Independence Day celebrations in Naperville, Chicago, with ‘pav bhaji’ and ‘vada pav’

Naperville in Chicago has a large population of Indians and it celebrated Independence Day in an Indian tradition - Mayor Emeritus led the parade and he wore a Rajasthani `pagdi` (turban). And, at the `mela` (fair) that followed the parade, there were Indian fast foods on offer like `pav bhaji` and `vada pav`. The Americans loved these delicacies.
This has been reported in zeenews.india.com dated 19 August 2015.

It was the first India Day for Naperville and an estimated 10,000 spectators joined for a first-time ethnic event in which there was a colorful procession with 16 decorated floats that were sponsored by various community organizations, businesses and restaurants. The procession proceeded on a half mile route.
Participating were a number of dance groups that represented the diverse dance forms and music of India. Spectators lined the route waving Indian and American flags.
The event was organized by the Naperville Indian Community Outreach (NICO) and the parade celebrated the integration of the Indian American community.
Incidentally, Naperville has set up three cricket pitches because most Indians here work in IT jobs or in the medical profession in the suburbs of Chicago and have selected Naperville since it has better schooling facilities.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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Do not pamper your kids with gifts, with money or with gadgets

A study carried out by researchers of University of Missouri and University of Illinois at Chicago have concluded that pampering your kids with a gadget or by giving them money when they perform well at school is not a good habit. This has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 6 March 2015.
The study has revealed that such actions could be detrimental to their development, and because of such gifts, the kids would be more materialistic when they grow up and become adults. The conclusion of the study is that those who had been rewarded and spoiled as children were more likely to think possessions define who we are.
The study has been published in the Journal of Consumer Research and was conducted by researchers Dr Marsha Richins (University of Missouri) and Dr Lan Nguyen Chaplin (University of Illinois at Chicago).
For the study the authors had surveyed a total of 701 adults to measure the long-term impact of material parenting. These individuals were asked to describe their current life situation and values, and also on a wide variety of childhood circumstances, their relationship with their parents, and the rewards and punishments they received during childhood.
The results indicated that adults who had received more material rewards and punishments as children were usually more likely than others to use those possessions to define and express who they are and their identity. In the opinion of the authors, rewarding children for their achievements can, at times, backfire.