – December 21)

Gemini (May 21 – June 20) After a positive start, you will experience a minor setback this month. You may appear overconﬁdent and arrogant towards others. Try to maintain an easy temperament and keep working hard in order to avoid this. You should not invest in real estate at this time. A strong para-psychic experience may bring major change within your friend circle and subordinate relations.

You will be very active this month. You could gain much success at your place of business or job. This should be an action-oriented period. Your friends and family will offer whatever assistance you need. You should see relief from ﬁnancial worries. Attraction and new relations with someone of another gender will help you feel relaxed. A change of residence or investment in a new business is also indicated.

Cancer (June 21 – July 22)

Capricorn (December 22 – January 19)

Your income and expenses will balance each other out this month. You may experience delays in pursuits as well as ups and downs in education or business. However, wise decisions may shelter you from spending money wastefully. Long term savings will prove beneﬁcial. This is a good period to change your workplace or ﬁeld of study. You must control your ego and anger. A sibling may offer you good support this month.

This month will relieve you from tension and anxiety. On the domestic front you will be happy, as long-cherished desires should be fulﬁlled. You will travel sometime this month with promising results. You may receive pleasant news about beneﬁts or monetary gains. You should be able to defeat your enemy. Be careful of your health and don’t dispute with your partner.

Leo (July 23 – August 22)

Aquarius (January 20 – February 18)

This is when your plans regarding investments in property will materialize. You will be successful due to your active lifestyle and aggressive actions. Friends and family will offer whatever assistance you need. Your opponents will steer clear of you this month. Avoid getting involved in a love affair. Students will gain unexpected positive results. Try to control your speech and egoistical thoughts. Unexpected expenses are also possible this month.

Your hard work and labor will provide dividends. Good news from a far-off place is possible. You will enjoy the power of artistic expression and interpretation. Emotional choices should supply particularly good rewards. A pleasant journey or change in workplace may occur. A relaxed state of mind is also indicated. You will have an edge over your competitors. Relations with your partner may also change this month.

Pisces (February 19 – March 20)

Virgo (August 23 – September 22)

You should see mixed results this month. There may be many opportunities on the horizon, but you won’t be able to utilize them all. A health issue may disturb you, and this is especially not a good time for heart patients. There may be a rise in status and position, but without the financial benefits those usually entail. An incredibly positive change is possible during the last few days of the month.

You will feel exhausted due to a lack of vitality this month. A family member’s ill health might disturb your peace of mind along with an underlying fear of change. Keep yourself busy and try to work hard. You could become quite animated this month, but try to control your speech. Travel may prove rewarding. This period should be ﬁnancially good, though your income should not change too much.

Jalendu Vaidya 973-223-5047 Saathee.com

August 2021

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August 2021

CLASSIFIEDS BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES Gas Station/Convenience Store for Lease 30 min from Charlotte airport. Neighborhood store with great traffic. Inside sales $70K per month + Lotto Commission $70K this year (last 3 years between $51-54K). Call 704-418-6892. 15-Room Independent Motel for Sale in Eastern NC. Newly renovated with Manager’s apartment. Perfect for owner / operator. Separate vacant building on site can be converted to Convenience Store & added to the deal. Serious inquiries only. Call 252-266-0136. Convenience Store w/ Gas & Liquor for Sale or Lease in Sumter, SC next to busy highway. Owner retiring due to health. Serious inquiries only. Call or text 803-316-7150. For Sale: Modern Indian Restaurant in Southeast VA. Financing available. Serious inquiries only. Call 252-256-0136 C-Store for Sale in Gaston County (Lowell, NC). Heavy traffic area w/ guaranteed earnings. $40K + inventory. Long lease available. Lots of opportunity (game machines). Please text 704-408-4920 or 973-207-6798. Hotels for Sale in West Virginia: 118-Room franchised property on interior corridor. Price below appraisal value. 67-Room Comfort Inn with all new PIP done. New 20-year contract. Call 304-237-1818 or 304-237-3422. Convenience Stores for Sale: Autryville, NC $250,000, Closed site with rental house; Greensboro, NC $240.000 + Inv., prop incl., Annual Sales $225,000; Matthews, NC $2,600,000 + Inv, prop incl., Inside Sales $902,000, Fuel gals 1,484,000; County South: 704-440-4433 or visit www.Countysouth.biz. 20-Room Motel for Sale in Beckley, WV for 3x the gross revenue. Owner financing possible. Contact 973- 970-3058. Gas Station/C-Store for Sale in Danville, VA. Business with property for $399k. Inside sales $45k. Outside 36k gallons monthly. Other income from Deli, Lotto and Gaming Machines. Call 434-228-3025.

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES Manager Couple Needed for Motel in NC. Excellent pay. Accommodations provided. Call 910-817-4313 or 910-995-1707. Looking for Housekeeping Couple for Comfort Suites near Simpsonville, SC. Accommodations provided w/ kitchen. Call Hita Shah 407-301-8162 between 9am to 7pm. Live-in Caretaker Needed for Senior in Charlotte, NC. Duties include cooking, light housekeeping, and companionship. Female Gujarati speaker preferred. Call or text Amit at 919-624-3189. Hotel Help Wanted: Front Desk Clerk for 3rd shift and Housekeeping Couple for Franchise Motel in Winston Salem, NC. Accommodations provided. Attractive pay! Please contact Anu 423-432-2838. Saathee.com

Full-Time Cashier Needed for Convenience Store in Concord, NC. Prior experience and fluent English required. Starting pay $13.00 per hour with housing accommodations provided. Great fit for a couple looking to settle down. Call 980-428-4629. Looking for Business Partners for retail stores in the Triangle/Triad area. Must be dedicated to learning the business for 6 to 12 months to later be given the opportunity as a partner. Please txt/call Abhi 336-554-1377. Looking for Experienced Caretaker for adult special needs daughter during the daytime in Cary. Contact 919-244-5699. Looking for AGM for Hotels in Raleigh NC and Richmond, VA. Fluent English, legal status, and some computer skills required. Accommodations provided for experienced candidate. E-mail hotel.raleigh@gmail.com or call 919-757-7462.

Looking for Energetic Employee (Full or Part-time, single or couple) for Tropical Smoothie Cafe franchise in Columbia, SC. Weekend availability preferred. Some English required. Call Yogi Patel 410-7088475 or Dax 803-470-8089. Fully Vaccinated Nanny Needed to take care of 16 month-old baby in Concord, NC from 9am - 5pm. Also, support for light household work. Can provide transportation for reasonable distance. Contact 336-437-5532. Seeking AP Manager for Hotel MGT Company in Charlotte area. Must have experience in accounting/bookkeeping including software such as Quick Books, Peachtree Accounting, etc. (Accounting Core strongly preferred). Excellent customer service skills including fluent written & verbal English required. Knowledge of Microsoft Office a must. Email resume to abcone@abcinns.com or call 704-649-6833 (M-F, 9am-5pm). Housekeeping Couple and Laundry Couple needed for hotel near Raleigh-Durham airport. Convenient to grocery stores and temples. Accommodations provided. Call 828-507-2079. Full-time Sales Rep Needed for Hotel supply company in High Point, NC. Previous Sales experience, MS Office knowledge and fluent English required. Fluency in other Desi languages is a plus. Must be team oriented with friendly interpersonal skills. Salary will depend on experience. Email resume to vamsim@leaddesignsllc.com.

Looking for Motel Help: Single, Couple, or Family for a 50-room independent motel in Fayetteville, NC. Basic English & computer skills preferred. Accommodations provided. Contact Nima at 910-257-8036 or nnaik7976@gmail.com. Restaurant Kitchen Help Needed: Cary NC. Excellent compensation. Call 919-434-5078. Gas Station / C-store Help Wanted in Charlotte, NC (15 minutes from UNCC). Must speak English. Salary commensurate per experience. Please call 704-733-0553. 92

Nanny Required for 1 year-old at home in Concord, NC starting ASAP. Full-time 9am4pm. Call 352-672-3312.

Looking for Cook 3 days a week (approx. 2 hours each visit) for home in Triangle area. Will provide groceries and all cooking supplies. Must have experience cooking both non-veg & veg. $50 per visit. Text or call 919-244-9407. Now Hiring Salesperson (full-time/part-time) for Jewelry Store in Richmond, VA. Good pay with commission! Interested candidates call 704-472-5587. Front Desk / Night Auditor & Housekeeping positions available at Hotel near Charlotte airport. Good pay with accommodations provided. Call Tarun 704-350-5161. Well Established Indian Restaurant in Raleigh looking for working Partner with cooking experience & Tandoor/appetizer cook. Call 786236-6828. Looking for Live-In Nanny/Household helper for Family with 3 children in South Charlotte. Will help with relocation if necessary. Please contact 701-347-2447. Looking for Help (single or couple) for Hotel in Rock Hill, SC. Please call 803-361-1013. Live-in or Live-out Nanny Needed for 2 & 4 year-old girls in Waxhaw, NC. Full-time, M-F, 8am to 5pm. Please contact ashish4387@gmail.com or call 980-355-1306.

Single, Couple, or Family Wanted for Housekeeping and occasional Laundry at franchise hotel in Greenville, NC. Accommodations provided. Please contact Ashish: aanaik81@gmail.com / 910-689-6892 Housekeeping Couple Needed immediately Motel in Atlanta. Must have legal status. Accommodations provided. Neal 404-642-1611. Babysitting/Cooking Help Needed ASAP for home in Ballantyne (South Charlotte). Gujarati preferred and hours are flexible (but prefer fulltime). Please contact 317-679-5408 Housekeeping Wanted for franchise motel near Raleigh, NC. Fluent English required. Experienced preferred. Couples welcome. Please call 252-366-9415 & leave message.

Sales Position Available in Cary Crossroads. Must speak English & Hindi. No experience necessary. Fun and easy job. Pays $14-15/hour. Right fit starts immediately. Call or text 919-656-0180 or 919-244-9407. Convenience Store Help needed immediately in Charlotte, NC. Full-time & part-time including weekends. Call Vimal at 704-2992580. Front Desk & Housekeeping Needed for motel in Richmond, VA (Airport area). Legal status required. Accommodations provided. email airportbw@gmail.com or 804-512-7810. August 2021

Eyebrow Threading Position: Winston -Salem, NC. Excellent Pay + Tips & Benefits! Some Experience & fluent English required. Call 336422-7582. Front Desk Help & Housekeeping/Laundry needed for Franchise Hotel in Concord, NC. Legal status required. Accommodations provided. Call Rick 704-772-5554. Now Hiring Cashiers for Gas Station/C-Store near Greensboro, NC. Must speak English & have basic computer skills. Experience preferred. Good pay! Call 336-509-4054. Housekeeping Wanted for franchise hotel in Max Meadows, VA. Accommodations provided and amazing pay! Call Amit at 704488-4171. Doctor Parents Need Nanny for school going 9 year-old boy and 4 year-old girl in Concord, NC starting in August or later. Must be able to cook vegetarian food. Preferably able to drive and do household chores. Live-in or Live-out. Contact Shafali Gupta 540-314-6432. Help Needed at Perfume Stores in Charlotte and Pineville, NC. For more information, please call Veer Singh at 415-265-8686. Hotel Help Wanted: Looking for all positions (GM / AGM / Front Desk / Housekeeping / Laundry) for properties in Charlotte & near Greensboro, NC. Contact 704-502-2630 or Gm.nita.shah@gmail.com. Manager Couple needed for franchise hotel 1.5 hours from Charlotte. Must be Fluent in English. Accommodations provided. Text/call 704-701-9975. Nanny Needed (preferably live-in) to take care of 18 month-old in Weddington, NC and also help with some household chores. Please contact 917-544-9187. Live-in help needed for elderly lady in Gujarati household. Light cooking and cleaning required. Please call 336-471-1901. Full-time Nanny Needed to take care of newborn & cooking for Gujarati household. in Florence, SC. Parents fully vaccinated. Accommodations provided. Contact Nikunj drnikunjmodi@gmail.com / 918-860-0285.

Looking for Young Energetic Employee for Tropical Smoothie Cafe franchise in Charlotte, NC near UNCC. Full-time or Part-time. Weekend availability required. Legal Status and English required. Salary between $12 to $15/ hour. Call Pravin Patel 803-974-0291. Franchise Hotel in NC is looking for single or couple for Housekeeping and Front Desk Clerks with computer knowledge for 3rd shift. Accommodations provided. Call 704-465-8129. Housekeepers Needed for multiple Hotels in Columbia, SC. Single or Couple. Accommodations provided onsite. Please contact Ketan at 803-743-3999. C-Store / Gas Stations Help Wanted in Charlotte & Lexington, SC areas. Multiple positions open. Salary commensurate with experience. Call 803-414-4883. Saathee.com

Single or couple wanted for Front Desk and general resident duties at independent motel 45 minutes from Raleigh. Must speak English. Accommodations provided. Contact Bob Shah at 847-354-8120. Looking for experienced Couples/Singles for Front Desk / AGM and Housekeeping positions at franchise Hotel in North Carolina. Should have knowledge of choice advantage and must be Fluent in English. Accommodations provided. Call Nick 336-3270651 between 10am & 6pm. Convenience Store Help Wanted in Charlotte. Single or Couple. Salary w/ incentives. Store hours 6am to 11pm. Call Vipul 704-431-8310. Housekeeping & Front Desk / Night Auditor Needed for Hotel in Wilmington, NC. Legal status & fluent English required. Accommodations provided. Call Mike at 732881-9134. Help Wanted for Dry Cleaners in Mooresville and Charlotte locations. Contact 980-226-3095 or thedrycleanspot@yahoo.com for more info. Immediate opening for experienced live-in Manager for 50-room independent motel in Charlotte, NC. Attractive salary plus bonus and complimentary two-bedroom apartment. Please call 704-906-9170 or send resume to dpmonick@yahoo.com. Energetic Multi-tasker Cashier/Asst Manager Wanted for 7-11 Convenience Stores in South Charlotte (Indian Land/Ballantyne area) & near Northlake Mall. Previous experience in retail a must. Fluent English & legal status required. Attractive pay ($10-15/hour). Call 856-266-5059.

SERVICES Pari Beauty in Matthews: Threading, Waxing, Facials, Massage for newborn and mom & other services. 31 years of experience. Special Deals & Great Service. Call: 704-846-7912. Travel Club: Saathee readers who would like to travel in groups and save money. Please email: jogiraja@outlook.com Shreejis Shrikhand - Creamy, delicious, and homemade shrikhand. Perfect for all occasions & catering options available all throughout in the Charlotte area. Call 704-747-2507 for orders! IT, Telecom & Civil Engineering Service Providers: website design, digital marketing, software products, education, training & certifications with placement assistance. Best quality at a reasonable price. Contact: 704-7265695; email: gescpl@gmail.com Saree Draping: specializing in draping sarees, dupattas and jewelry for Weddings, Engagements, Baby showers, Birthdays, etc. Contact Rital Patel at info@bridaldraping.com or www.bridaldraping.com. Travel Passion: International & Domestic Air tickets. We process India Visa, OCI, Indian Ppt Renewal, Hotel bookings & Tour packages. Call 509.550.9076 or 509.550.9034 Email: travelpassion24@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: 336-7740597 Cell: 336-486-7925 E-Mail: kishor7@juno.com

Light Household Help Needed in kitchen & laundry for elderly parents in Chapel Hill. Part-time flexible hours. Contact vivynanda@hotmail.com / 919-338-2110.

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

Front Desk / Night Auditor Needed for a Franchise hotel in Burlington, NC. English a must. Accommodations provided. Please call Aswin 336-693-9057 or Renu 732-318-4878.

Priest Available for these 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 704-438-6334.

Gas Station in Rock Hill, SC seeking Help. Single or couple. Really good pay for experienced people. Call 803-792-4452.

SBA Business Loans for all businesses new or existing. SBA pays first 6 months of interest and principle. For details, call Raj 678-249-0022

Live-in Manager needed: cover desk duties at Motel in Raleigh. Accommodation space for family. Call 919-247-7987.

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.

Housekeeping Couple needed for franchise motel in Charleston, SC. Experience preferred but will train. Great Pay. Accommodations provided! Call at 843-425-2840. Restaurant service staff needed for new Asian Fusion Restaurant. Contact Pete via WhatsApp at 919-730-0469 if interested.

BUY LAND ANY WAY YOU CAN!!

Tobacco shop in Winston Salem, NC seeking energetic individual or couple to work. Must be fluent in English and have good communication skills. Will train. Can start immediately if needed. Full-time and part-time positions available. Text 713-392-5721.

15 Acres PITTSBORO, NC

Cashier Wanted for Convenience Store near Kannapolis. Accommodations provided. Attractive salary! Text or Call 704-701-9482.

Contact “The Land Man” Bob Atkinson at 919-362-6999 or visit

$379,500 www.learnaboutland.com

August 2021

Biolabs

Edit Desk

continued from page 48

continued from page 14

Community members are also part of the exercises, and this keeps our neighbors involved and hopefully provides assurance of our ability to handle accidents, keeping ourselves and the community safe. At Boston University, we post all laboratory incidents, including those at the NEIDL, on a quarterly basis to ensure that we remain transparent in our activities. Depending on what went wrong, we may also report to the BPHC and the CDC.

that create zigzag paths of incoming history and turn into forks in the roads yet unknown or unseen. Grand events redirect trajectory of history, for sure, but even slight shifts in the winds can turn that trajectory into hidden alleyways of the upcoming timeline. An alternate universe if you will. Almost every year as the summer strolls into its final weeks, during the month of August, I pause and think about a “what if” scenario. It is rather a grand alternate scenario. What if India had not been partitioned after independence? You know that famous tryst with destiny at midnight in August. The month of August marks both India’s and Pakistan’s independence. Both countries celebrate each day with militarized bravado (Pakistan on August 14 and India on August 15), but what has been lost, the cultural connections, along with myriad paths of commonalities, are forgotten by the still confrontational nations. It seems drunken Brits essentially drew lines in the sand, redirecting the trajectories of millions of people. An ancient land was sideswiped by a lethargic, decaying colonialist power. This ancient land couldn’t avert the resulting disaster from a failing power’s speeding exit by veering away from it. What type of world would the Indian Subcontinent be if partition had not occurred? Maybe my maternal grandfather may have remained in Karachi (now in Pakistan) instead of being forced to shift to Amdavad in Gujarat and the family’s trajectory would have been vastly diﬀerent. Who knows? In another change of direction, the decision my father made to move to the United States in the early 70’s redirected the trajectory of the entire family. Cataclysmic events can change the future as much as the simple decision of moving to a new destination, unfortunate words spoken in a heated moment may also have the same eﬀect, or a close call on a highway. Every day we act in manners that redirect not only our lives, but many others connected to us. Sometimes this is part of the regrets scenarios many people have, that gnawing feeling of what if I had done this or that? Well, we act in manners that we think work at the time we make them. At least most people do. Not all. Of course, there are so many who don’t have the option of choices, as for them it maybe about daily survival. Any prevailing wind, good or bad, creates its own path to history. So, no, I don’t think our lives are pre-destined. We are simply adaptive creatures in a whirlwind of complexities, variations, and randomness. We are in the scenario today and work to move forward via dilemmas and choices that life continually hands us. We make the best of it, and we hope for the alertness to act and steer our cars, in essence our lives, at the last minute to avoid that reckless, speeding jerk.

Why place these high-security labs in urban environments with lots of neighbors instead of the middle of nowhere? Scientific research is a communal activity, and advances happen in places where diverse expertise is concentrated. It’s no diﬀerent for research on emerging pathogens. Research on pathogens relies on faculty with expertise in not only the pathogens themselves but chemistry, engineering, stem cell biology, structural biology, and immunology. Biocontainment research also requires facilities engineers, safety professionals and security personnel. You can find personnel with diverse experience and expertise in metro areas that are already home to biomedical research. The original permitting process of the NEIDL mandated a comprehensive risk assessment to determine any potential danger for the community. After two years and independent review by two scientific panels, we ended up with the most extensive analysis of risk for any BSL-3 or BSL-4 facility in the U.S. It considered hundreds of possible scenarios that might result in exposure of a worker to a pathogen, or the release of a biological agent. The report concluded that it’s as safe, or even safer, to have such a facility in an urban environment than in a rural or suburban environment. “Near misses” have occurred at these kinds of labs within the U.S. and Europe. A near miss might, for example, involve glove tears and a potential exposure to a pathogen during laboratory work, but these have never resulted in any community infections. At the NEIDL, we intend to maintain this track record. What are the risks of not doing this research? Science builds on what’s been learned before, accelerating our ability to respond to new outbreaks. The data we generate speeds progress on other pathogens as well, and informs how we develop and test potential therapeutics and vaccines. The risk of not doing this work is to leave ourselves more vulnerable to emerging pathogens as they arise. Professionals working on emerging infectious diseases are interested in solving problems that benefit the public’s health. We take pride in our work and are serious about our responsibility to perform our work safely and securely. We recognize that this research is often viewed skeptically and thus strive to keep the trust of the public by ensuring transparency around the work we do. Ronald Corley is the Director of the National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories and Chair of Microbiology, Boston University Article courtesy of The Conversation. Read more at Theconversation.com. Saathee.com

Samir Shukla Editor of Saathee Magazine Contact: Samir@Saathee.com Twitter: @ShuklaWrites Newsletter: ShuklaWrites.Substack.com 94

August 2021

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August 2021

Advertisers Absolute Physical Therapy........................................75

Desai, Rajarshi (CPA, PLLC)......................................79

Patel, Hitesh (Mortgage Loans).................................45

Accounting Solutions (Muhammad Kamran Awan)...95

Dipali Shah (Broker / Realtor)+B39 ..........................21

Patel, Kiran (Real Estate)...........................................53

Advertising Info.........................................................30

DJ Desi (Amit Vasi) ...................................................61

Patel, Mrugesh (Law Offices)....................................63

Anand, Versha (Real Estate) .....................................89

DJ Lalit (Lalit Hemnani).............................................37

Patel, Tony (Real Estate)............................................91

Anil & Anjali Bedi LLC (CPA & Consultants)...............37

Elite Motors (Charlotte)................................................3

Pathak, Atul (Real Estate)..........................................61

Aspect Commerical Realty (Prashant Parmar) ..........47

Fairview Home Mortgage .........................................47

Pizza Twist (Concord)................................................29

Bala Sure (Broker / Realtor, NC & SC)......................17

Fincare.US (Recession-Proof Your Retirement)..........51

Pooja Oberoi - Buckingham Mortgage LLC ..............55

Bashyam Shah LLP - Immigration Law Group..........36

Geological Resources, Inc.........................................53

Pramukh Mandapam ...............................................63

Bawarchi Indian Cuisine (Charlotte) ..........................17

Global Engineering Services (GES)............................45

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

Best Western (Waynesville).......................................13

Global Mall / Legacy Jewels ....................................99

Raja Reslan, Financial Advisor (Edward Jones) .........29

Bhindi Jewelers ......................................................2

H2 Laser & Skin .......................................................81

Rajdeep Video & Photography (Ramesh Panjabi)......35

Bipin Parekh Realty, LLC...........................................65

Harley-Davidson (Speedway)....................................10

Ramana Coaching Center ........................................39

Blooming Buds.........................................................55

Hindu Center of Charlotte (Events) ......................68-71

Royal Events (DJ / Sound / Lighting / Special FX)......41

Blooming Smiles Pediatric Dentistry .........................85

Hirak Patel (Real Estate)............................................29

Rug and Home.........................................................98

Bombay Grille (Charlotte)..........................................32

Home Decorators Of America (Atlanta) .....................49

Saathee.com............................................................82

Brijal Shah (Keller Williams - Real Estate)..................35

Insurance - Tushar Barot, Supreme Insurance Serv..95

Saffron Restaurant and Catering...............................79

British International School of Charlotte.......................9

Insurance Shopping (Sonal Patel - Independent Agent)35

Shah & Trivedi CPA, PLLC.........................................47

Brown Immigration Law (Rishi Oza, Partner).............52

Jyoti's World Cuisine ................................................85

Shah, Anish (Real Estate) ...................................24-25

C4D Mortgage (Jubi Chackunkal, P.E.) .....................41

Khanna & Sons Jewelers .........................................19

Shah, Kirti (CPA - Sepa Consulting) .........................43

Carolina Law Group (Monty Desai)............................16

Lucky 7 (Games) ......................................................45

Shukla, Kirit (Music Lession & Band).........................75

Carolina Medical Associates.....................................81

Maharani Indian Cuisine (Charlotte) ..........................23

Sona Realty (Venkat Suryadevara) ............................57

CaroMont Medical Group (Dr. Manu Patel)................85

Malak Jewelers........................................................27

Sue Mrithunayan (Realtor) ........................................23

Charlotte Chess Center ............................................77

Malani Jewelers.....................................................100

The Blue Taj..............................................................67

Charlotte Eye Ear Nose & Throat ................................4

Malaya Kitchen.........................................................89

The 37 Venue...........................................................13

CHI Consulting (SBA Business Loans).......................41

Mathur, Gitanjali (Allen Tate Realtors) ........................33

Travel Passion ..........................................................43

Chiro-Carolina

....................................................77

Matthews Family Dentistry ......................................33

Tyagi, Rita (Real Estate).............................................75

Classifieds................................................................92

Meenakshi Creations LLC.........................................15

Uni World Travel........................................................55

Color Master Collision Center ...................................91

Meineke Car Care Center (Raghu Mothukuri) ...........15

Union Family Eye Associates (Dr. Keshav Bhat).........83

Concha, David (Immigration Attorney).......................89

Monroe Oil Company................................................59

VAS Mortgage (Ashwani Dalal) ...................................5

Concord Children's Clinic ......................................21

Neeta's Beauty Parlor...............................................75

VAS Realty LLC (Ashwani Dalal)..................................5

Copper Restaurant (Charlotte)...................................67

New York Life Insurance (Rasheed Ulhaq).................21

Vema Mortgage LLC (S. George)............37, 43, 61, 95

County South Realty & Business Brokers..................43

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

Venu Parepalli (Insurance) .....................................73

Days Inn (Waynesville) ..............................................13

One2 Entertainment .................................................51

Wavelength Advisors (Phone Systems & Internet).....51

Desai & Desai LLP (CPA & Financial Services)..........45

Passage To India - Fine Indian Cuisine......................97

Windsor Run (Retirement Community)......................31

Saathee.com

August 2021

For catering contact: Andy : 704-549-1886 or PassageToIndiaCLT@gmail.com

Lunch Buffet: Mon- Fri: 11 am - 3 pm Sat & Sun: 11:30 am - 3:30 pm Everyday: Special Lunch Boxes Vegetarian Lunch Box: $5.99 Chicken Lunch Box : $6.99 Weekend Brunch Buffet

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Saathee Charlotte August 2021

Articles inside

Pop’s Puzzles and Jokes

Youth Corner

Read Watch Listen

Recipe: Paneer Kababs

Biden’s Highways Plan

Spot the Differences

Raajeev’s Corner

The Editor’s Desk

Upcoming Movie Releases

Community Events

Increase USA Knowledge

Film Clips