I Heard The Crows Call For Rain

As scientific tools falter in predicting rain patterns, Indian scientists turn to the Vedas and traditional knowledge for some fine tuning.

Nearly 70 percent of India’s population relies almost exclusively on agriculture, so accurate weather forecasts are extraordinarily important. During the past 100 years, the monsoon has been normal 85 times, so predicting an uneventful season is relatively safe. Nevertheless, during the last two decades, the official rainbow chasers have gone terribly awry.


Retired Air Vice Marshal Ajit Tyagi, director general of Indian Meteorology Department (IMD), admits, “The extremes are really difficult to forecast.” The 135-year-old department, supported by dedicated satellites and hordes of sophisticated Doppler radars, predict the amount of rainfall (in percentage) annually. Every year, IMD projects precipitation levels on a scale, in which it predicts either a normal monsoon, a drought or a flood. The country’s economic fortunes and rural lives hang on its projections.

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Published in the magazine - Little India - the largest circulated Indian publication in the United States, as well as the largest circulated overseas Indian publication in the world.

Hari's flute, Krishna's tune

Music was not a genetic bequest for Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia. His father, a wrestler of international repute, wanted him to enter the world of muscle combat. But his interest lay in the much softer and mellower notes of life. 


At the age of 15, Chaurasia embraced music for life. When asked how difficult it was to switch from the game of muscle to the play of chords, he says, “It was difficult, but at the same time, fascinating too.”

Panditji began learning classical vocal from Pandit Raja Ram of Benares. The journey had just begun. His destination still looked hazy and distant. It was after attending a flute recital by Pandit Bholanath that the foundation for a flute legend was laid. Call it love at first sight or at first sound, the flute became his soul, his essence of life. His flute knows the delightful art of conveying delicate levels of feelings through subtle manipulation of tones and intervals. 


Avoiding all pinpoints he says, “I treat my each concert like first and last, so each one of them is memorable to me.” For audiences, this is definitely the case. “Music is my prayer and each auditorium a temple,” he adds. Pandit Chaurasia is a musician who is credited for developing a style that is respectful of tradition, yet full of novelty. Touching the chords of every heart, even his critics remain in awe of his style.

Cover story for the American magazine DeshVidesh (August 2010). Desh-Videsh magazine, is widely circulated in the southeast US. Readers hail from Florida, Georgia, Washington, DC, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina.  The magazine reaches a varied audience of over 50,000 Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshi, and Indo-Caribbeans.

The Gurus Go Green

What started as a journey to nirvana now seems to be heading towards a greener destination.

Spiritual Gurus who had been leading their followers on sacred paths until recently have now begun directing them to greener trails. Vowing to save the dying ‘Green’ Planet, many saffron-clad babas can now be spotted campaigning to save the environment. Using their wide reach and strong influence, the Gurus of India are successfully sketching and running climate cause campaigns - much to the shame of government ministries and professional organizations that have failed to make any impact so far.

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Khabar is a monthly magazine for the Indian community ONLY in GA, AL, TN & SC. Besides Indian-Americans, Khabar also reaches other South Asian immigrants in Georgia; those from countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka who share common needs for good and services.

Money to my home

A recently released data by the World Bank officially records that remittance flowing back to developing countries from the bank accounts of their migrants was equal to a sum of $338 billion in the year 2008. What’s interesting here is that out of this huge sum, more than $50 billion was the contribution of Non Resident Indians only.

Ten on ten 
India has consistently topped the chart for almost a decade now being the highest recipient of worker’s remittances. According to the World Bank figures, India received remittances worth $45 billion in the year 2008.

The World Bank acknowledged being surprised with the figures as South Asians proved to be stronger than all the expectations of the Bank. Report says that the remittance flows to Pakistan also increased by 24 per cent in the first eight months of 2009 on a year on year basis. Flows to Bangladesh and Nepal increased by 16 and 13 per cent respectively in the same period.


Creditable India!

Widening the smile further comes an estimate from Indian Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC). Under the chairmanship of eminent economist C Rangarajan who has also been the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, PMEAC has suggested that the remittance flow to India will grow strongly in the financial year 2009 – 2010 (which runs from April to March). Inward private transfers accounted to have already reached $27.5 billion in the first half of the current financial year. PMEAC predicts that India will receive not less than $30 billion in second half of the financial year taking the total annual figure to over $57 billion, a nearly 30 per cent hike over the previous financial year’s total.

Credit for credit


In the era of recession the promotion in cadres and salary hikes could definitely not be credited for the funds credited by NRIs. It’s the liberalisation of rules and regulations added to more flexible exchange rates. The convenient remittance services provided by Indian and International banks and several other organisations also encouraged shifting of channels from informal ones like hawala to official and proper banking channels.

The heavy inflow could also be credited to several attractive schemes and Indian government’s policy initiatives keeping NRIs in focus. Reserve Bank of India’s report sites factors like Rupee depreciation, increase in interest rate ceilings on NRI deposits, etc. The uncertainty in Oil prices also encouraged NRIs looking for an hedging opportunity to park their money in India and expect relatively better growth prospects.

Middle-East Vs West


A study on invisibles by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in the balance of payments comprising income from transaction in services and overseas investments, besides permanent transfers such as remittances by the Diaspora, has said that the Gulf has accounted for 27 per cent of the total remittances from NRIs globally.

The Central bank has quoted a survey on remittances by overseas Indians conducted in November 2009 that in comparison to a similar survey last done by RBI in 2006. The comparative data says that remittance from North America has dipped from 44 per cent to 38 per cent in three years as compared to rise in remittance from Gulf countries from 24 per cent to 27 per cent and from Europe – 13 per cent to 18 per cent.

Adding on to GDP


In developing nations like India where every dollar counts a lot, the remittances make up more than three per cent of the total national GDP. That’s a big contribution. For countries like Tajikistan, Tonga and Lebanon remittances contribute 25 to 50 per cent of their respective national GDP, similarly for Guyana, Nepal and Honduras the add-up is between 15 to 25 per cent of the GDP, remittance to such nations is nothing less than a lifeline to country’s economy...

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Originally appeared in an American magazine DeshVidesh (August 2010). Desh-Videsh magazine, is widely circulated in the southeast US. Readers hail from Florida, Georgia, Washington, DC, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina.  The magazine reaches a varied audience of over 50,000 Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshi, and Indo-Caribbeans.

FIFA Fever In India

In a country where cricket is divine, FIFA fever makes you wonder whether the new generation is headed for a religious conversion.

India is ranked 133 in the world football ranking and the team has no chance of qualifying for a berth in the FIFA World Cup anytime soon. Nonetheless, it ranks third among all countries in online “world cup” searches. There’s an enormous appetite to watch football in the country. A Nielsen Global Online survey reported that half of all Indians claim to be fans and plan to watch the World Cup — the 10th highest in the world.

From southern Kerala to eastern Kolkata to northern Punjab, the country is in grip of football fever. Veteran sports journalist Raja Ramanna says, “Football’s not a sports story at all, it’s a love story, a long distance relationship, which is totally short of any logic behind it, as if any love story has one. For some this love story even turns into a matter of life and death.”

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Kingdom of Dreams!

Gurgaon, a hi-tech city in India is now home to a new international travel destination. Touted as India's answer to Sydney's Opera House, Paris's Moulin Rouge, Singapore's Esplanade and London's Broadway , Kingdom Of Dreams aims to become the ultimate live theatre and leisure hub in the world with the technological wizardry of modern era.

India’s first live entertainment spot, Kingdom Of Dreams exhibits a complex blend of India’s art, culture, heritage, craft, cuisine, and performing arts.

Sprawling across six acres of land and run by the Great Indian Nautanki Company, KOD has two theatres - Nautanki Mahal and Showshaa Theatre. Other highlights of the Kingdom are the cultural street named as Culture Gully and Patli Gully, a spiritual walkthrough adorned with numerous idols of Indian gods including a massive 110 feet long sleeping Buddha.

The design of Nautanki Mahal, the 846-seater state of the art theatre, mimics a grand Indian palace. Every bit of the outside wall is carved with Khajuraho-inspired exotic figurines and the windows are beautiful stained glass. Showshaa Theatre is a 250-seater, air-conditioned, dome-shaped amphitheatre. A grand and colourful drama porch with a maypole like tent roof and interactive seating is intended to showcase lavish productions of the ancient Indian epics.

Culture Gully is another boulevard spread across 90,000 square feet showcasing diversified architectural designs, iconic of several Indian states aimed to have street performances, artisans and handicraft stores. There will be theme restaurants and over 350 exotic food preparations by certified chefs from over 14 states of the country.

Credited to be the visionary behind Kingdom, Viraf Sarkari, one of the directors says, “I dreamt of building a world-class musical stage and the best theatre in the world, engulfed in the colossal grandeur of India. Nothing could have been better than the portrayal of an imposing palace, bringing to life the Indian traditional architecture.”

“The challenge was handed to us clubbed with an excellent hurdle on way,” discloses Kunal Kuwadekar, the architect behind the project from Naren Kuwadekar & Associates. “The company took on lease, an under-construction auditorium from the State government to develop the centre. The existing structure, which was not supposed to be totally dismantled, had to be doubled in length, breadth and height. Adjustments to site conditions were paramount. ”

Dilip Chhugera, the director of Sanderson India Group - the thematic architects of the project, told that more than 200 engineers, architects and workers toiled day and night for over one and a half year to complete the project. “Amalgamation of various architectural styles from across India was an uphill task. Styles inspired by palatial buildings and details like domes, jaalis (carved curtain), ornate columns, motifs were all recreated painstakingly,” says Dilip. 

Roof & Façade Asia is a trade publication published from Singapore and circulated within a qualified readership in the building industry in Asia .

Visit to Haridwar Gateway to the Lord

The largest gathering of people in the world was scheduled in the country. What would it look like? I was both eager and anxious to witness the scene. This is how I finally landed in Haridwar, the city I have wanted to visit for years. Kumbh Fair 2010 became the ultimate driving force.

Once I made up my mind, I wasted no second in making a move to the holy city. I boarded a bus from New Delhi. The fight to grab a seat on the bus for the overnight journey amidst the huge mob wanting to reach Haridwar was a preview to the war ahead and to the challenge of not getting lost. More than 20,000 visitors got lost and were later found at this mammoth human fair. On entering Haridwar, I found myself either stepping on or being stepped on by someone. People, people everywhere, and even during the twilight hour! I soon realised that I should have visited here before to save myself from the large mob. Attending the fair on the last big day wasn’t a great idea either! Instead of witnessing 2.5 million people (on the first day of Maha Kumbh – January 14) taking a dip in the Ganges, I was witness to more than 15 million devotees. The rare planetary position at the time of Shahi Snan on April 14 occurred just once in 4,444 years and attracted this huge crowd to this holy town...

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Cover story (Travel) for the American magazine DeshVidesh (May 2010). Desh-Videsh magazine, is widely circulated in the southeast US. Readers hail from Florida, Georgia, Washington, DC, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina.  The magazine reaches a varied audience of over 50,000 Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshi, and Indo-Caribbeans.