Category Archives: Nri’s / Pio’s

USA Cricket: NATA to conduct U13 tournament in New Jersey

October 31, 2013Nri's / Pio's, Sportsadmin

North American Telugu Association will conduct a cricket tournament for U13 boys in New Jersey, the organization announced. Matches begin tomorrow, September 22nd, at Pitches 1 and 3 at the Mercer County Park, in West Windsor, NJ.

Six matches will be held beginning 9AM, 12:30PM and 4PM on the two grounds. The final will be held on September 29th.

The organization, which primarily focuses on celebrating Telugu culture and traditions, has allocated significant resources on building awareness for cricket. NATA’s North East chapter recently conducted a tennis ball tournament in Parlin, NJ in association with NJPCL and a similar tournament was conducted in New York in association with TLCA. In May, NATA West conducted its third annual cricket tournament in Anaheim, CA.

The NATA North East Juniors Cricket Cup marks the first initiative aimed at U13 cricketers playing with a regulation cricket ball. The tournament is being conducted in association with CricMax.

CLNJ youth at practice ahead of the NATA tournament.

Dr. Pailla Malla Reddy, CEO of Bactolac and Atlantic Essential Products is the tournament’s grand sponsor. Gold sponsors include Raghava Reddy Ghosla, Santhosh Reddy Paturi, Siva Meka and Anna Reddy.

The tournament features six U13 teams in two groups. Two teams – CLNJ Junior Cubs and CLNJ Junior Colts – represent the CLNJ Youth program. The two year old program has grown in size with many of the boys coming from DreamCricket Academy.

The Colts will be coached by Coach Earl Daley and the Cubs by Coach Damion Morgan. In addition, a handful of boys from the CLNJ Youth program will participate as part of the other teams. In addition to the two CLNJ U13 teams, the tournament will see the participation of four other teams – Indoor Cricket Sons of Liberty, Bridgewater Tigers, CricMax Tigers and SSU Challengers.

NATA announced that Alvin Kallicharran, the legendary West Indies batsman will be the Chief Guest in addition to the Grand Sponsor, Dr. Pailla Malla Reddy (CEO of Bactolac and Advisory Council Member of NATA) and Dr. Sanjeeva Reddy (President of NATA).

The tournament was catalyzed by Nagesh Mukkamalla with the help of Srikanth Lakkasagaram. The NATA East Coast Junior Cricket committee comprising Srikanth Reddy Penumada (Chair), Nagesh Mukkamalla (Co-chair), Sarath Reddy Mandapati, Ashok Attada, Sridhar Thikkavarapu, Anna Reddy, Sarath Veta and Rajeshwar Reddy (BOD) is helping with the organization. TV Asia will cover the tournament. Further details can be obtained by emailing nata.cricket@gmail.com.

source: http://www.dreamcricket.com / DreamCricketUSA / Home> News / September 21st, 2013

TiE entrepreneurial summit to be held in Hyderabad

October 15, 2013Business & Economy, Nri's / Pio's, Science & Technologyadmin

The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) has announced that TES 2013 (TiE Entrepreneurial Summit), Asia’s largest and premier annual conference of the entrepreneurial ecosystem, would be held here Dec 18-20.

TES is a platform that brings together the entire ecosystem of entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, policy makers, thought leaders and other stake holders and acts as a catalyst to fast track ideas into action.

The theme for TES 2013, ‘Yes, You Can! Dream-Think-Achieve’, was launched by Srini Raju, Chair of the conference and Managing Director of investment firm Peepul Capital.

“This year’s theme is symbolic of what every enterprise is all about – never give up and pursue the dream. We are excited to bring TES for the first time to Hyderabad ,” said Murali Bukkapatnam, president TiE Hyderabad.

Bukkapatnam is also the managing director and CEO of getdomestichelp.com.

“Such global event will provide an opportunity to entrepreneurs to explore more growth possibilities for their business through networking.

“It will also help budding entrepreneurs to overcome the challenges in funding and incubation,” said Ananth Rao, convener TES and managing director- Focus Ventures.

This summit might lead to attracting investors to consider Andhra Pradesh and India as the prime geographies for their business expansion plan, he added

TiE was founded in 1992 in Silicon Valley by a group of successful entrepreneurs, corporate executives, and senior professionals, with an aim to foster entrepreneurship globally through mentoring, networking and education.

source: http://www.business-standard.com / Business Standard / Home> News-IANS> Business-Economy / IANS / Hyderabad – October 09th, 2013

From Broadway to Bollywood

October 6, 2013Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Nri's / Pio's, World Opinionadmin

Anantapur-born Pragathi Yadhati has carved out a niche for herself in the world of theatre in New York and has set her sights on cinema

From the drought-prone district of Anantapur where she was born to the State capital of Andhra Pradesh where she did her schooling and a bit of college, to USA, the land of opportunity, her life has progressed just the way she wanted, and for which she slogged.

Pragathi Yadhati has carved out a niche for herself in the world of theatre in New York ever since she landed on the shores of America in 2009.

People started taking note of her and she got several offers to work in the movies, but she could not take them up for a while because of some rules pertaining to those in the US on a student visa.

This lissom lass has attended classical dance classes ever since she was four years old and today, she can boast of formal training in Bharatanatyam, Kathak and Dimsa, apart from Hip Hop, Theatre dance and basics of Salsa, Rumba, Cha Cha and Belly Dance. Her theatrical expression and skills were honed with lessons in ‘method acting’ from the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute and the ‘Meisner technique’ from Mathew Corozine Studio Theatre.

But when regulations permitted, she signed on the dotted line and put on her dancing shoes to star as Sonia in Ooops … A Desi ! directed by Jenner Jose, a Mallu from Mumbai, but naturalised in America.

Packaged as a cool romance, she says, the fast pace of the 120 minute-long entertainer will ensure audience attention is riveted on the screen.

Among others, the film stars Beuali Shah and Adnan Khalid. When it premiered at the Times Square in New York last week, most critics sat up and took note. Here in India for the premiere, ahead of its release on August 2, she couldn’t wait to taste her favourite dish – mom’s ‘mamidikaya pappu’ (a dal and mango dish) and minced no words to say how badly she missed it the past three-and-a-half years in a distant land. Pragathi is quietly confident about her career moves and she says she’s willing to work hard to showcase her acting skills.

“I started with Bollywood and am open to Telugu films because I want to prove myself. But my sights are set on Hollywood,” this ‘Indian Princess’, as she is called in New York, signs off.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Suresh Krishnamoorthy / Hyderabad – July 24th, 2013

India-born Watsa led Fairfax consortium to buy BlackBerry for $4.7 billion

October 4, 2013Business & Economy, Nri's / Pio's, Science & Technology, World Opinionadmin

New Delhi :

BlackBerry Limited today announced it has signed a letter of intent agreement under which a consortium to be led by Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited has offered to acquire the company subject to due diligence.

Hyderabad-born Prem Watsa is the founder, chairman, and CEO of Fairfax Financial Holdings, based in Toronto. Often called the “Canadian Warren Buffett” he is an alumnus of the Hyderabad Public School, Begumpet and a graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology with a degree in Chemical Engineering.

The letter of intent contemplates a transaction in which BlackBerry shareholders would receive $9 in cash for each share of BlackBerry they hold, in a transaction valued at approximately $4.7 billion. The consortium would acquire for cash all of the outstanding shares of BlackBerry not held by Fairfax. Fairfax, which owns approximately 10 percent of BlackBerry’s common shares, intends to contribute the shares of BlackBerry it currently holds into the transaction.

The BlackBerry Board of Directors, acting on the recommendation of a special committee of the board of directors, approved the terms of the LOI under which the consortium, which is seeking financing from BofA Merrill Lynch and BMO Capital Markets, would acquire BlackBerry and take the company private subject to a number of conditions, including due diligence, negotiation and execution of a definitive agreement and customary regulatory approvals.

The Special Committee, chaired by Director Tim Dattels, was formed in August 2013 to review strategic alternatives for the company. J.P. Morgan and Perella Weinberg are acting as financial advisors and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Torys LLP are acting as legal advisors.

Diligence is expected to be complete by November 4, 2013. The agreement is on a non-exclusive basis. If BlackBerry enters into any agreement providing for an alternative transaction with a person with whom discussions were held before or during the diligence period, then BlackBerry shall pay Fairfax a fee of $0.30 per BlackBerry share, provided, however, that no such fee shall be payable if the consortium shall have reduced the price offered below $9.00 per share without the approval of the board of directors of BlackBerry. In the event that a definitive agreement is signed with Fairfax the termination fee will increase to $0.50 per share.

Barbara Stymiest, Chair of BlackBerry’s Board of Directors, said: “The Special Committee is seeking the best available outcome for the Company’s constituents, including for shareholders. Importantly, the go-shop process provides an opportunity to determine if there are alternatives superior to the present proposal from the Fairfax consortium.”

Prem Watsa, Chairman and CEO of Fairfax, said: “We believe this transaction will open an exciting new private chapter for BlackBerry, its customers, carriers and employees. We can deliver immediate value to shareholders, while we continue the execution of a long-term strategy in a private company with a focus on delivering superior and secure enterprise solutions to BlackBerry customers around the world.”

source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Business Line / Home> Industry> Info-Tech / by the Hindu Bureau / New Delhi – September 24th, 2013

Miss America Nina Davuluri from Seemandhra never forgot Indian roots

September 26, 2013Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Leaders, Nri's / Pio's, Records, All, World Opinionadmin

Miss.Nina Davuluri

Vijayawada:

City-based relatives of Nina Davuluri, who today became the first Indian-origin contestant to win the Miss America pageant, said the newly-crowned beauty queen had not forgotten her roots and still liked Indian films.

“We are all very excited. I spoke to her briefly this evening. We are very happy,” Nina’s maternal aunt Sasibala told PTI.

Nina’s father, Davuluri Dhana Koteswara Chowdary, a doctor by profession, settled in the USA in the late 1970s and his daughter had grown up there, Sasibala said.

Sasibala said Nina visits India every summer and came to Vijayawada about a year-and-a-half back.

Nina, who wooed the judges at the pageant with a Bollywood fusion dance, likes Indian films, said Sasibala, adding that the 24-year-old had learnt classical dance.

Nina is fluent in Telugu and has not forgotten her roots, she added.

Nina, who aspires to become a physician like her father, will earn at least USD 50,000 in scholarships.

She was crowned Miss America during an event held in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

“I’m so happy this organisation has embraced diversity,” she said in her first press conference after winning the crown. “I’m thankful there are children watching at home who can finally relate to a new Miss America.”

Her pageant platform was “celebrating diversity through cultural competency” and Nina said she has had to dispel a lot of misconceptions about her culture through the years, such as whether her parents will arrange a marriage for her.

Nina is the second consecutive Miss New York to win the Miss America crown, succeeding Mallory Hagan.

source: http://www.indiatvnews.com / India TV / Home> TV / by PTI / September 17th, 2013

Ganesh pandals reach out to netizens too

September 25, 2013Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Nri's / Pio's, Science & Technologyadmin

Hyderabad :

Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations in the city have gone hi-tech, with many pandals having their own virtual spaces on the internet to interact with participating devotees and build their ‘fan base’.

One of the most popular Ganesh pandals, the Khairatabad Ganesh Utsava Samiti, has developed a dedicated online page which has already garnered 1,492 ‘friends’. Images of the 59 feet tall Ganesh idol in its various phases of decoration and videos of the celebration have been uploaded on social networking websites. In addition to their existing website ‘ganapathideva.org’, a social networking page also has details of puja timings and other events to be held during the 10-day celebrations.

“Going virtual was a step to reach out to the tech savvy youth of today and encourage their participation. With details of puja timings, videos and images of celebrations, we have brought the festival to the homes of devotees who may not be able to physically come to the pandal,” said S Sudarshan, organizer of the Khairatabad Ganesh Utsava Samiti.

Members of the Devi Nagar Youth Association have created a blog as well as a special online page called ‘Ganesh mandals in Hyderabad and Secunderabad’ as a platform for devotees. “Through social networking platforms, we have interacted with many people who come to the pandal and have suggestions on making the celebrations and arrangements better. We had many requests urging us to have an eco-friendly idol. We could not make it this year but will possibly attempt it the next year,” said Praveen Kumar Tenugu, member of the association.

Similarly, the website of the Balapur Ganesh Utsava Samitee is loaded with information on the history of the celebrations, event schedule as well as audio and video clips. The Balapur utsav, held at Kanchanbagh, is known for its laddoo auctions, details of which are also updated on the website.

Meanwhile, organizers of Ganesh pandals are also doing their bit for the society. Blood donation camps, distribution of books and clothes to orphanages and old age homes are some of the initiatives that have been taken up. “We had arranged for a day-long medical camp last year, especially for the under-privileged, which received encouraging response. This year too, therefore, we will be slotting one day of the festival to have free medical check-ups,” said Manoj Giri Goswami, secretary of Dashnam Goswami Mandal at Begum Bazaar.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Hyderabad> Ganesh Chaturthi / by Ananya Banerjee, TNN / September 12th, 2013

Miss America has roots in Vijayawada

September 18, 2013Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Nri's / Pio's, Records, All, World Opinionadmin

V. Koteswaramma, grandmother of Miss America-2014 Nina Davuluri, showing pictures of her granddaughter in Vijayawada on Monday. / Photo. Ch. Vijaya Bhaskar / The Hindu

The 24-year-old American of Indian descent Nina Davuluri, who has been crowned Miss America 2014, lived in Vijayawada for a brief period as a child and has strong connections with the city. She is granddaughter of V. Koteswaramma, secretary and correspondent of Montessori Mahila Kalaasala, in the city.

She was just six weeks old when her grandmother brought her to the city and she was groomed by Koteswaramma and her aunt Sashibala, a practising doctor, till the age of two-and-a-half years. “Thereafter her parents took her back to US. But she visits us every summer,” says Dr. Sashibala.

Ms. Nina, who learned Kuchipudi in Vijayawada during her visits in summer holidays, is also a good western dancer. She is fond of Telugu movies and never misses to see the latest. She has not only excelled in dance but has also learnt piano and can wield the tennis racquet with aplomb.

She is a very determined child said Ms Koteswaramma. “She wanted to win the pageant and has done it. And she has done it all alone with a strong one-year preparation. There was strong support of her mother, most importantly she has strong attachment to India and the city of Vijayawada,” said Dr. Sashibala. The rise to fame was not an easy task for the Nina, who is the first Indian-descendent American to win the pageant. In 2006 she was the first runner-up of ‘Teen America’ and from there she resolved to win the coveted Miss America title. In the run-up to the slot, she first won the Miss Syracuse, then Miss New York and finally the Miss America title.

Nina a graduate from University of Michigan wants to join a medical school next year. While her father Davuluri Koteswara Choudhary is a practising gynaecologist in New York, her mother Sheila Ranjani is a web programmer.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by Sumit Bhattacharjee / Vijayawada – September 17th, 2013

Indian-American in race for Microsoft CEO job

September 7, 2013Leaders, Nri's / Pio's, Science & Technologyadmin

Bangalore :

Indian American Satya Nadella features prominently on several shortlists of internal candidates to succeed Steve Ballmer as CEO of Microsoft. Ballmer on Friday announced that he will part his ways with the world’s largest software company in the next 12 months.

Nadella, 44, joined the company in 1992 after a brief stint with Sun Microsystems. He has served in multiple roles, and is currently head of the cloud and enterprise group, responsible for building and running the company’s computing platforms, developer tools and cloud services. Nadella’s team delivers the Cloud OS, Microsoft’s next generation backend platform.

Nadella grew up in Hyderabad, studied in Hyderabad Public School, Begumpet, the alma mater of business notables like Shantanu Narayen, CEO of Adobe Systems, and Prem Watsa, chairman and CEO of Fairfax Financial Holdings, which was recently in the news as a likely bidder for Blackberry.

Nadella went on to do a Bachelor’s in electrical engineering from Mangalore University, between 1984 and 1988, and then went to the US, where he did a Masters in computer science and an MBA.

In Microsoft, he started in the server group, and moved on to the business solutions group — developing and managing the ERP and CRM products — and then became senior VP of R&D for the online services division that includes Bing, MSN and the advertising platform.

In 2011, Nadella was back where he started, in the server and tools business, as its president.

In July this year, he was handed the responsibility of the Cloud OS platform, which, as Microsoft’s website says, “Not only powers all of Microsoft’s internet scale cloud services (including Office 365, Bing, SkyDrive, Xbox Live, Skype and Dynamics) but also fuels global enterprises around the world to meet their most challenging and mission-critical computing needs.”

The website goes on to say, “Today, businesses everywhere depend on the products that make up the Cloud OS, including Windows Azure, Windows Server, SQL Server, Visual Studio and System Center.”

Nadella’s diverse experience within Microsoft is seen as giving him a strong chance to succeed Ballmer. His experience with cloud makes his claim stronger, given that cloud is now seen as the future of computing.

Though Microsoft was a late entrant into cloud, it has made rapid progress in the space. In an interview to TOI in late 2011, when asked about Google and Amazon having a long headstart in cloud, Nadella said, “They don’t have the footprint in the enterprise today in terms of the applications required. There is Google, Amazon, Salesforce.com on the public cloud side, and Oracle, VMware on the private cloud side. We are the only one that straddles both sides effectively. Every customer looks for someone who solves the public and private sides with commonality — common identity, common virtualization, common management.”

He said Google’s strength is in search. “But search is one application, not truly representative of enterprise. With Office 365, we are heads and shoulders above any Google Apps adoption. They are competing with us, but if you look at the customers that we are gaining, it’s significant,” he had said.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> Tech> Tech News> Movements> Steve Ballmer / by Sujit John, TNN / August 25th, 2013

Hyderabad-born Prem Watsa may bid for BlackBerry

August 26, 2013Business & Economy, Nri's / Pio's, Science & Technologyadmin

Toronto :

Just over a year ago, Prem Watsa said Research in Motion , now re-named BlackBerry, was a “Canadian success story,” a good buy and a likely turnaround story, despite declining market share.

BlackBerry’s fortunes have only deteriorated since then, but Watsa, chief executive of top BlackBerry shareholder Fairfax Financial, is an old hand at looking wrong today and right tomorrow.

Fairfax, both an insurance holding company and Watsa’s investment vehicle, was on the losing end of bets against the market in the mid 2000s as Watsa waited for the US mortgage industry to collapse.

The company’s stock fell by 50% between mid-2003 and mid-2006 as Watsa’s purchases of credit default swaps flattened profits, while rivals feasted on a housing-fed bull market.

But when the market began to weaken in 2007, Fairfax began notching up investment gains, pulling in billion-dollar profits in 2007 and 2008. Then with markets still reeling and other investors licking their wounds, Watsa started to plow money back into equities, bringing another strong year in 2009.

Since their 2006 low of C$100, Fairfax’s shares have more than quadrupled, and the stock is up 100-fold over 28 years.

Indeed, Watsa had already shown his investment chops by selling stock ahead of the 1987 stock market crash and buying Japanese puts – or rights to sell stocks at guaranteed prices – ahead of the Tokyo market’s collapse in 1990.

Canada’s Buffet?
Often called Canada’s version of Warren Buffet , Watsa preaches a long view that suggests it may be too early to assess his decision to take on a leading 10 per cent stake in BlackBerry.

As it sits now, BlackBerry has not been a turnaround story under Watsa’s watch. Since January 2012, a period when Fairfax has raised its stake in the company from just over 2 per cent to just under 10 per cent, BlackBerry’s share price is down about 25 percent.

“Prem invests for the long term,” said Paul Holden, an analyst at CIBC World Markets who follows Fairfax. “He’s held his major stake now for what I would say is a fairly short period of time relative to his investment horizon, so I would say it’s probably too early to put any score on that investment.”

Watsa stepped down from the BlackBerry board on Monday, citing a potential conflict of interest, as the company said it was exploring the sale of itself and other options.

Holden said Fairfax, with a market capitalization of C$8.7 billion, would be too small to purchase BlackBerry outright. The smartphone maker has a market capitalization of C$5.8 billion.

But others said the signs that Watsa could be working behind the scenes were a positive.

“We have a lot of respect for the investment acumen and long-term track record Prem Watsa has established at Fairfax,” said Todd Johnson , a portfolio manager at Winnipeg-based BCV Financial, which owns Fairfax debt.

“Hearing the announcement from BlackBerry accompanied by Prem’s departure from the board should indicate something will happen this time on the strategic front.”

Low profile
Watsa, who was born in 1950 in Hyderabad, India, and trained as a chemical engineer, has a public profile that has at times bordered on the reclusive since he took over Fairfax in 1985. For his first 15 years at the company, he barely spoke to a reporter, and he only started holding investor conference calls in 2001.

Fairfax has generally not been known as an activist investor, but Watsa has not shied away from a fight, launching a $6 billion lawsuit against a group of hedge funds in 2006, accusing them of conspiring to the drive the company’s shares down so they could be shorted.

A short position enables an investor to profit when a stock drops.

To be sure, not all Watsa’s moves have been golden. Fairfax had to write off most its investment in Winnipeg-based media company Canwest in 2009 as the company filed for bankruptcy protection.

It also wrote down a significant investment in publisher Torstar in 2008-09 and took losses on its holding of forestry company Abitibi Bowater.

Speaking last year, Watsa suggested investors looking for a short-term rebound in BlackBerry might be disappointed.

“Is it going to turn around in three months, six months, nine months? No,” he told reporters. “But if you’re looking four, five years … We make investments over four or five years.”

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> Tech> Tech News> Hardware> Invstment / by Reuters / August 14th, 2013

Student wins gold medal for shot put

July 30, 2013Nri's / Pio's, Records, All, Sportsadmin

Teen aced Junior Olympics at age 10

ATHLETE—Kushaal Tadepalli, a freshman at Agoura High School, throws the shot put in a recent competition.

Agoura High School freshman Kushaal Tadepalli tossed the 4K-gram shot put a distance of 55 feet, 1.50 inches to win the youth boys’ gold medal at the USA Youth Nationals on July 6 in Edwardsville, Il.

Two days earlier he threw the 1K-gram discus 172 feet, 8 inches to win the bronze.

As a 10-year-old athlete in 2009, he won the gold medal on his final shot put throw at the USATF Junior Olympics in Greensboro, NC.

At Wichita in 2011, the 12-year-old Tadepalli seeded fourth yet won the gold medal, outdistancing the competition by more than 2 feet. When going into the finals after the first three attempts, he broke out the “spin technique” for the first time in meet competition.

He competes again at the National USATF Junior Olympics in Greensboro on July 22 to 28. At the event he will be joined by his twin sister and AHS freshman, Sahana Tadepalli, competing in discus.

source: http://www.theacron.com / The Acorn / Home> Sports / July 18th, 2013

Andhra Pradesh First

a Celebration. Positive News, Facts & Achievements about Seemandhra, Coastal Andhra, Telugu People and all the People of Andhra Pradesh – here at Home and Overseas