February 2012 Northern California Edition

Slacktivism!

Fromthishousetothathouse

Who Wrecked My Yoga?

IndiaCurrents Celebrating 25 Years of Excellence

february 2012 • vol. 25 , no .10 • www.indiacurrents.com

og acy rr

The Ethics of Su

India is fast becoming the world destination for reproductive tourism. With this dubious distinction come a host of philosophical quandaries, legal pitfalls, and ethical concerns.

The Myth of the Secular State When Salman Rushdie was effectively prevented from attending the recent Jaipur Literary Festival because of threats from unspecified “underworld” elements, writer Praveen Swami lamented that the event would be marked as a “milestone that marked the slow motion disintegration of India’s secular state.”

But India’s Nehruvian secularism has always taken the form of appeasement, not eschewal, of all religions—witness the state’s monetary and infrastructural support for the massive gatherings of both the Kumbh Mela and Haj pilgrims. Religious freedom in India has a thin veneer which tends to crack when tested; after all, this is the country that banned Joseph Lelyveld’s book on Gandhi and Rushdie’s Satanic Verses, sight unseen. Secularism gets diluted by political cowardice coupled with a real concern for law and order, since religious fundamentalists have effectively used mob hysteria as a (often literal) cudgel to influence politics and suppress dissent. The Rushdie embargo can easily be ascribed to the upcoming elections around the country.

Political calculations tend to interfere with the ideal of secularism because religion is such a useful tool to rally supporters around. The United States, with its sturdy protections for free speech, is often held up as an exemplar of the secular state. The founders of this country took care to keep the words “God”

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and “Creator” out of the Constitution. But two centuries later, political candidates still need to pass an unspoken test of faith and, in the case of one party, disavow science in favor of religious beliefs to be considered electable.

Today religion is attempting encroachment on that most secular of institutions, the public education system, with calls for school prayers, classes in religious studies, and the inclusion of creationism/intelligent design as just another theory of evolution.

Some of the devolution in America can be attributed to globalization, which brings with it social and economic upheaval, rich fertilizers for religious orthodoxy and resistance.

But when that orthodoxy is successful in infiltrating government, when faith steps out of the personal and into the political sphere, it can have unhappy consequences, like Kansas Governor Beshear’s $50 million investment in a Bible-themed amusement park that is offset by cuts to higher education, and initiatives across several states to promote abstinence education and illegalize abortion. In this election year it would be good to remember that the depth of a candidate’s religious beliefs is not a measure of competence; it is cause for alarm.

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2 • india currents • february 2012

Northern California Edition

The Ethics of Surrogacy India is fast becoming the world destination for reproductive tourism. With this dubious distinction come a host of philosophical, legal, and ethical concerns.

By Raywat Deonandan

Refresh your spirit in “God’s Own Country”

By Jayanti Chandran Ram

12

51

PERSPECTIVES

LIFESTYLE

1 EDITORIAL: The myth of a secular state. By Vidya Pradhan

58 RECIPES: From french fries to pad thai. By Praba Iyer

6 VOICES

68 RELATIONSHIP DIVA: Too busy to date.

By Jasbina Ahluwalia

7 FORUM: Should India adopt the presidential system? Two opinions. By Rameysh Ramdas and Mani Subramani

110 THE HEALTHY LIFE: Nasal cycle and swara yoga.

By Peeyush Bhargava

8

ELECTIONS 2012: Slacktivism! By Arpit Mehta

121 DEAR DOCTOR: Coping with loss. By Alzak Amlani

10

BUSINESS: U.S. immigration policy needs to be reformed.

By Vivek Wadhwa

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

20

TRIBUTE: Farewell to Frank Rogers, who passed away in December 2011. By Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan

24

COMMENTARY: Who wrecked my yoga? By Sandip Roy

30

25th ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL:

Fromthishousetothathouse. By Rajesh C. Oza

34

LEGAL:The prenuptial agreement. By Priyanka Wolan

44

YOUTH:Memories of Patti. By Ramya Kaushik

46 88

17

HISTORY: Kuramdevi, the brave queen. By Frank Rogers.

36

BOOKS: Review of Karma and The Two Krishnas.

Interview with Ghalib Shiraz Dhalla. By Jeanne Fredriksen and Geetika Pathania Jain

40

FICTION: Koan. By Swarnalatha Rangarajan. Katha finalist.

56

PEOPLE: A profile of filmmaker Vandana Sood.

By Anjum Kulkarni

TAX TALK: Getting an early start on the 2011 tax returns.

By Khorshed Alam

76

MUSIC: Review of Sangria. Profile of Shweta Subram.

By Priya Das

DESI VOICES: Mom's hands-on sari lessons.

By Priyanka Srinivasa

78

FILMS: Review of Players. Desi audio/video on tap.

By Aniruddh Chawda

102 REFLECTIONS: Finding a place for the home mandir.

By Sonia Kumar

144 THE LAST WORD BY SARITA SARVATE: A Hindu mecca? Or Disneyland?

DEPARTMENTS 32 Ask a Lawyer 33 Visa Dates 138 Uncubed

100 SPIRITUAL EXCERPT: Inner Pilgrimage: Ten Days to Mindful Me by Raji Lukkoor.

135 Q&A: Novelist Chetan Gupta. By Suchi Sargam

WHAT’S CURRENT 90 Cultural Calendar 103 Spiritual Calendar 126 Classifieds india currents • february 2012 • 3

4 • india currents • february 2012

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india currents • february 2012 • 5

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voices

An Unfinished Journey

Sarita Sarvate’s lengthy narrative of her journey of identity (From East Asian to South Asian, Dec. ’11-Jan. ’12) convinces me of just one thing: the journey continues because her quest for identity is not resolved yet.

Her experiences as a new arrival at an American campus are probably interesting to a few close friends and family but definitely not unique. Hundreds of students from India arrive every semester into this vast country and experience similar situations and scenarios. Pressures of every type, from social, peer, economic, familial and academic are felt. Most of the newcomers cope with the situation and succeed. Early arrivals like us can vividly recall pleasant and not so pleasant situations and our own efforts in trying to be mentors.

Sarita writes of a transition of American attitude towards Indian Americans in particular and Indians in general. She seeks credit for herself for having paved the way for this change. This is a tall claim. The more generally accepted reason for this change is that Indian technologists, especially computer technologists, proved themselves to be savvy professionals in the 80s and 90s. The latter decade, leading up to Y2K, was very significant, indeed, in bringing about this transition.

The best reference I can provide for this period and effort is a bestseller written by Michael Lewis titled The New New Thing (1999). Two real, working computer professionals are mentioned there: Kittu and Pawan, both IIT graduates. These two are typical of the many who helped bring about the transition in attitude towards India and Indians.

The derivative benefits accruing from this are too numerous to mention. Among these are: the call center industry in India, rise of major tech corporations like TCS, Infosys, and others, the recognition and appreciation of Indian music and other cultural phenomena like yoga, and a recognition of corporate management skills from the graduates of management institutes in India.

In conclusion, it is more likely that early arrivals like Sarita and several thousands more have been cultural ambassadors of India in the new country to tell friends, neighbors, and colleagues of an India beyond gypsies, mystics, snake charmers, and maharajas. As for Sarita’s writing style, it is my considered view that her heart is not in it but her ego is.

The oft quoted, oxymoronic adage “I am a very humble person, but I am very proud of my humility” aptly characterizes her persona.

I wish her well.

P. Mahadevan, Fullerton CA

6 • india currents • february 2012

India has Much to Offer

I read this story (From East Asian to South Asian, Dec. ’11-Jan. ’12) with great interest as almost a mirror reflection of my own. Born in middle class America, educated at Berkeley during the Free Speech and AntiWar protests, a medical student at Hawaii before dropping out traveling to Pondicherry in search of spiritual enlightenment, a frequent traveler who became a management consultant, blending a strange mix of two cultures into a new formula, trying always to reconcile truth between East and West, past and future, the best of two world views and cultures, struggling to give up old conditionings, embarrassed to openly embrace new values I had come to cherish.

Among the many answers and aids I

Elections 2012 Are you a South Asian involved in American politics? India Currents is planning a series of articles leading up to the Presidential elections in 2012. We are looking for varied viewpoints—from the grassroots organizer to the seasoned campaigner. To share your experiences and perspectives, get in touch with us at editor@indiacurrents.com with the subject line “Elections 2012.”

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Write India Currents Letters, 1885 Lundy Ave. Suite 220, San Jose 95131 or email letters@indiacurrents.com.

have had, one of the most powerful has been Sri Aurobindo’s book Renaissance in Indian Culture. There I not only came to understand India more profoundly than ever before, but also the contributions of European and Asian cultures and the essential place of India in the world’s future—not to spread the Vedas, Upanishads, chanting mantras and burning

incense—but a deeper and more all-embracing affirmation of humanity’s place in the Infinite.

Reading it I immediately felt this is a book every Indian should read to find not only their true roots but also their destiny. Now I feel it is a book every American should read too.

Garry Jacobs, online Sarita Sarvate’s article on the filthiness of toilets in India generated quite a few comments. To follow the entire conversation, check the article out online at http://indiacurrents.com.

Thank You for Speaking Up

My wife Lata and I have been, for years, one of Sarita’s fans, and enjoy reading her commentaries in India Currents. Her recent article, (Naipaul Was Right, Dec. ’11-Jan. ’12) was spot on! Our thoughts completely resonate with hers, and we dread going to India for the same reasons. Just like her, we have traveled all over the world and there is no other country, however poor, as filthy as India. It breaks my heart to say this, but it is the truth.

Shiva Ubhayakar, via email

A Different Kind of Filth

Feces is one of the things that Naipaul associates with the post Independent India, but what he deplores more is not simply an inability to be outraged by the surrounding filth, but the intellectual vacuity in the so-called elite class (Naipaul Was Right, Dec. ’11-Jan.’12). Indian elites then and now don’t quite care for India— they let the filth pile up while they themselves revel in opportunities. That’s what cripples India according to Naipaul—lack of the empowered classes empathy for their nation.

The intellectual and ethical feces pile up as well.

Sharmila Mukherjee, online

Tough to be in the Model Minority

Growing up in a so called “priviliged” South Asian American community in the East Coast was and is not a bed of roses (Not in the Model Minority Dec. ’11-Jan. ’12).

I have the same level of education and success as many of these upwardly mobile business-savvy desis and find myself unable to stomach or relate to their shallowness and materialism. Instead, I have moved on and am forging my own path and striving to take the best aspects of Indian and American culture. I am truly grateful for the opportunities I have been given, but always maintain my humility and give back something to my respective communities through volunteering for good causes.

Leena, online

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forum

Should India Adopt The Presidential System?

Rameysh Ramdas

Mani Subramani

Yes, a U.S.-style presidential system will serve India better today.

No, the American system has too many problems to be imported into India.

believe it is time for the world’s biggest democracy to take a page out of the oldest democracy—for India to adopt a U.S-style presidential system, with the parliament acting as do the American Senate and House.

India was born as a sovereign nation in 1947 after an unprecedented non-violent freedom struggle and liberation from the British.

India benefitted from adopting many British traditions—their system of parliamentary democracy, the English language, the legal and court system, to name a few.

Parliamentary democracy served India well when there were leaders of national stature and credibility. However, since Indira Gandhi and, to some extent, Rajiv Gandhi, we have not seen a national leader emerge as the Prime Minister who can attract the support and earn the respect of voters from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. Instead, India has had successive coalition governments with talented people such as Manmohan Singh hampered by the whims and antics of powerful regional politicians who use their support to the Government as a bargaining chip to further their narrow political ends while never providing the sustained support to any elected government to serve out its term. A simple noconfidence motion has been used many times in the last two decades to bring down the elected government.

These coalition governments, formed with support of political parties with no common ideology, allow fringe parties to hold the government and the nation to ransom, with the resulting paralysis of governance.

Besides promoting a national sense and purpose, with the assurance of stability and the promise of being able to govern an entire term, the presidential system will also allow and encourage talented achievers in academia or the private sector to step into the public arena. Can you imagine the quality of governance and the possibilities that India can achieve if an eminent person like the former Infosys Chairman Narayana Murthy or the former (appointed) President Abdul Kalam was a directly elected President of India? Unfettered by party politics or the need to horse trade for majority in parliament, someone like them can chart a progressive course for success in both social and economic spheres.

Requiring a presidential aspirant to appeal to over 700 million registered India voters will force the candidate to understand, relate to, and propose solutions that will work across the nation with sensitivities to the regional, demographic, language, and cultural differences.

A directly elected President in India, along with a Senate and House that act as checks to power, will bring greater stability of governance, attract eminent talent into public service, enhance economic and social progress, promote national integration, and accelerate India toward being the economic powerhouse of the world.n

he United States has a presidential system where the chief executive is a directly elected representative of the people. So are members of congress. This gives rise to an inherent conflict for legitimacy. The most recent demonstration of this was seen last summer in the fight over raising the debt ceiling. Currently with the executive and legislative branches belonging to two ideologically different political parties, government has pretty much come to a grinding halt. India has risen to economic prominence in the past two decades while being under the parliamentary system. It is a system that has worked for a majority of the countries around the globe and deserves to be preserved.

If the argument is that there should be one chief executive who can represent all of the people of India, it is worth considering if this is possible with the country’s diverse electorate. Can a single person represent the interest of all citizens? This seems to be a tough task even in United States where there is just one official language.

One of the problems with the presidential system is that the President is often credited with too much influence on the success or failure of the economy. What voters tend to forget is that tax, regulatory, and trade policies are not the main drivers of economic prosperity. Economic upturns and downturns are cyclical and depend on the actions of the Federal Reserve and the global dynamics of a world that is getting increasingly flat. Voters invest the office of the presidency with often superhuman powers, leading to widespread disappointment with even the most well-intentioned leader.

The presidential system is supposed to be lead to stable governance. But we’ve seen in the United States that 24-hr news cycle makes presidential elections a gladiatorial contest in which campaigning for the next elections begins as soon as the first one is over. Fundraising needs mean that even when elected, the President has to remain in campaign mode, tailoring his words and public actions to remain electable for the second term.

A key component of a functioning democracy is having a well informed electorate. Recent data would suggest that this is easier said than done. Consider the 2008 election where there was a democratic “tidal wave.” This was immediately succeeded by a Tea Party takeover in 2010 where the darlings in the previous cycle became the bums who needed to be thrown out. Polling of the American electorate often indicates a very low congressional approval rating while a vast majority of congress gets re-elected every election cycle. This suggests that the governing system in the United States has led to a whimsical electorate and a dysfunctional government. There are many fixes for this such as campaign reform, eliminating the filibuster rule, congressional term limits and so on. Before we fix these problems in United States, let us not tinker with the Indian parliamentary system.n

I

The presidential system will encourage talented achievers in academia or the private sector to step into the public arena.

Rameysh Ramdas, an SF Bay Area professional, writes as a hobby.

T

The governing system in the United States has led to a whimsical electorate and a dysfunctional government.

Mani Subramani works in the semi-conductor industry in Silicon Valley. india currents • february 2012 • 7

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elections 2012

Arpit Mehta

Slack-tivism!

Youth, social media, and getting involved

I

n the last decade, the rise of the World Wide Web as one of the premier modes of information dispersion has changed the landscape of politics rather dramatically. On the one hand, it has greatly increased awareness for the individual by delivering content right to one’s personal device, but on the other, it has isolated the individual, making it harder to have civic (and civil) discourse.

One of the best ways to see this is to observe the effects of the web and social media in the presidential elections of 2004 and 2008.

As a student at U.C. Berkeley in 2004, my first year voting in the presidential elections, I was given a tremendous opportunity to observe the participation of young people in the democratic process. Bombarded with campaign posters and student speeches, it was impossible to make it past Sproul Plaza without being more informed than I was a mere 10 minutes ago. In the months leading up to the elections the tension was palpable. Foreign policy was the main focus, so topics such as the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and the Patriot Act were the biggest points of contention on campus. I heard both sides of the arguments, something that was done somewhat decently.

My political beliefs, being in the minority of the campus, warranted some hostility, but it wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle. The students at Berkeley were not satisfied with the outcome of the election but normalcy, so to speak, returned.

When 2006 came around, I’d already left Berkeley, but in those intervening couple of years, social networking was gaining popularity as well as functionality. Myspace and Facebook had become places for political discussion and awareness. Mid-term elections don’t often draw crowds as big as the presidential elections, but there was a rising number of young people being drawn into the conversation, at least. The Democrats won the House and Senate that year, and were preparing for their White House victory in 2008. As the presidential elections approached, social networking was a big asset for the Democratic Party. Barack Obama’s campaign relied heavily on Facebook and then-budding Twitter to get the message of hope and change out to the masses, mostly consisting of young people. The iconic poster done by artist Shepard Fairey was seen everywhere, especially as the profile photos of Obama supporters. The intent of the Obama campaign in utilizing these new forms of media was being quickly 8 • india currents • february 2012

realized.

Unfortunately, the same outlets that were making new inroads into a crucial demographic had a big downside to them: cutting off human interaction and decency gave way to vitriolic rhetoric. As someone who greatly values political discourse, I engaged in conversations on Facebook, which was a very interesting experience. What started as a discussion often ended in name-calling and insults. Very few people were immune to this effect, so much so that I was “punished” for disagreeing with certain views by being “unfriended.” Sadly, this happened more than once. It wasn’t until I started reading Neil Postman’s insightful book, Amusing Ourselves to Death, that I started piecing these things together.

Postman, speaking of telegraphs, wrote: “But the telegraph demands that we burn its contents. The value of telegraphy is undermined by applying the tests of permanence, continuity, or coherence. The telegraph is suited only to flashing of messages, each to be quickly replaced by a more up-to-date message. Facts push other facts into and then out of consciousness at speeds that neither permit nor require evaluation.” This couldn’t be more pertinent to the problem at hand.

Social media, now more than ever, have created a culture of “temporary”—temporary thoughts, temporary ideas, even temporary activism. The instant nature of Facebook and Twitter has led to an even greater deterioration in discourse than the kind Postman wrote about in 1985. It has alienated people more and more, and made chances for any reasonable discourse nearly impossible. However, one would be remiss if one didn’t consider the advantages of these tools.

We’ve already discussed the availability of information through social media, but the metrics to judge the effectiveness of these tools lie in census data from the last two elections. In 2004, of the 27 million voting-age adults between the ages of 18 and 24 in the United States, 14 million registered, and 11 million voted. And in 2008, of the 28 million in that age group, 15 million registered and 12 million voted. The percentages are too close to truly distinguish the effects of social media, but the real tragedy is that despite the increase in voters, less than 50 percent of people in the 18-24 age demographic are voting. Even though social media promotes awareness and information, half the people

Arpit Mehta

who are being reached by these tools appear to be apathetic about their involvement in the democratic process. Is social media to blame for this? Not necessarily.

Temporary activism, as I’d previously listed, better-known as slack-tivism, has grown over the last couple years. People claiming to care about one issue or another will post chain-status-updates on their walls, or, “like” the Obama hope poster, change their picture to show their alliances, but fail to follow through at the end of the day. This isn’t a problem that social media created, but it is a symptom of the temporary mentality. Young people still have a long way to go in realizing that a status update doesn’t change much.

This is something Neil Postman addressed back in 1985: “What steps do you plan to take to reduce the conflict in the Middle East? Or the rates of inflation, crime, and unemployment? ... I shall take the liberty of answering for you: You plan to do nothing about them.

You may, of course, cast a ballot for someone who claims to have some plans, as well as the power to act. But this you can do only once every two or four years by giving one hour of your time, hardly a satisfying means of expressing the broad range of opinions you hold.”

While social media has done quite a bit to create general awareness, and the web has come a long way in delivering information, the problem we seem to face is something that isn’t easily fixable. People need to realize the civic responsibilities they have as citizens of this country, their state, as well as their locality. Simply claiming allegiances won’t make a difference, nor will pledging to vote for a candidate of their liking. What is needed is civic engagement on the very issues they care about. And that is where social media can and has made a difference: People have the ability to connect with other like-minded individuals to see what they can accomplish.

This is where young people must start, and I believe this is where we’ll see real change in this country.n Arpit Mehta is a graphic designer and photographer based in California with an interest in politics and entrepreneurship. He hopes to be directly involved in the political system one day.

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business

Vivek Wadhwa

Fix U.S. Immigration Policy!

The United States loses a critical component of job creation when immigration policy does not allow highly educated foreigners to stay and foster startups

O

lav Bergheim called the noted ophthalmologist Richard Hill to learn about treatment options for a young relative diagnosed with glaucoma. Glaucoma treatments often entail invasive surgeries that result in considerable discomfort. Hill mentioned to Bergheim, a venture capitalist focused on the health care sector, an idea for a better way to treat glaucoma with something called a trabecular micro-bypass stent. Bergheim liked the idea and contacted Mory Gharib, a professor at the California Institute of Technology. The trio formed a company, Glaukos Corp., and developed the first prototype product in a month. Within a year, surgeons had implanted the first micro-bypass stent on a human patient.

Bergheim was born in Norway. Richard Hill was born in the United States. Mory Gharib was born in Iran. Their story is not surprising. Increasing bodies of evidence show that skilled immigrants are fueling technological innovation and job growth in America. A study released last week by Stuart Anderson of the National Foundation for American Policy found that immigrants were on the founding leadership teams of 24 of the top 50 privately held, venture-backed companies in the U.S. The highest percentage of these immigrant founders came from India. What’s more, Anderson found that in 76 percent of these companies, immigrants held key positions in engineering, technology, or management.

In another study released in December 2011, Madeleine Zavodny, an economics professor at Agnes Scott College, found that foreign-born adults with advanced science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) degrees were strong net generators of jobs for native-born American workers. Zavodny found that 100 foreign-born workers with advanced STEM degrees generated 262 jobs for native-born workers, on average. The study, sponsored by the American Enterprise Institute and the Partnership for a New American Economy, echoes earlier research by Professor AnnaLee Saxenian of the UC Berkeley, that showed that Chinese and Indian engineers managed 24 percent of the technology businesses started in Silicon Valley from 1980 to 1998. My own research found that in a quarter of the U.S. engineering and technology companies founded from 1995 to 2005,

10 • india currents • february 2012

the chief executive or lead technologist was foreign-born. In Silicon Valley, the percentage of immigrant-founded startups was much higher—52 percent.

Bipartisan Support

So the evidence is now overwhelming that foreign-born entrepreneurs and skilled knowledge workers start companies and create jobs. Fortunately, it finally appears that the politicians in Washington, D.C., are listening and starting to understand that if job creation is a national priority, creating a smarter, more flexible immigration policy becomes an obvious task.

Both Democratic and Republican legislators in Congress are supporting a variety of bills now taking shape that would make it easier for foreigners with STEM degrees to remain in the U.S. The BRAIN (Bringing and Retaining Accomplished Innovators for the Nation) Act will provide flexibility in employment. Greater flexibility is essential because current immigration law does not allow nonresident workers here on H1-B or other types of work visas to start their own companies and remain in the United States.The BRAIN Act joins the Startup Visa Act, which has been gaining attention in Washington and would award work visas to founders of companies.

Over the years I’ve spoken with hundreds of young entrepreneurs who have expressed amazement at the barely concealed hostility they encountered from the U.S. government and its immigration policies. This was all the more astonishing because other countries feverishly court these entrepreneurs.

Foreign-born adults with advanced science, technology, engineering, and math degrees are strong net generators of jobs for nativeborn American workers.

The government of Chile provides a generous stipend, free office space, and funds to hire employees. The government of Singapore matches venture capital backing at a rate of 4 to 1, making it far easier for companies to survive the early period of revenue starvation. In Canada, the government aggressively recruits STEM degree holders and provides subsidies to startups.

Difficult Visas

Yet the U.S. government, with its currently backward immigration policy, appears bent on job destruction. Take the case of Chia-Pin Chang, the chief technology officer and founder of OptoBioSense. He holds a Ph.D. in computer engineering from George Washington University and has developed an innovative technology to measure the presence of uric acid quickly in a person’s body, a critical health indicator. Chang is having difficulty obtaining the proper visa clearances to remain in the United States and may need to move back to his native Taiwan.

This is one issue that economists on the left, right, and center agree on. Allowing talented immigrants to work and start companies in the United States more easily is the closest thing to an economic free lunch we will ever get. And it is important to note that this debate is happening against the noisy background of a presidential election in which job creation is the primary topic of discussion.

Yes, I understand that immigration reform is a politically charged topic. But the kind of immigration reform I am advocating is an obvious win for everyone involved. Smart, innovative people create companies and jobs.

Maximizing the number of smart, innovative people who live in your country is the easiest way to ensure future economic growth. And creating an environment in which a venture capitalist from Norway, an engineer from Iran, and a physician from the U.S. can quickly and easily conceive and launch a company that brings an innovative product to market in less than a year is something that benefits the entire nation.n Vivek Wadhwa is an entrepreneur turned academic. You can follow him on Twitter at @ vwadhwa and find his research at www.wadhwa.com.

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india currents • february 2012 • 11

The Ethics of Surrogacy

By Raywat Deonandan

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here’s a photo I often show my audience before starting my lectures on “reproductive tourism.” It’s from a marketing brochure of the Akanksha infertility clinic in Anand, India, and features its medical director, Nayna Patel, standing regally amongst a group of seated women, each with her face strategically concealed. These women are commercial surrogate mothers, whose wombs are for rent to wealthy Indians and foreigners alike.

Their motivations are largely a mystery, but most believe it is for the money. A surrogate from another clinic had once told a journalist that, with a $4,000 debt and an alcoholic husband, she had first considered selling a kidney, but decided that the $7,000 surrogacy fee was the better option. Another surrogate, a 29-year-old widow with a young son, was six months pregnant with a child for an American couple when she told a BBC reporter that her motivation was a need to pay for son’s education and shelter. A few have cited a moral duty to alleviate the “curse” of infertility from the women who purchase their services.

Across India, but mostly clustered in Maharashtra and Gujarat, maternal surrogacy is an exploding industry, having arisen to fill a most unexpected global market void: the need to address the epidemic of infertility.

12 • india currents • february 2012

Infertility—A Real Issue

The existence of a global infertility epidemic is clearly at odds with our conception of the world as being overpopulated. But, primarily in wealthier, developed nations, the provision of medical reproductive services to people deemed infertile is now a billion- dollar global industry, spurred on both by advances in technology and the emergence of a globalized economy. Unsurprisingly, India is one of the world’s most popular providers of reproductive services, leveraging her medical depth, advantageous currency exchange, and pervasive poverty. But when human reproduction meets commerce, gender inequality, and wealth disparity, the potential for ethical transgression becomes great indeed.

A person is considered infertile if he or she has been having unprotected (heterosexual) sex for one year, with an intent to reproduce, without achieving pregnancy. Conservative estimates hold that at least one billion women worldwide (and an unknown number of men) are presently experiencing a degree of infertility. This estimate is stunted by the obvious fact that you don’t know if you’re infertile unless you’re actually trying to get pregnant.

The actual number is therefore likely to be substantially higher. The experiences of assisted reproduction clinics suggest that a fair proportion—if not a majority—of infertility issues are so-called “male factor” issues, meaning that the problem is often related to sperm quality. Indeed, semen samples collected over the past seven decades suggest a global, dramatic reduction in semen quality, such that what is considered normal today might not even make the scale 70 years ago. This may be a universal, global human trend, or it may be relegated to the developed world. We just don’t know yet.

Many theories have arisen for the increase in infertility in both sexes. Undeniably, women in high income countries are waiting into their 30s and 40s to start their families, and this is dramatically reducing their ability to become pregnant. The rise of obesity and with it, diabetes, has certainly contributed. It is possible that soy products, mimicking human hormones, are affecting our reproductive cycles. Some have theorized that overuse of the female contraceptive pill has introduced hormones into the drinking water, or that some artificial compounds, such as plastics, may decay into substances that also mimic hormones. At this point, all of this is mere speculation. What is known is that the seeking of assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) is at an all-time high, and shows all the signs of accelerating.

The services sought include in vitro fertilization (IVF—the classic “test tube baby”—a technology that has been with us for over 30 years now), fertility drugs, sperm and egg donation, and maternal surrogacy. It’s the latter, the act of a woman hiring out her womb to gestate an embryo on behalf of a client, that

brings with it the most ethical concerns and media attention.

India as a Provider

With the increase in demand, and with the maturation of reproductive technologies and services, has come a global industry of cross-border reproductive service provision, rife with philosophical quandaries, legal pitfalls and ethical concerns. Presently, in terms of financial transactions, the United States is the world’s greatest provider of reproductive services. But hot on its tail is India, which is fast becoming the undisputed world champion of all manner of ARTs. The phenomenon of crossing borders to seek ARTs is most commonly called reproductive tourism, and is being monitored by ethicists and epidemiologists, myself among them, for its challenges to our ideas about the valuation of human biology. This is particularly true for maternal surrogacy, since it necessarily involves the biological cooperation of another human being unconnected to the infertile couple.

Primarily in wealthier, developed nations, the provision of medical reproductive services to people deemed infertile is now a billion dollar global industry, spurred on both by advances in technology and the emergence of a globalized economy.

The power of the industry in India is based upon several factors. They include: (1) the overabundance of English-speaking, highly trained doctors, as every Indian family strives to have at least one doctor in its midst, (2) The existing, well-developed, and recognized medical tourism infrastructure, which includes integrated travel, hotel, and insurance services, (3) An advantageous currency exchange rate leading to low prices, often by a factor of 10 or more, (4) A complicit Indian government, and (5) perceptions of Indian women.

The last two are particularly interesting to me. The Indian government has actively been promoting its medical tourism services for some time now by, for example, sponsoring junkets around the world. The extent to which the state is complicit in encouraging the growth of reproductive services specifically is a bit more difficult to measure, but may include the nature of India’s adoption laws with respect to surrogates. A surrogate mother in India loses all rights to a child

that is not genetically hers at the point of delivery; whereas, in some other countries, a surrogate tends to have some time after delivery to decide whether she wishes to state a claim on the child. It is unclear to what extent the law in India is shaped by the needs of industry, and to what extent it truly reflects the values of Indians.

The Social Implications of Surrogacy

The perception of Indian women is a subtle and largely immeasurable point. Poor, village-based Indian women are often perceived in some circles as being ideal surrogates due to their global image as demure and submissive. Indian women are perceived to be less likely to drink alcohol, to smoke, and to engage in other practices seen to be detrimental to a successful pregnancy. In other words, it is their powerlessness relative to men and to the structures of their society that make them attractive to this trade. Maternal surrogacy is where India’s dominance in the world ART market truly manifests, given her abundance of young, poor women.

And therein begins the discussion of the ethics of the international reproductive tourism industry. When clients from a wealthy country such as the United States, Canada, or the United Kingdom seek biological services from vulnerable—and likely uneducated—individuals in a poor country like India, the opportunity for exploitation, even unintentional, is great. A maternal surrogate in India is handsomely paid, receiving anything from $2,000 to $8,000 per pregnancy, which is considerably more than she is typically likely to see in a year. A strictly libertarian argument holds that “fair” monetary compensation, combined with freedom of choice, obviates any ethical concern. A more nuanced perspective asks, if the alternative is poverty and death, is there really a choice at all? This is the classic tension between autonomy and exploitation, in that a desperately poor person can be co-opted to express her autonomy in such a way that it leads to her exploitation. There are identical scenarios involving international organ tourism, in which the extreme poor are convinced to sell their organs, and in many forms of prostitution. The fundamental question becomes, is it ethical to seek a profoundly intimate (and sometimes self-damaging) service from a vulnerable stranger, knowing that she likely offers it from a position of desperation?

The Ethics of Surrogacy

My work as an epidemiologist and ethicist has been to explore and describe the phenomenon of maternal surrogacy in India, without passing judgment on the service providers, clients, or surrogates. I have managed to identify 21 distinct ethical pitfalls inherent in the extant industry. But I wish to bring readers’ attention to just two of them: insufficient medical advocacy and limited informed consent. india currents • february 2012 • 13

14 • india currents • february 2012

The present commercial model for maternal surrogacy in almost every clinic in the developing world holds that a contractual relationship is forged between the client (usually a woman or couple from a wealthy country), the clinic, and the surrogate. But from a medical perspective, the clinician is directly responsible for the care of both the client and the surrogate, though he or she is being paid by just the client. This is clearly a conflict of interest. Consider if a medical situation were to arise in which the clinician must act either to save the life of the fetus or the surrogate.

He has a strong financial incentive to choose on behalf of the paying client, and thus the fetus. The absence of an independent medical advocate acting on behalf of the surrogate immediately nudges this relationship into the realm of exploitation.

Given that the surrogate is often quite poor, uneducated, and semi-literate, it seems unlikely that she is even aware of the dangerous nature of her unequal status in this commercial relationship. This vulnerability further complicates the proper receipt of true informed consent. In legal terms, informed consent is a process to avoid fraud and the imposition of one party’s will upon another. In medical ethics, it is the process of a clinician receiving genuine permission from an autonomous person to perform a medical procedure on that person.

Contrary to its portrayal in popular media, informed consent is not simply the receipt of permission. In TV shows like House, informed consent is co-opted from patients who are tricked into giving permission for a dangerous procedure. It is often rationalized away because “the doctor knows best.” True informed consent involves an ascertainment that the patient understands the nature of the procedure and the likelihood of all its known risks.

Illiteracy is but one barrier preventing the communication of such risk. But when risk is presented in the same package as a significant financial incentive for accepting that risk, the negative consequences are necessarily muted in comparison.

The Risks

But what are these risks? Childbirth is, after all, a natural process that pretty much all of these women have already gone through, since proven gestational ability is usually a prerequisite for serving as a surrogate. However, there is a reason that maternal mortality rates are monitored in every country: pregnancy is an innately dangerous state for a woman, especially in low income countries. Surrogates risk metabolic and circulatory complications, such as diabetes or extreme hypertension.

Death is a small but real risk, as is, through gestational injury, impairment of her ability to have future children.

Those are the known, medical risks that any obstetric specialist knows to communicate to a woman considering pregnancy. In

the case of maternal surrogacy in India, there are social risks that are just as damaging as the biological ones. Domestic violence and household strife have been known to arise when a surrogate’s husband dislikes the fact that she is carrying “the child of another man.” There is one story of a surrogate being forced from her village after her neighbours learned that she was carrying the baby of two gay Israeli men. There is also uncertainty surrounding whether the surrogate will be able to control her diet, or enjoy continuing carnal relations with her husband, or whether her current childcare responsibilities will be interrupted. These are all downstream negative consequences of the surrogacy procedure that need to be considered when formalizing the contractual relationship, though there is no evidence that these considerations are formally included in existing surrogacy negotiations.

Further complicating the quest for informed consent is the unavoidable power imbalance between doctor, client, and surrogate.

As the least powerful member of this triad, the surrogate is at risk for being cowed into compliance. The fear is that unless conscious and overt steps are taken to ensure her full expression of choice and autonomy, a poor, semi-literate village woman will typically accept at face value the estimation of risk presented by a wealthy, educated, and typically male doctor. It takes unusual strength to find the voice to question points in a formal contract if presented as a fait accompli by an officious clinician. It is in some ways the legacy of India’s colonial heritage, wherein informed consent can literally be coerced by identity; an English-speaking clinician in Western garb wields extraordinary cultural authority.

A brochure of one Indian ART clinic featured the following quotation from a surrogate who had recently produced a child for an American client: “It’s a miracle. I myself was wondering how I managed to deliver such a beautiful American, totally white baby. I couldn’t believe it—I am very happy.” The statement is presented as a marketing tool for potential foreign clients. But what should be evident is that this woman failed to understand the genetic realities of the procedure in which she was a central part. In other words, truly informed consent was not in play.

There is no doubt that maternal surrogacy presents a ripe opportunity for very poor women to make a dramatic improvements in their families’ lives. So long as infertility remains prevalent globally, and so long as India experiences the tandem of advantageous global prices and widespread poverty, it is assured that India’s reproductive tourism industry will continue to grow. Our goal, as responsible global consumers seeking to minimize suffering and exploitation, should be to make the process as fair and as safe as possible. Ultimately, the creation of life is meaningless unless we also strive to respect the living. n

Raywat Deonandan is an Assistant Professor in the Interdisciplinary School of Health Sciences at the University of Ottawa, the former Chief Science Advisor to Assisted Human Reproduction Canada, and an expert on the global industry of reproductive medical tourism.

To follow the story of one woman’s journey through surrogacy, check out http://www.indiacurrents.com/articles/2011/06/24/rock-byebaby-chronicles and http://www.indiacurrents. com/articles/2011/10/26/our-meeting-surrogate.

India’s Surrogacy Laws

Commercial surrogacy remains controversial and is banned in many countries.

But in India, a socially conservative society, surrogacy has thrived since the Supreme Court legalized the practice in 2002. A report by the Confederation of Indian Industry estimates the practice will generate $2.3 billion a year in 2012.

Women’s rights advocates claim that the lack of a clear law on surrogacy and the commercialization of an unregulated sector have left room for unethical medical practices and the exploitation of both surrogates and infertile couples.

Partly due to pressure from campaigners, the government set out a draft bill last year to limit the age of surrogate mothers to 35, set a maximum of five pregnancies— including their own children—and to make medical insurance mandatory. A further proposal would make it compulsory for prospective parents to show that a child born to a surrogate mother will have automatic citizenship in their home country. The bill also aims to stop clinics sourcing, supplying, and taking care of the surrogate mothers themselves.

—anthropologistintheattic.blogspot.com

SAMA and Surrogacy

The New Delhi-based NGO SAMA is a resource group for women and health.

They work closely with marginalized communities to address health issues from a perspective of gender, caste and rights. They are one of the few grassroots groups examining the reproductive tourism phenomenon from the surrogate perspective, and have been lobbying for policy responses from the Indian government to better protect women’s rights.

One of their most impactive publications is “Cheap & Best,” an analysis of websites, brochures, and advertisements on assisted reproductive technologies in India. Their website:www.samawomenshealth.org india currents • february 2012 • 15

16 • india currents • february 2012

IC

history

Franklin R. Rogers

The Brave Queen Shining a light on one of the lesser known heroines of Indian history

Possible site of Kuramdevi’s victory

S

ome years ago, after I confessed to an abiding interest in India’s “warrior women,” an elderly Hindu lady gave me a lecture about the ideal Hindu woman. According to her, Hindu women strive to emulate Sita, and, so she declared, always exhibit a docile compliance with all demands, and quietly and meekly submit to the “slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.” In the course of her lecture this earnest lady seemed to have forgotten such legendary Indian women as Lakshmibai, the Rani of Jhansi, whom even her British antagonists saluted for her bravery and her almost intuitive grasp of military tactics in the 1857 rebellion. No docility, no quiet and meek submission there. I must confess my interlocutor failed to convince me, and I continue even now to admire those Indian women, both Hindu and Muslim, who have taken up arms against outrageous fortune.

Of course, Lakshmibai of Jhansi holds a very high place in my esteem, but my favorite among these is Kuramdevi, the 12th century queen of Chittorgarh. Her story appears in the Prithviraj Raso, the long poem originally composed by Chand Bardai, companion of Prithviraj III, maharaja of Ajmer and Delhi, and chronicler of the maharaja’s life and times.

Kuramdevi was born a Solanki Rajput in

Anhilwara-Patan (Gujarat), a princess, and daughter of another of India’s warrior women, Nayakidevi, regent of Anhilwarra-Patan during the minority of her son. Nayakidevi is the one who led the army to counter Muhammad Ghori’s invasion of Anhilwara-Patan’s territory. In a battle at Kayadra, a village near Mount Abu, she administered such a severe drubbing to Muhammad Ghori and his army that the Muslim prince never again came anywhere near Anhilwara-Patan.

S

ometime in the 1170s, the young princess Kuramdevi (she could not have been much over 13 years of age, the age considered maturity at the time), became wife of Samar Singh Deva, the rawal of Chittorgarh, a Sonagira Rajput. Samar Singh was a Chauhan Rajput, a descendant of the heroes who had captured Chittorgarh, probably the most famous fortress in all India, sometime in the middle of the 12th century.

Historical records suggest that Kuramdevi was Samar Singh’s second wife. In or about 1171, Samar Singh had married Prithabai, sister of Prithviraj III, the Chauhan maharaja of Ajmer and Delhi. Soon after her marriage, Prithabai had born a son, Kalyan Rai, but then, the evidence suggests, in the following

years failed to bear any further sons. As we all know, in such instances, no matter where in the world at that time, and in some places even now, the woman gets all the blame.

Following this infallible principle, to ensure the succession, Samar Singh married again, hoping for more sons, in about 1178 or 1179, approximately around the same time Nayakidevi administered that resounding defeat to Muhammad Ghori. The new bride did not disappoint her husband. Within the year she gave birth to his second son, Karna. One can infer the date of marriage by the fact that Karna was still about a year shy of maturity (i.e., age 13) in 1192.

M

eanwhile, after his defeat at Kayadra, Muhammad Ghori had fallen back on his base at Multan, which he had conquered in 1175. There, he nursed his wounds and his wounded pride until 1186 and then launched an attack that carried him triumphantly into Lahore. Five years later (1191) he marched toward Prithviraj’s borders. The maharaja of Ajmer and Delhi marshaled his allies, among them, Samar Singh Deva of Chittorgarh, and marched out to counter the threat. The two armies met at Tarain (near Thanesar in present-day Haryana) where the combined india currents • february 2012 • 17

Rajput forces defeated the invaders and drove them back toward Lahore, the victory due in part to the presence of the army of Jaichand, raja of Kannauj. The following year (1192), the Muslim prince once again threatened Prithviraj’s empire. Once again, the maharaja of Ajmer and Delhi marshaled his allies, among them Samar Singh Deva of Chittorgarh, and marched out to counter the threat.

Once again the two forces met at Tarain. But this time the victory went to Muhammad Ghori, partly because of the military genius of Qtub-ud-Din, Muhammad Ghori’s favorite general, partly because Jaichand, raja of Kannauj, failed to come to Prithviraj’s aid.

because of the ridges on either side the larger one, the Muslim army, could not use one of its favorite tactics. Fielding huge forces, the Muslims liked to spread the wings of their armies wide and envelop the smaller enemy forces in a deadly embrace. Sometimes they

B

oth Samar Singh Deva and his eldest son, Kalyan Rai, died in the second battle of Tarain, and, when Prithabai received the news of her double loss, she immediately mounted the pyre to rejoin her husband. Kuramdevi would eventually follow her, but first she had unfinished business to tend to. She had to ensure that her son Karna seamlessly succeeded his father and that his seat on the throne of Chittorgarh was secure. When his father died, Karna was still a minor, around 12 years of age. The succession encountered no serious obstacles, and Kuramdevi became regent during the remaining year of her son’s minority.

During this time she raised a new army from among her son’s vassals, and as soon as Karna’s 13th birthday passed and he reached the age of maturity, she led the army and marched northward in search of the man who had killed her husband—this probably in 1193 or 1194 in the month of Asoj (Asvin) following Dassera, the traditional beginning of the warfare season. Nine rajas and eleven chiefs with the title of rawat with their men accompanied her. The Prithviraj Raso gives no details of her route. Because by now she knew that Qtub-ud-din ruled in Delhi, one can surmise her route took her straight towards Delhi.

The Raso tells us she and her force encountered Qtub-ud-din and his army near the old Amber fort. It does not tell us exactly where, but, having visited the area, I like to imagine that the encounter occurred in a narrow gap in the hills about 900 meters west of Amber village and about seven kilometers (2.8 mi.) north of Jaipur. The gap of which I speak makes an ideal spot for a small force to fight a much larger force on more equal terms, for it is not much more than 250 meters wide, and north and south of it a high and steepsided ridge extends some four or so miles, far enough to block any flanking maneuvers.

Even further in her favor is the fact that the Muslim general would be unable to squeeze his entire battlefront into a gap so narrow.

Warriors of the time did need room to swing their weapons. Here, as with the Spartans and their allies at Thermopylae, a small force could do as well as a much larger one, and

18 • india currents • february 2012

Kuramdevi believed she had killed Qtub-ud-din.

The battle thus ended, she regrouped her army and led it back south.

Returning to Chittorgarh, she mounted the pyre and, like Prithabai, her husband’s first wife, became sati. But Qtubud-din did not die from his wounds. would even feign retreat in the center, drawing back as if recoiling from the enemy attack, thus enticing the enemy center forward, tricking him into exposing his flanks. But, if, as I suspect, the battle occurred at this narrow gap, Qtub-ud-din could not use such tactics.

He had to meet the Rajputs on a front no wider than the gap itself.

However it may have been, the two forces met near the old Amber fort, and the Rajputs

won. At the head of her army, Kuramdevi drove deep into the Muslim ranks, deep enough for her to confront the Muslim general himself and to engage him in a personal duel during which she managed to bury her sword deep into his flesh, wounding him so severely that he tumbled from the saddle. In alarm his attendants carried him away. Seeing him fall, seeing his body thus carried from the fight and, consequently, believing him dead, others in the Muslim ranks near the site gave way to panic. The panic spread, and soon Qtub-ud-din’s entire army was in full flight.

Kuramdevi believed she had killed Qtubud-din. The battle thus ended, she regrouped her army and led it back south. Returning to Chittorgarh, she mounted the pyre and, like Prithabai, became sati. But Qtub-ud-din did not die from his wounds. He eventually recovered and returned to Delhi, and subsequently declared himself not viceroy but sultan.

How true is this story? It’s hard to say.

The Prithviraj Raso was originally written

by Chand Bardai, who died around 1200 AD. That is, he was still alive when Kuramdevi carried out her attack on Qtub-ud-Din. Therefore, he could well have added the episode to his text. But all extant versions of the Raso date from the 15th century or later, and range in size from the 1,300 stanzas of the Bikaner text to the 16,306 stanzas of the Udaipur text. Scholars generally agree that the Bikaner text is closest to Bardai’s text, but there’s no guarantee of this, and I have been unable to discover whether or not the Kuramdevi story appears in that version. It does, I know, appear in the Udaipur version, but the very size of the Udaipur text is a guarantee that it contains much added material beyond what Chand Bardai actually wrote himself. The first step toward authentication is to discover whether or not the Kuramdevi episode does indeed appear in the Bikaner version. If it does and the scholars are correct that that text is closest to Chand Bardai’s, there’s a high probability that the Kuramdevi story is true. But, if the story does not appear in the Bikaner text, there’s no guarantee that it is false if only because 300 years elapsed between Chand Bardai’s death and the creation of the text.

However, two facts point toward the story’s truth. One is the fact that throughout the history of the various Hindu and Muslim kingdoms of India one finds here and there thoroughly verified instances of Indian women taking up arms against their enemies and very often succeeding. The other is the fact that Kuramdevi’s own mother, Nayakidevi, set a strong example as a powerful and militant woman in an age when women traditionally stayed behind the curtains.

Frank Rogers, a retired university professor, is an amateur student of India’s history. n

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india currents • february 2012 • 19

Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan

Farewell, Mitra In memory of India Currents contributor Franklin R. Rogers, who passed away in December 2011

I

n the concluding bio for “The Brave Queen,” his last piece for India Currents, Frank Rogers, with characteristic humility, identified himself simply as “a retired university professor” and “amateur student of India’s history.” This appellation is understated and yet apt, for Frank, who retired in 1986 from the professorships to which he devoted much of his working life, never stopped learning and never stopped teaching—finding in the pages of even this magazine a forum in which to engage student-readers of all ages, far beyond the walls of the university classroom. At 90 years of age, Frank continued writing, not only articles, but meticulously researched and rigorously executed novels, driven by a love of history, a penchant for storytelling, and other philosophical and critical aspirations. Frank passed away in December 2011, and I offer these notes in celebration of the life and legacy of a dear friend, writer, scholar, and educator.

Frank’s last novel, Dewdrop on the Lotus, was, in his own words, a “rebellion against the current ‘I am’ mode of American writing, not just the craze for memoirs, but also the craze for all narratives written in the first person singular.” The entire novel was written without a single use of the verb ‘to be.’” No “is,” no “am,” no “was,” “were,” or “are.” When Frank revealed this in his last email to me—for Frank maintained a lively and inspiring correspondence with friends, students, and fellow writers of all ages—I was deeply moved. Yes, it made sense that Frank would experiment with a mode of genuinely self-abnegating narration, for his writing and scholarship had always been motivated by a deep love of, and interest in, other people, countries, cultures, and minds. But what to make of Frank’s even more radical rhetorical move: the deliberate omission of the verb “to be”?

There is a tremendous body of philosophy that grapples with the nature of “being” and “not-being,” as well as of “being” and “becoming.” By omitting “to be,” did Frank intend a work that could question the very nature of being, suggesting, then, that all is (there’s that verb again!) maya, or illusion? Or was it rather an effort to capture the force of potential in the world, the dynamism of that which loomed in the horizon, just beyond the narrative, in the realm of imagination, aspiration, and dream?

Frank, who received his Ph.D. from UC Berkeley in 1958, and taught all over the 20 • india currents • february 2012

world (including at that quintessentially distinguished institute of higher education, the Sorbonne in Paris), wrote often on the nature of what is, what was, and what might have been. He published over a dozen works of nonfiction and fiction, critical scholarship and edited volumes on language, Mark Twain, literary theory, and history. His articles for India Currents, written regularly over the past three years, are sensitive and beautiful meditations on the India he loved, the India he had “learned to admire,” the India that is, as well as the India that was, might have been, could have been, and yet will be.

In “Calcutta Magic” (IC, Feb. 2008), he related his first impressions of the city upon arriving at Howrah Station in 1943 as a member of a U.S. Army radio intelligence unit.

Not only was Calcutta not yet Kolkata, but independent India had not yet been born. 65 years later, Frank shared his thoughts on what would be India with the readers of a magazine begun by Indians abroad. In Amy Tan’s words, Frank helped us to “see the universal resonance that lies within images: how they glimmer beneath the consciousness of the reader, accumulate depth of emotion, and become the memory of the story’s life.”

In 1943, 22-year-old Frank, expecting Rudyard Kipling’s “dreadful” Calcutta, saw instead the horse-drawn vehicles and colorful saris, “the most graceful garment,” he mused, “ever devised for the human form.”

But Frank’s was no tourist’s fascination with the exotic. Reading his “Loose in the Land of Lugades” (IC July 2008), I learned for the first time the difference between a sari and the Marathi lugade. I learned much else as well, not only about Indian history, mythology, architecture, and culture (not to mention Bengali and Hindi, both of which Frank spoke with fluency), but about Mark Twain and Joán Miró, Paris and Tokyo, Switzerland and Burma.

Frank poured all of himself, his experiences, and his readings into each of his texts and evocative descriptions. He wrote with incredible detail of the formation of the Ajanta and Ellora caves in the earliest years of the common era (“for colors they used mostly local materials, lime white, red and yellow ochre, soot black, and a green made from local glauconite “), and with magical, technical insight into the Rajasthani folk paintings of Udaipur: “in the ‘rounding’ of an elephant’s leg, the artist will juxtapose along the leg two parallel bands of dark and light color with no

transitional blending between the two, an unusual but very effective ‘hard-edge’ technique” (“Blithe Spirit,” IC Feb. 2011) In 1944, Frank experienced Calcutta during Durga Puja. The festive city he saw then was “a beautiful, though temporary, world, the end of which on Navami left me with a sense of longing never again fully satisfied perhaps because of its very transitory nature.”

As a reader and editor of Frank’s articles for India Currents, I was often struck by Frank’s response to the transitory, temporary, and fleeting. He did not grieve what was past.

Faced with 21st century India, he did not lament the changes wrought in his India of the 20th. “I can sum it all up,” he offered matterof-factly, “by saying Calcutta had entered the modern age.”

In “Calcutta Daze” (IC March 2008), Frank recounted his return to the city in 1992 with his beloved wife and partner, Mary Ann. The rickshaw driver with a death-wish had been replaced with a sedate taxi driver, but Frank found in the garden of a small Jain temple “even the bench, my bench” where he had found shelter from the war amidst trees and flower blossoms. Frank loved each memory he shared with us, verily caressing it with his words, opening it up fully and generously to his readers, and then, too, letting it go, like the little floats bearing lamps which lit up the Hooghly on the last night of Durga puja.

“Even the bench, my bench…” So much is said with a little possessive “my.” Subtly and deftly, Frank gave us India, his India, and our India. Above and beyond the romance of recollection, Frank was also, plain and simple, an extraordinary writer, in command of all senses—his and the reader’s. “Off we went toward Pune,” he writes, “as top-heavy as a Tata truck.” With one sentence, Frank created rhythm, poetry, vision, and a smile.

Each word was chosen because there could be no substitute. He captured beautifully the pathos of leaving a city, perhaps for the final time: “When we left Pune, we did so while acutely conscious of how much we had missed, how much more we should have seen” (“Pukka Pune,” IC Oct. 2009).

Frank, you helped us to see so much more than what we would have seen, of India and of the world. Thank you for the gift of your irreplaceable eyes, ears, and pen. Thank you for challenging us to look outside of and beyond ourselves to the magical world in which we reside, for a time. You will be missed deeply.

“I shall never forget.” n

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commentary

Sandip Roy

. New America Media

Om My God

Who wrecked my yoga?

24 • india currents • february 2012

eryone does. About 20 million Americans are doing yoga, according to the Times. It’s a $5 billion-plus dollar industry.

Once you might have needed the Indian seal of authenticity to sell yoga to the West. Now you don’t even need that.

I admit I am one of those Indians who doesn’t do yoga.

Not because I was scared of strokes, yoga foot drop, hurting cerebral arteries, retinal tears, degenerative arthritis of the cervical spine, or any of the yoga horrors the Times throws at the reader. I just would not know a downward dog if it bit me. So it is hard for me to read the New York Times “attack” on yoga as any kind of attack on India or the Hindu way of life.

Obviously the Hindu American Foundation (HAF), which had started the Take Back Yoga campaign, thinks otherwise. It has launched its own broadside against the Times accusing Broad of using “prime journalistic real estate to grind his axe with yoga.”

It is a “silly, one-sided piece that highlights a handful of people who have suffered injuries due to their yoga practice,” Sheetal Shah, the foundation’s senior director writes on Belief. net.

In fact, argues the HAF, Broad inadvertently proves HAF’s main point. The West has reduced yoga to asanas (physical poses).

Asanas are really just one of the eight limbs of yoga. Delinking yoga from its spiritual framework, its Hindu roots, is the crux of the problem.

“Analyzing yoga as only exercise and then labeling it as hazardous to one’s health is a false equation because yoga doesn’t equal asana,” writes the HAF. Perhaps The New York Times should have titled its story “How Asanas Can Wreck Your Body.” I am not sure HAF would have been particularly happy with that either.

The fact is no one is ready to give yoga “back” to the Hindu American Foundation.

Photo credit: Lululemon Athletica

S

hould yoga come with a statutory warning? “Practicing yoga can be injurious to health.”

The New York Times seems to think so.

“Yoga is for people in good physical condition. Or it can be used therapeutically. It’s controversial to say, but it really shouldn’t be used for a general class,” says yoga guru Glenn Black in a five-page magazine story, “How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body” by its science writer William Broad. It has unleashed such a storm of protests, the site had to stop accepting comments on the story.

The main critique is that the story states the obvious. Headstands are not for everyone.

Duh, says a blog on Spaweekly.

Why not publish “How Running Can Wreck Your Knees?” or “How Moving A Refrigerator Can Crush Your Toes, Break Your Back, and Rip Your Rotator Cuff?”… The truth is, there’s no fail-safe sport, activity, or product on the planet. However, in this lengthy article, Broad decided to collect every example of negative yoga experiences (fishing back to random incidents from nearly half a century) and jolt the 20 million Americans who have turned to yoga for fitness, mind/ body renewal, and inner peace.

Perhaps Broad’s book (from which the NYT article is excerpted) is more balanced.

According to an earlier column by Maureen Dowd, the book also says yoga can result in surges of sex hormones or what one yogini calls the “best sex she never had.” Phew.

But the excerpt, as it stands, is a bunch of anecdotes dressed up to sound like a contorted expose—The Dirty Picture of yoga.

But it has also made one thing crystal clear.

Yoga might be India’s biggest export to the West but this is now an American story about something that has become a Western form of exercise.

There’s nothing very Indian about it.

No Indians were harmed in the course of researching this story. No desis were interviewed for The New York Times article. No Indians show up in The Guardian’s follow-up story about the “ferocious backlash” either.

The few desi names in there are of the yoga brand masters—B.K.S Iyengar, Pattabhi Jois, or Bikram Choudhury.

Anyone can sell yoga and it seems ev-

Yoga has been McDonald-ified but it comes with none of the stringent health standards and food safety rules that govern McDonalds’ burgers and fries.

Yoga is now big business. That is why this article has pissed off so many people. Could it hurt brand yoga? In the free market of yoga—Bikram, Iyengar, Ashtanga, Power, Kundalini—everyone wants to sell their brand as the No. One brand. There’s even a hot and sexy yoga video—the Equinox fitness chain’s yoga video, where a woman in a black bra and panties contorts herself while a man sleeps on a mussed up bed next to her. That’s got yogis’ leotards in a twist.

Sandip Roy is the host of New America Now, a news magazine show on KALW 91.7 FM, produced by New America Media. This article was first published on First Post.

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The video is “just emblematic of the Western commercialization of yoga,” says Suhag Shukla of the HAF to The Washington Post. “You know, the whole purpose of the physical asanas is to prepare your body to sit still and focus. It’s not about having a cute ass.”

But when something becomes as big business as yoga has become, it is all about the cute ass—a.k.a the bottom line.

As the Ashtanga New York group writes, in its own pushback story “How the New York Times Can Wreck Yoga”: “When there is a great potential for making money, quality is usually the first thing to be sacrificed. Fast food, anyone? It is unfortunate that this is exactly what we are facing now—yoga has been McDonaldi-fied. It has been reduced from a practice that traditionally demanded dedication, discipline, sacrifice, humility, surrender, love, devotion, and self-investigation—and yes, suffering through rigorous practice—to something that one can now learn to teach in a weekend.”

That is the crux of the problem. Yoga has been McDonald-ified but it comes with none of the stringent health standards and food safety rules that govern McDonalds’ burgers and fries.

“In a mere 200 hours, you can become a bona fide, registered yoga instructor. Two hundred hours is spit,” scoffs Ashtanga New York.

HAF might want to take yoga back. But the bird has long flown its nest. Even in India, a friend who has been doing yoga for 20 years, says she has met yoga instructors who come to her parents’ apartment building to teach yoga at home. They are in great demand because they claim they learned the “real” stuff from American DVDs. It’s time to accept that there is the eight-limbed yoga HAF talks about and then there are the asanas on a mat that millions practice. The latter might need to have a more rigorous form of certification.

Doing a suryanamaskar (sun salutation) at the beginning won’t fix anything. This is no longer about putting the Om back in yoga.

The Hindu American Foundation’s campaign has not made any of the classes run by blonde rockstar yogis less crowded. The New York Times exposé will not dissuade any of the 20 million Americans who do yoga from rushing to the next yoga class with a rolled-up mat under their arms.

But it’s certainly created a buzz about Broad’s upcoming book. It’s really much ado about nothing. If you ask me, the whole controversy is a bunch of Kundalooney.n

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25 years FromThisHousetoThatHouse

By Rajesh C. Oza

Dear Reader:

T

his magazine has been part of me for half of my five decades.

The first 25 years—and the ancestral centuries that preceded them—have informed the words I’ve read and written for the last 25 years. India gave me birth; India Currents has given me voice. But without your generous willingness to read, my voice would have fallen on deaf ears. Thank you.

I hope you will find in these very personal words a reflection of how I was born into this world and how my voice was reborn onto these pages. Your pages.

Birth Stories

Most people, even those at the farthest remove from the traditions of their ancestors, can usually take solace in knowing their parents. And from that understanding of mother and father, we might make the umbilical connection to our homelands, The author as thus making it possible for us to at least a BombayBornBaby make a limited connection between past and present identities.

I am confident that “Ma and Pa” are indeed my biological father and mother, though there is an ambiguous uneasiness in my family around where and how I was born. My gentle parents were inclined, during my childhood, to tell a far-fetched tale about my birth outside of the Oza family in a slummy part of Bangalore.

This mid-20th century Bangalore was nothing like the software and outsourcing capital that it has become in the new millennium. I imagined it to be not unlike Bisalpur and Nana, the traditional Rajasthani villages where my parents grew up. The sleepy Bangalore of family lore was far away from the fast-moving Bombay where I was actually born.

When Pa was working for Dow-Polychem Limited, he often traveled from Bombay to Bangalore to ensure that the new factory for the company’s expansion into South India had all the necessary material for successful construction. On one of his trips to Bangalore, Pa asked Ma to come along. Just outside the factory gate, they saw a sweet baby playing by himself in the mud. From this same dirt, the construction workers had built makeshift housing, replicating their village communities caste by caste. The workers had traveled what must have seemed to them to be long distances, even though their home villages were just on the outskirts of the city.

Ma picked up the baby—naked as a newborn—and attempted to locate his parents. Language was a barrier. In a mix of North Indian languages, Ma asked every woman she met, “Whose baby is this?” Equipped only with village dialects of Kannada, the women pieced together Ma’s Marwari-Hindi. They shrugged their arms upward, suggesting that only God knew, and returned those arms to the more lucrative lifting of bricks. By the end of the trip, while Pa was putting the final touches on Polychem’s business, Ma had conclusively determined that the baby was an orphan. And thus my parents adopted me, brought me back to Bombay, and raised me to be an Oza in every way except for my remarkable appetite for South Indian food and my life-long search for identity.

During my childhood, when Pa or Ma told the mythical foundling story, it was usually accompanied by a wink and a nod and a quick reassuring segue to my true birth in Bombay. Unlike my sib-

30 • india currents • february 2012

lings, I was not born in our maternal village. Pa was a proud, cosmopolitan secularist who wanted at least one of his children born in a proper, big-city hospital. And for Pa, there was no city bigger than his Bombay. He had seen Bombay grow from a colonial outpost into the pulsing financial and entertainment capital of independent India.

In some ways, Bombay had given Pa life, because as the city grew, he grew alongside her. To repay this debt to his adoptive city, and to take his rightful standing as a modern man, Pa was intent on changing the Rajasthani Brahmin tradition of an expectant mother returning to her parents’ home to give birth to her child. When Nirmal, my elder brother, was born, there was no question of breaking with tradition; since Pa was not in a solid financial position, he was grateful for the support from Ma’s parents. They lived in Nana, a sleepy North Indian village a short train ride away from Pa’s Bisalpur village, but centuries away from Bombay. After Nirmal came my sister Savita. Before her birth, there was a lively debate between Ma and Pa; Ma won and again returned to her childhood home to give birth.

And likewise, my younger brother, Kamlesh, was born in Nana, with his maternal grandparents doting on him after birth. As my birth approached, however, Ma acquiesced. And then both Pa and Ma had to defend their decision against rumors about hospital corruption.

Fanning the flames of innuendo were a series of newspaper articles and a cackle of old ladies who had come from villages in Rajasthan. Though they had never read a newspaper, these aunties (most of whom were unrelated to us) began a nosy and noisy whispering campaign, “How can the Oza family break with tradition? Who knows whose child they will get here in Mumbai. The nurses are swapping baby boys for baby girls. The rich mothers who don’t give birth to boys bribe the hospital people. And when the nurses take the boy babies away from the poor mothers right after birth, they switch them with girl babies of the rich. Chi, chi, chi. And sometimes, when the wealthy can’t have children at all, there is no switching or twitching. The hospitals just take the poor people’s babies and give them to the rich, telling the real mother that her baby is dead. You don’t believe us? Well, it is in all the newspapers. The Times of India and the rest. This would never happen in desh, back home in our villages.”

Ma relayed the gossip to Pa, who had no patience for the whispering of illiterate, old aunties. He had already paid a deposit for the hospital room and had boasted to friends that the apartment flat that he and Ma owned would now, in addition to a refrigerator and a phone, have a baby born at the finest hospital in Bombay. But Ma, influenced by the wisdom of the old, wanted to go back to her village of Nana one more time.

This time, the village did not win, but neither did the hospital’s maternity ward. The city’s victory was not complete. I was born in our Bombay home. The delivery, closer in spirit to a Nana birth, was not an antiseptic affair. In place of a doctor was a servant woman who, today, would be called a midwife. Back in the middle of the last century, she carried no medical title and received a hearty meal and an old sari or two for her competent and trustworthy hands. These hands that were accustomed to labor of a different sort, welcomed me to a world of passages, small and big.

News of my birth traveled quickly, not because there was anything special about me, but because all births were special and baby boys were especially celebrated. The aunties stopped gossiping about the hospitals and began proclaiming the many virtues of a mother who gave birth to a son. These mothers and grandmothers always

looked to each life event as a source of conversation. Ma was feted for having brought two sons and a daughter into the world. My elder brother had allayed low-lying concerns about infertility. My sister’s birth had satisfied the old ladies’ clamor (and their husbands’ unarticulated need) to have Laxmi, the goddess of wealth, look favorably upon our family. And my birth ensured that Pa and Ma’s old age would be insured with familial social security.

Writer Reborn

Although Bombay was a metropolis teeming with millions of peope, Pa and Ma had established our family in their community, and we children felt safely nestled. When we relocated (or was it dis-located?) to Canada in the mid-1960s and the United States in 1969, I suddenly felt like an outsider looking in—a tough life for a child wanting to belong, but wonderful training for a consultant and writer seeking to make sense of the world. Every move was an act of courage. I long felt as if I was constantly in transition: always departing … never quite arriving. A bit like a character caught in Zeno’s Dichotomy Paradox, I found myself going halfway from heretothere, fromthishousetothathouse, which meant that I never quite reached my destination. Never until that fateful day when I called India Currents, and Arvind Kumar, the magazine’s founding editor, picked up the phone.

It was the late 1980s, and I had returned to my job with Hewlett-Packard in the Bay Area after a trip to India. During my travels through India, I had surreptitiously read Salman Rushdie’s novel The Satanic Verses and had grown certain that I needed to lend support to Rushdie. Since this title had invoked the fatwa and furor of Iran’s Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and his gang of book burners, it had been banned in India. Taking the book into the subcontinent was itself an act of defiance.

Writing a review of it was even riskier. But this small act enabled me to stand up to those who would censor a book, silence a voice. Of course to go from writing in solitude to publishing required a courageous partner.

Although a bit incredulous, Arvind, who did not know me from Adam, Ahmed, or Anand, said, “There’s no time like the present.

Can you send me a copy of your review?” Seizing this writer’s carpe diem moment, I said, “Sure. How about I drop by India Currents on my way home from work?” As it turned out, Arvind’s office was an extension of his house in San Jose, and he kindly welcomed me into his home that fateful evening. Upon reading “So Far from Home” (the article’s title was derived from the title of an early Mira Nair film), Arvind extended an exceptionally mindful kindness by accepting my contribution, and suggesting that I decline the acceptance; he wanted me to consider the wisdom of publishing a piece on Rushdie when the author had been forced into hiding and some bookstores had been cowered by real and imagined

threats into pulling The Satanic Verses.

That night I shared the unlikely “publish-and-perish” dilemma with my wife and parents. All three were cautiously supportive. Like Arvind, we all had more to consider beyond my aspirational dreams of writing: The magazine had to consider boycotts, threats, and its reputation; the family had to ensure the safety of four generations that lived under one roof (my grandparents, parents, wife, children, and I lived as a traditional extended family balancing continuity and change). In the end, Arvind and I agreed that India Currents would publish the piece using a pseudonym for me: Rajendra Kumar.

And accompanying the article were illustrations by “Mangala” (my wife’s name with an extra vowel). Perhaps that protective vowel has kept watch over our daughter, Anupama, who was born a few months before India Currents came into the world, and our son, Siddhartha, who came into our home-sweethome in 1989, the year that Rushdie disappeared into “safe houses” for the seemingly simple act of writing.

In the early 1990s, at a reading of Living in America, one of the first, if not the first, anthology of South Asian writers “living in America,” a distinguished-looking audience

Mangla Oza’s cover art for “So Far from Home,” India Currents, June, 1990

member came up to me and said, “Desh is pardesh, and pardesh becomes desh.” I was quite startled since I had used that same phrase in the Rushdie article, completing the sentiment of diasporic inversion of homelands with “everything seems upside down.”

Somehow, the distinguished gentlemen connected the fact that the “Rajendra Kumar” of India Currents was the “Rajesh C. Oza” of Living in America. I remember feeling, “Such is the lovely mystery of the writer’s life.”

Over the years, I’ve had several other generous interactions with readers. One of my favorites was with a fellow reader/writer. In the mid-1990s I had stepped away from India Currents, in part to dedicate my writing energy to doctoral work in organization change.

When the time came for me to request scholars for my dissertation committee, the committee chair, Ken Murrell, suggested that I reach out to his friend, Jo Sanzgiri. While I

The author reborn, with wife and grown-up babies

did not know Jo, her name sounded familiar.

As it turned out, Jo had written book reviews for India Currents under her full name, Jyotsna Sanzgiri; we had read, and appreciated, each other’s writing for years. Jo’s insight on the metaphoric connection between the Indian diaspora and organizational life not only helped me get through the challenge of the doctoral dissertation, but it also recommitted me to reading and writing fiction and nonfiction by, and about, my superextended Indian family. Ashok Jethanandani welcomed me back to an India Currents that had evolved from a handful of black-and-white pages into a colorful cultural institution. Subsequent editors, Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan and Vidya Pradhan, have kept the welcome mat available to me. And as publisher for this journalistic touchstone of the Indian American community, Vandana Kumar has balanced the needs of change and continuity, online and print, readers and advertisers, and, of course, editors and writers.

While each act of writing feels like a courageous act of bringing something new into the world, after my first article from so many years ago, the many book reviews, travel essays, opinion pieces, and appreciations I have written these past couple of decades in India Currents have fortunately not required that I hide behind a pen name. How sweetly affirming to know, and be known by, my superextended family.

As for my nuclear family, when India Currents turned 20, Mangla wrote the following letter to the editor: “Dear Ashok, Arvind, Vandana, and India Currents Team: Thanks for the memories. Twenty years ago our daughter was a one year old and now she’s a junior in college. Our son was a dream and now he’s dreaming of college. Congratulations on making your dreams mature into young adulthood.

I’m looking forward to India Currents’ silver and golden anniversaries.”

I sincerely hope that some 25 years from now, grandchildren of Mangla and mine will come across the golden jubilee issue of this magazine and tell their grandfather, “What a lovely, mystery this evergreen relationship between India Currents’ readers and writers.” n For Arvind, Ashok, and Vandana, without whom this house called India Currents would not exist, and my writing room inside it would remain stillborn. india currents • february 2012 • 31

I C ask a lawyer

Indu Liladhar Hathi

I-601 Waivers Proposed changes to the process of treating visitors who have overstayed their welcome

O

n Jan. 6, 2012, the Obama administration proposed a welcome change in processing the I-601 waivers filed by the immediate relative of U.S. citizens. The new procedure will allow immediate relatives to file for a “provisional” unlawful presence waiver and await adjudication while remaining in the U.S. If such alien is found eligible for a waiver, the United States Customs and Immigration Services (USCIS) will grant a provisional waiver. Visitors who fall under this category will still have to depart the United States to process their visa and appear for an interview at a U.S. consulate abroad before they can reenter the country.

The purpose behind the proposed change is to minimize the extent to which bureaucratic delays separate Americans from their families for long periods of time. This would apply to individuals whose only ground of inadmissibility is unlawful presence.

By way of background, undocumented

32 • india currents • february 2012

immediate relatives of U.S. citizens may not be eligible to file for adjustment of status on the premise that they are deemed “inadmissible” because of accruing “unlawful presence.”

An I-601, Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility, is filed in such cases to permit an undocumented alien to gain admission as a lawful permanent resident. Currently, to obtain a waiver of unlawful presence and be able to re-enter the United States, the applicant has to show extreme and unusual hardship to his/her U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse, son or daughter if the alien’s admissibility cannot be waived.

Currently, such individuals have to leave the United States and apply for a waiver from their home country, after having had an initial interview at the consulate. However, if they do depart, they face a 3- to 10-year bar from returning to the United States depending upon their length of unlawful stay. Upon filing the waiver, the ultimate decision on it is

made by USCIS. This often takes a long time, causing bureaucratic delays and often stranding the individual in his or her home country, separated from their U.S. citizen spouse or children.

It is important to note that there is no change in the law but only in the procedure of processing such waivers. More importantly, this change is applicable only to the immediate relatives of U.S. citizens and not green card holders. It is unclear as to why the immediate relatives of green card holders have been left out from the new procedure. It is anticipated that applying this rule to relatives of permanent residents may be implemented later this year after considering public comments on the same. n Immigration and business attorney Indu Liladhar-Hathi has an office in San Jose. (408) 453-5335.

IC

legal

visa dates

Important Note: U.S. travelers seeking visas to India will now need to obtain them through Travisa Outsourcing. Call (415) 644-0149 or visit http://indiavisa.travisaoutsourcing.com/ for more information.

February 2012

T

his column carries priority dates and other transitional information as taken from the U.S. State Depart­ment’s Visa Bulletin. The information below is from the Visa Bulletin for February 2012.

In the tables below, the listing of a date for any class indicates that the class is oversubscribed. “Current” means that numbers are available for all qualified applicants. “Unavailable” means no numbers are available.

FAMILY PREFERENCE VISA DATES

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Preference Dates for India 1st 2A 2B 3rd 4th

December 22, 2004 June 8, 2009 October 15, 2003 December 1, 2001 September 8, 2000

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EMPLOYMENT-BASED VISA DATES Preference Dates for India 1st Current 2nd January 1, 2010 3rd August 15, 2002 Other August 15, 2002 Workers 4th Current Certain Current Religious Workers 5th Current Targeted Current Employment Areas The Department of State has a recorded message with visa availability information at (202) 663-1541, which is updated in the middle of each month.

Source:http://travel.state.gov/visa/bulletin/bulletin_5640.html

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Call 415-377-3919 for a free initial consultation

robert@preskilllaw.net • www.preskilllaw.net

india currents • february 2012 • 33

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legal

Priyanka Wolan

The Prenuptial Agreement If you’re married, you already have a prenup—you just don’t know it

34 • india currents • february 2012

For instance, your spouse may be entitled to part of the increased value of a house you brought into the marriage. Additionally if your business grew in value during the marriage, your spouse could be entitled to a portion of its new worth.

A prenup allows you to override state laws, keep finances separate, protect one or both spouses from the other’s debts, support an estate plan by agreeing to provide for children from prior marriages or to keep family property in the family, as well as define and clarify each person’s responsibilities after marriage or upon divorce.

A prenup can include a variety of provisions from financial to lifestyle. Examples of financial provisions include providing how pre-marital and post-marital debts will be paid, and determining the ownership of the marital residence and secondary homes in the event of death or divorce. They can also define rights or limits to alimony, maintenance, or spousal support. Examples of lifestyle or non-financial issues include career decisions and child rearing. However, it should be noted that such clauses are generally considered morally persuasive, rather than legally binding. Moreover, in a clause relating to childrearing, the rights of the child cannot be adversely affected by provisions in a prenup and are always subject to judicial review in the “best interests of child.” Finally, violations of public policy, wherein one spouse would be left destitute by the prenup or an agreement to commit a criminal act cannot be covered by a prenup.

Most newly engaged couples avoid discussing the topic of a prenup because they are afraid that their fiance(e) will view them as doubting whether the marriage will last.

While bringing up a prenup can be uncomfortable, once broached, it brings up many important issues, which are best discussed and agreed upon prior to marriage, bringing couples closer and ultimately strengthening their union.

In the event you have not made a prenup prior to your marriage, all is not lost. While a prenuptial agreement is between a prospective bride and groom and is entered into Photo credit: Wross Locklear Law

A

prenuptial agreement is a legally binding contract that spells out how a couple’s assets would be divided in the event of divorce or death. If you did not sign a prenuptial agreement with your partner prior to getting married, you nonetheless have one: A one-size-fits-all standard “prenup” brought to you by your state legislature and local judges. In other words, in the absence of a prenup, you are at the mercy of state law in the event of divorce.

In recent years, the stigma surrounding prenups has started to dissipate as more and more career-minded couples are opting to have them—in other words, prenups are not just for the rich and famous anymore. There are several possible explanations for this phenomenon. First, almost half of all first marriages end in divorce, and the divorce rate on subsequent unions is even higher. People are also delaying marriage until later in life, which means that by the time they marry, they have accumulated more assets. Finally, divorce laws are nebulous and judges have a tremendous amount of discretion in this highly subjective area. Thus, prenups enable couples to decide for themselves and write their own contract, thereby clarifying, modifying, and even overriding existing state laws.

In the absence of a prenup, courts make a distinction between marital property and separate property. Marital property includes all income and property acquired during the marriage by either spouse. This includes salaries and bonuses, real estate, business income, and assets in retirement plans. The method for dividing marital property depends on the state where you are getting divorced. If the divorce takes place in one of the nation’s nine “community property” states (including California, Texas, and Arizona) the property is usually split fifty-fifty. In the remaining 41 “equitable distribution” states, marital property is divided according to what a court deems “fair,” taking into account factors such as the length of the marriage and the existence of children.

Separate property includes assets owned by each spouse prior to the marriage, as well as inheritances received during the marriage. While you typically get to keep the original value of your separate property, many states require you to share the appreciation of the separate property with your spouse.

Most newly engaged couples avoid discussing the topic of a prenup because they are afraid that their fiance(e) will view them as doubting whether the marriage will last. before marriage, a postnuptial agreement is an agreement between a husband and wife and is entered into after marriage. Similar to its cousin, a postnuptial agreement can vary widely, but commonly includes provisions for division of property and spousal support in the event of divorce, death of one of the spouses, or breakup of marriage.

One reason that a couple may want to enter into a postnup is to try to shore up a rocky marriage, for example when one spouse has been unfaithful and the aggrieved spouse seeks to protect his/her financial stake in a marriage Often times couples considering a divorce end up reconciled through a postnup.

Postnups also arise for practical reasons such as when a couple goes through a major financial change where one spouse gets a significant promotion, a sizable income increase, or has started his or her own business.n Priyanka Wolan is an immigration attorney with Wolan Law. She can be reached at (323) 825-1653 or pwolan@wolanlaw.com. Her website is wolanlaw.com

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india currents • february 2012 • 35

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books

Jeanne E. Fredriksen

Chaos and Strength KARMA: A NOVEL IN VERSE by Cathy Ostlere. Penquin Young Readers Group: New York. $18.99. 528 pages. razorbillbooks.com. penguin.com/teens. cathyostlere.com Available in hardcover, paperback, and digital copies.

T

eens are hard sells when it comes to reading choices. Often they require escapism, high-octane action, or perfect romance in a compelling story.

In Cathy Ostlere’s Karma: A Novel in Verse, young adult readers find ample amounts of all three. It is an intricate and powerful coming-of-age story set during one of modern India’s most turbulent times.

A 15-year-old girl from the prairies of Manitoba, Canada, travels to India to deliver her Hindu mother’s ashes. No sooner than when she and her Sikh father land in Delhi is Prime Minister Indira Gandhi assassinated.

Separated during the melee that follows, the girl— Maya to her late mother, Jiva to her father—is forced to make hard and split-second decisions in the middle of a human firestorm.

She finds herself lost in the chaos of a country she doesn’t know, witness to unspeakable murder, then sheltered by a family torn by her presence. Mute, shocked, and fearful, Maya cannot express her feelings or reveal her identity. Subject to physical and verbal abuse by backward, superstitious people, it is only the devotion of a young man named Sandeep that makes her feel safe, loved, and whole again.

In 1984, Ostlere traveled the world and quickly fell in love with India. It was later in Nepal when she learned of the prime minister’s assassination and the subsequent riots and bloodshed. Upon her return to Canada, she recorded her feelings and observations.

Eventually, those words formed the basis for the novel, and Karma began to solidify following her second trip to India in 2005.

On her website Ostlere writes, “India is a complicated country. Desperate. Frightening. Passionate. But she is also full of faith, joy and hope. In Karma, I wanted Maya to come to a similar understanding about the country where her parents came from.”

Divided into three distinct sections— Maya’s diary, Sandeep’s notebook, and Jiva’s journal—Karma is the written word of two seemingly-disparate characters. But as different as the two might appear by virtue of upbringing and environment, they are comparable in age and basic needs—understanding, love, and respect.

There are two factors that make this novel a powerhouse. Karma is written in verse,

36 • india currents • february 2012

which facilitates the urgency of youth as well as the situations the characters find themselves in. Verses range from short and pointed to lengthier, prose-like entries still within the demanding confines of the poetic. Some verse is conversational and set apart on the page so it becomes vital, visual dialogue. The entire novel features an economy of language that yields sharp images, raw emotions, and tender acts. Verse is outside the norm for young adult novels, so Ostlere is often asked why she chose to tell the story in this unique way.

“Karma’s poetic form suits the emotional lives of Maya and Sandeep,” she says.

“Their feelings are intense, their insights into the world are sharp and critical, and their understanding of what it means to be human is fresh, ragged, not yet smoothed by maturity, not yet smoothed by conventional narrative. Poetry is the perfect medium for their age. The short sentence. The precise image. The outbursts of feeling.”

As a complement to verse, the convention of the personal diary affords the characters honesty and provides them privacy, a place where their most intimate thoughts, questions, and feelings are free to exist. Ostlere is fully aware of the impact this device has on her story.

“Teenage diaries are often filled with halfthoughts, memories, laments, and emotional outpourings,” she states in her blog. “The brief phrases and absence of punctuation offers so much movement within the text— an almost stream-of-consciousness writing that carries the story along at a fast pace.”

Ostlere’s writing is filled with crisp figurative language, pinpointing the characters’ emotions and propelling the story, the characters, and the reader forward. Rich and lyrical, the text offers a deep study into Maya, Sandeep, and the world in which they find each other.

Most notable about Maya is the inner strength and a maturity not typical of 15-yearold girls. “I believe Maya’s strength of self comes to her from two streams: from her direct experience of alienation at home and school and, genetically, from her willful parents,” Ostlere says. “Maya is a child born to two dreamers cut off from their families, detached from their new community, and ultimately separated from each other because of different responses to their Canadian life. Maya must learn to be emotionally self-reliant in the midst of her mother’s instability and loss of self; And though passionate and sensual like her mother, sinking into despair and silence, Maya finds the strength that her father has modeled and eventually chooses life instead of death.”

When writing for young adults, it is imperative that the readers feel kinship with the characters immediately. Maya easily fits the bill. On the surface she is interested in boys, loyal to her best friend, and a product of her parents. However, when tragedy impacts her in India, she experiences conflict over which side she should take based on her own blend of cultures. Sandeep reflects his own culture and environment, and he exhibits other traits that will resonate with teens. He is energetic, brutally honest, and sharp-witted. He becomes Maya’s voice when she is unable to communicate.

Teens also will identify with a debate between Maya and her father about independence, understanding, and control of one’s own life. And they will recognize the conflict Maya feels about who she really is. At one point, her fear, frustration, and anger are clearly expressed when she says, “I mix up my words. And my languages. Hindi and Punjabi and English are stirred into an angry tongue. I am the embodiment of the painful history of this country.”

“In Karma,” Ostlere says, “I wanted to introduce the question: Why do human beings murder out of irrational fear and why are they not able to stop themselves? And, I do not address at all the belief that the slaughter in Delhi was organized, systematic, and supported by the government.

“In 2005, I flew to India for the second time, over the pole, witnessing the dance of the northern lights, and I reflected on the religious concept that the physical world is only a dream; if so, what then is reality? This is one of the central questions in Karma. If the world is a construct made of thought, what will the new generation create out of their thinking?”

When the blog Wicked Awesome Books asked what she would like readers to learn from Karma, Ostlere responded, “That young hearts and minds are powerful in their capacity for love, strength, intelligence, and forgiveness. Injustice must be met with strength—a constant vigilance. Beware the frail heart, particularly one’s own.”

Wise words for adults of all ages. n Jeanne E. Fredriksen reads and writes from Wake Forest, NC.

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india currents • february 2012 • 37

Geetika Pathania Jain

Made Helpless By Desire THE TWO KRISHNAS by Ghalib Shiraz Dhalla. Magnus Books, New York. 360 pages. $14.95. Available in paperback and ebook editions. t its heart, Los Angeleno Ghalib Shiraz Dhalla’s most recent offering The Two Krishnas is a novel about unruly desire.

The intensity of the all-consuming forbidden desire between the married Rahul and his younger lover Atif has the potential to destroy everything in its path.

One such early casualty is Rahul’s marriage.

His son Ajay notes with bitterness the resemblance between his parents’ house and “an abandoned set, one upon which the drama had already unfolded but which had yet to be dismantled.” Ajay’s mother, the India Currents-reading Pooja, is powerless to control the emotional tsunami that eventually threatens to obliterate her universe.

This is an adults-only book. And, in case it wasn’t already obvious, this book might be offensive to some readers. Dhalla’s attempts to reread the polysemic Indian scriptures from a gay perspective could be seen as sacrilegious.

For readers who make it past the first few pages, descriptions of drug-induced experiences of cosmic unity might be cause for mild outrage, though lately I just don’t seem to have a good handle on what outrages people anymore. The Occupy Movement rage, for instance, seems quite comprehensible to me, but the boycott of a film such as Sita Sings the Blues for ostensibly denigrating Indian culture is a bit mystifying. Still, I am pretty sure the book will manage to offend a few people.

My advice is to read it anyway. You might learn interesting facts about the harrowing experience of Indians in Kenya in the 80s.

You might even agree that the legislation of morality leads to unintended consequences.

Societal stability rests on strong marriages, yet as long as gays are excluded from marriage and forced along paths that society determines for them, the results will be disastrous. This is the main target that Dhalla appears to have in his crosshairs.

Along the way, Dhalla takes the time to snipe at contemporary trends. The popularity

A

38 • india currents • february 2012

of the ancient practice of yoga among Los Angelenos of a certain ilk is one such trend.

The term “bobos,” (bourgeois bohemians,) coined by David Brooks, comes to mind for these affluent spiritual seekers. Deepak Chopra makes the list. So does matchmaker.com.

To assist with the cultural skewering, the book is populated by several colorful characters.

Young Greg Goldstein has embraced Hinduism and the name Parmesh, to the dismay of his parents. Sonali is a busybody aunty character, whose quickie marriage to a visiting NRI might have been the best decision of her life. Some characters are just amusing caricatures— the flaming gay club owner Nuru, the Asian neighbor Nona who can’t drive without rear-ending her car— but they do seem to legitimately belong in a certain Los Angeles neighborhood.

Even the blandness of Pooja’s suburban existence is recognizable. If Pooja’s life seems normal and everyone else just seems bizarre, this might not be the book for you.

Poor Pooja Kapoor. She has prayed faithfully to Lord Krishna, and we share her pain when her own husband shows the polygamous tendencies of her favorite deity. That the gopi in question is a man young enough to be her son seems like a particularly cruel blow. She does seem to deserve better.

But Ajay is clearly beyond the point where he can turn back. Dhalla ruefully notes: “We can force ourselves to tolerate certain people, to acclimate to a job we detest, and for a while, even rein ourselves in with logic and common sense. But we are truly helpless against the heart and its obdurate desires.”

There is quite a lot to recommend this book. The prose is suffused with Sufi poetry and familiar mythological and Bollywood references, much as the air that the lovers breathe is redolent with tuberoses. Poignant and sensitive, the poetics of this latter-day Dhalla takes us on a heart-stirring journey into the innermost depths of our emotional lives. Yet the difficult themes also force a rethinking of the current political climate that would deny gays the right to live authentic lives. And that is clearly the thought that Dhalla would like to leave us with.n

“We Have Enabled This Deception”

A

s the following interview with author Ghalib Shiraz Dhalla reveals, the narrative of his latest novel, The Two Krishnas, serves as a clear societal warning label on the dangers of legislating morality.

The book is such a joy to read, Ghalib. I was especially delighted to see India Currents mentioned in your book! Could you comment on the politics of unruly desire?

Desire is incapable of hypocrisy. This isn't just the first line of the novel, it's also the kernel of The Two Krishnas. We cannot fake desire or dictate to it. Race, religion, age, sexual orientation—all of these are masks to cover the fact that ultimately, we are all the same. These disguises that we may have been born with, and which we continue to don in our hubris to remain different, disintegrate in the face of desire.

Transgressing societal boundaries within which love can be sanctioned, we see the protagonists Rahul and Atif defy a dizzying number of such expectations, not only of monogamous heterosexuality, but of age, religion, even legal status in their adopted homelands.

Your thoughts?

Rahul and Atif represent these societal and communal polarities, but soon we realize that despite the differences, they are irresistibly and irrevocably drawn to one another and couldn't be more alike on the level of the soul.

As a writer, I wanted to explore a love story that transcended these oppressive notions, to expose how we are completely helpless and equalized in the face of desire and love.

Hindu, Muslim, gay, straight—it doesn't matter. Ultimately we all want the same thing—to belong, to love. But in a world where we are unable to get past such differences, where we judge desire as “unruly” just because it's different from ours; when we deprive others of the right to live honest lives due to societal or religious pressures, we set the stage for deception. We become complicit in the resulting tragedy.

The younger Atif is especially sympathetic.

The reader senses his vulnerability as he seeks to fuse into the psyche of the older man, in whom he simultaneously sees both a sacred and paternal presence.

Rahul represents the traditional man who has committed himself to the imprisoning “closet” as many do to appease family, due to personal insecurities about their sexuality, and/or a fear of being rebuked. Atif, on the other hand, is from a younger generation, one that is more sexually progressive, so he dares to stand up for himself, even at the cost of being disowned by his family. In each other, they find what is lacking—Rahul sees in Atif the youth he has sacrificed to live a lie and raise a family, and Atif sees in Rahul the parents that he has lost.

Could you comment on the difference in power between the two men?

When two people connect on such a profound level, beyond mere physical attraction, the balance of power is equal and transcends gender, caste, or creed. Such chemistry between two men has existed in history and literature, but we've conveniently masked it as either a metaphor for the love of God or ignored the details altogether.

The characters suffer. Scarred by tragedy and rejection respectively, and seeking fulfillment in each other’s arms, the protagonists embark on a journey that we fear will end badly.

Lic. #0773339

Is Rahul being punished for his selfishness in the ending?

Rahul is the dutiful, compliant person in all of us. After mistakenly thinking that he can squash his desires, he has obediently followed the path that family, religion and society have prescribed for him. The tragedy and blessing is that after years of following the plan, he finally encounters the one person that completes him in a way that nobody can, not even his wife, whom he undeniably loves.

But this epiphany, the courage to follow his desire, to be his authentic self, has arrived too late. It will cost him everything. Would it have been better for him to never have found his true love and ended his life in a placid but unfulfilled marriage? Or to have finally surrendered to his passion and feel completely realized even though it may destroy others?

Rahul's punishment and the resulting destruction of his family is the consequence of all of our actions and biases, each and every one of us. The Rahul Kapoors of this world feel it necessary to enter into what society has decided is normal, and shun what is natural to them because they have been brought up to believe that desiring another man is a sin and something to be ashamed of. When we encounter a woman—a sister, an aunt, a girlfriend—who has been devastated because her husband has decided to come out of the closet, it is important to realize that we, as a society, have enabled this deception. By

By creating a world where we refuse to let others live their lives honestly, we create the closet.

creating a world where we refuse to let others live their lives honestly and have the same privileges, we create the closet and a stage for deception.

For example, consider our time. We have so many problems today—climate change, financial corruption, natural disasters, poverty—and yet we find the time to exercise a moral authority and keep gay people from getting married—a foolish distraction from the real problems. Ultimately, what we have done is create a world in which the Rahul Kapoors have little choice but to follow the prescribed moral plan, to fake their way to fit in, until one day when they can't do it anymore and others are hurt. Hopefully The Two Krishnas will help us to understand that the more compassionate we are and the better we learn to accept those that are different from us, the better it is for everyone in the end. n Geetika Pathania Jain lives in Cupertino and teaches online media courses for the University of Phoenix. In the last week, she has visited several florists in search of tuberoses.

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IC

fiction

Koan

Swarnalatha Rangarajan

.

Katha 2011 Finalist

T

he Ganga is golden foam in the still morning. She allows me to forget my newly dead family now and then.

The river is all outbreath; I sing along but feel breathless after a few minutes. Guru, the neo-monk, makes monkey faces at me and skips from one sun-warmed rock to the other before plunging into the bone-chilling waters, flushed with the largesse of melting ice. “Come!” he waves out to me, “Take a dip and get rid of your sins!” I shake a fist at my childhood friend in mock anger.

He has been behaving in this impossible manner ever since I landed in Rishikesh. I was aching to bombard him with the question that had lodged itself in every crack and crevice of my mind like a tenacious koan.

G

uru would be the right one for answers.

I know for sure that he has cracked it— this whole drama of love, suffering, and death.

A deep quiet lingers in him all the time like the magical fragrance of the frangipani tree around which he and I played our running and catching games as children.

It was my tenth day in Rishikesh but I hadn’t been able to sit him down for a serious conversation. Why the hell doesn’t he tell me how to go through this messy business of life?

Wasn’t it a monk’s dharma? Until a month ago my life could be readily reckoned by a whole range of happiness quotients. There were so many palpable indicators—the large suburban house for which the mortgage had been paid, a doting husband who had recently become the chief executive officer of a successful startup company, and a brilliant teenage daughter who had worked her way into Harvard Business School. In short, life was as perfect as those personalized family photo cards that we used to send our friends and relatives back home in India for the New Year.

As I obsessively watched re-telecasts of the plane crash on television, images of fire invaded my brain in which my husband and daughter crinkled and curled like bits of paper tossed about by the wind. The event played itself over and over in my mind like a wornout gramophone record until the core of my self collapsed like a dying star.

40 • india currents • february 2012

W

hat is it that remains after everything else has been taken away?” I picked the loudest question buzzing in my head and laid it before Guru the previous night.

Scratched his shaved head vigorously he said, “Don’t ask me difficult questions, Anu! If we stay back discussing these serious questions, we might just miss dinner!”

I fought an impulse to scream out aloud that my question was important. Didn’t he realize that I was on the verge of abandoning the long wait in this tedious transit lounge of life? All I wanted to do was to leapfrog into the strange, dark land which had swallowed up my husband and daughter. However it soon became clear to me that Guru did not want to entertain any discussion about my personal tragedy. As I tossed and turned in my bed that night I wondered if he was doing this to me intentionally.

I was woken up at four in the morning by Guru, not a bad thing considering the fact that I had not slept a wink the previous night.

Handing me a cup of hot comforting tea, he said, “I will not insist that you sit in for the morning bhajan, Anu! But I would be delighted if you spend some time admiring our Ganga who looks extremely fetching at this time of the year!” I mutely nod and try to keep pace with Guru’s long effortless strides through the narrow mud path to the riverfront. The question buzzes like a bluebottle inside my head and I have this funny feeling that I will have to figure out the answer myself.

I perch myself on a triangular rock from where I can see the panoramic twirl of the

river. The temple priest drawing water to bathe the deity is swathed by the gentle light of the rising sun; his brass pot gleams like burnished gold. Ancient vedic chants floating in the air dissolve in the riversong. The huge bell in the river shore temple calls out in deep-throated resonance, breaking the reverie of resting birds. Its reverberations also die into the river. Guru is a mere dot in the riverscape. He waves out to me and swims ahead, prodding a gaggle of children who are gingerly testing the waters. In a couple of minutes Ganga’s mighty chant is slivered by their shouts and hoops.

The spine of the Lakshman Jhoola stretches before me like a golden bow in the morning. Underneath the bridge, the Ganga gurgles past the mossy slabs of the bathing ghat with her usual turbulence.

Today she is in a playful mood. She tickles my feet with icy fingers and dangles a garland of marigolds and crimson hibiscus flowers on my toes. A small group of pilgrims has already gathered around the bathing ghat. The strains of a lilting Bengali song come floating in the air. The words of the song are not very distinct but I am able to catch the refrain: “Deliver us, O Mother!” Petitions take on myriad forms and the Ganga is all-accepting.

The mellow sound of the Pashupathinath temple bell wraps everything in a seamless silence. The sorcery of the river quietens people down. They find themselves watching the swelling river, the emerging red disc of the sun and the silver-finned fish nibbling the skin on their toes with insistent, groping mouths. For some time they forget to discuss the forthcoming election or pour into willing ears the sordid domestic chronicles of their everyday life. The fullness of the present moment spreads over them like honey.

The high-pitched scream of a woman rends the air. Her face has turned ashen; she is pointing at something. A corpse is floating down the river. The bamboo raft carrying it swerves and changes direction, bringing it within the full view of the pilgrims. The corpse is dressed in the traditional goldbrocaded, bridal red sari. Its open mouth is stuffed with uncooked rice grains. The garland around its neck has been reduced to a handful of faded rose petals and twine. It is an old corpse. More than two days must have

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passed since the family had entrusted the holiest of rivers with the task of removing the taint of death from it. Vultures had gotten at it. One side of the face was ripped open, exposing a hollow eye socket and a few mangled facial tissues. The river glimmers with sparkles of golden sunlight. Flowers, lamps, and cradles float effortlessly in tandem with the corpse. As I said earlier, the Ganga is all-accepting.

G

uru is back. He shakes the river from his body like a wet dog. He pats me gently on the head saying, “Don’t try to understand the river! She will elude you!”

Feigning anger I retort, “Are you trying to tell me something profound or just calling me stupid?”

Briskly wringing his saffron overcloth he replies, “Not at all! I know for sure that you were sitting on that rock thinking about the delicious laddus that are being prepared for the morning worship. Since you will have to wait half an hour for that, why don’t you join us in our game?” I have no choice but to pull myself up and follow the trial blazed by the blithe swami.

Guru draws an interesting sand mandala with intersecting triangles on the river bed and proclaims with mock seriousness, “We are now going to lay out gifts for Mother Ganga!

Bring her whatever you can!” Bright eyes and eager feet feed on this directive. Red-throated hibiscus flowers and lush neem sprigs are

42 • india currents • february 2012

gathered in great haste; nimble fingers vie with one another to gather the ivory-bright shards of coconuts lying in front of the Ganesha shrine.

“My mother gives Ganga ma red glass bangles every Friday. Shall I run back home and bring a few?” The question comes from five-year-old Maya who I see every evening at the river front with her mother.

Guru stays the child saying, “Later Maya!

Ganga ma will be here any minute.” Turning to me he says, “What about you? What are you going to give?”

I smile the apologetic smile of a pauper.

Death had stripped away too many things!

For a moment I remember how their bodies already charred beyond recognition, collapsed into a heap of ashes in no time at the electric crematorium. I offered the dust of those fragile bones to the Ganga the day I arrived, putting away a pinch in the locket which I wear around my neck. Guru’s playful gaze takes on a keen edge as he repeats “Give!” Instinctively I remove the locket and place in it on the mandala. It feels like a sacrilege, this letting go. However, it is too late to undo my action.

“Look! Ganga ma is bringing us flowers!” Whooping in joy, Maya enters the chrysanthemum-river which draws the child deeper into its bosom with a quicksilver arm.

Guru leaps in after the child. Ganga careens through to accept the gifts on the sand man-

dala, the swami and the child.

Everyone watches in shock. An old monk from the ashram folding his palms in salutation says, “Not even their bones will be found!”

A young swami, whom I recognize as Guru’s friend, begins a guttural, slow-paced chant: mrityorma amritam gamaya, om shanti, shanti, shanti. His gentle voice has a calming influence and very soon the chant is on everyone’s lips: “Lead us from death to immortality!”

I don’t join them for a different drummer was calling out for my attention.

What is it that remains after everything else has been taken away?

Guru’s voice calls out to me from the depths of the waters, “Laddus are being distributed as prasad at the Pashupathinath temple! Try this answer for a beginning!”

The guffawing river roars past, drowning his chuckle. n Swarnalatha Rangarajan is Associate Professor at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Madras, India. She was a Fulbright visiting scholar at Harvard University where she took a course in advanced fiction writing. Her short fiction has appeared in Zuban’s 21 under 40, Penguin’s First Proof and South Asian Review. She is currently working on her first novel.

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youth

Ramya Kaushik

Memories of Patti

T

o everyone in the world, she was S. Lalitha, to those who were close to her she was Lallama, to me she was Patti (grandma). She wanted me to write this a while ago, and a pang of guilt hits my chest as I write these words, because she is no more. I owe her this small tribute, if not more.

My grandmother and I did not agree on most things, if anything at all. As I grew older the relationship between my grandmother and me grew further apart. Living more than 3,000 miles away did not help us mend our relationship. But she was so dear to me. I’ve decided to compile a list of characteristics from my memories that best describes my Patti—the ones I will share with my kids, my grandchildren, and the generations to follow.

The Stories

Since the age of six, my grandmother has told her grandchildren every Amar Chitra Katha story that has ever been published.

However, Patti did not need some colored comic book to tell the stories of our gods; instead she spoke from her heart, using facial expressions and hand movements to make the characters and situations come alive. As my brother and I flinched at the sight of Indian food, Patti would make us forget how much we despised the food in front of us by rolling the rice into balls and launching into a story as she put the spheres into our mouths. She had our full attention; we were entranced by the devas, the asuras, and the kings she spoke about who lived in such faraway places and times, yet seemed so near. She told the story in broken English, asking for help with words whose pronunciation she was not sure of.

As we grew older, my father encouraged her to tell her stories in Tamil, but she did not want to lose our attention, and continued in English. By the end of my 17 years, Patti had mastered the language without any English lessons. Today I sit here, unable to recall the details to any specific story. Perhaps after concentration, and a bit of research, I can write one down to pass on to the generations to come. But the memory of those exciting storytelling sessions will never fade.

The Temples The Hindu religion has been preached to me since a young age, and I was forced

44 • india currents • february 2012

to memorize and learn multiple bhajans and slokas. At seven I did not know why I was memorizing them, but with every phone call to India I was urged to recite the mantra I had learned in Balavihar class that week. Patti would burst with enthusiasm and, although I did not know the meaning or the importance of what I had memorized, it made me happy that Patti was proud.

On my visits to India, I noticed that Patti would walk to the temple, which was 15 minutes away, and feed the cows lined up along the wall with the leftover food from lunch and breakfast. My dad jokes that the cows knew when Lallama was coming and every time she approached they would begin mooing, as if they were cheering. Each time she went, she pleaded that my brother and I take our eyes off the TV and come with her, but it was hard for us to get enthusiastic about temple visits.

Now I regret not going with her, but I’m glad my grandmother did what made her happy. I will always admire her devotion and faith.

The Arguments

As I’ve mentioned, Patti and I did not see eye to eye. I grew up in California speaking only English (with the exception of those bhajans and slokas!) and was au courant on all the fashion trends and hair styles. When I came to India, Patti would try to enlighten me on what a “proper” Indian girl would wear, but I would defy each suggestion. When I was younger, I was an obedient child, and prone to folowing her advice. I drenched my hair in oil, put a bindi on, washed my face frequently, put flowers in my hair, wore salwars for fun, and enjoyed pleasing my grandmother. However, as I grew into my teenage years, I became more rebellious, something I am not proud of today. I used a straightener instead of oil, caked my face with makeup, discovered to my horror that flowers attract bugs, refused to plait my hair, and thought baggy t-shirts and torn jeans were the most comfortable attire for the Indian heat. I still remember a time when I had an anklet on, a teenage statement of fashion. My grandmother saw I was wearing only one and was highly disapproving. I had to explain to her it was not a typical golusu but she insisted I wear another one on my other foot. I was annoyed by my grandmother’s oblivion to the latest trends and took the

S. Lalitha Sundaram

anklet off.

The Devotion

My Patti loved her children and her grandchildren with her entire heart. Her visits to the temple were filled with prayers for her family and I don’t believe she asked for anything but the safety of her family. The phone calls I had with her were filled with questions about the numerous activities I took part in. She was proud of everything I had accomplished, even though she did not always express it in words. During the trips to India when I traveled without my parents, Patti was the one who cooked, cleaned, swept, and cared for my grandfather. She did this all single handedly, with devotion and love. She always asked what my favorite sweets were.

I would nod at any obscure name she said to me, but nevertheless, the sweet would be given to me after dinner. Once, Patti asked my brother and I what food we liked, and my brother automatically said “mattar paneer,” a North Indian dish that she had never cooked, or even eaten before. She was not able to cook such rich foods normally because of my grandfather’s diet, but she bought the materials and attempted to make the dish. When I offered to help, she told me it was my vacation and I was there to relax. I never offered twice, another regret of mine, and watched as she continued with her chores.

I could write pages about my grandmother, fill this entire magazine with all the memories I have of her, but nothing would compensate for all she has given and taught me. She kept all the drawings I made for her, from the age of three, and showed relatives and friends every time they visited. She told me one day I would become a successful writer, and always asked me to write about her.

My Patti was an incredible woman, who lived for her family and God. She has engrained morals in my head, and has encouraged me to become anything I wish to be. She will be missed by the people who loved her the most, but my Patti will not be forgotten. n Ramya Kaushik is a junior in Irvington High School. She is the editor of her school newspaper and frequently visits India.

india currents • february 2012 • 45

IC

tax talk Khorshed Alam

Tax Filing Tips Get an early start on filing your tax returns for 2011 Good Recordkeeping

Right after the holidays, get an early start on your tax return filing. Maintaining good records can make filing your tax returns easier, and this will help you not miss any transactions you made during the year. Here are a few steps for good recordkeeping.

• Keep any and all documents that may have an impact on your tax returns, leading to more legitimate deductions and less tax liability.

• Keep records in a safe place. You may like to organize them by year and type of income or expense, or keep all records related to a particular item in a designated envelope.

Keeping organized records ensures you can answer questions if your return is selected for examination, or prepare a response if you receive a notice.

• You should normally keep records relating to property for at least three years after you sell or otherwise dispose of the property.

• If you are a small business owner, you have to keep all your employment tax records for at least four years after the tax becomes due or is paid, whichever is later.

Examples of important documents a business owner must keep include: Gross receipts: Cash register tapes, bank deposits slips, receipts books, invoices, credit card charge slips, and Form 1099MISC. Proof of purchases: Cancelled checks, cash register tape receipts, credit card sales slips, and invoices.

Expense documents: Canceled checks, cash register tapes, accounting statements, credit card sales slips, invoices, and petty cash slips for small payments.

Documents to verify your assets: Purchase and sales invoices, real estate closing statements, and canceled checks.

Keep all the documents in a folder and Label “2011-Tax Return Filing.”

Organize Tax Documents as You Receive Them

Save all documents you receive in the mail or directly from your employers as they contain information that you will need for tax return preparation. Take a moment to review each document as it comes in so that your tax preparer can correct discrepancies well before he or she starts preparing your return. If there is a mistake, getting a corrected W-2 or 1099 form can take time, so don’t wait until the last

46 • india currents • february 2012

minute. Typical forms may include: • W-2s from your employers • 1099-MISC forms for self-employed income • 1099-INT (interest) and 1099-DIV (dividend) forms • 1099-G tax refunds and unemployment compensation • 1099-B forms showing brokerage trades in stocks and bonds, along with statements showing when you bought and sold your investments • K-1 income and deductions from partnership, S corporations, trusts, and estates • 1099-SA form showing Social Security re-

ceived • 1099-R distributions from pensions, annuities, retirement or profit-sharing plans, IRAs, insurance contracts, etc.

• Proof of jury duty pay • Proof of alimony you received • Records of income and expenses for your rental property • Records of income and expenses for your self-employment • Scholarships and fellowships • Prizes and awards • Gambling and lottery winnings

Itemize Deductions

To get all the possible legitimate deductions, go through all your checkbooks, credit card statements, and receipts for cash purchases. Itemize expenses into medical, union dues, mortgage interest, real estate taxes, charitable donations, unreimbursed work related expenses, personal property taxes (i.e.

DMV license fees), and any other expense which might be applicable in your case. These documents may include: • Health care expenses (doctors, dentists, health insurance, eye care, medicine) • Real estate taxes • Motor vehicle registration (DMV license fee) • Mortgage interest paid (1098) • Home equity loan interest • Gifts to charities and churches (monetary and other) • Last year’s tax preparation fees • Unreimbursed job related expenses (union dues, job education, uniforms) • Loss of property due to casualty or theft • Gambling losses • Contributions to your traditional or SEP-IRA • Moving expenses • College expenses (Student loan interest 1098-E) • Daycare, childcare, or adult daycare costs • Rental property expenses • Alimony paid • Adoption expenses • Job-hunting expenses • Investment expenses • Unreimbursed business or volunteer work expenses If you paid estimated taxes, bring a summary of your federal and state estimated payments and canceled checks.

Other documents that may be helpful are: • HUD-1 escrow statement for property you bought or sold • Summary of educational expenses (college tuition) • IRA contributions (traditional, SEP, or rollovers)

Schedule Your Tax Appointments Early

Try to schedule your tax appointment as soon as you get most of the documents in the mail. Afterward, you may need to chase down missing records or resolve other problems before the April 15 filing deadline.n The information contained in this article is of a general nature. Please consult your tax attorney or finance professional for details.

Khorshed Alam is a practicing CPA and business valuation analyst. Check out http://alamcpatax.com or call (408) 445-1120.

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GOD’S OWN COUNTRY Refresh your spirit in Kerala

I

Kerala_treehouse in Vythiri

f nature is a great teacher, then you would find a good classroom in Kerala, aptly called “God’s Own Country.” One cannot help but notice the comradeship between man and nature throughout Kerala, a southwestern state in India wedged between the Western ghats and the Arabian Sea. Bestowed with pristine beauty, this marvel has been named one of National Geographic’s “ten paradises of the world—a must-see destination in the 21st century.”

Some of the memorable destinations within Kerala include the hill stations of Munnar and Wayanad, the serene beauty of Lake Vembanad in the backwaters in Alappuzha, the palm-fringed beaches of Kovalam, and the wildlife sanctuaries in Periyar.

Wayanad figured high on the list of must-see places this year for me. An idyllic destination for vacationers, Wayanad in northwestern Kerala is a region immersed in a dazzling variety of wildlife.

As my taxi wound its way up the hill after picking me up at Calicut Airport, I asked the driver to pull over several times so I could take in the majestic landscape with lofty ridges, waterfalls, and mountain streams. I was not surprised to learn that Wayanad is the most species-rich ecological region in India, a part of the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves.

tropical birds, Malabar squirrels, monkeys and a gurgling mountain stream to welcome me onto the property.

I was in a shared kingdom.

I kept my camera close and heart closer as I stopped several times to give way to bright yellow forest snails taking their time to cross over, to let shy Malabar squirrels scuttle their way up a tree, to take pictures of monkeys frolicking high in the branches, and to follow neon-colored butterflies. At some point I just put away my camera to let my spirit dance to the symphony of the birds, the stream, and my own heartbeat.

I stayed in one of the bucolic cottages built in the style native to the region. A small patio opened up to a sparkling mountain

O

stream amidst wilderness. Cottages on this property come with modern facilities, and you have a good variety to choose from.

What is dreamy about this resort are the five unique treehouses built by local craftsmen using indigenous techniques and locally sourced materials. Surrounded by mesmerizing lush forests, these treehouses are a true reflection of the love the natives of Kerala have for nature. Living in harmony with na-

ne of the finest resorts in Wayanad is the Vythiri Resort. A two-mile drive on an unpaved and rugged path that ribbons off from the main road took us to this rustic jungle resort. From the moment I entered the gates, I realized that I was doing a cheekto-cheek dance with the foliage as I strolled through the stone-lined pathways. The flamboyantly colored butterflies vied with the

Tree house

ture takes on a different meaning here. For instance, the treehouses are fashioned to let the branches go through the house via the floor. Their growth is not thwarted. Not a single nail passes through them. I was surprised to see five branches of the tree as part of the décor. A manually operated pulley, that is counteracted by a water bag, serves as an elevator up the strong pica trees. Relaxing in the lap of nature in the heart of a tropical rain forest and hearing the birdsong from a height of 75 feet is a heady feeling. What brought me down were the hunger pangs that took me to the restaurant; eating in is discouraged in the tree house.

If you have never tried Kerala cuisine, you may want to try it here. A myriad of Kerala dishes, the vast majority either cooked in coconut milk or coconut oil or garnished with fresh coconut shavings, awaited; puttu and kadala, avial, olan and kaalan were some of the items in the buffet that I was delighted to see. For meat lovers, karimeen (pearl spot fish) will find a place in their hearts forever.

The elderly may find the unpaved pathways and several steps to the restaurant and coffee shop challenging. For the adventurous, it will prove to be an unforgettable stroll through the property. Rest assured, your camera will capture the most memorable and romantic moments on the hanging bridge over a gushing mountain stream.

A

visit to Kerala is incomplete without a ride on the kettuvallam (the Malayalam word for houseboats) on the world-famous backwaters of Lake Vembanad in Alappuzha, south of Wayanad. The backwaters stretch india currents • february 2012 • 51

for approximately 125 miles down the state’s coastline. Once used as grain barges, especially rice from the paddy fields along the backwaters, they have now taken the shape and form of tourist houseboats. About 400 houseboats ply the waters of Lake Vembanad in Alappuzha—also known as the “Venice of the East.”

This stunning town is home for the famous annual boat race in August. Crowds from Kerala and neighboring states occupy every square inch of the pier to see the popular event. Snake-shaped boats, called chundan vallams, are a major crowd puller.

The beach is an added attraction and so are the coconut coir cottage industries.

Aboard the houseboat, a three-member crew was at my service, catering to my culinary demands. The norm is to start the journey with a welcome drink for the guests—tender coconut water. Around noon, I went to the kitchen on board and chatted up the cook as he prepared a seven course vegetarian lunch.

During the 20 miles of cruising on Vembanad Lake, I sauntered off to the top deck where a daybed enticed visitors for a siesta.

Tempting as it was, an extraordinary visual treat beguiled and saved me from the temptation of a nap. My camera worked overtime capturing endless crops of bananas, yam, and cassava plantations along the cruise. One gets to feast one’s eyes on the largest ricegrowing region in Kerala—Kuttanad—as you ply along some of the greenest paddy fields imaginable. The backwaters also happen to be the navigating route for all the people living on the shores and it was amusing to see the expressions on the faces of people either

passing by on passenger boats or waiting for the next boat at stops along the canal. Shacks, small eateries, convenience stores, and toddy shops dot the shores. Toddy is called “kallu” in Malayalam and is the palm sap that is collected in pots hung on top of palm trees.

Once fermented, it turns into kallu. It is quite popular in rural areas.

Retheesh Prakash, a houseboat owner for the last two years, says, “There are at least four categories of houseboats to choose from, 52 • india currents • february 2012

depending on your budget and your interest.

We have guests on very short holidays who take the day cruise, only to come back the following year for an overnight stay as well.”

Dining on the deck during a stunning sunset and watching the remnant colors of the setting sun dance on the waters proved to be memorable. Once the orange glow on the horizon fades away and the boat is anchored, a peek into a small Kerala village dominates the agenda for guests for the evening. “A stroll through the village after supper, exchanging pleasantries with the villagers, and tasting some kallu are experiences to look forward to if staying the night on a houseboat,” says Prakash.

B

ack on land, I decided to stay a couple of days more and experience traditional Kerala living. Close on the heels of the houseboat jetty is Tharavad Heritage—a 100-yearold mansion along the backwater canal. It has many a story to tell about its early inhabitants. Built by an Ayurvedic medicine practitioner a century ago, this immaculatelyTharavad Heritage maintained mansion feels like a museum.

Built on ancient principles of Hindu architecture called vastu shastra, very similar to feng shui, this five-bedroom home bears an atmosphere of serenity. Madhu Mohan, one of the brothers who own this mansion, attributes the positive vibrations to the architecture. “Every one of our guests says they have never slept better. The energy of the place is such. Out of regard for my ancestors and their wisdom we have never remodeled this place. In fact, we

Houseboat

feel we may disrupt the energy flow even if we rearranged some of the large furniture.” The living room boasts a collection of antiques in brass and wood. An antique rosewood gramophone, traditionally hand-crafted teak and rosewood furniture, and other décor are preserved with much reverence, enhancing the charm of the native setting. The terracotta-tiled roof, polished teakwood planks in all the rooms, and the traditionally laid flooring mixed with burnt coconut kernel and egg white is a natural room-cooling marvel of yesteryear. Succulent home-cooked food, bereft of artificial flavors, colorings, and grease awaits you in the stone-floored dining room that opens onto a garden that is maintained just as immaculately as the interiors. Your search for a heritage home experience on land and on boat may very well end here, as the owner owns a houseboat that has been recently upgraded.

A

s I packed my bags rather reluctantly, I wondered if I would ever come back to the haven called Kerala. It seemed preordained that we take a four-hour train journey to Palakkad from Alappuzah. I had heard of the Prashnam astrology that was practiced rather extensively in Kerala and wanted to see if I could find the answers to some of my questions. This style of astrology uses special kinds of seashells and some believe that the answers to many of our questions about future may very well lie with them. You ask the question—called prashnam in Malayalam— and the seashells whisper the answers.

We reached Nandanam—the home of Prashnam astrology in Wadakanthara, a small hamlet in Palakkad district. Hindu chants filled the air, signaling that I was approaching the Wadakanthara Bhagawathi temple, the closest landmark. I knew I was closing in on all the answers to my questions when I saw a house whose design was a fusion of contemporary and traditional style, half a block away

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Kairali

from the temple. It is the home of Nandan Namboodiri, who lives here with his seashells.

He comes from a family of professional astrologers who specialize in this style of astrology—known as kavidi prashnam. “Kavidi” in Malayalam means seashells. Using these, planetary positions of an individual and the cause of his visit for consultation are found, and solutions are suggested. For this, 108 small seashells are used and they are rotated a number of times, each time invoking the grace of the guru or the Lord. A portion of the shells are separated and counted to find out the ruling planet at that time. Comparisons are made between the birth chart drawn at the time of your birth and the results from the kavidis. Accurate predictions are believed to be made about career, relationships, health and wealth, and solutions to problems plaguing you are suggested.

Why seashells? Namboodiri says that that the cluster of 108 seashells have an innate divine energy and serve as a powerful scanner to come up with accurate predictions. He says, “The powerful interplay of three factors—the birth chart, the present planetary movements, and the kavidis—makes this style very unique and helps it cut across religions.”

I

t would appear surreal if your birth star led the way for you to arrive at Kairali—the healing village. Kairali in Kodumbu is a resort 6 miles away from Wadakanthara that provides Ayurvedic treatments. But, is that all there is to it? The answer is a resounding no.

What makes Kairali ethereal is the therapeuHanging bridge Vythiri

54 • india currents • february 2012

tic energy in this property. Cottages that dot the property are built on vastu shastra principles. Each cottage is named after a birth star and inside each of them is a conch shell, called valamburi shangu, that is believed to hold positive vibrations and aid healing.

Equipped with the essentials of comfortable living, this resort promises to revitalize your body, mind, and soul. A consultation with a team of highly experienced Ayurveda doctors and a tour of the treatment rooms will be in sync with the appellation of this resort—Healing Village.

This Ayurvedic healing village is ranked

among the top 50 in the world in the National Geographic list of best-wellness meccas. If you are going to be in Palakkad and are on a short holiday, book a cottage of your birth star for your next trip. It is well worth it. You never know, you may start and end your next vacation in Kairali.

God’s own country? You bet. One visit is all it takes to understand this epithet. n Jayanti is an Indian Canadian writer, TV and radio host, and a documentary filmmaker based in Vancouver, Canada. She has vast experience in print and broadcasting in North America, including work with CNN in Atlanta.

Astrology with seashells

David Robeiro CEO of Chimera Enterprises, Trivandrum, Kerala, designs and builds treehouses in Kerala. Here, he talks about challenges and accomplishments in building these homes trees for tourists in one of the finest resorts in Wayanad in Kerala.

You not only design and build tree houses, but you are the first to build a houseboat in Kerala for tourism. Tell us a little about that.

The seed was planted by a German journalist in the early 90s. At that time there were commercial small boats carrying rice that were plying the backwaters of Alleppey. Because of the time taken by these boats to transport grains it was not seen as an economically viable industry and so it started declining. It was at this time the journalist suggested the idea of converting these boats into tourist houseboats. My partner and I took this idea and redesigned rice boats into houseboats for tourism. This is how the houseboat industry gained momentum in Kerala.

In the beginning we had plenty of tourists from Germany and now there are visitors from all over the world.

How about treehouses in resorts? How did that happen? What are some of the challenges?

I am a person who loves challenging projects. Once the houseboat business was a success, I moved to the next challenge—that was building treehouses in the rain-drenched forests of Kerala. I was approached by the owner of Vythiri Resort as he had seen some of my work in another resort. I have designed and built five in Vythiri atop huge pica trees. Some are very rustic; others have modern amenities in them, one even has a jacuzzi.

Kerala not only sees severe rains, but gusty winds as well. Sealing the treehouse from heavy downpour has been a persistent challenge. Other challenges come in the form of visitors from the animal kingdom—especially small reptiles. We take steps to keep them at bay, but nothing aggressive, because we are in their territory.

What would you say is special about the treehouses you have designed and built?

Not only are the construction materials used eco-friendly, every aspect—from conception to the finished product—is in harmony with nature. I make sure that this principle is never compromised. Not a single nail is drilled into a tree, threatening its existence. Not a single branch is cut, every branch comes through the floor and out through the roof. I am almost fanatical about protecting nature.

—Jayanthi Chandran Ram

india currents • february 2012 • 55

IC

people

Anjum Dhir Kulkarni

Candid Conversations Vandana Sood starts a unique dialogue on terrorism.

I

n 2008, while Mumbai was being attacked by terrorists, CUNY graduate student Vandana Sood watched the nightmare unfold on her laptop in New York City (NYC). “I had been working with South Asian taxi drivers in NYC, making short films about their experiences around racial profiling and discrimination post 9/11.” This background led to to Sood’s idea of “The Taxi Takes,” a web-video project comprising several short films based on candid conversations inside Mumbai taxis, centred on terrorism-related issues like faith, identity, and religious conflict.

Sood chose the taxi as a backdrop for such a social experiment because of the little niche of privacy it offers in the largely public space of the streets. “The taxi is both private and public enough to include people from different cross sections of society. The taxi space is also isolated from the streets and lets people talk intimately as they take a journey together. The nature of a meeting in a taxi is such that the drivers and passengers know that the chances of them ever meeting again are close to none. That makes the talks open, candid, and spontaneous.”

The idea kept growing in Sood’s mind till she packed her bags and left for Mumbai, a city she had visited only once before and which she hardly knew. The whole project was a gamble and she had no idea if it would actually work. Would passengers allow her to film them? Would drivers allow her to use their cabs?

“A friend told me about Kabi S and her project ‘Meter Down’ in Mumbai (Ed: a podcast consisting of conversations with taxi drivers). I contacted her and she was incredibly open about helping me. She introduced me to Jamid Ali, a young taxi driver from Uttar Pradesh who agreed to let me drive around in his taxi for a day. During this first day, I figured out most of the obstacles and challenges I would face in implementing The Taxi Takes.

Most of the people who helped me along the way were friends of mine who were convinced about the power of the project. They generously gave of their time and talent without pay, for credit on the website and a free lunch.

I could not have pulled it off without my crew and team.”

It was her ability to network and her resourcefulness that led her from one person 56 • india currents • february 2012

to another, one place to another. She was introduced to women taxi drivers through the private taxi company Priyadarshani. She went out to taxi stands and pitched her project at the top of her lungs to the drivers waiting for rides in the Mumbai heat. Some adventurous drivers took her up on her offer and were only too happy for a chance to speak their minds.

Sood took taxis everywhere and struck up conversations with drivers along the way. She also looked for drivers who had witnessed the

It took more explaining to get people to actually open up and talk freely. Sood attributes her success to her less than intimidating demeanour. Since the drivers abided with the unwritten rule that they would not speak unless spoken to, Sood would introduce the project to the passengers herself and then get the driver to kick off the conversation, and Sood would then film the candid chats between the driver and his passengers.

The Taxi Takes, for Sood, was a personal journey of discovering Mumbai with its many faces. “The most enjoyable part about working on this project was discovering the city with its taxi drivers as my guides. I remember going to Chowpatty for the first time with Jamid Ali who sat down on the beach and talked about his views on Islam and terror. Each driver had his or her own unique story of how they came to the big city, Mumbai, and how they became drivers. As I filmed and went out on the streets with my camera, I enjoyed getting to learn more about this incredibly resilient and inventive city and its people.”

The Taxi Takes has been well received worldwide. It has been feaVandana Sood tured on The Huffington Post, Voice of America, World Focus, and Beliefnet, amongst others. The film has been screened widely at film festivals and has won the Best Documentary Award at the Festival ArtDeco de Cinema in Sao Paolo, Brazil in 2011.

S

terrorist attacks.

Sood was pleasantly surprised by the positive responses she got from both the drivers and the passengers. In fact, she got a 100 percent strike rate! “If I even tried a stunt like that in NYC, most passengers would give up that cab and wait for another one. In the West people have a greater sense of privacy and space. In Mumbai I did not experience the same sense of self-preservation and wariness about my effort to film inside cabs.” When passengers hailed the taxi and saw her in it, they would think that the cab was already taken. Sood would patiently explain her presence and gain their consent to let her drive with them and film.

ood firmly believes in the voice of the common people and wants to provide a platform for them to speak their minds freely, without prejudice, and be heard. “A ‘Panchayat’ or town meeting of sorts could be held inside a taxi and people from all walks of life could raise their voices collectively against a common global atrocity like terrorism,” she suggests.

Sood has been cashing in on the social media boom to raise awareness about the project and help people raise their voices against terror. The web, according to her, is the best venue to have a truly global discussion about a topic that affects all of humanity. “I decided to create The Taxi Takes as an online media project which exists on various peer-to-peer platforms. As a conventional feature length documentary it would only be seen at film festivals. Now it has components

Anjum Dhir Kulkarni is a freelance writer from India who has written extensively for publications in India and abroad across genres, including lifestyle and technology.

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on Youtube, Vimeo, Twitter, Facebook, Blip.tv, Flickr, and Posterous. Each of these channels is integrated on to the website and blog to increase its audience.”

Sood does all the publicity on her own without the aid of an agent. She spreads the word about The Taxi Takes wherever she goes. “I attended the annual SAJA (South Asian Journalists Association) convention in NYC where I met Wojtek Gwiazda of Masala Canada and Ben Piven who worked at Wordfocus. These meetings ended up with The Taxi Takes’ first radio coverage and a great interview and feature on Worldfocus. Similarly, through screenings and film festivals, meeting different people and by word of mouth, the project has received more awareness.”

Sood also designed The Taxi Takes stickers and put them on the back of the taxis during the shoot. The final image of the taxi has been used for publicity on business cards and DVD covers. “I’ve personally put The Taxi Takes stickers on lamp posts in the Lower East Side in NYC and handed them out as replacements to business cards!”

The success of The Taxi Takes has fuelled Sood’s desire to speak up on a number of issues close to her heart while taking this project forward. She plans to network and crowdsource with people internationally. “The basic concept of The Taxi Takes becomes open intellectual property for anyone to do what I did. Anyone inside a taxi in any city around the world can take part in The Taxi Takes. Use your smart phones and video cameras to capture your own mind-bending conversations. Taxi drivers are politically-minded, hard-working blue collar workers who have a lot of takes on the world.”

The latest expansion of her project promises to reach for the skies. “The Taxi Takes on the World is/will be an online film and video festival that will focus on dialogues around issues that are common to people around the world. It aims to empower the citizens of the world to have their say on the issues that matter and divide us from one another. It would be eye-opening to hear exchanges about humanity from Beirut, London, Cairo, Hong Kong, Belgrade, Berlin, Dubai, Shanghai and any other city that experiences cotemporary conflict. Since human beings have a similar experience of suffering, conversations around terror strike a common cord. Only free communication among people will solve our global problems.”n

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recipes menus, restaurants, and a cuisine of importance in Europe and the Americas.

Praba Iyer

From French Fries to Pad Thai

T

hai restaurants have become the local “go to” place everywhere across America, from small towns like Carpentaria, CA to Lafayette, LA; from Tucker, GA to Bangor, ME. Cities with larger ethnic populations offer plenty of Thai options. How did this little country make such a big impact on the American palette? Why are so many of us making the switch from french fries to pad thai?

We are clearly becoming a more healthconscious nation, not afraid to experiment with diverse cuisines for healthier alternatives. Thai food suits the bill as it is light, flavorful, and, best of all, has a range of dishes for vegetarians. A wholesome Thai meal need not put a dent in your wallet. Thai cuisine also uses herbs and spices with medicinal attributes. Most importantly, it is simply delicious!

Origins of Thai Cuisine

Throughout the numerous invasions of their land by the French, Dutch, English, and Chinese, Thai people adapted and adopted different ways of cooking while keeping the authenticity of their cuisine intact. The cui-

sine dates back to 3500 B.C., which is when archeologists have found evidence of rice cultivation. This makes Thai cuisine older than even its Chinese and Indian counterparts.

Thai cuisine is as varied as its regions.

The Mountainous North, which is less inhabited, has evolved its own way, with simple foods that can last through hard winters. It’s the home of clear soups (Tom Yum) and mushroom dishes with Burmese and Laotian influences. The North Eastern Mekong River region boasts of the famous green papaya salad (som tam). The fertile Central Chao Praya region has a bounty of vegetables and fruits, and an abundance of spices. Hot peppers were introduced into Thai cuisine by the Portuguese. The Central region also boasts of a variety of curries, peppers, and galangal (Siamese ginger), and the fragrant jasmine rice.

Most curries are made with coconut milk, unlike the Northern region. The Southern region is well known for its seafood and fruits, grilled satays, and mussaman curry, which were influenced by Indonesian and Indian cuisines respectively.

It’s only in the last decade or so that Thai cuisine has evolved from local street fare to well-developed

An Amalgamation of Flavors

Thai cuisine is an artistic amalgamation of sweet, sour, spicy, salty, bitter, and an amazingly aromatic mix of flavors. The most distinctive quality is the harmony of these flavors in each and every dish. The most important ingredients in this cuisine are lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, palm sugar, and dark soy sauce. Thai people salt their food with fish sauce, instead of regular table salt.

India has also made its impact on Thai cuisine because of its migrants to Thailand.

Thai people adopted the curries from India with the inclusion of turmeric and coriander.

Mussaman curry has cloves, bay leaf, cinnamon, potatoes, and turmeric. There are many similarities between Thailand and India in their culture and cuisine. Just like Indians, Thais are a warm hospitable people. Guests in a Thai home are treated with high respect and regard. Food is an integral part of the Thai lifestyle. A Thai meal consists of the staple, rice, that is eaten with a variety of dishes, cold salads and condiments, and concludes with a variety of desserts.

Here are some quick and easy Thai recipes. Enjoy! n Praba Iyer teaches custom cooking classes around the SF Bay Area. She also blogs about cooking at www.rocketbites.com.

Thai Summer Rolls For the Roll Rice Paper Hot water in a large flat bowl For the Filling 6 firm tofu cut into thick matchsticks 1 pack bean thread noodles, cooked by steeping in hot water until soft and drained.

Carrots, julienned 1 bunch green onions, sliced small Roasted peanuts, chopped fine 6 Mint leaves Assemble all the ingredients in order—tofu, bean thread noodles, carrots, green onions, peanuts and mint leaves.

Place the hot water in a flat large bowl. Carefully slide the dry rice paper into the water. Let it soak for 30 seconds and once it is soft, remove with care and place it on a plate. Now add a little of all the ingredients, except mint leaves, about 2 inches away from the bottom.

Cover the ingredients with the end closest to you and tuck it under the ingredients. Now fold in both the sides towards the center. Place a mint leaf in the center and roll the wrap. Press the ends tightly to adhere.

Slice the roll in two and serve with peanut sauce.

Spicy Peanut Sauce

This needs to be made a few hours ahead for the flavors to mix

58 • india currents • february 2012

well. Can be refrigerated.

1 cup coconut milk 2 tablespoons Thai Time red curry paste (less to reduce spiciness) 1 tablespoon soy sauce ½ cup unsalted peanut butter 2 tablespoons palm sugar (or brown sugar) Salt to taste 1 lime juice Place the peanut butter in a sauce pan along with the red curry paste, mix it with the coconut milk, and slowly heat it on low heat.

Add the soy sauce, palm sugar, and salt and mix well until the sauce is smooth. Remove from heat and add the lime juice. Let it cool and serve as a dip with fresh spring rolls.

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I C relationship diva

Jasbina Ahluwalia

Finding the Time to Date

Q

I work long hours, and seem to have less and less free time. Perhaps this is why I find it almost impossible to meet people to date. Finding a relationship is important to me.

Any suggestions on what to do and where to go to meet guys with potential?

A

I understand how frustrating it can be to feel you just have no time to meet people when being in a relationship is important to you.

Since you work long-hours, why not get double the leverage from your limited personal time?

What is it that you really enjoy?

Whatever your passions and interests may be, there's likely to be a relevant local class, group, or event which will get you out there interacting with others who share your interest.

To get your creative juices flowing, I'll give you three examples: • If participating in sports is an activity

68 • india currents • february 2012

you enjoy, consider joining a co-ed league.

• If you’re a wine connoisseur, check out wine-tastings in your area • If you enjoy cooking, consider taking or teaching a class. (Teaching a “Boiling Water for Bachelors” class may be fun!)

The possibilities are endless. I love doing this fruitful exercise with our dating coaching as well as matchmaking clients.

The beauty of this strategy is two-fold.

First, you know you’ll have fun doing the things you love, regardless of whether or not you end up meeting someone; and secondly, being happily engaged in what you’re doing, really being in your element, tends to be magnetizing to guys.

Let us explore three other ways to leverage your limited time: • Consider leveraging your time by retaining the services of a professional matchmaker who can find and introduce you to guys with potential.

• Online dating. I know online dating can

be time-consuming, but the upside is tremendous reach and flexibility. Since the internet is available 24/7, you can find guys with potential whenever your crazy schedule allows.

• Perhaps most fundamentally, as a dating coach to busy professionals, I challenge my clients to consider whether they’re truly making the time and space in their lives for a relationship. I often say that people’s calendars and budgets reflect their true priorities.

If being in a relationship is a top priority for you, don’t try to wait until you somehow manage to find someone. Be sure to make time and space now.

Best wishes!n Jasbina is the founder and president of Intersections Match, the only personalized matchmaking and dating coaching firm serving singles of South Asian descent in the United States. She is also the host of Intersections Talk Radio, a monthly lifestyle show. www.IntersectionsMatch.com. Jasbina@intersectionsmatch.com.

india currents • february 2012 • 69

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india currents • february 2012 • 73

Sunday, February 19, 2012 - 8:00 am to 7:00 pm

Thyagaraja Aradhana Day (Community Event) Venue: Quinlan Community Center 10185 N. Sterling Rd., Cupertino, CA 95014

SIFA 2012 Committee Elections: For details visit: http://www.southindianfinearts.org

For participation, registration and guidelines: Visit http://www.southindianfinearts.org Sunday, March 4, 2012

Kum. Shanthala Subramanyam - Flute Sri. Avaneeswaram Vinu - Violin Sri: Melakaveri Balaji - Mridgangam Sunday, March 25, 2012 - DOUBLE HEADER CONCERT

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Sri. Sandeep Narayan & Party Vocal concert Sunday, May 6, 2012

Sri. R.K. Shriramkumar & Party Violin concert

1:30 pm Master Siddharth Sriram Vocal Sri. Ajay Narasimha - Violin Master Vignesh Venkataraman - Mridangam

4:30 pm Sri O.S. Thyagarajan Vocal Sri. Mullaivasal Chandramouli - Violin Sri. Ramesh Srinivasan - Mridangam Venue: TBA

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Smt. Jayanthi Kuamresh & Sri. Kumaresh Veena, Violin jugalbandhi

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Smt. Priyadarshini Govind - Bharathanatyam With Live Orchestra

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Friday, May 18, 2012

Sri. Saketharaman & Party Vocal concert

Monday, May 28, 2012

Sri. Neyveli Santhanagopalan and Kum. SriRanjani Santhanagopalan - Vocal Duet

Smt. Visaka Hari & Party Harikatha Musical discourse program

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Sri. UnniKrishnan & Party Vocal concert

For all concert timings and venue please visit http://www.southindiafinearts.org/ SIFA 2012 Sponsor Membership is now open.

Please become a sponsor by signing up at

http://www.southindiafinearts.org

Sponsorship & Tickets: visit www.southindiafinearts.org

For questions about the programs or if you are interested in hosting an artist, please contact a committee member.

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For details & updated information please log on to www.southindiafinearts.org

74 • india currents • february 2012

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music

Sensational Shweta

Priya Das

Indo Latin Jazz SANGRIA (Ancient Future), available in iTunes and on CD $17.98, www.ancient-future. com.

A

ncient Future, the world’s “first and longest running band dedicated exclusively to the mission of creating world fusion music” has brought out Sangria, the first album in its World Jazz series.This debut recording features original compositions of multi-instrumentalist Mariah Parker, who has drawn musical inspiration from Brazil, Cuba, Spain, and India. Her Indo Latin Jazz Ensemble accompanies her and includes musicians from the bands Ancient Future, Oregon, Sun Ra, and Herbie Hancock’s Headhunters.

Of particular note are Debopriyo Sarkar, the renowned disciple of tabla maestro Pandit Anindo Chatterjee, and Anuradha Pal, disciple of the world renowned tabla maestros, Ustad Alla Rakha and Ustad Zakir Hussain, and perhaps the first female professional tabla player.

The first track in Sangria, “Waterwheel,” starts slow, evoking its namesake in the barelydawn hours in a verdant field in India. The bass is amazingly folkish here, sweet even; emphasizing the deliberate cyclical nature of the music and the water flowing out of the wheel. Mindia Devi Klein’s bansuri beckons an awakening of sorts. Matthew Montfort’s rounded notes on the scalloped fret board guitar and Sarkar’s gentle drumming pick up the tempo. The piano then takes us into a mesmerizing rhythm and tune. Parker’s simple repeating refrain makes this a believable brilliant 6-minute music version of the humble water wheel.

The title track “Sangria” starts out as a

76 • india currents • february 2012

dribbling come-hither; Montfort’s guitaring is rich and silky. Parker’s santoor then drizzles over the rhythm in conjunction with the bass.

Montfort plays a familiar desi tune, it sounds like a tune you have heard growing up, but then it veers off to sound jazzier than folk.

The piece is sprinkled throughout with such tempting lead-ons. After five minutes, the pace becomes more dramatic. Parker’s santoor takes the lead, but the other instruments regroup right behind. Anuradha Pal’s tabla is like a kick after partaking the real sangria.

“Debajo de la lluvia” (Beneath The Rain) was created for the flute. Parker has a keen sense of arrangement; every piece serenades a particular instrument. In this track, Parker’s piano extracts the essence of Klein’s effortless music. This is also when you hear Montfort’s effortless leadership of the musical trajectory to present us a smooth vision of everlasting music blends. The title could very well have been “Gentle, Warm Rain,” the rendering is so fresh and glistening.

“First Flight” is when Parker emerges as the composer—her first few notes on the piano clearly herald the kind of music to follow—strong Indian tones. It gets one to think about what composing entails—it’s not just the putting down of notes on a sheet, it is the ability to set expectation and get you to anticipate; rather than leaving you merely accepting of what you hear. This composition takes more twists and turns, finishing with a distinctly Karnatik flourish. Kash Killion’s rhythm in bass keeps it all together.

In “Between the Lines,” Parker at first lets Montfort, on the flamenco guitar, and Killion, on the cello, take the lead. She then elegantly lets the piano notes rise and fall, layering atop the other sounds: The result is as the liner notes say is, “a slow flame reflecting the poignancy of separation.” Later, the sounds meld into a strong symphony.

“Tenth Journey” has three remarkable highlights—Paul McCandless’ horn, sounding ancient and assertive, Montfort’s guitar sounding like the sitar, with Pal’s bols slicing through the mesmerizing cocoon.

It is perhaps just as well that the music is not overly Latin; the subtlety of the compositions and the wonderfully light touches of flamenco would not have shone through.n

hen you listen to Shweta Subram, she sounds as if she has the “it” factor. If you didn’t know otherwise, you would assume you were listening to a professional Bollywood singer. You would notice that she has an Arabic fluttery crooning quality and that her voice has a tenacious tone, like she has been doing this for years. In his book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell has claimed that the Beatles would not have had their distinctive sound had they not played for literally 10,000 hours in European clubs. Well, Subram has definitely clocked her ten thousand, what with touring with Alka Yagnik in Canada, accompanying Atif Aslam and Sukhbir in India, and doing the Navaratri Dandiya nights for BIG 92.7 (Gujarat, India).

Subram catapulted into North American fame in June 2011 by performing with current Bollywood reigning music idols Salim-Sulaiman at the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Rocks in Toronto event and headlining the IIFA Buzz event in Markham. She sang the number “Khuda Ke Liye” from the movie Aazaan, originally sung by Shraddha Pandit.

Subram’s single “Ajooba” sounds like a “Laila Mein Laila” (from the movie Qurbani) meets Alisha Chinoy’s “Made in India,” and is captivating for its mix of Bollywood glitter, sudden Indian-classical treatments, and effortless rendition. It also features Canadian rapper, singer, and song-writer Richilous. Subram’s debut single “Jee Le Live Life” has a similar “in” vibe, with the right mix of young sound and mature execution on vocals. She’s working on some more tracks for a debut album, while setting her sights on a career in playback singing in India—not just in Bollywood, but the larger canvas of Indian cinema, since Subram can sing in Tamil, Kannada, Bengali and other languages as well. That should give her some elbow room in an industry that is forever reinventing its music.n

Priya Das is an avid follower of world music.

Ajooba and other songs available on www. shwetasubram.com

W

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films

Aniruddh Chawda

The Indian Jab PLAYERS. Director: Abbas Mustaan. Players: Vinod Khanna, Abhishek Bachchan, Bobby Deol, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Bipasha Basu, Sonam Kapoor, Sikander Kher, Johny Lever.

Music: Pritam. Theatrical release (Viacom).

T

he Hollywood mini-franchise The Italian Job spun off entries in 1969 and then again in 2003—and hit bulls-eye in the car-chase/action genre both times.

The good news in Mumbai was not just how much producer Mohammed Burmawala paid to acquire rights to make a Hindi remake—a sizable bounty, no doubt—but that he actually acquired rights to reconstruct an iconic Hollywood action standard-bearer. The bad news is that even with flashy cars and loose women, Burmawala’s money could have been better spent elsewhere.

A smart thief (Bachchan), under the tutelage of a jailed aging criminal mastermind (Khanna), brings together a rag tag gang of unscrupulous international-types for a oncein-lifetime heist to rob a gold treasure being shipped on a heavily guarded train trekking across the vast Russian tundra. Because a wily grand illusionist (Deol), a lock-pick (Kher), a high-octane driver (Mukesh), a tech specialist (Kapoor), and all-around femme fatale (Basu) are not enough, they also enlist help from an unwitting auto-mechanic (Lever) to pull off the caper.

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78 • india currents • february 2012

The action is often fast-paced and staged surprisingly taut, attributable to director-duo brothers Abbas Mastan having honed their chops with Khiladi, Soldier, and Baazigar (back when Shahrukh Khan made interesting movies). To put together this large a contingent of “Russian” soldiers guarding what was once part of the Romanov’s royal treasury is a significant feat. With stolen identities, face masks and smooth-talking con men galore, the filmmakers are gung-ho in sailing forth a techie, post-cold war thriller.

What gets in the way of this being a successful action entry is having too many writers, or so it seems. The plotting appears too eager to bridge a desi gap between Mission: Impossible and The Italian Job and misses out on both fronts. Khanna’s presence as a supposed Godfather-like crime boss transforms him into a caricature of petty criminals. Since Bachchan has recently made his mark in cop roles (Dhoom, Dum Maaro Dum), his gang leader MO is lightweight.

Flashy cars and helicopter chases can only go so far without subtle interplay between so many leads vying for a piece of the golden pie.

And yet the chemistry between the characters is nowhere to be found. Perfectly likable characters are done away with at a moment’s no-

tice and, this being a Hindi film, we suddenly set a detour for fundraising for an orphanage.

Also, why should we believe that the villain lives in a house that resembles the seat of parliament for a second-tier country?

Then there is the B-movie formulaic musical layout. Why oh why does Kapoor break out into a song as soon as she enters the villain’s lair without as much as a hello? Pritam’s soundtrack is fairly combustible on its own merit, but the dance-floor hooks it offers seem far fetched when juxtaposed against the search for the gold loot and figuring out the double-crosses the gold leaves in its wake.

The best Hindi car chase/action entries were Dhoom and Dhoom 2 that successfully blended cutting-edge stunts with plausible acting and plot graphs. Here, the inability to tightly rein in all the characters into one seamless narrative reveals only a two-dimensional set up that never rises above the drawing board the Burmawalas envisioned all this on.n EQ: C Globe trekker, aesthete, photographer, ski bum, film buff, and commentator Aniruddh Chawda writes from Milwaukee.

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india currents • february 2012 • 79

Desi Audio/Video on Tap O

f all the “mod cons,” as the Brits would call it, of desi life in the United States, the two services that have made steady gains into Indian entertainment in general and Hindi films in particular are Sirius/XM Satellite Radio and the online movie streaming service Netflix. Sirius/XM’s Channel 159 features ATN Asian Radio, produced by the desifriendly ATN TV network based in Toronto.

Their morning and evening rush hour-timed Bollywood Bonanza program provides thematic late release musical outlet enjoyed by thousands of fans of Hindi film music.

I have to admit—I am hooked on my Ch. 159 and it has been a preset button on my dashboard since the channel’s October 2007 debut. My car trips are incomplete without at least a mini dose of either Bollywood Bonanza or my other fave Bhoole Bisre Geet, the golden oldies show broadcast over the lunch hour and then again in later evenings.

The fact that Sirius/XM delivers an uninterrupted, near-CD quality radio experience across North America makes it a must-have,

given my infernally long workday commutes.

Not bad at all for $15/month.

When it comes to renting Hindi DVDs, Netflix has made a sizable inroad into offering Hindi film titles, in spite of the bad publicity resulting from their ill-fated attempt to roll out an unpopular multi-tier pricing scheme.

Like the rest of their catalog, Hindi movie DVDs are also available for both home delivery and for streaming to your home theater via your internet connection. And, like the rest of the Netflix catalog, only a select list of Hindi titles is available for on-demand streaming.

What Netflix offers for streaming is a surprisingly decent menu of recent—though not always “new”—titles. The most ubiquitous are from the Yashraj vault. This includes Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Mohabattein, Dhoom, Veer Zaara, Kala Patthar, Silsila, Chandni and Lamhe (see accompanying review). There is also Guzaarish, Kites, Jodhaa Akbar, Fashion and down market entries such as Milenge Milenge and Dance Pe Chance.

The compromise that must be made with

Netflix is signal quality. Although all Hindi entries are subtitled in English, the picture quality can be a little fuzzy at times. Also, the afore-mentioned limited menu needs to be refined. For that, Vudu is still the best allaround pay-per-view Hindi film menu online.

Many of Vudu’s new Hindi releases can be streamlined on a cutting-edge 1080 lines of resolution which delivers stunning visuals on a decent sized flat screen monitor. That, along with 5.1 digital sound, can shake the rafters and take just about any home theater configuration to task. For casual viewing on demand for one basic flat fee, however, Netflix, currently about $15/month, is an acceptable alternative. n Editor's Note: The above list of desi stations is by no means exhaustive. Listeners in Northern California have KLOK 1170 AM and KZDG 1550 AM for their listening pleasure, while Southern California has KSWD 100.3 FM, among others. Other video streaming options also abound.

A Perennial Favorite LAMHE (1991). Director: Yash Chopra. Players: Anil Kapoor, Sridevi, Waheeda Rehman, Anupam Kher. Music: Shiv-Hari. (Available on demand/ online streaming through Netflix.)

M

ay December romances generally don’t fare well in Hindi cinema. Cheeni Kum was indeed a rare entry that succeeded in this category. For Yash Chopra to take on this sensitive subject two decades ago was a bold move only a supremely self-assured director-producer would tackle. When it was released, Lamhe was an outright box failure, which many critics attributed to a script that was, quite erroneously, perceived as having to do with incest. Against the rear-view mirror, however, Chopra’s upper-crust drama got right the story, the setting, and a superb lead pair for a first-rate classic.

Viren (Kapoor), the very rich scion from a well-pedigreed Rajasthan land-owning family returns from London for a ceremonial visit.

What is left of his family is just the midwife (Rehman) who raised Viren and stands in as a strong mother-figure for him. Viren’s toodirty-too-hot outlook on his ancestral home gets a redo as soon as he sets eyes on Pallavi (Sridevi), the beautiful daughter of friend of the family and neighbor. The heartbreak that results when Viren learns that Pallavi is betrothed sets in motion a life-altering track for Viren, Pallavi, and Pallavi’s daughter Pooja (also Sridevi).

The arc for when the wealth of a surging

80 • india currents • february 2012

“new India” first came to light on the big screen may well have begun with Lamhe. The jet-setting Viren travels in style in his fleet of Rolls Royces and Mercedez Benzes. The desertscapes are uniformly warm, the dunes stretching out as far as the eye can see, hiding from Viren’s view the fact that Pallavi is searching the horizon—for someone else.

In hindsight, Viren’s early disdain for his Indian roots is also a telling sign of the subtle clash between modernity and tradition. Viren has chosen to stay away all these years and by suddenly showing up and falling head over heels for the already spoken-for Pallavi is the acid test he must undergo to prove his ties to the mother country. He initially rejects India and, in turn, India rejects him and he returns to London disappointed.

Then there is the complex texture to Pallavi’s role. Chopra succeeds so well at keeping Pallavi “chaste” from Viren’s gaze. She never even considers Viren as a possible lover. It’s all a one-sided dream in Viren’s fancy. This nuance is critical to the plot point when Viren eventually crosses paths with Pooja, Pallavi’s look- alike daughter, who ignites a firestorm of conflict within Viren—not to mention unease with said film critics and audiences.

From 1983, when Sadma was released, to about 1993, when Khalnayak’s megahit Madhuri Dixit-led number “Choli Ke Peeche” was released, Sridevi absolutely ruled the female frontline at the matinee.

Even though Chandni (1989) was the

zenith of Sridevi’s box office appeal—back then she was affectionately known as “Lady Bachchan” for the craze she ignited amongst her fans—catching a master performer close to the peak of her prime, and in a double-role at that, was a marvelous casting move. In 1991, the movie offended critics and audiences alike. In 2012, Lamhe is considered amongst Chopra’s finest works, and rightly so!

dance

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Presents

The 5th Annual Evening of World Theatre & Dance Featuring Mythili Kumar and Abhinaya Dance Company

Saturday, February 25 @ 8 pm Cabrillo Crocker Theater

Visual & Performing Arts Complex 6500 Soquel Drive, Aptos, CA 95003 Tickets: $18 General, $15 Student/Senior, $13 w/ Student Activity Card www.cabrillovapa.com or call (831) 479-6154

“NRITTO”

An Enchanting Evening of North & South Indian Classical Dance with Abhinaya Dance Company & Tarangini School of Kathak

Saturday, March 17 @ 6 pm Smithwick Theater

Foothill College 12345 El Monte Road, Los Altos, CA 94022

Tickets: $75 (Donor), $35, $25, $20 http://a3.acteva.com/orderbooking/bookEvent/A315296

Abhinaya Touring Performance

Natya MIT

Rasika Kumar & Abhinaya Dance Company in choice repertory pieces Saturday, March 3 Little Kresge Theater @ MIT, Massachusetts Malavika Kumar & Mythili Kumar dance for Mahashivarathri Natyothsav Saturday, February 18 @ 3pm Sanatan Dharma Kendra - 897 Kifer Rd., Sunnyvale, CA 94086

www.abhinaya.org

(408) 871-5959

abdanceco@gmail.com

india currents • february 2012 • 87

IC

desi voices

Priyanka Srinivasa

Mom’s Hands-on Sari Lessons

In a ritual passed from mother to daughter, I, too, underwent the training that is required to tie one’s own sari

M

Photo Credit: http://designersalwarkameez.com

y mother unfolded the silk and pulled it above me. As cloth slipped around my shoulders, her hands pleated swiftly. Fabric fans tumbled from her fingertips, and she tucked them into my waist. “Let it flow, don’t forget to walk with your back straight,” my mother whispered though the safety pins clenched between her teeth. I held my neck high as she draped a jeweled corner across my chest. My sister watched in silence. Done. The ritual was complete. I stood before the mirror, admiring her work.

Whenever I ask my mother why she came to the United States with my father in 1989, she replies by saying, “It was those movies.

Stories of strong, sultry women in furs and clinging to wine glasses was what I wanted. I was young. America was adventure.” And so she flew over the great green ocean with the ambition that her husband would make it big.

But immigration was more complex than my mother anticipated. First, my parents had to decide where they would live. Most Indians migrated to urban areas on the East and West coasts. My parents decided on Pittsburgh, with its strong Hindu population and large Venkateswara Hindu temple. That Indian American micro-culture helped my parents raise me, not only as an American, but as a proud desi, or Indian American youth. Even though we second-generation Indians live in an American society, prescribed gender roles have been passed down to us. As an Indian American girl, my mother initiated me in female-ascribed ceremonies that were secrets themselves, rituals that bonded those in one

88 • india currents • february 2012

micro-culture into another micro-culture.

The Meaning of the Sari

One ritual in particular, the most intimate of them all, is the sari-tying ceremony. It was performed at least once every week as my mother and I prepared for the temple. This commonplace act of dressing is steeped in an array of issues: gender specification, sexuality, coming of age, and the continuation of an ancient tradition. This piece of cloth is more than what meets the eye: like threads woven together, the sari stretches across the ocean from India to America. Strings intertwining the old and the new. From the moment you lift the sari over your head, the story of the sari surrounds you.

The sari is six yards of fabric. When I unfold the fabric on the ground, I am always astounded at the simplicity of the cloth, because when woven around the body, it hangs so elaborately. It is wrapped, folded and tucked around the body over a cropped blouse. The sari, or something close to it, has been a symbol of womanhood in Hindu society since the Indus River civilization, more than 4,000 years. Nearly the same design that was worn in the ancient civilization has been passed down generation after generation.

Growing up, I used to watch my mother tie her sari, thinking that it was the most beautiful dress in the whole world. Her upper back was exposed and the dramatic drapes gave her such an elegant stance. This ethnic dress is sensual yet practical. It is so well fastened that it will never fall, yet, when women walk, the folds make them look graceful and

fragile. The cloth is shroud of something more. The sari is a tableau for the complex identity of Indian women.

There are several styles of saris—from simple cotton to diamond-studded silk. Even conventional cloth is elegant because of the many different styles of saris. My mother has hundreds of saris; some of them are in traditional colors: red and white, the colors of the holy days. Some of the saris are rich jewel-tones: garnet, emerald, amethyst, sapphire. Some are strong pastels like soft corals, robin-egg blue and sea-foam green. Each sari is different from the other. Each sari tells a story of weddings, holy days, birthdays, births and sometimes death.

The Ritual of Sari Tying

One Saturday, my family and I were planning to attend a classical Indian dance performance fund raiser. My sister and I were expected to wear saris because it was a cultural event. As usual, my mother would do the tying. It’s all about patience, and a ritual that my sister’s and my body had gotten used to. For a novice sari wearer, it is so difficult to tie the sari for herself. It takes a lot of opening of safety pins, holding cloth, spinning it into little fans to tuck along the waistline.

As my mother spins the cloth around each of us, she tells us stories about India and her family, weaving tales about married cousins and sleepy village days where young girls in saris pick jasmines in the gardens after classes.

I once asked my mother why she dresses in saris. She replied by saying: “Indian women were born to please Indian men. I dress the

part.” Whenever I open old wedding albums of the women in my family, I notice the lines of young women draped in sequined cloth.

They look so elegant in their saris. The sari turns the girl into a woman.

On my first day of college, my mother gave me a photo of herself on her wedding day. She was barely twenty-one, but she looked strong, confident, cool, and ready for marriage. The sari was her uniform of marriage. It was a mark of pride for my mother.

Whenever she pulls out her wedding sari, her face flushes with emotion. She excitedly stretches the cloth over her chest and insists I run my hands along the silk. “The cloth is so fine that you could pull it through my engagement ring,” she gushes. How could a piece of cloth mean so much to someone? This is the beauty of the sari: it is woven with the secret story of Indian women.

What the Sari Means to Me

In the United States, the sari is not worn every day as my mother did in her youth. My sister and I wear them during religious and cultural events at our temple. We feel the same pride my mother feels when she wears hers. We feel pride because we know that we are keeping our traditions up and protecting an ancestral tradition. For my high school graduation, girls had to wear white dresses.

I chose to wear my grandmother’s white sari

because it defined who I am. The sari is the mark of my history: my mother’s struggle of adjusting to America, my grandmother’s struggle of marrying at the age of ten. The sari to me is a symbol of strength. My mother was so thrilled that day because I was demonstrating what I stood for at a right-of-passage ceremony.

When we go to community events, wearing a sari gives us a sense of Indian pride. We are demonstrating to other Indian families that we are grounded in our culture. My mother believes personal grooming and neatness bring luck to the family.

The sari is a physical emblem of etiquette training for girls. When you wear a sari, you must do so with ease, grace, poise, and elegance. When you wear a sari, you become an instant lady. I learned quite quickly to walk with tiny steps and to hold my head high so that my family would be proud of me.

The sari is not just a piece of cloth. It is the story I have inherited from my mother and her mother and her mother now wrapped around me—regardless of my parents’ decision to travel across the ocean for economic security. Indian women in America are torn between old Eastern traditions and Western, autonomous lifestyles. The tying of a sari is a secret communal act that is shared between different generations and crosses that cultural divide. The tying of saris is a forum for women to come together and share gossip, stories

The sari was my mother’s uniform of marriage.

Whenever she pulls out her wedding sari, her face flushes with emotion.

and advice. The sari brings pride that is twofold: feeling joy that you find yourself looking beautiful, and knowing that other women acknowledge the beauty of your sari folds.

As my mother adjusts the fabric, I look into the mirror and watch the pleats roll off my shoulder, I cannot help but smile. I hold my neck up high, just like my mother told me to. And her mother told her. And her mother told her. We women are woven together like the golden threads of the sari.n Priyanka Srinivasa, 19, is a sophomore majoring in anthropology and international relations at the School of International Service, American University, Washington, D.C. Email: ps7316a _@_ student.american.edu

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February

2 Thursday

Scotch and Wine Tasting. Come and

explore exclusive scotches beyond Johnnie Walker! Learn about the scotches you are tasting from Steve Beal, master of whiskey, who is considered one of the pre-eminent whiskey ambassadors in the world. Special discounted pricing offered on the day of tasting. Organized by India Community Center, in partnership with WineGlobe. 7:30-9 p.m.

India Community Center, Milpitas, 525 Los Coches St., Milpitas, 95035. $35 general, ICC members $30. (408) 934-1130. Liraz@Indiacc. org. www.Indiacc.org.

Music of Persia and Afghanistan and the Poetry of Rumi. A member of Yo Yo

Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble, Kayhan Kalhor is a master musician in the classical Persian and Afghan traditions. He presents the poetry of Rumi sung in the haunting beauty of the original language, as well as intricate melodies. A three-time Grammy nominee, Kalhor 90 • india currents • february 2012

Non Stop Bhangra will host its relaunch party with DJ Rekha on Saturday, Feb. 11 in San Francisco.

is an internationally acclaimed virtuoso on the kamancheh, a spiked fiddle made with a gourd and played with a bow. He has toured the world as a soloist with leading ensembles and orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic and the Orchestre National de

Lyon. This music stirs contemplation and meditation, linked through poetry to Sufism, the mystical branch of Islam. The beauty of this refined and intensely personal music lies in the freely flowing solo melody lines. Organized by California Institute of Integral

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Michelle Baird

Valentine’s Day in the Bay L

ooking for a little mohabbat this Valentine’s Day? Some fun for the entire family, or a chance to meet other singles? Or maybe an opportunity to ignore Valentine’s Day entirely and party in a place where red clothing is banned? Whatever your Valentine’s Day desire, the Bay Area has an event guaranteed to make your commemoration of Saint Valentine memorable.

vValentine Masti 2012, one of the weekend’s premier events, is hosted by nonprofit group Induz. “While most other events promise a good time, only the Induz Valentine’s event promises not only a good time but also a good time spent doing good,” explains Ray Mitra, president and founder of Induz.

Hollywood and Bollywood celebrity host Roger Narayan (Happy Feet 2, Mission Impossible 4, and Eat Pray Love) is thrilled to support the cause of Induz while having the opportunity to meet guests. The program features a gourmet banquet dinner and bar, entertainment from Surpal and Project Pulse, a fashion show of local designers by Desibazaar, prizes for the best dressed couple, a raffle and the opportunity to dance to the beats of one of the Bay Area’s hottest DJs. Free childcare and an activity center for children will also be provided.

This event has sold out for the last five years and all proceeds benefit the nonprofit, which provides free art, music, and dance education to underprivileged children in India and the US. “While you can celebrate your love, you can also spread a lot of love and joy into the lives of others who may not be as fortunate,” says Mitra. Induz’s program, “Where Art Meets Heart,” is a direct beneficiary of the Valentine’s Day event. Saturday, Feb. 11, 7 p.m. Mehran Restaurant, 5774 Mowry School Road, Newark. $35 general, $25 children 5-12, children under 5 free. vThe 10th annual Valentine Bash 2012 features a special guest performance by Raj Sohal, fashion show by Sonali O, belly dance

by Elena, as well as prizes and raffles. Friday, Feb. 10, 7 p.m. Chandni Restaurant, 5746 Mowry School Road, Newark. $35 general, $20 children 4-12. vValentine Party Nite Bollywood Istyle promises Bollywood-style entertain-

ment with belly dance, games, a live DJ, an open bar, and childcare. Saturday, Feb. 11, 7:30 p.m. Chandni Restaurant, 5748 Mowry School Road, Newark. $40 general, $75 couples, $20 children 2-11. vValentine’s Day Party for Desi Singles will have planned seating arrangements, icebreakers, and plenty of rotation ensure that every attendee will have the opportunity to meet every other attendee over the course of the event. Attendees will be notified of mutual matches with other singles after the event. Young professionals are encouraged to attended, and ladies’ tickets are half-price.

Sunday, Feb. 12, 6:30 p.m. Chandni Restaurant, 5748 Mowry School Road, Newark. Men $50, women $25. vEast West Daily Deals and Radio Zindagi are jointly hosting Mohabbatein Valentine’s Day Celebration. Live performances, top DJs from Radio Zindagi, a candlelight dinner with champagne, chocolates, and roses, biryani from Biryani Bowl, a dessert buffet, and a fashion show by Kanyadaan ensure a romantic evening. Friday, Feb. 10, 7:30 p.m. San Jose Airport Garden Hotel, 1740 N. First St., San Jose. $49. vThe only Bay Area event scheduled for Valentine’s Day itself is hosted by the Bay Area Kids Charity, Valentine Candlelight Dinner. It includes a candlelight dinner, DJ,

and dancing. Tuesday, Feb. 14, 7:30 p.m.

Mayuri Indian Cuisine, 2230 El Camino Real, Santa Clara. $25 general, $10 children. vAnd if you’re feeling a little overwhelmed by the red roses, chocolates, and champagne? Not so sure about cheesy Hallmark cards? Sign up for the tongue-in-cheek Bay Area V-Day event, I Hate Luv Stories Party. Red clothing is banned and the organizers have sworn that no love songs will be played at the event. DJ Salim and DJ Gemini promise plenty of Bollywood beats (though not the romantic kind!). All that’s required of you? Upscale or club attire— easy on the red—and the desire to hang out at the Bay Area’s only anti-Valentine’s Day party. Saturday, Feb. 11, 8 p.m. Kaama Lounge 385 S. Winchester Blvd., San Jose. $10 advance.

Valentine’s Day commemorates the actions of Saint Valentine. When Emperor Claudius II ordered that all young men within the Roman Empire must remain single, Saint Valentine married young men in secret. Whether you choose to remember Saint Valentine’s actions by attending an event that supports nonprofit work in the arts, have a smashing good time at a DJ party, meet other singles, or thumb your nose at the entire holiday, everyone will find an appropriate venue this Valentine’s Day.n india currents • february 2012 • 91

Studies. 8 p.m. Herbst Theatre, 401 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco, 94102. $25-$65. (415) 575 6100. www.ciis.edu, www.cityboxoffice.com.

February

3 Friday

Give Kids A Smile. Dental cleaning for

children ages 4-12. This program is an effort to help children who don’t have dental insurance and are in need of dental care. Organized by Sikka Dental Corporation. 8 a.m. Sikka Dental Corporation, 150 N. Jackson Ave., Suite 203, San Jose. Free. Please schedule an appointment.

(408) 259-1280. dentist@sikkadental.com, angie@sikkadental.com, kari@sikkadental.com. www.drsikka.com.

Madan Oak (left) and Ashwini Khaparde will give a santoor and vocal concert on Saturday, Feb. 4 in Milpitas.

Duniya Dancehall. Spring edition of the in-

ternational dance party, Duniya Dancehall. The evening begins with a bhangra dance lesson led

by Duniya artistic director Joti Singh, followed by live dance performances, including a house/ bhangra fusion piece and a freshly minted West African/Guinean piece with live music by Wontanara Revolution. Resident DJ Juan Data of Stonghold Sound will keep the party going late, spinning hip hop, cumbia, bhangra, zouk, Bollywood, and more. Duniya means “world” in many languages including Punjabi, Hindi, Arabic, Farsi/Dari, Susu (from Guinea, West Africa), and Thai. Duniya Dancehall covers many corners of the globe bringing music and performance from India, West Africa, Jamaica, Latin America and more. Each event features live performances from Duniya Dance and Drum Company as well as special guests performing West African dance and music, African reggae, dancehall MCs, guest DJs

and more. Duniya Dancehall aims to bring together diverse populations reflected in the population of the Bay Area, and to bring live performances into the spotlight. Organized

by Duniya Dance and Drum Company with Stronghold Sound. 10 p.m. Bissap Baobab, 3372 19th St., San Francisco, 94110. $5-$10 suggested donation. info@duniyadance.com. www.duniyadance.com.

February

4 Saturday

Teacher Workshop: New Year Celebra-

Nafisa Sekandari will give a program on Afghan cooking on Saturday, Feb. 4 in Newark.

92 • india currents • february 2012

tions. Deepen your students’ understanding of Asian arts and cultures through the lens of New Year celebrations. Learn the significance of the art, stories, and traditions of Now Ruz, Tet, the Chinese Lunar New Year, and more. Participants receive lesson plans, images, and storytelling videos for use in the classroom. Organized by Asian Art Museum. 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Asian Art Museum, 200 Larkin St., San Francisco, 94102. $20. Preregistration required. (415) 581-3500. www.asianart.org.

Discover Afghan Cooking. Discover Af-

ghan cooking with Nafisa Sekandari, author of “Afghan Cuisine,” a collection of recipes gathered and translated for novice Afghan and non-Afghan cooks. Copies of the book will be available for purchase. Book signing and refreshments will follow the program.

Organized by Alameda County Library. 1-3 p.m. Newark Library, 6300 Civic Terrace Ave., Newark, 94560. Free. RSVP: (510) 7952527, Ext. 20; btelford-ishida@aclibrary.org.

(510) 795-2527. btelford-ishida@aclibrary. org. www.aclibrary.org.

A music program based on the poetry of Rumi will be held on Thursday, Feb. 2 in San Francisco.

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Meet Author of Gujarati Kitchen Cookbook, Bhanu Hajratwala. Treasured family

recipes starting from basic masalas. The book, written in English, covers vegetarian and nonvegetarian dishes, has comprehensive methods, colorful photos, and illustrations. Event will feature introduction, Q&A, live demonstration, book signing, and tasting. Organized

by GujaratiKitchen.com. 1-4 p.m. Hina and Chetan Saiya Residence, 8048 Golden Eagle Way, Pleasanton, 94588. Free. RSVP. (925) 846-3521. contact@gujaratikitchen.com. gujaratikitchen.com.

Double Header Santoor and Vocal Concert. Madan Oak (santoor) is a student

of the world-renowned santoor maestro Shivkumar Sharma. He has been studying Indian classical music for over 25 years. Oak has won several college and university-level awards in classical music competitions and is recipient of the 1986 All India Radio (AIR) Best Instrumentalist National award. Ashwini Khaparde (vocal) will be accompanied by Satish Tare (tabla) and Vivek Datar (harmonium). Khaparde was initiated into music by her father, Shashikant Thombre, at tender age of 5. Subsequently, she learned from the eminent Usha Parkhi of the Kirana gharana for eight years. She has continued to learn from Ashwini Bhide-Deshpande, a leading performer of the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana.

Khaparde combines the two gharanas easily and melodiously and presents compositions bringing out the best of both the gharanas.

Apart from Bandish Gayaki, Khaparde’s large repertoire includes semi-classical forms like Thumari, Dadara, Tappa, Hori, Kajari, etc.

Marathi Natya Sangeet is her another specialty. Santoor recital will be at 4:30 p.m., and vocal recital at 7 p.m. Organized by Basant Bahar. 4:30 p.m. Jain Temple Auditorium, 722 S. Main St., Milpitas, 95035. $20 general (both recitals), Basant Bahar members free. RSVP: basantbahar.org. Tickets at door only (cash or

Bhanu Hajratwala will hold a cooking program on Saturday, Feb. 4 in Pleasanton.

check). (408) 390-7094, (408) 531-1101.

Winter Concert Series. Featuring Mindia

Devi Klein (bansuri flute) in a jugalbandi with Arshad Syed (santoor), followed by Eman Essa (tabla solo). Organized by Ali Akbar College of Music. 7 p.m. Ali Akbar College of Music, 215 West End Ave., San Rafael, 94901. Tickets at door only. (415) 454-6372. office@aacm.org. www.aacm.org.

February

5 Sunday

Zankaar Concert. Zankaar with two

themes: Raags, Chayanat and Maand, featuring several vocalists and musicians who will perform Karnatik, Hindustani, instrumental (sitaar), devotional, and film songs based on these two themes. Organized by Sangeet Dhwani, Agency that promotes the musical heritage of India. 2-5:30 p.m. Milpitas Library Auditorium,, 160 N. Main St., Milpitas, 95035. Free. RSVP: pradjoshi@gmail.com.

(408) 733-7442, (408) 394-0554. pradjoshi@ gmail.com. www.sangeetdhwani.org, www. sangeetdhwani.wordpress.com.

February

10 Friday

Valentine Bash 2012. Tenth annual bash, with guest performance by Raj Sohal, fashion show by Sonali O, belly dance by Elena.

Prizes and raffles. 7 p.m. Chandni Restaurant, 5746 Mowry School Road, Newark. $35 General, $20 children (4-12).

Mohabbatein Valentine’s Day Celebration. Live performances, Dj’s from Radio

Zindagi, candlelight dinner with chocolates and roses. Biryani from Biryani Bowl, dessert buffet, and a fashion show by Kanyadaan, will ensure a romantic evening. Organized by East West Daily Deals and Radio Zindagi.

7:30 p.m. San Jose Airport Garden Hotel, 1740 N. First St., San Jose. $49.

February

11 Saturday

A SUGGESTION: India Currents goes to press as much as six weeks in advance of some events listed in it. Even though organizers do their best to stick to the announced schedule, in rare cases events are rescheduled or cancelled. To avoid disappointment, we recommend that you always check the organizer’s website, and

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Binay Pathak (left) will perform with Joe Fajen on Saturday, Feb. 11 in Carmichael.

94 • india currents • february 2012

B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B

SHIVA MURUGAN TEMPLE P U J A S

&

F E S T I V A L S

www.shivamurugantemple.org PUJAS & FESTIVALS

Temple Benefit Programs

Sat. Feb. 4 Thai Pusam Paadayathirai.

‘Sharaddhanjali’

Sun. Feb. 5 Thai Pusam Celebration Shri Murugan Kalyanam

A Dance Margam that unifies the class of 2011

PHOTO: VIGGY MOKKARALA

Mahashivarathri All night Puja 6pm - 6am

- A Devotional Offering

Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 4 pm Cubberley, Palo Alto

Sun. Feb. 19 Bharathanatyam Shreelata Suresh

SHIVA MURUGAN TEMPLE / SAIVA SIDDHANTA ASHRAM 1803 Second Street, Concord, CA 94519 • Weekdays: 10am - Noon & 6pm - 9pm • Weekends: 10am - 9pm Voice Mail (925) 827-0127 • Fax (925) 827-0209 • www.temple.org

B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B

Sun. Mar. 4 Masimagam Celebration Devotional Songs Aruna Krishna & friends

Guru Vishal Ramani Shri Krupa Dance Company

"I made my song a coat, covered with embroideries, out of old mythologies, from heel to throat".

Yeats

EXHIBITION CUM SALE Saturday, April 4, 2012 11:00 am - 7:00 pm Venue: The Hilton

39900 Balentine Dr., Newark, CA 94560

india currents • february 2012 • 95

96 • india currents • february 2012

Valentine Masti Banquet. Make this Valentine’s day extra special and memorable by celebrating love with the entire family. A complete package of food, fun, and entertainment.

The event will be hosted by Hollywood actor Roger Narayan (“Mission Impossible 2,” “Eat Pray Love,” “Happy Feet 2”). Also featuring gourmet dinner and bar, Valentine’s fashion show, music performance by Bay Area group Surpal, dance performance by local dance company Project Pulse, Bollywood and Latin dance performances, best dressed couple prizes, and DJ and dancing. Separate kids area with arts, crafts, and entertainment. Complimentary child care sponsored by Safari Kids. A flagship event by nonprofit organization Induz that has been sold out for the last five years.

Proceeds benefit art and music education for underprivileged children at orphanages in India and at low-income schools in Bay Area.

Organized by Induz. 6:30-11:30 p.m. Mehran Restaurant & Banquet Hall, 5774 Mowry School Road, Newark, 94560. $35 general, $25 children 5-12, children under 5 free. Tickets: www.sulekha.com/induz. (510) 875-5006, (510) 449-8530, (646) 320-8242. info@induz.org. www.induz.org.

Hindustani Classical Vocal Concert.

Timeless Hindustani ragas are vibrantly alive in concert with Binay Pathak, son of legendary Indian sitarist Balram Pathak, as he sings the music of his centuries-old classical lineage, transporting his audience into the sublime realm of sound and emotional color in each raga. Pathak performs in concerts worldwide, is an award-winning music director in Indian film and TV, artist with All India Radio and has been awarded Surmani. He will be accompanied by Joe Fajen, well-known Northern California tabla artist has studied with Zakir Hussain, Swapan Chaudhuri, Arshad Syed, and Ty Burhoe. Organized by Sohini Sangeet Academy, Sacramento. 7:15 p.m. Vedanta Society of Sacramento, 1337 Mission Ave., Carmichael, 95608. (916) 217-3259. maya@

sohinisangeet.org, maya@sohinisangeet.org. www.sohinisangeet.org, www.vedantasacto. org.

Valentine Party Nite Bollywood Istyle.

Bollywood style entertainment with belly dancing, games, live DJ. An open bar and childcare. 7:30 p.m. Chandni Restaurant, 5748 Mowry School Road, Newark. $40 General, $75 Couples, $20 children (2-11).

I Hate Luv Stories Party. Tongue-in-

cheek anti-V-Day event. Red clothing is banned, DJ’s Salim and Gemini promise Bollywood beats (not the romantic kind.)

Upscale club attire-easy on the red. 8 p.m.

Kaama Lounge, 385 Winchester Blvd., San Jose. $10 advance. (408) 243-4200.

Non Stop Bhangra: Relaunch Party.

After seven years of full capacity shows, the award-winning production moves into one of the hottest clubs in the city. With this move comes later hours, more room to dance and late night food provided by Kasa Indian Eatery. Non Stop Bhangra, a legendary monthly event, is now featured on the second Saturday of every month at Public Works in San Francisco. Kicking off their new monthly residency, the NSB crew is bringing in from New York, the much anticipated, DJ Rekha of Basement Bhangra, the longest running world renowned bhangra party. This will be the first time Non Stop Bhangra and Basement Bhangra will share a stage, making the official launch party a show not to be missed. Still holding to its tradition, the night will start off with the famous Bhangra dance lesson and performances by Dholrhythms Dance Company followed by DJs spinning alongside live dhol and vocals. With some killer surprise guests lined up in the New Year, Non Stop Bhangra is ready to take West Coast Bhangra to a whole new level. Ends Feb. 12. Organized

by Non Stop Bhangra. 9 p.m.-3 a.m. Public

Ben Kunin will give a sarode concert in the Winter Concert Series on Saturday, Feb. 18 in San Rafael.

Works, 161 Erie St., San Francisco, 94103. $10 advance; $15 door. Tickets: http://nsb78. eventbrite.com. nonstopbhangra.com, dholrhythms.com.

February

12 Sunday

Valentine Day’s Party for Desi Singles.

6:30-11 p.m. Chandani Restaurant, 5748 Mowry School Road, Newark, 94560. $30 women; $50 men. (650) 515-9961. kamna@ theletsparty.com. desisingles.webs.com.

February

18 Saturday

Winter Concert Series. Featuring Ben

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Kunin (sarode), accompanied by Tim Witter (tabla); followed by Esther Adams and Josh Mellinger (tabla duet); and ending with Peter Van Gelder (sitar), accompanied by Nikhil Pandya (tabla). Organized by Ali Akbar College of Music. 7 p.m. Ali Akbar College of Music, 215 West End Ave., San Rafael, 94901.

Tickets at door only. (415) 454-6372. office@ aacm.org. www.aacm.org.

February

25 Saturday

Legally Asian 2012. The third annual Legally Asian 2012 aims to expose college and high school students to law school, explain india currents • february 2012 • 97

career options available with a law degree, and discuss current issues affecting the Asian and Pacific Islander communities. The panels will cover legal careers in the public and private sector (i.e. firm attorneys, public interest attorneys, judges, in-house counsel) as well as career paths outside the “traditional” practice of law. Breakfast and lunch will be provided.

Organized by South Asian Bar Association of Northern California (SABA-NC). 9 a.m.-4 p.m. UC Hastings, 198 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA . Free. Interested students should register: http://tinyurl.com/LegallyAsian2012.

Walk-ins welcome. legallyasian2012@gmail. com. tinyurl.com/LegallyAsian2012.

Fifth Annual Evening of World Theatre and Dance. Featuring Abhinaya Dance

Company artistic director Mythili Kumar with Abhinaya Dance Company. Organized

by Cabrillo College Performing Arts. 8 p.m.

Crocker Theater, 6500 Soquel Drive, Aptos. $18 general, $15 student/senior, $13 w/student activity card. (831) 479-6154, (408) 871-5959. abdanceco@gmail.com. www.abhinaya.org, www.cabrillovapa.com.

March

4 Sunday

Kids Art Contest 2012. Children must

bring their own pencils, markers, crayons, color pencils, watercolors, and oil pastels. No other art materials are permitted. No reference material, i.e. books, sample drawings, etc., allowed. Work must be finished in the two-hour session. Entries will be judged on originality, colors and execution. Emphasis is

Abhinaya Dance Company will perform on Saturday, Feb. 25 in Aptos.

on creativity and design. Organized by India Community Center. 3-5 p.m. India Community Center, 525 Los Coches St., Milpitas, 95035. (408) 934-1130. www.indiacc.org.

I C short-term ongoing events Maharaja: The Splendor of India’s Royal Courts. Art exhibit, featuring

paintings, photography, rich textiles, opulent jewelry, and beautiful furniture, which trace the change in the institution of Indian kingship from the collapse of the Moghul Empire in the early 18th century through the end of British rule in 1947. The exhibit also features the work of author and artist Sanjay Patel, whose work will be shown on the third floor of the museum, where he is carefully connecting his modern-day interpretations of Hinduism with pieces from the museum’s permanent collection. Organized by Asian Art Museum. Ends April 8. Asian Art Museum, 200 Larkin St., San Francisco. $17 general; $13 seniors; $12 college students; $7 children 13-17; children under 13 free.

(415) 581-3500. www.asianart.org.

98 • india currents • february 2012

Share your health stories with India Currents readers!

We are accepting original submissions that focus on health and wellness.

Send your 600-800-word essay on disease prevention, exercise, ayurvedic cooking, or any other health-related topic to Nadia Maiwandi at events@indiacurrents.com.

March

10 Saturday

Performance by A Lakshman. A disciple

of Kalaimamani K J Sarasa and the guru of many leading bharatnatyam exponents of India, in a live performance. Live orchestra: Subhasri L-Nattuvangam, Praveen GR (vocal), N Sigamami (violin), Saktivel Muruganandhan (mridangam). Organized by Yuva Bharati and Sankritilaya. 4 p.m. Mission Center for Performing Arts, 3250 Monroe St., Santa Clara. $15 General, $10 Sankritilaya members, 2 free tickets for Yuva Bharati members.

March

15 Thursday

Darbar. As part of the Maharaja exhibit,

the Majestic Courts of India are represented in dance. A Kathak performance depicts the decadence romance royalty with “Darbar.”

The March 17th performance includes a celebration dinner. Organized by Chitresh Das Dance Company. Asian Art Museum, 200 Larkin St., San Francisco. $35. $45, $55.

© Copyright 2012 India Currents. All rights reserved. Reproduction for commercial use strictly prohibited.

india currents • february 2012 • 99

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spiritual excerpt

Searching For the Inner Self Excerpt from INNER PILGRIMAGE: TEN DAYS TO A MINDFUL ME by Raji Lukkoor.

Pentagon Press. Paperback. 176 pages.

A

re we standing at a crossroads? Do we feel disconnected to our surroundings?

Why do we brood? What do we dread?

How do we sketch the vision map of our life?

Diving into the secrets of the ever-elusive mind, Raji Lukkoor takes us on a memorable journey of self-discovery in this poignant memoir. The following is an excerpt from Chapter 1:

Day Zero: Inhale, Exhale

It’s noonish. Hungry for a deeper meaning in my life, I load my bags into the trunk, get in my car, and start driving to the middle of nowhere. Along the way, I pick up Jill from the local train station and then Joe from the area airport—both total strangers. A phone call last night requested me to give them a ride as we were all travelling to the same destination. We drive away, cutting through towns, rolling hills, extensive meadows, and widespread farmland. Jill and I hit it off at once

100 • india currents • february 2012

and within minutes know more about each other than we could ever have imagined. Joe is rather forlorn and wears a muted expression.

All I’m able to extract from him is that he is a college dropout searching for soul—information that both impresses and appalls Jill and me. My motherly instinct kicks in, and I start advising the young man to complete college.

Four hours later and what seems farther than one hundred and fifty miles, the three of us arrive at the middle of nowhere, which is going to be our home for the next ten days.

We are here for a residential vipassana retreat.

At a quaint retreat center, amid groves of oak, pine, cedar, and manzanita trees in the picturesque Sierra Nevada foothills of California, the technique of vipassana meditation is taught and practiced. Siddhartha Gotama, the Buddha himself, rediscovered this meditation technique and presented it to the world nearly twenty-five centuries ago. Vipassana in the ancient Indian language Pali means “to see things as they are.”

The objective of the vipassana practice is to develop mastery over the mind by observing the breath as it naturally flows in and out of the nostrils, and thereafter observing

sensations throughout the body—both pleasant and unpleasant—with the awareness that those sensations emerge from within, in infinite cycles of ebb and flow, and that equanimity is key to sanitizing the mind of sankhara or pre-conditioned, mental patterns. n More information at http://www.rajilukkoor. com. Buy at http://www.printsasia.com.

india currents • february 2012 • 101

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reflections

Peeyush Bhargava

Nasal Cycle and Swara Yoga W

e breathe through our nostrils most of the time. The air goes in through both nostrils, left and right, and then through the trachea, into the lungs. Anatomically, in healthy adults, both nasal passage ways are symmetric, but very often we feel that one nostril is more patent (open) than the other, especially when we get an upper respiratory infection. Sometimes we are breathing predominantly through the right nostril, sometimes through the left, sometimes equally through both, and rarely both nostrils are congested, and we have to breathe through our mouth.

The best way to tell how we are breathing at a particular time is to exhale through both nostrils on the palm of one of our hands and to feel which nostril has a more forceful expiration. The increased patency of one nostril over the other occurs normally and cyclically with a frequency of one to three hours. This very intriguing physiologic phenomenon is called the nasal cycle.

The nasal cycle results from alternating congestion and decongestion of venous sinuses in the nasal turbinates, due to cyclical autonomic activity. When one nostril is more patent, the sinuses are vasoconstricted in response to sympathetic activation and the opposite nostril is less patent due to venous congestion in response to the parasympathetic vasodilatation.

The cycle exists even in the absence of air flow, as shown in patients with total laryngectomy. The nasal cycle can be influenced with forced uninostril breathing when lying on one side. When we lie down on one side, the nostril on that side often becomes more congested and the other side becomes more patent. Pressure to the underarm has also been shown to increase the nasal resistance on the same and decrease it on the opposite side.

Yoga, a part of the ancient Indian system of healing, Ayurveda, has described this phenomenon in great detail, under swara yoga. “Swara” means breath in Sanskrit.

Breath is the source of prana (chi), the force governing all functions of the body. When breathing predominantly through the left nostril, the energy (prana) flows through ida (the nadi or the energy channel on the left side of body) that controls the right cerebral cortex, the left side of the body, and the parasympathetic (cooling) functions.

When breathing predominantly through the right nostril, the energy flows through 102 • india currents • february 2012

When both nostrils are equally open, energy flows through sushumna (the central energy channel), which balances the left and the right sides and the sympathetic (heating) and the parasympathetic (cooling) functions of the body. pingala (the energy channel on the right side of body) which controls the left cerebral cortex, the right side of the body and the sympathetic (heating) functions. When both nostrils are equally patent, energy flows through sushumna (the central energy channel), which balances the left and the right sides and the sympathetic and the parasympathetic functions.

Hatha yoga literature describes various exercises for the prana: adi shodhan pranayama (alternate nostril breathing), kapalbhati pranayama (forceful repetitive abdominal

exhalations), bhastrika pranayama (forceful repetitive inhalation and exhalations), ujjayi pranayama (slow and deep throat breathing), and bhramari pranayama (humming bee exhalation). The health benefits of yoga and the breathing exercises (pranayama) are attributed to the balancing effects on the left and the right side of the body.

Inspired by the yogic teachings, various modalities (including forced uninostril breathing) have been used extensively to study the nasal cycle. It has been postulated that forced right nostril breathing leads to increased left brain activity and stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system.

Similarly, forced left nostril breathing leads to increased right brain activity and stimulation of the parasympathetic nervous system. The physiologic effects of alternate nostril breathing and kapalbhati pranayama have also been studied. More research is needed to investigate the role of nasal cycle in the health benefits of pranayama.n Peeyush Bhargava is a medical doctor who provides Ayurvedic lifestyle consultations and personalized herbal supplements. www.vedichealing.com.

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spirituality and health

February

2 Thursday

The Secret of the Self: Exploring Meditation. Meditation provides a direct window

into the source of infinite joy and knowledge that lies within each person. Based on a variety of yogic practices rooted in the philosophy of Kashmir Shaivism, this course will help the participant begin to realize his or her true nature and get perspective on your personal problems and desires. Each session will include both philosophy and practical instruction. Thursdays, Feb. 2-March 1.

Organized by Sri Sambha Sathashiva Vidya Peetham. 7-8:30 p.m. 260 Stonewall Road, Berkeley. $5-$15 per class, sliding scale.

Register: info@vidyapeetham.org, www.vidyapeetham.org. (650) 941-1152. info@vidyapeetham.org. www.vidyapeetham.org.

Learn to Meditate. Meditation is one of

the most natural and rewarding of all human activities. It gives direct, intuitive experience of higher realities, and is the cornerstone of true spirituality. It also brings balance, rest, and a growing inner peace. Ends Feb. 23.

7:30-9 p.m. Ananda Church, 2171 El Camino Real, Palo Alto, 94306. $60. (650) 323-3363. www.anandapaloalto.org.

February

3 Friday

Home Satsang: Discourses on Sad Darshanam. Organized by Chinmaya Mission,

San Jose. 8-9 p.m. Ruparel Residence, 20668 Seaton Ave., Saratoga, 95074. Free. (408) 8679550. sanjose@chinmayamission.org. www. chinmaya-sanjose.org.

February

4 Saturday

Sri Sundarkhanda Ramayana of Tulasidas Gowswami. Group singing of the Sri

A SUGGESTION: India Currents goes to press as much as six weeks in advance of some events listed in it.

Even though organizers do their best to stick to the announced schedule, in rare cases events are rescheduled or cancelled. To avoid disappointment, we recommend that you always check the organizer’s website, and

CALL TO CONFIRM!

Sundarkhanda Ramayana. Books with text available, followed by aarati and mahaprasad.

Organized by Badarikashrama. 2:30-5:30 p.m. Badarikashrama, 15602 Maubert Ave., San Leandro, 94578. Free. (510) 278-2444. badarik@pacbell.net. www.badarikashrama. org.

A Guide to Inner Peace. It is easy to be

anxious in these challenging times. What is true peace and how do you find it? Is it all about better organizing our lives on the outside, deepening our spiritual practice, or both? What would you be willing to change if you knew it would give you more peace?. 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Ananda Church, 2171 El Camino Real, Palo Alto, 94306. $30. (650) 323-3363. www.anandapaloalto.org.

February

5 Sunday

Our Inner Goodness. Lecture by Dave

Richo. Our Buddha nature is inestimably and irradicably generous, loving, and enlightened.

Our self-centered ego can obstruct these innate gifts through what in Buddhism are called the three poisons: greed, hate, and ignorance. Our practices of mindfulness and loving kindness clear the obstructions and open us to our true heritage and purpose.

Richo will outline these truths and provide experiential exercises to help the audience become more in tune with their Buddha nature. Richo is a psychotherapist, teacher, and formerly an active priest who emphasizes Jungian, transpersonal, and a synthesis of Eastern and Western spiritual perspectives in his work. The author of many books, Richo’s latest is “Daring to Trust.”. Organized by Cultural Integration Fellowship. 11 a.m.12:15 p.m. 2650 Fulton St., San Francisco, 94118. (415) 668-1559. culturalfellowship@ sbcglobal.net. culturalintegrationfellowship. org.

Sri Satyanarayana Swami Puja and Kirtan. Group chanting, aarati and ma-

haprasad. Organized by Badarikashrama. 11 a.m. Badarikashrama, 15602 Maubert Ave., San Leandro, 94578. Free. (510) 278-2444. badarik@pacbell.net. badarikashrama.org.

Living in the Spiritual Life in a Material World. SRF Center Sacramento, 4513

North Ave., Sacramento. (916) 483-9644. SRF

Center Los Gatos, 303 E. Main St., Los Gatos.

(408) 252-5299. Richmond Temple, 6401 Bernhard Ave., Richmond. (510) 232-6652. Contact temples for times. Organized by Self-Realization Fellowship. yogananda-srf.org.

February

10 Friday

Home Satsang: Discourses on Dakshinamoorthy Strotram. Organized by Chinma-

ya Mission, San Jose. 8-9 p.m. Rao Residence, 22314 Cupertino Road, Cupertino, 95014.

Free. (408) 813-2575. sanjose@chinmayamission.org. www.chinmaya-sanjose.org.

Ribhu Gita. Readings, with commentary and dialogue, by Nome from the book, “Ribhu Gita.” Organized by Society of Abidance in Truth (SAT). 8-9:30 p.m. Society of Abidance in Truth (SAT), 1834 Ocean St., Santa Cruz, 95060. Free. (831) 425-7287. sat@cruzio.com. www.satramana.org.

February

12 Sunday

Vedanta: The Prism to See Yourself to See the World Better. Talk by Prasad Vepa.

This talk will draw from ancient texts like the Upanishads and teachings of masters such as Shankara, Ramana Maharshi, Sri Aurobindo, and Swami Chinmayananda to distill the central concepts of Vedanta, the essence of Hindu philosophy, and apply it as we strive to lead aware, purposeful and fulfilling lives.

Prasad Vepa, a retired corporate executive in the Silicon Valley, is a longtime student of Vedanta. He has been on the board of trustees of the California Institute of Integral Studies, San Francisco, presently serving as its chair.

Organized by Cultural Integration Fellowship.

11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Cultural Integration Fellowship, 2650 Fulton St., San Francisco, 94118.

(415) 668-1559. culturalfellowship@sbcglobal. net. www.culturalintegrationfellowship.org.

Guest Speaker and Music. Details to be announced. Organized by Badarikashrama. 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Badarikashrama, 15602 Maubert Ave., San Leandro, 94578. Free. (510) 2782444. badarik@pacbell.net. badarikashrama. org.

True Religion: A Universal Need. SRF Center Sacramento, 4513 North Ave., Sac

Share your stories on health with India Currents readers!

We are accepting original submissions that focus on health and wellness.

Send your 600-800-word essay on disease prevention, exercise, ayurvedic cooking, or any other health-related topic to Nadia Maiwandi at events@indiacurrents.com. india currents • february 2012 • 103

ramento. (916) 483-9644. SRF Center Los Gatos, 303 E. Main St., Los Gatos. (408) 2525299. Richmond Temple, 6401 Bernhard Ave., Richmond. (510) 232-6652. Contact temples for times. Organized by Self-Realization Fellowship. yogananda-srf.org.

February

13 Monday

Shiva Puja. Lord Shiva Abhishekam, chanting of Rudram and Chamakam. Organized

by Chinmaya Mission, San Jose. 7:30-9 p.m.

Sandeepany San Jose, 1050 Park Ave., San Jose, 95126. Free. (408) 998-2793. sanjose@ chinmayamission.org. www.chinmaya-sanjose. org.

February

14 Tuesday

Paramhansa Yogananda: Walking in the Footsteps of the Master. Now, a new

biography of Paramhansa Yogananda allows us to know the master in a way not possible before. Firsthand reminiscences show him to us as avatar, teacher, friend, and guide. Above all, studying this book, tells us how to walk the path the master himself has walked, from ego-bondage to soul-freedom. Ends March 27. 7:30-9 p.m. Ananda Church, 2171 El Camino Real, Palo Alto, 94306. $15 per class.

(650) 323-3363. www.anandapaloalto.org.

February

17 Friday

Discourses on Chapter Six of Srimad Bhagavad Gita. In Chapter Six, “Dhyana

Yoga: The Yoga of Meditation,” Lord Krishna teaches us about the acquisition of the supreme knowledge-absolute by the pursuit of the path of meditation. He elaborately explains the art of mastery of the mind and all the technical know--how on how to unfold ourselves through meditation. Organized by Chinmaya Mission, Sacramento. 7:30-9 p.m.

Multi-Purpose Room, Sacramento Country Day School, 2636 Latham Drive, Sacramento, 95864. Free. yajna@Chinmaya-Sacramento.

Org. www.chinmaya-sacramento.org.

February

18 Saturday

Jayanti Sahasrabuddhe (above) will give a concert accompanied by Ravi Gutala and Vivek Dattar on Sunday, Feb. 19 in San Leandro.

Discourses on Chapter Six of Srimad Bhagavad Gita. In Chapter Six, “Dhyana

Yoga: The Yoga of Meditation,” Lord Krishna teaches us about the acquisition of the supreme knowledge-absolute by the pursuit of the path of meditation. He elaborately explains the art of mastery of the mind and all the technical know—how on how to unfold ourselves through meditation. Ends Feb. 20.

Organized by Chinmaya Mission, Sacramento. 9 a.m.-12 p.m. Multi-Purpose Room, Sacramento Country Day School, 2636 Latham 104 • india currents • february 2012

Drive, Sacramento, 95864. Free. yajna@ Chinmaya-Sacramento.Org. www.chinmayasacramento.org.

Mataki Chowki. Group singing of bhajans

to the Divine Mother. Organized by Badarikashrama. 8-10 p.m. Badarikashrama, 15602 Maubert Ave., San Leandro, 94578. Free.

(510) 278-2444. badarik@pacbell.net. badari-

kashrama.org.

February

19 Sunday

Mahashivaratri Grand Inaugural Function, Sri Maha Kaleshwar Mandir. New

Shiva temple opening; it will be the only dedicated Shiva temple in the Bay Area, featuring Lord Nataraja, and a 6-foot, 3,000 lb.

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black granite jyotirlingam carved with 1,116 shivalingams. First Jyotirlingam temple in United States. Swami Sathasivom Sivachariar of Kalikambal Temple, Chennai, will inaugurate the temple and lead devotees in performing abhishekam and puja for Lord Shiva.

Organized by Sri Maha Kaleshwar Mandir.

10:30-2 a.m. 2344-A Walsh Ave., Santa Clara, 95051. Free. (650) 941-1152. info@srimahakalmandir.org. www.srimahakalmandir.org.

MahaShivaratri Puja and Music. Sri Rudrabhisheka Puja conducted by Brahmacharya Vishnu Chaitanya, followed by concert with Jayanti Sahasrabuddhe, accompanied by Ravi Gutala (tabla) and Vivek Dattar (harmonium). Bhajans by other artists including Suman and Sargam Shah. Organized by Badarikashrama. 6 p.m.-12 a.m. Badarikashrama, 15602 Maubert Ave., San Leandro, 94578.

Free. (510) 278-2444. badarik@pacbell.net. badarikashrama.org.

Sri Ramanama San Kirtana and Meditation. Group singing of 108 verses on the Ramayana, followed by aarati and mahap-

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rasad. Organized by Badarikashrama. 11-1 p.m. Badarikashrama, 15602 Maubert Ave., San Leandro, 94578. Free. (510) 278-2444. badarik@pacbell.net. badarikashrama.org.

February

Special Kirtan Celebrating Shivaratri.

In honor of Lord Shiva, symbolic of the destructive force in creation, sometimes feared, but also needed to clear away the old and make room for new beginnings. Shivaratri is the night when Shiva is said to have performed the dance of primordial creation, preservation, and destruction. 7:30 p.m.

Ananda Church, 2171 El Camino Real, Palo Alto, 94306. Free. (650) 323-3363. www.anandapaloalto.org.

The Way to Be Happy at Will. SRF Cen-

ter Sacramento, 4513 North Ave., Sacramento.

(916) 483-9644. SRF Center Los Gatos, 303 E. Main St., Los Gatos. (408) 252-5299. Richmond Temple, 6401 Bernhard Ave., Richmond.

(510) 232-6652. Contact temples for times.

Organized by Self-Realization Fellowship. yogananda-srf.org.

February

20 Monday

Home Satsang: Discourses on Aparokshanubhooti. Organized by Chinmaya Mission,

Mahasivaratri. A night filled with meditation, readings, and bhajans to Siva and Sri Ramana Maharshi. Ends Feb. 21. Organized

by Society of Abidance in Truth (SAT). 7 p.m.-7 a.m. Society of Abidance in Truth (SAT), 1834 Ocean St., Santa Cruz, 95060.

Free. (831) 425-7287. sat@cruzio.com. satramana.org/html/mahasivaratri.htm.

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online

at

24 Friday

San Jose. 8-9 p.m. Dash Residence, 6789 Glenview Drive, San Jose, 95120. Free. (408) 268-5056. sanjose@chinmayamission.org. www.chinmaya-sanjose.org.

Ramana Darshanam. The Ramana Darshanam events are focused on the teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi, as contained in books published by Sri Ramanasramam. Pas-

www.indiacurrents.com

www.badarikashrama.org

MahaShivaratri Celebrations Sunday, February 19, 2012

6:00 pm. Shiva Puja - Sri Rudrabhisheka conducted by Brahmacharya Vishnu Chaitanya

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sages are read aloud, and their meanings are explained in detail so that seekers can fully practice the teachings and comprehend their profound significance. Dialogues also occur in which aspirants raise questions from their own practices and receive answers so to provide better absorption and a deeper, extensive understanding of the knowledge revealed by the Maharshi. Organized by Society of Abidance in Truth (SAT). 8-9:30 p.m. Society of Abidance in Truth (SAT), 1834 Ocean St., Santa Cruz, 95060. Free.

(831) 425-7287. sat@cruzio.com. www.satramana.org.

February

26 Sunday

Nirguna Brahman and Saguna Brahman. Lecture by Swami Mangalananda,

including the concept of God in other major religions and how those concepts relate to Nirguna Brahman and Saguna Brahman. Followed by aarati and mahaprasad. Organized

by Badarikashrama. 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Badarikashrama, 15602 Maubert Ave., San Leandro, 94578. Free. (510) 278-2444. badarik@pacbell.net. badarikashrama.org.

The Mother and Integral Devotion.

Lecture by Vishnu Eschner. At CIF’s annual celebration of Mother Mirra’s birthday, Vishnu Eschner will outline the devotional aspects of dedication to the Mother. Vishnu is actively involved in the works of the Mother and Sri Aurobindo. He is past president of the Sri Aurobindo Association in the U.S. Organized by Cultural Integration Fellowship. 11 a.m.-12:15 p.m. Cultural Integration Fellowship, 2650 Fulton St., San Francisco, 94118. (415) 668-1559. culturalfellowship@ sbcglobal.net. culturalintegrationfellowship. org.

Expanding Your Awareness of God. SRF Center Sacramento, 4513 North Ave., Sacramento. (916) 483-9644. SRF Center Los Gatos, 303 E. Main St., Los Gatos. (408) 2525299. Richmond Temple, 6401 Bernhard Ave., Richmond. (510) 232-6652. Contact temples

for times. Organized by Self-Realization Fellowship. yogananda-srf.org.

March

4 Sunday

The Mother: The Font of Transformation. Lecture by Kundan Singh. Despite the

much maligned and exotic usage of Tantra, it is essentially a system that works with the force of the Divine Mother. Anyone who is devoted and has surrendered to the Divine Mother is a Tantrika. The goal of Tantra is liberation and transformation, and it is the Divine Mother who is at the center of the transfor mation that Tantra promises. In this talk, Singh will refute the essential equation of Tantra with sexuality and focus on the Divine Mother as the font and spring of psychospiritual transformation. Singh is an associate core faculty at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology. He is a practitioner of Integral Yoga of the Mother and Sri Aurobindo. He is the author of “The Evolution of Integral Yoga: Sri Aurobindo, Sri Ramakrishna, and Swami Vivekananda,” and many other writings on the topic of spirituality and postmodern philosophy. Organized by Cultural Integration Fellowship. 11 a.m.-12:15 p.m.

Cultural Integration Fellowship, 2650 Fulton St., San Francisco, 94118. (415) 668-1559. culturalfellowship@sbcglobal.net. culturalintegrationfellowship.org.

March

8 Thursday

Learn to Meditate. Meditation is one of

the most natural and rewarding of all human activities. It gives direct, intuitive experience of higher realities, and is the cornerstone of true spirituality. It also brings balance, rest, and a growing inner peace. Ends March 29.

7:30-9 p.m. Ananda Church, 2171 El Camino Real, Palo Alto, 94306. $60. (650) 323-3363. www.anandapaloalto.org.

March

11 Sunday

Haridas Chaudhuri’s Vision of Integral Education. Lecture by Joseph Subbiondo.

The late Haridas Chaudhuri distinguished himself as the leading scholar on the work of Sri Aurobindo. He founded and developed the first American university based on Aurobindo’s concept of integral living.

Chaudhuri effectively adapted Sri Aurobindo’s integral living to higher education because he believed that it “points the way to dynamic integration of the material and spiritual values of life” and that it “is a call to the reconstruction of human life and society on the basis of abiding spiritual values.”

Today, Dr. Chaudhuri’s vision continues to inspire the California Institute of Integral Studies, and is being developed at mainstream universities throughout the U.S. This talk will outline the basic tenets of integral education and outline its past, present and future gains. Organized by Cultural Integration Fellowship. 11 a.m.-12:15 p.m. Cultural Integration Fellowship. (415) 668-1559. culturalfellowship@sbcglobal.net. culturalintegrationfellowship.org.

March

14 Wednesday

The Life and Poetry of Hafiz. Annu-

al Living Wisdom School Theater production . “The Life and Poetry of Hafiz” offers a glimpse into the mystical Sufi tradition and culture of Islam. The play captures the life, the times, and the poetry of this 14thcentury Iranian contemporary of Chaucer.

The script is original and includes many of the poems of Hafiz, as translated by Daniel Ladinsky. This is a full-scale production, including music and dance. Showtimes are: March 14-15, 10 a.m., and March 1617, 7 p.m. Ends March 17. 10 a.m. Ananda Church, 2171 El Camino Real, Palo Alto, 94306. $12 adults, $7 children. (650) 3233363. www.anandapaloalto.org. © Copyright 2012 India Currents. All rights reserved. Reproduction for commercial use strictly prohibited.

Have you had an inspirational experience?

Share it with the readers of India Currents!

India Currents runs monthly spiritual essays written by members of the community. We accept spiritual or religious-themed essays from any religion or denomination, or lack thereof. IC looks for pieces that are written from a personal standpoint, rather than academic.

Send your 600-800-word submissions to Nadia Maiwandi at events@indiacurrents.com.

108 • india currents • february 2012

Om Sri Mathre Namaha

Vaidica Vidhya Ganapathi Center

SRI LAKSHMI GANAPATHI TEMPLE 32B Rancho Drive, San Jose, CA 95111 (Capitol Expressway West and Montrey Road Junction, Opposite and 1 Block from Capitol Cal Train Station)

(408) 226-3600

Wednesday, February 1, 2012 At 5.00 pm Shiva Abhisheka Aarati and Manthra Pushpa At 6.00 pm Thai Kritikai (Krithika Vratha) Kavadi Festival Sri Valli Deva Sena Sametha Sri Subramanya Abhisheka Aarati And Manthra Pushpa, Madhwa Navami Friday, February 3, 2012 Sarva Bheeema Ekadasi (Bheeshma Ekadasi) Tuesday, February 7, 2012 Temple Opens In The Evening At 4.00 pm Shiva Abhisheka Aarati and Manthra Pushpa At 5.00 pm Thai Poosam Kavadi Festival At 6.30 pm Pournami Vratha/Pooja Sri Sathayanarayana Swamy Vratha/Pooja. All are welcome to particpate with family.

Saturday, February 11, 2012

• www.vvgc.org or siliconvalleyhindutemple.com

At 12 Noon Navagraha Homa/Sri Saneeswara Graha Homa continued with Sri Navagraha Abhisheka/Sri Saneeswara Graha Abhisheka Aarati and Manthra Pushpa At 2.00 pm Sri Venkateswara/Sri Balaji Abhisheka Continued With Sri Vishnu Sahasranama Chanting Aarati and Manthra Pushpa

At 10.00 am Sri Venkateswara Supra Bhatam, Sri Shiva Rathri Mahothsav, Sri Mahanyasam Kalasa Prathishtapana Pooja, Aarati and Manthra Pushpa continuous Shiva Abhisheka whole night Abhisheka.

February 21, Tuesday Morning at 5.30 am Final Shiva Abhisheka Aarati and Manthra Pushpa.

Temple closes at morning 6.15 am.

At 4.00 pm Sankata Hara Chathurthi Sri Lakshmi Ganapathi Homa, Sri Lakshmi Ganapathi Abhisheka Aarati and Manthra Pushpa

Tuesday, February 21, 2012 Temple Opens at 10.00 am

Sunday, February 19, 2012 At 4.00 pm Pradosham Shiva, Sri Rudra Abhisheka, Sri Lakshmi Ganapathi Abhisheka, Sri Valli Deva Sena Sametha Sri Subramanya Abhisheka Aarati and Manthra Pushpa Monday, February 20, 2012 Presidents Day - Temple Opens Morning

Tuesday, February 28, 2012 Sukla Sashti Vratha At 8.30 am Sri Valli Deva Sena Sametha Sri Subramanya Sahasra Nama Archana Wednesday, February 29, 2012 Kritika Vratha At 6.30 pm Sri Valli Deva Sena Sametha Sri Subramanya Abhisheka, Aarati and Manthra Pushpa

Please Make A Note:: Temple Address:: 32 Rancho Drive, San Jose CA 95111 Temple Timings: Week Days Morning 10.00 Am To 12 Noon, Evening At 6.00 pm To 8.00 pm - Week Ends And Holidays 10.00 am To 8.00 pm

FOR BHAJAN'S RELIGIOUS DISCOURSES, MUSIC AND DANCE PERFORMANCES, PRIVATE POOJAS PLEASE CONTACT TEMPLE FOR FURTHER DETAILS MANGALANI BHAVANTHU,SUBHAM BHUYATH,LOKA SAMASTHA SUKINO BHAVANTHU, LOVEALL SERVE ALL LOVE ISALL

For Pujas & Rituals Contact: PANDIT GANESH SHASTHRY 245-5443 / Cell: (925) 209-7637 E-mail: srikalahatheeswara@yahoo.com

5639 Kimberly Street, San Jose, CA 95129 — Home: (408)

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Email: ads@indiacurrents.com india currents • february 2012 • 109

IC

the healthy life

Sonia Kumar

Contentment Within the Home Shrine M

andirs (temples) within the home have always been interesting to me. These tangible settings can provide glimpses into our spiritual and meditative aspects and aspirations. Hallway and bedroom closets, entertainment centers, small cupboards, and entire rooms—mandirs in the home are wide-ranging.

While the token mandir can’t equal a custom-built marble alcove temple that would meet the regulations of any vastu shastra officer, I haven’t seen many.

I have a good friend, who would be considered devout by any standard, and whose 6-year-old son has a handful of shlokas memorized. This friend maintains her mandir in her kitchen pantry—her murtis are on a straw thali, which is balanced on a bag of rice.

In my childhood home, my parents did not have a permanently set up mandir, partially due to their Sikh leanings and style of worship.

When my parents prayed, they would simply recite their paath or prayer verses, no matter the setting. They kept our prayer books and the Guru Granth Sahib, which is accorded the same respect as an installed idol, on a closet shelf. On special occasions, such as birthdays or Diwali, we would set up pictures of Hindu deities and Sikh gurus and light incense on my dresser. My bedroom would be transformed into a mystical, magical sanctuary.

As I grew older, I wanted such a sanctuary available to our family all the time. During my teenage years, I made various efforts to have a dedicated space for a mandir. One setup was in our basement; I taped calendar picture cutouts along one corner that my father cordoned off for me with wood trim. A sanctuary can be elusive.

My first grown-up effort, in my 20s when I lived by myself, was similarly well-intentioned but haphazard. I had another batch of calendar pictures posted in separate areas throughout my apartment. I also had an idol on my nightstand; another by my TV … no designated spot within my apartment was for my mandir.

“My entire home is my temple!” I remember thinking. My approach to maintaining a man110 • india currents • february 2012

dir didn’t change much after marriage. Our loft-style apartment did not seem conducive to establish a dedicated space.

In our current house, our mandir began in a spare bedroom, which it shared with a bed and nightstand; it was a short-lived setting due to the arrival of Rajkumar, our first child. That room became his and our idols were once again scattered or packed away.

Two more children later, the novelty of a baby-proof house had disappeared and that wish for a sanctuary—for me and for my kids —still existed. Our full household, which includes my mother, precluded a mandir having an entire room to itself, so I cleared one wall in our office and put a palki or mandir structure on the floor. In the palki, I arranged my Ram Darbar murtis from India which I had been waiting to install.

It may have been premature, as the next day, a curious, vigorous shake by Rajkumar to the palki led to Ram’s bow and hand coming off. I was frustrated with myself (what should one expect of a 4-year-old boy?) and exasperated with the continued unfruitfulness of my efforts. So, I put the murtis on the office bookshelf, where they were surrounded by envelopes, printers, and ink cartridges. The arrangement could not look less elegant and every morning when trying to engage in some prayer ritual, I would instead find myself meditating on subjects such as “how to organize your home.”

Now, three years later, my mandir is still in the office, but returned to the palki on the floor, where it is safe again. Is it what I want? No. I would love to have a private, dedicated room devoted just to prayer—that would be luxurious … an area of true respite, with powerful vibrations.

On the other hand, why so much emphasis on architecture and home décor for a sanctuary setting? Is the respite-like nature of the home shrine wholly dependent on its physical makeup? My mandir’s moves within the home have shown me that a designated space—as a tool or prop—is all that is required. Once I have sat down and committed to pray, it should be solely an inward journey.

My mandir is certainly not vastu compliant, nor would it receive any architectural accolades … it doesn’t even particularly “wow” people when they see it. My simple mandir pushes me to focus on the purpose on establishing it in the first place and not creating a contrived devout atmosphere.

What an exercise in finding contentment and ego management. Perhaps that sanctuary is not as elusive after all.n Sonia Kumar lives in the Chicago suburbs with her husband, three children, and mother. She has a master’s degree in communication from DePaul University.

india currents • february 2012 • 111

IC

Ongoing yoga events

Sunday Yoga Classes for all. Organized by Yoga

Bharati. Fremont Hindu Temple, 3676 Delaware Dr., Fremont. Sundays, 7:30 a.m. Free.

(510) 386-3315. venkat@yogabharati.org.

Yoga Class. Iyengar Yoga Institute, 2404

27th Ave., San Francisco. Sundays, 9-10:30 a.m. level 1-3 with Allan Nett, $20. 9:15-11 a.m. level 3-5 with Nora Burnett, $15. 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m. level 2-4 with Allan Nett, $20. 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. level 1-3 with Nora Burnett, $15. 5-6:30 p.m. level 1-3 with Jill Keltner, $15. (415) 753-0909. www.iyisf.org.

Gentle Yoga for the Mind, Body, and Spirit, taught by Jerry Bezaire and Padma

Jennings is especially for someone who is presurgery, post-surgery, recuperating, a senior, or wants a slow-paced class. San Francisco Integral Yoga Institute, 770 Dolores St., San Francisco. Sundays, 9:30-11 a.m.; Tuesdays, 4:30-6 p.m. $11. (415) 821-1117. www.integralyogasf.org.

Hatha Yoga In this advanced class, students experience cardiovascular, muscle conditioning, weight training, with yoga asanas and controlled breathing. Chakra meditation, advanced pranayma, mantra chanting, and deep relaxation are included. Studio 10 Dance, 6190 Bollinger Rd., San Jose. 9:30-11 a.m. (408) 257-8418. vasanthib@aol.com www.vasanthayoga.com.

Hatha Yoga In this class for all levels,

Vasanthi Bhatt teaches asana, pranayama, meditation, pranic healing, including cardiovascualr, energizing,a nd weight training exercises. Individual attention is given to help people heal stress-related symptoms. Studio 10 Dance, 6190 Bollinger Rd., San Jose. 11:10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. (408) 257-8418. vasanthib@ aol.com www.vasanthayoga.com.

Yoga for Children taught by Charu Agrawal, accredited yoga instructor from India. Cupertino venue. Sundays, 4:30-5:30 p.m. (408) 446-1741. charu@the-agrawals.com.

Beginner Yoga and Meditation Yoga is

youthfulness. Pacific Meditation Center, 590 Castro Street, Mountain View. Sundays, 6 p.m. (650) 279-3610. www.pacificmeditation. com.

Integral Yoga every second and fourth

Sunday. Study the works of Sri Aurobindo in a supportive and informal setting with Rick Lipschutz and Vishnu Eschner. 2-3:30 p.m.

Cultural Integration Fellowship, 2650 Fulton St., San Francisco. Free will donation. (415) 668-1559.

Yoga Classes for all. Organized by Yoga Bharati. Sunnyvale Hindu Temple Audito-

112 • india currents • february 2012

rium, 440 Persian Drive, Sunnyvale. Sundays, 7:30 a.m. (408) 446-1801. anil@yogabharati. org.

(408) 257-8418. vasanthib@aol.com www. vasanthayoga.com .

Hatha Yoga with Vasanthi Bhat. In this

Yoga Class. Iyengar Yoga Institute, 2404

advanced class, you experience the power of meditation in the asana, pranayma, pranic healing, mantra chanting, and deep relaxation while awakening chakras. Hilton Garden Inn, Cupertino. Mondays, 8-9:15 p.m.

(408) 257-8418 vasanthib@aol.com www.vasanthayoga.com .

Hatha Yoga II Intermediate Class. In-

Yoga for Seniors to cure and prevent arthritis, high-blood pressure, diabetes, stress relief, relaxatio with gentle poses, pranayama, pranic healing, and meditation. 6-7 p.m. Dr. Yoga Therapy at 5638 Stratton Way, San Ramon. (925) 803-9196. adibhagya@yahoo.com. www.dr-yogatherapy.com.

Monday 27th Ave., San Francisco. Mondays, 8-10 a.m. level 3-4 with Janet MacLeod, $20. 10-11:30 a.m. level 1-3 with Janet MacLeod, $20.

5-6:30 p.m. level 1-4 with Joe Naudzunas, $20.

6-8 p.m. level 3-5 with Janet MacLeod, $20.

(415) 753-0909. www.iyisf.org. tegral Yoga Institute, 770 Dolores St., San Francisco. Mondays and Thursdays, 9:30 a.m. and 6 p.m.; Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 6 p.m.; Saturdays, 9:30 a.m. (415) 821-1117. www. integralyogasf.org.

Hatha Yoga IA Advanced Beginner Class. Integral Yoga Institute, 770 Dolores

St., San Francisco. Mondays and Wednesdays, 9:30 a.m. and 6 p.m.; Tuesdays, 9:30 a.m.; Fridays, 6 p.m.; Saturdays, 8 a.m. and 11 a.m., 6-7:30 p.m. (415) 821-1117. www.integralyogasf.org.

Hatha Yoga pranayama and meditation

classes by Manda Rao. Mountain View venue.

Mondays, 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. (650) 694-1468. lotusyoga@hotmail.com.

Noon Meditation and Lunch. Call the

kitchen manager by 10 a.m. on the day.

Integral Yoga Institute, 770 Dolores St., San Francisco. Monday-Friday, 12 p.m. $6 suggested donation. (415) 821-1117x303. www. integralyogasf.org.

Parent-Toddler yoga classes. Yogalayam,

1717 Alcatraz Ave., Berkeley. Mondays, 12-2 p.m. $9 per class. (510) 655-3664. www.yogalayam.org. info@yogalayam.org.

Power Yoga Class by Mahendra Lohmor for all age groups. Organized by the India Community Center. 555 Los Coches St Milpitas. Mondays, 1-2 p.m. $5 day pass. (408) 935-1130. www.indiacc.org.

Evening Yoga Classes led by VYASA or

Yogabharati trained instructors. Sunnyvale Temple, 450 Persian Drive, Sunnyvale. Mondays. 7-8 p.m. sreejit_chakravarty@yahoo.com.

Stress-Release yoga class includes deep

relaxation, pranayama, and meditation. Props used to put student in comfortable poses.

Integral Yoga Institute, 770 Dolores St., San Francisco. Mondays, 7:30-9 p.m. $11. (415) 821-1117. www.integralyogasf.org.

Evening Meditation includes 40 minutes

of chanting, pranayama, and silence. Arrive a few minutes early. Integral Yoga Institute, 770 Dolores St., San Francisco. Monday-Thursday, 7:45 p.m. Free. (415) 821-1117. www.integralyogasf.org.

Stress release Mondays by Angie David-

son and Bhaktan Rivera. Weekly Integral Hatha Yoga class that will use pillows and other props to put the student in the most comfortable variation of the poses. Class will include a longer deep relaxation, pranayama and meditation time. 7:30-9 p.m. Organized

by Integral Yoga Institute. 770 Dolores St., San Francisco. $11. (415) 821-1117. mail@ IntegralYogaSF.org, www.IntegralYogaSF.org.

Laughteryoga. Laughteryoga uses a blend

Beginning Yoga classes. Yogalayam, 1717 Alcatraz Ave., Berkeley. Mondays, 5:30-7 p.m. $8.50 per class. (510) 655-3664. www.yogalayam.org. info@yogalayam.org.

of playful and stress release laughter exercises, interspersed with gentle breathing and stretching exercises. Instructor is Lydia Gonzales, Certified Laughter Yoga Teacher with Dr. Kataria’s School of LaughterYoga.

7-8 p.m. Dublin Senior Center, 7600 Amador Valley Blvd., Dublin. $5, $3 seniors. Drop-ins allowed. (510) 390-4105, lydiagogo@excite. com for registration information. www.laughteryoga.org.

Hatha Yoga for the entire family with

Yoga Class by Arun Thaker. 7-8 a.m. Fre-

Yoga for Children ages 4-5 years. Yoga-

layam, 1717 Alcatraz Ave., Berkeley. Mondays, 4-5 p.m. $7 per class. (510) 655-3664. www. yogalayam.org. info@yogalayam.org.

Vasanthi Bhat (ages 3 and above). Learn to relax, energize, improve concentration, promote flexibility, relieve allergy, asthma, improve eyesight, and increase self-esteem.

Teaches easy meditation techniques, to understand, unite and strenghten family life.

Hilton Garden Inn, Cupertino. 6:30-7:30 p.m.

mont Hindu temple, 3676 Delaware Dr., Fremont.

Gently Yoga for Every Body with Julianne Rice. Class begins with centering and meditation and includes gentle stretching,

health

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INTERNAL MEDICINE "Best Wishes for Happy & Healthy 2012" 15899 Los Gatos Almaden Rd. #9, Los Gatos, CA 95032

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india currents • february 2012 • 113

individualized instruction in basic postures and a time for relaxation. No experience necessary. All are welcome. Special needs accommodated. 12-1 p.m., $13 per class or 10 classes for $110. Center for Spiritual Enlightenment, 1146 University Ave., San Jose. Register: (408) 283-0221; info@CSEcenter.org. www.CSEcenter.org.

Yoga Classes for all. Organized by Yoga Bharati. Sunnyvale Hindu Temple Auditorium, 440 Persian Drive, Sunnyvale. Mondays, 7 p.m. (408) 446-1801. anil@yogabharati.org.

Tuesday Yoga for Children ages 3 years. Yogalayam,

1717 Alcatraz Ave., Berkeley. Tuesdays, 9-9:45 a.m. $7 per class. (510) 655-3664. www.yogalayam.org. info@yogalayam.org.

Pre natal Yoga classes by Matra Majmun-

dar a certified perinatal educator and yoga therapist. Presented by Palo Alto-Lucille Packard Children’s hospital, Stanford. 5-6p.m.

To register, (650) 723-4600, www.birthclasses. lpch.org.

Yoga For Seniors by Kokila Patel, a physical therapist and certified yoga instructor. Union City locations. Tuesdays, 9-10 a.m. $5. (510) 441-8906. kokila@tricitypt.com.

Hatha Yoga with Vasanthi Bhat. In this

class for all levels, Vasanthi Bhatt teaches asana, pranayama, meditation, pranic healing including cardiocascular, energizing, and weight training exercises. Individual attention is given to help people relieve back pain, insomnia, arthritis, depression, headaches, and other stress-related ailments. Studio 10 Dance, 6190 Bollinger Rd. San Jose. Mondays, 9:30-10:30 a.m. (408) 257-8418. vasanthib@ aol.com www.vasanthayoga.com.

Yoga Class. Iyengar Yoga Institute, 2404 27th Ave., San Francisco. Tuesdays, 9:30-11 a.m. level 1-4 with Jaki Nett, $20. 10-11:10 a.m. ageless yoga with Nora Burnett, $12. 11:15 a.m.-12:45 p.m. parent-baby yoga with Anna Kelleher, $14. 5:45-7:45 p.m. level 3-5 with Kathy Alef, $20. 7-8:30 p.m. women’s class with Jill Keltner, $15. 7:45-9:15 p.m. level 1-2 and backcare with Kathy Alef, $20. (415) 7530909. www.iyisf.org.

Classic Yoga classes taught by Manjiri. Palo Alto venue. Tuesdays, 9:30-10:30 a.m. $12/ class, $60/6 classes. (650) 324-0445. www. yoga-marga.com.

Gentle Yoga for the Mind, Body, and Spirit, taught by Jerry Bezaire and Padma Jennings is for someone who is pre-surgery, post-surgery, recuperating, a senior, or wants a slow-paced class. Integral Yoga Institute, 770 Dolores St., San Francisco. Sundays, 9:30-11 a.m.; Tuesdays, 4:30-6 p.m. $11. (415) 821-1117. www. integralyogasf.org.

114 • india currents • february 2012

Hatha Yoga I Beginner Class. Integral Yoga Institute, 770 Dolores St., San Francisco. Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 6 p.m.; Thursdays, 9:30 a.m. and 6 p.m.; Fridays, 9:30 a.m.; Saturdays, 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. (415) 821-1117. www. integralyogasf.org.

Hatha Yoga II Intermediate Class. Integral Yoga Institute, 770 Dolores St., San Francisco.

Mondays and Thursdays, 9:30 a.m. and 6 p.m.; Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 6 p.m.; Saturdays, 9:30 a.m. (415) 821-1117. www.integralyogasf. org.

Yoga for Pregnant Women: Prenatal and postnatal yoga in a therapeutic way to regulate mood swings, hormonal imbalance, and to guard against pregnancy related problems.

9-10 a.m. Dr. Yoga Therapy, 5638 Stratton Way, San Ramon. (925) 803-9196. adibhagya@yahoo.com. www.dr-yogatherapy.com.

Yoga for Children to improve memory,

reduce allergies and general health and fitness. Individual attention will be given to correct poses from 4:30-5:30 p.m. Dr. Yoga Therapy at 5638 Stratton Way, San Ramon.

(925) 803-9196. adibhagya@yahoo.com. www. dr-yogatherapy.com.

Hatha Yoga IA Advanced Beginner Class.

Integral Yoga Institute, 770 Dolores St., San Francisco. Mondays and Wednesdays, 9:30 a.m. and 6 p.m.; Tuesdays, 9:30 a.m.; Fridays, 6 p.m.; Saturdays, 8 a.m. and 11 a.m., 6-7:30 p.m. (415) 821-1117. www.integralyogasf.org

Post-Natal Yoga with infants. Yogalayam, 1717 Alcatraz Ave., Berkeley. Tuesdays, 10 a.m.-12 noon. $10.50. (510) 655-3664. www. yogalayam.org. info@yogalayam.org.

Yogic Breathing, pranayama, and meditation conducted by Prema Sastry. Organized

by ICC. 555 Los Coches St Milpitas. Tuesdays, 11 a.m.-12 p.m. Members free. $5 day pass. (408) 935-1130. www.indiacc.org.

Guided Yoga Posture Classes Ananda Sangha, 2171 El Camino Real, Palo Alto.

Tuesdays, 12:15 p.m.-1:30 p.m. $10 class.

(650) 323-3363. www.anandapaloalto.org.

Ki-Yoga classes. Los Altos Hills. Tuesdays 4-5:30 p.m. (408) 799-0590. kiiyoga@yahoo. com www.kiyoga.4t.com.

Hatha Yoga classes, aimed at giving par-

ticipants a total body workout. This class is taught by Asha. Organized by ICC. 555 Los Coches St Milpitas. Tuesdays, 6-7 p.m. Members free. $5 day pass. (408) 935-1130. www. indiacc.org.

Pranayama and Meditation with Manda Rao. Dancing Yogi Yoga Studio, Saratoga.

Tuesdays, 6:30 p.m. (408) 741-7084. www. dancingyogi.com.

Ki-Yoga Classes Los Altos Hills venue. Tues-

days, 7:30-9:45 p.m. (650) 804-9577. kiiyoga@ yahoo.com. www.kiyoga.4t.com.

Gentle Yoga classes for a complete workout. and flexibility. This class is taught by Urmil.

Organized by ICC. 555 Los Coches St Milpitas. Tuesdays, 7-8 p.m. Members free. $5 day pass. (408) 935-1130. www.indiacc.org.

Evening Meditation includes 40 minutes

of chanting, pranayama, and silence. Integral Yoga Institute, 770 Dolores St., San Francisco.

Monday-Thursday, 7:45 p.m. Free. (415) 8211117. www.integralyogasf.org.

Beginner Guided Meditation Pacific Meditation Center, 590 Castro Street, Mountain View. Tuesdays, 9 p.m. (650) 279-3610. www.pacificmeditation.com.

Yoga Class by Arun Thaker. 8-9 a.m. Fre-

mont Hindu temple, 3676 Delaware Dr., Fremont.

Yoga Classes for all. Organized by Yoga Bharati. Sunnyvale Hindu Temple Auditorium, 440 Persian Drive, Sunnyvale. Tuesdays, 7 p.m. (408) 446-1801. anil@yogabharati.org.

Wednesday Yoga Class. Iyengar Yoga Institute, 2404 27th Ave., San Francisco. Wednesdays, 8-9:30 a.m. level 1-3 with Maria Calabria, $15. 9:30-11:30 a.m. level 3-5 with Janet MacLeod, $20. 4-5:30 p.m. level 1-2 with student teacher, $5. 6:30-8 p.m. level 3-5 with Nora Burnett, $15. 7:30-9 p.m. level 1-4 with Joe Naudzunas, $20. 8-9:30 p.m. level 1-3 with Nora Burnett, $15. (415) 753-0909. www.iyisf.org

Hatha Yoga IA Advanced Beginner Class.

Integral Yoga Institute, 770 Dolores St., San Francisco. Mondays and Wednesdays, 9:30 a.m. and 6 p.m.; Tuesdays, 9:30 a.m.; Fridays, 6 p.m.; Saturdays, 8 a.m. and 11 a.m., 6-7:30 p.m. (415) 821-1117.

Advanced Mixed Level Class for intermediate and advanced students who are ready to move from IA to II. Integral Yoga Institute, 770 Dolores St., San Francisco. Wednesdays, 9:30 a.m. (415) 821-1117. www.integralyogasf. org.

Yoga for Adults to reduce physical and mental problems such as gastritis, obesity, stress, depress, insomnia, and sinusitis. 6:307:30 p.m. Dr. Yoga Therapy, 5638 Stratton Way, San Ramon. (925) 803-9196. adibhagya@yahoo.com. www.dr-yogatherapy.com.

Hatha Yoga I Beginner Class. Integral Yoga Institute, 770 Dolores St., San Francisco.

Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 6 p.m.; Thursdays, 9:30 a.m. and 6 p.m.; Fridays, 9:30 a.m.; Saturdays, 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. (415) 821-1117. www.integralyogasf.org.

health

Hatha Yoga II Intermediate Class. Integral

Yoga Institute, 770 Dolores St., San Francisco.

Mondays and Thursdays, 9:30 a.m. and 6 p.m.; Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 6 p.m.; Saturdays, 9:30 a.m. (415) 821-1117. www.integralyogasf. org.

Viewing of Videos of Sri Swami Satchidananda on practical aspects of living with a spiritual perspective. Followed by questions and noon meditation. Integral Yoga Institute, 770 Dolores St., San Francisco. Wednesdays, 11:30 a.m.-12:40 p.m. (415) 821-1117. www. integralyogasf.org.

Ki-Yoga classes. Club House, Ball Room, Stanford University, Palo Alto. Wednesdays, 3:30-5 p.m. Free. (650) 804-9577. kiiyoga@ yahoo.com www.kiyoga.4t.com.

Beginners’ Trial Yoga class. Sivananda Yoga

Vedanta Center, 1200 Arguello Blvd, San Francisco. Wednesdays, 5:30 p.m. (415) 681-2731.

SanFrancisco@sivananda.org.

Yoga Drop-In trial class for all levels. Siva-

nanda Yoga Vedanta Center, 1200 Arguello Blvd, San Francisco. Wednesdays, 5:30-7 p.m.

(415) 681 2731.

Therapeutic Yoga for back care, taught by Kokila Patel, a physical therapist and certified yoga instructor. Fremont and Newark locations. Wednesdays, 6-7 p.m. (510) 441-8906. kokila@tricitypt.com.

Yoga for Total Health Hindu Temple, 450

Persian Drive, Sunnyvale. Wednesdays, 7 p.m.

(925) 980-0077..

Let us brighten your smile

Evening Yoga Classes led by VYASA

or Yogabharati trained instructors. Sunnyvale Temple, 450 Persian Drive, Sunnyvale.

Wednesdays. 7 -8 p.m. sreejit_chakravarty@ yahoo.com.

Hatha Yoga classes with Anjali Desai. Organized by ICC. 555 Los Coches St., Milpitas.

Wednesdays, 7-8 p.m. Members free. $5 day pass. (408) 935-1130. www.indiacc.org.

• • • • •

Heart Opening Kundalini Yoga by Olga

Luchakova. Foothill Congregational Church, 461 Orange Ave, Los Altos. Wednesdays, 12:30 p.m.-2 p.m. $15. (510) 869-2611.

Guided Yoga Posture classes. Ananda

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Yoga for Children ages 6-11 years. Yogalayam, 1717 Alcatraz Ave., Berkeley. Wednesdays, 4:30-5:30 p.m. $7 per class. (510) 655-3664. www.yogalayam.org. info@yogalayam.org.

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Yogalayam, 1717 Alcatraz Ave., Berkeley.

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Evening Meditation includes 40 minutes

of chanting, pranayama, and silence. Arrive early. Integral Yoga Institute, 770 Dolores St., San Francisco. Monday-Thursday, 7:45 p.m.

Free. (415) 821-1117. www.integralyogasf.org.

Hatha Yoga with Vasanthi Bhat. In this

yoga class open to all levels, experience the power of hatha yoga with Vasanthi Bhatt while learning to tone, relax, relieve stress, and heal ailments of many kinds with asana, pranayma, meditation, and pranic healing.

Cardiovascular, energizing, and weight training exercises are included. Shri Krupa Dance Company, 3568 Homestead Rd, Santa Clara.

8-9:15 p.m. (408) 257-8418. vasanthib@aol. com www.vasanthayoga.com.

Gentle Yoga classes. Yogalayam, 1717 Al-

catraz Ave., Berkeley. Wednesdays, 6:45-8:45 p.m. $9 per class. (510) 655-3664. www.yogalayam.org. info@yogalayam.org.

Yoga Class by Arun Thaker. 8-9 a.m. Fre-

mont Hindu temple, 3676 Delaware Dr., Fremont.

Teenpath Yoga Classes. 4-5 p.m. Yoga Society of San Francisco, 2872 Folsom St., San Francisco. (415) 235-0245. www.teenpathyoga. org .

Beginning Yoga with Debby Edwards.

Class begins with centering and meditation

Ready for Extreme Makeover?

and includes gentle stretching, individualized instruction in basic postures and a time for relaxation. No experience necessary. All are welcome. Special needs accommodated.

6-7:30 p.m., $13 per class or 10 classes for $110. Center for Spiritual Enlightenment, 1146 University Ave., San Jose. Register: (408) 283- 0221; info@CSEcenter.org. www.CSEcenter.org.

Gently Yoga for Every Body with Juli-

anne Rice. Class begins with centering and meditation and includes gentle stretching, individualized instruction in basic postures and a time for relaxation. No experience necessary. All are welcome. Special needs accommodated. 12-1 p.m., $13 per class or 10 classes for $110. Center for Spiritual Enlightenment, 1146 University Ave., San Jose. Register: (408) 283-0221; info@CSEcenter.org. www.CSEcenter.org.

Yoga Classes for all. Organized by Yoga Bharati. Sunnyvale Hindu Temple Auditorium, 440 Persian Drive, Sunnyvale.

Wednesdays, 7 p.m. (408) 446-1801. anil@ yogabharati.org.

Yoga Class. Iyengar Yoga Institute, 2404

27th Ave., San Francisco. Thursdays, 10-11:30 a.m. level 1-4 with Joe Naudzunas, $20. 1011:10 a.m. ageless yoga with Nora Burnett, $12. 6-7:30 p.m. level 2-4 with Kathy Alef, $20. (415) 753-0909. www.iyisf.org.

Thursday

Classic Yoga classes taught by Manjiri.

Palo Alto venue. Thursdays, 9:30-10:30 a.m. $12/class, $60/6 classes. (650) 324-0445. www. yoga-marga.com.

Hatha Yoga II Intermediate Class. Integral

Post-natal Yoga. Eucalyptus Room, Oak

Yoga Institute, 770 Dolores St., San Francisco.

Mondays and Thursdays, 9:30 a.m. and 6 p.m.; Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 6 p.m.; Saturdays,

Creek Apartments, 1600 Sand Hill Road.

11a.m.-noon. $80 for 8 classes or $60 for 4 classes or $15 for trial. (650) 723-4600.

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Dr. Lopa Shah, DDS

Appointments Available

Pre natal Yoga classes by Matra Majmundar a certified perinatal educator and yoga therapist. Presented by Palo Alto-Lucille Packard Children’s hospital, Stanford. 5:306:30 p.m. To register, (650) 723-4600, www. birthclasses.lpch.org.

DIPLOMATE, AMERICAN BOARD OF INTERNAL MEDICINE

Family and Cosmetic Dentistry

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Becoming Parents program offers Mother and baby yoga class conducted by Matra Majmundar a certified perinatal educator and yoga therapist. Presented by Palo Alto-Lucille Packard Children’s hospital, Stanford. 4-5 p.m. To register, (650) 723-4600, www.birthclasses.lpch.org.

Compassionate and Personalized Primary Care Available in San Ramon Valley by

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Evening and Weekend Appointments Available!

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3906 Decoto Road, Fremont, CA 94555

(Next to Walgreens on Decoto & Fremont Blvd.)

niors, Vasanthi Bhatt teaches gentle asanas, pranayama, meditation, pranic healing, and nutrition to promote health and happiness.

Special techniques are taught to control blood pressure, arthritis, osteoporosis, insomnia, hypertension, eye disorders, and many other health symptoms. Also, teaches chair yoga for people who cannot sit on the floor.

Cupertino Senior Center, 21251 Stevens Creek Blvd. Cupertino. 2:30-3:30 p.m. (408)-7773150. vasanthib@aol.com www.vasanthayoga. com.

health

Gentle Yoga classes with Urmil Jindia. Or-

ganized by ICC. 555 Los Coches St., Milpitas.

Thursdays, 12-1 p.m. and 7-8 p.m. Members free. $5 day pass. (408) 935-1130. www.indiacc.org.

Yoga for seniors taught by Kokila Patel, a

physical therapist and certified yoga instructor. Union City locations. Thursdays, 9-10 a.m. $5. (510) 441-8906. kokila@tricitypt. com.

Yoga Classes taught by Asha Agarwal.

Organized by AIF. 647 E. Calaveras Blvd., Milpitas. Thursdays, 12-1 p.m. $5. (408) 9341600 x 4.

Introductory Meditation Pacific Meditation Center, 590 Castro Street, Mountain View. Thursdays, 9 p.m. (650) 279-3610. www. pacificmeditation.com.

Expanding your Awareness with Rick Bonin, Robert Clark, Greg Dyal. Ananda Sangha, 2171 El Camino Real, Palo Alto.

Thursdays, 7:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m. (650) 3233363. www.anandapaloalto.org .

Guided Yoga Posture Classes Ananda

Temple, 2171 El Camino Real, Palo Alto.

Thursdays, 9-10:30 a.m. $15. Current schedule on website. (650) 323-3363. www.anandapaloalto.org.

Post-Natal Yoga with infants. Yogalayam, 1717 Alcatraz Ave., Berkeley. Thursdays, 2-4 p.m. $10.50. (510) 655-3664. www.yogalayam. org. info@yogalayam.org.

Pre-natal Yoga. Eucalyptus Room, Oak Creek Apartments, 1600 Sand Hill Road.

Thursdays, 5:30p.m.-6:30 p.m. $80 for 8 classes or $60 for 4 classes or $15 for trial. (650) 723-4600.

Beginning Yoga classes. Yogalayam, 1717

Alcatraz Ave., Berkeley. Thursdays, 7:15-9:15 p.m. $9. (510) 655-3664. www.yogalayam.org. info@yogalayam.org.

Introduction to Meditation. Integral Yoga Institute, 770 Dolores St., San Francisco.

Thursdays, 7:30 p.m. (415) 821-1117. www. integralyogasf.org.

Evening Meditation includes 40 minutes

of chanting, pranayama, and silence. Arrive early. Integral Yoga Institute, 770 Dolores St., india currents • february 2012 • 117

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General and Family Dentistry

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perinatal educator and yoga therapist. Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital, Stanford. Thursdays, 5:30-6:30 p.m. $80 for 8 classes, $60 for 4. (650) 723-4600. www.birthclasses.lpch.org.

Laughteryoga. Laughteryoga uses a blend

of playful and stress release laughter exercises, interspersed with gentle breathing and stretching exercises. Instructor is Lydia Gonzales, Certified Laughter Yoga Teacher with Dr. Kataria’s School of LaughterYoga. 7-8 p.m. Kenneth C. Aitken Senior & Community Center, 17800 Redwood Rd., Castro Valley. $5, $3 seniors. Drop-ins allowed. (510) 3904105, lydiagogo@excite.com for registration information. www.laughteryoga.org.

Hatha Yoga with Vasanthi Bhat. Advanced

class; learn to relax, relieve pain, tone and condition, and expand spirituality. Special attention is given to treat osteoporosis. Studio 10 Dance, 6190 Bollinger Rd., San Jose. 9:3010:30 a.m. (408) 257-8418. vasanthib@aol. com www.vasanthayoga.com.

Hatha Yoga with Vasanthi Bhat. Class for

Aparna C. Nayudu, D.D.S. Personalized Care for the whole family • Cleaning, Fillings, Crowns , Bridges • Root Canal Treatment, Extractions • Bleaching

Pregnancy Yoga by Matra Majmundar, a

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3005 Silver Creek Rd #198. San Jose, CA 95121

all levels. Cardiovascular and weight training exercises are included. Shri Krupa Dance Company, 3568 Homestead Rd., Santa Clara.

7-8:15 p.m. (408) 257-8418 vasanthib@aol. com www.vasanthayoga.com.

Sri Aurobindo’s Integral Yoga, reading and meditation. Thursdays, 8-9 p.m. 2134 Carmenere St., Danville. Free. (925) 736-7636, braroo@gmail.com.

Yoga Classes for all. Organized by Yoga Bharati. Sunnyvale Hindu Temple Auditorium, 440 Persian Drive, Sunnyvale. Thursdays, 7 p.m. (408) 446-1801. anil@yogabharati.org.

Friday Mixed Level Class for continuing students.

Integral Yoga Institute, 770 Dolores St., San Francisco. Fridays, 9:30 a.m. (415) 821-1117. www.integralyogasf.org.

Hatha Yoga I Beginner Class. Integral Yoga Institute, 770 Dolores St., San Francisco.

Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 6 p.m.; Thursdays, 9:30 a.m. and 6 p.m.; Fridays, 9:30 a.m.; Saturdays, 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. (415) 821-1117. www.integralyogasf.org.

Beginning Yoga. Yogalayam, 1717 Alcatraz Ave., Berkeley. Fridays, 11:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m. $10. (510) 655-3664. www.yogalayam.org. info@yogalayam.org.

Guided Yoga Posture Classes Ananda

Sangha, 2171 El Camino Real, Palo Alto.

Fridays, 6 p.m.-7:15 p.m. $10 class. (650) 3233363. www.anandapaloalto.org.

Hatha Yoga IA Advanced Beginner Class.

118 • india currents • february 2012

Integral Yoga Institute, 770 Dolores St., San Francisco. Mondays and Wednesdays, 9:30 a.m. and 6 p.m.; Tuesdays, 9:30 a.m.; Fridays, 6 p.m.; Saturdays, 8 a.m. and 11 a.m., 6-7:30 p.m. (415) 821-1117. www.integralyogasf.org.

Hatha-Meditation Connection taught by hatha yoga teachers and Buddhist practitioners. Integral Yoga Institute, 770 Dolores St., San Francisco. Fridays, 6-8 p.m. $11. (415) 821-1117. www.IntegralYogaSF.org.

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Hatha Yoga with Vasanthi Bhat, for seniors.

Learn gentle, easy-to-do yoga poses. ICC Sunnyvale, 285 N. Wolfe Rd., Ste. 102 Sunnyvale. 12-1 p.m. (408) 257-8418. vasanthib@ aol.com www.vasanthayoga.com.

Yoga Class by Arun Thaker. 8-9 a.m. Fremont Hindu temple, 3676 Delaware Dr., Fremont.

We accept all PPO and Indemnity Plans

Teenpath Yoga Classes. 4-5 p.m. Yoga

Society of San Francisco, 2872 Folsom St., San Francisco. (415) 235-0245. www.teenpathyoga. org.

Saturday Hatha Yoga IA Advanced Beginner Class.

Integral Yoga Institute, 770 Dolores St., San Francisco. Mondays and Wednesdays, 9:30 a.m. and 6 p.m.; Tuesdays, 9:30 a.m.; Fridays, 6 p.m.; Saturdays, 8 a.m. and 11 a.m., 6-7:30 p.m. (415) 821-1117.

Yoga Class. Iyengar Yoga Institute, 2404

Prakash S. Advani D.D.S.

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Open Mon-Sat 9am-6pm

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(408) 738-0996

27th Ave., San Francisco. Saturdays, 8:3010:30 a.m. level 2-4 with Jaki Nett, $25.

9-10:30 a.m. level 3-5 with Joe Naudzunas, $20. 10-11:30 a.m. level 1-2 with Jaki Nett, $20. 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m. level 1-3 with Joe Naudzunas, $20. 5-6:30 p.m. level 1-2 with student teacher, $5. (415) 753-0909. www. iyisf.org.

Ki-Yoga Classes Roble Gym, Stanford.

Saturdays, 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. (650) 804-9577. kiiyoga@yahoo.com. www.kiyoga.4t.com

Classic Yoga classes taught by Manjiri. Palo Alto venue. Saturdays, 9-10 a.m. $12, $60 for 6 classes. (650) 324-0445. www.yoga-marga. com

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Hatha Yoga I Beginner Class. Integral Yoga Institute, 770 Dolores St., San Francisco.

Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 6 p.m.; Thursdays, 9:30 a.m. and 6 p.m.; Fridays, 9:30 a.m.; Saturdays, 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. (415) 821-1117. www.integralyogasf.org Hatha Yoga II Intermediate Class. Integral Yoga Institute, 770 Dolores St., San Francisco.

Mondays and Thursdays, 9:30 a.m. and 6 p.m.; Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 6 p.m.; Saturdays, 9:30 a.m. (415) 821-1117. www.integralyogasf. org Hatha Yoga III Advanced Class for stu-

dents. Integral Yoga Institute, 770 Dolores india currents • february 2012 • 119

1117. www.integralyogasf.org

days. (408) 741-7084. www.dancingyogi.com

HIV Hatha Yoga I Class with Jack San-

Heart Opening Kundalini Yoga with Olga Luchakova. Inst of Transpersonal Psych., 744 San Antonio Rd, Palo Alto. Saturdays, 9 a.m. (510) 869-2611.

chez. Integral Yoga Institute, 770 Dolores St., San Francisco. Saturdays, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. $11.

(415) 821-1117. www.IntegralYogaSF.org

Raja Yoga. Bay Area venue. 2nd Saturday

Breath for Health powerful breathing exercises. Elderday, 1410 Ocean St, Santa Cruz. Saturdays, 9:30 a.m. Donations. (831) 458-3481.

Yoga Beginner Course: Eight-week in-

Yoga Classes for all. Organized by Yoga Bharati. Sunnyvale Hindu Temple, 440 Persian Dr., Sunnyvale. Saturdays, 7:30-8:30 a.m.

Free. (408) 244-9119. info@yogabharati.org

every month. Free. (510) 797-3649, (408) 5328224, (408) 746-9827. www.sriramchandra. org. isrc_ca@yahoo.com troduction to yoga. Vishnu-devananda Yoga Vedanta Center (Sivananda tradition). Berkeley. Saturdays, 11 a.m. 510-273-2447. www. vishnuyoga.org

Yoga for All Ages to relive stress, alleviate health ailments, and reduce weight. 9-10 a.m. Dr. Yoga Therapy, 5638 Stratton Way, San Ramon. (925) 803-9196. adibhagya@ yahoo.com. www.dr-yogatherapy.com

Yoga for Children to improve memory, re-

duce allergies, and general health and fitness.

Individual attention will be given to correct poses. 4:30-5:30 p.m. Dr. Yoga Therapy, 5638 Stratton Way, San Ramon. (925) 803-9196. adibhagya@yahoo.com. www.dr-yogatherapy. com

Pranayama and Meditation by Manda

Rao. Dancing Yogi Studio, Saratoga. Satur-

120 • india currents • february 2012

Yoga Classes for all levels. Yogalayam, 1717

Alcatraz Ave., Berkeley. Monday-Saturday, 7:30-8:30 p.m. $5. (510) 655-3664. www.yogalayam.org. info@yogalayam.org

Pre-Natal Yoga. Yogalayam, 1717 Alcatraz Ave., Berkeley. Saturdays, 10 a.m.-12 p.m. www.yogalayam.org. info@yogalayam.org

Hatha Yoga Level 2 with Julianne Rice.

This class is appropriate for students with at least one year of experience or permission of instructor. Class begins with centering, chanting and seated meditation. It includes a thorough asana practice, including backbending and inversions. 8 to 9:30 a.m. Center for Spiritual Enlightenment, 1146 University Ave., San Jose. $15 per class or $130/10 class-

es. Register: (408) 283-0221. info@CSEcenter.org. www.CSEcenter.org.

Hatha Yoga Level 1 with Julianne Rice.

This class builds on Gentle Yoga. Class begins with centering, chanting and seated meditation. Sun salutations, incremental instruction of seated poses, balance poses and backbending are included. 9:45 to 11 a.m. Center for Spiritual Enlightenment, 1146 University Ave., San Jose. $15 per class or $130/10 classes. Register: (408) 283-0221. info@CSEcenter.org. www.CSEcenter.org.

Tai Chi/Chi Gong with Mike Genzmer.

This combination practice, infused with philosophical principles, is accessible and enjoyable for all levels of fitness. It nurtures internal energy, develops physical strength and inspires an open heart. 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Center for Spiritual Enlightenment, 1146 University Ave. San Jose. $15 per class or $130/10 classes. Register: (408) 283-0221. info@CSEcenter.org. www.CSEcenter.org.

Yoga Classes for all. Organized by Yoga Bharati. Sunnyvale Hindu Temple Auditorium, 440 Persian Drive, Sunnyvale. Saturdays, 7:30 a.m. (408) 446-1801. anil@yogabharati. org. © Copyright 2011 India Currents. All rights reserved. Reproduction for commercial use strictly prohibited.

I C dear doctor

Alzak Amlani

Coping with Loss Q

In the last five years my parents, several of my relatives, and even a couple of friends have passed away. I have always known of distant relatives or grandparents dying when I was younger and I coped with it. However, now that I am in my 50s and have lost both parents, I think about illness and death more often. I also feel more alone in the world than I ever have before. I fear my own death and dread that more of my family will soon pass away. Are these feelings normal? How can I accept this part of life without fearing it?

A

When a person loses several close people in his or her life, the impact can be quite severe. Illness and death are some of the most challenging experiences humans have to undergo or suffer. This is true whether you are ill and dying or have witnessed others in this process. Watching loved ones’ bodies become diseased and frail and watching them suffer can be quite hurtful to witness. For some people it is a kind of trauma. We recognize how powerless we are when the body under-

goes such changes.

Losing both parents can leave a person feeling orphaned. There is a ground that parents hold for most of us that makes us feel that we always have a place to go to—a secure base and roots. When that leaves we recognize more fully our existential aloneness in the world. This can compel some people to delve deeper into who they are, what they care about in the world, and how they want to live their lives more authentically. Knowing that death is around the corner, we can become more alive in the present moment. We are then less likely to take what we have for granted. Knowing that life is impermanent, we can be less attached and can learn to let go more fully. These qualities make us less rigid, resentful, and afraid, and lead to acceptance and a kind of grace and serenity with steady practice over time.

At times, fearing your own death is a sign that there are unlived aspects of your life.

What feels dead in you while you are alive?

What parts of yourself are you not in touch

with? People who hold themselves back in life will feel more sorrow as they approach their own death. The weight and remorse of unlived life can be depressing. Anxiety also arises these days because people’s inner lives are impoverished and they don’t belong to a community that knows them and will be available in the time of need. Thus, one feels more alone and afraid of aging, illness, and death. Doing what we can to get more connected to like-minded people and feeling a part of something meaningful relieves fear and anxiety and engenders openness, meaning, and love.

Every culture and spiritual tradition has stories, rituals, and meaning-making processes around loss and death. These can be very valuable to help us accept this process as part of the human journey of growth and learning. n Alzak Amlani, Ph.D., is a counseling psychologist in the Bay Area. 650-325-8393. Visit www. wholenesstherapy.com.

Is a family member or loved one hurting you?

A domestic violence helpline for South Asian women Our services are free and strictly confidential Call us for information and support from someone who understands your culture.

We speak

Bangla •Farsi •Gujarati • Hindi • Kannada • Malayalam •Marathi • Nepali • Punjabi • Sinhala • Tamil • Telugu •Urdu india currents • february 2012 • 121

122 • india currents • february 2012

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q&a

Suchi Sargam

Midas of the Bibliosphere A conversation with mega-successful author Chetan Bhagat on the occasion of the launch of his latest book, Revolution 2020

T

he world of Indian education may be full of teachers, policy makers, and even a few conmen seeking to influence the life of students hungry with ambition, desperate to raise their social and economic status. But it takes an author like Chetan Bhagat to not only write (albeit a spicy and romanticised account) about this world, but also stir up enough controversy—through columns in Indian national dailies, tweets and blog posts—so the world takes notice of what he wishes to say and sell. After launching his book Revolution 2020 on October 7, 2011, in Mumbai, the bestselling author of books like Five Point Someone and One Night @ the Call Centre, arrived in the United States for a weeklong vacation on October 12th. “I wanted to take a break as it had been very hectic after the launch and I wanted to step back and relax. The work on my next book will not start for another six months,” he said at the beginning of his interview. Here’s more from that conversation, with an unabashed and always controversial Bhagat taking on his critics smartly—a quality that some brand pomposity and others call self-confidence.

A lot has been said and written about the education system in India over past few years—both in fiction and non-fiction genres.

How do you feel your book Revolution 2020 (R2020) adds to the discussion?

I think it’s a different story of course, because it talks of the non-elite colleges. What I did on the IITs was nice… it made an impact, started a discussion on our education system.

But the bulk of students (in India) get into non-elite colleges. I think I wanted to cast light on these colleges and Revolution 2020 has tried to do that.

Do you feel it is contradictory that while you have always supported the IIT education system on one hand, you have used corruption in education system (specifically in the engineering segment) as a background to R2020?

If you care about something, you have to point out its reality. As a writer, I am telling a story. It is not like I am writing a brochure.

I show my caring in a way that presents both the positive and the negative side, and it hopefully leads to something better.

Every book of your so far has been made

into a movie. It must be a proud feeling. Tell us how that came about. Do you have a favorite among them?

Somehow the books caught the imagination of many people in the country. That includes many filmmakers. There are many filmmakers who are my fans. Even for R2020 we are getting many queries.

Yes I do enjoy the fact that my books have

been considered for movie adaptations. People in India like movies and I want to reach as many Indians as possible. In that sense, it is very positive that it is happening. I cannot really say which one has been the most favourite. But I think [the adaptation of] 2 States: The Story of My Marriage [being directed by Vishal Bharadwaj] is going to be fantastic.

How did 3 Idiots happen?

I was first approached for the movie rights to Five Point Someone (later made into 3 Idiots) back in 2005. I think at that time I was introduced to the producer by some mutual friends. Back then, they were not expecting it to be such a major film.

Are you considering any of the offers you have got for Revolution 2020 so far?

No. it is very early. People have to read the book first.

You have always maintained that you want to change the way India thinks, as this book

also says, quite inspiringly. With four books already on bestsellers list, and a fifth on the stands, what changes do you think you have brought in so far?

None. I have just started to have that objective. But I haven’t brought about any change yet. Right now the only thing I may have done is making people interested in books again. (Also) there may be some more focus on the issues I represent... on the anticorruption movement ... and bringing education issues to the forefront.

You have written about India and Indians, and your books are based in Indian cities, which is to be expected. But you also spent 11 years in Hong Kong. Any experiences you would want to highlight from that part of the world?

I have thought about it, but haven’t worked on it yet. I will do it someday.

There is so much of debate over the kind of English Indians should speak or write in— since English is not their mother tongue. Would you say that Indians should aim to write in their mother tongue, first and foremost—as mastery over one’s mother tongue is a prerequisite before attempting a grasp of other languages?

I think people should write in whatever language they are comfortable in. The language doesn’t matter. What matters is a good story.

What answer do you have for critics who reproach you for your poor grammar?

Nothing. They are reacting to me. I am not reacting to them. If they don’t like it, then I accept the point. But then they should stop reading also. However, somehow they end up reading all my books. As long as people are reading my books, it doesn’t really matter.

In R2020, you are dealing with a love triangle and corruption in education system. Tell us some of your experiences when it comes to these two areas.

Yes ... I mean, I have been in situations where I was interested in a girl and she was not interested in me. That has happened.

This was long back—before my marriage of course. It’s all too personal, frankly.

As for corruption in the education system, yes, I have had many friends who run colleges and they have privately confessed to me that they actually do a lot of corruption. All in all, india currents • february 2012 • 135

136 • india currents • february 2012

Revolution 2020 is inspired by real incidents.

Why is Varanasi the setting for this book?

What is unique about that setting?

Corruption is kind of everywhere, but I found the city very interesting. I wanted to [base the plot on] a small town. The book is a love story, a romance—Varanasi is a good setting for that, with the river there. I have been there 4-5 times for talks. It has a lot of character. When I was writing about a small town, I did not want to write about a boring place.

What progress do you feel you have made as a writer in last 7 years?

I think I have progressed. As a person I have grown, becoming more aware of what I want rather than what other people want out of me. Today, if I feel my book is good, I am happy. Even if people criticize it, or if I get too much praise, it doesn’t matter too much now.

What challenges do you face in your profession?

Now it’s more about getting ideas. Because the expectations are massive. It’s like, every time people expect a wow book, to blow them away. It satisfies my own motivation too—I have done it five times and I have to do more of these. The challenge is that I have too many options, unfortunately. If I want to write, I can write any story I want. It’s hard to choose. That apart, balancing my life—my family, health and work—is a big challenge

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for me.

How did co-writing the screenplay with Abhishek Kapoor (of Rock On fame) for The 3 Mistakes of My Life’s film adaptation happen for you?

He wanted me. It depends on the filmmaker actually. If the filmmaker wants me to help, I help.

You must be aware of David Dhawan’s latest film, Rascals, starring Sanjay Dutt and Ajay Devgn in lead roles with their first names being Chetan and Bhagat respectively. Did you ever feel that it was some sort of a dig at you?

(Laughs) Well, I think it is, of course. It’s ok. I like it. It shows the level of popularity [I have]. He is a friend. I’ve known him (since) he was present on the sets of Hello (based on One Night @ the Call Centre) when I was making that film with Salman Khan’s family. He’s very close to Salman. I like him. He’s a fun guy.

What advice would you have for other writers who wish to emulate your success? And what advice would you have for writers who are critically panned? Is there something to be learnt from that feedback or should one just write from the heart.

I think they have to believe in themselves and be good at their work. And not worry

Suchi Sargam is a journalist in India.

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When he’s not creating comics or working as a freelance illustrator, Krishna teaches full-time in the Media Arts and Animation department of the Art Institute of Tampa in Florida. See more of his work at http://www.uncubedthecomic.com/.

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the last word

Sarita Sarvate

A Hindu Mecca? Or Disneyland?

U ntil I arrived in India at the end of October 2011, I had never heard of Akshardham. When my cousins asked if I wanted to visit a new temple in Delhi, I unsuspectingly agreed. I really wanted to visit Rajghat and pay my respects to Gandhiji, I said, but I did not mind stopping by a new temple.

I am not religious but Indian temples evoke, for me, a powerful nostalgia. They contain the essence of my early childhood, spent in a dingy gulli, where every stone was covered with saffroncolored paint, where every woman carried oil to the temple of the goddess to protect her children from the scourge of smallpox, where every one woke up to the sound of a bhupali—morning devotional—and went to bed to the tune of a bhajan.

Alas, someone should have warned me that Akshardham lets you bring no food, drink, or anything else inside, not even water.

Only in the parking lot did I discover this fact. So I reluctantly entered the temple complex with little more than the clothes on my back. The consequences of Akshardham’s draconian rules would haunt me for the rest of my trip.

The first impression upon entering the gigantic area is one of awe and splendor. There are the coral-colored gopurams (domes), carved with the most intricate of elephants, gods, and fairies.

There are the surrounding grounds, displaying statues of pioneers of Indian history. There are the ponds, glittering with fountains.

Erected out of sandstone in only five years, the temple uses no steel enforcements, it is said. As I inspected the layers of mortar between stone slabs, I wondered if the edifice would withstand centuries of ravages of earthquakes, pollution, and floods. The website claims that the temple has a tremor-proof, 20-foot-deep foundation, though.

“It has been carved by volunteer artists,” my cousin explained, “and uses traditional Hindu architectural principles.” Indeed the statues are elaborate, so detailed and numerous that after a while your eyes begin to glaze. Elephant after elephant. Apsara after apsara. Krishna after Krishna. Every episode in the Mahabharatha and the Ramayana is depicted here, in tableaus made of stone. There are allegedly 330 million gods in the Hindu pantheon and I would be willing to bet that each one is present here. The inner sanctum is covered from top to bottom in gems and gold. The murtis are draped in stone garments so silk-like, their folds invite one’s touch.

Thousands of visitors come here to pay respects every day and are taken on an elaborate tour consisting of animatronic displays using robotics, even an IMAX-like giant screen movie commemorating the life of a guru named Swaminarayan, whom I had never heard of, but whom the temple commemorates. The movie, which stars a very photogenic young man in the role of the swami and uses all sorts of tricks out of Hollywood, is indeed breathtaking. There is even a boat ride, a la Pirates of the Carribean, in which life in Vedic times is recreated in lifelike dioramas. The Vedic era boasted of higher education in mathematics and science, we are told. Also that Vedic life was replete with cosmetic surgery, nuclear weapons, rockets, and much, much more—to the point where you begin to wish you had lived then rather than now. The tour terminates in a display of dancing fountains representing a Hindu yagna (holy fire).

Was this really a monument to Hinduism or a money-making machine?

144 • india currents • february 2012

“This is just like Vegas!” I exclaimed as I faced the splashing waters reminiscent of the Bellagio.

“In the era of video games and television, we have nothing left to show our children,” My cousin said, “So we bring our children here to teach them Hindu values.”

I could see her point.

Why was I so disturbed then? Why did this place seem like religion with a capital R? Why did this display smack of jingoism to me?

I did understand why this monument to Hinduism had been built on the banks of the Yamuna. After all, when all the historic edifices in the capital are monuments to our bygone Islamic rulers, is it not natural to want a memorial to India’s Hindu past?

After all, Muslims have their Mecca, Christians have the Vatican.

Even Sikhs have the Golden Temple. Why not us?

Still, I wished that such a monument had suffered from the defect of understatement rather than overstatement. For there is this “over the top” quality to this temple that the ancient caves of Ajanta and Ellora, which I visited for the first time only ten days later, do not suffer from. Nor do the medieval Hindu temples of Bali. Surrounded by lily ponds and colorful gardens, Bali’s temples do not rise above the landscape, but rather merge with it to create an aesthetic so pleasing, one wants to sit in their pagodas for hours and hours. The Meenakshi temple in Madurai, too, never jars the eye. There is a serene quality to these ancient architectures that the Akshardham temple lacks.

What the makers of Akshardham have forgotten is that sometimes less is more.

By the time we had eaten the bad food in the cafeteria— which might have been the cause of one of the worst stomach ailments I have suffered from in my entire life and which made this trip to India hellish for me—and entered the very modern gift shop, I began to wonder, was this really a monument to Hinduism or a money-making machine?

For there were the Swaminarayan dolls and Swaminarayan mugs. There must have been Swaminarayan t-shirts too, though I can’t remember.

I could sympathize with the security at the entrance, which is characteristic of Indian life today; you see it in shopping malls, metro trains, and planes. But what was the logic of not allowing even an apple or a granola bar inside unless it was to cream an extra rupee out of you?

Akshardham was the first inkling to me of a shift in India’s psyche. Days later, I would encounter a group of schoolchildren atop the Daulatabad Fort in Aurangabad, and learn of the rigorous Hindu curriculum in their traditional school. Later still, I would watch a television anchor signing off with a “Jai Hind” and wonder, have we really come this far from Gandhi’s India? And where does patriotism stop and parochialism begin? Where does pride end and egotism begin?

It is perhaps natural that a country threatened with terrorist attacks from its next door neighbors, a country which is still wounded by its colonial past, but which has come to depend on American companies for its livelihood, should search for strength in its ancient religion. I just hope that this turn toward Hindu nationalism does not lead to fanaticism and further schisms in a land with a diverse population. n Sarita Sarvate writes commentaries for Pacific News Service and KQED. Visit www.saritasarvate.com

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