Author: Staff Reporter

Five Indian American women were honored with an Achievement Award by Nassau County Executive Laura Curran at the Indian American Forum Gala at Antuns by Minar in Hicksville, New York, on March 22.

Pinky Rangi, Dr. Isha Mehta, Nami Kaur, Reema Rasool and Ananga Manjari Malatesta Gonzalez were honored for their outstanding achievements within the community, according to a press release.

Indu Jaiswal, Dr Bhupendra R Patel, Ravi Batra, Pinky Rangi, Mr Rajan Rangi, Kamal Dandona, Ranju Batra, Satbir Singh Bedi and Chanbir Kaur. Curran lauded the honorees for their achievements and hoped many more women will come forward to play significant role in the county.

Curran also spoke of the many opportunities that were available to women in Nassau County.

Shammi Singh, Dr Shama Rasool, Indu Jaiswal, Reema Rasool and Dr Ayaz Rasool

The gala was attended by a couple of local politicians and officials and attracted a large number of community members, leaders and presidents of various organizations.  Those who addressed the gathering included IAF founder Bobby Kumar Kalotee, IAF chair Indu Jaiswal, IAF PR chair Mohinder Taneja and Gala Chair Shammi Singh.

(New York, NY) On Wednesday, March 28, NYTWA members, including yellow cab, green car, black car, and app-dispatched drivers, gathered on the steps of City Hall to mourn four colleagues who committed suicide in the past four months and to demand immediate action by the Mayor. Drivers stood with Gabriel Ochisor, the son of Nicanor Ochisor, a yellow-taxi owner-driver who committed suicide on March 16th.

NYTWA Executive Director Bhairavi Desai said, “The Governor, Speaker and Majority Leader should have been standing with us today to give us courage as we mourn our brothers, instead they are scheming to put congestion pricing on the backs of drivers. Yellow cabs, in particular, have contributed to close to $1 billion toward the MTA since 2009. There is a serious crisis among drivers.  Any other cut to their wage – especially one aimed at reducing their ridership – is going to have serious human consequences. Albany and City Hall need to hear our call for help. It’s born from tragedy not theater.”

Four driver deaths in four months: Nicanor Ochisor, a yellow taxi owner-driver, Danilo Corporan Castillo and Alfredo Perez, Bronx livery drivers, and Douglas Schifter, a black car driver. All driven to financial ruin by unregulated Wall Street darlings Uber and Lyft, who in 2016 had more lobbyists than Walmart, Microsoft and Amazon combined. Meanwhile, an MIT study found more than half of Uber drivers earn below minimum wage. No driver wins this vicious race to the bottom.

Nicanor’s family has started a GoFundMe campaign to pay off his medallion so his wife can finally retire. Speakers at the rally included:  Bhairavi Desai, Executive Director of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance; Gabriel Ochisor, son of Nicanor Ochisor; City Council Member Barry Grodenchik; City Council Member Stephen Levin

Nicanor, the most recent driver pushed to suicide, was an immigrant worker and a yellow taxi medallion owner-driver, who drove with his wife, an increasing pattern among drivers’ families working around the clock without time to rest or recuperate with loved ones, adding to the crushing devastation of poverty. Nicanor lost his life savings and was pushed to financial ruin when New York City broke its promise to professional drivers. Instead of keeping its commitment to yellow cab drivers, who operate in the heavily-regulated medallion industry, the city allowed Uber, Lyft, and their cohorts to flood our streets with vehicles covered by zero regulation. This anti-regulation zealotry came at the expense of professional drivers. Black car, yellow cab, green car and even Uber drivers themselves have been pushed into poverty as drivers see their incomes plummet, competing for fares in streets swamped by 100,000 for-hire vehicles and with no relief in sight.

We must stop treating the devastation of people’s lives as inevitable. We cannot allow Uber to continue to destroy lives for a business model that hasn’t even been proven sustainable. We must come together now and demand protections for ALL drivers and for rational regulations that level the playing field.

NYTWA has the following demands:

Cap the number of for-hire-vehicles to protect full-time work. Yellow and green cabs are already capped. Uber/Lyft are not and are responsible for the flooding of cars on our streets.

Establish the TLC-regulated yellow and green cab meter rate as the wage floor across all sectors. No company can go lower.  No more slashing rates on drivers’ backs. Uber & co. should also not be able to charge more from the rider and pay less to the driver.

Raise the current rates so that drivers are able to support themselves and their families.

Place caps on expenses charged drivers such as vehicle financing, commission / lease rates and TLC fines.  Fines should be in relation to how much we earn, not punish us for being poor.

Protect drivers against wage theft by increasing the Taxi and Limousine Commission enforcement capability and allowing restitution to drivers when companies have been found to violate rules.

Founded in 1998, the New York Taxi Workers Alliance (NYTWA) is the 19,000-member strong union of NYC taxicab drivers, representing yellow cab drivers, green car, and black car drivers, including drivers for Uber and Lyft. We fight for justice, rights, respect and dignity for the over 50,000 licensed men and women who often labor 12 hour shifts with little pay and few protections in the city’s mobile sweatshop. Our members come from every community, garage, and neighborhood. To find out more visit NYTWA.org, follow us on twitter.com/nytwa or like us on facebook.com/nytwa.

Small gestures can have a big impact. In a healthy relationship, people tend to give love and support freely and frequently. They don’t wait for a special occasion to show their appreciation. They genuinely enjoy doing nice things for one another “just because” ― no prompting necessary.

We asked relationship experts to tell us what kinds of things, both big and small, happy couples do for each other without being asked. Here’s what they had to say:

1. They check in with each other.

“Whether it’s a ‘hello’ text or call to ask, ‘How did it go?’ the happiest couples reach out. They call to say, ‘I’m running late,’ or ‘We just landed,’ or ‘Do you need me to stop at the store on my way home?’ The message: I’m thinking of you. The result: A feeling of being connected, being a key part of each other’s lives.”  ― Winifred M. Reilly, marriage and family therapist and author of It Takes One to Tango

2. They give each other compliments.

“This doesn’t have to be a lovey-dovey compliment about being the best wife in the world, but even an offhand remark recognizing someone’s contribution, like ‘great dinner!’ Although some couples do well without positive feedback, the majority of people like at least a little bit of verbal recognition for their contribution, and happy couples are free with positive feedback.”  ― Samantha Rodman, psychologist and dating coach

3. They surprise each other with a card, just because.

“Giving your partner a card that says ‘Thinking of you’ or ‘Thank you for all you do’ is such a sweet gesture. It will make him or her feel special and it’s a great reminder to you as well of all you have to be grateful for. An added fun touch would be to leave the card somewhere your loved one will happen on it. My husband loves to leave cards for me in the refrigerator. I often leave his cards under his pillow.” ― Susan Pease Gadoua, marriage therapist and the co-author of The New I Do: Reshaping Marriage for Skeptics, Realists and Rebels

4. They act generously, instead of keeping score.

“Generosity is something freely given as a gift, with nothing expected in return. When a relationship feels secure, it is easy to want to offer more than your fair share of tasks or thoughtful gestures to show your love for your partner. Whether moving their clothes to the dryer for them or going on their favorite hike again, highly fulfilled couples tend to maintain great satisfaction from being thoughtful and generous toward their partner rather than scorekeeping.” ― Kari Carroll, couples therapist

5. They speak openly about their thoughts and feelings.

“When partners feel that it’s like pulling teeth to get each other to divulge any thoughts or feelings, a relationship can feel very lonely. Happy couples may not communicate constantly on a deep level, but they do it frequently enough to feel that they really know one another.”  ― Samantha Rodman

6. They surprise their partner with their favorite food.

“We all know that food is nurturing and helps people feel connected. But when you go out of your way to bring home a special food you know they will love, it’s a wonderful way to put ‘I love you’ into action. If the favorite food is a meal that you make — rather than, say, a pint of Haagen Dazs — you’ll undoubtedly get even more points.” ― Susan Pease Gadoua

7. Or with a freshly washed car.

“Regardless of whether you do the washing yourself or take the car to a car wash, when your partner sees their squeaky clean wheels on the street or in the driveway, he or she will likely be very grateful.” ― Susan Pease Gadoua

8. They’re in the habit of saying ‘thank you.’

“Despite the mundanity and complacency that can develop within a long-term partnership, a sure way to keep the fire alive and burning brightly is to watch your partner beam when you regularly notice and point out their contributions to your life. People want to be reminded they are of value to you, and secure couples understand that this should be frequent. Although you may assume your love to be understood, in reality, acknowledging your partner’s efforts and contributions consistently builds an even deeper connection.” ― Kari Carroll

All couples argue, but it’s the way they argue that determines if their relationship will go the distance. “Instead of attacking the other person’s character, happy couples color inside the lines and express their own feelings,” psychotherapist Vikki Stark, director of the Sedona Counselling Center of Montreal, told The Huffington Post. “It’s fine to say, ‘I’m furious with you right now!’ It’s not fine to say, ‘You’re a sorry excuse for a human being.’”

What else stands out in happy couples’ approach to arguments? Below, Stark and other relationship experts share eight ways healthy couples argue differently.

1. don’t shy away from discussing topics

Couples in it for the long-haul don’t shy away from discussing topics that could just as easily be swept under the rug. They ask the big, scary questions ASAP — “When, if ever, are we going to have kids?” “What are we going to do if you get that job in another state? I don’t want to move to there!” — so they don’t become bigger isssues in the relationship later on, said Diane Sawaya Cloutier, an author and relationship expert.

“When taboo or uncomfortable topics remain unaddressed, they can turn any benign event into a big drama that could have been avoided in the first place,” she said. “Couples who talk about it can manage potential dramas.”

2. They start slow and take turns talking.

Arguments generally end the same way they began, said Bonnie Ray Kennan, a marriage and family therapist based in Southern California. Couples who’ve mastered the art of arguing fairly take things slow, addressing difficult conversations with a soft, reassuring tone and dialing it down whenever things get too emotionally charged.

“Starting a difficult conversation softly and respectfully dramatically increases the chances of a good outcome,” she said. “Conversely, a ‘harsh start-up’ is very hard to process well, especially for men.” Couples who argue with finesse also know the value of give and take: “One person speaks and the other person truly listens,” Ray Kennan said.

3. They don’t name call.

Happy couples in long-term relationships rarely get into knock-down, drag-out fights because they don’t lower themselves to school-yard tactics: no matter how heated things get, there’s no name calling, eye rolling or biting sarcasm.

“Both partners understand that contemptuous behaviors are hard to take back and have a corrosive impact on a relationship,” Ray Kennan said. “Over time, they’ve become mindful of the effects of such dirty fighting and so they take it out of their repertoire.”

4. They know how to cool down.

When things do get out of hand, savvy arguers know how to get a grip on their emotions. They value taking a time out, whether that means counting to 10 and taking slow, deep breaths or simply telling their spouse, “Hey, can we revisit this in the morning?”

“These couples know how to acknowledge and honor their emotions without getting overrun by them,” Amy Kipp, a couples and family therapist in San Antonio, told HuffPost. “They use self-soothing skills to make sure they’re at their best. When both partners are able to soothe themselves and take breaks, they’re usually able to reach a resolution (or agree to disagree!) with more ease.”

5. They set ground rules for arguments.

It’s not that long-time couples have never resorted to low blows or have said something regrettable during an argument. They have in the past — and then they learned from the mistake. Once the emotionally charged fight ends, smart couples lay down some ground rules for arguing so it never gets out of hand again, said author and relationship expert Mario P. Cloutier.

The ground rules could be specific — “We will not interrupt each other when one is giving his or her perspective” — or more big picture: “It’s not about being right. It’s about getting to a common ground and resolving the problem,” suggested Cloutier.

6. They acknowledge each other’s feelings and points of view.

They may be bumping heads but couples in happy, long-time relationships try their best to see the other side of the argument, Kipp said.

“They may say, ‘I know you see it differently than me, but I appreciate that you are listening to my perspective,’” she said. “These positive moments decrease defensiveness and allow for a more productive conversation.”

7. They give each other the benefit of the doubt.

Partners who are able to have healthy and productive arguments don’t jump to conclusions in the middle of fights. They aren’t quick to assume their S.O. wants to jump ship and leave them just because he or she is a voicing a concern. They quiet their insecurities, listen and try to give their partner the benefit of the doubt, Kipp said.

“Healthy relationships mean that people assume their partner is doing the best they can at the moment,” she explained. “In an argument, this means assuming both partners have the same goal: a mutually beneficial resolution. This allows arguments to be a team effort to achieve the goal rather than an adversarial ‘fight.’”

8. They never forget that ultimately, they’re a team.

Even during their most tense arguments, healthy couples never forget that they’re a team: for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health…  and until the argument exhausts them and both parties agree that they’d rather call a timeout and get a bite to eat.

“Couples in satisfying long-term relationships are able to remember that, no matter how angry they may be, life will continue after today,” said Stark. “Because of that, they don’t want to do lasting damage. Even in an emotional state, they are able to hang on to the long-term value of the couple. They’re a team, protecting their future together.”

(Courtesy: Huffington Post)

Indian American cardiologist-turned-entrepreneur Dr. Kiran Patel and his wife Dr. Pallavi Patel, a pediatrician, contributed $171,500 along with Habitat for Humanity of Hillsborough County in Florida, to buy a home for Sonya Pratt, a single mother of two boys and a girl, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

Tina Swain, the CEO of Habitat Hillsborough praised the couple and the Patel Foundation for their donation which “was made in partnership with the Patel-owned Clearwater Beach Wyndham Grand Hotel & Beach Resort, whose staff members volunteered more than 400 hours to help build homes for many Habitat for Humanity homebuyers.”

Patel attended the home’s dedication ceremony on Monday, March 5 and presented Pratt with the house keys.

Pratt told the Tampa Bay Times that she has always dreamed of owning her own home as until now, she was living with her sister in a two-bedroom apartment along with one other adult and three children.

Patel is thankful to be member of the community and is happy that he can contribute to the Habitat for Humanity of Hillsborough County.

“It’s wonderful being here and this is what happens when fellow human beings help one another. Money is something that people can create, but time is something that God gives us that is so important and so valuable to make life better for others,” he told the Tampa Bay Times.

“I would first like to thank God and then the Drs. Patel, and thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone one else who made this possible,” Pratt told the Tampa Bay Times.

With the help of family members, Pratt completed the required 300 hours of “sweat equity” involvement in building the home as well as the 10 homeownership-related classes she needed to take in order to qualify for the program’s zero-interest mortgage.

Also, Joyce Beeman, a representative of the Tampa Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution presented Pratt with an American Flag and she also received a handmade comforter, which was created by Nancy Blunk and was given to her by Harriet Blymiller of the Quilter’s Workshop of Tampa Bay.

Pratt will now enjoy her new three-bedroom, two-bath home with her mother Ann Jackson and two sons, her adult daughter Kennethia Blue will soon be living next door to her in another home built by Habitat for Humanity.

A former Chicago-based partner of Indian origin, in the global consulting firm McKinsey & Company, has been sentenced to two years in federal prison for scheming with a client to bilk their companies out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Navdeep Arora, 53, was a former partner in the Chicago office of McKinsey & Company Inc.. He was found guilty of plotting with a former internal consultant at State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., to defraud both companies out of phony consulting fees, a press release from the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, said.

Investigators found Arora also fraudulently obtained money from McKinsey, State Farm and other McKinsey clients in the form of purported work-related travel reimbursements for expenses that were actually incurred on Arora’s personal trips.  The total in fraudulent bills equalled more than half a million dollars at $586,000, the press release said.

Arora falsely expensed personal trips to Scottsdale, Ariz.; Vail, Colo.; Las Vegas, Nev.; London, England; Prague, Czech Republic; Munich, Germany; and elsewhere.  He took the State Farm employee, Matthew Sorensen, on two personal vacations – to Napa, Calif. and New York, N.Y. – and expensed them to State Farm as business expenses.  The costs included flights, hotels, meals, car services and other items.

Arora, of London, England, and formerly of Chicago, was arrested in 2016 at JFK International Airport in New York after arriving on an overseas flight.  He pleaded guilty last year to one count of wire fraud.  U.S. District Judge Ronald A. Guzman imposed the sentence March 14, in federal court in Chicago.

Arora and Sorensen “concocted a fraudulent scheme to benefit themselves during their employment,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Sunil R. Harjani argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum, according to the press release.  “The defendants’ actions have caused both companies to undertake time and expense uncovering this fraud, destroyed a longstanding relationship between these two companies, and caused reputational harm,” Harjani is quoted saying.

Sorensen, of Bloomington, Ill., also pleaded guilty to a wire fraud charge.  Judge Guzman in September 2017 sentenced Sorensen to one year and one day in prison.

Arora and Sorensen had a longstanding business relationship through Arora’s work overseeing the consulting services McKinsey provided to State Farm, according to the press release.  At State Farm, Sorensen provided input and recommendations about whether to hire outside consultants for company projects and who to retain.

According to the charges, their fraud scheme began in 2007.  Arora and Sorensen used two corporate entities – “Gabriel Solutions” and “Andy’s BCB” – to defraud their employers out of the phony fees.  Sorensen, the press release said, billed McKinsey for the bogus work purportedly performed by the companies, while Arora allocated the fees to the State Farm projects to which he was assigned.  As a result, McKinsey and State Farm paid $38,265 for consulting services purportedly performed by “Andy’s BCB,” and $452,710 in fees billed by “Gabriel Solutions.”

Sorensen pocketed a large majority of the money, while Arora received a substantial salary and benefits from McKinsey for maintaining its business relationship with State Farm, the press release said.

Popular Punjabi singer Daler Mehndi has been sentenced to two years in prison for human trafficking, according to a BBC report. The BBC reported that in 2003, Mehndi and six others were accused of taking large amounts of money from people and making false promises of taking them to the U.S. and Canada to look for jobs.

“I have been granted bail. We will appeal in higher court,” the singer said.  The Court of Judicial Magistrate Nidhi Saini, held Daler Mehndi guilty under section 420 (Cheating) and 120 (B) of the Indian Penal Code (Conspiracy). Mehndi was granted bail after he furnished a bail bond and said he would challenge the verdict.

The singer apparently made these people a part of his performing troupe so that when they went on tour, they could be “illegally” dropped off to get jobs in the North American region. According to an NDTV report, in 1998 and 1999, Mehndi and his brother Shamsher Singh had allegedly taken two troupes to the U.S. during which 10 people were supposedly “dropped off” illegally in San Francisco and New Jersey.

Though police had seized documents in 2006, including a list of the victims who had paid the alleged “passage money” to the brothers, after raiding the offices of Mehndi at Connaught Place in New Delhi, they claimed that he was innocent.

However, the court had upheld that the singer be prosecuted as there was “sufficient evidence against him on the judicial file and scope for further investigation” and soon after the police registered a case against Mehndi and Singh, 35 more complaints came in, “alleging that the two brothers had taken ‘passage money’ from them to help them migrate to the U.S. ‘illegally’ but had failed to do so,” according to an NDTV report.

Mehndi was convicted on Friday, March 16 in the Patiala state of Punjab, but was soon released on bail and told the Associated Press that he is innocent and that his brother was the main accuser, who died last year.

Mehndi rose to fame in the late 1990s and early 2000s with his energetic, Punjabi songs including the hit numbers “Tunak Tunak Tun,” “Bolo Ta Ra Ra” and “Saade Naal Rahoge Toh” and has lent his voice for Bollywood film songs as well.

A Chicago alderman and former Democratic candidate for governor has announced plans to launch One Illinois, a statewide, nonprofit digital news outlet, in April.

Billed as nonpartisan, the progressive news site clearly will be aimed at countering the conservative Illinois Policy Institute and Breitbart News, among others.

Founder Ameya Pawar, who will serve as president and executive director, said the effort will be funded through a Kickstarter campaign and contributions from readers, philanthropists, agencies and organizations. (Here is the link.)

“We want to build a lasting coalition of neighbors around the issues that unite us,” Pawar said in announcing the startup Wednesday. “We believe journalism and storytelling is the best way to shape a new narrative about Illinoisans reconnecting with one another.”

In an obvious jab at the Illinois Policy Institute’s media enterprises, Pawar said: “There are outlets out there — we know who they are — and we’re out to change their prevailing narrative that casts state politics as a zero-sum game with only winners and losers. We’re going to change the way people perceive communities as deserving and undeserving by putting a human face on public policy and its effects on residents across the state.”

An alderman from Chicago’s North Side since 2011, Pawar dropped out of the gubernatorial race last fall, citing insufficient campaign funding.

Longtime Chicago journalist Ted Cox, a veteran of the Daily Herald, DNAinfo Chicago and the Chicago Reader, will serve as editor of One Illinois. At the outset he’ll oversee a staff of freelance writers, video producers and podcasters.

“Our goal is to build a broad-based audience across party lines, across race and class, and across Illinois to help shape a more positive and unified narrative,” Cox said in a statement. “Our journalism is committed to giving voice to the people. . . . We’re going to let Illinoisans talk to each other and tell their stories through good, solid journalism, and that’s going to have an impact.”

One Illinois is the second Chicago-based digital news startup announced in recent weeks. Three former editors from DNAinfo Chicago also unveiled plans for Block Club Chicago, a new neighborhood news website to be funded by reader subscriptions.

Chicago IL: Umiya Mataji Sanstha Chicago Midwest (UMSCM) Celebrated colorful legendary Festival of  Holi, symbolizing victory of God over Evil by Hindu’s all over the word, by sprinkling  colors with Dancing & Chanting,.

 This occurred on Saturday – March 03, 2018. It is unusual for any event to be held outdoors in Chicago is this time of year in month of March due to the unpredictable freezing cold weather. Believers in trust faith and miracle of the Mataji ignored the standard and against the odds of snowy weather, held the celebration outdoor at Umiya Mataji Temple Chicago, 1800 Joliet Street, West Chicago, IL 60185. Over 500 community members braved the weather and showed up in big turnout including prominent community leaders, sponsors, committee members, volunteers, friends, and well-wishers, participating in half day event.

Holi is a Hindu festival that marks the arrival of spring. Known widely as the Festival of Color, it takes place over two days, and is a celebration of fertility, color, and love, as well as the triumph of good versus evil.  Holi split into two events: Holika Dahan and Rangwali Holi. Holika Dahan takes place the night before Rangwali Holi. Wood and dung-cakes are burned in a symbolic pyre to signify good defeating evil (in Hindu Vedi scriptures, the God Vishnu helps burn the devil Holika to death). The next morning, people gather in public spaces and take part in Rangwali Holi. This is a raucous affair where people chase each other around, throwing handfuls of colored powders (known as gulal) at one another, while getting drenched in water.

Holi celebration was aimed to garner the spirit of giving and scattering joy, commencing with variety of delicious food. The event started with appetizer including Hot Bhajiya (Pakora), Gota & Tea served as light refreshments. Subsequently at the end of Holi celebration, Steamy hot Dinner was served with Khichadi, Kadhi and Thepla. This event was free of charge for participants by Umiya Mataji Sanstha Chicago Midwest.

It was a great joy to see the children having a good time in the woods playing with colors with their friends and family as well as participating in the community enrichment activities of Holi. Whole area was covered with clouds of vibrant colors. It was a memorable breathtaking celebration.

Shree Umiya Mataji is a Kuldevi of all Kadva Patidars Samaj. It was a heart touching religious moments eclipsing with Aarti & Bhajans. All the devotees prayed at Mataji in temple with a great gusto by dancing and singing devotional songs. The audience repeatedly chanted ‘Shree Umiya Mata Ki Jai!!’ and the whole atmosphere was festive devotional saintly and spiritual.

“We celebrate this festival to forget the outgoing year’s pains and begin the New Year with feelings of love, sympathy, cooperation, equality and positive energy. Occasions like this are a good opportunity to introduce kids to the cultural aspects of our tradition,” said by Lalbhai Patel

“Holi solemnizes the love of Radha and Krishna. The spraying of colored powders recalls the love dance of Lord Krishna and His devotees. The color, fun and frolic that accompany the celebration of Holi are the witness to a feeling of oneness and sense of brotherhood. The festival brings home the spirit of cultural and social harmony” Said by Khodabhai (Ken) Patel.

Umiya Mataji Sanstha of Chicago Midwest (UMSCM) plans to build Umiya Mataji Mandir. They purchase Church with land acquired at $ 1. 4 million at 1800 Joliet Street, West Chicago, IL 60185, Lot Size is 8 and ¾ acres, Current Pre-existing Building size is 8000 sq. feet attached house of 3 bed room house. UMSCM is a not for Profit, 501 3 (c), organization was establish in 2016 with an objective to build a first ever Temple of Mataji along with great Community center. The main purpose of the association is to provide a platform for Cultural, Educational, Social, Religious and spiritual needs of Kadva Patidar Samaj.

UMSCM executive board: Jayantibhai P. Patel (Chairman), Shailesh R. Patel (Vice Chairman), Lalbhai M. Patel (President), Dipal G. Patel (Vice President), Devandra Patel (Secretary), Jignesh H. Patel (Jt. Secretary), Saurabh Patel (Jt. Secretary), Piyush Patel (Treasurer) and Hasmukhbhai P. Patel (Jt. Treasurer)

UMSCM working team: Ashok S. Patel, Ashvinkumar A. Patel, Vishnubhai G. Patel, Dashubhai R. Patel, Girishkumar Patel, Jagdish N. Patel, Jayesh V. Patel, Jitendra Patel, Mahendra R. Patel, Navnitkumar Patel, Pulkitkumar N. Patel, Rajendrakumar Patel, Sanjay G. Patel, Bharat Patel Kantibhai (KS) Patel, Kishan Patel, Jitubhai Patel and Rasik Patel

Anuradha Kedia, cofounder of The Better India with her husband Dhimant Parekh — both have engineering backgrounds — started the effort in 2009 as a side-project blog. They spent their weekends writing posts about people doing good work that reflected a side of Indian communities they felt wasn’t represented in mainstream news at the time.

“There was so much negative and sensational news out there about all the issues that existed within our country. We know that coverage is important,” Kedia said. “But we knew a lot of people who work on the ground, who work in the social sector helping people, some in their own small ways, and we felt none of these organizations and none of their good deeds really got any mainstream coverage.”

Over next few years, the site started to spread beyond their network of friends and family. Journalists from larger news organizations sent The Better India tips for social issues and solutions-focused stories that didn’t fit at their own organizations, Kedia and Parekh said. (In those early days, when he spoke to mainstream media editors, Parekh claims, many told him there would be no readership for explicitly positive stories; the market incentives simply weren’t there.)

The two soon realized that places they spotlighted would sometimes get a flood of interest from strangers wanting to help out. A couple of years into the blog’s existence, they had written a post about a school for deaf students, Parekh said, and a week later the school got in touch to say a group of people had driven over to volunteer and donated money for renovations.

“It was a huge revelation: If these kinds of stories, read by just a few thousand back then, could drive this kind of response, then imagine what we could achieve if we got to hundreds of thousands, then millions, of readers,” Parekh said.

Kedia quit her job to focus on building sources, reaching out to people working in sectors from health and science to education to gender rights to hear about what was changing, what approaches they were trying, on-the-ground realities: “The work done in those years formed the backbone of the site; we still get stories to this day that come through that network.” By 2014, the site had grown too big for one person to run it; Parekh also left his job to join The Better India full time. At the beginning of 2015, they raised around USD $160,000 from angel investors to hire more staff. It’s also gotten some funding from the Independent and Public Spirited Media Foundation.

The Bangalore-based operation is now a profitable organization with 27 full-time staffers, and its good news mission sprawls across all the usual distribution channels, plus some: The site now has 1.9 million followers on Facebook, 565,000 on Twitter (“no traffic, just influencers”), 52,000 on Instagram, and 10,800 subscribers on YouTube. It also has about 100,000 subscribers to its email newsletters (in additional to a regular briefing, it even offers customized corporate packages), 35,000 subscribers to its WhatsApp channel, some content partnerships with larger organizations including radio stations, and ambitions for a TV show, Kedia and Parekh say. 30 percent of its audience comes from outside of India (mainly, the U.S., U.K., and Singapore).

“We still see ourselves as, we would call it a solutions-based media platform,” Parekh said. “What we really focused on, as Anuradha talked about earlier, are innovations, initiatives by common citizens, grassroots-level change.”

The good news focus is, of course, not an unfamiliar editorial strategy, though The Better India caught an early wave. Its stories are all over the place: A quick scan of recent pieces will get you original interviews, delightful histories, policy explainers, and many original videos — but also a lot of excited headlines on top of aggregation from larger mainstream outlets such as The Times of India, Indian Express, Hindustan Times, and the Week. (All media are watching each other: The Times of India, for instance, now has a Good News & Inspiring News Stories from India section.)

The Better India publishes around 18 to 20 pieces a day — a mix of video, short hits, and longform — around half of which come out of original reporting. Its stories continue to be relentlessly positive, often accompanied by an action item (e.g., This resilient farmer tills his land with a cot frame. Here are his bank details if you want to donate. Reader, he got the bulls.)

Right now sponsored content makes up 80 percent of The Better India’s revenue, a stream Parekh said he expects will continue to grow in the next few years. The “Partner Campaigns” section of its site hosts these sponsored videos and stories. “We were trying to figure out how do we work with that wouldn’t dilute our content. We thought: Hey, let’s look at brands that want to talk about stuff we also want to talk about, if there’s an overlap, we could partner and co-create content,” Parekh said. Programmatic advertising is currently another slice of revenue. The site juststarted to test asking for reader donations as well. (Three additional revenue streams under consideration for the coming year: organizing events around issues such as healthcare innovation and women’s empowerment, providing consulting to companies looking to build corporate social responsibility initiatives, licensing publishing and audience engagement tools it built in-house.)

(A couple of years ago, you may have seen that viral video above — or read one of the many articles about it — about a small company in Hyderabad that made edible spoons. That was one of The Better India’s biggest successes. The video is part of an India Innovates series, and TBI is looking for sponsors for a second season.)

The site also has a section that functions like a contributor network for foundations, NGOs, and other vetted social-good initiatives to post policy ideas, inspirational stories, helpful guides — though here no self-promotion is allowed and no money is exchanged. In all of these sections, the main rule applies: only inspirational, useful, fun topics allowed.

The Better India has earned its reach by being everywhere, and though it’s hampered by being mainly English-language, it’s made more systematic efforts to reach beyond younger, urban readers. It designed a WhatsApp hack to help broadcast a “magazine” digest — a PDF pulled together automatically from posts published to the site that day and fed into a design template, allowing people to read Better India stories offline (about 80 percent of subscribers there who get the content, read the content). It’s started a Hindi edition. It syndicates some of its stories to regional news outlets that translate and run those stories for their own audiences. It’s making a lot of social-friendly video, but not just to “jump on the video bandwagon.” In any case, The Better India has also taken a significant hit from Facebook’s recent algorithm changes.

“This is why we’re experimenting with formats,” Kedia said. “If you’re looking at populations that are lower income, that have not had as much access to education or exposure to technology, video, through sharing, has reached these underserved populations as well. Even if they aren’t able to consume our longform articles in English, they can get the gist of the video.”

Can you unplug from your mobile device and not feel anxious? If not, you’re in the majority — Americans are more tied to their personal technology than ever. The latest statistics from the Pew Research Center reveal that 69 percent of adults use social media, and three-quarters of those look at Facebook at least once a day.

Is that troubling? A professor at Arizona State University says asking that question is becoming more urgent. “It’s a very recent phenomenon,” said Matt Sopha, clinical assistant professor of information systems in the W. P. Carey School of Business at ASU. His research areas include social media and influence and information systems teaching methods. “There have been murmurings of it over the years, but we do have to rethink our relationship with technology,” he said.

A nationwide initiative called the National Day of Unplugging is asking all Americans to do just that by going on a 24-hour “digital detox,” from sundown Friday through sundown Saturday.

Instead of looking at their devices during this time, people would instead go outside or connect with each other face to face.

Sopha is available to comment on our relationship with our mobile devices and what we can do to develop healthier habits.

Question: Are you worried about how we engage with our devices?

Answer: I have a deep affinity for technology and for gadgets and gizmos and all of that stuff. But I do make a concerted effort to unplug from the devices from time to time. I try to not actively engage with my phone when I’m at home or out with my loved ones.

The nature of how we engage with these devices has taken on a new meaning in the zeitgeist.

I was reading the other day that on average we spend about four hours a day on our devices. If you’re awake time is 14 or 15 hours a day, you’re talking 20 percent of your day is spent glued to this device.

I wonder what that does to us.

One of the questions I ask my grad students all the time is: “We have evolved technology. But we have to take a step back and look at how technology is evolving us.”

If you think about how our brain processes stimuli, are these devices training our brains in a way that we don’t necessarily understand? It’s tapping into pleasure centers and dopamine receptors.

We were at a concert not too long back. The young lady sitting next to use was fascinating to me because she spent the entire show on Snapchat, recording the concert and photographing the concert and snapping her friends. She was experiencing the concert through the screen rather than through the environment around her. I couldn’t help but wonder if she was missing out on something.

What happens when technology takes over and we forget how to human?

Q: Are young people concerned about how much time they spend on their devices?

A: This is one of the things they always want to talk about because theirs is a generation of digital natives. Whereas with my generation, the internet wasn’t really a thing until I was a teenager.

They’re very versed in this, almost to the point where they take it for granted sometimes. The class tries to reposition their thinking about technology in the workplace and technology as a tool.

The young people that I teach are so much smarter than I ever was at their age. They ask bigger questions. They are intellectually curious. They observe the world around them in a way that is incredibly powerful.

That gives me hope.

But I will live a thousand years and I will never know what Snapchat is for.

Q: Why is it so hard to put down our phones?

A: If you think about social media feeds, they’re by design endless. It’s not like, ‘OK, you’ve reached the end of your updates and you’re done.’ They’re constantly feeding you more stuff. And companies like Facebook and Twitter do that because they want to serve you ads and they want to mine your data.

It’s the old adage that if any service is free, you’re not the customer, you’re the product.

And they trigger these pleasure centers in our brain to give us that “just one more post.”

Q: Is completely unplugging is the answer?

A: I try to take a healthy middle-ground approach.

If we’re going to use the analogy of an addiction, would you tell someone addicted to a chemical substance, “OK, cold turkey for 24 hours and you’re good”?

I don’t think that completely unplugging form our devices is a healthy way to approach it, because then we limit ourselves from being able to utilize the observable good that they can do.

I’m a marathoner and a triathlete. I put my earbuds on and I listen to podcasts. And I keep my phone with me because if something were to happen to me, there would be a GPS footprint. I get my work email on my phone. And my mom calls me.

All of that is healthy.

I think the thing that’s unhealthy is when it becomes obsessive — when you’re picking up the phone to look at and it and you don’t remember why you picked it up.

Perhaps we need to not break up with our technology but to reassess our relationship — maybe go to couples counseling for our technology.

The Sikh Coalition on February 22 announced that it has named Satjeet Kaur as its new executive director. In her post, Kaur will lead the day-to-day management of the coalition’s staff and drive the strategic direction of the organization in the U.S., it said in a news release.

“This organization has been built through the outstanding work of so many people over the last 17 years,” said Satjeet. “I’m humbled by the opportunity to use this momentum to further civil rights in this country and empower the Sikh community.”

Since joining the staff in 2010, Satjeet has contributed to every programmatic area of the organization’s work. In her early years, she managed operations, supported education projects, developed Sikh awareness resources and launched the Sikh Coalition’s social media platforms. Recently, as the Senior Director of Development and Finance, she refined organizational branding, incorporated game-changing technology, and installed new processes that resulted in the Sikh Coalition receiving recognition as one of the top nonprofits for transparency and governance. Click hereto learn more.

Of late, as the senior director of development and finance, she refined organizational branding, incorporated game-changing technology, and installed new processes that resulted in the Sikh Coalition receiving recognition as one of the top nonprofits for transparency and governance, the coalition noted.

“Satjeet is undoubtedly the right choice for this job. Her integrity, judgment and commitment to the community have inspired thousands. For nearly eight years, I have admired her endless contributions to our work and her leadership across the Sikh community and within our team,” said co-founder and board chairman Narinder Singh in a statement.

“She has the full support of our board, the complete trust of our staff and the backing of the philanthropic institutions that help support our work,” Singh added.

After serving as interim executive director for the past five months, Singh will return to the board of directors as executive chairman. In this expanded capacity he will chair the board of the Sikh Coalition and provide support to Kaur and the leadership of the organization.

The Sikh Coalition’s goal remains working towards a world where Sikhs, and other religious minorities in America, may freely practice their faith without bias and discrimination. In 2018, this work continues through high-impact advocacy in the courtroom, classroom, community and halls of Congress, it said.

“For 17 years, you have depended on us to defend your rights and create lasting impact for the generations that follow,” said Kaur. “I’m honored to help lead this work with our committed team and I am excited about what the future holds for bringing you more lasting results.”

March 8, 2018 (New York, NY) – This week, the Sikh Coalition’s legal team has taken on three hate crime cases, and we are in the process of connecting with other communities on at least three more hate incidents. This is in addition to a hate crime case we have been involved with since January.

While this is an alarming recent spike, it follows a pattern: We estimate that Sikhs in the U.S. are experiencing an average of one hate crime per week since the start of 2018. This figure is likely to be the tip of the iceberg as many individuals of hate crimes do not report them to law enforcement or the Sikh Coalition.

We provide completely free and confidential legal assistance to Sikhs who have been discriminated against or subject to bias based upon their religious beliefs or identity. Please fill out our legal intake form if you believe you have been discriminated against or subject to bias, and would like to request legal assistance from the Sikh Coalition. The Sikh Coalition handles nearly 200 free and confidential legal intakes a year, and we examine every submission on a case-by-case basis.

“Our organization is designed to be your insurance policy when a hate crime occurs,” said the Sikh Coalition’s Legal Director, Amrith Kaur. “Nobody in America has more legal experience dealing with hate crime cases for Sikhs than our organization, and we are always here to protect your rights.”

TAKE ACTION & KNOW YOUR RIGHTS

1. Report Hate Incidents – If you or somebody you know has experienced threats of hate violence, bias-based property damage or hate vandalism, seek medical attention if needed and call law enforcement immediately. Please be aware that law enforcement should not ask you about your immigration status, and in the event that they do, you have the right to not answer this question. Please contact the Sikh Coalition at 212-655-3095 or by filling out our quick reporting form to have a free and confidential consultation with experienced attorneys in either English or Punjabi.

2. Know Your Rights – Download our FAQ guide on hate crimes, hate speech and on how to report incidents to authorities and the Sikh Coalition. Display our hate crime poster at your gurdwara, which is available in both English and Punjabi. Additionally, the Sikh Coalition continues to provide educational brochures that introduce non-Sikhs to the Sikh faith and community. This resource is available in 18 different languages. To get copies of any of our resources please email education@sikhcoalition.org.

3. Share Gurdwara Security Toolkit – Print or email our Gurdwara Security Toolkit, and share it with your gurdwara. In 2017, over 50 gurdwaras worked with the Sikh Coalition to take proactive steps to make their gurdwaras safer. Ask your gurdwara if they have already participated, and if they haven’t, please have a committee member email community@sikhcoalition.org.

4. Share This Information With Your Friends and Family – Forward this email to your immediate circle of friends and family. Encourage them to sign up for the Sikh Coalition’s email alerts so that they can continue to receive related updates on resources and information. Take the next easy step and post this information to your social media accounts. It’s critical that we disseminate this information to everybody in the community so that if a hate crime happens, they know we are here to provide free and confidential legal resources.

Soor Aur Saptak, a group of Indian-American singers has planned a rollicking Bollywood style event Feb. 24, in Portland, Oregon, to raise funds for a foundation that treats visually impaired children in India.

In India, there are an estimated 400,000 blind children out of the 1.5 million around the world. It also notes that 75 percent of visual impairment is avoidable, in a world where there are some 217 million visually impaired and 36 million blind people.

“Recognizing the significance of sight for a child – which includes tremendous opportunities for education, socializing, productivity, and family life – Soor Aur Saptak dedicated their efforts to restoring vision for children in rural India,” the press release says. It chose Seva Foundation to channel the funds it raises because this organization has worked globally to eradicate visual  impairment and blindness, Soor Aur Saptak says.

Soor Aur Saptak, which means “Notes and Octaves” in Hindi, was founded in 2012, and held its first event in 2013, raising $6,500. But in 2017 the event raised more than $43,000 which enabled almost 69,000 children to have eye screenings, it said in a press release. “Selling out each year, bringing people together for an all-singing, all-dancing Bollywood evening continues to be a successful way to help raise awareness and funds for a good cause,” the group says. The Feb. 24 event will be held at the Sonrise Church in Hillsboro, Oregon.

The American India Foundation (AIF) Orange County chapter is expecting to raise $500,000 at their fifth annual gala on March 17, at the Pasea Resort in Huntington Beach, California. The gala will also be celebrating AIF’s contribution to India for 16 years under their five programs of education, livelihood, public health, leadership and gender focus.

The gala is expected to draw a crowd of over 300 local community professionals and will honor the achievements of Orange County contributors and highlight the success made by the OC contributions to the programs.

The evening will be filled with traditional Indian cuisine, a live performance by Molodi Live (as seen on Good Morning America) and a live auction featuring International travel packages, exclusive sporting opportunities, wine and culinary experience.

AIF’s Orange County Chapter was launched in the summer of 2013 with the aim of accelerating AIF’s mission of catalyzing social and economic change in India. Last year they raised over $400,000.

AIF is committed to catalyzing social and economic change in India and building a lasting bridge between the United States and India through high-impact interventions in education, livelihoods, public health, and leadership development. Its programming seeks to achieve gender equity through developing inclusive models that focus on and empower girls and women.

AIF was founded in 2001 by then President Bill Clinton following a suggestion from then Indian Prime Minister Vajpayee. AIF has raised more than $118 million and impacted some 3.7 million lives from across 24 states of India. Learn more about the people who make this a reality—our Board of Directors, Trustees, advisory councils, and international team of development professionals.