English - Overseas Indian

Global – IndIan network of knowledGe (Global–Ink):
“the VIrtual thInk tank”
A N I N I T I A T I V E O F T H E M I N I S T R Y O F O V E R S E A S I N D I A N A F F A I R S
Global –INK positioned as a strategic “virtual think tank” connects Overseas Indians
(knowledge providers) with the development process (knowledge receivers)
in India and empowers them to partner in India’s progress.
Being a next generation knowledge management, collaboration and business solution platform, Global-INK
provides context to connect knowledge experts with knowledge seekers Consequently,
these connections enable flow of knowledge and expertise from the Diaspora back into India and facilitate collective action.
Global – INK will catalyze Diaspora ability and willingness into well thought out projects and programs for development,
transform individual initiatives into community action and achieve critical mass in chosen verticals.
The portal can be accessed only by registered users. Registration request can be submitted
by filing out the registration form located on the Global-INK homepage (www.globalink.in)
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Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs
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Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs
www.moia.gov.in
www.overseasindian.in

news
Kochi to host next Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas
The 11Th ediTiOn of the annual diaspora
conclave — Pravasi Bharatiya Divas
2013 — is scheduled in be held in Kochi,
Kerala.
Over 2,000 delegates from across the
world are likely to participate in the threeday
event, to be held from January 7 to 9.
At the Kochi meet, participation from the
Gulf countries is expected to rise sharply
because of the large number of Keralities
lving in that region.
Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh is
expected to deliver the inaugural address at
the event on January 8, 2013, while the President
is expected to deliver the valedictory
address on January 9.
At the 10th edition of the annual diaspora
meet held in Jaipur, 2,000 delegates from
more than 50 countries participated.
The theme of the 10th edition of the annual
event was ‘Global Indian — Inclusive
Growth’. The ‘Pravasi Bharatiya Samman’
awards were conferred to 14 eminent overseas
Indians, including Trinidad and Tobago
Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar, and
a Canada-based institution, for their outstanding
contributions in enhancing India’s
image globally.
Pravasi Bharatiya Samman is the highest
award conferred by the Indian government
on Non-resident Indians and Persons of Indian
Origin (PIOs) and institutions run by
them for their contribution in serving the Indian
diaspora.
Pravasi Bharatiya Divas is celebrated
every year by the Government of India in
an effort to reach out to nearly 20-million Indian
diaspora. The annual diaspora meet begins
on January 7 to commemorate the day
Mahatma Gandhi returned to India from
South Africa.
IFC funding for global Indian school NRI facilitates
India, Singapore
computer lessons business pact
a glObal chain of schools providing
education with Indian values, especially
meant for the diaspora, has received funding
from the World Bank’s International
Finance Corporation (IFC) to set up more
institutions in India and Southeast Asian
countries.
The IFC would provide $19.4 million to
the Global Indian International School
(GIIS), run by the Global Schools Foundation
(GSF), that has 20 campuses in seven
countries, for setting up/acquiring new
schools in South and Southeast Asian countries,
GIIS officials said.
“GIIS’ ability to implement high standards
of educational delivery helps in driving
innovation in the primary and
secondary education sector and fulfils the
growing need for quality education in
emerging markets,” IFC director Vipul
Prakash said.
The investment is in line with IFC’s
strategy for the education sector in Asia,
which includes supporting service
providers, he added.
GSF co-founder Atul Temurnikar said
that IFC’s long-term loan would help the
foundation accelerate its “expansion plans
and reach more students throughout the
region”.
“We plan to open two more schools in
Ahmedabad and Bangalore. The Bangalore
facility will be ready by 2014 and the admissions
will start by September this year,” GIIS
country chief (India) Rajeev Katyal said.
“Besides India, we are also looking to set
up schools in the Gulf countries,” said
Katyal.
Over 120 farmers,
farmers’ widows and
youth have enrolled at a
free computer training
centre set up by a nonresident
Indian from
Oman in a Maharashtra
village.
Krishnakumar Taori, the group managing
director of a construction company in
Oman, is a native of the Ghuikhed village
on the Yavatmal-Amravati border in the
Vidarbha region.
With 10 computers and an internet connection,
this is the first such training centre
in the region that has nearly 100 villages.
The courses will be taught in three shifts
daily. Taori decided to set up the centre in
April 2012 after a visit to Pandharkavada village
to distribute saris and blankets to 200
women, whose husbands had committed
suicide due to debt, said an activist.
NRK bonds for development projects soon
kerala is wOrking out a plan to
float a ‘Pravasi Development Bond’ for the
benefit of the non-resident Keralites
(NRKs), the state’s Minister for Non-Resident
Keralite Affairs K.C. Joseph informed
the state Assembly recently.
The minister said that discussions had
started with financial experts on how to go
about this unique scheme.
“We propose that through this bond,
NRKs can take shares and the money
would be utilised to fund flagship development
projects of the state. Whatever profits
that arise through the investment projects,
would be shared with the NRK shareholders,”
said Joseph.
Citing the latest study on the Kerala diaspora
by the Centre for Development Studies
(CDS), Joseph told the Assembly that the
total amount the Kerala banks received during
the last fiscal, mostly from those employed
in the Middle East, was a staggering
`500 billion. The Ministry of Overseas Indian
Affairs (MOIA) has established a migration
unit at the CDS to study issues relating
business chambers of India and
Singapore have signed a cooperation
agreement to boost bilateral trade and investments.
The Federation of Indian
Chambers of Commerce and Industry
(FICCI) and Singapore Business Federation
(SBF) signed the agreement which
will give a fillip to two-way trade, investment
opportunities, and industrial cooperation,
including expansion of joint
ventures, technological collaboration both
bilaterally and in third countries. FICCI
senior vice president Naina Lal Kidwai
and Singapore Business Federation’s vice
chairman Gautam Banerjee inked the deal
at the inaugural session of India-Singapore
Business Forum-2012 in New Delhi.
According to the agreement, the two industry
lobbies would “strive to facilitate,
strengthen and diversify the cooperation
between the firms of the industrial and
service sectors of the two countries”.
to international migration from India.
The minister was replying to a motion
moved by treasury bench legislator P.
Ubaidullah who sought the immediate attention
of the state government to channelise
the NRK deposits in Kerala banks for
productive purposes.
“We also have decided to open an exclusive
bank for NRKs and we have now got in
touch with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
for the necessary clearance,” added Joseph.
The state government, he said, would use
the forthcoming investment meet “Emerging
Kerala”, to be held in Kochi in September,
to showcase mega projects like the Kochi
Metro Rail, mono rail in a few cities of the
state and other major projects in the state.
“These projects would be the ones where
even the ordinary Keralite can take shares.
Among the other mega projects that we are
going to revive is the ‘Kerala Airways’ project,
where the state government will go
ahead with its earlier plan to start our own
airline,” said the minister.
“Another project that we have decided to
go ahead with is the commencement of ship
services from the Middle East to counter the
exorbitant air fares charged by airline companies,”
he added. Joseph also said that all
investment projects where the NRKs invest
would be eligible for insurance benefits.
The CDS study found that the number of
Kerala emigrants living abroad was an estimated
2.28 million in 2011, up from 2.19
million in 2008, 1.84 million in 2003 and
1.36 million in 1998.
India, Mauritius to boost travel trade
india and mauriTius would
strengthen ties in the tourism sector by increasing
investment in the hotel industry,
promoting more package tours and developing
tourism infrastructure, Tourism Minister
Subodh Kant Sahai said recently.
Mauritian Tourism Minister Yeung Sik
Yuen called on Sahai and both the leaders
discussed ways for strengthening cooperation
in the tourism sector.
Recalling the historic and cultural ties between
the two nations, Sahai said: “Both the
countries have tremendous scope to develop
tourism infrastructure with mutual help. It
would be appropriate if we strengthen our
ties by promoting bilateral tourism.” He suggested
that India and Mauritius could consider
exchanging experience in destination
management and might consider participating
in tourism events of each other.
The two leaders agreed that tour operators
and travel agents of both the countries could
interact with each other in order to promote
tourism between India and Mauritius.
6 Pravasi Bharatiya | June 2012 June 2012 | Pravasi Bharatiya 7

news
No service tax on foreign
remittances: Government
The gOvernmenT has said that remittances
sent from overseas will not be
liable for service tax charge.
“The matter has been examined and it is
clarified that there is no service tax per se
on the amount of foreign currency remitted
india and POland have signed an
agreement to establish a legal framework
for audio-visual co-production, especially
films. The agreement was signed by visiting
Minister for Information and Broadcasting
Ambika Soni and her Polish
counterpart Bogdan Zdrojewski on July 4.
Soni expressed joy and satisfaction over
the improvement of relations between the
two countries ever since Poland joined the
European Union in May 2004.
“Poland is now a full-fledged stable democratic
polity in eastern Europe and it is now
well-advanced in film productions. Polish
films and film directors, such as
to India from overseas,” the Central Board
of Excise and Customs (CBEC) said in a
circular.
The circular clarified that remittance
does not comprise a “service” and thus not
subjected to service tax.
The clarification would be a major
breather for the millions of Indian diaspora
living abroad, especially those working in
the Gulf countries, who are the major
source of remittance to India.
The CBEC further clarified that any fee
or conversion charges levied for sending remittances
would also not be liable to service
tax as the person sending the money and
the company conducting the remittance
were located outside India.
India-Poland audio-visual ties
Andrezj Wajda, Roman Polanski and
Krzystof Zanussi, are world-famous. It will
be very beneficial for us to cooperate with
Poland and both the countries can produce
films and programmes jointly,” Soni said.
During her visit, the minister attended a
luncheon session hosted by the India-
Poland Chamber of Commerce and Industry,
where she was briefed about bilateral
trade which has now touched $2 billion annually.
She lauded the role of the chamber
in promoting a deep and strong relationship
between the two countries. The minister
said she was happy to know about the
establishment of a Gurdwara in Poland.
Indian satellite to
study universe
asTrOsaT, The $50-million astronomy
satellite India is scheduled to put in polar
circular orbit in 2013, would study the universe
at multi-wavelengths for the first time,
a senior space agency official said.
“The Astrosat mission will study for the
first time the cosmic sources of the vast universe
at optical, ultraviolet and X-ray wavebands
simultaneously,” state-run Indian
Space Research Organisation (ISRO) scientific
secretary V. Koteshwar Rao told IANS.
The 1.6-tonne satellite will be launched
from the Sriharikota spaceport off the Bay
of Bengal coast in Andhra Pradesh, about
90km northeast of Chennai, onboard a 300tonne
rocket with five scientific instruments
to study at multiple wavelengths.
The instruments include a soft X-ray telescope,
an ultraviolet imaging telescope, an
imager and a sky scanning monitor.
“Unlike astronomical satellites of other
countries, Astrosat will study visible to
high-energy X-ray emissions from celestial
objects on a single platform, take the highest
angular resolution imaging in ultraviolet
and measure short-term variation of X-ray
emissions,” Rao said.
A five-year delay has escalated the mission
cost to `2700 million.
A wavelength is a unit of measurement
indicating the distance between the peak of
one wave and the next. As forms of electromagnetic
radiation, they make unique patterns
in shapes and lengths as they travel
through space. “Most astronomical objects
emit radiation spanning the electromagnetic
spectrum from long wavelength radio waves
to very short wavelength gamma rays. Simultaneous
observation of the multi-wavelengths
will enable us to understand the
physical processes behind the phenomenon,”
Rao pointed out.
Europe, India to deepen trade ties
cOmmerce minisTer Anand
Sharma has called for closer economic engagement
between India and Europe.
Addressing the Horasis Global India
Business Meeting (GIBM) in the port city
of Belgium, the minister said Europe holds
great promise for economic engagement
with India, EuAsia News reported.
“Both India and Europe being great economic
partners that we are will find the
ways to further deepen and diversify our
economic engagement,” he said.
The commerce minister noted that there
were a large number of Indian entities present
in the northern region of Belgium,
known as Flanders, and that many Belgian
companies were participating in India’s eco-
Indian firm bags township project in Rwanda
leading indian realty firm Synergy
Property Development Services Ltd
bagged, through international bidding, a
$153-million township development project
in the central African country of
Rwanda.
As a global project management consulting
and turnkey solution provider, the Bangalore-based
Synergy will undertake design
and project management of Rwanda Social
Security Board (RSSB) to build three townships
in Rwandan capital Kigali, which has
a population of one million.
“The Rwandan project will demonstrate
our leadership in the real estate space and
usher in a new growth path for us in the region.
Africa is land of opportunities for
nomic growth. “Europe holds great promise,
this country and the city of Antwerp in
particular,” said the minister.
On his part, Kris Peeters, Minister-President,
Government of Flanders, said GIBM
was “the largest Indian business delegation
ever hosted in Belgium.” He said in 2011 the
total exports from the Flanders region to
India amounted to €7.8 billion, an 18 percent
increase from 2010 and 79 percent increase
compared to 2009. “This makes
India our seventh trading partner and the
second most important one outside Europe.
The Flanders region is responsible for 98
percent of Belgian exports to India,” he said
noting that diamonds constitute over 80 percent
of Belgian exports to India.
housing and office space development
work,” said Synergy chairman Sankey
Prasad. The ambitious project consists of
first developing a 157-acre “Vision City”
India-Indonesia trade
forum launched
an india Business Forum has been
launched in Jakarta to boost trade and investment
between India and Indonesia.
The Indian Business Forum (IBF) is
aimed at bringing together Indian businesses
and professionals in Indonesia for a
“concerted effort towards an enhanced
economic engagement with Indonesia”,
according to a statement issued by the Indian
Embassy in Jakarta.
The IBF will be a common platform for
a cross section of companies and individuals
working in Indonesia to fulfil the objective.
Indonesia’s Trade Minister Gita
Wirjawan said India and Indonesia are yet
to achieve the true potential of their economic
partnership and such forums would
benefit both the countries.
Indian Ambassador to Indonesia Gurjit
Singh said the forum was set up not only
to act as a facilitator for increased and diversified
trade but also to seek more investment.
“In order to expand trade, India Inc
present here will work through this forum
with the embassy to find ways for new
technology transfer and new investments,”
Singh added. The envoy said the forum
would look at new plans and visions and
play a facilitating role with the “very
friendly” government of Indonesia.
township in Kigali with semi-detached
units, luxurious homes, apartments, educational
facilities and town centre, including
shopping malls, administrative block,
public transport terminus, recreation facilities
and playgrounds.” The other two
townships at Kinyinya and Batsinda in Kigali
will have a total of 700 apartments
spread across 250 acres with support infrastructure,
including civic amenities, for
leading a quality life,” Prasad said.
Under the contract, the company will
develop the three projects, including design,
engineering, procurement, construction
and will be responsible for time, cost,
quality and environmental health and
safety standards.
8 Pravasi Bharatiya | June 2012 June 2012 | Pravasi Bharatiya 9

Special report
EMPOWERING
MIGRANTS
The India Centre for Migration (ICM), formerly known as the Indian Council of Overseas
Employment, is not only helping Indian migrant workers build on their capabilities to
land overseas jobs, but also in moving up the value chain, writes N.C. Bipindra
The India Centre for Migration
(ICM), under the Ministry of
Overseas Indian Affairs
(MOIA), may be just about four
years old, but the state-sponsored thinktank
is emerging as a pre-eminent agency
in the country on all matters relating to international
migration.
Set up in July 2008, the ICM is helping
Indian migrant workers build on their capabilities
to land overseas jobs and to move
10 Pravasi Bharatiya | June 2012
up the value chain. It is also enabling the
Indian migrant workers position India as
a preferred source of qualified, skilled and
trained human resources across a wide
gamut of sectors.
In order to assist the Indian migrants
achieve their potential, considering migration
services as an instrument to adjust
skills, age and sectoral composition of national
and regional labour markets, the
ICM has already launched four major proj-
ects — each aimed at a particular segment
of Indian migrant workers.
One of the projects is the ‘Skill Development
Initiative for Potential Migrants
from the North-Eastern States of India’,
currently underway in the eight North-
Eastern states. The project, sponsored by
the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs
(MOIA) is being implemented by the ICM
and the International Organisation for Migration
(IOM).
“The objective is to provide job readiness
and augment employability of potential
overseas migrants in the international
labour market, especially in the high-demand
sectors of hospitality and healthcare,”
according to ICM officials.
Kick-started in July 2011, with an overall
outlay of `9 crore, the pilot project will develop
standards and an internationally recognised
framework for skills upgradation,
assessment, accreditation and certification.
“The key objectives of the project is to
develop a robust model for standardised
curricula, training methods, independent
testing and certification for universal
recognition of skills. It is also to demonstrate
a sustainable revenue model for scaling
up to pan-India level standardised skills
training for overseas employment,” officials
added.
Under this pilot project, for the year
2012-13, the ICM plans outreach activities
in all the eight North-Eastern states partnering
with both private and government
institutions for training; training of trainers;
training of pilot batch of 200 people in
the hospitality sector in Guwahati; and
scaling up to train 8,000 trainees in the
hospitality sector, 1,600 in healthcare, 200
in culinary skills and another 200 in English
language teaching.
The project will be scaled up at the national
level, once the pilot project is completed
in July 2013.
In partnership with the European University
Institute (EUI), Florence, the ICM is
also implementing the pilot project for ‘Developing
a Knowledge Base for Policy Making
on India-EU Migration’, with an
objective to consolidate a constructive dialogue
between the EU and India on migration,
covering all migration-related aspects.
The project, started in March 2011 and
scheduled to be completed in February
2013, is co-financed by the European
Commission (EC).
“The objective of the project is to assemble
high-level Indian-European Union
(EU) expertise in major disciplines that
deal with migration, such as demography,
economics, law, sociology and politics with
a view to building up migration studies in
India,” the officials told IANS.
It will also provide the Indian government,
the European Union, its memberstates,
the state governments, academia
and civil society evidence-based policy-oriented
research, capacity-building, and out-
Key Initiatives
Skill development initiative for
potential migrants from the
North-Eastern states of India
Developing a knowledge-base
for policymaking on India–EU
migration project
Empowerment of women
migrant workers in the Gulf
Labour Market Assessment
(LMA) in overseas labour markets
Research project on the Movement
of Indian Capital, Goods
and Labour in Africa
Establishing Migrant Resource
Centres (MRCs)
reach programmes at the sub-national
level, they added.
In 2012-13, the ICM will produce 19 research
papers under the project focusing on
issues of migration, and cover a diverse set
of themes with strategic relevance to India’s
migration policy and governance. These papers
will address issues pertaining to movement
of capital, goods, and people; legal
and safe migration to the EU; barriers to
free movement; migration and gender; and
diaspora and development.
The ICM also plans outreach and capacity-building
activities this year through five
workshops at national and state level.
This year, the organisation will implement
a pilot project on ‘Empowerment of
Women Migrant Workers in the Gulf’ in
collaboration with the UN Women South
Asia region office. The project will be implemented
over a two-year period in select
districts of Andhra Pradesh and Kerala —
two major states of origin of women migrant
workers.
The ICM is augmenting employability of overseas
migrants in the international labour market.
“The project aims to institutionalise
good practices in the entire cycle of migration
from pre-departure to return and resettlement
through a series of awareness
and capacity-building programmes covering
all stakeholders in the migration
process,” officials said.
In order to identify the sectors in which
employment opportunities are opening up
in Europe, South East Asia and Asia Pacific
and to outline the skills and qualification
requirements for the benefit of
potential migrant youth from India, the
ICM has initiated the Labour Market Assessment
(LMA)-Phase II study in select
EU countries.
The study will also aim to understand
the impact of points based immigration
system on Indian emigrants. The focus
countries for LMA-Phase II include the
Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Spain, South
Korea and Japan. Further, the United
Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New
Zealand have been identified for the study
on points-based immigration system. The
ICM completed the Phase I of LMA in
2012, covering six countries in the Europe.
The ICM is also looking to new geographies
of growth and, in this regard, will in
2012-2013, initiate a research project on
the ‘Movement of India Capital, Goods
and Labour in Africa’, in partnership with
the Centre for Indian Studies in Africa
(CISA), University of Witwatersrand.
Furthermore, to enable potential Indian
migrants make an informed decision to
migrate, the ICM is also assisting some
states to establish Migrants Resource Centres
(MRCs).
With all of the above-said initiatives, in
partnership with revelant stakeholders, the
ICM is working to empower migrants
make a free, safe and informed choice for
their future and that of their family.
June 2012 | Pravasi Bharatiya 11

COVER STORY
CELEBRATING
THE SPIRIT
In a clear manifestation of their deepening roots in their adopted
land, people of Indian origin, by organising festivals and conventions
to mark the July 4 American Independence Day, have become an
integral part of the society, writes Arun Kumar
Indian Americans at festivities near Capitol Hill on July 4
Come July and it’s celebration
time for both Americans and
Indian who have made America
their new home. Equally
proud of their Indian heritage and their
American nationality, they celebrate festivals
of both nations with the same vigour
and enthusiasm.
Celebrating the rise of the Indian American,
immigrants from four corners of
India hold festivals and conventions bringing
alive the culture of their native states
from Punjab to Kerala, from Gujarat to
Bihar around July 4 American Independence
Day week. In a new trend this year,
they lent a South Asian touch to the July
Fourth festivities with functions, fairs and
fireworks from New York to California in
a clear manifestation of their deepening
roots in their adopted land.
The first major influx of Indian immigrants
to the U.S. arrived in the early
1900s to work as farmhands. They were
initially considered Caucasian and allowed
to become citizens, but a 1917 law
prevented Asians from coming to the U.S.
Many of these mostly male Indians
then found it hard to get married or bring
existing wives from India, according to
Pawan Dhingra, curator of a Smithsonian
Institution project in Washington called
‘The HomeSpun’ highlighting how American
life has been influenced by Indian-
Americans.
That law, says Dhingra, a sociology
professor at Oberlin College, as well as
laws preventing whites from marrying
non-whites, led many Indian men to
marry Mexican women also working in
agriculture.
12 Pravasi Bharatiya | June 2012 June 2012 | Pravasi Bharatiya 13

COVER STORY
(Above) An NRI family at the India Day Parade at
Hartford, USA; (right) young Indian Americans at
the I-Day Parade in New York.
It wasn’t until the passage of a law in
1946 that Indians could become U.S. citizens.
A large number of highly educated
professionals emigrated from India after
the 1965 Immigration Act opened the
doors to immigrants from more diverse
backgrounds.
Today, over 3.2 million people of Indian
origin have made America, the land of opportunity,
their home to emerge as the
As in the past, this year too various
Indian community organisations
held conventions bringing alive
the culture of their native states
around the American Independence Day,
lending an Indian touch to July 4 festivities
with functions, fairs and fireworks from New
York to California.
In Los Angeles, the India Association of
Los Angeles (IALA) and the Global Organization
of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO)
joined hands to celebrate it as the American
Independence Day and Indian American Heritage
Day by paying tribute to the pioneers
third-largest group among Asian Americans
after the Chinese and the Filipinos.
“Indians are making a name for themselves
in realms that I didn’t think,” said
India-born Dhingra, noting how they have
come to occupy the pride of place in
American society in virtually every
and patriots of the two nations. IALA president
Gursharan Nat said the association,
which has been celebrating the Indian Independence
and Republic Days every year, will
from now on also mark July 4 in celebration
of America’s independence and as a tribute to
Indian American pioneers.
In Chicago, dozens of Indian community
members, including students from the
Chicago- based Kalapadma Bharatanatyam
Dance Academy, joined the July 4 parade in
Niles Township. Onlookers cheered the
marchers and danced to the tune of Bollywood
music as Indian floats passed by.
sphere — from academics to politics to
science and technology.
Scheduled to open in September 2013,
the Smithsonian exhibit, besides featuring
Indian-Americans’ well-known contributions
in medicine, software engineering
and small business, will also put a focus
COAST TO COAST CELEBRATIONS
In New Jersey, over 15,000 South Asian
Americans gathered in Edison Municipal Park
to celebrate the day with a cultural programme
by Indian, Chinese, Jewish and
American performers and a spectacular firework
display organised by the South Asian
Community Outreach (SACO).
“This celebration is very significant,” said
guest of honour State Senator Samuel D.
Thompson calling it “a loud expression by
the South Asian community, whose members
have contributed a great deal in sustaining
the economy of New Jersey”.
In Long Island, New York, a large number
on lesser-known fields where they’re making
their mark — like music, literature,
film, cuisine and politics.
According to a recent Pew Research
Centre report Indian Americans are the
best-educated people with seven-in-10
above 25 having at least a Bachelor’s
of South Asian Americans celebrated the day
under the banner of American Community
Empowerment with ethnic food flavours, Bollywood
music and Punjabi folk songs.
Conventions
In Atlanta, Georgia, Over 8,000 people attended
the American Telugu Association’s
12th conference and youth convention at the
Georgia World Congress Centre July 6 to 8.
Movie star Ileana D’Cruz was a major draw,
as was former Indian cricket captain and
member of Indian Parliament Mohammad
Azaruddin, at the event, which opened with
the lighting of the traditional lamp and
singing of Indian and American national anthems.
A vocal performance by Swagatha
Geetham and an inaugural theme dance in
degree compared with the national share
of 28 percent. They also earn much more
than all others with a median household
annual income of $88,000 compared with
$49,800 for all U.S. households.
In the political field, starting with Dalip
Singh Saund, who became the first Indian
praise of Telugu heritage were among the
highlights. The North American Telugu Association
(NATA) turned the George R. Brown
Convention Centre in Houston, Texas, into a
mini Andhra Pradesh city for its convention
from June 29 to July 1.
A gate with Lord Venkateswara’s portrait
greeted the visitors and shops selling clothes
and gold did brisk business as alumni associations
of several universities held informative
seminars. Speakers included U.S. House of
Representative member Sheila Jackson Lee
and Harish Jajoo, City of Sugarland council
member.
The Federation of Kerala Associations in
North America (FOKANA) too held its fourday
convention at the Crown Plaza Hotel in
Houston. Inaugurated by Uthradom Thirunal
Indian community has
integrated well with the
American society because
we do not live in exclusive,
secluded Indian neighbourhoods.
Our kids
make friends with the
neighbourhood children.
American and Sikh member of the United
States Congress in 1957, two others,
Bobby Jindal, and Hansen Clarke, the son
of an African-American mother and Indian
father, have been elected to the
House of Representatives. At least 12 of
them are in the fray for the November
2012 polls, beating the record of 2010,
when eight contested. Jindal, son of Indian
immigrants from Punjab, who became
governor of Louisiana in 2007, is in
contention for Republican presidential
nominee Mitt Romney’s vice presidential
pick along with Nikki Haley, the first
Indian-American and first woman
Marthanda Varma, the current head of the
former royal family of Travancore, the convention
venue was named Ananthapuri after
the capital of the erstwhile Kingdom of
Thiruvananthapuram.
Speaking at the convention’s concluding
banquet, India’s Ambassador to the U.S.
Nirupama Rao said India needs the community’s
support to further India-U.S. relations
which are based on pragmatism.
The Association of Indian Americans in
North America (AIANA) plans to hold its third
‘Chaalo Gujarat World Gujarati Conference’
from August 31 to September 2 at the Raritan
Expo Centre in New Jersey. Highlights of
the three-day event include celebrity performances,
spiritual discourses, cultural
shows and a trade show.
14 Pravasi Bharatiya | June 2012 June 2012 | Pravasi Bharatiya 15

COVER STORY
A Taste of India
in America
They may have made America
their new home, but every August
they celebrate India’s Independence
Day with food, fairs and
festivals all over the country and an
iconic India day Parade in Manhattan
right in the heart of New York City.
A Bollywood star or some other Indian
celebrity leads the parade as
Grand Marshal. Bipasha Basu,
Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone
have done the honours in the past,
Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan will lead
this year’s parade on Sunday August
19.
Over 100,000 people are expected
to watch the parade, organised for
the last 32 years by the Federation of
Indian Associations (FIA), as the
colourful floats move down Madison
Avenue in Manhattan over more than
10 blocks with bands and fanfare.
As in the past, New York’s landmark
Empire State Building will be lit in
India’s tricolours and the Indian Consul
General will ring the NASDAQ bell
with Saif attending the ceremony.
The next day, there will be a gala
dinner at Royal Albert’s Palace in
Fords, New Jersey with a performance
by Ghazal singer Anup Jalota.
Apart from the Manhattan parade,
several Indian community organisations
have announced plans to hold
the
inaugural Long Island India Day
Parade in Hicksville, New York, on
August 11. The theme of the parade
will be ‘Celebrating Democracy and
Unity’ and will carry flags of both India
and America. About 25 floats, marching
bands, and dance troupes will
showcase India’s culture and traditions.
Before the Sunday parade, there
will be a flag-hoisting ceremony in
front of the prestigious Nassau County
Legislative and Executive Building in
Mineola on August 15 and the beautiful
dome of the Theodore Roosevelt
Building will be illuminated with the
colours of the Indian flag.
(Source: “The Rise of Asian Americans”,
Pew Research Centre)
16 Pravasi Bharatiya | June 2012
governor of South Carolina, another rising
star of the Republican Party.
Many more Indians are members of the
state assemblies and local bodies with
Tulsi Gabbard becoming the youngest
woman in America ever elected to a state
legislature when, in 2002, at the age of 21
she won a Hawaii State House seat.
Scores of others hold high places in the
Obama administration and as many head
institutions of higher learning. A few of
them lead multinational firms and dozens of
Indian-origin scientists on the ground play a
key role in keeping the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration (NASA), the
American space agency, flying high.
Sunita Williams, the daughter of a Gujarati
father and a Slovenian mother, who
spent 195 days in space and did four
spacewalks totalling 29 hours and 17 minutes,
to set two new world records for
women astronauts five years ago, is now
back at the International Space Station for
another four month stay at her new home
amid stars.
Giving the healing touch to the
stretched American medical system is the
American Association of Physicians of
Indian Origin (AAPI), boasting a membership
of 1,400 consisting academicians,
pharmaceutical industry executives, researchers,
clinicians, medical students, residents
and fellows.
The AAPI too celebrated its successful
30th annual convention in at the Long
Indian Americans on a float during the annual
Indian Independence Day Parade at Madison
Avenue in New York City.
Beach Convention and Entertainment
Centre in California from June 27 to July
1 with discussions on cutting-edge health
care issues and health matters affecting the
community.
Immigrant entrepreneurs from India,
many of them with the same last name
Patel, now own more than an estimated 50
percent of the America’s roadside economy
motels, and up to 40 percent of the total
lodging market, giving rise to what has been
dubbed the “Patel-motel” phenomenon.
“In the beginning we were marginalised
in the industry, but today we are the industry,”
says Hermant Patel, chairman of the
Atlanta-based Asian American Hotel
Owners Association, whose 11,000 members
own 24,000 properties worth about
$128 billion and employ more than
700,000 people around the country.
Their keys to success are a combination
of opportunity, motivation and a large and
growing network of fellow Indian-American
motel owners, according to Dhingra,
who explores the phenomenon in his
book, ‘Life Behind the Lobby: Indian
American Motel Owners and the American
Dream’.
Inder Singh, Chairman Global Organisation
of People of Indian Origin
(GOPIO), attributes the extraordinary
success of Indian Americans in various
fields to “our education, talent and commitment
and Americans’ recognition of
hard work and meritocracy”.
The Indian community has integrated
very well with American society, he says,
because “we do not live in exclusive, secluded
Indian neighbourhoods. Our children
play, go to school and make friends
with the neighbourhood children”.
“We celebrate our Indian events but
also take part in American events such as
Thanksgiving and Christmas and we also
do barbecues like Americans do on July 4
or on Memorial Day,” says Inder Singh.
Thomas Abraham, founder president of
(Left and below) Indian Americans in New York;
(Bottom), from left, Pt. Jasraj, actor Gulshan
Grover and TV Asia CEO HR Shah at I-Day Parade.
GOPIO, agrees, saying: “With America
accepting and respecting cultural values of
different nationalities, the Indian community
has been able to retain many of their
cultural roots and values, including their
religion, ethnic food as well as celebrating
various festivals of India.”
“In fact, Americans have been attending
various ethnic festivals. This has made the
assimilation process much easier,” he
noted. “Each generation of Indian Americans
finds its way to hold onto language,
music, culture and food while also contributing
to the American fabric in all sectors
of American society,” said Deepa Iyer,
Executive Director, South Asian Americans
Leading Together (SAALT), a grouping
of 40-plus South Asian organisations.
“More and more, SAALT sees young
people who are contributing to their communities,
campuses and neighbourhoods
in America while preserving their Indian
cultures. American society has embraced
so much of this culture through food,
music, dance and more,” she said.
The Toppers
l Indian Americans are the besteducated
people in the United
States with the highest-income,
according to a recent Pew Research
Centre report.
l Indians, who now number 3.18
millions, are the third largest racial
group after the Chinese (4 million)
and the Filipinos (3.4 million).
l They have a median household
annual income of $88,000, much
higher than for all Asians ($66,000)
and all U.S. households ($49,800).
l Seven-in-ten (70 percent) Indian
Americans ages 25 and older, have
obtained at least a bachelor’s
degree compared with the national
share of 28 percent.
l More than half of Indian Americans
(57 percent) own a home, compared
with 58 percent of Asian Americans
overall and 65 percent of the US
population overall.
l More than three-quarters of Indian
Americans (76 percent) speak
English proficiently, compared with
63 percent of all Asian Americans
and 90 percent of the U.S.
population overall.
l The share of adult Indian Americans
who live in poverty is 9 percent,
lower than the rate for all Asian
Americans (12 percent) as well as
the national rate (13 percent).
l Indian Americans are among the
most likely to say that the strength
of family ties is better in their country
of origin (69 percent) than in the
U.S. (8 percent).
l Indian Americans are more evenly
spread out than other Asian Americans.
About 24 percent of adult Indian
Americans live in the West,
compared with 47 percent of Asian
Americans and 23 percent of the
U.S. population overall.
l More than three-in-ten (31 percent)
Indian Americans live in the Northeast,
29 percent live in the South,
and the rest (17 percent) live in the
Midwest.
l Nearly nine-in-10 (87 percent) adult
Indian Americans in the United
States are foreign born.
June 2012 | Pravasi Bharatiya 17

science
AT HOME
IN SPACE
Indian-American astronaut Sunita Williams, who has reached the International
Space Station on her second space odyssey, has created history by becoming the
first woman ever to be commander of a space mission
18 Pravasi Bharatiya | June 2012
Indian-American astronaut Sunita
Williams, who holds the record of the
longest space flight (195 days) for a
woman, has arrived at her new home
amid stars, with an international cast of
crew for another four-month stay.
Williams, along with Russian astronaut
Yuri Malenchenko and Japanese astronaut
Aki Hoshide, docked their Soyuz TMA-
05M spacecraft to the Rassvet module of the
International Space Station after two days
in orbit, NASA announced.
Expedition 32 commander Gennady
Padalka and flight engineers Joe Acaba and
Sergei Revin greeted their new crewmates.
The six-member crew conducted a welcoming
ceremony with family and mission officials
then participated in a safety briefing.
The docking occurred 37 years to the day
after the first ever docking of American and
Russian spacecraft during the 1975 Apollo-
Soyuz mission. Williams, a flight engineer
on the station’s Expedition 32 crew, has
taken over as commander of Expedition 33.
Daughter of an Indian American father
from Gujarat and a Slovenian mother,
Williams and her colleagues will be aboard
the station during an exceptionally busy
period that includes two spacewalks, the
arrival of Japanese, U.S. commercial and
Russian resupply vehicles, and an increasingly
faster pace of scientific research, the
U.S. space agency said.
Williams is the second woman of Indian
heritage to have been selected by NASA
for a space mission after Kalpana Chawla
and the second astronaut of Slovenian heritage
after Ronald M. Sega.
Williams travelled for the first time to
space in 2007 and, according to NASA, she
holds three records for a female space traveler
— longest spaceflight (195 days), number
of spacewalks (four) and total time spent
on spacewalks (29 hours and 17 minutes).
Williams was quoted as saying in the
media that she is excited about watching
the London Olympics from the station and
put a much more global perspective on the
mega sporting event.
A 1987 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy,
Williams served in various roles as a
Navy officer before being selected as an astronaut
candidate by NASA in 1998. She received
a Master’s degree from the Florida
Institute of Technology in 1995.
Williams’s mother Bonnie Pandya grew
up in Massachusetts, U.S., while her father
Deepak Pandya did his MD from Gujarat
University before moving to the U.S.
The new crew members are expected to conduct over
30 scientific missions with about 240 experiments during
their stay aboard the ISS.
SPACE EXPLORATION: Robotic arm developed by
Japan will be launched for technology development and
demonstration for air, water, and surface monitoring.
Humans in space: NASA’s light microscope will provide
better understanding of crystallisation and ageing in food
and other products.
HEALTHCARE: Miniaturised flow cytometer, Microflow1,
developed by Canada, uses laser to analyse
individual cells for cell counting and sorting, biomarker
(disease signatures) detecting, and protein engineering.
The equipment will be tested for early disease identification.
(Left) astronauts Aki Hoshide, Yuri Malenchenko
and Sunita Williams before heading for space at
the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
(Above) Williams takes a break to plant a tree at
Baikonur. (Photos: Courtesy, NASA)
What the expedition means for science
NANOTECHNOLOGY: NanoRacks, micro plates containing
nano particles of plant and animal tissues, will
be carried to the ISS to study impact of zero gravity situations
on them.
EARTH SCIENCE: ISS SERVIR Environmental Research
and Visualisation System (ISERV) will lead to
the development of enhanced capabilities that will provide
useful images to support disaster and other events'
monitoring and assessment, and environmental decision
making when needed.
CHEMISTRY: Facility for Absorption and Surface Tension
(FASTER) will be flown for the first time on the
space station. It will conduct research on physical chemistry
properties and emulsion stability of droplet interfaces.
Its outcome can help industries make emulsion
of two generally separate liquids such as water and oil.
June 2012 | Pravasi Bharatiya 19

DIASPORA NEWS
FAITH ABOUND
Gurunanak Darbar, Dubai’s first Gurdwara, is a heady mix
of spirituality, tradition, modernity and opulence — and the
determination of one man, Surender Singh Kandhari,
writes Malavika Vettath
Ornate 24-carat gold
canopies for the
Guru Granth
Sahib, the religious
text of Sikhism, Italian marble
on the walls and floor, stunning
chandeliers and a five-star
kitchen — Dubai’s first gurdwara
is a grand realisation of
the aspirations of 50,000 Sikhs
in the UAE.
Gurunanak Darbar is a
heady mix of spirituality, tradition,
modernity, opulence and
the determination of one man.
On entering the building,
one is in awe of its sheer
grandeur and the attention to
detail. A sense of calm descends
as strains of ‘Tu Prabh
Daata’, a popular kirtan or devotional
chant, fill the air.
As the ambience sinks in,
NRI businessman Surender
Singh Kandhari, the man behind
the Sikh temple, walks in,
urging devotees to use the lift
instead of taking the stairs to
the main prayer hall.
Sheikh Mohammed bin
Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler
of Dubai, who donated a piece
of land in the Jebel Ali area for
the gurdwara about six years
ago, wanted it to be iconic.
The opulent building is worth
every bit of the 65 million
Dirhams ($17.6 million) spent
on it — a large part of it contributed
by Kandhari himself.
“We didn’t want to compromise
on anything. It has the
latest Italian marble and best
lights. I told the contractor I
want a 100-year guarantee for
the building so that our future
generations are able to utilise
it,” Kandhari told IANS.
“I told the ruler, ‘Well, one
can’t surpass the Golden Temple.’
But what we have is the
most modern gurdwara in the
world,” said Kandhari, chairman
of the Al Dobowi Group
that manufactures and distrib-
utes automotive batteries and
tyres. The idea of the building
was born 11 years ago with the
growing need of a proper place
of worship for the Sikhs, who,
until January this year, shared
space in the cramped temple
premises in Bur Dubai.
The permission came
through six years ago when the
ruler of Dubai gave 25,400 sq
(Left) Gurunanak Darbar Gurdwara in Dubai. (Inset) Main Palkhi in the
Darbar hall. (Above) devotees inside the gurdwara hall.
feet of land to build the temple,
said Kandhari.
On the grand opening of the
gurdwara on January 17,
Kandhari compared Sheikh
Mohammed, also the vice
president of the UAE, to Muslim
saint Hazrat Mian Mir,
who had laid the foundation
stone of the Golden Temple in
Amritsar, the holiest shrine for
Sikhs. Six months on, as many
as 10,000 people visit the temple
with three floors of parking
space on Fridays.
“On Baisakhi, we served
food to around 40,000 people
visiting the gurdwara,” Kandhari
said, adding that several
Pakistani Sikhs also come to
offer prayers besides Sindhis
and Hindu Punjabis.
The state-of-the-art kitchen
churns out food for devotees
through the day, every day. It
is complete with a doughkneader,
a chappati-maker and
large dishwashers. Along with
the rest of the building, the
kitchen too is spotless.
Apart from a large carpeted
prayer hall, there are three
smaller rooms for private functions,
a meditation room, a
library and the spacious langar,
or common kitchen hall.
Gurunanak Darbar is
modelled on both the Golden
Temple and the gurdwara in
Southall, London. Interior
designer Paul Bishop was sent
to both these shrines “to get
the feel” of gurdwaras.
To develop religious values
among the next generation of
NRIs, special three-hour sessions
are held for children on
Saturdays at the temple where
they are taught Punjabi,
kirtans, and how to behave in
places of worship.
“There are already 55
children attending these
classes. All four of my grandchildren,
one of them just two
years old, go there,” he said.
“The women are keen on
sending their children to learn
kirtans. When you are out of
India, your desire to connect to
your roots becomes stronger,”
he said.
Having grown up in Andhra
Pradesh and later studying in
Chennai’s Loyola College,
Kandhari admitted that he
learned about his language and
religion when he came to
Dubai in 1976. Kandhari says
the gurdwara now attracts visitors
from across the world. “We
have visitors from the UK, the
U.S., France and Canada...
They get surprised that in an Islamic
country, we have the
most modern gurdwara.”
20 Pravasi Bharatiya | June 2012 June 2012 | Pravasi Bharatiya 21

DIASPORA NEWS
THE RENAISSANCE
Known as the ‘Shakespeare of Bhojpuri literature’, Bhikari Thakur’s ballads and
folk songs reach the global stage with the launch of musical album titled
‘The Legacy of Bhikhari Thakur’ in Mauritius, says Shubha Singh
He might have been
forgotten in his
homeland, but
poet, writer and
doyen of Bhojpuri theatre
Bhikhari Thakur’s ballads and
folk songs are garnering huge
appreciation in places as far
apart as Mauritius and
France.
A musical album titled
‘The Legacy of
Bhikhari
22 Pravasi Bharatiya | June 2012
Thakur’ was released by
Mauritius Prime Minister
Anil Kumar Bachoo at a
function in Port Louis in
Mauritius recently.
Singer Kalpana Patowary
launched the musical documentation
album with nine
tracks, together with Londonbased
Virgin Records/EMI
Music. It will be launched in
London in August and later
in the year in Trinidad
and South Africa.
The album is
even availableon-
line and has evoked a lot of
interest on the web.
Patowary says Bhojpuri is
spoken in 14 nations around
the world. The language, primarily,
spoken in Bihar and
Eastern Uttar Pradesh, spread
across the world as Indians
were taken to the British,
French and Dutch colonies
around the world. It was the
language and cultural traditions
that gave the Indian
workers their identity.
Bhojpuri is understood
and spoken in Mauritius,
Trinidad, South Africa, Suriname,
Guyana, Fiji as well as
among the migrant communities
in Canada, the U.S.,
Britain and Australia.
“I want Bhojpuri music to
go international. In Mauritius,
people of Indian origin speak
traditional Bhojpuri — the
original Bhojpuri as it was
spoken a hundred years ago. It
is now mixed with some Creole
and French words,” said
Patowary. “The people in
Mauritius understand
the songs; the ‘bidesi’ songs of
migration — of leaving home
and going away to find work,
touch a deep chord among the
listeners. They get emotional
listening to the songs from
India,” she added.
A legendary cultural personality,
Thakur was often
called the ‘Shakespeare of
Bhojpuri literature’ for he led
the renaissance in Bhojpuri
folk music and launched a
folk theatre movement.
Thakur was born in a backward,
barber community in
Kutubpur village of Saran district
in Bihar in 1887. Unlettered
and practically illiterate
when he left home, he went to
Kolkata for work, educated
himself and began writing poetry
with an emphasis on social
issues.
After returning to native
Bihar, Thakur wrote about
social-ills such as child marriages
and wove them into
folk songs. His best known
work is the creation of the
theatre form ‘Bidesia’ on the
lines of ‘Jatra’ in Bengal.
Patowary tried to locate the
old songs of Thakur, talking
to folk artists and singers in
Bihar. But it was a fortuitous
meeting with an old man in
Bakhorapur village in Arrah
district that opened the
wealth of Thakur’s oeuvre for
her. “I am trying to bring out
the original vibrancy and richness
of the Thakur folk forms
so that people can experience
the richness of Bhojpuri
music,” she said.
IndIan hand
In ‘God PartIcle’
From St. Francis
Convent Jhansi and
Banaras Hindu
University, Dr.
Archana Sharma’s
journey to CERN
headquarters in
Geneva is as
amazing as the
‘Higgs Boson’
discovery itself
Scientists have finally
locked onto Higgs
Boson, the ‘God
Particle’, a discovery
that crowns the global
scientific community’s most
challenging and comprehensive
quest for the subatomic
particle rightly regarded as
“the key to the cosmic riddle”.
The Higgs Boson experiment
at CERN headquarters
in Geneva, Switzerland, has
created a huge buzz, but it’s
been even more exciting to
find an Indian connection to
it. Meet Dr. Archana Sharma,
the only Indian scientist involved
in the experiment.
“Growing up in Jhansi and
studying at St. Francis’ Convent,
I never thought I would
end up at the Mecca of particle
physics. Just like any other
middle-class kid in India, education
and emphasis on ca-
reer was the only way to salvation,”
she said.
Currently a staff physicist
at CERN, Archana finished
her post-graduation from the
Banaras Hindu University
(BHU) and her doctorate
from Delhi University. She
moved to Geneva for her
post-doctoral research.
“I chose Nuclear Physics
against electronics and solid
state physics at BHU simply
due to the ‘outstanding’ set of
teachers. I always admired
women who worked through
adversities and did pioneering
work,” Dr. Sharma added.
In a career spanning 23
years, she has helped make
CERN accessible to Indian
students by facilitating student
visits and providing
prestigious internships.
“Indian youth have the
potential and I hope many aspiring
scientists make it here
to then give back a tiny bit so
that the spiral of progress can
continue,” said Dr. Sharma.
DecoDing
Boson
What exactly is a
Higgs Boson?
Simply put, it
enables particles in atoms
to help invest them with
mass, the basic building
blocks of the universe,
which include everything
from the lowliest of microorganisms,
through soil,
water, minerals, plants,
trees, insects, animals and
mountains to the most
complex life forms including
humans, even entire
planets and galaxies.
Take away Higgs Bosons
from atoms and the results
would be chaotic. Their particles,
comprising protons,
electrons and neutrons,
would zip through space
with lightning speed, unable
to bind together to
form atoms. Then all creation
would be unthinkable.
Bosons belong to a family
of particles named after
the Indian physicist Satyendra
Nath Bose, a contemporary
of Albert Einstein,
his German counterpart,
who gave us the Bose-Einstein
statistics (B-E statistics),
one of the three
systems which statistical
mechanics, a branch of
physics, recognises. Bosons
are characterised by their
obedience to B-E statistics.
This class of particles includes
photons as well as
the Higgs boson.
June 2012 | Pravasi Bharatiya 23

DIASPORA NEWS
ICE MAN
At Antarctica’s Concordia research
station, British-Indian Alexander Kumar is
taking complete care of 12 other scientists
Alexander Kumar
isn’t your “average”
doctor. Currently
stationed at
the French-Italian Antarctic
Research Station ‘Concordia’
with 12 other scientists to
study the effects of extreme
climates on human physiology
and psychology, Alex (as
he is popularly known) calls
his job the “loneliest and coldest
in the world”.
At minus 80 degrees, you
have no option but to agree
with him!
The first research MD at
Concordia station to take on
the additional position as the
Antarctic Station’s doctor, he
holds full responsibility for
the health and well-being of
his multinational crew. This
is the first time since the station’s
creation in 2005 that
there will be only one doctor
overwintering at Concordia.
24 Pravasi Bharatiya | June 2012
What keeps him going?
“Bollywood movies. I take
small breaks talking to fellow
crew members on world
news, general things and listen
some music. Then comes
my afternoon research session
which consumes my day. If
done early, I hit the gym or
help other members,” he says.
Confined to two cylindrical
towers that contain labs, bedrooms,
a kitchen, living room,
gym and a movie room with
12 men and one woman, Alex
is in regular touch with family,
friends and partner, surgeon
Kathy Duong and his
Siberian Husky puppy, Mishibear,
via phone, e-mail, blog
and Twitter.
His next big challenge is
‘ITACE 2014’ — Imperial
TransAntarctic Centenary
Expedition in November 2014
— where, as an expedition
doctor and scientist, he will
be part of a team to cross
Antarctica on foot. And, as
his website claims, he plans to
carry both the British flag
and the Indian tricolour,
with equal pride, across
Antarctica.
It was after long interview
sessions, tiring psychological
assessment, medical and fitness
tests that he was selected
by the European Space
Agency (ESA) to conduct
human spaceflight studies at
Concordia for a year, the only
all-year research station in
Antarctica.
It is a different “planet” altogether
and 29-year-old
Alexander calls it “Planet
Concordia”. He adds that it is
the closest one can come to
living on another planet.
His research focuses on the
effects of adaptation to our
complete isolation and sensory
deprivation.
With beard turning snowwhite
in the “Great White Silence”
around him, legendary
John Lennon is what comes
to his rescue: ‘You don’t
know what you’ve got until
you lose it’.
At Concordia, Alex seems
to have known this, though!
Aneesh back in Obama camp
Former Indian-American CTO seeks Virginia Democratic nomination for Lieutenant Governor
Six months after
quitting the White
House, President
Barack Obama’s
former Indian-American chief
technology officer Aneesh
Chopra has announced
plans to seek the Virginia
Democratic nomination for
Lieutenant Governor in 2013.
In a statement from the
state capital of Richmond,
Chopra, 39, said, “We live in a
time of profound change. In
our communities, our Commonwealth
and our country,
people are looking for pragmatic
solutions that address
our biggest problems, create
opportunities and improve our
lives.”
“Ideas matter. And so does
action to make our economy
work for everyone,” he said in
an announcement that was
widely expected since he
left the Obama administration
in January.
“Since I left my position as
U.S. Chief Technology Officer,
friends, neighbours, business
and community leaders
have encouraged me to take
action by running for
statewide office.”
inDia is australia’s largest source of permanent migrants
Surpassing China and
Britain, India has
become the largest
source of permanent
migrants for Australia.
“India has surpassed China
and the United Kingdom as
the largest source of permanent
migrants with 25,509
and 25,274 places, respectively,”
Australian High Commissioner
Peter Varghese said
Chopra said, “I'm humbled
by their support and pleased to
announce that today, after
months of reflection, I enthusiastically
filed my candidate
qualification to seek the
Democratic nomination for
Lt. Governor in 2013.”
Chopra was Virginia’s
secretary of technology in
then Governor Tim Kaine’s
administration before he
in a press statement in the
Indian Capital.
“Indian migrants comprised
a total of 29,018 places
or 15.7 percent of the total
migration of 185,000 places
under the 2011-12 permanent
migration programme,”
he added.
Commenting on the latest
figures, Australia’s Immigration
and Citizenship Minister
joined the Obama administration.
Over the next several
months, Virginia and the
country face important
choices, he said.
“I will work hard to help
elect President Obama, Governor
Tim Kaine (who is running
for U.S. Senate), and our
exceptional roster of Democratic
congressional candidates
this November.”
Chris Bowen said: “The
Indian community has made
a valuable contribution to
the economic, social and
cultural life in Australia,
and I know this will continue
with more Indians
choosing to make their
home here.”
According to the statement,
seven of the top 10
sources countries in
According to the Richmond
Times Dispatch, Chopra has a
campaign war chest of more
than half a million, raised by
a federally-registered organisation
named Innovate Virginia,
money that will be transferred
to Chopra for Virginia, the
organisation formed to elect
him. So far no other Democrat
has announced a bid for the
position.
Australia’s 2011-12 migration
programme are from Asia —
India, China, the Philippines,
Sri Lanka, Malaysia, South
Korea and Vietnam.
“Skilled migration
accounted for over two-thirds
of Australia’s total migration
programme, with a 2011-12
skill stream outcome of
125,755 places,” the
statement added.
June 2012 | Pravasi Bharatiya 25

First Person
TRADE WINDS
The thriving link between traders from western India and east Africa may have made
the British curious about the continent and led to its colonisation, believes Goa-origin
Kenyan writer Blanche Rocha D’Souza, reports Mayabhushan Nagvenkar
26 Pravasi Bharatiya | June 2012
Author Blanche Rocha D’Souza at
a book-reading session in Panaji.
Did Indian traders prove to be catalysts
in Britain’s colonisation of Africa?
Yes, says the author of a book on sea
trade between India and Africa.
Blanche Rocha D’Souza, an Indian-origin
writer born in Kenya, says the thriving link between
traders from western India and east Africa
may have made the British curious about what
was once called the Dark Continent.
“The British were already in India. It was only
when they saw Indian traders doing thriving
business in east Africa,
especially Zanzibar, that
they decided to see what
Africa was really about.
Slowly, the process of
colonising the continent
began,” D’Souza told
IANS.
She was in Panaji recently
to read from her
book, titled ‘Harnessing
the Trade Winds — The
Story of the Centuries-
Old Trade with East
Africa, Using the Monsoon
Winds’, published
by Zand Graphics.
The book traces the
business links between India and Africa, which
go back thousands of years, much before European
colonisers began ruling the seas.
“The trade is as old as it can get. It dates back
to 3,000 years before Christ. This is how rich and
culturally significant the trade between India and
Africa is,” D’Souza said.
She said she collected data from books
sourced from the libraries in Kenya, Mumbai
and as far as Zanzibar.
D’Souza, a former teacher of English and a li-
brarian, has lived in Kenya and Karachi and has
her ancestral roots in Goa.
According to her, the cotton grown by farmers
in Mohenjo-Daro during the Indus Valley Civilisation
was one of the goods Indian traders took
with them to Africa.
“Hundreds of years before Christ, cotton was
grown only in one place in the world — Mohenjo-Daro.
That was what the Indian traders
from what we know as the Gujarat region now
used to send to the east Africa port of Zanzibar,
which was then a trading hub,” she said.
Indian cotton, planted on the fertile plains of
the Nile river, was later known as long staple cotton
and considered one of the world’s finest.
In exchange for cotton, the traders brought
back animal skins, rhino horns and tusks. “After
cotton, the trade of spices began,” she said.
Indians, according to D’Souza, even named
some of the rivers which run through Africa.
“The Mara river, which flows through the Masai
Mara game range, was named by Indian travellers,”
she said.
The author said she wrote the book after
she, as a librarian, realised that the Arab and
European sources of information did not quite
do justice to the Indian trade in the Indian
Ocean.
“In all my research, I found that Arab and Eu-
My book attempts to
rekindle in the Indian
diaspora a justifiable pride
in the achievements of its
forebears in east Africa,
and indeed other parts of
the world.
— Blanche Rocha D’Souza
Kenyan Author of Indian Origin
ropean sources of information downplayed the
importance of Indian trade in the Indian Ocean
which goes back at least 3,000 years before
Christ,” she said.
“My book attempts to rekindle in the Indian
diaspora a justifiable pride in the achievements
of its forebears in east Africa, and indeed other
parts of the world. In east Africa, they promoted
the development of agriculture and industry and
the globalisation of trade stemming from their
trading activities,” D’Souza said.
June 2012 | Pravasi Bharatiya 27

Books
LITMUS TEST
I look at India through a woman’s eyes, Diplomat-author
Vikas Swarup tells Madhusree Chatterjee as his novel
‘The 7 Tests of Sapna Sinha’ gets ready for a launch
Diplomat Vikas Swarup, the
celebrity author of the novel
‘Q & A’ adapted into the
Oscar-winning movie Slumdog
Millionaire has stepped into a woman’s
shoes to explore the changing face of 21st
century middle-class India in his new
book.
His new novel, ‘The 7 Tests of Sapna
Sinha’ is a dramatic narrative about an ordinary
middle-class working woman in
New Delhi who is offered a chance to run
a company by an eccentric billionaire;
provided she passes a series of seven tests.
The novel, to be published by Simon &
Schuster later this year, is similar to the
“frame of ‘Q&A’ told in the voice of a
woman from the female perspective”,
Swarup told IANS in an interview.
The book is set in the west Delhi neighbourhood
of Rohini. “My books are
about ordinary people placed in extraordinary
situations who are able to draw
upon their inner reserves to challenge the
status-quo in life and navigate compelling
human relationships,” Swarup said.
28 Pravasi Bharatiya | June 2012
“The second similarity is that like
‘Q&A’, ‘The 7 Tests of Sapna Sinha’ is a
high concept and structured novel. Sapna’s
seven tests hark back to stories in Indian
mythology in which kings put their
prospective successors through tests to find
out who is worthy of the mantle. My novel
is in a contemporary idiom...You could
call it a fairytale,” Swarup said.
The author said the book had
begun with the voice of a man.
“Sometimes, you conceptualise
something and the characters
speak for themselves.
Initially, it was a man —
eventually the voice speaking
to me was the voice of
a woman. And that voice
had more vulnerability,”
the writer said.
“It was also more
interesting to see the
life of a woman in
Delhi,” Swarup
added as an afterthought.
INDIAN DIPLOMAT PENS
MYTHOLOGICAL EPIC
An Indian diplomat in London has
written a mythological adventure
novel drawn from the vast repertoire
of Indian spirituality and metaphysics.
In ‘Jaal’, author Sangeeta Bahadur
combines laws of matter, the Hindu story of
creation, mythology, Vedic philosophy and
metaphysics to weave the epic of Aushij,
the Lord of Maya (illusion), and Arihant, a
young warrior with divine powers. Arihant
is both a Taraak (saviour) and a Vinashak
(destroyer). “It is an adventure story. I have
created my own mythology. It is completely
invented,” Bahadur, director of the Nehru
Centre in London, told IANS during the
book’s launch at Nehru Centre. “I have not
borrowed from mythology. There have
been authors who are doing these kinds of
mythology and re-interpretations. But we
(my husband and I) did not want to deliber-
The writer said he has lived his book to
experience reality.
“I travelled from Connaught Place to
Rohini by the Metro rail surrounded by
women. I wanted to see how long it takes,
how people are pushed around and investigate
the mindset about Delhi being an
unsafe city for women... The whole culture
of how we treat women. I wanted a
broad-brush picture of India,” Swarup
said.
Looking at India through Sapna Sinha’s
eyes, Swarup points to three sweeping
changes: “First, the starting of the reality
show with the KBC (the inspiration for
‘Q&A’), the civil society or NGO activism
which was not so prominent even seven
years ago, and the material culture which
has grown exponentially with the huge
shopping malls.”
The diplomat, who is the consul general
of India in Osaka-Kobe in Japan,
began his literary career in 2005 with
‘Q&A’, which has been published in 42
languages and made into a contemporary
classic movie, earning director Danny
Boyle and his team eight Oscars.
His second novel, ‘Six Suspects’ published
in 2008 has had its translation
rights sold in 30 languages.
The writer says his books are mirrors of
a contemporary and multi-ethnic India
which is on the fast-track to becoming a
global power-centre. “My book, ‘Six Suspects’,
has a very polyphonic narrative
with four Indians, a tribal from Andamans
and one American,” Swarup
said, adding: “‘Q&A’ on the other hand is
about the power of the underdog.”
ately project the Indianness. We wanted to
tell a powerful story,” she said.
The novel was released by Kumari Selja,
the Union Minister for Culture and Urban
Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation.
In Britain, ‘Jaal’ earned the rare honour
of being released in the House of Lords by
filmmaker Shyam Benegal recently.
Published by Pan Macmillan, the novel is
the first book in the epic Kaal trilogy comprising
‘Vikraal’ and ‘Mahakaal’.
The author gives her husband Yuresh,
her collaborator, his due share of credit.
“The concept and depth were his. I put it
together in words over the last nine years
FictioN
1
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Author: E.L. James
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2
I, Michael Bennett
Author: James Patterson
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3
Empire Of The Moghul:
The Tainted Throne
Author: Alex Rutherford
Publisher: Hachette
Price: `599
4
Bring Up The Bodies
Author: Hilary Mantel
Publisher: Fourth Estat
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5
The Bourne Imperative
Author: Robert Ludlum
Publisher: Orion Books
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BEST SEllErS
Source: Bahrisons, Delhi; Capital Book Depot, Chandigarh; Spell & Bound Bookshop&Cafe Pvt Ltd, Delhi
with breaks,” she said. An Indian Foreign
Service officer, Bahadur has, in the last
25 years, been posted in Spain, Bulgaria,
Mexico and Belgium, besides having
served in the Ministry of External Affairs
and the Indian Council for Cultural
Relations.
“This is not my regular kind of writing. It
(‘Jaal’) is an epic, more like the ‘Lord of the
Rings’, rooted in the Vedic concepts of how
the world was created. Einstein once
wanted to know how God made the world
and from it we made a story,” she said. Bahadur
added that her book would allow
young readers to relate to history.
NoN FictioN
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Turning Points
Author: A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
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India: A Sacred
Geography
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Breakout Nations
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Pakistan On The Brink
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The Meadow
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June 2012 | Pravasi Bharatiya 29

trends
JUNK
2
Proving that waste has aesthetic utility as
well, Public Art has invoked a serious
debate among the intelligentsia on how to
engage people with a message about the
environment, writes Madhusree Chatterjee
30 Pravasi Bharatiya | June 2012
INBOX
‘The Flying Bus’ at
the Bandra-Kurla
Complex in Mumbai
and stainless
steel sprouts
near AIIMS in
New Delhi.
Art is making a serious effort to
reach the masses in India with
expositions in vantage public
places despite poor awareness
about art as a medium of dialogue that engages
with the geography, society and culture
of the site.
On the lush landscaped lawns of the Indira
Gandhi National Open University
(IGNOU), ‘Garden of Senses’, a public installation,
juts heavenward like a sentinel
kissing space.
The installation, made of recycled
waste, engages with people with a message
about the environment, a key concern in
public art.
Soon to become a permanent landmark
of IGNOU, the sculpture is an exhibit of
a public art project, ‘Junk 2 Inbox’, presented
by the NIV Art Centre, a multi-discipline
facility in the national capital.
The project, which featured three artists
in a 15-day residency at the gallery, unveiled
six public art installations on the
IGNOU campus.
The choice of the exhibition site was
guided by the consensus that it would help
the students establish a dialogue with the
installations, question the motives of the
works and appreciate the fact that waste
has aesthetic utility as well, said Rajan
Fulari, project curator and a senior printmaker-artist.
“The educational institutions and universities
in the national capital are conspicuous
by the absence of public art works.
The Delhi University does not have any
public installations; neither does the Delhi
College of Art,” Fulari told IANS.
The reasons for the slow beginning of
the public art movement is paucity of
money, says gallerist and promoter Aruna
Matthew.
“Galleries do not want to fund or promote
public art because it is largely a voluntary
exercise,” Matthew said.
The lone example of a public installation
in the heart of the national capital is
a cluster of stainless steel sprouts, symbolising
a flowering landscape in the urban
jungle, which stands forlorn in a patch of
green near the All-India Institute of Medical
Sciences. However, a handful of private
institutions support public
engagement with art with specially-commissioned
works.
In April, the Kiran Nadar Museum of
Art installed the ‘Tree of Life’, a gigantic
stainless steel sculpture of a tree by Subodh
Gupta, at a mall in Saket in south
Delhi “to make art accessible to common
people”.
This apart, a series of specially commissioned
works adorn the forecourt of the
India Habitat Centre. Mumbai, known for
early experiments with public art in the
1990s, unveiled ‘The Flying Bus’ — a giant
double decker bus with wings — in January
at the Bandra-Kurla complex which,
says artist Sudarshan Shetty, symbolises
“loss in daily life”.
In Bengaluru, “most public sculptures,
several of them commissioned statues of
local heroes, are venerated by the public”,
Bengaluru-based curator and critic Anupama
Garimella argues in her treatise on
public art. Fulari said that in his
native Goa, the government was
trying to set up a public arts and culture
initiative on a beach to involve common
people and tourists.
Artists are experimenting with public art
in the three art colleges of Assam without
government support, says installation artist
Tridip Dutta, who recently installed an environmental
sculpture in Jorhat in upper
Assam, one of the few such in the northeastern
region. In the national capital of
Delhi, the common people’s reaction to
public art ranges from apathy to cursory
appreciation and temporary involvement.
Almost defunct is the Wall Project, a
community-based public art initiative
which began in the capital to coincide with
the Commonwealth Games in 2010 to
beautify the ravaged walls of the capital
with citizen’s art with a core group of six
enthusiasts and 2,000 followers.
“We were weekend community artists
who spent a few hours to paint the walls of
Lado Sarai (a gallery district in south
Delhi). But work has since caught up with
us. No one went back to paint the walls
after the first two sessions,” professional
photographer Aditya Kapoor, who was involved
in the Wall Project, told IANS.
A public installation of a mechanical
horse from waste objects.
June 2012 | Pravasi Bharatiya 31

arts
ARTIST, UNDONE
With India’s first art fiction, V. Sanjay Kumar, an art connoisseur and collector,
plunges headlong into the whirlwind of the contemporary art world
First it was Geoff Dyer who spun
the heady glamour of the Venice
Biennale with the magic of the
holy temple town of Varanasi
into ‘Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi’ in
2009.
Now, a native of Chennai, V. Sanjay
Kumar, an art connoisseur and collector,
has taken the cue to plunge headlong into
the whirlwind of the contemporary art
world in Mumbai in his debut novel,
‘Artist, Undone’ — being described by
critics as India’s first post-modern art fiction.
The unusual book has been inspired by
a painting, ‘Fat, Forty and Fucked’, by
contemporary artist Nataraj Sharma.
‘The first time I saw the painting by
Nataraj Sharma, I was intrigued. There
were stories going off in my head even as
I looked at it. Much later, I was looking at
constructing a novel around people who
in their forties were looking for someplace
to get to and needed directions at the same
time. The two came together; the painting
became a beginning and men in their for-
32 Pravasi Bharatiya | June 2012
ties became protagonists. For me, the art
world became the canvas, so to speak,”
Sanjay Kumar told IANS.
Kumar, a collector and the directorpartner
of a leading Mumbai art house,
says: “The world of art is familiar and it
surprises me every single day.”
“At some point, I had to dilute some of
the art-related writing as it was getting too
It has characters who are
not people you meet every
day. Yet the canvas is of
middle-class India and
people who come in touch
with art and try to make
sense of it.
dense and involved. That is what the art
world does to you. Once it hooks you, it
drags you in,” the writer said.
The story is about Harsh Sinha — who
is as the painting is titled. Sinha is so
moved by a painting bearing his name and
a compelling likeness to him that he
spends a large chunk of his life’s savings
on it. Announcing a year-long sabbatical
from his advertising job in Mumbai, he returns
to Chennai to his wife and daughter.
Wife Gayathri does not want him any
more; she is more interested in the artist
next door — Newton Kumaraswamy —
an inveterate womaniser and a famous
thief who copies F.N. Souza.
A crushed Harsh, deserted by his family
and without a job, returns to Mumbai to
succumb to the crazy world of art.
Kumar says his story moves between
Chennai, Mumbai and New York. “It has
characters who are not people you meet
every day. Yet the canvas is of middleclass
India and people who come in touch
with art and try to make sense of it,” the
writer said.
1/FORTY
In the age of Twitter, Poet-TV personality Pritish Nandy
experiments with 140-character format in his new
anthology ‘Stuck at 1/Forty’
Insolent, angry, wicked that’s me/Or so you say
before you angrily look away/Faith is so yesterday/Tomorrow
is where I want to be.
Poet, painter, journalist, filmmaker
and television personality Pritish
Nandy has used the 140-character
format to transport poetry to the
age of Twitter in a new anthology, ‘Stuck on
1/Forty’. But he says his 140-character poetry
does not mark a new phase in the evolution
of the popular literary genre, it is just another
form of creative expression.
“I don’t think poetry mutates over the
years. It only keeps opening up to more new
ideas, new vistas and new experiments, particularly
in recent times. People still read
Shakespeare and love it. They still read Keats,
Byron, Shelley. But, yes, they also now read
Ginsberg, Ferlinghetti, Corso. They now read
Lorca, Neruda, Cavafy, Enzensberger. Or
Agyeya, Jibanannd Das, Faiz Ahmed Faiz,”
Nandy told IANS.
Nandy said the “world of poetry was opening
up more and more with more poets across
languages being read, more experiments with
new forms, more discoveries and more relevancies
being sought”.
“‘Stuck on 1/Forty’ is one such experiment.
If people read it, like it, share it, if it
grows the conversation on the social network,
it would have achieved its objective. Poetry
need no longer be imprisoned on the printed
page. It must enter our lives and our consciousness.
It must capture our dreams, our
hopes. It is now part of the growing discourse
across all platforms,” Nandy said.
The volume, printed in rainbow colours
and designer typeset, explores a variety of personalised
emotions like love, loss, loneliness,
uncertainty, resignation and new beginnings.
Recalling the way he conceived the poems,
Nandy said he “thought the poems through
in 140 characters”.
“It’s quite easy actually. You can write the
same poem as a 1,000-page epic or a simple
tweet. The idea remains the same. It’s just the
format that delivers it differently to you and
me. We choose which version we want to
read. The poet offers you options. I never
write my thoughts at random. I sit down and
write a book or a column or an essay or even
a work of fiction, almost at one go. That’s the
only way I can write,” he said.
The 71-year-old poet has been writing and
translating regional poetry for most part of
his life. In 1967, he published his first volume
of poetry, ‘Of Gods and Olives’, and followed
it up with nearly 40 books. Nandy was
nominated the poet laureate by the World
Academy of Arts and Culture in 1981. He
was honoured with the Padma Shri in 1977.
Nandy, who was the publishing director of
The Times of India from 1982 to 1991, edited
The Illustrated Weekly of India from 1983 to
1991.
Nandy said during his years as a poet, he
started a poetry magazine that launched
many contemporary poets.
“I opened a small publishing house that
published poetry in English and in translation
from the different Indian languages.
Many of the poets you hear of today were
first published by me in tiny slim booklets.
These booklets are today collectors editions.
We made poetry hugely popular in the
1970s. Thousands attended readings. Thousands
more bought books of poems, poetry
albums. It was the golden age of poetry,”
Nandy said.
The poet said he was not inspired by Twitter,
though the “Twitter format provoked my
140-word experiment with poetry”.
“Twitter is just a means of communication.
Means do not inspire people. Content does.
But the poems will work only when people
read them and like them as poems. That is the
most important thing. Poetry is format agnostic.
It is even idiom agnostic. Language is
changing today,” Nandy said.
But that is not because of Facebook or
Twitter. It is changing because of our impatience,
Nandy said.
“The limits of our tolerance are on a steady
downslide. Even language has become a victim
of this,” the poet pointed out.
June 2012 | Pravasi Bharatiya 33

dance
CULTURE
CONNECT
Gaura Prema, founder of the Indian fusion dance troupe
Natya Nectar, explores new norms in modern Indian
dance to cater to the new cultural dialogue that is
opening up between India and the West
She is beautiful and she is American,
but a quintessential Indian at
heart and on her feet. Gaura
Prema, founder of the contemporary
Indian fusion dance troupe Natya Nectar,
which performed with Lady GaGa in
India in 2011, says she is still “exploring new
norms in modern Indian dance to suit her
American personality and Indian upbringing
to cater to the new cultural dialogue that is
opening up between India and the West”.
34 Pravasi Bharatiya | June 2012
“I wanted to find my own language for
years. I am an American but I have been
brought up as a Hindu with the Ramayana,
Mahabharata and the Bhagawad
Gita... Bharatanatyam and the Kathak,”
Gaura told IANS, after an electric performance
in New Delhi on July 4.
Her 15-member multi-racial international
troupe brought the dance floor alive
with a combination of acro-yoga (acrobatics
and yoga), Kalaripayattu, Kathak,
(Far left) Gaura Prema and members of her
troupe performing acro-yoga; (centre) Gaura in
a dance mudra and during a performance in the
national capital.
Bharatanatyam, Mayurbhanj chhau, Hip
hop and Ballet.
The designer costumes — exotic and
fashionable, fusing Indian and western traditional
elements — added to the glamour
of the high-energy dance.
Gaura has lived on and off in India as a
child. “My mother has been in Vrindavan
for the last 40 years. She is a member of
the ISKCON religious sect and I have been
raised in the Hare Krishna community as
a Hindu with Ramayana, Mahabharata
and the Bhagwad Gita,” Gaura said.
Recalling her initiation into Indian
dance, Gaura said: “When I was in America
as a toddler in a Krishna community,
my mother sent me to my first guru, V.G.
Prakash in California, to learn
Bharatanatyam to cure my pegion foot. It
was cured. Later, I learnt ballet in college
in the U.S. I never enjoyed western dance.
I felt a disconnect with western dance.”
Gaura says her dance was about Radha-
Krishna and “chanelling her own energy
through dance”.
She began to learn Kathak eight years
ago. “I began with the Lucknow gharana
and then switched to the Jaipur gharana because
I like the fast chakkers — vigorous
movements — of the Jaipur gharana,”
Gaura said.
The dancer uses a choreographer —
who is a member of the troupe — for the
western performances.
In the last eight years, Gaura has
evolved two new dance idioms — the acroyoga
and aerial silks. The acro-yoga is a fusion
of acrobatics and yoga that uses
acrobatics, gymnastics and yogic postures
as a style of performance art, while aerial
silks is a circus dance performed in midair
— sometimes as high as 40-feet — without
harness, Gaura said.
“I teach my students aerial silks and
acro-yoga,” she said.
One of the reasons Gaura has chosen
fusion as her style is “because of the
changing Indian audience”.
“We have to learn to package and present
our dance to the next generation. They
know acrobatics, they know electronic
The acro-yoga is a fusion
of acrobatics and yoga that
uses acrobatics, gymnastics
and yogic postures as
a style of performance art,
while aerial silks is a circus
dance performed in midair
— sometimes as high as
40-feet — without harness.
beats and they can identify with classical
dance. It keeps them guessing — what's
next...,” the dancer said.
“India was ready for a cultural transition
in dance with the new cultural dialogue between
the east and the west.”
Natya Nectar is now working on a new
production, ‘Bhumi Pranam’ — a onehour
production of Kathakali, Kathak,
Kalaripayattu and acrobatics with “fabulous
costumes”, Gaura added.
June 2012 | Pravasi Bharatiya 35

europe diaries
DESI
FLAVOURS
IN HELSINKI
In the land of the Midnight Sun, at least two dozen Indian
restaurants are serving mouth-watering delicacies which
are an instant hit among Finnish, says Kavita Bajeli-Datt
When one thinks of this Land
of the Midnight Sun, the
first thing that comes to
mind is reindeer and bear
meat. But the Finnish capital of Helsinki
boasts of at least two dozen Indian restaurants
that serve mouth-watering palak paneer,
chole-naan, kadi-pakora, butter chicken
and other delicacies.
How come Indian food is a major hit
with the Finns?
“People love Indian food here. From dal
to curries to naans, you name it. It is very
popular here,” Rumon Rehman, a
Bangladeshi national, who works in Namaskaar,
told IANS. Namaskaar is among
the first Indian restaurants that opened
here. Much has changed since. This city of
one million people now has a Gandi, Maharaja,
Samrat, Indian Taj and Mount
Everest, to name just a few. But what is interesting
is that most of these restaurants
are run by either Nepalese or
Bangladeshis — not Indians!
Rehman claimed Namaskaar was first
started with the help of an Indian and it
soon became synonymous with authentic
Indian food. Seeing its success, others took
its franchise and opened new outlets with
the same name.
A walk around the Finnish capital,
known for its lakes and islands, reveals
38 Pravasi Bharatiya | June 2012
many restaurants with Indian names. It is
easy to see their popularity with the Finns
as well as with the international expat
community. And the beautiful summer
drives them to these roadside restaurants
for what locals consider exotic cuisine.
“We love the breads and the lovely spicy
curries. Basically, I love Indian food. They
have so much to offer in both the vegetarian
and non-vegetarian menu,” said Helina,
a college student. She added that
India and its rich cultural tradition also
created a buzz among her friends to try out
Indian food.
“People here know about India. Some
of my friends have been to India. I hope I
also get a chance soon. My aim is to taste
the hottest curry possible so I can boast
about it,” Helina said.
Keeping the tastes of the local people in
mind, the Indian cuisine on offer here is
milder. Apart from Indian food, restaurants
also offer a wide variety of South
Asian delicacies from Nepal, Pakistan and
Bangladesh.
Rehman said apart from the natives loving
the Indian spread, many Indians —
either traveling or working in this Nordic
country — make a beeline for their restaurants.
“Indians are always hunting for Indian
food and if you are a vegetarian, then the
chances are greater. I have met so many
(Indians) in the past years. They are so
happy to see an Indian restaurant in a faraway
land,” he added.
Aware of the popularity of Indian food,
Finnair, which operates direct flights to
Helsinki six days a week from New Delhi,
tries to provide authentic food on its
flights.
“Indian meals are made at Finncatering
where they follow Indian recipes. We
know Indians are particular about their
food; that’s why we change our menu
every four weeks,” said Saksela Marjaana,
Service Manager, Intercontinental flights
Inflight Customer Service. She said
their executive chef Juha Stenholm
and his colleagues also visited India
on a learning trip and picked up tips
from the local catering company about
the Indian culinary world.
From dal makhani, green peas pulao
and paneer labadar to dal tadka and
spicy lentils, the customers — especially
the vegetarians — are given a
wide variety to choose from.
“Indian food has become quite popular
internationally. We just try to
bring the authentic taste to our customers,”
Marjaana added.
Letters to Santa Claus,
with love from India
dear Santa Claus, I need a little help
in my studies so that I can bring
laurels to my family”; “Please ring
my doorbell, I want to give you a gift”.
These are some of the thousands of letters
that are written by children from India to
a most-loved cherubic man in red robes, a
flowing white beard and a hearty laugh,
and, of course, a bag full of gifts.
Welcome to Rovaniemi, which is a commercial
centre of Finland’s northernmost
province Lapland, where the sun never sets
in midsummer and is best-known the world
over as the hometown of Santa Claus.
What is common in all the letters to
Santa is the gentle reminder for a “gift” or
a desperate appeal for a visit.
“Please call me,” writes Parvathy from
Hyderabad, while Pooja and Praneeeti
from Delhi inform Santa Claus that they
“believe with whole heart” that he exists
and want to be his elves. Harneet Kaur
from Chandigarh writes that she has
“heard” so much about Santa Claus that
she wants him to visit her “at least once.
Please do come”.
All letters land at the main post office located
in the heart of Santa’s Workshop Village
and is manned by his favorite elves.
It is always Christmas at the post office.
It wears a very festive look with giftwrapped
packets, Christmas cards and
souvenirs and the sound of Christmas car-
ols in the background. No wonder it attracts
400,000 visitors every year.
Santa Claus, who can be met on any day
of the year at the Santa Claus Office on the
Arctic Circle, has received 15.5 million letters
from 198 countries since 1985. And it
is not that Santa Claus does not reply.
He has replied to more than 40,000 letters
in 12 different languages, including
English, Italian, Polish, Finnish, French,
German, Korean and Chinese.
According to Katja Tervonen, one of
the elves at the posti, or post office, more
and more children from South Asian countries
are writing to Santa Claus.
“We are getting thousands of letter from
Japan, China and South Korea,” Tervonen
told IANS.
In fact, Japan and China are in the list of
top six countries from where Santa Claus
receives the maximum letters.
While Britain tops the list with 150,000
letters, Italy follows with 100,000 and
Poland with 45,000. Interestingly, Finland
comes fourth with 26,000 letters, followed
by Japan (25,000) and China (18,000), Tervonen
said.
Ketan Sahah from Surat writes: “I love
you and our children love you too.”
“Do not fail to send me the Christmas
gift. We are eagerly waiting. I love you
Santa,” writes Jayant from Lucknow.
— Kavita Bajeli-Dutt
June 2012 | Pravasi Bharatiya 39

cuisine
MAXIMUM
MASALA!
If you’ve ever wondered what keeps a city like Mumbai going, you can find the
answer on its streets. A culinary delight for any traveller, the place offers a
delightful variety of food, says Janice Goveas
Mumbai knows no boundaries!
If the city doesn’t sleep, it
doesn’t stop eating either.
While jostling one another
in the overcrowded streets, Mumbaikers
love to savour street food.
From sinking their teeth into kheema
ghotala to savouring hot fafda jalebi to enjoying
the usual bun maska with chai —
they relish every cuisine available in the
nooks and corners of the bustling city.
This time, my husband and I decided to
give in to my street food craving.
Our day started with piping hot fafda
jalebi with papaya chatni at Sriram Farsan
40 Pravasi Bharatiya | June 2012
at Sai Baba Nagar, Borivali. Skipping our
preferred misal paav — a spicy menagerie
of lentils, doused in spicy curry and eaten
with the city’s favourite loaf, paav — at
Mama Kane at Dadar, we chose a bun
maska and chai kick. The street vendor outside
Churchgate station smothers a sweet
fruit bun with a slab of butter to make the
classic bun maska.
Once done with fafda jalebi and bun
maska, we decided to wrap up our breakfast
by gorging on kheema ghotala at Colaba’s
Cafe Mondegar.
A hearty Iranian breakfast, kheema ghotala
simply melts in your mouth with spices
in the right proportion tickling your taste
buds. You can also try the popular
omelette paav, egg bhurji or keema paav for
breakfast. They are usually best at Stadium
Restaurant at Churchgate, Colaba’s
Olympia Restaurant and Lucky Restaurant
at Bandra station signal.
Looking for finger-licking lunch, Khau
Galli of Zaveri Bazaar is the best for a
variety of options.
Sujata Chanda, an avid street foodie, in
between mouthfuls of paav bhaji, told us:
“Mumbai street food for me is paav bhaji at
Khau Galli (at Marine Lines). It is so
yummy. It literally melts in my mouth —
with extra dollops of butter to go with the
spicy bhaji. The ganna (sugarcane) juice to
wash it all down works out really well.”
I too filled up on paav bhaji, while my
husband worked up an appetite for paav
bhaji and egg bhurji.
For those still hungry, Mumbai offers
the king of all street food and a favourite
amongst most thoroughbred Mumbaikars
— the vada pav.
The best vada pav is offered at Nitin
Patil’s Vada Pav stall in IC Colony, Borivali,
as well as Ashok Vada Paav near
Dadar’s Kirti College. But we savoured the
poor man’s burger at Ashok Satam Vada
Paav Stall at Central Telegraph Office
(CTO), Fort. Spiced potato served with
paav, spiced up with sweet and hot chutney,
garnished with garlic flakes and a
fried chilly, it is something to die for. I
washed it down with tapri chai.
For snacking, bhel puri, sev puri and
paani puri make for a quick bite for hungry
travellers. Popped rice spiced with lime,
chilli, onion, coriander and tomato usually
forms an evening snack for Mumbaikars
and also as “timepass”.
For dinner, we were torn between eating
light Gujarati street food or hogging on
street Mughlai. We decided to dine at Indraprastha
Shopping Centre. It offers
masala rice papad, an innovation dish cre-
Try kheema ghotala at Colaba’s Cafe Mondegar
or visit Bade Miyan in one of the back roads of
Taj Mahal Hotel for baida roti and kebabs.
You can visit Bade Miyan,
famous for baida roti. It
serves the best nonvegetarian
street food.
Located in one of the back
roads of Taj Mahal Hotel
and Palace, it probably
has as many patrons as
restaurants in the Taj.
ated in Borivali. It is made with roasted
buttered rice papads topped with finely cut
salad with a sprinkling of cheese. It is to be
eaten hot. My husband feasted on papad; I
opted for a toasted vegetable sandwich, a
healthy option to finish our street food expedition.
You can also visit Bade
Miyan, famous for
baida roti. It
serves the best
non-vegetarian
street food. Located
in one of
the back roads of Taj Mahal Hotel and
Palace, it probably has as many patrons as
restaurants in the Taj.
No meal is complete without a paan. So
we headed to Ghanta Paanwala at Borivali.
The owner of the shop, Vinod Kumar
Tiwari, has made it to the Guinness World
Records for the largest collection of bells,
one of which he rings each time he makes
a paan.
The paan shop offers 125 varieties and
we feasted on his specialty — chocolate
paan — made with chocolate syrup, kesar,
gulkand (rose jam), cashew, almonds and
raisins and dipped in khus syrup.
Back home from my street food expedition,
I couldn’t help but think that there
were many options I couldn’t try, many
places yet to visit and much more to eat.
Frankly, this was only the tip of an iceberg,
giving a glimpse of the diversity that exists
in this Maximum City, leaving me hungry
for more.
When in Mumbai, do not miss out on
its street food.
June 2012 | Pravasi Bharatiya 41

travel
SOAKING
IT ALL IN
42 Pravasi Bharatiya | June 2012
Take in the quietude,
have long, leisurely
chats and pack in
some serious and
not-so-serious
reading as there is
no time quite like
the monsoons to
savour Goa, writes
Minu Jain
Rolling dark clouds, sheets of
rain and a rumbling, restless
sea. That’s Goa for you in the
monsoon, not the quintessential
sun-and-sand beach holiday perhaps,
but still the perfect getaway for quiet walks,
splendid views and lazy afternoons.
Like the eternal fickle lover, tempestuous
one moment and reflective another,
Goa in the rains changes moods like quicksilver.
Going from torrential downpours,
thunder and lightning to a gentle breeze
and the occasional hint of the sun peeping
out of the clouds.
It’s a world far removed from the crowds
and bustle of peak season, prompting the
visitor to move away from the beaches and
retreat inland to what is perhaps the “real”
Goa. The rain strips away the touristy
Goa. You can’t ride the surf, and you can’t
frolic on the beach. You can instead take
in the quietude, have long, leisurely chats
and pack in some serious and not-soserious
reading.
As the rain lashes down and shacks take
a break for three months, time then for the
visitor to go explore the “permanent”
shacks, restaurants and small, family-run
June 2012 | Pravasi Bharatiya 43

travel
FACTFILE ON
TOURISM
26 lakh
tourists visit Goa annually
5 lakh foreign tourists visited
Goa during October-March in 2011
100,000 tourists were from
Britain alone
10% is the tourist traffic increase
to Goa in the monsoons
60 lakh tourists is the tar
get the state government aims in next
five years
44 Pravasi Bharatiya | June 2012
food joints. And, of course, the famous
night clubs. Walk to the nearest supermarket,
stock up on snacks and biscuits and
hunker down for a good, old-fashioned
holiday minus some of the brouhaha that
a regular holiday in Goa usually entails.
At north Goa’s Baga beach, the most
popular beachfront in Goa, most restaurants
are closed but old favourites like
Tito’s, for instance, or Britto’s the shack
only in name, are open.
At Britto’s, you can actually get a table
when you want. The place is still full but
the crowds are discernibly thinner. The
waiters move around dexterously carrying
plates piled high with calamari and crab
and what have you, but they too seem
more relaxed.
Grab a table by the beach, sip a watermelon
juice, spiked with vodka of course,
and gaze out into the restless sea. Quite
unlike any other time of the year, the waters
are just a few feet away from the
restaurant — even this north Goa institution
closes for a few weeks towards the end
of June when the waters get closer.
The waves rise high, the surf breaking
against the damp, grey sands. The red flags
are up all over, asking swimmers to stay
away.
So, finish your drink and take a long
walk instead, maybe right up till Calangute
some kilometres away, with the sands
stretching empty into the distance — a far
cry from the peak months when this popular
stretch is crowded with thousands of
tourists.
The shacks are boarded and shut against
the elements, there are no banana boats
and jet scooters, only the odd fishing boat
with the intrepid fisherman venturing deep
into the sea for his daily catch.
The clouds hang close, a damp breeze
rustles your hair and the rain is just minutes
away. It always is, actually. You need
to be prepared to get drenched anytime of
the day, even when you least expect it.
Without the slightest warning, the sharp
sun, so typical of monsoons in India, retreats
behind slate clouds and the pelting
begins.
But then there’s nothing quite
like it. Hire a bike and feel the
rain streaming down your back
as you make the climb to Fort
Aguada for a panoramic view of
the seas around and climb the narrow
staircase to the top of the
lighthouse.
By which time, your clothes
might be plastered to your skin and
a shiver going up your spine every
time the wind stirs the leaves — but
how does it matter.
Locals say that there is no time
quite like the monsoons to savour
Goa, or Goans.
At Cavalla, the charming hotel on two
sides of the road just minutes from Baga
beach, this is the time of the year to gather
by the bar in the evening and meet up with
a host of interesting people, some visiting,
some who have made Goa their home and
some for whom Goa has always been
home.
Sip a caprioshka, nibble on a cheese
toast and join in the lively,
eclectic discussion flowing
all around. When the
tourist season peaks, the
locals stay away from the
crowds with one local entrepreneur,
for instance, saying that he
tells his friends never to come in
December because that is not
what Goa is. “Goa is not about getting
drunk and binging,” he says
quite angrily.
To keep the tempo going, Cavala,
for instance, continues its weekly
music nights even during this off season.
The band strikes up the note, the
dance floor gets filled up, with people
from near and far joining in.
Outside, the rain rages, like it can
only in a tropical state. Thunder echoes
and lightning streaks the sky.
As the music dies down, beach umbrellas
are brought out by the hotel staff to escort
guests to their rooms and others to
their cars.
Sleep to the sound of the rain and wake
up to the rain still continuing, making patterns
on the windowpane. Swimming is
out and so is a walk.
The book beckons, or maybe the movie
you’ve been always wanting to see on your
laptop but never quite got the time for. It’s
another day of catching up with family,
with friends. And with yourself. Only in
Goa, where the seasons change, promising
a different holiday each time.
June 2012 | Pravasi Bharatiya 45

newsmakers
Bikram Mohanty joins
Georgia Senate race
Bikram Kumar Mohanty
inDian-ameRican
entrepreneur Bikram Kumar
Mohanty has been chosen as
the candidate of U.S. President
Barak Obama’s Democratic
Party for Georgia state’s
Senate elections scheduled
later this year.
Migrating to the United
States in 1994 from Chandbali
in Odisha’s Bhadrak district,
around 60 miles from
Bhubaneswar, Mohanty, 45, is
the founder and CEO of Innovative
Rehab Solutions — a
health care company based in
Gerogia’s Valdosta city.
46 Pravasi Bharatiya | June 2012
“As a student, I got the
opportunity to serve in the
Missionaries of Charity as a
clinical intern. I truly believe
my skills and commitment
would help create jobs in south
Georgia,” Mohanty told IANS.
The Indian-American entrepreneur
said he was appointed
to the ‘White House Conference
on Aging’ as an alternate
delegate from Georgia in 2005.
He has also served in Lowndes
County Chamber of
Commerce during 2002-2003
and as the licensure liaison to
the Georgia State Board of
Occupational Therapists.
Mohanty set up the Mother
Teresa Foundation, a nonprofit
organisation, to raise
awareness about health care
and disease prevention issues
among low-income and homeless
Americans.
The elections to the Georgia
state Senate will be held on
July 31 and November 6, said
Mohanty.
“Mohanty is the first person
from Odisha to run for a state
Senate in the U.S. and we are
proud of him,” said Dhirendra
Kar, former president of
the Orissa Society of the
Americas.
Harvey prize for Nandi
DibyenDu nanDi of the
Indian Institute of Science
Education and Research
(IISER), Kolkata, has been
awarded the prestigious
‘Karen Harvey Prize for 2012’
by the American Astronomical
Society (AAS).
The first scientist from the
Asia Pacific to get the prize,
Nandi was awarded for his
“advances in the use of kinematic
dynamo models to elucidate
the typical and atypical
solar cycle, and for his outstanding
leadership within
the solar physics and space
climate communities”.
“The main thrust of my discovery
is that the sun’s memory
regarding its past activity
is very short. This implies that
DR. bobby Khan, Executive
Director of Carmel Biosciences,
a U.S. clinical
research company, has been
awarded for ‘Outstanding
Business Collaboration’ between
the U.S. and India.
The award was conferred at
the USA-India Business Summit
in Atlanta, Georgia, recently.
The summit brought
together industry leaders, aca-
Ramberran is Trinidad bank governor
Jwala RambeRRan, a
45-year-old economist of
Indian origin, has been
appointed by Prime Minister
Kamla Persad-Bissessar as the
next Governor of the Central
Bank of Trinidad and Tobago.
Ramberran is the second
person of Indian origin to get
the nod for this position — the
first being Winston Dookeran,
who was, until last month,
the minister of finance in the
two-year-old People’s Partnership
government.
Ramberran’s forefathers
came from India between
1845 and 1917 to work on the
sugar and cocoa plantations.
Dookeran served as governor
of the Central Bank
during the reign of Basdeo
Dibyendu Nandi
very long term forecasting of
solar activity and space
weather is ruled out,” he told
Asian Scientist Magazine. Nandi
is part of ISRO’s mission to
the sun which is slated for lift
off later this year.
Khan gets US-India award
Panday during 1995-2001.
Ramberran is a graduate of
the Executive and Financial
Training Programme at the
Harvard Kennedy School of
Government at Harvard University.
He was also trained at
the IMF Institute and the
Federal Reserve Bank of New
York. He holds a Master’s
degree in economics.
demia and public policymakers,
India’s Ambassador to the
U.S. Nirupama Rao, said,
“The private sector in India
and the U.S. has been the key
catalyst in deepening business
engagement between our two
countries. It is their dynamism
and enterprising spirit that
continue to chart new trade
and economic frontiers in the
India-U.S. partnership.”
Jwala Ramberran
Expanding the economic engagement of the Indian diaspora with India
For details contact:
Ms. Sujata Sudarshan
CEO, OIFC, and Director – CII
249-F, sector 18, Udyog Vihar, Phase IV, Gurgaon —122015, Haryana, INDIA
Tel: +91-124-4014055/6 | Fax: +91-124-4309446
Website: www.oifc.in

Indian touch to Olympics arts in London
A handful of illustrious Indians have lent their creative touch to give the London Olympics some Indian
touches. Iconic sculptor Anish Kapoor, the India-born winner of the Turner Prize, has given Britain its
Olympics mascot — the ArcelorMittal Orbit — the country's biggest public art installation. The giant Orbit is
a 115-metre high steel observation tower at Olympics Park in Stratford in London that is likely to help in the
post-Olympics regeneration of the area. Kapoor designed the Orbit with Cecil Balmond with steel donated by
India-born steel tycoon Laskhmi Mittal. The Olympics public art project commissioned by Frieze East is
made of several billboards, graphic essays and posters.
lR;eso t;rs
Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs
www.moia.gov.in
www.overseasindian.in