Category: Community

HOUSTON: Shri Natraj school of Dance celebrated their annual talent program, this past weekend at Shri Radha Krishna temple on Sunday May 19. The program lasted little over an hour and was well coordinated and the event emcee Nipun Kakkar, did a very good job engaging the audience with his jokes, trivia and funny quotes and handing out chocolates to kids and adults when they got the Trivia question correct.

The performance started right on time with a Bharatnatyam dance in praise of Lord Ganesha. The students then showcased over the next hour all the three styles of dance that the school offers. Each dance sequence was different, very colorful with elegant and precise dance moves. The executive dance director of the school Kusum Sharma is herself well versed in Bharatnatyam , Kathak and Bollywood and personally teaches the student at the two location in Houston where the dances are offered. The maturity of the expressions was well noted in the senior students, the little ones were like a ball of energy.  The advance students have been dancing with Kusum Sharma since the school started ten years ago. Guest speaker of the evening was respected Padmakanth Kambathi of Sanatan Hindu Center, who talked about the center and radio channel that air the program on AM 1090 from 9-12pm every Sunday. The school which recently launched it’s face book school (www.facebook.com/shrinatraj) had raffle drawing to promote their website. Three lucky winners gladly accepted their prizes, their effort on facebook had paid off. Kusum Sharma concluded the program by thanking the parents and family for encouraging the kids and bringing them for classes each week without fail.

Shri Natraj School of Dance has been culturally active in Houston since it was founded in 2004 and has done among other programs Ramleela since 2005, Krishna leela, Mughal-e-Azam, Meera and many more. Kusum Sharma’s brand of Ramleela has become very popular in Houston in recent years and a much awaited program for Houstonians each eyar.

This year Ramleela will be held on Oct 27, 2013. For more information visit www.shrinatraj.com or www.facebook.com/shrinatraj  

HOUSTON: Houston Community College’s new organization HCC-ASPIRE, Asian Scholarship Program Inspiring Results & Excellence, opened new doors of opportunities at an inaugural fundraising event on May 9. The event served as a morning of entertainment and celebration for HCC faculty, staff, students and sponsors at the Hilton Americas. With an overwhelming sell-out response, the fundraising breakfast raised more than $54,000 for scholarships for HCC Asian students and faculty.

Co-Founded by HCC Trustee Neeta Sane (District VII), with the support of community leaders, public officials, and the HCC Foundation, HCC-ASPIRE program is designed to support educational pursuits and excellence of Asian students and faculty of HCC. Based on financial needs and academic progress, HCC-ASPIRE will grant awards to deserving students and members of the HCC faculty or staff.

HCC-ASPIRE program is committed to inspiring HCC’s students and faculty members to excel in the academic world and in the community as well. By supporting students and faculty with financial awards, HCC-ASPIRE aims to enhance the teaching-learning process that will enable HCC to educate more students for the 21st century workforce and job market

To uphold diversity and inclusiveness, HCC-ASPIRE program will also support activities that highlight the Asian culture of education. For more information about HCC-ASPIRE and to access the application details visit www.hccs.edu/aspire.

Out of HCC’s 70,000 student population, about 14% is of Asian American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) origin. In 2012, HCC became eligible to be listed as one of the AAPI-serving institutions as defined by the U.S. Department of Education.

HCC is one of the country’s largest singly-accredited, open-admission, community colleges offering associate degrees, certificates, workforce training and lifelong learning opportunities for 75,000 students each semester. HCC is composed of six colleges that serve the greater Houston area’s diverse communities by preparing individuals to live and work in today’s increasingly international and technological society.

For further information visit www.hccs.edu

By Katie Vloet  

MICHIGAN: Roopal Shah—a 1995 graduate of the University of Michigan Law School who has a background practicing law for the government and in the private sector, as well as starting a nongovernmental organization in India—has been named the Law School’s assistant dean for international affairs.

“One reason I was drawn to Michigan as a law student was that Michigan was well regarded in the international community,” Shah said. “Since then, the Law School has done even more to increase international coursework, added the International Transactions Clinic, and helped students find work abroad for the summers. It’s exciting to me that Michigan is heading in the right direction, and that we have an opportunity to impact broad international happenings—not just in the law, but in treaties, global leadership, and other areas as well.”

Shah will replace Virginia Gordan, the longtime assistant dean for international affairs, who is retiring, and who helped to build Michigan Law’s global engagement and international reputation.

“Virginia has been at the very center of the strengthening of our international and comparative law programs and activities,” said Steven Ratner, the Bruno Simma Collegiate Professor of Law and a leader in the field of global law. “Finding a worthy successor was a challenge, and it required a worldwide search. The level of interest in the job and the extraordinary candidates who applied show how well Michigan is regarded in international law.”

Shah, he said, “has everything we want in this position, from her varied work experience to her strategic vision for where we need to go in the future. She really wants our students to be leaders around the world, and she wants to help get them there.”

After graduating from Michigan Law, Shah clerked for the Hon. David Alan Ezra in Hawaii, then worked as an associate at Shearman & Sterling in Washington, D.C. She followed that with a job as an assistant U.S. Attorney in the border crimes, major narcotics, and terrorism divisions in San Diego; there, she conducted 24 criminal trials from jury selection to verdict, attaining convictions in 22 of them.

In 2001, she cofounded and served as executive director (2007-2010) of Indicorps in Ahmedabad, India. The nonprofit works to provide Indians from all over the world with a channel to reconnect with the country of their heritage and with the means to contribute to its development, while fostering a new generation of socially conscious global leaders. Among its accomplishments was the successful partnership with community-based organizations to create sustainable rural initiatives, such as a clean drinking water project that reaches more than 70,000 people in 120 villages. She remains on the board of directors.

She also served in 2012 as a consultant to Ashoka, a nonprofit that supports social entrepreneurship, and in 2007 as professional staff at the University of Michigan Provost’s Office, where she provided strategic guidance on efforts such as the “Expect Respect” campaign.

As a student at Michigan Law, she was a two-term president of the Law School Student Senate. One of her legacies is the institution of a “Day of Service” as part of every new Law School student’s orientation. She also advocated for grading reform, a new approach to the mandatory 1L legal writing program, and other innovations. Then-Dean Jeff Lehman created the Dean’s Exceptional Service Award and awarded it to her in 1995.

“Roopal was a distinguished student when she attended the Law School, and she has been a highly accomplished alumna since her time here, making her mark in important ways around the world,” Dean Evan Caminker said. “I have no doubt that she will continue to build Michigan Law’s global reputation, and she will do so with the great energy and verve she has brought to the earlier chapters in her career.”

In addition to Shah’s professional achievements, she also is a fearless adventurer. She has run the Marine Corps marathon twice and, when she lived in San Diego, surfed every day for more than 400 days, “even when the rain was terrible, when the waves were over six feet tall, and when we really shouldn’t have been out there,” she said.

Shah said she looks forward to returning to Ann Arbor. “One of the things I have loved from a lot of the places I’ve been is the idea of building and being in community. Ann Arbor is exciting because there already is a strong sense of community.”

True to her community-building instincts, she also is excited about helping the Law School “continue to build on and extend its global networks, and ensure that it is just as engaged, connected, and energized as our community in Ann Arbor.”

Roopal is the daughter of Indian community leader Ramesh and Kokila Shah  of Houston.

By Jawahar Malhotra

HOUSTON: Despite being a Mother’s Day weekend and a pleasant Saturday afternoon ideal for outdoor activities, about 30 people made it to the Mayuri restaurant on Westheimer to listen to the two speakers that the Indo American Political Action Committee had invited to meet with the community on May 11.

One of the invited Congressmen, Ted Poe, a Republican from Texas District 2, was a no-show but the other two held an informal dialogue, mostly over the state of affairs between India and the US, but by extension, the role that that the local Indian population in the US can play as well as the impact of their numbers and economic prowess.

Congressman Pete Olson, a Republican from Texas District 22 which encompasses Sugar Land, Missouri City and Pearland, and no stranger to events that the IAPAC and the Indian community have organized, was ecstatic about the recent study by Rice University that reported that Sugar Land is the most diverse city in the US. In his usual light-hearted manner, with knees slightly bent as if to bring his tall frame down to eye level, he hammered that point in whenever he could to an appreciative crowd. But he also took credit for working with Indian Consul General Parvathaneni Harish to seal the deal to allow LNG to be exported to India from the still-to-be-retrofitted terminal at Sabine Pass.

But the show stopper for the afternoon was Congressman Ed Royce, a Republican from California District 39 which encompasses Orange County, just southwest of downtown Los Angeles, who made a stopover in Houston along with his wife Marie, at the urging of the IAPAC President Sujeeth Draksharam who had made the request when he and other IAPAC members visited Washington, DC late last year. “This visit is to thank them for their support,” said Royce.

Much shorter, in comparison to the over six-foot tall Olson, Royce is a towering figure in the Congressional hierarchy in his position as Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, from which he can steer US policy as it relates to India. He has had a lot of exposure to India, not just by virtue of his work, but also personally and joked that his wife, Marie, had even more experience when she was a VP at Choice Hotels and the Marriott where she regularly came into contact with the large percent of hotel/motel owners who are Gujarati.

“Jai Hind,” started out Royce, as he took off his coat and rolled up his shirtsleeves to grab the mic. He then went on to describe how India-US relations have evolved past the Cold War era when India was in the Soviet Union’s orbit to the present day when ties between India and the US have become inexorably intertwined, taking into account the purposeful economic reforms towards a capitalistic structure that India undertook two decades ago.

Royce impressed the audience with his command of the subject as well as his involvement in recovery efforts in the aftermath of the Gujarat earthquake in 2001 and the Mumbai 9/11 attacks in 2008. Having once stayed at the Taj Hotel in Mumbai, he was familiar with the area where the attack took place. He also was instrumental in having the US-India Civil Nuclear Agreement passed allowing India to proceed with using enriched Uranium for energy purposes.

“We need to increase focus to put India on the map of greater trade and investment,” said Royce. He also worried that Pakistan’s failure to suppress terrorist attacks would destabilize the region. Also on his mind was the revisions to the immigration bill that are working their way through Congress, a subject of the question and answer period that followed, with past IAPAC president Sanjay Rao reading from written questions submitted by the audience. Royce responded that he wasn’t aware that there was a bias against H1B visa applicants from India, with the number of visa allowed much less that those from other countries, as well as the much lengthier processing times which can run into several years.

Royce did, however, make it clear that he felt that Indians were better equipped to adapt and integrate into American life and contribute to the economic well being of the country. He is a proponent of allowing foreign students who graduate from American universities to receive their Green Cards upon graduating, thus allowing them to continue on with their careers here and becoming part of the force that can create new jobs in the US. Both he and Olson stressed that it was important to change the misconceptions associated with Indo-Americans and to fight in the political process for their presence in their adopted country.

By Jawahar Malhotra

HOUSTON: The mood at this year’s annual Tapestry Gala by the Interfaith Ministries of Greater Houston was restrained but decidedly jubilant as the 44 year-old non-profit celebrated the biggest achievements of its long existence looking forward to its expanded facilities that will serve upto 10,000 hot meals a day for the needy and often lonely elderly in the metropolitan area.

The organization will soon move into a renovated bank building at 3300 Main St. which will serve as its administrative offices, with the familiar Meals on Wheels program moving into a new distribution center across the street. The entire project will cost $12 million and with the architectural elements that are planned for it, will become “an iconic symbol of the Houston’s diversity,” as past Board Chair Bill King exclaimed at the halfway mark of the gala.

The fifth annual gala also was filled with crisp and colorful details, from the décor for the banquet hall of the Hilton Americas which featured small, gold fabric settees built around a column topped by an immense vase filled with a bouquet of flowers, to the centerpieces that had a row of bright red and orange roses with blue hydrangeas down the middle.

The staged entertainment featured performances much different from last years in that there was a cross between Indian Bollywood fusion dances by Naach Houston and the West Indian folk dances by Urban Souls Dance Company, interspersed by The Treble Choir, the Gary Norton Trio and opera by Kenneth Gayle and Julia Laskowski. While the gala took place on a weekday evening – it was held on Thursday, May 9 – it was elegant, to the point but just long enough to end by 10:30 pm.

The evening opened up with Dr. Fatima Mawji describing the four pillars of IM’s work: meals for the elderly, refugee program, disaster preparedness and interfaith dialogue. She marveled at how she, a Shia Muslim native of Mumbai, was able to work with a team led by a Jewish President (Elliot Gershenson) and work with Christian volunteers for the better of society in Houston. “Some day it will all end and lists will not matter,” she said philosophically, “How will the value of your days be remembered – your integrity, character, sacrifice. A life that matters doesn’t happen by accident.”

The emcee for the evening, one time television sportscaster and now head of her own production company, Lisa Malosky moved the gala along throughout the night. A video presentation touched on all the areas that IM works in and featured a short clip on a Bhutanese refugee Dhan Tamaj and the Interfaith Dialogue held at Bobby and IM Director Jasmeeta Singh’s house.

Another video showed how the iLead program taught young people from different faiths to respect each other’s cultural and religious differences. After the video, the youngsters featured in the video came onstage, with their spokesman concluding that “no one can say why some fields are green under the August sun and some others are not.”

The highlight of the evening was the presentation of the 2013 Tapestry Award to long time Houstonians Marie and Vijay Goradia who have been great benefactors of many charities and community events in the Bayou City. In presenting the award, Aziz Jamaluddin said they were a “gracious and very generous couple” and quipped that “Vijay was often considered the Godfather of the Indian community. But while Vijay focuses on his business supplying industrial, automotive facilities, Marie is his intellectual and social compass.”

After dinner, Marie and Vijay came onstage to speak of their love for the community that they have settled in after leaving their native India. Ever mindful of how Life has blessed them, Marie said she realized that their contribution was but a drop in the ocean of need. She explained how she went on a Meals on Wheels tour last year and met with some elderly citizens whose only contact with others in the whole day was the driver. She talked about her multi faith household – she’s Catholic and Vijay is Hindu – and how that fits in with IM’s philosophy of co-existence.

Marie went on to add that she never dreamt that she would be given this chance to give back to her community and “leave a positive footprint in the sands of Time” and “make a difference in what happens when Life throws you a curve ball.”

Vijay Goradia spoke his feelings through an incident that happened to him as he sat on the pier in Boston harbor and was eating a sandwich. “An old man with a scraggly beard, unkempt hair and a limp came and sat next to me,” he recalled of that incident which made him change his outlook on life. The two got around to talking and Vijay learnt that the man was a Vietnam Veteran with several injuries which never fully recovered, had been in rehab, his wife had left him and then died and had a grown daughter who didn’t want to have anything to do with him.

Vijay was taken aback by the quiet dignity of the man who wasn’t asking for anything. Still, as the two broke away, Vijay took all the money in his pocket and gave it to the man who thanked Vijay and said that he had an angel looking over him. Touched, Vijay said that the experience taught him that you can be an angel to those who need your help.

As the evening drew to a close, Vijay and Marie Goradia were joined onstage by the President of the Indo American Charity Foundation Murthy Divakaruni to thank them for their support for the IACF and presented the IM with an outsized check for $61,000, as previous IACF Presidents Anu Bala and David Raj looked on.

By Jawahar Malhotra

HOUSTON: This year’s Offshore Technology Conference was once again the focus of the delegation of Indian companies who came to attend the four day event last week from May 6 through 9 at Reliant Park.

In past years, Indian companies have sent many of their employees to visit and network at the OTC. In the past ten years, the Indian Ministry of Oil and Gas has often sent a delegation, accompanied by the Minister himself, on a road show to several cities in North America to interest US firms to bid for rights to drill in offshore tracts in. This year the emphasis was on collaboration of a different sort as a delegation from the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry visited the OTC to explore alliances with local counterparts.

The delegation consisted of 25 professionals from many segments of Indian industry, including private and state-owned companies like Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd.; Cairn India Ltd.; Directorate General of Hydrocarbons; GAIL (India) Ltd.; IBM; Indian Oil Corp. Ltd; Oil and Natural Gas Corp. and SBI Capital Markets Ltd. to name just a few. Their focus was on developing US-India Strategic Hydrocarbons Partnerships and towards this end, after a box lunch, they held an afternoon long workshop which was attended by about 60 people.

The workshop included a panel discussion on oil and gas opportunities in India led off by Ken Hyatt, the Acting Deputy Under Secretary for the International Trade Agency of the US Dept. of Commerce and also Nolty Theriot of the US International Business Council. Hyatt acknowledged that the growth in India which was fueled by a rising middle class put pressure on the country to ensure a dependable supply of energy. He hinted that he may be visiting later in December to expand economic ties. Theriot announced a new initiative for US and Indian universities to collaborate on training.

Indian Consul General Parvathaneni Harish spoke of his personal satisfaction in putting the workshop together for one of the largest delegations from India at the OTC. He emphasized that energy security was paramount to India to help lift the population out of poverty and to maintain 7 to 8% GDP growth rates, which would require a commensurate 5% growth in energy supply as the per capita energy consumption would only grow. To do so, he added, would require improving Indian infrastructure and producing more hydrocarbons locally as 50% is currently imported.

Harish noted that the new shale gas growth in the US has changed the global energy equation as the country becomes a global natural gas supplier. He has been active since he first assumed office in October last year to help cement a contract with Cheniere Energy to export LNG from the Sabine Pass Liquefaction plant in Cameron Parish, Louisiana. The first contract was signed with GAIL for 3.5 million tonnes a year and the second agreement is for 2.3 million tonnes per year; both subject to Dept. of Energy approvals, which are pending in the next two to three years. “It is a big moment for India-US energy partnership,” Harish noted in conclusion.

Following him, Vivek Pandit, the Senior Director and Head for Energy at FICCI spoke about the thriving Indian $2 trillion economy which has grown by from 5 to 8% a year, outstripping the economies of the west which have grown at about 2% per year. “India is vibrant but has a chaotic media,” he said. “But democracy has its own speed.” He added that investors could not ignore India for long.

  Following a brief video presentation on Petrotech 2014 to be held outside of New Delhi in January and the Asia Gas Partnership Summit 2013., the other panelists and visiting delegates made presentations about various aspects of doing business in the oil and gas sector in India. Among these were Sanjay Arya of the US Embassy in New Delhi; Manav  Kanwar, Managing Director of SK Oilfield Equipment Co.; Sunil Bharati, Head Corporate Affairs and Communications of Cairn India Ltd.; Gajendra Singh, Executive Director, GAIL (India); Arundhati Bhattacharya, MD and CEO, SBI Capital Markets; Shashi Shankar, Director, ONGC and S. K. Srivastava, Chief Managing Director, Oil India Ltd.

The workshop concluded with a question and answer session followed by networking and consultations between the delegates and attendees.

By Jawahar Malhotra

HOUSTON: This year’s Offshore Technology Conference drew in thousands of exhibitors and visitors from all across the globe, with thousands thronging the Reliant Center, Reliant Arena and the outdoor exhibits in between for the four day event.

The OTC is world renowned for bringing together products, services and professionals who are involved in the rush to bring oil and gas to the surface from the deeps of the blue waters off the coastlines. The 45 year-old conference is a huge boost to the local Houston economy, drawing in a record 80,000 people this year and other spin off events, like the Crawfish Boil at the University of Houston and the numerous other barbeque cook-off’s and private banquets make the OTC as unique to the Bayou City’s fortunes as the Livestock Show and Rodeo that is held in the same venue every February.

The event reinforces Houston’s position as the world’s capital for oil and gas drilling and has become such a huge success that the organizing corporation has also launched similar events elsewhere – the OTC Asia in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in March 2014 and the OTC Brasil in Rio de Janeiro in October 2013 – plus an Arctic Technology Conference in Houston next February.

Among the 2,700 exhibitors three with deep Indian roots were present once again. Tata Steel, headquartered in the UK but with a local office in Sugar Land, once again had its large exhibit highlighting its pipeline solutions.

American Block Manufacturing, a homegrown  34 year-old firm on Breen Road that designs and manufactures oilfield and marine equipment, owned by Rajini and Darshana Shah brought in many visitors to its large red and black pavilion, manned by the Shah’s, their son and other staff.

And, American Completion Tools of Burleson, Texas, 20-minutes south of Fort Worth had a booth near the front, manned by veteran oilfield professional Vice-President T.J. Sinha, Dev Sinha and others. The firm manufactures oilfield parts and has a flow-line products division on Solon Road in Houston.

Among the visitors to the OTC were a number of Indian professionals, many local and a large contingent from the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry which held a day-long workshop in the Reliant Arena on Tuesday, May 7 . The Indian Consul General P. Harish visited each of the Indian exhibits before the workshop.

HOUSTON: Consul General P. Harish met the Honorable Congressman Ted Poe (R-TX, 2nd District) at the Consulate on 13 May, 2013.

During the meeting, Consul General Harish and Hon. Congressman Ted Poe had a very cordial and useful exchange of views on the latest developments in India-US relations. They discussed bilateral trade and investment, and the exciting prospects for US and Indian companies to cooperate in the energy sector, especially in LNG. They expressed appreciation for the valuable contributions of the Indian American community in bringing the two countries and peoples closer.

By Jawahar Malhotra

HOUSTON: For Harjit Galhotra and his family – wife Seema, sons Ravi and Balraj – making the trip to the Better Business Bureau’s Awards for Excellence luncheon every year has become almost a routine affair for the past seven years in a row.

But for Galhotra, the thrill of making the trek – as he did again this past Wednesday, May 8 – is anything but routine. He looks forward to coming to the packed luncheon, which was held this year at the Westin Galleria on West Alabama to another record turnout of 900 people at the BBB’s coveted 21st Annual Awards for Excellence to area businesses which are members of the organization.

Over 250 firms were finalists in this year’s competition for the four to ten best businesses among each of 30 categories. The winner of each category received the Pinnacle Award, the BBB’s highest honor while the others received a Distinction Award.

This year the Galhotras waited with bated breath for the finalists in the Automotive Services category and were pleased that the family business Galson Auto & Body once again won the Distinction Award. The business has won the Pinnacle Award in 2005 and 2007.

Galhotra, a former consulting engineer who segued into auto repair after losing his job in 1993, has won accolades for the way he runs his shop on 12900 Cypress N. Houston and managed to grow it into a well-respected business spread over three acres, with two ASE Master Automotive Technicians on staff.

This year, another company with two South Asians in key positions won the Pinnacle Award in the Real Estate and Mortgage category, and coincidentally shared the luncheon table with the Galson team. Sutherland Mortgage Services President Krishnan Swaminathan accepted the prestigious award while his colleagues Paramjeet Singh Bhamra, Nettie Bird and John Lotterhos shared his joy. “This award says a great deal about the trust people place in us,” said a delighted Swaminathan.

Sutherland Mortgage Services is a premier nationwide provider of home mortgages and is currently licensed in almost all states. Its founder’s vision was to be the cutting-edge leader in residential mortgage lending in the United States; and through its parent company, Adventity. Headquartered in Rochester, N.Y., Adventity has offices in North America, Europe and Asia, and provides robust and cost-effective outsourcing solutions including tailored knowledge services, transaction processing and customer contact support.

HOUSTON: Consul General P. Harish hosted a breakfast in honor of The Honorable Congressman Ed Royce (R), Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and The Honorable Congressman Pete Olson, Representative (R-TX 22nd District) on 12 May, 2013 at his residence.

During the meeting, Consul General Harish and Hon. Chairman Ed Royce discussed issues of mutual concern in the international arena, prospects for bilateral cooperation on energy especially LNG, bilateral trade and investment, and expressed appreciation for the contributions of the Indian American community in promoting India-US relations.

Consul General thanked Hon. Chairman Ed Royce and Hon. Congressman Pete Olson for their support for stronger bilateral economic engagement.

By Jaya Ghosh

HOUSTON: Tagore society of Houston (TSH) presented a wonderful musical evening to commemorate Rabindranath Tagore’s 152nd Birthday and 100th year of ‘Gitanjali’, the song offering on Saturday, May 4 at Sugarland auditorium in Sugarland Texas. Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941), the poet, musician, prolific play write, philosopher, painter, educator and social reformer of undivided India was truly the Renaissance man of India. No wonder Mahatma Gandhi called him “Gurudev”, while Tagore called him “Mahatma”. Tagore was the first non-European and the first Asian to be awarded the Nobel Prize for literature for his collection of verses “Gitanjali” in 1913. The Nobel committee was mesmerized by Tagore’s creation, “… because of his profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verses, by which, with consummate skill, he had made his poetic thought, expressed in his own English words, a part of the literature of the West.”

TSH has planned different cultural activities including lectures, musical shows, essay contest, drama and also building a  ‘Tagore grove’ at Ray Miller park in Houston with a life size bronze statue of Tagore surrounded by a nice garden to commemorate 100th anniversary of Gitanjali in Houston. This year the celebrations actually started on April 20 with a fund raising dinner event where eminent Tagore scholar, Prof. Kathleen O’Connell of University of Toronto was invited as the guest speaker.

 Tagore Jayanti celebration of 2013 comprised a variety of programs by local and overseas artists featuring recitations, songs, and dance performances organized by the TSH cultural committee. The program began with lighting the lamp ceremony by honorable chief guest, Consul General of India, Mr. P. Harish and TSH president Dr. Ruma Dey Sarkar along with presidents of a number of local organizations of India, Bangladesh and Srilankan diaspora, followed by National anthem of USA, India, Bangladesh and Srilanka by about 40 kids. As was pointed out by the past TSH president Dr. Raja Banga, Tagore has the unique distinction of being the composer of two National Anthems (India and Bangladesh), and might have influenced the composition of the Sri Lankan national anthem, composed by his student Ananda Samarakoon.

It is on this occasion that the Harris county CEO judge Ed Emmett and the City of  Houston mayor Anise Parker through proclamations declared May 8 as Tagore day in Houston, as the proclamation read out loud to the audience by Biren das Biswas and Dr. Raja Banga.

Honorable CGI Mr. P. Harish gave a wonderful speech about Tagore’s philosophy and universal vision. He quoted the Original acceptance speech of Rabindranath Tagore, read by Clive, British Chargé d’ Affaires, at the Nobel Banquet at Grand Hôtel, Stockholm, and December 10, 1913. “I beg to convey to the Swedish Academy my grateful appreciation of the breadth of understanding which has brought the distant near, and has made a stranger a brother”. Tagore, unable to attend the Nobel Prize ceremony that was held in December 1913, a month after announcement of the winners, had sent a Telegram as his acceptance note.

“If you see yourself in everybody and everybody in yourself, then you don’t hate anybody.” This speech of his that is a mantra from the Upanishad is preserved at Stockholm by Swedish Nobel Prize Academy,” The West considered Tagore’s work as a message from the East, spreading the message of ‘unity of mankind’. His poetry was dedicated to Lord, without any identification or demarcation of caste and creed that exists today. “He was known as the messenger from the East, bringing spirituality to the West.”

The cultural segment of the evening started with a beautiful solo presentation by renowned choreographer and artist Dr. Ratna Kumar with verses of Gitanjali narrated by Debleena Banerji with Biplab Samadder on violin. These two soul touching poems portrayed Tagore’s spiritual understanding of the relationship between the finite and the infinite.

After a short break TSH presented a narrative musical rendition ‘Life and Legacy of Tagore: In retrospect’, an awesome of an assortment of Tagore songs with narration, sung by about 40 odd performers belonging to the Indian and Bangladeshi community led by Kamalpriya Roy and Rupa Ghosh and beautiful narration by Biplab Samadder. This was designed by Raja Banga and Debleena Banerji.

Later noted dancers Supradipta Datta and Upali Nanda graciously presented a fabulous dance composition based on odissi steps and abhinaya with a Tagore poem ‘Banshiwala, recited by Dr. Ruma Dey Sarkar.

The most noticeable, mind blowing performance was Manipuri dance recital, ‘Basanta baul” by Krishnakali and Debanjali took the crowd. These two beautiful dancers were a delight to watch with their smooth graceful movements and subtle expressions with a medley of Kaviguru’s song renditions narrated by Harsha Neotia and eminent singers like Hariharan and Kabita Krishnamurti. Audience gave them a standing ovation at the end. The program ended with ‘Aakash bhora surya Tara’.

Rabindranath Tagore, the poets of all poets, following his great vision of universal humanism and borderless mind, remembering this great life in this part of the world with everyone is a sincere and genuine effort by TSH.

By Manu Shah

HOUSTON: Ancient seers would have said that Mathieu Boisvert, a Canadian, has a karmic connection to India.  He not only speaks Hindi and Sanskrit but also has a diploma in Pali and has been to the Magha Mela five times and twice to the Kumbh Mela.

Touted as the largest human congregation on the Earth, the Kumbh Mela draws people from all over the world with the tantalizing promise of freedom from the earthly cycle of birth and death. An entire city, the size of Athens is constructed and deconstructed in weeks to accommodate a population that swells to that of Texas. Lasting 55 days, the Kumbh Mela of 2013 drew a record breaking million people who came either as the curious onlooker, the researcher or the faithful pilgrim.

According to the Vedas, during a waging war between the demigods and demons for the elixir of eternal life, a few drops fell on four places that are today known as Prayag (the site of modern day Allahabad), Haridwar, Ujjain, and Nashik.  It is believed that these drops gave mystical powers to these places and it is to make oneself gain these powers that the Kumbh Mela has been celebrated in each of the four places for as long as one can remember.  The normal Kumbh Mela is held every 3 years, the Ardh (half) Kumbh Mela is held every six years at Haridwar and Prayag while the Purna (complete).  Kumbh mela takes place every twelve years at four places Prayag (Allahabad), Haridwar, Ujjain, and Nashik, based on planetary movements.  The Maha Kumbh Mela is celebrated at Prayag after 144 years (after 12 Purna Kumbh Melas).

Mathieu’s journey to the ghats of Allahabad began when he received a grant from the Shastri Indo Canadian Institute in 1999 to conduct research on Hindu ascetics. As Professor at the University of Quebec in Montreal with a Doctorate in Religious Studies, Mathieu’s focus was Hinduism, Buddhism as well as the phenomenon of pilgrimage and transmission of traditional knowledge. Little did Mathieu realize how this journey and the stunning display of faith by pilgrims towards the Ganga would forever change his life.

Mathieu was fortunate to stay with one of the chief Purohits of the Kumbh Mela – Pandit Sharma with whom he developed a deep abiding friendship. With this ringside view he witnessed the reversal of roles between the pilgrims (kalpavasis) and the ascetics (sadhus) during the period of the mela.

 The kalpavasi or pilgrims who pledge to come for twelve consecutive years to the Magha Mela for an entire month, to drink, cook and bathe only with Gangajal, religiously reciting the Ramcharitamanas are householders (grhastha)  temporarily living the life of an ascetic.  On the other hand, the sadhus live as householders with the gurubhai, with their “family”, enjoying good food and communal life during the period of the mela.  He did however notice that the pilgrims tended to keep their distance from the sadhus fearing their siddis or magical powers.

Mathieu did get to mingle and talk to several ash smeared, matted haired sadhus boasting supernatural powers during the melas but they left him unimpressed.  What moved him was the dedication, devotion and the heart felt faith of the pilgrims towards the life giving force of the waters of Ma Ganga.  Did he brave a dip in the Ganga?  The answer is several times, in fact every time he goes to Allahabad.  However Mathieu draws the line at drinking gangajal despite pilgrims telling him that it’s just that his faith isn’t strong enough! Visiting the melas as many times as he has, he could not help but absorb some of the deep reverence the pilgrims foster towards Ma Ganga.

Since 1999, Mathieu returned to Prayaga several times as a scholar, a researcher as well as with his older brother and two sons in order to introduce them to Ma Ganga. Mathieu also takes groups of graduate students to Gangotri and Gomukh every two years so that western students can study and witness the devotion that so many hold towards that river they deem sacred. Presently, Mathieu is on his way to Gangotri with a group of 14 students from Quebec for the sixth time.