The Indians Abroad

Overseas Living: NRIs & India abroad

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INOC DC hosts Kapil Sibal

Oct 27

Posted by admin in India, india abroad, News, Non-Resident Indian, NRI, politics | No Comments

This post is a guest contribution by Lavika Bhagat

REPORT OF THE EVENT ORGANIZED BY INOC, DC CHAPTER

Indian National Overseas Congress (USA) Washington DC Chapter proudly hosted a reception in honor of Honorable Kapil Sibal ji, senior leader of the Indian National Congress Party, Minister for Human Resources and Development, Government of India on October 15, 2011 at The Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Washington DC.

Minister Sibal co-chaired the US-India Higher Education Summit with US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Oct 13 and 14, 2011 at Washington DC. After this high-profile conference, Minister Sibal attended this personable breakfast gathering with a group of Indian American business and education leaders invited by Lavika Bhagat Singh, President of the Indian National Overseas Congress in Washington DC.

Attendees included representatives of the US Federal and State Government, prominent Indian Americans, IT industrialists, educationists, and Indian students studying in the Washington DC area. Among the many prominent Indian Americans were Dr. Natwar M. Gandhi, the Chief Financial Officer for Washington DC, Rajan Natarajan, Deputy Secretary of State of Maryland, Sanjay Rai, Provost and Dean, Montgomery College, State of Maryland, Raj Narsimhan who serves on Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell’s Commission on Higher Education Reform, Innovation and Investment. Read the rest of this entry »

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Price of True Love is up again in 2010!!

Dec 2

Posted by admin in Business, Entertainment, News, Trivial Stuff | 3 Comments


Thanks to the rising price of gold and the soaring birds, the price of ‘true love’ has gone up again. This is based on the price of all the gifts mentioned in the old Christmas carol – ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’.

Just to to refresh your memory, the carol is a cumulative song, adding the gifts AGAIN as the days go by. The first day starts with one gift from the true love, repeating the same gift next day and adding one more every day. So, on the 12th day, the true love receives 12 gifts. Now that is …ummm…. true love!!

The first verse:

On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me
a partridge in a pear tree

In the second verse, another gift gets added for the second day:

On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me
Two turtle doves
and a partridge in a pear tree

In the third verse, there are total 3 gifts for the 3rd day:

On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me
Three French hens
two turtle doves
and a partridge in a pear tree

And so on….

The last verse of the carol for 12th day obviously includes all the 12 gifts:

On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me
Twelve drummers drumming
eleven pipers piping
ten lords a’ leaping
nine ladies dancing
eight maids a’ milking
seven swans a’ swimming
six geese a’ laying
five gold rings
four calling birds
three French hens
two turtle doves
and a partridge in a pear tree

Since 1986 every year, PNC Wealth Management has entertained the banking world and rest of us by calculating the cost of the items in this song, if purchased at current prices. According to the bank, the cost of 12 sets of gifts for 2010 is $23,439. They call it PNC Christmas Price Index. Compared to 2009, the CPI has gone up more than 9%. Read the rest of this entry »

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The mistress, the live-in relationship, the one-night-stand!

Oct 24

Posted by admin in India, News, Trivial Stuff | 2 Comments

The legality of  unconventional relationships in India

The Supreme Court of India recently ruled on the often unspoken topic of unmarried relationships. The court touches on some the legal aspects of non-conventional relations including one-night-stand, a man’s ‘keep’ and live-in-relationship. This sort of relations and living arrangements have always been considered a taboo in the Indian society -  home or abroad. Perhaps, not so much these days!

In India, a country where marriage is a part of the religious guidelines, society as a whole has always looked down on couples living outside the marital boundaries. Even the supreme body of Indian legal system did not forget to remind us of the good old morality:

“In feudal society, sexual relationship between man and woman outside marriage was totally taboo and regarded with disgust and horror as depicted in Leo Tolstoy’s novel ‘Anna Karenina’, Gustave Flaubert’s novel ‘Madame Bobary’ and the novels of the great Bengali writer Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay….”

“However, Indian society is changing and this change has been reflected and recognized by Parliament by enacting the Protection of Woman from Domestic Violence Act, 2005,” the Indian Supreme Court bench said in the ruling. Read the rest of this entry »

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National DO NOT CALL Registry

Apr 18

Posted by admin in News, Trivial Stuff | No Comments

Fend off the telemarketers: NATIONAL DO NOT CALL option for USA households

Tired of telemarketing phone calls in the middle of the family time, trying to sell you services or product that you don’t even care about? Even if you ask them nicely, or rudely for that matter, most of the telemarketers don’t stop calling again and again.

The National Do Not Call Registry gives you a choice about whether to receive telemarketing calls at home. Starting in 2003, the Federal government created the national registry to make it easier and more efficient for you to stop getting telemarketing calls you don’t want. You can register your phone number online or by calling a toll-free number. The registration is free.

Register your phone number:
The registration is quick and easy from the official Do NOT CALL web-site listed below under ‘source’. Open the link ‘Register your phone number’ and follow the steps:

1. Enter up to three phone numbers that you want to register, and your email address. Click Submit.
2. Check for errors. Click Register.
3. Check your email for a message from Register@donotcall.gov. Open the email and click on the link to complete your registration. Read the rest of this entry »

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The Bloom Box –An energy magic box or just a hype?

Mar 8

Posted by admin in environment, News, Trivial Stuff | 2 Comments

Every now and then, there comes something that makes you turn you head, that demands your attention regardless if you are ready or not.

Is the world ready for green energy to take over the day-to-day life?

The chatter is getting louder, about the possible next BIG thing. California Silicone Valley is buzzing with the new venture. Backed by the same powerful venture capitalist who once supported the start-ups like Netscape, Amazon and Google, the discussions about alternate power source are everywhere.

If successful, the new energy source can replace the big power plants and eventually transmission line grid over time. Moreover, it is ‘green energy’, completely environment friendly, as there is no burning or combustion.

K.R. Sridhar, the CEO of Bloom Box, is the man behind the concept. The ambitious undertaking is already being trialed by EBay headquarters and many other corporations, as an alternate to the conventional energy.

Basically, in simplistic terms, the Bloom box invention is a fuel cell, a very skinny battery that always runs; that is always on. The slim wafer takes oxygen from one side, and fuel on the other. The two combine within the cell to create a chemical reaction to produces electricity. These tiny wafers or skinny slates are stacked up to compound the energy production.

According to Sridhar’s interview on CBS’s ‘60 Minute’, 2 boxes of these batteries – each box slightly bigger than Rubik’s Cube – can power up one US house, or 2 European house, or 4-6 houses in India around the clock.

If the promise holds true, this invention in the field of green energy could be one of the biggest breakthroughs of modern days. Read the rest of this entry »

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UK suspends Student Visa Applications from North India

Jan 30

Posted by admin in india abroad, News, Non-Resident Indian, NRI | 1 Comment

England temporarily suspends student visa applications from North India

UK is scrambling to control a flood of student visa applications from north India. With a large increase in the number of student visa-seekers, Britain has suspended accepting such applications in north India.

The UK Border Agency, the immigration and customs regulations body, announced the temporary suspension of Tier 4 student visa applications in North India: Read the rest of this entry »

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Tourist Visa-on-Arrival in India introduced

Jan 2

Posted by admin in India, News, Non-Resident Indian, NRI | 2 Comments

In a rush?
Don’t have time to get Tourist Visa for India?
Well, there is a good chance that they might let you in, if you come from one of these five countries below.

The Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi issued a press release yesterday – on January 01, 2010, and introduced new measures to allow ‘Tourist Visa-on-Arrival’ in India. This is a welcome step toward facilitating foreign tourism and to encourage tourists who plan their trips on a short notice.

“Government of India has decided to introduce “Tourist Visa-on-Arrival” for a period of one year for citizens of five countries viz. Finland, Japan, Luxembourg, New Zealand and Singapore on an experimental basis…” The Press Release says.

This is effective immediately, that is starting January 1, 2010. Tourists from these countries can also procure their visas from the Missions / Posts in the normal course, just as in the past.

The statement read, “The said “Tourist Visa-on-Arrival” with a maximum validity of 30 days with single entry facility shall be granted by the Immigration Officers at Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata airports to start with.” Read the rest of this entry »

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SRK, “My Name is Khan”…umm… too bad!

Aug 17

Posted by admin in Bollywood, Entertainment, india abroad, News, Non-Resident Indian, NRI, politics | 5 Comments

Shahrukh Khan goes thorugh additional questioning at USA Customs and Immigration

SRK and Kajol to star together in 'My Name is Khan'

SRK and Kajol to star together in 'My Name is Khan'

Shahrukh Khan (SRK), the iconic Indian Movie Star and the king of Bollywood, was subject of additional inspection and questioning by the immigration officers at the Newark airport, New Jersey. He was en route to Chicago to attend an event related to Indian Independence day celebrations.

SRK claims that he was singled out due to his Muslim last name – Khan. He added that the immigration officer was not convinced with any of his explanation about the trip.

The US Immigration and Customs office denies that his last name had anything to do with the additional questioning; he was stopped due to missing baggage. As per the statement from the Customs, everything was done professionally and by the book. It is common for a customs officer to ask someone to step aside for additional inspection if they are not satisfied with the interview.

It is ironic that SRK was in USA earlier this year shooting a Hindi movie titled ‘ My name is Khan’. The film is about the experiences of a Muslim in America.

Another remote possibility is that it was all planned by SRK; a thought that I could not resist.Considering how good an actor he is, he may have staged the whole drama. This incident turned out to be a very good publicity for him and his upcoming movie. Everybody is now talking about ‘My Name is Khan’ all of a sudden, which will be released worldwide soon. Read the rest of this entry »

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