39_vol4_epaper

Subcontinent 21 Business 23 Sports 24 Spiritual Awareness 30

NEW YORK EDITION

Yoko Ono ’s peace

through art mission

to India

Art & Fashion,

5

1 million sign

petition to recall

Wisconsin Governor

Bollywood

heavyweights

party with

Oprah

Bollywood,

Page 16

Priyanka Gandhi

ready to play

bigger role in

Congress

India,

Page 12

India to invest $35 billion tostimulate economy

Vol.4 No.39 January 21-27, 2012 60 Cents Follow us on TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Riveting battles for the ballotin 5 Indian states

Romney riches new hurdle inhis path to nomination

New Delhi: The only certainty about the polls in five

Indian states to be conducted over more than a month

starting Jan 28 is that they will be fair and free—and

riveting. Anti-incumbency factor in Uttar Pradesh and

Punjab, for example, will ensure ding-dong ballot bat-

tles. The results may also throw up pointers as to how

much the corruption scandals and the protracted

Lokpal Bill impasse of the last one year damaged the

image of the ruling Congress party at the Center.

The impartial Election Commission has ordered

Mayawati's statues and her election symbol of ele-

phants carved out of stone covered and at the same

time, it has hot down Congress' pro-Muslim sops.

The most crucial of the middle India states, Uttar

Pradesh, will see a battle between the two old regional

adversaries, Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)

and the Samajwadi Party (SP), while

Congress and the BJP watch from the sidelines. The

anti-incumbency factor, which led to the SP's ouster in

2007, may be felt by the BSP this time, largely

because of its neglect of significant development proj

Continued on page 4Read more election news on

page 12

Washington DC: With a fortune that may

run into a quarter of a billion dollars, Mitt

Romney is one of the wealthiest men to ever

run for president. But currently his reluc-

tance to reveal all about his riches and tax

returns is proving a millstone around his

neck.

Republican rivals’ vehement attacks over

his career in the leveraged buyout business

and the shrouded wealth now pose a

major political risk on his march to GOP

Continued on page 4

New Delhi: India is to launch a $35bn wave

of public sector investment to reverse a

decline in the fast-growing economy’s

growth rate and return it closer to double

digits, according to the prime minister’s

office.

The emergency stimulus measures are a

strong response to widespread criticism of

policy paralysis in New Delhi and a dramatic

fall in economic growth to 7 per cent from an

earlier 9 per cent.

The Manmohan Singh government has

ordered 17 state-owned companies to use

reserves money to invest in a mix of infra-

structure projects and overseas energy pur-

chases, reported Financial Times in an exclu-

sive.

“They are sitting on piles of cash,” said

one official of the urgent need to trigger a

mobilization of currently “inactive”

resources to boost confidence in the econo-

my, and promote India’s energy security.

The move also strives to prompt private-

sector companies – which have expressed

reservations about investing in the domestic

Continued on page 4

The Election Commission has ordered Mayawati’subiquitous statues covered in the run up to election

in Uttar Pradesh.

17 state-owned companies such as ONGCand Coal India to use reserves to invest in

infrastructure projects and overseasenergy purchases.

Perry endorsing Gingrich dulls Santorum’sIowa win

Jaipur: Dr. Surendra Kumar

Kaushik, a New Yorker known

for setting up a women’s college

in his native Rajasthan, was pre-

sented the Pravasi Bharatiya

Samman award at PBD Jaipur on

Jan 9 by President Pratibha Patil.

He was one of only two Indian

Americans and 14 eminent over-

seas Indians to receive the high-

est award for NRIs and PIOs.

The award citation commended

his contributions in the field of

economics and for enhancing the

Indian community’s stature

abroad.

Dr Kaushik, 67, a B.S. in com-

merce from the University of

Rajasthan and a Ph.D. in eco-

nomics from Boston University,

is a professor of finance at Pace

University in New York City and

Westchester, NY.

He married Helena Pokornicki,

a health professional, in 1944.

She suffered a debilitating stroke

in January 1991 and is cared for

by Dr. Kaushik since then. He

Continued on page 4

Dr. Surendra K. Kaushik receiv-ing the Pravasi Bharatiya

Samman award at PBD Jaipurfrom President Pratibha Patil.

Dr Kaushik bestowed highestaward for overseas Indians

Tristate Community 3

TheSouthAsianTimes.info January 21-27, 2012

Another Indian American lands in insider trading netNew York: Sandeep Goyal, a junior

research analyst at the Manhattan

office of Neuberger Berman, an in-

vestment management firm, was

charged on Wednesday with insid-

ers trading along with six others. He

joins a growing group of Indian-ori-

gin professionals accused of such

crimes recently. The US Securities

and Exchange Commission (SEC)

charged Goyal and others with prof-

iting $78 million using insider trad-

ing information on Dell and Nvidia.

Goyal, 39, who has pleaded guilty

and is cooperating with the govern-

ment, faces a maximum statutory

prison sentence of 25 years.

Goyal, a former employee of Dell,

used old contacts there to access in-

formation not available in public

domain, the SEC said. And he sold

it to a ‘circle of friends’ at two

hedge funds , Level Global In-

vestors and Diamondback.

Preet S. Bharara, the United States

attorney in Manhattan who brought

the charges, said at a news confer-

ence, “It was a club where everyone

scratched everyone else’s back.”

Goyal didn’t make very much —

$175,000 from Diamondback for

“consulting work”— compared to

the millions made by Indian-origin

professionals accused or convicted

on insider trading in the US recent-

ly.

In the Galleon case, Anil Kumar

and Rajiv Goel were both said to

have made millions, while working

with Sri Lankan-born Galleon boss

Raj Rajaratnam.

Level Global Investors, one of the

two hedge funds named now, made

$53 million of the said profits, the

government said. Level Global is

the most prominent hedge fund

touched by the government’s insid-

er trading prosecutions since the

Galleon Group closed after the ar-

rest of its co-founder, Raj Rajarat-

nam.

More than a year ago, the govern-

ment raided a series of hedge funds.

Federal agent stormed the offices of

Level Global, Diamondback Capital

Management and two others in No-

vember 2010 to retrieve documents

and other materials. Months after

the November raid, Level Global

closed.

Preet S. Bharara, who brought the charges, exposing the latest insidertrading ‘circle of friends’ including Sandeep Goyal, a Manhattan analyst.

Celebrity CricketLeague Season 2

on TV hereNew York: Uniting India's biggest passions -

cricket and movies, Celebrity Cricket League

Season 2 is here, running from Jan 19 to Feb

15. Bollywood superstar Salman Khan and nu-

merous other actors, Telugu heavyweight

Venkatesh, Malayalam superstar Mohanlal,

Tamil heartthrob Suriya, and Kannada hero

Sudeep are all vying for the trophy in this ex-

travaganza. After a glamorous opening in Shar-

jah, the tournament goes to 6 Indian metros cul-

minating in a final in Hyderabad on Feb 12.

Six teams will play a total of 18 matches.

Dish Satellite is supporting the Games by

providing all its subscribers in any pack and a

la carte the following special offer: Watch lim-

ited time FREE preview only on TV Asia (Ch:

788) on Dish Network. TV Asia will also tele-

cast the matches.

John Liu blows up $190,000 in campaigncash on fundraising probe defense

Zardari has immunity, Gilani tells court, appearing in person Late News

New York: Beleaguered New York City

Comptroller John Liu spent nearly $190,000

in campaign funds in the last six months to

cover expenses related to investigations into

his fund-raising, new city filings show.

During that period, Liu raked in $516,000

in contributions for his mayoral war chest —

the lowest amount out of all the presumptive

candidates who have so far filed with the city.

This, political pundits have opined, combined

with his taint on fundraising, virtually takes

him out of the race for city mayor to replce

Micahel Bloomberg next year.

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio raised near-

ly twice what Liu took in with $1 million, ac-

cording to his filings. The hefty haul put him

ahead of other candidates for the period. His

campaign earned an additional $300,000 over

the last filing period.

But de Blasio’s total $1,598,950 cash on

hand is far behind City Council Speaker

Christine Quinn’s $4.56 million.

Quinn and Manhattan Borough President

Scott Stringer both banked $550,000 during

the latest cycle, filings show.

Liu’s campaign financing is the subject of a

federal criminal investigation. The Manhattan

U.S. attorney’s office charged Liu fund-rais-

er Oliver Pan with laundering money for the

comptroller’s political war chest. The feds al-

leged Pan accepted a $15,200 contribution

from an undercover agent and then broke the

money into 19 chunks of $800 each to evade

the city’s limit on donations.

Islamabad: Embattled Yousuf Raza Gilani

Thursday made a rare personal appearance

for a Pakistani prime minister in the

Supreme Court here and stepped forth in de-

fense of President Asif Ali Zardari, accused

of corruption during his wife Benazir Bhut-

to's two stints as the premier.

Hauled up by the Supreme Court for not

initiating action against Zardari, Gilani told

a 7-member bench during his seven-minute

submission that the constitution provides

immunity to the president. A large number of

ruling Pakistan Peoples Party supporters

shouted slogans outside.

The case will now be heard Feb 1, giving

a breathing time to the 59-year-old prime

minister who faces contempt charge from

the apex court and has also run foul of the

powerful army after sacking Lt. Gen. (retd)

Naeem Khalid Lodhi as defense secretary.

Lodhi was seen to be clos0e to army chief

Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani.

The "emerging political developments" --

a reference to the simmering confrontation

between the army and the democratically

elected government, and a new folding tus-

sle between the apex court and the Gilani

regime -- Thursday made former president

Pervez Musharraf, who was to return to Pak-

istan by January-end, to postpone his arrival

home.

There was high drama as Gilani himself

drove down to the court, and was mobbed by

boisterous activists of the PPP.

Gilani was on the defensive before the

judges, who had Jan 16 issued him a con-

tempt notice for failing to take legal action

against Zardari despite the court's directive,

insisting he would never even dream of chal-

lenging a judicial fiat. Outside, he looked

confident as he waved to supporters, both

while entering the court and later.

Justice Asif Saeed Khosa said Thursday

was a great day for Pakistan.

Gilani told the bench: "It will not give a

good message to proceed against a president

who is elected by a two-thirds majority."

"I have discussed this with my friends and

experts, and they agree he has got complete

immunity," the daily Dawn quoted him as

saying.

Salman Khan’s Mumbai Heroes tasted theirfirst victory against the Chennai team in

Sharjah in CCL II.

Prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani beforehis court appearance in Islamabad.

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4 Turn Page

Rushdie no-show will put spotlight on Oprah at Jaipur litfestBy Prakash Bhandari/SATimes

Jaipur: Avoiding any categorical

statement, the organizers of the Jaipur

Literature Festival (JLF), have

announced that the invitation extend-

ed to controversial author Salman

Rushdie stands. Yet, they have with-

drawn the schedule from the printed

program which stated that Rushdie

would participate in a discussion dur-

ing the festival.

Using diplomatic language, the co-

producer of the festival, Sanjay Roy

said that the invitation to Rushdie still

stands. The invitation created ripples

in the Rajasthan government follow-

ing protests against the author by sev-

eral Muslim organizations. Roy and

his team members, notably author

Namita Gokhale, met the local leaders

and heard them out. It is learnt that

they assured Muslim organizations

that Rushdie would not attend the fes-

tival and they should not hold any

demonstration.

The Rajasthan government had also

counseled against participation of

Mumbai raised Rushdie.

Rushdie, along with authors Rita

Kothari and Tarun Tejpal, was slated

to discuss on January 21, the second

day of the festival, the nuances of

English with noted writer Ira Pande

on the topic 'Inglish, Amlish,

Hinglish: The “chutnification” of

English'. He was to participate in two

other sessions.

The Muslim organizations said that

Rushdie through his writings had

annoyed religious sentiments of the

Muslims and demanded that he

should not be allowed to visit India

from America, where he lives.

Rushdie had a fatwa against him

since 1989 after the publication of

'The Satanic Verses'. He had partici-

pated in the JLF in 2007 but there

were no protests then. The fatwa was

eased in 1998, but not withdrawn

when the Iran government said it had

no intention to enforce it.

However, if Rushdie is a no-show,

the spotlight at the Jaipur festival will

be on the US talk queen Oprah

Winfrey who would participate in an

interview with TV journalist Barkha

Dutt Jan 22. She is coming to town

for the shooting of her program "Next

Chapter" at the City Palace.

There is a special emphasis on the

Bhakti and Sufi poets who illumined

the literature of the medieval South

Asia from Kabir and Meera Bai to

Rumi and Shams Tabrizi. Like the

indomitable crowds of the Arab

Spring, the poet saints reached for

social justice and the dignity of an

individual.

With its 22 schedules lan-

guages,122 regional languages, four

classical languages and hundreds of

mother tongues and countless

dialects, India exists in a ongoing

state of translation.

January 21-27, 2012 TheSouthAsianTimes.info

India to Invest StoryContinued from page 1

market – to follow suit. But some observers

have criticized the move as a throwback to the

“old formula” of the 1970s when Mrs Indira

Gandhi used public infrastructure spending to

boost growth.

India’s top policymakers are worried about

the economy’s loss of momentum, and ebbing

business confidence after a dismal year charac-

terized by political bickering, high profile cor-

ruption scandals and an exit of foreign capital.

Companies such as the ONGC, Coal India

and the National Mineral Development

Corporation, have signed agreements to spend

as much as $35bn of their cash or bank balances

over the fiscal year starting in April to expand

their operations.

The sum is almost twice the $19bn foreign

direct investment into India in 2011.

Among the proposed measures, Coal India,

which had a successful initial public offering

last year has been asked to “actively consider

investment” in allied sectors such as road, rail-

ways, waterways and power to improve the

transport of coal.

Fast-tracked investments, mainly in the coal

and oil sectors, will be monitored quarterly by

the prime minister’s office to prevent backslid-

ing.

Of the total, Rs400bn ($7bn) has been identi-

fied for investments overseas to buy assets like

coal, gas and oil. ONGC has undertaken to

spend Rs205bn in foreign investment in the

coming fiscal year; Coal India has agreed to

Rs60bn.

The move by the Singh administration also

reflects India’s determination to push for higher

growth in spite of uncertainty surrounding the

global economic recovery and renewed anxiety

about the performance of Eurozone economies

Romney Story, Continued from page 1nomination for President.

More bad news for Romney: Newt Gingrich,

buoyed by endorsement from Rick Perry who

ended his own campaign, was closing the lead

Romney held in South Carolina primary. And

certified results from Iowa caucuses Thursday

morning showed Rick Santorum leading

Romney by 34 votes, a reversal from the eight-

vote edge for Romney on caucus night.

Romney’s finances are complex and far-

flung. He and his wife, Ann, have reported

holdings in dozens of publicly traded compa-

nies, mutual funds and high-end investment

partnerships, with much of their family wealth

held in blind trusts that conceal their full size

from public view. And Romney’s disclosure on

Tuesday that he pays an effective tax rate of

about 15 percent on his income focused new

attention on some aspects of his finances,

including his millions of dollars in donations to

the Mormon Church and his continuing com-

pensation from Bain Capital, the private equity

firm he left more than a decade ago.

In the debate on Thursday in Charleston, SC,

before the South Carolina primary, Romney’s

opponents were expected to keep demanding

he release his tax returns before their party

picks a nominee, while Democrats, previewing

likely attacks in a general election campaign,

accused Romney of having something to hide.

“We can’t fire our nominee in September,”

Gov. Rick Perry of Texas said on Wednesday

on “Fox and Friends.” “If we’ve got a flawed

candidate going forward who’s going to get

eaten alive either because of business practices

or because of the taxes and the system that’s set

up, we need to talk about it now.”

Romney aides said privately, reported New

York Times, that they were prepared for the

attacks on Romney’s wealth, which they

believe will backfire, aligning Romney’s critics

with liberals and rallying more Republicans to

his side. Yet, Gov. Chris Christie of New

Jersey, one of his top supporters, said

Wednesday morning that Romney should

make the returns public “sooner rather than

later.”

Romney has not pledged to release past

returns, and the one he has suggested he would

release, in April, is a work in progress. At the

end of last year, he could have arranged to have

some of his compensation deferred.

Dr Kaushik Story, Continued from page 1established Helena Kaushik Women’s

Postgraduate College in 1999 in his native vil-

lage Malsisar, district Jhunjhunu, where there

was no college in a 35-km radius, let alone a

women’s college. It is a fully accredited college

in the University of Rajasthan system. It does

not charge tuition because of generally low

incomes of area residents and is financed from

American private donations from individuals

and foundations.

Dr. Kaushik has received numerous honors

including a Legislative Resolution in April

2009 in The New York State Assembly lauding

the Helena Kaushik College on its 10th

Anniversary and the New Jersey General

Assembly the following year. He has numerous

publications – books, edited books, articles in

finance and economics to his credit over the

last 40 years.

The other Indian American to receive the

prestigious award at PBD 2012 was Kalpalatha

Kummamuri Guntupalli, MD, cited for her

contributions in the field of medicine and pub-

lic service. She is a pulmonologist practicing in

Houston.

India elections StoryContinued from page 1

ects. If the Congress does better than before in

UP, it will help the ascent of party's heir appar-

ent, Rahul Gandhi, who is expected to be the

party’s choice for prime minister in 2014.

The anti-incumbency is likely to unsettle the

Akali Dal in Punjab, which has tended to vote

for the Akalis and the Congress in alternate

elections. The Congress' hopes of staging a

comeback have been buoyed by its success in

the 2009 parliamentary polls, when it won

eight of the 13 seats while the Akalis won four.

Manipur, Uttarakhand and Goa are the three

other states going to the polls. Elections in

Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh will be

announced later this year.

Tristate Community 5


Edison, NJ: Demonstrating a united face

prominent Indian American organizations

have a decided to jointly celebrate India’s

Republic Day on January 28, 2012. “We

want to teach the younger generation about

the strength of our motherland,” said Atma

Singh, president of Indian Congress Party,

USA, a social outfit claiming allegiance to

the ruling Congress Party of India. “The

younger generation of Indian Americans who

were born and raised in USA knows very lit-

tle about India and its constitutional struc-

ture.”

The event will begin at 11 am and continue

for four hours during which Middle and High

School students will be engaged in varieties

of thematic activities based on India’s federal

structure, its constitution and its history. The

event will take place at Royal Albert’s Palace

in Fords, NJ.

Atma Singh said that leading community

leaders with roots in Gujarat, Andhra

Pradesh, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar,

Orissa, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil

Nadu have been invited to participate in the

celebration. “Leading entrepreneurs and pro-

fessionals from different fields of activities

will share the same platform in the honor of

the world’s greatest democracy,” he com-

mented.

Plans afoot for grand RepublicDay celebration in NJ

New York: An Indian-origin woman gave

birth to her first child during the train ride

from New Jersey to New York, in what would

be her most unforgettable journey.

At first, Rabita Sarker, 31, of New Jersey

said she thought she was experiencing false

labor pains as she boarded the train run by the

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in

Jersey City. But as the Manhattan bound train

entered New York, Sarker knew her baby

could not wait any longer.

As she went into labor, few passengers

helped her panicked husband deliver the baby

boy they nicknamed "Jhatpat" - the Hindi

word for "fast", a report in the New York

Daily News said.

"He decided to come and that was it.

Nothing could stop him. Nothing could keep

him inside for longer," the report quoted

Sarker as saying.

She was later admitted to a New York hospi-

tal. "I don't think anybody could actually

dream of such a delivery," she added. Sarker

and her 30-year-old husband, Aditya Saurabh,

were already on their way to the hospital for a

medical check-up. "We were coming here to

check if it was false labor or not," she said. "I

was like, 'Okay, I'm just doing it for peace of

mind'". Wanting to avoid the always-crowded

Lincoln Tunnel, they decided to take the com-

muter train 'PATH' that runs from New Jersey

to New York.

Woman delivers 'Jhatpat' on PATH train

The Sarker couple with the new bundle of joy

India hands $ 1 millioncheck to UN Women

United Nations: Ambassador H S Puri,

Permanent Representative of India to the UN

Jan 12 handed over a check of US$ 1 million

towards Government of India’s contribution

to the core voluntary budget of UN Women

(United Nations Entity for Gender Equality

and the Empowerment of Women).

This contribution constitutes the second

installment of India’s multi-year pledge to

provide five million US dollars as core pre-

dictable funding to UN Women’s

resources.The check was received on behalf

of UN Women by Dr Michele Bachelet,

Under Secretary General and Executive

Director of UN Women. On this occasion,

Ambassador Puri also reaffirmed the

Government of India’s steadfast commitment

to the goals of gender equality, the empower-

ment of women and gender mainstreaming

enshrined in the mandate of UN

Women.India is currently one of the members

of the Executive Board of the UN Women.

Now Hindi course for high schoolstudents at Bensalem School District

Bensalem, PA: Bensalem

Township, located on the out-

skirts of Philadelphia has

become the first school dis-

trict in the state to teach Hindi

in its High School beginning

September 2012.

The School Board of

Bensalem Township, in its

meeting on January 11, 2012,

unanimously adopted a reso-

lution to introduce Hindi cur-

riculum for High School stu-

dents. The decision came

after a series of promotional

efforts made by Yuva Hindi

Sansthan, a non-profit educa-

tional and cultural institution

and supported by local Indian

population. “We are very

happy that the school board

has accepted the long term

demand of our community,”

said Yagnesh Choksi, one of

the directors of the school

board. “We consistently made

efforts to introduce Hindi so

that our children grow up

with knowledge of the nation-

al language of India.”

The board’s decision was

made in the presence of

dozens of Indian American

community members and

office bearers of Yuva Hindi

Sansthan. Dr. (Mrs.) Heather

Nicholas, president of

Bensalem School Board, sup-

ported the need of diverse

population of Bensalem

Township that comprised of a

variety of ethnic and cultural

groups. “We are confident

that Hindi learning will open

up new opportunities to

familiarize our students about

Indian culture,” she said.

Promising to provide edu-

cational resources for jump

starting a Hindi curriculum at

Bensalem Ashok Ojha, YHS

president offered full support

and help of his organization.

Dr. David Baugh,

Superintendent of Bensalem

School District, expressed his

confidence that High School

students in his district will

take advantage of the ‘Hindi

1’ course that will be offered

for the first time.

About ten percent of

Bensalem Township, which

has a population of more than

60,000, comprise of people of

Indian origin, mostly from the

state of Gujarat.

Ambassador H S Puri handing over the check to Dr Michele Bachelet, UnderSecretary General and Executive Director of UN Women

Dr. Surendra Gambhir, chairman, YHS addressed theBensalem Township School Board meeting held on January

11, when the board adopted a resolution to launch Hindi curriculum in its High School. (photo by Ashok Ojha)

6 Tristate Community


AVG celebrates holiday season with Vedanta Retreat

Long Island Council ofChurches receives a $20,000

grant to serve poorHempstead: The Nassau

County Bar Association’s chari-

table arm, the WE CARE

Advisory Board, awarded the

Long Island Council of

Churches a $20,000 grant to

help the LICC feed individuals

and families in crisis and pro-

vide other essential social serv-

ices for poverty-stricken resi-

dents in Nassau County.

The LICC, region’s largest

ecumenical and interfaith organ-

ization, operates an emergency

food center located at 450 North

Main Street in Freeport, and

provides food and other social

services from its Hempstead

office.

"We are delighted and pro-

foundly grateful for WE

CARE’s latest grant,” said Rev.

Tom Goodhue, the LICC’s

Executive Director.

“It was one of the largest they

have given us. WE CARE’s sup-

port helps us to keep up with the

ever growing number of our

neighbors who are in need. Our

Freeport Food Center, for exam-

ple, fed 331 more seniors in

2011 than in 2010.

Without WE CARE, we would

not be able to feed all the fami-

lies who depend on us to eat.

We are profoundly grateful for

the Nassau County Bar

Association’s faithful support

and compassion for the hungry

Nassau residents we feed.”

Book launch of ‘Lives on the Brink’Edison, NJ: The Asian Women's Safety Net

has organized a luncheon to launch Anu

Peshawaria's book: "Lives on the Brink"

Bridging the Chasm between two great nations

- India and the United States on Sunday,

January 22, 2012 from 12:00 pm - 3:00 pm at

Benihana Restaurant, 60 Parsonage Road here.

Anu Peshawaria is the Legal Professional and

Advisor to C.C.A at the Embassy of India in

Washington D.C., as well as the consulates in

San Francisco, Chicago, Houston, and New

York. Organizations present will have the

opportunity to discuss important issues with

Peshawaria and gain insight to the solutions and

tools needed to further assist domestic violence

victims.

Pittsburgh, PA: Dr. Srinivas

Murali, director of the Division of

Cardiovascular Medicine and med-

ical director, Cardiovascular

Institute at West Penn Allegheny

Health System, has been named

governor of the American College

of Cardiology for Western

Pennsylvania.

This appointment signifies the

high regard in which Murali is held

among his peers and colleagues,

according to the ACC, which also

noted the intense enthusiasm and

strong character evident in Murali’s

willingness to serve the cardiology

community of western Pennsylvania

and the country in this capacity.

Murali will serve a three-year

term from 2013-2016.

Murali is an internationally recog-

nized physician in heart failure, car-

diac transplantation, mechanical cir-

culatory support and pulmonary

hypertension. He is widely consid-

ered to be one of the country’s pre-

eminent experts in these fields.

The Indian American cardiologist

graduated from the University of

Madras and completed his residency

training in internal medicine at the

Jewish Hospital and Medical Center

in New York in 1983. After com-

pleting his cardiovascular fellow-

ship training at the University of

Pittsburgh, he joined the faculty

there in 1986. Murali was the med-

ical director of the Cardiac

Transplantation Program at the

University of Pittsburgh from 1991

to 2002, and associate clinical direc-

tor of the UPMC Cardiovascular

Institute till 2005. He joined

WPAHS in 2005 and is currently a

professor of medicine at the Temple

University School of Medicine.

He has authored or co-authored

over 100 publications in the field of

heart failure, pulmonary hyperten-

sion, mechanical circulatory support

and cardiac transplantation. Murali

has given over 100 presentations in

national and international scientific

meetings, and serves on several

committees in the American College

of Cardiology, International Society

of Heart and Lung Transplantation,

Pulmonary Hypertension

Association and the Heart Failure

Society of America.

By Nupur Joshi/SATimes

Pennsylvania: For a number of

Hindus across the country, the

arrival of the holiday season does

not imply the celebration of the

birth of Jesus Christ only. Each

year, members of the Arsha Vidya

Gurukulam (AVG), located in

Saylorsburg, PA, look forward to

attending a year-end Vedanta

Retreat to enrich their minds and

souls.

On December 23, 2011, AVG

held a retreat focusing on Sundara

Kandam and Narada Bhakti Sutra

of the Valmiki Ramayana. Adult

lectures were led by Swami

Tattvavidananda, student of Swami

Dayanada Saraswati, while youth

members attended a variety of

classes including yoga, Sanskrit,

Vedanta, chanting, and Tae Kwon

Do, with multiple teachers.

Though Christmas is largely a

Christian holiday, it did not go

uncelebrated at the Gurukulam.

Because AVG holds religious toler-

ance and knowledge in such high

respect, youth members were

encouraged to sing Christmas car-

ols and create their own renditions.

Along with these classes and per-

formances, youth members also

worked with AVG faculty through

the week to present a Cultural

Program on December 30. The pro-

gram consisted of several skits,

dances and musical performances

by children up to the age of 18.

With only two days left, the

retreat was far from over. The fol-

lowing day began with a Lord

Dakshinamurthi Mula Mantra

Japam. That night, youth members

came together to produce a Talent

Show, independent of the faculty’s

help. Presentations ranged from

skits to mridangam performances,

Kathak to Bharata Natyam dance

performances and Hindustani to

Carnatic classical vocal perform-

ances.

Later, in order to induct the New

Year, Swami Tattvavidananda and

Swami Sarvabhutananda

Sarasvathi gave lectures and per-

formed prayers with the hundreds

of attendees present in the temple.

Meanwhile, Swami Dayananda

Saraswati made a special appear-

ance via webcam from India.

Members of the Gurukulam were

delighted to see his smiling face.

The final day of the retreat com-

prised the New Year Puja. A vast

number of members attended the

event, hoping that 2012 would

have an auspicious beginning.

Cardiologist Srinivas Murali named governor of ACCWP

Srinivas Murali

Savithri Mani, Cultural Program Coordinator, with kids

New York: Adnan Munawar, a

South Asian businessman and

lawyer of Pakistani origin, has

been appointed Administrative

Law Judge of Human Rights

Commission in Nassau County,

New York. Currently a partner

at Munawar AndrewsSantillo

& Weissman LLP, a plaintiff

law firm based in New York

City, providing legal services

in all areas of personal injury,

Munawar was appointed to the

position at the end of last year.

As Administrative Law Judge

he will be looking into cases of

violation of human rights in

Nassau County as and when

referred to him by any of the

12 Commissions that overlook

the cases initially.

Adnan Munawar appointed toNassau County’s HRC

National Community 7


Indian-Americans in Atlanta take up guns in self-defenceWashington, DC: Indians in the in

a Georgian city in the US are learn-

ing to use firearms after a spate of

violent home invasions and rob-

beries in recent months. Indian-

Americans living in Roswell, a

suburb of northern Atlanta, are

being helped by the local police in

receiving gun training to help pro-

tect them from robberies.

Over the weekend, community

members gathered at a firing range,

adding that the Roswell police has

so far charged seven Colombian

nationals with home invasion.

"This is my first time," Ashish

Dhume was quoted as saying.

C K Patel, former president of

the National Federation of Indian

Associations in the US, said, "We

have reports that Indians were tar-

geted in Atlanta. Indian business-

men and their establishments were

being targeted."

According to him, Indians are

targeted because they keep jewel-

ery at home. "There have been

cases where they were robbed of

their jewelery immediately after

they purchased it from a shop and

were bringing it home."

"Some of our friends actually got

robbed. We don't want to be vic-

timized when we are at home," he

added. "I feel confident I can use

the gun and protect myself," he

said after receiving an hour-long

training.

"I just wanted to see what it feels

like and learn some safety issues,

more than anything else, just in

case I get into a situation," Nivelle

Bilimoria said.

The community believes that

Indian-Americans are being target-

ed because they follow the tradi-

tion of keeping gold in their

homes.

In fact, Indian-American commu-

nities in other parts of the US, like

Virginia and New York, too have

been target of robberies.

But this is the first time that they

are taking training in shooting as a

self-defence measure.

"Indians seem to be adverse,

probably culturally, but once you

settle down in this country, you

have got to adapt to the country,"

Dijjocam Raina was quoted as say-

ing, adding that he had not held a

gun in 20 years, but now he plans

on buying one and keeping it close

for safety.

Local police conceded that the

Indian-American community is

being targeted by robbers who held

them at gunpoint and snatched

away their gold and other valu-

ables.

Ro Khanna raises record money for Congressional bidWashington, DC: Indian-American

attorney Ro Khanna, who served for

two years in a senior position in the

Obama Administration, has raised a

record $1.2 million in one single

quarter for his Congressional bid in

2014.

The fund raising details of 35-

year-old Khanna were revealed in a

report submitted by him to the

Federal Elections Commission

(FEC) on January 9.

One of the high ranking Indian-

Americans under the Obama

Administration, Khanna was

Deputy Assistant Secretary for the

US and Foreign Commercial

Service, a unit of the International

Trade Administration for two years

till August 2011.

He is currently Of Counsel at

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati,

a Palo Alto based law firm where he

specializes in intellectual property

and clean technology law.

"Unless I missed something in

looking back through FEC records,

I don't think any non-incumbent

House candidate in the nation has

raised more in his or her opening

'out-of-the-gate' campaign quarter in

the past decade," wrote Josh

Richman in san Jose Mercury

News.

"In fact, I see only two or three

instances in which a non-incumbent

House candidate raised more than

that in any single quarter since

2000," Richman said.

Interestingly, Khanna has not

announced his constituency, but

local media reported that he is eye-

ing District 15 of California which

includes Fremont.

Khanna's fund raisers have attract-

ed top Democratic leaders including

Nancy Pelosi, the former Speaker of

the US House of Representatives,

and eminent Indian-Americans like

venture capitalist Vinod Khosla.

According to FEC filing, some of

the top donors include Google

investor Ram Shriram, Tibco

founder Vivek Ranadive, Adobe

CEO Shantanu Narayen, entrepre-

neurs Talat and Kamil Hasan, ven-

ture capitalist Yogen Dalal, and

political activist Shefali Razdan

Duggal.

"I am most excited by the ideas

and energy brought to our campaign

by some of our nation's greatest

innovators such as Reid Hoffman,

Marc Andreessen, and Peter Thiel,"

Khanna was quoted as saying.

"I learned a lot about what

America needs to create an ecosys-

tem for innovation in the 21st centu-

ry," he said.

US Senator upset over delay inFDI in Indian retail

New Delhi: Influential US Senator and co-chair of

the Senate's India Caucus Mark R Warner today

expressed his disappointment over delay in India

allowing foreign investment in multi-brand retail.

"I am seriously concerned about delay in imple-

mentation of FDI in multi-brand retail," he said at

CII Partnership Summit 2012 here. His comments

come within days of US Trade Representative Ron

Kirk postponing his visit to New Delhi - perceived to

be conveying the US displeasure on India going slow

in giving market access to the American companies,

in areas like retail, insurance and banking.

Warner is leading a Congressional delegation to

India and meeting top government and business lead-

ers in New Delhi, Jaipur, Hyderabad and Kolkata.

The team is exploring opportunities to expand ties

in areas of trade and defense between the two coun-

tries. Bowing to intense from Opposition parties and

its own ally Trinamool Congress, the government

suspended its decision to allow 51% foreign direct

investment (FDI) in the multi-brand retail.

However, the government has re-launched efforts

to achieve consensus among different stakeholders

on the politically sensitive issue.

India opens consulate inAtlanta for Southeast

Atlanta: The government of India

has opened a new consulate to

serve the Southeast.

Georgia governor Nathan Deal

and Consul General of India in

Atlanta Ajit Kumar Dec 29

announced the consulate's opening.

In addition to Georgia, the office

will serve the states of Alabama,

Florida, Mississippi, South

Carolina and Tennessee, as well as

the US Virgin Islands and the US

commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

Kumar previously served as the

Indian consul general in Frankfurt,

Germany, and Durban, South

Africa, and as ambassador of India

to the Republic of Zimbabwe. In

Atlanta, he will lead a team of 20

full-time employees.

The consulate will serve the

approximately 100,000 Indian

Americans living in Georgia and

roughly 290,000 across the

Southeast with services such as

visas, passports and other docu-

ments.

It also will help facilitate

Georgia's surging business with

India.

Figures from the Georgia

Department of Economic

Development show that the state

exported $562 million worth of

goods to India in 2010. That was a

35% increase over 2009.

Georgia is the 10th largest

exporter to India among US states.

"This marks a significant mile-

stone in Georgia's international

evolution," said Deal on making

the announcement. "The Consulate

General is the crowning symbol of

the dynamic business and cultural

connections India shares with our

region and state."

Senator Mark R Warner

Ro Khanna

8 National Community


Subrata De named EP ofAndrea Mitchell show

New York: Subrata De, a senior producer

on “NBC Nightly News with Brian

Williams,” has been named EP of

MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports.”

De has been with NBC News since 1998

and for the last several years as been

Williams’ lead producer, traveling with

him across the country and around the

world. In a note to staff, MSNBC execu-

tive editor Yvette Miley writes, “It is truly

an amazing time for MSNBC to have a

tremendous journalist with such an out-

standing background join our team.”

De takes over for Jennifer Suozzo who

has been named senior broadcast producer

of “NBC Nightly News” weekend edi-

tions.

In her note, after the jump, Miley points

out “Andrea Mitchell Reports” is MSNBC

dayside’s longest running show.

De was working with NBC Nightly

News as senior producer, working primari-

ly with anchor and managing editor, Brian

Williams. In that role, she oversaw stories

and remotes from over 20 countries,

including Iraq, Iran, Haiti and

Afghanistan. She has traveled with

Williams on nearly every major news

event since he became anchor in 2004,

taking Nightly News to New Orleans in

the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and to

Cairo at the height of the uprising in Tahrir

Square. De was also lead producer on the

anchor’s many presidential interviews,

including six with President Obama.

In addition to her work at Nightly, she

was senior producer for Brian Williams

Reports “Taking the Hill: Inside

Congress” and “Inside the Obama White

House.” She began her career with NBC

News in 1998 as a field producer for

Dateline. She’s the recipient of many

industry awards, including two DuPont’s,

4 Emmy’s, the RFK Journalism Award and

a Gracie for Individual Achievement.

De will lead both NY and DC based

members of the “Andrea Mitchell

Reports” team.

Indian-origin American gets bail inroad accident case

Mumbai: An Indian-origin

American student was

Wednesday granted bail by a

court here in a road accident

and drunk driving case in

which his girlfriend was

killed Dec 30 last year,

police said.

"We had arrested Viral

Goradia, 27, Tuesday after

he was discharged from hos-

pital. He was produced in a

local court here and was

granted bail for surety of

Rs.15,000," said an official

from Kherwadi police sta-

tion.

"We will file the charge

sheet in the case in a few

days," the official added.

Goradia Dec 30 rammed

his car into a road divider in

Bandra in northwest

Mumbai. He was travelling

in the car along with his girl-

friend Ankita Cheda, 24,

who was killed on the spot.

Goradia, who was driving

under the influence of alco-

hol, was also seriously

injured.

An MBA student from

New York, he was booked

under penal provisions for

rash driving and causing

death by negligence. He was

also booked under provi-

sions of the Motor Vehicles

Act.

Subrata De with Brian Williams

A US delegation led by the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services,Kathleen Sebelius calls on the Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Shri

Ghulam Nabi Azad, in New Delhi on January 11, 2012.

Jessi Kaur takes message of compassion from books to stage

California: A Cupertino author is taking

her writings on the importance of tolerance

and compassion from print to the stage.

Jessi Kaur is turning her 2009 book The

Royal Falcon into a stage musical that is set

to debut in the Bay Area this month.

The play, much like the book, tells the

story of Arjan, a young boy who is taken on

a fantastical journey through time by a fal-

con that teaches him the importance of cer-

tain virtues.

"The message is to practice kindness,

compassion and forgiveness. We're all part

of one big large family sharing the same

planet," Kaur says. "My life's goal is to

give this message in as many ways as I

can."

The narrative is centered around a

wartime episode from Indian history, where

a water-bearer named Bhai Kanhaiya

engages in acts of compassion during a

time of conflict.

Despite the cultural backdrop, Kaur says

this play is not just a play about Sikhs or

Indians. The cast of the musical is multicul-

tural, and the lyrics of the songs are based

on verses from Sri Guru Granth Sahib, a

scripture that Kuar says upholds the unity

of mankind, celebrates diversity and

demands respect and dignity for all.

"This is a universal message," she said. "I

did not want it to be just for the Indian or

Sikh community."

The young cast is multi-ethnic and fea-

tures 16 children and four adults.

Tanna and Tony Kienitz team to direct the

production, while the original score was

composed by Manesh

Judge and Mike Anand. The songs and

their accompanying choreography reflect

several musical genres, including jazz, hip-

hop and even rap.

Kaur worked with her directors and song-

writers to tweak her original story into

something ready for the stage. She esti-

mates that about 20 percent of the book

was reworked and enhanced so it could be

better expressed on stage.

Kaur, a member of the Cupertino Fine

Arts Commission, is a frequent speaker at

interfaith conferences and addressed the

Parliament of the World's Religions held in

Barcelona, Spain, in 2004.

Jessi Kaur’s book The Royal Falcon isbeing adapted for stage

National Community 9


Kansas student wins ‘WhoWants to Be a Mathematician’

Boston: Shyam Narayanan, a freshman at

Blue Valley West High School in Overland

Park, Kansas, who discussed a math prob-

lem with President Barack Obama after

winning the Mathcounts National Written

Championship, won first prize in the third

annual “Who Wants to Be a

Mathematician” competition.

In the national competition, held here

Jan. 9, Narayanan competed against nine

other contestants who were selected based

on their scores on a qualifying test that was

sent to schools nationwide. In addition to

the win, the Indian American student has

made history for the contest as he is the

youngest person ever to qualify for the

competition.

Narayanan plans on using his $10,000

winnings to start a math club at his school.

He will keep half and the school’s mathe-

matics department will take the other half.

Two other Indian Americans were among

those who qualified for the contest, organ-

ized by the American Mathematical

Society to reward strong math students.

They are: Raj Raina, a sophomore at Novi

High School in Missouri, who likes going

on bus trips to participate in extracurricu-

lar activities. He had said earlier that if he

won first prize, he would visit Egypt with

his family.

Rachit Singh, a sophomore at Pullman

High School Central in Washington, was

the other qualifying Indian American stu-

dent, who loves to draw when he can find

the time. He was a grand prize winner in

the Avista Video Challenge.

During the competition, students had to

answer several multiple choice math ques-

tions in a certain period of time, a chal-

lenge that 15-year-old Singh said he was

ready for.

“I should be fine,' Singh recently told the

Associated Press at his home. “I love

doing math.'

He was not always a whiz with numbers,

however. When he was in elementary

school, Singh's mother said the boy's mind

would wander whenever he sat down with

a math textbook.

It wasn't until seventh grade that he

became more interested in the subject, but

since then Singh has excelled in mathe-

matics.

He was one of 520 students to take the

U.S. Junior Math Olympiad exam this

year, placing among the top 14 high-scor-

ers in the country.

Shyam Narayanan

NaindeepSingh of

the JakaraMovementreceiving

2011 YouthLeadershipAward at

theSALDEFAnnual

Gala fromManjit

Singh andJaideepSingh.

Rana Sodhi receiving 2011 Bhagat Singh ThindCommunity Empowerment Award at the SikhAmerican Legal Defense and Education Fund

(SALDEF) Annual Gala.

233 Fifth Ave, Suite 4A,

New York, NY 10016 • Real Estate (commercial & residential

closings)

• Business Law (business incorporations,

contracts)

• Corporate Transactions & Litigation

• Labor & Employment

• Administrative Law

• Immigration Law (all immigration matters)

• Collections • Landlord/Tenant Law

• Entertainment Law • Criminal Defense

Languages: Hindi, Punjabi, Gujarati

and Swahili

BIKRAM SINGH, ESQ.(646) 924-1950

www.bikrasmsinghesq.com

[email protected]

YOGI PATEL, ESQ.(212) 300-7364

www.ypatellaw.com

[email protected]

Law Office of Bikram Singh& The Patel Law Firm

'More Indo-US collaborationwill improve millions of lives'

Madurai: Indo-US collaborations like the

American Business Corner would make it

easier for Indian companies to work with

American companies, and in the process

improve the lives of millions of people in the

years to come, the United States Consul

General, Chennai, Jennifer McIntyre , said

here today.

"Our two countries can only benefit from

sharing our resources and expertise.

Incredible growth has been happening in

India’s Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, like Madurai

and these American Business Corners will

make it easier for Indian companies to work

with American companies," McIntyre said.

The Consul General inaugurated the

American Business Centre located at the

Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and

Industry premises here.

"Even more importantly, these types of

connections, in addition to continued hard

work on the US-India relationship, will play

a role in improving the lives of hundreds of

millions of people in the years to come," she

said.

McIntyre said that over the past few

decades, the Indo-US bilateral economic

cooperation had resulted in dramatic increas-

es in investment and trade.

US-India foreign direct investment

increased by nearly 165 per cent between

2005 and 2009, she said. US exports to India

have quadrupled over this last decade, while

Indian exports to the US have grown by 180

percent, McIntyre said. Adding that busi-

ness-to-business engagement was at the

"very forefront of relations" between two

countries, she said the instructions from the

US government was to continue to open

doors for greater private sector engagement.

4 arrested for murder of gasstation clerk in NJ

New Jersey: Police have arrested four people

in connection with the shooting death of a gas

station clerk during a robbery at BP station in

Phillipsburg, N.J.Kismathdas Kasam, 47, who

was shot during the Jan. 5 robbery, was

remembered by family and friends at a can-

dlelight vigil Jan. 15 at the Indian City restau-

rant in Phillipsburg. Kasam was shot in the

leg during the robbery and died two days later

at St. Luke's Hospital in Fountain Hill, Pa.

On Jan. 12, Warren County Prosecutor

Thomas S. Ferguson announced the arrests of

Andy Torres, 22, Alexis Flowers, 21, and

Zachary Flowers, 18, all of Allentown, Pa.,

and David Beagell, 21, of Blakeslee, Pa., in

connection with the shooting, The Express

Times reported.

The suspects were charged with first-degree

felony murder armed robbery and related

offenses and sent to the Lehigh County Prison

on $1 million bail each.

According to the report, Alexis Flowers

waived her extradition hearing Jan. 13; the

three others were scheduled to have their

extradition hearings Jan. 17.

Ferguson said the four planned the robbery

and specifically targeted the BP station, which

has been the site of many robberies. Torres

and Zachary Flowers approached Kasam,

demanding money at gunpoint, Ferguson said.

"The gas station attendant cooperated but he

was subsequently shot," he added.

The prosecutor said Torres was believed to

be the gunman and so he has been charged

with an additional count of first-degree.

"He's charged with murder because he

intentionally and in a premeditated fashion,

shot and killed the victim," Ferguson was

quoted as saying.

He said police received a tip from a friend

of one of the suspects after Rajwant Gill, the

owner of the BP station, announced a $3,000

reward for information about the killing.

"One of the defendants had talked to a

friend about what had happened," Ferguson

was quoted as saying."That friend ... felt com-

pelled to come to authorities. That started the

train rolling, so to speak."

10 US Affairs


Washington: Wikipedia, the online

encyclopedia, went offline

Wednesday, joining a daylong inter-

net strike of over a dozen other

websites, including Google, to

protest proposed US laws purport-

edly aimed at combating digital

piracy.

Discussion forums Reddit and

Boing Boing, and Firefox browser

designer Mozilla also are closing

down Wednesday in protest.

Hundreds of other sites, such as

search-engine giant Google, are

posting links on their home pages

highlighting opposition to the legis-

lation, the Washington Times

reported.

The English version of

Wikipedia's website became inac-

cessible at 5 a.m. Wikipedia is

opposing the US Stop Online

Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect

Intellectual Property Act (PIPA)

being debated by Congress.

Jimmy Wales, who founded the

site, told the BBC: "Proponents of

SOPA have characterized the oppo-

sition as being people who want to

enable piracy or defend piracy."

Google blacked out its logo on

the US version of its website and

added a link encouraging

Americans to oppose the bills.

SOPA and PIPA being debated in

the Senate target foreign websites

that violate copyrights online by

banning US companies from pro-

viding them with advertising, pay-

ment or other internet services.

The proposed laws "endanger free

speech both in the United States

and abroad, and set a frightening

precedent of internet censorship for

the world," said Wikipedia founder

Jimmy Wales in a statement.

Critics argue that the proposals

would stifle internet innovation, a

key driver of US and global eco-

nomic growth.

Supporters of the bills include

movie and music companies such

as Walt Disney, content providers

such as the National Football

League and News Corp., pharma-

ceutical companies such as Eli

Lilly, and the US Chamber of

Commerce.

They argue the bills' sweeping

provisions are necessary to shutter

the burgeoning numbers of foreign-

based cybercrime sites that sell

counterfeit goods, pirated software

or fake pharmaceuticals, or stream

copyrighted content like music and

movies.

Wikipedia, Google join anti-piracy bill protest

1 million sign petition torecall Wisconsin GovernorMadison,WI: Critics of Gov. Scott

Walker of Wisconsin on Tuesday

said they had collected more than 1

million signatures, or nearly twice

as many as required, on petitions to

recall Walker and force a new elec-

tion.

Leaders of the recall effort say the

number of signatures is so large as

to put any serious legal challenge

out of reach. Barring a legal fight,

Walker, a Republican who took

office a year ago and set off a

firestorm by curtailing benefits and

collective bargaining rights for pub-

lic workers, will face a new election

in the late spring or early summer.

Nationally, only two governors have

ever been removed through recall.

“This sends a message,” said

Graeme Zielinski, a spokesman for

the Wisconsin Democratic Party,

who described the 1 million names

as evidence that this was the largest

signature drive for a recall effort in

US history.

Walker said in an earlier interview

that he believed a recall election

now appeared inevitable, but that he

thought he would ultimately keep

his job.

On Tuesday, his campaign office

issued a statement on his behalf

about the petitions. “I look forward

to talking to the people of Wisconsin

about my continued promises to

control government spending, bal-

ance the budget and hold the line on

taxes,” Walker said.

Petitions were also submitted on

Tuesday for recall elections of the

lieutenant governor, Rebecca

Kleefisch, and four Republican state

senators, including Scott Fitzgerald,

the majority leader who helped pass

Mr. Walker’s collective bargaining

cuts over the protests of Democrats,

who fled the state last year to block

a vote.

Democrats, who are in the minori-

ty in the State Senate, 17 to 16, hope

to seize at least one seat and take

control. Democrats had controlled

both legislative chambers and the

governor’s office before the election

of 2010, when Republicans, includ-

ing Walker, swept into office.

Obama assures to bring jobs back to USWashington: President Barack

Obama has reiterated his call to

make the government more efficient

and assist companies to bring jobs

back to the US from abroad.

"Right now, we have a 21st centu-

ry, but we've still got a government

organized for the 20th century,"

Xinhua quoted Obama as saying

during his weekly radio and Internet

address Saturday.

"Over the years, the needs of

Americans have changed, but our

government has not. In fact, it's got-

ten even more complex. And that has

to change."

He proposed Friday to merge six

trade and commerce agencies into

one to make the federal government

more streamlined and efficient.

Officials said that 1,000 to 2,000

jobs would be cut through the attri-

tion. "These changes will make it

easier for small business owners to

get the loans and support they need

to sell their products around the

world," said Obama urging the US

congress to reinstate the authority

that past presidents have had to

streamline and reform the executive

branch.He also repeated his promise

to put forward new tax proposals to

reward companies that choose to

bring jobs home and invest in

America and eliminate tax breaks for

companies that move jobs overseas.

US to force drug firms to reportmoney paid to doctors

Washington: To head off medical conflicts of interest,

the Obama administration is poised to require drug com-

panies to disclose the payments they make to doctors for

research, consulting, speaking, travel and entertainment.

Many researchers have found evidence that such pay-

ments can influence doctors’ treatment decisions and

contribute to higher costs by encouraging the use of

more expensive drugs and medical devices.

Consumer advocates and members of Congress say

patients may benefit from the new standards, being

issued by the government under the new health care law.

Officials said the disclosures increased the likelihood

that doctors would make decisions in the best interests

of patients, without regard to the doctors’ financial inter-

ests.

Large numbers of doctors receive payments from drug

and device companies every year — sometimes into the

hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars — in

exchange for providing advice and giving lectures.

Analyses by The New York Times and others have

found that about a quarter of doctors take cash payments

from drug or device makers and that nearly two-thirds

accept routine gifts of food, including lunch for staff

members and dinner for themselves.

The Times has found that doctors who take money

from drug makers often practice medicine differently

from those who do not and that they are more willing to

prescribe drugs in risky and unapproved ways, such as

prescribing powerful antipsychotic medicines for chil-

dren.

UThe Obama administration estimates that more than

1,100 drug, device and medical supply companies will

have to file reports, generating “large amounts of new

data.” Federal officials said they would inspect and

audit drug company records to make sure the reports

were accurate and complete.

Companies will be subject to a penalty up to $10,000

for each payment they fail to report.

Romney remains the candidate to stopColumbia: All the other four surviving candi-

dates piled on Mitt Romney in South Carolina

debate organized Monday by Fox News, but

the Teflon man maintains his strong lead and

seems unstoppable.

Former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman had

departed from the race earlier that day and

surprisingly endorsed Romney despite his ear-

lier frontal attacks on the frontrunner. The rest

of Romney rivals at the debate went hard after

him questioning his business record, if he sup-

ported allowing convicted felons to vote and

whether he would ever release his personal tax

records.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has

in any case been hammering Romney for his

record as the head of Bain Capital in the

1990s, accusing him of padding his wallet at

the expense of middle class jobs. A 28-minute

film produced by Winning Our Future, a pro-

Gingrich super PAC, featured interviews with

workers laid off under Bain's management. On

the debate stage, Gingrich accused Romney of

running companies with a pattern: leaving

them "with enormous debt and then within a

year or two or three having them go broke."

Romney’s response: "Some of the business-

es we invested in weren't successful and lost

jobs, and I'm very proud of the fact that we

learned from the experience," he said. "We

invested in well over 100 businesses, and the

people have looked at the places that have

added jobs and lost jobs and that record is

pretty much available for people to take a

close look at. But my record as the governor

of Massachusetts and as the person who led

the Olympics flowed from the fact that I had

experience turning around tough situations."

Texas Gov. Rick Perry called on Romney to

release his tax returns. Romney said. "I have

nothing in them (tax returns) that suggests

there's any problem and I'm happy to do so. ...

If I become our nominee, and what's happened

in history is people have released them in

about April of the coming year and that's

probably what I would do."

Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum

called out a pro-Romney super PAC for

releasing an ad that criticized Santorum for his

support of a bill that let convicted felons vote

once they had served their time. Santorum hit

back, saying he felt that people who served

their time should be allowed to vote and press-

ing Romney on his own position.

Romney held firm on his position. "I don't

think people who have committed violent

crimes should be able to vote again," Romney

replied. "That's my view."

The striking petition from Google protesting the bills in Congress.

Mitt Romney walks to his campaign bus after holding a rally in Florence,

SC, Tuesday.

Gov. Scott Walker

US Affairs 11


By Jonathan Masters/Council on

Foreign Relations

President Barack Obama

requested Congressional

approval Friday to reorganize

the federal government, a plan that

includes consolidation of six trade

and commerce agencies into a sin-

gle, streamlined department. The

creation of an umbrella department

is geared toward the administra-

tion's goal of increasing the compet-

itiveness of US companies in the

global economy, and spurring

export-led growth. Through his

National Export Initiative, the presi-

dent has pledged to double US

exports within five years, which he

argues would create up to two mil-

lion new jobs. Some lawmakers

welcomed the proposal as a neces-

sary reduction in the size of govern-

ment (WashPost), while critics

questioned the logic of creating a

"new bureaucratic behemoth" to

enhance efficiency.

What's at Stake

Specifics of the White House pro-

posal are forthcoming, but any plan

that enhances the ability of U.S.

corporations to tap into the global

marketplace could have significant

ramifications for domestic job cre-

ation and economic growth. Exports

supplied nearly half of U.S. GDP

growth in 2010, and access to for-

eign markets is likely to be a pri-

mary factor in the country's long

term prosperity. The Department of

Commerce reports that 95 percent

of global consumers live outside the

United States, while the IMF states

that roughly 87 percent of global

growth over the next five years will

take place overseas.

A Council on Foreign Relations

(CFR) task force report on U.S.

trade emphasizes the trend: "With

the fastest growth now taking place

in emerging markets that are often

unfamiliar to U.S. companies, the

U.S. government needs to expand

its trade promotion efforts." The

United States currently ranks sec-

ond-to-last among developed

economies in trade as a percentage

of GDP. In November 2011

(Bloomberg), the U.S. trade gap hit

a five-month high, exceeding ana-

lysts' estimates at $47.8 billion.

The Debate

The White House claims a consol-

idated trade/commerce department

would eliminate redundancies and

provide U.S. firms and small busi-

nesses in particular with a "one-stop

shop" in navigating the federal

bureaucracy. The administration

expects the plan to garner bipartisan

support, but some legislators have

already pushed back.

A joint statement from Senate

Finance Committee Chairman Max

Baucus (D-MT) and House Ways

and Means Committee Chairman

Dave Camp (R-MI) criticized the

idea of folding the office of the U.S.

Trade Representative (WashPost)

into the proposed new department,

saying it would hurt U.S. exports

and job creation. Amy Wilkinson, a

public policy scholar at Harvard's

Kennedy School, raised questions

over integrating the Small Business

Administration into a "larger

bureaucracy," saying it should be at

cabinet level (CNN). David

Rothkopf of ForeignPolicy.com

called the consolidation long over-

due and "an excellent initial step

toward more sweeping reforms."

Policy Options

Outside of agency restructuring,

experts have a variety of sugges-

tions for how Washington can

revive trade. Former Senator Tom

Daschle says the U.S. needs a more

assertive trade policy, and recom-

mends the Congress grant the presi-

dent greater leeway to negotiate

trade agreements under the Trade

Promotion Authority. "We haven't

had TPA authority now for many

years," he says, "and it's not a coin-

cidence that the trade agenda has

languished.The Peterson Institute's

C. Fred Bergsten says the United

States should first attain a fully

competitive exchange rate for the

dollar. "The bulk of our current mis-

alignment," he notes, "is vis-à-vis

the Chinese renminbi and small

group of other Asian currencies,

which must be permitted to

strengthen substantially."

This CFR Task Force report on

U.S. Trade and Investment Policy

recommends several new policies to

spur exports and increase the com-

petitiveness of U.S. firms abroad,

including an ambitious trade-nego-

tiations agenda, a robust and strate-

gic trade enforcement effort, a com-

prehensive worker retraining policy,

and more competitive export

financing.

The author is Associate StaffWriter, Council on ForeignRelations.

The bid to bundle US trade agenciesObama’s proposed consolidation

of six trade and commerce agen-cies into a single, streamlineddepartment, he argues would cre-ate up to two million new jobs anddouble exports within five years,but his critics questioned the logicof creating a new bureaucraticbehemoth.

Analysis

12 India-State Elections


Priyanka ready to play bigger role in CongressRae Bareli (Uttar Pradesh):

Congress president Sonia Gandhi's

daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra

has clearly indicated that she is

ready to play a bigger role in the

Congress party, provided her broth-

er Rahul Gandhi gives the nod.

In a brief interaction with the

media persons before set went into

closed-door parleys with local

party functionaries in Rae Bareli,

the charismatic 40-year-old

declared, "I am ready to extend any

help to my brother".

Her brother, a Congress general

secretary, is also making untiring

efforts to re-establish the Congress

party in this state where elections

to the state assembly are to be held

next month.

Asked if she would continue to

confine herself only to campaign-

ing in the assembly segments of

parliamentary constituencies of her

mother and brother, Priyanka shot

back, "Well, for now I am here in

Amethi and Rae Bareli only. But if

my brother wants, then I will

promptly move elsewhere; perhaps

we can take a final call on that after

I have discussed the issue with

Rahul."

She observed, "My brother is

pretty clear about what he wants

and the role he would want me to

play in the campaign. As far as I

am concerned, I will do anything to

help my brother and go to cam-

paign wherever he wants me to

go."

Known for her prompt respon-

siveness, Priyanka stopped her

vehicle when a group of women

waved out at her outside a private

industrial unit that was shut for two

years, leaving the workers jobless.

Though the women workers looked

angry while narrating their tale of

woe because of the closure of the

unit, she tried to cheer them up by

patting the cheek of the one who

was most aggressive, while asking

her to have patience.

And when she told them, "since

the election model code of conduct

is in force, there is little that we can

do right now, but we will certainly

look into it after the elections", the

frown on the faces of the agitated

women turned into smiles.

She told mediapersons, who were

trailing her since morning, "We

have been trying to work out some

solution for these people who are

naturally keen that their factory be

restarted, so that their source of

livelihood is restored."

Priyanka Gandhi in Rai Bareli, Uttar Pradesh.

UP Chief Minister Mayawati.

Poll panel stops work in Badal'sconstituency

UP elections: BJP to field Uma BhartiEC rejects BSP's plea oncovering statues

New Delhi: The Election

Commission rejected the Bahujan

Samaj Party's (BSP) plea to recon-

sider its Jan 8 order to cover statues

of elephants and party chief

Mayawati, built in public places and

at government expense, until the

assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh are

over.It also expressed dismay at

party chief and state Chief Minister

Mayawati terming the decision

"casteist" and "anti-Dalit".

"The EC needs to reiterate that it

takes its decisions and enforces

them within the provisions of the

Constitution and that does not

include considerations of religion,

race, caste and community in the

manner allege," the poll panel said

in a release.

It said that its order is in accor-

dance with the law and in keeping

with its constitutional mandate for

ensuring level playing field during

the elections.

The poll panel said the BSP's con-

tention that the statues of elephants

as erected are different from the

election symbol of party is not

acceptable. "In that case, other polit-

ical parties would be in a position to

seek allotment of the elephant sym-

bol in different posture," it said.

It said it is disturbed that

Mayawati has cast serious asper-

sions on the commission by attribut-

ing anti-Dalit and casteist motives to

its order and also by alleging that

the directive is inspired by pressure

from some political parties.

Chandigarh/Lambi (Punjab): The Election

Commission (EC) has directed the administration of

Punjab's Muktsar district to stop immediately the work

on a temporary road in the Lambi assembly con-

stituency, from where Chief Minister Parkash Singh

Badal is seeking re-election.

Special chief electoral officer Usha R. Sharma told

media here that the concerned district authorities have

been directed to get the work stopped immediately and

send a report in this regard.

The poll panel agreed that the construction and

paving of the temporary road was in violation of the

model code of conduct.

The road was being hastily laid through agricultural

fields by state government agencies to connect a Dalit

settlement of the 'Baazigar' community in the run-up

to the Punjab assembly elections Jan 30.

Badal is locked in a bitter triangular contest in this

constituency, with his younger brother Gurdas Badal

of the Peoples Party of Punjab (PPP) and cousin

Mahesh Inder Singh Badal of the Congress challeng-

ing him.

New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata

Party has decided to field its leader

Uma Bharti as a party candidate in

the forthcoming Uttar Pradesh

assembly elections. The decision to

field Uma Bharti, a former Madhya

Pradesh chief minister, as a party

candidate in the polls was taken by

BJP President Nitin Gadkari.

Uma Bharti, who is already a

lead campaigner of the BJP in the

state, said that she would abide by

the decision. :We will work for get-

ting majority ...we will turn Uttar

Pradesh into Uttam Pradesh (best

state)," she said.

Party leaders said that Uma

Bharti will be fielded from

Charkhari constituency of

Bundelkhand region. The move

comes amid efforts by the BJP to

get backing of Other Backward

Classes (OBCs) in the Uttar

Pradesh elections.

New Delhi: With high fiscal

deficits -- an indicator of poor

financial management -- the five

poll-bound states of Punjab, Uttar

Pradesh, Manipur, Uttarakhand and

Goa, home to about 230 million

people, leave very little for devel-

opment, a report says.

An analysis of budgets of these

states, done by the National

Election Watch and the Association

of Democratic Reforms, shows that

good economics ranks low in prior-

ity with the governments.

"As most of the revenue spend-

ing is on staff salaries, pension and

interest, very little is left for devel-

opment in these states," Trilochan

Sastry, former dean of the Indian

Institute of Management,

Bangalore, said.

"Politics and development go

hand in hand. The voters must

demand development from politi-

cians," added Sastry, who worked

on the report.

The highest fiscal deficit is in

Uttar Pradesh, amounting to an all-

time high of Rs.20,513 crore

($4.06 billion) in 2008-09 followed

by Punjab, which recorded a fiscal

deficit of Rs.6,690 ($1.3 billion)

crore in 2008-09.

A fiscal deficit occurs when a

government's total expenditure

exceeds its revenue.

Sastry said Uttar Pradesh, which

is inviting the maximum attention,

is lagging behind most other states

on basic development indicators

like health, education and infant

mortality.

Similarly, fiscal deficit in

Manipur increased three-fold from

Rs.217 crore in 2008-09 to Rs.733

crore in 2009-10.

Incidentally, Punjab, perceived as

a "rich" state, had an aggregate rev-

enue deficit of Rs.13,580 crore

during 2005-2010 while the other

four states managed to show a rev-

enue surplus in the same period.

In fact, the bad economics further

compounds the problem of the five

states.

The report mentions that in 2008-

09 and 2009-10, Goa, a tourist hot

spot, did not receive any debt

waiver from the central govern-

ment as the state's fiscal deficit was

higher than the prescribed ceiling

of 3.5 percent and four percent of

the Gross State Domestic Product,

a measure of goods and services

produced, respectively.

In Uttarakhand, in 2005-2010,

the budget projections for revenue

deficit and fiscal deficit each year

have consistently not been

achieved, said the report.

Development deficit dogs poll-bound states

Uma Bharti.

India 13


Court case by army chief'unhealthy' precedent: Govt

New Delhi: The legal battle

between Indian Army chief Gen.

V.K. Singh and the government

over his age sets an "unhealthy

precedent", the government said,

even as Defense Secretary

Shashikant Sharma met the gen-

eral in a one-on-one meeting

when the issue is said to have

come up for discussion.

Minister of State for Defense

M.M. Pallam Raju described the

court case as an "unfortunate"

development that does not augur

well for either the defense min-

istry or the armed forces.

"It is an unfortunate develop-

ment and it is not a healthy

precedent either for the

(Defense) Ministry or the armed

forces... It is an unhealthy prece-

dent. It does not auger well either

for the Ministry or the forces,"

Raju told reporters on the side-

lines of a National Cadet Corps

camp function.

Later in the day, Shashikant

Sharma met Gen. Singh soon

after Indian defense ministry

hosted Nepal's Deputy Prime

Minister and Defence Minister

Bijay Gachhadar.

While Sharma was present at

the meeting with Nepal's deputy

prime minister, the Indian Army

was represented at the meeting

by its vice chief, Lt. Gen. Sri

Krishna Singh.

Gachhadar, however, met Gen.

Singh later at his office in South

Block, informed sources said,

indicating that there is nothing

much to his absence at the bilat-

eral meeting and it was as per

protocol.

Soon after these bilateral meet-

ings, Sharma and Gen. Singh met

at the latter's office for half-an-

hour and this meeting too was in

relation to the debriefing on the

bilateral talks held with Nepal

sources said.

Much is being read into every

move of the army chief since he

sued the government over his age

row, challenging the defense

ministry's rejection of his statuto-

ry complaint to rectify records to

indicate his birth date as May 10,

1951, instead of 1950.

A day later, the defense min-

istry filed a caveat in the apex

court, urging it not to pass any

order on the general's petition

before hearing its views.

The Supreme Court is yet to fix

a date for hearing the army

chief's petition, though another

public interest litigation on the

same issue will come up for

hearing on Friday.

The row has pitted the senior-

most officer of the 1.13-million-

strong army, the world's second

largest, against the government,

a first in independent India.

It also has the potential to

derail the succession schedule of

the army, as 1950 birth year

would mean Gen Singh retires in

May this year and if 1951 is

accepted as the birth year, he gets

to serve another 10 months till

March 2013, when his slated

three-year tenure will end.

The army's chief holds the

posts for three-year term or till

62 years of age, whichever is

earlier.

India, China seal newborder mechanism

New Delhi: Seeking to step up

bilateral ties amid hiccups, India

and China decided to set up a new

mechanism to maintain peace on

their border, and resolved to

enhance mutual trust as they ended

the 15th round of boundary negotia-

tions.Called a "working mechanism

for consultation and coordination on

India-China border affairs," it was

finalized after two days of talks

between India's National Security

Advisor Shivshankar Menon and

China's State Councillor Dai

Bingguo, who are special represen-

tatives on the boundary question.

The agreement was signed by

India's ambassador to China S.

Jaishankar and China's Assistant

Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin in

the presence of Menon and Dai.

"The working mechanism will

address issues and situations that

may arise in the border areas that

affect the maintenance of peace and

tranquility, and will work actively

towards maintaining the friendly

atmosphere between the two coun-

tries," says the text of the agree-

ment. It will help prevent misunder-

standing between the two countries

arising from incursion into each

other's territory, stemming from the

undemarcated Line of Actual

Control (LAC).

The mechanism will be headed by

a Joint Secretary and a Director

General from the Indian and

Chinese foreign ministries respec-

tively. It will also include diplomat-

ic and military officials.

The two countries stressed that

maintaining and strengthening

peace and tranquility in the India-

China border areas was very signifi-

cant for enhancing mutual trust and

for resolving the boundary question

at an early date. The 16th round of

boundary talks will be held in

China.

Much is being read into every move of the army chief Gen. V.K. Singhsince he sued the government over his age row.

Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo with Prime MinisterManmohan Singh in New Delhi.

Gujarat Lokayukta's appointment upheld, Modi upsetAhmedabad: In a setback for

Chief Minister Narendra Modi, the

Gujarat High Court upheld Justice

(retired) R.A. Mehta's appointment

as Lokayukta by Governor Kamla

Beniwal. But the state government

said it would challenge the verdict

in the Supreme Court.

Gujarat government's standing

counsel in Supreme Court,

Hemantika Wahi, told reporters in

Delhi that a petition challenging

the high court's order would be

filed Thursday morning and men-

tioned in the apex court later the

same day.

The petitioners in the case

termed the high court judgment

here as historic and said the gov-

ernment's arguments that the gov-

ernor's move to appoint the

Lokayukta was arbitrary has been

rejected.

"The Lokayukta's appointment in

the state is constitutional, valid and

legal and the government's argu-

ments that the governor's move to

appoint the Lokayukta was arbi-

trary has been rejected," petitioner

Anand Yagnik said.

Mehta, a former high court

judge, told news channels that he

would abide by his responsibilities

as and when they were assigned to

him.

A two-judge bench had last

October delivered a split verdict

on the government's plea question-

ing Mehta's appointment.

While Justice Akil Kureshi had

upheld the appointment, Justice

Sonia Gokani disagreed. The case

went to a third judge, Justice V.N.

Sahai, who completed the hearing

Dec 29, 2011 and announced the

verdict Wednesday.

"There was a difference of opin-

ion in the two-judge bench and

today the verdict of the third judge

came and he said he agrees with

the view of Justice Kureshi,"

Yagnik said.

The Gujarat government said it

would approach the Supreme

Court. "The way forward is to

study the judgment and after hav-

ing the competent legal advice we

shall challenge it before the honor-

able apex court of this country,"

Gujarat government spokesperson

Jay Narayan Vyas told reporters.

"We will move to the Supreme

Court for further remedy because

we believe that the issue raised by

us is fundamental to the safety of

the federal structure and also very

central to provisions of the

Constitution of India," he said.

Reacting to the judgment, the

Congress said it has been proven

that the Bharatiya Janata Party

(BJP) -- which is in power in

Gujarat -- is not firm in removing

corruption from the country.

"In the last several years they

have been delaying the appoint-

ment of the Lokayukta and in par-

liament they did not let the Lokpal

bill pass and their true face has

been unveiled," Congress

spokesperson Rashid Alvi said in

New Delhi.

The Gujarat government said it would approach the Supreme Court.Court's order harms

federalism: BJP New Delhi: The Bharatiya

Janata Party (BJP) said the

Gujarat High Court's decision to

uphold the appointment of state

Lokayukta by the governor was

a "setback to federalism".

"The divided judgment of the

Gujarat High Court is a setback

to federalism," Leader of

Opposition in the Rajya Sabha

Arun Jaitley told reporters on

the sidelines of a function here.

"The governor is a nominee of

the central government. If a

governor gets primacy over the

state government on the

appointment of Lokayukta, it

amounts to government of India

appointing the Lokayukta," he

added.

14 India


Rushdie trip to Jaipur uncertain, cleric seeks apologyJaipur/New Delhi: Controversial

writer Salman Rushdie may not

attend the Jaipur Literature Festival

beginning from January 20 as a

leading Muslim scholar asked him

to apologize for hurting Muslim

sentiments.

Although there is no official

announcement yet, the sources told

IANS that the British Indian novel-

ist may keep away from the Jan 20-

24 event scheduled at the Diggi

Palace Hotel.

The sources gave no details but

spoke as Rajasthan Chief Minister

Ashok Gehlot told Home Minister

P. Chidambaram in Delhi that

Rushdie's presence could spark off

trouble.

Muslim groups have come out

against the visit by Rushdie, whose

fourth novel, "The Satanic Verses"

(1988), led to major protests from

Muslims in many countries after a

'fatwa' by Ayatollah Khomeini in

1989.

Organizers of the popular Jaipur

Literature Festival admitted that

Rushdie "will not attend" the first

day of the event.

He was supposed to reach Jaipur

on Jan 20 and address two literary

sessions. The event's producer

Sanjay Roy said in a two-line state-

ment: "Rushdie will not be in India

Jan 20 due to a change in his

schedule. The festival stands by its

invitation to the author."

Nearly 250 authors from the

world, including celebrities like

Oprah Winfrey, will take part in the

festival.

Gehlot told reporters in Delhi:

"We don't have any official com-

munication when he is coming...

but minorities in the state are

protesting against it. I have

informed him (Chidambaram)

about the situation.

"It is a famous festival. I am sure

organizers ... would not want any-

thing to happen that affects the

whole festival. I hope we work out

something so that things don't turn

ugly.

"We can't prevent (Rushdie) from

coming to India since he is a PIO

(Person of Indian Origin) and PIOs

don't need visa," said Gehlot, who

also met Law and Minorities

Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid.

Many Muslim leaders in

Rajasthan have asked the govern-

ment not to let Rushdie enter India.

After Darul Uloom Deoband -- the

country's biggest Islamic seminary

-- demanded that the writer be

denied entry, some leaders of the

Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP)

minority cell in Rajasthan echoed

the view.

Darul Uloom vice chancellor

Maulana Abul Qasim Nomani, who

had urged the Indian government

to cancel Rushdie's visa, Tuesday

demanded an apology from the

writer for hurting Muslim senti-

ments.

"Rushdie has hurt Muslim senti-

ments. He should apologize to the

entire Muslim ummah (society) for

his blasphemous remarks against

Islam and the Prophet. Only then

we can allow him to travel to

India," Nomani said.

The Man Booker prize winning

writer had earlier visited India in

2000 for a Commonwealth writers'

forum, and in 2007 the Jaipur

Literature Festival despite wide-

spread protest.

Through the week, fans and lib-

erals voiced anguish over attempts

to bar Rushdie from visiting India.

In a hard-hitting message on

Twitter, journalist and commenta-

tor Vir Sanghvi said: "Don't take

power away from the people and

give it to the bullies."

Last year, an invitation to

Rushdie for the Harud festival in

Kashmir that was later aborted, had

triggered similar flak. Rahul

Pandita, the author of "Hello,

Bastar", described the tirade

against Rushdie as "shame, shame,

shame!"

Nearly 250 authors from the world, including celebrities like OprahWinfrey, will take part in the festival.

India’s first woman photographerVyarawalla dies

Ramdev supporters,Congress workers

clash

Vadodara: Homai Vyarawalla, one

of India's first professional women

photographers, died, days after

being hospitalized due to a fall

from her bed, close friends said.

She was 98.

Vyarawalla's death is an end of

an era in photography, said some

of those who were lucky enough to

have interacted with the grand old

lady, who lived by herself in

Gujarat's Vadodara city.

"(I am) sad to know of the

demise of Homai Vyarawalla,

India's first woman photo journal-

ist. Received her blessings at

Vadodara Sadbhavana fast recent-

ly," tweeted Gujarat Chief Minister

Narendra Modi.

"I have been inspired by the

nature of her works. Such docu-

mentation does not happen today.

There was a spontaneity about her

work, which required courage in

those days," 78-year-old Nemai

Ghosh, movie maestro Satyajit

Ray's chronicler, photographer and

friend said of Vyarawalla.

Vyarawalla who started by click-

ing photographs as a teenager, took

a number of memorable photo-

graphs during her career and was

well known for taking shots of

India's first prime minister

Jawaharlal Nehru smoking a ciga-

rette. Nehru was her favourite sub-

ject.

"I started clicking photographs at

the age of 13 in Bombay with a

box camera in 1926 and I shot my

last photograph in 1970, 40 years

ago. Since then, I have not touched

the lens. But I am aware of the

drifts in press photography down

the decades," Vyarawalla had said.

Along with being remembered as

India's first professional woman

photographer, Vyarawalla will also

be remembered as "The Grand Old

Lady" who, at 98, did all her

chores by herself and took a flight

of stairs at least twice a day.

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has granted bail to

Suresh Kalmadi, MP and former chief of the

Commonwealth Games Organising Committee, accused

in a corruption case related to the 2010 sporting event.

His aide V.K. Verma was also given bail. The court

allowed bail to Kalmadi on a personal bond of Rs.5 lakh

and surety of the like amount.

Kalmadi was arrested April 26 last year for his alleged

role in awarding a contract for installing the Timing-

Scoring-Result system to Swiss Times Omega at an exor-

bitant cost of Rs.141 crore, allegedly causing a loss of

over Rs.95 crore to the public exchequer.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had opposed

the bail of the two accused.

Kalmadi and Verma moved the court for bail on the

observation of the Supreme Court in the 2G case that

"bail should be the rule and jail an exception".

The trial court in June last year rejected Kalmadi's bail

plea, after which he approached the high court.

The accused individuals and two companies in the case

were charged under various sections of the Indian Penal

Code (IPC) for cheating, criminal conspiracy and forgery,

and booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

New Delhi: Supporters of Baba

Ramdev and Congress party work-

ers clashed after the yoga guru's

activists held protests outside the

Congress headquarters, police said.

Two Ramdev supporters were

arrested, police said.

According to eyewitness, a group

of around 15 Ramdev supporters

shouted slogans and blackened the

portrait of Congress president

Sonia Gandhi on a board outside

the party office at 24, Akbar Road.

As they came to know of the

incident, Congress workers came

out of the office and clashed with

the Ramdev supporters, in full

view of the TV cameras and media

persons.

A Congress leader said the pro-

testers were planning to disrupt the

party press briefing scheduled at 5

p.m.

The incident comes after Ramdev

faced an ink attack at a press con-

ference. The yoga guru's supporters

alleged that the attack was master-

minded by the Congress.

Homai Vyarawalla.

The former CWG chief Suresh Kalmadi is accused ina corruption case related to the 2010 sporting event.

CWG scam: Suresh Kalmadi gets bail

First Baba Ramdev faced an inkattack; later, his supporters

blackened Sonia Gandhi’s posterat the Congress headquarters.

Art & Fashion 15


New Delhi: From the "world's

most famous unknown artist" to

the "woman who broke up the

Beatles", Yoko Ono has had her

share of bouquets and brickbats.

The conceptual artist, who is put-

ting up her maiden exhibition in

India, says her work is an exten-

sion of her "karmic love affair"

with late Beatles icon John

Lennon.

"Yes... I met him at an art show.

He was recording music at his

studio on 3, Abbey Road (in

London). Number three is a num-

ber connected to music. He came

to 6, Mason Yard where I was

having my gallery show. Six is a

number of love. It was the begin-

ning of a life-long love affair, and

karmic too," Ono said in an inter-

view during her visit to India.

Lennon and Ono teamed up

around 1968 when the former

was still with the Beatles - and

pooled their genius for several

albums. They married in 1969

after a torrid romance. The cou-

ple rocked the world for a decade

before Lennon was shot dead in

1980 at the end of a busy day in a

recording studio in New York.

Her installation and perform-

ance art at the Vadehra Gallery in

the capital (Jan 13 - March 10) is

a torch into her life. For several

decades, Ono, 78, has been cam-

paigning for world peace and

women's empowerment.

She draws attention through her

avant garde works to the con-

straints faced by women in their

lives.

In India, Ono is collaborating

with a group of seven women

artisans from Bikaner for an

interactive installation, "Heal

Together" - a cut canvas embel-

lished with traditional embroi-

dery, scraps of colored textiles

and graffiti.

The women, mostly refugees

from Pakistan after the 1971 war,

are part of a self-help crafts clus-

ter, 'Rang Sutra', comprising

nearly 1,200 women who embroi-

der on handloom, silk, wool and

leather.

The women have woven and

embroidered 15 odhnis, or hand-

woven drapes, to accompany

Ono's installation on gender

injustice, "Remember Us" - a

series of headless female torsos

laid out on beds of burnt wood

chips and a graffiti on the wall

screaming "Uncursed" in

English, Hindi and Japanese.

The gender installation is at the

centre of Ono's India-specific

multi-media art project, "Our

Beautiful Daughters".

"Indian craft is very important

for the world and those girls as

well. Those girls will never have

a bad time wherever they are

because they have the skill. We

should all be like them and focus

ourselves on something we love

to do...and create our own des-

tiny.

"It is a very Asian thing - my

mother taught me about music

and art when I was four years

old...Inside, I am an Asian and

outside I am Asian and Western.

The world is getting very small,"

she recalled.

Born in 1933 to wealthy

bankers in Japan, Ono later

migrated to the US with her fami-

ly. Asked about her long-term

plans for India, Ono turned philo-

sophical.

"There are so many things in

this world we can take care

of...Touching base like this, shak-

ing hands to realize that all of us

are very important people... we

have accomplished that in two

days in India.

"But I will never leave my soul

from India. I will be here wherev-

er I am," she said.

Indian mysticism has been an

important influence in Ono's life,

thanks to Lennon's brush with

Transcendental Meditation at

Mahesh Yogi's retreat in the

1960s in Rishikesh. The couple

had even been known to seek an

audience with Sathya Sai Baba

and traveled through the

Himalayas in search of spiritual

salvation.

"The whole world is influenced

by Indian spirituality. India is a

very interesting land - it is the

centre of the world's spirituality,"

she said. She is also attracted to

Buddhism.

"The whole world is influenced

by Buddhism. It is not a religion

but a logical, theoretical idea -

don't kill anybody and don't fight

with anybody," Ono said.

Known for her experimental

music and the Plastic Ono Band,

which she set up with Lennon in

1969 to sing songs of peace and

freedom, Ono fills her art with

this new age search for liberation

and people-to-people interface as

well.

Her live performance, "Cut

Piece", in 1964 allowed the audi-

ence to step on the stage and snip

her draped garment to pieces till

she was unclothed.

"Art is a tool of social change.

But music is music and art is art...

They meet sometimes and some-

times they don't. But there is

always music around my art,

touching it, nourishing it," Ono

added.

New Delhi: Designer Kiran

Uttam Ghosh, known for her chic

and glamorous designs, has pre-

sented a modern avatar of the

six-yard sari for the new-age

woman.

The designer has launched her

sari range under her pret line -

Chiconomics. The collection is

unique in terms of drapes and

presentation.

"Blending my signature style,

spirit and spunk, the saris are

fluid and light weight, giving

today's women the simplicity and

drama of a well cut ensemble

with sensual, understated, sexy

zipped-edges and smart pleats,"

Ghosh said in a statement.

Showcasing an entire gamut of

ethnic wear in a lighter, playful

and more contemporary tone, the

saris are designed using cutting

edge technology on fabrics like

georgettes, chiffons and satin.

Ghosh says "the favored colors

this season are bright acid shades

like orange, lime green and coral

along with a more mellow jewel-

toned range," and her collection

is also dominated by the same.

The designer feels her clothes

are understated and can appeal to

those who do not like to go over-

board with jazzy clothes.

"Our label has defied catego-

rization, and our clothes are

understated, with silhouettes,

characteristic and textures that

refuse to be bracketed by terms

such as eastern or western. This

is what appeals to fashionistas,"

said Ghosh.

The new sari collection is

available at the designer's store

with a price on request.

My art reflects my affairwith Lennon: Yoko Ono

Saris with a twist

A creation by designer Kiran Uttam Ghosh

Conceptual artist Yoko Ono paints a graffiti on the wall of the VadehraArt Gallery in New Delhi, and (inset) with John Lennon in those

Flower Power days.

Yoko Ono with artisan women from Bikaner with whom she is collab-orating for an interactive installation, ‘Heal Together’.

16 Ultimate Bollywood


Socialite Parmeshwar Godrej

threw a lavish party in

honor of American TV talk

show host Oprah Winfrey on her

maiden visit to India and

Bollywood who’s who were invit-

ed to the bash.

She first dropped at Bachchan’s

residence to bless the new born

and after spending an hour with

the Bachchan family, Amitabh

Bachchan himself drove Oprah to

the venue at his chauffer.

Biggies like Amitabh Bachchan,

son Abhishek, daughter-in-law

Aishwarya, Shahrukh Khan,

Priyanka Chopra, Priety Zinta,

Lara Dutta, Shilpa Shetty, Anil

Kapoor, Imran Khan, Neha

Dhupia, Sameera Reddy, Dino

Morea, novelist Shobha De, and

jewelry designer Farah Khan were

present. They all went gaga over

Oprah's lively nature and clicked

photo with her.

Aishwarya’s connection with

Oprah is long time back when she

first appeared on her talk show in

2005. After marriage, she

appeared with her husband

Abhishek Bachchan in 2009.

Excited Amitabh Bachchan, who

drove Oprah from her residence to

the party, tweeted, "The gracious

Oprah Winfrey visits our home, to

meet us and bless the baby...warm

hearted, endearing...drive her to

the party in her honor. And Oprah

in sari..looking lovely!!"

Pregnant Lara Dutta seemed to

be very excited to meet Oprah. On

her Twitter page, the ecstatic

actress posted a picture of her with

Oprah and Shahrukh and wrote,

"@Oprah and @iamsrk, two peo-

ple I absolutely adore! Thankyou

for making my day! Now can go

into labour happily!”

Actress Sameera Reddy also

tweeted, "My God! Oprah

Winfrey is the warmest most

down to earth person I have ever

met! What a personality! I'm

thrilled!" Oprah looked pretty in

orange sari. She visited India for

her new talk show 'Next Chapter'.

An excited Amitabh Bachchan became a chauffeur and drove Oprah from her residence to the party.

While there has been

much speculation on

Indian Canadian porn

star Sunny Leone starring in Jism

2, the film's producer Pooja Bhatt

has decided to keep everyone

guessing.

"I will announce whether

Sunny Leone is in the movie or

not, but until then, keep guess-

ing," Pooja told reporters.

Mahesh Bhatt had offered the

movie to Sunny while she was

participating in the reality show

Bigg Boss 5.

Meanwhile, Pooja said she was

happy that a saucy poster of Jism

2 has been well received.

"I am glad that curiosity has

increased so soon. I assure you,

we will take this curiosity to the

peak. I will not let the heat die

down because Jism 2 is going to

create a lot more 'jadoo' and lot

more 'nasha'," Pooja added.

She also said Jism 2 will be

totally different from the previ-

ous movie.

When it comes to his

daughter Trishala,

Sanjay Dutt is a very

protective father. He does not want

her in showbiz.

The 22-year-old was interested in

acting but Sanjay didn't back her.

"Absolutely true and underline it

500 times," Sanjay said, about his

opposition. "If somebody says give

me the reason, I am going to show

my finger because she is my

daughter."

Trishala is from Sanjay's first

wife Richa Sharma, who was an

actress and died of cancer.

The 51-year-old Sanjay, now

married to Manyata from whom he

has twins, believes women have to

struggle a lot in the film industry

and he doesn't want his daughter to

face all this.

"If you want the reason, my

father (Sunil Dutt) never wanted

any female from my family to join

the film industry. Not because film

industry is a bad place for woman,

not because film industry is taboo

in the country, only because it's a

huge struggle for women. Being

the oldest in the family I can't give

up that legacy," said Sanjay, whose

mother Nargis was a top notch

actress of the 1950s and 1960s.

This restriction is not only

imposed on his daughter, but his

nieces are kept away from the

arclight.

"My sisters would have also

come... even their daughters, who

are so pretty, could also have

come," he said.

Unfortunately, he didn't spend

some quality time in her childhood

days with Trishala, who was raised

by her maternal grandparents in the

US.

"I have never seen the aspect of

fatherhood with Trishala. That's a

sad thing and my bad luck. I feel

sad for her. Anyways that was my

bad luck. I wish I could spend all

those moments with her also.

Nonetheless, we will make up."

Trishala is Sanjay's daughter from his first wife Richa Sharma, whowas an actress and died of cancer.

No acting forTrishala: Sanjay Dutt

Bollywood parties with Oprah Winfrey

Suspense over Sunny Leonestarring in 'Jism 2'

After leading the nomination

pack for the 69th Golden

Globe awards, "The Artist"

emerged as the big winner at the

extravaganza by winning three tro-

phies. "The Descendants" followed

close behind, with George Clooney

taking the best actor gong for the

movie.

The star studded ceremony was

held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

"The Artist", directed by Michel

Hazanavicius, was adjudged the best

motion picture- musical or comedy,

and it also won the best original

score motion picture award for

Ludovic Bourve, as well as the best

performance by an actor in a motion

picture award- comedy or musical,

for Jean Dujardin.

Alexander Payne "The

Descendants" walked away with

two honors -- best motion picture-

drama and best actor in a motion

picture-drama award for Clooney.

The best actress in a motion pic-

ture-drama was won by Meryl

Streep for "Iron Lady" for her por-

trayal of former British Prime

Minister Margaret Thatcher. In the

best performance by an actress in a

motion picture-musical or comedy,

Michelle Williams took home the

award for her performance in "My

Week With Marilyn".

Christopher Plummer and Octavia

Spencer picked up the best support-

ing actors' trophy for their work in

"Beginners" and "The Help" respec-

tively. The ceremony saw veteran

actor Morgan Freeman being hon-

oured with the Cecil B. DeMille

lifetime achievement award.

Filmmaker Martin Scorsese won

the best director for "Hugo", while

Woody Allen's romantic comedy

"Midnight In Paris" won the best

screenplay gong, and Steven

Spielberg's "The Adventures of

Tintin: The Secret of The Unicorn"

bagged the best animated film trophy.

'The Artist' bags maximumGolden Globe gongs

Meryl Streep won the BestPerformance by an 'Actress in aMotion Picture' for 'The Iron

Lady'.

Mahesh Bhatt had offered themovie to Sunny while she was

participating in the reality showBigg Boss 5.

Ultimate Bollywood 17

Thesouthasiantimes.info January 21-27, 2012

SRK and Ranbir have been

paired together to host the

57th Idea Filmfare

awards 2011 this year.

There are awards and then

there is Filmfare. The premium

film magazine's award show is

something else. If you are fea-

tured on Filmfare, you have

arrived they say.

The prominent award show

began in 1954. The awards get

widely noticed for its sheer star

presence and long-standing

association with Hindi cinema.

The hosts of Filmfare are

often quirky, cheeky and fun!

They amuse the audience with

their mad antics. They take

healthy digs at their contempo-

raries and nominees thus keep-

ing everyone glued to their

seats.

It was Shah Rukh and Saif

who got the ball rolling. Soon

after, the younger generation

took over with Ranbir and

Imran playing the perfect hosts.

Filmfare will happen on 29th

of January at the Film City this

year for which Shah Rukh and

Ranbir have been zeroed in as

hosts.

If rumors are to be believed then

there seems to be no love lost

between Gauri Khan and Priyanka

Chopra.

Obviously all the talk of an alleged

more than good friendship between

her superstar husband Shah Rukh

Khan and his Don leading lady

Priyanka Chopra is the reason why

Gauri is supposedly indifferent to PC.

What is a coincidence is that years

ago, Gauri was reportedly indifferent

to another Ms World Aishwarya Rai.

Says our source, “When Ash walked

out Chalte Chalte, SRK's home pro-

duction, things between Gauri and the

former Ms World were strained.”

Our source recalls that when Gauri

and SRK who share a happy vibe with

Abhishek Bachchan went to wish him

for his birthday (Feb 5) before he had

married Ash, they were very warm to

Bachchan Jr but Gauri wasn't particu-

larly friendly with Ash at that point.

However it seems that now things

are perfectly pleasant with at least one

Ms World and Gauri. Yes Gauri did

make it to Aishwarya's baby shower

and she shares a nice equation with

the entire Bachchan family.

Let's hope the other Ms World title

winner Priyanka too manages to get

back into the gracious Gauri's good

books.

The hosts of Filmfare are often quirky, cheeky and fun! Theyamuse the audience with their mad antics.

SRK, Ranbir to host 57thFilmfare Awards

Madhavan, a kunwara?

Hindi cinema is indeed

going places! For the first

time on the Indian screen

the audience will witness a divorce

party.

Well, separation calls for celebra-

tion in Ashwini Chaudhary's " Jodi

Breakers", being produced by

Prasar Vision Pvt Ltd. "Parting

ways has always been considered

to be a negative and heartbreaking

experience. But in "Jodi Breakers",

we have given it a very humorous

color. Following his break-up, the

song, "Kunwara", shows lead actor

Madhavan celebrating his singleton

status once again. His friends have

thrown a party for his new-found

freedom," smiles Ashwini.

The director has shot the song in

different locations to capture the

exuberance of bachelorhood. "We

wanted to capture the joy of libera-

tion as if a big burden has been lift-

ed of the chest. To enhance it, we

even shot a foam party sequence.

The song has become a hot

favorite with the people especially

males who are so used to enjoying

freedom. The trend of celebrating

separation is looked upon with a

different aspect today. It is no

longer an embarrassment. In fact, I

have had friends who after separat-

ing have often had a pleasant and

cozy meal at a restaurant experi-

encing a sense of relief," laughs

Ashwini.

The film Kunwara shows leadactor Madhavan celebrating his

singleton status once again.

"Castro's Daughter" will tell the story of Fernandez, born in 1956 of aromance between young Fidel Castro and Cuban socialite Naty

Revuelta, who was married to a doctor at that time.

Castro's daughter wantsBanderas to play dad!

The estranged daughter of

Cuban leader Fidel Castro

wants Hollywood actor

Antonio Banderas to play her father

in the upcoming biopic "Castro's

Daughter".

Alina Fernandez suggested the

name of the "Mask of Zorro" star to

production company Mankind

Entertainment. The movie would be

directed by Michael Radform, and

shot in Puerto Rico.

"I have been a huge fan of

Antonio for years, and hope to see

him play my father. I think he has a

phenomenal charisma, and think he

has the nerve to play the role per-

fectly... I'm very excited that he

would consider this," Fernandez

said. "Castro's Daughter" will tell

the story of Fernandez, born in 1956

of a romance between young Fidel

Castro and Cuban socialite Naty

Revuelta, who was married to a doc-

tor at that time.

Fernandez, who now lives in the

US, studied medicine and interna-

tional relations and worked briefly

in public relations for Cuba's

National Theater. She later became

a model and left the island nation in

1993.

No love between Gauri, Priyanka?

Years ago, Gauri was reportedlyindifferent to another Ms World,

Aishwarya Rai.

Vidya Balan an item girl now

After going Ooh La La last year, Vidya Balan

is now gearing up for her first item number

in Vidhu Vinod Chopra's Ferrari Ki Sawari.

The track will be shot lavishly and will see Vids go

ultra-glam for it.

Reveals a source, "She's never really attempted an

item song before, so there was some scepticism. But

once she saw portions of the film and met up with

Vidhu, she was sold on the idea." The song will be a

major highlight of the Rajesh Mapuskar film.

"Vinod and Vidya share a great professional equa-

tion since her big break in Parineeta. Naturally, it was

very hard for her to resist the offer," reasons the

source.

The song is still a work in progress and the concept

will be finalized in coming weeks. The source adds,

"There's no rush to shoot the song, which tentatively

will be shot early next month. The team wants Vidya

as involved as possible in the process. They're trying

to make her feel as comfortable as possible."

The choreographer for the number is undecided for

now.

The song is still a work in progress and the concept will be finalized incoming weeks.

18 Features


Billed as one of the biggest

carnivals of art this year,

the fourth India Art Fair

in Delhi Jan 25-29 will feature

more than 1,000 artists by 91 art

houses from 20 countries, includ-

ing works by Salvador Dali,

Pablo Picasso, Damien Hirst,

Anish Kapoor, Anthony Gormley

and Jean Miro.

India's coming of age as an

international art destination and

recovery of the art market post-

meltdown will be the highlights

of the event to be held at the

National Small Industries

Corporation (NSIC) Ground in

Okhla.

The focus of the fair is foreign

participation. It is likely to draw

leading art houses like Hauser

and Wirth (Switzerland), Galleria

Continua (Italy), Lisson Gallery

(UK) and White Cube (UK) and

top-of-chain experts to address

forums on business, aesthetics,

art practices and awareness.

Neha Kirpal, the founding

director of the fair, said "the

2012 edition of the fair presents

the strongest and most diverse

contingent of galleries seen at the

fair to date".

Nearly 60 percent of galleries

are from Asia, including Indian

galleries, which make up about

half of the exhibitors overall,

while 26 percent are from

Europe. The remaining 14 per-

cent are from North and South

America, the Middle East, Africa

and Australia, official statistics

said.

Estimates say the India Art

Fair, founded as the India Art

Summit in 2008 as a pioneering

platform of modern and contem-

porary art in India, has attracted

more than 170,000 people in the

last three years.

"The art fair has seen tremen-

dous growth over a short period

of time, and much of its success

can be attributed to its focus on

providing a relevant and trans-

parent platform for the Indian art

scene.

It has received unprecedented

interest from international muse-

ums and private collectors, and

cultivated a whole breed of new

collectors and art enthusiasts

within India," Kirpal said.

The fair, which has changed its

venue from Pragati Maidan to the

NSIC Ground this year, has made

a new fashion statement with a

new business model.

The fair this year will host its

visual feasts in designer tents

spread over 12,000 square meters

designed by veteran set designer

Sumanth Jaikishan.

"The growing size of the fair,

increasing footfall, the global

interest generated by the fair and

a booming trade drove the organ-

izers to invite foreign partners," a

source said.

The Indian art market is esti-

mated at a little over Rs.2,000

crore.

One of the immediate spin-offs

of the new business model of the

fair has been the formation of the

Collectors' Circle - an outreach

program to build an international

chain of collectors and art

experts - in the run-up to the fair.

One main attraction of the fair

will be corollaries and collateral

events like the video lounge,

sculpture court, art book shop,

site-specific public art events and

live art shows in venues across

the national capital.

1,000 artists, 20 countries- India Art Fair cometh

Motherland- a performance art act by artist N. Pushpmala to bepresented at the India Art Fair.

By Alyssa McDonald

Hurrying down the steps of a Delhi

Metro station, I jump into the first

available train. Eyes stare at me. I

am not only the lone woman in the train

car but also the only foreigner.

Like 1.5 million other people in Delhi, I

ride on the Metro every day. To get to

work, I spend almost 45 minutes on the

rail, including switching train lines, before

reaching my destination.

The first couple of times I rode the

Metro, I thought two things: people are

staring at me and why do women not use

the Metro. It took me days to realize there

were 'women only' compartments at the

front of each train. Since starting to use

these, I enjoy watching men enter and

look around to see only women. They

quickly make their way down the train to

the general compartments looking as

though they mistakenly walked into the

wrong washroom. I have never seen

'women only' compartments or sections in

my home country of Canada.

Although I never had a problem at the

back with the men, I feel safer with other

women around, especially when the train

is so full there is not enough room to

move. I have seen people trying to jump

into trains that were full, while Metro

security try to pull them out so the door

can close.

Not to say the women that ride the

Metro are not a little aggressive when they

rush for seats. When two girls go for an

open seat, neither backs down which usu-

ally results in them both semi-sitting on

each other in one spot.

There is no Metro in Winnipeg, my

home in central Canada. The city of about

680,000 people has been trying for years

to build a rapid-transit system, but does

not have the funds. The cost of riding the

city bus is 2.45 CAD (Rs.125) -- much

more expensive than the Metro here,

which only costs me Rs 16 for my ride

across the city.

I am jealous of the Metro system in

Delhi and wish we had a progressive alter-

native to the bus and taxi systems in

Winnipeg. I have ridden on other Metro

systems in Vancouver and Toronto,

Canada's largest cities, and feel that the

Delhi Metro can compete on a global

scale.

The Metro also offers a fixed rate for

everyone, including foreigners. When tak-

ing taxis and auto-rickshaws in Delhi, for-

eigners usually get quoted a much higher

price than locals. It can get frustrating

when you get overcharged for transporta-

tion just because you are not from here.

Tanya Tonning, who is from Norway, is

starting her tour of Asia from Delhi and

has been using the Metro to get to markets

for shopping. She says it was an easy sys-

tem to understand and was better than

walking the streets of Delhi.

"It was very clean. I didn't expect it to be

that clean when you look around outside,"

Tonning said.

She stays at a backpacking hostel in

Saket where most clients are foreigners

wanting to see the sights of Delhi. The

hostel encourages its visitors to use the

Metro to get around the city and provides

them with a map of how to reach the near-

est station.

Foreigners beware that some etiquette

existing in other countries does not exist

on the Delhi Metro. There is almost no

waiting for people to deboard the train

before rushing in, sometimes resulting in

getting a shoulder push.

Even when seats are reserved for women

in the general compartments, I usually see

just men sitting there. People hold on to

their seats and rarely offer them to people

who may need it more.

When someone asks someone for a seat,

they simply squish over and give them a

portion of the seat. Then when someone

on the bench gets off, you can spread back

out.

On my first day ever on the Metro, two

people on different trains gave up their

seats for me. Maybe they saw in my face it

was my first time and I was a little nerv-

ous, because the luxury of getting offered

a seat has never happened again.

Delhi Metro through envious foreign eyes

Foreigners beware that some etiquette existing in other countries does not exist on the Delhi Metro.

Diaspora 19


London: A third man has been arrested in connec-

tion with the brutal murder of an Indian-origin cou-

ple – Avtar Kolar and his wife Carole – in

Birmingham.

The police is now questioning the 37-year-old over

the murder of 62-year-old Avtar and his 58-year-old

wife Carole, whose bodies were discovered on

Wednesday by their son Jason Kolar, a serving offi-

cer with West Midlands Police.

Earlier, two people were arrested. One man was

bailed pending further enquiries, the second man was

released without charge, The Sun reports.

Post-mortem tests have confirmed that the couple,

who had been married for 40 years, died as a result

of blunt force trauma to the head and that both had

been struck a number of times.

The arrests came after two of the couple’s four

children made a desperate plea for help to catch their

parents’ killers.

Police have repeatedly refused to speculate about a

motive for the murders, but said detectives are look-

ing into a number of lines of inquiry, including a rise

in burglaries and gold thefts in the area.

Avtar and Carole Kolar murder:Third man arrested

'Pay me 10,000 pounds for access to British PM'London: In a major cash-for-

access scandal, a 50-year-old

Indian-origin Conservative Party

activist and fund-raiser was thrown

out of the party after he was caught

boasting in a video that he could

provide Prime Minister David

Cameron's personal mobile phone

number or a dinner with him for

10,000 pounds.

Rickie Sehgal -- chairman of the

British Asian Conservative Link

(BACL) -- said donors could dine

with the prime minister and raise

any issue they wanted, the Daily

Mail reported Sunday.

"Those who pay 10,000 pounds a

year get Cameron's mobile,"

Sehgal told an undercover reporter.

When confronted about his

claims, Sehgal said he was "highly

embarrassed" to have been caught

boasting, which he said he had

exaggerated to impress the under-

cover reporter.

Sehgal was sacked from the party

Saturday after senior officials stud-

ied the evidence.

Sehgal was recently pho-

tographed whispering into the

prime minister's ear at the Tories'

Winter Ball, where tickets cost up

to 1,000 pounds.

The BACL website features pic-

tures of Sehgal with senior offi-

cials, including Home Secretary

Theresa May, Attorney General

Dominic Grieve and International

Development Secretary Andrew

Mitchell as well as London Mayor

Boris Johnson.

The daily began the investigation

following a tip-off from a legal

source who said Asian business-

men were using BACL to gain

access to Tory ministers.

An undercover reporter posing as

a businessman met Sehgal and said

he was keen to join the BACL's

exclusive 1000 Club, which the

website claimed could give mem-

bers access to ministers and MPs

for business and personal benefits.

The meeting took place at the

headquarters of Sehgal's IT compa-

ny, Transputec Computers Plc, in

northwest London.

Rickie Sehgal was caught boasting in a video that he could provide David Cameron's mobile number or a dinner with him

for 10,000 pounds

Avtar Kolar and wife Carole were bludgeoned to death

Thiruvananthapuram: More

and more Keralites are going

abroad for jobs, and the highest

migration increase is among

Muslims.

The number of migrants abroad

in 2011 was estimated at 2.28

million, up from 2.19 million in

2008, 1.84 million in 2003 and

1.36 million in 1998.

These are among the findings

of the Centre for Development

Studies here. It has come out with

a fifth comprehensive study on

international and internal migra-

tion from Kerala since 1998.

Remittances from migrants

form more than 60 percent of

Kerala's revenue.

The report said this stood in

2011 at Rs.49,695 crore, from

Rs.43,288 crore in 2008.

The proportion of Hindus

among the non-resident Keralites

has shot up. It was 37.5 percent

in 2011, and 29.9 percent in

1998.

The vast majority of the

migrants in 2011 were Muslims

(about 45 percent), although the

community's share in Kerala's

population was 26 percent.

While Hindus formed about 56

percent of the population, their

share among the migrants was

only 37.5 percent.

The gain among the Hindus

was mostly at the expense of

Christians, whose share shrank

from 25.1 percent in 2003 to 17.9

percent in 2011.

The 2011 study is based on pri-

mary data collected from 15,000

households selected through ran-

dom sampling covering all 63

taluks or sub-districts.

According to study researchers

K.C. Zachariah and S.

Irudayarajan, the main countries

of destination for Keralites have

remained unchanged over these

years - 90 percent go to Gulf

countries.

Nearly 40 percent of Kerala's

migrants live in the United Arab

Emirates and 25 percent in Saudi

Arabia.

Muslim migration up in Kerala, Christians lose

Not murder, says Oxforddon's widow; Indian-origin

academic gets bailLondon: Indian-

origin Oxford

mathemat ic ian

Devinder Sivia,

who was arrested

after an eminent

professor was

found dead at his

home, has been

released on bail.

The professor's

widow said her

husband was not

murdered while

Sivia's father described the aca-

demics' relationship as that of

"brothers."

The body of Steven Rawlings, a

50-year-old astrophysicist, was

found at Sivia's home in

Oxfordshire Wednesday.

Sivia, a 49-year-old Sikh mathe-

matics lecturer at Oxford

University, was arrested. He was

released on bail Friday as police

downgraded the investigation into

Rawlings' death, reported Daily

Mail.

Rawlings' widow Linda said the

death was not a murder.

"Steve and Devinder were best

friends since college and I believe

this is a tragic accident."

"I do not believe that Steve's

death is murder and I do not

believe Devinder should be tar-

nished in this way," Linda was

quoted as saying.

British police are now looking

at "underlying health issues" after

a post-mortem examination of

Rawlings failed to pinpoint the

exact cause of his death.

Daily Telegraph said Sivia spent

over 24 hours in custody but was

released after detectives said it

was possible the death was not the

result of any foul play.

The Oxford professor had suf-

fered a breakdown last year.

A friend of Rawlings said he

had spoken to the professor just

hours before he died and that he

seemed troubled and was consid-

ering resigning from his post at

Oxford. "He (Rawlings) was

thinking about the future and con-

templating handing his notice in

to St Peter's College.

He had a very intense job and he

was a very intense person," Daily

Telegraph quoted the friend as

saying. The friend added: "He had

had a breakdown last year and on

that occasion was found wander-

ing around the village in his dress-

ing gown in the middle of the

night."

Steven Rawlings (left) was found dead at friendDevinder Sivia’s home (right)

20 Op Ed


India elections:Fair ballot, riveting battles expected

People's wish for democracyremains: Chinese writer

By Amulya Ganguli

Mayawati's statues and her

election symbol of ele-

phants carved out of

stone have been covered, the

Congress' pro-Muslim sops have

been shot down, the officials

believed to be biased in favor of

the ruling party have been trans-

ferred by the Election Commission

and bundles of cash meant for dis-

tribution among voters have been

seized. The country is ready for

another electoral bout among polit-

ical parties under the commission's

stern, impartial gaze, which prom-

ises that the contests will be free

and the outcome fair.

It is the certainty about the

results reflecting the popular mood

which has facilitated the task of

forecasts since the earlier ugly

phenomenon of booth-capturing,

impersonation and forcibly keep-

ing at bay large groups of voters,

mainly in the Hindi heartland, is

no longer prevalent.

As is known, this remarkable

cleansing of the electoral system is

the contribution of T.N. Seshan,

who was chief election commis-

sioner from 1990 to 1996. Since

his time, the commission, like the

Comptroller and Auditor General's

office, has been a truly

autonomous body.

As a result, perhaps the most

crucial of the "cow belt" states,

Uttar Pradesh, will see another riv-

eting battle between the two old

regional adversaries, the Bahujan

Samaj Party (BSP) and the

Samajwadi Party (SP), and two

"national" parties with limited

local influence, the Congress and

the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP),

with all of them accepting the

results without making too much

of a fuss.

In all likelihood, the anti-incum-

bency factor, which led to the SP's

ouster in 2007, may be felt by the

BSP this time, largely because of

the latter's neglect of significant

development projects that make a

difference to the lives of the poor

and marginalized, reminiscent of a

similar indifference shown by Lalu

Prasad during his 15 years as Bihar

chief minister.

In both their cases, the belief that

a neat stitching of caste combina-

tions - Mayawati's Dalit-Brahmin

rainbow coalition and Lalu

Prasad's Muslim-Yadav (MY)

alliance - was considered enough

to cross the electoral Rubicon.

Interestingly, the Janata Dal-

United and the BJP, which are

allies in Bihar, will be on opposite

sides of the fence in Uttar Pradesh,

diminishing the latter's chances of

getting a sizeable chunk of the

other backward caste (OBC) votes

via the Janata Dal-United and,

therefore, pushing it further down

in the electoral stakes.

For the Congress, it is a do-or-

die battle for the party's heir appar-

ent, Rahul Gandhi. If he falters yet

again, as in Bihar in 2010, he will

have to reconsider his tactics. But,

if the Congress can repeat its 2009

performance in Uttar Pradesh,

Rahul will be the frontrunner for

the prime minister's chair in 2014.

If anti-incumbency is expected

to hit the BSP in Uttar Pradesh, it

is also likely to unsettle the Akali

Dal in Punjab, which has tended to

vote for the Akalis and the

Congress in alternate elections.

The Congress' hopes of staging a

comeback have been buoyed by its

success in the 2009 parliamentary

polls, when it won eight of the 13

seats while the Akalis won four.

In Uttarakhand, the party had to

hastily remove Ramesh Pokhriyal

from the chief minister's post in

favour of B.C. Khanduri, who held

the office earlier, in view of the

corruption charges faced by

Pokhriyal's administration. In fact,

there is little doubt that the BJP

would have lost power if Pokhriyal

had remained in office. Even now,

memories of his time in power

may damage the party's prospects.

In Manipur, the Congress may

gain from the differences that have

cropped up between two con-

stituents of the People's

Democratic Front (PDF) - the

Janata Dal (United) and the RJD -

with the enmity rooted in Bihar

between these two parties souring

their relations in the northeastern

state.

By Madhusree Chatterjee

People's wish for democracy has no

end, so days of revolution still exist in

China, says writer Bi Feiyu, who won

the Man Asian Literary Prize for his book

"Three Sisters" in 2010. He also points out

that Chinese youth are more keen to make

money now, but women get less of a chance.

The cultural revolution is over and "today's

Chinese politics is much better than during

that time. But we cannot be happy about that

because people's wish of democracy and lib-

eration have no end," Feiyu, 47, told IANS

in an interview here.

He was in the country to release the Indian

edition of the English translation of his book

published by Om Books International.

"I believe the days of the revolution are

still existing because there is no multi-party

system in China, the army does not belong to

the country - but to the party. The media is

not yet free. All these are the wishes that the

Chinese people hope can be solved," Feiyu

said.

So one cannot assume or feel that the cul-

tural revolution is over "because that means

you will be happy", the writer felt.

Opening a window into the state of

Chinese socio-economic psyche post-

Tiananmen Square in 1989, the novelist said,

"Many Chinese, including the knowledge-

ables, have put their excitement in making

money and not on politics."

"I feel that after the Tiananmen uprising,

youth's passion towards politics has reduced

considerably. They want to be rich while

they are very young," the writer said.

His novel, "Three Sisters" explores the life

of three sisters, Yumi (corn in Chinese),

Yuxiu (beauty) and Yuyang (earth) who find

their ways out of the petty treachery of the

village to the slogans of the cultural revolu-

tion and the mad pace of city life. The lives

of the three sisters change with their journey

from the village to the city.

The novelist in the course of his narrative

from rural to urban China unravels the con-

trasts in the situations - the quirks in

lifestyles and the rot that the Communist

regime had bred in 1970s' China.

The socio-political movement that took

place in China led by Mao Zedong from

1966 through 1976 to enforce socialism had

left its imprint in almost every sphere of cul-

ture - not even sparing the women folk

whose lives were dictated by the party.

Comparing his three heroines, Feiyu said

"Yumi has more socialism, while Yuxiu is

more natural. Yuyang does not have any of

the characteristics of her two older siblings,

but even then the politics does not leave her

alone."

Feiyu said he had "deliberately created

three different women in his novel - and all

the three could avoid the autocratic politics

of the people who had started the cultural

revolution".

"Through the real life of these girls in the

book, I am letting people know that this kind

of life cannot go on... When the youth of

today's China see (read) the book, they will

tell themselves that the three sisters are not

far away from us," Feiyu said.

The country is ready for another electoral bout among political partiesunder the Election Commission's stern, impartial gaze, which

promises that the contests will be free and the outcome fair.

Bi Feiyu.

The views expressed in Op Eds are not necessarily those of The South Asian Times.

Subcontinent 21


Islamabad: Pakistan's National

Assembly passed a resolution sup-

porting democracy in the country,

which gave a breather to belea-

guered Prime Minister Yousuf

Raza Gilani against whom the

Supreme Court issued a contempt

notice for not acting against

President Asif Ali Zardari for cor-

ruption.

The lower house of Parliament

passed the pro-democracy resolu-

tion moved by Awami National

Party (ANP) leader Asfandyar

Wali, Geo News reported.

Gilani congratulated the MPs on

passage of the resolution, while

MPs belonging to the Pakistan

Muslim League-Nawaz and

Pakistan Peoples Party-Sherpao

staged a walkout.

Gilani told the house he would

appear before the Supreme Court

as he was directed to appear per-

sonally before it on Jan 19.

He said the government wanted

no confrontation with any institu-

tion, including the judiciary, and

that no one should degrade the

mandate of the elected govern-

ment.

"We need no certificate to prove

our patriotism," Gilani said, citing

sacrifices rendered by leaders of

the ruling PPP for the cause of

democracy in the country.Gilani

offered to resign Monday after the

Supreme Court issued him a con-

tempt notice for not implementing

a directive to act against President

Asif Ali Zardari for corruption.

Zardari, accused of graft, had

been granted amnesty under the

National Reconciliation

Ordinance (NRO), which was

issued in 2007 by then president

Pervez Musharraf to facilitate the

return of former prime minister

Benazir Bhutto and her husband

Zardari. The NRO was struck

down as void by the Supreme

Court in 2009. Gilani offered to

resign to save democratic system

and parliament, reported ARY

News.The prime minister made

the offer after a meeting with

Zardari. Both leaders discussed

the current political situation in

the country, Geo News quoted

sources as saying.

Partners of Pakistan's ruling

coalition also met and decided

that Gilani would appear before

the Supreme Court Jan 19.

A seven-member Supreme

Court bench Monday resumed

hearing on the implementation of

the NRO, under which the

National Accountability Bureau

(NAB) had withdrawn cases

against Zardari.

Dawn News quoted Law

Minister Maula Bux Chandio as

saying that the government would

talk to lawyers regarding the

court's notice and that the next

step would be taken in accordance

with the law and constitution.

Pakistan Parliament passes resolution supporting Gilani

Islamabad: Asif Ali Zardari has

immunity from prosecution, says

the lawyer of Prime Minister

Yousuf Raza Gilani who has been

issued a contempt notice by the

Supreme Court for not imple-

menting a directive to act against

the president for corruption.

Gilani's lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan

said that the president has immu-

nity from prosecution even in

Swiss courts, Dawn reported.

Zardari enjoyed immunity while

in office under the Vienna

Convention, he added.

He said that the cases against

Zardari were in the nature of

criminal cases in which case no

proceedings could be initiated

against him while he was in

office.

Zardari has immunity: PakistaniPM's lawyer

Kilinochchi (Sri Lanka): Indian

External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna

visited this former Tamil Tiger hub and

gifted medical equipment to a hospital,

unveiled a renovated school and hand-

ed over houses built with New Delhi's

assistance.

On the second day of a four-day visit

to the island nation, Krishna took a

chopper from capital Colombo to land

in Kilinochchi, the former headquarter

of the now vanquished Liberation

Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

He gifted a range of medical equip-

ment to the district hospital in the heart

of the small town, about 60 km south of

Jaffna.

The hospital, which suffered exten-

sive damage during the final phase of

the armed conflict, was rebuilt by the

Sri Lankan government and restored to

the provincial council.

Dressed in casuals and sports sneak-

ers, a relaxed Krishna unveiled an ICU

and a fully air-conditioned sterilization

room at the 200-bed hospital.

Accompanying him were Sri Lanka's

Foreign Minister G.L. Peiris,

Economic Development Minister Basil

Rajapaksa, the younger brother of

President Mahinda Rajapaksa,

Industry and Commerce Minister

Rishad Bathiyutheen and Small

Industries Minister Douglas Devananda.

Krishna brings healing touch to Tamils

Islamabad: A Pakistani journal-

ist, who was working for US

radio, was shot dead by some

unidentified gunmen in the coun-

try's northwestern region, police

said.

Mukararm Khan Atif was offer-

ing evening prayers when uniden-

tified gunmen sneaked into the

mosque and shot at him in Khyber

Pakhtunkhwa province's

Charsadda district, Xinhua quoted

police as saying.

He died at the hospital. Atif was

working for the Pashto-language

American Diva radio in the area.

He was also associated with a

local TV channel and had been

covering events in the nearby

Mohmand tribal region.

As per witnesses, two armed

motorcyclists fled after the inci-

dent.

No group claimed responsibility

for the incident.

According to media groups, a

total of 12 journalists were killed

in Pakistan last year.

Pakistani scribe workingfor US radio killed

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.

Memo scandal: Court dismisses plea against Ijaz

Islamabad: A Pakistani court dis-

missed a plea to file a case against

Pakistani-American businessman

Mansoor Ijaz who forwarded a

secret memo to Washington that

said President Asif Ali Zardari last

year feared a military coup.

Additional Sessions Judge Syed

Wajahat Hassan in Islamabad

rejected the petition to file the case

against Mansoor Ijaz, reported Geo

News.

The petition was filed on Jan 7

by Pakistan Peoples Party activist

Khalid Jameel Sati, seeking regis-

tration of criminal case against

Mansoor Ijaz.

Mansoor Ijaz claims to have

delivered a memo to then chairman

of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen.

Mike Mullen last year at the behest

of then Pakistan's envoy to the US

Husain Haqqani. The memo said

Zardari feared a military take-over

following the killing of Al Qaeda

chief Osama bin Laden in

Abbottabad, near Islamabad, May

2 last year.Petitioner Khalid Jameel

Sati sought arrest orders against

Mansoor Ijaz. He pleaded that Ijaz

hatched conspiracy against the

democracy and the country as he

attempted to pit the army and the

government against each other.

The revelation about the secret

memo led to Haqqani stepping

down. Former minister Sherry

Rehman was then appointed the

new envoy to the US. Pakistani

parliament and Supreme Court are

probing the memo issue.

Mansoor Ijaz claims to have deliv-ered a memo to then chairman ofthe US Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen.

Mike Mullen.

Indian External AffairsMinister S.M. Krishna.

Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza

Gilani appeared to be on a "suicidal warpath", said

a daily, noting that his "raving and ranting will not

hide (the) selfishness from the people who have

already seen through the charade being enacted

before them".

An editorial in the News International Wednesday

said that the capacity for clear, cool-headed think-

ing within the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)

appears to be disappearing faster than ever.

"The prime minister remains on what appears to

be a suicidal warpath, pitching himself against

other institutions and apparently readying himself

to take on the role of a martyr who - in the realm of

make-believe the PPP now occupies - can save

democracy and battle all that it has decided is evil,"

it added.

The editorial said that continuing the aggressive

tone in his much anticipated address to the National

Assembly, Gilani had declared that neither the judi-

ciary nor the army could derail democracy.

"What he didn't mention amidst the display of

high emotion is the role his own government has

played in subverting the working of democracy by

failing to abide by court orders and follow the dic-

tates of the constitution," it said.

The editorial went on to say that the crisis the rul-

ing party now faces has been brought about by

itself. "Much now depends on what answer Gilani

offers to the court when he appears before it."

Pakistani PM on suicidal warpath, says daily

22 International


'Captain took ship off route, abandoned it'Rome: The captain of a Carnival

Corp. ship that ran aground off

Italy, was granted house arrest

hours after audio emerged of a

Coast Guard official ordering

Francesco Schettino to return to

the damaged Costa Concordia and

oversee rescue efforts.

The captain of a Carnival Corp.

(CCL) ship that ran aground off

Italy told a judge that he made a

mistake by steering too close to

Giglio Island, according to a court

document.

Francesco Schettino, the captain

of the Costa Concordia, failed to

promptly advise the Italian Coast

guard after he struck rocks along

the coast and later allegedly aban-

doned the ship carrying 4,200 pas-

sengers and crew with at least 100

people still aboard.

As per Italian authorities, 11

people are confirmed dead and 22

still missing days after the cruise

liner crashed into rocks after leav-

ing for a Mediterranean cruise

with over 4,200 passengers

onboard.

The Costa Concordia's captain,

52-year-old Francesco Schettino,

was put under house arrest after

being detained with charges of

manslaughter and abandoning

ship. Judge Montesarchio said the

51-year-old captain admitted that

he deviated from the ship’s pro-

grammed route, coming 0.28 nau-

tical miles from the coast. He then

allegedly refused pleas from a

Coast Guard official to return to

the ship, the document shows. He

“underestimated the damage” and

gave the evacuation order more

than an hour after the ship hit

rocks by the island, delaying res-

cue operations, according to the

document.

Carnival, the world’s largest

cruise operator, said today it has

begun refunding passengers and

said is arranging lodging, trans-

portation and counseling for pas-

sengers and crew.11 people are dead and 22 still missing days after the Italian cruise liner

Costa Concordia crashed into rocks.

US restores diplomatic tieswith Myanmar

Washington: The United States has formally restored

diplomatic relations with the government of Myanmar, or

Burma, as it was known before the ruling military Junta

changed the nation’s name.

The restoration of relations came on the heels of an

announcement that the Myanmar regime had released 651

political prisoners. Among those arrested as political pris-

oners in the course of many conflicts are civilian protes-

tors, Buddhist monks, and students. A day before the pris-

oner release, the government announced a cease-fire in the

long-running conflict between the military and ethnic

Karen rebels in the east. AFP reports that a presidential

order at the end of last year to end fighting against ethnic

Kachin rebels in the north failed to end the conflict there.

Around the same time, though, a successful ceasefire was

brokered between ethnic fighters of the Shan State Army-

South and its local government. In the wake of the prison-

er release, Myanmar as a state was still not wholeheartedly

embraced by the United Nations, which issued a statement

that more reforms were needed.

In contrast US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton was

enthusiastic, saying, “[t]his is a momentous day for the

diverse people of Burma,” and she announced plans to

exchange ambassadors with the country.

Burma has been in a state of civil war since it was

declared independent from British colonial rule in 1948.

State violence against ethnic minorities have caused the

international community to isolate Burma by imposing

sanctions against the ruling government. Hundreds of

thousands of Burmese have been displaced by fighting

around the nation. Meanwhile, as part of the reforms

announced by President Thein Sein, elections are sched-

uled for April 1. Burma’s most well known leader and

Nobel Peace Laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi, who was

released recently after decades of house arrest, has regis-

tered to run for office.

‘North Korea close to collapse’Tokyo: A new book claims that

the eldest son of North Korea’s

late leader Kim Jong-il believes

the impoverished regime is in dan-

ger of collapse and that his young

half-brother, chosen to lead after

Kim’s death, is merely a figure-

head.

The book by Tokyo-based jour-

nalist Yoji Gomi went on sale

recently. He says it is based prima-

rily on email exchanges he had

with Kim Jong Nam over many

years.

The book, titled My Father, Kim

Jong Il and Me, drew immediate

attention as a rare view into the

family that has led the secretive

country for decades — though

Kim Jong Nam is thought to be

estranged from his family and the

workings of government. Since

Kim Jong-il’s death Dec. 17,

North Korea has been led by his

youngest son, Kim Jong-un.

“Jong-un will just be a figure-

head,” the book quotes Kim Jong

Nam as saying. It claims he said

the collapse of North Korea’s

economy is likely unless it initi-

ates reforms, which could also

bring it down.

“Without reforms and liberaliza-

tion, the collapse of the economy

is within sight,” he quoted Kim as

saying. “But reforms and opening

up could also invite dangers for

the regime.”

Gomi, a Tokyo Shimbun journal-

ist who had assignments in Seoul

and Beijing, claims he exchanged

150 emails and has spent a total of

seven hours interviewing Kim

Jong Nam, who was seen as a pos-

sible successor until he fell out of

favor with Kim Jong-il in 2001.

Not long after Kim Jong-il’s

funeral, Jong Nam suggested in an

interview with a Japanese TV net-

work that he opposes a hereditary

transfer of power to his young

half-brother, who is believed to be

in his late 20s.

That was a rare public sign of

discord in the tightly choreo-

graphed succession process, but

analysts said Jong Nam spends so

much time outside his native land

that his opinion carries little

weight.

‘Strike on Iran wouldbe catastrophe’

Moscow: Russia has warned that a

military strike on Iran would be a

"catastrophe" with the severest

consequences which risked inflam-

ing existing tensions between

Sunni and Shiite Muslims.

"As for the chances of this catas-

trophe happening, you would have

to ask those constantly mentioning

it as an option that remains on the

table," foreign minister Sergei

Lavrov said when asked on the

chances of military action.

Israeli defense minister Ehud

Barak earlier said in Jerusalem that

his country was not even close to

deciding to attack Iran and

believed that a military option

remained "very far away".

Lavrov warned of the "severest"

consequences of an attack that he

warned would spark a regional

refugee crisis and incite inter-com-

munal tensions in the region.

"I have no doubt in the fact that it

only add fuel to the fire of the still-

simmering Sunni-Shiite conflict.

And I do not know where the sub-

sequent chain reaction will end.

He added that punitive sanctions

aimed at winning more transparen-

cy from Iran had "exhausted"

themselves and only hurt the

chances of peace.

"Additional unilateral sanctions

against Iran have nothing to do

with a desire to ensure the regime's

commitment to nuclear non-prolif-

eration," Lavrov told reporters at

an annual briefing outlining

Russia's foreign policy views.

His comments came as EU diplo-

mats closed in on a July date for a

full oil embargo that would suit

nations such as Italy with a strong

reliance on Iranian supplies.

Lavrov said Russia had evidence

that Iran was ready to cooperate

more closely with inspectors from

the United Nations IAEA nuclear

watchdog and was preparing for

"serious talks" with the West.

He also hinted that Europe and

the United States were imposing

the measures with the specific pur-

pose of torpedoing new rounds of

talks.

"Iran is now waiting for an

(IAEA) delegation so that it can

discuss serious issues. So the sanc-

tions that can now be adopted by

the European Union can hardly

improve the atmosphere or make

the talks productive," said Lavrov.

The book by Tokyo-based journalist quotes late leader Kim Jong-il’sson as saying that the collapse of North Korea’s economy is likely

unless it initiates reforms.

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov warned that an attack wouldspark a regional refugee crisis and incite inter-communal

tensions in the region.

Business 23


San Francisco: Yahoo's co-founder Jerry Yang

stepped down from its board along with all other

positions he held in the company, it was announced.

The 43-year-old Yang also resigned from the

Boards of Yahoo! Japan and Alibaba Group Holding

limited, Xinhua quoted the company as stating in a

press release.

Having founded the online company in 1995 with

David Filo, Yang served as Yahoo's chief executive

from June 2007 until January 2009.

Yang's resignation comes two weeks after the com-

pany hired former PayPal executive Scott Thomson

to be its new chief executive, BBC reported.

Yang had annoyed some shareholders by turning

down a $47.5bn takeover offer from Microsoft in

2008. The company's current market value is about

$20bn.

"The time has come for me to pursue other inter-

ests outside of Yahoo!", said Yang in a statement

while expressing his support for the company's cur-

rent management.

"I am enthusiastic about the appointment of Scott

Thompson as Chief Executive Officer and his ability,

along with the entire Yahoo! leadership team, to

guide Yahoo! into an exciting and successful future,"

he said.

Yahoo co-founder JerryYang steps down

The 43-year-old Jerry Yang also resigned from theBoards of Yahoo! Japan and Alibaba Group Holding

limited.

Global growth is now projected at 3.1 percent for 2013, down from itsJune estimate of 3.6 percent.

Washington: The World Bank

has lowered its global economic

growth rate forecast to 2.5 percent

in 2012 from its previous estimate

of 3.6 percent, amid risks trig-

gered by the ongoing eurozone

crisis.

Developing countries should

prepare for further downside

risks, as the eurozone debt prob-

lems and weakening growth in

several big emerging economies

are dimming global growth

prospects, the Washington-based

organization said in its newly-

released flagship report "Global

Economic Prospects (GEP)

2012".

"The world economy has

entered a very difficult phase

characterized by significant

downside risks and fragility," the

report said.

The bank has lowered its growth

forecast for 2012 to 5.4 percent

for developing countries and 1.4

percent for high-income countries,

down from its June estimates of

6.2 percent and 2.7 percent

respectively, reported Xinhua.

Global growth is now projected

at 3.1 percent for 2013, down

from its June estimate of 3.6 per-

cent.

World Bank lowers globaleconomic growth rate

49% foreign stake in domestic airlines soon: govtKolkata: The debt crisis in

Europe and slowdown in the US

have created ripples in the

remotest of Indian towns and

villages, with NGOs feeling the

pinch due to cutbacks of 20-40

percent by Western donors.

Many small NGOs are facing a

viability problem with their cof-

fers drying up. Some have had

to shut down their projects.

According to Child In Need

Institute (CINI), a Kolkata-

headquartered NGO which runs

projects in West Bengal,

Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and

Madhya Pradesh, funds from

foreign countries to organiza-

tions like it in India have been

cut by 20 percent and upwards.

"Foreign funding to NGOs

has been reduced dramatically.

It has become very tough for us.

Many small organizations oper-

ating in the poorest areas of the

country are facing acute viabili-

ty problems," CINI's additional

director Rajib Halder

said.Halder said funds from

Europe to the institute, which is

a recipient of international

development organizations like

Unicef, CARE, Save the

Children and Britain's

Department for International

Development (DFID) have been

trimmed down by about 20 per-

cent compared to last year.

"European countries are say-

ing that unemployment there is

rising alarmingly; so why do we

fund India instead of supporting

our own NGOs?" he said.

He, however, said CINI has

emphasized on domestic fund-

ing following the reduction of

foreign funds which started

from 2008-09. The institution,

which had got a grant of

$40,000 (Rs.20 lakh) from the

World Bank in 2009, also

receives support from central

and state governments.

But the problem is acute for

many relatively small NGOs,

for which government funds are

very irregular.

Delhi-based Prayas, mainly

engaged in imparting free edu-

cation to poor children and

working women, is going

through a tough time following

the slowdown.

"The economic crisis in the

US and the EU has directly

affected us. This year, the funds

we got from these countries are

very limited. This is badly

affecting our projects," the

NGO's general secretary Amod

Kanth said.

Kanth, a former special com-

missioner of Delhi Police,

founded the NGO in 1988.

Today it runs projects in eight

states.

Western slowdown squeezesfunds for Indian NGOs

Rupee at 2-month highMumbai: The rupee strengthened

by 16 paise to a fresh two-month

high of Rs 50.57 per US dollar in

early trade on the Interbank

Foreign Exchange on increased

foreign capital inflows.

Dealers said increased foreign

capital inflows into the Indian

market and dollar losses against

other currencies in overseas mar-

kets mainly provided support to

the rupee.

The rupee had surged by 64

paise to close at two-month high

of Rs 50.73/74 against the

American currency yesterday on

strong rally in equities and contin-

ued dollar selling by exporters.

No MFN status yet for India: PakIslamabad: Two months after the

proposal was cleared, Pakistan is yet

to accord Most Favored Nation

(MFN) status to India, a minister has

said.

Commerce Minister Amin Fahim

said that Pakistan is in the process of

normalizing trade relations with India

which will culminate in the grant of

MFN status.

When MFN status is granted,

Pakistan will get market access to

some 300 to 500 million consumers

in India, the minister added.

The Pakistani cabinet, at a meeting

chaired by Prime Minister Yousuf

Raza Gilani Nov 2, 2011, decided to

grant India MFN status. The cabinet

also agreed to double bilateral trade

from $2.5 billion to around $5 bil-

lion.

India had granted Pakistan MFN

status in 1996 but Islamabad did not

reciprocate. Ties between the two

countries deteriorated after the 26/11

Mumbai terror attack that India

blamed on Pakistan.

New Delhi: In a major relief to financially distressed

Indian airlines, the government on said foreign airlines

would soon be allowed to acquire up to 49% stake in them.

After being debated for years, aviation minister Ajit Singh

announced the move following a 75-minute meeting with

finance minister Pranab Mukherjee in the backdrop of at

least two big airlines struggling to avoid a shutdown due to

financial troubles.

"The question was to allow foreign airlines to participate

in FDI... the finance minister has agreed. We will bring out

a note for the cabinet now. Already, 49% FDI is there. The

question was to allow (foreign) airlines to participate in

FDI. The committee of secretaries has also recommended

that FDI limit should be raised to 49%," Singh said. Even

airline promoters such as Vijay Mallya, chairman of

Kingfisher Airlines, have supported 49% FDI for foreign

carriers. Besides, Sebi has also expressed its reluctance to

relax the takeover code guidelines to permit foreign carriers

to acquire shares from the public through an open offer for

an additional 26%. By seeking an exemption, the govern-

ment had hoped to stay within the sectoral FDI cap.

Indian carriers face an accumulated debt of $16 billion

(over Rs 80,000 crore) on top of cumulative losses of $6

billion (over Rs 30,000 crore). By the end of March, losses

are expected to mount to $8.5 billion (over Rs 43,000

crore) and debt is projected to rise by another $3-4 billion

(up to Rs 22,000 crore) if Air India goes ahead with the

Boeing 787 order , according to the Centre for Asia Pacific

Aviation (CAPA ). Kingfisher and AI are struggling to sur-

vive and other carriers remain undercapitalized .

Ajit Singh said FDI was among the important things

required by airlines to survive the severe financial turbu-

lence. "We all know that the aviation industry is under a lot

of stress," he said.

Even airline promoters such as Vijay Mallya, chairman of Kingfisher Airlines, have supported 49%

FDI for foreign carriers.

24 Sports


New Delhi: Less than a year after

being hailed as India's greatest

cricket captain, Mahendra Singh

Dhoni finds his head on the block

after another woeful Test series

abroad. The 30-year-old could do

no wrong when he led India to

World Cup glory at home in April

last year, his second big success

as skipper after winning the inau-

gural World Twenty20 in 2007.

He now presides over a disinte-

grating Test team that has lost

seven consecutive Tests on for-

eign soil, four of them by an

innings and the rest by margins of

196, 319 and 122 runs.

After 67 Tests and 3,509 runs,

some say Dhoni barely merits a

place in the team any more. "The

need is to find a new captain from

beneath the wreckage. Dhoni is no

longer the answer in Test cricket,"

former Australian skipper Ian

Chappell wrote in a newspaper on

Tuesday.

"He has failed dismally to rally

the troops in two disastrous over-

seas campaigns and his own form,

not just with the gloves but also

with the bat, no longer warrants a

guaranteed place in the Test side."

Dhoni made 220 runs in four

Tests in England last year at an

average of 31.40 and has managed

just 102 runs in three matches in

Australia at 20.40.

India, ranked the world's top

Test side until they were blanked

4-0 in England, will slip to fourth

place if they lose the fourth and

final Test against Australia in

Adelaide next week in another

series whitewash. Current form

suggests they will lose, and lose

heavily.

Dhoni won't be playing, having

been banned by the International

Cricket Council for one match for

slow over-rates during the third

Test in Perth, his second offence

in the last 12 months.

Ex-captains Kapil Dev and

Sourav Ganguly have gone on

record to say they feel Dhoni

needs a quick turnaround to

secure his place as Test skipper,

while stressing his position at the

helm in one-day cricket is not in

doubt.

Batting great Sunil Gavaskar

supports Dhoni's retention as Test

captain -- but only because there

is no suitable replacement.

"The team won't miss him as a

batsman," Gavaskar said, reacting

to Dhoni's ban from the Adelaide

Test. "But as a leader he will be

missed despite the fact that his

record is not good.

"At the moment, I can't think of

anyone who is good enough to

take over from Dhoni," Gavaskar

said. Dhoni enjoyed a dream run

as captain before the current crisis

came along.

He was named skipper in 2007

when senior players such as then-

captain Rahul Dravid, Ganguly

and Sachin Tendulkar declined to

play in the inaugural World

Twenty20 in South Africa.

Dhoni marshaled his inexperi-

enced side to beat great rivals

Pakistan in the final in

Johannesburg, sparking a

Twenty20 revolution in India that

led to the creation of the lucrative

Indian Premier League a year

later.

He was unbeaten in his first 11

Tests as captain, winning eight

with three draws. He has now led

India in 37 Tests with a creditable

record of 17 wins, 10 losses and

as many draws.

India woes leave Dhoni feeling the heat

MS Dhoni now presides over a disintegrating Test team that has lostseven consecutive Tests on foreign soil, four of them by an innings and

the rest by margins of 196, 319 and 122 runs.

Perth: India's open-

ing batsman

Gautam Gambhir

said it was unfair to

single out veteran

batsman V.V.S.

Laxman and admit-

ted that the whole

team has let down a

billion expectations.

Gambhir hoped that

India would turn

around things in the

fourth and the final

cricket Test in

Adelaide starting Jan 24.

India, who suffered a 0-4 white-

wash in England seven months ago,

arrived in Australia as favourites but

now trail 0-3 and are staring at

another whitewash. India suffered

their seventh consecutive away Test

loss in the third Test in Perth.

Gambhir said the famed India bat-

ting must take the responsibility for

the debacle. "There was a lot of

expectation from us on this tour ...

the kind of batting we have, we've

let the entire nation down.

Hopefully we can turn things around

in Adelaide (and) put some smiles

on the faces of the people back

home," Gambhir told reporters here.

"Whatever backlash that's happen-

ing in India we are ready to accept.

We've given opportunity for people

to criticize," Gambhir said. "We

have not played well. I'll be the first

to accept that," he said.

Defending Laxman, Gambhir said

the 37-year-old Hyderabadi, famous

for his match-winning 281 against

Australia in Kolkata in 2001, is one

of the legends of the game and no

one should decide when he should

retire. Laxman, who has played 133

Tests, had a poor series in England

and has averaged just 17 in the three

matches here so far.

Why blame onlyLaxman, asks Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir.

Sri Lanka orders report on cricket crisisColombo: Sri Lanka's Sports Minister

Mahindananda Aluthgamage has sought a report

from the country's cricket board on the issues plagu-

ing the national team.

The sports minister ordered Sri Lanka Cricket

(SLC) chairman Upali Dharmadasa to submit the

report within a week."The minister had also

informed the newly elected board to submit short-

term to long-term solutions to the present crisis," the

sports ministry said in a statement. The move came

just a day after former Sri Lankan cricket captain

turned politician Arjuna Ranatunga told Xinhua in an

interview that the national cricket team and the crick-

et board were in a mess. Ranatunga said that the cur-

rent national cricket selection panel should be sacked

following Sri Lanka's poor performance in the

United Arab Emirates and South Africa. Sri Lanka

has had a poor run over the past few months, suffer-

ing a Test and One-Day International series loss in

the United Arab Emirates against Pakistan and later

losing the Test series in South Africa.

The Sri Lankan cricketers had not been paid their

salaries for several months by the cricket board and

only recently a part of it was paid from the money

obtained from the International Cricket Council and

the government treasury.

Sandeep sets up India'swin against South Africa

New Delhi: India played an

intense, attacking game to over-

come a spirited challenge from

South Africa and win the second

hockey 'Test' 2-1.

At a time when the hosts were

struggling to get past the rival

defense, despite playing aggres-

sively, defender Sandeep Singh

took the game to a different level

when he almost scored a field goal

in the 33rd minute. Well, instead of

taking the final hit himself, he

smartly set it up.

The Indian drag flick star

grabbed the ball just outside the

rival circle after an infringement on

Chingelnsana Singh and swiftly

dribbled past three players before

passing it on to his junior teammate

from Manipur who just had to tap

the ball in.

Sandeep, who was on the field

for about 30 minutes in the match,

was not done yet. As the clocked

ticked away after the South

Africans equalised in the 43rd

minute through Lance Loew to

raise the prospect of a draw, the

player from Punjab sounded the

board with his favorite shot - the

scorching flick.

After failing to capitalise from

two earlier penalty corners, India

earned their third barely four min-

utes to go for the hooter. Sandeep

simply lapped it up.

"This is not the first time that

Sandeep has played up front. We

have tried him up front earlier in

Australia. We want to make him a

versatile player," coach Michael

Nobbs said.

Hockey player Sandeep Singh.

Books 25


By Khushwant Singh

Death is rarely spoken about in our

homes. I wonder why. Especially

when each one of us knows that

death has to come, has to strike. It’s

inevitable.

This line from Yas Yagana Changezi

says it best: Khuda mein shak ho to ho,

maut mein nahin koi shak (You may

doubt the existence of God, you can’t

doubt the certainty of death). And one

must prepare oneself to face it.

At 95, I do think of death. I think of

death very often but I don’t lose sleep

over it. I think of those gone; keep won-

dering where they are. Where have they

gone? Where will they be? I don’t know

the answers: where you go, what happens

next.

I once asked the Dalai Lama how one

should face death and he had advised

meditation. I’m not scared of death; I do

not fear it. Death is inevitable. While I

have thought about it a lot, I don’t brood

about it. I’m prepared for it.

All that I hope for is that when death

comes to me, it comes swiftly, without

much pain, like fading away in sound

slumber. Till then I’ll keep working and

living each day as it comes.

I believe in the Jain philosophy that

death ought to be celebrated. Earlier,

whenever I was upset or low, I used to go

to the cremation grounds. It has a cleans-

ing effect, and worked like a therapy for

me. In fact, I’d written my own epitaph

years ago:

“Here lies one who spared neither mannor God

Waste not your tears on him, he was asod

Writing nasty things he regarded asgreat fun

Thank the Lord he is dead, this son ofa gun.”

I had even written my own obit in 1943

when I was still in my twenties. It later

appeared in a collection of short stories,

titled ‘Posthumous’. In the piece, I had

imagined The Tribune announcing the

news of my death on its front page with a

small photograph. The headline would

read: ‘Sardar Khushwant Singh Dead’.

And then, in somewhat smaller print:

‘We regret to announce the sudden

death of Sardar Khushwant Singh at 6 pm

last evening. He leaves behind a young

widow, two infant children and a large

number of friends and admirers. Amongst

those who called at the late sardar’s resi-

dence were the PA to the chief justice,

several ministers, and judges of the high

court.’

I had to cope with death when I lost my

wife. Being an agnostic, I could not find

solace in religious rituals. Being essen-

tially a loner, I discouraged friends and

relatives from coming to condole with

me. I spent the first night alone sitting in

my chair in the dark. At times, I broke

down, but soon recovered my composure.

A couple of days later, I resumed my

usual routine, working from dawn to

dusk. That took my mind off the stark

reality of having to live alone in an empty

home for the rest of my days. When

friends persisted in calling and upsetting

my equilibrium, I packed myself off to

Goa to be by myself.

I used to be keen on a burial because

with a burial you give back to the earth

what you have taken. Now, it will be the

electric crematorium. I had requested the

management of the Bahai faith if I could

be buried. Initially, they had agreed, but

then they came up with all sorts of condi-

tions and rules. I had wanted to be buried

in one corner with just a peepal tree next

to my grave. After okaying this, the man-

agement later said that that wouldn’t be

possible and that my grave would be in

the middle of a row and not in a corner. I

wasn’t okay with that—even though I

know that once you are dead it makes no

difference. But I was keen to be buried in

one corner. They also told me later that

they would chant some prayers, which

again I couldn’t agree with, because I

don’t believe in religion or in religious

rituals of any kind.

Though I’m quite fit, I know I don’t

have much time left. I’m coming to terms

with death, preparing myself. And since I

have no faith in God, nor in the day of

judgment, nor in the theory of reincarna-

tion, I have to come to terms with the

complete full stop. I have been criticized

for not sparing even the dead, but then

death does not sanctify a person, and if I

find the person had been corrupt, I write

about it even when he’s gone.

I don’t believe in rebirth or in reincarna-

tion, in the day of judgment or in heaven

or hell. I accept the finality of death. We

do not know what happens to us after we

die but one should help a person go in

peace at peace with himself and with the

world.

I’ve lived a reasonably contented life.

I’ve often thought about what it is that

makes people happy - what one has to do

in order to achieve happiness.

First and foremost is good health. If you

do not enjoy good health, you can never

be happy. Any ailment, however trivial,

will deduct something from your happi-

ness.

Second, a healthy bank balance. It need

not run into crores, but it should be

enough to provide for comforts, and there

should be something to spare for recre-

ation—eating out, going to the movies,

travel and holidays in the hills or by the

sea. Shortage of money can be demoralis-

ing. Living on credit or borrowing is

demeaning and lowers one in one’s own

eyes.

Third, your own home. Rented places

can never give you the comfort or securi-

ty of a home that is yours for keeps. If it

has garden space, all the better. Plant your

own trees and flowers, see them grow and

blossom, and cultivate a sense of kinship

with them.

Fourth, an understanding companion,

be it your spouse or a friend. If you have

too many misunderstandings, it robs you

of your peace of mind. It is better to be

divorced than to be quarreling all the

time.

Fifth, stop envying those who have

done better than you in life - risen higher,

made more money, or earned more fame.

Envy can be corroding; avoid comparing

yourself with others.

Sixth, do not allow people to descend

on you for gup-shup. By the time you get

rid of them, you will feel exhausted and

poisoned by their gossip-mongering.

Seventh, cultivate a hobby or two that

will fulfill you - gardening, reading, writ-

ing, painting, playing or listening to

music. Going to clubs or parties to get

free drinks, or to meet celebrities, is a

criminal waste of time. It’s important to

concentrate on something that keeps you

occupied meaningfully. I have family

members and friends who spend their

entire day caring for stray dogs, giving

them food and medicines. There are oth-

ers who run mobile clinics, treating sick

people and animals free of charge.

Eighth, every morning and evening

devote 15 minutes to introspection. In the

mornings, 10 minutes should be spent in

keeping the mind absolutely still, and five

minutes listing the things you have to do

that day. In the evenings, five minutes

should be set aside to keep the mind still

and 10 minutes to go over the tasks you

had intended to do.

Ninth, don’t lose your temper. Try not

to be short-tempered, or vengeful. Even

when a friend has been rude, just move

on.

Above all, when the time comes to go,

one should go like a man without any

regret or grievance against anyone. Iqbal

said it beautifully in a couplet in Persian:

“You ask me about the signs of a man of

faith? When death comes to him, he has a

smile on his lips.”

How To Live & DieThe Man in the Bulb meditates on the dying of the light

AbsoluteKhushwant: The

Low-Down on Life,Death and Most

Things In-Between

By Khushwant Singh

& Humra Quraishi.Penguin India,

Rs 250.

26 Education


By Robert Golomb

The boy sat in his seat nervously, but

with a hopeful expectation he had not

known before. Mrs. Steinheart, his

English teacher, was returning book reports to

his seventh grade classmates, and she would

be returning his any moment now. Sitting in

his seat, a small smile came to the boy’s face

as he thought back to the hours he had devot-

ed to writing the report and recalled the sen-

sation of those magical moments when he

first came to realize he had loved what he had

written and had loved the words he had used.

It was the first time the boy, who had just

recently begun to experience the joy of read-

ing, had ever read his own writing with a

rushing sensation of pride and ownership.

Pride and ownership associated with his

schoolwork were emotions never experienced

before by the boy, who had long ago sensed

that his teachers and even his own mother and

father regarded him as a loser playing a futile

game of catch-up his first six school years.

But now, in the first half of his seventh school

year, he had finally caught up. And, most

amazingly, he experienced the joy of putting

his own thoughts into words.

“Come up for your book report”, Mrs.

Steinheart bellowed.

The boy walked to his teacher’s desk and

took the three page report from her hands.

Racing through the pages, the boy found his

grade on the bottom right hand corner of the

final page: A/F.

The boy tried to maintain his composure.

He could not allow his classmates to see him

cry. He knew the teacher gave two grades -

the top for content the bottom for grammar,

but he had carefully monitored his grammar

as he wrote and had reread the report when he

had finished. Finding no signs of Mrs.

Steinheart’s red pen on his paper, he could not

imagine where he had gone wrong. He knew

he had to find the courage to question the

teacher, and so he did when the bell ending

the class finally rang.

“Mrs. Steinheart, Why did I get an F in

grammar? Where are my mistakes?” ques-

tioned the boy who had never questioned a

teacher before.

“That’s not an F. That is a question

mark. I graded the paper an A. The ques-

tion mark is about you writing it. I did not

think you could write this well. That is why

I wrote the question mark, and that’s why

I will not be crediting you with an A in my

marking book for your next report card.”

Months passed, and the boy whose smile

had been erased from his face raised his hand

from his seat in the back of the room.

“Can I go the bathroom Mrs.

Steinheart?”

“No you cannot.”

When the discomfort racing through his

bowels turned into pain and fear, the boy

raised his hand again, lifting it high for his

teacher to see. But she seemed to be looking

in every direction but his. He continued to

keep his hand raised, as moments turned into

minutes and the minutes seemed to drag on

forever. Knowing it was his last chance, the

boy partially raised his body out of his seat

and began to move his hand in a desperate

wave.

“What is it?” the teacher asked with a

howl.

“Can I go to the bathroom?”

“How did I know that you were going to

ask that question? Okay leave. ”

It was too late. The laughing taunts, smiling

insults and cruel jokes that followed him the

remainder of the afternoon followed him

throughout the remainder of the school year.

The boy would never forget that afternoon,

just as he would never forget the question

mark that substituted for what should have

been his first A.

Despite the kind, patient and nurturing

teachers the boy had no doubt encountered

before and after Mrs. Steinheart, whenever he

thought of teachers, he thought only of her.

And while forty years have passed, the image

of Mrs. Steinheart as his composite recollec-

tion of all teachers would probably have

remained had his life not taken a strange

twist. Twelve years later, the boy who had

turned into a man became a middle school

English teacher; and ten years after that, the

man who had never forgotten being a vulnera-

ble boy became an assistant principal, whose

responsibilities included supervising English

teachers and, incidentally, working for many

years with seventh grade students

In the event you haven’t yet guessed, I was

that boy. And whenever I think back to the

seventh grade, I become that vulnerable boy

again.

I have come to believe that the recollection

of the bad experiences of childhood endures

long after the memories of the good experi-

ences have disappeared. This is true with chil-

dren in their relationships with their parents.

It is true with children in their relationships

with their teachers. It is certainly true with

me. Had I not become an educator myself,

having witnessed first hand that the over-

whelming majority of teachers are the polar

opposites of Mrs. Steinheart, it would be her

image discoloring my picture of teachers the

rest of my life.

I would think of that whenever I encoun-

tered people who seem to hate teachers, and I

have certainly encountered my share. Each

time I would ask myself, “Who was the Mrs

Steinheart who wounded them?” There must

have been such a teacher and such a wound to

explain such animosity. Using this as my

premise, I developed my own psychological

theory about this phenomenon many years

ago. I named it the Mrs. Steinheart theory.

I had many occasions to apply this theory

during the ten years I was an English teacher.

Telling a new acquaintance my occupation, I

would not infrequently hear a comment like,

“You seem so nice. You can’t be a teacher.” I

applied this theory during the twenty years

that, before my retirement, I was an assistant

principal. Informing someone I just met what

I do for a living, I would often hear a com-

ment like, “I hope you don’t let those rotten

teachers get away with anything.”

I have also applied the Mrs. Steinheart theo-

ry to even the rare breed of fair and objective

politicians, journalists, commentators, who

abandon this fairness and objectivity only

when it comes to teachers, who become their

singular whipping boys and girls.

That the success of these individuals can

probably in large be credited to the many car-

ing, nurturing and knowledgeable pedagogues

who were once upon a time ago their teachers

is a point apparently lost on these grown men

and women. They just like me, I suspect,

were the victims of a Mrs. Steinheart in a year

that a teacher stole from their childhood.

Robert Golomb is currently an adjunct pro-fessor of graduate education, writing andschool administration. Before his retirement,he had served ten years as a NYC middleschool English teacher and subsequentlytwenty years as an assistant principal. Hewrites on range of educational, political, cul-tural and international topics. He can be con-tacted by email: [email protected]

Mrs Steinheart theory

The recollection of the bad experiences of childhoodendures long after the memories of the good experi-ences have disappeared. This is true with children intheir relationships with their parents. It is true with children in their relationships with their teachers.

Lifestyle 27


New Delhi: He earns by the minute,

yet superstar Shah Rukh Khan never

compromises on quality time with

his kids. Be it a bicycle ride or a

game of soccer, he, like several

celebrity parents these days, is

always matching steps with his chil-

dren - a quality others could imbibe,

feel experts.

A considerable number of urban

Indian kids are getting easily

swayed by the lure of the

Playstation, laptops, movies, inter-

net, social networking and bowling

alleys. But in the urge to spend more

time with friends and technology,

that crucial dialogue with parents is

getting lost. And that's not good.

Shah Rukh surprised all and

sundry when he decided to step on

to a Mumbai street with his daugh-

ter, Suhana, and a well-built body-

guard, for a cycle ride. He remained

nonchalant about the eyeballs he

grabbed on the streets, and played

daddy cool for his little angel. As a

parent, it was a rare, special moment

for him.

"Taking daughter for a cycle ride

in Bandra...hmmm, let's see how it

turns out...a first for us," King Khan

had tweeted before the ride.

On a recent family trip to Dubai,

he was out in the dunes having fun

with his son Aryan and daughter

Suhana, and even ended up hurting

his ribs during some midnight soc-

cer. But as long as the kids remained

happy, he didn't mind!

Arjun Rampal, father to two love-

ly daughters, also indulges a lot.

During the full moon Monday night,

the actor was up on his terrace with

a telescope, and treated his daugh-

ters to a faint view of its craters.

Even actress Pooja Bedi, who has

been in the news for her "Bigg Boss

5" association, planned a trip with

her kids -- Aalia and Omar -- after

her exit from the reality show to

catch up on missed times.

"Had so much fun on the ski

slopes with the kids today:). Love

being the mom that does stuff with

them, rather than watch from side,"

tweeted Pooja, a single mother.

Actress Shweta Tiwari, also a sin-

gle mom, tries spending quality time

with her 11-year-old daughter Palak,

and says they share a friendly bond.

"I am a very friendly mom. I am a

little strict with her, but not very,"

Shweta, who is seen as an overpro-

tective mom in Sony's TV show

"Parvarish".

However, she says there is no

right or wrong mantra for parenting.

"I think we should just let the kids

be. All you need to tell the kids is

that 'These are the mistakes I made

in my life, learn from them, don't

repeat them. And you go and make

your own mistakes.' As parents, we

should talk freely with our kids and

have fun with them, so that they

don't fear conversations. Otherwise,

it is very easy for them to stray

away," she added.

Ideal parenting? Many celebrities get it right

Twinkling, bejewelled Indian wedding cards - got one yet?New Delhi: They could be Swarovski studded,

they could match the bride's trousseau, they

could come in multiple folds and, yes, they

might just cost Rs.100,000 (about $2,000)

each. Welcome to the world of the big fat

Indian wedding card!

The country's wedding market is said to be

worth about Rs.1,500 billion (about $30 bil-

lion) - and growing at about 10-15 percent

every year; so little surprise that marriage

invites are getting to be a glitzy and exclusive

affair. NRIs, especially, are a major constituent

of this market. "It's been studied that NRIs

based in the US, Britain, Canada, the Middle

East, Australia and New Zealand want their

marriages to be complete Indian affairs and this

desire propels them to visit India for the selec-

tion of cards, jeweleries and venues," Gourav

Rakshit, the business head of shaadi.com

says.The latest fad is exotic invitation cards.

Kapco Press Pvt Ltd CEO Neeraj Kapoor, who

has been in the business for 26 years, says,

"People no longer want simple designs. More

designers are entering. Prices have skyrocket-

ed. Everyone, including the NRI, asks for the

fanciest and most exclusive design even if it's

not worth the amount spent. Some even say

Indian designs are simply outstanding and can't

be found anywhere else," he said. Triveni

Bakshi, a Canada-based NRI, is completely in

awe of Indian designs.

"Yes! It's true that Indian wedding cards have

no match. I personally like a lot of bling, some-

thing which has to do with fabrics or metal.

Indian designs have so much variety - scroll

with silk fabric and traditional Indian fonts or

silver plated wedding card with embossed con-

tent."

"Innovation is the key and keeping this in

mind ethnic designs have made a comeback.

Also, personalized and handmade cards are a

big trend nowadays as many people feel these

add an emotional touch to the entire occasion,"

said wedding card designer Raj Kapoor.

When it comes to the most sought after

designs, striped, bejeweled motifs, bold colors,

and vintage patterns matching the design of the

bride's wedding trousseau are on the priority

list. "Vertical, horizontal and multicolored

stripes are termed as one of the most sought

after trends this season. Also, embellishing the

invitation with small rhinestones, pearl-toned

beads or Swarovski crystals makes a low-key

invitation style fashionable. The list is endless,"

said card-designer Piyali Rana.

"What is also gaining popularity are motif

patterns. Brides ask to create a pattern on wed-

ding cards inspired by her lehengas or saris. For

instance, a ring of rosettes, a square of lace

applique, or bead work." Fancy boxes made of

cardboard, hard plastic or even pure silver are

also sent out as invitation cards.

Shah Rukh Khan’s tweet pic with son Aryan and daughter Suhanaat recent Dubai family trip. SRK was out in the dunes, also played

midnight soccer with them.

Eat from a red plate to lose weight: Study

London: People who eat from a red plate or

drink from red cups cut their food intake by

40 percent, says a new study.

The study carried out by German and Swiss

researchers said the color red may encourage

diners to avoid snacking because it is com-

monly associated with the idea of "danger,

prohibition and stop", the Daily Mail reported.

The researchers suggested the governments

and food industry could use red packaging on

unhealthy foods as a deterrent, and could even

use red color in pubs to prevent people from

drinking too much. In the study, 41 male stu-

dents were asked to drink tea from cups

marked with red or blue labels. They drank 44

percent less from cups with red labels.

Another 109 people were given 10 pretzels

each on either a red, blue or white plate.

Those with a red plate ate fewer pretzels. The

results were published in the journal Appetite.

Swarovski embellished wedding invitation cards.

Wedding invitation cards in box shaped design

Desk job is injurious to healthLondon: A British study has said people

in desk jobs could be compromising with

their health as it often perpetrates a

sedentary lifestyle.

According to the research, sitting at a

desk all day means you are more likely to

slump on the sofa at home and perform

no exercise. The average office worker

spends five hours 41 minutes daily at

their desk, almost as long as the seven

hours they spend sleeping, the Daily

Express reported.

These deskbound workers are more

likely to turn into couch potatoes, increas-

ing their risk of obesity, says the

researchers at the Loughborough

University, a research-based campus uni-

versity in Britain's Leicestershire county.

The trend is partly blamed on technology

making it simpler for lazy people at

offices to email a colleague rather than

walking over to see them, it adds.

If you’re planning to go for a

walk –- and I strongly advise

against this –- you might want to

keep your eyes up. You never know

what might fall on you: apples,

frogs, Russian space crafts. Yes, it’s

a dangerous world out there and the

best thing you can do is stay

indoors. If you absolutely have to go

outside, follow my example and say

a prayer: “Dear God, if you must

drop something on my head, let it be

hair. My bald spot isn’t getting any

smaller.”

Apples may seem like harmless

objects, but not when they’re drop-

ping from the sky, as they recently

did in Coventry, England. More than

100 apples fell on a main road in the

village of Keresley, forcing drivers

to slam their brakes. They were

lucky they weren’t walking. An

apple a day may keep the doctor

away, as the old saying goes, but

100 apples will surely bring him.

Doctor: “What happened, Mrs.

Smith? Why do you have all those

bumps on your head?”

Mrs. Smith: “It's my son-in-law's

fault. I was walking to the Pension

Service to discuss my housing bene-

fits and my son-in-law said, ‘Good

luck, Mum! I hope your visit will be

very fruitful.’”

Officials in Coventry are trying to

figure out where the apples came

from. One theory is that they were

swept up from an orchard by a tor-

nado and dropped on the road, but

Keresley parish councillor Sandra

Camwell has a more logical expla-

nation: witches.

“We're in an area with a spooky

history, where there have been

witches for centuries, after all," she

told The Telegraph.

If it were just apples falling from

the sky, we wouldn't have too much

to worry about. In fact, we might

pray that more apples fall, especially

in parts of the world where people

would lie on their backs and open

their mouths wide.

London man: “Yes!!! That apple

just saved me a lot of money!”

Tourist: “But you didn't even eat

it.”

London man: “Eat it? Are you

bonkers? Why would I eat it? I just

wanted it to knock out my loose

tooth, so I wouldn't have to pay the

dentist.”

Unfortunately it’s more than just

apples falling from the sky. Just ask

anyone who follows the news close-

ly and they’ll tell you about the

thousands of frogs that fell in

Odzaci, a small town in northwest-

ern Serbia, in 2005, or the hundreds

of fish that fell in Lajamanu, a town

in Australia’s northern territory, in

2010.

“When I told my family, who live

in another part of Australia, about

the fish falling from the sky, they

thought I'd lost the plot,” a woman

named Christine Balmer told The

Daily Mail. “But no, I haven't lost

my marbles. All I can say is that I'm

thankful that it didn't rain croco-

diles!”

Raining frogs and fish is bad

enough, although you might get a

meal out of them. But here's a warn-

ing: if something falls out of the sky,

make sure you identify it before you

put it in your mouth and start chew-

ing. Even if it looks like a real fish,

you should always turn it around to

see if you can spot the words “Made

in China.”

Experts believe that the frogs and

fish were swept up by tornadoes or

sucked up in a storm, but how do

they explain what happened in

Kentucky in 1876? Pieces of meat

as large as three or four square inch-

es fell from the sky into someone’s

yard. According to The New York

Times, “two gentlemen, who tasted

the meat, express the opinion that it

was either mutton or venison.”

I don’t know about you, but if

chunks of meat fell from the sky

into my yard, I wouldn’t be tasting

it. I’d be running through the streets

screaming, "Witches! Witches!"

28 Humor

Watch out for falling objects

Tech Life

Humor with Melvin Durai

by Mahendra ShahMahendra Shah is an architect by education, entrepreneur by profession,

artist and humorist, cartoonist and writer by hobby. He has been recordingthe plight of the immigrant Indians for the past many years in his cartoons.

Hailing from Gujarat, he lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Laughter is the Best Medicine

By Shiv Chopra

Siri is a new program released by Apple

for the iPhone 4s. It lets you use your

voice to send messages, schedule meet-

ings, place phone calls, and more. You activate

it by holding the home button and then you

simply say a command. The command can be

anywhere from what is the meaning of life to

set a timer for 40 minutes. It is still in the beta

version so it won’t understand everything you

say but it can sure do a whole lot.

You can really talk to it as if you were taking

to your friend. Such as instead of saying call

Marie you can say call my wife. It really under-

stands what you are trying to say. Such as if

you were talking to it about seeing if a movie is

available near you and then you say how about

Mission Impossible, it will remember what you

said before and tell you if it is available. It also

has a sense of humor such as if you ask it what

is the best cell phone, it will give you the

answer the one you’re holding and if you ask it

what is the meaning of life it will tell you I

can’t answer that right now but give me some

time to write a very long play where nothing

happens.

Siri uses apps already installed into your

phone which makes it possible for it to set

timers or set alarms. It helps make your every-

day life easier, like if you are in a car and then

you have to text someone but you can’t use

your hands so you activate Siri and tell it who

to text and what to text. It also finds answers

for you from the web, such as if you ask how

many miles are in a yard and you don’t have a

converter app it will look it up online and give

you an answer.

Android was soon to follow. So Dexetra

made an app called Iris, Siri spelled backwards,

which was supposedly developed in under 8

hours. It at first was a copy of Siri only it was-

n’t as smart or resourceful but that has changed

because they kept adding updates which built it

up to something more than a copy. It still can’t

send text messages, make calls or set timers but

in due time they will make the program as good

as Siri but for right now Siri is still superior.

Siri: Your wish is its command


Aries: Stabilization in your relationship

with your family members seems certain

if you are willing to compromise on certain

fronts. Professional gains for some bring gains

and prosperity. Your new ideas and technical

knowledge will make a good impression on oth-

ers. Residential moves and renovation during

this period will prove auspicious. Outdoor sports

events and entertainment programme will help

you keep relaxed.

Taurus: This is a period to invest with

extreme precaution and care. Past invest-

ments need another reexamination. If you're

planning on investing in a new venture then you

better take small factors into consideration. Your

ability to charm others will put you in the lime-

light. Property or vehicle transactions seem quite

likely. Children will cause some dissatisfaction

but spouse remains quite cooperative.

Gemini: Your optimism will push your

career to new heights. Put some of your

innovative ideas into your work to reap long-

term benefits. The next few days will see pres-

sure on your work front arise giving you little

time for recreational and other activities. Gifts

and presents will be plenty from visiting guests.

Avoid standing for surety of any one to avoid

unnecessary complications in the coming period.

Family members will be supportive and caring.

Cancer: This is an excellent time for

professional advancements, promotions

and recognition. At work you will be in the good

books of your seniors and you will also benefit

monetarily. Romance is in the air, so make the

best of it and avoid any arguments with your

lover. Opportunities to go out with friends will

be informative and pleasurable. You need to do

more things that you enjoy in order to relax.

Foreign transaction or overseas journey will

prove to be highly beneficial.

Leo: You will be in a commanding posi-

tion as your confidence and enthusiasm

will be high. Important messages should be

attended to immediately. You will make financial

gains if you get involved in speculation. A spiri-

tual person’s blessings give comfort and relief.

New relations and attachments will develop as a

result of vacation and other recreational activi-

ties. Get involved in activities that will help you

keep in perfect shape.

Virgo: Financial matters demand more

attention. You should cut down your

expenses on entertainment and shopping.

Financial difficulty will even effect your health.

Stay focused on your goals, but take necessary

precautions. For some, a change of residence or

a new construction will prove highly auspicious.

Your erratic behaviour will raise emotions at

home. Don’t take criticism too seriously. Travel

will be highly exciting but expensive.

Libra: Some challenging project will see

you express your skills in a very different

way. New approach will give you new confi-

dence on which you will build future hopes and

dreams. Businessmen and investors will see past

investments reaping profits. Relations with

somebody close might get strained over petty

issues. Good week to call important people over

to your place. Spouse will be highly supportive

and shower you with love and affection. Legal

affairs will create a state of nervousness.

Scorpio: Your present health condition

will be primarily because of the work

pressure that you carry on your mind. You need

to take time out with your friends will help you

relax and regain your energy. Relationships with

your clients will strengthen and you can accom-

plish a lot through smart negotiation and diplo-

macy. This week you should meet people who

can further improve your career goals. Take care

while driving, especially during the nights.

Sagittarius: This week you will focus on

domestic issues and should think about

the immediate needs of your family members.

Spouse and children will be a source of immense

happiness. Guests and visitors bring you gifts in

cash and kind. Going out with friends will be

exciting and you will learn new and different

skills. A good diet, coupled with fitness program

will make you feel better.

Capricorn: Work will suffer this week as

romance clouds your mind. You will find

it difficult in concentrating on your jobs and get-

ting favours from others. Keep your focus clear

on your goals to reap professional benefits.

Pleasure trips for some will be educating. Little

time for meditation and yoga will be important

for mental as well as physical gains. Group

involvement will entertertaining, but expensive

if you don’t learn to say no.

Aquarius: You will meet interesting

people at social functions that you attend

this week.

Your ability to stand out in the crowd will

bring you popularity and recognition. Your cre-

ative ability will surface, bringing you good

ideas to make extra money. Great period to go

out shopping for expensive items and jewelry.

Spend some time with the one you love. Travel

will be highly educating.

Pisces: Money making efforts will be

profitable provided you work on new

ideas and plans. This seems to be an excellent

time for you to do things that will keep you

relaxed and entertained. This period seems

exceptionally good to take time out for hobbies,

or take an adventure trip or go out on a short

vacation.

Friends and family members will seek your

advice. Wonderful week to look into new courses

that interest you.

January 21

Governed by number 3 and the planet Jupiter, you are energetic, hon-

ourable, ambitious, dignified and an intelligent person. You are a per-

son with outstanding personality and ability to make many friends. You

are always appreciated for your sincerity and commitment, but your

need to check your tendency to behave over ambitious and dictatorial

at times. This year new money making ventures prove highly lucrative.

Your financial position will show remarkable improvement and you will

spend more on luxuries to increase your comfort level. Investment in

stocks and real estate is recommended for long term gains. Foreign trips

will bring you monetary gains. Your spouse will be cooperative through

out the year and will shower love and affection. Marriage proposals for

those eligible. Health needs proper care. The months of January, May,

August and October will prove to be important and significant. Number

3 and planet Jupiter filled your coffer with qualities like activeness, re-

spectful, challenging, ennoble and reasoned. People will unanimously

endorse all your principle and spellbound by the positive vibes coming

out of you. A focused and well behaved person but need to cut down

your tyranny and excessive pride holding nature. All your money task

will end up on constructive note. The year promises you to urgently and

quickly increase the size of your coffers which you yourself cut short

by engaging in prodigal activities to have everything in life which you

desired for so long. Deceitful and cautious tricks adopting for securing

future are highly yielding in nature. Crucial juncture of your life is over

the seas trip which provides you unending fame. Your coalition partner

is highly helpful and will always be besides you irrespective of the sit-

uation. Sincerely look what needs to be done to be in fit and fine state.

January, May, August and October will be conducive for you.

January 22

Dominated by number 4 and the planet Uranus, you are simple, ener-

getic, authoritative, jovial, reliable and highly organized person. You

possess magnetic appeal and you are very fond of accepting challenges,

but you need to check your tendency to behave moody, timid and spend-

thrift at times. This year someone close to you would bring you unex-

pected opportunities. Financial gains would also accrue from past in-

vestments. A wonderful period to do things that you enjoy and make you

feel good. A distant journey for pleasure or pilgrimage seems likely lat-

er in the year. Your health would remain good but health of an aged fam-

ily member would become a matter of concern. New friendships and

contacts would develop during this period. The months of May, June

and September will be important. You have immense confidence to deal

with any situation indefinitely. People will boomeranged to you once

have an interactive session with you. But you must pull out your sore,

dissembled and extravagant attitude. You will receive lots of acclaim

not by domestic people but also from far flung areas. Previously adopt-

ed action plans to increase your bank balance will start showing posi-

tive signs. A rejoicing and enjoyable time to hang out with your family

and do all sort of adventurous activities. Year nearby its end promise

you to have world tour or to some consecrated place. Some apprehen-

sions from the side of elders health would be lighten by yours in good

state. Time to mix with some unknown person who might act as “Friend

in need is friend in deed”. May, June and September will be fruitful for

you.

January 23

Ruled by number 5 and the planet Mercury. You are energetic, practi-

cal, sensitive, friendly, diplomatic and helpful person. You are highly

respected because of your ability to take quick decisions, but you need

to check your tendency to behave restless, hasty and timid at times. The

year your loved ones would do things that would please you. Your en-

ergy level and confidence would be high and you would be able to com-

plete more work in less time. Distant travel that you undertake would,

bring you pleasure and rewards. Health despite some initial hiccups

would be more or less fine. You need to spend time on meditation and

yoga for remarkable gains. The months of March, June, September, De-

cember will be highly significant and result oriented. Number 5 and

planet Mercury will decreed you. Because of your apolitical and prag-

matic nature to get the nod of each and every person associated with you

before they even think of it. Besides being active and amiable you need

to curtail down your restive, precipitate and unsure approach. Your near

and dear ones hailed you like anything. Tightened and well systematic

flow of your acumen will help you to complete the task within stipulat-

ed time which in turn increases your dynamic and assurance level. Fre-

quently swaying from one place to another will open vista of opportu-

nities for you to grow further. You might get impacted by some health

concern but overall enjoy disease free life. A word of advice to go for

some fitness centre to pullout yourself from fearing state. Match, June,

September and December will be eminent for you.

January 24

Influenced by number 6 and the planet Venus. You are highly energetic,

independent, ambitious, dashing, courageous and emotional person.

You are extremely helpful and fond of socializing with people who have

similar views, but you need to check your tendency to behave shy, in-

trovert and lazy at times. This coming year your rewards would com-

mensurate according to your efforts. Your imagination and skills would

do wonders for you and your creativity would help you accomplish dif-

ficult tasks. Some excellent opportunities would come through your as-

sociation with people who hold position of authority. Not a very

favourable period for a matrimonial alliance. Exciting news from chil-

dren would come your way later in the year. The month of May, Octo-

ber and December would be highly important. Number 6 and planet Ve-

nus will shape your demanding life fairly. You are extremely gumptious,

autonomous, passionate, smart, brave and sensitive individual. Unani-

mously people will come to your for suggestion and put you at the top

most position of any society of involved, but should curb your tenden-

cy of being covert or conservative sometimes. The incentives or fruits

for your deeds are not binding to limited extent but can surpass the

threshold level if worked little bit of more hard work. People watch you

for your out of box ideas and welcome you with your untapped skills

which create rejoicing situation wherever you go. Big guns at forefront

will extend their support unconditionally to you and will help to stay

ahead of others. Evade getting into any relation. May, October and De-

cember are meaningful for you.

January 25

Governed by number 7 and the planet Neptune. You are independent,

brilliant, quick, co-operative, shrewd and friendly person. You possess

a unique sense of humour, which makes you very popular in your group.

You dislike arguments and confrontation, but you need to check your

tendency to behave jealous, introvert and selfish at times. This year ro-

mantic entanglement would be pleasant and chances to enter into a mat-

rimonial alliance would be very strong. New ventures and partnerships

would be profitable. Religious feelings would arise making you embark

on a pilgrimage later in the year. Expect gifts and goodies both in cash

and kind, but some unexpected expenses will take you by surprise. The

months of January, June, August and October will especially be signif-

icant. Number 7 and planet Neptune will provide the needed balance to

your life. You are sovereign, magnificent, swift, helpful, clever and ami-

able lad. You become center of attraction wherever you go by your

jovial and drollness nature. You always keep yourself away from con-

troversies and oftenly from disputations simultaneously you need to in-

hibit covetous, conservative and self-interested attitude. Love will fol-

low you with the ever binding nature. Its high time to enjoy few time

left of bachelorhood. Entire proceeding of your business explores new

avenue for you which becomes more yielding for you. There is string

diversion towards spiritual matters for finding the truth behind life. On

one hand gains will be there in the form of hitting a lottery and on the

other hand the same position will make you spend lavishly on luxury

items. January, June, august and October will be good for you.

January 26

Ruled by number 8 and the planet Saturn. You are assertive, cheerful,

confident, authoritative and enthusiastic person. You are gifted with re-

markable imagination and talent. You have your own personal style,

which is elegant and exclusive, but you need to control your tendency

to behave erratic, hypocrite and jealous at times. This year efforts that

you put would bring excellent results. Romance would be on the top of

your list and new intimate alliance for those unattached seems strong.

Your financial condition would improve as you pickup job involving

higher responsibility and position. Some exhilarating news from distant

relations will boost up the spirits of the entire family. Travel and jour-

ney will be highly pleasurable. The months of February, July, October

and December will be significant for you. You are different in the crowd

as you have incredible personality coupled with positive, upbeat, sure-

footed, classical and excited attitude. Number 8 provides you unbeliev-

able speculation and planet Saturn keep check your wandering, dissim-

ulator and green eyed traits. Swanky by nature and graceful by behav-

ior are your defining attributes. The formula whatever it be you adopt

to escape from the situation will thoroughly backed you. Presumably

hope to have some bigwigs in your contact with may be some who can

accompany you throughout your life. You are likely to have more pow-

er than ever before. Arrival of some far away relatives set the stage for

some party for the entire blood related people. The lost charm and thrill

of life will be resumed by some travelling. February, July, October and

December will be satiating your longings.

January 27

Influenced by number 9 and the planet Mars, you are dynamic, confi-

dent, energetic, warm hearted and a very religious person. You are very

simple by nature and like to solve problems in a practical and uncom-

plicated manner, but you need to check your tendency to behave jeal-

ous, lazy and erratic at times. This year financially you would face some

problems initially, but things would become better later in the year.

Traveling would be undertaken for attending auspicious events. Avoid

entering into any financial joint ventures and stay away from specula-

tion. Your beloved would seek commitment from you and if you avoid

your relationship could easily suffer. Wedding bells will ring for those

eligible towards the end of the year. The months of February, May, Sep-

tember and November will be highly important. Being an active and

convinced fellow you tend to establish a new framework each time you

stuck with some perplexed problems.

You always respect of the diverse category of people living. Not only

this you also possess immense energy and coziness throughout your life.

Refrain from being envious, lousy and fickle minded. You easily bypass

the abrasive time related to money and things will take over the charge

by supporting you this time. Nothing can stop you to go for some reli-

giously moving from one place to another. Reverse your thoughts if

thinking of some collaboration with any person. Commitment and ded-

ication can only save your dying relation with your spouse, consider it.

Be ready for changes and modification which occurs in one’s life after

marriage. February, May, September, November, Number 9 and the

Mars will provide the required impetus to your life needed to get excel

everywhere.

Astrology 29


By Dr Prem Kumar SharmaChandigarh, India: +91-172- 256 2832, 257 2874Delhi, India: +91-11- 2644 9898, 2648 [email protected]; www.premastrologer.com

Stars Foretell: January 21-27, 2012 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, don’t feel

shy. It’s 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 ofdiamonds & precious stones.

from a Gems Expert For appointment, please call 516-390-7847

or email [email protected] special offer for the readers of

The South Asian Times

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30 Spiritual Awareness


The discipline to do what it

took to be successful in achieving

his spiritual goals

Sant Kirpal Singh Ji Maharaj

exemplified discipline. He did

whatever was necessary to be suc-

cessful in achieving his spiritual

goal of union with God. This suc-

cess depends on meditation, which

he did daily for the longest possible

time. He meditated six to eight

hours daily as instructed by Hazur.

Along with this, he lived up to the

ethical virtues prescribed by the

spiritual teachings. This involved

leading a life of nonviolence, truth-

fulness, purity, humility, and self-

less service. He was the epitome of

nonviolence to the point that he

would not even unnecessarily harm

plants or trees. We could see how in

his house at his ashram he did not

want a tree that grew through the

ceiling of the rooms to be moved.

As an infant I was brought by my

parents to be with Sant Kirpal

Singh Ji Maharaj in Rishikesh at

the start of his mission. When Sant

Darshan Singh Ji Maharaj was col-

lecting banana leaves from which

the food would be served for a

meal, he brought nine leaves. When

Sant Kirpal Singh Ji asked him how

many people were eating, and he

replied seven, Sant Kirpal Singh Ji

Maharaj told him he should have

only brought seven banana leaves

and we should not unnecessarily

take the lives of any more plants

than were necessary. Just look at

the extent of his nonviolence to

even think like that!


made a rule in the house when he

was raising his family that people

should only talk good of others and

not engage in gossip, slander or

criticism. He practiced this virtue

himself and was a model for others.

He was an embodiment of truthful-

ness. At a time when bribes were

the norm in the field of business, he

himself refused bribes and told his

son, Sant Darshan Singh Ji

Maharaj, to also refuse bribes.

He was the model of selfless

service. He served the sick and

needy all through his life. Even

before he was initiated, when the

great world influenza epidemic

broke out the disease killed mil-

lions globally. The disease was so

infectious that people feared touch-

ing the dead bodies of those in their

families to give them a proper bur-

ial. But Sant Kirpal Singh Ji organ-

ized a team and helped with the

burial of the family members of the

community who had died from the

disease. As part of his daily routine,

he would visit the sick and needy in

their homes or visit them in hospi-

tals. He also did a tremendous

amount of selfless service for

Hazur and the mission, from physi-

cal seva in building the ashram, to

helping in publications, writing

books, and holding satsang. He was

the only one Hazur allowed to con-

vey the initiation instructions dur-

ing Hazur’s lifetime.

His ethical life also involved liv-

ing on a strict vegetarian diet,

avoiding all meat, fish, fowl, and

eggs, with no alcohol or hallucino-

genic drugs. You can imagine how

much discipline would be involved

for a child to tell his nonvegetarian

parents that he did not want to eat

meat. When told by his father that

meat was good for him, he told his

father that he did not want to make

a graveyard of his body. He then

stuck to the vegetarian diet even as

a young boy.

He also observed obedience to

the Master no matter what. He

often spoke of following the

Master’s commandments in spirit

and letter. He did this himself, and

this helped him achieve the ulti-

mate goal of union with God. When

his Master told him to give satsang

in his town, he did so regularly.

One time when Hazur happened to

visit that town, Sant Kirpal Singh Ji

got word that his Master was near-

by. He was in a dilemma whether to

run to see his Master or give sat-

sang. He ultimately decided that

since Hazur had told him to give

satsang he should do so. Then,

when satsang was over, he went to

the place where Hazur had been,

only to learn that Hazur had already

left to return to his own ashram.

Sant Kirpal Singh Ji was heartbro-

ken that he had missed the darshan

of his Master. He then went to see

Hazur later that evening. When he

had a chance to meet with Hazur he

asked whether he had done the right

thing in giving satsang instead of

going for darshan. Hazur reassured

him that he had done the right thing

in doing his duty and giving the sat-

sang.

Time and again, Sant Kirpal

Singh Ji had choices, and he always

chose to do what the Master wanted

him to do. It was no wonder that

Hazur commissioned him to carry

on the spiritual work since he was

the most obedient of Hazur’s disci-

ples.

Focused on his own spiritual

goals instead of what others were

doing

Sant Kirpal Singh Ji always

focused on his own spiritual goals

instead of what others were doing.

He stuck to his schedule of medita-

tion, his ethical virtues, and his dis-

cipline no matter what. Sant Kirpal

Singh Ji was not concerned with

what others were doing. He kept his

attention on what he had to do. He

never got involved in criticism or

backbiting even though others may

have done so. This focus on his

own spiritual progress kept him

from falling into the traps that

many others do of wasting time on

focusing on what others are doing.

This quality helped him use his pre-

cious breaths of life to attain union

with God.

Not letting obstacles stand in

the way of his spiritual goals

Sant Kirpal Singh Ji did not let

any obstacle stand in the way of

achieving his spiritual goals.

Neither physical pain, negativity of

others, or setbacks stopped him

from his chosen path.

Think of the stamina needed to

meditate for long hours, yet he did

so no matter what. Think of the

grueling schedule of work, career,

family, and meditation he observed,

yet he never became sidetracked.

Think of the labor he put in to do

seva. After a long day’s work he

would engage in physical or intel-

lectual seva to help others.

Although he may have been tired,

he would go out and serve others

after work. He would stay up late

doing seva for his Master, often

working the whole night through.

As tired as his body may have been,

he attended to meditation and seva.

Think of the criticism he received

from others as he made progress on

the spiritual path. When he had the

love and attention of Hazur others

became jealous and tried to make

things difficult for him. Yet, he

never let any of these difficulties

stop him from doing what was

right.

Never letting failures sidetrack

him


never let failures sidetrack him. He

experienced the same ups and

downs of life that every disciple

goes through but he never let that

stop him from meditating no matter

what.

A verse by Sant Darshan Singh Ji

Maharaj describes this condition as

follows:

As the caravan of my desiresmoved forward,

I mistook each approaching turnfor my destination.

Whenever we work for a goal we

move forward. We feel that when

we reach a turn in the road we have

come to the end of our journey, but

we find it is only a turning point.

When we drive up a mountain, we

see the end of the road and do not

realize that the road turns and con-

tinues higher. Many people stop

when they come to what they

thought was the end of the journey.

They are daunted by the fact that

the journey continues. But Olympic

winners reach a goal and realize

there is another goal to attain. They

keep going. Similarly, Sant Kirpal

Singh Ji Maharaj did not give up

when the road appeared to end and

then a turn carried the road higher.

He made the turn and kept going no

matter what it took and did not stop

until he reached his goal of union

with God.

Once when others were critical

and making it difficult for Sant

Kirpal Singh Ji Maharaj to see

Hazur, he had to endure a period of

separation from his Master. Others

did not allow Sant Kirpal Singh Ji

to see Hazur. Hazur wrote a beauti-

ful letter to Sant Kirpal Singh

which said that there are all sorts of

disciples who come to satsang:

"There are some whose hearts are

overflowing with love and are

ready to sacrifice their all—body,

mind, and money. There are also

some who indulge in tall talk and

calumny; they are ever ready to

slander. But our duty is to love all.

If they do not give up their wicked

ways, why should we leave our

noble ways?" This encouraged Sant

Kirpal Singh Ji to keep going, to

stay true to the ethical virtues, to

meditate and do seva despite hard-

ships inflicted by others. He knew

that, despite these difficulties, he

had the love and blessings of his

Master to sustain him.

Full concentration and focus

Sant Kirpal Singh Ji Maharaj had

full concentration and focus in

meditation. He would say that if we

could sit accurately in meditation,

we would soar within. As a disci-

ple, he focused on his meditation

for six to eight hours daily. He

made great spiritual progress.

When he meditated, he did not take

phone calls, engage in gossip, go to

the movies or waste time. He stuck

with his schedule no matter what.

Meditation on the inner Light and

Sound requires full concentration

and focus. It does not involve any

difficult postures or asanas. We

simply sit in a convenient, comfort-

able pose that we can sit in the

longest without moving. We close

our eyes gently as we do when

going to sleep. We gaze into the

middle of the field of whatever is

lying in front of us when our eyes

are closed. We gaze minutely, pene-

tratingly to find out what is in there.

This gazing will result in light

sprouting forth. We may see lights

of any color, flashes of light, an

inner sky, clouds, stars, moon, and

sun. Ultimately, we see the radiant

form of our spiritual Master or

guide who takes us on the inner

journey. Absorption on the stream

of Light and Sound takes us

through the inner spiritual realms of

the astral, causal, and supracausal

realms. Ultimately, we reach the

realm of Sach Khand in which we

become one with the Lord. This is a

journey of love and bliss. God is an

ocean of all-consciousness and

love. When the soul reunites with

God, we are immersed eternally in

ecstasy. This is the gold medal of

spirituality. Oneness with God is

the goal.

If we could follow the example of

Sant Kirpal Singh Ji in our own

lives, we too would achieve union

with God. Sant Kirpal Singh Ji

would say that what one person can

do so can another. The best way we

can honor his life is to also try to do

what we can to win the gold medal

of spirituality. If we follow the

example of Olympic gold medalists

and the life of Sant Kirpal Singh Ji

Maharaj, we will have the blueprint

to merge our soul back with God.

Sant Darshan Singh Ji Maharaj

said in a verse:

Begin to live your life accordingto your aspirations

And step towards your chosengoal.

Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharajis an internationally recognizedspiritual leader and Master of JyotiMeditation who affirms the tran-scendent oneness at the heart of allreligions and mystic traditions,emphasizing ethical living andmeditation as building blocks forachieving inner and outer peace.www.sos.org.

Oneness with God is the gold medal of spirituality

There are also some who indulge in tall talk andcalumny; they are ever ready to slander. But our

duty is to love all. If they do not give up theirwicked ways, why should we leave our noble

ways? – Huzur Baba Sawanji Maharaj

Concluding part of the discourse ‘Olympics of meditation’

By Sant Rajinder SinghJi Maharaj

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