Ice-Skating to Indian folk dance

Check out this amazing Ice-Skating (Indian Folk Dance) performance at 2009 Rostelecom Cup. The person who helped/train Meryl Davis and Charlie White is the very talented, Michigan's very own "Anuja Rajendra" (image on the right) of Bollyfit.

Swine flu (H1N1) vaccine at Freedom Hill

"It is cool to be healthy" a sticker given at the Freedom Hill office this morning for children who got their noses sprayed with the Swine Flu vaccine.

FREE H1N1 vaccine clinics have been set up at the Freedom Hill park in Sterling Heights, MI.

On Oct 28 and 29,2009, intranasal spray will be given .
This intranasal H1N1 vaccine is for healthy non-pregnant persons who:

- are from 2 through 24 years of age
- are from 25 through 49 years of age and live with, or care for infants younger than 6 months of age
- are health care or emergency medical personnel and are from 25 through 49 years of age

On Oct 30 and 31, the vaccine will be given in an injectible form.
This injectable H1N1 vaccine is for:

- Pregnant women
- New parents and household contacts of children <6 months of age
- Health Care workers and Emergency Service sector personnel (regardless of age)
- All people from 6 months through 24 years of age Adults (aged 25-65 yrs) with medical conditions that increase risk of complications of influenza

This morning when I went there I thought the line would be too long but, I got done within 45 minutes. More information can be found at Macomb county's website. http://www.macombcountymi.gov/publichealth/

Get yours today and pass on to any pregnant women you may know.

Shreelina Ghosh Mukherjee will be performing live at a diversity-focused event sponsored by the "The Human Relations" commission of "City of Livonia". This event has been scheduled for Sunday, November 8th at 2:00 p.m. in the Civic Center Library Auditorium (32777 Five Mile Road, Michigan 48154).

Shreelina Ghosh an International student working on her PhD has offered to volunteer her time to do a demonstration of Odissi, one of the seven dance forms of India.

Please visit City of Livonia website for more details.

US Army accepts its 1st Sikh recruit

Capt. Kamaljeet Singh Kalsi is the first Sikh to be allowed to go on active duty with a turban, beard and unshorn hair.

Captain Kamaljeet Singh Kalsi a New Jersey doctor was recruited to join the Army’s Health Professions Scholarship Program couple of years ago. He wore his turban throughout his 8 years of medical education.

Washington Times reports

In June, he was told that he must remove his turban and cut his hair to begin active duty. He appealed that decision and Friday, the Army agreed he was right. Read the press release here.

Our Community Has Come A Long Way

With the recent arrest of Raj Ragaratnam, a Sri Lankan, by Preet Bharara, US Attorney for the Southern District of New York who was born in India and raised in the US, it made me stop and think about how far the South Asian community has come in this country. We went from the stereotypes of taxi drivers and convenience store owners like Apu in the Simpsons to some of the most wealthy and influential businessmen and women in this country.

After recently reading a Wall Street Journal I was amazed to see how prominent South Asians now are in the country. We are not just doctors and engineers. We are IT professionals, lawyers, financial services professionals, professors at distinguished universities and executives at top corporations.

In addition to Preet Bharara, here are just a few other notable South Asians in this country:

• PepsiCo Inc. Chief Executive Indra Nooyi
• Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal
• Silicon Valley financier Vinod Khosla
• Filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan

There is an even a South Asian liaison in the White House, Kalpen Modi, whom we all know as Kal Penn or Kumar in the hilarious comedies “Harold and Kumar”. The current administration has definitely engaged the South Asian community. President Barack Obama recently signed an Executive Order that will create an Advisory Commission and a White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

I am a member of the North American South Asian Bar Association who, along with the South Asian Bar Association of DC recently honored 40 South Asian individuals who have been appointed to various positions within the Obama Administration. Wow. We have definitely come a long way.

Governor Granholm - Keynote Speaker at the CAPA Statewide Leadership Summit

Just been informed that Governor Jennifer Granholm will be the keynote speaker at the "2009 Statewide Asian Pacific American Leadership Summit" which will take place on Saturday October 24th, 2009 from 9.00AM - 3.00PM at Novi Community Center, 45175 West 10 Mile Road, Novi, Michigan 48375. This event is being organized by The Council of Asian and Pacific Americans (CAPA).

For registration and details of this event please visit CAPA website.

This is an update to my previous blog post on this event.

Diwali Celebrations in Michigan - 2009

Diwali will be celebrated this year on October 17th. Number of Indian Community Groups in our area have planned Diwali events/celebrations. Here are some of them. If you know of more then please do send us a note or add comments:

(UPAD) Uttar Pradesh Association of Detroit: (website)
Saturday November 7th, 2009
(5:30 PM - 11.30 PM)
Costick Activity Center
28600 Eleven Mile Road, Farmington Hills, MI
(248) 473-1816

(IACA) Indian American Cultural Association (website)
Saturday October 24th, 2009 (5.30 PM - 10.30 PM)
Costick Activity Center
28600 Eleven Mile Road, Farmington Hills, MI

(GSOD) Gujarati Samaj of Greater Detroit (website)
Saturday October 24th, 2009 (5.00 PM)
Seaholm HIgh School, 2436 West Lincoln Road, Birmingham, MI 48009

(DTA) Detroit Telugu Association (website)
Saturday October 24th, 2009 (5.30 PM - 11.00 PM)
Walled Lake Central High School
1600 Oakley Park, Walled Lake, MI 48390

ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN LEADERSHIP SUMMIT

The Council of Asian Pacific Americans (CAP A) will host a statewide leadership conference on Saturday, October 24, 2009, focusing on building bridges and fostering growth between the Asian Pacific American community and other organizations with the goal of bringing about positive social change. The seventh annual Asian Pacific American Leadership Summit will be held from 9:00am – 3:00pm at the Novi Community Center - 45175 West 10 Mile Rd, Novi, MI.

The 2009 Leadership Summit will open with remarks by Dr. Leslie Wong, President of Northern Michigan University, and the keynote address on leading through sustained crisis will be given by Mr. Dan Mulhern, First Gentleman of Michigan. Other topics covered in the summit workshops will include fundraising & grant writing, education & mentoring and healthcare.

Mumtaz Haque, 2009 CAPA President had this to say

Our 2009 Statewide Asian and Pacific American Leadership Summit will be a great opportunity for Asian leaders from across Michigan to come face to face, network, build awareness and collaboration

Sponsorships for the 2009 Leadership Summit are still available. Please contact Mumtaz Haque, CAPA President, for more information at (248) 703-6228 or email mumtaz@capa-mi.org . For additional details about the conference, please visit the CAPA website.

Michigan International Chamber of Commerce Event

Michigan International Chamber of Commerce (MIICC) is organizing a Networking event on October 14th, 2009 at Dykema Gossett located at 39577 Woodward Avenue, Bloomfield Hills, MI. This event will be from 5.30 PM to 8.30 PM. Cost is $25 for non-members and no cost to members. Refreshments will be provided.

The organizers plan to have "musical chairs" and ensure that everyone meets everyone and they get a chance to further their network. So bring lots of business cards and feel free to bring brochures, hands-outs, and freebies to build your referral network.

Please visit MIICC website for more details or call 248-470-6299

Ravi Shankar with daughter Anoushka Shankar at Ann Arbor, MI

The University Musical Society (UMS) presents the legendary sitarist Ravi Shankar with his daughter and fellow sitarist and composer Anoushka Shankar on Thursday, October 15 at 8 p.m. in Ann Arbor’s Hill Auditorium (825 North University Avenue).

For tickets or additional information, contact the University Musical Society at 734-764-2538 or online at www.ums.org. Tickets may also be purchased in person at the League Ticket Office (911 North University Avenue). UMS Ticket Office hours: Monday-Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., closed Sunday.

Air India Pilots threaten in mid-flight to fly to Pakistan

This is not funny even though it sounds like it. Air India Pilots on a flight from Sharjah, UAE to New Delhi, leave the cockpit controls and get into a fist fight with other crew members. This after the air hostess in flight accuses them of sexual harassment. This gets more bizarre, as the argument/fight escalates the pilots threaten to fly to Pakistan. Check out more at sky news.

Happy Birthday to Mahatma Gandhi

Today is Gandhi Jayanti which is a national holiday in India to mark the occasion of Mahatma Gandhi's Birthday. This is amazing. Check out Google's Logo today at google.com.