SILICONEER | COMMUNITY: News Briefs | DECEMBER 2010

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COMMUNITY | News in Brief: DECEMBER 2010

First Indian American Federal Judge in Calif.
Kerala Center Honors Five at Award Banquet
Panduranga Puja
Turban Screening
Health Summit
Guru Vandana
Computer Course
Music Video Selected

First Indian American Federal Judge in Calif.

Jay Gandhi

Vijay “Jay” C. Gandhi has been sworn in as federal judge for the Central District of California, the largest federal district court in the U.S. by population.

Gandhi, the second Indian American federal judge in U.S. history and the first in California, oversees a district covering seven counties, including Los Angeles and Orange, with an estimated 19 million residents.

Previously an attorney in the Costa Mesa, Calif., office of Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker, Gandhi was approved by a committee of judges and a selection panel comprised of attorneys and community members.

“The Central District of California has an exceptional cadre of accomplished and dedicated judges, and I am honored and humbled to work alongside them in our common cause to administer justice,” Gandhi said.

The oath of office was administered by Judge Audrey B. Collins, the chief judge of the district. Shortly after taking his oath, Gandhi was officially enrobed by his mother, Uma Gandhi.

George King, a federal judge in the Central District, spoke of Gandhi’s public service record and commitment to the community.

Former Paul, Hastings partner and current judge Peter Stone offered his views on Gandhi’s work at the firm as well as the high profile cases they had worked on together.

Gandhi talked about how his parents, Hari and Uma, embodied the American dream, both of whom had emigrated from Punjab to Yuba City, Calif. “No one achieves success alone and, in my case, I firmly stood on the strong shoulders of my Indian immigrant parents and the many sacrifices they made to make a better life for their children in this great country,” he said.

The Central District of California encompasses Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.

Gandhi will be serving an eight-year term. A graduate of the University of Southern California Law School, Gandhi clerked for U.S. District Judge Kenneth M. Hoyt in the Southern District of Texas, before joining Paul, Hastings.

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Kerala Center Honors Five at Award Banquet

Kerala Center Award recipients for 2010 after the award ceremony for a group photo with chief guest Msgr. Bharanikulagara and Kerala Center board members and trustees. Award recipients in the front row (l-r): NYPD Captain Stanley George, City University professor Dr. Vinod Menon, Manhattanville College president Dr. Molly Easo Smith, Sprinklr CEO Ragy Thomas and transplant nephrologist Madhu Bhaskaran.

Over 300 people gathered at the Indian American Kerala Cultural and Civic Center to honor five Indian American Malayalees for their outstanding achievements in their field of specialization or for their service to the society. The awardees were honored at Kerala Center's Annual Banquet Nov. 13 at the Kerala Center. The program started with a welcome by Jose Chummar, who has been serving as Kerala Center president since 2004. Chummar said that in his two terms of office, Kerala Center has paid off all its debts including the building loan. A new executive committee has been elected which will assume office starting January 2011 headed by Thambi Thalappillil.

Rt. Rev. Msgr. Dr. Kuriakose Bharanikulangara, Counselor and Deputy Head of the Permanent Observer Mission of Vatican to the U.N., the chief guest for the evening, was introduced by Kerala Center Board chairman Gopalan Nair. Msgr. Bharanikulangara called upon Indian American Malayalees to actively participate in the political process of the adopted country.

Venture capitalist and Kerala Center Founder Grand Patron Sreedhar Menon introduced keynote speaker Dr. Molly Easo Smith, president of Manhattanville College, who was also an award recipient for her outstanding achievements in education. Brought up in Chennai, Dr. Smith emotionally traced her many trips to Kerala during her school and college days and she how she enjoyed those trips interacting with nature and relatives. Four others received the award. There were Dr. Madhu Bhaskaran, medical director of the kidney transplant program at North Shore University Hospital (Manhasset, New York) in medicine; Captain Stanley George, New York City Police Department for service to government; Ragy Thomas, founder and CEO of Sprinklr (New Jersey) for entrepreneurship and Dr. Vinod. M. Menon, associate professor of physics at Queens College and Graduate Center of the City University of New York.

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Panduranga Puja

Panduranga Puja at Balaji temple.

The Balaji Temple in San Jose, Calif., organized annual Panduranga Puja at Alviso, San Jose.
Swamijee Narayananda started the puja with sankalpam of Panduranga and Hanuman Rath Yathra

Hundreds of devotees participated for the Rath Yathra and garlands were prepared with flowers and Vadas decorated on the deities. The puja was performed by Swamijee, Satyanarayana Marathe ji , Prabhu Ram, Rao Panuganti, Vikram and other devotees.

The event was organized at the Alviso venue with the a huge canopy’s erected by volunteers and devotees.

Pujas, Bhajans, Kirtans and Satsangs were narrated by Swamijee and devotees. His message was very simple and straightforward: To love and serve God in the best way possible a person can contribute in his or her way.

Sunita Nag invited Vijay Laxmi, Surbee and Bhuvya Rao to sing bhajans. They were sung in Marathi, Hindi, Kannada and Telugu.

After Bhajans, guests were invited on the podium. San Jose city council member Ken Sen Chu was in attendance. The temple board also acknowledged Mahesh Nihalini for his help in Balaji temple construction. Council member Chu assured his support in making this traditional Hindu temple project a reality.

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Turban Screening

Three civil liberties organizations say the rights of Sikhs in America are being further trampled upon as the Transportation Security Administration rolls out a new policy which will mandatorily require all turbaned Sikhs to undergo three levels of security screening at U.S. airports.

The new policy was first unveiled at a Sept. 21 meeting with representatives from the Sikh Coalition, United Sikhs and the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, Kimberly Walton, TSA Special Counsel, and Margo Schlanger, officer for civil rights and civil liberties at the Department of Homeland Security.

That meeting was ostensibly held to discuss new advanced imaging technology scanners – also known as backscatter x-rays - that are being rolled out throughout the nation’s airports. More than 750 such devices will be installed by next year, and allow TSA screeners to view a full-body, nude image of each passenger.

Advanced imaging technology enhances security by detecting both metallic and non-metallic threat items concealed under layers of clothing, says the TSA in an advisory to travelers displayed on its Web site. Scanners are designed to be able to detect explosive devices under several layers of clothing.

But the civil rights organizations learned at that meeting that all turbaned Sikhs would now have to undergo two additional compulsory screenings in addition to the body scan, including examination by a hand-held metal detector and a turban pat-down.

Sikhs can elect to pat down their own turbans, but will then have their hands swabbed for trace chemicals.

The TSA has long allowed its screeners to use their own discretion to determine whether a turban needs patting down. It defines this nebulous policy under its dictates for “loose-fitting clothing” which can also require a pat-down at the screener’s discretion.

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Health Summit

NYC Comptroller John Liu speaking at the Health Summit.

The Health Council of Global Organization of People of Indian Origin concluded a first-of-a-kind summit and conference addressing pertinent health issues of interest and concern to the global Asian Indian community, and honored five healthcare professionals and organizations during its inaugural Health Summit Nov. 12 -14 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel LaGuardia, East Elmhurst, New York. GOPIO is a non-profit, non-partisan and secular community service global organization working for the well-being of people of Indian origin. The mission of the Health Council is to engage the People of Indian Origin to raise awareness of the factors contributing to chronic diseases affecting them, and influence them to take proactive action to improve their health, wellbeing and quality of life. Collaborating organizations for the summit were American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin and Coronary Artery Disease among Asian Indians Research Foundation.

The three-day summit began with opening remarks by Dr. Thomas Abraham, who chaired the program committee for the health summit. Sangeeta Ahuja and Dr. Vivian Rambihar, chair and co-chair of GOPIO Health Council, welcomed all and shared the mission and goals of the health council, emphasizing the importance of this initiative in response to a serious health crisis across the Indian diaspora. Dr. Poonam Alaigh, Commissioner of Health and Senior Services, New Jersey, commended the Health Summit initiative, “I look forward to the proceedings of this conference as blueprint for the issues we face, and need to take appropriate action to bring about the necessary changes.”

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Guru Vandana

Swamiji in Center and Prabhu Goel and Temple Committee

Annual Guru Vandana celebrations were held at the Balaji Temple Nov. 18 – Nov. 21, according to a temple press release. The highlights of the four-day program was Maha Lakshmi Abhisheka, Satyanarayana Swami Puja, Balaji Abhisheka with 108 kalasha and Guru paduka Puja performed by shishyas in honor of Guru and Swamiji Narayanandanath.

“The celebration started by yajamana Prabhu and Poonam Goel, Vitthal Das and Meenakshi Dasi, Suresh and Vijayannthi being like a Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara along with others devotees who has taken Deeksha to perform annual Guru Vandana under the presence and blessings of Swamiji,” said the release.

The Deeksha started with chanting of sacred manthra “Om Namo Bhagavathe Vasudevaya” and invoked Lakshmi, Venkateswara, Vikshwaksena and Ganapathi along with Vasthu Purusha followed by kalasha sthapana ankurarpana puja and raksha bandhana.

Next day continued with Navagraha Puja, and Mahalakshmi Abhishekam. Swamiji who is well versed with the four Vedas, performed Ashtavadana puja. On the third day morning Swamiji performed Mutthangi Homa for purification of Mutthangi Kavacham and in the evening performed 108 Kalasa Satyanarayana Puja. Many devotees participated in the auspicious Karthika Purnima Satyanarayana puja and Katha was read by all devotees. On the last day of Guru Vandana, Swamiji along with helping priests Prabhu Ram, Ram Venkat and Rajesh Kamath performed Balaji Abhishekam with 108 Kalasa. Individual sponsor’s names are included in the kalasa ksheerabhishekam and holy river waters (Ganga, Yamuna, Narmatha, Kavery, Kailash) brought by devotees from India. Navagraha abhishekam was also performed using different grains (wheat, paddy, mung etc) to remove the pain and obstacles of devotees.

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Computer Course

Pratham, India’s largest education-focused NGO, has launched a new initiative aiming to provide young volunteer teachers in its “Read India” program with computer training and certifications.

Actor Anupam Kher, Pratham’s new goodwill ambassador, launched the “Education for Education” initiative in September at several Pratham fundraising galas across the U.S. The program, known as Shiksha Ke Badle Shiksha in India, will give “Read India” volunteer teachers 60 hours of computer instruction – one-and-a-half hours a day, three days a week – in software programs such as Microsoft Word, Excel and Powerpoint, along with basic skills such as how to control a mouse and downloading and creating graphics.

The two-month program will lead to a certificate of completion and costs Rs. 100 to enroll in the course.

“We have a great love of certificates here in India,” Rukmini Banerji, director of the Annual Status of Education Report Center in New Delhi, said during a recent visit to the U.S. to meet with officials from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Hewlett Foundation.

“Read India” is Pratham’s flagship program, and trains volunteer teachers in 11 Indian states to teach basic reading, writing and arithmetic skills to children ages six to 14, outside of formal school settings.

Each of the 40,000 Indian villages enrolled in Pratham’s “Read India” program will be clustered into an EFE center serving 20 villages. “The centers are not exactly at your doorstep, but within walking distance,” said Banerji, noting that by the end of the 2010 school year, all “Read India” volunteers would have access to the EFE program.

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Music Video Selected

Singer songwriter Jasmine Sandlas has garnered a spot for her music video in 3rd i's Eighth Annual San Francisco International South Asian Film Festival. The Punjabi-American singer released her debut album under the Diamond Lane Record label and has just begun touring the United States from coast to coast.“I love the energy in this video, “explains Jasmine. “We have a mix of Hindi, Hip Hop, English and even a Punjabi traditional folk song remix. I really feel strongly that when making music, you have to push the boundaries. You have to offer a lot and take risks. So far, my risks have worked and I’m very thankful to be empowered by my fans. They are why I do what I do.”

After her U.S. tour, Jasmine will focus on her European and Asia fans as her music has really resonated with these global audiences where this video has been very popular.

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