QUEENS, NY – Borough President Katz announced, October 18, the appointment of Phil Ballman as the Borough President’s Director of Cultural Affairs and Tourism.
“Phil is a valuable addition to our team here at Borough Hall,” said Borough President KATZ. “Mr. Ballman has extensive experience as a live event producer, arts programmer and project manager and understands the many strengths of our borough’s cultural institutions. He has an impressive dedication to serving our community and has the talent and determination to further the growth in interest that ‘The World’s Borough’ has recently been receiving as a culturally-rich tourism destination.”
“It is a thrill and an honor to have been selected by Borough President Katz to fill this important position,” said BALLMAN. “I look forward to helping the Borough President implement her vision for maximizing the impact and reach of our borough’s great cultural institutions and its other fabulous attractions, which have made Queens a go-to destination for so many visitors and residents.”
Ballman is an internationally-recognized cultural event producer with two decades of comprehensive experience presenting and producing world-class programming for major institutions and independent cultural organizations and artists.
From 2015 to 2018, Ballman was Manager of Community Engagement and Partnerships for the College of Performing Arts at The New School. In that position, Ballman created ongoing partnerships and programming with external organizations that included the City Parks Foundation, Make Music New York, the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival, the World Music Institute, the Lincoln Center Atrium, the Union Square Partnership, The Morgan Library, and others.
During the previous five years, Ballman was Coordinator of Special Programs for The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, where he curated, produced and coordinated all aspects of public programming, event scheduling and student professional development.
Ballman was also the founder, producer and artistic director of the Otherground Music Festival, a free outdoor summer concert series that served the diverse Queens neighborhoods of Jackson Heights and Elmhurst with first-class, internationally-themed music performances in the summer of 2010.
In addition, Ballman was a co-founder and agent with the Mondo Mundo talent agency from 2006 to 2010 and was Director of Publicity for the Sounds of Brazil music venue in Manhattan from 2004-2006. He previously was the manager and drummer for the band “Antibalas” from 1999 to 2003.
Ballman has a Bachelor of Arts degree from The New School. He lives in Jackson Heights with his wife, visual artist Deborah Wasserman.
NEW YORK CITY(TIP):Mrs Vandana Sharma, Regional Manager‑Americas of Air India,who is returning to New Delhi to administer Indira Gandhi International Airport, was bid farewell by over 50 prominent Indian community members at Zaika Restaurant, NYC, on
October 12. Hosts were Harish Thakkar (AIA‑ NY), HR Shah (TVAsia), Kamlesh C Mehta (The South Asian Times), Dr. Navin Mehta (Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan), Neeta Bhasin (ASB Communication) and Dr Neeta Jain (Democratic Party District Leader). Also welcomed was new Regional Manager Mrs. Bhuvana Rao.
Sam Pitroda, Kanak Golia Dr. Urmilesh Arya, Dr. Himanshu Pandya, Sher Singh Madra, Dr. Manjit Bains to be honored
LONG ISLAND , NY(TIP): The Board of Directors of Nargis Dutt Memorial Foundation met, October 17, to finalize arrangements for the forthcoming Gala on October 28.
Mr. Inder Bindra, a Founder Member of the Foundation, said that all members of the Foundation were a family, and , as in a family, there may be differences at times, but ultimately, they all get together; in the same way, not all members may have the same view , but then a consensus needs to be built up for the smooth going together.
Mr. Bindra briefly described the past projects that the Foundation had done and spoke of some projects in hand which, he said, will be taken up .
The Treasurer Mr. Gurdip Singh Narula added that an amount of $10,000 was recently given for Kerala Flood Relief. He also disclosed that he, too, is a cancer survivor. In 1998, it was discovered that he suffered from cancer, but fortunately for him, it was treated in time.
Mrs. Shammi Singh who is a cancer survivor, spoke of her commitment to do all she can to provide for treatment to cancer patients. She said she knew now how terrible the disease is and how it destroys not only the patient but the entire family. She has involved her daughter Inesha Joneja and daughter in law Rohini Singh in the Foundation’s crusade against cancer.
Speaking on the occasion, a former President Mr. Sher Singh Madra mentioned the ongoing project of supporting Indore Cancer Foundation which has been receiving grants for buying equipment in the hospital. He said the entire board is committed to fulfilling the vision of Nargis Dutt of providing the best treatment to underprivileged and the poor cancer patients in India. Besides, Dr. Dharkar of the Indore Cancer Foundation requested for a hospice care , and the Foundation is considering the request.
Another former President Mr. Peter Bheddah said that in the more than 3 decades of Foundation’s history, a number of projects were taken up with a number of institutions, which included prestigious Tata Cancer Institute. It is a long list, he said.
Others who spoke included Ms Ashi Chhabra ,Mr. Shudh Prakash Singh, Mr. Zinda Singh, Ms. Tina Shah , General Secretary Mr. Hussain Baquery, Mr. Rahul, who described his mother’s encounter with cancer, and how it developed in him empathy for cancer patients, and Ms Inesha Joneja.
Mr. Andy Mansukhani, President of the Foundation, presided, and expressed the hope that gala will bring in enough funds.
Ms Rohini Singh briefed the media on the gala on October 28. Apart from honoring 6 eminent personalities, the gala attractions include a Fashion Show by Rana Noman, an award winning fashion designer. 20 female and 5 male models are taking part in the fashion show, which, Ms Singh claimed will simply be awesome. The theme, she said, is “The Great Gatsby”.
Another attraction is a tribute to Nargis Dutt in the form of a medley of songs and dances from the films in which Nargis Dutt appeared.
An auction is also a part of the program.
Sam Pitroda who is an honoree, is also the chief guest. The other honorees includeKanak Golia Dr. Urmilesh Arya, Dr. Himanshu Pandya, Sher Singh Madra, and Dr. Manjit Bains.
Former Member of Parliament Ms Priya Dutt, daughter of Nargis Dutt will be attending.
Aries: Ganesha says there will be a lot of chipping, chopping, pruning, adjustments, readjustments, fine-tuning, tweaking and so on as the period begins. Mid-period, your road map is well defined. You roll up your sleeves and hit the shop floor. You chart out your priorities one by one and address them without undue emotion. As the period ends, there is fire in your belly. There are achievement and success. You win kudos and applause. There is rapid business expansion.
Taurus: You are in the hopeless coils of amour. Those in committed relationships take bonding to new heights. Family life unfolds many pleasures. Singles play the field. You want to give back to society. You could volunteer in old-age homes and work for the less fortunate. There is a new intensity pushing you. As the period ends, there is stability and you get down to hard work. Your sights are clear. Nothing can faze you. In simple words, this is favorable time.
Gemini: You could find new love and possibly new work avenues. You are possessed with tremendous intellectual and mental energy. You are also blessed with stamina and determination. You are also blessed with stamina and determination. Your ambitions are aroused. There are strong ego drives and passions. Mid period sees international travel and your work could be highly appreciated. As the period ends, there are mood swings and hallucinations. You may also have to grapple with some old health issue.
Cancer: You are pumped with new energy and raring to go. You introspect and look to change the little details of your life that don’t work anymore. You have the energy, the wisdom and the foresight, and there could be giant strides at the workplace. As the period ends, you aim at heaving your life from its present mode to one of some consequence. You want to revamp your life. There are maudlin moments and stormy personal relationships. You ideate big time and also execute your plans.
Leo: You make significant headway in all your dealings. Passions and ego drives run high, and close relationships will be at the receiving end of your fireworks. Old, long-buried tensions may surface. You are energetic, decisive, hasty, restless, impatient and belligerent. Teamwork suffers, and you alienate associates. You are inspired and your creativity is in full bloom. Relations with women, regardless of your gender, will be unusually powerful.
Virgo: You are in the throes of communication. New acquaintances blow new winds. This is not a time for concerted work as you take in all the influences like a hungry receptacle. There are several urgent domestic calls to attend to. You fly high. No stone is left unturned as you go about making miracles happen. This is a stimulating period. You feel alive and awake. Family life is even-paced.
Libra: This can be powerfully creative phase. You assert yourself with confidence and are able to market yourself well. A piece of art you have authored wins critical approval. What’s more, it can be minted at the box office. This is a lucky time for important business transactions. You are busy with fiscal instruments and take risks. Your heart also goes out to less-advantaged sections of society and you earmark plans for philanthropy.
Scorpio: This is a great time. Play your cards right and mint the moment. The energies are powerful. This can be a magical time for those in the media. Even those in prosaic and mundane number-crunching persuasions do exceedingly well. New vistas open and you move from strength to strength. This is a purple patch. Your script is profound, effective and long-lasting. You are heeding the call of a different drummer. There could be international travel and fame. You could chair global meets.
Sagittarius: The family is content and humming away like a pampered kitten. Your world is basking in contentment. Existence is smiling on you. This is great time for media folk. Your life is moonlight and roses. It could also be a time of indulgences. You are filled with compassion and empathy. You are receptive to the moods, feelings, opinions and actions of others. You bond with family, friends, loved ones and colleagues like never before.
Capricorn: This is a period of beauty and bounty. Children bring joy and there could be an addition to the family. There are new collaborations, ventures, research, new discoveries and vistas. You send the right messages to the universe and a whole new world open.You sign new deals and surge forward. Success crowns your ventures and love lights a candle within you. You revel in all types of commercial transactions. There are surreptitious moves and secret liaisons.
Aquarius: You prospect all forms of healing, psychology, astrology, sociology and the esoteric sciences. There are maudlin moments and flashbacks. You are eager to grow as a person of some consequence and you put your heart and soul into the endeavor. You win peer approval as you think out of the box and pioneer new solutions. As the period ends, there are heightened passions and ego drives, confusion, restlessness, ambiguity and uncertainty.
Pisces: You look to forge ahead in life but are fully aware of the limitations imposed by circumstances. There are compromises to be made and games to be played. But you are canny enough to seize every opening and checkmate the opposition. This is a good time to resolve personal relationships if they have been floundering. You are in the mood for solutions; you don’t want altercations or acrimony. You feel rejuvenated, relaxed, refreshed, recharged and reborn.
LONDON (TIP): Indian-origin Chirag Patel has been sentenced to eight years in jail by a UK court for handling of 19 stolen high-value vehicles worth over 7,00,000 pounds.
Patel, 39, was found guilty of conspiracy to handle stolen goods and possession of criminal property at the end of a five-week trial at Croydon Crown Court.
“Patel played the leading role in a sophisticated operation to handle high-value, stolen vehicles, motivated only by sheer greed,” said Acting Detective Sergeant Billy Clough, who led the investigation for the Metropolitan Police.
“He even attempted to convince the jury that he was a legitimate businessman, who had simply been unlucky in obtaining such a vast quantity of stolen items, but the jury saw through this and convicted him of being the key player in a significant criminal enterprise,” he said.
Patel was jailed for conspiracy to handle stolen goods in relation to the cars and keys, for which he received eight years’ imprisonment.
He was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment for possessing criminal property and in relation to over 440,000 pounds of unexplained cash deposits which had been identified from two personal bank accounts in his name
Both the sentences will run concurrently.
“I hope this sentence sends a message that those involved in this type of organized criminality will be pursued robustly,” the Met Police said.
The court was told that in February 2015, Patel reported to police that his Porsche had been stolen.
At first, Patel resisted giving his home address, instead providing details of his parent’s address.
When he finally gave his own address, officers attended the property as part of their investigation into the stolen car.
Here they discovered a number of high-value vehicles in the basement car park. Officers identified that one of cars had a personalized number plate identical to one seen earlier on a vehicle outside Patel’s parent’s address.
Further inquiries by officers established that the five vehicles in the car park had false number plates and all were later confirmed to have been stolen.
Patel was arrested at his home address soon after.
During a search of his property, Met Police officers recovered 26 sets of car keys, as well as lists of vehicles and registrations, machines for accessing on-board computers in vehicles, programming keys and a number of mobile phones, tablets and laptops.
Following a detailed investigation, led by officers from Croydon’s Serious Acquisitive Crime Unit, a total of 19 stolen vehicles with an estimated value of 728,000 pounds were linked to Patel and subsequently seized, as well as nine sets of keys which had been stolen from Jaguar Land Rover’s plant in Solihull, West Midlands, and a laptop stolen during a burglary in Streatham area of south London.
During the trial, judge H H J Gower praised the work of the Scotland Yard officer, Police Constable Andy Garland, whose work identified the first stolen vehicle.
The judge said: “It was his sharp eyes and investigative nose and approach which first spotted a stolen vehicle and set this investigation in motion and he receives my formal commendation.”
The police later discovered that Patel had been using the vehicles in the running of an “off-the-books” vehicle rental business, where vehicles were rented out to his associates and contacts.
The vehicles had been stolen by unknown individuals during burglaries and keyless thefts across London between October 2012 and January 2015 and were stored at or near addresses owned by Patel and his family, or with associates who looked after the vehicles for him or rented them from him.
The identities of the cars were concealed using legitimate insurance details of vehicles which had been written off on official records.
LONDON(TIP): An Indian-origin man, who suffers from a degenerative eye condition, is set to become the first person in the UK to get a guide horse to assist him with daily tasks once he loses his vision completely.
Mohammed Salim Patel, a journalist based in Blackburn at Lancashire, suffers from a condition called Retinitis Pigmentosa, due to which he is left with a very small amount of sight in his right eye and will eventually become totally blind.
The 24-year-old, who suffers from a deep-seated fear of dogs since a scary childhood encounter, could not rely on the more commonly used guide dogs for the blind and that is how the concept of a miniature guide horse came to his attention.
“Digby (guide horse) is still a baby and will be two years old in May 2019. His training will take around two more years, so I expect to be able to bring him home to Blackburn once he’s finished his training,” Mr Patel told the media.
“There is no rush though, as there would be for a guide dog. Digby will be able to work into his 40s, whereas a guide dog has to retire at the age of eight,” he said.
After spending some time with his companion-to-be, Patel believes a guide horse has many added benefits over guide dogs, including a much longer working life, 350-degree vision and ability to see in the dark.
“Guide horses can work for a lot longer, therefore even if his training takes longer than two years, it doesn’t matter too much as once he’s trained, I will have decades with him as my assistant animal,” Mr Patel explained.
The story of Digby caught the attention of the annual Amplifon Awards for Brave Britons, where the horse is among the finalists in the Hero Pet category – aimed at honoring animals who have transformed the life of their owners.
“It’s very nice to have Digby recognized for his great work, despite still being in training. He is a star,” said Patel, in reference to the awards, which were announced on Tuesday October 16.
The BBC journalist began working with his local station, BBC Radio Lancashire, before moving on to BBC North West Tonight TV after completing a Journalism Trainee Scheme.
“I fancied being a TV presenter and decided to give media studies a go. I found myself making documentaries on taboo subjects, and essentially creating journalistic pieces. This is when I strongly considered pursuing a career in journalism, as a journalist rather than a TV presenter,” he said.
However, it was not an easy journey, being told that a broadcast journalism course would be too difficult for a blind person to complete.
“I used my time at university to get as much broadcasting experience as I could. I loved radio. I was fortunate to achieve a First Class BA Honors in International Journalism and got a job as a reporter at my local BBC radio station,” said Patel, whose family has their roots in Gujarat.
“My mother was born in India but then came to the UK to marry my dad. He has family in Gujarat too,” he said.
“I love visiting India as it’s a beautiful country that fascinates me. I take every opportunity I can to visit my cousins who live there and to also visit the many different cities in India,” he added.
It remains to be seen if Digby might join him on one of these visits in the future.
WASHINGTON(TIP): Indian Americans who possess expensive jewelry, are being targeted by thieves in the US police said. The thieves are also reportedly looking at online records to identify businesses owned by the Indian Americans and are likely pawning the jewelry.
Police said the latest theft happened at a motel owned by an Indian American family in Norwalk city of Connecticut. They have also shared a surveillance video of the brazen heist in hopes of catching the thieves who stole jewelry worth $20,000 dollars from the Indian American owner’s living quarters.
Sergeant Seth Fry said the van they used to get away was later recovered at a farm outside the city. The license plate had been removed and all fingerprints had been wiped clean. Investigators said the suspects involved have been committing similar crimes across the country and are believed to be targeting only Indian Americans.
“This group is very organized. They’re probably moving onto another location and are going to do the same thing,” said Sgt. Fry.
“They could take it to a pawn shop. They could take it to a jeweler and have it melted down and made into something else, there’s many different ways they could get rid of that,” he said.
WASHINGTON(TIP): More than 12 Indian Americans running for the US Congress have collectively raised over $26 million for their election campaign with six of them outraising their opponents, according to the latest official figures.
Raja Krishnamoorthi, Ro Khanna, Pramila Jayapal, Ami Bera, Hiral Tipirneni, and Aftab Pureval have outraised their opponents in their respective seats for the US House of Representatives.
For political pundits, funds raised by a candidate is considered the barometer of their popularity and one who raises more than his/her opponent is normally considered to win.
Most of the fund-raising figures released by the Federal Election Commission (FEC) are till September 30 and the final number before the November 6 polls is likely to jump further.
If they win the number of Indian Americans in the US House of Representatives could jump from the current four to six, with two of them being woman and one being of Tibetan origin.
Raja Krishnamoorthi from the eighth Congressional District of Illinois till September 30, as per FEC figures, has raised more than $5 million, topping the list.
His opponent, Jitender Diganvker also an Indian American has raised a paltry $35,817, which is also the lowest fund-raising figure among the dozen Indian Americans in the race for the Congress this time.
Shiv Ayyadurai who is running for a Senate seat in Massachusetts against the powerful Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, has surprised many by raising $5 million. But political pundits give him very little chance against the Warren, who has raised $20 million so far.
Indian American physician Hiral Tipirneni has raised over $3.76 million. Tipirneni lost to incumbent Debbie Lesko during the special elections early this year.
The momentum looks like is with the Indian American woman in this eighth Congressional District of Arizona as her opponent so far has raised $1.8 million.
And so has Aftab Pureval, who is seeking to enter the US House of Representatives from the first Congressional District of Ohio.
The only Indian American to be endorsed by former US President Barack Obama, Pureval has raised $3.1 million, as against his Republican opponent and incumbent Steve Chabot of about $1 million. Chabot’s latest figures with FEC are only till June 30.
Three-time Congressman from seventh Congressional District of California Dr Ami Bera has raised $2.69 million as against $373,000 by his Republican opponent Andrew Grant.
All the previous three elections bids for him had been tough and all the three times he was declared elected only after recounting of votes.
Representing Silicon Valley, Ro Khanna from the 17th Congressional District of California is pretty close with $2.62 million. He virtually has no contest at all.
Pramila Jayapal, the first Indian American woman to be elected to the US House of Representatives has raised $1.66 million, according to the FEC figures till July 18. Her opponent Craig Keller has raised about $3,000 till the same period.
“But when Das speaks metaphorically through Kama’s arrows and contemplates the kinds of love they can generate, he brings to each love a sense of loss and a fleeting nostalgia which often catches the reader by surprise. For him, Kama’s first two arrows ensure that we fall in love and move towards intimacy. The third arrow reminds us that we have to work to make love flourish and grow. The fourth arrow makes us see that love is waning, that we need to shore it up at a time when we have run out of the resources that nurture love. The fifth arrow leads love to annihilation and this, Das says, can only be the moment of surrender to the divine, an elevation available to the mystic, if not to the rest of us.”
This is a most unexpected book. From anyone, let alone a public figure. Let alone from Gurcharan Das—optimistic prophet of the Indian economy, philosopher of personal and public ethics, staunch supporter of neo- liberalism, recent cheerleader for Modi- nomics, grand old man of newspaper columns and a hundred corporate consultancies, a man who has also written at least one fine play and a sensitive family saga about Partition. Kama: The Riddle of Desire is a book about desire in the fullest sense of the word—it is about love and vulnerability, about self-doubt and betrayal, about wanting more of everything and being haunted by settling for less. These are not declarations that one associates with a man who appears greatly assured in all his public avatars, a man who has spent the last three decades telling us what we should be thinking. Kama is also a book about sex, not in the abstract sense, but about physical pleasure located in the body of the narrator (could he be the author himself, one wonders). When we read Kama, Das offers us a journey into the life of a body as much as the life of a mind, and in Das’ narrative, the body diminishes through life, but the mind expands.
There are multiple strands in this complex book which is part memoir, part treatise, part life-lesson and most obviously, a tantalizing roman-à-clef. It is a book that could only have been written by an older man who looks back with a sense of satisfaction on a life well and fully lived, a life packed with great good fortune, sometimes brought to a stutter by small mistakes, but an overall success when judged in terms of all the purusharthas, the goals of life, as prescribed for an average Hindu male householder.
Das places Kama as the third in his series of explorations of the purusharthas as explicated within classical Hinduism. His earlier books India Unbound (2000) and The Difficulty of Being Good: On the Subtle Art of Dharma (2009), address the prescriptions and dilemmas of economic well-being (artha) and moral well-being (dharma), respectively. Like these two, Kama is also a door-stopper of a book, coming in at just under 550 pages. But then, tracing the history of kama and erotic love across centuries and cultures and traditions is no mean task. As in The Difficulty of Being Good, here in Kama, Das mines the intellectual and literary traditions of the West as well as those of Hinduism, showing us that humankind’s profoundest ideas are shared. As are its greatest fears. Das is erudite at the best of times and there is nothing he enjoys more than mulling over an idea, passing it through the many filters that he has gathered from readings that are wide and deep. In Das’ hands, the mystical, often mysterious utterances of the Rig Veda stand in counterpoint to the ecstatic certainties of the Gita Govinda. Vatsyayana, a celebrant of sexual pleasure, and St Augustine, a denouncer of the body, can rub elbows as ideas of spiritual love, physical love, platonic love, romantic love, renunciation, sublimation, lust, desire and even the mellow sweetness of old and tired love run across pages, tripping over each other with mostly gay abandon. The ancient Greeks are as much a part of Kama as classical Hindu thinkers and poets. Proust appears with metronomic regularity, offering Das a prism through which his own life and experience can be refracted. The great Russian novelists of the 19th century open up a vast landscape in which the author can wander, noting the varieties of love as one might note and enjoy different flora and fauna. Das gains as much insight into love from the subtle nuances of Chekov’s short stories as he does from the purple adornments of Kalidasa’s Kumarasambhava.
In the hands of Das, the mystical, often mysterious utterances of the Rig Veda stand in counterpoint to the ecstatic certainties of the Gita Govinda
More than once, Das cites the same half verse from the Mahabharata which says, ‘There is a melancholic sadness at the very heart of kama.’ One does not think of the Mahabharata ever speaking gently about love, and so the recurrence of this tentative endorsement of love surely points to Das’ capacity to read carefully and well. Not only is he able to extract a statement of such refined delicacy from a text that is dominated by the language of war and a quest for political power, he can bring it to our attention in such a way that we embrace it as an adage for life, to be shared with friends when the lights are low and the hour is late.
Das uses the five arrows in Kama’s bow as one of the ways to understand love in its different moments and manifestations. In their classical Sanskrit iteration, Kamadeva’s arrows sequentially incite fascination or attraction, followed (somewhat darkly) by disturbance, burning, desiccation and destruction. But Das parses these moments differently, seeing love as a fundamentally elevating force rather than a movement towards destruction or annihilation. In his own exegesis, Das finds it more useful to acknowledge the fear of love’s power when he divides kama into what he calls ‘optimistic’ and ‘pessimistic’. ‘The optimists focus on the creative, life-giving and transcendental powers of love, while the pessimists worry about its excess and subversive power.’ Elsewhere, in the larger social commentary about the times in which we live that punctuates the book, Das speaks more loosely about the optimists who are open-minded and freethinking, while those who he calls pessimists tend to be conservative and less ready to embrace difference and change.
But when Das speaks metaphorically through Kama’s arrows and contemplates the kinds of love they can generate, he brings to each love a sense of loss and a fleeting nostalgia which often catches the reader by surprise. For him, Kama’s first two arrows ensure that we fall in love and move towards intimacy. The third arrow reminds us that we have to work to make love flourish and grow. The fourth arrow makes us see that love is waning, that we need to shore it up at a time when we have run out of the resources that nurture love. The fifth arrow leads love to annihilation and this, Das says, can only be the moment of surrender to the divine, an elevation available to the mystic, if not to the rest of us. Das rightly cites the Gita Govinda as a sublime example of this surrender while in a physical body (Bernini’s sculpture of Saint Theresa expresses the same moment of ecstatic union), but it is here that I believe Das’ erudition falls somewhat short. Sufi mystics have provided us with the most exquisite poetry about fana, the ecstatic moment when lover and beloved become one. The individual soul is annihilated in the love and by the love of the divine. That poetry offers us an entirely different teleology about love and an entirely different image of the end, as it were, of love. I would have been very pleased if Das had turned his eclectic and catholic gaze onto the difference between love that surrenders in the body and the love that dissolves this final, human separation from God. Das’ frame, like that of many Indian intellectuals (including my own), is circumscribed by our knowledge of Western traditions of thinking and writing. There is still much to be gained from within that frame, but in the 21st century, our gaze must turn to a larger world in order to truly expand and challenge our ideas of desire and the power of transformative love. Although Das speaks almost exclusively of love between individuals, Kama: The Riddle of Desire reminds us that it is time to think beyond the personal, embodied beloved. As storms of hatred swirl around us, it is only love that can ‘speak through the earthquake, wind and fire’ and be ‘the still small voice of calm’.
“Why now? At that time, there were no internal complaints committees and the idea of approaching the police was scary. Does this mean that the incidents did not occur? The lesson learnt is that women have to stake a claim. They will not be given their rights on a platter. They have to snatch them from a patently patriarchal system of corporate governance.”
So, finally it has happened. The Minister of State for External Affair, MJ Akbar, had to step down from his official position. Whether it was his decision or whether he was pressured by the party bosses to do so, we will never know. Whatever may be the reason, it is a welcome move.
It is a moment of triumph not only for the 20 senior journalists who came out strongly against him in a joint statement and to those who graphically described the extent of their abuse which they suffered as his subordinates, but a landmark victory for the women’s movement in India.
The message has gone out loud and clear. A Union Minister cannot hold office when such allegations of sexual misconduct are piled up against him. This is a message that has gone out globally.
It was a litmus test for the government which has been flaunting its pro-women programs, such as “beti bachao, beti padhao” and “ujwala”, and the more recent ordinance criminalizing triple talaq, to save the “poor Muslim women”.
The government took its own time. There was no statement from women like Sushma Swaraj under whose ministry MJ Akbar worked. The Prime Minister and the party bosses kept mum and even allowed him to remain in office until he filed a case of criminal defamation against the first person who had accused him, using his political clout in an uneven court battle. As an anchor in a TV talk show commented, 97 lawyers against one individual. But as Priya Ramani, against whom the case is filed, said, ‘truth is the defense’.
This will open up the doors for more women to come out against their bosses and seniors at the workplace and hopefully will lead to a healthier workplace environment ensuring dignity of women.
The lesson learnt is that women have to stake a claim. They will not be given their rights on a platter. They have to snatch them from a patently patriarchal system of corporate governance. But it is possible to dent this structure; it is possible to bring in fresh air. It is possible to bring in gender equality and protect women‘s dignity at the workplace.
Yes, they were strong women. Yes, they occupy influential positions today. Yes, a poor woman working as a contract labor will not be in a similar position to resist the even more blatant sexual overtures from her supervisor. Yes, it is possible for women to file such cases and tarnish the image of their bosses without due process. Yes, even accepting all the limitations, we need to rejoice this moment.
The 1997 Vishaka guidelines issued by Justice JS Verma were historical but its impact was marginal on corporates. Even within government offices most women did not register complaints as the complaints committees were non-functional, or it was very easy to gang up against the employee when a senior boss was involved. The private corporates did not bother to set up complaints committees.
Then in 2013 we got the Sexual Harassment at Workplace Act. Even this did not have the desired impact. But now hopefully these committees will begin to function. They will invite an external member, an NGO person or an expert on the issue, to be part of this committee. And if there are lapses, the #MeToo movement will still be around to expose the lapses. These are the concrete gains of this campaign.
The storm, which started with Tanushree Dutta’s allegations against Nana Patekar three weeks ago has turned into an avalanche. While denting the patriarchal base of our industries, institutions and public offices, it has spilled into the legal and political domains. We cannot predict what the legal battle will entail and how long it will go on from one court to the other. All eyes will be on the court and many legal issues will have to be gone into.
It was obvious that the #MeToo movement could not stay confined within the comfort zone of social media, of ‘naming and shaming’ with first person narratives of violations. However, we cannot undermine it as it was a bold step, as a woman who exposes her violator with the intimate details of the abuse which may involve naming body parts and graphically describing the type and extent of abuse in the social media, have more to lose than the person named. The courage of their convictions led many to lend their voice to the steadily galvanizing movement which created ripples in the placid waters of several of our institutions, and touched even the NGO sector.
There are signs that some changes will be brought about within the film industry. The big banners are in the process of hurriedly setting up internal complaints committees (ICC) (which they should have done a long time ago). Many women directors have come out with a statement that they will not work with actors who have been accused of sexual misconduct. The comedy group AIB has decided to de-list every video featuring a former member, Utsav Chakraborty, who is accused of sexual harassment by several women. Some Bollywood projects such as “Housefull 4” and “Mogul” are facing an uncertain future with their stars making a public statement that they will not work with those accused of sexual harassment.
Media houses were the worst hit and heads began to roll. After women complained against the Resident Editor of the Times of India in Hyderabad, K.R. Sreenivas and the Hindustan Times journalist Prashant Jha, they had to step down. While some rubbished the allegations, Chetan Bhagat and Rajat Kapoor issued an apology.
Why did they not complain earlier? Why are they coming out now two or three decades later? The answer is simple. As one journalist succinctly stated, “At that time, in early nineties when many of these incidents had taken place, awareness about sexual harassment was lacking. There were no internal complaints committees. The idea of approaching the police was scary. We did not even have the backing of our families. Does this mean that the incidents did not occur?”
The naming and shaming device is a result of the failure of our criminal justice system to redress their grievances. The women will be asked for proof. But as the law on sexual harassment at the workplace stipulates clearly, it is not the acts of the abuser but the perception of the violated that is relevant. And it is here the graphic details contained in the personal narratives posted in the social media will come to their aid.
(The author is a women’s rights lawyer and pioneer of the women’s movement in India focused on issues of gender and law reforms)
Pakistan is more dangerous than North Korea as it does not have a centralized control on its nuclear weapons, making them vulnerable to theft and sale.
By Ven Parmeswaran
“9/11 happened because Pakistan supported the Taliban and the Al Qaeda. We discovered that Pakistan was the epicenter of global terrorism. Almost all terrorists emanated from Pakistan and committed terrorism in the U.S.A. and Europe. President George W Bush sent his Secretary of State, Gen. Collin Powell to Pakistan, with whom the USA had a Mutual Security Pact from 1954. Powell met Gen. Musharraf of Pakistan and made a deal. Pakistan agreed to cooperate fully with the USA and provide all help in finding Osama bin Laden and other leaders of Al Qaeda.”
President Obama had intelligence that Pakistan was hiding and protecting Osama Bin Laden in one of military cantonments. In 2011, that is 10 years after 9/11, the U.S. secretly got rid of Osama Bin Laden. The Pakistani doctor who confirmed the identity of Osama Bin Laden has been held in jail by Pakistan. Thus, Pakistan betrayed its ally, the U.S.A. For ten years, Pakistan was trying to use Osama bin Laden’s leadership to stage terrorism in India. The mutual trust between the USA and Pakistan was broken. However, President Obama chose not to punish Pakistan.
WAKE UP CALL BY PRESIDENT TRUMP
President Trump is the first U.S. President to challenge Pakistan. He wrote in his tweet: “The U.S. has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies, deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools.” President Trump withdrew military aid and gave an ultimatum to Pakistan to stop supporting the Taliban in Afghanistan and to dismantle all terror organizations and terrorist sanctuaries in Pakistan.
PAKISTAN’S ECONOMY IN SHAMBLES WITH NO FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Mr. Imran Khan, the new Prime Minister of Pakistan has been elected with the tacit support and help of Pakistan’s military. For his survival his first loyalty is to the military. Pakistan is negotiating with the I.M.F. for a $12 billion loan. The U.S. has leverage in the IMF being the largest investor. The IMF cannot approve the loan without consent from the USA. Pakistan has been devoting its scarce resources to keep on producing nuclear bombs.
PAKISTAN’S NUCLEAR WEAPONS ARE VULNERABLE TO THEFT AND SALE
Pakistan is more dangerous than North Korea as it does not have a centralized control on its nuclear weapons, making them vulnerable to theft and sale, former Senator Larry Pressler warned, describing both the nations as rogue states. He feared that Pakistan’s nuclear weapons might be used against the US, warning of the possibility of someone buying these nuclear weapons from generals. “The weapons could be transported to the US fairly simply. Just as 9/11 was a very simple operation run by 20 or 30 people,” he said. “The Pakistani nuclear bombs are not controlled. They are subject to sale or stealing and they could be easily gotten out of Pakistan to just about anywhere in the world,” he said speaking at an event sponsored by The Hudson Institute, a top American think-tank. The former top American Senator, however, said he does not think that Pakistan’s nuclear weapons are going to be used against India. I do not agree. The Senator said “I think what North Korea needs is just a lot of attention and hand-holding. Pakistan Is a different thing because you don’t really have one person in-charge. I think Pakistan is more dangerous to the US,” he reiterated in response to a question.
“We should declare Pakistan a terrorist state. We should put certain sanctions on Pakistan,” he said.
PAKISTAN’S GROWING ARSENAL WITHOUT CENTRAL CIVILIAN CONTROL IS THREAT TO GLOBAL SECURITY
Why does Pakistan need to keep on increasing the number of bombs? There are thousands of nuclear weapons in the world today. According to the latest count from the Federation of American Scientists, the 5 original nuclear powers have a combined 15,465 nuclear weapons between them, most of which are divided amongst the US and Russia. Yet, the fastest growing arsenal in the world is not included in this number. While Pakistan has a range of 100-120 nuclear weapons in its possession—a figure that pales in comparison to the US or Russia—Islamabad has devoted a tremendous amount of its military budget to growing its arsenal and producing the associated delivery systems that are needed to launch them.
More alarming than Pakistan’s current stockpile is the projected growth of its arsenal over the next decade. In a wide ranging report for the Council on Foreign Relations, professor Gregory D Koblentz of George Mason University assessed that Pakistan had enough highly enriched uranium to increase its stockpile to 200 nuclear weapons by 2020 if fully utilized. Percentage wise, this would mean that Pakistan could have as many nuclear weapons as the U.K. by 2020. Moreover, Pakistan falls outside the purview of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
To guarantee the ability to rapidly expand their stockpile, the Pakistani military is investing in reprocessing plutonium in addition to enriching uranium. In January 2015, the Institute for Science and International Security reported that the Pakistanis opened up their fourth plutonium facility at Khushab, which provides Islamabad with an additional channel to construct nuclear bomb material in a relatively short period of time. “Its expansion appears to be part of an effort to increase the production of weapons-grade plutonium,” the ISIS report (Pakistan’s intelligence agency) reads: “Allowing Pakistan to build a larger number of miniaturized plutonium-based nuclear weapons that can complement its existing highly enriched uranium nuclear weapons.”
PAKISTANI NUKES A MAJOR U.S. INTELLIGENCE PRIORITY
To say that the U.S. Intelligence community is closely monitoring the development of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program would be an understatement. The U.S. government is doing more than just monitoring: they are actively preparing for a terrible catastrophe and engaging Pakistani officials in the hopes that they will stop pouring resources into the expansion of their program. The last thing Washington wants or needs is a nuclear crisis flashpoint in a dangerous and unpredictable region filled with an alphabet soup of Islamist terrorist groups. The US government under both George W Bush and Barack Obama has been trying to prevent such a crisis scenario from occurring.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Despite all the attempts from the nuclear nonproliferation community, Pakistan will continue to develop and strengthen its nuclear deterrent as long as the high brass in the Pakistani military continues to have an India-centric mindset in its defense policy. India and Pakistan have fought three wars since independence in 1947, and in each case, the Pakistanis were either the losers or forced into a stalemate before acceding to a ceasefire (1971 breakaway of East Pakistan was an especially embarrassing defeat for the Pakistanis). Islamabad has not forgotten these cases ever since. And for the Pakistanis, the lessons of these past conflicts are all the same: we cannot repeat history.
PRESIDENT TRUMP’S NEW WORLD ORDER: INDIA AND THE USA HAVE SIGNED A DEAL THAT MAKES THEM CLOSEST ALLIES ON A PAR WITH THE NATO MEMBERS
The US and the IMF have told Pakistan that it cannot use IMF loan to repay China or divert the resources to increasing its nuclear arsenal. President Trump, unlike George W Bush or Obama, is challenging Pakistan to behave. In effect, Trump is saying that he will not tolerate Pakistan to betray again. Trump is also anxious to withdraw from Afghanistan and he knows Pakistan is the bottleneck. Based on his tough negotiations and policies towards his close allies, be it Canada or Western Europe, Trump means business. Therefore, it is to be hoped that the U.S. will not allow Pakistan to mess up with international security. I think President Trump is giving clear messages to Pakistan’s new Prime Minister and its military/ISIS leaders.
(Scarsdale, New York based Ven Parameswaran is Chairman, Asian American Republican Committee founded in 1988)
After some dissimulation, a reluctant MJ Akbar has, at last, shown inexpedient wisdom in bowing out of his office. The development is a minor, nonetheless significant, triumph for the MeToo movement that has caught the imagination of traumatized women professionals. It is not about retribution, or an example being made of one or two degenerates, be that as it may, wholly satisfying. The movement has an expansive purpose — unqualified safety of a woman at her workplace. If the pressure eases in the middle of the road, the ‘uprising’ will have been in vain.
It was in 1997 that the Vishakha Guidelines were introduced to handle harassment cases and became the foundation of the Sexual Harassment of Woman at Workplace Act passed in 2013. The Act mandates an employer to set up a 10-member complaints committee, and the government committees at the district level, to investigate such complaints. These may, however, be non-existent in most establishments. It is time to clean up the Augean stables and ensure that workplaces are compliant with the law.
The onus is on the employer to provide a safe environment. The implications of indulging in such acts, and what comprises sexual misconduct, must be taken up at awareness programs to sensitize employees. A list of committee members and their phone numbers must be displayed conspicuously. Action should be swift and non-partisan. There is no need for more laws and endless committees. A robust redress system will see it through. Stripping a woman of dignity, terrorizing her to either succumb or quit, sometimes at the great cost of pushing her back into the cocoon of society’s making, is inadmissible. Any complaint that goes unaddressed propagates predatory behavior and emboldens the perpetrator. Power or position cannot be allowed to be used for personal gratification, be it sexual in nature, or aggrandizement. It is encouraging that women are shedding the tatters of self-inflicted shame to find their voice. The golden in silence does not always shine through. As fellow travelers and comrades, let us spur them on their tedious journey.
NEW YORK(TIP): On October 19, 2018, the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania will award Energy Policy’s 2018 Carnot Prize to Mr. Piyush Goyal, Minister of Railways and Coal, Government of India. The award ceremony will be held at Kleinman Center Forum, 220 S. 34th St., Philadelphia, PA 19104.
The award is being given to Mr. Goyal for his leadership in fostering conditions for policy innovation that support a just and efficient transition to sustainable energy. The award also recognizes Mr. Goyal’s contributions to reforming India’s power sector, expanding renewable energy and fast tracking electrification of 18,000 remote villages in India.
While at Penn, Mr. Goyal will also have a recorded podcast conversation with Energy Policy Now host Andy Stone, meet with Penn students with interests in energy and India, and be a featured guest on the radio talk show Knowledge@Wharton.
On October 20, 2018, Mr. Goyal will interact with members of Indian Diaspora at 05:30 pm at TV Asia Auditorium, 76 National Rd, Edison, NJ 08817. On October 22, 2018, he will speak on growth and economic reforms in India at Columbia University, Room 1501, 420 West 118th Street, New York, NY 10027.
NEW YORK(TIP): Ms Bhuvana Rao took over over as Air India Regional Manager-Americas, October 17. She succeeds Mrs Vandana Sharma who has been transferred as Deputy General Manager at Indira Gandhi International Airport.
Ms Bhuvana Rao, an MBA from University Business School, Chandigarh is a seasoned Aviation professional with over 30 years of experience in various areas of Commercial Aviation. She had 2 overseas assignments, heading Air India operations in France and in Abu Dhabi. In her last assignment she was in charge of Sales & Marketing for Western Region in Mumbai.
WASHINGTON(TIP): The Trump administration has said it is coming out with new proposals to not only revise the definition of specialty occupations under H-1B visas, but also the definition of employment under this foreign work visa category which is popular among Indian companies.
Such a move, which is part of the Unified Fall Agenda of the Trump administration will have a detrimental impact on the functioning of Indian IT companies in the US and also small and medium-sized contractual companies in the IT sector, which are mostly owned by Indian Americans.
On Wednesday, October 17, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) plans to come out with its new proposal by January 2019.
It will “propose to revise the definition of specialty occupation” to increase focus on obtaining the best and the brightest foreign nationals via the H-1B program.
It will also “revise the definition” of employment and employer-employee relationship to “better protect” US workers and wages, DHS said. In addition, DHS will propose additional requirements designed to ensure employers pay appropriate wages to H-1B visa holders, the administration said.
The DHS reiterated that it is proposing to remove from its regulations certain H-4 spouses of H-1B non-immigrants as a class of aliens eligible for employment authorization.
The DHS said it is also finalizing its interim regulation governing petitions filed on behalf of alien workers subject to the annual numerical limitations applicable to the H-1B non-immigrant classification.
This rule precludes an individual from filing duplicate petitions on behalf of the same alien temporary worker. This rule also makes accommodations for petitioners to create a more efficient filing process for H-1B petitions subject to the annual numerical limitation.
Observing that the demand for H-1B visas has often exceeded the numerical limitation, DHS said it is proposing to establish an electronic registration program for such applications. This will allow USCIS to more efficiently manage the intake and lottery process for these H-1B petitions, it said.
NEW DELHI(TIP): Three days after he returned from his foreign trip to face embarrassing allegations of sexual harassment, Union Minister of State for External Affairs MJ Akbar on Wednesday, October 17, resigned from his post, maintaining that he would challenge the false accusations against him.
Akbar has slapped a criminal defamation case against Priya Ramani, the first journalist who publicly named and shamed the junior minster. The hearing in the defamation case is scheduled to come up for hearing on Thursday in the Patiala House court here.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi accepted Akbar’s resignation after which it was sent to President Ram Nath Kovind. Later, the President also accepted his resignation from the council of ministers.
Though the pressure was high, both on him and the government, from women groups and also saffron ideologues, sources said the final decision was taken after “carefully testing the waters” and when it eventually became clear that his presence was causing “irreparable harm” to the reputation of the BJP, in the country as well as abroad.
Akbar has threatened “appropriate legal action” against those who levelled “wild and baseless allegations” against him, but that did not stop survivors to come out in public about their horror tales. Quite clearly, he was asked to put in his papers by Prime Minister Narendra Modi after it became clear that it was neither morally nor politically tenable for him to continue in the high post, especially given his profile.
PM Modi, as they say, is also quite particular about perceptions about him in foreign countries.
As clamor for action against Akbar from his former women colleagues grew, there were worries in the BJP about the allegations damaging the party’s “pro-women” image ahead of elections to five states. While the BJP and government functionaries maintained a stoic silence, it was perhaps the first time in his tenure that PM Modi faced the piquant Catch-22 situation when either way it would have been detrimental for the image of his government.
However, his presence in the government had become far too “embarrassing for PM Modi” though he continues to be a Rajya Sabha member and also a member of the BJP.
For the BJP, holding on to Akbar would have served no purpose given his lack of mass-based appeal. Holding on to him would have come at a cost, the price of which it may have had to pay with a dent in its “pro-women” image in the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha in urban pockets. It can now take a moral high ground, safely.
In a statement, Akbar said, “Since I have decided to seek justice in a court of law in my personal capacity, I deem it appropriate to step down from office and challenge false accusations levied against me, also in a personal capacity. I have, therefore, tendered my resignation from the office of Minister of State for External Affairs. I am deeply grateful to the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and to the External Affairs Minister Smt. Sushma Swaraj for the opportunity they gave me to serve my country.”
The Rashtrapati Bhawan said later on Wednesday that President Ramnath Kovind had accepted Akbar’s resignation.
“The President of India, as advised by the Prime Minister, has accepted the resignation of Shri M. J. Akbar from the Union Council of Ministers, with immediate effect, under clause (2) of Article 75 of the Constitution.,” a communiqué from the President’s office said.
Reacting to Akbar’s resignation, Priya Ramani said, “As women we feel vindicated.”
“I look forward to the day when I will also get justice in court,” she tweeted.
As women we feel vindicated by MJ Akbar’s resignation.
However, this raises questions as to why PM Modi did not intervene earlier? Why was Akbar allowed to complete his overseas trip to Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea last week instead of being recalled as the #MeToo storm hit? And why did the government wait it out for Akbar to threaten accusers with legal action and sue Priya Ramani in court?
It is learnt that what also made the government jittery was the fact that despite the legal case against Priya Ramani, another woman journalist Tushita Patil penned an article alleging sexual abuse against Akbar dating back to 1992-1993 when she was a rookie reporter and he a prominent journalist and editor.
Some 20 women also in a statement joined hands with Ramani and asked the court to hear them out in the defamation case while two former male colleagues and journalists also came out in support of the reported #MeToo victims.
Khashoggi disappeared , October 2, under mysterious circumstances in Saudi Consulate in Istanbul
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman behind journalist’s disappearance?
WASHINGTON(TIP): President Donald Trump on Thursday, October 18, told reporters that it “certainly looks” as if the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi is dead, based on ‘intelligence coming from every side’.
“Unless the miracle of all miracles happens, I would acknowledge that he’s dead,” Trump said to The Times. “That’s based on everything — intelligence coming from every side.”
The president also said consequences would have to be “very severe” if it turns out Saudi Arabia is responsible for Khashoggi’s death.
Additionally, Trump said he would not make a statement on the case until several investigations into Khashoggi’s disappearance have concluded.
“I think we’ll be making a statement, a very strong statement,” Trump said. “But we’re waiting for the results of about — there are three different investigations, and we should be able to get to the bottom fairly soon.”
Khashoggi, who most recently wrote for The Washington Post, was often critical of the Saudi government in his reporting. He disappeared after entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on October 2, and Turkish officials have accused the Saudis of brutally killing Khashoggi there.
The Saudis have so far denied any involvement in Khashoggi’s disappearance. But more than two weeks later, the Saudi government has still not provided any evidence that the journalist safely departed the consulate.
Trump has largely stood by the Saudis over the past week as they’ve issued a series of denials.
The president at one point suggested that “rogue killers” could be responsible but provided no evidence to back up that assertion.
Trump also said on Tuesday that the criticism against the Saudi Kingdom amid the Khashoggi investigation was another instance of “guilty until proven innocent.”
Meanwhile, Trump has touted the strategic alliance between the US and Saudi Arabia, boasting about billions of dollars in planned arms sales to the Saudis. He said last week that it would be a “tough pill to swallow” to cease the sales over Khashoggi, contending that such a move would hurt the US economy.
Two weeks after he disappeared, The Washington Post has published what it said appears to be Jamal Khashoggi’s final column, in which the missing Saudi journalist writes of the importance of a free press in the Arab world.
Such a forum is currently lacking, says Khashoggi, a Post contributor and US resident who disappeared entering Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul on October 2.
“The Arab world is facing its own version of an Iron Curtain, imposed not by external actors but through domestic forces vying for power,” he writes.
“The Arab world needs a modern version of the old transnational media so citizens can be informed about global events. More important, we need to provide a platform for Arab voices,” Khashoggi writes.
“Through the creation of an independent international forum, isolated from the influence of nationalist governments spreading hate through propaganda, ordinary people in the Arab world would be able to address the structural problems their societies face.”
The ultimate fate of Khashoggi — whose writings have been critical of powerful Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman – is still unknown, but leaks by anonymous Turkish officials have painted a picture of him allegedly meeting a grisly demise in the consulate at the hands of Saudi agents. In the introduction to Khashoggi’s column — the Post’s Global Opinions editor Karen Attiah said the newspaper held off on publishing it in the hopes that he would return. — AFP
A man who previously travelled with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s entourage to the US entered the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul just before Jamal Khashoggi vanished there
Images published on Thursday by a pro-govt Turkish newspaper shows the man also later outside the Saudi consul general’s home, checking out of a Turkish hotel with a large suitcase
Britain, France, the US and the Netherlands have decided not to attend an investment summit in Riyadh as international pressure on Saudi Arabia over the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi grows
Terming the issue “very serious”, these countries said “the full truth of this affair be known and those responsible for the journalist’s disappearance must be held to account”
A Turkish daily reported on Thursday, October 18, that one of the suspects involved in the case was killed in a “suspicious car accident” in Riyadh even as investigators in Ankara expanded their probe to two wooded areas outside Istanbul
Mashal Saad al-Bostani, 31, a lieutenant of the Saudi Royal Air Force, was among the 15 suspects who left Turkey on October 2 after going to Saudi Arabia’s Istanbul consulate.
“I am looking forward to celebrating Paper Mill’s 80thanniversary with you this season”
– Mark S. Hoebee, Producing Artistic Director
“I’m absolutely delighted to have the opportunity to remount The Color Purpleat the renowned Paper Mill Playhouse.”
– John Doyle, Director
Paper Mill Playhouseopens its 80thanniversary season with The Color Purple (September 26-October 21). It is followed by Irving Berlin’s Holiday Inn(November 21-December 30), based on the beloved Bing Crosby/Fred Astaire film. This heartwarming, toe-tapping production features more than 20 classic songs from the Berlin catalog, including “Easter Parade,” “Cheek to Cheek,” “Steppin’ Out with My Baby,” and “White Christmas.” In the winter, Paper Mill Playhouse presents the world-premiere musical My Very Own British Invasion (January 31-March 3), directed and choreographed by Tony Award winner Jerry Mitchell. The 1960s British music scene comes to life with songs from Herman’s Hermits, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Petula Clark, The Moody Blues, and other legendary bands of the era. The spring brings the East Coast premiere of Benny & Joon(April 4-May 5). Based on the 1993 film which starred Johnny Depp and Mary Stuart Masterson, this new musical is a smart, funny, tender-hearted celebration of love: between children and parents; romantic partners; friends; and, most of all, siblings. The final production of the season, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast(May 29-June 30), an international sensation that has played to more than 35 million people in 13 countries. Based on the Academy Award-winning animated feature, the stage production includes all of the original songs from the movie by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, plus additional gems by Menken and Tim Rice.
PAPER MILL PLAYHOUSE, a not-for-profit arts organization under the direction of Mark S. Hoebee (Producing Artistic Director) and recipient of the Regional Theatre Tony Award in 2016, is one of the country’s leading regional theaters.
For additional information, visit www.PaperMill.org
facebook.com/PaperMillPlayhouse
Twitter: @paper_mill
Instagram: papermillplayhouse
“Now, more than ever, we need to be reminded of Alice Walker’s inspirational story.”
“Celie’s story needs to be heard at a time when so many people feel that their voices aren’t being listened to.”
– John Doyle, Director
John Doyle. Photo /Walter McBride
JOHN DOYLE RESTAGES HIS MASTERPIECE TO OPEN PAPER MILL PLAYHOUSE’S 80TH SEASON
The Color Purple, the Tony Award-winning revival that thrilled Broadway audiences has come to Paper Mill, where director John Doyle has remounted his visionary production.
This unforgettable and moving musical based on Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel and the Warner Bros./Amblin Entertainment Award-nominated film features a soul-raising, Grammy-winning score infused with jazz, gospel, ragtime, and blues. The Color Purple, with a book by Marsha Normanand music and lyrics by Brenda Russell,Allee Willis, and Stephen Bray, is a stirring family chronicle about the power of love and life. This show contains adult themes.
“I’m absolutely delighted to have the opportunity to remount The Color Purpleat the renowned Paper Mill Playhouse,” said director John Doyle. “It’s travelled a long journey from London’s tiny Menier Chocolate Factory, to its Tony-winning Broadway run, to a successful U.S. national tour. These weeks at the wonderful Paper Mill Playhouse will be the perfect coda to the journey. Now, more than ever, we need to be reminded of Alice Walker’s inspirational story.”
John Doyle, further comments onThe Color Purple: “Celie’s story needed to be heard. It needed to be heard again. It needs to be heard at a time when so many people feel that their voices aren’t being listened to. We needed to be reminded of this powerful story of oppression, brokenness, and final human resurrection. We need the hope that Celie and Sofia and Shug provide. We needed to see Mister’s redemption and to experience the power of the spirit ‘rising.’”
Adrianna Hicks (Celie) & The Company of The Color Purple. Photo / Jerry Dalia
Cast members from the 2015 Broadway revival lead the Paper Mill Playhouse company, including Adrianna Hicks (Aladdin, Sister Act – Germany) as Celie, Carla R. Stewart (Ghost – National Tour, Rent – Regional) as Shug Avery and Carrie Compere (Holler If You Hear Me, Shrek the Musical – National Tour) as Sofia.
Adrianna Hicks (center), Background (L to R): Darnel Abraham (Adam) & N’Jameh Camara (Nettie). Photo / Jerry DaliaGavin Gregory (Mister) Photo / Jerry Dalia
They will be joined by Gavin Gregory (The Color Purple, The Gershwins’ Porgy & Bess) as Mister, N’Jameh Camara (X: Or, Betty Shabazz v. The Nation) as Nettie, Jay Donnell (Miss Saigon) as Harpo, along with Darnell Abraham, Amar Atkins, Kyle E. Baird, Angela Birchett, Erica Durham, Bianca Horn, Jamal James, Mekhai Lee, Gabrielle Reid, C.E. Smith, Will T. Travis, Nyla Watson, J.D. Webster, Brit West and Nikisha Williams.
Adrianna Hicks (Celie) & N’Jamesh Camara (Nettie) Photo / Jerry Dalia
The creative team for The Color Purple includes Tony Award winner John Doyle (Direction, Scenic Design), Darryl Archibald (Music Direction), Tony Award winner Ann Hould-Ward (Costume Design), Tony Award nominee Jane Cox (Lighting Design), Dan Moses Schreier (Sound Design), Drama Desk winner Charles G. LaPointe (Hair and Wig Design), Melissa Chacón (Production Stage Manager) and Telsey + Company (Casting).
Accessibility Performances for The Color Purple
Paper Mill Playhouse, a leader in accessibility, offers audio-described performances for The Color Purpleon Saturday, October 20, 2018, at 1:30pm and Sunday, October 21, 2018, at 1:30pm. Prior to these performances at noon, the theater will offer free sensory seminars. Sensory seminars offer an opportunity for patrons with vision loss to hear a live, in-depth description of the production elements of the show and hands-on interaction with key sets, props, and costumes. There will be a sign-interpreted and open-captioned performance on Sunday, October 21, 2018, at 7:00pm.
Free Audience Enrichment Activities for The Color Purple
Conversation Club: Join theatergoers on Thursday evenings, October 11 and October 18 one hour before curtain for an informal, informative gathering. You’ll learn more about the performance you’re about to see.
The Director’s Viewpoint: One hour before curtain at 6:30pm on Wednesday, September 26, we host a pre-show discussion in the Renee Foosaner Art Gallery.
Q&A with the Cast: After the matinee onSaturday, October 20, stick around for a lively Q&A with cast members directly following the performance.
The Color Purple is performed at Paper Mill Playhouseeight times a week, Wednesday through Sunday.
Performance schedule: Wednesday at 7:30pm, Thursday at 1:30pm and 7:30pm, Friday at 8:00pm, Saturday at 1:30pm and 8:00pm andSunday at 1:30pm and 7:00pm.
For more information and for ticketscall 973.376.4343 or visit www.PaperMill.orgor the box office at 22 Brookside Drive, Millburn.
Groups of 10 or more may receive up to a 40% discount on tickets and should call 973.315.1680.
Season subscriptions are on sale now and are available by calling 973.379.3717.
Students have access to rush tickets over the phone or in person at the Paper Mill Playhouse Box Office on the day of the performance.
Closing Date:October 21, 2018.
(Mabel Pais writes on The Arts and Entertainment, Social Issues, Spirituality, and Health and Wellness)
NEW YORK CITY, NY(TIP): The Association of Indians in America, NY Chapter (AIA-NY) celebrated their 31st Annual Deepavali Festival at the South Street Seaport in New York City on Sunday October 7th, 2018 from 12 noon till 7pm.
The event was attended by thousands of people throughout the day, that enjoyed Indian culture and heritage, food, shopping, live performances and a spectacular display of live fireworks, sponsored by Cheapoair and Qatar Airways. Deepavali was a full day extravaganza with highlight performances by British Asian superstar Jaz Dhami; Bollywood playback singer, Shilpi Paul; Indian TV actors, Aman Dhaliwal and Karan Khanna; local NYC singer G. Sing and popular Gujarati Band all the way from India, KB Music with their lead vocalist, Jigardhan Gadhavi.
Jaz Dhami, the celebrity singer, with enthusiastic crowd behind. (Inset) Shilpi captivated with her song numbersJaz Dhami, the celebrity singer, with enthusiastic crowd behind. (Inset) Shilpi captivated with her song numbers
The highly sought after inter-collegiate dance competition, Naach Inferno presented by Star Bharat, in its fifth year saw first-time entrants East West Dance Academy as their winner this year. SA Grooves alongside its founders, Tanya Thanawalla & Asees Singh interacted with the audience and made the audience dance. Jaz Dhami had the entire South Street Seaport with their hands up in their air as he performed his hit song ‘High Heels’ and many more. Shilpi Paul had both families and the youth alike sing and dance to her tunes both on and off stage in the audience. Shilpi Paul & Jaz Dhami’s performances were presented by Sony TV.
Deepavali, meaning ‘A row of lamps’ is also popularly known as Diwali, or ‘Festival of Lights’. It signifies the triumph of ‘Good over Evil’, light over darkness and knowledge over ignorance. “The AIA-NY tries to spread this message of Hope and attempts to bridge the gap in the communities with events such as Deepavali and brings the community together”, said Gobind Munjal, President of AIA NY Chapter. “We invite all local communities to become a part of this mega festival. Deepavali has become an important part of American life committing to AIA’s role in the community.”
Although the Festival caters to all ages; children, youth, middle aged and the seniors. The emphasis recently has been shifted more towards youth, as their involvement is considered essential for the longevity of the association. With that objective in mind, AIA-NY launched “Desi Next”, and arranged a lot of activities geared towards the younger generation, including bringing young artists to perform at the Deepavali Festival. “AIA’s goal to incorporate more young adults into the mainstream activities of the community was accomplished,” said Munjal.
The children area came alive with the presence of Ronald McDonald himself and his coming and playing games with the children. The Health Fair attracted many. People enjoyed the variety of Food, shopping, and free coffee from McDonald’s Mccafe. Corporate sponsors gave away freebees. Qatar Airways was raffling two free air tickets to anywhere in the world.
Ambassador Sandeep Chakravorty, Consul General of India in New York wished the Indian American community a Happy Diwali. Seen in the picture, from L to R: AIA-NY Chapter President Gobind Munjal, Ambassador Sandeep Chakravorty, Harish Thakkar
The event culminated with citations and addresses by the various dignitaries. Among others; Consul General Ambassador Sandeep Chakravorty, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, NY City Comptroller Scott Stringer, and John Liu graced the occasion.
In addition to the coverage of the event by ITV, TV Asia and other media partners; Jus Punjabi, 8K Radio and Radio Dil provided with the live broadcast of the entire program. The evening was indeed a memorable one for all. The grand finale of the festival was the display of live Fireworks dazzling the NY skyline over the East River, enthralling thousands of New Yorkers.
In addition to support from CheapOair and Qatar Airways, other corporate sponsors; such as McDonald’s, Pepsi, New York Life, Kotak Bank, among others; helped made this event possible.
Spectacular fireworksOrganizers all- the AIA-NY Chapter organizing committee
The Association of Indians in America (AIA) is one of the oldest not-for-profit organization of Asian Indians in America founded on August 20, 1967. It is the grassroots national organization of Asian immigrants in the United States. With chapters and membership spread across the United States of America, AIA represents the hopes and aspirations of those immigrants who are united by their common bond of Indian Heritage and American Commitment. For more info, please find us on Facebook and visit our website at www.theaiany.org.
Aries: Ganesha says you crave emotional excitement and a change in routine. You are bored with the status quo. You want to do something radically different and seek out people you would normally have no intercourse with in any way whatsoever. This has its dangers but you are ready for the fallout. You know what you are doing. You are impulsive but not dangerously rash. You break the rules and if you are a team leader you pioneer new and better way of doing things.
Taurus: This is an interesting period with several possibilities. There are obsessions and indulgences and you are prone to compulsive behavior. If you have addictions, you may sink deep into the quagmire. You need to look at yourself with honesty and clarity. This is a period of introspection and self-analysis, and confrontations with the self. There could be altercations too, as others may how you a mirror and you don’t like the reflection.
Gemini: There is more stability now and this can be an excellent period for all kinds of mental work. You plan for the future with decisiveness. You are positive, confident and determined to make something of yourself. You are not one to wallow in muddy waters for too long. You realize your mistakes and work on yourself. You realize that you have to work in a team and this sudden realization and humility are met with applause. There is work-related travel and business expansion.
Cancer: You are moved ahead like the latest bullet train. You are disciplined, and your critical faculties are sharp. This is an excellent time for business transactions and negotiations. You want to be the top gun, and that could be the only hitch. You are open to divergent views, as they invest in the larger vision. Ego drives are high, and you attract arguments and altercations, but you manage to get your way through in the end.
Leo: There are different and opposing trends this period. There could be confusion and uncertainty, new awareness and sensitivity, aggression, conciliation, withdrawal, competition, confrontation and self-assertion. You could act surreptitiously and face the consequences too. You also go looking for a guru and take recourse to yantra, tantra and mantra. There are expenses and family time, ill health and remission, generation, rejuvenation and eccentricities.
Virgo: You are fascinated by every vista of life that opens before your eyes. There are surprises and upsets. Plans may go away, and you will have to move like water. ‘The species that adapts to change is the species that survives,’ said Darwin. If you are rigid, you are stuck. In this phase you may embark on one course of action and then move on to something completely different. You are the lichen riding the ocean waves.
Libra: ‘Truth is a pathless land,’ said J. Krihnamurti. Relationships are the prime focus now. You look for reliable, stable partners. Those in long – term relationships go about sorting out issues that may have caused possible rifts. You can be objective and you understand the realities of life. You do not make unrealistic demands and just expect partners to live up to their obligations. There is steadiness and sobriety in all your exchanges.
Scorpio: You make money and spend it. There are many new investments, holiday plans and new deals in the offing. You are a mover and shaker, filled with zest, zeal and energy. You want to be a person of renown, and the winter chill won’t dampen your inherent desires to excel. There are love and longing, fun, festivities, joyous moments and family reunions. Children bring happiness. There could also be an addition to the family.
Sagittarius: This is a great period for physical activity, as your energies are high. You are filled with hope, joy and bonhomie. You are strong, vigorous, hard – working and determined. Your exuberance is contagious, and it draws everyone around you in its sweep. You are not foolishly overconfident. You watch your step and take calculated risks. You live and love large. Success crowns you without a doubt.
Capricorn: There is travel on the cards. It may be time for a foreign holiday. You also look seriously at spirituality and go searching for a guru. You are looking for answers to life’s profound questions. Certain queries may never be answered but ask you must. New vistas open and someone from a different culture may make a lasting impression on you. It needn’t be a romantic liaison, but it could well change the way you look at the world.
Aquarius: You take a break from the rush of life and meet with your buddies at cafes and over dinners and movies. You visit art galleries and attend poetry readings and private screenings of offbeat cinema. If you are artistically inclined, you find time for your creative urges. You take off into the woods and frolic with rabbits and foxes. You have been there and done that. And the winner of the rat race remains a rat. You want a clean break from it all. Ganesha smiles.
Pisces: ‘Instead of getting depressed or falling into guilt when we see what is wrong in ourselves, we need to say, Wow! Creator, thank you for letting me see my demons. Now, how can I go above them?’ said Karen Berg of the Kabbalah Centre. You may be inclined to identify your ego with your possessions and wealth. This can set tongues wagging and you could come in for some flak. You could also look at short cuts and unethical means to reach your ends.
WASHINGTON, DC(TIP): Indian American USIBC President Nisha Desai Biswal will deliver the keynote address at the Ekal Vidyalaya’s Washington, DC, area gala,which will be held at the Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, MD, on October 12.
The event will consist of a dinner, auction, and fundraiser to support rural development in India.
Biswal, who served as an assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian Affairs from 2014 to 2017, is one of a number of prominent Indian Americans scheduled to attend the event. Others include Sonal Shah, executive director of the Beeck Center for Social Impact and Innovation at Georgetown University, and Vinod Prakash, president & CEO of the India Development and Relief Fund Inc. USA (IDRF).
Prakash, an economist who worked for the World Bank for several years, will be honored at the event for his lifetime of service.
“The goal of the gala is to raise money for the integrated development of Indian villages,” said Dr. Sudhir Sekhsaria, convener and chair of the gala. “Ekal mainly focuses on four areas for the development of villages: primary education, preventive healthcare, economic empowerment of villagers through skills training, and spreading awareness among villagers about right to information.”
Sekhsaria, a prominent physician in the Washington area, said Ekal’s village adoption program costs $1,000 per village, and the goal of the gala is to facilitate the adoption of 300 villages.
A number of prominent Ekal leaders, including Ekal USA President Suresh Iyer, its former President Vinod Jhunjhunwala, Executive Director Ranjani Saigal, Ekal Abhiyan Trust Board secretary Bajrang Lal Bagra and gala co-chair Dr. Suresh C. Gupta, will speak at the event.
Popular Indian American actor Omi Vaidya will be the master of ceremonies.
Another feature of the gala will be a concert by Bollywood playback singer Sumitra Iyer.
FLORIDA(TIP): Indian American entrepreneur Dr. Kiran Patel has invested $60 million at “an undisclosed valuation” in Concept Medical Inc., a Florida-based medical device company.
The newly infused funds will support clinical trials on cardiac devices, the company said in a press release.
“Cardiovascular diseases are the number 1 cause of death globally, representing 31 percent of all global deaths, and it is increasing due to changes in lifestyle and the increase in hypertension amongst the young and old,” Patel said. “I am excited to be part of the CMI whose research and innovative technologies will meet a major unmet need in patients with diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. This venture enables me to contribute to the millions of hearts beating around the world.”
Concept Medical founder and Managing Director Manish Doshi said Patel’s “investment brings a series value add,” as his “vast experience” as a cardiologist “is synergistic.”
“We want to make a world of difference to the way medical devices companies operate globally,” he said. “We are a young organization and innovation runs in the soul of our entire organization. This investment enables us in advancing innovation platforms vigorously. “
Doshi, an Indian American, founded Concept Medical in 2008. It has a manufacturing subsidiary in India, Envision Scientific Pvt. Ltd.
Concept Medical said it has approached the US Food and Drug Administration for an “Investigative Device Exemption” for its newly developed stents and balloons that open blocked coronary arteries. The balloon is coated with a substance called Sirolimus, which reduces rejection.
An FDA exemption will allow these devices to be used in clinical studies.
The company said the new funds will also be used to increase clinical data and registries to qualify for cost reimbursements in Europe, where the product is already in the market.
Parts of the funds will be used to increase manufacturing operations, the company said.
According to the release, Concept Medical has received 96 patents and dozens more under process in different countries, including the United States, China, Japan, India and several European nations.
Patel and his wife, Dr. Pallavi Patel, have built and sold two-billion-dollar healthcare companies in the past two decades. In 2002, they sold WellCare, one of the largest HMOs in Florida, with more than 400,000 members and revenue in excess of $1 billion.
They sold Freedom Health and Optimum Healthcare nearly a year ago.
The Patels now run one of the largest philanthropic organizations in the state of Florida, the Drs. Kiran and Pallavi Patel Family Foundation. In September 2017, the foundation announced a $20 million contribution to the Nova Southeastern University in Florida.
RICHMOND HILL, NY(TIP): Indian Overseas Congress, USA staged a protest in Richmond Hill, New York, September 30th, to highlight the corruption by the Modi Government in the purchase of Rafale jets in the biggest defense scam in history. This protest also expressed grave discontent amongst NRIs who are of the opinion that Hindustan Aeronautical Limited should have been the building partner of the Dassault Aviation rather than Modi’s handpicked friend Anil Ambani who stands to gain 30,000 Crores Rupees in this scam at the expense of the tax-paying public.
Dr. Amee Yajnik, member of the Rajya Sabha while addressing the crowd, expressed grave discontentment with lack of transparency and accountability in this whole affair. “While our farmers are suffering and many of them are on the verge of despair, the Modi Government’s focus is only to increase the coffers of their crony capitalist friends. The money that is supposed to be used for economic and social development is stolen from the people of India” Dr. Yajnik added.
‘Corrupt role played by the Minister of Defense, Nirmala Sitharaman is also of great concern to us, and we are also concerned that she has converted the ministry of defense into a puppet institution which dancing to the tunes of crony capitalists without any concern being shown to the defense establishment of the country along with national security” said Mr. Mohinder Singh Gilzian, President of the Indian Overseas Congress, USA. “The secrecy by which Modi has dealt with this deal tantamount to organized loot, and we are asking for the resignation of the Prime Minister and the Defense Minister’, Mr. Gilzian added.
George Abraham, Vice-Chairman of IOC, urged the Diaspora to become cognizant of the growing number of scandals plaguing the Modi regime and the secrecy with which Rafale Deal has been conceptualized. United Progressive Alliance first conceptualized the deal in the year 2012 when Government of India had agreed with Dassault Aviation, France to purchase a total of 126 Rafael fighter jet aircraft. This agreement was clinched with a cost of Rs. 526 for each aircraft.
Initial 18 aircraft were to be purchased on an immediate fly-away condition and remaining 108 were agreed to be manufactured in India. Aircraft which were to be manufactured in India were agreed to be manufactured in association with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited under the transfer of technology agreement. However, altering the terms of the contract to benefit the Ambanis may result in the lost employment opportunities which could have benefited the unemployed youth of Karnataka.
A view of protesters
Crowd held placards and chanted that “Modi is corrupt – Stop Deception and Corruption”, “End all Corruption – Down with BJP and Crony Capitalism”, “IOC condemns Corruption”, “Rafale, biggest Defense scam”, and “Vigilance should investigate Modi”.
Mr. Ravi Chopra, the chairman of the Finance Committee, John Joseph, Vice-President, Mr. Satish Sharma, Chairman of Punjab Chapter, Mr. Charan Singh, President of Haryana Chapter, Mrs. Shalu Chopra, chairperson of the Women’s forum also spoke. Mr. Devendra Vora of the Maharashtra Chapter honored the Chief Guest Dr. Yajnik with a Shawl.
BROOKLYN, NY(TIP): A woman was shot to death while walking with her mother in Brooklyn late Sunday, October 7 night and now the father of her children is in custody.
Police say 24-year-old Sade Sanchez, a mother of two, was shot multiple times on St. Nicholas and Menahan streets around 10:30 p.m.
Sanchez was walking down the street with her mother and a male friend when police say her ex-boyfriend and the father of her two young sons, 26-year-old Gabriel Rivera, came up and started shooting.
The victim was shot several times with bullets hitting her in the neck, chest, shoulder and stomach.
The friend who was with the victim ran to the nearby 83rd Precinct to get help. Sanchez was rushed to nearby Wyckoff Hospital, just blocks away, but died 15 minutes later.
It’s not clear if the shooter drove up or ran up to the group, but no one else was injured. Apparently, the former couple had recently broken up.
“I know both of them. He was like a little brother to me. That’s like my little sister, you know. This is just a bad situation. It shouldn’t have happened at all. It shouldn’t have happened this way,” family friend Joseph Ayala said.
Police say Rivera turned himself in to police later Monday morning.
The suspect’s surrender gave little solace to Sanchez’s family who say Rivera had essentially stalked the young mother for weeks and ignored an order of protection.
“You do everything that you’re supposed to and then it’s just not enough,” the victim’s aunt, Leanna Santos, said.
Rivera is charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon.
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