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Contributing to the worldwide commemoration of the 101st International Women’s Day, BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha celebrated its fifth annual Women’s Conference focusing on the ancient Hindu teachings of the four purusharths (goals of life), which resonated with women within the Indian-American community who work hard to balance various aspects of their personal, career, and social lives. In the picture above are: Sonal Bhuchar, Anita Patel, Pratiksha Amin, Jaya Desai, Dr. Sundara Kulkarni, Nidhika Mehta, Dr. Heena Thakkar, Juuhi Ahuja, Mohini Ahuja

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Daya Board, Staff and Volunteers Photo: Vishwanath Bhaskaran

BY KALYANI GIRIHOUSTON: Daya, the organization pro-

moting healthy family relationships in the South Asian community, hosted its 16th annual gala/fundraiser Taking Ownership at the Sweetwater Country Club on March 25, 2012. The luncheon event that drew 250 guests, garnered $78,000 for the organiza-tion’s multifarious endeavors to help victims of domestic abuse to survive and thrive to live violence-free lives. Adding an element of poignancy to the afternoon, were the true-life survivors of domestic abuse who cou-rageously stepped up on stage and told of their harrowing experiences and their jour-neys to personal empowerment and fulfill-ment. This week also marked a significant milestone in Daya’s own odyssey when the mortgage on the $220,000 transitional four-bedroom housing, Harmony House that opened in September 2010, was paid up in full with funds from individual donors, the Indo American Charity Foundation (IACF), and with a lead donation from the Houston Endowment Fund. The house offers up to six months accommodation to Daya’s cli-ents as they reconfigure their lives.

“As the theme of this gala suggests, we are taking ownership of the transitional house,” said Dr. Padmini Ranganathan, President of Daya. “It symbolizes the growth of Daya, that we’re moving forward. But our work only intensifies with the acquisition as we still have to establish emergency funds for repairs and maintenance, increase resources for children’s education while they are at the house, and explore ways to maximize util-ity of the home for our clients,” added Dr. Ranganathan.

She acknowledged special guests at the event that included US Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, Sam Merchant (rep-resenting Congressman Al Green), City of Sugar Land Councilman Thomas Abraham, Fort Bend County District Attorney John

$78,000 Raised at Fundraiser Luncheon GalaDaya Empowering Women to Take Ownership of their Lives

Healey, State Representative District 26 Candidate Sonal Bhuchar, IACF President David Raj, and Houston Police Officer and Daya supporter Muzzafar Siddiqi.

Congresswoman Jackson Lee told of her struggle to reauthorize the Violence Against Women’s Act (VAWA) in congress and urged guests to encourage the members of con-gress to reinstate the legislation that sought to improve criminal justice and community-based responses to domestic violence, dat-ing violence, sexual assault and stalking in the United States.

“Sixteen years ago, Daya began helping women to understand that domestic vio-lence is not a respecter of anyone’s wealth, or status, or background,” said Jackson Lee. “You own the idea that domestic violence can be openly spoken about and you don’t stigmatize those who have experienced this. Daya deserves the resources that VAWA can provide if reinstated,” she added.

Jackson Lee and Congressman Green’s

representative Sam Merchant presented Daya with Congressional Certificates of Special Recognition.

Indrani Goradia, a prolific motivation-al leader who has helped Daya’s clients, served as Mistress of Ceremonies for the afternoon. She introduced the two survi-vors of domestic violence who spoke at the event. The first, Naseema (surname undis-closed for privacy), in a pale green saree, said that her 29 years of marriage had left her “unrecognizable” in her lack of self-esteem. Her husband had anger issues that damaging. Naseema’s daughter urged her to seek Daya’s help and she moved into the transitional home and got counseling, gained more confidence, and became finan-cially independent. Seeing the changes, her husband took anger management classes, and the couple resolved to attend marriage counseling together. The marriage is work-ing out and Naseema now helps younger clients at Daya.

The other survivor Kavita was married into an educated family. One day, her hus-band sent her to India to visit her father on a one-way ticket, promising to bring her back to the US. When he didn’t, she returned to the US with her father’s help, only to be turned away at the door and denied access to her two young children.

“I felt like I was in the ocean without knowing how to swim. My life was shat-tered,” said Kavita. She consulted Daya and they moved her to a safe house and procured legal aid to navigate the channels to get her children back.

“I didn’t want them growing up in an abu-sive home,” said Kavita. Today she works as a teacher and enjoys her children in a safe and loving environment. Both women credit Daya for helping them overcome their struggles.

Daya’s statistics for 2011 are as follows: Daya received 5000 client calls on the hotline and helped 269 clients. In collabo-ration with ESCAPE family Resource Cen-ter, Daya provided parenting classes to 12 adults; 16 children participated. Daya hosted a motivational workshop Live a Better Life by Indrani Goradia, and seven clients at-tended. Daya clients were privy to the Rice University SIFE program on banking basics and managing money. Daya increased its visibility through 25 outreach presentations. Through the Daya legal clinic, 409 clients received legal help. The legal clinic has ex-panded from 8 attorneys to 33 attorneys in Houston and 4 in Dallas. Transitional hous-ing was provided for 22 clients over a total of 2,600 client days since 2007.

Co-Treasurer of Daya, Sesh Bala, gave gatherees at the luncheon an overview of Daya’s role in trying to combat domestic violence and the organization’s accomplish-ments. A study out of Boston states that 2 out of 5 South Asian women have experienced


March 30, 20124 March 30, 20124


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BAPS Women’s Conference on Balanced Living

STAFFORD: Contributing to the worldwide commemoration of the 101st International Women’s Day, BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha cel-ebrated its fifth annual Women’s Conference on Saturday, March 24. This year’s focus was on the ancient Hindu teachings of the four purusharths (goals of life), which resonated with women within the Indian-American community who work hard to balance various as-pects of their personal, career, and social lives. BAPS hosted an en-gaging conference with panelists who shared pragmatic applica-tions of the purusharth teachings. Many Hindu scriptures, includ-ing the Bhagvad Gita and Upa-nishads, speak of discovering a point of equilibrium and balance while making progress through different phases of one’s life. The conference presented the perfect opportunity for Indian-American women to coalesce these ageless values with practical scenarios from the 21st century.

Following the theme of “Pu-rusharth – Balanced Living,” the dynamic speakers, ranging from business leaders to healthcare professionals led outstanding dis-cussions on the four purusharths, Dharma, Artha, Kama, and Mok-sha. Each speaker brought their own experiences and expertise to help make these life goals more re-latable and applicable to the great-er audience. Chief guest,Nidhika Mehta started the conference with

a keynote address highlighting some essential practices women can imbibe in their lives to perpetu-ate a more balanced life. As a truly active member of many Houston organizations, Mehta gave excep-tionally applicable advice based on her own extensive experience.

In presenting the Dharma pu-rusharth, Dr. Sundara Kulkarni emphasized all that is encom-passed within Dharma. She noted Dharma’s importance in providing duty, purpose, structure, and order in our lives. She helped the audi-ence understand that dharma is a fundamental purusharth on which the other purusharths are built. Juuhi Ahuja talk focused on the Artha purusharth. She highlight-ed, “Hinduism does not ostracize financial and monetary achieve-ments. It encourages us to reach for the skies while providing guid-ance to maintain equilibrium in other aspects of our lives.” With her extensive background in busi-ness, Ahuja used her expertise to give the audience realistic advise.

Aspects of the Kama purusharth, pertaining to balancing fulfill-ment of desires and observance of self-control as well as the Moksha purusharth, focusing on the true definition of what it means to be liberated were the last two speech topics. Speakers Anita Patel and Pratiksha Amin both presented the topics in such a manner that the purusharths became not only relatable, but even attainable with

effort and focus. When asked how she felt about speaking at the event, Patel said, “Being involved in BAPS activities for many years, this was just another way for me to get involved again. I also liked the theme of this year’s conference and wanted to be a part of it.”

With over 500 women in atten-dance, the conference brought to-gether women from many differ-ent backgrounds and ages. Even with such a diverse audience, the conference allowed for each per-son in attendance to walk away with a new sense of direction and a renewed inspiration about how to live a more balanced life. Dr. Neha Patel from Houston echoed the sentiment expressed by a num-ber of professionals in attendance. In conveying her thoughts, she said, “Having conferences such as this one, helps foster our culture and open dialogue of Hinduism.” Other attendees were also inspired to use spirituality to bring more balance to their lives.

While many may consider the purusharths something of our scriptures, each of the knowl-edgeable speakers made the topic relevant and pertinent to life for women of all ages. Expressing her thoughts regarding the focus of the conference, Women’s Confer-

ence Lead Shailaja Thakkar said, “It was wonderful to see so many women in attendance from many different backgrounds to come together to discuss the practical aspects of spirituality to help bal-anced living.”

The conference concluded with a traditional Hindu prayer for peace as well as an opportunity to network and socialize with one another during a post-conference reception. Attendees were im-pressed with the participation of young women in organizing the event and expressed the impor-tance of holding such forums to address issues impacting women. Many women also felt enriched and inspired by the talks and con-veyed their motivation to share the message with their families and friends.

About BAPS The BAPS Swaminarayan San-

stha (BAPS), a worldwide socio-spiritual organization in Consul-tative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, is dedicated to commu-nity service, peace and harmony. Motivated by Hindu principles, BAPS strives to care for the world by caring for societies, families and individuals. Through a num-ber of social and spiritual activi-

Pratiksha Amin Nidhika Mehta Juuhi Ahuja Dr. Sundara Kulkarni Anita Patel

ties, BAPS endeavors to produce better citizens of tomorrow who have a high esteem for their roots - their rich Hindu culture. Its 3,300 international centers support these activities of character-building. Under the guidance and leadership of His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj, BAPS aspires to build a community that is morally, ethi-cally and spiritually pure, and free of addictions.

About Pramukh Swami Ma-haraj

His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj, the fifth spiritual succes-sor of Bhagwan Swaminarayan, has inspired millions of people across the world to lead a God-centered, morally pure life. As the present leader of BAPS, Pramukh Swami Maharaj travels from vil-lage to village, continent to conti-nent, emphasizing the importance of family harmony, community service and spiritual progress. He embodies the essence of Hindu life. His compassion for human-ity, universal wisdom and strik-ing simplicity have touched many world religious and national lead-ers.

For more information, visit www.baps.org


March 30, 20126 March 30, 20126 COMMUNITYCONTINUED FROM PAGE 3domestic violence. Some barri-ers faced by South Asian women include language and cultural is-sues, lack of a support system, lack of knowledge of their rights, fear of intimidation, economic dependence, unresolved immigra-tion status, and the myth that life in the US is abuse-free. Bala said that Daya’s future plans includes continued growth of the exist-ing services, organizational pro-cess improvements through Alice software and helpline volunteer training, more outreach through a national conference of domestic violence organizations arranged for later this year or early 2013, teen and young adult initiatives and enhanced fundraising to meet new initiatives. Bala recognized and lauded Daya board members, ad-visory board, volunteers, partner-

ing organizations, and community donors for their ongoing support. He also applauded Daya’s current staff Vyoma Majmudar (principal counselor), Nusrat Ameen (Cli-ent Advocate and Transitional Home Cordinator), and Abhilasha Vineet (Community Development Coordinator – Education and Out-reach) for their efficiency in help-ing women and children through Daya. The staff also organized the gala luncheon event.

During a lunch buffet prepared by the Sweetwater Country Club’s chef and staff, guests enjoyed mu-sical entertainment by Rice Uni-versity’s A cappella group, Bas-mati Beats.

For more information on Daya, visit www.dayahouston.org. Or call 713-981-7645 or email [email protected].

Rice University Acapella Group with Abhilasha Vineet (Outreach Coor-dinator) and Padmini R. Nathan(President) Photo: Rohan Ramchand

Daya Luncheon Gala 2012BY THARA NARASIMHAN

Around Easter time, we are get-ting into the swing of listening to Carnatic music in the University Auditoriums and Temple Halls of North America. This gener-ally continues through the spring and SPICMACAY at Texas A&M University recently hosted their fourth Annual Thyagaraja Arad-hana at the Omkarnath Temple in Navasota on March 24. Thyaga-raja, deemed as being one among the Carnatic music trinity, was a prolific composer and highly in-fluential in the development of the South Indian classical music tradi-tion.

Thyagaraja Aradhana is held every year in the month of March where musicians from in and around College station gather to pay homage to this 18th century saint-composer’s memory through his music. The festivities were led by renowned vocalist Rajarajesh-wari Bhat and her talented group of students from Houston. The Aradhana began on an auspicious note with morning “aarthi”, the prayer was followed by individual recitals of Thyagaraja’s composi-tions by the attending artists from College Station, Austin and Hous-ton some of them including Sriran-jani Darbha, Harsha Nagarajan, Dr.Srividya Ramasubramainiam, Vishaal Sapuram, Prasanna Rao, Shilpa Sadagopan, Kruthi Bhat, and several others. They were ac-companied by Manjula Rao on the

violin, Mayavaram Siva on the Mridangam and S. Ganesh on the Kanjira. The celebrations culmi-nated with an enchanting group-rendition of Thyagaraja’s “Ghana Raga Pancharatna Kritis” or “Five Jewels” - a collection of five of his most outstanding compositions. The event was greatly successful in bringing artists and connois-seurs of Indian Classical Music to-gether to commemorate the vibrant and melodious musical legacy left behind by Sri Thyagaraja.

About SPICMACAY TAMU: Society for Promotion of Indian

Texas A&M University Celebrates Thyagraja Uthsavam Classical Music And Culture Amongst Youth (SPICMACAY) is a non-profit student organiza-tion at Texas A&M University committed to the cause of sen-sitizing the youth to the rich and diverse cultural legacy of India. Since its inception in 1989, the SPICMACAY chapter has been actively involved in organizing a kaleidoscope of events from In-dian Classical Music and Dance concerts, lecture-demonstrations, to yoga workshops on campus ev-ery year. Their events are free and open to all.

In Memorium

Sukhdevi Wadhwa1923 - 2012

Grieving FamilySons: Mahesh and PratapWadhwa

Daughter : Raj GroverGrand children and great grand children


7 March 30, 2012 7March 30, 2012COMMUNITYVillage School Students Rally to Eradicate Hunger and

Promote Education for Peers in IndiaHOUSTON: “What better way to serve

humanity than to contribute to the largest democracy in the world?” says 10th grad-er and Houston resident, Aarti Jaggi. With this mindset of servitude, Jaggi has raised $1,400 to provide an astounding 23,333 meals to the deserving children served by the Akshaya Patra Foundation. She attri-butes this accomplishment to the support of students and faculty at The Village School

in Houston during “Akshaya Patra Week”. The Akshaya Patra Foundation’s mission is that no child in India shall be deprived of education because of hunger.

“As an Indian, the country is very close to my heart and I’ve always wanted to con-tribute something back home. I chose to support Akshaya Patra because I believe that education is the fundamental basis of solving most of the problems in a develop-ing country like India. When I heard that despite the effort put in by authorities and ‘right-minded’ people, children weren’t learning anything because of lack of nutri-tion and hunger, I decided to do my bit for Akshaya Patra”, Jaggi stated.

Started modestly in Bangalore, feeding 1500 children in 5 schools, the Akshaya Patra Foundation, one of the world’s largest NGO-run midday meal programs, is cur-rently feeding 1.3 million children daily in over 9,000 government run schools from 21

kitchens in 10 states of India. A public-pri-vate partnership, Akshaya Patra combines good management, innovative technology and smart engineering to deliver school lunch at a fraction of the cost of similar pro-grams in other parts of the world. It costs Akshaya Patra only $15 to feed a child for an entire year. This meal gives these chil-dren an incentive to come to school, stay in school and provides them with the nec-essary nutrients they need to develop their cognitive abilities to focus on learning.

With the support of school administra-tors, teachers, and community members, Jaggi has held several successful fundrais-ing initiatives during “Akshaya Patra Week” within The Village School. Selling bindis, samosas and chickpeas during lunch hours not only raised money for the cause but also introduced the students to part of the Indian culture. Initially, Jaggi was challenged with spreading the word of Akshaya Patra across the high school and engaging students. To-day, most students wear wristbands with the words “I fed a child today” engraved on them and the walls of the high school are plastered with catchy posters in support of eradicating hunger and promoting educa-tion for deserving children in India. Jaggi explains, “Students are excited that they can feed a child for a year for fifteen dollars. “

President and CEO of Akshaya Patra USA, Madhu Sridhar, remarked, “Youth initiatives, like Akshaya Patra Week at The Village School, are crucial to spreading the word about Akshaya Patra’s mission. Youth have historically been at the forefront of innovative social movements that have changed the world. It is heartwarming to see youngsters working selflessly to raise funds for their deserving counterparts in India.”

Seeing the success of this initiative, Jaggi hopes Akshaya Patra week becomes a Vil-lage School tradition. “I intend to pass the responsibility on to a freshman when I grad-uate” she says. I look forward to helping the charity through my school every year, and planning new events for Akshaya Patra week.”

Akshaya Patra, a grassroots organization, is continuously working on building support in communities all across USA through Ak-shaya Patra chapters.

For more information about Akshaya Pa-tra, visit www.foodforeducation.org

CGI Houston Calls on Governor of TexasAUSTIN: Sanjiv Arora, Consul General

of India in Houston called on the Honor-able Rick Perry, Governor of Texas at the State Capitol in Austin on March 14. They had a very cordial and useful exchange of views on a wide range of issues related to cooperation between India and the State of Texas.

Consul General thanked Governor Perry for his steadfast commitment to promoting friendship and cooperation between India and Texas. They shared the view that there was vast potential for expanding collabo-rations in business, education, research, healthcare and other areas.

Consul General highlighted India’s dis-tinctive advantages as a business destina-tion/partner and suggested that Governor Perry may consider leading a business mission from Texas to India. Governor

Perry responded positively to this suggestion.During their meeting, Governor Perry and Consul General Arora appreciated the

achievements of the vibrant Indian-American community in Texas and their important role in fostering cooperation between the two sides.

Consul General Sanjiv Arora with Texas Governor Rick Perry

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Neerja Aggarwal won the Grand Prize for her chemistry project at the Houston Regional Science Fair

HOUSTON: Neerja Aggarwal, a senior at Hightower High School, received outstand-ing recognition and numerous awards at the 53rd Science Engineering Fair of Houston (SEFH) held at the George R. Brown Con-vention Center from March 1-3, 2012.

SEFH is a nonprofit organization dedi-cated to advancing the understanding and appreciation of scientific research in youth today. Neerja has been working for over a year in the Barron Group Research Lab at Rice University under Dr. Andrew Barron and Alvin Orbaek studying the structure and synthesis of multi-walled carbon nanotubes. Her project titled Carbon Nanotube Synthe-sis and Characterization II, a continuation from last year, competed among more than a 1,000 projects at the Regional fair and was judged by several professionals from around the Houston area.

Neerja placed 1st in Senior Division Chemistry and won six special awards from: American Chemical Society, American In-stitute for Chemical Engineers, Engineering Science & Technology Council of Houston, Krisen Foundation for Arts and Sciences, United States Army and the newly created Larry Spears Special Award in honor of the former fair executive director. In addition, Neerja won the Senior Physical Sciences

Grand Award qualifying her to compete in the Intel International Science & Engineer-ing Fair to be held in Pittsburgh in May for the second year in a row. She continues to spend her after-school hours at Rice, where she’s co-authoring a paper with her mentor in preparation for publication.

Neerja Aggarwal Receives Numerous Awards at SEFH

Indian Americans: Third Largest Asian community in USWASHINGTON (TOI): Indian Ameri-

cans numbering 3.2 million is the third larg-est Asian American community in US after Chinese Americans (3.8 million) and Filipi-nos (3. 4 million).

As per the details released by US Census Bureau for the year 2010, Asian American communities have emerged as the fastest growing ethnic communities in the last one de-cade.

The total US population grew by 9.7%, from 281.4 million in 2000 to 308.7 mil-lion in 2010.

However, the Asian population increased more than four times faster than the total US popula-tion, growing by 43% from 10.2 million to 14.7 million, it said.

As a result, the Asian alone-or-in-combi-nation population represented 57% of the total population in Hawaii.

California had the next highest proportion at 15%, followed by New Jersey (nine per cent), Nevada (nine per cent), Washington

(nine per cent), and New York (eight per cent).

The same six states had the highest pro-portions of the Asian alone population.

The 2010 Census showed that New York, had the largest Asian alone-or-in-combina-tion population, with 1.1 million,

followed by Los Angeles (484,000), and San Jose (327,000).

Three other places, Francisco and San Diego in California and Urban Honolulu in Hawaii had Asian alone-or-in-combination popula-tions of over 200,000 people.

As per the figures, the Bhutanese population experienced the

fastest growth from 2000 to 2010, growing from about 200 in 2000 to about 19,000 in 2010.

Census Bureau said of all the detailed Asian alone-or-in-any combination groups that had a population of one million or more, the Indian American population grew the fastest, by 68%, followed by the Filipino (44%), Vietnamese (42%), Korean (39%), and Chinese (40%) populations.


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Priya: Dr. Nik, you just pub-lished your third book. Is it an-other one on cardiology?

Nik: No, this book is an English screenplay of the Ramayan.

Priya: An English screenplay on Ramayan! Fascinating!

Nik: I had a lot of fun writ-ing this, but I had to take a crash course in screenplay writing to complete this project.

Priya: What inspired you to write it?

Nik: In 2011, I was involved with the Ram Leela, a three-hour stage-play in Hindi, organized by Dr. Arun Verma, in Houston. I re-alized that there are more than 500 million Indians across the world who speak English (Indian Eng-lish) and do not necessarily follow the intricate dialogues written in Hindi or Sanskrit by scholars such as Valmiki, Tulsidas, Ramanand Sagar, and others. So, I ventured into writing an English screenplay which will enable everyone to ap-preciate the philosophy behind the Ramayan.

Also, during my research for this project I discovered on YouTube, several videos of cultural organi-zations and school children per-forming short segments from the Ramayan in English. I thought, if I write a complete Ramayan screen-

play in English, people across the globe will have a ready-made script. They can choose segments from the book and focus only on the presentation.

Priya: Why the screenplay for-mat?

Nik: I asked myself, how I could write the Ramayan in a manner that is easy to understand, educa-tional, entertaining, and will in-volve every member of the family. The best way to accomplish that is to write a screenplay.

The screenplay is a unique form of story telling; it lets the reader empathize with any character,

even if the character is not the most favored one, like in the case of Kaikeyi or Manthara.

Priya: Is this your first screen-play? How long is it?

Nik: Yes it is my first and it will be a three-hour play.

Priya: What according to you is the purpose of this book?

Nik: My primary objective is to spread the story of Ram and Sita and the philosophy behind this great Indian epic to the next gener-ation of English-speaking Indians. Also, I want them to realize how they can apply some of the prin-ciples from the Ramayan in their own lives when they face similar trials and tribulations.

Priya: What did you like most about writing this book?

Nik: Staring at the computer screen for six to eight hours in one go! Writing a screenplay was a very new experience. I have en-joyed it fully. I loved the idea of a screenplay which tells the story directly without any fluff. There is no rambling or endless author interpretations and interjections. The action and dialogue speak for themselves.

Priya: What was the most diffi-cult part?

Nik: Formatting the screenplay to a book, and an e-book, were

the most challenging parts of writ-ing this play. There is software for writing a screenplay but convert-ing that to the format of a book in-volved so many iterations before it came together.

Priya: Which part of the Rama-yan do you like best?

Nik: When Ayodhya awaits the crowning of Shri Ram, the intrigu-ing dialogue that ensues the pre-vious day, between Kaikeyi and her old maid, Manthara changes the entire course of the Ramayan. That turning point in the story de-fines the very purpose of Vishnu’s incarnation as Ram on Earth and appeals to the story teller in me.

Priya: Anything that resonates with you from the story?

Nik: One thing that got my atten-tion the most was the life of Ram. Except for two occasions, (his mar-riage to Sita, and his coronation as the King of Ayodhya, after killing Ravan), the majority of his life is a series of misfortunes. The most in-teresting part is how he deals with every situation in a positive and uplifting matter.

Priya: How does this book differ from your other books?

Nik: The first book I wrote was on stress management. There are some similarities in that stress is universal and even God is not

exempt from that. But, how Ram deals with challenging stressful sit-uations sheds a lot of light on how we can learn to live despite some distressing challenges in our own lives. Even though this epic is sup-posed to have happened thousands of years ago, its guiding principles hold true even to this day.

Priya: This story doesn’t have all the modern day films’ chemistry, magic, action, comedy, betrayal...

Nik: Once you read this book, you will be convinced how much human drama, action, magic, pow-er, greed, selfishness, sacrifice, steadfast determination, defec-tion, war plans, mass destruction, is packed in this great epic. Engi-neering a bridge across the ocean, raising kids as a single parent... name it and its there!

Priya: I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy of this book. Where can I get one?

Nik: If you want a printed copy you can get it from major books stores like Amazon or Barnes and Noble. For an electronic copy, there is a Kindle edition and an iBook version which you can read on your iPad.

Dr. Nikam can be reached via phone at 281-265-7567 or via email at [email protected]

Ramayan: An English Screenplay by Dr. Nik Nikam


March 30, 201210 March 30, 201210 COMMUNITYBY MIKA RAO KALAPATAPU

HOUSTON: The Indian Ameri-can Cancer Network (IACAN) held its first fundraising gala on Friday, March 23 at Sweetwater Country Club in Sugar Land. The non-profit 501(c)(3) organization was founded in 2009 with a mis-sion to promote cancer awareness in the Indian community and to support those Indian Americans who are going through the cancer journey.

The ballroom of the Sweetwater Country Club was filled with over 300 supporters who enjoyed ap-petizers and dinner. While guests mingled at the cocktail hour, they had the opportunity to bid on original artwork, golf packages and other specialty items. The evening launched with a musi-cal band performance by David Raj and group. IACAN Treasurer Alpa Shah served as the mistress of ceremonies for the evening and introduced the chief guest, Lorenzo Cohen, Ph.D., Professor and Director, Integrative Medi-cine Program at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

Dr. Cohen, who frequently travels to India, spoke about the increased prevalence of cancer among Indians in America, as compared to Indians in the sub-continent. He described some of the dietary and environmental fac-tors that can influence the devel-opment of cancer.

Next, the crowd listened with

rapt attention to keynote presenter, Judge Ravi Sandill. Sandill is the Judge of the 127th District Court in Harris County and the first South Asian to be elected to the District Court Bench in Texas. He described being diagnosed with lymphoma while still in his twen-

ties. Not only did he survive the disease, but successfully ran for elected office just months after completing treatment. He con-gratulated IACAN on its work on behalf of the community.

The evening continued with presentations and performances featuring cancer survivors and caregivers. The theme of the gala - “celebrating life” - was apparent. Many shared personal account of the ways in which IACAN’s sup-port played a pivotal role in their recovery process. Others spoke of the ongoing need for community resources to assist those in need. The highlight of the night was a dance performance by a group of four cancer survivors and their

IACAN “Celebrates Life” at Galahusbands/caregivers. This group had never before performed, but demonstrated joy, courage and teamwork while dancing to Jai Ho and other popular songs. The kath-ak dance performed by students of Natya Upasana Dance Academy drew rave reviews.

IACAN members were pleased that the first gala had so much sup-port. “The success of the organi-zation cannot be attributed to any one individual,” shared Gayathri Kongovi, IACAN President. “In-

stead, it is the result of a commu-nity coming together to turn the tide against this deadly disease.” She briefed the audience on strides made by this young organiza-tion and outlined the programs. IACAN recognized the gala co-chairs Sanjay and Savita Rao who, as diamond sponsors, were instru-mental in making the evening suc-cessful.

To learn more about IACAN, ob-tain help, or to become a volunteer, visit www.iacannetwork.org

IACAN board with gala co-chairs Sanjay and savita rao Photos: Bijay Dixit

Gala Chief guest Dr. Lorenzo Cohen

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BY DR. JAYAKUMAR SRINIVASAN In his address to the youth,

titled, “Role of Youth in the Fu-ture of Hindu Dharma” at the Sri Guruvayurappan temple, Swami Pratyagbodhananda of Arsha Vidya Gurukulam said that though children of Indian origin are born in the US, their roots go back to the ancient Indian civilizations of the Indus, Saraswati and beyond. A holistic understanding of that heritage enables them to have a strong Hindu identity.

Covering topics pertaining to the Hindu religion, including the multiplicity of Gods, idol worship, and daily customs such as wear-ing tilak, Sawmiji answered the very interesting and often asked question, “Do we worship idols or Gods?” - Hindus worship Gods who personify ideals and are in the form of idols, clarified Swamiji.

According to Swamiji, when we salute a flag, we are not saluting a piece of cloth; we are saluting everything that it epitomizes - a collective history, the will, pride and aspirations of an entire nation! Likewise, Hindus worship idols which are not just ordinary statu-ettes, but icons which have come to possess a sanctified and sacred status over several millennia.

During interactions with the youth, Swamiji defined culture

as encompassing of language, customs, dress, music, wor-ship, festival, history and world-views. Stressing on respect for all cultures, he said that no culture should be obliterated. According to Swamiji, the Hindu Dharma is exclusive in that if religion is re-moved from Indian culture, there will be no culture left. He touched upon the history of ongoing at-tempts by Abrahamic religions to convert Hindus, and categorically stated that “Conversion is violence against humanity”, drawing ap-plause from the audience.

America is unique in that inde-pendent religious identities are encouraged and respected. Here, the Hindu Youth have the op-

Swami Pratyagbodhananda Saraswati Enthralls Houston’s Hindu Youth

portunity to develop and express their religious identities in creative ways. Swamiji urged Hindu orga-nizations to establish a solid Vedic Heritage curriculum for children and to develop leadership pro-grams.

During the week Swamiji pre-sented a series of discourses on Uddhava Gita, a dialogue be-tween Lord Krishna and Uddhava. Swamiji also spoke at the Hindu Temple of Woodlands and at the Meenakshi Temple.

The program was organized by Arsha Vidya Satsanga, Houston.

For more information, visit www.AVShouston.org or email [email protected]

Swamiji with youth after addressing them on their role in the future of Hindu Dharma at the Guruvayurappan Temple.


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From Exile to EverywhereBY LAURA M. HOLSON

(NYT) AT 8pm on a rainy Tues-day last month, Salman Rushdie strode into Junoon, a Flatiron dis-trict restaurant where 90 people awaited his arrival, some sipping chamomile-infused vodka cock-tails. Rushdie, the Indian-born British author, was the guest of honor at a dinner sponsored by Dom Pérignon and Booktrack, the maker of an app that synchronizes music to e-books.

It was the second party that night for Rushdie, 64, who earlier in the evening could be found chat-ting with Diane Von Furstenberg at a downtown show for the artist Ouattara Watts, hosted by Vladi-mir Restoin Roitfeld, one of his gallerists.

At Junoon, after plates of baby eggplant and lamb were scraped clean, Rushdie grabbed an iPad and read aloud his short story “In the South,” which appeared in The New Yorker in 2009 and which Booktrack had scored to original music played by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. After he finished, Rushdie approached a long-legged, slim brunet woman sitting at the end of a long table. “How did I do?” Rushdie asked. She cooed over the recitation, and he thanked her for coming. As he walked away, she turned to a fel-low partygoer. “It’s nice to see him out, isn’t it?” she said.

Perhaps a more apt question would be: where haven’t New Yorkers seen Rushdie lately?

Nearly 25 years after the pub-lication of “The Satanic Verses,” which forced Rushdie into hiding for a decade after Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini condemned the novel and issued a fatwa calling for his death, Rushdie has emerged as an indefatigable presence on the New York night-life scene.

In January he was spotted with Francesco Clemente, the painter and a close friend, at an art open-ing in Chelsea for the artist Victor Matthews. Weeks earlier, Rushdie hosted a book event at Vermilion, an Indian-Latin restaurant he in-vested in, and where, in January, the flash-sales Web site Gilt City offered a $95 six-course dinner promotion that included a signed copy of one of Rushdie’s books.

Rushdie, the author of 16 books who has lived mostly near Union Square for 12 years, has himself begun writing a script for a series for Showtime that will be set in contemporary New York. “I think he enjoys the speed of New York,” said David Nevins, Showtime’s president for entertainment.

Rushdie is hardly the first fa-mous author to revel in the city’s night life. From Truman Capote in the 1950s and ’60s, to Norman Mailer in the ’70s and ’80s, min-gling with members of high soci-ety has long been an integral part of literary celebrity.

But Rushdie’s relentless pub-lic presence is notable not only because it flouts the edict against

him from more restrictive parts of the world, but also because it oc-curs precisely at a moment when many of New York’s most suc-cessful writers appear to lead lives of domestic tranquillity in Brook-lyn.

“The day of the writer as public character is greatly diminished,” said Mort Janklow, the veteran literary agent. “Writers are more professional. You don’t hear about feuds. You don’t see the most pro-lific writers out.”

Like Mailer, who had six wives, Rushdie, who has married four times (most recently to the “Top Chef” host Padma Lakshmi, whom he was divorced from in 2007), has developed something of a reputation as a ladies’ man. “Anytime you see him he is with two or three beautiful women,” said Graydon Carter, a friend and the editor in chief of Vanity Fair, who owns the Waverly Inn res-taurant, which Rushdie frequents. “He’s one of my best customers. You wouldn’t think a writer would be my best customer.”

Rushdie’s first marriage, in 1976, to the literary agent Clarissa Luard, ended in 1987. His next two wives were also involved in the book world; Marianne Wig-gins is an author, and Rushdie’s third wife, Elizabeth West, was a book editor. But perhaps his most scrutinized relationship was with Lakshmi, a former model and sometime actress to whom he was married for four years. Since their split, he has been linked to a num-ber of attractive young women.

Friends say he once dated Mi-chelle Barish, the socialite and former wife of the nightclub pro-moter Chris Barish. The actress Pia Glenn has spoken publicly of a relationship with Rushdie. And last November, Devorah Rose, an aspiring reality television actress and magazine editor who chroni-cles society in the Hamptons, post-ed a photograph on Twitter of her and the author at dinner. “Great times w @SalmanRushdie,” Rose tweeted.

What followed between Rose and Rushdie was catnip for gos-sips. Rushdie told The Post that Rose was a casual acquaintance.

Rose shot back that Rushdie pur-sued her romantically, and provid-ed messages he sent her on Face-book for publication on the gossip Web site Scallywagandvagabond.com, according to the site.

Deepika Bahri, a friend and an associate professor of English at Emory University in Atlanta, where Rushdie is a distinguished writer in residence, said that Rushdie was game for interacting online with any person or subject, highbrow or low. “I don’t think it really matters to him,” Bahri said, when asked how such behavior might affect public perception.

To Rushdie, such platforms are not just new ways to show his tal-ents, but offer liberation of a sort, friends said. “He talks about be-ing reborn digitally,” Bahri said. When Rushdie was asked about his interest in social media at Ju-noon in February, he said: “I like reaching a new audience. The dia-logue is invigorating.”

Certainly, whatever social gyra-tions occur in cyberspace or on the town, Rushdie has clung to his literary cachet, no small feat, as Janklow, the agent, pointed out: “It’s hard to be a great social fig-ure and a great writer.”

The author is still very much in demand as a speaker at conferenc-es. In January, he canceled a trip to India to talk at the Jaipur Lit-erature Festival because potential threats left him worried about his safety. But Rushdie returned to India this month to attend the In-dia Today Conclave in New Delhi. And his memoirs are highly antici-pated; he is expected to chronicle his years in hiding after the fatwa was issued.

“Salman is still in the mix and part of culture and conversation,” said Carter of Vanity Fair.

Page-Green courted Rushdie years ago to join the advisory board of the Lunchbox Fund. She said she asked him to host last Wednesday’s book fair and fund-raiser because he not only would create awareness for her charity, but would also invite his famous friends.

Brooke Geahan, vice president of publishing for Booktrack, met Rushdie seven years ago at a poet-ry reading. Geahan, who has held many splashy parties for writers as founder of the Accompanied Lit-erary Society, approached the au-thor about using a story of his for Booktrack and, later, asked him to read at Junoon. “He’s very gener-ous,” Geahan said.

Booktrack executives said they hoped that Rushdie’s participation (and the publicity surrounding it) would attract other esteemed con-temporary authors; thus far, their Web site offers only 14 titles.

That didn’t seem to matter, though, at Junoon, where guests offered Rushdie their congratula-tions and bravos, inquiring where they might hear him read again.

Rushdie beamed. He was one of the last to leave the party.

Rushdie with his then-wife Padma Lakshmi. Photo: Diane Bondareff


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March 30, 201216 March 30, 201216 COMMUNITYArathi School of Indian Dance Celebrates 30 Years of Service

SAN ANTONIO: Arathi School of Indian Dance in San Antonio celebrated the 30 year anniversary of the school on February 4. The book titled ‘Arathi: Thirty Years of Service to the Arts and the Community is the first book to be published in the US that outlines the history of development of dance in the Indian Diaspora. It was realeased at the celebration by Dr. Daniel Gelo, Dean of the college of Liberal and Fine Arts. Indeed they did capture the 30 years in many well planned activities. An exhibit of backdrops and stage props created by Stephen Montol-vo, a local artist was curated and presented by Ambika Natarajan and her team. Steven created palaces, arches, temples pillars and many more on canvas, wood and Styrofoam to bring the ambiance necessary for the pro-ductions. Steven was recognized with a gift, a ticket to India to visit the places that he had so perfectly visualized in his mind’s eye.

Next, they devoted an entire session for second generation teachers to showcase their choreography. The production, ‘Maa’ by the Indic Dance group from Dallas was brilliant and a testimonial to the creativity of dancers trained in the US, now teaching in the US and who resonate to the sensibility of the local audience. ‘Maa’ told the story of the many shades of motherhood. Guru Revathi Satyu’s presence was an inspiration as she was the principle guru for the school when it was started in 1981 and taught for 18 years. Guru’s, Shila Mehta from Mum-bai, Prasanna Kasturi from St Louis, Ratna Kumar from Houston and Vinitha Subrama-niam gave lecture demonstrations on Cho-reography, use of space and importance of preserving the art.

Four women who had pioneered the pre-

sentation of Asian dances and music in San Antonio were honored. Nelda Drury at age 94 was brilliant in her comments about the importance of Diversity in the arts. Jo Ann Andera the Director of the Folk Life Festival and the Asian New Year Festival and May Lam and Evelyn Crow the other two honor-ees started the Asian New year festival. Dei-dre LaCour a brilliant performer of African dance and Michelle Garza Rodriguez with Flamenco dance were honored for the years of collaborative work they have done. Gu-ru’s Bana Ramanath, Sreedhara Akkibebba-lu, Vinitha Subramaniam were recognized. Ammu Devasthali, Philanthropist, artist and arts connoisseur of Las Cruces New Mexico gave the award to Kavi Thankavel, Chair of the Board of Arathi school for her years of

service to the school. Kausi Subramaniam, Jahnavi Rajagopal and Deepa Thankavel, former students now involved in teaching were recognized.

The highlight of the awards segment was recognition of the five women who founded the School in 1981. They are fondly called the ‘Golden Girls of San Antonio’.Lalit-hamma Kumara, a founder member was a driving force in its early development. La-lithamma died in 2002 and her memory was honored. Kamala Rao’s passion for dance drives her still and she regularly participates in the productions of the school. Madhu Mehta, Malathi Koli and Rajam Ramamur-thy have been the backbone of the school since its inception and continue to sustain and nurture the school. Rajam Ramamur-

thy was given the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ for her dedicated service to dance.

Following the awards ceremony and din-ner, fifteen dance ballets produced by the school in the past 30 years were show cased in video and live reproductions. Students of the other three Bharathanatyam schools in San Antonio, Natyanjali Center for Perform-ing Arts, Kaveri Natya Yoga and Kalalaya school for performing Arts helped produce the show. The majority of the productions were handled by Priya Jagadeeswaran of Arathi School whose meticulous training of the students was apparent as each ballet unfolded. The future looks promising in the hands of the second generation of students like Priya Jagadeeswaran who has shown maturity, patience and has enormous talent and stamina, Nancy satsangi who was asso-ciate Editor of the book.

The book that was released chronicles the evolution of Indian dance and the part it played in the growth of a community. Rajam Ramamurthy editor of the book says “This book took shape in my head after the passing of a dear friend and remarks from her family about the enormity of dealing with the bulk of photographs, videos and music cassettes that she had collected. I had five times the volume of such material, as I, by default, be-came the keeper of memories for the school. The planning of the 30 year anniversary was complete in my vision many years back. It was time to transition and ‘Arathi’s 30 years would be captured in print, a legacy that might kindle the imagination of a curi-ous dance student down the road.”

The book may be purchased by contacting [email protected].

Rajam Ramamurthy flanked by Jahnavi Rajagopal and Deepa Thankavel was given the lifetime achievement Award for her dedicated service to Dance.

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, MARCH 30 , 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

17 March 30, 2012 17March 30, 2012COMMUNITYIIM Alumni Inaugurate Texas Chapter with a High-Powered Conference

BY ASHIMA JAINHOUSTON: The Indian Institute of

Management USA’s inaugural Texas conference – IIMpulse 2012 – was a testament to the institutions the attendees graduated from. With over 75 IIM-IIT alumni and associates in attendance, a great speaker line-up and excellent food and drinks, the conference an astounding success.

Conference attendees from differ-ent industries, different points in their careers and from across the cultural spectrum came from California, At-lanta, Dallas, Austin, and the Greater Houston area on a pleasant Saturday, March 17 from noon till 6pm at the Cameron School of Business at the University of St. Thomas. Old friends caught up with each other, new friends and business acquain-tances were made and the organizers had a hard time closing the conference at the appointed time. Indian Consul General Sanjiv Arora inaugurated the conference and said that the IIMs represented some of the best business schools globally.

The conference started off with a sumptuous Indian lunch. Dr. Beena George, IIM USA’s Greater Houston chapter leader welcomed the del-egates. She said that it had been her dream since 2005 to have an IIM USA conference in Houston and she was thrilled that a chance meeting with an IIM USA member in Mexico had made this conference a reality.

Ashima Jain, founding president of IIM USA, described how IIM USA was founded, what its objectives were

and how the organization had grown and now represented more than 6,000 IIM alumni in the Americas with chapters in San Francisco/Bay Area, Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago, New York/New Jersey, Washington DC, Toronto, Boston and now Houston. Ashima encouraged the attendees to do more as a group and promote the contribution of the IIM alumni to the community, network more and fi nd ways to work with each other and promote the IIM brand.

The theme of IIMpulse 2011 was “Blazing New Trails”. Keynote speaker, Kirk Coburn, co-founder and managing director of SURGE Accelerator, held the audience spell-bound as he shared his experiences. Using his iPhone to fl ip through his presentation, Kirk’s perspective was that the world’s energy problems

could be solved using software and that his current passion was to incu-bate entrepreneurs who had novel and elegant solutions to address the energy related issues.

After a short tea break, a panel dis-cussion on “Trail Blazing” was mod-erated by Swati Biswas, IIM alum with fi ve panelists. Anurag Kumar, Vistage CEO Executive Coach and CEO of ITexico, kicked off the dis-cussion by urging everyone to explore their trailblazing instincts by “doing something” and “taking the risk”. “If it is not now, then when? If not you, then who?”, he asked, and added “Jo dar gaya, samjho mar gaya”.

Dr. Beheruz N. Sethna, President, University of West Georgia, followed by suggesting that risk taking is what trailblazers do. He talked about some risky decisions he took which turned

out to be quite successful and em-phasized the need to focus and think of quantum leap changes, not small incremental ones.

Debjani Biswas, Director, Pepsico (Frito Lay) emphasized the need to leverage diversity and challenged everyone to build their personal brand perhaps using the Johari window as a tool to one’s open area, blind area, hidden area and the unknown area. She urged using one’s strengths versus focusing on one’s weaknesses, her formula being Passion + Strength = Impact

Pradeep Anand, President and Founder of Seeta Resources, empha-sized that tenacity is critical to suc-cess. He shared stories of some of his trail-blazing buddies when they were not so famous and honed in on a key point – being fi rst in a disruptive op-

portunity / paradigm leads to trailblaz-ing. He talked about his mother who was unique in many ways a trailblazer in her own right, as a working woman in the 1950s.

After a brief break, Vasu Vijay, CTO, 360 Training, suggested that trailblazing could be about ideas. “Mahatma Gandhi”, he said “was a trailblazer. “If you do not achieve suc-cess, you would not be considered a trailblazer, no matter how interesting, how life changing, how impactful the idea could be or could have been”.

An animated question and answer session then followed and led into the happy hour where over cool drinks and spicy snacks, the conference at-tendees talked about how wonderful it was that IIM USA had provided a forum for active minds to connect and communicate.

Mohan Natrajan, IIM USA Houston Chapter Leader Debjani Biswas, Panelist Anurag Kumar, Panelist Vasu Vijay, Panelist Pradeep Anand, Panelist Ashima Jain, IIM USA Founding President Consul General Sanjiv Arora, Inaugural Speaker Beena George, IIM USA Houston Chapter Leader Dr. Beheruz N. Sethna, Panelist Swati Biswas, Keynote Speaker Kirk Coburn


March 30, 201218

®All rights reserved. No material herein or portions thereof may be published without the written consent of the publisher. The deadline for advertising and articles is 5 pm on Monday of each week. Please include self-addressed, stamped envelope for return of all unsolicited material. Published at 7457 Harwin Drive, Suite 262, Houston, Texas 77036. Tel: 713-789-NEWS or 6397 Fax: 713-789-6399, email: [email protected], website: indoamerican-news.com

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March 30, 201218 EDITORIALMaturity & Generosity

It is heartening to see institutions in the Indian community in Houston grow to a mature stage. The latest example is Daya Houston, which held its 16th gala last Sunday afternoon. The organization is now fi elding cup to 5,000 phone calls per year from South Asian families in crisis. Daya now has a transitional house, called Harmony Home, to give their clients in distress a place to stay and recover for up to six months.

Daya’s success is due to the hard work of its staff, board members and numerous volunteers. Noteworthy is the support the organization has been receiving from within the community as well as mainstream supporters. Daya started 16 years ago with seed money from the Indo-American Charity Foundation. A dedicated group of donors in the South Asian community are contributing funds each year. Lately, Daya has received funding from mainstream organizations such as the Houston Endowment, Siemens Foundation, and the George Foundation of Fort Bend County. This is truly how we should be assimilating in the Ameri-can community at large and the Houston community in particular.

Pramod Kulkarni

Telling Off TehranThe bomb attack on an Israeli diplomat’s car in New Delhi last month

was disturbing for two reasons. As Israel promptly accused Iran and Iran issued its denial, India found itself at the unenviable diplomatic discomfort of being caught between two mutually hostile friends. Yet, although Delhi was careful not to blame anybody immediately and resisted the Israeli request to support a UN Security Council resolution condemning Iran for the near simultaneous incidents in Delhi, Bangkok and Tbilisi, it was imperative for India to solve the case quickly and bring the plotters to book. Since then, the Delhi police claim to have identifi ed the conspirators, with help from Thai authorities and the interrogation of Syed Mohammed Ahmad Kazmi, the Indian journalist who allegedly provided logistical support to the suspects and is in custody.

The investigations appear to have identifi ed three individuals — Syed Ali Sadr Mahdian, Houshang Afshar Irani and Abolghasemi Mohammad Reza — against whom Interpol has issued Red Corner notices, along with one against Masoud Sedaghatzadeh, arrested by the Malaysian police on the CBI’s request and suspected to be the head of the module. All four are Iranians. Even as Delhi walks the diplomatic tightrope, it has to wake up to the expanding concentric circles of the Middle East’s confl icts, compounded now by three faultlines: West-Iran, Israel-Iran, Arab-Iran. India’s western security perimeter has extended into the Middle East, and the February attack was its fi rst proof. As Iran faces sanctions for its nuclear programme, India has been a friend much to the discomfort of its Western allies. So now that there is evidence that those who were part of the alleged plot had Iranian passports, New Delhi may not be able to sit on the fence. If DMK pressure got India to censure Sri Lanka on human rights, surely this is a fi t case for clearly telling Tehran to exercise more vigilance of its own.

Indian Express

BY ILA PATNAIKGearing up for the budget, the gov-

ernment attempted to keep the fiscal deficit for the current year under con-trol through ONGC disinvestment. The auction did not go well. The events that unfolded only pointed to inherent weaknesses in the implemen-tation capacity of the government.

The ONGC disinvestment process ended up with public sector financial institutions, such as LIC, buying up the bulk of shares on offer. The auc-tion was implemented through an initial change in the auction design, one that seems less transparent than the standard auction, something that would likely not have been allowed for a private company. Later, it was reported that concessions were given by exchanges and the stock market regulator to handle system glitches that arose because of the last-minute load at the time of closing the auc-tion. The disinvestment design also raises issues about the price, which was above the secondary market price and, therefore, enough to turn off most investors. Further, it raises questions about whether public sector financial institutions should have large expo-sure to public sector enterprises, and what signals such disinvestment gives to international investors and credit-rating agencies who are presumably among the intended targets, looking at disinvestment as a positive signal about the Indian economy.

A reduction in fiscal deficit through disinvestment planned at the beginning of the year should have been rolled out throughout the year. The argument that the market did not look good is flawed as it is circular. Sentiments in the mar-ket, apart from being influenced by uncertainty in international markets, are strongly influenced by government actions and policies. If the govern-ment had steadily sold shares of PSUs through the year, investor confidence would presumably have been higher and if markets had been upbeat about the economy, disinvestment proceeds would have been larger.

In terms of ownership and gover-nance of companies, the right path is to slowly and steadily transform PSUs into dispersed shareholding compa-nies. Companies like L&T, ITC and Infosys have no family in charge.

There is a dispersed shareholding across a large number of shareholders — both local and foreign. The share-holders elect a board of directors and the board recruits the top management team. We can achieve this with PSUs by steadily selling off shares to the public at large.

This, however, requires continuous work through the year. The Depart-ment of Disinvestment needs to be reorganised so as to efficiently sell shares all the time. It is not difficult to use the exchange pre-opening auction system to sell 0.05 per cent of every PSU every day, so that 12.5 per cent of shareholding is sold off every year. This can be run in a smooth and effi-cient manner every single day.

Once DoD had failed on the disin-vestment programme, the right thing for the government to have done, in February, is to admit failure and prom-ise to do better next year. Instead, the finance ministry succumbed to the temptation of using its control of fi-nancial regulation and financial firms to try to raise money through disin-vestment.

From a fiscal point of view, it is hard to see what would be gained in mov-ing shares of ONGC from the Govern-

ment of India to LIC, which is 100 per cent owned by the government, at a price above the market price. Did the government think credit-rating agen-cies would be fooled by this dexterity in fiscal jugglery? The government needs to worry that fiscal dexterity raises the sceptre of Greece, which fudged its public accounts.

Another proposal is for public-sector banks to lend to SUUTI which will then buy PSU shares. Govern-ment owns the banks, SUUTI and PSUs whose shares will be sold. So things will move around from one hand of the government to another. Is this genuine disinvestment? The only sensible course is to sell off every-thing that SUUTI owns and to close it down. That may bring the results that are desired.

The Indian economy is reeling from a wave of pessimism. In a few years, we have gone from universal optimism about India to universal pessimism. The misrule of recent years has persuaded private and for-eign investors that Indian governance cannot be trusted. The fracas about disinvestment, and the surrounding damage to institutional quality in the financial system, has done further damage. These events send out a sig-nal to private and foreign investors that economic policy formulation and execution in India is suspect. This will further damage the outlook for invest-ment. It will exacerbate the business cycle downturn, and damage long-run growth potential.

In Budget 2012-13, estimates for fiscal deficit are likely to be high. It is also likely then that disinvestment will again be a means through which the government will try to keep the deficit under control. The lesson from ONGC should not be forgotten. The disinvest-ment programme should be slowly rolled out, in small parcels throughout the year, regardless of market condi-tions. It is not for the government to try to time the market and then make a rush for it in the weeks before the bud-get. The government needs to embark on a genuine path of disinvestment rather than merely trying to make it appear that it is doing so.

The writer is a professor at the Na-tional Institute of Public Finance and Policy, Delhi.

How Not to Disinvest

The Indian economy is reeling from a wave of pessimism. In a few years, we have gone from universal optimism about India to universal pessimism. The misrule of recent years has persuaded private and foreign investors that Indian governance cannot be trusted.


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India Takes up Visa Rejection Issue with USNEW DELHI (SI): India expressed

concern over the rise in rejection of US visa to its professionals, and asked American authorities not to resort to such protectionist tenden-cies.

Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma took up the visa rejec-tion issue during his meeting with US Commerce Secretary John Bryson.

“All issues of concern from both the sides were raised, particularly from our side the movement of pro-fessionals,” Sharma told reporters after the bilateral meeting.

Democratic Party Favors K. P. George in RaceHOUSTON (NYT): Both candi-

dates seeking the Democratic nomi-nation for the Congressional seat held for two decades by Tom DeLay, the former House majority leader, are unusual.

One of them, K. P. George, has a background that makes him an im-probable candidate — he was born in a village in India that still has no electricity or running water. For his opponent, Kesha Rogers, it is her po-litical positions that stand out — she is best known for demanding President Obama’s impeachment.

In light of Rogers’s candidacy, the Fort Bend County Democratic Par-ty’s executive committee has issued a rare primary endorsement, backing George in the 22nd District.

“If I can fi gure out what that silver bullet is to make sure that she is not on my slate after May, then I’ll defi nitely do that,” said Steve Brown, chairman of the Fort Bend Democratic Party. “I don’t think the endorsement alone is going to do it. It’s going to take work.”

Party offi cials worry that if Rogers

prevails, Democrats will not be able to encourage voters to cast straight-ticket ballots for their party in the general election — already an uphill battle in the Houston suburbs. But Rogers, a follower of the controver-sial activist Lyndon H. LaRouche Jr., says she is in the race “to restore the principles of Franklin Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy to the Democratic Party.”

She was soundly defeated in the

K. P. George, is running on a more establishment-friendly platform. Photo: Michael Stravato

general election by the incumbent, Pete Olson of Sugar Land, and she received no organizational support from the Democratic Party. The state party’s executive committee even approved a resolution releasing party offi cers from having to back a LaRouche-affi liated candidate. That resolution remains in effect.

“It’s my burden now to make sure voters in Fort Bend County know clear and well that Kesha is no Demo-crat,” Brown said.

George, who is running on a more establishment-friendly platform of investing in education and protecting Medicare and Social Security, said he is not taking Rogers lightly. He even agrees that fi nancing needs to be re-stored for manned space exploration, saying it is the one issue on which he strongly differs from Obama.

It is a safe stance to take in the district that, until recent the recent redistricting, included NASA’s John-son Space Center. Still, he said, “I’d rather worry about how I can get a job for you before I go and try to colonize Mars.”

Over 50 Actors to Stage “EK”, a Play on Shridi Sai BabaHOUSTON: Ek, a unique musi-

cal production on the life and times of Shri Shirdi Sai Baba features over 40 actors, dancers and crew members. The play had a sold-out performance in Austin on February 14, and will fi nally making its debut in the Bayou City on Sunday, May 6 at the Old Stafford Civic Centre.

Ek has been brought to the stage by Devaguptapu Babu, who also stars in it. The vision, script, and lyrics were written by poet Usha

Akella in only 35 days, and Ek, her third book, was recently released by Sterling Publishers, New Delhi. The score and songs were composed by artist and critic Suchitra Lata of Bangalore, and choreographed by Vinitha Subramanian, director of the Natyalaya School of Dance.

Ek tells the story of a mysterious man who made his home in the town of Shirdi in 1858. Strange and with-drawn, Baba dressed simply, lived for years only under the shade of a neem

tree, and preached acceptance of all, regardless of religion or caste.

Considered to be the fi rst Eng-lish language musical on Shirdi Sai Baba, Ek features all origi-nal music in a blend of Broadway and Bollywood. Ek captures the tense Muslim-Hindu dynamics of the 19th century and depicts why Shirdi Sai Baba remains a religious icon for millions even decades after transforming the lives of those in one small village.

Bryson, accompanied by repre-sentatives from 16 US infrastructure fi rms and senior government of-fi cials, is on a six-day offi cial visit to India. This is Bryson’s fi rst visit to India as commerce secretary.

Sharma said India was concerned over the high rejection of visa appli-cation by the US authorities.

“There have been concerns over the high rate of rejection. Last year visas declined by 28 percent. We had a very frank discussion, including some of the issues on which US has concerns,” Sharma said.

The commerce and industry minis-ter said India was concerned over the rejection of visas in both H1B and L1 categories.

H1B is work permit for temporary workers, while L1 visa refers to intra-company transfer. It allows compa-nies to relocate qualifi ed employees to US offi ces.

Rate of rejection of visa application of Indian professional in L1 category rose to 28 percent in 2011 as com-pared to 2.8 percent in 2008. There was a sharp increase in rejection in H1B category as well.


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LEARN TO DRIVE TODAY! Tomas Ernberg: The Discreet Charm of Selling LuxeThe new managing director of Volvo Auto India on driving the sales of luxury cars

BY RUDRANEIL SENGUPTA(Mint) On the crisp and sunny Feb-

ruary day we meet, Tomas Ernberg has a lot on his plate. It’s been less than eight months since the 41-year-old managing director of Volvo Auto India took over the top post in the Swedish car maker’s India opera-tions, and he is lining up a series of new announcements and initiatives, including Later in the day, Ernberg unveiled the D3 variant of three Volvo models available in India. The smaller engine is the only concession in Volvo cars being sold in India. Everything else, including their signature laser-driven “city safety” feature, will be in place. In this feature, the car’s sensors activate the brakes automatically if they sense that a collision is imminent but the driver is not reacting.

“It’s only available in Volvo cars, and it came about after a big survey done in Europe a couple of years back found that almost 70% of car accidents in Europe happen at lower than 30 kmph (kilometres per hour), and 50% of the time, it’s because the driver has not reacted,” Ernberg says. “We also have lane departure warn-ing, so if you leave your correct lane, the car gives you a warning. In India, you’ll have to switch that feature off, of course,” he adds, smiling.

Ernberg says that by January, Volvo will also launch a new car simultane-ously in India and Europe, putting the two markets symbolically on a par—“though I can’t talk about the car yet”.

The other Herculean task Ern-berg and Volvo face in India is to make their brand’s presence felt in the luxury car segment, and again, the approach is neither conventional nor head-on. “We are looking to get away from traditional advertising,” Ernberg says. “It is diffi cult to gauge what results advertising in newspa-pers or magazines have. So we want to directly reach the high net-worth individuals, around 250,000 people in India, who can afford a Volvo easily, a lot of one-to-one customer relation-ship management.”

It’s a model Ernberg understands intimately. He began his career in Volvo with the responsibility of sell-ing tax-free cars to diplomats and embassies in Turkey. But his reason for joining Volvo was not a love for cars, but love for a woman.

In 1994, after fi nishing his econom-ics degree from the Middle East Tech-nical University in Ankara, Turkey, Ernberg’s priority was to fi nd a job that would keep him in the country, because he had a Turkish girlfriend he had no intention of parting with. “I applied to the 25 Swedish companies which were established in Istanbul, and one of the fi rst positive responses I got was from Volvo. So I grabbed the chance and began working there the same year,” he says.

In 1998, he married Shubnam, his Turkish girlfriend, and the couple now have two daughters.

Ernberg, who has three brothers, makes an annual trip to his parents’ home in Båstad, an idyllic town bor-

dering a sheltered bay, 250km from Gothenburg (where Volvo’s head-quarters are located), Sweden. This is where the entire family comes together.

“My brothers all married differ-ent nationalities—Spanish, Argen-tine and Ecuadorian,” Ernberg says. “So it’s a babble of languages and cuisines. We love coming together in the kitchen to cook elaborate meals. Every year we do this, and it’s very special.” the launch of new variants of their cars, a couple of hours after the interview. They will be his fi rst salvo at getting Volvo a bit of trac-tion in the luxury car segment in the country, where it is still a fringe player, more than four years after it entered the market.

“In 2010, we sold 130 cars, in 2011 we sold 320,” Ernberg says. “We almost tripled the volumes and ended up with zero cars in stock. This year, we are more ambitious, and we want to sell 800 cars.”

Over coffee at The Oberoi hotel in New Delhi, Ernberg, tall, athletic and immaculate in his tailored suit, quickly lays out his plans, both short- and long-term, all aimed at one ob-jective— breaking the stranglehold of BMW, Mercedes and Audi, the trinity of German auto giants that has become synonymous with luxury cars in India. BMW, for example, sold 972 cars in September 2011 alone, the latest period for which fi gures are available, more than three times what Volvo sold in the entire year (Mercedes notched up 745 units and Audi 555 in the same month).

Ernberg won’t be rushing headlong into the fi ght though. His approach is more measured, more geared for the long haul.

“Our expansion will happen in a controlled way,” he says. “India’s growth potential for luxury cars is

huge. In that context, the German car makers are only still tapping the sur-face. In 2007, the penetra-tion of luxury cars was 0.2% of total car sales. Last year, there were around 20,000 cars sold, a penetration of almost 1%. So it’s grown 10 times. By 2020, we are talking 150,000 luxury cars being sold.” By that time, Ern-berg reckons, Volvo will be selling 20,000 cars per year, with around 50% of the market share in luxury cars in India.

The fi rst move was to bring prices down.

“We fi gured that a lot of the volume that Germans had got was for competi-tive pricing,” says Ern-berg. “We had cars with bigger engines and we

started at higher prices. So we got a smaller 2-litre diesel engine called D3, with a high torque, and now our cheapest model, the S60, will come for Rs. 24 lakh.” The original entry-level D5 variant of the S60 saloon, with a 2.5-litre engine, costs Rs. 27 lakh.

Ernberg, a polyglot, is fl uent in Swedish, English, Spanish and Turk-ish and has a passing knowledge of Arabic—a result of his globetrotting childhood. Ernberg’s father is a re-tired diplomat, so Ernberg, who was born in Spain, went to junior school in Lagos, Nigeria, and Buenos Aires, Argentina; middle school in Malay-sia; and high school in Sweden. And, fi nally, college in Ankara, Turkey—“my most exciting years. Ankara has a lot of students, lots and lots of cafés, an active nightlife, and during long weekends, we would go skiing, and of course, I met my love there.”

Though the thrills and romance of such a country-hopping childhood were considerable, there were some serious drawbacks too. “You go to school, make friends and settle down. Then your dad comes and tells you OK, get up and pack, we’re leaving in a couple of months, and you lose all your friends,” Ernberg says. But now he is discovering a new, hap-pier side to this. “With the help of social media, I’m fi nding so many old friends from many years back,” he says. “I’m fi nding friends with whom I never thought I’ll be able to make contact again—just a few days back, I reconnected with an old friend in Argentina on Facebook. It’s thrilling and entirely unexpected.”

Ernberg spends a lot of his free time playing sports—volleyball, tennis and golf. Soon, he’ll be seen on the greens with increasing regularity. Volvo has been hosting the Volvo World Golf Challenge for 24 years now. This year, the championship will also come to India, in partnership with the Professional Golf Tour of India.

“Volvo and golf fi t well,” Ernberg says, “and it’s a lovely way of making people conscious of the brand.”

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India Eyes Muslims Left Behind by Quota SystemBY JIM YARDLEY

MUZAFFARNAGAR (NYT): Along the narrow lane known as Khadar Wallah, Muslims and low-caste Hindus have lived side by side for years, bound by poverty, if not religion. Yet recently, Muslims like Murtaza Mansuri have noticed a change. Their neighbors have become better off.

Many of the Dalits, the low-caste Hindus once known as untouchables, have gotten gov-ernment jobs, or slots in public universities, op-portunities that have meant stable salaries and nicer homes. And to Mansuri the reason is clear: the affi rmative action quotas for low-caste Hindus, a policy known in India as reservation, which is not explicitly available to Muslims.

“We are way behind them,” Mansuri, who repairs rickshaws for a living, said on a re-cent afternoon. “Reservation is essential for Muslims. If we don’t get education, we will remain backward, while others move forward and forward.”

For decades, the issue of affi rmative action for Muslims has been a politically fractious one in India. Many opponents, including right-wing Hindu groups, have long argued that affi rmative action policies based on religion violate India’s Constitution and run counter to the country’s secular identity. Quotas, they said, should be strictly reserved for groups that have suffered centuries of caste-based discrimination.

But these arguments have been steadily countered by an undeniable and worrisome byproduct of India’s democratic development: Muslims, as a group, have fallen badly behind, in education, employment and economic status, partly because of persistent discrimination in a Hindu-majority nation. Muslims are more likely to live in villages without schools or medical facilities, a landmark government report found in 2006, and less likely to qualify for bank loans.

Now, the issue of Muslim quotas has bubbled to the surface in the recent election in the state of Uttar Pradesh, where the winner, the regional Samajwadi Party, has promised to carve out a quota of jobs and educational slots for Mus-lims, an idea fi rst raised by the Indian National Congress Party. Legal and political obstacles remain, and some Muslims are skeptical that leaders will muster the political will to push through a quota, even as many consider such preferences justifi ed and long overdue.

“We also fought against the British for Indian independence,” said Hafi z Aftab, president of the All-India Muttahida Mahaz, an organization that has led protests on behalf of Muslim prefer-ences. “We lost so many of our brightest people. But after freedom, the government didn’t make any efforts to uplift Muslims.”

In Uttar Pradesh, the country’s poorest and most populous state, all of India’s caste and religious demarcations are on vivid display. It

was here that one of India’s most searing acts of religious violence occurred in 1992, when an ancient mosque was destroyed by right-wing Hindu activists who claimed that it had been built on the site of the birthplace of Ram, the Hindu deity.

Indians in Uttar Pradesh have also witnessed the political rise of the Scheduled Castes, as the Dalits and other “backward” caste Hindus are legally called. Before losing the recent elec-tion, Mayawati, the state’s powerful Dalit chief minister (who uses one name), dominated Uttar Pradesh and used her position to reward many of her supporters with jobs, housing and other benefi ts. Dalits still remain overwhelmingly poor and marginalized in many parts of India, but Mayawati’s extensive use of the reservation quota system and other preferential policies in Uttar Pradesh provided opportunity to many Dalits.

“These Scheduled Castes were the most deprived people socially and economically in Uttar Pradesh,” said Aftab in an interview before the state elections. “Now they are the

ruling class. This is the result of 64 years of reservation.”

India’s original reservation policies were codifi ed during the drafting of the national Constitution as quotas for Scheduled Castes and tribal groups. Over the years, other Hindu castes were added at both the state and national level, as different groups agitated for inclusion and politicians saw opportunities to carve out new vote banks. India’s moderniza-tion, rather than erasing caste, was codifying it.

“In India, the deepening of democracy will not happen by erasing all caste-community boundaries,” said Yogendra Yadav, a leading political scientist in New Delhi. “I see it as the next stage of social justice in India.”

Most Muslims in India are the descendants of low-caste Hindus who converted over the centuries, often to escape the deprived status to which Dalits were consigned. Yet those caste af-fi liations never fully disappeared, meaning that a hierarchy lingered among Muslims in India. Two government commissions sought to in-clude “backward” Muslims in the quota system by using their former Hindu caste identity, along with educational and economic indicators.

India’s four southern states have managed to extend some affi rmative action benefi ts to Muslims, if not explicitly along religious lines, but elsewhere Muslims have largely been ex-cluded. The 2006 report, known as the Sachar Committee report, found that Muslims who should have qualifi ed for affi rmative action were not getting it, even though they were living in greater poverty than some groups that were getting the benefi t.

INDIA

Murtaza Mansuri, a Muslim rickshaw repairman, says India’s Muslims need quotas to get ahead Photo: Manpreet Romana

“Our Constitution says we should not provide reservation on the grounds of religion,” said Mufti Julfi quar Ali, a Muslim leader in Uttar Pradesh. “But basically, reservation was given on the grounds of religion. A Muslim washer-man got no reservation, but a Hindu washerman got one. Hindu carpenters will get reservation, but the Muslim carpenter will not.”

Along the lane of Khadar Wallah, Muslims and Dalits last month voiced starkly different opinions about the need for creating a quota to benefi t Muslims. Some Muslims had doubts about whether political leaders would fulfi ll the pledge and whether such a policy could be tailored to truly help them.

But Badruddin, an older Muslim man who uses one name, wanted the benefi t. He said affi rmative action had enabled many lower-caste Hindus to secure government jobs that provided stability so that their children could remain in school. In many Muslim families, he argued, children must often drop out of school to earn money.

“The Scheduled Castes are better off than we are because they are in government jobs,” he said. “Once you have a government job, you will be uplifted.”

Several Hindus said quotas for Muslims were unnecessary and would dilute already scarce opportunities for lower-caste Hindus. “Without reservation, we would not have progressed very much because of discrimination,” said Boharan Lal, 71, a Dalit, adding: “I do not believe that Muslims are more backward. They are doing better.”

Mansuri, the rickshaw repairman, dropped out of school in the eighth grade, but is still the most educated person in his extended family. “Our only source of income was from my father,” he said, explaining why he went to work.

He has watched as his Dalit neighbors have gotten jobs, or college slots, through quotas that, over time, brought better jobs and salaries. He pointed to the renovated homes of some low-caste Hindus as evidence of what affi rmative action can bring, and what Muslim families struggle to afford. He said Muslims were also to blame because for too long they did not push their children to stay in school. But that has changed, he said.

His own house was recently refurbished, with smooth concrete walls painted bright green, and is easily as nice as the homes on the alley owned by Dalit families. Asked about it, Mansuri ex-plained that the house was an example of how his family had benefi ted from preferential treat-ment: An agent had contacted him saying that banks were seeking to loan money to Muslims after the 2006 Sachar Committee report detailed discrimination in banking.

“Earlier, if we had applied,” Mansuri said, “we would not have gotten a loan.”

Tanveer Ahmed, a Muslim, repairs a tape recorder in his shop.


March 30, 201222 March 30, 201222 PRA

NA

PRA

TISH

TA

Our Hindu community’s efforts to build a temple are culminating on April 6th - Apr 8th 2012. The murties of Sri Radha Krishna and Sri Lakshmi will be installed using Hindu rituals, as prescribed in the ancient Agama Shastras. We request your enthu-siastic participation in this once in a life-time opportunity. To view the schedule of events, and to RSVP please go to www.woodlandshindutemple.org

Hindu Temple of the Woodlands

7601S. ForestGate Drive The Woodlands, TX 77382

Three Day Festival Apr 6th Ganesha Puja

Apr 7th Kalasha Sthapana Apr 8th Kumbhabhishekam

Program Highlights Raffle featuring a Brand New

2012 Honda Accord. (Drawing April 8th at 5:00 PM. Tickets available at India Grocers and Kirti Jewelers)

Cultural Program featuring local tal-ent

Dandiya Raas on Apr 7th Games and Festivities for Children

and much much more...

Friday, April 6th 2012

9.00 AM-01.00 PM

Vishwaksena Aaradhana,

Vasudeva Punyahavachanam Puja

Bhajans, Kirthans , Lunch Prasad

4.30 PM-08.30 PM

Deepa Prajwalana, Anugyan

Vishwaksena Aaradhana,Puja,

Vaastu Puja and Homam, Mritsamgrahanam, Ankuraarpanam,

Raksha Bandhanam,

Bhajans/Kirtans/Cultural Program

9 PM-9:30pm

Dinner Prasad, Shayyadhivasam

Saturday, Apr 7th 2012

6.00 AM-1.00 PM

Viswaksena Aradhana

Kalasha Puja and Sthapana, Go(Cow) Puja

Vimana Kalasha Sthapana

Netra Unmeelanam, Lunch Prasad

1:30 PM-5.00 PM

Ratnadhivasam, Yantra Sthapana

Bimba Sthapana, Ashta Bandhana ( Murti Sthapana)

6.00 PM-9.00 PM

Deepa Sthapanam, Maha Lakshmi Puja

Shodhashanyaasam, Dinner Prasad

9.30 PM-Midnight

DANDIYA RAAS

Sunday, Apr 8th 2012

6.00 AM-8.30 AM

Vishwaksena Aaradhana Puja

8.30 AM-2.00 PM

Vimana Kalasha Yatra and Kumbhabhishekam

Prana Pratishta Homam, Prana Pratishta for Murthies, Maha Poornahuthi

Pradhana Kumbha Yatraa Daanam,

Maha Abhishekam for Murthies

Maha Prokshanam, Kumbhabhishekam

Alankaram to deities

Bhajans/kirtans/Chanting

Lunch Prasad

4:00 PM - 7:00 PM

Kalyan Uthsavam

Cultural Program, Dinner Prasad


23 March 30, 2012 23March 30, 2012HOROSCOPE

“MASALA WOK IS HOT.IT’S COOL, IT’S WOW”

Dallas Morning News

LOCATION10001 Westheimer Road. Houston, TX 77042

Phone: 713-784-8811www.MasalaWok.com

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SAYS THE GUIDE

ARIES Mar 21 - Apr 20:You will be enthusiastic, and will willingly take up new chal-lenges that life may throw at you during this week. You may be keen to explore your poten-

tial, and for that, you will continue to work at full throttle. Needless to say, rewards will keep pouring in as stars favor you. At home, you will be highly compatible with your partner, and shall enjoy romantic moments.

US Apr 21 - May 21 The problems that you may

have faced during past few weeks will get resolved now. And once again, you will be your happy-go-lucky self. You

will be surrounded by family, friends and relatives throughout the week. You will be so engrossed in family activities that you will barely have time for work-related issues. Ro-mantic dates, candle-lit dinners, sumptuous meals and shopping may take up most of your time. This truly is a fascinating phase, live it to the fullest.

GEMINI May 22 - Jun 21: You may have been on your toes for weeks together, sometimes due to personal rea-sons and most of the times due to professional reasons. This

week you may take a break ? a well-deserved break from the hectic schedule. You may be in an introspective mood, and may want to analyse your past deeds. You will want one chance to rectify your mistakes, and live life in a better way. But, don’t be upset, as better opportuni-ties may take their time to come. There’s a long way to go, but you will manage. Plan your life systematically.

CANCER Jun 22 - Jul 23: This is one of the important phases of your life, and the events that will take place now are likely to leave a long lasting impact on your life. Avoid being over-emotional, try to take decisions practically.

The clashes between you and your family mem-bers are likely to continue. Discuss and sort out the confl icting matters. Lack of communication will only lead to misunderstandings. Profes-sionally, you may want to carve a niche for yourself, so you are likely to channelise your energies in the right direction.

LEO July 24 - Aug 23: This phase will give you immense joy as you may be surrounded by your near and dear ones. Your optimistic approach towards life is likely to refl ect in your attitude. Meet-ing old pals, bonding with close

relatives and organising family reunions may keep you on your toes. For those of you who have children may enjoy a moment of pride this week, as your kids are likely to achieve great heights.

VIRGO Aug 24 - Sep 23: This is a perfect time to start afresh, and let the bygones be bygones. Now that you are free from all the worries, you may think bigger and plan better. No wonder your busi-ness may grow by leaps and

bounds. After going through hardships during the past few weeks, you have become a much stronger person. And, you may be willing to take risks in every sphere of life, in general and business in particular. But practice caution wherever necessary.

LIBRA Sep 24 - Oct 23: Good times will continue for you this week. Although your work may be demanding and schedules hectic, your undi-vided focus on your career

will help you move ahead tirelessly. At the same time, you will be keen to invite your friends and relatives, and strengthen family ties. However, plenty of assignments and projects will barely leave any time for you to organise such activi-ties. Also, you may feel a deep need to relax and unwind. Take up spirituality, meditate and visit temples to attain mental peace, if need be.

SCORPIO Oct 24 - Nov 22: It will be a perfect time for you to explore new oppor-tunities. Work will be just fi ne, the way you always wanted it to be. Matters related to fi nance will take the forefront.

Loans, funds, buying and selling of assets, lease and joint fi nances will be the issues you will want to discuss with your confi dants. Romantic encounters may dominate your mind during this phase. You may even get involved in a relation-ship. You will be active in party and social cir-cuits. This may be the best time to relieve your tensions and let go of your worries.

SAGITTARIUS Nov 23 - Dec 22: You will strive to make your family’s future secure. Even if you have to put in extra hours at work for it, you will not mind. Your

health and fi tness too, will remain one of the priorities this week. You will try to get in shape by working out or by practising yoga. Gradu-ally, you may also make changes in your eating habits, and include healthy and nutritious food in your diet. However, certain unexpected ex-penses may create a pressure on your pockets. Plan your fi nances beforehand to avoid shortage of money.

CAPRICORN Dec 23 - Jan 20: A brand new week will give you new hopes. Your career goals will be the highlight of the week. Ac-cording to you, depending

upon your hard work is more practical than rely-ing upon your luck. Implement these thoughts, and success is bound to follow you!. Financial matters too, will be taken care of. Now, that ev-erything seems to be in place, you may long for your family’s warmth and love, and those roars of laughter and joyful moments with your loved ones. So, you will make conscious efforts to be

with your loved ones, and take them on a short holiday.

AQUARIUS Jan 21 - Feb 19: Your planets are powerful enough to convert this phase into a ‘phase of gains’. You

will be delighted to meet people from differ-ent walks of life. They will not only help you professionally, but also share a great equation at personal level. At work, you will be able to cope up with the pressures and meet the deadline. You will try your best not to let your family life suffer due to your hectic work schedule. Hence, spending time with your spouse, and taking kids on a drive will be a part of your routine. This

truly is a wonderful phase for you.

PISCES Feb 20 - Mar 20: The pressure of work will only increase during this pe-riod. It will be good if you

learn the art of saying ‘no’ to your bosses for overloading you with new projects and assign-ments. Pause for a moment and do a quick recap - when was the last time you sat and chatted with your family? It was long ago. So, you may decide to spend some quality time with your parents, spouse and kids. You may also help the underprivileged of the society by giving them emotional and fi nancial support. A feeling of happiness and contentment may surround you after meeting family’s demands and fulfi lling your own wishes.

of money.

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(Sun Sign)


March 30, 201224 March 30, 201224

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OPINION

Beauty in the Times of BotoxBY MONALI SHARMA

(The Hindu) I have always wanted to write something about this, some-thing to liberate the millions among us who are caught in the hullabaloo over looking good. But somehow it just didn’t happen. Not until I spotted a bizarre piece of news on the internet on a sharp spike in the number of women visiting the cosmetologist’s cabin as Valentine’s Day approached. From Botox to Juvederm, forehead to chin, ear to ear, these miracle

makers promise you a skin you wore 20 years ago, never mind the love. Self-grooming and a desire to look good probably predate Narcissus and there is nothing wrong with wanting a few appreciative nods your way. But freezing your facial expressions with those needles and using scalpels to thin that ‘bulbous’ nose to a size never satisfying are a different desire alto-gether, one that is nudging us closer to the approval of an elusive pseudo-self far removed from reality.

And the surgery craze is just an example. Look around you and the chances are very good that you will fi nd people trying to ‘fi ght’ their very basic constitutional make-up in ev-ery possible way. The dark-skinned wants to be fair, the fair wants to be fair-er, the fair-est wants to be marks-free, the marks-free wants to be perfect skinned, the perfect skinned wants something that can’t be fi gured out and faithfully awaits a beauty brand to invent some new fl aw and dedicate a range for remov-ing it, the straight-haired wants to go noodled, the noodled wants a tame, size 2 wants a size 0, size 0 wants to maintain it. The illustrations can be more comical and perhaps never-ending.

When did this happen? When did we allow ourselves to set insatiable standards of physical beauty while wanting to just look a ‘little good’?

Who reinforces this constant act of degrading thyself? Look around again and the answer shouldn’t be far off. The aunty who always insists that you wear heels to dwarf your four-foot sad story, the leggy model on the TV screen who feels that marks look better on a Dalmatian than your face, the cousin who just dumped her “matrimony prospects minimising” glasses post a visit to the laser clinic, and many more people with innova-tive ideas to belittle the most normal aspects of your being, they are all a part of this silent conspiracy against yourself.

Everything in our living world is contaminated with a certain defi ni-tion of beauty. Even the kids’ nurs-ery rhymes aren’t spared. Puzzled? “Chubby cheeks and dimpled chin” are ok but why the colour is “very fair,” and “eyes are blue.” Very inter-estingly in our country, the genesis

of this idea precedes a child’s birth itself with ‘kesar milk’ drinking ad-vice from relatives, and continues on matrimonial pages as ‘Wanted Fair and good looking bride/groom…’ and even beyond. It is that unavoid-able, the peril of beauty.

Most of the history has seen beauty as being a female psyche-specifi c burden but not anymore. The ‘metro-sexual male’ and fairness creams for men have shown how this onslaught has transgressed conventional bound-aries. But really, when we are talking of ‘designer babies’ that license gene shopping, this seems passé in com-parison.

Can we tackle this Frankenstein’s monster? Is there hope for our shed-ding the myth of beauty and wearing our ages on our faces and stories in our marks? Perhaps there is, but a lot depends on whether we really want that. With the beauty business boom, the high stakes for the companies in-volved and millions under their spell, there aren’t going to be many takers for this change. The change, how-ever, doesn’t mean that the ideal is a ‘beauty-rejection’ culture; it should rather be an ‘all inclusive beauty ac-ceptance’ culture where stereotyping beauty and torturing yourself under knives and chemicals are not encour-aged. It should teach how a person’s colour is just a colour and the real self lies much deeper. It should teach us to take pride in how god made us and to look for beauty in the correct places. Only then can we redeem ourselves.

OPINION


25 March 30, 2012 25March 30, 2012

OPINION

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When is Rama’s birth celebrated?Rama was born on navami, the ninth day of the waxing moon, in the In-dian month of Chaitra (late March or early April). Sometimes the festival is observed for nine days before or after navami.

How do Hindus observe Rama Navami?Devotees fast or eat only fruit or spe-cial food offerings prepared for the day. They participate in non-stop reading of the 24,000-verse epic Ramayana, at home or in a temple. Images or statues of baby Rama are placed in cradles and rocked by devotees. Homes resound with singing. In the evening, crowds attend Ramalila, in which storytellers and dance-drama troupes depict the Ramayana. It is common to remain awake the whole night, engaged in de-votional practices. Devotees contribute generously to temples and charitable

organizations. They make buttermilk and a lime drink called panaka, serving them to the public without charge. Some temples make khoa, a sweet made from thickened milk. This festival is especially popular in Uttar Pradesh, where Rama’s kingdom of Ayodhya is located.

Is the festival observed at temples?Many temples hold grand celebrations on this day, especially those with shrines for Lord Rama, His wife Sita, His brother Lakshmana and His loyal friend Hanuman, Lord of Mon-

keys. Panaka and garlands of the sacred tulsi plant are offered as families pray for “Rama-Rajya,” a time when dharma will once again be upheld in the world. In South India, the day is celebrated as the marriage anniversary of Rama and Sita. A ceremonial wedding is held at temples with great fanfare.

Why is Rama so popular?Rama is one of the ten avatars or incar-nations of Lord Vishnu. He is revered as the perfect husband and ruler, who held duty to king and country above all else. He held strong to his ideals in the face of tremendous trials, in-cluding exile from His kingdom and separation from His beloved wife, Sita, herself an embodiment of virtue and truth. He is honored and glori- ed for His unshakable adherence to dharma, righteousness. The story of Rama is deeply in uential and popular in the societies of the Indian subcon-tinent and across Southeast Asia.

An incarnation of God, an ideal man, dutiful son and just king: these are just a few ways to describe Lord Rama, an exemplar of honor, reverence, self-control and duty. He fought battles, became

king, married a Goddess, traveled far and befriended exotic beings who were steadfast in their loyalty and courage. Rama Navami is the cel-ebration of His birthday, when Hindus honor and remember Him with devotional singing, dramatic performance and non-stop recitation of His remarkable life story, the Ramayana.

HOLY DAYS THAT AMERICA’S HINDUS CELEBRATE

What is the story of Rama? A tale of love and separation, the Ramayana has moved the hearts of millions of Hindus over the ages. To honor a promise made by his father, King Dasaratha, prince Rama abandons His claim to the throne and spends 14 years in exile. Wife Sita and brother Lakshmana join him in exile, a time of perils and tribulations. Sita is abducted by Ravana, the monarch of Lanka. After a long and arduous search, Rama discovers Sita’s whereabouts, with the help of Hanuman. A colossal war ensues against Ravana’s armies. In a duel of majestic proportions, powerful and magical beings wield mighty weaponry in formidable battles. Rama slays Ravana and lib-erates Sita. Having completed His exile, Rama returns to be crowned king, loved by one and all.

Who wrote the epic? Some 25 centuries ago, a sage ordered a thief to sit under a tree and chant “ma-ra” until he returned. Years passed, and an ant-hill covered the man, who had lost himself to the chant. The sage re-turned and broke the anthill, naming the thief Valmiki, meaning “from an anthill.” Inspired

by his expanded awareness, Valmiki immor-talized Rama by composing the Ramayana, a work unmatched in poetic excellence and

longevity. Shri Ramcharitmanas by Tulsidas in Hindi and the Kamba Ramayanam by the poet Kambar in Tamil stand along-side Valmiki’s epic in Sanskrit.

Who was Sita? Sita was a powerful, gifted, beautiful woman, utterly devoted to her husband. Found in the elds as a babe by King Janaka, Sita was raised a princess. She walked alongside Rama in exile. When abducted by Ravana, she was unshakeable in her faith that her husband would rescue her. She walked through re to prove her purity. To prevent further slander, Rama sent her away to the for-est. She patiently bore separation from her husband a second time and bore twins named Lav and Kush. When they were reunited with their father, she command-ed Mother Earth to swallow her. The Earth split open and Sita dis-appeared.

Panaka Sweet Indian Limeaide

Ingredients ½ cup of jaggery or brown sugar,4 cups water, juice of one lime, 1½ tsp of grated fresh ginger, 1 tsp ghee or oil, a pinch of cardamom powder

MethodMix ingredients and serve cold.

Spicy ButtermilkIngredients 2 cups buttermilk (or yoghurt),2 cups water, 3 curry leaves, chopped coriander leaves (cilantro), 1 nely chopped green chilli, 1½ tsp ginger powder, 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1 pinch asafoetida, salt to taste

MethodHeat oil in saucepan and add mustard seeds; allow it to splutter, then add curry leaves, ginger, green chilies and asafoetida, stirring vigorously. Mix with remaining ingredients and beat until smooth.

This educational poster is part of Hindu Festival Outreach, a collaboration between Sanatana Dharma Foundation of Texas and HINDUISM TODAY magazine in Hawaii. Additional resources may be found at www.hinduismtoday.com/••estival••. Soumya Sitaraman and Usha Kris, respectively author and photographer of Follow the Hindu Moon, generously contributed text and graphics (hindumoon.com).

Tidbits About Lord Rama

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Birthday of Rama, the Ideal ManRama Navami

Fact & FictionFACT: Hinduism has more than one sacred scrip-ture, with several books considered revered or holy. While all Hindus revere the sanctity of the primor-dial Vedas, distinct sects recognize scripture that is most aligned with their theological beliefs, but not universal to all Hindus. Examples are the Agamas, Ramayana, Puranas and Mahabharata.

FICTION: Some deride Hinduism as primi-tive because certain of its Deities have animal features. Actually, most religions share this characteristic. The Greek God Pan and the Egyp-tian Deities Anubis and Horus are examples. In Christianity and Judaism, the biblical prophet Ezekiel describes the angels known as cherubim as having the faces of a lion, an ox, an eagle and a man, with the feet of a calf and four wings.

When i s Rama’s b i r th celebrated?

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

How do Hindus observeRama Navami?Devotees fast or eat only fruit or

special food offerings prepared for the day. They participate in non-stop reading of the 24,000-verse epic Ramayana, at home or in a temple. Images or statues of baby Rama are placed in cradles and rocked by devotees. Homes resound with singing. In the evening, crowds

attend Ramalila, in which storytellers and dance-drama troupes depict the Ramayana. It is common to remain awake the whole night, engaged in devotional practices. Devotees contribute generously to temples and charitable organizations. They make buttermilk and a lime drink called panaka, serving them to the public without charge. Some temples make khoa, a sweet made

from thickened milk. This festival is especially popular in Uttar Pradesh, where Rama’s kingdom of Ayodhya is located.

Is the festival observed at temples?

Many temples hold grand celebrations on this day, especially

those with shrines for Lord Rama, His wife Sita, His brother Lakshmana and His loyal friend Hanuman, Lord of Monkeys.

Panaka and garlands of the sacred tulsi plant are offered as families pray for “Rama-Rajya,” a time when dharma will once again be upheld in the world.

In South India, the day is celebrated as the marriage anniversary of Rama and Sita. A ceremonial wedding is held at temples with great fanfare.

Why is Rama so popular?Rama is one of the ten avatars or

incarnations of Lord Vishnu. He is revered as the perfect husband and ruler, who held duty to king and country above all else. He held strong to his ideals in the face of tremendous trials, including exile from His kingdom and separation from His beloved wife, Sita, herself an embodiment of virtue and truth. He is honored and glorifi ed for His unshakable adherence to dharma, righteousness. The story of Rama is deeply infl uential and popular in the societies of the Indian subcontinent and across Southeast Asia.

• What is the story of Rama? A tale of love and separation, the Ramayana has moved the hearts of millions of Hindus over the ages. To honor a promise made by his father, King Dasaratha, prince Rama abandons His claim to the throne and spends 14 years in exile. Wife Sita and brother Lakshmana join him in exile, a time of perils and tribulations. Sita is abducted by Ravana, the monarch of Lanka. After a long and arduous search, Rama discovers Sita’s whereabouts, with the help of Hanuman. A colossal war ensues against Ravana’s armies. In a duel of majestic proportions, powerful and magical beings wield mighty weaponry in formidable battles. Rama slays Ravana and liberates Sita. Having completed His exile, Rama returns to be crowned king, loved by one and all.

• Who wrote the epic? Some 25 centuries ago, a sage

ordered a thief to sit under a tree and chant “ma-ra” until he returned. Years passed, and an ant-hill covered the man, who had lost himself to the chant. The sage returned and broke the anthill, naming the thief Valmiki, meaning “from an anthill.” Inspired by his expanded awareness, Valmiki immortalized Rama by composing the Ramayana, a work unmatched in poetic excellence and longevity. Shri Ramcharitmanas by Tulsidas in Hindi and the Kamba Ramayanam by the poet Kambar in Tamil stand alongside Valmiki’s epic in Sanskrit.

• Who was Sita? Sita was a powerful, gifted,

beautiful woman, utterly devoted to her husband. Found in the fi elds as a baby by King Janaka, Sita was raised a princess. When abducted by Ravana, she was unshakeable in her faith that her husband would rescue her. She walked through fi re to prove her purity. To prevent further slander, Rama sent her away to the forest.She patiently bore separation from her husband a second time and bore twins named Lav and Kush. When they were reunited with their father, she commanded Mother Earth to swallow her. The Earth split open and Sita disappeared.

folio line

When is Rama’s birth celebrated?Rama was born on navami, the ninth day of the waxing moon, in the In-dian month of Chaitra (late March or early April). Sometimes the festival is observed for nine days before or after navami.

How do Hindus observe Rama Navami?Devotees fast or eat only fruit or spe-cial food offerings prepared for the day. They participate in non-stop reading of the 24,000-verse epic Ramayana, at home or in a temple. Images or statues of baby Rama are placed in cradles and rocked by devotees. Homes resound with singing. In the evening, crowds attend Ramalila, in which storytellers and dance-drama troupes depict the Ramayana. It is common to remain awake the whole night, engaged in de-votional practices. Devotees contribute generously to temples and charitable

organizations. They make buttermilk and a lime drink called panaka, serving them to the public without charge. Some temples make khoa, a sweet made from thickened milk. This festival is especially popular in Uttar Pradesh, where Rama’s kingdom of Ayodhya is located.

Is the festival observed at temples?Many temples hold grand celebrations on this day, especially those with shrines for Lord Rama, His wife Sita, His brother Lakshmana and His loyal friend Hanuman, Lord of Mon-

keys. Panaka and garlands of the sacred tulsi plant are offered as families pray for “Rama-Rajya,” a time when dharma will once again be upheld in the world. In South India, the day is celebrated as the marriage anniversary of Rama and Sita. A ceremonial wedding is held at temples with great fanfare.

Why is Rama so popular?Rama is one of the ten avatars or incar-nations of Lord Vishnu. He is revered as the perfect husband and ruler, who held duty to king and country above all else. He held strong to his ideals in the face of tremendous trials, in-cluding exile from His kingdom and separation from His beloved wife, Sita, herself an embodiment of virtue and truth. He is honored and glori- ed for His unshakable adherence to dharma, righteousness. The story of Rama is deeply in uential and popular in the societies of the Indian subcon-tinent and across Southeast Asia.

An incarnation of God, an ideal man, dutiful son and just king: these are just a few ways to describe Lord Rama, an exemplar of honor, reverence, self-control and duty. He fought battles, became

king, married a Goddess, traveled far and befriended exotic beings who were steadfast in their loyalty and courage. Rama Navami is the cel-ebration of His birthday, when Hindus honor and remember Him with devotional singing, dramatic performance and non-stop recitation of His remarkable life story, the Ramayana.

HOLY DAYS THAT AMERICA’S HINDUS CELEBRATE

What is the story of Rama? A tale of love and separation, the Ramayana has moved the hearts of millions of Hindus over the ages. To honor a promise made by his father, King Dasaratha, prince Rama abandons His claim to the throne and spends 14 years in exile. Wife Sita and brother Lakshmana join him in exile, a time of perils and tribulations. Sita is abducted by Ravana, the monarch of Lanka. After a long and arduous search, Rama discovers Sita’s whereabouts, with the help of Hanuman. A colossal war ensues against Ravana’s armies. In a duel of majestic proportions, powerful and magical beings wield mighty weaponry in formidable battles. Rama slays Ravana and lib-erates Sita. Having completed His exile, Rama returns to be crowned king, loved by one and all.

Who wrote the epic? Some 25 centuries ago, a sage ordered a thief to sit under a tree and chant “ma-ra” until he returned. Years passed, and an ant-hill covered the man, who had lost himself to the chant. The sage re-turned and broke the anthill, naming the thief Valmiki, meaning “from an anthill.” Inspired

by his expanded awareness, Valmiki immor-talized Rama by composing the Ramayana, a work unmatched in poetic excellence and

longevity. Shri Ramcharitmanas by Tulsidas in Hindi and the Kamba Ramayanam by the poet Kambar in Tamil stand along-side Valmiki’s epic in Sanskrit.

Who was Sita? Sita was a powerful, gifted, beautiful woman, utterly devoted to her husband. Found in the elds as a babe by King Janaka, Sita was raised a princess. She walked alongside Rama in exile. When abducted by Ravana, she was unshakeable in her faith that her husband would rescue her. She walked through re to prove her purity. To prevent further slander, Rama sent her away to the for-est. She patiently bore separation from her husband a second time and bore twins named Lav and Kush. When they were reunited with their father, she command-ed Mother Earth to swallow her. The Earth split open and Sita dis-appeared.

Panaka Sweet Indian Limeaide

Ingredients ½ cup of jaggery or brown sugar,4 cups water, juice of one lime, 1½ tsp of grated fresh ginger, 1 tsp ghee or oil, a pinch of cardamom powder

MethodMix ingredients and serve cold.

Spicy ButtermilkIngredients 2 cups buttermilk (or yoghurt),2 cups water, 3 curry leaves, chopped coriander leaves (cilantro), 1 nely chopped green chilli, 1½ tsp ginger powder, 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1 pinch asafoetida, salt to taste

MethodHeat oil in saucepan and add mustard seeds; allow it to splutter, then add curry leaves, ginger, green chilies and asafoetida, stirring vigorously. Mix with remaining ingredients and beat until smooth.

This educational poster is part of Hindu Festival Outreach, a collaboration between Sanatana Dharma Foundation of Texas and HINDUISM TODAY magazine in Hawaii. Additional resources may be found at www.hinduismtoday.com/••estival••. Soumya Sitaraman and Usha Kris, respectively author and photographer of Follow the Hindu Moon, generously contributed text and graphics (hindumoon.com).

Tidbits About Lord Ramaw

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Birthday of Rama, the Ideal ManRama Navami

Fact & FictionFACT: Hinduism has more than one sacred scrip-ture, with several books considered revered or holy. While all Hindus revere the sanctity of the primor-dial Vedas, distinct sects recognize scripture that is most aligned with their theological beliefs, but not universal to all Hindus. Examples are the Agamas, Ramayana, Puranas and Mahabharata.

FICTION: Some deride Hinduism as primi-tive because certain of its Deities have animal features. Actually, most religions share this characteristic. The Greek God Pan and the Egyp-tian Deities Anubis and Horus are examples. In Christianity and Judaism, the biblical prophet Ezekiel describes the angels known as cherubim as having the faces of a lion, an ox, an eagle and a man, with the feet of a calf and four wings.

Tidbits about Lord Rama

This year Ram Navami will be celebrated on March 31/ April 1


March 30, 201226 March 30, 201226

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127

‘High Tariff Walls could Harm India-US Trade Relations’

NEW DELHI (Mint) The US on Monday asked India to lower import duties on various items including capital goods and fruits, saying high tariff walls could “harm” trade rela-tions between the two countries.

“It would be a miss, if I would not mention about the barriers which still exist in building our economic relationships. There are tariffs on American products which are still too high,” US Commerce Secretary John Bryson said at a Ficci luncheon meeting here. He further said, “Our progress (in absence of India lower-ing duties)... will slowdown in the long-term or would cause meaning-ful harm”. Bryson, who is leading a 16-member business delegation, will also visit Jaipur and Mumbai.

America has been asking India to ease restrictions on imports of prod-ucts like capital goods and medical products in recognition of stron-ger economic ties between the two countries.

Pointing out that India’s high im-port duties on the US products are impacting American businesses, Bryson said, “Capital goods such as

power generation equipment faces a basic duty of 7.5% and effective rate of 22%. Grapes, citrus fruits and other fruits face a 30% duty.”

He said India’s sourcing decisions in sectors like IT, electronics and solar energy are also tough.

“This makes it harder to invest in India, if India is not able to readily accept the US products...,” the US Commerce Secretary said.

India, Bryson demanded, should provide a more level- playing field for US businesses. It also needs to build on its effort to support more accountability, transparency and in-tegrity in its commercial actions.

Besides, he said, India should join the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Government Procurement Agreement (GPA).

“Allow more competition by join-ing WTO agreement on government procurement”, he said. India is an observer of the GPA which deals with the issues relating to government purchases. In 2010-11, the bilateral trade stood at $45.6 billion. During April-January (2011-12), the US in-vested $913 million in India.

“It would be a miss, if I would not mention about the barriers which still exist in building our economic relationships. There are tariffs on American products which are still too high,” US Commerce Secretary

China Warns India against Oil Exploration in South China Sea

BY MANASH PRATIM BHUYANBEIJING (Mint): Terming the

South China Sea as a disputed region, China has warned India to refrain from undertaking oil exploration in the resource-rich Vietnamese blocks in order to ensure “peace and stabil-ity” in the area.

“The area is disputed one. So we do not think that it would be good for India to do (explore oil) that,” deputy director general of Asian department in ministry of foreign affairs Sun Weidong said.

Asking New Delhi not to get in-volved in the “disputes”, the top Chinese foreign ministry official said the sovereignty of the islands in the region was a major issue and India should not carry out oil exploration till resolution of the vexed issue.

“We want common development in the region. We hope Indian side is not involved in those disputes. We hope India would do more to ensure peace and security in the region,” Sun told a group of visiting Indian journalists here.

When reminded about commercial nature of India’s oil exploration in the region having huge oil and gas reserves, Sun said the issue was “very complicated” and China was trying its best to find a peaceful solution to the problem.

Asked why China was objecting to India’s exploration projects in the Vietnamese oil blocs when Chinese companies were involved in car-rying out infrastructure projects in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), the top official in-charge of India af-fairs said both the issues are “totally different”.

“These are totally different issues. As far as Kashmir is concerned, we always said it was a bilateral issue and

both India and Pakistan must resolve it bilaterally,” Sun said.

Noting that Chinese companies working in PoK are only focusing on developing the local economy of the area, Sun said there was no change in China’s policy towards resolution of the Kashmir issue. “I think they (the Chinese companies) are only focused on development of the local economy (in PoK). I do not think it is against anybody. The issue of South China Sea is a very complicated one as many parties are involved in it,” he said.

China has been objecting any activ-ity in South China Sea region includ-ing Indian oil exploration as it has territorial disputes with some Asean countries, including Vietnam and the Philippines.

Unfazed by Chinese objections, India in October last year had inked an agreement with Vietnam to expand and promote oil exploration in South China Sea. The pact between the In-dian and Vietnamese state-owned oil companies includes new investments and the exploration and supply of oil and gas to the two countries.

The Chinese claim on the South China Sea has been rejected by both India and Vietnam, saying as per the UN, the blocks belong to Vietnam. India has said that its state-owned firm would continue to explore in the South China Sea.

India has already made it clear that the entire Indian Ocean region stretching from East African coast to South China Sea remains crucial to its foreign trade, energy and national security.

The sovereignty of the islands in the region was a major issue and India should not carry out oil exploration till resolution of the vexed issue


March 30, 201228 March 30, 201228

INDIA

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BY RAJ KANWARIAN INDIA CORRESPONDENT

After his date of birth controversy that had created a disconnect of sorts between the Army Chief and Ad-jutant General branch on one hand and the Ministry of Defense and the Military Secretary branch on the other, the army chief of the staff Gen. VK Singh has now thrown a bomb-shell by publically revealing that he was offered a bribe of 140 million rupees (14 crores) just to approve the purchase of 600 army trucks of a particular make. The offer of the bribe was made nearly six months after he had taken over as the chief of the army staff on 31 March 2010 by a then just retired lieutenant general.

The disclosure made in an interview given to an online news service and first published in The Hindu shook the entire establishment and brought both the houses of the Parliament to a noisy adjournment after opposition parties took the government to task for sitting for a long time over such a serious issue. It was again a game of one-upmanship. While the opposi-tion blamed the government and the defense minister for their ‘inaction’, the Congress benches castigated the army chief for not having taken an appropriate action at that very time.

Gen. Singh told the interviewer that he had then personally conveyed this information to the defense min-ister AK Antony. It now appears in

retrospect that the defense minister Antony did not at that time take any further action on the information of bribery attempt communicated to him by the army chief. However, he announced in the Parliament Monday that he had now handed over the investigation to Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI). It is learnt that the CBI has already started a proper enquiry into the allegation of bribery and the army chief will be the first one whose statement the CBI will record.

The controversy raises many points and throws several darts at the incom-petency and serious dereliction of duty both by the defense minister as also the army chief. It also reflects ad-

versely on the ‘goings on’ in the cor-ridors of the defense ministry in the matter of the purchases for the armed forces. It has been a known fact that ‘Indian agents’ of foreign arms’ manufacturers have been actively operating in the precincts of both the Army Headquarters and at the defense ministry despite ‘paper’ ban on them. Long before Bofors’ guns scandal had come into limelight, the Indian agents had been proactive and much of their tribe comprised retired officers from armed forces. Even as back as 40 years, a retired colonel had built up an empire on selling arms, ammunitions, artillery, fighter planes and many other such products to the armed forces; among his employees

were some generals also. Both the defense minister as well as

the chief of the army staff is equally to be blamed for taking lightly such a serious matter.

The incident happened sometime in the last quarter of 2010 and now nearly 18 months later, the army chief thought it fit or even prudent to go public with this offer of bribery. His excuse that he thought that he had done his prescribed duty by inform-ing the defense minister does not cut much ice. The general was not an in-nocent babe in the woods not to have realized the gravity of this incident. According to some experts, the chief of the army staff should have at that very point not only reported the mat-ter to the minister (which he did) but should also have sent a demi-official letter to him confirming all that what he had verbally told him. His next step should have been to send for the relevant files of the case recording therein that he was offered a bribe by a retired general and which he had ignored. He should have further or-dered that the said general be denied a security pass. He did none of that and

Army Chief and Defense Minister took no Action for 18 MonthsThe case of 140 million-rupee bribe offer

it showed how naïve was he. The defense minister on his part

too took the incident very lightly and absolutely kept quiet about it as if it was a routine daily happening in the defense ministry and the army headquarters. According to the same expert, the defense minister should have put a formal note in the relevant file giving the details of the incident reported to him by the COAS and ordering the defense secretary to make the necessary report to CBI. The defense minister unfortunately did not take any such action which, to say the least, is a matter of serious dereliction of duty.

It would appear that the current COAS has acquired a knack of creat-ing one controversy after another. But this case is far more serious than the simple matter of date of birth. This could even make the army chief liable for criminal prosecution for having not reported a cognizable offence which is what ‘the offer of bribe’ amounts to. Similarly, the defense minister too could be hauled up for his failure in not reporting a criminal offence.

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Fast or Farce! Is Anna a Media Creation?MPs from many Parties Criticize Anna

BY RAJ KANWARIAN INDIA CORRESPONDENT

After a short welcome respite, Team Anna again returned to ‘action’ with a day-long fast by Anna himself at the historic Jantar Mantar compound in New Delhi’s Parliament Street. A fairly goodly crowd had gathered at the venue of the fast that began at 11 a.m. and ended at 6 p.m. This was the first public foray by Team Anna after its inglorious fiasco last year in Mum-bai where Anna’s fast had evoked a damp response. It would appear that the Anna and his core team seemed determined to rejuvenate their fad-ing campaign against corruption and wanted to keep the pot of its agitation boiling. Unfortunately, it floundered in its eagerness.

Interestingly, the day-long program virtually turned into a Sunday picnic for many in the crowd, with several food and snacks vendors doing roar-ing business. What surprised many onlookers and those like me who watched this tamasha live on news channels was the listless response from the gathering to the slogans such as ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ which Anna raised from time to time. Another spectacle was Kiran Bedi waving a large National flag in a manner that looked as if she was fanning Anna on this hot Delhi afternoon.

Its desperate attempt to appear neu-tral towards various political parties virtually boomeranged when Team Anna used vituperative and abusive language against all politicians and parliamentarians sparing none, and that shocked all and sundry includ-ing those of us who were glued to their TV screens. In short, the Anna Team speakers roundly criticized the entire political class as such for its numerous acts of commission and omission. In an innovative feature, video clips of speeches made by many MPs during the last debates on the Lokpal Bill were shown. Sharad Yadav and Lalu Prasad, who had opposed the Bill in the Lok Sabha, were singularly targeted by a member of the Core Committee. Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal alleged that 165 parliament members were corrupt and rapists. He also charged 14 union ministers including P Chi-dambaram, Farooq Abdullah, Kamal Nath, Sharad Pawar, SM Krishna, Praful Patel et al for acts of corrup-tion and asked the government to

investigate their misdemeanors. Ad-ditionally, ministers in some of the states too were named and inquiries demanded against them.

But what happened in the Lok Sabha on Monday came certainly as a total surprise. Parliamentarians cutting across party lines led by the leader of opposition Sushma Swaraj condemned in no uncertain terms the abusive and unparliamentary lan-guage used against members of the Parliament by Anna and his team at Sunday’s fast. Swaraj said that Anna Hazare should have remained with-in limits. Sharad Yadav supported Sushma and in one of his angriest speeches ever took Anna Hazare and his team to task and added that ‘Anna is against democracy as he is attacking the Parliament. We have fought against corruption for past 30 years and for the rights of the poor and the farmers.’ Congress MP Sanjay Nirupam wondered how Anna Team that called itself ‘civil society’ should be using such an ‘uncivil’ language. He also demanded a inquiry into the activities of this anti-corruption movement. Even CPI (M) leader Basudeb Acharia called Team Anna’s allegations ‘condemnable’.

A motion on the breach of privileg-es of the Parliament is being moved in the Lok Sabha Tuesday afternoon and it is expected to receive nearly unanimous support from all the po-litical parties. But that is not going to deter people like Arvind Kejriwal who, it seems, is bent upon getting arrested and achieving a ‘martyrdom’ of sorts.

But by its wild and indiscriminate criticism and by tarring all parliamen-tarians with the same brush, Team Anna now appears to have lost the support of political parties even other than the Congress that was its original

target and still is. This movement against corruption has failed to im-pact the results of the recent elections in the five Indian states. Regional political parties no less known for their corruption and maladministra-tion won in Uttar Pradesh and the Punjab. In Uttarakhand too, it was the Congress against which Team Anna had launched a campaign of sorts that edged past the ruling BJP. Incidentally, the Congress govern-ment headed by Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna successfully crossed its first hurdle on Monday when its candidate was elected the speaker by a margin of eight votes.

What has dismayed this writer was the blatant and unprofessional man-ner in which news channels went out of their way to telecast the “fast” as if no other newsworthy event hap-pened in India last Sunday and that the fast was the only event of im-portance. Several hackneyed sound bites which Anna Hazare had stated on umpteenth occasions in the past were repeatedly shown on ticker tape for nearly half an hour on one of the most popular news channels that I regularly watch. Worse, the news of the fast was continuously given for more than an hour as ‘breaking news’, as if it takes that long to ‘break’ news. The repetition was so boring and nauseating that I was compelled to switch to other channels, but there too found the same story being telecast ad nauseam. It was disgusting display of ‘news sense’.

Since the beginning of this cam-paign by Anna Hazare’s “India Against Corruption”, I have had a nagging feeling that Anna was noth-ing but a media creation. Look at the coverage given to the 7-hour fast that Anna so demonstrably and with a flourish undertook. Most of us,

including many working men and women in the US, do not as a rule eat anything between breakfast and supper, and our fasts last much longer than seven hours. Thus it was no big deal for Anna to undertake a 7-hour fast and call it as a beginning of a new campaign against corruption. In short, Anna not only made a mockery of the spiritual importance of a fast but also indirectly ridiculed Gandhi who undertook fasts for cleansing his inner self; Gandhi never even once used vituperative language against the British. By converting the venue of his 7-hour fast into an arena of abuse and hatred, Anna and his teammates lost whatever little moral fiber or po-litical sympathy they may have had. However, in this game of political chess and one-upmanship, BJP may yet change its colors and return to sup-port Anna’s so-called anti-corruption crusade primarily against the Central government. Yet, this otherwise non-event got live coverage virtually on all news channels.

This brings me to the question of what is the news and how the media, in most parts of the world, twist and turn it to suit their respective view points. Here is an instance of how simple news was twisted and presented.

A Harley biker is riding by the zoo in Washington, DC when he sees a little girl leaning into the lion’s cage.

Suddenly, the lion grabs her by the cuff of her jacket and tries to pull her inside to slaughter her, under the eyes of her screaming parents.

The biker jumps off his Harley, runs to the cage and hits the lion square on the nose with a powerful punch.

Whimpering from the pain the lion jumps back letting go of the girl, and the biker brings her to her terrified parents, who thank him endlessly.

A reporter has watched the whole event. The reporter addressing the Harley rider says, ‘Sir, this was the most gallant and brave thing I’ve seen a man do in my whole life.’

The Harley rider replies, ‘Why, it was nothing, really, the lion was behind bars. I just saw this little kid in danger and acted as I felt right.’

The reporter says, ‘Well, I’ll make sure this won’t go unnoticed. I’m a journalist, and tomorrow’s paper will have this story on the front page...

So, what do you do for a living and what political affiliation do you have?’

The biker replies, ‘I’m a U.S. Ma-rine and a Republican.’

The journalist leaves.The following morning the biker

buys the paper to see news of his ac-tions, and reads, on the front page:

U.S. Marine Assaults African Im-migrant and steals his lunch

That pretty much sums up the me-dia’s approach to the news these days. Do I need to say anything more?

Parliament Vs. Anna


March 30, 201230 March 30, 201230

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Kingfi sher Airlines Owes Over Rs 5,600

cr to PSU Banks(HT) Cash-strapped Kingfish-

er Airlines owed over Rs 5,600 crore to public sector banks as on February this year, the govern-ment has said. The consortium of 13 PSU banks, including State Bank of India, have an exposure of Rs 5,608.07 crore to Kingfish-er Airlines (KFA) as on February 2012, minister of state for finance Namo Narain Meena said in a written reply in Lok Sabha.

Replying to a query on whether SBI has any proposal to extend a financial lifeline to Kingfisher, Meena said,” State Bank of In-dia, leader of the consortium of lenders, has informed that no such lifeline has been extended to Kingfisher Airlines Ltd by them during the current financial year.” SBI alone has an exposure of Rs 1,408.45 crore to KFA.

The airline, which has a debt of Rs 7,000 crore and an accumu-lated loss of over Rs 6,000 crore, has been operating only 16 of its 64 aircrafts since last month. It has quit Kolkata and Hyderabad routes completely.

It also wound up international operations last week.

Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the Avia-tion Ministry have threatened to cancel the 7-year-old airline’s licence if it is unable to come up with an operational schedule next week.

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The Bandit OrchestraThe river is synonymous with outlawhood. It also supports a hardy, varied wildlife.

BY NEHA BHATT(Outlook) “Chambal? You mean

the dacoit haunt? What’s to see there? Is it safe?” are likely responses from friends if you mention a holiday in the notorious ravines of Paan Singh Tomar country. Turns out that dodgy reputation has bred a kind of happy exclusivity for serious birders and photographers, who’re perhaps the few people party to Chambal’s un-spoilt wildlife fest. The river safari on

the Chambal, such a departure from regular jeep safaris, is the main draw in this national sanctuary. In season, gliding over the clear blue river, you sight dwindling species of the Skim-mer bird, the gharial, the muggur (or crocodile), the red-crowned roof turtle and even the Gangetic dolphin if you’re lucky.

Even so, few have realised Cham-bal’s potential as a tourist magnet, with its unusual landscape of stun-ning ravines and rare wildlife that includes Saras cranes and blackbuck. Chambal Safari Lodge, in village Jarar, is pretty much the only place to stay on the Uttar Pradesh side of the river (20 km away), unless you consider Agra as an option, about 90 km from the river. But if you’re not on a tight budget, this sprawl-ing, 120-acre plantation of old trees and extensive farmland, with rustic, eco-friendly cottages does well for

a meditative holiday. Here, you’re in the company of resident hares, nilgai, wild cats, hyenas and hundreds of tweeting birds.

But come afternoon, you’d want to be by the river, when the birds, the gharial and the muggur are likely to be sunbathing in full view. After driv-ing about 20 km towards the river, we’re engulfed by ravines bathed in the golden afternoon light, a maze of intertwining, striated mud cliffs

formed by centuries of soil erosion caused by floods. Climb one of the ravines for a full view of the rest of this dramatic landscape—the ravines stretch far beyond what the eyes can see, larger-than-life, intimidat-ing, unreal. They are not as barren as they seem, and are dotted with birds, many of which you can spot on a nature walk.

You slowly reach a sandy beach, where a sturdy blue (Manesar-built) fibreglass motorboat awaits us, the only set of boats this side of the river which can be used for tourism at the moment. Cross the narrow river and you’re in Madhya Pradesh. The river, in fact, is considered unholy, and legend has it that Chambal came to be after a yagna in which thousands of cows were sacrificed, and their blood formed the stream. But the ‘unholi-ness’ of the Chambal is perhaps why it still runs so clean.

We set off upstream. Even as we pass a crowd of ruddy shelducks and grey herons taking in the cool breeze and sunshine, we’re aiming for the lit-tle island up ahead, which is really the hotspot for fauna, a sort of afternoon hangout where the river residents create quite an orchestra, and pause once in a while for a quick drink of water. Sure enough, they’re all there this afternoon. We park ourselves in the middle of the river and become si-lent spectators to this jamboree. True to their name, numerous red-beaked skimmers, with their shiny white-and-black-tipped feathers skim the surface of the water, and settle on the island for a break. They stare at us awhile, comfortable at a distance of about 10 feet, but when we try and move in for close-up shots, they flut-ter about, skim the water again, form intricate geometric patterns in the air, and fly away. Far above them, a group of flamingos puts up an even better show of symmetry. Oblivious to all the activity around them, a couple of muggurs bask in the sunshine just where the skimmers were a moment ago, and after a little while, slide their ungainly bodies into the water ever so slightly to cool off. A beautiful white spoonbill hops around, joined by a number of other birds, like the painted stork, the lapwing and the curvaceous grey heron, the blue waters sparkling, the ravines rising behind.

And there, at a distance, we spot the impossibly long, angled snout of the endangered gharial. They’ve picked their own little private island in the middle of the river to sunbathe, and seem unperturbed by our advances, proudly showing off their rather men-acing set of teeth. Alas, the sun sets too early, even before we can catch the Gangetic dolphins in action. That can be fixed with a repeat visit, we console ourselves—any excuse to be back on this river! But for the rest of the weekend here, there’s more chasing to do: the blackbucks in the mustard fields, the Saras cranes in the wetlands. By the time we leave the ravines, the badlands have created a whole new reputation for themselves, a well-kept secret that has a way of charming even the most sceptical city-dweller.

A bevy of red-beaked skimmers. (Photograph by Tribhuvan Tiwari)

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March 30, 201232 OPINIONMarch 30, 201232 OPINION

SPORTS

SPORTSPakistan Wins Asia Cup Title after 12 Years

BY NASIR QURESHIDHAKA (The News Tribe): Pakistan cricket

team has won the Asia’s biggest title after twelve years as pace bowler Aizaz Cheema grabbed three wickets at key moments to help Green Shirts beat Bangladesh by two runs in a thrilling final at the Shere Bangla Cricket Stadium.

The tears were rolling down the cheeks of the Bangladeshi players, and the fans as they fought well against a team which was rather better than them.

Shakaib Al Hasan who scored 68 runs re-

mained the top-scorer from Bangladeshi side accompanied by Tamim Iqbal 60 and Nasir Hossain 28 who helped them to fight well against a world class team. Other Bangladeshi batsmen failed to cross 20’s.

Shahid Afridi was awarded Man of the Match.

Aizaz Cheema who took three wickets re-mained the highest wicket-taker from Pakistani side along with Umar Gul and Saeed Ajmal who shared two wickets while Shahid Afridi took one wicket.

Earlier Pakistan set a target of 236 runs due to

the sensible batting by wicket-keeper Sarfaraz Ahmed who scored 46 runs.

While talking to Rameez Raja in Presentation Cermony, Bangladeshi skipper Mushfiqur said; “Before the tournament, we had great prepara-tion but the boys stuck to the plans.”

“We played good in the tournament I thought. The wicket is a bit slowish, it’s not easy to score runs, Tamim and Shakib played well. We gave away some runs in the last over, that was crucial,” he added.

“It’s been a great tournament for Shakib, Tamim, Mashrafe, Raz-zak and Nasir. We fought in all the games and we achieved a lot in this tournament. Shakib and Tamim were both set batsmen and their wickets were the turning point.”

The Pakistani Captain Misbah-ul-Haq expressed his joy by saying ,”Won-derful victory, well fought by all guys, the youngsters came in and contributed well. Sarfraz’s innings

was a vital one for us.”“This wicket was a little different from the

other ones, it was slow. We were hoping that around 225-230 would be a fighting a score. The spinners bowled very well, the pacers did well in the end. Bangladesh played wonderfully well, this is really a new Bangladesh team and they are really the winners,” he added.

Pakistani fans who were full of joy after the victory of Asia Cup came onto the streets and celebrated the win of their team by dancing and cheering on the roads. Some people also cel-ebrated the victory by resorting to aerial firing.


33 March 30, 2012 33March 30, 2012SPORTS KARACHI: It was a not a very happy home-

coming for Shahid Afridi after Pakistan’s Asia Cup triumph as he got into a scuffle with a fan at the airport, claiming that he reacted angrily only when his three-year-old daughter was pushed to the ground by eager admirers. Later, Afridi apologised for hitting a fan at Karachi airport, saying he lost his temper when he saw his little daughter getting almost trampled by enthusiastic autograph seekers.

“I know what I did was wrong. I should have controlled myself. But I couldn’t take it when my daughter was pushed to the ground,” Afridi told ‘Dawn News’. Afridi, who was adjudged Man of the Match in the Asia Cup final against Bangladesh that Pakistan won by just two runs, insisted that he had lot of love and respect for his fans and always tried to be pleasant with them. “But when my daughter who was waiting for me near my car got pushed by fans trying to get near me I lost my temper,” he said.

CHENNAI: Praising batting ace Sachin Tendulkar, Selection Com-mittee Chairman Krishnamachari Srikkanth on Saturday described his achievement of hundred internation-al tons as something superhuman and cited him as a classic example for “thriving in an imbalanced world.”

Srikkanth, an ardent admirer of Tendulkar, was addressing a semi-nar on ‘Thriving in an Imbalanced World’ organised by CII (Confedera-tion of Indian Industry).

Lauding Tendulkar on his historic feat, he said, “A classic example for thriving in imbalanced world is Sachin Tendulkar. In 1989, when I was the captain, he was just 16 years old..... making a debut in Paki-stan against Pakistan. And there was Imran Khan, Wasim Akram.... You call that a balanced world?”

“In his first match, he gets it on his mouth, bleeds through his mouth. He does not go back. Then, he continues to play. Then, he continues, continues, continues and (is still) continuing!” he said. Describing the challenges Tendulkar had to go through, Srikkanth said he had scored against Australia, South Africa, England and West Indies under various conditions,” all imbalanced conditions” ranging from turning wickets in India, seaming and bouncy tracks in England and Australia besides West Indian fast bowlers.

Tendulkar’s record is something superhu-man, he said. On India’s recent disastrous tour down under, he defended his decision to play Virat Kohli in the test matches. He said after Sydney, people were saying Kohli was not fit for test cricket.

“..but what happened later? the next match he got 75, next Test he got a 100,” Srikkanth said, adding, he became the highest run-getter in the series. He also became the highest run-getter in the one-dayers, he added.

Observing that the game had such large following in the country, Srikkanth said each one (in the hall) was thinking they are like Tendulkar, captain, and chairman of selectors. “That is the problem. That is why the game will never die in India.

Former captain Anil Kumble reckons that Virat Kohli has the “right game” to fit in at the crucial number 3 slot in the Indian Test team even though it will be impossible for anyone to step into Rahul Dravid’s shoes.

“I have followed Virat closely since his India U-19 days and he has matured a lot. I am im-pressed in the manner he has improved in the past one year in terms of game, discipline and overall fitness”, Kumble said.

“He has quickly adapted to rigours of interna-

tional cricket and for a 23-year-old to do that is phenomenal. He has a Test hundred in Australia and I believe he has the right game to fit in at No 3,” the former Indian captain told PTI in an interview here today.

“However, there is no one who can replace Rahul Dravid. He has been an achiever for past 16 years and it’s certainly not easy to score 23,000 international runs,” Kumble added.

Kumble paid tribute to Sachin Tendulkar for achieving the historic feat of scoring 100 international centuries, saying he could quickly adapt to different conditions which was the hallmark of a great player.

“I have been a witness to 80 of those 100 hundreds and atleast on 20 occasions, I have been at the other end. I would invariably arrive when he would be in his 80’s and the second new-ball would be due. My job on each and every occasion was to ensure that I don’t give my wicket easily which would help him to get his hundred.”

Tendulkar after completing his 100th ton had recollected a funny incident during his highest Test score of 248 in Bangladesh involving him and Kumble when both had some horrible mix-ups.

“Don’t talk about it. I still get embarrassed when I watch the footage of that match,” he smiled. For Kumble, one memorable incident was Tendulkar’s maiden Test hundred at Old Trafford in 1990 which was incidentally his debut Test.

“I was made to stand at the Old Trafford bal-cony for more than three hours as it was Kiran More’s diktat. Since Sachin was scoring runs and we were playing to save the Test, everyone got superstitious. It was difficult standing there for two hours, but I was instructed by Kiran to stand at the same position for hours. Only dur-ing tea break did I get a chance to sit,” he said.

“Obviously, the 242 at Sydney was another

Herculean effort where he didn’t hit a single cover drive till he reached 200. The 100 against Pakistan and the 155 against Australia (both in Chennai) where Shane Warne was bowling from round the wicket were some of the knocks I would never forget.”

“The brilliant thing about Sachin is his adaptibility. He could quickly adapt in any given condition. That’s the hallmark of a great player,” Kumble said.

For someone, who has close to 1000 international wickets, (619 Tests and 337 in ODIs) the longer version still remains a priority.

“If you are able to consistently perform in longer version, that performance would help you do well in T20s and One-days but it’s never the other way round,” he explained. Talking about young leggie Rahul Sharma , who has travelled with the

Indian team for last six months having played only five games (3 ODIs and 2 T20s), Kumble said it wasa tricky situation.

“It’s again the ‘chicken and egg’ theory. You need to bowl lot of overs in matches but again you need to pick your best squad. Ideally, it would have been great had Rahul played a few first-class matches but problem nowadays is lack of tour games. When I went to England in 1990, we had nine first-class tour games apart from 2 ODIs and 3 Tests. Everyone got a chance which is not the case now.

“Thankfully, the players during international matches at home are released to play Ranji Tro-phy. That’s how likes of Ajinkya (Rahane) and Rohit (Sharma) got to play for Mumbai.”

Kumble was reluctant to about his brief one-year stint as the chairman of National Cricket Academy in Bangalore. He resigned from the post in December last year

“I don’t want to talk about that phase. I wanted to do a few things but we were not on the same page but NCA has done a lot of good for Indian cricket. It’s because of NCA that we have bril-liant fielders like Virat, Suresh Raina, Manoj Tiwary to name a few.”

The BCCI wants Ranji Trophy matches to be played at neutral venues but Kumble for one wants cricket to be shifted to smaller centres which will produce good competitive wickets.

“Recently during a one-day match Goa and Karnataka, I entered the stadium at around 11:30 and saw 55 for two on board. I thought match must have started late and then realised it was over. Just because it was a bit more challenging surface, batsmen couldn’t cope with it.

“Now if you produce a turning track and match is over within two days, people raise questions. But what about the batsmen’s ability to face quality spinners on turning tracks,” he concluded.

NEW DELHI: “Agar woh World Champion hai to mein bhi World Champion hun. (If she is world champion, then I am also world champion). It’s going to be an easy fi nal,” MC Mary Kom had told TOI on Saturday, ahead of Sunday’s Asian Women’s Boxing Championship final against her Chinese opponent, Ren Cancan. The five-times world champion lived up to her words and comfortably won the gold medal as India fi nished the event a creditable second in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. India bagged two gold, four silver and two bronze medals, their best performance in the event so far, to fi nish runners-up behind China.

The other gold for the country was annexed by former world champion L Sarita Devi. This was the sixth edition of the continental championship. Mary Kom was up against an opponent who had beaten her in the early stages of the Guangzhou Asian Games on way to winning the gold. With revenge on her mind, Mary Kom never allowed her opponent to settle down and won the 51kg fi nal 14-8. Sarita, too, convincingly beat Tajkistan’s Chorieva Mavzuna16-9 in the 60kg category. The good thing for India is that the gold medals came in weight categories which will feature in the London Olympics.

Sarita, who registered her fi fth consecutive win at the Asian Championship, participated in the 60kg category for the fi rst time. “It was a proud moment when the national anthem played for the fi fth time in Asia due to my victory. So far I have dominated Asia, and beating opponents from China has given me a lot more confi dence ahead of the Olympic qualifi ers,” Sarita added.

India’s Cricket Present and Future: Sachin & Virat

India’s cricketing great ponders retirement amidst the emergence of new stars such as Virat Kohli.

Two Golds in Asian Boxing

Afridi in Scuffl e at Airport


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