Down India Street
Devon Street may lack the beggars and hawkers but it still brings back memories of India

Chaitime launches new campaign
'It's all about you' proposes to give south Asians an outlet to express their views.

Bharat, in wide-angle
The Panorama India Millennium Festival in Toronto celebrates India's Independence day

A few jokes for a cause
The audience got their money's worth at the first Hindi Hasya Sammelan in the Bay Area. In the process, they also aided the PM's drought relief fund.

Of insult, and rising above it
The main issue at the annual convention of the Ahmadiyyas in Canada was about violations of the community's human rights in Pakistan.

NY theater fest is a hit
But it's local Americans who, till now, were ignorant about Indian theater, that make up most of the audience, say organizers.

Cows in NYC -- an idea worth milking!
CowParade2000 is all in good fun and for a very good cause. At the end of the summer, our barnyard friends will be auctioned and the proceeds will go to New York charities.

AAHOA women's conference on July 26
It is designed to provide women hoteliers with professional education and networking -- and to encourage more women to join the industry.

Spreading light through the minarets
The Dawoodi Bohras of the Chicago area will see their Burhani masjid ready in August now.

Locals object to Washington gurdwara
Neighbours and Sikhs face off while the officials pore through the rule books.

A grand Tamil reunion
Over 1,000 attended the annual convention of the community, coming from all over North America, England and even India.

When Indian women meet across continents...
Speakers stressed the need for personality development, changing social attitudes, financial independence and of the importance of the joint family.

Put your left leg out...
Shiamak Davar is to host a 'Bollywood-style' dance workshop in Toronto.

The punching bag
Amarjeet Kaur had romantic notions about married life in Canada. Now she has joined the ranks of battered south Asian women there.

Of minorities within minorities
Trikone, a non-profit organization for gays, bisexuals, and transgender people held a gala banquet recently to celebrate the identity of the queer community. And was it fun!

Celebrating south Asian subcultures
The Desh Pradesh festival completes ten years and now deals with wider social and cultural issues.

Capturing the essence of a continent
Asian Heritage Month - the politics of identity at a college in New York City

Naseer, Jaya prove serious theater can be fun
Promoters also find that serious dramas with big name character actors can also be a big draw.

Satish Kumar, Vandana Shiva to address seminar
They are among the big names in alternative development movements to speak at the Chicago event.

Jim Clark to address TiE conference
Also to speak at the event are Gururaj 'Desh' Deshpande and Dr Amar Bhide.

Focussing on violence in ethnic communities
The first conference dealing with abuse in racial groups, held at San Jose State University, plan a coalition to prevent domestic violence across ethnic and cultural lines.

Census Bureau gives minorities an assurance
Those who designate themselves as white and a minority will be counted as minorities, officials say.

Canada's 'Intolerance' of immigrants puzzling: experts
But Indian immigrants say racism has increased because they have been doing so well.

The importance of being counted -- correctly
Census officials and community leaders say that one of the toughest challenges they face is to convince the undocumented people that they too need to be counted.

Politicians, technocrats to address TiE event
Former Indian prime minister I K Gujral is addressing TiE but the star of the evening is Prof Amar Bhide.

What's a Bombay girl doing in the Bob Jones case?
One of those who influenced the university to permit inter-racial dating, presidential candidate Alan Keyes is also married to an Indian.

White American? Or Asian American?
The dilemma facing census officials and people with multiple identities.

She will speak the truth
Bharati Mukherjee, who will be the third author in the series 'Women Who Speak the Truth', will address the staff and faculty at the University of California, Davis on Wednesday.

Narika seeks more support, volunteers
One volunteer can help a woman in crisis, say Narika's leaders. A group can help a city in crisis.

Makar Sankrant in Houston draws 2,000 people
Kites were available for a small donation and were so popular that they were sold out and replenishments brought in twice, in reportedly the largest Indian kite flying festival in America.

American finds home in Hindu India
After 28 years and hundreds of stays in Indian homes, Stephen Huyler says, 'One of the reasons we misunderstand Indian culture is that Hindu society is divided into public and private spheres. Most outsiders don't have any contact with the private sphere.'

Organization Offers New Lease Of Life to Indians
To many people like Dave, who battle addiction, spousal problems and other related problems in New York and the neighboring states, the Nav Nirmaan Foundation has, over the last decade, become a major source of recovery. "What is very significant about an organization like this," he says, "is it is run by south Asian professionals. They understand our minds and hearts."

Surfeit Of Temp Jobs At Census Bureaus
In what is described as "the largest peacetime mobilization" in American history, a recruiting campaign has been launched to fill thousands of short-term employment slots for Census 2000.

Vivekananda's Legacy At Chicago New Year Event
Chicago played host to more than 185 invitees, among them Swami Jitatamanda of the Ramakrishna mission, from across the world at the International Millennium dinner.

Children Espouse Subramaniya Bharathi's Ideals
The idea to conduct competitions for kids was first mooted by Dr M N Krishnan, one of the founders of the Tamil Sangham, who has also sponsored the audiocassette Pudumai Bharathi.

SBI To Reach Out To Indian-American Doctors
The bank starts Saturday morning service at its Flushing branch, NY.

Seattle Remembers Bhopal
Scores of social activists in over half-a-dozen American cities hold seminars and vigils on the 15th anniversary of the gas leak from a Union Carbide Corp pesticide plant.

Empowering Youth In Guru Nanak's Name
Canadian Sikhs indulge in some reflection on the birth anniversary of the first guru.

Dying in Silicon Valley
A new booklet, Cremation Guide, demystifies Hindu funerals rituals.

Health, Marriage, Business Mingle At Charotar Convention
Besides matchmaking and medical sessions, there will be entertainment for both children and adults.

Teenager Rewarded for Social Commitment
Deepti Chauhan was one of 10 students who won the Lena Horne Youth Leadership Award last month for special contributions to the quality of life in their neighborhoods.

Census Readies Advertising Blitz
The Census Bureau has launched a $ 170 million advertising campaign, far bigger than that of Coca-Cola or IBM, in an attempt to ensure that everyone's counted.

Mahatma's Weapon Disarms The Violent
Fathers of killer and victim get together to spread awareness about violence and to honor those who took the non-violent road.

Harvard Symposium On Religious Plurality
Shloka in orgy scene, prayer book to convert demonic Hindus among issues to be discussed.

Addressing The Health Needs Of NY's Asian American Children
An upcoming conference plans to bring together leaders of Asian American community organizations and city commissioners to address the impact of recent immigration and the need for better children and welfare services.

Studying Gandhism (With Some Help From McDonalds)
Joan Kroc, the widow of McDonald's founder Roy Kroc has gifted $ 25 m to establish a Mahatma Gandhi Center at a major university on the west coast.

Arundhati Roy To Appear In America
The Booker award winner will speak about her new book, The Cost of Living, which includes the essay 'The Greater Common GOOD SAMARITANS', a vigorous attack on the rationale of the dams being built in the Narmada valley.

Manhattan Lawyers Offer Free Services
Andrew Kashyap is one of a small group willing to waive charges on the legal assistance offered to poor south Asians.

Who Cares For An Aging PIO?
It is time that Indian groups in different states of America started creating a dynamic mechanism to take care of our older folk here.

'Gandhi' To Raise Money At Stanford
Funds to go to the Rejuvenate India Movement, which hopes to inspire and motivate NRIs to contribute "one minute an hour" or "24 minutes a day" to catalyze a change in India.

The Call of the Alma Mater
Give back something, TiE president 'shamelessly' asks IIT graduates.

Indian Students To Offer Service In Mahatma's Name
The 3,000 students, from 20 universities, will perform public service to commemorate the life and philosophy of Gandhi.

Teenagers Find Hindu Camp Cool
'We thought it would be so boring, but we had so much fun we want to go next year,' says Manasi, 14. 'We learned meditation, yoga and aarti and met a lot of nice people. Lot of times, American kids don't understand us. Here we were all from the same background.'

Sabka Laabh Zindabad To Raise Money For Indian Charity
The charity drive on October 2, will also have old and new movie songs presented by singers in the New York tristate area.

Helping The Helpless: A Tale of Two Organisations
Organizations like Hamdard and Apna Ghar are very important because mainstream US organizations do not understand the cultural and socioeconomic problems peculiar to the South Asian region.

India Festival Makes an Effort to Involve Mainstream America
The festival has a lady as chair for the first time in its 11-year history. 'I felt that time had come that a woman can lead,' says Nainan Desai, president of the Gujarati Samaj in Tampa, Florida.

Govinda Grand Marshal At India Day Parade
The organizers of the parade this year plan to ask for more security. Several Pakistani organizations as well as Khalistani groups are reportedly planning to disrupt the parade.

The Close-Knit Indian Community Of San Antonio
The community has grown from about 250 families in 1981 to 600 families. The India Asia Association, founded in 1979, is the umbrella organization that hosts the Festival of India each year.

'The future belongs to us'
One medical freshman out of 10 in most American universities is of Indian origin. While there are about 26,000 doctors of Indian origin among 600,000 doctors across America, 10 per cent of the 17,000 doctors graduating this year alone.

Bay Area Womens' Group Seeks Volunteers
'To teach an immigrant woman to drive is an act of empowering her, for many of these women were nothing but domestic slaves to their husbands.'

The 'Invisible Muslims' Of America
Many new Muslim immigrants do not want to do anything with their African American counterparts, which has earned them criticism.

Youth Hold Key to AAPI's Future
'This is a sensitive generation,' says Dr Navin Shah of the AAPI. 'We ought to give them a bigger role. We should understand their concerns are not the same as those of immigrant doctors.'

Samaritans Seek Ethnic Volunteers
The New York-based organization last year received 45,000 calls from people contemplating suicide, but the number of volunteers is grossly inadequate, organizers of the 24-hour hotline say.

Saya! Fosters Self-Confidence, Community Spirit Among South Asian Teens
South Asian Youth Action has helped hundreds of South Asian teenagers in New York's Queens borough the past three years to address issues of conflict with their peers, parents and family members.

Giving The Youth Wings
The Hindu Temple of Greater Chicago's youth group, In The Wings, wants greater participation from college and graduate study students.

Building Bridges Across Cultures
The Civil Rights Movement changed America. Indian-Americans needs a similar movement today to understand what it means to be part of a much more diverse America, says Anju Bhargava.

Toronto Sikhs Mark Khalsa Celebrations By Raising Money for Children's Hospital
While the goal of the community had been to reach $ 100,000 -- several had expressed the wish that they wanted to collect $ 500,000 -- because five is tied to the symbols of Sikhism.

Indian fund powers U of California at Santa Cruz conference on Indian history
A year after entrepreneur Narpat Bhandari gave over $ 1 million (with promises of more to come) to the university on his wife Chandra's birthday to endow a chair for Indian studies, the school recently held a major conference on Indian history, tradition and cultures.

SAJA helps US media look beyond sacred cows and religious strife
Despite its lofty goals, SAJA remains a fairly unstructured organisation whose national and even international influence can be attributed to its Web presence.