24 Vol4 Epaper

Shubh Riddhi Siddhi Labh
Vol.4 No.24 October 1-7, 2011 60 Cents TheSouthAsianTimes.info

AIA-NY invites you
to the biggest Diwali
mela in the world
Washington, DC: The US
warned Pakistan that it would act
on its own as it did against Osama
bin Laden and put on its terrorist list
fve associates of the Haqqani net-
work branded as a veritable arm of
the Pakistani spy agency, the ISI.
The fact of the matter is we are
fghting a war in Afghanistan, and
one of the problems weve had,
which is where this issue arises
from, is with the safe havens that
the Haqqani network has in Paki-
stan, White House Press Secre-
tary Jay Carney told reporters here
Thursday. The Haqqani network is
a militant group that operates on the
Afghanistan-Pakistan border.
Thats an issue that we raised with
our Pakistani counterparts, and we
continue to have those discussions
on a regular basis about the broad
Washington. DC: In a novel
move, that has bipartisan support,
the federal government is weigh-
ing to sell spare assets to reduce
the defcit.
Deep within President Obamas
proposals to raise revenue and cut
the defcit lies a method that has
garnered support from Democrats
and Republicans alike, something
rare in Washington these days.
Washington: President Barack
Obama said Friday the killing of
US-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaqi was
major blow to al Qaedas Yemeni
franchise and vowed to be relentless
in destroying global terror networks.
The death of Awlaqi is a major
blow to al Qaedas most active op-
erational affliate. (It) marks another
signifcant milestone in the broader
effort to defeat al Qaeda and its af-
fliates, Obama said.
Obama said Awlaqi was the leader of
external operations of al Qaeda in the
Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and had
taken the lead in planning and directing
efforts to murder innocent Americans.
He said Awlaqis killing in an air raid
in Yemen was a tribute to the US intel-
ligence community and to Yemens
cooperation with the United States in
a common anti-terror campaign He
also warned that though weaakened,
AQAP was still dangerous Go-
ing forward, we will remain vigilant
against any threats to the United States
or our allies and partners.
New York: Ranju Batra, President
of the Association of Indians in Ameri-
ca-NY chapter, has invited one and all
to the grand celebration of AIA-NYs
24th annual Diwali Festival Oct 2 at
South Street Seaport in Manhattan.
Attended by over a hundred thou-
sand people, its spectacular freworks
show on the East River, sponsored
by Air India, is enjoyed by thou-
sands more in all the fve boroughs.
Ranju has led the preparation for
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Vol. 4 | No.12 | July 9-15, 2011 | 60 Cents
The South Asian Times
US Affairs 9 Op Ed 19 Spiritual Awareness 30 Lifestyle 27
NEW YORK EDITION
Excellence In Journalism
Parsi community
created modern
India: Amitav Ghosh
Features,
Page 26
Indian-American
broadcaster les age
discrimination suit
National Community,
Page 7
Deadlock over
separate Telangana,
protests hot up
India Newswire,
Page 12
JAINAs 16th
Convention in Houston
a huge success
JAINA Convention,
Pages 16-18
Pakistan turns
new front line
of war on terror
2G scam claims another
minister: Maran quits
Kerala temple
treasure could be
worth $100 billion
New Delhi/Chennai: Union
Textiles Minister Dayanidhi Ma-
ran resigned Thursday following
allegations of involvement in the
2G spectrum scam, becoming the
second DMK minister after A.
Raja to exit the cabinet.
New Delhi: The
valuables found in
the secret cellars of
Keralas famous Sree
Padmanabhaswamy
Temple in Thiru-
v a n a n t h a p u r a m
could be worth Rs
5 lakh crore ($100
Toronto: Pakistan is now the
new front in the war on terror as it
has become a new safe haven for al-
Qaeda, says the Canadian media a
day after the country blacklisted the
Pakistani Taliban and started with-
drawal from Afghanistan Tuesday.
The war on terror has shifted,
and Pakistan is its new front line,
said the daily National Post.
These two events (blacklisting
of the Pakistani Taliban and the
start of withdrawal from Afghani-
stan) encapsulate a shift, not only
for Canada, but for all other na-
tions on the front lines of the war
on terror. For a number of years,
those lines have been shifting
southeast, from Afghanistan to
Pakistan, the paper said.
It said the Tehrik-e-Taliban is
very dangerous as its stated goal is
resistance to the countrys govern-
ment, the draconian imposition of
Sharia law and the waging of war
against NATO forces in Afghanistan.
Because of these militant outts
Pakistan has become the main
staging area for terrorist plots
around the world and - despite the
United States assassination of Osa-
ma bin Laden in Abbotabad - a new
safe-haven for al-Qaeda.
Quoting a study by the New
America Foundation, the paper
said 53 percent of terror plots
worldwide since 2004 involved
jihadists trained in Pakistan, com-
pared to six percent in Yemen and
three percent in Iraq. Pakistani ji-
hadi groups have directed 44 per-
cent of the terror plots since then,
according to the paper.
War on terror continued on page 4
While the government and the
Congress party did not comment on
the big political development, an
emboldened opposition described
it as too little too late and sought
resignation of Home Minister P.
Chidambaram, who they alleged
showed complicity in the scam.
Thursdays turn of events is
likely to impact both the shape of
impending cabinet shufe and deli-
cately poised relations between the
Congress and the DMK.
2G scam continued on page 4
Union Textiles Minister Dayanidhi Maran is second DMK minister to exit
Manmohan government in the spectrum scam.
53 percent of terror plots worldwide since 2004 involved jihadists,
like Tehrik-e-Taliban and LeT cadres, trained in Pakistan.
Only ve of the six secret cellars of Padmanab-
haswamy Temple have been opened, yielding
Gold idols, ornaments and other valuables.
billion), believes former chief sec-
retary of Kerala CP Nair.
As per a report, Thursday, the
former bureaucrat claims that the
estimated market value of the trea-
sures unearthed from the temple
makes it the richest temple in the
world.
Kerala treasure continued on page 4
CommuniIy 15
TheSouIhAsianTimes.inlo May 14-20, 2011
PSG College ol Technology, CoimbaIore
celebraIes diamond jubilee in New |ersey
T
he Diamond Jubilee
Celebrations oI PSG
College oI Technology,
Coimbatore, India was held at
Chutney Mary restaurant in
Monmouth Junction, New Jersey
on Saturday May 7, 2011. The
gathering was attended by 50
alumni Irom various Iields oI PSG
College oI Technology. The alumni
came Irom Boston, Virginia,
Pennsylvania, New York and New
Jersey. Included were, the oldest
graduate Mr. Shanmugam Irom
1959 batch and the youngest grad-
uate Irom 2010 batch.
The meeting was presided by
visiting dignitaries oI PSG
Management Mr. G. Rangaswamy-
Managing Trustee, Mr. C. R.
Swaminathan - the ChieI
Executive, Dr. R. Rudramoorthy
Principal PSGCT, Dr P.
Radhakrishnan - Director,
PSGIAS, Dr. R. Nandagopal
Director, PGSIM, Dr. G.
Ranganathan - President, Alumni
Association, Dr R. Nadarajan,
Head/Maths & Computer
Applications, PSGCT, Dr A.
Kandaswamy, Head/Biomedical
Engineering, PSGCT.
The slide show presentation
highlighted various departments in
PSG College oI Technology and its
growth into an University accredi-
tation which will be honored upon
PSG next year. It emphasized the
importance oI PSG Tech Corpus
Fund, which will help in education
oI 200 deserving students every
year. The PSG Trust already helps
250 students each year Ior their
education.
Some oI the alumni honored by
Mr. Rangaswamy were - Mr. Jack
Poola Ior his donations to PSG
Tech, Mr. SampathKumar, Mr.
Marthuchala Moorthy, Mr. Selvam
and Mr. Vijay Ior planning the
meeting in New Jersey.
1he college's Managing 1rustee Mr Rangswamy presenting a plaque
to 1ack Poola (left) in recognition of his donation to PSC 1ech.
Mr C R Swaminathan Chief Executieve (in white) and Dr Radhakrishnan
Past Principal (in blue) with students
Mg 1rustee Mr Rangaswamy presenting a plaque to Sampath Kumar,
organizer of the event
Mg. 1rustee Mr. Rangaswamy presenting a plaque to
Selvam, master of ceremony
Dr Rudramurthy, Principal, speaking. Mg 1rustee and
Selvam are also seen in the picture.
1he alumni at the event
Vol. 4 | No. 24 | October 1-7, 2011 | 60 Cents
Bollywood 57 Spiritual Awareness 30 Astrology 59
NEW YORK EDITION
Nargis Dutt
foundation honors
seven at gala
Tristate Community,
Page 50
Manmohan puts
India on moral
high ground at UN
India at UN,
Page 7
Mahatma
Gandhi
you did not know
Gandhi Birth
Anniversary, Page 52
Behold the biggest
Diwali mela in
the world
Diwali Spl. Pullout,
Pages 17-48
US Affairs 11
Awlaqi kill major blow
to al Qaeda: Obama
Cash-strapped, America
considers asset sales
range of areas where we have shared
interests and cooperation, he said.
Meanwhile, in Pakistan, military
leaders and more than 50 politi-
cians representing 32 political par-
ties gathered at the residence of Prime
Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani Thurs-
day to discuss and reject outright the
charges made by Adm. Mike Mullen,
the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs
of Staff, about supporting miltiants.
US warns Pak Continued on page 6
Pak politicians reject charges of links to Haqqani network It involves selling an island, court-
houses, maybe an airstrip, generally
idle or underused vehicles, roads,
buildings, land even the airwaves
used to broadcast television.
Among the listings: Plum Island,
N.Y., off the North Fork of Long Is-
land, which the government has al-
ready begun marketing as 840 acres
of sandy shoreline, beautiful views
and a harbor.
Many conservatives includ-
ing Representative Paul Ryan of
Wisconsin, chairman of the House
Budget Committee, and the budget
experts at the Cato Institute sup-
port the broad idea of shrinking the
government by selling parts of it.
Democrats like the idea of virtually
painless revenue-raising. Whether
Congress can pass any bill in the
current atmosphere, however, is far
from certain, said New York Times.
Asset Sales Continued on page 6
The family of The South Asian Times wishes you all
A Happy Diwali and Prosperous New Year
Pakistans Army
chief, Gen. Ashfaq
Parvez Kayani with
the main opposition
leader, Nawaz Sharif,
on Thursday in
Islamabad.
Will act on our own against
terror, US warns Pakistan
US-born,
Yemen-based
Anwar
al-Awlaqi
the largest Diwali mela in the world,
or at least outside India, within three
months of being sworn in as Presi-
dentall because of thecharisma of
her dynamic and energetic personality.
Since the Diwali festival this year
comes 10 years after 9/11, and on
Gandhis birth anniversary, Ranju
has conceived Non-Violence in
Todays World as its theme. Her
agenda as President of AIA-NY,the
oldest Indian American orga-
nization in the country, is to bring
Indian and American cultures and
communities closer.
See Diwali Special Pullout
Pages 17-48.
AIA-NY President Ranju Batra
United Nations: As Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh left
New York earlier this week after a
five-day trip to New York, where
he participated almost entirely in
UN events, the focus of the world
body and its leaders--particularly
those from major powers--was
once again drawn to India's aspi-
rations and leadership qualities.
In his address to the 66th annual
session of the UN General
Assembly, Dr Singh highlighted
the need for expansion of the
Security Council and other
reforms in the world body. He
stated that New Delhi was ready
to help fill the gap in global gov-
ernance, ease financial crises and
put the UNs focus on internation-
al terrorism.
Among other measures, the
prime minister assured less-devel-
oped nations that India was ready
to help in their progress and make
efforts to strengthen friendship
with allies. On Palestine, which
could be the UN's 194th nation,
he articulated the need for its
admission as early as possible.
India was the first non-Arab
nation to recognize Palestine as a
sovereign country in the late
1980s.
In his statesman-like speech on
Sept 24, Dr Singh said, "We must
address the issue of the deficit in
global governance. We need a
stronger and more effective UN
that is sensitive to aspirations of
everyone--rich or poor, big or
small." He stated that the need for
UN reforms was urgent and steps
in this direction should be taken
with renewed vigor immediately.
Dr Singh visited New York/UN
after a gap of three years and
filled the vacuum left by his
absence since 2008. He voiced
concerns on behalf of all nations--
friends and foes alike. As he cele-
brated his birthday on flight back
home (he turned 79 on Sept 26),
after spending time with his fami-
ly the day before, Dr Singh
looked back to his just-concluded
visit with a degree of pride.
Though Pakistan was not men-
tioned by name, he advised it was
in the interests of every nation
that state-sponsored actors of ter-
ror should be reined in. This time
around, the number of bilateral
meetings he held was fewer in
accordance with officials' expla-
nations that the shortened visit
was planned because of domestic
issues.
In his bilateral meeting with
Iran, the prime minister promised
a visit to Tehran though no date
was announced. The anticipated
issues of nuclear energy and the
planned gas pipeline between the
two countries that passes through
Pakistan were not discussed.
Officials noted the parley was
based only on bilateral issues.
With Sri Lanka, no interference
was suggested. President Mahinda
Rajapaksa explained to Dr Singh
his nation's steps in resettling dis-
placed persons and the fisher-
men's issue over which a joint
working group proposal was dis-
cussed.
Though the issue of a law suit in
New York on alleged human
rights violations by Sri Lanka
came up, it was only in general
terms, as explained by Foreign
Secretary Ranjan Mathai.
On Japan, both prime ministers
reiterated that they would pursue
vigorously their efforts on UN
reforms, nuclear energy and coor-
dination with other G4 members
in various fields. It was also
agreed to continue efforts in the
nuclear energy area and the rele-
vant safety measures to be taken.
It was another warm meeting
with Prime Minister Baburam
Bhattarai of Nepal, who studied in
Chandigarh and New Delhi. The
focus again was on bilateral coop-
eration, with an emphasis on eco-
nomic relations. A visit to the
northern neighbor by Dr Singh
was also planned though no date
has been finalized. No specific
reference was made to the
Maoists problem in Nepal.
With regard to South Sudan,
helping the new-born nation in
various sectors was discussed
with President Salva Kiir.
Coperation in infrastructure, med-
ical, railway, hydrocarbon and
education was mulled. Vice
President Hamid Ansari represent-
ed India at the independence cele-
brations of the African nation,
which attained freedom in July.
PM highlights global issues at UN, builds on
ties in bilateral meetings
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with Iran's President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad (right) at a bilateral on the sidelines of UNGA session.
United Nations: Heads of state and govern-
ment generally highlight their own nations'
contributions and their personal achieve-
ments when they deliver speeches at interna-
tional forums. Indian leaders--from
Jawaharlal Nehru to Manmohan Singh--have
been no different. But this time somehow Dr
Singh delivered a rare speech at the UN
which is likely to merit attention for some
time to come.
In his speech, India did not canvass for a
permanent seat at the UN Security Council or
demand position on key committees; no
bashing of our western neighbor on such
issues as terrorism. Dr Singh sounded states-
man-like and forward-looking.
No wonder that the prime minister' s
speech received rare applause from the
august gathering.
India offered its own leader's expertise and
experience in economic and financial matters
to tackle the present-day global ills. By put-
ting no particular country on spot, New Delhi
called for international cooperation in com-
bating terror and emphasized the need to
carry out the long-cherished UN reforms.
Smaller and less developed nations--those in
Africa and elsewhere--were told that here is
an emerging market ready to help them in
their distress.
"Diplomats at the UN, burdened by the
weight of their national positions, do not
applaud statements by leaders of other coun-
tries except at the end of their speeches as
dictated by tradition. They rarely burst into
applause over an idea or a declaration as
nothing is taken at face value. Speeches are
for analysis in depth for new nuances in poli-
cy," retired UN envoy of India T.P.
Sreenivasan commented. "But they applaud-
ed Dr. Singh when he read out a short para-
graph on UN reform."
Undoubtedly, UN reforms are a crying
need as virtually all the 193 member states,
including the permanent members of UNSC,
agree on it. They differ only in the details.
Unsparing of himself, Dr Singh, architect
of Indias economic reforms, acknowledged
that globalization has not yielded anticipated
results, falling short of fulfilling basic needs
of the poor. India is home to 400 million who
cannot afford two square meals a day or liv-
ing on less than two dollars a day.
Palestine was issue No 1 at UNGAs just-
concluded session. India was the first non-
Arab nation to officially recognize it as a
sovereign nation--ahead of even Pakistan,
Bangladesh and Indonesia.
On neighbors, Dr Singh offered coopera-
tion with Pakistan on all fronts without any
hint of interference--a gesture reciprocated
by the Pakistani foreign minister in her
speech in which she did not refer to Kashmir
as an in international issue. Hina Rabbani
Khar only said the bilateral dialogue should
be allowed to continue. On Afghanistan, the
prime minister offered full assistance in its
reconstruction efforts.
A journalist who has specialized in India on
world stage described Dr Singhs speech as a
"landmark." He explained the PM skipping
community reception as a scheduling issue,
pointing that the visit was decided less than a
month ago, shortly after Anna Hazare's fast.
At a time of upheaval in domestic politics,
the UN visit came as a welcome relief to the
prime minister.
Meanwhile, foreign minister SM Krishna,
also visiting New York, was able to put India-
US relationship, said to be "drifting", on
track again. At a meeting with his US coun-
terpart Hillary Clinton, it was decided to hold
a series of meetings starting with a higher
education summit in mid-October in
Washington. The two nations' cooperation on
Afghanistan would also be intensified.
Krishna's presence at the Pakistani foreign
minister's reception was significant. Ms Khar
received him warmly. This was probably the
first time that an Indian foreign minister was
present at a reception, held on the sidelines of
the UN, given by his Pakistani counterpart.
Manmohan puts India on moral high ground
Statesman-like and forward looking, his speech gets rare applause at UN
India at UN 5
TheSouthAsianTimes.info October 1-7, 2011
Special to The
South Asian Times
6 Community
October 1-7, 2011
Mukherjee-Chidambaram patch
up comical, says BJP
Indian American doctor
charged with hiding
India accounts New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) Friday termed as comical Congress
leaders Pranab Mukherjee and P. Chidam-
baram denying any rift between them, and
said the latters role in the 2G spectrum al-
location should be investigated.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjees
statement that the March 25 note of the
fnance ministry does not represent his
views sounds comical, party spokesper-
son and general secretary Ravi Shankar
Prasad said.
Mukherjee Thursday gave a statement
that he did not endorse the views ex-
pressed in the March 25 note which said
Home Minister P. Chidambaram, who
Washington: An Indian American neuro-
surgeon has been re-indicted by a US grand
jury on new charges that he failed to declare
an HSBC bank account in India valued in
2009 at $8.7 million.
Arvind Ahuja was indicted again Wednes-
day by a federal grand jury in Milwaukee, Wis-
consin, where he was initially charged June 28
with willfully fling materially false tax returns
and four counts of failing to fle Reports of
Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts.
The court has added the charges of conspiracy
to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Dan Webb of Winston and Strawn, Chica-
go, the attorney representing Ahuja, said the
governments allegations are far off-base,
and he will continue to present a vigorous,
fact-based defense.
Dr. Ahuja is innocent of these allegations,
and we remain confdent that a jury will acquit
him of all charges, including the charges an-
nounced today, Webb said.
According to the superseding indictment,
Ahuja wire transferred and maintained mil-
lions of dollars in bank accounts in India and
the Bailiwick of Jersey at The Hongkong and
Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd. (HSBC).
In 2009, the HSBC bank account in India
had a balance of $8.7 million. The superseding
indictment alleges that Ahuja failed to report
these bank accounts to the IRS on his 2006-
2009 tax returns.
was fnance minister at the time, could
have stopped the 2G spectrum allocation
at throwaway prices if he had stuck to his
stand.
Who is Pranab Mukherjee to give a clean
chit to Chidambaram? Prasad asked.
I have great regards for Pranab Mukher-
jee, but he was forced to change his state-
ment, he said.
Prasad said it was not an internal matter
of the party and Chidambarms role should
be investigated.
Licenses could have been cancelled but
Chidambaram did not do so, he said.
He should resign and his role should be
investigated, he added.
Asset Sales Continued from page 3
Fire sales of unused government property
will not come close to closing the defcit, of
course, and there are plenty of bureaucratic ob-
stacles in the way even if Congress approves.
But the proposals could make a modest dif-
ference. With the government owning more
than a million properties, the sales possibili-
ties are plentiful, supporters say.
US warns Pak from page 3
More, anti-American protests by religious
parties broke out in several Pakistani cities
on Friday. Back in Washington, Carney said,
The relationship that we have with Pakistan
is complicated but very important, when
asked if ties with Islamabad were close to a
point of no return over recent spats.
They have been important allies, the
Pakistanis have been, in our fght against Al
Qaeda, and that fght continues. And we ex-
pect to have continued cooperation with the
Pakistanis on that.
Theres no question that we have disagree-
ments, complications in our relationship, and
we speak openly and candidly with our Paki-
stani counterparts about this, Carney said.
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4 National Community
August 13-19, 2011 TheSouthAsianTimes.info
But we certainly believe that the rela-
tionship is important enough, that the kind
of cooperation we get is essential to our na-
tional security and we need to continue it,
precisely so we can most effectively take
the fght to Al Qaeda and succeed in that
region, he said.
The US put on its terrorist list fve associ-
ates of the Haqqani network, a terror group
it says has got support from the Inter-Ser-
vices Intelligence (ISI) agency.
Announcing the sanctions Thursday on
the fve people allegedly linked to insur-
gency along the Afghanistan-Pakistan bor-
der, the US Treasury Department accused
them of collaborating with the most dan-
gerous terrorist organizations operating in
Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Among those targeted was Abdul Aziz
Abbasin, whom the Treasury Department
described as a key commander for the
Haqqani network.
Also blacklisted were Hajji Faizullah
Khan Noorzai, Hajji Malik Noorzai and
Abdur Rehman accused of providing fnan-
cial and material support to the Taliban, and
Fazal Rahim, alleged fnancial facilitator
for Al Qaeda as well as the Islamic Move-
ment of Uzbekistan.
Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of
the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said last week
that the Haqqani network is a veritable
arm of the ISI and was involved in a Sep-
tember truck bombing in Wardak province
that wounded 77 NATO troops and killed
fve Afghans.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee (left)
and Home Minister P. Chidambaram.
The White House fgures it could raise up to
$22 billion over the next decade, though there
are plenty who doubt the government could
raise anywhere near that amount. More than
80 percent of that fgure might come from the
auction of public airwaves now dedicated to
broadcast television which the Obama admin-
istration believes can be better used for wire
less broadband.
The idea behind that plan is to reclaim and
sell a public asset that previously was given
away. But it also could generate some seri-
ous opposition from the nations broadcasters,
which have a powerful lobby. The other $4
billion would come from selling buildings and
property. The Pentagon and the Postal Service
have both sold buildings and generated a lot
of cash. Sales of 350 closed military installa-
tions have produced $1.5 billion over the last
20 years, according to the Congressional
Budget Offce.
The Postal Service raised $180 million from
the sale or lease of properties last year alone,
and postal authorities have identifed an ad-
ditional 3,653 post offces for closure or con-
solidation. In New York, the historic Farley
Post Offce Building in Midtown Manhattan
was sold to New York State in 2002 for $230
million for potential use as a passenger train
terminal.
8 India at UN
October 1-7, 2011 TheSouthAsianTimes.info
United Nations: Declaring that India stands
ready to play its part in meeting global chal-
lenges from economic downturn to terror-
ism, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
sought key reforms at the UN and global
financial institutions.
"There cannot be any selective approaches
in dealing with terrorist groups or the infra-
structure of terrorism," Manmohan Singh
told the United Nations General Assembly as
he called for an unrelenting fight against ter-
rorism.
"Terrorism has to be fought across all
fronts," he said in his 21-minute address that
was greeted with allround applause.
"Terrorism continues to rear its ugly head
and take a grievous toll of innocent lives."
Manmohan Singh said: "In South Asia
there are encouraging signs of cooperation in
the area of security, as exemplified in India's
cooperation with Bangladesh."
Calling upon the UN to once again
embrace the principles of internationalism to
meet the global challenges, he said: "We
have no choice but to meet these chal-
lenges."
"We will succeed if we adopt a cooperative
rather than a confrontationist approach," he
said, seeking revitalisation of the UN
General Assembly and reforms and expan-
sion of the decision making Security Council
to "reflect contemporary reality".
"More importantly, we will succeed if our
efforts have legitimacy and are pursued not
just within the framework of law, but also
the spirit of law," Manmohan Singh said
asserting that actions taken under the author-
ity of the UN "must respect the unity, territo-
rial integrity, sovereignty and independence
of individual states".
Among the key challenges facing the
comity of nations, the prime minister identi-
fied a troubled world economy, terrorism,
social and political upheaval in West Asia
and North Africa, the still unresolved
Palestinian question and iniquitous growth.
To address what he called the "deficit in
global governance", Manmohan Singh called
for making the UN "stronger and more effec-
tive".
He also called for pursuing the reform of
governance systems of international institu-
tions with "speed and efficiency", saying
"we should not allow the global economic
slowdown to become a trigger for building
walls around ourselves through protection-
ism or erecting barriers to movement of peo-
ple, services and capital".
Noting that nuclear proliferation continues
to remain a threat to international security,
Manmohan Singh said the "action plan put
forward by (then) prime minister Rajiv
Gandhi provides a concrete road map for
achieving nuclear disarmament in a time
bound, universal, non discriminatory, phased
and verifiable manner".
Expressing the confidence that people's
faith in the UN Charter and objectives of the
United Nations "through statesmanship,
foresight and collective efforts", he declared
"India stands ready to play its part in this
noble endeavor".
Reform UN, join hands against terror: Manmohan
T
he world economy is in trou-
ble. The shoots of recovery
which were visible after the
economic and financial crisis of
2008 have yet to blossom. In many
respects the crisis has deepened
even further.
The traditional engines of the
global economy such as the United
States, Europe and Japan [ Images
], which are also the sources of
global economic and financial sta-
bility, are faced with continued eco-
nomic slowdown. Recessionary
trends in these countries are affect-
ing confidence in world financial
and capital markets.
These developments are bound to
have a negative impact on develop-
ing countries which also have to
bear the additional burden of infla-
tionary pressures.
...There has been unprecedented
social and political upheaval in
West Asia, the Gulf and North
Africa. People of these regions are
demanding the right to shape their
own future. Energy and food prices
are once again spiraling and intro-
ducing fresh instability, especially
for developing countries.
The Palestinian question still
remains unresolved and a source of
great instability and violence. India
is steadfast in its support for the
Palestinian people's struggle for a
sovereign, independent, viable and
united state of Palestine with East
Jerusalem as its capital, living with-
in secure and recognizable borders
side by side and at peace with
Israel. We look forward to welcom-
ing Palestine as an equal member of
the United Nations.
Terrorism continues to rear its
ugly head and take a grievous toll
of innocent lives. New threats to
international security have
emerged. At a time when the world
needs more international com-
merce, the sea lanes of communica-
tion across the Indian Ocean are
under siege. Acts of piracy are
being carried out with impunity
from lands that are beyond the writ
of any functioning state or interna-
tional accountability.
...We have no choice but to meet
these challenges. We will succeed if
we adopt a cooperative rather than a
confrontationist approach. We will
succeed if we embrace once again
the principles on which the United
Nations was founded --internation-
alism and multilateralism.
...We must address the issue of
the deficit in global governance. We
need a stronger and more effective
United Nations. We need a United
Nations that is sensitive to the aspi-
rations of everyone - rich or poor,
big or small. For this the United
Nations and its principal organs, the
General Assembly and the Security
Council, must be revitalized and
reformed.
The reform and expansion of the
Security Council are essential if it is
to reflect contemporary reality.
Such an outcome will enhance the
Council's credibility and effective-
ness in dealing with global issues.
Early reform of the Security
Council must be pursued with
renewed vigour and urgently enact-
ed. We should not allow the global
economic slowdown to become a
trigger for building walls around
ourselves through protectionism or
erecting barriers to movement of
people, services and capital.
Effective ways and means must be
deployed to promote coordination
of macro economic policies of
major economies. The reform of
governance systems of international
financial institutions ought to be
pursued with speed and efficiency.
...Nuclear proliferation continues
to remain a threat to international
security. The Action Plan put for-
ward by Prime Minister Rajiv
Gandhi for a Nuclear-Weapon-Free
and Non-Violent World provides a
concrete road map for achieving
nuclear disarmament in a time-
bound, universal, non-discriminato-
ry, phased and verifiable manner.
...It is vitally important that
through our actions and deeds we
renew people's faith in the charter
and objectives of the United
Nations. I am confident we can do
this through statesmanship, fore-
sight and collective efforts.
India stands ready to play its part
in this noble endeavor.
Excerpts from PM's UN Speech
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh addressing the 66th session of the
United Nations General Assembly.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with Nepal PM Baburam Bhattarai
in a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the 66th UNGA Session.
Tristate Community 9
Aney Paul wins Democratic
Primary for NY Legislature
New York: Aney Paul, a registered
nurse in Nanuet in Rockland
County, New York, won the
Democratic primary for the District
14 seat in the New York legislature
Sept. 13.
The Indian American candidate
polled 670 ballots (59.29 percent),
easily besting small business owner
Hank Stewarts 431 votes (40.71
percent).
President of the New City Library
Board, Paul will face off in the
November election again against
Stewart, who ran on both sides of
the ballot in the primary. Stewart
beat his opponent in the
Conservative primary by nine votes
to two, and will run as a
Conservative and independent in
November.
The district has a large edge in
Democratic registration, so Paul will
be favored in the general election. A
nurse at Nanuet Hospital and mem-
ber of the Nanuet Rotary and
Nanuet Lions clubs, Paul has lived
in the town for 24 years. She and
her husband, Augustine, have three
children.
It feels good," Paul told the
Nanuet Patch. The first step is
over, but theres still more work to
do. Well work as a team and we
will win again."
Dr. V.J. Pradhan held the seat pre-
viously until his death two years
ago. Robert Jackson, who succeeded
Pradhan, endorsed Paul. Paul has a
nursing degree from Lady Harding
College in New Delhi, a bachelors
in health administration from St.
Josephs College in Brooklyn, N.Y.,
and a masters degree in public
health from New York Medical
College, Valhalla. She also has a
masters degree as a nursing/nurse
practitioner from Lehman College,
Bronx and is an adjunct professor at
Rockland Community College and
Dominican College.
Paul last ran for public office in
2009, when she narrowly lost the
race for a seat on the town council
in Clarkstown, N.Y.
Mick Jagger and A R
Rahman's SuperHeavy album
release party held in NYC
New York: On
Wednesday September
21, at a posh night club
in New York a grand
party was held to cele-
brate the release of the
SuperHeavy album cre-
ated by legends of the
music industry.
The music legends
walked the red carpet
and joined a very fes-
tive affair which lasted
till the wee hours of
the night. The who's
who of the music and
the recording industry was in atten-
dance.
The album was officially launched
on 20th of September by Universal
Republic Records.
Super Heavy is a collaboration of
five amazing legends of the music
industry, A. R. Rahman, Mick
Jagger, Dave Stewart, Joss Stone
and Damian Marley.
Sahara One covered the event
exclusively and will broadcast the
glimpses on its community news
program Your Voice on Saturday
October 1, 2011.
Share and Care to present a musical night with
Parthiv Gohil & Sadhana Sargam
New York: Share and Care Foundation is
holding its 29th Annual Gala to offer a little
Nostalgia on a soulful musical journey
with Bollywoods Parthiv Gohil and
Sadhana Sargam. Their performances are on
Saturday, October 22, at Branch Creek
Auditorium, Harleysville, PA and Sunday,
October 23, at New Jersey Performing Arts
Center (NJPAC), Newark, NJ. Proceeds
from the events will help in raising funds for
youth development and womens empower-
ment programs in rural India.
Established in 1982, Share and Care
Foundation (SCF) is a Paramus, NJ based
organization that supports womens and
youth development initiatives in India. SCF
is familiar to many for arranging used cloth-
ing drives for India in local communities.
Over the past three decades, their dedicated
volunteers and partners helped expand SCF
initiatives while maintaining low administra-
tive costs.
To date, donors have invested over
$65MM towards SCF growth and develop-
ment programs in Education, Skills building
& basic Healthcare. Over 3,500 slums and
rural communities have benefited from
SCFs contributions to programs like school
education, vocational training, skills
enhancement, micro-loans and wellness - all
leading to economic independence. Such
programs have been commended by notable
figures in the corporate and local communi-
ty. More recently, SCF has taken on the chal-
lenge of developing Educate to Graduate
(E2G), a program that puts brilliant but eco-
nomically challenged youth through college-
level courses in the Sciences.
The Educate to Graduate (E2G) program
currently supports 375 college-level stu-
dents. However, another 5,000 eagerly await
financial support. Each donation of $1,000
puts a student through college courses in the
Sciences for one year.
Seen in this picture (L to R): A R Rahman,
legendary singer Mick Jagger from Rolling
stones and Sudhir Vaishnav CEO
of Globosat Entertainment.
Bollywood singers Parthiv Gohil & Sadhana Sargam
Aney Paul
New York: It was a power-packed Manhattan
forum attended by many First Ladies and promi-
nent women of the world: from Michelle Obama
to Madame Zuma. While Prada met Versace and
Mysore silks at the First Ladies & Fashion 4
Development', the heart of the conference was
causes and fittingly, opened with a video mes-
sage from Art of Living Founder, Sri Sri Ravi
Shankar: "Fashions change because that is their
nature but mission stays. If all the women who
love fashion can take up a mission of develop-
ment of our planet, we will be able to give a bet-
ter world to our coming generations. His mes-
sage rang with the theme of the September 19th
event: Giving Back is the New Luxury.
A woman is the heart of a family. She brings
people together. So she is also the heart of socie-
ty. If she is empowered, there will be progress,"
said Bhanumathi Narasimhan, Director, Women
Empowerment and Child Care Projects of The
Art of Living. Speaking at the session on
'Women Connect for Health - Connecting the
Dots for the health MDGs and NCDs' ,
Bhanumathi who is also the sister of Sri Sri, fur-
ther said: "I was shocked to learn that 30 percent
of women are suffering from depression all
around the world. Spirituality is necessary now.
Spirituality, according to me, is caring for each
other, having a sense of belongingness and a
sharing attitude. The conference, organized by
Advanced Development For Africa (ADA), The
United Nations Digital Health Initiative, The
ITU Women Network in ICT (WITNET), drew
attention to the role of fashion in creating eco-
nomic growth in developing countries.
Prominent ladies present at the occasion were
Ms. Cherie Blair, Founder and Chairperson,
Cherie Blair Foundation for Women; Ms. Geena
Davis, Founder, Geena Davis Institute on
Gender in Media; H.E. Jeanette Kagame, First
Lady, Republic of Rwanda; H.E. Geri Benoit,
Former First Lady of Haiti, Ambassador to Italy
for Haiti; H.E. Madame Zuma First Lady of
South Africa; H.E. Sandra Saakashvili-Roelofs,
First Lady of Georgia; H.E. Baldwin Spencer,
Prime Minister of Antigua
First Ladies of the world get a dose
of Art of Living
New York: 10 years after, the
one thing that is obvious is that
after all the tragedythe build-
ing of partnerships and the
building of collaborations in
the (New York City) communi-
ties has been remarkable, said
Commissioner of Immigrant
Affairs, Fatima Shama while
addressing a Community
Forum: 10 Years after 9/11 that
was organized by South Asian Council for Social
Services (SACSS) on September 19. In talking
about her personal experiences as a Muslim New
Yorker, Commissioner Shama exuded a sense of
continued healing that the community members in
attendance related to. Sudha Acharya, the execu-
tive director of SACSS, welcomed and invited the
gathered to honor the victims of 9/11 and their
families with a moment of silence and continued to
discuss the effects of 9-11 on the South Asian com-
munity in particular. In emphasizing the signifi-
cance of the 10-year-anniversary as a time for
reflection, Acharya set the tone for the participants
to share their experiences and
concerns by asking, What have
the last 10 years been like and
where do we go from here?
Susan Tanenbaum, Special
Assistant to the Queens Borough
President on Immigrant Affairs,
talked about the vital services
which bring immigrant communi-
ties together such as the
Immigration Task Force compris-
ing several non-profit organizations. She also
spoke of her upbringing as the daughter of a
Holocaust survivor, which helped her understand
the needs of a community marred by tragedy.
The assembled community members of various
ethnicity and religions expressed the need for such
conversations. Questions raised were, How do
we have a conversation with our kids about what
we have learnt? How do we pass it on to our kids
and bring up leaders? In discussing various path-
ways of promoting tolerance and bringing commu-
nities together, school tolerance policies were at
the forefront.
Fatima Shama speaks at SACSS
9/11 Community Forum
(L to R) Commissioner Fatima
Shama and Sudha Acharya,
Executive Director of SACSS
10 National Community
Rate of visa H1B
application rejection
increasing: India to US
Kal Parekh makes primetime
debut with Pan Am
Washington, DC: India conveyed
its concern to the US over the
increasing number of rejections of
the H1B visa applications of profes-
sionals, especially in the IT sector,
who need these permits for execu-
tion of temporary onsite contracts.
The point was highlighted by vis-
iting Commerce and Industry
Minister Anand Sharma at the CEOs
Forum here.
He said, "Uptake of H1B visas
this year has been less than half of
annual prescribed limit and the
rejection rates have gone up."
Underscoring the importance of
free movement of professionals, he
also asked for early signing of the
India-US Totalization
Agreement.Under the pact, an expa-
triate in either country need not con-
tribute to social security schemes of
the host country.
The forum comprises top CEOs
from both sides and is co-chaired by
Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata on
the Indian side and Honeywell
Corporation CEO David M Cote
from the US.
Referring to simplification of pro-
cedures for investing in India,
Sharma said all the policy norms
have been consolidated into a single
document.
He assured the CEOs that India is
committed to continuous improve-
ment of its business and investment
environment.
The minister also invited US
investors to establish National
Investment and Manufacturing
Zones and urged the CEO forum to
suggest global best practices for the
proposed townships. Meanwhile, in
a meeting with US Trade
Representative Ron Kirk, Sharma
discussed ways to strengthen the
growing bilateral trade and invest-
ment relationship, including through
more active engagement under the
US-India Trade Policy Forum
(TPF).
New York: Indian American actor
Kal Parekh will join the crew -
which includes the likes of Christine
Ricci, Kelli Garner, Michael
Mosley, and Mike Vogel - of ABCs
primetime series Pan Am.
Essaying a new phenomenon that
was sweeping the nation and the
globe about 40 years ago, Pan Am
chronicles the heyday of one of the
worlds most popular airlines at a
time when air travel was on the
verge of becoming an integral, effi-
cient, affordable, and safe way to
connect people to the cities of the
world.
Parekh plays a navigator named
Sanjeev, back then, an integral
member of the cockpit crew who
served alongside the pilot and co-
pilot. Set in the 1960s, it is promised
to be as majestic a show on televi-
sion as the airline, formally known
as Pan American World Airways.
Born and raised in northern New
Jersey, Parekh auditioned for the
role earlier this year. During pilot
season, Parekh was informed of Pan
Am casting auditions and decided to
give it a shot.
He made his acting debut as the
lead role in the Hindi film Khel
Shuru. Moving on to other films
such as Karma Road, Parekh quick-
ly realized acting was the career for
him.
A graduate of the School of Visual
Arts with a degree in Animation,
Parekh hopes Pan Am will indeed be
around long enough for him to fully
explore his character and further
establish himself as a solid actor.
2000 attend NATA Roju celebrations in NJ
New Jersey: North American Telugu Association
(NATA) conducted NATA ROJU celebrations in a grand
scale at Royal Albert Palace in Edison. The event rocked
with over 2000 people coming in at 5.00 PM and staying
back until 1.30 AM next morning. It was community fun
filled event with local talent performances and Tollywood
artists performances. Anuj, Kousalya and Raghu Kunche
rocked the stage with electrifying performances.
Vamsipriya and Raghunath also performed. Ramesh
Chandra, Regional Vice President, NATA said this is one
of a kind event and reiterated NATAs commitment to the
Telugu community and its culture. The local talent per-
formances that were mind blowing were continued for
over three hours. Over 200 children and young adults par-
ticipated in the performances from the following dance
schools/teachers and independently. Later the NATA
board and officers including the Advisory committee
member Dr. Pailla Malla Reddy, President AVN Reddy
among others were introduced to the crowd by Mahender
Musuku. The president announced that NATAs first con-
ference will be held in Houston in 2012 and invited
everyone to attend it.
Washington, DC: Three distin-
guished scientists of Indian-origin
-- two inventors and a researcher -
figure in a celebrated White House
honors list this year, underscoring
India's continued contribution to
American science and technology
streams. Two of them are IIT-ians,
alumni of the academically elite
Indian Institute of Technology.
New York University's Srinivasa
SR Vardhan, Purdue University's
Rakesh Agarwal, and North
Carolina State Univeristy' s B
Jayant Baliga are among the select
dozen named by President Obama
to receive the National Medal of
Science, and for Technology and
Innovation, the highest honor
bestowed by the US government
on scientists, engineers and inven-
tors.
"Each of these extraordinary sci-
entists, engineers, and inventors is
guided by a passion for innova-
tion, a fearlessness even as they
explore the very frontiers of
human knowledge, and a desire to
make the world a better place,"
Obama said in a statement on
Tuesday following the release of
the honors list. "Their ingenuity
inspires us all to reach higher and
try harder, no matter how difficult
the challenges we face." The
recipients will receive their awards
at a White House ceremony later
this year.
Steve Jobs, Gordon Moore,
David Packard and Dean Kamen
are among the legends who have
won the technology medal, while
several science medal recipients
have gone on to win the Nobel
Prize.
Srinivasa S.R. Varadhan, an
alumnus of Presidency College,
Chennai and Indian Statistical
Institute, Kolkota, won the award
for his work in probability theory,
especially his work on large devia-
tions from expected random
behavior, which has revolution-
ized this field of study during the
second half of the twentieth centu-
ry and become a cornerstone of
both pure and applied probability.
The mathematical insights he
developed have been applied in
diverse fields including quantum
field theory, population dynamics,
finance, econometrics, and traffic
engineering, the White House said
in its citation.
Rakesh Agarwal, an alumnus of
IIT Kanpur, was awarded the
National Medal of Technology and
Innovation for "an extraordinary
record of innovations in improving
the energy efficiency and reducing
the cost of gas liquefaction and
separation.
These innovations have had sig-
nificant positive impacts on elec-
tronic device manufacturing, liq-
uefied gas production, and the
supply of industrial gases for
diverse industries," the citation
said.
B.Jayant Baliga, an alumnus of
IIT Chennai, won in the same cat-
egory for development and com-
mercialization of the Insulated
Gate Bipolar Transistor and other
power semiconductor devices that
are extensively used in transporta-
tion, lighting, medicine, defense,
and renewable energy generation
systems.
Three Indian-origin scientists among
12 White House honorees
Srinivasa SR Vardhan Rakesh Agarwal B Jayant Baliga
Kal Parekh
US Affairs 11
Perry still at top but Romney stronger vs. Obama: Poll
White House reiterates: US always reviewing aid to Pakistan
Washington: Despite his per-
formances in the two most recent
Republican presidential debates, a
new national survey indicates that
Texas Gov. Rick Perry remains on
top of the field in the race for the
GOP nomination.
A CNN/ORC International Poll,
however, indicates that former
Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney
does better than Perry in hypothet-
ical 2012 general election
matchups against President
Obama. According to the survey
released Monday, 28 percent of
Republicans and independents
who lean towards the GOP say
they support Perry as their party's
presidential nominee, with
Romney at 21 percent. Former
House Speaker Newt Gingrich is
at 10 percent. Sarah Palin is at
seven percent and Rep. Michele
Bachmanns numbers have slid to
4percent.
The poll was conducted Friday
through Sunday, after last
Thursday' s debate in Orlando,
Florida. Pundits and analysts rate
Perry's performance in that debate,
and in a debate a week and a half
earlier in Tampa, Florida, as
uneven. Perry' s distant second
showing at a much-watched straw
poll of Florida GOP activists this
past weekend may be a reflection
of his debate performances, and
his stance on illegal immigration
and border security, which were
spotlighted in both debates.
According to the poll, the presi-
dent's overall approval rating, at
45 percent, is essentially
unchanged since July. Fifty-two
percent of all Americans disap-
prove of his job performance to
date.
The 2012 election will not be an
up-or-down vote on Obama, but
rather a choice between the presi-
dent and another candidate, so
head-to-head match-ups against
the top GOP candidates are a bet-
ter test of Obama' s electoral
strength.
The survey indicates that
Romney fares best against Obama.
It's basically all tied up with 49
percent for Obama and 48 percent
for Romney in a hypothetical two-
way match-up. According to the
poll, Obama holds a five point
margin over Perry, 51 percent to
46 percent.
Denver: White House spokesman Jay
Carney says US aid to Pakistan is always
under review and cautioned Pakistan to
address possible links between its govern-
ment and militants from Afghanistan.
Carney says his remarks about assistance
to Pakistan arent a new warning but a reit-
eration of the Obama administrations posi-
tion. Carney made his remarks to reporters
on Air Force One as President Barack
Obama flew to Denver.
Following attacks in Kabul, the Afghan
capital, that targeted Americans in the past
two weeks, US officials have ramped up
their public comments alleging the Pakistani
government backs the Haqqani network, an
affiliate of the Taliban that is believed to be
behind the assaults.Pakistani officials have
vigorously denied the claim, creating new
strains with the US.
Obama faces Titanic struggle'
Manchester, NH: President
Obama's chief political adviser on
Tuesday conceded that a dark
cloud looms over the American
economy and Obama's political
future, describing the president's
road to a second term in the White
House as "a Titanic struggle."
"We have the wind in our face
because the American people
have the wind in their faces,"
David Axelrod told an audience
of New Hampshire politicians and
business leaders. "So this is going
to be a Titanic struggle. But I
firmly believe we're on the right
side of the struggle."
But even as he acknowledged
the stark political reality, Axelrod
said the president would ultimate-
ly win re-election, in part because
of the flawed field of Republican
candidates. He characterized their
plans to repair the nation's ailing
economy as the same kind of
deregulation and tax cuts that
caused the downturn in the first
place.
"This isn't new wine and old
bottles. This is old wine and old
bottles," Axelrod said.
He also assailed Republican
contenders, former Massachusetts
Gov. Mitt Romney and Texas
Gov. Rick Perry, in an interview
with The Associated Press.
John Perry and Mitt Romney: top 2 GOP presidential hopefuls
12 India Newswire
'Chidambaram hasn't committed any crime'
New Delhi: The Congress-led
UPA government is putting its
best foot forward to sort out the
controversy created by a Finance
Ministry note suggesting that the
then Finance Minister P
Chidambaram could have pre-
vented spectrum from being given
away at throwaway prices, by
insisting on its auction.
The Centre is expected to put a
strong legal defense in favor of
Chidambaram in the apex court on
a petition filed by Janata Party
chief Subramanian Swamy, seek-
ing a CBI inquiry against
Chidambarams role in the 2G
spectrum scam.
In a fresh development, Union
Minister Pranab Mukherjee wrote
to Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh and Sonia Gandhi explain-
ing the ministerial note. As per
reports, he made it clear that the
note did not suggest any criminal-
ity or indictment of P
Chidambaram during his stint as
finance minister.
It has been learnt that
Mukherjee also stressed on the
fact that the Prime Minister' s
Office was kept in the loop about
the note and even gave inputs for
it. The Finance Minister's letter
also gave a detailed explanation
over the sequence of events that
led to the note on 2G being made.
Amid growing concern within
the government as well as the
Congress party about the political
fallout of the 2G note controversy,
Chidambaram yesterday met
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan
Singh.
This was the first meeting
between the two after the latest
controversy suggestive of a tussle
between two senior ministers of
the UPA government became pub-
lic.
Importantly, UPA chief Sonia
Gandhi and Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh have strongly
backed Chidambaram. The PM
has stressed that he has no doubt
about the integrity of his Home
Minister.
The Centre is expected to put a strong legal defense in favor of
Chidambaram in the apex court on a petition filed by Janata Party chief
Subramanian Swamy.
Cash-for-votes: Amar's bail plea rejected
New Delhi: Rajya Sabha MP and
former Samajwadi Party leader
Amar Singh's bail plea was reject-
ed by a Delhi court in the 2008
cash-for-votes scandal. He will,
however, continue to stay in hos-
pital where he is being treated for
a kidney-related ailment.
Special Judge Sangita Dhingra
Sehgal rejected both his pleas for
regular and interim bail. The
judge also said that he would stay
in the All India Institute of
Medical Sciences as long as the
doctors thought this to be neces-
sary.
"The accused is stable but
requires monitoring. I leave it to
the good judgment of these spe-
cialists and super specialists at
AIIMS to decide the period for
which the accused is to be kept
under observation," the judge said
while pronouncing the order.
Saying that Singh played a
major role in the scam, the court
rejected the 55-year-old leader's
bail plea saying: "From the mate-
rial available on record it appears
prima facie that there are fingers
which point that the accused
played a major role in the entire
episode which came to light July
22, 2008there is no need to dis-
cuss the evidence threadbare and
elaborate the same further touch-
ing the merits of the case as it may
prejudice the case of the accused."
"The nature and gravity of the
accusations against the accused
cannot be lost sight of and for the
foregoing reasons I decline the
grant of regular bail to the
accused," the court added.
"The accused has been named in
an incident which showed desper-
ate depths to which certain politi-
cal functionaries and parties
stooped and the exposures repre-
sent a gross moral degeneration
which disgrace the sacrosanct of
parliament democracy," the court
noted. Appearing for Amar Singh,
senior advocate Hariharan had
pressed his bail on medical
grounds, saying that the leader is
not well and is suffering from var-
ious ailments.
The court said his condition can
be monitored in AIIMS.
Amar Singh was arrested on September 6 for his alleged involvement in
an attempt to bribe MPs ahead of the July 2008 parliament trust vote.
Hyderabad: With the movement
for Telangana gathering steam, 32
MLAs from the region belonging to
main opposition TDP resigned from
the state assembly in support of the
demand for a separate state.
It is for the second time that the
TDP MLAs have sought to quit their
seats in the legislature to press fo r
Telangana statehood after the
Speaker rejected their resignations
in July. The MLAs handed over
their resignations to the Secretary of
the House S Raja Sadaram as
Speaker Nadendla Manohar was not
available. The TDP legislators from
Telangana held a meeting here this
morning and decided to put in their
papers afresh and even wanted the
Congress MLAs from the region to
quit with them.
Sources in the party said, they
waited in the Telugu Desam
Legislature Party office for more
than six hours for the Congress
MLAs to join them, but when
nobody turned up, they submitted
their resignations without their com-
pany.
However, TDP MLA from
Kamareddy Gampa Govardhan did
not accompany them.
32 TDP MLAs from
Telangana resign
It is for the second time that the TDP MLAs have sought to quit their
seats in the legislature to press for Telangana statehood after the
Speaker rejected their resignations in July.
Omar fears rise in J&K militancy
Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said
he was worried that the hanging of
parliament attack convict Afzal
Guru could revive militancy in the
state.
"I have to be concerned about the
hanging of Afzal Guru. It has
implications not just for the state
but for the centre too," he told a
news channel.
He noted that a generation of mil-
itants was born in Kashmir follow-
ing the execution of Jammu and
Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF)
leader Muhammad Maqbool Bhat
in 1984."I cannot and will not for-
get that an entire generation of mil-
itants was born because of the
hanging of Maqbool Bhat. I have to
be concerned that Afzal Guru' s
hanging can once again revive mil-
itancy at a time when it is down,"
Abdullah said.
"I am not in favor of the death
penalty. It has not served as a deter-
rent for either murders or terror-
ism," he said.
The state assembly was set to
debate the resolution seeking
clemency for Afzal Guru but that
did not happen due to disruptions.
Abdullah also questioned the
policies of some political parties on
similar issues like clemency for
people on death row.
"While it is okay to ask clemency
for Rajiv Gandhi's killers and while
it is okay also to ask mercy for
(Khalistani terrorist Devinder Pal
Singh) Bhullar, why is it wrong for
J and K to even discuss and debate
clemency? Is it because Afzal Guru
is a Kashmiri Muslim?" he asked.
He also questioned why Jammu
and Kashmir is constantly called
upon to prove that they are a part of
India when no other state is asked
to do the same."Death sentences
should satisfy legal needs, not pub-
lic perception," he said, adding that
death sentence only converts con-
victs into martyrs.
The chief minister also questioned why Jammu and Kashmir is
constantly called upon to prove that they are a part of India
when no other state is asked to do the same.
14 India Newswire
Modi ends fast on upbeat note
Ahmedabad: Gujarat Chief Minister
Narendra Modi ended a three-day fast assert-
ing that he was the first leader in six decades
of independent India to deliver genuine good
governance.
Addressing thousands at the Gujarat
University hall here, Modi repeatedly harped
on the widely acclaimed economic progress
Gujarat has made since he became chief
minister a decade ago.
In the process, but without taking anyone's
name, he insisted that no other government
in India had achieved what he had by trans-
forming Gujarat into an economic power-
house.
Modi gave no credit to his Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) or any of his colleagues
for the Gujarat success story that has been
noted both in India and abroad, including by
the World Bank.
But even as the fast for promoting amity
ended, it was clear that the purpose had not
been achieved. Both BJP critics and leading
Muslim leaders accused Modi of trying to
cover up his role in the 2002 riots of Gujarat.
Lucknow-based Shia scholar Maulana
Kalbe Jawaad asked Modi that if he wanted
to be pardoned simply by staging a fast,
whether the same treatment could be extend-
ed to Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab if he
too fasted.
Kasab is the only one of 10 Pakistani ter-
rorists who was captured after the 2008 ter-
ror attack in Mumbai that left 166 people
dead and almost sent India and Pakistan to
war.
"Modi's crime cannot be condoned because
he observes a fast. I appeal to all Muslims
and Hindus to simultaneously observe 'roza'
and 'upvas' (fast) seeking divine intervention
to ensure punishment for the man responsi-
ble for the killing of innocent Muslims in
Gujarat," he said.
In his nationally televised speech, Modi
took a swipe at his own political tribe, saying
most politicians were only keen to win the
next election.
"This is how politicians work. They are
swayed by vote bank politics. This is how
programmes are made," he said in chaste
Hindi.
"This is how 60 years have been spent.
Gujarat has come out of this (model). We
will not run a government only to win elec-
tions. Today we have shown the real path of
development."
Seated on the stage were BJP leaders
Sushma Swaraj and M. Venkaiah Naidu,
who heard the comment with blank expres-
sion on their faces. Others on the stage
included Hindu and Muslim religious lead-
ers.
And although Modi did not speak about his
widely speculated national ambitions, he
sought to underline what had gone wrong
with India and its leaders.
India and Indians, Modi complained, had
stopped dreaming.
"This is the root of all our problems. China
has big dreams, America has big dreams..."
A little later, he emphasized how different
he was from all other politicians and govern-
ments India had seen. The chief minister said
he too could have run a government in a
"routine manner".
"Others made roads, we too could have
(been satisfied by making) roads. Others
built hospitals, we too could have built hos-
pitals...
"We did not think that way. We decided to
bring about changes. We decided to awaken
our energy... Uniting the people with devel-
opment programmes was my only mantra."
His mantra, he said, was to involve people
in development schemes and to usher in a
new work culture. "The mood of desponden-
cy in the county has been changed by
Gujarat," he said. "What people say is
impossible (elsewhere in India), Gujarat has
made it possible."
Modi said his "Sadbhavana mission"
should not be seen from a political prism.
"My fast may have ended but my mission
has not."
He made no reference to the 2002 commu-
nal violence that engulfed Gujarat but
declared that his government did not frame
politics for "minorities" or the majority com-
munity.
"All my people are mine. All their sorrow
is mine. Their joy is mine. Their dreams are
mine."
Speaking after her arrival here, BJP leader
Sushma Swaraj said Modi's government was
not biased against Muslims. "Gujarat is a
state where there is no discrimination against
Muslims. No plan is made thinking whether
Hindus will benefit or Muslims," she said.
Muslim leaders greet Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi during his Sadbhavna fast at
the Gujarat University Convention Centre in Ahmedabad.
I correctly quoted Mehbooba
on Modi: Swaraj
New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader
Sushma Swaraj tweeted that she has "correctly quoted"
People's Democratic Party (PDP) leader Mehbooba
Mufti as praising Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra
Modi, which the Kashmiri politician has denied.
"I correctly quoted Ms. Mehbooba Mufti in
Ahmedabad yesterday," Sushma Swaraj tweeted after
Mufti's stout denial.
"I only quoted what she spoke in the presence of over
a hundred people in the afternoon session of the NIC
(National Integration Council) meeting on 10th
September," she said. "It was not a private conversa-
tion." Sushma Swaraj said in Ahmedabad: "Not just the
BJP supporters, even rivals like the PDP's Mehbooba
Mufti have praised Modi's work ethics at the recent
National Integration Council (NIC) meeting. This
makes us proud."
Mufti denied it, saying: "I have been misquoted say-
ing I praised Modi. I request the government of India to
release the text of my speech so that the record is set
straight." Mufti and Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister
Omar Abdullah are engaged in a slug-fest since Swaraj
in Ahmedabad revealed Mufti's praise for Modi.
New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) said the party's par-
liamentary board will decide if
the 2014 general elections would
be fought under collective lead-
ership or a prime ministerial can-
didate will be projected.
"The decision will be taken at
an appropriate time by the parlia-
mentary board. It will decide if a
leader is to be projected or not,"
said Leader of Opposition in the
Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj.
"When it is decided, you will
be informed," she said, adding
that though the party projects a
leader in assembly polls, it also
contests elections in states under
collective leadership. Sushma
Swaraj, who held a joint press
conference with party leader
Arun Jaitley, said there was no
tussle on the leadership issue.
There has been heightened
speculation about BJP's prime
ministerial candidate after
Advani last month announced his
plans to go on an anti-corruption
rath yatra and Gujarat Chief
Minister Narendra Modi went on
a sadbhavna fast earlier this
month. Both Sushma Swaraj and
Jaitley are seen as contenders for
the post.
BJP panel will decide
on PM candidate
Chief Minister Narendra Modi with Opposition
leader Sushma Swaraj in Ahmedabad.
Congratulations to
Accepting Applications For January 2012 Admissions
For her Dedication and Leadership in Community Services.
Association of India in America
President
New York
Mrs. Ranju Batra
19
Dear Friends,
It gives me great pleasure to welcome all of you to AIA-NYs 24th Annual Deep-
avali Festival at South Street Seaport in New York City on Oct 2, Mahatma Gandhis
birth anniversary. Ten years ago, on 9/11, we suffered a most cowardly attack upon
our nation and collective soul. India has suffered many terror attacks as well, includ-
ing one oI the most horrinc attacks on November 26, 2008--India`s so-called 26/11.'
The United States and India have many common goals and philosophies, which join
us together, including our belief in democracy, human rights, the rule of law, and our
nght against terror. Remembering the Father oI India on Oct 2, we cannot pass up
the opportunity to remind everyone of the potential of diplomacy and non-violence
in todays world.
As we are celebrating Diwali, observed in Hinduism, Sikhism, and Jainism and represents light' over darkness,' good' over
evil,' and a Happy New Year,' let me take a moment to discuss our Diwali Iestival. AIter more than 20 years, Diwali in New York
has become AIA`s internationally-recognized agship event, proudly carrying the baton aIter FIA`s world-Iamous India Day Parade in
August. Our nrework show at the event lights up the night`s sky over East River, seen by millions oI New Yorkers in Manhattan, Staten
Island, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx. When Comptroller John Liu was chair of NYC Councils Transportation Committee, I am happy
to note that I supported Public Advocate Bill de Blasio and Assemblyman David Weprin, then council members, along with Speaker Christine
Quinn in their necessary leadership to override a veto to establish a Diwali Parking holiday in New York. Now, I am delighted to tell you that
our dear Iriend, Rep. Carolyn Maloney, is spearheading the creation oI a Diwali Stamp. While I am president oI AIA-NY, we will give it our
complete support, and unabashedly, I ask all of you for your support.
With many thanks, I recognize the presence of our extraordinary dignitaries, important sponsors and friends. In recent history, we
have witnessed India becoming a warm friend of the US: Dr Manmohan Singh as the First State Guest; India winning a near-unanimous
vote Ior the Security Council rotational seat due to the amazing Amb. Hardeep Singh Puri; Nirupama Menon Rao, aIter having dis-
tinguished herselI as Foreign Secretary, being appointed as India`s Ambassador to the US; Lakshmi Puri being appointed as Assistant
Secretary General oI UN Women; and Consul General Prabhu Dayal, aIter being ambassador to Morocco, continuing his unparalleled
outreach to strengthen the bonds between the two nations and people.
In addition, Rep. Gary L. Ackerman and Senator Chuck Schumer, along with Reps. Joe Crowley, Eliot Engel, Greg Meeks, Carolyn
Maloney and Ed Towns, to name a Iew, have caused greater mutual respect-based relationship between India and America. Not to be
outdone, New York`s Iormer Governor David Paterson, Senate Leader John Sampson and Assembly Speaker Shelly Silver have added
strength. I would be remiss in not acknowledging my husband, Ravi`s liIelong eIIorts in this regard. Success is a team eIIort, and that
includes my Executive Committee, past presidents,and sponsors. I `m grateIul to Air India Ior continuing to sponsor the nreworks, as
well as other sponsors, includingStar TV, McDonald`s, Incredible India, PepsiCo, Bank oI India, New York LiIe, Bank oI Baroda, Advanced
Research Foundation, State Bank oI India, Sahara One, India Abroad, The South Asian Times, News India Times and Desi Talk, TV Asia, ITV,
JusPunjabi, Indian Express, and Indian Panorama, among others...
Diwali has come a long way, and has become a rite of passage in New York City. So to each and every one of you, I wish you and your
loved ones a very happy, safe, healthy and joyous Diwali!
Ranju Batra
President, AIA-NY
Ranju Batra
What is AIA
Message from AIA-NY President
Objectives
T
he Association of Indians in Amer-
ica (AIA) is the oldest association
of Indians in America. The Asso-
ciation was Iounded in August 1967.
The NY chapter has members from all
over the tri-state region. It prides itself on
being completely secular and open, with
members representing all regions and reli-
gions of India, as well as of varied profes-
sions, backgrounds and occupations.
AIA-NY Chapter is a non-pront organiza-
tion which is involved in many community,
charitable and social events that embody the
spirit oI its members` and it`s motto, Indian
Heritage and American commitment'.
For the last 23 years, the agship event oI the
organization is its massive Deepavali Festival,
held at the South Street Seaport in New York
City. This festival is the most prominent and
well known festival of the Indian community
The AIA was formed with the follow-
ing objectives:
To promote the welfare of Asian Indi-
ans in the US and to address issues of inte-
gration with mainstream America.
To promote the image of India in the
US by showing its rich culture and tradi
tions through various events.
To encourage and facilitate the par-
ticipation of AIA members and others
in the development and progress of
India through charitable, cultural and
educational activities and to facili-
tate communication and co-operation
among the people of Indian heritage
worldwide.
20
Felicitations for AIA Diwali festival
Felicitations for AIA Diwali festival
In India, Diwali is the time for spring-cleaning of the house and to give it a fresh and bright new look with fancy decora-
tions. Every year on Diwali people give a fresh coat of paint to their house and decorate it with something traditional yet
trendy. There are a whole lot of traditional decorations associated with the festival of Diwali. These are being carried out
since ages and are enhanced every year with new ideas and techniques to suit modern tastes and requirements.
Bringing in good luck and festive spirit
Bandanwars, Torans or Wall
Hangings are a traditional deco-
rative for the festival of Diwali.
These help to give a festive
charm to the house. Usually
people put up door-hangings
embellished with embroidery,
bells or mirrors on the main
entrance door of the house and
also the door of their worship room to welcome Goddess
Lakshmi. Hang up a bell at the entrance to your house. Let
the visitors ring it instead of the electric door-chime. The
naturally melodious tone gives every arrival that "puja-fes-
tive" feeling. Diwali Toran are handcrafted and come embel-
lished with embroidery, bells, beads, mirror, shells, image of
Lord Ganesha etc. Torans are very much in vogue these days
and are the most fashionable Diwali decorative gifts.
Door Hangings:
To welcome
L a k s h m i
Mata or the
Goddess of
W e a l t h ,
women pre-
pare elaborate
Rangoli pat-
terns in front
of the court-
yards or the
entrance of the house. Rangoli is the colorful geometric pat-
tern prepared on the floor with colored sawdust, chalk, flour
or rice-grain. A lot of creativity and hard work goes into the
making of this beauty.
The beauty of Rangoli is further enhanced with the tradi-
tional Diwali earthen diyas.
Rangoli:
On the
Diwali morn-
ing, go to a
flower shop
or order suf-
ficient quan-
tity to adorn
your house.
The fra-
grance of the
flowers will
hold you
under a spell. Buy flowers in dozens- the choicest being
roses, lilies, jasmines and string them into garlands. It will
lend a spiritual enchantment to the pooja. Put some flowers
in glasses, pen-stands, glasses or almost anything that would
enhance the beauty of your house.
Flowers:
As Diwali is
the Festival
of Lights
people love to
add glamor to
their house
with an extra
bit of illumi-
nation. Hence,
d e c o r a t i v e
lamps are
quite popular.
These come in various materials ranging from simple rice
paper to glass, brass and marble. They are considered to be
an important Diwali decorations item as they turn a room
bright in an artistic manner. Diwali lamps are wonderful
gifts for those wishing to redecorate their house.
Decorative Lamps:
Innovative and attractive craft
items, beautifully decorated pooja
thalis are meant both for the home
and for gift giving. Pretty pooja
thalis are specially decorated for the
festive season of Diwali. Available
in lovely shapes, these Diwali Pooja
`Thalis' make for pretty festive
gifts. The range is wide, the price
varies with the commodity and the
quality is to be vouched for.
Embellished with beautiful designs
these pooja thalis helps one perform
Dipawali Pooja with great style and
grandeur. The Diwali Pooja Thali contains all the essential accessories for a pooja, a
bell, small katauri, a matka, an om coin and a leaf shaped tiny box to hold chawal. Idols
of Ganesh and Lakshmi, the great deities associated with wealth and prosperity, are also
included in the set. Pooja thali come in different shapes and sizes with varied decorated
motifs such as floral and animals like elephant, and can be crafted in a wide range of
metals from brass to silver and gold.
Pooja Thali
Diyas and candles are
an intrinsic part of
Diwali decorations.
People love to illuminate
every nook and corner of
their house with diyas
and candles that come in
interesting and artistic
designs on the occasion
of Diwali. The word,
Deepavali means rows
of lamps. The traditional
Diwali Diyas or lamps
have witnessed a
makeover in past few
years. Erstwhile they were the sole creation of the potters wheel but today they are
being handled by creative designers and craftsman who paint and turn diyas in innova-
tive shapes and pattern. Wax filled diyas are very much in demand as they are more con-
venient to use than the conventional oil ones. Brass and aluminum diyas are also quite
popular. These days one can find a variety of ready to gift Diyas sets in the market.
Diyas and Candles
Wall Hangings adorned with the image of Lord Ganesha
and Goddess Lakshmi are popular Diwali decorative items.
As the festival is a traditional, wall hangings with ethnic
touch are preferred over others. Embroidered cloth panels
too work wonderfully as a Deepavali decorative.
Wall Hangings:
As Lakshmi-
Ganesh Puja is
an intrinsic part
of the Diwali
F e s t i v a l ,
L a k s h m i -
Ganesh sculp-
tures and idols
are a very
i m p o r t a n t
Diwali decora-
tive item. These
come in interesting designs in various sizes to suit the varied
requirements of people. Brass and silver Lakshmi-Ganesh
decorative are popular as Diwali gift these days.
Laxmi Ganesh
Sculptures and Idols:
37 21
TH E CI T Y O F NE W YO R K
OF F I C E O F T H E MA Y O R
NE W YO R K , NY 1 0 0 0 7
October 2, 2011
Dear Friends:
It is a great pleasure to welcome everyone to the South Street Seaport once again for the
Association of Indians in Americas 24
th
Annual Diwali Festival.
New York continues to be a city of opportunity for people of all backgrounds, including
generations of men and women of Indian heritage. Indian immigrants and their children continue
to make invaluable contributions to New Yorks cultural and economic life, and we are proud to
join in celebrating this festival of lights central to the faiths of people across India, South Asia,
and the world. Every year, millions of our residents and visitors enjoy the Diwali fireworks, and
the theme of this years festival, Non-Violence in Todays World, offers a terrific chance to
reflect on everything our communities are doing to help build a more peaceful City.
On behalf of all New Yorkers, I offer my best wishes for a Happy Diwali!
Sincerely,

Michael R. Bloomberg
Mayor
I
n New York, thou-
sands of people
exposed to toxins fol-
lowing the September 11
tragedy are being treated
with Dr Pankaj Naram's
Ancient Secret herbal
supplements free of
charge. This is made pos-
sible through the "Serving
Those Who Serve" organ-
ization. Dr Naram's serv-
ices and herbal supple-
ments, offered at no cost,
have produced incredible
results that have been
documented in peer-
reviewed medical journal
research.
Within seconds of put-
ting his fingers on your
pulse, Dr Pankaj Naram
can tell you what is hap-
pening in your body,
mind and emotions.
"It also goes deeper into
the organs and gives you
the whole picture like an
X-Ray," says the doctor
who travels the world
treating over 100 people a
day.
Dr Naram runs clin-
ics in 15 countries on 5
continents, with people
coming from 108 coun-
tries. His Siddha Veda method is based on
ancient scriptures for the secrets of dis-
covering what is happening in the body,
mind and emotions. This method helps
people to live life full of energy and
vibrant health. Dr Naram states that his
methods are not for emergencies such as
heart attacks however, he has gotten very
good results with chronic health condi-
tions such as asthma, infertility, cancer,
diabetes, blood pressure, heart disease,
arthritis, kidney failure, obesity, slipped
disc, Crohn's Disease, osteoporosis, PMS,
depression, psoriasis, stroke, hair loss,
skin conditions, memory loss, chronic
fatigue syndrome as well as improving
immunity and quality of life in persons
who are HIV positive.
Dr Naram does not discount conven-
tional medicine but prefers to work in
conjunction with modern medicine. Dr
Naram's Ancient Secret treatments include
herbal supplements, diet, and ancient
"Marma Siddhi" techniques - technology
of transformation of body, mind, emotion
and soul. He is in his fifties and says that
30 years ago he was a balding, bespecta-
cled and overweight young doctor when a
patient told him about a 115 year old heal-
er, Baba Ramdas Swami, who practiced
just outside Bombay. Baba Ramdas was
seeing 80 to 90 patients a day and was
able to determine what was wrong with
the person in less than one minute. Dr
Naram wondered how this was possible
and decided to meet Baba Ramdas in per-
son. After meeting him, and eventually
studying under him, Dr Naram's life was
transformed. "He first broke my ego" says
Dr Naram. "Here we are not treating
patients; the patients are obliging us by
allowing us to treat them so that we get
enlightenment in the process." "It is like
meditation. It is my service to humanity."
Dr Naram became the head of the
Siddha Veda lineage after his teacher left
his body at 125. He has treated the Dalai
Lama and the late Mother Teresa with
whom he set up hospitals for stray dogs,
and a HIV clinic among others. Dr Naram
has received numerous International
awards and honors. On October 17th,
2010, the State of New Jersey and the
Honorable Former Governor Christine
Todd Whitman gave an award of recogni-
tion to Dr. Pankaj Naram, for his Ancient
Secret Formulas ability to so effectively
remove 9/11 Toxicity from the
FireFighters and other First Responders.
In India, several hundred HIV patients
are being treated free of charge, including
all the Ancient Secret herbal supplements
and testing.
Dr. Pankaj Naram has treated hundreds of New Yorkers
exposed to toxins following Sept 11 tragedy, free-of-charge
9/11 victims benefited from
ancient secrets of Dr Naram
The renowned Ayurveda/Siddha Veda expert will give
free consultation at Diwali mela
T
he East-West School of Dance
was founded in 1981 at Ananda
Ashram with the blessings of
Shri Brahmananda Sarasvati. Under
the direction of Pandit Satya Narayana
Charka, the School has been a pioneer
in North America especially in pre-
senting classical Indian Kathak Dance
and innovative dance dramas. Its
objective is to help achieve a deeper
understanding and harmony between
East and West for cultural and spiritu-
al enrichment, integrating traditional
and modern values through education
in the universal language of dance. Its
syllabus is based on the standards fol-
lowed by Indian dance institutions
such as Kathak Kendra in New Delhi
and Natya Institute of Kathak &
Choreography in Bangalore, also
incorporating the traditional Gurukula
educational system.
At present, Pandit S.N. Charka
offers regular Kathak classes at seven
teaching centers in the New York/New
Jersey area.
Pandit Satya Narayana Charka is a
distinguished Kathak dance per-
former, choreographer and teacher of
international acclaim. His gurus
include Pandit R.K. Shukla, Pandit
Shambhu Maharaj, Shrimati Maya
Rao and Pandit Birju Maharaj. Pandit
S.N. Charka has won many presti-
gious awards, including first place in
the All-India Dance Competition.
Over the last 35 years, he has present-
ed numerous traditional dance recitals
as well as dance dramas, bringing
myth to life for today's audiences.
The Ananda Ashram was founded in
1964 by Shri Brahmananda Sarasvati
(then Ramamurti S. Mishra, M.D.) as
the country center of the Yoga Society
of New York, Inc. It is also the loca-
tion of the International Schools of
East-West Unity (Gurukula), Inc.,
established by the Founder in 1992.
Topics of workshops, courses and
lectures offered include the various
aspects of Yoga, classical arts,
Sanskrit language and natural health.
East-West cultural performances high-
light summer weekends and special
celebrations. Guest teachers and
artists from a variety of traditions are
regular contributors. The Ashram phi-
losophy is nonsectarian with an
emphasis placed on self-awareness
and meditation.
Kathak exponent Pandit S N Charka
Dance drama Ramayan to be
staged at AIA-Diwali
The presenter, Pt Satya Narayana Charka heads East-
West School of Dance at Ananda Ashram, Monroe, NY.
22
T
he son of Bhangra icon
Amarjit Sidhu, Samar
started to learn tabla at
the tender age of 12. He discov-
ered a passion for singing a cou-
ple of years later, after meeting
the then newcomer Jaz Dhami,
as the budding star approached
Samars father for advice and
direction.
It was inevitable that a young
man like Jaz was going to be a
huge impact on the eager teenag-
er and as a result, Samar started
developing his own unique
sound. Samar has spent the past
two years creating music that
combines his love for Hindi,
Bollywood and of course
Bhangra and is now set to
release his first single
Mukhara.
The teenager says of his
music: I am really determined
for my music to be my own. Its
influenced and inspired by the
music and artists that I love and I
hope that audiences across the
world will like what I have cre-
ated. Its a reflection of my life
and my personality.
Mukhara is the first single to
be released from the Sidhu
camp, featuring three separate
mixes, including a Bhangra mix
by the chart topping Dark MC, a
Bollywood mix and a Club
Dance mix.
Samar continues: We had
great fun with Mukhara and
weve created three mixes for
different moods and tastes so
no excuse for anyone not to lis-
ten wherever they are and
whatever mood theyre in!
Samar has grown up surround-
ed by the best Asian music both
from the UK and the sub conti-
nent of India. With visitors to his
home including people like
Gurdas Mann and Sonu Nigam it
seems inevitable that he would
develop a passion for Asian
music.
Samar has just finished work
on 6 video' s which will be
shown on various Asian televi-
sion channels in the next few
months. His growing reputation
as an upcoming singer means
that Samar will be performing
live at events throughout the UK
and now even US.
3
Mix are on a mission to
bring Indian culture into the
mainstream. Uniting pop
influences such as Michael
Jackson, The Temptations and
Motown with tradition Indian
music, they are set to make it big.
Their debut single was "Put It On
Me".
Now they are out with their
brand new single Nachle.
Karim, Myan and Usman, more
commonly known as 3Mix, are
three Londoners who met while
auditioning for Andrew Lloyd
Webber's iconic musical Bombay
Dreams, but as destiny would
have it, their own dreams were
subsequently born.
Their new single Nachle fea-
tures talented singer/songwriter
Navin Kundra and is produced by
the acclaimed Mushtaq, who is
responsible for delivering hit
after hit for the likes of Amy
Whinehouse, Sugababes and
Raghav.
3Mix began turning heads after
winning the Best Unsigned Act at
the UK Asian Music Awards and
in 2008, coming off the back of a
successful national tour, landing
a single deal with major label
EMI, releasing their debut single
Put It On Me.
Having since toured several
countries in the last few years,
performing to thousands, they are
building a solid fan following
along the way.
Raising the entertainment quotient
UKs upcoming singer Samar Sidhu to perform at AIA Diwali fest
3Mix is a group of 3 Londoners named Karim, Myan and Usman.
S
how off your acting talent
for a chance to appear on
a Star India Plus
Primetime show
Star India Plus, well-known
for its dramatic serials, will give
two lucky contestants the
chance to appear on one of its
primetime shows.
The Western Union Main Bhi
Star Contest will offer contest-
ants a chance to audition for an
appearance alongside famous
actors on a popular Star India
Plus show.
One male and one female win-
ner will be flown to India to
appear on a show.
Auditions will take place on
October 2, 2011 at the AIA
Deepavali Festival at the South
Street Seaport in New York City.
To enter, participants can either
visit www.startv.com/usa or
visit the Star India Plus Booth
between 12 noon and 7p.m.
Eastern to fill out an application
form.
Star India Plus representatives
will be on site to provide scripts.
Contestants can also visit
www.startv.com/usa for audition
video and scripts. Contestants
will be auditioning opposite
actors from popular Star India
Plus shows, and two talented
winners will be chosen to fly to
India to appear on a Star India
Plus show.
Break into showbiz with
Main Bhi Star Contest
British Asian band 3Mix will
have crowds grooving
24
Cultural Performances
Bollywood Stage
25
AIA-NY President Ranju Batra has conceived
'Non-Violence in Today's World' as the theme of
the 24th AIA-NY Diwali Festival.
Dignitaries
After successfully staging the Diwali festival, the new AIA-NY President plans to take presentations and performances to
city schools to expose them to Indian culture and festivals, as well as induct young people into the organization.
Ranju Batra:
Bringing Indian and American cultures closer
By Parveen Chopra
R
anju Batra was inaugurated as Pres-
ident of the Association of Indians
in America (New York Chapter) at
an impressive event at the Indian Consulate
in New York in June 2011, and she prom-
ises that AIA-NYs fagship Deepavali Fes-
tival this year too will be impressive, better
than before, no matter that she has been at
the helm of the organization only for a little
more than three months.
Her confdence stems from many factors.
A very active member of the AIA, Ranju has
been its Cultural Chair for 10 years and has
played a crucial role in organizing various
AIA events like the Diwali program at South
Street Seaport in Manhattan. I have also
known most past presidents and have their
vast experience to beneft from. I am proud of
my committee too as everybody is working
hard to make the event successful, she says.
Besides AIA, Ranju has had a long-standing
foundation in different social and charitable
causes. Not to forget that as a paralegal she
has been Administrator for the successful Law
Firm of Ravi Batra, founded by her husband,
an eminent attorney known for his intellectual
ability in legal, political and and public policy
spheres. Ranju has lined up many crowd pull-
ing events at this years Diwali mela, expected
to be visited by a hundred thousand people.
Fireworks, the staple of the event sponsored
by Air India, will light up the skyline over
East River. Starting at sundown around 7.15,
the spectacular show will last for about 20-25
minutes. Ever since Macys July 4th freworks
moved to the Hudson River, the AIA Fireworks
on the East River are the only one seen by mil-
lions of New Yorkers in the fve boroughs of
Manhattan, Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens
and the Bronx. While the day-long mela is free
to all, there is an invite-only special freworks
26
Ranju Batra was sworn in President of the Association of Indians in America - NY at an impressive event at the Indian Consulate.
Ranju is proud of her hardworking AIA team, and has the beneft of knowing past
presidents to draw on their vast experience of organizing the Diwali festival
at South Street Seaport, the biggest Diwali event in the world.
viewing plaza, with dinner for some 500
prominent invited dignitaries and guests.
Excitedly enumerating the highlights of the
mela, Ranju mentions that the Grand Media
Sponsor, Star Plus is holding the Main Bhi
Star Contest on-site. Contestants will audition
opposite actors from the popular TV chan-
nel from India. Two talented winners will be
fown to India to appear in a show on the lead-
ing Indian channel for families.
Two stars of Sasural Genda Phool, Inder
and Rajini (screen names for Jiten Lalwani
and Bhairavi Raichura) will also make an
appearance. This popular soap opera from
Star Plus is airing on TV Asia.
The large Holistic and Medical Fair boasts
the presence of Dr Pankaj Naram, the Mum-
bai based, globe girding ayurveda doctor
with a sensational pulse diagnosis expertise.
He will also speak during the VIP hour from
the main stage. His advice and potions have
had a marked effect in the case of my own
daughter who has special needs, admits
Ranju Batra. Yoga besides ayurveda will be
part of the holistic mix.
Dr Subhash Gulati of Advanced Research
Foundation, New Rochelle, NY, will be on
hand to give medical advice on health prob-
lems ranging from obesity to diabetes.
In all there will be some 70 stalls exclud-
ing the corporate stalls. The food stalls will
offer multiple Indian cuisines and as always
are expected to do roaring business. Meena
Bazar will have trinkets and other stuff that
women fall for. Whats new? People can
look for freebies from our sponsors, Incred-
ible !ndia, McDonalds, Pepsi and Make-
MyTrip.com, etc, says Ranju Batra.
We will have something going for every-
body in the family. The children will have
games to enjoy and face and tattoo painting.
Ladies will love rangoli and mehendi. Pop
group 3Mix and solo signer Samar Sidhu,
both from the UK, will get the younger
crowd grooving. Megha Kalias group is
worth watching from among the Bollywood
dance groups. In the classical segment, there
will be a presentation by the students of
Swati Vaishnav. The dance drama Rama-
yan by Pandit Satya Narayana Charka of
Ananda Ashram, Monroe, NY, will appeal
to a different age group, explains Ranju.
Aware that this time the Diwali mela is
being held on Oct 2, Mahatma Gandhis
birth anniversary, and within weeks of the
10th anniversary of 9-11, Ranju has come
up with Non-Violence in Todays World
as the theme. We will set up a shrine which
people can visit and pray at. This will be at
Pier 17 and close to the health fair booths.
She wants people to visit the shrine.
Ranju is also very excited about the Di-
wali stamp and to make it a reality, she said
her full energy as AIA-NY president will be
to raise awareness and garner support from
across the United States to have everyone
sign a petition in favor of the Diwali stamp
so as to push the United States Postal Ser-
vice (USPS) to issue a stamp honoring Di-
wali, a common festival for Hindus, Jains,
Sikhs and Buddhists. Ranju credits her dear
friend, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney as
the primary sponsor of the Diwali stamp and
said, We love Carolyn for this too! noting
her many other achievements. AIA-NY,
Carolyn Maloney and the Diwali stamp are
perfect together.
Ranju believes that the Diwali mela is a
perfect vehicle to familiarize others with
Indian culture and mores, and exposure
to other cultures, being an antidote to vio-
lence, is a sure way to enhance harmony
in society.
Actually, as AIA-NY President, Ranju Ba-
tra intends to pursue a two-pronged agenda,
which she will start focusing on after the Oc-
tober 2 maha event. One part of the agenda is
Ranjus short agenda for her presidency: bring young people into AIA and help train tomorrows
leaders who know their culture and are comfortable with their identity.
Protecting the future while respecting the past
By Ravi Batra
Hangings are a traditional deco-
rative for the festival of Diwali.
These help to give a festive
charm to the house. Usually
people put up door-hangings
embellished with embroidery,
bells or mirrors on the main
entrance door of the house and
also the door of their worship room to welcome Goddess
Lakshmi. Hang up a bell at the entrance to your house. Let
the visitors ring it instead of the electric door-chime. The
naturally melodious tone gives every arrival that "puja-fes-
tive" feeling. Diwali Toran are handcrafted and come embel-
lished with embroidery, bells, beads, mirror, shells, image of
Lord Ganesha etc. Torans are very much in vogue these days
and are the most fashionable Diwali decorative gifts.
Door Hangings:
To welcome
L a k s h m i
Mata or the
Goddess of
W e a l t h ,
women pre-
pare elaborate
Rangoli pat-
terns in front
of the court-
yards or the
Rangoli:
On the
Diwali morn-
ing, go to a
flower shop
or order suf-
ficient quan-
tity to adorn
your house.
The fra-
grance of the
flowers will
hold you
Flowers:
As Diwali is
the Festival
of Lights
people love to
add glamor to
their house
with an extra
bit of illumi-
nation. Hence,
d e c o r a t i v e
lamps are
quite popular.
Decorative Lamps:
Pooja Thali
Diwali decorations.
have witnessed a
Diyas and Candles
Wall Hangings:
As Lakshmi-
Ganesh Puja is
an intrinsic part
of the Diwali
F e s t i v a l ,
L a k s h m i -
Ganesh sculp-
tures and idols
are a very
i m p o r t a n t
Diwali decora-
tive item. These
Laxmi Ganesh
Sculptures and Idols:
37 27
to make presentations and give cultural
performances at city schools one by one to
create awareness about the culture and festi-
vals of India. The Japanese and the Chinese
have already been doing that, she points out.
There is no time to lose and it is best to start
with young, impressionable minds.
To second part of her agenda is key to keep
AIA relevant and vital. In her own words: I
want to bring the whole young generation to
AIA and will like them to take leadership role.
For the purpose, we are talking to relevant or-
ganizations with young members, as well as
young professionals. She also endeavors to
have monthly seminars where young people
would discuss issues related to the Indian com-
munity and how to bring their culture into the
mainstream. For starters, Ranju says, I want
our young people to get petitions regarding Di-
wali stamp signed all over America, and send
them to us, and we will bundle them together,
R
anju is beautiful, hardworking,
always learning, compassionate,
calm (well, calmer than me), with
a style all her own, and an exceptional hu-
man being. Im lucky that she is my wife,
a dedicated mother with limitless love and
tireless energy, a thorough professional
who pays attention to detail, and has an
unquenchable thirst for knowledge. In
fact, whenever we are going away, be it
a road trip or across the world, she brings
along her New York Times clippings col-
lected for future reading; and they run the
gamut from science to food, biomedicine,
business, law, domestic policy, econom-
ics, foreign policy, fashion, restaurants
and space exploration. In that sense, she
is like my late parents: always reading, al-
ways learning.
like political petitions, and fle them with the
USPS and get all our Congressional friends
to join Carolyn Maloney as sponsors.
Ranju elaborates, My mission through
the Diwali mela and other AIA activities is
to bring Indian culture to the mainstream,
to help the community come up and reach
the pinnacle, and bring Indian and Ameri-
can cultures closer in a mutually respectful
way. That is why, for one, she has been part
of the Diwali event of John Liu, NYC comp-
troller who was earlier a City Councilman.
Ranjus zeal towards making a differ-
ence in America with civic, cultural, and
political activities is tremendous. She has
been involved in various organizations,
including being on the Board of Trust-
ees for Hindu Center, as well as playing
an active role in Childrens Hope and the
Asian Pacifc Islander cultural body. Pro-
fessionally, she is a paralegal and worked
her way up to being an effective Admin-
istrator of her husband Ravis law frm.
Ranju and Ravi have helped in the election
of many members of the New York State
Supreme Court. Their support has also been
sought by mainstream national, state, and
local politicians, as well as various cultural
and religious organizations dedicated to the
Indian-American community.
Born and brought up in Delhi, Ranju
came to America at the age of 19, and mar-
ried Ravi. They have two children, Neal,
who just graduated law school, and Angela.
They live in Westchester.
The opportunity to helm a grand old Indian
community organization like AIA is sure to
take Ranju a long way in her mission to bring
Indian and American cultures and communi-
ties closer. Says she, The American Dream
is for everyone willing to work hard and
make America the best she can be.
I could say much more, but then I
wouldnt be objective. She got involved with
community organizations decades after I had
left them for they were all overfowing with
very capable and dedicated community lead-
ers and my mainstream-mindset was, at best,
unneeded. My love for the law is, at its core,
to make equal under law the most pow-
erful root of all laws as well as in its very
touch. That, for me equaled mainstream
not ethnicity, as ones grounding. Barack
Obama, leaving aside the current poor state
of our nations economy, on July 27, 2008
in Berlin charmed the land of the former
Master Race with My fellow citizens of the
world... Mainstream includes ethnicity ga-
lore, except none is better or more equal; just
equal citizenship. Forgive me, but I digress
from the task given by the Editor: Ranju.
Imagine my surprise--not necessarily
pleasantwhen over a decade ago Ranju got
involved with Association of Indians in
Amer ica (AIA). It is the oldest such organi-
zation, formed as it was after the 1964 law
change, it was mostly made up of profes-
sionals. Indeed, a couple of its initial meet-
ings were convened in my Dads basement, I
think in 1968, on Woodside Avenue, Queens.
Ranju, being Ranju, equals dedication
and excellence. As AIAs Cultural Chair,
she brought her administrative abilities
from the law frm to harness the power of
culture and to maximize its exposition to
all. Great, but guess what the cost was.
Ranju working away into the wee hours,
night after night and keeping the light on
until she was exhausted and perfection
achieved. Once, it was so bad that she
had been up many nights, and of course,
she managed the law frm during the day,
that on Diwali mela day she went on the
stage to introduce a performance, but had
no voice. She then drafted others to do
the introductions and managed the per-
formances off stage. After all, the show
must go on!
Along the years, she was asked by many
an AIA personality, if she wanted to be
president. Always, she said no. (And, I was
secretly happy.) Last year, Ranju came to
tell me she is going to run for president. I
gulped; Ranju, as president meant more
sleepless nights! You sure? I asked. I tried
my best to dissuade her for my selfsh rea-
sons: my sleep; her sleep; less tiredness.
But Ranju is driven. Better yet, while
others could see she was ready to be presi-
dent years before, Ranju, herself, knew she
was ready only when beyond challenge.
So, over my objection, she contested in
the next election. The rest, as they say, is
history. Talking about history, let me add
that I am a huge fan of my wife. She has
spoiled me, as my mom used to, and as
my dad used to, and my sisters used to,
and so many of my friends do. (Come
to think of it, boy, am I glad Im not
spoiled! Just kidding. In my defense,
I must say, I do walk humbly with my
God, as required by all faiths.) She is a
far better human being than I could ever
be. One of my closest friends, a noble
soul who has graced a lofty bench, said:
Ranju is your best asset.
As for Diwali, she already has a huge
success under her belt: Diwali is a park-
ing holiday in New York City. Back when
John Liu was chair of the Transportation
Committee of the NYC Council, Ranju
supported Speaker Chris Quinn and John
Liu, Bill de Blasio, David Weprin, Helen
Sears and so many other council members
to override the mayoral veto. Now, on Di-
wali, every New Yorker is told on TV and
radio that due to Diwali the parking regu-
lations are suspended.
Ranju has set a short agenda for her
presidency: bring young people into AIA
and help train tomorrows leaders who
know their culture and are comfortable
with their identity. Second, get the Diwali
Stamp issued by the United States Postal
Service---something that our dear friend,
Carolyn Maloney, is spearheading. Ran-
ju--who knows how to get political pe-
titions signed given all of her service to
this republic-- wants petitions for the
stamp signed all over America and sent
to her so they can be bundled and pre-
sented en masse to the USPS with many
elected offcials co-sponsoring Carolyns
leadership. Methinks, Ranju has got it ex-
actly right: she wants to protect the future
while respecting the past. Bravo!
Ravi on Ranju continued on page 53...
Himself an eminent attorney, Ravi Batra is a huge fan of his wife, Ranju.
P
a
r
e
s
h

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a
n
d
h
i

/

R
e
d
i
f
f
.
c
o
m
* Reclassification of Immigrants
from South Asian Countries as
Asian Pacific Americans.
* Minority status to Asian Indian
immigrants in the 1970s.
* Separate enumeration of Asian
Indians for the first time in US cen-
sus as an independent
category in 1980.
* Representation before
Congressional committees to testi-
fy for family reunification provi-
sion in the immigration bill.
* Represented at federal, state
and local levels of governments, in
cases of bias or discrimination
against the Asian Indians.
* Represented on Foreign
Medical Graduates Committee of
AMA, effectively addressing the
issues of discrimination in recogni-
tion and licensing of Indian physi-
cians.
* Relief work for Natural
Disasters across the world.
* Sponsoring fellowship in jour-
nalism, 1993.
* Raising funds to help the vic-
tims of earthquake in Maharashtra,
1993.
* Project India an ongoing
project of AIA, has channeled more
than $15M worth of funds and
equipment to projects and relief
works in India.
* Voter registration drive.
* Seminars on subjects of Indo-
American interest.
* Youth Talent Awards-National
Essay Competition.
* Acharya Awards: instituted in
1995 to recognize and honor school
teachers of Indian descent in USA.
* Sushruta and Charaka Award:
instituted in 1993 to recognize and
honor people of Indian origin in the
field of Medicine and Health Care.
* National Honor Awards, an
ongoing activity of AIA, to individ-
uals in recognition of the recipi-
ents contributions to arts and let-
ters and to greater understanding
between the people of India and
America.
* Celebration of festivities and
national events of both Indian and
America for mutual understanding
among communities.
* Deepavali Celebration for pub-
lic: New York City: at South Street
Seaport, enjoyed by hundreds of
thousands, Florida at Morikami
Park and Japanese Garden since
1990.
* Sponsorship of ongoing educa-
tional conferences on television
regarding political awareness and
political activism, so that the com-
munity can develop an agenda and
fully participate in American politi-
cal life, define its goals and safe-
guard its rights, 1995.
* Political awareness program
urging Indians to unite into two
groups. i) Indians for Democrats ii)
Indians for Republicans.
* Participated in the conference
Indias New Economic Policy
New Delhi, 1996.
* Earthquake in Gujarat in 2001,
Kargil conflict, Floods in India
(several) and Midwest America
1993.
* Raised funds for Tsunami in
Indian Ocean.
* New York City recognized
Diwali in 2003.
* White House celebrated Diwali
for the first time in year 2006 .
Now in its 24th year, the massive Deepavali Festival at the South Street Seaport in
New York City is the flagship event of AIA.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg has graced the AIA Diwali mela
stage a couple of times.
N
umerous Congressmen,
Councilmen, Dignitaries
and celebrities have
graced the Deepavali Festival in
the past. Some of them are:
Mayor Bloomberg
Mayor Giuliani
Chuck Schummer
John Liu
David Weprin
Prabhu Dayal
Gale Brewer
Pandit Jasraj
Kadir Khan Ensembles
Bali Sagoo
Lara Dutta
Deepti Naval
Raghav
Dignitaries and celebs
at AIA-NY Diwali
AIA Achievements
28
O
n behalf of the National Executive Committee of the Association
of Indians in America (AIA), I extend Diwali greetings to you and
your near and dear ones across the globe. Diwali represents the
triumph of good over evil, light over darkness and knowledge over igno-
rance. It reassures us that our adversities and challenges can be overcome.
Diwali is a time for celebration, but it is also a time for reflection a time
when we must remember that there are always others less fortunate then
ourselves. This holiday reminds us all that we should commit ourselves to
helping those in need. AIA is founded on these principles and on this aus-
picious occasion, we must reassure our commitment to reach out to our
fellow Indians in America and abroad and dedicate our efforts towards the
achievement of progress, unity and prosperity.
I would like to congratulate all of our chapters of AIA celebrating
Diwali festival in major cities across America. My special compliments
and appreciation to Mrs. Ranju Batra and her team for their tireless efforts
to organize this colorful festival. South Street Seaport in Manhattan is a
very prestigious and beautiful location to watch Diwali fireworks and its
sparkling lights radiating in the pristine water of East River.
Lets all live up to the message of Diwali, remove darkness from our
lives and try to bring light, wisdom and happiness in ours and others lives
around us.
Animesh Goenka
AIA National President
Message from the
AIA National President
I
t is that time of the year once again. Every year, we
gather on the first Sunday in October to celebrate
Diwali, the Festival of Lights. Most of us were here
last year during this Diwali program and it is incredible
how fast time goes by as we all gather together again
this year.
Our Bollywood Stage is full of masti, dancing,
singing and pure enjoyment. Each year, the event
grows in popularity as a number of new artists join the
program.
Like last year, our Bollywood Stage will be covered
by and aired on Sahara One TV.
Many thanks to all the dancing schools, performers
and the media for all their help in making Bollywood
Stage so successful. And a very special thanks to all the
teachers, who are keeping alive Indian traditions, lan-
guage, music and dance by passing their knowledge to
all their students.So sit down, relax and enjoy a wonder-
ful program of music and dance to celebrate the Festival
of Lights.
I wish you all a Happy Diwali and Prosperous New
Year.
Indu Gajwani
Message from the
Socio-Cultural Chair
Vignettes from
earlier Deepavali
festivals staged by
Association of Indians
in America-New York
chapter.
An estimated hundred thousand people throng the mela held every year
at the southern tip of Manhattan.
Immediate Past President Sushma Kotahwla receiving a Congressional Certificate of
Appreciation from Carolyn Maloney in the presence of AIA National President Animesh
Goenka, Uma Sengupta, John Liu, and Ravi Batra.
Ears and eyes peeled for a spectacle of sound and light.
NYC Comptroller John Liu
came to congratulate Ranju
Batra at her swearing in as
AIA-NY President at the
Indian Consulate in June
2011.
The devotional items and trinkets and other stalls at
Meena Bazar hold huge appeal for women, modern or
traditional.
Ranju Batra (third from left) joining in the singing of Indian and American national
anthems at an earlier AIA mela.
Air India stall: the National carrier sponsors the fireworks every year at
the biggest Diwali mela in the world including India. AIA Diwali fireworks are second only to Macys July 4th monumental show.
While the day-long mela is free to all, there is an invite-only special fireworks viewing
plaza, with dinner for some 500 prominent invited dignitaries and guests.
30
Spectacular Show
Bank of India
New York: San Francisco Agency:
New York Branch (Member FDIC) 555, California Street
277, Park Avenue, New York Suite 4646,
NY 10172 San Francisco, CA 94104
Tel: (646) 720-0398 Tel: (415)956-6326
E-mail: boiny@usa.net E-mail: boisfa@aol.com
Web: www.boiusa.com
By Tania Gupta
N
avratra is a festival in
which nine incarnations
of goddess Durga are
worshiped in a systematic man-
ner. Nav means nine and ratri
means night, therefore Navratra
means nine nights. It is time for
purification. Navratras like all
Indian festivals has many legends
associated with it. These hold a
special significance for Gujaratis
and Bengalis. The dandiya and
garba ras are special to Gujarat.
Navratras started on 28th Sept
this time and are for 8 days only
as 3rd and 4th navratra get com-
bined in one day. Basically on the
first 3 days Parvati (goddess of
power) is worshiped, on the next
3 days it is Laxmi (goddess of
wealth) and last 3 days are for
Saraswati (goddess of knowl-
edge).
Listening to Durga Saptshati
mantras during these days blesses
us with good health, wealth and
knowledge.
In many communities people
do rigorous fasts and prayers all
nine days. If you are unable to
fast opt for fruits only diet once a
day. People soak barley in uten-
sils on the first day and also place
a kalash with a little rice and a
coin having a picture of Maa
Durga. Worship idols of Laxmi,
Parvati and Saraswati with red
flowers.
The nine goddesses worshiped
on each navratra:
1. Shalputri - On the first day,
we worship goddess Shalputri,
daughter of the Himalayas.
Himalaya is a symbol of power,
stability and determination, so
Shalputri is worshiped for all
these characteristics. Start by
chanting mantras of Lord
Ganesha. Of course, no pujan is
complete without Lord Shiva.
2. Brahmacharini - Maa
Jagdamba is considered an incar-
nation of Goddess
Brahmacharini, whom we wor-
ship on 2nd day. She is the cre-
ator of world as she had the pow-
ers of Lord Brahma himself. She
is basically the reason for fertility
and child birth. Adorn her idol
with jasmine flowers and offer 6
cloves and a piece of camphor.
3. Chandraghanta - On the
third day, we worship goddess
Chandraghanta who is blessed
with 10 hands. Pray to her to get
rid of bad deeds and past troubles
by offering flowers to her idol
and milk to a priest.
4. Kushmanda - Fourth day is
meant for worshiping the 9-hand-
ed goddess Kushmanda. It is
believed the world has been cre-
ated just from her smile. Making
her happy will free you from
financial troubles. Also you will
get fame, longevity, strength and
good health. Offer her betel nuts
and rose.
5. Skanda Mata - On the fifth
day we worship her to break out
of the vicious cycle of rebirth,
bad deeds, and achieve eternal
bliss. We can also liberate our-
selves from health problems like
gastric disorder, cold, cough, etc.
Worship her idol by offering yel-
low flowers and bananas.
6. Katyayani - On the 6th day
we worship Katyayani to get
money, spirituality, work and sal-
vation. She is the goddess of our
nervous system. If you love
someone and want him or her in
your life, worship her by offering
honey, red flowers and candles to
her idol. Sportspersons should
worship her by putting a tilak of
honey and sindoor on her idol.
7. Kalratri - On 7th day we
worship Kalratri. This goddess
gives justice to the needy, poor
and people who have committed
a crime. She protects those who
are scared of fire, water, enemies
and darkness. Worship her by
offering 7 coconuts to Shanidev
and then giving them away as
Prasad. Also offer saffron, san-
dalwood, cardamom and sindoor
to her idol.
8. Maha Gauri - On the eighth
day we worship Maha Gauri, an
incarnation of Goddess Parvati
who after vigorous prayers got o
marry Lord Shiva. This day is
important for young and unmar-
ried girls who want to marry
somebody of their choice and
even for girls having troubled
marital life. Offer her white flow-
ers, and a sweet dish made of
milk and coconut.
9. Siddhidatri - Ninth day is
for worshiping goddess
Siddhidatri, also known as
Parvati, Maheshwari and Gauri.
Lord Ram was also born on this
day, so the day is also called
Ramnavami.
It is a day to achieve knowl-
edge of tantra and mantra.
Siddhidatri is worshiped to
improve mother-son relationship.
Offer her red flowers, candles
and red clothes. On this day,
young girls under the age of 10
are offered food and gifts as they
are considered as goddesses.
New York: The Consul General
of India in New York Prabhu
Dayal on Sept. 18 officially inau-
gurated the 13th annual Grand
Dushahra Festival at the con-
sulate.
This year's festival will be held
Oct. 9 at the Lake Pappianni Park
in Edison, N.J.
Organized by Indo American
Festivals Inc., the highlight of the
festival is the burning of the 25-
foot effigies of Ravana,
Meghnath and Kumbhkaran and
dazzling fireworks.
Ramleela, a fair featuring food
and kids games, a cultural pro-
gram and a health camp will also
be held, organizers said in a press
release.
The inaugural ceremony began
with the national anthem of the
two nations followed by the lamp
lighting and speeches, the release
said. In his speech, Mangal
Gupta, chairman of Indo
American Festivals Inc.,
expressed the desire of having a
Ramleela ground in U.S.
According to the release, the
celebrations began about 12
years ago when Gupta saw a cul-
ture gap in the community. He
wanted to teach youth about the
Ramayana and its lesson of the
victory of good over evil. For
more information, visit
www.dushahra.com.
New Jersey Dushahra
festivities launched
Nine goddesses and how to worship them
during Navratra
1. Keep vigil in the night. Read
or listen to religious/spiritual
stories, which is therapeutic to
body, mind and soul--
mythotherapy.
2. Do rituals at home. Have a
picture of the Goddess con-
cerned and offer her light,
incense and chant her mantra.
3. Participate in group rituals
with an authentic priest who
has perfected the sound vibra-
tions and can help you commu-
nicate with the Goddess as
these vibrations sync your
name and birth star with the
Goddess energy.
4. Chanting relevant mantras
vocally or silently in the early
morning for one hour is
supremely virtuous. In your
own consciousness, recreate
the Goddess of the day through
sounds. Goddesses exist as
sounds. All mantras belong to
the Goddess.
The author is Delhi-based
astrologer and can be contacted
at www.horoscopenzodiac.com
or through astrotaniagupta-
@gmail.com
Tips for Navratras
34
T
he day commemorates the
return of Lord Rama, along
with wife Sita and brother
Lakshmanz, from his 14-year-long
exile and vanquishing the demon-
king Ravana.
In joyous celebration of the return
of their king, the people of Ayodhya
illuminated the kingdom with earth-
en diyas and burst firecrackers.
Deepavali marks the end of the
harvest season in most part of the
country where farmers pray for a
good harvest for the year to come.
Lakshmi symbolizes wealth and
prosperity, and her blessings are
invoked for a good year ahead.
For Sikhs, Diwali is important
because it celebrates the release
from prison of the sixth guru, Guru
Hargobind Ji, and 52 other princes
from the Gwalior Fort in 1619. The
Sikhs celebrated the return of Guru
Hargobind by lighting the Golden
Temple. An important Sikh event
associated with Diwali is the mar-
tyrdom of the elderly Sikh scholar
and strategist Bhai Mani Singh in
1737. Bhai Mani Singh was the
Granthi at Harmandir Sahib (popu-
larly known as the Golden Temple).
He transcribed the final version of
Guru Granth Sahib dictated to him
by Guru Gobind Singh in 1704.
For Sikhs, Diwali is the second
most important day after Baisakhi,
when the Khalsa was formally
established by the 10th Guru Guru
Gobind Singh in 1699.
Diwali has a very special signifi-
cance in Jainism. Lord Mahavira,
the last of the Jain Tirthankaras,
attained Nirvana or Moksha on this
day at Pavapuri on October 15, 527
BC. According to the legend, the
chief disciple of Mahavira,
Ganadhara Gautam Swami, also
attained Kevalgyana (complete
knowledge) on this day, thus mak-
ing Diwali one of the most impor-
tant Jain festivals.
In Tamil Nadu, it is celebrated as
Deepavali at dawn. People cele-
brate this by lighting deepams,
bursting fireworks, wearing new
clothes and sharing sweets. A tradi-
tional visit to the Temple is a signif-
icant ritual of the day.
In Maharashtra, Diwali starts
from Vasubaras which is the 12th
day of the 2nd half of the Marathi
month Ashvin. This day is celebrat-
ed by performing an Aarti of the
cow and its calf - which is a symbol
of love between mother and her
baby.
In Andhra Pradesh, the festivities
start out at the crack of dawn and
carry on well into the night. Most
people make a trip to the local tem-
ple along with their families to seek
the blessings of their respective
Gods. The night sky is lit up with a
scintillating array of noisy fire-
works.In Karnataka, the celebration
is marked by the lighting of innu-
merable lamps in every courtyard
and the bursting of crackers.
Sweetmeals, new clothes and spirit
is there as in other festivals.
Kali Puja is the Diwali night in
Kolkata and Assam where people
light candles in memory of the
souls of departed ancestors. The
goddess Kali is worshipped for
whole night on one night during
this festival. This is also a night of
fireworks, with people burning
sparklers and firecrackers through-
out the night.
Diwali or Deepawali is celebrated for
different reasons among Hindus, Jains
and Sikhs. For Hindus, the festival of
l i ghts i s cel ebrated by performi ng
Laksmi Puja, bursting crackers and
exchanging sweets. For Jains, Diwali
marks the attainment of moksha or
nirvana by Mahavira in 527 BC. Sikhs
celebrate the festival as Bandhi Chhor
Di was when thei r si xth guru Guru
Hargobind Ji was rescued from the
Gwalior Fort in 1619.
An illuminated Golden Temple on Diwali A Mumbai slum lightened up at dawn on Deepawali day
Diwali Celebrations in Bangalore
Diwali shopping in Hyderabad
Kali Puja in Kolkata.
36
Diwali, the festival of lights, is also the festival of
gifts. One of the most celebrated occasions in India,
Diwali is associated with fortune and prosperity, and
hence, it is the biggest gift giving and shopping festival
in India. Giving gifts on Diwali is an excellent way to
strengthen relationships with your near and dear ones.
A present on this occasion reflects the warm feelings of
the gift-giver and also the spirit of the festival.
The popular tradition of exchanging gifts on Diwali is
an age-old custom tied in with the festival and has
probably started with the inception of Diwali itself. In
olden days, the simple rural people of India whose
occupation mostly consisted of agriculture and cattle-
rearing, used to exchange homemade sweets, farm pro-
duce or handcrafted decorative among themselves on
Diwali. Such presents were considered a token of love
and the warmth and good wishes associated with the
gifts mattered more than the gifts themselves. With time
however, the tradition got more and more complicated
and gift-giving is not so simple as it used to be earlier.
Today a lot of importance is given to the quality of the
gift that one is presented with not only on Diwali but
also on other occasions. However, this wonderful tradi-
tion is not wholly a materialistic one and for a large
section of Indian people, gift-giving still stands as a
way of conveying love, respect, thankfulness, apprecia-
tion and a sense of belonging.
So you must pull out all the stops to decide on the
most appropriate gift for your loved ones on Diwali. To
assist you in your quest, here we present you with some
grand gift ideas and suggestions. Go over these and
choose the best of Diwali presents and gifts for your
friends and near ones:
Master the art of gifting this Diwali
Sweets are
t r a d i t i o n a l
Diwali gifts and
the festival of
lights is truly
i n c o m p l e t e
without a gener-
ous helping of
these sugary
delights.
Go for single
type of sweets or a mix pack containing varieties of
sweets. These days, many shops offer custom made
Diwali Sweets in beautiful packs enveloped with gift
wrappers. In case you can't decide on any other present, a
big sweet pack will be just a nice gift for your friends,
relatives and acquaintances.
Sweets
L i k e
sweets, dry
fruits too are
a popular gift
item for
Diwali. An
i r r e s i s t i bl e
delight, dry
fruits are
t hor oughl y
enjoyed dur-
ing the winter season that follows the festival close on its
heels. Dry Fruits Pack containing a mix of several varieties
of nuts, cashews, chestnuts, almonds are easily available
these days in most gift shops and make for nice Diwali Gifts.
What's better, one can store these for long periods of time
and don't have to bother about preserving them.
Dry Fruits
People love to
receive new apparels
on Diwali. Like in
most festivals, people
love to celebrate their
happiness by dressing
themselves in new
clothes and want to
give their loved ones
the same feeling.
Keeping in your
mind the tastes and
preferences of the
receiver of your gift,
you can present
him/her with traditional Indian outfits or the latest designer
clothes from popular brands.
Apparels
Diwali being the festival of lights, beautifully painted
Diyas (earthen lamps) of exquisite designs are indispensa-
ble for the occasion. They also stand as a symbol of for-
tune and are believed to usher in prosperity to individual
homes.
Diyas
One more traditional gift
idea for Diwali is handing
over silver items though
nowadays you need a huge
budget allocation for the
same given the soaring
prices. Available in a wide
range and exquisite designs,
silver items are a great hit
for Diwali and a favorite. The festival being a religious occasion, reli-
gious gift items made of silver like silver coins with images of idols
as Lakshmi and Ganesh, puja thalis, small silver showpieces and
crockery items like silver tea sets and utensils are quite popular as
Diwali gifts. They also reflect your wishes and prayers for the health
and fortune of the recipient and his/her family.
Household gifts like kitchen
gadgets, chinaware and traveling
bags; Gourmet gift hampers con-
sisting of mithai, dry fruits, jams
and sherbets; home appliances like
steam iron, juicers, toasters,
microwave, coffee makers and rice
cookers; electronic devices as
mobile handsets, iPods, digital
cameras, handy-cam, MP3 Players,
DVD Players, PDA, cordless
phones, LCD TVs and laptops;
jewelers items like bracelets, rings,
chains, pendants, cufflinks, tie-pins
and the like.
Silver Gift Items
Other Popular
Diwali Gifts
Diwali is the time to decorate the house and hence an appropriate
time to present your friends and relations with decorative items.
Popular decor gift items include paintings, bric-a-bracs, show pieces,
sculptures, flower vases, Feng-Shui pieces and hanging bells.
Nicely decorated candles are great too. These days, can-
dles of various shapes, colors and scents are available in
the market. Beautiful Diwali candles and candleholders are
pocket-friendly for you and yet make lovely presents for
your friends and relatives.
Candles
St a t i o n e r y
and Desk-top
Gifts are also
fabulous items
to present to
your near ones
on Diwali.
Preferred items
in this category
include writing
i ns t r ument s ,
portfolio bags
and folders, time-pieces, reading lamps and the like. You
can gift these items to anyone, including your colleagues,
business associates and even the boss.
Stationery and
Desk-top Items
Decor Items
38
Hangings are a traditional
Diwali decorative. These give a
festive charm to the house.
Usually people put up door-
hangings embellished with
embroidery, bells or mirrors on
the main entrance door of the
house and also the door of their
worship room to welcome
Goddess Lakshmi. Hang up a bell at the entrance to your
house. Let the visitors ring it instead of the electric door-
chime. The naturally melodious tone gives every arrival that
"puja-festive" feeling. Diwali Toran are handcrafted and
come embellished with embroidery, bells, beads, mirror,
shells, image of Lord Ganesha etc. Torans are very much in
vogue and are a fashionable Diwali decorative gift.
Door Hangings
To welcome
L a k s h m i
Mata or the
Goddess of
W e a l t h ,
women pre-
pare elaborate
Rangoli pat-
terns in front
of the court-
yards or the
Rangoli
On the
Diwali morn-
ing, go to a
flower shop
or order suf-
ficient quan-
tity to adorn
your house.
The fra-
grance of the
flowers will
hold you
Flowers
As Diwali is
the Festival
of Lights
people love to
add glamor to
their house
with an extra
bit of illumi-
nation. Hence,
d e c o r a t i v e
lamps are
quite popular.
Decorative Lamps
Pooja Thali
Diwali decorations.
have witnessed a
Diyas and Candles
Wall Hangings
As Lakshmi-
Ganesh Puja is
an intrinsic part
of the Diwali
F e s t i v a l ,
L a k s h m i -
Ganesh sculp-
tures and idols
are a very
i m p o r t a n t
Diwali decora-
tive item. These
Laxmi Ganesh
Sculptures and Idols
39
H
e came to the US two
decades back but that did-
nt stop him from continu-
ing to do what he is passionate
about. Worth a pat especially when
his passion is to promote and keep
alive a 700 year old folk form
which is losing out to urban, popu-
lar means of entertainment.
Actor Jagdish Patel, realized the
need to preserve and revive this
rich and powerful indigenous form
of folk art in contemporary theater.
He writes, directs and performs
Bhavai at major Indian and com-
munity celebrations and events
across the US.
A Master in Performing Arts
graduate from the world renowned
Maharaja Sayajirao University of
Baroda, Actor Patel, as he is popu-
larly known, dons the garb of
Ranglo the face of the art form
and enthralls the crowds with the
humor, satires and educational
content dished out through in its
sing-and-dance format.
Be it the FIA Independence Day
parade in New York or the World
Gujarati Conferences of
2006,2008 and 2010, or Masti
Cruise to the Bahamas for senior
citizens, Patels presence adds to
the fervor of the events.
At the latter, the "Agadam
Bagdam no wesh" he performed
highlighted the problems of socie-
ty and provided solutions to get
out of it. While he writes and
directs the performance, he has his
wife Daksha Gauri and others as
supporting actors.
From Anna Hazare to Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh, all
leading personalities and issues
form the focus point of his presen-
tations. Patel considers late
Ambalal Patel his inspiration and
looks up to his Guru Professor
Jagdish Bhatt from his Alma mater
for guidance.
With over 30 years of experience
in the field of dramatics, mime,
TV, films, mimicry-standup come-
dy, musical & folk songs, and
script writing, he is a multifaceted
personality.
A licensed insurance broker,
Patel also has extensive experi-
ence and knowledge in the areas of
acting, direction, production,
lights and sound design with spe-
cial effects operations.
Patel has worked with prominent
Indo American media outlets in
the Tri State area such as TV Asia,
Rajsun Enterprise and Dhoom FM
radio in various capacities for tv
shows, movies and advertise-
ments.
He has a daughter, Preksha who
is a budding singer and a son,
Vaishvik.
Being honored by Gujarat Samaj of New York
With Nikkitasha Marwaha at India Day Parade in NYC
Actor Patels services to community recognized by
Hudson County, NJ.
In traditional Bhavai attire
B
havai is a seven hundred
year old folk theatre form
from the state of Gujarat
in India. As is the case with all
forms of Indian drama and dance,
the roots of Bhavai are found in
the Natyashastra, a treatise on the
poetics of theater written by
Bharat Muni three thousand
years ago. Because it is per-
formed outdoors, in front of vil-
lage temples or in village squares
and it has a structure of very few
characters and a simple short
story, Bhavai is similar to
Prekshanak, one of the ten forms
of Sanskrit theater described in
the Natyashastra. A distinctive
feature of Bhavai is its utter sim-
plicity. The presentations are
designed to entertain, educate,
point towards social change and
to enact ritual activity for the
community. The actors job is to
bring news, help with community
improvement, perform ritual
events and to entertain. The small
playlets or scenes are called
Veshas and several are enacted
during an evening of perform-
ance. Veshas are generally satiri-
cal and humorous, focusing on
the social and political issues fac-
ing the community. Music,
dance, and the ability to impro-
vise are key elements in Bhavai
performance, especially since
there is no written script for the
actors to follow. The Veshas are
merely loose outlines for the
actors to improvise around.
According to legend, Bhavai
was created by Asait Thakar, a
fourteenth century Brahmin from
a village in Gujarat. After he
broke serious caste laws to share
a meal with a girl from the Patel
community in order to save her
life, he was outcast by the
Brahmins and began to create
Bhavai as a means of survival.
He and his three sons created
hundreds of Veshas, all dedicated
to the Mother Goddess Amba,
whom they impersonate in ritu-
als. Their offspring created a new
caste called the Taragala commu-
nity, who are still performers of
Bhavai today.
Bhavai is on the verge of
extinction now due to urbaniza-
tion and the popularity of other
forms of entertainment.
(Source: Prof Jagdish Bhatt,
Vadodara, Gujarat)
Bhavai The Art Form
Keeping a tradition alive
Patel with his Guru Prof Jagdish Bhatt
Actor (Jagdish) Patel has been performing
and promoting Bhavai, the folk art from
Gujarat for the last 32 years
40
I
n the months of Ashwin and kartik,
Hindus observe a 10-day ceremony of
fast, rituals, celebrations and feasts to
honor the mother Goddess and triumph of
Lord Rama over the demon-king Ravana.
Dusshera also symbolizes the triumph of
warrior Goddess Durga over the buffalo
demon, Mahishasura. Thus, it is a celebra-
tion of victory of good over evil.
This celebration starts from Navratri and
ends with the 10th day festival of
Dussehra. Navratri and Dussehra is cele-
brated throughout the country at the same
time, with varying rituals, but with great
enthusiasm and energy as it marks the end
of scorching summer and the start of win-
ter season.
On Dusshera, number of fairs are organ-
ized throughout northern India, burning
effigies of Ravana. It is also called
Vijayadashmi as this day marks the victo-
ry of Lord Rama over Ravana.
The Ramlila - an enactment of the life of
Lord Rama, is held during the nine days
preceding Dussehra. On the 10th day, effi-
gies of Ravana, his son and brother
Meghnadh and Kumbhakarna, are set to
fire.
The theatrical enactment of this dramatic
encounter is held throughout the country in
which every section of people participates
enthusiastically.
In burning the effigies the people are
asked to burn the evil within them, and
thus follow the path of truth and goodness,
bearing in mind the instance of Ravana,
who despite all his might and majesty was
destroyed for his evil ways.
Mysore Dusshera
Mysore Dusshera is the Nadahabba
(state-festival) of Karnataka.. According to
a legend here, Dusshera was the day when
the Hindu Goddess Chamundeshwari
killed the demon Mahishasura.
Mahishasura is the demon from whose
name, the name Mysore originated. The
city of Mysore has a long tradition of cele-
brating the Dusshera festival and the fes-
tivities there are an elaborate affair, attract-
ing a large audience including foreigners.
On Vijayadashmi, the traditional
Dusshera procession (locally known as
Jumbo Savari) is held on the streets of
Mysore.
The main attraction of this procession is
the idol of the Goddess Chamundeshwari
which is placed on a golden mantapa on
the top of a decorated elephant.
This idol is worshipped by the royal cou-
ple and other invitees before it is taken
around in the procession. Colourful
tableaux, dance groups, music bands, dec-
orated elephants, horses and camels form a
part of the procession which starts from
the Mysore Palace and culminates at a
place called Bannimantap where the banni
tree (Prosopis spicigera) is worshipped.
According to a legend, banni tree was
used by the Pandavas to hide their arms
during their one-year period of Agnatavasa
(living life incognito). Before undertaking
any warfare, the kings traditionally wor-
shipped this tree to help them emerge vic-
torious in the war.
The Dusshera festivities would culmi-
nate on the night of Vijayadashami with an
event held in the grounds at Bannimantap
called as Panjina Kavayatthu (torch-light
parade).
Various music and dance concerts are
held in auditoriums across Mysore.
Musicians and dance groups from all over
India are invited to perform on this occa-
sion. Another attraction during Dusshera is
the Kusti Spardhe (wrestling-bout) which
attracts wrestlers from all around India.
The city of Mysore
has a long tradition
of celebrating the
Dusshera festival and
the festivities here are
an elaborate affair,
attracting a huge
audience including
foreigners. The
Dusshera festival
in Mysore completed
400th anniversary
last year.
Jumbo Savari begins the Dusshera procession in Mysore
Crowd enjoying the procession.
An illuminated Mysore Palace
42
Mysore
Dusshera
Kolkata: Hopping around Durga
Puja pandals in Kolkata this year
could take you on a tour of
Germany, Kashmir and even plan-
ets and asteroids! With budgets
running into millions of rupees,
organizers are set to usher in the
socio-religious carnival with inno-
vatively themed marquees, locally
known as 'pandals'.
Durga Puja starts from October
2. As per police estimates, the
number of pujas organized this
year will be close to 2,500. While
the pandals house idols of the
mother goddess and her children
for five days, they are attractions in
themselves.
For instance, a tiny slice of
Germany is going to be stowed
into the familiar corner of South
Kolkata's Ekdalia Evergreen club
puja, budgeted at Rs.40 lakh.
Club president and Minister
Subrata Mukherjee's efforts have
led to a tie-up with the Goethe-
Institut for constructing a marquee
conceptualized by Germany's emi-
nent contemporary artist Gregor
Schneider.
Housing the goddess, it has
many features of Schneider's sig-
nature work ' Haus U R' (your
house) blended with elements
which are typically Kolkatan.
With a budget of around Rs.15
lakh, the theme is Kashmir and
aims to spread awareness on global
warming. The interior of the mar-
quee would have replicas of
Kashmiri handicraft for which the
organizers spent 45 days in the val-
ley getting a feel of the art.
The marquee with melting gla-
ciers as the background will give a
glimpse of life in Kashmir. From
log-made thatched huts to shikaras,
or house boats, and drying lakes
and snowy mountains, the organiz-
ers hope to depict the essence of
Kashmir. A team of Kashmiri per-
formers will present cultural pro-
grammes.
With a budget of Rs.5 lakh, south
Kolkata's Mudiali Puja organisers
hope to "illuminate the dark side of
the human mind" using electrical
cables. If one wants to know how
the universe was created, then the
place to head is Kasba Rathtala
where the puja organizers, using
weaving materials, will portray the
conception of the universe with
Durga as the creator. The budget is
close to Rs.8 lakh.
"The pandal (marquee) will be
decorated with vividly colored
threads, wool and fishing nets. The
interiors are made of thread and
wool. Various thread pictures and
paintings depicting the creation of
the universe adorn the inside walls.
Sounds of rainfall, thunderstorm,
wailing children mixed with chants
of Om playing in the background
give an altogether different feel-
ing," said Sujoy Roy, entrusted
with carrying out the theme.
Kolkata: Skyrocketing prices of raw materials used
for making idols and the exodus of labor to other
states ahead of next month's Durga Puja have badly hit
Kolkata's traditional potters' colony Kumartuli that
churns out around 5,000 images of the mother goddess
each year. Potters say the prices of wood, bamboo,
straw, paints and cloth have soared significantly.
"On an average, raw material cost has increased by
40 percent this year compared to the last season. This
has badly affected our business," Kumartuli Palli
Unnayan O Adhikar Rakkha Committee (Kumartuli
Area Development and Rights Protection Committee)
chief whip Apurba Paul said.
"Our profit margin has suffered drastically as we
cannot pass on the increase in raw material prices
entirely to the customers," he said.
Another artisan Ram Paul echoed Apurba.
"Can you imagine a piece of bamboo, which we pur-
chased for Rs.50 last year, is available at Rs.150 this
year?" remarked 44-year-old Ram, sitting in front of a
semi-finished clay statue of Goddess Durga.
Idol makers said good quality straw was beyond
their reach because of very high prices.
Kumartuli Mritshilpi Samiti (Kumartuli Potters'
Association) assistant secretary Bhabesh Paul said the
artisans were not making profit as the increase in idol
prices have not been commensurate with the rise in
input costs. "Day by day, the loans of artisans to pri-
vate money lenders and banks are rising. They are
unable to repay the money. Banks are sending notices.
A few of them got involved in court cases also," he
said. North Kolkata' s Kumartuli - also spelt as
Kumortuli - is the nerve centre of clay idol making in
the city. Artisans here supply idols of Hindu gods and
goddesses to community pujas in not only Kolkata and
its neighborhoods but also other parts of India and
abroad.
Even raw material cost of fiberglass Durga idols,
much sought after by NRIs, has swelled by about 30
percent this year compared to last year. Fiberglass
idols are light, durable and easy to transport compared
to those made of clay.
"We use three types of chemicals in making fiber-
glass idols. The prices of all three have soared unex-
pectedly. Altogether raw material cost has increased
30 percent. Labor cost has also swelled by about 50
percent," said Gopal Chandra Paul, who sent Durga
idols to his clients in the US and Canada this year.
The huge exodus of labor to states like Maharashtra,
Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar has posed
another problem for the artisans.
Kumartuli requires about 4,000 laborers during peak
season - before Durga Puja. But this year only 3,000
workers are available. Compared to last year, labor
cost has gone up by 50 percent, say artisans.
"The shortage is mainly because a large number of
them went to Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya
Pradesh and Bihar during June-July to make Ganesh,
Durga and Sherawali idols there. Patrons of pujas
there pay them higher wages than us," said Apurba
Paul. Bhabesh Paul said with the number of Durga
Pujas in other states increasing, the organizers were
luring laborers from Kumartuli by offering lucrative
contracts.
"They are getting very high wages. A high-skilled
potter gets Rs.40,000 per month there. Even semi-
skilled laborers get Rs.20,000 per month. We cannot
match this. So the exodus will continue in future. We
do not know how we can stop the trend," he said.
The wages of laborers in Kumartuli this year vary
between Rs.150 and Rs.1,250 per day. Most of the
laborers come from West Bengal' s Nadia and
Murshidabad districts.
Puja pandals go global
Idol makers battle cost, labor shortage
Durga Puja starts from October 2. While the pandals house idols of the
mother goddess and her children for five days, they are attractions in
themselves.
Even raw material cost of fiberglass Durga idols,
much sought after by NRIs, has swelled by about 30
percent this year compared to last year.
Kolkata: With the beginning
of West Bengal's greatest cul-
tural extravaganza Durga Puja,
a private radio channel has
come up with a unique initia-
tive of making the goddess's
idol from bio-degradable and
recyclable waste material.
A 35-day campaign on the
concept 'Maa Durga Dushono
Nashi ni ' (Goddess Durga
destructor of pollution), with a
fabricated branded centre mov-
ing across the city, will enlist
people's participation in build-
ing a community voicing their
concern against pollution.
The people will be asked to
reciprocate through token par-
ticipation of donating bio-recy-
cl abl e and bi o-degradabl e
waste at the branded centre.
"A centre will move across
various localities and collect
bio-recyclable and bio-degrad-
able waste such as plastics, jute
and papers.
"We will also raise awareness
among the masses about pollu-
tion and its ill effects," said
OYE 104. 8 FM market i ng
executive Sudeep Das.
After 20 days of community-
connect drive campaign, the
branded centre will be trans-
formed into a mobile studio
where the Durga idol would be
taking shape out of bio-recy-
cl abl e and bi o-degradabl e
waste.
West Bengal at its innovative best with a pandal, idols and decorations
carved out of recycled paper and plastic bottles.
Durga idol out of waste
material in Bengal
44
New Delhi: Riding the Anna wave,
Ravana will symbolize the demon
of corruption this Dussehra. Several
Ramlila committees in the city will
burn effigies representing corrup-
tion along with those of Ravana and
his kin. The idea is to make the cel-
ebrations in tune with contempo-
rary burning issues like corruption.
"This time, we plan to burn a
Ravana effigy which will be tagged
as corruption. The idea resonates
with the people. It's an issue that
affects everyone," said Arjun
Kumar, secretary of Lav Kush
Ramlila Committee. "Our main
Ravana effigy will be the corrup-
tion effigy that will be 110 feet
tall," he said.
While committee plans to have
corruption as its main effigy, other
committees like Shri Sanatan
Dharma Lila, Dangal Maidan and
Shri Dharmik Lila Committee will
have an additional effigy along with
the traditional ones burnt on
Dussehra, which falls on October 6
this year. Traditionally, effigies of
Ravana, his brother Kumbhakarna
and son Meghnad are burnt on
Dussehra or Vijayadashami.
"We will burn the corruption effi-
gy on Dussehra. This is the biggest
issue plaguing our country today. It
is an issue that has cast a shadow
over the entire country," said
Suresh Khandelwal, president, Shri
Sanatan Dharma Lila Dangal
Maidan. These effigies, which will
stand alongside the traditional ones,
will be slightly shorter than
Ravana's effigy and will be burnt
with much celebration. The com-
mittees also want to show their
resilience in the face of the recent
bomb blast by organizing Ramlilas
with much pomp and grandeur.
Ramlila committees across the
city are also trying to be unique in
their own way. While Lav Kush
committee plans to install a replica
of Eiffel Tower at its entrance, Shri
Dharmik Lila Committee will use
puppetry to enact scenes like
Hanuman's flight to Himalayas to
collect sanjeevani buti. Nav Shri
Dharmik Leela Committee plans to
use a hydraulic stage that will rise
30 feet high when Lord Ram and
Sita's swayamvar is enacted.
While some committees are using
technology to draw crowds, others
are planning to introduce new
episodes of the Ramayana or are
bringing in folk elements. For
instance, the artist playing the role
of Ravana in the presentation
organized by Shree Ramlila
Committee Indraprastha Extension
will be a Kathakali artist.
Some committees have also tied
up with mobile service providers
and web companies to reach out to
a wider audience. Starting this year,
Nav Shri Dharmik Leela
Committee is providing a service
where people can listen to the cele-
brations and programmes live on
their mobile phones. Lav Kush
Ramlila Committee, too, will pro-
vide live streaming of the celebra-
tions on their website.
Ramlilas to burn corruption effigies this Dussehra
Traditionally, effigies of Ravana, his brother Kumbhakarna and son
Meghnad are burnt on Dussehra or Vijayadashami.
Mumbai: Bollywood is getting ready
to unveil its busiest, and hopefully its
most fruitful, season at the box office
starting October with a double dose of
Shah Rukh Khan and films of Ranbir
Kapoor, Akshay Kumar and John
Abraham. With at least Rs 300-400
crore riding on films like Ra.One,
Rockstar, Desi Boyz, The Dirty
Picture, Agent Vinod and Don 2, pro-
ducers are putting their best foot for-
ward on marketing and promotions.
Kamal Jain, CFO, Eros
International Media, says Shah Rukh
Khans Ra.One will get the biggest
and widest possible release, with the
sci-fi superhero film releasing in over
3,000 screens across the world,
including 400-500 3D screens
(Bodyguard released in 2,600
screens). It will be dubbed in Tamil
and Telugu as well. Eros, which pro-
duced the film together with Red
Chillies Entertainment, is leaving no
stone unturned to ensure Ra.One
rakes in the maximum at the opening
Diwali weekend. We are also going to
release the film in new territories like
Germany and Taiwan, to name just
two, Jain adds.
Traditionally, October is a very
busy month for Bollywood, with big
banner films releasing, but this year it
gets much bigger than last year, when
around 20-25 films were released,
says Pritie Jadhav, COO, P9
Integrated. Films releasing in October
include David Dhawans comedy
Rascals starring Ajay Devgn and
Sanjay Dutt; UTVs My Friend Pinto,
a Sanjay Leela Bhansali Productions
film; Yash Rajs youth brand Y Films
Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge and
Hema Malinis Tell me O Khuda,
Esha Deols comeback film.
After Ra.One on October 26, the
next big-ticket release will...be Ranbir
Kapoors Rockstar on November 11,
directed by Imtiaz Ali of Jab We Met
fame.
Shah Rukh Khans Ra.One will get the biggest and
widest possible release, with the sci-fi superhero film releasing
in over 3,000 screens across the world.
Big bets for Bollywood
this Diwali
45
World Tourism Day boosts
Dussehras celebrations
Mysore: Tour and travel opera-
tors could not have asked for
more: As the Dussehra celebra-
tions begin a day after the World
Tourism Day this year, they are
busy attending to the enquiries of
prospective tourists.
They are going all out to use the
platform of World Tourism Day to
market the Dussehra experience.
Tour operators have informed
their international partners about
Dussehra celebrations and had
asked them to pass on the word to
as many people as possible.
Many foreign travel agents
operating in India and overseas
have already started posting text,
pictures and videos of Mysore
and Dussehra, which has started a
flood of inquiries, said Rao.
The Mysore Travel Agents
Association made its presence
known on Tuesday by extending
hospitality to all those who
arrived in the city via trains.
Starting from 7.30am, representa-
tives of the association had gath-
ered at Mysore railway station
and welcomed the passengers
with flowers and sweets. Several
foreigners were welcomed with
garlands of Mysore Jasmine.
Muslim artisans prepare effigies in Kashmir
Jammu: Setting a perfect example of communal
harmony and brotherhood, Muslim artisans from
Meerut in Uttar Pradesh are busy these days in giv-
ing finishing touches to effigies of Ravana (demon
king), Kumbhakaran (Ravanas brother) and
Meghnath (Ravanas son) for Hindu festival
Dussehra. For decades together, it is these Muslim
artisans who make the journey from their hometown
Menaputhi in tehsil Sardhana of Meerut to the win-
ter capital of the state and prepare the effigies of
Ravana, Kumbhakaran and Meghnath. It is also their
main source of livelihood.
Interestingly, generation-gap has failed to break
the tradition as the first and the third generations of
Ravana effigy-makers perform their task unitedly.
The new generation is also learning the art along-
side their studies.
Each artist has the proficiency of doing specialized
task. For instance, if one artist is preparing the heads
of Ravanas effigies, other has the expertise of mak-
ing hands and legs.
We are preparing effigies for almost all districts
of the state. For the first time, we are preparing effi-
gies of Ravana, Kumbhakaran and Meghnath for
Leh district, Muhammad Rehman, 54, a Muslim
artisan, who heads 35-member team, told Greater
Kashmir. Rehman said, We could not prepare the
effigies for Srinagar last year due to summer unrest.
This year we have prepared big effigies for Srinagar
which are being given final touch. It takes days
together to prepare effigies but we feel happy while
witnessing these effigies reducing into ashes. I have
been in this profession for the past 26 years and all
artists feel happy to prepare these effigies for their
Hindu brethren.
The new generation is also learning the
art alongside their studies.
By Anil Mulchandani
U
ttar Pradesh is the land
of Lord Rama, the place
where he was born and
spent his formative years.
We started out from Lucknow
for Ayodhya, considered to be
the birthplace of Lord Rama.
One of the holiest of Hindu
cities, it is described in ancient
t ext s as a t own founded by
Manu, t he l aw-gi ver of
Hinduism. This city is ranked as
one of the seven holiest cities
for Hindus in the Puranas. The
At harvaveda descri bed
Ayodhya as "a ci t y bui l t by
Gods and being prosperous as
paradise itself." Valmiki is said
to have written the Ramayana at
Ayodhya and Tulsidas wrote
highly about this historic city in
his version of the great epic.
The city even bears mention in
Tamil Alvars. While the city
gets its name from the ancient
king Ayudh and is best known
as t he l and of Rama Raj ya,
many other great rulers and
l eaders l i ke Jadabharat a,
Bahubal i , Brahmi , Sundari ,
P a d a l i p t a s u r i s v a r j i ,
Hari shchandra and
Achalbharata also hailed from
Ayodhya.
After two and a half hours of
driving east from Lucknow we
reached the Gaghra River (also
cal l ed Sarayu) and got a
glimpse of the sacred shrines
running along the river banks.
Here, a tea vendor told us that it
is not only Rama devotees who
vi si t Ayodhya. For Jai ns,
Ayodhya is important as the
birthplace of five Tirthankaras
and because their texts mention
that Mahavira also visited this
city. The Buddha is said to have
visited and the city thrived as a
Buddhi st cent er. Lord
Swami narayan was born at
Chhapai ya, whi ch i s about
40km from Ayodhya and spent
time here making this is a stag-
ing post for Swaminarayan pil-
grimage as well. Excavations
have revealed ruins dating from
around the seventh century BC
and one of the oldest Jain fig-
ures.
Among the scores of temples
on the river bank the most strik-
ing is the Hanuman Garhi, set
in the old fort of Ayodhya. A
climb of about 76 steps leads to
its gilded interiors. Nearby is
Darsrath Bhavan. As expected,
most of the temples and ghats
are dedicated to Rama, Sita and
Laxman. The Kanak Bhavan, a
short distance from the river is
a palatial complex with a tem-
ple. The Ramkatha Museum has
grand images and ancient texts.
Like the rest of India, Ayodhya
is modernizing and everywhere
you fi nd si gns of coachi ng
classes, new schools and com-
puter courses.
While we were told that we
could catch a Ram Katha or
Rama Lila performance in the
evening, we had to move on to
Al l ahabad where we had
booked our accommodations. It
was evening when we reached
Allahabad and we drove to pho-
tograph the Prayag or Sangam,
before sunset. From the national
hi ghway, we t ook t he t urn
towards the river frontage along
the Yamuna where women per-
form arati or evening worship at
Saraswati Ghat by floating diya,
small oil-filled lamps, down-
st ream. Immedi at el y t o t he
west, in Minto Park, a memorial
marks the exact spot where the
British Raj came into being,
when Indi a was t aken away
from the East India Company in
1858 and placed under the aus-
pices of the Crown.
East of Saraswati Ghat, close
to the Sangam, loom the huge
battlements of Akbars Fort that
look most impressive from the
boat. At the main gates of the
fort stands a poorly restored
polished stone Ashoka Pillar,
inscribed with the emperors
edicts and dated to 242 BC.
As is usual at such places, we
were soon crowded around by
boatmen looking for business,
t he numbers ri si ng as we
walked past the stalls selling
flowers, offerings and prayer
objects to pilgrims visiting the
Hanuman Temple (very colorful
and featuring an unusual reclin-
ing Hanuman) and the river
confluence.
Fi nal l y, we descended t he
mud banks t o t he ri ver and
negotiated for a boat to take the
j ourney t hat phot ographer
Di nesh Shukl a had t aken
decades ago with his late moth-
er. We were soon surrounded by
gulls looking for a snack. As the
sunset turned the river a blazing
golden yellow, the boatman told
us t hat Lord Rama hi msel f
praised this spot for its spiritual
powers, whi ch can upl i ft
mankind and that he is believed
to have stayed at the ashram of
t he Bharadwaj Ri shi here.
``Valmiki and Tulsidas praise
this place in their works. Lord
Rama, Lakshman and Si t a
crossed the Yamuna River and
t here i s a reference t o
Lakshman constructing a boat
to cross the river. There are
many places on the banks of the
Yamuna related to the exile
period of Shri Ram like Akshay
Vat, Sita Rasoi (Jasra Bazaar),
Rishiyan (the abode of Rishis),
Murka (Hanuman
Mandir),claims the boatman.
From Allahabad, the road runs
128km southwest to Chitrakoot,
t he pi l gri m t own al ong t he
Mandakani , bet ween Ut t ar
Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
According to the Ramayana,
Lord Rama l i ved on t he
Kamadgiri Mountain near the
Mandaki ni Ri ver and i t i s
bel i eved t hat hi s brot her,
Bharat , came t o t hi s si t e t o
entice him to return to Ayodhya
and rule Koshaldesha, the king-
dom of the Kaushala dynasty to
which they belonged. When
Rama refused, Bharata asked
for hi s foot wear whi ch he
pl aced on t he t hrone of
Ayodhya. Below the hill sacred
t o devot ees or Rama, t he
Hanuman Dhara is a natural
spring that flows over an image
of Hanumana.
The river shores, hill and
town are full of temples and
ashrams. A boat ri de from
Ramghat offers a delightful
vi ew of t he ri verfront
temple town.
Prayag - the meeting place of rivers Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati is a must visit on pilgrim circuit
Sacred shrines running along Gaghra (Sarayu) river bank in Ayodhya A view of Prayag before sunset ( Pictures By Dinesh Shukla )
Ayodhya: The
birthplace of Lord Rama
46
50 Tristate Community
Nargis Dutt charity honors
seven at gala
Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano, who gave away the awards, and Chief Guest
Priya Dutt praise NDMFs role in improving cancer care.
By Parveen Chopra
Uniondale, NY: The Long Island based
Nargis Dutt Memorial Foundation (NDMF),
which is devoted to improving cancer care in
India, organized its well-attended 30th
anniversary gala at Hotel Marriott here on
Sept 25. Nassau County Executive Ed
Mangano gave a Citation to NDMF office-
bearers commending the great community
service the charity renders. He also presented
the NDMF awards to seven honorees in the
presence of Priya Dutt, Indian MP and patron
of the foundation, and daughter of Nargis and
Sunil Dutt.
The 7 NDMF honorees for 2011 are Dr.
Digpal Dharkar (Lifetime Service
Achievement Award), Dr J. Ganesh Bhat
(Excellence in Health Care), Dr Dev Ratnam
(Excellence in Community Service),
Mohinder Singh Taneja (Excellence in Public
Service), Arvind Walia (Businessman of the
Year), Vandana Govil (Business woman of the
Year) and Anupam Goenka (Social Activist
award).
Hon. Mangano, in his address, said that he
was introduced to the Nargis Dutt foundation
by Kamlesh Mehta, his countys Director of
Business and Economic Development. He
acknowledged that when called during Haiti
emergency, NDMF responded promptly. It
donated $20,000 for Haitian Disaster Relief
through American Red Cross.
Unlike some previous years, no Bollywood
star was invited to the gala this time, but the
tall and stately Priya Dutt in a white ensemble
made her presence felt. She has inherited the
political mantle of her father, Sunil Dutt, and
spoke about her long standing connection with
NDMF, set up 30 years ago in the memory of
her mother, Nargis Dutt, a cancer victim.
NDMF has been contributing immensely for
the cause of cancer in India, she said.
This year, NDMF has given $150,000 for a
Radiation Field Analyzer for cancer treatment
to the Indore Cancer Foundation Charitable
Trust in India. The trust was created in 1988
through the efforts of Sunil Dutt and Dr. Jatin
P. Shah of the Memorial Sloan Kettering
Cancer Center of New York.
NDMF Governing Body members who
addressed the glittering gala included Inder
Bindra (Chairman), Peter Bheddah (Vice
Chairman) Sher Singh Madra (General
Secretary) and Gurdip S. Narula (Treasurer).
Some speakers at the awards presentation
mentioned their near and dear ones who fell to
cancer or are fighting it valiantly and living
on. It underscored the point that cancer is not
a death warrant. Yet, more research and
resources are required to fight it successfully,
an objective of NDMF. NDMF is also helping
in the less served palliative care of the termi-
nally ill cancer patients to ensure there is dig-
nity in death.
All the 2011 NDMF honorees are achievers
in their respective fields. Dr. Digpal Dharkar,
also the keynote at the fundraiser, is an onco-
logical surgeon who has been associated with
the Indore Cancer Foundation since its incep-
tion. Dr Ganesh Bhat is co-founder of Atlantic
Dialysis Management Services and
Chancellor of Xavier University School of
Medicine. Scientist-entrepreneur Dr Dev
Ratnam has ventured into real estate and is on
the board of Interfaith Nutrition Network.
Arvind Walia has combined his technology
and business skills to set up Porteck, a heath-
care revenue cycle management business.
Vandana Govil heads Stuart Thomas Manor
banquet hall on Long Island and has turned
film producer. Mohinder Taneja is a dedicated
community advocate tirelessly helping net-
working among people of diverse back-
groundscurrently he is Director of Outreach
Initiatives in the Town of North
Hempstead.
Anupam Goenka is co-founder
with her husband Animesh
Goenka of a steel trade company,
and has been associated with
community organizations like
AIA, IALI and RANA.
Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano gave a citation commending the Long Island
based NDMFs work to Inder Bindra, its chairman. On Manganos right are Kamlesh
Mehta, Director of Business and Economic Development, Nassau County, and Peter
Bheddah, the charitys vice chairman.
Dr. Digpal Dharkar, oncological surgeon and Hon. Secretary of
the Indore Cancer Foundation, received NDMFs Lifetime Service
Achievement award from Hon. Mangano and Priya Dutt, Indian
MP and NDMF patron.
Dr J. Ganesh Bhat, co-founder of Atlantic Dialysis Management
Services, was given Excellence in Health Care award.
The foundation was set up in the memory
of yesteryears star Nargis, who died of
cancer. It was initiated by her late husband,
actor-turned-politician Sunil Dutt.
Scientist-entrepreneur Dr Dev Ratnam received the Excellence in
Community Service award.
Arvind Walia was given the award for
Businessman of the Year.
Anupam Goenka received
Social Activist award. She was
accompanied by her husband
Animesh Goenka, AIA National
President.
Ginnis fashion show showcased Indian designs. Nassau County First Lady Linda Mangano (left) added to the glamor at the gala.
Tristate Community 51
Mohinder Singh Taneja was honored for Excellence in
Public Service in the presence of Jon Kaiman (left),
Supervisor of the Town of North Hempstead.
Mrs Kanchana Poola, Kamlesh Mehta
and Hon. Mangano.
Shudh Jasuja, Hon. Mangano, Kamlesh Mehta and Harendra Singh posing for the camera. Manju & Raja Amar of Portables Unlimited got clicked with Hon. Mangano.
Vandana Govil was honored as Business woman of the Year.
52 Mahatma Gandhi Birth Anniversary
T
he knowledge that a perfect
observance of brahmacharya
(celibacy) means realization
of Brahman, I did not owe to a
study of the Shastras. It grew upon
me with experience.
Every day of the vows has taken
me nearer the knowledge that in
brahmacharya lies the protection of
the body, the mind and the soul.
For brahmacharya was now no
process of penance, it was a matter
of joy. But, let no one believe that
it was easy.
Even when I am past 56 years, I
realize how hard a thing it is. Every
day I realize that it is like walking
on the sword' s edge, and I see
every moment the necessity for
eternal vigilance. Control of the
palate is the first essential in the
observance of the vow.
So, I now pursued my dietetic
experiments not merely from the
vegetarian's but also from the brah-
machari's point of view. As a result,
I saw that the brahmachari's food
should be limited, simple, spiceless
and, if possible, uncooked. The
brahmachari's ideal food is fresh
fruit and nuts.
The immunity from passion that I
enjoyed when I lived on this food
was unknown to me after I changed
that diet. Brahmacharya needed no
effort on my part in South Africa
when I lived on fruits and nuts
alone.
It has been a matter of great
effort ever since I began to take
milk. I have not the least doubt that
milk makes the brahmacharya vow
difficult to observe.
Let no one deduce from this that
all brahmacharis must give up
milk. I have yet to find a fruit sub-
stitute for milk which is an equally
good muscle-builder and easily
digestible.
As an external aid to brah-
macharya, fasting is as necessary
as selection and restriction in diet.
So overpowering are the senses
that they can be kept under control
only when they are completely
hedged in on all sides. It is com-
mon knowledge that they are pow-
erless without food, and so fasting
undertaken with a view to control
the senses is helpful.
With some, fasting is of no avail,
because assuming that fasting
alone will make them immune,
they keep their bodies without
food, but feast their minds upon all
sorts of delicacies. Such fasting
helps them in controlling neither
palate not lust. Fasting is useful
when mind co-operates with the
starving body.
Mind is at the root of all sensuali-
ty. But it may be said that extinc-
tion of the sexual passion is as a
rule impossible without fasting.
Many aspirants after brahmacharya
fail because in the use of their
other senses they want to carry on
like those who are not brah-
macharis.
There should be a clear line
between the life of a brahmachari
and of one who is not. Both use
their eyesight, but whereas the
brahmachari uses it to see the glo-
ries of God, the other uses it to see
the frivolity around him.
Both use their ears, but whereas
the one hears nothing but praises of
God, the other feasts his ears upon
ribaldry. Both often keep late
hours, but whereas the one devotes
them to prayer, the other fritters
them away in wasteful mirth.
Both feed the inner man, but the
one only to keep the temple of God
in good repair, while the other
gorges himself and makes the
sacred vessel a stinking gutter.
Brahmacharya means control of
the senses in thought, word and
deed. There is no limit to the possi-
bilities of renunciation. Such brah-
macharya is impossible to attain by
limited effort.
An aspirant after brahmacharya
will always be conscious of his
shortcomings, will seek out the
passions lingering in the innermost
recesses of his heart and will inces-
santly strive to get rid of them.
Involuntary thought is an affection
of the mind which is even more
difficult to curb than the wind.
Nevertheless, the existence of
God within makes the control of
the mind possible. Let no one think
that it is impossible because it is
difficult. It is the highest goal, and
it is no wonder that the highest
effort should be necessary to attain
it.
M
ahatma Gandhi felt that Indian method of bringing
up girls was faulty. He said that a shielded life made
a girl feel helpless by the time she grew into woman.
He believed that a woman within her had sufficient strength to
guard herself. Considering Indian ethos 150 years ago which
Gandhiji witnessed, he sounds modern, and a protagonist of
womens rights! Women, half of humanity were nobler,
embodiment of sacrifice, silent suffering, humility, faith and
knowledge.
From student days till his end, he believed in womans per-
fect equality of man. Complete independence (Poorn Swaraj)
meant equality of men and women in all walks of life. Names
he gave to his followers such as Sitaram or Radhakrisha had
special significance with womens name coming first. He firm-
ly believed a womans intuition has proved truer than mans
arrogant assumption of superior knowledge. He himself fitted
specially to serve womankind.
Gandhiji vehemently opposed the evil custom of child mar-
riage. He himself was a victim, being married at the age of 13.
He believed in marriage between grown-ups or healthy educat-
ed partners which contributed to make a strong nation.
He condemned prostitution as shame of the nation. That was
the time when prostitution was forced due to caste system
(prostitutes daughter had to become one). He met in person
the unfortunate women of this class during his all India tour for
collecting money for Tilak Swaraj fund in the South
(Kakinada) and the East (Barisal). He was touched to the core
to see their plight. Some were ready to give up their profession
(after willingly contributing to the fund) and work as congress
volunteers. Gandhi advised them to take up spinning and
weaving and their daughters to lead a celibate life.
The measures were austere and impractical, but there are
instances of reformed girls in Gandhian institutions of the
time, who were earlier forced into prostitution.
People have questioned his treatment for his wife. Kasturba
was a woman of rare grit and profound understanding. To be a
soul mate of a powerful (spiritually) personality was nothing
but hard penance. Though harsh in earlier years, as he admitted
in his autobiography, Gandhiji became aware of Bas inner
strength later. She was never a temptress and she had no objec-
tion to his practice of celibacy at an early age. In fact, it was
extremely difficult for him even in mid-fifties. Ba equaled, and
later excelled him in this super-human trait. She has been a
tower of strength to me in my self-imposed vow of brah-
macharya (celibacy). He had unstinted praise for his wifes
mental strength. He has devoted a full chapter on her courage
in his autobiography and several references elsewhere appreci-
ating this extraordinary trait. It is difficult to agree with
Gandhijis views on birth control. For him, spiritual uplift was
most important. He admitted that celibate life was an ideal, dif-
ficult to practice.
On Mahatma Gandhis 142nd birth anniversary, Oct 2, declared in 2007 by the UN as International Day of
Non-Violence, we bring to you some lesser known aspects of the life of one of the greatest men in history.
An extract from Gandhis autobiography
MK Gandhi you did not know
Experiments with celibacy
An emancipator of women
Mahatma Gandhi Birth Anniversary 53
F
ood is a matter of choice.
We usually eat what we feel
is best suited to have an
adequate supply of energy and
keep us healthy. But it rarely goes
beyond that.
Unless one has the resolve of a
Gandhi.
For Gandhi, food was not some-
thing that just satiated hunger. It
was an integral part of shaping the
human consciousness. Which is
why he carried out a number of
experiments to find the perfect
diet. Though Gandhi is associated
with vegetarianism and milk, he
actually abstained from milk for a
period of six years, considering it
an animal product.
In 1917, when he was bed-rid-
den, doctors compelled him to
take milk. He, however, did not
want to break his vow of not con-
suming cow's milk. Thus began
his now-famous goat-milk diet.
And the idea seems to be catching
on.
Available data suggests that
over 440 million goats worldwide
produce an estimated 4.8 million
tons of milk, consumed locally or
converted into cheese. This clear-
ly shows a growing preference for
goat's milk.
According to a comparison
made by Dr P.P. Bose, who has
been studying dietary habits, the
xanthine oxidase in cow-milk is
capable of damaging the heart and
arteries.
On the other hand, glycerol
ethers are higher in goat's milk,
which is an important source of
nutrition for an infant. Goat's milk
also has greater amounts of vita-
min A, as well as minerals, calci-
um, potassium, magnesium, phos-
phorus, chlorine and manganese.
Gandhi emphasized wheat and
rice in a diet, with cereals holding
the second place. He felt that cere-
als should be taken relatively dry
for mastication and proper diges-
tion. This was followed by fruits
and vegetables. He stressed that
fresh seasonal fruits and vegeta-
bles should be eaten raw.
Commenting on Gandhi's views
on diet, Dr Bose says: "Gandhi's
concept of diet fits the recom-
mended food pyramid, which is
essential for good health."
A food pyramid begins with fat
and oils at the top, whose con-
sumption should be the least.
Then milk and poultry products,
followed by fruits and vegetables.
The base represents cereals, with
maximum amount of water con-
tent.
"Gandhi," explains Dr Bose,
"was far ahead of his time. What
he proclaimed 50 years ago is
now being promoted as the ideal
diet pattern."
Gandhi expressed his preference
for jaggery over sugar. Because,
as Dr Bose explains, "sugar goes
directly into blood, raising the
sugar level, and the excess sugar
gets converted into calorie or fat.
Jaggery, however, takes more time
to masticate, thus resulting in a
slower rise in sugar level".
Gandhi did not think it neces-
sary to eat pulses if milk was
included in the diet. "He con-
sumed small quantities of pure
ghee," informs Dr Bose. "Since
this was derived from milk, it was
more like an unsaturated fat,
which is not cholesterol forming."
For Gandhi, the welfare of peo-
ple living in the villages was the
first priority. So, he worked with
many nutritionists to derive a diet-
chart that gave maximum nutri-
tion at minimum cost. Even
Gandhi' s concept of fasting,
which revolutionalized non-vio-
lent resistance, had its health ben-
efits.
"Occasional fasting," says Dr
Bose, "is indeed beneficial for the
body and restores normal func-
tioning of the digestive system."
Gandhi, however, did eat meat
as a growing boy.
In his book, Diet and Diet
Reforms, he recalls how he came
to believe that meat eating could
make the entire nation strong and
drive the British away.
What convinced him to adopt
vegetarianism was Henry Salt's
Plea for Vegetarianism, Howard
Williams' The Ethics of Diet, a
biographical history of the litera-
ture of human dietetics from the
earliest period to the present day,
and Dr Anna Kingsford' s The
Perfect Way in Diet.
While talking about the moral
basis of vegetarianism, Gandhi
wrote: "Man was not born a car-
nivorous animal, but born to live
on fruits and herbs that the Earth
grows."
Today, though there are argu-
ments about whether Homo sapi-
ens were by nature carnivores or
herbivores, research indicates that
vegetarianism may not only lead
to a healthier life, but a longer
lifeas well. Gandhi believed that a
man becomes what he eats. The
grosser the food, the grosser the
body.
Dr Michael Brown and Dr Josef
Goldstein, heart specialists from
the USA and winners of Nobel
Prize for medicine, say: "All fle-
sharian food cause many diseases
such as constipation, piles, gall
bladder stones, colon cancer, indi-
gestion, ulcer and kidney failure."
To study the interrelation
between diet and personality
traits, an experiment was conduct-
ed on prisoners at Gwalior jail.
According to the results,
inmates put on a vegetarian diet
over a period of six months began
to refrain from aggressive behav-
ior. On reverting to a non-vegetar-
ian diet they showed a behavior
change for the worse.
In his book Zen Macrobiotics,
Georges Ohsawa, a Japanese
physician who combined the
ancient eastern nourishing way
with western science to evolve the
basic rules of nutrition, goes to the
extent of saying that if Gandhi
had been a meat eater, he would
have become a cruel revolutionary
instead of an apostle of non-vio-
lence. Far-fetched?
Perhaps. After all, we have had
meat-eating sages and wise-lead-
ers. But going by dietary research,
vegetarianism has more pros than
cons.
In one of Gandhi' s dietetic
experiments, he, along with a
group of volunteers, were put on a
raw food diet. He believed that
proper mastication of food could
reduce food intake.
Thus, help the economy, and
reduce the violence one commit-
ted to sustain life. Though the
experiment failed and many vol-
unteers showed a marked deterio-
ration of health, and Gandhi him-
self fell sick, he continued to
express faith in the value of
uncooked food.
This indicates that raw food
alone may not be the fastest ticket
to health. Especially when com-
bined with fasting and marginal
health care. But it could add a
great deal to our diet.
Dr Ann Wigmore, founder of the
Hippocrates Health Institute in
Florida, says: "The easiest way to
add living enzymes to the diges-
tive tract is to eat ripe fruits,
uncooked organically grown veg-
etables, sprouts and wheatgrass."
To pave way for equal distribu-
tion of food, Gandhi proposed that
all members of the community
should share the available food
resources.
Those who could afford animal
proteins such as milk, cheese,
eggs or meat, should avoid pulses
and leave them for those who
could not afford anything else.
He expressed his desire to intro-
duce food reforms in the villages
by making available the simplest
and the cheapest food.
Gandhi said: "When food sub-
merses the body, and through the
body the soul, its relish disap-
pears, and then alone does it begin
to function in the way nature
intended it to."
It took Gandhi 35 long years to
evolve a healthy diet that helped
him to keep fit and wage a war
that required all his energy and
determination.
Ravi on Ranju Batra continued
from page 27
My loss of sleep is AIA's gain,
and in the end I know that her
hard work will serve to enhance
public confidence in volunteerism
in America, bring our nation clos-
er to India on a people-to-people
level, replace bigotry with knowl-
edge of an ancient culture and
people, and most of all help the
mainstream respect ethnicity and
ethnicity mainstream itself. While
I wish everyone a Happy &
Healthy Diwali, I look forward to
life after October 2nd, Mahatma
Gandhi's birthday and the AIA
Diwali, with fireworks that joy-
ously light up the night for mil-
lions of New Yorkers. Let there be
light..
Gandhi followed a diet pattern that most nutritionists consider an ideal diet. But, to what extent is that
diet practical for a modern individual?
Food for the soul
Mahatma Gandhi sharing a meal with Paramahamsa Yogananda at the latter's ashram in Ranchi.
As in the past, Gandhi
Jayanti will be celebrat-
ed on Oct 2 at 10.00
am at Uni on Square
Park ( West si de) on
14th Street, Manhattan
( near the statue of
Mahatma Gandhi).
The program organ-
i zed by the I ndi an
Consulate will include
garlanding of the stat-
ue of Mahatma Gandhi
and si ngi ng of
Gandhi j i s favori te
bhajans.
Gandhi Jayanti in NYC
54 Shastri Birth Anniversary
W
hatever your station in
future life, each one of
you should first of all
think of yourselves as citizens of the
country. This confers on you certain
rights, which are guaranteed by the
Constitution but it also subjects you
to certain responsibilities, which
also have to be clearly understood.
Ours is a democracy, which
enjoins freedom to the individual,
but this freedom has to be subjected
to a number of voluntary restraints
in the interests of organized society.
And these voluntary restraints have
to be exercised and demonstrated in
every-day life.
A good citizen is one who obeys
the law, whether there is a police-
man around or not, and who takes
delight in performing his civic
duties. In the olden days sense of
self-restraint and discipline was
inculcated by the combined effort of
the family and the teacher. The eco-
nomic stresses of present-day life
unfortunately do not leave enough
time to the parents to look after the
children.
In the educational institutions the
numbers have grown so large as to
take away the benefits, which used
to accrue formerly by personal con-
tact between the teacher and the
taught. Inevitably, our young stu-
dents are often left much to their
own resources. Often this creates
problems, which we all know about.
This is an important aspect, which
needs thorough examination. The
responsibility of our young citizens
is great. In my view every station in
life is important in itself. Work has
its own dignity and there is great
satisfaction in doing one's own job
to the best of one's ability. Whatever
the duties, we should apply our-
selves with sincerity and devotion.
Such an approach, apart from being
good in itself, also has the added
advantage of opening avenues for
further advancement. We have to
see whether we have done our own
job well before thinking of criticiz-
ing anybody else. All too often, we
succumb to the temptation of decry-
ing others without bothering to look
to ourselves.
Never forget that loyalty to the
country comes ahead of all other
loyalties. And this is an absolute
loyalty, since one cannot weigh it in
terms of what one receives. It is
essential to remember that the entire
country is one and that any one who
fosters or promotes separatism or
fissiparous tendencies is not our
true friend. What I have said stems
from a desire to see that the youth of
our country prepares itself in a dis-
ciplined and determined manner for
the responsibilities of tomorrow. A
democratic country is sustained not
by the greatness of a few but by the
co-operative effort of the many. The
future of the country is in your
hands and as the older generations
complete their task the new ones
come along to take their place. If
they are well equipped as individu-
als and as citizens, the country's
future will be bright indeed. At a
time when you are at the threshold
of a new period in your life I would
urge you to play your role with con-
fidence and dignity.
Our position with regard to secu-
larism is known so well that it hard-
ly needs any reiteration. It is
embodied in our Constitution,
which ensures equal respect for all
religions and equal opportunities for
all citizens, irrespective of their
caste and creed and the faith which
they profess. In spite of a seeming
diversity, there is a fundamental
unity in India, which we all cherish
and it has to be our constant endeav-
or to maintain and strengthen this
unity.
The country can progress only if it
does away completely with fissi-
parous tendencies and emerges as
an integrated whole. And it is in the
field of education that the seed of
secularism has to be sown at the
earliest stages, so that the plant can
be carefully nurtured as it grows.
The world is at the moment pass-
ing through very difficult times. In
fact, it would not be wrong to say
that never before in the recent past
had mankind to grapple with prob-
lems of as complex a nature as are
confronting it today. It is imperative
that satisfactory and, as far as possi-
ble, lasting solutions should be
found to these problems without
undue delay, otherwise there is a
danger of the situation getting out of
hand. Mutual suspicions, hatred and
ill-will between nations and groups
of persons have to be removed at all
costs and sincere and determined
efforts have to be made to ensure
that differences and outstanding
problems are resolved by mutual
discussion in a spirit of understand-
ing, and not by the use of force.
Wars and conflicts, as we know to
our cost, always create more prob-
lems than they succeed in solving.
The great advances made by science
and technology, particularly in the
field of nuclear and thermonuclear
energy, have placed an almost
unlimited power at the disposal of
mankind. This power can be used
either for constructive or for
destructive purposes and it is up to
us to try to derive the fullest possi-
ble benefit from it.
We, in India, have our own special
problems. No one can deny that
some of them are of a serious nature
and must be tackled with vigor and
determination. Our national objec-
tive has been defined clearly and
unambiguously. We aim that every
citizen should be provided with the
basic necessities of life and should
have complete freedom to lead the
life of his or her own choice. We
aim at a democratic society, strong
and free, in which every citizen,
irrespective of his religious belief,
will occupy an equal and honored
place, and will be given full and
equal opportunities for growth and
service. We aim at the removal of
untouchability and the doing away
of the prevailing serious inequalities
in status and wealth. We are
opposed to the concentration of
wealth in a few hands. Our rich cul-
tural heritage extending over count-
less centuries is not the culture of
this community or that but the syn-
thesis of the cultures of the great
peoples who lived here at various
times in the past. The objectives I
have mentioned are by no means
easy of achievement in their entire-
ty. I know that we have met with
only a limited degree of success so
far, but we have to persevere until
the goal is achieved.
It must be remembered that the
vast majority of Indians are
extremely poor and it is only a small
minority that live in relative comfort
and have the benefit of university
education and other worthwhile
things.
It is when we look at the Indian
scene in such a perspective that
Hindus, Muslims, Christians,
Parsecs and others, instead of feel-
ing that they are different, will
together begin to put forth a tremen-
dous effort to fight poverty, to eradi-
cate disease and banish illiteracy.
Lal Bahadur Shastri rose to be
2nd Prime Minister of India,
revolutionizing Indian agriculture
Lal Bahadur Shastri (Oct 2, 1904 Jan 11, 1966) created the slogan of "Jai Jawan Jai Kisan" underlining the need to boost India's food production.
He was instrumental in pushing the Green Revolution and the White Revolution.
Born on October 2, 1904, Lal Bahadur Shastri remains a role model to be emulated by
one and all. A freedom fighter and a believer of simple living and high thinking, he
continues to inspire the next generation even today. An excerpt from the convocation
speech he gave at the Aligarh Muslim University on December 19, 1964...
Subcontinent & International 55
Kathmandu: A small aircraft
crashed near here, killing all 19
people on board, but the grief and
anxiety of the victims' families
was compounded after they were
handed out wrong names of the
Indian passengers.
A much anticipated trip to Nepal
for a glimpse of the majestic Mt
Everest, the highest peak in the
world, up close from air led 10
Indian tourists along with nine
other fliers into the jaws of death
as the Beech aircraft, belonging to
Buddha Airlines, crashed in
Kotdanda -- a forested area in
Lalitpur district about 20 km from
Kathmandu.
The 10 Indian tourists are most-
ly from Tamil Nadu' s
Tiruchirappalli town.
The Indian embassy in
Kathmandu identified the eight
people from Trichy as M.
Maruthachalam, M. Manimaran,
A.K. Krisunan, V.M.
Kankasabesan, T. Dhansekaran,
Kattoor Mahalingam, Meenakshi
Sundaram and K. Thyagarajan.
The other two Indians were
identified as Pankaj Mehta and
Chaya Mehta. At least one of
them was working for the UN in
Kathmandu.
The fresh identification was
made on the basis of identity
cards and other documents after
Nepal's aviation authorities had
earlier released a set of different
names.
Though rescuers managed to
bring out a lone survivor from the
wreck site, the grievously injured
36-year-old Nepali man, identi-
fied as Nirajan Karmacharya, died
while receiving medical treatment
at Lalitpur's B&B Hospital.
The aircraft had flown the group
to the Mt Everest region in north-
ern Nepal and crashed while
returning to the capital around
7.50 a.m., minutes after it went
out of contact.
It was carrying 16 passengers --
10 Indians, three Nepalis and
three foreigners.
The three-member crew com-
prised Captain J.B. Tamrakar, co-
pilot Padma Adhikari and air-
hostess Ashmita Adhikari.
Among the three foreigners, two
were Americans -- Andrew Wade
and Natalie Neilan, and a
Japanese tourist, Uejima
Toshinori.
Initial reports said the crash,
which took place minutes before
landing, could have occurred due
to bad weather and poor visibility.
Locals, army and armed police-
men undertook the painful task of
gathering the bodies and bringing
them back to Kathmandu for post-
mortem.
Doctors at the Tribhuvan
University Teaching Hospital said
post-mortem examination had
already started. The bodies would
be handed over to relatives once
the process was over.
Some of the bodies were yet to
be identified and the authorities
said they were awaiting the arrival
of family members.
The government said it had
formed a three-member team to
investigate the incident. The black
box of the aircraft has been recov-
ered.
The crash comes at a time Nepal
is observing tourism year 2011
with the intention of bringing in
one million air-borne tourists,
mostly Indians.
Last December, Nepal's domes-
tic carrier Tara Air flying 22 peo-
ple, mostly Bhutanese pilgrims,
crashed after smashing into a
mountain east of Kathmandu,
killing all on board.
Another major crash occurred in
August the same year when a
plane flying to the Everest region
crashed due to bad weather,
killing all 14 people on board,
including four Americans, a
Japanese and a Briton.
19 dead in Nepal plane crash
Nairobi (Nigeria): The United
Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP) mourned the death of
Nobel laureate Wangari Maathai,
who died of cancer.
Maathai was awarded the Nobel
Peace Prize in 2004, becoming the
first environmentalist and the first
African woman to receive the honor.
The 71-year-old activist was
founder of Kenya' s Green Belt
Movement and patron of the UNEP.
She was one of Africa's foremost
environmental campaigners, inter-
nationally recognized for her com-
mitment to democracy, human rights
and conservation.
"Her departure is untimely and a
very great loss to all of us who knew
her as a mother, relative, co-worker,
colleague, role model, and heroine
or those who admired her determi-
nation to make the world a peaceful,
healthy and better place for all of
us," UNEP said in a statement, quot-
ing officials of Green Belt
Movement.
She founded the Green Belt
Movement in 1977, encouraging
women in rural Kenya to plant trees
as a means of improving their liveli-
hoods through better access to clean
water, firewood for cooking and
other resources.
Since then, the movement has
planted over 30 million trees in
Africa and assisted nearly 900,000
women to establish tree nurseries
and plant trees to reverse the effects
of deforestation.
Nobel laureate Maathai's
death mourned
Initial reports said the crash, which took place minutes before landing,
could have occurred due to bad weather and poor visibility.
Rome: The Taliban said they - and
not Pakistan - control the Haqqani
network in Afghanistan, and denied
having any links with Islamabad.
"All military and civilian activi-
ties in the country (Afghanistan)
are our own initiatives and our own
actions," the Taliban said in a state-
ment.
"The respected Maulawi
Jalaluddin Haqqani is one of the
Islamic Emirate's honorable and
dignified personalities and receives
all guidance for operations from the
leader of Islamic Emirate," it said,
referring to the founder of the
Haqqani network.
US officials blame the network
for numerous attacks on American
targets, including the Sep 13 attack
on its embassy in Kabul, in which
at least 14 people died.
The Taliban denied claims by the
US that in Afghanistan they were in
disarray, and asked Washington to
rapidly withdraw from the country.
"Instead of baseless accusations,
more casualties and a constant
attempt to conceal losses and fail-
ures, it would be better for America
and her allies to put an end to the
occupation of Afghanistan as
quickly as possible and do now
what must inevitably be done," the
statement said.
"The Islamic Emirate is at its
strongest and unified more than it
has been at any other stage. It is
also enjoying the vast support and
backing of its nation and has con-
trol over more than half the regions
of Afghanistan," it claimed.
US State Department spokesman
Mark Toner has said America was
considering placing the Haqqani
network on its list of terrorist
groups.
Taliban claim to control
Haqqani network
Haqqani network's founder
Jalaluddin Haqqani, a disciplined
Afghan guerrilla leader
bankrolled by the United States to
fight Soviet troops in Afghanistan
in the 1980s.
Maathai was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004, becoming the first
environmentalist and the first African woman to receive the honor.
Tripoli: Ousted Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has
said he is still in the country, fighting on the ground
and ready to die a martyr, state-run Allibiya TV report-
ed."Heroes have resisted and fallen as martyrs and we
too are awaiting martyrdom," Gaddafi was quoted as
saying in a speech broadcast on local radio in Bani
Walid, one of his last strongholds.
Gaddafi hailed the resistance by his supporters in
Bani Walid, south of Tripoli, which has seen clashes
for several weeks after a siege by forces of the rebel
National Transitional Council (NTC).
Referring to the NTC, Gaddafi said an "unexpected
shock" awaits the "clique of agents in the coming
days".
The Libyan leader is still on the run, though rebels
control most of the North African country and are
working to set up a new government.
Gaddafi says he is still in Libya
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is still on the
run, though rebels control most of the North
African country and are working to set up a
new government.
56 Sports & Business
New Delhi: Former Pakistan fast
bowler Shoaib Akhtar said people
should read his autobiography first
to "understand his remarks" about
Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul
Dravid, and added that they are
"world class cricketers".
"I am not here to clarify any-
thing... but facts in my book have
been presented in a rather strange
manner by the media here," Akhtar
said responding to queries about
his remarks on Tendulkar and
Dravid.
"I request people to read the book
to understand my remarks about
Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul
Dravid...what I said, why I said and
the manner in which I said. They
are all world class cricketers.
Please go through the book..."
Akhtar said.
In his autobiography
' Controversially Yours' , Akhtar
says that he intimidated master
blaster Tendulkar with his delivery
during the Faisalabad Test.
"I bowled (Sachin) a particularly
fast ball which he, to my amaze-
ment, didn't even touch. He walked
away! That was the first time I saw
him walk away from me that, too,
on the slow track at Faisalabad,"
Akhtar wrote.
"I think players like Sachin
Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid
weren't exactly match winners to
start with, nor did they know the
art of finishing the game."
The bowler, who holds the offi-
cial record for the world's fastest
delivery, was in the capital Friday
to launch his autobiography, which
he has co-authored with Anshu
Dogra. The book has been pub-
lished by Harper-Collins India.
Akhtar has also alleged that he
was cheated by Bollywood star
Shah Rukh Khan and former
Indian Premier League chairman
Lalit Modi.
"Shah Rukh and I talked about
my not being happy with the
money settled on me. Shah Rukh
and Modi got me to agree. I should
have never listened to Modi and
Shah Rukh," he said. Akhtar, who
retired after the 2011 World Cup,
also admitted to ball tampering and
feels it should be legalized.
"Everyone tampers with the ball.
I did so too. Tampering should be
legalized."
Akhtar also claimed that his
career was hampered by legendary
Pakistani pacer Wasim Akram.
"Wasim Akram threatened to walk
out with half the team if I was
included in the team. General
Tauqir Zia (the then PCB chief)
backed Shoaib against Wasim," he
wrote.
Thirty-six-year-old Akhtar, who
has taken more than 400 wickets in
his career, is known for bowling at
100.2 mph. The book chronicles
and questions the game that was a
part of his life, his peers, the
Pakistan Cricket Control Board
and the ICC. The book is full of
anecdotes.
Shoaib goes defensive on Sachin
Bangalore: More Grand Prix
(GP), investments and sponsors
would make motor racing popular
in India, as the exciting sport had
caught up with the youth, British
Formula One (F1)driver Lewis
Hamilton said.
"India needs to invest a lot in
building the infrastructure for
making motor racing popular.
Passion for the sport here is
incredible. But you need more
investors and sponsors to host a
Grand Prix every year to make it
as popular as cricket," Hamilton
told reporters here.
The 2008 F1 world champion
earlier dazzled about 10,000 fren-
zied fans by driving his 2008
award-winning McLaren
Mercedes (MP4-23) at breakneck
speeds on a 500-metre stretch of
an expressway built by Nandi
Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise
(NICE) Ltd on the city's outskirts.
The first Indian F1 Grand Prix is
slated to be held October 28-30 at
Buddha International Circuit in
Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh,
about 24km from New Delhi.
Kolkata: Former Indian cricketer
Navjot Singh Sidhu said Pakistani
pacer Shoaib Akhtar was
indulging in cheap gimmicks to
sell his book where the speedster
has made disparaging comments
against top Indian players.
"A player (Sachin Tendulkar)
who has conquered the whole
world and stands tall like the
Himalayas, can he be afraid of any
bowler? It's just cheap publicity,
there was no need for such a gim-
mick," said Sidhu, who was in city
as the brand ambassador of
Skipper Ltd., a PVC pipe manu-
facturing company. Heaping
praise on Tendulkar, Sidhu said:
"Tendulkar has derailed the
Rawalpindi Express (a name
given to Akhtar for his fast deliv-
eries) many a time. He is not a
mortal but an institution in him-
self. His name is etched in world
history forever."
On whether Tendulkar should be
conferred the country's highest
civilian award of the Bharat
Ratna, Sidhu said: "He is a Bharat
Ratna. The man does not need any
such title to make the world know
how precious he is to the country."
More Grand Prix in
India needed:
Hamilton
Sidhu calls Akhtar's claims
a cheap gimmick
In his autobiography 'Controversially Yours', Shoaib Akhtar says that
he intimidated master blaster Sachin with his delivery during the
Faisalabad Test.
New York: U.S. stocks rose for
a third straight day and oil prices
jumped on rising hopes
European leaders will beef up
the euro zone's rescue fund and
tackle the region's debt crisis.
The euro also rose for a third
straight day as multiple reports
showed officials considering
plans to make its bailout fund
many times larger and to recapi-
talize banks.
But volatility yet again ruled
the day on conflicting reports
suggesting European officials
are considering bold new action
to solve the crisis but there are
deep disagreements.
The sharp focus on Europe
will remain as the region's sov-
ereign debt crisis threatens to
sink banks across the euro zone
and bring the regional economy
to a halt.
"Once we get some resolution
of the European sovereign debt
issues, we will regain focus on
what's going on in our economic
data stream, and that hasn't been
a pretty picture this past month
or so," said Art Hogan, manag-
ing director at Lazard Capital
Markets in New York.
U.S. Treasuries prices slipped
as demand for safe havens
ebbed, helping the yield on the
benchmark 10-year note to rise
back to near 2 percent.
Stocks on Wall Street were up
as much 2 percent most of the
day before finishing just over 1
percent higher as sharp selling
into the market's close showed
investors' nervousness.
The drop in momentum caused
global equities, as tracked by the
MSCI all-country world stock
index, to narrowly miss their
biggest gains in 14 months.
Some investors had cautioned
about a possible swing in stocks
even as Wall Street surged earli-
er on Tuesday on portfolio
rebalancing before the third
quarter's close and buying in
response to European debt
crisis.
World stocks rebound on
euro bailout hope
The first Indian F1 Grand Prix is slated to be held October 28-30 at
Buddha International Circuit in Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh.
San Francisco: Apple Inc looks set to introduce its
iPhone 5 at a special event next week.
The invitation-only event will be held Oct 4 at Apple
campus in Cupertino, California. This could be the
first big product launch by the newly installed chief
executive officer Tim Cook after he took over the reins
of Apple from Steve Jobs in August.
According to US media reports, the iPhone 5 is
expected to have a larger screen, a higher resolution
camera and a faster dual-core A5 chip on which the
iPad 2 runs.
Apple is also reported to release a low-cost and con-
tract- free iPhone model bundled with its cloud com-
puting service iCloud.
Apple to unveil new iPhone
The sharp focus on Europe will
remain as the region's sovereign
debt crisis threatens to sink banks
across the euro zone and bring the
regional economy to a halt.
Ultimate Bollywood 57
Thesouthasiantimes.info October 1-7, 2011
T
here is an absolutely devastating
moment of pure drama in this
eagerly-awaited far-from-disap-
pointing romance where Shahid Kapoor,
playing one of the most deliciously chal-
lenging roles of his career, espies from a
train the lost love of his life, Sonam
Kapoor, standing forlorn in the snow with
luggage, like Meryl Streep in "The French
Lieutenant's Woman" or Manisha Koirala
in "Dil Se", waiting for god knows what!
The next train? Love? Death? Or the next
life?
It's a moment that defines "Mausam", a
film that has some serious flaws, but final-
ly holds together as a work of renaissance
art, more remarkable, in parts outstanding,
for what it attempts rather than what it
finally achieves.
Pankaj Kapoor takes the Muslim-Hindu
love story between a Kashmiri refugee girl
and a Punjabi boy through an arching
sweep of history. Every historical trauma
that has defined and defiled India and
Indians in the last 30 years props up as a
vital image to underline the love story.
And what "Mausam" finally says is, love
becomes impossible in a civilization that
chooses to define itself by violence rather
than peace. Gandhi? He could be just a
specter that never existed in a world where
two young people cannot come together in
a clasp of love for the fear of falling into a
terror trap.
The film goes from one phase in the cou-
ple's life to another, not quite smoothly but
not strenuously either. The transitions in
their estrangement are mapped out in some
finely-written scenes where the couple's
smothered affections for one another are
manifested in moments of sublime beauty.
Shahid takes us through the film's and
his character's romantic odyssey, inconsis-
tencies and all. Forget Tom Cruise. In the
Airforce uniform he reminds us of Rajesh
Khanna in "Aradhana". And that's the
highest compliment any contemporary
star can be paid.
I
nternational celebrity
Paris Hilton claims to
have received two
Bollywood offers and says
she is open to working in the
Hindi film industry, provid-
ed she gets suitable scripts.
"I have been approached to
do two Bollywood films.
But I am not keen on them.
However, if a good script
comes up, I am willing to do
it. Bollywood films are
beautiful, I love the clothes
in them," said the blonde
beauty.
The socialite has come
here to launch her line of
bags, but there's a lot more
on her mind during her short
trip. "I am right now here for
business. I wanted to do
much more but there's no
time during this trip," said
Hilton, who unveiled the
collection at a media gather-
ing. However, she does not
want to miss taking back
"good memories" along with
"Indian saris, bindis and
jewelry".
A yoga enthusiast, Hilton
sported a sari for the cover
shoot of an Indian fashion
magazine recently, and says
she adored the six-yard won-
der.
"I am very inspired by
Indian designers. I recently
shot for the cover of Marie
Claire India in a sari
designed by Rocky S. He is
an incredible designer.
Paris Hilton in Mumbai.
Director Pankaj Kapoor takes the Muslim-Hindu love story
through an arching sweep of history.
Shahid stands tall in 'Mausam'
Ghazal maestro
Jagjit Singh critical
G
hazal singer Jagjit Singh, 70, who
was admitted to the Intensive Care
Unit at Lilavati hospital after he
suffered a brain hemorrhage, continued to
remain in a critical condition.
Singhs condition is still critical but has
not worsened, said Dr Ajit Menon, cardi-
ologist, who is Singhs doctor. There was
a clot in his brain.
The surgeons had to decompress the
brain to remove the clot, said Dr Menon.
Dr Nitin Dange, consulting neurosurgeon
conducted the surgery late Friday night.
The singer was suffering from high blood
pressure, a major cause for brain hemor-
rhages. In 2007, Singh had been hospital-
ized following blood circulation issues. He
had also suffered a heart attack in 1998.
Jagjit Singh's music and voice is a class
apart managing to mesmerize one and all.
88 and strong, meet Dev Saheb
"
Main zindagi ka saath nibhata
chala gaya" -- true to his pop-
ular song, Dev Anand, one of
the most loveable romantic heroes
of the 1950s and the 1960s, has
refused to let age slow him down.
He turned 88 excited about new
films and his birthday gift -- an I-
Phone.
He has announced the sequel to
his hit film "Hare Rama Hare
Krishna" and is looking forward
to the release of "Chargesheet".
"I am having a meeting with
Warner Brothers, my producers of
'Chargesheet', about the premiere
on Monday morning. In the
evening, my friends have planned
a dinner. A lot of eminent people
think my birthday is worth cele-
brating," said Dev Anand, who
has been part of the Hindi film
industry for the past 65 years.
The Padma Bhushan awardee
and Dadasaheb Phalke Award
winner continues to be as charged
up about his new film
"Chargesheet", as he has been
about all his other films.
"If I'm not as enthusiastic about
my new film then I've no business
making it. The very fact that I've
picked up the responsibility of
directing another film proves I've
the energy for it. The day I don't, I
won't make any more films. My
audience, my fans are my source
of energy. I need my fans' good
wishes... they give me my ener-
gy," says Dev saab, who has got
himself an I-Phone for his birth-
day.
The film is a different genre for
the octogenarian, who says: "I
haven't done this genre before. It's
a murder mystery."
The sequel to "Hare Rama Hare
Krishna" brings back the character
that Dev saab played in the origi-
nal, 39 years after it first appeared.
Apparently the character would
have aged by less than a decade in
the sequel, as the story moves for-
ward. The hunt is on for what the
evergreen superstar describes as
"a woman of today, trendy savvy
with-it and attractive".
Dev Anand.
Paris Hilton to enter
Bollywood?
B
ollywood ' baddie'
Gulshan Grover has
won the best actor
award for playing a holy
man in Hollywood movie
"Desperate Endeavors" at
the Indian Film Festival of
Houston.
In the film, directed by
French-Algerian director
Sam Khassa, Gulshan
plays spiritual leader Dada
Bhagwan, the man who
went to America in the
1970s and enlightened the
lives of the Indians there as
well as the Americans.
The ceremony was hosted by Melisa Wilson of Fox News and Lyn
Cannon of ABC News Sep 24. The award was presented to Gulshan by
Counsel General of Austria Gerald Seidl and Director of Film
Commission of Houston Rick Ferguson. Gulshan is also riding high on
the critical acclaim he has garnered for his role as a dhaba owner in "I Am
Kalam", which was also screened at the festival.
Gulshan Grover.
Grover named best
actor at Houston fest
I
ndians around the world got
some good news recently: The
Indian government had finally
agreed to allow dual citizenship.
Minutes after hearing the news,
thousands of Non-Resident Indians
dispatched telegrams to their par-
ents and grandparents in India, say-
ing, "Remember that plot of land I
couldn't inherit before? Don't give
it to anyone!"
Dual citizenship will allow NRIs
to not only inherit property and
invest in the market, but also travel
to India without visas. In other
words, they won't have to visit the
Indian Embassy, saving them-
selves at least one full day of time
and one full bottle of aspirin.
But perhaps the biggest advan-
tage of dual citizenship is intangi-
ble: It will allow Indians living
abroad to still feel part of their
motherland while pledging alle-
giance to their adoptive countries.
An Indian native serving in the
U.S. Army, for example, will not
have to feel guilty about his
favorite hobby: throwing darts at a
picture of Pervez Musharraf.
Corporal Smith: "Hey Corporal
Gupta, why are you throwing darts
at General Musharraf? Don't you
know that Pakistan and America are
rather friendly nowadays?"
Corporal Gupta: "Yes, I know
that. As you can see, it is only my
right hand that is throwing darts at
the general.
The rest of my body is wishing
him well."
Dual citizenship adds an official
seal to what I have long believed:
Once an Indian, always an Indian.
No matter how hard they might try,
Indians living abroad cannot wash
their Indianness away.
Husband: "It won't go away. I
can't wash my Indianness away."
Wife: "What soap are you using?"
Husband: "Lux. Imported from
India. I bought it at Patel Brothers
Store."
Wife: "Why don' t you try
Chandrika ayurvedic soap? It
works well."
Indeed, Indians abroad have an
insatiable appetite for Indian prod-
ucts, including Lux soap, Amul
cheese, Parachute coconut oil, and
Hrithik Roshan. Weekly newspa-
pers offer them news from India,
keeping them informed about the
latest government scandal.
If you still doubt the loyalty of
NRIs, just observe how enthusiasti-
cally they celebrate India' s
Independence Day, whether they
live in Chicago, Houston, Toronto
or London.
"Independence Day! Indepen-
dence Day!" the Indians in London
shout, as they dance in merriment.
"Thank goodness we got rid of the
British!"
On Aug. 15, India' s Indepen-
dence Day, Indians in America par-
ticipate in parades, feasts and
dances. On July 4, America' s
Independence Day, they participate
in watching TV.
And perhaps some carom board,
too.
Before Sept. 11, many Indian
business owners in America
emphasized their Indianness to
attract customers. "Namaste," they
said. "Are you interested in buying
some chapattis?"
After Sept. 11, they were quick to
emphasize their Americanness.
"What's up, man? Wanna buy some
flat bread?"
Partly to protect their businesses
from vandalism, business owners
displayed more American flags
than a July 4th parade.
"We're as American as you," they
said. "Even our turbans are red,
white and blue."
Yes, they are American, and yes,
they are Indian. Dual citizenship
will help them hang onto that
mixed identity.
And just as important, it will help
them hang onto that bungalow in
India.
58 Humor
Once an Indian, always an Indian
Tech Life
Humor with Melvin Durai
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 car-
toons. Hailing from Gujarat, he lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Laughter is the Best Medicine
Washington, DC: A new tactile tech-
nology has been developed at Disney
Research, Pittsburgh (DRP) dubbed
Surround Haptics that will send shiv-
ers down your spine.
The technology makes it possible for
video game players and film viewers
to feel a wide variety of sensations,
from the smoothness of a finger being
drawn against skin to the jolt of a col-
lision.
The technology is based on rigorous
psychophysical experiments and new
models of tactile perception.
In the demonstration developed in
collaboration with Carnegie Mellon
University and others, the technology
will enhance a high-intensity driving
simulator game in collaboration with
Disney's Black Rock Studio. With
players seated in a chair outfitted with
inexpensive vibrating actuators,
Surround Haptics will enable them to
feel road imperfections and objects
falling on the car, sense skidding,
braking and acceleration, and experi-
ence ripples of sensation when cars
collide or jump and land.
"Although we have only implement-
ed Surround Haptics with a gaming
chair to date, the technology can be
easily embedded into clothing, gloves,
sports equipment and mobile comput-
ing devices," said Ivan Poupyrev, sen-
ior research scientist at DRP, who
invented and developed Surround
Haptics with Ali Israr, also of DRP.
"This technology has the capability
of enhancing the perception of flying
or falling, of shrinking or growing, of
feeling bugs creeping on your skin.
The possibilities are endless,' added
Poupyrev.
Disney will demonstrate Surround
Haptics Aug. 7-11 at the Emerging
Technology Exhibition at SIGGRAPH
2011, the International Conference on
Computer Graphics and Interactive
Techniques in Vancouver
London: A quirk in
Facebook's latest redesign
has now made it easy for the
users to see who has removed
them from their friend list.
Previously, the only way to
tell someone had unfriended
you was to go to their page
and notice that you have lost
access to their personal
details.
But the social networking
giant' s newly introduced
' Timeline' , that shows all
activities of a user in chrono-
logical order, enables users to
see which friend 'unfriended'
them, Fox News reports.
According to the technolo-
gy blog Buzz Feed, the new
design doesn't go live until
September 29th, but people
have figured out a simple
means for enabling the beta
version.
Step-by-step guides have
popped on various blog
showing how to get the time-
line up and running in just a
few minutes, the report said.
According to the report, the
timeline is easily enabled,
and discovering a list reveal-
ing who has decided to 'de-
friended' you can be easily
uncovered in few minutes
Coming soon, video games that send
shivers down your spine
Facebook Timeline reveals
who unfriended you
Aries: With pressure on your mind you wont
see things with a clear perspective.
Your confidence and morale would
also suffer, as unexpected problems
come your way. Take care of your deal-
ing with govt. agencies. Avoid making any hasty
decisions or statements. Social activities would
bring about a new romantic relationship. Travel
would be educating but prove expensive. All
legal matters would require immediate attention.
Taurus: This week you should not invest in ven-
tures and schemes that only appear to
be lucrative. Look from each and
every angle before you put your hard-
earned money on the table. Watchful
period for expecting mothers. Do not be lavish in
your spending, try to save maximum for the not
so good days. Health and family matters would
require lot of attention.
Gemini: Added responsibilities at home would
add to your burden. You would be
unable to handle unexpected rise in
expenses that catch you by surprise.
This disappointment would make you
irritated and short-tempered. Career wise you
need to fix your eye on your goal, but take nec-
essary precautions. You should not make any
hasty investments during this period. Support
from friends would be immense. Social events
would be exciting.
Cancer: The benefits that would accrue to you
this week would double if you play
your cards well. You would be in a
commanding position and reap
incredible financial benefits from
work that depends on your creativity. Expect
social activities to be lively and exciting. Your
personality would have a magnetic appeal that
would attract the right kind of people towards
you. Rest would be important in-between work.
Leo: This week you would possess some new
ideas and plans, which might not be
implemented due to increase in your
responsibilities or other financial
pressures. Female members of the
family would be extra helpful in completing
pending jobs. Attend seminars and exhibitions
that would bring you in touch with the right kind
of people. A long journey concerning work is on
the cards for some of you.
Virgo: Cash and expensive items need careful
handling. If you are planning to ven-
ture into a new business, seek assis-
tance from individuals who are estab-
lished and experienced. Romantic
alliances would suffer, as emotional moments
would arise, causing problems in your love rela-
tionship. A close friend would try his best efforts
to influence your decisions. Good week for out-
door activities.
Libra: You would possess a remarkable ability
to put together projects that would be
extremely dynamic and profitable.
You need to focus on small yet
important tasks, to reap long-term
gains. Your mate would enjoy helping you out at
this moment. Funds for new entrepreneurs would
generate through loans or property transaction.
Foreign transactions need careful handling.
Good week for auspicious functions.
Scorpio: This week your lover would be jealous
if you do not pay enough attention to
his/her needs. Professionally it would
be a remarkable week for you. Your
ability to act as a leader would put you
into strong position. Financial gains are certain
through investment. You should also do some-
thing special with children. Your involvement
into their work would make you understand each
other much better.
Sagittarius: Career matters should take priority
this week. Be especially careful while
handling finances, because you are
likely to suffer losses due to your over-
confidence. Close friends and relatives
would try to keep you happy but tend to promise
more than what they can deliver. Family respon-
sibilities would mount pressure. New romance
for some would help you take worries off your
mind.
Capricorn: This week your optimism and posi-
tive outlook would push your career to
new heights. You would be able to
complete difficult problems without
the support from others, which would
bring you immense recognition. Your recent
work is surely going to bring you the respect you
deserve. Travel and educational pursuits would
be highly rewarding. Pay attention to your
health.
Aquarius: You would find that your opinions
are welcomed by those around you.
New opportunities for some. Accept
new offers that come your way. You
would feel that changing position of
planets tend to bring favorable results in your
life, as your creative ability would also heighten
and earn you popularity and gains. Chronic
health problem may cause you to miss some-
thing important.
Pisces: This week seeking help from close asso-
ciated would be essential to ease work
pressure that grips your mind. Any
contribution that you make towards
social cause would enhance your repu-
tation and bring you mental peace.
Your family members would extend their full
support. Social activities would provide you with
knowledge and amusement. Spend enjoyable
time with youngsters and friends.
October 01:
Governed by number 1, and the Sun, you are original,
active, responsible and a talented person. You are
highly skillful and fond of accepting challenges, but
you need to control your tendency to dominate, over-
spend and behave destructive at times. You need to
take stronger decisions to reap benefits. Challenges
that you accept during this phase would bring over-
whelming results in the long run. Your financial con-
dition would improve later in the year, as you would
pickup jobs involving higher responsibility and posi-
tion. A sudden influence of a spiritual person would
have a remarkable influence on your personality and
thoughts. Students would excel in their academic per-
formance. Some exhilarating news from your over-
seas relations will boost up the spirits of the entire
family. Travel and journey will be pleasurable. The
months of September, November, October and May
will be significant for you.
October 02:
Ruled by number 2 and the Moon. You are highly
trustworthy, emotional, simple, friendly and warm-
hearted person. You have a desire for learning and
gathering knowledge and people look up to you for
consultation and inspiration, but you need to check
your tendency to behave introvert, hasty and whimsi-
cal at times. This year you need to do some serious
thinking on your career options. Few brilliant oppor-
tunities would come your way but you need to act
smart and quick to grab these once in a lifetime offer
before others. Financial gains would accrue from in-
vestments and even speculation. A vacation to an ex-
otic location cannot be ruled out later this year. Your
health will remain good but health of your spouse or
children will become a matter of concern. Servants,
colleagues, subordinates will cause some worry and
unnecessary tensions. The months of August, No-
vember, January and April will be eventful.
October 03:
Influenced by number 3 and the planet Jupiter. You
are ambitious, philosophical, dignified, independent
and intelligent person. Your outgoing personality and
willingness to adapt to changes keeps you ahead of
others, but you need to check your tendency to behave
reckless, spendthrift and selfish at times. Important
alliances would welcome you this year. Your self-con-
fidence and determination would be at its peak. Se-
lective speculation would be rewarding, therefore do
not squander away your hard-earned money. Finances
would improve middle of the year bringing prosperi-
ty and happiness at domestic level. Your friends
would be supportive to your concerns and always be
by your side at the need of the hour. New romance for
those unattached will certainly add a spice to your
bland life. Health of a sibling might cause some con-
cern and anxiety. The months of July, October, De-
cember and January seem to be significant.
October 04:
Dominated by number 4 and the planet Uranus, you
are active, jovial, reliable, methodical and systematic.
You are capable of handling many activities at one
time, and you seldom complain, but you need to check
your tendency to behave vindictive, jealous and stub-
born at times. Great period to implement your new
plans and ideas. Support from people around you
would prove highly beneficial in completing pending
jobs. Financial position stabilizes as investments start
raking profits. Good time to travel and build up new
contacts. Seeking blessing from a spiritual person
would bring mental peace and comfort. Chances for
overseas education for post graduates students would
be bright. Matrimonial alliance for those seeking a life
partner. Chronic patients need to take extra care for
their health. The months of September, November,
February and October will prove to be highly eventful.
October 05:
Ruled by number 5 and the planet Mercury, you are
strong, practical, active, business minded and a diplo-
matic person. You are a born leader and you easily in-
spire others to do an excellent job. You are hardwork-
ing and sincere, but your tendency to be moody, timid
and jealous attracts enormous criticism at times. The
coming year promises to be good for your physical
and financial status. Recognition and rewards for your
efforts would be plenty. There would be a good rise in
your confidence and determination enabling you to
handle difficult tasks with ease. Speculation in real es-
tate would yield handsome returns. Distant travel
would be undertaken for business purpose as well as
pleasure. Children need to concentrate more on their
career. Health would be fine in spite of overtime that
you might have to put for initial few months. The
months of July, September, January and June will be
highly significant and result oriented.
October 06:
Influenced by number 6 and the planet Venus. You are
independent, ambitious, charming and love peace and
harmony. You possess a remarkable personality and
you can easily make friends with your helpful nature,
but you need to check your tendency to behave
moody, spendthrift and careless at times. The year
ahead promises to be a blend of both the good and the
bad. Some exciting changes would take place in the
organization that you work for. Your colleagues
would be a support and a source of enjoyment, but
seniors would be demanding and their erratic behav-
iour would add pressure to your mind. Financial gains
are likely from more than one source. You would also
gain if you invest in property and bonds. New friend-
ships might seem promising but would ultimately live
short of expectations. You are likely to be more in-
clined towards religious as well as spiritual activities.
The months of October, January, February and April
will be highly eventful.
October 07:
Governed by number 7 and the planet Neptune. You
are brilliant, quick, confident, vigilant and shrewd.
You are blessed with remarkable imagination and can
easily win over your rivals, but you need to check
your tendency to behave stubborn, jealous and unre-
liable at times. An excellent period which would im-
prove your name and bring you enormous fame. In-
vestments will reach new heights and improved fi-
nances would make you spend more on luxuries and
other comforts. Romantic entanglement would be
pleasant and chances to enter into a matrimonial al-
liance would be strong. Religious feeling would arise
making you seek blessing of a spiritual person or em-
bark on a pilgrimage later in the year. Expect gifts and
goodies both in cash and kind. The months of August,
November, February and May will especially im-
prove prosperity.
Astrology 59
By Dr Prem Kumar Sharma
Chandigarh, India: +91-172- 256 2832, 257 2874;
Delhi, India: +91-11- 2644 9898, 2648 9899;
psharma@premastrologer.com; www.premastrologer.com
Stars Foretell: October 1-7, 2011 Annual Predictions: For those born in this week
i) Accurate Data: Please make sure Date,
Time and Place of birth is accurate.
ii) Careful: Did you check background of the
astrologer before disclosing your secrets.
iii) Fee: Discuss the charges before, dont feel
shy. Its his business.
iv) Expectation: Expect the best, if the out-
come is not as desired, never give up.
v) Consult: Take second opinion before
spending thousands on cure/remedies.
Learn about the fair value of
diamonds & precious stones.
from a Gems Expert
For appointment, please call 516-390-7847
or email consult.gems@gmail.com
A special offer for the readers of
Before you consult...
Free Consultation
60 Spiritual Awareness
I
f we were to sum up the mes-
sage in all the talks and verses
written by the great poet-saint,
Sant Darshan Singh Ji Maharaj, we
would find one theme permeates
them all. That theme is divine love.
Just as the atom permeates all
matter, so does divine love perme-
ate all life. The purpose of all exis-
tence is divine love. Divine love
means the love between the soul
and God. This love moved God to
create all creation, including each
of us, and this love is what draws
each back to the Creator.
If we are to commit our life to
the highest purpose it would be to
illumine ourselves with love. Who
should we love? We should love
God. When we love God, we also
love all Gods creation, including
all humanity and all creatures of
the earth.
There is a beautiful story in the
Bible that tells how Jesus and his
disciples were traveling. They
came to a village where a woman
named Martha opened her home to
him. She had a sister named Mary,
who sat at Jesuss feet listening to
what he said. But Martha was dis-
tracted by all the preparations that
had to be made for his visit.
Martha was annoyed that Mary
was only sitting at Jesuss feet
basking in his love while Martha
had to do all the work. Martha
went to Jesus and asked, "Lord,
dont you care that my sister has
left me to do the work by myself?
Tell her to help me!" Jesus replied,
"Martha, Martha, you are worried
and upset about many things, but
only one thing is needed. Mary has
chosen what is better and this will
not be taken away from her."
This story has caused many to
wonder about its meaning. But
those who understand the true
meaning of this story realize that
the heart of the story is love. It is
describing that the highest of all in
life is to love. Mary was lost in
love with her Master, Jesus. She
was enraptured by his glance and
by his presence and she melted
into ecstasy. The true purpose of
his coming was to enjoy the heart-
to-heart and soul-to-soul meeting.
This story is not saying that the
service that Martha was doing was
not good but it is talking about
how worried and upset she was.
She was not lost in love but caught
up in the trials and troubles of life.
Yes, service is there, but Martha
was only focused on the tasks at
hand and criticizing what others
were doing, without being lost in
the love that we need to be lost in
while doing service and while
looking to find God. That is why
Jesus told Martha that Mary had
made the better choice and that her
choice to love was not going to be
taken away from her. It is talking
about Martha who, while doing
service, was not engaged in love,
but instead was distracted, trou-
bled, upset, and critical of others.
That is not how seva with love and
selflessness is to be performed.
This story points to the fact that
the highest of all pastimes in this
world is love. Love can be having
darshan and enjoying the physical
presence of the Master and it can
be performing seva but only that
seva which keeps love at the fore-
front.
Love is the fabric of life. It is the
most important goal and occupa-
tion we can have, for it is the only
way back to God. If we wish to
continue in separation from God,
then let us only engage in the mil-
lions of tasks this world has to
offer that take us away from God.
If we wish to go back to God then
let us engage in the work of love.
Sant Darshan Singh Ji Maharaj has
beautifully said in a verse:
I could have rested in the comfort-
ing shade of your tresses,
But there is no time from the never-
ending problems of life.
Sant Darshan Singh Ji Maharaj is
emphasizing the sad truth that we
are so caught up in the never-end-
ing problems of life that we never
rest in the comforting shade of the
tresses of the Master. The Masters
have traditionally come from a cul-
ture in which long hair or tresses
was the style. Whether their hair
flows out upon their shoulders
with their silken, glimmering
strands that capture the heart of
their disciples or whether their hair
is tied up in a bun under a turban,
when the turban is removed the
disciples can enjoy those lovely
tresses. Those tresses symbolize
the love and protection of a
Master.
In this verse by Sant Darshan
Singh Ji Maharaj, the lover wants
to be with the Beloved and have
those tresses flowing out freely for
the lover to enjoy. The lover wants
to look at them and be intoxicated
by them. This symbolizes the
ecstasy the disciple experiences
when in the presence of the
Master. The verse is saying that
those moments are the most com-
forting and blissful times we can
have in this life.
Unfortunately, the never-ending
problems, stresses, and tasks of life
are pulling the disciple away from
these blissful times. The disciple
always wants to be in the moments
of bliss that come from the pres-
ence of the Master. But life is
pulling the disciple and Master
apart from each other. There is
always one excuse after another
that keeps them apart. One day it
may be that the disciple has to
watch the World Cup competition
of a favorite team. Another day it
may be that we have to shop for
this thing or that thing. Another
day we are growing our business.
Another day we are tied up with
this petty problem or another.
There is no end to the reasons we
are pulled away from the moments
of love.
Sant Darshan Singh Ji Maharaj is
saying that if we wait for some
time and we complete this task or
that task, resolve this problem or
that problem, take care of this per-
son or that person, time will pass
us by. We will never get to the
moments of love that are the most
important pastimes in life. Love is
the ingredient that makes this life
beautiful and worth living. It beau-
tifies everything. It fills us with the
nectar of bliss to propel us through
the trials of life. Once we realize
that time and problems are keeping
us away from those blissful
moments between Master and dis-
ciple without, and the disciple
meeting the radiant form of the
Master within, then we will attain
the goal of love.
It is true that we have some
responsibilities in life to earn our
livelihood, take care of our family,
and perform our duties to our soci-
ety. But within positive mysticism
and performing our duties, we also
need to snatch away as much time
as possible to devote to spiritual
love. We need to realize that divine
love is the highest pastime of all.
We need to make time for that
every day. Masters have given us
the minimum time by which we
can successfully connect with love,
and that is ten percent of our time,
or two and a half hours a day mini-
mum. That time can be spent in
meditation where we contact that
love within us.
Everyone seeks to love and be
loved. Love is a universal need.
From being newborn babies to our
last dying breath, we seek love.
Children want the love of their par-
ents, family, and friends. As adults
we seek the love of our partner,
spouses, family, friends, and chil-
dren. Listen to most people on
their deathbed, and they have only
three words to say to those around
their bedside, and that is "I love
you," and those are the last three
words they want to hear from oth-
ers. We feel our life is filled with
beauty, warmth, and happiness
when adorned by love. When
bereft of love, we feel life is empty
and not worth living.
There are different degrees of
love we can experience. Most
loves of this world, such as
between parent and child, lovers
and beloveds, spouses, family, and
friends are reflections of a higher
love. They are love on a miniature
scale. They are physical reflections
of a love that exists at the level of
spirit. These loves of this world are
but reflections of the love of God,
or divine love.
To be truly happy in life, we
want to be filled with a love that is
lasting. The only permanent love is
the love of God, which is divine or
spiritual love. Why? When we love
others in this physical world, we
focus on the outer form of the per-
son, and forget the inner love of
the Divine that connects us. The
real love we experience is the
heart-to-heart and soul-to-soul
love. The outer form is but a vehi-
cle or outer packaging that shrouds
that true love that is at the core of
that person.
Suppose you had some cereal to
eat. The cereal can be wrapped in a
plastic baggie, or it can be in a
box. It is not the bag or the box
that we want to eat, but the cereal
within them. Similarly, when we
say "I love you" to a person, we
are directing that love to the
essence of that person. The outer
wrapper or physical form is not
who we are really loving; we are
really loving the persons essence
within that form. How do we know
this? Look at how many changes a
person goes through in life. They
morph from a tiny infant, to a tod-
dler, to a school-age child, to a
teenager, to an adult, to an adult in
his or her thirties, forties, fifties,
sixties, seventies, eighties,
nineties, and over a hundred. We
can love someone through that
entire span of time, although the
outer packaging is growing and
aging. It is the person within that
outer form who we love.
The secret is that when we tap
into loving the essence of that per-
son, we are tapping into that per-
sons true nature, and that nature is
love itself. That love is like the
genetic code for all life.
Just as 99.9 percent of all human
genes are said by scientists to be
the same, the genetic spiritual
heart of all life is love, and that is
the same for everyone. At the core
of everyone is love. That love is
within you and that love is within
me, and that love is within every-
one. When we connect with that
love, we are in bliss.
(To be concluded next week)
Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj is
an internationally recognized spiri-
tual leader and Master of Jyoti
Meditation who affirms the transcen-
dent oneness at the heart of all reli-
gions and mystic traditions, empha-
sizing ethical living and meditation
as building blocks for achieving
inner and outer peace. www.sos.org.
Illumine your self with love
It is true that we have some responsibilities in life to earn
our livelihood, take care of our family, and perform our
duties to our society. But, Positive Mysticism is about
ethically performing our duties and also finding as much
time as possible to devote to spiritual love.
By Sant Rajinder Singh
Ji Maharaj

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