Saathee Charlotte January 2025 by Shukla Entertainment

Bridging America and the Indian Subcontinent

Saathee.com

January 2025

IN THIS ISSUE Diversity in Kids Therapy: pg 30 Recipe: Curry Veg Mini Pot Pies: pg 74 Puzzles & Cartoons: pg 98-103 Classifieds: pg 108

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Hello Readers Happy New Year! It’s time to step over the annual boundary line and say hello to 2025. We are happy you are along for the ride. The incoming year will ring in many changes as does every new year. As we enter our 27th year, we will continue to bring you this community resource with plans of launching Saathee TV (video channel) and Saathee Voices (podcast) in the coming months. Thank you for reading and supporting Saathee magazine, Saathee.com, our weekly e-Newsletter. Special thanks to our advertisers. If you have ever wondered how you can help Saathee expand its work to inform the community, here is a simple way. Become a friend with your financial support! See page 72 for details or visit: Saathee.com/Friend. Onward. - Samir Shukla (Editor)

“Bridging America and the Indian Subcontinent.”

January 2025 Issue # 320 Editor Samir Shukla (Samir@Saathee.com)

Publisher & Advertising Divakar Shukla 704-527-7570 or saatheemag@hotmail.com

Some highlights in this issue: ♦ The necessity of diversity in kids therapy. Page 30 ♦ New administration, new policies. Page 46 ♦ The ACT is changing. Page 52

Digital Media & Marketing Jennifer W. Allen

Share Saathee with friends and family. We would be happy to add anyone in the Carolinas to the Saathee subscription base at no charge, simply visit saathee.com/subscription and also sign up for our free weekly e-newsletter: saathee.com/weekly-e-newsletter

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Ad Design / Layout DSJ Graphics & Manimaran

Contributors for this issue: Shikha Singh, Balaji Prasad, Parul Kharod, Dipika Kohli, Avani Shah, Dr. Ari Mukherjee, Dr. Maha Gingrich, Raajeev Aggerwhil, Rupa Pereira, Ketu Desai, Rishi P. Oza, and 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.

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Saathee Magazine P.O. Box 11468 Charlotte, NC 28220

Cover: Kerala The boatmen are gathering lotus leaves in a lake in the southern Indian state of Kerala. The leaves are used for cooking in certain recipes. Photo: Adobe Stock

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January 2025

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In This Issue

Page 14 Editor’s Desk: Roads Grind Under Our Feet

Page 26: The Shifting Cycles of Beauty

Page 44 Vitamin D, the Sunshine Vitamin

Page 74 Recipe: Curry Veg Mini Pot Pies

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

Eye on the Markets . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 46

College Admissions Insider . . . . . .pg. 70

Upcoming Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 18

Dances of India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 50

Recipe: Curry Veg Mini Pot Pies . .pg. 74

Mirror, Mirror . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 26

American College Testing (ACT) .pg. 52

Cartoon Corner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 98

Kismuth and the Way II . . . . . . . . .pg. 28

Raajeev’s Corner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 54

Tune Your Brain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 100

Diversity in Kids Therapy . . . . . . .pg. 30

Spot the Differences . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 56

Pop’s Puzzles & Toons . . . . . . . . .pg. 102

Upcoming Movie Releases . . . . . . .pg. 34

Side Hobby or Side Hustle . . . . . . .pg. 58

Festivals and Holidays . . . . . . . . .pg. 104

Film Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 36

AI Agents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 60

Puzzle Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 104

Thinking About Thinking . . . . . . .pg. 40

Financially Speaking . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 62

AstroScope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 106

Community Focus . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 42

News Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 64

Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 108

Nutrition for Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 44

Immigration Matters . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 68

Index of Advertisers . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 112

Saathee.com

January 2025

Editor’s Desk

by Samir Shukla

Roads Grind Under Our Feet The other day I was walking around a large grassy area on our farm and noticed a patch of dirt in the green, a nest made by ants. The red ants had dug up an area of about a square foot and turned the dirt inside out into a small mound. There were a few ants roaming around on top. I stomped my foot just on the perimeter, without disturbing the mound, and hundreds of angry ants spilled out, seeking the oﬀender, the one who disturbed their world. Their little mound was perfectly crafted for their short lives, and the hyperactivity of these busy miniature critters settled down after a few minutes and they retreated into the ground. Starlings. Thousands of them. A flock of those noisy little birds swarmed over barren trees which bordered that ant mound, a few days later. They looked like a swirl of smoke weaving about and landing on trees. Their sky dances and cacophony faded in the distance as they flew oﬀ to another grove of trees and then again further down the road. Humans often form into bunches of the alike single-minded ants, swirling swarms of starlings, partisan voters. We can work together to achieve a common goal. Other times we bunch up, like voters, where the results of an election angers half the country and makes the other half happy. If it goes the other way, the anger and joy would be reversed. Millions of Americans voted in the recent national election, and then settled back into their mounds, cocoons and flocks, either bruised and battered or smug and satiated. A million stories and happenings infuse our little world every hour, day, week, month, year. It’s a mindboggling feast of ongoings amongst everything. At the same time, all these activities and buzzings are laughed aside by the grind of time. Its precise tick tock into the next moment, the immediate future, cares not whether you work through the day or sleep through it. If you are having a happy day or a sad one. The tick, tock, simply, doesn’t, care. Editor’s Desk continued on page 86 Saathee.com

January 2025

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Upcoming Events Christmas at Biltmore: Asheville, NC (Through January 5, 2025)

Greenville News Run Downtown 5K (January 18, 2025) The 46th annual Greenville News Run Downtown 5K will be conducted on Saturday, January 18, 2025, and is one of the oldest, largest and most popular 5K runs in the state. The run/walk is presented by The Greenville News. Bring the family for the run. Details: Runsignup.com. Look for Greenville.

Blowing Rock WinterFest: Boone, NC (January 23 - 26, 2025) Oﬀering good tidings of comfort and joy, Christmas at Biltmore awaits you. From Biltmore House to Antler Hill Village, fragrant wreaths, glittering garland, and thousands of sparkling ornaments create a one-of-kind holiday oasis. Dazzling by day, the house is truly magical during Candlelight Christmas Evenings, a 40-year tradition not to be missed. The Event runs through January 5, 2025. Details: Biltmore.com.

The annual Blowing Rock WinterFest will take place between January 23 – 26, 2025 in Boone, NC. The fest features arts and crafts, holiday themed activities, cork and canvas, concerts and performers, a polar bear plunge in Chetola Lake, ice-carvings, chili cookoﬀ, wine tastings, silent auction and raﬄe. The fest is also a fundraiser for various local charitable causes. Travel & Leisure magazine named Blowing Rock “one of America’s Prettiest Winter Towns.” Info: Blowingrockwinterfest.com.

Charleston Half Marathon & 5K (January 25, 2025) The PNC Bank Charleston Half Marathon & 5K is a certified course that runs through the historic and scenic city of Charleston, SC. The 2025 race will take place on Saturday, January 25, 2025, with new routes, participant shirts, medals, and a post-race party. Proceeds will benefit Engaging Creative Minds. Details: Charlestonhalfmarathon.com.

Speedway Christmas: Charlotte, NC (Through January 5, 2025) The 15th season of the Southeast’s largest drive-through holiday light show, Speedway Christmas, features more than five million lights on a four-mile course that includes the legendary oval, pit road and infield road course. The show is open 6-10 p.m. rain or shine and features synchronized lights-tomusic on 101.3 FM plus drive-in movies on the gigantic Speedway TV every Thursday through Sunday night through January 5, 2025. Info: Charlottemotorspeedway.com.

NC Chinese Lantern Festival: Cary, NC (Through January 12, 2025) Cary’s Koka Booth Amphitheatre will once again welcome the North Carolina Chinese Lantern Festival through January 12, 2025. Chinese artisans will be on hand to craft more than 40 new displays, each one comprised of hundreds of parts, and thousands of LED lights. These larger-than-life lanterns will captivate visitors at every turn with amazing craftmanship and artistic beauty. Cultural arts performances will also take place each night on the main stage. Info: Boothamphitheatre.com. Saathee.com

Wine & Chocolate Festival: Greensboro, NC (January 25, 2025) Wine enthusiasts will gather on Saturday, January 25, 2025, at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex’s Event Wing A for an unlimited sampling of dozens of North Carolina wines. Bottles will be available for purchase. Everyone gets a free souvenir tasting glass. Enjoy food, chocolates, cheeses and sweets. Info: Wineandchocolatefestivals.com.

Triangle Wine & Food Experience: Raleigh, NC (January 30 - February 1, 2025) The Triangle Wine & Food Experience is an event with all proceeds benefiting the Frankie Lemmon School and Developmental Center. Winemakers and celebrity chefs from all over the world, as well as thousands of donors and supporters, will participate. The three-day aﬀair is between January 30 February 1, 2025 and includes winery dinners at restaurants, wine tastings at wine shops, and trade events. The weekend culminates in a Grand Auction, which features a selection of diverse wines and food. Info: Frankielemmonfoundation.org. 18

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January 2025

Upcoming Events Carolina Chocolate Festival: Morehead City, NC (February 1 - 2, 2025) Chocolate lovers indulge! The annual Carolina Chocolate Festival will take place between February 1-2, 2025 at the Crystal Coast Civic Center in Morehead City. Both days will be packed with activities from tastings, demonstrations and Pro/Am and Junior bake-oﬀs to relaxing at the spa. Full details at: Carolinachocolatefestival.com.

Aag Ki Raat Night of Fire: Columbia, SC (February 1, 2025) Aag Ki Raat is a fusion dance competition held at the University of South Carolina presented by Indian Cultural Exchange. AKR aims to celebrate South Asian dance while helping a local charity. Dance teams from across the country will participate at the event on Sunday, February 1, 2025. For details, visit Facebook.com/aagkiraat.

Sunny Jain’s Wild Wild East: Raleigh, NC (February 6, 2025) Catch percussionist and dhol player Sunny Jain’s band Wild Wild East performing live at NC State LIVE, in Raleigh, NC at Talley Student Union on the campus of NC State. Jain has made a career of bringing musical forms into conversation with one another. Wild Wild East casts its nets wide, but what it hauls in can’t be defined by any single point. This isn’t jazz, though it’s impossible to imagine without jazz; nor is it a South Asian party music, though Jain’s persistent dhol playing is impossible to resist. For details, visit Live.arts.ncsu.edu.

An Evening with Abraham Verghese: Charlotte, NC (February 11, 2025) The Learning Society of Queens University presents an evening with Abraham Verghese at Gambrell Center for the Arts & Civic Engagement on February 11, 2025. Dr. Abraham Verghese, practicing physician and Stanford University professor, will discuss “The Caring in Health Care: Challenges and Opportunities in a Technological Era” as he shares insights into his early career journey and the evolution of healthcare. He will describe the crucial role of empathy in healthcare leadership and share how leaders can cultivate it within themselves and their teams. Info: Queens.edu/learningsociety.

Dog Days of Winter: Charlotte, NC (February 15, 2025)

Celebrate winter with your four-legged friends on February 15, 2025, with a variety of activities ranging from a 5K trail race, adoption events, ice North Carolina Jazz Festival: rink access, dog yoga, doggy vendors and more. Wilmington, NC (February 6 - 8, 2025) It will take place at the Whitewater Center in Enjoy one of the largest traditional jazz festivals in the Charlotte. Info: Center.whitewater.org. Southeast from February 6-8, 2025. This musical weekend starts on Thursday evening and then Hilton Head Marathon: continues Friday and Saturday night with four(February 15 - 16, 2025) hour concerts featuring 15 sets with six or seven The Hilton Head Island Marathon returns on musicians per set (each with a diﬀerent leader). February 15-16, 2025, for another fun 2 days of Come experience some fantastic musicians from running through Hilton Head Island. Join around the globe. Info: Ncjazzfestival.org. thousands of runners across three distances (marathon, Queen City Brewers Festival: half, and 5k) and experience Charlotte, NC (February 8, 2025) this scenic race that’s one of The fest brings together Charlotte region’s craft beverage the premier running events producers, celebrates their contributions to the Queen City in the region. With all races and serves an organization that helps to improve the quality finishing at the same after of life of individuals of all ages and backgrounds. In 2025, party, you’ll celebrate your accomplishments with the festival returns to life to benefit Envision Charlotte, a an after party featuring beer, free food, great non-profit that looks to make the city a more circular tunes, and some race swag. Info: economy by building a sustainable future for generations Hhmarathon.com. to come. Join the festivities the day before Super Bowl on February 8, 2025, from 1-4pm. Info: Qcbrewfest.com. Saathee.com

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January 2025

Upcoming Events high artistic merit that entertain and educate. The fest will feature myriad performances, delicious food, arts, crafts and exhibits. For more info: Detail: Nuvyug.org.

Wilmington Marathon (February 22, 2025) This is the perfect Boston Marathon qualifying event. The course starts in Wrightsville Beach and makes a straight shot into downtown Wilmington. The back half of the marathon is in beautiful Greenfield Lake and will finish at Live Oak Bank Pavilion. Come span the Cape Fear Coast and run from destination to destination on Saturday, February 22, 2025. Info: Wilmingtonncmarathon.com.

Keep up with all the events happening in our region with Saathee Magazine. The best way to find them is in these pages or online at our regularly updated events section:

Aziz Ansari Live: Carolinas (February 27 - March 1, 2025)

Gaillard Center, Azizansari.com.

Aziz Ansari is an actor and comedian. He co-created, writes, directs, and stars in the Netflix series Master of None. His latest special Nightclub Comedian is now streaming on Netflix. Ansari will perform live at DPAC, Durham, NC on February 27, 2025; Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium in SC on February 28, 2025; and Charleston SC on March 1, 2025. Details:

Saathee.com/events

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January 2025

The Shifting Cycles of Beauty and How We Can’t Stop Talking About It Mirror, Mirror by Jennifer Allen “You just have to accept your body. You may not love it all the way, but you just have to be comfortable with it. You just want something else that someone else has, but that doesn’t mean what you have isn’t beautiful.” ~ Rihanna At the beginning of yet another year in our complicated little lives, many think about what changes they may attempt in order to achieve a more fulfilling life. Often described as ‘New Year’s Resolutions’, these revisions to one’s lifestyle can be easy to conjure, but diﬃcult to maintain. Generally, after 60-90 days, quite a few of these choices are dropped and old mannerisms take their place… probably because the shift was so extreme that a person’s mental and physical wellbeing can’t fully accept it. There are exceptions to this, of course, and those with the self-discipline to continue down the long, winding path required to achieve their goals are a cause for celebration. Some of the more popular resolutions involve either dropping a bad habit or, alternatively, starting up a good one. For example, cutting down on caﬀeine or, alternatively, adding more fruits and vegetables to your diet. Nothing is stopping you from attempting both, but more often than not, it’s easier to focus on one potential benefit as a building block toward others later on. One peculiar fad, shall we say, that crops up every New Year is the desire to lose weight. The caveat is that this doesn’t always mean shifting to a healthier lifestyle, but instead becoming more attractive (according to societal standards) by any means necessary. This elevated obsession with physical appearance has ballooned with the implementation of social media; a topic I’ve already discussed in past articles. Mirror continued on page 90

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January 2025

The Year of the Composition

Shapes

Kismuth and the Way II by Dipika Kohli A collection, a collage, a shaping, a page of distinct and yet cohesive forms, worked out in a particular way, not always a conscious eﬀort, you would guess, this arrangement, by someone who did this to move these pieces into these exact spots. But having shifted them, as such, as they did, you might surmise that perhaps, for them, no reasoning exists, not really, for making it. At all. This, you come to feel, is good news. Surrendering the need to ‘make sense of’ or deduce, the person who is making will simply work on their work. Materials, feelings, and forms start to take shape, through a back-and-forth dance that does the thing it does, as it will, if you let it, quite well; if you’re lucky, these will bring you along with them right into the page. Walk. Dance. Fly. Welcome to the creative process. Blurs at the start, but intrigue, too; along the way, there’ll be a bias towards, I feel, newness, surprise, and harmony. We put things together. We stop when the shapes seem to have arrived where they need to be. This is how it is, making a new thing, at the onset. Generating with us, regenerating, too. Parts, or the whole, get ditched at points, too, perhaps, on the way to... wherever it is we’re going. Stop. Open your eyes. Then, step back. To examine, or reflect, or get curious, or find it uncomfortable, or want to leave. Because we are now observing what we have made. Separate from us, there it is. Our composition. When you make, you’re not just making, you’re also being reshaped, too. Art can do that. Art has a puzzling, bedazzling way. Kismuth continued on page 80

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January 2025

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January 2025

Talk, Trust, Thrive

The Necessity of Diversity in Kids Therapy

One Size Doesn’t Fit All Whether you are an adult or child, the therapy process can be challenging, at first! Whether a patient faces a speech delay, issues with motor skills, or even a mental health concern, it is necessary for your therapist to build trust with you, from the moment you walk through the door. This is particularly critical for children— while adults have the ability to decide whether or not to attend therapy, some children may feel coerced or forced into these sessions. Additionally, cultural biases may factor into the willingness to seek care and undergo treatment, for both children and their families. Certain cultures will seek help later than others, even if their condition is significantly worse. This may be due to a combination of shame and cultural stigmas against seeking therapy, which often presents itself as an “invisible diagnosis”. Across disciplines, the first step of the therapy process is for the therapist to communicate that he or she hears and understands the patient for who they are. This is the first building block of the therapy relationship, allowing the child to feel supported and engage in therapy— particularly in practicing skills or discussing topics they may find uncomfortable, at first. Without an awareness of the underlying factors that may be contributing to their hesitancy, the therapist will be ill-equipped to build a treatment plan to meet their needs. The same holds true for their relationship with parents and caregivers. It is a therapist’s responsibility to establish goals that make sense for the child, based on a combination of their needs and their family environment. This ensures that these skills will be put into practice outside of the clinic

by Avani Shah Research indicates that 20% of children in the United States aged 3-17 have a mental, emotional or behavioral disorder. With a growing need for treatment, the national zeitgeist has demonstrated a greater awareness of therapy’s benefits, particularly for young children and adolescents. Research has also proven that the bond between patient and therapist is the key to successful treatment. Children’s therapists find themselves in the unique position of having to build trust through multiple relationships, both with the child they are treating and their caregivers. Therefore, it is particularly critical that therapists be able to communicate impactfully with all those involved in the child’s care. Unfortunately, a shortage of bilingual and multilingual therapists makes it diﬃcult for therapists to bridge the gap between treatment and successful outcomes. Over 20,000 people speak Hindi in the state of North Carolina and yet therapists available to serve that population lag behind. Language barriers like this one can delay or even prevent successful outcomes. I was originally born in Mumbai, and, as an immigrant myself, I have seen firsthand how this linguistic and cultural disconnect can impact therapeutic relationships. It was this realization that led me to start my own clinic to embrace both a multidisciplinary and multilinguistic approach. In the midst of a children’s mental health crisis, and an increased understanding about therapy’s benefits, we as therapists must do more to bridge cultural divides and ensure that all parties involved in a child’s care are able to work together cohesively. Saathee.com

Diversity in Kids Therapy continued on page 82 30

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January 2025

Upcoming Movie Releases

Back in Action (Director: Seth Gordon) Cast: Cameron Diaz, Jamie Foxx, and Glenn Close Presence (Director: Steven Soderbergh) Cast: Lucy Liu, Julia Fox, and Chris Sullivan

January 10 Den of Thieves 2 (Director: Christian Gudegast) Cast: Gerard Butler and O’Shea Jackson Jr

January 24 Flight Risk (Director: Mel Gibson) Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Michelle Dockery, and Topher Grace

Fateh (Director: Sonu Sood) Cast: Sonu Sood, Jacqueline Fernandez, and Naseeruddin Shah

Star Trek: Section 31 (Director: Olatunde Osunsanmi) Cast: Michelle Yeoh, Omari Hardwick, and Robert Kazinsky

Game Changer (Director: S Shankar) Cast: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Sunil, and Meka Srikanth

Lahore 1947 (Director: Rajkumar Santoshi) Cast: Sunny Deol, Preity Zinta, Ali Fazal, and Shabana Azmi

The Last Showgirl (Director: Gia Coppola) Cast: Pamela Anderson, Dave Bautista, Brenda Song, and Jamie Lee Curtis

Brave in the Dark (Director: Damian Harris) Cast: Jared Harris, Nicholas Hamilton, and Kimberly Fairbanks

Daaku Maharaaj (Director: Bobby Koli) Cast: Nandamuri Balakrishna, Bobby Deol, and Chandini Chowdary

Sky Force (Directors: Sandeep Kewlani & Abhishek Anil Kapur) Cast: Akshay Kumar, Sara Ali Khan, and Nimrat Kaur

January 17 Emergency (Director: Kangana Ranaut) Cast: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, and Mahima Chaudhry

Love Me (Directors: Sam & Andy Zuchero) Cast: Kristen Stewart and Steven Yeun

January 31 Wolf Man (Director: Leigh Whannell) Cast: Christopher Abbott, Beatriz Romilly, and Milo Cawthorne

Companion (Director: Drew Hancock) Cast: Sophie Thatcher and Rupert Friend Dog Man (Director: Peter Hastings) Cast: Pete Davidson, Billy Boyd, and Ricky Gervais

Levon’s Trade (Director: David Ayer) Cast: Jason Statham, David Harbour, Michael Peña, and Jason Flemyng

You’re Cordially Invited (Director: Nicholas Stoller) Cast: Will Ferrell, Reese Witherspoon, and Geraldine Viswanathan

In the Grey (Director: Guy Ritchie) Cast: Henry Cavill, Rosamund Pike, and Jake Gyllenhaal

Saathee.com/movies has the latest info on where the movies are showing or streaming. All dates subject to change. Saathee.com

January 2025

p s m i l C l F i Santosh Sandhya Suri’s Santosh has been selected by the UK to be its oﬃcial submission to the Oscars for Best International Film. A young widow now desperate to support herself, accepts an opportunity to inherit her husband’s job as a police oﬃcer in rural India. She begins an investigation into a low-caste girl’s murder. Look for the film in January.

Lahore 1947 Director Rajkumar Santoshi’s historical epic, starring Aamir Khan, Sunny Deol, Preity Zinta, Ali Fazal, and Shabana Azmi, is about India’s partition. Filmed with ambitious sequences, the movie is set for release on January 24, 2025.

Fateh The story is about a former gangster who is hired to guard a young woman. To keep her safe, Fateh must employ all his abilities while simultaneously attempting to learn the truth about the threats made against her. The film is directed by and stars Sonu Sood along with Jacqueline Fernandez and Naseeruddin Shah. Look for it on January 10, 2025.

Game Changer S Shankar directs superstar Ram Charan along with Kiara Advani, Samuthirakani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Sunil, and Meka Srikanth in Game Changer, about an honest IAS oﬃcer’s fight against a corrupt political system through fair and transparent elections. The movie will be released on January 10, 2025.

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Star Trek: Section 31 Emperor Philippa Georgiou joins a secret division of Starfleet to protect the United Federation of Planets and faces the sins of her past. The cast, directed by Olatunde Osunsanmi, includes Michelle Yeoh, Omari Hardwick, Kacey Rohl, Sam Richardson, Sven Ruygrok, and Robert Kazinsky. The film begins its run on January 24, 2025. 36

Sky Force Akshay Kumar stars as an Indian Air Force Oﬃcer in a story about one of the biggest victories of the Air Force. Directed by Sandeep Kewlani and Abhishek Anil Kapur, the film, based on true events, also stars Sara Ali Khan, Veer Pahariya, and Nimrat Kaur. Look for it on January 24, 2025.

a: Brave Captain Americ New World

ted with newly elec After meeting s, os R Thaddeus U.S. President in the middle of lf Sam finds himse cident. He must in l na io at rn a an inte ason behind re e th er ov disc by d te ec ir plot. D nefarious global e film stars th h, na O Julius kie, , Anthony Mac rd Fo n so ri ar H in it r fo ok irez. Lo and Danny Ram ry 14, 2025. ua cinemas on Febr January 2025

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Guilty of “TUI”? (Thriving Under the Influence)

something going south. This wannabe expletive is something worth adopting because it could remind you of the deeply insidious and subversive thing that you fondly call your “I”, especially when it is important for you to be apprised of its dominance. A little indulgence with your “I” is probably okay in the little things in life. However, you will want it exiled and out of your sight, as you ponder the most serious decisions in life – the really big ones that can make or break your thriving; the big things are decisions about whom you get married to, breaking up, leaving a toxic environment, starting a business, etc.

Thinking About Thinking by Balaji Prasad “Faith is stronger than so-called reality.” ~ Herman Hesse TUI is similar to DUI. They both have the potential to cause serious damage to your existence. It’s worth pausing to reflect on TUI’s twin (from Wikipedia): “Driving under the influence (DUI) is the oﬀense of driving, operating, or being in control of a vehicle while impaired by alcohol or drugs.” Your goal in life, whether you consciously realize this or not, is to survive … and to thrive. Just as your goal on the road is to drive … safely! “Hey! I am not under any influence,” you say. You assert that there are no addictive substances warping your mind as you wend your way through life. But … is this really true? If you have ever felt the presence of an anxious “I”, you certainly were under the influence. One of the most addictive and intoxicating substances in this world is the thing you call your “I”.

Avoid the I of the storm When you are in the throes of grappling with a diﬃcult decision in life, it is important to do a quick check to see whether you are in the I of your internal storm or are standing at a more-than-healthy distance from the whirling thing. How you know this is by getting in touch with what you feel. Do you feel a raging storm inside? Does your mind thrash around trying to get a foothold onto some idea, some direction? Do you feel fear and anxiety? Do you feel a sense of a deer-in-theheadlights transfixation that paralyzes you? If the answer to any of this is a “yes”, your I is intoxicating you. Just as with driving, thriving safely requires a keen awareness of the state you are in. Beyond that, you need discipline to push your I out of your own mind so that you yourself are not an impediment to your own thriving. But how do you do that?

Aye Yai Yai! “Aye Yai Yai” is right. This exclamation is the cry of surprise and frustration that you might find yourself involuntarily letting out when you see

Thinking continued on page 88 Saathee.com

January 2025

US Masters Tournament Charlotte 2024

Community Focus

The Charlotte Chess Center organized and conducted the largest event in its nearly 11-year history over the Thanksgiving 2024 holiday with the US Masters Tournament. There were 737 participants from 36 states and 39 countries who played in this year’s US Masters and NC Open tournaments, eﬀectively known as the Charlotte Chess Festival. Headlined by world #2 GM Fabiano Caruana, 46 other Grandmasters, and 51 International Masters, the US Masters event had a turnout of 264 players where 6 norms were earned, 4 GM and 2 IM.

The Charlotte Chess Center partnered with Chess.com, International Chess Federation, US Chess, Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority, and The Westin Charlotte to make this event happen. For more details, visit Charlottechesscenter.org. Photos Courtesy: Charlotte Chess Center

Charlotte Chess Center owner Peter Giannatos (right) presenting the US Masters cup to winner Fabiano Caruana (left).

Abhimanyu Mishra is known for being the youngest to achieve GM ever at age 12 yrs, 4 months, and 25 days.

Alongside the US Masters was the North Carolina Open which featured 473 players of all levels. Open participants enjoyed blitz challenges and lectures with GM Naroditsky as well as US Masters commentary with both GMs Daniel Naroditsky and Kayden Troﬀ. Fabiano Caruana won the USM event 8/9 despite his setback in round 6 against Theodorou. Caruana marks the USM with the highest achieved score in history. In addition, he picks up the highly sought after FIDE Circuit points from the event propelling him to a near tie for 1st with Arjun Erigaisi.

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Resident GM, Daniel Naroditsky (right), playing a blitz exhibition against challengers from the NC Open tournament.

January 2025

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Vitamin D The Sunshine Vitamin

Nutrition for Life by Parul Kharod In the winter months, our mood is aﬀected by the cold gloomy weather, leading to seasonal aﬀective disorder (SAD), a type of depression that is more common during this season. Low Vitamin D has been linked to SAD. Vitamin D is also called the sunshine vitamin. However, it is mistakenly believed that we can get enough Vitamin D through sunlight. Sunlight does not have Vitamin D. Our skin has an inactive form of Vitamin D or rather a precursor called 7dehydrocholesterol. During exposure to sunlight, 7dehydrocholesterol in the skin absorbs UV B radiation and is converted to provitamin D3 which in turn converts to Vitamin D3 or ergocalciferol. Vitamin D synthesis from sunlight is greatly influenced by season, time of day, latitude, altitude, air pollution, skin pigmentation, sunscreen use, passing through glass and plastic, and aging. Which is why not all of us are able to get enough Vitamin D through sunlight. What exactly is Vitamin D? Vitamin D is not just one chemical, but it has many forms. It is not just a nutrient but is also known as a prohormone. Technically, it is not even a vitamin. Nutrition continued on page 84

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New Administration New Policies New Leadership

The market is adjusting to the reality that the cutting cycle might be much shallower than originally thought. The market is now expecting just three more cuts through the end of 2025. We appear to be moving into a higher for longer environment. As the macro and rate expectations have recalibrated, so have the equity markets. With a clear shift in post-election leadership, the market rotated to areas with clear beneficiaries of the new policies and sold those that aren’t. For instance, the expectation for deregulation, lower capital requirements, increased M&A and capital market activity drove a significant rally in financials. Financials will also benefit from a steepening yield curve, as they are not subject to potential tariﬀs. The risk of tariﬀs was a driver behind a rotation from semiconductor stocks into software. The expectation of a smaller government took defense and government contractor stocks down. The nomination of a new Secretary of Health and Human Services presents a risk to pharma, biotech, and many packaged food companies. They all saw their stocks make a move down. The clear winner in the post-election trading has been crypto. It is not only benefiting from the removal of the

Eye on the Markets by Ketu Desai With the new administration comes new policies. The economy was headed toward moderating growth and inflation, both settling into a range between 2% and 2.5%. The market now expects an environment with higher growth, higher inflation and higher rates. Treasury yields have settled into a range between 4% and 4.5%. Higher nominal growth, higher inflation, and a significant budget deficit will likely keep Treasury yields high. Perhaps more importantly, the market’s expectation for inflation is meaningfully up. The 5-year break-even rate (a proxy for future inflation) is now just under 2.5%, up from 1.86% in mid-September. The Fed has also sent signs of recalibrating its expectations for policy. In a speech in November, Chair Powell said that the Fed isn’t in a rush to reduce interest rates. Further, the Dallas Fed President said, “I see substantial signs that the neutral rate has increased in recent years, and some hints that it could be very close to where the fed funds rate is now.” Saathee.com

Eye on Markets continued on page 94 46

January 2025

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Drums are the Heartbeats of Dancing

Photo Courtesy of Dances of India

representation, known as Nataraj, the King of Dances. A specific hand gesture called Dhamaru-hasta is used to hold the drum while dancing. The Dhamaru in His left hand represents the Shabda or cosmic sounds. According to scriptures, it represents “OM” from which all languages are formed. In ancient Hindu sculpture, painting, and mythology, the Mridangam, a South Indian Drum, is often depicted as the instrument of choice for a number of deities to play and to dance with, including Ganesha (the remover of obstacles) and Nandi, who is the vehicle of Lord Shiva. Nandi is said to have played the Mridangam during Shiva’s ancient Tandava dance, causing a divine rhythm to resound across the heavens. The Pung cholom is a Manipuri dance, also known as Mrindanga Kirtan or Dhumal dance. This dance is performed by only males either as integral part of Nata Sankirtan or independently in front of a social gatherings. In this style, dressed in white, dancers need to be graceful

Dances of India by Dr. Maha Gingrich

India is a land of ancient culture and traditions, in which dance, music, art, literature, architecture and handicrafts play a very important role. In music and dance, drums have always played an essential role. In any dance form, from any country, when you add drums to the orchestra, it sets the stage for presentation of energy. They are used to invoke spirits, create rhythmic patterns or describe the intensity of cosmic dances. As you hear the drumbeats, your heart races according to the rhythm and your feet start moving. No matter what age, this feeling is unique to all living beings including animals. In Hinduism, I think it all started with the dances with Dhamaru drum performed by Lord Shiva. A small drum shaped like an hourglass is known as a Dhamaru. This is one of the attributes of Lord Shiva in his famous dancing

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Dances of India continued on page 86

January 2025

The ACT is Changing reading, with an optional science score and a STEM score if students choose to take the science section. The number of questions will be reduced overall (44 fewer questions to be exact), and students will get more time per question. The number of math question answer choices has been reduced from 5 to 4. Starting in September 2025, Digital ACT will also be oﬀered on paper – yes, that is a paradox! Students will always have the choice to test online or on paper! For students who want to pursue a STEM career, the science section is still there to showcase their skills, and I highly recommend that they take the science section. It is very tempting to take a shorter test, but not taking the science section may end up doing some real damage, come application time. For those students who have prepared for, or are preparing for, the existing conventional ACT, I suggest that they do not switch to the Digital ACT version at all. Instead, they should make sure that they make an adequate number of attempts on the existing ACT and get their desired score by the July 2025 test date. Any time a test changes, it brings instability and unknowns with the change. If a student is not at all comfortable with the science questions (which are mainly on data interpretation and understanding experiments), then the student may want to start taking the online version of the Digital ACT from April 2025. If you are still with me till this point, then you must be contemplating taking the ACT in the near future. To be or not to be (in the Digital ACT camp) – that is the question!

My Voice by Dr. Ari Mukherjee The SAT and ACT (American College Testing) scores have always been key deciding factors in college admissions. Even though many universities went “test optional” after COVID, the recent trend for the last two years have been to move back towards “test required”. The simple reason is that a standardized test score has always been, and will continue to be, the golden standard for judging the strengths of applications. However, I will shelve more discussion of “test optional” for another article. Just as we were getting comfortable with the familiar paperbased ACT, we now hear about the new Digital ACT looming on the horizon. Starting in April 2025, students who choose to test online (take the Digital ACT) will have more flexibility and choice, experience a shorter test, and get more time to respond to each question. Beginning with the September 2025 test, all students testing on a Saturday, either online or on paper, will experience these benefits. Schools and districts will have these options starting in Spring 2026. So, what is staying the same with Digital ACT? For one, the ACT will continue to be based on your high school curriculum, and the scores will give students the opportunity to qualify for scholarships. The Composite score scale for the Digital ACT will remain 1-36, and scores from tests taken prior to the rollout of the new Composite score will not change. However, there are going to be quite a few changes. The Digital ACT will be shortened from 195 minutes to 125 minutes, while the science section will become optional. The Composite score will now only include English, math, and Saathee.com

Dr. Ari Mukherjee is President and Founder of HitchHiker's Guide To College www.hitchhikersguide2college.com hhg2c@yahoo.com 704-840-5485 52

January 2025

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January 2025

Canine Karma my plate down with lentils, rice, or vegetables to his level. He takes one sniff at my plate and walks away. Apparently, lentils just don’t pass the sniff test for canines. Who knew? I guess after all these years he is unaware of the famous proverb – “Eat your greens and grow strong”; apparently, it’s not as popular of a saying among the dog community. In fact, in all these years, he has not had a single piece of vegetable. No spinach. No broccoli, not even a pea. The importance of greens is universally known. In Hindi, there is a saying, “Jo khaye saag, rahe sada nirog.” Those who eat greens, remain healthy forever. There is a Chinese proverb, “Greens bring peace to the stomach and joy to the soul.” And there is an African proverb, “The cow that eats greens is the one that gives the best milk.” I guess Turing doesn’t believe in any of these. He must think these proverbs are part of some vast vegetable propaganda conspiracy. I can understand him not following the African proverb because it is meant for a cow, but the Indian and the Chinese proverbs are species neutral. Maybe because we named him after a British computer scientist, and he has some element of colonialism or racial bias built in his genes. When I was growing up in India, there was no packaged specialty dog food; my relatives would give their dog a roti, broken up in small pieces and dipped in milk. I have friends in the US who have bragged that they have been able to train their dogs to eat broccoli or even carrots. Meanwhile, I can’t even get Turing to look at a vegetable without him filing a formal protest. I can’t decide if Turing’s refusal to accept such training means he’s either stupid – or just smart enough to know what he likes. We thought of consulting a nutritionist, but our veterinarian confirmed that each dog is different. We just have to accept that he is a carnivore and eating meat is just part of his DNA... and he has to accept that it was his bad karma from a previous life that got him stuck in a vegetarian family.

Raajeev’s Corner by Raajeev Aggerwhil

This December we celebrated our dog Turing’s 8th birthday. We got him two months after he was born, and it changed our life forever... it now involves a lot more lint rollers! My kids had been insisting on getting a dog for many years, but I managed to resist; now, he is an integral part of our lives. I am not alone in this though; there are a lot of social media posts about immigrant dads resisting requests from their children about getting a dog but eventually giving in and becoming overly attached to the animal... and I do love to follow a good trend. Turing is healthy — we give him top-quality food, mostly kibble but I know he prefers the delicacy of “wet meat.” He’s a very picky dog; if I add some shredded cheese, chicken or even sour cream on the kibble he will eat it right away – that or show him that the kibble received a Michelin star. Otherwise, he will ignore the dry food entirely for a few hours and will only reluctantly come back when there is no choice. He is like the Gordon Ramsay of dogs—just waiting to yell at me for daring to serve him plain kibble! He always gives me such guilt about having to suﬀer through eating normal dog food... although I think it’s a bit much when he starts playing that sad Sarah McLachlan song from the ASPCA commercials. I try not to take a hardline position. I never did with my kids either when they were growing up. “No mac and cheese today… you better eat that aloo-gobhi (cauliflower).” For some reason, every time I am having dinner, he will still come up to me and tap my legs, urging me to give him some food. I’ve found that the solution is simple; I just lower

Raajeev continued on page 94 Saathee.com

January 2025

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January 2025

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Side Hustle or Side Hobby: What Should You Choose?

My Voice by Hiren Deliwala In recent years, the rise of the side hustle has captured the imagination of many, especially within the Indian diaspora in the United States. From casual conversations over dinner with friends to social gatherings, it’s almost inevitable that the topic turns to real estate, stock investments, or starting a small business. For some, these side ventures are about building wealth and securing a second stream of income, fueled by a growing fear of job insecurity. But for those who are already making a comfortable living, a question emerges: when is enough really enough? And is there a better way to spend our time? We often pursue a side hustle thinking it will bring us financial freedom. But ironically, these ventures often end up taking away the very thing we sought in the first place— time. Time for family, time for ourselves, and time for leisure. The hustle culture sometimes lures us into a neverending chase for more, without us really understanding what the end goal is. For many of us, especially those who are financially stable, this pursuit is not about survival but rather about keeping up, often driven by social pressures or the fear of missing out (FOMO). Saathee.com

When Indian friends gather, especially in communities where entrepreneurship is celebrated, like among Gujarati families, the talk inevitably turns to who has opened a new gas station or invested in a hotel. Everyone has a story of someone who has “made it big” by branching out. Then, there’s always that one friend who reminds us that jobs are no longer the safe havens they once were. They share tales of layoﬀs and job loss, invoking the fear that if we don’t have a secondary income source, we’re left vulnerable. This constant narrative can leave a lasting impression, often pushing us to consider whether we, too, should jump into a side hustle. However, once the party is over and the excitement fades, reality sets in. Many of us dismiss the idea, convincing ourselves it’s too risky or time-consuming. Yet, the seed is planted, and we find ourselves caught in an internal debate—should we take the plunge? Should we join the side-hustle bandwagon? After all, there is something undeniably thrilling about launching a business or diving into a new venture. The sense of adventure, the opportunity to learn something new, and the potential for financial gain can be very appealing.

Side Hustle continued on page 110 January 2025

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What is an AI agent?

A computer scientist explains the next wave of artificial intelligence tools By Brian O’Neill

deciding how to proceed. They are also capable of considering goals that conflict with each other and deciding Interacting with AI chatbots like ChatGPT can be fun and which one is more important to achieve. They go beyond maybe useful, but the next level of everyday AI goes beyond goal-based agents by selecting actions that consider their users’ unique preferences. answering questions: AI agents carry out tasks for you. Major technology companies, including OpenAI, Microsoft, Google and Salesforce, have recently released or Making decisions, taking action When technology companies refer to AI agents, they announced plans to develop and release AI agents. They aren’t talking about chatbots or large language models like claim these innovations will bring newfound efficiency to ChatGPT. Though chatbots that provide basic customer technical and administrative processes underlying systems service on a website technically are AI agents, their used in health care, robotics, gaming and other businesses. perceptions and actions are limited. Chatbot agents can Simple AI agents can be taught to reply to standard questions sent over email. More advanced ones can book perceive the words that a user types, but the only action they airline and hotel tickets for transcontinental business trips. can take is to reply with text that hopefully offers the user a Google recently demonstrated Project Mariner to reporters, a correct or informative response. The AI agents that AI companies refer to are significant browser extension for Chrome that can reason about the text advances over large language models like ChatGPT because and images on your screen. they possess the ability to take actions on behalf of the people In the demonstration, the agent helped plan a meal by adding items to a shopping cart on a grocery chain’s website, and companies who use them. OpenAI says agents will soon become tools that people or even finding substitutes when certain ingredients were not businesses will leave running independently for days or available. A person still needs to be involved to finalize the weeks at a time, with no need to check on their progress or purchase, but the agent can be instructed to take all of the results. Researchers at OpenAI and Google DeepMind say necessary steps up to that point. agents are another step on the path to artificial general In a sense, you are an agent. You act in your world every day in response to things that you see, hear and feel. But what intelligence or “strong” AI – that is, AI that exceeds human exactly is an AI agent? As a computer scientist, I offer this capabilities in a wide variety of domains and tasks. The AI systems that people use today are considered definition: AI agents are technological tools that can learn a narrow AI or “weak” AI. A system might be skilled in one lot about a given environment, and then – with a few simple domain – chess, perhaps – but if thrown into a game of prompts from a human – work to solve problems or perform checkers, the same AI would have no idea how to function specific tasks in that environment. because its skills wouldn’t translate. An artificial general Rules and goals: A smart thermostat is an example of a very intelligence system would be better able to transfer its skills simple agent. Its ability to perceive its environment is limited from one domain to another, even if it had never seen the new to a thermometer that tells it the temperature. When the domain before. temperature in a room dips below a certain level, the smart Worth the risks? thermostat responds by turning up the heat. Are AI agents poised to revolutionize the way humans A familiar predecessor to today’s AI agents is the Roomba. work? This will depend on whether technology companies The robot vacuum cleaner learns the shape of a carpeted living room, for instance, and how much dirt is on the carpet. can prove that agents are equipped not only to perform the Then it acts based on that information. After a few minutes, tasks assigned to them, but also to work through new challenges and unexpected obstacles when they arise. the carpet is clean. Uptake of AI agents will also depend on people’s The smart thermostat is an example of what AI willingness to give them access to potentially sensitive data: researchers call a simple reflex agent. It makes decisions, but Depending on what your agent is meant to do, it might need those decisions are simple and based only on what the agent perceives in that moment. The robot vacuum is a goal-based access to your internet browser, your email, your calendar agent with a singular goal: clean all of the floor that it can and other apps or systems that are relevant for a given access. The decisions it makes – when to turn, when to raise assignment. As these tools become more common, people or lower brushes, when to return to its charging base – are all will need to consider how much of their data they want to share with them. in service of that goal. A breach of an AI agent’s system could cause private A goal-based agent is successful merely by achieving its goal through whatever means are required. Goals can be information about your life and finances to fall into the wrong achieved in a variety of ways, however, some of which could hands. Are you OK taking these risks if it means that agents can save you some work? be more or less desirable than others. What happens when AI agents make a poor choice, or a Many of today’s AI agents are utility based, meaning they choice that its user would disagree with? Currently, give more consideration to how to achieve their goals. They weigh the risks and benefits of each possible approach before AI Agent continued on page 84 Saathee.com

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Beginning of 2025 and the End of a Tax Era Comparing Current TCJA (2023 Tax Year) vs. Pre-TCJA Rates

Financially Speaking by Rupa Pereira

I escaped the post-election frenzy in the US by taking a short trip to visit my parents in Mumbai, punctuated with an exploration of Kerala backwaters and Kanyakumari. It was refreshing to get away from an incessant news cycle that foretold doom and gloom for the future. However, as I started to look forward to 2025, I realized that on the tax-front, doom and gloom could very well be a likely scenario. Here’s why. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) was a major overhaul of the tax code, signed into law by President Donald Trump on January 1, 2018. It was the largest tax overhaul that I’ve witnessed in the last three decades. TCJA is set to expire on December 31, 2025, unless Congress acts to extend it. Why With income thresholds remaining identical between the is such a big deal and why does it matter? pre and post levels at a respective bracket, as we see above, For starters, here are some key provisions of the act: families will be hit with higher federal taxes at higher income levels affecting their take-home paycheck. • Higher Standard Deductions • Lower Tax brackets • Higher Child Tax Credit • High Estate Tax Exemption Limits • No Health care mandate – (no federal penalty for not carrying health insurance) • Corporate Tax Rate set at 21% vs previous tax rate of 37% • Qualified Business Income Deduction for passthrough business entities such as LLCS, partnerships and S-Corps and Sole-proprietorship In addition, based on calculations from Congressional While most of the above may affect us on the periphery, Budget Office (CBO), here’s how various family related the one that would bite 2-income family households would provisions would be affected if TCJA expires. Note the be tax brackets. Here’s an example for families currently in values are inflation adjusted. the 22% or 32% tax bracket in the most recent tax year. Financially Speaking continued on page 88

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News Notes BAPS Karyakar Suvarna Mahotsav Honors 100,000 BAPS Volunteers

On December 7, 2024, there was a huge celebration of service and devotion as BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha that commemorated 50 years of volunteerism through its Karyakar Suvarna Mahotsav (Golden Anniversary Celebration). This event, attended by over 100,000 volunteers and held at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Amdavad, Gujarat, paid tribute to the dedication and contributions of BAPS volunteers worldwide. The evening’s celebrations featured performances and speeches while highlighting the transformative impact of seva (selfless service) on individuals, communities, and society at large. The program began with a ceremonious welcome for His Holiness Mahant Swami Maharaj, who arrived at the stadium in a beautifully crafted chariot. As the chariot advanced along the periphery of the stadium, a symbolic performance was performed by nearly 800 children and youth karyakars dressed in 550 handcrafted floral petals and 225 beads. The Karyakar Suvarna Mahotsav program was divided into three segments—Seed, Tree, and Fruit—each symbolizing the evolution and impact of BAPS volunteerism. The Seed segment showcased the nurturing of the selfless service tradition, initiated by Shastriji Maharaj and Yogiji Maharaj, and structured by Pramukh Swami Maharaj, who established Saathee.com

organized platforms for volunteers. The Tree segment illustrated how these seeds of service blossomed into a global volunteer force, with stories of resilience and unwavering dedication to initiatives such as education, family unity, and humanitarian eﬀorts. Special tributes were paid to women volunteers for their steadfast contributions. The Fruit segment celebrated the transformative outcomes of volunteerism, highlighting the global reach of BAPS through humanitarian projects and the lives it has touched. The event underscored the unity and dedication of volunteers, from large-scale festival management to individual acts of life-saving service. Each segment of the program was brought to life with performances by 2,000 artists, visual projections across a huge screen, 70 projectors, and 100,000 pre-programmed wristbands that lit up in unison. Key dignitaries, including Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi (via video message), Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, shared their reflections on the volunteers’ contributions and the values they embody. The celebration culminated in the Maha Arti, performed by 100,000 volunteers under the open sky, and a fireworks display. The Golden Anniversary Celebration was not only a tribute to the past but also a call to action for the future. As Mahant Swami Maharaj blessed the gathering, he reminded everyone of the importance of seva in creating a harmonious and prosperous world. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “May it be the Gujarat Earthquake, a landslide in Uttarakhand, or COVID relief eﬀorts, the dedicated workforce of BAPS serves for the betterment of humanity. When the decision was taken to rescue the Indians trapped in Ukraine, a large number of Indians reached Poland from Ukraine. At that time, I spoke to a BAPS saint at midnight. I urged them to help the Indians who were reaching Poland. Overnight, BAPS volunteers from all over Europe came forward to help, and I greatly appreciate it. The volunteers of BAPS are highlighting India’s influence across the world. Recently, the temple constructed by BAPS in Abu Dhabi has showcased India’s spiritual strength to the world. We must further promote initiatives like the ‘Ghar Sabha’ campaign for family harmony introduced by Pramukh Swami Maharaj.” BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha (B.A.P.S) is a volunteer-driven spiritual organization committed to fostering individual growth through Hindu values of faith, service, and harmony. For more details, visit Baps.org. January 2025

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Among the six champions is Madhav Gadgil, an Indian ecologist honored in the Lifetime Achievement category. He has spent decades protecting people and the planet through research and community engagement. From landmark environmental impact assessments of state and national policies to grassroots environmental engagement, Gadgil’s work has influenced public opinion and oﬃcial policies on the protection of natural resources. He is renowned for his seminal work in the ecologically fragile Western Ghats region of India. Others are Sonia Guajajara, Amy Bowers Cordalis, Gabriel Paun, Lu Qi and the organization SEKEM. For more details, visit Unep.org.

Bollywood’s Kapoor Family Meets Modi in Celebration of Raj Kapoor

Nearly All U.S. Counties Had More Homeowners Than Renters Between 2019 and 2023

India’s legendary filmmaker Raj Kapoor’s 100th birthday was celebrated in December with screening of his films at many cinema houses across India. Members of the Kapoor family met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 11, 2024, just before the screenings began to talk about and celebrate Raj Kapoor’s legacy. Modi remarked that the 100th birth anniversary celebrations of Raj Kapoor symbolized the saga of the golden journey of Indian film Industry. Touching upon the term ‘soft power’ used in the context of diplomacy, Modi highlighted that Raj Kapoor had established the soft power of India via movies at a time when the term itself was not coined. He added that this was an immense contribution of Raj Kapoor in service of India. Modi urged the Kapoor family to make a movie, especially catering to Central Asia, about Raj Kapoor who is still mesmerizing the people there even after so many years. He added that Raj Kapoor had an impact on their lives.

UNEP’s 2024 Champions of the Earth Recognizes Six Environmental Leaders On December 10, 2024, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) announced recipients of the 2024 Champions of the Earth, honored for their leadership, brave actions and sustainable solutions to tackle land degradation, drought and desertification. The annual Champions of the Earth award, the UN’s highest environmental honor, recognizes trailblazers at the forefront of eﬀorts to protect people and planet.

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The number of owner-occupied housing units increased by 8.4%, from 76.4 million in 2014-2018 to 82.9 million in 2019-2023, according to newly released U.S. Census Bureau data on December 13, 2024. The 2019-2023 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates show that more people owned homes than rented in 3,070 of the nation’s 3,144 counties and county equivalents between 2019 and 2023. The rise in both homeownership and home values also came with an increase in the number of owneroccupied households without a mortgage, increasing between the two 5-year periods by 3.9 million units, from 36.9% of owned homes in the 2014-2018 ACS estimates to 38.8% in the 2019-2023 ACS estimates. “The increase in the number of owned homes without a mortgage could partially explain why the median amount of income homeowners spent toward housing costs decreased from 18.3% to 17.5%,” said Caroline Short, a survey statistician in the Census Bureau’s Housing Statistics Branch. “Housing data also showed that 61.2% of owned homes had a mortgage. Moreover, the median ratio of income to housing costs for mortgaged homes decreased slightly from 21.6% to 20.9%. But the actual median dollar amount of monthly housing cost rose slightly from $1,897 to $1,902.” January 2025

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The Election of Donald Trump and the Future of Immigration

Immigration Matters by Rishi P. Oza The stunning election of Donald Trump to return to the presidency marks an inflection point not only in US politics, but also to the future of America’s immigration system. Love him or hate him, voters understood where Trump always stood on the immigration issue, which helped to propel him back into the White House. What is diﬀerent for his second term compared to his first is this: He will control all three levers of government – the legislature, the executive and (presumably) the courts. This absolute power may be devilishly enticing but comes with a very clear price: as with all other issues facing the country, the Republican Party will now own the entirety of the issue outright and cannot paint Democrats as political obstructionists seeking to stymie progress on the issue. One way or the other, Republicans must now be able to deliver. As an issue, immigration has always been a political minefield. Democrats have historically wanted to be seen as forgiving and inviting to migrants seeking US protection from broken foreign governments, crime and poverty. However, under President Biden, the system ran amok with migrants without any viable claim to asylum or protection simply arriving at the US southern border knowing that they would be permitted to enter the country. How such a situation would be considered a political victory remains unclear and voters punished Kamala Harris for what was roundly seen as political incompetence. Saathee.com

Conversely, Republicans have historically been the business-friendly party, and they have also painted themselves as the law-and-order party, although this position has mixed results. Trump’s first term did reveal an increase in overall number of individuals placed into removal proceedings, but by failing to significantly increase the number of administrative judges capable of handling an increasingly loaded docket, the system bogged down. Trump’s plans for mass deportation will undoubtedly be a daunting legal and logistical challenge. Estimates range from 15 – 25 million individuals present in the United States in violation of law, which makes such a massive undertaking a logistical nightmare. Trump has provided little details thus far on how the government would execute such an undertaking. Will DHS be hiring thousands of federal agents to scour the nation’s streets? How will illegal immigrants be identified – public checkpoints in heavily ethnic communities will surely receive immediate legal challenges. How does Trump propose to pay for undoubted expansion of the federal labor force (particularly in light of Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy’s Department of Government Eﬃciency looking to cut the federal workforce)? If the government intends to detain those in the country unlawfully, where will these millions of individuals be housed while awaiting their hearings? While Trump would not be the first politician to back away from promises made on during election season, the fact that immigration plays such a central role in his overall policy agenda makes the execution of such a herculean task by the administrative state a challenge beyond modern day comparison. Immigration continued on page 80 68

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5 Science Fairs Open to High School Students

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College Admissions Insider by Brandie Erickson Science fairs oﬀer a platform for students to study any topic they are interested in and present their findings to an audience. They are a fantastic opportunity for high school students to explore their scientific interests and showcase their ideas. These events allow students to demonstrate their commitment to advancing the scientific field and make them more competitive in the college and combined medical program admissions process. Benefits Of Participation Participating in a science fair is not just about the competition, but the long-term benefits. It allows students to brainstorm and implement their novel solutions to realworld problems. They design experiments, learn lab techniques and develop inventions or produce results that can lead to significant discoveries. From the start of the process to the end, it is a rigorous but gratifying activity that will lead to bonding with peers, learning a new field and creating an impact. Whether they are interested in biology, chemistry, physics or engineering, students can use these fairs to explore subjects beyond the standard curriculum of their high schools and gain hands-on experience in research and innovation. Impact On College Applications Excelling at science fair competitions can also substantially boost college and combined medical program applications. Admissions oﬃcers look for students who have demonstrated a passion for science and can independently work on a project, such as scientific research. A winning project at a science fair can highlight a student’s dedication and curiosity, making them stand out in the competitive admissions pool.

Participating in a science fair involves advanced planning and staying up to date with their deadlines is essential. Here are some science fairs that oﬀer students a chance to showcase their scientific talents. Davidson Fellows Location: Washington, D.C. Dates: Summer Registration deadline: January/February Cost: None Age requirements: Must be less than 18 years old Team sizes: No more than two people Prizes and awards: $10,000, $25,000 or $50,000 scholarship Overview: Project categories include Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, Literature, Music, Philosophy and Outside the Box. The scholarships are awarded to pieces of significant work, which includes a creative application of existing knowledge, an innovation, a prodigious performance or another demonstration of a prodigious accomplishment. Odyssey of the Mind Location: Varies by association area Dates: Varies by association area Registration deadline: December/January Cost: $290 for standard membership and an additional $190 for a second team within the same school Age requirements: Grades 6-8 (less than 15 years old) for Division II and grades 9-12 for Division III Team sizes: Up to seven people (no minimum) Prizes and awards: Place awards, Creativity award, Role Model award and Spirit award Overview: This is a problem-solving competition with five problem categories: Vehicle (students build an eﬃcient and powered vehicle), Technology (students College continued on page 82

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Saathee RECIPES

by Shikha Singh (IG: @spicymillennial)

Curry Veg Mini Pot Pies

Hello Saathee family! These Veg Mini Curry Pot Pies are the ultimate recipe for your potluck gatherings or as a show-stopping appetizer for your next hosting event. Packed with warm, cozy flavors and a delightful kick of spice, they’re sure to win over everyone at the table. The flaky, golden crust paired with a flavorful, spiced veggie filling makes them the perfect fusion dish—comforting, delicious, and easy to serve. Whether you’re hosting a party or bringing a dish to share, these little pot pies will impress. Servings: 3 - 4 Prep Time: 15 - 30 minutes / Cooking Time: 20 - 25 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

4 tbsp all-purpose flour 2 tbsp butter 2 tbsp olive oil 2 cups frozen peas and carrots 2 tsp salt 1 tsp smoked paprika 1 tbsp finely chopped garlic 1 tsp cumin 1 tbsp curry powder 2 cups whole milk 1 white onion finely chopped 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese 2 sheets pie crust

1. Heat oil and butter until the butter melts in a pot. Then add peas, carrots, onion and garlic. Cook on low until the frozen vegetables defrost and onions begin to brown. 2. Add the spices. Then in a separate bowl, mix the milk with all-purpose flour until blended well. 3. Pour the milk into the pot. Stir until the mixture thickens. Then add the shredded cheese. 4. Allow the mixture to cool in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. 5. Take out your mini muffins pan, and brush with olive oil or butter. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. 6. Roll out the pie crust with a rolling pin to make it slightly bigger and using a round edge that is about 3 inches in diameter (I used the bottom of a chickpea can) cut into round circles. 7. Place each pie circle in a muffin slot and top it with the veggie mixture, filling it just below the top. 8. Bake in the oven for 17-20 minutes until the pie crust is golden brown. Enjoy warm and can serve with mint chutney or just by itself!

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Upcoming Hindu Center Events & Activities: Vaikuntha Ekadasi: January 9th, Thursday Lohri: January 13th, Monday Pongal / Bhogi Pallu: January 13th, Monday Makar Sankranti: January 18th, Saturday Republic Day: January 26th, Sunday Vasant Panchami: February 2nd, Sunday Maha Shivratri: February 26th, Wednesday Holika Dahan: March 13th, Thursday & Holi Color Playing: March 23rd, Sunday Gudi Padava/Vaishakhi/ Vishu/ Cheti Chand Spring Festival / Basant Mela: March 22nd, Saturday Ugadi/Gudi Padava/Vaishakhi/ Vishu/ Cheti Chand in Temple: March 30th, Sunday Chaitra Navratri : March 30th, Sunday thru April 6th, Sunday Ram Navami: April 6th, Sunday Ram Sita Kalyanam (April 12th Friday Ramayan Reading starts and ends on April 13th, Saturday) Other April Events: Mahavir Jayanti, Hanuman Jayanti, MahaPrabhuji Patotsav

HINDU CENTER OF CHARLOTTE

7400 City View Drive, Charlotte, NC 28212 704-535-3440 email: administrator@hcclt.org Fax. 704-535-6923

OF CHARLOTTE Hindu Center Celebrating Vaikuntha Ekadasi Thursday, January 9, 2025 (Temple will open in the morning at 6 am)

Morning start 6 :30 am: Suprabatham, Nitya Puja 7:30 am: Vaikunta Dwara Aradhana Followed by opening of Vaikunta Dwara Evening 7 pm: Vishnu Sahastranama Parayanam, 8:15 pm Sayanotsavam and Lalli songs to Lord. For more details on Lord Venkateshwara Anniversary or Vaikuntha Ekadasi talk to Hindu Center Priests: 704-535-3440 Lakshmikanth Bhattar: 980-254-1022; Balaji Bhattar: 704-906-2109 Vijay Raghava Bhattar: 803-470-8377; Badri Naryan: 704-998-1861

Lohri

Jan 13, 2025 Puja: (Monday, 7 pm)

Pongal / Bhogi Pallu:

Jan 13, 2025 (Monday, begins at 5 pm) Abhishek/ Pooja with Bhajan/Shlokas. Followed by Kari/Bhogi Pallu & Mahaprasad Kari / Bhogi Pallu: Parents / Grandparents will Bless & Shower their kids with fruits, candies, coins, cranberries etc., supplied by Hindu Center. Please bring kids and don't miss this unique event. Dress up in Indian tradition outfits if possible.

HINDU CENTER Makar Sankranti Kite flying: Jan 18, 2025 (Sunday, Noon to 5 pm) Weather permitting, Nirav Pandya 570-205-2636 or HC 704-535-3440

OF CHARLOTTE MAHA SHIVRATRI February 26, 2025 (Wednesday)

Lord Shiva Abhishekham all day

Maha Shivratri will be celebrated by performing Pooja all night long including Rudhrabhishekham. Evening Puja Abhishek, Bhajans, Aarti and Prasad

Holika Dahan

March 13, 2025 (Thursday) Puja & Aarti 6:30 - 7:30 pm

Dhuleti: March 16, 2025 (Sunday at 12:30 pm) COLOR, MUSIC & FOOD

Immigration

Kismuth

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Maybe you are pulled into the charm and mystery of a friendly conversation with someone you know and care for, or you may lose track of time because you were so absorbed. In creating something. A new thing. A potentially revealing thing, because art, and the effort and joy and pain and fear of making it, shows us, in its own way, who it is we really are. For this moment, that is. This now. No one says you have to stay in one mode, forever. That’s the freedom of this, you get to let it emerge, and fall right in, alongside the natural way it will involve you. I know this is abstract. Being in flow, making steps towards the making of something, without agenda or expectation, can feel like that, like you’re in a mystery. Sometimes. Airy, spare, and yet, you kind of get the sense that things are going exactly how they need to. Lifting your pieces, drawing your shapes, smoothing out this or that, adjusting, amending, deleting whole bunches of stuff, pasting blocks, adding new lines, or notes, or colors. Natural and intuitive: this is nothing at all like what we might be told we “ought” to be doing. We are at play. There is no rulebook here. This fact is what the people I know who are making all the time, and making every day, seem to feel, too, as they tell me, and we maybe just agree with ourselves because it’s hard to find others to see it this way: that making is a goal, in and of itself. Seeking, searching in the early days, and learning to relinquish, accept, and let go in the later ones, how our experiences influence the ways we unconsciously choose to assemble what we hold, and continue to keep, and what we let go of, is what makes our compositions and the final collections of shapes in them the picture that it will be, when we get there. “Finished.” “You’re finished?” You step back, tilt your head. You’ve been at it, making shapes and moving shapes and working shapes until you are ready to leave them as they are, in what feels, in some way, on some gut level, complete. Words or music or art or a walk in the park or a seasonal catch-up call. Eventually, things wind to their natural points for closure. You say, knowing this will be questioned, but saying it anyway, “I think I am.” Static, there it is, completed. You go on to the next thing. The next piece, the next concept, stage, trip, book, or backand-forth exchange of messages with someone who gets it, that this is a thing, and you hold each other accountable for the continuing to try. To see. To feel. To do a thing you’ve never done, and best yourself, through these efforts. Each of these experiences are examples, I think, of times when we get a chance to compose something. To get to the end of where the process of creating or co-creating this will take you, through what will be, hopefully, a jam session that reveals something that holds up a mirror to you, as you go. If it does, you’re doing it right. Art starts there.

That said, Trump’s second term should reflect some lessons learned from his first term. His selection of Tom Hermon as his border czar does reflect his desire for a nononsense approach to border policing. Similarly, the selection of Kristi Noem, the governor of South Dakota, puts an administrator (albeit a small state administrator) in charge of an estimated $100B+ budget and a sprawling, multifaceted organization. Trump has now tapped Pam Bondi (former FL Attorney General) to manage the DOJ’s large-scale bureaucracy. Of course, any nominee for cabinet must be approved by the Senate. Overhauling the country’s immigration system will require shrewd efficiency and an intimate understanding of a given department’s organizational makeup. Bondi’s selection is similarly challenging – although she led the Attorney General’s office in Florida from 2011 – 2019, she also supported Trump’s unfounded claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election. She has been a Trump loyalist for almost a decade, which gives her cache with the President-elect, but given that the immigration courts are housed under the DOJ, she will need to be ready to enact wholesale organizational changes to effectively tackle the stunning immigration court backlog. Her track record as FL’s AG was mixed at-best, so it remains to be seen if she is up for the post of the nation’s top cop. Furthermore, meaningful reform will require the involvement of both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Although bills will be able to pass the House on a simple majority vote, passage in the Senate will require 60 votes, meaning that Democrats should be able to extract some concessions from Trump if he wants to enact real reform. Will Trump be willing to provide a pathway to legalization for Dreamers for border wall funding? He was willing to negotiate with Nancy Pelosi when she was in charge of the House in 2017 and while their negotiations did not result in new legislation, his willingness to be transactional on the issue may provide some necessary daylight for progress. While many a writer have seen their predictions about Trump end up on the trash heap, the only predictable outcome for the next four years is that nothing is scripted. Trump’s mastery of the media and his apparent mandate from the voting public does provide him some heft in seeking to address a problem that the entire American public sees as problematic. Whether he will continue to dip his toes in xenophobia and fear will help him little when he now owns the issue and is tasked with finding real solutions. His election victory does give him the right to crow about his success, but the public votes again in two short years and if he wants to maintain his grip on the America’s political imagination, he must be creative and pragmatic in findings solutions to the grievances that he has so successfully raised in the discourse.

Dipika Kohli

Rishi P. Oza is Partner at Brown Immigration Law, a firm that focuses solely on immigration law; he practices in Durham. roza@rbrownllc.com

is an author who is based in Phnom Penh. Discover her books at kismuth.com and other projects at dipikakohli.com. Saathee.com

January 2025

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College

Diversity in Kids Therapy

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— at home, at school and in the community. Goals that do create an innovative device), Classics (students present a not align with the family’s way of living are less likely to be piece of literature), Structure (students build a wood and glue structure) and Performance (students showcase a practiced consistently, which can slow or stall progress. performance). Each team must have a coach, and each team must compete with its local association group. There is a Conquering Cultural Barriers Being able to communicate with a patient and their regional, state and world finals level. family in their language of choice can go a long way towards forging a critical therapeutic relationship. In fact, language Regeneron ISEF barriers are a large component explaining why marginalized Location: Varies by area communities, on average, are later to seek care for a mental Dates: Varies by area health concern. Other reasons may include factors such as Registration deadline: October cultural stigmas against seeking therapy, mistrust in Cost: $800 for 1-3 projects and incremental increases for additional projects traditional healthcare systems and more. To further promote multiculturalism in therapy, Age requirements: Grades 9-12 and under 20 years old therapists should prioritize cultural humility by Team sizes: Individual competition continuously educating themselves about the diverse Prizes and awards: One $75,000 award, two $50,000 awards values, beliefs, and traditions of the communities they serve. and three $10,000 awards This can include ongoing training in cultural competence, Overview: Categories include behavioral and social exploring the impact of systemic oppression in the sciences, biology, chemistry, engineering, environmental healthcare system, and being open to adapting therapeutic sciences, technology, mathematics, physics, robotics and approaches to better align with cultural norms. software. Students must first compete in the local, regional Additionally, therapists should seek out supervision and and state fairs to participate in the final competition with the consultation from colleagues with expertise in cultural grand awards. Projects must be completed within 12 months issues to ensure they are providing culturally sensitive care. of research. Building partnerships with community organizations and local leaders can help foster trust and reduce the stigma Regeneron Science Talent Search Location: Varies by area surrounding therapy, making it more accessible to Dates: Varies by area underrepresented groups. By integrating these practices, Registration deadline: November therapists can create a more inclusive, equitable therapeutic Cost: Free environment that not only meets the linguistic needs of Age requirements: Attending last year of secondary school clients but also deeply respects and honors their cultural Team sizes: Individual competition identities. Prizes and awards: Three hundred $2,000 awards and a top Finally, organizations committed to diversity must award of $250,000 enhance financial accessibility. In 2020, data revealed that Overview: Students will submit essay questions, a an estimated 30 million Americans were uninsured, with maximum of 20 pages of original scientific paper, half of that number being people of color. Unfortunately, recommendations, transcripts and optional test scores. The this number does not include individuals who have top 40 participants are invited to the final competition in insurance, but those who don’t have coverage for Washington, DC. therapeutic services. In order to elevate access to a greater number of families, therapy providers must consider how MIT Think Scholars Program the insurances they are in-network with can impact Location: MIT’s campus accessibility. Dates: February to June Creating an inclusive and accessible therapeutic Registration deadline: November environment requires a multifaceted approach that goes Cost: Free beyond language alone. By embracing cultural humility, Age requirements: High school student engaging in continuous education about the communities Team sizes: Up to two people they serve, and building trust with caregivers, therapists can Prizes and awards: $1,000 in funding for the project and an bridge gaps in understanding and foster meaningful all-expenses-paid trip to MIT’s campus connections with clients from diverse backgrounds. Overview: This program is unique because instead of requiring the student to have a fully fleshed-out science fair Avani Shah project, they are looking for a 10-page research proposal, is the owner & CEO of Therapy Smarts, a multidisciplinary including necessary procedures. Semifinalists are therapy clinic based in NC and is a Speech-Language interviewed, and MIT professors provide mentorship to Pathologist (SLP). She focuses on a family-centric approach carry out the project if selected as finalists. and has built a diverse team of clinical experts addressing client needs across speech, physical, occupational, mental Brandie Erickson health therapy, ABA services and psychological evaluations. For more details, contact Brandie@moonprep.com Contact: 919-378-1340 Saathee.com

January 2025

age group should take 600 IU daily until age 70, and 800 IU daily for people 70 or above. For people above age 75, routine testing is not recommended. but supplementation of about Vitamin D, also known as calciferol, comprises a group of 1000 IU per day is recommended fat-soluble sterols. The two major forms are vitamin D2 and vitamin D3. Vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) is largely human- Supplementation is recommended during pregnancy: When supplementation is given, low daily doses are made and/or added as a supplement to foods, whereas recommended (rather than high doses given at intervals such vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) is synthesized in the human skin. as weekly or monthly), because evidence suggests some Vitamin D obtained from sun exposure, foods, and supplements is biologically inert and must undergo two adverse eﬀects with intermittent high dosing. Note, however, that the above recommendations are for processes in the body for activation. The first step happens in the liver, where calciferol is normal healthy adults. They do not apply to people with converted to 25-hydroxyvitamin D, or 25(OH)D. (This is what chronic diseases like diabetes or other health issues such as is measured by the blood test when you get your Vitamin D gastrointestinal diseases, chronic kidney disease, osteopenia, levels checked). However, 25(OH)D cannot work until it osteoporosis etc. In those cases, testing is obviously necessary. The guidelines also suggest that more research is needed to travels to the kidney. There it acquires a final pair of oxygen and hydrogen determine optimal levels for specific health benefits.

Nutrition

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molecules to become 1,25 dihydroxyvitamin D, also known as 1,25(OH)2D, or calcitriol, and is the most active form of Vitamin D. The production of calcitrol in the kidneys is regulated by hormones. This also depends on serum calcium and phosphorus levels. It is quite a complicated process where multiple organs in the body are involved. Therefore, simply sitting in the sunlight or taking excess supplements is not the answer. Your body needs to work correctly, and your overall health is important in preventing Vitamin D deficiency.

Vitamin D toxicity Too much of anything is not a good thing. Excess amount of vitamin D can cause health issues. A 2010 study published in JAMA showed that intake of very high doses of vitamin D in older women was associated with more falls and fractures. Excess Vitamin D has also been shown to increase the risk of kidney stones, and also kidney failure. Excess Vitamin D can cause elevated serum calcium levels which may cause digestive distress, such as vomiting, nausea, stomach pain, fatigue, dizziness, and confusion. Vitamin D toxicity can have devastating health eﬀects, which may not show up until months or even years after starting to take high doses. Generally, it is not recommended to exceed the upper limit of safe intake, which is 4000 IU (100 micrograms) per day.

Why is Vitamin D important? Vitamin D has many important functions in the body: ● promotes calcium absorption in the gut ● maintains adequate serum calcium and phosphate levels to enable normal bone mineralization ● essential for bone growth and preventing osteoporosis ● helps with muscle contraction, and thus prevents muscle cramps and involuntary spasms ● reduces inflammation ● modulates cell growth which may play a role in preventing cancer ● modulates neuromuscular function which plays a role in preventing heart disease ● helps to keep arteries flexible and relaxed, which in turn helps to control high blood pressure. ● modulates glucose metabolism – Low vitamin D may aﬀect beta cell function in the pancreas, insulin resistance, and inflammation, increasing risk of diabetes ● improves immune function – low levels of vitamins lower the body’s immunity. There have also been many studies associating Vitamin D deficiency with autoimmune diseases

Parul Kharod is a registered dietitian and licensed nutritionist and works as a Clinical Dietitian. She can be reached at parulkharod@gmail.com

AI Agent

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developers of AI agents are keeping humans in the loop, making sure people have an opportunity to check an agent’s work before any final decisions are made. In the Project Mariner example, Google won’t let the agent carry out the final purchase or accept the site’s terms of service agreement. By keeping you in the loop, the systems give you the opportunity to back out of any choices made by the agent that you don’t approve. Like any other AI system, an AI agent is subject to biases. These biases can come from the data that the agent is initially trained on, the algorithm itself, or in how the output of the agent is used. Keeping humans in the loop is one method to reduce bias by ensuring that decisions are reviewed by people before being carried out. The answers to these questions will likely determine how popular AI agents become and depend on how much AI companies can improve their agents once people begin use.

How much should we take as supplements? In June 2024, the Endocrine Society updated their guidelines and made a lot of changes to their recommendations about Vitamin D. Previously, the Endocrine Society had labeled vitamin D status as “deficient” when serum levels were lower than 20 ng/mL, and “insufficient” when serum level was 20-29 ng/mL. Now, the Society “no longer endorses specific levels to define vitamin D sufficiency, insufficiency, and deficiency.” Here are some other changes: In the general population (age range, 19–74), routine vitamin D supplementation or routine testing is not recommended. However, adults in this Saathee.com

Article courtesy of Theconversation.com Brian O’Neill is Associate Professor of Computer Science, Quinnipiac University 84

January 2025

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Editor’s Desk

Dances of India

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and acrobatic at the same time. They use these acrobatic eﬀects without breaking the rhythm or flow of music created with drums. The dance is marked by a gentle rhythm, which gradually builds up to a thunderous climax. It is a heart pounding experience to watch these dances. Pung cholom borrows many elements from the Manipuri martial arts. When it is a part of Nata, two players participate in its performance, but as an independent dance performance at least 14 players follow the sequence of Nata Sankirtan. In this series more than 40 complicated talas/rhythms representing particular compositions are presented. The number of drummers may increase at times up to 100. The performance is full of various types of body movements that are executed with great artistic skills and excitement. Then there is a professional Drum-Dance from Jalore. Five men with huge drums around their necks, some with huge cymbals, accompany a dancer who holds a sword in his mouth and performs vigorously by twirling three painted sticks. By no means are these drums small in size. Let alone playing and holding them around the neck, I can’t imagine dancing with them. I think the sound and the rhythm of the drums give them energy. Another fine example of drum dance is the festive dance of Ghumra, mostly prevalent in Orissa, especially in the districts of Sambalpur, Balangir and Kalahandi. The name of the dance is derived from the pitcher that looks like a drum. Its body is made from terracotta (mud). The neck of the drum is like a hollow cylinder. On its mouth they tie the skin of Godhi, a lizard like reptile. The drum is slung from the neck of the dancers like in Pung Cholam, but they also tie it to the back so that the face of the drum is close to their chest. The dancers play on the face of the drum with both their hands while dancing. This dance is also performed only by men. Then there is Dhol drum which refers to any one of a number of similar types of double-headed drum widely used, with regional variations, throughout the Indian subcontinent. The dhol’s range stretches westward as far as eastern Afghanistan. The Punjabi dhol is perhaps best known here in the USA due to its prominent place in the rhythm of popular Punjabi bhangra music and dance. A Bhangra dance is not complete without live Dhol music and sometimes, the dancers sing and dance while playing the drums. This energy booster and spirit lifter drum is a must in any celebration. Many countries in Africa, China, Korea, and others have drum dances as well. Even Native Americans use the drums to call upon the spirits of nature. However, in my opinion, perhaps no country can surpass India in the range and variety of drums and drumbeats, making it an essential part of dancing, like your heartbeat.

The churn of human time is sometimes best understood in batches. Outside of turning 18 or 21, those markers of youth notching adulthood, the multiples of five give a sense of specificity, maybe like chapters of a life book. These numbers… 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 50...60…, are well-cut and rounded, for celebration, for reflection, maybe even as bookmarks for what has passed or teasers of what may be lurking ahead, down the road. The incoming year 2025 is another multiple of five. The number is a signpost saying we are now a quarter of the way into this century. I’ve been thinking about all the changes we have brought unto ourselves in just the last 25 years. Human ingenuity is accelerating these technological advancements at unfathomable speeds. We are building stuff with invisible code without fully understanding its possible effects. Even the atom bombs were duly tested before they were used with such devastating effect. Unhuman intelligence is creeping into every machine, doodad, software and device. We are realtime guinea pigs in this self-inflicted endeavor. There is no time for testing, lest someone else beats the clock with a competitive advancement. This stuff brings promise and unease. There are lots of dark, unexplored roads in this young and fast-moving century. They can be managed with the light of reasoned minds or bungled with ill-fitted blinders. Everything can be made manageable if embarked upon with care. One step at a time. An impulsive move, moments of hesitation, a slow stroll or a fast sprint, getting toes wet or making deep dives, these possibilities of life will keep ticking along, while the only ointment against the demons of life - cynicism, fear, narcissism, anger, anxiety, resentment - is the achievement of personal contentment. This elusive bit of mind patching only comes through the humbling passage of time, stitched with experience, reflection, self-learning, and self-growth. This potential contentment is always in one’s grasp, just waiting to be warmed and brought into daily use. Until the final long sleep, there is no other way around or out of life’s twists and turns except with focused and confident steps taken on the roads ahead. We are sometimes singularly minded like the ants building and protecting their mound. We are sometimes like starlings gleefully flying about in swarms, making sky art. We are like our opposites more than we are unlike. We are the makers and destroyers of our own destinies. What is in our hands is to make the tick and tock of time into an individually managed stroll while taking in the awesomeness of life, its incessant movements, its abstractions and concreteness, and just let the roads grind under our feet. Happy Quarter Century and welcome 2025.

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

Dr. Maha Gingrich For questions or comments, contact via email at GingrichMaha@gmail.com Saathee.com

January 2025

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Financially Speaking

Thinking

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Wu Wei: The wayless way The Daoist philosophy of Wu Wei emphasizes the paradoxical eﬀortlessness in bringing all your available resources to bear that enable you to not merely survive, but to thrive. An analogy may help. Messi, the soccer superstar, is a pleasure to watch when he is “in the zone”. He does have a goal: to score a goal. He might see problems if he so chooses: several fierce opponents focused on blocking and tackling him, the possibility of his getting injured seriously as he makes his way toward his goal, the risk of losing his extraordinary reputation with his fans if he flubs it, etc. But, if he chooses diﬀerently, he could put both his goal and his “problems” more or less out of his mind. The goals are understood, simple and fully internalized. These can be relegated to some dark corner of the mind, out of conscious awareness. And … problems are not really problems. They are just things to deal with. And while there doesn’t, on the surface, appear to be any direct line from where he is to his goal, there is a good amount of space that will get rearranged as he and others move around, enabling him to, at some point in this progression, weave a zig-zag pattern of lines that ends up connecting the place he is in to the place he needs to push the ball to. And so, he moves. With ease, like a lion going for its kill. And they, in turn, move. And then him again. Then them again. And so on. Then a sudden, breathless hush descends over the crowd. And, a bolt of lightning streaks across the field. Gooooooooooooooooal!!

A Key Takeaway. Without TCJA, middle and higherincome families would face: Decreased disposable income, as federal taxes claim a larger share of earnings. These changes could have a notable impact on family budgets unless oﬀsets (like deductions or credits) are adjusted. This is something families are not prepared for since most tax withholdings happen through paychecks and it’s not directly visible until they see a lower direct deposit.

Positives of TCJA expiring On the bright side, there are a few provisions that were suspended under TCJA: The suspension of the 2% miscellaneous deduction has especially impacted employees with significant job-related expenses or those paying substantial fees for investment and tax planning. Under TCJA, W-2 employees were no longer allowed to deduct job-related expenses that the company didn’t reimburse. If TCJA expires, that provision will return, which could benefit millions of Americans who work some portion of their work week at home, including mileage, home oﬃce supplies, union dues, uniforms, internet, telephone, magazine subscriptions and meals. The TCJA suspended all miscellaneous itemized deductions subject to the 2% floor through 2025. This means that taxpayers are no longer able to deduct any of these expenses, regardless of amount or AGI, for tax years 2018– 2025. Investment, tax planning, professional membership and licensing fees could be deducted subject to the 2% rule, post TCJA. State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction limit of $10K – An eye for an I! Being a Messi on the field of this messy life is not always impacting those with higher property taxes and state easy. But a mind that is not obsessed with what it wants or income taxes from deducting the entire amount in their what it fears, or its word- and logic-soup of abstract and out- Itemized Deduction. of-touch imagined ideas, many of which exist because of past indoctrination is a mind that can score the goals needed Conclusion However, since the electorate has re-elected the President to thrive safely. The universe is much bigger than Messi’s space, and that signed this into law in 2018 and with control of oﬀers a whole slew of opportunities, as you move in it, and Congress, there’s optimism that the sunset may not occur. it reconfigures around you. You have abilities that are much Extending all the provisions will increase debt levels and the larger than you are able to see, and which will come to your deficits, which are already at high levels relative to tax beckoning at the time you need them. But, to make all this revenue. So, they will have to prioritize what stays and what so, you need to lose your I to gain your inner eye. And have expires. While we usher in a new year, we have to brace for the faith in it. The real crux of all this is that you need immense faith! possibility that certain tax provisions we’ve gotten used to Faith in the bounty of the universe, and that it will catch you may sunset by the end of the year. Maybe, then I might be when you jump. And in yourself, and that you will always ready for another trip to India and soak in serene find a way to dance in rhythm with the universe as it moves backwaters while Congress works through the wire to restore TCJA. Time will tell if we’ll witness another neverin and around you. ending saga on tax topics through the year.

Balaji Prasad

is an IIT/IIM graduate, a published author, SAT/ACT Online Rupa Pereira is a CFP, EA, CSLP and an Advice-Only planner and tax and in-person Coach, and K-12 Math Tutor at professional specializing in cross-border planning and NewCranium. balaji.prasad@newcranium.com. education planning. Contact: info@fwjplanning.com. Saathee.com

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now becoming just as slender as their contemporaries. Fans and haters alike love a good body transformation to transfix on, especially if said change is unexplained by the person in question. And while we shouldn’t focus on strangers’ bodies, what’s clear from hushed whispers all across the internet is that when someone famous suddenly drops a significant amount of weight, it’s impossible not to notice. It’s even harder not to speculate about why they’ve chosen to do so. Three people I particularly idolized for their supportive attitude surrounding body positivity have recently chosen to slim down… and I have mixed feelings about each of them: Adele, America Ferrera, and Mindy Kaling. Each of these talented women burst onto the scene, noted for not only their individual talent but also their ‘curvier’ figures. I highly respected their choices not to conform, and instead be an example to others who also didn’t fit within an ‘acceptable’ beauty criterion. Yet within the last several years, all three have slimmed down for various reasons. Ferrera (via her Instagram, which I follow) said she started running as a hobby and which, in turn, helped her body become more toned (she’s now an accomplished triathlete, which is equally as inspiring). The other two I haven’t heard clear motivations for their transformations. Did they ‘sell out’? Were they pressured by others to lose weight? Only Adele and Mindy themselves can provide those answers… if they so choose. Whatever lessons we’ve been told over the last few decades about respecting body autonomy seem to be falling away… again. Blame “anti-woke” backlash, blame the popularity of Ozempic, or blame our perceptive scrutiny due to being on camera more than ever. Regardless, individuals are now more comfortable judging other people’s appearances, for good or bad, especially when dramatic weight-loss or gain is involved. We especially have gained a parasocial relationship with celebrities due to the now more accessible windows into their lives via social media. While they (or their staﬀ) often control what is exposed in these posts, they do greatly impact every other person who sees them. Even today, many young men and women are incredibly susceptible to understanding what the ‘ideal’ should be, and eager for any and all advice on how to achieve it. Also keep in mind that not everyone has friends or family for which they can turn to discuss such matters, and it’s become increasingly diﬃcult to completely insulate yourself from online opinions. If you still wish to accomplish a shared New Year’s Resolution to lose weight, just be willing to accomplish such a goal for your own reasons. A constant need to maintain a form which is slender (but not too skinny), petite, toned but not muscular may be the ideal for now… but in a few years that could change. Your true intention should be to feel comfortable in your own skin, despite any and all tiny imperfections you may have.

Mirror

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To be fair… nitpicking about people’s bodies, especially our own, feels regressive, as we’ve bounced back and forth for millennia when it comes to acceptable standards of beauty. One minute an either curvy or slender body type is perfectly fine and the next this particular shape is deemed unhealthy. It can be dizzying to keep up with, especially as a young person who comes across examples of said standards and wonders what they can do to look similar. It was absolutely exhausting, especially for those growing up in the ‘90s and 2000s, as contradictory sentiments perpetrated pop culture at the time. Girls and young women were told to let go of old-fashioned ideals of beauty by embracing liberation and power, but still within the confines of accepted perceptions regarding femininity. Periodical racks were flooded with ‘ideal’ women on their covers surrounded by a plethora of article titles citing some issue the reader should worry about correcting (cellulite, wrinkles, blemishes, stretch marks, etc.) while other titles prompted us to let go of unattainable beauty goals. These seemingly helpful articles never considered the undeniable truth that genetics, race, climate, social standing, and income are all factors when it comes to someone’s appearance. While concepts of beauty will shift over time, a definitive baseline for ‘perfection’ never completely disappears. If you can’t achieve this paradigm, it’s not because your existing body cannot achieve it. It becomes your failure to not at least attempt to correct those flaws by means of an overabundance of accessible products, programs, and surgery options on the market to make that much more possible. The disorientation of body image is further exemplified by how celebrities represent themselves to the media. Even today, celebrity looks are highly scrutinized to the point of using them as fodder for body-shaming gossip. I’ve especially noticed this in regard to South Asian Cinema… where the standards for most female actresses tend to be very strict in terms of their looks. Very rarely do you see a popular Desi actress with a darker skin tone, and the booming market for skin lightening products and procedures within the South Asian community is an eyeopening result of this. Similarly, many of these women have long hair, softer faces with full lips, and stereotypically hourglass body shapes. For the men, the standard shift depending on the region. Younger North Indian actors also tend to be light skinned with chiseled features and immaculately muscled physiques. South Indian and surrounding territory artists more often than not exhibit dusky complexions with bulkier, yet still robust body proportions. More mature performers are given a little more leeway in terms of their stature, but they often still maintain a similar visage as in their youth. I can only imagine what each of these celebrities must go through in order to maintain this level of physical faultlessness, especially with the added expectation to do intense action scenes and intricate dance sequences alike. In more recent memory, celebrities and influencers from all over the world are even more visible online. Many who had been seen as heroes for more diversified body types, are Saathee.com

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ANISH SHAH

NC & SC REALTOR® IF YOU ARE THINKING OF BUYING OR SELLING, PLEASE CONTACT ME! HUNTERS VALLEY FOR SALE Almost 3,700 Sq. Ft. Beautiful and Well Maintained Full Brick Home in Sought After Hunters Valley. Excellent Location and Top Rated Schools. Large Private Backyard with Mature Trees. Open Floor Plan with Lots of Windows and Natural Lights. Five Bedrooms and 3 1/2 Baths. Home has Two Story Foyer, Big Formal Dining Room, Butler's Pantry, Formal Living Room, Oversized Great Room with Fireplace, Kitchen with Island and Large Walk-in Pantry, Primary Bedroom with Trey Ceiling, Master Bathroom With Jacuzzi Tub, Walk-in Shower, Dual Vanities, Spacious Secondary Bedrooms with Walk-in Closets, Nice Deck. Lots of Storage. Home needs updating and it is reflected in the asking price. This is an Excellent buy! $719,900 NEW PRICE FOR SALE FORT MILL Gorgeous Townhouse in Sought after Ayrshire in Fort Mill. New Neutral Paint. Beautiful open layout with lots of natural lights. Kitchen with Granite Countertops and Tile Backsplash. Great room with Gas Logs Fireplace. Primary Bedroom with Trey ceilings. Large Master Bath with dual vanities and a big walk-in shower and a garden tub. Huge walk-in closet. Spacious secondary bedrooms. Hardwood Galore. Modern light fixtures. Close to Highways and Shopping. Refrigerator, Washer/Dryer are included. This one is a must see! $374,900 LOT – LONGBROOKE ONLY ONE LOT LEFT Here is your amazing opportunity to become a part of the one-of-a-kind gated Longbrooke community! This premiere address offers elegance, privacy and low SC taxes. Longbrooke features custom Old World style estates, rolling topography, the soft lighting of gas lantern lining each street and a fountain garden which serves as a serene focal point for the wooded neighborhood home. Bring your builder and build the home of your dreams here!! $139,000

RENTALS AVAILABLE IN BALLANTYNE & STEELE CREEK Two and Three bedroom Townhouses and a Three Bedroom Single Family home available for Rent in Ballantyne and Steele Creek. Please call for details. RENTAL:

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RENTAL

Beautiful 5 bedroom and 2.5 bath NEW CONSTRUCTION home with a two car attached garage in the heart of Statesville. Conveniently located near I-40, I-77, shopping and restaurants. This new community will have a pool and walking trail for residents to enjoy. This home offers an amazing open floorplan with lots of natural light. Gourmet kitchen with an island and SS appliances including gas range. Walk in pantry, walk in closets. Main floor has a luxury owner's suite with spacious walk in closet. Primary bath has large walk in shower and double vanity. Spacious secondary bedrooms with walk in closets. Lots of storage. $2,295/month RENTAL - BELL FARM RENTED STATESVILLE NEW CONSTRUCTION This beautiful 3 bed and 2 full bath RANCH home with a Two Car Attached Garage is a MUST SEE! It showcases a family room that extends effortlessly to a chef's kitchen with SS appliances including gas range and a large pantry. The breakfast room opens out to a patio for morning coffee and starlight suppers. The luxe owner’s suite includes a bathroom with a large walk in shower and double vanity. Two spacious secondary bedrooms have walk in closets. Enjoy plenty of storage. $1,990/month AVENUE CONDOMINIUMS SOLD! Gorgeous End Unit on 23rd Floor of the Sought After Luxurious Avenue Condominiums. Open floor plan with Lots of Natural Lights. Floor to Ceiling Glass Panels gives you Amazing City Views. Beautiful Balcony! New Neutral paint. Kitchen Island, Stainless steel Appliances, lots of Modern Finishes. Avenue has a Stunning Lobby with Concierge, Pool, Fitness Center, Outdoor Fireplace, Outdoor Grill, Community Room, etc. 2 Parking spaces. This one is a must see! $619,900

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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Raajeev

Eye on Markets

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Over the years, for his care, we have got quotes for various kinds of services. Some of them are shocking. Once I called a specialized vet for deep cleaning his teeth. They gave a quote for $1,200! I thought for that kind of price, I could get two new dogs and odds are one of them will have good teeth. I even considered taking him to my regular dentist and asking for a family discount. When Turing was a puppy, my wife contacted a dog trainer. The trainer promised he could turn Turing into a completely diﬀerent dog – but he also quoted $150 an hour and estimated 10 to 20 hours of training. I laughed when I heard that and I asked my wife, “Who does he think we are? A privileged white family?” Besides, you know the old Bania saying: “Don’t spend money for a dog’s mind on promises that sound like they came from the dog’s behind.” Ok, so that’s not actually a real saying – but it saved me money. Which reminds me of another old Bania saying: “Do whatever it takes to keep your wife from wasting your money.” Except that one isn’t real either…but it should be! A few years ago, on one of our trips to India, we were visiting my wife’s relatives who had a Labrador. My wife’s cousin proudly told us that their dog is so well trained that he never enters the kitchen. I asked them what treats they used for training when they got him as a puppy. He said none. He said the first time he entered the kitchen they gave him such a scare that he dared never enter the kitchen again. That seemed cruel and unusually harsh. I thought about sneaking some treats into the kitchen and pointing the dog toward it. But then I imagined him ending up in the witness protection program for disobedient pets. I went to a seminar at Caltech where some scientist was showing a study that stated that families who have a dog have fewer allergies because they are more exposed to germs, keeping their antibodies in good shape. And those families where the dog sleeps with them have the least allergies. I try to remember that study every night when the dog sneaks his way into our bed for snuggles. I remind myself that I’m not spoiling the dog, I’m running a nightly immunity boot camp for my family! During the last eight years, we have managed to take care of Turing by following basic common sense and providing a nurturing, caring environment. We never had to raise a hand and rarely raised our voice. As a Bania, I am proud to say that we have spent no money on individual training and have managed to get good care from vets and dental hygienists at a decent price. We are so lucky to have him, and I know that he’s happy too... even if he is stuck with the horrors of living with a vegetarian family. Happy Birthday, Turing!

current adversarial policy makers, but the new government is a major crypto advocate. Many pro-crypto policies are being discussed, but it remains unclear what will actually become policy. The point is that the industry now has a significant tailwind. The reasons for an allocation to crypto are increasing, including the fact it’s not subject to tariﬀs, there can potentially be an inflation, central bank and fiscal spending hedge, options trading on major ETFs (beginning this November), and we are in the early stages of institutional involvement. Finally, I suspect as new policies are rolled out and institutional adoption accelerates, crypto’s correlation to other asset classes will start to break down, making it even more valuable to a portfolio. We are likely to enter an environment that is choppier with increased dispersion and violent rotations. Stock picking and asset allocation will become increasingly critical, as we have witnessed in recent weeks. There are many crosscurrents, with rates higher for longer and inflation firming up, meaningful return from multiple expansion seems unlikely. Fiscal policy uncertainty will further cap multiples. While these multiples are capped, we are likely to see an acceleration in earnings, which are expected to grow 15% in 2025. There is an upside to these numbers. Stronger than expected nominal growth will drive toward positive revenue. Deregulation, especially in sectors such as financials, will drive margin expansion. If the corporate tax rate is cut to 15%, S&P earnings will increase by another 4%. Certain sectors such as consumer discretionary would see nearly a 7% EPS benefit. Companies were able to buy back nearly a trillion dollars of their stock in 2024. That number will rise to north of a trillion in 2025. Buybacks further increase EPS. As buybacks are snapping up supply, and the IPO market has largely been frozen, the net supply of equities continues to shrink. We are entering a period with multiple contractions driven by higher rates and policy uncertainty, oﬀset by earnings growth and reduced equity supply. Sectors and stocks that are out of favor will have violent moves down, as we have witnessed with healthcare, semiconductors, and government contractors. With multiples already high, these out of favor sectors have little room for error. At the other end, sectors that are seeing their earnings re-rated upward will see meaningful rallies, as we have seen with sectors such as financials, consumer discretionary, and industrials. Risk management, position sizing, and being nimble will be critical in this new backdrop. Looking forward, the market will focus on the economic data, updates from the new administration, the Fed meeting, and year-end flows.

Raajeev Aggerwhil

Ketu Desai

is a Los Angeles-based comedian. Follow him on Instagram @raajeevcomedy To see his videos on YouTube, search for his name.

is the principal of i-squared Wealth Management Inc. (www.isquaredwealth.com), an investment management firm based in New Jersey. ketu@isquaredwealth.com

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January 2025