Shekar Ganore for Highland Heights Ward 2 City Council

Highland Heights is a city in Cuyahoga Country in Northeast Ohio. Its a small city with a population less than 10,000 residents. Mayor and safety director of the city is Chuck Brunello. The City Council members include Ann M. D'Amico, Anthony DeLision, Carol Ganser, Robert E. Goff and Edwin V. Hargate, Sean Milroy.

Highland Heights is a part of the highly ranked Mayfield City School District headed by Dr. Michael Barnes.   

It is a pleasure to see Asian Indians desis of Northeast Ohio becoming active in political space. Our growing community needs representation and leaders in decision making spaces. It is a honor to note that Shekar Ganore was a first time contestant in the race for Ward 2 against Highland Heights councilman Frank DiLalla according to The Plain Dealer Married for 20 years, Shekar Ganore is the father of a student at Mayfield High School, and a student at Mayfield Middle School.

Shekar Ganore has served the past three years as commissioner of Mayfield Soccer Club and, prior to that, Shekar Ganore coached, inspired and lead his children’s soccer and basketball teams.

Shekar Ganore of Highland Heights

Shekar Ganore received 375 votes, Frank DiLalla 554; not too shabby for a first time contestant. Shekar Ganore ran an excellent race and this looser's shortcoming should not discourage other super duper leaders from Asian Indian desi community in Cleveland and Akron area to try to "contribute", "uplift" and "serve"  the communities of the greatest country in the world.

Goken America and Visa Inc. Employees Drown

Cleveland Asian Indian Drowns in Rose Lake, Hocking Hills, Ohio

On July 26th, tragedy struck the family and friends of two young men, Karthick Alagarsamy and Raam Gautham Arjunan, who drowned in Rose Lake, Ohio.

Seven friends trekked on a Hocking Hills trail to reach Rose Lake on the warm Sunday afternoon. Seeing the rope swing and after judging the depth of the water below to be safe, three of them Gautham, Karthick and Kaushik decided to take a dive into the stagnant and friendly waters. What started off as a fun afternoon suddenly took a wrong turn when Karthick jumped in and started to panic. On understanding that his friend needed help, Gautham swam towards him. What happened after that is anybody’s guess. Before anyone realized what was going on, they saw both of them sinking into the water. Help was called for immediately and first responders arrived shortly only to find the visibility too poor and the water too deep to search for either of them. By the time the rescue team could get the necessary equipment to recover Gautham and Karthick, they'd lost so much time and also the lives of two young men.

The loss of such amazing individuals affects the people around them in ways unimaginable. The families are flying into the US from India in the middle of a pandemic holding unbearable grief in their hearts.

Raam Gautham Arjunan, 26

Raam Gautham Arjunan, 26, was from Rajapalayam, Tamil Nadu.  Arjunan, who also went by Raam Gantham professionally, lived in the Cleveland area. He worked as an associate product manager in digital payments for CardinalCommerce in Mentor near Cleveland, a wholly owned subsidiary of VISA Inc. that authenticates digital transactions against fraud.  He earned a master's degree in engineering management from Case Western Reserve University.  He had just got married last year. His presence lives on in the thoughts of his wife, father and mother.

Karthik Alagarsamy, 26

Karthick Alagarsamy, 26,  was a free spirited soul who's friendliness and adventure was well known. He was a student at Wayne State University before working for Goken America in Marysville, Ohio. He lived in Dublin, Ohio.  He went to work at Goken America after graduating from Wayne State University in Detroit with a master's degree in mechanical engineering in 2018.  Prior to graduation, he was a mechanical engineering intern at DTE Energy, was the drive train captain on Wayne State's Warrior Racing Formula SAE Team and was a graduate student assistant at the university. He was also a graduate of Madras Institute of Technology and attended Anna University, MIT Campus, in his native Chennai city, Tamil Nadu state, India. 

"He was a great young man," said Bill Nichols of Goken America remarked, adding that Alagarsamy was "friendly, well-liked and often had a smile on his face.  He's survived by his father, mother and sister from Chennai, Tamil Nadu. 

Talk for Asian Indian Women of Cleveland and Northeast Ohio

Association of Asian Indian Women is a Cleveland area organization which attempts to reach out to Asian Indian Women be it at home or in the professional world.  Association of Asian Indian Women has scheduled a event with Anisha Durve, the author of "The Power to Break Free: Surviving Domestic Violence, with a special reference to Abuse in Indian Marriages" on April 22, 2012 at Solon Community Center (440)349-4930. 

Anita Durve is the founder and CEO of the Power to Break Free Foundation and will discuss

• Stereotypes of the ideal Asian Indian female
• Four aspects of the Asian Indian female identity and theme of sacrifice
• Gender equality patterns in raising Asian Indian boys and Asian Indian girls
• The business of matchmaking for arranged, introduced and love marriages
• Cultural taboos of divorce
• Dynamics and nuances of abuse within Asian Indian population
• Domestic violence movement within the larger South Asian Indian community
• Prevention of abuse and how to protect young Indian girls. 

Nupur Indian Dance School To Perform in Cleveland

Nupur Indian Dance School will perform in honor of Shiva Vishnu Temple of Cleveland and to promote Indian art and culture on August 21, 2011 at Westlake Performing Arts Center

Nupur Indian School of Dance

Cleveland Desi Travel Agents

Cleveland, Akron Area Desi Travel Agents For Airline Tickets to India

• Asim Datta (216) 932-7300
• Dhaval Ghiya (440) 554-6921
• Amarjit Kang, Amar Travel (440) 201-6125

If you would like your information added to or deleted from this post, please email clevelanddesis@yahoo.com
 

Mahatma Gandhi's Amorous Letter To A Man

There is a statue of Mahatma Gandhi at the India Cultural Garden in downtown Cleveland, Ohio.  Joseph Lelyveld's book titled Great Soul-Mahatma Gandhi and His Struggle With India has been reportedly banned in Gujarat, India.  

Apparently, Mahatma Gandhi had a relationship with a German architect, Hermann Kallenbach and in a letter writes "How completely you have taken possession of my body.  This is slavery with a vengeance."

Gandhi's great grandson Tushar Gandhi is reported to have commented that it did not matter "if the Mahatma was straight, gay or bisexual.  Every time he would still be the man who led India to freedom".

What would Mahatma Gandhi say about the banning of this book?  Me thinks it wouldn't have bothered him for a second.  He would probably laugh it off.  There is only Mahatma Gandhi, after all. 

Police shoot Sikh at Gurudwara of Greater Cleveland

It was reported that a Bedford Police officer shot and killed a Sikh at Gurudwara of Great Cleveland.  Ravinder Nijjar of Bedford was observed brandishing a meat cleaver at Guru Gobind Singh Gurudwara of Greater Cleveland located at 38 Tarbell Avenue in Bedford.

Ravinder Nijjar

Michael Sangiacomo of the Plain Dealer writes,

Duber said the officer told cleaver-wielding Nijjar to stop two times before shooting him inside the Guru Gobind Singh Gurudwara of Greater Cleveland temple. Duber said Nijjar was only 11 feet away when the officer shot him.  Police said the incident started around 4:30 a.m. when two members of the temple stopped a police cruiser and said there was a man with a knife inside the temple. The men said there were two other members also inside.

"Two police officers entered the temple, with the two members," Duber said. "One officer went up a flight of stairs and the other officer went down. The officer who went downstairs into a hallway when Nijjar came down another flight of stairs toward him with the cleaver.
"The officer said 'drop the knife' twice, but the man continued walking toward him," Duber continued. "The officer shot him."

Nijjar was pronounced dead at 5:10 a.m. at the Bedford Medical Center.
Duber said police are trying to determine what happened and why Nijjar went to the temple.

Picture at Shiva Vishnu Hindu Temple of Cleveland

A picture at Shiva Vishnu Hindu Temple of Cleveland says, As a body without a soul is dead, so a faith without deeds is dead.  Hats off to Shiva Vishnu Hindu Temple of Cleveland for placing this sign.  In fact, this sign is perhaps as important as the idols of the various deities at the Shiva Vishnu Hindu Temple of Cleveland.  May be this sign could be enlarged and placed between the Shiva and Vishnu deities at Shiva Vishnu Hindu Temple of Cleveland.  This sign encapsulates what is right about faith and what is not right about desis.  We desis, most of us, have a bit of superficial faith and a little bit of deeds, some of us.

1. As a body without a soul is dead, a desi without money is dead.  
2. As a body without a soul is dead, a desi with character is dead.
3. As a body without a soul is dead, a desi with intellect is dead.

Instead of learning about the foundation and pillars of Hinduism, some desi folks consider rituals, regurgitating undigested prayers and shlokas, and poojas to be more important.  The inexpensive lunches are the temple attract some.  Unfortunately the interest and demand to learn about Vedas, Upanishads, Hinduism is lacking and desi folks are looking for instant mukti from Ammas, Swamis, Babas, Gurus etc.    

The Secret Life of American Born Confused Desi (ABCD) by Ankita Rao

American Born Confused Desi aka ABCD is a term minted by douche-bag holding Asian Indians to label children of Asian Indian immigrants to the US.  This term is used to refer to the non-existent confusion these children have with regard to their identity and culture heritage.  As far as I observe, a majority of these American Born Confused Desi are not confused at all; they are certain.  Certain that they don't give a ^uck about the country of birth of their parents.   

American Born Confused Desi

Ankita Rao's article titled The Secret Life of the American Desi is kind of interesting; check it out.  Here's an excerpt from Ankita Rao's article.

Palekar believes this lack of communication leads to depression, anxiety and more lies. He adds that the immigrant perception of their homeland is outdated. "They always feel like America is threatening for their children. But in big cities in India, people date, have one night stands and have relationships with people from other backgrounds."

Immigrant Asian Indian parents know quite well that America is referred to as a melting pot (is this a myth or reality?).  Therefore, they must take it for somewhat granted that their children may have casual sex, wear jeans that show off their underwear (in case of men and women) and the top of their butt crack/coin slot (in case of women only), low cut tops that show off a bit of cleavage.  How many desi parents would support their daughters dating a white male or (hold your breath) an African American male?  I reckon that there is nothing more shameful, arguably, for Asian Indian parents than their child hooking up with an African American person.  

It was this summer that I fully appreciated where I came from. I saw the way that my cousin and his friends helped each other. They would drive for hours to pick someone up, or visit a friend's mom in the hospital.  They poked fun at each other relentlessly. And even though they were the same age, lived in the same city their whole lives, spoke the same language,  they were Muslims, Christians and Hindus who meshed seamlessly.  Back at the University of Florida, I felt compelled to repossess this part of me that I had avoided for years. I still felt uncomfortable being in groups of only Indian friends like some tended to do, but my culture led me to other methods of connection. I took courses in Hindi, Sanskrit and Hindu Mythology at school.  I received my yoga teachers training and became engrossed in Vedic scriptures, chanting and other ancient aspects of my religion. I finally understood why sitting in front of a cast-iron elephant with a bunch of incense was relevant to my life.

How many immigrant parents have knowledge their own religion/Hinduism?  The reality is that the Asian American kids have the resources and the luxury to learn about India and Hinduism, if they choose to do so, in America and because of America.

Murder of Sejal Patel of Twinsburg, Ohio

City of Twinsburg Government Center

 Judge Brenda Burnham Unruh sentenced Chetan Patel to 30 years to life and his mother, Minaxi, to 25 years to life in prison.

The two were found guilty last week of aggravated murder, tampering with evidence and gross abuse of a corpse in the murder of Sejal Patel, 28, in July 2005. Sejal Patel was a resident of Pinebark Place, a suburb on the southeast of Cleveland, Ohio.

Judge Unruh said, "She was important, she was valuable, she was a human being. She wasn't treated as any of these things" Read more at The Plain Dealer.
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What I have been told by a Patel friend, that the tug of war between a mother in law and the daughter in law in the Patel community is not uncommon and sometimes can reach a disturbing level.

I suppose its likely that if Sejal Patel was victimized in India, the perpetrators would have escaped the consequences. For Sejal Patel, the American justice system worked.

I think, probably, the origin of these types of problems can be traced back to how Patel, Gujrati and the desi society is structed in India. I think the odds are that my Patel friend will say that there definitely are more Sajel Patels and people like her tormentors in the Patel society in India.

Bhagwan Sejal Ki Atma Ko Shanti Pradhan Kare

Cleveland Suburbs with Desi and Indian Population

Neighborhood in Greater Cleveland with significant desi and Indian population, in no particular order.

Cleveland Asian Indian Desihoods

1. Parma (Mixed)
2. Parma Heights (Big Creek Apartments)
3. Strongsville (lots of Gujratis)
4. Mayfield Heights
5. Westlake
6. Cleveland Heights
7. Solon (lots of Punjabis)
8. North Royalton (Telugu Pradesh)
9. Middleburg Heights (Islander Apartments-IT consultants from Cognizant)
10. Twinsburg (Punjabis and South Indians)


Population of Asian Indians in Northeast Ohio
Cuyahoga County-12,000;
Summit county-3,500;
Lake county-1,000;
Portage county-700;
Medina county-550
Geauga county-150;
Lorain county-800.  

Proposed Sree Venkateshwara Temple of Cleveland

A new Shri Venkateshwara/Balaji temple is in the works for the Greater Cleveland area, I hear from the media and the temple website. The location may be in Richfield. The reported estimated cost is about 1.5 million bucks.

"The temple will fulfill a deeply-felt, long-standing need and demand for a Balaji Temple in the Greater Cleveland area. "

There are two existing temples in the Greater Cleveland area and hence why the need for an another one. There is a thriving Balaji temple in Pittsburgh.

Its the nature of people to demand things and demands are not accompanied by a warranty of common sense.

Suppose one could be mistaken about an implicit desire to have a setting where rituals will be performed in the Telugu way rather than the Tamil way. Or is this about power?

Surely there was better ways of spending moolah given that our birth country has millions living in extreme poverty.