A t l a n t a ’ s P r e m i e r S o u t h A s i a n N e w s p a p e rJune 2015 Free Copy Tel: 404-235-4998 www.NRIPulse.com

A t l a n t a ’ s P r e m i e r S o u t h A s i a n N e w s p a p e rJune 2015 Free Copy Tel: 404-235-4998 www.NRIPulse.com

The 27th annual convention and banquet of Georgia Association of Physiciansof Indian Heritage (GAPI) held on May 2 included a fashion show ofSabyasachi creations presented by Bollywood Closet. Full report on Page 6.

Indian Workers At Center Of DebateDisney fires employees in favor of H-1B visa holders

Washington: (IANS) Indian H-1B visa hold-ers are at the centre of a raging debate over theusage of the temporary visas after 250 employeesof Walt Disney were replaced by Indian immi-grants as part of a reorganization plan of the enter-tainment conglomerate, a US daily said.

As many as 250 employees of Walt DisneyWorld were notified in Octo-ber last year that they wouldbe laid off, but over the nextthree months they were re-quired to “train their replace-ments to do the jobs they hadlost”, The New York Timesreported on Wednesday. Thereplacements, the daily said,“were brought in by an outsourcing firm based inIndia”.

“The layoffs at Disney and at other compa-nies, including the Southern California Edisonpower utility, are raising new questions about howbusinesses and outsourcing companies are usingthe temporary visas, known as H-1B, to placeimmigrants in technology jobs in the UnitedStates,” the prestigious daily said.

Immigrants on the H-1B visas do the work ofAmericans for less money, which “has created ahighly lucrative business model”, the NYT quoteda Howard University professor as saying.

“For years, most top recipients of the visashave been outsourcing or consulting firms based inIndia, or their American subsidiaries, which im-port workers for large contracts to take over entirein-house technology units — and to cut costs.The immigrants are employees of the outsourcingcompanies,” the daily said.

The report named Infosys,Tata Consultancy Services andHCL America among the topcompanies granted more than1,000 H-1B visas.

Earlier in April this year, agroup of senators said the fre-quency of H-1B-driven layoffshas increased dramatically in the

recent past and called for a probe into the issue.Only 85,000 H-1B visas are granted to for-

eigners each year, and they are in high demand.Technology giants like Microsoft, Facebook andGoogle repeatedly press for increases in the an-nual quotas, saying there are not enough Ameri-cans with the skills they need.

HCL America was hired by Disney in 2012.The company said in a statement that details ofthe agreement were confidential.

On the layoffs, a Disney spokesperson said:“Disney has created almost 30,000 new jobs inthe US over the past decade.”

Vanya Shivashankar &Gokul VenkatachalamAre The 2015 ScrippsSpelling Bee Champs

Washington: (IANS) Two Indian-Americanstudents have jointly won the Scripps NationalSpelling Bee competition.

Vanya Shivashankar, 13, of Olathe, Kansas,and Gokul Venkatachalam, 14, of Chesterfield,Missouri, were declared co-champions recently,CNN reported.

Vanya correctly spelt “ scherenschnitte” andGokul did likewise with “nunatak”.

In this year’s national championship, 285spellers competed for the title.

Vanya, an eighth grader at California TrailMiddle School, has competed in the national beefour other times. Last year, she tied for 13th place.

Her older sister, Kavya, was the 2009 Na-tional Spelling Bee champion.

“This is a dream come true. I can’t believeI’m up here. I’ve wanted this for such a long time,”she said.

“I’m dedicating this to my grandma, be-cause she passed away in October of 2013, andall she really wanted was her grandkids to doso well, and I hope I make her happy withthis,” Vanya added.

Gokul, an eighth grader at Parkway WestSchool, came in third place in last year’s competi-tion.

After his victory, Gokul said the com-petition was a culmination of six years ofhard work.

“I’ve dealt with defeat and success,” he saidduring the live broadcast. “I’m finally happy tohave success.”

Vanya is also the winner of the competitiondocumented on Lifetime’s “Child Genius”.

Gokul professed a great passion for bas-ketball and often greeted the judges with“Wassup?”

I N S I D E...A Cobb Countyman whopleaded guiltyto trying to hiresomeone to killhis wife will bedeported toIndia Pg 8

Indian jewelers foil robberyattempt outside Alpharetta hotelPg 8

Indian-AmericanCop Faces TrialFor SexualAssault Pg 15

Grad StudentSentenced ToLife For KillingBest Friend Pg15

MOVIE REVIEW: DilDhadakne Do Pg 19

4 NRI PULSE June 2015

6 NRI PULSE June 2015........City News ........

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Reports/FeaturesJyothsna Hegde

Supriya D.G.

Glitz, Glamour, Entertainment & More At GAPI BanquetAtlanta, GA: The 27th annual convention and

banquet of Georgia Association of Physicians of In-dian Heritage (GAPI) was held on Saturday, May 2at Crowne Plaza Hotel in Perimeter North, Atlanta.

The day-long event included the GAPI boardmeeting followed by the well attended medical edu-cation sessions, and ended with the banquet, whichwas attended by over 400 physicians and guests.Grand décor, elegant lighting, soothing music, spec-tacular entertainment, inspired speeches and presen-tation of awards were the highlights of the evening.Secretary of State Brian Kemp, Insurance commis-sioner Ralph Hudgens, Assistant Insurance commis-sioner Jay Florence, Acting Consul General of India,R. Srinivasan, President of Medical Association ofGeorgia Dr. Manoj Shah, and CEOs of Gwinnett ClinicLtd, Drs. Meena and JJ Shah graced the event.

The emcee for the evening, Rina Gupta, kept the

audience captivated with her wit and enthusiasm. Theprogram began with the Indian and US national an-thems sung by Emory University students TejalPandharpurkar and Arooj Khalid.

An enthralling dance performance by the dis-ciples of Uma Pulendran of Natya Dhaara followed.The first of the two beautifully choreographed fu-sion pieces was a prayer for Lord Ganesha, the re-mover of obstacles and the other was on LordNadarajah. Both were highly commended by the au-dience.

The entertainment for the evening also includedpopular songs by two winners of the IACA AtlantaIndian Idols 2015. Junior Champion Koyal Ansingkarand Senior finalist Sandeep Gowtha kept the audi-ence mesmerized with theirmelodious rendition ofpopular Bollywood hits.

The grand finale of theentertainment segment wasthe fashion show byBollywood Closet, Atlantawhich presented an elegantcollection of Sabyasachi cre-ations. Fusion music, exquis-ite lighting and profession-ally choreographed se-quences showcased the lovely models in beautifulsaris and lehengas.

Sprinkled through the evening’s proceedings wasthe interactive pop quiz conducted by Rina Guptathat tested the audience’s knowledge on the historyof GAPI. Correct answers were awarded with prizes.

In his brief keynote address, chief guest, Secre-

tary of state Brian Kemp thanked GAPI for its ad-mirable community involvement and said, the ser-vices provided by GAPI not only make Georgia abetter place, but truly have a global impact. Kempalso spoke about his initiative called the ‘SEC pri-mary’ for 2016. Kemp is banding with his counter-parts in Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisi-ana and Arkansas to have the presidential primaryon March 1, 2016. The SEC initiative would makesure the presidential candidates, both Republicanand Democratic, would come to Georgia and partici-pate in the electoral process, and make the time tolearn about the state, rather than merely attendfundraisers, he said.

Guest of honor, Insurance Commissioner RalphHudgens spoke about recent developments his of-fice has made regarding the unfair physician con-tracting practices of several of Georgia’s largest health

insurance compa-nies.

Dr. ManojShah, the first In-dian descent presi-dent of Medical As-sociation of Geor-gia (MAG) saidthat MAG is in-volved in many ac-tivities like advo-cacy in legislation atstate level and alsoat federal level, incourts, and ingovernor’s office.

P r o f e s s o rSagar Lonial, execu-tive vice chair ofEmory WinshipCancer Institute

said his parents brought him as a child to US andinstilled Indian values of hard work and helping oth-ers which paved the way to finding success in hiscareer. He proudly informed the attendees thatWinship Cancer Institute of Emory University isthe only NCI-Designated Cancer Institute in Geor-gia serving Georgians through education, research,prevention and cancer care with over 250 active clini-cal trials seeking out new ways to defeat cancer.

GAPI announced and distributed many awardsduring the latter part of evening. NRI Pulse editorVeena Rao received the media award recognizing herexemplary contribution to the society through jour-nalism. The recipients of student scholarships were

Arora Sahil, BanergeeAnurag, MylarapuNamratha and Patel Sagarbased on their academic andoverall excellence.

This year’s humani-tarian award recipientswere Stephen Daniels andBasnet Manikala. Danielsis one of the founders ofMeals by Grace, a non-profit organization which

feeds many underprivileged school children who oth-erwise go hungry except for the food they get atschool. Manikala is a tireless volunteer for Bhutanirefugees’ welfare. Acting Indian Consul General, R..Srinivasan presented the certificates and monetaryaward of $1,000 for each winner and congratulatedthe awardees.

GAPI president Dr. Indrakrishnan thanked theorganizations which worked with GAPI in conduct-ing many successful social and fundraising eventsover the last one year. This includes APPNA, IACA,Third eye dancers, Soldiers’ angels, Tapestry, BAPSand India Cultural Exchange of Emory University(ICE). He specially appreciated the office of theConsul General of India inAtlantafor their kindnessin working closely with GAPI in their many officialevents including visits of Prime minister NarendraModi, Health minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Indian for-eign secretary Jaishankar and Indian foreign ministryspokesperson Vikas Swarup. Dr Indrakrishnan ap-preciated the help and guidance from the GAPI ex-ecutive committee, Board of trustees, Board of Di-rectors, local media and other well wishers in mak-ing his tenure a memorable one for GAPI and thecommunity.

He also thanked the Winship Cancer Institute ofEmory University, the grand sponsor of the event, andall other sponsors for supporting this grand event. Hethen introduced the new GAPI executive team for 2015-16 which consists of Dr. Sudha Tata (President), Dr.Vijay Maurya (President- elect), Dr Raghu Lolabhattu(secretary) and Dr. Syamala Erramilli (treasurer).

Even in the midst of an incredible evening of en-joyment, the pain and suffering of people ofNepalstruckby earth quake were not at all forgotten. Dr. PrashantGarimella made an elaborate presentation as to the plightof this community and initiated a fund raising campaignon the floor. More than $3000 dollars was collectedwithin few minutes as the seed money and the efforts

will continue with more philanthropic activities for longterm rehabilitation.

The enchanting evening ended with a scrumptiousdinner provided by Urban Spice followed by DJ &dance. ByteGraphs provided the audio visual serviceand stunning lighting effects. The grand decorations ofthe venue were elegantly done by Sterling Décor.

The banquet was preceded by the GAPI BoardMeeting during the day followed by the well attendedmedical education sessions. The board meeting waschaired by the outgoing chairman of GAPI Board oftrustees, Dr. Santanu Das. Among many importantmatters, the roles of standing committees, upgradingthe website and elections by laws were discussed.

Dr Sreeni Gangasani was elected as the newchairman of GAPI board of Trustees. The medicaleducation sessions that followed was chaired by DrP.K. Natrajan and moderated by Dr. Hemant Yagnick.Topics such as tele medicine for rural India, cyberthreat in medicine, current trends in medical practiceownerships, familial hyperlipidemia and anemia workup for primary care physicians were the fascinatingtopics presented and discussed.

Dr Indran Indrakrishnan with Secretary ofState Brian Kemp.

Photos by Bytegraph.com

8 NRI PULSE June 2015........City News ........

Husband In Murder-For-HireScheme Will Be Deported To India

Atlanta, GA: A Cobb County man whopleaded guilty to trying to hire someone to kill hiswife will be deported. Amin Zariwala, 27, whopleaded guilty to a single count of criminal solici-tation will be turned over to the Department ofHomeland Security and de-ported to his native India,Cobb County District Attor-ney Vic Reynolds’ office saidrecently.

Zariwala, who has beenheld without bond since beingarrested on March 5, receiveda five-year sentence and wasto serve one year with the reston probation, authorities said.But Cobb County SuperiorCourt Judge Reuben Greensuspended the rest of the timeZariwala was to be in custodyin favor of deporting him, re-ports AJC.com.

“This was the properresolution to both protect the victim and bringclosure to the families affected by these events,”said Deputy Chief Assistant District AttorneyJason Saliba, who prosecuted the case.

Attorney Manubir Arora of Atlanta repre-sented Zariwala. The Georgia Bureau of Investi-gation investigated the case.

Zariwala was arrested at his computer and

phone repair business in Kennesaw on March 5,after he allegedly hired a hit-man to kill his wife.The ‘hit-man’ turned out to be a Georgia Bureauof Investigation (GBI) undercover agent, accord-ing to media reports.

After the news brokeout, shocked acquaintances ofZariwala variously describedhim as “gentle” and “sweet”.“I thought he was happy andI asked him, ‘How are the ba-bies?’ and he said ‘Oh, they’regreat,” one acquaintance toldWSB TV.

A facebook post byZariwala on Valentine’s Daypaid tribute to his wife: “Thepeople truly worthy to be inyour life are the ones that helpyou through hard times, andlaugh with you after the hardtimes pass. Thank you forstanding rock solid and show-

ering immense love during my downs and for giv-ing me these two bundles of joy! I love you verymuch and I hope I’ll get to give you at least half ofsupport and love that you have given me in this 10years! My life is priceless with these 3 beautifulgirls and lucky me I get 3 Valentines now!”

Zariwala’s wife had told FOX 5 News afterthe arrest that she was shaken by the allegation.

Gwinnett CountyStudent Named US

Presidential ScholarA t l a n t a ,

GA: Grayson HighSchool senior YashShirsath has earnedone of the top aca-demic honors in ourcountry… recogni-tion as a 2015 U.S.Presidential Scholar.

Shirsath is one of only 141 students nationwide toreceive the honor and one of only three Georgia stu-dents selected. Of the three Georgians selected for thishonor, he is the only public school student. The GraysonHigh senior is the school’s 2015 salutatorian and willattend the University of Pennsylvania where he plansto major in computer engineering, management of en-trepreneurship, and innovation. Shirsath also has beenawarded a National Merit Scholarship.

Since 1983, each Presidential Scholar has beenoffered the opportunity to name his or her most influ-ential teacher. The teacher chosen for recognition byYash Shirsath is Mary Stimmel of Grayson High School.

The 2015 U.S. Presidential Scholars are comprisedof one young man and one young woman from eachstate, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, andfrom U.S. families living abroad, as well as 15 chosen at-large and 20 U.S. Presidential Scholars in the Arts.

Yash Shirsath and the other 2015 U.S. Presiden-tial Scholars will be honored for their accomplishmentsin Washington, D.C., June 21-23.

Indian Jewelers Foil RobberyAttempt Outside Alpharetta Hotel

Atlanta, GA: An family of out-of-townjewelers foiled an attempt by two men torob them after a jewelry expo at the MarriottHotel of Windward Parkway in Alpharetta,

police said.The incident occurred on April 29 around

8:30 p.m, according to local media reports.Surveillance video shows the Indian origin

family loading jewelry into an SUV after hostingthe jewelry show at the hotel when a black, newermodelToyota4-Runner backs up toward the

family’s car. Two men jump out of the Toyota andattack the family.

According to the police spokesperson, oneof the suspects pepper-sprayed the family, while

the other suspecttried to steal a suit-case with jewelry.

But the jewel-ers fought and gotthe jewelry back.In the scuffle, oneof the robbers hadh is sh i r t r ippedoff and he ran awayshirtless into theblack SUV beforethey drove away.

Two of the jew-elers are from Char-lotte and two fromIndia.

The family sellsjewelry all over thecountry and at the

time had about $100,000 in merchandise withthem. They said they have never experienced any-thing like this before, reports wsoctv.com.

Anyone with information on the crime shouldcontact Crime Stoppers Greater Atlanta by calling404-577-TIPS (8477), texting CSA Tip toCRIMES (274637).

10 NRI PULSE June 2015........City News ........

Exciting Finals Marks Future Tech Vibha Corporate Challenge CupAtlanta, GA: It was Déjà vu for the Future Tech

cricket team, almost! Being the title sponsors and oneof the best teams of the Future Tech Vibha CricketTournament over the years, reaching semifinals andfinals on several occasions, they have never won theprestigious cup. They are often compared to the SouthAfricans as the choking genius of Vibha cricket. Onceagain, they reached the finals of the Corporate Chal-lenge Cup and batting first they were scuttled out for apaltry 30 runs in 8 overs of the allocated 10 overs. Thetarget was so small - it can be achieved with only 5heaves across the boundary or sedate nudges in everyover – that their opponents Marietta Mahem weresensing victory and visibly excited.

Such is the game of cricket that miracles can hap-pen. The Future Tech Bowlers - Niyaz Ahmed, Surendranath Gandavaram, Atul Chauhan and RaviRajput - bowled with such line, length and variationthat they gave away virtually nothing to the batsmen.In the second over, the ball from Atul pitching welloutside the leg and turning to knock the leg stump of thebatsman was the ball of the tournament. The specta-tors gasped at that and the more knowledgeable onescompared it to Shane Warne magic. Future Tech bowlersnever looked back after that ball and their captain, AnjBalusu, rallied the team to an unprecedented victory,by removing the opponents for 15 runs in 9 overs.Finally, the curse was broken and Sravan Vellanki, theChairman and CEO of Future Tech, was in all smileslifting the huge cup!

The exciting final on the 9th May 2015 madeup for all the days lost in April due to the unusualincessant rains in Atlanta. The volunteers of Vibhamaintained their hallmark professionalism and keptthe teams informed at regular intervals about the

weather conditions and made sure that the entiretournament finished in a safe and orderly manner.Sreenivas Duddempudi, the coordinator of Vibhacricket this year, said “The enthusiasm with whichall the volunteers stepped up week after week and thespirit of the players - some players playing for the

cause of the children and some for the love of the game- made it worth our efforts in organizing the tourna-ment. It is inspiring and motivating to see the commit-ment towards Vibha’s cause”.

Never satisfied with the status-quo, either in mak-ing a difference to the lives of children or in the innova-tive ways they raise funds for the cause, Vibha volun-teers changed the format of the tournament this yearand split it into two parts – A Star Cup for the first 16non-corporate teams, and the finalists joining the Cor-

porate Challenge Cup of 24 teams. The Women’s tour-nament was once again a special attraction with the twoparticipating teams Marietta Mayhem and WillowVanithas playing with a lot of enthusiasm and sports-manship. Willow Vanithas won convincingly by scor-ing 52 runs and restricting their opponents to 29 runs.

The Future TechVibha Cricket Tournament-2015 was inaugurated onApril 11th at East Roswellpark by ravan Vellanki,where he unveiled the of-ficial tournament T-shirt. He lauded the volunteersof Vibha and thanked theplayers and all other spon-sors of the tournament.The Star Cup final wasplayed on 2nd of May be-tween Syrainfotek WillowRaiders and ColumbusStrikers. Willow Raiderswon the match easily bybowling extremely welland restricting their oppo-

nents to 26 runs and reached the target losing only onewicket. After receiving their Star trophy and their indi-vidual medals, both the teams gained Quarter-finals berthin the Corporate Challenge Cup.

The Corporate Challenge Cup games hadstarted on the 2nd of May with many of the teamsfrom previous years in the fray as well as severalnew teams. There was the usual mix of exciting nailbiters and one sided games in the initial rounds andin the end the two teams that rose above the rest as

finalists were Marietta Mayhem and Future Tech,of which the later prevailed in a nail-biter. Thecaptain of the winning team, Anj Balusu com-mented “As a volunteer, supporter and partici-pant of Future Tech Vibha Cricket, it has been 14

memorable years of accomplishment with mount-ing pride, for being able to be part of this tourna-ment year after year, win or loose”

The funds raised from this event will be used tosupport child development projects in India in the fieldsof education, vocational training, and healthcare. F

Having finished one event that is a mainstay ofthe cricket enthusiasts in Atlanta, Vibha volunteersare already setting their eyes on the next biggestevent - The Paramount Software DreamMile 2015! One of the best 5K/10K walk/run events in Atlantaattended by close to 2000 runners and walkers, theDreamMile will be held this year on Sept 19th inForsyth at Collections Mall. Volunteering in Vibhais a mix of fun and the spirit of helping the cause ofunderprivileged children of India and USA. Moreinfo at atlanta.vibha.org.

Bombay Grill In Dunwoody Reopens Under New ManagementAtlanta, GA: Remember Bombay Grill in

Chamblee/Dunwoody where so many of thecommunity events were held until it closed downsix years ago? The upscale restaurant and ban-quet facility reopened recently under a new, en-thusiastic management.

Atlanta’s Dinesh Nagpal who has a share in theproperty, invited his California based restaurateur/chef friend Vikram (Vicky) to partner in the restau-rant, and together, the duo spent several months rec-reating the interiors and building a quality team. Theteam includes two renowned chefs with five-star hotelexperience and friendly wait-staff.

“The facility was completely vandalized andwe had to build it again from scratch,” says

Nagpal. The elegant interiors, upscale ambianceand innovative themed lighting at the restaurantand banquet facility are testimony to his designskills.

The banquet facility seats 600 people, and

is perhaps the only one of its kind in theDunwoody area.

“It makes a world of difference when thefood is cooked at the venue and served fresh,”says Vicky, who recently convinced a weddingparty to change the venue from the Hilton toBombay Grill because of the convenience factor.

The adjoining restaurant also has a partyroom that can seat up to 30 people.

“The room is perfect for corporate eventswhere presentations can be made, or for any othersmall parties,” says Nagpal. “Get your food fromthe buffet bar during lunch, or order food from themenu for dinner, and, at no extra cost, you can

have your own private nook for your event.”The restaurant also boasts of live music two

days a week and belly dancing during the week-ends.

The menu at Bombay Grill is extensive andwill soon include seafood delights likeshrimp, crab and lobster, says Vicky.

At $10 on week days, the lunchbuffet includes a salad bar, tandooriappetizers, south Indian and northIndian dishes. Dosas, puris, naans orany other type of bread can be or-dered at the table.

“We are Punjabis. Food and hospi-tality are in our DNA,” says Nagpal.Partner Vicky, who ran Akbar Grill inCalifornia for several years, also hashands-on experience in the hospitality

industry.“You need passion to be in the restaurant

business,” he says. “When I started off 20 yearsago, I wanted to be a waiter, but my boss hired meas a dishwasher.” As Vicky worked his way up, helearned the ins-and-outs of the business, and endedup running the restaurant.

Hospitality and passion are certainly in theteam’s DNA. A recent review on yelp had this tosay about the new management team:

“First off, I have to say that the new mana-gerial staff is incredible. One of the owners waskind enough to walk me through the restaurant’smost popular dishes, explain some of the more

Dinesh Nagpal

Bombay Grill is located at 2165 Savoy Dr,Chamblee, GA 30341. Please see their displayad on Page 5.

obscure foods and ingredients to me, and accom-modate my sister’s allergies (she requested thather vegetarian meal be cooked in separate cook-ware). He seemed to be making rounds at all thetables along with the wait staff, ensuring everyone’s meals were on par. It’s rare to find thattype of customer service in family-owned res-taurants.”

The team is certainly off to a good start!

NRI PULSE 9November 2014

Continued from Pg 1.....

........City News ........

Gandhi Foundation Of USA Hosts Delegates From GandhigramBY MAHADEV DESAI

Atlanta, GA: Gandhians D.K. Oza, formerVice Chancellor and Dr. V. Ragupathy, Professorof Political Science at Gandhigram Rural Univer-sity (GRU), Tamil Nadu, India have long beenadmirers of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. for hisoutstanding contributions to humanity and civilrights and in particular his “I Have a Dream”

speech.It was thus no surprise that they flew to

Atlanta (the Civil Rights capitol of the world) topay a weeklong (April 21-28, 2015) homage toGandhi and the King legacy at the invitation of theGandhi Foundation of USA (GFUSA), headquar-tered in Atlanta.

Oza and Dr. Ragupathy along with chairmanSubash Razdan and exec. director Antony Thaliathof the Gandhi Foundation of USA (GFUSA) gotan up close look at the Morehouse College MartinLuther King Jr. Collection at the Atlanta Univer-sity Center’s Robert W. Woodruff Library, on April24. Dr. M.L. King Jr. was a student of MorehouseCollege in Atlanta.

Dr. Vicki Crawford, Executive Director of theMorehouse King Collection, gave anoverview of the 10,000-piece col-lection housed in the Library.

“The interest in the Gandhi-King legacy will mirror and empha-size in the proposed endeavor for aMemorandum of Understanding(MOU) collaboratively between theGandhi-King Center/GandhigramTrust of Gandhigram Rural Insti-tute (GRI) and the GFUSA”, saidMr. Oza, who also is a retired In-dian Administrative Service (IAS)officer from Tamil Nadu cadre. Dr.Crawford received the visiting del-egates with great enthusiasm and

even had brief discussions on the possibilities ofexchange programs between the Gandhi King Cen-ter of GRI, GFUSA, and the King Collection atthe Morehouse library.

The visiting delegates accompanied byGFUSA officials then met and networked withDr. L. E. Carter, Dean of Religion and Founder,

Gandhi King Ikeda Institute of Global Ethics atthe MLK Jr. International Chapel. Rev. Carterexplained the ongoing activities of the MLK

Chapel at Morehouse.The next meeting of the day was with Dr.

Gregory Hall, Professor and Chair, Departmentof political science Morehouse College. Prof. Hallsuggested that a draft proposal for collaborativeprograms could be explored and developed. Hereiterated the need to develop studies on the non-violent strategies of Gandhi and King at theMorehouse College.

In the evening the visitors got together againat a working dinner at the residence of hosts Subash andRaj Razdan (of GFUSA) graced by many VIPs, digni-taries, diplomats and leaders of diverse groups, includ-ing Dr. King’s nephew, Hon. Isaac Farris, National ParkService Superintendent Judy Forte, Hon. Greg Pridgeon,former Council Member and Chief of Staff of the Cityof Atlanta, Hon. R. Srinivasan, Acting Consul General ofIndia at the Consulate General of India (CGI), Atlanta,Ms. Ray Ann Kremer and Mr. George Shapiro of AJC(Ms. Kremer supported and attended the dedication ofthe Gandhi Statue in 1997 on behalf of the AmericanJewish Community), Mr. Mohsin (Treasurer ofGFUSA) and many other community leaders.

Oza’s address included a power point pre-sentation on the mission of Gandhi-King Centerof GRI and the purpose of their visit. Dr. V.Ragupathy also explained the significance of tak-ing forward the message of Gandhi and King tofuture generations. Hon. Srinivasan of the CGIappreciated the joint efforts of the GFUSA andGRI in propagating their mission and assured ofencouragement and support for suchhumanitarian activities by the CGI.

Gandhigram in India, founded with the bless-ings of Mahatma Gandhi by two of his close dis-ciples in 1947, Dr. G. Ramachandran and Dr. S.Soundaram, is now a well-known hub of Gandhianactivities. Gandhigram is regarded as a nationalcenter for implementing the ideals of Gandhi in toaction.

More than 50 years after Dr. King’s visit toGandhigram, Subash Razdan, Chairman of

GFUSA, visited Gandhigram in 2014 as a guestspeaker for a seminar on “Lincoln, Gandhi andKing”. It was during his visit an idea to commemo-

rate King’s visit to Gandhigram through a perma-nent program in the name of Gandhi-King wasdiscussed. On the initiative of Mr. D. K. Oza /Prof. V. Ragupathy [Ragupathy was a guest ofGFUSA earlier at the Ekatva concert by GFUSA(in a joint-venture with a NGO of Ahmedabad andAtlanta community at Rialto auditorium in At-lanta on Jun 16, 2012) to benefit the needy childrenwith their education in Gujarat], encouraged by Razdanand supported by Sri Sivakumar, the GandhigramTrust came forward to start Gandhi-King Centerin Gandhigram. Consequently, the Gandhi KingCenter for Peace and Justice was born and inau-gurated by the Gandhigram Trust on July 11,2014. An Advisory committee under the chair-manship of Dr. Natarajan, current Vice Chancel-lor Gandhigram Rural University, was also setup and is guiding the working of the Center. TheCenter is also in the process of initiating a largenumber of programs to spread the message of Gandhiand King especially among the younger generation.

“GFUSA is giving its constant support tothe Gandhi King Center there. Razdan’s secondvisit to Gandhigram in February 2015 to give aspecial lecture at the Gandhi-King Center and theresultant networking further boosted the endeavorof promotion of the legacy of Dr. King and Gandhijointly. The congratulatory and supportive mes-sage from the CEO of King Center, Bernice Kingfor our Gandhi-King Center was also timely andvery appreciated in India. It now behooves on us,in India, to reciprocate and create a befitting Me-morial for Dr. King in India “, remarked Prof.Ragupathy. “Razdan’s meetings with Mr. V.K.Sivakumar, secretary of Gandhigram Trust and Dr.Natarajan, Vice Chancellor of GRU also served asa catalyst to pave the path for our current visit toAtlanta. We are here primarily to explore the pos-sibilities of developing collaborative activities intaking forward the message of Gandhi and King toand fro and across the continents.

GATS Celebrates Women’s Day

Atlanta, GA: For the first time in the his-tory of Greater Atlanta Tamil Sangam (GATS),Women’s day was celebrated on Mothers’ day,May 10, 2015.

Organized by LakshmiThesam, vice president of theassociation, the event was ex-clusively for the women ofthe Tamil community, andwas attended by more than250 ladies.

The highlight of theprogram was the medicalseminar organized by GATSBoard of Directors chair andAmerican Tamil Medical As-sociation, GA chapter gover-nor, Dr. Kalai Chellam, Inter-

nist and Geriatrician. Re-nowned physicians of theTamil community partici-pated in the seminar.

Dr. Kalai’s talk, titled “Womb to theTomb”, addressed women’shealth issues including ma-ternal and fetalhealth, childhood immuniza-tions, adolescence medicine ,adulthood & geriatric syn-dromes, diseases and ail-ments.

Female physicians ofvarious specialties addressedthe community and shared

valuable information on preventive health, cancers,podiarty and pediatric neurology.

The event also included lots of food and funactivities.

L to R: Subash Razdan (Chair), Isaac Farris (nephew of Dr. M.L. King), D.K.Oza (Vice Chancellor), R. Srinivasan (Acting Consul General), V. Ragupathy(Professor), Antony Thaliath (Exe. Dir) and Mohsin Bharmal (Treasurer,GFUSA). Photo by Mahadev Desai.

Continued on Pg 20.....

NRI PULSE 13June 2015 ........City News ........

Geet-Rung Pays Tribute To ‘Naari’ At Annual Dance ShowBY SHWETA DUBEY

Atlanta, GA: Each year Atlanta’s premierdance and music academy Geet-Rung School ofDance and Music showcases its annual programthat coincides with Mother’s Day. Following thetrend Geet-Rung presented another spectaculardance show ‘Naari’- A tribute to woman on May 10that Gwinnett Performing Arts center. As always theevent was dedicated to the worthy cause of St. JudeChildren’s Research Hospital, all proceeds to be do-nated to St. Jude to help find cures for childhood cancer,and where no child is denied treatment.

Divya Srivastava, founder and director of Geet-Rung brilliantly put together the dance show ‘Naari’celebrating all aspects of woman through Kathak, folk,fusion and Bollywood choreographies. ‘Naari’ jismeRadha hai, Sita hai, Mohini hai, Laxmi hai, Parvati hai,Durga hai, duniya ki har Shakti hai, Naari the ultimate ofall creation and bearer of all humans. Emcees AqsaFarooqui and Sunny Sachdeva welcomed the audience,kept them informed and entertained.

The evening started with the invocation song ‘Omnamah Shivayh’ gracefully danced by Divya herselfaccompanied by advanced level students. Then fol-lowed a series of other dances by students of variousage and levels that portrayed the love of Radha and all‘brijbalas’ for Krishna, longing and a never ending waitof Meera for Krishna, Laxmi as Goddess of wealth or‘Grahlaxmi’ as Goddess of the home and how uncon-trolled passion for either can lead to destruction. Nextfew choreographies in this segment portrayed the mod-ern woman. With changing time the woman has takenon countless other roles in the fast paced, ever challeng-

ing technical world. Further explaining that ‘Naari’ com-pletes a full circle from ‘creation’ to ‘creator’, to beloved, respected, and cherished for her gentleness, com-passion, strength and motherhood. Much appreciated

were ‘Tarana’, ‘Liquid dance’ and the fusion piece withthe mesmerizing incorporation of Ballet along withKathak in the first half of ‘Naari’ segment. Narration byRachna Gupta linked the entire presentation very well.

The diverse age student groups captured theexuberance of the Indian culture through hitBollywood dances. Audience appreciated the out-standing performances by students on the medley ofthe songs paying tribute to Bollywood divas. Then thestage got vibrant, students in varying formations, inmasks, full of energy, bought the house down with thefinale ‘hoton me aisi baat’. The sequences in this dance

were challenging, as they needed to reflect the gamut ofmoods, and finesse and express the mystery and tensedexpression of the song.

Ekal representative AjayUpadhyaya presented a slideshow explaining the mission andaim of ‘Ekal’. He thanked Divyaand Pankaj for their continuedsupport to Ekal Vidyalaya.

“I want all my students to un-derstand the importance of the com-munity service and how they can usetheir talent to help others in need,”said Divya. “This not only teachesthem great values of life but also givesthem self-confidence, motivation andleadership skills.”

After the grand finale, Divyaextended her thanks to student’s par-ents for their cooperation and sup-port and countless volunteers whohad put in hard work behind stage tomake the program a huge success. According to herwith each year’s recital the student’s caliber is pushedto next level as she challenges them to perfect morecomplex choreographies and achieve the set goal by thetime of the stage performance. Trophies were awardedto all the students, other participants and Volunteers.Student of the year medals were awarded to PoojaSharma (Madhyama Purna), Kareena Kumar (Praveshika Purna) Samiksha Gaherwar (PraveshikaPratham) and Shivangi Panda (Prarambhik) for highestscores earned in the Kathak exams. Certificates wereawarded to the top 5 Fundraising students namely

Devika Sharma, Manika Bhatia, Aafreen Anjum, MileePatel and Aria Upadhyaya. Divya was very proud ofthem and named them ‘five little Angels’ who can bring

light in the dark life of children fighting for their lives.Manager Shweta Dubey was acknowledged

for her constant help round the year and out-standing support during the recital. Stage Lightwas creatively taken care by Shweta Shetty. Back-stage management by Anar Sharma, VarshaAriyakula and Shreya Dubey. Photography byLavanya Palaparthy. Sound and Visual by PankajBhargava, Divya’s equally talented husband andAtlanta’s well known singer.

Overall, this was a magnificent show for a noblecause!

14 NRI PULSE June 2015........City News ........

Laughs Galore As Hindi Poets Regale At Hasya Kavi SammelanAtlanta, GA: Berkmar High school in Lilburn

resonated with laughter on May 24 with wellknown poets from India enthralling an audience ofover 350 of all ages. The sammelan was organizedlocally by International Hindi Association, a non-profit organization, established in 1980, to pro-mote Hindi among kids of Indian origin.

Consul Anil Kumar from the Consulate Gen-eral of India in Atlanta, prominent communitymembers and media representatives attended thisprogram.

Hindi is the official language of India, theworld’s second most spoken language, and spo-ken by almost half a billion people throughout theworld.

The International Hindi Association has beentrying to promote and preserve India’s culturethrough language and literature amongst Indiansabroad. The association has been organizing HasyaKavi-Sammelans around the US with famous Hindipoets with increasing popularity.

In Atlanta, it was a fun filled evening of hu-mor, laughter and heartwarming recitals by threepoets Arun Gemini, Ritu Goel and Ved Prakash.

Arun Gemini is one of the most popular hu-morists in India. He is known for his impeccabletiming and delivery. Along with laughter, his hu-morous poems contain a deep and enchanting sat-ire on day to day problems of life. As a poet ofdistinction, he has been felicitated by Presidentand Prime Minister of India.

Ved Prakash Ved is a leading Hindi satirist,and a celebrated poet of ‘Hasya Vyang’. Ved hasperformed in over 2500 kavi sammelans in Indiaand abroad. When he takes the podium, the audi-torium is filled with continuous laughter. His po-etry has a mixture of engaging humor and pen-

etrating satire. Ved is a recipient of numerousawards,

Ritu Goel is a mass communication graduate,and a journalist by profession. She is a producerand director of numerous documentaries for thegovernment of India and various corporations andmedia houses, and currently runs an advertisingagency named ‘Sanskriti Creations’ and an NGOnamed Disha Foundation. Ritu is a poetess of hu-man-relations and emotions who has performed inover 1000 kavisSammelans in India and abroad.Ritu has been felicitated by the government ofIndia and awarded by Delhi Hindi Academy. She

is a regular on national TV and radio, and is widelypublished in all major Hindi newspapers and maga-zines.

Mustafa Ajmeri welcomed the poets withbouquets on stage. Sanjeev Agarwal, the principalorganizer, welcomed the audience and poets on

behalf of his entire volunteer team.The program was greatly appreciated by all.

Several in the audience said this was the first timein Atlanta history that a Kavi-Sammelan has drawnsuch a big crowd. The audience also appreciatedthe fact that the program was well organized- itstarted on time and ended on time.

Tea and snacks were served during the breakand dinner was served at the end of the program.Food was included in the $15 adult, $10 seniorcitizen ticket price (ages 12 and under were freeentry).

A new team of volunteers organized the event

in Atlanta. The community can look forward tomore such sammelans in the Atlanta area in thefuture, the volunteers said.

After the program, Sanjeev Agarwal gra-ciously thanked the sponsors, audience and hisentire team. Volunteers and supporters who helpedorganize the event were- Acharya VedShrami, Amitand Ruchi Chaurasia, Amrita Kumar, Anil andSandhya Bhagat, Anurag Gupta, Aslam Parvez,Ayan Agarwal, B M Yadav, Brijrani Verma, DeveshDalmia, Dhananjay and Bandana Gupta, Dinnyand Harpal Gujral, Dipti Gupta and SanjeevAgarwal, Gulshan and Shilpi Kharbanda, HariUday, Jinal and Premal Shah, Kamlesh Kumawat,Kashish Kharbanda, Kaushal Tripathi, Manju andShyam Tiwari, Manya Garg, Mustafa Ajmeri,Nidhi and Vishal Agarwal, Nitu Sharma, Om Uncle,Parul and Pradeep Goel, Richa and Manish Sinha,Rohit and Shweta Singh, Sapana Dalmia, Seemaand Vineet Katiyar Garg, Shreshth Kharbanda,Shweta and Anil Dhawan, Srini Nalla, SudhirAgarwal, Suparna and Vimal Pathak, Tanvi Gujral,Vaidehi Goel and Vikas Arora.

The event was sponsored locally by Global Mall,India America Cultural Association (IACA), BukharaaRestaurant, Bombay Grill Restaurant, Sonal Furniture,GA Infotech, MyOrlandoStay.com, SimSam, OmArora, ABC RENOVATIONS, YouScore, Sovi Salon,Riya’s Exclusives, Marco’s Pizza, Dunwoody Taxi &Limo, Dhanajay Gupta, Amit Chaurasia and NimishaTrivedi.

GINA Members Get Together To Celebrate Nurses Day In LilburnBY MAHADEV DESAI

Atlanta, GA: Georgia Indian Nurses Asso-ciation (GINA) celebrated Nurses’ Day with aglitzy dinner and fun-filled entertainment on May9, 2015 at St. Thomas Orthodox Church, Lilburn. Thewell attended program started with a prayer led byFather Mathew Elayadathamadam, followed by hisgreetings for all nurses who were present in the meeting.He emphasized in his speech that nursing is a call andthanked nurses for their contributions to individualsand the community. Young and vibrant nurses JennieMathen and Deepthy Varghese emceed the programwith great verve and enthusiasm and kept the crowdengaged and entertained..

The event commenced with the lighting ofthe lamp by Fr. Mathew, chief guests MaryZellinger and Dr. Sudha Tata the president of GAPI(Georgia Association of Physicians of Indian heri-tage), GINA president Lilly Anickat and the ex-ecutive committee members of GINA.

Sini Anoop and Seena Kudilil sang the Indiannational anthem and Jasmine Anickat sang the USnational anthem. Lilly Anickat welcomed every-one and addressed the nurses. In her talk, shestressed the importance of teamwork for advanc-ing GINA to the next level. She thanked the founderand former president Mary Jose and her team fortheir outstanding work and achievements duringthe past two years. She recognized nurses for theircontributions to GINA and the nursing profes-sion, and expressed her gratitude for being part ofthe “most trusted profession”.

The founder and former president of GINA,Mary Jose introduced the chief guest Maryzellinger APRN, CCNS, CNS cardiovascular criti-cal care unit at Emory university hospital. MaryZellinger’s compelling presentation on the theme

of this year’s nurses week “Ethical Practice: QualityCare” was very informative and interesting not only to

nurses but also to their family and friends who werepart of the audience. She emphasized the importance ofeffective communication for patient safety. She alsotalked about the importance of continuing education ofnurses to improve performance and competency as thehealth care field is constantly advancing. She encour-

aged nurses to stay updated in their knowledge andskills with the latest information and research -findings

to achieve high quality patientoutcomes.

Shirley Parayil,GINA’s advisory boardmember and cultural/socialcommittee chair, invitednurses one-by-one to thestage, and Fr. Mathew andthe chief guest MaryZellenger recognized eachnurse for their services bygiving roses. Everyone en-joyed the slide show withGINA nurses’ old and newnursing pictures and thefunny video presentationprepared by Shirley.

GINA’s education committee-chair VidyaKanagaraj and co-chair Mini Jacob recognizednurses by presenting Certificates to those who hadmade professional advancements and achievements.Mrs. Mary Jose was bestowed with the “GINANurse of the Year” award for her excellent contri-

L to R: Lilly Anickat, Fr.Mathew Elayidathumadam,

Mary Zellinger and Dr. Tata.

butions to her patients and their families, commu-nity, and nursing profession.

Mother’s Day was also celebrated during thisevent by honoring all mothers who were present. Ev-eryone enjoyed the scintillating mother-daughter dancesperformed by Seena Kudilil and her daughter AbigailKudilil; and Seema Jijo and her daughter Simlin. Jas-mine Anickat sang a beautiful song dedicating it to allmothers and nurses. Justin Moonjeli and Suja Moonjelisurprised everyone by entertaining the audience witha Malayalam song. The crowd also much enjoyed MeenaJoseph’s Hindi song.

SAI Health Fair’s well-known founder Dr. SujathaReddy congratulated all the nurses for their dedicationand hard work. She quoted, “No doctor without nurses”and stated that doctors highly value the work of nurses.

Augusty Abraham, GINA’s Advisory Boardmember, in his felicitation, congratulated GINA for itsremarkable achievements in such a short period, andencouraged more nurses to join GINA. Grand CanyonUniversity (GCU) representative Ricardo Contrerascongratulated nurses who had achieved their degrees,recognized them with gifts from GCU, and promised itssupport for nurses who pursue higher education. JecyMathew, the secretary of GINA, moved a vote of

thanks. The celebration ended with a deliciousdinner.

GINA was founded in 2013, to empowerIndian nurses to strive for more than just aver-age and reach their highest potential in theirprofessional practice. GINA is for all Georgianurses and nursing students of Indian origin/heritage that creates a community of excellencein nursing practice not only in the healthcareindustry but in the community at large. Atpresent it has about 150 members. Please visitwww.GINA.Org

Photos by Joseph Anickat.

NRI PULSE 15June 2015 ........NRI News ........

Sureshbhai Patel’s Long, Slow Road To RecoveryBY RIGEL NADAF

Atlanta, GA: ”I did nothing wrong,” werethe first words Sureshbhai Patel told his sonChirag before watching a police video of himselfbeing brutally assaulted to the ground.

Sureshbhai Patel, 57, had arrived from In-dia to the suburb of Madison in Huntsville, Ala-bama, to allow his daughter-in-law to go back towork by promising to care for his grandson.

On February 6 morning, Patel was taking astroll through the neighborhood when police receiveda call mentioning a suspicious man. Eric Sloan Parker,the officer on duty, assaulted Patel, leaving him par-tially paralyzed with two injured vertebrae. Despitethe fact that Patel insisted that he knew no English,Parker attacked him and has since been fired from thejob. Parker, 26, has also been charged with question-able methods against minorities, the use of unreason-able force, as well as for subjecting Patel to an unrea-sonable search and seizure.

Three and a half months later, NRIPulse followed up with Chirag Patel to see howthe family has been doing since the incident. Asthe hospital and physiotherapy bills continueto pile up, Patel spent 15 days in the hospitaland a month after in rehab facilities, having re-turned home in April. He is now living with hisfamily, but his health is still slow.

Patel had surgery performed on his spinalcord, having two vertebrae permanently fused.As his son is the only member of the familycurrently working, it has been financially verydifficult for the Patels to cover the medical ex-penses. The local Indian community has beenvery supportive, donating money to a GOfundcampaign that Patel has been using to pay thehospital and physiotherapy bills.

Patel has also received hundred of cards from allover the country, including Hawaii and even Canada.

Chirag describes his father as a closed offman who is not quick to reveal his true feelings;however, he is sure that his father and familyhave all been traumatized by the event.

“I told my mother that the system here is much

better, but now I can’t be sure. I’d like for my father andmother to stay here with me, but we’ll see how theyfeel later on. The medical system in India is equal toAmerica, but I would still feel more comfortable if myfather stayed here with me. It all depends now emo-tionally where he wants to stay”.

“He can eat with his right hand now, and canwalk with a walker, but his left leg still drags,”Chirag Patel continued. “He needs assistance us-ing the bathroom, showering, changing clothes and

so on.” According to medical professionals, a fullrecovery is not expected; however, they are opti-mistic that significant improvement is possible.The toll this incident will take on Patel’s mentaland emotional health is yet to be seen.

“I try and encourage him to go for walks withme, but he refuses”, says Chirag Patel. “I’ve beenworking with the surgeon to see how much he canrecover to see whether there is a chance for him tobe totally independent, or if he will need assis-tance for the rest of his life”.

Patel will need therapy for a long time, andit will be expensive. His son continues, “We arebroken down. This incident hit us very hard,both financially and emotionally. We work hardfor every dollar in this country”.

Chirag Patel’s wife never went back to work,and she now has not only the baby to look afterbut her father-in-law as well. Patel explains thatit has been hard on his wife not only physically,but emotionally as well.

The governor of Alabama issued an apol-ogy but has not done anything further. The In-dian government showed interest in the case,and Ambassador Ajit Kumar, who was thenConsul General of India in Atlanta had visitedPatel in the hospital to pay his respects andexpress sympathy. Since then, the Consulatehas been in touch with Sureshbhai and his doc-tors to monitor his progress.

The family is now waiting for the US govern-ment to approve Sureshbhai Patel’s wife’s visa.

“Mom is coming from India to take care ofDad. We’re currently working through the em-bassy for the visa and hopefully in three to fourweeks she should be here. I’d like for them bothto live here with us permanently and be a cul-tural influence on the baby,” Patel said.

Meanwhile, reports have surfaced that EricParker was investigated twice by the MadisonPolice Department’s internal affairs division be-fore he assaulted Sureshbhai Patel.

Robert Tuten, the attorney for Eric Parker hasfiled court document asking that certain discussionsbe barred from his upcoming federal trial on civilrights charges, reports AL.com. According to the docu-ments, Tuten says Parker was cleared of any wrong-doing in both cases and they have no bearing on theSureshbhai Patel case.

Mentioning the previous internal investigationsin court would be “unduly prejudicial”, according toTuten, who also wants the court to prohibit mentionof any other recent cases of excessive force by police.He says these cases, which have drawn considerablemedia attention, have no bearing on this case andwould also be “unduly prejudicial.”

Grad Student SentencedTo Life For Killing Friend

Washington: (IANS) A US court has sen-tenced an Indian-American student to life impris-onment for stabbing his friend to death in 2013,media reported.

Rahul Gupta, 25, an aspiring biomedical en-gineer, was sentenced to life on Wednesday forallegedly stabbing his close friend Mark Waugh,then 23, eleven times after accusing him of cheat-ing on Gupta’s girlfriend Taylor Gould, The Wash-ington Post reported.

When police arrived on the scene, Gupta ad-mitted: “I walked in on my girlfriend and my buddycheating. I killed my buddy.”

After being taken into custody, Gupta changedhis story stating that he was covering up for Gouldwho had committed the murder.

Gould testified in court that she had no mo-tive and no memory of the night due to excessivealcohol intake at the time.

The jury found Gupta guilty of first-degreemurder.

Not admitting to the crime, Gupta statedclinically: “Mark was endowed with many God-given talents: his piercing wit, his infectious alac-rity and his dazzling oratory prowess, to namejust a few.”

Gupta and Waugh had been friends since highschool..

Death Of Ph.D Candidate Remains A MysteryAtlanta, GA: The death of Lavanya Abburi,

a Ph.D candidate at Alabama A&M Universityremains unsolved as Madison County investiga-tors wait for more forensic analysis to be com-pleted.

Her body was found on April 1 in a pondat the Alabama A&M research farm inMeridianville.

Investigator Jeremy Hughes of the MadisonCounty Sheriff’s Office told Al.com recently thatdetectives are still waiting for more details aboutthe death of Abburi. The cause of death still re-mains unclear.

Investigators, as well as Abburi’s friends andcolleagues on campus, have said she was terrifiedof water and steered clear of the pond, locatedabout 1,200 yards from her work station, reportsAL.com.

There were reportedly bruise-like markingson her body and Rao Mentreddy, Abburi’s A&Mresearch supervisor, told AL.com last month thatwhile her car was found on the farm, her keys and

cell phone had not been found.Abburi, a native of Andhra Pradesh, com-

pleted her bachelor’s degree in biotechnologyat Nagarjuna University in 2006 and went onto complete her first master’s degree in bio-technology from Bhartiyar University inCoimbatore in 2009.

She went to America the following year topursue a second biotechnology master’s of sci-ence from West Virginia State University.

After her master’s Abburi chose AlabamaA&M University for further research work thatwould have led to her doctorate.

Abburi’s research focused on the molecularbiology, trait variations and gene-mapping of wa-termelons.

This work meant many hands-on hours inthe fields in addition to studies and labs. It was asubject everyone said she loved and poured herlife into.

Colleagues have described Abburi as quietand hard-working.

Cop Faces Trial ForSexual Assault

A court in Massachu-setts has started trial of apolice officer of Indian de-scent, who was charged withsexual assault in 2014. RajatSharda, 33, while on duty,allegedly sexually assaulted

a 29-year-old Connecticut woman in August 2013,threatening her not to report the incident.

The woman testified in court that on August 6,2013, night she was inside a parked sports utility ve-hicle (SUV), undressed, with her boyfriend MichaelBetancourt when officer Sharda approached the vehicleand asked her to step outside the SUV.

“He was asking me what I’d be willing to doto not be arrested,” she stated in court.

After handcuffing Betancourt, Sharda sexu-ally assaulted and threatened the woman, beforeleaving from the location.

The first police officer of Indian descent on theWorchester, Massachusetts’s police force, Sharda wasremoved from service in September 2014.

16 NRI PULSE June 2015........Biz Pulse ........

Two Indian-Americans Among ForbesAmerica 50 Successful Women

New York: (IANS) Two Indian-origin womenhave made it to the Forbes list of America’s 50 mostsuccessful and self-made women.

India-born Neerja Sethi, 60, is ranked 14thwith a net worth of $1.1 billion, while London-born Jayshree Ullal, 54, is ranked 30th with a networth of $470 million in te inaugural “Most Suc-cessful, Self-Made Women in the US” list.

Elizabeth Anne Holmes, CEO of blood di-agnostics companyTheranos, tops the listwith a net worth of $4.5billion

According to Forbesmagazine, “to be eligiblefor this list, women had tohave substantially madetheir own fortunes. Incases where they startedbusinesses with, and stillshare with, their husbands, we’ve assigned themhalf of that combined wealth”.

Neerja Sethi, an entrepreneur, is an alumnus ofDelhi University and co-founded an IT consultingand outsourcing company, Syntel, with her husband,billionaire Bharat Desai in 1980.

“In its first year, the company only broughtin $30,000 in revenue. Today, its market cap iswell over $3 billion, and it has 24,000 employeesworldwide,” Forbes stated in her profile.

“Sethi served as Syntel’s treasurer duringits first 16 years of operations and is currentlythe vice president of corporate affairs, a role shehas had since the company’s inception.”

Sethi, a mother of two, also sits on the boardof directors of the company alongside her hus-

band, who remains chairman.“Born in India, Sethi holds an undergraduate

degree in mathematics, a masters degree in computerscience, and an MBA in operations research . Throughtheir family foundation, the couple pledged $1 mil-lion in 2014 to the University of Michigan to developa start-up accelerator,” the profile reads.

London-born Jayshree Ullal was raised inNew Delhi, and took over computer network-

ing company Arsita Net-works in California aspresident and chief ex-ecutive officer in 2008,when it had less than 50employees, transformingit to one of SiliconValley’s most valuablenetworking firms by 2014.

“Ullal, who ownsmore than 10 percent of

Arista’s shares, is one of America’s wealthiest femaleexecutives. She took slightly more than an engineeringteam doing some good technology and turned it intothe thriving network switch company it is today,”Forbes quoted Arista co-founder David Cheriton assaying.

Ullal, also a mother of two, got an electricalengineering degree at San Francisco State Uni-versity and a master’s degree in engineering man-agement at Santa Clara University.

“Ullal has donated some shares to a familyfoundation created in honor of her sister, whodied of lung cancer,” her profile reads.

The first edition of “The Most Successful,Self-Made Women in the US” includes OprahWinfrey, Madonna and Nora Roberts.

L to R: Neerja Sethi & Jayshree Ullal

Kangana RanautInaugurates FirstGap Store In India

American multinational clothing and accessoriesbrand Gap made its way to the Indian market with thelaunch of its first store, inaugurated by actress KanganaRanaut amidst a huge crowd in a mall here.

Spread over 10,000 sq ft at the Select City Walk insouth Delhi, the new flagship store offers Gap for menand women, GapKids, and babyGap Summer 2015collections. It has come into the market via a partner-ship with Arvind Lifestyle Brands Ltd.

The brand’s spokesperson credited Bollywoodsuperstar Shah Rukh Khan for popularising Gap in thecountry through the 1998 film “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai”where he wore an orange Gap t-shirt.

NJ Medical PracticeTo Pay $3.6 Mn In

Settlement

Washington: (IANS) A medical practice co-owned by two Indian-origin doctors has agreed topay $3.6 million to settle false bills raised for teststhat were not needed, according to a media report.

The settlement between the government andNJMedCare/NJ Heart owners Jasjit Walia andPreet Randhawa was announced on Thursday,NJ.com reported citing US attorney Paul Fishman.

The allegations against the medical practicebased in New Jersey claims that the Indian-originphysicians billed US federal healthcare programmesfor unnecessary tests including stress tests andcardiac catheterisations, the report said.

The NJMedCar website describes Walia as“a highly-recommended invasive cardiologist whois board certified in cardiovascular diseases andinternal medicine”.

Heart specialist Randhawa is aninterventional cardiologist and is board certified ininternal medicine, cardiology and interventionalcardiology, the website said.

Founded in 2001, the NJ Heart/ NJ MedCareis one of the largest multi-specialty physiciangroups with several offices in New Jersey.

Martoma Hopes ToOverturn Insider

Trading ConvictionAn Indian-

American, whois serving prisonterm for carryingout insider trad-ing, is hoping tobe freed after anappeals courttossed two other

insider-trading convictions, according to a mediareport.

Mathew Martoma, a former portfolio man-ager for SAC Capital Advisors, said in a courtappeal filed on Tuesday that a recent appeals courtdecision narrowing the definition of insider trad-ing “at the very least... demands a new trial,” theNew York Post reported on Wednesday.

Martoma has spent six months of his nine-year jail term in a federal prison in Miami. He hasalso been ordered to pay $9.3 million, the size ofhis bonus the year the trades were made, the re-port said.

Martoma’s lawyers were confident that theevidence against their client would not hold upbased on an appeals court ruling that raised the barfor prosecutors and set a new standard for illegaltrading.

The Indian-American’s lawyers also claimedracial bias because the only Indian in the jury poolwas kicked out by prosecutors.

India’s 7.3 Percent Growth Neck-And-Neck With China’sNew Delhi: (IANS) India may have just fallen

short of surpassing China as the fastest-growingemerging market economy in 2014-15, but its 7.3percent growth is expected to have matched thatof the Asian neighbour, according to official datareleased here Friday.

The Indian economy had expanded by 6.9percent in the previous fiscal year.

Even as official data from Beijing is awaited,estimates on the Chinese economy also suggests a7.3 percent growth during 2014-15. Multilateralinstitutions such as the World Bank and the Inter-national Monetary Fund have also in their recentestimates said India may well be the fastest-grow-ing emerging market economy.

The growth in India’s gross domestic prod-uct (GDP) — which is a measure of the total valueof goods and services produced in the country —was estimated to have expanded by just 4.7 per-cent in 2013-14 as per the earlier estimate. Butafter a revision in base year to 2011-12, the growthstood altered to 6.9 percent.

The Prime Minister Narendra Modi govern-ment has already been taking the credit for a fastereconomic growth in its first year in office, even ashe Congress party has charged that the govern-ment had in financial jugglery to project a muchhigher growth.

The growth for the four quarters of fiscal2014-15 was 6.7 percent, 8.4 percent, 6.6 percentand 7.5 percent, according to the release issued bythe Central Statistics Office under the ministry ofstatistics and program implementation.

The official statement said the growth in ag-riculture output was at 0.2 percent in 2014-15,

manufacturing at 7.1 percent and services at 10.7percent. The advance estimates had indicated afigure of 1.1 percent, 6.8 percent and 8.4 percent,respectively fo the three sectors.

Meanwhile, India Inc. described the GDP fig-ures as “encouraging” which confirmed theindustry’s assessment that the economy is show-ing signs of recovery.

“GDP growth of 7.3 percent in 2014-15 is

encouraging and is in line with broad expectations,”A. Didar Singh, secretary general of industry cham-ber FICCI said in a statement here.

“Some downside risks continue to pervade.Agriculture output may be impacted with a sub-normal monsoon forecast this year, weak demandremains a persisting concern and a firm turnaroundin the domestic capex cycle is awaited,” he added.

Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Di-rector General Chandrajit Banerjee said that theGDP numbers for the fourth quarter show a re-bound in growth as compared to the previous quar-ter on the back of improved performance of themining and manufacturing sectors as well as trade.

“The figures show that investment demandis showing definite signs of improvement over theprevious quarter. We are hopeful that consump-tion demand would pick up pace in the comingtime,” Banerjee added.

According to the Associated Chambers ofCommerce and Industry of India (Assocham), the7.5 percent GDP growth rate witnessed in Q4 of2014-15 (year-on-year) signals definite positivedevelopments.

“The government needs to keep on pushingmore ground level reforms and improve imple-mentation so as to realize the economy’s true po-tential,” Assocham President Rana Kapoor said.

NRI PULSE 17June 2015 ......NRI News......

Boston University Grad Crowned Maharaja Of MysuruMysuru (Karnataka), May 28 (IANS &

Staff) Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja, the 22-year-old adopted heir to the Wodiyar dynasty,was on Thursday crowned the 27th king of theerstwhile kingdom of Mysuru.

The grand coronation took place in the hal-lowed precincts (Kalyana Mantap) of Durbar Hallat the Amba Vilas Palace in the city of palaces,about 150 km from Bengaluru. In attendance weremembers of the extended royal family, about 1,000special invitees and pontiffs from the region, amidtight security.

The new king recently graduated from theUniversityof Massachusetts. His recent facebookpost said: “Finished Graduating, and with it I closethe last chapter of my formerpersona… #lookingahead #newbeginnings #mysore.”

He began his new chapter clad in royal attireof cream silk robes (kurta-pyjama) and sporting aregal green turban, as he took oath in Kannada,while seated on a silver throne. The young king isthe 27th titular head of the Wodiyar dynasty thatwas founded in 1399 by Raja Wodiyar.

“On the auspicious time (9:25-10:38 a.m.)on Dashmi (10th day of the HIndu lunar month),the royal dynasty head priest (dharmadhikari)Janardhana Iyengar anointed Yaduveer as the newhead of the erstwhile Hindu kingdom,” a palaceofficial told IANS.

Queen Pramoda Devi, who adopted Yaduveeras a son to carry on the royal lineage, his biologicalparents (Tripura Sundara Devi and Swarup AnandGopalraj Urs), younger sisters of late king

Srikantadata Wodiyar and scores of relatives gracedthe occasion and blessed Yaduveer amid chantingof vedic hymns and Carnatic music tunes.

Prominent among those who witnessed theceremony was the scion’s fiancee Trishika KumariSingh.

“Yaduveer will now onwards look after ac-tivities of the royal palaces here and in Bengaluru,discharge duties of a prince and conduct the 10-day world famous Dasara festival in mid-Octo-ber,” the official said.

The last coronation of the erstwhile Mysuruking was of Srikantadatta on October 16, 1974.

After the hour-long ceremony, Yaduveer wasblessed by about 40 priests and seers and greetedby scores of VIPs, including former prime minis-ter H.D. Deve Gowda, state cabinet ministersSrinivas Prasad, R.V. Deshpande, K.J. George and

Roshan Baig, the BJP’s Lok Sabha member fromMysore Pratap Simha, and Congress lawmakerfrom Bengaluru assembly segment, Harris.

Common people from the state’s cultural capi-tal as also tourists were not allowed into thespruced-up palace to witness the special event

due to space and security constraints.“We had set up four giant screens in the

palace grounds to relay the function live to thepeople outside, while local news channels hadtelecast it live across the state,” the official noted.

Following a lavish and sumptuous lunchand rest, Yaduveer went around the dozentemples across the palace, riding acaparisoned elephant in a procession.

“He will appear in the illuminated pal-ace balcony later in the evening to give audi-ence to the public with his foster mother(Pramoda),” the official added.

State Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, whohails from the region, was conspicuously

absent, though the ruling party’s state unit presi-dent G. Parameshwara was present along with hisfamily members as wereformer state cricketersBrijesh Patel and Anil Kumble.

Srikantadatta passed away in Bengaluru onDecember 8, 2013, at the age of 60.

Yaduveer is the grandson of late princessGayathri Devi, the eldest sister of Srikantadattaand eldest daughter of the last maharaja (king)Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar.

The scion has graduated in English and Eco-nomics.

Actress Dies AfterFailed Liposuction

Surgery In NJ

Telugu actress Aarthi Agarwal passed awayin a private hospital hererecently due to cardiacarrest, her manager said. She was 31.

“Aarthi was battling obesity and pulmonaryillness. She was undergoing treatment and due tosome complications, she suffered a cardiac arrestand passed away,” Aarthi’s manager told IANS.

Reportedly, it was due to a failed liposuctionsurgery that Aarthi suffered a cardiac arrest.

Aarthi made her Telugu cinematic debut witha hit “Nuvvu Naaku Nachav” in 2001.

Since then, she has featured in hits like“Nuvvu Leka Nenu Lenu”, “Indra” and“Vasantham”. In 2005, she attempted suicide af-ter her alleged relationship with co-star Tarunturned bitter.

Aarthi starred in nearly 25 films. Her latestrelease “Ranam 23 released in cinemas on recently.

18 NRI PULSE June 2015........Bollywood Pulse ........

I Hope After ‘Quantico’, Indian ActorsAre Taken Seriously: PriyankaMumbai: (IANS) She remembers being bul-

lied as a “brownie” in her teenage years in theUS. But now Priyanka Chopra, who has landeda key role in American thriller show “Quantico”,hopes her new endeavor helps herto break the “stereotype” thatglobal pop culture has made outof Indians, and opens more doorsfor the country’s actors to be takenseriously in the west.

“The fact that ‘Quantico’happened was a big win. I justhope it is successful because Ireally think that it would make adent in Indian actors being takenseriously. I think,” Priyanka saidhere.

A teaser of “Quantico”,which has been picked by ABC,gives ample footage to Priyanka,who essays FBI Agent AlexParrish. And she even speakswith an accent!

Commenting on her debut inthe US TV series, the 32-year-old said she agreed to work in theshow only on a condition.

“The fact that she is an In-dian should have nothing to dowith the story. ‘I am an actor, socast me as an actor’ (was mypoint)... They indeed found me apart where I play a half-Indian,half-Caucasian FBI agent.”

“I play an American girl, Ihave an American accent, and it’s nothing relatedto the stereotyped image of Indians. We are be-yond the exorcism, spirituality and yoga... it’sthere, which is great, but that’s not it,” said

Priyanka, who also broke stereotype when she ven-tured into the global music scene with her single “Inmy city”.

Some of her past memories of the US — whenshe went to study there — are sour.

“I was bullied a lot when I wasin a school in America. A lot of rac-ism happened with me... which iswhy I came back. I was in high school,only 16 years old. I was called‘Brownie, go back on the boat youcame from’ and things like that.”

“So, when the opportunity ofworking in the West started comingin, starting with my music, I reallywanted to try and bring relevance toIndian talent, because I was given theopportunity,” added the multi-tal-ented former Miss World.

The National Award win-ning actress, who has made hermark in Bollywood with films like“Fashion”, “Mary Kom” and “7Khoon Maaf”, shared that it isimportant for her that Indian tal-ent be recognized.

“Our accent is made fun of,and we all do not speak like that!We all do not smell of curries, weall are not just nerds who are uglylooking, sitting behindcomputers...Why... Why do wehave Indians stereotyped? We arevery proud of our big families,but that doesn’t mean that you

will see 15 people coming out of one car.”“My point is that in global pop culture we are

represented like that. I wanted to break that. It an-noyed me that my country is seen only like that.”

Documentary On A.R.Rahman Screened At

White House

Mumbai: (IANS) A detailed account on mu-sical influences of double Oscar-winning composerA.R. Rahman found its way inside the White Housein Washington through a special screening of “JaiHo”, a documentary on his work.

The 60-minute documentary was screenedon Friday.

The “Mozart of Madras”, who has hit theright notes with each of his compositions withexamples like “O rey chhori” and “Tum tak”, be-came a part of the special moment.

“On the way to the White House for a screen-ing of ‘Jai Ho’,” Rahman tweeted on Friday nightas per Indian Standard Time.

Directed by Umesh Aggarwal, the film cel-ebrates Rahman’s achievements through his ca-reer, which spans two decades.

Considered one of the world’s most influen-tial people by Time magazine, the music maestro’swork includes over 120 film scores worldwide.

Rahman is a name to reckon in the internationalcircuit and has also done India proud by getting twoOscars for his music in “Slumdog Millionaire” in 2009— Best Original Music Score and Best Original Song,which he shares with lyricist Gulzar.

The documentary explores the evolution ofhis style of music — a fusion of eastern sensibili-ties and western technology.

My Mom, Wife WorriedAbout My Health: Aamir

Mumbai:(IANS) ActorAamir Khan,who keepslosing and gain-ing weight forhis films ac-cording to thedemand of thescripts, says itworries hismother andwife.

The ac-tor has now gained weight for “Dangal”, in whichhe plays a wrestler, and weighs 95 kg at present.

“I am 95 kg right now and that’s enough forthe character. My breathing has changed… when Itie my laces, my stomach comes in between. After20 seconds, I have to (take a long) breath,” Aamirtold reporters here.

“My mom and my wife are very worriedabout my health as they feel I am playing with myhealth. Even I feel the same,” he added.

The actor says he will lose weight and will beback in shape once the project is over.

“By December (2015), we will finish theshooting, and in the next five months I will loseweight and then have one more schedule in themonth of June, where my character is young.When the film will come to an end, I will be backto the ‘PK’ look,” said the ‘Mr. Perfectionist’,who flaunted eight-pack abs in “Ghajini”.

Indian Stories Need Global Exposure:‘Lunchbox’ DirectorNew Delhi: (IANS) He took the taste and

flavors of Mumbai’s dabbawallas on a global trailwith his first feature film, “The Lunchbox”, whichmanaged the rare feat of appealing to internationalcritics and Indian audiences alike. Ritesh Batra -the man behind the film - says he is on a mission totake Indian stories to the world by making hisfilms a window to India and its culture.

The worldwide success of “The Lunchbox”has landed Batra an opportunity to direct a Brit-ish film based on Julian Barnes’ novel “The Senseof an Ending”, featuring Oscar-winning actor JimBroadbent. Just before leaving for Britain, Batraspoke about the need of telling local Indian storieswith a global appeal and how he will continue tobe a flag bearer for the same.

“It is important for me to tell Indian stories,which are universal at heart, to the world. TakeAmerica, for example. When you go there, youdon’t feel that you are in a foreign country andthat is due to the influx of American content inHollywood’s films and TV shows.

“People should feel that they have alreadybeen to India through our stories. And that is re-ally what I like to do,” Batra told IANS.

“I think we need to keep doing that as a com-munity. I want to keep on doing that. It is impor-tant for all of us”.

He did it himself with “The Lunchbox” byweaving a love story of a lovelorn wife and a lonely

man, played byNimrat Kaur andIrrfan Khan, througha mistaken deliveryof a dabba (lunchbox).

The 2013 filmwent globetrottingand was lauded atseveral internationalfilm extravaganzas inCannes, Zurich, Lon-don and Toronto.

Batra says thefilm’s success came

as a “gift” to him, and even though he is now outto make a British film, the core of his filmmakingwill be “to tell Indian stories to the world”.

He said: “It is something I always wanted todo and will continue to do so.”

This attempt has also painted a success story

for filmmaker Neeraj Ghaywan, whose indieproject “Masaan”, centred on a group of people inVaranasi, won the International Federation of FilmCritics (Fipresci) award at the 68th Cannes Inter-national Film Festival this year.

Batra, who has also directed short films like“Gareeb Nawaz’s Taxi” and “The Masterchef”,says it’s a good time for independent cinema, butpoints out that there is need to build audience forsuch projects in India.

“When films like ‘Court’ or ‘Masaan’ succeed, Iget thrilled because I think that one person’s success iseverybody’s success. If an independent movie suc-ceeds, it makes my life easier,” he said, and added that“we have to keep building an audience for movies thatmatter to us within India as well”.

Batra is also in favour of entertaining, simpleand powerful stories like “Piku” and “Tanu WedsManu Returns”, which are a sign of a wave ofchange in Bollywood. He says the numbers gar-nered by such movies talk for themselves and in-dicate what the audience is looking for.

On the home turf, Batra is in the process ofworking on a script called “Photograph”, whichwill be based in Mumbai and revolves around lust.

Ranveer Is Now LessAnxious: Anushka

Mumbai, May 30 (IANS) Actress AnushkaSharma, who worked with Ranveer Singh in the 2010film “Band Baaja Baaraat”, says he is now a calmer andless anxious person as compared to his earlier days.

“When we worked together for ‘Band BaajaBaaraat’, Ranveer used to be very anxious and hyperon set. He used to do weird things, but now he is calmer,less anxious. He’s a better actor now,” Anushka saidduring a chat show shot for mobile audiences to pro-mote the forthcoming film “Dil Dhadakne Do”.

Apart from Ranveer and Anushka, the ZoyaAkhtar directorial features Farhan Akhtar, AnilKapoor, Shefali Shah and Priyanka Chopra.

Ranveer was seen joking with host CyrusSahukar, saying that since the episode is beingshot exclusively for the digital medium, he can sayanything he wants, use any words he wants, in-cluding swear words. To that, Anushka quicklyreminded him of what had happened the last timehe did that online — hinting at the controversialAIB Knockout earlier this year.

NRI PULSE 19June 2015

SuDoku Solutions

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Moo-ving SeriesOf Cow-on-the-run Tales

It’s hard for “weird news” columnists to be fit as our main job is to sit patiently until readersdo our work for us. Luckily, you always come through, and the Universe seems to guarantee yourcontributions follow a single theme.

On the day of writing this, a reader reported that a cow had been accepted for a polytechnicentrance exam in India. The cow filled in an application giving its name as Kachir Gaw (Brown

Cow in Kashmiri), its father’s name as GurDand (which means Bull), and added a mugshotof its brown, floppy-eared bovine face. Thecow was accepted, and an admission card bear-ing its picture and name was issued - and soonwent viral.

The reader who forwarded it said: “Eitherthey made the card without reading the applica-tion or they thought the cow would make a prettygood medical student.” Cows are associated withhealing in India, so this makes sense.

In fact, I can just see the movie now. Giventhe respectful attitude to cows in India, aBollywood special (“Doctor Moo”?) could be a

cash cow. (Sorry!)Later that day, the Universe arranged for another email to arrive also about the unlikely topic

of cow identities. A US farmer felt his herd of cows didn’t look quite right, so he examined themclose up and was shocked to find that it was a group of cow imposters pretending to be his. He toldNorth Carolina police he knew what his cows looked like, and I was thinking how sweet that hethought of them as children.

Then he explained that when they were slashed into pieces and sold as steaks, his cows couldbe sold as “Angus beef” which was way more profitable than regular beef, making the abductionand transportation of a herd of cows worth the difficulty.

Watch out for “Have you seen this cow” posters appearing around the world. (Could one ofthem have made it to India to apply to medical school, one wonders?)

Before day’s end, a third cow-related item arrived on my desk, this time from Australia.Fishermen who went out from the coast of Darwin a few days ago to net queenfish ended upcatching a live cow. They towed her two kilometres back to shore. News reports said the cow hadfallen into the sea while being loaded on to a cattle ship, but I can’t help wondering whether thisis another US escapee.

Dil Dhadakne Do Pulsates WithFine Performances

BY TROY RIBEIRO

Film: “Dil Dhadakne Do”; Cast: Anil Kapoor, Shefali Shah, PriyankaChopra, Farhan Akhtar, Ranveer Singh, Anushka Sharma, Rahul Bose,Zarina Wahab and Parmeet Sethi,; Director: Zoya Akthar; Rating: ***/12

Narrated from Pluto, the omnipresent familydog’s point of view, “Dil Dhadakne Do” is a clas-sic and an oft-seen tale about love, freedom andhypocrisy in a dysfunctional family.

The story is the usual, run-of-the-mill; a fam-ily meets for a grand occasion followed by a ca-tharsis. Here it is to celebrate the 30th weddinganniversary of Kamal (Anil Kapoor) and Neelam(Shefali Shah) Mehra, the mostenvied couple in Delhi’s high-flying society.

To keep up with his stan-

dard and image, Kamal Mehra sponsors a cruise toTurkey and Greece for his family and friends. But

unknown to the rest of the world, Kamal Mehraand his family are battling their own demons.

The senior Mehras are an estranged couple,Kamal is a shrewd businessman, whose every movein life revolves around his business. His wifeNeelam leads a pretentious life. Son Kabir (RanveerSingh), a good-for-nothing in the eyes of his fa-ther, desires to take up flying, but is expected totake the reins of his family business. DaughterAyesha (Priyanka Chopra), married to Manav(Rahul Bose), is a promising entrepreneur lockedin an unhappy marriage.

The rest of the troupe too, come with theirown baggage of grouses and heartbreaks.

On the cruise, the inevitable happens. It isfascinating to observe the layers of their personaand drama unfold with stimulating performances

from the ensemble cast.Ranveer Singh as Kabir and Shefali Shah as

Neelam Mehra outshine the other actors. Ranveeris a complete package, with a blend of a restrained,as well as an exuberant performance. He stealsyour heart, as he plays the charming Kabir withpanache.

On the other hand, Shefali Shah emotes withher expressive eyes. Her expressions are worth afreeze, especially in the scenes; when she is de-

pressed and binging on thechocolate cake and whenAyesha tells her about her in-tention to divorce.

Farhan Akhtar, ina special appearance asthe journalist SunnyGill and AnushkaSharma as the dancerFarah Ali, play Ayeshaand Kabir’s love inter-est. With limited onscreen time they bothleave an indelible mark— Farhan with his con-trolled and understatedperformance andAnushka with her usualvibrant and uncompli-cated demeanour.

Ridhima Sud as Noorie Sood makes an im-pressive debut. She is cast opposite VikrantMassey and they make a competent pair.

Anil Kapoor as Kamal Mehra walks throughhis performance in the first half of the film butbreathes life into some intense scenes in the latterhalf. Priyanka Chopra had her share of wow mo-ments as Ayesha, while Rahul Bose as Manav, herstiff-upper-lipped husband, is his usual self andoffers nothing spectacular.

Among the character actors, Zarina Wahab asManav’s mother and Ayesha Raza Misra as Indu,Kamal’s sister-in-law, have their moments to shine.

Treated as a family drama and mounted on awide canvas, the writer duo Reema Kagti and ZoyaAkhtar maintain a perfect pulse of humor anddrama, balancing the well-etched character graphsto the plot. They succeed in presenting the di-chotomy in the relationships. With spurts of en-tertaining and poignant moments, they hit the rightnotes and emotions, but falter at places by takingcinematic liberty in certain scenes with respect tothe point of view.

The dialogues by Farhan Akthar are as quirkyas the characters in the film and they liven thescenes.

The voice lent to Pluto, is that of Aamir Khan,which you realize only once the credits roll.

The music and background score is well-meshed into the narration. It is the cinematogra-phy by Carlos Catalan that is impressive. Hisone-take shot of the entire song “Gallan goodiyaan”is remarkable.

With a run time of nearly three hours, thepace of the film is slow, but it’s entertaining!

Treated as a family drama and mountedon a wide canvas, DDD maintains a per-fect pulse of humor and drama, balanc-ing the well-etched character graphs tothe plot. The film succeeds in present-ing the dichotomy in the relationships.With spurts of entertaining and poignantmoments, the movie hits the right notesand emotions, but falters at places bytaking cinematic liberty in certain sceneswith respect to the point of view.

20 NRI PULSE June 2015EVENTS/FEATURES

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Gandhi Foundation Hosts Gandhian DelegatesFrom Gandhigram...

Continued from Pg 12.....

The possibility of commencing short courses,seminars and workshops in the near future, at theGandhigram on ‘The Life and Work of Rev MartinLuther King as inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’ maysoon be a reality. “This visit by the two of us fromGandhigram, India is expected to put on a firm footingthe planned collaboration of socio-welfare educationbetween Gandhigram, GFUSA and allied partners suchas Morehouse College, Emory University and evenIvy League colleges in USA”, added jubilant Oza.

The visiting delegates were also honored bythe King Center with a VIP invitation to 88th birthanniversary celebrations, on Monday, April 27, 2015,of Coretta Scott King in the historic Freedom Hall,King Center where they were accorded a standing ova-tion and had the opportunity to interact with the chil-dren of prominent civil rights leaders.

Oza also attended the funeral/memorial service ofthe late Eva Galambos, mayor of the city of the SandySprings of Georgia. Mayor Galambos, a genuine friendof the Indian American community, worked tirelesslyand successfully along with India’s former Ambassadorto USA, Ronen Sen and Atlanta’s Subash Razdan toensure that the new and the first Consulate General ofIndia (CGI) would be in her city of Sandy Springs.

The following day, on April 23, the Visitors paidhomage to Gandhiji by garlanding the Gandhi Statue, anational memorial in USA in the King Historic Site,Atlanta. The Superintendent of the National Park Ser-vice (NPS), Judy Forte along with her staff, welcomedthe visitors and had discussions with regards to con-tinuous cooperation between the agents of positivechange in India and in the USA.

The Delegates then ‘Peace Walked’ from theGandhi Statue through the Visitor Center Museum andthe Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church (Heritage Sanc-tuary), laid wreaths (bouquets) at the Crypts (remains)of Dr. King and his wife Coretta Scott King.

“The federal district of the King Historic Siteis at the hub of a 23 acre National Historic Site,which brings over one million visitors each year.Fortunately and auspiciously, the first monument

the tourists see at the entrance to the Park is thebeautiful life size bronze statue of Gandhiji giftedby the Government of India”, recalled Razdan.The Historic Park has become a prominent touristattraction in USA. “The attractions of the His-toric Park include the Statue of Mahatma Gandhi,birth home of Dr. King, the crypt of Dr. and Mrs.King, Ebenezer Church, exhibits at Freedom Hall,gift shop/information facility, the Gandhi Room,and the reflecting pool”, added Antony Thaliathof GFUSA. ” Such has been the impact of theGandhi Statue, that there is hardly any VIP visitorreturning to India from Atlanta without payinghis/her homage to the hallowed federal Park”, ex-claimed Mohsin Bharmal also of GFUSA. On being asked about their visit to Atlanta, Prof.

Ragupathy and Vice Chancellor Oza jointly thankedGFUSA, acknowledging, “The hosts Gandhi Founda-tion (GFUSA) took extraordinary efforts for the suc-cess of the mission of the delegates by creatively ar-ranging all the groundwork for the meetings, visits andhospitality and for their support to continue to workwith Gandhi - King Center in Gandhigram, India andelsewhere in the spirit to propel success for future jointventures”.

“Gandhi’s life and his achievements inspiredDr. King to say, ‘Gandhi was inevitable. If human-ity is to progress, Gandhi is inescapable…we mayignore him at our own risk…’. On the other hand,Dr. King’s engagement in civil disobedience andthe protest movements for civil rights and humanrights are historic. Dr. King’s leadership, unques-tionably, reshaped the racial landscape in the en-tire continents of North and South America. Themessage and methods of Gandhi and King mustreach the masses, especially the youths of theglobe. They must understand that in highly plu-ralistic societies like India, USA and elsewhere,only nonviolence negotiations and mutuality canhelp with conflict resolution. The Gandhi KingCenter at Gandhigram shall strive to become apioneering ‘Peace and Justice’ non-profit organi-zation (NGO) in India”, reiterated the officials ofGFUSA and Gandhigram in a joint statement.

Sri Maha LakshmiTemple of AtlantaInaugurationPlease see display ad ion Pg 9 for more detailsWhen: Wed June 10 to Sun June 14Where: 1637 Peachtree Parkway, Cumming GA30041Contact: Priest Sri Keshava Murthykeshavamurthy42@gmail.com(H) 770-716-6698(C) 404-642-7452(C) 404-953-8856srimahalakshmitempleofatlanta@gmail.com,srimahalakshmitempleofatlanta.org

Harmony YouthCenter: SummerCampsWhen: Monday June 15, 20156/15-19 Public Speaking & Creative Writing;6/22-26 Amazing Inventions & Life Science;7/13-17 Arts & Crafts “Around the World”).Cost: $250. Ask about our $25 for multi-campand sibling discounts.Register at http://harmonyyouthcenter.org/summer-camps/Where: RMS Community Center, 2769Duluth Hwy, Duluth, GA 30096.Contact: Chaitanya 678-895-6160, http://harmonyyouthcenter.org/summer-camps/

The InternationalDay of YogaThis event is supported by The ConsulateGeneral of India in Atlanta and a host oforganizations.The event features a myriad of yogapresentations, meditations, and other programs.When: Sunday, June 21, 2015 at 9 amWhere: Heritage Amphitheater in HeritageSandy Springs Park, 6075 Sandy Springs Circle,Sandy Springs GA 30328Contact: Ravi Ponangi 404-644-7521

Gujarati Samaj:Youth CampTheme: India in “STEM” - Science, TreatmentMedicine, Economics, and Math

Greater AtlantaVedic Temple:Summer Fun Campfor children & youth of age 5-18,Great opportunity to learn, have fun and makenew friends. Activities: Music, arts,photography as well as learning to face moraland ethical challenges in modern society.Limited seats, first come, first serve basis.When: Friday, June 26, 2015 - Sunday, June28, 2015 from 7pm Fri to 1pm SundayWhere: 492 Harmony Grove Rd SE, Lilburn,GA 30047Contact: 770-381-3662,vedictemple@vedictemple.org

Art of Living: SahajSamadhi MeditationWhen: Friday, June 26, 2015 - Sunday, June 28,2015 Weekday 7pm, Weekend 10:30am - 12:30pm.Where: 7730 Roswell Road Suite 400, Atlanta,Georgia, United States, 30066.Contact: 877-AOLIVING,atlanta@us.artofliving.org, artofliving.org/atlanta

When: Application deadline: June 25, 2015Camp dates: Monday, July 13, 2015 - Friday,July 24, 2015 from 9am - 4pm.Where: 5331 Royal Woods Parkway, Tucker,GA 30084.Register: gsatlanta.org

Amma, MataAmritanandamayifree morning & evening programs, blessings;6/29 Devi Bhava for world peace, 7pm (tokensdistributed 5:30pm).When: Sunday, June 28, 2015 - Monday, June29, 2015Times: mornings 10am (tokens distributed 8:30am),evenings 7pm (tokens distributed 5:45pm)Where: Georgia International ConventionCenter, 2000 Convention Center Concourse,College Park, GA 30337.Contact: 770-609-4860, http://amma.org/meeting-amma/north-america/atlanta

Chinese ‘Thunder God’ Vine Could Be TheCure For Obesity, Says Harvard Study

An extract from a plant traditionally used inChinese medicine may help suppress appetite andlose weight, new research says.

The findings suggest thatthe compound extracted fromthe “Thunder God” vine couldbe developed into a drug fortreatment of obesity.

In the study, the compoundwas found to reduce food intakesignificantly and cause up to a dra-matic 45 percent decrease in body weight in obese mice.

“If Celastrol works in humans as it does in mice,it could be a powerful way to treat obesity and improvethe health of many patients suffering from obesity andassociated complications, such as heart disease, fattyliver, and Type-2 diabetes,” said senior study author

Umut Ozcan from Harvard Medical School.Within only one week of Celastrol treatment, obese

mice reduced their food intake byabout 80 percent compared to un-treated obese mice. By the end ofthe third week, treated mice lost45 percent of their initial bodyweight almost entirely by burningfat stores.

This dramatic weight loss isgreater than that produced by

bariatric surgery — an operation on the stomach and/orintestines that helps patients with extreme obesity tolose weight, the study noted.

Even though Celastrol did not produce toxiceffects in mice, whether the compound would besafe for use in humans is not yet known.

NRI PULSE 21June 2015 FEATURES

PHOTO/VIDEO SERVICES

TAILORING/ALTERATIONS

REAL ESTATE

Earthquake Hit Nepal And Its Health NeedsDR. SANJEEB SAPKOTA*

I just returned from several weeks of humanitarian work, medi-cal and public health actions in Nepal where a series of earthquakehave left over 9000 dead, 70,000 without home and over half a mil-lion people displaced. Some parts of India too are affected, thoughmost of the tremors were borne by Nepal.

I was part of the health/medical team that conducted medicalcamps in several rural villages of Sindhupalchowk, Rasuwa, Dhading,Bhaktapur and Kathmandu. The teamwas organized by Non-ResidentNepalese-USA (NRN-USA).

Our medical team treated sev-eral thousand people with injuries,ailments and diseases that occurredimmediately following the earthquakeor prior to the earthquake. Several in-dividuals were given vaccines againsttetanus following injuries. Symptomsthat individuals presented varied frominjuries, back pain, malnutrition, skinrashes, loss of appetite, psychiatricrelated problems, to fever and cough.

Distributing sacks of rice, tents andtarpaulins (water proof clothes) and blan-kets to the affected people was another work the team was involved with.

Medical doctors, nurses and health workers from all over the coun-try are highly interested in providing some level of assistance to the survi-vors of the disaster. However the current medical and surgical needs are metby the resources and expertise in Nepal. There is great interest from foreignmedical teams to come to the country where there is no apparent need;hence the government has put a stop to them. However the government isseeking foreign medical assistance on a case-by-case basis- some surgeonshere and some gynae-obstetricians there.

Our team also made a rapid health assessment to determinethe immediate public health needs and shared the findings with thegovernment of Nepal. The findings revealed that the immediate publichealth concern is the untreated water supply on which the public inthe rural area rely. Most of them drink water directly from thenatural source without decontaminating it or purifying it. Fortu-

nately, no outbreak is reported or recorded as of today, but immedi-ate actions are needed to prevent spread of water borne diseases inthe earthquake area and thereof the start of the outbreak.

Another public health concern is the damage to the houses, whichhas exposed people to the harsh elements. Most of the people sleepoutside either under the tarpaulin (water-proof clothes) distributed bygovernment and non-governmental organization, but those who have notbeen fortunate enough to get those materials are forced to call the sky theirroof. Vulnerable population of children, elderly women, disabled and preg-

nant women are particularly affected. The toilets in the houses of ru-

ral Nepal too have been damaged orare dangerous to use. Though manypeople continue using their home toi-lets regardless of the danger and somehave made make-shift toilets, a largenumber of people still go out in thefield for defecation. This has increasedthe risk of spread of disease.

Roads leading to earthquake hit ru-ral villages are treacherous. Some placesdo not have roads and can only be reachedby foot, after several hours of walking. Iparticularly recall crossing a suspensionbridge over a furious river carrying medical

supplies. Another place I went was via Mahindra four wheel truck in themiddle of a mountain. The road was muddy, rocky and steep, and thevehicle shook constantly. The passengers could see the river Sun Koshi 2000feet below and the thought of tumbling down the hill gave chills downthe spine.

The world wants to give and help Nepal and her people. Un-fortunately the needs on the ground are greater than the speed of therelief efforts. Though this was an unprecedented event that no oneexpected and no one was prepared for, people are expecting quickerrelief and recovery work.

Slowly and steadily, the momentum of relief efforts is pickingup, and appears to be more organized and coherent.(*Sanjeeb Sapkota, a medical Epidemiologist residing in Lawrenceville,Georgia, is the chair of health and welfare committee of non-ResidentNepalese-USA. He can be reached at yessapkota@gmail.com)

Isha Partners With Indian Govt For Intl Day Of YogaAtlanta, GA: Many from around the world will celebrate and

enjoy the first ever UN International Day of Yoga on June 21st,2015. The International Day of Yoga is an organic response to agrowing interest in yoga with over 300 million practicing world-wide. Many schools of yoga are organizing themselves to share apractice that is enjoyed by hundreds of millions all over the world.

Over the past few decades, we have seen allforms of yoga and meditation become mainstream.Beyond a mere exercise system, it is a science andtechnology that delivers wellbeing and is a modernday antidote to stress. The hectic pace of modernlife has brought with it an incredible amount ofstress and anxiety. Scientific studies show thatdaily practice of yoga reduces stress, anxiety anddepression; increases health, energy and vitality;enhances mental focus and clarity and establishesa sense of peace, joy and deep inner balance. This,in turn, can create a more peaceful and joyousglobal community around us. For these reasons,yoga is now piquing the interest and curiosity of the upper echelons ofpolitical leadership worldwide.

The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi addressed theUN last year and launched this day as well as a website dedicated tothe International Day of Yoga. At the UN, he said:

Yoga is an invaluable gift of our ancient tradition. It is not aboutexercise, it’s a path through which an individual can discover hissense of oneness with nature. It embodies unity, unity of the mindand the body, thought and action, restraint and fulfillment. On thewhole, it’s a holistic approach to health and wellbeing.

Sadhguru, the founder of Isha Foundation shares why this is impor-tant for the whole world and emphasizes the need for everyone to investconsiderable time and effort to explore their inner wellbeing. He explains:

Today, with the tools of science and technology we have broughtourselves to a self-threatening situation that everybody in the societyneeds to invest in their inner wellbeing and live with a sense of peace and joy

in their hearts. Modern technology has tremen-dous capability for both: creating wellbeing or totaldestruction. Without deepening the inner experi-ence and becoming all-inclusive individuals, it willsurely bring destruction – not just to humanity,but the planet itself.

Isha Foundation is one of the organizationsthat have partnered with PM Modi and the IndianMinistry of External Affairs to strategize and planthe celebration of the first International Day ofYoga in all the Indian Embassies and cultural cen-ters worldwide. Modi recently tweeted: “Had agreat meeting with Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev”.

In May, Sadhguru addressed the Indian Embassyin Washington, DC where he gave a talk about the significance of thefirst ever International Day of Yoga:

The Isha Foundation will support all the Indian Embassiesworldwide to offer free yoga workshops, demonstrations and classeson the day of and the weeks leading to June 21st, 2015.

To support this worldwide effort, the Isha Foundation willhave thousands of trained teachers to offer free yoga so that every-one can make use of these technologies for wellbeing.

To learn more about free yoga lessons, visit: yogayoga.org

APPLIANCES/AIR/HEAT

MARTIAL ARTS

22 NRI PULSE June 2015........ What’s Cooking? ........

BY P.S. LAKSHMIRAO

........ InVogue .......

For More info, callme at 404-386-2062or visit RaneezBoutique in Decatur,GA.

EggplantChanaDal Curry

Recipe by Mythreyi Vattikuti*

Check out more recipes on Mythreyi’sfood blog www.yummyodds.com.

½ cup chana dal2 ½ cups water

Wash and soak chanadal for two hours in1cup water.

Wash chana dal with fresh water and cook with 1

½ cups water in a 2- quart saucepan pan for eightminutes on medium heat. Drain and keep dal aside.

Spices¼ cup chana dal

¼ cup urad dal1 teaspoon cumin seeds¼ cup coriander seeds4 red dry chilies2 garlic cloves (optional)½ teaspoon salt Tamarind (size of a marble)

In a dry pan, roast chana dal until light brownon medium low heat. Add urad dal, cumin seeds,coriander seeds and red chilies and fry until uraddal becomes light brown. Transfer spices into aplate to cool.

Blend spices in a blender with garlic, (if us-ing) tamarind and salt.

2 tablespoons oil6 Indian eggplants½ cup chopped onions2 long green chilies cut intofour pieces1 teaspoon salt or to taste½ teaspoon turmeric½ cup shredded coconut½ teaspoon red chili powder1 tablespoon chopped freshcoriander (optional)1 tablespoon shredded freshcoconut (optional)

Cut eggplants into four pieceslength wise and wash.

In a large frying pan heat oil on medium heatand add eggplant pieces, onions, green chilies, saltand turmeric. Fry until eggplants are half cooked

Instant Oats Dosa

Oats – 1 cupRice Flour – 2 tbspSooji Rava – 2 tbspButtermilk – 1/4 cupGreen Chili – 1 ( optional)Coriander Leaves – 1 Tbsp (chopped)Cumin Seeds – 1 tspBlack Pepper Powder – 1/4tsp ( freshly ground)Salt – according to tasteOil – as needed to make dosaWater – 1/2 cup or as needed

*yields: 4 to 6 dosas

Dry roast the oats (for2 min) in a non-stick pan andlet it cool for a bit. Oatsshould become brittle.

Grind all ingredients together (except oil) inmixie or blender to get a fine batter consistency.

You need to add water while grinding in smallquantities until it achieves dosa batter consis-tency. Let the batter sit for 15 min so that it getsfermented a little.

Heat dosa wawa (or non-stick griddle) andpour a ladle of batter and spread it around incircles. Add 1 tsp of oil around dosa and let itcook for 1 min on each side. Fold into half, take itout from the pan.

Repeat the same steps until you are donewith the batter. Serve hot with chutney of yourchoice..

with cover. Add coconut, red chili powder, cookedchana dal and spice powder. Reduce the heat tolow and fry eggplant chana dal curry gently tokeep the eggplant pieces intact.

Transfer the curry into a serving dish andgarnish with fresh coriander leaves and coconut.

Tastes great with rice or chapatis.Makes 6 servings.

Corsets & SkirtsRememberthe full-skirteddresses of the 80s?They are back witha multi-layered,flared twist. Thenewest skirts areclassic, elegant andvintage. What’smore, they can bem i x e d - a n d -matched and areperfect as eveningwear.

The skirtslook fabulous on slim figured women in the up to50 age groups.

Sheer paneled skirts with minimal floral em-broidery work best for the traditionalists. You canplay with the length of the sleeves and the neck-lines, depending on the theme of your party.

1. Floral silk skirt with mirror border belt andtrim. To be worn with a corset with a zipper-upfront. This skirt is worn with platform heels and astatement necklace.

2. Pure blue chiffon skirt with flared pleats.Baby pico with dori, shantoon silk lining. Wearwith platform heels.

3. Embroidered silk and metallic thread en-

BY RANI SHARMA

crusted with swarovski crystals and floral embel-lished cutouts

Hair: Curl your hair with a curling rod.

Makeup: Very light makeup with natural lip liner

Jewelry: Light modern Jewelry

Shoes: Platform style sandals