In the ever-shifting, restaurant business you can expect longtime Massachusetts restaurateur and caterer Vinod Kapoor, to make moves to stay ahead of the pack. Last year, he had to make some tough decisions in decreasing his restaurant portfolio and focusing on his Masala Art restaurant and his catering business under the Bombay Club name. Now, he is continuing to push his Masala Art business with the upcoming launch of “Bollywood Night.”

In the serene lush green tranquil surroundings on the banks of the river Thunga is located the Sri Sharada Lakshminarasimha Swamy Temple & Peetam at Hariharapura in Chickmagalur District, Karnataka, India. It has now been proposed to reconstruct this ancient temple to its stateliness. So, is this yet another temple renovation project? Let’s cogitate.

Harvard University President Drew Gilpin Faust made her first visited to India in late January.

As president of Harvard, Faust, who is also a history professor at the school, has expanded financial aid to improve access to Harvard for students of all economic backgrounds and advocated for increased federal funding for scientific research. She has broadened the university's international reach, raised the profile of the arts on campus, embraced sustainability, and promoted collaboration across academic disciplines and administrative units as she guided the University through a period of significant financial challenges.

 

INDIA New England is proud to announce Nitin Nohria, dean of Harvard Business School, as the 2012 INDIA New England Person of the Year.

The Person of the Year award is a new honor bestowed by the newspaper and follows closely on the heels of INDIA New England's first ever "50 Most Influential People" list, which was released in the November edition. Nohria was also honored on this list and rose above his fellow honorees to be tabbed as "Person of the Year" for his work with Harvard in 2011.

Headlines last fall were ominous: Rajat Gupta to surrender to the FBI; Rajat Gupta released on $10 million bail. It was the lead story in major American newspapers and the lead story on evening news on network TV. 

Rajat Gupta was one of a special group of Indian Americans who had made their way to the top in American business and academic world, and so in a way, he was among the "best and the brightest," even in the "best and the brightest" group. 

At an age when most students in the United States are worried about acclimating to high school, 14-year-old Geeta Renuse left her hometown in Pune, India, when she accepted a full scholarship to attend five weeks of classes at Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire. In so doing, she became the first member of an organization dedicated to supporting childhood education and health to attend school in the United States.

Om P. Ganda, M.D., a physician and researcher at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, has been appointed a Commissioner of the Massachusetts Asian American Commission.  

Created by state legislation in 2006, the Asian American Commission’s goal is to recognize and highlight the vital contributions of Asian Americans to the social, cultural, economic and political life of the Commonwealth; to identify and address the needs and challenges facing residents of Asian ancestry; and to promote the well-being of this dynamic and diverse community and thereby, advance the interests of all persons who call Massachusetts home.

 

Following on the heels of some very successful events in 2011, including a Holi celebration and New Year's Eve party, the United India Association of New England is holding a Desi-style "Valentine's Bash" on Friday, Feb. 10 from 7 p.m. to midnight at Mantra restaurant in Boston.

Anupa Murali, 17, of Bishop Brady High School in Concord, N.H., has been named a semifinalist in the Intel Science Talent Search. He is the only Indian-American winner from a New England state and will receive a $1,000 award from the Intel Foundation, with an added $1,000 going to his school. He will continue to compete for a possible $100,000 scholarship as the competition competes later this year.