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Altaf and Neelofer Ali (center) with their two daughters Sophia (left) and Aleya Ali.NATA Convention 2012

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Friday, July 06 2012 | Vol. 31, No. 27

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BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRAHOUSTON: Held this past week-

end in the George Brown Conven-tion Center downtown, the First Convention of the North Ameri-can Telegu Association brought together several thousand Telegu speaking people from across the country. Organizers had estimated that about 6,000 would attend. Many out-of-towners stayed at the adjoining Hilton of the Americas hotel and other hotels in the area in order to participate in the day-long activities geared to all age groups.

This was the first convention for NATA, a non-profit cultural orga-nization formed in 2010 in New Jersey, to serve the Telegu commu-nity in the US. NATA seeks to pro-mote community services, cultural and social activities, student assis-tance, and preserve and promote the Telugu language and heritage in the US. In January 2011, it inau-gurated its Board of Directors and president, A. V. N. Reddy. Since then, NATA has been involved in organizing events mostly in the northeast, with a few in the South. The convention represents the ef-forts and desires on the large and active Telegu community in the Greater Houston area.

And the local community ac-tivists from the Bayou City were very much involved in organizing and making the event a success at the biggest venue that the City of Houston has to offer. Some long time local Telegu community activ-ists, artists, thespians and business-men – like Ramesh Cherivurala, Harinath Medi, Mahendra Korivi, Prasad Kalva, Showri Nandagiri, Raju Vanguri and Manohar Medi to name just a few - were visibly

NATA’s First Convention Showcases Telegu-American Achievements

involved in the NATA Convention, which reportedly had a budget of over $1 million, to help recreate a Little Andhra Pradesh.

The convention started with a banquet on Friday, May 29 at the Hilton of the Americas at which awards were handed out and con-ventioneers were feted with enter-tainment by national and local art-ists and troupes. The next two days were choreographed almost down to the minute with an abundance of activities, starting with the pooja and procession at 8:45am on June 30, followed by the light-ing of the oil lamps and national anthems. Many of the large events were held in the General Assembly Hall, including introductions of the VIPs, organizers and BODs, as well many of the excellent dances by students of local Indian dance academies, some comedy skits and pop songs. A similar format followed the next day.

On both days, other breakout

groups in the rooms of the Grand Ballroom presented seminars dealing with literacy, business, medicine, information technology, literature, NRI investments, spiri-tuality, sports and women’s issues. The multitude of activities was well-coordinated and managed by a small army of dedicated volun-teers and a meticulously devel-oped schedule and organizational chart presented in the efficient program guide.

In addition to this was the huge area where a bazaar atmosphere was created with over 60 booths selling colorful products and many services, including non-profits, to the crowds which were the thick-est during the afternoons. Entrance to the bazaar area (appropriately called “MayaBazar”) was through a fabric draped tunnel with statu-ettes holding diyas on either side and was situated enroute to the adjoining dining hall for lunch, catered by Mayuri Restaurant and

next to the Grand Assembly hall. With 9 serving lines, up to 2,200 people dining hall could eat seated at tables, and at most meal times, the hall was quite packed.

The NATA convention was the second Indian event held at such a grand scale in a year (the other being the 16th Biennial Jain Con-vention held in July last year) and showcased the growing strength and unity of the Indian commu-

nity nationwide. With its impres-sive budget and organization abili-ties, the convention only showed the economical impact that Indo-Americans are having on the Bay-ou City.

For more information on the North American Telegu Associa-tion, visit www.nataus.org

See Page 12 for the list of NATA Awards 2012


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COMMUNITYBY KRISHNA GIRI

HOUSTON: Talk jewelry with Neelofer Ali and her face lights up with unbridled joy. It is this young designer’s passion that fuels Kohinoor Diamonds and has contrib-uted to the success of the company. This year heralds the 7th anniversary of the pur-veyor of premium and unique jewelry since it took residence on Hillcroft and Southwest Freeway in Little India, an area notably the stronghold of the Indo Pakistani communi-ties. It has been an exhilarating journey for Neelofer, who has garnered a faithful clien-tele and earned the trust of discerning seek-ers of premium designer jewelry in this city and many states nationwide over the past seven years. Starting July 6 until the end of the month, In celebration of it’s 7th Anniver-sary, Kohinoor Diamonds has negotiated with companies they do business with for special lower rates on jewelry, and will offer gifts that include goodie baskets with every purchase, and the latest version of iPad 3s to customers spending $3000 on merchandise.

“It’s our way of celebrating our clients for their loyal patronage,” said Neelofer, who with the support of her husband Altaf Ali, runs the tasteful 5000 square foot custom-designed showroom. “I feel very blessed because the community has been so sup-portive of our business. We have made such good friends here,” added Neelofer.

The business is constantly evolving and introducing new products. The first show-room to specialize purely in diamonds, Kohinoor Diamonds has an entire sec-tion dedicated only to bridal jewelry. The store specializes in diamond jewelry only, and they stock unusual pieces from the internationally acclaimed Diana Classic, Le Vian, Fendi, and Luca Carati collec-tions among several others. Every year the company brings in pieces from new designers from all over the world. Neelofer’s designs are enchant-ingly eye-catching and she has gained popularity for her artistry and the high qual-ity of gems and metals she incorporates into her cre-ations. Kohinoor takes the jew-elry-buying experience to a whole new level; they have the resources to create personalized pieces that are con-ceptualized and fired by the client’s imagi-nation. All customized designs have to be approved by the customer before it is struc-

tured. Kohinoor prides itself on adopting the principles that made the company Sharper Image popular; they offer a lifetime guaran-tee on every product they sell, they willingly facilitate repairs if required, and they con-tinue to nurture their relationship with the client after the sale. Repeat customers form the bedrock of Kohinoor Diamonds, said Neelofer.

“When I design, I take into account the personality, and the likes and dislikes of the client, I get to know them better. I keep

up with the current trends and make each piece exclusive. I never repeat designs ever. Today, I’m very confident and feel empowered by the validation from my clients,” added Neelofer.

The couple travels to Eu-rope, Canada and

South America for the latest

in designer conversa t ion

pieces. The store carries something for everyone,

multi-generational jewelry that would ap-

peal to mature and youth-ful clients. The business has

grown through word of mouth and intensive marketing and is a brand name in jewelry. Kohinoor Diamonds has also advertised with Indo American News since inception seven years ago. The store has been the proud recipi-ent of the Better Business Bureau Award for three years consecu-tively.

Neelofer and Ali have distin-guished themselves through their altruism. They give back to the community via phil-anthropic organizations like Daya, Indo

Kohinoor Diamonds to Celebrate 7th AnniversaryAmerican Charity Foundation, Asian Amer-ican Family Services, Ekal Vidyalaya, and the CARE foundation, to name a few. They are generous promoters of cultural events and shows by visiting artistes in the ilk of A. R. Rehman, Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan, Jagjit Singh, Kareena Kapoor, Atif Aslam, Ali Zafar, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, and Sonu Nigam, to name a select few. The exquisite Kohinoor showroom has often been the vaunted location for many private dinner gatherings hosted for movie stars, musicians and other luminaries.

Neelofer is quick to credit what she deems her excellent staff that she considers her family. Her mother passed on, and she has found a caring surrogate mother in Urmila Shah, who Neelofer regards as the back-bone of Kohinoor Diamonds. Urmilla has over 40 years of experience in the diamond business. Murad Pirani is another integral part of the hardworking and dynamic team at Kohinoor.

“Satisfaction is our motto and we have the friendliest most helpful staff. Clients compliment us on our staff. I find their re-

liability gives me the flex-ibility I need if my girls need me,” said Neelofer, a mother of two. Yoga helps the busy mother and businesswom-

an feel centered. She and Altaf took yoga classes from lumi-

naries of the ancient health science, VYASA alumni Meera and Rama Rao. Neelofer has taken the thera-peutic healing courses and is a certified in-structor with many students to her credit.

Neelofer acknowledges that she consid-ers Altaf her greatest inspiration.

“When he bought me the store, I was quite worried whether I could do it. But he taught me to think positive thoughts and to tell myself everyday, I can do it and I will,” she said. “When our daughters were younger, he wanted me to concentrate only on nur-turing them, keeping them safe, teaching them about our culture. I guess this is my reward,” she said with a smile.

To join in the 7th anniversary celebra-tions and to get the best value for money, visit Kohinoor Diamonds at 5901 Hillcroft, Suite C1 or call 713-334-8700 for more in-formation.

Photo taken during the 1st Anniversary celebrations of Kohinoor Diamonds in 2006. Photos: Krishna Giri

The business is constantly evolving and introducing new products. The first show-room to specialize purely in diamonds, Kohinoor Diamonds has an entire sec-tion dedicated only to bridal jewelry. The store specializes in diamond jewelry only, and they stock unusual pieces from the internationally acclaimed Diana Classic, Le Vian, Fendi, and Luca Carati collec-tions among several others. Every year the company brings in pieces from new designers from all over the world. Neelofer’s designs are enchant-ingly eye-catching and she has

ations. Kohinoor takes the jew-elry-buying experience to a whole new level; they have the resources to create personalized pieces that are con-ceptualized and fired by the client’s imagi-

Neelofer.

“When I design, I take into account the

South America for the latest

in designer conversa t ion

pieces. The store carries something for everyone,

multi-generational jewelry that would ap-

peal to mature and youth-ful clients. The business has

grown through word of mouth and intensive marketing and is a brand name in jewelry. Kohinoor Diamonds has also advertised with Indo American News since inception seven years ago. The store has been the proud recipi-ent of the Better Business Bureau Award for three years consecu-tively.

Neelofer and Ali have distin-guished themselves through their altruism.


July 06, 20126 July 06, 20126

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Join us for a stunning audio visual presentation and meditative fellowship featuring a selection of our Nonprofit's Fellowship Archives. Riveting imagery of India’s temples will be shared while His Holiness Swami Vidyadhishananda elucidates on the philosophical roots and spiritual depth of India’s architectural wonders. This is a rare chance to view vintage images of India from the earliest days of photography.

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COMMUNITYBY PARTH DWIVEDI

HOUSTON: Shuttles are bussing people back and forth, employees scramble to at-tend to everyone who needs help, and the lobby is filling up even more. The hustle and bustle come as no surprise to the estimated 2,000 attendees of the bi-annual convention of the Federation of Kerala Organizations in North America (FOKANA). An event two years in the making, it is held in lush fash-ion, in the impressive grand ballroom at the Crowne Plaza Hotel on Kirby Drive.

There were no shortage of distractions for G.K. Pillai, the President of FOKANA, as he explained the purpose of the organiza-tion. “FOKANA was created as an umbrella organization to bring together Malayalee throughout North America,” he said, peri-odically pausing to address other issues to ensure the execution of a lofty schedule, which started with a youth basketball tour-nament, proceeded onto the official inaugu-ration, and wrapped up with performances.

This was, however, only Day One in the four-day itinerary (June 30 through July 3) of the 15th National Convention. The convention was not without its star-power, as international singing sensation, Sharon Mathai, who gained fame in the popular singing contest The Voice 2012, shared the stage in a performance and said that she thought that FOKANA was an excellent community-building endeavor.

This was the organization’s first time in Houston, despite the presence of the fourth largest Keralite community in America in the city, because the location of the con-vention is designated by the city in which the President resides. Pillai got his start six years ago, through involvement with a local

organization under the expansive banner of FOKANA.

Seeing it as an opportunity to help with a greater cause, PillaI cited working for the betterment of the Malayalee community in North America as his primary motivation, as membership in Canada continues to grow by the year, and the conventioneers include many people from Kerala and non-North American countries. “FOKANA,” he point-ed out, “also helps with immigration issues for Keralites in North America as well as charity projects in Kerala.

Treasurer Shaji John noted their exten-sive involvement in endorsing local Indian

politicians, “Indians in America enjoy high social standing, but are not politically rep-resented by people who will look after their interests.”

John himself comes from a politically ac-tive background in Kerala in the Congress Party Students Union. He too had a similar story to Pillai, being involved in a smaller organization in New Jersey at first, before realizing a greater capacity to shape his vi-sion through FOKANA in the late 1990’s. He sees his position as an opportunity to im-prove the lives of NRI Keralites by helping them integrate with American society, thus benefitting the nation as a whole as well.

Kerala FOKANA Conference Held in Houston for the First TimeHe also sees the organization as a conduit to help NRI-Keralites gain political voice in their homeland, ultimately contributing to a global portrait of human welfare.

FOKANA also places considerable sig-nificance on the role that modern Malayalee youth play in the nation, as is demonstrated by their multiple efforts to reach out to the younger players in the Keralite community. In addition to the bi-annual convention, many smaller events are organized every two or three months, such as youth confer-ences and educational seminars.

This emphasis was echoed by Bobby Jacob, Secretary of FOKANA, “This con-ference marks a new beginning, as it is the youngest executive board in FOKANA history.” Intense efforts are being spent to create a foundation for future generations of leaders in American society, such as the performance by Sharon Mathai, youth bas-ketball event, and the numerous youth con-ferences held throughout the year.

Jacob pointed out that as young people are less involved in politics, an emphasis must be placed on the continuance of cul-ture to provide the aforementioned founda-tion. For instance, fifteen-year-old Ron-nie Kuriakose heard about FOKANA in the community—while at church, parties, etc.—and this sparked his initial interest in it, “At first I was like ‘What am I doing here?’ but eventually I started to enjoy it and have fun.” He was interrupted by a playful hand-fight with “Shaji Uncle,” which sup-ported Jacob’s view that a focus on culture fosters the involvement of young people in their community, as it furnishes them with a sense of identity.

For more information, visit www.fokana.org

FOKANA E-Board takes time out of their busy schedule for a picture


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Donate Blood. Save Lives!

BY AMY DONNELLY ASHBYTwo week ago immigrant communities all

over the United States applauded President Obama’s announcement that beginning immediately, the Department of Homeland Security would defer the removal of young people from the United States if they met certain criteria. Specifi cally, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, noted that these young people who meet the criteria will be eligible to receive deferred action for a period of two years, will be eligible to apply for work authorization and will be able to renew the deferred action after the two year period.

While this is wonderful news and very encouraging, everyone should know that, unlike the previously discussed Dream Act legislation, this initiative is not amnesty, it is not immunity and it does not give legal status or a path to resident status or citizenship. Moreover, the Department of Homeland Security has not provided any guidance on the initiative’s implementation procedures and processes. Consequently, it is very important that young people, who are not currently in removal proceedings or being detained, proceed with considerable caution.

Unfortunately, there are many unscrupulous and dishonest immigration consultants in the various immigrant communities who are already out advertising that they have special connections with immigration authorities and will prepare the documents to apply for the deferred action. Do not listen to these people, they are frauds. They will not help you; instead, they will shatter

your dreams. As mentioned above, the Department of

Homeland Security has not yet given any information or guidance on how, when or where to apply for the deferred action. So when these dishonest immigration consultants say they will prepare the documents to apply for deferred action, they are not telling the truth. As well, young people should refrain from giving personal information about their identity and whereabouts to these questionable immigration consultants as it may have very detrimental effects on them as well as their parents and other loved ones. And most importantly, based on the vitriolic statements in the news, this initiative to provide deferred action for young people may have a very short life – perhaps only until January of 2013.

So to avoid shattering your dreams, be very careful and double check any and all advice you may receive. Do not believe all the rumors you may hear. Contact your country’s Consulate to obtain the names of reputable legal counsel, as well, many universities, colleges, religious groups and some law fi rms offer free consultations to assist in clarifying rumors. So if you are not in removal proceedings or in detention, think carefully and seek competent assistance before you take any affi rmative actions to divulge personal information and proceed with caution.

The author, Amy Donnelly Ashby, is an immigration attorney with the law fi rm of Donnelly-Ashby & Nguyen, PLLC. For more information, email [email protected] or [email protected].

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BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRAHOUSTON: Imagine doing

something wild and crazy on a whim one evening and fi nding out, when you wake up the next day, that you have a tattoo that you didn’t remember getting. Or the name of the person from a relationship that went sour tattooed inside a red heart on your arm. How do you get rid of these embarrassing reminders?

“So far, it’s been extremely painful getting rid of these tattoos,” said Dr. Alpesh Desai, Director of the Houston location of Dr. Tattoff’s Clinic on 5385 Westheimer at Yorktown, which had its Grand Opening on Thursday, June 28 on a soggy, rain drenched day. He is one-half of the team which runs the clinic, the other being his younger brother Tejas, who, like Alpesh, is also a

Getting Rid of that Unwanted Tattoo is Now Much Easier at Dr. Tattoff’s Clinic

dermatologist. Both brothers have their main practice at Height’s Dermatology & Aesthetic Center.

But several years ago when both were fi nishing their residencies in California, they came across another resident who hit upon the idea of an easier way for tattoo

removal. “Dr. William Kirby came up with the concept for Dr. Tattoff for laser tattoo removal and ran with it,” added Alpesh, “and now he has four such clinics in Southern California. So, when he approached us, we decided to go for it.”

The Desai brothers opened their fi rst clinic on Preston Road in Dallas last year and nearly a year later have opened this clinic in the Galleria area in Houston. They are proud of the fact that the Dr. Tattoff’s clinics have removed 150,000 tattoos so far and have emerged as the leader in this burgeoning industry. In the process, they have created

Dr. William Kirby (center) with Dr. Tejas Desai (left) and Dr. Alpesh Desai (right) at the Grand Opening of their Dr. Tattoff Clinic in Houston. Photo: Jawahar Malhotra.

a Kirby-Desai Scale, which is becoming an industry standard, for estimating with fi ne precision, how many treatments are required to completely wipe out tattoos. And in their new, gleaming and modern clinic, they are looking forward to proving to their Houston clients just how pleasant the experience can be.


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U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara ReceivesIndia Abroad Person of the Year Award

MUMBAI: Preet Bharara -- the first Indian-American US Attor-ney for the Southern District of New York, the highest ranking In-dian-American law enforcement officer in the Diaspora ex-perience and the man who makes Wall Street tremble -- is the India Abroad Per-son of the Year 2011.

Bharara received the award at the ninth annual India Abroad Person of the Year Awards gala, a landmark event on the Indian-American commu-nity calendar.

The glittering ceremony, attended by the creme de la creme of the Diaspora and hosted by Columbia University Journalism School Professor Sreenath Sreenivasan, was held on June 29 at The Pierre, the iconic Taj-owned hotel, in New York City.

This year, a total of nine awards were presented in seven catego-ries.

The evening began with three rising stars of the community. The India Abroad Special Award for Achievement 2011 went to Major Kamaljeet Singh Kalsi -- who, resplendent in his uniform, was honoured for his service in Afghanistan, for being the first turbaned Sikh to serve in the US Army in almost three decades and being decorated with the Bronze Star, the army’s fourth-highest honour.

Captain Pratima Dharm won the honour for being the first Hindu chaplain in the US Army while Sukanya Roy was awarded for winning the 84th Scripps National Spelling Bee in 2011; she kept the desi reign at the Bee going for the fourth year running.

The India Abroad Award for Lifetime Service to the Communi-ty 2011 went to Dr Thomas Abra-ham, founder president, National Federation of Indian American Organizations and later founder president of the Global Organiza-tion of People of Indian Origin, for working tirelessly to give the Indian-American community a voice when it had none.

From celebrating the past, the evening turned its eye on the India Abroad Face of the Future 2011 -- MacArthur Genius Dr Shwetak N Patel. Earlier winners of the award, mathematician Dr Manjul Bhargava, the second-youngest full professor at Princeton Uni-versity, and Dr Priyamvada Na-tarajan, professor of astronomy and physics at Yale University, presented the award -- a historic moment that brought together three brilliant Indian-American minds.

Policy guru Neera Tanden, pres-ident of the Center for American Progress, the first Indian Ameri-

can to head a major American think-tank, won the India Abroad Publisher’s Special Awards for Ex-cellence 2011.

India Abroad Publisher and Red-

iff.com Founder, Chairman and CEO Ajit Balakrishnan presented the award, which had earlier been won by the likes of astronaut Suni-ta Williams and Pulitzer Prize-winning writers Jhumpa Lahiri and Dr Siddhartha Mukherjee.

US Secretary of State Hil-lary Clinton, with whom Tanden worked as a key aide during the former’s days as First Lady, Sena-tor and her presidential campaign, congratulated her via a video specially recorded for the India Abroad Person of the Year 2011 event. Clinton hailed the role India Abroad has played in the United States.

“India Abroad has been a voice for the Indian community in this country for decades,” Clinton said. “As that community grows larger and attains greater influence India Abroad has been there to highlight its successes and encourage greater participation. As secretary of state and throughout my career I have seen the critical role the Indian Diaspora is playing in the United States and I want to applaud that engagement and hope you will continue to be a voice for diversity, tolerance and hard work, all values that both Neera and India Abroad personify.”

After a lovely fusion dinner, combining the best culinary tra-ditions of The Pierre and the Taj group, the nearly 300 guests met the winners of the India Abroad Friend of India Award 2011.

Launched last year, the award honours an American academic, diplomat, politician or writer who has enhanced American un-derstanding of India or improved US-India relations. The winner of the first India Abroad Friend of In-dia Award was Dr Strobe Talbott, Deputy Secretary of State in the Clinton Administration and cur-rently President of the Brookings Institution.

This year the award went to the American couple who have dedi-cated their lives to teaching and writing about India at a time when not many international scholars

considered the nation im-portant.

Professors Lloyd I Ru-dolph and Susanne H Ru-dolph first visited India in 1956. They returned again and again, not because their careers revolved around the country but because they fell in love with it. Author Anita Desai -- who has thrice been shortlisted for the Booker Prize and has won India’s highest literary honour, the Sahitya Akademi Award -- was honoured with the India Abroad Lifetime Achieve-ment Award 2011. Booker Prize-winning author Sir Salman Rushdie attended the event just to salute the

legend.The evening ended with the

much-anticipated India Abroad Person of the Year Award 2011. No one needed to be told why Preet Bharara -- who has in the past year sent some of the biggest names on Wall Street to prison and nailed notorious arms traffickers like Viktor Bout, numerous drug traffickers and terrorists -- was the unanimous choice for this year’s honour.

He captivated the audience with his speech as he joined the list of luminaries that makes up the India Abroad Person of the Year roster -- then Iowa state legislator Swati Dandekar (2002), Indicorps co-founder Sonal Shah (2003), cap-tain of the silver medal-winning US gymnastic team at the Ath-ens Olympics Mohini Bhardwaj (2004), then US Congressman and current Louisiana Governor Bob-by Jindal (2005), PepsiCo Chair-person and CEO Indra Nooyi (2006), acclaimed filmmaker Mira Nair (2007), Fareed Zakaria, host of CNN’s Fareed Zakaria GPS and now editor at large of Time magazine (2008), Nobel Laureate Dr Venkatraman Ramakrishnan (2009) and South Carolina Gover-nor Nikki Haley (2010).

India’s Ambassador to the US Nirupama Rao led the guests of honour, which included among others diplomats Ambassador Vi jay Nambiar, Ambassador Hard-eep Singh Puri, Ambassador Lak-shmi Puri, Ambassador Prabhu Dayal and Manjeev Singh Puri, legendary actress Madhur Jaffrey, Oscar winner Megan Mylan, dis-tinguished dancer Astad Deboo, Natwar Gandhi, Chief Financial Officer, District of Columbia, on-cologist Dr Dattatreyudu Nori, Ju-noon helmsman Salman Ahmed, celebrity chef Floyd Cardoz, co-median Hari Kondabolou and novelist Rajesh Parameswaran.

Preet Bharara, the U.S. attorney for the southern district of New York


11 July 06, 2012 11July 06, 2012

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COMMUNITYBY CHETANA SAMAL

HOUSTON: There is no word that would describe the spontane-ity, enthusiasm, solidarity and fer-vor that the Houstonians showed while participating in just con-cluded 5th Annual Houston Rath Yatra at India House on June 30, 2012, organized by Orissa Culture Center and ISKCON.

Sun God took a backseat while Lord Indra (the rain god) decid-ed to keep the weather nice and pleasant through a downpour early morning and everything happened as it should be without a hitch. Beautiful India House came alive with the grand ‘Toran’ (gateway) at entrance to lovely welcoming alpana (decorative design) made up of colored grains of rice to the awe-inspiring pedestal from where the Lord Balabhadra, Devi Sub-hadra and Lord Jagannath blessed the devotees with their breathtak-ing aura provided by soft green and gold backdrop.

Organized to the minutest de-tails with hours and hours of ef-forts from OCC volunteers and other well wishers, countless people participated in witnessing ‘Pahandi’ as Lords were taken out from the Sanctum Sanctorum to the Chariot in a graceful swing-ing elephant like fashion as people say fondly. Amidst blowing of the conch, ghanta, kirtan and hula-huli, one could see people’s over-whelming emotions through tears of joy running wild!

Renowned academician and for-mer Director of IIT, Kharagpur, and Padmashri Prof. K. L. Chopra performed the traditional chhera pahanra (ceremonial sweeping of the road ahead of the chariot while sprinkling holy water) as the King before the chariot was pulled by the attendees.

Pulled by the devotees, the ma-jestic 22 feet Chariot, named aptly as ‘Nandighosa’ rolled out of the courtyard of India House on to the street. People continued to join throughout the evening. More than 1500+ Houstonians attended the various activities during the day and well into the evening. The security officers with the help of volunteers did an amazing job streamlining the continuous flow of people who came by cars, cabs and metro buses.

The vastness of India House appeared small and feisty as kids ran wild enjoying moonwalk, face painting and funky balloons from the artists. Many families sat together in the lawns while rest took seat under the tent where cultural line up had started for the evening, following the pulling of the chariot. At the same time, one could feel the serenity and medi-tative aura as devotees went on to the chariot with arati thali in their palms to take a close up darshan of Lords on chariot.

This year’s cultural gamut con-sisted of a wide range of selections centered on Lord Sri Ram and

Lord Sri Krishna. Through grace-ful moves of Odissi, Shipra Meh-rotra vividly played the coquettish Radha as she longed to see her be-loved Krishna.

On the other hand, Guru Ratikant Mohapatra and his disciple Mrs. Aparupa Chatterjee chose a leaf from Ramcharita Manas by Tulsi Das where a wounded Jatayu, the demi-god who has the form of a vulture, after having fought val-iantly with Ravana, the demon king apologizes to Lord Rama for not being able to save Devi Sita. As expected the brilliant performance by humble Ratikanta, the worthy son of Late Padma Bibhusan Kelu Mahapatra along with Aparupa left the audience spellbound and aptly reciprocated with a standing ovation.

Besides the Odissi maestros, the students of Supradipta Datta and Shipra Mehrotra also per-formed and displayed the passion for perfection and styles of their respective teachers. Besides danc-es, Singer Susmita Das and well known Houstonian Kashmira with their beautiful voice lightened the moods of audience.

As always kirtans by ISKCON and Naamdwar always strike the right balance while transitioning from people’s meditative mood to grasping ethos of classical dances related to stories from mythology.

OCC’s efforts were quite laud-able in bringing the best of the best artists to perform at Hous-ton Rathyatra and with this year’s repertoire, the organization has

established itself as a premiere organization for providing a plat-form where performers and culture savvy Houstonians can be brought together to appreciate the tradi-tional Indian classical art forms and inspire the next generation of Houstonians.

It was an equal pleasure to see people receiving Mahaprasad as well as volunteers serving with shraddha going with tradition as Kalasudha mataji, the awesome Emcee of the evening rightly said, “in Kaliyug only way to realize the God is respecting his Mahaprasad” and “ no one should leave without having it”. It was pretty late in the night but no one seemed to mind but all good things come to an end! I agreed with Satya Datta, last year’s event coordinator “Good that we laughed, ran, prayed, pulled, screamed, and danced with joy.”

But the Yatra never ends … OCC has just announced next year’s Rathyatra is already scheduled for July 13, 2013 at the same place - beautiful India House whose in-auguration incidentally coincided with 1st year of Houston Rath Ya-tra!!

Orissa Culture Center thanks every-one from bottom of heart for making this year’s Rathyatra a grand success and appreciates the enormous sup-port shown by all the communities of Greater Houston, and all organiza-tions & individuals who supported the event in many many ways.

For pictures and video, visit www.houstonrathyatra.org or facebook.com/houstonrathyatra

Houston Rath Yatra: The Yatra Never Ends…

Pahandi of Lord Jagannath

Yound girls enjoy the ride of the chariot with their beloved Lords as the devotees pull the chariot on the street near India House


July 06, 201212 July 06, 201212 COMMUNITYNATA 2012 Award Winners

Malireddy Srinivasulu & Syama Reddy, Chairman & CEO of IMAX, Inc., Denver, Colorado.

Lifetime Achievement Award in Business and Food Technol-ogy): Dr. Reddy is from Nellore District, in Andhra Pradesh. He has received his B.V.Sc. degree from A.P. Agricultural Univer-sity, M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in food technology, bacteriology and virology, from Iowa State University, U.S.A. with honors and distinctions. He currently serves as Chairman and President of U.S.A. based American Dairy and Food Consulting Laborato-ries, and International Media and Cultures with twelve manufactur-ing facilities in eight states.

Syama Red-dy: Syama Reddy, also from Nellore, and received B.Sc. degree from S.V.

University, and B.S. degree from Iowa State University, U.S.A. She serves as Chairman and President of Reddy Properties, a real estate holding company with properties in 10 states in U.S. and elsewhere in the world, and Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the American Dairy and Food Consult-ing Laboratories, Inc. and Interna-tional Media and Cultures Inc., of USA, which she owns along with her husband, Dr. M.S. Reddy.

JK Reddy, M.D. Lifetime Achievement Award in Medical Sci-ences: Janard-han Reddy hails from

Hanumakonda near Hyderabad. After receiving medical degree from Osmania University in 1961, he received advanced training and MD from All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi (1965) and migrated to Kansas City, USA in 1970. In a short period of six years, JK Reddy was promoted as full Professor. He moved to North-western University in Chicago in

1976 and is currently Professor of Pathology and chief of autopsy services. JK Reddy is the world authority on peroxisomes and his research has practical applications to human cholesterol and fat me-tabolism, atherosclerosis / harden-ing of blood vessels and obesity.

Guntupalli Kalpalatha, M.D. Physi-cian, Lead-ership and Service: Ka-lpalatha K. Gun tupa l l i ,

MD, is Professor and Chief, Pul-monary/Critical Care and Sleep Medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. After graduating from Osmania medical college, she migrated to USA for further studies and training at The Georgetown University and Uni-versity of Pittsburgh in the fi elds of Internal medicine, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine. Dr. Guntupalli is the fi rst woman President of the prestigious Amer-ican Association of physicians of Indian Origin (1998- 1999).

M u t h y a l a S u b h a k a r , M.D. Second G e n e r a t i o n P h y s i c i a n C h a i r m a n ,

Radiation Oncology, Scott & White Hospital, Temple, TX: Dr. Muthyala obtained his MD degree from Texas A&M University, he did residency at University of Miami, and did fellowship at Harvard. He was an Assistant Professor at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and served as chief of oncology services for various medical centers in New York area. He moved to temple, Texas in 2005 as Associate Professor and Chairman of radiation oncology in 2010. Subhakar Muthyala is the son of Bhaskar Rao and Seetha Muthyala of Houston.

P o t u Narasimha Rao, Ph.D. Can-cer Research and Service to Telugu Commu-nity Lifetime

Achievement Award: Potu Rao from Guntur obtained his degrees

Kumar An-n a v a r a p u , Ph.D. Histori-an, Writer and Journalist.: Ku-mar Annavarapu is a person of

many talents and made contribu-tions in many areas. He obtained his Ph.D. from Krishna Devaraya University, Anatapur in 1995. He is a prolific writer who published many books on the History and Culture of Telugu people. He was staff reporter for many news pa-pers including Eenadu. He is the editor and public relations special-ist of Vidya educational magazine He pioneered many courses with emphasis on topics like Success, Human Psychology & Behavior, Youth Development and Leader-ship and many more

V a n g u r i C h i t t e m Raju, Telugu L i t e r a t u r e , Culture and Arts: Dr. Vanguri Chitten

Raju was born and brought up in Kakinada. After engineering, he earned Ph.D degree in 1974 from Institute of Technology, Bombay. He immigrated to USA and settled in Houston. He worked as a post doctoral fellow at University of Houston for two years and as a research & development engineer at M.W. Kellogg R & D center for fi ve years. He is the founder and CEO of an engineering consulting & manufacturing company in 1982 which makes valve automation & custom designed control systems. Dr. Vanguri has an enduring passion for Telugu language and established Vanguri Foundation of America, Inc in 1994 in Houston and in Hyderabad in 2004.

M u t h y a l a Rama – Distin-guished Mili-tary Service : Rama Mutyala, 2005 engineer-ing graduate of University

of Houston is the son of Dr. Sa-tyanarayana and Vaidehi Mutya-la. Because of his strong urge to give back to the community and serve the country, he joined the U.S. Navy as a Civil Engineering Corps Reserve Officer. He was deployed to Iraq in 2007 where he served as a Staff Officer for Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 15. The 500 man battalion built and maintained roads, drilled water wells, complete construction proj-ects and assisted convoy security operations while in Iraq.

in agricultural sciences from Ba-patla and IARI in New Delhi. He obtained his Ph.D. from Uni-versity of Kentucky in 1963 and moved to M.D. Anderson Can-cer Center in Houston in 1970. Dr. Rao quickly rose through the ranks and became full Professor and Chief of chemotherapy divi-sion. His research interest was cancer research and directed to-wards understanding how normal cells become cancer cells.

Dr. Vinja-muri (Avasar-ala) Anasuya Devi, Singer and Com-poser Lifetime Achievement

Award: Dr. Vinjamuri Anasuya Devi is a singer, music composer, musicologist, author and expert in playing harmonium. She was the fi rst woman music composer in Andhra Pradesh, fi rst woman music director in South India, fi rst woman music composer in All In-dia Radio, fi rst to sing classical, folk and light music on radio and concert, fi rst to publish Andhra’s light and folk music in Carnatic notation. She has got her fi rst gramophone record at the age of 8 years. Born in Kakinada on May 12, 1920; has fi ve children, includ-ing Houston-based dance guru Dr. Ratna Kumar and Indo American News’ Krishna Giri.

Prabhu (Thunga S i v a p r a b h a t Reddy), Editor, J o u r n a l i s t , C o m m u n i t y leader: Thunga

Siva Prabhath Reddy popularly known as “Prabhu” is the grandson of a prominent freedom fi ghter and son of Thunga Rajagopal Reddy, a Social worker who founded News weekly called “Lawyer”. He fought many a battle against social injustice and political

corruption. Siva Prabhath Reddy also started internet edition www.lawyerteluguweekly.com which has 1,00,000 hits every week from all over the world. Prabhu actively participates in social, cultural and philanthropic activities. He is the District Convener, AIDS Awareness Program, in Nellore District and he organized public meetings and seminars in schools and colleges to create awareness among masses on AIDS control.

Agri Gold Haailand , The Theme Park and Resort, P r o m o t i n g I n d i a n

Culture, Tourism and creating employment: The Agri Group in the year 2003 established tourism projects, one at Chinnakakani – Guntur District with the name of “Agri Gold Haailand” with Buddhism theme based, the second one at Yarada – Vizag with the name of “Paradise” with Divinity based theme. Agri Gold Group also plans to introduce “Nagarika” with scientifi c theme base and “Ganesh Vanam” with spiritual theme base, at Bangalore and Tirupati cities respectively.

Samba Reddy, Ph.D. Research in Drug D i s c o v e r y :Samba Reddy is an Associate

Professor at Texas A&M University. He received his Ph.D., in Pharmacology, Panjab University, Chandigarh and obtained advanced training in Austin and also as Postdoctoral Fellow, at National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland. He is Chartered Member, NIH Study Section; Editor-in-Chief, International Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Nanotechnology; Review Editor, Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience and Delegate Member, The United States Pharmacopoeia (USP). His research interests include Epilepsy, Neurosteroids and New Drug Development. Reddy’s major research goals are to understand the molecular pathophysiology and develop translational novel therapeutic strategies for epilepsy.


13 July 06, 2012 13July 06, 2012

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July 06, 201214 July 06, 201214 DIASPORAAs the USA celebrates July 4th,

independence day, all the immi-grant, Indian Americans, a large community and a vital social force in American society are as much a part of the celebrations, having embraced this nation for many a reason. There couldn’t be a bet-ter time than that to remember a US army soldier of Indian origin, who died during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Uday Singh Taunque was born to a family with a military lineage, in Jaipur, India, on Apr 23rd 1982. Wing Commander Kartar Singh Taunque was his paternal grand-father. Kartar Singh earned the distinction of being the first mem-ber of the Indian Air Force who was also a recipient of a gallantry award for operations in Waziristan during World War 2. Retired In-dian Army Lieutenant Colonel, Preet Mahinder Singh was Uday Singh’s father.

Growing up in a military fam-ily, Uday Singh moved with his parents and lived in various mili-tary stations in India until 1994, after which he moved in to live with his paternal grandparents in Chandigarh, where he enrolled in St Stephen’s School. Uday Singh’s parents and his sister also moved to Chandigarh the following year. After completing his schooling in Chandigarh, he moved with his father and sister to the USA and

enlisted in the American Army. Uday Singh Taunque enlisted in

the American army on August 28th 2000. His initial training was in Fort Knox after which he was ap-pointed to the Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 34thArmor Regiment, and 1st Infantry division, based at Fort Riley, Kansas. His company was deployed in Kuwait from August to December 2001 where Uday Singh proved his grit and was awarded the Army Achieve-ment Medal for his meritorious services. On September 8, 2003, three years after being appointed as American military personnel, Singh’s unit was moved to Iraq.

Sadly, Singh’s life in the army was very short lived. On Dec 1,

Sergeant Uday Singh Taunque – First US Army Soldier of Indian Origin to Die in Iraq

2003, his platoon was on a recon-naissance mission in Habbaniyah, 65 miles West of Baghdad. During this mission Sigh was the gunner on the lead High Mobility Multi-purpose Wheeled Vehicle (Hum-vee). The platoon was ambushed. Faced with fire, Singh retaliated and returned fire, keeping the in-surgents down until his platoon re-ceived further reinforcements.

Unfortunately, he was shot on his head in the cross fire between this platoon and the insurgents, and died on the way to the hos-

pital. This mission resulted in the capture of several insurgents and a large collection of weapons amassed in hiding. For his act of phenomenal bravery and sacrifice on that day, Singh was honored with the Bronze Star and Purple Heart posthumously.

That fateful week, reportedly, 496 American soldiers died in Iraq and Singh was the 44th of them. He was cremated in Chandigarh, India, as per Sikh custom and ritual, and his ashes are buried at Arlington National Cemetery, Ar-lington (near Washington D.C.) Section 60, Gravesite No: 8122. Some American soldiers, known to him, attended his cremation in India. As per reports, “Six US Army pall bearers — three majors, two captains and a warrant officer — draped the coffin of Sergeant Uday Singh, with the US Stars and Stripes. Lieutenant General James Campbell later gave Uday Singh’s parents a US flag and replicas of their son’s medal.

The St Stephen School, in Chan-digarh, which is where Uday Singh did his schooling, dedicated their Annual School Magazine 2004, to his memory. A memorial has been constructed in Singh’s memory at the school.

As per reports: Uday Singh had visited his par-

ents in March 2003, and a few weeks before his death had even

mentioned in one of his letters to them, that due to an injury in his ear, his hearing had been af-fected. His father told the media that in one of his last emails, Uday Singh had told his family to have fun while he was gone to save the world. In his postscript, he asked that they pray for him. By the end of the year though, he had died in Iraq.

For the American nation, glori-ously called the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave, Ser-geant Uday Singh Taunque, gave his life and this independence day is perhaps an apt time to hear of him, know of him and salute his and his family’s sacrifice.

While liberty, freedom, and inde-pendence are terms that are highly respected and celebrated the world over, it a pity that those beautiful states of being have been earned at the cost of many lives through out human history, and yet, there are many pockets in this world that go without the experience of free-dom. The price of war continues to be paid with the lives of soldiers and still many relentlessly lead their own Operation Freedom in many countries, all over the world. In memory of the lives lost in dif-ferent wars, it is important to take a moment to be grateful for the incessant sacrifices made for this glorious celebration of indepen-dence.

Manjit Taunque (L) receives a U.S. fl ag from Army Brigadier General Mark O’Neill during the burial ceremony of U.S. Army Specialist Uday Singh at Arlington National Cemetery, January 8, 2004

Uday Singh Taunque


15 July 06, 2012 15July 06, 2012

INDO AMERICAN FRIENDS of FORT BEND S u p p o r t S o n a l B h u c h a r ' s e n d o r s e m e n t o f

R ICK MILLER Candidate, HD 26 for the July 31 runs off

• •

• •

• Rick Miller shares our community’s Values and Priorities

INDO AMERICAN FRIENDS of FORT BEND S u p p o r t S o n a l B h u c h a r ' s e n d o r s e m e n t o f

R ICK MILLER Candidate, HD 26 for the July 31 runs off

• •

• •

• Rick Miller shares our community’s Values and Priorities


July 06, 201216 July 06, 201216 COMMUNITYCMCC-1 Wins Parallinx Systems Cup

BY ROHAN BAVADEKARHOUSTON: In the finals that were

played at the India House ground on Saturday, April 28, CMCC-1 (Comrades Cricket Club) became the champions of the league by winning comprehensively against VCC (Vikings Cricket Club) by 40 runs.

Liaqat, the captain of CMCC-I won the toss and elected to bat first. The CMCC-I line-up was under pressure early on in the innings and were 48 for the loss of 5 wick-ets after 10 overs. But Ashwin and Keyur staged a recovery of sorts by putting to-gether a solid partnership of 110 runs in good time. Ashwin top-scored with 68 and was ably supported by Keyur, who made 39. CMCC-I added 122 runs in their last 15 overs to finish with a decent total

of 170-8 in their allotted 25 overs. The target of 171 proved to be too strong

a challenge for the Vikings line-up. They lost their openers early on and despite a decent partnership between Ramesh and Rohan, followed by spirited big-hitting from Prashant, the Vikings fell short by 40 runs to be all out for 130. Ashwin of CMCC-I was adjudged the MVP of the game for his superb innings of 68. Jawad Khalid, playing for the Vikings, topped the run-making charts in the tournament with 196 runs with 87 being his top score for the season. Ashutosh, playing for HOCC, topped the wicket-taking charts in the tournament with 12 wickets from 5 games. Satish, from BZCC-I, and Deep from HOCC were jointly the best fielders with 8 dismissals each.

The victorious team members of CMCC-1

Little Kids Heritage Camp Held at NamadwaarMANVEL: The Gopa Kuteeram Li’l

Gopas Summer Camp 2012, a unique 2-day summer camp for kids aged 4-8 years, was conducted by Global Organization for Di-vinity (G.O.D.) Houston, on June 23 and 24, 2012 at the Houston Namadwaar prayer house located in the Pearland area.

The camp was packed with an exciting ar-ray of activities that immersed the children in Indian culture and universal spiritual-ity in a fun and engaging manner. The kids enjoyed doing Yoga exercises, singing fun English songs on Rama and Krishna, play-ing games, creating colorful craft-flowers and pen-holders and decorating a beautiful traditional Tanjore painting with gems and sequins. They also watched a video about temples in India, learned short slokas from the scriptures, listened to stories from the Puranas, and learned to sing and dance to kirtans composed by HH Sri Sri Muralid-hara Swamiji on Lord Krishna.

At the end of the camp, the children dressed up in their traditional, colorful best, and put up a wonderful Musical-Dance

Theater performance on Krishna’s Lilas for their parents, and also showcased all that they had learned in the two days. Gifts and certificates were given away to all the chil-dren.

G.O.D. Houston has conducted summer camps for the past four years, but this was

the first one geared exclusively towards younger kids. A 6-week camp for older kids aged 9 through 15 is currently in progress. Reg-istrations are open for the second half of this camp that will be held every Wednesday from July 11-25.

The Sanskrit term ‘Gopa Ku-teeram’ refers to the play-house of Lord Krishna and the Gopas, His playmates. It signifies a place where kids have enormous fun along with, and in the presence of, the Lord. G.O.D. conducts Gopa Kuteeram camps as well as year-

round children’s programs in several cities in the USA including Atlanta, Boston, Cali-fornia Bay Area, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Michigan, Milwaukee, New York, Rich-mond and Seattle; and also in many coun-tries around the world including Australia, India, Middle-East, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and others.

In Houston, apart from creative spring and summer camps, bi-weekly Gopa Kuteeram sessions are held at Houston Namadwaar from September through April, every Satur-day morning.

For more information about Gopa Ku-teeram camps and programs in Houston, call 832-515-1251 or email [email protected].


17 July 06, 2012 17July 06, 2012ENTERTAINMENTAjay, Abhishek Talk about Their Comedy Bol Bachchan

Bollywood super heroes Ajay Devgn and Abhishek Bachchan swing into theaters across North America this Friday, July 6, with their highly-anticipated comedy BOL BACHCHAN. The Rohit Shetty-directed fi lm has earned a PG rating in the US from the MPAA making it the top Bollywood family entertainer of the summer.

Here are some excerpts from the in-teview withAjay and Abhishek about their outrageous new comedy which will set off fi reworks at the box offi ce this holiday week.

Ajay DevgnAfter the blockbuster Singham, you

are teaming up again with direc-tor Rohit Shetty in the comedy Bol Bachchan. What are audiences in store for?

Bol Bachchan is an entertaining movie. It is a Rohit Shetty fi lm. The audience will get all the things they like to watch the most in Ajay Devgn-Rohit Shetty movies. Apart from the entertaining portion, the fi lm also has outrageous jokes, drama and mind-blowing action.

Tell us more about your character Prithviraj in Bol Bachchan.

This is the fi rst time that I have played a Pehelwan (wrestler). The role has been beautifully written, and since I had never played a Pehelwan before the entire team thought it would only enhance the fi lm. It is good for an actor to keep playing different types of roles. Also, today’s audience doesn’t want to see an actor play the same role time and again. How long can you entertain the audi-ence with the same type of character? The basic idea is to entertain the audience. Now you have to decide how much entertainment you can deliver through your fi lm. We, as a team, try to give 100 percent enter-tainment. With Bol Bachchan, we will be providing 100-plus percent entertainment. I can assure you my character will entertain the audience from the beginning to the end. Yes, kids love characters like these, but who says older people don’t? This fi lm is for people of all ages and we plan to deliver the fi reworks on the big screen this summer.

Tell us about the title track and performing with Amitabh Bachchan – was this always part of the fi lm?

People associated with the project always knew this song was part of the fi lm. From the inception itself, we had decided to have this song on Amit-ji. It is just that we shot it after we completed the entire fi lm. Obvi-ously, the presence of Amit-ji, even in the song, enhances the prospects of the fi lm. The title of the fi lm is Bol Bachchan and it also has Abhishek Bachchan. So how can this fi lm be complete if we don’t have Amit-ji?

Singham released in July 2011 and now you have Bol Bachchan in July 2012. Was the timing deliberate?

People say if you deliver a big hit in a particular week, one should follow that trend. It is something we have been following for years. It is not a superstitious thing but where’s the

harm? We released Singham within a stipulated time frame. But Bol Bachchan is a bigger fi lm made on a bigger canvas. It is not a fi lm we could complete and release within a specifi c period. Luckily, we managed to fi nish the fi lm recently and thus decided to release it in July. Singham is still fresh in audiences’ minds. And let me tell you, it is not just fi lm experts who remember which fi lm released when, it is audiences too. At the end of the day, the audience decides the fate of a fi lm. If they were with you for your last fi lm, they will be with you for your next fi lm. If you give them what they want, they will stand by you. Bol Bachchan is one such fi lm, made purely for the audience and their summer entertainment.

Looking back, Rohit Shetty started his career with Zameen, which had Abhishek Bachchan and you in the lead. How was it like reuniting?

Sometimes, things just fall into place and a project happens. This was not the fi rst time Rohit thought of bringing us together. Before this, either the character didn’t suit Ab-hishek or there was another reason why we didn’t work together. But this time, with this title, we knew it had to be Abhishek. And everything worked just right. Since Abhishek and I have known each other for years, the chemistry on screen is outstanding. So many people have told me that we look good together on-screen. Real-life bonding helps on screen.

Do you think comedy and action in a fi lm will make it a success at the box offi ce?

Making a good fi lm is a safe bet at

the ticket counter. Action and com-edy always entertain but just gags and punches on a villain’s face don’t make a fi lm entertaining. You need to have a base, a good story. Yes, comedy and action enhance the fate of a fi lm.

Abhishek BachchanWe can see from the photos and

trailers that there are two of you in Bol Bachchan. How fun was that?

If my memory serves right, this is actually my fi rst ever double role. I have done fi lms in which I have had one character donning various avatars, like I did in “Bunty Aur Babli”, in which I played a con man. But “BB” is the fi rst bona fi de double role that I have done. It was an intense challenge.

Abhishek Bachchan or Abbas Ali – which character was more chal-lenging?

Both Abhishek and Abbas Ali have unique characteristics. They couldn’t overlap in any which way. Keeping the divide was diffi cult as they are poles apart. They are not identical twins with similar traits and I have lit-erally played two separate characters. If you must know, between Abhishek and Abbas, the most demanding was Rohit Shetty.

Director Rohit Shetty has enjoyed huge success. You have worked with him in his debut fi lm Zameen. What is the difference that you see in him since he directed you for the fi rst time?

I think Rohit has become more confi dent now. He is as hard work-ing and humble as he was when we were making Zameen. He is one of

the most successful directors that we have in our industry and his track record speaks for itself. He is like a machine who works for like 20 hours a day!

This is your second song with your dad after ‘Kajra re’. Are you nervous at all around him?

It is weird, but dad is the one co-star with whom I have done the maxi-mum work. We’ve done “Bunty Aur Babli”, “Sarkar”, “Kabhie Alvida Na Kehna”, “Sarkar Raj”, “Paa”, “Bbuddha Hoga Tera Baap”, “Jhoom Barabar Jhoom” and now this song in “BB”. Coming to the bit about my not being nervous around him - actually I was not nervous around him even when we did our fi rst fi lm together. It is every actor’s dream to work with Amitabh Bachchan. And dad’s greatest quality is that he puts you at ease. Being an actor and hav-ing the kind of experience he has on his side, he understands that for an actor to perform at his/her optimum, he has to be completely at ease. If there is any tension, an actor just folds up and closes in. He is aware that people get gobsmacked in front of him, so he goes out of his way to make them feel comfortable. He does it for the sake of the fi lm. Also when he is shooting a song, he likes to have a lot of fun.

How would you defi ne your style of comedy?

My style of comedy is more dead-pan and straight-faced whereas the comedy that I did in the fi lm was very demanding as a lot of energy was re-quired. We all had to keep our energy levels high all the time. It took me a week to adapt to Bol Bachchan. The fi rst one week of shooting was really tough for me. I came with a particu-lar mind-set for the fi lm and Rohit wanted something exactly opposite to it. I thought this will be the easiest fi lm to do and it turned out to be the most diffi cult fi lm of my career. I have told Ajay if the fi lm does well he has to send me on a holiday. (laughs)

Ajay Devgn said that they literally had to groom you into their style of comedy. What was that experience like?

Ajay and Rohit taught me that there is a pitch behind every fi lm and you have to match it. I cannot repeat my characters as it will not suit the script. My style of comedy was very differ-ent from what Bol Bachchan required me to do. The two literally made me unlearn what I already knew and adopt a different style of comedy which was very diffi cult for me. But I think audiences will be pleased plus we have a few surprises in store for them!

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July 06, 201218

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

CORRESPONDENTSCHICAGO: NAND KAPOOR, NEW DELHI: RAJ KANWAR

Indo American NewsFOUNDER: DR. K.L. SINDWANI

EDITOR: PRAMOD KULKARNIBUSINESS MANAGER: JAWAHAR MALHOTRA

MANAGING PARTNER: KRISHNA GIRI

COMMUNITY EDITOR: MANASI GOKHALEADMINISTRATIVE MANAGER: VANSHIKA VIPIN

GRAPHIC DESIGN: SAQIB RANACOMMUNITY CORRESPONDENT: SOWMYA NANDAKUMAR

July 06, 201218 EDITORIALShshh ... there are hardly any Indians in Costa Rica. Having

gone to this tropical idyll for a wedding, I didn’t come across any of “our people”, who were residents. We heard from one of the tourist guides that there was one Indian who was growing hogs as a business. Another guide told us of a South Asian woman who was married to a Costa Rican. Otherwise, there were no long lists of Patel, Shah or Kulkarni families listed in the phone book.

There are, of course, teeming thousands of our people in large urban centers in North America. We have our Jackson Heights in New York, Devon Street in Chicago and Hillcroft in Houston. In large offi ce complexes such as Greenway Plaza or the Chevron complex in Downtown Houston, there are familar faces at every turn. It is comforting as well as annoying at the same time.

It is fun to be abroad and be one-of-a-kind in a strange place. When I had gone to Norway at the age of 13 with my parents, the natives gawked at us. But after staying in Houston for nearly four decades, it is annoying to have to spell out ‘Pramod’ and ‘Kulkarni’ to strangers. Nothing like being in Mumbai. If you yell, “Kulkarni” on a busy street, ten people will turn around in response.

It is always this odd feeling for those of us who have left our motherland. We’re not entirely comfortable here, nor entirely comfortable there. Pramod Kulkarni

Monsoon AlertThe advance of the southwest monsoon has been disappointing,

with rainfall falling short of normal levels. Total rainfall in the country during June was 116 cm, almost a third short of the normal rainfall during the month. Rains were defi cient or scarce in most parts of the country with less than a fi fth of the land receiving nor-mal or excess rains. The region worst affected was the northwest, which includes major crop-growing states like Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana, with the monsoon almost two-thirds below normal. East and northeast India were, however, more lucky with rainfall falling just marginally short.

There is reason to hope still as June accounts for just around a fi fth of monsoon rainfall, and the defi cit can be plugged if the rains pick up in the remaining months. Good rainfall during July and August, the peak period when about three-fourths of the kharif crops are planted, will neutralise some of the impact of the initial setback. Though offi cial forecasts indicate that rains will be close to normal levels in both these months, it would be worthwhile to remain alert as some regions are likely to be more affected than the others.

The government must remain prepared to make available drought resistant seeds which prevent a complete wipeout of crops, and also to roll out relief measures in the worst affected regions. It’s a serious structural weakness of the Indian economy that despite so many advances, it still remains critically dependent on the vagaries of the monsoon. Times of India

BY KARAN THAPAR

I have to admit it was an unlikely moment for a flash of understand-ing. To be frank, I always thought revelations were more momentous. More dramatic. Mine happened on the British Airways flight from London to Washington. I was star-ing out of the window, fascinated by the cloudless azure sky and lost in reverie.

“It’s quite stunning, isn’t it?” I turned to find an airhostess at my side. “I can suggest the perfect drink to go with the view. I recom-mend a Kir Royale.”

Champagne at any time is a de-light and with a touch of crème de cassis it’s a treat. It was the per-fect choice for the moment. But more than the cocktail, what re-ally caught my attention was the thoughtfulness behind the offer. I hadn’t asked for anything and, as far as I could tell, the regular drink service for the rest of the cabin was not underway. It seemed a kindly airhostess, with a talent for the mot juste, had taken the initiative on her own.

Is this what makes service spe-cial, I asked myself? Efficiency, promptness, dedication or, even, politeness we take for granted. But thoughtfulness, consideration, per-sonal attention and, yes, old-fash-ioned kindness is something more. Something special.

In my case a caring hostess had spotted a passenger lost in thought, as he peered at the deep blue yon-der, and said to herself he should have a drink to savour this mo-ment. And then she came up with a winner.

Now I’m not the sort of person who lingers over such reflections for long but the next two days in Washington kept bringing back the same thought. And it was Ameri-ca’s deliberate, some would say ar-tificial, verbal courtesy that did it.

It’s this business of ‘have a good day’. In some shape or form every American seems to say it. When you leave your hotel the doorman wishes you a good day. When you return he asks if you’ve had one. When you pay your taxi fare, or the bill at the restaurant, or sim-

ply pick up your groceries ‘have a good day’ is the thought with which you are sent on your way. Even when its miserable and pour-ing you’ll be wished a good day!

If you’re phlegmatic and insular this could feel intrusive, even unc-tuous and hypocritical. After all, you ask yourself, do they really mean it? Do they really care? On top of that the bright bonny cheer-fulness of the American-accented delivery makes it seem saccharine sweet.

In contrast, the surly grunt of an English (or Indian) shopkeeper, who’s only too happy to see you leave, seems more honest and real. Or so I used to think.

But give yourself a day to get used to American courtesy and you’ll discover it makes human encounters easier, even a little nicer. It’s like someone saying “you’re welcome” in response to your thank you. It just feels nice.

American courtesy may not al-ways be sincere — how could it be? — but it does make you feel good. It’s better than silence and far preferable to surliness. And

America’s Crème de KindnessHere, There and Everywhereeven the broad, cheesy smile or the silly lilting voice is cheerful and uplifting.

Like the airhostess on the Brit-ish Airways plane, the intention behind this verbal courtesy is to cheer you up. To make you feel special. And, often, even if not al-ways, it works.

Maybe the Americans overdo it – which the airhostess did not — but I’d rather that than the oppo-site. HTGive yourself a day to

get used to American courtesy and you’ll discover it makes human encounters easier, even a little nicer. It’s like someone saying “you’re welcome” in response to your thank you. It just feels nice.

Beware of Out-of-Town Non-profi ts

Dear Editor:One lesson to be learnt from Dr.

K.T. Shah versus Akshaya Patra episode is: Beware of the out-of- town non-profits who come to Houston to raise money using gullible volunteers and wannabe leaders.

As it so often happens, once the money leaves Houston, there is no accountability. Imagine, if only a fraction of all the millions of dol-lars raised in Houston each year, had been ploughed back into the community, how much better off some of our community organiza-tions would be, who are struggling to raise money.

For example, India House would have paid off its capital loan and embarked on its Phase-II expan-sion. Foundation for India Stud-ies (FIS) would have created a permanent endowment for Indian Studies and organizations such as India Culture Center (ICC), Daya and Indo-American Charity Foun-dation would have become fund-ing agencies themselves like the Houston Endowment and United Way.

After all, shouldn’t our charity begin at home?

Krishna VavilalaHouston, Texas

Indo-American News welcomes feedback from its readers. Please provide your name, address and either telephone number or email address.

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Indian Americans Lead Asians in Income, Education in US: SurveyWASHINGTON (TOI): Asian

Americans are the highest-income, best-educated and fastest-growing racial group in the US with Indian Americans leading them all in their levels of income and education, ac-cording to a new survey.

Seven in 10 Indian-American adults ages 25 and older have a college degree, compared with about half of Americans of Korean, Chinese, Filipino and Japanese an-cestry, and about a quarter of Viet-namese Americans. Indians also have the highest median household income of $88,000 . Asians as a whole have a median household income of $66,000 compared with the US median of $49,800.

On the other side of the socio-economic ledger, Americans with Korean, Vietnamese, Chinese and “other US Asian” origins have a higher poverty rate than does the US general public, while those with Indian, Japanese and Filipino origins have lower rates. More than seven in 10 Japanese and two-thirds of Filipinos live in the West, compared with fewer than half of Chinese, Viet-namese and Koreans, and only about a quarter of Indians. Japanese and Filipino Americans are the most ac-cepting of interracial and intergroup marriage; Koreans, Vietnamese and Indians are less comfortable.

Pew survey found that about half of all Korean and Indian immigrants

who received green cards in 2011 got them on the basis of employer sponsorship.

Compared with the general pub-lic, Asian Americans are more likely to support an activist government and less likely to identify as Republi-cans. Indian Americans are the most heavily Democratic Asian subgroup (65 percent), while Filipino Ameri-cans and Vietnamese Americans are the most evenly split between the two parties. US President Barack Obama gets higher ratings from Asian Americans than from the general public: 54 percent approve of the way he is handling his job compared with 44 percent of the general public, the survey found.

BY PARTH DWIVEDIHOUSTON: The sun shone

brightly, but it was not hot outside. It was just the perfect setting to be viewing a fi fteen-foot tall golden-yellow ratha, or “chariot,” created to escort a god. Indeed, the ratha was intended to escort Lord Jagannath, Subhadra, and Balabhadra. This was the fi rst time that Bahuda Yatra, or “Return Festival,” had ever been celebrated in Houston, and the occasion was marked at Durga Bari of Greater Houston this past Saturday—not to be confused with the Ratha Yatra celebrated at India House simultaneously.

The event was made to bring a piece of the age-old festival held annually in Puri, Orissa closer to home. The Bahuda Yatra follows the Ratha Yatra, an event when Jagannath and his companions are pulled in chariots to the famous Gundicha Mandir. Bahuda Yatra is the return trip of the Gods to the Jagannath Temple. Traditionally, this is held nine days after the Ratha Yatra with a stop at Mausi Maa Mandir along the way, but this event was celebrated seven days afterward, on the following Saturday, for the convenience of devotees. (The outgoing Rath Yatra was celebrated at the Durga Bari two Saturdays ago, see IAN dated June 29)

Surya Sahoo of SKAI Foundation, who sponsored the event spoke of future plans, “Chaar

Bahuda Yatra is the First of Its Kind in Houston

Dhaam Temple in The Woodlands will also host both Ratha Yatra and Bahuda Yatra next year to facilitate participation throughout the city.” Chaar Dhaam Temple is another project sponsored by SKAI Foundation, which is in the fi nal stages of opening. Sahoo insists that the purpose of SKAI Foundation is the promotion of culture and unity amongst Hindus and non-Hindus alike, as evidenced by the interfaith and non-discriminatory nature of the Ratha Yatra and Bahuda Yatra.

A torrential downpour immediately before the event led to a smaller turnout, but after the rain stopped the celebratation went on as scheduled. Regardless, there was no shortage of enthusiasm on the part of those present, and it certainly did not stop the world-renowned singer, Abhijit, from making an appearance either.

“Being a quickly assembled

event, next year will promise a much grander scale,” said organizer Partha Mohanty. “We will make the rathas bigger and we will cook poda pithas.” Poda pithas are a dish commonly associated with the Ratha Yatra, as they are said to be the favorite of Lord Jagannath.

Mohanty is also planning on adding in two rathas for Subhadra and Balabadra, who would normally have their own, as well as including the suna pesha, in which the murtis, or statues, are decked in gold and jewelry. Attendance is expected to increase by fi ve times and the ratha-pulling will be conducted on Schiller Road itself, immediately in front of Durga Bari, instead of in the parking lot as it was celebrated this year. This would necessitate acquiring permission from the City of Houston, but Mohanty said he is planning to arrange for it.


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BY SOMINI SENGUPTAMILPITAS, CALIFORNIA

(NYT) .:The table tennis club was built by Indian immigrants who made their fortunes in Silicon Valley. Its coaches were imported from around the world. And its star players were born to immigrant parents from China and Taiwan.

This year, it will send three players to represent the United States in table tennis in the 2012 Olympic Games in London: Lily Zhang, 15; Timothy Wang, 20; and Ariel Hsing, 16. All three teenagers trained here, in a nondescript warehouse, sandwiched between a strip mall and a trailer park, known as the India Community Center Table Tennis Center.

Almost overnight, the club has be-come an unlikely incubator for talent. Of the four American players who have qualifi ed for the 2012 Olympics, only one is not from the I.C.C.: Erica Wu, who is from the Southern Cali-fornia town of Arcadia.

On a warm Wednesday evening, the club’s parking lot steadily fi lled up with minivans. Inside, the ping-pong refrain of ball against paddle echoed off the walls. Youngsters sparred with coaches. Mothers and fathers watched from the sidelines. A teenage girl, mouth full of braces, reviewed algebra in a side room, as she waited for her mother to pick her up.

In one corner of the club, against a white wall plastered with a giant United States fl ag, the three Olympi-ans posed for pictures. The center’s director, Rajul Sheth, was busy fi xing a paddle for them to sign; it would be presented to President Obama the next morning at a campaign fund-raiser for Asian-Americans.

Short, chatty, quick on his feet, Sheth came to the United States more than a decade ago to study mechanical engineering. His passion for the game got in the way. As a younger man, he had played for India’s national table tennis team, and among the young-sters who came to play recreation-ally at the community center’s main campus, a few blocks south, he saw glimpses of talent and drive.

In 2008, a dedicated table tennis center was born. By then Sheth had given up engineering to become its director and set his sights on the 2012 Games. He equipped the club with tables identical to those used in Olympic qualifying matches. Same with the lighting and the fl ooring. To prepare female players to compete against an accomplished “chopper” from Canada — someone who plays defensively and strikes the ball at a distance from the table — he hired a coach who specialized in chops.

Most recently, he persuaded a for-mer coach for the Italian Olympic team, Massimo Costantini, 54, to take over as head coach. Six other coaches are here on special work visas, three each from India and China.

But Sheth’s greatest asset are the parents. For them, table tennis is no ordinary extracurricular activity. It is nostalgia, a symbol of childhood —

and home. Hsing’s mother played for her

school team in Taiwan, and family lore includes the story of how she once had to borrow white shoes from her grandmother to play in a tourna-ment.

Wang’s father played in Taiwan, too, before he arrived in the United States and went to work as a stock-broker in Houston.

Zhang’s father represented his lo-cal county in the Xi’an Province of China. One of her fi rst memories of table tennis is watching her parents playing a game in the laundry room of the faculty apartments at Stanford University in Palo Alto, where her father taught math. Their clothes spun in the dryer. Zhang was a toddler at the time.

By age 5, she was hitting the ball. By 10, she was on the national cadet team. By 12, she was taking lessons at the table tennis center. The schedule was grueling: 7 to 9 p.m. every week-night and more than four hours each day on weekends. It still is. English papers are written late into the night. Tournaments eat up several days of school.

The club has 145 youngsters in training, ages 6 to 17. Sheth is already planning for the 2016 Olympics — even, for 2020.

Wang’s training began at age 4. They propped him up on a cardboard box and placed him at one end of the table, while a machine spat out balls from the other end. Both his parents, Sam and Sue Wang, played table ten-nis for fun. His two older brothers did, too. The Ping Pong table was in their

California’s India Community Center: An Unlikely Incubator of Olympic Talent

Three players from the India Community Center Table Tennis Center made the United States Olympic team.

Ariel Hsing trained at the same community center in Milpitas, Ca-lif., as two of her other Olympic teammates.

garage, at home in Houston. He gave up playing for a few years

(table tennis was uncool for a teen-ager in Houston) and was gently nudged back when he was in high school by his father. Suddenly, he started winning tournaments — and falling in love with the game.

Costantini, the coach at the com-munity center, spotted him when he came to play a tournament in 2010. The club persuaded him to stay. It paid for lessons and arranged for him to stay at a guesthouse nearby. The gamble paid off: Wang qualifi ed as the only man to represent the United States in table tennis in London this summer.

The I.C.C. caters to a variety of players, many with no stomach for serious competition. Paula West, 52, who had not played since she was in high school in her native Jamaica, recently signed up for lessons.

“I got married. I had kids, had a profession,” she said. “I never had a chance to play.”

Shreyas Chandra, 11, sprinted to his father, Vinod, and said, “Dad, I’m playing,”

His father nodded. “He needs my full attention and support,” he said. Vinod Chandra played for fun while he was in college in Bangalore, India. Now he plays with his son in their garage in nearby Fremont. He fi rst signed up Shreyas for group lessons. But the boy got into the game and per-suaded his father, who works for an asset management fi rm, that private classes were a better investment.

Timothy Wang’s training began at age 4. “Our whole family played,” he said. “Ever since I can remem-ber we’ve been playing.”


21 July 06, 2012 21July 06, 2012

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BUSINESS INDIAFrisbee Gains Popularity in India Despite Cricket Dominance

BY ANKITA RAOThe Frisbee is not native to India. It does not

engender the obsession of cricket or beckon the roaring fans of soccer. It is not steeped in the culture like kabaddi or popularized in social clubs like squash.

But the ubiquitous disc of childhood is mak-ing waves in India in the sport of Ultimate. With at least 30 teams nationwide, India is following in the footsteps of the United States, Europe and Japan in taking the disc past picnics and college to clubs like the American Ultimate Disc League, which hosts sponsored teams of players beyond the college level.

This summer, hundreds of players will travel to the Bangalore Ultimate Open for the larg-est tournament ever held in India. Teams like Delhi’s Stray Dogs in Sweaters and Auroville’s Spinergy will fi eld men and women players at the Kanteerava Stadium during the fi rst week-end of July.

And the sport’s reach is not limited to the fi eld. Ultimate has taken its fi rst steps into mainstream Indian pop culture, most recently in the Telugu-language fi lm “Love Failure,” where the lead character, played by the actor Siddharth, chooses Ultimate practice over a phone call with his girlfriend.

“It has fi nally become sustainable,” said Manu Karan, head of Chennai Ultimate, the biggest club in India, which oversees nine in-dependent teams.

Karan is widely credited with popularizing Ultimate in India. After living in the United States for fi ve years and playing Ultimate with a University of Colorado team, he started to teach the game to his peers when he returned in 2007.

Karan heard of two groups in India who had picked up the sport – a few expatriate players in Delhi and members of Indicorps, a develop-ment-centered service program in Ahmedabad (full disclosure: I was an Indicorps fellow in 2010). The teams met and had their fi rst offi cial tournament in November 2007.

Five years later, there are at least 500 players across India, not counting the schools and com-munities that have recently adopted the sport. The Chennai club itself has over 240 people on nine teams that often practice on the beach in the coastal city. And the Kodaikanal Interna-tional School has become a hub for hosting and participating in tournaments.

“There are a lot more people than there were two years ago, but we still have a long way to go,” said P.N. Raju, a sports management professional who played for Hyderabad’s team, Dishquiya.

While the culture of Ultimate in India has been close-knit and casual, there is friction between

the Flying Disc Federation of India, the offi cial governing body of the sport, and many of the established Ultimate teams.

Raju said the federation had little understand-ing of the Ultimate game or how to develop the sport. He and several team captains including Karan have teamed up to create an alternative organization, the Ultimate Players Association of India.

An offi cial from the federation dismissed the criticism. “We are already working with the government. We don’t need another group,” said J.K. Khodadhra, vice president of the Fly-ing Disc Federation of India.

Khodadhra said there are basic reasons the sport has become increasingly attractive to young people in India. The game requires little equipment and can be played at little cost, and the skills are easy to learn but challenging to master. Ultimate is also played without referees, so players are asked to admit their own fouls or errors.

And despite disagreement between organiz-ing groups, Ultimate is known to be a game that promotes confl ict resolution. The core compo-nent, called “Spirit of the Game,” guides the central idea of Ultimate: that it should be played with respect, good humor and proper sports-manship. Teams are rewarded at tournaments for good “spirit” just as they are for goals.

Chandrachud Basavaraj, who has played in Mumbai and Bangalore, said he and his friends approached a team in Mumbai to learn the game after reading about the team on the Brown Paper

Bag blog.“It’s physically demand-

ing, but you also have to be patient, calm and smart with the game,” he said.

Karan said competing teams are required to in-clude both women and men, so Ultimate could also play a role in creating a gender balance in sports. The current regulation for tournaments requires at least a 5-to-2 ratio of men to women.

“It’s hard to get women to play, but co-ed is the only way to grow the sport,” Karan said.

The Ultimate attitude of inclusion in both gender and background is part of why charities and schools are using the sport to ad-dress educational issues in local communities.

In Chennai, a nonprofi t group called Pudiyador is working to include children from beachside slums in an Ultimate team. Fellows from organiza-tions like Indicorps and the Gandhi Fellowship

have introduced Ultimate to their communities as a means of confl ict resolution, team building and community involvement.

“You’re training children to play, but also inspiring them to become a team and take leadership roles in their own community,” said Rahul Brahmbatt, a former Indicorps member who worked alongside the organization’s Jai-dip Patel to implement a city-wide Ultimate program.

Karan said shifting the game from the hands of the original instructors to younger players in communities will be the key to the future of Ultimate in India. And with schools adopting the sport, and Indian actors throwing discs on screen, he has no doubt the sport will continue to grow.

“My dream was to be able to fi nd a pickup game in Chennai at any time I wanted, and that has come true,” he said. “I’d like for Ultimate to eventually become like cricket.”

New York TimesPlayers during an “Ultimate Delhight” tournament match at the Tau Devi Lal Stadium in Gurgaon, on the outskirts of Delhi, November, 2011. Courtesy of Delhi Ultimate

A member of Chennai Ultimate plays frisbee with a child from an underprivileged family. Photo: Manu Karan


July 06, 201222 July 06, 201222 HOROSCOPE

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Life may seem stable now; at least as the week begins it will. But, remember that the changes are inevitable. And, these changes can turn out to

be intense learning experiences. Your recently developed open-mindedness and a philosophi-cal approach towards such issues in life may now open doors to greater understanding. But it all depends on your capacity to deal with these changes, and how you make the most of a transitional phase. This week, your interest and inclination may be towards spiritual pursuits.

TAURUS Apr 21 - May 21:

The ambitious Bulls are likely to shift gears this week, and shall now focus only on their goals. Parties, hanging

around with friends, socialising shall not appeal to you any-more. You would rather employ your time and energy for the right reasons, and that shall be your career for now. In business, you are likely to rope in more investments and chalk out expansion plans. Along with profes-sional commitments, you may also concentrate on your domestic responsibilities and spend some quality time with family.

GEMINI May 22 - Jun 21:

You are probably dealing with a lot many things and, quite understandably, han-dling the pressure is likely to be a task in itself. At work,

there may be some agitation against you, per-haps because of your own unpleasant behav-iour in the past. Keep a check on your temper. Moreover, there may be a number of activities happening right under your nose, of which you would be unaware. On the personal front, you’d not want to follow social rules and norms. You would wish to enjoy new and exciting thrills that life has to offer. But, this may turn out to be frustrating and a sheer waste of time and energy.

CANCER Jun 22 - Jul 23: You will climb the ladder of success and no plan, no calculation would misfi re now! Your life has become a superb blend of luck and

hard-work. And, that’s an amazing situation to be. However, if critics abound, and you cross paths with people waiting to pull you down, don’t buckle down. Do not pay heed to their comments. In fact, it is such a positive phase that any such negative situation won’t affect you.

LEO July 24 - Aug 23: The advantageous phase for

Lions shall continue during the week ahead. You will continue to strike a fi ne balance between work and domestic life. This

week, the focus shall shift to your personal and professional relations. You may interact with a lot many people, and there’s a likelihood of you meeting someone special during the course of one of such social meetings. This is a favourable period to get engaged or even tie the nuptial knot.

VIRGO Aug 24 - Sep 23: Last week may have been a

strenuous period for you. But given the Virgin resilience, it is likely that you’ll continue unabated. Failures are often

the greatest teachers, and it may prove so very right in your case. However, the growth also depends on how receptive and positive you are, and how you deal with the challenges. It

is a very good time to begin new endeavours, as success is guaranteed. Do shift your focus somewhat from the material pursuits to spiritual enlightenment.

LIBRA Sep 24 - Oct 23: You’re all set to conquer

the world! It’s not that you are building castles in the air, though. In fact, all your dreams look set to be realistic and achievable. The progress

you’d make during this period shall have a long period impact on your life. Apart from the mate-rial progress, you would also focus on spiritual pursuits now.

SCORPIO Oct 24 - Nov 22:

Dynamic and resourceful, you are likely to be back on the track and move forward towards your goals. Money

has always been important to you, but now it would mean even more important. As a result, you will try and fi nd out ways to earn an extra buck. Those associated with media are likely to experience signifi cant success during the week ahead. Moreover, your professional and social network and visits to various places are going to make a noticeable change in your life.

SAGITTARIUS Nov 23 - Dec 22:

It is a progressive period for the Archers. Be ready to pull up your socks, work hard and gain rewards both in cash and perks for your perseverance

and patience. If there has recently been a cause of concern, either on the professional or the personal front, it is likely to come to an end dur-ing the week ahead. Also, the wonderful rapport you share with your family members, friends, colleagues, neighbours, peers and superiors shall be a testimony to your public relation skills, friendly nature and positive outlook.

CAPRICORN Dec 23 - Jan 20: Along with progress and prosperity, you are likely to achieve greater heights at the spiritual level. This can be attributed to

the full moon, which is in your Sign right now. However, you will not put fi nancial matters aside. There may be issues, such as budgeting and allocation of funds, which may need you immediate attention. You are likely to change your work around this time. There may be an addition or two in the family as well.

AQUARIUS Jan 21 - Feb 19: You may be practically brimming with energy and enthusiasm. Also, now is the time when you’ll be

able to put your expansion plans into action. However, you need to think twice before arriving at any crucial affi rmations. Being impulsive and impatient may prove to be a very risky proposition.Travelling is on the cards.

PISCES Feb 20-Mar 20: Your confi dence levels are surging, and that shall be quite noticeable now. You also understand that running away from problems in

fact makes them worse. Taking the bull by the horns approach is what you’ll swear by. Finance and property related matters may also catch your attention. This is a transitional phase for you, and it’s good that you are ready to go with fl ow without making much fuss.


23 July 06, 2012 23July 06, 2012

OPINION

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Bottle Gourd Kofta Curry (Lauki/Ghiya Kofta Curry)Bottle Gourd (Indian Name

Lauki/Ghiya/Doodhi) is a light green squash used in a variety of ways. It is eaten fried, boiled, cooked in curries and also used to make dessert called Halwa.

Kofta’s made of Bottle Gourd are very soft and moist. They taste delicious when they soak up all the fl avors and spices from the curry.

Ingredients:For Kofta: 1 Bottle Gourd

(Medium Sized)8 Tbsp of Besan

( Chick Pea Flour)1/2 Tsp Ajwain 1 Tsp Salt1/2 Tsp Red Chilli Powder1 Tbsp Yogurt Oil- To fry Kofta’s

For Curry1 Onion (Finely Chopped)2 Tomatoes (Finely Chopped)2 Green Chillies (Chopped)1/2 Tsp Finely Chopped or

Grated Ginger1 small pinch of Asafoetida1/2 Tsp Cumin Seeds1/4 Tsp Garam Masala1/2 Tsp Turmeric Powder1/2 Tsp Coriander Powder

Salt and Red Chilli Powder- To Taste

2 Tbsp Oil 2 Cups Water

Method:

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the Bottle Gourd in a bowl.2. Add Besan, Ajwain, Salt and

Red Chilli Powder. Mix well. Stir in 1 Tbsp of Yogurt. (Remember, we don’t need to add any water to this paste)

3. Heat Oil in a Kadhai (Deep Frying Pan) and using a round spoon, drop balls of mixture slowly in the oil. Fry until golden brown from both sides.

4. Take out on a paper towel to drain excess oil.

Making Curry:1. Heat Oil in a pan. Add the

pinch of Asafoetida and then quickly add cumin seeds. As soon as cumin seeds change color, add the Ginger and Green Chillies and

stir for 15 seconds.2. Add the chopped oniions

now and stir fry until slightly brown and tender.

3. Now add the chopped tomatoes and let them until tender while stirring in between.

4. Mix in all the dry spices now and let the mixture cook until the oil starts to separate from the sides.

5. Add 2 cups of water to the mixture, stir and let the water come to a boil.

6. Once its boiled, add in the prepared Koftas and let the curry cook on medium fl ame for 10-15 minutes. Carefully stir in between making sure you don’t break Koftas as they are going to be very soft.

Garnish with Coriander leaves and Serve hot with Chapattis or

Paranthas.


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STOCKS • FINANCE • SOUTH ASIAN MARKETS • TECHNOLOGY

Friday July 06, 2012

127

BY GOPAL SATHE

BANGALORE (Mint): Gaming app developers in India are seeing a boom, with high downloads both in India and around the world. While Indian developers have long been used for outsourcing in con-sole games, the app economy is enabling them to make their own and many have been successful.

In the first week of June, Park-ing Frenzy 2.0 by Mumbai-based Games2Win was the top app in the US App Store. In April, Word-sWorth HD by Karnataka-based Robosoft Technology launched to five-star reviews on the App Store, and is still one of the top games in the “Word Game” category.

Meanwhile, Jump Games India and UTV Indiagames (taken over by Disney in October) have both seen multiple gaming apps down-loaded over a million times on the Nokia Store (formerly known as the Ovi Store).

Why are Indian gaming apps succeeding when Indian PC games didn’t? Alok Kejriwal, owner and founder of the 2win group and CEO and co-founder of Games2Win, says Indian stu-dios operate at the cost of an inde-pendent developer in the US. He says, “In India, a quality person will cost around $2,000 (around Rs 1.11 lakh) per month, while a person with the same skills would cost me $2,000-15,000 in the US. We can have a game for around Rs 10 lakh, versus Rs 55 lakh in the US.”

An Indian studio can make more games for the same money, giving it a better chance of landing a hit. Even premium games are easier to make in India, says Vishal Gondal, managing director, digital, Disney UTV (formerly Indiagames). “If you’re looking at premium game-

play intricacies, it can go up to Rs 1 crore with a 20-person team,” he says. The cost would be signifi-cantly higher abroad.

Indian developers operate in the middle ground between indepen-dent developers and the big stu-dios in the US. As a result, smaller studios in the US are finding it harder to make a profit.

Consider Rod Green and Yeong-Hao Han’s iPad game Brainsss, which they released through their independent studio, Lonely Few. The two made a beautiful and en-joyable game that really stood out in the App Store.

But while they got a lot of posi-tive press and were featured by Apple, they still weren’t able to make a reasonable profit.

In an email, Green explains, “We

decided to survive on our savings to make Brainsss.” The game cost Lonely Few $20,000 to make; a reasonable figure for the quality of the game. He continues, “(Cheap) games like Angry Birds are actu-ally the exception, so we felt we were on the mark.” Unfortunately, Lonely Few saw a return of only around $31,000.

An Indian developer can release five simple games for the same amount of money, and look to gen-erate better returns across all the games, even if some fare badly.

The other reason is that mobile games are less complex than con-sole games.

Rohith Bhat, managing director and CEO, Robosoft Technolo-gies, says, “At Robosoft, we have worked on some of the top video-

game titles. We’ve had experience with Tomb Raider, LEGO Star Wars II and Fables. However, we were just one of many firms who worked on those games.” On the other hand, a game like Robosoft’s WordsWorth is a lot simpler.

Kejriwal says, “Parking Frenzy 2.0, the app that went to the top of the App Store, looks like shit. Honestly, the art is terrible—the roads are a muddy brown and the cars don’t look good either. But the game is really good.”

Chaitanya Prabhu, Mumbai-based business head of Jump Games, adds: “Mobile games are short, simple experiences. You have to make a good game, and not overwhelm the user with com-plexity.”

The dive for simplicity also makes it easier to work without a game designer—someone who works out all the complex interac-tions, the rules of the game.

“Few game designers are avail-able in India. The rest of the work is technical work and for that we have a lot of good people. So we’re hiring designers in the US,” Kejriwal says.

Gondal agrees, but adds: “Right now, we are 6 out of 10 in de-sign skills. There are some good people, but it’s a small pool. How-ever, gaming is catching on, and I believe that in the next 5-10 years, we’ll have the quality people we need.”

This simpler gameplay and art of mobile games, combined with the lower cost of development in India, puts us in the Goldilocks zone and this could in turn, in a few years, create a pool of skilled designers and developers who will bring India on to the global game development scene.

Alok Kejriwal’s Parking Frenzy is the top app in the U.S. app store. Vishal Gondal’s cricket app builds on the IPL Cricket Fever.

Indian Gaming App Developers Gaining in World Markets MUMBAI: Chocolate con-

sumption in India has nearly trebled since 2005, which is the reason why leading choco-late companies are investing in bringing premium brands such as Toblerone.

Cadbury India, which has been on an overdrive to pro-mote its premium brands such as Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk and Bournville, is now roll-ing out Toblerone from parent Kraft Foods’ stable.

The per capita consump-tion of chocolates in India, according to Chandramouli Venkatesan, director (snack-ing & strategy), Cadbury In-dia, has increased from 40gm per person per year in 2005 to 110-120gm. While this is a sig-nificant jump in consumption, it is still very nascent, leaving enough room for growth.

An analysis by The Boston Consulting Group suggests that food is the largest consumption category in India, in which a trading-up tendency increases with rising income levels.

“With rising income levels, consumers demonstrate higher propensity to trade up, such as, buy higher-quality, packaged, branded and more expensive food and grocery products,” the report said. Chocolates form a Rs 3,200-crore category, where Cadbury India has a 70% share while around 20% is held by Nestle India.

Chocolate Frenzy


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COLUMBIA, S.C. -- South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley did not use her office for personal gain while serving as a state representative from Lexington Coun-ty, the South Carolina House Ethics Commit-tee ruled Friday.

The committee weighed seven allega-tions against Haley that included illegally lob-bying for her employers and using her office to pressure lobbyists and their clients for dona-tions to a foundation where she worked.

The committee vote was nearly unanimous to dismiss all the charg-es.

Rep. Laurie Funder-burk, the sole Democrat on the committee, voted against dismiss-ing a complaint that Haley made a false or misleading statement on an economic disclosure form. The committee has asked Haley to make one wording adjustment to one of her economic interest state-ments.

“It’s just a shame that our judicial and legislative bodies have had to waste so much of their time on phony political charges that never had any evidence behind them or

any basis in fact,” Haley said in a statement.

This is the second time the com-mittee composed of Haley’s for-mer colleagues have cleared the governor in the case.

Members found probable cause of a violation in early May but voted to close the case after rul-ing no other further investigation was warranted. They reopened the probe weeks later after request-ing more employment documents from Haley.

The committee listened to more

than 12 hours of testimony on Thursday from Ha-ley’s former em-ployers, corporate executives, lobby-ists and a former state agency head.

They all said she did not use her po-sition as a repre-sentative to lobby for Lexington Medical Center where she worked as a $110,000-a-year fundraiser at its foundation or Wilbur Smith As-sociates where she was paid $48,000 as a consultant. They also said she did not pressure them or offer fa-

vors for making donations to the medical center foundation.

Haley made a surprise appear-ance on the witness stand late in the hearing. After saying she had done nothing wrong, the governor angrily lashed out at GOP activist John Rainey, who filed the com-plaint that started the ethics case.

Haley called Rainey a racist who was trying to destroy her family - a characterization based on their only meeting when she was running for governor. She also said she found

Unanimous decision clears South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley of all ethics charges.

it strange that Rainey was being represented by Dick Harpootlian, chairman of the South Carolina Democratic Party.

In a statement issued Friday, Rainey said he would not com-ment on what he called “Haley’s personal attacks (that) are merely an effort to distract from the sub-stantive and still unresolved ques-tions I have raised.”

Rainey released a photo of a note he said he received from Haley shortly after their meeting that ended, “I will work hard to earn your support and make you proud.”

“I believe this demonstrates, yet again, her inability to tell the truth,” Rainey, a Camden busi-nessman and attorney, said Friday.

Rainey was subpoenaed at the request of Haley’s attorneys but was not called to testify after 12 hours of being sequestered in the Blatt Building on the State House grounds. He accused the commit-tee and governor of acting bad faith by excluding him the hear-ing.

“Today it is clear that the House Ethics Committee harbors a culture of corruption enshrouded in a con-spiracy of silence,” he said. “The members of the committee ought to be ashamed of themselves.”

Haley faced a reprimand from the committee or having her case referred to the attorney general.

South Carolina’s Nikki Haley Sweeps Aside Ethics VendettaNEW ORLEANS: The Supreme

Court upheld President Barack Obama’s health care law on Thurs-day, but Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, a possible Republican vice presidential contender who has refused to establish a federally mandated health care exchange in his state, said Friday that he will continue to ignore it.

“We’re not going to start implement-ing Obama-care,” Jindal said during a conference call with Vir-ginia Gov. Bob McDon-nell. “We’re committed to working to elect Governor Romney to repeal Obamacare.”

Under the Affordable Care Act, states must set up a health insur-ance exchange program by Jan. 1, 2014, and will receive grants from the federal government to imple-ment it.

“Here in Louisiana we have not applied for the grants, we have not accepted many of these dollars, we’re not implementing the ex-changes,” Jindal said. “We don’t think it makes any sense to imple-ment Obamacare in Louisiana. We’re going to do what we can to fight it.”

Jindal: No Obamacare


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ISLAMABAD: Prime Minis-ter Raja Pervez Ashraf defended on Saturday President Asif Ali Zaradri’s immunity, saying it would end the day after he leaves office.

His comments come after the Su-preme Court on Wednesday gave the new prime minister two weeks to indicate whether he would ask Swiss authorities to reopen corrup-tion cases against the president.

The issue has caused removal of Ashraf’s predecessor Yousuf Raza Gilani from office as prime minis-ter on June 19 after the court con-victed him of contempt in April for refusing to reopen the multi-million-dollar cases.

“He (Asif Ali Zardari) is the democratic elected President of Pakistan and as per law he enjoys the immunity as long as he holds the office,” Ashraf told reporters in Lahore.

When the new prime minister was asked what the government’s stance would be at the upcoming Supreme Court hearing on July 12, Ashraf reiterated the presidential immunity.

“All the legal experts have given us the same opinion… So we will see the matter from the same an-gle,” he said.

Analysts say the latest notice by the Supreme Court indicates the judiciary is unwilling to end a showdown with the government that could force elections before February 2013, when the adminis-tration would become the first in

Raja: Limited Immunity for Zardari

President Asif Ali Zardari (left) administered the oath of offi ce to new Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf.

Pakistan to complete a full five-year mandate.

The allegations against Zardari date from the 1990s when he and his late wife, ex-premier Benazir Bhutto, were suspected of using Swiss accounts to launder $12 million allegedly paid in bribes by companies seeking customs inspection contracts. The Swiss shelved the case in 2008 when Zardari became president.

But in 2009 the Supreme Court overturned a political amnesty that had frozen investigations into the president and other politicians, or-dering that the cases be reopened.

Ashraf, who was minister for power and water from 2008 to 2011, is implicated in a corrup-tion case that the Supreme Court says involved bribes and contract irregularities when private compa-nies were allowed to set up small energy production plants while he was in office. The ruling Pakistan People’s Party picked him to re-place the longest-serving premier in Pakistan’s history, Yousuf Raza Gilani, who was dismissed by the court Tuesday for contempt of court.

Ashraf, 61, is a longtime party loyalist and friend of President Asif Ali Zardari, who turned to Ashraf after an anti-narcotics court issued a warrant for the arrest of his first choice for premier.

Ashraf has denied any wrongdo-ing, but Chaudhry is persistent in following up his rulings and order-ing officials into court.

NEW DELHI (Outlook): APJ Abdul Kalam has fi-nally exploded the politi-cal myth that he was reluc-tant to appoint Congress president Sonia Gandhi as Prime Minister in May 2004 when he was the country’s President. In his soon-to-be-released book — Turning Points, A Jour-ney Through Challenges — Kalam reveals that

if Gandhi wanted to become PM in 2004, he would have had “no option but to appoint her”.

Gandhi had decided not to become PM de-spite having been elected unanimously as leader of the Congress Parliamen-tary Party and the newly formed United Progressive Alliance soon after the poll results were declared on May 13, 2004.

The Left parties, which decided to extend outside support to the Congress-led government, had also endorsed her name for the top post. But many right-wing leaders had cited Gandhi’s foreign origin to oppose her appointment as Prime Minister.

“There were many po-litical leaders who came to meet me to request me not to succumb to any pressure and appoint Mrs Gandhi as the Prime Minister, a request that would not have been constitution-ally tenable,” Kalam has written.

“If she had made any claim for herself I would have had no option but to appoint her,” Kalam has

written on page 135 in the chap-ter titled Controversial Decisions of his book published by Harper Collins.

Kalam says he was surprised when on May 18, Gandhi named Manmohan Singh for the post.

PJ Abdul Kalam “consulted his con-science” before with-drawing his resigna-tion from the post of President in October 2005 after the Supreme Court struck down the Centre’s decision to dissolve the Bihar as-sembly and impose President’s rule.

In his latest book, Turning Points, Ka-lam said he thought for a day about his decision after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh “pleaded” with him that his resignation might lead to the fall of the UPA government.

“As soon as the ver-dict was known, I wrote a letter of resignation, signed it and kept it ready to be sent to vice president Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, but he was away,” writes Kalam.

According to Ka-lam, Singh had wanted to meet him on some other issue. After the discussion, Kalam in-formed Singh about his decision to quit.

“The PM was star-tled. The scene was touching and I do not want to describe it. The

PM pleaded that I should not do it at this difficult time. He said that as a result of the furore that would be created, even the govern-ment might fall,” writes Kalam.

Kalam Reveals: Sonia Could’ve Become PM

AHMEDABAD: Even as NASA’s Mars exploration rover — a robot called ‘Curiosity’ — is set to land on the neighbouring plan-et’s surface in the next 34 days, an important discovery has been made at Mata no Madh — a small village nestled near Bhuj in Kutch district.

Scientists from the Dehradun-based Wadia Institute of Himala-yan Geology (WIHG) have found a meter thick layer of hydrous sulphate rocks in this Kutch vil-

lage quite similar to the ones found on Mars surface. These are called the calcium bearing min-eral rocks that are rare on earth.

The scientists here are still

trying to ascertain proper-ties of the rock and whether it can support life in any form.

N V Siddaiah, a senior scien-tist with WIHG, who found these rocks along with a colleague Kishor Kumar, says: “The hy-drous sulphates is result of re-actions between volcanic gases and acidic hydrothermal solu-tions with volcanic ash or rock.”

The discovery was published in Nature magazine.

Scientists See Mars in Kutch’s Mata no Madh Village


July 06, 201230 July 06, 201230 SPORTSNEW DELHI (TOI):

India’s specialist drag-flicker Sandeep Singh says he has worked out a plan to hoodwink the European chargers rush-ing out to foil him from taking perfect penalty-corner hits.

How exactly he is go-ing to get the better of the lightning fast ma-rauders?

“How can I reveal a secret plan, you only have to see it while it is being executed in Lon-don,” Sandeep quipped mischievously.

“Jokes apart, I have really worked out some-thing special to tackle the Europeans when they charge out to check my penalty-corner flicks or drives. I hope I can beat them, though I can’t divulge what exactly I intend doing,” Sandeep said in an inter-view before leaving on the Euro-pean tour.

A catalyst in India qualifying for the Olympics, scoring five goals including a hat-trick in India’s 8-1 demolition of France in the final, Sandeep was the tournament’s top scorer with 16 goals.

“While taking penalty corners my aim is to somehow score. It takes a lot of hard work to master the skill, you can’t become an ex-pert overnight. For 10 years I have worked tirelessly to reach the level I am today.”

Around 2009 when he captained

India to victory in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, he was considered the world’s best drag-flicker, impart-ing a speed of 145km in his hits.

With a conversion rate of almost 90 percent, there is no denying Sandeep’s drag-flicking abil-ity and finesse. However, experts have doubts about his defensive and play-making skills.

“I know my limitations as a de-fender and coaches Michael No-bbs and Dilip Tirkey have helped me a lot in improving my defence. I underwent special training to im-prove my footwork and speed,” said Sandeep.

Sandeep, along with Ignace Tir-key, will be the only two players in the team to have any Olympic ex-perience. They were part of India’s

Sandeep Singh saus he has a secret plan to hoodwink European chargers during a penalty corner hit.

team to Athens in 2004 where they had a hor-rendous time. The team failed miserably. With just two victories, India had to settle for seventh position, as they did in Sydney in 2000

Four years later, India for the first time in 80 years failed to qualify for the Olympics, in Beijing.

“We have a great mix of youth and experience in our team. After the Beijing disappointment, I’m sure we will perform much better this time around, we have a mature bunch.

“We are in a tough group, but we have per-formed well against them in bi-lateral series and

their is no reason why we can’t do it at a major competition like the Olympics,” said Sandeep.

Sandeep feels Nobbs and physi-ologist David John have done wonders with the team’s physical fitness and the two have brought about some positive changes to the team.

The Indian team has always been known for its flair rather than its robustness and Sandeep feels the high-altitude training has made the team a lot fitter.

“Fitness was a concern earlier. But thanks to the high-altitude training, we have a improved a lot. Our team is much fitter now and we feel we are ready for the Olym-pics.”

Sandeep’s Secret Plan for Olympics

NEW DELHI: He was not quite sure if training abroad before Olympics would help much but after spending a fortnight prepar-ing in Ireland, London-bound Vi-jender Singh on Sunday said the experience has done a world of good.

An unprecedented seven Indian male boxers would be participat-ing in the Olympics in London and six of them were in Dublin for a fortnight last month to train for the Games.

Vijender (75kg), Shiva Thapa (56kg), L Devendro Singh (49kg),

Manoj Kumar (64kg), Sumit Sangwan (81kg) and Jai Bhagwan (60kg) were the ones who trained

in Dublin under the watchful eyes of national coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu, while Vikas Krishan (69kg) stayed back to give his col-lege exams.

Vijender said he was sceptical about going abroad with just a few weeks left for the Olympics but has come back more assured of his preparations for London.

“I was not sure how it would help us, I thought training in Patia-la would be better. But after going there, I realised how much differ-ence it could make to our prepara-tions,” Vijender said.

Indian Boxers Acclimatize in Ireland before London

Vijender Singh joined other boxers in training in Dublin.

BY SIDHARTH MONGA

COLOMBO (ESPN Cricinfo): Sri Lanka 70 for 1 (Dilshan 46*, Junaid 1-22) trail Pakistan 551 for 6 dec. (Hafeez 196, Ali 157, Mis-bah 66*, Herath 3-165) by 481 runs

Afternoon showers on day three put an outright result in serious doubt as only one session could be played out. In that session, Pakistan added 63 to their over-night 488 before declaring. In the next 70 minutes, Sri Lanka were put through a sterner test than the Pakistan openers, but they lost just one wicket.

Pakistan’s quicks generated more response from the pitch than their Sri Lankan counterparts, but that didn’t translate into too much success as Tillakaratne Dilshan rode his luck. An overnight decla-ration on 488 was a consideration because of the weather: 45 overs had already been lost on day two, and forecast for the rest of the Test wasn’t the brightest either. How-ever, Pakistan went for the score-board pressure, and declared only after they reached 550.

Pakistan didn’t meander aimless-ly, though: Misbah-ul-Haq went at a strike-rate of 82.50, much higher than his ODI career statistic, and Abdur Rehman hit two straight sixes in his 18 off 13. It took Paki-stan little under an hour, and 12.4 overs, to score the 63 runs that took them past 550. In the process Mis-bah reached his 17th half-century, scoring 37 off 40 balls on the third morning. The fields were spread far out so he had to rely more on well-placed ones and twos as op-posed to boundaries. Asad Shafiq and Adnan Akmal perished for the cause, but Rehman provided the required thrust with sixes off both spinners. Rangana Herath bowled one over fewer than a whole ODI innings.

Ten minutes later, with runs on board already, Pakistan made a spirited start with the ball. Aizaz Cheema and Junaid Khan bowled faster and hit the seam more often than the Sri Lankan bowlers. As a result, they bowled more threaten-ing deliveries in one spell than Sri Lanka did in the whole innings. Cheema began with a short-of-a-length delivery that reared to-

wards Tharanga Paranavitana’s chest. Paranavitana never settled in, and was caught bat-pad to a Ju-naid delivery that seamed in. This was Paranavitana’s seventh duck in his 28th Test, a high rate for a Test opener.

Tillakaratne Dilshan, at the other end, tried every trick in the book to get out, but the pitch and luck smiled on him benevolently. The seam movement in Junaid’s first over seemed to have rattled him, and he hoicked at the last ball of that over; the leading edge fell straight of mid-on. Until lunch, Dilshan kept slashing and flash-ing, twice edging short of the cor-don, once bisecting keeper and first slip. In Saeed Ajmal’s first over, minutes before lunch, he survived a desperately close lbw shout when he was hit just above the knee roll bang in front and in-side the crease. However, nothing stopped the aggressive Dilshan: he followed that lbw shout with two lofted fours, a response not too dif-ferent to the rest of his innings. By lunch he had raced along to 46 off 54.

Kumar Sangakkara was more reassuring for Sri Lanka, clipping the first ball he faced for four. The only moment of concern at San-gakkara’s end arrived when he got a thick inside edge onto his pad, but it was too meaty for Azhar Ali at short leg to react in time.

Misbah-ul-Haq declared after making a quick half-century and taking Pakistan past 550.

Pakistan Mauls Sri Lanka Bowling


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