33 Vol 6 December 7 - 13, 2013

The South Asian Times
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Nelson Mandela
(1918 2013)
World mourns anti-apartheid icon and true Gandhian

J o h a n n e s b u r g / N e w Delhi/Washington: South Africa's first black president and antiapartheid icon Nelson Mandela has died, President Jacob Zuma announced here late Thursday. The Nobel laureate was 95. Mandela had been receiving intense home-based medical care for a lung infection after three months in hospital. He led South Africa's transition from white-minority rule in the 1990s, after having spent 27 years in prison. In a statement on South African national TV, Zuma said Mandela had "departed" and was at peace. "Our nation has lost its greatest son." Mandela would receive a full state funeral, and flags would be flown at half-mast, the president added. According to BBC, Mandela's body will be moved to a mortuary in Pretoria, and the funeral is likely to take place next Saturday as world leaders are expected to attend. The Nobel Peace Prize winner was one of the world's most revered statesmen. He had rarely been seen in public since officially retiring in 2004. He made his last public appearance in 2010, at the football World Cup in South Africa Mandela, who brought the world toward a racial reconciliation, can rightly be compared with Mahatma Gandhi, who influenced him, and American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., both men of peace, preaching nonviolent resistance to oppression and exploitation. "Gandhi, King, Mandela - these, it could be argued, are the figures who will live longest in the public consciousness as we look back on the postwar world," Washington Post said in a tribute to Mandela. Rich tributes were paid in the US, India and other world capitals to "Madiba", as Mandela was affectionately called by his clan name by South Africans. America's Continued on page 4
Affectionately called by his clan name 'Madiba in South Africa, Mandela was adored by his people and respected as world statesman across the globe.
H. Singh and Eric Kumar in de Blasios inauguration team

New York: One month before the January 1 date when hell take the oath of office, NYC MayorElect Bill de Blasio announced his inaugural committee, a list of names from all five boroughs, every community and every walk of life, as his transition team put it in a press release. The Indian American community can take pride in their representation as Harendra Singh, founder of Singh Hospitality
Indian voters weaken Congress, boost BJP

Rajasthan, MP, Chhattisgarh in BJP kitty, Delhi close call: Exit polls
New Delhi: Exit polls out Wednesday evening were not good news for the Congress with nearly all of them predicting big wins for the BJP in all four Hindi heartland states that went to the polls in the last fortnight. Polls for state assemblies were held in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi whose results will be out Dec 8, while Mizoram's results will be out Dec 9. The exit polls predict that the said the BJP will win in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and will be slightly short of majority in Chhattisgarh, while the CNN-IBNThe Week survey said the BJP will win in all three states. According to the India TVCVoter exit polls, in Rajasthan, the BJP is projected to win 130 seats of the total 199, while the ruling Congress was projected to manage just 48 seats. According to India Continued on page 4
Harendra Singh and (right) Eric Kumar
Group,
and Eric Kumar, Continued on page 4
BJP will wrest Rajasthan from Congress and retain Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, while its chances in Delhi are very bright. The India TV-CVoter exit poll
US Affairs 9
Travel 18
Lifestyle 25
Spiritual Awareness 30
excellence in journalism
December 7-13, 2013
TRIBUTE
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Nelson Mandelas name will rank with great leaders of our time such as Mahatma Gandhi, who influenced the South African, and Martin Luther King Jr.
On May 9, 1994, Nelson Mandela was officially inaugurated as the first democratically elected President of South Africa. He along with former president FW de Klerk addressed a huge crowd of people after the inauguration ceremony. De Klerk had facilitated Mandelas release from jail. The two were bestowed the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.
President Bill Clinton with Nelson Mandela at the Independence Hall in Philadelphia, PA, in July 1993.
Barack Obama as US Senator met for the first time with former South African President Nelson Mandela in May 2005 in a neighborhood of Washington, D.C.
Nelson Mandela and then Indian President APJ Abdul Kalam enjoy a joke at Mandelas office in Johannesburg, September 2004.
Nelson Mandela and his wife Winnie play with their grandchild Bambata at their Soweto home in February 1990 days after he was released from jail.
Nelson Mandela in his youth circa 1950.
Nelson Mandela is introduced to Mohammad Azharuddin (left) by then Indian captain Sachin Tendulkar during the second cricket Test between South Africa and India at Newlands, Cape Town in South Africa in January 1997. India did not play South Africa between 1970-1990 due to apartheid.
TRISTATE COMMUNITY
December 7-13, 2013
'India-US partnership to grow without pause'

Washington: Describing India-US relationship as beyond bilateral a regional and a global relationship, a senior Obama administration official has said their strategic partnership would keep growing without a pause for India's upcoming parliamentary elections. "I don't think that there's any pause. I think everything is moving forward apace," US assistant secretary of State for South and Central Asia Nisha Desai Biswal told foreign reporters Tuesday. Indian Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh is visiting Washington next week and the two countries have an energy dialogue slated for early next year, noted Biswal when asked about how she saw the partnership evolving after the 2014 elections. "I think that the relationship will continue to strengthen and deepen and grow, and I think that increasingly it's not just a bilateral relationship, but it is a regional and a global relationship," she said. President Barack Obama, Biswal noted had "most aptly characterized it" as "a partnership and a relationship that is one of the defining partnerships of the 21st century, and that's because it's a partnership based on shared values, shared approaches." "And we believe that India provides an incredible example of democratic development, and we want to support that example as one that more and more countries ought to follow," she said. Biswal also denied that the 2008 landmark India-US civil nuclear deal was in a limbo over India's tough nuclear liability law though it was not making as "fast and as full" progress as they would like it. But "Is it as fast and as full as we would like it?" Biswal asked and herself answered: "No, I think that there are definitely steps that we think would help move things along." The nature of the relationship between India and US "has so transformed that this (the nuclear deal) is a very important component, but it is one of very many components," she said. "We're pushing ahead on every single front, and we're working with our Indian colleagues and counterparts on every single front, including civil nuclear cooperation," she added.
HuffPost removes Sonia's name from richest leaders list

Washington: Days after naming Congress party president Sonia Gandhi among the world's richest leaders, an American news site has removed her from the list, saying it had been unable to verify the story. "Sonia Gandhi and the former emir of Qatar Hamid bin Khalifa al-Thani have been removed from this list," the Huffington Post wrote in an editor's note at the end of an updated version of a story titled "The Richest World Leaders Are Even Richer Than You Thought". "Gandhi was originally included based on a listing on a third party site which was subsequently called into question," it said by way of explanation. "Our editors have been unable to verify the amount, removed the link, and regret any confusion. Qatar's emir was succeeded by his son Tamim in 2013," the portal added. Four days earlier, the Post had listed Gandhi as the 12th richest world leader, putting her assets at $2 billion without giving details of how it arrived at the figure. Topping the new HuffPost list is Russian President Vladimir Putin "believed to be worth between $40 and $70 billion". Russia's GDP per capita is $14,000, it noted. He is followed by Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej, Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud and UAE President and ruler of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan. "Ever wondered just how rich the richest
Congress President Sonia Gandhi: the influential news site said her name was originally included based on a questionable listing on a third party site.
world leaders really are?" the Huffington Post asked in the updated story. "To put it in perspective, President Barack Obama may be worth several million dollars, but he does not even come close to some of his contemporaries." HuffPost's roster of some of the richest world leaders currently in power "includes a mixture of kings, presidents, sultans and queens". "For comparison, each country's GDP per capita is juxtaposed with a leader's personal net worth, just to show how different life is for the haves and have-nots," it said.
HAB Bank hosts a reception to honor a visiting board member 'India's Rape Epidemic' among Time's top 10 stories
Garden City, NY: HAB Bank, nations oldest and largest South Asian bank, hosted a dinner for Indian-American community of Long Island on Nov 14, in honor of HABs board member, Navneet Singh Chugh. Over 100 invited Saleem Iqbal, President & CEO of HAB HABs board member, guests joined HABs Bank, flanked by Gurpreet Singh Jaggi Navneet Singh Chugh, management in weland Dr Rajender Uppal (right) coming California speaking at the reception at the event. in his honor. based Chugh to Long Asian community. and strengthening the South Island. HABs management that Asian community with branch Saleem Iqbal, President & CEO of HAB Bank, in his wel- included Rizwan Qureshi, SEVP, network located in New York, come address renewed the banks Zilay Wahidy, SVP, Nasir Khan, New Jersey and California. The commitment to serve the growing VP, Mehmood Syed, Senior banks core products are and vibrant South Asian commu- Business Development Officer, Commercial Real Estate nity on Long Island, lauding their and HAB Hicksville Branch Mortgages, International Trade Manager, Rupal Sehgal, accom- Services, US Small Business successes and achievements. Chugh said he was proud to be panied Iqbal and Chugh at the Loans and a well-designed commercial banking products and part of the Bank and reiterated reception. Founded in 1983, HAB Bank services for small to medium HABs mission to serve the financial needs of the South has played a key role in nurturing sized businesses. Washington: Time Mumbai, also drew widemagazine has listed spread attention nationally "India's Rape and abroad, and the uproar Epidemic", about the has shone a necessary spotnationwide uproar light on India's notoriously over a number of patriarchal society." rape incidents, espe"It has also placed cially following a renewed scrutiny on the shocking gang rape state of women's rights in in Delhi, as the ninth the developing world top world news where more than 2 milMass protests at the time over lion girls give birth story of 2013. Mass protests at the shocking gang rape of a before the age of 14," the time over the woman in a bus in Delhi at Time said. shocking gang rape the end of 2012 demanded "Bangladesh's Factory of a woman in a bus greater protection for women Disaster" - "the worst in Delhi at the end and swift justice as evidenced industrial disaster in in Tarun Tejpal case. of 2012, the influenrecent memory, killing tial US news magazine noted "demand- over 1,100 workers" - about the April ed greater protection for women and 24 collapse of the Rana Plaza building swift justice. in the outskirts of Bangladesh's capital "The trial and sentencing of the cul- Dhaka, is listed as the seventh top world prits-four were given the death penalty- news story. of the six suspects lasted through The top three slots are taken by September," it recalled. "Syria's Civil War - and the War That "Subsequent incidents, including the Didn't Happen"; "Iran's New Chapter" rape of another 23-year-old girl in and "The End of Egypt's Revolution?"
December 7-13, 2013
TURN PAGE
World mourns anti-apartheid ... Continued from page 1 rst black President, Barack Obama remembered South Africa's rst black president and anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela as "a man who took history in his hands, and bent the arc of the moral universe toward justice." "I am one of the countless millions who drew inspiration from Nelson Mandela's life," said the son of a Kenyan father and an American white mother, who in 2008 himself created history by becoming the rst African American President. "My very rst political action, the rst thing I ever did that involved an issue or a policy or politics, was a protest against apartheid," said Obama. "We will not likely see the likes of Nelson Mandela again," Obama said. "Today, he has gone home. And we have lost one of the most inuential, courageous, and profoundly good human beings that any of us will share time with on this Earth." "He no longer belongs to us - he belongs to the ages," he said. Obama is expected to travel to South Africa for the memorial service. He has ordered ags at half-mast on all US public buildings until sunset on Dec 9 in honor of Mandela. Former President Bill Clinton called Mandela "a champion for human dignity and freedom, for peace and reconciliation" who "proved that there is freedom in forgiving, that a big heart is better than a closed mind, and that life's real victories must be shared." Condoling Mandelas death, Indias President Pranab Mukherjee said, "He was a statesman, world leader and icon of inspiration of humanity. He was a great friend of India and his contribution for strengthening the close ties between our two countries will be always remembered." Prime Minister Manmohan Singh added, "A giant among men has passed away. This is as much India's loss as South Africa's. He was a true Gandhian." British Prime Minister David Cameron said "a great light has gone out in the world". Former British prime minister Tony Blair recalled on BBC World Service when
Mandela visited Downing Street. "He would talk to the people on the door, to the people making the tea. He had an incredible way about him. It wasn't just what he did, it was the way that he did it." Ela Gandhi, the granddaughter of Mahatma Gandhi, told BBC: "It is difcult for me to speak right now because I am so overcome with grief and emptiness... For me (Mandela) was really a wonderful hero and idol that I really felt that humanity should emulate, should follow." Indian voters weaken Congress,... Continued from page 1 TV-CVoter exit polls in Delhi, the BJP is projected to win 29 of the 70 assembly seats, the Congress 21, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) 16 seats, and the BSP two seats. But according to the ABP-Neilson survey, the BJP is set to win simple majority in Delhi with 37 seats and a vote share of 33 per cent in the 70-member house. In Madhya Pradesh, the BJP under Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is set to make a hat-trick with 138 seats out of 230, said the ABP-Neilson survey. The assembly results are being seen as a semi-nal ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha polls and could impact the prospects of the two national parties, especially the ruling Congress which is grappling with the antiincumbency of two terms at the centre. H. Singh and Eric Kumar in... Continued from page 1 President of United Indian National Overseas Congress and Co-chair for South Asians for de Blasio, will serve on the inaugural committee along with celebrities like Harry Belafonte, Susan Sarandon and Sarah Jessica Parker to plan celebrations in all of the ve NYC boroughs. The other two of the four Indian Americans on the inauguration team are: Arun Govil, President, Ducon Technologies Inc. and Rajiv Sharma, Owner, Pranna. The Mayor-elect also named his rst deputy in Anthony E. Shorris, a former executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. He also selected William Bratton as police commissioner. Bratton rst served as NYPD commissioner under Mayor Giuliani.
SET Asia HD launches on DISH and DishWorld IPTV

New York: Sony Entertainment Television (SET) Asia is now available in 1080i high definition on DISH and DishWorld IPTV. Jaideep Janakiram, SVP of International Business Head of North America, said, SET has always embraced excellence in content and quality, going HD is another step in that direction. SET Asia will continue to keep its viewers in the entertainment forefront, and I am sure that our consumers will enjoy the enhanced viewer experience. Sruta Vootukuru, Director of Programming DISH, added, DISH is the leading provider of HD international content to viewers in the US, and we are pleased to add SET Asia HD to this impressive lineup. We remain committed to offering the best programming options to our nations South Asian communities interested in high-definition entertainment from their home countries. Viewers can enjoy their favorite SET Asia programming in true HD, including Kaun Banega Crorepati, Desh Ki Beti Nandini, Sanjeev Kapoor Ke Kitchen Khiladi, Bharat Ka Veer Putra Maharana and World Television Premier blockbusters. SET Asia HD is available on both platforms at no additional cost to subscribers. Satellite customers can tune in on HD channel 9663; subscribers who do not have an HD receiver can only access SET Asia in standard definition on channel 695.
LI boys in DID US edition
Deadly NY train derailment case of highway hypnosis?

New York: Its sometimes called highway hypnosis or white-line fever, and its familiar to anyone who has driven long distances along a monotonous route. Drivers are lulled into a semitrance state and reach their destination with little or no memory of parts of the trip. But what if it happened to an engineer at the controls of a speeding passenger train? The driver of a Metro-North Railroad commuter train that went off the rails Sunday in New York, killing four passengers, experienced a momentary loss of awareness as he zoomed down the tracks, according to his lawyer and union representative, who called the episode a nod, a daze or highway hypnosis. At the time of the crash, the train was going 82 mph into a sharp turn where the speed limit drops to 30 mph. Thats when the engineer says he snapped out of it and hit the brakes, but it was too late. The train hurtled off the tracks, leaving a chain of twisted cars just inches from a river in the Bronx.
Sahil Batra (left) and Arvin Batra
ZEE TV Americas is presenting the first ever Dance India Dance (DID) USA Edition. More than 5,000 contestants from 16 cities in North America auditioned, out of which 21 contestants were chosen for the live competition at the State Theater in New Brunswick, NJ, on December 7. Among the lucky ones are Sahil and Arvin Batra from Long Island. Arvin is a Boogie Woogie New York Winner and Sahil a runner up. DID platoform is a dream come true for them. Both brothers also worked in Nassau County Police department educational movies like "Hate Crime" and "Impact".
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TRISTATE COMMUNITY
December 7-13, 2013
Jhumpa Lahiri's 'The Lowland' listed fourth in Time magazine

New York: Pulitzer Prize van's "The Billionaire's winning Indian-American Apprentice: The Rise of author Jhumpa Lahiri's the Indian-American new novel, "The LowElite and the Fall of the land", set in Kolkata of the Galleon Hedge Fund" too 1960s, has been listed makes it to the newspafourth in Time magazine's per's 100 in nonfiction top ten books of fiction in category. 2013. "Indian-Americans Describing it as "a lifepopulate every aspect of spanning novel about two this meticulously reportbrothers from Calcutta," ed true-life business Time said: "Lahiri's gracethriller," it notes. ful, measured prose ticks Lahiri last month failed off the years and registo win the 2013 US Naters, precisely and with The Lowland has been tional Book Award in ficdeep pathos, the strange, listed fiction list of 2013 tion losing out to author surprising, melancholy James McBride for "The and very occasionally wonderful changes Good Lord Bird", about the journey of a that time wreaks on us all." young slave in the 1850s. "Life After Life" by Kate Atkinson, London-born daughter of immigrants "Tenth of December" by George Saun- from West Bengal, 46-year-old Lahiri, ders and "The Flamethrowers" by Rachel who lives in New York's Brooklyn had Kushner take the top three slots ahead of also lost out on the prestigious Man Lahiri's novel. New York Times also lists Booker Prize for contemporary fiction "The Lowland" among 100 Notable writers from the Commonwealth and IreBooks of 2013. "After his radical brother land. She is the author of three previous is killed, an Indian scientist brings his books. Her debut collection of stories, widow to join him in America in Lahiri's "Interpreter of Maladies", won the efficiently written novel," it notes. Pulitzer Prize and the PEN/Hemingway Indian-American author Anita Ragha- Award.
Gurpreet Kherha gets $50,000 in religious discrimination case

New York: A Sikh man has received $50,000 as compensation in an out-of-court settlement of a religious discrimination lawsuit against a car dealership in New Jersey for denying him a job for sporting a beard. The settlement comes more than five years after Gurpreet S Kherha, now 29, applied for a job at the TriCounty Lexus and was told he would not be hired allegedly because he had a beard, which was a violation of the dealership's "no beard" policy for sales and administrative personnel. Kherha, who grew a beard as part of his Sikh religious practice, contacted the Sikh Coalition, which filed charges of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The commission investigated, and in October 2010, filed the federal lawsuit in Newark against the dealership. "We feel the resolution of this matter is positive for all parties involved," said Ravinder Bhalla, Kherha's attorney, was quoted as crimination and we also have instituted training that will help inform actual employees of their rights under federal employment antidiscrimination law, so we are happy," said Jahira Rivera, the attorney for the EEOC. In the agreement, Tri-County Lexus "denies all of the allegations of discrimination and failure to accommodate claims asserted in the complaints" and states that it entered into the decree "solely to avoid the burdens and expenses of litigation." Kherha was recruited in 2008 for a sales position at the dealership, where he completed two days of training and underwent an interview, according to the lawsuit. The EEOC stated in its suit that Kherha was singled out for praise for his performance during the training. But a recruiter, acting on behalf of the dealership, told Kherha that he would not get the job because of a dealership policy prohibiting facial hair, according to the suit.
Gurpreet Kherha
saying by the NorthJersey.com. "Kherha has obtained both the benefit of monetary compensation and the knowledge that this litigation resulted in substantive nonmonetary policy reforms, which will ultimately also make TriCounty Lexus a better business," Bhalla said. Dena E Epstein, the lawyer who represented the dealership, said she would have to check with her client before she made any statement. "As part of the decree we were able to protect future employees and applicants from religious dis-
Former maid files lawsuit against Indian American millionaire Sikhs for Justice amends plea
New York: A former maid who was employed in the opulent Llenroc mansion in Rexford, N.Y., has filed a lawsuit against the woman convicted of harboring her, seeking back wages and damages. Valsamma Mathai, 49, who was employed for six years by Annie George, 40, at three residences occupied by the George family, filed the civil complaint in the New York federal court Nov. 13. She is being represented by attorney David Irving of the Worker Justice Center of New York, cnweekly.com reported. George was convicted in March of harboring Mathai, an illegal alien from India, in a series of homes where she lived with her husband and their six children. The millionaire, who lost her husband in a smallplane crash in 2009, was found not guilty of a stiffer charge of harboring an illegal alien for monetary gain. In July George was sentenced to five years probation and eight months of U.S. Department of Labor, a witness for the government, calculated what Mathai was due for working 66 months at 17 hours per day plus overtime. That figure came to $317,144.09. After reducing that amount by $25,000 that was said to have been sent per Mathais instructions to her sons in India, the witness said Mathai was due $292,144.09. The lawsuit claims the actions of George violate the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, specifically the section on involuntary servitude, and the Fair Labor Standards. The filing also claims Mathais former employers actions violate the states minimum wage laws, its labor laws, the Domestic Worker Protection Overtime Law, the states rules for pay notice and wage statements and breach of contract. Mathai is seeking compensatory and punitive damages.
against Sonia Gandhi
Valsamma Mathai (center)
home detention. In her complaint, Mathai said she worked for the George family from October 2005 until May 2, 2011 when she was taken from the Riverview Road home by investigators from the Department of Homeland Security who feared she may have been a victim of human trafficking, cnweekly.com said. Mathai claims she worked 18 hours, seven days a week from 5:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. with no days off. She said her duties were to care for Georges six children, prepare all the meals, clean up afterward, do laundry, maintenance, and upkeep and clean
the home. She further alleges she was never allowed to leave the house on her own, never had access to the money she earned and was only occasionally allowed to accompany George and children when they went out so as to look after the children. According to Mathais complaint, the rules for her employment were there was to be no talking, no TV viewing, no conversations with guests and no answering of the front door. With no money and no way to leave defendants home, (Mathai) felt completely helpless, the complaint said. During the criminal trial the assistant district director for the
New York: Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) has filed an amended class action complaint against Congress President Sonia Gandhi, accusing her of protecting and shielding party leaders allegedly involved in the November 1984 anti-Sikh violence. The complaint filed Wednesday in a US federal court here by the US based rights group and some victims of the 1984 violence says the US court has jurisdiction over the case under US law. The 38- page complaint demanding a jury trial of Sonia Gandhi alleges that her "acts and omissions were deliberate, willful, intentional, wanton and malicious and should be punished by an award of compensatory and punitive damages." Sonia Gandhi has till Dec
11 to inform the US Court whether she intends to answer the human rights violation allegations or move to dismiss, according to SFJ legal advisor Gurpatwant S Pannun. The US court had last month given SFJ time till Dec 3 to file an amended complaint against Gandhi. SFJ and violence victims are seeking compensatory and punitive damages against Gandhi for allegedly shielding and protecting several Congress party leaders. While SFJ claims that the court summons were served on Sonia Gandhi through hospital and security staff at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre in New York on Sep 9, Gandhi's attorneys, The Ravi Batra Law firm, had challenged the service of summons.
December 7-13, 2013
NATIONAL COMMUNITY
Indian Government keen to support Hindi institutions in USA

Lansdale, PA: Dozens of Primary and Middle school Indian American students between the ages 8 to 12 years performed Indian dances and showcased their Hindi language skills at the annual day event organized by Yuva Hindi Sansthan at Pennfield Middle School in Hatfield, PA on November 23. The event coincided with a reunion of students, who had attended a ten-day STARTALK summer language program from August 5 to 16. Addressing the gathering as chief guest, Sugandh Rajaram, ConsulCulture, Consulate General of India in New York, advised educational and cultural organizations to work together for promotion of Hindi. He said that Government of India was eager to support programs aimed at promoting Hindi learning abroad including the United States. The consulate was ready to help such organizations involved in language teaching in the heritage communities, he said. Complimenting Yuva Hindi Sansthan for its commitment to promoting Hindi, Rajaram said that the institution was forward looking in its approach to employing modern learning methodologies. The progress of Hindi was essential for ensuring the progress of other Indian
Indian scholar honored jointly by NJ Assembly and Senate

By Ashok Ojha New Jersey: Indian American community members and public officials including members of New Jersey Assembly and Senate gathered at the newly built complex of Sri Krishna ji Temple (Sri Guruvaayoorappan Temple) in Morganville, NJ to witness presentation of a rare honor for Dr. Sreenivasan Subramanian, Chairman of Hindu American Temple and Culture Center. Assemblyman Upendra Chivukula read a joint proclamation adopted by the State Assembly and Senate for Dr. Subramanian in admiration of his services as a community leader and scholar of Hindu scriptures. Jon Hornick, Mayor of Morganville, also presented him a proclamation. On October 13, 2013 Dr. S. Mani Yegnasubramanian, as he is popularly known, was awarded in India with a rare title of Dharmatma, which was conferred upon him by the Jadadguru Shankaracharya Sri Bharati Teerthananda Mahaswamiji of Sharada Peetham, Sringeri. It was the first time in the history of Shringeri Peeth that a non-resident Indian was honored with such a title, which has so far been awarded to only three highly acclaimed persons in the 1200 years of Peethams history. Dr. Subramanian is involved in promoting Hindu culture for several decades not only in the United States but also across the globe. He was instrumental in building the gorgeous Sri Krishna Temple in Morganville, NJ, which comprise of a 230 feet temple hall housing a number of Hindu deities in golden backdrop. He said that the temple would soon begin the practice of Cow worship for which a goshaala is under construction. A cow and her calf will be brought to live in the goshaala. Dr. Subramanian also promoted the teachings of the Vedas and the Bhagavad-Gita and established the overseas branches of Sri Sringeri Sharada Peetham in USA and Canada. He led foundation of a number of temples in USA and conducted yagnas.
Teachers of YHS STARTALKs reunion day
languages, he said. As an Indian Government representative I offer my assistance in fulfilling this great cause. Dr. Surendra Gambhir, YHS Chairman, congratulated STARTALK students for their commitment to learning Hindi. Emphasizing that learning a language was the key to success in life he told the young learners: Learning new languages and other cultures sharpens your mind and enhances your IQ. You will be so happy in your later life that you decided to become a bilingual, just the way your parents are. Yuva Hindi Sansthan has developed a pool of trained teachers, most of whom are native speakers of Hindi, who managed classes during the camp, said Ashok Ojha, program director of YHS STARTALK Hindi
2013 and president of Yuva Hindi Sansthan. We engage our students in real life activities in which they speak Hindi in unrehearsed situations. For example, they learn how to express their likings in a restaurant, how to introduce themselves and ask questions about others. Our goal is to prepare heritage students to be proud of their heritage by speaking the language and practicing the culture. We are negotiating with IT experts to help us develop useful online lessons for the three levels: Novice, Intermediate and Advanced, Ojha informed. Usha Mishra, YHS secretary, pointed out that YHS activities went beyond holding SARTALK programs and needed generous contributions from community members and supporters for meeting organizational obligations.
NY Seniors organize wellness health seminar
250 attend IHCNJs health camp at Shree Swaminarayan Temple

New Jerey: On November 17 a health screening and disease awareness and prevention camp was held at Shree Swaminarayan Temple, Secaucus. Indian Health Camp of New Jersey, a non-profit organization and Shree Swaminarayan Temple jointly collaborated this health camp for the ninth consecutive year. The health camp was open to all pre-registered participants above the age of 45 without medical insurance. Attended by more than 250 participants, the health camp consisted of various types of services to include blood test, EKG, physical examination, cancer screening and prevention education for prostate, breast, cervical, colo-rectal cancer and oral cancer, eye screening, pharmacy counseling and influenza vaccination. Approximately 15 physicians in various specialty areas of internal medicine, cardiology, ophthalmology and other specialties provided their service on this day to screen and educate patients on diabetes, hypertension, cardiac disease, high cholesterol, various cancers, oral diseases and other chronic debilitating diseases. The Staff from New Jersey Commission for the Blind provided eye screening for glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy and cataract to qualified registered participants on this day. The medical personnel from Meadowlands Hospital and Care Point Health provided free counseling and finger stick blood glu-
Volunteers attending the participants
Sitting (L to R):Usha Shah,Dr.Sunil Patel, Dr Girish Desai, Shandhya Patel, Khandu Patel Dr Mangubhai Patel Standing (L to R):Jitendra Zaveri, Laxmabhai Patel,Bhart Patel, Gopi Udeshi, Shashikant Patel, Hashmukh Shah and Brahmkumari Madhvi
New York: On November 27 the New York Seniors held an Active Wellness and Health Seminar conducted by a panel of three senior NYC doctors, Dr. Mangubhai Patel, Dr. Sunil Patel and Dr. Girish Desai. It was organized by Shashikant Patel and Gopi Udeshi at Hanuman Temple Glen Oaks NY. The discussion forum ranged from balanced nutrition, preventative measures, weight manage-
ment and ways in which to optimize health in seniors. Nutritional tips on how to manage diabetes, joint pain, acidity were discussed. This in turn would aid seniors on how best to optimize their doctor visits. Importance of regular visits, immunizations, health screenings and diet were discussed so also how small changes in fruit and vegetable selection can aid in healthier living.
cose, cholesterol screening on the spot to all participants and provided counseling and education on diabetes, high cholesterol and hypertension. The EKG technicians, phlebotomists, nurses, medical students, pharmacists, social workers and other allied medical professionals provided their services to support physicians for the health screening and disease prevention and awareness effort during this medical camp. Rupen Patel of Accurate Diagnostic Labs, South Plainfield sponsored the blood test service on this day to approximately 250 pre-registered qualified participants. The blood test reports will be reviewed by the physicians and mailed to all participants with counseling note, if any abnormalities are detected in the test. More than 90 people took the
advantage of influenza vaccination during the camp which was sponsored by Ritesh Shah of DrugSmart Pharmacy in Keansburg. Secaucus Mayor Michael Gonnelli and Assemblyman from 36th District Gary Schaer attended the event and provided their support and appreciated Indian Health Camp of New Jersey and the management of Secaucus Temple for organizing such a wonderful community health fair in Secaucus to help the needy people in the community. Dr. Tushar Patel, President of IHCNJ showed Mayor Gonnelli and Assemblyman Schaer various service stations and explained in detail about the mission and objectives of the screening. Both officials were very impressed with the voluntary work provided by the volunteers.
NATIONAL COMMUNITY
December 7-13, 2013
MIT freshman Saumil wins Smithsonians Ingenuity award

Washington, DC: Smithsonian magazine, the flagship publication of Smithsonian Media, last month announced that MIT freshman Saumil Bandyopadhyay is among the 10 ground-breaking individuals who were named recipients of the second annual American Ingenuity Awards. The awards honor people across categories including technology, performing and visual arts, natural and physical sciences, education, historical scholarship, social progress and youth achievement. Bandyopadhyay received the Youth award for a unique, sensitive infrared radiation detector that promises to be inexpensive and has scientific, civilian and military applications. The device has already has attracted the interest of the U.S. Army, according to a press release. At the age of 18, the young Indian American had five peerreviewed scientific papers to his name. He spent much of high school in an electrical engineering lab at Virginia Commonwealth University, where his father was a professor, working on the infrared detector, which may one day reduce car crash rates by allowing vehicles to sense each other in fog or darkness.
Apple buys firm cofounded by Indian-Americans

New York: Apple has acquired social media analytics firm Topsy Labs, co-founded by two IndianAmerican entrepreneurs, for over $200 million. The San Francisco-based startup was co-founded by Vipul Ved Prakash and Rishab Aiyer Ghosh. The company tracks trending topics on microblogging site Twitter and other social media networks. Topsy has analyzed all tweets since 2006 and recently announced a free search engine for tweets. While neither company gave details of the deal's cost, the Wall Street Journal reported that Apple dished out over $200 million for Topsy. Among the features that made Topsy attractive to Apple is that it tracks what users are saying on Twitter as it happens, it also tracks how often terms are being tweeted. While Apple confirmed to WSJ the acquisition, it did not say why it was interested in Topsy. "Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans," Apple spokesperson Kristin Huguet said.
Saumil Bandyopadhyay speaking after receiving the award Its a breakthrougha different way of measuring infrared, said Gary Tepper, a VCU professor who tutored Bandyopadhyay on one aspect of the project. We have high-school students in the lab all the time, but we dont usually see doctoral-level research. When John Mather, the Nobel laureate astrophysicist, noticed the infrared device at an Intel Science Fair, he invited Bandyopadhyay to NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center to discuss it. I thought it was an ingenious idea, Mather says. Hes a brilliant kid. Since the seventh grade, Bandyopadhyay has racked up numer-
Vipul Ved Prakash (left) and Rishab Aiyer Ghosh
She did not disclose financial details of the deal. According to Topsy's website, chief technology officer Mr Prakash is a pioneer in the field of collaborative filtering. In 2001, he co-founded Cloudmark to create an internet scale version of his open-source spam filter, Vipul's Razor. Cloudmark crossed one billion subscribers in 2009 and is the leading worldwide platform for messaging security. Prior to Cloudmark, Mr Prakash was an engineer at Napster and was named one of the Top 100 Young Innovators in the world by MIT
Technology Review. Mr Ghosh, chief scientist at Topsy, started 'First Monday', the most widely-read peer-reviewed journal of the internet, in 1995. For its part, Topsy calls itself "the only full-scale index of the public social web," noting that it has analyzed all tweets since 2006, and says it can "instantly analyze any topic, term or hashtag across years of conversations on millions of web sites." That includes identifying "key influencers with the most social influence for your product, brand, competitor or any other topic", as well as providing exact counts on any term on social media.
Paul Allen appoints Parag Garg as top tech advisor

Seattle: Paul Allen has created a new position of executive technology advisor, to work with him across all of his personal and professional projects, and filled the job by hiring Parag Garg, an Amazon product architect who had been playing a key role on multiple unannounced products under development by the Seattle company, GeekWire reported. According to the report Garg started working with the Microsoft co-founder last week, after nearly three years at Amazon. He noted that he enjoyed his time at Amazon, left on good terms and would recommend the company to anyone. Garg acknowledged that it was difficult to exit before seeing the products he was working on at Amazon come to market, but said he couldnt pass up the opportunity to take the job with Allen.
Asha Gupta is Tupperware's Asia-Pacific president

New York: Indianorigin Asha Gupta has been promoted as group president of US-based Tupperware B r a n d s Corporation's AsiaPacific region. Gupta's promotion is effective Jan 1. Gupta is currently area vice president of the Tupperware Brands Corporation's India, Philippines and Nutrimetics Australia and New Zealand region She will oversee the US direct selling multinational firm's operations in 15 countries, including India, China, Japan and Australia, said a press release issued by the company. Gupta is the first woman and first Indian to lead Tupperware in Asia Pacific. She has been with Tupperware since 15 years in sales development, marketing and operating unit and portfolio leadership across Europe and Asia Pacific. Tupperware Brands Corporation features products like storage and serving solutions for kitchens. It also deals in beauty and personal care items.
Manick Sorcar honored for laser displays of Indian heritage

Chicago: Denver-based Manick Sorcar has been honored for introducing the younger generation in India and viewers in the West to Indian heritage through laser displays. Sorcar was given a Special Achievement Award for Cultural Enlightenment, at the International Laser Display Association (ILDA) conference held in Aalen, BadenWurttemberg, Germany. The citation stated that Sorcar was awarded "for exceptional merit in using laser display to celebrate India's heritage, and to prepare the next generation by introducing a course on laser art and animation and establishing the Manick Sorcar Laser Animation Laboratory at Jadavpur University." Sorcar received the award from Dirk Baur, president of MediaLas Electronics GmbH. Sorcar said he was doubly pleased with the award because it was an acknowledgement of his work to propagate Indian heritage through laser displays. "My laser shows are an attempt at that goal. Produced in English and based on stories or events from India, each is
Acceptance speech by Manick Sorcar after receiving the award
Parag Garg
I wasnt happy to leave, but Paul Allen doesnt hire a tech advisor every day, Garg told GeekWire. Before going to Amazon, Garg worked at Microsoft, on projects including the Xbox One, the unreleased Courier tablet and Windows Embedded. In his new role, Garg will advise Allen on technology issues across his varied collection of interests and projects, including his technology investments, sports teams, museums, and more.
intended to be a cultural-bridge between East and West where the viewers are taken to the other side of the globe and introduced to the Indian culture in a grass-root level for a better understanding, harmony and world peace," he added Sorcar's latest production "Swamiji", a laser documentary on Swami Vivekananda, received an enthusiastic reception in India during its four-month tour across the country last year, where it was also nationally telecast. The laser show is currently on a tour across the USA as a fundraiser for the SEWA International USA, a non-profit humanitarian organization.
December 7-13, 2013
NATIONAL COMMUNITY
Indian couple arrested for illegally Dr Amit Patel performs life-saving heart operation on actor Ernie Lively bringing workers to US
New Delhi: An Indian couple in Kentucky has been arrested for illegally bringing Indians into the US and making them work long hours for low wages at their fast food restaurants. Federal prosecutors have charged Amrutlal Patel and his wife, Dakshaben Patel, both 46, with housing, transporting and employing illegal aliens. The couple operates four Subway restaurants in Lexington and employed undocumented Indian nationals who worked 10-12 hours a day throughout the week for little pay, a statement said. That provided a "substantial financial gain" for the Patels, Assistant US Attorney Hydee Hawkins said. Federal prosecutors have said the Patels are a flight risk and could flee the US for India if they are released. They can use the large amounts of cash they have from their businesses to flee and have already sent about $100,000 back to India, the Washington,DC: In a first, an Indian-origin doctor in the US has performed a unique "lifesaving" heart procedure - that involves injecting the patient's own stem cells into the organ on Hollywood actor Ernie Lively. Amit Patel from the University of Utah performed the historic procedure on Lively - 'Gossip girl' actress Blake Lively's father - using new technique of retrograde gene therapy on a human heart to repair damaged muscle and arteries. The 66-year-old actor has credentials that include a long list of TV and film appearances, including Passenger 57 and the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. He had suffered a massive heart attack in 2003, which left him functioning on half a healthy heart. As time marched on, his ejection fraction - the measurement of the percentage of blood leaving the heart each time it contracts continued to decline. Lively connected with Patel, director of Clinical Regenerative Medicine and Tissue Engineering and an associate professor in the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the University of Utah School of Medicine. Lively became a patient of Patel's in February, when Patel saved Lively's life after a complication with an angiogram left the actor with a severed aorta and problems with his coronary arteries. This month, Lively got his wish when he became the first patient in the world to undergo retrograde gene therapy at University of Utah Hospital, a novel procedure designed to deliver stem cells to the heart to repair damaged muscle and arteries in the most minimally invasive way possible. Patel started investigating cell and genebased therapies for the treatment of heart disease 12 years ago, but only recently received FDA approval to try the therapy on Lively.
Amrutlal and Daksha Patel
Dr Amit Patel
prosecutors said. Defence attorneys have argued that the Patels will not leave the country because of their business and two young children. The couple came to the US in 2006, hoping to become citizens. They added that the Patels were trying to help fellow Indian nationals by providing them jobs in the US. According to a sworn statement from Homeland Security Investigations agent David Ramalho, an employee at one of the restaurants run by the Patels told a witness that he had been denied food and alleged-
ly beaten up by the couple. The employee said the Patels had kept him and three other men from India in a secret room in the basement of their house and used to lock them at night. Sometimes they made the employees work even when they were not well. The alleged illegal activity lasted for over a year beginning September 2012 and the investigation began after the witness went to Lexington police in August to report that "bad things" were happening to workers at Subway stores operated by the Patels.
The first successful procedure was performed on Lively on November 7. "It's incredible. Imagine having a heart procedure that can potentially regenerate or rejuvenate your heart muscle -- and it's done as an outpatient procedure," said Patel. Patel uses a minimally invasive technique where he goes backwards through a patient's main cardiac vein, or coronary sinus, and inserts a catheter. He then inflates a balloon in order to block blood flow out of the heart so that a very high dose of gene therapy can be infused directly into the heart. The unique gene therapy doesn't involve viruses (a rarity for gene therapy, Patel notes) and is pure human DNA infused into patients. The DNA, called SDF-1, is a naturally occurring substance in the body that becomes a homing signal for a patient's body to use its own stem cells to go to the site of an injury. Once the gene therapy is injected, the genes act as "homing beacons." When the genes are put into patients with heart failure, they marinate the entire heart and act like a look out, he said. "I woke up this morning and told my wife, 'I haven't felt this good in years," said Lively after returned home where he is recovering.
Novelist Manil Suri wins dreaded Bad Sex in Fiction Award

London: An out-of-this-world sex scene invoking stars, supernovas and statisticians has won writer Manil Suri the 'uncoveted' Bad Sex in Fiction Award. Suri, a novelist and mathematician, won the annual British prize for a passage in his novel 'The City of Devi', in which the characters "streak like superheroes past suns and solar systems, we dive through shoals of quarks and atomic nuclei." The passage climaxes: "In celebration of our breakthrough fourth star, statisticians the world over rejoice." Suri, a professor of mathematics at the University of Maryland, was not on hand on Tuesday to accept his award in person. A representative of his publisher, Bloomsbury, accepted the prize from former 'Dynasty' star Joan Collins at a ceremony in London. 'The City of Devi', Suri's third novel, is the story of a love triangle set in Mumbai, which has been threatened with nuclear apocalypse. The book's publisher pointed out that some reviewers had praised the novel's sex scenes, which the Times Literary Supplement called "unfettered, quirky, beautiful, tragic and wildly experimental."
Author Manil Suri and his novel
Suri beat other finalists including Susan Choi, Rupert Thompson and folk singer Woody Guthrie, nominated for the posthumously published novel 'House of Earth.' The tongue-in-cheek award was founded in 1993 to name and shame authors of "crude, badly written or perfunctory passages of sexual description in contemporary novels." It is run by the Literary Review magazine. Previous recipients of the dubious honor, usually accepted with good grace, include Sebastian Faulks, the late Norman Mailer and the late John Updike, who was awarded a Bad Sex lifetime achievement award in 2008.
US AFFAIRS
December 7-13, 2013
US will see a woman President Detroit ruled eligible for bankruptcy protection very soon'
Washington: A woman in the White House? President Barack Obama says that will happen "very soon," according to remarks released on Friday. "We have some amazing female [public] servants all across the country and there is no doubt that sometime very soon, we're going to have a female president," he said in an interview with broadcaster ABC. What's more, "I'm confident that she will do a great job," he told veteran journalist Barbara Walters. ABC, which released extracts of the interview on its website before it airs later Friday, did not specify whether Obama mentioned Hillary Clinton in this context. There is much buzz that the former secretary of state, who unsuccessfully ran against Obama in a bid to snag the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, might be considering another run. The former first lady and New York senator leads polls on who should become her party's pick for the 2016 race for the White House. While she hasn't slammed the door on a possible candidacy, she has been focusing for now on paid speeches and work linked to the Clinton Foundation together with husband Bill - who was US president between 1993 and 2001 - and daughter Chelsea. A Quinnipiac University national poll published November 13 found Clinton tied with Republican New Jersey Governor Chris Christie in an early look at the 2016 bid for the presidency. Detroit, MI: Detroit, the fallen capital for U.S. industrial might, was declared eligible for bankruptcy protection Tuesday, clearing an important hurdle for the cash-poor city to restructure billions in long-term debt. Five months after the city filed for Chapter 9 protection, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes ruled that Detroit was legally entitled to pursue bankruptcy. The judge found that the nation's 18th-largest city was insolvent before its July bankruptcy filing. Judge Rhodes also concluded that Detroit was legally permitted to file for bankruptcy because it had too many creditors to expect a realistic out-of-court settlement with more than 100,000 of them. With the legal finding in hand, Detroit can now file a plan to restructure its estimated $18 billion in long-term debt. It is the nation's largest municipal-bankruptcy case in history. A lawyer for the city told Judge Rhodes at the end of Tuesday's 90-minute hearing that the plan would come be-
Detroit city workers and supporters protest outside the federal courthouse in Detroit while awaiting the bankruptcy decision on Tuesday.
fore the official deadline of March 1. Unions, pension funds and a committee for retired city workers who opposed the city's eligibility were expected to file appeals, a process that could add months to the legal case. Judge Rhodes ruled that the court could cut future payments to the city's pension systems as part of the bankruptcy case, a legal issue that
has drawn sharp opposition from unions, retirees and pension funds. Most legal experts believed that Judge Rhodes would rule for the city and allow the case to go forward. But the decision is still likely to spark a new round of legal wrangling over a city that claims it has little ability to pay back a large portion of its unsecured debt.
Income inequality 'defining challenge' for US: Obama

the US while a growing middle class is the engine of the country's economic prosperity. Speaking during an event hosted by the Washington-based think tank the Center for American Progress, Obama said the rich Americans took a disproportionately large portion of wealth and the US society was getting increasingly unequal, Xinhua reported. The challenge is posing a "profound" threat to the American Dream and it is an issue that Washington should tackle seriously, he said. The income inequality is hurting the country's middle class and the "opportunity gap" in the US is growing, he said, adding that the world's largest economy needs a growth strategy. Obama also used the opportunity to press Congress to raise the national minimum wage currently at $7.25 per hour in an effort to help low-wage workers and boost economic growth.
An all American holiday: Thank, eat and shop

The Turkey named Popcorn got the presidential pardon
Obama is pressing Congress to raise national minimum wage currently at $7.25 per hour to help low-wage workers and boost economic growth.
By Arun Kumar Washington: Popcorn the turkey escaped with a presidential pardon, his backup Caramel was also spared, but some 45 million other birds were not as lucky as Americans made a meal of them to celebrate Thanksgiving. There is no more a sacred ritual for this all American holiday that began with the Pilgrims, early settlers of Plymouth Colony in present-day Plymouth, Massachusetts, holding a three-day feast in the fall of 1621 to celebrate a bountiful harvest, than the carving of a turkey. Americans travel across the country to be with their families this day since Abraham Lincoln declared the last Thursday of November a national holiday 150 years ago, and celebrate Thanksgiving with a feast of turkey, sweet potatoes and cranberries followed by pumpkin pie for dessert. "The office of the presidency -- the most powerful position in the world -brings with it many awesome and solemn responsibilities," began President Obama as he got the holiday festivities rolling with a ceremony on the White House lawns a day before Thanksgiving. "This is not one of them. But the White House Turkey Pardon is a great tradition," he added amidst laughter as he pardoned Pop-
Washington: President Barack Obama Wednesday said income inequality is the "defining challenge" for
Amazon plans doorstep delivery by drones

Washington: If Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos has his way, instead of bombs, unmanned drones may soon be delivering from books to medicines to essential supplies at one's doorstep at the click of a button. Bezos revealed the giant online store's plans Sunday for a drone-based delivery service called Prime Air that would bring customers within a 10 mile radius, items weighing up to five pounds only a half-hour after they click the "buy" button. "I know this looks like science fiction, it's not," he said on CBS News' "60 Minutes", adding that "It will work, and it will happen, and it's gonna be a lot of fun." But "this is early, this is still years away," Bezos said. His "optimistic" estimate was that Prime Air will be available to customers within four to five years after more safety testing and approvals from Federal Aviation Administration. The agency is planning to have its new airspace rules for unmanned aircraft in place by 2015. Individual items will be flown from one of the company's 96 massive warehouses, also known as "fulfillment centers". The craft are autonomous, Bezos said an Amazon employee would enter a delivery recipient's location and the drone called "octocopters" would fly off to make the delivery. He says they'll initially carry items up to five pounds, which is roughly 86 percent of all deliveries
Amazon makes. "In urban areas, you could actually cover very significant portions of the population," Bezos said. "It won't work for everything - we're not going to deliver kayaks or table saws this way. These are electric motors, so this is all electric. It's very green. It's better than driving trucks around." The drones would be autonomous, flying to programmed GPS co-ordinates. "The hard part here is putting in all the redundancy, all the reliability, all the systems you need to say, 'Look, this thing can't land on somebody's head while they're walking around their neighborhood,'" Bezos said adding, "That's not good." Seattle based Amazon last month said it was teaming up with the US Postal Service to begin Sunday delivery.
corn, one of the two turkeys provided by the National Turkey Federation for the annual ritual. Besides consuming nearly a sixth of about 242 million turkeys raised in 2013, Americans polished off 768 million pounds of cranberry and 2.6 billion pounds of sweet potatoes, according to official statistics. Thus fortified, Americans set out for another great holiday adventure camping in front of malls and retail outlets in freezing temperatures waiting for the midnight opening for what is known as Black Friday when everything from socks to television sets is on offer at throwaway prices. But with holiday season still six days shorter than in 2012, more than a dozen major stores from Target to Toys R Us opened on Thanksgiving Day and stayed open through Black Friday. Violence flared up at many places as shoppers slugged it out for the best Black Friday deals with some 152 million bargain hunters expected to pour into stores over the Black Friday weekend, according to the National Retail Foundation. Despite the jump from 138 million shoppers last year, the federation predicted that holiday sales will increase a marginal 3.9 percent to $602.1 billion. That's higher than last year's 3.5 percent growth, but below the 6 percent pace seen before the recession.
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December 7-13, 2013
INDIA
Congress blacked out, lotus blooms: exit polls

Rajasthan, MP, Chhattisgarh in BJP kitty, Delhi a close call, predict Exit polls as counting of votes in five Assembly elections scheduled for December 8
New Delhi: Exit polls were not good news for the Congress with nearly all of them predicting big wins for the BJP in the all four heartland states that went to the polls in November-December. Polls for state assemblies were held in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi whose results will be out on December 8, while Mizoram's results will be out on December 9. The exit polls predict that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will wrest Rajasthan from the Congress and retain Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, while its chances in Delhi are very bright. The India TV-CVoter exit poll said the BJP will win in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and will be slightly short of majority in exit polls in Delhi till 1 p.m., the BJP is projected to win 29 of the 70 assembly seats, the Congress 21, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) 16 seats, and the BSP two seats. In 2008, the Congress had won 43, the BJP 23 seats, and the BSP two. According to the ABP-Neilson survey, the BJP is set to win simple majority in Delhi with 37 seats and a vote share of 33 per cent in the 70-member house. It said that while the Congress will get 16 seats, Arvind Kejriwalled AAP will get around 15 seats. AAP appears to have dented the vote share of the Congress, which in 2008 got vote share of 40.46 percent as compared to 28 percent in 2013. Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit had been ruling Delhi for 15 years. In Madhya Pradesh where the polling was held Nov 25, the BJP under Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is set to make a hat-trick with 138 seats out of 230 and a vote share of 39 percent, said the ABP-Neilson survey. The Congress is likely to get 80 seats with a vote share of 33 percent. The BJP got 148 seats and a vote share of 37.9 per cent in the 2008 assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh. The Congress got 66 seats with a vote share of 32.1 per cent. According to India TV-CVoter survey, in Madhya Pradesh the BJP is projected to retain power with 128 of the total 230 seats. The Congress could win 92 seats and the BSP six seats. In 2008, the BJP had won 143 seats, the Congress 71 and the BSP seven. According to India TV-CVoter survey, in Chhattisgarh, the ruling BJP is likely to be short of simple majority. The BJP is projected to win 44 of the total 90 seats. The Congress is likely to win 41 seats. In 2008, the BJP had won 50 seats and the Congress 38 seats. But the CNN-IBN-The Week survey for Chhattisgarh predicted the BJP winning 45-55 seats in the 90-member assembly. It said the Congress would win 32-40 seats while other parties were likely to get 1-7 seats. The BJP had won 50 seats in 2008 polls in Chhattisgarh and the Congress had won 38. The assembly results are being seen as a semi-final ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha polls and could impact the prospects of the two national parties, especially the ruling Congress which is grappling with the anti-incumbency of two terms at the centre.
BJP's CM candidate Harshvardhan campaigning in Delhi. Arvind Kejriwal's AAP appears to have dented the vote share of the Congress
Chhattisgarh, while the CNN-IBNThe Week survey said the BJP will win in all three states. The BJP is set to win the assembly polls in Delhi and Madhya Pradesh, the ABP News-Neilson exit poll said. It did not give the outcome of surveys in the other three states. According to the India TVCVoter exit polls, in Rajasthan, the BJP is projected to win 130 seats of the total 199, while the ruling Congress was projected to manage just 48 seats. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)
would win four seats, and the other parties 17 seats. According to the CNN-IBN-The Week post-poll survey released, the Bharatiya Janata Party was set to make a comeback in Rajasthan by winning 126-136 seats. It predicts 49-57 seats for the Congress in the state. The BJP had won 78 seats in the state in 2008 elections and the Congress had grabbed 96. The exit poll also said that the BJP will retain Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. According to India TV-CVoter
Modi writes to PM opposing Communal Violence Bill

BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi
Delhi records highest voter turnout

New Delhi: Delhi did itself proud as it registered a record over 66 percent voter turnout, with young people and even the usually indifferent elite class turning up in large numbers at polling booths, in a largely triangular contest that was watched eagerly nationwide ahead of the 2014 national polls. Over 66 percent of Delhi's 11.9 million electors, including many VIPs, cast ballot till 7.30 p.m. to elect a new 70-member house from amongst 810 candidates. Though, polling was officially over by 5 p.m., but seeing long serpentine queues, including young and old, men and women, outside many polling stations, the state election commission declared that voting will continue till the last person has exercised their franchise. It was for the first time Delhi has witnessed such an overwhelming response in elections to its assembly. In the first assembly elections in 1993, Delhi witnessed a turnout of 61.75 percent. In 1998, it recorded the lowest turnout at just over 48 percent voting. In the 2003 elections, over 53 percent voters cast their ballots, and in 2008, over 57 percent polling was recorded. Results, which will be out Dec 8, could have a role in deciding who
The prestigious New Delhi constituency, where Sheila Dikshit and Arvind Kejriwal are battling it out, polling was 74 percent up from 56 percent in 2008
New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi tweeted that he opposed the Communal Violence Bill and has written to the prime minister, urging him to seek wider consultation on the bill. "Communal Violence Bill is illconceived, poorly drafted and a recipe for disaster! My letter to PM opposing this bill," Modi wrote in his tweet. "Have urged the prime minister to seek wider consultation with the states and various stakeholders of the bill before proceeding any further on a bill like this," he said. "Political considerations and
vote bank politics rather than genuine concerns are guiding the bill. The timing of the bill is also suspicious," added Modi. He also tweeted that the bill was a violation of the federal structure. "The bill is in clear violation of India's federal structure. Centre is busy forming laws on matters that are in the state list. If a legislation has to be implemented by the states, should it not be legislated by the states," said the Gujarat chief minister."If implemented, the Communal Violence Bill would fragment society and increase violence. It will have results opposite of the stated objective," he said.
gets to rule India in the Lok Sabha polls next year. The first one to react to the high voter turnout was BJP's prime ministerial nominee Narendra Modi, who had held six campaign rallies in Delhi. "We have seen yet another successful demonstration of the strength of our democracy over the past few weeks. Congrats to the Indian voter! I congratulate Election Commission of India for spearheading a spectacular effort in conducting the polls," he tweeted. According to experts, the overwhelming response - including from over 400,000 first time voters - indicates that people have cast their ballot for change, better governance
and clean leadership. This, they said, also indicates that the wind is blowing against threetime Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and she could be voted out due to a strong anti-incumbency factor. South Delhi, that usually records low turnout, saw record voting, especially in Greater Kailash, where nearly 80 percent polling was registered, a record in itself. The heavy polling brought smiles to the face of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the debutant Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). The prestigious New Delhi constituency, where Dikshit and Kejriwal are battling it out, polling was 74 percent - up from 56 percent in 2008.
INDIA
December 7-13, 2013
11
Winter session: Last chance for key legislations

New Delhi: The winter session of Parliament could well be the UPA government's last chance to get its key legislations through with the Lok Sabha elections barely six months away. The opposition is expected to seek to corner the government on price rise and the JPC report on 2G spectrum allocation and problems of farmers. A slew of pending legislations including women's reservation bill and Lokpal bill have been listed for passage. There are indications that the government will also bring a bill for creation of Telangana by bifurcating Andhra Pradesh. The opposition parties have voiced concern over the "short" duration of the session which will end Dec 20 and have asked the government to extend the session after a Christmas break. The results of the assembly polls in five states Dec 8 are expected to find resonance in the session. The party that does well in these polls will likely be more assertive about its agenda during the session. The main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has asked the government to bring a bill for the creation of Telangana state during the session and also to get it passed. The party also wants passage of the Lokpal bill. It is keen on an early discussion on price rise. Party sources said they are keen to put the government on the mat over the joint parliamentary committee on 2G spectrum allocation. The party has said that no JPC
22 bills to pass in winter session

Major bills for consideration and passing in the winter session of parliament The Nuclear Safety Regulatory Authority Bill, 2011 Replaces Atomic Energy Regulatory Board with the Nuclear Safety Regulatory Authority to regulate nuclear safety, activities related to nuclear material and facilities. The Right of Citizens for Time Bound Delivery of Goods and Services and Redressal of their Grievances Bill, 2011 Seeks to confer on every citizen the right to time-bound delivery of specified goods and services, and provides a mechanism for grievance redressal. The Constitution (108th Amendment) Bill, 2008 (Women's Reservation Bill) - Provides for reservation for women in parliament and legislative assemblies. The Constitution (117th Amendment) Bill, 2012 (Reservation in promotion to SCs and STs with retrospective effect) - Substitutes Article 16(4A) of the Constitution to provide reservation in promotion to SCs and STs with retrospective effect. Bills listed for introduction include a constitution amendment bill to implement the IndiaBangladesh Land Boundary Agreement, 1974; a Protocol to the Land Boundary Agreement, and one that addresses stigma and discrimination related to HIV.
A slew of pending legislations including women's reservation bill and Lokpal bill have been listed for passage
report has seen so many dissent notes. Committee chairman P. C. Chacko has given the report to Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar. The party wants a discussion on internal security with special reference to bomb blasts in Patna in October. The blasts occurred ahead of a BJP rally addressed by its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi. The party has also asked for a debate on atrocities against women. The Communist Party of India (CPI) has indicated that the Left
parties would bring an adjournment motion on price rise at the beginning of the session and has sought support from opposition parties. The parties are also likely to demand a discussion on JPC on 2G spectrum. Communist Party of IndiaMarxist leader Basudeb Acharia said the government should agree to an adjournment motion on the first day. "If it does not we will protest. The session will be stormy," Acharia said. He also said the party will raise
the 'agrarian crisis' and efforts by developed countries to pressure on India at the WTO meeting in Bali on food subsidy. "The JPC report has been an effort to save the government. The chairman did not call the prime minister and the finance minister. Fourteen members dissented. We will raise the issue," Acharia added. The CPI has also demanded extension of the winter session, saying that the government wants to take up 38 bills but there were only 12 working days.
Haryana government chargesheets Khemka

Ashok Khemka has been charged by the Bhupinder Singh Hooda government of 'exceeding his jurisdiction'
First time voters want good governance

New Delhi: They are barely out of their teens and still exploring their career choices, but a majority of Delhi's first time voters are sure about one thing - their burning desire to vote for a government that could work for their betterment and improve their lives. Issues like women safety in the wake of the Dec 16 gang-rape, clean leadership and effective governance influenced the over 4 lakh first-time voters in Delhi. "This time I want change Delhi. I want clean and accountable leadership," 23-year-old Sahir Seth, a resident of south Delhi's Jangpura, said. Agreed 19-year-old Ankita Mehra, who asserted that she wants a safe Delhi for working girls like herself. "Being a girl the most important issue for me is security of women," said the resident of Mayur Vihar, east Delhi. Agreed 21-year-old Lovleen Sharma, who too felt that the city was unsafe for women. "Many of my friends are concerned about safety and security. It is scary to go out in the night. We want a safe environment to work
With the entry of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the political scene has become more interesting
Chandigarh: Senior IAS officer Ashok Khemka has been chargesheeted by the Haryana government for cancelling the mutation of the Rs.58 crore land deal between Congress president Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra and realty giant DLF. The cancellation of the land deal's mutation was done last
October. Khemka was served the chargesheet at his official residence, while he was away in New Delhi. Khemka has been charged by the Bhupinder Singh Hooda government of "exceeding his jurisdiction" while cancelling the land deal between Vadra's company, Skylight Hospitality, and DLF.
and grow as an individual," Sharma, who lives in Malviya Nagar, said. She got her voting card recently. Sharma said with the entry of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) the political scene has become more interesting. 'It is perhaps for the first time that Delhi will see a triangular contest. It is an interesting development. And for young people like us, we now have a wider choice," Sharma said. Her friend Simran Kaur said she wanted a government that could
work for the youth. "Youth should be the focus for any government. We are the future. I want a government that improves our lives and gives us more opportunities," Kaur,19, added. But some wanted to give Congress a chance again for the fourth time. "I trust Congress to continue with its developmental work. Look how the city has transformed in the last ten years," said Kahkashan Noor, 21 a resident of Shaheen Bagh in east Delhi.
12
December 7-13, 2013
INDIA
Rape case: Asaram's son Narayan Sai held

New Delhi: Ending his 58-day run from the law, controversial spiritual guru Asaram Bapu's son Narayan Sai, accused in a rape case in Surat, was arrested from Haryana. A Delhi court granted the the Gujarat Police a day's transit remand to to produce him before a court in Surat. Metropolitan Magistrate Dheeraj Mor granted the transit remand for Narayan Sai and two other accused, Kaushal Thakur alias Hanuman and driver Ramesh Malhotra. A court in Surat had earlier issued a nonbailable warrant against Narayan Sai. The court pulled up the Gujarat Police for not presenting proper documents and case files and asked it to submit scanned documents. The court noted that the Gujarat Police was not able to produce relevant documents related to the case on time. Narayan Sai was on the run after a complaint was filed by a 30-year-old woman that he raped her between 2001 and 2005. "Our team got a tip-off that Sai was on the move from Punjab to Haryana. The team laid a trap and he was arrested from Pipli village near Kurukshetra (in Haryana, 150 km from New Delhi)," Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) Ravindra Yadav said. Sai, 40, who had gone underground after two sisters from Surat filed rape complaints against his father and him. Both alleged they were raped by the duo during their stay in the ashram in the mid-2000s. Sai's father Asaram, 72, is in Jodhpur Central Jail for sexually assaulting a girl, 16, in his Jodhpur ashram of Rajasthan in August. Asaram also played a cat-and-mouse game with the police before he was arrested from Indore on September 1.
Narayan Sai was on the run for 58 days
SC intern case: Justice Ganguly in dock

however, said the allegations were "entirely baseless and false". "The Trinamool has noted with anxiousness and concern the charges of sexual harassment against Justice (retired) Ganguly. The charges cannot but leave an impact on public perception of his current role as chair of the WBHRC," Trinamool MP Derek O'Brien said in a statement. With the Trinamool Congress following an approach of "zero tolerance when it comes to safety and dignity of women in the workplace", O'Brien said, "people holding senior positions in public life should act as role models upholding standards of conduct with female colleagues". "As such, it would be wholly incumbent upon Justice Ganguly to step down from his position as chair of the WBHRC and restore the sanctity of the office he currently holds. Public propriety and a sense of decency demand this. I, therefore, urge Justice Ganguly to resign as chair of the WBHRC," added O'Brien. The Trinamool government and the panel chief do not share cordial relations and Ganguly has embarrassed Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee with several of his orders. While Justice (retired) Asok Kumar Ganguly denied commenting on O'Brien's statement, he said he did not intend to seek legal recourse against the sexual harassment accusation as they are baseless and false.
Tejpal case: summons to ex-managing editor Shoma Chaudhury

Panaji: Goa Police have issued summons to former Tehelka managing editor Shoma Chaudhury and three other key witnesses, seeking their presence in the state for recording of statements in the Tarun Tejpal rape case. The victim, an exemployee of Tehelka news magazine, accused Former Tehelka managing editor Chaudhury of attempting Shoma Chaudhury to cover up the sexual assault complaint against Tejpal, three others when a police team had which had been addressed to her. arrived in New Delhi last week. The The former managing editor of the effort now is to record the statement magazine, well known for her femi- in the presence of a judicial magisnist stance in the past, has denied trate. Tarun Tejpal, former editor-inchief of Tehelka news magazine, the charge. The three other Tehelka employ- was arrested after a former junior ees summoned, some of whom have employee accused him of sexual since resigned, are Ishan Tankha, assault in the elevator of a five-star hotel in the Goa capital Nov 7 and 8, Shougat Dasgupta and G. Vishnu. Goa Police had recorded a state- when Thinkfest, an event organised ment from Chaudhury as well as the by the magazine, was being held.
Retired judge A.K. Ganguly is accused of sexually harassing a law intern
Kolkata: The Trinamool Congress has urged retired judge A.K. Ganguly, who is accused of sexually harassing a law intern, to resign as West Bengal Human Rights Commission chairman, because it was the "demand of public propriety". The former Supreme Court judge,
Indian Mars Orbiter out of earth's influence

Bangalore: The Indian Orbiter to Mars zoomed out of the earth's sphere of influence while cruising in the sun orbit on its 10-month long voyage to the red planet. "The Mars Orbiter has traversed beyond the earth's sphere of influence, which extends up to 925,000 km in the interplanetary space at 1.14 a.m.," the Indian space agency said in a posting on its Facebook account. Exiting from the earth's sphere of influence means the spacecraft is out of its gravitational pull and free to cruise in the 680-million km solar orbit to reach Mars in midSeptember 2014. "Though sun's gravity dominates the solar system owing to its massive size, only very near to planets, the planetary gravity becomes stronger than that of sun and is referred as the sphere of influence," the state-run Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said. Orbits of moon and artificial satellites around fall inside the earth's sphere of influence. A day after escaping from earth early Sunday, the spacecraft crossed early Monday the moon's orbit, which is 385,000km away and became the farthest object of India in the interplanetary space. Scientists at the Indian telemetry, tracking and command network (Istrac) here and the Indian Deep Space Network at Bylalu, about 40km from Bangalore, are monitoring the spacecraft's movement in the sun-synchronous orbit and checking its subsystems. The deep space network will conduct the first of the four midcourse corrections Dec 11 to ensure the Orbiter stays on course in the sun orbit. After 290 days, the spacecraft will enter in mid-Sept the Mars sphere of influence, which is around 573,473 km from its surface, in a hyperbolic trajectory. When the spacecraft is closest to Mars, it will be captured into the Martian orbit through a crucial manoeuvre, which involves slowing its velocity (speed). Transition from the earth's final orbit to solar orbit was programmed in line with sun's gravity and laws of the universe to ensure Orbiter reaches precisely on time to sling into the Martian orbit in mid-Sept.
It is free to cruise in the 680-million km solar orbit to reach Mars in mid-September 2014
The 1,337 kg Orbiter was launched Nov 5 from Sriharikota spaceport off the Bay of Bengal, about 80km north east of Chennai, onboard a 350-tonne rocket with five scientific instruments -- Mars Colour Camera, Methane Sensor, Thermal Infrared Imaging Spectrometer, Lyman Alpha Photometer, and Mars exospheric
Netural Composition Analyser. India became the first Asian country and fourth nation in the world to leap into the interplanetary space with its Rs.450-crore exploratory mission to Mars, about 400 million km from earth. So far, only Russia, US and the European Space Agency (ESA) have undertaken such missions.
OP-ED
December 7-13, 2013
13
Will Winter session see key bills through?

By NK Singh he silly season is just about to end. Parliament meets this month for a short winter session of just 12 sittings. The silly season has been generally defined as a holiday period for the media characterised by 'exaggerated news stories, frivolous entertainment and outlandish publicity stunt'. Serious writings and reporting begins with the commencement of the parliamentary session. Unfortunately, in the Indian context, given the declining credibility of Parliament, this description may have been turned on its head. Recent analysis suggests that the number of days that Parliament meets every year has been steadily declining. Compared to 120-140 days that Parliament used to meet in the 1950s and 1960s, it is now meeting for just half the time. Even during these curtailed sessions the number of days when serious business is transacted has dramatically shrunk. Repeated suggestions for benchmarking with other democracies that the parliamentary calendar should be predictable and fixed has not found favour. This would have meant that the minimum number of days that Parliament meets is stipulated and the calendar for these sittings pre-
Recent analysis suggests that the number of days that Parliament meets every year has been steadily declining
determined. This would make for better planning and obviated uncertainties. Further, subjecting the parliamentary calendar to state election cycles injects unpredictability and in some way undercuts the sanctity of Parliament. Constitutional changes which would mandate that elections to both state assemblies and Parliament are held simultaneously has eluded political consensus. Reforming Parliament would be a centrepiece of any governance reforms. While the immediate future does not look too optimistic, hopefully some day these reforms will receive the priority they deserve. As we approach the penultimate session of the present Lok Sabha, what are the expected outcomes?
This would be the last legislative session since the budget session next year would be a vote-onaccount session namely to authorise expenditure pending the presentation of a full Budget by the new government. There have been attempts in the past to misuse the vote-on-account session for making promises, announcements, and commitments much against propriety or convention. These are scarcely honoured by the new government. So, what does the winter session look like? Every Parliament session in recent times has been preceded by an overarching theme. For instance, in the current Lok Sabha a full session was washed out on the issue of constitut-
ing a JPC on the issue of spectrum allocations. Two more sessions faced the same fate on the issue of lokpal and coal block allocations. Will this session have a similar overarching subject? I suspect this will be the outcome of the elections in five states whose results would be available at the commencement of the session. If the UPA does well in these states there would be momentum in their efforts to enact some important legislations. If it is the other way round, the Opposition would read this as a mandate for change in 2014. There would be conjectures on whether the prime ministerial candidate of the main opposition party has made a decisive change. In a business as usual scenario, a predictable electoral path without decisive swings could send political parties to their drawing boards leaving the electoral outcome of 2014 open. The psychological backdrop of the forthcoming winter session would be determined on which way these results play out. Finally, what is realistic in terms of some of the daunting pending legislations? Parliament has a backlog of 122 Bills at the end of the monsoon session. Bills pending in the Lok Sabha will lapse after the 15th Lok Sabha is dissolved. Those in the Rajya Sabha would no doubt
subsist. Clearly some important but complex financial legislations, like the Direct Tax Code and the GST are unlikely to be enacted in the winter session. The Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill and the constitutional amendment Bill on Judicial Appointments Commission received wide consensus across the political divide and the latter was also adopted in the Rajya Sabha. Perhaps the constitutional amendments may need to be revisited along with judicial accountability Bill as amended by the standing committee. It would also be in everybody's interest if the slew of anti-corruption legislations including the lokpal, The Whistleblowers' Protection Bill, The Prevention of Money-Laundering (Amendment) Bill, and the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Bill, receive parliamentary assent before the next elections. If indeed these legislations are enacted it could yet be a blazing end even in the last months of this Lok Sabha. Decisive action and bi-partisan consensus are necessary to retrieve the sullied reputation of Parliament. Each one of us is individually and collectively responsible to restore the centrepiece of our governance rubric. Only in the coming weeks will we know if silly season has for the present truly ended.
Delhi elections seen as national trend-setter

By Prashant Sood t is not a full-fledged state and has only 70 assembly seats but polls in Delhi are keenly watched as it is the centre of the country's political power and has, many times in the past, served as a pointer to the Lok Sabha polls. The BJP, keen to end its 15-year power drought in the national capital, threw in all its might with the party's prime ministerial candidate and lead campaigner Narendra Modi holding five rallies in the metropolis. Party sources said that 230 public meetings were held by its leaders in the past 10 days. With the assembly polls to be followed by the Lok Sabha elections about six months later and a few of its senior leaders apparently interested in contesting from Delhi in the general elections, the BJP has tried not to leave anything to chance. The party has not tasted success in assembly polls in Delhi after 1993. The party's defeat in the assembly polls of 2004 and 2008 was followed by its failure to form the government at the centre in the subsequent Lok Sabha polls. It also fared poorly in Delhi in the last two general elections. The Congress poll effort in Delhi was led by incumbent Sheila Dikshit and a victory will put her in the reckoning for an unprecedented fourth term as chief minister. Party chief Sonia Gandhi and vice-president
The elections are crucial for the AAP for its ambitions to expand its political base to other parts of the country
Rahul Gandhi also addressed rallies in the capital but it is the 75-year-old Dikshit who appeared to be the campaigner-in-chief and principal draw. A victory in Delhi is crucial for the Congress to balance against its probable loss to the BJP in some other states which have gone to the polls in this round of assembly elections. With a number of sur-
veys having predicted BJP victories in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh and a tight race in Chhattisgarh, the Congress is pinning a lot of hopes on winning Delhi. The debutant AAP has managed to create a splash through its grassroots campaign. Its leader Arvind Kejriwal's focus on corruption, the scourge of the average citizen, has kept the issue in the spotlight. The AAP has
managed to make the contest truly triangular and given the jitters to both the BJP and the Congress. The elections are crucial for the AAP for its ambitions to expand its political base to other parts of the country. A good showing in Delhi will enhance its electoral appeal while a poor showing could dampen the spirits of its growing rank of supporters, particularly the young, the working class and sections of the middle class. According to commentator Kuldip Nayar, elections in Delhi have wider resonance due to these being perceived as trend-setters. "This being the capital of the country, it has been seen in the past that whosoever wins Delhi generally also forms the government at the centre. That is why Delhi assembly polls become very important," Nayar said. Subrata Mukherjee, a political analyst who taught at Delhi University, agrees that assembly polls in Delhi reflect the possible trends in national elections. "It is also an election that will test the new factor of AAP. The Delhi polls will also symbolise the linkage of local politics with the larger national election next year. The influence of the Modi factor will be evaluated," he said. The counting of the ballots cast in Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh will take place on December 8 and in Mizoram on December 9.
The views expressed in Op Eds are not necessarily those of The South Asian Times.
14
December 7-13, 2013
DIASPORA
Book on Ranjit Kumar launched in Trinidad and Tobago

This engineer-politician was bridge between East and West
Port-of-Spain: He is credited with introducing Indian movies that gave the diaspora in Trinidad and Tobago an identity. Now, a book on Ranjit Kumar records his contribution to the physical, cultural and political development of this Caribbean nation and his experience in two professions - engineering and politics. Set against the backdrop of British rule over India and the Caribbean during the early 20th century, "Ranjit Kumar: Bridging The East and The West" launched last month at the National Library and Information System Authority (NALIS) in collaboration with his family, also details Kumar's escapades between India, England and Trinidad and Tobago. The first movie he launched here, "Bala Joban", gave birth to the local Indian film industry in 1935 and played a major role in the renaissance of Indo-Trinidadian culture. Born in Rohtak, then in Punjab, in 1912, he was trained as a civil engineer in England, returned to India and served for two years in the Indian Police before seizing an opportunity to travel to Trinidad in 1935. Kumar was appointed assistant city engineer in 1937, and in the process significantly transformed Trinidad and Tobago's infrastructure, most significantly through the construction of Wrightson Road, the country's first dual carriageway, on land reclaimed from the harbour. Some people have been demanding that Wrightson Road be renamed Ranjit Kumar Road. He was also instrumental in the construction of the Hilton Hotel. Political life then beckoned him, and he served as a member of the Port-of-Spain City Council and later in the legislative council from 1946 to 1956, fighting tirelessly for the social, economic and political architecture of the then colonial country. He died in 1982 in Trinidad and Tobago. "Ranjit Kumar: Bridging The exlained. "Ranjit Kumar would have been appalled at the current nature of our politics. We have gone back into the ethnic womb in which the majority of the population finds enormous comfort," he added. Bereton described the book as a very readable biography about an absolutely remarkable man, while Gooptar billed it as a journey that started with research work on his doctoral thesis, "The Impact of Indian Movies on East Indian Identity in Trinidad". (East Indians had been brought to the Caribbean from the Indian subcontinent to serve as indentured laborers.) This publication is not about Ranjit Kumar, rather it is about Trinidad and Tobago of which he was an indispensable contributor, Gooptar noted. It is a thrilling combination of history and personal drama. The story of this son of India and the reality of his experience in his adopted country will certainly captivate its audience, he added.
Historian Brinsley Samaroo speaking at the launch event
East and The West" is authored by Bridget Brereton, emeritus professor of history at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine and Premnath Gooptar, a retired school principal and well-known cultural promoter, while historian Brinsley Samaroo has penned the foreword. Samaroo, who spoke of Kumar's contribution to Caribbean thought,
focused on the Indian expatriate's defence of the political orthodoxy of the time saying he was never "a member of any Indian parties". "He preferred to be in the larger political scene because he never saw the question of development in ethnic terms. We are still too honed in the politics of ethnic divisiveness to see otherwise," Samaroo
Week of Indian Cinema in Moscow and Voronezh

Moscow: Vychaslav Telnov, Deputy Minister for Cinematography, Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation and Ajai Malhotra, Ambassador of India to the Russian Federation inaugurated a Week of Indian Cinema on November 25, 2013, at the Film Theatre Rolan here. A similar function was held to open a Week of Indian Cinema in Voronezh on 27.11.2013. The Week of Indian Cinema is being jointly organized in Moscow and Voronezh by Russian Film Company NOY on behalf of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, and the Jawaharlal Nehru Cultural Centre, Embassy of India, Moscow, with the support of the Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi. The opening of the Week of Indian Cinema took place in the presence of famous Indian actor and film director Madhur Bhandarkar. Welcoming the audience to the inaugural screening, Min-
British city gets new Indian visa centre

London: The British city of Leicester has got its first Indian visa center after twenty years of campaigning, a media report said. The visa center, located at the Peepul Centre in Orchardson Avenue, Belgrave, was opened by Vyragyam Siddi Ramalingam, Indian Consul General in Birmingham, and Keith Vaz, Indian origin Labor Party Member of Parliament (MP) from Leicester East, news portal Leicester Mercury reported Tuesday. Keith Vaz reportedly made his own application for an Indian visa following the official opening of the center. He said the new Indian visa center will save people from going to the centers in London and Birmingham for submitting their application. "I cannot believe that after so many years of campaigning it has finally become a reality. It is a wonderful gift to Leicester," Keith Vaz was quoted as saying. "With the Home Office biometric center in the city and now a new Indian visa center, Leicester is the hub of the East Midlands," he added.
Ambassador Ajai Malhotra (right) seen with director Madhur Bhandarkar at the inauguration
Indian origin doctor in Britain gets excellence award

Manchester: An Indian origin doctor in Britain has received an excellence award for his work across the medical space. "Dr. (Jaswinder S.) Bamrah is a dedicated medical professional conducting a large number of lectures nationally to psychiatrists, general practitioners, to other disciplines and voluntary organizations such as Alzheimer's Disease Society and PACE on a variety of topics, such as the role of caretakers in the community, dementia, which antidepressant to choose, suicides and treatment of major depression in the Asian community," said the panel that chose Bamrah, consultant psychiatrist in Manchester, for the Asian Lite's Professional Excellence Award. Councillor Afzal Khan, a former mayor of Manchester, headed the panel. Peter W. Mount, chairman of the Central Manchester Foundation Trust, presented the award to Bamrah. Among those present on the occasion were Lord Mayor of Manchester Naeem Ul Hassan, Police and Crime Commissioner Tony Lloyd and British Medical Association Vice Chairman Kailash Chand. Bamrah obtained his medical degree from Patiala's Government Medical College in 1978. He was enrolled at London's Royal College of Psychiatrists in 1985.
ister Telnov thanked the Embassy of India, Moscow, for arranging the screening of Indian films alongside the ongoing Festival of Indian Culture 2013. Ambassador Malhotra conveyed special thanks to Minister Telnov for supporting the Week of Indian Cinema. He shared with the audience that another Indian Film Festival, commemorating 100 Years of Indian Cinema, will also be presented in Moscow from December13-15, 2013 at Il-
lusion Theater, Moscow. He hoped that it will open new avenues for the commercial release of Indian films across Russia. The official ceremony was followed by the screening of the Hindi film Heroine directed by Mr. Madhur Bhandarkar. Other Indian films being screened at the Rolan Film Theatre as part of the Festival include Khakhee, Page 3, Rain Coat, Munna Bhai MBBS, Swades and Pinjar.
INDIA ELECTIONS IN PICTURES
December 7-13, 2013
15
Mirror to the 2014 final?
BJP leader Vasundhara Raje, on course to become the Chief Minister of Rajasthan for the second time, took time out of her busy electioneering schedule to accept the invitation of a Bhil family to visit their onions field in her constituency of Jhalrapatan on December 1.
A supporter of BJP holds up a mask of Narendra Modi during a rally ahead of the state elections in New Delhi.
The BJP appears to be on course to make a total 4-0 sweep of the latest round of elections to the legislative assemblies of the four states of Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, if exit poll results released are to be believed. These polls show the BJP wresting Rajasthan away from the Congress, holding on to Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh and emerging as the single largest party in Delhi, Some glimpses of the voting process.
People show their voter's identity cards at a polling booth in Raipur, Chhattisgarh. UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit after casting their votes in New Delhi.
120-year-old Babban Bi being escorted to a polling booth in Bhopal.
People after casting their votes during Assembly polls in Jaipur, Rajasthan.
16
December 7-13, 2013
ULTIMATE BOLLYWOOD
A scene from 'Bullett Raja'
'Bullett Raja' misses bull's eye

A poster of 'Dhoom 3'
mran Khan feels that his uncle and superstar Aamir Khan-starrer "Dhoom 3" has the potential to set a new box office record. Directed by Vijay Krishna Acharya, "Dhoom 3" is set for a Dec 20 release and expectations are high from the new offering by Yash Raj Films, especially
because the first two installments were blockbusters. "I think, there will be some new club. Rs.200 crore club has already been made, and for this film there will be a Rs.300Rs.400 crore club," the 30-yearold told reporters. The actor, who himself performed some daredevil acts in
"Luck" and even burnt his eyelashes and skin while doing action sequences in the 2009 release, says "Dhoom 3" stunts are by far the best. The "Dhoom 3" cast dazzles with names like Katrina Kaif, Abhishek Bachchan and Uday Chopra.
ilmmaker Tigmanshu Dhulia's latest offering "Bullett Raja" may have missed the target at the box office, but it did decent business by earning approximately Rs.12 crore to Rs.13 crore in two days of its release, say trade pundits. The Saif Ali Khan and Sonakshi Sinha-starrer came out this week. Rajesh Thadani of Multimedia Combines said: "'Bullett Raja' is doing a decent business at the box office, but nothing great. The film has approximately collected Rs.12 crore to Rs.13 crore on Friday and Saturday." Based in a small town in Uttar Pradesh, "Bullett Raja" is described as a fest of guns, grime,
and glory and it has just a week to utilise its potential. "The film will go steady just for a week because next Friday 'R...Rajkumar' will release. It looks very impressive and considering the fact that it's a Prabhudheva film, there is a lot of hope from the film. His record has been very strong so far," said Thadani. Shahid Kapoor-starrer "R...Raajkumar" too is a crime thriller and another common thread between the two films is Sonakshi, who is playing the female lead in this one too. However, in Rajasthan, "Bullett Raja" has got an encouraging response.
Actor Rajpal Yadav in judicial custody

he Delhi High Court has sent Bollywood actor Rajpal Yadav to 10 days' judicial custody for making misleading statements in court in a recovery suit of Rs.5 crore filed against him and his wife by a Delhi entrepreneur. Delhi-based entrepreneur M.G. Agarwal, owner of Murli Projects, filed a case against them in the high court for failing to repay a loan of Rs.5 crore which the actor took in 2010 to make his Hindi debut directional film "Ata Pata Laapata". Justice S. Murlidhar also asked Yadav's wife, who was with their few months old daughter, to remain present in the Registrar General's office till the rising of Bollywood actor Rajpal the court. Yadav The court was irked by the conduct of the couple and counsel for repeatedly concealing the fact from the court, by saying that Yadav's wife Radha was in Ghaziabad and would reach court.
B-town mourns 'Boogie Woogie' back, Rs.10 Paul Walker death lakh prize money H "
Boogie Woogie" is back and this time it gets bigger and glitzier. As many as 16 young dancers will participate and the winner will take home Rs.10 lakh and the "Boogie Woogie Kids Champion" trophy. The show, produced by R&N Productions, starts Saturday on Sony Entertainment Television. The trio of Jaaved Jaaferi, Naved Jafri and Ravi Behl are back as judges while Sargun Mehta and 12-year-old actor Rakshit Wahi will host the dance show. Sneha Rajani, senior executive president and business head, S o n y Entertainment Te l e v i s i o n , says that this season it will be "wholesome fun and entertainment". "This season promises to be bigger and better as we present an eclectic mix of 16 electrifying dancers whose sole aim will be entertaining our viewers with their outstanding performances," Rajani said in a statement. The contestants, aged between 6 and 14, have been selected from all corners of the c o u n t r y. After a nationwide hunt, the top contestants include children from cities such as Ranchi, D e l h i , Jamshedpur, Darjeeling, Baroda, Rourkela and Mathura.
ollywood actor Paul Walkers death has came as a shock for everyone and mourning his demise Bollywood celebrities say that he has "gone far too soon". Walker, best known for his role as Brian O'Conner in the The Fast and The Furious, died in a car accident in Santa Clarita, California. He was 40. Celebrities took to Twitter to express their sorrow and grief. Here is Paul Walker died what they have to say: in a car crash Varun Dhawan: Can't believe Paul walker is gone. Life is crazy. Don't know why but this news has really depressed me. RIP Paul Walker. Preity Zinta: So sad to hear that Paul Walker died a fast and furious death in an accident in LA. Life is so short and fragile. May his soul rest in peace. Mika Singh: Very sad to hear about Paul Walker! What a brilliant actor! And an exceptionally good-looking man! Life is so unpredictable, really. Jackky Bhagnani: I am in shock that Paul Walker is no more. I loved him in all the The Fast And The Furious series. RIP. Sonal Chauhan: RIP Paul Walker. Life is so uncertain. And we take it for granted. Value it, live it. Aftab Shivdasani: RIP Paul Walker. Sad and tragic. Prayers for his near and dear ones. Dia Mirza: RIP Paul Walker. Bejoy Nambiar: Brian O Connor bites the dust. Tragic. RIP Paul Walker.
ULTIMATE BOLLYWOOD
December 7-13, 2013
17
Ranbir Kapoor with Katrina Kaif
ctress Payal Rohatgi, who is in a live-in relationship with wrestler Sangram Singh for the past two years, says she misses him a lot and may settle down with him soon. Sangram is currently seen as one of the contestants in "Bigg Boss 7", a reality show that comes on Colors channel. "In these two years, for the first time we have lived apart from each other. He (Sangram) is not only my boyfriend, but my best friend as well," Payal said here in an interview. The actress featured in the second season of "Bigg Boss". When asked will she marry Sangram once he comes out of the "Bigg Boss" house, she said: "There is a lot that you want to say and share, but only with your boyfriend or best friend. I do miss him a lot and hopefully, we will (get married soon)." Recently, Payal visited Sangram in the Bigg Boss house as part of a special task.
o go by the strong rumors and cousin Kareena Kapoor's alleged declaration of Katrina Kaif as her sister-in-law on 'Koffee With Karan', gossip mills have been working overtime to hint at a possible exchange of rings between Ranbir Kapoor and girlfriend Katrina. Ranbir and Katrina's relationship had caught the public eye soon after they worked together in the film ' Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahaani'. What added fuel to fire were the couple's leaked pictures while on a holiday in Spain. Having been spotted together at various parties and events, the buzz around their romance has been strong for the longest time now. But what raised eyebrows recently was when rushes of Kareena and Ranbir's episode of chat show ' Koffee With Karan' was aired on television. Bebo, known for not shying away from making controversial remarks has allegedly spilled the beans on the latest update in her cousin Ranbir's relationship with Katrina and reportedly called Kat her sister-in-law on national television. Was this Kapoor khandaan's big announcement of Ranbir and Katrina's engagement plans? If so, do we hear wedding bells in the coming year?
Actress Payal Rohatgi with Sangram
ollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio, whose latest film The Wolf of Wall Street releases in India on Christmas (December 25), may visit the country's entertainment capital in the January 2014. "His visit is likely to be a part of a different strategy, by way of which the Titanic star will meet some of India's promising entrepreneurs," a source from the film's distribution team in India said. "Leonardo sincerely believes that the character on whose life the film is based is a huge role model for the youth of today in terms of enterprising skills," the source added. The film follows the real life story of Jordan Belfort's rise to a wealthy stockbroker to his fall Leonardo DiCaprio in due to use of fraudulent methods. "The actor has The Wolf of Wall Street learnt that India is a country booming with young firms and start-ups and hence he felt that more than an obvious promotion of the movie, a platform to interact with such a crowd of young enthusiasts would be a far better connect and a great opportunity," the source added.
ushal Tandon proposed to Gauhar Khan in the "Bigg Boss Saath-7" house and this boosted viewers' curiosity, while Tanisha Mukherjee-Armaan Kohli's camaraderie is keeping the audiences hooked to the ongoing season of the reality show. How real are these relationships? Excontestants claim inmates sometimes "fake romances" for survival and to boost viewership ratings and sometimes "they attach themselves to someone" due to loneliness in the house, where they are locked up for three months without contact with the outside world. Sambhavna Seth, who was seen in the second season of "Bigg Boss", said: "The people, who come in 'Bigg Boss', have it in their mind that if they are attached to someone and give a romantic angle to the show, it will increase the TRPs (television rating points) and also that it will help them last longer in the show." If actors Aryan Vaid and Anupama Verma's romance set the ratings soaring in the first season, the duo went separate ways after the show. The same was the case with Pakistani actress Veena Malik and Bollywood actor Ashmit Patel. They scorched the small screen in
Gauhar Khan with Kushal Tandon
season four, but their romance was nowhere to be seen once the show ended. In the same season, TV actress Sara Khan had a 'nikaah' with her longtime boyfriend Ali Merchant. Their marriage was called off immediately after the two got evicted from the show. Other popular couples whose chemistry spiced up the show are Pooja Bedi-Akashdeep Saigal, Monica Bedi-Rahul Mahajan, Claudia Ciesla-Parvesh Rana, and Vishal Karwal-Sana Khan.
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December 7-13, 2013
TRAVEL
The Gooderham & Worts company supplied whiskey to the world from here Toronto is one of the very few cities in North America - and the only city in Canada - to for a century and half. The Victorian era industrial buildings and cobbled retain its streetcars (called trams in India). The CN Tower defines the skyline, and is, lanes were preserved and re-birthed as an arts and commerce district, with of course, a must-do for tourists as is Statue of Liberty in New York. boutiques, artist studios, restaurants and a microbrewery.
Toronto on a trot
Text and photos by Parveen Chopra
I could pack quite a bit in one weekend in Canadas First City, thanks to the navigation and chaperoning by my host.
On the south, Toronto is bounded by Lake Ontario. Also in the picture, Toronto Island Airport used by the budget airline, Porter.
Looking like a castle, the Ontario Legislative Building houses the viceregal suite of the Lt. Governor of Ontario, the states Legislative Assembly, and offices for members of the provincial parliament
o have a host in a new city you are visiting helps! And not just because you save on lodging, boarding and transport cost. More crucially, you have a local person who can guide you in navigating the citys hot spots and fill you with local lore, something rarely found in travel guides. I ventured into Toronto in early October at the invitation of an old friend, Mamta Mishra, who has shaped World Literacy of Canada into a key NGO with a string of projects in India. I could spare just a weekend but she, a bit of a slave driver, planned a hectic schedule for me. Though officially the capital city of Ontario province, Toronto is Canadas commercial, cultural and entertainment capital. With a population of 2.7 million (5.5 mil-
A visit to the humongous Loblaws food supermarket was an eye-opener - the superlatives are not the monopoly of America and Dubai.
From the CN Tower, which has viewing galleries all around its circumference, looking down upon the business district of Toronto dominated by five bank buildings.
TRAVEL
December 7-13, 2013
19
I was fascinated by the replica of this animal in the CN Tower foyer - a moose I was told is the largest extant species in the deer family. Most moose are found in cold regions in Canada, Alaska, Scandinavia and Russia.
One level below the Lookout Level in CN Tower has a glass floor. With a view 1,122 feet straight down, even those not afraid of heights need a little help.
lion in the GTA - Greater Toronto Area), it is the 4th largest city in North America, after Mexico City, New York and Los Angeles. Moreover, it is arguably the worlds most multicultural city with half of its residents born abroad, and the same percentage being of a visible minority. Of the minorities, 12% are South Asians; the South Asian population share goes up in the GTA areas of Brampton (over 38%) and Mississauga (22%). The only Toronto tourist attraction I had known was the CN Tower. Mamtas son Akash, who is finishing high school next year, accompanied me there. CN Tower is a 1,815.4 ft concrete communications and observation tower, which when completed in 1976 became the world's tallest free-standing structure until displaced from that honor by Burj Khalifa in Dubai in 2010. "CN" originally referred to Canadian National, the railway company that built the tower. Akash pointed to me the sights of Toronto as seen from the viewing galleries of the Tower, including the business district dominated by five bank buildings Royal Bank of Canada, Bank of Montreal, Bank of Nova Scotia, TD (Toronto Dominion) Bank, and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) was running, so Mamta and I managed to catch one film with a forgettable title, and which was quite self-indulgent and soporific. At another TIFF venue, we came across crowds of screaming girls. Inquiries revealed that the crowds were gathered to sneak a peek at a popular Korean star pair walking the red carpet. In Toronto? Talk of multiculturalism! One morning we visited the Distillery a laudable experiment in conservation. The Gooderham & Worts company supplied whiskey to North America and the world from here for a century and half before ceasing operations in the 1990s. The Victorian era industrial buildings and cobbled lanes have been preserved and re-
birthed as an arts and commerce district, with boutiques, galleries, artist studios, restaurants and a microbrewery. Then, we drove along Lake Shore road all the way west to Humber Bay, where new apartment buildings are coming up. We came back from around the miles long High Park, and then the Annex, an upmarket area with its winding streets reminiscent of San Franciscos. Unlike Manhattan, Downtown Toronto, also called the Core, is well integrated with the rest of the city. The Core is bounded by Bloor Street to the north, Lake Ontario to the south, the Don River to the east, and Bathurst Street to the west. The city's largest concentration of skyscrapers and businesses is here. Mamta pointed out that to the hoity toity, living on the other side of Bloor Street will be infra dig. She herself lives in Cabbagetown, on the east side of the Core, in a townhouse in a heritage building. Her living room boasts a huge collection of Ganeshas in all sizes and shapes, styles and materials. We went shopping to Loblaws (never seen a supermarket with so many aisles chock-a-block with all kinds of food), and the Cheese Boutique, a gourmet foods lovers
mecca. In a town crazy about ice hockey, there is a Hockey Hall of Fame, which is both a museum and a hall of fame. It is housed in the historic Bank of Montreal building. We did not make it there. Nor to the Kensington Market. Nor to many other city sights and attractions. Most of all, I did not venture a trip to the Niagara Falls, only 80 miles away. It is better attempted as a day trip. Besides, Id been to Niagara Falls from the American side, though admittedly the view is more spectacular from the Canadian side. Before I flew out of Toronto, Mamta gave me booklets about World Literacy of Canada and how donations to this NGO (website: www.worldlit.ca) can be the best Christmas gift for the unlettered in India. For raising funds, she has nurtured Kama reading series, which has featured literary stars like Yann Martle (Life of Pi fame), Anita Desai and Salman Rushdie. She also marked out on the Toronto map the places we visited and the routes we took. I forgot to bring back that map, so had to jog my memory to put together this article.
Mamta Mishra, my gracious hostess, her son Akash, and their dog Abracadabra (aka Aishwarya), who she often takes to her office. The familys neighborhood Cabbagetown, even Toronto as a whole, is considered canine friendly.
The quotidian letter box gets a colorful makeover in Toronto. Canada Post designed them to counter graffiti and vandalism.
Getting there
By rail: From New York (Penn Station), Amtraks Maple Leaf takes you into the heart of Toronto (Union Station). Along the way, you pass through the most sublime scenery in Americas northeast - the Hudson River Valley, New York's wine country, the incredible gorges of the Finger Lakes region, and nearby the dramatic spectacle of Niagara Falls. The trip takes about 13 hours and costs about $110 one way. By air: Air Canada and other major airlines fly between New York/New Jersey and Toronto, taking you to Toronto Pearson International Airport, which is about 30-50 driving minutes by car from the downtown core. Porter Airlines, the cheapest of the lot, flies you to the Toronto Island Airport, a ferry ride away from downtown. By bus: Greyhound, Mega Bus and other bus services ply between NYC and Toronto. Niagara Falls: Niagara Falls on the Canadian side is about 80 miles southwest of Toronto, a drive of 1 hours. This natural wonder of the world attracts over 12 million visitors each year.
I attended a book reading, where Emails from India Women Write Home was launched. The book is edited by Vancouver based Janis Harper (pictured). The take home for me was a passage which said something like this: a woman tourist has to be hyper alert in India, for groping men may come anytime from any direction.
Men and women may not be interchangeable, but this imaginative transition from M to W outside washrooms in a heritage building in downtown I found worth clicking.
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December 7-13, 2013
SUBCONTINENT
'Reset' Pak's India policy, Sharif told
US urges Dhaka to end political unrest

Dhaka: The US has urged the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and Awami League to get talks going to end political unrest in the South Asian country, media reported. The US embassy in Dhaka said in a statement that it was "more urgent than ever" for both major parties to assign their "trusted lieutenants" to undertake constructive dialogue to try for a breakthrough. "We believe that with goodwill, the two parties can still find a way to have free, fair and credible elections that the Bangladeshi people want and deserve," US envoy Dan Mozena said. The statement was issued after Mozena spent a busy day meeting several ministers as the Opposition's nationwide blockade entered the fourth day. Mozena has also suggested the Bangladeshi politicians to fully use the upcoming visit of UN Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs Oscar FernandezTaranco to reach an agreement. The BNP and its allies are calling tougher agitations like general strikes and blockades to push for a non-party polls-time government. Nearly 40 people have been
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif
Islamabad: A leading Pakistani newspaper has asked Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to "reset" policies visa-vis India as well as other "enormously complicated" issues. Sharif has been in office for five months, and it was time he took direct charge of issues such as militant threats, Afghanistan, India and Balochistan, the Dawn said in an editorial. Pakistan's new army chief, Gen. Raheel Sharif, may take time to settle down, it said, adding the prime minister must not waste time but "examine and reset" the country's policies. "The new army chief will possibly take longer to turn to matters of the army's approach to national security and its
positions on key foreign relations. "But Nawaz Sharif has been in office for five months now. And it is time for him to step up and truly take charge," the daily said. "There are at least four areas in which (Nawaz) Sharif needs to examine and reset the state's policies -- domestic militant threat, Balochistan, Afghanistan and India. "Each of those issues is enormously complicated in its own right, before the civil-military angle is even factored in." The Dawn said that on matters related to Afghanistan and India and Balochistan, the government "is on the right track - though perhaps only to the extent of words.
Nearly 40 people have been killed in the recent violence
killed in the recent violence during the Opposition programs across Bangladesh. The Awami League recently constituted an "all-party" interim cabinet, which the BNP has rejected to join. Candidates of total 15 political parties including Awami League and Jatiya Party have also submitted nomination papers. But in a surprise development, Jatiya Party Chairman H.M. Ershad announced that his party will not contest the Jan 5 elections as a "proper environment" did not exist for the polls. His decision
seemed to have put the ruling party in a tight spot. However, Awami League leaders have been hinting that a dialogue might take place soon, but the BNP's acting Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir rejected any possibility of talks with the government Tuesday afternoon. He directed the party supporters to be on the streets until non-party polls-time government demand was met. Only a day before, Leader of the Opposition Khaleda Zia had urged the government to reach an agreement.
Karzai threatens to drop pact with US

Kabul: Afghan President Hamid Karzai said that he will not sign the military pact with the US if it continues actions such as this week's NATO drone strike resulting in civilian casualties. A Taliban commander and an eight-year-old boy died and two women were wounded Thursday by a drone attack in the southern province of Helmand, Afghan government spokesman Umar Zwak told the Pajhwok news agency. "For as long as such arbitrary acts and oppression of foreign forces continue, the security agreement with the United States will not be signed," Karzai said in a statement posted on his website. "This attack shows that American forces do not respect the lives and security of the people of Afghanistan and the loya jirga (council of elders) decision," the Afghan leader said. The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force confirmed
No need for international probe in Sri Lanka: Jayasuriya

Thiruvananthapuram: Former Sri Lankan cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya dismissed recent calls for an international probe into allegations of war crimes by government troops just before the end of the three decade-long civil war in the country. "There is no need for any international probe because we have our own judicial system and the process of law is going on," Jayasuriya said during an interaction with the media here. "Our President Mahinda Rajapaksa has done a wonderful job and is doing everything possible to see that there is overall development in the country... because things were not proper as there was the war that went on for three decades, so it's not easy," he said. "Anyone can ask for a probe and you all know what happened at the recent CHOGM meeting held in Sri Lanka," the former cricketer said, referring to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting held recently in Colombo. On relations with India, he said India has been a long standing friend. "Yes, there are some issues, but we continue to have a good friendship. "China is participating in our infrastructure development, especially in road building," Jayasuriya added.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai
in a communique that an air strike was carried out Thursday against an insurgent in Helmand and expressed regrets for the civilian casualties. Washington's top commander in Afghanistan, Marine Gen Joseph Dunford, telephoned Karzai Thursday to apologise for the death of the child. Dunford, his spokesman said: "Expressed deep regrets for the incident and any civilian casualties, and promised to convene an immediate
joint investigation to determine all the facts of what happened." The drone strike came just a few days after the loya jirga approved a military pact with the US extending beyond 2014 when the ISAF withdraws, though Karzai wants to postpone the signing of the pact until after his successor is elected next year. The rough draft of the accord anticipates the presence of some 10,000-15,000 US soldiers in the country until 2024.
Former Sri Lankan cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya
INTERNATIONAL
December 7-13, 2013
21
No change in US hands off Kashmir policy
Iran, world powers to discuss action plan for n-deal

Tehran: Iran and the world powers will hold an expert-level meeting in Vienna Dec 8-9 to discuss implementation of the Geneva nuclear deal, the Iranian foreign ministry's spokesperson announced here. According to Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Marzieh Afkham, the two-day Dec 8-9 meeting is aimed at preparing the implementation of the deal reached Nov 24 in Geneva between Iran and the P5+1 group -- the US, Britain, France, Russia and China plus Germany. Experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency will also participate in the meeting as observers, so that they could obtain an accurate understanding about the deal, added Afkham. The implementation of the deal could take time because the world powers need time for preparation, she said. Afkham also said the Fact Sheet released by the White House was only one-sided narration of the agreement. "The four-page Joint Plan of Action is clear on the obligations of all sides." The White House interpretation of the deal contained much
US assistant secretary of State for South and Central Asia Nisha Desai Biswal
Washington: Affirming that there is no change in the long-held US policy on Kashmir, a senior Obama administration official has said it is for India-Pakistan to set the pace, scope, and nature of talks over it. "There's not been any change in the long-held US policy that with respect to relations between India and Pakistan, and particularly with respect to issues regarding Kashmir," US assistant secretary of State for South and Central Asia Nisha Desai Biswal told foreign reporters. "It is for India-Pakistan to set the pace, the scope, and really the nature of those conversations and that process," she said when asked by a Pakistani correspondent about what the US was doing to help the two countries resolve some of their longstanding disputes, including
Kashmir. The United States, Biswal said "supports any improvements in the overall relationship, and we have seen important overtures by both countries towards dialogue." The US, she said welcomed the fact that Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif "had a meeting in New York last fall, and we welcome all dialogue and all improvements in that relationship." "A good place to start is on the trade front," Biswal suggested, "because it's a win-win for both countries." "I think cross-border trade right now between India and Pakistan is somewhere in the range of two and a half billion. But both sides have seen the potential for that to grow to 10 billion, easily," she said.
The implementation of the nuclear deal could take time because the world powers need time for preparation
stronger wording than the more balanced Joint Plan of Action stemmed from the negotiation in Geneva. The Fact Sheet called the deal "a set of initial understandings that halts the progress of Iran's nuclear programme and rolls it back in key respects. These are the first meaningful limits that Iran has accepted on its nuclear programme in close to a decade." Also, the Fact Sheet said Iran was committed to halt progress on the growth of its 3.5 percent enriched uranium stockpile which the Iranian officials denied.
The US and its allies will provide Iran limited relief of sanctions on its oil, gold, petrochemicals, auto industries and civil aviation with an estimated value of about $7 billion under the terms of the six-month nuclear deal. In exchange, Iran agreed to halt enrichment above five percent and neutralising its stockpile of near 20 percent uranium by means of dilution or converting. The document says Iran also agreed not to make advances of its activities at Natanz and Fordow enrichment plants and at the Arak reactor.
Syrian chemical weapons removal on track: official

United Nations: The head of the joint United Nations and Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons team charged with eliminating chemical weapons in Syria said despite obstacles, the programme to remove and destroy chemical agents at sea was on track. Sigrid Kaag, chief of the mission, said the weapons would be broken down into various chemical agents and put aboard a ship in the Syrian Mediterranean port of Latakia, before being taken to another as yet unidentified port to be "transloaded" onto, most likely, a US naval ship for disposal. She reassured that all precautions were being taken and a representative of the UN Environmental Program was present in Syria to ensure safety. Speaking to reporters outside the UN Security Council chamber, Kaag said that in her second monthly report to the Council, she briefed its 15 members about the "progress made to date". But most importantly, the mission chief also briefed them on the
India, China emerging as more important US allies: Survey

Washington: While growing numbers of Americans believe that US global power and prestige are in decline, top foreign policy experts think China and India will be more important US allies in the future. Even as support for US global engagement, already near a historic low, has fallen further, this reticence is not an expression of across-the-board isolationism, according to a new poll by Pew Research centre in partnership with the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), a US think tank specialising in foreign policy. "The public thinks that the nation does too much to solve world problems, and increasing percentages want the US to 'mind its own business internationally' and pay more attention to problems here at home," the poll found. Even as doubts grow about the United States' geopolitical role, most Americans say the benefits from US participation in the global economy outweigh the risks. And support for closer trade and business ties with other nations stands at its highest point in more than a decade, the poll found. The survey on "America's Place in the World", a quadrennial survey of foreign policy attitudes found that the public continues to express favourable opinions of a number of longstanding US allies. While opinions about most of the 12 countries included in the survey have not changed a great deal in recent years, the balance of opinion toward India, Russia and Mexico has turned more negative. Fewer than half (46 percent) have a favorable impression of India while 33 percent have an unfavourable opinion. Four years ago, 56 percent had a favourable opinion of India and 24 percent had an unfavourable view.
The weapons would be broken down into various chemical agents and put aboard a ship in the Syrian Mediterranean port of Latakia
"preparations for the very critical phase III, which is the removal out of country of the most critical chemical agents". "We went a little bit of the 'what' and the 'how' and the work of the joint mission, but of course very mindful of the very volatile conditions in country, in an active war zone," she said. Kaag said one of the main problems was security, explaining that
when she recently had to go to Latakia from Damascus, she could not go by road but instead had to fly to Beirut and then take a helicopter to Latakia because of fighting along the Damascus-Latakia road. She added that she had discussed the security measures that need to be taken by the Syrian government, which is responsible for safety and security, and the "constructive cooperation with the Syrian authorities".
22
December 7-13, 2013
BUSINESS
US aviation players bullish on Indian market

New Delhi: Even as Indian civil aviation industry struggles in a tough operating environment, US based aviation companies are bullish on the sector's future prospects. "We have had a long and successful partnership with India. We have been in India creating sustainable, aviation ecosystem," Pratyush Kumar, president, Boeing India, said at the ninth Indo-US Resurgence Summit. Pratyush Kumar, who was speaking at the event organized by the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IACC), added that his company is in the process of building capacity and capability of the Indian aviation sector and is closely working with education and training institutes as well. India in recent past has placed orders for maritime patrol aircraft P8I and C-17 heavy-lift military aircraft, apart from scouting for new attack and transport choppers 2006. The civil aviation sector in India has faced turbulence in recent years as stubbornly high jet fuel prices, interest costs and an economic slowdown have troubled the already financially-stretched industry. However, US based manufacturers are still bullish on the future prospects of the industry which is set to achieve high growth rates due to little or negligible proportion of air passenger numbers from the total population of over 1.2 billion. Pratyush Kumar's views were corroborated by navigational and surveillance components manufacturer Raytheon which has described India as one of the most promising import markets in the world not only from sales point of view but also as a critical global supply hub. Consultancy firm KPMG's partner and head (aerospace and defence) Amber Dubey said there are various opportunities for American companies in Indian civil aviation sector ranging from maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facilities, training and infrastructure development. "There are opportunities for (US) companies in the low-cost development of Indian tier-I and II airports, as there are numerous such small airports in the US which are owned by the local municipalities. These airports are looked upon as a part of the city and the gateway towards it," Dubey said. The US-India Aviation Cooperation Program's officials were also optimistic over developments in the sector and said that they will organise a workshop for both Indian and US companies before next year Indian Civil Aviation Show, slated to be held in Hyderabad.
India has placed orders for maritime patrol aircraft P8I and C-17 heavy-lift military aircraft
in which US based companies are participating. In pure commercial deals, major India-based airlines such as Air India, Jet Airways and SpiceJet operate Boeing built aircraft. Staterun Air India has ordered 27
Boeing 787 Dreamliners. Boeing, on the other hand, is setting up a $100 million maintenance repair overhaul (MRO) facility for Air India following an order for 737s and 787s Dreamliners which was placed by Air India in January
Chidambaram pegs growth at 5 pc for 2013-14
India 94th in list of corrupt nations

New Delhi: India is ranked 94th in a list of most corrupt countries in the world, doing better than its neighbors Pakistan - ranked at 127 - and Bangladesh - at 136, a new report by Transparency International said. India has also done better than Thailand (102), Mexico (106), Egypt (114), Nepal (116), Vietnam (116) and Iran (144). More than two-thirds of the 177 countries ranked in Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index 2013, scored below 50, on a scale from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (clean). Denmark and New Zealand were tied for the first place with a score of 91, followed by Finland and Sweden (89) and Singapore (86). Afghanistan, North Korea and Somalia were at the bottom with a score of 8, said the report released in Berlin.According to the list, India scored 36 points on a scale of 0-100. No country managed to get the perfect 100 score. Top-ranked Denmark and New Zealand scored 91 points each to share the first place on the list. India's neighbours Pakistan and Bangladesh scored 27 and 28, respectively. While India maintained status quo with its rank at 94 and the same score as last year, Pakistan and Bangladesh improved their rankings, said Transparency International director Ramanath Jha.Pakistan moved up from a rank of 139 in 2012 to 127 this year and Bangladesh bettered its rank from 144 to 136. A statement said that such a low rank and score for India could be attributed to recently exposed scams involving government officials, politicians and private companies. "Corruption can be tackled only if various stakeholders join hands in their effort to clean the country," said Justice (retd) Kamleshwar Nath, chair of Transparency International India (TII). According to Transparency International, to calculate India's position, 10 out of 13 independent data sources specialising in governance and business climate analysis were used. The sources, including World Bank and World Economic Forum, helped in measuring perceptions of corruption in public sector, and enabled cross-country comparability and comparison over time.
Finance Minister P. Chidambaram
New Delhi: The Indian economy is on the path of recovery. Growth will accelerate in the coming quarter and is expected to be around five percent for the current financial year, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said. The country's gross domestic product (GDP) growth rose to 4.8 percent in the quarter ended September as compared to 4.4 percent in the previous quarter, according to latest data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO). Average growth in the first two quarters of the current financial year stood at 4.6 percent. Addressing a press conference here, Chidambaram said the economic growth performance in the second quarter of the current financial year was in line with the government's expectation and was likely to improve significant-
ly in the second half of the year. "The second quarter GDP growth rate indicates that the economy may be recovering and is on a growth trajectory again," the finance minister said. Apart from the second quarter GDP growth numbers, Chidambaram also based his optimism on recovery in exports and a very good improvement in current account deficit situation. "With the recent improvements in some important sectors like manufacturing, better performance of exports and with the measures taken by the government, the economy can be expected to show further improvement. "We expect the growth for the financial year 2013-14 to be 5.0 percent," the finance ministry said in a statement.
Indians pay most for Apple iPhone 5S: Study

New Delhi: It is not a secret that Apple gadgets cost a fortune in India, where even the base variant of the iPhone 5S costs over half-a-lakh rupees. Now, a study has shown that Indians end up paying the most for the Apple smartphone - across the world! According to data compiled by technology website Mobiles Unlocked, the iPhone 5S costs the Indians the most globally when compared with their purchasing power. In fact, buyers here have to shell out 22.3% of the national gross domestic product per capita (GDP PPP). The GDP PPP is a means of measuring how much each person earns in a country. This means that Indian buyers shell out over 22.3% of their disposable incomes if they purchase the iPhone 5S. China, another emerging country and Apple's fastest-growing market, stands fifth in the list and there it acosts buyers less than 10% of their purchas- Indian buyers shell out over 22.3% of their disposable incomes if they purchase the iPhone 5S ing power.
SPORTS
December 7-13, 2013
23
2013 has been my best season: Sindhu
India a tough challenge for South Africa: Coach

Johannesburg: South African coach Russell Domingo said the series against India with the first ODI here at the Wanderers will be a tough assignment for the Proteas. South Africa lost the recent ODI series at home against Pakistan, but Domingo feels that the three ODIs and the two Tests against India will help him to gauge where is the team heading to. Its a big gauge for us. Look, weve won five of our last eight One-dayers, so were heading in the right direction, there is no doubt about it. But we know that India are going to be a tough assignment for us," he said. "They are coming off outstanding performances, albeit in India and under Indian conditions, but we are really looking forward to it. We need to see where we are going, Domingo was quoted as saying in the South African media. The next two ODIs will be held at Durban (Dec 8) and Centurion (Dec 8). The only practice match, a twoday affair, is slated for Dec 14 and first Test starts Dec 18 in Johannesburg and the second from the Boxing Day Dec 26 in Durban. Domingo said India are a quality side and South Africa, who are No.1 in Tests, would like to test themselves against the No.1 ODI side. "India are a quality side and a big
Domingo said India are a quality side and South Africa would like to test themselves against the No.1 ODI side
attraction, and we would have liked to test ourselves against them, but that's the way it is and there's nothing we can do about it," he said. The South Africans were vulnerable against spinners while chasing in the series against Pakistan, but Domingo said it was about only "one or two spin bowlers". I dont think its spin bowlers, I think its one or two spin bowlers. Saeed Ajmal is the number-one ranked (ODI) bowler right now. Hes a world-class spinner, he has been for a period of time, and particularly when you play him under conditions like we had in Dubai,
Abu Dhabi, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth as well. Hes always going to be tough," said Domingo. Domingo was all praise for Ajmal, who is in the running for the ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year Award. A lot of batters have struggled against him and a lot will still struggle against him. I dont think weve got a weakness against spin bowling, just that Saeed Ajmal is a world-class bowler and Im glad hes back in Pakistan," he said. Domingo, however, feels that the Indian spinners won't be as effective as Ajmal, especially in the first ODI at the Wanderers.
PV Sindhu with the award at Macau Open
Dhoni named for game's highest Garfield Sobers Trophy

Mumbai: Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the only Indian in the running for cricket's highest Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for International Cricket Council (ICC) Cricketer of the Year. Dhoni along with Hashim Amla (South Africa), James Anderson (England), Michael Clarke (Australia), Alastair Cook (England) and Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka) was named in the short-list for nominees for the prestigious award. This and other awards will be announced in a TV show that will be broadcast Dec 14. Dhoni also features among the nominees for the ODI Player of the Year along with compatriots Shikhar Dhawan and Ravindra Jadeja. India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and batsman Cheteshwar Pujara are in running for the ICC Test Player of the Year award. Anderson, Amla and Michael Clarke are the three cricketers who have been short-listed for both the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for the ICC Cricketer of the Year and the ICC Test Cricketer of the Year. The LG ICC Awards shortlists announced by ICC chief executive David Richardson see 12 countries represented across the categories for the top individual prizes in international cricket. The Twenty20 International (T20I) Performance of the year sees Sri Lanka's Ajantha Mendis being short-listed alongside Pakistan's Umar Gul and New Zealanders Martin Guptill and Brendon McCullum. In the short-list for the ICC Women's ODI Cricketer of the Year, last year's winner Stafanie Taylor is joined by New Zealand captain Suzie Bates, Australia's Meg Lanning, South Africa's Dane van Niekerk and the England pair of Charlotte Edwards and Anya Shrubsole.
New Delhi: Pusarla Venkata Sindhu's meteoric rise has made up for a relatively poor show by India's star badminton player and Olympic bronze medallist Saina Nehwal this season. World No.6 Saina has almost completed the season without a single title while her fellow Hyderabadi Sindhu, World No.11, became the first Indian female to win a singles medal at the World Championships and broke into the world top-10 for a brief period. Sindhu, who was conferred with the Arjuna Award in September, also won two Grand Prix Gold titles in 2013, the latest being the Macau Open she bagged. For the 18-year-old, the season remains her "best till date". "I believe this was the best season I have had till date. I won two titles to add to the World Championship bronze," Sindhu
said. Sindhu's first Grand Prix title came in May at the Malaysia Open. She followed it up with the World Championship bronze in August in Guangzhou, China, and finished the year on a high in Macau. "I am very happy to have won the title, specially because I wanted to win a tournament before the year ended. It gives me a lot of confidence going in to next year. I would like to continue my form and win more laurels," said the Hyderabadi. After her World Championship high, Sindhu went through a low. She couldn't progress beyond the second round in Japan, Denmark, France and Hong Kong, losing to shuttlers ranked below her. "I took a break and missed the China Open. I prepared hard for Macau Open at the Gopichand Badminton Academy and the hard work finally paid off," she said.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the only Indian in the running for cricket's highest Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy
24
December 7-13, 2013
INDIA FEATURES
Mumbai dabbawalas to secure their own futures, feed street children

The Dabbawala Foundation, with an NGO, has started providing medical aid, free health check-ups and educational assistance to their children.
By Shilpa Raina New Delhi: They daily serve home-cooked food to over 200,000 Mumbaikars, on occasions putting their own lives at risk. They've been the subject of a Harvard study and have been invited to attend a royal wedding. Now, the worldrenowned dabbawalas are planning to secure the lives of their 5,000 strong workforce. The 120-year-old foundation is also planning to provide food to street children. Realizing that its semi-literate employees were exposed to road mishaps and accidents as they rushed to deliver home-cooked food in time, the Dabbawala
Foundation (DF), in association with NGO The Happy Life Welfare Society, has started providing them medical cover, opened bank accounts and secured PAN cards for its employees. "Many young executives join us as interns to understand our efficient business module. It was one of them who recommended we give benefits to our workforce. We had never thought of providing medical cover or insurance or post-retirement benefits to our workforce, but it was a good idea," Dabbawala Foundation vice president Abhishek Dinkar Ekal said. "They (the dabbawalas) live a precarious life to meet the deadline
and deliver on time. They jump signals and are sometimes hurt in the act. As 85 percent of our workforce is illiterate, we thought it was a good idea to provide them other benefits," he said, adding that they have started providing medical aid, free health check-ups and educational assistance to their children, among others. The foundation was registered in 2012, said Ekal, who was in the capital for an interactive session "The Dabbawalas of Mumbai" organized by FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO). Ekal said apart from this, the foundation has also launched a "Share My Dabba" campaign. Under this initiative, a red sticker is given to all customers with a request to stick it on their dabbas if there is food left in it. "If the dabba has this red sticker, our collector will give it to a volunteer from the NGO, who will empty it immediately. The dabbawala will continue with this journey while the volunteers will put together the food and share it with destitutes," said Ekal, adding that a lot of convincing was required as not many
were comfortable with the idea of sharing their tiffins. "It still is difficult as many people don't want to share their dabba," he said, adding that 40-50 children are fed every day. "But things will change, as it takes persistence to change mindsets, but it gives immense satisfaction to share food with these children," he added. Customers are charged between Rs. 400 and Rs.800, depending on the size and weight of their tiffins. A dabbawala on an average earns anything between Rs. 6,000 and Rs,8000 and in some cases, even more. The dabbawalas' perfect business module has made it to the Harvard Business Review as a case study. Interestingly, its genesis lies in a Parsi banker's love for warm, home-cooked food that made him give responsibility to the first ever dabbawala to deliver his tiffin box. The concept quickly caught on with fellow workers. Its popularity soared manifold in the last several decades. So much so that a delegation of dabbawallas was invited to attend Prince Charles' wedding with Camilla Parker-Bowles in
April 2005 in London. There is a complex alpha numeric coding system for these tiffins, and it is done in such a way that it is easily understood by the collector and the delivery man. Apart from collecting the dabbas from housewives they also collect them from community kitchens. "Over a period of years, our coding systems have changed. Today we follow a basic green and red marking system that is designed in such a way that these illiterate people can understand," said Ekal. With an effective system in place, the dabbawalas have featured in many documentaries and delivered lectures. The latest to join the bandwagon is the heart-warming love story of "The Lunchbox", in which a wrong delivery leads to exchanges of notes through dabbas. "Such tiffin exchanges happen in movies and not real life," said Ekal with a smile, but pointed out how a couple actually exchanged movie tickets through their service. "We are the heart and soul of the city and its people who are received with a warm smile and respect," he added
Internet secures future of documentaries: Indo-Canadian filmmaker

By Anjuri Nayar New Delhi: The internet is a boon for short films and documentaries as it serves as a platform to grab more eyeballs, says IndoCanadian filmmaker Keshhav Panneriy. He feels that the medium has exposed docu-dramas to a bigger commercial market and that the revenue generated through the domain also helps recover costs. The filmmaker, a first generation Indian in Canada, is known for his documentaries like "Eternal Love 2013" and "Chemical Farming: Boon or Disaster?" Documentaries in India were on the brink of extinction, but "today they have a much bigger commercial market and buyers than earlier", Panneriy said in an email interaction from Mumbai, where he is working on a new project. "With so many technological advancements, there are huge numbers of online platforms and thousands of online film festivals which help documentary filmmakers generate revenue through each single click directed towards their film," he added. "Nowadays the narrative of documentaries has become more engaging, attracting larger audiences via the online medium," he in which women are perceived in Indian urban society with its bias towards men. Panneriy feels India provides the perfect backdrop for his film and is perfect to support the story. "Where else do you think I would have found the ambience, the colors, the street noise, the traffic, the hustle and bustle, the order that we find in chaos, the mood... it is a story of an Indian woman; hence to bring in the original touch to it, India is the place (to shoot it)," he said. The leading lady of the film still remains to be found. The director is looking for an actress who is willing to shed her glamorous avatar for the role. "We are considering a face that does not have a screen image or one that may dare to break her screen image. The industry generally categorizes a heroine as glamorous, arty, mainstream or so, but my actress should be the one who can be glamorous and strong with the same ease," he said. He further added: "We have approached a few Bollywood mainstream actresses and they are hesitant to accept the solo lead role because of their image. As soon as my team and I settle with a leading lady, we will let everyone know."
Nowadays the narrative of documentaries has become more engaging, attracting larger audiences via the online medium.
said. Originally from Udaipur, Rajasthan, the filmmaker made Canada his base in 2004 by starting a film company, A.K. Films Inc. He came back to India in 2009 to establish the Keon International Film Academy film school, now based in Mumbai. Apart from a gripping narrative, it's imperative for filmmakers to resort to the latest technology to attract more moviegoers. "I wish to give a movie a modern and updated take in terms of technology so that it can stand in an international podium," Panneriy said. The treatment of the film is another element which decides how the end product turns out to be, feels the filmmaker, who graduated in Film Production from the Toronto Film School, Canada. "It all depends on the treatment, which sometimes makes a simple story look very beautiful. Otherwise, a good story can also appear flawed if not complemented with advanced technique and modern vision," he said. Now Panneriy is planning to make a feature film penned by US-based author Purnima Mead. The film revolves round the struggle of an Indian woman, who dares to dream - and the hardships she faces in trying to achieve her goal. It also speaks about the way
LIFESTYLE
December 7-13, 2013
25
Majority of British women feel kids threaten career

London: A British study has found four in five women fear that having children will harm their career prospects while two in three think they must prioritize work above everything else to move ahead. According to initial results from one of the most comprehensive studies into women's experience of the workplace, the vast majority (91 percent) think the most senior jobs involve high pressure and long hours. However, 89 percent think being a working mother offers balance in their lives and makes them good role models, Daily Mail reported. The findings reflect the views of the first 10,000 people polled by Project 28-40, a project launched last month by Opportunity Now, the campaign on gender diversity from Business in the Community. The project's name represents the 28-40 age group, dubbed the "danger zone" -- when womens career progression typically slows down compared to their male colleagues. They are calling on 100,000 women "in UK and Ireland" to share their stories on a scale never attempted before anywhere in the world. It is also open to older women and those who have left the workplace, to explore the reasons behind their decision and what they intend to do next. The study was commissioned by Helena Morrissey, chief executive of Newton Investment Management, who has nine children.
Robbie Williams splurges 17.5 mn pounds to buy Winner's mansion

London: Singer-actor Robbie Williams splurged 17.5 million pounds on buying late director Michael Winner's former home, a 46-bed mansion in the city's upmarket Holland Park. It was sold despite Winner, the larger-than-life film director, having believed Woodland House was worth worth 60 million pounds, reports dailymail.co.uk. Father-of-one Williams, who has been living in Los Angeles with his wife Ayda, is said to have been searching for a home for his family for more than a year. The 39-year-old star wants his newborn daughter Theodora Rose to have a British passport and education, The Sunday Times reported today.
Robbie Williams (left), Michael Winner (right)
The couple already owns an 8 million pounds seven-bedroom mansion in Wiltshire, but is
believed to want their child, affectionately named 'Teddy', to grow up in London.
Simple tricks to kill flight anxiety

New York: Relaxing on sun-kissed beaches or at lush green destinations may sound exciting, but taking a flight to get there may not be so thrilling. Dont fret as there are ways to get over flight anxiety. Heres a guide to help you conquer your flight fears, reports huffingtonpost.com: Figure out your fear: The first step is to find out what triggers your fear. Different aspects of flying can trigger different fears, depending on the person. For instance, one person may be afraid of turbulence and feel nervous during a normal takeoff. There can be others who are scared of spread of germs in a confined space. Be well-informed about airplanes: To combat anxiety, it is good to have information on what sound aircraft makes before landing or the other bumps and noises that may happen while flying. Once you become knowledgeable, your 'what if' thoughts will be limited by the facts. Carry a photo of your destination: Visualizing
Kim Kardashian's tips for perfect 'selfie'

Los Angeles: Socialite Kim Kardashian has given out tips to her fans on how to click a perfect self picture. In a video, Kim, 32, is seen chatting with her best friend Brittny Gastineau at a nail salon. She is also seen giving away pearls of wisdom on the subject of selfies, reports dailystar.co.uk. Rule number one is that you always need it (the phone) to be a little bit higher than lower. So you always have to have it from high to low. Know your angle, said Kim. "No duck face, I love doing that because it gives you cheekbones.
your holiday destination and imagining yourself there can be a powerful antidote to stress. Skip coffee and alcohol: Avoid both caffeine and alcohol, as they can leave you feeling more dehydrated during the flight. Opt for water and a light meal pre-flight, or carry along a light snack like carrot sticks, nuts, or an apple to keep you feeling nourished.
But everyone gets so mad, she added. Kim, who is engaged to rapper Kanye West, also took a minute to assess herself in the camera. I look so disgusting without make-up on, but whatever, she said.
Stock up on party wear white dress, tartan trousers

ure when she was at the London: It's the perfect time to stock up on different American Music Awards in a party wear ensembles. Go white bandeau dress. She also added a statement necklace to for white dresses and tartan trousers which have found jazz up the look. Tartan trousers, mostly slim fans in international celebrifit pants in mulch-colored ties like Kendell Jenner, Rita Ora and many more. checks and prints, are also one of the big trends this season and The white dress fashion trend has definitely continsinger Rita Ora has shown a love for the bold look too. ued since summer and it's going to dominate the fashSuch trousers can be loud, but one can tone these down with ion trend during the forthother neutral items. Stick to a coming party season too, especially during Christmas black jumper or blouse and an and New Year celebrations, Rita Ora in androgynous oversized black coat while teamred tartan suit reports femalefirst.co.uk. ing it up. Add a pair of chunky American actress Paula Patton showed off ankle boots for a punk take on the look that's her hourglass figure in a white Versace mini ideal for the day. One could dress them up in the evening dress with sheer long sleeves at the 2014 Film Independent Spirit Awards nominations press with a blouse tucked into them or a simple conference. high-neck crop top and a pair of studded Model Kendall Jenner also flaunted her fig- heels.
Tips to deck up your house for Christmas

London: A Christmas tree with colorful lights and gifts can beautify just one corner of your abode. But you can also prepare your nest for the festival by keeping it clutter-free and by bringing in new furniture. Femalefirst.co.uk shares tips on how you can spruce up and deck up your house for X'mas: Give an instant refresh to your living room with a new sofa. The family will spend hours here over the Christmas period, so a comfortable and inviting piece is a must. Soft throws and pretty cushions will add to the beauty of your sofa. Bean bags are great portable seating for younger visitors. - Invest in coffee tables to help you with plenty of additional surface space for tea cups or champagne glasses. Pile newspapers, DVDs, games and toys into attractive woven baskets to keep
the living room clutter-free. Add festive cheer with Christmas cards in your living room. Place candles on dining tables to bring a warm glow to your house.
26
December 7-13, 2013
HEALTH
Music therapy to reverse ageing?

to upbeat music for less than an hour is enough to decrease immunity-suppressing stress hormones and increase the number of antibodies in the blood, according to a study conducted by Sussex University and the Max Planck Institute. Researchers only tested the effects of lively music, and theorize that personal preferences and exposure to other genres might impact an individuals response. Wed expect that different kinds of music might show different physiological and immunological effects, says Ronny Enk, study author and neurocognition expert at Max Planck. Not only the music itself is important but probably the personal appraisal of the listener will also be important. Combats cognitive decline: McGill University researchers found that the human brain releases dopaminea neurotransmitter linked to feelings of reward and pleasure, and facilitates the creation of long-term memoriesboth during, and in anticipation of, jamming out to good tunes. Natural decreases in the number of dopamine-producing cells is thought to contribute to age-related decline in memory and cognition. But studies have shown that artificially increasing the supply of dopamine in an elderly individuals brain can help them form stronger memories. Keeps depression at bay: People with major depressive order age faster than their non-depressed counterparts. But a review of 17 different studies on music and depression led analysts from the National University of Singapore to conclude that jamming out just once a week may reduce symptoms of depression. Beefs up the brains circuits: Individuals exposed to even a minor amount of musical training in their youth may derive benefit years later, according to Northwestern University researchers who found that even individuals who hadnt touched an instrument in decades were able to process sounds faster than those whod never played a tune. Hearing troubles are one of the most prevalent problems of aging, but study authors believe that music training could be the key to helping older adults hold onto their hearing for longer. Enlivens those with Alzheimers: Alzheimers is one of the most feared diseases of aging. Individuals with Alzheimers and other forms of dementia face the gradual erosion of their mental abilities. But recent research from George Mason University indicates that singing alongnot just listeningto hits from classical movies, such as The Wizard of Oz, The Sound of Music and Oklahoma, may increase cognitive functioning in Alzheimers patients. The positive effects were especially profound in those in the moderate to severe stages of the disease. Music wont reverse all the ravages of aging, nor can it stave off deadly disease, but it can dampen the effects of the encroaching years, and has an innate power to uplift and inspire that should not be ignored.
ociety is obsessed with youth so much so that one of the largest technology companies in the world, Google, recently acquired a new company, called Calico, devoted to tackling the issues of aging. But can science really turn back the clock, or is humanity still searching for Herodotus magical
waters of life? One key to re-connecting with our youth may be closer than it seems. A series of recent studies lend credence to the idea that music could be the next best thing to finding the real Fountain of Youth. Here are 5 incredible ways music helps us stay young and healthy: Improves immunity: Listening
India launching adolescent friendly health strategy

Kochi: The Indian government is going to launch a national adolescent friendly health strategy in January to address the health-related problems among young people, including the demand for contraceptives, an official said Wednesday. As part of the strategy, every district in the country will have at least one adolescent-friendly health clinic to offer a wide spectrum of clinical services and healthcare products including pills and contraceptives, said Sushma Dureja, deputy commissioner (adolescent health) in the health and family welfare ministry. The strategy will officially be unveiled on Jan 7 at Bhubaneswar, she said at a session on contraceptives for young people', at the ongoing global health conference on social marketing and social franchising being held here. Chairing the session, S.K. Srivastava, additional secretary- health, stressed the need for using the latest tools of social media including Facebook and Whatsap to prod the young people to open up about their problems. The senior officials also agreed to look into reviewing the current definition about the target group of free condoms distribution scheme by the government to deliver contraceptives at the doorsteps. Currently, the condoms were given by the ASHA
High cholesterol fuels breast cancer: Expert

Los Angeles: High cholesterol can lead to growth and spread of breast cancer, says a report. According to the members of Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology at Duke, a byproduct of cholesterol functions like the hormone estrogen to fuel the growth and spread of the most common types of breast cancers. "A lot of studies have shown a connection between obesity and breast cancer, and specifically that elevated cholesterol is associated with breast cancer risk, but no mechanism has been identified," said senior author Donald McDonnell, chair of the Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology at Duke. "What we have now found is a molecule - not cholesterol itself, but an abundant metabolite of cholesterol - called 27HC that mimics the hormone estrogen and can independently drive the growth of breast cancer, added McDonnell. It is also said that there is a strong link between high cholesterol and breast cancer, especially in post-menopausal women, reports femalefirst.co.uk. The hormone estrogen feeds an estimated 75 percent of all breast cancers. In a key earlier finding from McDonnell's lab, researchers determined that 27-hydroxycholesterol behaved similarly to estrogen in animals.
workers only to the couples as per the norms. When the experts suggested that the young people, not couples, should also be targeted as number of deliveries and pregnancies among the teenagers were high in India, the officials said the matter would be taken up with the ministry. The session also threw up startling facts about the young generation. Every year, two million girls give birth before they turn 15 in India. Out of total number of women giving birth, 47 percent were below the age of 18 The speakers at the session called for integrated platform with different modes of communication to reach out to the young people who have limited sources for right information and services in the country.
'Women have a higher pain threshold than men' Caffeine energy drinks can affect heart, warn scientists
Los Angeles: Half of the men are being struck down with illnesses that women wouldn't even mention, says a new research that also revealed that men are more likely to moan about coughs and colds, showing that women have a higher pain threshold. The study of 2,000 adults found women generally suffer in silence when struck down by bugs or viruses, reports femalefirst.co.uk. On the other hand, men are far more vocal and often use dramatic language to describe their condition such as "absolute agony", "unbearable" and even "killing me." According to the research by Superdrugs Health and Pharmacy, a company that delivers health care products, just under half of the women who took part in the study said they didnt believe their partner when he claimed to be ill. Similarly, 52 percent of women believe their other half is frequently struck down by illnesses or injuries they themselves wouldnt think of mentioning. Also around half of the women in the study said their partner often mistook a common cold for full blown flu. "There is no doubt that at this time of year everyone will be coming down with seasonal coughs and colds and some people will cope better than others, said Mel Wilson, head of Superdrugs Health and Pharmacy. "But if the nations women are to be believed, men do seem to suffer more with their ailments, or at least suffer more publicly. Whether this is because women arent overly sympathetic, or because men generally find it harder to cope is unclear, but the language men are using to describe their ailments is certainly interesting and hints towards a bit of an over exaggeration, added Wilson.
London: Energy drinks packed with caffeine can change the way the heart beats, say scientists, advising children and people with some health conditions to avoid the drinks. The team, from the University of Bonn, imaged the hearts of 17 people an hour after they had an energy drink. The study showed contractions were more forceful after the drink, BBC reported Monday. The researchers told at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America that children and people with some health conditions should avoid the drinks. "Until now, we haven't known exactly
what effect these energy drinks have on the function of the heart," said researcher Jonas Dorner. "The amount of caffeine is up to three times higher than in other caffeinated beverages like coffee or cola. "There are many side effects known to be associated with a high intake of caffeine, including rapid heart rate, palpitations, rise in blood pressure and, in the most severe cases, seizures or sudden death." During their study, the researchers gave the participants a drink containing 32mg per 100ml of caffeine and 400mg per 100ml of another chemical, taurine.
SELF HELP
December 7-13, 2013
27
New Year resolutions for small businesses

ts not just individuals who can benefit from New Years resolutions. Businesses can also use the new year as an opportunity to reflect on how to improve in the year to come. With that in mind, here is a resolution checklist for small business owners: Get your books in order: Make sure to update balance sheets, compile income statements and assemble cash flow statements. Evaluate goals: Did you meet your goals this year? What helped you achieve success? How can you improve the following year? Clearly documenting your goals and making them accessible to your staff will keep them top-of-mind. This can be anything, from bringing on a certain number of new employees to hitting a sales goal or expanding product offerings. Once you`ve set your goals, devise a plan that will get you there, with monthly or quarterly checkpoints, so you can ensure you`re on track. Protect data: Small businesses say that data is their most valuable asset. Are you adequately protecting it? Many small businesses only back up files once or twice a month, which can result in a tremendous loss. Cloud backup is the best way to ensure you get all your files back easily in the event of a disaster. Save yourself a headache and protect your files automatically. A secure and affordable service, such as Carbonite, will continually create copies of all your files and store them in the cloud. Once the files are backed up, you can remotely access them from nearly any Internet-connected device -- which can help keep you connected in an emergency or when youre traveling. Make sure data protection is a key component of your end-of-year planning -- it will help set up your business for success in the
How to run your home on a budget
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new year. Mitigate your current tax burden: Understand your tax deductions and book all deductions before the end of the year. Implement new tax strategies to mitigate your 2014 tax burden. Remember, all business models are different. Consider consulting an expert tax analyst to find out whats best for your business. Be social: Explore new avenues for advertising. Social media provides an easy and inexpensive platform for gauging your customers desires, branding and getting the word out about your product or service. Theres no time like the new year to reassess whats working for your company and what isnt. Take the opportunity to set your company up for a successful 2014.
hether you are living paycheck to paycheck or have cash to spare at the end of the month, its wise to trim unnecessary costs. By spending less on the things you need, youll have more for the things your family wants. Do a quick assessment of the way you run your home and you may find some smart ways to save. From your laundry to your kitchen, Sun Products, the makers of Sun and Surf detergent is offering a few helpful ways to get started: Thrifty Kitchen In the United States, up to 40 percent of food goes uneaten, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council. Instead of throwing good food gone bad in the garbage, plan your meals for the week
in advance. To purchase only what you need, make a list before you go to the grocery store and stick to it. This is also a good way to prevent making expensive impulse purchases. If your homes storage spaces allow for it, consider buying non-perishable staples in bulk. You can get certain items at a deep discount this way. Pare down your kitchen expenses even further by switching from disposable to reusable items. For example, ditch the paper towels and napkins and buy a few sets of dishcloths and cloth napkins instead. It may result in a little bit of extra laundry, but its well worth it. Laundry for Less When shopping, read labels and stick to clothes that you can wash at home. By avoiding the dry cleaner and doing laundry at home, youll
reduce your cleaning costs significantly. You also dont always need hot water to get your clothes clean. Instead, wash your clothes in cold water at a fraction of the cost. Energy Economy Lights on and nobody home? Make a household habit of turning lights off and unplugging unused appliances and electronics when you exit a room. Also, consider swapping out your older appliances for newer models that are ENERGY STAR rated. Get more bang for your electric bill buck by improving the insulation of your home. Youll make the most of your climate control by caulking around doors and windows and sealing up cracks and wall cavities. In the months ahead, the amount you save on utility bills will go well beyond offsetting the upfront costs.
How to make simple, homemade, holiday crowd-pleasers

hether youre playing host or bringing a side dish to someone elses holiday gathering, preparing a delicious crowdpleaser thats simple and affordable to make is a priority for many. The days of spending hours in the kitchen making homemade dishes from scratch are long gone, says Jonathan Spear at Green Giant. These days, timecrunched family cooks can take solace in knowing that any dish that starts and ends in the kitchen can be considered homemade, including meals using conveniences such as frozen vegetables and sauces from a jar. For an interesting new twist on a classic holiday meal, try this Green Giants recipe
Preparing for winter weather emergencies

magine living without heat, power or communication during the coldest days of the year. During a winter weather emergency, not only can these conditions be unpleasant, but dangerous too. Making a plan, winterizing your home and stocking up on supplies are all essential steps to prepare for winter emergencies. Use this crucial stay-safe checklist now to help your household prepare for blistering conditions all winter long: Make a Plan Storm heading your way? Follow the news closely so you can make last minute preparations before the weather turns dangerous. As part of this process, create an emergency plan and review it with your family. The plan should also address specific scenarios, such as what to do if someone is separated from the group and is unable to call for help. Stay Powered Up In the event that the power goes out, you will need a reliable alternative power source to charge essential communications equipment like your phone and computer, as well as heat sources, such as space heaters. A durable and compact USB solar charger thats compatible with smartphones, tablets and even laptops, can be a lifesaver. The pocket-sized iLAND FLY or the higher-powered iLAND TREK are great for emergencies as they work on solar cell technology that runs in overcast or low-light situations. Should your power go out during a winter storm, for example, the TREK can provide electricity to portable devices for up to three days. iLAND
Fresh Steamers frozen broccoli, carrots, cauliflower & cheese sauce 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1 can (12 oz) Pillsbury Golden Layers refrigerated buttermilk biscuits 2 tablespoons shredded fresh Parmesan cheese Directions Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a 2quart glass baking dish with cooking spray. Cook frozen vegetables as directed on bag for minimum time. Meanwhile, in 10-inch nonstick skillet, melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat. Cook onion and bell pepper, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in Alfredo sauce, turkey, cooked vegetables with sauce, basil and black pepper. Cook until mixture is thoroughly heated and bubbly, stirring constantly. Spoon into baking dish. Separate dough into 10 biscuits. Cut each biscuit in half crosswise. Arrange around edge of baking dish, overlapping slightly. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown.
Turkey and Veggie Alfredo Pot Pie Prep Time: 20 Minutes Start to Finish: 40 Minutes Makes 5 servings Ingredients 1 tablespoon butter 1/2 cup chopped onion 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper 1 jar (15 oz) Alfredo sauce 2 cups cubed cooked turkey 1 bag (12 oz) Green Giant Valley
products are the most efficient, light-weight and eco-friendly portable solar energy systems in the market, and both products are made of military grade and quality materials, and are water-, dust- and shock-resistant. Winterize Ensuring that your home is protected from the elements can turn a bad situation into a life-saving scenario. Install storm windows and apply weather-stripping to help insulate your home. In the event the heat goes out, youll be trapping warm air in and keeping cold air out. And remember, you can never have too many blankets and warm clothes. Pack an Emergency Kit When extreme weather hits, its important to have essential supplies within an arms reach. Be sure that you have a well-stocked, up-todate first aid kit and an extra supply of all family members prescription medications. Your kit should also include several gallons of clean water, as well as enough non-perishable food to last three days, including formula for young children. Pick items that dont require cooking or preparation. The Federal Emergency Management Agency recommends replacing these stores every six months. Lastly, make sure you have a battery-operated radio and plenty of batteries on hand. Unless you enjoy treacherous roads, panicked crowds and long lines, dont wait until that big storm comes your way to start preparing. For a safe and happy winter season, follow these steps to ensure your family is ready for any winter weather emergency that comes your way.
28
December 7-13, 2013
HUMOR
Funny Bone by Nury Vittachi
Women are gentle and meek, she said, hitting me with her handbag
he other day I overheard a tall European feminist lecturing a tiny Asian woman on the importance of resisting male oppression. The Asian female, a friend of mine, nodded politely. Then she went back to her full-time job, which is to torture and humiliate men. Head nurse of a male hospital ward, she has the interpersonal skills of the Marquis de Sade, although she has more imagination and better tools. Funny how Asian women have the image of being meek. In truth, they are quiet only in the way that landmines are. A female colleague called Putri once explained to me that there are three rules in the Asian version of the battle of the sexes. 1) The women are in charge. 2) The men think they are in charge. 3) If any man realizes the
truth, the nearest woman will order him to return to his previous mindset. This arrangement is neatly demonstrated by a joke I first heard in Sri Lanka. A young bachelor asks a married woman the secret of a happy marriage. She replies: "I deal with the small questions of life and I let my husband deal with the big ones." The surprised bachelor asks: "You're okay with that?" The wife nods: "I decide where we live, how we spend our money and how to raise the children, and he deals with the big stuff such as what is the meaning of life." These days, money is a common battleground. In Asia, women have traditionally controlled family finances, with men being given back a small amount of their earnings to buy beer, arrak, beer, newspapers, cigarettes
and did I mention beer? But last year in Sulawesi, northern Indonesia, mutinous male civil servants reversed the system, holding tight to their pay packets and peeling off a few notes to give to their wives. The horrified Gorontalo provincial government announced it would force society to return to the old ways by transferring the pay of the 3,200 married male civil servants direct to their wives' bank accounts. If you think about it, it's a brilliant system that benefits everyone, but it's too sexist to be allowed in the West. Earlier this year, executives at China Merchants Bank announced they would launch an Asian married couples' account that computerized the traditional system. Every month, bank computers would automatically transfer husbands' earnings to wives' accounts,
while leaving the guys a bit of beer money. Thousands of modern young people took to the social media networks to point out that this was sexist. Baffled older people of both sexes said: "Yes? And your point is...?" There was so much outrage from the young that the bank cancelled the scheme. I think they should relaunch it but take out the words "wife" and "husband", replacing them with gender-neutral terms such as "the sensible spouse" and "the other one", or perhaps "the one who wears the pants." Meanwhile, this writer and his spouse/managing director make sure they keep on terms of perfect equality by regularly going out for dinner together. On the most recent occasion, all was sunshine and peace until I picked up the menu. "Order something the dog likes," she instructed.
Laughter is the Best Medicine
by Mahendra Shah
Mahendra Shah is an architect by education, entrepreneur by profession, artist and humorist, cartoonist and writer by hobby. He has been recording the plight of the immigrant Indians for the past many years in his cartoons. Hailing from Gujarat, he lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
ASTROLOGY
December 7-13, 2013
29
By Dr Prem Kumar Sharma

Stars Foretell: December 7-13, 2013
ARIES: You are likely to make some wrong decisions under the heat of excitement. Parental guidance in your decision would immensely help. An improvement in financial position would enable to make important purchases. Love partner would be extremely supportive and in a loving mood. A pleasure trip gives the much-needed tonic to health. Just take a walk in the countryside and experience new things. Time to make investments on farmlands. You are likely to take a stand, which could play a greater role in shaping your future that upholds the peace & harmony. TAURUS: You will be on the seventh heaven when you receive recognition for your achievements at work. A week when misunderstandings at family front are sorted out with ease. Your creative talent proves highly lucrative provided you make a proper use. A romantic week as you receive all praises from partner. Cutting down the number of parties and pleasure jaunts would help in keeping in good mood. Time to go for a memorable trip. Your investment plans are at full boom and you might succeed in them. With the help of friends you will find it very easy to kick your drug addiction. GEMINI: Your creativity will amaze people around you besides enhancing career prospects. Believe it or not someone in the family is watching you closely and considers you a role model. You need to play cards exceptionally well to enable yourself to earn profits. You find pleasure and enjoy ecstasies of love in the arms of partner. A beneficial week to work on things that will improve your health. Time to spend money on not a vacation but a luxury vacation. Your girlfriends desire for an apartment might lead to its destination. Temptation of any kind would fail to allure you in this week. CANCER: New job opportunities for some will be better than expected. An important development at personal front brings jubilation for entire family. Perfect week to purchase items that would grow in value. You enjoy a lovely time as Cupid is on your side in this week. Your confidence and energy will be high. If adventure is your style of holidaying, then plan it and move around. Time to plan a gift for your parents may be their dream home. You will not compromise your principles & values at the face of distress. LEO: At work you are likely to win appreciation and awards for past efforts. A happy time in the company of friends and relatives as they do many favours to you. You are likely to earn monetary profits through most unexpected sources. You need courageous efforts to turn love-at-first-sight into a strong romantic bond. A week when smile will perpetually be on your face and strangers will seem familiar. A beautiful vacation you awaited for is on your cards. Its high time to think of purchasing a new office. You are likely to be a realistic on living life on a physical plane. VIRGO: Develop a good adaptability to handle pressurised situations at professional front. Enjoying the company of close relatives will brighten your evening. A sudden inflow of funds will take care of your bills and immediate expenses. A special message from beloved/lover lifts spirits. Your energy level will be high. Better to channelise it in a positive direction. Destination with a great deal is on your way, be ready for travelling. It might be the right time to sale your empty plot as property rates are at peak. You will be successful in others thinking that you are too old to learn new things. LIBRA: Timely and swift action would give an edge over others at professional front. Shopping with family members will be highly pleasurable and exciting. Monetary position is likely to improve on recovering of delayed payments. Love companion will be eager to meet you in this week. Positive outlook impresses those around you besides keeping you fit & fine. Be ready to travel with a challenge, new connections will help you. Your plan for a new house will be in process very soon. You succeed in using your sharp & active mind to help the needy people. SCORPIO: Colleagues and subordinates will lend a helping hand enabling to complete the work on time. You will be at the limelight in a social gathering provided you attend. Investment in antiques & jewelry brings monetary gains and improvement in financial position. Proposing might benefit, as chances of succeeding in love are high. Health would remain fine despite a busy schedule but dont take it for granted. Traveling abroad can be exciting adventure that will be remembered forever. Your loan procedures for pursuing a plot will be in process. You are likely to handle tough situations to solve friends problem. SAGITTARIUS: Success in completing difficult assignments brings a lot of laurels at work. A spendthrift lifestyle could cause tensions to family members. If possible put your money on the advice of innovative & experienced people. Search for a true romantic friend might end in this week. Charity work undertaken will bring mental peace & comfort. Finally you have found the time for your deserving break, travel will be favourable. Investment in hotel industry can be the right choice to be made. You will be successful in releasing yourself from the trap of hidden enemies. CAPRICORN: Self-confident would enable to convey your point of view with ease a workplace. You will be the star of attraction of familys get-together in this week. You are likely to make money, if you put savings into conservative investments. Blossoming love life brings happiness. Meditation and self-realization prove beneficial. Adventurous holidays, the best way to experience with your friends, time to enjoy. Investment on construction business might give fruitful results. Timely help of a close friend would enable to fail/defeat your overt enemies in their nefarious designs. AQUARIUS: Mental clarity gives a decisive edge over all competitors at professional front. Help from family members would take care of your needs. Financial profits are solely depended on investment in conservative investment. Romance is likely to intensify through recreational activities & entertainment. You will have ample time to do things to improve your health. Take a trip, as there is some place waiting for you. Investing on a ship or a cruise is an exciting venture to be made. You are likely to be very diplomatic in handling opponents. PISCES: Calculated risks would enable to complete the project on time. You will enjoy the time spent with family members and friends. Long pending arrears and dues will finally be recovered. You need to make a proper planning before embarking on love journey. Sound physical health will enable to participate in outdoor activities. Great time for perfect family vacation to an exciting destination. The best ideas for investment are to on invest on real estate business. You benefit by your depth of understanding on solving complicated problems of friends.
Chandigarh, India: +91-172- 256 2832, 257 2874 Delhi, India: +91-11- 2644 9898, 2648 9899 psharma@premastrologer.com; www.premastrologer.com
Annual Predictions: For those born in this week

7th December,13 Ruled planet: Neptune Ruled by no: 7 Traits in you: Being under the influence of Neptune, you are born to be responsible, affectionate, creative, reliable and highly emotional. You possess the quality and courage to brave any unfavorable condition to adapt with it or win over it. You need to work on your stubbornness to enhance the charm in your personality. Health this year: You may undergo various health related issues. You have to take enough stress regarding you law matters as they will not be solved easily. However, you will find peace and happiness because of financial improvements, improvement in life style, and spiritual beliefs. Finance this year: You may receive cash as gifts this year from your guests and relatives. Your financial condition would be mediocre with not much loss. Career this year: You need to listen to others opinions to get benefited professionally. You will find new and exciting job offers, which will prove instrumental in improving your financial position this year. You will be able to fulfill your long cherished dreams. You may find your subordinates difficult to handle. Romance this year You will find your life romantic enough and it would add some extra spice to your life style. Lucky month: January, May, September and November 8th December,13 Ruled planet:Saturn Ruled by no: 8 Traits in you: As Saturn guides you, you have all the characteristics to be a lively, reliable, efficient, and temperate person. You are the owner of an attractive and charismatic personality. Health this year: you may undergo few minor health issues. However, your overall health should remain fine. Finance this year: You will be able to accumulate enough money this year as you will be moving towards a successful future. You will be benefitted from any new venture or association. Career this year: You are appreciated by your colleagues and ordinates for your hard work and efficiency. You will prove to be an excellent resource in your professional life as you are productive. However, you need to work on your nervousness and laziness at times. You may require a technology up-gradation or renovation to improve your efficiency at work in the middle months of the year. Romance this year: You will gain lots of love and care from your spouse or partner. Some of you may find this year romantic enough to be in a good spirit. Some may tie their knots. Lucky month: February, June and October 9th December,13 Ruled planet: Mars Ruled by no: 9 Traits in you: Being ruled by Mars, you are endowed with energy. You are energetic, dependable, and organized. Health this year: This year you will remain healthy. You may lose things both personally and personally being emotional. You may visit a distant pilgrimage to attend an auspicious occasion towards the end of the year to attain mental health which is contaminated due to pressure and overload of work. Finance this year: Your financial condition may improve this year thanks to your previous investments. You need to invest your life time investment intelligently so that you need not repent later. Career this year: You have the ability to make quick decisions. You are capable enough to get rewards and appreciation for your efficiency in your professional field. However, you should control your jealousy to improve your personality. You should not try to do things beyond your capabilities. It may land you in difficulties. Romance this year: Your romantic life would be an excellent one this year as you will be able to clarify past misunderstanding with your partner. Lucky month: April, July and October 10th December,13 Ruled planet: Sun Ruled by no: 1 Traits in you: Being under the guidance of Sun, you are active, dynamic, authoritative, brilliant and talented. You have the ability to initiate new ideas and work on them. However, you need to work on your stubbornness to become a better individual. Health this year: You may suffer from joint pain or high blood pressure this year. Gowever, proper medication would help you maintain a good health. Finance this year: You will find new ways to enhance your confidence to earn and improve your financial condition. Your professional journeys will pay off and you will be successful in your deals this year. You should invest in a house or selected socks to get better benefits. If you schedule business trips abroad, you may find a chance to meet old friends and get new opportunities to improve your business. You may end up spending a lot of money in your legal issues as they will be stretched more than expected. Career this year: The following year will bring you lot of promises and surprises to cherish in your career. You may get rewards for your work. Your long cherished dreams may get fulfilled this year. Romance this year: You will find your spouse or partner supportive and understanding enough to help you in critical situations this year. Lucky month: January, May, July and November 11th December,13 Ruled planet:Moon Ruled by no: 2 Traits in you: As you are ruled by Moon, you are simple, honest, and cooperative. You are fond of peace and harmony. Health this year: You may get worried for your parents health and increasing household expenditure. Finance this year: You may establish new contacts and partnerships this year. You will get benefitted from your previous investments. You may gain unexpectedly, which will improve your financial position much better than expected. Career this year: You have ample new and innovative ideas. You are a perfectionist in whatever you do. However, you have to control your whim and jealousy to succeed in your life. This year will fulfill all of your dreams by providing you with lot of opportunities. Romance this year: You will find your spouse supportive enough to your concerns and provide you with love and affection. Lucky month: May, July and December 12th December,13 Ruled planet:Jupiter Ruled by no:3 Traits in you: Jupiter signifies ambition, dignity, and independence. You are blessed with all these characteristics and you are kind hearted as well. Health this year: You may plan for a pilgrimage or a distant journey to find mental peace and take rest from your busy schedule, which makes you weak physically. Finance this year: This year will be very fruitful for you in terms of investments. If you want to invest in the stock market, you will be benefited hugely. This year is the best time to go for property. Career this year: You will be enjoying a good position and respect in your professional life. However, you should not behave dominant this year. It may affect your life negatively. If you are in creativity field, you may gain lot of recognition and of course money will follow. You will find help from your near ones when required. This will be a major boost to your professional life. Romance this year: You may plan for a romantic trip with your partner to a distant place. Lucky month: March, June and November 13th December,13 Ruled planet:UranusRuled by no:4 Traits in you: Being an active, sensible, enthusiastic, authoritative, and energetic person, you have enough capability to perform very well in your professional career. Health this year: You will find improvements in your health though working long at office. Finance this year: Some of you may visit abroad for business trips as you areplanning to enhance your business territory. You will get success in you new ventures and this will make you financially stable. Career this year: Your intelligence will enable you create wonders in your profession. However, you should work on your impatience, whim and stubbornness. You should plan something to execute your plans in this year. You will find luck and success easily this year if you grab the opportunities at right times. You will find good opportunities by developing new relationships and attachments. Romance this year: Some of you may get married to your desired partners this year. Lucky month: February, May, August and October
30
December 7-13, 2013
SPIRITUAL AWARENESS
Part two of the discourse 'Pass on the goodness on this Thanksgiving'
Inculcate virtue of giving in our lives

By Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj
in God. Just as we freely share what we have with our parents, children, or siblings, in the same way we see all as our family and freely share with them. We are then generous not only to our own family but even to strangers. We no longer consider anyone a stranger. We are then ready to give to anyone who needs our help. As Sant Darshan Singh Ji Maharaj said in a verse: Others have disowned their kith and kin, But I have made even strangers my very own. Sant Darshan Singh Ji is saying that most people feel obligated to help their families. We mostly focus on our immediate family who lives in our household, such as our parents or children. Then, we gain a new awareness. We begin to see that we are not separate people anymore. There is no such thing as a stranger. We experience that the same Light of God shining in us is in all other people. We feel connected to all other human beings as if we were all one family of God. We love others and want to help them. We turn a new page in our life and begin to help everyone. We live by the principle that Sant Kirpal Singh Ji lived by which said, I have come to serve all. The more we meditate, the more we develop this angle of vision. Then, one day, we too will be filled with extreme generosity and will share whatever we have with all creation. Let Thanksgiving not just be a day in which we thank God and our family for our many gifts. Let of the introspection diary provides a place in which we mark the time we spend in selfless service or giving. This means that it is not only that we take each opportunity for selfless service, but that the amount of time we spend in serving selflessly is equally as important. Why? Time spent in seva is time in which we are remembering God and are acting as a humble vessel through which Gods grace can flow to reach others. We are not doing seva for our own gains, but doing so in the name of God and the Master. During these moments, we are humble. We are spending our time engaged in helping others. What is more, we are spending our lifes breaths engaged in activities that do not create any new karma. When we act in our own name, we are creating karma. Even when we do good have to stop accumulating new karma and burn off our old karma. How can we pay off our karma? There are three blessings we receive when we come to a spiritual Master that wind up our karma. First, the Master takes over our karmic accounts at the time of initiation. This means that Master is the accounts keeper of our destiny. He can determine how best we can wind it up for our maximum progress. Second, the Master helps us pass through the sanchit karmas allotted for this lifetime in an easier fashion. Thus, what was supposed to be the gallows could be reduced to a pin prick. Third, the Master lays out a path by which we can avoid incurring further karmas. He tells us that daily meditation on the inner Light and Sound can help burn away new karmas we create just by the process of living. Each day, without intending to do so, we may step on insects, drive over insects or tiny creatures, kill microscopic life forms just by breathing, and take the lives of plants given by God to eat for food. Even though killing plants incurs the least karma of all living things, there is still some karma. Thus, each day we are adding karma just by virtue of being human. By meditating, we can burn off the added karma we create each day. Also, when we keep the introspection diary, we are weeding out the negative traits that incur more karma. By leading lives of nonviolence, truthfulness, chastity, humility, and selfless service we are avoiding creating bad karmas for which we will have to return to the earth to pay off. The Master also gives us the gift of meditation and selfless service. When we spend time in those two activities, we are not incurring any new karma, as long as we remain selfless. That is why entering the time spent in seva is important, because each hour we spend in selfless service, we are not incurring more karma. But that seva must be selfless, in which we do not want any material gains for ourselves. We do seva in the name of God and the Master, whereby our help is given and we only reap the spiritual rewards in the form of blessings from God and the Master. It is okay to want spiritual blessings from God and the Master for our seva. That is because those spiritual blessings move us to the true purpose of our lives, union of our soul with God. Each time we give of ourselves in selfless service, we are not incurring more karma and are attracting the grace of God and the Master, whose blessings will uplift us so our soul can merge back into God.
nother example of this spirit of giving is illustrated in the life of Sant Darshan Singh Ji Maharaj. During the partition of India, train service was not running as usual. Sant Kirpal Singh Ji informed Sant Darshan Singh Ji that the health of their Master, Hazur Baba Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj, was failing and he should come immediately to see Hazur. Sant Darshan Singh Ji rushed to the train station in Delhi to catch a train to Beas. Unfortunately, the last train was already packed, and the gates to the train were closed. Being athletic and determined to get on that train, Sant Darshan Singh Ji climbed the fence. There were absolutely no seats left in any train compartment. Thus, he had to ride along with other passengers on the top of the train. The ride took many hours. At night, the temperature dropped, and it grew colder. As Sant Darshan Singh Ji rode on the top of the train, he noticed a man who had no coat. The man was shivering tremendously. Sant Darshan Singh Ji, moved by compassion, took off his own coat and wrapped it around the shivering man. As a result, Sant Darshan Singh Ji had to bear many hours of being in the cold night air, with the wind whipping around him. As a result, Sant Darshan Singh Ji contracted chronic asthma. This asthma plagued him for many years to come. But, as is the case of all saints, he put the needs of others before his own needs. His compassion for the suffering of others was so great that he gave of himself, even if it meant he had to sacrifice his own health, his own time, his own money, or his own comfort. Such cases are just a few examples of the long history of saints giving of themselves to help others. As we advance spiritually, we become immersed in the love of God and are filled with a neverending stream of bliss coming from within. This love is so great that we no longer feel pleasure from the outer gifts of the world or for wanting things for ourselves. We then realize that whatever we have is a gift of the Lord. We also realize that all creation is part of our family, as brothers and sisters
Let Thanksgiving not just be a day in which we thank God and our family for our many gifts. Let this be a day in which we make a commitment to give and serve others. Seen in the picture, in a group effort, women preparing food for langar.
we go out of our way due to family obligations for our brothers and sisters, our aunts and uncles, our grandparents, or our grandchildren. But beyond that, most people stop. They think that the problems of people who are not related to them are the problems of other peoples families. We often only give out of social obligation at the time of Christmas or Thanksgiving to organizations that collect money for the poor. We may donate to an organization that provides toys to needy children or toiletries to needy families. We may open up our pockets at the time of an international disaster such as a flood, hurricane, tsunami, earthquake, volcano, or fire. Some people do this because everyone else is doing it, and they do not want to be perceived as being selfish. But beyond these occasions for giving, we seldom consider the need to help a stranger. It is only when we meditate and rise above consciousness of this physical world to travel as soul in the spiritual realms beyond that this be a day in which we make a commitment to give and serve others. We should not be like a sponge in which we soak up all the gifts from others. We need to squeeze the sponge so that the water within us flows out to others. How can we inculcate the virtue of giving in our own lives? We can give in many ways. We can give physically, intellectually, emotionally, financially, and spiritually. There are two areas of the introspection diary designed to help us develop the qualities of giving and selflessness. One area of the diary lets us record the number of times we fail per day in a particular virtue. One of these is selfless service, which is also called seva. Each time we are presented with an opportunity to help someone and we do not avail ourselves of that chance, we note that as a failure. In this way, we become more attuned to these opportunities that present themselves and make a concerted effort to help someone next time around. The other area deeds we are accumulating good karma for which we must stay in the physical world to reap physical rewards. If our aim is to wind up karmas in our lifetime, then we do not want to come back to this physical realm. Any karma, whether for good deeds or bad deeds, requires us to reap rewards or consequences. This physical realm is one in which we pay for all our karmas. Thus, any karma is going to bring us again and again to this world. When we do so, we have to pass through the ups and downs of life in this physical realm again. Our goal should be to rise above the three lower realms of karma. We need to transcend the physical realm, the astral realm, and supracausal realm. When we do so, we enter the supracausal realms and Sach Khand, where we are no longer touched by our karmas. We are then free from the cycle of births and deaths, and live in an eternal realm of all peace, joy, and bliss. To free ourselves of this cycle of births and deaths, we
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The South Asian Times

World mourns anti-apartheid icon and true Gandhian

H. Singh and Eric Kumar in de Blasios inauguration team

Indian voters weaken Congress, boost BJP

Harendra Singh and (right) Eric Kumar

and Eric Kumar, Continued on page 4

December 7-13, 2013

Nelson Mandela in his youth circa 1950.

December 7-13, 2013

'India-US partnership to grow without pause'

HuffPost removes Sonia's name from richest leaders list

December 7-13, 2013

SET Asia HD launches on DISH and DishWorld IPTV

LI boys in DID US edition

Deadly NY train derailment case of highway hypnosis?

Sahil Batra (left) and Arvin Batra

December 7-13, 2013

Jhumpa Lahiri's 'The Lowland' listed fourth in Time magazine

Gurpreet Kherha gets $50,000 in religious discrimination case

against Sonia Gandhi

Valsamma Mathai (center)

December 7-13, 2013

Indian Government keen to support Hindi institutions in USA

Indian scholar honored jointly by NJ Assembly and Senate

Teachers of YHS STARTALKs reunion day

NY Seniors organize wellness health seminar

250 attend IHCNJs health camp at Shree Swaminarayan Temple

Volunteers attending the participants

December 7-13, 2013

MIT freshman Saumil wins Smithsonians Ingenuity award

Apple buys firm cofounded by Indian-Americans

Vipul Ved Prakash (left) and Rishab Aiyer Ghosh

Paul Allen appoints Parag Garg as top tech advisor

Asha Gupta is Tupperware's Asia-Pacific president

Manick Sorcar honored for laser displays of Indian heritage

Acceptance speech by Manick Sorcar after receiving the award

December 7-13, 2013

Amrutlal and Daksha Patel

Novelist Manil Suri wins dreaded Bad Sex in Fiction Award

Author Manil Suri and his novel

December 7-13, 2013

Income inequality 'defining challenge' for US: Obama

An all American holiday: Thank, eat and shop

Amazon plans doorstep delivery by drones

December 7-13, 2013

Congress blacked out, lotus blooms: exit polls

Modi writes to PM opposing Communal Violence Bill

Delhi records highest voter turnout

December 7-13, 2013

Winter session: Last chance for key legislations

22 bills to pass in winter session

Haryana government chargesheets Khemka

First time voters want good governance

December 7-13, 2013

Rape case: Asaram's son Narayan Sai held

Narayan Sai was on the run for 58 days

SC intern case: Justice Ganguly in dock

Tejpal case: summons to ex-managing editor Shoma Chaudhury

Retired judge A.K. Ganguly is accused of sexually harassing a law intern

Indian Mars Orbiter out of earth's influence

December 7-13, 2013

Will Winter session see key bills through?

Delhi elections seen as national trend-setter