February 2016

RICHSAHYADRI
An E-Magazine brought to you
by the high schoolers of
Greater Richmond Marathi Mandal
Netflix:
The King
Of Entertainment
Apple vs. FBI Ojas A.
NBA All-Star Weekend Abhit B.
Caution or Contempt? Neha K.
February, 2016
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Science and Technology . . . . . . . . . .
Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Politics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Entertainment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Food . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3
4
5
6
8
10
12
13
Editors: Swapnil Pande
Writers: Ojas Amberkar, Soham Apte, Abhit Bhandare, Riddhima Deshpande,
Archita Kadam, Vignesh Mulay, Neha Kulkarni, Jui Paithane, Ishani Pendse, Prachi
Sadekar, Tanvi Verma
BUSINESS
February, 2016
RichSahyadri | 3
Netflix: The King of Entertainment
Prachi Sadekar
Whenever someone mentions
entertainment, many people automatically think of
Netflix. Since the start of its streaming service in
2007, Netflix has become one of the most popular
on demand video services along with Hulu and
Amazon Prime. While Netflix’s international
services are just starting to find their roots, it
currently has over 75 million subscribers, 44
million of which are solely in the US. Even though
this popular service has not seen a great decline in
users, the stock has been struggling in recent
months.
It has been established by Netflix that the
company plans on producing more original
content such as feature films, children’s shows and
documentaries, all of which are a large added cost
to the already depleting budget. Also, Netflix is
raising the price of their services because of the
content which is causing a lot of panic with
existing customers. Since the popularity of Netflix
has grown exponentially over the past few years,
new competitors such as Hulu and HBO are
starting to bite at the streaming service market.
While these companies do not yet have the
customer base that Netflix does, they are stealing
potential and existing subscribers.
Two weeks ago, NFLX (Netflix stock)
experienced a lot of selling which resulted in the
stock dropping below its previous August low and
falling more than 35% from the high just one
month before. Causes of such a dramatic fall
include missing the targets for US subscribers in
the last quarter and cash burn in international
markets. Because of their attempts to expand
internationally, Netflix faces great risk from
competition, content misfires and service
interruptions which all play into its stock’s
performance.
According to analysts at Forbes, Netflix is
forecasted to cross 80 million international
subscribers over the next six year period. While six
years may seem like a long wait, during this time
Netflix should able to adopt many consumers in
the newly launched areas with its affordable
prices. Currently however, the international
operations of Netflix are still unprofitable (causing
the stock to fall) but the company has
acknowledged the fact and believes it can stay
strong as expansion continues.
In my opinion, Netflix is fundamentally
sound company with a good business plan. While
NFLX has been showing a bearish trend over the
past few months, the stock potentially offers a
good reward for longer term investor at this point.
(Sources: Forbes, Fortune and Business Insider)
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
February, 2016
RichSahyadri | 4
Apple vs.
FBI
Ojas Amberkar
In December, a mass shooting occurred in
the city of San Bernardino, California. Following this
shooting which killed 14 people, law enforcement
officials, including ones at the FBI, needed access to
the shooter’s data, which was accessible on his
iPhone device. The issue starts here: FBI and other
law enforcement groups needed to figure out how
to get through the encryption on the iPhone, a task
with which Apple is not willing to help. Apple’s
reason is quite valid as well; they know for a fact that
if they open a backdoor for the FBI to access this
data, hackers will definitely find out how to open this
backdoor themselves. Due to this fact, Apple does
not want to give access to the government because
it would pose a threat to everyone else who owns an
Apple device. Apple’s encryption is one of the
world’s best for mobile devices, because it stores all
of the data that the user has on their phone locally,
not allowing it to access any servers at all. But, how
does the encryption work exactly? Encryption is
basically the scrambling all of your data in a certain
pattern, which no one knows, not even Apple. The
encryption they use could take weeks, months, or
even years to crack with conventional computing
methods.
Recently, there have been many
advancements in the research of Quantum
computers. Unlike the binary system that computers
today use which contains two possible states, a
quantum computer stores and processes data that
can have three different values. This small change
has immense implications in highly parallel tasks like
cracking encryption keys. A quantum computer
could reduce the time required to gain access to the
iPhone to a few minutes to a few hours. While there
is much ongoing research in this field, it will be
decades before these computers can be used. Until
then, the government is still dependent on Apple to
unlock the phone themselves.
Obviously, the American government does
not want to back down, being the persistent force it
is. Apple and the FBI will go to court soon to decide
this conflict.. Apple’s defense is pivotal not only for
its own business interests, but really for all of the
consumer electronics market. If Apple is mandated
to give the government the access to the data, it will
not be long before the FBI requires companies to
provide access to the data from all encrypted
devices, from laptops to tablets to Smart TVs. The
decision made in this case will have massive
implications and will serve as a precedent for many
similar cases to come in future years.
(Source for picture: NY Times)
RichSahyadri | 5
February, 2016
CULTURE
Let’s Play
Holi!
Tanvi Verma
Source: Google Images
What
Holi or the “festival of colors” is a popular
Hindu festival commemorated to greet the
spring season through a riot of colors. Casting
off the winter gloom, people step out on the
streets to throw the brightest of gulal (colorful
powder) over each other to mark the
celebration.
Who
Holi brings us close to mythology
through the celebration of various legends
associated with the festival:
Foremost is the legend of Prahlad and
Hiranyakshyap. The legend says there once lived
a devil and powerful king, Hiranyakshyap who
considered himself a god and wanted everybody
to worship him. To his great ire, his son, Prahlad
began to worship, Lord Vishnu. To get rid of his
son, Hiranyakshyap asked his sister, Holika to
enter a blazing fire with Prahlad in her lap, as
she had a boon to enter fire unscathed. Legend
has it that Prahlad was saved for his extreme
devotion for Lord Vishnu while Holika paid a
price for her sinister desire. The tradition of
burning Holika or the 'Holika dahan' comes
mainly from this legend.
Holi also celebrates the legend of Radha
and Krishna. One which describes the extreme
delight Krishna took in applying color on Radha
and other gopis. This prank of Krishna later
became a trend and a part of the Holi festivities.
When
Holi does not happen on a fixed date
each year; it takes place on the day after the full
moon in March. This year it will take place on
March 23 (2016).
Where
The joys of Holi knows no bound.
Appealing to both young and old, this festival is
celebrated across the four corners of India and
around the globe.
Why
The festival of Holi can be regarded as a
celebration of the unity and brotherhood- an
opportunity to overlook differences and have
fun. It has traditionally been celebrated in high
spirit without any distinction of cast, creed,
color, race, sex or status. From lighting the
Holika bonfire, to playing colors with friends and
family, Holi is a wonderful celebration to bring
the community together.
RichSahyadri | 6
February, 2016
SPORTS
2016 World
Cup: India
Preview
Vignesh Mulay
Above: A celebratory photo following India’s victory at
the 2007 ICC World T20 (Source: ESPNCricinfo)
From Eden Gardens to Jawaharlal Nehru
Stadium, from Mumbai to Dehli, and from the
Arabian Sea to the Bay of Bengal, the entire
Indian subcontinent will be jumping for joy as
arguably the most exhilarating format of their
beloved cricket comes to the country. The ICC
World Twenty20 tournament has been a hit
throughout the planet since its 2007 inception,
and this year should prove to be no different.
Here’s a quick-and-easy preview detailing the
specifics of India’s national team.
India
While South Africa and New Zealand
have good chances of winning, India easily
possesses the strongest, excelling in nearly
every aspect of the game. India’s undeniable
talent can be seen in the last two
commanding series victories against Sri Lanka
and Australia, respectively, as well as their pole
position in the international T20 rankings. Not
only do India possess a batting order and
bowling squad as deep as a canyon, their
talent in every position is awe-inspiring, and
honestly intimidating. First and foremost,
Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, and Virat Kohli
together form one of the greatest batting trios
of this generation, capable of smashing
centuries in their sleep. If the three aren’t
enough to ensure a victory, the likes of
Dhawan, Rahane, Pandya, and wicket keeping
Captain Dhoni can be deadly on any given
night. However, the splendor does not stop at
the batsmen, for India’s bowlers are equality
brilliant. Ravichandran Ashwin has absolutely
shredded the batting orders of various teams
(including, most recently, Sri Lanka), while
Ashish Nehra and Harbhajan Singh are morethan-capable partners-in-crime. The only real
issue India faces is the consistency of their
batsmen as the team will severely struggle if
Kohli and company fail to get a solid footing
early on. In general, India is a spectacle to
watch and, bar any unfortunate errors, are
undoubtable favorites to hoist up the cup.
My Prediction
In my honest opinion, New Zealand and
India will reach the T20 final with ease, facing
off in what should be a fiery duel. But, to the
extreme delight of the home crowd, India will
reign supreme as Virat Kohli dominates the
tournament and Mahendra Singh Dhoni
celebrates once more.
February, 2016
SPORTS
RichSahyadri | 7
NBA All-Star
Weekend
Abhit Bhandare
Recap
For the first time in NBA history, the All-Star
game took place in outside of the US, it took
place in Toronto, Canada. There were three
main challenges that took place on Saturday
night: The Taco Bell Skills Challenge, Foot
Locker Three-Point Contest and the Verizon
Slam Dunk.
What Happened
For the second straight year one of the
Golden State Warriors' Splash Brothers walked
off the All-Star Saturday night stage as the
champion of the Foot Locker Three-Point
Contest. But it wasn't defending champion
and NBA three-point king Stephen Curry. This
time it was teammate Klay Thompson taking
home top honors in a competition that, by the
final round, looked like something the
Warriors might do at the end of every practice.
After bringing the Dunk Contest back to
prominence one year ago with a series of
electrifying dunks, Minnesota's Zach LaVine
picked up where he left off, with help from
Orlando's Aaron Gordon. And with the Verizon
Slam Dunk on the line, Zach LaVine went to
the free throw line. Well, almost.
With a through-the-legs dunk from the
free throw line, Zach LaVine earned a score of
50 on the night, making him the 2016 NBA
dunk champ. The 20-year-old LaVine became
the first back-to-back winner since Nate
Robinson in 2009 and 2010. Going against
Magic forward Aaron Gordon in the contest
finals, LaVine and Gordon got locked into a
heavyweight bout where they traded
incredible body blows. After the contest,
LaVine said, "We should share the trophy,
because [Gordon] did some stuff I've never
seen before."
For the first time ever the NBA has
allowed forwards and centers to participate in
the Taco Bell Skills Challenge. You don't get
many upsets at All-Star Weekend, but KarlAnthony Towns winning the 2016 Taco Bell
Skills Challenge was a clear underdog story.
The Rookie of the Year favorite from the
Minnesota Timberwolves represented for the
big men, edging out Celtics guard Isaiah
Thomas by knocking down his third 3-point
attempt in what was a tightly contested final
round. Both players connected on their first
chest pass after dribbling through an obstacle
course, and they made their layups on the
other end of the floor at the same time.
Though Thomas is the guard, Towns has been
the better 3-point shooter this season, and he
knocked down the competition-winning shot
before Thomas could.
(Source: NBA.com)
February, 2016
POLITICS
RichSahyadri | 8
Caution or
Contempt?
Neha Kulkarni
One of the most pressing topics in this
debate has revolved around duties of a
Commander in Chief to protect American
citizens and preserve American values: in
short, national security. Several candidates
have weighed on the issue, rolling out
proposals both detailed and broad, cautionary
and radical. In the recent GOP Debate,
Senator Ted Cruz touched upon the issue,
saying, “We need a president with the
judgment and resolve to keep this country
safe from radical Islamic terrorists.”
the Constitution.” Donald Trump has called for
surveillance of mosques, calling Muslims to be
“a big problem.” The New York Times Editorial
Board writes, “This latest sordid mess to arise
from the G.O.P. nomination contest touches
on bedrock American values, constitutional
principles and American history. It reflects a
pernicious habit among the leaders of the
Republican Party to play with fire by
pandering to an angry, disaffected and heavily
white base by demonizing selected minorities.
Muslims are just the current target.”
Democratic candidates look to further
President Obama’s foreign policy endeavors.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
writes, “As president, defending our values
and keeping us safe will be my top priority.
That includes maintaining a cutting-edge
military, strengthening our alliances,
cultivating new partners, standing up to
aggressors, defeating ISIS, and enforcing the
Iran nuclear agreement.” Clinton went on to
say in a recent debate that, “we need to work
with [Muslim Americans], not demonize
them....” Several Republican candidates,
however, have rebuked President Obama’s
refusal to address what is recognized as
radical Islam. Ben Carson, earlier in the year,
declared on “Meet the Press” that Muslims are
unfit to run for president because a
president’s faith should be “consistent with
Though Republican sentiments and
proposals, including the interest in bringing
back waterboarding, are what liberals view as
discriminatory and cruel, Republicans argue
that this hardened approach is necessary in
current times, even if the demonization of
Muslims is a byproduct. To me, New York
Times said it best when writing, “Closing the
country’s doors to Muslims would buy into Mr.
Carson and Mr. Trump’s vilification and
dishonor the thousands of Muslims who have
joined Irish, Italians, Germans, French, Jews,
Russians, Latinos, Africans and many others in
becoming honorable citizens and perhaps,
one day, president.”
POLITICS
February, 2016
RichSahyadri | 9
Trump and
Sanders
Ishani Pendse
While Trump evidently has many
supporters, some are still wondering what he is
doing as a GOP frontrunner. The answer comes
from a few different reasons. First, the man has
charisma. As a businessman, he is very assertive
and knows how to emotionally connect to his
voters. Next, connecting to the emotional appeal,
his policy stances reflect a fear that is running
through the US of immigrants in particular. Not
only is there mass hysteria about ISIS rivaled only
by the post 9/11 time period for which he is taken
a very active and arguably racist stance but there
is a fear of immigrants “stealing jobs” particularly
in the lower-income, lower-education
demographics which constitute a substantial part
of his support base who have felt the effects of the
rising wage gap and not the effects of the
recovery from the recession. Not only do they
blame immigrants for their economic prospects
but half of GOP voters share the same sentiments
that undocumented immigrants should be
deported. Next, Trump is anti-establishment. This
is particularly important as GOP have been feeling
disenfranchised as they see their party crumbling
both from the obstructionism in Congress
stemming from hyperpolarization and the
Freedom Caucus. The base of the GOP is already
breaking apart seen in the sheer number
candidates. People are having a great deal of
trouble picking one suitable nominee from the
current field and this confusion has been reflected
in the polls, endorsements, and fundraisers, all
indicative of the significant ideological differences
between the constituents themselves.
This anti-establishment sentiment, far from
affecting only the GOP, has also been seen very
clearly within the Democrat party in the form of
Bernie Sanders who is taking the American
political sphere by storm. In the span of months,
he has gone from an unrealistic idea that might
play out well in some other universe to a political
movement that is very real and gaining traction.
What might have been impossible in the near past
has happened: Sanders won New Hampshire by
wide margins, lost in Iowa by a razor-thin
percentage never before seen in the Democratic
primaries/caucuses and lost in Nevada by again
very small margins, his numbers going up by
almost 40 points. The socialist model seen in other
Western countries has been seen as simply
unfeasible by many in America but others see a
single-payer healthcare system or universal access
to college as the potential future product of a lot
of reform and careful analysis headed by Sanders.
Much like Trump, Sanders is tapping into a lot of
anti-establishment sentiment coming from
frustration about what everyone perceives to be
wrong with America: income inequality, racism,
sexism. Rather than following the old model, even
if it is working to address all of these issues, voters
see appeal in the more direct approach taken by
Sanders. Additionally, his movement has been
greatly helped by the fact that there are only two
viable candidates at this point and he is seen as
generally more trustworthy and sincere than the
other one.
ENTERTAINMENT
February, 2016
RichSahyadri | 10
Kesha Loses
Trial Against
the Manhattan
Supreme Court
Jui Paithane
Ke$ha, whose real name is Kesha Rose Sebert, is
known to most as the singer of hits like “Tik Tok”
and “We R Who We R”. What the majority of the
public doesn’t know is that the 28 year old
singer is currently fighting a legal battle for her
freedom from a producer who has allegedly
been sexually and emotionally abusing her since
the age of 18. Kesha filed a lawsuit in 2014
against her producer, Dr. Luke, which goes back
to her as an 18 year old who was coaxed to drop
out of high school by her producer himself. She
signed a recording contract with Dr. Luke in
2005 which made her vulnerable to a man who
allegedly bragged about how he intoxicated and
took advantage of girls. Kesha fell victim to his
abuse on her 18th birthday, when she took pills
she was told were sober pills, when in reality
they were gamma-hydroxybutyrate (the daterape drug). After consuming the pills, all she
could remember was waking up the next
morning in Dr. Luke’s room, fully exposed.
These allegations are only recently coming to
light, even though the much of the supposed
abuse took place years ago, because Dr. Luke
threatened Kesha and her family if she exposed
him. Dr. Luke not only sexually abused Kesha for
many years, but also verbally abused her. He
took repeated strikes at her appearance and
musical talent. Although this isn’t confirmed to
be related to her abuse, Kesha eventually
developed an eating disorder, which she had to
be hospitalized for. After doctors told her that
any contact with Dr. Luke could end up
becoming life threatening, Kesha decided to
finally sue him for his actions. The lawsuit was
filed for sexual assault and battery, sexual
harassment, gender violence, civil harassment,
violation of California’s unfair business laws,
intentional infliction of emotional distress,
neglect infliction of emotional distress, neglect
retention and supervision.
Currently Kesha is under a 6 year contract with
Sony which she has been unable to nullify. Sony
has offered her a different producer to work
with, but she has denied, knowing that Sony
won’t promote her music if she works with
someone else. She has been on a hiatus for a
while, not wanting to produce anything for Dr.
Luke. On February 19, 2016, Kesha went to court
against Dr. Luke in hopes of escaping her
contract with Sony. The court found that
nullifying her contract would go against the
state’s laws. So, Kesha is now bound to her
abusive producer, Dr. Luke, for the next 6 years.
Many celebrities have come to her support,
tweeting about the absurdity that is seen many
times in the US legal system. Lauren Jauregui,
from Fifth Harmony, tweeted: “My heart is heavy
for @KeshaRose today and for every day she
feels unsafe in her escape of music. **** this
legal system #freekesha”. On twitter
“#freekesha” is trending at number one
worldwide, with people showing their support
and sympathy for Kesha.
ENTERTAINMENT
February, 2016
RichSahyadri | 11
Movie
Critique:
Natasamrat
Soham Apte
Mahesh Manjrekar’s
Natasamrat is a 5 star movie.
The superb acting from
Nana Patekar definitely left
many eyes damp. The story
is above the fall the actor
Ganpat Belwiker. He was
mistreated and forgotten by
his loved ones even after
giving them so much. The
underlying theme of the
movie is that, at the end of
the day, you are alone. Even
though that might be a
negative way of looking at
life, it is something everyone
should ponder about.
Natasamrat showed the
audience that filial relations
should not always be trusted
and that betrayal lurks in the
darkness at all time. At the
end of the movie, Ganpat’s
heart finally gives out. Now
it’s for you to decide if this
was a happy or sad ending.
Food
February, 2016
RichSahyadri | 12
Rad Recipes
Archita Kadam, Prachi
Sadekar , and Riddhima
Deshpande
Indian Quinoa and Chickpea Stir Fry: EatHealthyEatHappy.com
What you need:
Chicken Manchurian: Pallavi Sadekar
3 tablespoons of olive oil
Ingredients:
2 teaspoons of chili powder
Boneless chicken cut into pieces 16 oz
1 1⁄2 teaspoons of smoked paprika
Egg 1 large
2 teaspoons of cumin
Corn flour/ corn starch 5 tbspn
2 teaspoons of garam masala
Salt to taste
2 teaspoons red curry powder
Soy sauce 2 tbspn
1⁄4 teaspoons red pepper flakes
pinch of black pepper
1 medium onion, any type, sliced thin
1 red bell pepper, sliced thin
3­4 garlic cloves, chopped
Oil 3 tbsps + to deep fry
Ginger finely chopped 2 inch piece
Garlic finely chopped 8-10 cloves
Green chilies roughly sliced 3-4
1” cube fresh ginger, chopped
Onion sliced 1 medium
1 red or green chile, seeded and sliced (optional)
Chicken stock 2 cups
4 cups cooked quinoa
Green pepper cut into thin strips 1 medium... optional
3 cups cooked chickpeas
Vinegar 2 tablespoons
1.15 oz can diced salt­free tomatoes
4 cups fresh spinach leaves, loosely packed
Spring onion greens finely chopped 2 stalks
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
How to Make It:
How to make it:
1. Mix the egg, 3 tbspn corn flour, salt and 1 tablespoon soy sauce
in a bowl. Add the chicken pieces and mix. Set aside for half an
hour. Mix the remaining corn flour in one cup of water.
1. Heat up the olive oil on medium low heat in a wok or a large
cooking pot. Add spices and simmer for 2­3 minutes (making sure
that they don’t burn; in that case, turn the heat down). Prepare
your onion, peppers, garlic, and ginger
2. Add onion and raise to medium heat. Cook and stir frequently
for about 3 minutes. Add garlic, peppers, and ginger and stir fry for
a minute. Add quinoa and stir fry for another minute.
3. Add chickpeas and stir fry for about 2 minutes. Then, add the
tomatoes and fold in the spinach, stirring frequently for about 2
minutes. Add salt and stir fry for another minute.
2. Heat sufficient oil in a wok and deep fry the marinated chicken
for about 2-3 minutes. Drain on absorbent paper.
3. Heat 3 tbspn oil in a wok, add the ginger and garlic and stir fry
for half a minute. Add the onion and green chilies and continue to
stir fry for about a minute. Stir in the remaining soy sauce, chicken
stock and salt.
4. Bring the mixture to a boil. Stir in the corn flour mixture and
cook until the sauce starts to thicken. Stir continuously.
5. Add fried chicken pieces and green peppers (optional) and bring
to a boil.
6. Stir in vinegar and serve hot, garnished with spring onion greens.
This chicken tastes great with noodles, plain rice, or even by itself
as an appetizer!
ART
February, 2016
RichSahyadri | 13
Right: Ira Kelkar
Left: Vibha
Patil
ART
February, 2016
RichSahyadri | 14
Left: Advika
Punje
Right: Prachi
Sadekar
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