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1 Indo American News • Friday, October 22 , 2010 Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

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A Full stomach makes for a smiling, receptive student

By Jy Jy awahar Mawahar Mawahar alhotraHOUSTON: A new charity that

will add to the others with Hous-ton chapters – like Pratham, Ekal Vidalaya and Save a Mother - that serve needs in India launched its inaugural fund raising efforts at a gala held at the Westin Oaks Hotel last Sunday evening, October 17 and attended by about 500 people. The gala was organized in large part by the dedicated and untir-ing efforts of the head of Akshaya Patra’s Houston Chapter, retired gastroenterologist and community supporter, Dr. K. T. Shah, who has put together a team of volunteers with the same fervor as his own in an incredibly short period of time.

In opening up the gala, Shah recalled how in 1997, he tried to find some projects to do in India to serve the mass of poor human-

ity there, first offering free en-doscopies, but soon realized that this didn’t solve many problems for many, that the real problem was poverty and the solution was education. When he and his wife, Vasant then visited a school, they noticed rampant malnutrition and understood that a hungry child could not focus on studies.

“Then I saw an article by Talveen Singh in Indo-American News,” Shah said, “about a group called Akshaya Patra in Bangalore which was feeding 1,500 hungry kids in rural schools and this opened my eyes.” Shah visited some of these schools and ate with the kids and saw the smiles that the meal brought to the faces and knew that this was to be his Life’s mission from then on.

Shah quit his medical practice

of 27 years in 2004 and jumped headlong into helping AP. He met with C.C. Dasa and M. P. Dasa, the two swamis who took over the program in 2000 and admired their abilities. “These swamis are both trained engineers and don’t go around citing the scriptures or doing pujas,” Shah quipped, “but use their knowledge of technology and management to expand the reach of AP.”

Now AP has expanded to serv-ing 1.2 million meals a day from 20 kitchens and 18 different cit-ies, employing hygienic, mecha-nized supply chain management that allow each kitchen to produce 40,000 chappatis an hour and serve hot meals from insulated trucks that go to each school. Shah had shared his experience, and a

Five Days ofCelebration at Durga Bari Draws Thousands

Story on Pg 19

Sewa International Intervenes to Teach the Ropes of American Life

Story on Pg 20

reinventing HimselfPervez Musharraf Seeks Support from

Pakistani American Community

By Ky Ky alyani Kalyani K GiriHOUSTON: His inherent faith

unmistakable, former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf began his speech with a benediction to Allah. Then, dapper in a dark suit instead of his trademark general’s regalia, he announced the forma-tion of his new political party, the All Pakistan Muslim League (APML), and delineated his strat-egy for a triumphant re-emergence in that country in time for the 2013 elections. Talking to a diverse au-dience at a luncheon hosted by the Asia Society at the Omni Hotel on October 19, the former military leader who is in the city this week to woo the support of the largely affluent local Pakistani American community, said that Pakistan did not lack resources or potential to stand on its own feet; rather, he said that it was consistent failure in leadership that had brought that country down.

“We need thought and action to unify bureaucracy, the military, and the people,” said Musharraf, and the people,” said Musharraf, and the people,” said Musharraf, who came into power in a non-violent military coup in 1999 and violent military coup in 1999 and violent military coup in 1999 and

led Pakistan for eight years until he resigned under impeachment pressure in 2008. “When I come in with a mandate for the people, I can have the legitimacy that I did not previously have. Because I wore a uniform, the world saw me as a dictator, which I was not,” he added. He said that he was cogni-zant of the rocky uphill struggle to victory, if any, but hoped to win the trust of the people, particularly the youth of Pakistan who are mired in “despondency and hopeless-ness, and yearn for change”. And that change would be democracy, he added.

This week, Musharraf met with the community at private and public gatherings peppered all over this city. His itinerary also included visits with former US president George H. W. Bush, and local socialite, political activ-ist, and former honorary consul general to Pakistan and Morocco, Joanne Herring, whose support he hoped to garner. Aside from finan-cial backing for his campaign, he cial backing for his campaign, he cial backing for his campaign, he reiterated that the influential Paki-

continued on page 5

Chairman of Infosys, Narayana Murthy (center) was the guest of honor and keynote speaker at the Akshaya Patra gala this past Sunday, October 17. With him are AP USA Foundation Chairman Gururaj “Desh” Deshpande and President & CEO, Madhu Sridhar. Photos: Paresh Shah

The organizers of the wonderful evening at the India House, from left The organizers of the wonderful evening at the India House, from left Dr. Raj Bhalla, Treasurer; Jugal Malani, President; Surender Talwar Dr. Raj Bhalla, Treasurer; Jugal Malani, President; Surender Talwar who worked on the layout and arrangements; and Brig Agarwal, VP who worked on the layout and arrangements; and Brig Agarwal, VP of Finance. Photos: Krishna Giriof Finance. Photos: Krishna Giri

leaderhip Houston meets India House !

Full story on page 14

Indo AmerIcAn news • FrIdAy, ocToBer 22 , 2010 • onlIne edITIon: www.IndoAmerIcAn-news.com

2 Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.comIndo American News • Friday, October 22 , 2010

Indo AmerIcAn news • FrIdAy, Ay, A ocToBer 22 , 2010 • onlonlo Ine Ine I edITIon: www.IndoAmerIcAn-news.com


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continued from page 110-minute video that was shown later in the gala, with many influ-ential Houstonians at a dinner held at the VPSS in July and a precursor to this gala, at which he promised to bring the Chairman of Infosys, Narayana Murthy.

And after many months of call-ing sponsors and donors, organiz-ing and cajoling, Shah was ready to deliver. Murthy, who has been compared to Bill Gates as he heads up India’s largest software con-sulting company, has been a long-time supporter of AP and flew in from Bangalore especially for the two galas held this past weekend: first the one in Dallas on Satur-day and then this one in Houston, before heading onto the AP USA offices in Boston. He started In-fosys in 1981 with $250 and now the company has offices in 33 cit-ies worldwide, with 115,000 em-ployees and $6 billion in assets. Infosys is an especially employee-friendly company and is most ad-mired for many social causes and humanitarian initiatives that it has supported.

So, it was no surprise that there was such a keen interest in attend-ing the gala and hearing from a legend in the business and technol-ogy world. Along with him came Gururaj “Desh” Deshpande who “is a serial entrepreneur,” said the emcee for the gala, Ashok Rao as he introduced the duo to the stage that they shared through the eve-

ning. Deshpande, who has headed several large high-tech companies in the US , is Murthy’s brother-in-law and is also the Chairman of the Akshaya Patra Foundation USA . The Foundation’s President & CEO, Madhu Sridhar also came to the Houston gala.

The evening really belonged to Murthy, who spoke about a multi-tude of items, all of which narrowed down to the support of AP’s work. He acknowledged that Non-resi-dent Indians had supported India and still had tremendous concern and caring for their Motherland and were proud of developments there. He then enumerated India ’s GDP and tremendous foreign ex-change reserves now, as compared to the precarious levels of just 20 years ago. But he also talked about the problems in tackling poverty, illiteracy, sanitation and hygiene, despite the progress. “Compas-sionate capitalism is the only way forward,” Murthy said.

“You really don’t know what real hunger can do to people,” Murthy said, alluding to the ability to con-centrate on an empty stomach and then recalled an anecdote from his youth when he hitchhiking and was forced to stay hungry for several days in eastern Europe and was eventually detained by the authori-ties and sent off to Turkey . “Hun-gry people will abhor the system, the country,” he exclaimed, “so it is important that no child goes hun-gry.”

This set the stage for a variety of questions posed to the two guests of honor. One dealt with the in-ability of India to deal with the population explosion, which Mur-thy said was actually contained to less than replacement ratios, at least in the South. When respond-ing to another question why NRIs should support the AP program when in fact India had budget surpluses and a growing wealthy class, Murthy chided that it was the NRIs moral obligation, since India had nurtured and educated the NRIs in their youth.

The AP runs on a $40 million annual budget, $25m of which comes from local and state gov-ernments and $15 from individual donors. The US Foundation has set a goal of raising $2.5m in the US , and when asked why Indian corporations did not do more to support charitable works, Desh-pande responded that there was still no culture of giving in India , that it had to be inculcated.

After the Q&A session, the gala opened up for pledges, with many going to support the opportuni-ties listed on a flyer: $20,650 for a small truck, $4,050 for a rice caul-dron, $44,000 for a roti machine, from $4,200 to $12,600 to spon-sor a school. Within 30 minutes, the enthusiastic crowd was able to raise over $200,000 with two cor-porations pledging $40,000 each. Murthy and Deshpande threw in $125,000 apiece and after ac-

counting for the pre-gala pledges, over $650,000 was collected for the AP Houston Chapter, although final tallies are still to be made, ac-cording to Shah who left the next day for an out-of-town medical conference.

The gala had mass appeal and was short on the pomp and cel-ebratory entertainment that are common to large fundraisers. The food, which was catered by Mum-bai Spice, was simple, and for some reason, the meager portions served were less than copious. And the absence of a cash bar limited the offerings to soft drinks and jal jeera from a punch bowl. Still, for a Sunday evening affair, the turn-out spoke as much to the draw of Murthy as it did to the persistence of Dr. Shah and his zeal to bring a

A Full stomach makes for a smiling, receptive student

smile on the faces of school kids. “Visit a school, share a meal, talk to the children,” his gala souvenir brochure encouraged. “You will not need any more convincing about this organization.”

Akshaya Patra can be reached through www.akshayapatrausa.org or by calling Dr. K.T. Shah at 281-772-4139.

Dr. K. T. Shah, President of Akshaya Patra’s Houston Chapter addresses the guests at the Gala last Sunday, October 17.


5 Indo American News • Friday, October 22 , 2010 Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com s o c i e t y

continued from page 1stani community in the diaspora is a valuable resource in helping to get him back in office. He has been visiting many cities within the US and Canada that boast large Paki-stani communities.

Yet Pakistan, reeling in the throes of crippling poverty, flood relief, an internal war against extremists, ineffective governance, and a host of other significant problems, may very well be a minefield to Mush-arraf who had already his shot at governance and failed. His re-entering public office in that em-battled country seem at the very least, remote, as he has lost cred-ibility and will have a challenge on hand convincing the people that he has the solutions to put the coun-try back on track, observers say. During his presidency, through the controversial National Rec-onciliation Ordinance he granted amnesty to politicians and bureau-crats accused of corruption and other crimes, another black mark against him. And adding to his woes are criminal cases initiated against him in Pakistani courts and the possibility of assassination if he returns to the country of his birth. Much of his jockeying to be in the running will have to be done

long distance and by proxy. But the man whose favorite pas-

time is singing qawwali and com-posing Urdu poetry, is optimistic about reinventing himself for the betterment of Pakistan. Musharraf deems himself a “man of war but a man for peace” and sees his role as a crusader eradicating illiteracy and poverty. He wants to invest in the youth by providing them with vocational skills. He will work to-

ward increasing export, fostering a stable socio-economic climate and controlling the fiscal deficit, he said.

Addressing the thorny issue of Afghanistan and the Taliban, Musharraf said that after 9/11, Pakistan was criticized for not do-ing enough in the war against ter-rorism.

“The misconception is that Paki-stan is the problem. They may be

reinventing Himself – Pervez musharraf seeks support from Pakistani American community

coming into Pakistan, they have sanctuaries in Pakistan, but most are in Afghanistan,” he said. “Neg-ative handling of Afghanistan be-gan long before, in 1979 when the Soviets invaded and the world ignored the plight of 4 million refugees in that region. Now we cannot afford to quit before bring-ing a legitimate stable government to Afghanistan, or it will cost the world heavily,” he said.

In India, extremism among Muslim youth is on the rise and developing excessively, observed Musharraf.

“We need to adopt a holistic ap-proach and neutralize the situation without breaking links with Indian Muslims,” he added.

India and Pakistan have been on a confrontation course for 60 years and extremists and terrorists are fueling dissent because they do not want peace between the two countries, he said.

“Punishing Pakistan with coun-ter attacks are irresponsible and war will be inevitable. We must stop the hysteria and leaders on both sides must continue with co-gent dialogue,” said Musharraf.

For Musharraf, politics is greater than self.

“For those that love Pakistan, we cannot let go because we will become international orphans and lose our identity. Only progress and development will ensure the wellbeing of my people of Paki-stan,” he said.

When asked about Musharraf’s chances at the polls, well-known local businessman Ghulam Bom-baywala smiled and said:

“You never know. It’s too early to predict.”

At the Asia Society luncheon lecture event are from left, Indian Consul General Sanjiv Arora, Chhaya Arora, Sehba Musharraf and Pervez Musharraf Photo: Jamil Siddiqui


6 Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.comIndo American News • Friday, October 22 , 2010 s o c i e t y

Tagore society Presents society Presents sAnother outstanding Bengali Filmoutstanding Bengali Filmo

HOUSTON: Reinventing the Satyajit Ray classic Paraspathar (Touchstone), by highlighting the spirit of the common man, young director Gaurav Pandey is keyed up for ascertaining the success of Shukno Lan-ka, the first Bengali film to be premiered for three successive days in three metros.

“While in the Ray classic, veteran Ben-gali actor Tulsi Chakraborty was the com-mon man in pursuit of the elusive ‘paras-pathar’ (touchstone), I have contemporized the theme, but the spirit remains the same. I would rather call it my tribute to Ray,” Pandey told PTI at the film’s premiere in Kolkata.

“I am very inspired by the people who stay in the background and make a difference to out lives. For example, this pavement is cleaned everyday by somebody whom we dont know but we need him nevertheless,” says Gaurav Pandey , the director.

Veteran actor Mithun Chakraborty, who plays the protagonist in Bengali movie ‘Shukno Lanka’, says the film is about the dream of a common man, a nobody whose presence is hardly acknowledged.

“’Shukno Lanka’ is about the dream of a common man, its not about me. The life of a common man is just like dry red chillies which do not have a taste of their own but are used to add flavour to the dish being pre-pared,” said Mithun.

The film also has Australian actress Emma Brown Garett playing an actress-turned-pro-ducer who comes to India from Germany to produce the film.

This is Brown’s first Bengali film and she says the experience was exciting despite not understanding the language at all.The film will be screened in Houston on Sunday, October 31 at 3 pm at Fun Plex Theatre.

2010 Festival of lights for Indian lights for Indian lcommunity comes with ram ram r leelaleelal

By Uy Uy sha Msha Msha ehraHOUSTON: The Hindu

community of Houston gath-ers talent, resources and tech-nology to present a three hour performance of Ram Leela, with more than 100 perform-ers at the Cullen Perfor-mance Hall at the University of Houston on October 23, 2010. This event marks the precipitation of a vision for many first generation Hindu immigrants, particularly those from Northern India, who lived their childhood watch-ing Ram Leela year after year, performed in their local neighborhoods as well as at their respec-tive city grand performance grounds. Ram Leela is primarily an outdoor event, begin-ning in mid October, where local parks are prepared with huge canopies, elevated stag-es, far-reaching audio systems and vendors with food, toys and tricks --- a grand fair of sorts filled with family entertainment and education. The events last for ten days, with late evening performances and fanfare. This year Houston’s Ram Leela event starts as a single indoor event with visions of outdoor performances in later years.Special stage effects of outdoor performances are being planned for the October 23rd event , using local area licensed pyrotechnicians.

During Ram Leela, the epic happenings of Ramayana are enacted in the form of a play and folk opera, with hundreds of thou-sands of spectators gathered to take in the

experience and revitalization of moral stan-dards that Ram’s life demonstrates. Ram is recognized as Vishnu, God personified to exemplify and set models for obedience, diligence, compassion, love and care in re-lationships with teachers, parents, siblings, spouse, friends and subjects. It is regarded as a great privilege to be capable of seeing Ram Leela every year – similar to how a pilgrimage fulfills spiritual desire for great masses of people – and has become a living tradition.

Ram Leela was recognized as a UNESCO cultural festival in the year 2005 and is per-formed in many countries, such as South Africa, Mauritius, Fiji, Canada, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, England, Australia and Thailand. In the United State, it is per-formed in Virginia, New York, New Jersey and now in Houston, Texas.

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shunya Theatre Announces its 2011 seasonShunya, Houston’s South Asian theatre

troupe, announces its 2011 season. Shu-nya will present Anuvab Pal’s comedy “1-888-DIAL-INDIA,” a timely comedy about outsourcing from the Indian perspec-tive, as well as its first children’s produc-tion, Aditi Kapil’s “The Adventures of Ha-numan.”

This is Shunya’s ninth year and is a mile-stone for South Asian theatre in the US. As one of the most active South Asian theatre troupes in the coun-try, Shunya has consistently pre-sented regional and world premieres of work written by or concerning South Asians. “From it’s creation, Shunya has striven to fill a void in Houston’s otherwise rich the-ater scene, by pro-ducing innovative work that provides insight into the South Asian experience,” says Shunya’s founder, Soham Mehta.

The new season begins with Shu-nya’s February 2011 production of “Dial 1-888-INDIA,” a comic look at the out-sourcing phenomenon centered on the bold and outrageous Arun Gupta, who navigates skeptical investors and naive employees on his quest to become a millionaire. His busi-ness plan? To outsource a suicide hotline. “‘1-888-DIAL-INDIA’ is a loud, brash and hilarious play that takes the modern ‘world

is flat’ pop business theories and stretches them to their ultimate farcical extreme,” says Sanjay Mediwala, Shunya’s Managing Director, “We are thrilled to be presenting such an audacious and clever play as Shu-nya’s twelfth full length production.”

Shunya’s second production of the sea-son will be Aditi Kapil’s “The Adventures of Hanuman,” and will mark Shunya’s first ever children’s production. This is a musi-cal production that will be presented with

original music and choreography in Summer 2011.

In addition to their full length produc-tions, Shunya will also be hosting a writing workshop series wherein par-ticipants will hone their writing over six months and present their work in a summer show-

case.Shunya has brought English language

South Asian theatre to Houston audiences since 2003, and 2011 promises to be another exciting year. Auditions for “1-888-DIAL-INDIA” will take place on October 23 and October 26 from 6-8 pm at the Anjali Center for Performing Arts in Sugar Land.

More information about Shunya’s au-ditions, production season and writing workshop series is available at www.Shu-nyaTheatre.org, or by emailing [email protected].



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stoRy of MahatMa Gandhidandi salt salt s satyagraha satyagraha s stirs stirs s nation

In 1924, Gandhi fell ill. He was suffering from appendicitis and was in great pain. The government was alarmed. What would happen if Gandhi died in prison? An ur-if Gandhi died in prison? An ur-if Gandhi died in prison? An urgent operation was arranged, and Gandhi agreed. The operation was successful, but his recovery was very slow. The government thought it best to release him, so he was set free. He went to Juhu, near Bom-bay, for recovery. Read on:

Congress leaders were thinking of participating in the Municipal and Provincial Councils which Gandhi had advised them to boy-cott. Gandhi was not dismayed or discouraged. He decided to leave politics for the time being and spend his time in bringing about Hindu-Muslim unity and the re-moval of untouchability.

So for nearly six years Gandhi had little to do with politics. But he wrote, he lectured, and he prayed. He travelled all over India. His influence among the people was steadily growing. Gandhi had not given up the idea of nonviolent resistance to British rule. He was merely waiting for the right mo-ment.

Jawaharlal Nehru joined Gandhi in many of his travels. Everywhere they were greeted with great en-thusiasm. Nehru was the hope of the younger generation. In 1928 the Viceroy invited Gandhi to see him. He informed Gandhi of the appointment of an official Brit-ish Commission, led by Sir John Simon, which would study Indian conditions and recommend politi-cal reforms.

“Will there be any Indians on the Commission?” asked Gandhi.

“No,” replied the Viceroy.“That is absurd,” said Gandhi.

“We must boycott it.” Gandhi advised the people to boycott the Simon Commission, and when it arrived in Bombay a hartal (strike) was observed all over India. On its tour through the Indian cit-ies the Commission was greeted with black-flag demonstrations. The people shouted, “Simon, go back!”

At many places there were cane charges and shooting. The same year the peasants of Bardoli, in Gujarat, were agitated by the en-hancement of land taxes. Gandhi studied their grievances and ad-vised them to resort to satyagraha and not pay taxes. But they must be nonviolent, he insisted. Vallab-hbhai Patel took charge of organiz-ing the resistance.

The government tried all its usu-al measures to terrorize the people, but had to climb down. An enquiry into the grievances was ordered. Vallabhbhai demanded certain concessions. Negotiations were going on when Gandhi arrived in Bardoli. Within a short period the government came to terms with the organizers and a settlement was reached.

Now political tension again

gained momentum. People every-where were preparing for a mass struggle.

The Viceroy called a meeting of the Indian leaders. He made the announcement that India would get dominion status, similar to that of Canada. Gandhi wanted an im-mediate plan for the framing of the Constitution. “Gentlemen,” the Viceroy said, “I have no power to promise such things.”

Everybody then realized that England was still marking time and was not really willing to part with power. A new determination to force the government to act filled the minds of the people.

Jawaharlal Nehru was elected President of the Congress at the instance of Gandhi. A Congress session was held in Lahore on December 31, 1929. A resolution announcing that full independence was India’s goal was passed at this session of the Congress. Disap-pointed at her failure to get domin-ion status, India now demanded full independence.

The whole country was excited. Everybody was waiting for the lead from Gandhi. After two months of suspense, a Salt Satyagraha was announced by Gandhi.

This would be the beginning of a civil disobedience campaign in which laws made by the State would be broken. Civil disobedi-ence would begin by breaking the salt law. “Salt suddenly became a mysterious word, a word of pow-er,” Nehru said.

The government had put an ex-cise tax on salt which brought an enormous amount of money to the treasury . Moreover, the govern-ment had the monopoly of manu-facturing salt.

The salt tax was to be attacked and the salt laws were to be bro-ken. The very simplicity of Gan-dhi’s choice made the issue more dramatic.

On March 2, 1930, Gandhi wrote a long letter to the new Vice-roy, Lord Irwin, about the deplorable condi-tion of India under British rule.

“British rule,” he said, has impoverished

the dumb millions by a system of progressive exploitation, and by a ruinously expensive military and civil administration which the country can never afford. It has re-duced us politically to serfdom. It has sapped the foundations of our culture.”

He requested the Viceroy to see him and discuss the matter with him in person.

“But if you cannot see your way to deal with these evils,” he went on, “and my letter makes no ap-peal to your heart, on the eleventh day of this month I shall proceed, with such co-workers of the ash-ram as I can take, to disregard the provisions of the salt laws. “It is, I know, open to you to frustrate my design by arresting me. I hope there will be tens of thousands ready, in a disciplined manner,

to take up the work after me.”Lord Irwin did not answer Gan-

dhi but sent a message through his secretary expressing regret that Gandhi had chosen a course which involved breaking the law of the land and which would be a danger to public peace.

The whole of India was agitated over Gandhi’s Salt Satyagraha. On March 12, at 6.30 in the morning, thousands of people watched as Gandhi started from his ashrama with 78 volunteers on a march to Dandi, a village on the sea coast 241 miles away.

There, it was announced, the salt law would be broken. Gandhi led the march through village after vil-lage, stopping at each place to talk to the peasants and advise them on the necessity of social reforms.

For twenty-four days the eyes of India and the world followed Gandhi as he marched towards the sea. The government did not take the risk of arresting Gandhi. With each passing day the campaign grew. Hundreds and thousands of people joined the procession. Men, women, and children lined the route, offering flowers and shouting slogans for the victory of the march.

Newspaper reporters from every corner of the world were there to report the progress of Gandhi’s march. The salt march ended on April 5 at Dandi village. Gandhi and his selected followers went to the sea shore and broke the salt law by picking up salt left on the shore by the sea.

Gandhi then gave a signal to all Indians to break the salt law and prepare to resist the police action in a nonviolent manner.

— To be Continued

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9 Indo American News • Friday, October 22 , 2010 Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com s o c i e t y

culmination of culmination of c navarathri Festival with Vidyarambham at sri Guruvayurappan Templesri Guruvayurappan Temples

By Cy Cy hittoor rarar MaChandranHOUSTON: The much celebrat-

ed nine nights of Swathi Thirunal Navaratri Music Festival dedicat-ed to Mother Goddess concluded on October 16. The nine com-positions of Maharaja Swathi Thirunal specifically composed to sing each day during the festi-val were the focus on each concert presented. According to the tradi-tions, Durgashtami (8th day of Navarathri) was the night in which many devotees brought in their books and tools for Saraswathi pooja. They were placed in front of Bhagavathy for pooja on the next day. On the 10th day (vijaya Dashami day) at sunrise, the books and the tools were taken out by the priest after the final pooja.

There was a surge of devotees and families with young children to Sri Guruvayurappan Temple at dawn on vijayadashami day. As a tradition, vijayadashami is auspivijayadashami is auspivijayadashami -cious for vidyaarambham (initia-tion of learning), Goddess Saras-wathi, being the presiding deity for this ritual.

The ritual of vidyarambham is very graceful and symbolically very appropriate. Children above three years of age are eligible for vidyaarambham. The child is seated in the lap of the parent or the Acharya in front of a lighted oil lamp (representing Agni). Fol-lowing the initial manthras, Acha-rya writes the auspicious manthra ‘ Hari-Sri-Ganapathaye namh: avighnamasthu’ on the tonge of the child with a gold ring..( It is also a practice to write a sarasa-wathi manthra in milk with a gold ring and let the child drink the milk). This mantra is a prayer to

the Lord Sri Vishnu, Sri Lakshmi and Sri Ganesha for protecting the child from any confrontation with obstacles in his(her) life. The use of gold in writing also represents the wish that, as the child grows, whatever he(she) speaks shall be as precious as gold. As the Acha-rya continues the ritual, he holds the child’s finger and make him (her) write a prayer on uncooked

Vishnu Hari being initiated by Chittoor Ra-machandran while Gowri is waiting for her turn

the temple was a blessing, especial-ly on the day of aksharabhyasam. Swami Amitananda and other se-nior members of the temple served as Acharya to help many children initiate their learning. This tradi-tion is called Ezhuthinu vekkal. (a malayalam word equivalent to Aksharabhyasam).

The practice of considering vi-jayadashami as a day of new be-

ginning is an age old tradi-tion. The power of Mother Goddess winning over the adharmic actions of evil forces to preserve righ-teousness is the message of vijayadashami.

At Guruvayurappan temple on vijayadashami day, both young and adult (previously initiated) sat in front of the Goddess and wrote “Hari Sri Ganap-athaye namah” on sand athaye namah” on sand athaye namah”spread on a plate. This is the annual solemn plead to Goddess Saraswathi for

Her continued blessings through-out the year for the intellect at the start of any venture.

Goddess Saraswathi, being Vidya pradayini, people especially students exhibit their talents on Vijaya dashami. Many children who are students of music and dance performed briefly in front of Bhagavathy as an expression of their devotion. A spectacular mu-sic concert by prominent musicians entertained the audience. This was followed by a grand feast..

With noble will power, thoughts, and actions, let us pray to move forward in our journey and lead the young generation to the future for attaining a prosperous life.

Hundreds witness the Ground Breaking witness the Ground Breaking w ceremony of ceremony of c sri Guruvayurappan Templesri Guruvayurappan TemplesBy Cy Cy hittoor rarar MaChandranHOUSTON: Enthusiasm, de-

votion, hope, excitement and gratitude conquered the minds of hundreds of devotees as they witnessed the ground breaking ceremony of the main temple for Sri Guruvayurappan temple on October 17, the day of Vijaya dashami according to Hindu cal-endar.

Tears of joy flowed on the faces of ardent devotees as they

were crossing a major milestone in the history. An elaborate Sara-swathi pooja preceded the three days at the temple according to the tradition by the priests Sri Un-nikrishnan Nambuthiri and Sri Narayanan Nambuthiri. The magic manthram of Narayana dominated the scene, as the crowd of nearly two hundred families waited for their turn to tilt the soil with the tools brought in after Ayudha poo-ja. The triumphant shankha naa-

rice spread on a plate. Rice ( dh-anyam) is the symbol of prosperity and Hari’s ( Vishnu) blessings to the living being. Symbolically this step in vidyaarambham is a wish that this child should earn pros-perity (Sree) through knowledge (jnanam), and dhanyam through effort (kriya shakthi). A quality in a gentleman everyone respects is ‘ He Speaks what he thinks and does what he speaks ‘. Rituals in vidyarambham is parents’ wish just for that quality as the child as he grows up.

The distinguished guest of the events at Sri Guruvayurappan Temple was Swami Amitananda, a vedic scholar from India who was on a visit to the US .His presence at

dam represented the presence of the Lord. It was a moment of ec-stasy. As a prelude to the ground breaking ceremony, the temple hosted Swathi Thirunal Navara-thri Music festival that featured more than 50 carnatic musicians in 10 sessions of concerts. The spectacular event concluded with the recital of Ramayanam , a rag-amalika composed by Sri Swathi Thirunal. For more information, visit www.guruvayur.us.



From Houston to Hollywood: outsourced with Guru singhBy taMara levine

HOUSTON: “Outsourced” is NBC’s new comedy about a man from the Midwest who gets sent to India to run a call center. The talented cast includes two Houston actors, Ben Rappaport and thirty-year-old Guru Singh, who plays the role of the enigmatic character, Ajeet.

Born in Spring Branch, Texas, Guru was raised by loving grand-parents in the state of Himachal Pradesh, India, while his parents focused on their careers in the states. At six years of age he re-turned to Houston, ready to begin kindergarten. Punjabi is his first language and because of his rich childhood experiences, he is a man firmly rooted in both cultures.

Guru fell in love with perform-ing at an early age. A singer and musician, Guru played brass in-struments in junior high band as well as in the Klein Forest High School Orchestra. But Guru didn’t choose acting; acting chose him.

The Houston native credits his first acting break to the close proximity of the band and theatre classrooms in the Fine Arts wing at Klein. After hearing from a the-atre friend that the teacher wanted to see him about a part in a show, Guru auditioned and landed a sup-porting role in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. “It was for the part of Chief, a six foot huge In-dian. Go figure that he picked me. I think he typecast me.”

Playing the role of Chief made a lasting impression and Guru’s ex-periences at Klein Forest ultimate-ly inspired him to pursue a career in entertainment. “The Texas edu-cation system is awesome for Fine Arts, encouragement, availability and access for students.”

However, life wasn’t all play. At his mother’s insistence, Guru bal-anced part-time computer-related work with his passion for the stage during high school.

These strong values not only instilled disci-pline, they also helped pave the road to success.

F o l l o w i n g high school, Guru enrolled at the Univer-sity of Texas at Austin, where he studied act-ing. Eventually he transferred to the Univer-sity of Hous-ton, where he earned a B.B.A. in Theatre and Management In-formation Sys-tems. Along the way, his family provided end-less support and encouragement,

especially his mother. “As long as I was getting good grades […] as long as I did a business major also, she was happy.”

Never one to rest on his laurels, Guru also tried on the role of direc-tor prior to graduation. “After we came back from the University of Texas Austin, my good friend Sol-ham Mehta pioneered an Indian acting company called Shunya.” The duo self-produced two pieces written by Solham then progressed to other works such as The Indian

Wants the Bronx by Israel Horo-vitz, which Guru directed at Di-verse Works in 2004.

Not everything came easy, though. Throughout college, there were countless times where solid auditions reaped no rewards. Yet true to style, Guru didn’t let the ex-periences deter him. If anything, the rejection helped prepare him. When Guru moved to Los Ange-les, he knew he wouldn’t get cast in every show he wanted, but he was determined nonetheless.

One of the secrets to his suc-cess has been a great attitude. “I did not worry about it at all.” Se-cure with the knowledge that act-ing would always be there, Guru ran his computer business during the day and attended acting work-shops at night to continue devel-oping his craft. “I never really had a point in my life where I was like all-or-nothing. I’ve never been an all-or-nothing kind of guy.”

While many actors spend years auditioning with little or no results, Guru landed the role of Ajeet with-in his first year of going on regular auditions. “I was called because they [the casting director] put out an APB on a Sikh male.”

Regarding the hard lessons he’s learned during his acting career, Guru admits there haven’t been too many. “It is arduous in the way that it is so selective as far as your look is concerned. I wouldn’t have this gig if I didn’t have this turban on my head, plain and

simple.” In addition, he has yet to enjoy a steady stream of acting work. Nevertheless, he deals with these challenges by nurturing his art. He’s always working on some aspect of the business, whether it’s reading plays, taking classes or producing web series.

For Guru, the best part about playing Ajeet on Outsourced lies in the possibilities. “It’s a blank slate. I get to decide what actions I do. It’s great. It’s like I’m in im-prov class again except I can do whatever I want. It’s the best job ever.”

Beside its entertainment value and being the best job ever, Guru thinks Outsourced might break some barriers too. At the end of the day, it’s a progressive show that transcends superficial one-liners about the food or the smell. It’s about the characters and their relationships, things we can all re-late too.

As far as encouraging words for other aspiring actors, Guru of-for other aspiring actors, Guru of-for other aspiring actors, Guru offers this advice: Stay busy. “The only way you’ll get booked for anything is if you book yourself, whether it’s a play or for a show you’re writing or producing your-self.”

Now that Outsourced’s run has been extended into a full season, there will be many opportunities to enjoy Guru Singh’s work. Be sure to check out his performance of Ajeet every Thursday night this fall at 8:30 on NBC.

Photo: Harper Smith/NBC



By Jawahar MalhotraHOUSTON: It is not very often

that the parking lot of India House, the community's unofficial home-away-from-home, is filled to ca-pacity and then some, spilling over to the grassy lawn.

But then, the evening of Tues-day, October 19 was an indeed a very special occasion as India House played host to Leadership Houston's 2010 class and alumni in its Passport to Progress series that visited the culture, business protocol and cuisine of four coun-tries: Turkey, Australia, Mexico and now India.

LH has been holding classes for 50 individuals every year since 1980 to experience an intensive education in "Who's Who and What's What" in Houston. When approached by LH's executive committee, the Executive Board of India House quickly realized that it would be an ideal venue to show-case the facility as well as India.

"India has so much to offer," said IH President Jugal Malani, recall-ing that meeting. "The hospitality, culture, the colors and rich tradi-tions, the food." So he spun into ac-tion and along with IH's VP of Fi-nance, Brig Agarwal, both agreed to personally underwrite the entire event. Smaller contributions were made by Sita World Travels and Leadership Houston.

The handwork then began as another Board member and Trea-surer, the affable Dr. Raj Bhalla and local entrepreneur Surender Talwar, who has been in the Indi-an antiques and event promotions businesses, swung into action and the four developed a game plan that took 2 months to material-ize into a well-executed, colorful event, which is exactly what they had envisioned.

The event was attended by over 250 people and started at 5pm with sitar music played during the re-ception by Srinivas Koumounduri and followed by a video presenta-tion of the tourist destinations of India by Sita Travels' Ravin Mehra and Deepi Metha of Travel Lead-ers, professionals in the travel in-dustry for many years.

To get to the back hall to see the video, the guests had to step along a red-carpeted archway, past a red rickshaw (which we all know be-

What an evening! and india house shines Radiantly!!longs to Sunil Thacker of Masala Radio) on a pedestal, get a tilak on their forehead, walk around a rangoli map of India (created by Sangeeta Bhutada) and get their nametags next to a gigantic black enameled Natraj. On the other side of the main lobby, Talwar had cre-ated a museum setting of beautiful artifacts and antique pieces, with explanations of each.

After the reception and presenta-tion, the guests were escorted for drinks that included wine and In-dian beer, to the main hall where round tables were covered in scarlet stain tablecloths and green satin covered chairs for the other presentations, and later dinner.

The serving line was broken into four Rajasthani-print-covered is-lands with tandoors, fryers and tavas for cooking breads and other items. The food was catered by Kiran's Restaurant and Madras Pavillion Sugar Land, with both Kiran and Rajan present to super-vise the North, South, Goan and Bengali dishes that were served. The whole area was encased in a white tent, set up right against the back exit doors of the hall, with wool rugs on the floor.

Inside, the proceeding turned to a panel discussion about Indian businesses in Houston, with Jag-dip Ahluwalia, Executive Director of the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce who, true to his words, is a man of few words but presented a 10-minute video on the Chamber, which highlighted several Indian businesses in the Metroplex.

He was followed by Indian Con-sul General Sanjiv Arora who spoke at great length of the Indian economy, growth rates and elabo-rated on other detailed facts of the business climate in India.

Latha Ramchand, an Associate Dean at the Bauer College of Busi-ness at the University of Houston guided the discussions on the busi-ness climate and opportunities in India.

Other panelists included Ashok Rao, President of TiE Houston and an entrepreneur in the high-tech industry and also an earnest film maker and spoke about both fields.

Rounding it out was Ramesh Gupta, President of Unique Indus-

trial Products speaking of his ex-perience in importing from India and China and the pitfalls to watch out for.

The whole evening was emceed by Sanjay Ram, who is in the cur-rent Leadership Houston class and welcomed the guests for the sec-ond half of the evening.

Richard Huebner, Executive Director of the Houston Minority Business Council spoke about the number of times he had visited In-dia House, "but I have never seen it like this, so elegant," he said. "This outpouring of hospitality is indeed a show of respect for us."

To close off the evening, the guests were treated to entertain-ment in the form of Bhangra dances by a troupe of students, some who had come all the way from Austin. Heads could be seen bopping and some could barely contain themselves in their seats as the evening succumbed to the aromas of from the dining tent and slid into dinner.

Concluding the event was raffle draw of two tickets to India from Continental Airlines, and as the guests left, they received a party favor bag containing a book on Indian furnishings and could pick up some Indian snacks from boxes lined up outside.

An exhausted Talwar smiled in relief, even though the dinner had to be delayed 40 minutes due to the lengthy presentations by the panel. “It all went off pretty smoothly, he said, looking at the amount of ar-

tifacts that he would have to truck back to his warehouse. “But we managed to showcase India House, which is what this was all about!”

From top: The Executive Boards of Leadership Houston and India House pose before the dining tent; Sangeeta Bhutada with the rangoli she made in the lobby; the bhangra dholukwala warmed the crowd before the dancing started.

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 22 , 2010• ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

15 Indo American News • Friday, October 22 , 2010ONLINE EDITION: www.indoamerican-news.comsociety

HOUSTON: In what is believed to be a global first, bells rang at Lak-shmi Narayan Mandir in Houston in tune with the United Nations on September 22nd to mark crucial in-ternational talks on biodiversity. The event was facilitated by Dr. Kusum Vyas of the Living Planet Foundation of Houston.

The Temple reverberated with sounds of an assortment of bells, drums, conches and chanting of sa-cred hymns. Devotees of all ages took part in singing and playing the instru-ments. Dr. Vyas set the tone of the service, speaking on the key theme of “Bells for Biodiversity” which is a reminder that life on Earth is under threat as never before. She pointed out that ancient Hindu sages were well versed in subjects of ecology and biodiversity. which they considered important for the survival of life on earth. Mrs. Sabitree Ramnarayan re-cited specific verses from Ramayana that describe the rich ecology and bio-diversity of “Chitrakut” forest where Lord Ram stayed at the invitation of Sage Valmiki. The service concluded with “Shanti Mantra”.

The Secretariat of the Conven-tion on Biological Diversity (CBD) promoted the ringing of bells all over the world as an urgent ‘memo’ to rouse the world to take action to stop the loss of species. Dr. Vyas also facilitated bell ringing at South Asian Religion and Philosophy class at the University of North Texas.

“Changes in temperatures, global warming and changes in patterns of

rainfall are having a powerful impact on biodiversity,” said Dr. Kusum Vyas, Founder of the Living Planet Foundation. “The ringing of bells will not only remind the world of the need to preserve our environment but it will also inspire the protection of the species that still survive.”

Vishnu Ramnarayan, President of the Lakshmi Narayan Mandir said, “Having the special service for bio-diversity was a historic first for our Temple. We hope to promote the message of environmental protec-tion through our temple and would be taking part in future bell ringing services. We must do all we can to protect the environment and help stop mass species extinction and loss of biodiversity.”

For more information on the Liv-ing Planet Foundation, visit www.livingplanetfoundation.org

“Bells for Biodiversity” Ring at Houston Temple

Head Priest blowing conch & ringing bell at Houston TemplePhoto: Kusum Vyas

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 22 , 2010 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

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After the Razzle DazzleThose who believe that notoriety is better than anonymity, will agree that

the mucky run-up to perhaps the most well-publicised Commonwealth Games in in history served to market this anachronistic tribute to the erstwhile British Empire better than any public relations firm could have. But what was expected to be a damp squib, thanks to CWG Organising Committee chief Suresh Kalmadi and Co.’s shenanigans, is ending with a bang for Indian sports.

And it’s not just our athletes who deserve that march to the podium, but also ordinary Dilliwallahs who, rather surprisingly, stuck to the script — and their lanes — much to their own surprise. From standing up for other coun-tries’ national anthems to bringing down the house every time India’s was played, sports fans showed a sporting solidarity rarely on display beyond the cricketing pitch before. In fact, the biggest loser in the game was the sarkari babu. Right from expecting a 16,000-capacity stadium crowd to stand in hour-long queues for water from a meagre booth or two, to withholding tickets for major events; from making a big deal about stray comments in the foreign press to swatting genuine problems of volunteers and spectators aside, the State’s lack of imagination was directly proportional to the com-mon man’s enthusiasm for joining in the Great Indian Gold Rush.

Scandals and scams aside, sports were in the spotlight like never before, as India cheered for previously unsung heroes who found their mark and shot, wrestled, served and volleyed their way into history and record books alike. So, as the curtain comes down on the razzle dazzle, a befitting tribute to their achievements would be to deal squarely with the ugliness that has been brushed temporarily under the carpet, and deal with all that did — and could have — gone horribly wrong. Hindustan Times

Swing of the PendulumGerman chancellor Angela Merkel’s strong remarks about the utter

failure of multiculturalism in Germany are symptomatic of a wider, uncomfortable trend sweeping across Europe. From the UK to France, from Spain to Italy, positions about immigration and the integration of foreign-born workers into the mainstream are becoming more strident. Contributing factors include the post-9/11 rise of Islamophobia, the surge to power of right-wing parties and a battered European economy. This in turn has cultivated an ‘us-versus-them’ mentality as manifest in several issues such as the French ban on the burqa or the Swiss ban on minarets. For Germany, which has a significant Turkish migrant population, the political articulation of the anti-immigration sentiment was just a matter of time. However, it is shaky ground. As an ageing society, Germany de-pends on skilled migrant workers to fulfil its economic needs. Any policy that imposes German Christian values on immigrants is bound to create flashpoints and hurt the German economy. Multiculturalism is a boon that Europe would do well to preserve.

Having said that, multiculturalism does not mean creating cultural ghettos. The demand of certain British Muslim groups of having separate sharia courts for England’s Muslim citizens or the refusal of some to learn the local language is what strengthens the anti-immigration logic. Some degree of acceptance of the cultural ethos of the host country is inherent in a multicultural set-up. Learning the local language and submitting to the law of the land are the bare minimums expected of immigrants. It would be best to realise that multiculturalism is a far more nuanced, give-and-take concept than earlier thought one that political jingoism won’t help to unravel. Times of India

26/11: What US Knew & Didn’t TellBy Kuldip Nayar

WASHINGTON, Oct. 16: The Mumbai leg of President Barack Obama’s visit next month, already entangled in a web of intrac-table issues, has been further complicated by a revelation here that three years be-fore the November 2008 terrorist attack on Mumbai, US officials knew that co-conspirator David Coleman Headley was undergoing training with the Lashkar-e-Toiba, which plotted the attack.

In September 2005, of-ficers of no less than New York’s joint terrorism task force investigated a tip-off from Headley’s American wife, who showed them audio cassettes and described his emails and phone conversations with those in Pakistan who want to create mayhem in India.

The new details, product of an investigation by ProPublica, an inde-pendent non-governmental organisa-tion which “focuses exclusively on truly important stories with moral force”, suggest that the repeated warnings from the US to India of an attack on Mumbai were prompted by what they knew and did not share with New Delhi at that stage about Headley.

It is unlikely that India would have given a visa to Headley for his re-peated visits to Mumbai to scout Lashkar targets if his photographs had been shared with India to be put on an immigration blacklist.

“The warnings included details such as a threat to the iconic Taj Mahal hotel, which became a target,” the investigation by ProPublica said. It raised the question “whether a differ-ent response to the tip about Headley might have averted the Mumbai at-tacks”.

The American media is already being deluged during the weekend by the revelations, not because any tears are being shed here for Mumbai but because several US citizens were killed in the 2008 terror attacks in the city.

The expose is being viewed by the

Obama administration to be damag-ing enough for their President’s com-ing visit. The US ambassador to India, Timothy Roemer, took the unusual step of issuing a weekend statement that “we are looking into published reports about possible information related to David Headley that goes back before the Mumbai attacks and how such information may have been handled”.

Roemer’s pre-emptive statement to control potential damage before the revelations spread in India said: “When we have determined exactly what transpired, we will be in a posi-tion to speak to the specific claims made in the... media reports.”

The ambassador recalled: “We have also provided Indian authorities with access to Headley in US custody so that the Government of India could put questions directly to him.”

What Roemer did not address at this stage was whether the Indians were ever told about the critical role played by Headley’s wife in tracing her husband’s links with Lashkar or whether any access to her was pro-vided to Indian investigators.

The fear here is that such informa-tion may reveal that the US did not do all that it could have done to prevent the attack on Mumbai.

It has been officially acknowledged here after Headley’s arrest that he was an informant for the US drug

enforcement administration in the 1990s. It is believed that he later became a double agent.

Possibly because of fears that his intelligence connec-tions with the US govern-ment would be exposed, Headley was not detained until almost a year after the attack on Mumbai. He was detained only after it be-came known to British intel-ligence that he was plotting similar attacks with al Qaida in Europe.

The latest Headley saga re-vealed by ProPublica begins on August 25, 2005, when the Lashkar conspirator’s wife demanded a divorce after learning that he had another wife and children

in Pakistan.“They argued... and she filed an

assault complaint alleging that he ‘struck her several times in the face’,” according to new accounts.

“She phoned a tip line of the Joint Terrorism Task Force in New York, an FBI-led, multi-agency unit with hundreds of investigators. Her tip was assigned an FBI lead number under guidelines developed after the September 11 attacks.”

The New York police department confirmed that on August 31, 2005, Headley, still going by his original Pakistani name of Daood Gilani, was arrested on the wife’s complaint for alleged misdemeanour and assault, but was never prosecuted for reasons that can only be speculated on.

“Not long after the arrest, task force investigators met three times with his wife. In addition to a de-tailed account of his activity with Lashkar, she showed them audio cassettes and ideological material and described his emails and calls from Pakistan and to individuals whom she thought to be extremists,” the new revelations said. ProPublica was a recipient of this year’s Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting. It is led by Paul Steiger, the renowned former managing editor of The Wall Street Journal, and its team includes credible top American investigative reporters. Calcutta Telegraph



Grand Navarathri Festival Culminates with a Great Religious Fervor at MTS

By Chittoor ramaChaNdraNPEARLAND: Vijaya dashami on

October 17 marked the culmination of a tradition of Devi worship during the nine nights that preceded. The nine (days of) Navarathri festival at Sri Meenakshi Temple was not only spectacular to the eyes but also was a true demonstration of the mul-titudes of ways Mother Goddess have been described repeatedly in ancient scriptures. Devimahatmyam and Brahmandapuranam are the two inspiring major sources of work that have described the greatness of Shak-thi that prompted great souls like Adi Shankara, Kalidasa, Muthuswamy Dikshithar, Shyama Shasthri etc to elaborate a few aspects of Her majes-ty through their compositions. Lalitha Sahasranamam conveys the conceptual description of Devi in a simplified form for every-day to use for Devi upasana. At Sri Meenakshi Temple, where the way of worship is accord-ing to Agama shashtra, Lalitha sahasranamam is used very frequently in aradhana.

At Sri Meenakshi Temple, navarathri provided an exclu-sive occasion to express our love and respect to the God-dess. I attempted to dissect each aspect of the celebration with a curiosity to reason their origin.

The spectacular display of Golu (kolu) has become an essen-tial feature during navarathri. Sri Meenakshi temple has an impres-sively large collection of the clay dolls of Gods and Goddesses. The practice of the display of golu is common in many households during navarathri. The most logical answer to my enquiry on its origin was from Srimati Pattammal Krishnamoorthy, a senior visitor whom I interviewed. She said “the name Lalitha means the one who plays. All creation, manifes-tation and dissolution are considered to be a play of Devi. She is also de-scribed as Bala Tripura sundari. One can consider these dolls are just the toys for her to play”. Perhaps navara-thri provided a stage for people to be creative in making dolls for display and thereby to please their Goddess worshipped as a young girl.

Sri Meenakshi Temple’s creative displays of dioramas were magnifi-cent. The priests Sri Manicka Bhat-

tar and Sri Thathachari exhibited their talents to make visually appeal-ing displays of many episodes from Saivaite and Vaishnavaite legends. Both for young and adults, these creative exhibits were educational as each day they narrated a story in praise of the goddess we adore.

During each day of navarathri, the most auspicious nava-avarana pooja of Sri Chakra was conducted. Ac-cording to Devi upasakas, nava-av-arana pooja is an elaborate ritualistic worship. Only those individuals initi-ated into the Sri Vidya are allowed to perform this pooja. It is believed that this pooja is beneficial for the pros-perity. According to the shashtras, Lord Shiva’s consort Devi resides at the central point of Sri chakra which

has nine avaranas (layers). We are fortunate that our priests are qualified to conduct such poojas for the benefit of our community.

Lalitha sahasranamam glorifies La-litha as ‘ Ajnana dhwantha Deepika’ meaning that she is the light for end-ing the darkness of ignorance. The elaborate deepa poojas like Suvasini pooja is a symbolic worship to illumi-nate the lives of her devotees. Mother goddess is also described as ‘ Suvas-inyarchana preetha’ , (meaning the Goddess likes the worship by married women for the happiness in their life). There was an unprecedented interest in Suvasini pooja this year for this worship. The meticulous arrange-ment for this was directed by Roopa Bala who deserves credit.

Bhagavathi seva ( conducted on October 15) was distinct from the rest of the tradition as it is not based on Agama shastras. In this tantric style of pooja, Devi is invoked onto

deepam placed on Chakra drawn on the floor. It is believed that this highly sophisticated tantric system for Devi pooja has been in existence during Adi Shankara. Sri vidya upasakas usually use this to invoke and wor-ship Mother goddess. Devotees of Sri Meenakshi Temple are appreciative for including Bhagavathi seva during navarathri.

The premises of the temple be-came vibrant with classical music in the scheduled programs. Nearly 70 performers of different levels of accomplishment participated in the music festival during the nine days. They all did it with devotion as offering to goddess as she is de-scribed to be sangeetha rasika. Nu-merable students of music or those

who were passionate about music made their offerings in front of Sri Meenakshi during the festival. Some of the special renditions includ-ed Kamalamba navavarna krithis, Abhayamba krithis, Soundarya lahari (ragama-lika), Devi krithis, Lalitha sahasranamam in ragama-lika, compositions of Papa-nasham Sivan and Shyama Shastri were all noteworthy.

Many local music teach-ers organized group presen-tations of their students or performed solo as a way to express their devotion.

They all created a great ambiance in the temple premises. The dancing schools of Houston expressed their devotion in a superb show at Kalyana mandapam. For the students as well as for the public, navarathri days at MTS became a celebrative spot for enjoyment.

Following the grand festive nine days and nights of Navarathri, the celebrations were concluded on the morning of October 17 on the Vijaya Dashami day, the auspicious day to invoke Goddess Saraswathi . Many young children accompanied their parents innocently going through the rituals of vidyarambham, the initia-tion of the learning with the blessings of the goddess.

To conclude, the enormous fortune we enjoy from the presence of Sri Meenakshi as a protector for all of us is indescribable. Let us all have the faith that at the time of distress we can count on our mother to save us.

Display of Bommai golu at Sri Meenakshi Temple in Pearland


18 Indo American News • Friday, October 22 , 2010 ONLINE EDITION: www.indoamerican-news.com


19 Indo American News • Friday, October 22 , 2010ONLINE EDITION: www.indoamerican-news.com society

HOUSTON: The Durga Bari Tem-ple on Schiller Road on the far West-side celebrated its 10th Annual Durga Puja over a five-day affair starting Sunday, October 10 and continuing on to the following week, ending on Sunday, October 17. The Puja was billed as something special this year and exceeded all expectations of the organizers, and created a new stan-dard of excellence for the facility. as a record crowd of 8,000 thronged the six-acre site.

The Mahalaya program with live musicians, singers and narrators rec-reated a special extravaganza on Sun-day, October 10, followed by Ananda Mela in which gourmet Bengali food was served. A prelude to the nostalgic Mahalaya was also played on Radio Masti.

The actual Puja started with a bang on Shasthi day (the sixth day of Navaratri) by welcoming Maa Du-rga to Earth. Five priests, led by Dr. Bishnupada Goswami, performed the elaborate Pujas with complete set of rituals and religious chanting and brought out a tremendous somber religious atmosphere.

On each of the following days - Saptami, Ashtami and Navami - Ma-hasnan, Puja, Bhog, Arati and Anjali were performed. On Dashami there was the Aparajita Puja and Bishor-jan. Finally, on Sunday, there was an elaborate immersion ceremony with hundreds of people dancing to the rhythmic beating of dhaak (drums) and cymbals, which were also used at every aarti.

This year’s Puja celebrations had

fantastic lighting by Bright-Star bringing a Las Vegas look to the abode of Durga. There were colorful umbrel-las all over to relax under; a kid’s stage with magic shows and all sorts of games and a kid’s Muktia Mela – a kalei-doscope of kid’s talents.

At a special lounge tent, there was live music, late night parties and a place to hangout throughout the day. Music blaring from the speakers throughout the site recreated the Kolkata “pan-dal” atmosphere. The mouth-watering food were catered by Gourmet India and Ma-dras Pavilion and delicious lunches were prepared by the volunteers. There was even a fabulous shopping mall selling from sarees to jewellery to framed pictures of the Gods.

Cultural and entertainment programs were truly enjoy-able. Swagatalakshmi, the famous Rabindrasangeet singer, regaled the audience on Thursday; Avra-Sumana, the duo like Manna Dey/Sandhya, were just superb on Friday. Saptasura, the live musical and dance extravaganza directed and performed by local artists and directors, really showcased the depth of local talent and the showed the immaculate plan-ning, direction and coordination.

But, the cream of the whole enter-tainment was Answesha, a 17-year

old artist who has won lots of awards in India and sings just like a younger Shreya Ghosal. Answesha’s rocking performance mesmerized the whole crowd with songs from Golden Old-ies to modern pop. The five-day gala ended with a lively fusion/classic rock show by Horizon, a local group of Indian and Western talent, who

Five Days of Celebration at Durga Bari Draws Thousands

brought out memories of college fests and bygone days.

This year’s Puja created a new bar by exemplifing what proper plan-ning, execution and delivery can produce. It mixed high quality and the humility of service with a wide array of amenities and glitz that brought out nostalgic feelings of Puja in India.

This has to be attributed to the dy-namic Puja committee, led by Tapan Das and Subrata Dasgupta, the entire organization, under Partha S. Chat-terjee, Head Priest, Dr. Bishnupada Goswami, and most importantly, the legions of volunteers, donors and sponsors.


20 Indo American News • Friday, October 22 , 2010 ONLINE EDITION: www.indoamerican-news.comsociety

Sewa International Intervenes to Teach the Ropes of American LifeBy Jawahar malhotra

HOUSTON: They took their plac-es on the small stage, these young girls in short, red lungis and check-ered tops and kept pace in a dance with intricate hand movements to the rhythmic beat of the music of their homeland, Bhutan. A little self-conscious, they smiled as they ended in a pose and tried to scurry off, but were held back to introduce them-selves. In nervous, halting, heavily accented English, a little too softly to make out, they started, each with dif-ferent proficiency. “My name is ….” and added the year level and name of their high school,

Shy and demure, they posed for a picture, and fumbled with the flower bouquet the emcee Shradha Bensari gave them. “But wait a minute,” she added, “we have these ..” as the co-emcee Arushi Garg lugged over a stack of thick softbound books, “… SAT practice books for you to study for your soon to come exams!” They tittered, took one apiece and scurried away.

The girls showcased the progress that was being made by Sewa Inter-national in helping the 1,000 Bhuta-nese refugees which the organization has taken under its wing to help resettle and integrate into American society ever since they arrived in the Bayou City two years ago. A little later on, Dinesh Shah introduced a middle-aged woman, clad in salwar kameez, who was learning to drive. “My name is Leela,” she stammered nervously in broken English, “I learn to drive …I have no education….” She smiled and stopped and handed back the mike. “She will be taking her driving exam soon,” Shah proudly continued, “so she can get around in this large city and work and we will help her get a car.”

Throughout the evening, the volun-teer organizers – most of them young and new unfamiliar faces in among the usual desi philanthropic scene and four middle-aged advisors (of which community activist Vijay Pallod was one) – which make up the thrust of SI’s Houston Chapter explained how they were working with the refugees in their homes across five apartment complexes in the southwest area to learn the basics of life on their own. After spending nearly two decades in refugee camps in Bhutan – some who were born there know no other world

– they are struggling with modern America life and presumably would have floundered had SI not stepped in. Over the past 12 months, the refugees have popped up noticeably in several functions around town, in their dis-tinctive Bhutanese attire as they stay bunched up together.

The volunteers also spoke of their own experience in helping to trans-form the refugees – a Pygmalion story in the making – and help the young to resist drifting off into bad habits and drugs in high school, especially as their parents had little communication skills to intervene should they stray. “They couldn’t even understand the message on the phone,” explained Rohit Shankaran, a volunteer, “if the school called in an unexcused absence.”

This modern day My Fair Lady has required countless hours of foster caring from the team of dedicated vol-unteers who stood before the nearly 150 invited guests for a fund-raising benefit this past Friday, October 15 at India House. A 10-minute video showed how the refugees lived in their apartments: participating in group religious ceremonies, learning English from a volunteer, learning to make printed t-shirts (they could make upto 300 within a few days as a small business enterprise), children playing together on the lawn. The apartment owners have allowed them spaces for a temple where they can all congregate. Satisfied that the refugees are well on their way, SI held this first benefit in order to pay for professional help in taking their progress further along.

“I am being straight forward,” said Vasudev Singh, Vice President of SI, as he spoke earnestly at the podium, weighing in on the need to raise $100,000 for the future efforts over a year, of which $50,000 - or $500 per child - will go towards getting after school tutors for the kids.

It was a point that was hammered in to the guests continually by speaker after speaker as they took to the podium, each from their own perspec-tive. Ramesh Bhutada, President of Star Pipes, a company that is located on Westpark and Eldridge and well known for supporting many chari-table causes, spoke of his renewed commitment by pledging $10,000, even as his company provides office space and logistics for SI, “”We are

fortunate to help these refugees who have lived in camps for 18 years,” he said. “You can make a living by what you get, you can make a life by what you give.”

As the names of those who pledged were called out, along with the amounts and checks they donated, and more persuasive testimonials were given, this benefit that was less about pomp and more an old-fash-ioned pledge-drive managed to raise just over $50,000 before a buffet din-ner catered in by Bombay Brasserie was served. Laura Olivera, an intern from the University of St. Thomas – one of several who have worked with SI over the past two summers – spoke of her work teaching ESL. Rohan Rungta, a budding young classical pianist for ten years offered the sales from his CD at $5 each and totaling $800 to the group.

Dr. Raj Bhalla, the witty and cul-tivated spokesman and Director of India House welcomed the guests to the event and acknowledged the record of service – literally Sewa in Hindi – of SI in helping to deliver assistance during floods, earthquakes and other calamities. “We at India House are happy to collaborate with you,” he said, while adding a plug for supporting IH.

The current SI President, Manju Gupta explained that another 5,000 refugees would be entering the US over the next 5 years, and many would be sent to Houston. “They have many commonalities with Indi-ans,” she explained, “and our project is to help settle them here, to empower them.” And surely, this latest com-

munity to arrive from the Indian Sub-continent would add another color to the rainbow of ethnicities that make up the desi diaspora in Texas.

Info on Sewa International at www.sewausa.org or by calling the Presi-dent, Manju Gupta at 713-376-3887

From top down: The lighting of the lamps by the Board and sponsors; volunteers introduce themselves; Dr. Raj Bhalla, IH Treasurer; Ramesh Bhutada, a SI sponsor; Bhutanese girls doing a folk dance; Vasudev Singh, VP of SI; classical dance from an Anjali Arts pupil. Photos: Jawahar Malhotra



Priyadarsini Govind – Bharatanatyam Dancer Par Excellence

HOUSTON: “Suddenly there comes a performance which opens the mind and heart afresh to the full aesthetic potential of solo classical dance. Priyadarshini’s ability to sus-tain a repose and tranquility in the art form in an unhurried tempo, while bringing out the emotional depths, is all too rare among dancers of the day”. So said one of India’s most read and respected newspapers, The Hindu, about the supremely talented dancer, Priyadarsini Govind.

According to Priyadarsini, “dance is such a complete line with visu-als, poetry, drama, music…you use your whole body to communicate all of this”. A graduate in commerce from the University of Madras, Pri-yadarsini holds a diploma in Mass Communication, but Bharatanatyam has been her first love since she was six. Priyadarsini specialized in abhi-naya under ‘Padma Bhushan’ Smt. Kalanidhi Narayanan from the age of nine and received advanced training in Bharatanatyam under Guru Swa-mimalai K. Rajaratnam, exponent of the famous Vazhuvoor School, from the age of ten, imbibing the best from both her teachers. Priyadarsini also underwent training in Carnatic vocal music, Kalaripayattu, the martial art form of Kerala, and Nattuvangam (conducting for classical dance) from the Kalakshetra. Intense and naturally talented, her special interest however, still remains Abhinaya (facial expres-sion), which sets her apart from other dancers of her generation.

Tall and slim, this Chennai based dancer is a delight to watch, the strong lines of her dance brought alive by the unusually mesmerizing quality of her abhinaya. Selected to dance at the prestigious Festival of India in Paris in 1985 at the young age of 20, Priyadarsini had several occasions after that to showcase her talent - the Swarna Samaroh, celebrating 50 years of Indian Independence, orga-nized by the Sangeet Natak Acad-emy, the Khajuraho Dance Festival, performances at the Narada Gana Sabha, receiving the Vasanthalak-shmi-Narsimhachari award from the maestros themselves, as also the Yuva Kala Bharathi from the Bharat Kalachar, Chennai, in 2000. Priya-darsini has been giving recitals from the age of sixteen, and has performed

extensively all over the US, Tunisia, South Africa and even Afghanistan, as a cultural ambassador of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, and on invitation by the French Govern-ment at the Parc de Villette Festival in Paris.

Priyadarsini holds the titles of Ka-laimamani, awarded by the Gov-ernment of Tamil Nadu in 1998, and Nritya Choodamani from the Krishna Gana Sabha, both of which are prestigious awards given for artis-tic excellence. For her the excitement of performing in public is an unend-ing inspiration. “It is like devotion. You want to excel each time you perform, and you do it not for your ego or money, but to thank the dance that has given you endless joy, and honor your teachers, who have put their faith in you.”

The incomparable Priyadarsini Govind will be performing at the Kaplan Theater, Jewish Community Center, 5601 S. Braeswood Blvd, Houston, TX 77096, on Sunday, Oc-tober 24, 2010, 3.30 PM. The show is being presented by SAMSKRITI, which has pioneered the effort of bringing great artists to Houston since 1994. This program has been funded in part by the Houston Arts Alliance. Tickets - $25, $15 & $10 – are available at www.tickets2events.com or at the Anjali Center in Sugar Land.

For more information call 281-265 ARTS, 832-275-9656, 832-275- 9658 or 979-240- 6765.

Houston Rockets Host Launch Week Blood Drive

Tuesday, OcTOber 26The Houston Rockets will host their annual Launch Week Blood Drive benefiting the Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center at Toyota Center on Tuesday, October 26 from 7am-2pm. (Free parking for blood donors in the Tundra Garage, Enter on Bell Street)Everyone who donates or attempts to

donate will receive a commemorative T-shirt and a chance to win tickets to a future Rockets game. Donors will also get to meet and greet with Rockets Power Dancers for autographs and photos throughout the day. Visit Rockets.com for more details or call Jennifer Davenport at 713-758-7329


22 Indo American News • Friday, October 22 , 2010 ONLINE EDITION: www.indoamerican-news.coms o c i e t y

NEW YORK: “When Harry Tries To Marry,” a cross-cultural romantic comedy directed by Nayan Padrai in his filmmaking debut, will make its world premiere as a Marquee Screening at the Austin Film Festival on Friday, October 22 at 9 p.m. The screening will be held at the Rollins Theater in Austin, Texas, and will be followed by a Q&A with the film’s star, Rahul Rai, and Padrai, who also produces and co-wrote the the film. Other members of the cast, producer Sheetal Vyas, co-producer Bhushan Thakkar, co-writer and co-producer Ralph Stein and several members of the filmmaking team will also partici-pate in the Q&A.

“When Harry Tries To Marry” is

the story of Harry -- or Harish, as his Indian parents named him --a modern guy about to graduate from college in New York. In an effort to avoid being disappointed by love like his bitterly divorced parents, he de-cides to have an arranged marriage, despite everyone’s horrified objec-tions. Just as Harry thinks he’s found the perfect Indian bride, though, he begins to wonder if his friendship with a lovely American student isn’t something more. But the wedding plans are underway and even Harry’s parents are getting into the swing of things. Can anyone protect them-selves from a broken heart by leaving the romance out of marriage? And, when all is said and done, does Harry

really want to?Director of

pho tography Nick Taylor, cast members Stefanie Estes, Caitlin Gold, Osvaldo Her-nandez Chavez, Tony Mirrcan-dani, Grant Kret-chik and Kanti Pandya, and musicians from the sound track including Sarah Sharp, Ter’ell Shahid, the June Junes (formerly

Max & Sam), Andrea Perry, Craig Marshall and Rachel Loy, as well as Execu-tive Producers Lisa Madison and Kanti Gala of Britt Worldwide.

“We are thrilled to be making our world premiere at the Austin Film Festival, where Ralph and I met and where our script was given so much encour-agement and was

“ When Harry Tries To Marry” to be Screened at Austin Film Festival

Bhushan Thakkar co-produce. The film was shot by Nick Taylor; Jade Gloria Healy served as production designer; Ciera Wells was costume designer; Sarah Sharp was music su-pervisor and Siddharth Kashyap was the composer and music producer. Rahul Rai and Stefanie Estes star, along with Freishia Bomanbehram. Osvaldo Hernandez Chavez, Cait-lin Gold, Tony Mirrcandani, Zeno-bia Shroff, Kanti Pandya, Micky Makhija, Grant Kretchik, Lauren LoGuidice and Jagdish Patel play supporting roles. The film was shot on location in New York and Kutch, India. Pace University’s downtown NYC campus served as a key setting of the film.

named a quarter-finalist in the screen-play competition,” said Padrai. “We have so many creative connections with the community of film-lovers there, and we are proud to present our movie in this outstanding set-ting.” Tickets and more informa-tion about the festival can be found at http://aff.bside.com/2010/films/whenharrytriestomarry_aff2010. More information about the film is available at www.facebook.com/whenharrytriestomarry

“When Harry Tries To Marry” is directed by Nayan Padrai from an original script by Ralph Stein & Padrai. Padrai, Sheetal Vyas and Ritu Ahuja produce under Padrai’s 108 Production banner. Stein and

Rahul Rai as Harry in When Harry Tries to Marry


23 Indo American News • Friday, October 22 , 2010ONLINE EDITION: www.indoamerican-news.com


24 Indo American News • Friday, October 22 , 2010 ONLINE EDITION: www.indoamerican-news.com

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