Two Indo-Canadians in the new Canadian Cabinet

Bal Gosal taking oath

Two Indians - Tim Uppal from Alberta and Bal Gosal from Ontario, who were elected to the House of Commons early, have been included in the new Canadian Cabinet by Prime Minister Stephen Harper whose Conservative Party was returned to power with a majority in the May 2 elections.

Tim Uppal being sworn in

Tim Uppal, the first-ever turbaned Sikh to become a Federal Minister in a foreign country, has been made Minister of State for Democratic Reforms, while Gosal is the new Minister of State for Sports.

Uppal was elected for the second time from Edmonton-Sherwood, and earlier served on the standing committees for Health, Citizenship and Immigration. He also worked as senior adviser with the Conservative Party of Canada.

Bal Gosal is a first-time MP from the Toronto constituency of Bramalea-Gore- Malton. A Sikh from Mukundpur village near Jalandhar, 50-year-old Gosal, who is an insurance broker by profession, defeated Sikh talwart and six-time MP Gurbax Malhi.

Vikas Kohli of FatLabs wins a MARTY, his 3rd Award in 2 months

May is another great month for composer & music producer Vikas Kohli with three artists he's produced being nominated in three different categories at this years Toronto Independent Music Awards (TIMA).

This is on the heels of two films he's composed for winning awards at the 43rd Houston International Film Festival and to celebrate, FatLabs is offering free downloads of songs from these artists.

"It's amazing that such different artists I've worked with are all being recognized at an awards show like the TIMAs," says composer and music producer Vikas Kohli of FatLabs. He adds, "It says something about Toronto and Canada when these artists not only represent three distinct musical genres, but represent cultures from around the world. What can I say? Immigrants and Goths kick-ass!" Man The Destroyer is nominated in the Best Metal category. Originally from LA, the band relocated to Toronto and consists of PJ who hails from Persia, Mick from Australia, Don from Mexico, Oleg from the Ukraine, and Matt from Scotland. The band recorded their debut self-titled album with Vikas Kohli at FatLabs and is currently touring in support of the album.

The Scarlet Fever is a glam rock band nominated in the Best Indie Rock category. With a sound reminiscent of Roxy Music and David Bowie and a stage show reminiscent of Iggy Pop, the band (Jay, Rob, Tyler, Brad and Chris) has recorded three CDs with Vikas Kohli at FatLabs. Earlier this month, the band played the NXNE (North by Northeast) music festival.

Prita Chhabra is a South-Asian singer nominated in the Best Female-Fronted category. She has opened up for #1 Billboard artist Jay Sean at the Hershey Centre in Toronto, sung the national anthem at Parliament Hill for key Canadian dignitaries and recently collaborated on a remix of Kohli's Hindi pop song Dil Yeh.

Vikas originally produced Dil Yeh for the Canadian Film Centre film Shanti Baba Ram & The Dancers Of Hope, which recently won a Bronze Remi at the 43rd Worldfest Houston International Film Festival in 2010. He also scored the music for the About Time Productions film I Do. Do I, which won a Gold Remi at the 43rd Worldfest Houston International Film Festival in 2010.

Now a sought-after music producer, Kohli is well versed in music across a variety of genres from punk, jazz, and hip-hop, to country, metal, and Bollywood pop. Kohli has been profiled on CBC, The Globe & Mail, The Toronto Star, The Hindustan Times, MSN, AOL, Yahoo, Zee News and is known internationally for his extensive repertoire, and his expertise at fusing musical genres. His accolades include: Producing multi-million album selling Bhangra artist Mika Singh; Producing The Responsibles' punk album The FatLabs Sessions, which charted in the top 20 across Canada; Co-writing and producing the song Did You Think by Jennifer Abadesso, which charted in Luxembourg, Portugal and hit #1 in Paris, France. and collaborations with Cappadonna (Wu-Tang Clan), Moka Only, Justin Nozuka and Apache Indian. Born in Nepean (Ottawa), Kohli started playing guitar and studying painting at fine arts school. Kohli received his Honors Degree in Mathematics & Philosophy from the University of Toronto, his MBA from the Schulich School of Business and his CFA. Kohli now lives in Mississauga, Canada where he runs FatLabs.

Top Indo-Canadian honcho is now a lieutenant colonel

Hari Panday, who launched ICICI Bank in Canada eight years ago and currently heads PanVest Capital Corporation, has joined the Canadian armed forces as an honorary lieutenant colonel. A known Indo-Canadian face in corporate Canada, Kanpur-born Panday's success is a proverbial rags to riches story. Panday, who has already undergone tough training with Canadian armed forces as part of his new role, arrived in Canada in 1975 with just $5 in his pocket. Pandey's patriotic fervor came to the fore when he witnessed the Canadians who had been deployed in Afghanistan return home in body bags. "I felt the pain of Canadians lining up to welcome their heroes. I felt we visible minorities should stand shoulder to shoulder with our Canadian brothers and sisters to honor these brave men and women. I just wanted to do something for our military men and women," he told news reporters. "First, I got involved in regimental support group and got to know the army's work...that's how my involvement with the military began. Basically, I wanted to be seen with these brave people and know their sacrifices."

He is now undertaking many initiatives for rehabilitating retired and disabled Canadian soldiers and to help children of those who had died in Afghanistan. "We are mounting an Indo-Canadian initiative to establish scholarships to help children of soldiers who died serving Canada. We are also creating a venture capital fund for returning and retired soldiers to help restart their life," he said. Right now, I am helping three former soldiers find employment. Since we Indo-Canadians have not yet acted as sons and daughters of soil, I am undertaking these things for our soldiers," he added.

- [BY R. PADMANABHAN]