Pravasi Herald

Holi - Hindu Festival Of Colors

Posted by ks on 03/02/10 at 05:57 PM
World/U.S. • India • Permalink

Amy Singh named by Obama on Arts Body

March 2, 2010
President Barack Obama has picked up an Indian American to serve on the US President’s Advisory Committee on the Arts for the prestigious John F. Kennedy Centre for Performing Arts.

Announcing the appointment of eminent Indian American attorney, Amy K. Singh, based in Obama’s home town of Chicago, the White House on Monday noted she works to support the arts and youth, which develops civic leadership in the city’s high school youth.

Singh practises in areas of entertainment, advertising and marketing, and provides counsel to clients on event production and promotion, television production, talent and other matters.

Before starting her own practice, she held several positions, including as general counsel/senior vice president of DDB Chicago Inc, and as an associate in the Chicago office of the firm now known as Sidley Austin LLP.

Singh was a member of the Junior Board of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and is currently on the Board of the Mikva Challenge, an organisation that prioritises the development of civic leadership in underserved Chicago high school youth.

Courtesy Indo-Asian News Service

Posted by ks on 03/02/10 at 02:03 PM
World/U.S. • U.S./National • Permalink

Ice skating to win Olympic Sliver Medal on Indian Bollywood songs

February 22, 2010
Davis and White took Olympic silver medal skating to Bollywood tunes in their short program.

Davis and White’s original dance has become a hit in India and among people with ties to South Asia.

The idea for the dance came from coach-choreographer Marina Zoueva, who was inspired by an Hermes scarf with Indian dancers, and Davis and White took great pains to make sure their program was true to the culture and character. To learn how to move their arms and bodies in true Indian dance style, they spent months working with Anuja Rajendra, who once performed professionally and now combines Bollywood music and dance with exercise at her BollyFit studio in Ann Arbor, Mich.

They bought her red, turquoise and gold sari-like outfit and his long, beige-colored coat at an authentic Indian clothing store and had them remade to suit their needs.

“We can’t speak for anyone else, but it was very important for us to do research and do the theme justice, so as not to offend anyone or do anything off-base,“ Davis said.

There certainly weren’t any complaints Friday night.

Davis and White’s performance was non-stop entertainment that masked their high technical difficulty. They flew across the ice and never slowed for a second, not even in their section of twizzles which they paired with arm and hand movements. You know how hard it is to pat your stomach and rub your head at the same time? It’s like that - only on skates and about 10 times harder.

Their lifts were done with lots of ease and fluidity, and they had several changes of position on the final one.

But the best part of their dance is how much fun it was to watch. Their movements and playful facial expressions make it easy to visualize a wedding in Mumbai.

Posted by ks on 02/22/10 at 09:52 PM
World/U.S. • U.S./National • Permalink

Raw Video: Train Just Misses Man on the Tracks

Posted by ks on 02/12/10 at 06:56 AM
World/U.S. • International • Permalink

Huntsville among 12 ‘Distinctive Destinations’ for 2010 – winner to be announced on March 1st

February 5, 2010
The National Trust for Historic Preservation has named Huntsville one of America’s Dozen Distinctive Destinations for 2010.

The honor recognizes the city “for offering cultural and recreational experiences different from the typical vacation destination,“ Trust officials said in making the announcement today.

“Huntsville features dynamic neighborhoods, a rich architectural heritage, cultural diversity and a strong commitment to historic preservation and revitalization,“ according to the preservation group. All that gives the city “an abundance of character and an authentic sense of place.“

Huntsville was selected “for its diligent efforts to protect and share the city’s heritage, which ranges from deep Southern roots to space exploration, and for its remarkable leadership in sustainability, serving as a role model for cities across America,“ the Trust said in a news release.

Huntsville is the first town in Alabama to become a Distinctive Destination.

This years destinations span from the seaports of New England to the grassy plains of the mid-West; from the Appalachian Mountains to the snow covered plains of Alaska.

For the first time, the public will determine which of the 12 destinations will be the 2010 Fan Favorite. The voting started February 3rd, and will continue on to February 28th. On March 1st, the winner will be announced.

Click here to Vote for Huntsville

“North Alabama is a region with a rich history and strong heritage full of Southern hospitality,“ said Senator Richard Shelby. “It is blessed with beautiful mountains and lakes, a rich and storied history, and some of the best people in the world. I am proud that the National Trust for Historic Preservation recognized these attributes and named Huntsville one of its Dozen Distinctive Destinations.“

For more information, see http://www.PreservationNation.org.

Posted by ks on 02/05/10 at 10:25 PM
World/U.S. • U.S./Cities • Permalink

Salil Shetty - First Indian head for Amnesty International

Feb 2, 2010
London: Salil Shetty, an Indian who headed the UN Millennium Campaign, has been appointed as next Secretary General of Amnesty International.

“I feel privileged to be given this amazing opportunity at a time when the world needs human rights for all more than ever before,“ said Shetty, who becomes the first Indian to head the human rights body.

Shetty, who is the Chief Executive of international anti-poverty NGO ActionAid, has been the Director of the UN’s Millennium Campaign for the last six years.

Posted by ks on 02/03/10 at 07:35 PM
World/U.S. • International • Permalink

Haldiram owner, 4 others get life imprisonment in murder case

Feb 2, 2010
Haldiram Bhujiawala proprietor Prabhu Shankar Agarwal was today sentenced to life imprisonment, along with four others, by a fast track court for conspiring to kill a tea stall owner whose shop came in the way of a food plaza he was building.

Judge Tapan Sen of the Bankshall court sentenced Agarwal and the others, Gopal Tiwari, Arun Khandelwal, Manoj Sharma and Raju Sonkar (all of whom had a criminal record), for attempt to murder, criminal conspiracy and, in one case, for breaches of the Arms Act.
Agarwal, owner of the multi-crore food and confectionery chain, Haldiram — which has outlets in many cities and also in London — had failed to persuade tea stall owner Satyanarayan Sharma in the Burrabazar area here to move out. The latter’s the shop would have spoilt the facade of the food plaza he was constructing. His hired goons had then raided the shop, looking for Satyanarayan, but not finding him, shot his nephew, Pramod Sharma, injuring him seriously on March 30, 2005.
Agarwal, who was in London to open his first overseas food plaza at the time of the attack, was arrested when he returned home two months later. He was arrested at IGI Airport in New Delhi on landing and given to the Kolkata Police.

Posted by ks on 02/02/10 at 09:10 PM
World/U.S. • India • Permalink

composer Rahman wins two Grammy Awards

Feb 1, 2010
Composer AR Rahman has won two Grammy Awards at the prestigious music ceremony in Los Angeles.

Rahman received awards for best film song and best soundtrack, both compositions for the Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire.

Rahman won two Oscars, a Bafta and a Golden Globe last year for his soundtrack to the multi award-winning Slumdog Millionaire.

The composer is often called the Mozart of Madras, the city where he works.

Rahman won in the best compilation soundtrack for a motion picture. His Jai Ho song in the film also won in the best motion picture song.

“This is insane, god is great again,“ Rahman said as he accepted his award.

He later told the BBC it felt “so good, because the Grammies are meant to be the greatest music awards”.

Rahman beat such rivals as Quentin Tarantino for Inglourious Basterds and rock star Bruce Springsteen in the soundtrack and best song categories respectively.

Last month, Rahman was shortlisted for an Oscar nomination for his Tamil song NaNa from the Hollywood film, Couples Retreat.

The song is vying with 62 others for the nominations which will be revealed on 2 February.

The Grammy awards are further recognition of Rahman’s enormous talents, says the BBC’s Soutik Biswas in Delhi.

The 44-year-old composer is a musician with a staggering range - from raga to reggae to hip hop to Indian folk to jungle rhythms to western classical, our correspondent says.

Seventeen years after he began writing music and songs for films, the jingle maker-turned-musician finally got recognition as India’s first truly global film music composer with his score for Danny Boyle’s sleeper hit Slumdog Millionaire in 2009.

Sitar maestro Ravi Shankar, guitarist Vishwa Mohan Bhatt and tabla player Zakir Hussain are the other Indian musicians who have won Grammy Awards.

Courtesy BBC News

Posted by ks on 02/01/10 at 10:30 PM
World/U.S. • U.S./National • Permalink

Hindu gods on US postage stamps

Feb 1, 2010
Washington, Feb 1: After famous cartoon characters such as Calvin and Hobbes and Archie, Hindu deities have made their way into the Us postal department.

While the line of stamps featuring popular cartoon characters known as ‘Sunny Funnies’ was conceptualised by the United States Postal Services (USPS), an Atlanta-based company headed by an Indian-American is behind the postage stamps depicting Hindu gods and goddesses.

The company, usa-postage.com, launched the first series of these custom-made postage stamps in denomination of 44 cents featuring Sai Baba, Lord Venkateshwara, Lakshmi, Murugan, Vinayaka, Shiva-Parvathi and Sri Krishna in Jan 2010.

“These postages have not been issued by the US Postal Service, but these are as good as stamps and is legally valid. We do not call them stamps. We call them as postages. But these can be used as any other normal stamp,” Roy Betts, spokesman of USPS is quoted as saying in a news agency report.

This is the first instance of postage stamps depicting Hindu gods and goddesses to be launched in America.

“Customised postage sheets are ideal for giving as gift items. Indian community living in the US can order online as a gift item,” said Ennar Chilakapati, vice president, usa-postage.com.

The company made use of a six-year-old law of the US Postal Service (USPS) that permits issuing of customised postages to launch the series.

Postage stamps with divine images have specific appeal to the Indian community living in the US. As a matter of fact, the company has seen a lot of support from the 1.5 million-strong community since its launch, along with being overwhelmed by requests from Britain.

Courtesy: OneIndia News

Posted by ks on 02/01/10 at 10:18 PM
World/U.S. • U.S./National • Permalink

India celebrates 61st Republic Day

January 26, 2010

Posted by ks on 01/26/10 at 09:51 PM
World/U.S. • India • Permalink

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