A Monthly Publication of the Federation of India Community Associations (FICA) Since 1967INSIDE

Free Monthly Subscription - A Non-Profit & Tax Exempt Organization - Tax ID# 34-1215066

September 2013 - Volume 0913Non-Profit

OrganizationU.S. POSTAGE

PAIDCLEVELAND,

OHIOPERMIT NO.

1051

FEDERATION OF INDIA COMMUNITY ASSOCIATIONINDIA COMMUNITY CENTER12412 CEDAR ROADCLEVELAND HEIGHTS, OH 44106

Or Current Resident

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FICA Matters 2Community NewsThe One World Festival 3 Nivi Engineer 4Project SEVA 5Shiksha Daan 6Art Show 7What is a Green Card? 8Launch of Hinduism 9Person of the Mont 10Why join FICA? 11

LOTUS TEAM

Publishing & EditorialAsim Datta (Interim)

Public Relations/CreativeParamjit Singh paramlinda@gmail.com

Editorial HelpCheryl D’Mello

When it comes to celebrating India focused events, FICA is always at the fore-front and same was the case in India’s Independence Day celebrations held on Saturday, August 18th in the Solon Community Center. Several hundred people of Indian origin and/or with a soft corner for India, came out and attended the event. As expected the atmosphere was electric and full of enthusiasm. Greater Cleve-land is experiencing an inflow of young professionals and the same was reflected in the audience of the event with several first time attendees of the FICA event along with the regulars. IndiaFest focused on three things that all Indians love; three things that tran-scend above all languages and religions namely food, shopping and entertainment (dance & music). As always the attendees feasted on scrumptious Indian food. Several vendors including those providing henna service or selling, Indian apparel, jewelry and accessories were seen generating great interest among the attendees.

The theme of the entertainment session was showcasing the diversity and richness of Indian culture represented by performances from various states of India. Lopamudra Das and Gar-gi Chowdhury of Bengali Cultural Society kickstarted the program with a beautifully choreo-graphed dance which was followed byaA talented 10 year old Kuchipudi dancer, Marisa Mo-hapatra from Youngstown, Ohio performing a Thandava, containing prayer to Rudra, Lord. Audience was thrilled with the visual delight of Thiruvathirakali dance performed by Anupama Krishnan, Deepthi Pillai, Vidya Anoop, Rekha Subhash, Nithya Sreejinesh, Devi Rohan, Pri-yadarshini Cherian and Keerthi Brijesh. Thiruvathirakali is a dance form from the great state of Kerala and is performed by maidens in order to attain everlasting marital bliss, The dance is performed around a ceremonial lamp or a floral decoration especially during Onam. After the three dances, Debashish Mukhopadhyay, Ratan Moitra and team paid an emotionally charged homage to the men and women in uniform who protect-

ed and continue to protect India’s independence with classics such as “aye mere watan ke logo”, “kar chale hum fida” and “sandese aate hain”. In addition to Debashish and Ratan, the team of singers comprised of Soma Chakraborty, Pushpita Bannerjee, Parto Das, Suman Chakraborty, Supantho Banerjee. This was followed by a stupendous dance performance by students of Nritya Gitan-jali School of Dance & Music representing the State of Tamilnadu. Apshara Ravichandran, Paavani Reddy & Vibha Alangar performed to a Tamil song in praise of Lord Ganesha. Any Indian music event is incomplete with Bollywood and the last two performances well represented the shades of Bollywood. Very talented sister duo of Ruchi and Ishani Kale choreographed (with their mother, Hemangi Kale) and performed the fusion of “Maa Tujhe Salaam” master piece composed by the genius A R Rehman in a traditional Kathak dance form. The last dance performance was a contemporary dance by a dance group from Cleveland State University. The dance was choreographed by Raj and was performed by Raj, Asmita, Sonal, Poornima and Gunjana. The entertainment part of the event, which started with “Jana Gana Mana” was concluded with another national song “Vande Matarm” sung by FICA President, Asim Datta. The celebration of the love of our motherland aptly ended with the song

saluting that motherland.

A JOYOUS CELEBRATION!! - IndiaFest, India’s 67th Independence DaySubmitted by Jay Masurekar, Member, FICA Executive Board

Announcing India Independence Day 2013 in Solon

The Bengali Duo

Odisha Society was well represented by this young talent at IndiaFest

The wonderful singers present India’s National Anthem and other songs of love for India

Two young talents from Marathi Mandal put up a great performance.

The most important day in the history of modern India was celebrated in Greater Cleveland on Sunday, August 18. The Plain Dealer on August 19th reported “IndiaFest” celebrates India’s independence from British rule” with a report and multiple photos of the event, one of which was on the front page!! Surely, this was an acknowledgement of the important role the Indian community enjoys in Northeast Ohio. Several hundred members and friends of the community were present in acknowledgement of the event. This piece is not a report on the event. That appears on the front page of this issue. This piece is an expression of appreciation and acknowledgement. The manner in which many organizations representing states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal and Maharashtra in India came forward and actively participated in the celebration is only natural. This was heeding the call of the Tri-color, an emotional response to the love and pride in our heritage. The song “Mere watan ke logon” rendered so beautifully by the incredibly talented singing duo not only reinforced those feelings, but again brought a lump in my throat, as it always does. And I am sure I was not the only one to feel that way. FICA sincerely hopes that future events of such magnitude will have participation of the other regional groups who were unable to join us this time. This event, along with

the celebration of Republic Day, is our opportunity to proudly restate the richness of thousands of years of India’s his-tory, and the incredible growth of modern India. After all, as we continue to make a positive impact in the lives of our friends and neighbors in our adopted homeland, our brothers and sisters continue their work to ensure that the land of our birth strengthens its place in the community of the greatest nations on earth. Jai Hind.

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FICA mattersFICA StaffAdministration

Board of Trustees

Chittaranjan Jain, Chair

c.jain@csuohio.edu, 440/942-4369

Executive Board

Asim Datta, Presidentinfo@ficacleveland.orgpoint-to-point@usa.net216/394-8720

Kathy Ghose, Vice Presidentkghose50@yahoo.com440/785-5940

Sapna Reddy Kumar, Secretarysapna.reddy@gmail.com216 /236 -3727

Rupal Dhruv, Treasurertreasurer@ficacleveland.orgrupald6130@hotmail.com440/317-1487

Mona Alag , Past Presidentmonaalag@yahoo.com440/256-3247

Sujata Burgesssburgess@asiainc-ohio.org440/465-1790

Anjan Ghose India Community Centeranjan.ghose@tri-c.edu216/214-4317

Jaywant Masurekarjaywantm@gmail.com202/436-0997

Meera Kansal meerakansal@hotmail.com440/572-3857

Kenneth KovachKennethJKovach@wowway.com216/952-9501

Vinod Nagpal vnagpal@nrengineering.com

Pavithra Simh Membership chairraj.pavithra@gmail.com

602/321-3128

Sister Organizations

Marathi MandalWebsite : www. neomm.orgPresident: Dr. Anupa DeogaonkarEmail : anupadeogaonkar@gmail.comPhone: 216/704-2455

Bengali Cultural Society of ClevelandPresident: Bhaswati Bandyopadhyay Email: bbhaswati@yahoo.comPhone: (440)427-1853

AIPNO :President : Dr. Beejadi MukundaEmail : bmukunda1@gmail.com Phone : 440.488.2300

From the President’s Desk

Newsmakers!

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Around the communities

A Joyous Celebration -continued from page 1 THE ONE WORLD FESTIVAL - Ken Kovach, FICA Board Member While the India’s independence was cel-

ebrated with songs and dances, FICA also paid homage to the Gadar movement and the role of our Sikh brothers and sisters, in helping In-dia attain freedom. Paramjit Singh, FICA’s past president and current Trustee provided a de-tailed account of history of Gadar movement and its strong US connection. Sanjay Garg, FICA’s

Chair for Shiksha Daan (Gift of Education) provided an update to the audience. Raj Pil-lai, Chair of Indian Cultural Garden was on hand to provide information on the garden, and offered T-shirts with Mahatma Gandhi on it for sale to raise funds for the garden. With their audio-visual senses as well as taste buds completely satisfied, the audience conveyed the success of the event through a thunderous applause to end the evening on a high note. The program was ably threaded together by Master of Ceremonies, Jay Masurekar.

Thousands of people came to the Cleve-land Cultural Gardens in Rockefeller Park on Sunday, August 25, 2013 to participate in a unique festival of music, arts, food, education and culture. This was the first One World Festival as part of a larger ef-fort to activate and revitalize the cultural gardens. We celebrated the 66th anniver-sary of One World Day – an annual event that usually attracts several hundred peo-ple and focuses each year on only one of

the gardens. Main elements of One World Day were preserved and One World Festival expanded the venue and activities. One World Festival founder James Levin (also founder of the Cleveland Public Theatre and IngenuityFest) working in partnership with the Cleveland Cultural Gardens Federation, led by Sheila Crawford, and the Famicos Foun-dation, have envisioned a Rockefeller Park one day teeming with art, music, performance, athletic activities, food and beverages throughout the spring and summer. “The Cleveland One World Festival can be just the lightning rod!” said James Levin. Metaphorically speaking, lightning did strike on August 25th with the interests of thousands of Greater Clevelanders ignited by the event. A board of community activists was formed to provide oversight for the new event and Kenneth J. Kovach (FICA Execu-tive Board Member) was elected as the first President of the new or-ganization. The board along with a host of other volunteers worked to present a full-day of activities from noon to 9:00 PM on several stages and performance venues. They stretched along a 3-mile section of the Cultural Gardens from the African American Garden to the Irish Garden. Several hundred performers and artists presented a wide variety of impressive cultural displays representing many of Cleveland’s 117 plus nationalities and cultural groups. Ethnic foods offerings were available as well as ethnic beer and wine. The event started with a Parade of Nations – represented by the Gardens and a naturalization ceremony of im-

migrants who officially became citizens of the United States on that day. Large number of members of FICA and the Indian community were clearly visible, soaking in the happenings all along the stretch of MLK Boulevard. The India Cultural Garden hosted a Yoga Session and some dance performance. The Greek Garden was the site of a percussion ensemble consisting young talents that delighted the audience. And the large as-sembled crowd in the lower Italian Garden

witnessed memorable performances of Bollywood and Indian Classical dances by some unbelievable youth talents. “As a native Clevelander very much con-nected to everything ethnic, I have never seen so many people in the Cleve-land Cultural Gardens at any one time,” said Ken Kovach. “They walked, they talked, they watched, and ate and drank and came away with a new sense of this wonderful and unique cultural resource here in Cleveland. For many of the attendees this was their first time setting foot in the gardens!”

Raptured audience at India Independence Day

Indian students from Cleveland State University

Raj and Krithika delight the crown with their performance at the One World Festival

Lalit Subramaniam on Tabla, Suraj Srinivasan on Mrudangam, and Shriya Srinivasan, Vocalist

Yoga at India Cultural Garden during One World Festival

A taste of Malayalee culture on display by talented members of Kerala Association

Vande Mataram at India Independence Day celebration in August 2013 by Asim Datta

Flavors of India booth with Indian cuisine at India Independence Day 2013

Trophies awarded at IndiaFest 2013 for Cricket and Tennis

Paramjit Singh talks about Gadar movement

More talents on display at IndiaFest 2013 representing Tamil Sangam

Newsmakers!4 Events Future & Past

Nivi Engineer, author of ‘The Indian Girl’s Definitive Guide to Staying Single’ -By Cheryl D’Mello

Clevelander Nivi Engineer has written a book titled ‘The Indian Girl’s Definitive Guide to Staying Single’. This humorous novella is in the form of a fake self-help book, narrated by a strong, single, sassy, unnamed Indian woman. It has been reviewed as light and entertaining and a good laugh.Engineer has tried to cover the arranged marriage process in the book. “I am not against arranged marriages, and when you read my book, you’ll see that. I think it is a system that comes from a place

of love and caring. And I believe it can work. But, I also believe that for it to work there has to be complete buy-in from all parties, and when there is not, there is conflict. I recognize that the process is stressful - dealing with people’s sometimes conflicting hopes and dreams - and can put a wedge between par-ents and children,” she said. ‘The Indian Girl’s Guide’ covers all the basic rules that govern success-fully staying single, including ‘Don’t Break Out In Bhangra’, ‘Hold Back the Hindi’, ‘Chase Away the Chai’ and ‘Never Let Them See You Cook’. “I know that this doesn’t qualify as a novel in the traditional sense - it doesn’t follow the typical story arc,” said Engineer. “But I also felt like this took on the form it needed to take. And given how stressful the whole marriage experience is, I had to write this as a humor piece. If there is any way to lighten the mood, to get people to recognize that you’ll look back at this and laugh, I wanted to find it.” What was the inspiration for the book? “Growing up in America, our parents teach us what it means to be Indian, and struggle to make sure that we stay closer to the Indian side,” she said. “Of course, they see us as being way too far down on the American end, while we feel like our American peers view us as being way down on the other end. And so you teeter and shift, and straddle the two cultures uncomfortably. And you judge people too far on either side. Later in life, the shared experiences, the people you know in common, the fact that you finally realize that how Indian you are doesn’t really matter, leads to close friendships with these same people. Then you wonder about how much time you squandered growing up by not hanging out with this obviously cool person. And it’s against that backdrop that many women give the arranged marriage experience a try.” “The subject of Indians growing up in America, the inherent struggle between cultures, of dating versus arranged marriage, is a topic rich with con-flict, containing all the perfect elements for a great story. And so I have attempt-ed to write this story which had been simmering for a long time, just to get it out of my system. But it was only when the structure of a fake self-help guide came to me that all those pieces fell together. I’ve stolen tidbits from other sto-ries that I’ve started, and put them together - along with new material - to form this book.” Engineer, the daughter of Bimal and Vishwa Sharan grew up in Strongs-

ville and graduated from Strongsville High School. She has a BA in English from Case Western Reserve University, an MS in Computer Science from Wash-ington University in St. Louis, and is currently working on her Master in Fine Arts degree from Spalding University in Louisville, Kentucky. She lives in Cleveland with her husband, three sons, and a puppy.The book can be purchased online in paperback or e-book format through Am-azon, BarnesandNoble.com, iBooks, and Smashwords.com, as well as locally at Mac’s Backs and the Wine Spot in Cleveland Heights. To contact her to sched-ule an appearance, contact her at niviengineer@gmail.com.

Dr. Gurdas Singh Dass, who came to this country in 1969 as a veterinarian after completing his PhD in Dairy Science (Animal Breeding) from Michigan State Univer-sity in 1975 and in 1977 obtained his license to practice Veterinary Medicine. He currently operates Greenmont Veterinary Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio.Dr. Dass also hap-pens to be the first turbaned Sikh to hold such position in the United States.

In addition to his love for animals, he is actively involved with The Sikh Coalition, The Sikh American Legal Defense

and Education Fund (SALDEF), and The World Sikh Council, focused on educating the community at large the message of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, that we are all children of One God. Since 9/11 members of the Sikh Community have been victims of Mistaken Identity He is also the President of the Religions Conference of Greater Cleveland. He is also working to bring a Sikh Education curriculum to all schools to help prevent bullying and harassment of young Sikh children.Dr. Dass resides in Solon, Ohio with his wife. He is a proud father of 3 successful children and a proud grandfather as well.

FIRST SIKH TO BE APPOINTED PRESIDENT TO THE OHIO VETERINARIAN MEDICAL BOARD

Book By Nivi Engineer

Nivi Engineer

Dr.Gurudas Singh Dass

Newsmakers!5 Community News

Armed with ingredients for a home cooked meal, Project Seva volunteers took over the kitchens of Ronald McDonald House on the 25th of August 2013. Having done it once before in 2012, we thought.....no problem, we can do it. They changed the rules on us!!! Now everything has to be cooked in house. We had to take the supplies in their original packages, no prep work could be done at home. But...when have you known us to shy away from a challenge?? That too

when it comes to putting a meal on the table. Two hours later, the aroma of the food brought the parents and young patients to the Dining Hall. Not only did they enjoy the food, we were asked if we could come back soon with another feast for them.Ronald McDonald House, as you know, is the residence for par-ents of children undergoing treatment for illnesses that should not befall any one, least of all young children. Some of the patients live there too. We talked with them, encouraged them, and most of all, brought a smile to their faces. This is your Project Seva at work. The volunteers provided the supplies, it does not cost Project Seva any-thing.The next dinner will be on 12/15/2013. If you would like to participate, do call me at 440 256 3247. First 8 volunteers to call will be included for the evening. There is a limit of 10 people at all times. Many thanks to Sanjay and Mala Garg, Vinod and Neelam Nagpal, Harsha Rane. Renu Goswami. Guniya Bafna.

Greatest of classical Indian violinists, [he] was both Paganini and Poet.”—San Francisco Chronicle Dr. L. Subramaniam is considered India’s violin icon and the “Paganini of Indian Classical music.” He has the serenity of an Indian musician com-bined with the magnetism of a Western “star.” Constantly performing all over the world—from Singapore to Paris, from Delhi to Los Angeles—he has con-quered every audience with the elegance and virtuosity of his style. His career as a childhood prodigy brought him into contact with the greatest musicians and he soon became a master of the violin. Since 1973 Subramaniam has made historic collaborations and recordings with renowned musicians such as Sir Yehudi Menuhin, Stéphane Grappelli, Stevie Wonder, Jean-Pierre Rampal and Herbie Hancock, among others. Subramaniam performs a program of South Indian Carnatic music with his son Ambi Subramaniam and percussionist Mahesh Krishnamurthy. Join us for a pre-concert talk at 6:00 p.m. by Sonya Rhie Quintanilla, George P. Bickford Curator of Indian and Southeast Asian Art, as she previews the reopening of the Indian and Southeast Asian galleries.

PROJECT SEVA AT WORK- Submitted by Mona Alag, Chair, Project Seva

A CONCERT NOT TO BE MISSED, IN CLEVELAND – Dr L. Subramaniam

Friday, October 4, 2013, 7:30 p.m.

We are happy to offer FICA members a 10% discount on advance ticket sales to L. Subramaniam’s performance. Use the code “FICA ” when purchasing tickets on line or by phone to receive the discount –valid through Thursday, October 3. Tickets can be purchased through the Ticket Center at (216)421-7350 or on line athttp://www.clevelandart.org/events/music-and-performances/subramaniam

Project Seva at the Ronald McDonal House to prepare and serve an evening meal.

6 Community News

20600 Chagrin Blvd, Suite #150Shaker Heights, OH 44122-5327

(216) 295-0400www.thesaffronpatch.com

UPCOMING FICA AND INDIAN COMMUNITY EVENTS

October 4 : Violin recital by Dr L Subramanyam at the Gartner Auditorium of the Cleveland Museum of ArtOctober 13 : 2nd Annual Cleveland International Community Day at the Cleveland Museum of ArtNovember 8 : FICA and Indian Community celebrate Deepavali at Cleveland City Hall.December 15 : FICA Project Seva serves Meals at Ronald McDonald House.January 25 : FICA and Indian Community celebrate

India’s Republic Day.

7Community News

A UNIQUE ART SHOW.....A FIRST IN THE INDIAN COMMUNITY

Starting with a blank canvas, an artist thru sheer talent, skill and imagi-nation can create a master piece. Be it Monet, Van Gogh or Picasso, the world of art and artists can render a person virtually speechless and spell bound with their creations. Amongst the Indian community in Cleveland too are some excellent artists who create sheer magic with a stroke of the brush. Having seen some of their work adorning their walls I could not at first believe that these were not from a gallery. Certainly some of the pieces belong there!! Ironically, most of the artists I know of are physicians! Not all but most. I often tease them and wonder if they are frustrated doctors who took to paint-ing, or may be frustrated painters who took to medicine? All jokes aside.....they are great at what they do. Images of Ganeshji, are breathtaking. Water colors of birds, flowers and nature are unbelievable. Then, why don’t we as a community know about them? Showcase their talent? Tell them how good they are? That is when I thought of putting together an Art Show!! When some-one is exceptional at what they do, we need to acknowledge it. I spoke with a few friends about it, and before you knew it, we had a plan. Come and join us on the 13th of October, have a glass of wine and cheese (on us) and browse through the art work of these talented people. We will also have photography, quilts and other unique art work on display/sale. See the accompanying flyer.

A TREASURE FOR THE TAKING!!Dr. John Greppin, Professor of Linguistics, Emeritus has about 400 books on Indology, that he acquired during the last 35 years while teaching at Cleveland State University. His specialty was Indo-Euro-pean linguistics, and though not at all a specialist in Sanskrit, he was able to teach the first and second year of that language. He never had trouble getting students, and when they started studying, they kept at it; a few students took a third year. There was no difficulty keeping

their interest in this lovely language.

The books include numerous Sanskrit texts: the Cakara Samhita in four vols, Rg Veda, the Mahabharata, and Ramayana, Kalidasha’s

works, and at least a hundred more similar to that.

There are numerous dictionaries. Bohtlingk and Roth’s dictionary in eight volumes and at least dozen later lexicons from the Prakrts to

Pali, to Gujarati, etc. and a Urdu Dictionary in 13 vols.

He has 64 vols of the Puranas from the Shiva Sutra to the Skanda Puranas.

There are scholarly texts: K. N. Dave’s “Birds in Skt Literature! “En-cyclopedia of Indian Literature” in six vols, etc.

Dr Greppin, in his generousity, will donate these to any apprecia-tive collector (whose collection may be enriched by these additions), through a non-profit like FICA, who can take them away. Please email FICA at info@ficacleveland.org and we will establish the con-

nection for the recipient to examine them. Dr Greppin lives in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.

7Issues that matter

WHAT IS A GREEN CARD? - Margaret W. Wong, Immigration Attorney

8 News of interest

In the 1990 movie Green Card, starring Gerard Depardieu and Andy MacDowell, a French immigrant and a American woman agree to a sham mar-riage. For him, the marriage will allow him to stay in the United States where he has created a life for himself. For her, she will be able to move into an exclu-sive apartment building that only rents to married couples. Of course, when immigration officers interview the couple their suspicions are aroused and the couple find themselves facing a very serious dilemma. Although the film is fairly flimsy on the technicalities of immigration procedure, I won’t ruin the ending for you, but it is an interesting perspective into one of the main routes for immigrants to secure permission to remain with-in in the United States and receive the titular “green card” – through marriage to a US citizen. Marriage fraud cases like the one depicted in the film do indeed happen, however, the vast majority of green cards provided to spouses of US citizens are based on genuine relationships. USCIS, the agency charged with overseeing immigration, has a very good track record of identifying fraudulent relationships and the penalties are severe. I am often asked, though, what exactly is a green card? A green card is merely a euphemism for the identification card given to immigrants granted “legal permanent resident status” (LPR). Most countries provide a process for non-nationals to reside indefinitely within their borders and the US is no dif-ferent. As an LPR in the United States, an individual can work, travel to and from the country, and enjoys many of the same rights as a citizen. They cannot, however, vote and are, for the most part, ineligible for welfare benefits. There are essentially two tracks through which a non-national can se-cure permanent resident status, immigration through a family member and im-migration through employment. US citizens and individuals who already hold a green card can sponsor certain family members for a green card. Depending on the nature of the relationship and the availability of a visa, the timeframe for

completing the process can vary widely. In the case of the movie Green Card, Gerard Depardieu’s character would have faced a number of hurdles. Not only would he have been required to prove the bone fides of the relationship at the time of applying, but due to the marriage fraud regulations ushered in by Ronald Reagan, he would have had to do it all again two years later. As marriage to a US citizen is the fastest way to receive a green card, the system suffered from wide-ranging abuse. To combat against fraudulent marriages, in cases where the marriage is less than two years in existence, the initial green card issued is only valid for two years and a further application is required to make it permanent. Sponsorship by an employer is a very technical process that typically re-quires the advice and intervention of an immigration attorney. The visas avail-able are limited by number and come with a long list of requirements. Other ways to secure a green card include the EB-5 investment visa requiring the in-vestment of between a half million and a million dollars. Another option is the Diversity Lottery that offers up to 55,000 green card visas to randomly selected applicants from around the world. Individuals granted asylum in the United States are also granted permanent resident status. A major draw of the American green card is that it opens up the possi-bility of citizenship. After five years of living in the US as a permanent resident and so long as the rest of the criteria are met, an individual is eligible to ap-ply for citizenship. Permanent residents who gained their green cards through marriage to a US citizen only have to wait three years. But why “green” card? Well, between 1946 and 1964 the identifica-tion card itself was a green color. For some reason the government decided to change the color, but the name stuck. Since 2010, however, USCIS has reverted back to using a card that once again has a green hue.

News of interest 9

A 25-year quest to document and present one of the world’s old-est living traditions came to fruition Monday, Aug. 26, when the Encyclopedia of Hinduism was unveiled at the University of South Carolina. Hundreds of scholars, dignitaries, Hindu families, students and the public converged on the university’s campus to witness the release of the much anticipated and definitive 11-volume guide conceived, compiled and produced by the India Heritage Research Foundation and published by Mandala Publish-ing. The daylong conference featured some of most prominent Indian schol-ars, who discussed the significance of the encyclopedia and the richness and diversity of Indian culture that binds more than 1 billion people worldwide.Speakers scheduled to attend were Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji , presi-dent of Parmarth Niketan Ashram in India and founder of the India Heritage Research Foundation; Rajendra K. Pachauri , a Nobel Laureate honored for his contributions to global climate policy; and Anna Hazare , an Indian social activ-ist known as the Mahatma Gandhi of the 21st century. The conference, free and open to the public, took place in the univer-sity’s Capstone House.Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati , president of Divine Shakti Foundation and managing editor of the encyclopedia, said the conference, like the encyclopedia, aims to deepen a conversation among cultures as part of In-dia’s quest for spiritual unity. “The Indian cultural and spiritual traditions, encompassed within the religion known as ‘Hinduism’ offer some of the deepest and most universally applicable insights, truths and teachings. Unfortunately, these tend to be mis-understood in the West. The Encyclopedia of Hinduism brings together, in a format comprehensible and accessible to people of all cultures, all religions and all walks of life, the depth and breadth of this ancient yet timeless heritage,” Saraswati said. The Aug. 26 event was the launch of the international edition (English) of the Encyclopedia of Hinduism. The Dalai Lama launched the Indian edition in April 2010 in Rishikesh, India.The encyclopedia, also called the “Project of the third Millennium,” began in 1987 under the leadership of Saraswatiji. The offices for the project were located at the University of South Carolina until

2003 when they transitioned to India for the final stages of the project. Hal French , a USC distinguished professor emeritus of religious stud-ies, has served as associate editor of the encyclopedia since its inception.“It has been an ambitious undertaking,” French said. “The Encyclopedia of Hinduism is a milestone in research for this culture and religion, reflecting the very best in India and Western scholarship.”French was among nearly 1,000 scholars from India, the United States and Eu-rope who wrote, edited and compiled the encyclopedia, which provides the first standardized and objective presentation of the panorama that is Indian culture.In one work, the encyclopedia encompasses more than 7,000 articles that span Indian history, civilization, language and philosophy; architecture, art, music and dance; medicine, sciences and social institutions; and religion, spirituality and the role of Hindu women. Additionally, more than 1,000 color illustrations and photographs bring the Hindu traditions and culture alive for readers. Dr. Meera Narasimhan , a professor and chairman of neuropsychia-try and vice dean at USC School of Medicine, has led efforts to organize the conference.“‘The Encyclopedia of Hinduism,’ a comprehensive compilation of the spiritual and cultural heritage of India, provides a rich tapestry of Hindu-ism in the global context, a great gift to mankind,” Narasimhan said. “It is an honor for the University of South Carolina to have served as seat of higher learning for this monumental project. I am thrilled to be associated with the launch of the Encyclopedia of Hinduism both as an Indian American and a Gamecock.” While the Encyclopedia of Hinduism is the culmination of one project, its launch is the beginning of another. At the conference, the University of South Carolina was scheduled to announce CarolIndia , a celebration of India through a series of fall and spring events. Led by the College of Arts and Sciences’ Walker Institute , CarolIndia aims at elevating campus and community understanding of India’s growing importance as the world’s largest democracy and a rising global economy. In addition to visiting scholars, the special “bhārata kā utsava” (celebration of India) planned feature film festivals, lectures, concerts and exhibits.

Jain Daslakshan Parva or the Festival of ten vir-tues is the Paryushan festival celebrated by the Digambar Jains annually for self-purification and uplift. This year Dash Lakshan Parva will be celebrated from Monday, September 09, 2013 to Wednesday, September 18, 2013 for a ten days period followed by Kshamapana day on Thursday 19, 2013 the eleventh day. This parva ultimately leads the soul to its true destination of ultimate happiness and freedom i.e., nira-vana or salvation. All Digambar jains celebrate the Dash Lakshan Parva religiously, enthusiastically and devot-edly. The Das Lakshan parva is the Jain festival for the

observance of ten universal virtues namely:(1) Uttama Kshama - Supreme Forgiveness (2) Uttama Mardava - Tenderness or Humility (3) Uttama Arjaya - Straight-forwardness or Honesty (4) Uttama Shaucha - Contentment or Purity (5) Uttama Satya - Truthfulness (6) Uttama Sanyam - Self-restraint (7) Uttama Tapa - Penance or Austerities (8) Uttama Tyaga - Renunciation (9) Uttama Akinchanya - Non-attachment (10) Uttama Brahmacarya - Chastity or celibacy

These ten Jain universal virtues aim at the uplift of the soul and are vividly preached, observed and practiced during the festival.

(11) The eleventh day of September 19th 2013 will be the day of Kashma Yachna this year.

Since I began contributing to the Lotus, I have featured an individual work of art on view. This month, however, with the closing of the Focus Exhbi-tion, Tantra in Buddhist Art, on September 15 the museum’s staff is busy install-ing the more than 200 masterworks of South Asian art in the new permanent collection galleries in the west wing, which will open to great fanfare on De-cember 31, 2013. Please save the date for this special event, and get your tickets early to Cleveland’s hottest New Year’s Eve Party! I will be giving a lavishly illustrated lecture, free and open to the public, on October 4 in the Museum’s Gartner Auditorium at 6:00 pm in which I will preview the art and concepts underlying the new Indian and Southeast Asian galleries. The images promise to look breathtaking on the big screen. It would be a pleasure to meet as many of you then as possible. That same night, also in the auditorium, beginning at 7:30 there will be a classical Indian music concert by the acclaimed, virtuoso violinist Dr. L. Sub-ramaniam. His unequaled skill on the violin will be a wonder to behold, and it is a privilege to host him and his son Ambi Subramaniam and percussionist Mahesh Krishnamurthy, who will be accompanying him, at the Cleveland Mu-seum of Art, as they perform works in the South Indian Carnatic style. Tickets are between $33 and $51 per person and can be purchased on the CMA website or in person at our ticket counter at the Museum’s north entrance. Please do not miss this extraordinary night of art and music of India.

Launch of the Encyclopedia of Hinduism

DIGAMBAR JAINS CELEBRATE JAIN DASLAKSHAN PARVA - Submitted by Dinesh Vora

Note from the Curator, Indian Art at Cleveland Museum of Art - By Sonya Rhie Quintanilla

TIRTHANKAR MAHAVIR SWAMI

Community News10

Shiv Aggarwal, a distinguished community leader for more than 40 years, was the keynote speaker for the Asian Pacific Heritage Day, May 30, 2013 at the Cleveland City Hall Rotunda.Q: How long have you been in the U.S.?Q: How long have you been in the U.S.?A: I came to USA in 1956 to pursue further studies. Q: What is your educational background? Where and what did you study?A: I have a B.A. (Hons.) in Economics from Delhi University; MSW in Social Work (specialized in com-

munity organization) from M.S. University of Baroda; M.B.A. (specialized in Management) from University of Missouri; Continuing Education - Diploma in Management Development conducted by Cleveland Foundation and Case Western Reserve University.Q: Where were you employed?A: After graduating from the University of Missouri in 1957, I joined a Neigh-borhood Center in Chicago where I worked with youth gangs. In 1958, while attending a conference, I was interviewed and accepted a position in Cleveland to work in a Neighborhood Center in the Buckeye-Woodland area. Robert L. Bond, the Executive Director, established the Greater Cleveland Neighborhood Centers Association. He became my mentor and also consulted me about the management. I became the Founder-Executive Director of Collinwood Com-munity Services Center. In 1972, Mayor Perk inaugurated the building which housed the headquarters and services.Q: What about your family? A: My wife Saroj is an M.D., and is a practicing Ophthalmologist. My son, Sand-eep, received his M.D. degree from Chicago Medical School, and is a practicing Neurologist in Chicago; his wife Neelum is a Neurologist and Director of the Alzheimer Clinic. My daughter Sunny Dass, received her M.B.A. from Cleve-land State University; and lives in Grand Blanc, Michigan with her husband George Dass, M.D. an Orthopedic Surgeon. Q: How did you get involved with the youth in the Collinwood neighborhood?A: In 1966, after the worst riots in the history of Cleveland, the Cleveland Foun-dation gave a grant for one year to GCNCA to deal with the situation in Col-linwood. In 1967, Robert Bond asked me to deal with the youth gangs and community because that was the most divisive, polarized and politically active community. I stayed there for 13 years and developed a multiservice complex after I raised funds by conducting research, writing proposals, and presenting them to private foundations and public entities. I wrote a research treatise “Col-

linwood and its Problems”, “Elderly Alcoholism”, “Alternative to Institutional-ization”. I also produced short movies on the subject.After 13 years I moved back to the Buckeye area. When Dr. Mahesh Patel, M.D. of Shaker Medical Center asked me to develop medical services, I devised the Innovative Mobilhealth Clinic for Elderly, also called Doctor-on-Wheels. Dur-ing the AIDS/HIV epidemic I distributed disposable gloves and medical sup-plies to clinics, schools, etc. After the epidemic was under control, I donated $500,000 worth of supplies to MedWish International.Q: Can you share some of your significant contributions in your field of work? A: During my stay in the Buckeye -Woodland area, the County was planning to build a highway (Clark Freeway) which would split the community. I (a) successfully organized the Buckeye-Woodhill-Woodland Association and as an advisor fought against the highway. (2) Many homes were in dilapidated con-dition and young children were suffering. We gave the landlord an ultimatum to fix them (c) The1956 Hungarian Uprising brought an influx of immigrants to the Buckeye area. We carried out large scale re-settlement, taught English and skill training (d) Hungarian senior citizens were very lonely; we helped en-hance the quality of life for them. In Collinwood we (a) broke up gangs and sta-bilized the neighborhood (b) got the most modern buildings after a life threat-ening, dirty fight with the local politician (c) provided the community services for them to enjoy for many years to comeQ: Have you been involved with any groups in volunteer activities? A: I helped many Indians who had emigrated from India to get jobs; Indian students who knew about me called me when they were stranded at the airport or at the Greyhound bus station. I transported them to campuses, sometimes supplying them with basic items.Q: What are you involved with now?A: Currently, I am putting together material to write a book about my Collin-wood experience.Q: Do you have any message for the Indian community? A: As for new Indians coming in the field, I say: Believe in your convictions, follow the path which you have carved out as you will face many hurdles, work with all groups even if they work at cross-purposes. You are trained to face ev-ery challenge - there are risks of life and the reward of satisfaction.Q: What is your vision for the future?A: During the last two decades the elderly population has grown tremendously and so have their health problems. My vision is to establish an outreach multi-specialty Mobilhealth Clinic for those elderly without medical care. This will alleviate the need for unnecessary expensive institutionalization and over-bur-dened hospital emergency rooms.

BOOKS TO READ - Nisha Jain’s suggestionsTHE IMMORTALS OF MELUHA The Immortals of Meluha is the first novel of the Shiva trilogy series by Amish Tripathi.The Shiva Trilogy has become the fastest selling book series in the history of Indian publishing, with 1.7 million copies in print and over rs.40crore (US$ 6.8 million) in sales. The story is set in the land of Meluha and starts with the arrival of Ti-betan tribal Shiva. Meluha is a near perfect empire, created many centuries earlier by Lord Rama. This once proud empire and its Suryavanshi rulers face severe perils as its primary river, the revered Saraswati , is slowly dying to ex-tinction. They also face devastating attacks from the east, the land of the Chan-dravanshis, who have joined forces with the Nagas, a cursed race of deformed humans with astonishing martial skills. The only hope for the Suryavanshis is an ancient legend: ‘When evil reaches epic proportions, when all seems lost, when it appears that your enemies have triumphed, a hero will emerge.’ Will Shiva be that hero? The story traces the life of Shiva from a tribal to Mahadev. The book has known characters from the Hindu mythology while some are imagined by the writer. Tripathi decided to base his story on the funda-mental concept that all gods were once human beings; it was their deeds in the human life that made them famous as gods. Tripathi believes that “Myths are nothing but jumbled memories of a true past. A past buried under mounds of earth and ignorance.” The Immortals of Meluha has received mostly positive response from contemporary critics for its concept, but the prose has received mixed reviews. Film director Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions has acquired the film rights to this book.

BEHIND THE BEAUTIFUL FOREVERS Behind The Beautiful forevers is a non fiction book written by Kath-erine Boo. It won the National Book Award. This book is an interview based narrative in which the interviewer never appears. The book describes the present day Annavadi slum of Mumbai India, located near the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport. It follows the inter-connected lives of several residents, including a young trash picker, a female ‘slumlord’, a college student, and several other unforgettable slum dwellers. “Half an acre, 335 huts, 3,000 people; and a concrete wall that is supposed to hide them from view.” Much of the focus is on Zehrunisa and her eldest son Abdul, the garbage sorter. He is falsely accused in a shocking tragedy. Sup-pressed tensions over religion, caste, sex, power, and economic envy turn bru-tal. Terror and global recession rock the city. Literal and moral sewage per-vades life in Annavadi. Ms. Boo is not a novelist. She is a journalist. However she brings this slum vibrantly to life in the book’s pages. Her prose has been compared to that of Dickens and Zola. The book does appear crowded with too many characters sometimes. She spent three and a half years in the midst of her subjects at Annavadi. She used written notes, video recordings, Audiotapes, and photo-graphs. She also made use of more than 3000 public records. Ms. Boo is a staff writer for The New Yorker and a Pulitzer Prize winner for her work at The Washington Post. Her reporting has been awarded a Ma-cArthur ‘Genius’ grant, and a National Magazine Award for Feature Writing. Behind The Beautiful Forevers is her first book.

Person of the Month : Shiv Aggarwal

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