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Indo AmerIcAn news • FrIdAy, AprIl 09 , 2010 • onlIne edItIon: www.IndoAmerIcAn-news.com

1 Indo American news • Friday, April 09 , 2010 onlIne edItIon: www.indoamerican-news.com

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By JacoB DaviDHouston: April 6, 2010 - HPD

Officer Muzzafar Siddiqi was awarded a special proclamation by the Mayor of Houston, An-nise Parker at the City Council Hall, Downtown. This was a spe-cial meeting of the Houston City Council that was held at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 6, 2010, Mayor Annise D. Parker presiding. A strong recommendation and in-troduction by Sue Lovell, Council Member, Position 2 who started the proceedings. “Mayor, I’d like to recommend Officer Siddiqi, one of Houston Police Department’s outstanding officers who has done excellently well representing the community. It has been important for him to be there for his commu-nity, he has been a source of com-

Houston mayor Awards proclamation to Hpd officer muzzafar siddiqi

continued on page 23 Officer Siddiqi being presented the proclamation by Mayor Annise Parker at the City Council Hall

By Manasi GokhaleHOUSTON: Indian Doctor’s

Association (IDA) Houston is a non-profit, networking forum for physicians of Indian origin to provide mentorship in aca-demic excellence, patient care and promote health education for the Greater Houston community. The IDA-Houston is one of the largest local chapters of the American Association of Physicians of Indian origin. This organization was established in 1979 by Drs Satish Jhingran, Ninan Mathew and Jagdish Shar-ma and was incorporated in 1983.

The 29th annual Indian Doctor’s Association Gala was held at the J.W. Mar-riott Hotel, Galleria area, on Saturday, April 3rd. More than 300 guests that included doctors of Indian origin attended the gala. The event is held annually to acknowledge the contri-bution of the Indian doctors towards the community and celebrate their achievements.

The gala began with the singing of the United States and Indian national anthems. The MCs of the event were Dr. Vinita Bhagia and Dr. Veena Chandrakar, who did a

Indian doctors Association celebrates Gala 2010splendid job of conducting the pro-ceedings. They began by giving a brief introduction about the out-going President of IDA Houston, Dr. Srinivas Rumalla. Dr. Rumalla

gave a brief introduction about the IDA and urged the IDA members to take an active role on a national scale. He lauded the members of IDA and said that the physicians helped Houston area community.

He complimented Dr. Rakesh Mangal, who is the President of the Indian Doctor’s charity clinic.

Dr. Rumalla’s speech was fol-lowed by that of one of the most

renowned and experienced Indian doctors, Dr. K. T. Shah. Dr. Shah spoke about the work done by the volunteers for the Indian Doctor’s charity clinic and gave an update on the current activities under-

The IDA Executive Committee. (From L-R) Dr. Srinivas Rumalla, Dr. Ashok Tripathy, Dr. Veena Chandrakar and Dr. Kulwinder Bajwa. Photos: Bijay Dixit

taken by the clinic. The clinic tries to help the financially underprivi-leged people by attending to them every Saturday in Southwest Hous-ton between 8.30am - 12.30pm,

irrespective of their race, religion or ethnicity.

The Chief Guest of the evening was President of the Texas Medical Associa-tion, Dr. William Fleming III. He gave good advice to all present about treat-ing patients and also spoke about Dr. Nik Nikam’s new book, Heart Healthy Life-style.

This was followed by a Bollywood song and dance performance by students of the Anjali Dance Center. Choreographed by Mahesh Mabhubani, the entertain-ment thrilled the audience.

This was followed by a brief speech by the CEO of ICON Hospital Kiley Cedotal, who thanked the IDA for being given the op-portunity to be affiliated to IDA. Dr. Ashok Tripathy, President-Elect of IDA,

introduced Dr. William Gilmer, practicing neurologist and current President of the Harris County Medical Society (HCMS).

NehaDhupia

Another model joins the

Bollywoodacting scene

Story on Pg 6

Three Indian Movies Nominated at WorldFest

Story on Pg 10

Community Support Urged for FB District Attorney John Healey

Dawoodi Bohras Celebrate 99th Birthday of Their leader

Story on Pg 14

Walkathon to Help the Needy in Houston

Story on Pg 17

See Inside:Vaisakhi Supplement



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Indo-American News (ISSN 887-5936) is published weekly on every Friday (for a subscription price of $30 per year) by Indo-American News Inc., 7457 Harwin Dr., Suite 262, Houston, Texas 77036, Tel: 713-789-6397, Fax: 713-789-6399, Email: [email protected] postage paid at Houston, Texas. POSTMASTER: Please send ad-dress changes to Indo-American News, 7457 Harwin Dr., Suite 262, Houston, Texas 77036.

If you receive your paper more than 4 days after the Dateline, please file a complaint with your post office or call the USPS Consumer Affairs Office at 713-226-3442

Renowned Cardiologist Dr. Nik Nikam (left) during the release of his book by Dr. William Gilmer >>>

President of the IDA, Dr. Srinivas Rumalla (left) alongside the President-elect of the IDA, Dr. Ashok Tripathy

Students of The Anjali Dance Center enthrall the audience with a magnificent song and dance performance.

Dr. Jayesh Shah from the American Association of Phy-sicians of Indian origin (AAPI, spoke about their upcoming convention in June this year in Washington, DC. Dr. Rumalla recognized and introduced the new board members of the IDA along with Dr. Ashok Tripathy, who will take over as the new IDA President. Dr. Tripathy,

who has more than 20 years of experience in his profession, gave a brief speech and thanked the past Presidents of the IDA. The formal proceedings of the evening were concluded by the release of Dr. Nikam’s latest book Heart Healthy Lifestyle.

The Bombay Brasserie restau-rant catered the Gala..

Indian doctors Association celebrates Gala 2010 with dance

continued from page 1



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Vote in Republican Runoff April 13thOr

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Political Advertisement Paid for by Indo American Friends of John Healey,130 Industrial Blvd., Suite 110, Sugar Land, Texas 77478


5 Indo American news • Friday, April 09 , 2010 onlIne edItIon: www.indoamerican-news.com s o c i e t y

sri meenakshi temple celebrates sri Valli-subrahmanya Kalyanam By chittor raMchanDran

PEARLAND: An opportunity to witness the performance of divine kalyana mahotsavams is consid-ered auspicious and a great bless-ing. Enactment of celestial wed-dings is also intended to underline the glory of gruhasta-dharma (mar-ried life of a householder). These traditions retell the principles of God-consciousness to the younger generation while enriching our daily lives. Sri Meenakshi Temple earns intrinsic merits by promoting many such events consistently.

Devotees of Sri Murugan (also known as Lord Subrahmanya, Karthikeyan, Skandan, and Ku-mara) celebrated Panguni Uthiram last weekend with the traditional rituals of the Lord’s wedding with Sri Valli.

The ambiance of Sri Ganesha Temple sannidhi was that of a real Hindu wedding on the early morn-ing of Saturday, April 3. A variety of seeru varisai (traditional special wedding food items) was promi-nently displayed at the center. A large gathering in celebrative at-tire engaged in eddies of casual conversations. The event director Smt. Roopa Bala had geared up to lead a procession to hail the de-

ity of Sri Murugan to the kalayana mandapam where the stage was set for the wedding rituals. The sound of vedamanthrams and recorded music of nadaswaram resonated everywhere.

The melodious Begada krithi of Dikshithar (Vallabha nayakasya...) was flowing through Sri Kothandaraman’s mangalavadyam praising the divinity of Lord Ga-nesha. As the music reached the

samashti charanam, the lyrics of the song (valli vivaha karanasya...) prompted me to explore the an-ecdote of Sri Valli vivaham with Lord Murugan and the role that Sri Ganesha played in it.

According to the ancient (300 BC to 300 CE) Sangam literature Sri Murugan is believed to be the Lord who created the language Tamil. He is essentially called “Tamizh Kadavul”. Vedic literature

(Taitareeya Aranyakam, Atharvana Veda) refers to Lord Subrahmanya as a divine warrior son of Rudra who was sent to earth to annihilate the tyranny of the evil Tarakaasura. The worship of Subrahmanya was one of the six principal sects of Hinduism at the time of Adi Shan-kara. According to the Tamil de-votional work Thiruppugazh, “the beauty of Murugan can never be summed up in one word. He is an

abode of splendor, divinity, happi-ness, courage, power, valor, love, Tamil, simplicity, strength and in-telligence.” The legend that tells the love story of Sri Valli and Lord Murugan is vividly described by the saintly poet Arunagirinathar, author of Tiruppugazh.

Both oral traditions and literary work glorify Valli, an innocent vil-lage girl who attained unison with Lord Subrahmanya because of her undying spirit of love towards the Lord. She was found as a baby in the jungle and was raised by hunter-gatherers. Love-struck with the un-seen god, the teenager Valli made a vrata or solemn vow to marry no mortal man but only the great Lord Murugan. To test her love, Muru-gan appeared before her disguised as an old ascetic. In a clandestine plan, Sri Ganesha appeared in the form of a wild elephant to fright-en Valli in the forest. The ascetic scared the elephant away to rescue the terror –stricken girl who rushed into the arms of the ascetic. In re-turn for rescuing her, the ascetic asked Valli to marry him. Though thankful, she refused to marry him with a firm decision to marry none other than her beloved Murugan.

continued on page 10

Seeru Varisai- symbol of Subrahmaya-ValliHailing the bride and the groom on chapparam


6 Indo American news • Friday, April 09 , 2010 onlIne edItIon: www.indoamerican-news.coms o c i e t y

By kalyani GiriHouston – Bodhisattva, starring

luminary thespian of Bengali cin-ema Soumitra Chatterjee, will de-but worldwide at the 43rd World-Fest Houston International Film Festival. The movie, scripted and directed by local filmmakers San Banerje and Trisha Ray, is one of three Indian films nominated for the Remi awards at WorldFest that runs April 9 – 18, 2010, at the AMC Studio 30 Dunvale. The other con-tenders vying for the prestigious honors are Saeed Mirza’s Ek Tho Chance, and Nikhil Bhat’s Saluun. Both will make their US debuts at the festival founded by award-winning producer/director Hunter Todd nearly half a century ago to provide a quality forum for inde-pendent filmmakers. WorldFest is one of the oldest film festivals in the world showcasing excellence in emerging cinematic talent from

three Indian movies nominated for remi Awards at 43rd worldFest Houston Film Festival

around the globe.“We’re fiercely independent,”

Todd proudly reiterates. Over 450 independent filmmak-

ers are expected to attend the event that kicks off festively at 6.00pm with an art car parade and a maria-chi band on April 9.

With Bollywood’s burgeoning international popularity, Indian films are trending and appearing

at festivals worldwide. Bodhisat-tva, in the Bengali language (with English subtitles), is a dark yet compelling creation of Houston-based filmmakers Banerje and Ray, who also have pivotal star-ring roles in their film. The movie, set against the vibrant bustle of Kolkatta, is faintly reminiscent of an American Psycho meets Sixth Sense. A young married couple Avik (Banerje) and Anu (Miska Halim), innocently unaware of the devastation their act of kindness would yield, offer the hospitality of their guest room to Anu’s friend visiting from the United States. Maya (Ray), the guest and central character of the movie, harbors an Electra complex –unnatural and unresolved romantic feelings for her father (Soumitra Chatterjee). Like a beautiful broken doll, Maya goes through the motions, hid-ing her fractured mind behind a contrived veneer of normalcy. In-sidiously she insinuates herself be-tween Avik and Anu. She begins to covet Avik. And she will do any-thing to have him for herself. The overlaying tone of Bodhisattva is understated, insouciant even, but roiling murkily beneath are the bit-ter tones of deceit, betrayal, need-less destruction, and sadness. A

continued on page 9

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Happy & Harmonious Family: JVB preksha conducts Annual Family retreatHOUSTON: JVB Preksha Med-

itation Center, Houston conducted a 3-day and 2-night Family Retreat Camp at calm and scenic 112-acre facility in southwest Houston area - The Gordon Ranch, Richmond, TX from April 2nd through April 4th 2010. The camp was attended by over 50 people; including fami-lies from all over Texas – Aus-tin, Dallas, San Antonio, and the Houston metroplex.

This was the 10th Annual Family Camp conducted by JVB Preksha Meditation Center since the first one held in year 2001; the theme of this camp was inspired by Acharya Mahapragya’s recent book on – The Happy & Harmonious Family. Acharya Mahapragya’s disciples currently stationed in Houston- Sa-manijis Akshay Pragya ji & Vinay Pragya ji lead an interactive pro-gram which included multiple lec-tures/presentations on achieving familial peace and bliss. Samanijis guided participants through dis-courses on Mathematics of Life, Spiritual Healing of Relations, and presented situations that the audience could relate to their fa-milial and daily lives; which led to thought provoking discussions and fructified ideas to overcome them. Participants relaxed and meditated during various meditation sessions during the day that would help fo-cus on increasing tolerance power

and politeness. Daily early morn-ing Yoga sessions were literally an icing on the cake. The retreat had concurrent special kids programs, where they focused on learning Yoga, Pranayam, and other cre-ative activities. Families also en-joyed the excellent recreational facilities at The Gordon Ranch in the beautiful spring weather. All participants, especially kids par-ticipated in a cultural eve on Satur-day night, which included knowl-edge snippets & skits performed by the kids. Samani Vinay Pragya

ji challenged participant minds with 10 trick quick fire questions with only 1 minute to answer.

Dr. Anand Basi conducted on-site health checkups, blood sugar tests, and made a special presentation depicting the direct link between physical health and Happiness and Harmony within the family. He ad-vised on simple and easy incorpo-rations in our daily routines to help cope with blood pressure, obesity, diabetes and other such malaises.

JVB President Pramod Bengani expressed his thanks to all volun-

teers and also thanked the board for their continued guidance. Sa-manijis recitation of Mangal Paath brought the event to a successful close.

Preksha Meditation is the prac-tice of purifying our emotions, consciousness and realizing our own self. Mediation augurs attitu-dinal change, behavioral modifica-tion and integrated development of one’s personality. Started in 1970, Preksha Meditation is the result of the untiring efforts of Ganadhipati Tulsi and Acharya Mahapragya.

Acharya Mahapragya researched and experimented for twenty years to rediscover the process of medi-tation, as was practiced by Bhag-wan Mahavir.

JVB Preksha Meditation Center is home to a specially designed Preksha Dhyan ‘Pyramid’ Medita-tion Hall and is located at 14102 Schiller Rd, Houston, TX 77082. For more information and for current and upcoming programs please visit www.JVBHouston.org or call 281.596.9642.

The 10th Annual Family camp was attended by more than 50 people including families from all over Texas



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For the past two years ICC and IHA (International Hindi Associa-tion), have brought a refreshing, enriching and fun-filled entertain-ment to Houston. Celebrity poets from India are invited to come and perform in different cities of USA once a year. The program was a huge success for both years and is expected to be a sold out event with excited listeners this year too.

This year on the evening of April 11th will feature poet Mahendra Ajnabi of Delhi (he visited and performed here last year at the UoH for a different organization), upcoming star of Indian comedy scene Arun Gemini from Haryana and last but not the least a very talented poet, scriptwriter and di-rector of TV serials and documen-taries Aash Karan Atal from Raj-asthan. These artists are going to

make the audience reminiscence India’s political, social and cultural themes with a rip-roaring humor, a little satire and maybe some heart- warming patriotism, weaving their intellect and idiocy with such deft that the result is pure delightful sprinkle of poetic jokes. All of the three poets have performed exten-sively all over India, on radio and TV, and conducted programs like kavi-sammellans in many south Asian countries, European coun-tries and in North America. They are in the literary league with their publishings of books, poems and articles in magazines and all me-dia. Chaired by the President of ICC Swapan Dhairyawan and IHA Director of Houston Sangeeta Pas-rija, the program will start at India House at 5:30 pm, after the social hour( when people can mingle

with the poets and buy their books and CDs) and will continue non-stop for almost 3 hours ending at 8:30 pm. The program is made possible by the combined efforts of ICC Committee chaired by Rafi Ansar and IHA Committee of Bobby Singh (Current President of IACF) and Renu Sood.

This program has been spon-sored by MD & Associates LLP, United Central Bank, Club 24, Sewa International and Madras Pavilion.

For an enchanted, enthralling and memorable experience attend the event on April 11th at India House at 5 pm. For tickets ($15 for Adult & @$10 for Seniors). Please contact Sangeeta at 281-788-9750 or Rafi at 832-605-8992 or visit www.icchouston.org for more information.

Icc and IHA organizes Kavi sammellan 2010



continued from page 6

s o c i e t y

three Indian movies nominated for remi Awards at 43rd worldFest Houston Film Festival

strong script and masterful acting make Bodhisattva a firm favorite for the Remi Awards.

“This film has an international star, Soumitra Chatterjee, whose World of Apu, directed by Oscar winner Satyajit Ray, remains one of the top 100 movies of all time in the world,” confided Banerje. “He helped el-evate the film to a different level.”

Closely asso-ciated with this publication, Ray served as editor of Indo Ameri-can News about a decade ago. She was elated to have Bodhisattva show at WorldFest.

“This festival is very highly re-garded in India. It is a very big vic-tory for our small movie to be in-cluded in World-Fest. We truly thank WorldFest for acknowledg-ing our hard work and accepting our film,” added Ray.

Bodhisattva will screen on April 17 at 7.00pm.

F i l m m a k e r Saeed Mirza’s comedy Ek Tho Chance sparkles with audacious glee. This film, a Pritish Nandy Communications production that tells the tale of people riding the train to the vibrant city of Mumbai in the hope of realiz-ing their dreams, stars Purab Kohli, Amrita Arora, and

Rajat Kapoor. The film shows on April 14 and 15th at 9.00pm.

The third Indian film to be presented at World-Fest is Saluun, a movie by Nikhil Bhat. Saluun is the story of Ashok, a small-town simpleton who in-advertently gets entangled in a thick web of corrupt government machinery when his road -side salon gets towed away by the local municipality. Screen-ings of Saluun are billed for April 17 at 7.00pm and April 18 at 5.00pm.

This year, the festival will screen 55 award-winning indie films and 100 short films. The en-tire movie making pro-cess from casting, cin-ematography, distribution, directing, producing, and scripting will also be ad-dressed in a series of six world-class seminars con-ducted by experts in each field. Seminars will be held at the Renaissance Hotel. The Avati Broth-ers of Italy who made the movie Il Figlio Piu Piccolo will be in attendance open-ing night to receive the Remi Career Achievement Award. The festival con-cludes with a glitzy Grand Awards Gala and Cocktail Reception at the Renais-sance Hotel on April 17, and a VIP NASA Space Center tour and Regatta/Barbecue at the Houston Yacht Club on April 18.

“We focus on a story well-told,” said WorldFest Artistic and Program Di-rector Kathleen Haney. “In the ten days of WorldFest we can do no more than 60 films a year. We try to keep high standards and con-centrate only on the very best new American and foreign independent films and honor those,” added Haney.

For more information on WorldFest Houston, visit www.worldfest.org.



By rachel varGheseHOUSTON-- A presidential

election is surrounded by years of national hoopla with the citizens of a nation keenly aware of the jogging schedule of the candidates and more. What people fail to real-ize is that there are other elections throughout the year that can affect individuals, much closer to home. The 2010 Republican Primary Runoff Election on April 13th has the capacity to affect the lives of those who live in Fort Bend Coun-ty. Fort Bend County has been listed in FBI statistics as having the lowest crime rate in cities sur-rounding Houston. District Attor-ney John Healey has been work-ing to keep Fort Bend County safe with his experience in successfully prosecuting cases and protecting our way of life. Healey has been an ardent supporter of activities in the Indian community, includ-ing attending the Ft. Bend Forum each year and not only attending but donating to the Indo-American Charity Foundation each year,

community support Urged for Fort Bend county district Attorney John Healeyamong others. While Healey does not appear frequently in any pub-lication, his support of the Indian community in Fort Bend has been long standing. He takes the time to be a part of this community.

While Healey’s office has ad-

dressed juvenile violence, drug trafficking, sexual assaults against children and economic crime, it is in the area of domestic violence that Healey has made the greatest impact. In 1996, Healey was nom-inated by the National Council on

Domestic Violence in the field of domestic violence prosecution and batterers intervention rehabilita-tion. In 1999, Healey authored and supported a bill, which later became state law which protecting victims of domestic violence, and not requiring victims from partici-pating in mediation during crimi-nal cases.

The role of District Attorney is to act on behalf of the ordinary citizen and Healey has been working for the past seventeen years to do just that. His programs include help for

merchants who have been victim-ized by hot check writers, acting as the voice of abused children and going after drunk drivers. Healey has a reputation for being tough on crime. The winds of change have swept many offices around the country but there is no guarantee that change is necessarily a good thing. If something is not broken, why change it. Healey’s support of the Indo American community must be reciprocated as he heads to the polls on April 13th.

h o u s t o n c o m m u n i t y

At the end of the drama, Sri Mu-rugan revealed himself to her and won the heart of all the villagers. Lord Murugan accepted Valli as his consort. The role of Sri Gane-sha in promoting this union has been praised in many contexts in the literature.

Unlike other celestial weddings being enacted frequently in Hindu temples, Valli-Subrahmanya kaly-anam is unique. Despite the for-mal wedding rituals, this is more of a celebration of the devotion of a human being towards the Lord. Acceptance of Valli by Murugan is a reaffirmation of the benevo-lence of the Lord towards the hu-man who trusts him. This event which brought about a celebrative weekend culminated with a sump-tuous luncheon. The wedding cel-ebration at MTS was conducted in grand scale in the presence of a large crowd and with the involve-ment of several volunteers as listed below, to whom the community is very thankful.

sri meenakshi temple celebrates sri Valli-sub-rahmanya Kalyanam continued from page 5



Yes, it is that time of the year! For an entire weekend, the 18th century saint composer Sri Tyagaraja and his music will resound throughout our city, as the votaries of Car-

natic music in the great-er Houston area gather to honor the bard at Hous-ton’s 33rd Annual Tya-garaja Utsa-vam (Music F e s t i v a l ) from April 16 to April 18 at Sri Meenak-shi Temple, jointly or-

ganized by the Temple and the Classical Arts Society of Houston. Following a tra-dition begun four years ago, this year also a renowned musician from India has been invited to don the mantle of leadership as the Artistic Director of the Utsavam. The or-ganizers have chosen Smt Charumathi Ra-machandran for that role. Charumathi has chosen the theme “Endaro Mahanubhavu-lu” meaning many great personalities. The festival will celebrate great musicians who have left an indelible mark in the world of Carnatic music. The celebration will focus on the golden voiced late Sri G.N. Balasu-bramaniam (GNB) whose centenary is be-ing observed throughout the world. On Sunday 18th, Padma Bhushan Sri

Trichur Ramachandran, a leading veteran vocalist from India and the only living di-rect disciple of GNB, will present a lecture demonstration titled “My Illustrious Guru GNB and his compositions” as well as give

2010 tyagaraja music Festival April 16–18, celebrates GnB centenarythe grand finale concert that evening. As the first female Artistic Director of the Houston

Utsavams, Charu-mathi has fittingly chosen to pres-ent “Chatur Stree Ratnas – The Four Pillars of Female Singers of Car-natic Music”, a tribute and a well researched insight into the works of the great erstwhile

female vocalists Smt M.S.Subbalakshmi, Smt M.L.Vasantakumari, Smt D.K. Pat-tammal and the sisters Brinda & Muktha. A similar lec-dem during the past music sea-son at the famous Chennai Music Academy received rave reviews in all the Chennai pa-pers. The Utsavam will also feature short bi-ographical films, books and CDs and DVD’s featuring GNB’s life and music. Among other attractions is a full length concert on Friday April 16th evening by the young winner of the Carnatic Music Idol compe-tition Bharath Sundar featured on Chennai Jaya TV in March 2010. On Saturday April 17, a “Sangeetha Samvadam” or dialogue with Charumathi and other Houston area youngsters will be an opportunity to learn more of Bharath’s experience during the extraordinarily tough competition. Another major Utsavam attraction is a concert, first time ever in Houston, by popular rising star Gayathri Venkataraghavan and her party. An added feature in this year’s Utsavam

is a segment on dance. “Both music and dance are integral to temple worship” says Charumathi. Particularly since this festival is being held at the temple Smt Charumathi felt it is significant to include elements of

dance among the festival’s various offer-ings. Consequently an intellectually stimu-lating discussion amongst the well known

dance personalities in the Houston area, led by Smt Rathna Kumar promises to explore a whole new dance perspective in the com-

positions of Tyagaraja. Some dance demos will add visual enjoyment to the discussion.The colorful Unchavritti, the singing of

the Panchratna Kritis, other themed group renditions, a special presentation by young-sters trained by Smt Rajarajeshwary Bhatt , a 17-member orchestra ensemble and the individual renderings of Sri Tyagaraja’s compositions by local artists and devotees are part of the traditional attractions of the Houston Utsavam. Together with all that’s going to be new, this year promises the at-tendees of the 2010 Tyagaraja Utsavam, a varied and rich fare of Carnatic Music once again this year. The program timings are: Fri 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM, Saturday 8:30 AM to 9:00 PM and Sunday 9:30 AM to 9:00 PM. The program information can be accessed at the website www.ClassicalArtsSociety-Houston.org.

Saint Thyagaraja Late G.N.Balasubramaniam

Charumati Ramachandran

Trichur Ramachandran

h o u s t o n c o m m u n i t y


13 Indo American news • Friday, April 09 , 2010 onlIne edItIon: www.indoamerican-news.com h o u s t o n c o m m u n i t y

proclamation to Hpd officer muzzafar siddiqicontinued from page 1

Community members show their support at the proclamation

Officer Siddiqi had a strong show of sup-port from his community as well. “Officer Siddiqi with his extensive training and ex-perience, his knowledge of several ethnic languages has been able reach out to several Asian communities. He has become some-what of a legend in his own community.” said Sue Lovell. Mayor Annise Parker said, “ I’ve worked with and have known Of-

ficer Siddiqi for many years.” She poked fun saying “But I’m going to poke fun at the ‘legend’ word used by Sue.” The crowd gathered, laughed, sharing a light moment. Officer Siddiqi has been instrumental in keeping the peace in the City of Houston, a distinguished and established officer. Of-ficer Siddiqi spoke on the occasion, saying “I really thank the city for the proclamation awarded to me. Many of you may not know but I was a police officer in the city of Ka-rachi, Pakistan even before I came to Hous-ton. On coming here, I thought I will not be able to continue my job as a policeman. But the City of Houston has been kind to me. I enjoy working with the Houston Police De-partment and all its officers. I enjoy serving the community.” On the Mayor’s request,

the chairperson addressed Officer Siddiqi, “Officer Siddiqi, the city of Houston con-gratulates your achievement. We are proud and pleased to see your contribution to the city of Houston. You are a shining example to young kids and family members who will consider becoming an officer with the HPD.” The Mayor also wants to commemo-rate April 6th as Officer Muzzafar Siddiqi

day. Council Member Al Hoang, District F, said “I have known Officer Siddiqi for a long time. I have enjoyed working with him. He is a great resource to our commu-nity. He has been bridging the gap between the Asian communities by working hard to resolve crimes. Officer Siddiqi has been able to reach out to his community mem-bers more easily because he speaks their language. District F has been able to solve several crimes due to the help rendered by Officer Siddiqi.” Officer Siddiqi has this to say to the Indo-American News readers, “I thank our community members for their en-during support. I also wish that more South Asian youngsters come and work with the Houston Police Department.”


14 Indo American news • Friday, April 09 , 2010 onlIne edItIon: www.indoamerican-news.coms o c i e t y

Hundreds of Dawoodi Bohras gathered on Saturday, April 2nd 2010 at their Mosque near Baker Cypress and Coventry Park to participate and celebrate in their spiritual leader’s Dr. Syedna Mo-hammad Burhanuddin 99th birth-day celebrations. His Holiness Dr Syedna Mohammed Burhannud-din is the 52nd Dai al-Mutlaq and the spiritual leader of the 1 million strong Dawoodi Bohras around the world.

Syedna's (TUS) birthday is a joy-ous time for the Dawoodi Bohra community worldwide. In Dallas, Syedna's (TUS) son Shehzada Malik-Ul-Ashtar bhaisaheb was present to celebrate his birthday. In Houston, the Dawoodi Bohra community celebrated by cutting a cake last Saturday followed by a telecast of Syedna's message on Sunday.

At the time of his birthday, His Holiness was in Mumbai where a huge procession was taken place at Bhendi Bazaar. The buildings in the area were decked with lights of different colors he buildings in the area were decked with lights of different colours as a stream of followers passed through the tem-porary stage between two Bohra mosques on Tahera street — Rau-dat Tahera and Saifee Masjid — from where Syedna blessed his

followers who had come from the Middle East, North America, Eu-rope and Africa. Syedna is recogn-ised as Ambassador of Peace from India by various governments.

In an expression of love and af-fection for their revered leader the Dawoodi Bohras have organized colorful processions and deco-rated their homes and community centers.

It has been the practice of the Dawoodi Bohras organized in 700 community centers all over the world to begin celebrations from the birthday of Prophet Mohammed (SAW) culminating on the birthday of His Holiness. Events such as Medical camps, seminars on health, Trade Fairs, Business Seminars, launch of low cost housing schemes, mass mar-riages known as 'Rasme Saifee', sports, competitions for adults on memorization of Quran and arts and crafts are organized for the social, educational and economic development of the entire commu-nity. Various public functions were organized and attended by dig-nitaries, politicians, government officials, prominent citizens and members of sister communities which provided a forum to spread Syedna's (TUS) message of peace and loyalty to one's nation.

dawoodi Bohras celebrate 99th Birthday of leader, dr. syedna mohammad Burhanuddin

Dr. Syedna Mohmmad Burhanuddin celebrated his 99th in Mumbai, India. He is the spirtual leader of the Dawoodi Bohras around the world

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, APRIL 09 , 2010• ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

15 Indo American News • Friday, April 09 , 2010ONLINE EDITION: www.indoamerican-news.com S O C I E T Y

Microsoft to Unveil ‘Pink’ Mobile Phones with Social Media Features

NEW YORK (PTI): Software gi-ant Microsoft Corp is planning to un-veil a new line of mobile phones ear-ly nextweek, with social-networking capabilities, says a media report.

Attributing to people familiar with the plan, The Wall Street Journal reported Microsoft plans to introduce a new line of mobile phones on Mon-day, April 12.

The new de-vices, based on a Microsoft devel-opment project code-named ‘Pink’ would be sold by top mobile opera-tor Verizon Wire-less from later this month in the US, the report said.

Microsoft designed the software, online services and hardware for the Pink mobile phones, while Japan’s Sharp Corp is manufacturing the devices.

A Microsoft outlet in Las Vegas.

Advertise where it matters713-789-NEWS

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, APRIL 09 , 2010 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

16 Indo American News • Friday, April 09 , 2010 ONLINE EDITION: www.indoamerican-news.com

IndoAmerican News

®All rights reserved. No material herein or portions thereof may be published without the written consent of the publisher. The deadline for advertising and articles is 5 pm on Monday of each week. Please include self-addressed, stamped envelope for return of all unsolicited material. Published at 7457 Harwin Drive, Suite 262, Houston, Texas 77036. Tel: 713-789-NEWS or 6397 Fax: 713-789-6399, email: [email protected], website: indoamerican-news.com

correspondentsChicago: Nand Kapoor Ottawa: Avinash Gavai

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continued on page 18

By Dr. ABDul KAlAmWhy is the media here so negative?

Why are we in India so embarrassed to recognize our own strengths, our achievements? We are such a great nation. We have so many amazing success stories but we refuse to ac-knowledge them. Why?

We are the first in milk produc-tion.

We are number one in remote sens-ing satellites.

We are the second largest producer of wheat.

We are the second largest producer of rice.

Look at Dr. Sudarshan, he has transferred the tribal village into a self-sustaining, self-driving unit. There are millions of such achieve-ments but our media is only obsessed in the bad news and failures and disasters.

I was in Tel Aviv once and I was reading the Israeli newspaper. It was the day after a lot of attacks and bombardments and deaths had taken place. The Hamas had struck. But the front page of the newspaper had the picture of a Jewish gentleman who in five years had transformed his desert into an orchid and a granary. It was this inspiring picture that ev-eryone woke up to. The gory details of killings, bombardments, deaths, were inside in the newspaper, buried among other news.

In India we only read about death, sickness, terrorism, crime.. Why are we so negative? Another question: Why are we, as a nation so obsessed with foreign things? We want foreign T.Vs, we want foreign shirts. We want foreign technology.

Why this obsession with everything imported. Do we not realize that self-respect comes with self-reliance? I was in Hyderabad giving this lecture, when a 14 year old girl asked me for my autograph. I asked her what her goal in life is. She replied: I want to live in a developed India . For her, you and I will have to build this developed India . You must proclaim. India is not an under-developed nation; it is a highly developed nation.

Do you have 10 minutes? Allow me to come back with a vengeance.

Got 10 minutes for your country?

‘You Can Help India Become Better’in London at 10 pounds (Rs.650) a month to, ‘see to it that my STD and ISD calls are billed to someone else. YOU would not dare to speed beyond 55 mph (88 km/h) in Wash-ington and then tell the traffic cop, ‘Jaanta hai main kaun hoon (Do you know who I am?). I am so and so’s son. Take your two bucks and get lost.’ You wouldn’t chuck an empty coconut shell anywhere other than the garbage pail on the beaches in Australia and New Zealand ..

Why don’t You spit ‘Paan’ on the streets of Tokyo? Why don’t You use examination jockeys or buy fake certificates in Boston? We are still talking of the same You. You who can respect and conform to a foreign system in other countries but cannot in your own. You who will throw papers and cigarettes on the road the moment you touch Indian ground. If you can be an involved and ap-preciative citizen in an alien country, why cannot you be the same here in India ?

In America, every dog owner has to clean up after his pet has done the job. Same in Japan ..

Will the Indian citizen do that here?’ He’s right. We go to the polls to choose a Government and after that forfeit all responsibility. We sit back wanting to be pampered and expect the Government to do everything for us whilst our contribution is totally negative. We expect the Government to clean up but we are not going to stop chucking garbage all over the place nor are we going to stop to pick a up a stray piece of paper and throw it in the bin. We expect the railways to provide clean bathrooms but we are not going to learn the proper use of bathrooms. We want Indian Airlines and Air India to provide the best of food and toiletries but we are not going to stop pilfering at the least opportunity. This applies even to the staff who is known not to pass on the service to the public.

When it comes to burning social issues like those related to women, dowry, girl child! and others, we make loud drawing room protesta-tions and continue to do the reverse at home. Our excuse? ‘It’s the whole

If yes, then read; otherwise, choice is yours..

You say that our Government is inefficient.

You say that our Laws are too old.You say that the municipality does

not pick up the garbage.You say that the phones don’t work,

the railways are a joke. The airline is the worst in the world, mails never reach their destination.

You say that our country has been fed to the dogs and is the absolute pits.

You say, say and say. What do youdo about it?

Take a person on his way to Sin-gapore . Give him a name - ‘Yours’. Give him a face - ‘Yours’. You walk out of the airport and you are at your International best. In Singapore you don’t throw cigarette butts on the roads or eat in the stores. You are as proud of their Underground links as they are.. You pay $5 (approx. Rs. 60) to drive through Orchard Road (equivalent of Mahim Causeway or Pedder Road) between 5 PM and 8 PM. YOU come back to the parking lot to punch your parking ticket if you have over stayed in a restaurant or a shopping mall irrespective of your status identity. In Singapore you don’t say anything, Do you? You wouldn’t dare to eat in public during Ramadan, in Dubai .. You would not dare to go out without your head covered in Jeddah.

You would not dare to buy an employee of the telephone exchange

Why don’t you spit ‘paan’ on the streets of Tokyo? Why don’t you useexamination jockeys or buy fake certificates in Boston? We are still talk-ing of the same you. You who can respect and con-form to a foreign system in other countries but cannot in your own.

In our materialistic society (think of the craze over the newly introduced iPad), there’s no shortage of recognition for the mon-eymakers. A case in point is Forbes magazine’s annual list of leading billionaires. Many of us are heartened to note the entry of Indian billionaires such as Mukesh and Anil Ambani and watch whether Microsoft’s Bill Gates remains on top.

It is, therefore, gratifying that earlier this week, The Hous-ton Chronicle chose to recognize the city’s new generation of moneygivers. Nidhika and Pershant Mehta made this list and Indo-American News is pleased join the chorus to applaud their philanthropy. The Mehtas have chosen UNICEF and India House as some of their favorite charities. What is distinctive about their giving is the donation to the Museum of Fine Arts of Houston for the permanent India Art Gallery. Many in our community give to the religious institutions, but it is laudable that some choose to benefit the herelife as much as the afterlife.

Pramod Kulkarni

Divine Distinction

Word to the UnwiseThe Greek philosopher, Socrates, once said that he was consid-

ered wise because he knew what he did not know. Most people, he said, were ignorant about their own ignorance. The maxim inherent in Socrates’s self-description could also apply to politi-cians: they should know what they do not know and steer away from the latter.

English as she is spoke has never been Buddhadeb Bhattachar-jee’s strong suit. Mr Bhattacharjee believes that the sentence, “the buck stops at his table”, used by the Home Minister P. Chidam-baram is slang. Mr Bhattacharjee stands appalled that a politician could use slang.The saying, ‘the buck stops here’, has been around since the 19th century and is certainly not slang. In an attempted and unnecessary thrust at the home minister, Mr Bhattacharjee has made a spectacle of his own ignorance of English and its usage. He would have lost nothing if he had kept his mouth shut.

There is, however, a more important issue embedded in Mr Bhattacharjee’s attempted riposte to Mr Chidambaram. The very fact that the chief minister can hold forth on the home minister’s language suggests that Mr Bhattacharjee has enormous time on his hands. This should not be the case if he were devoting adequate attention to his ministerial responsibilities.

The state government, in the last few months, has taken no major initiatives and is merely biding its time until the elections. The chief minister’s excursions into the finer points of English usage would tend to confirm the impression that at the moment more frivolous subjects attract him than affairs of state.

Calcutta Telegraph


17 Indo American News • Friday, April 09 , 2010ONLINE EDITION: www.indoamerican-news.comadVICE

Census Worker Knocking at the DoorLetter to the editor

The U.S. Census Bureau had sent the Census Ques-tionnaire to all households during the third week of March and large majority of the people fulfilled their civic responsibility by answering the simple questions in the Census document and sent back by the deadline date, April 1.

Participation in the Census count by all U.S. house-holds is mandatory. But there are still many residents who have not sent in the Census form. The Census Bureau has hired thousands of people who will be go-ing from home to home to have complete and accurate count of the US population. Part of the federal funds which would have been sent to the states, counties and cities for community projects, would be spent on wages for the temporary Census takers; good for the economy as many thousands will have jobs, bad for the community projects which have been waiting for the federal funds.

A word of caution for those who have not responded

to the Census questionnaire. When a Census worker knocks at your door, make sure that he/she has a badge, a handheld device, a Census Bureau canvas bag and a confidentiality notice. Do not hesitate to see his/her identification and badge before answering any question. Be cooperative but do not give sensitive fi-nancial information. It is the scam artists who could be impersonating Census workers to gain access to your Social Security, bank account or credit card numbers for identity theft. Also, a Census worker will not enter your home to conduct the census. He/she can get the requisite information at the door. If you have an email account, do not respond to an e-mail nor click on a link or open any attachments in an e-mail which is supposedly from the U.S. Census Bureau. If in doubt, call the Census Bureau at 1-866-226-2864, provide the Census worker’s name and the Case ID number.

- Inder Singh, Chairman, GOPIO Int’l,Tarzana, California

The Indo-American Charity Foundation directors are humming with enthusiasm as they gear up for the Annual IACF Walkathon that is planned for April 24th, 2010 at the Lost Creek Park in Sugar Land, Texas.

Bobby Singh, the President of IACF explained that this year’s walkathon is unique as it is being organized as a community event with the active participation and support of over 15 Indo- American organizations, e.g. ICC, Daya, In-dia House, IAPAC, Sewa Interna-tional, IACCGH, Indo American Forum and IITAGH just to name a few.With the enthusiasm gener-ated from the community, IACF is expecting to have over 1000 participants, making it the largest such event in the greater Houston area. The Consul General of India along with several elected/com-munity leaders have been invited to lead the 2K to 5K Walk in this beautiful park.

Mr. Pradeep Gokhale, the Walk-athon Chair explained that this Walkathon is a great event to share the IACF Vision, which is to fos-ter a local community whose basic needs are met and where everyone could lead enriched lives through better health, education and growth opportunities.

The Walkathon is planned as a true family outing with lots of ac-

tivities for all ages. Mr. Gus Gill the Walkathon Co-Chair said that in addition to walkathon, a wide range of activities are planned in-cluding live music, painting con-tests, children games, face paint-ing, free legal clinic organized by ILAH, yoga instructions and a lot more.

Bobby Singh is requesting all walkathon participants to bring at least 10 non perishable items along with them, which will be donated

to the Houston Food Bank in order to fight hunger in the local areas. Manisha Mehta, the Walkathon Co-Chair says that like every other community event, food cannot be overlooked so there will assorted snacks, fruits, tea and other re-freshments.Mohan Rao wants to remind everybody that even if you are a late riser, please come and have a fun time as the Walkathon Festivities will continue till 12.30 p.m.

Walkathon to Help the Needy in Houston

The IACF Walkathon is a community initiative to help the needy in the Greater Houston Area.

Join IACF on April 24, 2010 from 8:30am to 1:00pm at Lost Creek Park, Sugar Land, TX



Vijay Shah Wins Suit Against Secret Service AgentSix years after he

was arrested and handcuffed by Se-cret Service agents at the 2004 Demo-cratic National Con-vention in Boston, Mass., allegedly without cause, Vijay Shah emerged victo-rious Mar. 12 when

a jury determined he had been illegally arrested.

Following a week-long trial, the jury at Moakley Federal courthouse in Boston deliv-ered a verdict after three hours of deliberation, and found Secret Service agent Darin Czellecz guilty of violating Shah’s Fourth Amendment rights, which guard against unreasonable search and seizure.

Shah, 39, had filed a civil suit against Czel-lecz and J.W. Holloway of the Department of Homeland Security’s Secret Service, saying he was racially profiled and unlawfully detained

during an anti-war protest July 25, 2004 on the periphery of the DNC. Holloway was not found guilty by the jury.

“This is such a personal vindication for me,” a jubilant Shah told after the trial. “The Secret Service is not used to being challenged,” said Shah, adding that his victory was one of the few times the agency has been held legally account-able. The verdict against Czellecz holds no monetary victory for Shah, nor does it compel the DHS to take action against its employee. Shah, however, opined that both Czellecz and Holloway should be demoted.

On the day he was arrested, Shah had planned to participate in an anti-Iraq war demonstration outside the DNC, held at Boston’s Fleet Center. After fruitlessly searching for the march, Shah decided to head back, but then found the march-ers and joined in. He was then grabbed from behind by two men who allegedly shoved him in an alley, and handcuffed him. Shah was de-tained for several hours at a local police station, and released only when he provided identifica-tion (I-W, Mar. 5).

Vijay Shah

system which has to change, how will it matter if I alone forego my son’s rights to a dowry.’ So who’s going to change the system?

What does a system consist of? Very conve-niently for us it consists of our neighbors, other households, other cities, other communities and the Government. But definitely not me and you. When it comes to us actually making a positive contribution to the system we lock ourselves along with our families into a safe cocoon and look into the distance at countries far away and wait for a Mr. Clean to come along and work miracles for us with a majestic sweep

of his hand or we leave the country and run away. Like lazy cowards hounded by our fears we run to America to bask in their glory and praise their system. When New York becomes insecure we run to England . When England experiences unemployment, we take the next flight out to the Gulf. When the Gulf is war struck, we demand to be rescued and brought home by the Indian Government. Everybody is out to abuse and rape the country. Nobody thinks of feeding the system. Our conscience is mortgaged to money.

Dr. Abdul Kalam is a scientist and an educa-tor and former President of India.

‘You Can Help India Become Better’continued from page 17


19 Indo American News • Friday, April 09 , 2010ONLINE EDITION: www.indoamerican-news.com SOCIETY

Houston, TX, April 4th – Alliance for Multicultural Community Services (“The Alliance”), a Houston based non-profit organization dedicated to providing com-prehensive mix of social and community development services to refugees, immi-grants and low-income residents of Harris County, had a successful annual fundraiser, “Stars Among Us”, Saturday, April 3rd , 2010. The Alliance grossed over $43,000 at a sold-out event attended by Congress-man Al Green, State Rep Scott Hochberg, State Representative Hubert Vo, Former State Representative Martha Wong, Paki-stan Counsel General Aqil Nadeem, Former Houston City Council Member M.J. Khan, and Farouk Shami, along with several other dignitaries and community lead-ers. Ms. Miya Shay from KTRK-TV, Channel 13 was the mistress of ceremonies. The profits from the fundraising event will be giv-en to refugee students in form of scholarships.

Since Stars Among Us began ten years ago, The Alliance has distributed 137 scholarships to students from 16 countries of origin for a total of more than $111,000.00.

Dr. Adil Najam, lead author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and, as a rep-resentative of the IPCC, co-re-cipient of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, addressed the assembly commending the Alliance’s work with refugee & immigrant popu-lations of Houston. Along with Dr. Najam, Mr. Ahmed Alyasin, United Way of Greater Houston, Taiwanese Heritage Society and Farouk Shami were all recog-nized for their contributions to-wards the health and well being of immigrant & refugee popula-tions.

The Board and staff of The Alli-ance would like to thank all of its donors, volunteers, and support-ers for making this event success-ful. The organization is grateful to the Houston community for its overwhelming response to the fundraiser and support of The Al-liance’s mission and goals. Thank you for helping us to make a difference in the lives of young refugee students who are forced to flee from violence and perse-cution towards personal security and self-sufficiency in the United States.

About The Alliance: In 1985, local Cambodian, Ethiopian, Laotian and Vietnamese politi-cal refugee groups established the organization as the Refugee Services Alliance. As it grew and expanded its mission, the Alliance took on a new name to reflect its additional activities and services.

Today, The Alliance is the larg-est refugee resettlement agency in Texas with having received individuals from Bhutan, Burma, Congo, Iraq, Eritrea, Vietnam, Burundi, Somalia, Rwanda, Cuba, Ethiopia, Iran, Liberia, Su-dan, Afghanistan, and Mauritania just in the last year. Along with refugees, in 2009, The Alliance helped 1127 people start new

The Alliance Fund Raiser Raises More than $43,000 for Refugee Student Scholarshipslives here in Houston, Texas. The Alliance’s mission is: To provide a comprehensive mix of social and community development services to refugees, immigrants and low-income residents of Harris County to help them become self-sufficient and improve their quality of life.

All services are provided free to indi-vidual beneficiaries, offered with cultural competency, and are designed to empower individuals, families, and the communities to succeed.

For more information about The Alliance please visit: www.allianceonthweb.org or call 713-776-4700

Congressman Al Green showed his support for the Refugee Student Scholarships


20 Indo American News • Friday, April 09 , 2010 ONLINE EDITION: www.indoamerican-news.comS O C I E T Y

Ghost Busters: Canada Takes Steps to Crack Down on Fraudulent Immigration Consultants

By AvinAsh GAvAiCanada’s gung-ho Immigration

Minister Jason Kenney has in recent days made a empathic announce-ment that parlimentary legislation will be introduced to combating fraudulent immigration consultants, a veritable thorn in the side of the establishment.

"We plan to proceed with legisla-tion this spring to impose tougher penalties on people who break our laws or provide fraudulent advice seeking to exploit applicants for im-migration to Canada," Mr. Kenney told members of the Commons' Citi-zenship and Immigration committee two weeks ago. "By regulating con-sultants in this country we will crack down on ghost consultants as well as others who advise immigrants to make false declarations."

The new measures have a direct bearing on immigrants coming in from India. Ghost immigration con-sultants have threatened to under-mine legal immigration in Canada, where close to 300,000 individuals are come in on an annual basis, with immigrants from Punjab forming a high percentage of that number.

As had been reported in IAN last July, Kenney has earlier said that he was "floored" to discover the extent and frequency of the fraud perpetrat-ed in Chandigarh by unscrupulous document vendors, counterfeit artists and fake immigration consultants who charge people thousands of dol-lars to help put together visas that get rejected by officers who are becom-ing increasingly wise to the fakery.

Indo-Asian News Service (IANS) recently reported on an ad in a Chan-digarh paper which illustrated the growing problem of ghost consul-tants:

"JOB VACANCY IN CANADI-AN HOTEL CANADA: Ominic-ity Hotel Director wish to advertise through this medium that the Fol-lowing Job Vacancy in our Hotel. We need both men and females workers to fill in different categories of job openings. Currently, if your inter-ested in working with us you can

contact us back E-mail Address: [email protected] Our Hotel Director shall connect you with our Canadian immigration director during your visa processing, SIGN BY DIRECTOR MRS RESOLING ANNA.''

Inquiries conducted by IANS how-ever found that no such hotel existed in Ottawa.

The exact details of the proposed legislation however are murky, a major question is whether a new law will go far enough to make a differ-ence, including tackling consultants who charge a fee for their services before an application is filed—which is when most problems occur. Fur-thermore, there's no clear answer on how to deal with ghost consultants working abroad.

"We want the line to be drawn," said Phil Mooney, president of the Cana-dian Association of Professional Im-migration Consultants in an interview with Embassy newspaper.

Mr. Mooney described this situation as "a major loophole in the immigra-tion system," where most prospective immigrations are exploited. Most ghost consultants are recommended by family or friends, so trust is not an issue, Mr. Mooney said.

Although not all unlicensed immi-gration consultants have bad motives, and some may even give good advice to their clients, Mr. Mooney said the problem is there is no official body that can track who these ghost con-sultants are. The current bodies only have the power to penalize its own members—and there are concerns the society is not even doing enough in that regard.

“The situation will not be tolerated. It undermines our citizenship pro-cess presents questions on national security,” said John Ryan, chair of the Canadian Society of Immigration Consultants, told. Ryan noted that a procedure which brings in a struc-tured system of complaints about the ghost consultants should be imple-mented to help ensure credibility.

However, having a complaints based feedback system is inadequate, says Sheetal Jhuti, an immigration consultant based near Toronto.

"If there aren’t any clients who will actively show up at your doorstep and talk of how they were swindled, how will the authorities punish them?" Jhuti asked.

Jhuti expressed frustration with the high fees immigration consultants have to pay to the Canadian Society of Immigration Consultants (CSIC)—she estimated about $3,000 yearly to maintain the membership—although "the business has been gobbled up by others."

"If someone complains against me, it's very easy for [CSIC] to penalize me and shut down my business," Ms. Jhuti said. "But people who are working in another country such as Dubai or India or the Philippines, whether or not they have a license is irrelevant."

Many immigration experts have identified the regulation of fraudu-lent immigration consultants work-ing abroad to be a challenge.

"In India, you have people who have no idea about the immigration process, but are helping people fill out there application form for a fee," Jhuti said. "Our legislation needs to have more teeth to crack down on this."

South Asian taking oath to become a Canadian Citizen

India Culture Center to Participate in iFest Houston International Festival, April 17-18

HOUSTON: The India Culture Center Houston, (ICC) will be par-ticipating in this year’s iFest Houston international Festival to be held on weekends of April 17 - 18 and 24 -25 at Downtown Houston.

The iFest is highlighting the Ca-ribbean as part of its annual festival featuring one country/ region. In the year 2005, the iFest featured India and ICC played a very crucial role in coordinating with various Indo-American organizations and businesses in partaking in these celebrations.

The iFest has invited the ICC this year to participate in the celebra-tions by putting up their booth at the iFest. The ICC views this as the great opportunity to showcase

India’s culture and tradition to the main stream. The ICC has planned numerous activities like the Henna designs, Rangoli, Saree tying, In-dian Instrumental items apart from other dance and music items to be performed on stage.

On display will be various Indian arts and crafts, books and other gratis that promote India’s culture. The ICC booth at the iFest will serve as a window to the Indo-American com-munity in Houston as well as India in general. ICC’s cultural program which consists of dances and music will be on Apr 17th and 24th from 8:30 to 10pm.

iFest Schedule:April 17,18, 24th and 25th, Saturdays 12 -10pm, Sun-days 12 - 8pm



Masala Chai Hour with Rathna KumarSaturdays 10-11am on 1480AM,

Masala Radio, 281-277-6874

"Hindi Day" Celebrated at Central Junior High School in DallasDALLAS, TX: Consular General

of India Sanjiv Arora has visited Central Junior High School in Euless, TX (suburb of Fort Worth) on Thurs-day and participated in an interactive session with Hindi learning students of Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD. He stressed the need and importance of learning Hindi language and encour-aged them to learn it well especially in this Global competition. He con-gratulated HEB ISD superintendent Dr. Buinger and his staff for intro-ducing Hindi for Junior High School students. CGI assured that he would extend all needed help to make this program successful.

Dr. Gene Buinger, Superintendent of HEB ISD, thanked CGI Arora for visiting Central Junior High School and Prasad Thotakura, Texas State Coordinator, Indian American Friend-

ship Council (IAFC) for making this event possible and supporting Hindi language courses for the last two years. Dr. Buinger also thanked his staff members for their dedication in teaching Hindi. Dr. Buinger, Bhavani Parpia and Prasad Thotakura also met Indian Ambassador to USA Meera Shankar and briefed the progress of Hindi courses at Central High School. Ambassador Shanakr congratulated Dr. Buinger and pledged her full sup-port to the program.

Prasad Thotakura, Texas State Co-ordinator of Indian American Friend-ship Council (IAFC) said “It is very important to develop excellent com-munication skills in Hindi including reading, writing and speaking since Hindi is second widely spoken in the world. Now, 35 out of every 100 people in the world are either of In-

dian or Chinese origin”. “The International Business Ini-

tiative or IBI is a unique program

Prasad Thotakura, Ambassador Meera Shankar, Bhavani Parpi and Dr. Gene Buinger of HEB ISD

offered to 7th and 8th grade students at Central Junior High School in Euless City. This program will help

to bridge gaps between cultures, contribute to international diplomacy, promote national security. Mastery of an Asian lan-guage will open doors to the best universities and great job opportunities” said Bhavani Parpia, IBI coordinator.

Dr. Buinger, Superin-tendent Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD,Todd Smith, Texas House of Representatives,Prasad Thotakura, Texas State Coordinator for Indian-American Friendship Council, Jonathan James, Principal Central Junior High School,Bhavani Parpia, Coordinator, In-

ternational Business Initiative and Prabhala Srirangam, Hindi Teacher attended the Hindi Day evnet.



SACC’s Next Chai Exchange on EducationHOUSTON: The South Asian Chamber of Commerce (SACC) invites families to come to its next Chai Exchange on Wednesday, April 21st at 5.30pm at Westin Oaks Galleria to help navigate educational opportunities for all ages. SACC will have senior officials from Higher Education institutions such as Rice University, University of Houston, and the University of Texas Medical School to private schools such as Awty, St. Johns, and Kinkaid. We’ll also have senior HISD officials who can talk about the right Magnate and Gifted/Talented programs you should know about for your kids.” ‘The topic to be discussed is the Competitive Edges that can help get your child into Ivy League Undergraduate, Top Tier Law and Medical School. For details call 832- 660-2952 or email Jeffrey Wallace, Executive Director SACC at [email protected]

DAV Sanskriti School (DAVSS) of Arya Samaj Greater Houston organized an Essay and Shloka (verses) recitation contest. The event was conducted to empha-size the moral duty (‘dharma’) and spiritual dis-cipline that all students are expected to learn, adopt and follow dur-ing their ‘Brah-m a c h a r y a ’ phase. Liter-ally speaking, Brahmacharya (meaning ‘un-der the tutelage of Brahma’) has evolved from ‘Brahma’ (the creator or k n o w l e d g e ) and ‘charya’ (a virtuous way of life or to act/live in). It represents the phase of austerity or spiritual edu-cation in one’s life.

The contest is an annual event at DAVSS and is part of the Nai-tik Shiksha (moral education) cur-riculum of the school. The topic for the essay competition this year was ‘The Dharma (duties) of a student’. The students were requested to prepare the topic in ad-vance and write the es-say during the school hours from their memory. For the Shloka recitation con-test, a set of 8 Shlokas were selected from Bhagavad Geeta (sacred Hindu scripture) focusing on learnings most relevant for our young children. These Shlokas along with their meanings were distributed to the students who had to come prepared for reciting 2

DAV Sanskriti School Essay and Shloka CompetitionShlokas on the day of the compe-tition. A heartening number of 61 students participated in the contest held on March 7, 2010.

For judging the competition, the students were distributed into

different age groups - 3 for the essay and 5 for shloka recitation. A ceremony held on March 28th, 2010 recognized all the partici-pants and also awarded trophies to

the top performers. The ceremony was conducted by Sanjay Jain ji, Coordinator of DAVSS, amidst an audience comprising the larger Arya Samaj community including the parents of all participants. A total of 25 trophies were awarded

to top performers in each of the age groups. The number one per-former in each group was also awarded a gift card from Best Buy. The trophies were handed over to the children by respected Acharya

Praveen ji – the soul behind the event and also the person leading the DAV Sanskriti School. The top winners recited their Shlokas and read their essays which impressed everyone present in the audience.

Congratulations to all award winners! List of the winners are as follows:

Essay Competition:Elementary Students - Amol

Patil (1st), Anshuman Patil (2nd), Roma Nayyar (3rd);

Junior High Students - Kavya

Gupta (1st), Trisha Gupta (2nd), Uma Zingde (3rd); and

High School Students - Atul Gupta (1st); Neil Patel (2nd), Akash Gupta (3rd).

Shloka Recitation Competition

(by Age Group): 5-6 years: Mahi Tomar (1st);7-8 years: Pranav Thatte (1st),

Anusha Sathya (2nd), Kanika Tal-war (3rd);

9-10 years: Sanjana Kapoor (1st), Anuya Kawathekar (2nd), Gaurav Gomber (3rd);

11-12 years: Smriti Ahuja (1st), Roma Nayyar (2nd), Siddhant Ahuja (3rd); and

13 & above: Neha Srivastava (1st), Soham Chanchalani (2nd), Sonya Chanchalani (3rd).

Special recognition awards were given for 2 very young partici-pants for their essays - Ananya Lu-thria and Ishaan Kapoor. A special award was also given to Krishna Chamlagai for shloka recitation.

Krishna is a member of one of the families from Bhutan who have re-cently migrated to the US and have been adopted by Arya Samaj.

This event is amongst the vari-ous activities that DAVSS and Arya Samaj of Greater Houston organize through the year to in-culcate the right values and mor-als amongst the ‘future leaders of tomorrow’ and is a demonstration of the social leadership that Arya Samaj institutions provide in the communities they operate in.

Smriti Ahuja (11-12 yrs), 1st Shloka

Amol Patil (Elementary), 1st Essay

Winners of DAV Sanskriti School’s 2010 Shlokas/Essay Competition

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