MAGNANIMOUS: Deshpande and Jaishree

For thousands of Hindu families, a cherished goal is to make at least one annual visit to Barsana Dham which has the oldest Hindu temple in the Lone Star state. Spread across 200 acres, the institution is going into its third decade. There are several reasons why it beckons Hindus and Americans who have embraced the religion, says Swami Prakashanand Saraswat, its founder: the Dham has recreated many of the holy places related to Radha and Krishna. For those who cannot make it to Braj, Krishna's birthplace, it offers the same spiritual ethos. The Dham also functions as a temple, an ashram and as a facility where other Hindu groups can hold special functions, seminars and conferences.

-Mabel Pais

Favoured Returns

MIND OVER MATTER: Raseshwari Radha Rani temple and Radha Kund in the foreground

Gururaj Desh Deshpande may not have earned any degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). But that did not deter the co-founder of Sycamore Networks and Cascade Communications and his wife Jaishree, a computer programmer and physician, from making a $20 million donation to the university. It will fund a new Deshpande Centre for Technological Innovation. "It's giving back to the community. MIT is responsible for fostering a spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship, which is vital to maintaining New England as a high tech centre," said Deshpande, who has earned his degrees from India and Canada. The centre plans to give out at least $1 million a year in grants to support research for pioneering technologies and will also support a new MIT training programme that will aim at placing undergraduate students in the government and industry. Deshpande's gift is among the biggest single donations in the university's history.

-Sonia Chopra

Trails of the Kitchen

PERFECT BLEND: The Chandras and their effort

Cuisines of India: The Art and Tradition of Regional Indian Cooking (HarperCollins: Ecco Press) is not just a cookbook but a guided culinary tour through India's exotic regions: it describes the indelible imprint that West Asian and European cultures left on India's cuisine. "Readers will enjoy the book since it is light and funny," say co-authors, couple Smita and Sanjeev Chandra. "We have dwelt into the history of the different regions of India through the kitchen door." Smita, who teaches cooking in Toronto, already has two cookbooks to her credit: From Bengal to Punjab and Indian Grill. However, Cuisines of India was a first for her husband, a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Toronto. "I am not a cook," Sanjeev readily admits, "but I volunteered to collaborate and help with the research for the book."

-Nitish S. Rele

Cultural Czar

YOUNG DREAMS: Agnihotri

Ani Agnihotri is a proud man-he has become the youngest chairman of the India American Cultural Association (IACA), Atlanta's first Indian organisation. "To be chairman is a matter of great pride and responsibility. I want to strive hard in promoting goodwill and the exchange of ideas between the Indian American community and the mainstream business community," says Agnihotri, 41, a national sales manager at Soft Pros Inc. One of his primary goals will be to draw up concrete plans with help from IACA and the India Centre Committee for a multiplex India Centre, a five-year project expected to cost millions. It will include a multi-purpose hall, an auditorium, places of worship and office space. There are approximately 46,000 Indians in Atlanta.

-Sonia Chopra

Relying on Experience

SECOND TIME LUCKY: Balani

Growing up or studying in the US is not easy, a fact Shelly Gupta and several desi professionals like her know only too well. The challenges have become stronger after 9/11 with verbal abuse by peers and classmates being reported. Enter IMPACT, a mentoring programme which comprises Gupta and several other professionals and graduate students. The programme builds one-onone relationships with 25 teens who are recent immigrants, combining academic support and personal advice. "Having a mentor-an older South Asian who understands what they're going through-can be vital to the child's mental health," says Gupta, codirector of the programme.

-Mabel Pais

SECOND TIME LUCKY: Balani

Puzzled Response

Kumar Balani's perseverance paid off when, after an unsuccessful attempt in 1974, the New York Times accepted his crossword puzzle. It is a break into the big league where the waitlist for reader contributions can run up to even a year. Only the second Indian to do so, Balani will await its publishing later this year, though the puzzle hasn't been scheduled yet.

-Sonia Chopra