july 22 pages 1-26

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LONDON (TOI): Across the quaintly beautiful Lord’s ground, overlooking the lush Nursery turf, the legend is

inscribed in cold black and white: “This is a spe-

cial ground for me. All batters dream of

scoring a hundred here and I am no different.”

You don’t even have to look at the vis-age next to the words to see the irony behind them.

It is Sachin Tendulkar’s face, a close shot: he has just essayed a glide and

his eyes are blazing; there is a hint of a twinkle too, raising visions of

another cheeky stroke. He is, of course, not just differ-

ent; Tendulkar is special, indeed THE special one.

Just like the rest of his story, the upcoming chapter too has a poignancy, an unsolved mystery: why hasn’t he scored a century here? Why has he not crossed 37 and why is his average only about 22? There may be many reasons; but you can’t help conclude that

that’s the way it was ordained: in his life, everything must have a fairytale

ending.

Related Story on Page 33

Thousands Celebrate

Rath Yatra

High-profile India vs. High-profile India vs. england ngland england e test test t series series sbegins with Focus onbegins with Focus on Tendulkar

P8P8P8P8

Where Are They Now?Dr. K.L. Sindwani and Mrs. Mohini Sindwani enjoying retirement,

but looking back on old times.

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Indo AmerIcAn news • FrIdAy, JULy 22 , 2011 • onLIne edItIon: www.IndoAmerIcAn-news.com

2 Indo American News • Friday, July 22, 2011 Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

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3 33Indo American News • Friday, July 22, 2011 Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

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By Ky Ky alyani Kalyani K GiriHOUSTON: Interfaith leaders,

representatives from the many local Indo American socio/cul-tural/political organizations, and community members gathered at India House on July 14, 2011 in prayer and to pledge support for those whose lives were sense-lessly impacted by the three co-ordinated bombing attacks in Mumbai, India, on July 13. Dur-ing the busy rush hour Wednes-day evening, the explosions that rocked Opera House and the Dadar and Zaveri Bazaar areas killed twenty-one and injured about 150 civilians. The meet-ing, spearheaded at short notice by the Hindus of Greater Hous-ton (HGH), and jointly coordi-nated with India House (IH) and the India Culture Center (ICC), was a solemn gathering as many still struggled to comprehend the tragic loss of innocent lives and the devastation to India’s financial capital. The incident harkened back to a previous at-tack that was orchestrated upon the city on November 26, 2008, when gun and grenade toting ter-rorists plunged into Mumbai and targeted hotels, hospitals, a bus terminus, and tourist spots kill-ing 164 people and wounding several hundreds; the Pakistani militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba took responsibility for the 2008 attack.

A pledge of solidarity with the government of India and the citi-zens of Mumbai, written by the organizers on behalf of the Indo American community, was read at the event. Present was the Consul General of India, Sanjiv Arora, who in turn assured the gathering that the Indian govern-ment was working around the clock to apprehend and bring the perpetrators to justice. Past Pres-ident of ICC Swapan Dhairyavan served as Master of Ceremonies

on the occasion that began with bhajans rendered by local sing-ers Himani Patel and Surender Talwar. Current president of ICC Col. Raj Bhalla condemned the attack.

“We are outraged and strongly condemn this blatant act of ter-rorism,” said Col. Bhalla. “We commit full solidarity with the citizens of Mumbai who have faced such atrocities in the past and have come out stronger and triumphant. We salute their resil-ience,” he added. He read a joint statement from Senators Mark. R. Warner and John Cornyn, co-chairs of the 38-member U.S. Senate India Caucus. The mis-sive denounced the act of terror-ism and highlighted “the grow-ing importance of United States cooperation with India on securi-ty issues, particularly counterter-rorism and homeland security”.

Beginning with Hindu priest Bhamar Trivedi, representatives from diverse faith-based orga-nizations delivered messages of solidarity to the people of Mum-bai.

Imam Mohammed Nasrulla, a religious leader from the Da-woodi Bohra community, told

community comes together in Prayer, together in Prayer, t empathy for Victims and survivors of survivors of s mumbai Bombingsmumbai Bombingsm

Hindus of Greater Houston India Culture Center and India House Hosts Interfaith Meeting

From Left - Girish Naik (Hindus of Greater Houston), Jugal Malani (India House), Col. Raj Bhalla (India Culture Center), and Vijay Pal-lod (Media Liaison). Photos: Vijay Pallod

gatherees that god-fearing people of all world faiths do not condone killing.

“We are saddened by the de-spicable and cowardly act,” said Nasrulla. “We are taught to cher-ish life which god made sacred. No city should suffer what Mum-bai has suffered not once, but twice,” in reference to the No-vember 2008 rampage. “Let us pray for justice, hope and heal-ing, and for peace all over the world,” added Nasrulla.

Representing the Jewish com-munity, Rabbi Avraham Yoghbi-

an delivered a prayer in Hebrew for the dead and the injured.

“As a people who have gone through untold atrocities for cen-turies, we can empathize with what you are going through,” said Rabbi Yoghbian.

“Mumbai is a city that never sleeps,” said Reverend Roy Ver-ghese of the St. Thomas CSI Church Greater Houston. “It is a city with a heart. What happened yesterday was an attempt to still that heartbeat and my communi-ty condemns those that snatched innocent lives. Our prayers are

for those trying to piece together their lives in the aftermath of this destruction.”

With a rousingly beautiful voice, Bhai Bhupinder Singh Pa-ras of the Sikh Gurudwara, ren-dered songs of healing and told attendees that his community reviled the perpetrators of the crimes in Mumbai.

Speaking on behalf of HGH, Girish Naik, president of the or-ganization, grew up in Mumbai. Reminiscing about that vibrant city, he said that terror “has no place in this world”.

“We need to seek wisdom from the Bhagavad Gita; we have to be the Arjunas’ and fight in this war against terrorism,” said Naik.

Other speakers included Jugal Malani (President of ICC), Dr. Subodh Bhuchar (representa-tive of the Indo American Cham-ber of Commerce), Chad Patel (Global Organization of People of Indian Origin), Bobby Singh (past president Indo American Charity Foundation), Manisha Mehta (Indo American Political Action Committee), and Mosum Shah (Hindu Students Associa-tion). All reiterated sentiments of sorrow for the people of Mumbai and condemned the violence that once again attempted to bring the city to its knees.

“As per reliable sources, Hous-ton was arguably the only city in the USA which held a prayer meeting the day immediately fol-lowing the tragic event in Mum-bai,” said community activist Vijay Pallod. “The local Indian-American community is united and comes together in difficult times at short notice. We were able to complete the program within 70 minutes even though we had several speakers,” Pallod added.

So far, no individuals or orga-nization has claimed responsibil-ity for the deadly bombings.

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Indo AmerIcAn news • FrIdAy, JUly 22 , 2011 • onlIne edItIon: www.IndoAmerIcAn-news.com


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5 55Indo American News • Friday, July 22, 2011 Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

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even with even with e tender tender t care, the Heart Aches for the old old o daysWhere are they now?

By Jy Jy awahar Mawahar Mawahar alhotraWICHITA FALLS, TX: Highway 287

from Decatur northwest up to Wichita Falls was a white ribbon in the blazing sunshine of a Saturday morning with the tempera-ture already hovering close to 90 degrees. Traffic was light on this stretch of road and usually is, as little towns zip by at 70 miles per hour: Sunset, McDonald, Bowie, Bel-levue, Hennetta and then at the junction to I-44 that goes northward to Oklahoma City, Wichita Falls lazily opens up, all 100,000 people strong.

It’s a long way from Dallas-Fort Worth, just over 2 hours and even longer; nearly 7 hours, north from Houston, but the tempera-ment and built environment could be vastly different. “This little town wouldn’t even be here now if it wasn’t for Sheppard Air Force

Base just north of us. Most of them stay here after they retire,” explained Arun Kumar as he maneuvered his car through the mostly empty streets of Wichita Falls on the way to the Texas Roadhouse which serves some of the best barbeque in this part of Texas.

“Wichita Falls is the biggest town here. People come here from the other little towns around, especially on Friday nights,” said Kumar as he pointed out the large football stadium of the high school near his home in a new subdivision. “Football’s big in rural Texas, ‘cause there’s not much else to do,” he added in his Texan drawl, as we squint-ed out through the bright sunlight in what was soon becoming a scorching 100-degree day.

Kumar has lived and worked in Wichita Falls and all across the North Texas and

Highway 287 rolls out like a white ribbon in the afternoon sunshine on its way from Decatur to Wichita Falls in north Texas. Photos: Jawahar Malhotra

Dr. Sindwani with Arun Kumar (right) and Jawahar Malhotra in the living room of his son’s home in Wichita Falls. Dr. Mohini Sindwani was in bed taking a nap at the time of the picture.

lower Oklahoma region since 1977 and feels like a Texan. He enjoys his adopted home and raised his son Anthony here. It was here that his parents, Dr. K. L. Sind-wani and his wife Mohini, visited on their visits north and it is with him, in a new comfortable house that they live after they retired and left Houston last March.

The Sindwanis were well-known features in the desi landscape in the Bayou City, having helped to shape it through their ea-ger and devoted efforts. They helped found the India Culture Center and the house it owned on Cypress Street in the southwest side; started the Vivekananda Vedanta So-ciety in a house they once owned across the street from the ICC and were busy with other community activities and projects.

But most of all, what Dr. K. L. Sindwani was best known for was Indo-American News, the tabloid he founded in 1982 and then quickly brought in three other part-

ners (Koshy Thomas, Pramod Kulkarni and Jawahar Malhotra) when he realized he couldn’t develop it alone. Based on a handshake between them, the newspaper grew and flourished and was Dr. Sindwani’s biggest obsession. Mohiniji, as most peo-ple call her, worked there for 25 years, in charge of the circulation and mailing. And Dr. Sindwani was well-known for his hearty greeting on the phone and demands for past payments!

So, when it became obvious that they needed more care, the Sindwanis moved to be with their son. As he sat on the sofa holding the week’s Indo American News, Dr. Sindwani was proud and a little sad for the old days. He still remembered the adver-tisers and asked if some of them had paid and what their rates were. He asked why some news story had better coverage than the other and then wondered how some of

continued on page 9

Indo AmerIcAn news • FrIdAy, JUly 22 , 2011 • Ay, JUly 22 , 2011 • A onlonlo Ine Ine I edItItI ItIt on: www.IndoAmerIcAn-news.com


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Indo AmerIcAn news • FrIdAy, JUly 22, 2011 • onlIne edItIon: www.IndoAmerIcAn-news.com

7 7Indo American News • Friday, July 22, 2011 Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.comI a m n e w s

dr. Kalam to Visit Houston in AugustBy yolanda roBertson Benoit

HOUSTON: India House is pleased to sponsor a public talk by Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, India’s Former President at India House located at 8888 West Bellfort, Hous-ton, Texas 77031 on Sunday, August 21. Dr. Kalam became the 11th President of India on July 25, 2002. His focus is on transform-ing India into a developed nation by 2020.

India House is honored to host this event along with the University of Houston and Rice University

Dr. Kalam took up academic pursuits as Professor, Technology and Societal Trans-formation at Anna University, Chennai where he was involved in teaching and re-search tasks. Above all he took up a mission to ignite the young minds for national de-velopment by meeting high school students across the country.

This event starts sharply at 6pm and the program is scheduled to conclude by 7:30 pm. Due to limited space, the capacity of the event is restricted to 500 people only. At-tendees are requested to wear professional business attire. To comply with Dr. Ka-lam’s security arrangements, those wishing to attend must register in advance at www.

indiahouseinc.org. Only those who have pre-registered on the website will have the opportunity to attend. Once the maximum number is reached, the website will stop ac-cepting registrations.

Registration will not be available at India House on the day of the event. Pre-registered guests are asked to arrive at 6 pm as every-one must go through security and be seated inside the hall by 6:30 pm. The program will start at 6:30 pm precisely.

Dr. Kalam is currently the chancellor of Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology and an adjunct/visiting facul-ty at many other academic and research institutions across India.

Vedic marriage at IsKcon By nand Kapoor

ian ChiCaGo CorrespondentCHICAGO: Amidst chanting of Vedic

mantras, billowing incense, sacred fire, and in the presence of Sri Sri Kisora-Kisori, the presiding deities of ISKCON’s Hare Krish-na Temple in Chicago, Patraka das (Patrick Roth) and Yasodamayi dasi (Yashoda Ra-man) tied their nuptial knot on July 10.

The Hare Krishna Temple has been serv-ing members of the Rogers Park and neigh-boring communities, including the Indian community for over 36 years. The Hare Krishna Temple was the first temple in Chi-cago in 1974.

His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhu-pada (commonly known as Srila P r a b h u p a d a ) founded ISK-CON in 1965 in New York. The movement’s roots go back at least 5000 years into Vedic In-dia centered in Va i s h n a v i s m . The Hare Krishna mantra was made popular by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu dur-ing the 16th century spiritual renaissance in India. Today, ISKCON has over 400

temples, centers, and restaurants all over the world. One of the most striking features of the Hare Krishna community is their open-ness to people of all demographics, regard-less of caste or race.

Patraka das and Yasodamayi dasi are full-time devotees and residents of the Hare Krishna Temple. Patraka das is working on his college degree in Biology from DePaul University in Chicago. Yasodamayi dasi is a graduate in Pharmacy from Guyana. The ceremony was performed in Vedic style by Nityananda Pran das, ISKCON Chicago’s President in the presence of 150 people com-

prising of the couple’s family and friends. A 12-course lunch, courtesy of the temple, was also served to all the guests!.

ISKCON Chicago is celebrating its an-nual “Chariot Festival of India” (popularly known as “Ratha Yatra”) on July 24. This year’s festival is unique because the parade will be in the heart of Rogers Park and the festival will be at the local beach-park. Pa-rade begins at 11:30am from 1610 W How-ard Street and goes through Sheridan Av-enue into Loyola Park. The festivities will continue at Loyola Park until 6pm. A free lunch will be served to everyone. One can expect a wide range of experiences at the festival including meditation, music, a gift store, children’s activity tent, Indian classi-cal dance, and more. This is a public event and is open to all.

For more information, visit www.chariot-festival.org or www.iskconchicago.com or call 773-973–0900.



Announcement

IamC o m m u n I t y n e w s

thousands thousands t celebrate the celebrate the crath rath r yatra at India Houseyatra at India HouseyBy Cy Cy hetana saMal

HOUSTON: As the morning mist soft-ened the bright sun rays, thousands of peo-ple gathered at India House on Saturday, July 16, 2011 to celebrate Lord Jagannath’s Annual Chariot Festival, popularly known as Rath Yatra.

Houston Rath Yatra was organized by Orissa Culture Center(OCC) partnered with ISKCON and joined by Sita Ram Founda-tion and other similar minded organizations of greater Houston. “The event’s success was largely due to the countless hours of planning and hard work by all the volun-teers who worked tirelessly with a mission of universal brotherhood and love for Lord Jagannath”, Dr. Aditya Samal, President of OCC said.

The Lords were dressed up with Oris-san finery, fresh flowers and tons of Tulsi while their mandap was decorated with striking Pipli- appliqué lampshades and wall hangings(knows as Chandua) with a golden backdrop. The columns of majestic India House were wrapped with hand wo-ven Bomkai and Pasapalli saris. The pots of auspicious banana plants and tulsi reflected the simple Orissan culture which is inter-twined with Jagannath culture.

Pahandi Bije (the procession of Lords getting out of Sanctum Sanctorum to pro-ceed to Chariot) was a sight to behold. The women carried Devi Subhadra, while Lord Balabhadra followed Sudarshan and Lord Jagannath was the last one to arrive at the Chariot.

Swapan Dhairyawan of ICC who was the ceremonial king for the occasion was very happy to be of Lord’s ‘Seva’. When asked about his experience he replied, “The day I was requested to do the role of Chheraa Pa-hanra I knew it was something really special and this ‘seva’ I absolutely could not refuse. On the day of the event it turned out to be incredibly special (though ceremonial) and moreover it has created an impression on my

four year daughter which would cherish for a long time to come. This is what culture is; it imbibes and embodies for generations to come from small & miniscule things which we do in our everyday life. This is what Hindu dharma, which is a way of life exem-plifies too.” It was a beautiful experience for most of the people who participated in Char-iot pulling. The 22 feet high chariot rolled on to the street of Bellfort and steered back by devotees to the courtyard of India House amidst kirtan, dancing, conch and bells. For the first time in Houston Rath Yatra history, the organizers had decided to do the cultural program outdoors which worked out great! The vastness of India House with Lords on the Chariot witnessing, provided a kind of openness that families loved to enjoy. With kids enjoying moon walk, balloon artist or

King and Queen sweeping the path of Chariot

continued on page 9


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clown and parents relishing plates of chat-pata food, the Rath Yatra certainly provided the kind of opportunity that families would love to look forward to every year!

People were for real treat when Guru Nityananda Das arrived on stage. The au-dience was totally under his spell, so much so, one could hear a pin drop when the mu-sic stopped due to a technical snag. Within seconds as music came back, people were in tears seeing the dancer’s absolutely stun-ning performance. Rightfully, the Emcee for the evening, Upali Nanda(herself an accom-plished Odissi dancer) said, “let me know if anyone here whose eyes are dry…”. Guru Nityananda Das and Guru Bijaya Das per-formance in both the compositions, ‘Priya Sakha’ and ‘Pangu Langhayate Giri’ will be remembered by Houston audience for years to come.

The Pahandi(Procession) was preceded

rath rath r yatra at India Houseyatra at India Houseyby a short speech by Guruji Chandrabhanu Satpathy, an ardent devotee of Shiridi Sai Baba. “It was certainly the most organized among all the functions I attended in the USA during this session. May Shri Sai bless you all”, he opined.

Similar comments were echoed by Film-maker Ghanasyam Mahapatra, whose 1973 movie ‘Kanakalata’ which had won laurels and awards in early seventies, was specially screened at Rath Yatra this year only for Houston art and cinema loving audience. The filmmaker had accepted Houstonians’ invitation to be present at the screening to talk about the making of the movie.

The devotees also had prepared 56 dif-The devotees also had prepared 56 dif-The devotees also had prepared 56 different kinds of dishes that the Lords said to have special affinity (It’s to be noted here that the kitchen in Puri Temple is the largest community kitchen in the whole world). It was a beautiful feeling to see devotees of-was a beautiful feeling to see devotees of-was a beautiful feeling to see devotees offering arati in a ‘Thali’ decorated with pet-als, with diya, agarbati and Lord Jagannath’s favorite snack ‘khaja’.

No Rath Yatra would be complete with-out Lord Jagannath listening to his favorite music, the lyrical bhajans.The Lords were treated with their favorite bhajans by Ab-has Mishra, Swayamprava Mishra, Soumya Rege, Madhuri Dasmohapatra, Surath Rath and Atashu Nayak. Also, the sankirtan orga-nized by Namadwar was perfect for the oc-casion.

With the nice breeze blowing and the beau-tiful moon rising slowly on western sky, the aura definitely created a serene effect. With the volunteers of ISKCON were busy serv-ing dinners, while adults and children found chatting about the awesome day they just had, young volunteers were reminding them to pick up their copy of souvenir, rightfully named as ‘Nandighosa’, Lord Jagannath’s Chariot!

the shakers and movers in Houston were doing.

The Sindwanis enjoy the calls they get from their friends in Houston, especially from those who were concerned that Mo-hiniji had fallen and broken her left hip socket on June 4, requiring surgery that she is still recovering from. They both go to physical therapy four times a week and a caregiver comes to the house everyday to help with their daily routine. Dr. Sind-wani still gets around in short, slow steps and “has a great appetite,” grinned Ku-mar, who leaves lots of notes on paper on the counter and dining table to remind the caregiver of his parents’ needs.

But Kumar is more concerned about his mother who lay in bed that Saturday af-ternoon with a heating pad over her left hip for the pain. “She doesn’t have much of an appetite,” Kumar shook his head, “and we are trying to get her to eat.” But Mohiniji’s eyes were happy and bright as she saw me and asked about my moth-er’s health and lay in their comfortable room with the window opening up to the street.

“They both miss Houston a lot,” said Kumar as he made his dad a sandwich and soup for lunch. Dr. Sindwani looked up wistfully and agreed. “Thanks for com-ing to see us,” he said in his soft voice, raising his hand in a half wave.

continued from page 3

continued from page 8

the Heart Aches for the the Heart Aches for the t old old o days

Nityananda Das Performing at Ratha Yatra Photos: Chetana Samal, Sanjay Sovoni



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mFAH Audience Gets mFAH Audience Gets m double Punch of rabindranation rabindranation r tagore and tagore and t satyajit satyajit s rayrayrHOUSTON: Rabindranath Tag-

ore, the first Nobel Laureate in literature from Asia, was reveren-tially called Gurudev by Mahatma Gandhi, and was described as the “Myriad Minded Man” by Andrew Robinson. The think-tanks and re-searchers of modern time from all over the globe have come

to-

geth-er to revisit T a g -o r e ’ s mode r-nity and impact in the cur-rent glob- a l sociopoliti- cal paradigm1. However, despite the fact that Tag-ore has influenced many global leaders throughout the time (Al-bert Einstein, Mahatma Gandhi, Aung San Suu Kyi, Audrey Hep-burn, Octavio Paaz, Satyajit Ray, and Indira Gandhi), he is unknown to the common people in the USA. It is therefore, noteworthy that the recent screenings of Tagore-relat-ed movies have exposed the Hous-tonians to various facets of Tagore, albeit at the local scale.

Last month, Museum of Fine Arts Houston (in partnership with Tag-ore Society of Houston) brought to the city a two-day film festival showcasing Oscar winning leg-endary film director Satyajit Ray’s movies related to Tagore. To mark the 150th anniversary of Tagore’s birth, the first film on Friday June 10 was the documentary on Tag-ore that Satyajit Ray made on Tag-ore’s 100 birth year celebrations requested by the Govt. of India. MFAH curator of film and video Marian Luntz gave a welcome note to the audience and introduced Tagore and Ray to the packed hall

of mainstream audience of the city. Houston-based well-known writer Prof Chitra Divakaruni delved into various aspects of Tagore’s cre-ativity in her keynote speech aptly named “Glimpses of Tagore”. Her p o w - erful speech was comple-

mented by the slidepack made by the TSH on the occasion of celebrating Tagore’s sesquicenten-nial birth anniversary. The documentary

that Ray h i m s e l f said to be one of his most in-tense cre-ations, gave the view-ers a kaleidoscopic entry into the most eventful part of the modern Indian history. Ray’s work drove the message of why Mahatma Gandhi called him “Gurudev” home quite convincingly.

Charulata (The Lonely Wife), the second movie screened on June 17, was one of the most famous works of Ray, and was based on Tagore’s novel “The Broken Nest”. Ray’s favorite novel by Tagore, the story is set in Kolkata in the late 19th century British-ruled India, and when the Bengal renaissance was at its pinnacle. Exploring into the emergence of the modern woman in the upper-class of colonial In-dia, Tagore depicted the emanci-pation of an intelligent and curi-ous housewife bored like a caged bird. A combination of Tagore and Ray, “…something that can hardly go wrong” commented one of the viewers.

Both the evenings drew audi-

ence of more than 300, and ended with social mixers in the foyer of the MFAH, which gave the crowd an ample opportunity to introspect and discuss the movie, and sip wine. The evening of July 17 had an added attraction of handicrafts from Santiniketan (the township adjacent to Visva Bharati Univer-sity, founded by Tagore), includ-ing Indian tunics, jewelry and books of Tagore.

Last week (July 16), the main-stream Indian movie goers in

Bollywood 6 wit-nessed the houseful screening of Rituparno Ghoshes “The Boat-wreck” based on Tag-ore’s novel Naukadubi, the Hindi version of which is “Kashmakash” produced by Subhash Ghai. The movie depict-ed dramatic turn of events that a newly married cou-ple experienced after the boat-wreck, and was ably narrated by internationally acclaimed director Ritu-parnio Ghosh. The intellec-

tual conflict that the story dwelled on had touched the audience.

Since May 7, Rabindranath Tag-ore’s 150th birthday, the Bayou city has seen a number of pas-sionate and classy events related to Tagore: City and County proc-lamations of Tagore Day (May 7), cultural tributes to Tagore (May 28-29), Tagore-related Movie-shows in Museum of Fine Arts of Houston (MFAH) on June 10 and 17, and in Bollywood 6 Theater (July 16) . The future events will include a classical concert jointly presented by TSH and IMS high-lighting the classical basis of Tag-ore songs (Aug 13), drama presen-tation by Shunya Theater “Prophet and the Poet” (Oct), and Seminar Series co-presented by the Univer-sity of Houston (Oct).

Reference: University of Toronto Quarterly, Volume 77, Number 4, Fall 2008


11 1111Indo American News • Friday, July 22, 2011 Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com Iamn e w s

IAcAcAc nAnA reveals reveals r secrets to secrets to s reduce reduce r cancer riskriskrBy rituritur rarar Ju

HOUSTON: The Indian Ameri-can Cancer Network (IACAN) has been diligently presenting talks and conducting activities to increase awareness of cancer and provide community support for cancer patients and families. Their latest event, held on July 10 at India House, included a presenta-tion by Dr. Lorenzo Cohen, Ph.D. on “Living the Anti-Cancer Life.” Dr. Cohen, Director of the Inte-grative Medicine Program at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center has conducted multiple studies on the psychosocial issues of cancer. He presented some of his findings and shared valuable information with a packed audience.

Dr. Cohen referred the audience to the book, Anti-Cancer: A New Way of Life (2008) by Dr. David Ser-van-Schreiber which served as the basis for much of his work. Servan-Schreiber was diagnosed with cancer in his mid-thirties. After under-going conventional treatments, he investigated a number of integra-tive approaches to the prevention and treatment of cancer.

Dr. Cohen emphasized that can-cer is a lifestyle disease and needs to be proactively addressed by everyone. All of us have cancer cells in our bodies since we are all exposed to carcinogenous factors. The statistics are daunting. One in two men and one in three women will get cancer; however, only one in four will die of the disease. There are many factors in our nat-ural defenses that we can harness to protect ourselves from cancer.

Dr. Cohen also outlined some of the main causes for the current (and ever-growing) cancer epidemic. These causes can be grouped un-der four main factors: nutrition, obesity, sedentary behavior, and stress/social support. Our food in-take directly affects our exposure to cancer—the connection be-tween meat and colon cancer, for instance, has been documented in a number of studies. The incidence of breast cancer has been directly linked to the presence of IGF1 (the insulin-like growth factor) that is generated in response to foods high in glycemic load (substances that cause an increase in insulin).

In particular, Dr. Cohen referred

to soy oil, a key ingredient in all fast food and much prepared food, which is rich in Omega-6 Fatty Acids that cause inflammation and stimulate cell growth. The rising imbalance in the ratio of Omega-6 to Omega-3 in the western diet has led to the in-crease in cardiovascular disease and a whole host of other health prob-lems. In addition, lifestyle changes such as declining physical activity and increasing stress levels have re-sulted in elevated risk levels.

However, there are many changes that we can make in order to reverse these risks. Dr. Cohen’s concept of an integrative lifestyle can help us introduce easy-to-implement changes in our daily habits to dra-matically reduce our exposure to matically reduce our exposure to cancer. These measures fall within cancer. These measures fall within the ambit of three

areas: physical, social, and psycho-social. Of these, nutrition is the most immediate and controllable factor. Dr. Cohen listed several ingredi-ents that are vital to Indian cooking as possessing anti-inflammatory properties; notable among these are turmeric, chili peppers, ginger, and garlic. In addition, foods such as grapes, honey, green tea, soy beans (not to be confused with soy oil mentioned earlier), tomatoes, and cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage and broccoli are all rich in anti-cancer phytochemicals.

He noted that we should try to eat these foods rather than take them as supplements which may not work the same way as natural foods. Dr. Cohen offered several other sug-gestions including fish and other Omega-3 rich foods such as hemp and flax seeds. He noted that food synergies make a significant differ-ence; for example, blueberries are known to be rich in anti-oxidants. Combining them with apples, or-anges, and grapes raises their anti-oxidant powers manifold.

Making the point that eating the correct foods in the right combi-nations can dramatically alter the expression of cancer, Dr. Cohen presented an image of the perfect anti-cancer plate: plenty of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and a

small amount of protein derived from fish or legumes/other plant sources. What is notable is that this is, as he pointed out, “the very antithesis of the western diet.”

Besides nutritional strategies, Dr. Cohen also stressed the im-portance of physical exercise and the reduction of stress. Stress it-self does not cause cancer; rather it impedes the body’s ability to fight inflammation and disease.

The most notable part of Dr. Cohen’s presentation was the segment devoted to the findings of his research on the effects of yoga on cancer treatment. In a landmark study, Dr. Cohen tested the effect of yoga and stretching on the treatment and outcomes of women undergoing treatment for breast cancer. Six months after undergoing radiation, the yoga group (did yoga in addition to conventional radiation therapy) and the stretching group (per-formed simple stretching exer-cises but did not receive formal holistic yoga training) reported much less fatigue than the con-trol group (the group that did not practice yoga but only received radiation).

The yoga group showed dra-matic improvement in physical functioning and overall general health as compared to the control group. Also, the ability to find meaning in life termed as “ben-efit finding”—was much higher for the yoga group. On a physi-ological level, baseline cortisol levels were excellent in members of the yoga group indicating bet-ter health. Thus, in all aspects, the yoga group experienced a myriad of benefits that were ab-sent in the control group. The promising findings of this study have prompted Dr. Cohen to un-dertake a larger, more compre-hensive study.

From Dr. Cohen’s discussion, the audience obtained clear in-sights into the following: cancer is a lifestyle disease; therefore, lifestyle changes play a sig-nificant role in both prevention and managing the disease. By improving nutrition, reducing obesity and stress levels, and increasing physical activity and social support, we can protect and strengthen ourselves against cancer and other diseases.



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13 1313Indo American News • Friday, July 22, 2011 Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com Iamn e w s

By ruparupar K GK GK andhi & saranG patel

HOUSTON: I will never forget my first high school chemistry exam. Knowing that I wasn’t a big fan of science and fearful that I wouldn’t be successful, I spent the entire week leading up to the exam creating flashcards to memorize every concept I could and spent all night before the test writing pneu-monic devices for various for-mulas. On the day of my exam, I arrived to my class feeling as con-fident and prepared as any other student, only to learn that the test was a practical application exam- and boy, did I struggle! While I spent so much time to memorize the content of the exam, I never dedicated any time to learn how the information can be applied in practice. Fortunately, not only was I allowed to retake the test later and learn the material the proper way, but am now able to use that experience to better educate the Hindu youth I work with at the an-nual Hindu Heritage Youth Camp.

This year marks the 27th year of Vishwa Hindu Parishad of Ameri-ca’s Hindu Heritage Youth Camp. Like most summer camps, the Hindu Heritage Youth Camp pro-vides a wider array of activities, an opportunity to make life-long friends, and a summer experience that kids can never forget. How-ever, to me, the camp offers much more. The camp for me has always been about the education. The at-tendees of this camp have unique

opportunity to not only learn about Hindu Dharma, but also identify how these practices apply in a day to day life. With counselors in college that have shared the same experiences as most campers, each education takes principles of Hindu dharma and applies it to our society today.

Growing up, I attended a wide variety of summer camps. While I always respected the information provided to me by elders, I always struggled to identify how in-depth Hindu concepts could be applied to me in today’s society. I felt many of the practices taught to me were no longer relevant issues and didn’t affect how I lived my day-to-day life. Over time, I learned that everything I have been taught is relevant and can be applied to

how I live my life on a daily ba-sis. The counselors for camp iden-tify how to apply the principals of Hindu Dharma in today’s society and most of all, draw upon their own experiences to provide rel-evant educations for each camper.

Camp teaches the importance of building both the mind and body, as reflected in it’s daily schedule. From waking up to bhajans at 6:30 in the morning to falling asleep exhausted after a pillow fight, every moment of camp is packed with enrichment. We build our muscles playing games and prac-ticing surya namaskars early in the morning, and stretch our minds during education sessions for which counselors spend months preparing.. We grow spiritually while singing bhajans together.

Above all though, we build life-long friendships every moment of the day, and eat the most delicious pav bhaji known to mankind! pav bhaji known to mankind! pav bhaji

As camp co-directors, Sarang and I feel privileged to share our experiences and foster the Hindu Dharma with today’s youth. Al-

Another successful successful s year of Hindu Heritage year of Hindu Heritage y youth youth y campthough all our counselors spend months preparing for the camp, we always end up learning just as much from our campers as they do from us. There will be 34 counsel-ors altogether (28 full time, 6 part time) working with 169 campers! The lessons we learn from our ex-periences at Hindu Heritage Camp will remain lifelong lessons we will apply in our everyday lives. More information about the 27th Annual Hindu Heritage Camp can be found at www.hinducamp.com.

Rupak Gandhi, Camp Co-Director graduated from Texas A&M Univer-graduated from Texas A&M Univer-graduated from Texas A&M University in 2007 and currently works as the 9th Grade Academy Principal at a High School in HISD. Rupak has been a full time camp counselor for 5 years, part time counselor 2 years, and this is his first year as a Co-Director. Sarang Patel graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 2009 and works as an IT Systems Analyst for Hewlett Packard in Austin. Sarang has been a full time counselor 3 years, part time counselor 3 years, and this is his first year as a Co-Director.

Participants of Hindu Heritage Youth Camp 2011

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14 Indo American News • Friday, July 22, 2011 Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.comIamP o v e r t y n e w s

who Killed sathyamma?The State and society must understand that only when we facilitate and provide safety nets and ladders can people in desperate economic conditions hope to get out of the poverty trap

similar; NREGS has done more to fill the coffers of the implementing officials than to eliminate distress poverty.

Recently a woman whose life was made miserable because of her alcoholic husband came to me requesting me for help to get a bank account opened for her. She was keen that she save some money and keep it far away from her husband who would other-wise drink it away. She had approached the local bank that refused to help her, saying she was not qualified to open an account with them.

Since there are now guidelines to promote financial inclusion for all in the banking industry, I probed this complaint, and dis-covered that her only ‘disqualification’ to open a bank account was that she is poor. In practice, the banks go on as if they have no obligation to the poor, and this despite being nationalised in the name of a Socialist state! Financial inclusion for the poor remains a mere slogan of the Planning Commission and the powers that be.

At every level the poor have to surmount greater obstacles to get out of the poverty trap. Neither the State nor society seems to understand that only when we facilitate and provide safety nets and ladders can people like Sathyamma cope and hope to get out of the trap of poverty. Till a more humane, compassionate, and just social order gets created, Sathyamma and her kind will have to find solace in death. And the rest of us have to live with the fact that it was not her poverty, but our attitude towards her poverty that killed her and her two young children.

By r. alasuBraManiaMCHENNAI (IT): A few days ago, a widow

killed her two young daughters aged 14 and 8 years, and then took her own life. Apart from appearing as a small news item tucked away in page 5 in most dailies, it did not seem to attract much attention. The political tamasha of truth ceremonies and swearing before Gods has hogged more newspaper space on a daily basis in our metro-driven news media than this relatively insignificant tragedy in far-away Chitradurga.

The police had a simple explanation for their files. Sathyamma had given ammoni-um phosphate to her children before taking it herself - out of sheer desparation resulting from her poverty. She had lost her husband, an auto driver, a few months ago and just could not cope with the economic and social demands placed on her. Her meagre income as a coolie was not sufficient to meet ends, and she decided to call it a day for herself and her family.

More than a century ago, Swami Viveka-nanda had thundered, “I do not believe in a God or religion that does not wipe away the widow’s tears or bring a piece of bread to the orphan’s mouth.” Despite giving ourselves a Socialist republic, neither State nor society seems to have imbibed this message.

Who is responsible for Sathyamma and her children’s death? Can we summarily dismiss this event as being born out of pov-erty, or go deeper in our understanding of how all of us collectively failed? Could not a more sensitive society have prevented their deaths? With so many welfare schemes that

the state runs and the innumerable NGOs working to ensure social and economic jus-tice, how could we remain mute spectators to this heart-wrenching event?

As I was wondering where we had collec-tively failed in responding to this crisis, my mind wandered to the present state of India. On one hand we as a nation are an economist’s delight. Sus-t a i n e d growth a t over 8

p e r cent i s s o m e -thing we are all getting used to. There is s o much wealth that is being created that one feels that poverty should now be confined to our history books.

But what is the reality that prevails? Fewer than 50 families in India generate and control nearly 40 per cent of India’s wealth. The top 20 per cent of Indians generate and control 85 per cent of the Indian economy while the bottom 20 per cent have to be content with a mere 1.5 per cent. While wealth is indeed

growing, so is the inequity that prevails. Our food inflation is constantly hovering around 10 per cent, while the World Bank in one

of its recent reports mentions that 70 per cent of the food meant for the poor in

our Public Distribution System is si-phoned off.

With the kind of growth that we are witnessing, how can we explain why 54 per cent of children in the state are still mal-nourished and 74 per cent of our rural women are anaemic? Why are we not able to

provide safe potable drinking water in the required quantity to more than

30 per cent of our people and sanitation facilities to more than 20 per cent? How

long should we remain silent when more than 50 per cent of the people in the state eat less than the required daily calorific intake?

On paper, we are trying something or the other to address this, but we may be doing nothing more than pulling wool our own eyes - most, if not all schemes can only boast of inputs, not outcomes. For instance, despite spending close to Rs.3600 crores annually in Karnataka alone, why has the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme not actually reached money to the toiling millions? The evidence nationally is

It was not Sathyamma’s poverty, but our attitude towards her pov-erty that killed her and her two young children.

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15 15Indo American News • Friday, July 22, 2011 Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.comIamn e w s

Masala pappad roll. Photo: Special Arrangement

Give them Back their childhoodA carefree childhood is every child’s right, yet for many it is but a bream.

By aaBha anoopCHENNAI (Hindu): A beauti-

ful childhood is the right of ev-ery child in the world. But it is a great irony that when a few live in a world of fantasy, enjoying their carefree, innocent life, so many struggle for the next meal, being harassed and tortured in a number of ways.

The Anti-human Trafficking Drive organised last month all over the country by Childline brought out alarming statistics re-garding the extent of child labour, child beggary and sexual harass-ment of children.

RescuedChildline coordinator for Ko-

zhikode district Subeesh Thi-yyampadi said that 32 cases were reported in the district alone dur-ing the drive, of which 30 were that of child labour while two were of beggary.

The drive shows that despite the campaign, child labour is still ram-pant. Most of the children were rescued from hotels where they were doing menial labour while there are quite a few instances when the children were rescued from big households where they worked as domestic help.

“Children who work in hotels and factories in Kerala are of-ten natives of Karnataka or some Northern state. As for domestic la-bour, it is hidden and the children involved are mostly from within

the state. The saddest part is that their employers are often well educated, en-joying a respectable place in the society,” said Mr. Subeesh.

The two infants rescued from the Ko-zhikode bus stand with their mother, were being used to invoke the sympathy of the onlookers.

In such cases, the mother wouldn’t mind mistreating the child to give the im-pression that the child needed money for food. It was only a few weeks ago that two child beggars were rescued in Kak-kur, from their father who was forcing them to beg.

However, in most cases, the child beg-gars are being managed by a huge mafia, that takes the major chunk of the child’s earnings. What encourages begging in most cases is the public attitude to wash their hands off by giving a token amount to the beggars. Most people are not in-terested in their long term rehabilitation

or welfare.Do your bitMr. Subeesh said that the pub-

lic should be aware that there are ways to free society of child la-bour and begging and that there were rehabilitation centres all over the country for the purpose. Child-line responds to the toll free help-line number 1098 round the clock. The rescued children are mostly housed in the Child Welfare Com-mittee’s homes until their parents turn up and take charge.

In some cases where the children are left unclaimed, the government would take up the charge. If left un- attended these child labourers and beggars could be abused, or turned towards anti-social activi-ties. So next time you come across a child labourer or beggar, take the trouble to call 1098.

Children bound by labour. Photo: N. Sridharan

missing Indian teenager traced in californiaBOSTON: A 15-year-old Indian boy, who had gone missing in the US last

month, has been found and is expected to return to India soon. Lovedeep Singh was found in good condition in California’s Merced city.

Police authorities said they did not suspect any foul play in Singh’s disap-pearance for almost a month. Singh, who could not speak English, was on an educational tour when he disappeared in Los Angeles on June 23. Police said he may have accidentally become separated from his group. He is currently in the custody of Los Angeles County child welfare officials and arrange-ments are being made to send him back to India. Singh had been wandering in Merced County and foraging for food. He befriended a taxi driver, who gave him money to take a bus to San Francisco. Lovedeep stepped off the bus in Merced, thinking he was in San Francisco and somehow made his way to one of Livingston’s Sikh temples where other Indians contacted authori-ties and also Singh’s family in India.



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17 online edition: www.indoamerican-news.comonline edition: www.indoamerican-news.comOnline Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

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By Sunita GodaraSports authorities in India have

been running what is called a “con-trolled doping” scam for years and they deserve exemplary punishment. The process involves mass testing of athletes and keeping those who test positive away from international events. In essence, this is an encour-agement and endorsement of the Eleventh Commandment as adapted for the sportsperson: “Thou shalt dope but not let thyself be found out.” Now that a few girls have been caught, the establishment has shame-lessly dumped and disowned them.

I have been fighting a guilty of-ficialdom for years. During a de-bate on television a few days ago, R.K. Anand, counsel for the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), said I was motivated in making allegations against his client. I do indeed have my motives: first, to get some revenge against officials who treat athletes worse than domestic helps; second, to clean sports of drug use.

The Sports Authority of India (SAI) laboratory, established in 1991, con-ducted about 15,000 tests on athletes from that year to September 2008, of which about 750-800 reported positive for banned drugs. Only about 150 were punished. Back in 2001 itself, I had filed a PIL in the Delhi High Court, seeking the names of athletes who tested positive but went unpunished. In fact, the lab had sent 140 such names to different sports federations in 2000, and 301 in 2009. When a list was submitted in sealed envelopes to the court, it passed them on to the disciplinary panel of the Na-tional Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) in December 2009 seeking action.

The avowed aim with which the SAI lab was set up is to check dop-ing. The first doping violation was recorded in 1993. But by 1994, the crooks—officials in SAI, IOA and government—had banded together. Harbouring a misplaced notion of na-tional pride (and personal gain), they encouraged doping. A coach could get an award, an athlete could win medals and money, the officials could bask in their achievements and enjoy trips abroad at public expense.

drip-dope irrigation systemand Asian Games last year, has been left to fend for herself after she tested positive recently. But when she came into sport, I’m certain she knew noth-ing about drugs. Clearly, sports offi-cials, federations, coaches, managers gave her drugs.

Before the Commonwealth Games in 1998, a famous athlete tested posi-tive in the screening tests. A specialist doctor was told to clean him up—that’s possible if there’s time. One week passed, and the level of the drug in his body dropped to a permissible level, and this athlete went on to win a gold medal. But the doctor was unhappy, and told me: “I cleaned up that athlete, who didn’t even thank me after winning the gold!”

Officials try to crush whistle-blowers like me. As a marathoner, I was lucky not to be at the whims of the officials. That’s because big marathon events—for example, the Boston marathon—are run indepen-dent of national associations. You can participate in these on your own. But then, I had to join the national camp in 1989 because you could be selected for international competitions like the Asian Games or the Olympics only if you attended national camps. I did not see anything wrong at that time, didn’t hear any rumours about drugs. It seemed clean. Things changed in the early 1990s, when we started getting Russian coaches. Lab doctors and athletes now began to talk about drug use. They’d say things like, “He’s done so much drug use, now his kidney is affected”.

The sports ministry has appointed Justice Mukul Mudgal to probe the doping fiasco. He has said that Kal-madi and Bhanot, who are in jail, may be questioned in this matter. Every-one who was part of the scandal must be handed exemplary punishment, including—and especially—the of-ficials. Maybe it is retribution time. Maybe some sort of justice that is pos-sible at this stage will prevail. But it’s sad that a generation of sportspersons stands compromised, thanks to the rogue bosses in our sports bodies.

The writer is a prominent long-distance runner. She was the Asian marathon champion in 1992.

By 1996, they had mastered the art of screening athletes before big com-petitions, in which typically 200-300 Indian athletes participate. Rules re-quire banning athletes caught in these tests. But why did they punish only 150 and spare the rest? The answer: the ones punished had no one to save them. If they had been in a position to bribe officials or provide them any service, they too would have been saved. Now, some officials offer a new explanation: the others weren’t punished because the SAI lab was not accredited with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), which was established in 1999. So why did they then tell athletes to get their samples tested by the SAI lab? Why did they punish some 150 athletes then if the lab hadn’t been accredited in the years when the tests were con-ducted? Young athletes didn’t start doping on their own. They were told to take banned drugs. Young, often poor and from a rural background, they had little choice. They were told drugs were like medicines or tonics, to make them stronger. They have greater knowledge now, but many still take drugs willingly. There’s pressure from officials, but there are rewards as well. Poor Ashwini Ak-kunji, who was awarded Rs 1 crore after her show at the Commonwealth

complicated tiesWhen the world’s two largest democracies hold an annual stra-

tegic dialogue and can only produce two anodyne agreements on air safety and cybersecurity, no one can say the relationship is prospering. There is a clear and obvious sense of drift in relations between India and the United States.

The nuclear deal is floundering on differences over India’s nuclear liability law and concerns about a new round of multi-lateral nuclear technology restrictions. The defence relationship is moving in an uncertain direction — and arms purchases are only one part of this purposeless drift. The economic relationship, hurt by slowing growth in both economies, needs a fillip. The two sides have over 20 dialogues that don’t seem to generate much in tangibles.

The stars are not particularly favourable for radical and revo-lutionary foreign policy moves. The Manmohan Singh govern-ment, sapped by inflation and corruption, struggles to make even relatively non-controversial policy moves and somehow stumbles on the few that it does carry out. The Barack Obama administration is struggling with an economy in shambles and heading into an attention-sapping presidential election.

The two biggest foreign policy concerns shared by the two coun-tries are Pakistan and China. Washington and New Delhi have had difficulty seeing eye-to-eye on both. India felt that Mr Obama was overly cosy to China in his first year in office. It has been, at best, puzzled by twists and turns in US policy on Afghanistan and thus its derivative policy towards Pakistan.

There is also a simple truth that the next stages of the Indo-US relationship are going to be tied up in long, slow administrative processes that won’t seize headlines and for which otherwise-engaged political leaders will have difficulty finding time. Dual-use technology and export control issues are extremely important — but they are also a red tape-regulation nightmare.

Nonetheless, Mr Obama’s visit last year made it clear that the US remained committed to the rise of India. India, which has found it still has many Cold Warriors alive and well in places, like its ministry of defence, has indicated through the numerous regional dialogues that it sees more harmony with US policies than it does with almost any other country.

The relationship, after all, may be drifting but it has experienced no ruptures or catfights. What New Delhi needs to remember, however, is that India’s rise is far from predetermined. It has enor-mous problems in keeping its economy growing, huge deficits in education and healthcare to fill, and a very tough neighbourhood to live in. The US is not the only country that can assist India in these areas. In certain economic sectors, Russia or China can be a more supportive partnerBut no other country can provide as-sistance in each and every field and, even now, with more heft and capacity than the US.

Hindustan Times

young athletes didn’t start doping on their own. They were told to take banned drugs. young, often poor and from a rural back-ground, they had little choice. They were told drugs were like medi-cines or tonics, to make them stronger. They have greater knowledge now, but many still take drugs willingly.


Indo AmerIcAn news • FrIdAy, july 22 , 2011 • Ay, july 22 , 2011 • A nline edition: www.indoamerican-news.com


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court Allows court Allows c extradition of extradition of e nrI Fugitive to nrI Fugitive to nr usNEW DELHI: (TOI) The Delhi

High Court paved the way for non-resident Indian ( NRI) fugitive Avtar Singh Grewal’s extradition to the US to face trial for allegedly killing his estranged wife in 2007.

The court dismissed his petition challenging a trial court’s decision to allow his extradition.

The division bench of Justice B.D. Ahmed and Justice Manmohan Singh said: “We find no infirmity or illegality in the order passed by the ACMM (additional chief metropoli-tan magistrate).”

Grewal, 37, challenged a trial court’s inquiry report which held that there was prima facie sufficient evi-dence for his extradition to the US.

The bench said: “We may also point out that we are not sitting in appeal over the report. The petitioner has in-voked our extraordinary writ jurisdic-tion and, in doing so, we do not have to examine as to whether the inquiry order is right or wrong, but we have to examine whether the same are legal

or illegal and whether the procedure prescribed in the Extradition Act, as also in the said treaty, have been fol-lowed or not.”

“We have already pointed out that we find no illegality in the order and we are of the view that the procedure has been correctly followed,” the bench said in its 24-page order.

“In view of the foregoing discus-

sion, the writ petition has no merit and the same is dismissed,” said Justice Ahmed.

The fugitive, then working as man-ager with a firm at Vancouver in Canada, allegedly travelled to Phoe-nix in the US to meet his estranged wife Navneet Kaur and flew out of that country on a one-way ticket after killing her March 29, 2007.

“Once it is clear, prima facie, that the offence for which the petitioner has been charged constitutes mur-has been charged constitutes mur-has been charged constitutes murder under the Indian law, there is no question of invoking article 8 of the Extradition Treaty requiring the government of India to refuse extradi-tion,” said the bench.

The court allowed the plea of A.K. Vali and Naveen K. Matta, special prosecutors of the external affairs ministry, that the offence allegedly committed by the fugitive was an extraditable crime.

Grewal was arrested on arrival at Delhi airport March 31, 2007 follow-ing an alert sounded by the Interpol.

‘us Visa Issuance to Indians Good Indicator of Thriving Ties’us Visa Issuance to Indians Good Indicator of Thriving Ties’usWASHINGTON: Though it has

hiked fee for H-1B and L1 visas popular among Indian professionals and companies, the US has said it continues to issue these visas to a large number of Indians which is a “good indicator” of the thriving bilateral ties.

“US visa issuances to Indians are another good indicator of our thriving relationships,” said Robert Hormats, under secre-tary for economic, energy and agricultural affairs, who would travel to New Delhi and Chennai next week along with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to attend the second Indo-US strategic dialogue.

For the past four years, Indians have received about half of all H-1B visas issued worldwide, and more than 44 per cent of all L1 intra-company transfer visas, he argued. “650,000 Indians traveled to the United States in 2010, an 18 per cent increase over

the year 2009,” he added. India has historically been one of the largest sources of international students in

the US colleges and universities with over 100,000 students coming here to study last year, Hormats said.

“We welcome these talented and dynamic students, a source of talent, energy and innovation in our univer-energy and innovation in our univer-energy and innovation in our universities and many of them work in the United States after their university years and we welcome the energy and

the entrepreneurialism they bring to our private sector as well,” he said.

“Mirroring the Indian enthusiasm for the United States, we would like to see more Americans go to India for tourism, business trips and exchanges. I particu-larly hope we can exceed the 2,700 Americans who studied in India last year,” he said.

The US-India higher educa-tion summit planned for this fall in Washington will bring hundreds of educational insti-tutes together from both of the countries, Hormats said adding that it is aimed at fostering American students’ participa-

tion in India’s educational system and at the growing number of In-dians studying in the United States as well.

“I also hope the diaspora will con-tinue its work in helping to strengthen US-India educational cooperation,” he said.

online edition: www.indoamerican-news.com20 Indo American News • Friday, July 22, 2011 online edition: www.indoamerican-news.comOnline Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com


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leadership leadership l lessons from the Hindu lessons from the Hindu l epic ramayanaramayanar

ment of motivation, empathy and social skills.EI is an experience driven. In the battle field of Ramya-na, Rama narrates to Vibhishan that the leader was a charioteer and the wheels was made of character, courage, ethics, and valor and the horses drawing the chariot signifies strength, energy, passion. Rama went on to describe that the reins of the horses resembled forgive-ness, compassion, consistency and equanimity.

The Weapons of a leader:Knowledge, strategy, intelligence,

skills, commitment, and a restraint of ego are very important factors for a leader to fight a mammoth battle.

In the climax of the Ramayana battle, Rama proclaimed to his army ‘Arm yourself with these and no war will be lost,’ and that is what got him a jubilant win over Ravana forces.

A Balakrishnan,Management guru, feels that the lessons from Ramayana can also be applied in modern management of organiza-tion, especially the leadership quali-ties of Lord Ram in administration of Ayodhya.

There are many modern manage-ment concepts such as EQ, MBO, Kaizen, strategic planning, orga-nizing principles and etc where its origin can be traced from Valmiki Ramayana.

pic amayanaBANGALORE (SI): What are

the primary qualities of leadership? What are the effective management skills? How many of us can answer these questions? Although we have theoretical definitions for these con-cepts, where did the concept of leadership and management evolve is a billion dollar question?

The field of business and leader-The field of business and leader-The field of business and leadership has been enriched by learnings from various disciplines of knowl-edge. It is said that the corporate learnings are driven from our great epics like Ramayana and Mahab-harata.

So here are a few lessons that we can comprehend from Ramayana and how it can be applied in the corporate world.

Lessons of Hindu epics Ra-mayana have formed part of teaching on leadership, management and gover-management and gover-management and governance at prestigious in-stitutions like the Whar-stitutions like the Whar-stitutions like the Wharton Business School of the USA, the Indian Busi-

n e s s

School of Hydera-bad and many Indian Institutes of Management.

Vivek Man Singh, President VTG at Cisco Systems mentions in his book. ‘Leading the Ramayana way’ that Leadership begins where logic ends, it surely gets lonely out there, but you show the valor, walk the talk, and your teammates are sure to follow you.

A clear vision for yourself and for your followers:

“The world steps aside to a person

leader. In the case of Ramayana, leader. In the case of Ramayana, Rama’s clear vision was to rescue Rama’s clear vision was to rescue his wife Sita and defeat the evil his wife Sita and defeat the evil forces. This clarity about the goals forces. This clarity about the goals as well as the process enabled the as well as the process enabled the army to put its heart and soul in the army to put its heart and soul in the battle to rescue Sita.battle to rescue Sita.

Essential characters of a leadEssential characters of a lead-er:

For being a success-ful leader 3 primary ful leader 3 primary skills required are skills required are Technical skills CogTechnical skills Cog-nitive and Analytical nitive and Analytical

skills Emotional skills Emotional intelligence(EI) EI intelligence(EI) EI

twice as important twice as important as the other two atas the other two at-

tributes. It is an emboditributes. It is an embodi-

who k n o w s

where he or she is going,” says the great Mohandas Karam-chand Gandhi. A foreseen vision will always be a motivating factor to focus on the goal and to not get devi-ated. Every leader needs to have a clear vision of what he is aiming for clear vision of what he is aiming for and what will it bear him in future. Also he needs to think in parallel to his followers who will support him to achieve his goals. Emotional intelligence is very important for a



2121 Indo American News • Friday, July 22, 2011IamN e w s

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The year of the Goatyear of the GoatyWith the guns silent, Kashmiri weddings are back to the ritz and glitz of old

By Cy Cy hander Shander Shander uta doGraGraGSRINAGAR (Outlook): Last

week, Rohail, scion of the Khwaja Saifuddin Gunna family, promoters of the Saifco group and now Taj Vivanta, the Taj group’s first hotel in Srinagar, married Adiya, grand-daughter of Ghulam Qadir Kowousa. The wedding was preceded by six days of merrymaking and feasting by friends and relatives gathered from around the world. Some 10 acres of apple orchards surrounding the bride’s family home in Nishat were lit up with fairy lights. The wedding feast, the wazwan, comprised of 18 courses. “It’s almost as if we are breathing again. After years we are seeing a wedding like this in our family and since the situation is quite peaceful now, it was unanimously decided to have a grand celebration,” says Rouf Shah Kowousa, the bride’s uncle. The groom’s house, right op-

posite the high-security Badami Bagh cantonment, saw fireworks late into the night.

The big, fat Kashmiri wedding is back with a bang. In the last two de-cades of violent conflict, traditional wedding celebrations had been hit hard. Fear of the gun, militant diktats and a number of attacks on wed-ding celebrations had made people go in for small, quiet ceremonies where the biggest casualty was the wazwan. Just kahwa and roti at the bride’s place and a hurried ceremony became the norm during the troubled years. Even last year, when the stone-pelting protests led to violent clashes, several people who had planned big affairs were forced to abandon them.

For many years, people had stopped any form of celebrations after dusk. Now, just a few days ago, when retired government official Ghu-lam Rasool celebrated his daughter Pakheeza’s wedding at Dalgate, the groom reached the bride’s place at 11.30 pm, by which time most of the 1,200 hundred guests had eaten. “The relative peace in the Valley this year is an opportunity for people to have late-night celebrations. There is no night curfew, security forces do not stop people at night on the streets, so baraats have started arriving very late. Never mind if everyone is exhausted by then!” laughed his son Arshad Rasool. He admits that friends and relatives tried to dissuade the family from going ahead with the sumptu-ous nuptials, fearing things could go wrong. “But we took a chance and, Inshallah, everything went off very well”, he says. With Ramzan falling in August and a good summer so

far, there’s been a rash of weddings even though the traditional season is later. And it looks like austerity is the last thing on anybody’s mind now (see box). “You see, weddings in Kashmir are all about wastage and the sentiment now is that no one should stop us from doing it,” smiles a family member. Just to be able to hold a noisy marriage procession on the once menacing streets at night, and to burst fire-crackers (another new introduction) is a novelty many Kashmiris cannot get enough of.

Lavish wazwans too are back on the trami (a Kashmiri plate from which four people share food). The wazwan, of course, is the heart of a Kashmiri wedding. It is a multi-course, mainly mutton feast, whose sheer lavishness makes it a status symbol. Though the standard waz-wan comprises of seven dishes led by the Meithe mutton and ends with the favourite Kashmiri delicacy, Gush-taba (soft mutton balls cooked in curd), the average wedding today has 10-25 dishes. At the Rasool wedding, which had 15 wazwan dishes, more than 900 kg of meat was consumed. “A lot of it goes waste as people can-not eat so much of it, so there is now a trend of offering polythene bags with the trami so that people can take the extra food home. It took us up to two hours to serve all the courses to each person, but anything less is looked down upon,” says Arshad.

This then is also boom time for the wazas, the cooks who make the wazwan. Vasta waza Abdul Rashid and his 40-member team say they have already done 40-odd weddings this year. The wazas are paid accord-ing to the amount of mutton cooked.

Many of them had left the profession in the last few years as demand for wedding feasts vanished. “People used to make do with just 50 kg of mutton during the unrest. Now there’s no wedding that consumes less than 300 kilos,” says a happy Rashid. “Now it’s 3 kg for each trami, whereas earlier it was just a kilo or less. I charge Rs 8,000-12,000 per quintal of mutton cooked.” (The 18-20 course wazwans have had some not-so-good side effects too—an epi-demic of food poisoning in Srinagar. Every day, 25-30 people report to Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medi-cal sciences with bad tummies and hundreds have been hospitalised in the countryside. But a touch of food poisoning is hardly a dampener in the ongoing orgy of feasting.)

City trends like multi-cuisine ban-quets and buffet style meals in hotels have also begun in Srinagar, but tra-dition still dictates how the majority of weddings are conducted—and they are almost always at home. A three-day celebration is a must for even families of modest incomes. The mehndi raat with all-night sing-ing and dancing by women, the actual wedding with wazwan stretch-ing for hours and the walima on the third day at the groom’s house are the minimum these days. Rouf Hamid, guest at the Kowousa wedding, rue-fully remembers his own marriage in ’09 which took place in the shadow of the Shopian incident and the re-sultant protests. He had planned a grand celebration with 450 guests, but days before the wedding, curfew was imposed. “Just seven people accompanied the baraat and we had to get curfew passes for them. We barely had time to have kahwa and roti at my wife’s place and rushed back after a hurried ceremony,” he recalls. This year’s feverish revelry, then, is quite evidently an outburst of bottled up aspirations.

It’s too early to assume that things are returning to normal. Rouf Shah, like many others, insists the return to grand wedding celebrations is just their way of coming out from the oppression of the last few years. As Imran Sheikh, a leading Kashmiri businessman, puts out, “It’s after years that we are seeing colourful, musical weddings in Kashmir. We just want to be a little extravagant, before the next phase of unrest hits us.” Long may it last, not the sound of gunfire but the crackle of fireworks resounding on the streets of Srinagar, lighting up the Kashmir night sky.

A Kashmiri groom arrives in Srinagar

The Wazwan trail starts

Kahwa and roti at the bride’s place and a hurried ceremony became the norm in the troubled years.




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Indo-American News • Friday, July 31, 2009

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American News READ US ONLINE atwww.indoamerican-news.comPublished weekly from Houston, TX7457 Harwin Dr, Suite 262, Houston, TX 77036Ph: 713.789.NEWS (6397) • Fax: 713.789.6399 • [email protected]

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American

Ambassador Meera Shankar visits Houston Page 11

NRI nvestors Lose Money to Maytas Properties in India

Chilled Watermelon SoupPage 26

CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

Page 11to Maytas Properties in India

Watermelon to Maytas Watermelon to Maytas

SoupProperties in SoupProperties in India

SoupIndiaPage 26IndiaPage 26India

CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

Ambassador Meera Shankar visits Houston NRI nvestors Lose Money

to Maytas Chilled

Lose Money Chilled Lose Money

Watermelon to Maytas Watermelon to Maytas

BollywoodShows4U Brings EXPLOSION 2009 to HoustonHOUSTON: Sonu Nigam, Suni-dhi Chauhan and Hard Kaur are set to make a stunning appearance in the Explosions event organized by the Explosions event organized by Bollywood Shows 4 U conducted Bollywood Shows 4 U conducted by Moid Khan. The event is set to by Moid Khan. The event is set to be held at the Reliant Arena on be held at the Reliant Arena on August 7, 2009.

has the movie helped or hurt

india’s image?image?im

slumdog millionaire

NRI Investors Lose Money to Maytas Properties in India Page 21

Moid Khan Moid Khan informed

that Houston that Houston residents have residents have been waiting for a been waiting for a long time to see the long time to see the live performance of live performance of Sonu Nigam. BollySonu Nigam. Bolly-Sonu Nigam. Bolly-Sonu Nigam. Bollywoodshows4u is woodshows4u is bringing the bringing the

performperform-perform-perform

IACCGH Helps to HirePage 5

BY PY PY RAMOD KUL KUL K KARNIKARNIKHOUSTON: If there’s one recent movie that has polarized opinions about India, it is Slumdog Mil-lionaire. The movie has all the el-ements of entertainment designed to glue you to your seat – shock, awe, amusement, disgust, true love and inspiration. Some people have seen movie several times, each time moved to tears and joy. There are a few others, however, who could not get past the slum kid’s jump into the cesspool or the blinding of a child.More than 120 people with prob-ably 200 opinions about the movie assembled at a town hall meeting held at India House last Sunday afternoon.The town hall meeting was orThe town hall meeting was or-ganized by the Foundation for India Studies at the University of

Houston. The Foundation could Houston. The Foundation could not have chosen a better topic not have chosen a better topic to raise awareness among Indo-Americans in Houston about its Americans in Houston about its Indian studies programs. Prior to Indian studies programs. Prior to the discussion of the film, Parul the discussion of the film, Parul Fernandes and Krishna Vavilala Fernandes and Krishna Vavilala explained that the Foundation explained that the Foundation is currently conducting Hindi is currently conducting Hindi Level I and Level II courses as Level I and Level II courses as well as classes on Hinduism, well as classes on Hinduism, Jainism and the Anthropology of Jainism and the Anthropology of India. The Foundation has also India. The Foundation has also received support from Indian received support from Indian government’s Ministry of Over-seas Indians to fund a Chair for seas Indians to fund a Chair for Indian studies at UH.An 11-minute clip of Slumdog

An 11-minute clip of Slumdog Millionaire, edited by Anil Ku-mar, was screened to stimulate mar, was screened to stimulate the discussion. The clip included the discussion. The clip included scenes depicting negative aspects scenes depicting negative aspects of India such as religious dishar-mony, child prostitution, and po-lice brutality. These scenes were

lice brutality. These scenes were lice brutality. These scenes were lice brutality. These scenes were followed by uplifting scenes in followed by uplifting scenes in

ers to Houston thus making Houstonians dreams come true, by organizing “Explosion 2009” Concert. “Explosion 2009 will be giving “Explosion 2009 will be giving Houston residents a night long Houston residents a night long non-stop session of rock-

non-stop session of rock-non-stop session of rocking Bollywood melodies, ing Bollywood melodies, promising one of the promising one of the most memorable musi-cal treats like never cal treats like never witnessed before.For tickets log on For tickets log on to www.bollywood-to www.bollywood-to www.bollywood

shows4u.com or shows4u.com or call 281-235-

4711.

The Queen is Dead

Maharani Gayatri Devi passes away at the age of 90Read all about it inside.

Ambassador Meera

Shankar Visits

Houston Page 11

Central Texas Temple Grows Page 6

murder 2: murder 2: m movie reviewreviewrSex, skin and gore: unfortunately, all it eventually adds up to is quite a big bore.

By namratanamratan Jamrata Jamrata o Jo J Shi(Outlook) Yana Gupta slithers on the

screen as the opening credits roll and you pretty much know what to expect of Mur-pretty much know what to expect of Mur-pretty much know what to expect of Murder 2. Filmmaker Mohit Suri works hard to offer the audience a heady mixture of sex, skin and gore. Unfortunately, all it eventu-ally adds up to is quite a big bore.

Emraan Hashmi is a corrupt policeman with tattooed shoulders, long curly hair (that looks like last decade’s fashion state-ment) and a resolutely deadpan face. Lest you lose our ordinary Joe in the crowds, he is liberal in his use of MC/BC words, and loudly at that, to announce himself. One fine day, he is asked by a crook to trace a bunch of missing prostitutes and decides to

use a decoy to nab the baddie. But there’s more to Hashmi than just his job.

He is a multi-faceted man who donates a chunk of his tainted money to the church and, in his free time (of which he has plenty), he romps around with Jacqueline Fernandez. She, in turn, works extremely sincerely to perfect the art of taking her shirt off and then putting it on again and again and again.

Every time she asks Hashmi to define their relationship—whether it’s mohab-bat (love) or zaroorat (need)—Hashmi’s answer is straight and simple—it is aadat (habit). Needless to say, this leaves Fer-(habit). Needless to say, this leaves Fer-(habit). Needless to say, this leaves Fernandez so confused that she can’t figure out what to do with her shirt. So she sheds

bucketloads of tears. There are other in-teresting characters in the picture. Like a bunch of incompetent, silly cops who make one long for ACP Pradyuman, Daya and Abhijeet of TV serial CID fame to come on the scene of the crime and solve the case. The piece de resistance, the unhinged serial killer, sings Murder songs as he chops and slices up women—the Bhatts must’ve been rather displeased with the soundtrack of this sequel.

On a serious note, I wonder what the moral brigade, who got so hot over Delhi Belly’s potty humour, would think of this unadulterated celebration of gratuitous violence and titillatory sex. I as a woman was highly offended.

Amitabh’s look in

AarakshanAmitabh Bachchan characters and

the style they carry have always been inspirational and quite the trend setters. Be it the Jai of “Sholay” to Auro of Be it the Jai of “Sholay” to Auro of “Paa”, people have loved and admired “Paa”, people have loved and admired his characters and followed his style. Amitabh Bachchan strives to entertain, and thus he not only works on the role given to him but also adapts and carries any new look and style that is associated with the role with a open mind and taking inspiration from real life, be it the director of the film.

Any director having worked with Mr. Bachchan or planning to work with him really does his due diligence in visualizing and implementing the details of the character he is to play from costume to mannerism. The look and style of Dr. Prabhakar Anand, the character played by Amitabh, has a somewhat of a different approach in Prakash Jha’s next film – AARAKSHAN. Even though we have seen Mr. Bachchan in a similar character, the audience with not only get to see him in a new dramatic avatar, it would be the first time when the look of the character is inspired by the director himself.

The character is designed while keeping in mind Prakash Jha’s look in real life, the way he keeps his hair, to the thick rimmed frames, the solid kurta colors, the khaadi jacket and the checked muffler to complete the entire look, Amitabh Bachchan is all ready to appear in the theatres this August in his next film AARAKSHAN. Priyanka Mundada, the costume designer of the film, said, “It was an interesting sitting I had with Prakash ji and Mr. Bachchan when we were discussing the look of his character in the film, when looking at Mr. Jha, he points out and says ‘that’s it, that is Prabhakar,’ both Prakash ji and I were quite taken a back.”

Saif reserves his love for Kareena, in AARAKSHAN

Amidst the buzz of Deepika and Saif’s super bonding on the sets of Prakash Jha’s next film AARAKSHAN in Bhopal, Saif turned out loyal to his four-year-old relationship with Bebo beyond our expectations.

Saif Ali Khan, the nawab, will be seen playing a dalit’s role in Prakash Jha’s upcoming film AARAKSHAN. It is obvious that immense care had to be taken to make him look convincing. However, Saif went a step ahead of the cast and crew

to make sure he looked like his character. to make sure he looked like his character. He would BBM Kareena his pictures He would BBM Kareena his pictures before every scene and only after his lady before every scene and only after his lady luck gave a green signal, would he proceed luck gave a green signal, would he proceed with that look and shoot. Looks like the with that look and shoot. Looks like the saying turns around for the lovebirds, so saying turns around for the lovebirds, so far and yet so close!far and yet so close!

Another story that we hear completely Another story that we hear completely goes against the troubling rumors about goes against the troubling rumors about Saif and Bebo. We hear that Saif Ali Saif and Bebo. We hear that Saif Ali Khan always did the make-up for his tattoo that reads Kareena’s name himself during AARAKSHAN’s shoot. Right from covering up the tattoo to the touch-up, Saif wouldn’t have anyone else touch Kareena’s name. Now that’s what we call possessiveness! AARAKSHAN sure helped Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor reserve their love. We are waiting to see Saif’s all new Dalit look that he and Kareena bonded so much over.

Prakash Jha – Khaatraon Ka Khiladi

On a typical film set where most directors are found sitting by the camera in their director’s chair calling out action, Prakash Jha is always found in midst of the action.

Prakash Jha who is known to be one director who takes on challenging subjects with his films, seems to have taken a few during the shooting of his next film AARAKSHAN. One would always find Prakash Jha with the film camera on an edge of a bridge without support, or on a crane 50 odd ft above the ground, amidst a chaotic crowd or under a running bulldozer to get a shot just right. Amitabh Bachchan who is working with Prakash Jha for the first time, rightly dubbed him as a “Khaatron Ka Khiladi.”

Being the daredevil director, Prakash Jha escapes a few almost accidents during the shoot. It happened twice during shooting, while taking a shot under the bulldozer, the driver didn’t hear the command to “STOP” from the action director, almost running over Prakash Jha. Second time, he wasn’t as lucky as he takes off on a scooter by himself during a location shift, and gets into an accident. Un-phased by the injury the “Khataron Ka Khiladi” – Prakash Jha remarks to his crew jokingly “you’ve made me fall, but don’t think I have fallen from grace.”

Saif’s all new Dalit look that he and Kareena bonded so much

Prakash Jha is always found

Prakash Jha who is known to be

IamINdoeNtertaNtertaN INtertaINterta meINmeIN NtNtN NtNt ews



IamPakIstaNNews

a speak easy PanoramaFilm Bol exposes the religion-addled sores of Pakistani society. It’s also a call to action.

By amir mir(Outlook) Four years ago, Paki-

stani film-maker Shoaib Mansoor’s Khuda Kay Liye had the subcon-tinent gasping at his audacity in tackling the theme of terrorism in a country infamous for suicide bombers. Mansoor is back again—his new film, Bol (Speak), released a fortnight ago, holds out a mirror to a society which callously mis-treats women, eunuchs, or anyone adhering to a contrarian belief sys-tem. Bol is not only bold, it’s also drawing mammoth crowds, raising as much hope of resuscitating the moribund Lahore film industry as it exhorts the suppressed womenfolk of Pakistan to speak out and free themselves from the shackles of misconceptions so often dressed up in religious certitudes.

Bol has mesmerised Pakistanis as no other film before, boasting a record collection of Rs 25.03 million in the first week, galloping past the earlier top grosser, My Name is Khan, which earned Rs 21.65 million in the same period. About his success, Mansoor told Outlook, “Bol has captured the imagination of audiences and most critics in Pakistan, where Lolly-wood (Lahore film industry) films have attracted neither critical nor box-office acclaim. Bol’s success proves there is still an audience out there that yearns for quality films reaching out to them in a mean-ingful way. My film questions the worth of a human being—either a woman or a eunuch—as well as the rights to reproduce human beings by poor families without taking responsibility for them.”

Melodramatic, at times degener-ating into a propaganda blitz, Bol has engaged TV producer Tazeen Javed because of the audience re-sponse to it. Says Javed, “The film is a three-hour-long advertisement for family planning, yet none of the usual suspects have called it un-Islamic. One character openly asks others to take off their hijab, leave the four walls of the home and experience life; and yet no fatwa. It gives me reason to hope for a toler-ant Pakistan.”

Bol leaves you breathless not only because of its theme, but also be-cause of its multi-layered subplots, myriad twists and turns in the sto-ryline, and its surfeit of characters. To narrate the story of Bol in brief would tantamount to depriving the reader of a sense of its lure. The film focuses on the destructive quest of a Hakeem sahib (traditional medicine man) to sire a son that sees his wife beget 14 children, of whom only seven daughters survive. The eighth is a eunuch, much to Hakeem’s embarrassment.

The eunuch child, named Saifi, is proscribed from stepping out of home even as the daughters are allowed to study till Grade V. Schooled at home, the only outsid-ers the eunuch child has ever seen are the members of a neighbouring family, among whom is Mustafa (played by Pakistan’s top singer, Atif Alam), who has a secret dalli-ance with one of Hakeem’s daugh-ters, Ayesha. But the daughter who inspires rebellion against Hakeem’s control over his family is the el-dest, Zainab, who has separated from her husband as she believes their deplorable economic condi-tion doesn’t justify having a child. Such is Zainab’s conviction that she persuades her mother to undergo vasectomy, and endures a severe beating from her father.

This only serves to fan her re-bellious spirit—she takes Saifi to Mustafa, a medical student, won-dering whether his incipient draw-ing/painting skills could be honed to enable him to earn a livelihood. Saifi is placed under the tutelage of a person renowned for paintings on trucks. Parallel to the brewing rebel-lion in Hakeem’s family, portrayed as much through Saifi’s clandestine apprenticeship as through Mustafa-Ayesha’s secret rendezvous, is the saga of Saqa Kanjar, a pimp and a Shia to boot, whose request to have his family learn the Quran Hakeem turns down. How could he teach a pimp’s family?

Here the story moves into another gear altogether—Saifi is brutally gang-raped and his father gets to know his clandestine venture. In a fit of rage, he chokes Saifi to death. Hakeem is now sucked into a spiral of crime. He siphons off Rs 2 lakh from the local mosque committee fund that’s being collected under his supervision to bribe the inves-

tigating officer for suppressing the postmortem report. Desperate to return the money to the committee before the embezzlement is discov-ered, Hakeem takes to teaching the Kanjar family, though he cleanses his daily earning by washing and ironing the crisp notes at home.

A series of sharp twists and turns follow—Hakeem turns down the request of Mustafa’s father for the wedding between his son and Ayesha; the committee demands its Rs 2 lakh back. A harried Hakeem agrees to a bizarre deal Kanjar of-fers in exchange of Rs 2 lakh. The father of seven daughters should take Kanjar’s daughter, Mina, as wife. If a daughter is born to Mina, then Kanjar keeps the child. In case a boy is born, Hakeem must take him.

After marrying Mina and spend-ing the night with her, Hakeem returns home to hear the news that his wedding night was also that of Mustafa and Ayesha, solemnised at the rebellious Zainab’s behest. Nine months later, a girl is born to Mina, and Hakeem is anxious to whisk her away from the Kanjar household, apprehensive that she might become a prostitute later in life. One fine evening, Mina brings her child to Hakeem, much to the shock of his wife and daughters, who declare their unanimous deci-

Stills from Pakistan’s smash hit film, Bol

Bol fascinates not only with theme, but with subplots, twists in the storyline, and its variety of characters.

sion to leave the following morning. On the same night, though, Kanjar raids the Hakeems in a bid to take custody of Mina’s child. Hakeem tries to murder Mina’s child, but a blow from Zainab kills him. She successfully hides the child from Kanjar, though she is sent to the gallows for the crime.

In a style typical of the sub-continent, Bol ends on a happy note—the sisters start the epony-mous Zainab cafe, which pulls in enough business to allow them to live independently. About his reason for choosing the theme of Bol, Mansoor said, “Nothing in the world scares me more than the thought of being born a woman or a eunuch in a country like Pakistan... we make tall claims about the rights of women granted by our religion and yet when I look around in un-derdeveloped Muslim countries in general and Pakistan in particular, I find things totally the opposite.”

The film’s seductive pull, says writer Aksari Jalil, stems from the tackling of emotive issues which every individual has experienced, raising questions that are consid-ered a sin to ask, and challenging many socially acceptable interpre-tations of religion. Others feel Bol serves the purpose of studying the society. As senior journalist Ghazi Salahuddin says, “The film may serve as a measure of its viewers’ capacity to come to terms with some harsh, unspeakable realities of our existence.” Beyond any-thing, Bol’s popularity testifies to the hunger among Pakistanis for films depicting their cultural mi-lieu, their stories, and questions central to their existence.

Director Shoaib Mansoor



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ARIES Mar 21 - Apr 20:You are in a pleas-ing spirit. You have come up with such brilliant

performances in both your do-mestic and professional life that you are the cynosure of all eyes. This could lead to feelings of envy among oth-ers, but you will tackle them

gracefully. Financial matters too will grab your attention. As you mix business and pleasure, the line between personal and professional re-lationships getting blurred. But worry not! You will take the right decisions at the right times.

TAURUS Apr 21 - May 21 You will find the required courage and patience to finish all the

work you have been procras-tinating. You will find peace of mind. Money will pour in from several quarters. Indulg-ing in speculative trading will help your money pocket! The

river of your life is flowing smoothly, both on the personal and professional fronts. Positive things are happening without your putting in any special efforts. This calls for celebration!

GEMINI May 22 - Jun 21: You tend to lose your patience. Tight financial conditions

or stress on the domestic front makes this so. It can cause you an inordinate amount of depression, and lead to more negativity. But you will soon become more tolerant and af-become more tolerant and af-become more tolerant and af

fable with all people, and you will see its results in the all-round appreciation that you gain. Increments and promotions may be on the cards. Sounds great. Irritating litigations will end soon!

CANCER Jun 22 - Jul 23: Your spending spree could spell trouble! While you indulge

to your heart’s content in shop-ping, keep an eye fixed on your bank balance, or it may run dry up! Your new acquaintances hold a lot of promise of fetching you more lucrative work, so in

the final analysis things may actually balance out. You are itching for action, and a keen desire to broaden the fields of your interests. Both work and recreation spheres will be tempting, and you will grab every opportunity you get. In this gratifying phase, you are racing ahead full steam!

LEO July 24 - Aug 23:You are convinced that your happiness is dependent on the hap-

piness of people around you. There will be a lot of recre-ational events and you will be far from misery spending on your near and dear ones. You will use your intelligence, cre-

ativity and wisdom in a way that best benefits you, making quick headway at work. You will carefully scan new prototypes for your home or office, and there will be many new activities that will get hold of your imagination. It helps relieve the monotony of a dull and drab routine. Besides, spreading your wings will help you grow.

VIRGO Aug 24 - Sep 23: As the workload increases, you will reset your priorities and

reschedule your goals. You will also have to change plans for the future. You have been push-ing your limits indefatigably, but now for your own good, you will have to slow down

considerably, as the hectic pace at which you have been working is beginning to hurt. Expen-diture will shoot up and all kinds of emergen-cies will crop up. There is something wrong with your lifestyle that is taking a heavy toll on your health. You need a medical check-up, and perhaps need to reduce some body weight. Pay heed to the warning signals!

LIBRA Sep 24 - Oct 23: Finances and relationships are the prominent thrust areas this week. You will rekindle lost or worn-out con-

tacts, and also make substan-tial profits from your busi-ness. You will hasten your pace to make quick progress in these two spheres of your life. But don’t socialize too

much, and don’t mix work and entertainment! If you do, you will risk getting bogged down either in your personal or professional life. While you may take liberties in financial matters and in your career issues, hold yourself back as far as pleasure activities are concerned.

SCORPIO Oct 24 - Nov 22: Events are crowding on top of each other during this phase,

and you will have to remain optimistic and composed dur-optimistic and composed dur-optimistic and composed during a flurry of activities. You will be pulled in different di-rections, and will be confused in choosing direction. Things both on the domestic and pro-

fessional fronts are in a flux, and you will even carefully examine the option of relocation. You will have to summon all your mental resources, and take judicious decisions, especially as both expenses and duties multiply. You have the abil-ity to wriggle out of tight corners.

SAGITTARIUS Nov 23 - Dec 22: This is a positive period for you, and you manage to sail

effortlessly through it. Life is smooth and any discords that might crop up will be settled amicably. Legal matters and health issues will call for your attention. All the issues that

you handle now will prepare you well for han-dling bigger challenges in the future. You will start taking monetary matters seriously, and curtail unnecessary expenses. Your new proj-ects will require you to take loans, and you find ways to raise them. You are quite preoccupied, hardly have time to relax, but you are definitely making progress.

CAPRICORN Dec 23 - Jan 20: The allure of lucre is irresistible during this phase! You will

do everything in your capac-ity to earn more money and hold on tightly to what you have already earned. Matters related to taxes and financial developments will keep you busy. Meetings with your

chartered accountant will help you attempt to find out how to avoid heavy tax burdens, and figure out all their short and long-term implica-tions. It will be time spent profitably as you will be able to avoid unnecessary losses.

AQUARIUS Jan 21 - Feb 19: Abundant progress is on the forecast for you. You have

reached that ripe stage of your career where what you say counts for a lot. There are people who look up to you for guidance. Your novel propos-als and ideas will be admired by all. You will also make

remarkable financial progress. Meetings, joint ventures are on the cards. You will devout enough time to your loved ones, an elderly rela-tive may have to be admitted to hospital. Luck is on your side, things will turn out right.

PISCES Feb 20 - Mar 20: The enormous workload on your shoulders is far from over.

It is bound to increase! You will put even more efforts in your work, as you attempt to comply with all the duties you are burdened with. However, your labors will not go in vain.

The rewards will be more in proportion with the efforts you put in. You will not only make big money, but also spend it extravagantly. Health is as good as it can be, and will help you go full steam ahead. Nothing can distract you, and you rush single-mindedly and headlong to complete all your tasks.

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online edition: www.indoamerican-news.com26 Indo American News • Friday, July 22, 2011 online edition: www.indoamerican-news.comOnline Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com


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