b;;rt;iapril-may-june 2009 3 subsidized and or free healthcare at icc the iai and is pleased to...

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A Publication of the India Association of Indianapolis, Inc.

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Vol. 33 No. 1 A Magazine with a Mission - to Inform, Communicate and Enlighten April-May-June 2009

Best Book AwardAt its 2009 annual meeting, which will be held (November 6, 2009 in Montreal) in conjunction with the annual meeting of American Academy of Religion, the Society for Hindu-Christian Studies will present an award to Chad Bauman, Assistant Professor of Religion, naming his “Christian Identity and Dalit Religion in Hindu India” (Eerdmans 2008), the Best Book in Hindu-Christian studies published between 2006-2008. To celebrate his work, the society will also sponsor a panel discussion of the book to which Chad will be invited to respond. The triennial prize is given to a book which analyzes the historical, social, ritual, or theological interaction of Hinduism and Christianity. More on the prize, and on past winners, can be found at http://www.hcstudies.org/book.html. Chad Bauman, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Religion, in the Department of Philosophy and Religion at Butler University

IAI 2009 – Events

April 18th HOLI – Festival of colors

April 24 - Smt. Padma Talwalkar - Classical Vocal

May 30 - Grammy Winner Pandit Vishwamohan Bhatt, Mohan Veena - Classical Guitar

Samarpita Bajpai - Kuchipudi Dance

May 23 - Indy 500 parade

August 15th – India Day

November 14th – DIWALI

November - International Festival

December 31st – NEW YEAR Hungama

2 April-May-June 2009

EDITORIAL BOARDEditor: Ram Ravindran ........................................................................ 291-2816Chairman, IAI Board: Vijaypal Reddy ................................................ 843-8482President, IAI Executive Committee: Sumit Thaker .............................. 374-7472Wilfred Mascarenhas, Advertising Editor .............................................. 578-4312Publisher: Madhu Bhargava ................................................................. 899-1020

Please mail your ads to Bhar Printing Address.Printer: Bhar Printing, Inc. 8745 Rawles Avenue, Indianapolis, IN 46219Fax: 317-898-8196 Email: [email protected] or [email protected]

Editor: Please mail your articles to Ram Ravindran • [email protected] or Mail: 7731 Traders Cove Lane, Indianapolis, IN 46254 Phone: 291-2816

Advertisement: Wilfred Mascarenhas • [email protected] your payment to: 8258 Cloverdale Way, Indianapolis, IN 46256 • 578-4312

Bharati is a quarterly newsletter of the India Association of Indianapolis, Inc., dedicated to communicate, inform and enlighten the Community and be a forum for fostering Indian arts and culture. It reaches all the Indian American

Community of Central Indiana. Bharati invites advertisements, articles and letters to the editor. Articles should be of general interest and not be more than 600 words. Letters to the editor should not exceed 200 words. Letters should be typed double spaced and must include your name. The editor reserves the right to edit any material selected for publication.

The deadline for receiving articles and advertising for the July-August-September issue is July 1, 2009.The advertisement rates are as follows. Please make checks payable to India Association of Indianapolis. One Issue Four Issues Print + E Top Print + E SideFull page $300 $1200 $1350 $1325Half page $150 $ 600 $ 750 $ 725Quarter page $ 80 $ 320 $ 470 $ 445Business Card $ 50 $ 200 $ 350 $ 325Preprinted Full Page Insert - $220 per issue.

IAI is not responsible for ad formatting and misprint. Please provide pre-formatted ad to our publisher and verify ads prior to print by request. Business Card size advertisements will be provided free to Non-Profit Sister Organizations.

North South Foundation (NSF) Regional Contests

NorthSouth Foundation (NSF) regional contests for the Indianapolis region were held on 3/14/09 at IUPUI. India Association of Indianapolis was a sponsor of the contests. The contests were held in the areas of Math, Spelling, Vocabulary and Geography for kids in grades 1-8. The following are the ranks declared for the contests where the number of contestants were above the threshold level. Contestants from all contests who score above national cut-off scores will be invited to participate in National finals to be held in August’09 at University of Maryland,MD.

Math Level 1 - 1st place - Kavita Kulanthaivel 2nd place - Agrayan Gupta 3rd place - Aryan Mishra

Math Level 2 - 1st place - Rohit Nagaraj 2nd place - Amit Chakraborti 3rd place - Aneesh Luthra Junior Spelling Bee - 1st place - Pranav Haran 2nd place - Rahil Thanawala

NSF wants to thank the following community members for helping as judges and pronouncers for the contests - Dr.Mangilal Agarwal, Vijay Akella, Prof Meghna Babbar-Sebens, Dr.Chinni Chintalacharuvu, Anu Ganith, Kanchana Ishwar, Prof.Sivakumar S Krishanan, Sudhakar Mamidipalli, Krishna Mishra, Sameer Mishra, Prof.Rajeev Raje, Dr.VijayPal Reddy, Vikas Vavilala and Prof Gautam Vemuri..

Raju Chinthala of IAI has recognized Scripps National Spelling Bee champion and NSF kid Sameer Mishra during Awards ceremony.

India Association of Indianapolis invites you to walk in the March for Babies walk (March of Dimes walk), on Sunday April 26th. The walk will start at the IUPUI track and field stadium in downtown Indianapolis, located at 901 W. New York Street. Registration begins at 9:00 a.m. and the 5-K walk begins at 10:00 a.m.

IAI has made it a long standing tradition to support this cause, and we call on all members to make an effort, not only to participate in the walk, but more importantly to raise money for the cause.

To register, please visit www.marchforbabies.org<http://www.marchforbabies.org/> and register under the team INDIA ASSOCIATION - Indianapolis. Fund raising can be done conveniently on-line.Registration forms will also be available at the Holi event.

For questions, please contact Kanchana Ishwar at [email protected] or at 317-848-8943, or Sheila Aiyar at [email protected] or 317-573-9642

April-May-June 2009 3

Subsidized and or Free Healthcare at ICCThe IAI and is pleased to support the activities of Dr. Vipin Kalia by letting him use ICC to house the clinic and offering the services of many volunteers that he needs.

Here is what he plans to do in his own words.............

As many of you have already noticed in the community, the immigrant population is having difficulty in accessing basic healthcare. I have over the years received hundreds of calls from fellow Indians, immigrants and other fellow Hoosiers in the community. I believe, that I have skills to make a dent in this large problem so I am going to go ahead and do that. The way I am intending to make a dent is, in the beginning, we are going to open an almost free clinic. (highly subsidized by volunteers and IAI) For those people who cannot afford any healthcare whatsoever, we would provide with free healthcare. However those people who can afford some money would be expected to pay a minimal charge of $15. $15 is not intended to make any money and would not cover much cost. However those people who require more complicated care we

would be encouraged to seek at COUNTY’S Subsidized hopitals/clincs etc,. if they qualify there. We would charge our subsidized fee of $15.oo up front. However patients can earn the entire bill back by helping us organize a free comprehensive healthcare clinic, first for the Indian immigrants, then for everyone partially insured and under insured in central Indiana then hopefully for the entire country and then eventually for the entire world. All these philosophical underpinnings that drive me to achieve these kinds of goals would be available for everyone to see on the internet at www.UnitedWebOfLife.org I look forward to serving the uninsured and under insured in the community, and I look forward to working with everyone in planning for free healthcare for the community. If you have any questions please feel free to give me a call at (317) 414- 4439 or you can e-mail me [email protected]

Thanks to all those super volunteers who have been helping me along so far. God Bless those super volunteers for their efforts.

Vipin Kalia,M.D.Asst. Professor of Clinical Medicine@ I.U.Med CenterFirm Chief, VA Med Center

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IAI THANKS FOR BEING A GRAND PATRON, PATRON AND MEMBER FOR SUPPORTING.• Grand Patrons receive all membership benefits plus 4 free tickets for Diwali event• Patrons receive all membership benefits plus 2 free tickets for our Diwali event

Grand Patrons:Aiyar Karthik & SheilaBadve Sunil & Romil SaxenaChaudhary Ajai & ArchanaChintala Raju & PrasannaGohil Pratap & NirmalaIshwar V.R & KanchanaMascarenhas Wilfred & SnehlataMurali Magaral & NirmalaPattar Ravindra & VedaRavindran Ram & KanchanaReddy Vijayapal & ShobhaShah Shreyas & AartiShah Dilip & PinkeyThanawala Amit & Rupal

Patrons:Amin Vipin & TaraBabu Ambat & GeethaBhargava Ram & MadhuBhargava Akshay and NidhiNanda Haripada and SandhyaNevrekar Niteen & GeetaPatel Kiran& ShobnaPatel Raj & Shobna

Patel Himat and MamataRau MangaRau Raj & JabiliSanghvi Naren & PallaviShah Nalin & MonaShah Rajendra & ManjariThaker Sumit & Archana

Family members: Gupta SanjayMathur Praveen & MehernaazPatel Pravin & ArunaMelkote Ramaswamy & SuneelaKhan Mohemmad & SabinaSubramaniam Mani & InduKasarabada Prabhakar & SarabaBansal Navin & AnuSutaria Manoj & HinaOberoi Balaji & ChirjeevRejimon Rani & VargheseKalia Vipin & SangeetaGupta Rajat & ChristineKemmerer Alisa & MatthewPrasad Vasundhara & Srinivasa

Tumuluri Rohini & VidyasagarDaga Alka & AtulNanda DaveShaikh Zee & TehseenMathur Pratima & PraveenGershom FrancizPatel Chetna & ShaileshHadley ParvathyLuthra Leena & SunilShah Veena & HarshadShah Vandana & YogeshShridhara Swati & RamannaRamesh Praveen & JoshiSood Seema & SanjeevTrivedi Hema & Malay

Kay Kay Live in Concert

Accompanied by Singers, Dancers and Musicians

Award Winner and Voice of Marjaani...Billu Barber, Ajab Si…Om Shanti Om,

Zara Sa…Jannat, Khuda Jaane…Bachna Ae Haseeno,

Tu Hi Meri Shab … Gangster

6100 Mason-Montgomery Rd. Mason, Ohio 45040

Ticket Prices: $35, $55, $75 Sponsors : $250 (2 tickets)

Information and Ticket Contacts:

Hemant Garg 937-219-6826 Kailash Mehta 937-620-2603

Rakesh Gupta 937-438-0878 Alok Khare 937-271-9119

Kirit Patel 765-977-2500 Online

For more details visit www.ygmf.org

“In aid of the Playground at the Washington Township Recreation Center”



































































Manoj Rana helps others face traumaBy Judy Kenninger (Thanks to IBJ)

When patients come into the rehabilitation services department at Wishard Health Services, they’re often greeted by Manoj Rana. He directs them to the correct line to minimize their wait time. What those patients may not realize is Rana’s behind-the-scenes role in moving them through the system quickly. Rana collected information on patient wait times, entered it into a database and figured out ways to speed up the process. “He cut the average waiting time from 30 to 45 minutes to five or six minutes,” says Penny Handshaw, director of rehabilitation services for Wishard. “He really sped up the flow of patients.” One reason for Rana’s dedication to improving the situation is that he’s been there himself. It’s that dedication to improving lives and giving hope to others that made him the winner of the Health Care Heroes Volunteer category. “Manoj has an amazing story even if he didn’t volunteer,” Handshaw says. “But he’s not only survived, he’s giving back to others.” In 2005, Rana, was burned over 95 percent of his body in a fire that claimed the lives of three other people. He spent the next five months comatose in a Chicago Hospital before being moved to Wishard Memorial Hospital. After he arrived in Indianapolis, Rana underwent multiple surgeries and countless hours of excruciating surgery so that he could regain enough function to care for himself. Many people would have felt that the therapy and

surgeries were enough effort. But Rana didn’t give up his original goals. He completed his computer science degree in 2006 and went on to score a perfect 700 on the Graduate Management Admission Test.

Still, he takes the time to help others. Rana volunteers three to five days a week at Wishard, greeting patients. Rana shares how he copes with his disabilities today and sympathizes with problems they may be experiencing, such as itching and nerve damage. “The best thing you can do for a burn patient is to have another burn patient talk to them,” he says. “That’s the person who can really empathize with what they are going through.” “I try to give them hope and put it in perspective. I have been able to do it; I am able to live an independent life.” Rana’s ingenuity in creating devices to help him adapt to disabilities has led to his being a guest speaker at nursing and therapy schools, addressing them from the patient’s perspective. “He’s made our therapists more effective,” Handshaw says. In addition, Rana’s story has served as a source of inspiration for burn victims across the country. The People’s Burn Foundation has featured his story on its Web site, and he is active in support groups for burn survivors. But the biggest thing Rana provides, Handshaw says, is his positive attitude. “Here’s a guy who has every right to be angry about what’s happened to him—he can’t even go back to India to live because his sweat glands are damaged—and yet he wants to give back,” she says. “That’s truly a hero.”

India Association of Indianapolis - Fine Arts Committee In collaboration with Maharashtra Sneha Mandal of Indiana (MSMI)

Presents

Pandita Padma Talwalkar : Hindustani Vocal Recital Accompanied by Ms Rasika Vartak (vocal),

Shri Utpal Dutta (tabla) and Shri Suyog Kundalkar (harmonium)

Friday, April 24, 2009, 7 P.M. Baithak (limited, mostly Indian style seating, some chairs) at the

Home of Chetan and Leena Shukla, 7312 Palais Circle, Indianapolis, IN 46278 Contribution: General - $15, Students - $10, Free to ICMCI Members

Smt. Padma Talwalkar is a highly imaginative khayal singer with a sweet, fluid

voice. Her style draws from Kirana, Gwalior and Jaipur-Atrauli gharanas. Check out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=IN&hl=en-GB&v=b9z9Ms2LhqA

Contacts

Arvind Thakkar 317-872-0740 [email protected]


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India Association of Indianapolis - Fine Arts Committee Presents

Samarpita Bajpai Vishwa Mohan Bhatt Kuchipudi Dance Mohan Veena - Classical Guitar

Saturday, May 30, 2009, 7:00 P.M.

Cristal DeHaan Auditorium, Univ. of Indianapolis 1400 East Hanna Avenue, Indianapolis, Indiana 46227

Contribution: $15, Students - $10, Free for ICMCI Members Samarpita Bajpai, trained at the renowned Darpana Academy in Ahmedabad, will present rare traditional dances like the Mayura Kauthvam (peacock painting dance). Grammy winner, creator of the Mohan Veena (Indian slide guitar), Padmashree Pt. Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, has enthralled music lovers worldwide with his soulful and passionate renditions.

Contacts Arvind Thakkar 317-872-0740 ([email protected]) M. S. Anand 317-509-7047 Anu Bansal 317-733-9720 Chad Bauman 317-332-8304 Chetan Shukla 317-876-5195 Milind Thakar 317-783-6919 ([email protected])

The Gradual Process of Assimilation into the American Community

Ram S. Ravindran

I have been in the US for more than 40 years now. Unlike others who came here later as immigrants, I came here with the idea of doing higher studies and going back to India. Two of my brothers who did do their higher studies in Europe did go back to India., One thing led to another, and I have made US as my home. My wife joined me a few years later.

Acculturation is the process of an immigrant minority individual submerging their (his/her) culture, behavior into that of the dominant community that they have voluntarily moved into. The magnitude of change an immigrant woman has to make is much greater than an immigrant man has to make. It is interesting to observe how the newcomers make the predictable changes. South Indian women are brought up to value long hair, wearing sari and choli, wearing flowers on the hair, and tilak on the forehead. It is very important for a married woman to wear “mangal sutra” around her neck. Married woman should not be seen without a tilak on her forehead.

By virtue of the hair color, skin color and other features Asians do stick out in America. But to avoid sticking out more we undergo a lot of transformation. Wearing tilak,, flowers on the hair, and sari all go out fairly quickly. Only older women who visit their relatives here, wear saris when they go out. Thanks to the pantsuit, Indian women take to wearing it rather quickly. In reality, it is just a stiffer form of Shalwar Kameez suit. Within a year of their being in this country, the cherished long hair gets cut. Some color their hair brownish brunette.

Saris are worn only when they socialize among Indians and When they attend formal occasions like weddings and when they occasionally visit the temple. Regular temple going is cut back to whenever time permits. Eating Indian food is observed only during evening meals and on occasions... Speaking the Indian language they were used to becomes occasional. They say it is difficult to acquire American accent unless you are here from age 10 onwards and go to school here. As years go, by most Indians modify their accent so that they are easily understood by the Americans. The majority don’t bother to practice writing in Indian languages. Reading of Indian language books, magazines and papers (though they are available on the Net) slowly goes by the wayside. Wearing of Indian formal wear during formal occasions continues People continue to watch Indian language movies and listen to Indian language pop music. Indian language classical dances and music are enjoyed by select minority of people. The vast majority of the Indians continue to socialize among themselves. Very few take part in volunteer organizations of the larger American community. “No touch” namaste greeting has given way to handshakes and a bit of hugging. Though they prefer that their children marry someone of their own Indian language groups, they are not vehemently opposed to if they marry other second generation Indians or White Americans. Observation of regional and Indian holidays, among us continues but with less fervor.

Now our children are married. They have become parents. I hope they write their perspective on their letting go of what little they may have of their Indianness and their full assimilation into the American way of life. How I wish I could publish an article by them (grown-up second generation Indian-Americans) in Bharati!



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8 April-May-June 2009BHARATI B;;rt;IIndia Association of Indianapolis, P.O. Box 19191, Indianapolis, IN 46219-0191

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PAIDINDIANAPOLIS INPERMIT NO. 8042

IAI Offi ce BearersBOARD OF TRUSTEESChairperson Vijayapal Reddy 317-843-8482 2006-2009Vice-Chairman Sheila Aiyar 317-573-9642 2007-2010Secretary Raju Chinthala 317-339-7461 2008-2011Treasurer Wilfred Mascarenhas 317-578-4312 2008-2011Jt. Treasurer Atul Bhargava 317-848-1286 2008-2011Member Manga Rau 317-843-9330 2009-2012Member Geetha Babu 317-418-9935 2009-2012Member Vijay Gombar 317-569-1128 2007-2010Member Manoj Sutaria 317-240-2722 2007-2010Member Nitin Nevrekar 317-842-8475 2007-2010Member Kanchana Ishwar 317-848-8943 2005-2009Member Rupal Thanawala 317-536-5130 2009 - 2012 Member Rajendra Shah 317-297-7541 2009 - 2012 2009 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEEPresident Sumit Thaker 317-374-7472Vice President Amita Ahuja 317-345-3037Secretary Reeta Bhargava 317-848-1286Treasurer Sandeep Pamireddy 217-891-1291Joint Treasurer Regi Varghese 317-508-9460Youth Group Advisor Vivek Prasad 352-698-3914Joint Secretary Rajesh Patel 317-297-4787Joint Secretary Zankar Desai 317-436-1075Joint Secretary Manisha Desai 317-815-9450Joint Secretary Rita Devnani 317-573-9662Joint Secretary Raj Gulati 317-579-1542 Joint Secretary Kavya Sadhu 916-397-8437Joint Secretary Munvier Singh 317-513-6044 COMMUNICATIONS & PUBLIC RELATIONS COMMITTEECPRC Coordinator, Editor e-Bharati Vijay Gombar 317-569-1128Editor Bharati Ram Ravindran 317-291-2816Webmaster Raju Chinthala 317-339-7461Web Developer Uday Murthy 317-585-1093Web Developer Ramu Chinthala 317-414-8863Web Developer Sandeep Pamireddy 217-891-1291 FINE ARTS COMMITTEEDirector Arvind Thakkar 317-872-0740Treasurer Anu Bansal 317-769-5657Secretary Chad Bauman 317-769-5426Joint Secretary Chetan Shukla 317-876-5197Joint Secretary M.S Anand 317-566-9555Joint Secretary Milind Thakar STRATEGIC PLANNING COMMITTEEChairman Dilip Shah 317-876-7068Member V.R Ishwar 317-848-8943Member Nalin Shah 317-882-0543Member Raj Patel 317-577-9777Member Vimal Patel 317-875-5263Chairperson, Board of Trustees Vijayapal Reddy 317-843-8482WEBMASTERRaju Chinthala [email protected] 317-339-7461

Indy 500 Parade Volunteers Needed

India Association of Indianapolis is collaborating with the Nationalities Council of Indianapolis to participate (being part of the walking contingent) in the 2009 Indy 500 Festival parade. We are looking for volunteers who would like to participate in the event.

Details are provided below:

When: Saturday, May 23, 2009, begins at noon

Where: Two miles through downtown Indy

Media: Parade is televised nationally and locally on

ESPN2 and WISH TV-8.

Attendance: 300,000+ spectators line the parade route

Please contact the following individuals by April 12th if you are interested in participating or would like more information. We are particularly interested in our youth group community members to join and share their talent:

Raju Chintala, 664-0502Sneha Mascarenhas, 578-4312Sheila Aiyar, 573-9642Manga Rau, 843-9330Kanchana Ishwar, 679-5508

b;;rt;iapril-may-june 2009 3 subsidized and or free healthcare at icc the iai and is pleased to...

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