English - PRAVASI BHARATIYA - Overseas Indian

DIASPORATEMPLEof LearningA state-funded school in Britain is adornedwith a marvellous marble temple that boastsof Vedic ethos and vegetarian mealsAdorned with classroomshrines and a grand marbletemple, Britain’s firststate-funded Hindu schoolhas opened its doors to the Britishmedia after fending off allegations itwould promote religious segregation.Krishna Avanti Primary Schoolopened up its eco-friendly compoundsto show its Vastu-inspiredarchitecture and design, yoga sessions,Vedic ethos and vegetarianmeals. And the sponsors of theschool in northwest London, whichhas the largest concentration ofHindus in Britain, immediatelyannounced plans to open up secondaryHindu schools to cater tomounting demand in London,Leicester and other cities.The showpiece of the school,which does not charge fees, is aneye-catching temple built fromhand-carved Makrana marble fromRajasthan, the same marble thatwas used to build the Taj Mahal.The smart school buildings arewood-clad, their roofs covered withgrass and the “eco-friendly” compoundincludes a pond, a wildlifegarden and an amphitheatre.Before the opening of the school,which is funded by a charity andpartnered by the International Societyfor Krishna Consciousness(ISKCON), Hinduism was the onlymajor religion without a faithschool in Britain.Headteacher Naina Parmer says,“We’re not an exclusivist ghetto. Asa faith school one of the key thingsis we’re an inclusive faith. The childrenlearn about other religions.”“We play classical music in theISKCON: Ashort historyThe International Society for KrishnaConsciousness, ISKCON, wasfirst incorporated in 1966 in NewYork by A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiPrabhupada. ISKCON today is aworldwide confederation of morethan 400 centres, aiming for selfsufficiency,50 schools and 90restaurants. In recent decades, themovement's most rapid expansionsin terms of numbers of membershiphave been within EasternEurope and India. ISKCON spreadsthe practice of bhakti yoga (devotionto God), in which aspirantdevotees (bhaktas) dedicate theirthoughts and actions towardspleasing the Supreme Lord.communal areas as it is calmingand it also embraces the fact we areBritish.” Ten percent of the childrenare white.Unlike other schools in Britain,Krishna Avanti Primary School recyclesrainwater, uses water pumps towarm up water for under-floor heatingand has intelligent building managementsystems that control roomtemperature. As with a nearbyISKCON temple — housed in anestate donated by the late BeatleGeorge Harrison — the school serveslunch cooked from vegetables thatare grown on the school grounds.I-Foundation, an organisationthat helps raise government andprivate funds to build schools, hasproposed a secondary school thatwould cater to up to 600 pupils.An ISKCONtempleIndianAmericantop mentorIndian-American professor KennethS. Sajwan of SavannahState University (SSU) hasreceived an award for excellence inmentoring, from U.S. PresidentBarack Obama.Sajwan, coordinator of the environmentalscience programme atSSU, was among 100 math and scienceteachers to get the award fromObama as he announced a $250 millionpublic-private initiativedesigned to improve national mathand science education. Nationallyrecognised as a leading scholar andresearcher in the field of environmentalscience, Sajwan’s workshave been seen in more than 100publications.He received a Masters’ of Sciencedegree in agronomy in 1975 fromIndo-CanadianbusinessmanVim Kochharwas nominated tothe Canadian senateby Prime MinisterStephenHarper.When he takesJ.N. Agricultural University inIndia and earned a doctoral degreein post-harvest technology fromIndian Institute of Technology in1980 and another doctoral degree inagronomy and environmental qualityfrom Colorado State Universityin 1985. American students, Obamanoted, currently rank 21st in sciencecompared with studentsaround the world, put the U.S. at adisadvantage on issues such asmedicine, energy and security.PIO appointed senatorVim KochharKenneth S. Sajwan (left)oath, 73-year-old Kochhar willbecome the first Indian-born senatorin Canadian history. Kochhar isamong five new members appointedto the upper chamber of theCanadian parliament.Founder and CEO of the VimalGroup of Companies in Toronto,Kochhar came to Canada in 1967after finishing his engineeringdegree from the University ofTexas. He became a Canadian citizenin 1974.Currently, there are 105 membersin the Canadian senate whichincludes 51 from the ruling ConservativeParty and 49 from the oppositionLiberal Party.Known for his community work,Kochhar set up the Canadian Foundationfor Physically Disabled Persons.He was also instrumental instarting the annual Great ValentineGalas, Rolling Rampage forwheelchair athletes, the CanadianHelen Keller Centre, RotaryCheshire Homes for the Deaf-Blind,the WhyNot Marathon for the Paralympics,and the Terry Fox Hall ofFame.Since the opposition majority inthe Senate till now held up manygovernment legislation, the CanadianPrime Minister said: “Theopposition have abused their Senatemajority by obstructing and evisceratinglaw and order measuresthat are urgently needed by Canadians.These new senators are committedto community safety and justicefor the victims of crime.”MARTINS GETSTOP OZ HONOURI ndian-originresearcher ofAlzheimer’s disease,RalphMartins, hasbeen namedAustralian ofthe Year 2010 Ralph Martinsby the government of Western Australia.Peter Varghese, Australianhigh commissioner to India, said:“The award signals Martins’ contributionsto research on Alzheimer'sdisease.”OZ DAY MEDALSCONFERREDV.P. Unnikrishnan, secretary ofthe Federation of Indian Communities,Queensland, hasreceived two Australia DayAchievement Medals for his contributionsto society there.Both these awards are to recogniseindividuals who made noteworthycontributions to the communityand department overmany years. It was his road designat the Sydney Olympics, whichensured smooth flow of trafficfrom the city of Sydney to the SydneyOlympics village.INDIAN LINGUISTEXCELSAn Indian linguist, M. J. Warsi,has been awarded a $25,000grant by the South Asian LanguageResource Centre (SALRC) to developa South Asian languages curriculumin the U.S. A gold medallistfrom Aligarh Muslim University,Warsi teaches linguistics atWashington University. An Indo-Aryan language and linguisticsprofessor in the South Asian Studiesat the department, Warsi hasalso authored many books helpingunderstand the efficacy of thecommon contact in languages andculture.30 Pravasi Bharatiya March 2010Pravasi Bharatiya March 2010 31