Miss India USA - Michigan Connection

Richa Gangopadhyay (21) who studies at Michigan State University has been crowned Miss India USA 2007 in a beauty pageant held at Royal Albert's Palace, Fords in New Jersey, USA.

Rediff.com reports

Richa, 21, is in her final year at the Michigan State University majoring in Dietetics and Nutrition and enjoys dance, music and movies.

She also bagged the title of Miss Photogenic, and was crowned by the outgoing queen, Ayushka Singh.

Richa will represent USA in the 17th Annual Miss India Worldwide Pageant, also organised by IFC, to be held on February 23, in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Bhutto's Son heir to the PPP

Since I wrote about Benazir Bhutto's assassination, I think it makes sense for me to write about the latest development on that front.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, 19, is now the heir to the PPP party. Doesn't this sound like deja vu? Remember when Indira Gandhi was assassinated, we (in India) had Rajiv Gandhi, who was the heir apparent? And now Rahul Gandhi, Indira Gandhi's grandson is considered the next heir to the Gandhi dynasty.

But I digress.

So 19 year old Bilawal who is studying at Oxford has been named co-chairman of the PPP along with his father, and Bhutto's husband, Asif Ali Zardari. Bilawal promises to lead the PPP party per his mother's wishes once he finishes at the university. Until then, his dad will take over the reins of the PPP.

Although many question this move, since Bilwal is a law student at Oxford, perhaps his leadership will be a good move for the PPP. Let's wait and see what happens.

Missing Indian Woman from Chicago now not missing

Anu Solanki a 24 year old Chicago area Indian Woman who went missing is not missing after all. It turns out that she wanted "A Clean Break from her marriage". So what did she do... She hooked up with a Indian male from Los Angeles Area who she was in touch with for a year and headed off to Los Angeles.

All this drama cost the Chicago Law enforcement approxmately $250,000. They spent hours looking for Anu Solanki which also involved police divers searching the Des Plaines River and also involved helicopters. Wonder who is going to foot the bill.

For more on this story check out MyFox Chicago and CNN

Amul Thapar - First Indian American Federal Judge

Amul R. Thapar, the 38-year-old (born in Troy, MI) son of India-born immigrants, has been confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the first federal judge of South Asian descent in U.S. history.

On December 13th Mr. Thapar joined the the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky. For more on this story check out Indiawest Online.

Benazir Bhutto Assasinated

I woke up this morning and was upset to learn about Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's assasination in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. No, I'm not a Benazir Bhutto fan per say but I have been following her progress since she returned to Pakistan after her self-imposed exile of eight years. Although she survived a previous attack on October 18th 2007, today's attack was up and personal, where she was shot in the neck and the chest before a suicide bomb blast which killed an additional 20 or so people.

Benazir Bhutto was the Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990 and then again from 1993-1996. Whatever her past history and whether she was corrupted or not, Bhutto is to be admired for being a female leader in a turbulent country like Pakistan.

India, US, Afghanistan, Russia and other countries across the globe have condemned the assassination. President Bush made a brief statement expressing his thoughts and condemning the assassination of Bhutto.

When I read the views shared by the various political bloggers, this blog really shocked me: andrewiandodge.com
What does this blogger mean? Why is he not surprised? ANY assassination is a surprise, and just because we know that Bhutto faced the highest risk of that in recent times, why would we not be surprised that an assassination attempt was successful?

There is a lot of discussion about how Bhutto's assassination will impact US elections and how it will impact India-Pakistan relations. The US has been a leader in trying to reconcile Bhutto and President Musharraf to bring democracy to Pakistan. Bhutto was considered a 'moderate' and since she really understood the west (especially the USA), it was believed that she would work with the US to create stability in Pakistan and its surrounding region.

Bhutto's assassination also impacts India-Pakistan relations because Bhutto was again seen as a moderate who had expressed thoughts about improving relations between the two countries.

Bhutto's assassination IS a shock and IS suprising to me. Her death makes me upset that the world has lost another female leader for no reason other than hatred against democracy.

Nipa Shah is the President of Jenesys Group, LLC, an online marketing company located in Michigan. She also hosts a Podcast for Asian Indians called Round Table India and recently launched the Michigan India Chamber of Commerce (www.miicc.com), a networking organization for Asian Indians and a blog portal where you can find blogs on all topics of interest (www.thebloogle.com).

Isha Jain - Young Indian American who rocks (CNN)

CNN Profiles Isha Jain in the category "Young People WHO Rock". Wow! what a talented girl. Isha who is a junior at Freedom High School, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania is described by her teachers as the type of student they find once in their lifetime if they are fortunate. Here's what CNN writes:

In the fifth grade, she started a math camp. By sixth grade, Jain was breezing through college-level work and trigonometry classes. When she was in the eighth grade, she aced advanced calculus.

Her taste for science started at 9 when she created a paradigm to explain the molecular structure of candy. It sounds sweet, but also sophisticated -- teachers in the U.S. and abroad have used her methods in the classroom. Before she was old enough to buy sweets at a PG-13 movie, her candy-making findings were featured at major scientific summits.

Recently, 16-year-old Isha used both skill sets to identify what causes growth spurts. Not only did she think her findings were cool, but so did the journal "Developmental Dynamics," which published her work. The Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology went beyond just the thinking: It gave her a cool $100,000 scholarship.

Congratulations Isha!!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Wishing all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from all of us here at MIBAZAAR.

Meet the contributors here at MIBAZAAR:

Nipa Shah: President of Jenesys Group, LLC
Host of Weekly Podcast for Asian Indians
Recently Launched: Michigan India Chamber of Commerce, theBloogle.com (blogging site)

DJ Amri: One of the top DJ's in Michigan. If you need her to DJ your special event visit her website. (Note: She is so much in demand, you might have to call her well in advance for your special event).

Rita Patel: An extremely talented personality. Rita is an artist and designer. All of her work is original, handmade and one of a kind. She sells her work at Etsy. (Note: 10% of every purchase is loaned by Rita to low-income entrepreneurs in developing countries through kiva.org. All monies refunded from the original loans will be re-loaned out to others.)

Google Maps Street View of Indian Temples, Restaurants in Michigan

Hindu Temple, Canton, MI



Jain Temple, Farmington Hills, MI


Bombay Grille Restaurant, Farmington Hills, MI



Haveli Restaurant (formerly Shan-E-Punjab), Garden City, MI

New Year's Eve Celebrations at Detroit Area Indian Restaurants

Some of the Detroit Area Indian Restaurants have planned New Year's Eve Celebrations. Here are some of the restaurants. If you you know of more let us know.

Rangoli Indian Cuisine (Auburn Hills, MI):

Featuring Hors D’oeuvres & Grand Buffet Dinner, Extravagant Dessert Station, Complimentary Beverages* & Midnight Champagne Toast, DJ Dancing, Large Projection Screens, Premium Cash Bar, and a play area for kids. For further details and to make reservations, please call 248.377.3800

House of India: (Farmington Hills, MI)

New Year's Eve Extravaganza at House of India, Farmington Hills

Come enjoy delicious dinner and dancing.
Cash bar with DJ.
Date: 12/31/07
Time: 6 pm to 2 am
Please call 248.553.7391 for reservations today.

Bombay Grille: (Farmington Hills, MI)

Spectacular New Year's Eve Party
Delicious Cuisine
Cash Bar
DJ and Dancing
Dinner starts from 6 PM on December 31st, 2007
Must call for Reservations at 248-626-2982

Hindus Angry over Canton Township Commissioner's Urination Remark

Catherine Johnson a Canton Township, MI planning commissioner asked during a debate whether Hindu women urinate in public as part of their faith. This was said on December 3rd, 2007 at a meeting over a $5 million plans to expand the Hindu Temple of Canton. Asian Indians were very...very angry at this and their anger resulted in Catherine Johnson quiting her post.

This from Detroit News:

many Asian Indians said the question was an unfair characterization of their culture and a lie. Others complained the remark underscored stereotypes about cleanliness in India, where poverty is rampant.

About the Hindu Temple expansion plans:

The Hindu temple's expansion plans have caused controversy because neighbors claim the project would look out of place next to $300,000 homes. Members want to demolish the 20-year-old temple and build an ornate, 35,000-square-foot, double-domed replacement deeper on property at Cherry Hill near Canton Center. Planners delayed a decision this month.

Michigan Towns with Christmas or Holiday Season Names

Last night I finished creating a Google Maps Mashup of Towns and Cities in United States with Christmas or Holiday Season Names.

In Michigan I came across the following Towns:

• Christmas, Alger County, MI
• Saint Nicholas, Delta County, MI
• Holly, Oakland County, MI
• Shepherd, Isabella County, MI

For Christmas/Holiday Season Towns and Cities elsewhere click here.

Indian Americans in the News

Dilip Dubey

Gov. Jennifer Granholm and CEO Dilip Dubey cut the blue ribbon on Netlink Software Group America’s new headquarters located at Madison Heights, MI last week. Company officials describe Netlink as an IT and business process consultancy. (via)

---

Nipa Shah

Nipa Shah President of Novi, MI based Jenesys Group LLC who was featured in Detroit News last month, was featured yesterday in Great Lakes IT Report and WWJ.

Biggest Snow Storm of the Decade hits Metro Detroit

Snowy - Plymouth,MI
12/17/2007
Sent from IPhone

Sid Vaidya - A Successful Indian American

Sid Vaidya - A Successful Indian American from Michigan was recently interviewed by Nipa Shah on her weekly Podcast titled "Round Table India".

Sid Vaidya , is the Managing Director for the Global Sales, Service and Marketing and leads EDS initiatives to achieve horizontal process focused IT services to General Motors Global Sales, Service and Marketing.

Sid joined General Motors in 1979 where he was responsible for payroll and personnel systems. Since transitioning to EDS in 1985, he has held various leadership positions. Sid worked on numerous GM account teams, serving as Client Executive for GM North America Vehicle Sales, Service and Marketing, Division VP for GMAC Insurance Corporation, Division Manager for GM Corporate Staffs, Regional Manager for Advanced Materials Systems, Account Manager for Industrial Relations and Director of Information Processing Center. (Note: I was working at EDS in the early 90's in their Industrial Relations Group and Mr. Vaidya was the Account Manager then. It was fun to attend his town hall meetings. He was/is a dynamic speaker).

Sid Received GM President’s Council Award and was EDS honoree for Leaders Inner Circle in 1998.

Sid served on the strategic board of advisors for the Clinton Valley Boy Scouts and is a member of Central Michigan University President’s advisory board. He was a participant in Thunderbird Graduate School of International Management Program and University of Virginia-Impact of Technology in Business processes at Darden Graduate School.

Sid earned his MBA in Marketing from Eastern Michigan University and a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Michigan Technological University.

Click here to listen to the Podcast. Sid gives good advice on how to deal with issues related to accent. He also mentions that to get ahead you have got to be 1)Good Listeners 2)Talk slowly and clearly 3)Don't just keep talking about yourself like the tons of degrees you might hold or how your day went, instead talk about how the person you are talking to is doing, how was their day...etc.

Ron Shahani of Northville, MI featured in Detroit Free Press

Ron Shahani, one of our community members is featured in today's (12/16/2007) Detroit Free Press.

Ron Shahani is the founder and President of Acro Service Corp. which is located in Livonia, MI. Acro has grown from a staffing company with a single client to a $100-million multinational company.

Some quotes from the Detroit Free Press Article:

In May, Shahani was honored by the Detroit Regional Chamber as an Emerging Global Leader. In March, he was one of 10 representatives from the Detroit Regional Economic Partnership who went to India to promote Detroit as an excellent business location.

When asked what will improve the Business Climate in Michigan, this is what Mr. Shahani had to say

"We must diligently work to revive the auto industry, while at the same time, and this is key, work to rapidly grow alternative industries in Michigan. We should take an interest in the auto industry's issues, and if we are in a position to do so, buy at least one American car per family, so we can experience the tremendous improvements that have been made. In terms of growing alternative industries, I think we should aim to make Michigan the Silicon Valley of the Midwest. Lastly, I think we need to accelerate the revival of Detroit, making it a desirable place for anyone to safely live, work and have fun."

Tragedy at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA

Chandrasekhar Reddy Komma and Kiran Kumar Allam (both from India) enrolled in a PhD program at LSU, Baton Rouge, LA were shot dead inside Allam's apartment during home invasion robbery. The bodies were found inside Allam's apartment.

The Associated Press is reporting that Allam's pregnant wife found the bodies and called 911. (via)

Our Deepest condolences to the families.

Music review: Showbiz

Showbiz, a film to be released in 2008, is a story about the glitter and litter, shine and sleaze and lure and allure underneath the glamour industry. The films stars Tushar Jalota and Mrinalini Sharma in the lead roles and Gulshan Grover in a significant role and is produced by Mukesh Bhatt. The Bhatt hut is known to be the runway for many newbies, like the yester Aftab Shivdasani, latest Emran Hashmi and Kangna Ranaut, so on. All of them have rooted themselves very quickly and found their own place in the glitzville. Lets hope it works for Tushar Jalota too.



The music is composed by Lalit Pandit, the branch from Jatin-Lalit duo. The style seems appropriate, it is set out to mushroom rockstars. After all, it is Showbiz, a plot about a drummer and a singer, who becomes a fever and icon to the youth overnight. It is a take on media, how media creates and destroys, thrives on a soaring star's plight. Keeping the plot in mind, some songs sound very fit into the movie, while others beat us to death.


Tu mujhse jab se mila (Shukriya)

Sung by KK. Lalit adapts himself to the signature Pritam style, that you will go back to the album once more to check the credits to be sure. The digital madness and the sheer electro pulse in the track stand out in your senses. Sultry guitar work boasts, screeches and shimmers throughout the song. KK renders passion, frame by frame, or I should say note by note. The rap version by Earl is promising too.


Mere falak ka tu hai sitara

Sung by KK. Here is a treat for our drummer dude. If this is his performance on stage, I hope Tushar Jalota knows how to act while playing drums on the screen. Have you noticed how our actors play guitar in the songs. When a serious lead is playing in the song, our actors stand with their left hand at the top of the guitar, just swinging their body. I always wished, they put some research into where your hand should be for rhythm and lead, if not the exact fret. The song shovels oodles of rock on you and heart thumping drum interlude.


The unplugged version borrows very sweet pings from guitar, piano and of course, flute. Stretch your ear for the flute interlude, it is lovely. The unplugged version was the winner for me and proves KK's strength, demanding an encore.


Kaash ek din aisa bhi aaye

Sung by my favorite Shaan and Shreya Ghosal. Lalit slips back into his backyard quietly and digs out a beaten tune and wastes 'apna Shaan'. I am mad, no furious! Though the pair delivers on vocals, the song falls short of emotion.


Duniya ne dil toda

Sung by KK. A strike straight on 'Deewana deewana ho jaaye' from Rishtey composed by Sanjeev Darshan, you have 'Duniya ne dil toda', 'nuf said!. Deewana deewana ho jaaye was a lovely song, albeit made a bad movie choice. Rishtey sank but, the song was remembered for the lovely Sunidhi Chauhaan and oh-so-beautiful, Shilpa Shetty. The song does not sound Indian as much and I am sure it must have been a strike on something else, but then, we are innocent until proven guilty, in Showbiz.


Meri ibtida

Sung by Shreya Ghosal. The lyrics are very mediocre, but the short song is mellow and sweet.

Lalit Pandit has had many hits and misses. One of the good composers around, we would expect to see many more good albums from him, although this one falls short in a few songs. When the music is so-so, the movie should pull through for the rest. Wait and watch for it at our local Novi, MI theatres.

The album gets my ** 1/2 stars.Write your thoughts to us.

"Bump and Pump" Scam at Detroit Area Gas Stations

Today's Detroit Free Press is reporting that some bad elements in our society have come up with a new scheme to rob you at the Gas Station. Here is how it works.

• A supposedly good Samaritan approaches you, offering to pump gas for you while you sit in the car
• When your car is filled up, the good Samaritan asks you to move forward as there is another car behind you
• Remember the good Samaritan does not hang up the nozzle
• The car behind you is the good Samaritan's buddy
• If you don't pull your car forward, then the good Samaritan's buddy begins nudging your car forward. When you finally pull away, the lowlife begins fueling the car driven by his buddy.

Moral of the Story:
Fill it up yourself! (ALWAYS!)

Detroit and suburbs on Google Maps Street View

Hello Detroiters! You are now on Google Maps Street View. Check out maps.google.com and click on "Street View" Button. You can view street level photographs. Here's a look at Jain Temple located in Farmington Hills, MI (Thanks to Mike Pegg of GoogleMapsMania for the the tip)

Envisioning Michigan Competition

The Center for Michigan has a contest where you can win weekly ($50 Meijer gift cards) and finalists are eligible to share for college money or vacation prizes ($30,000 total value)

To tell your Michigan story write about
- What do you love about our state?
- What do you want to change?
- What's your best vision for Michigan's future?

Contest open October '07 - March '08.

Submission guidelines: 700-word essays, single photos with 350-word captions, or 3-minute videos or podcasts.

MIICC Monthly Meeting (December 12th) - Change of Venue

Just been informed by Nipa Shah that there's a change in venue for Michigan India Chamber of Commerce's monthly meeting scheduled for December 12th. Here are the details:

• Date & Time: Wednesday, December 12th from 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm EST (2nd Wednesday of every month, 1 participant or 20)
• Location: Marx Layne & Company, 31420 Northwestern Highway, Suite 100, Farmington Hills, MI 48334 (www.marxlayne.com) Phone: 248.855.6777
• Agenda: Reiki Master Presenting fundamentals of Reiki and general networking
• Cost: No Charge to Members (including youths & non-profits) and $10 for non-members

For more details check out MIICC website.

Rita Patel: New to Michigan

Greetings!

My name is Rita and this past year I changed my life and gave up my apartment and sold all my things in NYC and moved to the Detroit area. The best decision of my life.

I came here because my friends (best friend from high school in NJ) offered me a place to live and work in their home - to start my own business. So now I have a studio and live and in a supportive, creative and beautiful environment. I've met the most interesting people and my life has grown in so many unanticipated ways. Two aspects that have become significant in my life is children and cooking. On a more global level, I find it both interesting and exciting to be in the state of Michigan at this point in time because with the all the economic and social events affecting the state I feel there are many changes coming along with great opportunities. The present may be difficult but the possibility & potential is very positive.

I am an artist and designer and am building my first product to launch through my design company - VataLife. As part of my creative process, I make a lot different things that I end up selling online to support myself. Most of my work is custom, one of the kind either for the home or for wear. I found one of the best ways for me to give back while I build my business is to take a percentage of the sales and place into a fund to help other entrepreneurs in developing parts of the world through my 'shop here, help there' program. The organization I do this through is kiva.org.

I welcome any input or questions you have! I hope to share more once my product sample is completed.

Hindu Gods directed to appear before court in Jharkand, India

Talk about bizarre! A judge by the name of Sunil Kumar Singh in the eastern state of Jharkand, India has placed advertisement in newspapers asking the gods (Ram and Hanuman) to "appear before the court personally". This to resolve a dispute which is now now 20 years old and revolves around the ownership of a 1.4 acre plot of land housing two temples.

Quoting BBC (the text of the advertisement which was addressed to the Hindu Gods!)

"You failed to appear in court despite notices sent by a peon and later through registered post. You are herby directed to appear before the court personally"

Curious as to know where the judge and the lawyers in this case got their Law degree/education.

Holiday Gift Ideas for Kids

This Holiday season you have more choices when deciding on action figures for your kids. How about trying out Rama or Hanuman instead of Transformers or GI Joes.

Kridana a Indian American owned Toy Company has started selling Hanuman and Rama Action Figures which each sell for about $14.99. Visit Kridana website for more details.

This promo from their website

Bringing the Great Indian Epics to Life for Children Everywhere!

So will Rama and Hanuman Action Figures be on your shopping list this holiday season?

Michigan Service Tax - what it means to you!

Well, now that the Michigan Service Tax is dead in the water, we small business owners can all breath a sigh of relief.

Don't know what the service tax was all about? Didn't care to check it out when it was still a sure bet?

Well, since it is dead, I won't bore you with the details but the list of taxable services is long. At a high-level though, most of the services fell under two categories, one was the business to business (B to B) category and the other was the Business to Consumer (B to C) category.

In the B to B space, the tax would have been on copywriting, consulting, printing, and many other B to B services.

In the B to C category the focus was on "personal" services which included "non-essential" services. These included facials, manicures and pedicures, skiing, party planning, astrology, weight reduction, dating services, travel services, etc.

Ok, so I can agree to skiing being a non-essential service but what about golfing? I saw no references to taxing golf services! Hmmm, well given that most deals are made on the golf course, perhaps golf is an essential service!

And in a country where there is an obesity epidemic, which lawmaker thinks that weight reduction is a non-essential service?

And lastly whoever claims that facials, manicures and pedicures are not essential ought to be sent to Antartica and made to live with chapped nails and shriveled skin. Imagine someone thinking those aren't essential to us women (and some men too!). But interestingly permanent makeup was considered an essential and was not to be taxed.

What are these people thinking????

So I'm glad that the service tax has been repealed because I know for a fact that I would have had to charge my clients for the 'high-end' design and consulting services that I offer - :).

Overall, looking at all the services that would have been taxed, I think the Asian Indian community would have felt the pain, what with all the consulting companies, design firms, beauticians, and travel agencies that have Asian Indian ownership.

But it also certainly would have been a pain to pay for my manicures and pedicures not to mention paying a tax to get my taxes done and paying a tax the kid next door to mow my lawn!

Indian American Lawmaker from Maryland arrested for DUI

Baltimore Sun is reporting that Kumar P Barve, the house majority leader in Maryland legislature and a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, was arrested on Thursday night in Gaithersburg, Maryland and charged with driving while impaired by alcohol.

This additional info from Baltimore Sun

Kumar Barve failed a field sobriety test and was found to have a 0.10 blood-alcohol level through a preliminary breath test, which is not admissible as evidence in court. The legal limit is 0.08.

Barve was handcuffed and taken to a county police station in Gaithersburg, where he refused a blood-alcohol test.

Police charged him on four counts: driving under the influence, driving while impaired, failure to obey a traffic device and failure to drive right of the center line.

What's ironical here is that Kumar P Barve was one of the sponsors of a 2001 bill that changed the Maryland state's legal blood-alcohol level for drivers from 0.10 to 0.08.

Pranidhi Varshney - Indian American Actress from Chicago

Just listened to Nipa Shah's podcast where she interviews a bright young and beautiful Indian American Actress named Pranidhi Varshney. Pranidhi who was born in New Delhi, India and was raised in Michigan, is now a resident of Chicago.

Pranidhi is a recent graduate of Northwestern University, Chicago where she studied theater and psychology along with specialization in musical theater.

To know more about Pranidhi, listen in to Nipa Shah's Podcast.

This review from Chicago Sun-Times on Pranidhi's performance in a musical - "Kama Sutra"

As for Varshney, the recent Northwestern University grad who was so beguiling as the star of Lookingglass Theatre's recent "Sita Ram," she has a face so radiant and innocent - - and a figure so curvy in the style of classic Kama Sutra illustrations -- that she makes the whole show feel as innocent as a bubble bath.

Oh My!!