I N D I A A S S O C I A T I O N O F K A L A M A Z O O SAMACHAR AUGUST 2004 Kalamazoo, Michigan IAK Essay contest for Indian students at Western Michigan University India Association of Kalamazoo (IAK) is IAK Essay contest happy to announce an essay competi- highlights tion for students of Indian origin who are currently enrolled at Western Michi-  Topics: “Our India— Ownership and Social re- gan University. sponsibility among Indians” Original essays are invited from interest- or “Expatriate Indians and ed students on any one of the following their heritage” topics:  Deadline for submission: 'Our India- Ownership and Social Re- October 15, 2004. sponsibility Among Indians’ or  Prize: Two prizes of $200 ‘Expatriate Indians and Their Heritage’. payable towards expenses at WMU. Essays should be no more than 500 words in length. Submitted Essays will be reviewed by a address and phone number on a separate panel of judges appointed by IAK and paper. the best submissions will qualify for two prizes $ 200 each payable towards ex- Vijay Mehta,1622 Bellaire Ave., penses at WMU. Portage, MI 49024 Two printed/typewritten hard copies Phone: (269) 327-5456 should be submitted to the address All enquiries or requests for additional listed below no later than October 15, information should be directed to the Inside this issue: 2004 along with submitter's contact above address and contact number. Celebrate on 2 Aug 28 Condolences, Congrats, 2 Celebrate Rakhi on August 30 etc. Online shopping via 2 IAK website (Rakhi) stirs up one of the and tying Rakhi on his hand, seeking assur- deepest and noblest emotions - the abiding ance from him to spare the life of her hus- Harsha Shah wins IAK 3 cooking contest and chaste bond of love between brother band in the battlefield. And the great Hindu and sister. The delicate cord tied by the king, just as he raised his hand to deliver a First Prize winning 3 sister on her brother’s wrist on this day rep- mortal blow to Alexander, saw the Rakhi recipe resents this sublime sentiment. on his own hand and restrained from strik- Diwali 2004 celebra- 4 ing Alexander dead. tion A story is told of Alexander's wife approach- ing his mighty Hindu adversary Pururavas Happy Rakhi everyone!!! PAGE 2 SAMACHAR AUGUST 2004

Celebrate Onam on August 28

Join the Malayalees in Kalamazoo to land. The wish was granted and Va- celebrate Onam, the most popular festi- manan covered the whole land with his val of . Onam celebrates a happy two steps and then came back to Ma- blend of myth and reality, Onam is part habali asking him where can he place of the cultural repertoire of every Mala- the third step. To honor his word, the yalee. Year after year, for centuries, the King offered his own head as the third people of Kerala, irrespective of caste, step. Vamanan pushed Mahabali deep creed or color, join together to celebrate down into the earth. Pleased by his Onam. According to local belief, in a war honesty and generosity, the Lord grant- that took place between the gods and ed him a wish that he could visit his the demons, the demons won. Deeply kingdom and people on a particular hurt by the defeat of the gods, , their day once a year. Onam is the day Ma- mother prayed to Lord to destroy habali comes back to visit Kerala. Mahabali, the Demon King. Consequent- ly, Lord Vishnu, in the guise of a Brahmin Happy Onam to all Keralites! boy, Vamanan, went to Mahabali and asked him to grant him three steps of

C ONGRATS C ONDOLENCES

Our hearty condolences to Akshay and Vaishali Seema, daughter of Ramesh Goel. and Mati Patel will be married Recently, Akshay’s fa- to Rohit, son of Subhash and ther passed away in In- Kiran Sharma of Sterling, Virgin- dia. Our thoughts and ia on September 19th. prayers are with the Congratulations to Seema, Ro- grieving family and rel- hit, and their proud parents. atives.

D O YOU SHOP ONLINE? If you buy books, airline tickets, cars, phone cards, etc. online, here is an opportunity to make a contribution to the India Association. The IAK website is an affiliate of several online merchants such as Amazon.com, Orbitz, Ebay, Autobytel, Weightwatchers, and scores of others.

All that you need to do is to go to http://www.indiakalamazoo.com/ business/advertisers.htm and then click on the link to the mer- chant’s website from this page. If you do, a percentage of any pur- chase you make will be credited to IAK. Thanks. IAK POOL PARTY AT THE DEMELLO RESIDENCE AUGUST 2004 SAMACHAR PAGE 3

Harsha Shah wins the IAK Cooking Contest

The first IAK Cooking competition was of $25: Glory Christian for her Coco- conducted on July 24th, 2004 at the nut Mouse recipe and Paramita Ban- residence of Jimmy and Pearl DeMello. dyopadhyay for Roasted Cauliflower Vijay Mehta meticulously planned and recipe The third prize of $10 was won oversaw the contest. Nine contestants by Janice D'Souza for her Red Mutton presented the four judges—Om Jolly, Masala. Please visit the IAK website Nalini Qureshi, Punita Sharma and for these recipes. Swerun Valvani, with the delicious task of choosing the winning recipe. The evaluation criteria were taste, unique- Cooking competition judges: Punita Sharma, Nalini Qureshi, ness of the recipe, presentation of the Swerun Valvani, and Om Jolly dish and presentation of the recipe . Quite a Herculean task but when the results were announced, Harsha Shah walked away with the first prize of $50 for her Potato Pattis recipe. There were two winners of the second prize Harsha Shah’s prize winning dish First Prize winning recipe Stuffed Potato Pattis Method for Pattis: to patties with bread crumbs again and Boil potatoes and smash it. Add above deep fry. Serve with mint chutney. Ingredients for Pattis ingredients in and make small balls. Mint Chutney 6 medium potatoes – broiled, ½ cup Method for stuffing: Ingredients: bread crumbs, 2 tsp corn starch, 2 medi- Add all ingredients for stuffing except ½ cut coriander leaves, ½ cup mint um size green chilis, 3 tsp salt, Ingredients coriander in one bowl. Heat 1 tsp oil and leaves , ¼ cup chopped onion. , 2 tsp for stuffing, 2 cups of frozen peas (grind add mixture from bowl to oil and cook . ginger (chopped) , 2 green chilis, 2 tsp while frozen), 1 cup fresh grated coconut, Let all water disappear then take away lemon juice , 3 tbs dry coconut powder, 2 2 tsp lemon juice, 3 tp salt, 1 tsp sugar, from stove. Let it cool down then add tsp sugar, 2 tsp salt 10 count resins, 10 count cashews, 2 coriander and make small balls. Take Method: In a blender, grind all the above green chilis, ½ cup fresh coriander and 1 potatoes balls and make patties by hiding ingredients to a smooth paste adding little tsp oil stuffing balls into potato balls. Cover pota- water. Store in a jar in refrigerator.

SAMACHAR IS THE QUARTERLY NEWS- D ATES TO REMEMBER LETTER OF THE INDIA ASSOCIATION OF Janmashtami - Sept 6 KALAMAZOO, MICHIGAN. FOR PRIVATE Ganesh Chaturthi - Sept 18 CIRCULATION ONLY. EDITING BY Navaratri - Oct 14-22 GRACIE KAYANY, GENERAL SECRETARY, Ramadan – Oct 15- Nov 14 INDIA ASSOCIATION OF KALAMAZOO. Dusshera - Oct 23 IAK Diwali—Nov 6 PLEASE DIRECT YOUR COMMENTS AND Diwali - Nov 12 SUGGESTIONS TO GRACIE KAYANY AT Thanksgiving—Nov 25 (269) 501-1254 Guru Nanak Jayanti - Nov 26 OR [email protected] 1622 Bellaire Ave Portage, MI 49024 PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID

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Preparations for Diwali 2004 underway MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION FORM Mark your calendars! Diwali 2004 celebrations have NAME: …………………………………………………….. been scheduled for November 6,2004. The venue of this year’s celebrations is Kasdorf Auditorium at Loy ADDRESS: ………………………………………………... Norrix High School. Details of the program will be ……………………………………………………………… published at the IAK website as soon as the schedule SPOUSE: ………………………………………………. has been finalized. CHILDREN: ……………………………………………….. Any individual or group interested in presenting a pro- ……………………………………………………………… gram during the celebration is invited to contact ei- OTHER MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY: ther Rebanta Bandyopadhya (324-1238) or Vijay Me- ……………………………………………………………… hta (327-5456) or Pearl DeMello (353-6818) before September 25, 04. ……………………………………………………………… ANNUAL DUES ENCLOSED: …………………………… ($12.00 single, $25.00 family) Please mail this form with payment to Vijay Mehta, 1622 Bellaire, Portage, MI 49024. Thank you.