RANA

Continuing the successes of events organized in January and February, the RANA executive committee is very pleased to announce four exciting events (three if excluding collocated ones) for March.

We have also set up a new registration system that allows you to RSVP online rather than calling us or sending us an email. For each of the upcoming events, we request that RSVP by register online for the event. By sending us an RSVP, you are reserve space for yourself and your guests and get benefits such as free admission, discounts, and priority treatment. If you are not already a RANA member, we suggest strongly that you sign up for membership, as it will enhance our ability to offer more and relevant programming for you.

Upcoming Events

Visit Mewar Exhibition at Asian Art Museum
Saturday, 10 March 2007 from 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM

After a roaring response to the preview of the Asian Art Museum’s Mewar exhibition, we are very excited to organize a visit to the museum. Don’t miss this once in a generation opportunity to marvel at Rajasthani art from the last half a millenium.

RSVP required for admission discounts. Please register online for RSVP.

Yoga and Art in San Francisco
Saturday, 10 March 2007 from 10:30 AM-5 PM

Those who wish to spend the entire day in San Francisco while visiting the Asian can join us for Yoga and contemporary art in San Francisco.

RSVP recommended for attendance register online for RSVP.

Holi Celebration
Saturday, 17 March 2007 from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM
Baylands Park, Sunnyvale

Please note revised date.

Holi is just around the corner and marks the beginning of Spring. Although Holi festival is going to be celebrated in India on March 3rd, we have organized the Holi celebration keeping in mind the local climate conditions and to prevent scheduling conflicts with other Bay Area organizations. As usual, we will have a blast with colors, water, and lots of great foods and dizzying drinks.

Free admission and food to those who register before March 8. register online today!

Entrepreneur Forum
Thursday, 22 March 2007 from 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Second in this series of face-to-face meetings, we bring to you Prem Jain, a distinguished businessman and highly successful entrepreneur of Silicon Valley.

RSVP required for participation. Please register online for RSVP.

Membership

If you have not already renewed your annual membership for 2007, this would be a great time to do so as it will provide valuable discounts to all the RANA events. We would also like to invite volunteers to help out with the organization and publicity of these events to the broader RANA community which includes even those who are not paying RANA patrons.

Please feel free to share the RANA web site with those friends who are interested in Rajasthani culture and also suggest registering with www.rana.org to them. Also, please feel free to suggest to us any other means of informing the community that you feel will help us in better serving the Rajasthani community.

We at RANA believe that Rajasthani culture actively fosters entrepreneurship. There are a number of Rajasthanis in the Bay area that have been successful in the venture world and have promoted countless others. At RANA, we want to highlight the belief systems — religious mores, cultural values, moral and ethical principles — that underlie the Rajasthani psyche and enable them to succeed in the venture world. Aspiring and already successful entrepreneurs would be served well to refresh their thinking about business and ethics in todays tumultuous times.

This month we are fortunate to host Prem Jain, a highly successful and influential entrepreneur of Silicon Valley. This event builds upon the inaugural event held in February that drew nearly two dozen attendees.

RANA is inviting aspiring entrepreneurs from the entire spectrum of society, Indian-Americans or otherwise, to its new monthly Entrepreneur Forum. RANA’s Entrepreneur Forum features successful RANA members who connect their roots to the success in their entrepreneurial ventures. Speakers engage in a two-way conversation with the audience in an informal setting. The forum meets every 4th Thursday of the month.

RSVP

Seating to this event will be limited, so be sure to RSVP to us in advance. RSVP is only by online registration on our Web site.

Come join us in rediscovering our culture from the eyes of successful entrepreneurs.

Speaker: Prem Jain (Nuova Systems)

Venue and time

Thursday March 22, 2007 at 7:00 pm

1313 N. Milpitas Blvd
Milpitas, CA 95035

Schedule

Networking: 7:00 to 7:20 pm
Talk: 7:20 to 8 pm

Entrepreneur profile

Prem Jain is Chief Development Officer at Nuova Systems, a subsidiary of Cisco Systems. He held many senior positions at Cisco Systems leading to his roles as Senior Vice President/General Manager, Cisco’s Routing Technology Group. His arrival at Cisco Systems was also a result of Cisco’s acquisition of Crescendo Communications. He also led Cisco’s new business ventures for a while. Within Silicon Valley, Prem is a highly watched entrepreneur with many of his staffers following him from one company to another.

Prior to joining Cisco, Mr. Jain was at Crescendo Communications as Vice President of Systems Architecture, and was responsible for the design and development of Crescendo’s FDDI products as well as the first LAN switch, now known at the Cisco Catalyst 1200. As Director of Engineering for David Systems, Mr. Jain architected and developed third-generation integrated Data and Voice PABX equipment.

Prem Jain is the recipient of two patents and is a member of the IEEE organization. He holds a B.E. degree with honors from BITS Pilani, India, and a Masters degree in EECS from U.C. Davis.

Mr. Jain is actively involved in volunteer work for non-profit organizations, fundraising for the homeless and helping San Francisco Bay Area schools. He is also a Board of Trustee for Young Jain of India and the Ahimsa Center at Cal Poly Pomona. He is also a charter member of TiE.

Entrepreneurs and RANA?

Well you must be thinking what prompted RANA to organize entrepreneurship events? I guess it might help to let you in on our thinking. After all, this is Bay area. Everyone has thought of starting or at least worked at a start up, right? Well, may be not. May be the RANA Enterpreneur Forum will encourage you to think.

We at RANA think that there is a strong cultural connection between Rajasthan and entrepreneurship. There are a number of Rajasthanis in the Bay area that have been successful in the venture world and have promoted countless others. At RANA, we want to highlight the belief systems — religious mores, cultural values, moral and ethical principles — that underlie the Rajasthani psyche and enable them to succeed in the venture world. Aspiring and already successful entrepreneurs would be served well to refresh their thinking about business and ethics in todays tumultuous times.

RANA is inviting aspiring entrepreneurs from the entire spectrum of society, Indian-Americans or otherwise, to its new monthly Entrepreneur Forum. RANA’s Entrepreneur Forum features successful RANA members who connect their roots to the success in their entrepreneurial ventures. Speakers engage in a two-way conversation with the audience in an informal setting. The forum meets every 4th Thursday of the month starting in February.

RSVP

Seating to this event will be limited, so be sure to RSVP to us in advance. Email us at events at rana.org or call us at 408-446-2113.

Come join us in rediscovering our culture from the eyes of successful entrepreneurs.

Speaker: Dinesh Shrimali (Shri Builders)

Venue and time

Thursday February 22, 2007 at 7:00 pm

1313 N. Milpitas Blvd
Milpitas, CA 95035

Entrepreneur profile

Dinesh Shrimali is owner of Shri Builders, a real estate development & construction company. Shri Builders has been a dream in the making for 30 years. Dinesh’s journey into the world of building began with his first job as a Construction Engineer at L&T in Bombay. Soon thereafter, he came to the United States and completed his Masters in Mechanical and Structural Engineering from IIT Chicago. This was followed by the launch of his US career in power plant construction.

After completing his MBA, Dinesh took a detour toward Silicon Valley and worked for Hewlett Packard. At HP, he was able to give his mind free reign to innovate. This and his attention to detail resulted in the creation of fiber optic lab facilities where he was awarded several patents. These patents in laser and LED packaging are widely used in the industry today and have increased the lifespan of lasers and LEDs from hundreds of hours to thousands of hours.

Dinesh’s true passion has always been building. He returned to this passion when he designed and built his own home fifteen years ago. Dinesh found this home-building experience so fulfilling and satisfying that he decided to turn this passion into a business - and so Shri Builders was born. While Shri Builders specializes in building high-end homes, Dinesh’s primary interest has always been the intersection of design and lifestyle.

San Francisco’s Asian Art Museum has organized an exhibition of artworks from Mewar starting on February 2nd until April 29th. The first of its kind outside India, the exhibition has borrowed works about Mewar from all over the world. The exhibits range from the early sixteenth century to the early twentieth century. A panoply of events have been organized in conjunction with this exhibition to educate the museum patrons about Mewar art and culture including Bhopa, Pabuji Ki Paad, Holi, Kathak, lectures, and live demonstrations.

Read more about the events and the exhibition from Asian Art Museum’s Web site - http://www.asianart.org/mewar.htm. Stay tuned for more information about RANA’s events around this exhibition.

Educational events at the Asian Art Museum:

1. Storytelling - Bhopa, Bhopi, Pabuji Ki Phad
2. Kathak Dance Performance
3. Miniature Paintings
4. Rajasthani Architecture
5. Holi
6. KathaI
7. Lecture on artists
8. Lecture on Indian textiles