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Hello Readers
Happy New Year!
It’s time to step over the annual boundary line and say hello to 2025. We are happy you are along for the ride. The incoming year will ring in many changes as does every new year. As we enter our 27th year, we will continue to bring you this community resource with plans of launching Saathee TV (video channel) and Saathee Voices (podcast) in the coming months. Thank you for reading and supporting Saathee magazine, Saathee.com, our weekly e-Newsletter. Special thanks to our advertisers. If you have ever wondered how you can help Saathee expand its work to inform the community, here is a simple way. Become a friend with your financial support! See page 48 for details or visit: Saathee.com/Friend. Onward.
- Samir Shukla (Editor)
Some highlights in this issue:
♦ The necessity of diversity in kids therapy. Page 30
♦ New administration, new policies. Page 46
♦ The ACT is changing. Page 52
Share Saathee with friends and family. We would be happy to add anyone in the Carolinas to the Saathee subscription base at no charge, simply visit saathee.com/subscription and also sign up for our free weekly e-newsletter: saathee.com/weekly-e-newsletter
“It takes less time to do a thing right than to explain why you did it wrong.”
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Cover: Kerala
The boatmen are gathering lotus leaves in a lake in the southern Indian state of Kerala. The leaves are used for cooking in certain recipes.
Photo: Adobe Stock
“Bridging America and the Indian Subcontinent.”
January 2025 Issue # 320
Editor Samir Shukla (Samir@Saathee.com)
Publisher & Advertising Divakar Shukla 704-527-7570 or saatheemag@hotmail.com
Digital Media & Marketing
Jennifer W. Allen
Ad Design / Layout DSJ Graphics & Manimaran
Contributors for this issue:
Shikha Singh, Balaji Prasad, Parul Kharod, Dipika Kohli, Avani Shah, Dr. Ari Mukherjee, Dr. Maha Gingrich, Raajeev Aggerwhil, Rupa Pereira, Ketu Desai, Rishi P. Oza, and Jalendu Vaidya.
Mission: Our goal is to be a valuable source of information for the South Asian community and to be a vital advertising tool for businesses. - F OUNDED 1998 -
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.
The other day I was walking around a large grassy area on our farm and noticed a patch of dirt in the green, a nest made by ants. The red ants had dug up an area of about a square foot and turned the dirt inside out into a small mound. There were a few ants roaming around on top.
I stomped my foot just on the perimeter, without disturbing the mound, and hundreds of angry ants spilled out, seeking the offender, the one who disturbed their world. Their little mound was perfectly crafted for their short lives, and the hyperactivity of these busy miniature critters settled down after a few minutes and they retreated into the ground.
Starlings. Thousands of them. A flock of those noisy little birds swarmed over barren trees which bordered that ant mound, a few days later. They looked like a swirl of smoke weaving about and landing on trees. Their sky dances and cacophony faded in the distance as they flew off to another grove of trees and then again further down the road.
Humans often form into bunches of the alikesingle-minded ants, swirling swarms of starlings, partisan voters. We can work together to achieve a common goal. Other times we bunch up, like voters, where the results of an election angers half the country and makes the other half happy. If it goes the other way, the anger and joy would be reversed.
Millions of Americans voted in the recent national election, and then settled back into their mounds, cocoons and flocks, either bruised and battered or smug and satiated.
A million stories and happenings infuse our little world every hour, day, week, month, year. It’s a mindboggling feast of ongoings amongst everything. At the same time, all these activities and buzzings are laughed aside by the grind of time. Its precise tick tock into the next moment, the immediate future, cares not whether you work through the day or sleep through it. If you are having a happy day or a sad one. The tick, tock, simply, doesn’t, care.
Upcoming Events
Christmas at Biltmore: Asheville, NC (Through January 5, 2025)
O
ffering good tidings of comfort and joy, Christmas at Biltmore awaits you. From Biltmore House to Antler Hill Village, fragrant wreaths, glittering garland, and thousands of sparkling ornaments create a one-of-kind holiday oasis. Dazzling by day, the house is truly magical during Candlelight Christmas Evenings, a 40-year tradition not to be missed. The Event runs through January 5, 2025. Details: Biltmore.com.
Speedway Christmas: Charlotte, NC (Through January 5, 2025)
The 15th season of the Southeast’s largest drive-through holiday light show, Speedway Christmas, features more than five million lights on a four-mile course that includes the legendary oval, pit road and infield road course. The show is open 6-10 p.m. rain or shine and features synchronized lights-tomusic on 101.3 FM plus drive-in movies on the gigantic Speedway TV every Thursday through Sunday night through January 5, 2025. Info: Charlottemotorspeedway.com.
NC Chinese Lantern Festival: Cary, NC (Through January 12, 2025)
Cary’s Koka Booth Amphitheatre will once again welcome the North Carolina Chinese Lantern Festival through January 12, 2025. Chinese artisans will be on hand to craft more than 40 new displays, each one comprised of hundreds of parts, and thousands of LED lights. These larger-than-life lanterns will captivate visitors at every turn with amazing craftmanship and artistic beauty. Cultural arts performances will also take place each night on the main stage. Info: Boothamphitheatre.com.
Greenville News Run Downtown 5K (January 18, 2025)
The 46th annual Greenville News Run Downtown 5K will be conducted on Saturday, January 18, 2025, and is one of the oldest, largest and most popular 5K runs in the state. The run/walk is presented by The Greenville News. Bring the family for the run. Details: Runsignup.com. Look for Greenville.
Blowing Rock WinterFest: Boone, NC
(January 23 - 26, 2025)
The annual Blowing Rock WinterFest will take place between January 23 – 26, 2025 in Boone, NC. The fest features arts and crafts, holiday themed activities, cork and canvas, concerts and performers, a polar bear plunge in Chetola Lake, ice-carvings, chili cookoff, wine tastings, silent auction and raffle. The fest is also a fundraiser for various local charitable causes. Travel & Leisure magazine named Blowing Rock “one of America’s Prettiest Winter Towns.” Info: Blowingrockwinterfest.com.
Charleston Half Marathon & 5K (January
25, 2025)
The PNC Bank Charleston Half Marathon & 5K is a certified course that runs through the historic and scenic city of Charleston, SC. The 2025 race will take place on Saturday, January 25, 2025, with new routes, participant shirts, medals, and a post-race party. Proceeds will benefit Engaging Creative Minds. Details: Charlestonhalfmarathon.com.
Wine & Chocolate Festival: Greensboro, NC
(January 25, 2025)
Wine enthusiasts will gather on Saturday, January 25, 2025, at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex’s Event Wing A for an unlimited sampling of dozens of North Carolina wines. Bottles will be available for purchase. Everyone gets a free souvenir tasting glass. Enjoy food, chocolates, cheeses and sweets. Info: Wineandchocolatefestivals.com.
The Triangle Wine & Food Experience is an event with all proceeds benefiting the Frankie Lemmon School and Developmental Center. Winemakers and celebrity chefs from all over the world, as well as thousands of donors and supporters, will participate. The three-day affair is between January 30February 1, 2025 and includes winery dinners at restaurants, wine tastings at wine shops, and trade events. The weekend culminates in a Grand Auction, which features a selection of diverse wines and food. Info: Frankielemmonfoundation.org.
Mortgage & Real Estate
Next to Sangam Mart
Upcoming Events
Carolina
Chocolate Festival: Morehead City, NC (February 1 - 2, 2025)
Chocolate lovers indulge! The annual Carolina Chocolate Festival will take place between February 1-2, 2025 at the Crystal Coast Civic Center in Morehead City. Both days will be packed with activities from tastings, demonstrations and Pro/Am and Junior bake-offs to relaxing at the spa. Full details at: Carolinachocolatefestival.com.
Aag Ki Raat Night of Fire:
Columbia, SC (February 1, 2025)
Aag Ki Raat is a fusion dance competition held at the University of South Carolina presented by Indian Cultural Exchange. AKR aims to celebrate South Asian dance while helping a local charity. Dance teams from across the country will participate at the event on Sunday, February 1, 2025. For details, visit Facebook.com/aagkiraat.
Sunny Jain’s Wild Wild East:
Raleigh, NC (February 6, 2025)
Catch percussionist and dhol player Sunny Jain’s band Wild Wild East performing live at NC State LIVE, in Raleigh, NC at Talley Student Union on the campus of NC State. Jain has made a career of bringing musical forms into conversation with one another. Wild Wild East casts its nets wide, but what it hauls in can’t be defined by any single point. This isn’t jazz, though it’s impossible to imagine without jazz; nor is it a South Asian party music, though Jain’s persistent dhol playing is impossible to resist. For details, visit Live.arts.ncsu.edu.
North Carolina Jazz Festival:
Wilmington, NC (February 6 - 8, 2025)
Enjoy one of the largest traditional jazz festivals in the Southeast from February 6-8, 2025. This musical weekend starts on Thursday evening and then continues Friday and Saturday night with fourhour concerts featuring 15 sets with six or seven musicians per set (each with a different leader). Come experience some fantastic musicians from around the globe. Info: Ncjazzfestival.org.
Queen City Brewers Festival:
Charlotte, NC (February 8, 2025)
The fest brings together Charlotte region’s craft beverage producers, celebrates their contributions to the Queen City and serves an organization that helps to improve the quality of life of individuals of all ages and backgrounds. In 2025, the festival returns to life to benefit Envision Charlotte, a non-profit that looks to make the city a more circular economy by building a sustainable future for generations to come. Join the festivities the day before Super Bowl on February 8, 2025, from 1-4pm. Info: Qcbrewfest.com.
An Evening with Abraham Verghese: Charlotte, NC (February 11, 2025)
The Learning Society of Queens University presents an evening with Abraham Verghese at Gambrell Center for the Arts & Civic Engagement on February 11, 2025. Dr. Abraham Verghese, practicing physician and Stanford University professor, will discuss “The Caring in Health Care: Challenges and Opportunities in a Technological Era” as he shares insights into his early career journey and the evolution of healthcare. He will describe the crucial role of empathy in healthcare leadership and share how leaders can cultivate it within themselves and their teams. Info: Queens.edu/learningsociety.
Dog Days of Winter: Charlotte, NC (February 15, 2025)
Celebrate winter with your four-legged friends on February 15, 2025, with a variety of activities ranging from a 5K trail race, adoption events, ice rink access, dog yoga, doggy vendors and more. It will take place at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte. Info: Center.whitewater.org.
Hilton Head Marathon: (February 15 - 16, 2025)
The Hilton Head Island Marathon returns on February 15-16, 2025, for another fun 2 days of running through Hilton Head Island. Join thousands of runners across three distances (marathon, half, and 5k) and experience this scenic race that’s one of the premier running events in the region. With all races finishing at the same after party, you’ll celebrate your accomplishments with an after party featuring beer, free food, great tunes, and some race swag. Info: Hhmarathon.com.
Community Service
Cultural Awareness
Become a member at gcap.us
GCAP organizes numerous activities and events including Holi, Navratri, Diwali and more. 127 Landmark Dr., Greensboro, North Carolina 27409
GCAP was established to preserve Gujarati cultural heritages and traditions, educate the youth, celebrate Indian festivals and create networking amongst individuals within our community. Established in 1992, GCAP is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, charitable and educational organization. Our mission is to create an innovative, inclusive and ideal Gujarati Samaj to implement our vision and activities. We believe we must nurture the youth of our community to become leaders of tomorrow while nourishing our senior citizens to provide opportunities for inter-generational exchange of ideas and knowledge. The Piedmont region of NC includes Greensboro, Winston Salem, High Point and surrounding areas.
Upcoming Events
Wilmington Marathon (February 22, 2025)
This is the perfect Boston Marathon qualifying event. The course starts in Wrightsville Beach and makes a straight shot into downtown Wilmington. The back half of the marathon is in beautiful Greenfield Lake and will finish at Live Oak Bank Pavilion. Come span the Cape Fear Coast and run from destination to destination on Saturday, February 22, 2025. Info: Wilmingtonncmarathon.com.
Aziz Ansari Live: Carolinas (February 27 - March 1, 2025)
Aziz Ansari is an actor and comedian. He co-created, writes, directs, and stars in the Netflix series Master of None. His latest special Nightclub Comedian is now streaming on Netflix. Ansari will perform live at DPAC, Durham, NC on February 27, 2025; Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium in SC on February 28, 2025; and Charleston Gaillard Center, SC on March 1, 2025. Details: Azizansari.com.
(March 5 – 8, 2025)
The NC Rice Festival takes place from March 5 – 8, 2025 with indoor and outdoor activities featuring cultural presentations, live entertainment, arts, crafts, food trucks & kids’ activities. It is free. The venue is Brunswick Town/Fort Anderson Park, 8884 St. Philips Road, SE, Winnabow, NC. Further details are at: Northcarolinaricefestival.org.
Nuv Yug India Fest: Raleigh, NC (March 22, 2025)
Nuv Yug presents “India Fest” on Saturday, March 22, 2025, at Jim Graham Building at State Fairgrounds at 4285 Trinity Road, Raleigh, NC. Nuv Yug works to preserve and promote Indian cultural arts by producing programs of
high artistic merit that entertain and educate. The fest will feature myriad performances, delicious food, arts, crafts and exhibits. For more info: Detail: Nuvyug.org.
Keep up with all the events happening in our region with Saathee Magazine. The best way to find them is in these pages or online at our regularly updated events section: Saathee.com/events
North Carolina Rice Festival: Winnabow, NC
The Shifting Cycles of Beauty and How We Can’t Stop Talking About It
The Shifting Cycles of Beauty and How We Can’t Stop Talking About It
Mirror, Mirror
by Jennifer Allen
“You just have to accept your body. You may not love it all the way, but you just have to be comfortable with it. You just want something else that someone else has, but that doesn’t mean what you have isn’t beautiful.” ~ Rihanna
At the beginning of yet another year in our complicated little lives, many think about what changes they may attempt in order to achieve a more fulfilling life. Often described as ‘New Year’s Resolutions’, these revisions to one’s lifestyle can be easy to conjure, but difficult to maintain. Generally, after 60-90 days, quite a few of these choices are dropped and old mannerisms take their place… probably because the shift was so extreme that a person’s mental and physical wellbeing can’t fully accept it.
There are exceptions to this, of course, and those with the self-discipline to continue down the long, winding path required to achieve their goals are a cause for celebration.
Some of the more popular resolutions involve either dropping a bad habit or, alternatively, starting up a good one. For example, cutting down on caffeine or, alternatively, adding more fruits and vegetables to your diet. Nothing is stopping you from attempting both, but more often than not, it’s easier to focus on one potential benefit as a building block toward others later on.
One peculiar fad, shall we say, that crops up every New Year is the desire to lose weight. The caveat is that this doesn’t always mean shifting to a healthier lifestyle, but instead becoming more attractive (according to societal standards) by any means necessary. This elevated obsession with physical appearance has ballooned with the implementation of social media; a topic I’ve already discussed in past articles.
Mirror continued on page 90
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The Year of the Composition Shapes
Kismuth and the Way II by
Dipika Kohli
A collection, a collage, a shaping, a page of distinct and yet cohesive forms, worked out in a particular way, not always a conscious effort, you would guess, this arrangement, by someone who did this to move these pieces into these exact spots. But having shifted them, as such, as they did, you might surmise that perhaps, for them, no reasoning exists, not really, for making it. At all. This, you come to feel, is good news.
Surrendering the need to ‘make sense of’ or deduce, the person who is making will simply work on their work. Materials, feelings, and forms start to take shape, through a back-and-forth dance that does the thing it does, as it will, if you let it, quite well; if you’re lucky, these will bring you along with them right into the page. Walk. Dance. Fly. Welcome to the creative process. Blurs at the start, but intrigue, too; along the way, there’ll be a bias towards, I feel, newness, surprise, and harmony.
We put things together. We stop when the shapes seem to have arrived where they need to be. This is how it is, making a new thing, at the onset. Generating with us, regenerating, too. Parts, or the whole, get ditched at points, too, perhaps, on the way to... wherever it is we’re going.
Stop. Open your eyes. Then, step back. To examine, or reflect, or get curious, or find it uncomfortable, or want to leave. Because we are now observing what we have made. Separate from us, there it is. Our composition. When you make, you’re not just making, you’re also being reshaped, too. Art can do that. Art has a puzzling, bedazzling way.
Kismuth continued on page 80
Krish Parlikad
Talk, Trust, Thrive
Talk, Trust, Thrive
The
Necessity of Diversity in Kids Therapy
The Necessity of Diversity in Kids Therapy
by Avani Shah
Research indicates that 20% of children in the United States aged 3-17 have a mental, emotional or behavioral disorder. With a growing need for treatment, the national zeitgeist has demonstrated a greater awareness of therapy’s benefits, particularly for young children and adolescents. Research has also proven that the bond between patient and therapist is the key to successful treatment.
Children’s therapists find themselves in the unique position of having to build trust through multiple relationships, both with the child they are treating and their caregivers. Therefore, it is particularly critical that therapists be able to communicate impactfully with all those involved in the child’s care. Unfortunately, a shortage of bilingual and multilingual therapists makes it difficult for therapists to bridge the gap between treatment and successful outcomes.
Over 20,000 people speak Hindi in the state of North Carolina and yet therapists available to serve that population lag behind. Language barriers like this one can delay or even prevent successful outcomes. I was originally born in Mumbai, and, as an immigrant myself, I have seen firsthand how this linguistic and cultural disconnect can impact therapeutic relationships. It was this realization that led me to start my own clinic to embrace both a multidisciplinary and multilinguistic approach.
In the midst of a children’s mental health crisis, and an increased understanding about therapy’s benefits, we as therapists must do more to bridge cultural divides and ensure that all parties involved in a child’s care are able to work together cohesively.
One Size Doesn’t Fit All
Whether you are an adult or child, the therapy process can be challenging, at first! Whether a patient faces a speech delay, issues with motor skills, or even a mental health concern, it is necessary for your therapist to build trust with you, from the moment you walk through the door.
This is particularly critical for children— while adults have the ability to decide whether or not to attend therapy, some children may feel coerced or forced into these sessions. Additionally, cultural biases may factor into the willingness to seek care and undergo treatment, for both children and their families. Certain cultures will seek help later than others, even if their condition is significantly worse. This may be due to a combination of shame and cultural stigmas against seeking therapy, which often presents itself as an “invisible diagnosis”.
Across disciplines, the first step of the therapy process is for the therapist to communicate that he or she hears and understands the patient for who they are. This is the first building block of the therapy relationship, allowing the child to feel supported and engage in therapy— particularly in practicing skills or discussing topics they may find uncomfortable, at first. Without an awareness of the underlying factors that may be contributing to their hesitancy, the therapist will be ill-equipped to build a treatment plan to meet their needs.
The same holds true for their relationship with parents and caregivers. It is a therapist’s responsibility to establish goals that make sense for the child, based on a combination of their needs and their family environment. This ensures that these skills will be put into practice outside of the clinic
Chandnis Chandnis
Silky
Upcoming Movie Releases
January 10
Den of Thieves 2 (Director: Christian Gudegast)
Cast: Gerard Butler and O’Shea Jackson Jr
Fateh (Director: Sonu Sood)
Cast: Sonu Sood, Jacqueline Fernandez, and Naseeruddin Shah
Game Changer (Director: S Shankar)
Cast: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Sunil, and Meka Srikanth
The Last Showgirl (Director: Gia Coppola)
Cast: Pamela Anderson, Dave Bautista, Brenda Song, and Jamie Lee Curtis
Daaku Maharaaj (Director: Bobby Koli)
Cast: Nandamuri Balakrishna, Bobby Deol, and Chandini Chowdary
January 17
Emergency
(Director: Kangana Ranaut)
Cast: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, and Mahima Chaudhry
Wolf Man (Director: Leigh Whannell)
Cast: Christopher Abbott, Beatriz Romilly, and Milo Cawthorne
Levon’s Trade (Director: David Ayer)
Cast: Jason Statham, David Harbour, Michael Peña, and Jason Flemyng
In the Grey (Director: Guy Ritchie)
Cast: Henry Cavill, Rosamund Pike, and Jake Gyllenhaal
Back in Action (Director: Seth Gordon)
Cast: Cameron Diaz, Jamie Foxx, and Glenn Close
Presence (Director: Steven Soderbergh)
Cast: Lucy Liu, Julia Fox, and Chris Sullivan
January 24
Flight Risk (Director: Mel Gibson)
Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Michelle Dockery, and Topher Grace
Star Trek: Section 31 (Director: Olatunde Osunsanmi)
Cast: Michelle Yeoh, Omari Hardwick, and Robert Kazinsky
Lahore 1947 (Director: Rajkumar Santoshi)
Cast: Sunny Deol, Preity Zinta, Ali Fazal, and Shabana Azmi
Brave in the Dark (Director: Damian Harris)
Cast: Jared Harris, Nicholas Hamilton, and Kimberly Fairbanks
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Sara Ali Khan, and Nimrat Kaur
Love Me
(Directors: Sam & Andy Zuchero)
Cast: Kristen Stewart and Steven Yeun
January 31
Companion (Director: Drew Hancock)
Cast: Sophie Thatcher and Rupert Friend
Dog Man (Director: Peter Hastings)
Cast: Pete Davidson, Billy Boyd, and Ricky Gervais
You’re Cordially Invited
(Director: Nicholas Stoller)
Cast: Will Ferrell, Reese Witherspoon, and Geraldine Viswanathan
i l m C l i p s
Santosh
Sandhya Suri’s Santosh has been selected by the UK to be its official submission to the Oscars for Best International Film. A young widow now desperate to support herself, accepts an opportunity to inherit her husband’s job as a police officer in rural India. She begins an investigation into a low-caste girl’s murder. Look for the film in January.
Fateh
The story is about a former gangster who is hired to guard a young woman. To keep her safe, Fateh must employ all his abilities while simultaneously attempting to learn the truth about the threats made against her. The film is directed by and stars Sonu Sood along with Jacqueline Fernandez and Naseeruddin Shah. Look for it on January 10, 2025.
Lahore 1947
Director Rajkumar Santoshi’s historical epic, starring Aamir Khan, Sunny Deol, Preity Zinta, Ali Fazal, and Shabana Azmi, is about India’s partition. Filmed with ambitious sequences, the movie is set for release on January 24, 2025.
Game Changer
S Shankar directs superstar Ram Charan along with Kiara Advani, Samuthirakani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Sunil, and Meka Srikanth in Game Changer, about an honest IAS officer’s fight against a corrupt political system through fair and transparent elections. The movie will be released on January 10, 2025.
Sky Force
Akshay Kumar stars as an Indian Air Force Officer in a story about one of the biggest victories of the Air Force. Directed by Sandeep Kewlani and Abhishek Anil Kapur, the film, based on true events, also stars Sara Ali Khan, Veer Pahariya, and Nimrat Kaur. Look for it on January 24, 2025.
Star Trek: Section 31
Emperor Philippa Georgiou joins a secret division of Starfleet to protect the United Federation of Planets and faces the sins of her past. The cast, directed by Olatunde Osunsanmi, includes Michelle Yeoh, Omari Hardwick, Kacey Rohl, Sam Richardson, Sven Ruygrok, and Robert Kazinsky. The film begins its run on January 24, 2025.
Captain America: Brave New World
After meeting with newly elected U.S. President Thaddeus Ross, Sam finds himself in the middle of an international incident. He must discover the reason behind a nefarious global plot. Directed by Julius Onah, the film stars Harrison Ford, Anthony Mackie, and Danny Ramirez. Look for it in cinemas on February 14, 2025.
Integration of Financial Freedom
Bhavesh Patel 704 390 4747
● Free Financial Need Analysis
● Free Estate Planning (Will & Trust) with purchase of IUL
● Free Educational Based Financial Literacy Session
SERVICES OFFERED:
● Life Insurance
● Health Insurance
● Kids College Planning
● Mortgage Protection
● Debt Management
● Retirement Planning
● Accelerated living benefits
● Long Term Care
● Final Expense Coverage
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● Estate Planning (will & trust)
Wishing you a Happy, Healthy & Prosperous New Year!
Guilty of “TUI”? (Thriving Under the Influence)
Guilty of “TUI”? (Thriving Under the Influence)
Thinking About Thinking
by Balaji Prasad
“Faith is stronger than so-called reality.”
~ Herman Hesse
TUI is similar to DUI. They both have the potential to cause serious damage to your existence. It’s worth pausing to reflect on TUI’s twin (from Wikipedia): “Driving under the influence (DUI) is the offense of driving, operating, or being in control of a vehicle while impaired by alcohol or drugs.”
Your goal in life, whether you consciously realize this or not, is to survive … and to thrive. Just as your goal on the road is to drive … safely!
“Hey! I am not under any influence,” you say. You assert that there are no addictive substances warping your mind as you wend your way through life. But … is this really true? If you have ever felt the presence of an anxious “I”, you certainly were under the influence. One of the most addictive and intoxicating substances in this world is the thing you call your “I”.
Aye Yai Yai!
“Aye Yai Yai” is right. This exclamation is the cry of surprise and frustration that you might find yourself involuntarily letting out when you see
something going south. This wannabe expletive is something worth adopting because it could remind you of the deeply insidious and subversive thing that you fondly call your “I”, especially when it is important for you to be apprised of its dominance.
A little indulgence with your “I” is probably okay in the little things in life. However, you will want it exiled and out of your sight, as you ponder the most serious decisions in life – the really big ones that can make or break your thriving; the big things are decisions about whom you get married to, breaking up, leaving a toxic environment, starting a business, etc.
Avoid the I of the storm
When you are in the throes of grappling with a difficult decision in life, it is important to do a quick check to see whether you are in the I of your internal storm or are standing at a more-than-healthy distance from the whirling thing. How you know this is by getting in touch with what you feel.
Do you feel a raging storm inside? Does your mind thrash around trying to get a foothold onto some idea, some direction? Do you feel fear and anxiety? Do you feel a sense of a deer-in-theheadlights transfixation that paralyzes you? If the answer to any of this is a “yes”, your I is intoxicating you.
Just as with driving, thriving safely requires a keen awareness of the state you are in. Beyond that, you need discipline to push your I out of your own mind so that you yourself are not an impediment to your own thriving. But how do you do that?
Community Focus US Masters Tournament
Charlotte 2024
The Charlotte Chess Center organized and conducted the largest event in its nearly 11-year history over the Thanksgiving 2024 holiday with the US Masters Tournament. There were 737 participants from 36 states and 39 countries who played in this year’s US Masters and NC Open tournaments, effectively known as the Charlotte Chess Festival.
Headlined by world #2 GM Fabiano Caruana, 46 other Grandmasters, and 51 International Masters, the US Masters event had a turnout of 264 players where 6 norms were earned, 4 GM and 2 IM.
Alongside the US Masters was the North Carolina Open which featured 473 players of all levels. Open participants enjoyed blitz challenges and lectures with GM Naroditsky as well as US Masters commentary with both GMs Daniel Naroditsky and Kayden Troff
Fabiano Caruana won the USM event 8/9 despite his setback in round 6 against Theodorou. Caruana marks the USM with the highest achieved score in history. In addition, he picks up the highly sought after FIDE Circuit points from the event propelling him to a near tie for 1st with Arjun Erigaisi.
The Charlotte Chess Center partnered with Chess.com, International Chess Federation, US Chess, Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority, and The Westin Charlotte to make this event happen. For more details, visit Charlottechesscenter.org.
e Chess Center
Abhimanyu Mishra is known for being the youngest to achieve GM ever at age 12 yrs, 4 months, and 25 days.
Resident GM, Daniel Naroditsky (right), playing a blitz exhibition against challengers from the NC Open tournament.
Charlotte Chess Center owner Peter Giannatos (right) presenting the US Masters cup to winner Fabiano Caruana (left).
Photos Courtesy: Charlott
Vitamin D The Sunshine Vitamin
Nutrition for Life by
Parul Kharod
In the winter months, our mood is affected by the cold gloomy weather, leading to seasonal affective disorder (SAD), a type of depression that is more common during this season. Low Vitamin D has been linked to SAD.
Vitamin D is also called the sunshine vitamin. However, it is mistakenly believed that we can get enough Vitamin D through sunlight. Sunlight does not have Vitamin D. Our skin has an inactive form of Vitamin D or rather a precursor called 7dehydrocholesterol. During exposure to sunlight, 7dehydrocholesterol in the skin absorbs UV B radiation and is converted to provitamin D3 which in turn converts to Vitamin D3 or ergocalciferol.
Vitamin D synthesis from sunlight is greatly influenced by season, time of day, latitude, altitude, air pollution, skin pigmentation, sunscreen use, passing through glass and plastic, and aging. Which is why not all of us are able to get enough Vitamin D through sunlight.
What exactly is Vitamin D?
Vitamin D is not just one chemical, but it has many forms. It is not just a nutrient but is also known as a prohormone. Technically, it is not even a vitamin.
Nutrition continued on page 84
New Administration New Policies New Leadership New Administration New Policies New Leadership
by Ketu Desai
With the new administration comes new policies. The economy was headed toward moderating growth and inflation, both settling into a range between 2% and 2.5%. The market now expects an environment with higher growth, higher inflation and higher rates. Treasury yields have settled into a range between 4% and 4.5%. Higher nominal growth, higher inflation, and a significant budget deficit will likely keep Treasury yields high. Perhaps more importantly, the market’s expectation for inflation is meaningfully up.
The 5-year break-even rate (a proxy for future inflation) is now just under 2.5%, up from 1.86% in mid-September. The Fed has also sent signs of recalibrating its expectations for policy. In a speech in November, Chair Powell said that the Fed isn’t in a rush to reduce interest rates. Further, the Dallas Fed President said, “I see substantial signs that the neutral rate has increased in recent years, and some hints that it could be very close to where the fed funds rate is now.”
The market is adjusting to the reality that the cutting cycle might be much shallower than originally thought. The market is now expecting just three more cuts through the end of 2025. We appear to be moving into a higher for longer environment.
As the macro and rate expectations have recalibrated, so have the equity markets. With a clear shift in post-election leadership, the market rotated to areas with clear beneficiaries of the new policies and sold those that aren’t. For instance, the expectation for deregulation, lower capital requirements, increased M&A and capital market activity drove a significant rally in financials.
Financials will also benefit from a steepening yield curve, as they are not subject to potential tariffs. The risk of tariffs was a driver behind a rotation from semiconductor stocks into software. The expectation of a smaller government took defense and government contractor stocks down. The nomination of a new Secretary of Health and Human Services presents a risk to pharma, biotech, and many packaged food companies. They all saw their stocks make a move down.
The clear winner in the post-election trading has been crypto. It is not only benefiting from the removal of the
Eye on the Markets
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Drums are the Heartbeats of Dancing
Drums are the Heartbeats of Dancing
Dances of India by Dr.
Maha Gingrich
India is a land of ancient culture and traditions, in which dance, music, art, literature, architecture and handicrafts play a very important role.
In music and dance, drums have always played an essential role. In any dance form, from any country, when you add drums to the orchestra, it sets the stage for presentation of energy. They are used to invoke spirits, create rhythmic patterns or describe the intensity of cosmic dances. As you hear the drumbeats, your heart races according to the rhythm and your feet start moving. No matter what age, this feeling is unique to all living beings including animals.
In Hinduism, I think it all started with the dances with Dhamaru drum performed by Lord Shiva. A small drum shaped like an hourglass is known as a Dhamaru. This is one of the attributes of Lord Shiva in his famous dancing
representation, known as Nataraj, the King of Dances. A specific hand gesture called Dhamaru-hasta is used to hold the drum while dancing. The Dhamaru in His left hand represents the Shabda or cosmic sounds. According to scriptures, it represents “OM” from which all languages are formed.
In ancient Hindu sculpture, painting, and mythology, the Mridangam, a South Indian Drum, is often depicted as the instrument of choice for a number of deities to play and to dance with, including Ganesha (the remover of obstacles) and Nandi, who is the vehicle of Lord Shiva. Nandi is said to have played the Mridangam during Shiva’s ancient Tandava dance, causing a divine rhythm to resound across the heavens.
The Pung cholom is a Manipuri dance, also known as Mrindanga Kirtan or Dhumal dance. This dance is performed by only males either as integral part of Nata Sankirtan or independently in front of a social gatherings. In this style, dressed in white, dancers need to be graceful
Dances of India continued on page 86
Photo Courtesy of Dances of India
The ACT is Changing
The SAT and ACT (American College Testing) scores have always been key deciding factors in college admissions. Even though many universities went “test optional” after COVID, the recent trend for the last two years have been to move back towards “test required”. The simple reason is that a standardized test score has always been, and will continue to be, the golden standard for judging the strengths of applications. However, I will shelve more discussion of “test optional” for another article. Just as we were getting comfortable with the familiar paperbased ACT, we now hear about the new Digital ACT looming on the horizon.
Starting in April 2025, students who choose to test online (take the Digital ACT) will have more flexibility and choice, experience a shorter test, and get more time to respond to each question. Beginning with the September 2025 test, all students testing on a Saturday, either online or on paper, will experience these benefits. Schools and districts will have these options starting in Spring 2026.
So, what is staying the same with Digital ACT? For one, the ACT will continue to be based on your high school curriculum, and the scores will give students the opportunity to qualify for scholarships. The Composite score scale for the Digital ACT will remain 1-36, and scores from tests taken prior to the rollout of the new Composite score will not change.
However, there are going to be quite a few changes. The Digital ACT will be shortened from 195 minutes to 125 minutes, while the science section will become optional. The Composite score will now only include English, math, and
reading, with an optional science score and a STEM score if students choose to take the science section. The number of questions will be reduced overall (44 fewer questions to be exact), and students will get more time per question. The number of math question answer choices has been reduced from 5 to 4.
Starting in September 2025, Digital ACT will also be offered on paper – yes, that is a paradox! Students will always have the choice to test online or on paper!
For students who want to pursue a STEM career, the science section is still there to showcase their skills, and I highly recommend that they take the science section. It is very tempting to take a shorter test, but not taking the science section may end up doing some real damage, come application time.
For those students who have prepared for, or are preparing for, the existing conventional ACT, I suggest that they do not switch to the Digital ACT version at all. Instead, they should make sure that they make an adequate number of attempts on the existing ACT and get their desired score by the July 2025 test date. Any time a test changes, it brings instability and unknowns with the change. If a student is not at all comfortable with the science questions (which are mainly on data interpretation and understanding experiments), then the student may want to start taking the online version of the Digital ACT from April 2025.
If you are still with me till this point, then you must be contemplating taking the ACT in the near future. To be or not to be (in the Digital ACT camp) – that is the question!
Dr. Ari Mukherjee
is President and Founder of HitchHiker's Guide To College www.hitchhikersguide2college.com hhg2c@yahoo.com 704-840-5485
My Voice by Dr. Ari Mukherjee
Canine Karma
Raajeev’s Corner
by Raajeev Aggerwhil
This December we celebrated our dog Turing’s 8th birthday. We got him two months after he was born, and it changed our life forever... it now involves a lot more lint rollers! My kids had been insisting on getting a dog for many years, but I managed to resist; now, he is an integral part of our lives.
I am not alone in this though; there are a lot of social media posts about immigrant dads resisting requests from their children about getting a dog but eventually giving in and becoming overly attached to the animal... and I do love to follow a good trend.
Turing is healthy — we give him top-quality food, mostly kibble but I know he prefers the delicacy of “wet meat.”
He’s a very picky dog; if I add some shredded cheese, chicken or even sour cream on the kibble he will eat it right away – that or show him that the kibble received a Michelin star. Otherwise, he will ignore the dry food entirely for a few hours and will only reluctantly come back when there is no choice.
my plate down with lentils, rice, or vegetables to his level. He takes one sniff at my plate and walks away. Apparently, lentils just don’t pass the sniff test for canines. Who knew?
I guess after all these years he is unaware of the famous proverb – “Eat your greens and grow strong”; apparently, it’s not as popular of a saying among the dog community.
In fact, in all these years, he has not had a single piece of vegetable. No spinach. No broccoli, not even a pea. The importance of greens is universally known. In Hindi, there is a saying, “Jo khaye saag, rahe sada nirog.” Those who eat greens, remain healthy forever. There is a Chinese proverb, “Greens bring peace to the stomach and joy to the soul.” And there is an African proverb, “The cow that eats greens is the one that gives the best milk.” I guess Turing doesn’t believe in any of these. He must think these proverbs are part of some vast vegetable propaganda conspiracy. I can understand him not following the African proverb because it is meant for a cow, but the Indian and the Chinese proverbs are species neutral. Maybe because we named him after a British computer scientist, and he has some element of colonialism or racial bias built in his genes.
He is like the Gordon Ramsay of dogs—just waiting to yell at me for daring to serve him plain kibble! He always gives me such guilt about having to suffer through eating normal dog food... although I think it’s a bit much when he starts playing that sad Sarah McLachlan song from the ASPCA commercials. I try not to take a hardline position. I never did with my kids either when they were growing up. “No mac and cheese today… you better eat that aloo-gobhi (cauliflower).”
For some reason, every time I am having dinner, he will still come up to me and tap my legs, urging me to give him some food. I’ve found that the solution is simple; I just lower
When I was growing up in India, there was no packaged specialty dog food; my relatives would give their dog a roti, broken up in small pieces and dipped in milk. I have friends in the US who have bragged that they have been able to train their dogs to eat broccoli or even carrots. Meanwhile, I can’t even get Turing to look at a vegetable without him filing a formal protest I can’t decide if Turing’s refusal to accept such training means he’s either stupid – or just smart enough to know what he likes. We thought of consulting a nutritionist, but our veterinarian confirmed that each dog is different. We just have to accept that he is a carnivore and eating meat is just part of his DNA... and he has to accept that it was his bad karma from a previous life that got him stuck in a vegetarian family.
Raajeev continued on page 94
Spot the Differences
See if you can spot the 15 differences between the original photo on top and modified below Answers are on page 104
Side Hustle or Side Hobby:
Side Hustle or Side Hobby:
My Voice by Hiren Deliwala
In recent years, the rise of the side hustle has captured the imagination of many, especially within the Indian diaspora in the United States. From casual conversations over dinner with friends to social gatherings, it’s almost inevitable that the topic turns to real estate, stock investments, or starting a small business. For some, these side ventures are about building wealth and securing a second stream of income, fueled by a growing fear of job insecurity. But for those who are already making a comfortable living, a question emerges: when is enough really enough? And is there a better way to spend our time? We often pursue a side hustle thinking it will bring us financial freedom. But ironically, these ventures often end up taking away the very thing we sought in the first place— time. Time for family, time for ourselves, and time for leisure. The hustle culture sometimes lures us into a neverending chase for more, without us really understanding what the end goal is. For many of us, especially those who are financially stable, this pursuit is not about survival but rather about keeping up, often driven by social pressures or the fear of missing out (FOMO).
When Indian friends gather, especially in communities where entrepreneurship is celebrated, like among Gujarati families, the talk inevitably turns to who has opened a new gas station or invested in a hotel. Everyone has a story of someone who has “made it big” by branching out. Then, there’s always that one friend who reminds us that jobs are no longer the safe havens they once were. They share tales of layoffs and job loss, invoking the fear that if we don’t have a secondary income source, we’re left vulnerable. This constant narrative can leave a lasting impression, often pushing us to consider whether we, too, should jump into a side hustle.
However, once the party is over and the excitement fades, reality sets in. Many of us dismiss the idea, convincing ourselves it’s too risky or time-consuming. Yet, the seed is planted, and we find ourselves caught in an internal debate—should we take the plunge? Should we join the side-hustle bandwagon? After all, there is something undeniably thrilling about launching a business or diving into a new venture. The sense of adventure, the opportunity to learn something new, and the potential for financial gain can be very appealing.
What is an AI agent?
A computer scientist explains the next wave of artificial intelligence tools
What is an AI agent? A computer scientist explains the next wave of artificial intelligence tools
By Brian O’Neill
Interacting with AI chatbots like ChatGPT can be fun and maybe useful, but the next level of everyday AI goes beyond answering questions: AI agents carry out tasks for you.
Major technology companies, including OpenAI, Microsoft, Google and Salesforce, have recently released or announced plans to develop and release AI agents. They claim these innovations will bring newfound efficiency to technical and administrative processes underlying systems used in health care, robotics, gaming and other businesses.
Simple AI agents can be taught to reply to standard questions sent over email. More advanced ones can book airline and hotel tickets for transcontinental business trips. Google recently demonstrated Project Mariner to reporters, a browser extension for Chrome that can reason about the text and images on your screen.
In the demonstration, the agent helped plan a meal by adding items to a shopping cart on a grocery chain’s website, even finding substitutes when certain ingredients were not available. A person still needs to be involved to finalize the purchase, but the agent can be instructed to take all of the necessary steps up to that point.
In a sense, you are an agent. You act in your world every day in response to things that you see, hear and feel. But what exactly is an AI agent? As a computer scientist, I offer this definition: AI agents are technological tools that can learn a lot about a given environment, and then – with a few simple prompts from a human – work to solve problems or perform specific tasks in that environment.
Rules and goals: A smart thermostat is an example of a very simple agent. Its ability to perceive its environment is limited to a thermometer that tells it the temperature. When the temperature in a room dips below a certain level, the smart thermostat responds by turning up the heat.
A familiar predecessor to today’s AI agents is the Roomba. The robot vacuum cleaner learns the shape of a carpeted living room, for instance, and how much dirt is on the carpet. Then it acts based on that information. After a few minutes, the carpet is clean.
The smart thermostat is an example of what AI researchers call a simple reflex agent. It makes decisions, but those decisions are simple and based only on what the agent perceives in that moment. The robot vacuum is a goal-based agent with a singular goal: clean all of the floor that it can access. The decisions it makes – when to turn, when to raise or lower brushes, when to return to its charging base – are all in service of that goal.
A goal-based agent is successful merely by achieving its goal through whatever means are required. Goals can be achieved in a variety of ways, however, some of which could be more or less desirable than others.
Many of today’s AI agents are utility based, meaning they give more consideration to how to achieve their goals. They weigh the risks and benefits of each possible approach before
deciding how to proceed. They are also capable of considering goals that conflict with each other and deciding which one is more important to achieve. They go beyond goal-based agents by selecting actions that consider their users’ unique preferences.
Making decisions, taking action
When technology companies refer to AI agents, they aren’t talking about chatbots or large language models like ChatGPT. Though chatbots that provide basic customer service on a website technically are AI agents, their perceptions and actions are limited. Chatbot agents can perceive the words that a user types, but the only action they can take is to reply with text that hopefully offers the user a correct or informative response.
The AI agents that AI companies refer to are significant advances over large language models like ChatGPT because they possess the ability to take actions on behalf of the people and companies who use them.
OpenAI says agents will soon become tools that people or businesses will leave running independently for days or weeks at a time, with no need to check on their progress or results. Researchers at OpenAI and Google DeepMind say agents are another step on the path to artificial general intelligence or “strong” AI – that is, AI that exceeds human capabilities in a wide variety of domains and tasks.
The AI systems that people use today are considered narrow AI or “weak” AI. A system might be skilled in one domain – chess, perhaps – but if thrown into a game of checkers, the same AI would have no idea how to function because its skills wouldn’t translate. An artificial general intelligence system would be better able to transfer its skills from one domain to another, even if it had never seen the new domain before.
Worth the risks?
Are AI agents poised to revolutionize the way humans work? This will depend on whether technology companies can prove that agents are equipped not only to perform the tasks assigned to them, but also to work through new challenges and unexpected obstacles when they arise.
Uptake of AI agents will also depend on people’s willingness to give them access to potentially sensitive data: Depending on what your agent is meant to do, it might need access to your internet browser, your email, your calendar and other apps or systems that are relevant for a given assignment. As these tools become more common, people will need to consider how much of their data they want to share with them.
A breach of an AI agent’s system could cause private information about your life and finances to fall into the wrong hands. Are you OK taking these risks if it means that agents can save you some work?
What happens when AI agents make a poor choice, or a choice that its user would disagree with? Currently,
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Beginning of 2025 and the End of a Tax Era
Beginning of 2025 and the End of a Tax Era
Comparing Current TCJA (2023 Tax Year) vs. Pre-TCJA Rates
Financially
Speaking
by Rupa Pereira
I escaped the post-election frenzy in the US by taking a short trip to visit my parents in Mumbai, punctuated with an exploration of Kerala backwaters and Kanyakumari. It was refreshing to get away from an incessant news cycle that foretold doom and gloom for the future.
However, as I started to look forward to 2025, I realized that on the tax-front, doom and gloom could very well be a likely scenario. Here’s why.
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) was a major overhaul of the tax code, signed into law by President Donald Trump on January 1, 2018. It was the largest tax overhaul that I’ve witnessed in the last three decades. TCJA is set to expire on December 31, 2025, unless Congress acts to extend it. Why is such a big deal and why does it matter?
For starters, here are some key provisions of the act:
• Higher Standard Deductions
• Lower Tax brackets
• Higher Child Tax Credit
• High Estate Tax Exemption Limits
• No Health care mandate – (no federal penalty for not carrying health insurance)
• Corporate Tax Rate set at 21% vs previous tax rate of 37%
• Qualified Business Income Deduction for passthrough business entities such as LLCS, partnerships and S-Corps and Sole-proprietorship
While most of the above may affect us on the periphery, the one that would bite 2-income family households would be tax brackets. Here’s an example for families currently in the 22% or 32% tax bracket in the most recent tax year.
With income thresholds remaining identical between the pre and post levels at a respective bracket, as we see above, families will be hit with higher federal taxes at higher income levels affecting their take-home paycheck.
In addition, based on calculations from Congressional Budget Office (CBO), here’s how various family related provisions would be affected if TCJA expires. Note the values are inflation adjusted.
Financially Speaking continued on page 88
News Notes
BAPS Karyakar Suvarna Mahotsav Honors
100,000 BAPS Volunteers
On December 7, 2024, there was a huge celebration of service and devotion as BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha that commemorated 50 years of volunteerism through its Karyakar Suvarna Mahotsav (Golden Anniversary Celebration). This event, attended by over 100,000 volunteers and held at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Amdavad, Gujarat, paid tribute to the dedication and contributions of BAPS volunteers worldwide.
The evening’s celebrations featured performances and speeches while highlighting the transformative impact of seva (selfless service) on individuals, communities, and society at large.
The program began with a ceremonious welcome for His Holiness Mahant Swami Maharaj, who arrived at the stadium in a beautifully crafted chariot. As the chariot advanced along the periphery of the stadium, a symbolic performance was performed by nearly 800 children and youth karyakars dressed in 550 handcrafted floral petals and 225 beads.
The Karyakar Suvarna Mahotsav program was divided into three segments—Seed, Tree, and Fruit—each symbolizing the evolution and impact of BAPS volunteerism.
The Seed segment showcased the nurturing of the selfless service tradition, initiated by Shastriji Maharaj and Yogiji Maharaj, and structured by Pramukh Swami Maharaj, who established
organized platforms for volunteers. The Tree segment illustrated how these seeds of service blossomed into a global volunteer force, with stories of resilience and unwavering dedication to initiatives such as education, family unity, and humanitarian efforts. Special tributes were paid to women volunteers for their steadfast contributions. The Fruit segment celebrated the transformative outcomes of volunteerism, highlighting the global reach of BAPS through humanitarian projects and the lives it has touched.
The event underscored the unity and dedication of volunteers, from large-scale festival management to individual acts of life-saving service. Each segment of the program was brought to life with performances by 2,000 artists, visual projections across a huge screen, 70 projectors, and 100,000 pre-programmed wristbands that lit up in unison.
Key dignitaries, including Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi (via video message), Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, shared their reflections on the volunteers’ contributions and the values they embody.
The celebration culminated in the Maha Arti, performed by 100,000 volunteers under the open sky, and a fireworks display. The Golden Anniversary Celebration was not only a tribute to the past but also a call to action for the future. As Mahant Swami Maharaj blessed the gathering, he reminded everyone of the importance of seva in creating a harmonious and prosperous world.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “May it be the Gujarat Earthquake, a landslide in Uttarakhand, or COVID relief efforts, the dedicated workforce of BAPS serves for the betterment of humanity. When the decision was taken to rescue the Indians trapped in Ukraine, a large number of Indians reached Poland from Ukraine. At that time, I spoke to a BAPS saint at midnight. I urged them to help the Indians who were reaching Poland. Overnight, BAPS volunteers from all over Europe came forward to help, and I greatly appreciate it. The volunteers of BAPS are highlighting India’s influence across the world. Recently, the temple constructed by BAPS in Abu Dhabi has showcased India’s spiritual strength to the world. We must further promote initiatives like the ‘Ghar Sabha’ campaign for family harmony introduced by Pramukh Swami Maharaj.”
BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha (B.A.P.S) is a volunteer-driven spiritual organization committed to fostering individual growth through Hindu values of faith, service, and harmony.
For more details, visit Baps.org.
Bollywood’s Kapoor Family Meets Modi in Celebration of Raj Kapoor
India’s legendary filmmaker Raj Kapoor’s 100th birthday was celebrated in December with screening of his films at many cinema houses across India. Members of the Kapoor family met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 11, 2024, just before the screenings began to talk about and celebrate Raj Kapoor’s legacy.
Modi remarked that the 100th birth anniversary celebrations of Raj Kapoor symbolized the saga of the golden journey of Indian film Industry. Touching upon the term ‘soft power’ used in the context of diplomacy, Modi highlighted that Raj Kapoor had established the soft power of India via movies at a time when the term itself was not coined. He added that this was an immense contribution of Raj Kapoor in service of India.
Modi urged the Kapoor family to make a movie, especially catering to Central Asia, about Raj Kapoor who is still mesmerizing the people there even after so many years. He added that Raj Kapoor had an impact on their lives.
UNEP’s 2024 Champions of the Earth Recognizes Six Environmental Leaders
On December 10, 2024, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) announced recipients of the 2024 Champions of the Earth, honored for their leadership, brave actions and sustainable solutions to tackle land degradation, drought and desertification.
The annual Champions of the Earth award, the UN’s highest environmental honor, recognizes trailblazers at the forefront of efforts to protect people and planet.
Among the six champions is Madhav Gadgil, an Indian ecologist honored in the Lifetime Achievement category. He has spent decades protecting people and the planet through research and community engagement.
From landmark environmental impact assessments of state and national policies to grassroots environmental engagement, Gadgil’s work has influenced public opinion and official policies on the protection of natural resources. He is renowned for his seminal work in the ecologically fragile Western Ghats region of India.
Others are Sonia Guajajara, Amy Bowers Cordalis, Gabriel Paun, Lu Qi and the organization SEKEM.
For more details, visit Unep.org.
Nearly All U.S. Counties Had More Homeowners Than Renters Between 2019 and 2023
The number of owner-occupied housing units increased by 8.4%, from 76.4 million in 2014-2018 to 82.9 million in 2019-2023, according to newly released U.S. Census Bureau data on December 13, 2024.
The 2019-2023 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates show that more people owned homes than rented in 3,070 of the nation’s 3,144 counties and county equivalents between 2019 and 2023.
The rise in both homeownership and home values also came with an increase in the number of owneroccupied households without a mortgage, increasing between the two 5-year periods by 3.9 million units, from 36.9% of owned homes in the 2014-2018 ACS estimates to 38.8% in the 2019-2023 ACS estimates.
“The increase in the number of owned homes without a mortgage could partially explain why the median amount of income homeowners spent toward housing costs decreased from 18.3% to 17.5%,” said Caroline Short, a survey statistician in the Census Bureau’s Housing Statistics Branch. “Housing data also showed that 61.2% of owned homes had a mortgage. Moreover, the median ratio of income to housing costs for mortgaged homes decreased slightly from 21.6% to 20.9%. But the actual median dollar amount of monthly housing cost rose slightly from $1,897 to $1,902.”
The Election of Donald Trump and the Future of Immigration
The Election of Donald Trump and the Future of Immigration
Immigration Matters
by Rishi P. Oza
The stunning election of Donald Trump to return to the presidency marks an inflection point not only in US politics, but also to the future of America’s immigration system. Love him or hate him, voters understood where Trump always stood on the immigration issue, which helped to propel him back into the White House.
What is different for his second term compared to his first is this: He will control all three levers of government –the legislature, the executive and (presumably) the courts. This absolute power may be devilishly enticing but comes with a very clear price: as with all other issues facing the country, the Republican Party will now own the entirety of the issue outright and cannot paint Democrats as political obstructionists seeking to stymie progress on the issue. One way or the other, Republicans must now be able to deliver.
As an issue, immigration has always been a political minefield. Democrats have historically wanted to be seen as forgiving and inviting to migrants seeking US protection from broken foreign governments, crime and poverty. However, under President Biden, the system ran amok with migrants without any viable claim to asylum or protection simply arriving at the US southern border knowing that they would be permitted to enter the country. How such a situation would be considered a political victory remains unclear and voters punished Kamala Harris for what was roundly seen as political incompetence.
Conversely, Republicans have historically been the business-friendly party, and they have also painted themselves as the law-and-order party, although this position has mixed results. Trump’s first term did reveal an increase in overall number of individuals placed into removal proceedings, but by failing to significantly increase the number of administrative judges capable of handling an increasingly loaded docket, the system bogged down.
Trump’s plans for mass deportation will undoubtedly be a daunting legal and logistical challenge. Estimates range from 15 – 25 million individuals present in the United States in violation of law, which makes such a massive undertaking a logistical nightmare. Trump has provided little details thus far on how the government would execute such an undertaking. Will DHS be hiring thousands of federal agents to scour the nation’s streets? How will illegal immigrants be identified – public checkpoints in heavily ethnic communities will surely receive immediate legal challenges. How does Trump propose to pay for undoubted expansion of the federal labor force (particularly in light of Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy’s Department of Government Efficiency looking to cut the federal workforce)?
If the government intends to detain those in the country unlawfully, where will these millions of individuals be housed while awaiting their hearings? While Trump would not be the first politician to back away from promises made on during election season, the fact that immigration plays such a central role in his overall policy agenda makes the execution of such a herculean task by the administrative state a challenge beyond modern day comparison.
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5 Science Fairs Open to High School Students
5 Science Fairs Open to High School Students
College Admissions Insider
by Brandie Erickson
Science fairs offer a platform for students to study any topic they are interested in and present their findings to an audience. They are a fantastic opportunity for high school students to explore their scientific interests and showcase their ideas. These events allow students to demonstrate their commitment to advancing the scientific field and make them more competitive in the college and combined medical program admissions process.
Benefits Of Participation
Participating in a science fair is not just about the competition, but the long-term benefits. It allows students to brainstorm and implement their novel solutions to realworld problems. They design experiments, learn lab techniques and develop inventions or produce results that can lead to significant discoveries. From the start of the process to the end, it is a rigorous but gratifying activity that will lead to bonding with peers, learning a new field and creating an impact. Whether they are interested in biology, chemistry, physics or engineering, students can use these fairs to explore subjects beyond the standard curriculum of their high schools and gain hands-on experience in research and innovation.
Impact On College Applications
Excelling at science fair competitions can also substantially boost college and combined medical program applications. Admissions officers look for students who have demonstrated a passion for science and can independently work on a project, such as scientific research. A winning project at a science fair can highlight a student’s dedication and curiosity, making them stand out in the competitive admissions pool.
Upcoming Science Fairs
Participating in a science fair involves advanced planning and staying up to date with their deadlines is essential. Here are some science fairs that offer students a chance to showcase their scientific talents.
Davidson Fellows
Location: Washington, D.C.
Dates: Summer
Registration deadline: January/February
Cost: None
Age requirements: Must be less than 18 years old
Team sizes: No more than two people
Prizes and awards: $10,000, $25,000 or $50,000 scholarship
Overview: Project categories include Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, Literature, Music, Philosophy and Outside the Box. The scholarships are awarded to pieces of significant work, which includes a creative application of existing knowledge, an innovation, a prodigious performance or another demonstration of a prodigious accomplishment.
Odyssey
of the Mind
Location: Varies by association area
Dates: Varies by association area
Registration deadline: December/January
Cost: $290 for standard membership and an additional $190 for a second team within the same school
Age requirements: Grades 6-8 (less than 15 years old) for Division II and grades 9-12 for Division III
Team sizes: Up to seven people (no minimum)
Prizes and awards: Place awards, Creativity award, Role Model award and Spirit award
Overview: This is a problem-solving competition with five problem categories: Vehicle (students build an efficient and powered vehicle), Technology (students
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(IG: @spicymillennial)
Curry Veg Mini Pot Pies
Hello Saathee family! These Veg Mini Curry Pot Pies are the ultimate recipe for your potluck gatherings or as a show-stopping appetizer for your next hosting event. Packed with warm, cozy flavors and a delightful kick of spice, they’re sure to win over everyone at the table. The flaky, golden crust paired with a flavorful, spiced veggie filling makes them the perfect fusion dish—comforting, delicious, and easy to serve. Whether you’re hosting a party or bringing a dish to share, these little pot pies will impress.
1. Heat oil and butter until the butter melts in a pot. Then add peas, carrots, onion and garlic. Cook on low until the frozen vegetables defrost and onions begin to brown.
2. Add the spices. Then in a separate bowl, mix the milk with all-purpose flour until blended well.
3. Pour the milk into the pot. Stir until the mixture thickens. Then add the shredded cheese.
4. Allow the mixture to cool in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
5. Take out your mini muffins pan, and brush with olive oil or butter. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
6. Roll out the pie crust with a rolling pin to make it slightly bigger and using a round edge that is about 3 inches in diameter (I used the bottom of a chickpea can) cut into round circles.
7. Place each pie circle in a muffin slot and top it with the veggie mixture, filling it just below the top.
8. Bake in the oven for 17-20 minutes until the pie crust is golden brown. Enjoy warm and can serve with mint chutney or just by itself!
For more recipes, visit Saathee.com/category/recipes
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Republic Day: January 26th, Sunday
Vasant Panchami: February 2nd, Sunday
Maha Shivratri: February 26th, Wednesday
Holika Dahan: March 13th, Thursday & Holi Color Playing: March 23rd, Sunday
Gudi Padava/Vaishakhi/ Vishu/ Chetti-Chand Spring Festival / Basant Mela: March 22nd, Saturday
Ugadi/Gudi Padava/Vaishakhi/ Vishu/ Chetti-Chand in Temple: March 30th, Sunday
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Ram Navami: April 6th, Sunday Ram Sita Kalyanam (April 12th Friday Ramayan Reading starts and ends on April 13th Saturday)
Other April Events: Mahavir Jayanti, Hanuman Jayanti, MahaPrabhuji Patotsav
Maybe you are pulled into the charm and mystery of a friendly conversation with someone you know and care for, or you may lose track of time because you were so absorbed. In creating something. A new thing. A potentially revealing thing, because art, and the effort and joy and pain and fear of making it, shows us, in its own way, who it is we really are. For this moment, that is. This now.
No one says you have to stay in one mode, forever. That’s the freedom of this, you get to let it emerge, and fall right in, alongside the natural way it will involve you. I know this is abstract.
Being in flow, making steps towards the making of something, without agenda or expectation, can feel like that, like you’re in a mystery. Sometimes. Airy, spare, and yet, you kind of get the sense that things are going exactly how they need to. Lifting your pieces, drawing your shapes, smoothing out this or that, adjusting, amending, deleting whole bunches of stuff, pasting blocks, adding new lines, or notes, or colors. Natural and intuitive: this is nothing at all like what we might be told we “ought” to be doing. We are at play.
There is no rulebook here. This fact is what the people I know who are making all the time, and making every day, seem to feel, too, as they tell me, and we maybe just agree with ourselves because it’s hard to find others to see it this way: that making is a goal, in and of itself.
Seeking, searching in the early days, and learning to relinquish, accept, and let go in the later ones, how our experiences influence the ways we unconsciously choose to assemble what we hold, and continue to keep, and what we let go of, is what makes our compositions and the final collections of shapes in them the picture that it will be, when we get there. “Finished.” “You’re finished?”
You step back, tilt your head. You’ve been at it, making shapes and moving shapes and working shapes until you are ready to leave them as they are, in what feels, in some way, on some gut level, complete. Words or music or art or a walk in the park or a seasonal catch-up call. Eventually, things wind to their natural points for closure. You say, knowing this will be questioned, but saying it anyway, “I think I am.”
Static, there it is, completed. You go on to the next thing. The next piece, the next concept, stage, trip, book, or backand-forth exchange of messages with someone who gets it, that this is a thing, and you hold each other accountable for the continuing to try. To see. To feel. To do a thing you’ve never done, and best yourself, through these efforts.
Each of these experiences are examples, I think, of times when we get a chance to compose something. To get to the end of where the process of creating or co-creating this will take you, through what will be, hopefully, a jam session that reveals something that holds up a mirror to you, as you go. If it does, you’re doing it right. Art starts there.
Dipika Kohli
is an author who is based in Phnom Penh. Discover her books at kismuth.com and other projects at dipikakohli.com.
That said, Trump’s second term should reflect some lessons learned from his first term. His selection of Tom Hermon as his border czar does reflect his desire for a nononsense approach to border policing. Similarly, the selection of Kristi Noem, the governor of South Dakota, puts an administrator (albeit a small state administrator) in charge of an estimated $100B+ budget and a sprawling, multifaceted organization. Trump has now tapped Pam Bondi (former FL Attorney General) to manage the DOJ’s large-scale bureaucracy. Of course, any nominee for cabinet must be approved by the Senate.
Overhauling the country’s immigration system will require shrewd efficiency and an intimate understanding of a given department’s organizational makeup. Bondi’s selection is similarly challenging – although she led the Attorney General’s office in Florida from 2011 – 2019, she also supported Trump’s unfounded claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election. She has been a Trump loyalist for almost a decade, which gives her cache with the President-elect, but given that the immigration courts are housed under the DOJ, she will need to be ready to enact wholesale organizational changes to effectively tackle the stunning immigration court backlog. Her track record as FL’s AG was mixed at-best, so it remains to be seen if she is up for the post of the nation’s top cop.
Furthermore, meaningful reform will require the involvement of both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Although bills will be able to pass the House on a simple majority vote, passage in the Senate will require 60 votes, meaning that Democrats should be able to extract some concessions from Trump if he wants to enact real reform. Will Trump be willing to provide a pathway to legalization for Dreamers for border wall funding? He was willing to negotiate with Nancy Pelosi when she was in charge of the House in 2017 and while their negotiations did not result in new legislation, his willingness to be transactional on the issue may provide some necessary daylight for progress.
While many a writer have seen their predictions about Trump end up on the trash heap, the only predictable outcome for the next four years is that nothing is scripted. Trump’s mastery of the media and his apparent mandate from the voting public does provide him some heft in seeking to address a problem that the entire American public sees as problematic. Whether he will continue to dip his toes in xenophobia and fear will help him little when he now owns the issue and is tasked with finding real solutions. His election victory does give him the right to crow about his success, but the public votes again in two short years and if he wants to maintain his grip on the America’s political imagination, he must be creative and pragmatic in findings solutions to the grievances that he has so successfully raised in the discourse.
Rishi P. Oza
is Partner at Brown Immigration Law, a firm that focuses solely on immigration law; he practices in Durham. roza@rbrownllc.com Immigration continued from
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— at home, at school and in the community. Goals that do not align with the family’s way of living are less likely to be practiced consistently, which can slow or stall progress.
Conquering Cultural Barriers
Being able to communicate with a patient and their family in their language of choice can go a long way towards forging a critical therapeutic relationship. In fact, language barriers are a large component explaining why marginalized communities, on average, are later to seek care for a mental health concern. Other reasons may include factors such as cultural stigmas against seeking therapy, mistrust in traditional healthcare systems and more.
To further promote multiculturalism in therapy, therapists should prioritize cultural humility by continuously educating themselves about the diverse values, beliefs, and traditions of the communities they serve. This can include ongoing training in cultural competence, exploring the impact of systemic oppression in the healthcare system, and being open to adapting therapeutic approaches to better align with cultural norms. Additionally, therapists should seek out supervision and consultation from colleagues with expertise in cultural issues to ensure they are providing culturally sensitive care.
Building partnerships with community organizations and local leaders can help foster trust and reduce the stigma surrounding therapy, making it more accessible to underrepresented groups. By integrating these practices, therapists can create a more inclusive, equitable therapeutic environment that not only meets the linguistic needs of clients but also deeply respects and honors their cultural identities.
Finally, organizations committed to diversity must enhance financial accessibility. In 2020, data revealed that an estimated 30 million Americans were uninsured, with half of that number being people of color. Unfortunately, this number does not include individuals who have insurance, but those who don’t have coverage for therapeutic services. In order to elevate access to a greater number of families, therapy providers must consider how the insurances they are in-network with can impact accessibility.
Creating an inclusive and accessible therapeutic environment requires a multifaceted approach that goes beyond language alone. By embracing cultural humility, engaging in continuous education about the communities they serve, and building trust with caregivers, therapists can bridge gaps in understanding and foster meaningful connections with clients from diverse backgrounds.
Avani Shah
is the owner & CEO of Therapy Smarts, a multidisciplinary therapy clinic based in NC and is a Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP). She focuses on a family-centric approach and has built a diverse team of clinical experts addressing client needs across speech, physical, occupational, mental health therapy, ABA services and psychological evaluations. Contact: 919-378-1340
College continued from page 70
create an innovative device), Classics (students present a piece of literature), Structure (students build a wood and glue structure) and Performance (students showcase a performance). Each team must have a coach, and each team must compete with its local association group. There is a regional, state and world finals level.
Regeneron ISEF
Location: Varies by area
Dates: Varies by area
Registration deadline: October
Cost: $800 for 1-3 projects and incremental increases for additional projects
Age requirements: Grades 9-12 and under 20 years old Team sizes: Individual competition
Prizes and awards: One $75,000 award, two $50,000 awards and three $10,000 awards
Overview: Categories include behavioral and social sciences, biology, chemistry, engineering, environmental sciences, technology, mathematics, physics, robotics and software. Students must first compete in the local, regional and state fairs to participate in the final competition with the grand awards. Projects must be completed within 12 months of research.
Regeneron Science Talent Search
Location: Varies by area
Dates: Varies by area
Registration deadline: November
Cost: Free
Age requirements: Attending last year of secondary school
Team sizes: Individual competition
Prizes and awards: Three hundred $2,000 awards and a top award of $250,000
Overview: Students will submit essay questions, a maximum of 20 pages of original scientific paper, recommendations, transcripts and optional test scores. The top 40 participants are invited to the final competition in Washington, DC.
MIT Think Scholars Program
Location: MIT’s campus
Dates: February to June
Registration deadline: November
Cost: Free
Age requirements: High school student
Team sizes: Up to two people
Prizes and awards: $1,000 in funding for the project and an all-expenses-paid trip to MIT’s campus
Overview: This program is unique because instead of requiring the student to have a fully fleshed-out science fair project, they are looking for a 10-page research proposal, including necessary procedures. Semifinalists are interviewed, and MIT professors provide mentorship to carry out the project if selected as finalists.
Brandie Erickson
For more details, contact Brandie@moonprep.com
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Nutrition
continued from page 44
Vitamin D, also known as calciferol, comprises a group of fat-soluble sterols. The two major forms are vitamin D2 and vitamin D3. Vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) is largely humanmade and/or added as a supplement to foods, whereas vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) is synthesized in the human skin. Vitamin D obtained from sun exposure, foods, and supplements is biologically inert and must undergo two processes in the body for activation.
The first step happens in the liver, where calciferol is converted to 25-hydroxyvitamin D, or 25(OH)D. (This is what is measured by the blood test when you get your Vitamin D levels checked). However, 25(OH)D cannot work until it travels to the kidney.
There it acquires a final pair of oxygen and hydrogen molecules to become 1,25 dihydroxyvitamin D, also known as 1,25(OH)2D, or calcitriol, and is the most active form of Vitamin D. The production of calcitrol in the kidneys is regulated by hormones. This also depends on serum calcium and phosphorus levels.
It is quite a complicated process where multiple organs in the body are involved. Therefore, simply sitting in the sunlight or taking excess supplements is not the answer. Your body needs to work correctly, and your overall health is important in preventing Vitamin D deficiency.
Why is Vitamin D important?
Vitamin D has many important functions in the body:
● promotes calcium absorption in the gut
● maintains adequate serum calcium and phosphate levels to enable normal bone mineralization
● essential for bone growth and preventing osteoporosis
● helps with muscle contraction, and thus prevents muscle cramps and involuntary spasms
● reduces inflammation
● modulates cell growth which may play a role in preventing cancer
● modulates neuromuscular function which plays a role in preventing heart disease
● helps to keep arteries flexible and relaxed, which in turn helps to control high blood pressure.
● modulates glucose metabolism – Low vitamin D may affect beta cell function in the pancreas, insulin resistance, and inflammation, increasing risk of diabetes
● improves immune function – low levels of vitamins lower the body’s immunity. There have also been many studies associating Vitamin D deficiency with autoimmune diseases
How much should we take as supplements?
In June 2024, the Endocrine Society updated their guidelines and made a lot of changes to their recommendations about Vitamin D. Previously, the Endocrine Society had labeled vitamin D status as “deficient” when serum levels were lower than 20 ng/mL, and “insufficient” when serum level was 20-29 ng/mL. Now, the Society “no longer endorses specific levels to define vitamin D sufficiency, insufficiency, and deficiency.”
Here are some other changes: In the general population (age range, 19–74), routine vitamin D supplementation or routine testing is not recommended. However, adults in this
age group should take 600 IU daily until age 70, and 800 IU daily for people 70 or above. For people above age 75, routine testing is not recommended. but supplementation of about 1000 IU per day is recommended
Supplementation is recommended during pregnancy: When supplementation is given, low daily doses are recommended (rather than high doses given at intervals such as weekly or monthly), because evidence suggests some adverse effects with intermittent high dosing.
Note, however, that the above recommendations are for normal healthy adults. They do not apply to people with chronic diseases like diabetes or other health issues such as gastrointestinal diseases, chronic kidney disease, osteopenia, osteoporosis etc. In those cases, testing is obviously necessary. The guidelines also suggest that more research is needed to determine optimal levels for specific health benefits.
Vitamin D toxicity
Too much of anything is not a good thing. Excess amount of vitamin D can cause health issues. A 2010 study published in JAMA showed that intake of very high doses of vitamin D in older women was associated with more falls and fractures. Excess Vitamin D has also been shown to increase the risk of kidney stones, and also kidney failure. Excess Vitamin D can cause elevated serum calcium levels which may cause digestive distress, such as vomiting, nausea, stomach pain, fatigue, dizziness, and confusion. Vitamin D toxicity can have devastating health effects, which may not show up until months or even years after starting to take high doses. Generally, it is not recommended to exceed the upper limit of safe intake, which is 4000 IU (100 micrograms) per day.
Parul Kharod
is a registered dietitian and licensed nutritionist and works as a Clinical Dietitian. She can be reached at parulkharod@gmail.com
AI Agent
continued from page 60
developers of AI agents are keeping humans in the loop, making sure people have an opportunity to check an agent’s work before any final decisions are made. In the Project Mariner example, Google won’t let the agent carry out the final purchase or accept the site’s terms of service agreement. By keeping you in the loop, the systems give you the opportunity to back out of any choices made by the agent that you don’t approve.
Like any other AI system, an AI agent is subject to biases. These biases can come from the data that the agent is initially trained on, the algorithm itself, or in how the output of the agent is used. Keeping humans in the loop is one method to reduce bias by ensuring that decisions are reviewed by people before being carried out.
The answers to these questions will likely determine how popular AI agents become and depend on how much AI companies can improve their agents once people begin use.
Article courtesy of Theconversation.com
Brian O’Neill is Associate Professor of Computer Science, Quinnipiac University
Dances of India continued from page 50
and acrobatic at the same time. They use these acrobatic effects without breaking the rhythm or flow of music created with drums. The dance is marked by a gentle rhythm, which gradually builds up to a thunderous climax.
It is a heart pounding experience to watch these dances. Pung cholom borrows many elements from the Manipuri martial arts.
When it is a part of Nata, two players participate in its performance, but as an independent dance performance at least 14 players follow the sequence of Nata Sankirtan. In this series more than 40 complicated talas/rhythms representing particular compositions are presented. The number of drummers may increase at times up to 100. The performance is full of various types of body movements that are executed with great artistic skills and excitement.
Then there is a professional Drum-Dance from Jalore. Five men with huge drums around their necks, some with huge cymbals, accompany a dancer who holds a sword in his mouth and performs vigorously by twirling three painted sticks. By no means are these drums small in size. Let alone playing and holding them around the neck, I can’t imagine dancing with them. I think the sound and the rhythm of the drums give them energy.
Another fine example of drum dance is the festive dance of Ghumra, mostly prevalent in Orissa, especially in the districts of Sambalpur, Balangir and Kalahandi. The name of the dance is derived from the pitcher that looks like a drum. Its body is made from terracotta (mud). The neck of the drum is like a hollow cylinder. On its mouth they tie the skin of Godhi, a lizard like reptile. The drum is slung from the neck of the dancers like in Pung Cholam, but they also tie it to the back so that the face of the drum is close to their chest.
The dancers play on the face of the drum with both their hands while dancing. This dance is also performed only by men.
Then there is Dhol drum which refers to any one of a number of similar types of double-headed drum widely used, with regional variations, throughout the Indian subcontinent.
The dhol’s range stretches westward as far as eastern Afghanistan. The Punjabi dhol is perhaps best known here in the USA due to its prominent place in the rhythm of popular Punjabi bhangra music and dance. A Bhangra dance is not complete without live Dhol music and sometimes, the dancers sing and dance while playing the drums. This energy booster and spirit lifter drum is a must in any celebration.
Many countries in Africa, China, Korea, and others have drum dances as well. Even Native Americans use the drums to call upon the spirits of nature. However, in my opinion, perhaps no country can surpass India in the range and variety of drums and drumbeats, making it an essential part of dancing, like your heartbeat.
Dr. Maha Gingrich
For questions or comments, contact via email at GingrichMaha@gmail.com
Editor’s Desk
continued from page 14
The churn of human time is sometimes best understood in batches. Outside of turning 18 or 21, those markers of youth notching adulthood, the multiples of five give a sense of specificity, maybe like chapters of a life book. These numbers… 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 50...60…, are well-cut and rounded, for celebration, for reflection, maybe even as bookmarks for what has passed or teasers of what may be lurking ahead, down the road.
The incoming year 2025 is another multiple of five. The number is a signpost saying we are now a quarter of the way into this century. I’ve been thinking about all the changes we have brought unto ourselves in just the last 25 years. Human ingenuity is accelerating these technological advancements at unfathomable speeds.
We are building stuff with invisible code without fully understanding its possible effects. Even the atom bombs were duly tested before they were used with such devastating effect. Unhuman intelligence is creeping into every machine, doodad, software and device. We are realtime guinea pigs in this self-inflicted endeavor.
There is no time for testing, lest someone else beats the clock with a competitive advancement. This stuff brings promise and unease. There are lots of dark, unexplored roads in this young and fast-moving century. They can be managed with the light of reasoned minds or bungled with ill-fitted blinders. Everything can be made manageable if embarked upon with care. One step at a time.
An impulsive move, moments of hesitation, a slow stroll or a fast sprint, getting toes wet or making deep dives, these possibilities of life will keep ticking along, while the only ointment against the demons of life - cynicism, fear, narcissism, anger, anxiety, resentment - is the achievement of personal contentment. This elusive bit of mind patching only comes through the humbling passage of time, stitched with experience, reflection, self-learning, and self-growth.
This potential contentment is always in one’s grasp, just waiting to be warmed and brought into daily use. Until the final long sleep, there is no other way around or out of life’s twists and turns except with focused and confident steps taken on the roads ahead.
We are sometimes singularly minded like the ants building and protecting their mound.
We are sometimes like starlings gleefully flying about in swarms, making sky art.
We are like our opposites more than we are unlike.
We are the makers and destroyers of our own destinies.
What is in our hands is to make the tick and tock of time into an individually managed stroll while taking in the awesomeness of life, its incessant movements, its abstractions and concreteness, and just let the roads grind under our feet.
Happy Quarter Century and welcome 2025.
Samir Shukla is the
Editor
of Saathee Magazine Contact: Samir@Saathee.com Twitter: @ShuklaWrites Newsletter: ShuklaWrites.Substack.com
Anjana Patel RPH
Speaks fluently in Gujarati and Hindi
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Wu Wei: The wayless way
The Daoist philosophy of Wu Wei emphasizes the paradoxical effortlessness in bringing all your available resources to bear that enable you to not merely survive, but to thrive.
An analogy may help. Messi, the soccer superstar, is a pleasure to watch when he is “in the zone”. He does have a goal: to score a goal.
He might see problems if he so chooses: several fierce opponents focused on blocking and tackling him, the possibility of his getting injured seriously as he makes his way toward his goal, the risk of losing his extraordinary reputation with his fans if he flubs it, etc.
But, if he chooses differently, he could put both his goal and his “problems” more or less out of his mind. The goals are understood, simple and fully internalized. These can be relegated to some dark corner of the mind, out of conscious awareness. And … problems are not really problems. They are just things to deal with. And while there doesn’t, on the surface, appear to be any direct line from where he is to his goal, there is a good amount of space that will get rearranged as he and others move around, enabling him to, at some point in this progression, weave a zig-zag pattern of lines that ends up connecting the place he is in to the place he needs to push the ball to.
And so, he moves. With ease, like a lion going for its kill. And they, in turn, move. And then him again. Then them again. And so on. Then a sudden, breathless hush descends over the crowd. And, a bolt of lightning streaks across the field.
Gooooooooooooooooal!!
An eye for an I!
Being a Messi on the field of this messy life is not always easy. But a mind that is not obsessed with what it wants or what it fears, or its word- and logic-soup of abstract and outof-touch imagined ideas, many of which exist because of past indoctrination is a mind that can score the goals needed to thrive safely.
The universe is much bigger than Messi’s space, and offers a whole slew of opportunities, as you move in it, and it reconfigures around you. You have abilities that are much larger than you are able to see, and which will come to your beckoning at the time you need them. But, to make all this so, you need to lose your I to gain your inner eye. And have faith in it.
The real crux of all this is that you need immense faith! Faith in the bounty of the universe, and that it will catch you when you jump. And in yourself, and that you will always find a way to dance in rhythm with the universe as it moves in and around you.
Balaji Prasad
is an IIT/IIM graduate, a published author, SAT/ACT Online and in-person Coach, and K-12 Math Tutor at NewCranium. balaji.prasad@newcranium.com.
Financially Speaking
continued from page 62
A Key Takeaway. Without TCJA, middle and higherincome families would face:
Decreased disposable income, as federal taxes claim a larger share of earnings. These changes could have a notable impact on family budgets unless offsets (like deductions or credits) are adjusted. This is something families are not prepared for since most tax withholdings happen through paychecks and it’s not directly visible until they see a lower direct deposit.
Positives of TCJA expiring
On the bright side, there are a few provisions that were suspended under TCJA:
The suspension of the 2% miscellaneous deduction has especially impacted employees with significant job-related expenses or those paying substantial fees for investment and tax planning.
Under TCJA, W-2 employees were no longer allowed to deduct job-related expenses that the company didn’t reimburse. If TCJA expires, that provision will return, which could benefit millions of Americans who work some portion of their work week at home, including mileage, home office supplies, union dues, uniforms, internet, telephone, magazine subscriptions and meals.
The TCJA suspended all miscellaneous itemized deductions subject to the 2% floor through 2025. This means that taxpayers are no longer able to deduct any of these expenses, regardless of amount or AGI, for tax years 2018–2025.
Investment, tax planning, professional membership and licensing fees could be deducted subject to the 2% rule, post TCJA.
State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction limit of $10K –impacting those with higher property taxes and state income taxes from deducting the entire amount in their Itemized Deduction.
Conclusion
However, since the electorate has re-elected the President that signed this into law in 2018 and with control of Congress, there’s optimism that the sunset may not occur. Extending all the provisions will increase debt levels and the deficits, which are already at high levels relative to tax revenue. So, they will have to prioritize what stays and what expires.
While we usher in a new year, we have to brace for the possibility that certain tax provisions we’ve gotten used to may sunset by the end of the year. Maybe, then I might be ready for another trip to India and soak in serene backwaters while Congress works through the wire to restore TCJA. Time will tell if we’ll witness another neverending saga on tax topics through the year.
Rupa Pereira
is a CFP, EA, CSLP and an Advice-Only planner and tax professional specializing in cross-border planning and education planning. Contact: info@fwjplanning.com.
To be fair… nitpicking about people’s bodies, especially our own, feels regressive, as we’ve bounced back and forth for millennia when it comes to acceptable standards of beauty. One minute an either curvy or slender body type is perfectly fine and the next this particular shape is deemed unhealthy. It can be dizzying to keep up with, especially as a young person who comes across examples of said standards and wonders what they can do to look similar.
It was absolutely exhausting, especially for those growing up in the ‘90s and 2000s, as contradictory sentiments perpetrated pop culture at the time. Girls and young women were told to let go of old-fashioned ideals of beauty by embracing liberation and power, but still within the confines of accepted perceptions regarding femininity. Periodical racks were flooded with ‘ideal’ women on their covers surrounded by a plethora of article titles citing some issue the reader should worry about correcting (cellulite, wrinkles, blemishes, stretch marks, etc.) while other titles prompted us to let go of unattainable beauty goals.
These seemingly helpful articles never considered the undeniable truth that genetics, race, climate, social standing, and income are all factors when it comes to someone’s appearance. While concepts of beauty will shift over time, a definitive baseline for ‘perfection’ never completely disappears. If you can’t achieve this paradigm, it’s not because your existing body cannot achieve it. It becomes your failure to not at least attempt to correct those flaws by means of an overabundance of accessible products, programs, and surgery options on the market to make that much more possible.
The disorientation of body image is further exemplified by how celebrities represent themselves to the media. Even today, celebrity looks are highly scrutinized to the point of using them as fodder for body-shaming gossip. I’ve especially noticed this in regard to South Asian Cinema… where the standards for most female actresses tend to be very strict in terms of their looks. Very rarely do you see a popular Desi actress with a darker skin tone, and the booming market for skin lightening products and procedures within the South Asian community is an eyeopening result of this. Similarly, many of these women have long hair, softer faces with full lips, and stereotypically hourglass body shapes.
For the men, the standard shift depending on the region. Younger North Indian actors also tend to be light skinned with chiseled features and immaculately muscled physiques. South Indian and surrounding territory artists more often than not exhibit dusky complexions with bulkier, yet still robust body proportions. More mature performers are given a little more leeway in terms of their stature, but they often still maintain a similar visage as in their youth.
I can only imagine what each of these celebrities must go through in order to maintain this level of physical faultlessness, especially with the added expectation to do intense action scenes and intricate dance sequences alike.
In more recent memory, celebrities and influencers from all over the world are even more visible online. Many who had been seen as heroes for more diversified body types, are
now becoming just as slender as their contemporaries. Fans and haters alike love a good body transformation to transfix on, especially if said change is unexplained by the person in question. And while we shouldn’t focus on strangers’ bodies, what’s clear from hushed whispers all across the internet is that when someone famous suddenly drops a significant amount of weight, it’s impossible not to notice.
It’s even harder not to speculate about why they’ve chosen to do so. Three people I particularly idolized for their supportive attitude surrounding body positivity have recently chosen to slim down… and I have mixed feelings about each of them: Adele, America Ferrera, and Mindy Kaling. Each of these talented women burst onto the scene, noted for not only their individual talent but also their ‘curvier’ figures. I highly respected their choices not to conform, and instead be an example to others who also didn’t fit within an ‘acceptable’ beauty criterion.
Yet within the last several years, all three have slimmed down for various reasons. Ferrera (via her Instagram, which I follow) said she started running as a hobby and which, in turn, helped her body become more toned (she’s now an accomplished triathlete, which is equally as inspiring). The other two I haven’t heard clear motivations for their transformations. Did they ‘sell out’? Were they pressured by others to lose weight? Only Adele and Mindy themselves can provide those answers… if they so choose.
Whatever lessons we’ve been told over the last few decades about respecting body autonomy seem to be falling away… again. Blame “anti-woke” backlash, blame the popularity of Ozempic, or blame our perceptive scrutiny due to being on camera more than ever. Regardless, individuals are now more comfortable judging other people’s appearances, for good or bad, especially when dramatic weight-loss or gain is involved. We especially have gained a parasocial relationship with celebrities due to the now more accessible windows into their lives via social media. While they (or their staff) often control what is exposed in these posts, they do greatly impact every other person who sees them.
Even today, many young men and women are incredibly susceptible to understanding what the ‘ideal’ should be, and eager for any and all advice on how to achieve it. Also keep in mind that not everyone has friends or family for which they can turn to discuss such matters, and it’s become increasingly difficult to completely insulate yourself from online opinions.
If you still wish to accomplish a shared New Year’s Resolution to lose weight, just be willing to accomplish such a goal for your own reasons. A constant need to maintain a form which is slender (but not too skinny), petite, toned but not muscular may be the ideal for now… but in a few years that could change. Your true intention should be to feel comfortable in your own skin, despite any and all tiny imperfections you may have.
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
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NEW PRICEFORT MILL
FOR SALE
Gorgeous Townhouse in Sought after Ayrshire in Fort Mill. New Neutral Paint. Beautiful open layout with lots of natural lights. Kitchen with Granite Countertops and Tile Backsplash. Great room with Gas Logs Fireplace. Primary Bedroom with Trey ceilings. Large Master Bath with dual vanities and a big walk-in shower and a garden tub. Huge walk-in closet. Spacious secondary bedrooms. Hardwood Galore. Modern light fixtures. Close to Highways and Shopping. Refrigerator, Washer/Dryer are included. This one is a must see! $374,900
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Two and Three bedroom Townhouses and a Three Bedroom Single Family home available for Rent in Ballantyne and Steele Creek. Please call for details.
RENTAL: SULLIVAN FARMSTATESVILLE , NEW CONSTRUCTION
Beautiful 5 bedroom and 2.5 bath NEW CONSTRUCTION home with a two car attached garage in the heart of Statesville. Conveniently located near I-40, I-77, shopping and restaurants. This new community will have a pool and walking trail for residents to enjoy. This home offers an amazing open floorplan with lots of natural light. Gourmet kitchen with an island and SS appliances including gas range. Walk in pantry, walk in closets. Main floor has a luxury owner's suite with spacious walk in closet. Primary bath has large walk in shower and double vanity. Spacious secondary bedrooms with walk in closets. Lots of storage. $2,295/month
RENTAL - BELL FARMSTATESVILLENEW CONSTRUCTION
This beautiful 3 bed and 2 full bath RANCH home with a Two Car Attached Garage is a MUST SEE! It showcases a family room that extends effortlessly to a chef's kitchen with SS appliances including gas range and a large pantry. The breakfast room opens out to a patio for morning coffee and starlight suppers. The luxe owner’s suite includes a bathroom with a large walk in shower and double vanity. Two spacious secondary bedrooms have walk in closets. Enjoy plenty of storage. $1,990/month
AVENUE CONDOMINIUMS
Gorgeous End Unit on 23rd Floor of the Sought After Luxurious Avenue Condominiums. Open floor plan with Lots of Natural Lights. Floor to Ceiling Glass Panels gives you Amazing City Views. Beautiful Balcony! New Neutral paint. Kitchen Island, Stainless steel Appliances, lots of Modern Finishes. Avenue has a Stunning Lobby with Concierge, Pool, Fitness Center, Outdoor Fireplace, Outdoor Grill, Community Room, etc. 2 Parking spaces. This one is a must see! $619,900
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
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Raajeev continued from page 54
Over the years, for his care, we have got quotes for various kinds of services. Some of them are shocking. Once I called a specialized vet for deep cleaning his teeth. They gave a quote for $1,200! I thought for that kind of price, I could get two new dogs and odds are one of them will have good teeth. I even considered taking him to my regular dentist and asking for a family discount.
When Turing was a puppy, my wife contacted a dog trainer. The trainer promised he could turn Turing into a completely different dog – but he also quoted $150 an hour and estimated 10 to 20 hours of training.
I laughed when I heard that and I asked my wife, “Who does he think we are? A privileged white family?” Besides, you know the old Bania saying: “Don’t spend money for a dog’s mind on promises that sound like they came from the dog’s behind.”
Ok, so that’s not actually a real saying – but it saved me money. Which reminds me of another old Bania saying: “Do whatever it takes to keep your wife from wasting your money.” Except that one isn’t real either…but it should be!
A few years ago, on one of our trips to India, we were visiting my wife’s relatives who had a Labrador. My wife’s cousin proudly told us that their dog is so well trained that he never enters the kitchen.
I asked them what treats they used for training when they got him as a puppy. He said none. He said the first time he entered the kitchen they gave him such a scare that he dared never enter the kitchen again. That seemed cruel and unusually harsh. I thought about sneaking some treats into the kitchen and pointing the dog toward it. But then I imagined him ending up in the witness protection program for disobedient pets.
I went to a seminar at Caltech where some scientist was showing a study that stated that families who have a dog have fewer allergies because they are more exposed to germs, keeping their antibodies in good shape. And those families where the dog sleeps with them have the least allergies.
I try to remember that study every night when the dog sneaks his way into our bed for snuggles. I remind myself that I’m not spoiling the dog, I’m running a nightly immunity boot camp for my family!
During the last eight years, we have managed to take care of Turing by following basic common sense and providing a nurturing, caring environment. We never had to raise a hand and rarely raised our voice. As a Bania, I am proud to say that we have spent no money on individual training and have managed to get good care from vets and dental hygienists at a decent price.
We are so lucky to have him, and I know that he’s happy too... even if he is stuck with the horrors of living with a vegetarian family.
Happy Birthday, Turing!
Raajeev Aggerwhil
is a Los Angeles-based comedian. Follow him on Instagram @raajeevcomedy
To see his videos on YouTube, search for his name.
Eye on Markets continued from page 46
current adversarial policy makers, but the new government is a major crypto advocate. Many pro-crypto policies are being discussed, but it remains unclear what will actually become policy. The point is that the industry now has a significant tailwind. The reasons for an allocation to crypto are increasing, including the fact it’s not subject to tariffs, there can potentially be an inflation, central bank and fiscal spending hedge, options trading on major ETFs (beginning this November), and we are in the early stages of institutional involvement.
Finally, I suspect as new policies are rolled out and institutional adoption accelerates, crypto’s correlation to other asset classes will start to break down, making it even more valuable to a portfolio.
We are likely to enter an environment that is choppier with increased dispersion and violent rotations. Stock picking and asset allocation will become increasingly critical, as we have witnessed in recent weeks. There are many crosscurrents, with rates higher for longer and inflation firming up, meaningful return from multiple expansion seems unlikely. Fiscal policy uncertainty will further cap multiples.
While these multiples are capped, we are likely to see an acceleration in earnings, which are expected to grow 15% in 2025. There is an upside to these numbers. Stronger than expected nominal growth will drive toward positive revenue.
Deregulation, especially in sectors such as financials, will drive margin expansion. If the corporate tax rate is cut to 15%, S&P earnings will increase by another 4%. Certain sectors such as consumer discretionary would see nearly a 7% EPS benefit. Companies were able to buy back nearly a trillion dollars of their stock in 2024. That number will rise to north of a trillion in 2025.
Buybacks further increase EPS. As buybacks are snapping up supply, and the IPO market has largely been frozen, the net supply of equities continues to shrink. We are entering a period with multiple contractions driven by higher rates and policy uncertainty, offset by earnings growth and reduced equity supply. Sectors and stocks that are out of favor will have violent moves down, as we have witnessed with healthcare, semiconductors, and government contractors.
With multiples already high, these out of favor sectors have little room for error. At the other end, sectors that are seeing their earnings re-rated upward will see meaningful rallies, as we have seen with sectors such as financials, consumer discretionary, and industrials. Risk management, position sizing, and being nimble will be critical in this new backdrop.
Looking forward, the market will focus on the economic data, updates from the new administration, the Fed meeting, and year-end flows.
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
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CarToon Corner
Tune Your Brain
Solve these brain teasers - Solutions on Page 110
PUZZLES & TOONS
Answers on page 104
Puzzles 4 Kids Answers on page 110
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.
A year has 12 ____.
Prime Minister ____ Modi. Toronto is in ____, Canada. ____, Spring, Summer, Fall.
South Pole is in ____.
October, ____, December.
A minute has 60 ____.
Answers on page 104
Hello Readers
We welcome comments and suggestions about our puzzles and cartoons pages. Send your thoughts to Samir@Saathee.com
Magic Maze Answers on page 110 Go Figure! Answers on page 104
Festivals & Holidays Puzzle Solutions
January 2025
Jan. 1 - New Year’s Day
Jan. 1 - Kwanzaa Ends
Jan. 2 - Hanukkah Ends
Jan. 6 - Guru Govind Singh Jayanti
Jan. 6 - Epiphany
Jan. 10 - Tailang Swami Jayanti
Jan. 10 - Asarah B’Tevet
Jan. 12 - Swami Vivekanada Jayanti
Jan. 13 - Lohri
Jan. 13 - Pausha Purnima (Full Moon)
Jan. 14 - Pongal
Jan. 14 - Makar Sankranti
Jan. 14 - Hararat Ali Jayanti
Jan. 19 - National Popcorn Day
Jan. 20 - Martin Luthur King, Jr Day
Jan. 20 - Inauguration Day
Jan. 23 - Subhas Chandra Bose Jayanti
Jan. 24 - International Day of Education
Jan. 26 - Republic Day
Jan. 26 - Lailat al Mi’raj
Jan. 29 - Darsh Amas (New Moon)
Jan. 29 - Lunar New Year (Year of the Snake)
Jan. 30 - Gandhi Punyatithi
Jan. 31 - National Hot Chocolate Day
Key Word Search Answers from page 103
Months
Narendra
Ontario
Winter
Antarctica
November
Seconds
Key Word of the Month: SNOWMAN
Go Figure! answers from page 103
Spot the Differences Solutions from page 56
1. Deleted lamp
2. Change door closed
3. Deleted door
4. Deleted tree
5. Added lamp poster
6. Added monkey 7. Added crow
8. Added dog
9. Added hanging lamp 10. Changed dress color 11. Deleted peak 12. Added bicyclist 13. Added crowd 14. Color change 15. Added man
Puzzle Solutions from page 102
Astroscope
Aries
(March 21 – April 19)
You will feel lost and frustrated this month. You may have followed a competitor’s ideology to survive but try to avoid making easy money which will tarnish your reputation. This is not a good time to invest in real estate. Egoistical comments may lead to arguments with your partner. Any actions taken this month will impact on the following ones dramatically, so remain cautious.
Taurus
(April 20 – May 20)
This is a good period for long-distance journeys, and that travel could lead to earning some extra money. Enjoy a higher status by arranging social or religious gatherings. Don’t expect much from your partner this month. Your confidence will help you handle a very busy schedule. A new business opportunity may pop up during the final week.
Gemini
(May 21 – June 20)
After a good start, things may turn sour during the second half of the month. A dispute with your partner can be resolved through mutual understanding. You could see an opportunity to earn some extra money by developing or buying real estate. Count on help from friends this month and take any health issue seriously.
Cancer (June 21 – July 22)
Unexpected financial issues could create some stress. Avoid making any quick decisions. A potentially underhanded circumstance may surface at your workplace, but don’t let it compromise with your morals. A family dispute could result in losing your peace of mind. Avoid making any major investments this month. Your friends may lead you towards wrongdoing, so keep some distance from them for now.
Leo (July 23 – August 22)
A stubborn attitude can lead you to disaster. A family member’s ill health may create mental anxiety during the last week. A fruitless long-distance journey is also possible. A devotion though religious activities could bring peace of mind. Slow down and just let yourself surrender to the moment. Financially, you will do well but stress could lead you astray.
Virgo
(August 23 – September 21)
Instead of relying on knowledge, follow your instincts this month. Avoid parties or public gatherings, and instead keep working hard to maintain your morals. Your partner will prove to be a great support. Old health issues may finally ease up. New relationships are on the horizon, so be sure to enjoy them. Your mother could bring good luck to you, but you should take the initiative first.
JANUARY 2025
Libra (September 22 – October 20)
You will feel comfortable this month but need to spend money on household repairs. Mature decisions and smart moves will lead you towards success. Financial gain is clearly indicated. Some back pain may give you a hard time, but travel could be fun. If you are looking for a promotion or change in career, it will come your way.
Scorpio (October 21 – November 20)
Love and happiness will be all around while enjoying confidence and working on your dream project. Life should move very smoothly. Minor health problems and family disputes could be there, but you can ignore them for now. Short distance travel may be troublesome, but very rewarding. You could end up paying for your partner’s mistake. Focus on your talent to enjoy success.
Sagittarius
(November 21 – December 21)
Avoid making any major decisions this month. Try to slow down and focus on your health by means of a better diet. Also be prepared to work hard and sincerely for the foreseeable future. This is also a good time to seek a new career or field of study. Try to avoid any legal disputes this month and a mild attitude in regard to an enemy could potentially hurt you, so be in your guard.
Capricorn (December 22 – January 21)
This will be a very busy month for you, and in return you will earn just enough to survive. You may waste lots of energy on useless pursuits, so be sure to slow down and focus on work. Curb any unnecessary expenses including any major financial investments. If you hold true to your morals, you should make it through with flying colors.
Aquarius (January 22 – February 18)
You may be busy between a heavy workload and enjoying your social life. Some unexpected expenses could be there, but overall happiness is clearly indicated. Long-distance journeys may prove very successful. Your aggressive comments could create frustration with loved ones. You may enjoy an inheritance and feel relaxed during the middle of the month. Time to prepare for major changes in your choice of career.
Pisces
(February 19 – March 20)
Your confidence can lead toward success this month. You will also gain great respect as you become more active in social activities. A substantial increase in income is also assured while minor family problems are possible. Your child could achieve remarkable success this month. You may not see major changes in your workplace but will feel content and happy.
CLASSIFIEDS
Independent Financial & Insurance Strategy Consultant Opportunity in the financial insurance industry. Work from home part-time & achieve excellent income potential! Call 908-590-4210 to set up an appointment for more details.
For Sale
Men & boys formal clothing store in Sumter, SC. Great location and established clients. Secondary space next door also available with house included. Contact 803-468-2200.
Adeia Services
Home / Business Cleaning / Sanitizing Franchise $699. + Royalties. Financing $99 down, $30 / month for 24 months. For details contact J. Edward Wolfe at jedwardwolfe46@gmail.com.
Partnership / Purchase Opportunity
Free standing Convenience Store with gaming and lotto in Georgia, 31061. Monthly revenue $20-$25 K. Call 301-852-1916.
Front Desk & Laundry Help needed for Franchise Hotel in Concord, NC. Accommodations provided. Call 704772-5554.
Restaurant/Convenience Store
Help Wanted in Troy, NC Cook needed. Single/Couple, Part-time or Full-time. Excellent pay and accommodations. Call/text 919-771-6189.
2 Full-Time Positions Available at Gas Station in Charlotte, NC. Good pay rate. Call 704-299-8535.
Elderly Care Giver Help Wanted
Companion for 91 year-old mother. Walks with a walker. Live-in help preferred or daytime hours Mon-Fri. Please contact 704-804-3427 or pgrohera@hotmail.com.
Front Desk Manager & Housekeeping Couple Wanted for franchise hotel in Columbia, SC. Accommodations provided. Fluent English required. Text / call 704-701-9975.
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.
Saathee Classifieds
Sell your business, or property. Find the perfect job, hire the perfect employee. Great adversting results with Saathee Call 704-527-7570 or email saathee@saathee.com.
Hotel Help Wanted
Looking for Manager & Front Desk for properties in Charlotte. Must have legal status. Contact Nita Shah 704-502-2630 or gm.nita.shah@gmail.com.
Manager / Front Desk needed for a Franchise Hotel in Rock Hill, SC. Accommodations Provided. Please call 803-517-4662.
Household Help Needed
2 hours a day, 3 times a week in Apex, NC. Call 609-319-1097.
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 Manager Needed for Franchise Hotel in Concord / Kannapolis, NC. Accommodations provided. Call 980-454-9093.
Hotel Help Wanted
Hiring experienced Operations Manager for interior corridor hotel in Suffolk, VA. Accommodations available. Legal work authorization required. Call / text 804991-0306.
Seeking Two People
Full-time, single or couple to fully manage & operate Convenience Store with Gasoline. in South Hill, VA. Contant Mahesh at 703-627-3259 or tridah@gmail.com.
Caregiver Wanted (live-in/live-out) for lovely elderly couple (one has memory issues) in North Raleigh (near intersection of Durant and Honeycutt). Excellent pay. Please text Anupam at 667-401-7533.
Front Desk Clerk Wanted
franchise hotel in Fort Mill, SC (near Carowinds). Must have fluent English & basic computer skills. Ask for Sam: 704-302-3318.
Gas Station / C-store Help Needed at stores near Huntersville & Northlake areas. Must speak English & be family friendly oriented. Please call 704-402-4661.
Home Help Needed for elderly lady in State Road, NC. Flexible hours. Duties include basic household cleaning & vegetarian cooking. Call Mike 336-244-4199 for details.
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.
Now Hiring Couple to run a Small Motel in Richland, NC. Accommodations provided. Call for details 910-545-4158.
Saathee Classified
Looking for a life partner? Saathee can help you reach hundreds of potential matches. E-mail saathee@saathee.com.
Cashier Wanted for Convenience Store near Kannapolis, NC. Very attractive salary! Accommodations provided. Text or Call 704-701-9482.
Seeking Groom
Seeking a well-educated, US-raised, Sikh groom for a 25-year-old girl from a Sikh family. 5'2", good-looking, born and raised in the US. Digital Marketing Specialist in San Jose, CA. Refer PC. Text 678-304-8184.
Seeking a well-educated, US-raised vegetarian groom for a 33-year-old, 5'3" tall, raised in the USA, Hindi-speaking Brahmin. Neonatal Nurse Practitioner in Georgia. Refer AS. Text 470-684-0830.
Well-educated MS Software Engineer, BE Computer Engineer Girl. 32 year-old, never married, well-settled, and goodlooking. Vegetarian, Spiritual, Gujarati, US H1-B-140 approved living in Anaheim, CA. Looking for Boy, preferably IT/ Medical professional but will accept any higher education. Text Shailesh 260-602-3354.
Seeking a US raised, vegetarian, tall groom for 25 year old, 5'7", US-born & raised girl from a Kannada Madhwa Brahmin family. Vegetarian, MS, Sales Operations Analyst, CA. Refer RJ. Text 678-304-8184.
Seeking an educated, settled groom for 24-year-old. 5'3", US-raised from a Telugu family. Financial Analyst in Georgia. Refer AK. Text 470-684-0830.
Seeking a well-educated, US/outside India-raised groom in NYC, Tri-State area, or CA for a 45-year-old bride. 5'7", raised in India (in the US for more than 20 years), divorced with no children, MD, Attending Physician, NJ. Refer AP. Text 678-304-8184.
Seeking a well-educated groom for a 32year-old bride. 5'2", never married, born in the USA and raised in India. Owns private practice and works as a Therapist in CA. Refer PS. Text 678-304-8184.
Seeking Bride
US citizen, Hindu, business graduate, 33 currently working in a federal position in Raleigh, NC. Looking for educated bride. Call 336-683-7631 or cstore1947@yahoo.com.
Seeking a bride for a 32 year-old, 5'6", US-born, never married Tamil boy. MS in social work, based in Arizona. Looking for a suitable girl who is willing to relocate to Arizona. Refer GB. Text 470-239-0059.
Well-educated MD Internist / Hospitalist (Non-Interventional Cardio Fellowship) Man. 35 year-old, never married, wellsettled, and good-looking. Vegetarian, Spiritual, Gujarati, only child, US Citizen. Looking for Girl, preferably Medical professional but will accept any higher education. Text Shailesh with details 260-602-3354.
Seeking Companion
Seeking a companion to travel the world with 64-year-old, well-settled gentleman. 5'6", in the USA for more than 4 decades. Widower with two well-settled daughters, FL. Refer CJ. Text 678-304-8184.
Room
For Rent in Morrisville (Brier Creek) near RTP. One bedroom with attached bathroom in a Townhome, for vegetarian professional. Rent $950 per month. Utilities included. No pets or smokers. Text/Call: 847-877-0154.
Property for Sale in India
Vallabh Vidyanagar, Gujarat.Bunglow on property is still functional. Located right before Raguvir tenaments. Call Rajesh: 706-633-4577.
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:
Ganesh, Shiv, Lakshmi, Randal, Paduka Pujans; Wedding, Baby Shower, House warming, Satyanaryan Katha, Mundan & Yagnopavit; Funeral, Navchandi, Tarpan, Havans, etc. Online puja available. Call Rajendra Bhatt 732-841-7832.
Neeta's Beauty Parlor
Full service. Near the Hindu Center of Charlotte. For more details on our services and to make and appointment please call 704-968-0270.
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.
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.
Bini’s Salon: Greensboro
Eyebrow threading, Waxing and tinting; Lash lift & tint; Facials, Body waxing, Tanning beds & more. Call for appointment: 336-288-4826 or walk-in at 3606 N Elm St, Unit D in Greensboro, NC.
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Side Hustle
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But this is where we need to pause and ask a critical question: What are we sacrificing in pursuit of more money? Time with family? Our health? Our personal relationships? What if, instead of a side hustle, we considered a side hobby?
A side hobby offers a refreshing alternative. It allows us to break free from the grind, channel our creativity, and engage in something fulfilling without the pressure to make it profitable. Unlike a side hustle, a hobby gives us the opportunity to grow and develop without the stress of deadlines or financial targets. It allows us to harness qualities like resilience, patience, and drive—skills we often reserve for work—but in a way that promotes balance and well-being.
More importantly, a hobby provides a lifelong opportunity for learning and mastery. Whether it’s painting, gardening, playing a musical instrument, or engaging in sports, hobbies cultivate new skills that stay with us, even if jobs or businesses fade away.
They offer a sense of progress and accomplishment that can rival the satisfaction of a side hustle—without the tradeoffs that often accompany a relentless pursuit of more money.
Engaging in a side hobby can also expand your social circle, introducing you to new people, new experiences, and find new ways of thinking.
It forces you out of your comfort zone, engaging different parts of your brain and enriching your life in ways many business ventures might not.
In a world where the pressure to keep up is constant, it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that a side hustle is the only way to stay ahead. But for those who are financially stable, perhaps the better question to ask is: What do we really want more of? Is it money—or is it time, creativity, and balance?
Next time you find yourself caught in a conversation about real estate or stock investments, consider steering the discussion towards something equally fulfilling, but without the financial pressure. Talk about hobbies, creativity, and the joy of learning something new. In the long run, that might just be the more rewarding path.
Hiren Deliwala
currently serves as the Leader of Solutions Architecture for the Worldwide Public Sector at Amazon Web Services (AWS). He received his MBA from UNC Chapel Hill. Contact: hcdeliwala@gmail.com
