Local & global Indians in commerce
The Freedom 251 released by Noida-based company Ringing Bells, is the world’s cheapest smartphone. It costs Rs 251 — approximately $4 — and raises more questions than answers.
The phone, which, the company says will be pre-loaded with Government of India apps like Swacch Bharat, blatantly violates Apple copyright. All the icons of the built-in app are a pixel-to-pixel copy of Apple’s iOS icons. Here’s a screenshot below for comparison.
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HOUSTON: Global appliance leader Equator Advanced Appliances will debut a major home laundry innovation at the CES & KBIS Conventions in January 2016: a “Smart” combo washer-dryer with Wi-Fi capabilities. The smart combo enables the user to view and operate the product from another location via a mobile app. In addition the smart combo performs auto registration of the product and remote diagnostics of key components.
Equator’s Wi-Fi-enabled Super Combo marks the company’s entry into the “Smart-Home” category. The “smart” model is the latest generation of Equator’s best-selling Super Combo, the world’s first convertible venting-condensing combo washer-dryer. At just 22 inches deep, the Super Combo is the slimmest combo on the market and boasts energy-saving, time-saving features that have secured it numerous design and industry awards. The Super Combo is available at Sears, Best Buy, Costco, Home Depot, Sam’s Club, Fry’s and other leading home appliance retailers.
Equator Appliances was founded in 1990 by entrepreneur Atul Vir, who introduced combo washer-dryers to the US. Today Equator’s product line includes combo washer-dryers, washers, dryers, refrigerators, wine coolers and other essential home appliances. Equator’s groundbreaking eco-friendly products have been featured in Popular Mechanics, the Wall Street Journal and Oprah. Now in its 25th year, Equator remains committed to creating innovative products that solve real problems in its customers’ lives.
As the world’s largest trade shows, CES (for consumer electronics) & KBIS (for home improvement) bring together manufacturers, retailers, buyers and industry experts from around the world to explore the future.
Visit Equator at Las Vegas:
• CES – Sands, Halls A-C, Level 2, Booth#71257 – January 6 to 9, 2016
• KBIS – Convention Center, South Hall Level 1, Booth# S3070 – January 19 to 21, 2016.
Equator’s founder Atul Vir will be a speaker at KBIS on Thursday, January 21, 2016 at 1 pm. His subject will be “Implementing Innovation in Your Kitchen & Bath Business”.
For more on Equator Appliances visit www.equatorappliances.com.
To learn more about Equator’s CEO, visit www.atulvir.com.
For more on CES visit www.cesweb.org and KBIS www.kbis.com
By Dinesh Shah
HOUSTON: AMERICAN SOCIETY OF INDIAN ENGINEERS & ARCHITECTS (ASIE) consistently strives to promote professional development by organizing monthly technical events. For the first time ever, the skeptical idea of technical tour of a religious structure was a great success. Over 80 visitors including more than fifty architects and engineers were amazed to learn about the ancient architectural and related unique engineering was applied for the construction of this monument.
Ashwin Dave and Ketan Inamdar of BAPS welcome the group. ASIE President Raj Basavaraju, thank BAPS for their hospitality and introduce two speakers Dinesh Shah and Jatin Desai, both professional Engineers and Life members of ASIE.
Dinesh Shah started the architecture design presentation with slides for the beginning to the completion of the project, and continued that this first traditional Hindu Mandir of 21st century in North America required the perfect combination of state-of-the-art engineering methodology, ancient carving techniques, guidelines outlined in ancient Shilpa-Shastras. This Monument 95’x125’x78’ high and 25,620 square feet of area is built with 33,000 pieces featuring Pinnacles, a Central Dome with 22 ft. in diameter and other small Domes, 70 ceilings with 24 unique designs, 11 Garba Gruha, and 122 Arches. The structure is supported by 136 load bearing Pillars and each pillar is made of six sections and 7 types of unique designs. It has a Mahamandap near idols, Mandap in the middle, Ardha-mandap at front, and outside area open or covered for Pradakshina.
He continued that a special team of architects and engineers surveyed the area and weather, and chose Turkish limestone for the exterior and Italian marble from Italy for the interior stone for the Mandir. More than 2000 skilled artisans and craftsmen precisely hand-carved marble slabs and pieces of stone in India. After carving, all the pieces were subsequently numbered and shipped to Houston. All the pieces were organized to begin the process of assembling the Mandir similar to a jigsaw puzzle – piece by piece. So each piece of stone set in place here in Mandir has travelled from Europe to India to Houston, a distance for more than 20,000 miles.
In year 2000, the design work in Houston and fabrication of stones in India started parallel. The actual construction commenced on March 25, 2002 and completed only in 28 months.
Jatin Desai explained the engineering design concept for Mandir to last thousands of years without using any rebar in the foundation. It is amazing that the entire structure with thousands of hand carved delicate stone pieces is still standing without using any steel framing or any steel anchors. After a large number of soil tests, it was decided to excavate the existing soil in and around the foundation area and replace it with special soil. A special concrete mix with lesser cement and more fly-ash was developed and tested for all seven phases of the foundation with eleven feet deep and 5000 cubic yards of concrete. A total of 244 piers are supporting this heavy foundation raft and enormous weight of about 60,000 cubic feet of stone. Each pier is 30 ft. deep with diameters ranging from 30 to 54 inches.
During Q & A, Dinesh gave additional technical information for Los Angeles Mandir located in Chino Hills, the hotbed for seismic activity. It is protected to last thousands of years by using the base isolation system technology. It consists of steel plates stacked together with viscous liquid to allow for lateral movements in the event of an earthquake. The Mandir is supported by 40 base isolators, which allow the upper portion of the Mandir to remain separate from the foundation. Engineers and architects have deemed it as the “floating” Mandir.
At the end, Ashwin Dave made the spiritual portion of presentation, and added that during the construction everyone has devoted countless man-hours as their labor of love which has created the beauty and history of this Mandir.
The seminar was concluded with lots of appreciation. Then everyone was invited to the assembly hall to enjoy the spiritual and cultural festival celebration. The ASIE group was welcome and Raj Basavaraju, the current President of ASIE was honored on the stage by Pujya Shwetmuni Swami with garland. As a token of appreciation, Raj presented a memento to Swami with a remark, “The Houston BAPS Mandir is a place of Paramount Peace for all, but for ASIE, it is a mind boggling magnificent monument built with 33,000 pieces using Sacred Architecture and Science and Unique Engineering Design without any steel framing and rebar in foundation to last more than 1,000 years.”
The program was concluded with dinner of Maha-prasad.
NEW YORK: US stock markets plunged in early trading Monday following a big drop in Chinese stocks.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 1,000 points in early trading and the Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell into correction territory, that’s Wall Street jargon for a drop of 10 per cent or more from a recent peak.
Treasuries surged as investors bought less risky assets.
Growing concerns about a slowdown in China had already shaken markets around the world on Friday, driving the US stock market sharply lower. A big sell-off in Chinese stock on Monday caused the rout to continue.
The Dow was 668 points, or 4.1 per cent, lower as of 9:57 a.m. Eastern time. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index dropped 81 points, or 4.2 per cent, to 1,889. The Nasdaq composite fell 211 points, or 4.4 per cent, to 4,496 points.
China’s main index sank 8.5 per cent amid fears over the health of the world’s second-largest economy.
Oil prices, commodities and the currencies of many developing countries also tumbled on concerns that a sharp slowdown in China might hurt economic growth around the globe.
The Shanghai index suffered its biggest percentage decline since February 2007, with many China-listed companies hitting their 10 per cent downside limits. The benchmark has lost all of its gains for 2015, though it is still more than 40 per cent above its level a year ago.
Underlying the gloom in China is the growing conviction that policymakers and regulators may lack the means to staunch the losses in that nation. The country is facing a slowdown in economic growth, the banking system is short of cash and investors are pulling money out of the country, experts note.
“There is a lot of fear in the markets,” said Bernard Aw, market strategist at IG.
China’s dimming outlook is drawing calls for more economic stimulus from Beijing, though earlier government efforts to stop the sell-off in stocks appear to have done little to stabilize markets.
The bloodletting spread across Asia earlier, where Japan’s Nikkei fell 4.6 per cent, its worst one-day drop since in over two and a half years. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 5.2 per cent, Australia’s S&P ASX/200 slid 4.1 per cent and South Korea’s Kospi lost 2.5 per cent.
Those declines followed tumbles over the weekend in emerging markets such as Egypt, Dubai and Saudi Arabia.
The panic has underscored the scale of the challenge for Chinese leaders in seeking to curb excess investment and guide the economy toward a more sustainable pace of growth.
“My biggest concern is that global growth momentum is very fragile. The most important step is to see China take further action to try to bring their economy to a 7 per cent growth path,” said Rajiv Biswas, Asia-Pacific chief economist for IHS.
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By Jawahar Malhotra
SUGAR LAND: A long day has stretched into the evening and most of the staff is gone, but Pankaj Malani is still at work, in the large cluttered office that he has still not had a chance to get redecorated. He prefers to stand while he types at his computer by his desk, to break the flow of work, and slides it down when he sits at his chair. “This used to be my dad’s office,” he gestures around him, “and I just moved in a few weeks ago, but I have plans to remodel,” he added.
His dad, Jugal Malani, sits across the desk from him and smiles. “I just moved into the building next door,” he says of the two-story structure across the parking lot from the original Unique Industrial Products building off Diary Ashford and Corporate Drive. The new building houses additional offices, the company’s exercise and yoga center that is still being finished off and more warehouse space for the company’s expanding products lines.
The older Malani’s move represents his long-cherished dream for a smooth transition of power for the firm that has grown considerably since its inception in 1997 with $400,000 in sales to $90 million in 2014. “I always planned for it around this time in my life,” said Jugal, 61, as he sat in his former office about the transfer of the reins of the company to his son. “For the last two years he was involved in the financial end of things and we discussed if the time was right and a few weeks ago he said he was ready,” Jugal explained. “There comes a time in life to let things go. Young people need to evolve their own different management style,” he added.
Pankaj, now 34, was a reluctant recruit into the metal products business that Jugal and his partner Pradeep Gupta had started, even though he had been around it all his life. A graduate of the University of Texas in Austin with a degree in advertising and marketing, he first decided to work in a start-up internet company for two years and later taught at Truitt Middle School in CyFair ISD. Eight years ago, his dad suggested he try it and he joined, starting in the warehouse under the mentorship of Gupta and the National Sales Manager Hetal Bhavsar. Pankaj’s sister, Dr. Nikita Malani Shukla, MD, who is doing her residency in pediatric neurology, is also an equal partner in the business.
He then worked in all the other departments, learning the ropes of the business and getting to know the company’s vendors and customers. For the past 3 years, his additional focus was the software migration which let the firm open up a webstore in the Cloud and made for more efficient sales and shipping. This experience allowed him to meet the people in the firm and build on his people skills, which, he admits, is his natural strong suite. He has spent some time in Argentina, which allowed him to improve his Spanish, which comes in handy when he has to deal with the Hispanic members of the younger, diverse demographic who work at UIP. Interestingly, the company which once used to have a predominantly Indian staff now has only 25 Indians working there out of 160. “We are really mixed here,” Pankaj said, “with people from all over.”
The momentum of the shale oil fracking business is propelling UIP to move forward and grow, with offices planned for in Ft. Collins, Colorado and Pennsylvania as well as sales of other products from its Elite brand and five other subsidiary companies. The common thread is that the mostly metal products are sourced overseas and marketed in the US, though now the company is designing some of its own products and getting UL and FM listings for them. Pankaj foresees a lot of travel to visit vendors, reps and leased offices.
While Jugal has stepped down from the leadership role, he will still be there to guide, as well as Pradeep Gupta who will continue to be active in the firm. “This is not just a symbolic change,” he insists and Pankaj welcomes the support of both his mentors. Jugal enjoys new product development and Pankaj expects his dad’s entrepreneurial zeal to lead him into new opportunities. Jugal agrees that he may dabble in a few projects and travel a bit, but overall he expects to lead a balanced life. He has been such an integral part of many community wide events, especially India House of which he is still the President, and area wide Hindu activities that he expects to do more in these roles.
Pankaj is keenly aware of his father’s prominent role in society and has no illusions about the huge footprints he has to follow. He has already been a Director of the Youth Leadership Development Program and several of their students continue to intern at the company. He will continue his father’s emphasis developing and appreciating human talent and expects to be an integral part of the Indian community’s growth in the Houston area as well.
On the other hand, the Malanis have already become worldwide figures as Pankaj’s well-publicized wedding last year in Las Vegas was all over the media and video clips went viral on YouTube. A clip even made it into a CBS special program this month. Asked about his dad’s flair for extravagant elegance, sense of fashion and being with the current styles, Pankaj, who was sporting a fashionable days-old stubble laughed, “I think I definitely got that from him too.”
No-Cost Seminars Help Business Owners Secure Their Futures and Protect the Next Generation
SPRINGFIELD: Almost three million Asian Indians in the United States celebrated Diwali, the festival of lights, on Oct. 23. For the more than 300,000 Asian-Indian owned firms* in the U.S., the holiday takes on an added dimension, as the celebration marks the beginning of a new business year. To help business owners prepare for the New Year ahead, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) is offering a series of free, no-obligation business seminars in five cities across the country this Diwali.
In a special Diwali ritual for businesses known as Chopda Pujan, new account books are opened and blessed. Business owners use this time to reflect on the past year while looking ahead to new opportunities for prosperity and wealth. It is said the goddess of wealth, known as Lakshmi, visits the homes of devotees on this day, and lamps light the way to welcome her.
A MassMutual study** found that although 77 percent of Asian Indian business owners believe financial planning for their business is very important, only 43 percent are concerned about who will run their businesses if they or another owner leaves, becomes disabled or dies; only 46 percent have a formal retirement plan.
“Entrepreneurial businesses are vital to our growing economic recovery, so it is concerning that so many business owners seem to be sacrificing their own and their family’s financial future,” says Nimesh Trivedi, Asian-Indian Market lead at MassMutual. “With help, business owners can look past the seemingly overwhelming day-to-day demands of running their businesses and establish and meet their long-term financial goals.”
To help Asian Indian business owners open their new books this Diwali and plan for a prosperous new year, MassMutual is offering a series of free video-based seminars featuring stories shared by real business owners. The vignettes explore critical business planning topics, such as passing ownership on from one generation to the next, preparing for the unexpected, the death of an owner, retaining key employees, and proper estate and retirement planning.
Seminars addressing these topics critical to Asian Indian business owners were presented in the following cities across the country this Diwali:
Houston, Oct. 14
Atlanta: Oct. 18
San Jose, Calif.: Oct. 24
Edison, N.J.: Oct. 29
The Seminar in Chicago has been scheduled for November 6, 2014
For more information on the multi-city business owner seminar tour, contact Nimesh Trivedi, 413.744.1244. For more information on planning for your businesses’ and families’ financial futures, visit massmutual.com/asianindian
*2007 Survey of Business Owners Summaries of Findings, U.S. Census Bureau. This information is the most current data available.
**MassMutual’s Business Owner Perspectives: 2011 Insights in an Uncertain Economy, conducted by GfK Custom Research North America for Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual), 2011.
About MassMutual
Founded in 1851, MassMutual is a leading mutual life insurance company that is run for the benefit of its members and participating policy owners. The company has a long history of financial strength and strong performance, and although dividends are not guaranteed, MassMutual has paid dividends to eligible participating policy owners consistently since the 1860s. With whole life insurance as its foundation, MassMutual provides products to help meet the financial needs of clients, such as life insurance, disability income insurance, long term care insurance, retirement/401(k) plan services, and annuities. In addition, the company’s strong and growing network of financial professionals helps clients make good financial decisions for the long-term.
MassMutual Financial Group is a marketing name for Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) and its affiliated companies and sales representatives. MassMutual is headquartered in Springfield, Massachusetts and its major affiliates include: Babson Capital Management LLC; Baring Asset Management Limited; Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers LLC; The First Mercantile Trust Company; MassMutual International LLC; MML Investors Services, LLC, Member FINRA and SIPC; OppenheimerFunds, Inc.; and The MassMutual Trust Company, FSB.
For more information, visit www.massmutual.com or find MassMutual on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Google+ and Pinterest.
HOUSTON: Wallis State Bank has made another milestone in SBA lending in the Houston area. For the SBA fiscal year from October 1, 2013 to September 30, 2014, Wallis State Bank is the #1 SBA volume lender for the Houston District Office. Out of the 128 banks in the Houston area, Wallis State Bank did the most SBA loans dollar wise with $49.3 million. Surpassing the previous ranking held by the larger banks, Wallis State Bank did a combination of 7(a) and 504 SBA loans to be #1.
Leading the SBA department is Nasr Khan EVP/Chief Lending Officer who has been with WSB for over 3 years. “This was a Wallis State Bank Team effort and I’m extremely proud of our SBA department for their hard work and dedication to make us #1” says Khan. “Our goal is to help the community and make their dreams come true of owning and operating a business. And with the community’s support, Wallis State Bank is on top.”
Wallis State Bank has eleven locations including offices in Dallas, San Antonio, and a Loan Production Office in Los Angeles. WSB is a Preferred Lender (PLP) of the SBA. The Preferred Lenders Program (PLP) is part of SBA’s effort to streamline the procedures necessary to provide financial assistance to the small business community. Under this program, SBA delegates the final credit decision and most servicing and liquidation authority and responsibility to carefully selected PLP lenders. Lenders are considered for PLP status based on their record with SBA, and must have demonstrated a proficiency in processing and servicing SBA-guaranteed loans.
*Along with doing SBA loans, Wallis State Bank also has an array of bank products such as personal/ business checking and savings accounts, conventional loans, business credit cards, online banking as well as personal loans and auto loan.
The leading loan officers who are servicing the South Asian Community in the Houston area are Raj B. Bhavsar/SVP at the Kempwood Branch, Aziz A. Rahim/SVP at the Stafford location and Zafar Khan/AVP also at the Stafford location.
Asif Dakri, the CEO of Wallis State Bank remains committed to providing excellent service and quick turnaround time for approval and closing.
Wallis State Bank….Where Service Begins
For further information on Wallis State Bank, visit www.WallisBank.com
No-Cost Seminars Help Business Owners Secure Their Futures and Protect the Next Generation
SPRINGFIELD, MASS: Almost three million Asian Indians in the United States are preparing to celebrate Diwali, the festival of lights, on Oct. 23. For the more than 300,000 Asian-Indian owned firms* in the U.S., the holiday takes on an added dimension, as the celebration marks the beginning of a new business year. To help business owners prepare for the New Year ahead, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) is offering a series of free, no-obligation business seminars in five cities across the country this Diwali.
In a special Diwali ritual for businesses known as Chopda Pujan, new account books are opened and blessed. Business owners use this time to reflect on the past year while looking ahead to new opportunities for prosperity and wealth. It is said the goddess of wealth, known as Lakshmi, visits the homes of devotees on this day, and lamps light the way to welcome her.
A MassMutual study** found that although 77 percent of Asian Indian business owners believe financial planning for their business is very important, only 43 percent are concerned about who will run their businesses if they or another owner leaves, becomes disabled or dies; only 46 percent have a formal retirement plan.
“Entrepreneurial businesses are vital to our growing economic recovery, so it is concerning that so many business owners seem to be sacrificing their own and their family’s financial future,” says Nimesh Trivedi, Asian-Indian Market lead at MassMutual. “With help, business owners can look past the seemingly overwhelming day-to-day demands of running their businesses and establish and meet their long-term financial goals.”
To help Asian Indian business owners open their new books this Diwali and plan for a prosperous new year, MassMutual is offering a series of free video-based seminars featuring stories shared by real business owners. The vignettes explore critical business planning topics, such as passing ownership on from one generation to the next, preparing for the unexpected, the death of an owner, retaining key employees, and proper estate and retirement planning.
Seminars addressing these topics critical to Asian Indian business owners will be presented in the following cities across the country this Diwali:
Houston, Oct. 14
Atlanta: Oct. 18
San Jose, Calif.: Oct. 24
Edison, N.J.: Oct. 29
Chicago: Nov. 6
For more information on the multi-city business owner seminar tour, contact Nimesh Trivedi, 413.744.1244. For more information on planning for your businesses’ and families’ financial futures, visit massmutual.com/asianindian
*2007 Survey of Business Owners Summaries of Findings, U.S. Census Bureau. This information is the most current data available.
**MassMutual’s Business Owner Perspectives: 2011 Insights in an Uncertain Economy, conducted by GfK Custom Research North America for Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual), 2011.
About MassMutual
Founded in 1851, MassMutual is a leading mutual life insurance company that is run for the benefit of its members and participating policyowners. The company has a long history of financial strength and strong performance, and although dividends are not guaranteed, MassMutual has paid dividends to eligible participating policyowners consistently since the 1860s. With whole life insurance as its foundation, MassMutual provides products to help meet the financial needs of clients, such as life insurance, disability income insurance, long term care insurance, retirement/401(k) plan services, and annuities. In addition, the company’s strong and growing network of financial professionals helps clients make good financial decisions for the long-term.
MassMutual Financial Group is a marketing name for Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) and its affiliated companies and sales representatives. MassMutual is headquartered in Springfield, Massachusetts and its major affiliates include: Babson Capital Management LLC; Baring Asset Management Limited; Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers LLC; The First Mercantile Trust Company; MassMutual International LLC; MML Investors Services, LLC, Member FINRA and SIPC; OppenheimerFunds, Inc.; and The MassMutual Trust Company, FSB.
For more information, visit www.massmutual.com or find MassMutual on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Google+ and Pinterest.
By Jawahar Malhotra
NEW DELHI, India: You have to admire the fortitude of the cycle rickshaw drivers upon whose leg power, in all sorts of weather, Indian cities and their economies have prospered for decades. They have ferried people and materials short distances – upto 3 or 4 kilometers depending on the stamina of the driver – and provide a needed and affordable means of transportation. Some transport a bunch of tiny tykes to and fro from their schools, others add a cart to the back and lug much larger loads across town. The basic frame of the rickshaw hasn’t changed and they are ubiquitous, though each succeeding driver has run his machine for a few years before it has conquered his health and physique. Each year it seems their rates go up by 50 per cent, their informal network spreads the message of rate hikes across the city, and since they do not have meters, the price they quote for a ride is an estimate that you can haggle over a little, but you get better at second guessing them in time.
The cycle rickshaw driver pedals all day for a living, going all over his part of town, forming little bonds and alliances that help him eke out a living that often requires living 10 to a room, or if times are tough, sleeping on his rickshaw, all in the hopes of sending money back home to the family in a far off village. Most come from the poverty stricken areas of the eastern states of Bihar and Orissa and leave behind families to work in the large cities, often for years, while their wives grow distant and children grow up without knowing their them except through a short once a year visit to the ancestral village.
Ashok Kumar Rathord stopped me at a bank counter and without shame or hesitation, but with timid respect asked me to help him fill out the deposit slip to put Rs. 10,000 into his account. A skinny, dark skinned young man with the grimy slacks and shirt of a day laborer, he told me his cell number in Hindi numerals to put down on the slip, and adding “Sirji, rickshaw chalata hoon, to hum ne ghar pasise bhejne hain, na” (Sir, I drive a rickshaw, so we have to send money back home, you see).
In the past two years, these cycle rickshaw wallahs are being threatened by a new predator – the battery operated rickshaw, a cross between a golf cart and the cycle and scooter rickshaws. Rakesh, with a cap to shield his eyes – he could not remember his age, but his crinkled face made him look forty – said he was much easier to drive these. “Kharcha toh hai Sir, humain doh sauh roopayia to din ka dena hota hai malik ko aur uppar se satar roopayia lagta hai bijli ki charge ke liya” (Sure, it is expensive, Sir, we have to give 200 rupees per day to the owner and on top of that another 70 rupees for the electric charge), but the rates are the same, about ten rupees per 500 meters. But the battery powered ones can go further – about 100 km a day and can carry upto five people. Many drivers pick up passengers along the way and add to their route’s total revenue.
These modified, low cost versions of Filipino Jeepney’s – and their other minivan counterparts that ply a set route – are the great integrators of the Indian populace, along with the much vaunted Metro rail system, bringing together the middle class with the down trodden and the rural; the school and college students with the young and older professionals; the laborers and the house maids with the housewives and retired folks; the ignorant young men who assist in tiny shops with the shop keepers and small kiosk owners.
As I sat in a battery rickshaw on my way to Nizamuddin Railway Station to catch my 4:55 pm First Class Sleeper to Mumbai, I haggled with the driver who beckoned me with a price of forty rupees. “Kya” (What)? I said incredously. “Acha, acha, tees de dena” (Fine, fine, give thirty), he came down and I got in with my three bags, across from a young woman with a pearl necklace and sky blue salwar-kameez and her companion, a man in a striped shirt and impossibly pale brown hair, who paid her way, who were chatting office gossip. A ways down, the driver spied a stocky young man with greased black hair, a backpack and a square watch who got on and sat on the bench next to the him, quoting him thirty rupees for the same ride to the station. The couple got off, the young man moved into the seat I moved from and a short while later a young dehati (village) woman in pink salwar-kameez and a young boy in tow got on – she sat next to me and told the boy “pakad ke rehena” (hold on tight) as he sat next to the driver.
In the Metro rail, which carries an estimated 2.5 million passengers every day, the mingling of different segments of society are routine and fashions, mannerisms and behavior is molded by osmosis. Since its inception, there has been an emphasis on giving your seats to the elderly, disabled or women and most follow this simple courtesy, and should they forget, then a tap on the shoulder and an admonishment from a fellow passenger serves as a reminder to do so. School kids in uniforms and blazers, others in casual clothes, college students with backpacks and young adults are always plugged in to their phones – more and more are Smartphones – with the thin, long wires leading to earbuds and for those who have lost power, there are plugs to charge their batteries.
The same group leads the charge in fashions, with most women favoring the tight, skinny pants or colorful leggings that are the current rage from Istanbul to Manila, with short tops or kurtis and the men in low-cut skinny jeans and tight shirts, usually with rolled-up sleeves, though some with better physiques sport the Star Trek look of Captain Kirk with tight pants and tight full sleeved top, a style that many predict will rule the future generations. On one morning, Bikram, who prefers to go by Biki, stood at the connecting slider between carriages, hair brushed high and back, past his neckline, a two-day dark stubble on his face, aviator sunglasses on and keeping pace with the music in his ears with his fingers tapping against his jeans-clad legs, all the way to his stop. College kids returning from classes huddled noisily together, speaking excitedly in Hindi about their day and joked with one another. Young couples found refuge in a corner, or a seat for two, to share their tenderness’s and flirt, some girls using beguiling looks and words to make endearing demands of their sweethearts, as the young men tried to put up a chivalrous front and their best debonair and fashionable airs.
A family of peasants joins in from a platform in the tail end of the Yellow Line; five adults and four little kids, two in their laps, and I nudge the young office boys to give up their seats for them. Rather than let the older man with bad, stained teeth, a large white moustache-less beard, purple lungi and soiled white kurta sit, the two excited short women jumped on the seats with three tykes between them and one at glued to the window. The younger man in pants and a green shirt sat on his bag on the floor – hanging onto a tiny boy – obviously settled in the city and excitedly, in Orissi spoke loudly to the others, as if explaining the ride in the Metro, while his wife, in a blazing red dupatta with the silver brocaded border across her head and behind the ears like a frame, stood by, adding to the description.
On another line, as the doors opened and the incoming jostled for space, a young woman in a salwar-kameez rushed to drag in eight huge white bags bulging with boxes of sarees, and helped the middle-aged man and woman who passed her even more bags, emblazoned with the name of the store, Arun, in Hindi, with “No Return. No Exchange. No Guarantee of Cloth, Color and Zari” in English printed prominently below its name. The sale obviously had to be final, apparently in preparation of a wedding, and the bags took up the space around the center post.
Young newlywed women in brilliantly colored outfits and with shiny, sequined, colorful bangles worn from their wrists to the elbows – and some with rings on each toe – ride the Metro, sharing space and seats with the college kids who pay them no attention.
On most of the Metro rides, there are very few foreign faces – and mine got its share of stares – other than the rare students from Africa, notably Cameroon, Nigeria and Ghana, who travel to the western suburbs. More get on near the New Delhi Railway Station platform and some dare to dive into the heavily traveled central Rajiv Chowk junction which is teeming with people at most hours. A few venture further out to the see the sights, but for the most part, the foreign faces congregate comfortably in the southern satellite city of Gurgaon at the numerous BPO and IT companies nestled there.
On one morning, as the carriages were still fairly empty, two young men were badgering a young Japanese tourist, who they had apparently accosted. They spoke in accented English to him, trying to impress with their knowledge of Japan, Sumo wrestling and other places and then asked about his opinion of Indian girls and where he wanted to go, all loud enough for the rest of the wagon to hear. I interjected, “Oye, kuan satate ho bachare ko” (Hey, why are you hazzling the poor guy)? They just chuckled at the fun they were having. Finally a man across from them told them to stop confusing the tourist, and the young man in the white shirt erupted against him, telling him in the offensive impolite tense to mind his own business. “Tera kya lagta hai? Tu meri baat mein dakhle na de, sumje” (What is it to you? Don’t you meddle in my business, you get it)? An older man with a stern voice admonished the white shirt and his skinny cohort to stop, that this was not the impression to give tourist and that he would call the security. The white shirt at first shot back at him, then recoiled, sat down and at the next stop, sensing that fun time was over, got off with his skinny friend in tow.
On most rides, Metro or rickshaw, passengers never make eye contact or never exchange a word with strangers. So imagine my surprise when the man in the dark grey safari suit to my right suddenly turned to me and asked, “Yeh kya likha hai? Aap purd sakhte hai – bohot bariq hai” (What’s written here? Can you read it – its such small type). Sure enough it was, so I told him I’d take a picture on my iPhone and blow it up. “Haan, yeh ache idea hai” (Yes, that’s a good idea), he exclaimed. I did and we could read that the roll of candy he was holding was made by Silvassa, an Italian company and he offered me and his older companion a piece, then went on to explain how the candy was made, as he had seen it on the Discovery Channel, which he watched almost religiously every night along with the news.
He then related other episodes which showed how the tiny country of Denmark made so much cheese that it exported it worldwide and how another farmer – a Sikh in the Punjab – charged thousands of rupees to allow his prize bull to inseminate cows so that they would produce calves which would give huge quantities of milk. “I have watched Discovery Channel for the past twenty years”, he said, as he got up to take his stop., and said “Challo toh” (Okay then), with a slight nod of his head. A first, I thought, making contact with an Indian who didn’t turn away and minded his own business.
By Jawahar Malhotra
NEW DELHI, India: In India, one realizes that there are as many possibilities to eke out a living as there are desires in the realm of the imagination. And since the vast majority of the population is below the poverty level and serves the economic classes above them, they have discovered ways to make money by breaking many chores down to the basics and offering them at a palatable price. It is a division of labor in the micro-entrepreneurial cosmos that is mostly self-financed on a shoe-string or is commission or fee based and the game of getting the most rupees for the day’s work is played out every moment of the day on the streets in plain sight without pretensions or shame.
Take our apartment complex, for example, which is not unlike many others which are made of tall buildings and inside a brick property wall. Several nokranis (maids) provide domestic help in cleaning and making meals on an hourly basis and have their appointed flats. There are two presswallahs (ironing people) who send their kids around every morning to all the flats to see if they have clothes to iron. The man outside the wall with a small slapped together kiosk sells small knick-knacks and snacks that you might need. Next to him is the sabziwallah (vegetable man) with his own rolling cart. In the corner is a Mother Diary kiosk – barely 6 by 5 ft run by a man and his son, selling milk, butter, bread and other refrigerated items.
On the other side of the gate is a mochi (cobbler), under the shade of a tree and behind him a darzi (tailor) who rolls his machine under the tree at night. A few men wipe cars clean with wet rags every morning and the priest in the small room in the front conducts prayers and services a few times a day. A scavenger – we call him kabadiwallah – comes by once a week to pick through the discarded items to see what can be salvaged and sold. He also offers money for old throwaway items as well as paper and cardboard. The bartanwallah (utensils man) carries a wicker basket full of steel pots, pans, plates and glasses which he trades and sells for old clothes and utensils.
By the Metro Rail Station, the rickshaw wallahs come in several varieties – cycle, battery and scooter – each with their own rate per kilometer and estimates of fares and the eggwallah makes boiled eggs, omlettes and batter fried toasts; across from him, the chaiwallah (tea man) brews hot cups from an enormous aluminum tea kettle over a gas stove. Across the road, the roadside mini-mechanic fixes punctured tire and does brake jobs, next to the service station that sells petrol and CNG (compressed natural gas).
Around the corner, the narialwallah (coconut man) sells green coconuts, splitting them open to drink; another man sells watermelons; a raydiwallah (cartman) sells cooked chickpeas and fried bread and a bansuriwallah (flute man) plays a bamboo flute from the stack he sells. At the corner is a phoolwallah (flower man) who sells fresh flowers and bouquets and garlands. Further up, a nai (barber) has set up his chair and mirror under a tarp. A different kabadiwallah only collects scraps of cloth and takes it to some sewing houses to be made into sheets and quilts. The juicewallah (juice man) sells a variety of freshly squeezed juices at his stand; but a different one squeezes five-foot long sugar cane stalks at his rolling cart for juice through huge, dangerous looking gear driven wheels. A distance away, a talewallah (locksmith) sells a huge variety of locks, chains and keys and next to him, a loyewallah (metalsmith) will weld and bend all sorts of metals.
A few provide even more personal services. Every evening, Kanti Lal goes to different flats to give Indian style body and head massages, from 7 in the morning till 10 at night, with a four hour afternoon snooze in between. Lata has a busy schedule doing hairdesigns, and nails in her client’s homes. In the center of the city, a man offers his services to clean ears and another sells secondhand books, on which he’ll refund 50 per cent of the cost once they are returned. And, the all-important and ubiquitous tutors will guide your child through school, giving tuitions either at your home or their own.
A sugracane juice wallah
In the Indian landscape – as in many undeveloped and impoverished countries – the great sublimer of Life is the realization that one has an obligation to allow everyone to exist within the walks and norms of the strata of society into which you are born and then say prayers for the Lord’s benedictions and protection. You comprehend that, even within the daily drudgery and grind, through every day of an unceasing cycle of seasons, repetitive events create a comfort zone in which everybody accepts their lot and plays their part in the unending drama and spectacle of Life.
Out in the streets, the main ingredient in the urban Indian landscape is people and the interactions between them; and the acceptance that Indians cannot live without the reassurance, dialogue and comfort of these connections. It is a universal truth that people beget more people, that they congregate wherever there is a crowd, that someone this coalescence of the body public makes others feel alive, whether it is a plaza in Paris or Times Square or a mall in Manila. This holds doubly true for India, where people never stop showing up at all places, at any time and the streets are full of those who sleep (and live) there at night and those who are packing up shop for the day.
This huge block of people is at once India’s strength: with so many minds thinking up solutions to the all sorts of problems, and working on the means to produce wealth at all levels of the economy, it is no wonder that Indians are brilliant at finances and highly creative in the arts. But it is also India’s weakness, with nearly 40 per cent of the population 30 years and younger, so many young people seek opportunities that they cannot realize for lack of jobs, lack of money and tough access for upward mobility. This is why so many – as estimated 35 million – Indians live overseas and many more yearn to work in foreign lands. And for those who can’t get the opportunity, Bollywood weaves elaborate song and dance fantasy movies for the masses to, at least for a few hours, glimpse and vicariously live the good life.
By Manu Shah
HOUSTON: Therese Cole Hubbs is no stranger to Hindi words like kanyadaan, hasta milap, jaimala, misri and antarpaat. In fact, it’s often the other way round. Having coordinated six hundred and eleven Indian weddings with her wedding planning company, Electric Karma International, Therese is usually the one explaining Indian wedding rituals and traditions to the newer generation of newlyweds and their parents!
Hubbs has put her wealth of experience in Indian weddings to paper, and recently released a glossy 189-page coffee table book during a book signing event held at Blu Restaurant in Sugar Land on Tuesday, February 11. Entitled “Shaadi – a journey into desi weddings”, the book features many stunning displays of thirty classy to classic weddings coordinated by her over the years. The book also celebrates the support she receives from her vendors, caterers and decorators, serving as a handy resource for those planning a wedding and, towards the end, the book contains a useful glossary of terms used in Hindu, Islamic and Catholic wedding rituals.
Hubbs priced the book at $71, as she believes that any number ending in “one” is auspicious, harkening to a traditional Indian custom. She even closes every contract she signs with the number 1, no zero endings for her! She avidly believes in karma, which explains the name she gave her company, and is quite Indian in her beliefs, describing herself with a chuckle as “brown on the inside!”
Polish by birth, Hubbs was brought up in an extremely close knit family which is probably what draws her to Indian families. She describes Indian families as “extremely welcoming, giving and generous about sharing information” and it’s not uncommon for her to quickly become an ingrained part of the family she is working with in planning their wedding. She adores the idea how Indians seek the blessings of their elders by touching their feet, and often cannot resist doing so herself.
After the desi community found her, Hubbs was quickly dubbed “Tara Patel” or “Star Patel” for her hardnosed negotiating skills with vendors. “Hiring a wedding coordinator brings in the expertise that can protect you from vendors and banquet halls who may charge a lot more”, Hubbs explained. “It gives your wedding that unique factor and of course peace of mind so the host can enjoy the wedding just as much as the guests”. She tailors every wedding to suit individual budgets and preferences and is present at every wedding from the time the first chair is put down to when the last guest leaves. It’s not uncommon for her to work 36 to 48 hours straight on a wedding to make sure things are moving smoothly.
According to Hubbs, there are five key elements to a wedding – hospitality, food, alcohol, entertainment and décor. She takes the phrase “Food is Love” seriously, working with the best caterers, hiring renowned entertainers, jugglers, contortionists and once even an illusionist who made the newlyweds appear out of thin air! “But things don’t always go according to plan”, Hubbs laughingly admits. Wedding cakes sometimes fall off their multi-tiers and electricity outages do occasionally occur during the wedding ceremony. But she just takes a deep breath, tries not to look nervous and goes to work on Plan B!
Hubbs mainly coordinates weddings in Houston but with destination weddings growing increasingly popular, it’s not unusual for her to head to Mexico or Hawaii with a “Ganesh statue tucked safely in my carryon”. She has worked on wedding themes such as an Egyptian paradise, an enchanted forest and a Texas ranch (the groom arrived in a pickup truck wearing a cowboy t-shirt and boots but later removed them to please his horrified mother).
She is also well aware of the huge influence Bollywood movies and music play in Indian weddings. For one sangeet (the song and dance program), she commissioned movie posters advertising the couple as stars in their own film and even recreated the snow globe scene from the Shah Rukh starrer, Om Shanti Om, so that the star struck newlywed couple, in copycat outfits, could enact their grand entrance dancing to the same tune.
Hubbs has coordinated elaborate wedding productions for Houstonians like Vik Agarwal, Swatantra Jain and Aku Patel; but she’s also coordinated weddings for as little as $5,000. She works with a team of ten, which includes her husband Hal, son Steven and staff in affiliate offices in San Diego, Los Angeles, Ohio and India. A valuable recent addition to her team is her Director of Marketing and Senior Event Coordinator, Shirish Krishnan, who until recently was the Assistant Director of Banquets at Hotel Intercontinental on 610 West Loop (now known as Royal Sonesta), where he had worked with Hubbs on several weddings.
When she’s not busy planning a wedding, Hubbs is busy speaking about them as a national speaker at conferences where she conducts workshops for marriage coordinators. Asked if she would like to renew her wedding vows the Indian way, she didn’t bat an eyelid and said “it would be just too expensive for me”!
HOUSTON: On Sunday, October 27 at 5:30 pm there was a special ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the official opening of the Houston Ayurveda Center’s new sacred space at 3222 Mercer (which moved from their previous location at 4100 Westheimer). The Center had already been blessed because owner Sunita Tarkunde felt that was a priority so her goal with this ceremony was to mark the opening with someone from her place of worship and to celebrate with friends and family and employees. The ribbon cutting was done by Sri Gaurangbhai Nanavaty, the main Acharya of the Chinmaya Mission. His wife Acharya Smt. Darshanaben Nanavaty also accompanied him. Following the ceremony, everyone enjoyed healthy Ayurvedic food specially made in the Center’s kitchen as well as Ayurvedic teas.
The Center is the only one of its kind inside the Loop and is owned by Sunita Tarkunde, Master’s degree in Ayurveda & BAMS from India, R.N. It’s a family business as her sister Sanskruti Gaikaiwari works with her. It features several rooms for therapeutic services, a meditation room, a kitchen for cooking classes, a multi-purpose room for yoga, dance, and art classes, and a consultation room. They will soon be installing a droni (a traditional Ayurvedic wooden massage table) in one of the service rooms. A full list of their services is on their website.
Sunita’s commitment to the Ayurvedic lifestyle extends back to her home country of India, where she began her practice in Clinical Ayurveda in 1992. With her highly authentic education and vast work experience, she has helped thousands of people to gain complete health. She is a registered nurse and also a faculty member of “Kerala Ayurveda,” where in-depth Ayurveda courses are taught to spread the knowledge of this ancient medical science. Sunita is a gifted healer and her hallmark is her gentle, thorough way of working with clients to regain and maintain full, vibrant, and radiant health in the body, mind, and spirit. She will be presenting a free talk each week at the Center on Wednesdays at 5 pm about Ayurveda and the Center is open Monday through Saturday for services and classes.
For further information visit www.houstonayurveda.com
SPRINGFIELD, MO – Hasmukh (Harry) Patel of Houston, has been awarded as a member of the American College of Forensic Examiners Institute (ACFEI).
The ACFEI is the world’s largest forensic science association, and a part of its mission is to recognize the experience, education, and dedication of professionals who maintain the highest of ethical and forensic service standards.
About ACFEI:
The ACFEI covers a broad range of forensic specialties. The association actively promotes raising forensic science awareness, and it supports its members as they work to advance their fields.
The ACFEI also contributes to raising the standards of forensic science by producing educational programs and encouraging continuing education in the many forensic science disciplines.
ACFEI serves as the national center for this purpose and circulates information through its journal, The Forensic Examiner, lectures, seminars, conferences, workshops, continuing education courses, and home-study courses.
HOUSTON: The Indo-American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Houston networking reception and dinner held on October 1, at Narin’s Bombay Brasserie was again a full house. The Chamber President Pankaj Dhume welcomed over 80 attendees who presented themselves and their businesses through 30 second introduction speeches. The group included the Mayor of the City of Bellaire , officials from the City of Houston and past Chairs of Mayor Parkers International Trade Development Councils for Europe and Africa, the local Rotary Club, the British American Business Council, Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce and other local business organizations giving the members a wider networking opportunity.
In the words of some of the guests:
• “This was my first time attending an event like this. The format was very good, especially the introductions/elevator pitch. The crowd was wonderful and set to know various business people. I strongly recommend to anyone to join the chamber!” –Malla Mittakani,
• “This gathering is an excellent opportunity to network with a great group of people from all types of businesses. It was a very warm welcome-Thank You!”- Keri Schmidt, President of the Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce
• “IACCGH has tremendous power as a union of excellent minds, great hospitable friendly members and guest. A great organization and a splendid tradition.” –Serge Lomako, Past Chair, MITDC-Europe and a prospective IACCGH member.
• “The Chamber leadership is always ready to guide members- The Chamber offers excellent programs and contacts for business development. Thank You.” –Bhaskar Patel(Cybersoft) Member of IACCGH
The Chamber serves to strive in connecting small business over the greater Houston area to promote the success of the business community. The “Networking Works” event held on October 1, allowed for attendees to explain their business and learn more about other attendee’s doing business in the city and continue networking over dinner.
President Pankaj Dhume and Executive Director Jagdip Ahluwalia highlighted the upcoming events for the year which include the Women in Leadership Series, an event where the women members of the Chamber community are able to engage, learn and take away means to be successful. The November 13 “Women in Leadership” event will feature Dr. Latha Ramchand , Dean of the Bauer College of Business at the University of Houston. Another major event was the 5th annual IACCGH/ Pratham Golf Tournament on Oct 30, at Tour 18.
The Indo-American Chamber of Commerce aims to promote opportunities to businesses over the Houston area in order promote trade within the Greater Houston Area.
To learn more about the chamber visit www.iaccgh.com or email info@iaccgh.com
By Jawahar Malhotra
HOUSTON: One of the proudest awards that Nozer Buchia treasures is the one that he received after he finished talking about his latest book “Roadmap to Success” which he launched at the Zarathushti Heritage and Cultural Center on Sunday, October 6, 2013. Two of the people whom he coached a year ago presented him with a Distinguished Entrepreneur Award and it choked Buchia up.
The two men were special to Buchia as they are the President and Vice President of the Leadership Academy of the Carol Vance Unit of the Texas Department of Corrections Prison System located just north of Highway 90A and west of Highway 6 but they were also prisoners tat that unit a year ago. The CV Unit, named after the former Harris County District Attorney, is home to the first Christian faith-based prison program started in 1996. The Leadership Academy offers a chance for prisoners who will be released in two years to learn how to succeed once they are released.
“About 6 or 7 years ago, I met Tommy Dorset, the Director of the Academy and he invited me to attend the Business Plan Competition,” recalled Buchia about an event that is held at the Academy every six months. “After the competition I asked if I could address the 300 prisoners there for ten minutes”, he added. Instead, he spoke for an hour and received a standing ovation. “You are not defined by your past, you are prepared by it”, he told the group of prisoners.
The prisoners then circulated a petition to have Buchia come back and ever since then, he has done so every month or fortnight. He shares the message of hope that inspires the prisoners to be better prepared to re-enter a world that they have been away from for many years and succeed. “I help the carpenters and electricians to get their licenses and others with their business plan”, Buchia said. “In fact, one of the videographers at the Sunday presentation was an ex-felon whom Buchia had coached to start his own business”.
The message of hope and perseverance is what has earned Buchia the moniker of “Mr. Motivator” from the time he was just a young boy in Bombay interested in acting in plays. His lack of stage fright let him coach others to get over theirs and he coached them on their performances.
He took this knack and turned it into a calling by earning double Bachelors degrees, followed up with a degree from the Australian Institute of Management, an MBA from Davenport University in Michigan, certficates in computer education and training and a certificate from the National Institute of Training in Industrial Engineering.
He has been involved in many businesses – education, real estate, IT, business coach, and speaker – but has earned his wings in motivational speaking and as a turnaround artist in helping businesses return to growth and profits. He left India for Sydney, Australia in 1988 then moved seven years later to Michigan. After seven years there, and a two-year stint in Chicago, Buchia moved with his family, wife Persis and son Kyrus to Houston ten years ago. Since then, he has been immersed in producing Gujarati plays, helping businesses, motivational speaking and as a life coach.
The talk at the Center was for the launch of his second book, which he co-authored with Gurus of the speakers circuit, Dr. Deepak Chopra and Dr. Ken Blanchard. The event was sponsored by the World Zarathushti Chamber of Commerce Houston Chapter and the Zoroastrian Association of Houston Library and drew around 200 people to the community’s 6,000 sf, 20 year-old center on 11 acres on West Airport near the West Beltway. Several members and founders of the Chamber were present, including co-founder Homi Davier, and President Zarir Sethna as well as Library Chair Aban Rustomji.
After a ten minute video featuring companies and individuals that Nozer has helped and turned around for success, including NBA basketball player Mike Jones of the Chicago Bulls, Buchia’s son Kyrus gave an emotional and hilarious introduction to his dad. The event ended with a panel discussion with some of Houston’s successful entreprenurs and businessmen – Bill Sherrill, Jodie Jiles, Burton Wolf, Eric Menesse and former Sugar Land Mayor David Wallace, who also hosted the entire event.
Buchia’s earlier book, “Why Entrepreneurs Really Fail” was released two years ago and contains some gems of insight, like a chapter entitled “The Silent Partner – the Entrepreneur’s Spouse” and another that lists the seven reasons entrepreneurs fail. He is often asked which is the chief reason, and always responds that it is a combination of all seven.
For Buchia, his first book is almost autobiographical as it talks about all the mistakes he made himself. “The biggest one was that I made everyone else a priority in my life, so I became an option”, he remarked. “Emotions have no part a business”, he added. His book “Why Entrepreneurs Really Fail” is set to be published in India by Bloomsbury Publishing, with a launch roadshow set for later this year. “They loved my book because they said I was not afraid to speak about my failures, which they found very rare and unusual in a business book,” he explained.
Buchia confesses that he has always had a passion for growing people, working with non-performing and under-performing companies and people and then turning them around and has been a strategic advisor for the last 35 years. He is prone to making the type of soundbites that stick in the mind of his audiences which explains why he has clients for public speaking here in the US, in India, Dubai, Australia, Israel and worldwide. “Leaders don’t create followers”, he said. “Leaders create more leaders. Just believe in yourself”.
HOUSTON: The Indo-American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Houston prides itself in opening doors and providing access to its members not only at IACCGH events but also at events hosted by its resource partners. On Tuesday, September 24, 5 Chamber members had the opportunity to exhibit at the monthly “Greater Houston Business Procurement Forum” at the Houston Community College Southwest @ W. Loop South. The Chamber emailed its members offering them the opportunity to exhibit at the breakfast and five chamber members displaying banners that stated they were “Proud members of the IACCGH” benefited from the opportunity as is evident from their testimonials.
“Wallis State Bank was honored to be part of the Greater Houston Business Procurement Forum on September 24. Our bank was being well represented and the experience was priceless. We met many potential clients and connected with other vendors for future partnering. We also met SBA representatives at the event which will hopefully lead to future relations with the origination. We hope to be part of this prestigious event in the forthcoming years”.
Rajiv B Bhavsar, SVP/Commercial Lending Officer, Wallis State Bank
“We thank IACCGH for the opportunity for TechOne Centre to participate as an exhibitor at the Houston Business Procurement Forum. The event was rewarding to TechOne Centre. The “elevator pitch” by each of us for the entire audience generated interest and traffic to our tables. We made several contacts that are already leading to opportunities. We also had the opportunity to meet other exhibitors with whom we are building relationships and possible business. Thank you very much for this opportunity! Without the initiative and hard work of IACCGH, we would not have participated in this event and gained from the exposure”. CV Rao, President www.TechOneCentre.com
“Thank you very much for providing us an opportunity to participate in “Greater Houston Procurement Forum” through IACCGH support and sponsorship we sincerely appreciate it. It was indeed great experience. We met a lot of potential new clients and have started talking with them about future business opportunity. I will keep you updated about our success but our attendance at event was worth the time and efforts”.
Rupesh Sanghavi , CEO, ErgodE Inc www.GoOutSource.com
“As usual the Chamber works hard to help its members by using its connections and contacts to open new doors to business opportunities and I was able to meet many potential clients at the business procurement breakfast”.
Bijay Dixit, CEO, Unique Photo Images, uniquephotoimages.com,
“As a new member of IACCGH we found the opportunity to showcase our products and services at the breakfast a great opportunity to expand our business. We thank IACCGH for doing this for its members”.
Nupur Kapadia, PNM Printing & Sign, Inc. www.pnmprinting.com
To learn more about how IACCGH can help your business contact IACCGH President Pankaj Dhume at pankaj@dhume.com or Executive Director Jagdip Ahluwalia at jagdip@iaccgh.com
Elizabeth Porikos-Gorgees first learned about eyebrow threading in 1997 when a friend suggested she try the technique before an event. After her first experience she returned every three weeks in order to achieve the precise lines and excellent shape the threading technique gave her brows without the irritation of waxing.
By 2006 Porikos-Gorgees noticed that eyebrow threading kiosks were popping up in malls all over the country and the idea for Brow Art 23 was born. Today there are over 170 locations throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, Mexico and Canada making Brow Art 23 the largest eyebrow threading company in the world!
Eyebrow threading originated in India and has gained prominence in Western cultures in recent years. In threading, a knot is formed with cotton thread specifically designed for threading then rolled over areas of unwanted hair, removing the hair at the follicle level. Unlike tweezing which removes hair one at a time, and waxing which removes the top layer of skin, threading removes short lines of hair and can be quick and painless when done professionally. Professionals at Brow Art 23 are highly trained in this art form which plays a crucial role in the company’s success.
In 2006 Elizabeth Porikos-Gorgees noticed that eye brow threading was not available at a local mall in the Chicago suburbs and pitched Brow Art 23. While several retailers had pitched an eye brow threading kiosk in the past, the passion and energy Porikos-Gorgees brought made her stand out. That July, she opened the first Brow Art 23 on a cart in Old Orchard Mall in Chicago. By that October, her cart was so successful and garnered so much business that she moved into her first inline location.
Brow Art 23 continued to grow and added temporary henna tattoos, eyelash extensions, permanent makeup, and private label Brow Art cosmetics including brow and lash growth tonic, eyebrow definer, and eye brow brushes to their list of services.
Porikos-Gorgees has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Media Arts, a Master’s Degree in Art Management and is five credits away from her second Master’s Degree in Teaching, which she incorporates into her business model. Unlike other eyebrow threading kiosk and salons, Porikos-Gorgees makes sure that customers of Brow Art 23 get a full experience complete with professional, courteous well trained staff, cutting edge design, and a level of sophistication unmatched by her competitors. Her outstanding business sense, highly trained staff, and the cutting edge design of her location allowed Porikos-Gorgees to make the rent for her inaugural location within one week!
In just less than a decade since the inaugural Brow Art 23 opened, the business has experienced such rapid growth that Brow Art 23 is now the largest eyebrow threading company in the world. People who invest their money in opening their own Brow Art 23 franchise witness its success first hand. When retailers purchase a Brow Art 23 franchise they get the Brow Art 23 name, a 7 to 10 day training for as many employees as desired, ongoing training opportunities, site visits, assistance with the grand opening, a professional website, full comprehensive corporate marketing, customized POS system and an 800 number to address any questions or concerns franchisees may have.
Porikos-Gorgees uses her stellar business model and experience opening Brow Art 23 to ensure that each franchise, experience the same rapid growth and level of success that Brow Art 23 has achieved as a whole. In return, Brow Art 23 franchisees need only to commit to nothing less than a 5 year agreement, have a strong work ethic, and be as passionate about their own success as Porikos-Gorgees.
Porikos-Gorgees is confident that she can help franchises be successful by sharing the mistakes she made when opening her first locations, thereby providing them a solid path to success. Her template for success leads many franchisees to open multiple locations which in turn leads to continual growth for Brow Art 23.
Brow Art 23 continues to grow and is still committed to bringing a level of professionalism and sophistication that was missing from eye brow threading services. Franchise opportunities are available worldwide and those interested in opening a Brow Art 23 location can call Erin Franks at 773-571-2667 or visit www.browart23.com for more information.
By Jawahar Malhotra
HOUSTON: In the years that he has practiced architecture, Mahesh Wadhwa has been able to reassure his clients with his infectious smile and easy-going personable demeanor. To this, one should add his calm nature under stress that settles the anxiety of his clients who find themselves in a perplexing bind.
Haroon Shaikh, of one Wadhwa’s clients and a well-known CPA for many years, related one such episode when he had bought a property and put in $500,000 into it. “The following week, we got a Demolition Order on it from the City of Pasadena,” said Shaikh as he stood on the stage and spoke to the audience of about 190 people who listened with rapt attention as he described how Mahesh was able to help stop the demolition and finally the project was approved.
It was a night for testimonials as Wadhwa Associates Inc. celebrated its 30th Anniversary with a party at India House last Saturday, May 4 with many of their friends, family and colleagues from over the years. The event featured a catered dinner by Madras Pavilion of Sugar Land and entertainment from friends and a salsa dancing duet.
The entire extended Wadhwa family was there to celebrate the occasion with Mahesh, including his sons Ankur, who manages the family’s La Quinta motel in Brookshire and Pankaj who is a developer and Green Design consultant. Along with his wife Shashi and grandkids, Wadhwa’s extended family was there at the front table to celebrate with him.
Originally born in Multan, Wadhwa’s family migrated to Delhi after the Partition and he came to the US in 1974 and quickly settled down in Houston, establishing his practice in 1982. He has built an impressive portfolio of projects which span all across the US and recently into Mexico, Kazakhstan, Angola and other countries. Many of the projects are hotels/motels and he has designed and built them for all the chains except for Sheraton. Since the South Asian community is concentrated in the hospitality industry, Wadhwa is much sought out for his in-depth knowledge which often saves time and money on new projects.
Wadhwa attributes the success of his architecture practice located on Blalock north of the Katy Freeway to the able staff and consultants who had stood by him over the years, and his wife Shashi who takes care of the office administration and coordinates many technical issues with all the public agencies. “We are family,” he said as he proudly gave out service awards to two of his employees, adding “we love you and we appreciate you.” Ram Guliani received his award for 10 years of engineering and Ajay Kumar for 15 years of architectural design. A short video ran through the many projects WAI has completed over the past three decades.
Of course most of the projects would not be completed without the help of other professionals and consultants in the design and construction business and Wadhwa called upon several of them who were present to come to the stage and be appreciated. Among them were consulting engineers Harry Brendgen, Jasbir Singh Sethi, Saad Ahmed, Achilis Kozakis and Bandy and Associates; those who couldn’t attend included Chaim Steinberg, Maged Rifat, and B.J. Mehta.
The elderly but still energetic and jovial Sethi climbed up to the stage to stand besides Wadhwa and give a glowing tribute to that profession that “keeps him working sometimes 18 hours a day. Mahesh imbibes this in his life, it is almost a spiritual experience for him” adding that “his designs were not bound by space or time, but he makes them beautiful.” Shaikh followed on his footsteps by adding that he has “had many spiritual conversations with Mahesh and over the years me has even made a vegetarian out of me!”
The program featured a couple of lilting Hindi songs by family friend Shakun Srivastav which moved Wadhwa, who loves to sing, to perform a song – Ahsan mere dil pe hai, mere dosto – himself to honor his enduring friendships and associations over the years. The entertainment was rounded out by two very energetic, colorful and thrilling salsa dance numbers by the couple Hector and Sara Vasquez, rising stars in the local dance circuit in the Bayou City.
The evening was concluded by a trivia quiz of three questions taken from the short video that was presented before, with winners taking away caps with the WAI logo and shortly thereafter, a cake cutting ceremony – which were actually two cakes, one with the WAI logo and felicitations and the other made in the shape of a man sitting at a drafting table and drawing on a sheet, made by Wadhwa’s niece Nidhi Grover. As the evening ended, all the guests were given coffee mugs emblazoned with the WAI and 30th Anniversary logos, and filled with pistachios.
By Manu Shah
HOUSTON: We know there are a dozen things you’d rather do than huddle over capital gains, deductions and other number crunching figures with your accountant but April 15 is fast approaching. For those who haven’t already, it’s time to get out those officious files and take care of that dreaded word “TAXES.”
Indo American News thought it would be a good time to catch up with Swapan Dhairyawan, a partner in MD and Associates, one of the leading Chartered Accountancy firms in Houston and get some pointers that would help our readers this tax season.
Swanpan’s disarming smile, an engaging manner and community service has made him a familiar face in the Indo American community in a relatively short time. He came to Houston only in 1999 but admits that it wasn’t an easy decision. Leaving a close knit family and a multitude of relatives versus the American dream led to a tug of war between the heart and mind. Time went by and one day he made the life altering decision to move to the US.
A Masters in Cost Accountancy from Kolkata and 10 years of work experience in India helped him land a job in a CPA firm – H.R. Shaikh. He worked there for almost 4 years during which he cleared his CPA. A great rapport with a fellow colleague, Irfan Moosa, encouraged the duo to toy with the idea of branching out on their own and in January 2004, this became a reality and MD and Associates was born.
The duo now rolled up their sleeves and tackled the challenges of the new set up. Swapan recalls the day their first client, File No. 1001, the proprietor of Pro Clips walked in. The going was tough but three things helped him ride out the tough times – wife Pallavi’s unwavering support, the community support and the credit card! MD and Associates slowly and steadily built a strong client base and in January 2006, Irfan Moosa, his partner, started a second office in Dallas. A growing practice necessitated the opening of a third office in Spring, TX in 2008.
A sense of gratitude for the community’s support when he needed it most along with a desire to keep the continuity of our culture for our children is probably what motivates Swapan to be an integral part of the activities of the Indo American community in Houston. He is a member of several organizations like the Indo American Chamber of Commerce and served as President of ICC in the year 2010.
During his tenure as President, he is particularly proud of two initiatives: ICC’s newsletter “Tarang” which helped bring the organization and community closer and organizing an Eid program to involve the Muslim community in the ICC. This helped form the Indian Muslims Association of Greater Houston (IMAGH). It says a lot about Swapan that he is one of the members of its Advisory Board.
A piece of advice he received and one he’d like to share is “Be Yourself.” Life is so much simpler.
HOUSTON: The Asian American Hotel Owner’s Association (AAHOA) with about 11,000 members, is the voice of the owners of the hospitality industry in North America. Founded in 1989, AAHOA members own more than 20,000 motels employing about 578,000 people across the country. The AAHOA organizes a wide variety of events throughout the year, the annual conference being the biggest of all. This year, it was Houston’s turn to host the 2013 Annual AAHOA Conference at the George R Brown Convention center from March 25to 29.
As a finale to commemorate this AAOHA gathering on a high note, on March 29, India’s well known playback singer, Richa Sharma took stage to entertain the attendees. She was accompanied by Kamal Khan, the winner of Zee TV’s SaReGa MaPa Singing Superstars show .
Life comes a full circle and some of us are lucky enough to witness it.
In 1999, Richa had her first major hit as a playback singer in Subhash Ghai’s ‘Taal’. In 1999, Mahesh Mahbubani, Artistic Director of Naach Houston acted in his first major Bollywood movie, in fact for the same song. Richa Sharma sang “Ni Main Samajh gayee” and Aishwarya Rai and Mahesh Mahbubani shared the silver screen, dancing together to it. The result was a memorable song for a super hit movie.
On March 29, at the AAHOA convention Richa Sharma enchanted a massive audience in Houston with her voice as Mahesh Mahbubani and the Naach Houston Professional Dance Team performed with her on stage. The result was a memorable evening for a great audience. The circle of life brought these talented artists together.
Richa Sharma sang some of her most famous Bollywood songs including “Sajda” from the movie “My Name is Khan”; “Zindagi Mein Koi Phir Aaye rabba” from the movie Musafir as well as “Maahi Vey” from Kaante amongst others. Incidentally, “Mahi Vey”, won Richa her first major award as best female singer in 2003 while ‘Sajda’ got her the coveted Zee Cine Award best female singer in 2011.
Dressed in almost angelic whites, Naach members performed Bollywood Contemporary dances for these songs, while Mahesh Mahbubani himself performed a Sufi style solo composition with Richa.
Midway through the concert, Richa and Kamal got the audience off their feet by starting off a fast paced medley of songs. More and more AAHOA members got to the front of the stage showing off Bhangra and Garba moves as well as Bollywood steps inspired by Naach Houston dancers.
It was a memorable evening for the AAHOA members, Richa Sharma and her group as well as the young members of Naach dance team who added motion as a dimension to this event. An evening like this infused with soulful songs and breathtaking dance moves will be remembered for a long time to come just like the song from Taal that first got Richa and Mahesh together. The circle had been completed.
For More information about Naach Houston, visit www.naachhouston.com