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Indo AmerIcAn news • FrIdAy, mArch 12 , 2010 • Online editiOn: www.indOamerican-news.cOm

1 Indo American news • Friday, march 12 , 2010 Online editiOn: www.indoamerican-news.com

Friday, March 12, 2010 | Vol. 29, No. 11 50¢

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sindwanis to retire After 28 years of service By Pramod KulKarni

HOUSTON: An era of passion for community ser-vice is coming to a close. Dr. K.L. Sindwani and Mrs. Mohini Sindwani, are retir-ing to spend their twilight years with their son and his family in Wichita Falls, Texas.

The Sindwanis moved to Houston in the early 1970s when he joined Texas South-ern University as a professor of sociology after earning his Ph.D. from Ohio State University. Mrs. Sindwani is a psychotherapist and has spent several decades in helping young children and families in distress.

But the Sindwanis will be known forever in the Hous-ton’s South Asian commu-nity for their passionate de-votion to social service.

Dr. Sindwani spent two formative terms as the pres-ident of the India Culture Center (ICC) and is recog-nized for setting up the first ICC House in a residence off Hill-croft.

Mrs. Sindwani is known for

serving as a priest for many religious services. Together, they launched the Vedanta Center for followers of the Ramakrishna Mission.

All of us here at Indo-American News are sad-dened at the retirement of our founder and publisher. Mrs. Sindwani provided database administration and mailing services for the newspaper for more than 25 years.

Dr. Sindwani has been a tireless worker and is cred-ited with making sure that the newspaper did not miss a single issue in all these 28 years.

The Sindwanis will con-tinue to enjoy their reading and religious activities and are expected to visit Hous-ton from time to time. Indo-American News will con-tinue as their brainchild.

Please send the Sindwanis your best wishes at [email protected]

Dr. K.L. and Mohini Sindwani enjoy time with each other and their passion: Indo-American News.

FIIs cross rs. 100,000 crore milestone MUMBAI (HT): In what

could be a high point in a roller-coaster year that saw the econ-omy rebound from lows, the net investment by foreign in-stitutional investors (FIIs) into India in the current fiscal year crossed a milestone Rs 100,000 crore mark on Wednesday — a record figure for a single fiscal year.

The day closed with an in-flux figure of Rs 100,533 crore. That topped the earlier record figure of Rs. 53,042 crore in 2007-08.

“Indian and China have shown signs of resilience and quality growth and FIIs have taken a view on that,” said R. Venkataraman, executive di-rector, India Infoline.

While investments by FIIs was strong between April and December 2009, it dropped in the past two months. Funds bounced

back as the Union Budget on Feb-ruary 26 brought local cheers, global clouds cleared as European

Ambanis in Rich List 2010

Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim is the new richest person in the world, knocking Microsoft founder Bill Gates into second spot, Forbes said on Wednesday.

It is only the second time since 1995 that Gates has lost the crown, said the magazine.

Here is Forbes ranking of The 20 richest people in the world as per Forbes rankign are:

Carlos Slim (Mexico), Bill Gates (USA), Warren Buffett (USA), Mukesh Ambani (India), Lak-shmi Mittal (India), Larry Ellison (USA), Bernard Arnault (France),

Eike Batista (Brazil), Karl Al-brecht (Germany), Ingvar Kam-prad & family (Sweden), Christy Walton & family (USA), Stefan Persson (Sweden), Li Ka-shing (Hong Kong), Jim Walton (USA), Alice Walton (USA), Liliane Bet-tencourt (France),S. Robson Wal-ton (USA), Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud (Saudi Arabia), Da-vid Thomson & family (Canada).

nations moved to bail out cri-sis-hit Greece and US jobs data showed an uptick.

The FII inflow in March has been very strong and totalled up to Rs 10,243 crore in the seven trading days so far.

“There is lot of money in the two largest economies of US and Japan with little invest-ment options.

Hence in the longer term I see the FII investment grow-ing,” said Venkataraman.

In 2008-09, FIIs hit by the global financial crisis pulled out Rs 47,729 crore from the Indian markets.

As India emerges as a high-growth economy surpassed only by China, it is also consid-ered by investors as safe haven on the back of a strong domes-

tic market and a stable financial system.

Shreya & Atif Aslam Live in Concert inHoustonBollywood’s top duo singers, Atif Aslam and Shreya Ghoshal are performing live in downtown Houston on Saturday, March 13 at Jones Hall.

LEAVING A LEGACY: Dr K.L Sindwani1975: Moved to Houston in 1975 and taught at TSU as a professor of Sociology.1976: Joined the only Indian Organization ICC and served as Secretary, later became President for two terms.1982: Started Indo American News as an experiment and today is the most read South Asian Weekly.

Pakistan’s Prospects for Stability Explored at Asia Society Speaker Series

Story on Pg 3

Seeds of Hope Gala to Benefit Daya’s Commit-ment to Halt Scourge of Domestic Abuse

Story on Pg 5

Honey! We Killed Constitutional Rights: Muslim Woman Fired for Wearing Headscarf

Story on Pg 15

Help your community by filling out the US Census 2010 Forms, your

will be receving in March

FOOD TALK

This Week’s Review: Bhojan Vegetarian Restaurant Story on Pg 40

INSIDE:Read Dr. Sindwani’s finalPublisher’s Message on 6.



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Pakistan’s Prospects for stability explored at Asia society speaker seriesBy Kalyani Giri

HOUSTON: Former United States Ambassador to Pakistan Nicholas Platt delivered an in-formed assessment of that coun-try’s rocky past and its potential for a stable future at the Wells Fargo –sponsored Speaker Series luncheon hosted under the aus-pices of the Asia Society Texas Center (ASTC). The event, held at the Junior League of Houston on March 3, was the first in a series of three talks by experts on South Asia exploring the convoluted his-torical, cultural, political, business and diplomatic perspectives of that area in relevance to America and the rest of the world.

Following a brief welcome ad-dress by ASTC’s Executive Di-rector Martha Blackwelder, Asia Society Trustee Charles Foster introduced Platt to the capacity audience. In his keynote talk on Pakistan: The Prospects for Stabil-ity, career diplomat Platt, who had accompanied President Richard Nixon on his historic 1972 trip to China, advised gatherees humor-ously that one had to read Rudyard Kipling in order to understand the multiple layers and textures of Pakistan.

“It’s a country of 170 million, a religious country where people do extraordinary things,” said Platt. Pakistan is the least known and perhaps most misunderstood of

the Muslim countries with which we deal on a daily basis, said Platt. “The media describes it as the most dangerous nation on earth - suicide bombs, tensions with India. There have been serious mistakes in mil-itary and civil rule. Autocrats (like Zulfikar Ali Bhutto) turned Paki-stan into a grandiose club for the elite. Vast majorities of the popu-lation there are under 35 years of age and want domestic democracy which is toxic but essential to sta-

bility,” added Platt. South Asia may be halfway

around the globe from the United States, but what happens there, as the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, by al-Qaeda showed, can affect all Americans. The chal-lenge to U.S. policy is to design and implement a stable and sus-tained approach that will strength-en bilateral ties with key countries in that region and give the United States an opportunity to influence

major regional developments, said Platt.

The Chairmen’s Report of an In-dependent Task Force on New Pri-orities in South Asia is detailed in the book New Priorities In South Asia: U. S. Policy Toward India, Pakistan, And Afghanistan (Dec 2003) jointly written by Platt, former U.S. Ambassador to India Frank G. Wisner, and President of the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations, Marshall M. Bouton. The three men chaired the special task force and benefited from the findings of more than fifty mem-bers with a wide range of exper-tise in government, business and finance, the law, and academia. The report assesses the strengths and weaknesses of India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan and recommends how U.S. policy can best take ad-vantage of the opportunities while addressing the dangers that are present. Their discoveries recom-mended new initiatives to solidify the partnership with an economi-cally and militarily stronger India; carefully calibrated support for Pakistan in its efforts to become a moderate Muslim state; a new framework for, and a close watch on, proliferation issues in the re-gion; and redoubled support for the Hamid Karzai government’s security initiatives in Afghanistan.

“Mountbatten when slicing In-dia apart to form Pakistan, left the

Former Ambassador Nicholas Platt speaking at March 3 Asia Soci-ety Texas Center luncheon at the Junior League. Photo: Jeff Fantich

forceps in the wound,” said Platt. Pakistan needs to keep its relation-ship with India on an even keel, recommended Platt. The Chair-man’s Report called for a more active, facilitative U.S. role in the volatile Kashmir conflict.

Upcoming events in the Asia Society Texas Center calendar in-clude The India Way – How India’s Top Business Leaders are Revolu-tionizing Management by Profes-sor Harbir Singh on March 24, and India and the United States: Can They Reinvent Partnership? by former US Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Teresita C. Schaffer, on April 15.

For more information on Asia Society Texas Center, visit http://www.asiasociety.org/centers/tex-as.


5 Indo American news • Friday, march 12 , 2010 Online editiOn: www.indoamerican-news.com s o c i e t y

Seeds of Hope Gala to Benefit daya’s commitment to halt scourge of domestic AbuseBy Kalyani Giri

HOUSTON: When a group of strong-minded women came to-gether and founded Daya in 1996, it was with such purity of purpose and relevance that it forced the South Asian community to ex-amine its collective conscience and pay heed to the clarion call against domestic violence. Over the past fourteen years, Daya has morphed into a beacon of hope for many, providing succor to women and children navigating the path toward a life free of abuse; the non-profit organization also offers comfort, non-judgmental counsel-ing, and optimism to those still trapped in abusive relationships, who cherish the hope of being free someday.

On March 28, 2010, at 5.00pm, Daya will host its 14th Anniversary Gala Fundraiser Seeds of Hope at the Chateau Crystale. The incred-ibly funny Paul Varghese (whose performance credits include HBO Comedy Festival, Comedy Cen-tral’s Live at Gotham, Show-time’s Russell Peters Presents, and NBC’s Last Comic Stand-ing) will headline this not-to-be-missed event. Jennifer B. Varela, Director of Family Violence at the

Harris County District Attorney’s Office, will deliver the keynote address. Samia Adil (The Samia Show on Hum Tum Radio City) will serve as Mistress of Ceremo-nies for the evening. President of Daya for 2010 Nighat Ahmed and her team of volunteers and staff are optimistic that the community will turn up in large numbers and support the event.

“Our goal for this year’s gala is $100, 000. I feel it is a modest and achievable goal even in these economically difficult times,” said Ahmed. “ I am continually inspired by the community’s sup-port and look forward to seeing what we can achieve this year.”

Daya suffered a setback in July 2009 when a fire broke out and destroyed the organization’s head-quarters in southwest Houston, compelling the staff to relocate to a smaller location. All services though temporarily reduced, were swiftly restored and the client call volume continues to increase ev-ery year with Daya becoming a household name. The organization is expanding on core services such as outreach, legal advocacy, and financial assistance to survivors of domestic violence. Daya has yet

to bounce back from a financial deficit incurred in 2009 and re-build operational reserves. There are plans to purchase a transitional home for clients and have it fully operational this year, with help from the community.

Statistics show that two out of five South Asian women have ex-perienced partner violence, a rate disproportionately higher than any other minority group. It is an issue, a sore point, that has been overlooked or insufficiently ad-

Paul Varghese, who began doing stand-up in 2001, opened for Canadian-born comedian Russell Peters in a short theater-tour through Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston and New York in 2005. That led to his headlining a 16-city Gurus of Comedy tour in the spring of 2006. File photo

dressed in the community. Often victims are rendered vulnerable by barriers caused by cultural and re-ligious beliefs, linguistic challeng-es, isolation from family, feelings of shame, lack of knowledge about one’s legal rights and resources, lack of visa status, and involve-ment of in-laws. The number of distress calls that Daya received has grown 22-fold over the past six years, from 189 in 2003 to 3847 in 2009.

Daya client advocates are com-prised of South Asian and other culturally competent staff which allows them to communicate in the client’s native language, ex-plain legal and immigration laws and information about rights; pro-vide relief assistance and referrals for attorneys, housing, counseling, medical care, education, employ-ment, transportation, ethnic food, clothing, child care and other necessary services; provide tran-sitional housing as necessary; and conduct community outreach and education events.

For more information about Daya and to purchase tickets for the Seeds of Hope Gala Fundrais-er, visit www.dayahouston.org.


6 Indo American news • Friday, march 12 , 2010 Online editiOn: www.indoamerican-news.coms o c i e t y

By radha dixit

HOUSTON: Hindus of Greater Houston (HGH) hosted an infor-mative dinner for various Hous-ton-based Hindu organizations on Thursday, February 25th, 2010 at Madras Pavilion. The event had over seventy-five attendees. The main goal was to inform the orga-nizations about upcoming events in the community.

A number of speakers and community leaders spoke about concerns within the Houston Hindu community. The evening began with Girish Naik , presi-dent of Hindus of Greater Houston (HGH), welcoming the attendees and outlining the achievements of Hindus of Greater Houston. Partha Krishnaswamy updated everyone about the exciting news that Jan-mashtami 2010 has been booked at the George Brown Convention

Center for August 28th, 2010. The group will also assist the Hindu American Foundation with its an-nual awareness and fundraising dinner on May 22.

Dharminder Dargan updated everyone on the website www.hindusofhouston.org and encour-aged the different organizations to post their events on this site. Tara Narasimhan discussed the impor-tance of celebrating Hindu festi-vals and participating in interfaith activities. Dev Mahajan from Arya Samaj of Greater Houston encour-aged all Hindu organizations to work together to support HGH. He mentioned that the sale of reusable grocery bags did not go as expect-ed due to participation by only a few organizations. “HGH will be a strong organization only if all Hin-du organizations come forward to help it and work together,” he con-

cluded.The Bhutanese refugee situation

in Houston was discussed by Sury-ansh Purwar of Sewa International who asked everyone to assist in any way possible. Sunny Mehta spoke about the young Hindu students and their involvement in

various activities which promote understanding of Hinduism

Two very special events will be coming to Houston soon. “Shanti: A Journey of Peace” is a multi-me-dia concert with several hundred participants which will be held on March 13, 2010 at the University

of Houston Cullen Performance Hall. Mr. Jayakumar spoke about the importance of this concert and how it will promote peace in so-ciety.

Hindu Mandir Executive Con-ference will be hosted by Houston this year on October 22, 23, and 24, 2010. Yogesh Naik, zonal coor-dinator of Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America, and Sharma Tadepalli, secretary of Meenakshi Temple Society, encouraged everyone to participate in this event which will take place later this year.

In addition to Hindu based or-ganizations, the community orga-nizations of India Culture Center and Gujarati Samaj were also present. Following the presenta-tions, there was a vote of thanks to the participants as all enjoyed a delicious dinner while continuing to network.

From letf: Radha Dixit, Tara Narasimhan, Girish Naik and Partha Krishnaswamy at the event.

hGh to organize special events in 2010 to spread the message of Peace

change of hands at IIT Alumni of Greater houstonHOUSTON: IITAGH cele-

brated the appointment of Prab-hu Murugan as the president of the organization on March 6th. Prabhu Murugan took over the president’s duties and respon-sibilities from the former presi-dent, Dr. Roopa Gir. Roopa in her role as a president served the organization for more than 3 years. She was tremendously successful in growing the or-ganization and increasing the awareness of the organization inside and outside of the Indian community in Houston.

The dinner-social event was at-tended by the Honorary Consul General of India, Mr. Sanjeev Arora and many prominent Hous-tonians from the Indo-American community, including represen-tatives of various community organizations such as ICC, GO-PIO, IACF, UNICEF, APAHA,

Daya, Samskriti, Pratham, TiE, IAPAC, IACCGH, IAA, AID Houston, AIM for Sewa and In-dia House. The dinner was also attended by IITAGH trustees Mr. Richard D’Souza , Mr. San-jay Sood, Mr. Sundy Srinivasan, Mr. David Raj, Mr. Sunil Pan-garkar and Mr. Sunil Singhal. The new president emphasized the mentoring, educating and networking goals of IITAGH and the advisory role of IITAGH trustees in his speech. IITAGH congratulates Prabhu and wish-es him best of luck in keeping up the good work of former IITAGH presidents and growing the organization further.

IITAGH is a non-profit orga-nization helping foster closer in-teractions among the alumni and the local community. To know more about the IITAGH, visit www.iitagh.org



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‘Jihad Jane’: new Face of Terror in U.s.By Chidanand rajGhatta

WASHINGTON (TOI): The “war on terrorism” just got a little more complicated with the indictment of an average white American female dubbed “Jihad Jane” on charges of plotting with Islamic radicals, bringing even the so-called soccer moms under the radar.

Colleen LaRose, 46, a Pennsyl-vania native, has been charged with trying to recruit Islamic fight-ers and plotting to assassinate a Swedish cartoonist who made fun of Prophet Muhammad, according to a federal indictment unsealed on Tuesday.

What is striking about the case is that Colleen LaRose, who called herself Fatima La Rose, is a regu-lar workaday housewife. Blonde and green-eyed, she would have easily slipped under scrutiny that typically focuses on non-whites.

In fact, that is precisely what she and her jihadi consorts whom she reached out to over the internet banked on as they discussed plans to kill a Swedish cartoonist.

In 2008, LaRose allegedly post-ed a video on YouTube calling her-self JihadJane and stating she was “desperate to do something some-how to help” ease the suffering of Muslims, a move that attracted the attention of law-enforcement au-thorities.

According to the indictment, in

email exchanges with five unin-dicted and unnamed co-conspir-ators in South Asia, Eastern and Western Europe, LaRose allegedly agreed to recruit people for jihad, to raise money for fighters. She also agreed to one jihadist’s re-quest to marry him to enable him to get inside Europe.

LaRose stated “that her physi-cal appearance would allow her to ‘blend in with many people’ which ‘may be a way to achieve what is in my heart,’” the indictment said.

This is the first time a white American female has signed up for jihad. According to the indictment, in March 2009, shortly before she made the You Tube video, LaRose allegedly received a directive from her jihadist contacts to “go to Swe-

d e n . . . find lo-c a t i o n of (resi-dent of S w e -den) . . . and kill h i m . . . this is what i say to u”. The t a r g e t w a s ident i -fied as

Lars Vilks, a cartoonist who had drawn Prophet Muhammad with the body of a dog.

LaRose was instruct-ed to kill Vilks in a way that would frighten “the whole Kufar (non-believer) world.” She was arrested in October 2009 but the case was kept under seal as au-thorities pursued leads to track down her jihad-ist contacts.

The indictment was unsealed on Tuesday after the arrest of seven Muslims in Ireland, in a case that was said to connect “Ji-had Jane” to the plot to kill Vilks.

Soccer mom turns radical: Colleen LaRose aka Fatima LaRose



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An incarnation of God, an ideal man, dutiful son and just king: these are just a few ways to de-scribe Lord Rama, an exemplar of honor, reverence, self-control and duty. He fought battles, became king, married a Goddess, traveled far and befriended exotic beings who were steadfast in their loyalty and courage. Rama Navami is the celebration of His birthday, when Hindus honor and remember Him with devotional singing, dramatic performance and non-stop recita-tion of His remarkable life story, the Ramayana.

When is Rama’s birth cel-ebrated?

Rama was born on navami, the ninth day of the waxing moon, in the Indian month of Chaitra (late March or early April). Sometimes the festival is observed for nine days before or after navami.

How do Hindus observe Rama Navami?

Devotees fast or eat only fruit or special food offerings prepared for the day. They participate in non-stop reading of the 24,000-verse epic Ramayana, at home or in a temple. Images or statues of baby Rama are placed in cradles and rocked by devotees. Homes resound with singing. In the eve-ning, crowds attend Ramalila, in which storytellers and dance-dra-ma troupes depict the Ramayana. It is common to remain awake the whole night, engaged in devotion-al practices. Devotees contribute generously to temples and chari-table organizations. They make buttermilk and a lime drink called panaka, serving them to the pub-lic without charge. Some temples make khoa, a sweet made from thickened milk. This festival is es-pecially popular in Uttar Pradesh, where Rama’s kingdom of Ayod-hya is located.

Is the festival observed at tem-ples?

Many temples hold grand cel-ebrations on this day, especially those with shrines for Lord Rama,

rama navami: Birthday of rama, the Ideal manHis wife Sita, His brother Laksh-mana and His loyal friend Hanu-man, Lord of Monkeys. Panaka and garlands of the sacred tulsi plant are offered as families pray for “Rama-Rajya,” a time when dharma will once again be upheld in the world. In South India, the day is celebrated as the marriage anniversary of Rama and Sita. A ceremonial wedding is held at temples with great fanfare.

Why is Rama so popular?

Rama is one of the ten avatars or incarnations of Lord Vishnu. He is revered as the perfect husband and ruler, who held duty to king and country above all else. He held strong to his ideals in the face of tremendous trials, including exile from His kingdom and separation from His beloved wife, Sita, her-self an embodiment of virtue and truth. He is honored and glorified for His unshakable adherence to dharma, righteousness. The story of Rama is deeply influential and popular in the societies of the Indi-an subcontinent and across South-east Asia.

What is the story of Rama?A tale of love and separation, the

Ramayana has moved the hearts of millions of Hindus over the ages. To honor a promise made by his father, King Dasaratha, prince Rama abandons His claim to the throne and spends 14 years in exile. Wife Sita and brother Lak-

shmana join him in exile, a time of perils and tribulations. Sita is abducted by Ravana, the monarch of Lanka. After a long and ardu-ous search, Rama discovers Sita’s whereabouts, with the help of Hanuman. A colossal war ensues against Ravana’s armies. In a duel of majestic proportions, powerful and magical beings wield mighty weaponry in formidable battles. Rama slays Ravana and liberates Sita. Having completed His exile,

Rama returns to be crowned king, loved by one and all.

Tidbits About RamaWho wrote the epic? Some 25

centuries ago, a sage ordered a thief to sit under a tree and chant “ma-ra” until he returned. Years passed, and an ant-hill covered the man, who had lost himself to the chant. The sage returned and broke the anthill, nam-ing the thief Valmiki, meaning “from an anthill.” Inspired by his expanded awareness, Valmi-ki immortalized Rama by com-posing the Ramayana, a work unmatched in poetic excellence

and longevity. Shri Ramcharitma-nas by Tulsidas in Hindi and the Kamba Ramayanam by the poet Kambar in Tamil stand alongside Valmiki’s epic in Sanskrit.

Who was Sita? Sita was a pow-erful, gifted, beautiful woman, utterly devoted to her husband. Found in the fields as a babe by King Janaka, Sita was raised a princess. She walked alongside Rama in exile. When abducted by Ravana, she was unshakable in her faith that her husband would res-cue her. She walked through fire to prove her purity. To prevent fur-ther slander, Rama sent her away to the forest. She patiently bore separation from her husband a second time and bore twins named Lav and Kush. When they were re-united with their father, she com-manded Mother Earth to swallow her. The Earth split open and Sita disappeared.-HT

ram navami celebration at the site of new Gaudiya mathaHOUSTON: On March 27th, Govindaji Gaudita Matha Temple located at 16628 Keith Harrow off High-

way 6 North in Houston’s Northwest, will host a festival in honor of the birth of Lord Rama and inaugurate the construction of a temple which will provide regular worship of Sri Sita Rama, Hanuman & Laxman; Sri Radha Govinda, and Gaura Nitai (Chaitanya Maha Prabhu and his brother). In the future there will be a Guru Kula in which spiritual, cultural, social and, moral values will be taught according to the Vedic tradi-tion along with a standard academic education. There will also be a Vedic cultural and arts center where music, theater and, fine arts and will be presented for the up-liftment of our whole community/society.


9 Indo American news • Friday, march 12 , 2010 Online editiOn: www.indoamerican-news.com s o c i e t y

FIs: Bringing India closer through educationIn its 5th year of operation, the organization continues to spread awareness on India’s rich cultural heritage and history to all Houstonians through higher education and academic ex-posure.

From left : Swapan Dhairyawan (Hon. CPA), Vatsa Kumar ( Secretary), Sarath Menon Chembottil,UH (Communications), Rajesh Verghese ( Treasurer), Kiran Parthasarathy, Parul Fernandes (Vice Chair), Raj Bhalla (Fund raising), Sujit Sansgiry,UH (Programs), Ellen Goldberg (India Study Tours), Dr. Saleha Khumawala (Advisor), Krishna Vavilala (Founder, Chairman), Richard Morales (Advisor), Bashist Sharma ( Hon. General Counsel).Not in the picture: Praveena Lakshmanan , Dr. Sreerekha Subramanian (Advisor), Dr. Haku Israni(Advisor) and Omkar Khare (GISO, president).

HOUSTON: The Foundation for India Studies (FIS), has been partnering with the University of Houston (UH) since 2004 to pro-mote India through higher edu-cation. A large number of Indian students routinely enroll in UH because of its affordability com-pared to other institutions, but find very few courses to choose from on India as compared to a variety of courses offered at the university in European, Arabic, Chinese and Vietnamese studies. In this global-

ized economy where India’s eco-nomic power is rapidly growing, main stream American students as well our own Indo-American stu-dents raised and brought up here will be at a disadvantage if they do not study and understand India’s diverse cultures and languages.

With this in mind, FIS was es-tablished as a non-profit 501(C3) organization for the purpose of establishing an endowed Chair for Indian Studies at the UH and to introduce numerous India re-lated courses on India’s religions, languages, cultures, history and anthropology etc. Although start-

ing modestly with a few courses in Hinduism, Jainism and Hindi classes, FIS and UH have a long way for introducing the minimum number of credit courses required for students to earn a Minor Cer-tificate in Indian Studies, the challenges being availability of qualified teachers and necessary financing.

Moving forward in its 5th year, the Foundation has assembled a vi-brant and energetic team of young and enthusiastic professionals and

formed a strong board for the year 2010. Organized in a three tier fashion, the new board comprises of an Ex-Officio Advisory Board, Executive Board and Directors-at-large assisted by a General Coun-sel and a CPA.

FIS board members are selected from various states and linguistic groups of India to reflect India’s immense diversity. FIS is not a membership organization and its directors are recruited by referrals and recommendations based on the value they bring to the table. FIS revenues come from donations received from generous members

of the Houston community, both American and Indian.

FIS is honored to have on its Ad-visory Board Hon. Sanjiv Arora, Consul General of India; Dr. Renu Khator, Chancellor of UH System; Dr. John Antel, Senior V. P. for Academic Affairs and Provost of UH; Dr. Saleha Khumawala, Asst. Professor in Bauer College of Busi-ness UH; philanthropists Dr. Dur-ga Agrawal, Dr. Brij Agrawal and Sister Cities of Houston President, Ms. Ellen Goldberg. The Execu-

tive Board consists of Mr. Krish-na Vavilala, founder Chairman, Ms.Parul Fernandes, Director of International studies and programs at UH as Vice Chairperson and Mr.Vatsa Kumar, as the Secretary. The Directors-at-large who are the backbone of the organization are shown in the accompanying photo with their names and respective portfolios. The Foundation is also in search of suitable candidates from Kashmir, Orissa and Bihar to join its board.

Since its inception, the Founda-tion has contributed substantial

continued on page 17


12 Indo American news • Friday, march 12 , 2010 Online editiOn: www.indoamerican-news.coms o c i e t y

Anasuya devi: Grand dame of Telugu Folk musicBy Savitha Gautam

CHENNAI (The Hindu): She turns 90 in a few months. But that has not slowed down Kal-aprapoorna Dr. Avasarala (Vin-jamuri) Anasuya Devi from com-posing and promoting Andhra Pradesh’s unique music tradition of janapada geethalu (folk mu-sic) and lalitha sangeetham (light music). “What began as a hobby became my passion and my pro-fession,” says the spirited lady who released five volumes of her collection of Telugu folk songs at an informal function in Chennai recently.

Since the five volumes are in some way connected with wom-en, Anusuya Devi wanted five well-known female ambassadors of the arts and culture to release them. Therefore, educationist Padma Shri Mrs. Y.G. Parthasara-thy, dancer/actress Padma Shri Vyjayanthimala Bali, dancer/choreographer Vasanthalakshmi Narasimhachari and playback leg-ends Padma Shri P. Susheela and Kalaimamani S. Janaki were cho-sen to do the honors. To receive them was old friend and fellow musician Padma Vibhushan Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna.

The Carnatic great was at his humorous best when he spoke in chaste Telugu about his associa-tion with Anusuya Devi. “We be-

gan our careers almost simultane-ously. Those days, every important function in the city would have two performers for sure. One, a lad of 10, and the other, a pretty girl. People came to listen to the boy, and look at the girl. The boy believed the crowd was there to listen to him. Only later did he rea-lise they were actually waiting for the girl to take the stage! Well, that boy was me and the girl, Anusuya

akka.” He went on to say that clas-sical music has its roots in the folk tradition, and therefore, Anusuya Devi’s books are priceless in that direction.

Mrs. Y.G. Parthasarathy, her neighbor at one point in time, re-called the days when every festive occasion meant a vocal presenta-tion by Anusuya and her sister Seetha Devi. “She is one remark-able woman. She has taken it upon

Padma Shri Mrs. Y.G. Parthasarathy releases one of a five volume collection of Telugu folk music authored by Kalaprapoorna Dr. Anusuya Devi (center). Padma Vibhushan M. Balamuralikrishna receives first copy of the book. Photo: K.V. Srinivasan

herself to promote folk music and preserve the genre for posterity.”

Vyjayanthimala Bali was like another daughter to the veteran musician. “My earliest memory is sitting on Anusuya amma’s lap and listening to her sing when I was about four or five.” Susheela and Janaki, who have also been as-sociated with Anusuya Devi for a long time, preferred to sing, much to the delight of the audience. Vas-anthalakshmi too reiterated the fact that the richness of folk mu-sic must be preserved for poster-ity and Anusuya Devi’s work is a treasure trove.

For the author, these books are a result of a lifetime spent col-lecting and notating songs from every source possible… villagers working in the fields, mendicants and sometimes, even beggars! For somebody whose first recording was released when she was just eight, music was naturally an in-separable part. Born into a fam-ily of poets and musicians (father Padma Shri Vinjamuri Narasimha Rao was a Telugu-Sanskrit schol-ar, mother Venkata Rathnamma launched Telugu’s first women’s magazine Anasuya and uncle Pad-ma Bhushan Devulapalli Krishna Sastry was a renowned poet), Anusuya and her sister Seetha took to light music and soon be-came household names.

Anusuya Devi has many firsts to her credit. First woman music composer/musicologist in Andhra Pradesh, first woman music direc-tor in South India, first woman music composer in AIR, first to sing classical, folk and light music on radio and concert, first to pub-lish Andhra’s light and folk music in Carnatic notation… she is truly the grand dame of the Telugu folk tradition.

Today, Anasuya Devi devides her time between her children; in Houston with Rathna Kumar (Founder/Director of Anjali, Center for Performing Arts) and Krishna Giri (Partner & Marketing Manager, Indo-American News); in Chennai with Seetha Ratnakar (Station Director, Door Darshan); in Washington, DC with Kamala Srikar (Assistant Director AFSC-ME; and San Jose, CA with Nee-har Giri (President & Chief Solu-tions Officer, APTTUS Inc.).The book release event at the presti-gious Bharatiya Vidya Bhawan in Chennai was conceived and coor-dinated by Seetha Ratnakar.

(Published by TTD Press, Tiru-pati, the five volumes – Laali Paatalu, Mangalaharatulu, Pan-diga Paatalu, Stree Paatalu and Samvadala Paatalu - are available at all leading Carnatic music store and online at www.indoamerican-news.com)

Houston resident releases five volumes of Andhra Pradesh’s unique tradition collected, compiled and chronicled by her

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, MARCH 12 , 2010• ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

15 Indo American News • Friday, March 12 , 2010ONLINE EDITION: www.indoamerican-news.com S O C I E T Y

continued on page 17

Muslim Teen Fired for Wearing HeadscarfFOSTER CITY, CA : A 19-year-

old Muslim teen, allegedly fired by retail clothing giant Abercrombie and Fitch for refusing to remove her headscarf at work, filed a complaint Feb. 23 with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Hani Khan, a Foster City, Calif., resident of both Indian and Pakistani

descent, had worked at the Hollister clothing store at a local shopping cen-ter since October 2009. Hollister is operated by Abercrombie and Fitch, which features provocatively clad and largely Caucasian models in its advertising.

Khan, a political science student at the College of San Mateo, told India-West she had worn her headscarf when she interviewed for the job, and was told then only that she would

have to conform to the company’s col-ors, which are navy, gray and white.

“They didn’t really focus on my headscarf at the interview,” she said.

Khan was hired as a stockroom associate, and would occasionally go out on to the floor to re-fold and put away clothing discarded by custom-ers. She said she faced no opposition to

her headscarf from customers or from fellow associates at the store in the five months she worked there.

But on Feb. 9, a district manager came into the store, and glanced Khan’s way. Later that week, he brought Khan into the of-fice and put her onto a phone call with Abercrombie and Fitch’s human resources depart-ment.

“They told me my headscarf was

not in compliance with the company’s ‘looks policy’ and that I was being taken off the schedule roster,” said Khan.

A week later, Khan received a call from human resources, asking if she would remove her headscarf while on the job. She refused, citing her religion. She was then told that she was fired.

Iska Hain, a spokeswoman for Ab-ercrombie and Fitch, told India-West

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, MARCH 12 , 2010 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

16 Indo American News • Friday, March 12 , 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

Publisher emeritus: Dr. K.l. sinDwanieDitor: PramoD KulKarni

business manager: Jawahar malhotramarKeting manager: Krishna giriCommunity rePorter: Kalyani giriCommunity eDitor: manasi goKhale

aDministrative manager: vanshiKa viPinmarKeting & FooD CorresPonDent: JaCob DaviD

ProDuCtion manager: hussain manDviwala

E d I T O r I a l

Thank You and GoodbyeI came to Houston in September 1975 to teach at Texas Southern

University (TSU) as a professor of sociology. At that time, there were about 1,000 Indian families in Houston and the only cultural organization was India Culture Center (ICC). I joined ICC in 1976 and became a life member. In 1978, I became Secretary, and later on, its President for two terms.

In order to keep the members connected, we started a monthly newsletter and mailed it to all the members. With the steady in-crease of the Indian population in Houston in early 1980s, ICC newsletter was not considered an adequate medium of commu-nication for the community.

In 1982, I and my wife Mohini started IndoAmerican News as an experiment to keep the community connected through a newspaper. We published 2,000 copies every two weeks and dis-tributed them free through Indian grocery stores. The experiment lasted six months and the feedback was positive so we continued the paper by getting help from Pramod Kulkarni. Later, Jawahar Malhotra and Koshy Thomas joined us and, subsequently, we expanded the service on a weekly basis.

Mr. Thomas left the team in 1987 and started Voice of Asia. Then we hired Rajiv Gadgil as a full time Managing Editor and he worked with us for 9 years before he started India Herald in 1996. All three papers are still continuing and performing good community service. Mohini and I are leaving Houston by the end of March and joining my son and daughter- in-law in Wichita Falls, Texas.

Before we retire and leave Houston, we would like to person-ally thank all the subscribers, advertisers and other community members who have been supporting us for the last 28 years. I will miss you all but I am confident the newspaper, under the direction of Pramod Kulkarni, Jawahar Malhotra, Krishna Giri, Manasi Gokhale, Vanshika Vipin, Jacob David and Hussain Mandvivala, will be continuing to serve the community in future years.

Thank you once again for all your support.Dr. K.L. Sindwani

Best Wishes from the IAN Team

By M. J. AkBArA hundred years ago, according

to a recent book, domestic servants constituted Britain’s largest source of employment. That simple statistic reveals, better than anything else, the inequality of a class-driven society, and the partnership between wealth and power in Victorian and post-Victorian Britain. The Industrial Age was well under way, but had not achieved the critical mass that would broaden the working class and spawn the Labour Party. The British upper classes were not cruel to servants, although there were strict distinc-tions: in a grand house, servants were permitted to eat and drink as much as they wished, but could only live downstairs.

The meltdown of the ancient re-gime was evolutionary in Britain, rather than revolutionary, as in Rus-sia, even though British democracy was a strained and evolving process, full of rotten boroughs and inbuilt inequity. Democracy needed a lot of latitude if as famous a prime minister as William Pitt – the Elder could be considered elected, when the total electorate in his constituency con-sisted of five voters. Women got the vote even later than the “lower classes”. It took two world wars, and the death of millions of poor in the service of an empire designed to fatten the rich, before the privileged system withered.

Nineteenth century America did not have servants, it had slaves; and slavery reinvented itself in many forms after its official abolition be-fore it withered. The British attitude towards colour was far more sophis-ticated, and many nuances of racism could survive under a veneer of wit. Samuel Johnson, famously, had a devoted Jamaican servant, Francis Barber, as well as a pet cat. Barber was not allowed to carry the cat as it would be demeaning to both.

More to the point, today the word “servant” has disappeared from the popular lexicon of both America and Europe. If it survives it is only within the construct of a “civil servant” — who is definitely not a servant, and very often not particularly civil either.

Being Civil to Your Servantssecond. The domestic servant is the first rung of aspiration for more than half of India.

The tensions are palpable, particu-larly in urban India, which has neither the sense of neighbourhood nor a cul-ture of sympathy. The servant is both the provider as well as the potential assailant, particularly if male, for he belongs to a world that is distant both geographically and psychologically. The young man cleans utensils only because he is a prisoner of necessity. The rewards are pitiful; the treat-ment pitiable. The threat of servant violence is the regular diet of the media; but cruelty towards servants is largely ignored, perhaps because journalists are part of the middle class and complicit.

Developed societies in the West created robotic machines, like the dishwasher, to fill the gap, even as they lifted the poor into an expand-ing middle class, loosely defined as a group with enough for food, clothing, shelter and basic education. The In-dian attitude to washing machines is unique: we hire servants to use them. Those who cannot afford washing machines can still afford servants to wash clothes the older way. Some overlap is understandable in the tran-sition phase, but the incremental rise in upward mobility is a flickering fact, not a sustained reality. The tension of denial is evident on the visage of those servants who haven’t reconciled to their dull fate. It’s true that the major-ity of servants have no dispute with their economic destiny, since this maximum-effort, minimal-reward employment prevents starvation. But that, surely, is not a pleasant reality.

The good news about India is that plumbers and electricians are becom-ing more expensive. The rising cost of skills is proof of some transfer of wealth. A tongue-in-cheek view suggests that India will not become a modern economy as long as there are civil servants. Let me assert, tongue firmly in right place, that India will become a modern economy only when domestic service is treated as civil, and a service that deserves the salary available to the starting circle of government jobs. TOI

Of course, there is still a population that earns from service at homes in the West: the huge demand for “il-legal” immigrants confirms this. But the terms of reference have changed in favour of the servants. Only a thin elite can afford full-time house servants, since their cost is high, and beyond the reach of the professional middle class.

There are, at least to my knowl-edge, no statistics available, but it would be a safe bet to claim that the largest source of employment in con-temporary India is domestic servants. In that sense, we are where Britain was a century ago. There is a world of difference between the service economy and a servants’ economy; India claims the first and lives in the

Today, the word “servant” has disap-peared from the pop-ular lexicon of both America and Europe. If it survives it is only within the construct of a “civil servant” — who is definitely not a servant, and very often not particularly civil either.

Here’s wishing Dr. K.L. and Mohiniji a great post-retirement life. For all we know, people in Wichita Falls should get ready for branches of the ICC, India House and Vedanta Society, and a local edition of the Wichita Falls Indo-American News! Once a publisher, always a publisher!

Pramod, Jawahar, Krishna, Manasi, Vanshika, Jacob, Hussain, and all past members of the IAN Team


17 Indo American News • Friday, March 12 , 2010ONLINE EDITION: www.indoamerican-news.comSOCIETY

Muslim Teen Fired for Wearing Headscarfcontinued on page 15the company had no comment on the complaint. Abercrombie’s Web site stresses its commitment to diversity. “We are committed to increasing and leveraging the diversity of our associates and management across the organization.”

“Those differences will be support-ed by a culture of inclusion, so that we better understand our customers, enhance our organizational effective-ness, capitalize on the talents of our workforce and represent the com-munities in which we do business,” says a statement on the site.

But the clothing retailer has been the target of several previous suits. In 2004, Abercrombie agreed to pay out $45 million in a class action suit which accused the company of giv-

ing preferential treatment to its white employees. In 2009, Riam Dean, who worked at a London store, was told that her prosthetic arm did not fit the company’s “looks” policy. A British tribunal awarded her $15,000.

Also in 2009, 17-year-old Saman-tha Elauf applied for a sales position at Abercrombie Kids in Tulsa, Okla-homa, but was told she could not wear her headscarf on the job. The EEOC has filed a complaint against Abercrombie on Elauf’s behalf.

Khan has worn her headscarf since kindergarten, and said no one has ever made it an issue in the culturally-diverse San Francisco Bay Area.

While her parents initially asked her to wear the scarf, Khan said she was never forced by them, and decided when she began high school that she

would wear her scarf everywhere.“It is such an important part of me,”

said Khan, who plans to transfer to a UC this fall, and eventually go on to law school. Zahra Billoo, executive director of the San Francisco Bay Area chapter of the Council on Amer-ican-Islamic Relations, told India-West that despite the previous suits, “this company continues to violate the law and disrespect its clients.”

“On a personal level, if a company tells me ‘you don’t fit our look,’ I will say, ‘well you don’t fit mine,’” said Billoo, adding that she had a favorite sweater featuring the company’s logo that she will no longer wear.

“The law will determine the line, but so will consumers,” said Billoo, noting, however, that CAIR is not seeking a boycott of the stores. - IW

sum of scholarship money for stu-dents at the University of Houston and organized several events promot-ing India. FIS intends to raise more scholarship money in the future

Last year Houstonians saw the Foundation organize a lecture by former Ambassador T.P.Sreenivasan in association with Asia society on India’s role in the world as part of its “Distinguished Lecture Series” and a number of stimulating panel discus-sions on the Oscar winning movie

“Slumdog Millionaire” to examine whether it has helped or hurt India’s image around the world.

On April 24 th, the Foundation is presenting Padma Vibhushan Dr. E.C.G. Sudarshan in a lecture titled “Modern India’s Expanding Role in Science”.The Foundation has some exciting projects in development such as the Study India Tours, “Know India” Quiz contest, Oral history of Indian immigrants, an Interna-tional Conference to celebrate Sri Krishnadevaraya’s 500th Anniversry,

Lectures on Indian Constitution and India’s anti-terror preparedness, a panel discussion on Indian Journal-ism and last but not the least, a fund raising event. Though ambitious in many ways, however, with the com-munity’s support, FIS is hoping to accomplish all these projects.

If interested to contribute, support and get involved with the Foundation for India Studies in any of the above proj-ects, please feel free to call Mr. Krishna Vavilala at (713)795-5169 or visit WWW.Foundationforindiastudies.org.

FIS: Bringing India Closer through Educationcontinued from page 9

29 years in publication, chosen 1st among readers Thank you!

Indo-American News


19 Indo American News • Friday, March 12 , 2010ONLINE EDITION: www.indoamerican-news.com


20 Indo American News • Friday, March 12 , 2010 ONLINE EDITION: www.indoamerican-news.comS O C I E T Y

TANA Celebrates Telugu Language Day at UT - AustinDALLAS: The UT Telugu Students

Association and the Telugu Associa-tion of North America (TANA) con-vened this special event to celebrate the success of the Telugu language program at UT-Austin on Febru-ary 24th, 2010. Prasad Thotakura, President-elect, TANA, declared that

this announcement. Professor Joel Brereton, Chairman of the Depart-ment of Asian Studies, particularly mentioned the efforts of Dr. Afsar in developing new teaching materials and strategies to continually improve the quality of the Telugu program. The increasing number of students

Members of TANA at UT Austin

of TANA, congratulated all Telugu learning students and encouraged them to speak Telugu at home, watch Telugu movies, read and write to enhance their language skills.

Murali Vennam, TANA South West Regional Director assured the contin-ued TANA support of allocating of

taking Telugu clearly shows the suc-cess of the program, he said. Dr. Lak-shmanna Vishnubhotla, a representa-tive from the Austin Telugu com-munity congratulated the consistent efforts in developing the program. “Its our fortune to have a well-known Telugu writer and scholar such as Afsar teaching this program, and the entire Texas community should take advantage of this unique opportu-nity,” he said.

Ramki Chebrolu, Chairman of the “Telugu Language committee

$100,000 for five years. He thanked Prof. Afsar for taking extra personal care to teach Telugu.

Divya Yalamanchili and Deepica Mutyala, President and Vice-Presi-dent of the UT-Telugu Students As-sociation announced the new board of members of their student body. With two more awards, the UT-Telugu program now has four awards for outstanding Telugu students. These awards will be given in a special event in Fall, 2010.

TANA along with the collaboration of various Telugu associations in Texas is committed to working hard to generate more financial support to develop the program at UT Austin. The San Antonio Telugu Associa-tion announced two more awards for outstanding Telugu students at the University of Texas at Austin. On the occasion of the Telugu Language day held here at the GSB Events Hall on February 24th, Dr. Madhava Rao Govindaraju, President, Telugu Association of San Antonio, made

Traffic Jam Leads to Maryland House of Delegates BidMARYLAND: Sam Arora was

stuck in his car in a traffic jam at a stoplight in Montgomery County, Maryland, when he reflected on the back-up: “Why doesn’t somebody do something about this?”

It then “crystallized” for him, he told that, to paraphrase Mahatma Gandhi, he needed to be the change in the world he wanted to see.

An ex-staffer for Senator Carl Levin, D-Mich., and former U.S. Senator and current Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the 29-year-old Arora is currently running for the Democratic nomination for a seat in the Maryland House of Delegates in District 19.

The district, north of Washington, D.C., includes all or parts of Silver Spring, Olney, Wheaton, Aspen Hill, Laytonville, Gaithersburg, Kemp Mill, Four Corners and Arora’s home town of Layhill.

As the epiphany at the stoplight would suggest, reducing traffic con-gestion is one key plank of his cam-paign platform, along with attracting more jobs and high-tech companies to locate in the area.

“I think Annapolis needs to do a better job of tackling some of the long-term challenges we face,” he told one local newspaper recently.

Arora has raised more than $100,000 since he announced his candidacy six months ago, an amount one local po-litical blog called remarkable.

Arora said he is taking a page from the campaign blueprint employed

by Ohio state legislator Jay Goyal, D-Mansfield, who swept into office through successful fund-raising and a grass-roots campaign.

Goyal told India-West in an e-mail, “I’ve known Sam for a number of years now, and he is someone who has the character, integrity, intellect and work ethic to make a great public servant. It is my pleasure to endorse and support him in his bid for the Maryland legislature.”

Arora said there are two other Democrats who have announced they are running for three seats being contested in the district in the Sept. 14 primary.

Political observers have speculated that at least one of the three Demo-cratic incumbents may not run for reelection to seek another office, but nothing is official yet. The filing deadline is in April.

The three Democrats who receive the most votes will face off against the

top three Republicans vote getters in the general election. The three Democrats are expected to be fa-vored in a district with a registration edge to the Democrats.

Arora told India-West that, de-spite his young age, he has been active in Democratic politics for a decade. He has sought advice from Maryland House Majority Leader Kumar Barve, Kansas state Rep-resentative Raj Goyle and Ohio’s Goyal.

Arora graduated in 1999 from a high school in Layhill and received a bachelor’s degree in political sci-

ence from Columbia University in 2003. He is currently completing a law degree at Georgetown Univer-sity.

A former aide to Clinton when she ran for reelection to the Senate and in her presidential campaign, after Clinton lost in the 2008 primary, Arora volunteered for President Ba-rack Obama’s campaign.

He is currently vice president of business development at the Arora Group, a family-owned business in Gaithersburg, Md., that provides health care services nationally to military personnel, their families and veterans.

Arora’s campaign can’t be hurt by the fact that he was named in 2006 one of the “50 Most Beautiful People” on Capitol Hill by The Hill newspaper. One blog said he has an “uncanny resemblance to actor Ben Stiller.” - IW

Sam Arora


21 Indo American News • Friday, March 12 , 2010ONLINE EDITION: www.indoamerican-news.com S O C I E T Y

MOVING SALEUsed Furniture in Excellent Condition

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Selling a 2006 Chevorlet Malibu LT 4 Door Sedan in Excellent condition

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USED CAR FOR SALE

NRI’s Light Wins UN Green Prize NEW YORK: A portable light

that can be recharged by pedaling for 20 minutes and was devel-oped for use in areas not wired for electricity, has won a Canadian of Indian origin the prestigious Sa-sakawa Prize of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).

The device has been developed by Nuru Design (Nuru means light in Swahili), headed by social entre-preneur Sameer Hajee, a Canadian national with roots in India and Kenya. Speaking from Bali where he received the award, Hajee said a pilot project was already in place in Madhya Pradesh and Orissa and he expected the units to be rolled out by this summer with 300,000 units in place by the end of the year.

The device, called the Nuru light, is essentially a lighting system that can be recharged by a pedal generator - the Nuru POWER-

Cycle. Accor-ding to the UNEP statement announcing the award, “gentle pedaling for 20 minutes using feet or hands, bicycle-style, can fully recharge up to five Nuru lights.The lights give up to two

weeks of bright light on a full recharge.” The system has been field tested in the African nation of Rwanda.

Nuru Design will use the Sasakawa Prize money to rep-licate the success of the light-ing system in India by the end of this year and also in the African countries of Burundi, Kenya and Uganda. “India is one of our biggest markets and one of the areas with the great-est need,” the Toronto-based Hajee said.

He said that he had “an affin-ity” with India because of his “own heritage”, as he did with Kenya. Hajee said a modified

marketing model will be used for India, with units initially being rolled out in areas with erratic power supply, before rural franchi-sees take it to villages.

Read us online at www.indoamerican-news.com


23 Indo American News • Friday, March 12 , 2010ONLINE EDITION: www.indoamerican-news.com C a N a d a

By AvinAsh GAvAiAs has been reported in the pages

of IAN over the last year - India’s ties with Canada have dramatically improved over a number of differ-ent fields. Political, economic, and educational ties have finally over-come the stodgy inertia that has been epitomized ties between the two na-tions. Another element now is slowly rising in the public consciousness of Canadians - Bollywood.

The Conservative government headed by Prime Minister Stephen Harper has in recent time provided logistical and financial support to programs and schemes with overt cultural overtones. Harper himself was at the forefront of this cross-cul-tural exchange in a series of carefully choreographed photo opportunities.

In his visit to India last November, the Prime Minister and his wife Lau-reen visited the set of “Dance Premier League” in Mumbai where they both awkwardly shook a leg or two in a decidedly intense and chaotic ‘mujra’ item song.

“Harper recognizes that the Indian diaspora is becoming increasingly important in Canada as a viable vote bank and as a conduit and channel for increasing commercial opportunities between India and Canada, said Da-vid Akin, a correspondent with Can-west (one of the largest international media organizations in this country) who was one the main Canadian re-porters covering the India visit.

There are now close to 970,000 people who consider themselves as being Indo-Canadians, with the main concentrations being centered in the HYPERLINK “/wiki/Greater_To-ronto_Area”Greater Toronto Area and around Vancouver. A canny and pragmatic politician such as Harper therefore must be cognizant of the need to appease and appeal to a large potential political support base.

To view the recent cultural engage-ments as an exercise in pure electoral politics may be an overly cynical view however. Canadian govern-ments for time immemorial have often been described as the instiga-tors of multicultural ideology in the western world because of its public emphasis on the social importance of immigration.

Far from pleading multicultural-ism’s neutrality in matters of national unity, successive Canadian govern-ments have argued that the policy promotes the national interest by breaking down social and cultural barriers. Many observes see the over-tures to Indian culture as a natural progression of these multicultural policies.

Last week, the North American edi-tion of Reuters reported the opening of the ‘the first known government-backed Bollywood acting school in North America.’ The initial batch of wannabe starlets will graduate in April from the Canadian Institute of Management and Technology’s Bol-lywood acting diploma.

“Here, I’m opening the doors of Bollywood and Hollywood togeth-er,” said Lucky Sanda, program di-rector of the diploma, and former child actor, appearing in more than a dozen Bollywood films including “Do Anjaane” and “Mein Tulsi Tere Angan Ki”.

Sanda, 46, said production com-

panies in Toronto want South Asian actors in their TV ads and films to rep-resent the changing population and have already been contacting him.

The government support for this initiative is consistent with other re-cent actions that have been made at a federal and provincial level. Last December, Bollywood juggernaut Akshay Kumar was seen carrying the Olympic flame in downtown Toronto as part of a $26-million strategy by

the federal government to leverage tourism opportunities presented by the recently concluded Vancouver Games.

India’s representatives to Canada have been quick to capitalize on this mood. The Indian Council for Cul-tural Relations and the High Com-mission here have already begun preparations hold a year-long Festi-val of India in Canada in 2011.

“The Festival of India will be a

Bollywood is Set to Roll Over Mainstream Canadians

Canadian Prime Minster, Stephen Harper at a session of ‘Dance Premier League’ in Mumbai last year.

series across-the-board activities - performances by Indian artists, exhi-bitions and seminars on India,” said High Commissioner S.M. Gavai to an huge gathering of Indian Canadians at the annual gala dinner of the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce late last year in Toronto.

The center piece of the Festival of India will undoubtedly be the 12th Indian Film Academy Awards (IIFA,) will be held in Toronto, the first time the Indian version of the Oscars will be held in North America.

“Indian cinema today, is now a very valuable and visible brand. The Canadian public and the govern-ment here have shown a tremendous amount of enthusiasm for bringing in IIFA,” said Viraf Sirkari, the director of event management company giant Wizcraft, during a visit to the Indian High Commission in January. The same company had also brought the ‘Unforgettable’ tour into Houston and other North American cities back in 2008.

Hunsdeep Singh, the resident DJ and producer of Ottawa’s Mirch Masala radio show also attributes the gaining momentum of Bollywood culture on the increasingly visible displays of youth pride in Indian culture.

“Young Indo-Canadians have been a major catalyst for the growing pop-ularity of desi movies and music, which is manifested, amongst other mediums, in Bollywood films.,” he said. “They are the ones that have shed light on the sheer entertainment value of this part of our culture, and this had in turn ignited interest on a much larger scale.”

Community Events

History of Wells Fargo & GenealogyThursday, March 25, 4.30pm @

Federal Reserve Bank, Houston Branch Building

Picnic with Gudhipadva CelebrationSaturday, March 13, Brazos Bend State Park

www.hmmhouston.org

Masala Chai Hour with Rathna KumarA program focusing onIndian Performing & Visual Arts, Literature

Saturdays 10-11am on 1480AM, Masala Radio, 281-277-6874

Rama Navami CelebrationWednesday, March 24,

@ Sri Saumyakasi Sivalaya, 281-568-16907pm @ Hare Krishna Dham, 281-235-3590

IAN 031210A

Documents

Transcript of IAN 031210A