Friends,
Following Zarathushti individuals or institutions were in the news recently:
Regards,
Maneck Bhujwala
* Vistasp Karbhari takes over as President of University of Texas, Arlington, Texas, USA
As reported in India West of June 14, 2013, “Vistasp Karbhari, the former provost and executive vice-president for academic affairs at The University of Alabama in Huntsville and a renowned engineer and researcher in composite materials and structural engineer, began his tenure June 1 as the eighth president of the University of Texas at Arlington…….Karbhari earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Poona, and his doctorate from The University of Delaware, where he served on the faculty of the College of Engineering and as a scientist at the Center for Composite Materials. In 1995 the Indian American joined the University of California, San Diego, and served as a professor of structural engineering and of material science and engineering. He was appointed UA Huntsville provost and executive vice-president for academic affairs in 2008.”
* According to India West report of June 14, 2013, Marzi Pestonji is one of two judges for Zee TV’s brand new dance platform series “Dance India Dance” which brings to the spotlight several women who gave up their dream of becoming dancers and instead, settling for other careers or focusing on motherhood. According to India West of July 12, 2013, Marzi Pestonji recognized a dancer on the show, Rajni Ganguly, as the mother of television and film actress Rupali Ganguly, since he had worked with her son Vijay while he was with Shiamak Davar’s dance group earlier, and her ran up on stage to touch her feet out of respect.
* According to India West Business Briefs column of June 21, 2013, “Interfaith Council Appointment – Maneck Bhujwala, and Indian American from the Zarathushti (Zoroastrian) community, has been unanimously reelected to a second term as president of the Greater Huntngton Beach Interfaith Council in Southern California. Founded in 1996 in response to hate crimes against minorities, GHBIC has 33 representatives from various religious groups.”
* According to India West of July 12, 2013, ” The husband-wife team of Kerman Dungore and Arnavaz Dungore has brought Woodlands back to Little India. Located in the same Pioneer Artesia Center as it was prior to closing for renovation, Woodlands officially welcomed customers back June 28…….. Woodlands markets itself as the prime destination for South Indian and vegetarian-friendly cuisine…..”
* According to Zoroatrian News Agency (ZNA), “Singapore: Promising Indian shooter and a multiple gold medallist at junior nationals, Kynan Chenai clinched the trap gold medal in the Singapore Open Shooting Championship here.
22-year-old Chenai, a gold medal at the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games, shot 10 in the final to pip local lad Zain Amat by three scoring points for the yellow metal. Amat shot seven in the final.
Chenai shot an impressive 121 to enter the semifinals as leader, before a steady 14 out of 15 saw him advance to the gold-medal round.Known to be an expert swimmer, Chenai put his skills to use and saved a life while camping in Uttarakhand last year.Chenai was the gold medallist at the Junior National Shotgun Championship in 2007. He retained the medal the following year, besides winning a silver at the Asian Clay Championships.”
22-year-old Chenai, a gold medal at the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games, shot 10 in the final to pip local lad Zain Amat by three scoring points for the yellow metal. Amat shot seven in the final.
Chenai shot an impressive 121 to enter the semifinals as leader, before a steady 14 out of 15 saw him advance to the gold-medal round.Known to be an expert swimmer, Chenai put his skills to use and saved a life while camping in Uttarakhand last year.Chenai was the gold medallist at the Junior National Shotgun Championship in 2007. He retained the medal the following year, besides winning a silver at the Asian Clay Championships.”
* According to email posts by Sam Billimoria (see links to Indiatimes.com below) there were four Parsis among India’s top 100 chief executives for 2013 – Adi Godrej, CEO of Godrej Industries, Nusli Wadia, CEOand majority owner of Bombay Dyeing, Ratan Tata, businessman of the Tata Group of industries and former chairman, and Ms. Meher Pudumjee, chairperson of Thermax Ltd. http://photogallery.indiatimes.com/news/photodhamal-business/100-most-powerful-ceos-2013/articleshow/21122073.cms
* Mr. Keki Amaria, of Southern California, who volunteered his services as architect of the California Zoroastrian Center building in Westminster, California, passed away recently .
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