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INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, MAY 03, 2013 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

Friday, May 03 2013 | Vol. 32, No. 18

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3 May 03, 2013 3May 03, 2013 COMMUNITYVerma’s Donation Swells India Studies’ Curriculum at UH

BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRAHOUSTON: “We hope that one

day the India Studies program could grow into a magnificent place like this,” quipped Dr. John Roberts, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Houston, as he motioned around him at the opulent lobby and living room “to highlight its goals.” Standing on the marble steps of the foyer, he had just thanked the owner of the large house in the Memorial area for their generous gift of $100,000 to help the still nascent Foundation of India Studies grow further.

The homeowners, Dr. Arun and Vinni Verma had not sought out compliments for their donation and in the self-effacing manner which they prefer, made every ef-fort to play the event down. They are a deeply religious couple whose convictions are readily vis-ible in their home from the por-traits of Radha and Krishna which are adoringly displayed through-out their spacious home, down to a jhula (swing) settee nestling a painting of the baby Krishna in the living room. A two foot tall anod-ized brass statue of Krishna play-ing the flute welcomes you in the foyer.

For the past three years, the Ver-mas have become widely recog-nized for the Ram Leela program held in the late Fall just before the Diwali festival. Last year, they took the entire celebration one step further by adding a Dusserah function at the Skeeters Baseball Stadium in Sugar Land attended by several thousand people, where eight-foot tall effigies of Ravana, brother Kumbhkaran and son Meghnath were set ablaze, fol-lowed by a huge fireworks show. This first ever event is still the talk of the town.

So, it was not unexpected that Arun opened up the dinner and dialogue event organized by the FIS with a reminder that this con-

cluded the nine days of Ramnvami (celebrating the birth of the Lord Ram) and that the day, Thursday, April 25, was also an auspicious day since it marked the birth anni-versary of Hanuman. To honor it, the chief guest, Dr. Renu Khator, President and Chancellor of the University of Houston, prompted Verma to recite the Hanuman Chalisa, a devotional hymn writ-ten by the sage Tulsidas. Verma asked her to step besides him to do so and they both recited the forty verses in rapidfire, as other Hindus from the about 60 guests joined in, while those from the mainstream listened and watched with rapt at-tention.

The Indian Consul General Har-ish Parvathaneni spoke eloquently in support of the FIS program, noting that its curriculum (which is still being put together) would have to perforce be very broad as India itself was so vast, diverse and ancient that it offered educa-tors more than just a few angles to

study. He reported that he had been discussing with the Indian Minis-try of External Affairs to establish an India Studies Chair and hoped to soon be able to bring in two vis-iting professors from India.

His remarks were echoed by Khator, who also noted that “the time was right for Indian studies to take off’ in the fourth largest city in the US. We have such a huge In-dian population base with so many temples, restaurants and businesses that can support the FIS program,” she added as she enthusiastically welcomed Verma’s donation.

Dr. Roberts related how, while his community has been a part of this country for many generations, he had grown up in the segregated South without any exposure to courses that dealt with his African-American ancestry or culture. He pointed out that the FIS would provide an opportunity for future generations of Indian Americans to stay connected to their heritage. Roberts applauded the Vermas

The guests and speakers mingled for a group picture at the ceremony at Dr. Arun and Vinni Verma’s house on Thursday, April 25 in appreciation for their donation of $100,000 to the Foundation for India Studies program at the University of Houston. Photo: Jawahar Malhotra

for the gift which will be directed to funding scholarships, visiting professors, lectures and programs dealing with Hinduism and spiri-tualism from the Vedas. He noted that several months back Dr. Durga

Das Agrawal and his wife similar-ly created a $100,000 endowment to fund India Studies postdoctoral research.

Dr. Lois Zamora, of the Depart-ment of Comparative Cultural Studies at UH which includes the FIS, spoke about her plans for building an all encompassing cur-riculum. She also explained that a winter term study abroad program was being developed for those wishing to go to India and that she hoped some scholarship or support could be raised for about 15 people who make up the group.

She then asked Craig Wilson, son of UH Regent Welcome W. Wilson Sr. and involved in the family’s real estate business but also volun-teers at UH to talk about his recent trip to Jodhpur, Rajasthan. Wilson explained that he would like to raise funds to help the people there with a community center and link that with the Jack Valenti School of Communication, of which he is on the Board of Directors.

The evening concluded with a buffet style vegetarian dinner served in the fragrant rose garden behind the Verma’s house.

Sen. Cornyn Meets with Consul General HarishHOUSTON: U.S. Senator John

Cornyn (R-TX) and Consul Gen-eral of India in Houston Har-ish Parvathaneni met last week to discuss the economy, energy, trade and immigration, as well as express admiration for the active role Indian Americans are taking in Texas’ communities. They is-sued the following statements af-ter their meeting:

“I was pleased to have the op-portunity to meet with Consul General Harish and discuss the is-sues that are so important to both our countries. Today’s global en-vironment provides many oppor-tunities for our nations to partner, and it is encouraging to see all that Indian Americans in Texas are do-

ing to foster strong community,” said Sen. Cornyn, co-chairman and an original co-founder of the Senate India Caucus.

“Senator Cornyn has been a great votary of strong economic engagement between US and India. With enhanced prospects for cooperation in the field of energy in view of the US shale gas revolution, we will witness in the next few years LNG exports from US to India. This will have a huge significance for Indian households and the industry. We look forward to Senator Cornyn’s support to realize the promising prospects in this regard for Indian and US companies,” said Consul General Harish.


May 03, 20134 May 03, 20134


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See Collage on page 4

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Houston Mayor Annise Parker with the Board and VIP guests at the Pratham Gala last Saturday, April 27 at the Hilton Americas.

Photo: Bijay Dixit

Pratham Comes in First Again Among Local Desi Charities

BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRAHOUSTON: It was a night to

count the many blessings that had been bestowed upon those who came to the Hilton Americas Ho-tel downtown to attend Pratham’s Annual Gala last Saturday, April 27. They came to see history once again in the making as the local chapter of the international NGO raised a record breaking $1.3 mil-lion in donations, about $50,000 over last year.

This placed Pratham within range of the $1.5 million it raised total last year. This record amount raised the profile of the organi-zation to fifth place among the 25 highest grossing charities in the Bayou City, much to the ela-tion of the entire Pratham Board. “This will allow us to continue to help more children in India,” de-clared outgoing Pratham President Swatantra Jain, “just as we have helped 184,000 children so far out of child labor and sent them back to their homes.”

“Pratham reminds me of my own childhood,” went on Jain about his modest family background in the Punjab from which he moved to the US in 1978 with a dream, never forgetting the sacrifices his parents had made. “But education is more powerful than a dream,” he added, as it helped him to succeed in his career. “And everyone deserves a better future.” He quickly added that “those who waste their time get nowhere, but those who use it are considered wise.”

The other blessing for those who attended was that they managed to make it to the event despite the deluge of thundershowers that had engulfed the city that very afternoon and by reception time of 6pm had turned many parts of the city into a lake. Although it had been three long years since

the city has seen such a rainfall, it did make it miserable for people to valet park and eventually many confirmed guests could not make it to the elegant black tie event. Of the over 800 people expected, per-haps 200 could not attend due to the weather.

Still, this did not dampen the spirits of those who did make it there and enjoy not only the speeches by Jain, Gala Chair He-mant Goradia, Dr. Rukmini Baner-ji, Director of Pratham India and the keynote speaker Dr. Madhav Chavan, the CEO and Founder of Pratham India but also the color-ful and professional entertain-ment by local talent. The stage was festooned with many narrow spotlights, as if representing the points of lights that Pratham gives

its children, and was colorful in the manner that these children and their dreams are.

The evening began with local radio celebrity Meena Datt invit-ing KHOU TV Channel 11 news anchor Rekha Muddaraj to em-cee the program, followed by the lighting of the ceremonial lamp by Bimla Jain and Indrani Goradia. Muddaraj introduced Swatantra Jain as “a passionate leader”, but true to his spiritual nature, Jain played down any accolades that were thrown his way throughout the evening, instead asking that at-tention be focused on Pratham and pledging to match every dollar raised that evening up to $100,000. He also made sure to acknowledge “the person most responsible for the success of Pratham these past

two years, Brij Kathuria.”Dr. Banerji who has been with

Pratham for the past 16 years is originally from Bihar but stud-ied at the University of Chicago. She responded to some questions submitted earlier in the evening and added that “once you have launched a village you will also be one with them. You can leave Pratham, but Pratham will never leave you!” She acknowledged that Pratham had given birth to many other enterprises and that other countries are looking to emu-late the Pratham model, especially in East Africa and Pakistan.

On coming to the stage, Dr. Cha-van looked none the worse after being on a trip to nine cities in the US since leaving Delhi on April 8 and arriving in Houston the day

before. He recalled meeting Vi-jay Goradia in 1977 and receiv-ing $125,000 in 1999 from him to launch his dream that would be-come Pratham. He then enumerat-ed Pratham’s outreach programs: teaching children in villages and give them a head start through pre-school programs; volunteers help-ing teachers to teach correctly and making sure that children didn’t drop out.

An inspiring video clip showed how Chavan had come to the US to finish graduate work and then teach at the University of Houston only to return later to India and start a program that empowered people to help young kids learn.

Jain received an award for his dedicated service to Pratham and introduced the incoming President, Marie Goradia who took over the reins right after the Gala. A na-tive of Mumbai, Marie has a PhD in molecular biology, raised two kids – Sitara and Kevin – and ac-knowledged that “the US had been very good to me, better than in my wildest dreams.” She thanked Jain for his resoluteness in raising the level of support for Pratham and promised to carry the torch.

A lively auction followed for sev-eral items, including an immense wooden statue of Ganesh donated by Surender Talwar, conducted by Dr. Subodh Bhuchar who has become quite good at doing so at many a gala, and in this one was able to raise almost $20,000. Din-ner was catered by Daawat Ca-tering and was accompanied by music by the Bollywood Strings doing several popular tunes. Divya Walia shared her experiences with Pratham children in India. Naach Houston presented the dance en-tertainment, both through a drama play onstage and then later through a lively group fusion dance.


May 03, 20136 May 03, 20136 COMMUNITYHOUSTON: On Friday April 5, 2013

IACCGH hosted a dinner reception spon-sored by the Southside Group in honor of the Indian delegates to the MD Anderson Annual GAP Summit and local MD Ander-son faculty at the HESS Club. The guests included Dr. Kian Ang MD PhD, Vice Pres-ident, Global Academic Programs, MD An-derson Cancer Center, South Africa’s first lady Madam Tobeka Madiba Zuma, IDA Houston President Dr. Kulvinder S. Bajwa and Delhi State Cancer Institute Director Dr. Rakesh Kumar Grover.

IACCGH President Pankaj Dhume wel-comed Madam Zuma and other over 70 guests by reminding them of an important alliance between the MD Anderson Can-cer Center and Tata Cancer Institute that was facilitated by the IACCGH ten years

IACCGH Hosts Dinner Reception on April 5

IACCGH President Pankaj Dhume with Madam Zuma.

From Left: IACCGH Director Harish Katharani, whose business Southside Group sponsored the dinner, with Anil Patel of Southside.

From Left: Dr Sen Pathak(MDACC), Jagdip Ahluwalia, Delhi State Cancer Institute Director Dr. Rakesh Kumar Grover, and Dr Sewa Singh Lega.

ago. Past President of the Chamber, Deepa Thakur walked the audience down memory lane thanking founding Presidents Dr. Du-rga Agrawal and Ashoke Nath for their ef-forts that led to the signing of the MOU.

In March 2003 the IACCGH facilitated a visit by a seven member MD Anderson del-egation to Mumbai and Delhi. This delega-tion included MD Anderson Cancer Center President Dr. John Mendelsohn. In the 62 years of MD Anderson’s history this was the first ever visit by its President to India. This delegation met Indian President Kalam and the then Health Minister Shatrughan Sinha.

The team visited AIIMS Delhi and partici-pated in a symposium on “Common Cancers in India: Evidence Based Management” at Tata Memorial Hospital (TMH).

On Oct 6 2003, Dr. John Mendelsohn and

Dr. K.A. Dinshaw, Director of Tata Memo-rial Center, Mumbai signed a historic Sister Institution Agreement in Mumbai, India.

Witnessing this historic event were 2003 IACCGH President Deepa Thakur, found-ing President Durga Agrawal, Past Presi-dents Ashoke Nath and Ashok Shah, Board Advisor Vijay Goradia, founding member & Executive Director Jagdip Ahluwalia, then Director-at-large (Pune based) Pankaj

Dhume and chamber member Ajit Thakur. In the ten years since the signing of the

MOU there have been numerous exchanges between MD Anderson Cancer Center and the Tata Memorial Center. Since then, MD Anderson Cancer Center has expanded its relationships with several other centers of excellence in India including the Delhi State Cancer Institute.

IDA Houston President Dr. Kulvinder S. Bajwa networking at the event.


7 May 03, 2013 7May 03, 2013


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U.S. Immigration Reform Proposal Would Make Sweeping Changes

BY EMILY NEUMANNSenate Bill 744 sponsored by Sen. Charles

Schumer (D-NY) would provide sweeping changes to the current complex immigration landscape. Much of the proposal seeks to clear the current backlog of applicants over the next ten years so that a new system can begin. Here is what you need to know:

IMMIGRANT VISAS• Creates a new legal status for un-

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• This “Registered Provisional Im-migrant” (RPI) status can be obtained for six years with the possibility to extend for another six years

• RPIs can work, travel, obtain a So-cial Security Card, or even enlist in the U.S. military

• $1,000 penalty to be paid for ap-plicants 21 and older

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FUTURE IMMIGRATION• Eliminates the Diversity visa pro-

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• New system to award points based on education, length of employment, type of employment, entrepreneurship, civic in-volvement, English language skill, family members in the U.S., age, length of resi-dence in the U.S., etc.

• Allows spouses and minor chil-dren of Lawful Permanent Residents to be considered immediate relatives

• Removes per-country limits for employment-based categories

• Eliminates Fourth preference cat-egory for siblings of U.S. citizens

• Exempts derivative beneficiaries (spouses and children) from being counted for purposes of the employment-based cat-egories

• Labor Certification requirement eliminated for STEM workers

• Expands K visa to Lawful Perma-

nent ResidentsREFORMS TO NONIMMIGRANT

VISA PROGRAMS• Increases the number of H-1B vi-

sas available• Allows work authorization for H-4

dependents if home country has reciprocal provision

• Creates a $500 for the Labor Certi-fication application (PERM)

• Increases H and L visa filing fees for certain employers

• Provides for the ability of the De-partment of Labor to conduct more investi-gations

• Seeks to protect U.S. workers from job loss or wage suppression

• Allows immigration agencies to cooperate with State agencies to verify busi-ness existence

• Authorizes F-1 students to pursue Lawful Permanent Residence

• Creates new W visa for temporary guest workers

• Creates new X visa for entrepre-neurs

• Creates new EB-6 category for investors seeking Lawful Permanent Resi-dence

If this bill passes the Senate, the House of Representatives can either vote on the Senate bill or introduce their own through the same process. If two different bills are passed by the Senate and House, a confer-ence will be used to resolve the differences, followed by another vote in both chambers. Only then can it move to the President to be signed into law.

Emily Neumann has practiced immigra-tion law in Texas since 2005, representing both employers and immigrants. Neumann writes a blog on immigration law (immigra-tiongirl.com) and shares updates on Twitter (@immigrationgirl) and her Facebook page to help her clients stay informed of the lat-est news. She is a partner in Reddy & Neu-mann, P.C. in Houston and Dallas.

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Sri Meenakshi Temple ‘Kalyana Mahotsavam’

BY DR. VENUGOPAL MENONPEARLAND: Certain experi-

ences happen but seldom, and they happen only to the destined.

Sri Meenakshi Temple in Pear-land just concluded its ten-day grand commemoration of ‘Mahot-savam’, the magnificent, anniver-sary extravaganza. From Thurs-day, April 18 to Sunday April 28, the entire temple atmosphere was transformed into one of supreme celestial ambiance with religious, cultural and social activities cel-ebrating the divine glory of God-dess Meenakshi.

As per the legendary Agama tra-ditions that guide Sri Meenakshi Temple, as supervised and per-formed by the honorable priests Sri Manicka Sundara Bhattar, Sri Kalyana Sundaram and others, and adhering to austere spiritual and religious requirements, the elaborate ceremony was planned and prepared with all the infinite details meshed in to their appropri-ate places.

The event was inaugurated on Thursday evening with the Vigne-swara Pooja as is the auspicious custom of every Hindu religious function, getting the blessings from God Ganesha for its suc-cessful progression. The follow-ing day, there was Homam and special Abhishekam for all the Utsava Murthis performed in the tent pitched outside, where the rit-

From left: Lord Ganesha, Lord Chandikeshwara, Lord Venkateshwara, Goddess Meenakshi, Lord Sundareswara and Manonmani , Lord Muruga with Valli and Theyvayanai.

ual was repeated daily through the festival. The highlight of Friday morning was dhawjarohanam, hoisting of the flag that declares the traditional inauguration of ‘Utsavam’, the annual temple cel-ebration.

On Saturday, April 20 was the ornate coronation of Goddess Meenakshi, the heavenly ‘Pat-tabhishekam’, when Chairman Tupil Narasiman, bestowed with the customary honor on behalf of all the devotees, formally ac-cepted and handed over the regal scepter. It was followed by the procession of the Utsava Murthisin the ‘Poo Pallakku’, the palan-quin, beautifully decorated with flowers. It was a magnificent spectacle to watch the parade with the Murthis adorned in their godly vehicle wrapped up with over five thousand light golden and pink carnations. The festivities were enriched by the accompanying ‘Mangala Vadyam’, the auspi-cious Nadaswaram by Shri Mu-rugadoss along with N. Ganesan and P. Shanmugasundaram on the Thavil, artists who were brought from Canada .

There was traditionally pre-scribed poojas every evening with the Utsava Murthis dressed up with resplendent radiance and taken out in a procession around the Outer Praharam.

Cultural programs were orga-

nized during the evenings of the Mahotsavam, which richly aug-mented the artistic elegance of the atmosphere. The various groups who performed each day were, Anuradha Subramaniam and Chi-tra Dharmarajan with their groups and the students of Rajeswary Bhat, all singing Devi Kruthis in praise of the Goddess, Sri Na-gan Srinivasan doing Abhirami Andhadhi, the Houston Rudram

CONTINUED ON PAGE 11


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Sri Meenakshi Temple ‘Kalyana Mahotsavam’group offering the Vedic chanting, Roopa Bala and her group reciting Lalitha Sahasranamam, Surabhi Veeraraghavan doing classical dance honoring Matha Parasakthi, Deepa Ramachandran performing with her violin, Mahesh Iyer and his students contributing the ‘Taa-la Vadhya Vrndha’ and the vari-ous Houston dance schools doing ‘Natyanjali’ as their offering. The programs were of such high cali-ber, especially with the young tal-ents showing great promise and adding to the wealth and splendor of the festival.

The grand finale on Sunday was the Royal Nuptial ceremony, the ‘Thirukalyanam’, as the richly le-gitimate and delightful conclusion of the ten days of celebration. As plentiful and deserving as the oc-casion demanded, it was arranged in the Temple Kalyanamandapam, the wedding hall with all the pomp and glory of a stately wedding. The sophisticated process included ev-ery detail as prescribed for a celes-tial marriage ceremony. Adhering to the traditional ritualistic recipes, starting with Seervasai, procession from the Balalayam, Oonjal cer-emony, Sankalpam, Vigneswara Pooja, Punyavachanam, Raksha Bandhanam, Pravaram, Kanya-danam, Agni Prathishtai, Man-galya Dharanam, Lajahomam and Purnahuthi the event concluded with the Mangala Aarthi. Follow-

ing the ceremony, there was the Rathotsavam, a magnificent pro-cession around the temple with the Utsava Murthis honorably placed in their respective vahanams. The concluding majestic parade to the accompaniment of the chanting of Rudram, recitation of Sahasrana-mam, Kolattam and Nadaswaram infused ecstatic spiritual vibes to all those who participated. And as required by the tradition, the Dwa-ja Avarohanam, the un-hoisting of the celestial flag marked the con-clusion of the Utsavam.

Of course weddings cannot be complete without a meal, and in this case with the royal pageantry that befits the occasion. It was a sumptuous grand feast, with all the several dishes meticulously prepared in the temple kitchen by the staff and several volunteers

under the supervision of Malar Narayanan and cordially served on banana leaves by the many affable volunteers.

The efficient and committed team of the temple from the chair-man to the directors to the admin-istrators to the employees along with a large squad of sincere vol-unteers deserves to be abundantly applauded for a splendid job in organizing such a marvelous fes-tivity. A most deserving compli-ment goes to Roopa Balakrishnan, the Pooja committee coordinator, working tirelessly and arduously, weaving the various filaments to-gether, and involving an array of enthusiastic devotees in presenting to the public an exemplary spiritu-al bequest to be remembered for a very long time.

Attendees enjoying the grand feast during the festivities at Sri Meenakshi Temple on Sunday April 28.


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COMMUNITY“Save a Mother” Anniversary Gala May 10BY SEEMA KACHRU

HOUSTON: Pregnancy is not a disease, yet 15 percent of all preg-nancies result in life threatening complications. Maternal health, a critical topic in global develop-ment, impacts families, communi-ties and societies and has far reach-ing effects across socio-economic strata.

Despite being among top ten countries of the world, India`s Ma-ternal Mortality Rate (MMR) is currently one of the highest in the world, at a rate of 236 deaths per 100,000, in comparison to an aver-age of 16 for developing countries. As 2015 fast approaches, the time has come to assess the progress of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). According to the MDGs, the MMR should reduce at a rate of 5.5 percent annually, yet, in India the rate is only 2.3 percent.

Such lofty goals are possible only due to the dedicated orga-nizations like “Save a Mother” (SAM), that is working to improve and standardize care in India and beyond so that all pregnancies and births can be joyous occasions and maternal mortality a thing of the past.

SAM, started in 2008, has grown its scope, increased the number of supporting chapters in the US and partnered with Save A Mother UK in London and India. Partner or-ganizations in the UK and India operate independently towards the same mission of educating women about pregnancy, nutrition, immu-nization, delivery and care of the child. Working in tango with local NGOs in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India, which has one of the high-est maternal mortality rates in the world, SAM has expanded health care solutions to Karnataka, India.

Within five years of its existence, SAM has achieved significant mile stones and impressed by the magi-cal achievement in Sultanpur and 40 adjoining villages of UP, Desh-pande foundation granted SAM $ 36000 in 2012, to support its initiatives of reducing the MMR and IMR in up to 100 Karnataka villages in Gadag. SAM over-exceeded its impact in 103 Gadag Villages and therefore grant by the Deshpande Foundation has now been extended till 2014.

Five Year Achievements:•Maternal Care in Uttar

Pradesh (UP), India: SAM start-ed maternal mortality reduction program in approximately 1000 villages in 2008. The program has expanded in 50 districts of UP with execution by our NGO part-ner, RGMVP.

•Maternal Care in Karnataka: Replicated maternal mortality re-duction in Gadag district of Kar-nataka.

•Tuberculosis Control: Launched TB Control Program in CSM Nagar in UP in 2012.

•Water Borne Diseases: Launched a program to reduce

water borne diseases in CSM Na-gar in 2012. Doctors working in primary health clinics will partici-pate in this program. The target is to reduce water borne diseases by 80% in the next 4 years.

•Free Primary Health Clinics:Participate in management of

16 free primary health clinics run by Asia Heart Foundation. Clinics serve 1000 to 1500 patients daily.

“SAM’s leadership has equipped

dollar raised and donated will go directly to let another heart to beat in this world and live a healthy life. Those, who cannot attend per-sonally but are passionate about the cause can sign up and donate securely at www.saveamother.org or send a check to the regis-tered 501(c)(3) organization in Houston, TX to Nat Murthy, 633 Lake Shore drive, Sugarland, TX 77478.

S i n c e Mothers Day is al-most here, the need is to take up the big challenge w h e r e the cause is noble and the r e w a r d is high. No gift to your

mother can ever equal her gift to

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various Indian villages of pro-fessionals who serve mothers to

make positive changes in commu-nity that will benefit mothers and families for years to come”, said Veena Kaul, a philanthropist and a very dedicated SAM Houston President.

After a resounding success of its previous gala’s, “Save A Mother” Houston is celebrating 5 years of extraordinary service at its 5th An-niversary Fundraising gala to be held on Friday, May 10th, 2012, at Le Virage 12126 Westheimer. Gala will inspire, highlight accom-plishments, and unveil plans for the next decade. The public and the media are invited and every

you—Life. If we cannot give life, we can save one. We urge you to give needy mothers a chance to live and enjoy the melodious cries of life they give birth to. When you support a mother, you uplift her family, when you uplift her fam-ily, you strengthen her community, when you strengthen her commu-nity, you change the world.

For more information visit www.saveamother.org or email the au-thor, a PTI correspondent based in [email protected].


13 May 03, 2013 13May 03, 2013COMMUNITYIACAN: For Those Who Suffer, Relief Comes in Unexpected WaysBY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA

HOUSTON: The audience was on its feet. They were smiling and grinning. They were, in fact, bent over laughing, some so hard that tears were streaming down their cheeks. They embraced each other, wagged their fingers at one another, made eye contact, shook hands, did high-fives and made awkward gestures that erupted in laughter. And it was all because of that tall, loud, bespectacled man with a wireless headphone micro-phone who was going around the floor, between the seats egging them on.

The man was demonstrating the therapeutic power of laughter over the ill effects caused by pain and discomfort. “Too many people give out fake, polite laughter,” explained Chaplain Stephen Find-ley who works at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center at the Texas Medi-cal Center, as he mimicked one, “but good, gut busting laughter involves yogic breathing down to the diaphragm and expelling it.” Findley is certified as a Laughter Yoga teacher, the Founder and Di-rector of Shaka Seminars and a much sought after speaker.

Findley listed out some basic rules for Laughter Yoga to be ef-fective: that it be unconditional, hearty, extended for up to 15 min-utes, allowing the brain to secrete endorphins and be enthusiastic. He gave the example of how kids

laugh “at nothing. Every part of their body laughs – their elbow, belly, even the back of their head” and jumped down from the stage to mingle with the audience and demonstrate, using one or two as a sidekick. He had them in stitches in no time, just using gestures and making provoking grunts, bellows and stares.

Even the organizers of the event, the Indo American Cancer Aware-ness Network, were cracking up in the side aisles, and the other three members of the “Living the Anti Cancer Life – The Mind-Body Connection” panel onstage were giggling too. The seminar was part of an ongoing effort by IACAN to educate the public on the dreaded disease and how to handle its ef-

fects, both physical and emotional, and pay for care.

The seminar was co-sponsored by the Susan G. Komen Founda-tion, the Indo-American Char-ity Foundation, and Vallabh Priti Sewa Samaj and held at the VPSS auditorium on Bellfort at the Southwest Freeway this past Sunday afternoon, April 28. IA-CAN Board member Lakshmi Naik gave a brief introduction on the program and the panelists who covered four areas of alternative and complimentary therapies that work well with conventional treat-ments. The IACF President Mur-thy Divakaruni and Board Direc-tors Ramesh Cherivirala and this reporter presented a check of sup-port to IACAN’s President Kan-

chan Kabad onstage.The panel discussion started

with Dr. Gabriel Lopez, an Assis-tant Professor in the Department of General Oncology, Section of Integrative Medicine at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, who focuses on conducting integrative oncology consultations. “There is an abundance of information available about alternative and complementary medicine as well as many books discussing antican-cer and finding a new approach to life,” Lopez said, “But be careful because much of it is not evidence based and may even be harmful to follow.”

He explained how alternative medicine encompassed a wide

CONTINUED ON PAGE 14

IACAN Board members with the presenters.

range of health care practices, products, and therapies not typi-cally used in Western medicine like acupuncture, Ayurveda, Chi-ropractic, and Homeopathy. Com-plementary Alternative Medicine merges this with conventional medicine to complement the treat-ment through diverse medical and health care system, practices, and products not presently considered to be part of conventional medi-cine, such as probiotics, Tai Chi, mind body medicine-yoga and others. For example, he explained how music therapy helped chil-dren having a biopsy to ease their pain.

Coming after Findley was a discussion on the ancient Chi-

Photos: Bijay Dixit

From left: Jawahar Malhotra, Kanchan Kabad, Ramesh Cherivirala, Murthy Divakaruni and Lakshmi Naik


May 03, 201314 May 03, 201314

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13

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Tiger Ball Guests Toast Brilliant First Year in Asia Society Texas Center’s New Home

HOUSTON: First anniversaries are always special. Supporters of Asia Society Texas Center, mark-ing one year since the grand open-ing of the organization’s spectacu-lar home in the Museum District, celebrated Tiger Ball 2013 on Friday, April 26 in grand style and amid lavish surroundings.

More than 500 of Houston’s so-cial and civic worthies, many in gorgeous national dress, crowded into the Yoshio-Taniguchi-de-signed Center for scrumptious food by Jackson and Company and good conversation. Tables were arrayed over both floors in intimate groupings while musi-cians—representing the diversity of Asia, from Indian sitarists to Vietnamese folk singers—enter-tained guests. Golden limestone and rich cherrywood walls formed the backdrop to elegant décor by AJ’s Urban Petals.

The evening started in style with cocktails and sushi in a lighted pa-vilion in front of the Center. After brief remarks, guests moved into the building for the seated dinner. Following dessert DJ Sun cranked

up the sounds for post-dinner dancing in the expansive Fayez Sarofim Grand Hall.

The annual gala raised $650,000 to support programs, exhibitions, educational activities, and opera-tions of the Texas Center, all de-signed to further Asia Society’s mission of bringing Asians and

Americans together for a shared future.

Welcoming guests were gala chairs Gina and Dr. Devinder Bhatia and the Texas Center’s Acting Executive Director, John Bradshaw, Jr. Honorary chairs were Muffet Blake and Sheela and Ashok Rao.

Seen in the crowd: Margaret Williams and Jim Daniel, Sima and Massoud Ladjevardian, An-nette and George Strake, Tony and Isaac Arnold, Jr., Marian and Dr. Robert Stasney, Sushana and Jack Castle, Anu and Dr. Nat Bala, Monjula and Ravi Chidambaram, Dr. George Yang, Lily and Hamid Kooros, Y. Ping Sun and David Leebron.

Since its April 2012 opening the new Asia Society Texas Center has hosted internationally recognized performers, statesman, writers, and scholars. As it enters its second year, it continues to present wide-ranging public programs across the fields of business and policy, arts and culture, and education. A nonprofit, nonpartisan educational organization, it promotes mutual understanding and strengthens partnerships among the peoples, leaders and institutions of Asia and the United States.

IACAN: For Those Who Suffer, Relief Comes in Unexpected Ways

nese science of acupuncture and acupressure by Sonya Patel, who owns and operates Mirvana Acu-puncture and Chinese Herbs. Pe-tite and young, Patel has spent several years in China honing her skills and explained how acupunc-ture and acupressure works on the 12 primary meridians of energy or chi passing through the human body. Although not a cure for ail-ments, acupuncture can relieve some of the symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, dryness of the mouth, fatigue, depression and constipation. Patel demonstrated the way acupuncture is performed by inserting needles into a volun-teer on stage.

The event ended with a demon-

USA Tai Chi Academy performers.

stration of Tai Chi by members of the USA Tai Chi Academy who comprised of people of all ages. Tai Chi is practiced both for its de-fense training as well as its health benefits and its slow movements make it suitable for old, young and the weak alike. The Academy President, Jason Leung, was on hand to explain how he discovered that some of the movements he had to undergo in therapy when re-habilitating from his own recovery from cancer surgery and treatment were similar to those that he knew from Tai Chi. Both he and his wife are members and instructors of the Academy and a dozen members of the group performed to two songs, one with a sword, onstage.

Stephen Findley with Dr. Seva Singh Legha.

A few of the members of the desi community who attended the Asia Society’s Tiger Ball 2013 on Friday, April 26.

Photos: Jenny Antill


15 May 03, 2013 15May 03, 2013


May 03, 201316 May 03, 201316 COMMUNITYHISD Board of Education Approves New Magnet School

Principal Jyoti Malhan to Head New Campus that Will Serve as Feeder to DeBakey High SchoolHOUSTON: The HISD Board of

Education in April approved creat-ing a new magnet school that will offer a highly rigorous curriculum emphasizing science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

The newly created Baylor Col-lege of Medicine Academy at Ryan will now begin enrolling students for the upcoming 2013-2014 school year. The Baylor

College of Medicine Academy at Ryan will open with a sixth-grade class and eventually serve students in grades 6-8. Earlier this year, the Houston Independent School Dis-trict Board of Education autho-rized the district to apply for $12 million in federal magnet school funds for these two new magnets and six others.

HISD Superintendent Terry Gri-

er brought the proposal forward in an effort to continue the district’s tradition of strong magnet pro-grams that prepare graduates to contribute to Houston’s status as a global economic power.

“HISD’s strength lies in our abil-ity to offer every parent and student outstanding school choice options, both in neighborhood schools and in city-wide magnet schools such as these,” Dr. Grier said. “We are serious about becoming great all over, and that means seizing every opportunity to meet students’ ever-changing needs.”

The Baylor College of Medicine Academy at Ryan will be aligned with HISD’s prestigious DeBakey High School for Health Profes-sions in the Texas Medical Center. Expanding this partnership with Baylor College of Medicine will provide more students with access to the faculty of one of America’s leading medical schools.

“For more than 40 years, HISD and Baylor College of Medicine have enjoyed a highly success-ful partnership in operating the DeBakey High School for Health Professions,” said Dr. Paul Klot-man, BCM’s president and CEO. “The school’s remarkable success demonstrates what can be accom-plished when the public and pri-vate sectors come together to ad-dress pressing educational needs.

The BCM Academy at Ryan is a logical extension of our shared commitment to Houston’s future.”

Even though the new magnet middle school will be open to all students without admission re-quirements, the level of academic rigor will be especially high.

“We believe the Baylor College of Medicine Academy at Ryan can provide educational opportunities comparable to those at the most elite private schools in the Hous-ton area, and the highest-rated public middle schools in the US,” said Dr. Nancy Moreno, profes-sor and senior associate director of BCM’s Center for Educational Outreach. “Students in this new program will benefit from a cur-riculum that increases their aca-demic and social preparedness to compete and succeed in the best high schools in Houston, includ-ing the DeBakey High School for Health Professions.”

The new magnet school will be located at the historic Ryan Mid-dle School site, 2610 Elgin.

The application deadline is May 16.

The application is available online at http://www.houstonisd.org/cms/lib2/TX01001591/Cen-tricity/Domain/21217/Magnet_BCM_finals.pdf

In addition to recruiting students, HISD is recruiting teachers to staff

these new magnet schools and other HISD campuses. Instructors with a strong background in the science, technology, engineering and math fields as well as a back-ground in the common core sub-jects are encouraged to apply.

The Houston Independent School District is the largest school district in Texas and the seventh-largest in the United States with 276 schools and more than 203,000 students. The 301-square-mile district is one of the largest employers in the Houston metropolitan area with nearly 30,000 employees.

For more information, visit the HISD Web site at www.hous-tonisd.org.

Principal Jyoti Malhan



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World Renowned Soorya Festival Makes U.S. DebutSoorya Krishnamoorthy’s Sangamam premiers in Houston May 5

BY IAN STAFF REPORTERHOUSTON: This weekend,

Padmashree Dr. Soorya Krish-namoorthy, the founder-director of the Soorya Stage and Film So-ciety, is making his first visit to the United States as he presents his highly-acclaimed Soorya Festival in Houston. The Soorya Festival is the longest and among the most prestigious cultural events in India, conducted annually and now last-ing for more than a hundred days in which the finest and most ac-

The art of Sumudra Natanam by the award-winning Madhu Gopinath and Vakkkom Sajeev will be a part of the Soorya Festival this Sunday at the Stafford Civic Center

complished artists in Indian clas-sical dances and music participate.

Krishnamoorthy has the pro-fessed aim of disseminating Indian culture and achieving “Integration through Culture” – he remains the only artist to have received the highest artistic honors from three state governments: Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. The highly-decorated artist was named Man of the Year 2003 by the Limca Book of World Records, who also appointed Soorya as the largest

cultural society of Asia.He served as the di-

rector of the Kerala State Film Development Corporation for three terms, as a member of the India National Film Award committee, the Kerala State Film Award committee, the NFDC Script Committee and the National commit-tee for selecting Indian Panorama films. He has also been a member of the Expert Committee of the Department of Culture for the Gov-ernment of India where he was instrumental in advancing the cultural policy of the country.

Krishnamoorthy’s Sangamam brings together several ac-complished artists who promise an un-forgettable visual ex-perience on May 5 at Stafford Civic Center (1415 Constitution, Stafford, TX 77477).

They include Madhu Gopinath and Vakkkom Sajeev (Samudra Natan-am), Sonia Gupta (Kath-ak), Dakshina Vaidyana-than (Bharatnatyam), Ziya ul Huk (vocal), and Manipur Dancers

presenting Dhol Dholak Cholam. Various percussionists and

classical musicians also join the troupe directed by Krishnamoor-thy for his American version of the Soorya Festival, which is tour-ing 15 cities in one month, cour-tesy of Houston-based production company Freedia Entertainment.

For tickets: www.sulekha.com/houston.


May 03, 201318

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

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May 03, 201318 EDITORIALUttar Pradesh’s urban development minister Azam Khan has

either a very heightened sense of self-importance or is suffering from some sort of delusional incapacity. What else explains his deduction that a very short detention at Boston’s Logan Interna-tional Airport late last week was a conspiracy hatched by external affairs minister Salman Khurshid to defame him outside India?

The detention — which according to some media reports was for about 10 minutes — seems to really have set a cat among the pigeons in the UP government. Reacting to it UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav cancelled his talk at Harvard University and also chose to skip a reception hosted by the Indian consul general at New York.

A routine check is now being sought to be made into an inter-national incident. Anyone who has travelled to the US, Europe or Israel will testify to often intrusive security checks. But, on the other hand, every country has the right to put in place its own security systems and most passengers may grumble but do accept that this is for the safety of everyone.

Mr Khan’s charge that he was singled out because he is a Mus-lim is really over the top. It is highly unlikely that the US security was lying in wait for Mr Khan in order to humiliate him. The UP minister is not the fi rst person to be ‘humiliated’ by the US authorities.

Actor Shah Rukh Khan and former Union minister George Fer-nandes were also subjected to such security checks. Most notably, former president APJ Abdul Kalam was frisked twice, once in 2008 and then in 2011. While Kalam played down the incident, the leader from UP seems to be milking it for all it is worth.

Given that the Azam Khan ‘incident’ comes a few days after the Boston bombings, it is entirely possible that the airport security offi cials were doubly cautious. Many of our netas seem to be al-lergic to being treated on a par with ordinary people, given that they are used to VIP treatment at home.

If such checks are such a nuisance to Mr Khan, all we can say is stay at home. This is infi nitely preferable to going abroad and creating such a shindig which really does no credit to him and gives the impression that Indian egos are so fragile as to be hurt by a common and garden security check.

BY CHANAKYAThe Economist recently did a cover

story on India. It carried a picture of a cat looking into the mirror only to see a majestic tiger as its refl ection. I wonder what our very own Mamata Banerjee sees when she looks into the mirror? Could it be that she sees the lone street fi ghter from a rough part of the city or does she see an Indira Gandhi-like patrician fi gure? I suspect it is the latter going by her imperious ways, though no one could accuse la grande dame Gandhi of being out of touch with the people.

This is not to say that Mamatadi is not a woman of sterling qualities. She has many. She is a poet, she is a singer, she is a painter. But when you are the chief minister of a populous and backward state, when you have been able to by sheer dint of perseverance and a little bit of luck overthrow the 34-year-long reign of the Left, you cannot use pro-fi ciency in the liberal arts to wish your responsibilities away. Mamatadi lacks the one quality most needed for her high offi ce, political acumen. Indeed, I wonder if she thinks that thanks to her feat of hammering the Left, she now does not need to govern, that people will look on with indulgent fondness as she makes bizarre statements and throws inexplicable tantrums.

It is one thing to be moody and mer-curial but as her reaction to the death of a young SFI activist shows, she is just plain uncaring and insensitive. She dismissed the protests as unnecessary, the death as a small, indeed, petty mat-ter. And in the days to come no doubt, she will come up with a theory that this unfortunate turn of events is aimed at tarnishing her image. We have heard of people who imagine that the CIA is after them, who think that everyone is out to get them. If it were you or me, we would be called paranoid and the men in white coats would come calling straitjacket in hand. In Mamata’s case, we will have to call it her spontaneous outbursts of expression, just in case a posse of Trinamool workers pop around and wallop the daylights out of us.

In fact, thanks to her antics, Mamata is making the Left rule look like a Sun-day school picnic. In her Bengal, we have women being raped and our Didi feels that this is part of a Red plot to

sully her fair name. A hapless farmer asks her a question in public, and dear Mamata fl ies into a rage that a Maoist dares to infi ltrate her rally. Journalists ask her uncomfortable questions and someone draws a cartoon of her and she is upon them like the Spanish Inquisi-tion. To her credit, I must say that she is an equal opportunities Left basher, she sees a Red under every bed.

As an acerbic political observer put it, Mamata has never gone beyond being a street corner rabble-rouser. At times, her seeming simplicity was endearing. She craves approval and attention, she could barely contain her happiness when senior political leaders gave her a great deal of importance. She seemed to think that a common language put

Mess, Mayhem and MamataNo Checks and Balances

Finally, Raining HopeThere is more to the summershowers than the romance of

gently falling raindrops. The June-September rains provide relief from a sticky summer. Schools shut down. Families go on vacation. But the monsoon is more than just a cool respite: it’s the life-blood of India’s economy. It’s a long expedition nature undertakes each year.

This year summer rains are likely to be normal, the Met de-partment has forecast, brightening prospects of bumper crops and economic recovery, crucial for a government heading into a general election. Hindustan Times

her on a par with the matchlessly eru-dite and able Pranab Mukherjee. She stomped her feet with rage at a great industrial house trying to set up shop in West Bengal. It packed up and went to greener pastures. She huffed and she puffed and tried to blow the UPA house down. But had to fold up her tent and go home to Kolkata, her crestfallen ministers in tow.

Her Trinamool goons have carte blanche to intimidate people and woe betide anyone who stands up to say that this is no different from the Left dadas’ reign of terror. Our Didi goes one better. She has stormed a police station to free miscreants because they were from her party. You will rightly ask if she is a party leader fi rst and the chief minister after, if at all she qualifi es for that moniker.

This perpetually aggrieved act is wearing a bit thin. Those in govern-ment who viewed her with some in-dulgence no longer seem to bother about her pronouncements. Her recent endorsement of the government’s for-eign policy stand with regard to Sri Lanka - she loftily told us that foreign policy is the government’s preserve - is at severe odds with her throwing a spanner in the works on the Teesta water-sharing issue with Bangladesh. The prime minister had hoped that more Teesta water would win over Bangladeshi hearts, only to have Didi throw cold water on his hopes.

I cannot think of a single positive step she has taken for Bengal since she assumed offi ce. Investment has certainly not come calling after the Sin-gur episode, there is no tourism effort worth the name in the state, there are no jobs being created and the Centre is not feeling too generous towards her. If a professional agency were to evaluate her leadership, she would probably be given the pink slip.

Mamatadi is in desperate need of a re-ality check. She must follow the advice of Bengal’s greatest son Rabindranath Tagore who said, “To be outspoken is easy when you do not wait to speak the complete truth.” And one of these days when she looks in the mirror, she will see that staring back at her is none other than little old Mamatadi. That is the day when poriborton, the real story will begin.

Hindustan Times

“Mamatadi lacks the one quality most needed for her high offi ce, political acumen. Indeed, I wonder if she thinks that thanks to her feat of hammering the Left, she now does not need to govern, that people will look on with indulgent fondness as she makes bizarre statements and throws inexplicable tantrums.”



Every Sunday 12 PM to 3 PM CST On KCHN AM 1050

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24 HourTelugu Radio in Houston

SOS Graduates 2012-2013 ClassBY FARIDA HASANALI

HOUSTON: SOS incoming President Dr. Swapan Dubey proudly announced the comple-tion and graduation of SOS’ 4th Life and Leadership Series. The Graduation event hosted at Fra-telli’s by the SOS Executive Board on April 13 was attended by close to 100 members, friends, and well-wishers. The event held a differ-ent kind of charge this year. Past, present and future students min-gled with the crowd, each talking to members and supporters about the benefits of the SOS program.

Dr. Archana Laxmisan, Presi-dent of SOS, thanked the audience and graciously stepped down to hand over the baton to Dr. Swa-pan Dubey for the upcoming year. “SOS taught me how to rethink my priorities,” said Dr. Laxmis-an. “Today I am equally focused on my personal and professional goals and I am achieving the things I have always wanted to achieve. I had to sit myself down, figure out what I wanted and devise a means of getting it. SOS taught me how.”

Dr. Swapan Dubey accepted the

Presidency and briefly spoke about his vision for the SOS program. “We need to ensure that SOS is a life long learning experience, “said Dr. Dubey. “We don’t want people to graduate from one year of sessions, and then never been seen again. That’s not our goal.”

Dr. Dubey called upon current students to express what the SOS experience meant to them. “When you look at the sky with an un-trained eye, all you see is a mass of stars, if you look up at the same sky with the guidance of an astronomer

all of a sudden you see galaxies and formations and you recognize the names of several stars. That’s what SOS did for me…I look at my life every day, SOS helped me see the patterns within it with a fo-cused lens.” said Russell Richard, Director of Leadership and En-gagement, Center for Houston’s Future and current SOS student.

The program closed with a thank you from Vivek Mehta, Chairman of SOS. Vivek re-counted both SOS’ and its COI’s 2012-2013 accomplishments and promised exciting events in the second half of 2013 such as an in-

formational event at Dr. Dubey’s emergency clinic and another so-phisticated networking encounter at the River Oaks Country Club.

The evening held another sur-prise for its attendees. Randhir Sahni, President, Llewelyn-Da-vies Sahni presented his thoughts on life and success. “Life is not all about accomplishing your finan-cial goals, you have to focus on personal growth and community service, you have to think in terms of “what can I give back to the community.” Over dinner, Sahni

asked each table to contemplate over a question. “If Life is not about how much money you make and whether you are a successful entrepreneur or corporate execu-tive, then how would you define a life “well-lived” in the con-text of living in Houston today?”

Each table reported back ideas ranging from supporting the growth of the Houston economy, being good civic inhabitants of Houston, to contributing towards the city’s growth. On a personal level, several tables agreed giving back was critical to self-fulfill-ment. Others expressed the desire

to find an opti-mal work-life balance where they could spend as much time with fam-ily as they did at work.

For those not familiar with the par-ent SOS Orga-nization, SOS (Share Our Secrets), was founded in 2010 as a joint venture be-tween Club24 and NetIP.

The current SOS program con-sists of four components; the SOS Life and Leadership Series, SOS member speaker series, SOS Con-nect, and the Circle of Influence.

If you are interested in learn-ing more about any of the SOS components please email us at LearnHow@ shareoursecrets.org. Please mention specifically how you would like to support SOS and its goals to help the next generation succeed at an accelerated pace.

Circle of Infl uence Members: From left: Reji Varghese, Vivek Mehta, Zarir Sethna, Swapan Dubey, MD, Ajit John

Graduating Class 2013: From Left: Siddharth Dhar, Zal Sethna, Shafi q Shivji, Swapan Dubey, MD, Gina Patel, Biki Mohindra, Amol Kulkarni, Mitul Patel, Manasi Gokhale, Vignesh Veer, Farida Hasanali, Russell Richard.


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RECIPES/PUZZLESMama’s Punjabi Recipes

Masaladaar Bhune Pyaaz ka Pulao (Spicy Sauteed Onion Pilaf)

This is the second pulao recipe that I use and it is tasty and unique because the rice comes out look-ing brown, but it is not made with brown rice. The rice still has the distinct taste and aroma of regular basmati rice and because of the way it is made, the pulao has an additional taste of spiced onions. It is also a very Punjabi dish made this way on special occasions.

Chawal (rice) are a basic ingre-dient in many Indian cuisines, irre-spective of which part of the coun-try you come from. But for special occasions like weddings, rice is usually prepared as a pulao (pilaf), which can include vegetables or various meats. Biryani is another rice dish similar to pulao, but in-troduced to India by the Mughals.

Pulao is a method of cooking adopted from the Persians. Pulao is a dish in which rice is cooked in a seasoned broth. In some cas-es, the rice may become brown depending on the use of onions, a mix of spices and meat or veg-etables, depending on the local cuisine. A variation of it can be found in the Middle East, Cen-tral and South Asia, East Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.

The brown color of the onions runs off on to the rice which is why I call this “brown onion rice”. When served with garam masala (see previous recipe IAN Dec. 7, 2012).

Ingredients: • 2 cups chawal (rice)

(preferably Basmati rice) • 2 medium pyaaz (onion)• 4 cups pani (water)• 2 tbsp olive oil or any

other oil you prefer• 1 teaspoon garam

masala (black pepper mix)

• Namak (salt) to taste

Rakesh SinghVineet YadavAnita Kumari

Directions:

1. Soak the rice for 30 minutes in cold water.

2. Peel the onion and

cut into thin, long slices.

3. Heat the oil in a medium sized pot and place the onion in it, stirring till they are dark brown.

4. Add the salt, garam masa-la and water and bring to a boil.

5. Drain the rice, then add to the pot and bring to a boil again. Now cover the pot and reduce the heat to very low.

6. When the rice fills the pot, check that there is no more water on the bottom. Turn the heat off and leave the pot covered for 10 minutes.

7. Serve warm with plain yogurt, daal or rajmah (red beans) or eat simply with Indian pickles.

Saku Gopinath (Front Row), Swamy Yeleswarapu, Sharad Ravishankar, Ajay Vishwanath, Vishal Shastri, Siddhanth Ahuja, Srini Kamana, Rupendra Radia, Akhilesh Yeleswarapu and Gopinath Sivasubramanian (rear row)


21 May 03, 2013 21May 03, 2013COMMUNITYHOUSTON: For the seventh

year in a row, Indian youth from all over the Houston area bicycled over 150 miles from Houston to Austin as part of the annual two-day bike ride event called the BP MS-150, to raise awareness and money for research to hasten the cure for Multiple Sclerosis. The youth were part of the “Houston Desis” cycling team whose motto “Moving hearts and minds” has been instilled into each of the rid-er’s psyche. The team was spon-sored principally by the Methodist Hospital’s Lung Transplant Center which has graciously obliged the team’s commitment, three years in a row, for their excellent service to the community. The team was also sponsored by, Coastal Cardiology, Pearland Heart Institute, Career Uniforms, Geotest Engineering Inc, Clear Lake Dental Care, Hur-ricane Glass, Clear Lake Infec-tious Diseases, SriTech Inc, Ke-nall Inc. and Mayuri Restaurant.

The team’s journey began in Katy in the early hours on April 20 and ended in Austin on the af-ternoon of April 21. They were among 11,000 cyclists from all over the US who took part in the largest event of its kind in the world which raised almost $18 million dollars for its cause.

As 14-year old second-time rider Arun Rao said, “Riding for a cause that is important and can help save

someone’s life is one of the greatest feelings in the world. As you ride through the streets of Austin with cheers and applause surrounding you, you can’t help but smile at the fact that what you have done is just special. Riding from Houston to Austin is no easy feat. Training and preparing for an event like this takes months of practice, focus and dedication. I believe every-body on this Houston Desis Team has exemplified these traits.”

The returning teen riders included Srikar Anantha, Rahul Popat and Nakul Rao. Other teenagers were first time riders including Akhilesh Yeleswarapu, Yash Bora, Saku Gopinath, Sharad Ravishankar, and Siddhanth Ahuja, all of whom

did amazingly well, thanks to the strong training and support from their parents and the team captains.

The Houston Desis team has a great history of organizing a very safe and fun environment for both new and returning riders to take part in this event. The highlight of the team is the wonderful cama-raderie and sense of family that it engenders in its team members in preparing for the event especially at the overnight stop in La Grange.

It was Rahul Popat’s 2nd MS 150 ride. “On the first day I biked 86 miles from Houston to La Grange. The ride from Houston to Bellville was easy and fun. We stopped at Bellville for lunch and got to see all the different bikes and uni-

forms. I clearly felt the first 20 miles after lunch were difficult but soon after, adrenaline kept pushing me to the finish line in La Grange. At the tent, my friends and family and volunteers greeted me. We had great Indian food and hot Masala Dosas made for us by volunteers. The next morning, we woke up by 5 to eat some delicious hot pancakes. Once again, we started off early and headed for the hilly ride from La Grange to Austin.”

Safety is the most important theme stressed for the riders in the MS-150 and there were some near-misses as riders were stopped several times due to accidents, stoppages by cops and EMS.

Srikar Anantha, just 13 years

Moving Hearts and Minds: 7th Annual BP MS-150 Bike Ride

Saku Gopinath (Front Row), Swamy Yeleswarapu, Sharad Ravishankar, Ajay Vishwanath, Vishal Shastri, Siddhanth Ahuja, Srini Kamana, Rupendra Radia, Akhilesh Yeleswarapu and Gopinath Sivasubramanian (rear row)

Nakul Rao (front), From left: Tayo-Femi, Tej Kabra, Satish Paruchuri (hidden), Srini Gogineni, Srini Kamana, Stuti Schroff, Rupendra Radia, Vishal Sastri, Ramana Anantha, Arun Rao, Srikar Ananatha, Rahul Popat, Kotesh Rao, Gopinath Sivasubramanian, Saku Gopinath, Praful Bora, Sharad Ravishankar (hidden), Ajay Vishwanath, Yash Bora, Siddhanth Ahuja, Swamy Yeleswarapu, Akhilesh Yeleswarapu and Raghu Vikram (who is missing since he started from Tully Stadium)

old and a second year veteran, showed tremendous improve-ment over the past year. In stated, “MS150 is an awe-some experience. It makes you push yourself to the limit. Even though it was my second year riding, I felt some jitters. The training was painful. My dad helped me by enrolling me in spin classes. Soon, I could ride 40 miles with great ease. We started in Katy at a slow pace but soon I decided to set

my own pace line. I had left the team and set off at around 22 miles per hour and soon I was at the lunch stop before 10 am. I arrived in La Grange around

1:40 pm. The second day we all left La Grange at a fast pace and before I knew I was in Bastrop. As me and Dad approached the finish line a little after noon time amongst a loud crowd, I knew that my effort had not gone to waste.”

The captain of the team, Ra-mana Anantha, said that he was honored to participate in his 5th MS-150. The MS-150 event has once again provided the oppor-tunity for families and friends to unite together to participate in an exhilarating and uplifting event.

To be part of Houston De-sis, contact Srini Kamana at [email protected] or Swamy Yeles at [email protected]


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COMMUNITYIAPAC Hosts Congressman

Al Green at India Coffee House

HOUSTON: On April 8, IAPAC held a “meet and greet” fund raising for Congressman Al Green at the India Coffee House on 5901 Hillcroft Ave., Suite C2A, Houston, Texas 77036.

Sujeeth Draksharam the current President of IAPAC, welcomed the guests and introduced the Con-gressman to the attendees and mod-erated the interactions between the Congressman and the invited guest.

Sujeeth Draksharam re-quested all attendees to give a brief self introduction.

In his talk, to a group of select do-nors and IAPAC board members, Congressman Al Green touched on topics ranging from Health-care, immigration, education, Gun control, Economic Climate and the Keystone Pipe Line project.

As expected the Congress-man was very stimulating and inspirational in his presentation and he fielded every query from the audiences very graciously.

The Congressman wrapped up his talk by stating that he is hon-ored to represent the people of the 9th District of Texas in Con-gress and he is here to help any-way possible and thanked all those who attended the event.

Aku Patel a prominent busi-nessman and owner of 22 Karat

IAPAC Board members with Congressman Al Green.

From Left: Asheet Yagnik, Roy Joseph, Congressman Al Green, David Raj and Reji Joseph.

Jewelers represented the Ma-hatma Gandhi district business-men and women group and lauded the Congressman for his yeomen service to the district.

Hor d’oeuvres were served to the guest and many guest had an opportunity to try out the pip-ing hot and delicious coffee and tea from India Coffee House.

Congressman Green was very ap-preciative of IAPAC’s initiatives and involvement in the political arena.

Special thanks was given to David Raj, owner of India Coffee House for opening his establishment for this and other IAPAC events.

This was another quality event put together by IAPAC. Brace yourself for more exciting events.

IAPAC is the political voice of the Indo American commu-nity in the Greater Houston area.

Additionally, IAPAC promotes and encourages political activities and increases political awareness in the Indo-American community.

For more information about IAPAC please visit www.iapacgh.org.

contact:

Jawahar Malhotra/Vanshika Vipinat 713-789-6397

For Advertising in Indo-American News


23 May 03, 2013

IndoAmerican News

Friday, June 10, 2011 www.indoamerican-news.com

IndoAmerican News

Friday, June 10, 2011 www.indoamerican-news.com

Businesswww.indoamerican-news.com

IndoAmerican News

STOCKS • FINANCE • SOUTH ASIAN MARKETS • TECHNOLOGY

Friday May 03, 2013

127

Why India SlowedWhy has India’s GDP growth slowed so much, from nearly 10% year-on-year in 2010-11 to 5% today?

BY RAGHURAM RAJANNEW DELHI (Live Mint): For

a country as poor as India, growth should be what the US calls a “no-brainer”. It is largely a mat-ter of providing public goods: decent governance, security of life and property, and basic infra-structure such as roads, bridges, ports, and power plants, as well as access to education and basic healthcare. Unlike many equally poor countries, India already has a strong entrepreneurial class, a reasonably large and well-edu-cated middle class, and a num-ber of world-class corporations that can be enlisted in the effort to provide these public goods.

Why, then, has India’s gross domestic product growth slowed so much, from nearly 10% year-on-year in 2010-11 to 5% to-day? Was annual growth of nearly 8% in the decade from 2002 to 2012 an aberration?

I believe that it was not, and that two important factors have come into play in the last two years.

First, India probably was not ful-ly prepared for its rapid growth in the years before the global finan-cial crisis. For example, new fac-tories and mines require land. But land is often held by small farmers or inhabited by tribal groups, who have neither clear and clean titles, nor the information and the capa-bility to deal on equal terms with a developer or a corporate acquirer. Not surprisingly, farmers and tribal groups often felt exploited as sav-vy buyers purchased their land for a pittance and re-sold it for a for-tune. And the compensation that poor farmers did receive did not go very far; having sold their primary means of earning income, they then faced a steep rise in the local cost

of living, owing to development.In short, strong growth tests

economic institutions’ capacity to cope, and India’s were found lacking. Its land titling was frag-mented, the laws governing land acquisition were archaic, and the process of re-zoning land for in-dustrial use was non-transparent.

India is a vibrant democracy, and, as the economic system failed the poor and the weak, the politi-cal system tried to compensate. Unlike in some other develop-ing economies, where the rights of farmers or tribals have never stood in the way of development, in India politicians and non-gov-ernmental organizations took up their cause. Land acquisition be-came progressively more difficult.

A similar story played out else-where. For example, the govern-ment’s inability to allocate re-sources such as mining rights or wireless spectrum in a transparent way led the courts to intervene and demand change. And, as the bureaucracy got hauled before the courts, it saw limited upside from taking decisions, despite the significant downside from not act-ing. As the bureaucracy retreated from helping businesses navi-gate India’s plethora of rules, the

required permissions and clear-ances were no longer granted.

In sum, because India’s exist-ing economic institutions could not cope with strong growth, its political checks and balances started kicking in to prevent fur-ther damage, and growth slowed.

The second reason for India’s slowdown stems from the global financial crisis. Many emerging markets that were growing strong-ly before the crisis responded by injecting substantial amounts of monetary and fiscal stimulus. For a while, as industrial countries recovered in 2010, this seemed like the right medicine. Emerg-ing markets around the world enjoyed a spectacular recovery.

But, as industrial countries, be-set by sovereign debt, fiscal and banking problems, slowed once again, the fix for emerging markets turned out to be only temporary. To offset the collapse in demand from industrial countries, they had stimulated domestic demand. But domestic demand did not call for the same goods, and the goods that were locally demanded were already in short supply before the crisis. The net result was overheat-ing—asset price booms and infla-tion across the emerging world.

In India, matters were aggra-vated by the investment slow-down that began as political op-position to unbridled development emerged. The resulting supply constraints exacerbated inflation. So, even as growth slowed, the central bank raised interest rates in order to re-balance demand and the available supply, caus-ing the economy to slow further.

To revive growth in the short run, India must improve supply, which means shifting from consumption

to investment. And it must do so by creating new, transparent in-stitutions and processes, which would limit adverse political re-action. Over the medium term, it must take an axe to the thicket of unwieldy regulations that make businesses so dependent on an ag-ile and cooperative bureaucracy.

One example of a new institution is the cabinet committee on invest-ment, which has been created to facilitate the completion of large projects. By bringing together key ministers, the committee has coordinated and accelerated deci-sion-making, and has already ap-proved tens of billions of dollars in spending in its first few meetings.

In addition to more investment, India needs less consumption and higher savings. The government has taken a first step by tightening its own budget and spending less, especially on distortionary subsi-dies. Households also need stron-ger incentives to increase finan-cial savings. New fixed-income instruments, such as inflation-indexed bonds, will help. So will lower inflation, which raises real returns on bank deposits. Lower government spending, together with tight monetary policy, is con-tributing to greater price stability.

If all goes well, India’s econo-

my should recover and return to its recent 8% average in the next couple of years. Enormous new projects are in the works to sus-tain this growth. For example, the planned Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC), a project with Japanese collaboration entailing more than $90 billion (around Rs.5 trillion) in investment, will link Delhi to Mumbai’s ports, covering an overall length of 1,483km and passing through six states. The project includes nine large industrial zones, high-speed freight lines, three ports, six air-ports, a six-lane expressway, and a 4,000 megawatts power plant.

We have already seen a sig-nificant boost to economic ac-tivity from India’s construc-tion of its highway system. The boost to jobs and growth from DMIC, linking the country’s political and financial capitals, could be significantly greater.

To the extent that democratic responses to institutional inca-pacity will contribute to stronger and more sustainable growth, India’s economic clouds have a silver lining. But if India’s poli-ticians engage in point-scoring rather than institution-building, the current slowdown may por-tend stormy weather ahead.

BSE Launches Broad-Based Islamic Index

SYDNEY (TOI): The Bom-bay Stock Exchange (BSE) has launched an Islamic eq-uity index based on the wide-measure S&P BSE 500 index, providing a new benchmark for Islamic investors in one of the world’s largest stock exchanges.

The new index comprises the largest 500 companies in the BSE, out of more than 5,000

listed, which fit Islamic finance principles such as bans on in-vesting in alcohol, tobacco and gambling-related businesses.

The country’s first Islamic in-dex was launched in 2010, also by the BSE, tracking the 50 largest and most liquid stocks. The Mumbai exchange had a total market capitalisation of $1.32 trillion as of January 2013.

To the extent that democratic responses to inst i tut ional incapacity will contribute to stronger and more sustainable growth, India’s economic clouds have a silver lining.


May 03, 201324 May 03, 201324 SPORTSPUNE (ESPN Cricinfo): Chen-

nai Super Kings continued with their formula of going at roughly a run a ball for the first 10 overs, keeping wickets in hand, and then exploding to take 10 an over off the last 10. On a pitch on which the ball seamed and bounced vari-ably, they reached 55 for 2 after 10 overs, but Suresh Raina, S Badri-nath and MS Dhoni looted 109 in the rest of the innings to set up an easy 37-run, sixth consecutive win, which kept them at the top of the table and Pune Warriors at the bottom.

With the ball seaming around, Super Kings lost their openers for 28 runs, that too thanks to gener-ous umpiring. However, out came their crisis man Badrinath, and did his job without any fuss. He and Raina added 75 off 59, with-out taking risks, and picking the rate up progressively. Raina kept providing the odd boundary, and Badrinath found the gaps for ones and twos.

It was in the 13th over that the real charge began. Badrinath drove consecutive deliveries from Rahul Sharma down the ground and through point for fours to take his strike past 100. Raina’s was

already a healthier strike rate, but he accelerated by sending Kane Richardson over midwicket for a six in the next over.

Dhoni’s Quick Knock of 45 n.o. Keeps Chennai on TopTORONTO: “Chak de phatte

goooaaalll Joffrey Lupul! Torr-ronto Maple Putayyy!” - that’s how a Punjabi commentator does play-by-play on CBC’s “Hockey Night in Canada” to win new ice hockey fans.

Hockey in Punjabi

Badrinath fell in the 16th over, but he and Super Kings will know he fell at just the right time, after just the right innings of 34 off 31.

Dhoni came out and took four and six off the first two balls he faced. The six was a demoralising - for the fielding side - punch off the back foot, over extra cover.

Dhoni then took apart Ashok Din-da, a bowler he is often criticised for not giving enough chances. He took 25 off eight Dinda’s deliver-ies, two of them swept boundaries, and one a six off the last ball of the innings. Seamlessly Raina went from being the dominant partner in the earlier partnership to taking back seat and watching Dhoni sub-due the bowlers. Along the way he brought up his second half-century of the season.

The target was bigger than ever chased in Pune, because of the seam movement available. Mohit Sharma, the Haryana fast bowler who has been the find of the season for Super Kings, utilised it to end the chase for all intents and pur-poses with an unbroken four-over spell. With successive deliveries in his first over, he got rid of Aaron Finch and T Suman. He missed the hat-trick, but got Yuvraj Singh to edge behind, making it 43 for 4 in the fifth over.

Sidharth Monga is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo

MS Dhoni scythes through the off side, Pune Warriors v Chennai Super Kings.

Adam Gilchrist has attributed the decision to drop himself as captain and player for the match against Mumbai Indians largely to team balance and the wealth of batting resources on the bench. Gilchrist, who followed the example of Mumbai Indians’ Ricky Ponting by leaving himself out of the play-ing XI, has had a lean tournament to date, managing only 94 runs in eight matches.

“Since the last few games we’ve had to think about it as a selec-tion group,” Gilchrist told IPLT20.com. “We had to look at the right balance and find the right players who were playing well and could contribute most to the team.”

Gilchrist believed that form is not an accurate representation of what has been afflicting him this tournament. “Form is a rubbish word. I have hit a lot of balls in the nets and have felt very comfort-

Out-of-Form Adam Gilchrist: “Form is a Rubbish Wordable. But that hasn’t translated to results in [the] games.”

He was also aware of the bat-ting talent on hand. “At the end of the day I haven’t contributed, and that’s no problem when you’ve got batting talent like Shaun Marsh, [Luke] Pomersbach, Da-vid Hussey and David Miller. It’s not a tough decision.”

When asked whether he had considered giving up the wicket-keeping gloves and playing solely as a batsman, Gilchrist said, “No, never, I’ve played years and years of cricket now. So for me it’s not a case of having to focus on batting because keeping is taking up time and energy. It’s part of my nature and part of who I am. If anything, I have contributed more with the gloves than with the bat this year and so I am lucky to have my keeping gloves on.”

“Dressed in a pinstriped suit with gold cuff links, a blue-and-white tie and a matching turban,” Har-narayan Singh hosts the weekly show with Punjabi analyst Bhola Chauhan, according to a New York Times report from Calgary, Alberta.

The “show that calls games in Punjabi has married Cana-da’s pastime with the sounds of the Indian subcontinent, offer-ing a glimpse at the changing face of hockey,” says the report.

Describing a game last month between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Winnipeg Jets on two televisions, reporter David Sax recalls how “Singh called the end-to-end action in an animated stream of Punjabi, punctuated with English words like ‘lines-man,’ ‘icing’ and ‘face-off.’”

Similarly “Chauhan, an Indi-an-born draftsman, writer and taxi driver wearing a cream-colored turban, read a fight-ing poem he had written based on a Punjabi style of verse.”

“The weekly Punjabi broadcast of ‘Hockey Night in Canada,’ as venerated an institution for Canadians as ‘Monday Night Football’ is for Americans, is the only NHL game called in a language other than English or French,” the Times noted.

“The broadcast marries Can-ada’s national pastime with the sounds and flavours of the Indian subcontinent, provid-ing a glimpse into the changing face of ice hockey,” it added.

Harnarayan Singh (left) and Bola Chauhan calling a hockey game in Punjabi.


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Raj Kanwar is a Dehra Dun based freelance journalist and writes columns o n c u r r e n t affairs for local and national newspapers. He

is also the author of the official history of ONGC, which is one of the top three companies in India in terms of market capitalization. Kanwar is also associated with World Oil as its Contributing Editor for South Asia.

BY RAJ KANWARIAN INDIA CORRESPONDENT

Why This Sudden Spurt in Rape Cases? INDIA

Have we sold our souls to the devil?

Delhi Police Commissioner asks, “Why should I resign? If my resignation can prevent such a depraved action of the society, then I am ready to resign a thousand times.” Pointing out at the reporters, he says, “If wrong news is published in your paper, your editor doesn’t resign.” For this police offi cer, the buck stops at the lowest rung of the hierarchy. What a shame !

NEW DELHI: Now that a dozen rape cases were reported one day last week from various parts of the country, the earlier ‘rape a day’ routine has become passé. Most news telecasts daily highlights two or more such cases. Four of the 10 Top News on a chan-nel last week was rape-related. Raping of adult women too has at present become somewhat old fashioned; raping of children and minors is the current flavour. Rape by an individual is also outdated; gang rapes are currently in vogue.

What has happened to us In-dians? Have we sold our souls to the Devil? Have we men be-come so very depraved so as to have lost all sense of proportion or even of elementary decency?

India as a country is already at the bottom rung of the ladder in so many social parameters. If this unending spate of rapes contin-ues unabated, India is certainly destined to achieve the dubious distinction of becoming the coun-try with more rapes per capita.

Why are we men become so non-chalant? Some of the recent rape cases involved inebriated ‘beasts’; however the most other rapes were committed with due deliberation by such ‘beasts’. It is rather hu-miliating to call these ‘rapists’ as men; they are even worse than the beasts. One has never seen or heard of a male animal raping a female of its own species. It would be somewhat insulting to an ani-mal if we were to use the expres-sion ‘animal instincts’ to describe the baser predilections of men; our animals have better instincts. The latest rape of a five-year old girl-child in Gandhi Nagar, Delhi by two inebriated ‘brutes’ came

like the last straw that broke the camel’s back, and brought agi-tated crowds in thousands onto Delhi main streets. This time the profile of the crowd was very different from the one that had thronged Delhi thoroughfares and landmark places such like Jantar Mantar and India Gate following the rape of a 23-year old para-medic student on 16 December, 2012. The last December’s crowds largely comprised of students and young professionals. The compo-sition last week was primarily of people from lower middle class, living in lesser colonies and even slums. Despite this demographic distinction, the two crowds were equally angry, bold and fearless.

Fuel to the fire

What had added more fuel to the fire was that the victim’s father had earlier reported her daughter as ‘missing’ but without avail. When he later went to the police station to lodge a report after the girl was found badly injured in a nearby house, the inspector concerned pleaded with him with an offer of bribe not to lodge the report or something to that effect. All this had further infuriated the crowds who vociferously demanded the suspension of the police commis-sioner, and even the resignation of the Home minister. The govern-ment’s response to these demands was characteristic; “just sit tight,

clasp hands and pray that the storm will blow over on its own.”

The police commissioner Neeraj Kumar was even more obtrusive; he decided to take the bull by the horns and told a hastily-called press conference, “why should I resign? If my resigning will pre-

vent such a depraved action of the society, then I am ready to resign a thousand times.” All this sounded and looked melodramatic. Why “a thousand times”, Mr. Police Commissioner; you just need to resign only once. It was possibly for the first time that a police com-missioner has had the temerity to publically rubbish the popular demand for his resignation. At any other time, a more respon-sible and courageous Home min-ister would have sacked him for such a public show of defiance.

Where does the buck stop?

In fact, this act of bravado by Neeraj Kumar looked more like a preemptive attempt at forestalling any possible action against him by the government. Pray, if not the police commissioner, who else is responsible for the maintenance of law and order in the country’s capital. It is indeed a paramount tragedy that no one in our country is actually held accountable for his acts of commission or omission. In any other country, ‘the buck stops at the top’ is the norm of gover-nance. The late US President Harry Truman had even put a sign on his desk saying that “the buck stops here”. In our own country late Lal Bahadur Shastri had resigned as the Railway minister on moral grounds after a gruesome rail ac-cident. But this high profile police commissioner suffers from the

usual bureaucratic trait of ‘arro-gance’ to accept culpability for any misdemeanour by his Force. This should be height of ‘impudence’ and he deserves to be suspended instantly for this act of ‘bravado’.

Police commissioner Neeraj Kumar.

Are people going mad?

Who are such ‘brutes’ respon-sible for this ongoing series of rapes that has taken the form of a scourge? By and large, many of them are migrants from distant vil-lages coming from dysfunctional families; they are either barely ed-ucated or school dropouts. They do odd jobs in the city, and stay either singly or in small groups with fel-low migrants. The other day, two Delhi High Court judges also won-dered, “Are people going mad? A five-year old has been raped… some sort of awareness is needed.” The honourable judges also asked both the Home ministry and Delhi Police to find out the ‘root cause’ of the sudden spurt in rape incidents.

“Yes, my Lords, we men have lost whatever sense of propor-tion or sensitivity we possessed, if ever.” Sociologists and psy-chologists fear that perhaps every second person has become a psy-chopath. Many of the rapists have had a prior history of violence or crime, and also suffer from abnor-malities of one or of another kind. By and large they don’t have fam-ily support. But that is no solace to the victim or her family. Psycholo-gists or sociologists have their own take on these and explain such incidents of sexual violence with their usual mumbo-jumbo. But imagine the trauma that is inflict-ed on the victim and her family. The 5-year old child was not only raped but her ‘innocence’ too was killed for ever. What a tragedy?

She can never live a normal life even if she overcomes the ordeal.

It is unfortunate but nevertheless true that our insensitivity is all-per-vasive in many other situations. In a recent road accident in a Jaipur tunnel, a family on motorbike was mowed down by a passing truck, grievously injuring the wife and son of the biker. The man and his 3-year old daughter survived. Hundreds of cars and two wheelers passed that way over the next 20 minutes but not one even stopped to help despite repeated plea by the man. Much later when the po-lice sauntered in, it came casually without even an ambulance. When the critically injured were brought to the hospital, they were already dead. Such cases happen every day in most parts of the country. How insensitive could people become?

A road accident in a Jaipur tunnel, a family on motorbike was mowed down by a passing truck.


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