Pittsburgh_Patrika_October_2014

The Pittsburgh Patrika, Vol. 20, No. 1, October 2014

Vol. 20 No 1 October 2014

www.pittsburghpatrika.com

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The Quarterly Magazine (Jan, Apr, Jul & Oct) for the Indian Diaspora

Vol. 20 No. 1 www.pittsburghpatrika.com October 2014

4006 Holiday Park Drive, Murrysville, PA 15668

Phone/Fax: (724) 327 0953 e-mail: ThePatrika@aol.com

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Highlights in this issue... ... ...

The High-Stakes Poker Game in World Trade

By Kollengode S Venkataraman..................................................... 2

India Day 2014 Celebrated With the Usual Gusto

By David Downey........................................................................ 10

How to collect Taxes: A Vignette from the Indian Literature

By Kollengode s Venkataraman.................................................... 14

The Viloma Poetry — Ramakrishna Kaavyam Unique to India

By Arun Jatkar.............................................................................. 16

Two Masters in A Flat Jugalbandi

By Samar Saha.............................................................................. 18

Obituary: Vimala Nayak (1947-2014)

By Kollengode S Venkataraman................................................... 22

Obituary: Shikha Mullick (1950 to 2014)

By A Family Friend....................................................................... 24

Modi’s Refreshing Address from the Red Fort

By Kollengode S Venkataraman................................................... 26

Two Horses

By Arvind Narale and Arun Jatkar................................................ 30

Two Travelers

By Arvind Narale and Arun Jatkar................................................ 31

On the Cover: Early morning last Fall in Oakland. The bright autumn

sun was just rising in the east with dark clouds on the western sky. I

was looking at the bright early morning sun drenching the Cathedral of

Learning with light with dark clouds providing the backdrop curtain.

The scene was beautifully surreal. — Kollengode S. Venkataraman •

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The Quarterly Magazine (Jan, Apr, Jul & Oct) for the Indian Diaspora

Vol. 20 No. 1 www.pittsburghpatrika.com October 2014

Phone/Fax: (724) 327 0953 e-mail: ThePatrika@aol.com

The High-Stakes Poker Game in World Trade

In July India’s newly elected Modi government blocked what is known

in the arcane world of global trade as the Trade Facilitation Agreement

(TFA). Key elements of the TFA are reducing import tariffs, bureaucratic

delays and subsidies to farming in member countries.

The details of the World Trade Organization’s TFA were agreed to in

the ministerial meeting in Bali in December 2013 with India participating

under Manmohan Singh’s government. Though India agreed to the TFA,

it also wanted the WTO to simultaneously address India’s need for food

subsidies. These subsidies are lifelines for the millions and millions of

subsistence farmers worldwide. Another issue is the stockpiling of food

grains as an insurance against famines/droughts. Signing this by the 160-

strong WTO countries (out of 180-plus UN members) was thought to be a

formality. However, the WTO did not address these issues. So India under

Modi’s government, blocked the ratification of TFA. Several non-G-8

members except China, Brazil, Pakistan, and Thailand supported India.

The stockpiling of food grains is important to India given the unpredictable

monsoons and the on-again-off-again droughts. Granted, India’s

cantankerous and corrupt state governments need to better manage their

water resources and improve the productivity in farming, but this will take

time. With the chronic threat of droughts, if not famines, the problem for

India is here and now.

But protection from cheaper imports always gives complacency for

the local industries. India’s economic stagnation before 1990 itself is an

example of this. That is India’s dilemma.

For the uninformed, India, along with the other BRICS nations

and the ASEAN nations, among others, are now called Newly

Industrialized Countries. The bottom in this classification is LCDs or the

Least Developed Countries, mostly in Sub-Saharan Africa, and Nepal,

Afghanistan, Bhutan, Myanmar… Recognizing the unique problems of

LCDs, the WTO affirmed that all nations will provide duty- and quotafree

market access for goods from LCDs.

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That India wants to stock-pile food as insurance against famine would

be understandable if only one cares to know how India has been

ravaged by famines. Here are the big ones in a long list:

• The Bengal Famine of 1770 during the Mughal Empire-East India

Company transition. Ten million people died. Bengal’s population was

reduced by 33%. Neglect by the rulers was a main cause.

• The Great Famine of 1876–78 in South India under the British

Occupation. 5.5 million people died. With South India’s population 50 to

60 million then, 10% of the people, mostly the poor, died.

• Bengal’s man-made famine in 1943 during WW II under the British

rule. Two million deaths. Bengal’s population was 60 million.

• Bangladesh famine of 1974. One million died.

With the democratically elected governments in India, large-scale

famine-related deaths today would end in a bloody revolution.

In the early 1960s many parts of India were in severe drought. With

Jawaharlal Nehru’s Congress government mismanaging the farming sector’s

multi-faceted needs, India went begging for food all over the world

at a time when nearly 60% of Indians were engaged in farming. India has

not forgotten the embarrassment and shame.

South and Southeast Asia depend on monsoon rains for farming.

Every April/May, Indian meteorologists closely follow the weather

pattern in the Philippines region to predict the arrival and scale of the

monsoon in India and warn the governments on shortfalls in rain and potentials

for droughts. If the monsoon is delayed or is weak, it is front page

news today even in India’s tech-savvy business publications. India’s arid

regions — the Dakshin (Deccan) Plateau, the states of Bihar, Odisha, even

many river deltas — go through droughts when the monsoon falters.

In recent years, many farmers in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and

other places got into heavy debt to pay for the costly genetically modified

seeds they need to buy from big overseas companies for every planting

season. Many killed themselves because there was no way to get out of

their debt from their low-profit-margin harvests.

In India today 40% of the population lives in rural and semi urban

areas; 25% of the population or 300 million — equivalent to the entire

population of the US -- is engaged in farming. So, Indian elected officials

have every reason to safeguard their farming sector for their national and

social interests — and for their political survival. For India, food security

is its national security. Even military comes only next.

Besides, Indian farmers already depend on big corporations for a whole

range of supplies: fertilizers weed killers and pesticides, pumps, farm

equipment, and diesel… ... and on government for electricity and water

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irrigated through canals.

So, in Australia, before the July 31 deadline for the TFA signing, India

held its ground: “The way things are moving, there is no way [India] can

agree to the trade facilitation agreement being pushed by the developed

nations… Food security has always been India’s main concern and this

time we are not going to concede,” and “[It] will be really difficult for

India to sign the TFA till WTO [is] ready to discuss a permanent solution

of food subsidies and stockpiling of food grains.”

Remember, in the industrialized economies, only 2 to 3% of the

population is directly engaged in farming, which is an incredibly

energy- and resource-intensive and fully mechanized enterprise. In the

US, corporate farming has all but eliminated family-owned farmers. And

the farming industry, owned by large corporations, is still subsidized with

billions and billions of dollars. The US taxpayers spend $14 billion every

year insuring farmers against loss of crop or income. And often, farmers

are paid for every acre of the land they leave fallow.

Often, with such subsidies, the G-8 (and other countries as well) dump

their farm products at prices below their production costs to Africa and

other poorer nations, where farming is pursued by many just to survive.

With great irony and sarcasm, Joseph Stiglitz in NYT Nov 16, 2013

summarized the situation thus: “We [the US government] spend billions

every year on farm subsidies, many of which help wealthy commercial

operations to plant more crops than we need. The glut depresses world

crop prices, harming farmers in developing countries.”

Further, in the US, over 40 million people living below the official

poverty line receive tax-payer funded Food Stamps (called Supplemental

Nutrition Assistance Program). This is valued at $70 billion/year,

or $1750 per recipient. It is noble that the government is taking care of

the poor through these programs. After all, we are the richest, technically

and militarily the most powerful country on earth.

People on Food Stamps can use them only to buy staples — breads,

cheese, meat, vegetables, cereals, milk, eggs, etc. So, the indirect beneficiaries

of the Food Stamps are the big agribusinesses who are assured

of $70 billion business per year. This is a form of farm subsidy. Similar

subsidies for agribusinesses are entrenched in all modern nation-states.

In addition, the TFA agreement limits the value of food subsidies to

10% of the total value of food grain production. India is flexing its muscle

on this issue because the subsidies will be calculated taking 1986 as the

base year. In India, where inflation is running at 6 to 7% a year, 1986

as the baseline is meaningless, even laughable.

The TFA, it is believed, would add over $1 trillion to the GDPs

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worldwide creating 21 million jobs. But the operative word in WTO is

Trade, not farming. As every farmer in India knows, the beneficiaries

in any market situation — glut or scarcity — are the wholesale and retail

traders. The subsistence farmers only see small slivers of profits in good

times, but are hit hard during droughts.

In the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the largest trading place for

agribusiness where all farm products are traded — grains, beans, poultry,

beef, eggs, milk, cheese, even alfalfa-hay — billions are made and lost

every day speculating on everything affecting any aspects of farming. So,

if the TFA is ratified, subsistence farmers worldwide would need to deal

with speculative traders on a global scale.

The rich and powerful members of the WTO worry that they would

lose control in global trade in agribusiness if the TFA is not ratified.

But poorer nations see the TFA as an effort by developed countries

to access vast markets in their growing economies. Because of this irreconcilable

built-in conflict, each group negotiates for its advantage. There

is no altruism here. US Ambassador Michael Punke warned the WTO

in Geneva, “Today, we are extremely discouraged that a small handful

of members… … are ready to walk away from their commitments… ...

Bali agreement, to kill the power of that good faith and goodwill we all

shared, to flip the lights in this building back to dark.”

Geopolitically speaking, the G-8 members have been at this game for

years and years dictating to other nations on monetary, economic, military,

and political issues. When they are on the receiving end, it hurts them.

What is worrying them is that emerging bilateral and regional free trade

agreements will weaken the reach of the WTO. But these regional/bilateral

trade arrangements make sense given the regional nature of rainfall,

weather patterns, biodiversity, ecology, transportation, population density,

culture, lifestyles and even food habits. So, putting a brake on the WTO’s

ambitious FTA may not be all that bad—it may even be a good thing.

time, the Big Boys at the WTO are dismayed that India is not

This blinking in the high-stakes poker game. Even though they threatened

to go ahead with the TFA with or without India, they cannot simply

ignore India geopolitically. India houses 1/6th of the world population; has

been a stable democracy with a disciplined military that has no ambition for

political power; has a large technical talents pool; and offers a countervailing

force, partially in any case, for China’s ambition as a global power.

India also offers limitless opportunities for foreign direct investments in

many sectors, whose beneficiaries are businesses in the G-8 countries.

That is their dilemma. — By Kollengode S Venkataraman •

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11


India Day 2014 Celebrated

With the Usual Gusto

By David Downey e-mail: davidpdowney6@gmail.com

Note: David Downey, a recent graduate from the Dietrich School of Arts and

Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh, seeks work in academic or scholarship

administration.

Late summer once again brought the India Day celebration to the Cathedral

of Learning at the University of Pittsburgh. On Sunday, August

17, the Indian diaspora and curious

passersby gathered to celebrate 67

years of Indian independence. The

theme of this year’s event was Punjab

and its leaders who fought for their

political and religious freedom and

also for others’ freedom on matters

of faith.

The overcast sky withheld its rain.

And the sun didn’t need to be shining

as the parade around the Cathedral lit

up the gloomy afternoon with joyous

song and dance with Keerti Gulati and

Sumedha Nagpal as emcees. At the

conclusion of the parade, everyone

crowded inside to absorb the ambience

with performances, speeches, and the

Gyani Sucha Singh, the Granthi at the Sikh

Gurudeara in Monroeville is addressing on

the Sikh history. The imposing painting

of Guru Gobind Singh is by Mahendra

Shah.

aroma of food. Past the hoisting of

both the Indian and American flags

and singing their national anthems,

Kalpana Ramgopal and Parth Bharill

emceed the program.

The speeches were heartfelt and sincere and brief for the most part. First

was Patrick Gallagher, the new chancellor of the University of Pittsburgh.

Having been at the job for only two weeks, the India Day was one of the

first events for Chancellor Gallagher to represent the University.

County Chief Executive Rich Fitzgerald also spoke briefly, thanking

the Indian community of Pittsburgh for its ongoing contribution to

the region’s vitality, officially proclaiming August 17th to be India Day

in Allegheny County. He said Indian-Americans “have been absolutely

instrumental in the moving forward of what Pittsburgh has become… not

just economically, but culturally and in quality of life.”

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Gyani Sucha Singh, the Granthi — the trained Sikh teacher who explains

the Adi Granth to his audience — at the Sikh Gurudwara, elegantly and

passionately told his audience the impact of the Sikhs’ 10th Guru, Guru

Gobind Singh of the 17th century, in the history of Punjab.

Mayor Bill Peduto, a well-known face in India Day events, was not

scheduled to be present because of scheduling conflicts. However, he made

a brief appearance addressing the young girls and women in the audience,

saying they should get inspiration from the life of Pittsburgh’s first woman

Mayor Sophie Masloff, who had passed away the previous night.

Later, Ashok Trivedi, Co-Founder of iGATE, spoke at length about

India’s political and economic struggles & successes. Trivedi both challenged

and addressed the difficult issues in a global economy.

The term culture can denote many elements of life, but India Day celebrated

culture in every way. The performing arts were the most exciting

events inside the Cathedral. Dances by the students of Jaya Mani, Shambhavi

Desai, and Nandini Mandal involved skill to maintain rhythm and

control the movement of every limb, which are impressive all by themslves,

but the groups’ synchronization made the performances astounding.

Culture was visually apparent in the color, design, and styles of dresses

worn by the festivalgoers. The unlimited variations stood as a reminder to

the durable creativity of those who craft Indian clothing. There was not

one style or one color more common than another. Traditional dresses

could be found on men and women, young and old, showing the timeless

appeal and joy brought by the distinctly Indian attire.

Songs rendered in group and solo in Hindi and Tamil nicely complemented

the dances.

Food is always a distinguishing feature of the Indian culture. The food

stand managed by All India Authentic Cuisine with the usual items operated

without a lull. The appeal of Indian food is becoming widely recognized,

considering the success of the recent American film The One-Hundred

Foot Journey, aboyt an Indian family opening a restaurant in France.

And there were booths around the outer edges of the festival area on

many activities -- The Art of Living, Overseas Volunteer for a Better India,

South Asian Marrow Association of Recruiters (SAMAR), Association

for India’s Development (AID), Pittsburgh Indian Community & Friends

5K Charity Walk/Run + Fun, Ekal Vidyalaya, Ramakrishna Ashrama

Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Sikh Gurdwara, and Pittsburgh Tamil Sangam.

There were booths on saris, lehngas, kurtas… … even mehndi designs.

The finale was a bhangra item by Monica Srinivasa and the Tri-State-

Sikh Cultural Society, a high-level-competing troupe. The high-decibel

bhangra was a perfect end to the evening, whose theme was Punjab. •

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They joined the running and gardening clubs together.

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15


How to Collect Taxes

A Vignette from the Indian Literature

Corruption and bureaucratic excesses have been the bane of all kingdoms.

This has been the case ever since mankind organized itself into

societies seeking help from local leaders by paying them protection money

against thieves and thugs to guard their homes, women, lands and harvests

from pillage. That is the beginning of taxes.

Soon, much to their dismay, the villagers saw that the servants of

the kings themselves becoming the exploiters. Sometimes they were as

bad as the thugs

from whom the

villagers were

seeking protection.

Such was

the case in the

ancient Tamil

country, nearly

2000 years ago.

Many people

say, it is the

same story even

today not only in the Tamil Country, but also in much of India.

Enter Pisirandaiyaar, a courageous and socially conscious poet in such a

scene. The poet confronts his Pandya King, Arivudai-nambi, subtly telling

him of the excesses of his tax collectors towards his citizens. Here is the

Tamil original in classic Tamil from Puranaanooru, dated earlier to the

start of the Common Era (that is, 2000 years earlier to our time):

This Tamil is very different even from today’s formal Tamil, not to

speak of the spoken masala Tamil on the streets.

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Pisirandaiyaar uses an excellent agrarian imagery to tell his king on

his citizens suffering under his tax collectors’ excesses. Here is the sum

and substance of the Tamil verse:

“If one harvests rice and feeds an elephant with the rice cooked and

made into large balls, even from a small field [a fraction of an acre], one

can feed the elephant for very many days.

However, if one lets the elephant get into the paddy field and eat, even

several acres of land cannot feed the beast. For every morsel of rice the

elephant puts into its mouth, several ten folds are destroyed by its massive

legs stomping on the harvest.

Knowing this, a wise king is careful while collecting taxes from citizens.

Then, even with low taxes, his kingdom prospers.

However, if the king is weak, listens to his bad advisors, and recklessly

lets his underlings to extract high taxes from citizens under duress,

his kingdom would be destroyed the same way the elephant destroys the

paddy field when allowed to enter it to feed for itself.

Note that Pisirandaiyaar, over 2000 years ago, compared the bureaucracy

of his time to an elephant, an imagery used even today

in countries where elephants are not native to the soil.

— Kollengode S. Venkataraman •

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19


Two Masters in A Flat Jugalbandi

By Samar Saha e-mail: samar_k_saha@yahoo.com

Recently Pittsburghers had a rare opportunity to listen to two musical

giants in one session in a recital arranged by the Pandit Jasraj Institute of

Music on Saturday, July 19, 2014 at the Hillman Center of Performing

Arts of Shadyside Academy. It was advertised as one-of-a-kind performance

titled Alap-Jugalbandi be-tween Padma Vibhushan Pt. Jasraj, the

leading Hindustani vocalist; and Padma Bhushan Dr. L. Subramaniam,

the leading Karnatic violinist. Music lovers were ecstatic waiting for

the ultimate joy.

Why this ecstasy? With Jugalbandi literally meaning “entwined twins,”

in the pan-Indian classical music recitals pairing two artistes, it has come

to mean a mix of the best in both musical systems – either instrumental

or vocal or any combination thereof.

Many relate to the Hindustani and Karnatic music systems with emotions

— as “twins” born, nourished and brought up by the same loving

mother, but departing in their adulthood like two streams — one keeping

the original pure form and the other evolving into a different form by

interaction with other musical systems. So, many expected the recital

to bring the two genres of music together through the facile skills of the

two veterans. The limitations associated with each system were forgotten.

The general exuberant expectation was that these titans would overcome

all constraints with their intrinsic understanding of the other’s system and

present a performance that would be worth dying for.

The performance began close to the advertised start time of 6:30

PM, quite uncommon with Indian musical events. Pandita Tripti

Mukherjee started the evening with Narayan, Ganesh and Kali Vandanas

with Asish Sinha on the tabla and vocal support from Paromita Deshmukh,

Nidrita Mitra Sinha, Anupama Mahajan, Babeena Sharma, and Sambhavi

Desai. The invocations were both contemplative and soothing, setting up

the mahaul (ambience) for the better and greater things to come.

As the audience settled down, the next artiste, the violinist Ambi

Subramaniam, took the stage with Mahesh Krishnamurty accompa-nying

on the mrdangam. The youngest son of Dr. Subramaniam, Ambi was

proclaimed the ‘New King of Indian Classical Music’ by the Times of

India when he was sixteen. Ambi began his recital with a Ganesh Vandana

in a very auspicious Raga Nattai (close to Raga Jog in Hindustani

music). He finished his performance with a Tyagaraja krti in Raga

Nagaswaravali (close to Hindustani Khamaj) in Adi tala. Starting with

a slow alapana (alap), the recital ended with a superfast and aggressive

Jugalbandi ... ... Continued on Page 22

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Jugalbandi ... ... Continued from Page 20

Charana. A few Karnatic music lovers expressed disappointment at this

style of speed. One such connoisseur described Ambi’s closing piece as

a “rock-concert type high-decibel ending” seldom done in an all-Indian

traditional recital. It satisfied neither the puritans nor set the stage for the

main event properly.

The main event was Alap Jugalbandi, which the MC announced,

“will be presented in an extended Alap form but without any

percussion accompaniment. No one has attempted a Jugalbandi like this

except once in Chennai by the same artists.”

Expectations surged. Would it be another wonder like Jasrangi Jugalbandi?

Or would it be another blend where listeners could appreciate the

mix of Hindustani and Karnatic styles?

The artistes did not explain how the Jugalbandi would unfold. Jasraj-ji

started with Ati Vilambit (very slow) alap in the Raga Puriya Dhaneswari

(Karnatic equivalent Pantuvarali), a raga most suited when we transition

from evening to night. The choice could not have been any better.

A few minutes into the alap, it appeared Jasraj-ji was struggling with

his voice. The optimist in me said, “He’ll come back roaring as soon

as his voice clears.” He has done it before. Subramaniam-ji provided

the needed support but his role appeared more as an accompanist. I had

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exepected the violin to pick up Pantuvarali, but that did not happen.

Jasraj-ji completed the long alap apologizing “Thori Taqlif ho rahi thi”

(Was having some difficulty).

The Jugalbandi continued in Raga Malika seamlessly gliding from one

Raga to the other – starting with Kaafi, moving into Bahar, and ending

with Bhairavi. As he wove through the ragas, exposing the mukhras (face)

of each, Subramaniam-ji followed on his magic violin with pleasant and

melodious improvisations. The main event lasted about 1-1/2 hours.

The unfulfilled expectations from this pricey concert was on each

face as the silent crowd left. I sympathize with the frailties of old

age — particularly with the voice of an octogenarian veteran vocalist. We

who adore Jasraj-ji with pride were wondering — How was this veteran

feeling at the end of the show!

The idea of Alap Jugalbandi without the percussion instruments may

have been fine, but the execution came out poorly. A distraught friend

told me, “To pull off the best in a Jugalbandi like this, the artistes need

more than raga and its presentation. The listeners like to witness harmony,

camaraderie and musical repartee between the artistes,” something that

just was not there. He added, “You need a Plan B, if things start wavering”.

There lies a lesson for the concert organizers. •

23


Obituary: Vimala Nayak

August 1947 to June 2014

Anchor to Her Husband, Entrepreneur

Vimala Nayak, a long-time resident here and wife of Dr. Narayan

Nayak, died on June 9, 2014 in her hometown of Karkala, near Mangalore,

Karnataka, India, after a seven-year bout with

multiple myeloma. This is a type of cancer affecting

the bone marrow for which there is no cure.

She was born in 1947 in the Kukkundoor Kamath

family renowned for their philanthropy and

commitment to elementary and secondary education

even as early as the late 19th century. She continued

this tradition in a small way by starting midday

meals for 200 school children in her home town,

which now has grown to feed over 2000 kids.

In 1966, she married Dr. Narayan Nayak, also from her home-town,

who was in the Indian military serving in Ladakh. Nayak’s family was

in the retail trade in saris. Dr. Nayak came to the US in 1970 because of

the shortage of medical professionals in the US, starting his residency at

the McKeesport Hospital.

Vimala joined her husband a year later in 1971 with their three kids —

Vidya, Narasimha, and Suri. She found her hands full in the new unfamiliar

place, raising children with very few Indians here then. As Dr. Nayak set

up his practice through the rigors of his neurosurgery internship, board

certification, and private practice, Vimala was the sheet anchor for her

husband and family well into the 1990s.

Later when Nayak practiced in Johnstown, PA, Vimala stayed back in

Pittsburgh, volunteering at the S.V. Temple in Penn Hills, later becoming

a member of its governing bodies, and its Treasurer.

With her kids leaving home, she had plenty of time on her hands. Instead

of living in the comforts of her suburban life, Vimala, with support

from her husband, ventured into a small retail business of selling saris

imported from India with help from their family contacts back in India.

She ran the business through her illness.

Kanaka Prabhu, Vimala’s long-time associate, said, “Vimala, known

for her pleasant disposition, was well-liked by her friends and clients.

She was known for her honesty and integrity.”

Though she lived in relative comfort in American suburbia on one

Vimala Nayak... ... Continued on page 26

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Obituary: Shikha Mullick (1950 to 2014)

Battled Breast Cancer with Courage and Faith

Mrs. Shikha Mullick passed away on January 28, 2014 after giving a

determined fight to her breast cancer for almost twelve years. During her

illness she was always calm and accepting with faith

in God. She knew the fate of this ill-luck and deadly

disease from the time she was diagnosed with Stage

II–III breast cancer. Shikha took all the possible treatments

available and tolerated the harsh side effects of

chemo and radiation therapies with calmness and a

smile on her face.

She continued her work in the office and at home

and treated everybody with love and respect. Shikha

was an ardent devotee of Satya Sai Baba who fulfilled

her wish of watching her son’s marriage. Shikha was very sick just a week

before the marriage date and was to be hospitalized but she insisted on

staying in home and going to Houston, TX to attend the wedding. Just

two days before the marriage she felt comfortable enough to travel all the

way to Texas, and attended the marriage with great joy. A week after

her return to Pittsburgh, she passed away. This was God’s miracle and

Shikha’s courage and faith in God.

Shikha Mullick, wife of Dr. Prakash Mullick and mother of Tuli and

Ronne and mother-in-law of Dr.Tania K.Mullick was born in India in December1950.

She had a Master’s degree in English Literature, Bachelor’s

in Education and a Diploma in Vocal Music from Sangeet Academy of

India. She was a talented singer. Shikha worked as Finance Manager at

SourcePRO Inc. in Pittsburgh. — By a Family Friend

Vimala Nayak ... ... continued from Page 24

level, she stoically endured with great dignity the heartaches life threw

her way.

Her son Narasimha performed the Hindu cremation rites for Vimala

at Karkala. Vimala leaves behind her grief-stricken husband

Narayan Nayak, now retired, of Pittsburgh; Vidya, her daughter; Louis

Craig, her son-in-law; Narasimha, her son; her two grandchildren Louie

Jr. and Maya. She also leaves behind a large number of friends among

Indian-Americans, and also in the medical fraternity by association through

her husband. She was a great supporter of the Patrika.

— By Kollengode S Venkataraman

26


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27


Modi’s Refreshing Address from the Red Fort

This August 15, from the ramparts of the majestic Lal Kila (Red Fort),

Narendra Modi made his first address as Prime Minister of India to the

nation and the world at large as is the custom on India’s independence

day. The speech, though did not contain major initiatives that people were

looking for, was refreshing nevertheless on several key elements:

For starters, with many diplomatic dignitaries and global business leaders

were in his audience, he did away with the bullet-proof shield on the

podium as has been the practice for the last two decades. With no embarrassment,

he addressed head on several key problems afflicting India that

previous prime ministers felt

uncomfortable handling from

the grandeur of the Red Fort.

That required great conviction.

Here are the points Modi

covered:

• The lack of social hygiene

and civic sense among

Indians. He did not mince

words in telling his citizens

what everybody sees. Even

educated Indians toss garbage

on the streets even as they

keep their personal space in

homes and offices spic-andspan.

For a country that emphasizes shuddham in scriptures, this has been

an embarrassment. Modi declared that every parliamentary constituency

will have one village as a model for cleanliness, and made its member of

the parliament to lead in this effort.

• Modi declared that every school in India will have separate urinals

and rest rooms for girls within a year. How many urban Indians in the

middle class even know that in rural and interior India, schools do not

often have separate rest rooms for girls? This is one reason why girls drop

out of school. He sought partnership from Corporate India in this.

• Another important point Modi addressed was on the skewed

gender ratio, with only 940 girls for every 1000 boys on the average

because of gender selection before and during pregnancy — even killing

of infant girls. Nature keeps this ratio within tight range, around 1050

boys for every 1000 girls. If 940 girls for 1000 boys is the average, it is

obvious that in parts of India, it has to be higher. Here are the numbers:

Punjab (893 girls), Gujarat (920 girls), Haryana (877 girls), and in some

28


social subgroups, this ratio will be

far worse, may be even 800 girls

for 1000 boys in the extreme. As

we wrote earlier, this has huge

social consequences — crimes and

violence against women, abduction

of married women in rural areas,

changes in the sexual mores among

people, and many others.

• He also talked on violence

against women. Instead of looking

at this only as crimes, he went to

the root cause on how people raise

children in India. He declared the

obvious: After all, every young

man who rapes and molests girls is

someone else’s son. How is that, he

asked, we do not teach boys good

public behavior the same way we

raise girls at home? That was his

rhetorical question that should make

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every Indian think.

The absence of bellicosity in his address was noteworthy. Another

feature was that he naturally made references to Indian thinkers who have

influenced India in big ways — Aurabindo Ghosh, Swami Vivekananda,

Jayaprakash Nayaran and Vallabhbhai Patel. With Congress prime ministers,

all the encomiums were heaped only on the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty.

For them, there were no other Indian seminal thinkers worthy of recognition

except perhaps the Mahatma. So total has been the Congress cronies’

sycophancy towards the Nehru-Indira-Rajiv-Sonia-Rahul lineage, to which

now they have desperately added Priyanka as their savior. Indian regional

parties simply emulated the Congress model in sycophancy.

The only big policy announcement in Modi’s speech was that the Indian

Planning Commission, a relic of the Nehruvian Socialism, would be

dissolved. Finally.

Narendra Modi deserves credit for his candor. But candor in

So, exhorting his citizens is one thing, but getting the job done through

the deeply entrenched bureaucracy is another. For there is an old saying

in Tamil: A bureaucratic egg can break a boulder. One hopes that Modi

will prevent the bureaucratic eggs in his administration from breaking the

boulders of his fresh ideas. — Kollengode S. Venkataraman •

30


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There’s a place where every girl is empowered to thrive and excel –

to lead and soar. Is this the place for your daughter? To learn more about

the excellence of an all-girls education at Ellis, call 412-661-4880,

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ATTEND OUR OPEN HOUSE SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 1 PM

Soumya, daughter of Kamala and Gopinath

Rajupet of Cheswick, PA, had her

Kuchipudi Rangapravesham on July 5,

Saturday at the Shady Side Academy’s Hillman

Auditorium in front of a large number of

invited guests. Soumya learned the art form

from her own mother Kamala since she was

six. Along the way, she participated in several

dance drama recitals in Cleveland, Chicago

and Hyderabad India. After graduating from

Fox Chapel High School, she is now pursuing

her undergraduate studies in the sciences at the

Case Western Reserve U. She also has learned to play on the piano at

music prep program at CMU, and is a passionate tennis player. •

31


Two Horses

Arvind Narale, Thornhill, ON, Canada arvind.narale@sympatico.ca

Arun Jatkar, Monroeville, PA ajmarathi@yahoo.com

The sketch was created first by Arvind Narale, an alumnus from IIT

Kharaghpur(1963) and a retired architect in Toronto with a long list of professional

accomplishments. Our own Arun Jatkar penned the verses.

The journey is long,

The night is cold,

Exhausted, they find

The darkness is gold.

Life is grim,

the task is hard.

They do not speak,

but faithfully guard.

What lies ahead?

What will morrow bring?

Another day, the burden same,

that’s the only sure thing!

Side by side they simply stand

Keeping their kinship live and warm.

While the oats and hay are dry and plenty,

There’s no worry, no cause for alarm. •

32


Two Travelers

Arvind Narale, Thornhill, ON, Canada arvind.narale@sympatico.ca

Arun Jatkar, Monroeville, PA ajmarathi@yahoo.com

The sketch was created first by Arvind Narale, an alumnus from IIT Kharaghpur

(1963) and a retired architect in Toronto with a long list of professional accomplishments.

Our own Arun Jatkar penned the verses.

The journey is long,

the night is cold,

the fire burns

and all is told.

Life is grim,

the task is hard.

They do not speak

and keep their guard.

What lies ahead?

What will morrow bring?

They think it not.

It’s a futile thing.

Side by side they simply stand

Keeping themselves cozy and warm.

Each lost in the world one’s own,

causing not the slightest harm. •

33


What is One’s Identity?

The latest trend in India is Bollywood actors and industrialists owning

sports teams. When they own the team, they also “own” the players, like

feudal lords. Indian dailies write about players being “auctioned” like

Jersey cows or race horses. It sarted with cricket and now has spread to the

uniquely Indian sport Kabbaddi, with players paid in lakhs of rupees.

Kabbaddi tests the players’ physical strength, endurance, and lung

capacity on how long you can hold your breath under stress. It is

a team contact sport far more physical and aggressive than the American

football. Obviously, the anglicized, urban Indians are not into it. In the Indian

subcontinent kabbaddi players are, by and large, rural and rustic.

Recently, Kabbaddi matches were organized between teams from India

and Pakistan. The Lahore Lions, the Kabbaddi team from Pakistani

Punjab, was in New Delhi to play competitive matches. The players went

around seeing Delhi. Reporters asked them what more they wanted to

see. Their replies (Hindustan

Times (August

26, 2014):

A k m a l S h a h z a d

Dogar: “My native village

is in India. It is

in Tarn Taran Sahib

district in Amritsar. I

really want to go there,

but it is difficult to get

permission… Most of my team mates have their native villages in India…

They too… dream of visiting their villages.”

Babar Waseem Gujjar, captain of the Lahore Lions: “I have my village

in Ludhiana district. It is called Burj Hari Singh... my family members

too want to go there.”

These well-built muscular men in their 20s are third or fourth generation

“native” Pakistanis born and raised there. For decades the

Pakistani establishment has been indoctrinating them in schools, through

their media and mullahs against everything about India and Indian. Yet,

for many Pakistanis their affiliation is still with the native villages in India

their great grandparents left during the 1947 Partition, a man-made disaster

arbitrarily carried out in great haste by the British.

It is worth recalling here Wali Khan, a Pashtun nationalist, the son of

Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, said in the 1980s: “I have been a Pashtun for

4,000 years, a Muslim for 1,400 years and a Pakistani for 40 years.”

— By K S Venkataraman •

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