* Nazneen Spliedt, President of Zoroastrian Association of Northern California and former President of the Society for Asian Art
* Rati Forbes
* F.D. Alpaiwalla
* Alpaiwalla Family
* Alpaiwalla Museum, Mumbai, India
were mentioned in:
India West, March 2,2012
“Asian Art Museum Acquires Rare Zoroastrian Bowl” by Sunita Sohrabji
“San Francisco, Calif. – One of the Asian Art Museum’s newest acquisitions is a solid-silver muktad bowl, a gift from the Zoroastrian Association of Northern California and several private donors.
The rare 5-lb. bowl, circa 1890, depicts scenes from Zoroastrian mythology, including an image of Darius standing with his foot on a defeated Gautama. The muktad bowl was commissioned by the Alpaiwalla family of Mumbai, and created by Burmese silversmiths………
F.D. Alpaiwalla, a gold bullion dealer, also commissioned a special vase from the same craftsmen for his father-in-law; the vase is housed at the Alpaiwalla Museum in Mumbai.
The Asian Art Museum received the bowl in 2010 and will house the piece as part of its permanent collection. It is the only Zarathushti-related artifact in the museum, Nazneen Spliedt, former president of the Society for Asian Art, told India-West.
Other donors for the acquisition of the bowl included Rati Forbes, Betty N. Alberts, and members of the board of the Society for Asian Art, in honor of Spliedt.
* Dr. Ray R. Irani, Executive Chairman, Occidental Petroleum Corp., Los Angeles
mentioned in India West, March 9, 2012
“National Academy of Engineering Elects 66 New Members”, by a Staff Reporter
Washington, D.C. – The National Academy of Engineering recently announced that it has elected 66 new members, seven of them Indian Americans ……..
Election to the NAE is among the highest professional distinctions accorded to an engineer. Academy membership honors those who have made outstanding contributions to “engineering research, practice, or education, including where appropriate, significant contributions to the engineering literature,” and to the “pioneering of new and developing fields of technology ……”
The newly elected Indian American members include ………. Dr. Ray R. Irani, executive chairman, Occidental Petroleum Corp., Los Angeles, for leadership in the petrochemical industry and processes for applications of particulate systems…….. ”
* Naushad Contractor, President and Joint Venture Chief, Movida Corp.
mentioned in India West, March 9,2012 Business Briefs
“HDFC Offers Mobile Services
Movida, a mobile payments joint venture backed by Visa and Monitise, has signed a deal with India’s HDFC
Bank to provide mobile payment services……Movida’s president and joint venture chief Naushad Contractor
said the service is “designed for Indians. As we rollout the service to other banks more Indians (are) able to
benefit from mobile payments. This technology will be a game changer the way the iPhone was for mobile
phones.”