Category: culture

First Sikh woman to graduate from US Military Academy at West Point

Indian-American, Anmol Narang is making history as the first observant Sikh woman to successfully graduate from the United States Military Academy at West Point.

Second Lt. Anmol Narang is a second-generation immigrant born and raised in Roswell, Georgia. She did a year of undergraduate study at the Georgia Institute of Technology before transferring to West Point, where she will graduate Saturday with a degree in nuclear engineering. She hopes to pursue a career in air defense systems.

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Credit: stripes.com

Lieutenant Narang, who grew up in Roswell, Ga., said military service was always in her blood. “My grandfather was in the Indian Army,” she said in an interview. “It was always a big part of my life and something I was always interested in.”

While Lieutenant Narang is the first observant Sikh to graduate from the academy, she is not the first Sikh cadet to do so. After graduating from West Point, Captain Simratpal Singh filed a lawsuit to request permission to serve while wearing a turban and a beard, a victory that paved the way for future Sikh service members to be granted religious exemptions.

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Army Capt. Simratpal Singh discusses Dhaliwal’s impact on the law enforcement community

West Point has worked to enroll more minority recruits — last year’s graduating class was its most diverse ever and included the highest number of black women in the academy’s history — but remains predominantly white and male.

Despite being a minority within a minority on campus, Lieutenant Narang said she did not feel isolated as a student there. In some ways, she said, it was easier to fit in as a female Sikh cadet than if she had been a man.

Two male practicing Sikh cadets are behind Lieutenant Narang, and they received religious accommodations from the academy to grow facial hair and wear turbans. The Army standard for women’s hair says that a bun must be no larger than 3.5 inches in diameter. For Lieutenant Narang, whose hair hangs to her knees, it took some practice to pin a bun tight enough to meet the requirement, but she did not need a religious accommodation.

Articles on the topic

Indian-American journalist in New York dies of Covid-19

New York, April 7

Indian-American journalist Brahm Kanchibotla has died of Covid-19 that is ravaging New York, the epicentre of the pandemic in the US.

Indian-American journalist in New York dies of Covid-19

The journalist died on Monday morning after nine days in a hospital, his son Sudama Kanchibotla said. Brahm Kanchibotla, 66, was a correspondent for United News of India.

During his 28-year career in the US, he had worked for 11 years as a content editor for Merger Markets, a financial publication, and also did a stint with News India-Times weekly newspaper.

He had emigrated to the US in 1992 after having worked for several publications in India.

Sudama said the family was not sure of the last rites for him because of the restrictions in New York. “We have not set a date and it will have to be a very small gathering because only 10 people are allowed at funerals,” he said.

Brahm Kanchibotla showed COVID-19 symptoms on March 23. When his condition worsened, he was admitted to a hospital on Long Island on March 28 and given an oxygen mask, Sudama said.

On March 31, he was put on ventilator and on Monday he had a cardiac arrest.

Besides Sudama, Brahm is survived by wife Anjana and daughter Siujana.

As of Monday night, 4,758 people have died of COVID-19 in New York City.

The US has recorded a total of 368,196 confirmed cases, while the death toll stood at 10,986. IANS

The Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also condoled the death of senior Indian-American journalist in a tweet.

 



 

Also in news:

  • Many Indian Americans tested positive with coronavirus, died in New York, New Jersey: Reports: While there is no official or unofficial count of Indian-Americans infected with the coronavirus, information available on various private social media groups indicate that a significant number of them are in New York and New Jersey.
  • Four New York Area-based Indian Americans Die of COVID-19 – The Kerala American community offered tributes to Shawn Abraham, 21, who lived with his family in New York City until his death on April 5. The Federation of Kerala Associations in North America confirmed the deaths of three other Indian Americans who died of COVID-19 related illnesses in or near New York: Aleyamma Kuriakose, 65; Thankachan Enchenattu, 51; and Abraham Samuel, 45. The Consulate General of India in New York said that it is in touch with the families of the deceased, as reported by PTI.

Indian-origin student found dead in Notre Dame campus lake

21-year-old Indian-origin female student’s body was recently recovered from a lake on the campus of Notre Dame, a premier university in the US state of Indiana.

St. Joseph County Coroner Michael J. McGann made a positive identification at the scene, the university said. There were no apparent signs of trauma.

“We’re deeply saddened by the passing of Annrose,” said Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., president of the University of Notre Dame. “We will keep her and her family and friends in our prayers.” At Notre Dame, she was a solo flutist for the university’s Folk Choir, which describes her as “irreplaceable.”

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“Our hearts are broken with the news of the loss of Annrose Jerry. The Folk Choir lost an important and irreplaceable member of our family,” the group said in a Facebook post. “Annrose was a sweet, intelligent, strong, passionate, kind-hearted friend and she will be so dearly missed. Our thoughts and prayers go out to her family and loved ones.

Jerry’s obituary describes her as an accomplished musician, having been the pianist for the Blaine High School jazz band and flutist in the school band, in addition to playing the flute for the Minnesota State Band.

Suhas Subramanyam, Virginia’s first Indian American, Hindu Delegate sworn in with Gita

A few days ago, an Indian American politician Suhas Subramanyam, tweeted

Subramanyam, who explains how his name is pronounced (‘Soo-braw-MAN-yum’) is a representative from District 87 in Virginia’s General Assembly. In a recent interview, he explains “Why was it important to tweet about being Hindu, Indian American“

I thought it was important to embrace it. I also want others running for office here or in other areas to not feel that they have to downplay or hide it. My constituency has Hindus and people are exposed to the faith, but it is also a diverse, smart and open-minded community. It is very inclusive, especially in recent years. While campaigning, too, I went to temples and did namaskar, but I also went to churches and mosques. Hinduism is accepting of all faiths as we believe it is one god with many names.

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from Subramanyam’s tweet

Subramanyam is married to Miranda Peña Subramanyam, who works for a government contractor and volunteers in her free time at the Loudoun Abused Women’s Shelter. They were married in Sterling, Virginia, where they currently reside.

About Bhagavad Gita

The Bhagavad Gita (Sanskrit: भगवद् गीता, ) often referred to as the Gita, is a 700-verse Sanskrit scripture that is part of the Hindu epic Mahabharata.  Popular media in India including bollywood films have long depicted court scenes where witnesses take an oath using Bhagavad Gita (link).

Subramanyam’s swearing in with a Bhagavad Gita follows a trend. With the increasing diversity in the West, many politicians of Indian descent are taking to the Gita during their swearing in:

And the hawks are watching for those who aren’t following this new norm: UK MP under fire for not taking oath on Gita – A British Punjabi Hindu MP has come under fire for not taking an oath of allegiance to the Crown on the Bhagavat Gita. 

Indian-American astronaut selected for NASA program for Moon, Mars

NASA recently announced that Indian-American Raja Chari passed out from the 2017 Astronaut Candidate Class. NASA profile of Colonel Chari’s profile includes:

The Iowa native graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1999 with bachelor’s degrees in Astronautical Engineering and Engineering Science. He continued on to earn a master’s degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and graduated from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School.

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Source: NASA
In June 2017, Chari was selected for NASA Astronaut Group 22, and reported for duty in August to begin two years of training as an astronaut.

Chari was born on June 24, 1977 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Sreenivas V Chari and Peggy Egbert.  He was inspired to pursue higher education by his father Srinivas V. Chari, who migrated from Hyderabad to US at a young age to complete a degree in engineering.  Chari was quoted in a recent interview:

“My father came to the country with the goal of getting an education and realizing the importance of that and that directly translated to how I was brought up,” adding, “There was a focus throughout my childhood on education and that being the thing, you really needed to do well to succeed”.

It was not a matter of checking boxes of qualifications but of being experts in one’s field, being “really passionate about” it, he added.

Chari is married to Holly Schaffter Chari, also a Cedar Falls native, and the couple has three children. His mother, Peggy Chari, lives in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

Raja Chari with his family. Left to right: Raja, his wife Holly, his son, his brother Krishna. And sitting on the sofa behind his mother Peggy and his father Sreenivas. Photograph: Kind courtesy Raja Chari via rediff.com

 

Other Indian American astronauts

The two Indian-American astronauts before him are both women, Kalpana Chawla and Sunita Williams.

Space scientist Chawla, who was born in Karnal, Haryana, and immigrated to the US, was killed on her second space mission when Space Shuttle Columbia broke up in 2003. She had participated in another mission on the same shuttle in 1987.

Williams, a navy officer, has served as the commander of a International Space Shuttle expedition in 2012. She had been on three other missions, in one of them as flight engineer.

Why are so many motels owned by Indians? This is even called the Patel Motel Cartel

As per some estimates, 70–80 percent of Motels across North America are owned or managed by Patels of Gujarati origin. When I lived in Colorado and North Carolina, I knew a few IT professionals of Gujarati origin who would continually muse and research ideas on getting into the business of running motels, franchises or gas station. Many eventually made the switch, thanks to the support from the strong network of community.

An interesting article in the New York Times from a decade ago chronicles the journey of Patels (re A Patel Motel Cartel?) “about 70 percent of all Indian motel owners — or a third of all motel owners in America — are called Patel, a surname that indicates they are members of a Gujarati Hindu subcaste.”

So, how do the Patels do this?

“Buying a motel, even one that’s in the red, usually requires a substantial down payment, one beyond the reach of most new immigrants. That, however, is one key to how this particular niche was captured. The down payment was seldom a problem for a prospective Indian purchaser, who was often able to turn to a network of relatives and friends to help him out. The story of Lata and P.J., for example, is not exactly the hardscrabble tale associated with some immigrant groups.”

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Check out other articles in the media that chronicle the Patels in America

Sikh community raises over $263,775 for boy who lost entire family in head-on car crash

The Sikh community in Carteret, New Jersey, has rallied around an 11-year-old boy — raising more than $$263,775 for him and his future — after he lost his entire family in a head-on car crash last week.

11-year-old Yashveer, whose family lived in Carteret — a borough in Middlesex County — was traveling with them in Virginia when they got into the deadly crash last Thursday. His parents, Gurmeet Singh, 44, and Jasleen Kaur, 38, were both killed, as was his 6-year-old sister.

Friends of the family provided an update on Monday to NJ.com, saying Yashveer had been released from the hospital and was recovering at a relative’s home. Rosa Diaz, superintendent of Carteret schools, said the entire borough was torn up about what happened to him.

“As expected, this has been an extremely difficult time for our community,” Diaz explained. “Our district has lost a member of our school family and we are working to support [Yash] as he learns to adjust to a life without his loved ones.”

Image via GoFundMe

According to GoFundMe

Gurmeet Singh (of Milton Distributors) was a man of few words but many smiles. He met with a tragic auto accident in Virginia on August 15th. The extremely unfortunate accident took away the lives of Gurmeet Singh, Jasleen Kaur, and 6 year old Harjas Kaur.

11 year old Yash Singh, has survived, and is hospitalized with Pelvic Fracture and a few other injuries. In this immensely unfortunate moment, while we all get together to pray to almighty to rest their souls in peace, we are also praying for the speedy recovery of Yash. While nobody can ever fulfill the void in Yash’s life, as friends and family, the least we can do is to come together and contribute our share for the medical expenses of Yash, funeral expenses of the deceased, and more importantly, contribute towards the future of Yash.

No contribution is big or small – please do whatever you can to help Yash have some financial support for the future. Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh

Articles about the incident

 

Indo-American Fair – New Jersey 2019

The South Asian Fair ‘Indo American Fair’ is back in New Jersey again this year

IndoAmericanFair

The announcers said “It gives us immense pleasure to announce that we are organizing 14th Grand Indo-American Fair on September 2019 – the Biggest and the best festival at Mercer County Park, West Windsor, NJ.
Indo-American Fair is organized to spread and share the art, culture and heritage of India amongst our American friends and other local and regional communities in the State of New Jersey. Indo-American Fair provides an opportunity to all that wishes to participate and present their various talents in this vibrant country without any monetary consideration. In view of the many facets of the Fair and presentation of varied art and culture activities during the festival, the Fair has essentially prompted the responsiveness of the needs of local, regional, and other communities seeing the influx to the Fair from thousands of people every year. Hence Indo American Fair has established itself as the premier cultural event in NJ among the community over the years. ”

Check out their website for details http://www.indoamericanfair.com/index.htm

Hindu Temple opens in Chesapeake, Virginia, featuring a Silver Tula, Indian Bagpipers, and a Peace Parade

Hindu Temple opens in Chesapeake, Virginia, featuring a Silver Tula, Indian Bagpipers, and a Peace Parade

Shree Swaminarayan Mandir (Temple) – Chesapeake, Virginia, at 4210 Dock Landing Road, celebrated its grand opening with prayers, scripture recitals, cultural and devotional dance performances, and a peace procession through the streets of the City. Visitors from the entire county and indeed many from abroad gathered to witness the inauguration ceremony being performed by His Divine Holiness Acharya Shree Purushottampriyadasji Swamishree Maharaj, who is the spiritual leader of Maninagar Shree Swaminarayan Gadi Sansthan, a worldwide organization dedicated to the progression of spiritual, social and cultural values.With the opening of Chesapeake Temple, Acharya Swamishree Maharaj has established yet another chapter in the USA towards his mission to spread the message of peace, unity and tolerance towards all.

TempleVirginia

Dignitaries attending to the opening ceremony included Dr. Richard W. West, Mayor of Chesapeake City Council. Expressing his delight on meeting Acharya Swamishree Maharaj, Mayor West said, “I can sense the aura of peace when coming to this place and meeting Acharya Swamishree Maharaj. I realize that he is a very special individual and I welcome him and you all to Chesapeake. I have attended many ribbon cutting  ceremonies, but nothing is as humbling as the event that I have the honor of seeing today.” A cheque towards the Mayor’s special charity appeal, and another to the Chesapeake Fire and Police Departments was presented by Acharya Swamishree Maharaj. The three day event also included a Peace Procession, through the
streets of Chesapeake, featuring the Shree Muktajeevan Swamibapa Pipe Band, North America’s first and only Indian American bagpipe band.

A more detailed listing of Hindu temples can be found on GaramChai.com 

 

Casting Call – Indian Classical Dancer

Came to us via Shereen (Email: spinningthefilm@gmail.com)
CASTING CALL – INDIAN CLASSICAL DANCER  –  Production Title: Spinning
ANITA, lead role
  • Female
  • 17-28 years old
  • North American
  • South Asian descent
  • Must be trained in at least one of the following Indian classical dance styles: Bharatanatyam, Kathak, or Odissi
  • Contemporary, jazz, or ballet training is a plus

No acting experience necessary. Shortlisted candidates will be invited to audition.

 

This is a Toronto-based, independent, micro-budget, non-union project. Pay and dates TBD.

Interested parties, please send the following items to spinningthefilm@gmail.com with “DANCER ANITA” in the subject line —

  • a headshot or clear selfie
  • bio/resume detailing age, background, and dance/acting experience
  • a dance reel or performance video, if any
  • contact information

CASTING CALL