Aug 2010 - Philadelphia South Asian

PHILADELPHIA South Asian
Monthly Community Paper | info@philadelphiasouthasian.com | 215-780-0603 | Vol. 1 No. 8 AUGUST 2010
Court, Shockingly, Orders
Destruction Of Austin Temple
Austin. July 16, 2010
Press Release issued by:
Austin Gurdwara Sahib,
5104 Avispa Way,
Austin TX 78738 Email:
AustinGurdwara@
Gmail.com.
Sikhs are shocked and
outraged at a ruling by a
Texas Court of Appeals
ordering that the only
Sikh Temple (Gurudwara)
in Austin, Texas
be torn down.
Austin Gurdwara Sahib
(AGS), a non-profit,
Sikh organization purchased
land in West side of the
Greater Austin area in 2003 to start
the first permanent Gurudwara in
Islamabad
-CAPITAL IN
SEARCH OF
IDENTITY
lslamabad, July 22
Fifty years after its founding, Islamabad,
the capital of Pakistan,
has established itself as a modern
city, but it continues to grow with
no clear direction or identity, away
from realities of the country and
vulnerable to its problems.
(Continued On Page 4)
the Capital City. For years, reli-
gious services were hosted weekly
in a manufactured home located
on the property. In 2005, to im-
Festival Of India, 2010
At Penn’s Landing
Philadelphia, PA:
By Akanksha Karla
The sights, sounds
and flavors of India
return to Penn’s
Landing at Philadelphia
on Sunday, August
15,
2010.
T h e
Council
of Indian
Organizations
(“CIO”)
of GreaterPhiladelphia
invites
you to
attend
prove the facilities, AGS, with the
congregation’s support, decided to
build a more contemporary building.
In this regard, AGS applied
its annual Festival of India to celebrate
India’s Independence Day
on August 15th. This
popular event is held
each year in August at
Penn’s Landing and has
been very successful in
portraying
the
vibrant
Indian
Americ
a n
community
in
(Continued
O n
Page
21)
for, and was granted, all the necessary
permits from
the city. The approval
process from the city
included meetings
with Planning & Zoning
committees as well
as the City Council at
large. AGS also met
with and provided full
disclosure to the neighborhood
association.
The construction commenced
in late 2007,
and the members of the
Austin Sikh community
celebrated laying the
initial foundation stone
of the first Sikh temple of its kind
in Austin.
(Continued On Page 15)
ELECTION IN
NEPAL
Kathmandu, July 23
Nepal’s prime ministerial election
run off on Friday failed to come up
with a clear winner and will be held
again, after ten days.
(Continued On Page 3)
inside
No Winner In Nepal Run
Off Election .....03
Islamabad In Search Of
Its Identity................04
Raising Indian Ocean.05
Facebook Reaches
500mn Users...............05
Indian Teen Finland....05
1000 Year Old Sea
Creature Found...........06
15% of Sunderbans
Submerged By 2020...06
Beauty and
Fashion
Special Issue
September
2010
info@philadelphiasouthasian.
com
Black Box Inventor.....07
Dr. Nik Article.............08
Biggest Star
Discovered..................09
Back To School
Special........................14
A Zoo Of Extinct
Animals.......................15
Ruia Group To Bid For
Ssang Yong.................16
Whale Eating Whale
Found........................17
Tiny Satellite In Space,
Whiz Kids Plan. Two
More.........................17
Malaysia Recruit Tamil
Teachers.....................18
Comm.Calendar..........19
Comics On Mobile.......20
Astrology....................21
Entertainment............23

Page 2 AUGUST 2010 Philadelphia South Asian
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Page 3 AUGUST 2010 Philadelphia South Asian
No Winner In Nepal
Run-Off Election
(Continued From Page 1)
UCPN (Maoist) chairman
Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’
got 241 votes while Nepali
Congress vice-president Ram
Chandra Paudel got 123 votes,
insufficient to lead a majority
government.
They need a minimum of 300
votes from the 599 Constituent
Assembly members.
Both contestants polled one
less vote than what they got
in Wednesday’s election. Only
572 lawmakers were present
when voting was held for Mr.
Dahal while six more were
present for Mr. Paudel.
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The prime ministerial candidates
have not been able to gather
a majority mainly because the
CPN (UML) has stayed away
from voting. With 109 seats in
the Constituent Assembly, they
have been demanding a consensus
government. CPN(UML)
chairman Jhalanath Khanal had
filed his nomination withdrew
later as the party was unable to
gather two-thirds majority or
401 votes.
The prime ministerial election
has been indecisive also because
various Madhesi parties
decided to stay neutral and their
total 82 votes have not been
cast. The next election would
be held on August 2. (Source:
The Hindu)
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Don’t Use spoons To Medicate
Children, Warn Doctors
London, July 15
Medical experts have warned parents
that using domestic spoons
to dispense children’s medicine
could lead to overdosing or getting
too little
medication
as some of
them were
found to
hold two to
three times
as much
liquid
as other
spoons.
A study
looked at
71 teaspoons and 49 tablespoons
collected from 25 households in
Attica, Greece, the International
Journal of Clinical Practice reports.
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“A parent using one of the biggest
domestic teaspoons would be giving
their child 192 percent more
medicine than a parent using the
smallest teaspoon,” said Matthew
E. Falagas.
“The
difference
was 100
percent
for the
table-
spoons,” added Falagas, professor
and director of the Alfa Institute
of Biomedical Sciences in Athens,
Greece.
“This increases the chance of a
child receiving an overdose or indeed
too little medication,” Falagas
said.
The women who took part in the
study were aged between 24 and
84 years with an average age of 48
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years, according to an Alfa Institute
statement.
Most had between one and three
different teaspoons and tablespoons
in their house, but two
women had as many as six different
teaspoons and one also had five
different tablespoons.
“We not only found wide variations
between households, we also
found considerable differences
within households,” Falagas said.
The researchers were also keen to
see whether there were any differences
when five of the women
were asked to dispense liquid from
a calibrated 5ml medicine spoon.
They found that only one dispensed
the correct dose of liquid,
with three dispensing 4.8 ml and
one 4.9 ml.
As a result of their findings, the
researchers, from Athens and Boston,
US, are urging parents to use
calibrated medicine syringes to
dispense liquid medication to children.
281-381-0744

Page 4 AUGUST 2010 Philadelphia South Asian
Islamabad, A Capital In Search Of Its Identity
(Continued From Page 1)
Designed in 1960 by Greek architect
Constantinos Dioxadis, Islamabad,
or “the place where Islam
lives”, was founded at a strategically
secure zone with a pleasant
climate, surrounded by lakes and
hills not far from the Himalayas.
Since then, the city has developed
into a centre of frantic political and
diplomatic activities, though it remains
deprived of any form of cultural
life and economic boom.
According to critics, the city,
which was carved out to avoid local
disputes over the status of capital,
is nothing more than an invisible
“shield”, isolated from the rest
of the country, having nothing in
common with other neighbouring
cities.
“In terms of living standard it is
perhaps one of the best places in
this part of Asia and of Pakistan.
It is organised, with many green
zones, services, little pollution, but
it still lacks an identity of its own,”
said Humayun Khan, a political
analyst.
According to Khan, there are not
many people who can be said to
be from Islamabad, which is a destination
of temporary visits and a
meeting point of workers of different
ethnicities from all parts of the
country, something which is “evident
when there are national festivals,
as the city gets totally empty”.
The demographic boom of the Pakistani
capital has been quite recent,
and it was only at the beginning of
the 80’s that the number of inhabitants
of the urban area exceeded
that of the rural zones of this town
of 906 square kilometres.
The annual population growth
rate has been more than five percent,
double the country’s average,
as the population of the city has
increased from 340,000 to over
800,000 in 1998 (according to the
last census), while some estimates
show that the current population
could be a million and a half.
“I remember that 10-15 years back,
it was quite a little “village”. Now
there is a lot of construction going
on, a lot of trees are being cut
down,” Sabeen Zafar, a resident of
Islamabad, said.
According to experts, this tendency
of dizzying and unorganised population
growth is the root cause of
the problems of the city which was
once well planned and organised,
with properly named sectors and
sub-sectors with their respective
commercial areas and parks.
“The city will soon - in near future
- face serious problems of water
shortage and traffic congestion, unless
metro is constructed or some
other alternatives are found,” said
Shabbir Malik, an engineer who
has worked on several urban development
projects.
Architect Naeem Pasha expressed
a similar opinion and reminded that
private construction has changed
the original plan, while the city is
suffering massive constructions in
the outskirts, partly due to the high
cost of plots in urban locations.
If there is something that characterizes
Islamabad, where the literacy
rate (72 percent) is 30 percent
higher than the national rate, it is
its emergence as a dense congregation
of rich and affluent people
with a few concentrations of slums.
The monthly house rents, usually
buildings with gardens and terraces
for nuclear families, are generally
much more than the annual per
capita income of the country.
Even public transport doesn’t have
much to offer, partly because the
main symbol of mobility in South
Asia, the “auto rickshaw”, is forbidden
to enter the city.
There are cars used as taxis, but the
smallest ones - the Suzuki Mehrans
of yellow colour - cannot access
the so-called “red zone”, an enclave
which is increasingly being
fortified as the government buildings.
This is where the foreign embassies
are also concentrated, protected
by intense security measures to
confront the terrorist attacks that
Pakistan suffers and against which
its capital “bubble” has not yet
managed to immunise itself.
Dalai Lama’s 75th Birthday Celebrated In Dharamsala
Dharamsala, July 6
Braving heavy rains thousands of
Tibetan exiles Tuesday attended
celebrations to mark the 75th
birthday of their spiritual leader
the Dalai Lama here in Himachal
Pradesh.
Large crowds began to assemble
since morning at the Tsuglagkhang
temple to join the birthday celebrations.
“Special prayer sessions were held
for the well-being and long life of
the Dalai Lama,” Thubten Samphel,
a spokesperson for the government-in-exile,
told IANS.
“His Holiness attended the prayers
and blessed his followers from 9
a.m. to 11 a.m. The 17th Karmapa,
Ugyen Trinley Dorjee, also attended
the function,” he
added.
The hilltop Tsuglagkhang
temple is close
to the official palace
of the Dalai Lama at
McLeodganj here.
A group of Chinese
from Australia greeted
the Nobel Laureate
on the occasion.
Meanwhile, the Kashag (Tibetan
cabinet) prayed for the Dalai Lama’s
long life.
Born July 6, 1935, to a farming
family in a small hamlet in Taktser
in Amdo province in northeastern
Tibet, the twoyear-old
child,
earlier named
Lhamo Dhondup,
was recognized as
the reincarnation
of the 13th Dalai
Lama, Thubten
Gyatso, in 1937.
He fled Tibet after
a failed uprising
against Chinese
rule in 1959, basing
his Tibetan government-in-exile
here.
The Dalai Lama has favoured
China’s New N-Reactor To
Be More Fuel Efficient
Beijing, July 22 The development
of China’s new nuclear reactor
which could increase utilisation of
fuel up to 70 percent succeeded in
a critical test Wednesday.
The experimental fast reactors that
run on mostly domestically-designed
fourth-generation technology
differ from others in that they
are able to utilise uranium fuel in a
more optimal way so as to reduce
the overall energy costs significantly.
According to China Daily, the new
technology will lift uranium usage
ratio to as high as 70 percent from
the existing one percent. In the
long run, it will also considerably
reduce the nation’s reliance on foreign
fuel imports.
“The fast reactor will extend China’s
utilisation of proven and verified
uranium resources to 1,000
years from less than 100 years
through the existing pressurised
water reactors,” said Zhang Donghui,
general manager of the fast
reactor programme.
The reactor has been set up with
an investment of 2.5 billion yuan
($369 million) and China is the
eighth country to successfully
master the technology.
“This is a significant step in China’s
nuclear program,” said Zhao
Zhixiang, dean of China Institute
of Atomic Energy.
Yan Qiang, a researcher with
Chinese Academy of Geological
Sciences, said China currently
produces around 750 tonnes of
uranium. Its demand-supply gap is
expected to exceed 10,000 tonnes
by 2015 and reach nearly 30,000
tonnes by 2030.
With the bulk of the nuclear power
likely to be used for meeting the
nation’s power needs, demand for
the clean energy is also expected to
surge, said Yan.
China plans to set up 60 new nuclear
reactors and have a nuclear
power productivity of around 75
million kilowatts by 2020. The
country is also constructing 23 machine
sets to harness nuclear power,
the largest among the 57 such
sets in the world, the daily said.
The country is likely to double its
uranium purchases to around 5,000
tonnes this year to build stockpiles
for new reactors, said Thomas
Neff, a physicist and uranium-industry
analyst at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology in Cambridge.
Quake Hits Japan
Tokyo, July 23
An earthquake measuring 5.3 on the Richter scale jolted Japan’s
Chiba Prefecture early Friday, the meteorological agency said.
The focus of the quake was located some 30 km underground in
northeastern Chiba Prefecture, Xinhua reported.
There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage to properties.
“greater autonomy” for Tibetans
rather than complete independence.
Though he has expressed his willingness
to go back to Tibet and
resolve the complicated Tibetan issue
by agreeing to an autonomous
Tibetan set-up under Chinese control,
Beijing has shown no inclination
to oblige him.
Chinese leaders have, in fact,
called him a ‘splittist’ - one who
wants Tibet to secede from China.
In 1989, he won the Nobel Peace
Prize for his non-violent struggle
for Tibet. He got the US Congressional
Gold Medal in October
2007, even in the face of protests
by China.
The Dalai Lama, despite his age,
continues to travel throughout the
world, meeting presidents, prime
ministers and rulers of various
countries and giving his teachings
on Buddhism.

Page 5 AUGUST 2010 Philadelphia South Asian
Facebook Reaches
500 mn Users
San Francisco, July 22
Social networking site Facebook
officially has 500 million users, the
company announced Wednesday.
The milestone means that the
six-year old
website now
reaches eight
percent of the
planet’s population,
just 18
months after it
passed the 150
million user
mark.
Last month
Facebook
founder and
CEO Mark
Zuckerberg
said there is a
“good chance”
that the social
networking
site could boast one billion users
within three to five years.
Facebook has continued adding
users at a record-setting pace despite
growing concerns about the
privacy policies of a site that has
more data on its users than any
Raising Indian Ocean Levels May
Worsen Flooding In India
Washington, July 14
Rising levels in parts of the Indian
Ocean may worsen monsoon
flooding in India and Bangladesh.
According to a study led by Weiqing
Han, the associate professor in
atmospheric and oceanic sciences
at the University of Colorado,
Boulder, US, this is attributed to
warming caused by manmade increases
of greenhouse gases.
The parts affected by the rising sea
levels are the Bay of Bengal, the
Arabian Sea, Sri Lanka, reports
Nature Geoscience.
The key player in the process is the
Indo-Pacific warm pool, an enormous,
bathtub-shaped area of the
other website.
Facebook marked the milestone
with the launch of a special section
in which users are encouraged
to post their personal stories about
how Facebook
has affected
them.
video message.
“Half a billion
is a nice
number but the
number isn’t
what really
matters here.
What matters
are all of the
stories we hear
from all of you
about the impact
your connections
have
had on your
lives,” Zuckerberg
said in a
“Instead of focusing on numbers,
we want to help people around the
world hear about these stories for
themselves, and we want to let you
tell your own story.”
tropical oceans stretching from the
east coast of Africa west to the International
Date Line in the Pacific.
The warm pool has heated by about
1 degree Fahrenheit, or 0.5 degrees
Celsius, in the past 50 years, primarily
caused by manmade increases
of greenhouse gases, said
Han, according to a Colorado University
statement.
Along the coasts of the northern Indian
Ocean, seas have risen by an
average of about 0.5 inches, or 13
mm, per decade, the study said.
The Indian Ocean is the world’s
third largest ocean and makes up
about 20 percent of the water on
earth’s surface.
Asians Top In Australia’s High School Entrance Test
Melbourne, July 3
Children of Asian migrants outperform
their English-speaking
counterparts in the entrance test of
selective top high schools in Australia.
Analysis shows that 42 percent of
children from non-English speaking
backgrounds who sat for the
annual selective high school entrance
test in 2009 won a place in
the elite system, according to The
Sydney Morning Herald.
The percentage of successful students
from English-speaking families
were less than 23 percent.
London, July 14
On an average a woman changes
her hairstyle 104 times in her lifetime,
according to a survey in Britain.
Between the ages of 13 and 65,
Women undergo
several hairstyle
changes
from layering,
shortening or
colouring at
least twice a
year.
Most women
try out at least
three colours
over the years -
dark brown being
the most popular - and at some
stage they peer out from under a
long style with a fringe. More than
two thirds of women try this look
at least once, Daily Mail reported
citing a survey conducted by hairdresser
Andrew Collinge.
The main reason a woman lets
her hairdresser loose is plain old
fashioned boredom. The next most
common reason is the end of a relationship,
a time of new beginnings
and a matching brand new look.
The survey of 3,000 women found
44 percent changed their hair style
or colour simply because they were
bored, while 61 percent expressed
it as “just wanting a change”.
Another 25 percent went to the
hairdressers wanting to “re-invent”
themselves while 38 percent
The success rate of students from
migrant families in the selective
system has risen dramatically from
29 percent in 1995 to 62 percent in
2008. The figure is sharply skewed
towards children from Asian-origin
families.
Students whose families speak other
languages comprise a little more
than one-quarter of the total public
school population, the paper said.
Many of the successful students
are graduates of the burgeoning
network of private coaching institutions
which offer special “opportunity
class” and courses for
Women Change 104 Hair Styles In Lifetime
thought it would make them feel
more confident.
There were 17 percent who admitted
dashing to the salon in emergency
mode after spotting the first
streaks of grey.
“Women have always
used their hair
as a way of altering
their appearance as
it often has the greatest
impact visually,”
Collinge said.
But, most women
change their style
“little and often”
rather than doing a
dramatic overhaul,
the survey said.
“You can add modern texture without
altering the length just by adding
some layers or by drying and
styling differently --think Jennifer
Aniston,” he said.
“Hopefully, with the help and advice
of their hairdresser they are
making these smaller changes to
a style which already suits them
--hence reaching almost 100
styles.”
He said fashion and celebrity
trends played a large part in the
looks women dream of for themselves.
“In my salons we certainly see
women bringing in pictures of the
latest look which inspires them,”
he added.
WWW. PHILADELPHIASOUTHASIAN.COM
selective exams. Such institutions
are dominated by children of recent
migrants.
According to the Department of
Education, these classes are designed
to provide “intellectual
stimulation and an educationally
enriched environment for academically
gifted and talented children”.
“Anglo families have a different
sense of what a child’s life should
look like and they are really concerned
about narrowing a child’s
life down to passing the selective
school entrance test,” says Craig
Campbell, a Sydney University
academic and co-author of School
Choice, a book on how parents
negotiate the school market. “But
they’re having to change because
of the competition.”
High school principals, worried
about losing students and prestige,
are said to be pushing hard to establish
selective streams in their
schools, Campbell said.
The selective system was expanded
this year with 600 more places created
through the establishment of
14 partially selective high schools,
where a high-achieving stream has
been added to a comprehensive
high school.
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Page 6 AUGUST 2010 Philadelphia South Asian
1,000-Year-Old Sea Creatures Found
Toronto, July 22
Canadian and Spanish scientists have discovered rare species of marine
life, with some creatures more than 1,000 years old.
According to the scientists, these creatures found off the coast of Newfoundland
and Labrador hold clues to the secrets of ancient underwater
ecosystems.
These rare marine creatures have been spotted by researchers from Fisheries
and Oceans Canada and scientists from three Canadian universities
and the Spanish Institute of Oceanography.
The discovery was made when the scientists, who were on a 20-day expedition,
used a robot to take pictures and to grab samples of coral and
sponges up to three kilometres
deep in the waters, according
to reports.
During the course of the
research, they discovered
at least two new species
of coral and six sponges,
located thou- sands of metres
down, the Ottawa Citizen
newspaper quoted Ellen
Kenchington, one of the leaders
on the expedition, as saying.
These coral and sponges - which are extremely fragile - are essential in
keeping the areas abundant with the marine life, she said.
She said her team is assessing whether larger swathes of these areas need
to be protected from fishing, in order to keep these stocks sustainable.
The Canadian scientist said these areas are important because they contain
the ‘trees of the ocean’ - the coral that can grow several metres tall
and change the flow of water currents.
“It’s a similar function a tree would serve in the forest, cutting down
wind, providing branches for birds. We have the same type of communities
that take shelter down there,” she was quoted as saying.
China Holds ‘Green’ Funeral
Beijing, July 22
In a first-of its-kind, China organised
a mass environment-friendly
funeral where the ashes of over
250 people were put in bio-degradable
urns and buried or immersed
in a pool.
The mass funeral was held in Tianjin
city, where 251 urns filled with
ashes were buried in special holes
dug in the cemetery lawn, while
another 30 urns were immersed
in a pool where the urns would
degrade within a month, Global
Times reported.
As the urns are bio-degradable,
they will not harm the environment,
officials said.
The cemetery offered free urns and
ritual services for this first “green”
funeral.
Funds Approved For Phase
Two Of Unique Identification
Number Project
New Delhi, July 22 The authority
set up to collect data for the issue
of tamper-proof biometric identity
cards to each of India’s 1.17 billion
citizens has been granted Rs.3,023
crore for the second phase of its
implementation.
“The estimated cost includes project
components for issue of 100
million unique identity numbers by
March 2011 and recurring establishment
costs for the entire project
phase of five years ending March
2014,” an official statement said
Thursday.
The additional funds were approved
during a meeting of the
Cabinet Committee on Unique
Identification Authority, presided
over by Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh, belying some reports that
the government was proposing to
curtail its funding.
Aadhar is the brand name for the
12 digit unique identity number.
The project was established last
year to primarily ensure inclusive
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281-381 - 0744
growth by providing a form of tamper-proof
identity to people above
15 years of age so that the delivery
of government programmes can be
directed better, ensuring effective
governance.
The project, after implementing the
first phase by March 2011, intends
to issue some 600 million more
numbers over the next three years
using the services of both the government
departments and agencies,
as also banks, insurance companies
and oil marketing firms.
Under phase one, the plan is for
setting up necessary infrastructure,
creating testing facilities for pilots
projects, setting up standards, establishing
a project management
unit for monitoring and hiring of
consultants for project reports.
Among these, the authority has established
its headquarters at New
Delhi and set up six out of the eight
proposed Regional Offices. It has
also set up a technology centre and
a test data centre in Bangalore.
Muralitharan Finishes With
800 Test Wickets
Galle (Sri Lanka), July 22
Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah
Muralitharan made a perfect fin-
ish to a stellar career, claiming his
800th Test wicket in his last match
against India here Thursday and
becoming the first bowler to reach
the milestone.
Muralitharan, who was eight wickets
short of the landmark figure
of 800 coming into his swansong
Test, finished with match figures of
eight for 191. He took five for 63 in
the first innings and three for 128
in the second.
Pragyan Ojha became Muralitharan’s
800th Test wicket when he
was caught by Mahela Jayawerdena
in the slips.
Muralitharan’s 800 Test wickets
came in 133 matches at an average
of 22.74.
15 Percent Of Sunderbans
May Be Submerged By 2020
Kolkata, July 13
At least 15 percent of the Sunderbans
- the world’s largest mangrove
forests - will be submerged by
2020 and neglecting the area further
can have global implications
as it is highly vulnerable to climate
change, says a UNDP report.
The District Human Development
Report (DHDR) of North 24 Parganas,
South 24 Parganas and Uttar
Dinajpur, was released Monday in
partnership with the West Bengal
government’s development and
planning department and the Planning
Commission.
“Sunderbans in South 24 Parganas
is highly vulnerable to climate
change and it is estimated that 15
percent of the region will be submerged
by 2020,” says the report.
“Neglecting the Sunderbans can
have global implications.”
The report found that the Sunderbans
region in the South 24
Parganas district was the worst
performing in terms of human development
indicators among all the
other regions of the district.
The report said the island blocks of
Basanti, Gosaba, Kultali, Patharpratima
and Sagar need special
attention as they are vulnerable to
natural disaster. Livelihood opportunities
are very less in most of the
islands due to poor infrastructure.
“Action at the local-level is critical
if national development and the
globally agreed Millennium Development
Goals are to be achieved,”
said Fadzai Gwaradzimba, chief,
South and West Asia Division, Regional
Bureau for Asia and the Pacific,
UNDP.
Nirupam Sen, West Bengal minister
of development and planning,
said: “It is hoped that the DHDR
will serve as a primary document
for building a district vision and for
assessing and re-addressing disparities
within the district.”
(Continued On Page 7)

Page 7 AUGUST 2010 Philadelphia South Asian
Canada Becomes First Western Nation To Partner “Vibrant Gujarat”
By Gurmukh Singh
Toronto, July 22
In a major boost to Gujarat, Canada
has announced to become a partner
country in the Vibrant Gujarat investment
summit next year.
Held biennially immediately after
Pravasi Bharatiya Divas since
2003, the Vibrant Gujarat summit
is aimed at attracting foreign investment
and knowhow into the
state.
ister Saurabh Patel, the Canadian
high commission in New Delhi has
said that Canada has accepted the
invitation to “be a partner country
for Vibrant Gujarat 2011.’’
The Canadian decision assumes
significance as major western
countries like the US and Britain
have avoided dealing with Gujarat
after the Godhra riots of 2002. In
fact, the US had revoked visa of
Chief Minister Narendra Modi in
2005 because of his alleged role in
the riots.
In a letter to Gujarat Industry Min-
Obese People In Germany
Face “Fat Tax”
Berlin, July 23
Overweight people who pursue unhealthy
lifestyles should pay higher
taxes in order to cover the extra
costs they create for Germany’s
healthcare system, a conservative
lawmaker has said.
“The question must be admitted
whether the immense costs that,
for example,
arise
from
excessiveconsumption
of
food,
can be
permanently
paid
o u t
of the
consolidated health system,” said
Marco Wanderwitz, the conservative
member of parliament from
the state of Saxony.
“I think it’s sensible that people
who knowingly live unhealthily
carry a responsibility for it in a financial
respect,” said Wanderwitz,
who is also head of Chancellor
Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats’s
group of young parliamentarians.
He was supported by Juergen
Wasem, an economist who said
foods like chocolate should carry
health warnings, The Daily Telegraph
reported Thursday.
“As with tobacco, we should tax
the purchase of unhealthy consumer
goods at a higher rate and pay
that tax into the health system,” he
said.
Germany’s health system is funded
by a series of mandatory health insurance
funds, all of which are reporting
serious deficits as the system
is overused.
Bild, the
German
newspaper,
estimated
that treatment
for
obesityrelated
illnesses
cost Germany
some
16 billion
pounds a
year, the report
said.
Recently the German Teachers’
Association recommended weighing
children in class each day and
reporting the seriously overweight
to social services, who would have
the power to remove them to clinics.
Although opposition politicians
slammed the “fat-tax” proposal, researchers
at the Jacobs University
in Bremen city claimed its work
proved that the majority of the
public would back a tax on people
whose unhealthy lifestyles landed
them in hospital or under other
medical care.
The partnership decision comes
within a year of the opening the
Canadian trade office in Ahmedabad.
The trade office was one of
the three unveiled by Canada last
year to deepen its trade ties with
India.
“Canada has realised that Gujarat
is a hub for business in India. It is
a major thing for Gujarat and I am
sure many Canadian companies
will take advantage of the opportunities
offered by the state in every
sector - infrastructure, education,
energy, transport, agro-food and
health,’’ Winnipeg-based Gujarati
businessman Hemant Shah, who
has played a major role in promoting
trade ties between Canada and
his native state, told IANS.
Canada is likely to be represented
to top trade officials as well as major
companies at the Vibrant Gujarat
Summit January 12-13.
Bombardier, the supplier of Delhi
Metro cars and global transport giant,
and McCain Foods are the two
major Canadian companies which
have already set up shop in Guja-
US Military Chief Fears
Another 26/11 On India
By Arun Kumar
Washington, July 22
The US’ top military official fears
a possible repeat of a Mumbai type
terror attack on India by Pakistan
based terror outfits to provoke another
conflict between the two nuclear
armed nations.
“One of the things that struck me
then, and is still a great concern,
is how 10 terrorists could drive
two nuclear-armed nations closer
to conflict,” Chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen
told reporters travelling with
him on his way to India.
“There is the possibility of some
kind of miscalculation in response
to an attack such as the one in
Mumbai,” he said, adding he was
particularly concerned about the
Laskar-e Taiba (LeT) terror group
blamed for the November 2008
Mumbai attack.
“I see them starting to emerge as
a larger, regional, global threat,”
Mullen was quoted as saying by
the US Defence Department.
“One of the things I’ve watched in
the FATA, in the region between
Pakistan and in Afghanistan, is the
merging of these terrorist organizations,”
he said.
Mullen, who was in New Delhi a
few days after the terror attack in
Mumbai, said he was impressed by
Indian restraint during and immediately
after the attack.
Counter-terrorism will be the main
discussion with Indian leaders,
Mullen said. “The United States
and India have shared interests
that are tied specifically to counterterrorism,”
he said. “We’ve both
been attacked and lost precious
citizens.”
Working together to blunt and to
end the terrorist threat is one impetus
to working together. Indian
military leaders “are also very focused
on how we share what we
have learned,” the chairman said.
The military-to-military relationship
between the US and India has
grown dramatically in the past 20
years, Mullen said and he wants to
keep the process on track.
Mullen will follow his visit to India
with one to Pakistan as the US has
military-to-military contacts with
both countries.
While the US military is not a
bridge between the two nations,
“it is important that we remain
engaged,” Mullen said. “Certainly
there is an opportunity to have discussions
across the region and we
will work our way through to a
much more stable future.”
15 Percent Of Sunderbans
May Be Submerged By 2020
(Continued From Page 6)
The Sundarbans is the largest single
block of tidal mangrove forest
in the world and is a World Heritage
Site.
The Sundarbans is intersected by
a complex network of tidal waterways,
mud flats and small islands
of salt-tolerant mangrove forests.
The area is known as the abode of
the Royal Bengal Tigers.
rat.
While Bombardier has set up a
$45-million train factory at Savli
near Baroda, McCain Foods has a
facility near Gandhinagar to supply
french fries and onion rings to major
super stores.
“But with Canada joining Gujarat
as a partner for the summit, I am
sure other Canadian giants such
as BlackBerry maker Research In
Motion (RIM) will also set up shop
in India’s most industrialized and
fastest growing state,’’ said Shah.
Black box
Inventor
Sydney, July 21
Dies
David Warren, the Australian who
invented the black box flight-data
recorder 54 years ago, has died at
the age of 85, Defence Force officials
said Wednesday.
He started working on the idea of
recording pilots’ voices and instrument
readings after investigating
the crash of a Comet in 1953. The
Comet was the first commercial jet
aeroplane.
The black box was dismissed as a
worthless invention by Australia’s
Department of Civil Aviation and
it was not until a British aviation
official saw it in 1958 that Warren
was given the money to develop it
beyond a prototype.
The black box - so named not because
of its color but because it was
a magical idea - is now compulsory
equipment in most airliners.
In 1960, Australia became the first
country to rule that all airliners
should carry a flight recorder.
Warren, a Sydney University graduate,
is survived by his wife, four
children and seven grandchildren.

Page 8 AUGUST 2010 Philadelphia South Asian
Cardiac Pacemakers and Defibrillators
By Navin S. Nikam, M.D.
Nik Nikam, M.D.
Mr. Slone, a 68 years old male felt
dizzy while driving. He pulled off
the road and called for help. When
he arrived at the emergency room,
ten years
ago, his
heart
r a t e
was in
the low
thirties.
He underwent
a permanentpacemakerinsertion.
For
the next
9 to 10
years,
his heart
w a s
solely
dependent on the pacemaker to
generate and maintain his heart
rhythm. Recently, he underwent a
pacemaker battery replacement.
What maintains the cardiac
rhythm?
Heart is a muscular pump. Its
rhythm is controlled by specialized
groups of cells that have an
inherent property to generate an
impulse.
One such specialized group of
cells located at the top of the right
atrium is called the sinus node. The
other group, located at the junction
of the upper and lower chambers,
is called the AV node. The impulse
generated by these nodes is transmitted
via specialized network of
fibers called the bundles. The sinus
node beats at a rate of 60 to 100
per minute, while the AV node can
generate an impulse at rate from 40
to 60 per minute. When both nodes
fail, the heart muscle itself has the
ability to generate an impulse, but
it is too slow to maintain adequate
cardiac function.
Rhythm problems
The most common rhythm problems
that require pacemakers are
slow heart rates resulting from sick
sinus syndrome, atrial fibrillation
with slow ventricular rates, and
heart blocks.
Sick Sinus Syndrome (SSS) is
where the sinus node malfunctions
with bursts of rapid rates intermingled
with very slow rates at times.
Atrial fibrillation is a condition
where the atria (upper chambers)
beats at rate of 350-400 beats per
minute while the ventricles beat at
a much slower rate. Sometimes, the
ventricular rate may be too slow to
a point where a pacemaker may be
needed.
Atrial fibrillation is very common
in people over the age of 60 years.
In both situations, when we administer
medicines to control the
fast heart beats, they may further
aggregate the slow heart rhythm
problem. Hence, a pacemaker will
be necessary to address the slow
heart rate, while medicines take
care of fast heart beats.
When there is damage to a heart
muscle, the conduction system may
also
get
i n -
volved leading to heart blocks and
very slow heart rates.
Different types of pacemakers
During the dawn of the pacemaker
era, maintaining a fixed rate was
the main objective. However, the
latest innovative technology has
enabled us to use two or even three
wires with a multitude of programming
capabilities, including
shocking (defibrillating) the heart
if needed.
The most basic pacemaker has a
battery and a pacemaker wire. The
wire is placed in the right ventricle.
This basically maintains the
heart rhythm at a set rate and has
some programming available to increase
the rate, if the demand goes
up. This is useful in patients with
chronic atrial fibrillation with very
low heart rates.
The second type involves one wire
in the left atrium (left upper chamber)
and another wire in the right
ventricle. Pacing the atrium and the
ventricle in a synchronized manner
increases the cardiac performance.
This is helpful in patients with
regular rhythm, stiff heart muscle,
heart block, or congestive heart
failure.
The third type involves placing
three wires: one in the right upper
chamber, one in the right ventricle,
and third one to pace the left ventricle
in a synchronized manner.
This technique simulates the normal
heart contraction pattern and
benefits patients with advanced
heart failure and heart blocks by
improving the pumping efficiency.
Hence, it is called the cardiac resynchronization
therapy (CRT).
The final
type has
the capability
to
shock the
heart if
it detects
life threateningarrhythmias(ImplantablecardioverterDefibrillator--ICD).
This also
has full
pacing capabilities.
This is
used in patients with severely compromised
heart function with advanced
heart failure with ejection
fraction of less than 30% (heart’s
pumping efficiency).
Diagnosis
A simple electrocardiogram may
reveal a slow heart rate of heart
blocks. A 24 hour EKG monitoring
(Holter monitor) can pick-up
subtle slow heart rates and heart
blocks. An echocardiogram can
reveal cardiac enlargement and advanced
heart failure.
Pacemaker Insertion
This procure is routinely done in
the cardiac catheterization laboratory
under local anesthetic and
light sedation.
The shoulder area is numbed with
lidocaine. A needle is inserted in
the main vein underneath the clavicle.
A guide wire is passed through
the needle. Once the venous access
has been established, a small incision
is made in the skin, and an
appropriate size pocket underneath
the skin is made for the pacemaker
generator.
A sheath is passed over the guide
wire and through which one or two
pacemaker wires are advanced.The
wires are placed in the appropriate
chambers under the X-ray guidance.
The pacemaker wires are
tested to make sure they can sense
the electrical impulse in the heart
chamber and also pace adequately.
The wires are inserted into the generator
and well secured. The generator
is placed in the pocket and
anchored with sutures. The skin
is closed and a dressing applied.
The patient is usually watched for
a day to make sure the pacemaker
is functioning alright. A chest Xray
is done to make sure there are
no complications such as air leak
from the lungs or pacer wire displacements.
Follow-up
Patients with pacemakers should
be under the care of a qualified
cardiologist. The pacemaker needs
to be checked using a special machine
that is specific to each brand
of pacemakers. The pacemaker
monitor will establish the proper
functioning of the pacemaker and
also helps us to determine the battery
life. From time to time, the
pacemaker can be programmed to
meet the current requirements.
Complication
Soon after the insertion of a pacemaker,
the site must be kept clean
to prevent any infection. The other
problems associated with pacemaker
insertion may include allergic
reaction to the
local anesthetic,
bleeding, damage
to a vein or an
artery, and in rare
cases, lung collapse.
Precautions
It is alright to use
cell phones. However,
you should
avoid holding the
cell phone too
close to the pacemaker
generator,
as it may misinterpret
the signal
from the cell phone as a signal
from the heart.
Passing through airport security
may set off a metal detector, even
though it may not interfere with the
pacemaker function. Hand held devise
should be kept away from the
pacemaker. Carry your pacemaker
ID card with you at all times.
Your pacemaker is generally not
affected by microwave ovens,
televisions, remote controls, radios,
toasters, electric blankets, or
electric shavers.
In six to ten years, it may be time to
get a new battery.
Visit www.sugarlandheartcenter.
com for past articles.
Nik Nikam, M.D. P: 281-265-7567
nikam@alltel.net

Page 9 AUGUST 2010 Philadelphia South Asian
Obama Signs Law To
Prevent Another Recession
By Arun Kumar
Washington, July 21
US President Barack Obama has
signed into law the most sweeping
financial industry reform legislation
since the Great Depression,
terming it insurance against the
kind of meltdown that led to a brutal
recession.
New regulations on Wall Streettype
financial firms will not only
help prevent another meltdown,
but also establish “the strongest
consumer financial protections in
history”, he said before signing the
bill Wednesday.
There is “no dividing line between
Main Street and Wall Street,”
Obama asserted as close to 400
people including business leaders
like Citibank’s Indian American
CEO Vikram Pandit, lawmakers
and consumer advocates watched.
“The primary cause (of the economic
crisis) was a breakdown in
our financial system,” Obama said,
noting the financial industry melt-
Universe’s Biggest Star Discovered
London, July 22
The biggest star, with a mass 320
times greater than the sun’s, has
been discovered at the edge of our
galaxy by British astronomers.
Scientists at the University of
Sheffield found the stellar giant -
named R136a1 - using the European
Southern Observatory’s Very
Large Telescope in Chile and data
from the Hubble Space Telescope.
The star is located in the Tarantula
Nebula in the Large Magellanic
Cloud, a small “satellite” galaxy
which orbits the Milky Way, the
Telegraph reported.
Previously, the heaviest known
stars were around 150 times the
mass of the sun, and this was believed
to be close to the cosmic
size limit.
As stars get more massive, the
amount of energy created in their
cores grows at a faster rate than the
force of gravity which holds them
together.
The torrents of energy produced
eventually become so powerful
that the stars are torn apart, says
the latest issue of Monthly Notices
down nearly dragged down the
American economy in 2008.
That breakdown, he said, was attributable
in part to “unscrupulous
lenders,” firms like AIG that placed
“massive, risky bets with borrowed
money,” and rules that “left abuse
and excess unchecked” while leaving
“taxpayers on the hook if a big
bank or financial institution ever
failed.”
In the future, “if a large financial
institution should ever fail, this reform
gives us the ability to wind
it down without endangering the
broader economy.”
Obama vowed that because of the
law, “the American people will
never again be asked to foot the bill
for Wall Street’s mistakes. There
will be no more taxpayer-funded
bailouts. Period.”
Considered Obama’s second major
legislative victory after the health
reforms, the bill passed over objections
from Republicans who
complained that it did not address
of the Royal Astronomical Society.
This is known as the “Eddington
Limit”, after the British physicist
Arthur Eddington who, in 1919,
proved Einstein’s theory of relativity
by showing that light is bent by
gravity.
It was believed that the Eddington
Limit was reached at around 150
solar masses.
However, R136a1 has been measured
at 265 solar masses. Since
heavy stars rapidly lose mass as
they grow older by converting it
into energy, R136a1 has already
lost 20 percent of its mass in its
short million-year life. It is believed
originally to have been a
colossal 320 solar masses.
The sun, by comparison, has been
burning for 4.57 billion years, and
has converted only 0.03 percent of
its mass into energy.
The chief researcher and professor
in the Sheffield team, Paul
Crowther, told ‘Astronomy Now’:
“Because of their proximity to the
Eddington Limit they lose mass at
a pretty high rate.”
the root problems that caused the
meltdown.
In a statement following the signing,
House Republican leader John
Boehner said the bill “provides
permanent bailouts for his Wall
Street allies at the expense of community
banks and small businesses
around the country.”
It does “nothing to reform Fannie
Mae and Freddie Mac, the government
mortgage companies that
triggered the financial meltdown
by giving too many high-risk loans
to people who couldn’t afford
them.”
Obama also sought to reassure Wall
Street and financial institutions that
the reform will “foster innovation,
not hamper it.”
“It demands accountability and responsibility
from everyone. It provides
certainty to everybody from
bankers to farmers to business
owners to consumers.”
This means that they are incredibly
bright and hot - R136a1 is believed
to have a surface temperature of
more than 40,000 degrees Celsius,
and is 10 million times brighter
than the sun.
Among the largest known stars
previously known were the Pistol
Star, between 80 and 150 solar
masses, and Eta Carinae, around
100 solar masses.
The Pistol Star radiates as much
energy in 20 seconds as our sun
does in a year. However, both are
utterly dwarfed by the vast new
discovery.
According to ‘Astronomy Now,’
R136a1 gives off more energy than
all the stars in the Orion Nebula,
and if it were in our solar system
it would be as much brighter than
the sun as the sun is than the moon.
Crowther suspects that this is about
as big as stars can get. “Owing to
the rarity of these monsters, I think
it is unlikely that this new record
will be broken any time soon,” he
says.
Money Cannot Buy Happiness
London, July 2
Money can buy you security but
not happiness, says a new study.
A worldwide survey of happiness
of over 100,000 people has shown
that there is a link between feelings
of security and income but not
between money and fun. It found
that life satisfaction rises with personal
and
national
income.
But positivefeelings,
like
having
fun and
enjoyment,
are much
m o r e
strongly
associated
with
other factors,
such
as feeling
respected,
being
independent,
having friends and working
at a fulfilling job.
“The public always wonders: Does
money make you happy?” telegraph.co.uk
quoted Ed Diener, a
psychologist at the University of
Illinois as saying.
“This study shows that it all depends
on how you define happiness,
because if you look at life sat-
isfaction, how you evaluate your
life as a whole, you see a pretty
strong correlation around the world
between income and happiness.”
“On the other hand, it’s pretty
shocking how small the correlation
is with positive feelings and enjoying
yourself,” Diener said.
The findings appear in the Journal
of Personality and Social Psychology.
one experiences.
According
to Diener,
this is the
first “happiness”
study
in the world
to differentiate
between
life satisfaction,
the
philosophical
belief
that your
life is going
well, and
the day-today
positive
or negative
feelings that
“Everybody has been looking at
just life satisfaction and income,”
he said.
“And while it is true that getting
richer will make you more satisfied
with your life, it may not have the
big impact we thought on enjoying
life,” he added.
Sabertooth Tigers Were Powerful Animals
Washington, July 3
Saber-toothed tigers, which existed
10,000 years ago, had exceptionally
strong forelimbs to pin down
their prey
compared
to the
present
day cat
family.
The now
extinct cat
roamed
North
and South
America
preying on large mammals such
as bison, camels, mastodons and
mammoths.
Telltale clues from bones and teeth
suggest they relied on their forelimbs
as well as fangs to catch and
kill their prey.
But the size and
shape of the sabertooth
canines
also made them
more vulnerable
to fracture than
cats living today,
said author
Julie Meachen-
Samuels at the
National EvolutionarySynthesis
Centre in the US.
(Continued On Page 14)

Page 10 AUGUST 2010 Philadelphia South Asian
25 Percent British Babies Born To
Indians, Pakistanis
IIT Undergrads Impress
Canadian Varsities
By Gurmukh Singh
Vancouver, July 21
London, July 22
mothers from outside Britain has Over a hundred Indian undergrad-
been growing fast in recent years
Almost a quarter of babies in Brit- as immigration has reached record
ain are born to immigrant mothers, levels.
mostly from India, Pakistan and
Poland.
In 1998, there were 86,456 babies
born to mothers born abroad. Over
The numbers of babies whose a period of 10 years, the share of
mothers were born
babies with for-
abroad went up by
eign-bornmoth- around 3,500 in
ers rose from 13.6
2009, from 170,834
percent to 24.7
to 174,400. The
percent, according
three most common
to the ONS.
countries of origin of
foreign-born moth-
The ONS also
ers are India, Paki-
said women born
stan and Poland, the
in Britain average
Daily Mail reported,
1.84 children each
citing a statement by
during their life-
the Office for National Statistics time, while women who came from
(ONS).
abroad will have 2.51 children during
their lives.
In London, around half of babies
have foreign-born mothers. And Immigration and higher birthrates
in some London outskirts, around were the biggest factor in pushing
three quarters of children have up the population rate. The British
mothers who were born abroad. population will hit the 70 million
mark in 2029, the ONS said.
The number of children born to
Bangladesh Has Nearly 60 mn Mobile Users
Dhaka, July 21
gave ‘subsidy’ to each new subscriber
by selling every SIM at a
Bangladesh added 13.29 million price much below Taka 800 ($12),
new cellphone subscribers during mainly because of the fierce com-
July 2009-June 2010, taking the petition between mobile compa-
total number of users to 59.98 milnies, New Age newspaper said.
lion.uate
students, who are in Canada
on summer internships with various
universities, have impressed
their hosts with their research and
innovative skills.
The 105 brightest students, moslty
from eight IITs, are taking part in
three-month research projects in
computer science, engineering,
mathematics and business at 14
Canadian universities.
They are here under the Globalink
internship programme instituted
by the Mathematics of Information
Technology and Complex
Systems (MITACS) - a Canadian
research network that links industry
and international students with
Canadian universities.
The aim of the internship programme
is to woo undergraduate
Indian students to come to Canada
for their graduate studies.
“We had 17 Indian students at the
University of British Columbia
and Simon Fraser Universities
here in Vancouver and the University
of Victoria in Victoria last
year.
The programme was very successful,
and we decided to raise
the number to 105 this year. The
students were very satisfied,’’ Megan
Mercer, director for MITACS
Globalink, told IANS.
Washington, July 21
The United States has spent more
than $1 trillion on wars since the
Sep 11, 2001, terror attacks, making
it the second most expensive
war in US history after World War
II.
Adjusting for inflation, the outlays
for conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq
and elsewhere around the world
make the “war on terrorism” second
only to World War II that cost
$4.1 trillion at today’s prices, a recently
released Congressional report
says.
The report “Cost of Major US
Wars” by the Congressional Research
Service attempts to compare
war costs over a more than
230-year period-from the American
Revolution to the current daynoting
the difficulties associated
with such a task.
Since the 9/11 terror attacks, the
United States has spent an estimated
$1.15 trillion. World War II
cost $4.1 trillion when converted to
current dollars, although the tab in
the 1940s was $296 billion.
World War II consumed a massive
36 percent of America’s gross domestic
product-a broad measurement
of the country’s economic
output. The post-9/11 cost of the
conflicts is about 1 percent of GDP.
Comparisons of costs of wars over
a 230-year period, however, are
inherently problematic, the report
says.
“One problem is how to separate
costs of military operations from
costs of forces in peacetime. In recent
years, the DOD (Department
of Defence) has tried to identify the
additional ‘incremental’ expenses
of engaging in military operations,
over and above the costs of maintaining
standing military forces.”
“Figures are problematic, as well,
because of difficulties in comparing
prices from one vastly different
era to another,” according to the
report.
“Perhaps a more significant problem
is that wars appear more expensive
over time as the sophistication
and cost of technology
advances, both for military and for
civilian activities.”
The costs associated with the “war
on terrorism” could still go much
higher.
A Congressional Budget Office
estimate from 2007 said the cost
of the wars in Afghanistan and
Iraq could total $2.4 trillion by
2017, more than double the current
amount.
The Bangladesh TelecommunicationRegulatoryCommission’s
data,
released Tuesday,
showed
that the six top
mobile operators
added 1.52
million new
subscribers as
on June 30 this
year.
An executive of a mobile company
claimed that the number of subscribers
would have been greater
if the government had not imposed
the tax of Taka 800 that they have
to pay for each SIM.
Mobile operators claim that they
The largest operator, Grameenphone,
added
5.3 million
subscribers in
the just concludedfinancial
year, and
added 0.91
million consumers
in June
to take its total
subscriber base
to 26.46 million.
Warid Telecom added 0.59 million
subscribers in a year, and the total
number of its subscribers reached
3.17 million at the end of the last
financial year.
US Has Spent $1 Trillion
On Wars Since 9/11
Russian Spy Wants $250,000 To Sell Her Story
New York, July 21
Russian spy Anna Chapman, who
was sent back home after being
arrested in the US, is in a secret
$250,000-deal to reveal her espionage
adventure and wants the money
to be paid into the Swiss bank
account of one of her associates.
The spy is hoping to net a fortune
from the story of how she infiltrated
American society and has asked
a London-based friend to discreetly
reach out to Crimethe media for
a deal.
Chapman hopes to get around rules
in the US and Russia banning her
from profiting from her story by
channeling the money from any
deal to a friend, the New York Post
reported quoting sources.
“Anna has lost her income. She
has had to leave her real-estate
business, and won’t be getting any
more money from the Russian government.
She knows a media deal
is her best way of earning money.
It has even been suggested to her
that she might pose for Playboy,” a
source said.
“She hopes this translates into a
book deal and movie rights, but
how she is paid will have to be
carefully controlled. The money
cannot come directly to her; so she
has suggested it goes to a friend’s
Swiss account.”
Chapman along with nine others
arrested in the US on charges of
spying for Russia were sent back
to Moscow as part of a swap deal
last month.
In her plea bargain with US authorities,
Chapman agreed not to profit
from her story and stipulated that
any money she got would go to the
federal government.
Chapman’s lawyer, Robert Baum,
told Newsweek, “She felt that the
only source of income that she
might have was based on her story.”
He said: “Remember, according
to the provision, there is no prohibition
against her talking. That
would have been illegal. She just
can’t make money from it, or else
the government will go after that
money.”
But now that she’s back in Russia,
Baum added, “there are obvious
issues about the enforceability of
that provision.”

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Page 11 AUGUST 2010 Philadelphia South Asian
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Page 12 AUGUST 2010 Philadelphia South Asian

Page 13 AUGUST 2010 Philadelphia South Asian
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Page 14 AUGUST 2010 Philadelphia South Asian
Back To School Special
Back To School And Beyond
classroom.
By:Ashwini Bhat
(Westside Elementary School)
This year I will be completing Elementary
schooling,last year,5th
grade.Really Will be missing
to Bike with my brother and all
those good morning talks.Going
to school with fresh pack,new
shoes,news clothes and very neatly
sharped pencils and not to forget
new lunch bag is lot more fun on
the day .New day of back to the
By:Naveen Bhat
(Westside Elementary school)
When I was 5 years old,I saw my
dad going to work by Bike.I want
to do what he does.
From 1st Grade,I started taking
Bike to school.It is lot of fun.
Our house is 500 yards from the
school.My Blue Bike always transports
me to school.
When I walk inside the
classroom,new teachers,fellow
students,how nice to see all this.
Iam not only excited,super excited
to learn new experiments,newt type
of math,new books to read,new
craft and songs to learn.Each year
my new self esteem makes me
more confident.
My parents always helps me out
in change of situation in each new
grade by making me to understand
with the surroundings,they
encourage me to be more flexible
with new fellow students in the
classroom.This has really helped
me to be a very successful student
in the classroom.I would like
to do better and best each year.
I know the cycle of learning never
stops.My duty and chief routine
will not go away however long I
take the vacation.Let us to school.
Good Luck.
Back To School Is Bike To School
Wearing Helmet is my safety first.
I stop and check traffic before riding
onto the street side walk.
I always obey street crossing rules.
My Parents always remind me to
be on side walk,road does not belong
to me.
Going by Bike to school is improving
my stamina.I eat well .It
is good for the environment.
My fear to bike is gone.
I want to thank Mrs
Cynthia,crossing guard ,who helps
me when there is more traffic near
the school.
When I goto Middle school,want
to learn bike repair etc.
Finally,set a good example,Wear
Helmet,obey the rules and Have
fun.
Tea Tree Oil Found Promising In Cancer Cure
Washington, July 2
Tea tree oil may be used in future as a fast, safe, cheap and effective treatment for non-melanoma
skin cancers, says a new research. A three-year study at The University of Western Australia’s
Tea Tree Oil Research Group has found solid tumours grown under the skin in mice and treated
with a tea tree oil formulation inhibits tumour growth and tumour regresses within a day of treatment.
Within three days, the tumours cannot be detected.
Sara Greay, of the University of Western Australia who conducted the study with Demelza Ireland, said further
experiments indicated the anti-cancer effect of the tea tree oil formulation appeared to involve activation of the
immune system.
“We are very excited about these results and are hoping to find funding for a small clinical trial of about 50
people with pre-cancerous lesions, with the aim of preventing the development of skin cancers,” Greay said.
Unlike other clinically approved skin cancer chemotherapies, which have long treatment times of three to 16
eks and can cause nausea and flu-like symptoms, the tea tree oil formulation only produces mild skin irritation
which disappears within days of the treatment finishing.
“We believe the formulation is crucial to prevent the evaporation and increase the penetration of tea tree oil
through the skin,” Greay said in a university release.
Tea tree oil is a natural, renewable
resource from Melaleuca alterni-
MEN
CAN
COOK
Traditionally South Asian
Men take backseat when
it comes to cooking.
NOT ANY MORE.
We want to put them
in the driver seat.
Email your recipe
with your photos and see
yourself in print
Info@philadelphiasouthasian.com
Sabertooth Tigers Were Powerful Animals
(Continued From Page 9)
“Cats living today have canines
that are round in cross-section, so
they can withstand forces in all directions.
If the prey is struggling it doesn’t
matter which way it’s pulling - their
teeth are unlikely to break,” she
folia, a tree native to New South
Wales.
Increased demand for the oil
would strengthen the industry
and, besides the medical benefits,
would also benefit the rural communities
based on the production
of the oil.
These findings were published online
in the Cancer Chemotherapy
Pharmacology.
said in findings published online in
the June issue of PLoS ONE.
“Many scientists infer that sabertoothed
cats killed prey differently
from other cats because their teeth
were thinner side-to-side,” she
said.
HAPPY
AUGUST 1 - Friendship Day
AUGUST 11 - Ramadan Begins
AUGUST 14 - Pakisthan
Independence Day
AUGUST 15 - India
Independence Day
AUGUST 23 - Onam
AUGUST 24 - Rakshabandan

Page 15 AUGUST 2010 Philadelphia South Asian
Court, Shockingly, Orders Destruction Of Austin Temple
(Continued From Page 1)
However, the festive mood came
to an abrupt stop immediately after
the foundation had finished in Feb
2008, when the Bolliers filed for an
injunction against the construction.
John and wife Leslie, who is an at-
torney, were relative newcomers to
the neighborhood arriving about 3
years after AGS had been using its
property for religious services.
Citing to the deed restrictions, the
Bolliers argued vehemently against
the construction of the Sikh Temple
on the grounds that it would be an
eye-sore and a traffic magnate, and
would lower their property’s value.
By agreement, AGS and the Bol-
liers agreed to cease construction
until the issue was resolved by the
trial court.
In March 2009, the case was heard
by Honorable Judge Susan Covington
in the 353rd Judicial District
in Travis County Texas. Over the
course of several days, the court
heard evidence presented by both
sides, and rendered an informed
decision denying Bollier’s request
for an injunction and further ordered
them to pay 80% of the associated
court costs. In fact, the plantiff,
Leslie Bollier, was cited for
inequitable conduct in connection
with the AGS use of the property.
After the trial court’s favorable
ruling, AGS proceded to complete
the Temple construction over the
next few months. Meanwhile, not
satisfied with the trial court’s deci-
sion, Bolliers filed an appeal.
In July 2010, months after the construction
of the Temple was complete,
the Appellate Court reversed
the lower court’s ruling. In fact, it
went so far as to order the completed
structure to be torn down! Sikhs
around the world and shocked, saddened,
and flabbergasted by such
an unjust ruling.
The AGS intends to vigorously
appeal and ask the court to reconsider
its decision. A website www.
SaveGurudwara.com is being set
up to provide updates on the matter
as well as to collect donations for
the legal fight.
Press Release issued by: Austin
Gurdwara Sahib, 5104 Avispa
Way, Austin TX 78738 Email:
AustinGurdwara@Gmail.com.
APPEAL
FOR
HELP
According to the temple
sources next step
would be approach
Appeals court for reconsideration
with the
entire panel of judges.
Temple authorities
anticipate an legal and
court cost between
$75,000 -100,000.
If the above Appeals
does not work, then
the next step is an Appeal
to the Texas Supreme
Court and the
estimated legal costs
could be $125,000 plus
according to temple
authorities.
Donations can be
made on their website
on the link: http://
savegurudwara.com/
id24.html
For more information
Visit:
www.
savegurudwara
.com
http://www.austingurdwarasahib.com/

Page 16 AUGUST 2010 Philadelphia South Asian
Ruia Group To Bid For SsangYong
Motor By Aug 10
Kolkata, July 21
City-based Ruia Group will make a bid to acquire the South Korean
SsangYong Motor by Aug 10, a spokesperson for the Group told IANS
Wednesday.
SsangYong Motor has been put on the block under a court-led restructuring
after going bankrupt.
Group chairman Pawan Kumar Ruia would travel to South Korea during
the month-end. “He will be present during the management presentation
by the company,” the spokesperson said.
The final bid deadline for Ssangyong was extended by three weeks to
Aug 10 to give more time to participants for due diligence. Earlier, it was
fixed for July 20.
“Late last week we had a long meeting with Deloitte. The due diligence
is over,” the spokesperson said.
The accounting and consulting firm is advising the Group on the deal
and has submitted a report on the possible valuation of the automobile
manufacturer.
The Ruia Group and Mahindra & Mahindra are among the six suitors
shortlisted to bid for SsangYong Motor.
The Ruia Group is a fast emerging industrial conglomerate with interest
in infrastructure and engineering, tyre and rubber products, sugar and
electronics.
Woman Pregnant With Two Babies
In Separate Wombs
London, July 21
In a rare case, an American woman
with a rare condition known as
uterus didelphys because of which
she has two uteruses, is pregnant
with two babies who were conceived
almost a week apart.
Angie Cromar, 34, from Murray
near Salt Lake City, Utah, has been
told that she is due to have a boy
and a girl. They are not twins and
are due at different times, the Telegraph
reported.
Medical experts say the chance
of conceiving in both uteruses is
about one in five million. Less than
100 people in the world are known
to have “double pregnancies”. After
her first ultrasound, doctors told
the delivery and labour nurse that
one baby was five weeks and a day
old and the other six weeks and a
day. Cromar, who with husband
Joel, 33, has three children aged
under eight, said she knew she had
Homeopathic Drug May Prevent Swine Flu
Homeopathic medicines have been suggested to prevent swine flu by the The Central Council for Research in Homoeopathy.
At a meeting called by the department of AYUSH (Ayur Department of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy), methods
for prevention of flu like illness was taken up by the members.
“The experts suggested that homeopathic medicine ‘Arsenicum album’ could be taken as preventive medicine against flu like illnesses including
swine flu,” a health ministry official said.
The doctors recommended Arsenicum album 30 - four pills of size 30 for adults and two pills for children a day - on empty stomach for three days.
The dose should be repeated after one month, in case flu like conditions prevails in the area.
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the rare uterine condition but it had
not affected her other pregnancies.
She admitted she was nervous but
very excited at the prospect of the
double birth later this year.
Doctors have warned her that the
condition carried a risk of premature
labour and low birth weight.
“I’m a little nervous, just because
I know what can happen, but I’m
really excited,” she told her local
TV station.
Steve Terry, her doctor, said he was
surprised when the ultrasound first
revealed the double pregnancy.
“Angie and I both had the look of
surprise,” he said.
Cromar, a nurse in the maternity
unit at one of her local hospitals,
has been told the babies, who are
now at more than 20 weeks, are
developing normally. They will
join her other children, Alex, eight,
Luke, four, and Sammy, two.
High altitude mice make efficient
use of little oxygen
Toronto, July 3
Mice make optimum use of little
oxygen at high altitudes during
exercise, according to Canadian
and Peruvian scientists, who are
keen to establish whether a similar
strategy exists in humans that have
evolved at high altitudes.
“Andean mouse species have independently
evolved a strategy to
maximise energy yield when little
oxygen is available,” explain lead
researchers Marie-Pierre Schippers
and Grant McClelland from
McMaster University, Canada.
These findings were presented at
the Society for Experimental Biology
Annual Meeting in Prague.
The work was done in collaboration
with Peruvian scientists, Oswaldo
Ramirez and Margarita Arana,
from the Universidad Peruana
Cayetano Heredia.

Page 17 AUGUST 2010 Philadelphia South Asian
Tagore Women Brought High Fashion To Early 20th Century Bengal
By Madhusree Chatterjee
New Delhi, July 20
The high priestesses of fashion
and modern lifestyle in early 20th
century Bengal were none other
than the women of the Tagore
household who lived in a sprawling
18th century mansion christened
Thakurbari in Jorasanko, an
old residential neighbourhood in
northern Kolkata.
It was the house built by Dwarakanath
Tagore, the grandfather of
Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore,
who was born there in 1861.
The women of the Tagore clan,
progressive members of the Brahmo
Samaj, a liberal spiritual order
founded by Raja Rammohan Roy,
set the early Bengali fashion and
lifestyle trends, says writer Chitra
Deb in her book “Women of
the Tagore Household” (Penguin-
India).
The book has been translated by
Smita Chowdhury and Sona Roy.
The queen of haute fashion in the
household was Jnanadanandini,
the second daughter-in-law of Maharsi
Devendranath Tagore, father
of Rabindranath Tagore.
Jnanadanandini was the wife of
Satyendranath Tagore. She contributed
greatly to women’s advancement
and was supported by
her husband, the first Indian to join
the civil service and a pioneer of
women’s liberation movement in
Bengal.
Jnanadanandini entered the Tagore
household as a shy child bride of
seven. Satyendranath was keen that
his wife become the ideal of Indian
women in every way inspired by
the freedom he saw women enjoying
in Britain.
By Fakir Balaji
Bangalore, July 17
Ignited by their maiden success in
placing a tiny satellite in the polar
orbit early this week, its young
pioneers are raring to launch two
more satellites into space.
“The successful launch and placing
of our first pico-satellite (Stud-
Sat) in the earth’s lower orbit has
inspired us to build two similar
satellites for the next launch,” the
He also showed keen interest in the
plight of women’s fashion in Bengal
and wanted women to experiment
with variations of Mughal
style ensembles.
The ‘peshoaj’ (a multi-layered Mughal
outfit) was in fashion. An order
was placed with a French shop
and an “oriental” dress was tailored
for Jnanadanandini. But the
dress turned out to be cumbersome.
It set Jnanadanandini thinking
about convenient women’s wear.
The modern way of draping the sari
with the ‘pallu’ (end of the drape)
thrown around the left shoulder in
neat pleats was the result of Jnanadanandini’s
efforts, says Chitra in
her book.
When Jnanadanandini, who spent
two years in Mumbai with Satyendranath,
returned to Jorasanko
wearing the sari “Bombay style”,
it created a flutter in the Tagore
household. The common Bengali
called the style “sarees of the Tagore
family”, says Chitra.
Jnanadanandini advertised in the
papers to teach others to wear the
sari the way she did. A number of
aristocratic Brahmikas turned up to
learn the art.
She also introduced the practice
of wearing petticoats, chemises,
blouses and jackets with saris, Chitra
says in her book.
Rabindranath Tagore observed that
“cut pieces of silk from English tailoring
shops along with bits of nets
and cheap lace were used to stitch
blouses for women”.
Jnanadanandini’s close friend Suniti
Devi, the Maharani of Coochbehar,
simplified the inherent
awkwardness of the Bombay style
by pinning a broach to keep the
project’s core
member G.
Kartik told
IANS here.
Riding piggy
back on
India’s advancedremotesensing
satellite
Cartosat-2B
and three other
satellites,
shoulder drape in place. She wore
a small triangular piece of cloth on
her head like a Spanish mantilla
to give the sari a dash of western
glamour.
Apart from modernising women’s
dress, Jnandanandini introduced
two other unknown habits to the
household and in elite Bengal -
evening outings and birthday parties,
says Chitra. Birthday parties
became lavish affairs in the clan.
The custom of lighting candles
corresponding to the year of birth
was introduced by another woman
of the Tagore household, Hironmoyee.
Jnandanandini’s legacy of wearing
the sari was carried forwad
by other women of the Tagore
clan, including yesteryears actress
Sharmila Tagore.
Kadambari Devi, wife of Rabindranath
Tagore’s older brother Jyotirindranath,
was the first woman
in the household to ride a horse to
the “maidan” in full riding habit,
Deb says.
The erudite woman, who was
a skilled actress and musician,
brought performing arts - especially
theatre - to the household. The
family made up the cast and plays
were usually staged in the courtyard
of the Jorasanko home.
Mrinalini Devi, the poet’s wife
from Jessore, went to Loreto
School after marriage “to improve
her English and to learn to play the
piano” while Swarnakumari, often
hailed as the brightest star of the
Tagore brood, wrote her first fulllength
novel even before completing
her education.
The book is to be released next
month.
the 850gmcubical
Stud-
Sat was
launched
onboard
the polar
satellite
launch
vehicle
(PSLV-
C 1 5 )
Monday
by the In-
Whale Eating Whale
Found In Peru
London, July 1
The fossil of a 13-million-year-old
giant sperm whale, which fed on
other whales, has been found in a
a coastal desert in Peru.
While modern-day sperm whales
have teeth only in their lower jaws,
and suck down squid like large spaghetti
noodles rather than catch the
prey with their teeth, the “muchtoothier”
fossil sperm whales,
however, may have eaten more
like a
outsizedorca,
or
killer
whale,
chomping
great
big bites
out of
its prey,
Discovery
News
reported.
The ext
i n c t
cousin of
the sperm
whale
is the first fossil to rival modern
sperm whales in size - although
this may be a very different beast,
whale evolution experts said.
“We could see it from very far,”
paleontologist Olivier Lambert of
the Museum National d’Histoire
Naturelle in Paris, France, who led
the team which found the fossil,
was quoted as saying.
The giant three-meter skull was
found with teeth in its top and bottom
jaws up to 36 cm long. The
whale has been dubbed Leviathan
melvillei, in honour of Herman
dian Space Research Organisation
(ISRO) from its spaceport Sriharikota
in Andhra Pradesh, about
80 km northeast of Chennai.
“We were thrilled to see the 44-metre
tall rocket soaring into a clear
sky with our first experimental satellite
as the smallest payload and
were excited when we learnt that
it was successfully placed in the
designated polar sun synchronous
orbit 630 km away from the earth,
22 minutes after a perfect lift-off,”
Melville, author of “Moby Dick”.
“These are very unusual attributes,”
said evolution expert Ewan
Fordyce of the University of Otago,
New Zealand. “It’s remarkably
big. That is unexpected.”
Another sign that this extinct animal
had a killer bite is the presence
of a large hole in the skull which
accommodated a large jaw muscle.
“This was a hunting predator that
took chunks out of prey,” Fordyce
said.
To learn
more about
its eating
habits,
Fordyce
said they
would look
at the microscopic
wear patterns
on the
teeth. If the
wear lines
are horizontal,
it probably
sucked
in prey like
today’s whales. But if the wear
lines are vertical, it would suggest
a biter, like the orca.
There have also been discoveries
of isolated large sperm whale teeth
fossils before. Those made it clear
there was a bigger animal out there
waiting to be found. And now they
have found it, said Lambert.
“I think it’s a great advance,” said
Fordyce.
The discovery is reported in the
July 1 issue of the journal Nature.
One Tiny Satellite In Space, Whiz Kids Plan Two More
Kartik recalled.
Kartik, who graduated in B.E.
(mechanical) this year from Nitte
Meenakshi Institute of Technology
(NMIT) in this tech hub, is part of
the 14-member core team, which
designed and built the satellite
with a CMOS camera in it and four
small solar panels mounted on it to
generate energy for orbiting over
the next 12 months.
(Continued on Page 21)

Page 18 AUGUST 2010 Philadelphia South Asian
For Games, Himachal Tourist Guides
Get English Lessons
By Vishal Gulati
Shimla, July 22
Thanks to the Commonwealth
Games in Delhi, many tourist
guides in Himachal Pradesh are
suddenly realising a long-held
dream - speaking Queen’s English!
This city too is hoping to relive its
old British connection during the
event.
The state government expects a
large number of foreign tourists,
mainly from Britain, to visit the
hill state around the time of the Oct
3-14 Games. And to make their
trip enjoyable and hassle-free, it is
equipping tourist guides with Eng-
lish language skills and etiquette.
The state plans to woo Games
tourists to the once British-dominated
settlements like Shimla,
Dharamsala, Kasauli, Dalhousie,
Dharampur, Dagshai and Subathu.
“We have started imparting training
to the registered tourist guides
in most of the prominent tourist
towns so that they can at least reply
to the basic queries of tourists. For
this, they are being familiarised
with a few oral communication
English words and basic etiquettes
too,” tourism director Arun Sharma
told IANS.
New Species Discovered In Atlantic Ocean
London, July 7
In a major breakthrough, scientists
have found over 10 new species
under the Atlantic Ocean, including
creatures close to the missing
evolutionary link between backboned
and invertebrate animals.
The bizarre creatures, oddlyshaped,
brightly-coloured or even
transparent, that scientists have
uncovered during a new study has
“revolutionised” thinking about
deep-sea life.
Scientists believe they have discovered
more than 10 new marine
species by using the latest diving
technology, Daily Mail reported.
A group of creatures thought to be
close to the missing link between
backboned and invertebrate animals
are among those captured by
the team during the six-week voyage
aboard the research ship James
Cook.
Details of the trip were revealed by
scientists at the University of Aberdeen
leading the British contribution
to the project exploring marine
life along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge
between Iceland and the Azores.
Using Britain’s deepest diving,
remotely operated vehicle (ROV)
to reach depths of between 700m
and 3,600m, the experts studied the
area beneath the cold waters north
of the Gulf Stream and the warmer
waters to the south.
Professor Monty Priede, director
of the University of Aberdeen’s
Oceanlab, said: “This expedition
has revolutionised our thinking
about deep-sea life in the Atlantic
Ocean”.
On the north-west plains they
encountered enteropneust acorn
worms, of which only a few specimens
from the Pacific Ocean have
ever been recorded.
“These worms are members of
a little-known group of animals
close to the missing link in evolution
between backboned and invertebrate
animals,” Prof Priede said.
“They have no eyes, no obvious
sense organs or brain but there is a
head end, tail end and the primitive
body plan of backboned animals is
established.
“By the end of the expedition three
different species were discovered
each with a different colour - pink,
purple and white - with distinctly
different shapes,” Priede said.
The voyage was carried out as part
of the Census of Marine Life programme
and was the last in a series
of four annual voyages undertaken
since 2007.
READ PHILADEL-
PHIA SOUTH ASIAN
Malaysia To Recruit
More Tamil Teacher
Kuala Lumpur, July 1
The Malaysian government plans
to recruit more Tamil and Chinese
language teachers
from next year to
fully implement
its Pupils Own
Language (POL)
policy in 7,000 primary
schools nationwide.
This is to boost the
profile of national
schools and cater
to parents and students who want
Tamil and Chinese to be taught in
schools.
Multi-racial Malaysia is home to
significant Indian and Chinese ethnic
minorities. A bulk of the 1.7
million Indians are Tamils.
Community leaders often complain
of inadequate facilities to
learn Tamil and preserve the Tamil
cultural heritage.
The announcement was made here
Wednesday by Deputy Prime Minister
Muhyiddin Yassin, who is also
the education minister.
Yassin said POL catered
not only to the expansion
of knowledge but also to
the fostering of unity.
He admitted that although
the POL policy
was in place, it had yet to
be implemented.
The Star newspaper quoted unnamed
sources from the ministry
as saying that only 511 primary
schools had the teachers who could
teach either one, or both, of the languages.
There was “no time to waste” as
Malaysia urgently needed to produce
“the right human capital that
would drive the economy to the
next level of development”, Yassin
said.
A Sweet Herb From Paraguay
To Replace Sugar
By T.G. Biju
New Delhi, July 11
It is sweeter than sugar and can be
grown in your kitchen garden. Stevia,
a herb native to Paraguay in
Latin America, is coming to India
to be used as a sweetener and flavour
enhancer in food and beverages
in place of sugar.
“If you’ve ever tasted stevia, you
know it’s extremely sweet. A white
powder extracted from the dry stevia
shrub leaves is approximately
200 to 300 times sweeter than sugar,”
Stevia Biotech Pvt Ltd managing
director Sourabh Agarwal told
IANS.
“It is a zero calorie sweetener and
without any side effects. It can replace
sugar in every aspect,” Agarwal
said.
In Paraguay, stevia has been used
as a sweetener and flavour enhancer
for centuries, he said.
His company has approached different
departments attached to the
Indian agriculture ministry to step
in to clear projects to propagate its
cultivation across the country.
According to stevia.net, “you need
not be a South American planter to
be a successful stevia grower”.
“While the herb’s native locale may
make it appear somewhat exotic, it
has proved to be quite adaptable
and capable of being cultivated in
diverse climate zones,” it said.
According to Agarwal, “The climatic
condition in our country is
suitable for its cultivation.”
He said
stevia
c a n
even be
grown
i n
one’s
garden.
“It is
easy to
maint
a i n
and can
grow
anywhere. For commercial farming
of stevia, one needs to make
sure of factors like temperature,
soil type, water type and availability
and planting material for maximum
yield with a great quality,” he
said.
Agarwal said that stevia is a “suitable
replacement for sugar” for the
calorie conscious as well as diabetic
people.
Philadelphia South
Asian
Editor: Bala Kumar
Operations:
Ram Ramaswamy
Jyothi K. Mariswaran
Madhu Mathy
Marketing:
Aparna Radhakrishnan
Publisher:
Vidya Kumar
Design/Layout
/Marketing/Distribution:
Palepages llc
Tel: 215-780-0603
Fax: 512-685-2324
info@Philadelphiasouthasian.com
www.Philadelphiasouthasian.com
©All rights reserved.
“People have found that its regular
use helps in reactivating the insulinsecreting
cells in
the pancreas,”
he said
quoting
clinical
studies.
Stevia,
a bush
t y p e
plant,
flourishes
most in temperatures ranging
between 10 and 35 degree Celsius.
It grows well in red soil and sandy
loam soil with water available
in abundance. The shrub can be
grown using seeds, cuttings, and
tissue cultured stems. Tissue cultured
stevia stems give the highest
yield in better quality.

Page 19 AUGUST 2010 Philadelphia South Asian
Community Calendar
AUGUST 2010 Community Calendar and Listing
We have compiled this event listing based on the information available on the web site (where ever possible) of the community/organization as of third Friday. Please check with the
organizers to confirm its accuracy. We request all South Asian organizations to email us (info@philadelphiasouthasian.com) their community calendar on or before 20th of every month,
for the events happening next month. We will carry listing of all South Asian non-profit organizations in Philadelphia. If the Name, Contact info is not correct or has changed email us
(info@philadelphiasouthasian.com) the changes you want to see. E&OE.
Schedule:
Thursday – Sunday,
August 9 - August 12,
Monday – Thursday,
The Art Of Living conducts Art
Of Living Course at Carriage Park
Apartments, Chatham Park Drive,
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15220.
For more information, contact at
412-908-3476.
August 12 – August 15,
The Art of Living Foundation conducts
a course on Sudarshan Kriya
at The Trinity Weslayan Church,
6735 Cetronia Road, Allentown,
Pennsylvania 18106. For more information,
contact 315 406 2460.
August 14,
Saturday, 11:00 AM – 06: PM
Indian Cultural Association Of
Flying Car Soon
To Become Reality
London, July 1
A car which can fly if caught in a
traffic jam is soon to become a reality
as the US aviation authority
has given its
nod for commercialproduction
of
“ligth sport”
aircraft.
The aircraft
“TerrafugiaTransition”,
which
requires
1,700-feet
runway to
take off, will
be the smallest
aeroplane with a maximum
weight of 1,320 lb (about 600 kg).
The two-seater Transition can use
its front-wheel to drive on roads,
with wings folded, while it can take
off from an adequately sized piece
of flat land with the help of rear-facing
propellor, unfolding electricallypowe
r e d
wings,
T h e
Telegraphreported.
I t s
cruising
speed in
the air
is 115 mph (185 kph) with a range
of 460 miles (735 km) , and it can
carry 450 lb.
The US Federal Aviation Administration
has granted special exemption
to the vehicle, allowing it to be
classified as a light sport aircraft
despite being 120 lb over the limit.
Light sport aircraft
licences
require just 20
hours’ flying
time, making
them much easier
to obtain than full
private licences.
The manufacturer
of the aircraft
Terrafugia says
that one of the
major advantages
of the Transition over ordinary
light aircraft is safety. In the event
of inclement weather, it can simply
drive home instead of either being
grounded or flying in unsafe conditions.
According to the company, 70 people
have already booked the car,
with a
deposit
money
of
$10,000 each. The car is expected
to cost $194,000.
Pennsylvania (ICAP) Proudly
Presents 64th India Independence
Day Festival at Bensalem Amphitheater,
Bensalem, Pennsylvania
19020. For more details, contact
Manish Jani at 215-639-5141.
August 20,
Friday, 07:30 PM – 10:30 PM,
Nice Inc & Indian Heritage Association
presents the Kishan Vs Kanhaiya
(Paresh Rawal in hilariously
funny Hindi Play) at Radnor High
School, 130 King of Prussia Rd,
Radnor, PA 19087. For more details,
contact 215-699-6501.
August 22,
Sunday, 11:00 AM - 5:00 PM,
Indo American Association Of
Delaware calls for a Annual FREE
picnic at Lumps pond (Pavillion-2)
1068 Howell School road Bear, DE
19701. For more information, con-
Obama Ranked 15th Best US President
By Arun Kumar
Washington, July 2 Barack Obama
has been ranked as the 15th best
US president, just below Bill Clinton
but ahead of Ronald Reagan, in
a new poll of leading presidential
scholars.
The Siena College poll, which surveyed
238 presidential scholars at
US colleges and universities, rated
Obama two places below Clinton,
who was
13th best, and
three better than
Reagan, who is
ranked as the
18th best.
Franklin D.
Roosevelt again
earned the top
spot, as he has
every time since
the poll was first
conducted in
1982.
He and the Mount Rushmore presidents
- Teddy Roosevelt, Abraham
Lincoln, George Washington and
Thomas Jefferson - have consistently
been the top five presidents
in the poll’s findings.
Obama’s 15th ranking is slightly
higher than other presidents who
have taken office since the poll
started nearly 30 years ago. Most
start out at about number 20, said
Siena statistics professor and poll
director Douglas Lonnstrom.
“[Obama’s] doing a little better,
but he’s generally in the same ballpark,”
he said.
While he ranked high on traits like
imagination (6th), communication
ability (7th) and intelligence
(8th), Obama rated poorly ratings
on background (32nd), which was
composed of traits like family, education
and experience.
Obama’s predecessor, George W.
Bush, was ranked at number 23 in
2002 - the last time Siena’s presidential
expert poll was conducted
- but has since dropped to number
39, qualifying him as one of the
five worst presidents.
Bush came in at
number 42 - second
to last - on issues
such as handling
the US economy,
foreign policy accomplishments
and
intelligence. Warren
G. Harding was
rated the least intelligent
president.
Bush joins Harding,
Andrew Johnson, James Buchanan
and Franklin Pierce, all of
whom have consistently ranked as
the worst presidents since the poll
started, in the bottom five.
Several other presidents also saw
movement in their ratings this year.
Bill Clinton moved up five places,
from No. 18 in 2002 to No. 13 today;
John F. Kennedy also moved
up, from No. 14 to No. 11.
Carter, Reagan and Nixon all
dropped in the rankings this year
- Carter dropped seven spots, from
No. 25 in 2002 to No. 32 now;
Reagan dropped two spots, from
No. 16 to No. 18; and Nixon fell
four spots, from No. 26 to No. 30.
tact Gopal Bhagya at 201 723 8860
/ Oscar D’mello at 302 834 8439.
August 27 – August 30,
Friday – Monday,
The Art of Living Foundation offers
the Art of Living Course at
First Unitarian Church,
2125 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania 19103. For more information,
contact Anup Sharma at
864.320.9896.
Cherry Juice
Could Cure Insomnia
London, July 14
Cherry juice could help an individual
get a good night’s sleep.
People who drank a glass of unsweetened
cherry juice in the
morning and evening enjoyed
sound sleep than when they drank
the same amount of some other
juice, a study has claimed.
Insomnia has been one of the biggest
health challenges of the modern
age, with about one in four
adults suffering from it and a fifth
regularly getting less than five
hours of sleep every night.
The effect of cherry juice could be
due to the fruit’s high content of
melatonin, a hormone that regulates
the body’s sleep-wake cycle,
Wilfred Pigeon, a psychiatrist from
the University of Rochester in New
York, who led the study, was quoted
as saying by Daily Mail.
The researchers analysed sleeping
patterns of participants on two routines.
During the first, they drank
cherry juice, and in the second another
fruit juice. The cherry juice
led to an average of 17 minutes
more sleep.
“Given the side-effects of some
medications, it is encouraging to
have a natural alternative,” Pigeon,
whose findings are published in the
Journal of Medicinal Food, said.

Page 20 AUGUST 2010 Philadelphia South Asian
Now, Read Comics On Your Mobile Phone
to enter the fray.
By Pallavi Mishra
New Delhi, July 2
Comics’ publishers, once lamenting
dropping sales as youth turn to
the internet and other media for entertainment,
are now laughing all
the way to the bank after providing
their works on mobile phones to
attract the generation on the move.
According to industry estimates,
two major comics publishers -
Amar Chitra Katha and Raj Comics
- are between them raking in
Rs.500,000 to Rs.700,000
per month from m-comics
and with a third player,
Diamond Comics, set to
join the fray, the figure can
only climb higher.
Says Rushabh Sanghvi,
marketing head of Amar
Chitra Katha: “After attaining
unmatched reach
in all corners of India, we
could not stay away from
launching m-comics as that’s the
future.”
They, in fact, were the first to
launch m-comics in India last January.
“We have a market in 30 cities and
to compete with the high-tech entertainment
possibilities available,
we have launched m-comics with
the support of all the leading service
providers. We are happy with
the result,” Sanghvi told IANS.
Several service providers like Airtel,
Vodafone, Tata Docomo, Idea
and BSNL have developed m-comics
platforms, some using Javabased
applications which have to
be first downloaded to the mobile
before the comics can be viewed.
Others are using Multi-Media
Messaging and WAP subscriptions
to deliver the comic strips.
Compatible with all GPRS or
WEP-enabled handsets, customers
are charged Rs.10-25 per week
for 10 or more for the comic strips,
depending on the service provider.
And, with the launch by private
operators of 3G services in September,
the quality of the content is
bound to improve.
Raj Comics is another big name
in the industry. Since its inception
in 1984, it has created some
of the most popular characters like
“Nagraj” and “Super Commando
Dhruv”.
According to Sanjay Gupta, studio
head of Raj Comics, it launched mcomics
seven months ago as sales
were down and youth were found
to be distancing themselves from
comics and turning to the internet
for recreation.
“We have comics for all tastes. The
variety is a big reason why we have
a huge readership, he added.
Diamond Comics is now planning
“The world is turning high-tech
and so are we. If we want to reach
everybody, we have to be everywhere.
We are already leading in
print. And we now are in the process
of launching m-comics also,”
Gulshan Rai, managing director of
Diamond Comics, told IANS.
He said the company is working on
the project with many service providers.
“We would be on air in July
for sure,” he added.
All this is good news
for youngsters.
“I am happy that
my favourite comics
characters are
available on my
mobile phone,” said
17-year-old Sudesh
Srinivas.
“Travelling will be
fun now,” said 30-year-old Rachit
Tyagi, who is a sales agent with a
private company and travels a lot.
This is perhaps why new content
providers are jumping on to the
bandwagon. One of them is Level10
- the comic JUMP - and it is
targeting grown-ups as well.
Shrayas Srinivas, the creator of the
brand, is very sure about the success
of his m-comics.
“We are new in the market, but we
have lots of hope. Comics are the
best source of passing the time.
With m-comics, one can read them
any time, anywhere. Just imagine
all the fun,” he said.
Prolonged Bottle-Feeding Linked To Iron Deficiency
Toronto, July 12
Family doctors and paediatricians
can influence when parents wean
their children from the bottle and
help reduce iron deficiency.
Only five minutes of advice about
the dangers of prolonged bottle use
resulted in a dramatic, 60 percent
drop in the number of babies still
using the bottle at age two, said
study leader Jonathon Maguire, the
paediatrician at the St. Michael’s
Hospital.
“We and others have previously
found an association between prolonged
bottle feeding (beyond 16
months) and iron deficiency,” said
Patricia Parkin, the senior study
author
and associateprofessor
in
paediatrics,University
of Toronto,
reports
t h e
journal
Paediatrics.
Most
of the
babies
whose parents received the advice
stopped using the bottle by
their first birthday, compared to 16
months for babies whose parents
received no instruction, Maguire
said.
The American Academy of Paediatrics
recommends complete bottle
weaning for healthy children by 15
months, but Maguire said many
doctors and parents are not aware
of this, said a St. Michael’s Hospital
release.
Many parents continue bottle feeding
well past that time, even until
their children are three or four
years old.
India Needs More Quality Research In Science: PM
Kanpur, July 3
India needs to step up quality research
in science and technology
with a sense of urgency, Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh said
Saturday.
Addressing the convocation ceremony
at the Indian Institute of
Technology (IIT) here, the prime
minister also called for increased
collaboration between the IITs and
the corporate world.
“We as a nation urgently need to
increase quality research in science
and technology,” Manmohan
Singh said. “Science and technology
today play a dominant role in
determining the power and progress
of a nation.
“This role has become even more
critical in the wake of newer challenges
like climate change. We
need more innovation in areas like
sustainable agriculture, affordable
health care and energy security.
“India’s strength in frugal engineering
and extremely affordable
innovations is becoming known
internationally. Indian scientists
and engineers should leverage this
strength to play a more prominent
role in addressing problems that affect
all countries,” he said.
He asked the IITs to collaborate
more with each other in research
projects and urged IIT Kanpur in
particular to go far more collaboration
with the corporate sector.
“This would be of mutual benefit
to both,” he said. “To the corporate
sector it could mean cost effective
solutions and newer technology
and products while for the IITs it
would bring in much needed funds
and enhance their research capabilities.”
The prime minister lamented that
although government spending on
higher education had been hiked
manifold, the issue of quality remained.
“A major constraint is the availability
of good faculty. An obvious
solution lies in encouraging a
larger number of bright students to
join academics.”
He urged the IIT community to
come together to evolve other innovative
ways to address these issues.
The prime minister, an economist
turned politician, was conferred
with the honorary degree of Doctor
in Science on the occasion.
Cabinet Approves New Rupee Symbol
New Delhi, July 15
The union cabinet Thursday approved the new symbol for the Indian rupee
- an amalgam of the Devnagiri ‘Ra’ and the Roman capital ‘R’ without
the stem.
The symbol, designed by an Indian
Institute of Technology (IIT)
postgraduate D. Udaya Kumar, was
selected from among five shortlisted
symbols before the cabinet, Information
and Broad- casting Minister
Ambika Soni said after the cabinet
meeting.
“It is just a symbol,” she told reporters.
Read Online
www.Philadelphi-
aSouthAsian.com

Page 21 AUGUST 2010 Philadelphia South Asian
CHECK YOUR SIGN By Pandit Parashar
ARIES (March 21 to April 20):
Planets are in right order and you
should make the
move. Investments
will yield profit
quickly. Gambling
and all other speculations
will be profitable
in August. You will be making
travel plans for a close family
member. Spouse will be very sensitive
so have patience at home.
You have large chunk of money
coming through legal channels.
TAURUS (April 21 to May 20):
You will be selected out of a number
of applicants for
the next interview.
People in business
will see competition
reducing every day.
Do not pay attention
to people who are trying to waste
your time. Papers you sign in August
will reduce liability and will
be good for long term. Your calculation
is good and you will hit the
bull’s eye.
GEMINI (May 21 to June 20):
Mercury in fourth will help make
very useful friends.
You will also benefit
from someone
lot younger in age.
Past relationship can turn permanent
in August. Running around
will not go waste. Opportunity will
knock at your door and it could be
something real huge. Besides usual
stress you will be comfortable and
enjoy life.
CANCER (June 21 to July 22):
Hunt will be over and long cherished
desires will
get fulfilled. Plans
you have been
working on will ultimately
become
reality during the
month. Money can pour in from all
directions and you will dispose off
profit making stocks. Opportunity
can take you to a totally different
level in life. You will travel to a
nice area with family.
LEO (July 23 to August 22): Going
to be a slight rough ride. Do
not be scared of obstructions
as the ultimate
success is just
around. Financial
juggling will save
you lots of money in
long term. You will be gearing up
to make a very sound investment.
Any venture started in partnership
will go a long way. There will be an
addition in the family soon.
Festival Of India, 2010 At Penn’s Landing
(Continued From Page 1)
the Greater Philadelphia area.
Now in its 17th year, the Festival of
India reflects many facets of the local
Indian-American diaspora and
provides a range of traditional to
contemporary styles of Indian art
and crafts, entertainment and ethnic
cuisine. Every year, over 6000
people of diverse backgrounds
come to enjoy this day of free, funfilled
entertainment for the whole
family.
The Festival of India presents a
colorful panorama of art, music,
dance and cuisine - a mosaic that
is…India!
This year’s festival will feature live
entertainment and authentic Indian
cuisine and a variety of cultural exhibits
and displays. The highlights
of the program include:
Music and Dance:
A highlight of the Festival of India,
the cultural program offers continuous
live music and is a show-
case for classical, folk, modern and
the popular bollywood song and
dance. The cultural program provides
a platform for aspiring and
upcoming artists from local music
and dance schools.
Arts and Crafts:
An exhibition cum sale of traditional
Indian handicrafts, clothes,
jewelry and various other items.
India Pavilion:
A “must see” spot is the India Pavilion
– an exhibit of India’s rich
ancient heritage and a glimpse of
its evolution into a modern industrial
state.
Indian Cuisine:
A wide array of popular food items
from different regions of India will
be available for purchase.
VIRGO (August 23 to September
22): Planets in first will bring energy
back. You will spend some
quality time with
children and take
them out to movies
etc. Many weak
proposals will come
and you will ignore
them. People prone to litigation’s
should be careful in August. You
will meet all financial commitments
on time and wait for a big
check coming by mail.
LIBRA (September 23 to October
22): You may start to look at
things little differently, especially
the way you had been
handling finances and
personal life. Tough
decisions will need
to be be made in August.
You will be taking a short trip
in connection with business or a
new job offer. There will be great
improvement in ongoing overseas
projects.
SCORPIO (October 23 to November
22): Just do not take any chance
with law. You will
spend time with few
like minded people
and the result will
be launch of a major
idea. Extra money in pocket will
be the reason to enjoy and taking
family out to nice places. You may
become somewhat double minded
about an ongoing relationship.
Your expertise will help many.
SAGITTARIUS (November 23
to December 22): Decision will
benefit you financially.
You will beat
the odds and will be
selected for the job.
Spouse will make
plan for a very short
vacation to an interesting place.
You may finally pick up the phone
and call an old friend. All business
meetings will go well. You may
also visit a holy place with family.
CAPRICORN (December 22 to
January 19): You will sign a big
business deal. Money
stuck for long will finally
come. Few other
transactions pending
for some time will finally
go through. You
will deal with an ungrateful friend
very diplomatically. Do not let any
one stop you from following your
creative dream. Travel plan will
take final shape.
AQUARIUS (January 20 to Feb-
ruary 18): Take the initiative and
enforce your plan. Your courage
will impress people
around. Planets are
especially favorable
for those in food or
grocery business. Just
do not sign any contract in a hurry
this month, have a second opinion.
You will help a real needy person
with your expertise and receive his
blessings.
PISCES (February 19 to March
20): You will speculate in big
way. Gamble will
pay off within next
few months. You will
sort out many issues
bothering you in the
past and start to feel good about
yourself. Property deal may also
go through in August. You will buy
few high tech items for personal
use.Old friend will invite you to a
get together this month .
parashar@parashar.com
925.833.7170
One Tiny Satellite In Space, Whiz Kids Plan Two More
(Continued From Page 17)
The complementary metal oxide
semiconductor (CMOS) is a chip
that holds data without external
power source.
“Our joy knew no bounds when we
received the first signal from Stud-
Sat at 11.02 a.m., about 70 minutes
after the launch, at the ground station
we have set up in the institute
campus. Since then, we are getting
the beacon signal all the time to
indicate that the satellite’s health
parameters are normal,” project
leader Chetan Angadi said.
The country’s first pico-satellite
project team was formed in January
2009 as a consortium with about
40 under-graduates from four engineering
colleges from Karnataka
and three from Andhra Pradesh under
the aegis of the state-run Indian
space agency.
“The objective of the project was
to educate college students about
space technology and encourage
them to build mini satellites with
the required infrastructure, includ-
ing a communication link and a
ground station to capture the images
of the earth with a 90-metre
resolution and receive the telemetry
data,” Kartik said.
Though StudSat is orbiting over
the earth’s twin polar regions
(north and south) and crosses Bangalore
four-five times a day, emitting
the signal at a frequency of
437.05 megahertz (MHz), it is yet
to stabilise in the sun synchronous
orbit to switch on its camera.
“When the camera is switched on
after the satellite’s solar panels are
fully charged by next week, it will
perform remote sensing and capture
images of the surface of the
earth with the 90-metre resolution,
which will be the best achieved by
any pico-satellite in the world,”
said Angadi, a B.E. graduate in
electronics.
The images will be able to determine
the conditions of the landmass,
its vegetation, moisture
content or dryness in the soil for
agriculture and other farming activity.
As the country’s smallest opera-
tional satellite, StudSat gave the
students hands-on experience in
space technology and to design,
fabricate and build it under the supervision
of ISRO project director
for small satellites D.V.A. Raghava
Murthy.
“The satellite was built at a cost of
Rs.55 lakh and the support infrastructure
to track and monitor it at
Rs.60 lakh. Our institute (NMIT)
funded the entire project cost,”
Angadi said.
Going forward, many of the members
associated with the project
have decided to continue with the
institute to build the next two satellites
that will have two-three additional
instruments for astronomical,
atmospheric and terrestrial
studies, including terrain mapping.
“We will begin work on the next
project after StudSat becomes fully
operational and stabilises in its
functions. Though designed with a
six-month life span, we are hoping
it will last at least a year,” Kartik
added.

Page 22 AUGUST 2010 Philadelphia South Asian
I Am The Youngest Star In The Industry : Mithun Chakraborthy
By Robin Bansal
New Delhi, July 3
After more than 30 years in the
Indian film industry, three national
awards in his kitty and over
300 films to his credit, veteran
actor Mithun
Chakraborty
still feels he is
just 27 and “getting
younger
day by day”.
“I am getting
younger day by
day,” said Mithun.
“Mind you,
I am only 27plus.
I am the
youngest star in
the industry,” he told IANS in an
informal chat.
“But I don’t want to wish anyone
the hurdles I had to go through
to be here,” added the actor, who
rose to become a dancing sensation
with movies like “Disco Dancer”
and “Dance Dance”.
“Dance is like my religion. It is like
god to me and like worshipping. It
is in my blood. I knew that it was
only through that I could have
come in the industry,” said the actor,
who was last seen in “Veer”.
Looking younger than ever, asked
if it was dance that is keeping him
fit, he said: “No. No. I don’t dance
now regularly but I do exercise everyday.”
Mithun is upbeat about his role as
a junior artist in Gautam Pandey’s
Bengali movie “Shukno Lanka”
that released Friday simultaneously
in Kolkata, Delhi and Mumbai.
“I play a junior artist in ‘Shukno
Lanka’ and it gave
me a rare opportunity
to retrace my
struggling days... It
is almost similar to
the humiliation and
the treatment faced
by junior artistes in
real life,” he said.
“But it is not a
story about me or
that junior artist.
It is about a dream
knocking at your door and living
that dream. Look at me, I was nobody
but I rose from that to whosoever
I am today and even changed
the definition of dance in this country,”
he added.
Co-produced by Mumbai Mantra
Media Ltd and the Moxie Group,
the film also stars Sabyasachi
Chakraborty, Debashree Roy and
debutante Australian actress Emma
Brown.
Asked how he perceives the fate of
the Bengali film industry, Mithun
said: “To release a Bengali film
nationally and to tell people that
we also make great films is enough
to say that the state of the Bengali
film industry is very good and it is
flourishing.”
“Regional cinema is emerging now
because of multiplexes. The only
thing Bengali cinema lacks today
is a release outside Bengal. So we
are trying to push Bengali films nationally
now and soon we will do it
internationally too,” he added.
The veteran is also game for working
in other languages.
“I have done movies in other languages
before and if given a chance
I’ll do every regional film in all 22
languages,” he said.
Mithun da, as he is fondly known,
also worked in a slew of low budget
B-grade movies in the 1990s.
Asked about the same, he shared
a professional secret: “There are
three categories of films I do - films
that make money where nothing
else matters, films that satisfy me
and films that hit the gallery with
all the action and dialogues that
make audiences go gaga.”
Mithun’s future projects include
“Sphagetti 24X7” with son Mimoh,
“Golmaal 3” and Bengali
movies “Aami Subhash Bolchhi”
and “Ek Nadir Golpo”.
The actor follows a balanced
schedule. “I do two Bengali films
and two Hindi films every year and
then I have my TV reality shows
‘Dance India Dance’ and ‘Dance
Bangla Dance’. That’s how it
works for me,” he said.
I made ‘That Girl...’ only for Kalki: Anurag Kashyap
Mumbai, July 3
Bollywood director Anurag Kashyap
revealed that his upcoming
movie “That Girl in Yellow Boots”,
was an emotionally difficult film to
make and he did it only for writeractor
Kalki
Koechlin.
“ T o
make
‘That
Girl in
Yellow
Boots’
I had
to push
m y
moral
boundaries
a lot.
It was
emotionally
a very difficult film to
make. I only did it because Kalki
was both the writer and actor of the
film. She trusted me and I trusted
her. We both had to push our moral
boundaries a lot,” Anurag told
IANS in an interview.
Anurag ventured into production
with Vikramaditya Motwane’s directorial
debut “Udaan” because he
wanted the director to have complete
freedom to make the film.
“The idea of being a producer was
to give cent percent liberty to the
director. ‘Udaan’ is 100 percent his
film. He is solely responsible for
all the mistakes and credits of the
film,” Anurag said.
The director who has given films
like “Dev D” (2009), “Gulaal”
(2009), “No Smoking” (2007) and
“Black Friday”
(2004)
said he
would continuecoproducing
his films to
enjoy independence
while making
films.
“I want
freedom to
make my
own films
and hence
I will coproduce
all
my movies
-- be it with UTV or MTV,” Anurag
said.
He also does not write the script of
his films.
“All the initial drafts are written
by some other writers. I only do
the shooting draft. This is because
the vision becomes very narrow if
I write it from scratch. If directors
write all their films, all by themselves,
it becomes repetitive,” he
said.
Tap-Tap! Mizo Bamboo Dance For Games Ceremony
Aizawl, July 5
The vivacious Mizo bamboo
dance, which symbolises excellence
and skills, will entertain
spectators at the opening ceremony
of the Commonwealth Games in
the Indian capital.
“The state government has accepted
the invitation from the Commonwealth
Games Organising
Committee to perform the Mizo
traditional and colourful Cheraw
dance at the inaugural ceremony
in the national capital,” an official
told IANS.
“Around 80 dancers, comprising
men and women, will perform
the bamboo dance, traditionally
known as Cheraw dance, at the in-
augural function at the Jawaharlal
Nehru Stadium in New Delhi Oct
3,” he said.
The 19th
edition of
the Games
will take
place from
Oct 3 to 14
in the nationalcapital
New
Delhi.
This year
the Cheraw
made
it to the
Guineess
Book of World Records as the the
world’s largest and longest dance
ensemble.
“On March 12, 671 troupes consisting
of 10,736 dancers partici-
pated in the mass dance congregation
at the Assam Rifles ground
in the heart of the
capital Aizawl city
to demonstrate the
world’s largest and
longest dance ensemble,”
said Jim K.
Chozah, Mizoram information
and public
relations director.
He said a new world
record was created
with dancers performing
the bamboo
dance for hours in
perfect rhythm.
The bamboo or the
Cheraw dance is the
harbinger of the Chapchar Kut festival
of the Mizos, which marks
the end of winter and the advent of
summer.
The dance symbolises the excellence,
strength, skills and aspirations
of the people of Mizoram, a
mountainous state of around one
million people.
Cheraw is the most vibrant of Mizo
dances. Men sitting face to face on
the ground tap long pairs of horizontal
and cross bamboo staves
open and close in rhythmic beats,
while girls in colourful Mizo costumes
dance in and out between the
beats of bamboo.
The bamboo poles produce a clicking
sound that forms the rhythm of
the dance.

Page 23 AUGUST 2010 Philadelphia South Asian
Amir Pays Tribute To Indian Ocean’s Asheem Chakravarty NRI Playwright Wins Prestigious Award In Britain
Mumbai, July 14
Aamir Khan Tuesday paid tribute
to late Asheem Chakravarty
of the Indian Ocean at the music
launch of
his production
“Peepli Live”
and said that the
song “Zindagi
Se Darte” used
in the film was
the last song he
composed.
“He (Asheem) was one of the
members of Indian Ocean and
unfortunately he passed away.
It’s a great loss to all the people
who are close to him - Indian
Ocean, his family and to
his fans all across the world...
and ‘Zindagi Se
Darte’ was his
last song,” Aamir
said.
“I am sure wherever
he is, he will
be blessing us
and will be happy
for us,” he added
ir before Indian
Ocean took the stage and gave
a thumping performance.
Aamir said that he has always
been a great fan of the band.
“I have been a fan of Indian
Ocean for quite a few years now
and when Anusha (Rizvi) told
me that she wants to work with
Indian Ocean in this film…they
are fantastic composers and
their mix of folk and western
is really amazing and I think
both these songs ‘Desh Mera’
and ‘Zindagi Se Darte’ are really
amazing songs,” the actorproducer
said.
Directed by debutant Anusha
Rizvi, “Peepli Live” is slated to
hit screens Aug 13.
SRK Ropes In Tom Wu For ‘Ra.One’
New Delhi, July 21 Bollywood superstar
Shah Rukh Khan has roped
in Chinese-American actor Tom
Wu for his home production
“Ra.One”.
“...a big welcome to
Tom Wu in the film
cast. He is so humble
and such a sport... really
nice to have him
on board,” Shah Rukh,
44, posted on his Twitter
page.
Tom Wu, a martial
arts expert, was earlier seen in
Modelling & Anil Kapoor
Anil Kapoor, who walked the
ramp like an experienced model
for designer Anamika Khanna at
the Pearls Infrastructure Delhi
Couture Week (PI-DCW) here Friday
evening, says he discovered
32 years ago that
could he never be a model.
“I started my career with
modelling. The first time
I walked the ramp was for
Dhirubhai Ambani for Vimal
fabrics. That was the
first time and that too 32
years ago. It was at that
point that I realised I am
not cut out for modelling,”
Anil told IANS before the
spectacular, star-studded show.
That was also the turning point in
Anil’s life.
“It was then that it dawned upon
me that I should become an actor,”
said the 50-year-old.Anil was
in the capital with his younger
films like “Revolver”, “Shanghai
Knights”, “Batman Begins” and
“Tomb Raider II”.
According
to earlier reports,
action
legend Jackie
Chan was
approached
for a role in
the action
flick.
“Ra.One”
will also see Arjun Rampal and
daughter Rhea, who has produced
“Aisha”, releasing Aug 6.
His elder daughter Sonam plays
title role in “Aisha”, about an uber
chic girl obsessed with matchmaking.
Inspired by
Jane Austen’s
novel “Emma”,
the film highlightsAisha’srelationship
with her
friends. T h e
film has been in
the news for the
high-end wardrobes
of the
actors, so Anil
decided to promote his daughter’s
project at the couture week here.He
took to the ramp in chic Anamika
Khanna ensembles with Ira Dubey,
Amrita Puri and model Lisa Haydon
who are making their debuts
with the movie.
Kareena Kapoor. American singer
Akon too is part of the crew as he
recorded a song for the movie.
The film is expected to release in
2011.
Shah Rukh, who is currently shooting
for the film in London, is a little
unwell.
“Antibiotics have sucked all energy
out of me. Throat feeling better
now... can go on the sets and make
some noise to feel important hopefully,”
he wrote on his Twitter.
For the seasoned actor, walking
with the newcomers was an affirmation
that “Aisha” stands not
just on Sonam, but on its ensemble
cast.
“We are missing Sonam. But I always
believe that the show must
go on. These girls are equally important
for the film. This film is an
ensemble and all three of them are
being introduced in the film. This
is a good platform for them,” he
said.
Sonam gave the show a miss as she
is busy shooting for Pankaj Kapoor’s
“Mausam” in Scotland. But
Rhea chose to cheer for her father
and her three actresses from the
front row.
The three newcomers were extremely
excited about being on
the same stage as Anil, but Ira and
Amrita were both worried about
handling their respective dresses.
London: Well-known actor-playwright
Sudha Bhuchar and artistic
director Kristine Landon-Smith,
joint founders of London-based
Tamasha Theatre Company, have
won this year’s prestigious First
W o m e n
Awards in the
entertainment
category.
Now in their
sixth year, the
First Women
Awards
recognise
women at the
top of their
professions,
leading the
way for the
next generation.
They
are held in
association with Lloyds Banking
Group and supported by the CBI
and the Real Business.
Tamasha was formed in 1989 by
Bhuchar and Landon-Smith with
a mission to bring contemporary
work of Asian influence to the British
stage. They are also the winners
of the Asian Women of Achievement
Award for Arts and Culture
in 2005.
The duo told Real Business, the
online Britain resource for entrepreneurs:
“Being recognised by the
First Women Award is a great highlight
of our busy 21st birthday year.
It is a huge reward which adds to
the satisfaction we achieve from
developing theatre-makers of the
future and bringing Asian stories to
the stage.”
Tamasha’s debut production in
1989, “Untouchable”, was an adaptation
of Indian novelist Mulk
Raj Anand’s novel
following a day in
the life of an Indian
latrine cleaner
Among the recognised
ones was “A
Tainted Dawn”,
which was shown
at the Edinburgh
International Festival
to mark 50
years of India’s
partition.
The company’s
1998’s Bollywood
homage, “Fourteen
Songs, Two Weddings
a Funeral” was a hit with
audiences nationally. In 2005,
Tamasha’s “The Trouble with
Asian Men”, an adaptation of Rohinton
Mistry’s epic novel “A Fine
Balance”, enjoyed two sell out runs
at London’s Hampstead Theatre.
The duo is currently busy finalising
this year’s first production, “The
House of Bilquis Bibi”, which
opens in London July 22. Set in a
town in Punjab in Pakistan, it tells
a personal yet subtly political story
of small town lives with global ties
in present-day Pakistan. Famous
Indian singer and actress Ila Arun
plays the domineering matriarch
Bilquis, leading an all-female cast
of nine.
Salman Gives ‘Raavan’ A Miss
By Subhash K Jha
M u m b a i :
Salman Khan
gave ‘Raavan’
a miss, even as
the crew members
of his film
‘Ready’ in Sri
Lanka took off
to see the latest
Mani Ratnam
movie.
Salman was also
asked to accompany
the excited
group of actors
and technicians.
“Initially,
Salman did
show interest
in the film. But when it was time
to accompany the rest of the unit,
Salman opted out because of the
controversial nature
of the subject
and also the
fact that he has
earned the wrath
of the Tamilians
by endorsing
and visiting Sri
Lanka twice in
a month,” says a
source.
the country.
More importantly,
Raavan is
worshipped by
certain sections
of the Sri Lankan
people and
the film raised
a controversy
when released in

Page 24 AUGUST 2010 Philadelphia South Asian
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