zzError! Bookmark not defined.

ICC Newsletter December 2011 Volume 7.0

www.iccaustin.org India Community Center of Austin

Message from the 2011 ICC Board

Namaste, Austin!

- Abdul, Harshita, Mary, Radhika, Raga, Ruhi, Salil, Sohail, and Sridhar

Season’s Greetingsto everyone!

Can you believe that 2011 isdrawing to a close? It’s hard tofathom that another year haspassed by and just around thebend lies 2012. What are someof your New Year’s resolu-tions? But, as they say, a NewYear’s resolution is somethingthat goes in one year and outthe other!

NAMASTE AUSTIN

PARICHAYINTRODUCTION

Each month, Parichay turns the spotlight on Indian communityorganizations or non-profits that enrich Austin with their presence.

Your ONE changes the lives of MANY!Your ONE changes the lives of MANY!Your ONE changes the lives of MANY!Your ONE changes the lives of MANY!

Twenty years ago, Association for India's Development (AID) embarked on a remarkable jour-

ney – walking on roads less travelled and reaching out to the marginalized, which are central

to the processes of change. Our mission is to facilitate a life of dignity and self-reliance for all in

India. Today, AID has over 40 chapters and more than a thousand volunteers all around the

world.

AID Austin was started in 1997 by graduate students at The University of Texas. We

have supported over 75 projects through the years and are currently working with nine project

partners in India.

Recently, AID received the Times of India Social Impact Award for 'Global Contribution to In-

dia' through our entire range of projects and activities; the honor was presented by India Prime

Minister Manmohan Singh.

AID is a registered 501c(3) non-profit organization with tax ID 04-3652609 and all donations in

the US are tax deductible. For more information, visit http://oneforindia.org

http://austin.aidindia.org or email austin@aidindia.org.

AID

PARICHAYINTRODUCTION

Each month, Parichay turns the spotlight on Indian communityorganizations or non-profits that enrich Austin with their presence.

“An Hour of Your Time … Hope for a Lifetime”ASHA FOR EDUCATION

www.workanhour.org

Every year, people from around the world symbolically donate one or more hours’ worth oftheir salary towards the projects featured in the Work-An-Hour campaign by Asha forEducation. Asha for Education is a 501(c) organization that focuses primarily on educationin India with the belief that education is a critical requisite for socio-economic change. Wecollaborate with several non-governmental and governmental organizations in India toempower individuals and provide them with access to education, health care, equalopportunity, social justice, and more. This year’s campaign features 20 projects that servethe most vulnerable sections of India, including orphaned girls, tribal women, disabledchildren, and children of landless laborers, sex workers, and slum dwellers. The Work-An-Hour campaign goes a long way towards raising much-needed funds for these deservingprojects.

Your local Austin chapter of Asha for Education has selected Khushboo Welfare Society(kwsindia.org) for this year's Work-an-Hour Campaign. Asha Austin has been workingwith Khushboo since October 2008. Located in Gurgaon, Khushboo is a holistic center thatserves the needs of infants, children, and adolescents with mental and multiple disabilities.The institution has four main divisions: Sparsh (early intervention and rehabilitation forchildren aged 0-6 years), Blessings (academic school division for children aged 6-16 years),Samarth (vocational training division for adolescents and youth aged 16-30+ years), andSamvedan (a center for children with profound mental and multiple disabilities). Yourdonation will go towards supporting salaries of six special educators, affiliated with theBlessings school division of Khushboo.

AnnouncementAnnouncementAnnouncementAnnouncement

Glitzy Events is proud to bring to you all a New Year's Eve formal dinner-and-danceevening of fun as we bring in the New Year 2012 at Marriott Round Rock. Seating islimited, so we suggest that you get your tickets ASAP. Get your friends and familiestogether for a night of good food, great music, and unlimited fun!

For tickets and additional information, call Cheryl 512-293-8786 or Pearl 512-789-1010,or email glitzzyevents@gmail.com. www.glitzzyevents.com

Christmas

Hanukkah

Hannukkah is Jewish holiday that is observed tocelebrate the victory of the Jewish Maccabees’ militaryover the Greek-Syrians. The holiday usually falls in theJewish month of Kislev in December and extends for a pe-riod of eight days. To mark this holiday, for each of eightnights one light is lit on a menorah (a special candelabrumwith nine branches) along with one additional light (ashamash) that is lit every day. Families get together tofeast and play games. After the menorah-lighting, a tradi-tional meal is served. Recently, some families also ex-change gifts, a tradition that evolved from the giving ofmoney to children.

Christmas is both a religious and cultural holiday.For billions of Christians around the world, it is thecelebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, born in a lowlymanger and visited by shepherds and kings from afar.

As a cultural (and retail) holiday, Christmas lights,trees, cards, and gifts are the main focus, and Santa Claushas taken center stage.

For all, Christmas is a joyful time to spend with familyand friends. Everyone enjoys singing carols, putting up thetree, and exchanging gifts. Christmas signifies love,kindness, joy and happiness.

UTSAVUTSAVUTSAVUTSAVFESTIVALS and CELEBRATIONS

SambandhaRelationship Q&A

Q: Online dating—To upload one’s picture or not?

A: One of my suggestions to commitment-minded men and women ready to prioritize meeting a partneris to be as proactive as possible in the relationship arena of their lives by aligning their actions withtheir goals. In my opinion, online dating is a great avenue to meet people—if you’re willing to putthe time and effort into doing so effectively.

Since a significant number of men and women will entirely disregard online profiles posted withoutpictures, one limits oneself substantially by choosing not to post a picture online.

When I’m working with our dating-coaching clients on their online profiles and communications,one of the first things I do is to ensure that the picture(s) the client posts online is (are) a recent andaccurate representation of the best version of their authentic self. Selecting the right pictures warrantsdue consideration: while you certainly want to put your best foot forward and make a great first im-pression with your online pictures, in doing so, you do not want to sabotage your first in-person en-counters by setting the bar unrealistically high.

What makes you uncomfortable about the idea of posting a picture online?

Some of our matchmaking clients are too high-profile in their industries to be comfortable postingpictures of themselves online. While I can certainly appreciate that (and that is one of the reasons forour customized services), such a situation precludes those clients from being ideal candidates for on-line dating.

If there is anything about you physically which makes you less than confident (your hairstyle,crooked and/or stained teeth, those couple of extra pounds, etc.), consider taking care of it beforegoing online so you can put your most confident self forward. While it is important that the motiva-tion to make changes to your physical self be internally motivated, such changes can prove to be per-sonally empowering.

Assuming you are comfortable with your physical presence, what else may be holding you back?

Perhaps, just as in other aspects of dating, you need to push the boundaries of your comfort zone.

Best wishes!

Jasbina Ahluwalia is an Indian-American Attorney-turned-Entrepreneur, Relationship Expert, Radio Show Host,Matchmaker / Dating Coach. She is the Founder of Intersections Match, the onlyElite National Personalized Matchmaking & Dating Coaching Firm in the countryfor South Asian Singles.

Jasbina is also the host of Intersections Talk Radio, a monthly holistic lifestyleshow featuring conversations with published authors/experts on relationships andhealth and wellness.

For more information, please visit www.IntersectionsMatch.com. Feel free tosubmit a question to be considered for this column to Jasbina directly atJasbina@IntersectionsMatch.com.