<![CDATA[India Journal

<![CDATA[India Journal - Met]]>Tue, 18 Apr 2023 14:37:09 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[Shankara Dance Academy Brings ‘Dashavtar’ to Life]]>Fri, 05 Jul 2019 18:13:43 GMThttp://www.indiajournal.com/met/shankara-dance-academy-brings-dashavtar-to-lifeWALNUT, CA - Students of Arti Manek’s Shankara Dance Academy put up a dance drama Dashavtar , to a full house, at the Sophia B. Clarke Theater here with more than 50 artists, on June 22. The artists were local accompanied by Abhay Shankar, Kakoli and Abhinav Mishra of Delhi and Arti Manek, herself. The performance started promptly on time,

with a pre-recorded Guru Vandana sung by Kathak’s legendary Padma Vibhushan Pandit Birju Maharaj. Dashavtar was explained to the audience as ten ‘avtars’ (reincarnations) of Lord Vishnu. Each avtar was brought to life and stunned the audience with colorful costumes, back drops, stage effects, slides, lighting, sound effects, custom made props, and the large number of artisits on the stage. The Avatars were in the following order: Matsya (fish), Kurma (tortoise), Varaha (Boar), Narasimha ((man-lion), Varmana (dwarf), Parasuram (Man with an Axe), Rama (Lord Rama), Krishna / Balram (Lord Krishna – cow herd’s boy), Buddha (teacher of non-violence, Kalki (Anticipated to return to cure the world’s ills). Each act of the ten avtars was well received by the audience. The professional acting by the artists, was extremely real and kepthe audience mesmerized.
The grand finale was striking as the whole cast of over 50 artists graciously came one by one as the Jaya Jagdish aarti was playing. The artists ranged in ages from around 6 years old to grownups. The full stage of artists received a spontaneous standup ovation. Several of the senior students and graduates of the Shankara Dance Academy spoke, appreciating Arti Manek’s immense contribution to maintaining and bolstering the art of Kathak and the Indian dance and drama events comprising local artists. Arti Manek is well known in the Los Angeles area, for the last several decades, for putting up folk and classical productions using local talent and amateur artists. The four to five minute long standing-ovation, with loud cheers spoke louder than words about the audience’s response the dance drama.

]]><![CDATA[Sunil Narkar Feeding So-Cal’s Mango Mania]]>Fri, 17 May 2019 16:55:13 GMThttp://www.indiajournal.com/met/sunil-narkar-feeding-so-cals-mango-maniaBy NEHA SARIN
DOWNEY,CA - In an ongoing attempt to make a difference in the community, Sunil Narkar, founder of the AME Medical Group Inc., strives to do anything he possibly can for people entrusted to his care. But apart from that, this year he decided to import alphonso mangoes from Konkan, Maharashtra and kesari mangoes from...

Marathwada, directly from farmers in India. “When we visited India early this year, we went to Aurangabad and saw the way farmers are facing financial difficulties. We realized that they do not get full price for their product due to middlemen and agents and suicide rate has been going up. We went to the wholesale market in Vashi, New Mumbai to observe and learn the official procedure to send mangoes to the USA.” Narkar told India Journal.
After learning the process well, he got the permit to import mangoes and got a reliable person in India who can send the fruit here directly from the growers in 48 hours. The only problem he is likely to face is the short shelf life of mangoes. To overcome this issue, Narkar is relying on the quicker air shipment method. He is also taking precautions, treating the fruit with hot water and irradiation. Narkar hopes to get the shipment once a week initially and if they sell well, get it twice a week. While slightly pricier than a regular box of mangoes, Narkar hopes that the authentic GI quality fruit will appeal to the discerning SoCal customer. It also has the added emotional value of supporting distressed farmers. Narkar suggests clients buy the fresh mangoes now and pulp it and freeze it to use it all year round. For more information: sudhanarkar@gmail.com

]]><![CDATA[Activists Call to Release Designer Anand Jon]]>Thu, 09 May 2019 17:26:18 GMThttp://www.indiajournal.com/met/activists-call-to-release-designer-anand-jonLOS ANGELES,CA - The California State Capitol building in Sacramento was the center for the “Reform-A-Nation” panel where preliminary meetings with the legislative teams from Governor Gavin Newsom’s office, and others discussed the epidemic of wrongful convictions and its potential solutions. Indian-Americans Rajendra and Sonal Vora of the Jain Social Group International Federation were among the participants.

Assemblywoman Patty Lopez, who authored AB1909 for reform described the prosecutorial misconduct in the Indian-American designer Anand Jon Alexander’s case as “utterly shocking.”
While the case is currently pending at the Federal District Courts for relief based on newly discovered and previously withheld evidence of factual innocence, as well as due process violations that include despicable prosecutorial misconduct invoking racial bias and use of false evidence, the panel is urging Governor Newsom to commute Anand Jon’s draconian sentence of 59 years. An award winning fashion designer who was picked as “Who’s Next in 2007?” by Newsweek, Anand Jon’s portrait of Mahatma Gandhi, donated by projectpaint.org, was featured at a UCLA festival recently “Call to End Mass Incarceration“, connecting art and law.
Fresh off their meeting in Sacramento, some of the panelists met with Senator Holly Mitchell and actor Danny Glover at the UCLA festival. Sonal and Rajendra Vora briefly discussed solutions for prevention of wrongful convictions at the festival. At the UCLA event, ‘The Art From the Inside’ booklet featured Anand Jon’s art and his words:“Growing up in India, I was a bit awkward about acknowledging Gandhi as a “role model” because he did not represent the cool alpha male six-packed, buffed “Heroes” that was popular culture. However, when I was wrongfully convicted and struggled to get back on my feet and slowly made progress towards freedom - it was Mahatma Gandhi’s “Ahisma”, Satyagraha and strategic patient dismantling of the greatest/colonial empire in the world that inspired me. I enforce that indomitable will ... what is not just fighting and dying for but worth living for.”

]]><![CDATA[Dalai Lama has reservations over US decision to exit climate pact]]>Mon, 11 Sep 2017 18:03:57 GMThttp://www.indiajournal.com/met/dalai-lama-has-reservations-over-us-decision-to-exit-climate-pact

DHARAMSALA - ibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama said he has some reservations about the Trump administration's decision to pull out of the 2015 Paris climate pact, saying recent disasters have lessons to teach to the world about climate change impact. "I have some reservations about the slogan 'American first' and the US withdrawal from the Paris accord," the Nobel Peace laureate said on Sunday while addressing the...

20th anniversary of the charity Children in Crossfire in Derry in Northern Ireland, according to the official website of the Dalai Lama. The organisation, started by Richard Moore, is dedicated to eradicating poverty and making healthcare and education more accessible to young children around the world.
The Dalai Lama also offered an apology over his assertions aimed at the US decision of June 1 to quit the Paris Climate Change Agreement, saying: "It seems to me that the natural disasters we've witnessed in recent days have been trying to teach us something about climate change. However, if I've said anything wrong, I apologise." Stating that he was an admirer of the European Union, the Dalai Lama said: "Peace will not be achieved by force. We need to take a humane approach to resolving human problems.
"Talk and dialogue based on candour and respect are the foundation on which to build peace. I'm an admirer of the European Union and the spirit of the decision to put the common good ahead of narrower national interests." The Nobel laureate met Moore, who lost his eyesight in an accidental bullet fire 45 years ago, for the first time during his visit to Derry in 2000. The spiritual leader considers Moore not only his friend but also his hero.
The globetrotting elderly monk was invited to talk on the topic "Compassion in Action" at the anniversary function, which was attended among others by one of Britain's foremost actors Joanna Lumley.
Lauding Moore for his immense power of compassion, the Dalai Lama said: "I usually describe you as my hero. When I first met you and heard your story, I was much moved. I often talk about compassion, but I wonder if I had undergone the same experience as you.
"You've shown such inner strength and your work to establish Children in Crossfire shows what it really is to be human."
Moore was blinded by a rubber bullet after being shot by a British soldier in Derry as a boy of 10 in 1972.
He later forgave the shooter and founded Children in Crossfire to help other children in similar situations across the world.
Since then, he has gone on to embody compassion and human values in the face of tragedy.

]]><![CDATA[AAP demands apology from Goa minister for mocking NRIs]]>Mon, 04 Sep 2017 22:51:00 GMThttp://www.indiajournal.com/met/aap-demands-apology-from-goa-minister-for-mocking-nris

PANAJI - The AAP on Monday demanded an apology from Goa Revenue Minister Rohan Khaunte, who had mocked non-resident Goans for being over-critical of the BJP-led coalition government, while claiming that those who have left Goa's shores have no love for home. "We have a large non-resident Goan population settled abroad. Khaunte with his comments has insulted them. Goan NRIs through their remittances to their families in Goa have...

contributed much more than this bunch of politicians, including Khaunte. He should apologise for his comments," state Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) spokesperson Ashley do Rosario said at a press conference here.
At a public function on Sunday, Khaunte had said: "If anything happens, they (non-resident Goans) go to Facebook and blame government for not doing anything. Then more posts follow. And those who are in US, UK, London, Kuwait, who have lost that love for Goa seem to be commenting more than the Goans themselves."
Khaunte also said that social media should be used as a "tool for positivity", while asking people to be more responsible.
His remarks triggered outrage on social media, especially from non resident Goans and their kin and friends back home. Lawyer activist Aires Rodrigues said that Khaunte's comment was in "utter bad taste". "It only displays Khaunte's sheer immaturity and intolerance by being infuriated that Goans across the world were highlighting on social media, the issue concerning the state," he said. Rollyson Luis, who works onboard the Royal Caribbean cruise-liner, says that Khaunte should focus on providing infrastructure, rather than clamping down on social media. "...we are not going to keep our mouth shut. We will speak what we want and what is right... Do your own job with proper infrastructure," Luis said. Roy Fernandes, who works as a project manager at Bond Communications in Dubai, also wants Khaunte not to "mute Goan voices worldwide on Facebook".

]]><![CDATA[Ahmedabad gets India's first World Heritage City certificate]]>Fri, 01 Sep 2017 21:09:48 GMThttp://www.indiajournal.com/met/ahmedabad-gets-indias-first-world-heritage-city-certificate

AHMEDABAD - Ahmedabad in Gujarat on Friday was formally accorded the status of India's first World Heritage City with UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova handing over the certificate in this regard to Chief Minister Vijay Rupani. Speaking on the occasion here, Rupani said it was a proud moment for over 6.5 crore people of Gujarat. He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi did a lot of hard work to get the heritage city tag for Ahmedabad from the...

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). He accused the earlier government for not trying enough in this matter. The Chief Minister said Ahmedabad was selected out of 250 cities in the race for the coveted status. He also thanked the UNESCO and the Culture Ministry.
In her speech, Bokova said: "It was indeed a great experience to visit India's first UNESCO World Heritage city, a symbol of intercultural dialogue and unity in diversity. "A city that boasts life, culture, and joy everyday with its extravagant lifestyle. A symbol of religious tolerance and peaceful coexistence," she said."Significance of the city lies beyond the physical beauty of its architectural heritage. A landmark city where (Mahatama) Gandhiji began India's freedom struggle," the UNESCO official added. On July 8, India secured the nomination for Ahmedabad on UNESCO's World Heritage list during the 41st Session of World Heritage Committee.
The honour makes the walled city of Ahmedabad the first city in India, and the third in Asia, to be on the list. India now has a total of 36 World Heritage Inscriptions -- 28 cultural, 7 natural and 1 mixed site. India is second after China in terms of number of world heritage properties in ASPAC (Asia and Pacific) region, and overall seventh in the world.
Founded in the 15th century, the walled city of Ahmedabad, on the eastern bank of the Sabarmati river, presents a rich architectural heritage. It has 28 Archaeological Survey of India's centrally protected monuments.

]]><![CDATA[Free wifi services launched at 74 UP bus stations]]>Thu, 03 Aug 2017 18:48:30 GMThttp://www.indiajournal.com/met/free-wifi-services-launched-at-74-up-bus-stations

LUCKNOW - Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday launched free wi-fi services at 74 bus stations, spread across 66 district headquarters in the state. He also laid the foundation stone for three new bus stations at Amroha, Meerut and Ghaziabad. Besides, water ATMs to provide clean and cold drinking water to passengers at Agra, Mathura, Ghaziabad, Moradabad, Varanasi, Allahabad, Hardoi, Etawah,

Rampur and Azamgarh bus stations were also launched. Interestingly, of the water ATMs inaugurated by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state, four are in Rampur, Etawah, Hardoi and Azamgarh -- the pocketboroughs of the Samajwadi Party (SP).
The wi-fi services with unlimited surfing would be available for passengers through an app -- TG Connect, officials said. The Chief Minister also inaugurated automatic driving test tracks at Varanasi, Allahabad, Meerut and Ghaziabad. Adityanath patted the back of the transport department and lauded them for fast-tracking development work in the past four months.

]]><![CDATA[Portugal PM Costa, US diplomat Biswal among Pravasi awardees]]>Mon, 09 Jan 2017 22:08:11 GMThttp://www.indiajournal.com/met/portugal-pm-costa-us-diplomat-biswal-among-pravasi-awardees

BENGALURU - Indian-origin Portugal Prime Minister Antonio Luis Santos da Costa and Indian-born US diplomat Nisha Desai Biswal are among the 30 awardees of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD), it was announced on Monday. "Costa, Nisha and other of the diaspora have been conferred the PBD 2017 awards for their outstanding contribution in diverse fields, including public service, community service, social service, business,

education and arts & culture," said the External Affairs Ministry in a statement on the PBD valedictory day here. The 55-year-old Costa, a Chief Guest at the three-day 14th PBD (Non-Resident Indian Day) celebrations, is the son of Goan father Orlanda da Costa. As a senior Indian-American diplomat, the 48-year-old Biswal, who hails from Gujarat has been overseeing the US foreign policy and relations with 11 countries in the region from Bangladesh to Uzbekistan since October 21, 2013. Costa and Biswal have been awarded for public service and public affairs.
"Of the awardees, six are from the US, two each from Britain and United Arab Emirates (UAE) and one each from 27 other countries the world over," noted the statement. Five other overseas Indians from the US sharing the honours with Biswal are Hari Babu Bindal for environmental engineering, Bharat Haridas Barai, Mahesh Mehta and Ramesh Shah for community service and Sampatkumar Shidramapa Shivangi for community leadership. Priti Patel and Neena Gill are the awardees from Britain for public service. Vasudev Shamdas Shroff and India Social and Cultural Centre from Abu Dhabi in the UAE are the winners for community service and philanthropy. Two more organisations - Antwerp Indian Association in Belgium and Singapore Indian Association in Singapore have been honoured with the award for community service. The other four winners for community service are Gorur Krishna Harinath (Australia), Naseer Ahamed Mohamed Zackiriah (Brunei), Nalinkumar Sumanlal Kothari (Djibouti) and Ariful Islam (Libya). Other two winners for public service are Pravind Kumar Jugunath (Mauritius) and Winston Chandarbhan Dookeran (Trinidad & Tobago). Raghunath Marie Antonin Manet (France) and Sandip Kumar Tagore (Japan) bagged for arts & culture.
Other awardees are Mukund Bhikhubhai Purohit (Canada) and Susheel Kumar Saraff (Thailand) for business; Vinod Chandra Patel (Fiji) for social service; Lael Anson E. Best (Israel) for medical science; Tan Sri Dato Muniandy Thambirajah (Malaysia) for education & community service; Raghavan Seetharaman (Qatar) for business management; Zeenat Musarrat Jafri (Saudi Arabia) for education and Carani Balaraman Sanjeevi (Sweden) for medicine.

]]><![CDATA[Bengaluru re-run in Bhubaneswar: Girls misbehaved with, thrashed]]>Fri, 06 Jan 2017 20:43:33 GMThttp://www.indiajournal.com/met/bengaluru-re-run-in-bhubaneswar-girls-misbehaved-with-thrashed

BHUBANESHWAR - Less than a week after the mass molestation incident in Bengaluru, three girls were abused and thrashed for opposing eve-teasing in the state capital on Friday. The Commissionerate Police registered a case after receiving a complaint from the victims and began an investigation to trace the culprits. According to police, around four to five youths passed lewd comments and abused three girls near Magnet Square...

on the Patia-Nandankanan Road in Bhubaneswar. When a girl objected, another group of boys believed to be the friends of the eve-teasers, allegedly thrashed one of the girls and their male friend, said police. "Some boys passed lewd comments and when we resisted another group of boys came and started attacking us and my friend. While one of my friends was recording the incident on the mobile phone, they tried to damage it," said one of the girls. Bhubaneswar Deputy Commissioner of Police Satyabrat Bhoi said they are trying to identify the culprits involved in the crime.

]]><![CDATA[First Indian researcher nominated to European investigator programme]]>Mon, 12 Dec 2016 21:36:19 GMThttp://www.indiajournal.com/met/first-indian-researcher-nominated-to-european-investigator-programme

KOLKATA - Researcher Minhajuddin Sirajuddin from the Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine (inStem) in Bengaluru has become the first scientist from India to join the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) Young Investigator Programme network, a statement said on Saturday. "Minhajuddin Sirajuddin from Bengaluru is the first young life scientist to be nominated for the EMBO Young...

Investigator Programme," EMBO said in a statement. At a launch event in February 2016, European Molecular Biology Conference (EMBC), EMBO and India's Department of Biotechnology signed a cooperation agreement, under which India became an EMBC Associate Member State. "Nearly one year on, the partnership is picking up momentum, with Indian scientists benefiting from the full range of EMBO programmes in order to forge international collaborations and jointly explore new ideas," the statement said. EMBO recently announced the selection of 25 young researchers as EMBO Young Investigators.
The new Young Investigators represent 11 different countries, including India for the first time. The programme provides support for researchers under forty years of age who have set up their first laboratories in the past four years.
During their three-year tenure, EMBO Young Investigators receive a range of benefits, including an award of 15,000 euros and the opportunity to apply for additional funds to support the establishment of their first independent laboratories.

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