Republic Day celebrations and the Makarsankrant festival have barely been wrapped up and we already have a whole lot more upcoming events. Such as the India Festivals in Gainesville, Melbourne and West Palm Beach, as well as the festival of Holi.

This month, we bring you an exclusive interview with the talented novelist Indu Sundaresan, who shows tremendous promise in novels that are set back in centuries or decades as in the case of her latest �The Splendor of Silence.� Congrats to Tampa�s famous philanthropist-couple Drs. Kiran and Pallavi Patel for being honored at Kensington Place (story, page 4).

And if you can read Marathi, do pick up �Abhiruchi,� an annual magazine being produced by Tampa Bay area residents (story, page 5). That reminds us of the latest issue of �The Indian American� magazine. It�s out and makes for an interesting read (story, page 8).

As always, e-mail us information about happenings in your Florida community or any honors received by your children at [email protected] by the 20th of each month.

We welcome your comments or suggestions. To send us information about events in your town, e-mail [email protected] by the 20th of each month.

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