CONQUERED: Kailasanath with the trophy

Vinita Kailasanath finds challenges irresistible. Smart, confident and self-possessed, the 19-year-old has also won many academic contests. But what has her most excited is her recent conquest: winning the 2001 Jeopardy National College Championship, that tracks down the 15 brightest students in the colleges and universities of US and puts them through the grind—interviews, quizzes and a written test. The three contestants with the highest score compete for the title and prizes. “I’m thrilled I won. I enjoy these contests. I stay calm. I use every moment I have to strategise and think clearly. I focus,” says Kailasanath, the only desi contestant and a sophomore at Stanford University. Studying for a major in human biology, she won $50,000 cash, a Volvo and $25,000 for her college. The final question helped her win: “In 1513, the Portuguese renamed a western Ceylonese city after this explorer.” The answer: Christopher Columbus and the city, Colombo, Sri Lanka. After completing her current major Kailasanath, born and raised in Maryland, plans to pursue a course in intellectual property law.

—Sonia Chopra

WASHINGTON
Defending Champion

A NEW THRUST: Fernandes scores in the US

It was a historic breakfast meeting. “Never before,” said the US-India Business Council official, “has an Indian defence minister been seated with representatives of 20 leading US defence and technology companies.” At the gathering, George Fernandes said that India had recently loosened its investment norms, allowing foreign equity participation up to 26 per cent in defence-related projects. Many of the companies are now proposing to take part in the Defence Expo exhibition scheduled in India next month. Fernandes has assured them of interaction by Defence Ministry officials on the sidelines to give them a complete policy picture.

—Anil Padmanabhan

OHIO
Mark of Distinction

YOUR HONOUR: Shah is bracing for politics

Indra Shah, a Republican party supporter, has won the Freedom Award presented by the American Nationalities Movement. The award was given to him by Ohio Senator George Voinovich in the last week of December. Shah has managed a unique benchmark when he was granted sanction to start practising law without going to law school. The former lawyer is an executive member of the Lake County Republican Party. In a bid to wrest the initiative from the Democrats, Shah, 62, was appointed chairman of the 25-member outreach committee of the party to reach out to minorities. Four months into the job, he does not rule out an active role in politics. “Let me see how this assignment works and then I can make up my mind,” he says.

—AP

D.C
Poetry in Motion

IN HARMONY: Nilimma Devi (left) and Anila

Noted Kuchipudi dancer Nilimma Devi returns to stage next month—February 9 and 10 at the Kennedy Center Millennium stage—with Walk the Sky, a ground-breaking feminist work choreographed by herself and scripted by daughter Anila Kumari. Set to an original musical score, the choreography melds a variety of influences, including martial arts, contemporary and classical Indian dance, life-size puppetry and Hatha Yoga. The evening will also feature her other choreographic works based on the feminine divinity in Hindu thought and mythology. Nilimma Devi has devoted a lifetime to Kuchipudi, the art form originating from 17th century south India. Since Kuchipudi was caste and gender exclusive till the turn of the century, acquiring her expertise was a personal and professional battle. She is one of the first generation of women initiated in this art. She hopes to transplant this dance tradition to the US, and also to revitalise it within the context of its new home. Nilimma Devi invites her audience to share her personal artistic statement as it transcends the bounds of culture.

—C.K. Arora

DISTINGUISHED SERVICEMAN: Menon

NEW YORK
A New Order

Captain Padman A. Menon retired last week from the US Navy at a glittering ceremony. A native of Kerala and a graduate of the Calicut Medical College (1967), Captain Menon joined the US Navy in 1975. Part of the medical corp of the US Navy, he served in Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm at Fleet Hospital Five in 1990-91, where he established and led the dermatology department. The naval man has been the recipient of several citations and now, along with his wife, looks forward to leading a retired life in Virginia Beach.

—Anil Padmanabhan