November, 2014

15 years of promoting awareness of

Indian culture and traditions

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Republic Day celebration 2014

We thank the members for making Republic Day

celebration successful, by their participation. We

thank people participating in culinary competition,

potluck and cultural activities, and all the volunteers

who worked relentlessly, arrived there at 9:30 AM

and worked until 2:30 PM, including:

Dipen Patel, Amita Patel, Binita and Kalpesh Patel,

Purvesh Patel, Shaila and Rajesh Kaul, Anita Amin,

Hardik and Hiral Shah, Dharni and Kanaiya Naik,

Manoj Tangri, Vandana, Rohini and Mohini, Ravi

Narayanan, Devesh, Aparna Gollapudi, Sudha

Rangnathan, Tejas Tank, Nathan, Mohan and

Mallika, Preety Sathe, Mangesh Shasrabudhe

Writing Contest

Rankings based on blind evaluation by judges using

the rubrics given below. The entries are included in

this document.

Elementary School:

1. Sonika Khosla 1st

2.. Arnav Chitari 2nd

3. Om Rajashekharan 3rd

Junior High

1. Isha Sahasrabuddhe (Most outstanding entry)

2. Milan Khosla 2nd

3. Abheet Sathe 3rd

High School

1. Pranaya Sathe 1st

Culinary Contest

Rankings determined by the panel of judges using

blind evaluation using the scoring sheets given

below.

Adult Main course

1. Swati Dhareshwar Kara Dosa 1st

2. Grace Alberto Paneer Butter Masala 2nd

3. Reena Khosla Banana Roll 3rd

Adult Dessert

1. Geeta Chaurasia Rasmalai (Most outstanding

entry)

2. Sandhya Vishni Rajshekhar Tricolor Trifle 2nd

3. Shanti Dusi Kaala Jamun 3rd

Kids Main course

1. Bean Enchiladas Anushkaran Jha 1st

2. Indian Flag Galaxies Milan Khosla 2nd

Kids Dessert

1. Abheet Sathe Kulfi 1st

2. Isha Sahasrabuddhe Gajar Halwa 2nd

3. Manasa Fruit Pizza 3rd

Photo below: Holi 2014. Photos.

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Inspirational People

Aarnav Chitari, Traut Core Knowledge (2nd Grade) Following are four extraordinary people who fought for their countries freedom and well-being. The first two are from India and the next two are from the United States of America. All of them were strong, brave and had their people’s best interests in mind. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj: Shivaji is one of India’s greatest kings and helped start the independence movement. Shivaji was born at Shivneri, Maharashtra on February 19, 1630. He was named after the goddess Shivai. Shivaji had captured his first fort when he was just 16. Shivaji was one of the first to build a powerful navy. His navy fought against the British. He also fought the Mughal Empire to set free the Maratha people. Shivaji is well known for his kind attitude towards his people. Shivaji had a much smaller army compared to the big Mughal army. He successfully used hit and run tactics called guerilla warfare, which helped him defeat his enemies. Shivaji died at the age of 52 around 5 April 1680 after falling ill. Mahatma Gandhi: Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born on October 2nd, 1869. He was the prominent Indian leader in British ruled India. Gandhiji believed in non-violence and truth in all situations. Gandhiji lived a simple life, made his own clothes on his favorite Charkha and often fasted to protest against the British. Eventually, on August 15th, 1947 India got freedom from the British. Although Gandhiji worked towards being fair to all living things, he could not keep everyone happy. He was assassinated in 1948 by Nathuram Godse. George Washington: George Washington was commander in chief of the continental army during the American revolutionary war. He was the first US president from 1789 to 1797. George Washington was born on February 22, 1732 in the British colony of Virginia. As a teenager George became a

successful surveyor. This helped him earn enough money to buy land of his own. George saw the bad effects of rising taxes applied by the British on American colonies and he decided the colonies should declare independence from England. By 1775 the American Revolution had begun and Washington was named commander in chief of the continental army. With the help of the French the continental army captured the British troops. This ended the revolutionary war and Washington was declared a national hero. He was asked to head the committee writing the new constitution. His great leadership qualified him to become the nation’s first president. The United States was a small nation when he became the president consisting of 11 states. Washington worked hard to set an example of fairness and honesty. He died on December 14, 1799 at the age of 67. Abraham Lincoln: Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809 in Hardin County Kentucky. While growing up Lincoln had to support his family and could not attend school full time. Soon Lincoln joined a local party called the Whig party. Lincoln was against slavery which were the ideals of Whig party. Lincoln joined the Republican Party who were against the spread of slavery in all the territories. Due to his strong views, Lincoln was chosen as the republican presidential candidate. His anti-slavery views made him disliked in the southern states. By the time he became the 16th president in 1860, seven southern states had decided to separate from the union. This started the civil war. Lincoln wanted to outlaw slavery, but said it was more important to save the union first. The union soon started winning the battles. By the time the union was close to victory, Lincoln gave a speech where he welcomed the southern states back to rebuild the union. Before he could achieve his dream, he was assassinated on April 15th. References: http://en.wikipedia.org http://www.biography.com/

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Jhansi Ki Rani

Isha Sahasrabudhe, 7th Grade, Kinard Middle School

“Meri Jhansi kabhi nahi doongi!!” These

were the priceless words of the dedicated and

determined warrior, known as Rani Lakshmi Bai. In

the captivating city of Varanasi, the home of the

River Ganga, a freedom fighter was born; a legend

further known as Jhansi ki Rani. A committed girl,

who was given the name of Manikarnika, was not a

queen at first. She was in fact a simple girl, born in a

Marathi family. She lived in the time period when

Britishers were attempting to conquer India, or

Bharat, as it was known earlier. The idea of

foreigners trying to capture “her” country was

enraging to her and made her furious. Thus, she was

determined to revolt against them. Her life included

three major events: her childhood, becoming the

queen, and fighting in the war of 1857.

To begin with, Rani Lakshmi Bai was truly

inspired and taught by the excellently trained

warrior, Tatya Tope. From him, she learned sword

fighting, horseback riding, and the use of bows and

arrows. He was the person who had told Manikarnika

that it didn’t matter if she was girl, she could not let

the Britishers capture Mother India, and so, she had

to fight. Back in that time, girls did not get educated,

and weren’t allowed to focus on anything except

family and chores. However, Manikarnika lived in

the palace of Bajirao Peshwa II, with her father. The

Peshwa admired her, and thought of her as his own

daughter. He also wanted her to be well-educated.

Together, Nanasaheb Peshwa, (Bajirao’s son), and

Manikarnika learned various things, and even in

those times, Manikarnika could read and write Hindi,

Marathi, and English! She made use of these skills in

diverse situations, when the British people

mistreated Indians.

Furthermore, the brave and strong-minded

girl was only 14 years old, when an important event

took place in her life. Her marriage was decided with

the King of Jhansi, Gangadhar Rao. He was much

older than her, but her family had already decided the

marriage. Soon after, the king announced that

Manikarnia’s new name would be Rani Lakshmi Bai.

In their palace, she took the help of Tatya Tope and

began teaching the maids how to fight. Not much

later, she had created a whole “army” of her own.

One of her famous ideas against Britishers was a

disguise, known as “Krantiguru.” It is said that she

disguised herself and burned the British Flag that was

waving on one of the buildings of the East India

Company. The people praised Krantiguru, not

knowing that it was Rani Lakshmi Bai. After they

found out, her family was disappointed for a while,

but soon understood her motive behind it. Not long

after that, Rani Lakshmi Bai had won the hearts of

her people, and the king also appreciated it. After

several years since becoming the queen and an adult,

she and the king adopted a son, named Damodar Rao.

With the happiness surrounding her, she had proved

to be a powerful, loyal, and determined

warrior/queen. However, when the King of Jhansi,

Gangadhar Rao, passed away, her true spirit was

taken away for a while. With the encouragement of

Tatya Tope and her family, she regained that

determination to strike the British.

Finally, since the death of the king, and since

Damodar Rao wasn’t their “actual son,” the British

wanted to conquer the throne. They knocked down

walls/homes, and destroyed Jhansi; and it was not

only Jhansi, but it was the whole India. By then, Rani

Lakshmi Bai was furious, and she couldn’t stand the

situation. The year was 1857, when she decided that

no matter what, she would fight against them, with

her army. Jhansi ki Rani, Tatya Tope, Nanasaheb

Peshwa, and their whole army gathered together, and

thus, the war had begun! The fight was tough and

Rani Lakshmi Bai had defeated every Britisher in her

way, except one; Lord Dalhousie. He was the cruel

leader of the Britishers, and since he had a gun, he

pulled it out and shot the queen. Everything was

silent, and no one spoke; Lord Dalhousie had killed

Rani Lakshmi Bai.

In conclusion, that moment in our history, is

still remembered today as being a horrifying and

terrible one. However, the name Rani Lakshmi Bai

still rings in our ears as being one of the greatest,

inspiring, and important leaders in India’s history.

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Even though we had not won the war, it had

definitely proved India’s bravery. “Vande

Mataram!”

India’s Space Program

Milan Khosla, Preston MS - 7th Grade

Do you know which country holds the world

record for launching the most satellites into outer

space in one launch? You may think the answer is

The United States, or Russia, but if you did, you

would be wrong. India holds the current record, and

it beat Russia by sending ten satellites on a single

rocket into space. This happened on April 28, 2008,

almost six years back. This was an astounding feat.

In fact, India is home to one of the top government

space agencies in the world, ISRO (Indian Space

Research Organization.)

India became a republic on Jan 26, 1950.

Only nineteen years later, ISRO was founded on the

dream of Dr. Vikram Sarabhai, the father of Space

Technology in India. Becoming a republic was a

huge step for India, and in such a short time since

then, it has become a leading country in space

research. Indian Space Research Organization has

been making new discoveries, and doing astonishing

achievements ever since its inception on August 15,

1969. India’s first satellite, Aryabhata, was launched

by the Soviet Union in 1975. In 1980, Rohini became

the first satellite to be placed in orbit by an Indian-

made launch vehicle, SLV-3. The term SLV stands

for Satellite Launch Vehicle. ISRO subsequently

developed two other rockets: the Polar Satellite

Launch Vehicle (PSLV) for launching satellites into

polar orbits and the Geosynchronous Satellite

Launch Vehicle (GSLV) for placing satellites into

geosynchronous orbits. These vehicles have been

launching satellites for many years. Polar orbits go

around the earth revolving longitudinally over the

poles. This way, the satellites can study the entire

globe. Geosynchronous satellites go around the earth

in synchrony to the speed of the earth’s rotation, so

it is always stationed directly above a desired place.

It won’t slow down, because there is no friction or

gravity in space.

India is also improving its navigation

technology through its space program. They have

officially started GAGAN: “GPS Aided Geo

Augmented Navigation” or “GPS And Geo-

Augmented Navigation” systems. GAGAN helps

airplanes to land with much higher vertical accuracy

(within 3 meters) in stormy weather. Technology

used to create GAGAN is also helping India to create

IRNSS: Indian Regional Navigational Satellite

System, India’s own independent navigation system.

This will be equivalent to GPS-WAAS like we have

in the U.S., or the GLONASS in Russia, EGNOS in

Europe, QZSS in Japan, and Beidou in China.

There have been a couple of significant

recent accomplishments in the Indian Space

Research Program. The first recent achievement is

the Mars Mission. India made history, by sending a

Mars rover satellite on November 5, 2013. This is a

huge success, as the rocket continues its journey to

Mars for the next eight months. India is the first and

only country in Asia to send a rocket to Mars.

The next recent feat happened just a few

weeks ago, on Jan. 5, 2014. India launched an orbital

rocket called GSAT-14 using cryogenic fuel that

India itself created! Cryogenic fuel is a complex fuel

that consists of liquid Hydrogen and liquid Oxygen.

This is a technology that only a select few countries

have. This was groundbreaking, because India has

tried to do this twice before. In 2001, India attempted

this, but the Russian rocket engine that they were

using stopped working. When they tried again just

recently, in November of 2012, using cryogenic fuel

from Russia, a last minute check made them abort the

mission because of a fuel leak. Now, using their own

engine, and their own rocket fuel, on Jan. 5, 2014,

they achieved success at last. One of the best things

about India is that they can and have created this

cutting-edge technology at an inexpensive price-tag,

an added advantage in comparison to other countries.

The growth of India’s space program has

been astounding. USA's space program started on

July 29, 1958. Russia’s started around 1956, and both

countries launched rockets in the same year as they

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founded. Though starting more than a decade later,

India is still one of the leading countries in Space

Technology. I think India’s space program is

incredible, and I am sure you would agree with me

that it would not be surprising if, or rather when,

India surpasses other countries in many innovative

missions in the future.

Diversity in India

Abheet Sathe, Grade 9th CECFC

India is not only an old civilization but also a modern

country. Along with India being the second largest

democracy in the world, it also is one of the most

diverse countries in the world. From the times of the

wise Indian teacher /philosopher Chanakya, to now,

the cultures and traditions have still remained alive.

There are close to 1600 different dialects/languages

in India. There are many religions including

Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, Islam,

Christianity and Zoroastrian. All the diversity in

India that has lived on includes food, languages,

religions, clothing and festivals.

Every region in India has different

specialties of food. Let’s begin with North Indian

food. North Indian Food is very rich in dairy products

such as paneer, yogurt, milk and ghee and therefore

trying out the innumerable dishes from North India

will give you the chance to taste these dairy products

in their purest form. The goodness of the various

North Indian sweet dishes, such as, Barfi, Pere,

Laddu, Rabri, koolfi, faluda, gulkand, malai, and

halwa are well known throughout the world.

Now let’s talk about Western Indian food.

Mostly grated coconut, fishes, peanuts, and cashew

nuts happen to be the principal ingredients of

Maharastrian or Marathi food. They even use the

peanut oil as the main base of cooking. The Goan

food has a strong influence of the cooking style of

the Portuguese cuisine, as they had been the

inhabitants of the place for a long time. The Vidarbha

cuisine also forms a favorable part of the Marathi

kitchen and the various West Indian recipes.

South Indian food is diverse in ingredients

and style. The most popular dishes are the Dosas, the

Idlies, Vadas, Upma, Uttapam and several others.

Ground rice happens to be a chief element in most of

this South Indian food. Another unique feature of the

South Indian food is that they are always served with

a special dal called Sambhar, Rasam, a dal made of

tamarind, Pachadi, which happens to be a spiced up

yogurt and various other forms of vegetable curries

bearing an authentic south Indian flavor.

Now for the last region, East Indian food.

The various ingredients of East Indian recipes

include the excellent range of fish dishes from

Bengal, which is most popularly known as ‘macher

jhol’ and are made of a wide range of fishes such as,

rohu, hilsa, magur, topsey, parsey, pabda and several

others. The various forms of pickles and sweets are

also the special varieties of East Indian food that

especially belong to the Bengali cuisine. Rice, dal,

subjis, and fish curries form an essential part of the

different meals in eastern part of India.

There is also a wide diversity of clothing in

India. Based on weather conditions and the type of

job people can wear a variety of things. For example,

men can usually wear dhotis, lungi’s and most

commonly, shirts and trousers. Women tend to wear

a Ghagra Choli, Shalvar Kurta, or a sari. Both men

and woman wear a Churidar or a Pyjama Kurta.

When in festive times the costumes tend to be very

elaborate with the addition of jewelry and intricate

designs.

There is also a wide diversity of festivals in

India. For example, the festival Holi. This is the

festival of colors.Then there is Dusshera. This

festival celebrates the victory of good over evil. The

festival right after Dusshera is Diwali. Diwali is the

festival of lights. Also there is Durga which

celebrates the birth of Durga. Then there is Krishna

JanMashtmi. This is the celebration of Krishna’s

birth. There is Ganesh Chaturthi which is the birth of

Ganesh. Also the festivals of Onam and Pungal are

popular in Southern India. Last but not least there is

Shivratri which is the festival that celebrates the birth

of Shiva.

With all of the diversity you may think that

India cannot stay tide together as one country.

However the idea of a unified India dates back to

2500 years ago when The Great Alexander attacked

India and Chanakya tried to unify various regions of

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India under one flag to fight foreign invasions. In

modern times this same idea of a unified India was

picked up by Indian leaders from all regions of India

who ran a successful and peaceful movement for a

free and unified India. Modern India stands as a

symbol of unity where Chanakya and Gandhi’s

dreams have finally come true!

India and America: A Connection of Values

Pranaya Sathe, 12 Grade Colorado Early Colleges Fort Collins

July 4, 1776 in American history marks the

beginning of a nation which the founding fathers

declared as independent. On this day life, liberty, and

the pursuit of happiness were established as

“unalienable rights” which all citizens were given.

Both India and the US have shared these common

values through history, from freedom fights to

economic establishment. While these values may be

viewed differently in both countries, the foundation

on which they were established shares the common

understanding. From then till now, life, liberty, and

the pursuit of happiness have carried on as the

fundamental values from which both India and US

accredit as the unfaltering building blocks of society.

The value of life is undeniably the most

important to people. It illustrates that people have a

right to live as they choose. In both the US and India,

people have the choice to decide what is best for

them and how to live. Life is doubtlessly a personal

matter, and while some restrictions may be

embedded in both countries as to what is socially

acceptable, living life as an individual cannot be

restrained. While India is a unified country, different

states have their own languages and customs that

become a part of peoples’ ‘life’. In the US, the

diverse ‘melting pot’ of people from different

regions of the world changes how people choose to

live. The value of life depends on the liberty people

have in their country.

Liberty is defined as personal freedom, with

which one has the power to make choices and

influence others while being socially compatible.

Both India and the US have adopted this value as the

main building block required to establish society.

Around the same time the Declaration was signed in

the US, in India the Maratha warrior Shivaji

established ‘Hindvi Swarajya’, or a free state of the

people of Hind – as he called it then. As a value,

liberty means that people have the right to make

decisions for themselves; but it is in their hands to

understand whether these decisions will have a

positive or negative impact on society. Without this

liberty, the value of the pursuit of happiness would

merely become a desired thought.

As individuals in society, people have the

right to judge their own pursuit of happiness. This

defines every person’s right to live for themselves

and work for their own achievement. The only clause

stated however is that this right should not affect

others in a negative manner. In India, this pursuit of

happiness can be seen by how Gandhi chose to live

his life, and inspired people to believe that India can

be independent of British rule, even if people began

to do so by threading their own cotton. In the US, this

can be seen during the Boston Tea Party, where

protestors symbolically refused the empirical rule of

the British Empire and the taxation on tea. The

pursuit of happiness combined with the other two

values have become a strong combination that is used

in the modern world today.

In the modern world, while all three values

have stayed the same within both countries, the US

and India have followed independent yet parallel

paths. The economic establishment of both countries

started out as separate entities, however overtime

have merged to create economic success for both.

The 1947 the launch of the Russian satellite Sputnik

created a sense of patriotism within the US. Eleven

years later the NASA space program was established

within the US and eventually became the leading

space program in the world. Years later, the space

program opened doors to more economic benefit by

fueling the technology boom in the Silicon Valley,

thus generating more employment opportunities and

economic growth. From the 1970s to the 1990s

Indian doctors, scientists, and engineers helped to

boost this growth by coming to the US and

contributing to all the aspects of the American

economy. India has now developed its own

infrastructure to a point where the American

entrepreneurs have developed an interest in being

part of India’s economic growth. Today, both

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American and Indian companies invest directly in

each other’s industries. Industries such as the

chemical, film, and technology industries are often

invested in by both America and the US. Life, liberty,

and the pursuit of happiness are values that have

continuously been used as the building blocks of the

modern economies. It is because of these values that

both India and the US have become and will continue

to be strong partners for the foreseeable future.

Deepanjali 2013 performers on the stage just prior to the election of 2014 executive committee. November 9th, 2013, Ridgeview Classical Schools, Fort Collins, CO. A total of 286 participated. Phots can be seen here and here. Deepanjali 2014 photos can be seen here and here.

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Essay Contest Judging Rubric & Scoring Sheet Due Wed 1/29/2014 Please email to IANC.Colorado@gmail.com

Judge: _______Dr. Aparna Gollapudi, Dr. Chris Allen, Dr. Paula Genic_____________________________ Criteria 5 4 3 2 1 Score

Excellent Above average

Average Below average

Poor

Contents of the essay

In-depth understanding: key concepts related to the theme and the topic are identified and fully defined; excellent use of techniques such as comparison and contrast

50 points

Key concepts related to the theme and the topic are adequately identified and defined; average use of techniques to describe viewpoints

40 points

Key concepts are partially identified and defined; statement that viewpoints exist but little use of supporting details

30 points

Some concepts are identified but not defined; lack of reference to any viewpoints

20 points

Complete lack of reference to the these and the topic; irrelevant information; unsupported statements, incomplete details

10 points

(10 to 50)

Originality and interest

Strong. The article is very interesting to read and writing displays originality.

25 points

Very good

20 points Good

15 points Limited

10 points Very little 5 points

(5 to 25)

Writing style/flow

clear and effective, excellent grammar and spelling, article well developed and cohesive

25 points

Partially clear and effective, good grammar & spelling, essay well developed and cohesive

20 points

conveys main ideas but lacking clarity, essay mostly developed

15 points

many errors in grammar and spelling

10points

Main ideas unclear, illegible, grammar and spelling errors consistent throughout essay

5 points

(5 to 25)

Evaluation No Document Name Code Category Contents Originality Writing Overall

Score 1 Diversity in India H1 Jr High 9th

grade

2 Inspirational People R3 Ele 2nd gr 3 Jhansi Ki Rani H4 Jr High 7th

gr

4 Wheel of Unity M5 Ele 2nd gr 5 India and America A2 High 12th gr 6 India’s Space Program L6 Jr High 7th

gr

7 India’s republic day N7 Ele 2nd gr

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IANC Culinary Contest Judging Sheet: Judge version Rank 5 4 3 2 1

Excellent Above average Average Below average Poor Evaluation

Taste and texture (flavor, taste, texture, balance of ingredients)

Among the very best tasted 40 points

Very good, as cooked by an expert 32 points

Good, as expected in everyday cooking 24 points

Acceptable, will eat to satisfy hunger 16 points

Not very palatable 8 points

(8-to-40)

Presentation (colors, garnishes, layout, container0

Stunning presentation 20 points

Looks very inviting 16 points

Nice looking 12 points

OK 8 points

Not much effort 4 points

(4-to-20)

Quantity More than 12 servings 20 points

About 12 servings 16 points

About 10 servings 12 points

About 8 servings 8 points

Less than 6 servings 4 points

(4-to-20)

Complete recipe Complete ingredients, quantities, steps, with additional helpful things 20 points

Complete ingredients, quantities, and steps. 16 points

Complete ingredients, quantities. 12 points

Note quite complete. 8 points

No recipe. 4 points

(4-to-20)

Judge: Evaluation No Name Code Adult

/kid Main/ Dessert

Taste/ texture 8-to-40

Presentation 4-to-20

Quantity 4-to-20

Recipe 4-to-20

Total 20-to-100

1 Ad1 Adult Dessert

2 Ad2 Adult Dessert

3 Ad3 Adult Dessert

4 AM4 Adult Main course

5 AM5 Adult Main course

6 AM6 Adult Main Course

7 AM7 Adult Main Course

8 AM8 Adult Main Course

9 AM9 Adult Main Course

10 AM10 Adult Main Course

11 AM11 Adult Main Course

12 AM12 Adult Main Course

13 KD13 kid Dessert

14 KD14 kid Dessert

15 KD15 kid Dessert

16 KD16 kid Dessert

17 KD17 kid Desssert

18 KD18 kid Main Course

19 KD19 kid Main Dish

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Republic Day: Potluck Sign-up sheet

Republic Day Function February 1, 2014

Please fill by Jan 29. Suggested quantity: for 20 or more Add rows as needed

Item you are bringing Name # of adults # of kids (under 6) Total Comment

Subzi (dry) 4 4 Dry Aloo Sabzi

Subzi (dry) 4 0 4 Baked gobhi/aaloo

Subzi (dry) 1 0 1 Gobhi Aaloo

Subzi (dry) 3 3

Pooris IANC 0

Roti/Nan/Parantha (from frozen) 2 2 4 Frozen Roti

Paneer Sabzi IANC

Subzi -with gravy 3 0 3

Subzi -with gravy 2 2 4 Potato gravy Subzi

Subzi -with gravy 4 0 4 Potato gravy Subzi

Subzi - regional style 2 2 4 Avial

Rice/Pulao 3 1 4

Rice/Pulao 2 2 Veg Biryani

Rice/Pulao 2 1 3 Veg Pulao

Rice/Pulao 2 1 3 Veg Pulao

Rice -Pulao 2 2

Rice- regional style 2 2 4 Tamarind/Lemon/Tomato

Rice -regional style 3 0 3

chole 3 3

Chana/Dal 2 2 4 Dal

Chana/Dal 2 2 4 Chana

Kadhi/Raita 2 2 4

Kadhi/Raita 2 1 3 Raita

Kadhi 0

Snack (Dhokla, Pakora etc) 2 1 3 Pakora

Snack (Dhokla, Pakora etc) 2 2 4 Dhokla

Snack (Dhokla, Pakora etc) 3 3

Sweet (sheera/kheer) 3 1 4 Kheer

Sweet- Kheer 3 3

Sweet 2 2 Basundi

Sweet 2 1 3

Chopped salad 2 2 4

Chopped salad 2 2 4

Chopped fruit/grapes 1 1 2 Grapes

Add item 0

Total 32 75 28 103

Families Adults Kids Total About 200 Participated

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IANC’s original 1998 Constitution

On June 7, 1998 the constitution was ratified by the Board. It was replaced by a vote in the General Body

meeting in 2014 by the new Constitution.

ARTICLE 1: Name

The name of the association shall be India

Association of Northern Colorado (IANC) Inc.

(hereinafter referred to as the "association".)

ARTICLE 2: Office

The office site shall as determined time-to-time by

the Board of Officers.

ARTICLE 3: Purpose

The purpose of the association is to organize

educational, cheritable, religious and literary

activites for promoting awareness of Indian culture

and traditions. The association is organized

exclusively for, and will be operated exclusively for

these purposes, in accordance with the requirements

of § 501(c)(3).

ARTICLE 4: Structure of the Association

The association shall consist of a Board of Officers,

Ordinary Members, Affiliate Members and and may

additionally consist of honorary members. The

Board of Officers (hereinafter referred to as the

"Board") shall consist of at least four individuals

from the ordinary or affiliate Membership and shall

include the President, the Vice President, the

Secretary, the Treasurer, and the Coordinators of the

Committees as may be designated by the Board from

time to time. The President and Secretary offices

may not be held by the same person.

ARTICLE 5: Requirements and Types of

Membership

Ordinary membership is open to those individuals

who support and agree with the goals and objectives

of the Association, and pay the membership dues as

decided by the Board. Dependent members of the

family or household of a Member are affiliate

members if they are younger than 18 years. Members

of the India Student Association at Colorado State

University are granted affiliate membership without

cost.

ARTICLE 6: Meeting of the Members

The General Body meetings open to all members,

shall be scheduled as decided by the Board. There

shall be at least one General meeting in a year. For a

General Body meeting, twenty percent of the voting

membership shall constitute a quorum. The quorum

shall not be insisted upon unless the objectives,

purpose or policy of the Association is involved.

ARTICLE 7: Board of Officers

The Board shall manage and direct the affairs of the

association. The Board may increase or decrease the

number of Oficers from time to time. In no event may

the number of the Board members be decreased to

fewer than 4. The Board shall hold meetings as

needed, not less than once each 4 months. Half of the

Directors on the Board shall constitute a quorum for

the transaction of business at any meeting of the

Board. The quorum shall not be insisted upon unless

the objectives, purpose or policy of the Association

is involved.

ARTICLE 8: Selection and Election of Officers

The President, Vice President, Secretary and the

Treasurer shall be elected by the ordinary members

once a year. Other officers shall be appointed as

decided by the Board. If the vice-president, secretary

or the treasurer are unable to serve due to unforeseen

circumstances, the rest of the board may appoint a

replacement.

ARTICLE 9: Funds

The board shall designate the custodians of money

and property belonging to the Association. The

money may be deposited in a bank for safe keeping.

In the event of an impending dissolution, a General

Body meeting shall be called to decide the

disbursement of assets. The residual assets of the

Association shall be turned over to one or more

organizations that are themselves non-profit for

15

exclusive public purposes and have similar

objectives.

ARTICLE 10: Ratification

A majority of Board Members at a Board Meeting

shall vote to ratify these by-laws.

ARTICLE 11: Amendments to the By-laws

Amendments to the By-laws may be made by a

simple majority of in a General Body meeting.

Notes on major changes to the IANC

Constitution

Mandar Sunthankar

The IANC Constitution committee, in cooperation

with the Executive Committee, has drafted and

already emailed a copy of modified constitution. It

is also available here.

We found it necessary to revise the original 1998

constitution to ensure that stability and continuity of

IANC is assured. At the end of 2011, IANC became

dormant because no volunteers could be found to

form an executive committee while IANC funds sat

idle without an official caretaker. In order to address

this issue and others, following amendments were

incorporated for approval:

1. Structure of the association: We currently only

have Executive Committee. We will add a Board Of

Trustees with at least 3 members from some of the

leaders in the community to serve as advisors and to

oversee the operation in the absence of an Executive

Committee. One of the Trustees will be selected as

the Chief Trustee with access to IANC funds and

assets (along with President and Treasurer). The

Trustees will be elected for a 3 (three) year term, will

have no executive responsibilities to run any IANC

activities, they will serve as senior advisors and vote

on all major decisions along with the Executive

Committee.

2. Administrative Body: The Executive Committee

together with the Board of Trustees will termed as

the Administrative Body.

3. Elections: Considering the digital age we are in,

a provision has been made to conduct elections by

email, if the Administrative Body has the means to

do it. This will simplify calling elections without a

physical General Body meeting.

4. Charitable Expenditures: Guidelines for

Charitable Contributions/Sponsorships have been

outlined. There has been about $10,000 in the IANC

account for the past 3 years. An amendment limits

an Executive Committee from expending more that

5% of the IANC funds for their year of operation for

an external organization. Any charitable

expenditures exceeding 5% need to be approved in

the General Body by a majority.

5. Assets: A list of assets belonging to the IANC

will be made and presented to the General Body once

a year along with Financials for the year.

Final Note: Please read the details in the attached

draft and return your comments and suggestions

on/or before Oct 20. Once finalized, it will be

submitted for voice approval in Deepanjali program

on Nov 8, 2014.

Mandar

16

New IANC Constitution

History: On June 7, 1998 the first constitution was

ratified by the Executive Committee, which can be

seen at the IANC website. This revised constitution

was discussed and finalized in 2013, and was

accepted by the membership on Nov 8, 2014.

ARTICLE 1: Name

The name of the association shall be India

Association of Northern Colorado (IANC) Inc.

(hereinafter referred to as the "association".)

ARTICLE 2: Purpose

The purpose of the association is to organize

educational, charitable, religious and literary

activities for promoting awareness of Indian culture

and traditions. The association is organized

exclusively for, and will be operated exclusively for

these purposes, in accordance with the requirements

of § 501(c)(3).

ARTICLE 3: Structure of the Association

The association shall consist of Ordinary Members

and an Administrative Body consisting of an

Executive Committee and a Board of Trustees. In

addition it may have Affiliate Members and

honorary members.

i. The Executive Committee shall include the

President, the Secretary, the Treasurer, and other

committee members as may be designated by the

Administrative Body from time to time. The

President and the Secretary offices may not be held

by the same person. An Executive committee

member must have been a resident of Northern

Colorado for at least three years.

ii. The Board of Trustees (hereinafter referred to as

the "Board") shall consist of a Chief Trustee and at

least two other Trustees. All Trustees shall be

individuals from the ordinary Membership. A

trustee must have honorably served previously as a

President, or must have served IANC honorably for

several years and have been living in Northern

Colorado for at least four years.

ARTICLE 4: Requirements and Types of

Membership

Ordinary membership is open to those individuals

and their spouses who support and agree with the

goals and objectives of the Association, and pay the

membership dues as decided by the Administrative

Body. Dependent members of the family or

household of a Member are affiliate members if they

are younger than 18 years. Members of the India

Student Association at Colorado State University are

granted affiliate membership without cost. The

membership dues may be collected as a part of

admission to specific functions. In special situations

when the membership fees have not been collected

by IANC, the Administrative Body may deem the

current IANC mailing list as Members until the time

when membership fee is collected.

ARTICLE 5: Meeting of the Members

The General Body meeting shall be open to all

members, shall be scheduled as decided by the

Administrative Body. There shall be at least one

General meeting in a year. For a General Body

meeting, twenty percent of the membership shall

constitute a quorum. The quorum shall not be

insisted upon unless the Constitution, objectives,

purpose or policy of the Association is to be altered.

ARTICLE 7: The Administrative Body

The Administrative Body shall direct the affairs of

the association. The Administrative Body may

increase or decrease the number of Executive

Committee members from time to time as seem

necessary. In no event may the number of the

Officers be decreased to fewer than three. The

Administrative Body shall hold meetings as needed,

not less than once each 6 months. Three members of

the Administrative Body shall constitute a quorum

for the transaction of business at any meeting of the

Administrative Body.

The Executive Committee will run the day-to-day

operation of the Association. The Board of Trustees

serve as senior advisors and vote on all major

decisions along with the Executive Committee.

17

ARTICLE 8: Election of Executive Committee

The President, Secretary and the Treasurer shall be

elected by the ordinary members. Other officers shall

be appointed as decided by the Executive Committee

which may include coordinators for specific

subcommittees or activities with input from the

Committee. If the secretary or the treasurer are

unable to serve due to unforeseen circumstances, the

Administrative Body may appoint a replacement.

The election will be conducted by a Nominating

Committee, which will be appointed by the Board of

Trustees and may not include the current Executive

Committee members.

A member of the Executive Committee will serve for

one year, and continue for a second year term if

he/she so chooses.

ARTICLE 8: Election of Trustees

The Trustees will be nominated by a nominating

committee appointed by the Administrative Body

and will be elected by the members in a general

meeting. The Chief Trustee will be elected by the

Board members. A Trustee will serve for term of 3

years. A Trustee may be reappointed. Trustees will

provide guidance to the Executive Committee as

needed.

ARTICLE 9: Funds

The Administrative Body is the custodians of money

and property belonging to the Association. The

money will be deposited in a bank for safe keeping

with access to the Chief Trustee, President and the

Treasurer. The Executive committee or the Board

shall not have the authority to donate funds or assets

to another organizations in access of 5% of the initial

bank-balance in a year, without the approval by the

majority of members in a General meeting, with the

exception of funds collected specifically for

charitable purposes.

In the event of an impending dissolution, a General

Body meeting shall be called to decide the

disbursement of assets. The residual assets of the

Association shall be turned over to one or more

organizations that are themselves non-profit for

exclusive public purposes and have similar

objectives.

ARTICLE 10: Removal of a member of the

Administrative Body

If a member of the Administrative body has not

participated in 3 consecutive meetings (or 3

separate email discussions) he/she may be removed

by the Administrative Body, if the motion for

removal is supported by the two third majority of

the Administrative Body.

ARTICLE 11: Ratification

A majority of Members at a General Meeting shall

vote to ratify these by-laws.

ARTICLE 12: Amendments to the By-laws

Amendments to the By-laws may be made by a

simple majority of in a General Body meeting.

Article 13:IRS requirements:

This amendment was added in 2008 to satisfy the

IRS requirements. It will be retained as Article 13

of the new 2013 constitution.

The India Association of Northern Colorado is

organized exclusively for charitable, religious,

educational, and scientific purposes, including, for

such purposes, the making of distributions to

organizations that qualify as exempt organizations

under section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue

Code, or corresponding section of any future federal

tax code.

No part of the net earnings of the organization shall

inure to the benefit of, or be distributable to its

members, trustees, officers, or other private persons,

except that the organization shall be authorized and

empowered to pay reasonable compensation for

services rendered and to make payments and

distributions in furtherance of the purpose set forth

in purpose clause hereof.

No substantial part of the activities of the

organization shall be the carrying on of propaganda,

or otherwise attempting to influence legislation, and

the organization shall not participate in, or intervene

in (including the publishing distribution of

statements) any political campaign on behalf of any

candidate for public office. Notwithstanding any

other provision of this document, the organization

shall not carry on any other activities not permitted

to be carried on (a) by an organization exempt from

18

federal income tax under section 501 (c) (3) of the

Internal Revenue Code, or corresponding section of

any future federal tax code, or (b) by an organization,

contributions to which are tax deductible under

section 170 (c) (2) of the Internal Revenue Code, or

corresponding section of any future federal tax code

These Operating Procedures were accepted as a

part of the revised constitution package also on Nov

8, 2014.

Operating Procedures

Operating Procedures: The operating procedures

will serve as a guidance for the Association. They

may be revised time to time by the Administrative

Body as needed.

a. Elections will be conducted by a separate

Nominating Committee (2-3 members),

appointed by the Board. They will solicit the

nominations/volunteers, assist those

nominated to come to a convergence, and

hold the elections. In case of an unresolved

competition for a post, election will be held

for that post. Attempt will be made to ensure

diversity (regional and demographic). The

election and voting may be conducted by

email or other electronic media, provided the

procedure used can be monitored by at least

two responsible individuals from Nominating

Committee or assisting the Nominating

Committee and not members of the

Executive Committee.

b. In the special situation, when no new

candidates for Executive Committee can be

identified, the board of trustees may ask the

existing Executing Committee members to

continue to serve, if they are willing.

However the Trustees will sent an invitation

to membership to nominate and elect new

officers, at least once in 9 months during the

time when the regularly elected Executive

Committee does not exist.

c. The annual membership fee will be

determined by the Administrative Body time

to time. No membership was charged in 2012

and 2013. However those buying the

Deepanjali tickets in 2013 were deemed

members until Deepanjali 2014. Those

buying Deepanjali tickets in 2014 will be

members until the next Deepanjali.

d. For official communications, such as

banking, state regulations and taxes, the

home address of the current president shall

serve as the associations address, unless

determined otherwise by the Board.

e. The IANC bank accounts will have three

names, the President, the Treasurer and the

Chief Trustee on them. IANC web resources

(email, web hosting) will be accessible by the

President and the Secretary.

f. The president can approve expenses of up to

$450 directly. For higher expenses, an

approval by the majority of the

Administrative Body is needed.

g. A portion of the association cash assets may

be preserved for long term projects like

acquiring a association center, and/or may be

deposited in long term certificates of deposit.

The majority of the Administrative Body will

take this decision from time to time as

needed.

h. IANC funds will be used only for IANC's

objectives. There will be no salaries, but

volunteers may be provided reasonable

meeting or event related hospitality (such as

food) at the discretion of the President but not

to exceed $10.00/person each meeting.

i. IANC funding guidelines for approval of

sponsorship of external event: (approved Aug

2, 2014)

- Funding limited to $100 (unless a stronger case is

made)

- Activity should support IANC objectives

- One of the proposers or the supporter of a proposal

should be active current or past IANC volunteer for

the proposal to be considered.

- Award made on the basis of i. strength of proposal

ii. credentials of proposer iii. availability of IANC

funds, as evaluated by IANC board.

19

- Judgement of IANC board is final, and no

justification to the proposer needs to be provided.

- IANC will be appropriately acknowledged

- A brief report will be submitted which will include

the number of attended.

j. A list of all assets will be created, maintained

and revised once a year by the Administrative

Body and presented to the general body to

ensure its integrity. Any durable movable

Association assets, will be saved by one or

more members of the Administrative Body

for future use.

k. The Executive committee will present

financial status of the association to the

General Body at the end of its term

l. For issues that have not been formally

specified in the By-Laws and the Operating

Procedures, documents from well-

established India Associations in USA may

be consulted for guidance.

For example: http://www.iagb.org/wp-

content/uploads/2009/12/IAGB-Bylaws.pdf

The Constitution: India Association of

Greater Boston Inc, 23 September 2001

Prior revision drafts: 3/9/2013, 5/15/13, 10/11/

2013, 11/5/13 12/18/13, 12/28/2013, 9/23/14,

10/3/14, 10/10/2014.

History of IANC and its Diwali Function

Decision to organize IANC was taken at the Ganapati

function at Sunthankar’s residence in 1998.

The first Diwali function was held in 1998. An email

dated 21 Sep 1999 refers to the fact that in 1998, we

had 160 adults and 35 children (6-12). Below, you

can see the poster for 1999.

Diwali function had about 400 participants in 2008

and 2009. There was no elected IANC executive

committee in the early 2012, however in Sept 2012,

we initiated efforts to reorganize IANC.

With the help of Suresh Bhamidi and Sangeeta Rao,

we were able to reclaim IANC’s bank, email and web

hosting accounts and successfully organized the

Diwali function at the Ridgeview Classical Schools.

Because of the space limitations, we were only able

to accommodate about 285 persons during 20113 and

2014.

Before the founding of IANC, the Fort Collins

community actively participated in CSU’s India

Association (ISA). IANC has continued to

collaborate with CSU students who are deemed

associate members of IANC.

20

IANC Election Report & Introductions of 2014

Officers

Mitranath Jha

IANC Volunteer for Executive Committee Election

The following persons were elected for IANC

Executive Committee for the 2014 term in the

election conducted by Dr. Mitranath Jha on Nov 9,

2013 at the Deepanjali Function. The call for

nominations was sent on Nov 7, and these

nominations were unanimously approved by IANC

community.

President: Dr. Neelam Sharma

Vice President: Mandar Sunthankar

Secretary: Dr. Yashwant Malaiya

Treasurer: Beena Bawa

Cultural Secretary: Surbhi Kapoor

Other IANC volunteers including the Youth

coordinators will be nominated by the Executive

Committee.

The IANC Executive Committee will assume their

duties and will start working from January 1, 2014

for one year period as stated in IANC constitution.

It was also unanimously approved by IANC

community to amend the IANC constitution as

needed for smooth functioning of the committee in

long run. The following persons were approved by

IANC community to work on the constitution

amendment.

Dr. Yashwant Malaiya- Coordinator

Mandar Sunthankar

Dr. Krishna Murthy

Dr. Mitra N. Jha

Other volunteers from the community are invited for

their valuable input on the changes of IANC

constitution.

IANC invites and would appreciate other volunteers

from the community to actively participate in

different events and functions organized by the

committee. We look forward for a very success and

prosperity of IANC in 2014 and beyond.

Introduction of IANC 2014 Executive Committee:

Neelam is a research scientist at Department of

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in CSU. She

and her husband Dr. Ajay Jha have lived in Fort

Collins since 2001 and have two children. She served

as IANC Cultural Secretary in 2007.

Mandar is an engineer, entrepreneur and a

consultant. He and his wife Dr. Lena Sunthankar

have lived in Fort Collins since 1981. They have two

children. He served as IANC Vice President during

1998-2000.

Yashwant is a professor of Computer Science in

CSU. He and his wife Anjali have lived in Fort

Collins since 1982 and have two children. He served

as IANC President during 1998-2000, 2012-2013.

Beena is a cultural activist. She and her husband Dr.

Rajan Bawa, have lived in Fort Collins since 1993.

They have one son. Their late daughter who died of

cancer had founded the organization "Peace is the

Cure". She served as an IANC Coordinator during

1998-99.

Surbhi and her husband Devesh have lived in Fort

Collins since 2002 and have 2 children. She served

as the Cultural Secretary in 2013.

Youth Coordinators: Ananya Shah, Anushkarakarn

K Jha, Asmita Jha, Ayushi Kaul, Bhaavika S

Gaddam, Pratik Patel, Yashvi Naik

21

2014 Nomination Committee Report

Here is the official announcement of Election of

IANC Executive Committee and Board of Trustees.

Dear IANC members:

We appreciate your participation and votes for the

election of IANC Board of Trustees and Executive

Committee. We are pleased to announce that

following decisions were taken place by IANC

members present at Deepanjalee function on

Saturday, November 8, 2014.

1. IANC Constitution Amendment: IANC

members with majority votes passed the amendment

of IANC constitution to run the IANC smoothly.

Major changes include the induction of Board of

Trustees and smooth functioning of Executive

Committee. The IANC Board of Trustee will have at

least three member and will take responsibility of

smooth running of IANC. They will provide the

vision and mission of the IANC and in extreme

circumstances they will take care that IANC runs

properly. Audiences thanked Dr. Yashwant Malaiya,

Mandar Sunthankar, and other members who

provided their thoughts and comments for amending

the constitution.

2. Election of Board of Trustees: IANC members

present on Deepanjalee Function elected the

following person for IANC Board of Trustees with

majority votes.

·Dr. Neelam Sharma- Nominated by Dr. Yashwant

Malaiya- for the duration of Three years

·Mr. Ravi Narayanan- Nominated himself- for the

duration of Two years

·Mr. Dipen Patel- Nominated himself and by Dr.

Yashwant Malaiya- for the duration of One year

It was also decided that every year one member of

the Board of Trustee will retire and and a new

member will be elected by IANC for a 3 year term.

3. Election of Executive Committee: IANC

members present on Deepanjalee function elected

the following persons for Executive Committee with

majority votes,

·President- Roop Kumar Anikapati - nominated by

Kaushik Ramasubramaniam

·Vice President- Ashutosh Upadhyay - - Nominated

by Dr. Ajay Jha

·Secretary - Venkat Sundaram (Venkateswaran)-

Nominated by Dr. Ajay Jha

· Cultural Secretary- Madhu Kumar - nominated by

Kaushik Ramasubramaniam

· Youth Coordinator- Nela Mohan, Karthik Palusa,

Jayram Mandavilli

Youth coordinator is not an elected position and thus

they are nominated by the EC.

Treasurer position is still open could be decided later

on.

As per IANC constitution the Executive Committee

will assume their duties and responsibility on

January 1, 2015 for one year. However, they are

encouraged to participate and work with present

committee for planning of the coming events.

IANC members thanked the present Executive

Committee members including Dr. Neelam Sharma,

Mandar Sunthankar, Beena Bawa, and Surbhi

Kapoor, and several volunteers including Kaushik

Ramasubramaniam for their hard work and all efforts

organizing different events throughout the year

including Deepanjali function.

It was also decided that in future, to avoid any

confusion, IANC should have some rules for on-the-

spot elections to avoid confusion.

These can be part of the Operating Procedure and can

be decided by the Board of Trustees and Executive

Committee.

If there are any questions please contact Mitra N. Jha

at mjha7700@yahoo.com and Preeti Sathe

atpreety.sathe@gmail.com.

Mitra N. Jha and Preeti Sathe

IANC Election Committee

22

Introducing the 2015 Team

Executive Committee

President: Roop Anikapati is an IT Project

Manager at the US Department of Agriculture

(USDA), moved to Ft Collins from Dallas-Fort

Worth in 2010, lives in Timnath with his wife

Sengamalam (Kamla) and two children Shravya (10)

& Shrihan (7) who attend the Traut Core Knowledge

School. Originally from Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh

where most of his extended family is and where he

finished his Bachelors in Engineering, he's

associated to Chennai, Tamil Nadu as well where he

completed his Masters at the Indian Institute of

Technology (IIT) and where his wife's family is. He

is also closely tied to Dallas, Texas where he

completed his MBA from the University of Dallas

and worked for Verizon as a Technical Manager for

many years before started working for USDA. He's

keenly interested in the Indian culture & music and

likes to partake in community activities that promote

passing down the rich Indian tradition & heritage to

the younger generation.

Vice President: Ashutosh Upadhyay is working as

a postdoc researcher in Dept of Microbiology,

Immunology and Pathology, CSU. I am originally

from Gorakhpur (UP), but got the Masters from

Shimla and PhD from University of Delhi. Before

coming to Fort Collins,I worked in National Institute

of Immunology, New Delhi for a few months. We (I

and my wife, also a post doc) moved to Fort Collins

in 2010 and have a ~4years old daughter. We live in

Aggie Village university apartments.

Hobbies: Music and writing. I have worked in All

Radio as a part timer while doing my bachelor

studies and have performed in cultural programs on

stage.

Secretary: Venkat Sundaram hails from Madurai,

Tamil Nadu. He is married to Shilpa and have two

kids, Anusha(10) and Abhijeet(5). He works with

Hewlett Packard for the past 17+ years and lives in

Fort Collins, CO since 2007. Photography is his

hobby/passion.

Cultural Secretary: Madhu Kumar comes from

Pune, Maharashtra and is married to Sunil Kumar.

She moved to Fort Collins about ten years ago but

she definitely misses living in India. Madhu and

Sunil have two kids Ayush (8) and Anika (4) who

23

unfortunately love mac and cheese more than rice

and dal. Madhu loves Indian music, dance and

theatre, which have been an integral part of her

upbringing. Madhu is a public health professional

and is very passionate about health and wellness. She

also enjoys volunteering with different non-profits in

town.

Youth Coordinators: Nela Mohan, Karthik Palusa,

Jayram Mandavilli, Roshini Narayanan,

Suhaas Narayanan, Yash Kothamdi

Trustees

3Y: Dr. Neelam Sharma: Neelam and Ajay Jha

lived in Fort Collins for 14 year. They moved from

India, New Delhi to Fort Collins, Colorado. Works

at CSU as a Scientist in Department of

Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences.

She served IANC as a cultural Secretary in 2007 and

as a President in 2014. Her kids Anushkaran K. Jha

served as a youth coordinator in IANC 2014

committee and daughter Asmita Jha in 2011 and

2014. Her husband Dr. Ajay K. Jha served as a IANC

President in the year 2003 & 2004.

2Y: Ravi Narayanan, his wife, Sugandha daughter,

Roshini and son, Suhaas Narayanan are long term

residents of Fort Collins. Ravi Narayanan moved

from Chennai to the United States to pursue his

higher studies and after brief stints in Michigan and

the Carolina’s moved to Fort Collins to work for then

Teledyne Waterpik. He currently manages the

medical components and device product lines of

Nordson Medical.

Ravi has cherished his experiences working with the

Northern Colorado community and its leaders and

has served under multiple roles in India Association

of Northern Colorado including President. He also

serves as the US Expert for ISO TC210/JWG 4 an

international joint working group striving towards

decreasing medical tubing misconnections in the

hospitals and contributes to patient safety. Ravi

enjoys outdoors and is an ardent fan of Starbucks

filter coffee.

1Y: Dipen Patel: I am from Vadodara, Gujarat, My

wife Amita and I moved to Fort Collins in 1999, I

have two kids Pratik (13) and Isha (9). I am working

as IT manager at CSU foundation since 2007. I have

been in IANC committee before as treasurer in 2005

and Vice president in 2008.

Street Cleaning: Adapt-a-street

IANC: Compassion in Fort Collins

IANC does more than organize functions. One of its

missions is to organize charitable activities. Here are

two cases.

Case 1. Kiran, a student, injured in a tragic

accident:

After a fund raising to help him with surgery, a

fellow student posted on the IANC list:

From: Nischal M P

To: Indian Association of Northern Colorado

CC: Sudipto Ghosh <ghosh@CS.ColoState.EDU>

Subject: Thank you - Fund raising for Kiran.

Dear Dr. Ghosh,

Could you please forward this email to all the

members of IANC.

Thank you,

Nischal P.

Dear IANC members,

Firstly, I would like to thank the Indian Community

of Northern Colorado or the response with respect to

the fund raising for Kiran's transfer from Pueblo to

Fort Collins. Personally, the response was beyond

imagination for me! Today, I feel more at

24

home..."secure and safe".. in Fort Collins in my six-

year stay.&nbsp! ;Not because of the monetary

reasons but the care and concern that the students

and community has expressed for others. Kiran's

mother said that we have left home to stay far away

in a "forest!" But when I conveyed the concern she

was really surprised!

We have collected $4721 in approximately 72 hours.

This is much more than what we expected. At this

point, we would like to end the "donation

initiative." Thanks to the following donors and also

those anonymous donors: (Sorry for any misspelled

names:( )

Abhijit

Aby P

A long list of names...

Vinod

Yogesh

Once again, thank you one and all!

Warm regards,

Nischal P.

Research Assistant Computer Networking Research

Laboratory (CNRL)

Case 2. Tragedies faced by Ketan and Supriya D.

Swati A. posted on the IANC list:

A couple from Fort Collins, CO, Ketan and Supriya

D., are in dire need of help. They had their first baby,

Ayushi, on the 27th of September. Born at 5.2 lbs

Ayushi was a very healthy baby who nursed well and

in a mo! nth, not only gained 3 lbs but also grew from

18" to 21". Obvious ly she was doing very well. But

suddenly around the 2nd week of November the

parents discovered a tiny white spot on her eye and

took her to the pediatrician who, to the complete

surprise of Ketan and Supriya, diagnosed cataract in

both of Ayushi's eyes.

Ayushi underwent one eye surgery for cataract.

Unfortunately, for reasons not known even now, she

contracted a viral infection. What is more disturbing

is that the doctors and specialists who have dealt

with her case (in Poudre Valley Hospital as well as

the Children's Hospital in Denver) have no clue to

what is afflicting Ayushi. They have done a string of

tests (including west Nile virus etc.) but they have all

returned negative results. However the one

conclusion they have all come to is that she will not

survive it because her brain tissues as well as her

spinal fluid have been affected by the infection. It has

been very hard for the parents to cope with what is

happening to their seemingly perfect little angel.

The volunteer organizations (Hospice) have been

very helpful in counseling them as well as in the more

painful matters of arranging funeral home in the

event anything untoward. And while the family was

still trying to grasp with this, Ketan's father passed

away on the 4th of December in Bombay of a massive

heart attack. This was more than the family could

handle. He took a flight home with his shocked mom

(who was here for Ayushi's birth) on the 5th of

December leaving Supriya and her mom with the

ailing baby.

It is obvious that no one can imagine or comprehend

this string of bad luck and the pace at which it has

struck them. The Fort Collins Indian community has

however stood by them very steadfastly for which

Supriya and Ketan are immensely thankful as she

will tell anyone repeatedly who calls or visits her.

Everyone who has heard about them and Ayushi have

wanted to do whatever possible and the only thing

that could come close to making any difference,

apart from visiting them and giving company and

praying, to their lot is contributing some money.

Needless to say their financial worries have been

immense. Ketan's Insurance is an 80-20% policy and

Ayushi's tests, endless doctor visits, surgeries,

hospital stays have already mounted to an

astronomical sum. Also when he left for India, Ketan

bought tickets at $3000 a-piece. We are now trying

to collect money for them to help them survive in this

hour of need. Also we are trying to spend time with

them so that they are not lonely. Any help would be

appreciated.

If you wish to donate money please put in your

contribution into the donation box placed in India's

Rice and Spice, the Indian Grocery in Fort Collins

or contact Swati A. (970-) or Sagarika S. at (970-).

In case anyone would like to pay by check, please

make them payable to "Ketan D.". Your help is

greatly appreciated. Please pray for them.

A note of thanks from Surpriya & Ketan D. Thu

Jan 22 10:22 am

25

We would like to thank you for supporting us through

this very difficult time. We are very grateful for your

prayers and your kind generosity. We would like to

thank each one of you, members and non- members

who have reached out to us with a helping hand and

eased our pain. Because of you this place has become

home away from home for us. Thank you for being

there for us.

Best Regards,

Ketan & Supriya

Challenges in photography of performances

Amol Pandit

Here is my perspective about challenges of taking

photographs and videos during such occasions.

Kids grow too fast, before even we realize, they are

no longer in a cocoon and have morphed into a

beautiful butterfly and ready to fly away. It is very

important for us, the parents, to capture the growing

up memories. Whether it is Photographs or Videos,

they become a life time memories for us to enjoy for

years together. Therefore it is important to get quality

memories.

The first and major challenge faced to capture during

these performances is the amount of light.

Photographs or Videos are just like our eyes. The

more light we have the better we can see. It is

imperative to have the stage flooded with lights. The

more light we can get on stage, the better the photos

and videos will be. If there isn't enough light, photos

are going to shake and they will be very grainy or

noisy. When we rehearse on the stage and adjust the

light settings, I would recommend always put as

much light as possible on the stage.

Background plays a very important role in capturing

these memories as well. The more contrast we have,

the better it will be captured. Having a black

background behind the stage is the best. The

decorations on the wall provide high contrast against

a black background. The costumes and faces of the

performers also provide a high contrast against a

black background. The photos and videos in such a

setup will stand out very clear and crisp. It seems to

me that Ridgeview is very commonly chosen for

IANC performances. I would highly recommend

IANC to invest in a black background that can be put

on the Ridgeview stage. All we would need is large

pieces of black cloth that can be attached to the back

walls and the decorations can be put on top of it.

It is difficult for photographers or videographers to

go all the way to front and capture. They may be

blocking someone’s view by doing so and they

cannot get the entire stage in the frame if they are too

far ahead. At the same time audience is not always

sitting down still, they move and get up and it makes

it difficult to capture. Ideally an elevated platform at

the back of the auditorium is best for taking

photographs and videos. Ridgeview currently does

not have anything like this. It would be helpful to be

able to put up a small elevated platform if possible in

the very back for the auditorium.

Photographers or videographers cannot really enjoy

the performances, they are focused on trying to get

the best they can and in the process of doing so, they

cannot look at the performance. Often only a video

or a photo later on can give them some idea on how

the performance was.

Different people take photos differently. I take my

photos in “Raw” mode and therefore when I am done

taking photos, I don’t have a JPEG image readily

available to share. I need to edit each and every photo

(like dark room in the film camera days) and create a

JPEG that can be shared. Editing each photo takes

me about 5 to 8 minutes which I have to do in my

spare time outside of work and daily routines. This

takes significant time and patience is required but the

results speak for themselves. I also tend to take

hundreds of photos of each performance instead of

taking just a few. For instance, I took over 1800

photos of the recent Diwali performance.

I guess this is probably too long of a write up but I

wanted to give you my perspective. If there are

questions, I will be happy to answer them to the best

of my ability and knowledge.

26

IANC Boards since its inception

Year President Vice President General Secretary Treasurer Cultural Secretary

2013 Yashwant K Malaiya Usha Pandit Ravi Narayanan

Kaushik

Ramasubramaniam Surbhi Kapoor

2012 Yashwant Malaiya Usha Pandit Suresh Bhamidi Kaushik Ramasubramaniam Grace Harish, Chakrapani Gollamudi

2011 Raj Gaddam Saiprasad Palusa Achyuth Panduranga Suresh Bhamidi Sonal Deshpande

2010

Saseendran S.

Anapalli

Vishnu

Rajasekharan Raju Malla Maya Jairam, Rajan Bawa Ajay Malhotra

2009 Sanjay Agarwal Sangeeta Rao Sadhana Achyuth Ranjit Menon Anshika Gupta

2008 Preety Sathe Dipen Patel Mangesh Sahasrabudhe Hardik Shah Alpana Malvankar

2007 Lena Sunthankar Sanjay Agarwal Abhijit Bare Nathalal Vadher Neelam Sharma

2006 Mohan Devarajulu Amol Sonune Ajay Deshpande - Neera Singh

2004

Ravi Narayanan Amol Amin Sandeep Kohli Dipen Patel

Sapna Kohli;

- Leena Sunthankar;

2005

2003 -

Ajay Jha Abhay Sathe Sanjay Ramchander Amita Patel Seema Shah 2004**

2002 -

Rahul Deshpande Sudipto Ghosh Rajiv Khosla Sudha Shah Toral Thaker 2003*

2001 -

Sudhakar Kale Ravi Narayanan A. Manohar, Jaideep Magdum, Juhi Chawla

Rani Vedanthan, Preety Sathe Manju Arora 2002*

2000 -

2001* Usha Chandra-mouli U. M. Babu Jaideep Magdum Ravi Narayanan Prakash Easwaran

1999 -

2000* Yashwant Malaiya Mandar Sunthankar Kaushik Ramasubrama -nium, Bharat Kanagal Ravi Narayanan Sudhir Patel

1998 -

Yashwant Malaiya Mandar Sunthankar

Rama Rao, Preety

Sathe Nilesh Gheewala Lena Sunthankar 1999*

Photo credits: Venkat Sumdaram and Amol Pandit