INDIAN FESTIVALS - Overseas Indian

CONNECTING INDIA WITH ITS DIASPORA 

Vol 2 Issue 10 October 2009 

PRAVASI BHARATIYA 

INDIAN FESTIVALS 

GOING 

GLOBAL 

The Indian Diaspora celebrated 

the festive season in myriad ways 

U.S. President 

Barack Obama lighting 

the traditional lamp to 

celebrate Diwali at the 

White House 

on October 14 

MINISTRY OF OVERSEAS INDIAN AFFAIRS

PRAVASI BHARATIYA SEWA 

If you are an Indian living overseas and 

looking at investing in India or crediting 

money to banks in India, then log on to 

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CONNECTING INDIA WITH ITS DIASPORA 

Vol 2 Issue 10 October 2009 

PRAVASI BHARATIYA 

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Another ‘Nobel moment’ for India as it were, 

albeit by extension, though not any less 

deserving of adulation. Venkatraman 

Ramakrishnan, an Indian-born scientist, 

and now an American citizen, along with 

two others, was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry 

2009. Venkatraman showed exactly how information 

contained in the DNA translates into life — a process 

that has helped the fight against infectious diseases. 

Sweden’s Royal Academy of Sciences described ‘Venki’ 

and the two others as “warriors in the struggle of the 

rising tide of incurable bacterial infections”. Extraordinary 

achievements indeed, in the cause of humanity. 

The 57-year-old Venki, now a senior research fellow 

at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, 

Britain, joins a distinguished galaxy of Indian 

Laureates: Rabindranath Tagore (Literature, 1913); C.V. 

Raman (Physics, 1930); Hargobind Khorana (Medicine, 

1968); Mother Teresa (Peace, 1979); S. Chandrashekhar 

(Physics, 1983); Amartya Sen (Economics, 1998); and 

R.K. Pachauri (Peace, 2007). There is, however, an interesting 

corollary: Khorana, Chandrashekhar, Sen, and 

now, Venki won the Nobel abroad. Exceptional talents, 

born, brought up and educated in India, but nurtured 

and honed abroad, excelling in their chosen pursuits 

with extraordinary results! India provides a solid base 

in terms of world-class education. And these pioneers 

go on to put to test their skills and ideas in crucibles 

far removed from home and succeed. Indeed, these 

exceptional Indian minds have helped build and 

nurture some of those pioneering crucibles and laboratories 

of frontiers research and knowledge in universities 

and institutions on both sides of the Atlantic. 

It is an interesting phenomenon and is vividly 

descriptive of the synergy of talent and opportunity 

that give birth to exceptional research and knowledge 

as embodied in the men named above. It is also a tribute 

to a certain culture of rigour the Indian educational 

system fosters which, in turn, has shaped several 

extraordinary minds who have eventually made seminal 

contributions to India and the world. Pravasi 

Bharatiya salutes Venki and his colleagues Thomas A. 

Steitz and Ada E. Yonath, joint winners of the Nobel. 

The year continues to make waves. For, there was a 

surprise Nobel. President Barack Obama, an avowed follower 

of Mahatma Gandhi, whom he describes as his 

hero, joined the ranks of fellow American Martin 

Luther King, himself a Gandhian, and won the Nobel 

for Peace. Gandhi, perhaps the greatest apostle of peace 

of the 20th century, ironically never won the Nobel. 

Those who imbibed his philosophy did — a remarkable 

tribute to the man who in his lifetime shunned all material 

forms of recognition and fame. 

An icon, meanwhile, celebrated its 50th anniversary. 

Doordarshan, or otherwise popularly called ‘DD’, is the 

world’s largest public broadcaster. Consider the following: 

More than 90 percent of Indians receive DD programmes 

through a network of nearly 1,400 terrestrial 

Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, who along with two others, was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry 

2009. Sweden’s Royal Academy of Sciences described ‘Venki’ and his colleagues as “warriors in the 

struggle of the rising tide of incurable bacterial infections”. 

transmitters and 46 studios. Available in 146 countries, 

DD operates 33 channels, including an international 

channel. India’s collective memories from the initial 

days of Independence have been forged in the studios 

of DD. Images from the annals of the freedom struggle 

and those of the iconic warriors of freedom remain 

inscribed in the minds of generations of DD viewers. 

DD lighted up lives in rural India, brought entertainment 

to urban homes, and became the most vivid portrayer 

of development. Read more about that undying 

hero — the broadcaster of public conscience. 

This festive season was amazing. U.S. President 

Barack Obama celebrated Diwali in the White House, 

a first in its history. He lit a diya and opened the celebration 

of light and symbolically heralded the victory 

of good over evil. In its Cover Story, Pravasi Bharatiya 

takes you across to the celebrations the Diaspora 

mounted in different parts of the world. From Durga 

Puja to Dussera to Diwali, the Indian Diaspora revelled 

in gaiety as they evoked home and nostalgia from 

Zurich to Trinidad and from Johannesburg to London. 

The festivals connect — it is the umbilical cord that 

essentially defines Indianness and ‘transports’ the 

Diaspora back to its roots and collective consciousness. 

Read on to partake of the celebrations. 

As we draw closer to the end of the year in a couple 

of months from now, it would be time for both stocktaking 

and renewal. The world has been witness to 

great events, both cataclysmic and regenerative. In the 

last quarter of the calendar year, Pravasi looks forward 

to some contemplation on our collective destiny. Some 

say it is predestination. Yet, there are others who 

believe in going against the grain, as it were, and carving 

and shaping the destiny we all share. Pravasi 

invites you to share your thoughts over the cusp of 

destiny. 

Happy Reading. 

—K.G. Sreenivas 

4 Pravasi Bharatiya October 2009 

Pravasi Bharatiya October 2009 5

Contents 

BOOKS 

TRAVEL 

DIASPORA NEWSMAKER 

14 

COVER STORY: 

INDIAN COLOURS 

The Indian diaspora worldwide 

got cracking this festive season with 

U.S. President Barack Obama 

joining members of the 

Asian-American community 

to celebrate Diwali... 

20 

A NOSTALGIC 

JOURNEY 

From a makeshift studio 50 

years back to becoming the 

world’s largest public 

broadcaster, Doordarshan has 

come a long way. Despite the 

proliferation of infotainment 

channels, it remains the 

medium of the masses, 

catering to 90 percent of 

India’s audiences 

27 Rural 

renaissance 

Rural BPO’s are Karnataka’s latest in IT 

revolution, says Maitreyee Boruah 

30The Nobel 

MOMENT 

Billed as a breakthrough as significant as 

the discovery of penicillin, the work of 

Indian-born Venkatraman Ramakrishnan 

has opened new doors in the fight 

against infectious diseases 

8 

Greater say for 

emerging states 

At the recent G-20 Summit, Prime Minister Manmohan 

Singh said that interdependence was the key to 

orderly conduct of global system and world economy 

10 Deepening 

TIES 

India signs social security agreement 

with Luxembourg, inks labour mobility 

MoU with Denmark 

12Taking on illegal 

migration 

There is a consensus that state governments and 

the MOIA need to make efforts to resolve issues 

relating to overseas Indians 

39 ‘JULIAJI’ 

in India 

Julia ‘Pretty’ Roberts visited India this 

month for the shooting of her film 

‘Eat, Pray, Love’ 



NEWS 

G-20 SUMMIT 

Prime Minister 

Dr. Manmohan Singh 

and Mrs. Gursharan 

Kaur with U.S. 

President Barack 

Obama and Mrs. 

Michelle Obama, at the 

Phillip Conservatory 

and Botanical Gardens, 

in Pittsburgh, on 

September 24. 

Greater say for 

emerging states 

Interdependence is the key to orderly conduct 

of global system and world economy, says PM 

HIGHLIGHTS OF 

PM’S ADDRESS 

n Developing countries were in 

no way responsible for the 

global economic crisis, but they 

are the hardest hit. 

n India and Asian countries have 

weathered the crisis relatively 

well. Nations in sub-Saharan 

Africa and other regions have 

been badly hit. 

n An estimated 90 million people 

in the developing world may be 

pushed below the poverty line. 

This will hurt future growth, 

and delay achievement of Millennium 

Development Goals. 

n We need to commit that we 

will not undertake any premature 

withdrawal of stimulus 

and plan an orderly “exit” 

when the time is right. 

n To resuscitate growth in 

developing nations, we have to 

replace lost export demand by 

expanding domestic demand. 

The best option is to expand 

investment in sectors like 

infrastructure, energy, 

transport and public services. 

n The World Bank and the other 

regional development banks 

must play a major role by 

financing such investment. 

There may be hesitation in 

committing additional public 

resources, but what is needed 

for these institutions is small 

compared to the massive public 

money used to stabilize the 

private financial system in 

industrialized countries. 

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh at a press meet after addressing the G20 Summit in Pittsburgh. National Security 

Advisor M.K. Narayanan (left) and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia are also seen. 

Reviving Exports 

On the worsening exports scenario, 

he said, “to resuscitate 

growth in the developing countries, 

we have to replace lost export 

demand by expanding other components 

of domestic demand. The 

best option is to expand investment.” 

“The World Bank and the other 

regional development banks can 

play a major role by financing such 

investment. They should expand 

lending for infrastructure development 

to emerging market countries,” 

the Prime Minister added. 

“The collapse in export markets 

makes it all the more important 

that the market access of developing 

countries is not constrained by 

protectionism. I recognise that 

when growth is low, and unemployment 

is high, it is inevitable 

that protectionist pressures will 

arise. It will be a test of the collective 

political leadership of this 

Group, whether we are able to 

resist these pressures in our countries,” 

the Prime Minister told the 

G20 leaders. 

Indian Economy 

Later, addressing a post-Summit 

press conference, Dr. Singh said 

“we have had a very productive 

meeting in which there was a comprehensive 

discussion among the 

leaders of the world on a wide range 

of economic issues”. 

“This Summit was not meant to 

be a trillion-dollar summit as was 

the case with the London Summit. 

Its purpose was to review what had 

happened since the last meeting in 

London and chart the way 

forward,” he said. Referring to 

India’s economy, Dr. Singh said: 

“There is no economic crisis in 

India. It is certainly true that as a 

sequel to the global economic crisis 

our exports have suffered.” 

Interdependent World 

On the question of the G20 

replacing the G8, Dr. Singh 

said: “I think interdependence of 

nations is a fact of life. Interdependence 

in a globalised world means 

that no country, howsoever powerful, 

can take on the entire burden of 

economic adjustment and economic 

decision-making that may be 

required to manage the global 

system in an orderly fashion.” 

“It is that perception and that 

reality which has, I think, 

persuaded many people in Europe 

and the U.S. that this G8 is 

ill-equipped to handle all the global 

issues. With the rise of Asia, 

economic decision-making has to 

take into account the views of these 

countries if it is to have an optimum 

impact,” he added. 

Financial Regulation 

On the regulatory role of the IMF 

and the World Bank, Dr. Singh 

said: “There is the IMF, there is the 

World Financial Stability Board, 

there is an agreement in the meeting 

that Group of 20 economies will 

be monitored by the IMF through 

an independent process of evaluation, 

and there will be a sort of peer 

review.” The G20 leaders will now 

meet in Canada in June 2010 and 

then in South Korea in November 

subsequently, followed by the next 

summit in France in 2011. 

Prime Minister Dr. Manmo - 

han Singh, accompanied by 

a high-level delegation, 

participated in the third 

G-20 Summit held in Pittsburgh on 

September 24-25. He concluded his 

engagements at the two-day 

Summit forging a clear victory for 

the emerging economies by getting 

a greater say in the affairs of the 

global financial system and its 

regulation. 

The Prime Minister was accompanied 

by National Security Advisor 

M. K. Narayanan, Deputy Chairman 

of Planning Commission Montek 

Singh Ahluwalia and other 

senior officials. The summit was 

hosted by U.S. President Barack 

Obama. On September 25, addressing 

the Plenary Session of the G20 

Summit, the Prime Minister 

focussed on the challenges posed by 

the need to revive the global economy. 

“In the seven years before the 

crisis, the GDP of the developing 

countries grew at an average of 6.5 

percent per year. In 2009, it will 

grow by only 1.5 percent, implying 

a fall in real per capita income. 

Countries in Asia have generally 

fared much better. Countries in 

sub-Saharan Africa and in many 

other regions have been very badly 

hit,” Dr. Singh said. 

“India, too, has been affected, but 

in common with other Asian 

countries, we have weathered the 

crisis relatively well. After growing 

at 9 percent per year for four years, 

our economy slowed down to 6.7 

percent in 2008-09. In 2009, despite a 

drought, we expect to grow by 

around 6.3 percent in 2009-10 and 

then recover to 7 to 7.5 percent 

growth next year.” 

“This relatively strong performance 

is partly due to the strong 

stimulus measures introduced in 

the second half of 2008-09, which 

have been continued in the current 

financial year,” Singh told G20 

leaders. “The fact that some of us 

have fared relatively well does not 

mean that the crisis has not 

affected the developing world,” 

he added. 

HIGHLIGHTS OF LEADERS’ STATEMENT 

n Today, we reviewed the progress 

we have made since the London 

Summit in April. Our national 

commitments to restore growth 

resulted in the largest coordinated 

fiscal and monetary stimulus 

ever undertaken. We acted 

together to increase the resources 

necessary to stop the crisis from 

spreading around the world. 

n We cannot rest until the global 

economy is restored to full 

health, and hard-working families 

worldwide can find decent jobs. 

n We pledged today to avoid any 

premature withdrawal of 

stimulus and agreed to launch a 

framework that lays out the policies 

to generate strong and 

sustainable global growth. 

n We pledge to avoid destabilizing 

booms and busts in asset and 

credit prices and adopt macroeconomic 

policies that promote 

adequate global demand. 

n We designated the G20 to be the 

premier forum for our international 

economic cooperation. 

n We committed to a shift in 

International Monetary Fund 

(IMF) quota share to dynamic 

emerging markets and developing 

countries of at least 5 percent 

from over-represented countries 

to under-represented countries. 

n We stressed the importance of 

adopting a dynamic formula at 

the World Bank which primarily 

reflects countries’ evolving 

economic weight. 

n We will fight protectionism. We 

are committed to bringing the 

Doha Round to a successful 

conclusion in 2010. 

8 Pravasi Bharatiya October 2009 Pravasi Bharatiya October 2009 9

NEWS 

PACTS SIGNED 

DEEPENING TIES 

India signs social 

security agreement 

with Luxembourg, 

inks labour mobility 

MoU with Denmark 

India has entered into a Social 

Security Agreement with Luxembourg 

to provide benefits to 

Indian nationals working in 

the European country. 

The agreement, signed by Minister 

for Overseas Indian Affairs 

Vayalar Ravi, and Mars di Bartolomeo, 

Luxembourg’s Minister 

for Social Security, comes after 

negotiations held in New Delhi 

last year. 

“For posted workers, for a 

detachment period of 60 months no 

social security contribution need 

to be paid under the Luxembourg 

law by the detached workers provided 

they continue to pay social 

security payment in India,” according 

to the agreement. 

If the detachment period continues 

beyond 60 months, the competent 

authorities of the two countries 

or the competent agencies 

designated may agree to extend the 

period of posting. 

“The provision of detachment is 

also applicable where a person who 

has been sent by his employer from 

the territory of one contracting 

state to the territory of a third 

country is subsequently sent by 

that employer from the territory of 

the third country to the territory of 

the other contracting state,” says 

the agreement. 

The Social Security Agreement 

includes the features of full portability 

of social security benefits. It 

also provides for totalisation of the 

periods of contribution for pension/benefits. 

India-Denmark MoU 

Meanwhile, India and Denmark 

have signed a memorandum 

of understanding (MoU) on Labour 

The Memorandum 

of Understanding 

with Denmark on 

Labour Mobility 

Partnership is the first 

such pact with any 

European nation 

Mobility Partnership to promote 

orderly migration of Indian workers 

to meet the growing demand of 

workforce in the Danish economy. 

Minister Ravi signed the MoU 

with Danish Minister of Refugee, 

Immigration and Integration 

Affairs Birther Ronn Hornbech at 

Copenhagen. 

“This is the first MoU on Labour 

Mobility Partnership with any 

(Left) Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi. (Above) A view of 

Luxembourg city. Luxembourg, a landlocked West European country, has 

heavily forested hills in the north and open, rolling countryside in the south. 

European nation,” said the Ministry 

of Overseas Indian Affairs. 

“It will facilitate promotion of 

orderly migration of workers from 

India to meet the growing demand 

for skilled and trained workers in 

the Danish economy and prevent 

illegal/irregular migration,” it 

said. 

According to the MoU, there 

would be cooperation between the 

two countries on “labour market 

expansion, employment facilitation, 

organised entry and orderly 

migration and exchange of information 

and cooperation in introducing 

best practices for mutual 

benefit” for qualified workers 

within their national objectives 

and the relevant laws. 

It assures “equal treatment of 

workers with the nationals of the 

receiving state, undertaking mutually 

beneficial studies for recruitment 

and identifying emerging sectors 

in Danish economy that 

require qualified workers, promoting 

direct contact between the 

employers in Denmark and the 

state managed or private recruiting 

agencies in India, without 

intermediaries to facilitate regular 

and orderly recruitment of workers.” 

The MoU also provide “protection 

and welfare of all categories of 

workers under the labour laws and 

other relevant laws of the host 

country.” 

It also provides for constitution 

of a Joint Working Group (JWG) of 

both the countries. 

India wants 

deeper economic 

ties with EU 

Overseas Indian Affairs Minister 

Vayalar Ravi has called upon 

the European Union (EU) to 

strengthen its “strategic economic 

engagement” with India as the 

country offers “immense opportunities” 

for investors, EuAsiaNews 

reported. 

“I stand before you to invite you 

to develop a medium to long-term 

strategic economic engagement 

with a country that offers immense 

opportunities,” he told an EU-India 

business conference in Brussels on 

September 30. 

“The investment requirement in 

infrastructure alone over the next 

three years is projected to the tune 

of $435 billion,” Ravi said, adding 

that investors’ money was “safe 

and safest” in India. 

The minister praised the contribution 

of an estimated 25 million 

overseas Indians spread across 110 

countries for transforming the 

economies and adding value to 

thought and innovations of their 

destination countries. 

About 300 businessmen, 

entrepreneurs as well as government 

officials from the European 

Union and India met in Brussels 

from September 30 to October 2 to 

debate and discuss how to expand 

and boost trade and commercial 

ties between the two sides. 

The “India-Europe Business Partnership 

Summit” is organised by 

the Indian Merchants’ Chamber 

(IMC) in association with the 

Europe India Chamber of Commerce 

(EICC) and the Belgo-Indian 

Chamber of Commerce and Industry 

(BICC). 

Belgian Foreign Minister Yves 

Leterme in his inaugural address 

said strengthening of EU-India 

partnership would contribute to 

greater global peace and stability. 

“India is a dynamic fast-growing 

economy and the EU is the most 

important trading partner of 

India,” he said. Belgium will cooperate 

with India to make the eighth 

Asia-Europe summit (ASEM), to be 

held in Brussels in October 2010, a 

success, Leterme said. 


NEWS 

MOIA ACTION PLAN 

ATTACKS ON INDIANS 

Taking on 

illegal 

migration 

There is a consensus that state governments and the MOIA need to 

make efforts to resolve issues relating to overseas Indians 

Aseven-point action plan 

to stop illegal migration 

to other countries has 

been agreed upon following 

a two-day consultation meeting 

between the Ministry of Overseas 

Indian Affairs (MOIA) and the 

state governments that ended in 

New Delhi on September 9. 

The plan seeks to notify a focal 

point at least at the level of the 

Inspector General of Police (IGP) 

to tackle illegal migration, to 

launch awareness campaign at the 

grassroots level and to identify 

India’s new AMMO 

The US government 

has cleared yet 

another high 

technology system for 

India, the “futuristic” 

shipboard Hawkeye E-2D 

aircraft for Airborne 

Early Warning (AEW) 

and battle management. 

The clearance has been 

described by diplomatic 

sources as a fallout of the 

“successful” visit of Secretary 

of State Hillary 

Clinton and the 

signing of the End User 

Monitoring Agreement 

(EUMA) of military 

high-risk prone areas — districts/talukas 

— for focused attention, 

and to start institutional 

efforts through district police to 

gather intelligence on intermediaries 

and middlemen who foster 

illegal immigration. 

The other points are: cases in the 

database will be closely monitored 

to take prompt action, capacity will 

be built amongst officers at the airports/ 

district/NGOs and at the 

MOIA level, and a standing core 

group that will meet regularly to 

review the action plan will be set 

equipment being supplied 

or sold by the US to 

India. Like the Boeing P 

8I Maritime Multi-mission 

Aircraft (MMA), of 

which the Indian Navy 

has already ordered 

eight aircraft, the Hawkeye 

E-2D is the very latest 

and is yet to be delivered 

to the US Navy. 

India is the second 

country after the UAE to 

be cleared by the US 

State and Defence 

Departments for sale 

of this sophisticated 

system. 

A soldier along the 

India-Bangladesh 

border 

up soon. The release said that 

there was a consensus that state 

governments and the MOIA need 

to make concerted efforts to 

resolve issues relating to overseas 

Indians and prospective emigrants. 

“State governments shall 

establish a nodal contact in each 

district with a coordinator in the 

state capital to deal with issues of 

emigration and diaspora,” the 

release said. 

The meeting invited the states to 

participate in the Pravasi 

Bharatiya Divas 2010. 

INS Kochi launched 

The Indian Navy on September 18 launched the 

country’s second indigenously-built stealth warship 

INS Kochi. The 6,800-tonne destroyer, built by 

the Mazagaon Docks Ltd (MDL), was launched by Madhulika 

Verma, wife of Naval chief Admiral Nirmal 

Verma. INS Kochi, the second destroyer of Project 15-A 

built by the MDL, is 163 metres long, encompasses stateof-the-art 

weapons, sensors, stealth features, an 

advanced action information system, sophisticated 

power distribution 

and other 

INS Kochi in 

Mumbai. 

advanced features. 

It will also 

be fitted with 

the supersonic 

sur- 

BrahMos 

face-to-surface 

missiles. 

Days after the latest incident 

of assault on four 

Indians in Melbourne, 

India on September 16 

asked Australia to take immediate 

steps to prevent the recurrence of 

such attacks and punish the guilty. 

“We are concerned at the recurring 

attacks on Indians in Australia,” 

external affairs ministry 

spokesperson Vishnu Prakash told 

reporters in New Delhi. 

Two Indian nationals and two 

other people of Indian origin were 

assaulted in Melbourne on September 

13. India's high commissioner to 

Australia Sujatha Singh took up the 

latest incident of attack with Australian 

Foreign Minister Stephen 

Smith. The Indian envoy has also 

written to Victoria's premier John 

Brumby expressing concern about 

the attacks. 

The Indian consul general in Melbourne 

is in contact with authorities 

in Victoria including the police 

authorities, Prakash said. 

Referring to assurances given by 

Australia, especially from Prime 

Minister Kevin Rudd, the 

spokesperson said: “It is our 

earnest hope that the authorities 

concerned would take all necessary 

steps towards the safety and security 

of Indians in that country.” 

“We hope that the latest incident 

is investigated with care and the 

culprits are dealt with according to 

the laws of the land,” he said. 

New Delhi also reminded Canberra 

to put in place all measures, 

including those already announced, 

“at the earliest to prevent recurrence 

of such incidents in the 

future”. Officials of the consulate 

Rudd’s advice 

Deputy Prime Minister of Australia Julia Gillard with Prime Minister 

Dr. Manmohan Singh in New Delhi on September 1. 

Oz asked to 

PUNISH GUILTY 

New Delhi reminds Canberra to put in place 

all security measures at the earliest 

general of India in Melbourne are 

in touch with the members of the 

family of the victims, who have 

been assured all assistance by the 

consulate, the spokesperson said. 

Four Indian men were brutally 

assaulted outside a bar in Epping, a 

suburb of Melbourne, capital of Victoria, 

on September 13. The victims 

say they were bashed by up to 70 

people in a car park in High Street 

at Epping. But police say there were 

only four or five offenders, although 

there were another 15 people making 

racist comments. 

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on September 17 

said Indian students should not take the law into their 

own hands. The advice came in response to writer and activist 

Farrukh Dhondy’s reported comment exhorting Indians to 

Kevin Rudd ‘stand up’ and resort to ‘some form of retaliation’ 

following the assault on Indians in Melbourne, The Age reported. Rudd said 

Australia was a law-abiding nation. "The laws are there for a purpose and 

that is for all citizens to adhere to them," Rudd was quoted as saying by 

The Age. 

According to the external affairs 

ministry, Sukhdip Singh, one of the 

four hurt in the attack, sustained 

serious injuries and is undergoing 

treatment. “We are informed that 

the police arrested four individuals 

who have since been released pending 

further investigations,” the 

spokesperson said. 

Australia had assured India when 

External Affairs Minister S.M. 

Krishna visited that country early 

August that “firm action” will be 

taken against those responsible for 

attacks on Indian students. 

Canberra also stressed that inputs 

from the Indian community will be 

factored in a safety plan for international 

students. 

Krishna’s visit was followed by 

that of Australian Deputy Prime 

Minister Julia Gillard to New Delhi 

late August. 

Gillard assured again that the 

Australian government was taking 

all possible measures to prevent 

attacks on Indian students, that 

included enhanced patrolling and 

more interaction with the Indian 

community. 



COVER STORY 

DIASPORA FESTIVITIES 

UNITED STATES 

US President Barack 

Obama lights a 

traditional lamp 

during Diwali 

celebrations in the East 

Room of the White 

House in Washington, 

DC, on October 14. 

AFP 

Obama’s Diwali 

He became the first U.S. president to join 

celebrations marking the festival of lights 

Barack Obama lit a ceremonial 

Diwali lamp at the White 

House and wished everyone 

a “Happy Diwali and Saal 

Mubarak” to become the first U.S. 

president to personally join an 

event celebrating the Indian festival 

of lights. “Hindus, Jains, Sikhs 

and some Buddhists, here in America 

and around the world, will celebrate 

this holiday by lighting 

diyas, or lamps, which symbolise 

the victory of light over darkness, 

and knowledge over ignorance,” 

said Obama in the East Room. 

“And while this is a time of 

rejoicing, it’s also a time for reflection, 

when we remember those 

who are less fortunate and renew 

our commitment to reach out to 

those in need,” he added at the ceremony 

held for the first time in the 

main White House. 

Although it was President 

George W. Bush who started the 

tradition of celebrating Diwali, he 

never joined the festivities. 

Obama then lit the traditional 

lamp with a candle as a Hindu 

priest with a three-forked tilak on 

his forehead chanted Asatoma 

Sadgamaya (Lead us from the 

unreal to the real, from darkness to 

light, from death to liberation) 

from the Upanishads. 

Obama listened intently as the 

priest ended his invocation with 

Om Shanti Shanti, returned the 

priest’s namaste with folded hands 

and then shook his hands before 

leaving with greetings of “Happy 

Diwali and Saal Mubarak” to 

everyone. “Thank you Mr. President 

for being the first president to 

come to the Diwali ceremony,” a 

journalist called out to Obama. 

“Yeah, isn’t that something” the 

president shot back. The celebration 

was attended by a crowd of 

Indians and other Asians. India’s 

Commerce Minister Anand Sharma 

and Ambassador Meera 

Shankar dropped by. 

Before the ceremony, Obama 

signed an executive order re-establishing 

the president’s advisory 

panel and White House initiative 

on Asian Americans and Pacific 

Islanders, first established by President 

Bill Clinton and extended by 

President Bush until 2007. 

— Arun Kumar/Washington 

Lakshmi Puja 

in Tennessee 

The full moon day after 

Dussehra, when Bengalis 

worship Goddess of Wealth 

Lakshmi in most homes, brings a 

whiff of nostalgia to those settled 

abroad. Bengalis in Nashville, 

Tennessee, like many other places 

in the US where the community 

is settled, got together on October 

3 to celebrate the occasion, 

community leaders said. 

The women took the lead in 

fasting and praying as they 

meticulously performed the 

rituals. “Here we do not have 

Lakshmi Puja at our individual 

homes. We organise the puja in 

the hall of the Ganesh Temple in 

Nashville. It starts after 4 p.m.,” 

Arijit Basu, a research analyst 

staying there for the past three 

years, said. “We kept fast like we 

did in Kolkata. After puja we had 

bhog and then we came back 

home,” Haimanti Ghosh, another 

Bengali staying in Nashville, said. 

Like Haimanti, many other 

Bengali women participated in 

the puja to get a feel of Bengal 

13,000 km from Kolkata. 

The Bengali Association of 

Greater Nashville (BAGN) has 175 

families as members besides a 

floating population of students. 

Indian colours 

The Indian diaspora revelled in the ‘puja spirit’ of the season 

The Indian diaspora worldwide 

literally got cracking 

this festive season. While 

U.S. President and now a 

Nobel Laureate Barack Obama 

joined members of the Asian-American 

community to celebrate 

Diwali, the festival of lights, at the 

White House on October 14, the 

diaspora revelled in the ‘puja spirit’ 

across Britain, Canada, Germany, 

Trinidad & Tobago and 

Malaysia, among a host of other 

‘diasporic countries’. 

While it was former U.S. President 

George W. Bush, who started 

the tradition of celebrating the festival 

of lights at the White House, 

Bush never personally participated 

in the festivities, leaving his top 

administration officials to grace the 

occasion. 

Elsewhere in the U.S., Bengalis in 

Nashville, Tennessee, like many 

other places in the U.S. where the 

community is settled, got together 

to worship the Goddess of Wealth 

Lakshmi. Women took the lead in 

fasting and praying as they 

meticulously performed the rituals. 

London was witness to a wellfunded 

and gigantic corporate-style 

Durga Puja celebration. In 

particular, the ‘Nirmal Mukherjee 

and Family’ puja, run from a modest 

community hall in the northwest 

London suburb of Wembley. 

This puja hall has attracted thousands 

of Bengalis for over 30 years. 

In Canada, the Parliament 

celebrated Diwali with Prime Minister 

Stephen Harper and other top 

leaders lighting the traditional 

diya (lamp). 

After lighting the traditional 

lamp, Prime Minister Harper said 

that the “growing Indo-Canadian 

community is at the forefront of 

Canada’s quest to build an even 

better country for generations to 

come”. 

In Zurich, homesick Bengalis 

revelled in the puja spirit, flying in 

SCHOOL KIDS GOT AN EXTRA DAY 

IN KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIAN INDIAN 

OFF TO ENJOY THE DEEPAVALI FEST AFTER 

MANY REQUESTS FROM SCHOOLS AND PARENTS 

a priest from Kolkata and arranging 

a lavish spread of traditional 

Bengali delicacies and organised 

cultural programmes dominated 

by Tagore songs and folk music. 

In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian 

Indian school children got an extra 

day off to enjoy the Diwali festival, 

after the government gave the nod 

following numerous requests from 

schools and parents to “make plans 

for their families to travel earlier 

and avoid traffic jams”. 

And as our correspondent in 

Trinidad & Tobago says, probably 

the only place for the Indian diaspora 

where one can find real, 

authentic and unrivalled preparations 

for the several Indian/Hindu 

festivals outside Trinidad and 

Tobago is, where else, is India! 

Whether it is Pitri Paksh, Nau 

Raarti, Ram Leela, Diwali and Kartic-ke-Nahan, 

the rich Hindu tradition 

prevails in this oil-rich 

republic. 


COVER STORY 

UNITED KINGDOM 

A family-run Durga Puja 

Resolutely small, it exudes an old-world Kolkata charm 

The ‘Nirmal Mukherjee and Family’ Durga Puja in progress at Wembley. 

Amid a growing number of 

well-funded and gigantic corporate-style 

Durga Puja celebrations 

in London, there’s one 

that stands out for its smallness. 

The ‘Nirmal Mukherjee and Family’ 

Puja, run from a modest community 

hall in the northwest London 

suburb of Wembley, has attracted 

thousands of Bengalis for over 

three decades. But resolutely small, 

it exudes an old-world charm that 

could have come right out of 

Kolkata. 

It is unique among the 20-odd 

Pujas spread across the British capital. 

Some of them attract up to 1,000 

people a day — the largest at Camden 

Town boasts twice the number 

— and a few benefit from sponsorships 

by wealthy NRIs such as 

Swraj Paul, Lakshmi Mittal, Nirmal 

Sethia, Raj Kumar Bagri and S.N. 

Gourisaria. 

In the style of Pujas in India, they 

compete for the finest singers from 

Kolkata. But Mukherji says he isn’t 

into competing. “This is not a 

baroari (community) puja,” he says. 

“We are a family-run puja: what is 

important for us is to make sure 

that each of our guests is made individually 

welcome, has a good time, 

and does not leave without eating a 

hearty meal. When we say ‘familyrun’, 

we mean an extended family 

that includes many hardworking 

and generous friends,” Mukherji, a 

retired accountant, said. 

Held in a small community hall — 

unlike the huge town halls preferred 

by some of the other Pujas — 

Mukherji’s Puja still succeeds in 

bringing an autumn bustle to the 

busy high street of multicultural 

Wembley. 

Every day, it attracts some 400 

people — many more if the puja 

falls over the weekend — who are 

lured not only by the homely atmosphere 

but also by Mukherji’s 

famous bhog or the free meal. 

Cooked to Bengali perfection by 

‘Joshiji’, a retired chef hailing from 

Nainital in Uttar Pradesh, the 

puja’s khichuri, labra (vegetable 

curry), chutney, luchi (poori bread) 

and alur dum (potato curry) draw 

devotees and foodies alike. 

Mukherji himself leads the puja 

ceremonies — helped by his two 

sons since they were eight years old 

— often translating the mantras 

into English for the many children 

who turn up. 

“If someone asks me to conduct an 

Anjali (prayer) for them, I will do 

so. I shut the doors only after conducting 

the last Anjali,” says 

Mukherji. “It’s wonderful that there 

are so many Pujas in London today, 

but I only wish they were less competitive 

and fought a little less 

among themselves,” says Mukherji. 

— Dipankar De Sarkar/London 

THE ‘NIRMAL MUKHERJEE AND FAMILY’ 

PUJA, RUN FROM A MODEST COMMUNITY HALL 

IN WEMBLEY, HAS ATTRACTED THOUSANDS 

OF BENGALIS FOR OVER THREE DECADES 

CANADA 

Diwali in Ottawa 

Canadian PM hailed the Indo-Canadian 

community’s contributions over the years 

The Canadian Parliament 

celebrated Diwali with 

Prime Minister Stephen 

Harper and other top leaders lighting 

the traditional lamps. 

Immigration Minister Jason 

Kenney, Finance Minster Jim Flaherty, 

Public Safety Minister 

Peter Van Loan, Parliamentary 

Secretary to the Foreign Minister 

Deepak Obhrai, Leader of the 

Opposition Jack Layton and parliamentarians 

were among the 450 

dignitaries to attend the festivities 

on October 8. 

India’s High Commissioner, 

Shashisekar Gavai, and envoys 

from Pakistan and Malaysia also 

attended the evening gala. 

After lighting the traditional 

lamp, Prime Minister Harper said 

the “growing Indo-Canadian community 

is at the forefront of Canada’s 

quest to build an even better 

country for generations to come. 

From coast to coast, our country 

Hundreds of Hindu 

devotees with flags 

and vuvuzelas near 

the World Cup 2010 

FIFA Moses Mabhida 

football stadium to 

celebrate Diwali at 

the Blue Lagoon 

Beach in Durban, 

South Africa, on 

October 10. The 

two-day festival 

attracted over 

100,000 visitors. 

has been and continues to be 

immeasurably enriched by your 

contributions.” 

After the Prime Minister, 

Obhrai and other guests lit the 

Diwali lamp and participated in 

a Hindu traditional ceremony 

conducted by priests from temples 

in Toronto and Ottawa. 

“Since 1998, Diwali on Parliament 

Hill (the seat of the House 

of Commons) has grown in significance 

and stature, and today 

can truly be considered as Canada’s 

National Diwali Festival,” 

said Obhrai. 

After the ceremonies, a traditional 

Diwali dinner was organised 

and the guests were treated to 

Indian delicacies. The Indian community 

in Canada is almost a million 

strong. 

— Gurmukh Singh/Toronto 

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper lighting the traditional lamp 

to start Diwali celebrations in Parliament in Ottawa. 

AFP 

SOUTH AFRICA 



COVER STORY 

TRINIDAD & TOBAGO 

At home in T&T 

If one wants to see sincere, strict and solid devotion, come to 

Trinidad & Tobago during Navratri 

SWITZERLAND 

From flying in a priest from 

Kolkata and arranging a 

spectacular spread of traditional 

Bengali delicacies to organising 

cultural programmes dominated 

by Tagore songs and folk 

music, Durga Puja in Switzerland’s 

largest city was steeped in 

old-world nostalgia. 

For about 150 Bengali families 

from India living across 

Switzerland, the 

Schutzenhaus (Town 

House) in Thalwil — a 

part of greater Zurich — 

was the place to be in 

during the five-day 

festival. 

Now in its fifth year, 

the puja this time was 

attended by people from 

other Indian communities, 

as also some Swiss 

who travelled to the 

venue from all over the 

The only place in the Indian 

diaspora where one can find 

real, authentic and unrivalled 

preparations for the several Indian/Hindu 

festivals outside Trinidad 

and Tobago is in India… probably. 

Whether it is Pitri Paksh, Navratri, 

Ram Leela, ‘Diwali’ and Karticke-Nahan, 

the rich Hindu tradition 

prevails in this oil-rich republic. 

Preparations for these celebrations 

are carried out with great care, 

religious texts are consulted and 

exact dates chosen to match professional 

astrological readings. 

The culinary table overflows with 

vegetarian stock — mango, 

chaitaigne, pumpkin, buss-up-shot 

and dhal-puri rotis, potato and 

chana (chick peas) rice, carhay 

(dhal) bhara (doubles) sahina, 

pholourie, carelli, eggplant and 

dasheen bhagi. One must not forget, 

the hot “mother-in-law” pepper 

sauce, chutney and the anchar. 

The observances are carried out 

in sequence during the 

September/October period. 

Love & longing in Zurich 

European nation. In 2004, 12 

homesick Bengali families started 

the puja with a budget of 20,000 

Swiss francs. The budget doubled 

in 2009. “This year, more than 200 

families came on Mahasaptami 

and Mahashtami. The number 

was even more on Mahanavami. 

But the weekend also helped us,” 

Debasree Banerjee, the puja’s 

Hindus begin the religious observances 

with Pitri Paksh when 

memorial religious services, yagnas 

and pujas are held in memory of 

their departed ones for a 15-day 

period (September 4-18). 

Then comes the observance of 

Navratri (September 19-27). Homes 

and temples are cleaned and observances 

began for Pitri Paksh during 

the period. 

Pundits and other religious leaders 

are kept busy during this period, 

as devout Hindus perform their 

Durga Puja in Switzerland’s largest city is steeped in old-world 

nostalgia, complete with Bengali delicacies and Tagore songs 

founder-secretary and one of the 

chief organisers, said. 

Other than the one at Thalwil, 

two other Durga Pujas were 

organised in Switzerland — one 

by people of Bangladeshi origin in 

Zurich and the other by the 

Ramakrishna Math and Mission 

at its Vedantic Centre in Geneva. 

Mona Mitra is in her second 

year in Zurich. The small idol of 

Durga made of fibreglass was 

brought from Kolkata’s potters’ 

colony, Kumartuli, in 2004. “We 

don’t immerse it. We only do a 

token immersion,” Mona said. 

The priest was flown in from 

Kolkata. Mona and Debasreethe 

said the five festival days were 

the happiest days of the year. 

— Sirshendu Panth/Zurich 

For the 150 Bengali families from 

India living across Switzerland, 

the Schutzenhaus (Town House) 

in Thalwil was the place to be 

in during the festival. 

Pundit Rudy Maharaj recites sacred mantras. 

annual religious rituals paying special 

obeisance to the Female Aspect 

of the Supreme Being — Mother 

Durga — to help clear obstacles, 

Mother Lakshmi — for prosperity, 

and health, and Mother Saraswati 

— for wisdom and knowledge. 

Navratri 

If one wants to see sincere 

devotion, come to Trinidad and 

Tobago during this period. It is also 

observed in March-April. Between 

Navratri and Diwali, the Hindu 

community celebrates Ram Leela. 

Almost every major Hindu community 

hosts the nine-day celebration. 

Lord Rama, Sita, Hanuman and 

other gods and goddesses are ‘minted’ 

even as parks and recreation 

grounds are packed to capacity 

during the celebrations. 

Diwali, a public holiday here 

since 1966, is the festival of all festivals. 

Trinidadians, including non- 

Hindus, become part of the celebrations. 

Various ethnic and religious 

segments are deeply involved. 

Women don saris and shalwars 

while men wear kurtas and other 

authentic East Indian wear. 

The President, Prime Minister, 

the Archbishop of the Catholic 

Church, Baptists, Methodists, 

Anglicans and Muslims, among others, 

send Diwali greetings to the 

East Indian/Hindu community. 

One of the highlights of the annual 

Diwali celebration is the Diwali 

Nagar, a 10-day affair organised by 

the National Council of Indian Culture, 

which reaches its zenith on 

the night before Diwali. 

Nearly 100,000 people go past the 

turnstiles at the midnight hour as 

people of the Indian diaspora, 

including the people of India and 

famous Indian entertainers, grace 

the stage. 

— Paras Ramoutar/Port-of-Spain 

DURING DIWALI NAGAR, A TEN-DAY AFFAIR, 

IN EXCESS OF 100,000 PEOPLE OF THE 

INDIAN DIASPORA GO PAST THE 

TURNSTILES AT MIDNIGHT HOUR 

Malaysian Indian school children 

got an extra day off to 

enjoy the Deepavali festival, 

with the government giving the 

green light following numerous 

requests from schools and parents. 

Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin 

Yassin said the states’ education 

directors had been told to approve 

A BIT OF HISTORY 

East Indians to Trinidad and 

Tobago have been sourced 

from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar 

between 1845 and 1917, and 

during this period, over 148,000 of 

them came to work for sugar and 

cocoa production, and as well to 

salvage the declining agricultural 

production. 

Their presence followed the end 

of slavery by the British Parliament 

in 1838 as the slaves from Africa 

were given freedom from working 

in the plantations. 

The East Indian community 

consists of over 44 per cent of a 

population of 1.3 million people, of 

which about 24 per cent are Hindus. 

Though the rest have converted to 

Christianity, they still respect and 

observe several of the major Hindu 

festivals. 

There are over 200 temples, most 

of them controlled by the Sanatan 

Dharma Maha Sabha which is the 

principal Hindu organisation. 

Hindus practice their religious 

activities by studies of the 

Ramayana, Bhagvad Gita, Upanishads, 

Puranas, among others. 

MALAYAN BREAK 

requests from schools for an extra 

day off on October 20. “The decision 

was made to enable parents to 

make plans for their families to travel 

earlier and avoid traffic jams,” The 

Star quoted him as saying. The bulk 

of Malaysia’s nearly two million Indians 

are Hindus who settled here 

during the British era. 


MEDIA 

TELEVISION 

A nostalgic 

JOURNEY 

From a makeshift studio 50 years 

back to becoming the world’s 

largest public broadcaster, 

Doordarshan has come a long 

way. Despite the proliferation 

of infotainment channels, it 

remains the medium of the 

masses, catering to 90 percent 

of the country’s audiences 

There was a time when its 

name was synonymous 

with television in India. 

Now, 50 years after Doordarshan 

first beamed grainy black 

and white images from a makeshift 

studio, the public broadcaster looks 

at the challenges ahead amid a proliferation 

of private channels and 

the changing face of the media. 

But has the state-owned channel 

managed to tune into the India of 

today Has it morphed over the 

years to reach out with content that 

mirrors the changing face of Indian 

society and lifestyles The views 

vary. While some, like Rajiv Mehrotra, 

managing trustee of the Public 

Service Broadcasting Trust, feel it 

is time for Doordarshan to look to 

the future, others like old-time 

viewer Abhishek Tiwari remember 

HUMLOG: Humlog, launched on 

July 7, 1984, was appreciated for its 

novelty. The soap 

had veteran actor 

Ashok Kumar as 

sutradhar who 

summarised 

each episode at 

Humlog, one of 

the most popular 

family soaps on 

DD in the 1980s 

the end. 

NUKKAD: 

Shot on a set 

of a street corner, the 

characters’ struggle to eke out a 

living became part of audiences’ 

daily lives. Can you forget Hari riding 

the bicycle for days so he could set a 

record and get some money The 

nation prayed for his victory! 

DD gave us news 

bulletins, mega soaps 

like Hum Log and 

Buniyaad, quiz shows, 

poll analysis and the 

Chitrahaar 

SOAPS YOU’LL NEVER FORGET 

MAHABHARAT: The year 

1988 saw the launch of 

B.R. Chopra’s magnum 

opus on TV, Mahabharat. 

The 94-episode series 

was later shown on 

BBC for two years. 

Buniyaad, a 

serial written 

by Manohar 

Shyam Joshi 

Yeh Jo Hai 

Zindagi, India’s 

first comedy serial 

RAMAYAN: 

When Ramanand 

Sagar’s Ramayan 

aired on Sunday 

mornings, India 

came to a standstill. 

Buses 

stopped running 

and 

religious services 

To commemorate 50 years of telecasting, 

DD has commissioned ‘The Golden 

Trail’ chronicling its 50-year journey 

with nostalgia old serials like 

Buniyaad and the quiz shows. 

“Doordarshan has to occupy a middle 

ground between a public broadcaster 

and a private broadcaster 

with more autonomy in terms of 

content,” said Mehrotra. “While DD 

were rescheduled. 

BUNIYAAD: Ramesh 

Sippy’s Buniyaad enthralled 

audiences in the ‘80s. 

Buniyaad was about the trials 

and tribulations of Master 

Haveliram and his family 

during the partition. 

YEH JO HAI ZINDAGI: A sitcom 

about a couple (Shafi Inamdar 

and Swarup Sampat) 

Shafi’s brother-in-law 

(Rakesh 

Bedi), and the trouble 

they get into, 

this show was a 

Arun Govil as Ram 

and Deepika as Sita 

big crowd puller in 

1984-85. 

A DREAM WAS BORN 

n Doordarshan started broadcasting in 

India on September 15, 1959. 

n UNESCO gave the Indian government 

$20,000 and 180 Philips TV sets to 

begin with. Doordarshan had a modest 

beginning with the experimental telecast 

starting in Delhi on September 15, 1959 

with a small transmitter and a makeshift 

studio. 

n The regular daily transmission started in 

1965 as a part of All India Radio. The 

television service was extended to Bombay 

and Amritsar in 1972. 

n Till 1975, seven Indian cities had television 

service and Doordarshan remained the only 

television channel in India. 

n Television services were separated from 

radio in 1976. Each office of All India Radio 

and DD were placed under the management 

of two separate Director Generals. 

n National broadcast was introduced in 

1982. In the same year, colour TV was 

introduced in the Indian market, with 

the live telecast of the Independence 

Day speech from the Red Fort by the 

then prime minister Indira Gandhi on 

August 15, 1982, followed by the 1982 

Asian Games in Delhi. 


MEDIA 

TELEVISION 

as a mass medium has succeeded 

enormously with developing support 

communication and reached 

out to marginalised sections with 

local content in far-flung areas of 

the country, it has somewhere 

failed in its agenda of commercial 

broadcasting,” he added. 

“It has remained a state-funded 

broadcasting medium and not been 

able to democratise itself by ensuring 

participation of the civil societies 

and communities. Free flow of 

information and ideas is yet to happen 

here,” Mehrotra, also a filmmaker, 

told IANS. Former newsreader-anchor 

Usha Albuquerque, 

however, feels that Doordarshan 

has managed to tune into time. 

“Our job as newsreaders and 

anchors in the 1980s was to inform 

viewers what is happening in the 

country and highlight key issues.” 

“Today, presentations have 

changed. Doordarshan is doing 

more interactive programmes like 

interviews and live discussions that 

Clockwise 

from left, Niti 

Ravindran, 

Tejeshwar Singh, 

Shammi Narang and 

Sunit Tandon 

(Right) Salma 

Sultana 

reading the 

news 

THE STARS OF OUR EVENINGS 

Alady with a rose, an anchor with a charming smile, a newsreader with a 

baritone — they were part of our lives once. Salma Sultana, who read 

news on Doordarshan between 1967 and 1997, was the leader of the pack. 

When DD went colour, audiences waited to see which sari she was going to 

wear, and the rose worn low in her hair. “One day, I was wearing a pink sari 

and when I looked around, there was a very beautiful pink rose. I just put it 

on and read the news. There were a number of calls appreciating it. But later 

on I didn’t care about it and there were many calls asking why I didn’t wear 

a rose. So I began wearing it every day and it just became a habit,” she once 

told the media. The always smiling Sultana cried while reading news about 

Indira Gandhi’s assassination. Apart from Sultana, newsreaders like Niti 

Ravindran, Tejeshwar Singh (who died recently), Shammi Narang and Sunit 

Tandon, among others, were part and parcel of our evenings. Miss them 

we did not get an opportunity to 

do,” Albuquerque said. 

“Had age been on my side, I would 

have returned to television to interview 

politicians and celebrities 

since I was clued into the country’s 

politics and current affairs.” According 

to veteran journalist, writer and 

media observer Nalin Mehta: “...We 

now have a new paradigm. The 

advent of the satellite dish has 

brought about a social engagement. 

You get the best of programmes on 

the 200-odd private channels and 

Doordarshan has to compete.” 

IN A NEW AVATAR: A scene from 

‘Karam Dharam Apna Apna,’ a new 

soap that began on DD National 

In his book, titled India on Television: 

How Satellite News Channels 

Have Changed the Way We Think 

and Act, Mehta says the total number 

of television households in the 

country has tripled to an estimated 

112 million, making India the third 

largest television market after 

China and the US. 

It’s a market that traces its beginnings 

to September 15, 1959, when 

Doordarshan began its telecast with 

a small transmitter in a makeshift 

studio in the Capital on an experimental 

basis. Over the years, it has 

expanded to 19 channels, which 

caters to 90 percent of the country’s 

audience with a network of nearly 

1,500 transmitters. 

Archival records say the regular 

daily transmission of Doordarshan 

from Delhi started in 1965 as part of 

All India Radio. The transmission 

service was extended to Mumbai 

Doordarshan is all set 

to go digital by 

2017, said an Information 

& Broadcasting 

ministry official. 

“Doordarshan will be fully 

digitised by 2017. That is 

the goal we have set. We 

are also preferring a full dialogue 

with the industry (technology 

platforms),” said Zohra Chatterji, joint 

secretary I&B ministry, at the fifth 

India Digital Networks Summit (IDNS 

2009) on October 13. 

“But before that the public needs to 

and Amritsar in 1972. Television 

was separated from radio in 1976. 

To commemorate 50 years of telecasting, 

Doordarshan has commissioned 

“The Golden Trail” chronicling 

its 50-years journey, said a 

senior official. The 50-year celebrations 

will run throughout the year 

with special programmes. 

Special programmes that will no 

doubt tap into the nostalgia of viewers 

like Tiwari, 40, an electronics 

engineer. 

“It gave us news bulletins, the 

first mega soaps in the 1980s like 

Hum Log and Buniyaad, comedies, 

quiz shows, poll analysis and the 

Chitrahaar. The anchors and newsreaders 

became iconic. Since the 

programmes were educative in 

nature, one was relatively less distracted. 

Now the whole landscape 

has changed,” Tiwari said. 

— Madhushree Chatterjee 

be educated about it. Another 

area that has to be looked into 

is billing. The consumer is not 

satisfied with the billing (of digital 

services),” Chatterji added. 

“The government feels that 

there must be some sort of 

independent regulation. Every 

country has it but India doesn’t. 

We have so many channels but no 

regulators. It doesn’t make sense to 

us that we should be sitting over it 

(content regulation),” said the Joint 

Secretary. 

“The content code has layers — self 

Actors Amitabh, Jeetendra and 

Mithun in Mile sur mera... 

A NEAR-ANTHEM SHOW 

The lyrics mesmerised the 

nation and the music 

enthralled a generation — ‘Mile 

sur mera tumhaara,’ a video 

focusing on national integration 

and unity, was created in 1988 by 

Lok Seva Sanchar Parishad. Composed 

by Louis Banks and late P. 

Vaidyanathan, the project has 

heavyweights like Pt. Bhimsen 

Joshi, Lata Mangeshkar, Mallika 

Sarabhai, Sharmila Tagore and 

Shabana Azmi, among others. 

One phrase — Mile sur mera 

tumhaara, to sur bane hamaara 

— was sung in 14 languages. 

DD WILL BE FULLY DIGITISED BY 2017: I&B OFFICIAL 

regulation and peer evaluation followed 

by independent regulation. The 

broadcasters came to us to leave it to 

them for some time. Above all, the 

prime minister has already made it 

clear that it (if anything is done by I&B) 

shall be done only after the widest 

possible consultations,” she added. 

The I&B Ministry’s Joint Secretary 

also said that the I&B ministry has, 

however, “put regulation on events 

of national importance like sports. 

The right holders will have to share it 

with Doordarshan (the national public 

television broadcaster).” 

n The first ever daily soap Hum Log 

and later on Buniyaad and Nukkad 

and mythological dramas like Ramayan 

(1987-88) and Mahabharat (1989-90) 

glued millions to Doordarshan. Later on, 

Bharat Ek Khoj, The Sword of Tipu Sultan 

and The Great Maratha enthralled the 

audiences. 

n Doordarshan also telecast English cartoons 

at 12.00 noon during summer vacations, in 

a programme titled ‘Fun Time.’ It showed 

cartoons like Spider Man, Giant Robot, 

Gayab Aaya, Guchhae, He-Man, The Jungle 

Book, Talespin & Duck Tales also the comic 

plays of Charlie Chaplin, Laurel & Hardy 

and Didi’s Comedy Show. 

n Now more than 90 percent of Indians 

can receive Doordarshan (DD National) 

programmes through a network of nearly 

1,400 terrestrial transmitters and about 

46 Doordarshan studios produce TV programmes. 

Today, it’s the world’s largest 

broadcasting organisations in terms of 

infrastructure and reach. 

A DREAM WAS BORN 

n DD India is available in 146 countries 

today. DD operates 33 channels — DD 

National and DD News, 11 regional languages 

satellite channels, four state 

networks, an International channel, a 

sports channel and two channels for 

live Parliamentary proceedings. 


ECONOMY 

OUTSOURCING 

A BLESSING IN 

DISGUISE 

Economic slowdown has opened new vistas 

for the Indian outsourcing firms, say Arvind 

Padmanabhan and Fakir Balaji 

India’s $ 71-billion outsourcing industry is ready for more lucrative offers. 

“The global 

back-office 

industry will be 

worth about $200 

billion by 2010- 

11, but captives 

will be able to 

account for only 

$33 billion.” 

— Jatinder Bhasin, 

Chief Financial Officer, GE Money 

The global slowdown and the 

financial crisis have ironically 

whetted the appetite 

of India’s $71 billion outsourcing 

industry for takeovers, as 

back-office arms of multinational 

companies, both large and small, 

are being acquired by them in steal 

deals. And much to the delight of 

Indian buyers, the sellers have 

almost always awarded multiyear, 

multimillion dollar contracts to get 

the same services from them that 

has insured the jobs of millions of 

Indian youth. 

India is home to 300 captive outsourcing 

arms, or back-office operations 

set by companies to cater to 

their global businesses, each 

employing between 100-5,000 people. 

If big-ticket deals involved financial 

powerhouse Citigroup and 

insurance major AXA which sold 

its offshore shops — also called captives 

in outsourcing jargon — to 

Indian firms, there were smaller 

ones as well, such as the one with 

the California-based biotech firm 

BioImagene. 

“The financial crisis has forced 

many global firms to sell their captives,” 

said Som Mittal, president 

of the National Association of Software 

and Service Companies (Nasscom), 

a representative trade body. 

“Global enterprises, especially in 

the financial services sector, who 

had set up their captives in India 

during the boom period were forced 

to sell them to raise money in these 

hard times,” Mittal said. 

Another reason, according to him, 

was that while enterprises may 

have cut their information technology 

budgets to save costs, their technology 

requirement has not come 

down. 

So third-party outsourcing like 

hiring the services of companies 

like Tata Consultancy, Infosys, 

Wipro, was their best bet. In October, 

Citigroup sold its Indian information 

technology operations to 

Tata Consultancy Services for $505 

million, and awarded the Indian IT 

major a nine-year, $2.5 billion (Rs. 

120 billion) deal to continue providing 

the same services back to it. 

Two months later, the company 

also sold its business-process outsourcing 

unit to another IT major 

Wipro for $127 million (Rs. 6 billion), 

and gave the Indian firm a 

six-year deal worth at least $500 million 

in exchange. Then, in May this 

year, it was the turn of US-based 

insurance major AXA to sell its captive 

outsourcing firm, which 

employs some 600 people to Capita 

Group, as part of a 15-year, $836 million 

(Rs. 40 billion) deal. 

Among the smaller deals, biotechnology 

company BioImagene, based 

in Sunnyvale, California, transferred 

its research-and-development 

outsourcing centre in India to Symphony 

Services Corp. The move was 

part of the company’s decision to 

replace most of its 50 overseas software 

developers with ones in the 

US. The price paid was no more 

than the cost of computer equip- 

1 

The cross-border merger 

and acquisition deals 

involving Indian IT and ITenabled 

firms increased by 

nearly 12 percent last year 

to $3.22 billion in 98 deals. 

2 

In 2007, such mergers 

and acquisitions were 

worth $2.88 billion over 

159 deals. Accordingly, the 

average deal size in 2008 

also increased to $32.86 

million compared to 

$18.15 million. 

ment in the Indian division. According 

to research and consultancy 

firm Grant Thornton, the cross-border 

merger and acquisition deals 

involving Indian IT and IT-enabled 

firms increased by nearly 12 percent 

last year to $3.22 billion (Rs. 155 

billion) in 98 deals. 

In 2007, such mergers and acquisitions 

were worth $2.88 billion (Rs. 

140 million) over 159 deals. Accordingly, 

the average deal size in 2008 

also increased to $32.86 million compared 

to $18.15 million (Rs. 867 million), 

the consultancy said. 

Nikhil Rajpal, principal with global 

IT consultancy Everest, said 

apart from the need seen by multinationals 

to pick cash from as many 

sources as possible, there were 

other reasons as well that made 

them offload their captives. 

“Clearly in certain areas, where 

not much complex work is 

involved, captive arms are 15-30 percent 

costlier than outsourcing them 

to third parties,” Rajpal said. 

“Earlier, there were fewer options 

available to overseas firms to outsource 

their work to Indian companies. 

Now the Indian outsourcing 

industry has matured. So some of 

these global companies have begun 

MEGA DEALS 

to opt out of captives,” he added. 

Rajpal, nevertheless, maintained 

that the demand for captive units 

will remain, as trends over the past 

three months indicated that against 

17 new outsourcing arms set up in 

India over the past three months, 

only three or four captives were 

sold. Giving the big-picture of the 

outsourcing market, GE Money’s 

chief financial officer Jatinder 

Bhasin said global corporations 

were bullish about third-party vendors, 

as back-office requirements 

wer huge. “This leaves a huge 

opportunity for third-party 

vendors,” Bhasin said. Yet industry 

experts said multinational corporations 

are not going to give up on 

setting up or expanding their captive 

outsourcing operations in 

India, as such in-house units have 

a significant edge. They are part of 

the parent company, and can move 

up the value chain easily with 

in-house talent. 

l Citigroup sold its Indian information technology 

operations to Tata Consultancy Services 

for $505 million (Rs. 24 billion). 

l Two months later, the company also sold its 

business-process outsourcing unit to another 

IT major Wipro for $127 million (Rs. 6.11 

billion) 

l US-based insurance major AXA to sold its captive outsourcing firm to 

Capita Group, as part of a 15-year, $836 million (Rs. 40 billion) deal 

ON THE CARDS... 

l Reliance Industries Ltd is looking at acquiring the assets either partly or 

fully of the bankrupt Dutch petrochemicals company LyondellBasell 

(cash payment of $3.25 billion). 



ECONOMY 

BATTLING SLOWDOWN 

INFO TECH 

India, China, Russia and Brazil 

(BRIC) have opposed protectionism, 

while demanding 

greater say in the global financial 

architecture and equitable voting 

rights for emerging economies 

in institutions like the International 

Monetary Fund (IMF) and 

the World Bank. 

“Protectionism remains a real 

threat to the global economy and 

should be avoided, both in direct 

and indirect forms,” said a communique 

by the four countries, collectively 

referred to as BRIC 

economies. The communique was 

issued after a meeting among their 

top economic policymakers in London. 

Finance Minister Pranab 

Mukherjee led the Indian side, 

which also participated at a meeting 

of G20 finance ministers and 

central bank governors. 

The communique said, “We 

believe governments should work 

toward prompt and successful conclusion 

of the World Trade Organisation’s 

Doha round in a way that 

ensures an ambitious, comprehensive 

and balanced outcome.” Earlier, 

India formally committed to 

investing in the IMF, which Prime 

Minister Manmohan Singh had proposed 

during the G20 Summit in 

London in April. The four BRIC 

countries will invest a total of $80 

billion in the IMF in order to 

replenish its fund aimed at helping 

out countries, which are struggling 

in the current financial crisis. 

“India has decided to invest up to 

$10 billion of its reserves in notes 

issued by the IMF,” Mukherjee said 

after the meeting. “We propose the 

setting of a target for that shift of 

the order of 7 percent in the IMF 

and 6 percent in the World Bank 

Group so as to reach an equitable 

distribution of voting power 

between advanced and developing 

countries,” the communique said. 

Reforms to IMF and WB governance 

have emerged as one of the 

most pressing issues for BRIC countries 

that have showcased their economic 

growth at the September 4-5 

gathering of the G20 in London. 

Building 

the world 

BRIC 

by BRIC 

BRIC nations demand greater 

sayin global financial system, 

says Dipanker De Sarkar 

The BRIC 

communique 

l Providing an inclusive growth in 

the world economy. 

l Ongoing regulatory reforms in 

the financial sector should not 

impede cross-border capital 

flows and investments. 

l G20 countries should strengthener 

their efforts to reform the 

financial system and not return 

to a pattern of lax financial regulation 

and deficient oversight. 

l Priority should be given to a 

substantial shift of quotas and 

shares in favour of emerging 

market and developing countries. 

l The BRIC nations support only 

those reform proposals that 

would not deepen the current 

under-represenataion of emerging 

and developing countries or 

further distort the internal decision 

making process within the 

international financial institutions. 

l Relaxing single borrower limits 

and providing new funding for 

infrastructure projects in low 

and middle-income countries 

are urgently needed. 

Rural BPO’s are 

Karnataka’s latest in 

IT revolution, says 

Maitreyee Boruah 

Rural renaissance 

For 23-year-old graduate Jayalakshmi, 

getting a job as 

an executive at a business 

process outsourcing (BPO) 

firm was a dream. But getting it at 

her village here, near the historic 

Srirangapatna town in Mandya district, 

was the icing on the cake. 

“Who could have imagined working 

at a BPO centre, that too in my 

village I was planning to shift to 

Bangalore to get a BPO job. But 

then to everyone’s surprise, the 

BPO came to my village. I applied 

and was selected,” a delighted Jayalakshmi 

told media. 

Echoed Jagadish, 22, a fellow 

villager: “Now I can have a decent 

income, and make best use of my 

education and skills in my village 

itself. I don’t have to migrate.” Jayalakshmi 

and Jagadish, along with 

120-odd youths, are part of India’s 

first rural BPO that has been set up 

in this tiny nondescript village, 

about 150 km from India’s IT hub 

Bangalore. 

The BPO, Mpro Solutions, started 

operations August 7 and is supported 

by the Karnataka government, 

which wants to show India 

how information technology (IT) 

can change the rural economy. Its 

target: create almost 100,000 jobs in 

the hinterland. “There is a gold 

mine here,” said Mpro director B.S. 

Venugopal. “Talented youngsters 

from rural areas could be an asset.” 

According to Ashok Kumar C. 

Manoli, Karnataka’s Principal Secretary 

for IT and BT and Science and 

Technology, the initiative would 

change the economy of the countryside. 

“Creation of rural BPOs will 

automatically stem large-scale 

migration of educated rural youth 

to urban areas,” Manoli told media. 

“The new initiative is expected to 

enhance the IT skills of the rural 

population and create jobs for them. 

On the anvil are rural BPO centres 

in Chamarajanagar, Hassan and 

Haveri districts.” Manoli said the 

state government planned to provide 

a Rs. 2 million capital investment 

subsidy for setting up a 100- 

seat BPO. It would also provide 

Rs.10,000 for training and another 

Rs.5,000 for rental and Internet connection 

per employee, he added. 

Information Technology and 

Biotechnology Minister Katta Subramanya 

Naidu said the state government 

planned to create 100,000 

IT jobs in rural areas over the next 

five years, including 10,000 this 

year. 

“The government plans to establish 

100 such rural BPOs and has 

earmarked Rs.40 crore (Rs.400 million) 

for subsidy and manpower 

training,” Naidu said while inaugurating 

the BPO in the village Aug 

7. Welcoming the latest trend of 

BPO sector penetration in the countryside, 

experts predicted it would 

A call centre in rural Karnataka 

pave a new chapter in rural economy. 

“It’s a noble concept and has 

immense potential. The rest of India 

can emulate the idea. Rural BPOs 

could emerge as sub-contractors for 

IT majors that handle international 

clients,” said technology expert 

Sridhar Mitta. 

The R-BPO 

Initiative 

l BPO revolution started in 

India in the late 90s. 

l Tamil Nadu is perhaps the 

first state in the country to 

start a rural BPO centre in 

early 2006 in Krishnagiri district. 

l Two of the BPOs are currently 

functional under the brand 

name of FOSTeRA at Krishnagiri 

and Uthangarai in the 

state. 

l Karnataka government has 

recently announced a rural 

BPO (R-BPO). 

l The first govt-promoted rural 

BPO has recently started operations 

in Srirangapatnam 

near Mysore while the other 

three are in the process of 

getting operational in Salgame 

(Hassan), Shiggaon 

(Haveri) and Gundlupet 

(Chamrajnagar). 


ECONOMY 

NEWS 

Signs of recovery 

Industrial growth grew 10.4 percent during 

August this year — highest in last 22 months 

Further signs of recovery in 

Indian industry emerged 

on October 12 with the latest 

official data indicating a 

growth of 10.4 percent in industrial 

production during August this year 

— highest in the last 22 months — 

over the corresponding month 

last year. 

The index for industrial 

SNIPPETS 

Air India, Singapore 

Airlines sign pact 

Air India and Singapore Airlines 

have entered into a frequent 

flyer programme 

(FFP) agreement enabling 

fliers on both carriers to 

redeem mileage points on 

production (IIP) grew 10.4 

percent in the month, as 

per the data released by 

the Central Statistical 

Organisation. 

The annual industrial 

growth rate for July was 

revised to 7.2 percent from 

6.8 percent reported earlier. 

The data showed that 

while mining output was 

up 12.9 percent, that for 

electricity rose 10.6 percent. 

Output of capital goods and 

consumer goods sectors expanded 

respectively by 8.3 percent during 

the period. 

According to figures available, 

the industrial output in 2008-09 fiscal 

rose 2.6 percent, down from an 

8.5 percent growth the year ago. 

IIP GOES NORTH 

300 

250 

200 

150 

100 

50 

0 

266.3 

274.6 

269.2 

271.3 

264.7 

their respective flights. 

This is in addition to the 

existing code share and 

interline arrangements 

between the two airlines, an 

Air India spokesperson said 

in Mumbai on September 

14. Under the pact, members 

of Air India's FFP, called 

Flying Returns, will be able 

to earn mileage points 

when they travel on Singapore 

Airlines or choose to 

redeem their mileage points 

on that carrier, airline which 

operates to over 65 destinations 

in 35 countries. 

(Base : 1993-94=100) 

269.3 

280.7 

291.3 

289.7 

292.3 

2008-09 2009-2010 

April May June July August 

IBM partners with Indian 

School of Business 

Technology major IBM on 

September 14 said it has 

partnered with Indian 

School of Business (ISB) for 

research in service science. 

The research programme 

will initially have 10 full-time 

researchers, five each from 

ISB and IBM Research 

(India), who will focus on 

developing foundational 

techniques in service science, 

including modelling, 

measurement and optimisation 

of service systems," 

Reacting to it, Chandrajit Banerjee, 

the director general of the Confederation 

of Indian Industry (CII), 

said the double digit growth signalled 

industrial revival and economic 

recovery. “The 10 percent 

plus growth in manufacturing, 

basic goods, mining, electricity has 

been buoyed by the government's 

stimulus packages announced earlier,” 

he said in a statement. 

The government should continue 

with the current fiscal and monetary 

measures, which will further 

help the industrial and agricultural 

sectors, Banerjee said. He also 

hoped that the Reserve 

Bank of India would continue 

its tight monetary 

policies. 

Harsh Pati Singhania, 

president of the Federation 

of Indian Chambers 

of Commerce and Industry 

(FICCI), also welcomed 

the government's 

efforts to revive the manufacturing 

sector. As 

many as 14 of the 17 major 

industry groups have 

shown positive growth in 

August, Singhania said. 

“During the first quarter, the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) grew by 6.1 percent and we expect it to 

grow a little better in the second quarter. Growth will be higher in the third and fourth quarters.” 

— Pranab Mukherjee, Finance Minister 

“I would expect the industrial output to grow 7.5-8 percent and the GDP (gross domestic product) to 

expand by 6-6.5 percent during the current financial year.” 

— C. Rangarajan, Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Committee Chairman 

the company said in a statement 

in New Delhi. 

Indian weather sends 

cost of tea soaring in UK 

Britain’s favourite drink 

could become dearer 

because dry weather in 

India, Sri Lanka and Kenya 

Going 

GREEN 

US executives 

visit India to sell 

green technologies 

Executives from leading US 

clean energy and environmental 

companies will visit 

India next month to identify commercial 

opportunities for clean and 

green US technologies in India. 

Hosted in partnership with the 

Confederation of Indian Industry 

(CII), the meeting was another event 

in the US-India Business Council’s 

(USIBC) “Green India” initiative, 

launched last year to promote the 

C-Sam, a technology 

company founded by 

Sam Pitroda, and Germany-based 

Giesecke 

and Devrient, have 

signed an agreement to 

integrate and leverage 

their respective expertise 

in the area of secure 

are fast depleting global 

stocks. Production in some 

areas is down 15 percent 

and stocks have plummeted 

about 80,000 to 90,000 

tonnes of tea, according to 

Bill Gorman, executive chairman 

of the UK Tea Council. 

In Britain the retail price 

for tea has already risen by 

more than 10 percent this 

year. Ninety percent of 

British tea is consumed in 

the form of tea bags rather 

than leaf, and tea is a key 

item on the list of shoppers 

at supermarkets. 

development of India’s clean energy 

infrastructure. During Oct 26-30, the 

initiative will bring executives to 

India from leading US clean energy 

and environmental companies for 

the USIBC-CII Green India Executive 

Mission. 

The National Action Plan details 

plans to deploy 15,000 megawatts of 

renewable power by 2012; 20,000 

megawatts of solar power by 2020; 

saving 10,000 megawatts by 2012. 

TCS to open 6 passport 

offices in Oct 

transactions over mobile 

phones. The pact allows 

them to offer customers 

a comprehensive secure 

transaction platform for 

mobile payments and 

other value added services 

such as mobile 

banking, money-transfers, 

ticketing, bill and 

premium payments and 

advertising. 

The two companies 

will target a host of 

potential clients worldwide, 

including banks, 

telecom companies, merchants, 

service providers 

Tata Consultancy Services 

(TCS) will open six offices 

across India in October to 

provide passport services, a 

company official has said on 

September 3 in Chandigarh. 

The much-delayed Passport 

Seva Project is expected 

to take off with this 

move. 

With the launch of this 

Rs.100 billion project, the 

processing time for issuance 

of passport is expected to 

be reduced to three days 

and to one day under the 

Tatkal scheme. 

TCS global government 

industry group vice-president 

Tanmoy Chakraborty 

said on the sidelines of an IT 

summit in New Delhi. TCS 

was awarded the project in 

2008. 

The role of the 

upcoming mission 

and how 

the private sector 

can help 

India develop and deploy low-carbon 

technologies to combat climate 

change was discussed at a meeting 

with Minister of State for Environment 

and Forests Jairam Ramesh. 

[ ] 

Sam’s C-Sam dials secure code 

and governments, a joint 

statement by them said 

September 9. 

C-Sam markets two 

main solutions — M-Payments 

and M-City — 

while Giesecke and 

Devrient has a new 

mobile micro card. 

Kerala signs accord 

with GAIL 

Kerala State Industrial 

Development Corp (KSIDC) 

has tied up with Gas 

Authority of India Ltd (GAIL) 

for developing gas pipeline 

infrastructure. 

The partnership will lead 

to attracting investments to 

the tune of Rs.8,500 crore in 

the state, officials said. GAIL 

will invest Rs.4,500 crore to 

develop the gas pipeline to 

transport regasified LNG 

from a terminal being developed 

by Petronet in Kochi. 



DIASPORA 

THE NOBEL MOMENT 

Billed as a breakthrough as significant as the discovery of penicillin, 

the work of Indian-born Venkatraman Ramakrishnan has opened 

new doors in the fight against infectious diseases 

The TEAM: (From left) Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, American Thomas 

Steitz and Israeli Ada Yonath who won the Nobel Chemistry Prize for 2009 

Adding another feather in 

the Indian scientific community’s 

cap, Venkatraman 

Ramakrishnan, an 

Indian-born scientist, along with 

American Thomas A. Steitz and 

Israeli Ada E. Yonath, was awarded 

the Nobel Prize for Chemistry 2009. 

The award was bestowed upon them 

for showing the world exactly how 

information contained in the DNA is 

translated into life — a process that 

has benefited the fight against infectious 

diseases. 

Ramakrishnan, who is now an 

American citizen, and the other two 

scientists were named for the $1.42- 

million award for their “studies of 

the structure and function of the 

ribosome”, which is found in cells 

with nuclei and translates the DNA 

code into life. 

“An understanding of the ribosome’s 

innermost workings is 

important for a scientific understanding 

of life. This knowledge can 

be put to a practical and immediate 

use,” the Nobel Committee said. 

“This year’s three laureates have 

all generated 3D models that show 

how different antibiotics bind to the 

ribosome. These models are now 

used by scientists in order to develop 

new antibiotics, directly assisting 

the saving of lives and decreasing 

There are lots of 

good scientists 

in India but the press 

is hung up about the 

Nobel Prize instead 

of appreciating 

excellent work 

— V. Ramakrishnan 

humanity’s suffering,” the committee 

added. 

“I have been to India several times 

since and these days there are some 

really fantastic places in India like 

the Indian Institute of Science and 

several others... those are very good 

places and very good scientists,” 

Ramakrishnan added. 

Ramakrishnan is a senior research 

fellow at the MRC Laboratory of 

Molecular Biology in Cambridge, 

Britain. A senior fellow at the Trinity 

College in Cambridge since 2008, 

he conducts his research at the MRC 

Laboratory. 

The Sweden’s Royal Academy of 

Sciences described Venki and the 

two others as “warriors in the struggle 

of the rising tide of incurable bacterial 

infections”. 

— Dipankar De Sarkar/London 

VENKI MATRIX 

Venkatraman 

Ramakrishnan or 

‘Venki’ was born in 

Chidambaram, Tamil 

Nadu, in 1952; 

earned a B.Sc in 

physics from Baroda 

and a Ph.D. from Ohio, US; 

between 1976 and ‘78, he moved 

from physics to biology; now works 

in Cambridge, UK 

Venki’s work 

n Every cell in an organism 

contains strands of DNA. 

n Blueprint is transformed into living 

matter by ribosomes that 

make proteins to carry out various 

functions. 

n This could help scientists design 

antibiotics to treat people infected 

with a bacterium that has 

developed antibiotic resistance. 

Glorious past 

Rabindranath Tagore (Nobel for 

Literature, 1913); C.V. Raman 

(Nobel for Physics, 1930); Hargobind 

Khorana (Nobel for Medicine, 

1968); Mother Teresa (Nobel for 

Peace, 1979); S. Chandrashekhar 

(Nobel for Physics, 1983); Amartya 

Sen (Nobel for Economics, 1998) 

Can’t miss them 

R.K. Pachauri | Head, United 

Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel 

on Climate Change | 2007 Nobel 

for Peace; V.S. Naipaul | Trinidadian 

born of Indian origin | 2001 

Nobel for Literature; Dalai Lama | 

Leader of Tibetans in exile | 1989 

Nobel for Peace; Bombay-born writer 

Ruyard Kipling | 1907 Nobel Prize 

for Literature; Almora-born Ronald 

Ross | 1902 Nobel for Medicine 

1 

3 

2 

4 

1. C.V. Raman 

2. Subramanyan Chandrasekhar 

3. Rabindranath Tagore 

4. Amartya Sen 

Tamil Nadu, Bengal 

RULE NOBEL 

Venkatraman Ramakrishnan joins the league 

of Nobel Laureates like C.V. Raman, 

S. Chandrasekhar and Amartya Sen 

Rabindranath 

Tagore was the 

first Indian who 

received the Nobel 

Prize (Literature) 

in 1913 

Is it more than just a coincidence 

that the the Nobel laureates 

of Indian origin belong to 

Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. 

Like Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, 

the latest winner, C.V. Raman 

and Subramanyan Chandrasekhar, 

who won the prize in 1930 and 1983 

respectively, were also Tamils. 

They were also members of the 

Tamil diaspora in the US who had 

emigrated following the rise of the 

backward caste movement in Tamil 

Nadu that put the upper castes 

under social and political pressure. 

Of the other winners, the first 

among Indians was Rabindranath 

Tagore, who received the prize in 

1913. It was not until 1998 before 

another Bengali won the prize — 

economist Amartya Sen. 

There were two other winners, 

however, who were associated with 

Calcutta, as Kolkata was then 

known, although they were not 

Bengalis. Ronald Ross was one of 

them. He received the prize in 1902 

for his work on malaria, which he 

studied at the Presidency General 

Hospital (now Seth Sukhlal Karnani 

Memorial Hospital) between 

1881 and 1899. The other was Albania-born 

Mother Teresa, who won 

the prize in 1997. 

The reason why Tamil Nadu and 

West Bengal should have produced 

more Nobel laureates than other 

provinces is probably due to the 

fact that these two states had a 

headstart in the matter of modern 

education. 

The first college imparting Western-style 

education was set up in 

Kolkata in 1817. It was called Hindu 

College and became the Presidency 

College in 1855. Similarly, the Presidency 

College of Madras (now 

Chennai) was set up in 1840. 

What cannot be easily explained, 

however, is that although Elphinstone 

College in Bombay, (now 

Mumbai) was set up at the same 

time (1856), Maharashtra has not 

been as fortunate as Tamil Nadu 

and West Bengal in the matter of 

producing Nobel prize winners. 

It has to be noted that apart from 

those Tamils who won the prize, 

there were also others who eminently 

deserved it, such as the 

mathematical genius, Srinivasa 

Ramanujan, who, incidentally, was 

the nephew of the great astrophysicist 

Subramanyan Chandrasekhar. 

In Bengal, too, there were at least 

two others who could have won the 

prize. One of them was Jagadish 

Chandra Bose, who pioneered the 

investigation of radio and 

microwave optics, as the website 

wikipedia says, and also made "significant 

contributions" to plant science. 

The other was Satyendra Nath 

Bose, who is known for his work on 

quantum mechanics, which led to 

the Bose-Einstein theory. The subatomic 

particle, Boson, is named 

after him. 

Not surprisingly, two other scientific 

terms recall these Indian scientists. 

One is the Raman effect, 

which is named after C.V. Raman, 

and the other is Chandrasekhar 

limit, which is named after the 

astrophysicist. 

The other Indian scientist who 

won the prize is the molecular biologist, 

Hargobind Khorana, another 

resident of America. He was born in 

that part of Punjab which is now in 

Pakistan. 

Then, there is Rajendra Pachauri, 

also from north India, who won it in 

2007 for his contributions in the 

field of climate change. He was also 

the first to get the Nobel prize for 

peace after the Dalai Lama, who 

received it in 1989. Though not an 

Indian, the Tibetan pontiff can be 

regarded as an honorary citizen of 

the country. 

V.S. Naipaul is the second person 

of Indian origin who won the prize 

for literature after Tagore. But his 

links with India are no more than 

tenuous despite his keen interest in 

its history and the social scene. He 

was born in Trinidad and is now a 

British citizen. 

— Amulya Ganguli/New Delhi 


DIASPORA 

Raja Krishnamoorthi, who 

has been an adviser to President 

Barack Obama during 

his campaign for the US 

Senate, has formally announced his 

campaign for the post of Illinois state 

comptroller. Krishnamoorthi shares 

more than just his alma mater with 

Obama. Like Obama, New Delhiborn 

Krishnamoorthi went to Harvard 

Law School. 

Like Obama, the desire for public 

service led Krishnamoorthi, 36, to 

opt out of a lucrative legal career. 

And if Krishnamoorthi emulates 

the success of Obama, who went 

from being a rank political outsider 

to the first African American president, 

Krishnamoorthi, too, could 

end up being the first Indian American 

elected to public office in 

Illinois. 

‘My real hero’ 

I entered public 

life to follow 

Barack’s example. I 

believe, as he does, 

that well-run 

government is 

not an oxymoron 

US President Barack Obama has said that if he 

could have dinner with anyone, dead or alive, it 

would be Mahatma Gandhi, adding he is “a real 

hero of mine”. 

Obama had gone to Wakefield High School in Arlington 

to give a speech welcoming students back to school, 

when he took a few questions from ninth-graders. 

Lily, a student, asked: “And if you could have dinner 

with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be” 

“Well, you know, dead or alive, that’s a pretty big 

list,” Obama was quoted as saying by Los Angeles 

Times. 

The Illinois state comptroller is 

the chief fiscal officer of Illinois 

whose duties include serving as the 

taxpayer’s financial watchdog, 

administering the state’s payroll 

and employee benefits and overseeing 

the state’s cemeteries and 

funeral homes. 

Krishnamoorthi was the deputy 

treasurer of Illinois, a post he quit 

“You know, I think that it might 

be Gandhi, who is a real hero of 

mine.” 

Obama said: “Now, it would 

probably be a really small meal 

because, he didn’t eat a lot.” 

Obama told the students 

that Gandhi represents the 

power of change through 

ethics and how to use that 

morality to foster change, 

themes he has repeated 

through his presidential 

campaign and administration. 

Obama’s friend Raja 

Krishnamoorthi will 

become the first 

Indian American 

Illinois State 

Comptroller, if elected. 

The election is 

scheduled to held on 

November 2010 

Barack Obama, then Illinois Senator, 

enjoys Indian food in the kitchen of 

Raja Krishnamoorthi’s boyhood 

home in Peoria, Illinois, in 2002 

recently to run the present campaign. 

Krishnamoorthi acknowledged 

Obama, who started his political 

career as a community organiser in 

Chicago, as his mentor. “I entered 

public life to follow Barack’s example,” 

he said, “I believe, as he does, 

that well-run government is not an 

oxymoron. We need a government 

willing to embrace new rules and 

new technologies that can make it 

more efficient and more effective.” 

Krishnamoorthi has so far raised 

more than $400,000 for his campaign, 

ahead of the other candidates. 

He said he was confident that 

like Obama, and Alexi Giannoulias, 

Illinois state treasurer and his former 

boss, voters will look beyond 

his name and ethnicity. 

— Ashok Easwaran/Chicago 

Balle balle in 

CANADA 

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney lauds the 

contribution made by Sikhs to Canada as he 

inaugurates the Spinning Wheel Film Festival 

Sikh paintings exhibited at the 

Spinning Wheel Film Festival. 

Punjabi is set to become the 

fourth largest spoken 

language in Canada by 2011 

after English, French and 

Chinese languages, according to 

Canadian Immigration Minister 

Jason Kenney. 

The minister made the announcement 

on September 26 after inaugurating 

the seventh Spinning Wheel 

Film Festival at the Royal Ontario 

Museum, which featured films by or 

about Sikhs. 

More than two dozen films from 

around the world was screened at 

the two-day festival. 

Before opening the event, the minister 

unveiled two huge portraits of 

Maharaja Ranjit Singh and his son 

Duleep Singh. These portraits are 

now permanently displayed at the 

museum. 

Lauding the contribution made by 

Sikhs to the Canadian society, the 

minister said they have thrived after 

their initial struggles and made a 

Canadian Immigration Minister 

Jason Kenney at the opening 

ceremony of the Film Festival. 

place for themselves in Canada. 

The 2006 census showed that Punjabi 

is the sixth largest spoken language 

after English, French, Chinese, 

Italian and German in Canada. 

But it is projected to surpass German 

and Italian by 2011. 

A huge exhibition of Sikh paintings 

was also mounted at the museum. 

Some rare paintings depict the 

struggle of Sikhs in the two World 

Wars in which many of them won 

the highest military honour of Victoria 

Cross. 

“A Prisoner’s Song” featuring a 

rare audio recording of a Sikh prisoner 

of war in Germany in World 

War I opened the film festival. 

PIO helps build 

Rome in 3-D 

Ancient Rome was not built in a 

day. It took nearly a decade to 

build the Colosseum, and almost a 

century to construct the St. Peter’s 

Basilica. Now a new computer algorithm 

developed by an Indian- 

American uses thousands of tourist 

photos to automatically reconstruct 

an entire city in about a day. 

“How to match these massive collections 

of images to each other 

was a challenge,” said Sameer Agarwal, 

professor of computer science 

and engineering at the University of 

Washington (UW) and lead study 

author. 

Agarwal did his M.Sc (1995-2000) 

in maths and scientific computing 

studied from the Indian Institute of 

Technology, Kanpur, India. 

Digital Rome was built from 

150,000 tourist photos tagged with 

the word “Rome” or “Roma” that 

were downloaded from the popular 

photo-sharing website, Flickr. 

The tool is the most recent in a 

series developed at the UW to harness 

the increasingly large digital 

photo collections available on 

photo-sharing websites. 

Computers analysed each image 

and in 21 hours combined them to 

create a 3-D digital model. With this 

model a viewer can fly around 

Rome’s landmarks, from the Trevi 

Fountain to the Pantheon to the 

inside of the Sistine Chapel. 

Earlier versions of the UW photostitching 

technology are known as 

Photo Tourism. That technology 

was licensed in 2006 to Microsoft, 

which now offers it as a free tool 

called Photosynth. In addition to 

Rome, the team recreated the Croatian 

coastal city of Dubrovnik, processing 

60,000 images in less than 

23 hours using a cluster of 350 

computers, and Venice, processing 

250,000 images in 65 hours using 

a cluster of 500 computers. 

These findings was presented 

recently at the International Conference 

on Computer Vision in 

Kyoto. 


DIASPORA 

Two-month long art exhibition Chalo! 

India showcases the real colour of 

contemporary India in Austria 

The Fusion move 

As the largest exhibition of 

contemporary Indian art 

to open in the Austrian 

capital in recent times, 

Chalo! India is certainly making visitors 

more and more curious about 

the South Asian giant. 

“India’s impressive economic 

progress has spurred interest in the 

artistic developments of the country 

as well,” said professor Karlheinz 

Essl, founder of the Essl Museum of 

contemporary art. 

“Our sense of the 

modern is less singular 

than that of Europeans. 

We are able to embrace 

new ideas without giving 

up the old,” 

explained artist Sheikh, 

a leading light of the 

Baroda School in the 

1970s. He said no single 

definition of modernity 

exists in his mind. 

“Contemporary India 

Kathak exponent 

Uma Sharma joins 

hand with the 

Brazilian Latino 

dancers Fernanda 

Dias and Serginho to 

give birth to a new 

‘Kathak-salsa’ fusion 

dance form. 

Austria Chalo 

Chalo! India was inaugurated by 

Austrian President Heinz Fischer. 

Apart from more than 100 works 

by 27 artists, the two-month long 

exhibition will see many a talk and 

workshop. Names like Subodh 

Gupta, Bharti Kher, Gulammohammad 

Sheikh feature in the show. 

At a symposium titled “Concepts 

of Modernity — The Indian Perspective”, 

audiences were curious to 

know what modernity means to 

most Indians. Pointing to traditional 

images of gods and goddesses in 

the works of many artists, some visitors 

felt the trend did not spell 

modernity. 

is able to live in the midst of several 

epochs at the same time amidst a feeling 

of a tremendous sense of time, a 

tremendous sense of continuity,” 

said Sheikh who was born in 1937 in 

Gujarat and lives in Vadodara. 

In recent times he has been creating 

3-dimensional works and hi-tech 

video worlds that include mythologies 

from different cultures. 

He said an exhibition like this is 

proof enough that participants are 

obviously aware of local traditions 

but not bound by them. 

Curated by Akiko Miki to mark 

the fifth anniversary of Japan’s 

Mori museum, Chalo! India first 

Chalo! India exhibition poster. 

opened in Tokyo in November 2008 

for four months. The Essls are perhaps 

owners of Europe’s most 

important private art collection and 

the couple is considered one of the 

top 100 players in today’s art world. 

The interest of the Essls in Indian 

art goes back to the early 1990s. 

Since then they have chosen the 

work of at least 30 young and yet 

unknown Indian artists which will 

be displayed for the first time at an 

exhibition at the Essl Museum early 

next year. 

— Mehru Jaffer/Vienna 

Peace song in AFGHANISTAN 

Apopular Telugu ghazal singer Ghazal 

Srinivas, who holds the Guinness 

World Record for singing in most languages 

at one concert, was on a 10-day 

peace mission to war-torn Afghanistan. 

Srinivas was the guest of honour in the 

peace day and Eid celebrations of Maiwand 

Bank on September 25. Kesiraju Srinivas, 

popularly known as Ghazal Srinivas, performed 

in Pashto, Dari, Balochi, and Arabic 

languages during the peace day celebrations. 

He also performed on October 2, the birth 

anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi and International 

Non-violence day, at the Indian 

embassy in Kabul. The singer set a Guinness 

World Record by singing in 76 languages at 

a concert at Vijayawada on June 2 and 3 last 

year. He received the certificate for his feat 

from Guinness in November. 

What happens when a 

kathak maestro meets 

Latino dancers A medley 

of footwork, frenetic 

hip movement, spins and hand 

gestures, making for loads of “happiness” 

on stage. 

Leading kathak exponent Uma 

Sharma teamed up with two Brazilian 

Latino dancers — Fernanda Dias 

and Serginho — in the capital for a 

kathak-salsa performance as part of 

the pre-World Dance Festival. 

“India and Brazil have two very 

different cultures, but the meeting 

point is happiness,” said Serginho. 

As Sharma joined the high-voltage 

salsa and forro dancers — the 

latter a northeast Brazilian dance 

form — on stage to match steps and 

movements, she said: “Hum kisi se 

kum nahin (we are no less than 

anyone).” 

“The footwork, spins and energy 

are common between kathak and 

salsa and other Latino dances. However, 

Latino dances have more hip 

movements and gyrations of the 

belly and waist unlike kathak — 

which relies on facial expression or 

‘natya’ and hand movements. The 

body keeps still,” Sharma said at 

the Brazilian embassy, which was 

converted into a makeshift dance 

hall for the fusion performance. 

“Our mastery over our facial 

expressions and our footwork is 

intricate. But since kathak is of 

Mughal origin, hip movements are 

frowned upon. But we have the 

same rhythm.” 

Kathak exponent Uma Sharma, Latino dancers Fernanda Dias and 

Serginho perform ‘Kathak-salsa’ as a pre-World Dance Festival showcase. 

The footwork, 

spins and energy 

are common between 

kathak and salsa. 

But, kathak relies 

mainly on facial 

expression and hand 

movements 

— Uma Sharma 

“In fact, the flamenco dance of 

Spain is very similar to kathak — I 

have collaborated with several flamenco 

dancers. This time, it’s the 

fusion of kathak with salsa and 

other Latin dances since both the 

genres pick up speed and tempo 

after a point of time. Both Indian 

and Brazilian dances require rigorous 

practice,” Sharma said. 

Serginho said Brazilian and Latino 

dances in contrast need — “a 

happy and free spirit, control over 

breath and training”. 

“Indian dances have strong energy, 

but the movements are different. 

Latino dances are influenced 

by African and Caribbean 

rhythms. Our dances are more sensual, 

daring and hot,” Serginho 

said. 

The dancer, who is self-taught, is 

one of the most sought-after male 

dancers in Brazil. 

“In Brazil, dancing is like football. 

Everyone does it, but only those 

who are talented make it big on 

television, festivals and on professional 

stage. It’s a fight for survival,” 

he said. 

The duo hopes to learn the basics 

of Indian dances while in the country 

to improvise on their repertoire. 

The three-day World Dance Festival-cum-workshops 

— featuring 100 

Latino, Indian and European 

dancers and 17 international dance 

instructors — was held on September 

10-13 at Hotel Leela Kempinski 

in Gurgaon. 

The festival was sponsored by the 

embassies of Brazil, Cuba, 

Venezuela, Dominican Republic and 

Ecuador, along with Surya Brasil, a 

Brazilian cosmetics giant. 


DIASPORA 

Fruitful 20 years 

OF WAITING 

A view of the Jalan Masjid, which is known as Malaysia’s ‘Little India.’ 

C 

.P. Ramachandran, an ethnic Indian, 

has been made Professor 

Emeritus by Universiti Sains Malaysia 

for his contributions in the field of 

The historical truth 

n Malaysia has a population of 25 

million, comprising mainly 

Malays, Chinese and Indians. 

n It is home to about 1.75 million 

Indians and they make up about 

7 percent of the population. 

n Most Indians arrived in Malaysia 

during the British occupation of 

Malaya in the 19th century. 

n The majority of the Indian community 

are Tamils but various 

other groups are also present, 

including Malayalis, Punjabis, 

Bengalis and Gujaratis. 

The long wait of over two 

decades has ended for 92 

people, many of them ethnic 

Indians, who were 

granted Malaysian citizenship as 

part of the government’s drive to 

cut the backlog. 

Some openly wept, while others 

hugged each other in joy at the presentation 

ceremony held in conjunction 

with Malaysia Day at the 

national registration department 

on September 16. 

Home Minister Hishammuddin 

Hussein who handed over the citizenship 

certificates, received hugs 

from many. The minister, who has 

been spearheading the drive to 

clear the 32,927 backlog in citizenship 

applications, shared their joy 

and gave them some advice. 

“Thousands of people have 

applied for citizenship, some have 

even waited for 20 years to become 

a Malaysian (citizen). It shows how 

special this country is. So please 

help to maintain our unity and harmony,” 

he told the new citizens. 

“I will not deny there are implications 

on the government in 

awarding citizenships — be it 

financial or administrative.” 

“But we accept one’s reasons to 

become a Malaysian positively,” 

the minister added. 

Malaysian Indian honoured 

education, research and community 

service. 

He did pioneering work in 

control of filariasis, a parasitic 

MIC emerges 

younger after poll 

The Malaysian Indian Congress 

(MIC) has emerged somewhat 

younger from its 63rd general 

assembly. 

The theme of the assembly was 

‘change’. This has come about in 

the form of a youthful team. S. 

Murugesan, 42, is secretary-general; 

Jaspal Singh, 47, is treasurer; 

and P. Kamalanathan, 42, is information 

chief. 

Jaspal Singh, a second generation 

MIC activist, is a Sikh in a predominantly 

Tamil party. 

While Sikhs number about 

100,000, Tamils form a bulk of the 

community that constitutes nearly 

eight percent of Malaysia’s 28 

million multi-racial population. 

President S. Samy Vellu has 

emerged stronger from the 

assembly. He was re-elected unopposed 

for the ninth time. But the 

general assembly that ended on 

September 13 decided to impose 

a three-term limit to the president’s 

and division chairman’s 

posts. 

The party will recruit younger 

and educated members through 

an online portal apart from opening 

more youth branches, Vellu 

said. 

The election saw three new vicepresidents 

being voted in, as well 

as 13 new faces in the central 

working committee. All three ministers 

who represent the party’s 

Malaysia’s federal government — 

Human Resources Minister S. Subramaniam, 

Deputy Minister in the 

Prime Minister’s Department S.K. 

Devamany and Federal Territories 

Deputy Minister M. Saravanan — 

have been elected vice-presidents. 

and infectious tropical disease, 

before moving to the 

World Health Organisation. 

Ramachandran, 73, has been 

honoured by various other 

institutions as well. 

INDIAN 

flavours in 

ARGENTINA 

Indian films, food, dances and 

handicrafts will deck up 

Argentina this November, with 

the Festival of India set to be 

held not only in Buenos Aires but 

also in other cities of the Latin 

American country. 

“Encouraged by the success 

and the enthusiastic 

response to the festival 

last year, we are 

going to celebrate 

the second edition of 

the festival showcasing the 

flavours of India,” Indian 

Ambassador to Argentina 

R. Viswanathan said in 

an e-mail message. 

The event will be 

held from November 

5-15. 

“Dance performances by Indian 

troupes, cinema and food festivals 

will be extended this year to Montevideo, 

Asuncion and Ciudad de 

Leste, unlike last year when it was 

held in the capital.” 

The Indian Embassy in Argentina 

will also raffle five air-tickets to 

India with the help of Air France, 

South African Airways and British 

Airways as part of a tourism awareness 

and cultural exchange initiative, 

said Viswanathan, who is also 

the Indian Ambassador to Uruguay 

and Paraguay. 

The festival will feature exhibitions 

by 30 Indian companies and 

live demonstrations of 

handicrafts. 

“It will open with a handicrafts 

exhibition at the Centro Cultural 

Borges followed by Bharatanatyam, 

Kuchipudi and Dandiya recitals on 

November 6,” Viswanathan said. 

The dance performances will be 

followed by two festivals of Indian 

films and a seminar on “Victoria 

Ocampo and India” at Villa Ocampo, 

golf tournaments, a festival of 

ayurvedic food and cooking and a 

sitar concert, the envoy said. 

Argentina is one of the most culturally 

advanced Latin American 

nations which shares historical and 

literary links with India. 

Hindu temple in US with a long tradition 

One of the few places in Pittsburgh 

that is part of an excursion tour 

for the members of Prime Minister 

Manmohan Singh’s visit during G20 

Summit is the imposing Sri 

Venkateswara Temple. 

This is one of the earliest Hindu temples 

built in the US, dating back to 

1977, and has been modelled on the 

famous Tirumala Tirupati Devastanam 

in Andhra Pradesh over a huge 

expanse of 3.5 acres. 

It is located on the immediate outskirts 

of Pittsburgh. 

Indian dance 

enthralls T&T 

An Indian dance show mesmerised 

thousands of people 

at an event held in Trinidad and 

Tobago’s capital to mark Diwali. 

This year’s theme was ‘Hindu 

Concept of God’. 

Mumbai’s Rangpuhar dance 

troupe, which has artistes from all 

over India, performed at the 23rd 

annual Diwali Nagar event. And the 

fans were dazzled by the 14 member 

troupe’s scintillating performance. 

Indian High Commissioner Malay 

Mishra and Mahatma Gandhi Institute 

for Cultural Co-operation 

director, Mohan Madan Sharma, 

helped organise the event. 

The Rangpuhar dance troupe, led 

by Shubhra Bhardwaj, performed a 

wide variety of dances. 

The Terah Talli dance — a devotional 

piece practised by the Makad 

community of Rajasthan’s Pokhran 

and Deedwana to honour their folk 

hero Baba Ramdeo — consists of 

women sitting on the floor before 

his image. Tied to various parts of 

their bodies are thirteen cymbals 

which they strike with the ones 

held in their hands, and they also 

balance pots on their heads and 

hold swords in their mouths. 

Bhangra, performed by Punjabis 

to celebrate a good harvest, was an 

instant hit. Several entertainers from 

Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, 

Guyana and Jamaica also took part 

in the event. More than 100,000 

people visited over 100 stalls with a 

varied range of household goods, 

jewellery, clothes and food items. 

— Paras Ramoutar/ 

Port-of-Spain 


ENTERTAINMENT 

BOLLYWOOD CINEMA 

Hollywood comes 

CALLING 

India seems to have become a 

hot destination for Hollywood 

stars, and Oscar winner Julia 

Roberts is the latest in a long 

line of foreign film celebrities coming 

here to shoot or do social work 

or just chill out. 

In the last five years, top Hollywood 

actors like Nicole Kidman, 

Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Gerard 

(Clockwise from top) Madonna with 

her husband Guy Ritchie visiting the 

Mumbai slums in January 2008; 

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt with 

their kids at the Gateway of India in 

January 2009; Gerard Butler 

partying with the child stars of 

‘Slumdog Millionaire’ in May 2009; 

and Will Smith on the sets of ‘Indian 

Idol’ in February 2006 

Butler and Richard Gere have visited 

India. 

Other famous Hollywood stars 

who arrived in the country for 

shooting this year, besides ‘Pretty 

Woman’ Julia, include Gerard Butler, 

known for his portrayal of King 

Leonidas in 300, The Phantom. 

The Scottish actor visited India 

in May to spend time with multi- 

Oscar winning film Slumdog Millionaire 

child stars. He also did 

some sightseeing and scouted for 

the right location. 

In the same month, Oscar-winning 

actress Nicole Kidman was in 

Udaipur to shoot for an ad film 

directed by Shekhar Kapur. 

In June 2008, Hollywood superstar 

Michael Douglas was in Jaisalmer, 

Rajasthan with actress wife 

Catherine Zeta-Jones to film 

Racing the Monsoon, an action 

adventure movie that tells the 

story of a diamond heist that 

takes place on board an Indian 

train. 

In the same year, pop icon 

Madonna visited Udaipur. The 

singer-actress was on a weeklong 

holiday along with her ex-husband 

and filmmaker Guy Ritchie, son 

David Banda and a few close 

friends. 

‘Rolling Stones’ frontman Mick 

Jagger too visited Rajasthan in 2008 

with daughter Jade. 

In February 2007, Ralph Fiennes, 

who is a Unicef ambassador, was on 

a five-day trip to rural Maharashtra 

investigating the impact of 

HIV and AIDS. 

His visit was followed by Ashley 

Judd in March. She visited 

Mumbai’s red light area of Kamathipura 

and spent the whole day with 

sex workers. 

Close on the heels of Judd came 

Richard Gere. He scorched the 

headlines after kissing actress 

Shilpa Shetty at an AIDS awareness 

rally. In the same year, Elizabeth 

Hurley chose Udaipur for her lavish 

wedding. 

In February 2006, Will Smith 

came to India. He appeared on the 

popular music-based television 

show ‘Indian Idol’. Later he visited 

Agra to see the Taj Mahal. 

In October the same year, Hollywood’s 

high profile couple Angelina 

Jolie and Brad Pitt visited the country. 

Both of them stayed in Pune to 

shoot the critically acclaimed film, 

Mighty Heart. 

Apart from Hollywood celebrities, 

some films like Jungle Book, Far 

Pavilions and Holy Smoke too have 

an Indian backdrop. 

(Left) Actor Julia Roberts during the shoot (Right) Roberts with Swami Dharmdev at Ashram Hari Mandir 

The Heritage Hotel at Pataudi 

Palace in Haryana had a 

high-profile occupant in 

‘Pretty Woman’ Julia 

Roberts — who seemed to be in no 

rush to leave its lush green environs 

and charming hospitality — 

from September 16 to October 10. 

“Juliaji” is how the Oscar winner 

with the dazzling smile was 

addressed by some hotel staff as she 

came here for the shooting of the 

Hollywood film ‘Eat, Pray, Love,’ 

along with other crew members. 

The palace was completely 

booked till October 10. The crew of 

the film arrived here on September 

15. Roberts came on September 17 

with her three children — fouryear-old 

twins Hazel and Phinnaeus 

and two-year-old son Henry — and 

their nannies. 

The Oscar-winning actress was 

here for the shooting at the Ashram 

Hari Mandir in Pataudi as part of 

the third leg of ‘Eat, Pray, Love’. 

Earlier, she was shooting for the 

movie in New York and Italy under 

director Ryan Murphy’s supervision. 

Busy in her shoots, Roberts was 

completely immersed in the spiritual 

atmosphere of the ashram and 

was quite unperturbed by the hot 

weather. 

Julia ‘Pretty’ Roberts visited India this month 

for the shooting of her film ‘Eat, Pray, Love’ 

‘Juliaji’ IN INDIA 

Donning Indian 

attire, and eating 

rice, chapati and 

aloo-gobi with bare 

hands, Julia 

Roberts was every 

bit Indian 

In the movie, Roberts plays the 

role of the author Elizabeth Gilbert 

who travels to Italy, India and 

Indonesia in search of peace. The 

film is based on the memoirs of 

Gilbert. 

Donning Indian attires for the 

film Roberts, 41, was quite at ease 

in the Indian locale. Wearing a 

purple kurta, black salwar and 

rudraksha beads, on the first day 

of her shoot, she was every bit living 

up to her role. One scene had 

her eating rice, chapati, aloo-gobi 

and mater-paneer the Indian way 

— with her bare hands. 

Even as the ‘Pretty Woman’ 

spent her last day in India on October 

10, her white air-conditioned 

vanity van told a story of its own. 

With two rooms and a washroom, 

it had sparkling black flooring 

and her character Elizabeth 

Gilbert’s name pasted on the door. 

Colourful pillows with traditional 

Gujarati embroidery and mirror 

work adorned her van, a sneak 

peek revealed. The white, blue and 

yellow pillows added an ethnic 

touch and were placed on a sofalike 

couch. 

Now she will shoot in Indonesia 

for the last leg of the movie. The 

shooting will be wrapped up in 

November. The film is expected to 

be released in 2011, she said. 


ENTERTAINMENT 

BOLLYWOOD CINEMA 

From Brazil 

to BOLLYWOOD 

Bollywood movies should 

come to Brazil “in a big 

way”, says veteran Brazilian 

filmmaker Suzana 

Amaral, describing herself as a fan 

of Hindi movies from the 1970s. 

“Our two great nations should 

start forging deeper cultural ties. 

Bollywood films are gorgeous and 

we can learn a lot from them,” the 

77-year-old said in an interview. 

“I used to watch every Bollywood 

film when I was studying film 

direction at New York University 

in the mid-1970s. There used to be 

a theatre on 56th Street which 

screened only Bollywood films. I 

never missed one,” the Rio de 

Janeiro-based filmmaker told 

IANS. 

She added that she would love to 

have her films screened at the 

International Film Festival of India 

in Goa, a former Portuguese 

enclave. 

A veteran of 56 films, she won the 

Silver Berlin Bear at the Berlin 

International Film Festival in 1986 

for her film The Hour of the Star. 

Amaral praises Indian audiences 

for supporting the Indian film 

Brazilian filmmaker Suzana Amaral 

industry. “I salute Bollywood and 

Indian audiences for supporting 

their film industry. That’s why it is 

the biggest in terms of number of 

films produced each year while we 

in Brazil produce only about 80 

films.” 

Amaral has been invited to a film 

festival in Kerala in December. But 

she said she would not be able 

attend because of family commitments. 

A practising Buddhist, she said 

she would love to interact not only 

with Bollywood directors while in 

India but also the Dalai Lama. 

— Gurmukh Singh 

Desi movies, 

English titles 

Ever noticed the growing list of 

English titles for an out and out 

Hindi flick Wanted, All The Best, Jail 

and Kites are just a few to name! 

Movies with English names are a 

new fad in Bollywood. While some 

argue that the script demands it, other 

filmmakers admit it helps sell movies in 

the global market. 

Hrithik Roshan’s upcoming and 

action thriller has an English title — 

Kites. Rajkumar Hirani, of Munnabhai 

fame, too has opted for the English title 

Three Idiots for his new film. Other films 

with English titles are Season’s 

Greetings, What’s Your Raashee and 

Wake Up Sid. 

While Hindi filmmakers are opting for 

English titles, Titanic director James 

Cameron has titled his new film Avatar. 

— Robin Bansal 

Rahman’s Hollywood score 

Oscar winning musician 

A.R. Rahman is set to compose 

music for his first fullfledged 

Hollywood project Couples 

Retreat and he is determined 

not to create anything 

similar to the Slumdog Millionaire 

tunes. He also emphasised 

that while there wouldn’t be any 

Indian sounds, there would be a 

touch of Indianness. 

Apparently, there were numerous 

brainstorming sessions during 

which, the sound of Slumdog Millionaire 

kept cropping up repeatedly. 

And Rahman gently but firmly steered 

the music away from the expected. 

“There’s no point in doing something I’ve 

already done. I’ve reached a stage where 

I’ve to do new things. There’re so many 

avenues to be explored. So Couples Retreat 

will be their kind of music with my touch, 

done in my way,” Rahman, who is looking 

at Couples Retreat as his real launch into 

the West, told IANS in an interview. 

Directed by Peter Billingsley, the comedy 

revolves around four couples who settle 

into a tropical-island resort for a vacation. 

Rahman said he would now make music 

to suit a typical American romantic comedy. 

— Subhash K. Jha 

The reel story of 

Tagore’s Victoria love 

The Tagore-Victoria encounter — a life-changing event for both 

individuals — would soon be filmed by director Pablo Cesar 

The love story between 

Rabindranath Tagore and 

Victoria Ocampo — the 

Argentine whose songs 

India’s Nobel Laureate poet could 

hear from the sky and to whom he 

dedicated his life — is the subject of 

a new movie by Argentine director 

Pablo Cesar. 

Thinking of Him will be about 

Ocampo, the fiery feminist, writer 

and woman of the world, and the 

way her meeting with Tagore 

changed the lives of both. 

“The Tagore-Victoria story is fantastic 

material for a film. I am glad 

that I have been able to interest 

Pablo Cesar. I liked his preliminary 

script and the title he has chosen for 

his movie,” said R. Viswanathan, the 

Indian ambassador to Argentina, 

Uruguay and Paraguay. 

Victoria was a writer, editor and 

cultural activist, a free and wilful 

spirit who held Tagore under her 

spell when he stayed at her home 

during his visit to Argentina in 

1924. 

“Victoria was very excited when 

Tagore came to Buenos Aires in 

1924. In her own words, it was one 

Thinking of Him 

will be about 

Ocampo, the fiery 

woman, and the 

way her meeting 

with Tagore 

changed their lives 

of the great events of his life. There 

is even talk of platonic love 

between the 63-year-old Tagore and 

the 34-year-old Victoria,” 

Viswanathan recollected. 

“Victoria wanted to be a writer in 

her youth. She read Tagore’s 

Gitanjali in 1914 and said ‘it fell like 

celestial dew on my anguishing 24- 

year heart’. She described Tagore’s 

poetry as “magical mysticism’, 

radiating ‘happiness and serenity’,” 

Viswanathan said. 

On his part, Tagore was “rejuvenated 

by Ocampo’s flower-filled garden 

that overlooked the scenic bank 

of the immense Plata river”, the 

ambassador quoted from the book 

Victoria Ocampo — Writer, Feminist 

and Woman of the World. “Victoria 

was the muse of his Purabi poems 

in which he referred to her as 

Vijaya.” 

One of Tagore’s most famous 

songs starts “I know you, foreigner” 

and goes on to say “I have seen 

you in the middle of the heart... I 

have heard your song when I listened 

to the sky, I have dedicated 

my life to you... I have come to you 

after roaming the world, I am a 

guest at your doorstep.” 

On her part, Victoria had a spiritual 

awakening from her encounter 

with Tagore. 

“The Tagore-Ocampo encounter 

opened an intellectual, literary, cultural 

and spiritual bridge between 

India and Argentina,” the Ambassador 

said. 

After Tagore left Argentina, the 

poet and Ocampo met once more in 

1930 in France. 

Ocampo later received an honorary 

doctorate in 1968, from the 

Vishwa Bharati University set up 

by Tagore in Santiniketan, West 

Bengal. 


TRAVEL 

French 

Riviera 

A quaint fragment of French history, 

memory and aroma lingers on in a tiny 

enclave called Pondicherry. Meld it with 

beauty and it takes you into another era 

Afine blend of serenity and spiritual aura, Pondicherry rests 

in a small enclave surrounded by Tamil Nadu. A Union Territory, 

Pondicherry possesses a charm of its own, a gentle 

laidback charm that soothes your senses. Situated 200 kms 

from the southern part of Chennai, Pondicherry is an important travel 

destination where the quiet beaches are bound to take your breath 

away. The word ‘Pondicherry’ has been derived from the Tamil language 

which means ‘New Town’. A small town which possesses a cosmopolitan 

flair of many nationalities. Walking on a busy street, one 

can hear snatches of conversation in English, French, German, Tamil, 

Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi. A place where people from diverse cultural 

backgrounds live together. 

Pondicherry was a Portuguese colony, having been first occupied by 

them in the 16th century. Later, the French took over the territory in the 

17th century. Known as ‘The French Riviera of The East’, Pondicherry 

still smells of the French aroma, the structure of the buildings, the perpendicular 

streets carrying French names, restaurants serving Franco- 

Tamil food, policeman wearing French kepis, red military style caps, in 

a nutshell, India’s very own little France. 

Aurobindo Ashram 

Think Pondicherry and the first thing that 

strikes you is the Aurobindo Ashram. Shri 

Aurobindo Ghosh was an accomplished linguist, 

philosopher, scholar and an ardent 

advocate of Indian independence. The 

Ashram was founded in 1920 upon his 

arrival. There are no rituals or obligatory 

practices to be followed here. Every year, 

thousands of tourists visit the place for spiritual 

peace and harmony. Today, the ashram 

houses the ‘samadhi’ of Aurobindo Ghosh 

and the ‘Mother’, his French disciple Mirra 

Alfassa. 

Auroville, the City of Dawn 

Founded in 1968, this unique township is 

one of the major tourist attractions of 

Pondicherry. At its centre stands Matri- 

How to reach 

Air: The nearest airport 

from Pondicherry is in 

Chennai (160 km). 

Rail: Villupuram 

(32 km) is the nearest 

railway station 

connected directly to 

Chennai which in turn 

is connected to major 

cities in India. 

Road: Pondicherry is 

well-connected by 

good motorable roads 

to various cities in 

South India. 

Anti-clockwise from top: The 300-year-old Notre Dame de la Conception Church; the statue of Mahatma Gandhi at 

Promenade Street; The Rock Beach; Auroville, the city of dawn, at the centre of which stands the Matri Mandir; 

Pondicherry’s historical light house, also situated on Promenade Street 

Mahe: Separated 

at birth 

Mahe, which is part of 

Pondicherry, is ironically situated 

in Kerala, on the west coast, 

where the Mahe river meets the 

Arabian sea. This tiny ‘Heaven 

on Earth’, Mahe has a character 

of its own with its serene beaches 

from where one can have a good 

look of the Dharmadam islands 

luring you with its lush green 

trees and placid ambience. A visit 

to Pondicherry and one cannot 

afford to give Mahe a miss. Well 

connected by roads, other means 

of reaching the place is the 

Calicut Airport and the 

Kozhikode Railway Station. 

mandir built in the form of a globe. It is a place for quiet meditation. There 

are 80 settlements and over 1,500 people engaged in reforestation, organic 

agriculture, health care and village development. 

Pondicherry beach, Promenade 

Promenade street, a 5-km scenic stretch alongside the main Pondicherry 

beach, the Rock Beach, is a huge attraction. A statue of the Mahatma and a 

150-year-old light house are a visual treat. 

The churches 

It is the churches that lend Pondicherry its European flavour. The church 

of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception or Notre Dame de la Conception 

is almost 300 years old. The church of Our Lady of Angels is known for an 

oil painting that was gifted by Napoleon-III. The most awesome, however, is 

the grand gothic Sacred Heart Church with three stained glass panels portraying 

the life of Christ. 

Temples 

Among other places of interest are the temples which reflect the Indian style 

of architecture. The oldest one dates back to the 10th century AD Chola 

Dynasty. The Vinaynagar Manakula temple has a golden dome and a collection 

of 40 beautiful idols. 

The best time to visit Pondicherry is between July and February. 

42 Pravasi Bharatiya October 2009 Pravasi Bharatiya October 2009 43 

44 Pravasi Bharatiya īJuly 2009

BOOKS 

AMOROUS ANTHOLOGY 

Feathers of erotica 

For want of good erotic writing, filmmaker and writer Ruchir Joshi 

puts together a few tender and teasing tales of desire and young love... 

What happens when the 

‘plain Jane’ Paolomi 

next door armed with 

a volume of Persepolis 

2 meets Bollywood superstar Sartaj 

Khan, the man of her dreams, on 

the sets of a publicity still 

She binges at the studio lunch, 

munches chocolates, dozes off on a 

corner seat and dreams that she has 

been transported back in time to 

1977 to a government guest house 

used by former Prime Minister 

Indira Gandhi on the Andaman and 

Nicobar Islands with Sartaj Khan 

for company. 

The superstar makes her feel special 

— with love, intimacy and huge 

breakfast of eggs, tinned ham and 

baked beans from an ancient pantry 

at the guest house. 

Enters Indira Gandhi on a holiday 

with a huge handbag and a 

packet of Toblerone chocolates. She 

walks “through the dream couple 

unseeing” as they sleep on her bed, 

rummages through her handbag 

and digs into her chocolates. 

The scene from the short story, 

Tourists, by Paromita Vohra is part 

of the country’s newest anthology of 

contemporary erotic short stories, 

Electric Feather: The Tranquebar 

Book of Erotic Stories published in 

September. Collated by filmmaker 

and author Ruchir Joshi and published 

by Tranquebar Press, the stories 

are teasing, tender, full of earthy 

Indian humour as they travel across 

the heartland of the country to cull 

tales of desire, young love and funny 

dreams; featuring everyday characters, 

situations and sometimes even 

politics from the states. “In asking 

writers to contribute to the book, we 

laid out the criteria that there was a 

dearth of good erotic writing in the 

Indian sub-continent and we wanted 

to try and start to counter that 

absence. The writing had to be 

around and about the erotic. And it 

could be as graphic or not as the 

writer liked. And it had to be a work 

of fiction,” Joshi said. 

When asked if erotica wasn’t just 

a fancy term for porn, Joshi said: 

“No. Porn leaves nothing to the 

imagination while erotica excites 

the imagination.” 

For Joshi, who says the collection 

was conceived under the shadow of 

“exiling M.F. Husain, the resurgence 

of the Taliban in Afghanistan, and 

the assault on a young woman drinking 

in a pub in Mangalore”, the book 

is a “statement of resistance against 

those and other such depredations”. 

It is Joshi’s quest, as he says, for 

a “free, graceful and mischievous 

Brindavan, where love and physical 

desire go hand in hand”. 

The book has 13 short stories 

contributed by Samit Basu, Rana 

Dasgupta, Tishani Doshi, Niven 

Govinden, Abeer Hoque, Sonia Jabbar, 

Sheba Karim, Meenakshi Reddy 

Madhavan, Kamila Shamsie, Parvati 

Sharma, Jeet Thayil, Paromita 

Vohra and Ruchir Joshi himself. 

HANUMAN: THE 

NEWEST ‘SUTRADHAR’ 

Hanuman, the symbol of 

power, purity and faith in 

the Ramayana, has a new 

avatar — as the sutradhar (narrator) 

of the epic mythological tale 

in an adventure activity and 

comic book for children Where’s 

Hanuman 

Conceived and written by 

California-based publisher 

and a devotee of Lord Krishna, 

Alister Taylor, the animation 

book which is the first of a series has been 

illustrated by Christopher Woods and Ben McClintic. 

The slim volume begins with an introduction of 

Hanuman in the first person and a cast of all the characters, 

both man and animals, who accompanied him 

on his journey of life. It also has a list of six objects 

— a bow, mace, conch, discus, ring and lotus — which 

Hanuman lost along the way. 

As part of the adventure exercise, children are 

supposed to spot the objects and characters, associated 

with Hanuman, from the illustrations of Ramayana 

in the book. 

“It is a new concept. The idea is to make the book 

participatory and interactive in nature. The children 

have to identify Hanuman and his associates from the 

illustrations. They are almost hidden in unlikely corners. 

It is a good way to keep the children engaged and 

promote the epic,” Taylor told IANS. 

The events illustrated in a rather humorous manner 

include mega crowded affairs like “Sita’s Wedding”, 

“Demons in the Forest” (King Rama fighting the 

demons), “The Coronation of Sugriva”, “Marshalling 

the Armies”, “Marching to Lanka”, “Building the 

Bridge”, “Attacking Lanka” and “The Pushpaka”. 

Taylor, an ISKCON member, already has a “Hanuman 

sequel also in mind”. 

TOP 10 BESTSELLERS 

Fiction 

Non-fiction 

...in India in September 

The Lost Symbol 

Author: Dan Brown 

Publisher: Bantam Press 

Price: Rs. 699 

Wolf Hall 

Author: Hillary Mantel 

Publisher: Fourth Estate 


The Children’s Book 

Author: A.S. Byatt 

Publisher: Chatto and Windus 


The Little Stranger 

Author: Sarah Waters 

Publisher: Virago 


The Girl with the Dragon 

Tattoo 

Author: Stieg Larsson 

Publisher: Quercus 


Jinnah: India, Partition, 

Independence 

Author: Jaswant Singh 

Publisher: Rupa 


The Hindus: An Alternative History 

Author: Wendy Doniger 

Publisher: Penguin Viking 


NEW RELEASES 

Puffin Lives: Jawaharlal Nehru: The Jewel of India 

By Aditi De 

Aditi De recounts the story of Jawaharlal 

Nehru’s extraordinary life in this biography 

for young readers. Filled with charming 

anecdotes, it recounts episodes from 

Nehru’s childhood, his fascination with 

books and scientific experiments, his student 

years, and how he was drawn to the 

Indian independence struggle. Finally, she 

sketches his role as India’s first Prime Minister and how he 

shaped the newly-formed democratic republic. Packed with 

little known nuggets of information and trivia about the 

times, this book brings alive the thoughts and actions of one 

of modern India’s most important personalities. 

Gods of War 

By By Ashok K. Banker 

Santosh — a 10-year-old from Mumbai with 

a passion for cricket, Bollywood, and 

Ganesha; Salim — a socialist trader from Birmingham; 

Ruth — a lesbian ship-welder from 

New Jersey whose fierce right-wing patriotism 

cost her the love of her life; Akechi — a 

rakish, self-obsessed manga star with a fondness 

for high living and beautiful gaijin women; and Yoshi 

— Akechi’s twin, a hermaphrodite consumed by a guilty 

secret about their parents.Can this unlikely quintet succeed 

in bringing peace to the world Can they overcome their 

cultural, racial, and religious differences and find a way to 

end the apocalyptic War of Wars that threatens humanity 

Marrying Anita 

By Anita Jain 

W 

itty, confessional memoir about a single Indian-American 

woman who suspects that may 

be her parents are right and arranged marriages are 

the route to happiness. Anita Jain, a New York-based 

Indian-American journalist, is single. For years she has 

trusted the Western way of finding a husband, but 

maybe there’s something in arranged marriages after 

all. So she travels to India in search of the perfect husband, 

the old-fashioned way. Will she find a suitable man If so, 

will he please her family Is the new urban Indian culture all that 

different from New York And is any of this worth the effort Marrying 

Anita is a refreshingly honest look at the modern search for 

a mate set against the backdrop of a rapidly modernising New India. 

The Al Qaeda Connection 

Author: Imtiaz Gul 

Publisher: Penguin Books 


The Storm of War: A New 

History of the Second World War 

Author: Andrew Roberts 

Publisher: Allen Lane 


New Delhi: Making of 

a Capital 

Author: M. Singh and R. Mukherjee 

Publisher: Roli Books 

Price: Rs. 1,975 


DIASPORA 

NEWSMAKERS 

COURAGEOUS MALLIKA 

Indian American civil rights activist Mallika Dutt was honoured 

by the Asian American Justice Centre (AAJC), a leading US civil 

rights organisation, with the American Courage Award on October 

1. Dutt is the executive director of Breakthrough, an innovative, 

international human rights organisation using the power of popular 

culture, media and community mobilisation to transform public attitudes 

and advance equality, justice, and dignity. Through initiatives 

in India and the US, Breakthrough addresses critical global issues, 

including violence against women, sexuality and HIV/AIDS, racial 

justice and immigrant rights. 

Anita Botti, deputy director of the President’s International 

Women’s Initiatives InterAgency Task Force, presented the award 

on behalf of Ambassador-at-Large, Melanne Verveer at a ceremony 

here. Mallika Dutt has a long history of activism and commitment to 

social change and has addressed global issues ranging from women’s 

rights to racial justice and immigrant rights, AAJC said. 

Making investment in India easier for overseas Indians. 

Majumdar Energised 


US President Barack Obama has 

nominated Indian American technocrat 

Arun Majumdar to a key 

administration post dealing with energy 

research. Majumdar will be the Director 

of the Advanced Research Projects Agency 

— Energy in the US Department of 

Energy. 

A product of Indian Institute of Technology, 

Mumbai, Majumdar is currently 

the Associate Laboratory 

Director for Energy and Environment 

at Lawrence Berkeley 

National Laboratory and a Professor 

of Mechanical Engineering 

and Materials Science 

and Engineering at the University 

of California, Berkeley. 

Majumdar has had a highly 

distinguished research 

career in the science and engineering 

of energy conversion, 

transport, and storage ranging 

from molecular and 

nanoscale level to large energy 

systems, the White House 

announcement said. 

For his pioneering work, he was 

elected as a member of the National 

Academy of Engineering in 

2005. He has also served on the 

advisory committee of the 

National Science Foundation’s 

engineering directorate. 

Maneesh Agrawala 

L. Mahadevan (Right) 

Two Indian Americans 

awarded ‘MacArthur ‘ 

Two Indian Americans, one a 

computer scientist and the other 

a mathematician, are among 24 

winners of the prestigious 

MacArthur fellowships offering talented 

individuals unprecedented 

freedom and opportunity to reflect, 

create, and explore. Computer 

vision technologist 

Maneesh Agrawala, 37, and 

applied mathematics specialist L. 

Mahadevan, 44, will each receive 

$500,000 support over the next five 

years. MacArthur fellowships come 

without stipulations and reporting 

requirements. 

The inaugural class of MacArthur 

Fellows was named in 1981. Including 

this year’s Fellows, 805 people, 

ranging in age from 18 to 82 at the 

time of their selection, have been 

named MacArthur Fellows since the 

inception of the programme. 

lR;eso t;rs 

Ministry of Overseas 

Indian Affairs 

For details contact: 

Shefali Chaturvedi 

Chief Executive Officer - OIFC & 

Director, CII 

249-F, Sector 18, Udyog Vihar, Phase IV 

Gurgaon - 122 015, Haryana, INDIA 

Tel: +91-124-4014060-67 / 4014071 

Fax: +91-124-4014070 

Website: www.oifc.in 

Confederation of 

Indian Industry

THE CELEBRATION OF LIGHTS 

D 

iwali or Deepavali, the Festival of Lights, is one of the biggest festivals celebrated around the globe. In Sanskrit, 

Deepavali means 'array of lamps'. According to the Hindu mythology, the festival is celebrated to commemorate 

the homecoming of Lord Rama after a 14-years of exile in the forest and his victory over the demon king Ravana. The 

festival is celebrated on the no-moon day of the Kartik and it generally falls in the month of October or November. 

Diwali is also of great importance to Jains, Buddhists as well as Sikhs. Hindus celebrate it by lighting their houses with 

rows of diyas (lamps) and create rangolis at the doorsteps. In north, Diwali celebrations is mainly for five days. On 

“Dhanteras” the first day, people buy new utensils and silver ware. On the second day, which is called “Chhoti Diwali,” 

people are mostly busy preparing for the next day. On the third day comes the “Badi Diwali” when people perform 

Lakshmi Puja and burst crackers. The fourth day is called the Govardhan puja. The fifth day is the day of brothers and 

sisters. It is celebrated as Bhai Dooj. In South, people wake up early in the morning, take oil bath, perform puja and 

then burst crackers, followed by a sumptuous meal. 

lR;eso t;rs 


www.moia.gov.in 

www.overseasindian.in

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