LISBON (TIP): Real Madrid trio Cristiano Ronaldo, Pepe and Fabio Coentrao joined Portugal’s World Cup training camp in Obidos on Thursday, bringing the squad up to its full contingent of 23 players. The three players had been granted a few extra days to recover before linking up with the national team following Saturday’s Champions League final in Lisbon where Real defeated city rivals Atletico 4-1. Ronaldo, who was still feeling the effects of a thigh injury sustained late in the season, was not expected to take part in a late afternoon training session and remains a doubt for Saturday’s friendly against Greece in Lisbon. The Portugal captain instead carried out rehab work at the team’s hotel, the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) said in its daily medical report. Having played 120 minutes in Saturday’s Champions League final, Ronaldo had admitted he “wasn’t at 100 percent” having struggled with muscle problems towards the end of the La Liga season.
Tag: Football
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Coca-Cola ups 2014 FIFA World Cup campaign with football promotion
Coca-Cola has launched a new on-pack promotion as part of its latest 2014 FIFA World Cup campaign, which gives consumers the chance to win a limited edition football. As an official partner for the sporting event, the drinks giant is giving away around one million of the Coca-Cola branded footballs, as it aims to “inspire” people to get active this summer.
The Win a Ball promotion will run from 29 April to 13 July 2014, with consumers invited to enter a unique code found on selected promotional packs of Coca-Cola and Coke Zero on the Win a Ball website to find out if they are a winner. The promotion, which focusses on the “power of football” inspiring people to be active, will be supported by a campaign to run across TV, digital, outdoor and print.
Bríd Drohan-Stewart, marketing activation director, Coca-Cola Great Britain said: “Coca-Cola is using its support of the 2014 FIFA World Cup like never before; not only celebrating football in Brazil, but using people’s passion for football to motivate them to move, more often, for years to come.
We hope that the footballs will inspire people to enjoy being active with friends and family and bring the spirit of the 2014 Brazil FIFA World Cup to their community.” In addition Coca-Cola has pledged to donate 10p for each valid entry made to UK charity StreetGames which gets disadvantaged young people into sport.
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Hodgson: Everybody associates Brazil with football
In the final part of our three-part interview with Roy Hodgson, the England manager speaks about his FIFA World Cup™ memories from 1958, when he was just ten years old, to 1994 as coach of Switzerland. Having also toured Germany in 2006 as a member of FIFA’s Technical Study Group and worked as a pundit for the BBC in 2010, Hodgson has had a wide experience of World Cups from which to draw. And as the former Inter Milan and Liverpool boss told FIFA.com, he believes that Brazil 2014 will be a little special.
ROY HODGSON: 1958 would be the first one, but mainly because of my time in Sweden when I sort of got reacquainted with it. It was something that should have interested England and Great Britain enormously, as I think it’s the last time all four home nations actually took part. I learned a lot about the ’58 World Cup in Sweden and in particular I became close friends with Orvar Bergmark,who for many years was the most-capped player in the world with his 92 caps. That’s been surpassed many times since, but around the 1958 mark he was right up there.
And of course, playing against us, managers and colleagues, a lot of the people who played in that: Bengt Gustavsson and Agne Simonsson. All of these people were coaches in Sweden when I was there, and famous players from the ’58 team. Then when I went going to Italy I got to know Nils Leidholm and Gunnar Gren, so I got to know seven or eight of the team and took more interest, I suppose.
The ’62 World Cup I don’t remember well. And the ’66 one I of course remember very, very well! WHERE WERE YOU DURING 1966? AT CRYSTAL PALACE, TRYING TO BE A PLAYER! Brazil is considered such a football crazy country,where the people basically live for the game. Being a footballer is as good as it gets for anybody in Brazil. WHAT ARE YOUR MEMORIES OF THE TOURNAMENT? DID YOU GO TO ANY OF THE GAMES? No.
To be fair, aside from the games that were played at Wembley, a lot of the games were played around the country at that time. I was never in a position to get a ticket to be perfectly honest. So I watched the games on TV. I remember the games and the England games quite well. I remember the various moments and controversies. The same with ’70.We had high hopes of doing well because the ’70 team was as strong as the ’66 team on paper because we still had the remnants of the ’66 team and a few interesting younger players had come on the scene.
In ’74 I was in South Africa, so I only saw the Final. And I saw that in retrospect. I drove from Pretoria to Johanesburg to Wits University. They actually bought the tape of the film for their students and me and my friend were playing in Pretoria,we drove up and got ourselves tickets and watched it in a hall. It was just a taped version of the Final.We knew the score. But that’s the only game we actually saw in ’74.
Then obviously in ’78 I was in Sweden so I quite liked following that one. WHICH TEAMS OR WHICH MATCHES, PARTICULARLY OF THE LATER WORLD CUPS, STICK OUT FOR YOU? It has to be 1994 when I was involved with Switzerland. I remember all of the games, but in particular the first two, the ones played in Detroit against America and then Romania. I remember those very, very well. Both were in an indoor dome,where they rolled the grass in,which was quite revolutionary at the time. I think in Europe it was only Arnhem (GelreDome) that had a similar system,where they had a dome allowing them to roll in different surfaces. It was quite a novelty in that respect.
THE HUMIDITY IN THE GAMES THERE WAS EXTREME,WASN’T IT? Our third game, in Palo Alto,was right in the midday sun. In terms of actual temperature it was the hottest. It was over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, because it was right in the heat of the day, with the sun right above you in California. But the worst, in terms of heat and humidity, I thought was the Silverdome in Detroit. They measured the temperature in the low 30s (Celsius) but because it was very hot outdoors, indoors it was even hotter and of course you get the humidity in there as well.
Washington I don’t remember as being too bad. I think it was in the evening, a later kick-off, and I remember Washington being a normal summer’s day, in the mid-20s. WHAT DO YOU THINK WILL MAKE THE WORLD CUP IN BRAZIL SO SPECIAL? I think the real feeling that this World Cup is special because of Brazil’s relationship to football.
Everybody associates Brazil with football. Partly because of the success the Brazilian national teams have had and the tournaments they’ve won. But it’s not just that, it’s all the Brazilian players who have played all over the world. They export so many thousands of players. We’re all used to seeing the Copacabana and other beaches filled with people playing on the sand and Brazil is considered such a football crazy country, where the people basically live for the game.
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WORLD T20: India out to spook South Africa with spin
DHAKA (TIP):
India will look to capitalize on South Africa’s two perennial problems — a weakness against spin and inability to win knockout matches in ICC events — as they go head to head in the second semifinal of the World T20 at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium on Friday. MS Dhoni’s India have overcome a tough group and controversies surrounding the Indian cricket board and its president to remain unbeaten in the tournament.The scenario is eerily similar to what happened in the ICC Champions Trophy last June in England and Wales. There too, India won the event without losing any game and dodged issues surrounding the IPL and Srinivasan, who chose to step aside till the IPL probe was over. The ICC, in its rankings released on Wednesday, declared that India had replaced Sri Lanka as the top T20 side. Victory over South Africa on Friday will be the perfect way to consolidate the top spot. India will once again rely on the trio of Amit Mishra (leg-spinner), R Ashwin (offie) and left-armtweaker Ravindra Jadeja to unsettle the Proteas, who are being led by Faf du Plessis.
The ball spinning away has historically troubled South Africans and Mishra (9 wickets in 4 matches, avg 8.77, economy 5.26) will be expected to weave his magic again. R Ashwin (7 wickets in 4 games, avg 10.42, economy 4.76) has been a perfect foil. With the new ball, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has rediscovered his movement and whether Dhoni will choose his Chennai Super Kings pacer Mohit Sharma or bring back Mohammad Shami (dropped for the game against Australia) remains to be seen. After all, the 2007 champions’ bowling was touted as weak and was expected to cripple them against powerful hitters.
Ironically, it’s the batting which has been a source of worry. Virat Kohli has been in good touch, as has Rohit Sharma. Yuvraj Singh too returned to form against Australia. He suffered an ankle injury while playing barefoot football on Tuesday, which is a worry. The southpaw even missed training in Fatullah on Wednesday, but media manager RN Baba said he would be fit for the match. Yuvraj’s presence will be crucial as he is someone who can put pressure on Imran Tahir.
Tahir, with 11 wickets in four matches (avg 9.18, economy 6.31), has been a revelation. He has bowled game-changing spells and enabled South Africa to come back from the dead against Netherlands and England. After spending some time with the legendary Shane Warne in the nets, the Pakistanborn leggie will be eager to impress the Australian. Dale Steyn is another factor the Indians need to neutralise. He tends to get wickets upfront and has troubled Rohit in all formats.
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$60 Million TexasHS Stadium Closed
ALLEN, TX (TIP): A $60 million Texas high school stadium that got national attention for its grandeur and price tag will be shut down indefinitely 18 months after its opening, school district officials said Thursday, February 27. Eagle Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Allen will be closed until at least June for an examination of “extensive cracking” in the concrete of the stadium’s concourse, the district said in a statement Thursday.
The closure will likely affect home games at the stadium this fall, the district said. Ben Pogue of Pogue Construction, which built the stadium, told reporters that the cracks range from a quarterinch to three-quarters of an inch wide. “There are concerns surrounding the stadium, but we have been — for a long time — part of the solution,” Pogue said, according to the Dallas Morning News. “I’m optimistic that we’re going to have a quick resolve to this that will not affect the football season that’s coming up.”
Built in 2012 as part of a $120 million bond issue, Eagle Stadium seats 18,000 people and sports a 38-foot-wide video board. Eagle Stadium’s opening was a moment of triumph for the community of Allen, a fast-growing Dallas suburb that has become home to a high school football powerhouse. The Eagles won the Class 5A Division I state championship last year. District officials defended the cost — an eye-popping figure even in footballmad Texas, home to hundreds of schools playing under the “Friday Night Lights” — by calling the stadium an investment for generations of future Eagles fans and a much-needed upgrade from the district’s previous 35-year-old field.
They planned to host state playoff games and other events at Eagle Stadium. Instead, the district’s graduation ceremonies and all other events are now on hold indefinitely. “This is a significant investment for our community. We are very disappointed and upset that these problems have arisen,” interim superintendent Beth Nicholas said. “It is unacceptable. Our students, families, and the entire community have always supported the district and our commitment to them is to make sure this issue is appropriately resolved.” Officials said an engineering firm has completed about 10 percent of its review of the stadium.
It is expected to recommend “appropriate” repairs, the statement said. “Our No. 1 priority must always be the safety of our students, staff and community,” Louise Master, Allen’s ISD board president, said in a release. “We do not have information at this point that confirms any areas outside of the concourse could be affected, but the most prudent thing to do, to absolutely assure the safety of students, staff and the community, is to keep the facility closed during this review.” PBK Architects, the Texas firm that designed the stadium, did not return a message seeking comment Thursday.
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Feds grab $21.6M in counterfeits before Super Bowl
NEW YORK (TIP): Investigators have seized more than $21.6 million in knockoff souvenir football jerseys, caps and other merchandise, shut down illegal websites and made dozens of arrests in a crackdown on Super Bowl counterfeiters, authorities said Thursday, January 30.
The seizures and arrests were announced at a Manhattan news conference where NFL and law enforcement officials displayed fake Payton Manning and Russell Wilson jerseyscomplete with knockoff Adidas labeling- Broncos and Seahawks hats, Super Bowl Tshirts and other goods made to look like official NFL gear.
The league and law enforcement “are working hard to prevent fans from being scammed by criminals seeking to profit from the public’s passion for the NFL, their home teams and the Super Bowl,” Anastasia Danias, an NFL senior vice president, said in a statement issued three days before the game in East Rutherford, N.J. During an eight-month operation, investigators seized more than 202,000 Super Bowl-related items that, if legitimate, would have been worth more than $21.6 million.
Authorities called the dollar amount a record for similar enforcement operations before other Super Bowls, including one last year that netted about $17 million in seizures. Authorities say most of the knockoffs were manufactured in China. They say once the makers learned the Broncos and Seahawks made the Super Bowl, they rushed to make the goods with the teams’ logos. Then the goods were smuggled into the United States, often using overnight shipping.
Some of the items make their way to street corners in Times Square and elsewhere where they are sold for half the price or less of legitimate merchandise. But others are offered on websites designed to trick buyers into thinking they are purchasing officially licensed goods worth the nearly full price they pay. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has obtained court orders to shut down several of the bogus Super Bowl gear websites.
Authorities warn that users of the websites risk identity theft, and that proceeds can go to other illegal activities like drug trafficking. Earlier this week, New York authorities announced the arrest of two men on charges they made high-quality counterfeit Super Bowl tickets and sold them online.
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2013 — THE DEAR DEPARTED
Renowned film actor Farooq Sheikh passed away on December 28 following a massive heart attack in Dubai. The 64-year-old actor was last seen in Club 60, released earlier this month. Sheikh was best known for his roles in Satyajit Ray’s Shatranj Ke Khiladi, Sai Paranjpe’s Chashme Baddoor and Sagar Sarhadi’s Bazaar.
PETER O’TOOLE
Peter O’Toole was an Irish actor. Often called the Hamlet of his generation. Nominated for eight Academy Awards for Best Actor in his lifetime. Some of his well-known works include ‘Lawrence of Arabia’, ‘Venus’ and ‘The Stunt Man’. Died on December 14.
VIDYA CHARAN SHUKLA
Vidya Charan Shukla, Former Union Cabinet minister and Congress leader. Close aide of Indira Gandhi. Critically injured in Maoist attack in Chhattisgarh on May 25. Succumbed to his injuries on June 11.
TARLA DALAL
Tarla Dalal, one of India’s most celebrated chefs and prolific cookbook writers. Died on November 6.
SYD FIELD
Syd Field was an American screenwriting guru. Died on November 17.
SRIKANTA DATTA WODEYAR
Scion of the erstwhile Mysore royal family, former Congress MP from the Mysore constituency and also a fashion designer. Died on December 10.
SIR JOHN TAVENER
Famous British composer. Some of his wellknown works include ‘Song for Athene’ and ‘The Whale’. Died on November 12.SIR ANTHONY CARO
Widely regarded as the greatest British sculptor of his generation and worked as an assistant to Henry Moore in the 1950s. Died on October 23.
SHAMSHAD BEGUM
She was one of the first playback singers in the Hindi film industry. Died on April 23.
SHAKUNTALA DEVI
Known for her mathematical prowess and the ability to compute complex equations mentally. Died on April 21.SEAMUS HEANEY
One of the world’s best-known poets and winner of the 1995 Nobel Prize for literature. Died on August 30.
SANDEEP ACHARYA
Winner of second season of Indian Idol. Died on December 15.
RITUPARNO GHOSH
National Award winner filmmaker. His widely acclaimed films include ‘Unishe April’, ‘Dahan’, ‘Asukh’, ‘Chokher Bali’, ‘Raincoat’, ‘Bariwali’, ‘Antarmahal’ and ‘Noukadubi’. Died on May 30.
RAY PRICE
Famous American singer and guitarist. Some of his well-known works include ‘Night Life’, ‘Release Me’ and ‘Crazy Arms’. Died on December 16.RAJENDRA YADAV
Noted Hindi author and a pioneer of the literary movement ‘Nayi Kahani’. Died on October 28.
PRAN
Appeared in over 350 films. His widely acclaimed films include ‘Madhumati’, ‘Ram Aur Shyam’, ‘Don’, ‘Zanjeer’ and ‘Upkar’. Winner of Padma Bhushan and Dadasaheb Phalke Award. Died on July 12.
Hugo Chavez (March 5)
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez died after a two-year battle with cancer, ending 14 years of tumultuous rule that made the socialist leader a hero for the poor but a hate figure to his opponents. The flamboyant 58-year-old had undergone four operations in Cuba for a cancer that was first detected in his pelvic region in mid-2011. His last surgery was on December 11, 2012 and he had not been seen in public since.
Margaret Thatcher (April 8)
Britain’s first woman Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, known as the Iron Lady, passed away in April this year following a stroke at the age of 87. Thatcher’s three terms as Prime Minister brought enormous change to the UK.
ABIR GOSWAMI (MAY 30)
Television actor Abir Goswami, who acted in Hindi films such as ‘Khakee, Lakshya’ and ‘Darna Mana Hai’, died at the age of 37 following a heart attack.. Abir Goswami had acted in TV serials like ‘Kkusum, Yahan Main Ghar Ghar Kheli, Hotel Kingston’ and ‘Pyar Ka Dard Hai’. Abir was diagnosed with lymphoma in May 2012 and had unndergone surgery.JIAH KHAN (JUNE 3)
The 25-year-old actress, best remembered as the ‘Nishabd’ girl, was found hanging at her flat in suburban Mumbai this year. A six-page suicide note was discovered by Jiah Khan’s mother a few days after her death. In the note Jiah wrote about her relationship with Suraj Pancholi, that landed the budding actor in jail. After spending over 20 days in jail, Suraj was released on bail. While the police claimed it was a case of suicide, Jiah’s mother Rabiya Khan alleged that it was not suicide and sought police to probe the angle of murder.CORY MONTEITH (JULY 13)
‘Glee’ star Cory Monteith died of intravenous heroin use combined with the ingestion of alcohol in his hotel room in Vancouver. Monteith became famous as Finn Hudson with the success of Fox’s musical series since its launch in 2009. He was dating Lea Michele, who also played his onscreen love interest in the series and supported his decision to get into rehab.MANNA DEY (OCTOBER 24)
Legendary playback singer Manna Dey died at a city hospital in October after prolonged illness. Manna Dey, 94, who was admitted to Narayana Hrudayalaya five months ago for respiratory problems, died of cardiac arrest. He was born as Prabodh Chandra Dey but was popularly known as Manna Dey. Manna Dey then began his journey in Bollywood as an assistant music director in 1942 when he accompanied Krishna Chandra Dey to Mumbai (then Bombay). During his lifespan, the legendary singer received Dadasaheb Phalke Award and National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer.RESHMA (NOVEMBER 3)
Legendary Pakistani folk singer Reshma, who mesmerised music lovers in the Indian subcontinent with soulful rendition of songs like ‘Lambi Judai’ and ‘Dama Dam Mast Kalandar’ in her trademark rustic voice, died in Lahore on after a prolonged battle with throat cancer.PAUL WALKER (NOVEMBER 30)
The star of the ‘Fast & Furious’ movie series died in a tragic car crash this November. The horrifying car crash killed Walker and his friend in north of Los Angeles. Walker, 40, was working on ‘Fast & Furious 7’ at the time of his death. He also starred in the suspense drama, ‘Hours’, which is set for release this month.
NELSON MANDELA (DEC 5)
Anti-Apartheid leader and former President of South Africa Nelson Mandela died at his Johannesburg home after a prolonged lung infection. He was born on 18th July 1918 in a small village of Mvezo which was then a part of South Africa’s Cape Town province. He was given the forename Rolihlahla which basically means ‘troublemaker’. Mandela’s name was going to have a huge effect on him in the future as he would go onto create enormous trouble for the ruling racist regime in South Africa.
DAVID COLEMAN (DEC 21)
British sports broadcaster David Coleman, who covered 11 Summer Olympics for the BBC and six football World Cups, died at the age of 87. Coleman retired from the BBC in 2000 after covering the Sydney Olympics. He became the first broadcaster to receive an Olympic Order medal to recognize his contribution to the Olympic movement.MIKHAIL KALASHNIKOV (DECEMBER 23)
Mikhail Kalashnikov, the designer of famed Russian AK-47 assault rifle, passed away in his home city of Izhevsk, an industrial town. Kalashnikov was the carnage of World War II, when Nazi Germany overran much of the Soviet Union, which altered his course and made his name as well-known for bloodshed as Smith, Wesson and Colt. The distinctive shape of the gun, often called “a Kalashnikov,” appeared on revolutionary flags and adorns memorabilia -
DAVID COLEMAN (DEC 21)
British sports broadcaster David Coleman, who covered 11 Summer Olympics for the BBC and six football World Cups, died at the age of 87. Coleman retired from the BBC in 2000 after covering the Sydney Olympics. He became the first broadcaster to receive an Olympic Order medal to recognize his contribution to the Olympic movement.
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HeartGift-a nonprofit in Dallas to restore health of children’s heart
DALLAS (TIP): Haven’t heard of HeartGift Foundation? You must know then. Since 2000, more than 200 children from 28 countries have received lifesaving heart surgery, courtesy HeartGift Foundation. The relatively new do-gooder HeartGift Foundation, a nonprofit agency based in Austin with five chapters, is now in Dallas. HeartGift’s mission is to provide heart surgery to disadvantaged children living in developing countries where specialized medical treatment is scarce or nonexistent. The Dallas chapter handled four patients in 2013 and will be able to handle 12 per year.
All medical work here is done at Children’s Medical Center, and HeartGift Dallas’ patients benefit from the generosity of the medical staff, such as pediatric cardiothoracic surgeons Dr. Joseph Forbess, Dr.Kristine Guleserian and Dr. Vinod Sebastian, who donate their skills to repair all HeartGift children’s hearts during their stays in Dallas. In Dallas, HeartGift Dallas works on a contract with Children’s and UT Southwestern that allows HeartGift to save the lives of 12 children a year at a low, flat cost. The HeartGift chapters bring children in for about one month. The child and a family member, typically the mother, stay with a volunteer host family. The child spends about one week in the hospital receiving heart surgery. The agency raises money to pay the partnering children’s hospitals $15,000 to help offset costs of surgery.
Professional medical services are donated. Through reduced hospital charges and donated medical services, every donated dollar provides $13 of value. The mortality rate for the surgeries is 2 percent. Each HeartGift chapter has a local board of directors, and each hospital appoints a HeartGift Medical Selection Committee to review all cases referred to the program. The local HeartGift staff also recruits and trains a host community for the child. Some host families are drawn to the role because they share the same cultural background as HeartGift patients or because their own children have been through open-heart surgery. A host community is also recruited to help make the job of the host family easier. The Episcopal School of Dallas was the host community for a young patient named Marvin from Christmas Island.
Community service director Christi Morrow got her students excited about giving back. They treated Marvin to lunches at the school, football games, pep rallies, meals delivered to the host home and lots of love. The First United Methodist Church in Frisco was the host community of Tabiria, also from Christmas Island. They hosted her and her mother in a congregation member’s home and showered them with love, meals, outings, transportation and visits at the hospital. To donate to HeartGift Dallas, make checks payable to HeartGift and specify “Dallas Chapter” in the memo line. Mail to HeartGift Dallas, 11700 Preston Road, Suite 660 #394, Dallas, TX 75230. You can donate online at heartgift.org. To get involved or learn more about the agency, call executive director Barbara Johnson at 817-773-7662 or email her at bjohnson@heartgift.org.
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The Essence of Diwali
The DFW Indian Cultural Society’s mega event-the Diwali Mela- is being organized on November 2 at Cotton Bowl. It will be the 8th super mela in a row. As our tribute to the grand event, we bring to our readers an article on Diwali specially written for The Indian Panorama by Mike Ghouse, a noted literateur and journalist. Read on.
Diwali is the Indian festival of lights and is celebrated on a large scale throughout India and the Indian Diaspora. It is also celebrated in Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Singapore, Guyana, West Indies, Fiji, and of course, here in the United States. Thanks to the Gupta’s for placing Dallas on the World Map of Diwali Celebrations.
I believe it is one of the biggest celebrations in the United States, if not the biggest in the western Hemisphere. Ramesh Gupta initiated the event eight years ago, fully supported, encouraged and funded by the Dallas billionaire couple Satish and Yasmin Gupta.
DFW Indian Cultural Society (DFW ICS) made its debut on the Dallas scene with the very first “Diwali Mela 2006”, which drew over 38,000 people to Texas Stadium. . Attendance has been increasing every year and is currently at an impressive figure of over 70,000. Diwali Mela has become an annual signature event for DFW IC
The inauguration of an earlier Diwali Mela
DFW ICS has a strong commitment to the community which is reflected in the variety projects that it has undertaken, such as organizing the Diwali Mela, entertainment programs, sponsoring the Medical Clinics in Plano and Lewisville, for the uninsured and has recognized the contribution of teachers to the community by giving cash rewards.
DFW ICS has supported multiple non-profit organizations throughout metropolis. Under the leadership of Satish Gupta, DFW ICS is moving forward by organizing various programs and dedicating itself to serving the needs of the communities in the Dallas Fort Worth area
Huge gathering in Cotton Bowl
Nearly 50,000 people attend the event. First it was held in Texas Stadium, former home of the Dallas Cowboys and now it is held at the Cotton Bowl Stadium in Fair Park, Dallas, where college football is played and home to Texas State Fair. There is nothing like it.
Satish Gupta, president of the organizations writes this information on their website, http://www.dfwdiwalimela.com/, “This year again we have decided to pack all the fun for children, youth, adults and seniors. From Ram Leela and Bollywood singers to spectacular fireworks, elephant rides to slides, Cultural dances to mouth watering Indian food, all packed in one of the biggest Carnival of its kind in America. There will be three elephants and two camels available for the rides this year! We bring all this to you at a very minimal cost to you.”
The moving spirit behind the Diwali Mela, Satish Gupta, President of DFW Indian Cultural Society
“The large number of people the Carnival attracted in the past years is a testimony to its success. The number of attendees keeps growing and it presents an important platform for a quick reach to the Asian Community of Dallas Fort worth and the nearby cities of Texas.
We would like to thank all our Sponsors who support us in this huge task. The purpose of this message is to request you to come with your family and friends and make the event a grand success. Your participation will go a long way in promoting our culture to the kids and youths of our community.” Diwali is spelled differently, and is called by many names.
There is Divali among others, and Deepavali, meaning the festival of lights. Although Diwali is a Hindu tradition, people of all faiths participate in celebrations – Hindus, Jains, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Zoroastrians and others. People decorate their homes with lights and Rangoli, i.e., colorful drawing in the front yard of the home, sidewalks, even roads in India with colorful powders or colorful pieces of chalk.
Women and Children look forward to express their artistic talent in this season. Their surroundings filled with colorful lights to enliven the day, to mark the dawn of a new era in one’s life. My childhood is filled with good memories of Diwali; the sparklers, the food and everything joyous you can imagine.
A few years ago, Jyoti and Nishi Bhatia, former President of DFW Hindu Temple and President of Dallas Hindi Association respectively, asked me to speak about Diwali in a dinner gathering to a group of people from different faiths and cultures, and I cherished it, I love talking about Diwali, as its essence reflects the ideals of pluralism, and symbolizes hope and positive energy, victory of good over evil; a new beginning.
It is indeed seeing the light at the end of tunnel. Diwali Celebration is a part of the epic Ramayana, and the Ram Lila is played out all night long in towns across India. I grew up watching it in front of my house, and my friends played different roles in the show. Indeed, one of my former relatives played Hanuman’s role.
Ramayan being enacted
It was a challenge for me to teach Ramayana to a group of people who knew nothing about it. It turned out to be a successful program. I prepared the nearly all white audience that I will be narrating the story through the power point and along will be reinforcing the names and roles of the key persons in the story and will ask them for feed back at the end.
Friends, I cannot tell you the joy, the Bhatias and I felt when each one of them answered the questions from the story. They got it! It is a powerful story and takes about 30 minutes to narrate. The epic is filled with educative tales, edifying poems, and fables. It is probably through their constant retelling in the villages over centuries that Hinduism is most efficiently disseminated from generation to generation
Ravana’s effigy is set on fire
Whenever a society rots with adharma (wrong path), where no one cares about the other, lying, stealing and dishonesty become rampant, Lord Krishna says, I will emerge among you and restore the righteousness and trust in the society to function smoothly.
Zarathustra, Moses, Jesus, Buddha, Muhammad, Krishna, Nanak, Mahavira, Confucius, Tao and others served the same purpose… it is almost like the laws of physics ; water finds its own level, and righteousness finds its own existence. Rama is one such incarnation who reestablished the moral code for social conduct and proper relation of mankind to divinity. He was truthful and a just king. Diwali symbolizes hope and positive energy
● People wear new clothes
● Share sweets as a symbol of happiness
● Renew the relationships
● Strengthen the bonds It signifies a new beginning, starting out fresh.
● for most businesses it is the new financial year
● An inventory of assets is taken
● An assessment of family and relationship
● Last harvest for the farmers
● New things are boughtPresident Obama in his message last Diwali said it perfectly,
“Many who observe this holiday will light the Diya, or lamp, which symbolizes the triumph of light over darkness and knowledge over ignorance.As that lamp is lit, we should all recommit ourselves to bring light to any place still facing darkness. Earlier this year, we were reminded of the evil that exists in the world when a gunman walked into the Sikh Gurdwara in Oak Creek, Wisconsin and opened fire.
In the wake of that horrible tragedy, we saw the resilience of a community that drew strength from their faith and a sense of solidarity with their neighbors, Sikh and non-Sikh alike. We also saw compassion and love, in the heroic actions of the first responders and the outpouring of support from people across the country. Out of a day of sadness, we were reminded that the beauty of America remains our diversity, and our right to religious freedom. To those celebrating Diwali, I wish you, your families and loved ones Happy Diwali and Saal Mubarak.”
Today, on this blessed day, we have a blank slate to start, let’s plan on filling it with doing good things for ourselves, to our family, friends, community, nation and the world until next Diwali. What are good things? Words and actions that bring peace, Mukti, salvation, Moksha, nirvana, Nijaat and freedom to us, yes us.
There is so much of joy waiting to be had. If we can remove hatred and anger towards others, forgive others and ask for forgiveness (Michami Dukadam is a beautiful phrase the Jain’s use), then a blissful year is sure to come for each one of you and me.
● May this Diwali purge your heart, mind and soul from hate, malice, anger and ill-will;
● May this Diwali open your hearts and minds towards fellow being;
● May this Diwali brighten your life, and may this Diwali mark the dawn of a new era; Muslims are a big part of Diwali as well, and innumerable poets have written poetries and songs about Diwali.Here is my effort, I wrote this seven years ago on the occasion when Diwali and Ramadan were celebrated around the same time.
A meri diwali hai, a meri eid hai donon may khushi hi khushi hai Diwali say naya saal shuru hota hai Ramzan ek naya insaan banata hai Diwali may ek baat ka hisab hota hai Ramzan may her baat ka review hota hai Diwali nayay saal ke liye clean slate deta hai Ramzan pichlay saal ki slate clean karta hai Baat hi baat may, my nay a sher likh diya Sahir Diwali aur Ramzan say subka acha hi hota hai Shubh kamnaein | Diwali Mubarak | Blessed Diwali. Happy Diwali to you my friends, may this Diwali bring happiness, serenity and peace to you. Amen!
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NELSON MANDELA’S health is showing great improvement, says ex-wife
ORLANDO (TIP: South Africa’s ailing anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela is showing “great improvement”, his former wife said on June 28 as his countrymen continued to pray for the speedy recovery of the 94-year-old former president. “I’m not a doctor but I can say that from what he was a few days ago there is great improvement,” Winnie Madikizela-Mandela told reporters outside his former home in Orlando, Soweto. Madikizela-Mandela called on the media not to “get carried away” in their reporting on her former husband’s illness.
“Please understand the sensitivities and the feeling of the family,” she said. “It can also happen that you have crossed the boundaries.” The medical condition of Mandela, South Africa’s first black president, has improved slightly from an earlier “critical” state, the country’s Presidency said yesterday. Mandela, who turns 95 on July 18, has been admitted to a hospital here on June 8 with a recurring lung infection.
Well wishers are continuing to gather outside the hospital where Mandela, regarded the founding father of South Africa’s multiracial democracy, was admitted 21 days ago. They have been singing and saying prayers outside the hospital and at Soweto former home of Mandela, who is revered across the globe as a symbol of resistance against injustice. South African children released 94 balloons – one for every year of Mandela’s life – into the air in his honour.
US President Barack Obama also arrived in South Africa, the second stop in his three-country tour of Africa. But he is not expected to meet the globally admired statesman. Mandela had a long history of lung problems, dating back to the time when he was a political prisoner on Robben Island during apartheid. While in jail he contracted tuberculosis. Mandela is revered for leading the fight against white minority rule in the African country and then preaching reconciliation despite being imprisoned for 27 years.
Mandela served as the country’s first black president from 1994 to 1999.He left power after five years as president. Mandela was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993. He retired from public life in 2004 and has not been seen in public since the football World Cup finals in in 2010. Meanwhile, South Africans protested against Obama’s visit to the country. Trade union activists, students and South African Communist Party cadres staged the demonstration to protest Obama’s “arrogant, selfish and oppressive” foreign policy.
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Indians account for 22% of Britain’s ultra-rich cluba
NEW YORK (TIP): Super-rich Indians account for more than 20% of the wealth of ultra-high net worth (UHNW) individuals in Britain, a new list showed on Tuesday, March 5. As a national group, they are second only to expat Russians. The list, published by the Singapore-based Wealth-X group, places steel magnate and ArcelorMittal chairman Lakshmi Mittal at second place with a fortune of $15.8 billion. Mittal was pushed to the second spot this year by Russian Alisher Burkhanovich Usmanov, who is part owner of the English football club Arsenal and is worth $16.4 billion. “Mittal has seen his net worth estimate decline along with the stock price of ArcelorMittal, losing at least $30 billion in recent years,” the report said. The two other Indians on the top 15 list are the Hinduja brothers – Srichand at number 9 with a net worth of $7.6 billion and Gopichand at 12th with $6 billion. Taken together, the wealth of the three Indian-origin industrialists makes up 22% of the top 15 total of $133.3 billion. Apart from Usmanov, the two other Russians in the list include Roman Abramovich (at number 3, $12.1 billion) and Leonard Blavatnik (Number 5, $9.5 billion).
According to Wealth-X estimates, there are 10,760 individuals residents in Britain worth $30 million or more, with at least 310 new individuals joining the ranks of the ultra wealthy. On an average, Britain has added one UHNW individual every day since 2011. The combined wealth of the UHNW in Britain stands at an estimated $1.3 trillion. “The wealth composition of the United Kingdom, London in particular, is diverse,” said David Lincoln, Director of Research at Wealth-X. “This is reflected in our data showing that 31% of the UHNW population in the United Kingdom is considered non-domiciled, with non-resident Indians and West AsianUHNWIs making up a significant proportion of these.”
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A Platinum Solution To U.S. Fiscal Woes: $1 Trillion Coin
WASHINGTON (TIP): If you had to flip a coin over whether Congress will raise the debt ceiling, here’s the ultimate one – a freshly minted trillion-dollar platinum coin. A formal petition has been started asking the White House to create such a coin in order to avoid another high-stakes fiscal battle to raise the debt ceiling. The Treasury secretary has the authority to mint platinum coins in the denomination of his choosing, but likely would run into stiff opposition from lawmakers who have been trying to reduce the budget deficits. Creating the cash would also completely override the independence of monetary policy, something the Obama administration has been very careful not to do in the past.
The coin petition is one of many wacky requests to alight on the White House’s website. People have petitioned the President to nationalize the Twinkie industry, deport British CNN talk show host Piers Morgan for gun control comments he made on air, and give Vice President Joe Biden his own TV show. About 4,000 signatures have been collected for the coin petition, which was created two days after lawmakers passed a bill to avert austerity measures of higher taxes and spending cuts. Shown are the petitioner’s first name, first initial of surname, and in most cases, the city. In order to get a formal response from the White House, 25,000 signatures must be collected by early February.
“While this may seem like an unnecessarily extreme measure, it is no more absurd than playing political football with the US — and global — economy at stake,” the petition said. The U.S. Treasury began shuffling funds in order to pay government bills after the country hit the $16.4 trillion legal limit on its debt Dec. 31. However, the Treasury’s accounting maneuvers will last only until around the end of February, giving Congress two months to raise the debt limit before the U.S. defaults on its debt. Last week’s deal forced Republicans to forgo their anti-tax pledges and give in to Democratic demands to raise taxes on the wealthiest. Now Republicans want to use the debt limit increase to win spending cuts from Democrats as well as major changes to Social Security retirement and Medicare health care programs.
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Spain create history, wins Euro 2012
Throughout the tournament, Spain were tagged of being ‘boring’ but they silenced the critics as they defeated Italy 4-0 in the final, which was the biggest victory margin in any World Cup or European championship decider. The Spaniards created history as they became the European Champions for the second time in a row, a feat that has never been achieved before. The Italians looked clueless in the final and couldn’t match with the pace of their opponents. There were speculations ahead of the tournament whether Ukraine and Poland would be able to successfully organize the tournament, but it was indeed a very successful tournament, one of the best the football fraternity has ever seen. Spain create history, wins Euro 2012.
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Break In Midtown Mystery Slay: Cops Grill ‘Person Of Interest’
NEW YORK (TIP): The NYPD pulled a person of interest in for questioning Wednesday, December 12 as the manhunt intensified for the ice-cold killer who gunned down a young father on a busy Manhattan street Monday. Cops took a 40-year-old man into custody Wednesday afternoon, but didn’t arrest him, a police source said. Investigators don’t believe he’s the shooter, but have not ruled out his involvement in what appeared to be a hit. The Queens man is the boyfriend of the woman who rented the getaway car, a Lincoln MKZ, according to sources. Officers from the 113th Precinct in Queens found the getaway car Tuesday night with the help of hightech license plate readers.
The woman who rented the vehicle let someone else borrow it before the grisly slaying occurred, police said. Police got the license plate number as the sedan went through the Midtown Tunnel shortly after Brandon Woodard, 31, was killed about 2 p.m. Just moments before, a single gunman pumped a bullet into Woodard’s head and jumped into the passenger seat of the car. Police are pursuing the case “aggressively,” Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said Wednesday. They’re paying particular attention to the three cell phones Woodard brought with him from Los Angeles. He left one in his luggage but was carrying two with him.
The victim was looking down at one of those phones just moments before he died, like he was reading something. Video surveillance showed the getaway car pulled into its parking spot 20 minutes before Woodard was killed. Footage also shows the assassin casually leaning against the car door. He watches Woodard exit the Thompson Hotel, heading east. Woodward doesn’t react as he passes the waiting predator. The killer is then seen leaning into the passenger door of the sedan, like he’s speaking to someone inside. A few minutes later Woodard doubles back, this time headed west.
Police suspect the street may initially have been too crowded, so the killer first let Woodard walk by unharmed. Then someone may have contacted him with a message that brought him back when the foot traffic cleared, a police source said. “Obviously, we are very much interested in what information was on the phone at that time,” Kelly told reporters Wednesday. Police may have also uncovered a link between Monday’s executionstyle murder and a triple homicide that occurred in Queens this summer, a police source said. The victims in that killing, three men, were parked in front of a friend’s house in Springfield Gardens, Queens, on July 7 after attending a soiree in Brooklyn thrown by a local party planner.
The men had gotten into a fight with others at the party, who followed the victims to Springfield. The shooters sprayed them with a hail of AK-47 bullets as the men sat in their parked car. Cops said at the time that 63 shots were fired from the assault rifle. NYPD detectives have flown to Los Angeles to get a search warrant for the victim’s home and dig deeper into Woodard’s background. Police don’t have a clear motive for the killing but are investigating Woodard’s ties to the entertainment business and possible drug world connections. Woodard’s parents, unaware Wednesday afternoon that the NYPD had brought someone in for questioning, were overcome with emotion when they learned the news.
The victim’s mother, Sandra Wellington, put her hand over her face and reached out to her husband for support. “We’re just hopeful that whoever did this will be brought to justice,” stepdad Rodney Wellington told the Daily News. “She’s very fragile right now,” he said. “Thank you. Thank you,” he said, grateful for the news. Police also interviewed a young woman Wednesday who was with Woodard for what turned out to be his last supper, on Sunday night. Kelly said Woodard landed at Kennedy Airport around 5 p.m. Sunday.
He checked into the Thompson Hotel around 6:30 p.m. He watched a football game with the female companion, and then the two went out for dinner at a nearby restaurant, Kelly said. Woodard left his hotel Monday shortly before 1:30 p.m., and told the concierge he would return for his luggage. He never did. Police searched his room and his bags but found nothing to tell them why Woodard had come to New York. His family is equally mystified. Woodard, father to a 4-year-old girl, had an extensive criminal history, mostly stemming from drugrelated charges. A law student at the University of West Los Angeles, he had 20 prior arrests for drugs and robbery, among other things. He was charged with cocaine possession in California in June.
Woodard was killed with a weapon that detectives determined was used in a random shooting in St. Albans, Queens, in 2009. His parents Wednesday were dealing with the sad details of bringing Woodard’s body home for burial. “Sandra Wellington is still in shock,” said family spokesman Fred MacFarlane. “At this juncture, the family doesn’t know any rationale for what happened, why it happened.” MacFarlane added that the family’s primary goal now is to shelter Woodard’s little girl from the tragic truth. “I don’t think that they have discussed this yet with the 4-year-old daughter. They’re trying to protect her,” he said.
