HC4A’s Harish Kotecha Receives National Award
Austin: Founder and President of Hindu Charities for America (HC4A), Mr. Harish Kotecha, has been awarded the Sandra Neese Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY) for the 32nd Annual Conference. Sandra Neese Lifetime Achievement Award is presented annually to honor people who have tirelessly worked […]
Mystery Murder Story Set in Colonial Bombay
Set in 1892, Murder in Old Bombay addresses issues prevalent at the turn of the 20th century which are very present today: discrimination against those who do not belong to our ‘in’ group, misogyny, inequality in attitudes toward women. It’s also a heart-felt appeal to the (tiny) Zoroastrian community to update our social norms–or face […]
A Zoom Tribute to Raj Syal: Iconic Leader of Houston’s Hindu Community
By Jawahar Malhotra Houston: The response to the Zoom call to pay tributes to a local pioneer who preferred to stay in the shadows, Raj Kumar Syal, was expected to be huge and so it was opened up to as many people as possible. At its peak, 150 different callers had joined in, most with […]
UH Professor’s Covid-19 Nasal Vaccine
Houston: The University of Houston has entered into an exclusive license option agreement with AuraVax Therapeutics Inc., a Houston, TX based biotech company developing novel vaccines to help patients defeat debilitating respiratory diseases such as COVID-19. Under terms of the agreement, AuraVax has the option to exclusively license a new intranasal COVID-19 vaccine technology developed […]
VFS Global: New Indian Visa Service Provider in US
Houston: The Indian Consulate in Houston issued the following news release: 1. The existing service center of Cox & Kings Global Services (CKGS) located at 1001 Texas Avenue, Houston TX 77002 for providing outsourcing services for Visa, OCI, Renunciation, Passport and Global Entry Program (GEP) (Website: in.ckgs.us) will shut down its operations at close of […]
Early Voting Begins for the Soul of the Nation
Houston: Voters in Harris County set another early-voting record Wednesday. This time for turnout on the second day of early voting. According to a tweet from the Harris County Clerk’s Office, there had been 100,000 ballots cast by about 5:20 p.m. That shattered the previous day-two-early-voting record of 73,542 set in 2016. This marks the […]
Classical Arts Society Presents Ramkrishnan Murthy via FB Live
The South Indian NRI diaspora in the US has supported classical carnatic music for more than half a century. This is done both by bringing carnatic musicians to perform here in the US, and by having kids born and raised here learn this art in order for them to stay connected to their Indian roots. […]
Democracy First
By Lakshmy Parameswaran The United States of America – the model of democracy for the world – is at the precipice of becoming an autocratic state. The validity and certainty of the 2020 presidential election hang in the balance. President Trump claims that our ballot system is rigged, that is, if he loses the election. […]
A Year Later, County Honors its Fallen Hero Dhaliwal with Tollway Dedication
By Jawahar Malhotra Houston: A year after Harris County Deputy Constable Sandeep Dhaliwal was senselessly murdered at a gas station during a routine traffic stop on September 27, 2019, the County Commissioners formally unveiled signs on both sides of the 5-mile stretch of the Sam Houston Tollroad Beltway 8 from West Gulf Bank to Fairbanks […]
Vishala 7 Hillcroft Grand Opening Attracts Over 3,000 in Gandhi District!
Houston: Vishala opens its seventh location – Vishala VII Hillcroft – with a BANG in the center of the Mahatma Gandhi district on SAT OCT 3rd. “For the first time in Houston, we were giving away 7, 1-Gram Gold Coins to the first 7 shoppers and added Valet Parking,” said Viral Thakkar, Vishala Partner. “When […]
Raj Syal Dies: A Pioneering, Tireless Pillar of Houston’s Hindu Community
By Jawahar Malhotra The Woodlands: In the early years of the Indian community in the Bayou City, in 1968, when there were perhaps only 50 young families and a handful of foreign students at the University of Houston, there was a natural yearning to bond and find ways to gather for camaraderie and satisfy the […]
Houston Chronicle Endorses Sri Kulkarni
Changing demographics and a narrow escape in the 2018 elections helped persuade longtime Republican Congressman Pete Olson not to run for reelection in U.S. House District 22 this year. The six-term incumbent’s departure sets up a showdown that mirrors the presidential race with Sri Preston Kulkarni representing the moderate approach of Democrat Joe Biden and […]
The Indo-American Voter in 2020
By Safiya Ghori-Ahmad and Fatima Salman In her acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention, Senator Kamala Devi Harris (D-CA) put her Indian roots on full display. She spoke movingly about her Indian mother and gave a shout out to her “chittis” or, aunts in Tamil. Just a few days later at the Republican National […]
One of Our Own’s Covid-19 Journey from Ventilator to Back Home
By Lisa Grey Houston: In early March, Susham “Rita” Singh, then 65, took time off from selling appliances at the Galleria-area Home Depot. Her husband and her daughter — a doctor — yelled at her, warning her against flying to India for her annual visit with her mom. This new coronavirus was wreaking havoc in […]
Arya Samaj Houston Reaches Out During the Pandemic for Covid Testing
Houston: Covid-19 has thrown everyone into an uncertain phase and many have suffered a great deal. The pain is continuous in the form of health challenges, financial distress, isolation, and so on. But Arya Samaj Houston became proactive and walked an extra mile to deliver to the community It has been functioning online and indeed […]
Chinmaya e-Bala Vihar Zooms in a New Year of Online Vedic Learning
By Padmashree Rao Houston: In a pandemic-stricken world, where life, work and relationships have been redefined, learning too has taken a new online face. To evolve through such a challenging time, technology has zoomed in through many platforms to replace empty hallways and classrooms of education with fully charged homes of learning, both secular and […]
Community Honors Deputy Dhaliwal One Year after Death
Houston: A year ago, Harris County deputy Sandeep Dhaliwal was killed in the line of duty. The community he served vowed never to forget the beloved officer. Many showed up for a processional near his memorial on Sunday, where they remembered his life and honored his legacy. People from all backgrounds came to pay tribute […]
