Saathee Raleigh April 2024

Hello Readers

Outdoor events are beginning to crank up as the weather warms. Go to page 18 for our Events Section

Read about the ancient Indian sport of Mallakhamb, which is getting international attention and will be featured as an exposition sport at the LA Olmypics in 2028. Flip to page 28.

Read the article "Untapped Potential: How the Indian diaspora can revolutionize philanthropy in India" beginning on page 44.

Check out the informative article "5 Planning Tips When SelfEmployed" on page 54.

The Personal Finances column delves into "Taking Early Retirement: Don’t Forget the Health Insurance." See page 62.

Looking for a life partner, a job, or a new business? Check our classifieds section beginning on page 108.

We are thankful to you for being an avid Saathee reader. We ask that you 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

Don’t forget to visit our website, Saathee.com for the latest in movies, events, classifieds and more. We welcome conversations.

Connect with us via email: saathee@saathee.com.

“I want my children to have all the things I couldn't afford. Then I want to move in with them.”

- Phyllis Diller

Cover: Amber Fort, Amer, Rajasthan

Amber Fort is located in Amer, Rajasthan. The town is about 7 miles from Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan. The fort is known for its large ramparts and series of gates and cobbled paths. It overlooks Maota Lake. The fort is a wonderful example of Rajput architecture.

Saathee (USPS 021-116) (ISSN: 1543-8147) is published monthly by: Shukla Entertainment Inc.

612 Heather Ln., Charlotte, NC 28209 Periodicals postage paid at Charlotte, NC and additional mailing offices.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Saathee, P.O. Box 11468, Charlotte, NC 28220-1468

“Bridging America and the Indian Subcontinent.”

April 2024 Issue # 311

- Saathee.comEditor

Samir Shukla

(Samir@Saathee.com)

Publisher & Advertising

Divakar Shukla

704-527-7570 or saatheemag@hotmail.com

Digital Media & Marketing

Jennifer W. Allen

Ad Design / Layout

DSJ Graphics & Manimaran

Contributors for this issue: Kirit Shukla, Rupa Pereira, Dipika Kohli, Alex Counts, Rishi P Oza, Mo Vidwans, Brandie Erickson, Ketu Desai, Shikha Singh, 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.

- F OUNDED 1998 -

P.O. Box 11468 Charlotte, NC 28220 704.527.7570

Saathee@saathee.com

Opinions expressed herein are those of the writers and advertisers and not necessarily of the publisher or editor. Please contact us prior to submitting articles or photographs. Saathee is published monthly. Deadlines for advertisement, submissions and events information is 15th of the month.

For a free Saathee subscription, visit saathee.com/subscription

All content © 2024 Shukla Entertainment, Inc

Photo: Adobe Stock

Prevention: Physical exam, Pap smear, School/Sport exams, Depression/Anxiety

Treatment: Heart Problems, Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, Thyroid Problems

Procedures:

RICE:

● Sona Masoori rice 20lbs - $22.99

● Pardesi Basmati rice creamy Sella 10lbs - $12.99

● Basmati 20lbs - $27.99

● Parliment Gold Basmati Rice 10lbs - $12.99

● Hemani Idly Rice 20lbs - $26.99

● Zebra XXL Sela Basmati Rice 10lbs - $15.99

● Zebra XXL Sela Basmati Rice 20lbs - $31.99

● Other Rice on sale, check store for details

DAL:

● Toor Dal 7lbs - $12.99

● Green Lentil 4lbs - $5.99

● Kabuli Chana 2lbs - $3.69

● Kabuli Chana 4lb s- $5.99

● Kala Chana 4lbs -$5.99

● Masoor Dal 2lb - 3.99

● Masoor Whole 2lbs - $3.49

● Masoor Whole 4lbs - $6.49

● Urad Split black 2lbs - $3.99

● Urad Split black 4lbs - $6.99

● Urad Whole 2lbs - $3.99

● Urad Whole 4lbs - $6.99

● Roshni Moong Split 4lbs - $6.99

● Nature 360 Moong Split Dal $3.69 / 2 lbs

● Nature 360 Moong Split Dal $6.69 / 4 lbs

● Organic Lentils

Haldiram

Frozen: ● Cocktail samosa (70pc) - $7.99

● Phulka roti (30pc) - $4.99; ● Punjabi samosa (20pc) - $7.99

Dry: ● Aloo Bhujiq 2 pc - $5; ● Bhujia 2 pc - $5

● Plain Bhujia 2 pc - $5 ; ● Navaratan 2 pc - $5;

● Nice time 3pc - $1 ea

OTHERS:

● Besan 2lb - $3.49

● Besan 4lb - $5.99

● Mango Pulp 6pc (850gm) -$20

● Hot and Sweet 1kg - $6.49

● Golden temple 20lbs - $22.99

● Dant Kanti toothpaste (150gm) 2pc - $6

● Shan Vermicilli 3pc - $2.50

● Roohafza 3pc - $12

● Roshni Dates 2lbs - $5.99

● Holi Color on sale (ask for the variety pack with 12pc)

● Hemani Virmicelli 3 for $2 / 150g

● Laxmi Fried Onion $2.99 / 400 g

● Kayal Frozen Grated Coconut $2.99 / 454g

● Crispy Tea Rusk 3 for $5

● Cashew Broken $2.49 / 200 g

● ParleG (small) 5pc for $1

● Daliya 2 pc $4.99 / 400g each

● Hemani Bulgur Wheat $2.99 / 400g

● Perfumed Oil & Spray available for sale

● Large Collection of Tea and Variety of Date on Sale

● Bangles/Bracelet ● Ayurvedic products

● Sea-moss tonic and Soursop Bitters

In This Issue

Content

The Editor’s Desk pg. 14

Upcoming Events pg. 18

Mallakhamb, Ancient Sport pg. 28

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

Film Clips pg. 36

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

Indian Philanthropy pg. 44

Eye on the Markets pg. 46

Kismuth and the Way II pg. 50

Financially Speaking pg. 54

Spot the Differences pg. 56

Jobs in India pg. 58

Personal Finances . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 62

News Notes

Recipe: Burmese Coconut Curry pg. 74

Immigration Matters pg. 80

College Admissions Insider pg. 82

Page 36 Film Clips: Heeramandi a Sanjay Leela Bhansali Production Streams in April

Page 28: The Ancient Indian Sport of Mallakhamb

Page 18

Outdoor Events are Here

Page 74 Recipe: Veg Khao Suey (Burmese Coconut Curry)

April Accords —

April Accords —

The Editor’s Desk

by Samir Shukla

Fly By

Springy spring has sprightly sprung. Ok, ok. Enough with the descriptors. One gets giddy at winter’s demise, while the blooms of spring promise a fragrant slide into summer.

Let’s start over. It’s a spring day. I’m looking out of a window at the vista outside, gazing at an old, tilted oak tree that seems just a hair more angled than last year, ready to keel over one stormy day. A bird catches my attention. It is flying and hopping about munching on a bounty of food available as the ground warms, flowers pop up and trees reawaken.

It could be a migratory bird. One of those avian immigrants passing through. Those immigrant birds ignore human borders and fly around the world, as per their evolutionary instincts. They are the truly free inhabitants of our world. Let’s fly, avian instinct speaks, and in an instant, they’re off.

These migrations are about survival, yes, but are also about an innate need to thrive, to continue the species’ existence. When spring teases its arrival, many species embark on migrations, reverse of the migration they did for winter.

Humans are the top migrators. We are a restless species, given to run off to streets unknown, or faraway places, into the woods and onto the mountains, for safety, for riches, for survival, to explore, travel or maybe just to get to know ourselves a little better. We need to see what’s over there. This ability to move, and explore, has landed us in just about every corner of this planet.

One of the best means of self-exploration is travel, the temporary migration.

Editor’s Desk continued on page 84

Bogus Chorus

Let’s all take a breather. Calm down a bit. There’s this chorus being sung around the country. This chorus is haphazard, way off key and needs to disband. This uninvited chorus needs to stop singing about the imminent or perceived death of America and its democracy.

The US of A isn’t dying. Its democratic institutions will survive Bumps and Dumps and Trumps. Good Tidings, Bad Tidings, and Bidens. Congress, Digress and Scotus Hocus Pocus. Right wingers, left wingers, and those of no moral clarity whatsoever.

The cynicism is palpable, even understandable, but the word when preached incessantly, annoys me to no end.

We are going through a realignment of the American story. This is common. The characters and narratives are different, but this is typical. Social, economic, and cultural realignments happen to every generation. The country’s ever-present evolution into something different continues.

The disconnects are always there, between genders and generations, between geographies and ideologies, between rural and urban, between the able and the unable, but all social conundrums are surmountable.

Every generation needs to work on two basic things - economic equity and social fairness - and if each generation makes these a little better than before, all other dissonance just becomes hot air, it will come and go.

The political season, the election season, turns this gloom and doom scenario, this cynicism, into a widescreen high-def illusion.

Upcoming Events

Full Frame Documentary Film Festival:

Durham, NC (April 4 – 7, 2024)

The festival, dedicated to the theatrical exhibition of nonfiction cinema, returns on April 4 - 7, 2024 in Durham, NC at several venues. A variety of nearly 100 documentary films will be screened along with appearances by filmmakers and film experts. For a full list of films and other details, visit Fullframefest.org.

Pinky Patel Comedy

Show:

Charlotte, NC (April 5 - 6, 2024)

Pinky Patel is a PTA mom turned creator, comedian, and personality with a fan base of over 5 million. She is best known for her hilarious commentary and viral videos from her glam cave that have garnered over millions of likes on TikTok. She will perform at the Comedy Zone, Charlotte on April 5 & 6, 2024. For tickets and more info visit Cltcomedyzone.com.

RKTNC Sanskriti 2024 Talent Show: Apex, NC (April 5 - 7, 2024)

Dances of India: Kannapolis, NC (April 6, 2024)

Dr. Maha Gingrich presents the 21st anniversary of Dances of India which will take place on Saturday, April 6, 2024, beginning at 4pm. Each classical and folk-dance performance will be live on stage at the Kannapolis Performing Arts Center at 415 Martin Luther King, Jr Drive. There is free parking. For Tickets and other information: Mahasdancesofindia.com.

Gujarati Natak: Morrisville, NC (April 11, 2024)

The Triangle Gujarati Association presents the Gujarati natak "Aaje Rokda Ne Udhar Kaale" on Thursday, April 11, 2024 beginning at 7pm. The venue is HSNC Main Hall, 309 Aviation Pkwy, Morrisville, NC. It is written by Imtiaz Patel and directed by Jaideep Shah. For details, call 919-353-0550 or visit Nctga.org.

GCAP Holi Festival: Gibsonville, NC (April 13, 2024)

The Gujarati Cultural Association of the Piedmont presents their annual Holi Festival on Saturday, April 13, 2024, from 1-5pm at the Grove Vineyards & Winery in Gibsonville, NC. A family friendly event open to everyone, there will be music, food vendors, and wine. Admission is $10 per person plus one canned item per family member to benefit the Greensboro Urban Ministry. Tickets are available now at www.eventbrite.com/e/holi-2024-tickets. For more info, contact Tushar Zaver: 336-430-7961 or visit Gcap.us.

Vaisakhi Mela: Charlotte, NC (April 13, 2024)

The Radha Krishna Temple of NC presents Sanskriti 2024, a competition for preserving and promoting Indian culture and heritage. This forum offers an opportunity to cherish the vibrant tapestry of Indian culture, strengthen their connection with rich Indian heritage, celebrate the uniqueness of different traditions, and enhance their appreciation for Indian values. It will be held between April 5 & 7, 2024 and provides a platform for all to participate in a wide range of contests, showcase talent, and ability in the divine abode of Radha and Krishna. Learn more at Rktnc.com/sanskriti.

Vaisakhi Mela: Cary, NC (April 6, 2024)

Sikh Heritage Society of Greater Charlotte will Vaisakhi Mela on Saturday April 13, 2024 at the Gurdwara Charlotte. Events include learning about Vaisakhi, turban tying, Kids’ activities, volleyball for adults, Punjabi food and more. It begins at 10am. Location: 5715 University City Blvd, Charlotte, NC. For more details, visit Gurdwarasahibcharlotte.org.

Savannah Music Festival: (Through April 13, 2024)

The festival presents world-class celebrations of the musical arts by creating timeless productions that stimulate arts education, foster economic growth, and unite artists and audiences in Savannah. See performers ranging from classical to jazz, bluegrass to rock in various venues around the coastal town of Savannah, GA. Details: Savannahmusicfestival.org.

Charlotte Shout!: (Through April 14, 2024)

Carolina Indian Arts presents NC Vaisakhi Mela on Saturday, April 6, 2024 from 1pm - 11pm. Enjoy performances, delicious food, and festivities. This year the headliner concert is by international artist Miss Pooja. It will all take place at Green Level High School, 7600 Roberts Rd., Cary, NC. Visit Eventbrite.com, search for NC Vaisakhi Mela.

Uptown Charlotte will transform into a creative paradise during the annual Charlotte Shout! festival. The fest weaves together the talents of internationally and locally acclaimed artists, dancers, musicians, poets, storytellers, photographers, chefs and thought leaders. It is a feast for all the senses and all ages, serving up soulful music, food, images, playful installations, inspiring performances, and ideas. Get the full details on venues, performances, and more at: Charlotteshout.com.

Upcoming Events

Dhuleti: Charlotte, NC (April 14, 2024)

Hindu Center of Charlotte presents the annual Holi Dhuleti fun, weather permitting, on Sunday, April 14, 2024, at 12:30pm. Enjoy lots of music, food and of course plenty of fun with colors. For more details, call 704-5353440 or visit Hcclt.org.

Navarasa Kathak & Bollywood Dance: Kannapolis, NC (April 14, 2024)

Sahaj School of Dance presents “Navarasa” an evening of kathak and Bollywood dances. It will take place at Kannapolis Middle School, 1000 Virginia Dare St., Kannapolis, NC on Sunday, April 14, 2024, beginning at 3:30pm. This is a fundraiser for Ekal Vidyalaya. For more details, visit Ekal.org/us/event/navarasa.

Ugadi Sambaraalu: Charlotte, NC (April 20, 2024)

Telugu Association of Greater Charlotte Area presents a music concert on Saturday, April 20, 2024 beginning at 4pm. Featuring Dr. Salur Koti, music director, Uday Bhanu, anchor, and Anudeep, Tollywood playback singer along with musicians. Ovens Auditorium, 2900 E. Independence Blvd., Charlotte. For more details, visit Tagca.org.

K.S. Vishnudev Carnatic Vocal Concert: Charlotte, NC (April 21, 2024)

The Classical Music Association of Charlotte (CMAC) presents a Carnatic Vocal Concert with K.S. Vishnudev on Sunday, April 21, 2024, starting at 4pm at the Hindu Center of Charlotte’s Gandhi Bhavan. The vocalist will be accompanied by V.V.S. Murari (Violin), Patri Satish Kumar (Mridangam) and Vazhapally Krishnakumar (Ghatam). For more details, call 704339-4126 or 704-840-5949.

Kiran Walkathons: Charlotte & Cary, NC (April 21, 2024)

Americana, country, blues, rock and many other styles. The festival hosts numerous artists, performing on 12 stages during the four-day event. The annual event has become the primary fundraiser for the WCC Foundation, funding scholarships, capital projects, and other educational needs. Details: Merlefest.org.

Amjad Ali Khan Concert: Charlotte, NC (April 26, 2024)

Sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan will perform live along with his sons Amaan Ali Bangash and Ayaan Ali Bangash and table player on Friday, April 26, 2024 at Knight Theater in Charlotte beginning at 8pm. For more details, visit Blumenthalarts.org.

BOOM Charlotte: (April 26 - 28, 2024)

The walkathons, fundraisers for Kiran, will take place in two cities on Sunday, April 21, 2024. Charlotte: Marvin Efird Park, 8909 New Town Rd., Waxhaw, NC beginning at 9am and Cary: Thomas Brook Park, 9008 Green Level Church Rd., beginning at 9am. Kiran’s mission is to end the cycle of abuse and to serve and empower South Asian victims of domestic violence in North Carolina by providing culturally specific services and comprehensive economic, social and community resources. For full details visit Kiraninc.org.

MerleFest: Wilkesboro, NC (April 25 - 28, 2024)

MerleFest is held annually on the campus of Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, NC. It is a celebration of “traditional plus” music, a unique mix of music based on the traditional, roots-oriented sounds of the Appalachian region, including bluegrass and old-time music, and expanded to include

BOOM 2024 will be the 7th time the annual arts festival touches down in Charlotte. The festival will take place at Camp North End (300 Camp Rd, Charlotte, NC 28206) on April 22 - 28, 2024. Expect a multifaceted and immersive art experience. There will be an eclectic mix of dance, music, theatre, poetry, visual art, film, and more. You can go from ticketed indoor intimate and edgy performances to free outdoor family-friendly performances. Details: Boomcharlotte.org.

Regional Festival of India @ Matthews: (April 27, 2024)

The third annual regional festival takes place in Matthews, NC on Saturday, April 27, 2024 from Noon6pm, around downtown Matthews (Stumptown Park, 120 South Trade St., Matthews, NC 28105). This festival showcases diversity of Indian dance, food, art, music, culture, and Bollywood entertainment. Don’t miss out on fun for all ages including turban tying, henna tattoo, experience the timeless elegance of a Saree. Also let your

VEMA MORTGAGE

NMLS# 1019911

VEMA MORTGAGE FOR ALL YOUR MORTGAGE NEEDS

PURCHASE & REFINANCE

• ZERO CLOSING COSTS! (Lender credit of $2500)

• TOP 1 % BROKER IN USA

• MOST LOANS CLOSE IN 15 DAYS

• 600 + 5 STAR RATINGS (GOOGLE & ZILLOW)

• # 1 WHOLESALE BROKER IN TOWN

586-321-1064

571-992-1950

VIPUL HAPANI

NMLS #1891192

Vipul@VemaMortgage.com

Sujatha

Sajeevan, MD

Board Certified Family Medicine Physician

Spectrum Family Medicine

Accepting new patients and all major insurances

For appointments, please call 919-233-8183

519 Keisler Drive, Suite 104 Cary, NC 27518

WE PROVIDE PRIMARY CARE AND FAMILY MEDICINE SERVICES

• Physical Examinations

• Women’s wellness visit, pap smear

• School/ Sports Physicals

• Sick visits, fever, cough, cold, wheezing

In Office Labs Available

• Diabetes, Thyroid and other endocrine problems

• Heart diseases, high BP, high cholesterol

• Depression, Anxiety, ADHD

• Asthma and lung diseases

• Women’s health issues, menopause

• Minor procedures done at office like mole and cyst removal, wart treatment, suturing and laceration repair.

Late Evening & Saturday Hours Available!

Specfamilymed.com

Upcoming Events

taste buds savor Indian food at the Food Court and pick up some Indian souvenirs at the Bazaar. This event is organized by the India Association of Charlotte, in active partnership with the Town of Matthews, and is supported by grant assistance from the Arts & Science Council. Details at: Indiafestival.net.

Shakori Hills GrassRoots Festival: Pittsboro, NC (May 2 - 5, 2024)

The 20th annual spring Shakori Hills GrassRoots Festival is where you can dance to the music and pitch your tent. The festival is a nonprofit music and dance event in rural Chatham County which draws dozens of musical acts from the Carolinas to New York who lean into Americana, world and jam-band music. Ticket and lineup info can be found at Shakorihillsgrassroots.org.

Umrao Jaan Ada – A Musical Play: Raleigh, NC (May 3 - 4, 2024)

Meit Shah in association with Asia Events presents Neetu Chandra in “Umrao Jaan Ada – A Musical Play,” a West End musical play in Broadway style based on the novel by Mirza Hadi Ruswa. The performance will be held at the Raleigh Memorial Auditorium on Friday, May 3. 2024 starting at 8:30pm and & Saturday, May 4, 2024 starting at 1pm. Tickets will be available soon. For more details, call Maulesh: 704-779-6896 or Asia: 310-890-5599.

Lovin’ Life Music Fest: Charlotte, NC (May 3 - 5, 2024)

This inaugural fest comes to uptown’s First Ward with major headliners: Stevie Nicks, Post Malone, Noah Kahan, The Chainsmokers, Maggie Rogers, DaBaby, & Dashboard Confessional. Your ticket buys access to three stages and 40+ artists. Tickets and other info can be found at Lovinlifemusicfest.com.

Jai Shri Ram Ramayan: Raleigh, NC (May 5, 2024)

Arvind & Neha Mahajan, along with Arnav & Anvi Mahajan present the Broadway style production of “Jai Shri Ram Ramayan” on Sunday, May 5, 2024 beginning at 5:30pm. The show is written and directed by Puneet Issar and Siddhant Issar. The venue is Raleigh Memorial Auditorium, 2 E South St., Raleigh, NC. For more details, call 919-3085500 or visit Livespectrum.com.

North Carolina Indian and South Asian Film Festival (NCISAFF), Cary, NC (May 5, 2024)

The 9th Annual NC Indian and South Asian Film Festival dedicated to the films of South & East Asian Diaspora returns on May 5, 2024. A variety of fiction and non-fiction movies from national and international filmmakers will be screened, along with movies and appearances by local filmmakers, and South & East Asian Filmmakers Conference with industry experts, guests of honor, Vasant and Champa Patel, from the Emmy Nominated - Meet the Patels. For a full list of films, to purchase tickets, and other details, visit Asianhollywood.org.

Artisphere: Greenville, SC (May 10 -12, 2024)

The 20th annual Artisphere offers a one-of-a-kind experience. From award-winning restaurants to talented artists gathered on one of the quaintest main streets in the south, Artisphere is for all. This mixture of visual, performing, and culinary arts will be on display along the streets of downtown Greenville from May 10-12, 2024. Artisphere.org.

Charlotte Dragon Boat Race & Asian Festival: Cornelius, NC (May 11, 2024)

The Charlotte Dragon Boat Race & Asian Festival will take place on Saturday, May 11, 2024, from 11am to 5pm at Ramsey Creek Park in Cornelius, NC. The festival celebrates Asian cultures, diversity, ethnicity, roots and history. Explore all the cultural heritage showcases, retail vendors, live music, and dance performances, along with exciting dragon boat races. Parking is available offsite with bus shuttles to and from the park. Details: Charlottedragonboat.com.

Beaufort Music Festival (May 17 - 18, 2024)

For more than 30 years, the festival has taken place each May in historic Beaufort, and the area will be packed between May 17 & 18, 2024 with locals and tourists alike enjoying the beautiful weather and plenty of great music. The two-day festival takes place on the beautiful waterfront property at Gallants Channel. There will be food trucks, vendors, beer tents and a kid’s area. Information: Beaufortmusicfestival.com.

Upcoming Events

Got to Be NC Festival: Raleigh, NC (May 17 - 19, 2024)

The Got to be NC Festival will be held between May 17 & 19, 2024 at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds in Raleigh, NC. It’ll feature a carnival, children’s activities, music, rides, games, contests and competitions, flea market, food and wine. Details: Gottobencfestival.com.

SunderKand by Ashwinkumar Pathak: Morrisville, NC (May 28, 2024)

The Hindu Society of NC is hosting a sangeetmai Sunderkand Path by renowned Guruji Ashnwinkumar Pathak on Tuesday, May 28, 2024 beginning at 7pm at HSNC Temple, 309 Aviation Parkway, Morrisville, NC. For details call 919-460-7830 or visit Hsnctemple.org.

Hasya Kavisammelan: Morrisville, NC (May 19, 2024)

Hindi Vikas Mandal and International Hindi Association present humorous and heart-warming Hindi recitals on Sunday, May 19, 2024 beginning at 7pm at Hindu Bhavan Cultural Hall, 309 Aviation Parkway, Morrisville, NC. Dinner will be available for purchase from 6 - 7pm. For more details, call 919-656-5224 or 919-880-8529. Visit Hindi.org.

Keep up with all the events happening in our region with Saathee Magazine. Upcoming events in our area include Amjad Ali Khan, NuvYug India Fest, TGA Holi, MerleFest, Hasan Minhaj, Dances of India, and many more. The best way to find them is in these pages or online at our regularly updated events section: Saathee.com/events

Mallakhamb

Mallakhamb

From Training Armies to Fostering Olympic Stars

By Rucha Kulkarni

The ancient Indian sport of Mallakhamb has recently received world-wide fame and success, thanks to the two World Mallakhamb Championships that have taken place and its journey towards the Olympics taking shape. The sport that can first be traced back to the Ramayana in the 4th Century BCE India, has now reached all corners of the world. A big part in this rewarding journey belongs to Balambhatta Dada Deodhar who successfully implemented Mallakhamb as an army training method in Peshwa Bajirao II’s army in the early 1700s. From there, it was picked up by other Maratha warriors including Rani of Jhansi. The sport’s

deep-rooted history lies in the Indian state of Maharashtra, making the state a hub for the form during the Maratha Empire.

The word “Mallakhamb” can be broken down into Malla (wrestling) and Khamb (refers to the pole used in the sport). Wrestlers and warriors used to pole as a training means to perfect martial arts moves. The sport is now a type of Indian gymnastics on a vertical pole. The pole is usually made from Indian rosewood.

Mallakhamb first traveled outside of India during the Berlin 1936 Olympics where it was showcased as a demonstrative sport. By 1958, it was demonstrated in Delhi where the Gymnastics Federation of India hosted the first Mallakhamb National Championships.

The road to worldwide fame seemed wide-open from there! The Mallakhamb Federation of India started organizing their own Championships beginning in 1980, where the first Ujjain All India Mallakhamb Championships took place. Realizing not only the health benefits of the sport, but also its growing popularity, the government of India recognized Mallakhamb as a national game.

This led to the sport being included in various National Championships in India, most notably - the Khelo India Youth Games. As Mallakhamb continued to venture out onto foreign lands, such as the CommonWealth Games in Australia, more enthusiasts came to appreciate it. Many began formally practicing it, which then allowed the Vishwa Mallakhamb Federation to organize the first Mallakhamb World Championships in Mumbai in 2019, where 150

athletes from 15 countries participated. In 2023, the second Mallakhamb World Championships took place in Dhubri, Assam where more than 40 countries showed interest in taking part.

As the sport continues to attract admirers all over the World, the Mallakhamb Federation of USA looks towards a prospective demonstration in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. The effort to include Mallakhamb as an Olympic sport endures, until then, supporters around the globe continue to find it as one of the most efficient way to give maximum exercise to maximum muscles in minimum time.

Article & photos courtesy: Mallakhamb Federation USA For info visit, Mallakhambinusa.org

Upcoming Movie Releases

April 5

Family Star (Director: Parasuram)

Cast: Vijay Deverakonda, Mrunal Thakur, and Divyansha Kaushik

Monkey Man (Director: Dev Patel)

Cast: Dev Patel, Sharlto Copley, Pitobash, and Makarand Deshpande

City of Dreams (Director: Mohit Ramchandani)

Cast: Ari Lopez, Renata Vaca, Diego Calva, and Jason Patric

The First Omen (Director: Arkasha Stevenson)

Cast: Nell Tiger Free, Sônia Braga, Ralph Ineson, and Bill Nighy

Parachute (Director: Brittany Snow)

Cast: Courtney Eaton, Thomas Mann, and Bunny Gibson

April 10-12

Bade Miyan Chote Miyan (Director: Ali Abbas Zafar)

Cast: Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, and Ronit Bose Roy

Civil War (Director: Alex Garland)

Cast: Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, Jesse Plemons, and Nick Offerman

Maidaan (Director: Amit Sharma)

Cast: Ajay Devgn, Priyamani, and Gajraj Rao

Sasquatch Sunset (Directors: Nathan & David Zellner)

Cast: Jesse Eisenberg. Riley Keough, and Nathan Zellner

Amar Singh Chamkila (Director: Imtiaz Ali)

Cast: Diljit Dosanjh and Parineeti Chopra

Phule (Director: Anant Mahadevan)

Cast: Pratik Gandhi and Patralekha Paul

LaRoy (Director: Shane Atkinson)

Cast: Steve Zahn, John Magaro, Matthew Del Negro, and Bob Clendenin

Geethanjali Malli Vachindhi (Director: Shiva Turlapati)

Cast: Anjali, Srinivasa Reddy, Satyam Rajesh, Satya, and Shakalaka Shankar

Arcadian

(Director: Ben Brewer)

Cast: Nicolas Cage, Jaeden Martell, and Sadie Soverall

April 19

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (Director: Guy Ritchie)

Cast: Henry Cavill, Henry Golding, and Cary Elwes

Abigail (Directors: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett)

Cast: Melissa Barrera, Dan Stevens, Angus Cloud, and Giancarlo Esposito

Mr. and Mrs. Mahi (Director: Sharan Sharma)

Cast: Rajkummar Rao and Janhvi Kapoor

Blood for Dust (Director: Rod Blackhurst)

Cast: Scoot McNairy, Kit Harington, and Stephen Dorff

Hard Miles

(Director: RJ Daniel Hanna)

Cast: Matthew Modine, Zachary T. Robbins, and Sean Astin

F i l m C l i p s

In Flames

After the death of the family patriarch, a mother and daughter’s precarious existence is ripped apart. They must find strength in each other if they are to survive the malevolent forces that threaten to engulf them. Director Zarrar Khan weaves a spooky tale that stars Ramesha Nawal, Omar Javaid, and Bakhtawar Mazhar. Look for the film on April 12, 2024.

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare

Henry Cavill, Henry Golding, and Cary Elwes star in the Guy Ritchie directed film. The British military recruits a small group of soldiers to strike against German forces behind enemy lines during World War II. Based on true events, the film releases on April 19, 2024.

Heeramandi

Sanjay Leela Bhansali brings his signature flair to stories of love and betrayal in the lives of courtesans in pre-independence India. The eightepisode series, Heeramandi, will begin streaming on Netflix in April, reportedly one episode per week, instead of all at once.

Kalki 2898 AD

Prabhas, Kamal Haasan and Amitabh Bachchan star in the film about a modern-day avatar of Vishnu, a Hindu god, who is believed to have descended to earth to protect the world from evil forces. Nag Ashwin directs the multistar epic that opens on May 9, 2024.

Madhubala Biopic

A biopic on the iconic actress Madhubala as been officially announced. Director Jasmeet K Reen (Darlings) is set to helm the production. Now the search for the right actress is in progress. The film is produced by Sony Pictures International Productions and Brewing Thoughts Pvt. Ltd. No release date has been announced.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

Many years after the reign of Caesar, a young ape goes on a journey that will lead him to question everything he’s been taught and make choices that will define the future. Wes Ball directs William H. Macy, Freya Allan and Dichen Lachman. The movie opens on May 10, 2024.

The film Odela 2, a sequel to the hit OTT film Odela Railway Station, has gone into production in Kashi. Tamannaah Bhatia plays a devotee of Mahadev. The film also stars Hebah Patel, Vasishta N Simha, Yuva, Naga Mahesh, Vamshi, Gagan and Pooja Reddy. It is being directed by Ashok Teja. No release date has yet been announced.

Hits (& Misses) of Modern Cinema

Hits (& Misses) of Modern Cinema

Has Entertainment Finally Reached its Breaking Point?

Has Entertainment Finally Reached its Breaking Point?

Mirror, Mirror

by Jennifer Allen

Another awards season has come and gone, with favorites (and some welcome surprises) either nabbing all the trophies, or denied that slim chance of one day showing off “award winning actor/director/writer” touted in front of their name for future prestige and clout to promote upcoming projects.

This particular season, however, was also a bittersweet one as such nights of glamour and glitz commenced on the bootheels of a combined multi-month writers’ and actors’ strike. Some films and series were delayed because of it, due to union rules specifically stating members could not publicly promote their work while on the picket lines. Others released with very little fanfare and were met with mixed results.

I think these strikes are only a part of a complex tapestry which has been gradually unraveling over the past few years. For much of the past decade or so, popularity and prestige have become separate entities when it comes to Hollywood. The most profitable blockbuster films have almost exclusively been franchises, sequels, remakes, and adaptations, while Best Picture winners are generally smaller niche films, like CODA, Moonlight, and Everything, Everywhere, All at Once

Untapped Potential

How the Indian Diaspora Can Revolutionize Philanthropy in India

by Alex Counts

At its core, philanthropy is about building a better society: better for its people, and better for the planet. Oftentimes, it unlocks latent potential through social innovation and community mobilization. The impulse originates in simply having a vision of a better world.

My mentor of nearly 40 years, the Bangladeshi Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, has said that we “build the world that we imagine.” After seeing so much that was once considered science fiction become reality through technological innovation, he urges people to write “social faction” in the hopes that it will tickle our collective imagination enough to spur new thinking and action needed to create a better society. His own social faction is rooted in achieving zero poverty, zero unemployment, and zero net carbon emissions. For India, one can add priorities such as gender equality, every child in school and learning well, and protecting the incredible biodiversity of the nation.

Philanthropy and, increasingly, impact investing can serve as the fuel for propelling us towards realizing an improved society. Some years ago, in a courageous act of collective introspection, Indiaspora and Dalberg, the global consulting firm, looked into the state of Indian-American philanthropy. There had been a series of studies of some of

the barriers to diaspora giving to India by the Gates Foundation, Dasra, Bridgespan, and most impressively by the MacArthur Foundation.

The Indiapora/Dalberg study attempted to take the scholarship to a more granular level by measuring how much Indian-Americans were giving of their time and money to charities.

The findings were striking. The Indian diaspora in the United States was volunteering 220 hours per year, almost double the national average. But giving financially lagged: Indian-Americans were estimated to give about one-third as much as the overall population.

During the conference when these findings were announced, Sunil Wadhwani, a leading entrepreneur and philanthropist, challenged the group to commit to tripling diaspora philanthropy.

It was at this time that the India Philanthropy Alliance was in its embryonic stages. The founders were simply having monthly meetings to explore collaborative ideas, and it would be more than a year before the Alliance would announce its formation publicly. But Wadhwani’s challenge based on the study findings animated this nascent group, which I now lead, to think big from the outset.

We studied giving days that are held in communities and universities around the United States, most specifically North Texas Giving Day, as well as the Daan Utsav

Plenty of Opportunities

Eye on the Markets

by Ketu Desai

One of the defining features of the rally over the past year is that it has been very narrow. The top seven tech stocks have outperformed the remaining 493 by 70 percent since the start of 2023. The price action is backed up by earnings growth. Over the past year, large cap tech grew sales 15 percent with margins up 6.1 percent leading to 60 percent earnings growth. Compared to the remaining 493, which grew sales only by 3 percent with margins contracting and earnings falling 2 percent.

Large cap tech is expected to grow earnings on average 64.9 percent in 2024 and 26.5 percent in 2025. On a growth adjusted basis (PEG) these names trade at a discount to the rest of the index. While the rest of the market remains highly rate dependent, large cap tech has started to diverge from rates. As the economic data continues to run hot, the market has priced out three cuts for this year and the 10YR is up 37 bps YTD. One of the reasons that large cap tech has diverged from rates and can continue to outperform in a higher for longer rate environment is their massive cash balance which now earns 5 percent.

These companies have nearly $500bn in cash on their balance sheets, which is 20 percent greater than the entire

market cap of Johnson & Johnson. AI is a unique technological shift that benefits those with capital, data, and scale. With higher rates it makes it considerably more difficult for new competitors. Uber, while not a large cap tech company, is a good example of how a considerable barrier to entry is forming for these types of companies. Cheap financing allowed venture capitalists to fund losses at Uber for more than a decade. This allowed Uber to build out a network and customer base. In a higher rate environment, it is unlikely that losses for a new competitor will be funded for that long, further strengthening the competitive position for the current market leaders.

Tech is not the only game in town, there is meaningful upside in many other areas of the market. One that stands out is financials. The sector is expected to have the highest revenue growth outside of the large cap tech names. Earnings have been revised up to 10.9 percent for 2024 from 7.5 percent at the start of the year. They are expected to grow earnings another 11.4 percent in 2025. It is likely that these numbers will get revised upward as capital markets, dealmaking, the economy, and the curve normalize.

There has already been $425bn in M&A so far this year, up 130 percent year-over-year. As the yield curve normalizes, net interest margins will expand. The

12/31/24

Trust the Process

Trust the Process

by Dipika Kohli

People I know who are 24-29 ask me things these days. Massive questions, like, “What have you learned, Dipika, from all of your world travels?”

What did I learn from studying in, working in, or traversing through 27 countries over just as many years, they want to know. Well. Nothing pops to mind in a crystallized, fixed, one-size-fits-all solid solution.

Of course, not; we change as we grow.

But that doesn’t mean I can’t suss it out a bit. At the time of this writing, I’ve reached out to half a dozen mentors and friends who’ve worked in high schools or have kids in them, for comment on this. Nothing’s come back so far; it’s a mammoth question, so I understand. It takes time to formulate some kind of response. Honest self-reflection, too. I can wait.

Meantime, I’m reading, listening, joining email lists on the topic of Personal Growth, investigating blogs, finding out about podcasts, and, of course, occasionally dipping into the ocean of social media posts.

But very rarely do I find something that I can say, ‘Yeah, that applies, even with the pandemic-adjusted world, it still fits.’ While it’s a given that human beings throughout time have already done a ton of contemplating and philosophizing, meaning that somewhere beyond my reach there are gems, whatever I find that’s nearing them feels overly esoteric.

Sometimes I circle back to old, online commencement speeches that I used to think were fiercely illuminating, but, reflecting from this vantage, with hindsight, I now see that they fail to consider all the things we know now, and factor in that mark 2024, and not 2014.

I can understand this two-way effort to share. It’s natural to want to seek solutions elsewhere when we’re young and put existential questions to our elders. By the same token, it’s also possible to fall into a trap, the one in which you try to cobble up something to say.

Kismuth continued on page 84

Kismuth and the Way II

5 Planning Tips When Self-Employed

5 Planning Tips When Self-Employed

Financially Speaking

by Rupa Pereira

Do you enjoy being your own boss and having the independence, flexibility, and control in your work? If you said yes to the above, can you also manage variability, organization planning, tax planning and business development for your own small business?

Having an employer means having group benefits, health insurance, paid time off, sick leave and that regular paycheck that goes into your bank account directly. Scratch all that for the self-employed.

Self-employment, on the other hand, offers flexibility, control, and opportunity to invest in the business and in yourself - scratch all that if you are an employee.

It is a matter of tradeoffs and there are times in one’s career and life situation when one trumps the other. While employers limit decision making for salaried employees by offering them a menu of choices, the self-employed have to build their own menu.

To start off, you’re treated as a business owner which opens the possibility of building a business around your key strengths, eventually growing from self-employed to small business. Secondly, simply put, you have the creative freedom to build it your way. Financially speaking, you own the Balance Sheet, Cash flow and Profit and Loss statements for the business and as a business owner, you’re in the driver’s seat! Sounds scary, right?

But history has shown that wealth creation favors small business owners due to equity and financial control. According to Office of Advocacy of SBA, on average, the self-employed are wealthier than the non-selfemployed. According to 2019 data from the Federal Reserve, business ownership is an important source of family wealth, representing 34 percent of non-financial assets.

Let’s delve into some planning considerations for sole proprietors or self-employed, mainly those showing their business income on their personal income tax return, i.e. gig

Spot the Differences

See if you can spot the 15 differences between the original photo on top and modified one underneath Answers are on page 104

Answers are below the puzzle.

By Santosh Mehrotra

IndiansareFleeingTheirGrowing EconomytoWorkAbroadHere’s How to Create More Jobs at Home IndiansareFleeingTheirGrowing EconomytoWorkAbroadHere’s How to Create More Jobs at Home

Israel plans to bring in 70,000 workers from abroad, including 10,000 from India, to boost its construction sector. A labor shortage has emerged after 80,000 Palestinian workers were barred from entering the country after the October 7 Hamas-led attacks.

Figures suggest that India is one of the fastestgrowing economies in the world. Between July and September of 2023, it grew at a pace of 7.6 percent. If it continues along this current growth trajectory, India will become the world’s third-largest economy by 2027.

The fact that thousands of Indian workers are nonetheless queuing up to secure a job in a conflict zone abroad is a consequence of a jobs crisis at home. Despite the country’s apparent economic growth, many Indians – even those with a university degree –are struggling to secure stable employment.

Casual work makes up 25 percent of the workforce, while only 23 percent of workers are paid a regular salary. The remainder are self-employed, and quite vulnerable to irregular and insecure income too.

But India has a large working-age population (people between 15 and 64 years of age), so the demand for jobs is immense. India needs to create an estimated 10 million to 12 million jobs each year for the unemployed, new workforce entrants, and surplus agricultural workers to be able to secure non-farm work.

How can India provide jobs for its increasingly educated young? It needs even faster economic growth and for this growth to be labor intensive. This will, in turn, generate demand in the economy from all sections of society (not just the middle class and above).

Structural change

Between 2004 and 2014, India’s economy grew at a rate of nearly 8 percent per year (despite the global financial crisis in 2008). This rapid growth was accompanied by a hastening of structural change in employment.

During that period, the economy created on average 7.5 million new non-farm jobs every year. The number of manufacturing jobs in India rose from 53 million in 2004 to 60 million by 2012.

However, ₹500 and ₹1000 notes were taken out of circulation in 2016, making 86 percent of India’s currency illegal. The cash recall was intended to accelerate the country’s transition towards a formal economy. But it led to acute shortages of cash, destroying jobs in the construction and manufacturing sectors.

Growth slowed to 2020 when, at the beginning of the COVID pandemic, the Indian government imposed a nationwide lockdown at four hours’ notice. The lockdown caused India’s gross domestic product (GDP) to contract by 5.8 percent – more than twice the rate at which the global economy shrank.

Employment in manufacturing jobs fell again, especially in labor-intensive manufacturing where

India Jobs continued on page 110

Taking Early Retirement

Don’t Forget the Health Insurance

Personal Finances

by Mo Vidwans

Whether it is voluntary retirement or involuntary retirement, sometimes not by choice but it happens, it does not really matter because we should prepare and plan. This is one of the aspects of financial planning that does not get full and deserving attention, especially from the younger population. There is certainly a segment of the population that is thinking of doing just that, retiring early, that is, feeling confident that they will be able to manage well with the new reduced income stream and for a longer period of time span. I have talked about FIRE philosophy here before and these folks most certainly have to do much more long-term planning, including health insurance.

FIRE (Financially Independent, Retire Early) is a philosophy some young folks follow where they work very hard and long hours during the first 15/20 years of their careers and accumulate enough wealth to retire at an early age, say around 40 or 45. There are some risks involved in this thinking, but they can be mitigated.

Generally, the retirement age is considered to be 65 in the United States. Most of the time this does not happen. It is usually sooner, say 62; even 55 for the employees of some of the big corporations when they get under pressure to reduce the fixed cost of the business. They may offer early retirement when the revenue starts drooping in as often happens during a recession. Granted most of such folks get some sort of parting package which includes some salary compensation and health insurance at least for a while but may not take them all the way to 65 when the Medicare coverage would kick in. By the way, according to a Gallop survey the average age of retirement is 61.

is 61, then we face the task of finding health insurance for those four years.

If your ex-employer offers a health insurance plan for retirees, then count yourself lucky. These plans were fairly common decades ago, but in a recent survey by Mercer only 36 percent of companies offer that now. Since most retirees are closer to 65, these plans are in-line with Medicare plans to ease the transition. You have to pay premiums, of course, but sometimes they are subsidized.

So, first, let us look at other health insurance options. This is where we begin to appreciate the benefits of the ACA (Affordable Care Act) law passed in 2010, what is more popularly known as Obamacare. This benefit is available to all, but it is mainly designed to support low-income families who cannot afford health insurance otherwise. ACA does that by subsidizing, by giving credits in annual tax-returns, the premiums that one would pay for such insurance, and as you can guess the subsidizing part is available only up to a certain income level depending on the family size. But the insurance is available to anyone who wants it; you only have to pay higher premiums if you don’t qualify for a subsidy.

There are many other options available. If you need time to review, evaluate and compare different options then the immediate thing to do is to go on COBRA plan which your company, with whom you are parting ways, is required to offer you. This plan is the same as what you had when you were working with them, but the premiums are different. When you were working you were paying 10 percent of the cost, and the company was paying 90 percent of the total cost. After you leave you are paying 100 percent, and they are paying nothing for the same plan and there is a 2 percent charge for administrative fees. COBRA should be looked at as a stopgap solution to buy some time to shop the market and not as a permanent answer. It is also only good for 18 months.

If your spouse is still working and wants to continue working, then getting on his or her employeesponsored group coverage plan as a dependent is a desirable thing to consider.

Such employer plans typically come with a broader physician network and lower deductibles. There is, however, a time limit, say 30 days after you leave your job, within which you have to apply for a spousal plan.

The question really is how one should handle such scenarios when reality hits and we actually face it. The most difficult part generally is the health insurance for oneself and perhaps for the family too, if not for children, then at least for the spouse. As mentioned above, if the average age

If ACA or spousal plan is not an option for you then shopping for your health insurance in the general market is always an option, especially when you are in good health. Before the age of 65, it is really not that hard to manage your health and keep the doldrums away. You also have the time now to do all the things you wanted to do but could not do previously. Keeping good health has to become your priority. It will also help you find the right insurance at the

News Notes

Sabarmati Ashram in Amdavad to Undergo Restoration

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Sabarmati Ashram (also known as Gandhi Ashram) in Amdavad and inaugurated Kochrab Ashram and launched the Master plan of the Gandhi Ashram Memorial on March 12, 2024. He paid floral tributes to Mahatma Gandhi’s statue and visited Hriday Kunj. He also took a walkthrough of the exhibition and planted a sapling.

The Governor of Gujarat, Acharya Devvrat and Chief Minister of Gujarat, Bhupendra Patel were also present on the occasion.

It was the first Ashram established by Mahatma Gandhi after coming to India from South Africa in 1915. It is still preserved as a memorial and tourist space by Gujarat Vidyapeeth.

The Gandhi Ashram Memorial Project will help revitalize Mahatma Gandhi’s teachings and philosophy for present and future generations. Under this master plan, the existing five-acre area of the Ashram will be expanded to 55 acres. Some 36 existing buildings shall undergo restoration, out of which, 20 buildings including Hriday Kunj, which served as Gandhi’s residence, will be conserved, 13 will undergo restoration, and 3 will be reproduced.

The masterplan includes new buildings to house administration facilities, visitor facilities like orientation center, interactive workshops on charkha spinning, handmade paper, cotton weaving and leatherwork and public utilities. The buildings will house interactive exhibits and activities to showcase aspects of Gandhiji’s life as well as the legacy of the Ashram. The plan also envisages the creation of a library and archives building to preserve, protect and disseminate Gandhi’s ideas. It will also create facilities for visiting scholars to use the Ashram’s library and archives. The project will also enable the creation of an interpretation center that can guide visitors with different expectations and in multiple languages, making their experience culturally and intellectually more stimulating and enriching.

The Memorial will serve as an inspiration for future generations, fostering Gandhian thoughts, said Modi, and will enliven the essence of Gandhian values, through a process informed by principles of Trusteeship.

Eclipse Photographers Will Help Study Sun During Its Disappearing Act

Vanessa Thomas, NASA

As the Sun temporarily disappears from midday skies over North America on April 8, 2024, hundreds of volunteers will capture photos of the total solar eclipse to help us better understand the Sun and its relationship with Earth.

These photographers will be participating in three NASA-funded citizen science projects to study the Sun’s ghostly outer atmosphere – the corona – during totality, when the Moon completely covers the bright disk of the Sun and the corona is revealed.

The corona is the birthplace of the solar wind –a constant stream of particles and material flowing from the Sun that impacts Earth and other planets. The best time to see the full range of dynamics in the corona is during a total solar eclipse.

However, in any one location along April’s eclipse path, totality will last less than four and a half minutes – not long enough to watch the corona change. By staging observers all along the eclipse path, though, these NASA projects hope to essentially extend totality for over 90 minutes – the time it takes for the Moon’s shadow to cross from Mexico to Canada. Afterward, the projects will combine their images into “movies” revealing activity in the corona that would otherwise be hard to see.

Eclipse Megamovie

Led by Laura Peticolas of Sonoma State University in California, the Eclipse Megamovie project is asking photographers to capture the corona using their own DSLR cameras on mounts that will track the Sun’s position in the sky during the eclipse. The project has already selected and sent tracking mounts to over 70 individuals who will be stationed along the eclipse path in the U.S. and Mexico. Over 80 additional photographers

who have their own DSLR cameras and tracking mounts and who plan to be in the Moon’s shadow on April 8 have also joined the project.

“Citizen scientists are the perfect volunteers for this type of research,” Peticolas said. “They’re coming with their own cameras. They’re coming with the expertise on how to use those cameras. They’re coming with enthusiasm. And with this group of amazing volunteers, we’re going to get a dataset that is literally impossible to get in any other way.”

The project is also seeking volunteers with experience in databases, Python coding, and machine learning to help process the images and reveal hard-to-spot changes in the corona.

The DEB Initiative: The Dynamic Eclipse Broadcast (DEB) Initiative, led by Bob Baer and Matt Penn of Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, has recruited 82 volunteer teams to image the eclipse from Mexico, the U.S., and Canada.

All teams, which range in size from a few people to as many as 30, have been selected and have received identical astrophotography equipment provided by the project. Many of them will be in the path of totality to capture views of the corona, but some will be outside the path, imaging the Sun itself.

“We’re looking at the evolution of the solar corona along the entire path,” Baer said. “And we’re also looking outside of the path of totality at the solar disk to connect the changes we see in the solar corona back to the surface of the Sun.”

During the eclipse, DEB teams will upload images of the partial phases every minute to the project’s image server, while some teams will also stream live video. During totality, teams in the path will collect images more rapidly, each contributing a single detailed image of the corona.

CATE 2024: Led by Amir Caspi of the Southwest Research Institute in Colorado, the Citizen Continental-America Telescopic Eclipse (CATE) 2024 project will place 35 teams in the eclipse path from Texas to Maine to capture the corona in polarized light.

Light travels in waves, but those waves can be oriented in different directions, or polarization angles. Caspi explains that light we see from the corona is sunlight that gets bounced around by the corona before it reaches our eyes. “That bouncing process makes the light polarized and it makes it go in a particular direction,” he said. “By measuring that you can understand what’s going on in the corona.”

USA and Republic of Korea Expand Cooperation in India to Advance Shared Development Goals

The United States and the Republic of Korea on February 20, 2024, formalized their commitment to strengthening collaboration in India through the signing of a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). This partnership, facilitated by their respective international development agencies, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), aims to foster progress toward shared global development goals.

Under the MOU, USAID and KOICA will leverage their combined capacities and expertise to advance key priorities in India, including women’s economic empowerment, disaster and climate resilience, digital literacy, and opportunities for trilateral cooperation with the Government of India. Through targeted initiatives, the collaboration seeks to enhance regional economic trade, cultivate innovative partnerships, mitigate climate risks, and support local livelihoods with new entrepreneurial and digital tools.

U.S. Ambassador to India, Eric Garcetti, said, “The new Memorandum of Understanding signed today sets the stage for the United States and the Republic of Korea to harness the power of collaboration. Together, we aim to bring about meaningful and tangible benefits to communities across India, creating models that hold the promise of global impact. This MOU, paired with India’s innovation and expertise, will serve as a catalyst for advancing critical emerging technologies, elevating STEM education initiatives, and unlocking opportunities for women entrepreneurs to not only expand their skill sets, but flourish in the pursuit of their dreams.”

Republic of South Korea Ambassador to India, Chang Jae-bok, said, “The signing of this Memorandum of Understanding marks a significant milestone for the Republic of Korea, paving the way for joint development initiatives with the United States in India. As indispensable partners and allies in the Indo-Pacific region, we are committed to harnessing our respective strengths and resources to bring about positive transformations in key areas. These include women’s economic empowerment, disaster and climate resilience, and digital literacy.”

New York Indian Film Festival

The New York Indian Film Festival is the oldest such film event in North America. This year it will be held from May 30 – June 2, 2024 at Village East by Angelika in New York City. The four-day festival will be packed with a celebration of new Indian cinema from different regions of the country - a mixture of films and conversations. The festival often premieres features, documentaries, and short films made from, of, and about

• ZERO CLOSING COSTS! (Lender credit of $2500)

• TOP 1 % BROKER IN USA

• MOST LOANS CLOSE IN 15 DAYS

• 600 + 5 STAR RATINGS (GOOGLE & ZILLOW)

• # 1 WHOLESALE BROKER IN TOWN

NMLS #1891192

Vipul@VemaMortgage.com

We Welcome You to Become a Part of This Loving Spiritual Family

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16 (The Holy Bible)

Regular Activities

Sunday Worship Service: 9 AM (Dynamic Praise Time)

Children’s Sunday School & Adult Bible Study: Sundays at Noon

Sunday Love Meal: 11 AM

Wednesday Intercessory Prayer Fellowship: 7 PM Pastor:

Zakar Bible Club: Character development of children through memorization of God’s powerful and redemptive word. Please send your child and receive

the Indian Subcontinent. The opening film is Dear Jassi, set in 1996 Punjab, India, the film follows the story of Jassi, a Canadian-born Indian girl who defies societal norms by falling in love with Mithu, a rickshaw driver. The NYIFF is presented by Indo-American Arts Council. The curated program, the list of films and guests can be all found at Nyiff.us.

GOPIO Convention 2024

The Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) is holding GOPIO-2024 Convention from April 26 - 28, 2024 at Royal Albert Palace, Fords, NJ. This convention will focus on “India’s Present and the Future” and what role the Diaspora Indians can play in helping to realize this desirable future. This year’s theme is “Opportunities for Diaspora Indians in India’s Big Manifest Future.” There will be five conference sessions throughout the convention as well as trips to BAPS Temple and Washington DC. GOPIO was founded at the First Global Convention of People of Indian Origin in New York in 1989. The initial thrust of GOPIO was fighting human rights violation of people of Indian origin. For more details on the convention, visit Gopio.net.

Upakar Foundation Announces 2024 Scholarship Application Window

Upakar Foundation is a non-profit dedicated to helping US nationals of Indian descent attend college by providing tuition scholarships based on academic excellence and financial need. The organization has opened its application window for 2024 Upakar Scholarships. Applicants wishing to apply for a scholarship must submit their applications no later than April 30, 2024.

The Scholarships offer $2,000 per year for Scholars attending a 4-year undergraduate program, and $500 per year for Scholars attending a community college program.

The applicant must be a U.S. citizen or Permanent Resident. Financial needs are determined by the family’s adjusted gross income. Scholars must have attained a raw high school GPA above 3.6. As long as a scholar’s GPA exceeds 3.3 in college, Upakar will renew the $2,000 annual scholarship for up to four years. The Community College Scholarships provide $500 per year for up to two years; and if the Scholar transfers to a 4-year program, Upakar will increase its commitment to $2,000 annually until the Scholar has received a total of four years of scholarship support. Upakar Textbook Scholarships are one-time awards of $250.

Upakar has 21 Scholars attending their respective colleges in the 2023-2024 academic year, at various stages in

their undergraduate degree programs. The organization was founded in 1997 in the Washington DC metropolitan area to provide highly qualified college-bound Indian American students with need-based tuition assistance so that they could graduate without a crushing burden of college debt.

Upakar has awarded 130 scholarships worth more than $800,000.

For more information, visit Upakar.org.

INDUS-X Summit

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and Indian Ministry of Defense (MoD) participated in the second IndiaU.S. Defense Acceleration Ecosystem (INDUS-X) Summit on February 21, 2024, in New Delhi.

Speakers at the INDUS-X Summit explored opportunities to co-produce advanced military capabilities, create resilient defense supply chains, and enhance U.S.India military interoperability in support of both countries’ shared vision for a free and open IndoPacific. Panel participants expanded on several themes inspired by the original INDUS-X collaboration agenda: deepening defense industrial partnerships, increasing collaborative research and testing facility access, mobilizing private capital to support critical defense technologies, and commercializing dual-use technologies. The governments also led a hybrid information session on export controls for U.S. and Indian defense start-ups that aim to form partnerships and co-develop technology.

The summit included announcements on priority efforts under INDUS-X including joint challenges. The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) and Innovations for Defense Excellence (iDEX) announced the winners of the first two INDUS-X joint challenges, in which companies compete to develop technologies that solve military problems for the DoD and MoD. Following a competitive process supported by military service partners and both governments, ten U.S. and Indian companies won over $1 million to develop technologies related to undersea communications and maritime intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR). At the Summit, DIU and iDEX also announced that they will open applications for two joint challenges focused on space-based ISR in the coming months.

At the Summit, U.S. companies, universities, and nonprofit organizations announced a new consortium committed to expanding testing facility access. The consortium will explore pathways for defense and dual-use companies in the INDUS-X network to test, refine, and integrate their technologies at premier testing ranges across the U.S. and India.

The Summit featured a meeting of two advisory bodies under INDUS-X. First, U.S. and Indian officials convened for the second meeting of the bilateral Senior Advisory Group, which guides future cooperation under the initiative. Second, the U.S. Institute of Peace moderated the inaugural meeting of the INDUS-X Senior Leaders Forum, comprised of U.S. and Indian leaders across industry, private equity, academia, and other sectors who convene to share feedback that informs the trajectory of INDUS-X.

The U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC) and the Society of Indian Defense Manufacturers (SIDM) organized the Summit, which convened U.S. and Indian defense companies, investors, researchers, and government officials.

The Department and Ministry launched the bilateral initiative INDUS-X in June 2023 to spur defense innovation in critical technologies by facilitating partnerships among U.S. and Indian companies, investors, and universities. INDUS-X is the innovation bridge envisioned by the U.S. and Indian national security advisors under the initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET).

The DoD and MoD have released an INDUS-X Fact Sheet to outline both the initiative’s progress to date and priority near-term efforts.

Smoking Cannabis Associated with Increased Risk of Heart Attack and Stroke

Frequent cannabis smoking may significantly increase a person’s risk for heart attack and stroke, according to an observational study supported by the National Institutes of Health. The study, published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, uses data from nearly 435,000 American adults, and is among the largest ever to explore the relationship between cannabis and cardiovascular events.

The study, funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of NIH, found that daily use of cannabis — predominately through smoking — was associated with a 25 percent increased likelihood of heart attack and a 42 percent increased likelihood of stroke when compared to non-use of the drug. Less frequent use was also associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events.

Around 75 percent of the study respondents reported that they mainly used cannabis by smoking the drug. Approximately 25 percent of the respondents reported

Saathee.com

using cannabis by some method other than smoking, such as vaping, drinking, or eating the drug.

“We know that toxins are released when cannabis is burned, similar to those found in tobacco smoke,” said corresponding author Abra Jeffers, Ph.D., a data analyst at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and formerly a researcher at the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education at the University of California, San Francisco, where she conducted the study as part of her postdoctoral work.

“We’ve known for a long time that smoking tobacco is linked to heart disease, and this study is evidence that smoking cannabis appears to also be a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, which is the leading cause of death in the United States,” Jeffers said. “Cannabis use could be an important, underappreciated source of heart disease.”

Researchers note that while the exact mechanisms linking cannabis to heart disease are unclear and were not explored in the current study, multiple factors could play a role. In addition to toxins, endocannabinoid receptors — the part of cells responsible for recognizing tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis — are widespread in the body’s cardiovascular tissues and might facilitate heart risks.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the nation’s medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. For more details, visit Nih.gov.

Community Focus

The Recession Repellent: Simple Steps to Empower Financial Stability by

Sam S. Sodha

North Carolina-based financial advisor Sam Sodha has written an informative book to help people get a handle on personal finances. Along with advice, he also lists lots of resources and websites to further enhance personal knowledge.

Topics covered include, life insurance, 401k, money market accounts, debt reduction, budgeting techniques, and more. Sodha covers financial planning and wellness through the years of one’s life, for example young people have longer time span to invest, plan, and build wealth, while older folks have different needs, but the common topic is one of financial stability.

Sodha writes, “You will receive age-based financial checkpoints, strategically listed for people in their 20’s, 30’s, 40’s, 50’s to 60 plus. Ultimately the goal is to fortify your financial fundamentals for any financial crisis, such as a recession or financial downturn- with two wars globally, climate change, interest rates rising, political uncertainty and noticeable shifting of global economic dynamics, best to buckle up and be ready.”

That’s good advice any day.

The book is available via Amazon.

Building Fairness into AI is Crucial - and Hard to Get Right

Building Fairness into AI is Crucial - and Hard to Get Right

By Ferdinando Fioretto

Artificial intelligence’s capacity to process and analyze vast amounts of data has revolutionized decision-making processes, making operations in health care, finance, criminal justice, and other sectors of society more efficient and, in many instances, more effective.

With this transformative power, however, comes a significant responsibility: the need to ensure that these technologies are developed and deployed in a manner that is equitable and just. In short, AI needs to be fair.

The pursuit of fairness in AI is not merely an ethical imperative but a requirement in order to foster trust, inclusivity and the responsible advancement of technology. However, ensuring that AI is fair is a major challenge. And on top of that, my research as a computer scientist who studies AI shows that attempts to ensure fairness in AI can have unintended consequences.

Why fairness in AI matters

Fairness in AI has emerged as a critical area of focus for researchers, developers and policymakers. It transcends technical achievement, touching on ethical, social, and legal dimensions of the technology.

Ethically, fairness is a cornerstone of building trust and acceptance of AI systems. People need to trust that AI decisions that affect their lives – for example, hiring algorithms – are made equitably. Socially, AI systems that embody fairness can help address and mitigate historical biases – for example, those against women and minorities – fostering inclusivity. Legally, embedding fairness in AI systems helps bring those systems into alignment with anti-discrimination laws and regulations around the world.

Unfairness can stem from two primary sources: the input data and the algorithms. Research has shown that input data can perpetuate bias in various sectors of society. For example, in hiring, algorithms processing data that reflects societal prejudices or lacks diversity can perpetuate “like me” biases. These biases

favor candidates who are similar to the decisionmakers or those already in an organization. When biased data is then used to train a machine learning algorithm to aid a decision-maker, the algorithm can propagate and even amplify these biases.

Why fairness in AI is hard

Fairness is inherently subjective, influenced by cultural, social and personal perspectives. In the context of AI, researchers, developers and policymakers often translate fairness to the idea that algorithms should not perpetuate or exacerbate existing biases or inequalities.

However, measuring fairness and building it into AI systems is fraught with subjective decisions and technical difficulties. Researchers and policymakers have proposed various definitions of fairness, such as demographic parity, equality of opportunity and individual fairness.

These definitions involve different mathematical formulations and underlying philosophies. They also often conflict, highlighting the difficulty of satisfying all fairness criteria simultaneously in practice.

In addition, fairness cannot be distilled into a single metric or guideline. It encompasses a spectrum of considerations including, but not limited to, equality of opportunity, treatment and impact.

Now Offering Laser Hair Removal

Board Certified Dermatologists

Vikas Patel, MD

Elizabeth Ju, MD

Katharine Hodinka, MD

by Shikha Singh Instagram: @spicymillennial

Veg Khao Suey (Burmese Coconut Curry)

Welcome to the vibrant flavors of spring with a culinary journey to Southeast Asia! As the season blossoms around us, there's no better time to indulge in the aromatic delights of Khao Suey, a beloved Burmese coconut curry that harmoniously blends familiar Indian spices with its own unique twist. This creamy and flavorful dish is not only a feast for the senses but also a breeze to prepare, making it perfect for both seasoned chefs and enthusiastic home cooks alike. Whether you're craving a vegetarian delight with tofu or longing for the heartiness of shredded chicken, Khao Suey promises to be a delightful addition to your springtime menu.

Ingredients Directions

.5 tsp cumin powder

.5 tsp turmeric powder

.5 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp red chili

2 tbsp grated ginger

9 crushed garlic cloves

2 tbsp sesame oil

.25 tsp lemongrass paste

1 onion

1 jalapeño

2.5 tsp salt

1 cup vegetable broth

1 tsp gram flour (optional)

1 tsp all-purpose flour (optional)

2 cans coconut milk

Half red pepper (optional)

1 cup Bok choy leaves (optional)

1.5 cups Bok choy stems (optional)

1/2 bunch of Cilantro (optional)

Servings: About 6 with 12 ounces of noodles

Prep & Cook Time: 20 - 30 minutes

Step One: Heat pan with sesame oil, chopped onion, garlic and ginger, and cook until golden brown. Set it aside to cool it off.

Step Two: Blend the cooked onion mixture until it becomes paste like texture.

Step Three: Add the paste back into the pan, along with all the spices, vegetable broth and coconut milk and wait for it to boil.

Step Four: In the meantime, mix the all-purpose flour and gram flour in a cup of water until all the clumps are gone. This is optional and is only used as a thickening agent. If you find the curry to be too watery, you can add this mix a little bit at a time until thickness is of desired consistency.

Step Five: Add whichever veggies or tofu you want, about 3 cups.

Serve with egg noodles or steamed rice. You can top it with roasted peanuts or crunchy fried onions and your favorite herbs (basil, cilantro, mint).

Work Completed: Grading, Parking Lot , foundation, stone work inside and outside.

Work Continues: Main Shikhar and electrical.

Annual

Upcoming Hindu Center Events & Activities:

Dhuleti Color Playing: April 14th, Sunday

Ugadi/Gudi Padava/Vaishakhi/ Vishu/ Cheti Chand in Temple: April 9th, Tuesday

Cheti Chand in Vihar Hall: April 13th, Saturday

Chaitra Navratri: April 9th, Tuesday thru April 17th, Wednesday

Ram Navami: April 17th (Wednesday); Ram Sita Kalyanam: April 19th (Friday);

Ramayan Reading starts April 19th (Friday) and ends on April 20th (Saturday)

Mahavir Jayanti: April 21st, Sunday & Hanuman Jayanti: April 23rd, Tuesday

Maha Prabhuji Patotsav: May 4th, Saturday

Vasavi Matha Jayanthi: May 18th, Saturday

Balaji’s Brahmotatsavam: May 24th, Friday thru May 26th, Sunday

Avoiding Problems When Pursuing Green Cards for Parents

Avoiding Problems When Pursuing Green Cards for Parents

Immigration Matters

by Rishi P. Oza

I often field phone calls from prospective clients that are interested in petitioning for green cards for their parents. As a son of Indian immigrants, I can understand the desire to have one’s parents close by, particularly as they age and medical concerns heighten. A common scenario that I get asked about is the sponsorship process for bringing parents that are currently residing overseas to the United States. Fortunately, individuals in this situation have a number of options to select from.

The easiest and least expensive route to pursue for parents seeking to immigrate to the United States is considered consular processing. In this situation, a US citizen is permitted to submit a visa petition(s) for each one of his/her parents. Since parents are considered immediate relatives under immigration law and thus are given the highest priority under law, the US citizen Petitioner is required to submit one visa petition on behalf of each parent; two parents cannot be included on one petition.

College Admissions Insider

College Admissions Insider

by Brandie Erickson

Attending A Virtual Summer Camp Is It Right for You?

The pandemic brought about many changes to how students learn, including having more access to digital learning platforms. Virtual summer programs have continued to be popular amongst busy high school students as a way to engage in enriching experiences, even if they don’t have time to attend in person.

Virtual summer programs can be a good compromise for students—they typically require a few hours of commitment per day, meaning students can juggle multiple activities and still build their resumes. However, while these programs do have their advantages, they also have some drawbacks.

Pros Of Attending a Virtual Summer Program

● More flexible. Attending a virtual summer program often requires less time commitment on the student’s part. Many in-person summer programs have the entire day planned out, from waking up at 8 am to lights out at 10 pm. Conversely, most virtual programs typically have a few hours of class time each day, but then require participants to do homework on their schedule. That means students can also be volunteering, working a summer job or other activities while also attending the virtual summer program. Since the programs are virtual, students can also participate all over the country, giving them greater freedom in choosing a program that truly interests them, and not just picking from the ones that are offered close by. International students might also be able to attend virtual programs.

● Diverse course offerings. Virtual programs will cover a variety of different topics from business to research to writing. Students can explore areas potentially not covered in their high school curriculum. Even though the programs are virtual, it is still possible for students to get practical experiences in a subject area they are interested in.

● Lower costs. Without the cost of room and board, many virtual programs are less expensive than inperson programs. In addition, students will also save on travel, meals, and other fees associated with inperson programs.

Cons Of Attending a Virtual Summer Program

● Fewer interactions with peers and instructors. Compared to in-person programs, virtual programs offer fewer opportunities for networking due to the lack of face-to-face interactions. While some virtual programs emphasize group work or discussions, it might not feel the same compared to students who attended an in-person camp.

● Technology Issues. With anything related to online learning, there might be technological challenges that occur. Fast internet is essential when joining a virtual program.

● Student accountability. Because there is less interaction between the instructor and the participants, the students will need to hold themselves accountable to complete the homework assignments. They also will need to prioritize learning in a distraction-free environment so they can remain focused on the coursework.

Virtual summer programs can be a good alternative for students who already have a packed summer schedule, but still want to get a learning experience beyond what their typical high school curriculum might offer. For example, Rising Researchers helps students to use AI and ML algorithms to study human diseases while also teaching them how to write a research paper. However, before committing to a virtual summer program, make sure to consider the students’ learning style, preferences, and overall goals. While there are some potential drawbacks to virtual programs, in many cases, the pros outweigh the cons, leading to a productive summer at a virtual summer program.

Brandie Erickson

For more details, contact Brandie@moonprep.com

Kismuth continued from page 50

Another version of me might’ve started in on a monologue or sent out some kind of short prescriptive selfhelp style of eBook, to those who might ask me things. But to answer this ‘advice’ question, though it may be a wellintentioned attempt, is an ultimately pointless endeavor. How can you respond meaningfully to someone whom you don’t know well, and who doesn’t know you? We need time to get familiar with each other, and even then, the best course of action, I feel, is to simply be quiet, and stay still.

Instead of seizing the opportunity to ramble, to spout off whatever pops to mind, I’d rather not. I’d prefer to refrain from rising to the occasion to deliver an expected mini-speech, chock full of ‘pro tips’ for a younger person who may be looking for quote-unquote answers. Because, in my opinion, such so-called solutions will have been mere precipitates out of a sea that remains uncolored by what we don’t know we don’t know. In other words, it’s incomplete.

Today, shaped by a decade in Southeast Asia, mostly in Cambodia (but also twenty months in pretty much solitude in Việt Nam- pandemic), I’m quieter.

I’m someone who’d rather say nothing. At all. Even when younger people may choose to press, I’ll go quiet. They’ll wait. I’ll keep steady.

‘Go on,’ I might offer. ‘I am listening.’

This is why. If you spend a little time letting people talk their way through a thing, I’ve learned, they will hit on important insights all by themselves. Perhaps a set of tentatively asked questions will arrive, starting in a drizzle, ‘Why am I doing this?’ ‘What do you think?’, but then, these may, if you give them some room, crescendo into monsoonseason-size downpours. ‘What can I do that’s more than just this? I want meaning in my life; I want significance in my work. How do I get those?’ By this point, we’ll have gotten up to our ankles in water, but, if we are both equally patient, this, too, soon subsides. New worlds can open, as calmed waters begin to drain.

Lately, I am careful, as others have been kind enough to do for me in my time of waiting for the chance to leave Việt Nam without knowing when I could, to handle conversations of this nature delicately. To note these small treasures of shared expressions, to receive them as they are, patiently, with warmth and softness. A neighbor, a woman running a shop on Trần Quang Diệu in Sài Gòn’s District 3, had put it so well: Give time and try to understand.

‘Anything else?’

‘No; thanks for listening, Dipika.’

‘Sure.’

Listening takes mutuality. It takes care. It takes skill and if we’re lucky, we’ll have seen it early on in our lives modeled well by our elders. I believe that active listening is a practice and a process. It takes real trust. Trusting the process. Trusting yourself. Multicultural, multigenerational exchanges, of late are teaching this.

Silence is where the magic really happens.

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

Editor’s Desk continued from page 14

Fly By Continued...

You can explore your self inwardly via reflection, meditation, and other means, but outward exploration, something that challenges your beliefs and comfort zones, can only be achieved via travel.

This joy of temporary migration anytime and anywhere we like is a gift that evolution has availed to us.

There is also permanent migration.

Ancient lands have lost many to resettlement in other lands. Those of us who have travelled to other lands to settle, uprooted families for better opportunities or safety, we have become bearers of dual narratives. We mingle stories of far places with new ones we adopt and inhabit. We fly back and forth between daily existence and memories of places we’ve been or have come from.

Sometime in the epochal past our ancestors walked out of Africa and spread out on the planet. They birthed diverse humans. Their descendants migrate internally in countries, within cities and towns, across oceans, deserts, and mountains.

We travel and migrate, as instinctive wanderers channeling our ancient ancestors, the first true travelers.

Now, there it goes. The bird, its belly full, bored of this spot, whirled above the trees, across the nearby road, and flew off to somewhere. Maybe it was a native bird and will be back. I wonder if it even has any appreciation of this trait, this ability to take off on a whim. It flies because it can, because it must.

Let us also fly, by all means, when we can or when we must.

Bogus Chorus Continued...

A chorus of the downfall or degradation of America is everywhere. Cowardice is not the issue here. Americans are brave. Americans are strong. What I’m talking about is the unrealistic fear that has crept into our lives and daily existence. They are amplified by the politicians, media, marketers and unchecked gossip, and the worst of all solvable but self-defeating things, personal anxieties.

Politicians and propaganda specialists are constantly using fear appeals to arouse anger and distrust in us. They play on people’s long-established perceptions and deepseated fears to make them act in the manner they wish them to act. It’s election season, after all.

Every generation, every election cycle, needs the reasoned and reasonable folks to stand tall and get to work. The work is simple. Don’t fall prey to cynicism. America isn’t dying. Participation in its evolution into something better, though, requires constant vigilance and electoral and social participation. No excuses.

No more bogus chorus.

Samir Shukla

is the Editor of Saathee Magazine

Contact: Samir@Saathee.com

Twitter: @ShuklaWrites

Newsletter: ShuklaWrites.Substack.com

Untapped Potential

continued from page 44

movement in India. Everyone we approached eagerly shared their experiences, tools, and learnings. Up to that point, our biggest public campaign was our national youth essay competition, now in its fifth year, which Saathee magazine has covered in the past. But in late 2021 we committed to something much bigger: an annual national campaign called India Giving Day (IGD).

IGD was not exclusively focused on diaspora philanthropy, as it welcomed donations to India from any American person, family, company, or foundation. But the bedrock of this movement to catalyze increased, higher impact, and more joyful giving was always going to be Indian-American professionals, entrepreneurs, and youth.

The seed funds to start our inaugural campaign that culminated in March 2023 came from three family foundations initiated by Deepak Raj, Suri Sehgal, and of course, Sunil Wadhwani.

Their “angel investments” let us develop a plan that was intriguing enough to the Rural India Supporting Trust (RIST) that they took a chance on our untested model with a generous grant of $250,000.

We quickly assembled a group of 25 leading nonprofits to be featured on the India Giving Day website, and a dozen national co-chairs whose reputations of philanthropists were impeccable. We were thrilled when the creativity of the Indian-American community was mobilized to make the first campaign a success. Inspirational support seemingly came out of nowhere.

For example, Shivansh Chaya Kapil, a young artist in India, wrote a gorgeous theme song for IGD: “India, here to give.” It immediately went viral. Susan Appe, an American professor who had been studying nonprofit initiatives in India for decades, took time away from her scholarly research to write an article for laypeople about India Giving Day.

It was viewed more than 64 million times on Yahoo alone and reprinted in the Chronicle of Philanthropy, the most respected publication related to giving in the United States.

In the end, India Giving Day raised more than $1.3 million through 1,031 individual donations. A second campaign that concluded on March 1, 2024 quadrupled the amount raised, to more than $5.5 million, and increased the number of donors by more than 70 percent.

The MacArthur Foundation joined RIST as a major sponsor, and grassroots events were held in the following cities: Cambridge, MA; Fremont, CA; Ankeny, IA; Atherton, CA; New York, NY; Chicago, IL; Plano, TX; Dallas, TX; New Hyde Park, NY; Hicksville, NY; Fort Myers, FL; Charlotte, NC; Bay Area, CA; Fairfax, VA; Cincinnati, OH; Boston, MA; Columbia, MO; New Brunswick, NJ and Philadelphia, PA.

While India Giving Day is clearly a product of the diaspora and its interpretation of American-style philanthropy, it is also distinctly Indian in many ways. This goes beyond the assistance and advice the IGD team received from Daan Utsav, or the influence of Gandhian ideals. Indian-American philanthropy has always been more communal than typical American philanthropy.

It is powered by grassroots chapters and volunteer-led

galas. In contrast, it is more common for Americans to make quiet decisions to give in their homes, motivated either by an emotional reaction to something seen on television, the dedication of a friend or family member to a specific cause, or the detailed study of a societal problem.

It should not be surprising, then, that progress toward realizing the full potential of Indian diaspora philanthropy would be community-based, celebratory, colorful, and cando. Importantly, it has also been powered by youth—despite their not having been born and educated in India. The leading peer to peer fundraisers in IGD 2024 were three youthful idealists under the age of 30.

One was Srithan Devrashetty. At just 13 years old, Srithan’s passion for aiding children with Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) attracted significant support from friends and family, resulting in an impressive fundraising total of 74 donors and $2,512 raised for the Heart to Heart Foundation (H2H).

Another was Preetham Reddy, a 26-year-old young adult whose own successful battle with CHD inspired him to want to help those in India who did not have access to the kind of health care he did. He brought in 85 donors contributing $5,166 to H2H. And then there is Nitin Charles, a 19-year-old Rutgers University student who raised $1,135 from 61 unique donors for his favorite charity, the Vicente Ferrar Foundation USA.

People are now seeing that philanthropy impacts not just the recipients, but also the givers. As Deepak Raj and Raj Gupta, two early donors to the IGD campaign, wrote in an important article, “Research shows that people who give the most to charities are, on average, happier, healthier, and more successful than those who give less, or not at all.”

Naturally, the Indian government is the most important player in addressing the remaining social and environmental challenges the nation faces. But it is noteworthy that pragmatic state governments, inspired by the exciting notion of competitive federalism, are partnering creatively with nonprofits that are themselves fueled by philanthropic generosity—a topic addressed by Nishant Pandey of the American India Foundation and myself in an article titled “Nonprofit Success Strategies for Partnering with Government: Lessons from India.”

Indian-Americans are the sleeping giant of American philanthropy. As they approach their full potential, they will transform the philanthropic landscape in the United States and India, as they have already done in fields such as information technology, medicine, and academia. As a result, zero poverty, gender equality, living in harmony with the natural environment, as well as universal education and employment are being transformed from far-off dreams to tomorrow’s reality.

Alex Counts

is the Executive Director of the India Philanthropy Alliance, the author of four books and an adjunct professor at the Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies. Previously, he established Grameen Foundation in 1997 with the support of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus and served as its CEO for 18 years.

Contact: alex@indiaphilanthropyalliance.org

The Road to 2024 Elections

Your Guide to Election News and Upcoming Dates

India’s Elections Commission Sets Dates for Massive Election

In the days and weeks between April 19 - June 1, 2024, India will hold the largest elections in the world. There are some 970 million Indians that are eligible to vote in the country’s general elections. The final results of the massive exercise are expected to be announced on June 4, 2024.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking a third successive term, since his victories in 2014 and 2019. He is largely expected to win despite opposition parties uniting against his BJP (Bhartiya Janata Party).

The reason the duration of the elections is long is due to the country’s size and not to mention that it is also the world’s most populous country. The logistics are a huge undertaking, and the election commission works to make sure every registered voter is able to cast a ballot. The number of registered voters is nearly three times the population of the United States.

The vote to choose 543 lawmakers to the lower house of Parliament takes place over seven phases. India’s 28 states and eight federal territories will vote at different times.

The Election Commission of India, which oversees the vote, is tasked to make sure there is a voting booth available within 1.2 miles of every voter.

Election officials and security staff number around 15 million. They will travel round the country wherever needed to reach voters.

According to the Associated Press, “In 2019, when India last held elections, a team of polling officers trekked over 300 miles for four days just so a single voter in a hamlet in the remote state of Arunachal Pradesh, which borders China, could exercise their right.”

“Look at the geography of the country … there are rivers, mountains, snow, jungles … think of the security forces’ movements. They will have to travel through the length and breadth of the country,” Rajiv Kumar, the chief election commissioner, told AP. “We will walk the extra mile so voters don’t have to.”

combination of a housing and cap-ex rebound should drive lending. We are starting to see consolidation in the industry, most recently with Capital One buying Discover. They trade at just 12x cash flow, a 23 percent discount to the S&P. Flows have been negative out of financials for more than a year. The sector has been hated since the Great Financial Crisis. Technically, the sector is breaking out to new highs from a 20-year base. When a sector with fundamental tailwinds, cheap valuation, low positioning, and a large technical base, breaks out, the gains tend to be very significant.

One of the things that has become increasingly important for investing in public markets is understanding who your fellow investors are. Especially ones that drive incremental moves.

The market is now driven by a few important constituents, multi-manager platforms (pod-shops), CTAs/macro funds/quants, and options traders. The commonality among them is that they are mostly trend followers and momentum players. They usually are less sensitive to valuation. This makes it difficult for traditional value investors, who will have to rely more on shareholder return of capital.

The options market has become increasingly more important. Zero-day to expiration options (daily options) now account for nearly 50 percent of flow. They drive daily moves from both investors and dealers. These are nonfundamental flows that are available to be taken advantage of for longer-term investors.

Another impact, mostly driven by the sector specialists at pod-shops, is that we see significant differentiation in winners and losers within sectors. Sector specialists usually run low-net exposure with longs and shorts within a sector. They manage north of $350bn in AUM and significantly more on a gross basis.

Most of them are looking at similar things, therefore they pile into the same longs and shorts.

The CTAs/macro/quants which rely on technicals exacerbate these moves. This causes significant sector level dispersion. For instance, in energy you can see divergence between refiners and oilfield services; obesity and cancer vs. others in pharma; med-tech vs. insurers in healthcare; Meta/Netflix/Nvidia/Microsoft vs. Apple/Tesla/Alphabet in large cap; Nvidia/Broadcom/AMD vs. other semis; JPM vs. regional banks; defense vs aerospace in industrials; travel vs. retailers in consumer discretionary. In each sector you will find these types of divergences.

Understanding who your fellow investors are and how they invest can provide a meaningful boost to your portfolio.

In the coming weeks the market will focus on the Fed meeting, economic data, and the election primaries.

Ketu Desai

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

Unintended effects on fairness

The multifaceted nature of fairness means that AI systems must be scrutinized at every level of their development cycle, from the initial design and data collection phases to their final deployment and ongoing evaluation. This scrutiny reveals another layer of complexity. AI systems are seldom deployed in isolation. They are used as part of often complex and important decision-making processes, such as making recommendations about hiring or allocating funds and resources, and are subject to many constraints, including security and privacy.

Research my colleagues and I conducted shows that constraints such as computational resources, hardware types and privacy can significantly influence the fairness of AI systems. For instance, the need for computational efficiency can lead to simplifications that inadvertently overlook or misrepresent marginalized groups.

In our study on network pruning – a method to make complex machine learning models smaller and faster – we found that this process can unfairly affect certain groups. This happens because the pruning might not consider how different groups are represented in the data and by the model, leading to biased outcomes.

Similarly, privacy-preserving techniques, while crucial, can obscure the data necessary to identify and mitigate biases or disproportionally affect the outcomes for minorities. For example, when statistical agencies add noise to data to protect privacy, this can lead to unfair resource allocation because the added noise affects some groups more than others. This disproportionality can also skew decision-making processes that rely on this data, such as resource allocation for public services.

These constraints do not operate in isolation but intersect in ways that compound their impact on fairness. For instance, when privacy measures exacerbate biases in data, it can further amplify existing inequalities. This makes it important to have a comprehensive understanding and approach to both privacy and fairness for AI development.

The path forward

Making AI fair is not straightforward, and there are no one-size-fits-all solutions. It requires a process of continuous learning, adaptation and collaboration. Given that bias is pervasive in society, I believe that people working in the AI field should recognize that it’s not possible to achieve perfect fairness and instead strive for continuous improvement.

This challenge requires a commitment to rigorous research, thoughtful policymaking and ethical practice. To make it work, researchers, developers and users of AI will need to ensure that considerations of fairness are woven into all aspects of the AI pipeline, from its conception through data collection and algorithm design to deployment and beyond.

Article courtesy of theconversation.com. Ferdinando Fioretto is Assistant Professor of Computer Science, University of Virginia

I Believe in the Value of Relationships.

I view every client relationship like a partnership and truly believe that my success is a result of your success.

Rajarshi Desai CPA, PLLC

7301 Carmel Executive Park Dr. Suite #320 Charlotte, NC 28226

704.541.9966 or 917.612.1489 (cell)

Fax: 877.294.7979

E-mail: rd@rajdesaicpa.com

Member: American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and NYSSCPA

Desai & Mehta CPAs, PLLC

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

• Audit Representation and Tax Resolution to 100% clients satisfaction before federal, state and local tax authorities, including filing past year returns.

• Review for possible Federal or State income tax exposure.

• Monthly Bookkeeping Services.

• Payroll and Sales Tax preparation and Compliance.

• Financial reviews and compilation including compliance testing.

• Corporate, partnership, individual, trust and estate tax consulting, planning and compliance.

• Mergers and acquisition reviews including business valuations.

• Comprehensive business services in accounting and auditing.

• Management information systems consulting and technology implementation services.

Burger

Albemarle, NC $195,000, Annual Sales $688,128 Seats 65

Sandwich Shop: Charlotte, NC $239,000, Annual Sales $367,212

Bakery: Hickory, NC $150,000, Annual Sales $315,920

Buy or sell business or related equipment

Visit BizListPro.com

Mirror continued from page 40

The Golden Globes in 2024 at least finally acknowledged this great divide with a shiny new award entitled “Cinematic and Box Office Achievement” which was exclusively made up of films with an average budget of $150 million or more. The winner, ironically, was Barbie which was also nominated for “Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy” but lost that trophy to Poor Things, another uniquely niche project. Both films shared great lead actress performances, unique set design, costuming, and cinematography, as well as intelligent scripts focused on female empowerment. A major difference between them is that Barbie released in the summer right before the strikes began, and Poor Things was delayed (twice) and finally released in the winter soon after the strikes ended.

Still… it’s hard to deny that in recent memory, two major mindsets about entertainment and how it’s consumed have shifted. First, the old standby of using franchises for guaranteed profit is finally showing some wear and tear, as the excitement once held for comic book and science fiction films (along with tie-in streaming series based on said properties) has waned due to terrible writing and reliance on expensive special effects. The second, is that due to the desire from certain entertainment companies to oversaturate the market with these franchises, the original intellectual property loses its luster and, in most cases, is met with poor reception due to the aforementioned bad writing and effects in order to keep up with such an accelerated release schedule.

One perpetuates the other in a never-ending cycle, and the fans have finally become so fed up that they’ve answered in the form of both horrible box office returns and low stream counts. Instead, in the past 18 months we’ve seen more original and daring films such as Barbie, Oppenheimer, and more recently Dune: Part Two dominating movie theatre sales while brilliant series concepts from the likes of The Bear, Ted Lasso, Stranger Things, and Succession (to name a few) have delighted our minds and hearts in equal measure.

Major Hollywood studios have finally reached a major fork in the road when it comes to their business models. Since the near beginning of the 21st century, we’ve all become witness to an age of the cinematic universe and the multi-sequel factory. If you look at some of the top grossing films of 2019 (the last big year before the pandemic) there are two Marvel films, Frozen 2, Toy Story 4, Star Wars: Episode IX. Yup… all Disney franchises. Fast forward five years and Disney is now struggling to keep up. Last year was dominated by “Barbenheimer”, and so far in 2024 the most talked about films are not from cinematic universes. Heck, even Dune was originally just an egregious 60’s sci-fi book that despite three previous adaptations (the unfinished 70’s version by Alexandro Jodorowsky, the 80’s David Lynch film, and the 90’s Sy-Fi miniseries) were all deemed unworthy to capture the true essence of what Frank Herbert portrayed in his prose.

It took Denis Villeneuve and his unique filmmaking style to finally give whole new audience a chance to enjoy this complex narrative involving intertwining political and power shifts due to a cultural reliance to psychedelic sand.

Truth be told, this once dominant form of cinematic pop culture has finally hit a brick wall. This by no means says that comic book stories can’t work. The Loki series and Guardians of the Galaxy, Volume 3 are outliers to most of Disney’s other output due to their exceptional writing, performances, and direction. Spider-Man has seen a popularity resurgence due to a dual effort from the Tom Holland films and animated multiverse films. Audiences also are now more willing to accept a darker, edgier side of comics with projects such as Logan, Deadpool, The Boys, Invincible, Joker and The Dark Knight Trilogy.

Times have changed, and for Hollywood to survive it needs to rethink its business acumen. Find a happy medium involving both big-budget extravaganzas and small independent, story-driven, potential award-worthy films. Heck the last blockbuster Best Picture winner was 2003’s The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King which in itself was an anomaly.

Don’t expect something that was good 10-15 years ago to hold up. Don’t expect actors, writers, and producers to crank out good content at break-neck speeds for a fraction of the compensation they deserve. Both the strikes and lack of ticket sales prove that we’re all channeling Network’s Howard Beale and exclaimed, “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore!”

A new age is dawning in Hollywood cinema… and I am excited to see where it will go by year’s end.

Jennifer Allen

works at Saathee and is also a Podcaster, Blogger, Photographer, Graphic Artist, Gamer, Martial Arts Practitioner, and an all around Pop Culture Geek. You can reach her at Saathee@Saathee.com

Personal Finances

continued from page 62

right price. There are plenty of health insurance companies that will be more than happy to offer you a price that will give you what you are looking for. It is only for a short term (generally between 4 to 8 years) deal until you hit 65 when Medicare takes over. As you compare the plan choices, check the premium, annual deductible, co-payment amounts, out of pocket maximum and level of prescription coverage. It is also a good idea to consider the provider network. If you wish to use certain physicians or facilities, then try to get on a plan that covers your preferred providers.

Retiring early could be a great dream to live for but I also suggest that the more research you are able to do, like behind the scenes homework before the time comes, the more prepared you would be. Health is certainly a critical factor for insurance premiums, and it really does not disappear no matter what age you are. Don’t let that be the determining factor in your golden years.

Mo Vidwans is an independent, board certified financial planner. For details visit, VidwansFinancial.com, call 734-476-0579 or write to: mvfinancial@yahoo.com

Financially Speaking continued from page 54

economy workers, contractors, or independent consultants. They may receive either a 1099-Misc, 1099-NEC or 1099-K for services rendered. Or one may have both a W-2 and have a side hustle that classifies them as self-employed. This section focuses on a few planning areas for such selfemployed professionals.

1. Maintain Books and Records

Separate business and personal expenses. Maintain book of records for income, credits, expenses and deductions because you’re considered a business entity, even if you’re a sole proprietor, so it’s imperative to operate like one. Keeping business finances separate from personal finances helps maintain legal and tax compliance. This separation simplifies financial record-keeping, making it easier to track business income and expenses, reconcile accounts, and prepare financial statements. It also allows auditors or reviewers to focus exclusively on business transactions without having to sift through personal finances, saving time and reducing the risk of errors or discrepancies.

2. Take Allowable Business Deductions

Sole proprietors can deduct business expenses that are ordinary and necessary to conduct their activity and that are reasonable in nature. A few of these include Home Office Deduction, Business Supplies, Transportation, Marketing, Professional Services, Legal Costs and Professional Development related costs. Again, having proper receipts and accounting will reduce audit nightmares. Speaking of business deduction, did you know that the self-employed health insurance (SEHI) deduction provides a valuable tax benefit for self-employed individuals who pay for their own health insurance coverage? It helps offset the cost of health insurance premiums and can result in significant tax savings. However, it’s essential to understand the eligibility criteria and follow IRS rules and guidelines when claiming the deduction. Moreover, self-employed individuals who purchase health insurance through the Health Insurance Marketplace may be eligible for the Premium Tax Credit if they meet certain income criteria.

3. Make Estimated

Tax Payments

Since non-employees paid in cash/check don’t have withholdings similar to a paycheck, making quarterly estimated tax payments reduce the likelihood of a huge tax bill at year-end. Estimated tax payments also help spread the tax burden evenly over the year, reducing the risk of penalties since IRS expects tax obligations to be met whenever one gets paid. Making estimated tax payments requires self-employed individuals to estimate their tax liability for the year based on their income, deductions, credits, and other factors. This process can help them better understand their financial situation and plan accordingly.

4. Choose a Retirement Plan

Business owners have access to multiple retirement plans based on their preferences and business size. SEP IRA, SIMPLE IRA, Solo-401K are some of the popular options.

Business Owners have higher contribution limits along with IRA/ROTH options. Each type of retirement plan offers different levels of flexibility in terms of contribution amounts, eligibility requirements, and investment options, so picking the right one will set you on path to saving for retirement while growing your gig.

5. Stay Unincorporated or Choose a Business Entity

A sole proprietor can be unincorporated and file Schedule C with their individual tax return. Thus, selfemployed individuals are not required to have a formal business structure, but if one would like to eventually expand into a small business unit, then they need to consider liability protection, ownership and management control and costs to maintain the entity. When choosing a business entity, several factors should be considered to ensure that the chosen structure aligns with business goals, operational needs, and long-term plans.

In summary, as we’ve seen, whether you choose to pursue self-employment or traditional employment depends on individual preferences, risk tolerance, financial considerations, and career aspirations. Both paths offer unique advantages and challenges, and planning becomes extremely important, weighing income stability to flexibility and benefits to control and autonomy.

Rupa Pereira

is the owner and lead financial advisor at FWJ Planning, an investment advisory and planning firm registered in NC. As an enrolled agent, she’s also authorized by IRS to represent her clients on tax-matters.

Contact: info@fwjplanning.com.

Upcoming Movies continued from page 34

April 26

Tehran (Director: Arun Gopalan)

Cast: John Abraham, Manushi Chhillar, and Neeru Bajwa

Challengers (Director: Luca Guadagnino)

Cast: Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, and Mike Faist

Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha! (Director: Neeraj Pandey)

Cast: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, and Jimmy Sheirgill

Ruslaan (Director: Karan Butani)

Cast: Aayush Sharma, Jagapathi Babu, and Vidya Malvade

Immigration continued from page 80

That petition is submitted to the US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS), which takes approximately 12 – 15 months to approve that initial filing. Once approved, the visa then travels to the National Visa Center (NVC), which requests a number of different documents for each parent, such as birth certificates, police clearance certificates and tax returns from the Petitioner.

Indian parents born prior to 1969 often lack birth certificates and in these situations, they are required to obtain a Non-Availability Certificate, which essentially states that no birth certificate was created at their time of birth.

Once all documents have been submitted, the NVC will then coordinate with the specific US consulate with jurisdiction over the parent’s address to schedule a visa interview. Upon completion of the interview, a visa is usually issued within a few weeks.

The entirety of the consular process takes approximately 2 ½ - 3 years to complete. While clients are often taken aback by the lengthy processing time, the benefit of the consular process is that parents will arrive to the United States with permanent residency status. This helps to speed their ability to apply for a Social Security Number, driver’s license and open a bank account. SSNs are particularly important for those seeking to obtain health care coverage for their aging parents.

US citizen Petitioners are required to provide the NVC with an Affidavit of Support that ensures that immigrants that are being sponsored to come to the US will not rely on government benefits upon their arrival (i.e. Medicaid, WIC, low-income housing, etc.). As such, Petitioners looking to enroll their parents into the government-subsidized health program immediately upon their arrival may incur some risk in doing so.

Alternatively, for parents that are already in the United States after arriving on a visa, US citizen Petitioners can instead seek to adjust their status to lawful permanent residents.

The adjustment of status process allows parents to obtain green cards without having to depart the United States. As a point of comparison, the adjustment of status process typically only takes about 1 ½ years to complete and provides parents the flexibility of not only being in the country while their applications process, but also being able to apply for ancillary benefits such as employment authorization and travel permission while their awaiting their green cards.

Although the adjustment of status process does typically cost more than the consular process, due to higher USCIS filing fees, many clients elect to take this route, as it allows their parents to be close during the processing time. As a word of caution, parents should not seek to come to the US on visitor visas with the explicit purpose of seeking to adjust their status.

Customs and Border Protection agents are trained to determine whether an individual arriving on a B-1/B-2 visitor visa is entering with “fraudulent intent,” which could impact their eligibility for green card status.

While intent is allowed to change after someone arrives, entering with the explicit intent of wanting a green card is forbidden.

As a practitioner, the largest issue that I tend to see is one that can largely be avoided by honest conversation –determining whether your parents want to live in the United States is an important point of discussion. Again and again, I see US citizen Petitioners initiate a green card process for their parents (and spend thousands of dollars in doing so) only to find out that their parents have no interest in actually residing in the United States. Parents have often lived their entire lives in environments that are strikingly different than life in the United States.

I can recall when I was in elementary school and my grandfather’s arrival as an immigrant from bustling Gujarat, India to rural Concord, NC. Although I cannot recall exactly how long he stayed, it was no more than six months before he was on a plane back India.

He never came back to America. Asking parents to uproot their entire lives to come to the United States is a considerable request and one that should be made soberly and thoughtfully.

My grandfather missed the constant buzz of India; he missed his friends and relatives; he missed being able to hop on his motorcycle and drive around Rajkot. He missed the liveliness of his street and getting paan at the local corner shop. In Concord, he was home-bound and was unable to drive, I would assume largely because of his unfamiliarity with English.

Although he enjoyed being with his grandchildren, we were often away at school and he could only spend so much time reading and watching television before just missing his home.

Parents should understand the financial commitment required to undertake the green card process and should be aware that green cards are not designed to simply come to the United States for 1 – 2 months out of the year. If they simply want to visit the United States, then they should seek visitor visas, which are designed to accommodate such short trips.

At the same time, US citizen Petitioners should understand what is being asked of immigrant parents, particularly at an age where establishing new roots in a new society is exceedingly difficult.

Ultimately, honest communication today can help to avoid uncomfortable conversations tomorrow; when adding in the rising costs that the government charges for these processes, you may be happy in your heart (and wallet) knowing that the right decision is being made.

You can find more details on the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website.

Visit Uscis.gov and find the Green Card menu, which explains processes and procedures required to get started.

Rishi P. Oza

is

Partner

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

J.

Quiz Corner

Word World By

Kirit Shukla

Who wants to be a Scholar?!

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

1. Arrange these metro subway systems of the world in order of longest to shortest in length.

(a) London(b) New York City

(c) Paris(d) New Delhi

2. The 64th Filmfare Best Film award went to (a) Raazi (b) Badhaai Ho (c) Sanju (d) Padmaavat

DDIL N

NEOMake words using 4 or more letters. The central letter must be used in each word. Plural words are not allowed.

Use all letters for the subject word (underlined in solutions below)

10+ words = Excellent; 8 to 9 words = Good; 7 or less = keep looking. Some words we found are in solutions below.

Brain-Train

Here is a fun quiz. See if you can solve it. No peeking!

Match the number in column 1 with letter in column 2

US National Parks

1. Great Smoky Mountains

2. Glacier

3. Hot Springs

4. Yellowstone

5. Grand Canyon

6. Everglades

7. Denali

8. Yosemite

9. Rocky Mountain

10. Great Basin

Located in State(s)

A. Alaska

B. Florida

C. Colorado

D. Montana

E. North Carolina / Tennessee

F. Arkansas

G. California

H. Wyoming

I. Nevada

J. Arizona

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

7.d 8.b 9.a 10.d

Scholar: 1.b, c, a, d 2.a 3.d 4.c 5.b 6.c

alien, laden, inane, addle, alone, inland, landed, dandelion

Word World (Solution) dead, aloe, loan, idea, dean, deal, aide,

3. Number of the US states starting with “N” are (a) 5(b) 6 (c) 7(d) 8

4. “A fixed mass of an ideal gas kept at a fixed temperature, pressure and volume are inversely proportional.” is

(a) Charles’ law (b) Gay-Lussac law (c) Boyle’s law(d) Avogadro’s law

5. Neptune has ___ known moons. (a) 7(b) 16 (c) 21(d) 28

6. The diameter of a circle with circumference of 22ft is (a) 5 feet (b) 6 feet (c) 7 feet (d) 8 feet

7. Mahavira, who revived Jainism was born in (a) Kashi (b) Pavapuri (c) Ayodhya(d) Kundalpur

8. The winner of 2020 Puppy Bowl XVI is (a) Team Ruff(b) Team Fluff (c) Team Wags(d) Team Tails

9. The birthstone for April is (a) Diamond(b) Amethyst (c) Emerald(d) Aquamarine

10. The total area of South Carolina is approximately (a) 29000 Miles²(b) 30000 Miles² (c) 31000 Miles²(d) 32000 Miles²

Answers are on bottom left. No Peeking. Scholar: All correct; 1st Class: 8 Correct; 2nd Class: 7 Correct; 3rd Class: 6 Correct; Need to improve: 5 or less

Key Word Search

Fill in blanks of these clues, then take the first letter of each word and unscramble them to find this month’s Key Word.

Month that follows March: ___.

___ Obama, former US President.

Scotland, Wales, N. Ireland, and ___ make up the UK. Where children go to learn: ___.

The largest American state: ___.

The ___ King, popular Disney film.

The Caped Crusader: ___.

Los Angeles ___, US basketball team.

Answers on page 104

10-I

By Kirit Shukla

Clues Down:

PUZZLES & TOONS

Note: * denotes abbreviation of the word or phrase

Clues Across:

1. Basic monetary unit of the United States.

6. Picture, as if taken by a camera.

10. Skill; craftsmanship

11. The upper, thin bract enclosing the flowers in grasses.

13. “ __-BZ”, Saathee’s feature for testing your IQ.

14. Maine. (*).

15. Brandy distilled from wine in the Gascony district, France.

17. Of or shaped like a figure bounded by three sides/angles.

19. Ground or Earth; land.

20. Archaic term for a person originating from Middle East.

21. The Friday before Easter Sunday.

23. In a position above, but in contact with and supported by.

24. Class of word naming a person, place, or thing.

25. Word by which a person, place, or thing is known.

27. ___ Washington, first President of the United States.

29. The possessive form of ‘HE’.

30. Nikola ___. Serbian-American inventor & engineer.

31. Massachusetts. (*)

33. Luxury Sedan. (*)

34. Puts (food) in mouth, chews if necessary and swallows.

35. Small stony particles ejected from a volcano.

38. A long, thin, wood, metal, or usually fiberglass runner, fastened to boots, used in pairs, to glide over snow.

40. A way of recording or playing sound so that it is separated into two signals to appear more natural.

41. To offer in payment of an obligation.

42. To be filled with longing or desire; to feel sympathy.

1. A slight wetness; moisture.

2. Natural mineral from which metal can be extracted.

3. Local time. (*)

4. Victim of pranks performed on 1st of April.

5. “Hare ___ , Hare Krishna”.

6. Put wooden/metal pins so as to fasten or secure.

7. The mighty ape Hindu God, an ardent disciple of Rama.

8. Texas Examination of Current Administrators and Teachers. (*)

9. Ounce. (*)

12. Capital of Michigan, USA.

15. Dryness and barrenness; lifelessness.

16. Immigration of Jews to Israel; Hebrew for ‘ascent.’

17. More than enough; superfluously.

18. A procession leaving a place of assembly.

19. A male descendant.

21. The creator and eternal ruler of the universe; almighty.

22. Living in the country; rustic.

26. A person who owns and operates a flour mill.

27. To enter.

28. A container devoid of contents.

30. Capture; seize; to get hold of.

32. American Institute of Electrical Engineers. (*)

34. Eastern Standard Time (*)

36. To the same amount or degree; equally.

37. Literacy Research Association. (*)

39. Delaware. (*) (solution on page 104)

WordFind

Find & circle the words in the puzzle.

Subject: Sociology

AGEISM CENSUS CLASS CRAZE CRY CULTURE DEMOGRAPHY DISASTER ESTEEM FAMILY GERONTOLOGY GOOD GROUP HEALTH INCOME LAW LIES MINORITY MONEY PUBLIC RACISM RELIGION SACRED SELF STATUS SURVEY THEORY TIME VALUES

The unused 9 letters spell is ”The subject of this puzzle.”

(answer on page 104)

Math Magic

Fill in the empty squares to get = the final given answers. Use any number from 1 to 8 only once:

Note: Follow the order of operation per basic math rule: ×,÷, +,The multiplication or division is done before addition and subtraction. (solution on page 104)

EZ-BZ

TEST YOUR IQ

The common letters are “AO” - Fill in the blanks)

1. First class; superior; first-rate. A-O _ _

2. Very unusual; remarkable. _ _ _ _ AO _ _ _ _ _ _ _

3. “ _ Tse-tung”, Chinese Communist leader. (1893-1976) _ AO

4. A non-Muslim; ‘Kaffir’. _ _ AO _ _

5. Former name of Mount Cook. AO _ _ _ _ _

6. A tropical American tree of the sterculia family. _ _ _ AO

7. Chinese religion founded by Lao-tzu. _ AO _ _ _

8. Dried or salted codfish. _ _ _ _ _ AO

9. America On Line. (*) AO _

10. Adjacent but outside the eyeball. _ _ _ _ AO _ _ _ _ _

11. Extreme confusion or disorder. _ _ AO _

12. “ ___ Gaekwad”, Maharaja of Baroda State, from 1875 to 1939 and a noted patron of the arts. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ AO

13. A seaport in North Honshu, Japan. AO _ _ _ _

14. A form of interactive entertainment in which an amateur singer sings along with recorded music. _ _ _ AO _ _

15. The mother-in-law of Ruth. (Bible) _ AO _ _

16. Largest island of the Netherlands Antilles. _ _ _ _ _ AO

17. The sound of a cat (British). _ _ AO _

18. African Barbary sheep, with large horns. AO _ _ _ _

19. Title of an ancient Egyptian monarch. _ _ _ _ AO _

20. The wealthiest state of SE Brazil. _ AO _ _ _ _ _

21. Hello or Goodbye in Italian language. _ _ AO

22. The traditional costume of Vietnamese woman; a long, high-necked, tunic split along the waist sides. AO _ _ _

23. A person born or living in Laos. _ AO _ _ _ _

24. Peshwa of Maratha empire. (1700-1740) _ _ _ _ _ AO

25. The main artery of the body. AO _ _ _ (Puzzle solutions are on page 104. NO peeking!)

Saathee Puzzle Master

Kirit Shukla

kiritsshukla@gmail.com

Festivals & Holidays - Puzzle Solutions

APRIL 2024

Apr. 1 – April Fool's Day

Apr. 2 – Jhulelal Jayanti

Apr. 2 – World Autism Awareness Day

Apr. 7 – World Health Day

Apr. 8 – Darsha Amas (No Moon / Solar Eclipse)

Apr. 9 – Chaitra Sukhladi / Gudi Padwa / Ugadi

Apr. 10 – Eid al-Fitr

Apr. 14 – Vaisakhi / Ambedkar Jayanti

Apr. 15 – World Art Day

Apr. 16 – Income Tax Day

Apr. 17 – Rama Navami

Apr. 15 – Patriots’ Day

Apr. 19 – Kāmadā Ekadashi

Apr. 21 – Mahavir Swami Jayanti

Apr. 22 – Earth Day

Apr. 22 – Hajj

Apr. 23 – Chaitra Purnima (Full Moon)

Apr. 23 – Passover Begins

Apr. 24 – Administrative Professionals Day

Apr. 26 – Arbor Day

Apr. 28 – Lailat al-Qadr

Apr. 30 – Passover Ends

April

Barak

England School

Alaska

Lion

Batman

Lakers

Astroscope

Aries (March 21 – April 20)

Luck won’t favor you but, on the flipside, this period won’t be a complete mess either. In fact, you won’t see significant changes until the end of the month. Disputes with your children or parents should be avoided. A business deal could be delayed so try to stay on top of it. The best thing you can do right now is slow down and watch your health. Travel for family matters could bring good results.

Taurus (April 21 – May 20)

An unexpectedly positive turn in your love life can offer some much needed karma. Your income will rise due to your team efforts. You could also gain success in the workplace and earn the favor of senior associates. It is time to invest in residential or commercial real estate. This will be an actionoriented period for you, so be sure to take the time to enjoy it. A birth in the family is also possible.

Gemini (May 21 – June 20)

During the first half of the month, you might face difficulties in your day-to-day pursuits. Competitors will try to tarnish your image and a dispute between you and your partner is strongly indicated. However, the month will end on a good note as you experience a relaxed state of mind. Your friends or associates could even bring good news. Substantial financial gain is also possible by the last week of the month.

Cancer (June 21 – July 22)

However much you try; you will not be able to enjoy peace this month. Business-related travel could bring you good revenue during the second half of the month, but still try to curb your expenses. This is a good time for artists and politicians. Multiple new opportunities may come your way but hold off on any decisions until the end of the month. Avoid purchasing a new vehicle and also watch your driving.

Leo (July 23 – August 22)

Now is when you should not make quick decisions. Don’t try to avoid responsibilities this month just because you will be very active. You could gain success in the workplace and earn the favor of senior associates. Handle any problem with daring and confidence. You will also enjoy a happy love life as bravery always wins in matters of the heart.

Virgo (August 23 – September 21)

During this month, clarity of thought could be lacking. A lack of confidence could cause you to be out of sync with your own associates and even your friends won’t be able to help. Risk-taking tendencies should be curbed. Things should improve significantly by the last week of the month. Meditation may help establish a better peace of mind.

APRIL 2024

Libra (September 22 – October 20)

Time should fly as you exert tremendous energy on day-to-day pursuits. You will try to make a long sought after dream come true. Even though this time could be very relaxing, don’t make any major career or business-related changes. Life will slowly shift in your favor soon. Also don’t attempt to deceive others in order to achieve success and try to control your spending.

Scorpio (October 21 – November 20)

It is time to slow down and spend some time on yourself. Don’t get involved in any new ventures and travel should also be avoided. Income will increase if you keep working hard as this will help maintain your reputation and personality. Don’t worry! You shall receive your due reward within the coming period.

Sagittarius (November 21 – December 21)

Your hopes and aspirations should finally be realized this month. In fact, this month will bring substantial gains for your business, trade, or job or you could even enter into a new enterprise. You could see a dramatic behavioral shift of relatives but otherwise receive a ton of support. Your love life may be on a downward turn. Business-related travel is possible but for leisure it should be avoided.

Capricorn (December 22 – January 21)

Unavoidable circumstances could cause a change of plans, but this change will ultimately be for the better. It may even feel like you’re losing something but try to be patient. If you remain vigilant and keep working on it, you should see positive results after the third week of the month. Avoid any financial risks and don’t dispute with senior family members.

Aquarius (January 22 – February 18)

Even though you will lose an opportunity to gain higher status, a marked increase in income is indicated. This could appear in the form of speculation or an inheritance. Be sure to spend it on a much needed vacation, as any journey undertaken shall be fruitful. You will feel more courageous and offer support for your siblings. Interactions with clients, associates and other concerned people should improve as the period rolls on.

Pisces (February 19 – March 20)

This period may expose some deep rooted mental anxiety, so try to defy any negative thoughts. A problem with your partner’s health may still disturb you. Friends or associates can try to help. Your family atmosphere will also be quite positive. Accept advice from experienced young people before making any important decisions. You may develop an eye or throat-related issue. Watch your spending so as not to increase your debt.

Call today to get your kundali chart reading and numerological consultation and find way to happier self.

Business Opportunities

Dry Cleaners for Sale

Prime Locations in Charlotte. One Plant and One Drop off. Nice equipment & plenty of space to grow. Call Alka 704-942-7965.

C-Stores for Sale

C-Store Distributor: Charlotte, NC $59,900, Annual Sales $813,000. Contact: County South: 704-440-4433 or Countysouth.biz.

Employment Opportunities

Hotel Help Wanted

Front Desk, Night Auditor & Housekeeper (Single / Couple) for franchise hotel in Raleigh, NC. Accommodations provided. Call 919348-7950 between 7am-7pm.

Looking for live-in/live-out Nanny for toddler near Durham, NC. Vegetarian Hindi speaking family. Duties include light chores. Competitive pay. Call 631-746-5259.

Looking for GM & Housekeeping Couple

for franchise motel in Rock Hill, SC. Legal status & fluent English required. Can provide accommodations. Call 864694-6299 and leave message.

Help Needed

at Perfume Stores in Charlotte & Pineville. For details, please call Veer Singh at 415-265-8686.

Front Desk Manager Wanted for franchise hotel in Columbia, SC. Accommodations provided. Fluent English required. Text / call 704-701-9975.

Join the Team

as a Helper for an Indian Kitchen. Responsibilities include Assistance in making ingredients, cleanliness. Bonus & Referral fee as well. Email: samirocks786@gmail.com or 980-666-5387.

NOW HIRING Experienced Eyebrow Threaders

Beautiful iBrows in Carolina

Place Mall. Full-time or part-time available. Hourly pay plus tips. Call Hashim 202-213-5227.

Manager / Front Desk needed for Franchise Hotel in Rock Hill, SC. Accommodations Provided. Call 803517-4662.

Full-time Cashier Wanted

for Convenience Store in Charlotte area. Legal status required. Please call 704-241-4499.

Cashier Wanted

for Convenience Store near Kannapolis, NC. Very attractive salary! Accommodations provided. Text or Call 704-701-9482.

Eyebrow Threader/Esthetician Wanted for La Petit Spa in Ballantyne area of Charlotte. Great pay and flexible hours. Experience and communication skills a must. Call 864-694-6299 & leave message.

For Immediate Hire

Accounting manager (must have experience). Hotel GMs - Wyndham, Choice, and Hilton brands (must have experience). Front Desk (multiple locations). Pay rates higher than the competition. Contact 704-649-6833 or abcone@abcinns.com.

Help Needed

for Front Desk & Laundry at Economy Franchise Hotel in NC. Accommodations provided. Contact 704-465-8129.

Hotel Help Wanted

Front Desk / Manager, Night Auditor & Housekeeper (Single/Couple) for franchise hotels in Charlotte (Airport Area) & Winston-Salem (Near Hanes Mall). Accommodations provided. Call 704-626-4849 between 4-8pm.

Gas Station Seeking Help in Rock Hill, SC. Single or couple. Good pay for an experienced person! No accommodations. Call 803-659-3330.

Front Desk & Laundry Help needed for Franchise Hotel in Concord, NC. Accommodations provided. Call 704772-5554.

Front Desk Help Needed for franchise hotel in Charlotte, NC. Accommodations provided. Please call for details: 980-454-9093.

Sales & Marketing Person Wanted with college degree in related field for manufacturing company. Must be fluent in communication , familiar with MS office & computers, possess great personality & be able to work in team environment. Willing to sponsor if candidate is suitable to requirements. Contact Raj 336-558-3410 or rajm@amerifabintl.com.

Hotel Help Wanted:

Couple needed for Front Desk (4 shifts/week) and Laundry in Greensboro NC. Accommodations provided. Must be Legal/fluent English. Call/Text 336-5588195 between 9am-8pm.

Hotel Help Wanted

Front Desk / Manager, Night Auditor & Housekeeper (Single / Couple) for franchise hotels in Charlotte, Gastonia, High Point, NC & Columbia, SC. Accommodations provided. Call 704-460-0379 between 6-9pm.

Live-in Caregiver Needed for older lady in Tampa, FL. Please call Kim at 949-235-0310.

Gas Station / C-store Help Needed at stores near Huntersville & Northlake areas. Must speak English. Family friendly oriented people. Call 704-402-4661.

Looking for Couple

to manage Dry Cleaner in Mooresville, NC. Competitive pay and a good opportunity for starters. Will provide training. Saturday half day & Sunday off. Contact Dipesh Patel 980-226-3095.

Seeking Groom

Seeking well-educated, never married, US-raised Groom for 38-year-old bride. 5', raised in the USA, never married, MD, Adult and Pediatric Retina Specialist. Lives in TX, but open to relocation for the right person. Contact 678-304-8184 (Refer PR)

Seeking well-educated, never married, US-raised Groom for 35-year-old bride. 5'3", raised in the USA, never married, MD Physician in Chicago, IL. Contact 678-304-8184 (Refer VR)

Seeking well-educated, US-raised Groom for a 27-year-old girl. 5'3", raised in the USA, MS, Senior Engineer in IL. Contact 678-304-8184 (Refer SD)

Seeking well-educated, affluent, USraised, Gujarati Groom for 33, 5'6", vegetarian, US-born and raised, Gujarati attorney-MBA woman in Florida. Refer RK. Text: 470-684-0830.

Seeking tall, medical doctor Groom on the East Coast USA for 32-year-old, 5'1" Malayali woman. Raised in the USA, she is wrapping up her Psychiatry residency and soon to start a fellowship in NY. Refer AM Text: 470-684-0830.

Seeking Bride

Seeking Bride for well-educated MD Cardiologist man 35 year-old, never married, well-settled, and good-looking, Vegetarian, Spiritual, Gujarati, only child, US Citizen. Prefer a girl from a medical professional but will accept any higher education. Text Shailesh 260-602-3354.

Seeking good-looking Bride for a 34year-old groom, 5'10", raised in India (in the USA since 2010 for undergrad), MS in Computer Science, works as Product Manager. Live in the Bay Area, but open to relocation for the right person. Contact 678-304-8184 (Refer BP)

Seeking well-educated Girl for a 30-yearold gentleman. 5'4", Kannada Brahmin family, US-raised, Carnegie Mellon Master's graduate. Digital Product Manager in Chicago. Caste/language no bar. Refer VS. Text: 470-684-0830.

Looking for Life Partner for US Citizen, retired businessman (Jat Niyat Koi Bathnathi) Indian born Gujarati Patel. Call 304-800-3262.

For Rent:

Waterfront 3 level Townhome with 3 Bed, 2 1/2 Bath & washer/dryer. 3-4 miles from uptown Charlotte. Rent $2400 (negotiable). Call Ananya 470-529-5543.

For Rent:

Shared accommodations in Concord area near great school district. 2 rooms with full Bath & washer/dryer. Rent $1000 (includes utilities). Contact Shoba 704-956-8504.

Sell Your Property Fast!

Place a classified ad here and on Saathee.com for $25. visit: saathee.com/classifieds or email saathee@saathee.com or call and ask for Jennifer: 704-527-7570.

Affordable Wedding Photography

20 years of experience in Indian wedding photography. Specializing in film & digital photos. Engagement, Wedding, and Receptions. Contact Vivek: email: vivekweddingmemories@gmail.com or call 347-321-4746.

Priest

Ganesh, Shiv, Lakshmi, Randal, Paduka Pujans; Wedding, Baby shower, Housewarming, Satyanaryan Katha, Mundan & Yagnopavit; Navchandi, Tarpan, Garud Puran, Havans, etc. Online puja also available. Call Rajendra Bhatt 732-841-7832.

Neeta's Beauty Parlor

Open 7 days a week. Full service. Located near the Hindu Center of Charlotte. Call 704-968-0270 for an appointment.

Financial Professional:

Plan for tax-free retirement. Protect your wealth from taxes, inflation, market risks, and the unexpected. Build a lasting legacy. Call Vijay Machiraju at 984-664-1864 for a free 1hour discovery call.

Travel Passion

International & Domestic Air tickets. We process India Visa, OCI, Indian Passport Renewal, Hotel bookings & Tour packages. Call 509-550-9076 or 509-550-9034 or Email: travelpassion24@gmail.com

Priest Available

for Shree Satya narayan katha, Shanti hawan, Vastu shanty, Weddings, Baby shower, Bhumi pujan, Mata ki chowki pujan, Funeral, all types of karmakand. Please call Viral Bhatt 704-438-6334.

Pari Beauty in Matthews

Threading, Waxing, Facials, Massage for newborn and mom & other services. 35 years of experience. Special Deals & Great Service. Call: 704-846-7912.

Tabla Lessons

for all age groups. In person or online from professional tabla player, Ryan Shah. Call 803-348-7294.

Gujarati Priest

Devendra Dave Independent priest. Ganesh, Randal, Navratri, Diwali's Laxmi & Sharda Pujas, Satyanarayan Katha, Weddings, Vastu, Baby Shower, Funeral Seva. Call Daveji 704-780-3563. God Blessings to All.

India Jobs continued from page 58

employment had already been in decline for five years following the botched implementation of demonetization. Around 60 million workers returned to jobs in agriculture, reversing the structural change in employment that had been underway for 15 years.

To take advantage of its bulging working-age population, India needs to create more non-farm jobs. In his new book, Breaking the Mould, the former governor of the Reserve Bank of India, Raghuram Rajan, says that India needs to focus on exports of services, drawing on the country’s new digital infrastructure and IT-based services growth for the domestic (and export) market.

But a focus on services alone will not suffice. This “New India” economy currently constitutes less than 15 percent of the country’s economy and a fraction of that in employment. Such a strategy will generate jobs mainly for highly skilled people, rather than the millions of Indian workers that are searching for non-farm jobs.

What India needs is a manufacturing strategy akin to China’s that focuses on labor-intensive manufacturing. China has pursued an industrial policy since the 1950s, which has become even more evolved since the 1980s, helping the country establish dominance in global high-tech manufacturing.

Creating jobs in India

In India, the demand for jobs will only be met if several different factors come together. Construction activity needs to continue at its current brisk pace. But, for the next year or two, it must be led by public sector investment as private investment remains sluggish.

India’s investment-to-GDP ratio is still below 30 percent and has remained below the 31 percent inherited by the current government when it came to power ten years ago. The potential for a twofold increase in construction employment (a trend that was observed between 2004 and 2012) over the next five years hinges on the revival of private investment.

Labor-intensive manufacturing by micro, small and medium enterprises also need a sustained fillip. The government’s focus is currently on large companies – socalled “national champions” like industrial conglomerates Tata and Mahindra – which are being encouraged through subsidies.

If these subsidies were instead redirected towards smaller enterprises, they might do more for the generation of employment. Large corporations typically use highly capitalintensive methods of production, whereas smaller ones tend to absorb more labor. Historically, it is the latter that has generated most of the non-farm jobs in developing countries.

The third area where employment can be generated is, indeed, services. Public expenditure should prioritize public health, education, vocational training, and universities.

These sectors are labor-intensive, contribute to the creation of public goods, and will build the human capital needed by both manufacturing and modern export-oriented services. That is the only way India’s health and education services can reach the levels observed in east Asia and attract more foreign investment.

A renewed focus on smaller enterprises across these sectors is needed. Inclusive growth requires providing jobs rapidly at the bottom of the pyramid, not only at the top of the wage – and skill – distribution.

Article courtesy of theconversation.com

Santosh Mehrotra is Visiting Professor at the Centre for Development Studies, University of Bath

Advertisers

Index for Charlotte, South Carolina & Atlanta Region

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

Aishwarya Majumdar (Live in Charlotte).............11

AmeriFab International.....................................97

Anand, Versha (Real Estate) ...............................63

Apex Financial (Investment Hub)........................45

Bala Sure (Broker / Realtor, NC & SC)................23

BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir (Charlotte)16-17

Bashyam Global LLP - Immigration Law Group..48

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

Blooming Smiles Pediatric Dentistry...................89

Blumenthal Performing Arts (Events)..................31

Brijal Shah (Keller Williams - Real Estate)...........87

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

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

Carolina Asthma & Allergy Center.......................83

Carolina Law Group .........................................99

Carolina Medical Partners..................................85

Carolinas Pediatrics (Uma Periyanayagam, MD, FAAP)63

CaroMont Medical Group (Bankim Patel MD)....71

Charlotte Chess Center ......................................10

Charlotte Eye Ear Nose & Throat .......................26

Chess Klub (Klub Ventures)..................................6

Chiro-Carolina .............................................73

CliqStudios (Custom Cabinets)...........................37

Color Master Collision Center.............................59

Concha, David (Immigration Attorney)...............83

Concord Children's Clinic .................................65

Copper Restaurant (Charlotte)...........................33

County South Realty & Business Brokers.............91

Countywide Commercial (Pavement Solutions)....93

Desai & Mehta CPAs PLLC ...............................91

DJ Lalit (Lalit Hemnani)...................................41

Dosa n' More (Fort Mill, SC)..............................67

Eesha Realty, LLC.............................................39

Festival of India (Matthews).................................7

Four Points by Sheraton (Myrtle Beach)............114

Geological Resources, Inc...................................43

Global Mall / Legacy Jewels .............................115

H2 Laser & Skin................................................87

Harish Bhasin (Independent Insurance Agent)......65

Health Markets (Medicare, Health, Life, Supplemental)47

Hindu Center of Charlotte (Events)................76-79

Hitch Hiker's Guide to College............................83

Hitesh Rathod (Real Estate)...............................73

HX Imports (Smoke Shops, C-Store, Vape Shops).51

IndusTreks .......................................................24

Insurance - Tushar Barot, Supreme Insurance Serv..101

Insurance Shopping (Sonal Patel - Independent Agent)53

Jai Shri Ram Ramayan (Broadway Style Production)....4

JVC Realty (Balaji Tatineni Realtor / Broker).......75

Kaur, Karamjit (New York Life Insurance)...........32

KB Zaveree (Atlanta).........................................25

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

Lead Designs LLC.............................................97

Maadhurya Photography...................................43

Maharani Indian Cuisine (Charlotte)...................71

Malak Jewelers..................................................35

Malani Jewelers...............................................116

Malaya Kitchen.................................................63

Malleswar Varikuti Realtor (Realty One Group)...71

Mango Chaska....................................................3

Mathur, Gitanjali (Allen Tate Realtors)................27

Maxim Tours.....................................................41

Meenakshi Creations LLC..................................27

Meghana (The Vedic Power Astrologer)..............107

Mehta & McConnell, PLLC (Injury Lawyers).......38

Mint MedSpa & Laser Studio..............................85

Must Media (Printing & Mailing Specialists)........55

Neeta's Beauty Parlor........................................71

North American Bancard ..................................15

NRS PAY Credit Card Processing..........................5

NSD Tax & Accounting Services..........................55

Om Tours & Travel..............................................53

One 2 Entertainment........................................105

Patel & Samatova, Law....................................113

Patel, Mrugesh (Law Offices)............................111

Patel, Tony (Real Estate).....................................65

Pathak, Atul (Real Estate).................................101

Persis Indian Grill (Fort Mill, SC).......................67

Pramukh Mandapam.......................................113

Queen City Smiles (Dr. Kanupriya Tewari)...........81

Ram Mortgage (Mayank Patel)...........................41

Ruby Realty LLC (Neil Pathak)..........................29

Ryan Shah (Tabla Lessons)..................................59

Saffron Restaurant and Catering.........................81

Shah & Associates, CPA, PLLC...........................93

Shah & Trivedi CPA, PLLC...............................105

Shah, Anish (Real Estate)..............................60-61

Sheraton Chapel Hill (ATMA Hotel Group).........49

Sona Realty (Venkat Suryadevara).......................42

Technone LLC (Securtiy Systems)........................53

The Blue Taj......................................................33

Travel Passion...................................................41

Umrao Jaan ADA (Musical)................................13

Union Family Eye Associates (Dr. Keshav Bhat)....89

Uniworld Travel...............................................105

VAS Realty LLC (Ashwani Dalal).......................45

Vema Mortgage LLC (Chirag Rachhadia).......59/89

Vimal Realty (Vimal Patel - Realtor)..................69

Windsor Run (Erickson Senior Living)................21

Worldwide Travels............................................101

Index for Raleigh (Triangle), Greensboro (Triad) & Virginia

Aishwarya Majumdar (Live in Charlotte).............83

Allstate (Krish Parlikad)......................................7

AmeriFab International.....................................97

Apex Financial (Investment Hub)........................45

Apna Bazar (Morrisville)....................................32

Apna RTP Realty (Ananth Chivukula)..................9

Aura Skin & Laser (Dipan Patel).........................17

Bashyam Global LLP - Immigration Law Group..48

Bharath Bazar and Café (Cary)...........................76

Bhat & Associates (General Dentistry)..................59

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

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

Bombay Central (Grocery & Take Out Food)........29

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

Carolina Law Group .........................................99

Cary Internal Medicine & Diabetes Center, PA......77

Cary Medical Clinic...........................................79

Chandni's Beauty Salon .....................................61

CliqStudios (Custom Cabinets)...........................37

Corner Stone Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine.....65

County South Realty & Business Brokers.............91

Countywide Commercial (Pavement Solutions)....93

Crescent Dental (Dr. Kavita Ghai).......................75

Darji, Iyer, Joshi & Patel (Accounting & Tax Services).59

Desai & Mehta CPAs PLLC ...............................91

DJ Lalit (Lalit Hemnani)...................................41

Eesha Realty, LLC.............................................39

Four Points by Sheraton (Myrtle Beach)............114

GCAP (Holi Event).............................................6

Geological Resources, Inc...................................43

Global Mall / Legacy Jewels .............................115

Hasya Kavi Sammelan (Hindi Vikas Mandal)........10

Health Markets (Medicare, Health, Life, Supplemental)47

Hindu Center Charlotte .....................................78

HSNC (Expansion)............................................89

HX Imports (Smoke Shops, C-Store, Vape Shops).51

Inchin's Bamboo Garden......................................9

IndusTreks .......................................................24

Insurance -Tushar Barot, Supreme Insurance Serv........101

Insurance Shopping (Sonal Patel - IndependentAgent).53

International Community Church.......................67

Jai Shri Ram Ramayan (Broadway Style Production)4

KB Zaveree (Atlanta).........................................25

KDP CPA.........................................................65

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

Lead Designs LLC.............................................97

Maadhurya Photography...................................43

Malak Jewelers..................................................35

Malani Jewelers...............................................116

Mango Chaska....................................................3

Marriott Raleigh Crabtree Valley........................16

Maxim Tours.....................................................41

Meghana (The Vedic Power Astrologer)..............107

Mehta & McConnell, PLLC (Injury Lawyers).......38

Must Media (Printing & Mailing Specialists)........55

NC Dermatology Associates................................73

NC Indian and South Asian Film Festival.............23

North American Bancard ..................................15

NRS PAY Credit Card Processing..........................5

NSD Tax & Accounting Services..........................55

Nunna Realty (Shiva Nunna)..............................27

Oh' Calcutta (Restaurant Winston Salem)............31

Om Tours & Travel..............................................53

One 2 Entertainment........................................105

Patel & Samatova, Law....................................113

Patel Brothers (Cary).........................................60

Patel, Mrugesh (Law Offices)............................111

Pathak, Atul (Real Estate).................................101

Pramukh Mandapam.......................................113

PreJuve Medspa & Wellness (Neelu Agarwal MD)..79

Prism Lending (Madan Khatri)..........................75

Radha Krishna Temple NC.................................87

Rajeev Devgon, CPA .........................................33

Ram Mortgage (Mayank Patel)...........................41

RB Realty Group (Ravi Bheemarao)....................63

Real Triangle Properties (Joe Mathews)................81

Rupa's Spa & Threading.....................................27

Satyam Primary Care (Amit Sharma, MD)..........61

Shah & Associates, CPA, PLLC...........................93

Shah & Trivedi CPA, PLLC...............................105

Sheraton Chapel Hill (ATMA Hotel Group).........49

Singh, Manny (Real Estate)................................17

Smile Forever Family Dentistry (Dr. Narender Dudee)77

Sona Realty (Venkat Suryadevara).......................42

Spectrum Family Medicine (Sujatha Sajeevan, MD).21

Spice Bazaar (Durham)......................................11

Spices Hut ........................................................26

Stylish Me...........................................................7

Taaza Fresh Indian Bistro...................................21

Technone LLC (Securtiy Systems)........................53

Travel Passion...................................................41

Tutoring (Nirmala Koripella - A+ Tutoring)........71

Umrao Jaan ADA (Musical)................................13

Uniworld Travel...............................................105

VAS Realty LLC (Ashwani Dalal).......................45

Vema Mortgage LLC (Vipul Hapani).............21/67

Vimal Realty (Vimal Patel - Realtor)..................69

Wake Spine & Pain............................................33

West Cary Medicine (Dr. Kareem M.D.).................9

Worldwide Travels............................................101