GUJARATI SAMAJ OF TAMPA BAY
11.0"
PRESENTS
Tampa Bay
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5 TH 2016 FLORIDA STATE FAIRGROUNDS, TAMPA
CUT
A NEW LEGACY
TO
BE PROUD OF
11.0"
INVESTMENT ADVISORS
A K R
ANOOP K. REDDY, MD
BOARD CERTIFIED NEUROLOGIST
KIRTI J. PANDYA, MD
MEENAKSHI JAIN, MD, FACOG
CUT
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Æ p ffl¡Å¡...!
SILVER SPONSOR
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
BEGINNING of A NEW LEGACY VP EN吀ERPRISES INC⸀ 863-287-7970
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Mahant Swami Maharaj
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
5
GRAND SPONSOR
6
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016
GRAND SPONSOR
Wholesale Oil Distribution Vijay Patel Best Wishes to the 29th India Festival & Gujarati Samaj 2016
6903 Congress Street New Port Richey, FL 34653 Office: 727-846-9500 Fax: 727-846-9505 Visit us on www.staroil.us Email: info@staroil.us
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
7
GRAND SPONSOR
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016
PROUD SPONSOR ®
OUR SERVICES: • We Prepare Prior Authorization Forms • FREE Med Pack Preparation • Customized Medication Packaging • Refill Reminders • We Accept All Major Insurances • Customized Compound • We Match Competitor’s Pricing Medications • Workers’ Compensation • Brand Names, Generics & Specialty Drugs • Wait Time Less Than 10 Minutes • FREE Home Delivery
YOUR COMMUNITY PHARMACY Ph: 877-819-8901 in
WWW.BENZERPHARMACY.COM Contact us: info@benzerpharmacy.com
Over 60 Locations Nationwide
8
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
GOLD SPONSOR
9
GOLD SPONSOR
10
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016
PLATINUM SPONSOR
GOLD SPONSOR
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 From barely walking to running a 5k. A broken hip won’t break me.
Almost there, almost there.
Health care is about the human spirit. Which is why Florida Hospital goes beyond symptoms and treatments, helping people live healthier, happier lives. And why a little determination can turn pain into victory with a special meaning. This is more than quality, expertise and compassion.
Discover the Florida Hospital difference at InspiredTampaBay.com
12
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016
GOLD SPONSOR
Shared goals. A can-do spirit. That’s community. At BB&T, we’re dedicated to building strong communities by supporting worthwhile causes. It’s a key part of the service-oriented culture that has defined BB&T for more than 140 years. On the job and off, you’ll find the men and women of BB&T engaged and involved, rolling up their sleeves, sharing knowledge, encouraging excellence, opening doors. Finding ways to help others move forward in a brighter direction.
Proud sponsor of the 2017 India Festival
B A N K I N G
.
I N S U R A N C E
.
I N V E S T M E N T S
Member FDIC. Only deposit products are FDIC insured. BBT.com © 2016, Branch Banking and Trust Company. All rights reserved.
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
13
GOLD SPONSOR
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
• Investment Residential Loans
14
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
813-803-7564
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
TABLE OF CONTENTS PP Mahant Swami’s Message................................................................................................... 5 Message from Governor Rick Scott....................................................................................... 17 Proclamation from Mayor Bob Buckhorn............................................................................ 18 Proclamation from Consulate General of India................................................................... 19 Message from Hon. Chief Minister of Gujarat Mr. Vijay Rupani...................................... 20 Message from Mr. Rupala -Government of India................................................................ 21 Chairman’s Message................................................................................................................. 22 Executive Vice Chairwoman’s Message................................................................................. 24 GSTB President’s Message....................................................................................................... 26 GSTB Board of Governor Chairman’s Message.................................................................... 28 Honorable Chairman’s Message............................................................................................. 30 Sponsorship Committee Chair’s Message............................................................................. 32 Advertising Committee Chair’s Message.............................................................................. 34 Vendors Committee Chair’s Message.................................................................................... 36 Cultural Program Chair’s Message......................................................................................... 38 GSTB Vice President’s Message.............................................................................................. 40 Music Coordinator’s Message................................................................................................. 42 GSTB Board of Regents Chair’s Message ............................................................................. 44 Souvenir Book Editor’s Message ............................................................................................ 46 Amma Tell Me.......................................................................................................................... 64 Attitude of Gratitude................................................................................................................ 75 Financial Valuation.................................................................................................................. 88 Journey to the Geo Bee Championship................................................................................. 98 Expanding the Horizon through MOOCs............................................................................ 107 Prescription for Young Doctors.............................................................................................. 120 Journey of Iconic IFTB Trophy............................................................................................... 124 The Basics of Film Making...................................................................................................... 128 Brave New World of Geographic Information System........................................................ 143 SAT to Shark Tank.................................................................................................................... 151 Birds with Large wings............................................................................................................ 158 Harnessing the Immune System to Fight Cancer................................................................ 167 People of Indian Origin in News in 2016.............................................................................. 174 Molekule: An Inventor’s Story................................................................................................ 180 GSTB 2017 Membership Form & Event Calendar............................................................... 194 Road to Marshall Scholarship................................................................................................. 204 Index.......................................................................................................................................... 216 Jarjarit Waad............................................................................................................................. 218 Souvenir Editors: Jaimin Amin and Manish Kharod Designed by: Julio Cortes Printed by: Karen Sreeram Printing & Signs Depot “One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
15
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
16
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
November 5, 2016
Dear Friends: Congratulations on the success of India Festival Tampa Bay 2016, and thank you for all you are doing to bring visitors to our state and strengthen Florida’s economy. Florida’s tourism industry is a huge generator of jobs in our state, and you are helping create more opportunities for Florida families. Florida has experienced record numbers of visitors during each of the past five years, which is great news for Florida families. With 1.2 million jobs making up our growing tourism industry, we are continuing to grow, creating more opportunities for Floridians and making Florida first for job creation. Together, we are helping make Florida the best place in the world to raise a family, get a good paying job, and build a great life. Sincerely,
Rick Scott Governor
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
17
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
WHEREAS, hosted by Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay, the India Festival Tampa Bay (IFTB USA) is an annual event that celebrates the rich heritage of two of the greatest nations, India and the United States of America, and its mission is to create awareness of the Indian culture and to give the children and families of Indian origin the opportunity to feel a piece of their homeland right here in Tampa Bay; and WHEREAS, one of the largest Indian cultural events in the United States, the first India Festival Tampa Bay was chaired by Dr. Kiran Patel in 1988 and held at the University of South Florida’s Sun Dome, attracting over 3,000 people locally and from around the nation, and in recent years the event has surpassed 12,000 in attendance; and WHEREAS, the American citizens of the Indian community have greatly influenced the development of the Tampa Bay area by their generous philanthropy, cultural promotions, and active participation in educational, scientific and health fields, and the India Festival Tampa Bay provides the opportunity to showcase these contributions and further demonstrate the diversity and richness of our great community’s culture; and WHEREAS, the 29th Annual India Festival Tampa Bay includes IFTB USA Chairman Vijay Gandi’s theme “A Continued Legacy Though Generations” and features the branding of One Name. One Logo. One Trophy. going forward into the future, and the all-day event held on Saturday, November 5, 2016 at the Florida State Fairgrounds will provide an opportunity for local residents to explore, learn and experience Indian culture through art, music, jewelry, clothing, artifacts, authentic Indian food, and includes a health fair, fashion show, dancing and singing competitions, the awarding of over 200 iconic trophies, and vendors; and WHEREAS, all proceeds from the Festival will benefit the youth of the community by promoting cultural activities and providing local college and university teams the opportunity to participate in Art and Dance competitions; and NOW, THEREFORE, I, Bob Buckhorn, by virtue of the authority vested in me as Mayor of the city of Tampa, Florida, do hereby proclaim November 5, 2016 as
“INDIA FESTIVAL TAMPA BAY DAY” in the city of Tampa, Florida, and urge all citizens to join me in thanking the Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay for organizing the India Festival Tampa Bay that provides the opportunity to celebrate the rich Indian culture. Dated in Tampa, Florida, this 5th day of November, 2016.
____________________________ Mayor
18
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
19
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
20
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
21
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Congratulations to
29th India Festival Tampa Bay
Best Wishes From Shashank, Shilpa, Ankit and Vijay Ghandhi 22
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Vijay Gandhi CHAIRMAN
O
Welcome to the 29th Annual India Festival of Tampa Bay (IFTB)! ver the years India Festival has become a venue to promote Indian culture to the growing Indian diaspora. It is no longer a local Floridian event but rather one of the largest Indian events in the country. It boasts of over 15,000 attendees and 1000 participants in the cultural performances. This year alone, the festival has drawn 180 national and international vendors. With an event of this magnitude, India Fest generates financial activity of several million dollars for the Tampa Bay economy. The success of IFTB would not be possible without the support of the Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay (GSTB), the Tampa Bay community, and volunteers who work countless hours to organize a great day of festivity and fun. I like to extend my gratitude to this year’s keynote speaker and the founder of IFTB, Dr. Kiran Patel, for his support and service to the community. We are also privileged to have Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn for ceremoniously opening the 29th IFTB. As the vendors’ exposition chair for the past few years, I’ve realized what the next step is for growing IFTB into an iconic event that is recognizable in every Indian household - an official branding campaign. For the first time ever, we have introduced the concept of “one name, one logo, and one trophy forever”. With innovative logo and trophy designs that are everlasting, IFTB will be establishing its brand for years to come. Because of this transformation, we will continue our legacy forward and drive future generations to hold onto a piece of history that will stay throughout time. In order to encourage a wide array of talent and enthusiasm this year, we have revitalized the judging platform by welcoming some of the most well-known and talented judges from all over USA. We believe this has generated momentum within the judging panels and motivated performers to strive for excellence. We are also excited to have Mrs. Sweta Jain, Mrs. India USA Ambassador, as one of the masters of ceremony. Along with the title sponsors, “Zee TV” and “&TV” we will also be a featuring a musical concert by Jugpreet Bajwa, winner of “Sa Re Ga Ma Pa” in 2016. We will have comedy segment provided by “Chatur” (Omi Vaidya) from “3 idiots” film. Furthermore, the “Living Foodz” channel will be present at the vendors’ expo. I am very thankful to the GSTB executive committee, Kirit Shah the chairman of Board of Governors (BOG), and BOG committee for giving me the opportunity to establish this new era of IFTB legacy. I find myself very fortunate to work with a proven, result-oriented, and dedicated core team who is willing to work from anywhere using tools like WebEx towards the success of IFTB and fulfilling financial targets. In addition, I would like to thank all the sponsors, advertisers, and vendors who have helped in making India Festival an amazing event. Finally, I would like to thank my lovely wife, Shilpa, and my sons, Shashank and Ankit, without whom I would not have the enthusiasm and courage to lead IFTB. They have always supported me in all of my roles in the Indian community over the years. I can confidently say that they have become a testament to the establishment of our legacy. On this occasion, I wish you a happy, healthy and prosperous new year! RAJI RAHO! KHUSH RAHO! Vijay Gandhi Chairman
Think Big... Think Fast...Think Ahead... By: Dhirubhai Ambani “One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
23
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Congratulations to 29th India Festival Tampa Bay
Best Wishes From Rahul, Malti, Kirti and Pooja Pandya
24
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Malti Pandya
A
EXECUTIVE VICE-CHAIRWOMAN s this year’s Executive Vice Chair, it is my pleasure to welcome you to the 29th India Festival Tampa Bay! I have watched India Festival grow over the last 25 years and even I cannot believe how far we have come! From the years when we had to work so hard to get 40 teams and 50 vendors to a day where we have to turn teams away so we can finish on time and book 180 vendors in the blink of an eye; it is truly an amazing feat. What makes this year one for the record books, however, is that we accomplished our goal of ONE NAME, ONE LOGO, ONE TROPHY. From now on, we will be known as India Festival Tampa Bay which will have a permanent logo and a trophy that will represent the brand for all future festivals. This year’s theme, “A Continued Legacy Through Generations”, has a very special place in my heart. I started working with the Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay and India Festival over two decades ago and from day one, my daughter Pooja was always by my side; and after all these years we are still working together in the community. The reason I started volunteering was to ensure that our children could grow up with a sense of culture and community and I am so happy that I have been able to be part of such wonderful organizations that have allowed my children to be part of something that has shaped them and also kept them grounded. Each year we put together this event and each volunteer has a different motivation for giving so much to put together our festival and as you may have already guessed, my reason has always been the children. I feel that we are very fortunate to live in Tampa Bay where the ever growing Indian population allows for our kids to experience and carry on our culture and tradition in such a grand way. The proof can be seen at the college and teaching levels. A majority of the students who have performed on the India Festival stage have gone on to participate on teams at their respectives colleges and universities. And also, let us look at the choreographers that bring teams to the event --- more and more of them are of the next generation and so many are first generation Indian-Americans. These are the things that make our festival a success. Our theme continued off stage as well this year by giving opportunities for some of the next generation to take on leadership roles. It was truly an educational experience for everyone.. My hope is to continue bridging the gap over the years so that we can pass this torch to them and they can carry it forward as they settle down and raise their children. I would like to thank our chairman, Mr. Vijay Gandhi for offering me this position and subsequently pushing me to accept; you have been a wonderful leader during this journey. No matter what I do or how much I accomplish, I cannot do any of it without the love and support of my husband, Kirti. Thank you for always understanding when I have 3 meetings a week, taking 20 calls a day or that sometimes dinner is Taco Bell. You are truly the MVP of every event I am part of -- thank you! Malti Pandya Executive Vice-Chairwoman
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
25
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Congratulations to
29th India Festival Tampa Bay
Best Wishes From
Juhi, Anuj, Shivani, Jigisha and Mahesh Desai
26
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Jigisha M. Desai PRESIDENT, GUJARATI SAMAJ OF TAMPA BAY INC. Dear Community Members and Friends: I still remember moving to the Tampa Bay area with my family from New York City in 2002 like it was yesterday. We only knew a handful of people, who to this day are like family. TheSamaj welcomed me and my family when we barely knew how to navigate the community here. My children’s passions for our Indian culture continued to be fostered through involvement with the Samaj. Today, as your 2016 Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay President,I think about each and every one of you and how my family has grown so beautifully and immensely since then. We were able to seamlessly integrate into our new community because of the openness and love of people like you. 2016 marks 35 years of GSTB’s existence and you have enthusiastically helped us spread this year’s GSTB theme, “Celebration”- celebration through education, celebration through health awareness and celebration through bridging generational gaps. We were able to ring in new events, like the Participationin Children Gasperilla Parade, opening of Gujarati Library, Beach Outing, Kids’ Navratri and of course keepingour traditions going with Uttarayan, Holi, Gujarat Din, Mothers’ Day Picnic, Navratri, Diwalietc. We truly were able to fulfill our 2016 GSTB theme of “Celebration” and slogan,“Let’sLearn, Grow and Connect Generations Through Celebrations” in each and every event with hard work and dedication of our selfless volunteers, generosity of sponsors, help from advertisers and support from members. India Festival Tampa Bay is without a doubt the biggest and most popular celebration for GSTB each year. In the 29 years India Festival has been taking place, the event has and will continue to evolve in many ways, but the theme of celebration will always remain. It brings together not only our GSTB community, but also people from other diverse backgrounds from all over the United States. It allows us to celebrate and share our diverse and rich artistic culture while adding an element of healthy cultural dance competition. We can proudly say that each corner of India is celebrated here today. There are no words that can really express my appreciation for the hard work and dedication put in by the 29th India Festival Tampa Bay’s Chairman Mr. Vijay Gandhi and his entire team. I thank and congratulate him and his entire team on accepting challenging task of successful execution of the 29th India Festival Tampa Bay celebration. Thank you to my executive committee, Board of Governors, volunteers, sponsors, advertisers and vendors for their support in making 2016 a memorable year. Thank you to all the participants, parents and choreographers for their tireless work in bringing their dances for the competition, the highlight of today’s event. Thank you all for coming here today to celebrate India and its colorful culture. Last but certainly not the least, I thank my mother Madhuben, husband Mahesh, daughters Juhi and Shivani, son Anuj and nephews Jay and Yash for all their love and support, the sources that inspire me to achieve more and more each day. Sincerely, Jigisha M. Desai President-Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay, Inc.
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
27
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Congratulations to
29th India Festival Tampa Bay
Best Wishes From Mukti and Kirit Shah
28
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Kirit Shah CHAIRMAN, BOARD OF GOVERNORS
“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do arein harmony” Mahatma Gandhi
I
NAMASTE, t is my great pleasure to welcome all of you to 29th India Festival. I am very fortunate to be part of Tampa Bay Indian Community. I moved to Clearwater Beach with my family in 1995. We feel that Indian Community of Tampa Bay is very vibrant, great community spirit, great cultural and social events, great entrepreneurs and professionals, many temples for worship and last but not least OUR INDIA CULTURAL CENTER.
It was an honor to serve Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay as a PRESIDENT in 2001. Our team faced a tremendous challenge in organizing INDIA FESTIVAL due to unfortunate terrorist act of 9/11. Lots of anxiety and sleepless nights but our resolve, determination, community support and spirit made it possible to continue our tradition of INDIA FESTIVAL. Despite tough challenges, our participants, vendors, visitors and hard working team members made it a great success. It is a great honor to serve Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay (GSTB) as a Chairman of Board of Governors. We have a great team. Our team encouraged and supported Chairman Vijay Gandhi and his team’s initiative of ONE NAME, ONE LOGO, ONE TROPHY. On behalf of Board Of Governors I would like to thank all the hard working dedicated team members of India Festival, Executive committee members of GSTB, and all the samaj members for their services to GSTB. On behalf of Board of Governors, our sincere thanks to talented participants, Sponsors, Advertisers, and most important all the visitors. You are the heart and soul of INDIA FESTIVAL. Kirit Shah, Chairman-Board of Governors
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
29
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Congratulations to
29th India Festival Tampa Bay
Best Wishes From Hansa and Himatlal Parekh
30
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Himatlal J. Parekh HONORARY CHAIRMAN
I
Namaste and welcome to our 29th India Festival Tampa Bay! ndia Festival has always had a mission to create awareness about the Indian culture in the Tampa Bay community and adding to the overall cultural diversity of the state as a whole. The day that is organized by a local group of volunteers and hosted by the Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay can only be described as a mega cultural show growing year by year over nearly three decades reaching new record attendance every year.
Our unique event emphasizes Indian heritage and culture and brings together performers and attendees young and old from all over Florida and our neighboring states. We are also able to expose non-Indian-Americans to the colors, flavors and variety of the country we still like to think of as home. I would like to especially thank the many sponsors and vendors without whom this event would not be the same and of course the performers and their families without whom the cultural aspect and show would not exist. To the Chairman, Mr. Vijay Gandhi - your exemplary leadership allowed your hard working team to succeed at the level which it did. You and your team did an excellent job bringing the community together to garner support from all corners of Tampa Bay and its surrounding areas. I am humbled to have been named Honorary Chairman. I have no doubt that this year was yet another record breaking year under the leadership of Mr. Gandhi and all the committees that worked so hard and so well together. Last but not least, I would like to say how proud I am of our Gujarati Samaj President, Mrs. Jigisha Desai and her excellent Executive Committee and the Boards of Governors and Regents. Happy Diwali and Happy New Year to all of you! May this new year bring you health and prosperity! United we will stand! Jai Jai Garavi Gujarat! Jai Bharat! Himatlal J. Parekh Honorary Chairman
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever�
31
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Congratulations to
29th India Festival Tampa Bay
Best Wishes From Heta, Hemisha, Nilesh and Riya Patel
32
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Nilesh Patel SPONSORSHIP CHAIR
O
n behalf of the sponsorship committee of India Festival Tampa Bay (IFTB) 2016, I would like to extend our deepest appreciation for continued support of our generous sponsors, advertisers, vendors, volunteers as well as countless souls and organizations who have promoted the Greatest Indian Festival of its kind in the US. As a Chairman for the sponsorship committee I would like to thank all of the 30+ members of the sponsorship committee and members of the core committee for their relentless efforts in promoting this event and reaching out to the sponsors. This year marks 29th Anniversary of this Grand Festival where it is taking shape in a more defined manner and extend its reach by instilling its brand image on the Indo-American people-scape. Think of India as an amalgam of countries – each with its own cultural and traditional identities – even its own language and food! To have a platform where we can showcase its “unity in diversity” leaves deep impact and inspires others to live in harmony. This year we have over 50 sponsors. This high level of sponsorship is a statement that our community is promoting and generously supporting the very cause of this festival. The increasing level of IFTB sponsorship also reflects in the versatility and marketability of this event that has estimated several millions in economic impact. It provides the sponsors, advertisers, and vendors a platform where they could promote their product and services to a very diverse Indo-American as well as non Indo-American community. The sponsorship also made possible for us to put together a grand experience for all the patrons who will attend this festival. I am very fortunate to have an inspiring and supporting family. My daughters, Heta and Riya, bring a fresh perspective of teenage mindset, which is very critical as we reach out to younger generation to continue this legacy. They are also lending their help by continuing to volunteer for the festival. Many thanks to my wife Hemisha for making impromptu tea and snacks for those long hours at the meeting as well as being the part of scoring and judging team. On behalf of the sponsor committee I wish all the sponsors, advertisers, and vendors all the best for their products and services. I am sure everyone who walks in the door will be mesmerized by the festivities and will take a piece of India back with them anxiously awaiting to come again and again every year! Nilesh Patel, CFA Sponsorship Chair
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
33
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Congratulations to
29th India Festival Tampa Bay
Best Wishes From Aarav, Haresh and Hemlata Patel
34
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Haresh Patel ADVERTISEMENT CHAIR
F
or nearly three decades, India Fest—and its associated Competing Teams, vendors, advertisers and attendees— has been a central pillar of the Indian community of Tampa Bay. After five years of active involvement in this wonderful event, it is with great pride that I have taken on the role of advertising chair of the 29th India Fest 2016.
I truly believe that it takes a village to raise a child, and a village with strong cultural values can raise children who can take pride in their heritage. When we come together in unity for an immense undertaking such as this one, we can pass on to future generations the cultural values of our “village” that we have learned from our families. Tradition is important, but so is sustaining growth, and this year, I hope you will notice and enjoy some of the changes we have introduced including one logo, one trophy. We are fortunate to have a strong foundation from previous generations of committees upon which to plan for future growth. I would like to thank our new chair, Vijay Gandhi and Vice Chair, Malti Pandya for encouraging me in my role. I also would especially like to thank all the sponsors and advertisers whose generosity has helped support India Festival and the beautiful souvenir book you hold in your hand. This event is getting bigger and better every year to reach new heights, and I am grateful to all the participants, vendors, sponsors, advertisers and attendees for the support that makes this growth happen. At last, thank you to my wife Hemi and my son Aarav for their support and understanding while I was busy with advertisement related activities over last several months. Sincerely, Haresh Patel Advertisement Chair
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
35
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Congratulations to
29th India Festival Tampa Bay
Best Wishes From
Sonia, Jayprakash, Sejal and Aakash Panjabi
36
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Jayprakash “Jimmy” Panjabi VENDOR EXPO CHAIR
O
ver the years, attending India Festival Tampa Bay has brought great joy and satisfaction. As a community we are moving in the right direction and setting a path for our children to continue our culture and live up to our values as Indians.
As a Vendor Expo Chair for the India Festival 2016, I would like to congratulate our chairman Mr. Vijay Gandhi for a job well done. Working with him has been a wonderful experience. This year our focus was on maximizing the use of space and increasing the number of vendor booths to 180. I am proud to say that we have accomplished our goals of building relationships with new vendors and maintaining strong bonds with our valued repeat vendors. I would like to personally thank each and every vendor for supporting the India these past 29 years, building relationships that truly matter, and for making this year’s expo a grand success. On behalf of my wife Sejal, my son Aakash, and my daughter Sonia, I take this opportunity to wish you all the best and congratulate everyone for yet another successful India Festival Tampa Bay. Best wishes for a Happy Diwali and Prosperous New Year. Jayprakash “Jimmy” Panjabi, Vendor Expo Chair
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
37
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Congratulations to
29th India Festival Tampa Bay
BestVC,Wishes From Maya and Nila Patel 38
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Nila Patel
G
CHAIR -CULTURAL PROGRAM rowing up in Zambia, Central Africa, some of the best memories I have are of the annual Bhajan Samelans. Even though I was quite young at the time, I felt that I contributed somehow to the organization and execution of these amazing 3 day events. Everyone who lived in my town was involved, no matter what age, and it all made us glow with satisfaction at the end of a successful event. When I moved to Tampa, over 20 years ago, I was equally moved by a gigantic event called India Festival, hosted by the Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay (GSTB). I have been involved with India festival for several years, either as a volunteer, entry team leader, or just simply as a backstage mom! It never ceases to amaze me how the whole event comes together each year. This year, I am proud to be a part of the team and the monumental changes that are taking place in the branding of India festival as IFTB. My team and I have spent several months preparing and finalizing the rules and regulations for the dance competitions, which are now part of the permanent rules for all future IFTB’s. This will streamline the process for all future entry committees as it will make each year standardized. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Vijay Gandhi, IFTB chair; Mrs. Malti Pandya, Vice Chair of IFTB; and Mrs. Jigisha Desai, President of GSTB. They are my mentors and I am humbled that they bestowed their trust in my abilities. I would also like to thank my Vice Chair, Mrs. Poonam Rangwala, for her enthusiastic support, along with the all of the other members of the entry team, backstage team, sound team, judging team, scoring team and the magnanimous volunteers who make this event possible. Finally, none of this would be possible without the support and encouragement of my husband, V.C. and the talents of my tech savvy daughter, Maya. I thank you both for always being there for me. As you enjoy today’s cultural show, think of the hundreds of volunteers who helped put this event together and take a moment to thank a few. IFTB’s unique ability to bring an entire community together for one common goal of “a continued legacy through generations” is something we should all cherish. Also, please think of the hundreds of participants who will grace the stage today and give them a thunderous applause for their countless hours of practice and their desire to preserve our Indian heritage. Enjoy the 29th India Festival of Tampa Bay. Sincerely, Nila Patel Chair-Cultural Program “Alone we can do so little… together we can do so much.”- Helen Keller “One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
39
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Congratulations to
29th India Festival Tampa Bay
Best Wishes From
Krutika, Nayna, Jayesh and Keshav Patel
40
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Jayesh D. Patel GSTB VICE-PRESIDENT
I
would like to welcome you on behalf of Gujarati Samaj of Tampa bay to celebrate the 29th Annual India Festival. India festival has grown in participation from all over Florida, it has engaged the younger generation in cultural celebration and festivities. India festival provides children and adults opportunities to immerse themselves in our cultural and traditions by participating in dance competitions and enjoying the authentic variety of foods, music, fashion clothing and jewelry. It is important that we continue to promote our Indian heritage and rich culture throughout the generations. For that reason, it is my goal to help serve, support, and strengthen the community to ensure our future generations remain connected to our roots. My story began when I first came to America in 1988 and settled in Tampa, Florida with my wife, Nayna Patel and extended family. I had opportunities to serve several organizations over the years including board of director at Central Bank and trustee member of Indian Cultural Center. I look forward to working with such a passionate, skillful committee dedicated to taking India Festival to higher heights. I would like to thank you all for your continued love and support for our Gujarati Samaj. I am looking forward to a memorable and wonderful upcoming year 2017 as your President of Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay. Wish you all the happy Diwali & Happy New Year. Sincerely, Jayesh D. Patel Vice President-Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay, Inc .
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever�
41
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Congratulations to
29th India Festival Tampa Bay
Best Wishes From Falguni, Mukesh and Ria Patel 42
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Mukesh Patel MUSIC COORDINATOR
I
t is a distinct honor and privilege to welcome you to the 29th India Festival of Tampa Bay, a time to celebrate the cultures of India. It’s an exciting time for all competitors, vendors, attendees, and our hard working volunteers.
First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest and sincerest gratitude to our Chairman Mr. Vijay Gandhi and Mrs. Malti Pandya, Vice Chairwoman, and the entire committee of the 29th India Festival Tampa Bay for giving me a great opportunity to serve as the Music Coordinator. I am honored and grateful to have been involved with India Festival Tampa Bay for the last 10 years. I really feel that I was born to do social work. India Festival is a part of my family. Every year, my family and I eagerly await this day. The task of coordinating the music and sound during the three months leading up to the program become a priority over other routine work. My daughter gets a chance to learn a lot about our culture by participating in dance and helping me to make this day very special and a success. Thank you to all of the competitors, vendors, attendees, and volunteers for your hard work to make this event very successful. I would like to personally thank my music team -- Mr. Jigish Desai, Mr. Nimir Thakkar, Mr. Shrikanth Patel and Mr. Hari Modha for their dedicated time and enthusiasm towards making this event smooth and successful. Last but not least, a special thanks to my wife, Falguni, and my daughter, Ria, for their generous support and understanding in my being away for many, many hours and missing our family time. Thank you and God bless! Mukesh Patel Music Coordinator
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
43
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Congratulations to
29th India Festival Tampa Bay
Best Wishes From Dr. Jayendra & Shaila Choksi Drs. Rushir & Neha Choksi Nilay & Maya Choksi, Esqs. Dev, Niam & Kayan
44
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Dr. Jayendra Choksi CHAIRMAN, BOARD OF REGENTS
I
t is my distinct honor and privilege as the chairman of the Board of Regents (BOR) to welcome all of you to the 29th Annual India Festival. Please allow me to explain the purpose and importance of BOR. In 2015, the members of the Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay approved changes in the organization’s bylaws. In that change, the Board of Regents was created. BOR members are all past presidents and chairpersons of India Festival, who are not also members of the Board of Governors (BOG). I was honored to be unanimously chosen to be the first chairman of BOR. Nearly all members of BOR have over 20-25 years of rich experience with Gujarati Samaj as volunteers at management level. One can appreciate the total number of years of extensive experience in BOR—easily in the hundreds of years. The goals of BOR is not to manage daily affairs with the Executive Committee or BOG, though, of course, BOR is happy to provide any help or advice if needed. Once a year, BOG reports a high level report to BOR. The main goal of BOR is to contemplate and provide a future vision for Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay, such as where we will be 5-10 years from now and what the needs will be. For example, the future vision can include use of technology, like replacing cards with fingerprints and other biometrics, change in election process, participation by our youth to preserve our culture and traditions, etc. Our Samaj is getting bigger, membership is increasing, and our needs are thus expanding as well. One current issue is that ICC is becoming a bit too small for some events. An alternative to ICC, and even the Florida State Fairgrounds if it is not available or appropriate, is needed. We are open to your ideas and welcome you to provide suggestions, so in the future, our Samaj can be even better and more efficient. Finally, please allow me to congratulate Mr. Vijay Gandhi for his leadership and vision, along with his team for their selfless hard work and months of volunteering, for the success of the 29th Annual India Festival. Mr. Gandhi’s vision for one logo, one trophy, and one name forever is commendable. Even with our eyes toward the future, this will help brand India Festival with Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay for many generations to come. Tampa Bay is known for its rich cultural heritage and diversity. An event, such as a festival of this magnitude, provides an opportunity for diverse individuals and societies to come together and celebrate culture and traditions, which creates an even greater appreciation of one another. Again, welcome to the 29th Annual India Festival and please enjoy. Truly Yours, Jayendra Choksi, M.D.; FAPA Chairman, Board of Regents “One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
45
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Congratulations to
29th India Festival Tampa Bay
Best Wishes From Monic, Jaimin, Neha and Heather Amin 46
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Jaimin Amin
A
EDITOR, SOUVENIR BOOK s you are holding this printed souvenir in your hand or reading it over a smart device, we have captured many memories. The India Festival Tampa Bay platform provides immense opportunities for our children, parents, and community to come together and celebrate our rich culture. This is our 29th year, which shows commitment from our community and strong emphasis on “A Continuous Legacy through Generations”. In this year’s souvenir book, we wanted to share some inspiring articles where the authors’ turned challenges into opportunities. Some examples include a mom not finding interesting mythological books for her young children so she wrote her own. A dad unable to find an air filter which destroys (not collects) the air pollutants, invented one to help his son fight bad allergy and asthma. A local filmmaker who is an IT consultant by day but pursues his filmmaking passion by night. An Ivy League college student sharing her journey in a selfless manner to help students and parents. As well as many more compelling stories you will not want to miss. It is an honor when our chairman and vice-chair woman have faith in you to deliver beautiful souvenir for all of us. I am greatly appreciative for this opportunity and enjoyed all the laughing, brainstorming, and collaborating went into producing this souvenir. We extend sincere appreciation to Karen Seeram and Julio Cortes for being flexible, turning our creative ideas into reality, and stepping up to the plate during crunch time. I would like to extend a special thanks to my co-editor and friend, Mr. Manish Kharod, for helping me find some well-known authors, diverse topics, and being persistent on an iterative process to produce great articles. His out of the box thinking and brainstorming on a daily basis over last few months helped make this souvenir a great memorable gift for everyone. I would also like to extend my special thanks to our core team members including Nilesh, Haresh, Pooja, Maltiben,Vijaybhai, Ajit, Jigar and Shailesh for their help to meet the Souvenir’s deadline. I would like to thank my daughters, Heather and Monic, for providing their co-editing services and a millennial generation perspective. Lastly, I would like to thank my wife, Neha, for her continuous support at home and her willingness to step in when needed, which made the rest of my tasks easy. I am fortunate enough to wear many hats as a son, dad, husband, volunteer, student, full-time consultant, and entrepreneur. I would not be able to do all those things without a very supporting family. With Warm Wishes, Jaimin Amin Editor, Souvenir Book “One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
47
29th INDIA FESTIVAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Vijay Gandhi Chairman
Malti Pandya Exec. Vice Chairwoman
Jigisha Desai GSTB President
Himatlal Parekh Honorary Chair
Nilesh Patel Sponsorship Chair
Haresh Patel Advertisement Chair
Nila Patel Cultural & Entries Chair
Jayprakash Panjabi Jt. Chair Vendor Expo
Keval Brahmbhatt Jt. Chair Vendor Expo
Jaimin Amin Editor
Ajit Shah Treasurer
Jigar Jadav Secretary
Dinesh Gandhi Branding
Jyoti Gandhi Grievances
Shilpa Gandhi Judging
Vikas Ghiya Stage Management
Pooja Pandya Backstage & Media
Parth Shah Emcees
Neena Patel Scoring & Tabulations
Manu Joshi Trophies
Mukesh Patel Sound Management
Dr. Ashwin Mehta First Aid Team
Dr. Rohit Patel Health Fair
Vishnu Patel Hosting
Dhiraj Thumar GSTB Reception
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
CO-CHAIR COMMITTEE
Poonam Rangwala Cultural & Entries
Asha Patel Cultural & Entries
Hemi Patel Cultural & Entries
Manish Kharod Editor
Shashank Gandhi Emcees
Ankit Gandhi Emcees
Upen Patel Website
Sahil Modi Website
Linda Shah Scoring & Tabulations
Asha Kharod Grievances
Hemisha Patel Judging
Neha Amin Judging
VC Patel Stage Management
Jimmy Patel Logo/Trophy Design
Dhiren Shukla Advertising
Mahesh Modha Advertising
Mukti Shah Judging
Raju Gandhi Stage Management
Sailesh Patel Advertising
Shaila Choksi Judging
Shailesh M. Patel Advertising
Bhikhubhai Nayi Hosting
Dr. Satish Dholakia Judging
Dr. Gautami Dholakia Judging
Priya Shukla Advertising/Back Stage
Manish Patel Advertising
Karen Sreeram Souvenir
Tarak Patel Decoration
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
SPONSORSHIP & ADVERTISEMENT COMMITTEE
Mr. Vijay Patel
Mr. Alpesh Patel
Mr. Jayesh Patel
Dr. Chirag Patel
Dr. Sanjay Navadia
Dr. Mukesh Patel
Dr. Samir Shah
Dr. Kirit Patel
Mr. Kuleen Shah
Dr. C J Patel
Dr. Ashok Modh
Mr. Rupesh Shah
Dr. Anoop Reddy
Dr. Meenakshi Jain
Mr. Sudhir Shah
Dr. Vijay Patel
Dr. Jatin Sheth
Dr. Mukesh Mehta
Mr. Bharat Patel
Dr. Harish Patel
Dr. Dipak Shah
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
GUJARATI SAMAJ OF TAMPA BAY EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, 2016 GUJARATI SAMAJ OF TAMPA BAY, INC.
THANK YOU TO EACH AND EVERYONE WHO MADE THE 29TH ANNUAL INDIA FESTIVAL TAMPA BAY A SUCCESS. MAY 2016 SHINE BRIGHT AND EACH COMING YEAR SHINE EVEN BRIGHTER. BEST WISHES TO THE 29TH INDIA FESTIVAL TAMPA BAY. FROM JIGISHA DESAI, PRESIDENT JAYESH PATEL, VICE PRESIDENT JAYPRAKASH PANJABI, SECRETARY KEVAL BRAHMBHATT, TREASURER KAMLESH PATEL, SOCIAL SECRETARY
Mrs. Jigisha Desai PRESIDENT
Mr. Jayesh Patel VICE PRESIDENT
Mr. Jayprakash Panjabi SECRETARY
Mr. Keval Brahmbhatt TREASURER
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
Mr. Kamlesh Patel SOCIAL SECRETARY
GUJARATI SAMAJ OF TAMPA BAY BOARD OF GOVERNORS
Mr. Kirit Shah
Dr. Mahesh Amin
Mr. Sudhir Shah
Dr. C J Patel
Mr. Mahendra Doshi
Mr. Nainan Desai
Dr. Harish Patel
Mr. Nikunj Patel
Chairman
Vice Chair
Member
Mr. Vikas Ghiya Member
Secretary
Member
Treasurer
Member
Dr. Vipul Kabaria Member
Member
Mr. Jaimin Amin Member
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
SPONSORSHIP & ADVERTISEMENT TEAM
Jigar Jadav Shailesh M Patel Dhiren Shukla Jaimin Amin
Ajit Shah Jaimin Amin Jigar Jadav
Dinesh Gandhi Kirit Shah Vijay Gandhi Nilesh Patel
Dhiren Shukla Vijay Gandhi Haresh Patel
Dr. C.J. Patel Mahesh Modha Haresh Patel
Jayprakash Panjabi Sailesh Patel Kuleen Shah
Mahesh Modha Himatlal Parekh Shailesh M Patel
Jayprakash Panjabi Nilesh Patel
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
STAGE & BACKSTAGE TEAM
Nikhil Rangwala Haritosh Joshi
Sailesh Patel V C Patel
Vikas Ghiya Bhikhu Nayi
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
Mahesh Patel Jashvant Thakrar
ENTRIES & JUDGING TEAM
Bina Gajjar Hemi Patel Chetna Patel
Dr. Satish Dholakia Dr. Gautami Dholakia
Poonam Rangwala Nila Patel Bina Thakrar
Hemisha Patel Sudha Aroda Harsha Kabaria
Asha Patel Aku Patel Radhe Mehta
Shilpa Gandhi Rashmi Patel Shaila Choksi
Mukti Shah Asha Patel Hemi Patel
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
Shaila Reddy Sheetal Gandhi Kiran Patel
Harsha Ghiya Neha Amin Vanessa Desai
GRIEVANCE & SOUND MANAGEMENT TEAM
Asha Kharod
Mukesh Patel
Jyoti Gandhi
Shrinath Patel
Falguni Patel
Nimir Thakkar
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
Jigish Desai
HOST & INFORMATION DESK TEAM
Ilaben Mehta Haren Mehta
Rashmi Patel
Mahesh Patel Bhikhubhai Nayi
Dr. Kirit Patel
Jagdish Patel Paresh Modasiya
Dhirajlal Thumar
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
Vishnu Patel
Vasant Patel
VENDORS & EDITORS TEAM
VC Patel Paresh Modasiya
Karen Seeram
Jagdishbhai Patel Jayprakash’Jimmy Panjabi’
Manish Kharod
Vijay Gandhi Ashok Vora
Jaimain Amin
Vijay Gandhi
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
Darshak Patel
Pooja Pandya
TROPHY & TABULATION TEAM
Leena Yagnik Seema Dave
Ajit Shah
Kavita Jadav Rita Gajjar
Leena Amin Hema Pansara
Manu Joshi Nita Thumar
Linda Shah
Neena Patel
Kalpana Solanki
Keval Brahmbhatt
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
Harsha Pipaliya Rita Trivedi
Pree Patel
FIRST AID & HEALTH FAIR TEAM
Mr. Harish Patel Mr. Haresh Patel
Dr. Jayendra Choksi Dr. Rupal Desai Dr. Gautami Dholakia Dr. Kalyani Derasari Mr. Vijay Gandhi Dr. Mukund Amin Dr. Rohit Patel
Dr. Rohit Patel Dr. Atul Shah
Dr. Anoop Reddy Dr. Satish Dholakia Dr. Manjul Derasari Dr. Manoj Patel Dr. Jatin Sheth Dr. Samir Shah Dr. Yuvaraj Kumbkarni *
Mr. Vijay Gandhi Dr. Satish Dholakia
Dr. Dipak Shah* Dr. Mangesh Patel* Mr. Harish Patel* Dr. Chirag Patel* Dr. Sanjay Navadia* Dr. Mukesh Patel* Dr. Ashwin Mehta*
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
Dr. Kirit Patel Dr. Rupal Desai
Dr. Mukesh Mehta* Dr. C J Patel* Dr. Himanshu Patel * Dr. Jayant Gajera* Dr. Jairam Kankotia* * Not Pictured But Equally Appreciated
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016
GOLD SPONSOR
GUEST SATISFACTION RANKS AT THE TOP OF OUR LIST TOO. Hospitality extends beyond “welcome” with amenities like Video and WiFi that provide an incomparable just-like-home experience. We deliver property-wide, customized solutions for the superior experience today’s guests expect. With our privately owned, managed, and maintained network, we are always fully accountable when it comes to our services – just as you are with your guests. We care about their experience as much as you do.
1-877-900-5246 b r i g h t h o u s e . c o m /h o s p i t a l i t y
VIDEO | VOICE | DATA | MANAGED SERVICES ©2016 Bright House Networks. Some restrictions apply. Serviceable areas only. Service provided at the discretion of Bright House Networks.
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
61
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Best Wishes to 29th India Festival & Gujrati Samaj
Language Services: • English • Gujarati • Hindi Dr. Jigneshkumar Patel, MD Board Certified Gastroenterology
Bay area gastroenterology associates provides Pasco County and Bay Area patients with the region’s premier gastroenterology services, including, but not limited to: • Consultative Gastroenterology • Colonoscopy • EGD: Upper GI Endoscopy • ERCP • FECAL Transplantation for C. Diff Colitis / Diarrhea • Esophageal Dilation, Bougie and Balloon • PEG: Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy • Control of Upper / Lower GI Hemorrhage • Endoscopic Treatment of Esophageal Varices w/ Banding • Endoscopic Treatment of Biliary and Pancreatic Diseases • Hemorrhoidal Banding CRH O’Regan System • 48-Hour Acid Reflux Monitoring (Bravo pH) • Esophageal Manometry • Capsule Endoscopy
1818 Short Branch Dr Ste 102, Trinity, FL 34655 Phone: (727) 372-4500 | Fax: (727) 372-3500
62
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016
GOLD SPONSOR
A VISION TO BUILD A SWAMY AYYAPPA TEMPLE SASTA | 6829 MAPLE LN. | TAMPA | FL| 33610 | 813.618.7278 Email : executive@swamysharanam.org Website : www.swamysharanam.org
WEEKLY EVENTS Mondays Lord Siva Abhishekam - 7:00 p.m. Tuesdays Lord Subramanya Archana - 7:00 p.m. Thursdays Vishnu Archana - 7.00 p.m Fridays Lalitha Sahasranaamam -7:30 p.m. Saturdays Lord Ayyappa Abhishekam-11:00 a.m. Sundays Ganesha Sahasranaamam -10:30 a.m. Hariharaputra Sahasranaamam—5.30 p.m.
MONTHLY EVENTS Uthram Nakshatra Puja -7.00 pm First Saturday Swamy Ayyappa Bhajans -10.00 a.m. Second Saturday MahaGanapathi Homam & Ayyappa Abhishekam- 10.30 a.m. Third Saturday Sri SatyaNarayana Puja -5.30 p.m. Last Friday Sri Bhagavathi Seva - 6.30 p.m.
Bhagavathi Devi
Lord Siva
Lord Ayyappa
Lord Ganesha Shri Satyanarayana
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
63
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Amma Tell Me: Interview with Mrs. Bhakti Mathur Mrs. Bhakti Mathur Bhakti Mathur, private banker by day, mother to Shiv and Veer (seven and five years old) and an avid delver in Indian mythology at all other times is the creator of the ‘Amma Tell Me’ books – a series of picture books about Indian festivals and mythology for children in the three to nine year age group. She wrote and self-published her first book, “Amma Tell Me About Holi!” in 2011 and over the next three years, the series has grown to eleven books on the festival of Diwali, the Hindu epic Ramayana and stories about the Hindu gods, Krishna, Ganesha, Hanuman and the goddess Durga. “The real motivation for writing the ‘Amma Tell Me’ series was to share with my sons the fascinating stories from Indian mythology that I had grown up with,” says Bhakti. “But, I found that there were no resources that were simple to understand and that captured the rich imagery of mythological India that is such an integral part of these stories for me. So I went ahead and started writing the stories in a style that I think kids find fun and non-preachy and collaborated on the illustrations to bring out the imagery that I want my stories to convey.” Bhakti grew-up in Delhi. She studied at Modern School Vasant Vihar. She obtained her graduate degree in Economics and her post graduate degree in Finance from Delhi University. She is a CFA charter holder. She currently works for a major Swiss Bank and lives in Hong Kong with her husband, their two sons and their two dogs. Bhakti is a committed writer ambassador for Room to Read, a global non-profit which offers holistic literacy and girls’ education programs. An avid reader, a long-distance runner and a yoga enthusiast, when not working or running after her boys, she is happiest curled up with a book in her hand and a hot cup of chai. www.bhaktimathur.com
Questions contributed by Mr. Manish Kharod & Mr. Jaimin Amin
64
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
I was born and raised in Delhi, India in a middle class family. My biggest childhood influences were my mother, my grandmother and my nanny. My mother was an avid reader. In my childhood I remember being ‘read to’ much more than I read myself. One of the first books I recall hearing is ‘Horton Hears a Who’ by Dr. Seuss while sitting on my mother’s lap. I fell in love with it. My mother worked as a librarian and as a result I landed up spending several hours in the library as a child. I suppose libraries are great and inexpensive babysitters! I remember spending entire summer holidays in the library devouring books. I think that’s where the love affair with books first started. I studied at Modern School Vasant Vihar and obtained my graduate degree in Economics and my postgraduate degree in Finance from Delhi University. In 2000 my husband and I moved to Hong Kong, a city which is very much home now. Both our sons were born here in 2008 and 2009. I currently work for a major Swiss Bank. I am an avid reader, a long-distance runner and a yoga enthusiast. Question: Form whom did you hear all these stories when you were a child? My love for mythology was a gift from my grandmother and my nanny. They both used to tell me stories from the two major Indian epics, the Ramayana and Mahabharata every day after I came back from school. That was the best part of my day. Those stories took me to far-off places. I remember, how much I loved listening to those fascinating tales about myriad Hindu Gods, of great kings and heroes and their triumphs over the most evil of adversaries. While growing up, many a lazy afternoon were made adventurous by stories from Enid Blyton, the Nancy Drew series, Agatha Christie, Sherlock Holmes and JRR Tolkien. Next came M.M. Kaye, AJ Cronin,
Daphne du Maurier, Somerset Maugham and I was hooked for life. But my favorite stories are from Indian mythology. And as a reader I find myself going back to them again and again. Some of my favorite authors who write on mythology are Eknath Easwaran, Devdutt Pattanaik and Ashok Banker. Question: What got you excited about writing these stories? While I enjoyed my work, I always had a longing to do something else with my life, something more, something bigger, and something more fulfilling. For years I could not figure out what that was. I finally had my eureka moment in December 2010. The Indian festival of colors ‘Holi’ was round the corner. I was looking for a good book to explain the festival to my older son who was two years old then. I couldn’t find anything that I liked and got an idea to write one myself! I decided to make it a series and called it ‘Amma Tell Me’ (‘Amma’ means mother). I set up my own publishing company and called it ‘Anjana Publishing’ (Anjana being the mother of my favorite God, the monkey God Hanuman). As a mother of two hyperactive young boys, who otherwise cannot sit still for a minute, I know that the only way I am going to hold their attention is with a good story. And stories from Indian mythology never fail me in this regard. How can they? Which modern tale can boast characters of the stature of mythological ones – the gods incarnate, the mighty kings, the learned sages, and the fearsome demons, placed among the most memorable and momentous of settings? Or match the substance of the plots that invariably involve a challenge faced, an obstacle overcome or a difficult question resolved? These are perfectly crafted stories as otherwise they would never have survived the ages, passed on from generation to generation, many a time in warm beds similar to ours, for thousands of years.
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
65
Amma Tell Me: Interview with Mrs. Bhakti Mathur
Question: Please tell us about your childhood and how you got interested in mythological stories?
Amma Tell Me: Interview with Mrs. Bhakti Mathur
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com But the biggest reason that I find myself going back to Indian mythology is that the stories serve as a wonderful parenting tool to highlight the values that we want our children to imbibe. These are the universal values of courage, determination, perseverance, generosity and morality, of what is right versus wrong. There is a big difference in showing someone the way and telling them the way and these stories “show” the power of these values in a manner that is easily apprehensible and most of all, non-preachy. And these stories are equally applicable to us adults who in the busyness of life’s routine fail to think about what really matters. Question: Which is your favorite story and why? Hanuman is my favorite character and story. Infact the inspiration of the name of my publishing company ‘Anjana Publishing’ came from Hanuman, as Anjana is the name of his mother. As a child I was fascinated with Hanuman because he was a naughty monkey who tried to gobble up the sun. As I grew up I realized that in him we find the perfect example of devotion, courage, discipline, humility, selflessness, intelligence and strength. He is what we can potentially be. What better role model for a child? The first part of the Hanuman trilogy - ‘Amma Tell Me About Hanuman!’ talks about how Hanuman as a child tried to eat the sun and as a result landed up with a hurt chin. It talks about the fact that actions have consequences and that we are all responsible for our actions. The second part of the trilogy – ‘Amma Tell Me How Hanuman Crossed the Ocean!’ talks about overcoming challenges in life and the resources that we can use towards the same just like Hanuman did. My latest book and the third part of the trilogy – ‘Amma Tell Me About Hanuman’s Adventures In Lanka!’ talks about Hanuman’s antics in Lanka after
66
he finds Sita and his devotion to Rama. It ends with a message that we never part from the people we truly love, for they always live in our hearts. Question: How did you get the names Klaka & Kiki? A fews years ago, my older son Shiv (who was three years then) came back home from school and declared that he had decided to change his name to Klaka and his younger brother’s name to Kiki. That stuck in my head and when I thought of writing the books, the names seemed perfect! Question: Are you planning to write these stories in different Indian Languages? Am in the process of getting the books translated into Hindi. Am excited about that. Lets see how it goes. Question: Ramayan can be told in One Shlok (Ado Ram tapovandhi gamanam..) or can be narrated in volumes. Do you feel that by writing in a condensed form, you are leaving lot of details behind? Yes of course. There are so many details in the Ramayana. I wanted to write it in a way that I could tell my children about it, hence an abridged version. Have always wanted to do a detailed version on the same. Maybe some day. Question: Story telling is an art. Lot of us used to flock around our grandparents at night to listen to these stories. Are you planning to use multimedia approach to publish your work in Audi Visual Format? I am one for reading physical books to children. That’s what I grew up reading and loved and want to share the same with my children. I feel that children will get exposed to the digital world sooner or later and hence focus on reading physical books to them. There is no substitute for a book – to touch and feel the paper, to smell the paper, to earmark it! I may go for the audio visual medium, but books are my favourite!
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
After I wrote the draft of the first book on Holi, I was looking for an illustrator and was introduced by a friend to Maulshree. She liked the idea of what I had in mind and we got started. I am lucky to have met someone who understands the kinds of illustrations that I want to depict the rich imagery of our mythology. Question: You can take some theme and write stories. For example, Indian Independence Movement. Do you think you will attempt to write a series on that? What kind of subjects do you have on mind for future?
Question: Any message for the parents raising children of ages 3 thru 9? As an author and a mother of two young children I would say read, read and read some more to your kids. As much as you can. About different topics, cultures, histories. I think the gift of curiosity and reading are the best gifts that we can give our children. Reading a habit that is developed from childhood by parents reading to children and by children seeing parents read books. As someone once said “children are made readers on the laps of their parents.” If we don’t read and our children don’t see us reading how can we expect them to develop a love for books.
That’s a good idea! Our mythology is so vast… haven’t thought beyond that as of now. But maybe in the future could look at doing a series around this. Question: Story teller can make any boring subject into an interesting one. Can you think of some dull subject like banking and make it interesting for the children? Haha. Banking can be quite interesting but certainly not as interesting as mythology! Question: Tell us little about Room to Read program? How did you get involved in it and how is it making difference in lives of girls? I am proud to be a writer ambassador for Room To Read. Room to Read is an innovative global nonprofit which seeks to transform the lives of millions of children in ten developing countries through its holistic Literacy and Girls’ Education programs. Since it was founded in 2000, Room to Read has impacted the lives of over 9 million children by establishing school libraries, publishing original children’s books in more than 25 local languages, constructing childfriendly classrooms and supporting educators with training and resources to teach reading, writing and active listening. Room To Read resonates with me on so many levels. I believe that developing the habit of reading among children and supporting the education of the girl child can be part of a powerful grassroots movement to combat poverty, violence and gender discrimination in our societies across the world. I try to raise funds for and awareness about the work that they are doing.
BEST WISHES FOR 29th INDIA FESTIVAL FROM VIRENDRA, BINA, KAVAL, RADHA Enjoy Your Own Vacation Home For Your Family at Clearwater
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
2275 Gulf to Bay Blvd. Clearwater FL 33765 Phone: (727) 799-0512 www.gulfwayinnclearwater.co
67
Amma Tell Me: Interview with Mrs. Bhakti Mathur
Question: The choices of colors in your book are very vibrant. Tell us little bit more about Malushree Somani and how did you guys get connected?
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
With Best Wishes to India Festival of Tampa Bay 2016 & Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay From Dr. Rajesh & Seema Dave & Family
68
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016
SILVER SPONSOR
Dr. Meenakshi Jain & Family
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
69
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
70
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Corbett Preparatory School of IDS An extraordinary enviroment for learning in Tampa since 1968.
Pre K3-8th grade Academics with joy & challenge Teachers highly trained in brain-based teaching strategies & gifted education Visual & performing arts that build confidence & creativity Contact the Office of Admissions for a Personal Tour (813) 961-3087 www.corbettprep.com 1205 Orange Grove Drive Tampa, Florida 33618
Transportation Available
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever�
71
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
BEST WISHES TO THE 29th INDIA FESTIVAL & GUJARATI SAMAJ OF TAMPA BAY
TO
DJ PHILIP
(813) 451-1574 www.djphiliptampa.com
72
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016
SILVER SPONSOR
Medical & Radiation Oncology • Hematology Radiology • National Clinical Trials • Targeted Treatments Immunotherapy Based on YOUR Genetic Profile 70%
of new cancer drugs approved in 2015 for use in the U.S. were studied in clinical trials conducted with Florida Cancer Specialists participation.*
Florida Cancer Specialists is the largest independent hematology/oncology practice in the United States with over 200 physicians and more than 90 offices in Florida, delivering expert cancer care in the Greater Tampa Area including: Brandon • Brooksville • Hudson • Land O’ Lakes • New Port Richey Spring Hill • Sun City • Tampa • Zephyrhills Rand W. Altemose, MD • Jorge Ayub, MD • Ayman Barakat, MD • Sawsan G. Bishay, MD • Rafael Blanco, MD Hafeez T. Chatoor, MD • Mamta T. Choksi, MD • Julia A. Cogburn, MD • Uday Dandamudi, MD • Ramana Dutt, MD Matthew A. Fink, MD • Larry Gandle, MD • Christopher George, MD • Vivian Griffin, MD • Renjitha Ignatius, MD Gajanan A. Kulkarni, MD • Kapisthalam S. Kumar, MD • Julio Lautersztain, MD • Mary M. Li, MD, PhD • Vikas Malhotra, MD Arthur Joseph Matzkowitz, MD • Magda Melchert, MD • Y. K. Peter Park, MD • Janelle Lira Park, MD • Shilen Patel, MD Raju Rao, MD • Mark S. Robbins, MD • Joseph M. Sennabaum, MD • Ramesh K. Shah, MD, PA • Shalin R. Shah, DO Gerald H. Sokol, MD, MSc, FCP • Thomas H. Tang, MD • R. Waide Weaver, MD • David Wenk, MD David D. Wright, MD • Gail Lynn Shaw Wright, MD, FACP, FCCP • Egberto J. Zayas, MD
*Prior to approval
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
73
GOLD SPONSOR
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Specializing in medically complex needs. Ventilator weaning | Infectious diseases | Heart failure Complex wound care | Neurological disorders All private rooms | Open visitation | Specialized hospital care Referral Line 813-903-3712 | www.FHLTAC.org
We are honored to support the 2016 India Festival Tampa Bay! FHLTAC-10054
74
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Attitude of Gratitude Gopi Kallayil Gopi Kallayil is the Chief Evangelist, Brand Marketing at Google. He works with Google’s sales teams and customers and helps grow customer brands through digital marketing. In his prior roles he worked as Chief Evangelist for Google+, led the marketing team for the Company’s flagship advertising product, AdWords, in the Americas and Asia Pacific, and the marketing team for AdSense, Google’s publisher-facing product. Before joining Google, Gopi was on the management team of two Silicon Valley venture funded startups. While a consultant with McKinsey & Co., he worked on engagements helping the management teams of large corporations improve business performance and maximize revenues. He has also led large Information Technology projects for global corporations in India, China, and the US. Gopi earned his Bachelors degree in electronics engineering from the National Institute of Technology in India. He received his Masters in Business Administration degrees from the Indian Institute of Management and The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. He is an avid yoga practitioner, triathlete, public speaker, global traveler and Burning Man devotee. He has spoken at TEDx, Renaissance Weekend, The World Peace Festival and Wisdom 2.0. He hosts a TV program on cable and YouTube called Change Makers. One morning a few years ago, my good friend Amandine was driving me to the Googleplex, where I work. On the Silicon Valley artery of Highway 101, keeping pace with the techies and business-people racing to their desks and heavy schedules, I asked her, “What are you grateful for?” Amandine was used to me blurting out questions like this one, and without missing a beat, she said, “I’m grateful that I’m here in San Francisco and sitting in the car right next to you.” She glanced at me. “What are you grateful for?”
way onto the path of yoga and meditation and wanted to use it as tools for transforming our respective worlds.” (For me, that world is business, for her, at that time, wartorn Afghanistan, where she spent 14 years of her career in International Relations.) We continued taking turns, fueling each other’s gratitude until we pulled into the parking lot of my building at Google. As I entered the building, I was in that place of appreciation, that place of Wow, I’m so lucky. I felt as though I were one of the most blessed people on the planet.
For a moment, I was quiet, considering my answer, and then I said, “I’m grateful for the fact that we lucked our
I have to confess, I got the idea of practicing gratitude from self-help author and motivational speaker Tony Robbins.
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
75
Attitude of Gratitude
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com One night at 3:00 a.m., I was sitting in the living room of my apartment, watching TV infomercials, and there he was, Tony, advertising his 30-day Personal Power program. Personal power sounded good to me, so I picked up the phone, dialed in, and gave the operator “standing by” my credit card number. This was during an era when you picked up a phone, dialed it, and talked to people on the other end instead of sending a text or checking your status updates. The fact that the sole purpose of these devices was to use your voice to communicate with another human and there was actually someone on the other end was the most interesting aspect of these phones. I couldn’t wait for the package to arrive in the mail, and when it did, I listened to the course constantly—driving in the car, at home. Everywhere. On one of his modules, Tony suggested taking ten minutes each day to focus on everything you’re grateful for. I gave the exercise a try. I was hooked. And for the past 15 to 20 years, pretty much every day, I’ve taken five minutes to focus on my gratitude. As I’m cycling to work in the morning, or running, or waiting for a conference call to begin, I try to think of the things I’m grateful for, and if I’m near a pen and paper, I jot them down. I know this exercise might seem simple, trivial, New-Agey, or woo-woo, and that’s why some people may dismiss it, but it works. Like magic. Once I get started, my brain takes off, churning out the most creative thoughts, both playful and serious, taking me in all kinds of different directions. It’s amazing what comes up. On some days, Sundays and Thanksgiving, say, I might list up to 100. Sometimes people ask me if they need to come up with a list of completely new things every day. Not necessarily. I could build a list of new items every single day for 100 days without duplicating any of them, but I do tend to repeat certain items. There’s nothing wrong with being even more grateful today for something you were grateful for yesterday. Focusing on gratitude shifts my mind and heart away from seeing areas of my life as problematic, worrisome, or lacking and toward acknowledging the abundance, what is working well. I try to bring this sense of appreciation to all the events in my day. Eating meals, for example. We have
76
a tendency in our busy lives to eat meals while looking at a computer screen or talking on the phone or watching TV or driving. At home or at work, I often leave my laptop at my desk, find a comfortable place to eat, and take time to enjoy my meal. I reflect on all the people it took for the meal to appear in front of me—the farmers who grew the food, the truckers who transported it, and the chefs who prepared it, people I will probably never be able to thank. Then I enjoy the food with a heightened sense of appreciation. Through reflection and appreciation, I try to use daily events to help establish a greater sense of gratitude in my life. Almost every day, I feel deeply grateful for my spiritual teachers and for the doors they opened in my thinking and my consciousness. We came together completely by luck when I was a teenager and, in my mind, undeserving of their gift to me. Their teachings have changed the way I live, increasing my gratitude for all things, especially for my parents and the life they gave me, the unconditional love they have for me, and all they taught me: To treat everyone with grace and dignity. To operate as a tight-knit family unit that circled the wagons when anyone was in distress. To always remember the humble village roots where their lives had started. And to be grateful for the social mobility we experienced. I could repeat the list of all that my parents gave me every day and still not tire of it. Of course the one thing I’m most grateful for, which will make most people think, That’s it?, the one thing I could list each and every day without fail—my cup of masala chai. Cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, fennel (to name just a few of the spices), honey, and warm milk. Amazing. Delicious. It tastes like home. People may criticize me for drinking caffeine, but I don’t care. I won’t give up my masala chai. I’m also completely addicted to the daily exercise of gratitude. It’s like breathing for me, and for pretty much everyone I’ve recommended it to. I’ve always said that gratitude is very powerful and one of the easiest, simplest, and most affordable forms of internal practice, prayer, and meditation. No matter our faith, our beliefs, our circumstances, we can practice giving gratitude. Anyone can point to any of us and challenge us to name ten things we are grateful for, and each and every one of us can be
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Amandine and I still exchange lists of things we’re grateful for using instant messaging in Google Hangouts. For ten years, Amandine worked in Afghanistan and Nepal for the United Nations. For a while she monitored the 2014 presidential election in Afghanistan, which was mired in controversy and conflict. She worked in the most potentially dangerous place she could be—the ballot recount center in Kabul, heavily observed by inter- national representatives and U.S. government officials, the number one target for the Taliban. One night, when she’d finished work and was back at the briefing center, she noticed I was online. There I was, answering e-mail, and suddenly a message popped up, What are you grateful for? And
off we went, back and forth. Sitting in the midst of war, all that violence, she was calmly going through this gratitude exercise with a friend more than 7,000 miles away, both of us finding a moment of great respite and shifting of mental energy. Through the Internet, Amandine and I were able— in the midst of unrest—to connect with ourselves and with each other. With our technology today, we can connect with almost anyone to do this exercise. We can talk about what we’re grateful for on a cell phone or in a text message. If you have older children, you can check in by texting. You can pick up your phone or text your daughter in college, who’s not contacted you for three days, and ask, “What are you grateful for today?” Isn’t that a much better way to connect than asking, “Why haven’t you called me?” Gopi Kallayil is the Chief Evangelist, Brand Marketing at Google. An avid yoga practitioner, triathlete, global traveler, and Burning Man devotee, he has spoken at TEDx, Yoga Journal LIVE!, and Wisdom 2.0. Gopi’s recent book, The Internet to the Inner-net, is available in bookstores and online at Amazon http://amzn.to/1kmRmdi
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
77
Attitude of Gratitude
grateful for this one thing—that we have life itself. In the Hindu and Buddhist traditions, they say that if you’re born in a human body, you have to be enormously grateful, because in the human body, through the human experience, you find the pathway for the personal evolution of your consciousness. So we can all be grateful for our human bodies and the opportunity we’ve been given to raise our consciousness. When we don’t have that sense of gratitude—and I say this without judgment, because I do mean we, because I have been there, and I still go there— when we don’t practice gratitude, I believe we lower the quality of our lives and the quality of our being.
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
78
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
SILVER SPONSOR
79
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
䈀䔀匀吀 圀䤀匀䠀䔀匀 吀伀 吀䠀䔀 ㈀㤀琀栀 䤀一䐀䤀䄀 䘀䔀匀吀䤀嘀䄀䰀 ☀ 䜀唀䨀䄀刀䄀吀䤀 匀䄀䴀䄀䨀 伀䘀 吀䄀䴀倀䄀 䈀䄀夀
80
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
TypTap TM
Insurance
HCI Group, owning enterprises in diverse business activites, including property and casualty insurance, information technology, real estate and reinsurance. www.hcigroup.com “One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever�
81
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
82
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
䈀攀愀甀琀椀昀甀氀 匀洀椀氀攀猀
䌀爀攀愀琀攀搀 戀礀㨀 䐀爀⸀ 一攀攀爀愀樀愀 䨀愀猀琀栀椀
䠀椀最栀 吀攀挀栀 䐀椀最椀琀愀氀 䐀攀渀琀愀氀 伀昀昀椀挀攀 䌀爀漀眀渀猀 嘀攀渀攀攀爀猀 䤀洀瀀氀愀渀琀猀
一攀眀 倀愀琀椀攀渀琀猀 圀攀氀挀漀洀攀
⠀㠀㌀⤀ 㠀㘀㘀ⴀ㤀㤀㌀ 眀眀眀⸀搀爀樀愀猀琀栀椀⸀挀漀洀
䴀漀猀琀 䤀渀猀甀爀愀渀挀攀 愀渀搀 䌀爀攀搀椀琀 䌀愀爀搀猀 䄀挀挀攀瀀琀攀搀 䘀椀渀愀渀挀攀 伀瀀琀椀漀渀猀 䄀瘀愀椀氀愀戀氀攀
㈀ 㐀 䈀爀甀挀攀 䈀⸀ 䐀漀眀渀猀 䈀氀瘀搀⸀Ⰰ 吀愀洀瀀愀Ⰰ 䘀䰀 ㌀㌀㘀㐀㜀 䄀挀爀漀猀猀 琀栀攀 匀琀爀攀攀琀 昀爀漀洀 圀栀愀爀琀漀渀 䠀椀最栀 匀挀栀漀漀氀 䨀甀猀琀 一漀爀琀栀 漀昀 圀愀氀ⴀ䴀愀爀琀
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
83
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
84
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
85
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Minor Bhangra M1-SPINNING CANVAS BHANGRA CREW
Choreographer: Spinning Canvas – Shivali Vyas & Divya Kumar Top Row (L to R): Daras Ahuja, Aaryash Juneja, Ryan Milton, Srinav Nekkanti, Ashrith Kolli, Rishabh Dubey, Ronak Mehta, Rohan Patel, Manas Borkar (not pictured – Aswin Neti) Bottom Row (L to R): Suhani Patel, Pia Patel, Anjali Patel, Geethika Juvvadi, Prisha Phutela, Riya Greenberg, Mansi Akkannappa Nandita Nair, Niral Gaddi, Aditi SaiReddy Kanuganti
M4-THE A$AP KIDS
Choreographer: Gopa Rautray Top Row (L to R): Pallavi Karnam, Manaswini Kuruganti, Ariana Thomas, Ananya Dora, Diya Raj, Siri Kolliputi, Dhwani Joshi, Harshini Josyula, Breanne Peters and Leisha Somipalli Bottom Row (L to R): Darsheel Panchal, Tanish Guin, Eeshan Sakamuri, Rohan Vemuri, Shashank Shaga, Raj Guntuku, Avaneesh Venkatesh, Arnav Tripathy, Sameer Guduru and Harshin Vemula
86
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 B:9"
T:8.75"
PROUD SPONSOR
S:8.25"
Think you know La Quinta?
We have over 870 locations along with 200+ in the pipeline • Doubled the number of hotels over the last 10 years* • Hotels located in 24 of the top 25 MSA markets** • New Del Sol prototype optimizes revenue-producing square footage There’s a whole lot more to know about La Quinta. See how we’re investing in and growing one of the best brands in the Americas!
8 6 6 8 3 2 6 5 74
•
LaQuintaFranchise.com
•
Franchise@LaQuinta.com
©2016 La Quinta Worldwide, LLC. All rights reserved. LA QUINTA and the Sunburst-Q are registered trademarks of La Quinta Worldwide, LLC in the US and other countries. This is not an offering. Federal regulations and the laws and regulations of some states and provinces regulate the sale of franchises. An offering will only be made in compliance with those laws and regulations, which may require that we provide you with a disclosure document. (MNREG#4544) *La Quinta Inns & Suites Hotel Growth from 2005 to 2015, La Quinta Holdings Inc. 10K 12/31/2015. **As defined by STR
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
87
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Financial Valuation: Interview with Dr. Aswath Damodaran Dr. Aswath Damodaran Dr. Aswath Damodaran is a Professor of Finance at the Stern School of Business at New York University (Kerschner Family Chair in Finance Education), where he teaches corporate finance and equity valuation. He is best known as author of several widely used academic and practitioner texts on Valuation, Corporate Finance and Investment Management. Damodaran is widely quoted on the subject of valuation, with “a great reputation as a teacher and authority”. He has written more than 15 books on equity valuation, as well on corporate finance and investments. He is also known as being a resource on valuation and analysis to investment banks on Wall Street. He frequently appears on CNBC. Damodaran holds M.B.A. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles Anderson School of Management, along with a B.Com. in Accounting from Madras University and a MBA in Management from the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore. India Festival Magazine committee was very fortunate to get an interview from Dr. Damodaran. Questions contributed by Mr. Manish Kharod, Mr. Jaimin Amin, Mr. Parth Shah & Mr. Vivek Agarwal Question: You have been named the best teacher for multiple years. How did you find your passion for Teaching? Was anyone in your family in teaching? What are the important attributes for being a great teacher? We have all had great teachers in our lives, some in first grade, some in high school, some in college or some at work (a mentor, colleague or boss). I have had my share of great teachers and they have changed my thinking in profound ways. That is what inspired me to be a teacher. To be a good teacher, you need to want to be one and then put in the work; teaching is 99% perspiration
88
and 1% inspiration. Anyone can be a good teacher. To be a great teacher, you need to bring some magic into the room and I am not sure where that magic comes from and whether it can be taught, but I know it when I see it. Question: Please tell us about some of the pivotal events in your life that took you toward Finance and where you are today I think that big changes in life are never from one big moment in your life but almost always incremental. It is a collection of small things that pushed me towards finance. I think the most critical was watching markets and being fascinated by how prices (in auction,
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Question: You have studied in India at IIMB and in USA at UCLA. What are some of the major differences to education at both of these the schools? I went to school at a different time in India’s history. So, much of what I say will no longer apply. IIMB, when I went to it, operated as a business school for the public sector, a concept that never made sense even then. I was blessed with some really good teachers in both schools, who were passionate and excited, and while UCLA had more resources and technology than IIMB in 1979, I had good and bad teachers at both schools. I am convinced that it is good teachers that make a school, not where the institution is located or how much it has in resources. Question: You have been known as Dean of Valuation. Your blog and books contains sophisticated approaches to Valuation. Can you suggest a simple way for everyone to understand approaches to valuation and how to apply them in real life? I don’t like being called a Valuation Guru or expert, since it suggests that I somehow have insights and knowledge that others don’t have. Valuation is fundamentally simple and I hope that my books convey that message, not that valuation in sophisticated. Valuation requires some work on your part, in learning basic accounting and statistics, but if you are willing to do so, you too can be called a valuation expert. Question: What is the easiest way to find the valuation of start-ups as it has limited data? There is no easy way. You have to understand the business, tell a story about the start-up, convert that story into valuation inputs and the inputs into a valuation Along the way, you have to be willing to make assumptions and at the end, you have to accept the reality that you will be wrong. Any short-cut (like paying per user or subscriber) will only yield a pricing of the start-up. It may give you the illusion of certainty but it is an illusion.
Question: In recent interview on CNBC, you valued Amazon at significantly low price compared to its current stock price. You wrote about Amazon – “If you build it (revenues), they (profits) will come: Amazon’s Field of Dreams!” Amazon seems to be a classical case where there is a wide disparity between valuation and stock price. Is that a case of irrational exuberance? Will the stock price correction happen in this kind of situation? If not, why? There are no classical cases of value- price disparities, since each one is unique. It is true that there is a difference between my story/value and the price of Amazon, but it would be hubris on my part to assume that my value is the “right” value, that the market is therefore irrational or crazy and that a correction is imminent. I would not buy Amazon at today’s stock price (but I have bought and sold Amazon three times in the last 15 years), but if you do, I will not call you over exuberant or crazy. It is your money and your judgment to make. Question: There are multiple approaches to investment. 1. Bogle’s approach of Index Funds 2. Hedge Fund or Algorithmic approach 3. Peter Lynch’s approach of common sense buying based on observations 4. Valuation Approach as described by you. Considering that Bogle’s approach has proved itself in the market place, why not to just go with that? These are not alternatives. Valuation is a tool. Index funds and hedge funds are investment vehicles. And Peter Lynch’s approach to buying growth stocks is an investment philosophy. I don’t see them as mutually exclusive or even in the same choice set. So, even if you believe that index funds are the best way to invest, you still need to know how to value businesses if you have a start-up or are doing an acquisition. Question: What are your thoughts on future investment opportunities where low or negative interest rates may be creating bubble in evaluation or unintended consequences, globalization impact due to UK exit from EU and if US is on right track. I will leave it to folks who are far surer of themselves than I am to decide where there are bubbles and what
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
89
Financial Valuation: Interview with Dr. Aswath Damodaran
stock or real estate markets) adjust to information. I was never interested in the purely quant classes (accounting, statistics) or in the purely qualitative classes but finance is a mix of storytelling and number crunching that keeps me hooked.
Financial Valuation: Interview with Dr. Aswath Damodaran
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com to do about the. I am amazed that people are so sure that low interest rates have caused bubbles, since the proof they offer is either based on a misreading of history or non-existent. I take the Karmic view on interest rates. They are what they are, I might not like them or understand them, but there is not much that I can do about them. Question: How do you think sophistication in data mining, algorithm based investment and artificial intelligence is changing world of finance and if emotional intelligence plays any role? It is levelling out the playing field but it is not making it more efficient. Here is the bottom line. If everyone has access to big data and sophisticated algorithms, no one will get an advantage from having that access. So, if you believe that somehow access to big data or algorithms will give you higher investment returns, you will be sorely disappointed.
ease with which we can look up answers to questions has made people lazy and less curious and that can impede your capacity to think for yourself. Question: If you have provide an academic / career advice to your son/daughter who is interested in Finance field, what would it be? a.Do it for the right reasons (and money is not one of them). b.Do it because you enjoy finance, would like working in it and feel that you can bring something to the table. c.And if you don’t enjoy what you are doing, exercise your option to abandon.
Question: What some of the disruptions and innovation are taking place in field of Finance today or in near future? What are some of the drives for these disruptions and innovations? What is your take on FinTechs?
Question: What reading material (books or subscriptions) do you recommend to deeply interested Finance students and professional? What reading material (books, games, apps, or subscriptions) do you recommend to high school or Novice to get them interested in Finance field or to understand the basics of Finance? Don’t spend too much time reading. In fact, read the financial news and spend time thinking about why and what next, rather than reading what other people think about why and what next.
Anything that is done by rote or from a cookbook (and a lot of finance is done by rote or a cookbook) is ripe for disruption. That is why so much of portfolio management and equity research is being automated and subject to disruption. That said, fintech is going to face its own set of barriers to growth. Investors have used financial advisors and paid portfolio managers, despite the absence of results, because they (investors) don’t want to take responsibility for their mistakes and they need psychological counseling (which good advisors provide). Fintech has to provide that human element to succeed.
Question: What do you think of “Buffet Indicator” or Market Cap to GDP ratio? Where does it fit into Valuation strategy? I don’t think much of it since it is a function of lot more than just valuation. It reflects how much of the economy is under the control of publicly traded companies (rather than private businesses) more than whether stocks are under or over values. In an economy like the US, where the bulk of the economy has been controlled for a while by public companies, there may be some information in the time series, but I don’t use it.
Most young individuals are progressively drawn to sophisticated search engines. Googling a question is becoming a norm instead of reaching out to peers for a healthy face to face discussion. Do you think this has any impact on the overall development of an individual, especially in terms of their communication skills?
Question: Do you think that Start-up Service Industry (Amazon, Flipcart, Zomato) has a higher/bloated valuations compared to product company? This is not about service versus product. It is more about where a company is in the life cycle, with younger firms looking over priced relative to older firms.
If people are not communicating well, it is easy to blame today’s technology for it. I know plenty of older people who grew up without Google or texting and are still unable to communicate. So, let’s not blame technology for all of today’s ills. I do think that the
90
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
䰀椀挀攀渀猀攀搀 刀攀愀氀 䔀猀琀愀琀攀 䈀爀漀欀攀爀猀
圀椀氀氀椀愀洀 匀⸀ 䈀椀渀最栀愀洀 ∠ 䨀愀洀攀猀 䠀⸀ 䈀椀渀最栀愀洀
䰀椀挀攀渀猀攀搀 匀愀氀攀猀瀀攀爀猀漀渀猀 䐀愀瘀攀 䨀⸀ 圀攀愀瘀攀爀 䨀漀愀渀渀 伀最椀氀戀攀攀 䈀爀愀椀渀 䤀渀昀愀渀琀椀渀漀 䔀爀椀渀 䴀⸀ 䴀甀爀瀀栀礀
匀瀀攀挀椀愀氀椀稀椀渀最 椀渀㨀 ∠ 刀攀猀椀搀攀渀琀椀愀氀 匀愀氀攀猀 ∠ 䌀漀洀洀攀爀挀椀愀氀 匀愀氀攀猀 ∠ 倀爀漀瀀攀爀琀礀 䴀愀渀愀最攀洀攀渀琀 ∠ 刀攀愀氀 䔀猀琀愀琀攀 䐀攀瘀攀氀漀瀀洀攀渀琀
䔀氀愀椀渀攀 䔀渀昀椀攀氀搀 䈀椀氀氀 刀漀漀猀攀 䄀愀爀漀渀 吀愀搀氀漀挀欀 䌀栀爀椀猀琀漀瀀栀攀爀 匀栀愀栀攀攀渀
㠀㌀ⴀ㜀㠀㠀ⴀ㈀㜀㔀㤀
㌀㠀 㜀 䐀愀甀最栀琀攀爀礀 刀漀愀搀 娀攀瀀栀礀爀椀氀氀猀Ⰰ 䘀䰀⸀ ㌀㌀㔀㐀
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
91
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
䈀䔀匀吀 圀䤀匀䠀䔀匀 吀伀 吀䠀䔀 ㈀㤀琀栀 䤀一䐀䤀䄀 䘀䔀匀吀䤀嘀䄀䰀 ☀ 䜀唀䨀䄀刀䄀吀䤀 匀䄀䴀䄀䨀 伀䘀 吀䄀䴀倀䄀 䈀䄀夀
匀愀渀樀愀礀 倀愀琀攀氀 ☀ 䘀愀洀椀氀礀 92
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Build Well, LLC CGC151781 CGC1517801
• Commercial & Residential Construction Constitucion • Additions
Build Green
8309 Commercial Way Weeki Wachee, FL 34613 Cell: 813.318.2626 fax: 866.727.6741 e-mail: pareshjoshi@yahoo.com
Paresh Joshi (PJ)
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
93
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
㔀㈀㜀 ㌀㌀爀搀 匀琀 䔀 䈀爀愀搀攀渀琀漀渀Ⰰ 䘀䰀 ㌀㐀㈀ ㌀ 倀栀漀渀攀 ⠀㤀㐀⤀ 㜀㈀㜀ⴀ㜀㐀㈀㔀 䌀攀氀氀 倀栀漀渀攀 ⠀㤀㐀⤀ 㜀㜀㤀ⴀ㜀㘀㐀㤀 戀椀最挀漀眀挀爀攀愀洀攀爀礀䀀礀愀栀漀漀⸀挀漀洀
Best compliments from Haran CPA Accounting Services Irs Audit Representation Payroll Tax Planning Tax preparation Quick Book setup and training Financial Planing Life Insurance Annuity Mutual Fund New Business Setup Haran CPA 2830 Blueslate Court Land O Lakes, FL 34638 94
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
Tel: (813) 404-4765 Fax: (813) 425-6963 harancpa@verizon.net
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Proud to be part of the “New Legacy”
Vikas & Harsha, Jay Ghiya Megha & Neil Parekh
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
95
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Minor Bhangra M-14 ROYAL BHANGRA
Choreographer: Khushbuben Panchal Top Row (L to R): Amishi, Radhika, Baani, Ananya, Rianna, Nina, Aditi, Radha, Anika, Mahathi, Disha, Bhavya Bottom Row (L to R): Rudra, Jai, Varun, Neel, Saketh, Aneesh, Samarth, Sparsh
M-15 SRISTHI DANCE ACADEMY
Choreographer: Swapna Komarraju Top Row (L to R): Prateek, Bhuvesh, Saahil, Mithil, Ayan, Suhan, Nikhil, Aditya, Bhangra, Suraj Bottom Row (L to R): Sahana, Veda, Saiyya, Rayana, Shreeya, Hvovi, Neha, Sarika, Naina, Arthi
96
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
SILVER SPONSOR
97
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Maya Patel
Rishi Nair
Ameya Mujumdar
Journey to the Geo Bee Championship A Conversation with Two National Geographic Bee Finalists: Ameya Mujumdar (2nd place, 2014) and Rishi Nair (1st place, 2016) The National Geographic Bee is a competition hosted by the National Geographic Society each year. You may have seen clips of it on TV, posts on social media, or articles in the newspaper. Apart from brief coverage, however, most people have no clue about the contest that participants affectionately call the “geobee”. Every contestant humbly starts at their school level bee, and the school winner will take a test to qualify for their state level. If that student qualifies, a tense battle ensues with 100 of the state’s best 4th -8th graders. It is a whole day affair, but the lucky top winner is eventually decided. Sure, he or she will win some prizes, but more importantly, that student will be his/her state’s representative to the National Geographic Bee in Washington, D.C. He or she is eligible to compete with 53 other students from across the nation and hopefully, earn a spot in the top 10. The top 10 compete with each other on a nationally televised program. The top 10 is narrowed to the top 3, and top 3 becomes the top 2. After some nail-biting questions, the top student is declared the winner. That student has competed with thousands of other students across the nation for this spot, rightfully earning $50,000 of scholarship money and other coveted prizes, such as lifetime membership to the National Geographic Society and an all-expense paid trip for two to an exotic location. The second place winner gets a $25,000 scholarship, and the rest of the top 10 students receive smaller scholarships.
98
The Tampa Bay Area has the unique distinction of being the home of 4 Indian-American Florida state winners in the last 7 years. This is remarkable because Florida is the third most populous state in the US. This honor is partly because of Tampa’s unique Geography bee prep classes, held on Sunday mornings at USF’s campus. Tampa Geobee classes are inspired by Coach Kumar Nandur (of Fort Meyers, FL), and is made possible because of volunteers such as Drs. Kotha and Madhavi Sekharam, Gayathri Ganesh, and many other dedicated parents. As a former state champion myself (2012), I know the grudgingly difficult path it takes to go far in the National Geographic Bee. Champions make sacrifices and put in hours, days, months, and years of hard work to achieve success. I had the pleasure of conversing with two recent national finalists who I’ve personally seen grow up, soaking in knowledge from the world around them: Ameya Mujumdar, who won 2nd place at nationals in the year 2014, and Rishi Nair, the most recent 1st place winner of the National Geographic Bee. Both boys attend Williams IB Middle Magnet School in Tampa, FL. When I asked them about what sparked their interest in the geobee, I found that the three of us all had an interest in the subject from a young age. Whether it was simply staring at a globe as a toddler or watching events like
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Studying for the bee was usually tedious, but at times, it could be quite interesting. We all laughed when I asked the two boys about their favorite fact throughout the entire studying process. Rishi told me that he found it “really funny that Andorra’s flag had two cows on it’, and Ameya thought that it was unusual that “Greenland was named Greenland despite being covered in ice, and Iceland was name Iceland despite having quite a bit of greenery”. My favorite? Well, there were many, but I always thought it was a little strange that snow monkeys loved inhabiting Hokkaido’s hot springs in the winter. To many folks, learning geography seems like an arbitrary or pointless task. According to the champions, it’s precisely the opposite. “In the real world, when you are traveling, you have to be able to know where you’re going, what you want to see, and how to communicate with others of a different cultural background.”, says Ameya. Rishi also mentioned that “With all of the conflicts going on in today’s world, knowledge of geography is vital in understanding what is going on. Once you are able to understand [what is going on], you can work toward maintaining peace.” Geography is important in so many different dimensions of daily life that I could not imagine life without some form of understanding of geography. With geography being such a vast subject to study, it was clear that there needed to be someone to look up to during this time. Rishi cited that he had two very important inspirations in his quest to win the geography bee, his “first grade teacher, Mrs. Denise Williams,” who got him really interested in the subject, and “Tine Valencic, the 2011 National Geographic Bee Champion.” Ameya said his inspirations were more local, “I would have to say that it was you and Aadith Moorthy (Nat. Geobee champion 2010). Both of you were from Florida and were able to make it so high up in the nationals that you gave me hope.” (I felt so honored when he told me that!). I first got to know these two when they were really young through the Tampa Geobee classes which, as I mentioned earlier, is completely volunteer driven. Tampa Geobee
started relatively late in my geography career (2010), but within two years I could already see the effects of the volunteer work on my success. The volunteer parents hail from all parts of India, and often times, I would see students from Tampa Geobee at vibrant Indian cultural events like India Festival of Tampa Bay. These interactions did shape the champions in numerous ways. Rishi talked about the encouragement and support from community members, and Ameya discussed the level of friendly competition amongst Indian students as being a helpful motivator. Winning the Florida State Championship was no light matter. Coping with the piles of studying and understanding of complex concepts, according to Ameya, meant that for a few months “you had no life”. He was right. Everything, including extracurricular activities, had to be reduced or cut out completely. Rishi talked to me about “getting home from school and finishing his homework quickly” so he could get straight down to studying. It is important to remember that our families played a huge role in our respective successes. When I did the bee, my mom and dad used to research current events and quiz me daily in the weeks leading up to nationals. Similarly, Ameya’s parents divided up the subject material and quizzed him. Rishi said that his studying routine was “mostly self-driven”, but his parents were vital in “encouraging me and acting as my beginning inspiration”. When it came to the actual national competition, I made it to the final tiebreaker round, earning a spot in the Top 15, but not in the desired top 10. Ameya made it to the Top 10 in 2014, and Rishi made it in 2016. I was curious to find out what the rush of emotions must have felt like to be a part of the winning moment. Ameya explained that the moment was “unbelievable. I just had to ask myself if this was really happening.”. Rishi said that it was a wave of “relief, since I would not have to study the piles and piles of facts anymore!” In the days following each student’s awesome national finish, I asked them what they did to celebrate and what opportunities opened up for them. Rishi described the “tons of interviews with news outlets like Fox, The Tampa Bay Times, ABC, and NBC.” His parents threw a small party for him and his friends at school did the same. Ameya chuckled when he said “First, I saw myself on TV” and then there was a much needed “day of relaxation” following the
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
99
Journey to the Geo Bee Championship
the FIFA world cup, geography was present to capture our young minds and keep us wanting more. When we got a bit older, events like the North South Foundation (NSF) Geography Bee helped prime our minds for the actual National Geographic Bee competition.
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Journey to the Geo Bee Championship
win. Once he got back to Tampa and then “some interviews with channels like NBC”. The National Geographic Bee brings together 54 of the nation’s brightest students. Apart from the actual competition, all of these students have the opportunity to interact and make lifelong friendships. With the power of technology, I still remain in frequent contact with friends I made at the national competition years ago. I asked both Ameya and Rishi if that happened with their experience in the geography bee as well. Both said yes. Google groups, email chains, and I-messages are a few of the ways these students continue to remain in contact. While students can only be a part of the bee from 4th to 8th grade, I realized that even if you do not win, you will learn plenty of valuable life lessons. Rishi and Ameya gave similar answers when I asked them about life lessons they could take away from their experience: “Hard, focused, passionate work always pays off and never goes to waste”. Rishi’s advice to young students who want to start the bee was “start early. Even if you do start late, try to soak up knowledge from every source around you.” Ameya’s advice to an aspiring champion is also quite simple: “Focus. If you make a year of mistakes, don’t be discouraged. Learn from those mistakes and keep on going”. Here are a few tips: A really basic way to start off, for either a child or an
adult, is to take the daily geo quiz challenge and find your strengths and weaknesses in the subject material (http:// www.nationalgeographic.com/geobee/quiz/today/). Start with studying the USA, then North America, and then the World. Gradually build up your skills, and remember to keep them fresh even after the contest, because you never know when you’ll need them. It is evident that these young boys have an extremely bright future ahead of them. Their hard work, dedication, and performance on the national level is impressive, to say the least. Ameya and Rishi are beacons of hope and success for our Indian community, and I am sure they will have many more wins to come. Through my post-geobee experiences, I learned that giving back the knowledge I have acquired from years of preparing for the bee to newer and younger students is one of the most fulfilling feelings. For as long as I am involved with the subject of geography, I will continue to give back so Tampa can spawn a next generation of champions! (Maya Patel is currently a first year student at the University of Tampa. She will be majoring in Biochemistry, and will be working to earn a Master’s in Business Administration.)
䐀漀猀hi 䘀i渀愀渀挀i愀氀Ⰰ 䰀䰀C A渀 I渀搀攀瀀攀渀搀攀渀t 䘀i爀洀
䐀i渀攀猀h (䈀愀b甀bh愀i) 䐀漀猀hi 䘀i渀愀渀挀i愀氀 C漀渀猀甀氀t愀渀t
Providing Access to Independent Brokerage Services and Unbiased Financial Advice
Stocks & Bonds Retirement Planning IRAs, Roth IRAs & SEP IRAs 401K Plans, Profit Sharing Plans, & Defined Benefit Plans Education Plans (529s & Education IRAs) Mutual Funds
Variable Annuities / Index Annuities Managed Portfolios Fee-Based Portfolios Term, Universal & Whole Life Insurance Long Term Care / Disability REITs
18940 N. Dale Mabry Hwy. Suite 102 Lutz, FL 33548 Toll Free: 1(800) 462-9051 Office: (813) 949-7773 Mobile: (919) 272-7955 Fax: (813) 949-0007 Email: dinesh.doshi@raymondjames.com
Securities Offered Through Raymond James Financial Services, Inc., Member FINRA / SIPC
100
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Minor Classical M6 - VARNA DANCE ACADEMY
Choreographer: Akshatha Bhat Top Row (L to R): Tejaswini Rele, Sahasra Manda, Yuktha, Korlakunta, Smithi Saran, Suggi Prashanth, Srinithi Saran, Maansi Posani, Isha Dehra, Srinika Bekkem
M10 - SAHASRAPURNA KALAALAAYA
Participants: (Names not in order) Abhirami Soundararajan, Akshara Gudaru, Ananya Balla, Bhavya Gudaru, Himani Mehra
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
101
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Experts in Our Field Get You Back on Yours Orthopaedic Surgeons and Sports Medicine Physicians Walk-In Orthopaedic Urgent Care
800-FL-ORTHO floridaortho.com
102
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
GRAND SPONSOR
103
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Structure. Discipline. Truth.
“ I believe that fundamental honesty is the keystone of business.” – Harvey S. Firestone
Heritage Investment Group provides wealth management and investment guidance to high-net-worth individuals, families, charitable foundations and qualified plans. Since 1993 we’ve built our firm on a strong foundation of family, friendships, ethics and integrity. We counsel our clients with seasoned experience backed by a disciplined investment process.
heritageinvestment.com
104
115 South Fielding Avenue, Tampa, FL 33606 | phone: 813 258 1759 | fax: 813 254 3756
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
105
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Minor Classical M11 - SRISHTI DANCE ACADEMY
Choreographer: Swapna Komarraju Top Row (L to R): Nikitha, Daniel, Amrutha, Vaishnavi, Vennela, Anjela
M25 - NRITYAKANYAS OF SEMINOLE
Choreographer: Remya Sandeeo & Maulika Thakore Participants: Aarna Thakore, Anhka Vancha, Arshitha Sandeep, Avani Jain, Diva Abraham, Harshita Reddy, Hasnika Daini, Sahana Vinod, Sanjoli Umrao, Veda Tigura
106
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Expanding the Horizon through MOOCs
Dhawal Shah Dhawal Shah is the founder and CEO of Class Central, the most popular search engine for online courses. He has completed over a dozen MOOCs and has written over 200 articles about the MOOC space, including contributions to TechCrunch, VentureBeat, EdSurge, and EdTechReview. Dhawal has his BE in Electronics & Telecommunication from Mumbai University and a Masters in Computer Science from Georgia Institute of Technology. Dhawal can be found at dhawal@class-central.com Questions contributed by Mr. Jaimin Amin, Ms. Heather Amin & Mr. Manish Kharod What is MOOC? What’s the current landscape of the MOOC market and the top 5 MOOCs providers? In October 2011, three Stanford courses were offered online for free. These courses consisted of prerecorded video lectures that students would watch on a weekly schedule and when convenient for them. The courses also had student discussion forums, homework/assignments, and online quizzes or exams. Each of these courses had more than 100,000 people sign up. I was one of those people. These courses later came to be known as Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and they kick-started an online learning revolution. Soon afterwards MIT and Harvard also started offering courses online for free. Now, almost five years later, we have 650 universities and colleges around the world that have created more than 6,000 MOOCs. According to data collected by Class Central, the number of students enrolled in MOOCs doubled in 2015. The total number of students who’ve signed up for at least one MOOC has crossed 35 million — up from an estimated 17 million in 2014.
There are many MOOC providers but this list provides some of top/popular ones: • Coursera - https://www.coursera.org/ • edX - https://www.edx.org/ • Udacity - https://www.udacity.com/ • FutureLearn - https://www.futurelearn.com/ • Kadenze - https://www.kadenze.com/ (this one is a new one, but has really interesting courses in Arts and Music) You are the CEO and founder of “Class Central”, so what does your company do in MOOC space? How can “Class Central” help users and MOOC providers? How does “Class Central” earn revenue? Class Central helps learners make informed online learning decisions. Class Central is the most popular search engine and reviews sites for free online courses and MOOCs. We also have around 20,000 reviews written by Class Central users, which means learners have plenty of information to help them decide if a course is right for them. On top of that we have built a number of tools and services to help learners find, plan, and track their online education. One example
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
107
Expanding the horizon through MOOCs
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com is our “Follow” button. Now learners can follow subjects, universities, and course providers, and every month we send them a personalized digest of new and upcoming courses based on their interests. They can also create online transcripts to display which courses they have taken or are taking right now, such as classcentral.com/@dhawal. We earn revenue through advertising; course providers and universities pay us to promote their courses to our large user base.
things. This would have never happened if I had been working for someone else. In most companies you don’t have any opportunities to go beyond what your job title says. But if you’re working on your own startup, you do anything that you feel is necessary for the business’s needs
What was the driving force behind starting your own company, your journey so far, and any life lessons you may have grabbed along the way?
When I look at MOOCs, I look at them through the lens of myself doing my undergrad education in Mumbai, India. The education I was getting back then was pretty bad and outdated. I feel like I wasted my four years at university. What if I could’ve used the spare time I had to learn from the best, as well as to explore other careers/passions? This is the power of MOOCs.
I never started Class Central with the intention of being a company. I graduated from Georgia Tech a couple of years ago with a Masters in Computer Science, and I went on to work in Dallas as a software engineer. I wanted to move to Silicon Valley, but I had trouble clearing technical interviews. So I looked for online courses to help me with that. Class Central was something I built for myself over a Thanksgiving weekend in 2011. Its initial use was to help me decide which course to take. I shared the link of Class Central on social media, and within a few weeks of launching, Class Central was being used every month by tens of thousands of people around the world. I was in the right place at the right time, so I feel really lucky working on Class Central. I not only get to build something that I want to use, but it’s also used by millions of people around the world. In many cases, stumbling upon Class Central is the first time a person will have ever come across an online course. The opportunity and the actual ability to be of value to millions of people around the world is the driving force that keeps me going. Before Class Central, most of my life had been basically on an autopilot, and there was always someone else dictating what I should do, whether it be in education or work. I had a list of things that I needed to do which was determined by someone else. This stopped as soon as I went full time on Class Central. I had to come up with what I needed to do and also how to do it. It was really difficult at the beginning, and it took me a while to adjust to being on my own. In the process, I had to learn a number of new skills like blogging, marketing, managing finances, and project planning, as well as personal development skills like leadership and time management. I realized that I was good at and enjoyed doing some of these
108
Please let us know your thoughts on MOOC space and where it is heading next.
MOOCs have brought affordable, university-level learning experiences to willing students across the world, free from the constraints of geography and socioeconomic status. MOOCs have done well to expand access over the past five years. But for MOOCs to really thrive, they need to be strongly embedded into the real world — whether that’s by students earning college credits from them, or by credentials earned from MOOCs gaining acceptance as being authentic and useful in the real world. What do you believe are some opportunities and challenges within the MOOC space today? Many people think that education needs to be a lifelong pursuit, and that’s the biggest opportunity for MOOCs. MOOCs can be the place where this lifelong education happens. I think the biggest challenge is that MOOCs are not reaching the learners who could benefit from these courses the most. Awareness is a big part of the problem. According to a Pew Study, only 13% of American adults are “somewhat familiar” with MOOCs. This number would be even smaller in developing countries. The other problem is that most of us are not used to learning on our own. That’s why many of us fail miserably when we try to learn on our own, leading to low completion rates in online courses. For the younger audience, whom are heading into college or in college right now but not are sure what to major in, how can they leverage MOOC towards helping them decide?
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Please let us know your thoughts on if MOOC will disrupt the current education system in USA and beyond? It’s pretty clear now that MOOCs won’t disrupt the current education system, at least not in the US. In fact, it has led to a mini-renaissance in improving on-campus courses. MOOCs have brought visibility into teaching. Now professors can see how other professors teach. Many of them sign up for MOOCs in their area of expertise to see how someone else teaches the same topic. An increasing number of universities are also using the content they’ve developed for MOOCs to improve residential education by using the flipped classroom or blended learning model. But the biggest impact might be seen in developing countries, where they’re adapting the MOOC model nationwide. Take India, for example, which just launched a MOOC platform called SWAYAM (http://swayam.gov.in/). Under SWAYAM, IITs, IIMs, and central universities will offer free online courses to citizens (i.e. they’ll offer MOOCS). SWAYAM is expected to host 2,000 courses and over 250k hours of content. But here is what gets me really excited. Students across India will be able to earn credits for completing courses on SWAYAM. The government of India has already passed legislation for this to happen. Many of the MOOCs are free or at a low cost, so how do we ensure that students will take full advantage of this revolutionary new way of learning? The same way we can’t solve fitness issues by building more gyms, education can’t be solved just by creating courses. It definitely helps, but after a while the gains from creating more courses are minor. MOOC providers and universities need to think beyond content, and build an ecosystem, a community, that motivates learners from different backgrounds. We need a CrossFit for MOOCs.
MOOC is great for the adult learners who do not need a course credit or certificate and are using them as an impersonal learning environment. What advice do you have for our adult students? My first advice would be to do a MOOC on Coursera called “Learning How to Learn”. It’s the most popular MOOC in the world and, according to Class Central ratings, is one of the highest rated MOOCs of all time. It’s my favorite course, too. The course teaches you science-based concepts of how to learn effectively. It does it in a way that makes the concepts easy to understand, and it uses animation, fun dialog, and humor to help get the messages across. It’s suitable for most age groups, and even helps adults who have been out of the education system for a long time, get into a learning mindset. The other advice, MOOCs are not for everyone. Many people like to learn in a group or a community so pulling a friend or a family member in to take this course with you would be beneficial, as having a study buddy will help keep you on track. As the MOOC model gets more and more popular, these people might be left behind. In pursuit of scale, the “personal touch” element of education might be lost. The MOOC is leveraged by millions of students over a spectrum of courses, generating generous amounts of data. How is Data analytics being used to create some new products, services, research topics, etc.? I am a bit of a contrarian when it comes to data. I believe that data hasn’t really changed online education. Data usually helps in incremental improvements, and that’s what MOOCs have achieved over the past five years. We have seen tweaks to the original MOOC formula, but no drastic changes. Most of the major changes have come from the perspective of monetization. Certificates, which were originally free, are no longer free. Course providers have found that students are more willing to pay for certificates if the certificates are for career-oriented courses. This means the majority of the newest courses are career-focused, and are primarily on the topics of technology, business, and data science.
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
109
Expanding the horizon through MOOCs
This is something I wish I could have done. If MOOCs had existed, I would have done my bachelor’s degree in Computer Science instead of Electrical Engineering. Since MOOCs are free and there is no application process, I would recommend students sign up for intro courses in different majors and audit them. Many times these courses are also taken by professionals who are already in the field and sometimes want to re-fresh their basics. So for students, the discussion forum might be a great place to ask questions about careers in that major.
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
110
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
SILVER SPONSOR
111
29th India Festival27Tampa BayFestival 2016 | www.iftbusa.com TH India 2014
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org 112 www.gujaratisamaj.org • www.indiafestivaltampa.com
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay
51
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
BEST WISHES TO 29TH INDIA FESTIVAL AND GSTB FROM
PINELLAS HEMATOLGY & ONCOLOGY, PA Specializing in blood and cancer disorders
Pratibha Desai, MD.,MPH Syed Abid, MD.,FACP
Sudhir Hansalia, MD Ahmad Shaker,MD
Proud to Serve Tampa Bay community over 20 years. Preferred provider for Humana, JSA We accept all major medical insurances Park Place Bayfront 5000 Park Street North 603 7th Street South Suite 1017 Suite 560 Saint Petersburg, FL 33709 Saint Petersburg, FL 33701 Clearwater/Palm Harbor 4114 Woodlands Parkway Suite 301 Palm Harbor FL 34685
Trinity 3611 Little road Trinity FL 34655
Largo 1258 West Bay Drive Suite G Largo, FL 33770
Hudson 13733 Office Park CourtSuite B Hudson, FL 346667
Phone: (727) 344 6569
Fax: (727) 384-4388
WWW.PINELLASHEMATOLOGYONCOLOGY.COM “One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
113
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Minor Folk M12 - SRISHTI DANCE ACADEMY
Choreographer: Khushbuben Panchal Top Row (L to R):Ria, Rishi, Shubh, Sashreek, Aarnav, Arv, Noel, Samuel, Megha Low Row (L to R): Aditi, Jahnavi, Shreena, Prabha, Nitya, Eesha, Arini
M19 - SPINNING CANVAS-GANAPATI
Choreographer: Spinning Canvas - Shivali Vyas & Divya Kumar Top Row (L to R): Talan Patel, Ketan Nallamshetty, Ayan Nallamshetty, Shaan Patel, Devan Sanka, Aarav Patel Sahil Patel, Krishiv Patel Low Row (L to R): Sonia V. Prakash, Leela V. Prakash, Aleena Patel, Nithya Nayegandhi, Laasyasri Chippada Sareena Patel, Zoe Garruto, Jena Kassam, Saaya Attal, Kyra Patel, Anika Sanka
114
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
3306 West Kennedu Blvd. Tampa, FL 33609 (813) 879-9000 www.agokadental.com
How to Improve your Smile & Increase your Face Value!
FREE CONSULATION FREE 2ND OPINION
We Offer Inivisaling TM Dr. Naresh Kalra Archana Kalra
Dr. Rajiv Kalra Roshan Kalra
For all your dental question, visit our website at www.agokadental.com
With Best Wishes From Bhupendra, Amie, Khilen, Chintan, Hanel
2311 SEVEN SPRINGS BLVD. NEW PORT RICHEY, FL 34655 TEL: 727-375-9520 FAX: 727-375-9552 e-mail: abs_pharmacy@yahoo.com “One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
115
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Minor Garba M16 - SPINNING CANVAS-GANAPATI
Choreographer: Shivali Vyas & Divya Kumar Top Row (L to R): Areesha, Nysa Dhamani, Saanvi Guduru, Ruhi Shastri, Lakshmi, Diya Dipu Nair, Preya Jariwala, Misha Low Row (L to R): Niya Dhamani, Sananda Munagala, Bhoomika Mohan, Devanshi Wable, Prisha Sherdiwala Rajvi Shastri, Ishi Jain, Vaidahi Patel
116
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
TRUSTED PARTNER | RESPONSIBLE STEWARDSHIP Dan T. Peacock Financial Consultant Office: 813.314.2300 Fax: 813.639.0479 danny.peacock@lpl.com
Michael McCord CFA, CFP, CLU, AIF Office: 813.387.4650 Fax: 855.760.7749 michael.mccord@lpl.com
Services: • Financial Planning - Custom to Comprehensive Planning • Investment Management - Strategic & Tactical Management • Risk Management - Life, Disability, & Long Term Care • Retirement Planning - Employer Plans & Personal Income Needs • Legacy Planning - Wealth Transfer & Estate Planning
Securities offered through LPL Financial, member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advice through Independent Financial Partners (IFP), a registered investment advisor & separate entity from LPL Financial
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
117
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Junior Raas J11-RIGANI SCHOOL OF DANCE
Back row Left to Right: Ishita Mishra, Trisha Sakamuri, Sribhaavita Nekkalapudi, Astha Patel, Shivani Tata, Siona Sheth, Nitya Madabhushi, Ananya Annamraju, Ria Nayar, Nistha Sevak, Rashi Lakhotia, Thrisha Acharya Front row Left to right: Ansh Gupta, Parth Madabhushi, Srikar Yeruva, Harshith Thota, Ashmit Rama, Anish Talla, Pranav Simha, Rohan Agarwal
Happy Diwali & Happy New Year From: Bhawan Bhai... Heena... Chandrika & Dilip
Heena Trading, LLC
Entertainment Device 2640 28th Street N St Petersburg, FL 33713
BTV
118
Dilip Patel
Entertainment Devices
Manager Shava
Tel: 727-322-8672 Cell: 813-812-4373 Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Minor Raas M3- RANGEELA RAAS
Top Row (L to R):Saanvi Sunkani, Chavi Lakhotia, Ahana Ellasetty, Shreyashi Bodaka, Anika Mehta, Vaishnavi Gajula and Nishka Raj Low Row (L to R): Shloka Maktala, Anjali Mehta, Maanini Kuruganti, Lashya Meka, Niyati Gaddi, Laasya Alampali and Sahasra Rapolu
M13 - SRISHTI DANCE ACADEMY
Choreographer: Khushbuben Panchal Top Row (L to R): Eeshan, Akshay, Adarsh, Varun, Samuel, Akshay, Akash,Zaal Low Row (L to R): Bhakti, Astha, Sania, Laila, Saanvi, Hailey, Chaanya, Archi,Ishi
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
119
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Prescription for Young Doctors Dr. Rajan Naik Dr. Rajan Naik was practicing internal medicine in Bay area from 1988- 2012. He organically developed his practice which he subsequently sold to JSA Group. He continued as vice president and director at JSA medical group till 2015. Recently, he started his own practice in Miami Area. Dr. Rajan Naik is an entrepreneur at heart. He loves to build and grow companies in the healthcare arena. He is an inspiration to a lot of young physicians in bay area. Questions provided by Dr. Gaurangi Patel What is future of solo medical practice in obamacare? Solo Medical Practice is still good for Primary Care Physicians as long as they want to work hard and wait for few years to grow. There is big demand for Primary Care Doctors (Internal Medicine and Family Practice).New graduates can start on their own or can join an established group. You need to have entrepreneurship skills and social networking skills to start on your own after Graduation. Specialists will have tough time starting on their own. Insurance contracts are difficult to get for new Solo Specialists. For most Doctors, joining a Group is easy. But Solo Practice can survive in some underpenetrated markets. Obamacare has increased the number of patients with some Health Insurance. What is your suggestion to young doctors coming out of residency programs? Work hard. Do not take no for answer. Be persistent. Be more social. Increase your networking. After all, success depends on whom you know and not only what you know. Use technology and social media to market and expand your practice. If you do not have enough patients, keep office open after hours and weekends. Work in Nursing Homes and ACLFs. There is a lot of work available if you really want to work. Hire ARNP or PAs. Hire another doctor to join you. Focus on providing high quality practice as reimbursement model is changing to value
120
based payment. Doctors will be paid on good outcome. Doctors will be paid for value, not volume. What was your key to successful practice? Hard work, good clinical knowledge, interpersonal skills and honesty are needed. Excellent Communication skills with patients, their family, other Doctors and Nurses will help a lot. Creating good rapport with Insurance company staff and Hospital/Nursing Home staff is absolutely necessary. Risk taking is the single most important key to success. No pain, no gain. Luck also helps. But luck comes to those who take risk. Do you think that managed care patient gets treated same as private patients? Most of the managed care patients are getting better care. Isolated instances of bad doctors are there in both managed care and private fee for service practices. Managed care patients are getting more preventive care than private patients. Doctors and HMOs are ranked for quality. Managed care plans force the doctors to provide better care. Managed care patients do have restrictions on network of physicians. There are many quality physicians in managed care network. As long as you have selected a good primary care doctor in managed care, quality of care is better than private health plan.
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com Helping someone really makes me happy. My children saw this and pursued Medicine.
How did you handle stress of big practice? I keep myself busy with practice and work. You do not feel stressed when you are enjoying your work. Good family life with excellent social network help alleviate the stress. I do not stress out easily. Positive thinking and optimistic attitude have helped me the most.
What is your vision for future of health care? Healthcare has bright future. This is the only profession where we get paid in kind and “thanks” from happy patients. Value based reimbursement will help good doctors and weed out bad actors. I think technology and population health management skill will help the future of healthcare. Big data, data management, artificial intelligence, virtual reality and internet of things will change our healthcare in positive way. I encourage young people to join medicine.
How did field of medicine affect your family life? Do you think your children get more encouraged to go to field of medicine? When you work hard, your family will miss you. But with good time management, family life did not get jeopardized. My children looked at me and still want to do Medicine. Being a doctor, we get respect as well as good financial gains.
What role your wife played? My wife played a role of life partner. She understood the challenges of doctor’s life and supported me. I am lucky to have a wonderful wife who handled family extremely well.
“Kind & Gentle Dentistry”
Implant & General Family Dentistry Dental Implants East Lake Center For Implants And Restorative Dentistry
• • • • • • • •
Cosmetic Dentistry Complete Arch Rehabilitation with Fixed or Removable Restoration Non-Surgical & Surgical Periodontal (Gum) Therapy Dental Implants & Restorations Over Dental Implants Oral Surgery Nitrous Oxide Endodontics Root Canals
• • • • • •
Professional Associations: Diplomat of American Board of Oral Implantology Life Fellow of International Associations of Oral and Maxillo Facial Surgery Fellow or International Congress of Oral Implantologists Associate Fellow of Academy of Implant Dentistry Member of ADA and Components
EAST LAKE PROFESSIONAL CENTER Mayur J. Mehta, MDS (727) 785-7461 East Lake Dental Care 3488 East Lake Rd., Palm Harbor, FL 34685 Implants placed & restored in one office for your convenience.
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
121
Prescription for Young Doctors
Does medical malpractice issues prevent physicians from doing free service in office to needy people? Yes. Doctors are afraid to treat needy patients for free. These needy patients do not follow doctor’s advice to get expensive tests done. But they can sue the doctor if something wrong happens. Not all needy patients sue the doctor, but there is a risk.
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Minor Raas
M17 - SPINNING CANVAS
Choreographer:Spinning Canvas – Shivali Vyas & Divya Kumar Top Row (L to R):Darsh Patel, Roshan Amin, Nikhil Nana, Neal Gupta, Ishaanmohan Reddy, Ishaan Shah, Samay Govindaraju, Tarun Chapalamadugu, Adin Shah, Savin Govindaraju Bottom Row (L to R): Khushi Shah, Arianna Rishi, Maleena Patel, Malini S Patel, Krisha Desai, Janvi Shah, Diya Patel, Mahi Patel, Siya Shah, Avneet Kaur Front
Page 1
Ragini School of Fine Arts Choreographer/Director : Dr .Sabrina Madabhushi Bharatanatyam, Folk, Bollywood Dances
Contact #: 813-731-6473 R a g 813-994-5929 i n i S c h o o l o f F iRagini n e A rSchool ts of F Choreographer/D O f f e r i n g C l a s s e s i nDr Ta m p a Mada .Sabrina
Ragini School of Fine Arts
C h o r e o g r a p h e r / D i r e c t o r : D r . SBharatanatyam, a b r i n a M a d aF
Offering Classes in Tampa
Bharatanatyam, F o l k , #: 813-73 Contact C o n t a c t # : 8 1 3 - 7 3 1 - 6 4 7 3 813-994 813-994-5929
Choreographer/Director : Dr .Sabrina Madabhushi Bharatanatyam Contact #: 813-731-6473 813-994-5929
Ragini School of Fine Arts Offering Classes in Tampa
Ragini School of Fine Arts
Choreographer/Director : DrChoreographer/Director .Sabrina Madabhushi : Dr .Sabrina Madabhushi
Bharatanatyam, Folk, Bollywood Dances Generated by: Jukeboxprint.com
Bharatanatyam, Folk, Bollywoo Ragini Schoo
Choreograph Contact #: 813-731-6473 Ragini School of Fine Arts Contact #: 813-731-6473 Dr .Sabrina M 813-994-5929
813-994-5929 Offering Classes in Tampa Ragini School of F
Bharatanatya Choreographer/D
Dr .Sabrina Mada Choreographer/Director : Dr .Sabrina Contact #:Ma 81
813F Bharatanatyam, Ragini School of Fine A rts
Bharatanatyam, Folk, Bollywood RaginiDances School o
Contact Choreographer/ Offering Classes in Tam p a #: 813-73
813-994
Contact #: 813-731-6473 C h o r e o g r a p h e r / D i r e c t o r : D r . S a b rBharatanatyam ina Madabhu 813-994-5929
122
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
B h a r a t a n a t y a m , F o l kContact #: 813-7 Contact #: 813-731-6473 813-99 813-994-5929
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
SILVER SPONSOR
123
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Journey of Iconic IFTB Trophy Pooja Pandya When appointed the Chairman of India Festival, the one thing Vijay Gandhi was certain about was that he wanted to leave behind a true legacy that would take the event into its next phase. We have one of the oldest and largest Indian festivals in the country and yet very few people outside the Southeast Asian community are aware of it -- this should not be the case. That is when the wheels started turning; how could he reach the masses and attract attendees from all walks of life? Marketing and branding; this would be they key to taking our India Festival to the next level. The Academy Awards, IIFA, The Grammys all have several things in common -- national marketing, one recognizable trophy, standard logo and a solid branding strategy. That was his dream for India Festival and that is where we started. One Name. One Logo. One Trophy. The first step was to distinguish ourselves from all the others and so we officially changed the name from India Festival to India Festival Tampa Bay (IFTB) and started working on www. iftbusa.com.which would allow for participants, vendors, advertisers, sponsors and attendees to have easy access to all the information and forms necessary. Next was the logo and the trophy. With the help of Shantanu Art and Manu Joshi the design process began and with such creative people on board and a lot of constructive back and forth but it wasn’t long before we finally had the logo and trophy finalized so we could move forward! The advertising and sponsorship committees felt that in order to surpass previous records, they had to approach the marketing early. They began their own journeys months ahead than usual which is why this year we were weeks ahead of the game with the souvenir magazine and also for the first time we have nearly 50 sponsors totalling in $200,000! One of the most crucial grabs we were able to get was a sponsorship from Zee Tv / &TV. With this partnership we not only get national exposure but it also legitimizes IFTB as a unstoppable force. This outstanding support we were able to reach almost 250 pages in the souvenir book which broke yet another record. In addition to our advertisers and sponsors, we also have endorsements from the Consulate General of India and also BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha. We are so grateful and fortunate to have the support of two very
124
integral members of the Tampa Bay community -- Mayor Bob Buckhorn and Dr. Kiran Patel who is our Keynote Speaker It is always a wonderful feeling to have the support of such influential people and organizations. Aside from our financial success, what makes this a truly unique event is the cultural program. We have over 1000 participants from 5-65 years old competing in a variety of dance forms. We have a panel of more than 10 judges that have extensive resumes and decades of experience in their styles. They are all from across the US and also from India, We make sure that no judge is a resident of Florida or has any affiliation with a participant competing in their judging category. The number of teams, organization and style of judging set us apart from all the other Indian Festivals out there and we could not be more proud! A special thank you to Kirit Shah and the Board of Governors and Dr. Jayendra Choksi and the Board of Regents for all their understanding and cooperation to make these changes. A large part of the success of this year was a result of the work of our Event ViceChairwoman, Malti Pandya, who stood with Mr. Gandhi and truly shared in and supported his vision. At 10:15 AM on the day of the festival we will kick off the inauguration of this new India Festival Tampa Bay. It will start with a processional consisting of the core committees of IFTB, GSTB President -- Mrs. Desai, BOG members, and Mayor Bob Buckhorn and Dr. Kiran Patel from the front of the Expo Hall all the way to the stage and will go into the diya lighting. And finally, the Mayor and Dr. Patel will unveil our new trophies!
I would just like to say hats off the Mr. Vijay Gandhi was leading our stellar team to this tremendously successful event! It wouldn’t have been possible without you. Raji Rahjo! “This is just the beginning of our legacy”
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
125
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Minor Non-Competition M2 - SPINNING CANVAS BOLLYWOOD
Top Row (L to R):Aarush Shah, Vraj Patel, Krishiv Patel, Ashiyana Patel, Ayaan Bhadouria, Diya Thakkar Aryan Patel, Sunayna Illango, Aidan Patel, Kiaan Patel Low Row (L to R): Â Rupali Rajendran, Suhani Patel, Samantha Bala, Samidh Patel, Hailee Patel, Ziva Tyagi Syra Patel
M9 - SAHASRAPURNA KALAALAAYA
Top Row (L to R): Neeraj Guggilam, Tania Mehra, Archith Nag Gaddam, Mridini Surendran, Saicharan Vutukuri Shreya Jha, Siddharth Jeves Joga
126
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
PROUD SPONSOR
127
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
The Basics to Filmmaking
Edward Jayaraj Edward Jayaraj is a Tampa based film director who makes short films and films as his hobby. He started his debut short film by name “Vasuki My Life …” in the year 2014. The film was very well received by Tampa audiences, it was one and the only short film where people stood up in long queue to see it. He has won an award for this film in competitions and it has been screened at several film festivals. He has made at least two more short films (“Naveena Tharumi” and “3rd Day”) after that. His short films have been screened in many film festivals. Recently, he has successfully completed his first feature film in Tamil, which was screened in theater. The Tampa audiences were astonished by his feature film and they applauded the outcome of his 2-year project. This Tamil movie was screened in 2 biggest theaters in the New Tampa location and both the shows were house-full. Edward Jayaraj made this movie purely by recruiting local talents in Tampa area. He acclaimed a great review for using local talents and giving an quality 2-hour movie with great characterization with good comedy and with a fine story line. Currently he is working on creating multiple future productions and has greater plans to take his film making talent to the next level. Questions contributed by Mr. Jaimin Amin, Ms. Heather Amin & Mr. Manish Kharod Based on your recent film “Galatta Kadhal” (Hilarious love story), what are some of the major components for making a film from concept to seeing in a theater?
There are various stages to be carried out during the process of making a film. It involves multiple phases and each phase is very critical for the product to be good. Identifying a good story that will reach the audience is the core component, transforming that storyline into an interesting content lies on the screenplay. Once you have the script, you would need a producer for funding the project, then comes the very critical part of putting together a crew for the project, locking the correct casting team comes next, identifying the perfect location, scheduling the project, locking the resources for production, production itself or shooting the film and then another major milestone - post production.
What makes a film great for you? Are there certain qualities that make a film better for you? Now-a-days the attention span of the audience is very
128
short, the challenge for every director is to gain and sustain the attention of the audience. Irrespective of the genre of the film, if the film can keep the attention of the audience during the duration of the film then it makes the film a great one. As a director, at the end of the film, if my audience felt they lost track of their time while watching it then the film has served its purpose. Each director is comfortable with a certain genre or noir of filmmaking. Ultimately, it comes to engaging the audience.
What advice would you give to someone who wanted to have a life creating film?
First, have an unquenchable passion for each movie that he or she is making, because in every project there will be challenges that he/she will face that will push the director to the extent of closing the project half way through, during those times the only thing that will get you through is your passion about making that project happen. Will it get you excited about getting about bed each day – ready to work on your passion – that is the key?
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Production
Pre-Production • • • • • • • •
Cast Identification Story Board Location List Film Score Budget/products Shooting plans Contracts Project plan
• • • • •
Capture the scenes in camera Review of clips
The Basics to Filmmaking
• •
Post Production • • • • •
Editing Director’s Cut Special Effects Sound Color Corrections
The Basics to Filmmaking
Marketing • • • • •
Advertising Campaigns Press Releases Merchandising Franchising & Media Interviews with Actors & Directors
Sale
Development
• • • .
Storyline Ideas Crew Members Identify Partners Script Preparation Scope
To start with try making a short film or even a simple music video to understand the logistics involved in pulling things together. Be prepared to learn a lot about making films. There are plenty of resources available on internet especially at Youtube, that will help you understand every aspect of making a decent short film. One mistake that I have seen that people often make is go directly into Production phase and start shooting the film without any Pre-production activities, this often results in failure to complete the project or the final product not being able to reach the audience. You need to understand all the dependencies before making your first short film, pull all things together first and them go into your production, in other words stick to the basics and follow the processes.
What English & Indian films have been the most inspiring or influential to you and why?
I watch all kind of movies from all around the world. To me each movie is unique in its own way, but films like Birdcage, Mrs. Doubtfire, The Prestige, and Schindler’s List are some movies to quote from Hollywood. I lost count of the times that I have watched them. When it comes to Indian movies I am a serious fan of Director Mani Ratnam, I love watching all his movies repeatedly, and I have so much to learn from his movies. The reason for highlighting those movies are the meticulous thought process that has been put together in making each scenes are very impressive. It is very difficult to consistently maintain the details in every scene, I keep watching these movies over and over
Distributor & exhibitors Premiere Show Collection Agents
again just to learn the details about the location, setups, and the camera angles. Every time I watch them I discover something new which inspires me to use those techniques in my films and short films.
What are some of the tools/ techniques that will allow you to produce the film at a low cost?
When it comes to products that are required to create a decent movie, it does not come cheap. There are certain products you can wait on but there are some core essential tools that are mandatory to have before shooting a film. To start with you will need a decent camera, good editing tools and a solid microphone and basic lightings. Once established it is very critical to upgrade and expand the tools required to create a catchy movie. Regarding techniques, there are multiple ways to convey the same message depending on the way a director chooses. To state his message there are various techniques he may have to adopt that best fits his imagination. One thing is for sure, a learning curve is required to grasp the techniques that go into creating a good film.
For our young audience, who want to put their creative genius to work, what are some of the camera/software editing tools they can use to produce a short film?
For the young ones, they do not have to spend a lot on the camera. At least initially, they can create great films using the latest i-phones and android phones, some of
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
129
The Basics to Filmmaking
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com the phones even have 4K cameras in them. If you think you are ready for spending then you can go for entry level movie cameras such as Canon XF100, Canon XA10, Canon XA25, Blackmagic Design Pocket Camera, Blackmagic Design Cinema Camera etc., As for the editing software, in the initial stage they can practice and learn with windows moviemaker. Once they feel comfortable then they can explore and upgrade to entry level movie camera and editing tools like Adobe Premiere Pro or Final Cut Pro.
How is the perspective different when being a filmmaker, behind the lens, versus seeing the movie as an observer? It is completely different when we see a movie from an observer perspective versus watching a movie from a filmmaker’s perspective. The former is more demanding, wanting to obtain the best for the buck paid, but the latter is more of a learning process when we see any movie.
What was the most important lesson you had to learn that has had a positive or negative effect on your film?
The one thing I learned as a director is never to think that I have met the expectations of the audience until I get the real applause from the audience. Until that time, I keep revising the movie and do the best I can to make it a memorable experience for them. In terms of project Methodologies, I mostly adhere to an Agile Methodology Vs Waterfall. The reason being inspect and adapt approach, which means responding to change over just following the plan. As we progress I focus on delivering the product, I review each phases of the project and adapt to the change as I gradually build my final product.
How did your love for movies get sparked and what can us — as a community — do to help others discover a similar pleasure? I always loved watching advertisements and I am very much passionate about music and photography. I spend a lot of my time composing music of my own. One time I decided to make a small music video and that moment gave me
130
the spark to create a short film of my own. As a community, we should encourage the budding moviemakers for their passion, as it is not that easy a task to make a short film or a feature film.
Does the stories you tell and how you tell them differ as we have evolved from a movie screen to TV to computers to tables to smartphones?
In my opinion, it does not. No matter what device is used to view a film or a short film the content of the film should reach the audience effectively. There are short films and movies that I have watched in my phone, which has created a greater impact on me.
Is there a market for Films which are made on micro budgets, with cast and crews consisting of friends and family, shot with digital cameras, edited on laptops, and fueled by passion and a singular vision? I don’t think there is a big commercial market for such movies that are made with local talents but it can showcase the community and the talent that resides within the local residents; Secondly it is a good stepping stone for the director to show case his proficiency in making a successful film.
How do movie makers and movie theaters make money based off of a movie?
When a good movie is made, the moviemakers get a great avenue to distribute their movies and with proper propaganda and strategy, the movie can attract an audience. One main factor to build a great expectation of a movie is through choosing the right casting team preferably established casts.
When it is ideal to use miniature vs shooting in real location?
Not sure, about miniature locations but choosing a location is very important and it should create the right ambiance that is appropriate for that scene. If the scene does not suit the situation that moves a scene forward then we will lose the concentration from the audience.
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
The Basics to Filmmaking
What is the weakest link in Indian Film? Is it its script? What can be done to improve that aspect of film making? In my opinion, every aspect of an Indian film is strong. All around the world, people love to watch Indian films. I think Indian films are very vibrant. In my opinion, every Indian director should think globally when they make their movies and not confine themselves to the local audiences. Now-a-days almost all movies are streamed and viewed all around the world. The storyline and the script are two important factor that will serve as the lifeline of a film. It doesn’t matter what level of casting banner you have on your production if you don’t have a clean script which keeps your storyline alive, then you are certainly heading towards a great failure. There are so many movies with great actors have failed miserably just because of poor script written for the storyline.
Indian films now have global markets. What do you think can be done to improve the quality of Indian films? Already Indian movies are admired all around the world, big production companies are concentrating and competing for Indian movies. Right now, we are trying to meet the Hollywood standard to prove that Indian movies are on par with Hollywood movies. We should try to surpass the Hollywood standard by making epic Indian movies. After all, every technology needed to make such movies is available for Indian movie productions.
“No matter what device is used to view a film or a short film the content of the film should reach the audience effectively. There are short films and movies that I have watched in my phone, which has created a greater impact on me”
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
131
PROUD SPONSOR
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016
With Best Compliments From Dr Mukesh & Trushna Mehta
7147 Mariner Blvd. Spring Hill, FL 34609
132
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
PROUD SPONSOR
133
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Best Wishes to 29th India Festival Of Tampa Bay & Gujarati Samaj From Maahi...Maansi...Bansari... Janvi & Bharat Patel • Retail Pharmacy • Durable Medical Equipment • Compounding • Diabetic Shoes Fitting 216 Oakfield Dr, Brandon, FL 33511 P: (813) 662-9926 F: (813) 662-9936 Email: 1731@medicineshoppe.com 134
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016
PROUD SPONSOR
Discover YOUR Place in Tampa Bay Buy | Sell | Invest | Develop | Builder Representation
Find us on Facebook @DiscoverYourPlace DiscoverYourPlace.com | 813.867.4417 Anand Patel, President / Broker “One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
135
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
GastroFlorida Our Values:
The Largest Gastroenterology Practice in Tampa Bay
We believe in Affability, Affordability, Access, Answers & Accuracy With 20 locations in Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco counties, GastroFlorida offers groundbreaking techniques, diagnostic strategies, advanced endoscopy/ ultrasound & ERCP, colon cancer prevention, nonsurgical cancer intervention, and minimally invasive endoscopic therapies in the same practices patients have trusted their digestive care for over 30 years. Our physicians have often been the first to bring new GI treatments to the Tampa Bay community.
Services: • Colorectal cancer screening • Swallowing disorders • Hepatitis treatment • Irritable bowel syndrome • Inflammatory bowel disease • Crohn’s infusion therapy in the office • Capsule Endoscopy in the office • Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) • Barrett’s Esophagus • Other diseases and disorders of the esophagus, stomach, liver, gallbladder, pancreas and colon • Nutritional Counseling • Clinical Research
Our physicians have privileges at nearly all bay-area hospitals, including leadership appointments. Visit our website to find a convenient location:
GastroFL.com
727.347.0536 136
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
274518-1
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Maulik K. Bhalani, M.D.
Interventional Pain Medicine and PM&R, Board Certified University of South Florida, Pain Medicine Faculty Florida Hospital Zephyrhills, Director of Interventional Pain Program
Wesley Chapel 2553 Windguard Circle Wesley Chapel, FL 33544
Navdeep S. Jassal, M.D.
Interventional Pain Medicine Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Board Certified University of South Florida, Pain Medicine Faculty
813.388.2948
Zephyrhills 38011 Arbor Ridge Drive Zephyrhills, FL 33540
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever�
137
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Junior Bhangra J1 - SPINNING CANVAS
Choreographer: Spinning Canvas – Shivali Vyas & Divya Kumar Top Row (L to R):Divyesh Nana, Prajval Kothapalli, Aakash Patel, Justin Sethi, Aabhas Jain, Akshat Guduru (not pictured: Vaarun Ramanathan, Manav Domadia) Low Row (L to R): Sandhya Ganesh, Maya Mehta, Rheeya Patel, Kavita Parbhoo, Simran Patel Saxena, Kareena Desai, Gauri Shah, Saloni Datta, Anjalee Parbhoo
J3 - THE LADIES OF A$AP
Top Row (L to R): Niharika Adari, Medha Karnam, Aditi Rama, Anya Patidar, Manogna Thota and Paridhi Joshi Second row (left to right): Akshaya Thoutam and Ananya Kommareddy Third row (left to right): Bhavika Guntuku and Sanjana Senthil Low Row (L to R): Annika Sinha, Naomi Navuluri, Nikhila Vemuri, Rani Shete, Neha Dantuluri and Shriya Burgadda
138
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Junior Bhangra J6 - SIMI’S DANCE ACADEMY
Participants (Not in Order): Arsh Shah, Krisha Choksi, Riya Choksi, Mit Patel, Mahika Bekkem, Saanvi Patel, Ishaan Patel, Shri Varshan Murali, Arthi V Solayappan, Vipin Suren, Isha Modha, Priya Desai, Rangam Trivedi, Ria Patel Krishna Reddy, Sanjeev Raja
J8 - BHANGRA JAMMERS
Choreographer: Swapna Komarraju Top Row (L to R): Suhani, Nikitha, Keerthana, Megha, Uma, Tanvi, Anika, Arya, Abigail,R ohini Low Row (L to R): Aryna, Rohan, Angshuman, Anshul, Aarush, Ojas,
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
139
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Best Wishes to 29th India Festival & Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay
Professional Pain Management Manjul D. Derasari, M.D. Kalyani M. Derasari, M.D. (Pediatrics Adolescent Medicine)
Aditya Derasari, M.D. & Neelam Omkar • Hiranya Dilipbhai • Veenaben (813) 933-5900 1912 E. Busch Blvd. Tampa, FL 33612 140
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016
SILVER SPONSOR
BEST WISHES FOR 29TH INDIA FESTIVAL OF TAMPA BAY FROM: DINESH & JOYTI GANDHI & FAMILY
727-858-4123 “One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
141
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Best Wishes to YOU this New Year! Call Today For All Your Real Estate Needs! o Residential o Waterfront o Commercial o Short Sales o Investment o REO & Bank Owned
Sudha Grover- Aroda 4320 Lake in the Woods Drive Spring Hill FL 34607 Office: (352) 596-9999 Fax: (352) 597-2115
CELL: (352) 678-2456
sudhagroverrealtor@gmail.com Each Office Independently Owned and Operated
142
Licensed Real Estate Professional
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Brave New World of Geographic Information Systems Nirav Nikunj Patel Nirav Nikunj Patel is currently the Director of Data Science at Dito, a Google Maps for Work Premier Partner, where he is building business with Google on implementing Google Maps and Earth products for companies in North America. Nirav is also a science collaborator for the NASA Earth Exchange project at NASA’s Advanced Supercomputing Division at Ames Research Center. In addition to that, Nirav is a PhD Candidate at George Mason University working on his dissertation: “Improving an open-source population mapping method utilizing spaceborne and terrestrial instruments.” When people hear “Geography” as an academic field of study, often times this is scoffed at something as not serious or irrelevant to the problems of present day. It is integrated into our daily lives more than you think, starting with the mobile device and associated applications we may use on our daily commute or weekend adventures. Principles of geographic information systems are present when your favorite ride-sharing service picks you up before a care-free night and also determines the time it takes for delivery to arrive at your doorstep. Geography by definition is the field of science that is dedicated to study of Earth’s physical phenomena and is considered to be the bridge of the human and the physical science. In order to describe the physical phenomena of the world, geographers look at studying the space and the temporal distribution of phenomena, processes and features as well as the interactions of humans on their environment. Geographers have often used maps to show their findings. The map is a symbolic tool that is used to highlight relationships between elements within a space, usually including objects, regions or themes. Usually maps are two-dimensional, geometrically accurate representations
of three-dimensional space, but maps can also be dynamic, interactive or three-dimensional. Mapping can also be used for representing any type of space, without regard to context or scale, but we often see it in the context of mapping the geography of Earth. The discipline of cartography, the study and practice of crafting representations of the Earth on a flat surface. Cartography is built upon the premise that our current reality can be modeled in ways that can communicate spatial information effectively. The earliest known maps were rough approximations of local surroundings that required artistry as well as imagination to deliver the appropriate utility. As time progressed in the B.C. and the A.D. period, globally cultures increasingly started to improve their map making methods to use the mapping for functional purposes like looking at the stars for navigation and incorporating new technology over the years. The inclusion of the spaceborne and terrestrial instruments indicate the diversity of technology that is available in Geographic Sciences, and the idea that this can be “open-sourced” implies that we have the sufficient technology to create cartographic products in a repeatable
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
143
Brave New World of Geographic Information Systems
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com fashion. If you look at the popular navigation application Waze, you can see the interactive creation of maps to help other users identify road hazards, or even consider the impact of social media on the Arab Spring and the ability to see where tweets were originating from to create maps of people’s voices. . The methodological space to utilize the aforementioned components of geographic data is the concept of a Geographic Information System. The variety of instruments available at our disposal over the years has led itself in to discipline called Geoinformatics. Geoinformatics has been described as “the science and technology of dealing with the structure and character of spatial information, its capture, its classification and qualification, its storage, processing, portrayal, and dissemination, including the infrastructure necessary to secure the optimal use of that information.” As geography and earth science increasingly rely on digital spatial data that are acquired from remotely sensed images (data captured from satellite and other “remote” platforms), these are often analyzed by Geographic Information Systems (GIS). This discipline often combines geospatial analysis and modeling, the development of geospatial databases, information systems design, and human-computer interactions with both wired and wireless technologies. Geocomputation and geovisualization are also theoretical disciplines that allow for analyzing geoinformation. GIS systems are designed to capture, store, manipulate, analyze, manage and display all types of spatial or geographic data. In the current flavor of GIS technology, digital information is heavily used, where the most common method of data creation is digitization. Specific methodologies in GIS that are relevant for its utility: •Interpolating information from varying sources - With GIS systems, organization of spatio-temporal information with ease is a huge advantage. Consider when you use Google Maps, you may be able to see different traffic patterns by color-coding. This data is aggregated by
144
Google from users that are using the application in realtime to inform the current traffic conditions that you are able to see! •Analysis of Uncertainty – Within GIS, there is also a huge emphasis on addressing uncertainty and always bringing quantitative analysis to address accuracy issues. Although electronic and other equipment that are used to make measurements in GIS are much more precise than the days of conventional cartography or map making, all geographic data can be considered to be inherently inaccurate for a variety of reasons. These inaccuracies often propagate through GIS operations. In the current hot topic of self-driving vehicles, this is a very hot topic. You may notice on the self-driving cars in prototype form around Silicon Valley, there are additional visual sensors and gyroscopes that are looking at the local environment and adjusting the positioning of the vehicle based on features that are detected, this can help with the uncertainty. •Representation of Data – Within this area, GIS data is representing real objects along with digital data. The representation of data has constantly been an issue in our science, as computational limits are always being pushed with the greater need to visualize more and more data. This data is continuously being collected, whether it is from a mobile device or from satellites continuously imaging Earth. This can also come from passive collection of data as well, a common example is weather data that is often interpolated at stations all over the world that are constantly fed into a mapping environment. •Data Capture processes – As with representation of data, data capture is now so diverse and data intensive within GIS. Think about all the location relevant data you use on a day to day basis on your phone, whenever that Location Services icon pops up on your mobile device, or when you take a photo on Instagram or Facebook and that photo is geo-tagged to specific location. These
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
•Raster to vector translation/conversions – Raster data within the GIS world can be understood to be what we consider to be “picture” or “image” data. Consider when you take a photograph of someone in natural light. The photo in advanced settings can tell you certain values for the Red, Green and Blue band of the image. Now think about an image taken from satellite, the same principles apply but an entire science within GIS, called remote sensing, involves examining each pixel of an image and looking at its radiometric signature based on reflected energy off of its surface back to a remote sensing instrument like an imaging satellite. This happens on a much faster scale when you take a photo from your phone for example. Vector data refers to the mathematical description, anything that is two-dimensional like outlines of buildings, or road networks are included in descriptions of vector data. Attributes associated with vector data as you can imagine are very, very important in our interconnected world, especially with volunteered vector-data in the form of GPS coordinates.
•Projections, coordinate systems, and registration – The best way to think about this section of GIS is to think about when you use a mapping service like Google Maps and you zoom out to the entire world you will see that some objects are distorted. “Flattening” a 3D object like the Earth will always cause some form of distortion and reconciling the different projections and coordinate systems within the science is a huge endeavor to understand the truths of what is going on our Earth’s surface. The Web Mercator projection that is used on all major mapping services has serious distortion issues with areas near the poles for example. A lot of geometric thought went into the projection, in order for it to become a standard map projection for nautical purposes, as it can represent lines of constant course, as straight segments that conserve the angles with the meridians. All of these concepts are very critical to GIS applications as they exist in present day, from the self-driving cars to the future to emergency medical services to pizza delivery, all of these concepts are rigorously accounted for when designing any application
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
145
Brave New World of Geographic Information Systems
volunteered aspects of data capture are a relevant part of GIS as is the aeronautic expertise that NASA needs to put Earth Observing satellites into polar orbit so that the agency can capture images of the Earth’s surface.
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Junior Classical
J7- SRISHTI DANCE ACADEMY
Choreographer: Swapna Komarraju Top Row (L to R): Meghana, Jiya, Anushri, Rujutha, Vaishnavi, Harshika, Ramya
146
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
PROUD SPONSOR
147
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
148
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Junior Folk J9 - SPINNING CANVAS TIPPANI
Choreographer: Spinning Canvas- Shivali Vyas & Divya Kumar Top Row (L to R):Krittika Bhatia, Aishwarya Kandukuru, Aanya Patel, Sonia Sethi, Saanvi Oberoi, Vaidahi Patel Savina Patel, Jaanvi Pangasa, Tanisha Taneja Low Row (L to R): Sanaa Lehri, Mahdiya Khan, Rahini Gaikwad, Alisha Kulkarni, Sparsha Padi, Ramya, Subramanian, Dhruti Rao Mechineni, Samia Ahuja, Preksha
J16 - DANCING WARRIORS
Participants Names ( Not in order ): Akash Deo, Akhil Deo, Aman Singh, Vraj Patel, Sahil Taank, Anjan Joshi Adarsh Johar, Nikhil Kamath, Rajvi Shah, Aarohi Talati, Anika Dham, Khyati Pandya, Keya Chokshi, Shreya Dutta Swati Raolji, Shriya Burgadda
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
149
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
150
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
SAT to Shark Tank Meet Shaan Patel Shaan Patel
I grew up in my parents’ urban motel, attended inner-city public schools in the worst school district in the nation with a 40% dropout rate, and was clueless about standardized tests. But through focused preparation, I was able to raise my SAT score from average to perfect — which changed my life! I was admitted into prestigious universities, won a quarter-million dollars in scholarships, and even got to meet the President of the United States. I was also a National Merit Scholar, a Coca-Cola Scholar, a Toyota Scholar, and on the USA Today All-USA High School Academic Team. Now, I’ve created Prep Expert (Formerly 2400 Expert) to help other students achieve their dreams! Prep Expert is the nation’s fastest growing test preparation provider. We offer 6-week SAT & ACT preparation classes in 20 cities around the country and online -- some are even taught by me! Many of our students have gotten into the Ivy League, won millions in scholarships, and some have even gotten perfect SAT/ACT scores themselves. I am currently an MD/MBA student at Yale & USC. I’ve published nearly 10 books, including some #1 bestsellers on Amazon for SAT & ACT Prep and just published my first self-improvement book Self-Made Success. I also recently appeared on ABC’s Shark Tank and closed a deal with billionaire Mark Cuban. Questions contributed by Mr. Nainan Desai
Question: Tell us about your childhood struggles. How was life in las Vegas? How did you stay focused in Las Vegas with so much distractions? dmittedly, when I Google myself these days my window A populates with web pages touting SAT perfection. My parents are the only real perfection in my life. Having taught me values of tolerance, hard work, and education, my parents matter most to me. I grew up with eleven extended family members in a cramped living space in my parents’ rundown Las Vegas motel frequented by drug addicts, prostitutes, and police. I remember walking in flipflops as a six-year old along my cracked “neighborhood” sidewalk trying to avoid shattered glass from broken beer bottles. Although too embarrassed to invite friends over, I was lucky enough to have loving parents who made the best of our situation. My dad knew I hated the cockroaches in
the bathtub every morning, so he’d take a shower before I awoke leaving no roaches but enough hot water. My mom would always say “two things – school and food – we’ll spend money.” When hungry tenants tasted my mom’s Indian fare, their eyes lit up like they hadn’t had a home-cooked meal in years. My household’s emphasis on assisting the less fortunate has influenced my own efforts to volunteer at health clinics and offer free SAT classes and college scholarships to low-income students. After my mom set up a volunteering opportunity for me at a local emergency department, I was inspired to become a physician. My dad encouraged me to look into combined baccalaureate/MD programs that offered high school students a guaranteed spot in medical school. However, these programs typically had an average acceptance rate of 5% and SAT score of 2250. So I spent many hours studying at the library in hopes that I might have a chance at pursuing my dream career.
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
151
SAT to Shark Tank
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com Soon, I was a high school senior traveling across the country to interview with medical schools. And like always, my parents were by my side. My dad was sitting next to me on every flight tying my tie and my mom was calling before every interview to make sure I ate and after...to make sure I ate again. Even with our efforts, my reluctance to share the upbringing I had been ashamed of as a child led to applications that did not truly convey my personal story. Despite multiple rejections, my acceptance into the USC Bacc/MD program made the other disheartening envelopes disappear. While the end result seems perfect, the journey certainly wasn’t – and I am forever grateful to the perfect parents who carried me every step of the way. Question: You tanked your first SAT exam with a meager score of 1700 out of 2400. How did you turn it around? I spent many hours in the library studying for the SAT exam. There is no substitute for test preparation. School does not prepare you well for standardized exams. Question: There are lot of SAT coaching classes that focus on tactics like elimination. There are lot of classes that focus on fundamentals. And then there are lot of people will say that it is hard work. What do you think is the approach that really works to boost SAT score? Also, lot of your students improved their scores by 300 points. How long did it take to improve their scores by such high points? The key is spending many hours applying effective strategies on real questions. The average score improvement in our classes (368 points on the 2400-version of the exam and 200+ points on the new 1600-version of the exam) occurs after our 6-week class. Question: Sometime students are not good exam takers, period. No matter what they do, they will not cross certain threshold. How can we help them to take to the next step? Yes -- we’ve had students who improve their scores 1000+ points. It’s all about motivation and hard work. Question: You got perfect score. How did you then start your business? What challenges you faced and how did you overcome it? I never planned to start a test-prep company. It was just something that I started out of desperation after 100 literary agents and publishers rejected my book proposal for an SAT prep guide by a perfect-score student. I didn’t want to waste all of my hard work, so I thought I’d teach some classes using the material I had written — little did I know I would accidentally become an entrepreneur. Question: You were in med school and your business really took off. So you decided to take couple of years
152
off and decided to pursue MBA. Tell us the thought process behind this decision. I had no formal business education. Therefore, to take Prep Expert from a small business in Las Vegas to a national test-prep company, I thought knowledge of strategy, operations, finance, accounting, and economics would be helpful. I was right! Question: How did you end up on the Shark Tank? How difficult it is to get on to Shark Tank? Did you do any special preparation for Shark Tank Audition? What would be your advice to the people who are aspiring to be on Shark Tank? How should they prepare for it? Many entrepreneurs have tried for years to get on Shark Tank -- 50,000 people apply every year and only 100 make it on the show . Here’s how I was able to do it in just 76 days. (1) Open Call Audition Giveaway The open call casting directors are Shark Tank’s gatekeepers. And you only have 60 seconds to impress them. Because I run a service-based company, I didn’t have a product to show during my 1-minute open call pitch. The casting producer seemed unimpressed during my pitch, but at the end I gave him a copy of my #1 bestselling SAT book that students use in our prep classes — his eyes lit up! He seemed more impressed with the physical book than anything in my pitch. Give away something memorable, preferably at the end of your open call pitch! (2) Be Entertaining on Video Remember that Shark Tank is a TV show for entertainment. You could have the best business in the world, but if you’re boring on camera, you’re not going to be invited to pitch the Sharks. To decide whether you’re good for TV, Shark Tank producers will ask you to submit a 5-10 minute video clip pitching your business after you have passed through to the next round. Being entertaining for an introverted perfect SAT score student like myself can be a challenge. But for my pitch video, I tried my best. For example, here was one funny line: “So I’m an Indian-American who got a perfect score on the SAT, got straight A’s, my parents own both a gas station and motel (yes “Patel Motel” is a thing), and I’m in med school to become a doctor. So I’m pretty much every Indian stereotype rolled into one.” (3) Write to a Stranger The written application is no joke. It’s 20+ pages of questions that ask you detailed questions about your business. And Shark Tank producers read every word. There is likely so much you want to tell the Shark Tank producers. Although you may know everything about your business or product, remember that the person reading your application knows nothing. So think of what a stranger would want to know about your business
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com first. Include that information in the response to the first question. What would a stranger want to know next? Include that information in the response to the next question. Repeat this process until you have conveyed everything you want to about your business in a logical order.
I was very scared! I thought I would be kicked out of the tank and that my pitch would air on television. Not everyone who pitches the Sharks actually makes it on TV. It would have been sad to make it that far and not air on television. Question: What was the biggest mistake that you made on Shark Tank and how did you recover? Not giving them a direct answer to their question, “Do you want to be an entrepreneur or doctor?” I recovered by sharing stories with Mark Cuban about how hard I work as an entrepreneur. Question: Tell us about your future plans. What are you going to do in next five years now that Mark Cuban is on your side? Five years is too far to think about. All five-year business plans are just guesses. Within the next year, we hope to help prep 1,000,000 students for the SAT and ACT. In addition, Mark Cuban, me, and another entrepreneur Ian McCue will be coauthoring a book called, “How Any Kid Can Start a Business.” Question: What would be your advice to young entrepreneurs who want to start their venture? Prepare to fail early and often. If you don’t have 100 people tell you that it won’t work, then you haven’t tried hard enough. Follow “Dhandho” philosophy, and let me elaborate what I mean. “Dhandho” is a Gujarati word that means “endeavors that create wealth.” To Practice Dhando Philosophy means to take low-risk, high-reward approaches to business, investment, saving, and spending.I first formally learned about Dhandho Philosophy when a friend told me that I should read Mohnish Pabrai’s The Dhandho Investor. While the book is
In addition, Mark chose to go to Indiana University because it had the least expensive tuition. Similarly, I chose to go to USC because they gave me a full-tuition scholarship. Mark used to sleep on the floor in college and have a closet as his room. I currently choose to take the smallest room in our 3-bedroom apartment at Yale so that I would only have to spend $500/month on rent — that’s just $6,000 a year for housing! Of course, you need to balance frugality with enjoying life. But most people do way too much of the latter and very little of the former. There are only two ways to become wealthy: make more money or spend less money. Doing both of these together can have exponentially powerful effects. To make more money, build value to create passive income streams. To spend less money, practice Dhandho philosophy in all aspects of your life.
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
153
SAT to Shark Tank
Question: Kevin O’Leary had made fortune with his company in the field of Education. When he and three other sharks opted out, what did you think?
primarily about value investing, Pabrai also describes the group of people that have used the Dhandho Philosophy most effectively: Patel motel-owners. With little education or capital, Patels immigrated to the United States in the late twentieth century and began applying the Dhandho Philosophy to business. They now own over $40 billion in hospitality-associated assets in the USA and employ over a million people. I have been immersed in Dhandho Philosophy my entire life, but just never knew what it was called. It has been deeply ingrained in the culture of Gujaratis. As a child, I used to think my parents were just being “cheap.” For example, my mom would never allow me to get a soda from Taco Bell because we had soda at home and if I went to Taco Bell with a friend’s parents she told me not to order a Mexican Pizza because it was far more expensive than a bean burrito. Although taking frugality to this level might sound ridiculous, this practice of saving is part of larger Dhandho Philosophy that has led to massive wealth for many Indian Americans. Of course, the above is an example of applying Dhandho Philosophy to personal spending. However, the power of Dhandho Philosophy increases exponentially when it is applied to business. In fact, Mark Cuban definitely Practices Dhandho Philosophy. Marks’ famous for saying, “Only morons start a business on a loan.” Essentially, do not start something as high-risk as a new business with something as highrisk as a loan.
SAT to Shark Tank
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
When I first wanted to start Prep Expert in college, I ran into a chicken and egg problem. I needed to have a location to run classes to advertise on the website, but I didn’t want to lease a location until I had a few student enrollments to cover my costs of leasing a location. What do you think most people would have done in my situation? They might take out a business loan to secure a short-term lease on a retail location, rent temporary furniture such as classroom desks, and hire a receptionist to staff the location in case parents wanted to drop-in. But I was a college student who had $900 leftover from my scholarships to start this business. And I’ve never taken a loan in my life, and I wasn’t about to take one to start my business. So I channeled my Indian immigrant heritage’s Dhandho Philosophy and found another way. I came across executive office co-working spaces. These locations typically have conference rooms that seat 10-15 people, which are equipped with whiteboards and large LCD TVs. In addition, they have receptionists staffed at the location during business hours to help any parents that may drop-in to look at the location. The best part was that I could rent the conference room only for the hours that I needed it. This meant that I would not have the overhead costs of leasing, furnishing, and staffing my own location. Applying Dhandho Philosophy allowed me to
save thousands of dollars that other test-prep companies waste. For business, Practice Dhandho Philosophy by finding alternatives to loans to fund your idea. Most internet businesses can be started for little to no capital because of the plethora of free and cheap web tools available. If your business does require a significant amount of capital to start, try starting a crowdfunding campaign, saving enough money from your current job, finding new jobs to generate enough income to fund your idea, or considering a less-capital intensive business altogether. For personal savings, stop wasteful spending. This is a simple way to Practice Dhandho Philosophy. As Benajmin Franklin said, “A penny saved is a penny earned.” Figure out a way to save $5-10 day. By the end of the week, deposit your extra cash into your bank account. It may not seem like a lot at first, but over time, your bank account will grow exponentially. This is not really due to the little bit of money that you are saving, but more so due to the Dhandho Philosophy that will eventually become ingrained in all aspects of your life.
With Best Compliments to 29th India Festival & Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay
Manish R Patel (CA(India), CA, CPA (Canada), CPA (IL) Kinjal, Ridham & Rajvi Patel 9105 Oak Pride Ct, Tampa, FL 33647 Phone: 813-270-9896, 330-690-4899 | email: manishrp@yahoo.com
154
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
155
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
High School Bhangra H1 - APNI SHAAN APNI PEHCHAAN
Top Row (L to R):Dev Patel, Aryan Patidar, Jai Yarlagadda, Krishna Durgashis Biswal, Sneh Patel, Arth Shah, Raja Muthalagappan, and Rushi Vekariya Low Row (L to R): Zeesha Hyder, Neeti Bhutada, Ria Sanghani, Jessica Jesurajan, Nikki Medikonda, Swetha Senthil, Anu Dhanashekar, and Maya Gowda
A4 - SPINNING CANVAS (ADULT BHANGRA)
Top Row (L to R) Poornima Nayak Mona Shah Seeta M Kakaraparty Vinita Thaper Gaudi Avani Shah Samridhi Nallamshetty Pinali Shah Chetana Gowda Ami D Govindaraju Pallavi Masheshwari Bottom Row (L to R) Ruchi Attal Prachi Agrawal Akhila Babu Sruthi GK (replaced by Shivali Vyas, not in pic) Sonal Patel Archana Mehta Sasmitha Abburi Shirin Rustomji Sree Lalitha Degala Monika Mishra
156
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016
PROUD SPONSOR
1 Seminole Way, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33314 “One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
157
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Birds with Large Wings
Dr. Pillai Dr Pillai was born and brought up in India. He did his Medical Degree and migrated to the US. He completed his post graduate studies in Pediatrics in England and the US. He served in the US Army for a few years and settled in Tampa, Florida practicing his medical field Pediatrics. Dr Pillai was interested in producing meaningful movies with messages. I had the privilege of producing a meaningful feature film, in India, “BIRDS WITH LARGE WINGS�, a film based on true life incidents in the northern part of Kerala India. The movie is an attempt to give filmic presentation to a monumental man-made disaster. The cashew plantation owned by the Government of Kerala Planation Corporation made unregulated arial spraying of the poisonous pesticide, Endosulphan over the plantation indiscriminately nearly 25 years. The long years of spraying resulted in huge irreversible damage to humans and the environment.Birds with Large Wings represent the helicopters used to spray the pesticide. There are regulations in spraying chemicals, for example, informing the people of the spraying to remain indoors, closing the water reserves, keeping the schools closed, etc., etc. But the Corporation conveniently ignored all these regulations. Those who appear in the film are real victims. Northern Kerala ( Kasargod) is a reminder to the people of Kerala as well as the rest of the world of a grave injustice done to the people by its government. In 2011, United Nations met at the Stockholm Summit of UN on Persistent Organic Pollutants ( POP). The UN recommended total ban of endosulphan all over the world. Every country supported the ban except one, India. Shocking truth is that even in the face of overwhelming evidence; the Govt of India has not completely banned the use of Endosulphan till the Supreme Court of India in 2012 ordered a complete ban of spraying of this highly poisonous chemical. The victims have not been provided access to proper medical care or any compensation till recently. While shooting the film we, the cast and crew,
158
joined hands with the family of the Victims, in their struggle for Justice. We tried to co-ordinate many human rights activities and engaged to assist the victims. In fact the film is an eye opener to the public as well as the authorities in the government. Community leaders in the local area are in the process of building a rehab center which will be open for functioning through generous contribution and support from the public. The Government of Kerala is also speeding up healthcare issues of the victims and planning to rehabilitate the severely affected. India’s Human rights commission has opened a file and investigation which will favor the victims. Few words about the lethal chemical Endosulphan. It is an Organochlorine used extensively in agriculture to control pests and insects. The pesticides persists in the environment for a very long period and so its toxicity to non target organisms including human beings capable of inflicting high lethality and significant morbidity. It causes liver toxicity, low blood pressure, seizures, difficulty to walk, dizziness and headache. This toxic pesticides gets into the human body through gastrointestinal tract, skin, and through respiration. It is stored in high concentration in fatty tissues, and in pregnant women it passes on to babies through placenta and milk. Children are born with multiple anomalies and defects. The toxicity and symptoms are beyond the scope of this article. The film won many international awards and Indian National award for the best film for Environmental Protection and Preservation.
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
High School Bhangra H4 - BHANGRA LEGACY
Choreographer: Darshan Vala Top Row (L to R):Kavya Ajjarapu, Meera Cherian, Rhea Pitale, Manju Somanchi, Sandhya Ponnaganti Suchi Bandarupalli, Esha Kathiria, Meghana Nelluri Low Row (L to R):Vishnu Premkanth, Rahul Ainpudi, Varun Ajjarapu, Darshan Vala, Kishan Avaiya, Rushabh Shah Ridham Patel, Varun Kanuganti
H8 - MIAMI BHANGRA TEAM
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
159
PROUD SPONSOR
160
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016
Spring Hill
PROUD SPONSOR
With Best Wishes to 29th India Festival
Holiday Inn Express & Suites 3528 Commercial Way - Us 19 Spring Hill, Florida 34606 “One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
161
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
29th
Best Compliments to
India Festival of Tampa Bay & Gujarati Samaj From
Kumudben Kandarp & Neha Pushti & Devi Patel
29th
Best Compliments to
India Festival of Tampa Bay & Gujarati Samaj From Upendra (Tino) Patel Geeta Patel Vrunda & Isha
162
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Best Wishes to India Festival Ishwari Prasad, M.D., Ph.D., FACP, FACG Gastroenterology 14447 UNIVERSITY COVE PLACE TAMPA , FL 33613 1172 NIKKI VIEW DRIVE BRANDON, FL 33511 OFFICE: 813-632-8819 FAX: 813-972-9158
倀栀漀渀攀㨀 ⬀⠀㌀㔀㈀⤀ 㠀㜀ⴀ㔀㜀㘀㘀
倀椀渀愀氀 倀愀琀攀氀Ⰰ 唀匀䄀⸀ 䐀攀猀椀最渀 愀渀搀 䐀攀瘀攀氀漀瀀攀搀 戀礀 匀眀椀渀最 䤀琀 匀攀爀瘀椀挀攀猀 倀瘀琀 䰀琀搀 ꤀倀椀最愀氀氀攀 嘀漀搀欀愀 ㈀ 㘀 䄀氀氀 刀椀最栀琀猀 刀攀猀攀爀瘀攀搀⸀
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
163
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
䈀攀猀琀 圀椀猀栀攀猀 琀漀 ㈀㤀琀栀 䤀渀搀椀愀 䘀攀猀琀椀瘀愀氀
A P u b l i c at i o n f o r I n d i a n A m e r i c a n s i n F lo r i da
For advertising rates and information, call (813) 758-0518 (813) 758-1786 or e-mail editor@khaasbaat.com No. 146
w w w. kh a as ba at. com • e d i to r @ kh a as ba at. com • 8 1 3 - 7 5 8 - 1 7 8 6
ca A Publi aasb w w w. kh Inside:
In addition to community news and events, Khaas Baat informs readers with regular columns on health, fashion, money matters, immigration, entertainment, Ayurveda, astrology, family matters and motoring, among other features. Khaas Baat is the ONLY publication in Florida with comprehensive coverage and information on South Asian community events. Florida residents: For your annual subscription, please send a $18 check addressed to: KHAAS BAAT, 8312 WINdSOr BLuFF drIve, TAMPA, FL 33647 with your name and address. edITOr/PuBLISHer: NITISH S. reLe, M.A. IN JOurNALISM CreATIve dIreCTOr: TIM LANCASTer ASSOCIATe edITOr: SHePHALI J. reLe, M.A. IN JOurNALISM
U
CE AUG
TE SIN INE STA
E SUNSH
G TH SERVIN
Publication for the Indian American community in Florida. Khaas Baat is a monthly publication that presents exclusive information and relevant news about the Indian American community in Florida, including Tampa/St. Petersburg/ Clearwater, Fort Lauderdale/Miami, Orlando/Casselberry, Jacksonville, Gainesville, Lakeland, Ocala, Melbourne, Fort Myers, Sarasota-Bradenton, and Tallahassee.
n r India tion fo
editor@
•
a at. co m
HAF
lth pliance Hea tin’ com
Florals
inmil’ent Entertai Mu shk ‘Ae Dil Ha
Advertising And story deAdline: the 20th of every month for the following month’s issue.
sifiesaldse Clas iness for Bus
m
813-75
•
8-1786
ali
will be ration opda ali celeb d Ch Kids Diw23, Diwali an New on Oct. Oct. 30 and xt the ne pujan onnd Annakut Mandir, Year/Gra aminarayan , ad Sw day at Oakridge Ro on, call A FLORID 1325 W. . For informati : The SOUTH ERDALECultural Orlando -0091. UD LA FORT al and (407) 857 Region its Diwali of Asian sent Indian ld sociation l pre will ho to 10 The As Festivals wil ali Center s from noon 12, at Cultural annual free Diw t. 22 festivitie Saturday, Nov. ntion Oc its 19th m 4 p.m. on er at p.m. on County Conveer Blvd., Mela froy Amphitheat Ave., Broward 0 Eisenhow gram 195 pro ERRY on, at Disnela, 101 Rosalind Center, derdale. The ormati ASSELB k, gin Eo inf fol O/C be e re d, l ND Lau Lak wil llywoo ce, IRCC Fort ORLA . For mo at (407) gram rations lude Bo Orlando an Persaud persaud@ t celeb h cultural pro of will inc music and dan ce lm Annaku ail lm Society call Lal p.m. wit classical Show, and danractions 61 or e-m from 4 5 at the Hindu e Drive) 202-21 Lak Children ns. Other att y, arts m on Nov. Florida (1994 on, itio elr ati l.co ao pet jew orm E n, com NVILL Central lberry. For inf ail info@ East d, fashio yoga, kids’ JACKSO na, are foo of North ali on in Casse 699-5277, e-m g, or visit fts, hen . For Samaj Diw 7) .or and cra raffle prizes 543-1539, Gujarati l celebrate call (40 pleorlando ndo.org rocco wil zone and on, call (954) .com or 29, at Mo , Florida hindutem utempleorla al Florida ida ati um ay, Oct. ind inform ard@irccflor Saturd nter Auditori Road www.h of Centr ary/ om bo Society 36th annivers ne Ce Johns Bluff en e-mail w.irccflorida.c Shi ati jar its Gu nt op S PARK ht on visit ww ebrate 3800 Sai nville. Doors ent y will cel d Diwali Nig do, 6001 INELLA Ba nm kso A/P pa tai d oo ter S., Jac TAMP of Tam r Bollyw at Hilton OrlanThere with en by dinner an Samaj ne at 3:30 Gujarati g a Diwali Din Nov. d other Oct. 29 on Parkway. ner and followed on from 5 . For tickets an 307-8420 is hostin al Election nter, Destinati ial hour, din ood actors nu soc dancing on, call (904) and An ia Cultural Ce nt, will be nment. Bollyw Jaitley ati f.org eve lina inform w.gsne ciety ., 12 at Ind n Road. The entertai hri and Ce s for society 11 p.m visit ww ltural So Fak or s Cu ket rgi Tic n5511 Lyn gins at 4 till ers; ian Na t. Ind ld its n; no be presen 1 perso for memb Also, the nville will ho 3:30 p.m. which will be are $10 to GSTB are $20 per rson; of Jackso Diwali from Shine is free members are $201 pe Shah t will embers ind Absolute13 at Morocco 0 Saint non-m Entertainmen Lovers w. members on, call Arv ati visit ww on Nov. ditorium, 380ere will person. chestra Music s inform 651-4418 or Au an Center ff Road S. Th sic. be by Or four musici ing at (863) societycfl.com l be Blu wil ing lud d al ns an mu Joh For consist r singers, inc sbah Mand p.m. gujarati d, dance per person. ics. Marathi m4 be foo and fou w singer Mi d t@jax Orlando ing Diwali fro Society are $30 sho du requeste Tickets e-mail presiden rg reality celebrat 19 at the Hin munity ryone is details, t www.jaxics.o Ali. Eve first to Hindu for on Nov. al Florida comCasselberry. visi ge 15 ort or or do rep org xt to ed on pa of Centr 4 Lake Drive, 07 or . For Hall ne Continu 199 1) 912-49 oo.com Temple d registrationl GSTB ll, (28 l ha an ls, cal hi@yah passes ormation, cal at (813) For detai andomarat orl more inf t Jigisha Desai e-mail Presiden 47. 731-77
e some Here ar Florida of the ities commun g the in celebrat Lights of al iv st Fe
‘Sta
n Fashio back!
a at. co khaasb
2016
Shubh Diw
3 6
ews Florgalidaa N
A
OCTOBER
rida s in Flo merican
8 10
11
Business Beat
12-13
inG
Motor
350, Lexus GS spin in theAccord coupe Go for a X, Acura MD ota RAV4. and Toy page 14 Story,
ORIDA4 ge ES INStFL ory, pa NTINU TRI CO NAVRA
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org CHANG
E SERVICE
REQUES
TED
BAAT KHAAS BLUFF DRIVE DSOR 8312 WIN PA, FL 33647 TAM
NO. 489 PERMIT A FLORID TAMPA,
164
ges
• 24 pa
ST 2004
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
KASIYAT INDIAN
Ekal Vidyalaya Tampa Bay Chapter Proudly Presents Donor Appreciation Concert
Save the Date - Saturday, February 18th, 2017 Venue: Sickles High School, Gunn Hwy, FL 33626
www.ekal.org
Ekal Vidyalaya Concept “One Teacher School” runs at convenient time and location Primary education provided for five years to eradicate illiteracy in remote & tribal villages Transform the lives of remote & tribal villagers No cost to the children
How can you help? Advertise your business at Ekal concert: Reach thousands of audiences in Tampa Bay Raise awareness by “lighting a lamp of learning” to eradicate illiteracy Participate in the great cause and earn their goodwill Sponsor an Ekal school
For additional Information: Dr. Umesh Choudhry (727) 507-0584 / Dr. Jawahar Taunk (727) 480-3829 / Dr. Chandresh Saraiya (813) 309-0647 Ekal Mission : Holistic development of India’s“One remote & tribal villages through functional education. Join us, to partake in the Ekal movement. Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever” Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation of USA, 501(c)(3) charitable organization - Tax ID 77-0554248
165
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
ADULT FOLK A1 - SRIGANDHA KANNADA KOOTA
Choreographer: Akshatha Bhat Top Row (L to R):Shilpa, Raksha, Akshatha, Lalana and Sheetal
A2 - SRISHTI DANCE ACADEMY
Choreographer: Swapna Komarraju Top Row (L to R): Annapoorna, Neha, Varsha, Nitu, Kavitha, Anitha, Shakuntala Low Row (L to R): Swapna,Sapana,Cherry,Vaishali,Sheela,Eshwari
166
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Harnessing the Immune System to Fight Cancer Dr. Arjun Balar Arjun Balar is an Assistant Professor of Medicine and Director of Genitourinary Medical Oncology at the New York University Perlmutter Cancer Center in New York, NY. He specializing in the treatment of all genitourinary cancers including kidney, bladder, prostate and testicular cancer. His primary research interests are in the development of more effective and better tolerated targeted and immune therapies in invasive and metastatic bladder cancer. He received his medical degree in 2006 from the University of South Florida - College of Medicine and was selected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. He completed his internal medicine residency at the New York Presbyterian Hospital – Weill Cornell Medical Center in 2009, followed by a fellowship in medical oncology at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in 2012. Question Contributed By: Ms. Monic Amin Question: I’d like to go back to your childhood. Where did you grow up and what was it like? How was your experience at the University of South Florida? Do you think studying in South poses a disadvantage in getting into Ivy League schools up north, specifically after high school? I grew up in Citrus Park in Tampa and attended Hillsborough High School’s IB program. I thought the education I received was second-to-none and, honestly, I’ve never felt more challenged intellectually than during my high school years where I met some really incredible teachers who truly cared. I chose to stay in-state for my college education at the University of Florida for my undergraduate degree and then the University of South Florida for medical school. Overall, the education I received in Florida was outstanding and never once limited me in achieving my goals in any way.
Question: What would you say motivates you and drives you to do what you do? The passion and excitement to acquire new knowledge is what motivates me the most. Cancer is such a complex problem, with so many unanswered questions. Early on in medical school, I was attracted to the field almost right away. Question: What led you to go into clinical research? More specifically cancer research in bladder cancer? Throughout my medical training beginning with medical school and through medical oncology fellowship, I learned that I truly enjoyed patient care. I had dabbled in basic bench research during medical school and realized that it wasn’t for me. During my medical oncology fellowship, I was paired with 2 research mentors who I truly admired and who inspired me. They cared for patients with bladder cancer, which is a devastating disease with few major
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
167
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Harnessing the Immune System to fight Cancer
in treatment for over 30 years. I was excited about the work they were doing, trying to develop new cancer treatments and ultimately decided I would dedicate my career to this field.
Question: How did your residency and fellowship experiences at New York Presbyterian-Weill Cornell Medical Center and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, respectively, compare? Medical training at Cornell and MSKCC was truly outstanding and provided an academically and clinically rigorous environment. In fact, when entering my fellowship at MSKCC, I wasn’t sure that I wanted a career in academic medicine, however with the continued exposure to the research-focused environment there, I quickly realized that I really enjoyed it. Question: You’ve been successful in finding an alternative to chemotherapy in treating bladder cancer, which is a type of immunotherapy. How would you describe your line of work and your research? Being focused on caring for bladder cancer patients, I quickly realized that chemotherapy did very little to help these patients and at the cost of very high treatment-associated side effects and toxicity. The modern forms of immunotherapy (most recently PD-1 and PD-L1 inhibitors), which are already proven to be effective in a number of other cancer types, was a natural choice to investigate since patients tolerated it very well and for the patients who responded to treatment, the benefit could be long-lasting. This isn’t the case with most chemotherapy. Focusing on the future, my goals, along with others who perform basic and clinical research in bladder cancer, is to now identify other, similarly effective treatments for the patients who do not respond to PD-1/PD-L1 immune therapies. Question: Personalized medicine is redefining cancer treatment. How do you think genome sequencing would help in the progression of cancer treatment? There have been major advances in the understanding and treatment of cancer over the last 10 to 15 years, and much of this progress can be attributed to improved technologies, including genomic sequencing. The fundamental principle of this approach is to sequence the cancer DNA, which is full of mutations not present in the normal (germ-line) DNA and is unique for every patient. We are able to do this faster, cheaper and with more reliable/reproducible and accurate results than ever before and this allows us to now
168
better identify treatments for an individuals’ cancer’s mutation profile. The challenge with this is that often we don’t know which of literally 100s of mutations in a tumor is “driving” the cancer to grow, and thus is the one we should target with a treatment.
Question: Since new discoveries are being made every day, where do you think the future of cancer research is headed? The future of cancer research is very bright and I believe there will be many more cures in the year ahead. I am very excited about the potential for immunotherapy to lead this, however it will likely be a multi-pronged approach, with some patients needing some combination of traditional radiation and/or chemotherapy with immunotherapy or targeted therapy. Cancer is a complex problem and no one single approach s likely the answer. Question 9: Recent technological advances allow sequencing of DNA faster and at a lower cost. What are the benefits of sequencing DNA in treating cancer? Cancer is fundamentally a disease of genetic mutations which can sometimes occur randomly. Thus, genetic mutations inside one person’s cancer will be completely unique and different from someone else’s, even though they may have the some type of cancer (such as colon cancer), and is the reason why treatments may work for some and not others. By sequencing the DNA inside the cancer (usually done by testing a biopsy of cancer tissue), one can discern its unique set of genetic mutations and thus determine the most appropriate treatment. In fact, most modern cancer treatments that have been developed over the last decade have been made possible by better understanding the genetic mutations within cancer. Question: As a doctor working in clinical research, what advice do you have for students trying to find a position and engage in research activity? For aspiring cancer researchers, there are many ways to be involved, depending on whether your goal is to be a basic (bench) scientist, a translational researcher or clinical researcher. I strongly encourage you to reach out early to potential mentors and advisors who are in the field you’re interested. Seek out their advice and guidance about how to be involved such as observerships /shadowing, or internships. Often he or she will have a research project that is perfectly suited for a motivated young student, that will give you taste of what research is like.
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016
PROUD SPONSOR
倀爀漀甀搀 琀漀 匀甀瀀瀀漀爀琀
㈀㤀琀栀 䤀渀搀椀愀 䘀攀猀琀椀瘀愀氀 䌀愀爀爀爀漀氀氀眀漀漀搀 㠀㈀㐀 一⸀ 䐀愀氀攀 䴀愀戀爀礀 䠀眀礀⸀ 㠀㌀⸀㤀㈀㘀⸀㈀㠀㐀㠀
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
169
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Best Wishes To Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay & The 29th Tampa Bay India Festival From TAMPA BAY PULMONARY ASSOCIATES Ashok K. Modh, M.D. N.K. Mandaliya, M.D. Jerges Cardona, M.D. Nirav B. Patel, M.D.
Tampa Bay Sleep Center 2810 W. Waters Ave,Tampa, FL 33614
(813) 935-5501
170
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
171
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
VALUE LODGE Near Busch Gardens Tampa East Fowler Ave, Tampa, FL
813-933-7275 1-800-660-3448
BANQUET ROOM WITH CAPACITY OF 200 CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST (GREAT FOR WEDDINGS, BABY SHOWERS, BUS PARKING MEETINGS, ETC.) We Are Located Within 0.5 Mile From The Grand & Convenient Patel Brothers Indian Store & Three Wonderful Indian Restaurants HUGE POOL
valuelodgebuschgardens@gmail.com 172
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
173
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
People of Indian Origin in News in 2016 Mrs. Neha Amin
Mrs. Asha Kharod
Ms. Kamala Harris to run for US Senate from California
Ms. Kamala Harris is the first Indian American woman to run for US Senate. Ms. Kamala Harris’s mother Shyamala was born in India and came to the United States to study science, specifically endocrinology and the complex mechanisms of cancer. She received her undergraduate bachelor of arts degree from Howard University, and her law degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. She is serving as CA’s attorney general. Mrs. Chandrika & Ranjan Tandon donates $100Million to NYU Mrs. Chandrika and Mr. Ranjan Tandon donated 100 million dollars for School Of engineering at NYU. The gift — which will principally support faculty hiring and academic programs — is intended to build on the engineering school’s existing practice of cross-disciplinary innovation and entrepreneurship and achieve new levels of academic excellence in engineering.The school will be re-named the NYU Tandon School of Engineering in recognition of the Tandons’ generosity and their belief in the school’s mission and promise.
174
Mrs. Renu Khator to be inducted in Texas Woman’s Hall Mrs. Renu Khator, Indian-American woman academic, will be inducted into the Texas Women’s Hall of Fame for making significant contribution for the benefit of the US second largest State. Khator, 61, Chancellor and President of the prestigious University of Houston (UH) said, Khator, the first IndianAmerican to lead a major research university in the US, is also the president of University of Houston’s main campus. Born in Uttar Pradesh’s Farrukhabad district, she is largely credited with pushing the UH once known as “Cougar High” towards the nation’s top-tier of research universities. Mr. Jairam Hathwar and Mr. Nihar Janga wins Scripps National Spelling Bee
h t t p : / / w w w. n p r. o r g / s e c t i o n s / t h e t wo-way/2016/05/26/479664617/meet-the-scripps-national-spelling-bee-top-10 The Scripps National Spelling Bee is an annual spelling bee held in the United States. The bee is run on a notfor-profit basis by The E. W. Scripps Company. Scripps National Spelling Bee, is one of the nation’s oldest and most iconic competitions.
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Sanghamitra Kalita wins Pulitzer Prize In what is an inspiring moment for the country, 39-year-old Sanghamitra Kalita, the Managing Editor of Los Angeles Times has won a Pulitzer Prize. Sanghamitra, whose parents are Assamese , was born in Brooklyn but was raised in Long Island, Puerto Rico and New Jersey. She was part of the L.A Times team which won in the Breaking News Reporting category for their coverage of the San Bernardino shooting that occurred on December 2 last year and the terror investigation that followed. Maya Eashwaran and Gopal Raman selected for National Student Poet Programs Two Indian-American teens Maya Eashwaran and Gopal Raman are among five students selected for the prestigious National Students Poets Program. Eashwaran (17) is from Alpharetta in Georgia and Raman is from Dallas in Texas. Since its inception in 2011, the National Student Poets Program has showcased the essential role of writing and the arts in academic and personal success for audiences across the country. 14 students become Intel Talent Search 2016 Finalist The Intel Science Talent Search (Intel STS) is the nation’s most prestigious pre-college science competition. Intel STS alumni have made extraordinary contributions to science and hold more than 100 of the world’s most coveted science
and math honors, including the Nobel Prize and the National Medal of Science. Students are selected based upon their scientific research and also on their overall potential as future leaders of the scientific community. Here is the list of students selected as finalist:
People of Indian Orign in News in 2016
Shreya Patel wins Michelle Obama’s “healthy lunchtime challenge” Nine-year-old Shreya Patel of Schaumburg was among the youngest winners of Michelle Obama’s “healthy lunchtime challenge” Her garam masala quinoa burger with raita was chosen as the winning recipe entered from Illinois, winning her a spot at the awards lunch at White House. Entries had to be healthy, affordable and tasty. Shreya has been cooking since she was 3 and said she loves to “mix, measure, chop and even clean up afterwards.” Detailed recipe for her quinoa burger can be found at link below. http://chicago.suntimes.com/news/schaumburg-girlsquinoa-burger-a-winner-in-michelle-obamas-healthylunch-contest/
Devalapurkar, Sanath; Gupta, Vikul; Jagadeesan, Meena; Jagota, Milind; Karthik, Anjini; Makaram, Yashaswini; Menon, Shreya; Punjabi, Amol; Ravichandran, Kavya; Sayana, Anin; Shroff, Kunal; Srinivas, Pranav; Varma, Maya; Vemuri, Sreya Kanak Jha represents US in 2016 Olympics Kanak Jha was the youngest player who represented US in 2016 Olympics at Rio for Table Tennis. Mr. Raja Krishnamoorthi runs for Congress from Chicago Raja Krishnamoorthi, 42, grew up in Illinois and has dedicated his life to serving our community and fighting for our most vulnerable citizens. The son of Indian immigrants to the U.S., he is running for Congress on a progressive platform that includes protecting Social Security and Medicare. Mr. Sudhan Thomas to run for Jersy Coty Board of Education A n I n d i a n American 9/11 historian docent is running for a key educational office in New Jersey and if elected the position could help him play a key role in the U.S. state’s education system. Sudhan Thomas, a business professional who has been active in the IndianAmerican community, is running for the Jersey City Board of Education. Heta Patel 16, now a Senior at King high school, has has just published a collection of over 50 poems in her book “A Vicissitudes of Life” – which can be ordered from Amazon. The proceeds from sell will be donated to this foundation (www.doctorsfoundation.org). For her service to the community and dedication, Heta was one of the 10 distinguished recipients of 2016 Dr. Sylvia Richardson Young Women of Promise award by the Athena Society (www.athenainternational.org). Heta was invited by Congresswoman Ms. Kathy Castor to attend India’s Honorable Prime Minister Narendra Modiji’s joint address to the US Congress.
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
175
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Proudly Providing Comprehensive Rehabilitation Services to Pasco and Hillsborough Counties.
Bayonet Point 7210 Beacon Woods Dr • Hudson, FL 34667
727-863-1521
Plant City 701 N Wilder Rd • Plant City, FL 33566
813-752-3611
Doing What’s Right!
A 501(c)(3) Nonprofit
Sonny H Patel Licensed Real Estate Professional 727 433-3617
* Residential * Water Front Properties * Property Management
176
Comprehensive Rehabilitation Program Respiratory Therapy Medical Nutritional Therapy Advanced Wound Care IV Therapy
www.SolarisHealthCare.org
Harish L Patel, M.S. Licensed Real Estate Professional 727 667-1449
* Cash Flow Notes Investor * Buy and Sell Real Estate Notes
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
* Commercials * Investment Properties * REO & Bank Owned
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
SILVER SPONSOR
177
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
178
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
179
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
An Inventor’s Story Dr. Yogi Goswami Professor Goswami is the Editor-in-Chief of the Solar Energy journal, and Progress in Solar Energy. He has published as an author or editor 20 books and more than 400 refereed technical papers. He also holds 18 patents, some of which have been successfully commercialized. A recognized leader in professional scientific and technical societies, Prof. Goswami has served as President of the International Solar Energy Society, a Governor of the American Society of Mechanical and President of the International Association for Solar Energy Education. Prof. Goswami has received the highest awards from major engineering and scientific societies for his work in renewable energy. Most recently, he was inducted into the Florida Inventors Hall of Fame. Like most innovations designed to improve the lives of others, my involvement with developing clean air technology started with a personal plight — a health issue in my family back in the late ’80s and 90s. My son, Dilip, asthmatic from childhood, suffered greatly from allergy problems. His allergic reactions would frequently trigger asthma attacks that would often land us in the ER. It was painful not only for him, but also for my wife and I who had to witness his struggle to breathe. While we were able to handle his food allergies by eliminating certain ingredients from his diet, we had other challenges to contend with — triggers in the air appeared to be a key source for his allergies and asthma attacks. At the time, much like today, there wasn’t a lot of credible information available about indoor air quality. And the information that was out there was conflicting and confusing at best. The American Lung Association provided some useful content about contaminants such as spores (mold and mildew), bacteria, viruses, dust mites and volatile
180
organic chemicals (VOCs) that can cause allergies and trigger asthma attacks. So we began looking into commercially available air cleaners — mostly air filters and electrostatic filters. Unfortunately, neither provided an effective or holistic solution. They could filter out microorganisms to some extent, but the problem was that those toxic organisms would continue to multiply on the surface of the filter. They were, effectively, gathering all of the pollutants in one spot, only to release them back into the air as they grew on the filter. This caused us a lot of frustration. Around that time, ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers) was planning their annual conference and advertised an expertled session on Indoor Air Quality. With a lot of hope to learn new information, I attended that session. Sadly, I learned that they were approaching the problem in the same way that they had
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com for decades, by making the filters tighter and tighter, which still didn’t address the problem of the contaminants multiplying on the surface of the filter.
Clean air is an absolute necessity to our health and well-being, and access to clean air is a basic human right. I have personally seen the impact contaminated air can have as my son, growing up with asthma and allergies, was finally being able to feel some relief with the air purifier. I hope this technology brings this gift to every family and every home. In fact my son himself, now grown up and a Stanford-educated engineer, is committed to bringing this product to market for everyone’s benefit. The new technology is being introduced to the market by Molekule, Inc as “MoLEKULE”, the world’s first molecular air purifier. A short message for our high school and college student generation:
It is my firm conviction that you (high school and college students) will represent Over the next few years, we the best of our Indian continued to do research on American traditions and the technology using a catalytic values and will reach heights filter and black light to neutralize that my generation and the bacteria, viruses, spores and generations before me could VOCs. This research led to the not dream of. However, for development of a new process you to achieve that you must to disinfect and detoxify air, believe in yourself and have called photocatalytic oxidation the confidence that you can (PCO). indeed achieve what the But PCO was slow, which was a earlier generations could big problem … we had to find a not. Follow your passion way to increase its effectiveness. and your dreams, which will We experimented with lead you to greatness. And adding elements of another remember - what you do solar technology that I had in your life should not only developed, which increased Let to Right: Jaya Rao (daughter), Dr. Yogi Goswami, and Mrs. Lovely Goswami (wife) help you and your family but the quantum efficiency of should also help those that the process by orders of magnitude. This discovery are less fortunate and the society in general. fundamentally changed the effectiveness and speed of the process. The new enhanced technology, known as “Be the change you wish to see in the world” photo-electrochemical (PECO) technology, neutralizes any Mahatma GandhI indoor air pollutants like bacteria, viruses, mold, VOCs and About Molekule, Inc MoLEKULE is carefully designed to seamlessly integrate into today’s living environments. Its technology allows MoLEKULE to work extremely fast and quietly while it cleans and recirculates the air of a 600-square-foot room every 60 minutes. MoLEKULE can be connected to Wi-Fi for the device to become smarter over time and respond to the individual needs of people’s households. The companion iOS app allows you to control the device remotely and seamlessly manage filter replacements. As a science and clean technology company, it eliminates indoor air pollution for everyone, everywhere. Molekule designed the world’s first molecular air purifier, capable of destroying all indoor air pollutants, giving you the air you were meant to breathe. Founded in 2014, Molekule is headquartered in San Francisco. For more information, visit: www.molekule.com. “One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
181
MOLEKULE An Inventor;s Story
With no outlook for a viable solution on the market that could address all of my son’s health issues, I felt challenged as a scientist and asked myself how I might borrow from my 30 years of solar research to see if there were parallels that could be applied. In the plane, on my way back from the conference, I started to think about a solar photocatalytic technology that I had developed to clean groundwater contaminated with jet fuel at Tyndall Air Force Base, near Panama City, Florida. I felt that the photocatalytic technology could also be used to clean air, but instead of using sunlight, we would use a light of a specific wavelength. Thus began new research on cleaning indoor air using a photocatalytic process.
allergens in the air at a speed dramatically faster than the current market.
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
• • • • • • • •
Asthma Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis Bronchiectasis Pleural Effusion Bronchitis, Acute Pneumonia COPD Pulmonary Embolism
• • • • • • • •
GERD Rhinitis, Allergic Influenza Sinusitis Sleep Apnea Narcolepsy Restless Leg Syndrome Insomnia
Office: 727-443-0611 | www.bayareachest.com 430 Morton Plant St., 4th floor Suite 405, Clearwater, Fl. 33756
oyal Indian Cuisine
Paul S. Collins, MD General Surgery Vascular Surgery
Kevin L. Huguet, MD General Surgery Laparoscopic Surgery
Brett A, Almond, MD Vascular Surgery
George Rossidis, MD General Surgery Minimally Invasive Surger Gastroesophageal Surgey
&
Wishing the best to The 29th India Festival! For your favorite indian sweets... For your favorite indian cuisine...
(813) 977-6000 2025 E Fowler Tampa, FL 33612
Expertise in Surgical Care 960 7 Avenue North th St.Petersburg, FL 33705 (727) 821-8101 Phone (727) 825-1357 Fax
1601 Pasadena Ave. S., Ste 2C St. Petersburg, FL 33707 (727) 821-8101 Phone (727) 825-1357
www.baysurgicalspecialists.com
182
oyal Sweets
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
(813) 600-3463 11009 N 56th St. Tampa, FL 33617
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016
SILVER SPONSOR
“your travel expert”
Toll Free: 1-866-554-pujA (7852) 2017 E. FowlEr AvE. TAmPA, Fl 33612 Ph: 813-344-0744 (next to House of spices) 18764 PionEEr Blvd. Ph: 714-522-8200 ArTEsiA, CA 90701 We Offer Exclusive Tours thru all Major Tour Companies for Europe, China, Australia, New Zeland, Africa, North & South India Vegetarian and Gujarati Food. es for r A f s e AirliN c. 2014 speciAl e D D N A D i WA l i
Fares: $750 Onwards to Del | bom | AmD | blr | MAA HYD | trv | ccu | DAc | cmb
• We issue tickets from iNDiA to usA
• We speAk iN GujArAti, HiNDi & puNjAbi • speciAl fAres iN busiNess clAss
• for best fAres cAll trAvel expert
W W W. p u j At r Av e l s . c o m Email: Pujatravelsint@gmail.com
All Air fares are based on availability & subject to change without prior notice. Tax not included.
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
183
PROUD SPONSOR
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016
R E T S I REG AY m TODAHOA.co at A
CONVENTION &
TRADE SHOW APRIL 11-14, 2017 SAN ANTONIO, TX
184
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016
SILVER SPONSOR
Law Done Differently • • • •
Personal Injury Mold Litigation Property Damage Consumer Issues
• • • •
General Counsel ADA Defense Employee Litigation Contract Litigation
CARPENTERGANDHI.COM
511 W. Bay Street | Suite 367 | Tampa, FL | 33629 813.280.1180
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
185
SILVER SPONSOR
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
戀攀猀琀 眀椀猀栀攀猀 琀漀 ㈀㤀琀栀 椀渀搀椀愀 昀攀猀琀椀瘀愀氀 ☀ 最甀樀愀爀愀琀椀 猀愀洀愀樀 漀昀 琀愀洀瀀愀 戀愀礀
䠀愀爀渀椀猀栀 ⠀䴀愀渀最攀猀栀⤀ 倀愀琀攀氀Ⰰ 嘀愀渀椀琀愀戀攀渀 倀愀琀攀氀 ☀ 嘀爀愀樀 倀愀琀攀氀 186
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Nima PHOTO & VIDEO
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
187
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Adult Non-Competition
A5 - CROMPTON DIVAS
BEST WISHES FOR 29TH INDIA FESTIVAL, TAMPA BAY. To Vijay Gandhi and the men, women and families who have served our great Gujarati Samaj, we Thank you for your commitment and selfless dedication.
• Achieving 95% to 98% of claims being paid • Reducing AR to 3% over 90 days • Ensuring your payments are as per your contract rate 188
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
813-359- 8787 www.meditrustllc.com
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
AffordableDLegalDServicesD AffordableDLegalDServicesD withDCompassionDandDCare REAL ESTATE LAW withDCompassionDandDCare
o ClosingB&BTitleBInsuranceBServicesB o Commercial/ResidentialBLeasesB o ClosingB&BTitleBInsuranceBServicesB o EvictionsB o ForeclosureBDefenseB Commercial/ResidentialBLeasesB o o EvictionsB o ShortBSaleBNegotiationsB o ForeclosureBDefenseB BUSINESS & CORPORATE LAWB o ShortBSaleBNegotiationsB o ContractsB BUSINESS & CORPORATE LAWB o Incorporation/FormationB o ContractsB o o BusinessBClosingsB Incorporation/FormationB o CommercialBLitigationB o BusinessBClosingsB KunalDSejpaluDEsq IMMIGRATION LAW o CommercialBLitigationB o EB-5 Investments 14039DNqDDaleDMabryDHwy KunalDSejpaluDEsq IMMIGRATION LAW o Family Based Green Cards TampauDFloridaD33618 o EB-5 Investments 14039DNqDDaleDMabryDHwy o Applications o Citizenship Family Based Green Cards TampauDFloridaD33618 FAMILY LAW o Citizenship Applications o DivorceB FAMILY LAW wwwqsejpallawfirmqcom o o ChildBCustody/SupportB DivorceB o o DomesticBViolenceB ChildBCustody/SupportB wwwqsejpallawfirmqcom CIVIL LITIGATION o DomesticBViolenceB REAL ESTATE LAW
813E964E8664 813E964E8664
WILLS, TRUSTS & ESTATE PLANNING BCIVIL LITIGATION ____________________________ WILLS, TRUSTS & ESTATE PLANNING B ____________________________
√ PEOPLE’S CHOICE √ PEOPLE’S CHOICE REALTY SERVICES LLC
REALTY SERVICES LLC
√ √ √ √ B√ BB
EXCELLENCE j HONESTY j INTEGRITY EXCELLENCE j HONESTY j INTEGRITY
Residential Residential Waterfront Waterfront Short Sale Expert Short Expert REO MSale Bank Owned REO M Bank Owned
√ Commercial Commercial √ Property Management √ Property Management Land M Development √ Land M Development lnvestment Properties √ lnvestment Properties B The most important thing when choosing a real estate B professional is to find someone you can trust and the The most important thing when choosing a who realhas estate
B
tools, skills and experience to make dreams come professional is to find someone youyour can trust and whotrue. has the tools, skills and experience to make your dreams come true. Manhar Sejpal
**
Manhar Sejpal Licensed Real Estate Professional Licensed Real Estate Professional TelN _741@.X14506 TelN _741@.X14506 EmailN mrseagle@hotmail3com EmailN mrseagle@hotmail3com Bwww.manharsejpal.com Bwww.manharsejpal.com
BEST WISHES FROM THE SEJPAL FAMILY BEST WISHES FROM THE SEJPAL FAMILY “One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
** 189
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016
PROUD SPONSOR
For Your Good Health Primary and specialized care at Florida Medical Clinic
SALMA AKHTER, DO
SAMIR KAPOOR, MD
Family Medicine
Family Medicine
RAMYA ARERANGAIAH, MD
SUJANI AKKINENI, MD
Hospital Medicine
Hospital Medicine
SOHAIL KHAN, MD
SAMI
Nephrology
NALLAMSHETTY, MD Allergy & Asthma
JAZBEEN MAHMOOD, MD Family Medicine
ROSHAN MAHTANI, MD Family Medicine
SOMASEKHARA ANETHA KAIPU, MD MOORTHAL, MD
CATHERINE PALTOO, MD
KANCHAN PARASHER, MD
KUMAR JAIRAMDAS, ARNP
SAMEER NAGAMIA, MD
PANKAJ PATEL, MD
KRISHNA TEWARI, MD
SURESH VEMURI, MD
ROHIT K. VYAS, MD
Family Medicine
Family Medicine
Family Medicine
Cardiology
Hospital Medicine
Hospital Medicine
Hospital Medicine
Hospital Medicine
Hospital Medicine
Hospital Medicine
VIJAY PATEL, MD
SIRISHA CHALASANI, MD
VIJAY M. DESAI, MD
KANCHAN N. KAMATH, MD
PARAG PITRODA, MD
CHANDRESH SARAIYA, MD
BHUMIKA PATEL, PA
YUVRAJ KUMBKARNI, MD
SOLOMAN R. SINGH, MD
Nephrology
Endocrinology
Internal Medicine
Internal Medicine
Internal Medicine
Internal Medicine
Internal Medicine
Internal Medicine
CHIRAG SHAH, DO
SAILESH N. SHAH, DO
RAVIKANTH VYDYULA, MD
MAULIK K. TRIVEDI, MD
JEFF MATHEW, MD
Pulmonology
Gastroenterology
Pulmonology
Pulmonology
813.780.8440
Strengthening diversity in the community & workplace. NIRAJ PATEL, MD OB/GYN
DIMPLE DESAI, PA
Pain Management
FOLLOW US ON
Psychiatry
Schedule your appointment online: www.FloridaMedicalClinic.com
190
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
Surgery
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016
PLATINUM SPONSOR
The stock market has had a nice run... but what’s next? Is your portfolio designed for downside protection? Ours are. Learn how to protect your portfolio
(813) 345-2800 HLSecurities.com
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
192
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
SILVER SPONSOR
193
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com Please fill out this form on your computer for data accuracy
Gujarati Samaj Of Tampa Bay - 2017 Membership Form
Membership valid from 1/1/2017 thru 12/31/2017
GSTB is a Non Profit 501(c)3 Organization: Tax ID: 59-2657408
Mark One: _____ First Time Membership _____ Renewal
Primary Member's Name & Address: (Please use CAPITAL Letters)
AS PER BY-LAWS of GSTB:
a. Membership Fees are not transferable or refundable. Age as of 01/01/2017 b. Payments after 31st Jan 2017-PAY EXTRA $10/= per person. c. ALL members acknowledge & accept the terms & conditions of GSTB By-Laws. d. There may be nominal charge for some events to members.
Primary Phone # (Will be Published): ________________________________________________________________ Alternate Phone # _________________________________________________________________ E-mail Address: __________________________________________________________________________________ Alternate E-Mail Address: _________________________________________________________________________ Last Name Below A B C D
Relationship First Names Below
Or First & Last Name if different Last Name than above
Date
Adults
of
Age-18 to 64 $65
Birth
Seniors
Age-65 & Up $40
Child >5 Child <5 Age-5 to 17 $40
Age-1 to 4 $0
Please add $10/member if paying after 01/31/2017
Primary Member (Self)
$0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
Office Use Only:
Cash:____ Check: ____ Cr. Crd: ____
Amount Received: $___________ Receipt/Check #: ________ Date Received:_____________Bank: __________________ Received By: _____________________________________ Member #
6M-
-
Total:
$0.00
Total Membership Due: (A + B + C)
ALL members acknowledge & accept the terms & conditions of GSTB By-Laws. Copy of GSTB By-Laws available @ www.gujaratisamj.org Important: If you pay by cash then you are responsible to save your receipt as proof of membership & present it in the future if asked. Please add $10/member if paying after 01/31/2017 GSTB is a Non Profit 501(c)3 Organization: Tax ID: 59-2657408
Make Payments to: GSTB & mail to:
Gujarati Samaj Of Tampa Bay, Inc. Attn: Jayesh Patel, President-2017 6924 Silver Sage Circle Tampa, FL 33634
Receipt
Office Use Only:
Cash Receipt:
Received By: _________________ Received From: _________________________________ Amount: _________________ Date: ____________ Cash Receipt #: _________________________________
Member #: 6M -
-
For membership questions, contact Jayesh Patel @ 813-784-7710 or hojo1994@Yahoo.com
194
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
GSTB EVENT CALENDAR EVENT*
DATE OF EVENT
VENUE OF EVENT
TIME OF EVENT
1
Uttarayan
Saturday, 01/14/2017
Florida State Fair Grounds
11:00 AM to 4:00 PM
2
India Day
TBA
Florida State Fair Grounds
TBA
3
General Body ( Members) Meeting
February
ICC
TBA
4
Holi
Sunday, 03/12/2017
Florida State Fair Grounds
11:00 AM to 4:00 PM
5
Gujarati Natak
TBA
ICC
6:00 PM Onwards
6
Youth Activity
TBA
TBA
TBA
7
TBA
Sunday, 04/30/2017
ICC
TBA
8
Mothers’ Day Picnic
Sunday, 05/14/2017
Fort Desoto Park
11:00 AM to 4:00 PM
9
Golf Event
TBA
TBA
TBA
Health Fair
TBA
ICC
8:00 AM to 1:00 PM
Gujarati Natak
TBA
ICC
TBA
Navratri
Friday & Saturday 09/22 & 09/23/2017
USF Sun Dome
8:30 PM onwards
Navratri
Friday & Saturday 09/29 & 09/30/2017
USF Sun Dome
8:30 PM onwards
Navratri
Friday & Saturday 10/06 & 10/07/2017
ICC
TBA
Diwali
Sunday, 10/21/2017
ICC
4:00 PM onwards
30th India Festival
Saturday, 11/04/2017
Florida State Fair Grounds
11:00 AM to 10:00 PM
Volunteer Appreciation
TBA
TBA
TBA
* Events are subject to change without notice. Please call us or check GSTB’s website @ www.gujaratisamaj.org for information on events*
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
195
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
WE’RE CONNECTED
Pulmonology & Sleep Disorders LAND O’LAKES
2100 Via Bella Blvd.
• Sarcoidosis • Interstitial Lung Diseases
WESLEY CHAPEL
CHIRAG SHAH, DO
2352 Bruce B Downs Blvd.
• COPD • Asthma
813.528.4960 CARROLLWOOD 12500 N. Dale Mabry Hwy.
• Sleep Disorders • Pulmonary Hypertension
• Cystic Lung Diseases
Request your appointment online at: www.FloridaMedicalClinic.com
196
RAVIKANTH VYDYULA, MD
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Business & Personal Tax Returns Tax Planning & Estate Planing Multi-State Tax Filings Foreign Tax Reporting
Payroll with Workers Comp Bookkeping, Reviews Audits Business Setup & QB consulting IRS Appeals & Representation
Call us for a free consultation
(813) 977-0089 Check us out and see what we have to offer:
www.axiombusinessconsulting.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/axiomtaxes https://plus.google.com/+Axiombusinessconsultingcpa https://www.facebook.com/axiomtaxes
Wishing you all a happy Diwali and Prosperous New Year
Seema and Sanjiv Jain
13234 Telecom Drive • Tampa, Florida 33637 • (813) 395-0085 • Fax (813) 395-0085 • www.AxiomBusinessConsulting.com
Executive Offices and Virtual Offices Available For Rent
Best Wishes to India Festival 2016 Insurance, It’s What We Do!
DUBAL LAW FIRM, P.L.
t a a b s a a kh AREAS OF PRACTICE:
• Immigration Law • Family Law • Business Law • Personal Injury • Landlord Tenant Law
Attorney Hemal Dubal
DUBAL LAW FIRM, P.L. 1910 W. Busch Blvd. Tampa FL 33612 Phone: 813-812-5028 Fax: 813-422-7842 Website: DubalLawFirm.com Email: HD@duballawfirm.com
Susan H. Peterson Kyle Peterson
Peterson Insurance Agency
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
37837 Meridian Ave Dade City, FL 33525
Tel:
352-567-9771
197
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
With Best Compliments to 29th India Festival E Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay
______ ______ Himanshu J Patel, M.D. P.A. Dipti, Selavi, Shivani, Devindraben
______ ______
University Grove Office Park 13305 N 56th St Tampa, FL 33617 Tel: (813) 988-1101 â&#x20AC;˘ Fax:(818) 989-3899
198
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
䠀愀瀀瀀礀 一攀眀 夀攀愀爀 ☀ 䈀攀猀琀 圀椀猀栀攀猀
㐀 ㈀ 䴀挀䰀愀渀攀 䐀爀椀瘀攀 ꀥ 吀愀洀瀀愀 ꀥ 䘀䰀 ㌀㌀㘀 䘀愀砀㨀 㠀㠀㠀ⴀ㈀ ⴀ ㈀㜀㠀
吀愀砀㐀 ㈀䀀最洀愀椀氀⸀挀漀洀
Dr. Mukesh & Geeta Kapadia Payal & Palna Kapadia General Dentistry
613 West Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Suite #103 Tampa, FL 33603
(813)-237-2882
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
199
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
With Best Compliments to 29th India Festival & Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay
As a global leader in the professional distribution of electrical products and services, Rexel supports its customers with sustainable and innovative solutions, wherever they are Phone: 813-249-3200 Direct: 813-249-3205 Fax: 813-885-3409 Cell: 813-449-2189
200
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
Mitul Patel
Sales Engineer 5202 Tampa West Blvd. Suite A Tampa Fl 33634
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Best Wishes t漀 29th In搀i愀 Festiv愀氀 漀f T愀mp愀 B愀y & Guj愀爀愀ti S愀m愀j R漀hit M. P愀te氀, MD M爀s. P爀愀tim愀 P愀te氀
&
Ashish R. P愀te氀 3709 W H愀mi氀t漀n Ave
Tampa Cardiovascular Associates
Vasco M. Marques, M.D., F.A.C.C. Asad Sawar, M.D., F.A.C.C. Victor Fekiz M.D. Hesham A. Fakhri, M.D.
Suite 7
Invasive Non-invasive and Interventional Cardiology Peripheral Vascular Disease ICD and Pacemaker Management
(813)-931-2500
5112 N. Habana Avenue, Tampa, Florida 33614 3010 E. 138th Avenue, Suite 12, Tampa, Florida 33613 2106 Ashley Oaks Circle, Suite, 101, Wesley Chapel, FL 33544
T愀mp愀, FL 33614
Phone: (813) 975-2800 • Fax: (813) 977-7631
www.tampacardio.com
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
201
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Best Wishes to 29th India Festival & Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay KC INSURANCES SERVICES “I do what is best for you and your family”
KEITH COTNER
License Insurance Agent
12432 Ferndale Hudson, Fl 34669 727-403-3423 727-944-5844 cotner9.kc@gmail.com
BEST WISHES
TO THE 29th INDIA FESTIVAL & GUJARATI SAMAJ OF TAMPA BAY
FROM
HealthMed Pharmacy Sia Malkan - Vishal Malkan * Serving Indian community in Pinellas County * Free delivery * Diabetes medical supply * Performance measures for HEDIS * Consultation available in Hindi and Gujarati language T: 727-894-3001 T: 727-894-3002 F: 727-894-3000 HealthMedrx@gmail.com
202
HealthMed Pharmacy 1839 Central Ave St Petersburg FL 33713
Best Wishes to 29th India Festival & Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay Dr. Vrajesh Shah, Swapna Shah & Vidhi Shah 19953 North Florida Avenue Lutz, FL 33558 813-960-4894
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
圀椀琀栀 䈀攀猀琀 䌀漀洀瀀氀椀洀攀渀琀猀
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
203
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Road to Marshall Scholarship Bianca Mulaney Bianca Mulaney studied Economics with a secondary field in Molecular and Cellular Biology at Harvard College, where she received a Bachelor of Arts (A.B.) magna cum laude in 2016. She was awarded a Marshall Scholarship, the most selective graduate fellowship available to American undergraduates. As a Marshall Scholar, Bianca will study economics at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and infectious diseases at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). Along with past internship experiences in a microbiology lab at Harvard Medical School, at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and at the Wellcome Trust, her multidisciplinary academic studies have motivated her to work at the intersection of economics and health. She received a Hoopes Prize for her undergraduate economics thesis on the impacts of antibiotic usage in agriculture. Most recently, she has been interning for the Clinton campaign’s economic policy team. In her spare time, she enjoys tap-dancing, running, and coxing intramural crew. In the future, she envisions herself as a physician-economist making broad-ranging contributions to healthcare as a researcher, policy advisor, and healthcare executive. Here is the excerpt of our interview with Bianca. Questions by Jay Nandikishor Shah and other Tampa Bay community students Question: Getting into Harvard is not easy. SAT score and academics are only one part of the equation. What other activities did you do that helped you with Harvard admission? I want to caution here there is no singular magic ‘formula’ that will get you into top-ranked colleges and universities. People may read my response and think that if they follow what I did, they will increase their chances of getting into Harvard, but the converse may happen—forcing yourself to do what I did could even decrease your chances. Each of the hundreds of other people I met whom Harvard granted admission had followed a different path of achievement. One quality that stands out to me amongst admitted students is passion. Whatever they do—whether it’s juggling a medley of activities or devoting all their energy to
204
an art, sport, volunteer position, or some other leadership endeavor—they’re incredibly passionate about it. I think you’re entirely right that academics and test scores are only one part of the equation (Harvard could fill an entire class with students from their applicant pool who each scored a perfect 1600 on the SAT, but they don’t for a reason). College admissions is a holistic process, with schools evaluating you along many different axes: your character, your critical thinking skills, your ability to positively interact with and impact others. But more than anything they’re looking for potential, and that often comes through in the strength of your passion for what you do. Do you have the potential to contribute meaningfully not just to the community you are about to enter, but to society more broadly—as a thinker, a leader, a visionary, a doer? Will you add a diverse perspective to the student body?
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
President of his country to decree that orphans in his country were entitled to free education. There are so many more incredible people in my class I’d love to tell you about…but the bottom line here is that everyone in my class was different. I was the type of person who enjoyed pouring my soul into many different activities, and I was very fortunate to have parents and mentors who enabled and encouraged me to try a wide variety of activities. I blossomed because I loved what I did and had the opportunity to grow as a leader within every endeavor I pursued. But you have to find what makes you tick—what makes you excited to get out of bed every morning, what leaves you with more questions than answers, what gives you a sense of fulfillment. This can mean very different answers for each person.
Question: Tell us about some of the exciting things you did at Harvard. The opportunities available to you are endless! Here are just a few of the things I did: -Learned about local healthcare systems and helped deliver primary care in rural Ipetí, Panama -Took a class on social choice theory taught by two Nobel laureates, Professors Amartya Sen and Eric Maskin -Tap danced for Harvard’s annual public ARTS FIRST festival -Coxed for our intramural crew team (the “coxswain” is the person who steers the boat and coordinates and motivates the rowers) -Managed a $30,000 investment portfolio -Launched a game to raise awareness of malaria -Sled down the steps of Widener library on a dining hall tray right after a blizzard -Attended public talks by Toni Morrison, M. Night Shyamalan, James Watson, Stephen Forbes, and many other influential thinkers And note that these types of experiences are not necessarily unique to Harvard—in general, attending college will give
you the chance to try many different activities.
“After setting foot on campus and meeting hundreds of other people whom Harvard granted admission, I know for a fact that there is no singular magic ‘formula’ that will get you into top-ranked colleges and universities”
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
205
Road to Marshall Scholarship
I’m happy to share what I did (even though I don’t think this is the most helpful piece of advice I can give you). Besides strong academics—I went to the most academically rigorous school in my area and opted to take tough courses—I was passionate about a wide range of extracurricular pursuits. In particular, I played a musical instrument as a member of my middle and high school bands, competed in academic competitions outside of the classroom (History Fair, HOSA and FBLA state and national competitions, National Spanish Exams, A-team (‘Academic team’ – a quiz-bowl style competition that was one of my favorite activities in high school)), and volunteered for youth and the elderly through service clubs. I tried to take the initiative to lead wherever I thought I could make a difference—for example, during my junior year, my classmates and I started a service learning project, an after-school literacy and skill-building program to benefit third- and fourth-graders at a nearby elementary school. That being said, some of my classmates preferred to focus on one or two activities they were really passionate about— one was a world-class figure skater; one had given a TED talk on her scientific research; one had been a competitive rower throughout high school; one successfully got the
Road to Marshall Scholarship
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Question: What was the most difficult situation that you faced at Harvard and how did you manage it? I am grateful not to have faced many difficult situations, but I think in general, despite being surrounded by so many people, it was surprisingly easy to feel lost or lonely. The solution was learning to take initiative. College is this weird transition period between youth and full adulthood, where you’re not quite fully independent but you still have far more responsibility for your own wellbeing than you’re used to having. Being away from home for the first time, I had to learn how to be more independent. I had to make an effort to build and rekindle friendships; I had to carve out a niche for myself with my academics; I had to manage my activities and achieve a balance that satisfied my priorities. Question: You did your internship at HHS, what is the best way to get the internship there? Can you describe your experience at HHS? At the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, (HHS), I worked within the Office of Global Affairs for the Office of Pandemics and Emerging Threats. I studied various existing national and international policies related to antibiotic resistance, in an effort to help inform the development of the US’s first national antibiotic resistance strategy (see next question for a more in-depth explanation of what this means). I also helped prepare briefing materials for the US delegation to an international conference that brought together health ministers from around the world to talk about the problem of antibiotic resistance. In mid-July, I had a particularly unique experience, as our office was assigned to be the coordinators of the US government’s response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. I was fortunate that my school offered an internship with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service’s Office of Global Affairs that was funded through the Harvard Institute of Politics. The best advice I can give you is to do some Google searching! HHS has several divisions, and each division likely offers internships. As I just found (via Google), anyone can apply for the internship I did at the Office of Global Affairs—go to http://www.hhs.gov/ about/agencies/oga/about-oga/who-we-are/careers/ index.html and scroll down to the “student volunteer internships” section. Note that this is an unpaid internship, though, and I would recommend requesting funding from your school or some other source to cover your living expenses. In general, if you’re interested in working or volunteering for a certain organization, don’t be afraid to reach out.
206
Demonstrating that you’re truly interested and invested in the organization and their mission—whether that’s by researching the organization online and finding specific aspects of their work that particularly excite you, or contacting representatives of the organization directly and asking them about their day-to-day work to better understand whether or not you would enjoy working there—is usually positively looked upon once it comes time to apply. Really, I can’t stress enough the importance of asking for help and reaching out to others! You may find through your school’s alumni network that there are alums from your school working at the organization you’re interested in, and they may be willing to help you. Even peers at your school who may have been former interns could help. Contact your career services office, close friends, and/or family and ask them to help review your résumé and cover letters. And don’t feel confined to whatever is being offered by your school’s careers and internships office—you never know how you may find opportunities. I ended up working for the UK’s Independent Review on Antimicrobial Resistance my junior year because I met an economist from the Wellcome Trust (the organization that was funding the Antimicrobial Resistance Review) at a conference I attended while I was interning at HHS! If you have the capacity to volunteer, organizations are often more than happy to take on a volunteer since you wouldn’t be imposing a direct cost—in these situations you could also apply for independent funding to cover some or all of your expenses.
“I am grateful not to have faced many difficult situations, but I think in general, despite being surrounded by so many people, it was surprisingly easy to feel lost or lonely. The solution was learning to take initiative”
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
As I studied this problem more in-depth, I became curious about the broader implications of drug resistance to society. Interning at HHS, I helped with the US’s first national policy strategy to combat antibiotic resistance, and I realized the need to understand the burden of antibiotic resistance to society in order to galvanize government policy. The following year, when I went to the UKbased Independent Review on Antimicrobial Resistance, commissioned by the UK Prime Minister and based at the Wellcome Trust (www.amr-review.org), I assessed the economic implications of regulating antibiotic usage in agriculture. The number of antibiotic-resistant infections in humans has increased significantly over time, and this is due to a variety of factors (chief among them being overuse or misuse of antibiotics in clinical settings: the more bacteria are exposed to antibiotics, the more likely they are to develop and spread resistance). So why does agriculture matter? By weight, about 80 percent of antibiotic usage in the US is in livestock (globally, agricultural use is estimated to be over half of all antibiotic usage).[1] I was trying to understand if there may be any link between antibiotic usage in agriculture and the increase in antibiotic resistance in humans—were the resistant bacteria generated by agricultural antibiotic use somehow transferring to or causing resistance in humans? I still haven’t figured out the answer to this
question—in fact, after having learned so much about the complicated relationships between animals, humans, and the environment, the answer is less clear to me than it was before—but I now have a better sense for what information I would need to answer this question. Question: Tell us little bit about Marshall Scholarship. What are the criteria for getting Marshall Scholarship? How does it compare to Rhodes Scholarship? Both the Rhodes and Marshall Scholarships are typically two-year postgraduate scholarships for study in the United Kingdom, although under certain circumstances they may last for as little as one to as many as three years (or four, in the case of the Rhodes Scholarship). Students usually pursue two one-year or one two-year master’s degree(s), although some may complete a doctoral or a second bachelor’s degree. Structurally, the Marshall Scholarship is more flexible in that it allows you to study at any UK university; the Rhodes Scholarship is tenable only for study at Oxford University. The Marshall Scholarship funds a smaller cohort overall—up to 40 American students (this year’s class is 32). With the Rhodes Scholarship, 32 Americans are part of a larger cohort of 95 students total from around the world.
“College is this weird transition period between youth and full adulthood, where you’re not quite fully independent but you still have far more responsibility for your own wellbeing than you’re used to having”
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
207
Road to Marshall Scholarship
Question: Explain to us in plain terms your research on antimicrobial resistance commissioned by the office of the UK Prime minister? I first learned about antibiotic resistance while volunteering at a microbiology lab at Harvard Medical School the summer after my freshman year. Antibiotic resistance is the ability of bacteria to survive in the presence of antibiotics, rendering conventional treatments for bacterial infections in patients ineffective. One classic example of an antibiotic-resistant infection which you may have heard of is a ‘staph infection’ caused by MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus). The paradoxical crux of this problem is that antibiotics are necessary to eradicate bacteria causing infection, but the more bacteria are exposed to antibiotics, the more opportunities those bacteria have to develop and spread resistance. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), antibiotic resistance comprises one of the top global health threats of the 21st century.
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Road to to Marshall Marshall Scholarship Scholarship Road
“In my opinion, the criteria for the Marshall Scholarship are slightly more specific than those of the Rhodes Scholarship”
In my opinion, the criteria for the Marshall Scholarship are slightly more specific than those of the Rhodes: the Marshall Scholarship, funded by the UK government (ultimately UK taxpayers), stresses the importance of ambassadorial potential and how you will contribute to the special relationship between the US and the UK as championed by the US military leader for whom the scholarship is named, George C. Marshall (you can read more about the history of the Marshall Scholarship at http://www.marshallscholarship. org/about/missionstatement). But overall, the criteria for both scholarships are pretty similar—both look for future leaders with strong motivation and sense of purpose—and often candidates will apply to both scholarships. Question: It seems that selection process for Marshall Scholarship gives more weight to academics. How difficult was it to stay on top of your class considering that it is the most competitive school? While it is true that the Marshall Scholarship, unlike the Rhodes Scholarship, has a strict 3.7 (A-) average GPA cutoff, it is not true that the scholarship solely prioritizes academics. The scholarship also emphasizes leadership and ambassadorial potential (see criteria at http://www.marshallscholarship.org/ applications/criteria). It’s also not true that I was “at the top of my class.” In fact, Harvard does not have a formal ranking system for undergraduates. (It would be silly and probably impossible to rank all of us given we are on such different academic trajectories!) While I did meet the minimum threshold to apply for the scholarship, my academic experience was more about collaborating with rather than comparing myself to others. I explored fields I was curious about. And I wasn’t afraid to ask for help when I needed it: I asked my peers, teaching fellows, and professors lots of questions in an effort to really understand what I was learning, and I’m thankful to all of them for helping me succeed academically. Question: What motivated you to apply for Marshall Scholarship? How did you prepare for it? From my coursework, internships, and interactions with classmates and faculty, I have learned that many unsolved questions remain in healthcare both domestically and abroad, and that these questions require a fundamental understanding of the science—the biological mechanisms that drive these issues—as well as the economics—the decisions we are able to make given limited resources—behind them. In order to implement solutions to complex health challenges such as antibiotic resistance, we must consider impacts across human, animal, and environmental interfaces. Applying for the Marshall Scholarship, I knew that I wanted to integrate my interests in science and medicine with economics to impact healthcare on a broader scale, through interdisciplinary work in healthcare economics and policy. In
208
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Road to Marshall Scholarship
“Applying for the Marshall Scholarship, I knew that I wanted to integrate my interests in science and medicine with economics to impact healthcare on a broader scale, through interdisciplinary work in healthcare economics and policy” Question: What would your advice be to the high school students who are preparing SAT and college admissions? It can be easy to put too much pressure on yourself to be perfect, but remember that no one is perfect. I didn’t do as well as I would have liked the first time I took the SAT, but that gave me the motivation to study harder and achieve a higher score once I retook it. If you genuinely work hard and try to be a better person every day, good things will happen to you—and it may come in unexpected forms. One motto that has dictated how I live is to set ambitious goals, but not to get carried away with having high expectations—and to stay grounded with each success. While you shouldn’t lose confidence, expecting that you will win something before it has even happened might set you up for disappointment. Oftentimes there are so many other factors that are outside of your control that can dictate your success. With regards to college admissions, when you’re competing in a field with thousands of applicants who are just as qualified to attend Harvard as you are, there is an element of luck involved. Not getting in does not necessarily mean you are not qualified to be there! Keep in mind as you’re applying that life is much, much more than college admissions. And it only marginally matters where you go to school for college; what really matters is what you make of it. It’s much easier said than done, but take things as they come, take disappointments and failures in stride (learn as much as you can from them) and don’t let them set you back from your greater goals. There will always be more opportunities down the road to be successful as long as you keep striving for them.
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
209
Road to Marshall Scholarship Road to Marshall Scholarship
order to grow my impact, though, I need to strengthen my knowledge of both the rigorous methodologies necessary to approach health issues from an economist’s perspective and the trans-disciplinary nature of disease spread. London offers me the unique opportunity to study economics and global health from two specialized institutions that are perhaps the best in the world for these two subjects and located no more than a 15-minute walk away from each other: the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). Studying economics and global health at LSE and LSHTM before pursuing advanced academic work will introduce me further to these disciplines and focus my interests so that I may use my knowledge and skillset to one day positively impact the world. Not only is the Marshall Scholarship one of the few fellowships that can provide me with this academic opportunity, but also being in the UK will offer me the chance to learn about national healthcare and political systems that are fundamentally different from those in the US. I am very much looking forward to this opportunity to broaden my sense of self and imbibe the spirit and culture of Great Britain! Question: Tell us about your near term and long term career plan My plans immediately after my fellowship are not definite, as they depend on the knowledge I gain from my master’s programs and from speaking to mentors and experts whom I hope to meet. However, I plan to pursue one of three options: a PhD in economics at a leading UK or US university, a medical degree in the United States, or a combined MD-PhD (economics) degree. My long-term goal is to make lasting contributions to health issues, employing practical economic analysis and interdisciplinary work. As a practicing physicianeconomist, I aspire to improve the health of society as a whole through my health economics research, clinical duties, and leadership in healthcare. In working towards bridging the gap between economics and medicine, I hope to engage not just in academic work, but in leading and influencing others, campaigning as an activist, and educating and volunteering. Question: Do you attribute success to a few singular events or a lengthy series of small choices in life? Small choices. One significant event may change the course of your life, but you have to remember the lengthy series of small choices that led you to that event. (Perhaps you mustered up the courage one day after class to talk to your professor, which grew into a meaningful relationship…and that professor agreed to write you a letter of recommendation that helped you land your dream job.)
Road to Marshall Scholarship
Question: What would you suggest to the rising students transitioning from high school to college? College can be intimidating and scary—at least for me, it felt that way initially, because I grew up in a small town and went to a relatively small school. I was worried that, coming from a public school in central Florida that had never before sent a student to Harvard (to my knowledge), I wasn’t adequately prepared for college—especially compared to other students who came from ‘feeder’ schools that sent as many as 17 members of their graduating class to Harvard. You may find that, all of a sudden, you’re a ‘small fish in a big pond’ when previously you’ve been used to being a ‘big fish in a small pond’—you’re suddenly surrounded by lots of people who seem just as (if not more) impressive than you are! But two things you should keep in mind as you start college: first, take this as an opportunity to learn from your classmates. There will perhaps never be another time in your life when you’re surrounded by such a diverse group of people—that you have this microcosm of the world at your fingertips. You’ll meet people from all over the world. Listen to their stories and try to understand their perspectives and where they’re coming from. Second, remember that you deserve to be here. Your college wouldn’t have accepted you if they didn’t think you could handle the academic and social environment. Just as you may
feel intimidated by others, others may feel intimidated by you! College is what you make of it. Everyone will tell you that office hours are underutilized, and I’ll repeat it here. Go to office hours. Meet your professors. Even if you don’t have a specific question in mind related to the course material, you can talk to your professors about their own career paths, their research outside of class, or other topics. They’re human, just like you, and you’ll find many of them have incredibly interesting lives. And they can help you immensely (if not now, later on down the road). And I don’t just mean “college is what you make of it” in an academic sense; it’s true for other dimensions of your life as well. Take some time, every once in a while, to reflect on why you’re doing what you’re doing. Perhaps this could come in the form of a journal entry, or a conversation with a close friend, or a more formal reflection program organized by your school. With the sheer volume of opportunities college affords you, it may be easy to feel overwhelmed, or get caught up in the nitty-gritty details of all of your assignments and club activities. I found it helpful to pause and think about why I had chosen to be engaged in my activities. Don’t be afraid to try new things, but also don’t be afraid to stop doing something if you find it isn’t what you expected, it isn’t aligned with your goals, and/or it’s making you unhappy. And in the words of our commencement speaker, Steven Spielberg, go home every now and then.
[1] Note: This statistic was cited in the following JAMA article: http://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2013.10408. Note that it is a controversial estimate (beyond the scope of this interview to discuss, but for example there are far more animals (especially when measured by mass) compared to humans in the US), so while it is may come across as a striking statistic it is less surprising when viewed in the context of other factors.
Highly r ecommended by the Shah a nd Patel fa milies.
M arina C. K loppel
p.a., gr i, cips, mr p
Luxury R eal Estate Advisor
cell: 858-382-7499 m ar ina@coastalpgi.com M ar inaSellsCoastal.com 437 M ain Str eet | Dunedin, FL 34698
210
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
Road to Marshall Scholarship
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
Road to Marshall Scholarship
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016
www.rxcarepharmacies.com
Proud to be part of the “New Legacy” of India Festival 2016 & Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay...
Haresh, Hemlata & Aaruv
Patel
SILVER SPONSOR
Rakesh, Varsha, Ruchi & Nishi Patel
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
211
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
MRI/MRA
CT/CTA
Owned & Operated by Board CertiďŹ ed Radiologists Alka Kumar, MD Dilip Mehta, MD.
5626 Gulf Drive New Port Richey, FL 34652 Phone: (727) 841-8212 Fax (727) 841-9589 Hours: 7:30pm to 7:00pm Monday - Friday www.excelmedicalimaging.com
We build our image...one patient at a time ...
Pet
Nuclear Medicine
Dual Isotope Cardiac Stress Test
Mammography
Bones Density (DEXA)
Ultrasound
(including 4d Ultrasound)
X-Ray Procedures
212
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
SILVER SPONSOR
213
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
214
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016
GOLD SPONSOR
Zero, zip, zilch No matter how you say it, Humana has Medicare Advantage plans with $0 premium Looking for a lower premium Medicare plan? How does $0 a month sound? You can get great benefits, plus the extras you want – all for a $0 monthly plan premium. • $0 monthly plan premium • • • •
Prescription drug coverage 24-hour nurse advice line Rewards for healthy choices Maximum annual out-of-pocket protection
And that’s just for starters. Call to find out what else you can get for a $0 premium. Call a licensed sales agent 813-463-4220 (TTY: 711) Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Humana is a Medicare Advantage HMO, PPO, PFFS organization with a Medicare contract. Enrollment in this Humana plan depends on contract renewal. This information is not a complete description of benefits. Contact the plan for more information. Limitations, copayments, and restrictions may apply. Benefits, premium and member cost share may change on January 1 of each year. You must continue to pay your Medicare Part B premium. A licensed sales agent will be present with information and applications. For accommodation of persons with special needs at sales meetings call 855-791-4087 (TTY: 711), 8 a.m. – 8 p.m., Monday – Friday. Applicable to H1036-025. Humana Inc. and its subsidiaries (“Humana”) do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex. English: ATTENTION: If you do not speak English, language assistance services, free of charge, are available to you. Call 855-791-4087 (TTY: 711) Español (Spanish): ATENCIÓN: Si habla español, tiene a su disposición servicios gratuitos de asistencia lingüística. Llame al 855-791-4087 (TTY: 711) Y0040_GHHHXCFTE17 Accepted “One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
215
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
INDEX
ACCOUNTING A+ Accounting
199
Axiom Business Consulting Dean Haran CPA
197 94
191
Heritage Investment Group
104
Ameriwide Insurance Solutions
Independent Financial Partners
117
Avatar Insurance
79
Jaffe Tilchin Wealth Management
197
Eagle Strategies
85
HCI - Homeowners Choice Insurance
81
Kamlesh Patel CPA
122
Jefferson Bank
KP Taxes
203
Tampa Bay Trust Company
201
Manish Patel CPA
154
US Ameribank
127
Satya Shaw CPA
221
AUTOMOTIVE/DEALERSHIPS Reeves BMW
10
FOOD/C. STORE/WHOLESALE 219
DENTISTRY
Big Cow Creamery
94
199
Kal's Food
162
Khasiyat Indian Restaurant
165
Pigalle Vodka
163
Presco Food
162
Royal Sweets Cuisine
182
Carrollwood Day School
70
Star Oil
Corbett Preparatory School of IDS
71
VP Enterprises
ENTERTAINMENT/EVENTS DJ Firoz
80
DJ Philips
72
DJ Pram and Priya
78
7 222
Sejpal Law Firm ( Kunal Sejpal)
189
MEDIA/COMMUNICATIONS Desh Videsh
116
Khaas Baat
164
Advanced Imaging - Holiday
203
Bay Area Chest Physicians
182
HOSPITALITY
67
Hard Rock Casino & Hotel
157
Holiday Inn Express
164
Holiday Inn - Spring Hill
161
BB&T
13
La Quinta Inn
Central Bank
14
Quality Inn / Rameshwar
210
Silver Palm Inn
145
216
197
115
Gulfway Inn
169
185
Hemal Dubal
A to Z Pediatrics
160
First Citrus Bank
Carpenter / Gandhi
187
Days Inn New Port Richey
100
LEGAL SERVICES
Preranaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Beauty & Boutique
103
Doshi Financials LLC
123
MEDICAL SERVICES/HOSPITALS
State Fair Grounds
FINANCIAL SERVICES
Devam
146
192
223
JEWELRY
Badar Hair & All
Crystal Inn
Zee TV / & TV
141
HAIR SALON/SPA/BOUTIQUE
179 84
188
New York Life Insurance
9
Extravaganza Productions The Event Factory
MediTrust Consulting
125
Dr. Mukesh Kapadia DDS
122
197
State Farm Insurance
House of Spices
Ragini School of Fine Arts
Kyle W. Peterson Insurance Agency
118
121
EDUCATION
202
224
Dr. Mayur Mehta DDS
200
215
KC Insurance Services
Patel Family Foundation / Freedom Health
Heena Trading Co.
Pebble Creek Family Dentistry
HUMANA
134
115
83
200
Edible Arrangements
Agoka Dental
Dr. Neeraja Jasthi DDS
INSURANCE SERVICES
Harbor Light Securities
87
Bay Area Dermatogy / Dermpath Diagnostics Bay Area Gastroenterology Associates Bay Surgical Specialists Bayfront Health Dade City Excel Imaging
93 62 182 91 212
Florida Cancer Specialist & Research Institute
73
Florida Hospital - Carrollwood
12
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
INDEX
Florida Cancer Specialist & Research Institute
73
Florida Hospital - Connerton
74
Florida Hospital Zephyrhills
112
Florida Medical Clinic
190
Florida Orthopedic Institute
102
HCA West Florida
6
HealthMed Pharmacy
202
Largo Primary Care LLC
198
Medilink Pharmacy
198
Mind Body Integrated
82
Northdale Pharmacy
199
Palm River Medical Center
178
Pinebrook Pharmacy
150
Premiere Heart & Vascular Center
214
Prime RX Pharmacy
95
140
RX Care Pharmacy
211
Professional Pain Management (Dr. Maulik Bhalani)
The Medicine Shoppe (Bharat Patel)
134
Tampa Cardiovascular Associates
201
203 202
HPH Hospice
193
P&G Seffner Medical Center
148
The Medicine Shoppe (Ramila Patel)
Pulmonology & Sleep Disorders
196
Urban Pharmacy
Solaris Rehab
176
Tampa Bay Pulmonary and Tampa Bay Sleep Center
170
Advanced Imaging - Brooksville
198
171
Bay Area Internal Medicine & Geriatric Care
196
Tower Radiology
Bay View Neurology
192
ORGANIZATIONS
Anand Vihar
PHYSICIAN/CLINICS
177
Bingham Realty
91
Buildwell LLC
93
Coastal Properties Group International KHP Developers
AAHOA
184
Dr. Anoop Reddy
213
Ekal Vidyalaya
165
Dr. Ashit Vijapura
105
Sanatan Mandir
16
Dr. Ashwin Mehta
68
SASTA
63
Dr. Rajesh Dave
68
OTHERS
REAL ESTATE/CONSTRUCTION
Dr. Himanshu Patel
198
210 11
People's Choice Realty (Harish Patel)
176
People's Choice Realty -(Manhar Sejpal)
189
SUDHA ARODA : Remax Realty
142
TECHNOLOGY AaNeel Care
92
Discover Your Place
135
Dr. Ishwari Prasad
163
Mangesh Patel
186
Dr. Kirti Pandya
220
Advanced RX Software
111
Nima Film - Photo & Video
187
Dr. Mahesh Amin
147
Axon Circuits Inc.
182
Health Axis Group
178
Printing & Signs Depot
77
Dr. Meenakshi Jain
69
Ramesh Mehta - Priest
155
Dr. Mukesh Mehta
132
Priatek
133
92
Dr. Pratibha Desai
113
Rexel - Mitul Patel
200
Dr. Rohit Patel
201
Vikram Thermo Limited
173
Dr. Vijay Patel
125
Dr. Vrajesh Shah MD
202
Florida Pain Medicine (Dr. Maulik Bhalani)
137
Gastro Florida
136
Greenbrook Medical Center
137
Hernando Pasco Primary Care
110
Sanjay Patel Your Editing Solutions
203
PHARMACIES AB Specialty Pharmacy
115
Acme Pharmacy - Acme Group
115
Benzer Pharmacy Gulfport Pharmacy
8 201
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
TELECOMMUNICATION Bright House
61 TRAVEL SERVICES
PUJA TRAVEL
183
217
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
જજજ રિત વાડ એક નાનકડા ગામમાાં એક શિશિત અને સાંસ્કાિી બ્રાહ્મણ કુટુાંબ િહેતુ હતુાં. એમને એક દીકિો - બધી વાતે સાિો ,પણ
Mrs. Vina Derasari
સ્વભાવનો ઘણો ઉગ્ર. વાત વાતમાાં શિઢાઈ જાય અને ગુસ્સા માાં કઠોિ િબ્દ બોલી નાાંખે ; બસ એને આવો ગુ સ્સો કિવાની ટેવ જ પડી ગઈ હતી. બ્રાહ્મણને ને આ ગમતુ નશહ. આમ બધી વાતે તેમનો દીકિો સાંસ્કાિી અને સમજુ ,પણ આમ વાતે વાતે ગુસ્સે થઈને ગમે તેને ગમે તેવા કઠોિ િબ્દો કહે તે કોને ગમે ? શપતાએ એમના પુત્રના આ સ્વભાવ ને સુધાિવા ઘણાાં પ્રયતનો કયાજ ,પણ છોકાિામાાં કોઈ ફેિ ના પડયો. આ બધાને લીધે બ્રાહ્મણ વ્યશથત િહેતો હતો. છે વટે એણે ઘણાાં શવિાિો કિીને અાંતે એક ઉપાય િોધ્યો. એણે એના દીકિાને કહયુાં કે જે ટલી વાિ એ ગુસ્સે થાય તે દિેક વખતે એણે ઘિની ફિતે જે લાકડાની જે વાડ છે તેની ઉપિ એક ખીલી ઠોકવી. પહેલે રદવસે છોકિાએ લગભગ િાલીસ થી પિાસ ખીલીઓ એ વાડમાાં ઠોકી દીધી. લગભગ આખો રદવસ આ કામ િાલયુાં. આમ બે િાિ રદવસ ગયા. હવે છોકિાનો હાથ દુુઃખવા આવ્યો; ખીલીઓની સાંખ્યા થોડી ઓછી થઈ. આમ કિતાાં કિતાાં લગભગ દસ રદવસમાાં તો ભાગ્યેજ બે કે ત્રણ ખીલીઓ ઠોકાવા માાંડી. બ્રાહ્મણ િાશતતથી આ બધુાં જોયાાં કિે. છે વટે અશગયાિમે રદવસે તો છોકિો એના શપતા પાસે ગૌિવભેિ દોડી ગયો અને કહ્ુાં , "શપતાજી જુ ઓ આજે તો મેં એકપણ ખીલી નથી ઠોકી -આજે હુ ાં કોઈની પણ ઉપિ ગુસ્સે નથી થયો ". બ્રાહ્મણ આ સાાંભળીને મનોમન ખૂબ હિખાયો ,પણ ગાંભીિ ભાવે કહ્ુાં ,"સિસ હવે એક કામ કિીએ; તુાં એ બઘી ખીલીઓ કાઢી લે ,અને સાથે સાથે જે મની પણ ઉપિ ગુસ્સે થયો હોય તે દિેકની માફી માાંગી આવ. જે મજે મ ખીલી કાઢતો જાય ,તેમ તેમ બધા પાસે જઈને કહી આવ કે આવો અકાિણ ગુસ્સો કિવાથી તને કેટલો પસ્તાવો થયો છે . " છોકિાએ આ પ્રમાણે બધાની માફી માાંગી અને મનમાાં શનષ્િય કયો કે હવે પછી એ કોઈની પણ ઉપિ ગુસ્સે નશહ થાય. અને એક એક કિીને એણે લાકડાની વાડ ઉપિથી બધી ખીલીઓ ખેંિી લીધી. છે લલે એ એના શપતા પાસે ગયો અને અશભમાનથી કહ્ુાં કે ગુસ્સો એ બાબત એના માટે જૂ ની થઇ છે અને એણે શનયમ લીધો છે કે હવેથી ગુસ્ સે નશહ થાય. બીજે રદવસે બ્રાહ્મણ દીકિાનો હાથ પોતાના હાથમાાં લઈને એને પેલી લાકડા ની વાડ પાસે લઇ ગયો. વાડ માાં ખૂબ કાણા પડી ગયા હતા..એ લાકડાની વાડ કદાિ હવે પહેલા જે વી મજબૂત પણ નહોતી િહી. જિા પવનનો સુસવાટો આવે તો તિતજ પડી જાય એવી જજજ રિત વાડ થઇ ગઈ હતી. છોકિો ભોંઠો પડી ગયો ; "પણ શપતાજી ,હવે આ વાત જૂ ની થઇ ગઈ છે । હુ ાં હવે કદી પણ ગુસ્સો નશહ કરાં". " એ વાત સાિી," પણ શપતાએ કહ્ુાં ,"તુાં આ વાડ જો. તાિો ગુસ્સો એ ભલે જૂ ની વાત થઇ, પણ આ વાડ તો સિખી નહીંજ થાયને ? એ તો ઢીલી ,જજજ રિત બની જ ગઈ ને? એક એક ખીલીનો ખાડો તો એમનો એમ જ િહ્ો ને ?" છોકિો હોંશિયાિ તો હતો જ. તિત જ એને સમજાયુાં કે જયાિે તે ગુસ્સો કિે છે ત્યાિે સામી વ્યશતતના રદલમાાં તો ખીલી ઠોકાઇ જ જાય છે .પછી ભલે આપણે એની માફી માાંગીએ. જે મ વાડ માાં કાણાં પડેલુાંજ િહેછે તેમ તે વ્યશતતના હ્ર્દય માાં પણ એક ખૂણે એક ખાડો -પુિાય નશહ એવો -પડી જ ગયો.
આમ આ નાનકડી ખીલી ઠોકવાની વાતથી છે વટે બ્રાહ્મણે પોતાના પુત્રને એક અમૂલય ભેટ આપી -અને તે એ જ કે ગુસ્સો કદી પણ ના કિવો. કેટલી સિોટ વાત છે આ? આપણે બધાાં ઘણી વાિ અકાિણ જ ગુસ્સો નથી કિતા? પછી માફી પણ કદાિ માાંગીએ છીએ ,પણ માથુાં કાપયાાં પછી પાઘડી પહેિાવવાની આ વાત થઇ. એના કિતાાં ગુસ્સો ગળી જવો ,અને િાાંત મને જિા શવિાિીને ,અટકીને પ્રત્યુત્તિ વાળવો વધુ સાિો નથી ? વીણા દિદિપ િે રાસરી ટે મ્પા, ફ્િોદરડા
218
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016
GOLD SPONSOR
YOU DON’T NEED A CROWD TO STAND OUT.
THE NEW BMW X1, X3 AND X5: AS UNIQUE AS YOU ARE With Panoramic Moonroof, BMW Online™ features like Real Time Traffic Information and Internet, and optional Premium Interior, the journey might just outclass the destination.
Special lease and finance offers available by Reeves BMW Tampa through BMW Financial Services.
Reeves BMW Tampa 109 E Fowler Ave, Tampa, FL 33612 (813) 936-5500 www.reevesbmwtampa.com
©2015 BMW of North America LLC. The BMW name, model names and logo are registered trademarks.
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
219
SILVER SPONSOR
220
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016
SILVER SPONSOR
x , Investment a T d e t s u r T r You surance Team For Lif & e In
S
ATYA HAW
CPA
Our Universe of Solutions • Tax Reduction Planning (Up to 50%) • Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) Annual Distribution Indexed, Fixed & Variable Annuities • Asset Protection & Estate Planning Strategies • Managed Portfolios
SHAW WEALTH ADVISORY LLC 26843 TANIC DRIVE, SUITE 101 WESLEY CHAPEL, FL 33544
OFFICE: 813-991-5000 CELL: 813-842-0345
om C r u O Serving
ars e Y 5 r2 e v O y munirt
Securities offered through Center Street Securities, Inc. (CSS), a registered Broker-Dealer and member FINRA/SIPC. Investment Advisory Services offered through Center Street Advisors, Inc. (CSA), a SEC Registered Investment Advisor, independent of CSS. Shaw Wealth Advisory LLC is independent of both CSS and CSA.
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
221
SILVER SPONSOR
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
BEGINNING of A NEW LEGACY VP EN吀ERPRISES INC⸀ 863-287-7970
222
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay | www.gujaratisamaj.org
29th India Festival Tampa Bay 2016 | www.iftbusa.com
“One Name, One Logo, One Trophy Forever”
223