The Indian Panorama

Tag: Fashion

  • MoneyGram Hosts Iftar

    MoneyGram Hosts Iftar

    MoneyGram Iftar Food Trucks hit New York, New Jersey and Chicago and serve free Iftar to the community
    NEW YORK (TIP): During the last two weekends in Ramadan, MoneyGram branded food trucks will give out free Iftar to the Muslim community in Chicago, IL, Brooklyn, NY, Jackson Heights, NY, Harlem, NY, New York City and Jersey City, NJ. First 500 people will get a free iftar courtesy of MoneyGram as a sign of their respect and commitment to the Muslim community and to share in the spirit of giving that is very significant in this month of fasting.
    Chicago

    JULY 26TH
    Islamic Foundation
    Address: 300 W. High Ridge Road, Villa
    Park, IL 60181 T: 630.941.8800
    Timing 7:30 P.M. – 9:00 P.M.
    JULY 27TH
    Khan Barbeque Restaurant
    Address: 2401 W Devon Avenue,
    Chicago, IL 60659 T: 1.773.274.8600
    Timing: 7:30 P.M. – 9:00 P.M.
    JULY 28TH
    Sabri Nihari & Jama Mosque
    Address: 2502 W Devon, Chicago, IL
    60659 T: 1.773.465.3272
    Timing: 7:30 P.M. – 9:00 P.M
    New Jersey/New York
    AUGUST 2ND
    Jamia Mosque
    Address: 294 Grove Street, Jersey City,
    NJ 07302 T: 1.201.333.2500
    Timing: 7:30 P.M. – 9:00 P.M.
    AUGUST 3RD
    Gourmet Sweets, Brooklyn, NY
    Address: 1107 Coney Island Avenue,
    Brooklyn, NY 11230 T: 1.718.421.4100
    Timings: 7:30 P.M. – 9:00 P.M.
    AUGUST 4TH
    Gourmet Restaurant, Jackson Heights,
    Address: 72-08 Broadway, Jackson
    Heights, NY 11372 T: 1.718.533.8700
    Timing: 7:30 P.M. – 9:00 P.M.
    AUGUST 5TH
    AR RAHAMAN Mosque
    Address: 15 West 29th Street, NYC, NY
    10016
    Timing: 7:30 P.M. – 9:00 P.M.
    AUGUST 6TH
    AQSA MOSQUE – MGI Agent/ Petit
    Paris Fashion
    Address: 2136 8th Avenue, Harlem, NY
    10026 T: 1.212.316.9803
    Timing: 6:00 P.M. – 9:00 P.M.
    AUGUST 7TH
    CHAAND RAAT – MGI Agent
    Address: Coney Island Avenue,
    Brooklyn, NY 11230
    Timings: 10:00 P.M. – 12:00 MIDNIGHT

    As a global money transfer provider that helps people financially connect with family and friends around the world, MoneyGram is embracing the culture of its customers during the time of Ramadan and Eid. MoneyGram recently launched a global Ramadan and Eid media campaign across the United States and Canada along with the Iftar Food Trucks that will be making their way from Chicago to New York starting July 26th.

    “This is an important time of the year to send money for our Muslim customers and we want to make sure MoneyGram makes it easy for them with our fast, efficient service and competitive exchange rates’ – says Zainab Ali, Senior Marketing Manager. Please visit moneygram.com/iftartruck for more details about the Iftar truck and come join us for Iftar if you live in New York or Chicago. About MoneyGram MoneyGram, a leading money transfer company, enables consumers who are not fully served by traditional financial institutions to meet their financial needs.

    MoneyGram offers bill payment services in the United States and Canada and money transfer services worldwide through a global network of more than 300,000 agent locations – including retailers, international post offices and financial institutions – in 196 countries and territories. To learn more about money transfer or bill payment at an agent location or online, please visit moneygram.com or connect with us on Facebook.

  • First Time Ever Diwali At Times Square

    First Time Ever Diwali At Times Square

    Presented by Air India, Be ready for fun, food, festivities, laser lights show, fireworks & much more
    NEW YORK, NY (TIP): Diwali, the Festival of lights is the most significant festival for Asian Indians in the world. For the first time ever, Diwali will be celebrated at Times Square on 22nd September 2013. It is a full day of fun, food and festivities that has activities for all ages. This landmark event showcases the rich culture, heritage and diversity of India in the historic, world-famous Times Square.

    In the afternoon there will be a Cultural Festival which includes a wide variety of Indian food, dance classes, Diya/ Rangoli painting, Indian arts and crafts, a fashion show, photo booths with ethnic outfits, celebrity Autograph/Photo Booth and a lot more. In the evening, the excitement continues with Light Up Times Square, a concert showcasing performances by some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry.

    The concert will also display an orchestrated laser light show and fireworks on big screens, creating a unique visual experience. ASB Communications is organizing and managing the grand event, Neeta Bhasin, the President and CEO of ASB Communications, said “We want to show the world how rich Indian culture and heritage is and how diversified India is. We couldn’t think of a better place than the center of the Universe – Times Square.”

    Riwo Norbhu, Regional Manager- Americas for Air India, the official airline of India, said, “Air India is very pleased to be a part of this historic event. As India’s flying ambassador in the U.S. for over 50 years, Air India has been guided by a consistent vision — to promote everything that is best about India to the world. Diwali at Times Square is a perfect event to fulfill this vision.” ASB Communications is a full-service international multicultural advertising and marketing organization.

    ASB provides integrated marketing solutions to companies looking to target the ethnic market, including the Asian, South Asian, Middle Eastern, Eastern European and African markets in USA, UK and Canada. Since its inception in 1997, ASB has nurtured deep roots in the ethnic communities in North America. The company has taken part in over 3,000 events on behalf of its clients.

  • FIA’s Tall Claims Belie The Truth

    FIA’s Tall Claims Belie The Truth

    NEW YORK (TIP): Federation of India, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut announced with great fanfare on June 12 that it will celebrate India’s Independence Day on August 18 by organizing ‘India Day Parade’, which the organization claimed to be the ‘World’s largest India Day Parade outside of India’.

    The announcement was made by Sanjay Amin, president, FIA in the presence of the newly appointed Consul-General of India in New York, Dnyaneshwar Mulay, and a ball room full of people at ‘India House’ in midtown Manhattan. ‘India House’ happens to be the head quarter of the Consulate General of India in New York as well as the official residence of the Consul-General.

    The fact that FIA, an organization that has yet to prove its credentials for representing the culture and history of a country like India publicly, was allowed to use a Government of India facility for holding its kick-off meeting, gives it a legitimate status. Amused and bewildered by superlatives used by FIA officials while making exaggerated claims of achievements, Mr. Mulay nonchalantly highlighted some valid drawbacks in his scholarly speech, which were not fully understood by FIA authorities in appropriate contexts.

    Mr. Mulay advised FIA leadership to ensure representation of women in the leadership positions in the organization as women represented ‘Shakti’ in Indian culture. FIA chairman Ramesh Patel, in his effort to sound humorous, didn’t take the advise seriously and went on making fun of the issue. In a foolish remark Patel said that he had been facing Shakti all his life, referring casually to his wife.

    Taking the clue from their Chairman, other FIA functionaries also made similar out-of-the-context remarks about women, while none of them showed their concern or found it fit to explain why women were not included in the organizational hierarchy. Mulay also advised the organizers of ‘India Day’ parade to highlight India’s economic growth as a part of their celebration.

    None of the officials reacted appropriately to this suggestion except asking the government of India for financial help so guests could fly from India in the first class cabin of Air India or Jet Airways. One wonders if FIA realizes the concept of representing India in an intellectual fashion! FIA president Sanjay Amin informed the audience that his organization was successful in getting the Empire Estate Building illuminated in the tri-color of orange, green and white, symbolizing the three colors of the Indian national flag.

    He also said that FIA was honored to be invited by NASDAQ to ring the opening bell at NASDAQ. Of course these are great achievements but continue to remain symbolic in nature. There is nothing substantial that FIA could exhibit as India’s economic and cultural representations. The topmost priority of ‘India Day’ parade organizers’ remains working overtime to ensure presence of some Bollywood characters as Grand Marshall.

    The question is how many New Yorkers care about a Salman Khan or a Saif Ali Khan? Does a Bollywood celebrity represent the economic or cultural power of India? The crowds that watch the parade comprise of large number of New Yorkers, many of whom don’t belong to Indian origin. They don’t have much idea about India. They want to watch and know about India’s tradition, its history and its grand monuments.

    Unfortunately, FIA is entangled into an outdated notion of representing India with a Bollywood star who rides a float, which is nothing more than a crudely decorated publicity truck. It is absurd that FIA should claim that its parade is the biggest in the world because NYPD estimated that more than one hundred thousand people watched the India Day Parade on August 19, 2012 from the sidewalks of Madison Avenue.

    The parade took place in Midtown Manhattan that overflows with people on a Sunday anyway. Though FIA is a non-profit organization, it is controlled by a group of people who claim to be truly representing India in glamorous, spectacular and grand fashion from a Bollywood yardstick. The audacity of FIA bosses is such that they asked Mule to advise the Government of India for financial assistance for flying its guests in first class cabins of India’s national carriers. One hopes that Government of India stops legitimatizing such organizations by allowing its facilities to meet their shortsighted goals.

  • US Fashion Photographer Bert Stern Dead At 83

    US Fashion Photographer Bert Stern Dead At 83

    NEW YORK (TIP): US fashion photographer Bert Stern, famous for his photos of Marilyn Monroe taken six weeks before her death, has died in New York, his partner said. He was 83. “Bert Stern passed yesterday, Wednesday,” Shannah Laumeister informed AFP on Thursday in a brief email. During a career of more than 50 years, he photographed some of the world’s most beautiful women, also including Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, Sophia Loren and Brigitte Bardot.

    But he was known above all for the moving pictures of a largely undressed Monroe, taken at the Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles in June 1962. Over three days he took 2,571 photos, turned years later into a book, “Marilyn Monroe: The Complete Last Sitting.” The actress died on August 5 that year. Stern also took publicity shots, and is considered a key figure in transforming such pictures into an art form in the 1960s. He also made the film “Jazz on a Summer’s Day” in 1959.

  • Barney’s New York & Maiyet Launch Of Varanasi Silk Capsule Collection At The Indian Consulate

    Barney’s New York & Maiyet Launch Of Varanasi Silk Capsule Collection At The Indian Consulate

    NEW YORK, NY: The Consulate General of India, New York in association with Barney’s New York & Maiyet, a luxury fashion brand, and NEST, a nonprofit organization hosted an event at the Indian Consulate here on May 9, 2013 to celebrate ground breaking of Varanasi Silk Weaving facility and Benaras Silk Capsule Collection.

    Rebecca Van Bergen, founding member of NEST highlighted the history of Varanasi silk weaving and gave a brief overview about the facility and Varanasi NEST’s working with an organization dedicated to saving the dying craft of silk weaving through the creation of a centralized weaving facility.

    The facility will be a focal point for the weaving business, a way to help improve the capacity and ability of the weavers of Varanasi, and a place to train the next generation of artisans, and NEST’s collaboration with world-renowned architect David Adjaye on this project. Consul General Ambassador Dynaneshwar Mulay welcomed the guests and congratulated the partners on their endeavors of preserving the Silk Weaving traditions of Varanasi.

  • Cong Back In Driving Seat In Karnataka

    Cong Back In Driving Seat In Karnataka

    The Congress recaptured power in Karnataka after seven years, crushing the BJP in the assembly elections – a victory that might boost the morale of the party facing a relentless opposition onslaught over massive corruption scandals.
    Congress stormed back to power in Karnataka in a spectacular fashion after seven years in its old southern bastion decimating the ruling BJP whose fate was sealed by a fractious split and corruption charges. BJP, which was wrecked by a split forced by former Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa on top of a series of corruption cases, tied for the second place with JD(S) with both securing 40 seats each. The Yeddyurappa-led Karnataka Janata Paksha (KJP), which spoiled BJP’s party, could not do much for itself as it bagged only six seats. The BSR-Congress, led by former BJP Minister Sriramulu, considered close to the Bellary brothers, also chipped away BJP votes and ended up with four seats.

    The rout of BJP, whose rule saw ugly infights, three Chief Ministers and several ministers tainted by corruption charges, was complete as it was clobbered by the electorate who pushed it to a pathetic position of sharing the second place with JDS of former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda. Both BJP and JDS secured 40 seats each. A three-way split in its voter base put paid to BJP’s hopes of securing a renewed mandate, bringing down its only citadel in the South. Yeddyurappa’s twin agenda of decimating BJP and emerging a kingmaker remained half-complete as he succeeded in one but failed to make an impressive debut through his nascent outfit securing only six seats out of 216 it contested.

    Several heavyweights, including Chief Minister Jagdish Shettar (Hubli-Dharwad Central), Yeddyurappa (Shikharipura), Siddaramaiah (Varuna) and H D Kumaraswamy (Ramnagaram) , won from their constituencies but Parameshwara (Koratagere) lost heavily. Kumaraswamy’s wife Anita and Yeddyurappa’s confidant Shobha Karandlaje suffered defeats from Channapatna and Rajaji Nagar respectively. Twelve ministers of the Shettar Cabinet, including Deputy Chief Minister K S Eshwarappa, fell by the wayside, rubbing salt into the wounds of the vanquished BJP. C P Yogeeshwara, who quit the Jagadish Shettar Ministry, towards the end of the tenure of the Government and contested on Samajwadi Party ticket, won from Channapata, defeating Anitha Kumaraswamy (JDS) by nearly 6,500 votes. For the BJP, the worst was in store in its heartland in the coastal districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi, while it failed miserably to keep its base in tact in Bombay Karnataka and Hyderabad-Karnataka regions that gave electoral muscle.

    As expected, JDS maintained its hold in the Vokkaliga belt while making some gains beyond its traditional support base that fetched it 12 more seats than 28 it won in the last elections. With a clear cut verdict, JDS’ hopes of playing the role of a kingmaker have also been dashed. Polling was held in 223 segments, with the one in Periyapatna in Mysore district put off to May 28 following death of BJP candidate. BJP’s performance in its own strongholds was pathetic, reflected in the coastal districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi where its defeat was near complete as also in Yeddyurappa’s home district of Shimoga and Bellary. Eshwarappa’s loss in Shimoga is all the more significant as he was a former state unit President of the party and also held the key portfolios of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj and Revenue.

    He was in the “hit-list” of Yeddyurappa, who now had the “sweet revenge”. Another big gun to lose was Industries Minister Murugesh R Nirani, who spearheaded two global investors meet, and was in two minds till the last minute whether to join forces with the KJP but eventually continued to be in the BJP, in Bilgi. Congress candidate and former Union Civil Aviation Minister C M Ibrahim was pushed to third position in Bhadrawati. In the 2008 polls, the BJP had secured 110 seats, Congress 80, JDS 28 and Independents six. Falling short of numbers, the BJP had formed government with the support of independents and wooed Opposition MLAs who were made to resign and recontest on the BJP ticket that gave it stability of numbers.

  • Murder Of Sarabjit Singh In Pakistani Jail Widely Condemned

    Murder Of Sarabjit Singh In Pakistani Jail Widely Condemned

    NEW YORK (TIP): Death of Sarabjit Singh as a result of injuries inflicted on him in a brutal attack in Kot Lakhpat Rai jail in Pakistan has evoked strong condemnation from the Indian community across the world. Indian National Overseas Congress (I) USA in a statement said it strongly condemns the murder of the Indian prisoner Sarabjit Singh in the Pakistani Government custody. He died following a vicious assault by fellow prisoners in Kot Lakpat jail in Pakistan. ‘We share the grief of the family and of the nation’ said George Abraham, President of the INOC (I),USA. ‘Civility and the International law that should govern foreign prisoners in custody are thrown out of the window and Pakistan may be in violation of the Geneva protocol in this regard’ the statement added.

    It is a barbaric crime and the culprits need to be apprehended and punished to the fullest extent of the law’ said Shudh Prakash Singh, Sr. Vice-President of the INOC (I), USA. ‘Our hearts and minds are with the family and a shocked nation’ the statement added. After almost two decades of mental and torturous agony, Sarabjit Singh allegedly succumbed to the battered wounds he sustained in the jail cell. The governmental authorities cannot absolve itself of responsibility in this incident. “All the hard work of leaders from both countries who try to build bridges of cooperation and understanding hits zero when such indiscriminate acts are allowed to happen that are not only contrary to international law and order but also are highly provocative.” said Harbachan Singh, Acting General Secretary of INOC(I) USA. “When people cannot stop hating others, chances are that hate could begin to grow within them, he lamented. INOC(I) USA expresses its deepest sadness at the terrible tragedy that occurred and joins with all those who mourn the loss of Sarabjit Singh. INOC(I) USA call upon all peace loving people in the world to help ensure that the perpetrators of this tragedy are apprehended and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

    Thomas T Oommen, a leader of the Christian community in the Tri- States area, in a statement said: “Indian Christian community in North America strongly protest the killings of the two Indian prisoners who were imprisoned in Pakistan. We urge the government of India to do a thorough investigation, and find out why the government machinery failed to proactively pursue the demands made by the family of Mr. Sarabjit Singh. This is the second Indian subjected to brutality in Pak jail. Both of them died. Also we request the government to look into the matter of Indian citizens being held in foreign prisons. Fashion designer Anand Jon is in the US prison. We sincerely hope that the death of Mr. Sarabjit Singh will be an eye opener and authorities will take this matter very seriously.” Master Mohinder Singh, a prominent leader of the Sikh community in New York blamed Pakistani authorities for the tragic death of Sarabjit Singh.

    He condemned the inaction of government of India in securing Sarabjit Singh’s life which was known to be threatened. He also accused the government of India of discrimination against the Sikh community and consistent denial of justice by craftily protecting those responsible for killings of Sikhs in 1984, as has happened recently when Sajjan Kumar, accused of engineering murder of dozens of Sikhs in Delhi in 1984 was let off the hook. Similarly, the unfair trial and sentencing to death and subsequent denial of mercy petition of Prof. Davinderpaul Singh Bhullar has also led to an uncomfortable feeling in the community the world over and hence the widespread demand for his immediate release. The attitude of government of India on the Sikh issues alienates even the most liberal Sikhs within and outside India.

  • Second Edition Of Oak Tree Shopping Festival

    Second Edition Of Oak Tree Shopping Festival

    ISELIN, NJ (TIP): Touchdown Media Inc. announced April 19 the second outing of the popular OAK TREE SHOPPING FESTIVAL. Scheduled for the weekend of May 18 and 19, 2013, this 2-day extravaganza will be held in the heart of the original ‘Little India’ in Iselin NJ. Developed by Touchdown Media, the event is being organized to boost local business and bring all that Oak Tree has to offer to the forefront and once again establish it as the premier South Asian shopping destination.

    Featuring deep discounts and special deals at Oak Tree Road’s finest shops and restaurants, this second Annual Festival promises to draw a crowd of families from the East Coast and beyond. Merchants will offer discounts anywhere from 30% to an unprecedented 70% on clothes, jewelry, fashion along with a unique promotion on food – a Restaurant Weekend with varied specials for the throngs of shoppers. A $5 loyalty card can be purchased on the website www.OakTreeShoppingFestival.com so customers can get FREE items at participating restaurants at each visit. “Encouraged by the astounding success last year, we are yet again bringing this festival for the people and the businesses to get a jump start on the shopping season,” says Rahul Walia, Founder of the Oak Tree Shopping Festival and CEO, Touchdown Media Inc.

    Food Application – Mypref and Malaysian Paratha major Kawan are the Associate Sponsors for the event along with local merchants Raj Jewels and Sona Jewelers. Star Plus and Life OK along with Radio Zindagi (100.7FM & 104.7FM) and Parikh Worldwide Media are the supporting media partners for the festival. Star Plus will add to the excitement, by bringing in favorite soap stars from India to shop at this exclusive event. The attendees will be availing these exceptional discounts, all the while hobnobbing and shopping with their favorite celebrities! The Oak Tree Shopping festival promises to deliver a one-of-a-kind shopping experience for its attendees.

    So whether you’re a regular or visiting Oak Tree Road for the first time, be sure to join the festivities at the Oak Tree Shopping Festival this May 18th and 19th! This event will be free to attend and open to the public May 18th and May 19th, 1pm – 6pm. For more information and details on exclusive deals, please visit www.OakTreeShoppingFestival.com. Like us on Facebook at Oak Tree Road Shopping Festival 2013. (Based on a Press Release issued by Touchdown Media, Inc.)

  • India has More to Offer than Meets the Eye-GSF Accelerator Founder Rajesh Sawhney

    India has More to Offer than Meets the Eye-GSF Accelerator Founder Rajesh Sawhney

    NEW YORK, NY (TIP):Leading startup accelerator GSF India arrived in New York as part of its multi-city World Expedition. This unique cross-border event is targeted at providing entrepreneurs direct access to one of the most vibrant and growing accelerators in India. The expedition that was here April 9, had an interactive talk session on “Technology Entrepreneurship in India and Beyond: A Cross-Border Dialogue”, and is scheduled to tour London, Berlin, Boston, San Francisco and Palo Alto.

    The Acting Consul General Dr. Devyani Khobragade welcomed the delegates and spoke about the importance of enhancing the influx of investments in the country. She said, “The FM and the government are concentrating mainly on fiscal prudence and measuring ways to turn around the slump we are facing.We have already brought the fiscal deficit to 5.2 and we have targets to better that number.” She commended the efforts made by GSF in accelerating the many startups. “I was extremely happy to read about the startups and this is precisely what we need. Especially, while providing access to technology-based entrepreneurship. Technology has been the game changer for us. And I would urge investors to look beyond the red-tape bureaucracy that India is accused of fashioning and see that India always survives and thrives,” she added. Rajesh Sawhney, founder of GSF Accelerator, repeated that India has more than meets the eye. “I urge everyone to not give up on India.

    The kind of growth that you see in India cannot be measured or compared to other countries. It has been an absorbent of technology of any kind, be it DTH, 4G or any other venture. India’s technological foresight cannot be matched against,” said Mr. Sawhney. He also led a panel discussion with delegates that included Shantanu Surpure, Anish Malhotra, Andrew Montgomery, Samir Bhangara and David Teten. David Teten, a New York based venture capitalist and author described the startup-thriving ecosystem that New York is. “New York is the center of media hubs and that’s always good news for startups. Besides that most other spurts that we have seen in other fields such as fashion and films began and center around New York. So New York does provide that kind of an atmosphere for startups to thrive. So despite our own bureaucracy that we face, New York is still a far more desirable city to base your start up in,” said David.

    Founder of Indiagames, Samir Bhangara admitted to the difficulties in starting up ventures in India. “Sure it takes a long time to process everything. The procedure is slow and taxing too. But it’s about how far you want to look ahead. Either stop at the taxing procedures or look beyond and see what you can get once your initial set up is done,” he added. Brij Bhasin, Entrepreneur-in- Residence (Bangalore, India), also clarified the process of setting up ventures in India. “It is a long process.We admit that. The tax models in India are different too. And it can be a long procedure. But then again, after the initial set up, the primary positive of such ventures is that there is not a lot of government interference. Additionally, if you prepare an excellent business model, then you have lesser worries at hand,” said Bhasin.

    GSF Accelerator is India’s largest and most successful tech accelerator, founded by Rajesh Sawhney, and backed by 20 iconic Indian Digital Founders and 5 leading funds from across the World. It is a 9-week program designed to foster innovation in India’s fast-growing digital economy

  • President Confers Padma Awards

    President Confers Padma Awards

    NEW DELHI (TIP): President PranabMukherjee on April 5 conferred Padma Awards, the country’s highest civilian awards, to 108 personalities. The awards comprise 4 PadmaVibhushan, 24 PadmaBhushan and 80 PadmaShri Awards on Friday. 24 of the awardees are women and the list also includes 11 people in the category of foreigners, NRIs, PIOs and posthumous awardees. Noted physicist Yash Pal and space scientist Roddam Narasimha were chosen the second highest civilian honour Padma Vibhushan. Batting great Rahul Dravid and Olympic bronze medallist MC Mary Kom and late Bollywood actor Rajesh Khanna were named for the prestigious Padma Bhushan award, the third highest civilian award of the country. Renowned sculptor Raghunath Mohapatra and painter S Haider Raza were chosen for Padma Vibhushan.

    The list of 108 Padma awardees for this year also includes actress Sridevi, actors Nana Patekar and Malayalam star Madhu of Chemmeen fame and Olympians Yogeshwar Dutt and Vijay Kumar. Nobody was named for Bharat Ratna for this year too. The last awardee was late Bhimsen Joshi in 2008. Satirist Jaspal Bhatti, who died in a road accident last year, film maker D Rama Naidu, noted South Indian playback singer S Janaki, Bharatnatyam dancer Saroja Vaidyanathan, missile scientist Dr A Sivathanu Pillai of BrahMos programme, Industrialist Adi Godrej and R Tyagarajan, former bureaucrat M K Bhan were among the 24 Padma Bhushan awardees. In all four personalities were awarded Padma Vibhushan, 24 for Padma Bhushan and 80 Padma Shri. Of the awardees 24 are women, 11 belong to the category of foreigners, NRI, PIOs and posthumous.

    Padma Awards, the country’s highest civilian awards, are conferred in three categories, namely Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri.

    PADMA VIBHUSHAN
    Raghunath Mohapatra, Art, Orissa
    S Haider Raza, Art, Delhi
    Prof Yash Pal, Science and Engineering, Uttar Pradesh
    Prof Roddam Narasimha, Science and Engineering,Karnataka

    PADMA BHUSHAN
    Dr Ramanaidu Daggubati, Art, Andhra Pradesh
    Sreeramamurthy Janaki, Art, Tamil Nadu
    Dr (Smt) Kanak Rele, Art, Maharashtra
    Sharmila Tagore, Art, Delhi
    Dr (Smt) Saroja Vaidyanathan, Art, Delhi
    Abdul Rashid Khan, Art, West Bengal
    Late Rajesh Khanna, Art, Maharashtra
    Late Jaspal Singh Bhatti, Art, Punjab
    Shivajirao Girdhar Patil, Public Affairs, Maharashtra
    Dr Apathukatha Sivathanu Pillai, Science, Engineering,Delhi
    Dr Vijay Kumar Saraswat, Science and Engineering,Delhi
    Dr Ashoke Sen Science and Engineering,Uttar Pradesh
    B N Suresh, Science and Engineering, Karnataka
    Prof Satya N Atluri, Science and Engineering, USA
    Prof Jogesh Chandra Pati, Science and Engineering,USA
    Ramamurthy Thyagarajan, Trade and Industry,Tamil Nadu
    Adi Burjor Godrej, Trade and Industry, Maharashtra
    Dr Nandkishore Shamrao Laud, Medicine,Maharashtra
    Mangesh Padgaonkar, Literature and Education,Maharashtra
    Prof Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Literature & Education USA
    Hemendra Singh Panwar, Civil Service,Madhya Pradesh
    Maharaj Kishan Bhan, Civil Service, Delhi
    Rahul Dravid, Sports, Karnataka
    H Mangte Chungneijang Mary Kom, Sports, Manipur

    PADMA SHRI
    Gajam Anjaiah, Art, Andhra Pradesh
    Swami G C D Bharti alias Bharati Bandhu, Art,Chhattisgarh
    B Jayashree, Art, Karnataka
    Sridevi Kapoor, Art, Maharashtra
    Kailash Chandra Meher, Art, Orissa
    Brahmdeo Ram Pandit, Art, Maharashtra
    Vishwanath D Patekar alias Nana Patekar, Art,Maharashtra
    R Nageswara Rao alias Surabhi Babji, Art, Andhra Pradesh
    Lakshmi Narayana Sathiraju, Art, Tamil Nadu
    Jaymala Shiledar, Art, Maharashtra
    Suresh Dattatray Talwalkar, Art, Maharashtra
    P Madhavan Nair alias Madhu, Art, Kerala
    Apurba Kishore Bir, Art, Maharashtra
    Ghanakanta Bora Borbayan, Art, Assam
    Hilda Mit Lepcha, Art, Sikkim
    Sudha Malhotra, Art, Maharashtra
    Ghulam Mohammad Saznawaz, Art,Jammu and Kashmir
    Ramesh Gopaldas Sippy, Art, Maharashtra
    Mahrukh Tarapor, Art, Maharashtra
    Balwant Thakur, Art, Jammu and Kashmir
    Puran Das Baul, Art, West Bengal
    Rajendra Tikku, Art, Jammu and Kashmir
    Pablo Bartholomew, Art, Delhi
    Shri S Shakir Ali, Art, Rajasthan
    S K M Maeilanandhan, Social Work, Tamil Nadu
    Nileema Mishra, Social Work, Maharashtra
    Reema Nanavati, Social Work, Gujarat
    Jharna Dhara Chowdhury, Social Work, Bangladesh
    Late Dr Ram Krishan, Social Work, Uttar Pradesh
    Late Manju Bharat Ram, Social Work, Delhi
    Prof Mustansir Barma, Science and Engineering,Maharashtra
    Avinash Chander, Science and Engineering, Delhi
    Sanjay Govind Dhande, Science and Engineering,Uttar Pradesh
    Prof (Dr) Sankar Kumar Pal, Science, Engineering,West Bengal
    Deepak B Phatak, Science and Engineering,Maharashtra
    Dr Mudundi Ramakrishna Raju, Science and Engg,Andhra Pradesh
    Prof Ajay K Sood, Science and Engineering, Karnataka
    Prof Krishnaswamy Vijayraghavan, Science & Engg,Karnataka
    Dr Manindra Agrawal, Science and Engineering,Uttar Pradesh
    Dr Jayaraman Gowrishankar, Science & Engineering,Andhra Pradesh
    Prof Sharad Pandurang Kale, Science & Engineering,Maharashtra
    Vandana Luthra, Trade and Industry, Delhi
    Rajshree Pathy, Trade and Industry, Tamil Nadu
    Hemendra Prasad Barooah, Trade and Industry,Assam.
    Milind Kamble, Trade and Industry, Maharashtra
    Kalpana Saroj, Trade and Industry, Maharashtra
    Dr Sudarshan K Aggarwal, Medicine, Delhi
    Dr C Venkata S Ram alias Chitta, Venkata Sundara Ram, Medicine, Andhra Pradesh
    Dr Rajendra Achyut Badwe, Medicine, Maharashtra
    Dr Taraprasad Das, Medicine, Orissa
    Prof (Dr) T V Devarajan, Medicine, Tamil Nadu
    Prof (Dr) Saroj Chooramani Gopal, Medicine,Uttar Pradesh
    Dr Pramod Kumar Julka, Medicine, Delhi
    Dr Gulshan Rai Khatri, Medicine, Delhi
    Dr Ganesh Kumar Mani, Medicine, Delhi
    Dr Amit Prabhakar Maydeo, Medicine, Maharashtra
    Dr Sundaram Natarajan, Medicine, Maharashtra
    Prof Krishna Chandra Chunekar, Medicine,Uttar Pradesh
    Dr Vishwa Kumar Gupta, Medicine, Delhi
    Prof (Capt) Dr M Sharaf-eAlam, Literature & Education, Bihar
    Dr Radhika Herzberger, Literature & Education,Andhra Pradesh
    J Malsawma, Literature and Education, Mizoram
    Devendra Patel, Literature & Education, Gujarat
    Dr Rama Kant Shukla, Literature & Education, Delhi
    Prof Akhtarul Wasey, Literature & Education, Delhi
    Prof Anvita Abbi, Literature & Education, Delhi
    Nida Fazli, Literature & Education, Madhya Pradesh
    Surender Kumar Sharma, Literature & Education,Delhi
    Dr Jagdish Prasad Singh, Literature & Education,Bihar
    Late Shaukat Riaz Kapoor Alias Salik Lakhnawi,
    Literature & Education, West Bengal.
    Prof Noboru Karashima, Literature & Education, Japan
    Christopher Pinney, Literature & Education, UK
    Premlata Agrawal, Sports, Jharkhand
    Yogeshwar Dutt, Sports, Haryana
    Hosanagara Nagarajegowda Girisha, Sports,Karnataka
    Subedar Major Vijay Kumar, Sports, Himachal Pradesh
    Ngangom Dingko Singh, Sports, Maharashtra
    Naib Subedar Bajrang Lal Takhar, Sports, Rajasthan
    Ritu Kumar, Fashion Designing, Delhi
    Dr Ravindra Singh Bisht, Archaeology, Uttar Pradesh.

  • Team Bangalore Breaks Jinx Beat Mumbai At Home For First Time

    Team Bangalore Breaks Jinx Beat Mumbai At Home For First Time

    BANGALORE (TIP): Team Bangalore finally broke the jinx when they beat Team Mumbai at home, on their sixth attempt, in the IPL. In what was a heart-stopping finish, Bangalore squeezed out a two-run win after Kieron Pollard could manage only one off the final ball of the innings, bowled by Vinay Kumar.

    Mumbai needed 157 for a win and finished at 156/5 after Dinesh Karthik gave them hope with a 37- ball 60. Mumbai required 10 runs in the last over but Vinay Kumar was equal to the challenge, dismissing Karthik and Rayudu off consecutive balls to help Bangalore to a memorable win. Dan Christian’s fourth over changed the complexion of the match with Karthik hitting three straight sixes and a four.

    The over went for 24 and the required run rate came down to nine per over with 27 needed off the last three overs. But Mumbai were denied in the end. Some things don’t change too fast, do they? For all of Team Bangalore’s efforts to balance the side in the player auction earlier this year, their dependence on West Indian Chris Gayle appears a hard habit to shrug. And it became all the more evident in their IPL 6 opener.

    Tasked once again with lending stability to the Bangalore’s innings stifled by Mumbai’s attack led by young pacer Jasprit Bumrah, Gayle (92 n.o, 58b, 11×4, 5×6) braved a knee injury to carry his bat and guide his team to a respectable 156/5. Supported by wicketkeeper KB Arun Karthik’s steady 20 and a quick-fire 24 from skipper Virat Kohli, Gayle stole the show in telling fashion, finishing Bangalore’s innings with a six off Munaf Patel. Earlier, Mitchell Johnson justified Mumbai skipper Ricky Ponting’s decision to bowl first after winning the toss by scalping Tillakaratne Dilshan in the third over.

    The Sri Lankan opener completely missed the line of the ball and saw his stumps shattered. Next man up, Kohli then made his intentions clear, beginning with a boundary off Johnson before launching Patel for a huge six over long on. Things changed just as Kohli gave the impression that he had reserved his aggression for Mumbai’s impressive first-change bowler Jasprit Bumrah but lost his wicket while trying to hit him. Gayle then decided he would take his chances. The big Jamaican followed up a stand-and-deliver six over the sight screen off Bumrah in the ninth over with a massive effort over wide-long on that cleared the ropes by a mile in fellow Kieron Pollard’s 11th over that yielded 15 runs

  • Making Dollars & Sense

    Making Dollars & Sense

    South Asian Young Women Entrepreneurs Unveil Six-City Financial Education Tour
    NEW YORK (TIP): In celebration of National Women’s History Month in March, South Asian Young Women Entrepreneurs (SAY WE), a network of business-minded executives in the fields of technology, finance, entertainment and fashion, announced the launch of a six-city financial education tour, in association with the Consulate General of India (New York) and powered by Wells Fargo. “Making Dollars & Sense: Financial Education for South Asian Women Business Owners” will kick off in San Francisco on April 18.

    The panel of financial experts and successful South Asian women entrepreneurs will provide insights, tips and resources on topics such as building business credit, reinvesting in a business, protecting credit and maximizing relationships with business bankers. After the first event, the tour will stop in Los Angeles, Houston, Dallas, New Jersey, and culminate in New York City on May 30.

  • Indian American Designer Naeem Khan To Open A Store In Mumbai

    Indian American Designer Naeem Khan To Open A Store In Mumbai

    MUMBAI (TIP): Indian-born, New York-based designer Naeem Khan said he is looking to open a store in Mumbai and to work with Bollywood celebrities. The designer, who launched his eponymous brand Naeem Khan in 2003 in New York City, presented his collection Mar. 23 at Lakme Fashion Week.

    His brand has been a favorite with personalities like United States First Lady Michelle Obama, Beyonce Knowles, Katy Perry, Penelope Cruz, Sonam Kapoor and others. “I want to continue working for Bollywood celebrities. Celebrities here are mixing with the world, for example going to Cannes,” Khan said. “I would definitely open a store here. India is a huge market and it is just beginning. I was here to test the waters as to how people will react. I am happy and proud to be here.

    It means a lot to be presenting my collection here,” he said. Khan dazzled the audience with his ultra-glam collection on day two of Lakme Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2013. The line of eveningwear outfits had sensuous dresses, sophisticated gowns, skirts and coats. “But I was anxious also thinking how people here will find my collection. I was wondering how Indians will react to my show, and whether they will like it or not,” Khan said. “I was worried about the look of my models, as when I do my shows abroad we have a hairstylist from London and makeup man from France.

    But I must say I was happy with the end result,” he added. When asked why he had no celebrity showstopper, Khan said, “It was done deliberately. I am here in the business of making and selling clothes. I am not here for theater and drama…my clothes create drama.”

  • Movie Review-I, Me Aur Main

    Movie Review-I, Me Aur Main

    Cast: John Abraham, Prachi Desai, Chitrangada Singh,Zarina Wahab, Mini Mathur, Raima Sen
    Direction: Kapil Sharma
    Genre: Romantic Comedy
    Duration: 1 hour 48 minutes

    STORY: Ishaan’s life is full of gorgeous women but he loves ‘I, Me Aur Main’ best – which girl makes him change his mind?

    MOVIE REVIEW: On the plus side, I, Me Aur Main (IMAM) has the glossy good looks of a TV ad – on the downside, it stays there. Music executive Ishaan Sabharwal (Abraham) is a spoilt brat, his adoring mother Nisha (Wahab) teaching him he’s the best, so he thinks he’s irresistible and behaves like “a sexy idiot”. Ishaan won’t commit to his executive girlfriend Anushka (Singh).

    Sick of his light flirtations and heavy refusals, Anushka throws Ishaan out. He moves to a new flat – with a hot new neighbour, fashion stylist Gauri (Desai). Their vibe crackles as Gauri challenges Ishaan, making him realize being a jerk doesn’t work.

    Ishaan splits from his bitchy boss Beena (Sen having a ball, wryly going, “Clap, clap”), starts his own group and is about to commit to Gauri – when his sister Shivani (Mathur) tells him Anushka’s expecting his child. IMAM has an interesting plot and a progressive message.

    Some performances – Wahab coolly announcing, “Maine tumhare Pa ko chor diya hai”, Desai as sexy wild-child Gauri, squealing “Ooooh, striptease!” as Ishaan peals off his shirt – are good fun. It’s well-shot, showcasing stylish homes, lovely clothes, luscious drinks and luscious Abraham working hard at depicting super-selfish Ishaan. But IMAM has issues too – the acting is superficial.

    There’s lots of flashing dimples and pouting lips but not one performance that’s convincingly power-packed. Storyline turns are too fast and fluffy. For a movie on the music industry, the score’s fairly bland. Small details – the designer bag on Beena’s arm, the guard catching Ishaan and Gauri in a changing room, Shivani describing Ishaan, “Majnu ki tarah phone par laga” – are fun but the big picture lacks thrust. This niche movie doesn’t nail it but it’s a cute watch, floating by humming – “Take it easy, thora moody, thora cheesy.”

  • Meet The Next Mayor Of New York

    Meet The Next Mayor Of New York

    Energetic, dynamic, visionary, skilled and confident. These are a few words that best describe the New York City Comptroller John C. Liu. His decision to vie for a democratic ticket to contest for the mayoral elections does not surprise many. Most who know Mr. Liu know him as a highly confident man in New York. Even after embroiling in a scandal involving his campaign office accepting straw donors for funds, Mr. Liu stands strong to his decision of contesting for mayoral elections.

    Mr. Liu’s mainstay is the large immigrant community. Son of an immigrant, he has, over the years, espoused vigorously and conscientiously the cause of the immigrant communities from every part of the world. He has assisted the Indian community in an extraordinary fashion. From raising a potent voice in favor of the Sikhs being allowed to wear their religious symbols and the headgear at workplace to relentlessly working against the mindset of intolerance projected by many in the city including, the police, to voicing concern about discrimination at schools, Mr. Liu has surely earned the spot for being the better choice of immigrant communities to lead New York City. From Mike Bloomberg’s poor administration to the insinuating allegations about his campaigns, John C. Liu spoke openly and frankly to Indrajit Saluja Editor-in-Chief and correspondent Pooja Premchandran of the Indian Panorama.

    Q. So, Mr. Liu, when do we see you as Mayor of New York?
    January 2014, of course!

    Q. You always were a very confident man. Was it easy?
    Well, it’s not always easy. A lot of people try to take that confidence away. They tried to get me out in a lot of ways. But you have to keep faith in yourself. For us, 2013 is a big year and we are always going to move forward. Its all systems go!

    Q. How has your experience as the City Comptroller been so far?
    I have been the City Comptroller for a little more than three years now. It’s been a very rewarding time. You can do a lot of things as a City Comptroller. But I accomplished all the goals I set out to in 2009 and its 2013 now. The big race is up for grabs. It does not look like Mike Bloomberg will run for the fourth time! Yet (he laughs) you never know! So I am in this race now. But politics is never easy in New York. The last year and a half has especially been very stressful with allegations and insinuations thrown at me about my fundraising.

    Q. What actually went about with the fundraising?
    My fundraising is just like any other fundraising conducted by other campaigners. Except for maybe, Bloomberg. He has a lot of money and I don’t. So I have to raise funds like everybody else. Although I am different too, in the sense that I have higher standards. Unlike my other competitors, I do not accept contributions from people doing business with the city. Also, unlike all my predecessors in this post, I do not accept contributions from Wall Street. Now we have to wait until April for the ruling but you never know what happens. Anything can happen. Even the NY Times has called it an exhaustive investigation.

    Q. What is your campaign focusing on?
    The campaign mainly stressed about economy and how to recover from the downturn we are facing. Besides this we also focus on the public schools in New York city, building housing for the million more people who are going to come to New York city. These are some of the issues that we need to address immediately. I want to work on them beginning next year.

    Q. Can you explain in nutshell for our readers, what you would do if you are elected?
    The main thing is equal opportunities that I do not believe exist in New York City. We have some opportunities, but it’s not equal. We came to America to look for equal opportunities. If you look at the wealth gap, the rich are getting richer, the middle class is slowly disappearing and the poorer working class are being left behind. I also propose changes in our tax and fiscal policies so that we can narrow down this wealth distribution gap and give everyone an equal opportunity so that the next economic recovery benefits everybody and not just the wealthy. Also, I want to address the situation with our public schools. They have become much like corporate business divisions where headquarters is mandating different things in all its business units or ‘schools’. The schools have to send them all these statistics to show what they are doing and if the headquarters don’t like what they are doing, they close down the school or they merge schools. It does not provide great education to our students. It is an inconvenience and it provides so much tension. We have to restore the learning environment for the students of public school. Lastly, we also have to build housing. By 2030, we expect another million to live in New York. We have to build housing for them or it will cause dangerous crowding situations.

    Q. You have annoyed a lot of people with the recent Citi Time II case. What would you like to say to that?
    I get very upset at this. The mayor says we don’t have money to continue after school programs. We don’t have money for summer youth employments; we don’t have money to provide working parents with day care centers. Yet, the city wastes hundreds and thousands of dollars with these major corporations. Last week, I put out a report stating that Hewlett-Packard must repay our city $163 million. The week before, I reported that Maria Corporation got a very sweet deal from the city. But at this point, the city has the ability and the opportunity to reclaim $345 million. These are just two of the latest examples. I have nothing against these companies. But they owe this money to the taxpayers of New York City. I have called upon the Bloomberg administration urging them to do so. This is not the money that should have been given to these companies.

    Q. Is that just a recommendation to the administration or can that be mandatory?
    As a Comptroller, I can put out the reports and show them how they can do it. But I cannot compel the City Hall to act on it. Citi Time II was the biggest fiasco in the Bloomberg administration but the City Hall did not act on it. That project was supposed to cost just $63 million. But by the time I became Comptroller, the city had already paid $700 million. So I put a stop to any additional payment for that project and started an audit. Two years later, the prosecutors were able to revive $500 million from the project. The Bloomberg administration refused to do anything about it so we tried to put pressure on them to do something about it.

    Q. Depending on the pending ruling this April, do you have any different strategies for your campaigning before September?
    I was hoping that everything would be over by February. I am shocked. I am honestly shocked by all of this. My ethics bar has been higher than anybody. We raise funds and we report disclosures like any other campaigns. I was extremely shocked by all this. The latest surprise is that the proceedings that were supposed to end by February have been further pushed. So who is to say they wont push it to another two months. All this is really shocking for me. But I am proceeding no matter what because all this is very political. I wont let nasty politics get in my way of campaigning. No matter what.

    Q. There is widespread discrimination in the city. Be it discrimination mandated by police or against the Sikhs or other communities. What are your plans to address this?
    I have time and again addressed these issues and used my powers as much as I can although I am limited to exercise them in terms of such discrimination, including violence in school against the Sikh students. I have visited many educational institutions to address these issues and not sweep them under the rug like others do. Also, I talked about the police must not observe or put people under surveillance because of their religion. There shouldn’t be any reason why the Sikhs are deterred from serving for the New York City police department just because they are not allowed to wear their turbans and grow a beard. Other major cities have already started employing them.

    Q. It was your combined effort along with others that led MTA to allow the Sikhs to wear their turban and badge and serve the MTA?
    Yes. The ridiculous idea that you have to have an MTA logo on a turban is extremely offensive. So we got the MTA to change that. But this is just the start. We still don’t find many such agencies willing to recruit Sikhs. We have to change that. So, in 2014 when I am victorious, you will see that it will all change very fast.

    Q. You already have a lot of friends in the Sikh community?
    Yes, and I want more people to be involved. I want the community to be involved more heavily. I want more people to register to vote.

    Q. When is the last day to registration?
    I do not even want to answer that. I don’t want people to wait till the last day to register. You must register next week! There is no waiting until the last day. Do it right away.

    On behalf of The Indian Panorama and its readers we wish Mr. John Liu all the very best.

  • Ambassador Rao Inaugurates Apparel Export Promotion Buyer Seller Meet

    Ambassador Rao Inaugurates Apparel Export Promotion Buyer Seller Meet

    NEW YORK, NY (TIP):Nirupama Rao,Ambassador of India to theUnited States, inauguratedhere January 28 an ApparelTrade show organized bythe Apparel ExportPromotion Council of India(AEPC), in cooperationwith M/S Trade Good, atthe PENN Plaza Pavilion.Ambassador PrabhuDayal, Consul General ofIndia in New York, KevinBurke, President ofAmerican Apparel andFootwear Association, andA. Sakthivel, Chairman of the AEPC and Sudhir Sekhri,Chairman (Export Promotion) of theAEPC were also present.Ambassador Rao, In her remarks saidthat Indian textiles represented anunbroken link between India’s ancientculture and its modern day life style.

    Noting that India’s Apparel sector hasrapidly upgraded its technology and ishighly competitive in meeting USmarket demands in various segmentsincluding high fashion and massconsumption, she highlighted thatthrough DISHA (Driving Industrytowards Sustainable HumanAdvancement), the Indian Apparelindustry has implemented an industrywidemeasure for facilitating andpreparing Indian apparel manufacturerstoward becoming more socially andenvironmentally responsible. Shepointed out that at US$3.3 billion, India’sexport of garments represents one ofthe important constituents of overallIndia-U.S trade.

    Ambassador Rao, accompanied byAmbassador Prabhu Dayal, KevinBurke, and A. Sakthivel went round andspoke with a number of sellers fromIndia. Tirupur sellers outnumberedsellers from other major centers likeLudhiana, Delhi, Gurgaon, Bangaloreetc.Giving her comments to the mediawhile taking a tour of the exhibition,Ambassador Rao said, ” Our relationswith United States are growing anddiversifying in so many areas. Textileexports are a very very important part ofthat growth and that strengthening ofour relationship with the United States.””Today, we saw on display many manyexporters from various parts of India.

    And, I was very impressed not only withthe quality of the fabrics and thedesigns, but also with the fact that ourtextile industry is becoming increasinglyglobalized and connected with theoutside world.””This is a millennium tradition inIndia-our textile tradition but today it istraveling abroad and it is through thatprocess , I think, the voice of India isheard much more powerfully around theglobe”.At the trade meet spread over twodays, on 28-29 January 2013, thirty fivemember exporters exhibited theirFall/Winter 2013-14 collections.

    Morethan 300-400 buyers, including at leasttwenty Brand Stores were expected toparticipate in the B-2-B event. Some ofthe major buyers expected to attend themeet included RALPH LAUREN;WARNACO; CHILDREN PLACE; LORD& TAYLOR; UNDER AMOUR; VFSPORTSWEAR; NAUTICA; RED CATand JONES APPAREL.The Buyer Seller Meet was expectedto generate substantial spot business andalso help cement long term businesspartnerships for participatingexhibitors.

  • Moview Review-Gangoobai

    Moview Review-Gangoobai

    Cast: Sarita Joshi, Purab Kohli, Mita Vasisht, Raj Zutshi, Nidhi Sunil, Ankita Shrivastava
    Direction: Priya Krishnaswamy
    Genre: Drama Duration: 1 hour 50 minutes

    STORY:
    Gangoobai, a Maid-in-Matheran, has lived a life with simple aspirations, until one day she finds a new purpose of buying a designer sari. She follows her dream to the big city of Mumbai.

    REVIEW:
    Aga Bai! This Gangoobai (Sarita Joshi) is like none other. Picture this. She makes it to the elite guest list at fashion shows (in her bright colored nauvari and tattoo between her brows), she’s styled by Mumbai’s hot-shot design house, and she spiritedly lives up to the city’s bustling night-life. But long before everything turned so ‘hip and happening’, her life was like was any other ordinary tale.

    Gangoo lived in the picturesque hill-station, Matheran, on the outskirts of Mumbai. Widowed early and childless, her life basically comprised of domestic chores in a few houses, her oldie friend Malan, and most importantly, her pet-plants that she nurtured with aai-like affection. In a flash, her life changed forever.

    Gangoo set sight on her memsaab’s daughter’s exquisite gara sari (traditional Parsi sari embroidered with flowers and birds) and at that moment, she made the most ambitious decision of her life – one way or another, she would own a sari like that. Even if her dream cost her an exorbitant amount of Rs. 50,000! Deva re deva! Thereafter, the movie traces Gangoo’s pursuits as she sets off for aamchi Mumbai where she meets with her ‘dream-weavers’ – Daksha ( Mita Vasisht), Waman (Purab Kohli), top model Monisha (Nidhi Sunil)and style-guru Rohan ( Raj Zutshi). In Mumbai, while she fulfils her only dream, she finds simple solutions for all her new big city friends with big problems. With pure goodness, and some preaching and puranpoli, Gangoo wins over the people of this mahanagari. In this tailor-made role, Sarita Joshi shows all the warmth, compassion and disposition that Gangoobai’s character demands.

    The simplicity with which she essays this, along with her altering expressions of wonder and awe, says a lot more than dialogues (in a mix of Marathi and Hindi) and proves her extreme calibre. Priya Krishnaswamy tells a story of simple women with a not-so-simple dream. While her lead actor holds fort, the rest of the cast come up with average performances, leaving bai without much support. The film is 9-yards too long, diluting the essence. Gangoobai doesn’t sweep your heart away, but leaves you with some sweet, feel-good moments.

  • An Overhaul Man Gobind Munjal

    An Overhaul Man Gobind Munjal

    Gobind Munjal, a successful Chartered Accountant and CPA by profession has worked as a Senior Vice President of Finance and Mergers & Acquisitions and served on the Board of Directors of the International Division of Tata Group of Hotels in the USA, totaling 30 years of professional services with the renowned Tata Group in various senior leadership positions. During his services with the Tata Group he saved millions of dollars for the company by way of efficient tax structuring of the deals and was recognized for his excellence in the Hospitality Merger & Acquisition field. In 2006 he started his own advisory and consultancy services. His involvement in community affairs and activities started since more than a decade ago when he joined what was then one of the fastest and largest growing not for profit Organizations on Long Island representing Indians in America, known as the India Association of Long Island (IALI).

    This Organization was about 20 years old then with a growing membership of Suffolk and Nassau County residents, which today numbers 1,600 strong. The aim of the Organization was primarily to promote the culture and heritage of India so that bridges may be crossed between Indians living in America and the local Americans to promote a better understanding of the two cultures. Mr. Munjal served on the Executive Board of IALI for seven of the fifteen years of his continuing membership, in various capacities climbing steadily to the very top :- 2006 – Member-at-Large; 2007 – Membership Chair; 2008-2009 – Secretary; 2010 – Treasurer; 2011 – President. He worked very hard in each of the positions that he held taking each position very seriously and elevating its standards to a much higher level. He brought ethics, professionalism and transparency in producing Minutes of Meetings and raised the standards of Financial Reporting and its presentation to a level that almost everybody in the Executive Council and Past Presidents expressed their overwhelming praise for his work and dedication.

    As President he did much to improve and raise the standards of IALI by bringing transparency, accountability and professionalism to the Association. As President of IALI Mr. Gobind Munjal’s goal and objectives was to bring back Unity, Harmony and Team Work within the Organization; bring back “INDIAFEST” IALI’s hallmark event which truly promotes and showcases India’s culture and traditions in mainstream America; build “INDIA CENTER” for the Indian community, a long cherished dream come true for the India Association of Long Island; encourage stronger participation of the youth and Seniors Group; involve more with the local American community; provide educational support to needy Indian students; build closer ties with local Senior Groups and National Indo-American Association for Senior Citizens (NIAASC); and increase participation and support for the Annual Food Drive to take it to a higher level.

    Growth of membership of IALI during Mr. Munjal’s presidency of one year has been exponential, with around a hundred new members added. A remarkable feat. Many of these objectives were remarkably achieved with the IALI having all successful, well attended month to month women, seniors and youth programs and major events for the year 2011. INDIAFEST turned out to be a BLOCKBUSTER of an event well received and well attended by many dignitaries, community leaders and scores of Americans who thoroughly enjoyed the high end Floor Shows with its sophisticated Fashion Show, a page out of Broadway, a wealth of scintillating performances and dances, mindblowing variety of delicious Indian cuisine and showcasing of the wide variety of arts and crafts and ethnic designer ware of India. Not giving up on the dream of having the INDIA CENTER a place India Association of Long Island has long wanted to call their very own Mr. Munjal has still persisted and today chairs the Ad Hoc Special Committee in IALI with a committed team set up for 2012 so that this dream become a reality.

    Mr. Gobind Munjal’s vision for the future of the Indian community is to see realize INDIA COMMUNITY CENTER and at the same time he also holds true his dream of some form of Housing and Assisted Living Facility for the Seniors. His involvement with India Home providing services for seniors of Indian origin, is testament to his commitment towards improving lives of seniors. He is relentlessly working towards achieving his goal of providing medical, social, and spiritual services for the aging Indian Seniors in Queens and Long Island. When his term as President of IALI concluded at the close of the year 2011, in spite of his tremendous popularity he did not seek reelection, rather made himself available upon invitation to give his services for others. His dedication and passion for community service did not diminish. This has resulted in his joining Indian American Forum (IAF) as Co-Chair of Indian American Night and Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) Long Island Chapter as Secretary. He has been invited to join the National Federation of Indian Americans (NFIA) and has twice participated in the Congressional Hearings and White House briefings in Washington DC.

    He is also a life member of Association of Indians in America (AIA) and Nargis Dutt Memorial Foundation (NDMF) and participates in their activities. He has received numerous Citations and Awards in his year as President of IALI, among them being the Certificate of Recognition from Hon. Kate Murray, Supervisor, Town of Hempstead and has been honored with a Citation by Nassau County Executive Hon. Ed. Mangano and NYS Comptroller Thomas Di Napoli together with Indian Consul General at New York Hon. Prabhu Dayal. During his professional career, he received Outstanding Professional Award from the America’s Registry of Outstanding Professionals. IALI events gained not only popularity but commanded a certain amount of respect among the community and administration. As a result, whereas community loved to associate itself with IALI events, lawmakers and administration officials looked upon these events as opportunities to gain support of the community. Mr. Munjal assiduously built bridges of understanding and cooperation between the Indian American community and the mainstream Americans.

    He took the IALI to the next stage of growth which is getting recognition for the community at the political level, a step in the right direction of empowering the community. The dignitaries that graced various IALI events included Ambassador Prabhu Dayal, Congresswoman Goosby, New York State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, New York State Senator Tony Avella, Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano, Town of North Hempstead Supervisor Jon Kaiman, Town of Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray and Mayor of Laurel Hollow Harry Anand and many more. Mr. Munjal’s work for the community is far from complete. On August 11th, 2012 he stood tall and proud with 5 other founder conveners of India Day Parade USA who put together Long Island’s First India Day Parade for Long Islanders in Hicksville, an event never before attempted, but successfully concluded. His involvement in India Day Parade USA started with bringing together of all Indian Organizations onto a single platform to participate in the first ever Parade in Hicksville, Long Island. This was concluded as more than 100 Indian Organizations came together as one for the very first time to participate and march in the India Day Parade USA in Hicksville Long Island.

    However, it is not just work all the time for Gobind. He and wife Suman who is in to Real Estate business and is often busy make it a point to take time off their work to travel and enjoy their vacation. The family has been to Europe, Far East, UAE, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand and seen much of North America. The latest has been a visit to China which has impressed Munjals much. They are all praise for China. They said they were impressed with the infrastructure there. The cleanliness that they witnessed was in total contrast with what they had been made to believe about China. And, above the human effort to give an impressive look to the country is the power of Nature which one sees in her abundant beauty and glory in the most populated country of the world. . Gobind Munjal lives happily in the Whitestone/Malba area with his wife Suman who is a professional in real estate with Prudential Douglas Elliman. He has two sons Gaurav and Kevin and daughter in law Iona with two cute grand-sons Sajin and Neilan, 4 years and 2 years respectively.

  • Gurudev Singh Realizing American Dream

    Gurudev Singh Realizing American Dream

    Gurdev Singh’s passion for entrepreneurship and zest for taking on new ventures is apparent in his success in the highly competitive fashion business. He is the President, CEO and founder of Meetu Magic Inc., an importer and wholesaler of women’s apparel, as well as many other brands and companies. Rightly has he been recognized as a business entrepreneur for the year 2012 by the Nargis Dutt Memorial Cancer Foundation in New York. What is, however, less known is that Mr. Singh also focuses his energy towards the Indian community in Long Island. He actively participates in local charities and contributes generously to his Sikh community.

    Being in the garment field is nothing new to Delhi born Gurdev Singh, nicknamed DP. His passion for this industry dates back to watching his grandfather, Sardar Khazan Singh, a dyer and printer of raw fabric. His late grandfather, Sardar Khazan Singh who had migrated from Rawalpindi, now in Pakistan, in the wake of tensions leading to partition of India, was one of the very first people to open up shop in Chandni Chowk under the name Datt Dyers and Printers, he says. Later DP’s father, the late Sardar Jeet Singh, expanded in this line of work by becoming an exporter of readymade garments. “The family on my mother’s side ran the famous Ajit Dyers and Pagree Store in Karol Bagh, a must-go-to place for Sikhs,” Gurdev Singh states. It was the this business background that inspired him to launch his import and wholesale business in the United States.

    However, DP’s beginnings in America were very humble. His journey began at the age of 22 when he left New Delhi in 1987. He came to the US along with his wife, Hardeep Kaur, with nothing but high hopes and dreams. Yet the couple proved to be a leading example of starting small and making it big. Not wanting to work for someone else, both husband and wife began with setting up shop at local flea markets. After years of hard work, DP opened his first wholesale store on Broadway & 29th Street in Manhattan in 1994. Deciding to wholesale his own label, he went to India to set up a garment factory of his own there. Twenty years later, he has undeniably made his place in the fashion business.

    Besides Meetu Magic Inc., the flagship company, Mr. Singh also founded The African Scene, Magic, Mint Green, and Petite Magic. Today his labels are sold to America’s largest department and chain stores- T.J. Maxx, Marshall’s, Ross Stores, and Burlington Coat Factory – and in many specialty retail stores such as Rainbow, Joyce Leslie, A&E Stores and Charlotte Rousse. The garments are mainly imported from the Far East and South Asia. Gurdev Singh’s next project on the drawing board may turn out to be in a different field altogether. He is developing a premium location for social events and parties. But for now he does not want to give out any more information on the project.

    As for his charity work, he has been doing it quietly. “We have been doing ‘seva’ for the Glen Cove Gurdwara for some time”, he says in all humility. For the past 4years he has donated the Raffle Draw top prize, a car, at the annual Baisakhi Mela organized by the Gurdwara. This has helped raise funds for the Gurdwara projects. He also actively participated in the NY based Nargis Dutt Memorial Foundation (NDMF)’s fundraiser on September 30, 2012. Attendees cheered his generosity when he paid $20,000 for a cricket bat autographed by Team India. This generous donation to NDMF is devoted to improving cancer care in India, the primary objective of 30 year old Nargis Dutt Memorial Foundation.

    Gurdev Singh is also active in the Indian National Overseas Congress (I), aligned with the ruling Congress Party in India. He is the Vice President of its Delhi Chapter. The Chapter President Daljinder Singh, popularly known as Zinda Singh, is all praise for Gurdev Singh whom he describes as the finest person he has come across. He says DP is the main bulwark of Delhi Chapter and has given him the best cooperation in organizing various activities.

    It may be a platitude to say that behind every successful man there is a woman. But it is widely believed to hold the truth. DP is lucky to have Hardeep Kaur as his wife, companion and business associate. Hardeep actively associates herself in the business, handling the all important finances and supervises the accounts section. Not to be left behind, , t heir daughter Daman, who only earlier in 2012 got married to Navnit Singh, who runs a high-end limousine service for embassies, added her energetic effort to take the business to the next higher level. She is the fourth generation in this line of business. Their son, Chintan, 15, is in high school and an outgoing boy taking active part in debates and student affairs. The family lives in Old Westbury where they moved five years ago from New Jersey. Mr. Singh and his family live by the motto :Nobody can do everything, but everyone can do something. The best of the family is yet to come.

  • ‘Pyar Mein Kyun’ Premieres with Star-Studded Red Carpet

    ‘Pyar Mein Kyun’ Premieres with Star-Studded Red Carpet

    NEW YORK CITY: It was a celebrity-packed night as the stars came out for the red carpet gala premiere of Pyar Mein Kyun, a full-length Bollywood feature film made entirely in the United States. The history making premiere was held at the SVA theater in New York city on Tuesday September 25th, 2012. Presented by RKNet Studios and Aary Films and starring Namaste America host Obaid Kadwani and newcomer Khatera Hakimi, Pyar Mein Kyun is a romantic thriller about love between a teenage girl and a 35-year fashion photographer. But all is not so simple in love as the two discover the truth about one another as the story line unravels

    Hosted by Aary Films in association with RK Net Studios and managed by Cineviews Media & PR, the premiere screening of PMK was a huge success and many guests had to be turned down due to the full house audience, in spite of a Tuesday night, smack in the middle of the work week. The almost 500 seat theater with its redesigned and refurbished premises, an offspring of the School of Visual Arts, was filled to capacity. The lead cast of the film walked the red carpet along with several local film personalities, invited guests and media. The premiere started with a glamorous & glitzy reception, with the shutterbugs going non-stop, as the excited guests posed for pictures with the equally excited lead cast. The guests were interviewed by our Red Carpet hosts Pavan Sharma and Viral Shah

    The extremely beautiful lead actress Khatera Hakimi walked the red carpet in an equally beautiful white lehenga – courtesy of Saahil boutique (Iselin, NJ) and the handsome lead actor Obaid Kadwani who wore a golden brown sherwani – courtesy of Sahiba boutique (Edison, NJ). Indian Counsel General Prabhu Dayal with his wife Mrs. Chandini Dayal also attended the premiere as Chief Guests. In his opening remarks to the theater-packed audience, he expressed his pleasure and applauded the film and the efforts of the cast and crew. Mr. Sudhir Vaishnav – Head of Sahara One USA added that movies made locally with local talent should be given encouragement and support. Sahara One was the exclusive television partner of Pyar Main Kyun. New York celebrities Samrat Chakrabarti, Melanie Kannokada, Ami Sheth, Elias Qureshi, Joya Dass, Vidur Kapur and Qurrat Kadwani were joined by Indian actor Priyanshu Chatterjee and model Azura Vandenberg on the red carpet. Additionally Heems from Das Racist and Terry Gajraj aka Guyana Baboo, the king of Chutney Pop were also seen on the red carpet.

    Once the VVIPs, VIPs, Guests and Invitees were all ushered in and seated, the entire cast and crew walked to the front and were introduced to the cheering audience. A long passionate speech by the Director, Hyder Bilgrami, evoked an emotional response from the audience when he ended his speech by saying, “…take all the good parts of this movie with you and leave the bad parts behind.” This was quickly followed by a short speech by Producer, Ritesh Parikh, who was eloquent in his excitement about the journey of bringing this film from dream to reality. Nutan Kalamdani who is one of the Associate Producers of the film and whose company Cineviews Media & PR is the official Publicity partner of the movie, thanked all the sponsors, supporters, media and well-wishers, as the audience got ready to watch the movie! The movie had already created a tremendous buzz several months before its release through the social media and several promotional campaigns and road shows, which created immense curiosity among the audience that were present and it finally paid off.

    To add to even more excitement, over 300 guests attended the after-party for the premiere at the prestigious Empire Room in the Empire State Building with guest DJ Kucha. Guests danced and dined on cuisine catered by Benares Catering and Chote Nawab and a special Pyar Mein Kyun theme cake by The Cake Designer. Pyar Mein Kyun also held its 2nd premiere on September 30th at the Des Plaines theater in Chicago to a very enthusiastic audience, who could not stop raving about the film and its team. The makers of the movie plan a platform release of the movie in the US after which they will work on a premiere in Bombay in early 2013. Photos/ Gunjesh Desai- masalajunction

    About the film:

    Created by award winning director Hyder Bilgrami, the movie PMK is a classy love story with twists and turns that provide drama, entertainment,mystique and a thrilling experience. Pyar Mein Kyun is the story of Sarah and Abhay, who use their natural charm and beauty to attract each other for reasons other than love, then genuinely fall in love head over heels or do they? Do they live happily thereafter? Romance may have run its course but does the love that develops between Sarah and Abhay stay alive? Does it thrive in the hopes of a happier ending to the romantic thriller?

    Key Cast & Crew Creators: Hyder Bilgrami & Ritesh Parikh (Aary Films) Director / Writer: Hyder Bilgrami Produced by: Ritesh Parikh (Aary Films), Anant Goel (RKNet Studio) & Anurag Jain Associate Producers: Amish Amin, Gunjesh Kadakia and Nutan Kalamdani Associate Director: Suhir Ponnchammy Chief Assistant Director/Operative Cameraman: Ajay Reddy Cast: Obaid Kadwani, Khatera Hakimi, Sonny Chatrath, Deena Zahra Safi, Michael Dean & others. Music: “Pyar Mein Kyun” title song by Uzair Khan, Raza Waqar Mirza of Arsh the band, Trishna Amin, Vicky Kohli, Arif Khan. Background Music: Praveen Lakkaraju Singers: Uzair Khan, Raza Waqar Mirza of Arsh the band, Trishna Amin, Vicky Kohli, Arif Khan Assist Cameraman: Anil Patel Gaffer: Praveen Elankumaran Re-Recording: Tama Reddy Bharadwaj Studio Audiography: Suresh Reddy, Casey Eastmond, Drextar, Sudhakar. Production Controller: Manoj Make Up : Natasha Khan, Christopher J. Quinto Hair Stylist: Connie J. Ponnai Graphic Design: Feroz Khan, Kiran, Anthony Mallepali Media & PR: Nutan Kalamdani Website: Shankar Gadupudi Choreography: Virgo Costumes: Samina Moghul Shooting Locations: New York and New Jersey

    Key Contacts: Nutan Kalamdani: 732-803-4776 or nutan@cineviews.com Ritesh Parikh: 732-742-6621 or aaryfilms@gmail.com, http://www.aaryfilms.com/ Official Website: http://pyarmeinkyun.com/pyarmeinkyun/ Official Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/aaryfilms Official Trailer: http://youtube/jn5iflpypS8 Official First Look: http://youtube/mg3i5vwwptk

  • Priya Dutt praises donors; cites anti-cancer effort of the Foundation

    Priya Dutt praises donors; cites anti-cancer effort of the Foundation

    NEW YORK (TIP): The Nargis Dutt Foundation organized its 31st annual fundraising event at the Marriott Hotel and Convention Center in Uniondale, Long Island Sunday, September 30.

    Member of Parliament Priya Dutt, daughter of the late Dutts-Nargis and Sunil, was the keynote speaker along with Ambassador Prabhu Dayal, Consul General of India in New York.

    The occasion saw a number of Indian Americans being honored for their excellence, services and contribution to community. They included Haridas Kotahwala (Lifetime Achievement), Kamlesh C. Mehta (Lifetime Achievement), Dr. Parag H. Mehta (Excellence in Medical Care), Sudhir Vaishnav (Excellence in Media), Gurdev D.P. Singh (Business Entrepreneurship), Dr. Tanveer Mir (Excellence in Medical Care), Ravi Chopra (Business Entrepreneurship), and Gurdip Singh Narula (Dedicated Service to the Foundation).

    Mrs. Priya Dutt spoke about the vision and work of the Nargis Dutt Memorial Foundation which was founded by her late father Sunil Dutt and Inder Bindra. She said during the last more than thirty years, the Foundation has taken up 57 projects at a cost of more than $5 million. She spoke feelingly about the vast population of India that suffers from cancer. She said the journey was long and the effort had to be kept on.

    And Consul General Prabhu Dayal underscored the importance of taking people along in the noble work that the Foundation was doing when he said, ” If you want to go fast, you go alone. If you want to go far, you go together.” He praised the work of the Foundation and the Indian American community for their generous support to the cause espoused by the Foundation.

    Inder Bindra, founder and past president of NDMF explained the method that goes in to funding a project. He spoke of four basic conditions: 1. The Foundation gives financial assistance to only charitable hospitals in India. 2. No cash is given; only equipment is provided. 3. The assistance should be used for treating the poor and the needy. 4. All equipment sent to a charitable organization has to be installed in the hospital for the care of the cancer patients.

    He added that the Foundation also sponsors doctors and volunteers for training in US to render better service in India.

    A cricket bat with signatures of Indian Cricket team that has been with Inder Bindra was auctioned for $20,000. There were three to bid – Harry Bola, Peter Bheddah and Gurdev DD.P. Singh. However, finally, the bat went to Gurdev D.P. Singh.

    A dazzling Fashion Show was presented by Ginny Jaggi that added color to the event.

    Before the event began Priya Dutt addressed a press conference, with Board members by her side. The Press Conference was conducted by The Indian Panorama Editor Prof. Indrajit S. Saluja

    “I am overwhelmed with the response from the Indian-American community to the charitable work we at the foundation are doing,” Mrs. Dutt said in her opening remarks. “Though there are several non-profit bodies working for the relief of pain caused by cancer, ours has a special place in society as 100% of all donations go towards our projects and other work we are doing with various organizations.”

    Recalling the charitable acts the foundation has undertaken over the years, Ms Dutt said one of the most important things was that it funded the entire expenditure of a teen-age girl who lost her right hand. “Now that woman is leading a near-normal life with an artificial hand,” the MP noted.

    According to her, the foundation is No. 1 in India in doing cancer-related service to the needy-both in rural areas and urban centers. She lauded particularly the services of Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai; Indore Cancer Foundation, Madhya Pradesh; Karnataka Cancer Institute, Hubli; and Indo-American Cancer Institute, Hyderabad. The foundation’s work in Punjab was also praised.

    She said the foundation ensures the supply of equipment and medicines to several of the centers and hospitals. “Spreading awareness is important. What causes it and how to prevent it. For instance leukemia/blood cancer can be cured and one has to stay away from carcinogens,” Ms Dutt pointed out.

    In her special message to the souvenir released on the occasion, Ms Dutt said, “It is my ambition to be decent. This shall be my doctrine. One that I will try and pass on to all who I deal with.”

    She added, “I am writing this message to congratulate you [all officeholders of the foundation] on completing three decades of fruitful service to improve cancer hospitals for the benefit of poor people in India.”

    Members of the foundation were praised by none other than Prime Minister Manmohan Singh himself. In his brief message on the great occasion, the prime minister said, “The commitment to the cause of cancer and the missionary zeal with which the Nargis Dutt Memorial Foundation has been helping those affected by this disease is indeed commendable.”
    The foundation has financed cancer-focused hospitals and organizations across the country in states such as Punjab, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

    The nonprofit, charitable body whose donations are tax-deductible is based in New Hyde Park on Long Island, New York state. It is formally known as Nargis Dutt Memorial Cancer Foundation Inc.

    The foundation was set up in 1981 in memory of Nargis, a noted film star in India. Though she entered the movie industry in mid-1940s, it was only in late 1940s she became widely known. She was probably best known for her film “Mother India”, which was nominated for an Oscar in 1957.

    She was a caring woman and her dream was to see that the underprivileged in India should have access to quality medical care. Despite the fact that she receive world-class treatment in New York, Nargis passed away in 1981-the year in which the foundation was established in her memory. She was 51 at that time. Her husband Sunil Dutt and her children, particular Priya Dutt, have since then embarked upon on the mission of helping cancer-stricken patients in India. Sunil breathed his last in 2005 serving the nation in the position of Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs.
    DJ Kucha and Mala Bakshi did well to manage the ceremonies.

  • First Presidential Debate – A Polite Affair

    First Presidential Debate – A Polite Affair

    NEW YORK (TIP): President Obama and challenger Mitt Romney differed sharply Wednesday, October 3 night over taxes, Medicare and, especially, the record of the last four years in a pointed but largely polite debate that highlighted the deep substantive divide between the two philosophical foes, says a Los Angeles Times report.

    Romney portrayed Obama’s tenure as an unmitigated failure, citing continued high unemployment, a rise in dependence on food stamps and other assistance programs, and disappointingly tepid economic growth. He said the president’s “trickle-down government” was “not the rightanswer for America. I’ll restore the vitality that gets America working again.”

    “Going forward with the status quo is not going to cut it for the American people who are struggling today,” Romney said.

    “It’s time for a new path,” he later added.

    Obama spoke of entering office amid an economic crisis and suggested the progress the nation had made – modest private sector job growth, the recovery of the auto industry, a slow healing of the housing market — would be jeopardized by a Romney return to the approach that caused the hardship in the first place.

    “Are we going to double-down on the top-down policies that helped get into this mess?” Obama said near the opening of the 90-minute session. He said Americans had heard the same pitch – promises of lower taxes and a smaller deficit – when George W. Bush ran in 2000, and the result was a soaring national debt capped by the worst economic downturn since the Depression.

    “Math, common sense and our history shows us that’s not a recipe for job growth,” Obama said. “Look, we’ve tried this.”

    The president entered the debate on the University of Denver campus with a breeze at his back, holding small but significant leads in the eight or so battleground states that are likely to decide the race. Romney, after a rough several weeks, was looking to reverse Obama’s momentum, and he was assertive throughout the night, several times talking over the moderator, longtime PBS anchor Jim Lehrer.

    Tonally, the debate was worlds apart from the slashing campaign being conducted in the key states. Obama did not mention Romney’s recently publicized remark critical of almost half of Americans – those who did not pay 2011 federal income taxes – nor Romney’s tenure at the Bain Capital venture firm, key components of the ads that helped push him ahead of the Republican.

    For his part, Romney seemed to steer toward the middle, emphasizing his support for popular elements of Obama’s healthcare plan and moderate regulation of the financial industry, and what he cast as his bipartisan approach in Massachusetts. And he displayed a polish that eluded Obama for most of the night.

    Obama repeatedly attacked Romney’s promise to cut taxes across the board and pay for it by closing loopholes and eliminating deductions. He said that, in truth, Romney would give cuts to the rich and raise the burden on the poor and middle class. There was simply no way, the president said, for Romney’s plan to mathematically add up.
    “He’s been asked over 100 times how you would close those deductions and loopholes, and he hasn’t been able to identify them,” said Obama, who proposes a tax hike on household incomes over $250,000 and individuals earning over $200,000.

    “Virtually everything he just said about my tax plan is inaccurate,” Romney fired back, insisting he would not “under any circumstances” raise taxes on the middle class or boost the deficit, though he did not offer more detail.
    Obama said Romney would gut schools and make deep, painful cuts to Medicare as part of his budget-balancing plan, which relies solely on spending cuts. The former Massachusetts governor heatedly denied he would cut education spending – boasting that the state’s schools were ranked No. 1 in the nation – and said raising taxes would “kill jobs.… You never balance the budget by raising taxes.”

    Instead, he vowed to cut funding for the Public Broadcasting System, eliminate the number of government employees through attrition, combine some federal agencies and apply a simple test to federal spending: “Is the program so critical it’s worth borrowing money from China to pay for it?”

    Romney took part in 19 debates during the primary season, turning in several strong performances when his candidacy was imperiled, and he spent months rehearsing for Wednesday night. Obama, by contrast, had not taken the debate stage in nearly four years.

    The challenger’s practice showed. While the president sometime drifted into long, professorial disquisitions, Romney was crisp and on offense for most of the night. “You’re entitled as the president to your own airplane and to your own house, but not to your own facts,” he tartly told the president at one point.

    “We have to work on a collaborative basis,” Romney said, at one point citing his Massachusetts healthcare plan, put together by Democrats and Republicans in his state. (Obama twitted Romney by citing the plan as a model for his own healthcare overhaul, saying the two men shared many of the same advisors.)

    Obama was, often, mildly sarcastic. He cited the lack of details from Romney on his tax plan, his proposal to repeal the president’s healthcare law and a promise to undo some of the financial regulations the administration put in place.

    “At some point,” Obama said, “I think the American people have to ask themselves, is the reason that Gov. Romney is keeping all those plans … secret is because they’re too good?”

    At another point, after one of Romney’s repeated pledges to govern in a more bipartisan fashion than Obama, the president scoffed that he wouldn’t get off to a much of a start by repealing the healthcare plan cherished by Democrats as avowedly his first order of business.

    Romney repeatedly attacked “Obamacare” – a label Obama happily embraced with a smile – saying it would rob $716 billion from Medicare and make it more difficult for seniors to find doctors and hospitals willing to treat them. He said his overhaul proposal would protect current beneficiaries as well as those approaching retirement age.

    Obama shot back that Romney’s promise was contradicted by the facts. Romney’s plan to give future retirees a voucher to help subsidize their coverage would end up driving up their out-of-pocket costs and undermining Medicare for future generations, he said. He added that his Medicare cuts are aimed at providers and insurance companies and would not scale back care for seniors.

    The session was expected to draw a TV viewership in the tens of millions, making it one of the most closely watched events of the lengthy campaign. But history has shown that it is often post-debate coverage, which plays out for several days, that has a more substantial impact on voter perceptions – a process that could be intensified this year by the rise of social media such as Facebook and Twitter.

    The two men will debate twice more, meeting Oct. 16 in Hempstead, N.Y., and Oct. 22 in Boca Raton, Fla. Their running mates will debate on Oct. 11 in Danville, Ky.

  • KUSHINAGAR A serene Buddhist destination

    KUSHINAGAR A serene Buddhist destination

    Welcome to the land of the Buddha. A breather from most other religious destinations, which, ironically, reel under chaos, Kushinagar – the place where Gautam Buddha breathed his last – is a place where you can pray in peace or simply soak in the beauty of the architectural marvels and the natural surrounding. Situated 51 km east of Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, Kushinagar is one of the four important religious destinations for Buddhists.

    This is the place where the Buddha delivered his last sermon, and died. The other three important destinations are Lumbini, Bodh Gaya and Sarnath. It’s of little surprise then that the place, which is well endowed with greenery, is flocked by tourists – both domestic and foreign – through the year, but especially so in the cooler months between October and April. It is estimated that nearly two million tourists visit Kushinagar every year. “Many tourists come to Kushinagar to pray and to pay their respect to the place where Lord Buddha delivered his last sermon and finally rested in peace. From among foreign countries, we mainly have people coming from Thailand, Japan, China, Korea, Sri Lanka and Myanmar,” said Bhadant Choudhury, a Buddhist monk at the Mahaparinirvana temple. One of the main attractions of the place, the Niravana Chaitya or the Main Stupa, was excavated by Carlleyle in 1876 and stands at a height of 2.74 metres.

    A copper vessel was unearthed at this site and it bore an inscription in ancient Brahmi, which stated that Lord Buddha’s remains had been deposited there. The Stupa was restored and its chamber was ceremoniously closed in 1927, in the presence of 16 Buddhist priests. Several gold, silver and copper plateinscriptions were deposited inside, recording the facts of discovery and identification of the monument. Right in front of the Nirvana Stupa is the Mahaparinirvana temple, which you wouldn’t want to miss – not just for religious purposes but also for the grandeur of a 6.10 metre-long statue of the Buddha in a reclining position which dates back to the fifth century and was also excavated in 1876. While it looks as if it was made of gold, the statue, which represents the dying Buddha, is made of monolith red sandstone.

    “One of the amazing things about the statue is that the facial expression of Lord Buddha seems to change when you look from different positions. If you stand in front, from an angle, it looks like he is smiling; from behind his head, it looks like he is thinking; and from his feet, it looks like he is dying,” explained Amit Kumar, a resident of Kushinagar. Sitting on the steps of the temple, Choudhury motioned to the beeline of devotees to wait for some time until a Thai delegation of 20 people inside were done with their chanting. “The foreigners travel great distances to reach this place and that too for a few days. So it doesn’t make much of a difference if the rest of us wait for a few minutes…and people really don’t mind. Everyone is patient,” he said, as other devotees sat on the steps with him, chatting with the monks. One of those waiting, Lakshmi Devi, from the neighbouring state of Bihar, said: “It’s all right if we have to wait for a little while for the foreigners…they have, after all, come from so far and are our guests. My family and I wanted to pay our respects to Lord Buddha, and we are here. What will we get by creating a fuss?” Considering the heavy flow of foreign tourists, many neighbouring countries have built their own temples near the Mahaparinirvana temple.

    Their temple complexes also have guest houses to accommodate their citizens and are again a must-see for the sheer beauty of their architecture. The Watt Thai temple, for instance, is a huge temple complex built in the Thai- Buddhist architectural fashion. The Japanese temple has a beautiful Ashta Dhatu (eight metal) statue of the Buddha which has been brought from Japan. The Linth Son Chinese temple, Myanmar temple and the Korean temple, among others, are also some must visits. Just about 400 yards from the Nirvana Stupa is the Matha Kuar shrine which has a colossal statue of the Buddha in the ‘Bhumi Sparsh Mudra’ (earth touching posture) under the ‘Bodhi tree’, carved out of a single block of stone. The inscription at the base dates it to the 10th-11th century. Also on the itinerary should be a visit to the Ramabhar Stupa which is the cremation ground of the Buddha.

    Although there is no air or rail link right to Kushinagar, it is well connected to Gorakhpur, which in turn has a railway station and an air strip. Food and accommodation are not a problem with numerous guest houses and restaurants with, predictably, names like Vipassana and Nirvana! So pack your bags for a few days of nirvana in Kushinagar!

  • Auto parts industry attracts heavy online traffic: Study

    Auto parts industry attracts heavy online traffic: Study

    Is among the top three sectors on B2B site in terms of the number of buyers it attracted
    from developed and developing countries

    NEW DELHI (TIP): A report by IndiaMART.com, one of India’s largest online B2B marketplaces, has found that the SME-dominated automotive sector is among the top three sectors on the site in terms of the number of buyers it attracted from other countries, both developed and developing. The report, The Automotive Components Sector, reveals that the US emerged as one of the leading countries in terms of the number of its buyers visiting IndiaMART.com’s automotive category for their sourcing requirements — 12.8 per cent of its total buyers did so.

    Over one million SMEs from sectors such as auto components, apparel and fashion accessories, engineering and industrial, home decor, and others are registered with IndiaMART.com, which acts as a B2B matchmaking platform for these suppliers and helps them generate leads from over five million buyers from across the globe.

    Asian countries are also key buyers for auto products from India. The portal’s automotive category had visits from buyers based in Pakistan (8.2 per cent), China (7.6 per cent), Malaysia (7.3 per cent) and Bangladesh (7.2 per cent). Buyers from India alone accounted for 28.3 per cent of online visitors for auto parts.

    The sector also attracted 6.8 per cent of the total buyers from the UK, followed by 6.5 per cent of Canadian buyers, 6.4 per cent of buyers from Germany, and 6.3 per cent of Australian buyers. Other countries from where buyers showed interest in online sourcing of auto components were the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Iran.

    The importance of the automotive sector was also indicated by the number of suppliers from this sector as a proportion of the total number of suppliers from each key country.

    At the top was Canada, 13.8 per cent of whose registered vendors were from the auto parts sector, followed by Denmark (12.3 per cent), China (12.1 per cent), Australia (7.4 per cent), France and Germany. The report reveals that the most popular product searches were for air pollution control devices, fuel injection parts, digital tachometers, security gadgets, gear parts, and car cables. Information on “buy leads” – buyers’ sourcing inquiries that are aggregated by IndiaMART.com and purchased by interested suppliers, who then contact potential buyers to generate business – reveals that the most number come from Maharashtra, which contributes 25.6 per cent of the total buy leads generated in India.

  • MOVIE REVIEW HEROINE

    MOVIE REVIEW HEROINE

    STORY:

    Mahi Arora has all the trappings of a Bollywood superstar- name, fame and fortune. Unfortunately she’s also a manic
    depressive and constantly courts a death wish. Will Mahi succumb to her weakness or will she manage to stay afloat?

    MOVIE REVIEW:

    Multiple National- Award winning filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar takes vicarious pleasure in giving his audience a ringside view of various walks of life.
    His Chandni Bar (2001) dealt with Mumbai dance-bars; Page-3 (2005) showed the shallow side of the media and celebrity circus; Fashion(2008) dealt with the seamier side of the fashion industry. And one must say here that in each of his previous works Madhur was far more in control of proceedings than he is in Heroine; a film that superficially traces Bollywood’s underbelly. The protagonist is Mahi Arora ( Kareena Kapoor), a superstar, who has the world at her feet for a bit in the beginning of this film.
    Unfortunately she is also fashionably diagnosed with the bipolar syndrome and is happy to destroy herself in her various relationships. If you are wondering why Sunshine Girl Mahi is on a constant emotional roller-coaster; the narrative tells you that she has had a messed up childhood and hence she has developed this masochistic streak.
    So on the one hand, Mahi is cutting ribbons, and shooting for a dozen endorsements. But quickly enough she is also threatened by the arrival of the younger actresses and awards that go missing. To add to her woes, she’s drawn like a moth to a flame to her married co-star Aryan Khanna( Arjun Rampal); a cad. Very clearly the written material at hand draws from unflattering accounts of various real and reel Hindi film heroines of the 80s (unfair to name them because a couple of them are not even around to defend themselves); who were in messy situations with their married co-stars.

    In a bid to pack in every piece of studio gossip ever heard; Heroine makes Mahi swing from a relationship with a married actor to another with a successful cricketer ( Randeep Hooda).

    Cloning stereotypes of what the middleclass call a liberated; Mahi is also shown smoking, drinking and popping pills so frequently; she seems more like a social hazard than a free-thinking girl. The film is made enjoyable by some pithy dialogue credited to Niranjan Iyengar. Sample this: aap media waalon ko toh script likhna chahiye.

    Heroine ne gaadi le li-toh businessman ne gift kardi; diamond khareeda, toh engagement ho gayi; hospital gayi check up ke liye, toh abortion ho gaya, LA gayi toh plastic surgery karva liya, aur Dubai gayi toh, uska rate card ban jata hai. And Heroine would have been crisper had it not digressed to cover every Bollywood insider account.

    When the maker attempts to show mainstream cinema’s condescending attitude towards art-house films, precious screen time is lost. Mahi’s attempt to play a prostitute and say scandalous lines are clearly attempted to woo the frontbenchers but the gig lacks conviction.

    Cast: Kareena Kapoor, Arjun Rampal, Randeep Hooda, Ranveer Shorey, Divya Dutta
    Direction: Madhur Bhandarkar
    Genre: Drama
    Duration: 2 hours 28 minutes