Bengali New Year celebrated at City Hall chambers

The Bengali New Year, ‘Poila Baishakh,'– a springtime ritual of song, dance and food a world away was celebrated at the City Hall chambers in Manhattan on the evening of April 24.

More than 300 people, including natives of India, Bangladesh and the U.S., attended the event, which was held for the eighth successive year at City Hall, Queens District leader Uma Sengupta told Desi Talk.

Among those who attended were the Consul General of Bangladesh in New York Mohammad Shamsul Haque, Councilman James F. Gennaro, a Democrat, and Sengupta.

"This time we invited about 150 Americans also," Sengupta said. "This is the first time we had an American artist performing."

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India set to host majority of 2011 World Cup

A majority of the 2011 World Cup matches will be held in India after Pakistan was stripped of co-hosting rights over security concerns.

India would host 29 of the tournament's 49 matches, including a semi-final and the final, International Cricket Council (ICC) chief executive Haroon Lorgat told reporters on April 28 following a World Cup organizing committee meeting.

Sri Lanka will host the other semi-final. India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will remain as co-hosts of the quadrennial event after Pakistan was dropped over uncertainty created by last month's ambush on the Sri Lankan cricket team's bus by armed gunmen in Lahore.

The 2011 World Cup Secretariat had also been shifted from Lahore to the Indian board's offices in Mumbai, Lorgat announced.

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Milonee Mehta, 2 others, win Obama essay contest

Milonee Mehta, a Grade 8 student at Warren Middle School won the 'overall' award from Star-Ledger newspaper for her essay on ‘What does the election of Barack Obama mean to you?' Two other students of Indian origin won in other grade levels for their essays, Kaustubh Deshpande, Grade 9, John P .Stevens High School in Edison and Komal Thakkar, Grade 12, Howell High School in Morganville.

"I never used to consider myself American," Mehta says in her essay, talking about how her name always caused people to pause and want the pronunciation, making her feel like an outsider.

"Although I still consider myself half Indian, Barack Obama has helped me realize that you don't need a name like Sarah or Emily to be an American as well. To see a man with a name that I had never heard before rise to the most important office in America makes me proud to be who I am, proud to have family that lives in a country other than America, and proud to be different."

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Story of an underdogs fight against establish his identity and keep his pride

Inspite of the title of the Marathi film, 'Me Shivajiraje Bhosale Boltoy...!' is not a historical film. The answer for the reason of choosing this particular name, lies in the film itself. It is a story of an underdogs fight against the evil in society to establish his identity and keep his pride. The film was released on April 17.

Dinkar Maruti Bhosale, played by Sachin Khedekar, is supposed to represent thousands of 'Marathis' who feel they have lost their identity in a cosmopolitan Mumbai.

Dinkar feels Mumbai is in Maharashtra but there is no Maharashtra left in Mumbai. He complains about the lack of respect a Marathi receives in Mumbai, feels he is victimized every where because he is a Marathi, little realizing that he has brought this situation upon himself.

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Sania scares Venus in a three-setter

Second seed Venus Williams needed three sets to beat battling Sania Mirza 6 1 3-6 6-2 in the second round of the Family Circle Cup on April 15.

After dominating the opening set, Williams found herself in trouble in the second with the 100th-ranked Indian producing some great defense to save 10 out of 11 break points while breaking the American twice.

Williams finally took control of the match in the third set, dominating Mirza to finally move on after a battle lasting almost two hours.

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Web site highlights water security in Asia

Decreased access to a safe, stable water supply in Asia "will have a profound impact on security throughout the region," warns a new Asia Society Leadership Group report.

The report titled ‘Asia's Next Challenge: Securing the Region's Water Future' aims to raise awareness of the importance of water as a means of security at multiple levels in Asia.

The interactive website and a video can be found on the Asia Society website at http://asiasociety.org/taskforces/water/interactive/.

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Seventh anniversary celebrated at new Krishna temple

Shree Krishna Vrundavana celebrated its seventh anniversary at the newly established Krishna temple in Edison on April 4.

"Approximately 500 devotees attended the daylong celebrations," Yogeendra Bhat, the chief priest at the temple told Desi Talk.

"What's truly remarkable this time is that these celebrations were held for the first time at the newly acquired 3.5-acre location in South Edison."

His Holiness Shri Sugunendra Theertha Swamiji from Udupi, Karnataka who belongs to the Dwaita philosophy of Shri Madhvacharya, established the Shree Krishna Vrundavana in December 2001.

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Bollywood twist for annual British ‘proms' concerts

Britain's ‘proms', the annual summer season of classical concerts famous for a patriotic finale attended by thousands, will celebrate Indian music this year with the first ‘Bollywood Prom'.

Indian music star and talent show host Shaan will compere the August 16 event at the Royal Albert Hall, where the main prom concerts are staged, according to the BBC which organizes and supports the proms.

It will follow a day of performances reflecting India's vocal styles including traditional khyal singing and folk music from Rajasthan, Gujarat and Kerala.

"On Aug. 16 the proms presents proof not only that India's ancient musical traditions are thriving today, but also that the country has produced a vibrant and equally authentic culture of contemporary vocal music and dance," the BBC said.

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Jain Center of New Jersey to build new temple in Franklin

The Jain Center of New Jersey (JCNJ), among the largest Jain centers in the country, is about to start construction of the new temple in Franklin Township, New Jersey.

Situated on the southbound side of Cedar Grove Lane, the site, purchased almost 10 years ago, occupies an area of 9.6 acres.

Shilanyas or foundation laying ceremony is scheduled to be held on May 2, a press release said. Construction is scheduled to be completed on May 2010 and is estimated to cost over $12 million, the release said.

The existing temple in Essex Falls is also undergoing renovation and is to reopen in July.

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Ten Pakistani girls are in United States to improve skills

Ten Pakistani girls ranging in age from 12 to 21, are in Washington, D.C. to enhance their soccer skills. Along with their three coaches, the girls arrived April 6 and are scheduled to be in the country till April 18 under a program sponsored by the State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs Sports United office.

The soccer delegation is from Rawalpindi and Islamabad where those visiting are members of the ‘Young Rising Stars Female Football Club', a group organized by the U.S. Embassy in Pakistan as part of a 2007 State Department Youth Enrichment Program (YEP), the State Department said in an April 8 release. Since its inception, the club team has played in many tournaments in Pakistan and won the first All Pakistan Inter-Club Women's Football Tournament in August 2008. Press reports in Pakistan described the team as the ‘Giant killer Rising Star' team for upstaging the traditional winning team.

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Gary Kirsten says he is not candidate for England job

Indian cricket coach Gary Kirsten says he is not a candidate for the England position left vacant by the sacking of Peter Moores, website www.cricinfo.com reported on April 2.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is engaged in finding a successor to Moores and the former South Africa opener has been linked to the job by the British media.

"I am not a candidate," Kirsten told the website, adding that he had not been contacted by the ECB.

Kirsten's two-year contract with the Board of Control in India (BCCI) runs until March next year and BCCI officials dismissed the link with the England job as baseless.

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Close call for American Idol's Anoop Desai

Anoop Desai, Allison Iraheta and Megan Joy were the bottom-three finishers in the doghouse after receiving the least number of the 36 million votes casted on the results episode of 'American Idol Season 8' on April 1.

Joy, the tattooed blonde singer from Utah, was given the boot after she failed to impress them, or the judges, with her rendition of Turn Your Lights Down Low during the show's popular downloads-themed week.

Joy, 22, from Sandy, had been spared even a bottom-three finish last week despite the judges' unanimous, blistering comments about her performance, which Simon Cowell called horrible.

This week they opted not to use their once per-season veto power over the fan voting to keep her in the competition.

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Bhargava of New Jersey, second South Asian appointed to 'Faith Based' council

President Obama on April 6, announced new members to his Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, among them Anju Bhargava of New Jersey, founder and current President of Asian Indian Women of America (AIWA).

The Advisory Council is composed of religious and secular leaders and scholars from different backgrounds, the White House said.

With Bhargava's appointment, the council now has two South Asians on it.

Eboo Patel, founder of Chicago based Interfaith Youth Core, was among the original list of members the Obama White House had announced on February 5, when the council was established.

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Pakistan woman, 26, among 13 shooting rampage victims

A 26-year-old woman from Pakistan was among those who died in a shooting rampage when a lone gunman barricaded a rear exit at an immigration services center in Binghamton, NY, and then entered the building and killed 13 people before fatally shooting himself on April 3, authorities said.

The shooter, Jiverly Voong, 41, had been laid off from IBM in nearby Johnson City, according to reports. He entered the center, which holds classes for new immigrants and prospective citizens, and might have picked his victims at random, police said.

The death of Parveen Ali, of Binghamton, who had come to the U.S. eight years ago from the Swat area of northern Pakistan, which is heavily under siege from the Taliban, has devastated the family, a prominent member of the Muslim community in Binghamton told Desi Talk.

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Bollywood hopes to inspire youth to vote with short film

Some of Bollywood's biggest names are working on a short film that will urge first-time voters in India to cast their ballot in the upcoming general election.

Actors Abhishek Bachchan, John Abraham and Bipasha Basu are among the celebrities starring in the film, which will be aired on television channels ahead of polls in April and May.

"There is a whole bunch of people who have turned eighteen and have a certain fire in them and can actually make change," director Tarun Mansukhani told Reuters.

Analysts estimate that India has at least 100 million first-time voters in the age group of 18 to 24. Over 700 million people are eligible to vote in a mammoth democratic exercise that starts April 16.

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Australia want Davis Cup tie moved from India

Australia's tennis federation have requested their Davis Cup tie against India be moved out of the country due to security concerns.The Indian hosts, however, remain confident of staging the May event.

"Australia have told the ITF (International Tennis Federation) that the tie should not be held in India," All India Tennis Association (AITA) executive director Ranbir Chauhan told Reuters on March 26. "We have also written back to the ITF," he added.

"We're very, very confident the tie is going to take place in India. We guarantee full security, they will be treated as our guests." Tennis Australia confirmed approaching the governing body.

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Indian businesses brace for impact of Indian Premier League switch

Indian businesses from street vendors to multimillion dollar advertising agencies are braced for a financial jolt following the Indian Premier League's (IPL) switch to South Africa.

Organizers of the hugely popular Twenty20 tournament announced on March 24 the eight team league would be staged in South Africa from April 18 due to security reasons and would return to India next season.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) wanted to stage the event overseas after failing to get government clearance for security cover as the tournament's dates clash with the country's general elections.

The IPL, which involves many of the world's leading players, was a huge success in its inaugural edition in cricket-crazy India last year, primarily because it is structured around city-based franchises with a fan base in home and away matches.

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Second Islamic sale features Mughal-era instruments

An indication of how crass is our current view of art is that we judge it by the price it fetches at an auction – as if, for example, the potency of a Husain painting, bought for a measly couple of hundred dollars in the 1960s and 70s, shot up a hundredfold following the Herwitz auctions in New York in 1995, when it sold for, say, fifty thousand for the first time.

It is the meaning – and not the money – that is important, stupid! This thought occurred to me in the wake of the ‘Arts of the Islamic World' auction in Qatar – which realized only half of the expected total.

Glancing through the catalogue of Sotheby's London Islamic auction, scheduled for April 1, the second in the ‘Arts of the Islamic World' series, I realized that an auction of this kind can be an educational as much as an aesthetic event. It offers a sidelight on cultural history.

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In Queens Student's suicide leaves grandparents in shock

Rajiv Reddy Malladi was into his eighth month looking for something better than a stop-gap work after completing a master's in computer science at the New York Institute of Technology.

On the phone about 8 on the morning of March 23, he sounded fine when he spoke to a relative about how he could spruce up his resume.

A couple hours later, authorities said, Malladi jumped on to the tracks in front of the oncoming No. 7 train at the nearby subway station on Queens Boulevard, two blocks down the road from his home.

"It was ruled a suicide," Grace Brugess, a spokeswoman for the Queens Medical Examiner's Office, told Desi Talk on March 26.

"The cause of death is blunt trauma of head, torso and extremities."

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Nations should unite to fight terrorism, keynote speaker

India and Israel share common values and challenges, and should work together to defeat their common enemy - Islamic extremism - with a multi-pronged strategy, Rep. Gary Ackerman, DN.Y., told a conference on India-Israel relations.

"I have been promoting the relationship between these two countries for a very long time. Looking over some of my notes and reviewing the changes in the India-Israel relationship, there is a disturbing continuity of scene," Ackerman, Chairman of the House Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia, said on March 30 while delivering the keynote address to the conference at Yeshiva University's Center for Jewish History. "We meet here this morning at this conference, in the shadow of the memories of the victims of the Mumbai attacks. That theme raises, unfortunately, its ugly head yet again."

Expressing his "continuing outrage at the heartless and barbaric and senseless attacks" and offering condolences to the families and friends of the victims,

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