Vol.8 Issue 24 - Oct 17-Oct 23, 2015

The South Asian Times
e x c e l l e n c e
Vol.8 No. 24 October 17-23, 2015 60 Cents
i n
j o u r n a l i s m
New York Edition
US mulling deal to limit Pak

nukes arsenal: NYT report
New York: The Obama adminis
tration is exploring a deal with
Pakistan that would limit the
scope of Pakistans nuclear
arsenal, the fastest
growing on earth.
The discussions are
the first in the decade
since one of the
founders of its
nuclear prog ram,
Abdul Qadeer Khan, was
caught se lling the countrys
nuclear technology around the
world.
T he talks are being held in
advance of the arrival of Prime
Minister Nawaz Sharif in
Washington next
week. They focus on
American concern
that Pakistan might be
on the verge of
deploying a small
tact ical
nuclear
weapon explicitly modeled
on weapons the United States
put in Europe during the Cold
War to deter a Soviet invasion

that would be far harder to
secure than the countrys arsenal
of larger weapons, New York
Times reported. But outside
experts familiar with the discus
sions, which have echoes of the
Obama administrations first
approaches to Iran on its nuclear
prog ram three years ago,
expressed deep skepticism that
Pakistan is ready to put any limi
tations on a program that is the
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BENJAMIN STURNER
The American
Kerry Packer
Bringing cricket in an epic way to US shores in partnership
with Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne.
Continued on page 4
Hillary Clinton stronger after

commanding debate showing
Washington: Unlike the frontrun
ner for GOP nomination, Donald
Trump, who is wide ly seen as
somebody who will eventually
drop out, Hillary Clinton seems to
have sealed her place as the Dems
nominee after the first Democratic
presidential debate on Tuesday in
Las Vegas hosted by CNN.
Such was Hillarys commanding
performance that she put the dis
rupter Bernie Sanders in his place,
and also blocked Vice President
Joseph R. Bidens entry point, who
would have been in demand if she
kept faltering as in the past she fell
prey to revelations about her use
Continued on page 4
If she wins Dems nomination, shed look

hard at a Latino as running mate.
Hillary Clinton with Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian

Castro Thursday at a rally in San Antonio, Texas.
Daya Bai and Boby Chemmanur honored

by Indo-American Press Club
New York: The IndoAmerican Press Club (IAPC) held its second
International Media Conference in Ronkonkoma, NY, over the
Columbus Day weekend, bringing together an array of eminent jour
nalists and media experts. The honorees were Daya Bai (originally
Mercy Mathew), a social activist working for and living with the tribals
in Madhya Pradesh; and Boby Chemmanur, founder chairman of an
international jewelry chain who shares some of the profit from his
business with the poor, starting homes for them wherever there are his
jewelry stores; & VK Ebrahimkunju, Keralas Minster for Public Works.
For detailed story and more pictures, turn to page 16.
OP ED 12
MEDIA 16
MUSIC 25
SPIRITUAL AWARENESS 30
Ben Sturner (middle) is the founderCEO of Leverage Agency in NYC,

which is producing and marketing Cricket AllStars series.
(Photo: Leverage)
By Parveen Chopra
New York: South Asians in America
are set to witness history as icons
of cricket will be seen in action on
American soil for the first time in
November. T he inaugural T20
match will be played at the Citi
Field baseball stadium in New York
on Nov 7.
"It's been my dream to he lp
bring the best of cricket to
America. Cricket is the second
most popular sport in the world

(after soccer) and we couldn't have
asked for better partners than
Sachin Tendulkar and Shane
Warne on this exciting venture,
Ben Sturner told The South Asian
Times. He is founder, CEO and
President of NYC based Leverage
Agency, which is pro ducing
Cricket AllStars and will also han
dle the marketing and promotion
for the mega event. Sturners aim
Continued on page 4
For the first interview of Ben with The South Asian Times,
the proud Print Media Partner of Cricket All-Stars series, go to page 17.
excellence in journalism
October 17-23, 2015
TRISTATE COMMUNITY
October 17-23, 2015
Asia Society honors 3 of Indian

origin as game changers
By Jinal Shah
New York: T he Asia Society on
Tuesday honored boxing champion
Manny Pacquiao and three persons
of Indian origin among its second
annual class of Asia Game Changers
for making a transformative and
positive difference for the future of
Asia and the world.
The award ceremony, held at the
United Nations, honored the CEO of
ICICI bank and the rst woman to
head an Indian bank, Chanda
Kochhar, comedian and actor Aasif
Mandvi, founder, Design for Change
and the Riverside School champion
of youth volunteerism, Kiran Bir
Sethi.
At the awards event, Josette
Sheeran, Asia Society's President
and CEO, noted the insufcient
recognition Asians receive despite
their remarkable contributions to
the world. More than 950 Nobel
prizes have been awarded since
(from left) Aasif Mandvi, Mariam alMansouri, Kiran Bir Sethi, Li Cunxin,
Manny Pacquiao and Chanda Kochhar were among the honorees.
(Photo: Asia Society)
1901, and less than 6% have gone
to Asians even though 60 percent
of the world's population is in Asia
and Asia has 50 percent of the
world's patents, she said. "We at
Asia Society want to recognize the
brilliance of Asia those who are
changing the world for the better."
Asia Society selected the hon

orees through a survey of over
1,000 global leaders who inspired
the world to do things differently.
Last year, Chinese billionaire Jack
Ma, of Alibaba fame, neurologist
Pawan Sinha and cofounder and
CEO of Pratham Education
Foundation Madhav Chavan were

the honorees.
Kochhar was honored not only for
breaking the glass ceiling but also
for transforming the banking indus
try through technology and empow
ering the masses by bringing bank
ing services to rural areas.
I stand here as a proud Indian,
proud of all the strides that my
country has made so far but even
more proud of the potential that
the country offers all of us to make
an impact to whatever we do in our
country, she said. I accept this
award on behalf of everybody who
works for nancial inclusion
because banking and technology
together can create a transforma
tional impact by bringing millions
of unbanked people into the bank
ing fold.
Talking to The South Asian Times,
Kochhar said the infamous glass
ceiling is a myth. The ceiling is
really in the minds of the girls and
the women themselves. We all have

to free ourselves up of that inhibi
tion and if we believe, we can do it
all have a great family life and at
the same time have a great career,
she said.
Kiran Bir Sethi, honored for
empowering children to change the
world, spoke of the importance of
spotlighting educators. "It's because
of honors like this that the response
goes from 'oh, you're just a teacher'
to 'teachers are game changers.
Aasif Mandvi was awarded for
using comedy to challenge stereo
types of Muslims and Asian
Americans. Pacquiao credited his
humble beginnings for his work
outside the boxing ring. He rose to
global stardom as a result of his
sensational performances in the
ring and has utilized his star pres
ence to increase awareness on
social issues such as human traf
cking, poverty and the plight of
his countrymen during calamities.
NetIPs Silver Conference hosts over 600 professionals

Unconventional Careers, Non Profit, and
Cooking. Special events included the
screening of Girl Rising Woh Padegi Woh
Udegi, a health fair sponsored by AAPI NYC
Metro, Comedy Show, Fashion Show by
Indias POPUP and a Shark Tank like
Startup Competition hosted by Sava360.
"What a wonderful group of individuals to
share my story about diversity, cultural
competency, and Girl Rising," said Davuluri,
the emcee of the event.
As we look ahead into the next 25 years,

NetIP will continue its mission to serve as
the voice for the South Asian diaspora by
developing and engaging a cohesive net
work of professionals to benefit the com
munity," said Dhaval Shah, President of
NetIP North America.
NetIP has 23 chapters across North
America with 60% of members having grad
uate or professional degrees and over 35%
working for Fortune 1000 companies.
Community support for Santino and Nasrin Ahmad

Preet Bharara, Nina Davuluri and comedian Hari Kondabolu
at the conference. (Photos: Jay Mandal)
New York: T he Network of Indian
Professionals, North America (NetIP NA)
hosted their Silver Jubilee Anniversary con
ference Oct 911 at Marriott Marquis hotel
here. Among the 600 attendees were
keynote speaker Preet Bharara, U.S.
Attorney for the Southern District of New
York, former Miss America Nina Davuluri,
comedian
Hari
Kondabolu,
Sree
Sreenivasan, chief digital of ficer at the
Metropolitan Museum of Art, Jimmy Soni,
author and former managing editor of The
Huf fington Post, and NetIP Founder Dr.
Satish Chandra.
NetIPs annual conference brings together

South Asian professionals, empowering
them to explore their heritage and move
beyond their traditional boundaries. The
theme for 2015 Begin Again" aims to
inspire individuals to reinvest in the organi
zations and communities in which they live
and work.
For the first time organizations such as
AAPI NYC Metro, SABA NYC, SAJA, TiE and
SAALT have worked together on such a
large platform. T hese collaborat ions
allowed NetIP to feature panels on Health,
Leg al Advice, Media, Technolog y,
Prominent Indian American community members on Long Island extended their

support recently to Tony Santino for Supervisor and Nasrin Ahmad for Clerk of Town
of Hempstead. The election is on Nov 3. Indian American Voters Forum has appealed
all to vote for Santino and Ahmad.
October 17-23, 2015
TURN PAGE
Nartan Rang Dance Academy hosts

Narvratri celebrations on Long Island
Garden City, NY: Nartan Rang
said Swati Vaishnav, Board of
Dance Academy of Bharatiya
Director of Bharatiya Vidya
Vidya Bhavan hosted one of the
Bhavan. Most of the festivities
biggest Navratri celebrations on
have now shifted to New Jersey
Long Island on Oct 10 at Mitchell
and it was my passion to bring
Field Athletic Complex in Garden
garba raas to Long Island to
City, NY. It was a festive af fair
make it more convenient for
with the full support of the com
people in the area to attend, she
munity, and people of all ages
added.
enjoyed and joined the celebra
People appreciated the large
tion to worship Amba Mata. A
Mitchell Field venue which can
live orchestra led by Naishad
easily accommodate up to 700
Pandya and his group of seven
people with ample room to
musicians enthralled the devo
dance freely, as well as free
Most of the festivities have now
tees with new and traditional
parking. The primary aim of
shifted to New Jersey and it was my
garba and dandiya raas. The cel
Nartan Rang Dance Academy
passion to bring garba raas to Long
ebrations lasted for over four
continues to be the promotion
Island, said Swati Vaishnav.
hours, with the attendees asking
of the awareness of Indian tradi
for more. "This was the fourth annual Navratri event tion & culture among today's youth, as well as giving
and the participation and enthusiasm from the devo those who miss the festivals from the motherland an
tees has grown multifold. Almost 400 people attend opportunity to celebrate here in the US. Next year's
ed the event this year with full vigor and devotion," Navratri will be held on October 8, 2016.
Frontrunners Trump, Carson threaten

to boycott next GOP Debate
Washington: Upset over the ground
"Neither Mr. Trump or Dr. Carson
rules for the next Republican presi
will participate in your debate if it is
dential debate, frontrunners Donald
longer than 120 minutes including
Trump and Ben Carson are threaten
commercials and does not include
ing to boycott the Oct 28 showdown
opening and closing statements,"
on CNBC unless the debate format is
they wrote in a letter to CNBC
changed. Media mogul Trump and
Thursday.
noted neurosurgeon Carson, the two
CNBC spokesman Brian Steel indi
nonpolitician candidates, who have
cated in a statement that the net
been leading the Republican field in
work might change the format to
Republican presidential
recent polls, are seeking an overall candidate Donald Trump accede to Carson's and Trump's
time limit on the debate, given that the
demands. "Our practice in the past
last one went on for three hours, and the ability to has been to forego opening statements to allow
make opening and closing statements.
more time to address the critical issues that matter
According to latest Real Clear Politics average of most to the American people," he said. "We started a
poll Trump leads the Republican pack with 23.4 per dialogue yesterday with all of the campaigns
cent votes followed by Carson with 19.1 percent. involved and we will certainly take the candidates'
Establishment favorite Jeb Bush has fallen to the views on the format into consideration as we finalize
fifth place with 7.3 percent.
the debate structure."
The American Kerry Packer...

Continued from page 1
is to inspire a generation in the hope
that cricket takes off in a big way in
America and to make people excited
about the sport. Undoubtedly South
Asians have been starved of cricket in
America. "A big showcase like this
hopefully will make cricket consid
ered as very cool. And cricket will
make South Asian culture cool in
America, he assures.
I dont just support cricket, but
support culture, Sturner asserts. I
want everyone to come out. Besides
the actual matches, there will be
galas, meet and greet events, fun mer
chandise and memorabilia.
If all goes according to plan,
Sturners name will get etched in
cricketing history books along with
saviors and promoters of the gentle
mans game like the Australian Kerry
Packer, who founded World Series
Cricket in 1977 and made oneday
cricket popular.
US mulling deal to limit Pak...
pride of the nation, and that it
reg ards as its only real de fense
against India.
The discussions are being led by
Peter R. Lavoy, a longtime intelligence
expert on the Pakistani program who
is now on the staf f of the National
Security Council. White House of fi
cials declined to comment on the
talks ahead of Sharifs visit.
But the central element of the pro
posal, according to other officials and
outside experts, would be a relaxation
of the strict controls imposed on
Pakistan by the Nuclear Suppliers
Group, a loose af filiation of nations
that try to control the proliferation of
weapons.
If Pakistan would take the actions
requested by the US, it would essen
tially amount to recognition of reha
bilitat ion and would essent ially
amount to parole, said George
Perkovich, vice president for studies
New Delhi Bureau

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International Peace, who has main
tained contacts with the Pakistani
nuclear establishment.
I think its worth a try, Perkovich
said. But I have my doubts that the
Pakistanis are capable of doing this.
Hillary Clinton stronger after...

of a private email server as secretary
of state. But with Mrs. Clinton turning
her negatives into positives and show
ing her mettle in the CNN debate,
Democrats are now increasingly con
vinced that quest ions about her
emails are little more than a
Republican and news media fixation.
Even Sanders came to her defense on
the email issue.
On Thursday, she won the backing
of Housing and Urban Development
Secretary Julian Castro and said she
would seriously consider making the
rising Hispanic leader her running
mate if she wins her party's nomina
tion. Clinton and the other Democrats
in the November 2016 race for the
White House have pushed hard for
support among Hispanics, a fast
growing and critical voting bloc that
has moved toward Democrats in
recent elections as Republicans have
stymied comprehensive immigration
reform in Congress and disparaged
Mexican immigrants on the campaign
trail.
"I am going to look really hard at
him for anything, because that's how
good he is," Clinton said at a U.S.
Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
meeting in San Antonio, Texas, when
asked if Castro might be her vice
presidential pick.
Appearing with Clinton at a later
"Latinos for Hillary" rally, Castro said
he has long respected her ability to
appeal to people of all backgrounds.
Clinton condemned the hardline
comments about immigration that
have been prominent in the
Republican presidential race, particu
larly by Donald Trump.
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TRISTATE COMMUNITY
October 17-23, 2015
Giving Back gala honors Phylicia

Rashad and Suhel Seth
By Jinal Shah
New York: T he Giving Back
Foundation (GBF) last Thursday
honored Hollywoo d actress
Phylicia Rashad and Indian entre
preneur, author, columnist and
socialite Suhel Seth at its second
gala hosted at The Carlyle in New
York City.
Founded by philanthropist Meera
Gandhi in 2010, GBFs mission is to
mitigate poverty, illness and suffer
ing, empower women through edu
cation. It partners with other chari
ty groups and beneficiaries around
the world, in order to allocate
resources and empower underpriv
ileged people, and has several part
ners in India.
T he org anizat ion honored
Rashad for her philanthropic work
and Seth for his active role in social
change in India. We do what we
do because we are part of this uni
verse and the universe gives and so
should we, said Rashad while
Meera Gandhi, founder and chair of the Giving Back Foundation, with
honorees Hollywood actress Phylicia Rashad, and Indian
entrepreneur, author, columnist and socialite Suhel Seth.
(Photo: Mohammed JafferSnapsIndia).
accepting her award. Seth, who
flew from India to attend the gala,
said, We live in troubled times in
India. GDP is not a modicum of suc
cess of a society. What is, is the
Renee Mehrra among

Immigrant Women Leaders
New York: The Mayors Of fice of
Immig rant Af fairs (MOIA), de
Blasio Administration officials, and
others celebrated the accomplish
ments of the first cohort of MOIAs
Fellowship for Immigrant Women
Leaders in a ceremony at the New
York City Surrogates Court last
week.
Renee Mehrra, TV personality
and activist for womens rights,
was among the 13 fellows.
The Fellowship was established
by MOIA as part of the
Administrations One New York
Rising Together platform to build
closer relationships between immi
grant women and the City and
enhance the capacity of emerging
and established leaders to promote
positive social change in their com
munities. It has been an uplifting
and insightful journey with kin
dred spirits that deepened my
emotional intelligence and leader
ship skills, commented Renee
Mehrra, community activist. The
fellowship gave me rare insights
and strategic tools to overcome
TV personality and womens

rights activist Renee Mehrra will
be in panel advising
Mayors Office of Immigrant Affairs
barriers to progress and advance
ment, including internalized
oppression, discrimination and
racism, so we can become catalysts
for change and heal, transform and
empower ourselves and our com
munities.
At the conclusion of the
Fellowship, Commissioner Nisha
Agarwal of the Mayors Of fice of
Immigrant Af fairs invited the 13
participants from this years inau
gural Fe llowship to serve on
MOIAs Womens Advisory Cabinet
starting in November.
rule of law, what is, is the rule of

tolerance, and what is, is the meas
ure of giving back.
He further talked about what the
worlds oldest democracy, India,
and worlds largest democracy,

America, can teach each other. He
even called India and America
twins joined at the hip.
India is not a poor country nor
is America. India has impoverished
sections and they are impoverished
because there is a denial of oppor
tunity for lack of education, health
careto my mind India teaches
America three things the value of
values, the value of culture and the
value of history. What America
teaches us in abundance is the
value of law, value of giving back
and value of innovation.
I am not proud of the rich lists
that the world produces. I will be
delighted if The New York Times
ever creates a give list, Seth
added. At the event, a 20minute
PBS documentary, originally aired
on June 28, highlighting Meera
Gandhi charitys work at Delhis St.
Michaels school and hostel was
shown. Rev. Timothy Shaw of the
school blessed the guests from
New Delhi via Skype.

GBF supports many programs
including a 5year Giving Back
Foundat ion
g rant
to
the
Woo dsto ck Film Fest ival in
Woodstock, New York, to encour
age socially uplifting films and sup
porting five girls at the Eleanor
Roosevelt Leadership Center in
Hyde Park, NY. The organization
will soon add another program
mindfulness program to its exist
ing programs.
We have added a third arm to
our foundation the mindfulness
platform. I believe that the rapid
pace in our world has left our
minds stripped of peace and joy. To
address this we will start holding
mindfulness camps every year with
gurus like Deepak Chopra and
Donna Karan. The first 500 camp
is scheduled for upstate New York
in July 2016, Gandhi said.
There was also an auction of sev
eral glamorous items, all donated
to GBF.
The Raos donate $1 million

to St. Marys Hospital
New York: A new, $18 million
outpatient pavilion at St. Marys
Healthcare in Amsterdam, NY is
nearly ready to open, thanks in
part to a $1 million donation
from Govind and Jyothi Rao, an
Indian American couple.
According to the Daily Gazette,
the family had previously
pledged $250,000 to the facility
at the start of its capital cam
paign last year but increased it
to $1 million earlier this month,
according to an announcement
from St. Marys.
Construct ion
on
the
40,000squarefoot Rao
Outpatient Pavilion, located next
to the former Amsterdam
Memorial Hospital campus on
Route 30, got underway last
October.
T he facility w ill include a
Cancer Medicine Center with
radiat ion oncolog y, medical
oncology and infusion therapy,
as well as the Womens Breast
Dr Govind and Jyothi Rao

(Photo: dailygazette. com)
Health Center, an expanded med
ical imaging center, laboratory
services, outpatient registration,
presurgical teaching and test
ing, and a new urgent care cen
ter.
The pavilion is set to open Oct.
12. Victor Giulianelli, president
and CEO of St. Marys Healthcare,
said the Raos established an
exceptional philanthropic pace

for others with their initial
$250,000 donat ion, which
spurred other sixfigure dona
tions.
Rao runs a pediatric practice in
Amsterdam. The family, which
includes eight other pediatri
cians, founded the Neena Rao
Charitable Corp. to support and
promote health care and educa
tion for women and children in
the United States and in India,
where Rao still has many family
members.
Rao said the donation is a way
for him to give back to the city.
Fortunately I have been very
good in practice. God has been
great to us, he said. My chil
dren are on their own now.
T heyre doing very well. And
whatever money I have, I dont
take it when I pass away. The
Amsterdam community helped
me a lot. So this is my time to
pay them back.
October 17-23, 2015
TRISTATE COMMUNITY
WELLS FARGO CELEBRATES DIWALI WITH

$50,000 DONATION TO OPERATION SMILE
New York, NY: Wells Fargo &
Company is celebrating Diwali
w ith a $50,000 donat ion to
Operation Smile to help provide
lifechanging surgeries for chil
dren and young adults in India
who are born with cleft lip and
cleft palate. To help kickof f the
Indian New Year, the company
will participate in a series of
Diwali community celebrations
throughout the country, including
events in California, New Jersey
and Texas.
Operation Smile is honored to
be partnering again this year with
We lls Fargo to ce le brate the

Diwali season, said Lisa
Jardanhazy, Vice President Global
Media Strategy & Public Relations
for Operation Smile. From Oct. 16,
2015 to Nov. 30, 2015, Wells
Fargo encourages customers to
send their own smiles and holiday
goodwill to those in India by mak
ing a donation to Operation Smile.
Customers can make a donation
and learn more about the compa
nys collaboration with Operation
Smile by visiting www.wellsfar
go.com/diwalismiles.
Were very proud to support
Operation Smile, which makes an

incredible dif ference in the lives
of children and their families who
couldnt otherwise afford the sur
geries which cost approximately
$240, said Rajnish Bharadwaj,
executive vice president and head
of Cross Border Strategy and
Governance at Wells Fargo.
At Wells Fargo, were commit
ted to support the diverse com
munities where we live and work
and I encourage everyone to join
us this year as we ce le brate
Diwali and support such a worthy
cause.
Congressman Pallone meets

South Asian Democrats
New Jersey: More than 100 South
Asians attended the kickoff event
for the Monmouth County
Democrats South Asian Caucus.
T he event was he ld at Shokla
Indian Restaurant in Freehold, NJ
on October 10.
Among the public ofcials and
community leaders who attended
the event were the United States
Congressman Frank Pallone Jr.,
Monmouth County Democratic
Chairman Vin Gopal, Marlboro
Mayor Jon Hornik, State Assembly
Candidates Eric Houg htaling,
Joann Downey, Satish PoondiNew
Jersey DSC ViceChairman, Dhiren
Amin President of Indian Business
Association, D.K. Patel President
of Monmouth County Indian
Association and their committee
members.
"It is important for the Indian
American community to organize
and vote, so their voices are
Congressman Frank Pallone Jr addressing

South Asian Democrats. Monmouth
County Democratic
Chairman Vin Gopal (inset)
heard," stated Cong ressman
Pallone, the founder of the Indian
American Caucus in Congress.
Many of those in attendance
expressed anticipation and excite
ment of the caucus and of
Democratic Chairman Gopal, New
Jersey's rst IndianAmerican

elected to head a Major Party in
Monmouth County. At young age
of only 30, Vin Gopal is also
Deputy ViceChairman of the New
Jersey
Demo crat ic
State
Committee.
Pradip Peter Kothari addressing the crowd at Patel Brothers and Indo American
Religious & Cultural Centers Navratri 2015 held at Garden State Exhibition Center.
Rang Tarangs Kashyap Sompura seen next to him.
Della NGVP, Rahul BaigMD from Wells Fargo, William & Kathleen
Magee, CoFounders of OperationSmile at
Diwali Celebration press conference.
Subodh Batra honored

by Hicksville
Community Council
Hicksville, NY: A long
t ime resident of
Hicksville and treasur
er of the lo cal
Northwest
Civic
Association Subodh
Batra was honored
with the Dick Evers
Award
by
the
Hicksville Community
Council on Oct 8 for
Subodh Batra with his wife, Prabha, and
service
to
the
Nassau
County legislator Laura Schaefer at the
Hicksville community.
awards function.
Elected
ofcials
Nassau County legisla
place to live, raise my family, and
tor Rose Walker and New York soon, enjoy my retirement.
Senator Jack Martins were also
He came to America armed with
present at the funct ion, w ith an engineering degree from IIT
Martins also among the three hon Mumbai in 1972. He has been
orees of the evening.
married to Prabha for 38 years.
Batra said in his acceptance
He explained how he learnt early
speech, My family and I have lived on that getting involved within the
in Hicksville for the past 19 years. community at grass roots level is
I could not have found a better the way to make it a better place.
Hundreds dancing to the garba tunes. (Photos: Facebook pages)
NATIONAL COMMUNITY
Billionaire to distribute
10,000 bikes to power
homes in India
Houston: An IndianAmerican bil
lionaire plans to distribute 10,000
stationary bikes to India in a bid
to provide electricity to millions of
homes.
By 2016, Manoj Bhargava plans
to test the rst 50 bikes in 15 or
20 small villages in Uttarakhand,
before larger distribution of the
bikes.
According to Bhargava, the
bikes will keep lights and basic
appliances going for an entire day
with just one hour of pedaling.
"This is going to affect a few bil
lion people," Bhargava said. The
main challenge is expected to be
distribution.
While he doesn't intend to give
the bike away, he'd prefer to
incentivize distributors with prof
its.
He says a village can also pool
its resources, buying one bike but
multiple batteries that can be
Manoj Bhargava
swapped out to power individual
homes.
Michiganbased Bhargava
whose family moved to the US in
1967, is set to distribute 10,000
free electric battery equipped
bikes in India in 2016.
The 62yearold billionaire is
also the creator of the famous 5
hour Energy drink.
No copyright protection
over Yoga poses: Court
New York: IndianAmerican yoga
guru Bikram Choudhury is not
entitled to copyright protection
over yoga poses and breathing
exercises he uses in hot rooms
developed by him, a US appeals
court has ruled.
In an order by the Court of
Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in
California yesterday, a bench of
three judges ruled in favor of city
based Evolation Yoga, against
whom Choudhury had led a law
suit in 2011.
In the lawsuit, Choudhury had
claimed that Evolation founders,
the husbandwife duo of Mark
Drost and Zefea Samson had set
up a "copycat yoga system that
of fers classes that utilize and
infringe" on his copyrig hted
sequence of yoga postures.
The appeals court ruled that the
sequence of yog a poses and
breathing exercises developed by
Choudhury was not entitled to
Bhagwati Agrawal listed

among CNN's top ten heroes
Washington, DC: IndianAmerican Bhagwati
Agrawal is listed among CNN's Top 10
Heroes of 2015, for bringing safe drinking
water to more than 10,000 droughtstrick
en people in his native Rajasthan.
Each of the ten "everyday people doing
remarkable things to make the world a bet
ter place" will receive $10,000 and be hon
ored at "CNN Heroes: An AllStar Tribute," a
globally broadcast event on December 6.
The CNN Hero of the Year chosen on the
basis of readers' votes will receive an addi
t ional $100,000 for his cause, CNN
announced Thursday.
Spurred by a water crisis in his homeland,
Ag rawal's
nonprot
Sustainable
Innovations created a rainwater harvesting
system that now provides lifechanging,
safe drinking water across six villages in
Rajasthan, the driest region of India.
His system, called Aakash Ganga Hindi
for "River from the Sky" is a network of
rooftops, gutters, pipes and underground
reservoirs that collect and store the mon
soon rains, which fall from July to
September, CNN reported.
The system frees women and children,
who had to walk miles to get water and
October 17-23, 2015
Bhagwati Agrawal
clean dishes with sand to conserve it, to
spend time doing more valuable activities.
Not having to fetch water allows children,
especially girls, to spend more time in
school, CNN said. People report fewer
health problems. Dairy cows have become
twice as productive. "The way I look at it,
I'm 70 years old" Agrawal told CNN. "I only
have maybe 10 years left of active life.
Right now I'm like Usain Bolt, the sprinter.
... And I will run very fast to accomplish this
mission."
copyright protection because "it

was an idea, process, or system
designed to improve health, rather
than an expression of an idea."
"Because the Sequence (of yoga
postures) was an unprotectable
idea, it was also ineligible for
copyright protection as a compila
tion or choreographic work," it
said. Choud hury founded the
'Bikram Yoga' form of exercise,
which is among the most
renowned forms of the art, with
participants performing yoga pos
tures in rooms heated to 40.6
degrees Celsius.
The court noted that the Indian
practice and philosophy of yoga
date back thousands of years and
"derived from ancient Hindu
scriptures,
including
the
Bhagavad Gita" and that the prac
tice of yoga teaches students to
attain spiritual fulllment through
control of the mind and body. The
judges said that the question of
whether the sequence of 26 yoga

poses and two breathing exercises
developed by Choudhury "impli
cates a fundamental principle
underlying constitutional and
statutory copyright protection
the idea/expression dichotomy.
"Because copyright protection is
limited to the expression of ideas,
and does not extend to the ideas
themse lves, the Bikram Yog a
Sequence is not a proper subject
of copyright protection," they
said, adding that by claiming
copyrig ht protect ion for the
sequence of yog a postures,
Choudhury "misconstrues" the
scope of copyright protection for
compilations.
"Our daytoday lives consist of
many routinized physical move
ments, from brushing one's teeth
to pushing a lawnmower to shak
ing a Polaroid picture, that could
be... characterized as forms of
dance," the judges said.
2 IndianAmerican teens
among NASAs 3D space
contest nalists
Washington, DC: Two IndianAmerican
teenagers gured among 10 nalists of
NASAs national 3D Space Container
Challenge which asked students to design
models of containers that could help
astronauts keep things in order in space.
However, both Rajan Vivek from Arizona
and Prasanna Krishnamoorthy from
Delaware failed to win the prestigious
competition which went to Ryan Beam of
California.
Rajans Hydroponic Plant Box contain
er tackles the challenge of containing
water in a microgravity environment
while still allowing plants to grow roots
in it. Hydroponics, growing plants with
out soil, would be very effective in space
crafts because it requires less space and
plants grow faster and stronger, NASA
said. Prasanna on the other hand devel
oped a Collapsible Container. In order to
use the limited space on international
Space Station, the Collapsible Container
can expand and compress to perfectly t

its contents. When empty, it can com
press fully for easy storage, NASA said.
The simplest tasks on earth can be
quite challenging, and even dangerous, in
space, said Niki Werkheiser, NASAs In
Space Manufacturing project manager.
NASA, in partnership with the American
So ciety of Mechanical Eng ineers
Foundation, which managed the competi
tion, announced the winners of the
Future Engineers 3D Space Container
Challenge on Thursday.
The winning designs focused on mak
ing life in space a little more comfortable
for astronauts, NASA said. Students
across the US spent part of their summer
using 3D modelling software to design
containers that could be 3D printed,
with the ultimate goal of advancing
human space explorat ion on the
International Space Station, Mars and
beyond.
October 17-23, 2015
NATIONAL COMMUNITY
IndianAmerican judge American Banker honors

two women bankers
to be felicitated
New York: An Indian
American (APA) attorneys.
American judge, along with
"NAPABA recognizes the
four other attorneys, has
demonstrated vision,
been named for National Asia
courage and tenacity, and
Pacific
American
Bar
made substantial and last
Association (NAPABA) Daniel
ing contributions to the
K. Inouye Trailblazer Award.
APA legal profession, as
Amul Thapar will be hon
we ll as to the broader
ored at a NAPABA convention
APA community," the
in New Orleans on November
statement said.
6, IndiaWest on Monday
T hapar became first
quoted a NAPABA statement
South Asian American
as saying.
Article III judge in the US
NAPABA, in a statement
when country's senate
released on October 8, con
appointed him in 2007.
gratulated the recipients for
For the post, former US
Amul Thapar
paving the way for the
President George W. Bush
advancement of other Asian Pacific nominated him to the US district court.
Dream Trip to India is

Neiman Marcus fantasy gift
New York, NY: Luxury retailer
Neiman Marcus unveiled its
2015 Christmas Book this
week, and one of the 11 fanta
sy gifts includes a 12day, five
city luxury excursion through
Northwest India priced at
$400,000. The 89th edition of
this legendary book continues
Neiman Marcus unmatched
tradition of of fering its cus
tomers a selection of spectacu
lar and unique holiday gifts
sure to make even their wildest
dreams come true.
Curated by OHarani Luxe
Experiences, a luxury travel concierge
company cofounded by New York and
Dallas entrepreneurs Jitin Hingorani
and Patrick OHara, the Dream Trip
to India covers everything from leg
endary Delhi and the Taj Mahal to
artistic Jaipur, romantic Udaipur and
bustling Mumbai. The lucky couple
who purchases the trip will travel in
private planes and vintage cars to the
finest hotels, restaurants and experi
ences, which include dinners hosted
by royalty, a private cricket game at
the Cricket Club of India and a
Bollywood dance lesson by famed cho
reographer Ashley Lobo on a movie
set in Film City, followed by dinner
with a Bollywood movie star. Neiman
Marcus will donate $15,000 from the
sale of this trip to T he Heart of
Neiman Marcus Foundation, which
brings enriching art experiences to
The $400,000 luxury trip to India

youth in communities nationwide.
We are thrilled to be included in
this years Neiman Marcus Christmas
Book, said Hingorani. As someone
who moved to the U.S. from India in
my youth, it is heartwarming for me
to be able to share my country of ori
gins culture, hospitality and warmth
with Americans on such a massive
scale. India is really on everyones
radar right now, and we want to show
case the decadence and firstclass hos
pitality that this country has to offer.
First published in 1926 as a 16page
booklet, the Neiman Marcus
Christmas Book was initially intended
as a Christmas card to the stores best
customers.
Building on tradition through the
years, the book has maintained its
personal touch, while evolving into a
legendary source for alluring and
mystical gifts.
New York: American Banker recently

released its Women to Watch and
25 Most Powerful Women in
Banking lists and Indian Americans
appeared on both.
Ranjana Clark, the head of transac
tion banking at MUFG Union Bank
North America, made it into the most
powerful list coming in at No. 25.
Clark, a graduate of Lady Shri Ram
College in Delhi, the Indian Institute
of Management in Ahmedabad and
Duke University, took advantage of an
opportunity to he lp g row the
Japaneseowned bank by switching
out an approach that was limiting its
potential, according to American
Banker.
She safe ly expanded deposits

aggressively by carving out a niche
holding deposits from other financial
institutions which, according to some
research, she found to be most effec
tive. It allowed her to convince senior
management she could make a signif
icant profit from this method.
Nandita Bakhshi, North America
head of director channels at TD Bank,
came in at No. 21 on the Women to
Watch list.
Bakhshi moved to New York from
Kolkata nearly three decades ago, and
her experiences in life, according to
American Banker, have taught her
how to read any room and tailor her
management style accordingly.
BAPS Charities hosts health

fair in Parsippany
New Jersey: T he
thought of periodic
health checkups is
daunting for many,
however,
early
detection and pre
vention is the key
to a healthier life.
Nonetheless, pre
ventable ailments
such as cardiovas
cular diseases and
diabetes are still
largely prevalent
across the United
Over 40 medical professionals volunteered for the event
States. Recognizing
early detection and prevention as vital for the heart disease. Doctors that volunteered their time
wellbeing of communities, BAPS Charities hosted at the Health Fair came from a diverse set of local
its 9th annual Health Fair in Parsippany on hospitals and private practices.
I was very much impressed with the turnout
October 4. The Health Fair saw participation from
40 medical professionals, including specialties and the professionalism of all of the volunteers in
dentists, nurses, physicians, and specialists in the putting together such a great community event,
fields of Internal Medicine/Family practice, said Dr.Kamal Patel. I will definitely be back next
Cardiology, Gastroenterology, Ophthalmology, year.
We are pleased to be able to provide this serv
Podiatry, Dentistry, Physical T herapy,
Chiropractor and OBGYN. These professionals vol ice and thank all the physicians, phlebotomists ns,
unteered to provide individual consultations to Carol G Simon Cancer Centre who volunteered
over 320 community participants who benefited their time to make this event a success, Tejas
from various screenings offered free or at subsi Patel, BAPS Charities volunteer, said. BAPS
dized costs. Screenings included blood pressure, Charities hosted similar community Health Fairs at
dental exam, glaucoma screening, glucose screen over 40 locations across North America benefiting
ing, eye exam. In an effort to encourage preventive over 15,000 participants. Extending that senti
care and disease management health awareness ment throughout the year, BAPS Charities hosts
lectures were also organized. These lectures pro medical fairs, walkathons, education & career
vided participants with insights on high choles development seminars, disaster relief operations,
terol, diabetes, preventive health, obesity and blood drives & much more.
US AFFAIRS
HILLARY DOMINATES DEMS DEBATE

Washignton: Hillary Clinton has passed her first big test at the
Democratic presidential debate held here on CNN Tuesday and has
momentum going into the upcoming ones.
As candidates faced off for the first time, Clinton, without offer
ing any specifics, said she would be dif ferent than President
Obama, even as closest rival Bernie Sanders promised a "political
revolution."
Asked how her presidency would not be a "third term" for
Obama, Clinton said: "I think being the first woman president
would be quite a change."
But the former first lady and secretary of state could not specify
if there would be a policy dif ference even as she insisted
she would build on Obama's policies in some areas, and go further
in others.
Selfproclaimed socialist senator Sanders, on the other hand,
claimed he would bring about a "political revolution," in which far
more Americans would turn out to vote, and in which the balance
of power was shifted sharply away from the rich. Clinton also
sought to combat suggestions that she is too closely aligned with
Wall Street banks by saying she had personally scolded Wall Street
bankers to "cut it out," months before the financial crisis of 2008.
"I respect the passion and intensity. I represented Wall Street, as
a senator from New York," Clinton said, after hearing Sanders out
line a plan to break up big banks.
To that Sanders countered, "Congress does not regulate Wall
Street. Wall Street regulates Congress. Going to them and saying
please do the right thing is kind of nave."
But on Clinton's use of a private email system while serving as
secretary of state, an issue that has dogged her campaign, Sanders
appeared to come to her defense, arguing that Americans are sick
and tired of the controversy because we should be discussing real
issues affecting middle and working class Americans.
Amid loud and sustained applause, Clinton turned to thank him
with a handshake.
Clinton cited a statement made by Republican House Majority
October 17-23, 2015
India just a blip

in debate
Bernie Sanders gave Hillary

a boost with his comments on the email controversy.
Leader Kevin McCarthy, in which he implied that the committee's
best outcome was to undercut Clinton's poll numbers.
Clinton also cited the judgment of Obama to whom she lost in
the 2008 party primary as a testament to her skill on foreign poli
cy. "He asked me to be secretary of state," she said, after being crit
icized for her vote in favor of the Iraq War in 2002. "He valued my
judgment," she said, and trusted her advice in situationroom dis
cussions, Clinton said.
Denying she flipflopped on key issues for political gain, Clinton
deftly parried questions on the depth of her political convictions
and insisting she is a "progressive" despite the doubts of some on
the left of the party.
Three other candidates Chafee, Webb and former Maryland
Governor Martin O'Malleywhose campaigns are languishing in the
single digits, failed to create any buzz.
And if Vice President Joe Biden was looking for an opportunity
(and rationale) to jump into the race, he didn't get it at the debate.
ndia figured just once in the twoanda

halfhour long Democratic presidential
primary debate and that too negative
ly when longshot candidate Jim Webb
said the US must have "highest polluting
countries" like China and India on board
in a climate deal. On the climatechange
issue, the former Virginia senator said
unilateral action by the US wouldn't mean
as much when many of the highest pollut
ing nations in the world are China and
India. Frontrunner Hillary Clinton jumped
on his comments, saying she was part of
the White House's effort to force China to
make concessions on climate change. She
said more should be done, though, at the
upcoming Paris conference on climate
change.
Her closest rival Bernie Sanders said he
agreed with Pope Francis, who called it a
"moral issue."
T he influential Washington Post, ,
joined issue with what it called "Webb's
grandstanding over India and China as
the 'world's worst polluters." "It's simply
not fair to pin the blame on these coun
tries, given the size of their populations,"
wrote columnist Ishaan Tharoor. "Of
course, India and China are faced with
huge questions over how to manage and
grow their economies in a sustainable
fashion," he wrote.
Court reinstates lawsuit over

NYPD surveillance of Muslims
New York: A federal appeals court on Tuesday
reinstated a lawsuit challenging the New York
Police Department's surveillance of Muslim
groups in New Jersey after the Sept. 11 ter
rorist attacks, saying any resulting harm came
from the city's tactics, not the media's report
ing of them.
T he 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals,
reversing a judge's decision last year to dis
miss the case, found the Muslim plaintif fs
raised sufficient allegations of religiousfree
dom and equalprotection violations and put
the case on track for trial. The court com
pared the spying to other instances of height
ened scrutiny of religious and ethnic groups,
including JapaneseAmericans during World
War II. In dismissing the lawsuit, U.S. District
Judge William Martini had concluded the
police could not keep watch "on Muslim ter
rorist activities without monitoring the
Muslim community itself" and concurred with
the city in blaming reporting by T he
Associated Press, which exposed the surveil
lance program, for any harm.
The appeals court said the attempt to blame
the AP was akin to saying, "What you don't

know can't hurt you. And, if you do know,
don't shoot us. Shoot the messenger."
The lawsuit revived Tuesday was among
legal actions that followed reports by the AP
that revealed how city police infiltrated
Muslim student groups, put informants in
mosques and otherwise spied on Muslims as
part of a broad ef fort to prevent terrorist
attacks. The reporting was honored with a
Pulitzer Prize. Plaintiff Farhaj Hassan said he
was "extremely ecstatic" about the court's
decision.
"I'm very happy we will get our day in
court," said Hassan, a U.S. Army sergeant who
served in Iraq. "MuslimAmericans were the
innocent community in this matter, and lo and
behold their civil rights should be protected
like everyone else." The city called the intelli
gence gathering an appropriate and legal
antiterrorism tactic and said it never spied on
people or businesses solely because they were
Muslim. Such a practice would be contrary to
its values, a spokesman for the city's Law
Department said.
Climate change to bring spring three weeks earlier to US

New York: Driven by rising global temperatures, winter will be shorter and the onset of
spring plant growth will shift by a median of three weeks earlier over the next century,
scientists have projected. The findings have long term implications for the growing season
of plants and the relationship between plants and the animals that depend upon them.
"Our projections show that winter will be shorter which sound great for those of us in
Wisconsin," explained one of the study authors Andrew Allstadt from University of
Wisconsin, Madison. "But long distance migratory birds, for example, time their migration
based on day length in their winter range. They may arrive in their breeding ground to
find that the plant resources that they require are already gone," Allstadt noted.
Corporate Office: 385 Seneca Avenue, Ridgewood NY 11385

718.821.3182, www.AtlanticDialysis.com
10
October 17-23, 2015
INDIA
Maharashtra to appeal SC decision CBI moves SC, seeks to

question Himachal CM
allowing dance bars reopening
Mumbai: Maharashtra chief minis
ter Devendra Fadnavis said his gov
ernment will go in appeal, shortly
after the Supreme Court stayed a
2014 amendment to the state
police act banning dance perform
ances in bars and some other
places.
Although SC interim order man
dates regulation instead of ban on
dance bars, Govt still favors ban.
We w ill examine & press our
demand in SC, Fadnavis tweeted
shortly after the apex court
removed the ban and allowed
licencing authorities to regulate
indecent dance performances.
The bench of justices Dipak Misra
and Prafulla C Pant said it is
appropriate to stay the provision
that prohibits the dance perform
ances and noted the said provision
was broug ht back in the
Maharashtra Police Act in 2014
after being held ultra vires in 2013
by the top court.
However, we have a rider that no
performance of dance w ill be
remotely expressive of any kind of
obscenity...the licensing authority
can regulate such dance perform
The Maharashtra government had reintroduced the law in 2014 to

bypass an SC judgment which had struck down a similar law a year ago.
ances so that individual dignity of
woman performer is not harmed,
the bench said.
The apex court fixed the petition
filed by Indian Hote l and
Restaurant Association for final
hearing on November 5 adding that
a similar matter had already been
decided in 2013.
The Maharashtra government
had reintroduced the law in 2014
to bypass an SC judgment which
had struck down a similar law a
Honor Pakistani
terrorists as
peace doves:
Shiv Sena
tells BJP
Mumbai: The Shiv Sena said that since
every person who arrives here from
Pakistan is "a messenger of peace", so
the three terrorists who have reported
ly sneaked into the country should also
be treated similarly.
According to recent inte lligence
reports, three Pakistani terrorists have
sneaked into Mumbai and preparing to
carry out attacks similar to 26/11
here.
The central government has warned
Maharashtra and a red alert has been
sounded for the terrorist trio who
could strike in the crowded festivals
like the ongoing Navratri or the forth
coming Diwali, the Shiv Sena said in an
edit in the party mouthpiece Saamana
today.
However, it assured that people of
the state have no cause for worry as a
new "Pakistanloving ambassador of
peace" has taken over responsibility to
protect the nation from them, referring
to its latest betenoir, Sudheendra
Kulkarni, chairman of thinktank,
Observer Research Foundation (ORF).
"Since every person who arrives here
from Pakistan is 'a messenger of
peace', these three terrorists must also
be treated similarly. We lay out the red
carpet for them and accord them high
est security," the Sena sarcastically
demanded.
year ago. The SC had in April 2013

upheld the right of women bar
dancers to follow their profession
and dismissed the state govern
ments appeal to ban them.
The court had then questioned
why Maharashtra did not find it
indecent or derogatory to the digni
ty of women if they worked as a
receptionist, waitress or bartender
at such bars and backed the
Bombay high court verdict quash
ing the 2005 ban.
New Delhi: T he CBI moved the

Supreme Court to challenge a
Himachal Pradesh High Court order
restraining it from interrogating
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister
Virbhadra Singh and his wife in an
alleged disproportionate assets
case and sought their custodial
interrogation.
T he
Central
Bureau
of
Investigation (CBI) also filed a peti
tion in the apex court to seek trans
fer of the case against Virbhadra
Singh from Himachal Pradesh to
Delhi, where a similar case is pend
ing against him.
An apex court bench headed by
Chief Justice H.L. Dattu said the
plea would be heard on the opening
day after the Dussehra holidays.
Additional Solicitor General P.S.
Patwalia mentioned the matter
before the court in the morning and
sought early hearing. The high
court order of October 1 has virtu
ally stalled the invest ig at ion
process, he said.
The high court has asked the CBI
not to arrest the chief minister and
his wife in the disproportionate
assets case. However, it directed the
central agency to go ahead with the
Government to build Kalam

memorial in Rameswaram
New Delhi: Prime Minister
Narendra Modi paid tributes to
former president A.P.J. Abdul
Kalam and said a memorial for
him will be built at his birthplace
Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu.
"The government has acquired
land at Kalam sahab's birthplace
to build a memorial for him. We
want it to be an inspiration for
future generations," Modi said at
a function to mark Kalam's birth
anniversary.
The prime minister went on:
"Soon after quitting the presi
dent's post, he took a flight to
Chennai and started teaching.
"And look at his last moments...
Where is Rameswaram, where is
Delhi, and where is northeast...
Going there at his age and spend
ing time with students reflects
his commitment," he said.
Modi said Kalam was commit
ted to enriching India's human
resource.
"India must be powerful, but
not just by weapons... This was
not Kalam sahab's thoug ht.
investigation.
"...by way of abundant precaution,
it's made clear that the petitioners
shall not be arrested," a division
bench of Justice Rajiv Sharma and
Justice Sureshwar Singh Thakur
said while hearing a writ petition
filed by Virbhadra Singh.
In his petition, Virbhadra Singh
said the CBI's action of raiding his
residences on September 26 in
Delhi and Shimla was mala fide and
political vendetta.
Reg arding interrog at ion of
Virbhadra Sing h and his w ife
Pratibha Singh following the regis
tration of the case on September
23, the high court said: "It's also
made clear that as and when the
dossier is complete, it shall be open
for the CBI to approach this court
for permission to interrogate the
petitioners in accordance with law."
It clarified to the CBI that it shall
not file a challan w ithout the
express leave of this court. "These
observations shall have no bearing
on the pendency of any case,
including before the Delhi High
Court."
The next date of hearing in the
high court is November 18.
Government
booster for
affordable
housing in
Rajasthan
By Prakash Bhandari
Narendra Modi said Kalam was committed to enriching India's

human resource.
Weapon power is important, and
he contributed to it, but he
believed a nation is not identified
by boundaries, but by the people.
"So he took up both together,
defence research and ... enrich
ment of human resource," Modi
said.
The prime minister was speak
ing after unveiling a bust of
Kalam at the DRDO complex here.
A scientistturnedpolitician,
Kalam was born and raised in
Rameswaram and studied physics
and aerospace engineering.

He spent four decades as a sci
entist and science administrator,
mainly at the Defence Research
and Development Organisation
(DRDO) and the Indian Space
Research Organisation (ISRO),
and was intimately involved in
India's civilian space program
and military missile development
efforts.
Kalam was the 11th president
of India in 200207. He died on
July 27 this year.
Jaipur: T he Tata Housing

Development Corporation Ltd
will invest Rs 2000 crore in
building affordable and mixed
use housing in Jaipur.
Tata Housing signed an MoU
w ith the state government
under which the company will
be allocated 10.17 hectares of
land. The MoU was signed by
Brotin Iannerjee, CEO of the
Tata Housing.
In the runup to the
Resurgent
Rajasthan
Partnership Summit, the
Rajasthan Government signed
27 MoUs worth Rs 12,478
crore in the presence of Union
Minister
for
Urban
Development Venkaiah Naidu,
Chief Minister Vaundhara Raje,
and state's urban development
minister
Rajpal
Sing h
Shekhawat.
The investments shall pro
vide a boost to the urban devel
opment, tourism and social
development sectors in the
state, and are expected to cre
ate employment for over
38,950 people.
October 17-23, 2015
INDIA
Netaji files to be declassified

from January 23: Modi
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi
has announced that the government will
start declassifying files related to Netaji
Subhas Chandra Bose from January 23 his
birth anniversary.
Modi said this in a series of tweets after
meeting 35 members of Netaji Bose's
extended family at his of ficial residence
here.
The prime minister said the government
would also request foreign governments to
declassify their files on Bose, whose report
ed death in a plane crash in 1945 in
Formosa, now Taiwan, is widely disputed.
Modi said he will begin the process
involving other countries with Russia in
December when he visits Moscow.
During the hourlong interaction, the fam
ily members requested for declassification
of the files relating to Netaji, available with
the government of India.
They also suggested that the government
of India initiate the process to get declassi
fied the files on Netaji available with for
eign governments.
Bose, a leading light of India's freedom
movement who at one time was elected the
Congress president, was said to have been
fleeing to Russia when his plane reportedly
The family members of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose meet PM Narendra Modi
at 7 Race Course Road in New Delhi.
crashed and caught fire. This version has
been challenged for decades by innumer
able Bose fans who have held varying ver
sions of what happened to him after 1945.
Bose's family members met Modi in the
light of the West Bengal government's
declassification of of ficial files related to
the last days of Bose, who set up the Indian
National Army (INA).
"It was a privilege to welcome family
members of Subhas Babu to 7 RCR. We had
a remarkable and extensive interaction,"
Modi said.
"I told Subhas Babu's family members
please consider me a part of your family.
They shared their valuable suggestions
with me," he added.
The prime minister said he found the sug
gestions of the family members of Netaji to
be similar to his own thinking and the view
of the union government.
Modi said: "There is no need to strangle
history. Nations that forget their history
lack the power to create it."
Caste major factor in Bihar

second round voting
Patna: Forget development... It is
caste factor that will play the domi
nating role when 32 of the 243 con
stituencies go to the polls in the sec
ond round of assembly elections.
About 8.58 million voters will be
eligible to elect 32 legislators from
among 456 candidates. Six districts
will see balloting, including poverty
stricken Kaimur and Rohtas.
Most of the 8,849 polling booths
on Friday are in rural areas.
The districts covered are Gaya, the
birthplace of Buddhism, Aurangabad,
Jehanabad, Arwal, Kaimur and
Rohtas, which saw some horrific
caste massacres in the 1980s and
1990s.
Some of these areas are also known
as Maoist hubs, and of ficials admit
security will be a major concern.
The stakes are high both for the
Grand Alliance of the JDU, RJD and
Congress led by Chief Minister Nitish
Kumar as well as the BJPled NDA of
Prime Minister Narender Modi, the
two main contenders for power.
The second of the staggered five
rounds will decide the political fate
of former chief minister and HAM
president Jitan Ram Manjhi, Speaker
Uday Narayan Choudhary and BJP
leader Prem Kumar, one of the con
tenders for the chief minister's post.
Manjhi, a BJP ally, is contesting from
two seats: Makhdumpur in
Jehanabad and Imamganj in Gaya.
In the first
phase on
Monday,
polling was
held in 49
constituencies.
The third round
will be held on
October 28.
His son Santosh Kumar Manjhi is also

in the fray from Kutumba and his
soninlaw Devender Kumar Manjhi is
contesting from Bodh Gaya as an
independent.
The Grand Alliance is banking on
OBCs and Muslims and sections of
Dalits and EBCs to capture most of
the 32 seats.
But the BJP is confident of the
overwhe lming support of upper
castes along with sections of OBCs
and EBCs along with Dalits, mainly
Manjhi's castemen Mushahars as
well as Paswans, who owe allegiance
to LJP leader Ram Vilas Paswan,
another BJP ally.
The BJP is keen to make its pres
ence felt in the wake of the euphoria
created by Modi's rallies in Jehanand,
Aurangabad and Bhabhua. This is
also the strongest base of the Janata

DalUnited (JDU) and the Rashtriya
Janata Dal (RJD).
The region is home to a sizeable
number of Yadavs, Lalu Prasad's
community, and Muslims the two
communities who helped the RJD to
emerge as a major force in Bihar.
"The OBCEBCDalit votes along
with Muslims will be a decisive caste
arithmetic," political analyst Soroor
Ahmad said.
Of ficials say five he licopters,
drones and 993 companies of para
military forces have been deployed
for Friday, Additional Chief Electoral
Officer R. Lakshaman said. The stag
gered elections to pick a 243mem
ber Bihar assembly w ill end on
November 5. T he result w ill be
known three days later.
11
It's authors' wish to

return Sahitya Akademi
awards: Minister
Kolkata: With eminent authors returning
Sahitya Akademi awards to protest rising
intolerance, union minister Bandaru
Dattatreya said it was their individual
right and intellectuals were free to act as
per their wish in a democracy.
"It is their individual wish and India is
a democratic country," the minister of
state for labour told media persons while
attending an event organised by the
Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
Nearly two dozen authors have
announced their decision to return their
awards as a mark of protest since a man
was lynched in Uttar Pradesh's Dadri
area allegedly for consuming beef, and in
the wake of murders of writers in the
country.
Asked about Monday's incident of Shiv
Sena cadres pouring black paint on
Sudheendra Kulkarni, chairman of the
thinktank
Observer
Research
Foundation, Dattatreya said, "The politi
cal leadership of BJP has already com
mented on it and my stand is the same as
that of the national leadership."
A group of Shiv Sena cadres poured
paint on Kulkarni to protest launch of a
book by Pakistan's former foreign minis
ter Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri at a func
tion in Mumbai on Monday.
Punjab orders
judicial probe
into desecration
Chandigarh: The Punjab gov
ernment ordered a probe by
a high court judge into dese
cration of Guru Granth Sahib,
as a clash between Sikh pro
testors and police over the
issue left two people dead
and many others injured in
Kotkapura area of Faridkot
district.
Sources said police and
Sikh protestors exchanged
gunfire in Behbal Kalan area
near Kotkapura, 230 km
from here, leading to the
death of two people and
injuries to nearly 70 others
in the wake of protest over
the desecration of the Sikh
holy book.
Police used batons and
water cannons and even fired
in the air to disperse hun
dreds of protestors who
hurled bricks, stones and
other things at them. Most of
the injured included protes
tors and around 30 police
officials. They were rushed to
hospitals.
The Sikh protestors were
up in arms against the dese
cration of a 'bir' (holy book)
in Barg ari village, 15 km

from Kotkapura.
Tension
mounted
in
Kotkapura area on Monday
after over 100 pages of the
Sikh holy book were found
scattered in a street near a
gurdwara. The holy book was
stolen from a gurdwara in
June.
Following Wednesday's vio
lence, Chief Minister Parkash
Singh Badal in the evening
ordered the inquiry by a high
court judge to probe the des
ecration and the incidents of
violence in its aftermath.
Condemning the incident
and the violence, Badal said
"exemplary punishment
would be gien to the perpe
trators of this dastardly act".
In a statement issued here,
Badal said: "The desecration
of Sri Guru Granth Sahib is a
deeprooted conspiracy
aimed at inciting communal
tension and destabilizing the
hardwon peace in Punjab. I
appeal to the people to be
vigilant against such e le
ments and keep calm despite
grave provocation."
12
October 17-23, 2015
OP-ED
Rise of intolerant India threatens

PM Modis global image
By Vir Sanghvi
mages of Sudheendra Kulkarni,
his face and body blackened by
the ink flung at him by protest
ers, are now being flashed all over
the world. As the protest was over
Kulkarnis willingness to help a for
mer Pakistan foreign minister
launch a memoir, the message that
has gone out is this: How can there
ever be peace between Pakistan
and India when there are extremist
groups within India that are bitter
ly opposed to any contact let
alone the peace process with
Pakistan?
This tears a gaping hole in the
Indian messaging carefully cal
iberated over the years that
India wants peace but that the
Pakistani regime is in the grip of
extremists, fundamentalists and
terrorists. What makes it worse is
that, till recently, Kulkarni was a
pillar of the BJP establishment. He
was a senior member of the
Vajpayee PMO and an adviser to
LK Advani. Worse still, the people
who doused him in ink were not
extremists from some littleknown
fringe organization.
Shiv Sainiks flung ink at Sudheendra Kulkarni, chairman of the

Observer Research Foundation, to protest the launch of former
Pakistan foreign minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri's book.
The Shiv Sena is the BJPs ally
and a part of the Maharashtra gov
ernment, the same government
that is supposed to protect citizens
against such attacks.
Every way you look at it, the
KulkarniKasuri incident is a disas
ter for India. It does not help that it
comes on the heels of the Shiv
Senas refusal to allow Pakistani
singer, Ghulam Ali, to perform in
Mumbai.
On that occasion, the chief minis
ter of Maharashtra had promised
security to Ali. But the organizers
decided to abandon the concert
anyway; one indication of the
importance people attach to the
state governments guarantees. The
general view was that even if the
government had provided security,
the Shiv Sena would still have been
able to disrupt the performance

and perhaps harm those who per
formed or attended.
The two incidents, on the heels of
each other, in what was once
Indias most liberal and cosmopoli
tan city, illustrate the dilemma that
Narendra Modi now faces.
In the case of the Shiv Sena he
can distance himself by arguing
that he cannot be held responsible
for everything an ally does.
But this position seems weaker
when the violence, intolerance, and
hatred emanate from closer home.
The murders and attacks on liberal
writers, the hysteria over beef, and
the abuse of Muslims, that have
dominated the headlines, all
emerge from the Hindutva right
wing, from members of the extend
ed Sangh Parivar, from the BJP and
even, from Modis own ministers.
The prime minister can claim,
with some justification, that he
does not condone such attacks or
such statements. He can point to
his own record at South Block and
say that he has never said or done
anything that could be construed
as communal.
But his critics will ask the obvi

ous questions. Does he not see that
there is now a mood of Hindu tri
umphalism in which a Hindutva
fringe believes that the BJPs victo
ry in the last general election gives
them the right to reshape the idea
of India to match their own bigoted
vision? Does he not notice or mind
when his avowed supporters ask
people who believe in the old liber
al idea of India to emigrate to
Pakistan? Does he not worry when
so many writers return their
awards, resign from the Sahitya
Akademi, and declare that they are
distressed by the rising hatred and
intolerance in India?
Modi has said nothing. But my
guess is that he must be very wor
ried. If India becomes a cauldron of
intolerance, will Modi still be treat
ed as a respected global statesman
the next time he meets a world
leader?
The answers are clear. Sooner or
later, Modi will have to speak out
for tolerance and act against those
who spread hatred.
If not for Indias sake, then for his
own.
Indian writers renounce awards;

script dissent against intolerance
By Mayabhushan Nagvenkar
ublic lynching over a slab of meat, cold
blooded murders of writers, rational
ists and a wave of crimes of intoler
ance has led wellknown Indian writers and
winners of the prestigious Sahitya Akademi
award, to innovatively script their dissent.
Their protest is against what they call the
growing intolerance within the country and
the muted response of the establishment,
including the Akademi, to the series of hate
crimes.
Noted writer Nayantara Sahgal's decision
last week to return her Sahitya Akademi
award over the public lynching in Dadri last
month and the murder of rationalists in
Maharashtra and Karnataka has triggered a
wave of similar react ions from other
awardees across the country.
Sahgal, a 1986 Sahitya Akademi awardee,
said she was disturbed at the lynching of
Mohammad Akhlaq,52, by a public mob at
Dadri last month, after accusing him of stor
ing beef at his home and the murder of
rationalists like Narendra Dabolkar, Govind
Pansare and Kannadig a writer M.M.
Kalburgi over the last couple of years.
"I have decided to return the award as I
felt that it's time to speak up. I am disturbed
Noted writer Nayantara Sahgal.

at the Dadri killing and the killing of ratio
nalists," Sahgal told IANS, adding that she
was upset over Prime Minister Narendra
Modi's silence on the issue.
Since her renouncement, nearly two dozen
winners of the Sahitya Akademi award have
emulated Sahgal, a niece of India' first prime
minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.
In Modi's home state of Gujarat, poet
writer Anil Joshi joined another Vadodara
based writer Ganesh Devy, in returning his
award.
"There is no breathing space and no free
dom of expression for literary writers. It is
like losing oxygen because we are writers

who wish for free breathing space. I do not
need an oxygen cylinder in the form of
awards to live. The attack on the brood of lit
erarians is unfortunate and has taken away
the freedom of expression," Joshi said in a
statement.
In Punjab, as many as seven writers and
poets Surjit Patar, Jaswinder Singh, Baldev
Singh Sadaknama Darshan Bhuttar, Ajmer
Singh Aulakh, Atamjit Singh, Gurbachan
Bhullar and Canadabased writer Waryam
Sand hu also g ave up their respect ive
awards, which were instituted in 1955.
In the southern state of Kerala too, poet
Satchidanandan, writers P.K. Parakkadavu
and K.S. Ravikumar quit all posts in the
Akademi over Kalburgi's killing, while
Malayalam writer Sara Joseph, who also
returned the award, said that India was
passing through a phase "worse than the
black days of the (197577) emergency".
"There is a fear that has engulfed in what
one eats, when one expresses love, and there
is some sort of curb on what one wants to
write and speak. This does not augur wella
Our prime minister is a frequent flyer and
gives big speeches on his trips abroad. The
sad thing is that while he was away a man
was beaten to death because he ate beef,"
Joseph said, referring to the Dadri lynching.

In New Delhi, former head of the Lalit Kala
Akademi Ashok Vajpayi also returned his
award, in Kashmir poetwriter Ghulam Nabi
Khayal also followed suit, while in
Beng aluru, we ll known author Shashi
Deshpande has resigned from the Sahitya
Akademi general council.
In Goa too, over 30 winners of the Award
are expected to deliberate on Wednesday
over the issue of mass renunciation.
Akademi president V.P. Tiwari, who has
been criticized by the writer fraternity for
his silence, insists that the situation is
unprecedented.
"We are facing an unprecedented situa
tion. At present, we do not know how to
respond to those wanting to give back their
awards," Tiwari said, adding that a meeting
of the Akademi's council would be held on
October 23 to discuss the issue.
Adding to the fire, as it were, Culture
Minister Mahesh Sharma, who is emerging
as the government's stormy petrel, told the
Indian Express on Monday: "This is an
award given by writers to writers. It has
nothing to do with the government. It is
their personal choice to return it...we accept
it." One thing is for sure: this is an issue that
is unlikely to die down soon.
The views expressed in Op Eds are not necessarily those of The South Asian Times.
October 17-23, 2015
14
October 17-23, 2015
OP-ED
IS MODI THE WORST THING TO

HAVE HAPPENED TO INDIA?
An expat returns to find whether his beloved country has been overtaken by fascism.
By Minhaz Merchant
uleiman Khan returned to India from
Saudi Arabia last week. He was appre
hensive. Suleiman confided his fears to
his friend Anwar Shaikh: "Nayantara Sahgal,
Jawaharlal Nehru's niece, says that things in
India are worse today than they've been
since the partition riots in 1947."
Anwar replied grimly: "Yes. They are. The
government tells us what to eat, what to
read, what to watch. They even blackened
Sudheendra Kulkarni's face before Khurshid
Mahmud Kasuri's book launch. What next?
It's intolerable."
The two friends turned to the local news
papers. The headlines shocked Suleiman.
"Everyone is returning their awards and
resigning from the Sahitya Akademi," he
exclaimed.
"And," Anwar added pointedly," the Shiv
Sena didn't let Ghulam Ali saab perform in
Mumbai. It's good we have secular politi
cians like Akhilesh Yadav, Arvind Kejriwal,
Nitish Kumar and Mamata Banerjee who've
invited Ghulam Ali saab to sing in Lucknow,
Delhi, Patna and Kolkata."
Suleiman spent the next week in trepida
tion. Was India, as Nayantara Sahgal said,
even worse than the 197577 Emergency
when her cousin, Indira Gandhi, then prime
minister, had stifled dissent, thrown the
entire opposition, including Jayaprakash
Narayan, in jail, censored newspapers and
locked up activists and journalists?
Suleiman had left India in 1976, at the age
of 21, during the Emergency. He remem
bered Sanjay Gandhi's forced sterilization
campaign of Muslims in Turkman Gate in
Delhi where he used to live.
The next morning, in Mumbai, Suleiman
scanned the newspapers for signs of the
imminent collapse of Indian democracy. He
was surprised to read the headlines.
"Everyone is condemning the prime minis
ter!" he told Anwar. "I thought Modi was sti
fling dissent. But in every newspaper editori
al and column, his government is the target
of mockery and criticism. How can that be?
Nayantara Sahgal said this was the worst
period for Indian democratic discourse since
part it ion in 1947. Worse than the
Emergency when you couldn't criticize the
PM, much less abuse her. Lalu Prasad Yadav
even called Modi a demon and monster the
other day. And Ruchir Joshi abused Modi in
The Economic Times last Wednesday in vile
language. Why hasn't Modi acted against
them?" Anwar tried to explain to his friend:
"Suleimanbhai, you left India during the
Emergency nearly 40 years ago and have
never returned to India until now. Mrs.
Gandhi was kind enough to revoke the
Emergency in March 1977. She freed all the
prisoners journalists, opposition leaders,
activists. Everybody. After 1980 we've had
28 years of Congress or Congresssupported
governments. They gave us complete cultur
al freedom. Our Sahitya Akademi and other

cultural bodies were filled with those who
backed the secular, liberal and propoor ide
ology of Nehru and his extended family."
"Ah," said Suleiman, his face lighting up.
"That's why Indians are still so poor and the
media is so liberal and Hindus are so secu
lar. What a legacy!"
T hey were now in a bus passing by
Dharavi, Asia's biggest slum where the
movie Slumdog Millionaire was shot by
Danny Boyle. "See how the BJP government
has packed the censor board and the FTII
with RSS types," Anwar said. "They want to
ban movies, books, everything. Even eating
beef."
Suleiman was puzzled. "But, Anwarbhai, I
Anwar put on their TV set. Surfing English

and Hindi news channels, they heard guests
and anchors in debate after debate con
demning the Modi government. One elderly
gentleman called Anand Patwardhan was
spewing venom on the Modi government, in
ef fect calling it fascist. "I recognise him,"
exclaimed Suleiman, pointing excitedly to
Patwardhan. "I've seen his films have they
been banned after he abused Modi?"
Anwar shook his head slowly. "But why is
he allowed to say such things on national
TV?" Suleiman asked Anwar in genuine
bewilderment. "Nayantara Sahgal said dis
sent was being stifled. If Patwardhan had
said such nasty things about Indira Gandhi
in 1976, when I le ft India during the
COUNTERPOINT
Nayantara Sahgal said this was the worst period for
Indian democratic discourse since partition in 1947.
Worse than the Emergency when you couldn't
criticize the PM, much less abuse her.
Yet, Lalu Prasad Yadav called Modi a
demon and monster
the other day. And
Ruchir Joshi abused
Modi in The Economic
Times in vile lan
guage. Why hasn't
Modi acted
against them?"
saw a DVD of Haider and PK. They make fun
of Hindu idols and criticize the Indian army
in Jammu & Kashmir (J&K). Yet both movies
were shown in Indian theatres and were
huge hits. Why didn't this government cen
sor them?" Anwar changed the subject.
"Hungry, Suleiman?" he asked his friend.
They were passing an al fresco restaurant.
They sat down and ordered a burger. On the
next table they saw a couple tucking into a
hot dog, mayonnaise dripping out of the
breadencased sausage.
Suleiman's eyes opened wide."They are
eating pork, Anwarbhai! We are eating buf
falo meat in our burger. Back home in Saudi,
pork is hard to come by. You might get 100
lashes for eating it in public."
Anwar shook his head. "Don't compare
Saudi Arabia with India. Look what hap
pened to that poor Indian woman who had
her arm chopped of f in Saudi. Backward
country. We're not like that. We're a liberal,
secular democracy."
The two friends discussed the horrific
murder of a young Muslim man in Dadri
over beef. "Modi's statement was inade
quate," said Anwar. Suleiman agreed. "He
should have condemned it directly and set
an example." That evening, Suleiman and
Emergency, he'd have been jailed. And

Nayantaraji says that things are worse today
than during the Emergency. Is Patwardhan
in jail?"
Anwar was embarrassed. "Actually, he's
right now in another TV studio saying the
same things."
The two friends returned to Delhi the next
morning. The newspapers were full of the
attack on Sudheendra Kulkarni before
Kasuri's book launch in Mumbai and of writ
ers returning awards or resigning from the
Sahitya Akademi. "Who gave them these
awards or appointed them on the Akademi?"
Suleiman asked Anwar.
"Well, most like Ashok Vajpeyi, Nayantara
Sahgal and Satchidanandan were awarded
or appointed by the Congress. Some like
Sarah Joseph are members of the Aam
Aadmi Party (AAP)." Suleiman nodded. "But
Anwarbhai, did so many artistes and writers
return their awards when 4,000 Sikhs were
killed in 1984 or when four lakh Kashmiri
pandits were driven out of the Valley in
1989?" Anwar shook his head again. "No,
they didn't," he said. "You see, the Congress
was in power in 1984 and 1989. It's a secu
lar party, after all."
That evening the two friends strolled
The views expressed in Op Eds are not necessarily those of The South Asian Times.
down Lodhi Gardens in Delhi. It was Sunday.

The muggy monsoon heat had given way to
a pleasant earlyOctober autumn. Suleiman
spotted familiar faces jogging or walking in
the treelined park. One was a famous
lawyer who, Anwar told Suleiman conspira
torially, "charges Rs 40 lakh per appearance
in the Supreme Court. He's currently defend
ing top Congress leaders in a case involving
the alleged National Herald scam."
Another portly gentleman trotted by.
"That's also a senior lawyer," said Anwar.
"He's fighting a case in the Supreme Court
against the government over the Aadhar bio
metric card whose use the court wants to
restrict." Suleiman was now thoroughly con
fused. "How is this possible, Anwarbhai?
Can't this fascist government just throw all
these people in jail like Indira Gandhi did
when I was last in India in 1976? All of them
should be in jail opposition leaders,
activists and journalists who condemn the
government in newspapers and on TV,
lawyers who file cases against the govern
ment, writers and filmmakers who call the
government fascist. How is such leniency
allowed? Why isn't dissent being stifled like
Nayantaraji said?"
Anwar suddenly spotted a caf. "Let's get
ourse lves a bee f sandw ich," he told
Suleiman. And don't worry. Like in Mumbai,
it's buffalo meat. We won't be breaking the
law." Suleiman sighed. He'd come all the way
to his beloved country to see for himself
how fascism had overtaken India, how dis
sent was been strangulated, liberal thought
censored and media handcuffed.
Sensing his friend's discomfiture, Anwar
said animatedly: "Look at Khurshid Mahmud
Kasuri. After Ghulam Ali saab, he was also
targeted by the Shiv Sena, the BJP's ally.
How can you even try to stop a former for
eign minister of Pakistan, who served in
Pervez Musharraf's government, from mar
keting his book in Mumbai?"
Suleiman was puzzled. "Isn't Kasuri the
same fellow who justified Musharraf 's
Karg il attack on India? Wasn't he in
Musharraf's cabinet when the 26/11 terror
attack on Mumbai was being planned?"
Anwar nodded reflectively, taking another
bite on his sandwich. As they worked their
way through their carabeef sandwiches,
Suleiman said to Anwar thoughtfully: "In
America, Christian politicians like Donald
Trump and Ben Carson call Muslims terrible
names. Here all our Hindu friends say such
nice things about Muslims. I suppose that's
the difference between American democra
cy and Indian fascism." Anwar looked at
Suleiman quizzically but let that pass.
"Come," he said brightly, "let's see if we can
get tickets for Ghulam Ali saab's show. He's
performing in Delhi in December. We should
book seats in advance.
Foundereditor of Gentleman and Business
Barons, Minhaz Merchant is an Indian journalist
and writer. This piece first appeared in Daily O.
October 17-23, 2015
COMMUNITY
Executive Team of Friends of ARCH with Performers
15
Executive Committee moderators at youth event
Friends of ARCH holds annual gala & youth event

New York: "Friends of ARCH"
(Action Research in Community
Health & Development), a non
profit, celebrated its 21st Annual
Gala Dinner a 2day event in New
York and its Annual Gala Dinner
night in Tampa, Florida, last week
in support of its ongoing noble
activities. The celebrations includ
ed a wonderful and melodious
Bollywood musical extravaganza
by "Bollywood Masti (Sa Re Ga
Ma Fame Vishwajeet Borwankar,
Sajda Sisters fame Shivranjini
Pandit, Sirish and group) for a
heartfelt cause.
Several organizations presi
dents, community leaders and
attendees generously donated and
expressed their support for
Friends of ARCH. Several youth
have supported the activities by
donating their wedding, baby
shower, Arangetram, birthday cel
ebration funds for this noble

cause. A young volunteer, Trisha
Shroff was recognized for gener
ously donating her Arangetram
funds this year.
Celebrations continued the next
day with a youth event conducted
under the guidance of Dr. Daxa
Patel & Dr. Jyoti Gandhi. Ms. Lily
Hamburger, who has served the
ARCH Indian rural areas for over
a year, flew from Michigan to help
host the youth prog ram w ith
ARCH volunteers Flora Parekh,
Akash Patel, etc.
Dr. Daxa Patel, the linchpin of
the organization, flew in from
India. A team of volunteers, under
the leadership of "Friends of Arch"
USA President Mr. Rajni Gandhi &
Dr. Jyot i Gand hi, worked for
weeks to make the program a
grand success. Mr. Kamlesh (Vice
President) & Mrs. Madhu Parekh,
Dr. Chhaya (Treasurer) and Dr.

Mahendra Patel, Mrs. Kaushika
(Secretary) & Mr. Rajesh Patel
(Program Coordinator), Mrs Flora
Parekh (Gen. Secretary, PR & M.C.)
& Mr. Paresh Parekh, Mrs. Shashi
& Mr. Subhash Kapadia (PR) also
worked hard.
The main objective of the organ
ization is to support healthcare
services in rural areas of India.
Twenty years back we started
this journey to support ARCH
India. This is the 34th year of
ARCH empowering tribal people
from the remote areas of Gujarat.
The organization supports various
act ivit ies and prog rams like
Health Program, TB Cure pro
gram, Health Education, School
Educat ion Prog ram, Land &
Community Forest Rig hts
Prog rams, Soil & Moisture
Conservation Program for the
(from right) President Dr. Rajni Gandhi, Dr. J. Ganesh Bhat,

Paresh Parekh and Subhash Kapadia.
tribal people in Gujarat. Several
undernourished children and
women are treated regularly for
malnutrition, said a press release.
ARCH has reached out to some
6,500 children across more than
7 locations involving about 150
teachers directly or indirectly
through other NGO's. Several new
prog rams like mobile Act ive
Library Program "Mari Vachan

Gadi Vanche Dharampur", and
Teaching with Tablets have been
launched to nurture childrens
education.
For
more
information:
www.friendsofarch.org,
www.archgujarat.org
and
www.archvahini.org
INDIAN AMERICAN ACTORS DOUBLE AS AUTHORS

By SATimes
hey came, they saw, they made you

laug h w ith their impeccable
comedic timing with their hit TV
shows such as The Mindy Project, Big
Bang Theory, Parks and Recreation, and
Brink. Now they are aiming to win your
heart all over again with their wildly
entertaining personal memoirs.
This year has been an exciting year for
South Asian American comedians, not
only in terms of getting lead roles on
primetime American television but also
as authors. These actors have translated
their onscreen success into books with
short essays on life, love, and showbiz.
Kunal Nayyars Yes, My

Accent is Real
Best known for his role as tonguetied
astrophysicist Raj Koothrapalli from the
Big Bang Theory, Kunal Nayyar made his
book debut with this memoir. Nayyar,
born in London and raised in Delhi, in the
memoir cleared up that his accent, which
was made famous by his role, is his real
one.
In his hilarious and selfdeprecating
voice, Nayyar traces his journey from a
little boy in New Delhi. He describes
everything from Indian stereotypes and
awkward first romantic experiences to
the various cul

tureshock
encounters when
he first moved to
America.
He endlessly
talks
about
Indian culture,
tradit ions, and
its amazing festi
vals and on the
other hand even
shares his sexual
experiences (not in a creepy way) begin
ning with a chapter on his first kiss, and
later describing his first sexual experi
ence.
As a bonus, the readers get to know
more about his wife. He devoted an entire
chapter on how he met the former Miss
India and his future wife Neha Kapur and
another chapter on their big fat Indian
wedding with one thousand guests over
a sixday period broken down dayby
day.
Mindy Kalings
Why not me?
This funny, slightly neurotic, fundamen

tally lovable TV personality who personi
fies the girl next door released her new
book titled Why Not Me? Although the
book is a followup to her bestselling
book Is Everyone
Hang ing
Out
Without Me? it is
still refreshing and
has a lot to offer.
T he new book
re leased
last
month has more
humorous mus
ings about life and
love from the star
of T he Mindy
Project that found a new lease on life
from Hulu.
The memoir, which has garnered rave
reviews, according to Kaling is an ongo
ing journey to find contentment and
excitement in her adult life. And since
this is Kaling, her adult life is filled with
hilarious moments.
In her new book, she talks about her
gett ing drunk at the W hite House
Correspondents dinner, her love for Kim
Kardashian, her weird relationship with
B J Novak, and that how proud she was
the day Fox axed Mindy Project.
Aziz Ansaris
Modern Romance
Ansaris latest of fering may not be a
memoir, but the book promises to enter
tain its readers. His book Mo dern
Romance is a hilarious, thoughtful and
indepth explo
ration of pleas
ures and perils
of
mo dern
romance. From
Tinder to sex
ting, the comedi
an sets out to
discover how we
love in the digi
tal age.
T he catalyst
was a text message he sent to a girl he
met at a party, which never got a reply.
The Parks and Recreation actor teamed
up with NYU sociologist Eric Klinenberg
and designed a massive research project,
including hundreds of interviews and
focus groups conducted everywhere from
Tokyo to Buenos Aires to Wichita.
They analyzed behavioral data and sur
veys and created their own online
research forum on Reddit, which drew
thousands of messages. They enlisted the
worlds leading social scientists, including
Andrew Cherlin, Eli Finkel, Helen Fisher,
Sheena Iyengar, Barry Schwartz, Sherry
Turkle, and Robb Willer. The result is
unlike any social science or humor book
weve seen before.
The book is therefore grandly billed as
an investigation into modern romance.
16
October 17-23, 2015
MEDIA
IndoAmerican Press Club holds successful

international media conference in NY
Daya Bai, honored at the conference for her social work in Madhya Pradesh, lighting the traditional
lamp at the conference opening, along with dignitaries and IAPC officials.
New York: The IndoAmerican Press Club
(IAPC) held its second International Media
Conference in Ronkonkoma, NY, last week
end, bringing together a galaxy of eminent
journalists and media experts from the US,
Canada, India, Australia and UAE.
The threeday conference at the Clarion
Hote l and Conference Center in
Ronkonkoma, Long Island, was of ficially
inaugurated on Oct 10 morning and
offered an excellent platform to the dele
gates for networking and learning. It served
as an excellent professional development
opportunity, featuring educational semi
nars and workshops, discussing and analyz
ing new trends and methods with a rare
insight into the work of media across the
world.
At the high profile public meeting and
banquet on Oct 11, IAPC honored two
accomplished and dedicated individuals.
Daya Bai (originally Mercy Mathew), a
renowned social activist working for and
living with the tribals in Madhya Pradesh,
was presented the IAPC International
Sathkarma Award. Boby Chemmanur,
Thrissur based chairman of Chemmanur
International Jewelers, international jewel
ry chain, who has also earned fame as a
philanthropist, received
the IAPC
International Sathbhavana Award. Both
were presented the award by Barry
Grodenchick, Vice President of Queens
Borough and former NY state assembly
man. Boby Chemmanur later released IAPC
Souvenir 2015 along with Daya Bai.
V.K Ebrahimkunju, Keralas Minister for
Public Works, could only attend on the
inaugural day, Oct 10, and was presented
the IAPC Minister of Excellence Award by
Kamlesh C. Mehta, Chairman of The South
Asian Times.
IAPC Chairman Ginsmon Zacharia,
General Secretary Vineetha Nair and
Executive Vice President Fr. Johnson
Punchakonam joined the award presenta
tions along with other dignitaries.
Prominent journalists and media profes
sionals participated in the media confer
ence and some of them also gave presenta
tions. They included George Kallivayalil,
Chief of Bureau, Deepika, New Delhi; M.V.
Nikesh Kumar, chief editor, Reporter TV; PT

Chacko, Press Secretary to Kerala CM;
Simon Kurian & Geethanjali Kurian, docu
mentary filmmakers, Australia; Parveen
Chopra, Managing Editor, The South Asian
Times, New York; R. Ajith Kumar,
Trivandrum Press Club President; J.S
Indukumar, Executive Editor, Jai Hind TV;
Sujith Nair, Special Correspondent,
Malayala Manorama; Prathap Nair,Vice
President, NTV UAE; Saji Dominic, Media
Advisor, Kerala Road Fund Board; and
Anupama Venkitesh, Sr News Editor,
Reporter TV.
Arun Kumar Gopalakrishnan and Annie
Koshy were the emcees.
At the conclusion of the conference,
Parveen Chopra, Managing Editor of The
South Asian Times, was unanimously elect
ed President of IndoAmerican Press Club,
the office held earlier by Ajay Ghosh.
The IndoAmerican Press Club (IAPC) was
formed in November 2014 with the lofty
ideal of providing a common platform to
journalists of Indian origin living in North
America, fostering closer bonds and coop
eration among an extensive network of
journalists and media professionals who
are committed to the wellbeing of the larg
er society.
For more information: http://indoameri
canpressclub.com/
Boby Chemmanur was presented the Sathbhavana Award at IAPCs Media

Conference in New York for his outstanding achievement as an entrepreneur,
and charitable initiatives. Doing the honors was Barry Grodenchick, Vice
President of Queens Borough, and former NY state assemblyman.
VK Ebrahimkunju, Keralas Minster for Public Works, was presented the IAPC Minister of
Excellence Award by Kamlesh Mehta, Chairman of The South Asian Times.
Over a hundred people participated in the conference at Clarion Hotel and Conference
Center in Ronkonkoma, Long Island.
(1) Ginsmon Zacharia, Chairman of the IAPC Board of Directors, addressing the conference;
(2) R. Ajith Kumar, President of Trivandrum Press Club, proposed they would periodically
host an IAPC conference in Kerala;
(3) Parveen Chopra, Managing Editor of The South Asian Times, was unanimously elected
President of IAPC at the conclusion of the conference. (Photos: Lijo John.)
Simon and Geethanjali Kurian, of Australia

(seen with IAPCs General Secretary
Vineetha Nair in green sari), presented a
workshop on documentary film making.
SPORTS
October 17-23, 2015
17
Meet the man who is bringing

cricket to baseball country
A big showcase like Cricket AllStars will make cricket cool in America.
And cricket will make South Asian culture cool, asserts Ben Sturner,
whose Leverage Agency is producing and promoting the mega event.
Exclusive Interview by Parveen Chopra
peaking even brie fly to Benjamin
Sturner you too catch the excitement he
feels about bringing cricket to America,
a dream of his which is about to get fulfilled.
He is Founder, CEO and President of the
New York based Leverage Agency, which is
producing and promoting Cricket AllStars
series next month with three T20 matches
in New York, Houston and Los Angeles.
Besides Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne,
who are headlining the event, many icons of
cricket from almost all major cricket playing
nations will be seen in action on American
soil for the first time.
Excerpts from an exclusive interview Ben
Sturner gave to The South Asian Times a
day after the Cricket AllStars event was
announced last week.
The South Asian Times: How did you think
of bringing cricket to America?
Ben Sturner: It's been a dream of mine to
help bring the best of cricket to America.
Cricket is the second most popular sport in
the world (after soccer) and we couldn't
have asked for better partners than Sachin
Tendulkar and Shane Warne on this exciting
venture. I visited India and met Sachin and
his team, and we felt there was a need to
bring cricket to America. Actually, it will be
cricket, culture and entertainment together.
Nobody has done it before. And to do it big,
we discovered the way to do it is in baseball
stadiums. Everyone will be in for a big treat
when they come. You know Sachin (the mas
ter blaster) and Warne (the king of spin)
have been big rivals in cricket, its like the
Harvard vs Yale Rivalry on Ice, which we do
at Madison Square Garden or Michael
Jordan vs Larry Bird, but for the South Asian
community people have told me that this is
the biggest sporting event series ever in
America.
SAT: What is the stake of Sachin
Tendulkar and Shane Warne in this?
Ben Sturner: Sachin and Shane also had
the idea to bring cricket to America and
were thinking of doing something together
after a very successful Lords event year
they did last year. Then, we at Leverage
Agency and Shane Warne combined forces
with him and it is a threeway partnership.
SAT: You call Sachin Tendulkar the God of
Cricket, as many others do!
Ben Sturner: To work with Sachin is a
tremendous honor. He is humble, he is gra
cious, and works very hard. Cricket AllStars
is a great success. The success he has had
on the playing field has come from his
desire and ability and he approaches us in
the same way. He is a handson person in
every aspect of it and is very much involved.
SAT: Who are some of the other players in
Cricket All Stars series is a threeway

partnership between Ben Sturner, and
Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne.
Ben Sturner is the Founder and CEO of Leverage Agency, a premier brand, sports and
entertainment company focused on working with leagues, teams, events, stadiums,
athletes, and television shows.
the rival teams led by the Sachin and Shane
Warne?
Ben Sturner: Brian Lara, Ricky Ponting,
Sourav Ganguly, Shoaib Akhtar, Muttiah
Muralitharan all the names are on our
website: Cricketallstars2015.com. It is a ter
rific group of players.
SAT: What is the entertainment you have
planned?
Ben Sturner: Bollywood performers have
been lined up, but we are keeping the names
as a surprise.
SAT: Will this become an annual feature?
Ben Sturner: Yes, we will add many more
cities in future.
SAT: Will it always be Twenty20 format?
Ben Sturner: Yes, T20 makes it easier for
fans to follow. Each match will be about five
hours, which fits the attention spans in this
day and age. We want to treat spectators to
something fast paced and exciting and
whole lot of runs.
SAT: Do you have any association or sup
port from the cricket bodies?
Ben Sturner: Yes, we are approved by the
ICC (International Cricket Council).
SAT: Will America ever become a cricket
playing nation in World Cup?
Ben Sturner: We wish to inspire a genera
tion and hope cricket will take off in a big
way and make people excited about the
game here. This is how soccer first came to
America in the 1990s.
I want to be in the forefront of future
change of having made a difference. I am
very excited about this because the South
Asian community in America has been starv
ing for cricket. I have many friends in the
community and have talked to many and it
is the same thing, the Latinos have their
sport (soccer) and hence their culture, but
South Asians do not have cricket in
America.
SAT: Second generation Indians like my

son veer away from cricket
Ben Sturner: It might be because Cricket
has never had a big showcase like this and
hopefully it will be considered very cool.
Cricket will make South Asian culture cool
in America.
I dont just support cricket, but support
culture. I want everyone to come out.
Besides the actual matches, there will be
galas, meet and greet events, fun merchan
dise and memorabilia. I want South Asians
to be part of history this is the first time it
is happening on American soil. This is a
chance for them to show their pride in their
culture, and in the sport of cricket. And also
have fun.
SAT: Through which media Cricket All
Stars will be promoted?
Ben Sturner: Train stations at numerous
places, TV (ESPN Cric info), print. Especially
on social media.
SAT: How was your interest in cricket kin
dled? Have you tried playing cricket your
self ever?
Ben Sturner: I went to Australia in 1999
before the 2000 Olympics there and I saw
young Shane Warne in action. For me sports
marketing is also about culture. Yes, I have
played cricket in Australia as a boy and I
have a picture to prove it from 20 years ago.
But as a student at Boston University, I
played tennis for the varsity team in college.
SAT: How do you explain cricket to base
ball playing Americans?
Ben Sturner: Do you know Sachin is also a
good player of tennis, badminton and table
tennis. So cricket or baseball, it is all about
eyehand coordination. And there are lots of
similarities between cricket and baseball
and I am sure Sachin would be great at base
ball as well.
SAT: Which are some other success stories
"The success
Sachin has had
on the playing
field has come
from his desire
and ability and
he approaches
us in the same
way. He is
a handson
person in every
aspect
of it and is very
much involved."
of Leverage Agency?
Ben Sturner: We have marketed Triple
Crown (won by American Pharoah earlier
this year), the Manny Pacquiao
Mayweather fight, the mega event of the
year and many more big sports events.
SAT: Do you have South Asian and
Caribbeans on your team promoting Cricket
AllStars?
Ben Sturner: I have lots. And hundreds of
hundreds of South Asians have called me to
work on this. But it is important for me to
understand the culture. So I went to India to
meet with Sachin. I also worked with tennis
champ Mahesh Bhupathi. I also know that so
many South Asian in America take pride in
their success and success of the community.
So we will do everything possible to make a
great success of AllStar Cricket too.
Please come out to all of our events and
buy tickets ASAP for the Citi Field event Nov
7 at 1pm which will be the first time Sachin
and the Cricket AllStars will set foot on
American soil for a cricket game. We will
hope to make history and look forward to
seeing you there. You can buy tickets now
at www.mets.com/cricket and tell your
friend, family and bring others who have
never seen cricket and give them a treat to
see the Cricket AllStars in person.
The South Asian Times is the Print Media
Partner and Takat Gems is the official
Exclusive Jeweler for AllStar Cricket series
in USA.
October 17-23, 2015
October 17-23, 2015
ULTIMATE BOLLYWOOD
19
Rahman has scored music for the

biopic on football legend
Doing Pele film

a big honor:
A.R. Rahman
usic superstar A.R. Rahman, who
is composing the music for Pele
biopic, says the opportunity is a
big honor and meeting Brazilian football
legend was a "dream come true".
"Pele is a big legend in sports and doing
his movie is such a big honor," Rahman
told media persons at a interaction for
"Jai Ho", a documentary on his life to be
telecast on Discovery channel. He also
said that when he had read the film's
script, he loved the whole idea of it.
In a recent interview, Rahman had said
that he was a "zero in sports" and "he
composed music for Pele without know
ing him". "The music I'm making is on the
personality, it's an emotion, you're not
physically involved. To follow sports, it
requires energy and 'mehnat' (hard work).
And for me, all my work, all my energy is
from music. From childhood that's been
my focus with undivided attention," he
had said. The biopic on Pele is titled "Pele"
and is being written and directed by Jeff
Zimbalist and Michael Zimbalist.
Vaani Kapoor
locked as lead
actress of
'BEFIKRE'
Priyanka Chopra in a still from Bajirao Mastani
'Bajirao Mastani' milestone

in my life: Priyanka Chopra
ctress Priyanka Chopra, who is star
ring in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's mag
num opus Bajirao Mastani, says
the film is a milestone in her life.
And it's a film wrap! Being a part of
#BajiraoMastani is a milestone in my life!
Thank you Sanjay Sir for being a dream.
Thank you team. Left a part of me behind,

Priyanka wrote on her Instagram page
along with an image of the film's set.
The 33yearold, who is receiving rave
reviews for essaying the role of an FBI
recruit in the international TV show
Quant ico, w ill portray the role of
'Talvar' registers
steady business
with Rs 17.05 crore
ctress Vaani Kapoor has been chosen to star along

side actor Ranveer Singh in Aditya Chopra's directo
rial comeback "Befikre". With "Befikre", Aditya is
returning to the director's chair after seven years. After
the announcement of Ranveer as the lead actor of the film,
details of the female lead were much awaited.
Now Vaani has been unveiled as the lead in the almost
threeminute long online video, which opens with a line
"Introducing the LEAD ACTRESS of Aditya Chopra's
#Befikre Those Who Dare to Love".
Looking casual in a striped red shirt and a pair of ripped jeans,
Vani initiates the conversation with viewers and talks about
the Yash Raj office.
"In case you are wondering where I am, this is the Yash
Raj office, which literally has been my home for the last
two years. It's been two years since my first film came
out," Vaani, who made her acting debut with "Shuddh
Desi Romance" in 2013, said in the video. "After win
ning most of the promising awards for that film, I some
how expected office to flood it. Clearly, things didn't fall
into place. That time, Adi (Aditya) met me and shared his
undoubted belief in my potential and he even asked me
if I had faith in myself so wait for the right project. So, I
waited. These waitings months turned into a
whole year," she added.
Kashibai, the first wife of Peshwa Bajirao,

in Bajirao Mastani. The movie features
Ranveer Singh as Maratha warrior Peshwa
Bajirao I, while his love interest Mastani's
role is played by Deepika Padukone.
Bajirao Mastani is slated to hit the the
atres on December 18, 2015.
Vaani made
her acting
debut with
Shuddh Desi
Romance in
2013
irector Meghna Gulzar's Talvar, starring Irrfan Khan and

Konkona Sen Sharma,
is going strong with
word of mouth publicity as
the reality drama has
amassed over Rs.17
crore since its release
on October 2.
The film, which has
received critical
acclaim, unfolds
A still from the movie
three scenarios of
Talvar
the 2008 murder
of 14yearold Aarushi Talwar and her family's domes
tic servant Hemraj on the silver screen. The film col
lected Rs.17.05 crore till Friday. And after seeing the
response to the film, more screens were added to every
theatre chain across the country since it's release, read a
statement. Confirming the news, Priti Shahani, the co
producer of "Talvar", said: We are overwhelmed by the
response that 'Talvar' has garnered in its first week and
are really excited for the days to come as the word of mouth
around 'Talvar' is going really strong.
20
October 17-23, 2015
DIASPORA
Indian community launches 'Modi Express' bus in UK

London: Indian community groups in the
UK have launched a 'Modi Express' bus for a
monthlong tour around iconic landmarks in
London to mark Prime Minister Narendra
Modi's maiden visit to the country next
month.
The bus, which was launched on Sunday,
made its first stop at Ealing Road, Wembley
also known as 'Little India', followed by
Trafalgar Square to celebrate Diwali. Mayuri
Parmar of the 'UK Welcomes Modi' organiz
ing committee said, "We have had 'Chai Pe
Charcha' in India, now we will have 'Bus Pe
Charcha' in the UK."
Over 400 community organizations have
registered as 'welcome partners' of an
Olympics style reception planned for PM
Modi at Wembley Stadium on November 13.
Lord Dolar Popat, who inaugurated the
bus during a traditional coconutbreaking
ceremony said, "This bus launch is yet
another example of the UK and India bring
ing people together for a positive cause."
"As we look forward to Prime Minister
Modi's visit in November, I am so encour
The bus is launched ahead of the PM's visit next month

aged to see members from across our com
munities coming together and supporting
one another. I hope many of you get the
chance to support and participate in what is
looking to be Modi Mania in the UK," Lord
Popat said.
Britain's longestserving Indianorigin par
Indianorigin doctor may

get trip to space
Toronto: An Indianori
g in neurosurgeon is
training for a scientist
astronaut project that
may give her a chance
to trave l in space, a
media report said.
Shawna Pandya and
her colleague Michael
Gallagher, practicing in
Edmonton, were getting
training for Polar
Suborbital Science in the
Upper
Mesosphere
(PoSSUM)
farout
ScientistAstronaut Course at
EmbryRiddle Aeronaut ical
University in Florida, Toronto
Sun reported on Sunday.
They returned from first phase
of training on Wednesday and
now will be accompanied by
Ross Lo ckwoo d, a Ph.D. in
physics at University of Alberta,
when they visit Ottawa this
wee k to complete spacesuit
training and testing in zero
gravity.
The medical doctors donned
spacesuits, rode on aerobatic
flights and experienced chang
ing gravity environments as part
of the training. The object of the
training is to familiarize candi
Shawna Pandya
dates with conditions that exist
around no ct ilucent clouds,
which are thought to be increas
ing in the upper mesosphere as
a result of climate change.
Nine other candidates from
other parts of Canada, the US
and Spain joined them for train
ing class conducted by PoSSUM.
Pandya did her Master's in
Space
Studies
at
the
International Space University
and researched at both the
European Astronaut Centre and
NASA's Johnson Space Center.
She is a guest lecturer at tech
nology and the future of medi
cine course at the University of
Alberta.
liamentarian Keith Vaz encouraged people

to join him on the 'Modi Express' bus from
Leicester saying, "even if you've left your
oyster cards at home, be sure to bring your
'Modi cards' to join the 'Modi Express' wher
ever you are."
Muhammed Butt, leader of Brent Council,
the London Boroug h where Wembley

Stadium is situated said, "I am looking for
ward to welcoming Prime Minister Modi to
Brent. There is huge excitement amongst all
communities."
Over 60,000 people will attend the 'UK
Welcomes Modi' reception and tickets are
due to be distributed by Wembley Stadium
in coming weeks. People from over 250
cities and towns in the UK have applied for
an invitation. They have applied from as far
north as Dundee and as far south as
Plymouth.
Nitin Palan, coordinator of the 'Modi
Express' bus said, "Our website will be going
live next week. You will be able to book
'Modi Express' bus tickets to attend the
event from all over the country."
A large proportion of the 1.5 million
Indian diaspora will attend the event at
Wembley, which will culminate in a grand
fireworks display. The youngest applicant
for an invitation is just two months old,
while the eldest is over 100yearsold, the
organizers added.
Kerala cultural extravaganza

in London's Trafalgar Square
Thiruvananthapuram: The Trafalgar
Square in London reverberated to
the beat of the 'chenda' drums as
the fluid movements of 'Kathakali'
dancers mesmerized more than
50,000 people gathered there to
witness a Kerala Tourismorganized
performance, an of ficial release
here said on Monday.
There were presentations in the
'Mayor of London' event in the
British capital on Sunday that
included a series of traditional
music, dance and martial arts per
formances as part of promoting
Kerala. Kerala chief secretary Jiji

Thomson introduced the cultural
extravaganza to the audience at the
function attended by Deputy Mayor
of London Roger Evans. "Kerala is a
top destination on the world
tourism map because of the harmo
ny between our land and culture as
seen in the beautiful backwaters,
majestic hills or calm country sides
in the state," said Thomson. Britain
is the biggest tourism market for
Kerala with 151,497 travelers from
there having visited the south
Indian state last year.
'Kathakali' dancers mesmerized a

gathering of 50000 people.
Indian boy in UAE becomes youngest CCA affiliate

Dubai: An 18yearold Indian boy in
the UAE has become the youngest
affiliate with a global body for pro
fessional accountants, according to
a media report.
A graduate from the Indian High
School, Dubai, Ramkumar Raman
has to complete three years of qual
ified work experience in order to
attain the Association of Chartered
Certified Accountants (ACCA) mem
bership, Khaleej Times reported.
Raman has been recognized by offi
cials in the ACCA Middle East as the
Ramkumar Raman
youngest ACCA affiliate ever regis
tered among all other candidates,
affiliates and members.
"As of now, Raman holds the

record for the youngest ACCA affili
ate amongst our records," Herriot
Fitgerald, the ACCA academic advis
er in Middle East was quoted as say
ing by the newspaper. ACCA candi
dates generally start their qualifica
tion journey at the age of 18. The
examinations are split into three
levels namely Knowledge Module,
Skills Module and the Professional
Module totally making 14 papers.
These papers are attempted over a
span of three years.
October 17-23, 2015
SUBCONTINENT
21
China's dam on Brahmaputra in Tibet working now

Beijing: China has said that the largest
hydropower station in Tibet located on the
Yarlung Zangbo river (Brahmaputra in
India) had been fully operationalized.
All six units of the Zam hydropower sta
tion on the middle reaches of the river
began to churn, media reports said, quoting
an ofcial from the China Gezhouba Group
based in Wuhan in central China.
The Yarlung Zangbo is a major river in
the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) and
ows into India from the region before
owing into Bangladesh.
All six of the stations units were incor
porated into the power grid on Tuesday,
state media reported. The massive project
is expected to produce 2.5 billion kilowatt
hours of electricity a year.
Located in the Gyaca County, Shannan
Prefecture, the Zam hydropower station
harnesses the rich water resources of the
Yarlung Zangbo River, a major river which
ows through Tibet, said a report from the
ofcial Xinhua news agency.
Yarlung Zangbo is a key river of the Tibet
Autonomous Region that ows into India
and Bangladesh.
India has been worried about Chinas
China has completed the construction of the hydropower facility in Tibet on the
Brahmaputra river, raising concerns from its neighbor India.
hydropower projects in the Tibet
Autonomous Region and is apprehensive
these projects could be used to regulate
and control water downstream, leading to
scarcity in the northeastern states.
The sharing of river waters has been dis
Exminister denies Pak

leadership knew about
Osama's presence
Ahmed
Mukhtar
was
Pakistan's
defense
minister
between
2008 and
2012.
Islamabad: In a Uturn from his

earlier remark, Pakistan's former
defense minister Ahmed Mukhtar
denied that top civilian and mili
tary leadership had knowledge of
alQaeda leader Osama bin
Laden's presence in the country.
Mukhtar, who was Pakistan's
defense minister between 2008
and 2012, termed the clips of his
interview being shown on an
Indian TV channel as "utter non
sense" and "totally misquoted",
the Dawn reported.
In those clips, Mukhtar is
shown to be agreeing to the idea
that Pakistan's top civilian and
military leadership may have
known about Osama's presence
in the country much before the
US Navy SEALs killed him in a
raid in 2011.
Pakistan former president Asif
Ali Zardari, then army chie f
Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and joint
chief of staff all knew that Osama
was in Pakistan, Mukhtar had

told Indian news channel CNN
IBN. "Regarding the interview
being shown on CNNIBN, and
having been the defence minis
ter, I categorically deny and con
sider these statements utter non
sense and totally misquoted,"
Mukhtar told Geo News.
He added that if Pakistan knew
about Osama residing in
Pakistan, it would have taken
action against him.
"T he statements have been
taken out of context...For exam
ple, if we knew about Osama Bin
Laden, then we would have taken
action ourselves much earlier,"
he said.
Osama
was
killed
in
Abbottabad on May 2, 2011 in a
raid by the US Navy SEALS.
Pakistan has been claiming
that it was unaware of Osama's
presence in the country until the
US Navy SEALs killed him.
cussed by the two countries, with Beijing

maintaining that it has no intention of
obstructing ows into India.
Indian ofcials monitor and measure the
ow of water into India from China to
ensure the country is ready for any eventu
ality, such as the possible holding back and

sudden release of water by China.
The Zam project was partly operational
ized last November, when the rst generat
ing unit of the 9.6 billion Yuan ($1.5 bil
lion) Zangmu hydropower station posi
tioned more than 3,300 meters above sea
level on the roof of the world started to
work.
When the projects rst unit became
operational, foreign ministry spokesperson
Hua Chunying told a news brieng: The
cooperation and communication we have
(with India on transboundary rivers) is
sound, and we are bearing in mind the big
ger picture of the ChinaIndia good rela
tionship. China has contended that the
hydropower schemes are not strategic and
only aimed at tackling energy shortages in
the region.
It will alleviate the electricity shortage in
central Tibet and empower the develop
ment of the electricitystrapped region. It is
also an important energy base in central
Tibet, the company behind the dam said in
a statement. When electricity is ample in
summer, part of it will be transferred to
neighboring Qinghai province, it said.
New Nepal PM takes oath,

forms small cabinet
Kathmandu: Barely three weeks
after a democratic federal consti
tution was promulgated in Nepal,
Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli was
swornin as the new prime minis
ter heading an eightmember cabi
net.
President Ram Baran Yadav
administered the oaths of ofce
and secrecy to Communist Party of
Nepal (United Marxist Leninist)
chairman Oli and his cabinet col
leagues at a brie f funct ion in
Sheetal Niwas, the presidential
palace, here. Oli, who was elected
prime minister by the country's
parliament recently, named two
deputy premiers in Bijaya Kumar
Gachhadar and Kamal Thapa.
The two have been rewarded for
K.P. Sharma Oli becomes the

38th prime minister of Nepal.
the support they extended to Oli
during the vote against immediate
past premier Sushil Koirala of the
Nepali Congress.
While Thapa heads Nepal's only
royalist party, the Rastriya
Prajatantra
PartyNepal,
Gachhadar is chairman of the

Mad hesi Janad hikar Forum
Loktantrik (Mad hesi Rig hts
ForumDemocratic) which chose
to break away from the ongoing
anticonstitution agitation by the
Madhesi community and ethnic
people of Nepal's southern Terai
plains.
While Gachhadar was allotted
the physical infrastructure and
transport ministry, Thapa a for
mer foreign minister will again
head the foreign ministry. The ve
administered oath as ministers
were Agni Kharel, Satya Narayan
Mandal and Som Pandey all from
Oli's CPN(UML), Ram Kumar Subba
of T hapa's RPPN and Haribol
Gajurel of the CPN (Maoist).
TALIBAN WITHDRAW FROM

KUNDUZ AFTER DAYS OF FIGHTING
Kabul: Taliban militants who had captured Kunduz
city, the capital of Kunduz province, conrmed on
Tuesday their withdrawal from the city following stiff
resistance from the government forces.
"For the safety and security of the people of Kunduz,
Taliban ghters withdrew from the city," Xinhua quot
ed Taliban as saying in a statement.
However, the armed outt said in the statement:
"Taliban have achieved their goals in Kunduz city by
releasing all detainees from government prison and
capturing arms and ammunitions from the govern
ment forces."
Kunduz police chief Qasim Jangle Bagh conrmed
that the Taliban militants, after suffering huge casual
ties, retreated from the city.
Afghan security forces take their positions during a

gun battle in Kunduz city.
22
October 17-23, 2015
INTERNATIONAL
'My friend Modi', says

Netanyahu on bonding
with Indian PM
Jerusalem: Israe li Prime
Minister
Benjamin
Netanyahu has sought to
convey how close he was to
India and its leadership, call
ing Prime Minister Narendra
Modi a "friend", whom he
was in regular touch with.
"I talk to my friend Modi
often. When we met the last
t ime, he told me 'I see a
paragon
of
paternity
between our two nations',"
Netanyahu said while
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a joint
addressing the Knesset, the
press conference at the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem.
Israeli parliament, soon after
President Pranab Mukherjee nished his 15 Nations General Assembly, in what was the
minute address. "India needs Israe l," rst engagement between Indian and Israeli
Netanyahu said, referring to what Modi had premiers in over a decade.
On President Mukherjee's visit, the Israeli
told him as India was seeking revolutions in
areas such as dairy, agriculture, renewable premier said: "This is historic the rst by an
energy and water. These four colours, he Indian head of state. We welcome you to the
added, represented the four colours of the only democracy in the Middle East. Our two
Indian ag, respectively white, green, saf countries have stayed as examples for democ
fron and blue. The Indian president is here on racies for seven decades."
Netanyahu also said he was truly amazed by
the last leg of his sixday, threenation, visit
that took him to Jordan and Palestine earlier. the changes in India, which were removing
millions of its people out of poverty and said
He leaves for New Delhi on Thursday.
As regards Prime Minister Modi, he had met the sky was the limit for cooperation between
with Netanyahu during his visit to Israel in the two countries.
"On our part, we would be delighted to pro
2006. Again in September this year, the two
leaders met on the margins of the United vide our technologies to India."
Moscow 'laments'
Washington's refusal to
have talks over Syria
Moscow: Moscow "laments"
Washington's refusal to carry out
a hig hleve l discussion w ith
Russia over Syrian issues, Foreign
Minister Sergei Lavrov said. "We
have received an answer (from
Washington) that there is no pos
sibility to send a delegation to
Moscow or to receive a delega
tion in Washington," Lavrov said
in a live webcast of a meeting at
the State Duma, the lower house
of Russian parliament.
President Vladimir Putin said
on Tuesday at the Russia Calling
investment conference that
Russia had proposed to organise
a high level meeting in Moscow,
or in Washington, to discuss
Syrian issues. The Russian delega
t ion could be led by Prime
Minister Dmitry Medvedev, which
would also include top ofcials
from the military and special
services. Although Washington
sent the refusal to Russia's pro
posal on Wednesday, Moscow is
ready to cooperate with the US on
Syrian issues in any format and
through any channel, Lavrov said.
T he minister noted that an

agreement, currently under nego
tiations between Moscow and
Washington on preventing air
craft to crash in Syrian airspace,
is expected to be nalised later in
the day.
Reiterating the urgency of anti
terrorism ght, Lavrov called on
all countries to give up all kinds
of political and geopolitical theo
ries and establish a "broad front"
against terrorists on the basis of
international laws.
"In current troubled interna
tional situations, world af fairs
need to be negotiated through the
persistent political and diplomatic
work on the basis of genuine
equality and partnership," Lavrov
said.
Put in urged at the Russia
Calling investment conference
that Russia would like collective
antiterror efforts to be gathered
and their effect to be clear for all
relevant parties. He also warned
that "there is no guarantee that
the ammunition will not end in
the hands of terrorists".
Pak says it won't give up

consultations with
Kashmiri separatists
United Nations: Pakistan has declared
that it won't g ive up consult ing
Kashmiri separatists in order to hold
talks with India a condition that India
promptly re jected at the General
Assembly here.
Asserting that consultations with sep
aratists is essential for peacefully solv
ing the Kashmir dispute, Pakistan's
Permanent Representative Maleeha
Lodhi said, "Calling for the termination
of these consultations, as a precondi
tion for dialogue is unacceptable as well
as counterproductive."
Voicing New Delhi's rejection of the
Pakistani condition, Indian diplomat
Abhishek Singh called it an interference
in India's internal affairs.
Lodhi also reiterated Pakistan Prime
Minister Nawaz Sharif 's fourpoint
peace initiative he announced here last
month and said Islamabad "stands
ready to engage in a dialogue on all out
standing issues", even though there was
no positive response from India.
Responding to it on the oor of the
General Assembly, Singh, a rst secre
tary in India's UN Mission, dismissed
the of fer, quoting External Af fairs
Minister Sushma Swaraj's blunt
response, "We do not need four points,
we need just one give up terrorism
and let us sit down and talk." Singh

recalled that Swaraj had said, "India
remains open to dialogue. But talks and
terror cannot go together." She had said
that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and
Nawaz had agreed to this at their July
meeting during Shanghai Cooperation
Organisation Summit in Ufa, Russia.
"Let us hold talks at the level of NSAs
(National Security Advisers) on all
issues connected to terrorism and an
early meeting of our directors general
of military operations to address the sit
uation on the border," she had said. "If
the response is serious and credible,
India is prepared to address all out
standing issues through a bilateral dia
logue." The talks scheduled in August
between the National Security Advisers
Ajit Doval of India and Sartaj Aziz of
Pakistan were called of f after Aziz
wanted to meet Kashmiri separatists.
Sharif 's fourpoint plan called for
renouncing the use or threat of use of
force, demilitarising Kashmir, withdraw
al from Siachen Glacier and formalising
ceasere along the Line of Control.
Lodhi prefaced the renewed talks
of fer with scathing a attack on India
over Kashmir asserting that instead a
plebiscite "the people of Kashmir have
suffered brutal oppression".
India concerned over escalation

in IsraelPalestine violence
Jerusalem: Denouncing any form
of violence, President Pranab
Mukherjee voiced concerns over
the growing escalation in conict
in Israel and Palestine and said
disputes must be resolved peace
fully.
Raising the issue on more than
one occasion during his three
nation, sixday visit, the president
said India was distressed at the
recent violence. "India condemns
all forms of violence. We have
always advocated a peaceful reso
lution of disputes."
Brieng the media after some of
the president's engagements here,
including his talks with his Israeli
counterpart Reuven Rivlin, his
address at the Knesset, the Israeli
parliament, and a meeting with its
Speaker Yuli Edelstein, Secretary
( West) Anil Wad hwa said
Jerusalem was equally concerned.
"They (the Israeli interlocutors)
said Israe l did not want the
upsurge to turn into a religious
war." The remarks by the Indian
president come against the back
drop of both Israel and Palestine
blaming the other for incidents of
violence, which is claiming lives on
President Pranab Mukherjee addresses the Members of Knesset,

(Israeli Parliament) at Jerusalem, Israel.
both sides. The comments assume
greater signicance as the presi
dent arrived here after visiting
Palestine, where the leaders want
ed New Delhi to strongly take up
the issue with the Israelis.
In fact, Mukherjee during his
various engagements in Palestine
had assured India's full support
for the Palestinian cause, includ
ing a separate statehood for its
people with East Jerusalem as the
capital.
Prime Minister Netanyahu, who
spoke after Mukherjee's speech,
said his country was an island of
stability in an unstable region but
lamented that there were some
radicals who wanted to destroy his
people.
"Look at the Palestinians. They
are misled by radical groups.
These inciters are telling them we
are going to destroy the Al Aqsa
mosque. We respect all religions
and religious places," the Israeli
premier said, referring to the
cause for the recent escalation in
violence.
Some violent confrontations
have been taking in the past
month w ith clashes between
Palest inian worshippers and
Israeli police. Palestinians have
been protesting against Israel
allowing Jewish groups to enter Al
Aqsa compound on Jew ish
holidays.
October 17-23, 2015
BUSINESS
23
India most attractive country for investment: Ernst & Young

New Delhi: India has been named
the most attractive country for
investment in a survey of more
than 500 global investors pub
lished by account ing rm EY
(Ernst & Young).
32 per cent of the 505 execu
tives questioned said India was
their favored market for invest
ment, with China second on 15
per cent of the vote, followed by
Southeast Asia, Brazil and North
America.
"There is no doubt that interest
in India has increased," Mark Otty,
EY area managing partner for
Europe, Middle East, India and
Africa said. "Investors increasing
ly see the potential and under
stand the fundamentals."

In an apparent vote of con
dence in Prime Minister Narendra
Modi's reform agenda, the num
ber of those who said ease of
doing business in India was an
attractive factor jumped 17.5 per
cent on last year.
India's notorious red tape, com
plex investment rules and poor
infrastructure have long posed
huge obstacles for companies,
with the World Bank ranking it
142 out of 189 countries in its
Ease of Doing Business index.
Industrial policy secretary
Amitabh Kant said that the gov
ernment was "determined to make
India an extremely easy and sim
ple place to do business".

"Our rst priority is to do away
with the many procedures and
rules, followed by bringing in con
sistency and clarity in all our poli
cies and tax regime and develop
ing a worldclass infrastructure,"
he said. India is poised to become
the fastestgrowing major econo
my this year, according to the
IMF, at a time when other emerg
ing markets are suf fering slow
down or recession. Greeneld for
eign direct investment (new ven
tures) in India rose 32 per cent to
$25 billion in 2014 after declin
ing in the previous two years,
according to Financial Times data
service fDi Markets.
Government announces
measures to bring down
prices of pulses
New Delhi: With pulses spiking
to a record of up to Rs 190 per
kg, the government swung into
action with a number of meas
ures including use of price sta
bilization fund and imports to
cool prices and create a buffer
stock.
An interministerial group
headed by nance minister
Arun Jaitley reviewed the price
situation as rates peaked to Rs
187190 a kilogram in retail
Pulses rates peaked to Rs 187190 a kilogram in retail
markets across the country.
markets across the country.
Jaitley said the government
has decided to invoke the Rs 500crore for the next few days will also be imported
Price Stabilization Fund that will be used to into the country so that the supply side
pay for transportation, handling, milling problem can be taken care of which will
and processing aimed at reducing the have an impact on prices."
Sources said a further 2,000 tonnes of
cost of imported pulses.
This would help in increasing supplies pulses will be imported to curb rising
and making pulses available in the retail prices. This will be in addition to the 5,000
tonnes lying at the ports and another
markets at lower rates.
Also, states have been asked to lift stock 2,000 tonnes of pulses that are in transit.
"We have also decided to invoke our Price
of pulses lying at ports like Jawaharlal
Stabilisation Fund and therefore the han
Nehru Port near Mumbai.
To deal with supply crunch, the govern dling charges at the port, the transporta
ment has also decided to create a buf fer tion charges, the milling and processing
stock of lentils mainly through imports, charges in order to make the price of the
pulses more affordable," will be borne by
Jaitley said.
"Keeping in mind that some amount of the fund, he said.
The Finance Minister said a "consider
stock is available with JNPT, the group
decided that we build up a buf fer stock able" amount of stock will come to the mar
preferably by imports to take care of the ket over the next few days. This together
problem in future," he told reporters after w ith the invo cat ion of the Price
Stabilisation Fund will have some impact
the IMG meeting.
Jaitley further said that "more quantity on cooling down the prices of pulses.
Greenfield foreign direct investment (new ventures) in India

rose 32 per cent to $25 billion in 2014.
Twitter to layoff 8 percent of

its global workforce, says CEO
New York: Twitter has nally announced to
cut eight percent of its global workforce
nearly 330 jobs to strengthen the micro
blogging site that is facing slow user growth
amid tough competition from the rival social
media platforms.
In a letter sent to employees, Twitter CEO
Jack Dorsey announced several moves
including layoffs to get the once fastgrow
ing social media service back on track, Wall
Street Journal reported.
"We feel strongly that engineering will
move much faster with a smaller and nim
bler team, while remaining the biggest per
centage of our workforce," Dorsey wrote.
The job cuts would mostly affect its prod
uct and engineering teams in an ef fort to
"organise around the companys top product
priorities and drive efciencies.

Over the past year, the companys work
force grew 24 percent to 4,100 employees,
about half of whom are engineers.
However, Twitters monthly user growth
climbed just 2.6 percent to 316 million in
the quarter ending June 30.
In the same time, Facebook has more than
doubled the strength of employees but near
ly ve times as many active users.
Twitter also announced that it expects rev
enue and a measure of its adjusted earnings
to come in above the high end of its previ
ously forecast range for the third quarter.
In his letter, Dorsey said the coming
roadmap will entail a plan to change how
we work, and what we need to do that
work.
Chemist shops shut over online

drugs sale, patients suffer
New Delhi: Patients bore the brunt as near
ly eight lakh chemist shops in the country
were shut in a nationwide strike by the All
India Org anizat ion of Chemists and
Druggists (AIOCD) to protest against the
online sale of drugs.
"Over 90 percent of chemist shops were
shut. The only reason we allowed 10 per
cent to remain open was to avoid any dif
culty to patients. All our retail chemists
have joined the strike of over 800,000
chemists in states and union territories,
making it a total success," J.S. Shinde, pres
ident, AIOCD, said. The loss from the day's
strike is estimated to total hundreds of
crores of rupees. The association warned

of an indenite strike if the government
failed to address the issue within a week
and ban online sale of medicines.
Only a few shops, mostly run by govern
ment agencies, were open at some places.
Shinde said the association tried to talk
to the health ministry over the illegitimate
sale of medicines by epharmacy compa
nies, which was hindering the pharmacy
outlets.
"We also want to prevent the sale of
duplicate medicines being sold by ephar
macy companies, which the consumers are
not going to understand," he said.
24 October 17-23, 2015
SPORTS
India beat South Africa in second OneDay
Indore: A superb performance by

the bowlers and a deant 92 not
out from skipper Mahendra Singh
Dhoni saw India outplay South
Africa by 22 runs in their second
OneDay International (ODI) at the
Holkar Cricket Stadium here.
Chasing India's modest total of
247/9, the South Africans lost
wickets at regular intervals and
their innings folded up for 225 in
43.4 overs. Pacer Bhuvneshwar
Kumar and leftarm spinner Axar
Patel inicted the bulk of the dam
age with a threewicket hauls.
Patel claimed the crucial wickets
of Hashim Amla, Faf du Plesis and
J.P. Duminy to return gures of
3/39 in his 10 overs while Kumar
claimed 3/41 in 8.4 overs.
Of fspinner Harbhajan Singh
took two wickets for 51 runs while
pacers Mohit Sharma (1/21) and
Umesh Yadav (1/52) picked up one
each.
India, who had lost the opening
match by ve runs at Kanpur, have
now leveled the vematch series
at 11. Amla and Quinton de Kock
India, who had lost the opening match by five runs at Kanpur,
have now leveled the fivematch series at 11.
gave the Proteas' chase a ying
start, tackling Bhuvneshwar and
Yadav with ease. Dhoni's decison
Pele relishes ISL tie

at Salt Lake Stadium
Brazilian football legend Pele and ISL founder Nita Ambani

during an ISL match.
Kolkata: Brazilian football legend
Pele lived every moment of the
riveting Indian Super League (ISL)
tie between hosts Atletico de
Kolkata and Kerala Blasters that
he witnessed for around 50 min
utes. The Black Pearl appreciated
the good moves, expressed his
dismay at the misses, and once
even held his head in frustration
as ATK's Spanish medio Gavilan
Martinez hit the woodwork.
When Arata Izumi scored for
the home side, Pele was seen giv
ing a highve to ATK coowner
Sanjiv Goenka.
Earlier, the king of football
entered the Salt Lake stadium to a
thundering applause from the
55,000odd crowd at around 6.45
p.m 15 minutes before the start
of the match.
Received by Football Sports

Development Ltd. chairperson
Nita Ambani, who seemed elated
at the opportunity to watch the
game besides him, Pele seemed in
high spirits.
He waved to the crowd and
even posed for photographs with
the Atletico players.
He chatted with Ambani and
Goenka, and was all smiles when
the latter gifted him an Atletico
scarf.
Speaking about meeting the leg
end, Ambani said: "It is a dream
come true sitting beside the leg
end and watching the game."
She also had a chance of click
ing a sele with the legend, who
was clad in a lightblue shirt.
Pele left the stadium ve min
utes after halftime.
to bring on the spinners made an

instant impact as Patel got rid of
Amla in his very rst over. The
South African, who had danced

down the over to smash the second
ball of the over to the midon
boundary, tried a similar act of f

the fourth delivery only to be beat
en by the spin as Dhoni calmly
whipped off the bails.
After de Ko ck had hit a
Harbhajan delivery into the hands
of Mohit Sharma at long of f, set
about trying to repair the damage.
The duo managed to bring the visi
tors into the match but Pate l
trapped Duminy leg before to
bring an end to the 82run part
nership.
That seemed to trigger a mini
collapse as du Plesis, David Miller
and the dangerous AB de Villiers
went back in quick succession
which all but ended the visitors
hopes.
Earlier, Dhoni led from the front
with a deant 92 not out to help
India post 247/9.
Walking in to bat with India in a
spot of bother at 82/3 in the 18th
over, Dhoni batted right till the
end to notch up his 60th ODI fty.
The Indian captain smashed seven
boundaries and four sixes during
his 86ball innings.
SOURAV GANGULY TAKES

OVER 'THORN' CAB CROWN
Kolkata: The baton of Bengal crick
et administration is poised for a
generational with former Indian
captain Sourav Ganguly all set to
take over as president of the
Cricket Association of Bengal a
wee k after a rained out T20
International at the Eden Gardens
has seemingly taken some shine off
the big change.
W hile Ganguly replaces the
departed Cricket Association of
Bengal (CAB) president Jagmohan
Dalmiya, the Special General
Meeting on the morrow would also
see the formal entry of the late
cricket czar's son Avishek into
cricket administration, completing
the change of guard.
Dalmiya junior would be the asso
ciation's new joint secretary, a post
held by Ganguly since July last
year. Subir Ganguly is likely to con
tinue as the other joint secretary
and Biswarup Dey as the treasurer.
While the talismanic explayer
would be the rst Test cricketer to
head the cashrich CAB, Dalmiya's
stint is also likely to be watched
with keen interest with sporting
Sourav Ganguly is taking over as

president of the Cricket
Association of Bengal
circles likely to draw constant par
allelis with his famous father.
But it is Ganguly who would be
under constant scrutiny. During the
twilight of his playing career,
Ganguly was told by a journalist
that he was under the scanner. He
promptly replied: "I'm always under
the scanner, mate". There are indi
cations that the coming days would
be no exception.
The cancellation of the October 8
T20 game between India and South
Africa without a ball being bowled
has not only come in as a reality
check for Ganguly, but also provid

ed him an inkling about the chal
lenges he could be up against, par
ticularly in the wake of allegations
of "sabotage", "inefciency and
"negligence" that has been levelled
against a section of the CAB for the
asco. On Thursday last, even eight
hours were not enough to dry the
ground after less than 30 minutes
of rains measuring 14.2 millimetre.
The consequence was an abandon
ment, which left heartbroken a
25,0000 crowd that assembled
despite the dead rubber.
Realising that cancellation or
heavy curtailment of the match
could set tongues wagging, a des
perate Ganguly himself ventured
into the ground, soon after the
rains stopped, bare foot, his
trousers rolled up to the knees and
spoke to the the groundsmen on
ways to get rid of the water on the
playing surface.
A section in the CAB feel Ganguly,
being new to cricket administra
tion, should not have jumped into
the fore front in tackling the
situation.
Saina, Srikanth advance; Jwala-Ashwini lose at Denmark Open

Odense: Leading Indian shuttlers
Saina Nehwal, Kidambi Srikanth and
P.V. Sindhu entered the second
round but Parupalli Kashyap
crashed out in the rst round of the
$650,000
Denmark
Open
Superseries Premier here.
World Championships 2015
bronze medallist Saina fought hard

for a 2321, 1421, 2118 win
against world No.17 Busanan
Ongbumrungphan of Thailand.
Saina took an hour and nine min
utes to set up the next encounter
against world No.18 Minatsu Mitani
of Japan, who took only 25 minutes
to
dispose
T hai
Porntip
Buranaprasertsuk 2110, 214.
Olympic bronze medallist Saina
holds a 53 advantage in career
meetings against the Japanese. But
the Japanese has won all her match
in the last four encounter against
the 25yearold Hyderabadi.
She grew up in Yugoslavia

during the civil war years. A
chance audition on the
phone brought her to New
York. She has Hit It Big, the
title of her new song, but it
is still all personal.
By Robert Golomb
.H. Lawrence, the celebrated early 20th
century British novelist, lectured his
readers and fellow writers on the need
to separate the writer from the tale he was
telling. The music legend Frank Sinatra once
expressed a similar thought about the singer
and his song, telling an interviewer back in
the mid 1960s that all he owed his audience is
a great performance, not, he suggested, a
great story of his life.
For the singer, pianist, songwriter Dvvine
(pronounced Deevine), born Dunja, who has
been described by the Oscar and award win
ning playwright, screenwriter and director
John Patrick Shanley as a brooding contem
plative musical goddess the song and the life
of the singer can never be separated.
That life for Dvvine, whom I interviewed in
her Manhattan recording studio last week,
began in Yugoslavia 1981 just 10 years
before the start of the countrys tragic Civil
War in 1991. For Dvvine, memories of that
war, which claimed approximately 100,000
lives and displaced more than two and a half
million people before it finally ended in 2001,
will remain with her forever. I can never for
get the bombings, she told me, living on and
off in bomb shelters with my ailing mother.
Being separated from my father, two brothers
and sister . Hearing the frightening sound
of sirens. Learning the names of the dead
over the television and radio. Mourning for
those whose names I knew.
MUSIC
October 17-23, 2015
25
A singer who can never be separated from her song

It was based on those painful years that D
vvine composed the critically acclaimed song
People Be Strong, a composition she told me
she wrote shortly after arriving in New York
City in 1999. Because until then I was
unaware of the exact chronology of her life, I
was caught off guard when I heard the year
1999. Thus, at first, I found it difficult to
believe that an 18yearold from a wartorn
Eastern European nation could, beyond writ
ing a hit song, ever find her way to New York
City. But, as Dvvine began to tell me more
about her native country and her life, her
story began to make sense.
Even during the war, we tried to maintain
our everyday lives, Dvvine explained. The
children as best they could continued to go to
school, and the adults continued to go to work
during the day and go out in the evenings,
even while bombs exploded in the skies. That
brought some normalcy into our lives. For me,
I also found a sense of normalcy and, yes,
even a strong sense of peace, love and tran
quility through my music.
That music, which she first began to play on
the piano at six years old, led her to perform,
she told me, on a series of television and radio
talent shows which, even during the darkest
days of the war, reached large Yugoslavian
audiences, making her name and her music
well known first throughout the nation. And
eventually, beyond Yugoslavia. As Dvvine
explained, In the early part of 1999, I
received a long distance call from New York.
The caller was an executive from SONY
records who had heard my music through a
friend. She requested that I audition for her
over the phone.
It turned out to be an unusual audition.
Just as I started playing the music on the
piano and started singing my song, I heard the
deafening sound of rockets that were blast
ing on the street right outside my apartment,
Dvvine recalled, but I was able to put it out
of my mind and continued on Fortunately,

she liked what she heard, even with the sound
of rockets going off in the background, and
invited me to come to New York to audition in
person.
Though aware that when she arrived in New
York City, she would be without family or
friends and would have very little money, D
vvine jumped at the invitation. At that
moment {when she received the invitation}, I
truly felt I had received a miracle from the
Lord, Dvvine explained, so I didnt allow my
fears of being totally on my own stop me from
the opportunity to present my music in
America. Dvvine was to take full advantage
of that opportunity.
In addition to People Be Strong Dvvine
wrote a series of songs containing similar
themes followed even when she was begin
ning to desire to change the direction of her
music.
Every time I was about to move the tone
and message of my music away from the
theme of the tragedy of war, news always
seemed to spread of new conflicts going on
around the world. As I read about what was
taking place in countries like Sudan, Syria,
Iraq and Afghanistan, I found myself relating
to their circumstances, and expressing it
through my music, as the main theme of my
music. But all that appeared to change in
early 2015 with her new song, Hit It Big.
The song, which I listened to on Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ybvd7Gb
siL8, a few days before the interview, begins
with the lyrics, I need some loving, some luck
on my side, deep satisfaction, that keeps me
young, young, young, and then is followed by
the equally upbeat lyrical refrain, Im one in
millions, millions who look for the stars to hit
it big like a rock star
Those apparently optimistic beginning
lyrics, which are accompanied by an infec
tiously fast paced radio friendly melody, con
veyed to me the feeling that Dvvine was able

in Hit It Big to separate her song from her
life. It was a feeling that continued as I heard
the song again when she was gracious enough
to sing it for me in the studio.
Yet, soon after she was done, she told me
otherwise. I have to admit that, despite my
original intention, Hit It Big is based on my
life and my life experiences, she revealed.
The reason I wrote I need loving in the first
line was after a man I really cared for sudden
ly ended our relationship. I felt very down and
thought of all the past disappointments in life
as well. So it came naturally from my heart to
sing that I really needed some loving and
some luck.
The rest of the song starting with the sec
ond line, she confessed, was also based on her
life. When you are living a life where bombs
are going off and people who you know have
been severely injured or killed, you dream of
getting out of that life and hitting it big some
where, somehow, Dvvine said. For me, she
continued, the dream of hitting it big was
becoming a rock star. For many of my friends
in school, it meant hitting it big as a doctor,
lawyer, engineer, or any other job or profes
sion that requires hard work, desire and ambi
tion. . For all of us who survived the war,
though, the words who look to the stars to
hit it big like a rock star possessed the same
meaning escaping the war to be free to truly
see the beauty of the stars in the sky at night
and to be free to pursue your greatest dreams,
right here on Gods earth.
Robert Golomb is a nationally and interna
tionally published columnist. Mail him at
MrBob347@aol.com and follow him on
Twitter@RobertGolomb
Editors Note
You can buy the song Dvvine Hit It Big here
http://itunes.apple.com/album/id997563109
Dvvine website: www.dvvine.com
26
October 17-23, 2015
FEATURES
Why are Americans obsessed with Steve Jobs?

T
he Americans' obsession
with stories about celebrity
CEOs like Steve Jobs has got
more to do with their cultural fas
cination for romantic individual
ist story than the man himself,
suggests a new study on the sub
ject.
The author, Thomas Streeter,
professor of sociology at the
University of Vermont, said that
Jobs' story fits perfectly with the
romantic individualist story that
American culture can't seem to
get enough of, despite being yet
another romanticized story about
a wellknown business celebrity.
"Jobs is an interesting charac
ter, but if we were choosing
whose story to tell based on the
importance of their inventions or
business innovations, we would
be telling stories about other peo
ple like computer scientist Dennis
Ritchie," Streeter said.
The Apple legend and (right) Michael Fassbender in the title role in the
just released film Steve Jobs
Ritchie was central to the devel
opment of the software and con
cepts that made the internet pos
sible.
"Or it could be Doug las
Engelbart, the inventor of the
mouse and the windowing inter
face. Either of them could be said
to have invented more important
things than Steve Jobs," he added.
"But where are all the major

Hollywood movies, documen
taries, and bestselling biogra
phies about Ritchie or Engelbart
and the dozens of other key
inventors whose contributions
were as or more essential than
Jobs?" Streeter wondered.
There has to be another reason
that the Steve Jobs story has been
told over and over again since the

1980s instead of about men like
Ritchie or Engelbart, according to
Streeter.
"I think the reason is in our cul
ture: we love the story of Jobs
because we love the story of the
guy who bucked convention, pur
sued his passions, and got rich
doing so," Streeter explained.
Indian youth search for love online

ndia's youth, like their counter
parts elsewhere, are increasingly
searching for their love online,
thanks to a range of dating apps
available on the internet.
Experts say that the mammoth
surge in the user base of these apps
is being fuelled by youth's "changing
narrative, thinking and preferences".
"People's mindset is shifting from
'duties and responsibilities' to that of
'fun and companionship'," says
Sumesh Menon, the chief executive
of "Woo", a popular dat ing app
developed in India.
"As exposure through media like
the internet grows and young people
become more independent, they
develop their own expectations from
life and marriage, which might be
dif ferent from those their parents
had, and that's what is helping these
apps become increasingly popular,"
Menon, also the cofounder of the
app, told IANS here.
Talking about his app, Menon said:
"There was definitely a real need for
a platform that could help these
young Indians meet others like
themselves. 'Woo' is about solving
that basic human problem helping
connect people who may not have
met in real life, and helping them
find love."
Among the other popular dating
apps in India are Tinder, Thrill and
OkCupid. The online dating platform
in India, experts say, has around 15
20 million users and is growing real
ly fast with the advancement in tech
nology and penetration of internet
connectivity.
Several of the users whom IANS
spoke to spelt a positive view about
these apps, but there were a few,
especially girls, who did not seem
too happy and comfortable to buy
the concept of "real dating through
virtual means".
Web designs
influence how much
we reveal online
eb design and the information shown on the
screen largely influences how much a user dis
closes personal data, says a study by Joint
Research Centre (JRC).
The study used behavioral sciences to look at how indi
viduals react to different types of privacy notices.
For instance, a depiction of a person's face on the website
led people to reveal more personal information, the study
found.
Also, users who had attended college felt more comfort
able answering questions than those who never went to
college. This result challenges the assumption that the bet
ter educated are more aware of information tracking prac
tices.
Two types of privacy behavior were measured passive
disclosure, when people unwittingly disclose personal
information, and direct disclosure, when people make an
active choice to reveal personal information.
After testing dif ferent designs with over 3,000 users
from Britain, Italy, Germany and Poland, results showed
that web interface affects decisions on disclosing personal
information.
Also, this design choice and the visualization of the user's
IP or browsing history had an impact on people's aware
ness of a privacy notice.
It found that people with a lower level of education were
more likely to reveal personal information unwittingly.
This behavior appeared to be due to the fact that noncol
lege attendees were simply less aware that some online
behavior revealed personal information about themselves.
Strong differences between countries were noticed, indi
cating a relation between cultures and information disclo
sure.
Even though participants in Italy revealed the most per
sonal information in passive disclosure, in direct disclosure
they revealed less than in other countries.
Approximately 73 percent of women answered 'never' to
the questions asking whether they had ever engaged in
sociallystigmatized behavior, compared to 27 percent of
males.
It could also suggest women feel greater social scrutiny
or are simply more cautious when disclosing personal
information, the researchers said.
"I think the concept is really good.

It has not only bridged the gaps
between potential couples but also
provided a medium through which
two strangers could get in touch and
share their emotions," says Gaurav
Gautam, a 27yearold PR profes
sional. Gaurav has been using Tinder
for over eight months and claims he
dated four girls in the DelhiNCR
area.
While Gautam was all praise for
the app, 23yearold Rajni Arora, a
marketing professional, feels that
true love can never happen through
a virtual media.
"True and real love can never hap
pen online, which is a virtual media.
One should not fall into these apps
but be careful about its complica
tions. A relationship is a very sacred
thing which one should value," Arora
said.
Asked about the challenges a dat
ing or matchmaking app faces,
Menon said: "The main challenge is
allaying the concerns of women.
Woo as a brand has always placed
women at the centre of its thinking
and from Day 1. Its key features are
designed to providing women with
complete control and security over
their information and interactions."
Woo's special security features,

such as only showing women's ini
tials as opposed to their full name,
provides women control so that they
can share specific personal informa
tion only after they are comfortable
with someone.
Woo ensures that the users' securi
ty and privacy are always sacrosanct
while they go about their quest of
finding life partner. We have a strin
gent entry screening process where
in every user is screened before
being allowed on Woo. This keeps
nonserious thrillseekers out and
admits only legitimate folk who are
seriously looking to meet someone.
We have introduced Woo with the
single mission of finding that middle
ground a healthy environment
where young professionals can con
nect and interact.
With mobile and tech playing a
major role today, India is seeing a
fresh attempt to redefine the way
people meet and is addressing the
users of tomorrow. Indian youth
have adopted this and are quite com
fortable with turning to technology
to address this problem.
But then, it might be advisable to
heed the saying: Discretion is some
times better than valor.
"Jobs' story nice ly fits the

romantic individualist story that
American culture is in love with.
We love the story, and the case of
Steve Jobs gives us a chance to
tell that story over and over," he
said.
T he study appeared in the
Internat ional
Journal
of
Communication.
October 17-23, 2015
28
October 17-23, 2015
HUMOR
Funny Side by Nury Vittachi
SHE FAKED HER PREGNANCY. FOR 10 MONTHS
just overheard a guy telling his wife to

calm down, look at the facts and think
rationally. Can you believe THERE ARE
STILL MEN who dont understand how
women work?!?!
***
Guys, guys! Women are complex crea
tures w ith intuit ive decisionmaking
processes that far transcend the basic logic
systems used by simple males. Consider
the following true news story.
***
A young woman recently used purpose
made padding to fool her boyfriend into
thinking she was pregnant. It worked per
fectly until things got awkward with her
baby bump going into its 10th month.
The woman eventually revealed that she
had ordered a fakeababy kit off the inter
net, a TV news station in the US state of
Michigan reported.
***
The report was forwarded to me by read
er Anya Srinivas, who said: She probably
realized that she couldnt fool the women
in her social circle, but if her boyfriend was
anything like mine, he wouldnt have
twigged for several more months.

***
When it comes to feminine issues, are
men really so stupid? The guys in my
office responded angrily to the accusation
with cries of: Oh yes we are.
***
I think the woman should have told the
boyfriend that the biggest, strongest ani
mals have longer gestations: 16 months for
a rhino, 23 months for an elephant, etc.,
and then hed have taken it as a compli
ment to himself.
***
Yet my male logic still puts her offense
into the Doomed From The Start catego
ry. Even if she had kept it up for 23
months, what was her exit strategy? Tell
the boyfriend that the baby had slipped out
and escaped into the night?
Wouldnt even a typically unobservant
male have asked questions? Newborns can
climb down drainpipes? Newborns are
masters of disguise?
***
I shared the tale at the of fice and a
female colleague to my surprise produced

a rather unusual example of a similar
"Doomed From The Start" scheme that
turned out fine.
In the summer of this year, zookeepers in
Australia were horrified to find a dead
mother tree kangaroo with a joey inside
which is a semideveloped baby kangaroo.
The zookeepers took it out, sneaked into
the cage of an adult female wallaby and hid
it in her pouch. The wallaby woke up,
found the foetus in her po cket, and
assumed it was hers missing the fact that
she had not been pregnant and failing to
notice that her of fspring was a dif ferent
species.
***
This made me think. I know lots of stupid
people (like attracts like) and wonder if I

could persuade one of them that my three
children are theirs? I could reveal the truth
later, say, after all three have graduated
from university.
I reckon it would all be a matter of plant
ing the idea in the right way.
How are your six children these days?
Six? I have three children.
No, Im sure you have six just look out
of the window and count. See? Six. Well,
gotta go.
***
Worth trying, no? My female colleague
has just pointed out that no woman would
be fooled by this, but added: But if you
know any single male fathers, you might
be in with a chance.
Laughter is the Best Medicine
BEST
RATE
FOR
INDIA
AND
PAKISTAN
New York Head Quarter
422S Broadway
HICKSVILLE
NY 11801
5168271010
by Mahendra
Shah
Mahendra Shah is
an architect by
education, entrepreneur by profession, artist and
humorist, cartoonist and writer by
hobby. He has
been recording
the plight of the
immigrant Indians
for the past many
years in his cartoons. Hailing
from Gujarat,
he lives in
Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania.
ASTROLOGY
October 17-23, 2015
29
Chandigarh, India: +91-172- 256 2832, 257 2874

Delhi, India: +91-11- 2644 9898, 2648 9899
psharma@premastrologer.com; www.premastrologer.com
By Dr Prem Kumar Sharma
OCTOBER 1723, 2015

ARIES: You may find it difficult to make
up your mind even on the trivial mat
ters, so follow others at work this week.
You may not appreciate someone browbeating
you on the professional front, so tell it to him
or her. Someone on the family front has great
expectations from you, so dont let him or her
down. Set out early this week to catch a train
or a plane as delays are foreseen on the road.
A disputed property can take a legal turn.
TAURUS: Your disinterest is likely to
reflect on your professional or academ
ic performance. Mistakes and glitches
at work threaten to make you a butt of
ridicule. Spending money just to keep up with
the Joneses is likely to dent your savings.
Family will be supportive, but may not tolerate
your devilmaycare attitude. Someone is wait
ing in the wings for a chance to express his or
her love for you. It is best to keep to yourself
and not entertain strangers while travelling in
public transport.
GEMINI: Those new on the job will be
able to establish themselves firmly. A
good equation with those who matter
on the professional front is likely for the
careeroriented. Financially, you are not likely
to face any problems as money comes to you
from various sources.
Something you wanted to achieve on the per
sonal front will now be possible. Catering to
someone close will prove most fulfilling. Last
minute changes in plans for a journey may
unsettle you, but you will come into your
groove soon.
CANCER: This may well turn out to be

the most promising week of the
month! Opportunities on the profes
sional front are likely to chase you. Career
front looks simply great as your keen foresight
helps you along! You manage to come a step
closer to your dream of earning big on the
financial front. Socially, you are likely to enjoy
the week in the company of your near and
dear ones. Those in love are likely to have
scintillating time. Health problems worrying
you are set to vanish.
LEO: Some problems on the work front
may require your immediate attention.
Keep your options open on the busi
ness front. Cater to the needs of a family
youngster, before frustration sets into him or
her. Chances of coming back on talking terms
with lover look bleak as of now. Take short
breaks en route on a long journey to avoid
fatigue. Loss of money or wasteful expenditure
cannot be ruled out on the financial front.
Those suffering from a lifestyle disease may
neglect their condition and become unwell.
VIRGO: This week you may reflect on
the course that your career is taking
on the professional front. There is no
harm in taking a seniors advice. Some of you
are likely to enjoy the week by engaging in
some juicy gossip on the social front. Plans to
meet lover may have to be revised due to an
unforeseen commitment. Traffic snarls threat
en to put a meeting in jeopardy, so take a bet
ter route, even if it is longer. Sticking to daily
routine will keep you in good health.
17th October, 2015

Ruled planet: Saturn Ruled by no: 8
Traits in you: Your ruling planet the Saturn makes
you highly dynamic, hardworking, courageous, trust
worthy, reliable, courteous and friendly. You are very
much inclined to music and literature. You should
work on your impatience. You need to enhance your
constructive ideas as well.
Health this year: You will enjoy a pretty good health
this year. You need to take care of the health of your
family members. You need to take extra care of your
health if you are having some chronic diseases. You
may go for domestic healthcare instead of allopathic
medicines as it will give better results for your ail
ments and save your money as well.
Finance this year: You may try your entrepreneurship
skills this year and you will be successful unexpect
edly. You will be able to get many projects, which you
help you establish as a good businessperson. You
should go for investments in real estate and stock
market.
Career this year: Your professional ability and skills
will take you to new heights. You will be admired by
your peers and seniors for your high productivity.
You should help others at office as it will be consid
ered as a positive pointer during your appraisal.
Romance this year: Your relationship with your part
ner or beloved will be strengthened as day passes.
You may decide to get married this year if you are in
a long term relationship.
Lucky month: February, June, August and September.
very strong relationship with your spouse. You may

decide to get married towards the end of the year.
Lucky month: March, May and October
LIBRA: A feeling of frustration may

slowly sink in and make you irritable.
Change of scene is the antidote for it,
the sooner it is, the better! Your mind may not
be in work this week, but you will also not get
caught on the wrong foot on the professional
front. Someone who had always shown inter
est in you can make you succumb to his or her
charms. You will be judicious in spending on
items that are not essential. Care needs to be
exercised on the health front.
SCORPIO: In a function on the social
front, you may be left exchanging pleas
antries with others as you may find it
difficult to find someone you instantly hit out
with. You can be looking for someone special
this week on the romantic front. Adding to
your skills through a course or a training mod
ule is likely to increase your employability.
Good investments will keep you happy on the
financial front. Regular workouts and eating
right will prove immensely beneficial to
health. Domestic af fairs may keep some
engaged.
SAGITTARIUS: You are likely to win
some people over to your side by your
g ift of the g ab. Gett ing used to
changed circumstances on the home front will
be good for you peace of mind. Some of you
are likely to take the initiative to make love
life satisfying. The more you step out of the
house, more mentally contented you will be, so
plan a long journey all by yourself. Some more
inputs may be required for you to successfully
complete a project at work.
CAPRICORN: This week, you can expect

to have a good time on the social front.
Meeting with likeminded people is fore
seen and give you immense joy. On the work
front, you will be efficient enough not to leave
anything for the next week. Your undivided
attention on the one you love is likely to win him
or her over and make your week! Desist from
impulse buying, especially if you are hunting for
bargains to avoid draining your finances. Be
careful on the road, whether driving or walking.
AQUARIUS : There is likelihood of bit
ing more than you can chew on the
social front. However, there will be
people to help you out of your problems. Your
attempts to keep the domestic expenditure to
the bare minimum may meet with only partial
success. Time needs to be devoted to family
af fairs before they start posing problems for
you. Someone can pip you to the post on the
professional front and leave you frustrated.
Love life may require rekindling. A long journey
may prove boring.
PISCES: Things are turning for the bet
ter. Irritability that had become your
personal companion promises to leave
you for good. You will focus on improving per
sonal relations with the ones you dislike as you
realise there is no use of holding grudges.
Chances of promotion on the professional front
brighten for some. Worries on the financial
front will be laid to rest as money comes from
various sources. Health wise, you will find your
self more fit and energetic. An urgent official
duty may materialise for some this week.
ANNUAL PREDICTIONS: FOR THOSE BORN IN THIS WEEK
18th October, 2015

Ruled planet: Mars Ruled by no: 9
Traits in you: Being governed by the planet Mars, you
are adventurous, sensitive, courageous, emotional,
hard working, charismatic and punctual. You are full
of enthusiasm and ambitions. You should try and
avoid your shyness and stubbornness.
Health this year: Your health may remain disturbed
throughout the year because of some minor ailments.
If you do not take proper care of your health you
may end up spending a lot of money for your treat
ment. You should take preventive actions to avoid
health issues.
Finance this year: As far as finance is concerned, you
will be earning a lot of money. You will be assigned to
new projects and those will be highly yielding for
you. You will gain enough profits from your past
investments. Your improved financial status may
bring you lot of happiness and joy later this year.
Career this year: If you are a working professional,
you may face various profession related problems
this year. You need to handle all the issues diplomati
cally else you may lose your job. You may create
wonder in the creativity field if you are a writer,
singer or actor.
Romance this year: This is a quite good year for
women when romance is concerned. You will enjoy a
19th October, 2015

Ruled planet: Sun Ruled by no: 1
Traits in you: As you are ruled by the powerful Sun,
you are dynamic, confident, intelligent, unique, dar
ing, and very helpful. You are the master of a strong
willpower, which helps you stay ahead of others.
However, you need t work on your nature of being
introvert, careless, and fickleminded.
Health this year: Your health would not cause much
worries for you this year. However, the health of your
family member s may require extra care. Provide
your parents with proper medication as they may fall
sick often due to old age. You may start taking a bal
anced diet. You should stop consuming alcohol and
smoking cigarettes for the betterment of your health.
Finance this year: Your financial conditions will be
very good this year as you will be working hard to
reach your goal. Your past property dispute will get
solved and it will earn you a lot of money. If you are
into business, you may go for new ventures as those
seem to be very profitable this year.
Career this year: You need to work hard to prove
yourself in your profession. Do not take up minor
issues to an escalation. Try and brush up you knowl
edge and skills to perform more efficiently. You may
go for a job change during the last months of the
year.
Romance this year: Your relationship with your
spouse will get filled with more romance as day pro
gresses. You will find enough support from your
partner in every crucial situation. If you have not
married yet, this is the best time to tie knots.
Lucky month: December, June and September.
20th October, 2015
Ruled planet: Moon Ruled by no: 2
Traits in you: As you are influenced by the Moon, you
are confident, emotional, imaginative, simple, cre
ative, courteous, and warm hearted. You can easily
make friends because of your nature so you enjoy
enormous respect amongst your friends. You should
control your mood swings and you should not be
lazy.
Health this year: As far as your health is concerned
this year, you may frequently fall sick. You need to
undergo regular medical checkups and take your pre
scribed medicines on time. Join a gym and try prac
ticing meditation to retain your fitness.
Finance this year: You would not be able to save any
money for future this year as your earnings will be
spent for something or the other. You may face unex
pected expenses, which would make you a bit finan
cially weak. You may go for new business ventures
but need not get involved in any partnerships.
Career this year: You will be given more responsibili
ty this year as you have proved yourself to be an effi

cient resource for your employer. You may expect a
promotion or salary hike later this year. You should
guide your ordinates to perform better and bring
unexpected results for your organization.
Romance this year: Your marital relationship will
move forward with lot of mutual love, care, respect
and admiration. You should not get into any kind of
argument with your spouse as it may disturb your
peaceful personal life. You should get married this
year if you are yet to marry.
Lucky month: April, August and November
21st October, 2015
Ruled planet: Jupiter Ruled by no: 3
Traits in you: As you are ruled by the Jupiter, you are
energetic, ambitious, dignified, realistic, optimistic,
reliable, and very kindhearted. You have the skills of
a good listener so you can perform well in any field.
You should learn handling tough situations calmly
and efficiently.
Health this year: You will enjoy a moderate health
this year. You need to take preventive medicines for
weather changes as it may hamper your health condi
tions. Do not neglect your health if you feel uneasy.
Consult doctor regularly and practice Yoga for better
results.
Finance this year: You will be in huge monetary bene
fits this year as you are going to get many contracts
if you are in business. You may travel abroad to for
business purpose and that would be very successful
in establishing your business. You need to create new
contacts to get more business. You should not invest
in share market this time though you may go for real
estate.
Career this year: You will be highly appreciated by
your employer for your excellent performance. With
the increased workload, you may also be offered an
increased salary. You should learn to handle pressure
situations from your seniors. You may go for a job
change later this year.
Romance this year: You may go through minor per
sonal disturbances and these could be solved by talk
ing more to your partner. Do not let the distance
grow. Get some time to talk to your spouse. You may
plan a long trip with your partner to strengthen your
relationship.
Lucky month: June, September and October.
22nd October, 2015
Ruled planet: Uranus Ruled by no: 4
Traits in you: The influence of your ruling planet
Uranus makes you active, practical, enthusiastic,
courageous, ambitious, and highly philosophical. You
are very proud of your traditions, culture and rituals.
You are highly religious and have a very sharp mind.
However, you need to work on your impatient and
stubborn behavior.
Health this year: You will enjoy a pretty good health
this year though you may go through few minor dis

eases. Go for regular medical checkups to retain your
good health. Take care of the health of your family
members. Do not ignore any health related issue as it
may lead to further disturbances.
Finance this year: You will be able to earn more
money. However, you may end up spending a lot of
money on luxury and comfort. You may go for new
business or investments this year as the movement of
planets ensures you good monetary benefits.
Career this year: You will get new heights in your
profession because of your excellent communication
skills. Your employer would be very impressed and
will admire you. You may get few extra responsibili
ties and salary will also increase. You will get expert
in your domain and you must go for learning new
things in your profession.
Romance this year: If you are yet to be in a relation
ship, this year is the ideal time to find a partner. You
will get ample support from your spouse in any criti
cal decision you have to take. You should show your
love to your partner as it strengthens your relation
ship.
Lucky month: January, March and November.
23rd October, 2015
Ruled planet: Mercury Ruled by no: 5
Traits in you: As you are influenced by your ruling
planet Mercury, you are intelligent, unique, sensible,
business oriented, dignified, optimistic and charis
matic. You are also pretty warmhearted and friendly.
However, you need not be restless and impatient
always to get your things done.
Health this year: Your health will remain good
throughout the year. You need to take utmost care of
your health to maintain it and remain fit. The health
of your family members might be a concern for
you this year. Try and avoid your bad habits
and start practicing yoga for the betterment of your
health.
Finance this year: You will earn a lot of money from
your past investment this year. However, you should
invest your money after going through the market
thoroughly. Do not lend or money this year. You may
spend a lot of money on buying comfort and luxury
for your family members.
Career this year: You will gain a lot of professional
knowledge this year. You may think for a job change
this year. You may not get the job satisfaction in the
organization you currently work for. You may not get
the expected appraisal, which would urge you to
switch to another company.
Romance this year: You should avoid any kind of con
flict with your beloved. Plan a long holiday with your
spouse to make your relationship stronger. If you are
unmarried, you should not get to a marital relation
ship this year as the movement of your stars is not
favorable for marriage.
Lucky month: April, June and August.
30
October 17-23, 2015
SPIRITUAL AWARENESS
Dealing with Stress and Anger
By Sant Rajinder Singh

Ji Maharaj
ife is challenging. Every day

people face situations that
can make one feel stress and
anger. Modern science has proven
the affects stress and anger have
on the health and wellness of our
body and mind. Is there any way
that we can deal with stress and
anger so that it does not create
stressrelated illness of our body
and mind? Is there a way that we
can face the tension of life in a
way that we maintain calm and
equanimity physically, mentally,
emotionally, and spiritually?
The combined wisdom of the
saints and mystics from ancient
India and the current research by
scientists, medical doctors, and
researchers point to the same
answer: we can reduce stress and
anger and maintain optimum
health and wellness through the
practice of meditation.
As life has become more com
plex, we interact with many peo
ple in the course of the day. Any
one of these can result in stress.
Whenever there are disagree
ments between two or more peo
ple, or things do not go the way
we expect, this can lead to anger.
In the past, when people lived and
worked on a farm or from their
homes, there were fewer interac
tions with others. However, today,
we have many opportunit ies
throughout the day in which we
meet and interact with others.
People have stress on the job.
When we are raising a family,

there is stress over the health of
ourselves or our loved ones, their
schooling, their financial difficul
ties, or living in a household with
multiple people. With the econom
ic dif ficulties of modern life, we
have financial stress. As students,
either in a school or college, or in
training for our career, we have to
worry about our grades in school
and our test scores. We worry
about whether we will be accept
ed into a school or training facili
ty, and once there, whether we
will pass so we can get a job in
our chosen career. Once we have a
job, there is stress about keeping
it with the stiff competition work
ers face, or we worry what will
happen if we lose the job? The
terminal illness or death of a
family member or loved one
creates tremendous pain
and stress in our lives.
There is also stress
caused by inter
personal
relationship
problems.
From morn
ing
unt il
nig ht,
we
face one or more of these situa
tions that cause stress or which
makes us feel angry.
The good news is that there is a
solution to dealing with stress and
anger. From ancient times, saints
and mystics have taught medita
tion as a way to remain calm and
peaceful. In the past few decades,
the practice of meditation has
gained popularity in countries all
over the world. While people have
been pract icing meditat ion
because they recognize how good
it makes them feel, there is the
added bonus contributed by med
ical researchers and doctors that
prove why we feel so good when
we meditate. These medical stud
ies bear out the positive ef fect
meditation has on the health and
wellness of our body and mind.
The most beneficial gains from

meditation are that it reduces
stress and anger, which in turn
reduce our risk for stress related
illness. Numerous diseases have
been linked to stress, such as can
cer, stroke, heart problems, diges
tive problems, circulation prob
lems, migraine headaches, skin
problems, and others. By reducing
stress, we can minimize our risk
for these problems, prevent them,
and mitigate them if we already
have them. Spending daily time in
meditation contributes to our
health and wellness.
Two meditation techniques

we use in Science of Spirituality
Sawan Kirpal Ruhani Mission are
simple to do and can be practiced
by anyone of any age in their
homes or wherever they like. It
does not require difficult postures
or asanas, and can be performed
anywhere at any time. One is the
Shabd Meditation, or Meditation
on the Light and Sound. This pro
vides us an inner connection to a
source of happiness, peace, and
bliss within us. It is like having an
internal retreat that we can visit
anytime we want to recharge and
refresh. The second is an intro
ductory technique called Jyoti
Meditation, which involves sitting
quietly, focusing our attention
w ithin, and experiencing the
peace and calm within us. For
more
instruct ions,
many
resources related to meditation
can be found at www.sos.org
A few other factors can help us
reduce our stress and anger. New
research is showing the value of a
vegetarian diet. By eating plant
based foods, we also can reduce
our risk of many diseases. Illness
produces its own stress not on
only our body, our families, our
work, but also on our finances. If
we can remain healthy through
healthy eating such as a vegetari
an diet, we can also reduce stress.
Selfless service to others also
reduces stress. When we are a
contributing member of a commu
nity, we are calmer and happier.
This reduces tension and stress.
By being of service to others,
we create a joyful life for our
selves and make life better
for others. W hen we
think of others first, it
he lps take our
attention
away from
our own
problems.
As
a
bypro duct
of medita
tion, we realize the same light
within us is in all others. We real
ize that at the level of soul or spir
it, all humanity is one. We begin to
develop love for all and treat oth
ers kindly as members of one fam
ily. As we become more loving and
calm, we eliminate much of our
stress and anger. We replace
stress and anger with love and tol
erance for all, making our own
lives and that of others more
peaceful.
Here are some easy tips to help

us when we feel anger arise in our
daily lives:
Tip 1: We can remove ourselves
from the situation and go some
where to quietly meditate. This
gives us a break from the situa
tion so we can calm down, slow

down our heart rate and brain
waves to a calmer state, and then
return with the equipoise to deal
more peacefully with the situa
tion.
Tip 2: When we return to the
stressful situation after meditat
ing, try to talk things over. Listen
calmly to what the other person
has to say and see if there is any
truth to it. If so, we can apologize
if we have done or said something
to hurt them, and resolve to
refrain from repeating that action
or those words. After the other
person has felt heard and that we
truly listened, they may be more
open to hear things from our
point of view. We can then share
our side of the incident, so they
can understand us as we have
tried to understand them. We can
then discuss a way to have a win
win solution or compromise. In
this way, we can use conflict reso
lution to work out a problem with
out resorting to anger and vio
lence.
Tip 3: We can look at the source
of our anger, which is often ego.
We get angry when things are not
going our way. It could be that we
want to control others, have
power over others, or make others
do what we want. If we can step
back and find ways to make
things work out in a way that is
mutually beneficial for all parties,
we are happy, others are happy,
and we have made the environ
ment peaceful.
Through daily meditation, lead
ing a calm, peaceful life becomes
a habit. Over time, a habit turns
into our nature. Day by day, we
transform ourselves into peaceful,
nonviolent, and calm people and
radiate that to others.
The ripple ef fect of our calm
ness and equipoise spreads and it
will not be long before we have a
peaceful family, community, and
world. Peace begins with each
of us.
SECRET TO ENLIGHTENED LIVING

By Sant Rajinder Singh Ji
Maharaj
here is a quotation by the great Greek

philosopher, Socrates. Once he said,
Our prayers should be for blessings
in general, for God knows best what is
good for us. This quote coincides with the
prayer to God to give us whatever is good
for us.
Time and again, whenever we demand
something from God that is continually
denied to us, it is usually because we are
asking for something that is not good for
us ultimately.
T here have been many instances in
which people prayed to God for something,
and God did not grant their wish. Later

they came to learn that receiving the wish
would not have been a good thing after all.
Will a mother allow the child to have poi
son? The child may cry for it and throw a
tantrum, but if it is poison, the mother will
not grant it. Instead the mother will give
the child what is best for him or her. The
child may not realize it at the time, but as
the child grows and learns, the child is
grateful for all the things the mother
denied him or her that were ultimately not
good.
Many people are anxious about making
choices. The way to be sure we make the
right choices about what to pray for is to
pray that God gives us what is best for us.
God makes no mistake. Rather than pray

for something that may or may not be the
best for us, let us pray for Gods will for us.
What are the spiritual

pearls to enlightened living?
f we relax and rest in Gods will, we will

find that everything works out for the
best in the long run. Meditation is a
pro cess of re laxing in Go ds w ill.
Meditation provides a time when we can
let go of all clutching and praying for this
thing and that. It is a time in which we sit
in a state of stillness and surrender to
Gods will. It is a chance to let go of all our
wants and desires. We merely sit in a
receptive mood and ask God to grant what
is best for us. We will find that God will

give us much more than we had expected.
That is the secret to enlightened living.
Through meditation, we will find the treas
ure of spiritual pearls to enlightened living
that will bring us peace, happiness, and
bliss.
God wants us to come Home. God wants
us to live in eternal peace and bliss in the
spiritual realm. When we make the deci
sion to go back to God, then God opens all
the doors for us. Then, if we pray to God to
give us what is best for us, God will give us
the fastest route back to our eternal Home.
It is only we who delay our Homecoming
by praying for things that take us in the
opposite or different directions.
October 17-23, 2015

Vol.8 Issue 24 - Oct 17-Oct 23, 2015

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The South Asian Times

Vol.8 No. 24 October 17-23, 2015 60 Cents

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Contributing Editors:Nilima Madan,

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The Raos donate $1 million

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We lls Fargo to ce le brate the

Operation Smile, which makes an

Congressman Pallone meets

Congressman Frank Pallone Jr addressing

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Subodh Batra honored

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copyright protection because "it

whether the sequence of 26 yoga

can expand and compress to perfectly t

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The $400,000 luxury trip to India

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She safe ly expanded deposits