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ICC Newsletter July and August 2011 Volume 4.0

NAMASTE AUSTINwww.iccaustin.org India Community Center of Austin

Message from the 2011 ICC Board

Namaste, Austin!

Happy August Everyone! Hope you have been having a great summer so far and staying away from the sweltering heat. It's that time of the year -iFest is here! We welcome you all to come and celebrate India's 65th Independence Day. It is ICC’s flagship event, the largest Indian celebration in all the Austin area. Last year we had over 2000 people, let’s try to top that this year!!

This year’s iFest is being held on August 14th, at the North Austin Events Center. We are working very hard to organize a grander program with loads of fun. See the inside for the full scoop on iFest.

It’s a great way to spend your Sunday, a few days before schools start and hope-fully get us some relief from the 100+ degree-days!

- Abdul, Harshita, Mary, Radhika, Raga, Ruhi, Salil, Sohail, and Sridhar

PARICHAYINTRODUCTION

Each month, Parichay turns the spotlight on Indian community, organizations or non-profits that enrich Austin with their presence.

ICC Austin's iFest 2011 will mark India’s 65th Independence Day

On Sunday, August 14, India Community Center of Austin will host i-Fest 2011, to mark the 64th anniversary of India's Independence Day.

This year’s event will be held at the North Austin Events Center (formerly Crockett Center) on 10601 N Lamar Blvd. Visitors can savor the tastes of India by sampling offerings from some of Austin's leading restaurants and caterers. Expect to get swept by the sounds of India as Austin’s brightest talents dazzle audiences with mu-sic and dance acts in an annual talent show that culminates with the crowning of Austin's very own DESI STARS--winners in the music and dance categories. Dhwani, an Indian band founded with the purpose of regaling the greater Texas audience with originally composed and creatively modified Indian music will be enthrall you with their music; they release 4 new compositions, starting with iFest. If you want a piece of the action, you can participate in one of the event-day contests and win ex-citing prizes that include a round trip ticket to India sponsored by Skypass Travel and vacation package to Las Vegas sponsored by Sijo Real Estate.

“ICC has been celebrating the Indian Independence Day in Austin for over 2 decades now, and in the past few years, iFest’s popularity of the event has grown tremen-dously among Austinites, with a few thousand people attending the event,” said Srid-har Sudarsan, President of ICC Austin. “This is one of the most-attended South Asian events in Austin, bringing the community together to celebrate a shared mile-stone. Our generous platinum sponsors - Skypass Travel, Arun Mago CPA, General Agents Insurance Network; Gold sponsor Discounted Travel and Four Sisters Petro-leum; other sponsors at various levels and enthusiastic participation from local talent and vendors, enable us to ensure that there's a lot of color, fun, activities, great food and entertainment for kids and adults."

Doors open at 12 noon, with food and retail vendors, games and activities for and adults. For more details, visit http://iccaustin.org or contact us at iccaustin@gmail.com. Admission is free.

PARICHAYINTRODUCTION

Would you like Parichay to feature your organization in the next edition? Please contact us at iccaustin@gmail.com .

Each month, Parichay turns the spotlight on Indian community, organizations or non-profits that enrich Austin with their presence.

AshaIf you’ve lived in outdoors-crazy Austin for more than a year, then you must know that its fall marathon-training

season. Every year, thousands of runners embark on a gru-eling, demanding journey that involves training for long

hours and miles, only to conquer distance with endurance that often culminates with the Austin Marathon.

And every year over the last 6 years, we are a group of runners that strive hard —not only for the challenge of a distance race but also to raise funds and awareness for ed-ucation of under-privileged children in India. We stride on behalf of Asha for Education, Austin Chapter's Strides of Hope program (SoH). SoH has raised and disbursed $345,000 over 6 years through 225 runners who have run thousands of miles and distributed countless smiles.

Many runners have found their love of running by joining Team Asha Austin. Many of us have tasted our first sprint towards victory through the finish line of a grueling but no less rewarding race, knowing well what it means. We all return time and again, not just to push ourselves beyond our own mental and physical boundaries but also to return to the feeling that it’s not just about you. Yes, you become fitter and stronger but more than that, you’ve also had a chance to contribute to a child’s future.Why would you begin running for the first time with Team Asha Austin? It’s beginner friendly and extremely sup-portive. Indeed, Team Asha’s youngest runner has been 8 years old and the oldest has been 60! More importantly, we partner with a professional running group in the city called the Austin

Fit, whose half and full marathon training program equips runners of all levels to achieve their goals. Austin Fit’s ‘No Runner Left Behind’ training program covers impor-tant features of training injury free such as combinations of long runs, tempo runs, core workouts, yoga, and nutri-tion clinics and shoe fitting at Austin’s popular new store, Luke’s Locker. The program extends over 4 months, al-lowing you to gain victories over smaller distances such as a 5K, 10K and ultimately half and/or full marathon, at their own pace. However if you that want to run a smaller distance such as a 5K or a 10K you can do it comfortably.

 As a runner with Team Asha, you are partnered with a mentor who provides support and encouragement along your journey to the finish line. A mentor provides help and tips for fundraising, dealing with niggling aches and pains and overcoming mental barriers. Our regular blog updates will keep you informed about team events, run-ning tips and the wealth of resources to tap into in the form of experienced runners and fundraisers. We orga-nize breakfasts after long runs, happy hours and other so-cial events making you feel a part of our community. We also welcome and encourage runners to attend Asha Austin’s chapter meetings to learn about the projects and the impact on the communities that they have.

 Over the years Asha Austin has been subject to eco-nomic conditions just as other charities. This has ham-pered the ability to support deserving projects. We invite everyone that has ever thought about running a race to raise the bar and do it for the cause. To know more about the program, drop by the info sessions through the month of August!

Thursday, August 11, 2011. 7:00pm – 8:30pmMonkey Nest Coffee (Central Austin)

5353 Burnet Rd, Austin TX 78756

Tuesday, August 16, 2011. 7:00pm – 8:30pmLa Madeleine (South Austin)

5493 Brodie Lane, Austin TX 78745

Saturday, August 20, 2011: 3:30pm – 5:00pmSpicewood Springs Community Library (North Austin)

8637 Spicewood Springs Rd, Austin TX 78759

UTSAVFESTIVALS and CELEBRATIONS

July 4 th – American Independence Day July 4, 1776 is when the United States of America was born. On this day the Declaration of Independence was approved by the Continental Congress. Even though the tradition of celebrating the Independence goes back to the 18th century; it only became a holiday in 1941. The typical celebrations in-clude parades, fireworks, concerts, picnics, family gatherings and so on.

August 9 th - Rakhi – Raksha Bandhan

Raksha Bandhan means bond of protection. This festival celebrates the bond between brothers and sisters. On this day the sister prepares a pooja thali with diya, roli, chawal, rahki threads and sweets. The ritual starts with a prayer or pooja, then she puts roli and rice on his forehead. The sis-ter; then, gives her blessings and ties the Rakhi to her brother’s wrist wishing for his happiness and well being. In turn the brother acknowledges his love for his sister with a promise to stand by his sister in good and bad times and with gifts.

August 15 th - Indian Independence Day

"At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new...India discovers herself again."

- P.M. Jawaharlal Nehru

After two hundred years of British Rule, India finally won its independence on August 15, 1947. Independence came about due to great efforts of men and women who fought and sacrificed their lives for this great cause. The struggle for Indian independence one can say started with the Sepoy Mutiny in Meerut. Then, in the 20th cen-tury Mahatma Gandhi, the Indian National Congress and other organizations initiated a country wide indepen-dence movement. On this day, Indians pay homage to people who fought for India’s freedom, buildings are illu-minated with strings of light and tricolour decorations,

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic Lunar calendar. In 2011, Ramadan begins at sundown on July 31st. Ramadan is a "month of blessing" marked by prayer, fasting (sawm), and charity. During the month of Ramadan Allah revealed the first verses of the Qur’an (the holy book of Islam) to prophet Muhammad. Fasting is practiced for the entire month of Ra-madan and so a person may not eat nor drink anything while the sun shines. Fasting is practiced from the age of about 12. Ramadan ends with the festival of Eid al-Fitr which literally means the Festival of Breaking Fast.

PRAYOJANAPRAYOJANASPONSORSHIP

This month’s paid Prayojana features an advertising sponsor in the Indian community.

Skypass Travel- Austin’s one stop shop for all your travel needs

Skypass Travel is a full-service travel services provider, specializing in discount fares, vacation packages and cruises, for individuals, families and groups. One of Austin’s most reputed travel providers, Skypass has as-sisted almost a half-million passengers since 1987 with their domestic and international travel needs.

Its motto is simple: to provide the best travel along with impeccable customer service. In addition to its web site (www.skypasstravel.com/austin.html), SKYPASS main-tains offices in Dallas, Austin, Houston, and Bombay. Get in touch with SKYPASS when you’re ready to book your next trip to India ---or just about anywhere in the world! You can be assured of the best fares and the most personalized service.

Sijo Vadakkan, is an Austin-based entrepreneur, heading Skypass Travel in Austin who has founded and operated several highly successful businesses in the Austin area. A serial entrepreneur, he wears many hats. Along with travel, Sijo maintains active business interests in real es-tate, contracting and consulting. In all his business ven-tures, Sijo recognizes the importance of customer satis-faction and strives to put his clients’ needs first. As a re-altor, his foremost goal is to help homeowners maximize their potential as a home buyer or seller.

The success of these business ventures is frequently at-tributed to Sijo’s strong people skills and keen focus on customer satisfaction. His motivation, work ethic, and commitment make him an ideal partner for all your travel and real estate needs.

Would you like Prayojana to feature your organization in the next edition? Please contact us at iccaustin@gmail.com .

Arun Mago, CPA, P.C. is a full-service accounting firm serving clients throughout the Austin, Texas area, dedi-cated to providing our clients with professional, person-alized services and guidance in a wide range of financial and business needs. Arun Mago has extensive experience in executive, fi-nan-cial and tax management, including for Govern-ment Company, which spans 5+ years. Since 2003, he has pro-vided tax services for individual and business clients. We offer following services: Tax Management Services, Accounting Services, As-surance and Advisory Services, Estate and Trust Plan-ning and Tax Preparation, Financial and Retirement Planning, IRS Representation, Record Keeping, Entity Selection and Restructuring,QuickBooks Ac-counting Help and Assistance, Payroll Services, Employee Ben-efits, Pension, and Profit-Sharing Plans Cash Flow and Budgeting Analysis, Financial Projec-tions and Forecasts, Business Valuation, Mergers, Ac-quisitions, and Sales, Debt and Finance Advising, In-ter-national Taxation.

Business Documentations as follows: Business Credit Applications and related Documents, UCC Financing Statements, Agreement for Sale of Business, Partnership Agreement, Agreement not to-compete, Power of Attorneys, Real Estate Agreements . *NEW* Offer-in-Compromise (One time Set-tlement with IRS for Taxes Due) 7801 North Lamar Blvd. Suite D 93 Austin, Texas 78752 Tel: 512-782-8371, Cell: 512-289-5175 Fax: 866-390-8122

Feel free to reach out to Sijo at 512 740 2262 or send him a note at sijo@indusrealty.com. If you prefer, stop by the Sky-pass Travel office at 6700 Middle Fiskville Road, Suite 305, Austin TX 78753

A Given the variety of conversations I have with men and women of different ages and backgrounds regarding their thoughts, feelings, and expectations with respect to relationships, as well as my research into the ideas of published authors and experts in the field, I tend to come across patterns.

One pattern, in particular, may be at play with respect to the issue described in your question. This pattern is dis-cussed by authors/therapists Patricia Love and Steven Stosny in their insightful book How To Improve Your Mar-riage Without Talking About It. A qualifier: All men are not identical in their thinking (just as all women are, like-wise, not identical), and there are certainly exceptions to gender-based tendencies.

That said, what may be at play here is a difference in how husbands and wives view security in a spousal relation-ship. Many husbands tend to view their marriage as a secure base in which to relax and recharge their batteries (as opposed to feeling the need to interact) while sharing the same space as their wives. In other words, the comfort of merely sharing the same space with his wife, without any compulsion to interact directly, is oftentimes relaxing and sufficient in and of itself.

Wives, on the other hand, tend to feel secure as a result of directly interacting with their husbands. Wives tend to re-lax through the emotional connections they feel while interacting with their husbands.

So, when your husband chooses to read  in the evenings instead of directly interacting, perhaps you start to feel a lack of connection which drives you to make plans to connect with your girlfriends instead. When you find it prefer-bale to engage in lively social interaction with your girlfriends rather than stay home, your husband's disapproval  is understandable, if not justified; it reflects his loss of comfort in not having your presence, even if a passive one, by his side.

Given that you and your husband generally get along quite well, why not brainstorm ways around this issue to-gether? Recognizing this difference in how the two of you define security and comfort may fuel compromises that meet both of your needs. 

Jasbina Ahluwalia is a former attorney and the founder of Intersections Match, the only national matchmaking and dating coaching firm for South Asian Singles. www.IntersectionsMatch.com. 

Jasbina@IntersectionsMatch.com.

SambandhaRelationship Q&A

Q My husband and I generally get along well. However, when we return from work, he chooses to read the paper instead of interacting with me. So I’ve started making plans to go out with girl-friends most weeknights after work. We trust each other completely, and it’s his choice to read, so I can’t figure out why he pouts after learning of my plans.